Chapter 7

Kiikame slowly rose from her quiet morning meditation.

She really enjoyed being out here alone in the forest, it calmed her in ways she couldn't achieve any other way.

The sun was just beginning to rise above the rolling hills. The many trees filtered the golden rays through their leaves and branches, splashing patterns of warmth on Kiikame.

Inhaling deeply, Kiikame began to walk back into Konoha feeling relaxed.

Before she set foot on the streets, Kiikame spotted a certain Uchiha walking through the town with his younger brother, Sasuke.

'Crap! I hope he didn't see me!' Kiikame thought, hiding quickly behind some nearby bushes.

Ever since the almost kiss incident at the hospital with Itachi a few days before, Kiikame was incredibly conflicted and confused about her feelings for Itachi.

She needed time to figure this out, to be in complete control. She needed to evaluate the situation and decide what to do before something else happened.

"Kiikame."

Startled, Kiikame whirled around to be face-to-face with none other than Shisui.

"Shisui! God, you scared me! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kiikame stuttered, clearly flustered and embarrassed.

Ignoring her comment, Shisui looked at Itachi and Sasuke.

"So…You and Itachi, huh?"

"No! It—it's not like that at all! I-I-"

"You what?" Shisui was grinning now, a mischeivious gleam in his eyes, "You were just watching Itachi from the bushes?"

He won this time around. Kiikame sighed.

"Alright, alright Shisui, you win. What do you want?"

"I want you to just admit it."

"Admit what?!"

"Admit you have feelings for Itachi."

Kiikame stopped, her face turning tomato red.

"Look, I don't care. I think you both are cute. You and Itachi would be a wonderful match," said Shisui, sincerity in his eyes, "I'll let you in on a little secret…Come closer—"

Kiikame leaned in, only to feel a blast of hot air in her ear moments later.

"Gotcha!"

"Shisui! Not funny!" Kiikame exclaimed, scrambling after Shisui, who had taken off running.

"You can't catch me, ice princess!" Shisui teased, leaping skillfully from building to building.

"Oh, you want a bet?! Get back here, you ass!" Kiikame laughed, chasing after him.

Shisui suddenly turned a sharp corner, and Kiikame tripped, skinning her knee.

Kiikame winced, she could already feel the blood seeping out of her newly acquired wound.

'Great, thanks Shisui!' Kiikame thought, irritated, 'He won't get away with this!'

Kiikame picked herself up, brushed the dirt off of her clothes, and proceeded to continue her heated pursuit of Shisui. But just as Kiikame turned the sharp corner, she collided with Itachi.

"Ooophh!"

Dazed, Kiikame lifted her head, only to find herself in Itachi's strong arms, his surprised ebony orbs staring up into her frazzled blue ones.

"Are you okay, Kiikame?" Itachi inquired, his deep voice like velvet.

"Uh-I—uhm…I-I'm sorry, Itachi!" Kiikame stumbled over her words, trying to speak properly, "I-I…I need to run…thank you!"

And with that, Kiikame got up quickly, avoiding Itachi's gaze. Blushing madly out of embarrassment, Kiikame ran in the opposite direction as quickly as she could.

"Hey wait! Kiikame!" Itachi shouted after her, but Kiikame ignored him, quickly losing sight of him as she disappeared into the nearby trees.

CLAP…CLAP…CLAP…CLAP

"Huh? What was—SHISUI! I am going to kill you!" Kiikame whipping around and pointing an accusing finger at Shisui.

He was smirking at Kiikame and slow clapping, leaning up against one of the trees.

"Well done, well done. I was hoping for a bit more, but it looks like someone got too embarrassed. Better luck next time!"

Shisui winked.

"What the hell are you trying to do?! This isn't funny, Shisui! And here I thought you were the mature one."

Shisui laughed.

"Oh Kiikame, you really don't know anything do you? Have a little fun for once! Lighten up, I'm doing this for your own good you know."

"How does this in any way help me?!" said Kiikame, exasperated.

"Well, you've been avoiding Itachi ever since we visited you in the hospital. He IS your teammate you know. You two get along so well, but you started avoiding him, so I simply took matters into my own hands."

"How does that have anything to do with—"

"I wanted to see how you would react when you ran into him without some sort of former planning," Shisui interrupted.

Damn, he knew her too well. Kiikame scowled.

"It is clear to me that you have feelings for him, Kiikame. You can't run away forever. Besides, I want all of us to continue being friends."

Kiikame looked down at her feet, embarrassed. She had been found out, but if Shisui told Itachi, it would ruin things.

'Itachi would never be able to look at me the same way,' Kiikame panicked.

"Shisui."

"What is it?"

"Please do not tell Itachi."

"Of course not! That is something you two will have to figure out on your own. Well, I have to go get ready for a mission, see you later Kii!" Shisui said as he took off into the morning sun.

'Wait, you "two" will have to figure out? Why did he say "two"? Does Itachi? Is it possible he—?'

