Chapter 4: I'm too tired to think of a title…so deal

They reached their destination the next day at two. Itachi stopped on a hill overlooking the complex nestled in the valley below them. He glanced down at the pups playing at Kyra's feet before speaking. "They can't go down there."

"I know. They were just coming along to make sure I was all right. She's very protective," Kyra said as she stroked the head of the mother wolf beside her.

Itachi battled his curiosity for a full 30 seconds until, for the first time in who knows how long, it took control of him completely, and he spoke before he could restrain himself. "How is it that this wolf just follows you around? Not just any wolf, but a wolf with two pups. She should be ripping your throat out for even thinking of being so close." His managed to keep his voice even and cool, as it usually was, but still cursed himself. He wasn't supposed to care.

"It goes along with why he wouldn't let me go, she told him, bending down to say goodbye to the wolves.

"I'll take that as a 'I'm not telling you'," he replied, rolling his eyes.

"Did you just display sarcasm?" Kyra said loudly, eyes wide and face with a mocking shocked expression. "I thought you didn't have feelings or….well, a personality."

"I never said that."

"Everyone else does. Your name is a highly discussed topic, especially among those who work with ninja."

"When I'm working, I am emotionless. It is how a shinobi is supposed to be."

"Yeah well, I feel I should tell you that your personality sucks pretty much all the time. You should work on that," she patted him on the shoulder before beginning to make her way towards the complex.

Itachi cocked his head to the side slightly as he watched her go, an actual look of surprise passed his face for a brief moment. "You've gotten a boost of confidence all of the sudden today," he told her as he moved quickly to catch up.

Kyra held her arms out and spun as she yelled her response, " That's because for the first time in my life I don't have to worry that if my shoe makes a noise on the floor I'm going to get beaten for it. I don't have to worry about people bursting into my room in the middle of the night because they want to…." She stopped spinning and turned back away from him as she caught herself. "You get the point," she finished quietly.

"How do you know you don't have to worry about such things?"

"Because you'll protect me," she said simply, turning to him and smiling sweetly.

Itachi arched his eyebrows as he responded, "you assume a lot."

Kyra shrugged and slowed her pace, falling in step with Itachi.

"These are not nice people," he told her after a few more steps. "They will not tolerate any insubordination at all. If you cross them, they may kill you. Fear of me will keep them at bay for a majority of your offenses, but not all."

"You mean they won't like me?" she asked in mock innocence.

"Honestly, I don't know what they'll do. No one has ever brought a non-member into the complex. I'm sure I can convince them to allow you stay, but you may be put to work."

"I've been working all my life. At least now I have someone to talk to."

"Hn. Just stay quiet around everyone else. You can't joke like that in my presence. It will be seen as a weakness for me."

"Talking is a weakness? Ya'll need to work on your people skills."

Itachi didn't even honor that with a response as they made their way into the complex. Itachi felt his fellow Akatsuki members sitting in the common area and so he headed there, deciding to get this over with.

All eyes turned to them as they entered the room. The other 7 members, and the leader of the Akatsuki sat at a long table covered with cards and plastic chips. The leader, Shinokura (A/N: don't know his name, so I made it up…just go with it), looked at Itachi in amusement, as did the others. After a moment of silence, Kisame finally burst out, "I win! I win the bet. Sasori, you lose. You have to be my personal slave for a week," he finished his rant with loud laughter.

"Bet?" Itachi asked, inwardly taken aback, but showed nothing on the outside.

"We had a bet going on how long it would take you to figure out how the male and female anatomy works. I said you'd get it before you were 21, Sasori had less faith. He said you'd never acknowledge the fact that humans were attracted to one another."

Itachi just looked at them, unsure of what to say. Kisame walked over and eyed the girl, smiling the whole time. "Don't worry Itachi. Everyone loses to the opposite sex, or same sex depending, at least once in their lives."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't agree with the way her master was treating her, and thought that maybe we could do a little better. Besides, I'm tired of eating Deidra's nasty ass cooking," he said, willing the blood to not rise to his cheeks at Kisame's implications. It intrigued him though, how they were all so accepting of the fact he had brought her there.

"Is nobody going to argue her presence?"

"Itachi, in case you haven't noticed, you're the only one who's really concerned with the security of this place. The only reason the rest of us don't bring other's around is because we're afraid you'd label them intruders and kill them before we had a chance to explain," Shinokura explained laughingly.

Itachi was speechless. No words would come. Was he really that bad? He didn't even like to kill. Still, he realized the words were true. He had always assumed no one was allowed, and would kill before asking questions.

Finally, he spoke, "You could have just told me that it was okay to bring people in, and I shouldn't attack every non-Akatsuki member in here. Besides, who would you bring?"

"Just because we kill for a living doesn't mean we aren't allowed to have friends or families you know. Not all of us destroyed every personal contact we had when we became missing nins. Not all of us are as into the job as you are either."

