"What's that?" he asked.
"What's what?" I said, confused.
"This." he said, picking up my right forearm and turning it over.
"Ai…" he said.
"Love…" we said in unison.
Our voices trailed off together as well. I looked down.
"I-it's a tattoo. My parents had a one just like it. My father had peace. And my mother had hope. There in Japanese because were from Japan. It's my ninja way. Peace (平和,) Hope (希望), Joy (喜び), and Love (愛)." I said sadly.
"Who had joy?" he asked.
"My… My older brother." I said, wiping away a tear.
"You have an older brother?" he asked.
"Had. I had an older brother." I said.
"What do you mean you had an older brother?" he asked.
"He's dead. He died four years ago when I was twelve." I said holding back tears.
"How old was he?" he asked.
"Sixteen." I said.
"How close were you two?"
"Best friends. Everything I know about computers and cooking I learned from him. Than he died four years after my parents died and left me by myself." I said.
Itachi just looked at me.
"And it's my fault he's dead." I suddenly said.
He looked at me in surprise.
"What?!" he said.
"He was murdered because of me. I got him killed. Me." I said.
"How was your fault?" he asked.
"It was the first day of summer. He had taken me and my friends to the mall. The two of us were heading home when we were kidnapped. We were taken to a warehouse. Daisuke was just trying to protect me from them. Then they pulled out knives, guns, bats, and just about any other weapon you could think of. He told me to get behind him, so I did as he said. I always listened to him. Then they started firing warning shots with the guns. But still he stayed still. Not letting any fear or emotion show on his face. And that's when it happened. They shot him. They got him right in the heart. He fell to the floor and I sank to my knees. I held him in my arms while I watched him die, helpless. There was nothing I could do but sit there and listen to his last words. He told me to stay strong and keep moving forward in life. That everything that lives must die. That in order for there to be life, there must be death. He told me that the only thing that will make him happy in the afterlife would be to be able to look down to earth and see his beloved little sister living a happy and active life, and being happy with a good guy. And his last words to me were 'You're the best little sister ever. Make sure you find the right guy or I will come back and haunt you. I love you Max.' then he died. Even in his last minute he tried to make me laugh. He was always trying so hard to make me laugh when I was in bad mood. And his scene of humor was almost identical to yours. That's why you're the only one that can make me really laugh and make me feel better when I'm in a crap-ass mood. He would have liked you. He would have said that he preferred that I go out with you than any of the other dumb asses from school or whatever." I said.
He smiled at that last part as my eyes widened and I blushed, realizing what I had just said.
"So you say I'm like your brother?" he said.
"Ya. In more ways than one. Your funny, you can eat a lot, you're strong, you can make me feel better when I feel like shit, and I feel safe around you." I said, blushing a little more.
He smiled and put his hand on my shoulder and I turned to him and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his chin on my head.
"You'll always be safe with me. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." he said.
"I know." I said into his chest.
Tears had started to roll out of my eyes. We pulled back and he wiped away my tears. We looked up just in time to see another shooting star.
"Make a wish sweetie." Itachi said with a gentle smile.
I closed my eyes and made a wish. I opened my eyes and rested my head against his chest.
"What did you wish for?" he asked.
"I can't tell you or it won't come true. But you'll find out soon enough." I said smiling.
"Well, I look forward to that. And on another note, do you have any other tattoos?" he said.
I blushed again. I did have one more tattoo.
"Y-ya. I have o-one more tattoo. B-but it's a little e-embarrassing for me."
"What is it?"
I swallowed and lifted up my shirt to just below my ribs to revel うちはイタチ (Uchiha Itachi) on my abdomen. He looked at my middle and smiled.
"I know what you're going to say. It's over obsessive and creepy. I know, I know." I said, closing my eyes and lowering my shirt.
"Actual, I was going to say it's sweet." he said.
I opened my eyes and looked at him.
"Really?" I said.
He nodded. Then he went behind me and wrapped his arms around my middle and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"I was also going to say that it's cute." he whispered into my ear.
I blushed and looked away from him.
"R-really?" I said.
