Hello again! So because I'm sleep-deprived and I'm having a very loopy sense of humor, let's play a drinking game! (and yes I was watching old episodes and specials of Yugioh Abridged...particularly the Christmas party where Marik and Bakura keep trying to play drinking games but with no success)..so every time Ari uses the word "shit" in dialogue or narration, we take a drink! Looks like it's going to be a party tonight! (and no, I'm not 21, and no, I do not support underaged drinking in anyway. That's just stupid.) Oh, and fair warning, things get a little steamy in this chapter, but its nothing too inappropriate! I promise! But if you can't handle people sitting around in their underwear then skip part of the ending of this chapter! Just saying! I rated the story T for a reason! ;) (Wooh, I am tired! Just ignore me now and ENJOI!)


Kisame

They trailed Naruto and Jiraiya for hours as the two made it to a hotel. Kisame was just about ready to take them both out, but Itachi was still refusing contact.

"No, Kisame, Jiraiya is one of the legendary Sannin. Taking him on even alone would be a suicide mission. We have to take this carefully," Itachi explained. Kisame eyed his partner carefully. Itachi had seemed a little off ever since they left Konoha.

"Ugh, alright fine…say, this doesn't have anything to do with you being sentimental over returning to your village, has it?" Kisame asked, slightly annoyed.

"I could care less what happens to that village," Itachi stated quickly, "right now our only objective is to obtain Naruto in our custody."

"I still say we could chop off his legs when he was asleep and be done with it…" Kisame muttered.

"Kisame. No." Itachi ordered, his anger flaring. This was unusual. Usually Itachi was the calm and collected one of the two.

"Oh, come on, Itachi! You don't need to get your panties in a wad over seeing your old girlfriend!" Kisame groaned. Kisame was only half-joking with that statement. The reports did say that Ariala Drake had been a caretaker for this Uzumaki kid. And Itachi did seem visibly startled upon seeing his old teammate.

And interestingly enough, Itachi said nothing and turned away at Kisame's comment.

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so that's that this is? Ha! I never had you pegged as the romantic type!"

"Hn," Itachi grunted angrily. Kisame let out a billowing laughter.

"So you have feelings after all!"

"Shut it, Kisame."

"Ooh, touchy subject I take it?" the blue Akatsuki threw his hands in the air as if he were surrendering, but he prodded Itachi a little further, "I take it the break up wasn't too pretty after she found out what you did, was it…"

Itachi let out a really angry "Agh!" and stood to leave for the town Naruto and Jiraiya had stopped in. Kisame pursed his lips and sighed. Looks like he hit a raw nerve there…Kisame had a feeling that he'd pay for it later if he didn't apologize.

"Look, Itachi, I didn't mean it in a bad way. I was only joking…" Kisame offered.

Itachi turned back to him and spoke softly, "she never broke up with me, Kisame. That's the problem…"


Ari

Kakashi looked like shit.

And I don't mean, you-just-got-your-ass-kicked shit, I mean he looked so bad I wasn't sure we wanted to take his mask off or we'd see foam pouring out of his mouth type of shit. I had given Kakashi a look-over and decided that he was in a stable condition but we still brought him over to the hospital. Gai was still throwing a mild tantrum over the fact that he could have taken Fish-Sticks down, and Asuma, Kurenai, and I were all trying to get him to shut up. This incident needed to stay on the down-low. We couldn't have too many people finding out about this, the village was in chaos enough as it was.

And if Sasuke found out…

I shuttered at the thought. Sasuke was finally getting back to being a normal kid, living a happy life…if even the thought of Itachi Uchiha began to stir in his mind, there was no telling what would happen. And Orochimaru had already placed the Curse Mark on Sasuke. The seed was planted. All it needed now was water, and it was our job to make sure that the seed dried out and died before it could taint Sasuke.

"What happened to Kakashi?" Sasuke asked as he stepped in the room. I sighed heavily. Speak of the Devil…

"Food Poisoning," I lied, "what did you two eat at lunch today?"

Sasuke turned his nose up, "well, I warned him that the pork didn't look so appetizing…"

I held in a laugh. Phew! Was I lucky on that one!

And of course, as I thought to myself, my luck ran out when some moronic goggle-faced idiot came running in screaming, "Is it true? Is Itachi Uchiha back in the village? Is he really coming after Naruto?" before realizing that Sasuke was standing not two feet from him.