Itachi glared at Sasori, his thumb rubbing gently over the handle of his kunai. He wasn't into the killing, he was just into relieving the pain. When he was thinking about his missions, he wasn't thinking about Sasuke or his dead family.

"Enough," Shinokura said loudly. "Now, who is this?" he asked, pointing to Kyra.

"Kyra. I found her in the sound village about a day's travel from here. They will probably not be too happy today. I killed one of their feudal lord's sons last night. Well, actually she killed him, but I did most of the work."

"Why did you kill him?"

"Because he was trying to force her to go back with him and she didn't want to."

"This has what to do with you?"

"She wanted to stay with me, and I was inclined to let her. As I said, I believe she will be useful around here. Besides, as 'evil' as we all are…none of us are as bad as he was. There are certain things people should not be subjected to."

Shinokura, as well of the others, were well aware of the Uchiha's position on rape and other such acts, and mostly agreed. Many people deserved death, but no one deserved to be violated like that.

"I understand," the leader said after a moment. "She may stay, but will be watched carefully for the first few weeks. I trust your judgment that she is not a spy, and am not afraid even if she is one, but it is better to be safe then sorry. I refuse to underestimate any opponent."

Itachi nodded, as did Kyra, although she was struggling to hold back a snort. If the man had any iota of comprehension of what she was he'd probably send her to the other side of the universe. Either that or try to enslave like others had.

"Good," he told them after a short pause. "She will stay in your room for now Itachi, until we are certain she will be staying with us. Then we will look into getting her her own room."

"Aa," was all Itachi responded as he led her towards his room.

Kyra wasn't allowed to leave the complex for three months. During that time Itachi taught her the basics of chakra control and basic fighting skills. Occasionally Kisame or others would also come and help her, working on her hand-to-hand combat and weapons handling. The training started from boredom. Itachi wasn't allowed to leave the first month because he had to stay with her, and she got bored in watching him train.

However, she was a fast learner, and the others soon grew to like the idea of watching her pick up their lessons so quickly, so they would often help her when Itachi was off on missions. It was mostly for fun, though Itachi was determined that everyone should know how to fight. This is Itachi here.

Holding to what Itachi said on her first day there, she also cooked all of their meals, and kept the common rooms mostly clean. All of the Akatsuki members, except for Itachi, had homes off of the complex as well, but they mostly stayed on the complex, training and planning their next moves.

The day that her 3-month probation ended, they found that she had another useful skill that made them appreciate her presence 5 times as much. Diedra had returned to the complex with a limp Sasori in his arms. Both men were covered in cuts, and Diedra's fatigue was evident. Both men were fast approaching death's doorstep, and none of the Akatsuki members were advanced enough in healing.

They all hovered over the two, forcing their chakra into them, trying to close the wounds. There was no village close enough to retrieve a doctor from, and their attempts were failing miserably. Finally, the members admitted defeat as they had all drained most of their chakra, and they stepped away from the bodies.

Once they did Kyra finally pushed her way through them, glaring furiously. "Stupid men never listen," she grumbled loudly as she placed one hand on Sasori's chest, the other on the now unconscious Deidra. She closed her eyes and the other's watched in awe as a vibrant aqua chakra flowed from the girl and into the injured men.

After a few minutes the flow stopped, and Kyra passed out, landing safely in Itachi's waiting arms.

Shinokura looked to see that both men were breathing normally, and there wounds were closed completely. "How'd she do that?" he asked Itachi.

"I don't know," the young nin replied. "She told me people used to fight over her, but she would never tell me why. The feudal lord's son was certainly very intent on keeping her with him, but she won't say as to why."

"Is she a vessel?"

"No. There are no seals on her body. She has an exceptionally high amount of chakra, but I don't sense another being inside of her. If you pry to her hard, I think she will probably run. Whatever it is, she doesn't want people to know."

"Interesting. She's lucky I have grown so attached to her these past fewmonths, and that she reminds me of my own daughter. Otherwise I would be tempted to look into this further."

"You have a daughter?" Kisame asked incredulously. Their leader was quite a man of mystery, and the others were still very unsure of what he did when not at the complex.

"Two," Shinokura replied with a devilish smile. "Take her to rest Itachi. I don't care if she won't tell you what's so special about her, but I want to know more about this healing. It could some in handy for you on your next attempt to retrieve one of the vessels."

Itachi simply nodded and carried her to their currently shared bedroom. Kyra had insisted on sleeping on the ground, stating it was better that what she was used to. Tonight however, he placed her in his bed, gently draping the cover over her, before removing his own clothing (No, not all of it!) and sliding under the covers as well.

Kyra woke the next morning to the unfamiliar feel of a mattress underneath of her. It had been years since she had lain comfortably on a mattress. After a moment, she realized there was something even more unfamiliar about her situation, and she shifted slightly.

She felt the arms around her tighten as Itachi pulled himself from sleep. She turned her head back to look at him as he slowly opened his eyes. He breathed deeply, subconsciously enjoying her scent, as he willed his mouth to speak.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, voice rough, as he gently removed her from his arms.

