After that little scene, I kept my distance from Kisame. It was hot, but I didn't want to take my hoodie off. Itachi, however, kept walking beside me, making small talk. I smiled. He was a sweetheart. I don't know why nobody else noticed it, but I guess it had to do with the fact he didn't say much and communicated mostly in grunting and hand signs.

"Quinn," Itachi muttered as he looked as the perspiration that clung to my hairline. "You have to be extremely hot. Why don't you take that thing off?"

I made a noncommittal sound and kept walking. Most of the Akatsuki members hadn't seen me without long sleeves, or at least something that hid my back. I sighed, wishing I could take the sweatshirt off and continue walking like everybody else did, in tank-tops and light jeans. Itachi nudged my arm, reminding him that he wanted me to strip of the sweatshirt.

"Promise to not say anything?" I asked as I striped the hoodie off of my body and tossed it to him.

He made an angry, guttural sound in the back of his throat and ran a finger down one of the long scars that went from the top of my right shoulder to the bottom of my left butt cheek. But he couldn't see how far down it went, as most of the scar was covered by the dark green tank top and my tight jeans. My breath caught as he went to pull the tank top to the side to continue looking at the scar, but I jumped forward, shaking my head.

"No," I said firmly as I stepped back into line with him. We were at the back of the line, so I didn't care as much as I normally would. "No touching."

Itachi nodded, but I noticed that his fists were clenched at his sides. "Alright. No touching. But… Who? Why? How? When?"

I laughed sadly and grabbed my bag from him, and though it was slightly heavy, I was determined to carry it the rest of the way. "My father. Discipline. Whip. And from the ages of four to eighteen."

Itachi growled. "He should be skinned alive."

I laughed, this time the sound was cheery. "Oh, he was. On my eighteenth birthday."

Itachi's eyes bulged as he caught onto what I was saying. I grinned at him. Revenge was a dish best served cold, right? Then his shoulders began to shake, and I realized he was trying to hide his laughter. Then, as if his body couldn't handle it anymore, he broke out into loud guffaws, making me start laughing with him. To anybody else, we probably looked like two escaped mental patients walking along the road.

"What's so funny?" Kisame snapped as he turned around to watch us.

I sobered up, or appeared to, for a few moments. "I skinned my dad alive."

I would've been able to continue on calmly, but I made the mistake of looking at Itachi. He smirked at me, and I dissolved into laughter again. This time, the other man's laughter wasn't quite as loud, but it was still coming from the very depths of him. I wiped tears away with my knuckles, trying to draw deep breaths to stop laughing, but it didn't help.

"That's not that funny," Kisame said as we caught up to him. "And it could have very well blown our cover!"

Itachi threw an arm around my shoulders, making it look like we were all buddy buddy. Well, at this moment in time, we were. Then I realized that the arm he had thrown around my shoulders was the one that had my hoodie draped over it. I smiled and patted his hand, showing my thanks silently as I realized he was helping me hide my secret for a little bit longer. I looked up and saw that Kisame's gaze was locked on me and Itachi's joined hands. I shrugged.

"Well, we'd better be on our way," Itachi said as he started walking forward, forcing me to follow him.

I laughed and followed him, hands still linked. Ophelia stared at me as if I'd grown a second head. I grinned at her before winking, and kept walking with the older Uchiha. His legs were almost longer than me, so keeping up with him at a walk nearly required me to jog. He seemed to notice this and he stopped, looking down at my body. I arched an eyebrow when his gaze returned to mine, then I noticed the intention in his eyes.

"Oh, hell no!" I tried to scold but it ended up a squeal as Itachi grabbed at me, carrying me bridal style. "ITACHI PUT ME DOWN!"

I swung my arm out, intending to hit him playfully on the cheek, but he only grunted and put me over his shoulder. I squeaked and punched him in the butt, though not much force was behind it due to my entire body was vibrating with laughter. Itachi laughed at me and patted my rump playfully, and I gasped. Ophelia burst out laughing behind us, and I heard Kisame grumble unhappily.

"Quinn," Ophelia asked as she walked closer, "is that a tattoo of a phoenix on your shoulder?"

I looked up at her. "Yes. We call it Nshan." *Nshan in Armanian means Sign*

Kisame grumbled something that neither me nor Itachi could hear, but Ophelia apparently did. Her eyes widened, and her eyes darted between the blue man and me. I flipped him the bird, and though I couldn't tell from this distance, I'm guessing his eyes hardened into hard, angry orbs. Itachi laughed, the sound radiating from his body and going through mine.

Woah. Tingly.

"Opallllllllll," I whined, peering up at her through my black hair. "Come rescue me from the scary ogre man!"

Itachi scoffed. "I am no ogre, madam! I am merely saving a fair maiden from an aquatic dragon!"

Kisame's jaw dropped in surprise. "Aquatic dragon?"

I patted Itachi's butt. "Is it just me or did he sound a little squeaky there, like Minnie Mouse?"

"Definite mousage," Itachi replied, adjusting me on his shoulder with a slight grunt. "Think we could find him a red polka dot dress?"

