Naruto and any other characters that do appear in the Manga series belong to Mashashi Kishimoto. I am just borrowing them.
Mai and Kiku are my original characters.
"Stupid bastard." Thoughts are in Italics.
Kiku was happy.
The reason behind for her immense joy?
Mai smiled.
It was rare, considering the fact that: Mai was known for her blank stare and a frown that had marred her face in her three and twenty years. Through it was small, it was a lot more than her solemn sister had shown. It also seemed to make Mai younger and soften the harsh lines that was marked on her face.
The said gray eyed womans' cheeks were tinged with a slight peachy color and quickly move on to a different subject.
If one looked carefully, it wasn't too hard to miss how radiant it made the young woman.
"Shall we start?"
The young woman was still smiling.
This small success had lifted the green eye girls' spirit and the said girl, was currently bouncing and skipping around the story teller.
Even Konan, a woman who was sober and excellent at hiding her emotions, had a modest yet genuine smile.
Mai had sighed and stared toward the endless azure ocean. It was subtle yet, at the same time, glaringly obvious to see that it was difficult for her to vocalize about her thoughts.
Then she started to tell her life story.
"After Itachi called me..."
Mais' cheeks reddened and unintentionally pouted, to which the reserved woman smiled and the energetic girl snickered.
"Short..."
Standing in the room with a mass murder and a woman who probably uses her paper ninjutsu to kill: Mai wonders if she did something that the Gods found humorous and had decided that she was now their entertainment.
Uchiha Itachi had called her short and mocked her. It also didn't help that the man was undeniably attractive and made Mai warm and very confused. This man had made his way into her "fantasize-about-killing-in-the-most-painful-way-possible" list. Through the lists' name will in time, slowly changed and was titled the exact opposite of its' current name.
GOD DAMN IT! I really want to kill that man...
In the small room, the silence was quickly turning uncomfortable and awkward.
Konan slowly looked between the fuming woman and the impassive man, and decided the safest course of action.
Her hands quickly formed in to 'ram'.
"I take my leave. Uchiha, I trust that you will keep watch over her."
Itachi didn't change his expression nor give any indication that he heard the blue haired woman, other than a small nod.
Even before he had nodded, 'Gods' angel' had disappeared in a swirl of papers.
This now left a calmer 16 year old woman and a emotionless 16 year old.
Mai scowled and decided she had enough for one day.
"Where are you going."
She stopped walking, and turned her head.
"Up to the roof, Uchiha. I had enough for one day,"
With that she stalked out of the room and slammed the door.
Itachi stood still for a moment before he gave out a small smirk.
'She will come back.'
Itachi waited for a few minutes, before the door slammed open.
The womans' face suggested that she rather die than to be here, and her posture screamed irritated.
'Uchiha, tell me the direction to the roof.'
Itachi then decided that he would humor her a lot more from now.
"It's up."
The woman face changed from embarrassed to annoyed in a matter of seconds.
"I know that idi..."
She decided that calling him that would be begging him to kill her.
I am not going to die because of a moment of stupidity.
"Uchiha. I'm asking which way, since this building is like a maze."
Itachi just sighed and strolled toward the door.
He stopped before her and
"Since you are hopeless case. I'll show you the way."
Mai had to curb a sudden desire to strangle someones' neck.
She glared at the dark haired man and spat out.
"Just to remind you Uchiha, this is the last time I will ever ask for directions."
Itachi walked out the door, and Mai swore she saw a smirk.
Mai had to admit that the view was different but never the less, impressive.
On this floor there is also an electric pole's on the floor. Inside is rather dark, two members share a floor. There were about Thirty to thirty five floors.
The view showed many of this countrys' unique buildings, and Mai could see no end to those skyscrapers. The sun had set a long time before, and the moon hid behind the rain clouds this night. The light drizzling rain seemed to soften the gritty textures of the buildings.
Mai was quickly reminded that she was not alone, enjoying the light rain.
She scowled.
'The view could have been better if Uchiha wasn't here."
Mai had asked him to leave sometime before, but he ignored her demand. He was now sitting next to her, silently watching the rain and the view. Mai was tempted to leave, but she was no coward. She had never thought that silence would be against her, but then again she was sure that this week was the strangest in her life.
She would never say it out loud but she missed her home: Kiri-gakure-no-Sato. The salty air, the crash of the waves and the mist that constantly covered that area.
"I was under the impression that you hated the villiage of the Hidden Mist."
Mai wasn't able to mask her surprise and glared at her unwelcome vistor.