"I'm fine," she told him brightly.

Itachi winced slightly at the chipperness in her voice. He knew better than to ask such a thing when he wasn't awake. Kyra had already proved that her body required little sleep, and even first thing in the morning, she was already raring to go.

"How did you do that last night?" he asked her, deciding to get straight to the point.

Kyra shrugged as she sat up, turning so that her legs were over the side while stretching her arms over her head. "I honestly don't know. It happened the first time when I was six and my gua…dad got stabbed in the chest. I was leaning over his body, crying as he tried to breath, and the chakra just poured out of me. I can call it now, but it takes a lot of energy. I think the only reason I lasted so long last night was because of the chakra control techniques you've been teaching me."

"Shinokura was quite impressed."

"I was hoping maybe everyone would just forget," Kyra said weakly, falling back into a laying position, her head landing on Itachi's stomach.

"He doesn't care about that big secret you're hiding. At least not now. He is however interested in your healing abilities. If you can repeat said abilities it is possible you may be joining us on a few specific missions."

"Do I have to kill anyone?"

"No. We just want you there in case someone gets hurt, to heal. Other than that I think Kisame and I are both well aware you may not be much help."

"Gee, thanks. You couldn't have lied and said you wanted me along for my excellent fighting abilities."

"I don't lie."

"Everyone lies," Kyra replied faintly after hearing that last statement.

"I don't." Itachi insisted lightly, unable to resist the urge to run his fingers gently through her blonde hair that was splayed over his bare stomach and chest.

"You better be careful, Itachi. You're starting to lose that killer's edge to your voice."

"I don't need to sound like a killer to be one. Besides, wasn't it you that told me I needed to work on my personality?" he whispered quietly, mesmerized by her comfort level with him. Not even Kisame ever dared just flat out touch him unless battle required. Hell, even when he was still at home, the only person brave enough to really touch him was Sasuke.

Yet here was this girl, lying calmly with her head on his stomach, unaware of the thousands of ways he could easily end her life. Itachi mentally smacked himself for having such morbid thoughts. He was just so used to it. It was his own personal way to torment himself. He didn't want to be a killer, but he was. That's how everyone saw him, except for her.

"Can we work on my chakra control more today?" she asked him after a moment's silence.

"Sure."

"Well come on then, get it ya bum!" she yelled, jumping instantly to her feet.

"You do realize it's only five in the morning, right?" he asked as he moved into a sitting position and began sliding towards the edge of the bed.

"What! Oh, hell no. I may not need much sleep, but I refuse to be up this early," she yelled again, this time tackling Itachi as she dove back into the bed. She wriggled herself under the covers, pulling them up to her chin, before she finally rested her head gently on the pillow. Itachi shifted back onto the bed as well, letting the blanket pool around his waist.

A few minutes passed by, and just as Itachi found himself drifting back to sleep, he felt Kyra shift, resting her head on his chest and draping her arm over his body. She rubbed her face lightly against his chest before sighing contently.

"I thought you told me you didn't really like to be touched," he spoke softly in case she was already asleep, though he knew she wasn't.

"I don't," she replied, and after a moment added, "but I feel safe here. For the first time in my life, I'm not afraid. Funny isn't it…how I only feel safe in the arms of probably the most dangerous person ever. I blame my dad."

"Why?"

"He loved me and my mom, but he wasn't necessarily the kindest around to others. I guess you could say I've been in love with the bad guys all my life."

"Hn," Itachi grunted lightly, running his fingers lightly through her hair again. He traced his hand down her face and jaw line, tilting her head up to look at him. He leaned in slowly, gently brushing his lips against hers. She kissed him back eagerly, parting her lips slightly, but enough that he got the invitation.

The stayed that way for a while, gently exploring each other's mouths. Kyra pulled away with a sharp gasp though as she felt Itachi's hand run down her side and along her thigh. She rolled away from him, trying to bring her heartbeat back down and to not hyperventilate.

"I'm sorry," she whispered softly. "I…"

"Don't worry about it," Itachi cut her off as he rolled over to press his chest against her back, wrapping his arms around hr gently. "I can't even imagine how it must be for you after living with…and…well…"

This time Kyra cut Itachi off, rolling over to face him and pressing her lips softly against his. "You know, you're really not such a bad guy."

"Yes I am…to anyone that gets in my way."

Kyra kissed him again lightly before pressing her face back into his chest and drifting off to sleep.

A/N: Another chapter down. Yay! Let me know what you guys are thinking. I'm having a really hard time deciding how Itachi's character is coming along, so I would love some feedback. I know that the Akatsuki may seem a little…weak, but I try to imagine them as an anime mob for this story. They're bad bad bad people who doesn't hesitate to kill for what they want, but that doesn't mean they are devoid of emotions.

Let me know if there's anything you want to see happen and I'll be happy to take it into consideration. Read, Review, and Enjoy!