Kiikame shook her head back and forth.

'NO! You cannot think of those things, Kiikame! Remember what you're here to do. You are here to become the best ninja you can, NO distractions!'

That evening, Kiikame came home late from training. Her muscles were very sore and she was extremely exhausted.

On the way back she had picked up some tofu, vegetables, and brown rice. She planned on making a green curry for dinner.

As Kiikame began to wash and chop the vegetables, she thought about some of her previous experiences with Itachi.

She blushed slightly just thinking about that one time in the forest a few weeks back…


Flashback


Kiikame raced through the trees, skating across ice that she generated, curving and twisting through the forest with grace and agility.

Itachi wasn't far behind her, and he was gaining on her fast.

Stopping in a small clearing, Kiikame waited for Itachi to fall into her trap.

Soon after, Itachi burst through the clearing, and Kiikame sent a huge icy blast around both of them.

They were completely enclosed in a dome of ice.

Manipulating the ice with skill and speed, Kiikame shot long ice spikes in every direction, trapping Itachi.

Before Itachi could react, one of Kiikame's ice clones shot up behind Itachi, holding a kunai to his neck.

"Gotcha, Uchiha," Kiikame's clone breathed, proud of her victory.

"Not so fast, Yukimori," said Itachi, smirking.

Just as the words escaped his lips, Itachi disappeared only to be replaced with a log.

'Shadow clone! How did I not see it before?! I should've known, Itachi wouldn't fall for such an obvious—'

All of a sudden, Kiikame's thoughts were interrupted by an enormous blast of fire, melting her ice dome.

Quickly jumping away, Kiikame scanned the area for any sign of Itachi.

"You lose," A deep, lilting voice whispered in Kiikame's ear.

Kiikame felt the sharp, cool edge of a kunai pressed against her throat.

"Not yet," Kiikame replied, turning into an ice clone.

The real Kiikame suddenly darted out of the forest, jumping into the air and aiming a powerful kick at Itachi's head.

Itachi's body disappeared, only to reappear behind Kiikame.

Catching Itachi's punch just in time, Kiikame stumbled back, giving Itachi the advantage.

Itachi swiftly brought his foot underneath Kiikame's legs, causing Kiikame to lose all of her balance. As Kiikame began to fall, she grabbed onto Itachi's shirt, pulling him down with her.

"If I go down, you're coming down with me, Uchiha!" Kiikame declared, as she fell onto the ground, giggling. Itachi laughed softly as well, looking down at Kiikame with his ruby red sharingan.

As Kiikame looked up at Itachi, she suddenly realized that Itachi was lying on top of her. Kiikame ceased all laughing and stared up at Itachi, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks.

Itachi seemed to notice this as well and went completely silent, slight surprise glinting in his red eyes.

Both stared at each other, not moving an inch, when suddenly someone wolf whistled.

'Shisui,' Kiikame thought, snapping out of it.

Itachi quickly got up, grabbed Kiikame's hand and pulled her up with ease, as Shisui came out from the trees.

"Was I interrupting anything?" Shisui teased, looking at Kiikame and Itachi.

"No! It was just an accident, Shisui!" Kiikame quickly replied, blushing.

Itachi nodded as if agreeing with Kiikame, but he didn't say anything. Shisui could tell something was up between the two of them.

"Alright, whatever you say, ice princess."

"Don't you call me ice princess, wheel eyes!"

"I can call you whatever I want to and there's nothing you can do about it, iceeeee princessssssss!"

"GET BACK HERE WHEEL EYES!" Kiikame shouted playfully, chasing after Shisui and shooting icicles at him.

Itachi followed them, laughing as well.

"Help me, Itachi! Let's put this ice princess in her place!" Shisui yelled over to Itachi, motioning for him to join.

"Don't you DARE, Itachi!" Kiikame joked, faking a look of anger.

"Hn…I think I'll just sit and watch."

"Oh come on, Tach, don't be such a buzzkilll!"

Before anyone could do anything else, a huge ring of fire encircled Shisui and Kiikame, forcing the two together. Then out of nowhere a long wire snaked around the two of them, pinning them together back to back.

"What the hell?!—"

Itachi walked in front of Kiikame and Shisui and smirked.

"I win."

"ITACHI!" Kiikame and Shisui yelled in unison, smiling.

"You always have to watch out for the quiet ones. They're usually the biggest threat," Itachi mused, winking, "Remember that next time."


End of Flashback


Hello everyone and Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Kwanzaa/etc. :)

I was hoping to finish a longer chapter, but I wanted to give you all at least one more chapter before I became too busy with holiday celebrations for a few days. Anyway, enjoy your time away from work and school, eat good food, and cherish your time with loved ones. I also apologize if my editing was a little sloppier than usual, I wanted to get this posted as soon as I could.

Happy Holidays!

-VampireKnightgrlKiwi