"Idiot…" Kurenai spat.

Us four Jonin all held our breaths and stared at Sasuke who shot me a nasty glare. I cringed as I muttered, "So….maybe it wasn't food poisoning…."

Sasuke's glared down at the ground, his anger visibly boiling over and I could feel his aura change. Here it comes…

3..

2..

1…

Well, he didn't break out in to deafening, incoherent screams, but Sasuke bolted out of the room faster than I could respond. I shot Sunglasses still standing by the door a nasty glare.

"Why don't you just tell the whole village while you're at it!" I snarled sarcastically as I ran out the door after Sasuke.

Behind me I heard the idiot shout, "good idea!" before Kurenai slapped him and yelled, "she was being sarcastic, moron! What part of 'top-secret information' do you not understand?"

I had lost Sasuke once I stepped outside the hospital. Itachi and Kisame were after Naruto (though I had a distinct feeling that Naruto really wasn't in any danger, what with Itachi's whole episode over his necklace and everything), I figured Sasuke would be leaving the village to find Naruto and Jiraiya. I sprinted in the direction of the closest down and I found Sasuke just at the outskirts of it.

"Sasuke! Stop!" I ordered. He stopped to turn back at me but kept running, trying to maintain a good distance from me. He ran in the opposite direction of the hotel district of the town—he obviously didn't know where he was going—and I got close enough and tackled him. But as I did, I realized it wasn't Sasuke I was following. I grabbed hold of its waist and Sasuke dissipated into a log as I collapsed to the ground. "That little shit!" I cursed out loud. Sasuke must've done a substitution jutsu before I caught up with him…which meant he was already scanning the hotels looking for Itachi.

Shit!


Naruto

It was just like that Pervy-Sage to leave him all by himself! And of all times too! He stared up at the two strangely dressed men in awe. The shorter one looked just like Sasuke and even had the Sharingan…what did that mean?

Wait a minute…Naruto had seen that man before…

"Ponytail Guy…" Naruto mouthed, recognizing the man who used to come over for dinner with Ari and Naruto. He and Ari were supposed to be famous for their tag-teaming, weren't they…?

"Naruto, you're coming with us," Ponytail Guy stated in a silky-smooth voice. Naruto stepped out of the hotel room still in shock and incredibly confused.

"Say, this brat looks like he's going to give us trouble, I still say we chop off his legs," the blue guy groaned. Ponytail didn't say anything, so the blue guy took a step forward, grabbing hold of his massive sword.

Uh-oh! Naruto stood there motionless for a moment, with no idea what to do. But as Ponytail spoke up, Naruto was given a few more precious seconds.


Sasuke

He ran in just as a blue man was aiming to attack the Loser.

But that bastard caught on to Sasuke's presence.

"It's been a long time, Sasuke," he stated.

"Itachi…Uchiha…" Sasuke spat. He had never before felt such an insurmountable hatred welling up inside him. This was it. He was going to destroy Itachi.

In front of him, Naruto jumped and took a step back. "Itachi…Uchiha…?" Naruto repeated, his eyes wide with terror.

The blue man turned back at Sasuke, a menacing grin on his face. "Well, the sharingan…and he looks an awful lot like you. Itachi, who is this kid?"

Without turning to face him, Itachi explained in a monotonous voice, "he's my younger brother."

"That's strange because I heard the whole Uchiha clan was wiped out…" Kisame thought out loud. Sasuke glanced over at Naruto who's jaw was practically on the floor. Then Kisame added, "…by you."

"Itachi Uchiha," Sasuke spat, lowering himself and ready to strike. He began to build up chakra to create a Chidori, "I hope you're ready to die. It's just as you said brother, I've fostered my hatred for you all this time! I've live my life for one single purpose." As the chakra concentrated in his hand and began to spew lightning, Sasuke screamed out, "TO SEE YOU DIE! It ends here!"

Naruto called out to Sasuke, but he paid no attention, his thoughts focused solely on the man before him. Sasuke threw his hand to the side, now heavy with chakra, and made a mad sprint towards his elder brother. This was it, Itachi was going to die!

