Chapter Six
Yoshi stood poised in front of Itachi, ready for him to attack at any moment. By now, after weeks of daily training, she was more prepared for battle than she ever was. He held out his hand and waved her towards him. She had the shadow clone that she'd created without his attention attack him from behind with a kunai and her fists. She leaped up in the air, doing swift hand signs.
"Fireball jutsu!" she said, blowing a ball of fire from her mouth towards him.
Itachi's clone disappeared and she spun around before he could hurt her. Her sharingan flashed as she slid back, making herself aware of the chakras she felt around her. She no longer felt clones. She only felt Itachi, Ayame, and herself. She dashed towards him at flying speeds, doing hand signs along the way. Her clone leaped over him and reached his other side. She and her clone did a fireball jutsu on either side of him before he leaped up in the air just in time to dodge it. Yoshi was in the air flying towards him the next second, infusing chakra into her fists. The impact of her blow was so great, he hit the ground at flying speeds. Exhausted, Yoshi descended to the ground with her shoulders slumped.
"Wow," Itachi said, rubbing his shoulder, where he'd been hit, "You've gotten so much better."
She smiled. "Only thanks to you," she said gratefully.
"I told you two not go too rough," Ayame said, rushing past Yoshi to Itachi, "Yoshi, I'm making dinner. Go wash up and get ready to eat. Afterward, it's straight to bed for you."
"Yes, Ayame," Yoshi said obediently, turning towards the window and hopping inside. She set the table quickly as Ayame healed Itachi's wounds outside.
•••
Ayame knelt down beside Itachi, listening as Yoshi hopped inside through the window. She gave his shoulders a gentle push so the he would lay flat on the ground. She held her hands over his chest and shoulder, beginning to heal where Yoshi had hit him. Her gaze wandered and caught the sweet smile on his face. Her face instantly flustered and she returned his smile.
"What's that look on your face?" she said softly.
"I was just thinking about this morning," he said gently, "It was one of the best mornings I've had in a long time."
She bit her lip, feeling a deep happiness bubble up inside of her. She'd made an impact on him. How long has it been since she'd first fallen for him?
She giggled. "I wish it didn't have to be the last time," she murmured.
His smile faded and his gaze softly linked to hers. He reached up and touched her cheek. The contact with him sent sweet tingles throughout her body. She held her breath, listening to her heart pound. He traced the curve of her cheek down to her jaw line until he met her chin. His thumb extended out and touched her lower lip gently. She felt spellbound by him. The curve of his small smile warmed her insides.
"Who said it had to be the last time?" he asked softly.
Ayame's heart was pounding so hard that it felt as if her entire body was falling into convulsions. Once she could feel that the wound Yoshi had given him was healed, her hands fell on to his chest gently. He propped himself up on one elbow, facing her. His fingers fell on her cheek, his thumb sliding down to chin. He pulled her closer to him, leaning towards her as well. She held her breath once he was within breathing distance of her. The tip of his nose brushed hers. All she could feel was her heart racing. She closed her eyes when he tilted his head and kissed her. She clenched too handfuls of his shirt as she felt him sitting up. She pressed her lips hard against his, squeezing her eyes closed so hard that everything was turning white. She knew her heart was in his hands. She knew that he could utterly destroy her any time he wanted to. She knew that the only reason he still talked to her was because of Yoshi. She also knew that if he decided he didn't need her anymore, she would completely fall apart. She knew all that. And yet she was giving him the chance to do with her what he wished. She felt herself trembling as her fingertips traced up his spine to his shoulders where she held him tightly against her. When his lips parted from hers, her heart had gone numb from pounding. She panted, keeping her eyes closed against his warm breath against her skin. This was her slice of heaven.
Ayame opened her eyes just in time to catch him gazing at her, a deep look of affection coating his eyes, biting his lip. She wanted to kiss him again. His arms wrapped firmly around her shoulders, pulling her against him. She held on to him tightly, her body warm against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat. It was beating the same way that hers was. She took a deep sigh of relief. The things she'd been dreaming about since she was a Genin were finally coming true. All the wishes she made and the prayers she sent; finally, her whole life was coming together. All she needed was this man to hold it together.
"Ayame," he said softly, stroking her hair, "Why don't we... go inside? I believe Yoshi is waiting."