I grinned out at Kisame. "Do a twirl for us, darling! Come on! Unleash your inner ballerina!"

Kisame growled angrily as he caught up with us. I grinned at Ophelia, who shook her head. Itachi purposefully jarred his stride so that my stomach landed uncomfortably on his shoulder with each step. I squirmed, and Itachi grasped my buttock, holding me in place. Then something dawned on me. Was he…?

"Itachi. Are you purposefully being uncomfortable so that you can grope me?" I asked, calm radiating from my body, though on the inside, I was torn between laughing and punching him in the dick.

"Me? Why would I need a reason to grope you?" he replied as he playfully groped my ass again. "I'd just do it."

I gasped and latched onto my friend's forearms. "Pull, Opal! PULL!"

The other woman just stared at me. I growled and pulled her toward my body, and she shrieked and pulled back, thus pulling me with her. Though, at the last possible second, Itachi latched onto my leg. He made a sound of surprise as he was pulled onto me, who fell onto Ophelia. I hit the other woman laughing. She hit the ground with a squeak rivaling the one Kisame had released earlier, and Itachi hit me with a grunt.

"WE MADE A SANDWICH," I yelled as I started laughing.

"THAT MEANS YOU'RE THE BACON IN THE BLT," Ophelia replied, laughing even harder than I was.

"'Tachi," I said as I kicked my leg from his grasp, "get off of me, you overgrown ferret!"

Itachi muttered something under his breath and launched his weight off of me. I heard an "OH SHIT," a large BANG!, and simulationous grunts. I rolled off of Ophelia and looked in the direction that the sound had some from. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open in shock. I slapped Ophelia's arm and pointed, indicating that her eyes should follow the path mine had taken moments ago.

"GET OFF OF ME!" Kisame yelled, trying to detangle himself from the other man.

"Opal," I whispered, my voice shaking with laughter, "they look like they're having sex."

Ophelia's eyes widened. "Oh my God."

Kisame and Itachi were rolling around, trying to get off of one another. Kisame would get on his side, and Itachi's momentum would push his hips forward as he tried to buck away. Itachi would roll on top and then try to push himself up using only his arms, which would press his lower extremities against the shark. I looked at Ophelia, who clapped a hand over her mouth to smother a giggle.

I looked up at the sky and sighed when I saw it starting to get dark. I sat up and walked to the edge of the fighting men. "Okay, guys. Enough of the playful sex. We've got to get moving."

I could've been speaking to the dead. With an annoyed huff of breath, I turned around to ask Ophelia for help when the men rolled into my legs, causing me to fall with them. I squealed, the sound high-pitched and girly, when I landed on muscled man. Itachi grunted and the two men, and I, apparently, continued in the little wrestling match. Only when Kisame's head ended up on my shoulder and Itachi laying across my back did we stop at Ophelia's shrill whistle.

"Everybody up!" she yelled, having grown annoyed with us. "Itachi, you first."

Itachi grunted and got up, rocking back onto his heels.

"Okay. Kisame, you next."

Kisame rolled off of me, though he was too close to the trees and he hit it with a large curse.

"Oka-"

"Shut up, Opal," I growled as I sat up on my knees. "I don't need someone telling me when and how to get up."

"Touch-y," Ophelia muttered as she stepped back, hands in the air. "I'm just gonna go set up camp now…"

Ophelia left, slinking into the shadows of the trees. Kisame stood up, casually walking toward me and Itachi. The two men nodded at each other, acting as if nothing had happened. I growled deep in my throat. Idiots. Men are idiots. With a smirk, Itachi held a hand out, offering me help to rise to my feet. I started reaching for it when a blue hand was thrust into my face. I looked up, hand still outstretched, and noticed the men staring at each other.

"Okay, boys," I yelled, standing up without assistance. The two men opened their mouths, as if about to say anything. "NO! NO TALKING. PUT THE DAMN RULERS AWAY. WE ARE DONE MEASURING."

Kisame cocked his head to the side. "But… We weren't…?"

I held my hand up, one finger extended, silently saying that he needed to shut the fuck up. "Please. After you two just rolled around, basically having sex, you two were measuring because there was a woman around."

Itachi grinned before bending down to get my hoodie off of the ground. He held it out to me. "Consider this a white flag?"

I made a sound that rivaled a growl, but I grabbed the sweatshirt and pulled it over my head. "Truce is in effect."

I turned to walk back toward the general area that we had planned to set up camp. The men, however, stayed put and watched me go. Thankful that I had put the hoodie back on before walking away from them, I gave them a peace sign over my shoulder. Kisame laughed, and Itachi cleared his throat.

"Hey, Quinn," Itachi said, raising its voice so that it could carry better on the wind. "Just so that you know…"

I sighed, stopping in my tracks. "Yes, Itachi?"

"If we were actually measuring, you'd be extremely impressed. I don't have a pencil dick."

"What is up with everybody saying I have a pencil dick?" Kisame yelled angrily. "YOU'VE BOTH SEEN IT. YOU KNOW DAMN WELL I DON'T HAVE A PENCIL DICK."

I heard Itachi pat the other man's shoulder. "Sure you do, buddy. Sure."