He grinned and said, "We should go back to the room and try to get some sleep. Besides, you have school in the morning."
"What are you, my mother?" I asked with a smirk.
He chuckled and said, "No but you can tell me how she died another time."
I nodded and he led me back to our room, keeping an arm around me the whole way. When we got back, we laid down and he pulled me close to him. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes. A few seconds after I closed my eyes, I fell asleep. But before I fell asleep, in those few seconds between awake and asleep, I felt Itachi kiss my forehead. I swear my eyes widened even with my eyes closed.
I woke up to Shay saying, "Max! Wake up! We gotta get ready for school!"
"Wha…?" I asked.
"Come on! Don't make me get Deidara to lick you." she said.
My eyes shot open and I bolted up right. I looked at the clock and saw it was five o'clock in the morning. I looked at the other side of my bed and that Itachi was gone.
"Where's Itachi?" I asked.
"In the living room."
"Why?"
"He said he couldn't sleep last night so he went outside and then just sat in the living room and read a book."
"Oh. Ok. So why did you wake me up at five am?" I said, rubbing my eyes.
"Because it's the last week of school. And we always wake up at five in the morning everyday on the last week of school." she said.
"Oh ya." I said.
I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I showered, brushed my teeth and hair, and put on makeup. I went out into my room to find Hidan sitting on my bed looking at something on the nightstand.
"Nice drawing." he said, looking at me with the most perverted smile I've ever seen.
"What drawing?" I asked.
He held up one of my notebooks to reveal a drawing of Itachi and Deidara. If it was any other notebook I would have been fine. But he just had to find that notebook. He found my sexy no jutsu notebook. It's the notebook I have that's filled with nothing but drawings of the Akatsuki guys in sexy no jutsu form. And he just happened to flip to the drawing of Itachi and Deidara.
"Give me that notebook!" I yelled, running at him.
He got up and ran out of my room and down the stairs. I ran after him. I chased him through the whole house. The chase finally ended in the back yard when I jumped on his back. He fell on the ground and I grabbed the notebook out of his hand. I got up of him and walked back into the house. I walked back up to my room to see Shay sitting on my bed waiting for me.
"He found your sexy no jutsu notebook didn't he?" she asked.
I nodded and sat down next to her.
"He opened to the picture of Itachi and Deidara too." I said.
She laughed.
"So what happened last night between you and Itachi?" she asked.
I looked at her in surprise.
"What?! What do you mean what happened?" I said.
"On the roof. I heard you two talking when I got up to go to the bathroom." she said.
I blushed and said, "I told him about the tattoos I have and the meaning behind the one on my arm." I said.
"Did you get nerves with the one on your stomach?" she asked.
I nodded.
"K. What else did you tell him?" she said.
"I told him about Daisuke and how he died. I also told him about how he and Daisuke were alike." I said looking at the floor.
"How are they alike?" she said, with a device smile .
"Well, there's what I told him: he's funny, he can eat a lot, he's strong, he can make me feel better when I feel like shit, and I feel safe around him." I said.
"M-hm. And how else?" she asked.
"Well, that's really all the ways except for that he's smart like Daisuke."
"Ok. Now tell me. What do think about him?" she said.
"He's funny, cute, sweet, gentile (No dirty thoughts ya perverts), thoughtful. He's not pushy. He asks before doing something. He's a gentlemen. He's strong. He actually cares about me and how I feel. And I like him. Not just friend like him. Like, like him." I said.
I was now staring out the window with a dreamy look on my face. So of course I didn't notice what was going on behind me until Shay tapped my shoulder.
"Max. There's someone who wants to talk to you." she said.
I turned around and saw Itachi standing in the door way.
"How much did he hear?" I asked her quietly.
"All of it." she said, smiling.
I groaned. This is the last thing I wanted to happen.
"I'm just gunna… ya." she said then left and closed the door.
Shay's P.O.V
I listened to Max go on and on about Itachi when I heard someone clear their throat. I turned around to see Itachi leaning against the doorframe.
"How long have you been there?" I asked him.
