A/N: Ok, so I guess that I better clear some things up.

This story was rated M for later chapters.

I know it's been rather vanilla so far, but things will get a bit more interesting from here forward.

Sorry for the long wait, guys.

Enjoy the chapter!

(Oh yeah this is in Itachi's POV. Yay!)

Itachi didn't know what else to say to Kiyomi. He had been thinking about what he could possibly say to her for nearly two days. So for a few moments, they only shared a stifling silence. She eventually sunk to her knees and gasped out, "What are you doing here?" He didn't answer her, at first, as he didn't want her to know that something compelled him to watch over her. "I simply needed to rest, Kiyomi."

He looked at her curiously as she inched closer to him with apprehension, her bright eyes still wide and thoughtful. Throughout his time with her when they were young, he found, in the beginning, that trying to appease her by spending time with her was harmless, as he would probably never see her again. As the time went on, Itachi assured himself that teenage need is what caused him to want to be even closer to her.

Teenage need was an appropriate excuse, but now even he couldn't deny that she had thoroughly enchanted him. She was the kindest person he had ever known, besides his own mother. But he had always resented his mother, as she was weak and insecure and couldn't protect her own children. He hoped that Kiyomi would grow to have some sort of strength in her.

Regardless, seeing her again had struck a sensitive cord in his heart, and he wanted to speak with her, to feel human for a little while. Her look of shocked fear when she saw him nearly deterred him, as he didn't want to see her if she was afraid of him life everyone else. He followed behind her caravan for several miles, until this small, female ninja from Konoha tried to kill him. He escaped from her with only a flesh wound across his abdomen.

He took shelter in this abandoned shrine when he entered Konoha. He couldn't have imagined that she would have stumbled upon him, since people in this town think the shrine is haunted, and refuse to acknowledge its existence.

She sat close to him, her eyes still holding watchfulness that amused him. She looked him over slowly. "You're injured," she gasped quietly. He looked down at his hand, which was covered in the blood from the wound on his abdomen.

Kiyomi gingerly reached out and touched the wound. Itachi heard his heart thumping in his chest and sharply hissed at the stinging pain. "I have some ointment at home," she murmured quickly, but Itachi reached out and grabbed her hand. "Don't," he whispered. "You don't have to do anything. It's just a scratch."

She stared at him numbly before standing and jerking out of his grip. "I'll be right back." He nearly called out after her, but stopped himself. He stood, with a bit of difficulty, and hid in the rafters of the shrine. A part of him didn't think that she would go and tell people that he was there, but the rational side of him knew better than to trust anyone. He squatted lightly on the rafters for a long while, then heard her open the door.

She looked around the room, her arms full with something and placed the objects, that turned out to be a bowl, a few towel and bandages, on the floor. He watched as she cleared her throat and whispered, "Okami? Are you still here?" He felt an awkward twist in his stomach and decided to drop from the rafters; she meant him no harm.

"I'm here," he replied and landed gracefully in front of her. She sighed and smiled prettily. "I thought... Never mind. Sit back down, I'm going to clean your wound."

He obliged after removing his jacket and mesh shirt. He noted her face change shade and nearly laughed before sitting back in the corner. Kiyomi placed a rag in the bowl that held steaming water, squeezed out any excess water and softly dabbed at the scratch. Itachi groaned softly, his jaw clenched at the slight pain. She didn't speak as she cleaned the wound, rubbed perfumed ointment on his skin and wrapped light bandages around his torso. Her movements were slow and soothing and he very nearly fell asleep as she worked.

"That should do it. Do you feel better?" she asked. "Yes. Thank you, Kiyomi," he replied, curious as to why she refused to look at his face. Despite himself, he reached out and tipped her chin to make her look at him. Her eyes widened and sparkled in surprise. He watched her advert her eyes glumly and narrowed his own in disappointment.

"Why did you help me, Kiyomi, if you can't even look at me?" Kiyomi took his hand in hers and simply held it for a while. "I didn't... I wasn't sure if..."