She sighed, giving him one last squeeze before he managed to slip from her grasp and get to his feet. He extended out his hand towards her and she took it, letting him pull her to her feet.
•••
Yoshi sat at the table, gazing at the freshly cooked food hungrily. She knew it was rude to eat by herself when the food wasn't only made for her. That's why she was waiting for Itachi and Ayame to return. Knowing Ayame, she was probably begging him to kiss her or something. Yoshi sighed, delicately brushing her hair away from her face. Finally, she could hear them approaching. She turned her head and watched as Ayame led the way in, Itachi close behind her. Ayame's cheeks were pink. Something had definitely went on outside, but Yoshi wasn't on to pry if it wasn't her business. Itachi sat down across from Yoshi and Ayame lingered on her feet for a moment before taking a seat beside him. They began to eat in silence.
"Yoshi," Itachi said, "There's just one more lesson I want to have with you before you start to train with Mari again."
"Good," Yoshi said, grinning, "I want to keep getting better so that I can beat Minori and Akio."
"Actually," he said, "It's not a training lesson. It's a lesson about your eyes."
"My eyes?" Yoshi said, her smile fading, "Oh, alright then. When will this happen?"
"After we finish eating," he said, "Before you go to sleep. I want to make sure you know these things. It's important."
"I see," Yoshi said.
Her gaze wandered to Ayame. Ayame was eating in silence, her face still flustered. She looked deep in thought, even a smile decorating her face. Quickly, Yoshi let her gaze fall to her food. Love was an emotion that she didn't want to ever interfere with her work as a shinobi. It was the reason why Ayame wasn't a shinobi now. If she hadn't fallen for Itachi in the beginning, when he'd asked her to take Yoshi in, she probably would have told him that it's not her responsibility. Instead her gaze lifted to Itachi curiously as she remembered the look he'd given Ayame before she'd passed out from her wounds after battling Deidara. Did he love Ayame too? Is that what the look on Ayame's face was for? Yoshi let her gaze drop to her food again. It wasn't her business so she shouldn't let herself get involved.
•••
Yoshi sat on her bed. Ayame had gone to her room to change and get prepared to sleep. Itachi closed Yoshi's bedroom door, leaning against it. He gazed at Yoshi curiously, as if wondering where to begin. She clenched the edge of her bed tightly, nervous as to what he would say.
"Listen, Yoshi," Itachi finally began, "There's one thing you should know about them. Although they improve your vision in all aspects when they're activated, you mustn't overuse them."
"What will happen if I do?" she asked curiously.
"Depending on how much you overuse them," he said, "You could go blind."
"I understand," she said, "Is this all that you wanted to tell me?"
"No," he said, "I don't expect you to achieve as far as I'm going to tell you, and I don't mean that negatively towards you. It's just that to achieve some power, blood needs to be shed. And I don't want you to taint your hands with the blood of someone who isn't your enemy. I'm going to tell you anyways, however. There is another level of the sharingan. Of course you still need to perfect yours before you can even attempt to obtain it. But it's an Uchiha Kekkei Genkai. It's called the Mangekyo Sharingan. Overusing it can consume great amounts of your chakra and result in your death. I'm not going to tell you how to obtain it or much else about it. You'll learn at your own pace. I just wanted you to know that another level does exist."
"Why won't you tell me how to obtain it?" she asked, "What if I'll need it one day?"
He shook his head slowly. "Yoshi," he said, gently, "You will never need that much power. You're already excelling so quickly. In just a matter of weeks, you're nearing Chuunin level. You will survive without the power the Mangekyo has to offer you. You're doing great, Yoshi."
"You really don't think so?" she asked, curiously.
"Yes," he said, "You won't need it unless you plan on rebelling, but I hope you never do that."
"I'm not going to do it," she said, "So then I guess I won't need it."
"Good," he said, stepping towards her and kissing the top of her head, "Go to sleep."
Yoshi nodded and laid down, pulling the blanket over her shoulders. As he opened the door, she called after him, "Good night."
"Good night," he responded before exiting the room and closing the door.
Yoshi sighed. There were so many things Itachi was keeping from her. Why did he feel the need to hide things from her? She wouldn't tell anybody anything if that was what he wanted. Her eyes gradually closed with each thought until she finally let herself fall into a deep slumber.