"Well, I've been standing in the doorway for about forty-five seconds and was outside the door for a good minute or two." he said with a smile.
"So you heard the whole thing?" I asked, smirking.
He nodded.
"You know she's gunna kill you right?" I laughed
"I know." he said.
"Alright. Max. There's someone who wants to talk to you." I said and tapped her shoulder.
She turned around and saw him in the doorway.
"How much did he hear?" she asked.
"All of it." I said.
She groaned.
I said, "I'm just gunna… ya." and left and shut the door behind me.
Let's give 'em a little privacy shall we.
Max's P.O.V
'I can't believe she just left me to talk to him alone. I'm gunna kill her.' I thought. Then I turned my attention back to the cute ninja standing in front of me.
"So you heard everything?" I said, looking at the floor.
"Ya." he simply said.
I sighed and sat on the window seat. He came over and sat next to me. I blushed remembering what I said. He heard me say I thought he was cute. And he heard he say that I like him! It's so embarrassing!
"I think your cute too." he said.
I looked at him like he said something crazy like 'hey, let's take Kisame to a sushi restaurant.'
"Y-you d-do?" I asked.
"Ya. And ya know what?" he said.
"W-what?" I asked blushing.
He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him. He turned so he was sitting on an angle on the window seat. He pulled me on top of him. I turned about three more shades of red. He had both arms around my back and I had my arms on his chest. He was looking straight into my eyes. I looked into his dark grey eyes. I never really noticed how amazing his eyes were. Then I realized how close our faces were. Our faces were only inches away from the other.
"I like you too." he said quietly.
"R-r-really?" I said, turning another three shades of red.
"You don't believe me?" he said smiling a little.
"Well… it's not that I don…" I started to say, but was cut off.
He didn't say anything to cut me off. He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. My eyes widened, then they slid closed and I kissed him back. His mouth opened a little and his tongue touched my lips. I opened my mouth and let his tongue into my mouth. It explored my mouth. I felt it run over the back of my teeth then it came down to my tongue. Then it withdrew and he tried to get my tongue into his mouth. I did hesitantly, but still, I did. I explored his mouth for a little. Then there was a knock on my door.
"Max?" Shay said.
We broke apart and looked at the door nervously. Luckily, she didn't open the door.
"Ya?" I called nervously.
"Are you guys ok? You've been in there a while." she said.
We looked at each other and let out sighs of relief.
"Ya. We're fine." we said together.
"Ok. Well, you might want to join us down stairs before they start thinking… stuff." she said laughing.
"Ok. We'll be out in a few minutes." I said.
"K." she said.
When we were sure she was out of ear shot, we both started laughing.
"That was close." he laughed.
"I know, right." I laughed back.
"So, we telling anyone about this?" he said.
"Hmm… let's keep it between us for now and try not to get caught. It'll be our little secret. K?" I said with a smile.
"Ok." he said and kissed me again.
We got up and went down stairs to get something to eat. We went to the kitchen and ate. Then we went to the living room. By now it was six-thirty. No one was up but us and Shay, who was waking up Deidara. Or should I say, trying to wake him up. But he's a heavy sleeper. I swear to Jashin that a bomb could go off and he wouldn't wake up (A/N: Pardon my joke). I offered to bite him but she said no. She kissed his cheek and it woke him up. Around six forty-five, I went to wake up A.J. and Hidan. When I went in, they were laying on the bed under the blanket. I went over and shook her shoulder.
"Come on A.J., wake up. It's a new day. Get up and face the world." I said.
She just rolled over and hugged Hidan. He put his arm around her. I wacked her upside the head.
"Wake up!" I said.
She woke up and looked at me.
"What do you want?" she asked, snuggling into him more.
"It's time to get up and get ready for school." I said.
"School?" she said.
"Ya. It's Monday. Now get up." I said.
She sat up and I saw what she was wearing. All she was wearing was her bra and underwear.
"Wake him up again too will ya. And tell him not to go back to sleep." I said, walking out of the room and shutting the door.