Before he knew what happened, Itachi had brushed the Chidori aside like it was nothing. Suddenly, Sasuke was standing before Itachi, his wrist firmly in his brother's grasp. Itachi bent his wrist downward with an incredible amount of force. Sasuke let out a grunt of pain. He tried to pull away from Itachi but to no avail.

Naruto in response began to build up a massive amount of chakra, but the blue man cut the chakra to pieces like it was nothing. Sasuke couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The blue man sneered, "Sorry, kid. My blade Sharkskin cuts through chakra and devours it…we don't need this kid making a hassle whipping out any more jutsu. Forget the legs, maybe I ought to start out with those arms of his."

The blue man positioned his sword in front of Naruto, ready to cut him down. Sasuke attempted to wriggle his way out of Itachi's grasp but couldn't and Naruto just stood there like a complete idiot as always. Dammit…Sasuke was wrong, it wasn't Itachi that was going to die…!

But just as he went to chop Naruto to pieces, a gigantic frog appeared and blocked the sword. Behind him, a white-haired man stepped forward carrying a young woman on his shoulder.

"You two don't know me at all, do you?" the man said, "Should've done your homework! Jiraiya the Toad Sage falls victim to no woman's charm! Rare beauties fall for me! Like blossoms in a storm…it isn't in my nature to be dooped by the whiles of women!"

Sasuke stared at the old man, confused. Really? A toad sage? This was the really strong legend guy Naruto had been blabbing about for the past week? Geez, he really was a loser…

But it was then when his wrist snapped, and Sasuke crumpled to the floor.


Ari

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! SHIT! Where in the hell were they? I sprinted across town looking in every hotel asking if there was a guest who checked in as Jiraiya. And of course, I didn't even find the place until Sasuke's Chidori came exploding through the third floor of the one hotel I didn't check! SHIT! Have I said 'shit' enough yet to convey how pissed off I was?

I sprinted into the inn and up the stairs. God dammit! This was bad! And that was a severe understatement! I ran down the hall towards where I had heard the explosion. I paused long enough to see Itachi and Sasuke standing at the opposite end of the hall, and he had Sasuke pinned to the wall. I panted, observing the situation for a brief moment. Naruto was standing beside Jiraiya completely dumbfounded. But why wasn't Jiraiya doing anything? Fish-Sticks stood in front of the two allowing Itachi and Sasuke some "bonding time" if you could even call it that. Kisame looked up and saw me. He grasped the hilt of his sword and grinned.

"Well, if it isn't the little acrobat from earlier," he stated, "sorry, but your boyfriend is busy right now. Please take a message."

I jumped at that remark and then lowered my stance. I let out a growl…so he was going to hit me in that sore spot, was he? Asshole.

I bolted forward at top speed and Kisame attempted to take a strike at me. I leapt into the air and landed on his head, kicking him forward as I pushed off him, making my way for Itachi.

"I don't have time for you, Fish-Sticks!" I barked.

"Fish-Sticks…? Why you!" Kisame shouted back and swung his sword at me. He didn't attempt to cut me down, only through me off my feet so he could take me on. I slammed into the wall and fell to the ground. I then pushed off my hands as Fish-Sticks lunged towards me and kicked him in the face. I then leapt into the air and did a back-flip, landing on my feet behind him before I struck him hard in the pressure point in his neck with the side of my hand. Kisame fell forward and coughed. He glanced back at me with wild eyes, trying to summon ninjutsu but failed. "What the hell did you do to me…?"

"Blocked your chakra network," I snapped back at him, then punched him hard in the side of the head before I made my way towards Itachi. Kisame stood back up and attempted to follow me, but he was out for a good ten minutes at least.

I leapt into the air, bouncing off the ceiling as I came crashing down on Itachi, breaking him apart from Sasuke. Sasuke slunk to the ground unconscious and I sparred with Itachi for a brief few seconds, but I had finally tired out and he easily overwhelmed me, shoving me off my feet and grabbing Sasuke by the neck, holding him back up. He pulled out a kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat.

"One more move and I kill him," he said swiftly.

I sat up and glared at Itachi, spitting out some blood, "are you really going to do that Itachi? Can you really kill your precious little brother?"

"Hmph," Itachi looked away from me, his eyes fixated on Sasuke. I smiled to myself. Filthy liar was just bluffing. My Ita was still there.

Naruto finally grew beside himself and took off running towards us, "Sasuke!"