"You were afraid of me," he stated darkly. The silence that hung between them was nearly stifling and dark with frustration. He didn't hate her in that moment, but his chest did ache with severe annoyance. He put up his hand that was covered in his dark blood and held it out to her.

"Even before I met you, I had blood on my hands. I had seen things most children can't even dream up in nightmares. At the end of the day, this is just red liquid."

In the next instant, she glared at him, her eyes icy. "You make it seem like life doesn't matter," she said sternly.

"Some lives don't matter. Some people are simply worth more."

He saw the swift flurry of her hand flying toward his cheek, but he was a shinobi; she couldn't hit him unless he let her. When he grabbed her hand to stop her from slapping him, she gasped. Against his better judgement, he pulled her close to him, and used his other hand to cup her chin again and glared at her fiercely. She was yelling before he could say anything.

"How can you say that?! How can you justify killing people because they aren't worth anything to you?" Tears started falling down her face and she spoke through rough sobs. Itachi softened his grip around her arm, but still held her face. "Kiyomi, I don't want to explain why I do what I do. I would rather you not know about that side of my life."

He nearly tripped on saying that, as there was no other side of his life, but he wanted her to believe that there was more to him than blood and death. In the same instant, he knew that he would only see her this one time because the longer he stayed around her, the more danger she would be in.

Regardless, he knew that he'd always have a soft spot for her and in another life, he would spend all the time she wanted with him. Like when they were young.

Itachi wiped her tears tenderly and let her rest her head on his chest. Her hair was soft and silky and nearly ticklish against his bear skin. "I've missed you, Itachi."

His heart jumped briefly when she used his name. He had missed her too. He missed everything about her. She had changed, and a part of him wanted to figure out how much she had changed. He didn't have much time.

Itachi felt his lips move to murmur her name, his mind betraying his deeper, unrestricted actions. "Kiyomi, I... I have missed you, too." Her eye lashes were moist and heavy from her former tears. They formed a black, inky frame around her clear blue eyes, which were dark with unspoken emotion. Her lips, when they touched his own, were warm, wet and soft.

He didn't have the will to pull away, as he should have, but found himself tilting his face to gently deepen the kiss.

This was wrong; it was so blissfully wrong. Kiyomi represented everything he could ever want, but would never have. She was a constant reminder of a past that only existed in romanticized dreams; dreams so vivid and vibrant that they caused him to shoot up, shrouded in sweat as if he had woken from a nightmare.

Despite the short time he spent with her, Kiyomi had become a beacon of light to him and a person he would gladly lay down his life for. And that is why he wouldn't compromise her. She, whether he like it or not, deserved a quiet, happy life; something he could never give her.

"We should stop," Itachi breathed out. Kiyomi looked at him for a moment, then caressed his face. "I'm sorry," she whispered, a soft blush forming on her cheeks. Itachi smiled slightly, her modestly amusing.

They sat in calming silence for several minutes until Kiyomi stood and brushed dust from her kimono. "Can I come back tomorrow? Will you still be here?" she asked, her eyes bright and hopeful. Itachi stared at her for a long while and fought irrational side of his mind that eventually won this argument.

"Yes, I'll be here tomorrow night. If you like, we can speak then." She smiled and gave him a short embrace. "Good night," she crooned softly, her fingers fluttering into a whimsically wave as she left the old shrine.

Itachi's mind was too fuzzy to focus on the danger he had just started. If they were careful, they could meet one more night before they parted ways.

The thought of not seeing her again hurt, but he was used to being alone. He only hoped she would understand and not resent him for their distance.

As the night went on, sleep took him and he dremt on the painful beauty he felt when he felt Kiyomi's lips against her own. In this dream, however, he didn't stop her from pulling him into a vice-like embrace and consuming him, until the warmth of her body felt like tongues of fire against his skin.

A firefly flitted by:
"Look!" I almost said
but I was alone.

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