When I got into the hall way I cringed and shuttered. I shook my head and went down stairs. In the living room, Sasori and Kiki were sitting on the couch arguing with Deidara about how they both think he's wrong and that art is eternal. Shay was showing Itachi something on the computer and he was holding back laughter and Tobi and Zetsu were having a conversa ─ Wait! Shay was showing something to Itachi on the computer and he was trying not to laugh?! What the hell was she showing him?! I walked over and looked over his shoulder at the screen. My face turned red as a saw what was on it. She was showing him my deviant art page. And she was showing him all of my Itachi, Deidara, Hidan, Sasori, and Tobi/Madara pictures in my favorites. I just about fell over about to have a heart attack. Then she pulled out THE NOTE BOOK. I was gunna kill her. She was showing him my sexy no jutsu note book. That was it he started laughing so hard he fell on the floor next to me. I was still twitching from the shock of betrayal. She swore she wouldn't show it to anyone! The other three stopped arguing to see what was going on.
"Oh my Jashin! Itachi's laughing! He never laughs! Shay, what did you do?!" Kiki said.
She held up the now closed note book. The cover read: sexy no jutsu.
"Sexy no jutsu? What the hell is that, un?" Deidara asked.
"You don't want see and you don't want know." Kiki said.
"Why not?" Sasori asked.
They got up and went over to Shay.
"Don't say I didn't worn ya." Kiki said as Shay opened the note book.
The first drawing in the note book was of Sasori and Deidara in… well… to put it in a, ah, non-perverted way, sexy poses. Kiki just whistled. The boys looked uncomfortable. Shay turned the page to a Pein and Tobi drawing. They started laughing. Then A.J. and Hidan came into the living room, followed by Kakuzu and Kisame. They came over and started laughing. Then Tobi and Zetsu came over. They started laughing as well. Then the worst thing happened. Pein and Konan came into the room. Shay quickly turned the page to a, not much better, but better than one of Pein, drawing of Kisame and Hidan. They came over and Konan started laughing and Pein just smiled. I finally stopped twitching and Itachi stopped laughing so hard, so he stood up and helped me up. We stood up just in time to see Shay turn the page to the drawing Hidan had found early that morning, the one of Itachi and Deidara. The pose they were in was Deidara had his right arm around Itachi's shoulders, and Deidara's mouth was licking Itachi's cheek. Itachi had a discussed/ nerves/ scared look on his face. Deidara had his left hand up in a slight wave, and both his mouth and his hand mouth were grinning evilly. Oh! And don't forget that they're in sexy no jutsu form, so they weren't wearing any clothes. All they had were these tiny little clouds in front of their, uh… man spot. I saw the page and felt several pairs of eyes that belonged to the Akastuki. I heard Deidara and Itachi both start laughing. Even Pein started laughing. My face flared dark, dark, dark scarlet. I was so embarrassed about this. And you know it's bad when Pein falls over laughing. Then something bad happened. I started to fell light headed. Then I got dizzy. Then there was a feeling of falling for a second, then I was caught and blacked out. While I was out, I had a strange dream.