"I do hate that place. Who told you that."
Itachi chuckled and softly spoke.
"You just said that you missed it."
Mai was able to resist the urge to bang her head on something hard. She 'hmphed' and turned toward the rain and skyscarpers.
"I'm sure you miss Konoha too."
Itachi facial expression had not changed, but Mai knew that she had crossed a line.
'Oh uh...'
"Through I am curious to what exactly made you abhor your village."
Mai was expecting a change of subject, but not the question. She wasn't too sure what the word 'abhor' meant, but guessed that it had something to do with hate. She knew exactly why she left the villiage. As long as she was in the villiage, she was expected to sacrifice her friends and loved ones: a life of pain and solitude. She lost everything: parents, friends, her foster mother and her sister. Why should she give up her life that she swore to live for her sister.
Her sister told her to live her life, and she was going to live it as she wanted to. She wasn't going to lose her life 'for the sake of the village.'
No no no no!
This can't be happening!
Mai never wanted this to happen. It was supposed to be a simple mission. It wasn't even an C-rank, but the mission quickly turned turmoil. Her "teacher" and "comrades" had been killed by the rogue ninja a while back. She had let her guard, and the rogue ninja was going to send her to the afterlife...
...until her reckless stupid sister took the killing blow for her instead.
Mai managed to kill the ninja, but the price for her carelessness wished that she had died instead.
"You, stupid stupid girl..."
Now she was weeping, not even trying to hide the tear nor muffles her racking sobs. Her sister was supposed to live for so much longer, Kiku was supposed to out live her.
She wasn't supposed be be here in the muddy ground, stabbed in the gut and bleeding to death in her arms.
"Mai..."
A soft whisper came out, and a bloodied hand started to reach out to the mess of a girl.
"I am so glad, that you are alive. Though I have seen you have better days"
Even though pain, Kiku laughed. It was meant to reassure the older girl that she didn't blame her, but instead the sobs and tears increased. The snot flow also increased.
The pain was starting to fade, and so was her sight.
'I don't have much time.'
"Mai, I want you to promise me something."
Mai wiped her tears and snot with her sleeve and tried to talk, but her voice had died.
She settled for a nod.
"Promise that you'll live for my share too."
Oh Kiku, you just had to be so selfless.
The tears came back, Mai was able to choke out the one word.
"Promise."
She couldn't really see anymore. The colors were all slowly starting to merge into a dull black dome. Through she recognize the watery gray, the messy mass of blue, and the white speckled with dirt and blood.
Mai tore her gaze from her sisters' face, to the pinky finger that out stretched.
"Promise?"
Even now, Mai can still clearly remember her bright eyes, the childish hope, the slight grin and the light that was slowly starting to fade away. Though the steel had taken her life, even in the face of death she never gave into despair and pain.
Still, she managed to give a teary smile, and hooked her pinky around her sisters.
"I promise Kiku, I promise."
Kiku grinned and closed her eyes: never to open them again.
The warmth started to cool and her hand fell limply against her side.
"Kiku..."
Her tears came back, and this time she was alone.
Mai wrapped her arms around her deceased sister, and started to bawling up to the cloudy sky.
Kiku had died, yet her face still had a grin. In that moment, Mai swore she felt arms wrap around her: The presence said something that Mai knew Kiku had wanted to say, but had run out of time.
"You better."
"It's none of your concern."
She bit her bottom lip to stop the flow of memories, pain and sorrow.
'My heart never let me forget the pain.'
It never did.
She closed her eyes to fight the sudden icy grasp that guilt always seem to carry.
Itachi was looking at her, as if through he could see her spirits lower. Through she couldn't see, she felt his gaze: it made her immensely uncomfortable.
She stood up and started to walk toward the door.
"If you don't mind Uchiha, I'm going to my room."
Itachi just nodded and continued to gaze at where she had sat at.
Mai had turned the knob when she remembered something she had wanted to ask.
"Uchiha."
Itachi slightly turned his head, and looked at her with those obsidian eyes of his.
She lost her breath for a moment before she remembered her question.
"Is it true that you spared your brother."
When she first heard about that infamous massacre, she was curious to why he spared his brother only.
It wasn't like he loved his brother, after all, his parents are dead too.
Silence reined in that roof top.
She wasn't expecting a answer. Mai turned and had walked out the door when there was a soft spoken yet monotone answer.
"Yes."
She didn't want to ask why. Mai quickly shut the door and hurried down toward her room.
Had she been there longer, she would have been able to see a flicker of sorrow and regret, so much like her own.