Max's Dream
I was laying on something soft, and whatever was, it was all around me. I opened my eyes and looked around. I was laying in the grass in a meadow. I had no idea where I was. I tried to sit up but something was around my waist restricting my movement. I looked over my shoulder at the ground. Or at least what should have been the ground. But it was a metal table. I looked around again at my surroundings. Where the trees and flowers had been, were cabinets and needles on tables and vials of unknown liquids. And the blue sky had been replaced by stone walls. I looked down at my abdomen and saw a black band that was attached to the table. She saw the way it sat against the white fabric of her short sun dress. Wait! Sun dress?! I never wore sun dresses! Or any kind of dress unless I have to! And let alone in the color white! It didn't go with my violet eyes, black hair that ended half way down my back, and tan skin! And I also hate the color white! It shows every little flaw! Every imperfection! That's why I wear only black or dark colors! I stopped fussing over what I was wearing when movement caught my eye. I looked to the right to see a green and purple snake slithering along the floor towards the table I was strapped to. I tried to figure out why there was a purple and green snake in here. And where was here anyway? Then a thought occurred to me; this snake looks a hell of a lot like the snake that Orochimaru had. And this room reminds me of the lab that he ran medical test on subjects. And then I noticed the dark figure drawing near. It almost looked like a scene from a Naruto fanfic where Orochimaru was coming to either A) preform dangerous experiments without Kabuto Yakushi, his medical ninja sidekick, at his side to make sure he doesn't kill the subject B) eat said subject or C) rape said subject even if female. (A/N Yes. I did say even if female because everyone knows that Orochimaru is gay.) (A.J. A/N Ha ha! Gay.) Then the worst possible person was reviled from the shadows. 'Well I'll be smurfed' I thought. The figure that was coming towards me in the shadows was him. Orochimaru had been the figure! It had indeed looked like his snake because it was his snake, and it had looked like the lab at his hide out because it was his lab! Then I felt something slither across my thigh. I squeaked and looked down at my leg. The purple and green snake was slithering across my thighs and was totally invading my personal space. I mean really. I know it was Orochimaru's snake, but still! Had it ever heard of boundaries? Then I felt an even worse felling. A hand was pressed against my right boob. I yelped and looked up to see it was Orochimaru. Ok, I was pretty sure he was going to rape me now. His hand ran down my stomach to my more privet area. I screamed as loud as I could and closed my eyes. Then I heard a dull thud, the band around my waist disappear, and I was lifted off the table. I struggled and wiggled in my captors grip because I figured it was Kabuto or another one of Orochimaru's cronies.
"Max! Stop struggling!" a familiar, deep, soothing, seductive voice said.
I stopped mid wiggle and opened my eyes only to be greeted by long black hair tickling my face. Then I was graced with an amazing sight…Itachi smiling down at me. He was carrying me bridal style while running. I looked up straight into his dark grey eyes and flung my arms around his neck. I looked over his shoulder and saw a stone wall and an opening. I realized he came to get me out of Orochimaru's grip.
"Itachi… thank you for taking me away from that gay pedo bear and that hell hole of a hide out." I said, tears coming to my eyes.
"I would never leave you there. And I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner and you had to feel so helpless as he touched you." he said, still smiling but looking forward.
"It's ok Itachi. All that matters is that you came." I said.
I rested my head against his chest and started to fall asleep instantly. Then the arms that were holding me were gone and replaced by the same set of arms but in different places. And Itachi's distant voice calling, "Max! Max, wake up! Please! Wake up!"
End Max's Dream
I opened my eyes to see Itachi's extremely worried face looking down at me. He was kneeling on the floor with one knee on the floor and the other up supporting my back. He had one arm around my back and the other one was resting across my abdomen and gripping my side. His hand that was gripping my side came up to my face and he looked straight into my eyes, his own dark grey eyes full of worry.
"Max?! Are you ok?!" he asked.
"Ya. But… what happened?" I asked, putting a hand on his chest.
"After you saw the drawing in your note book, you turned dark scarlet and passed out." he said, searching my face and eyes to make sure I really was ok.
My face turned dark scarlet again from embracement as I only managed to say, "Oh."
He smiled and said, "You looked just like that." Then lowered his voice almost a purr and said, "And it looks cute."
I turned yet another shade of red and he smiled. Then the memory of the dream came back and sent shiver down my spine. Since he was still holding me in his arms, and my back was propped against his leg, he felt it and looked at me.
"You sure you're ok?" he said.
"Ya. Just had a really weird dream, that's all." I said.
He nodded and helped me sit up, then pull me into a hug. I hugged him back. When we pulled away, I saw the clock and almost had a heart attack again. It was already eight fifteen!
"Oh my freaking Jashin!" I breathed.
"Max?! You up yet?!" Shay called from the other room.
"Ya. And were going to be late for school." I called back.
"It's your fault." she said, walking into the room with Deidara right behind her.
I started to get up, but lost my balance and fell into Itachi. Luckily, him being so damn ninja, he caught me with ease. He was in the middle of standing up, so he was kneeling when I fell, so he stood up and pulled me up with him. I thanked him and then turned to the two blonds that had just entered the room.
"As-a-matter-of-fact Shay, it's your fault we're going to be late for school because you're the one that showed them the note book that you swore to Jashin you wouldn't show to anyone." I said to her.
"IT'LL BE BOTH OF YOUR FAULTS IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP AND START MOVING!" Kiki yelled from the kitchen where she was currently perched on the counter with Sasori waiting for the rest of us.
We instantly shut up because we knew when Kiki yelled like that, she was pissed. We looked at each other and ran upstairs to grab our backpacks. When we got back down stairs, A.J. and Kiki were standing by the door waiting for us. When they saw us coming, they said good bye to Hidan and Sasori, then headed out the door to A.J.'s car. Shay said good bye to Deidara and kissed him on the cheek. She went out the door and Die-Die went into the living room. I made sure that everyone was ether in the living room or outside before I pulled Itachi over to the stairs. I stepped up onto the first step and wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips against his and he wrapped his arms around my back. We kissed for at least thirty seconds. But I finally broke the kiss and just hugged him for a moment. Then as I was about to leave, he grabbed my shoulder and lightly kissed my lips before pushing my gently out the door and told me to have fun at school.
"Yes mom." I said sarcastically.
"Love you." he said, just loud enough for me to hear.
"Love you too Itachi." I said, walking towards A.J.'s tan camo military hummer.
I got into the back seat with Shay and closed the door, waving at Itachi through the open window. He smirked and raised one hand, then closed the front door.
"Took ya long enough." A.J. said.
"Oh shut up and drive the damn car." I said.
"Hummer." she corrected.
"I don't give a shit what it is, just drive the damn thing before we're even more late than we already are." I said annoyed.
She looked at the clock and yelled, "OH MY FREACKIN JASHIN!" put the car in drive and floored it.
"SHIT!" we all yelled except for A.J.
We made it to school early somehow, but the three of us that weren't driving fled the military hummer in a hurry. We all had lockers in a row and every class together, so we went to our lockers and then our first period class… math. We all do pretty well in math, but none of us were top of the class. This was one of the few things that we had in common when it came to school. But we did excel in our own individual subjects, me, forensic science, A.J., physics, Kiki, writing, and Shay, reading. We all are fairly good at tech class and art. Kiki sucks at wood shop, so it's a good thing Sasori likes her so much. We all rock at music class. Well, I didn't want to admit it but I'm the worst in math. The next class we had was writing. That went well for us. Then we had science. I was awesome. The others did well. Then we had gym. We all did better that we had done the rest of the year because of the taijutsu training we had gone through. Then reading. We all did well. Then we had lunch. Yay. Then social studies. All did fairly well. And at the end of the day, we had music class! It was just the four of us because the rest of the class was seniors and they had already ended school. Lucky shits. Anyway, so at my school, we have guitars, drums, and microphones. So we practice our favorite songs on whatever instrument(s) we played. But we still just wanted to get home to the Akatsuki. So when the final bell rang, we ran to our lockers and to the big ass hummer. We got in and drove home. When we pulled into the drive way, A.J. had just brought the hummer to a stop when we ripped the doors open, jumped out, and ran to the door. We got to the door and if it wasn't unlocked, we probably would have broken the door down trying to get to our guys. We ran into the house, down the hall, into the living room, and straight to our ninja. Shay ran straight into Deidara's out stretched arms, and into a huge bear hug. Kiki ran over to the chair Sasori was sitting in, and he sensed that she was tense, so as soon as she was in arm's length, he pulled her onto his lap and held her there. Itachi was sitting on the couch by himself, so I jumped over the arm and crawled over to him. As soon as I put a hand on his leg, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to him.
"The car ride that bad?" he asked.
"Well, they're here aren't they?" Sasori said.
"We made it here alive and without a ticket. But it was bad." I said, snuggling into Itachi's chest.
Then A.J. walked in and over to Hidan who pulled her down onto his lap. We sat there for a while when we got hungry. So I made dinner, and we ate. But then Hidan struck one of my nerves.