At that moment, Kisame had recovered enough to chase after Naruto. I grimaced. Oh crap…

But Jiraiya, being the life saver who only comes in at the perfect moments in time weaved hand signs and pressed his hands to the ground. Suddenly, we were surrounded by the intestinal wall of a toad.

Ugh…this was gross…

Naruto looked around confused and asked what everyone was thinking, "What the…? What's going on?"

Jiraiya grinned and stated, "Ninja Art: Toad Mouth Trap." Yes Jiraiya, thank you. That explains everything. I looked over as the flesh grasped hold of Sasuke and pulled him into the wall, forcing Ita to let go. The flesh then began to grow around Itachi's and Kisame's feet, trapping them.

"You've both just been swallowed by the mountain toad. Welcome, my friends, to the belly of the beast!" Jiraiya said, "He has a very sensitive digestive track, be careful not to upset him. Not the most glorious way to die, is it? It must be humbling to know that you've been reduced to toad bait!"

I cringed. Still gross. I went over and stood close to Naruto, placing my hand on his shoulder. Itachi looked over at his teammate and ordered, "Kisame. Come."

Fish-sticks staggered forward with a little trouble breaking free from the flesh. "Easier said than done," he spat back, pulling his Sharkskin free. The two took off down the hall of what was the hotel.

"It's useless!" Jiraiya called back to them, "a ninja hasn't been born that can survive this powerful stomach!"

I crossed my arms skeptically…the last time I heard someone say that to either me or Itachi it was Haru of the Venom telling me that no one had ever survived his poison. And look where we were now. So of course, Itachi took off with Kisame. Jiraiya sent a wave of flesh forward chasing after the two. I held my breath. Oh no…was Ita really about to die? Criminal or not he was still my teammate. And…I never actually broke up with him and I hadn't been out with a guy since so technically he still kind of sort of was my boyfriend…..

A few moments later we heard an explosion. Jiraiya leapt to his feet and ran towards the sound. Naruto and I followed closely behind. To our amazement, there was a hole at the end of the hall which led outside. On the edges of the hole and the flesh were small black flames. Jiraiya and Naruto both walked up to those flames, but I stayed back.

What were those? I had heard about secret techniques being unlocked from the Mongekyo Sharingan like Shisui's Koto Amatsukami and Itachi's Tsukuyomi…was this part of Ita's arsenal with those eyes? While Jiraiya and Naruto got preoccupied with what happened and how the two Akatsuki members escaped, I slunk away. I had more important questions that needed to be answered.

Questions that only Ita could answer.


Itachi

As they ran, Itachi could feel his body growing more and more fatigued. Having to use the Tsukuyomi was one thing. But using it twice? Itachi had never needed to do that before, and then he had to use Amaterasu as well. As a result his vision had blurred significantly. He hoped it was one of those temporary ordeals from exhaustion and not the Mongekyo being in a hurry to seal itself away. And of course, on top of everything he had to fight Ari.

Ari….she was as beautiful as ever. She must've hit a late growth spurt because she was a lot taller than when they last met. Too tall to be a gymnast now, but she was still a really petite girl. And she was strong.

But what surprised Ita most of all was the fact that she was still wearing that gold necklace which went with his.

They stopped at the next closest town that was out of the way from a path a possible search party would take. They took a breather in the forest just outside of the town, and as Kisame rested he began cursing and grumbling.

"God dammit, I need a drink," Kisame cursed, rubbing his burnt arm. His face was a little swollen and the side of his head was bleeding from where Ari had struck him.

"Hmph," Itachi grunted, "Calm down, Kisame, we'll get the NineTails later."

"You know, that girlfriend of yours is kind of a bitch!" Kisame spat, "the little shit doesn't even seem human! What is she, some kind of demon? That would explain her nickname at least…"

Itachi shot Kisame a nasty glare, "Watch it, Kisame."

"I don't even know why you liked her to begin with! She's a shithead! And you know what she called me? She called me Fish-Sticks! Do I look like a fish to you? Don't answer that! You have really poor taste in women, Itachi! I hope you know!" Kisame ranted.

Itachi groaned, "Quit whining. You're just bitter because you got your ass handed to you by a girl who is not even half your size. I warned you she was strong, but you didn't listen."

Kisame pouted, "half my size or not, she has a bad attitude…though I must say she's really hot."

"Kisame…"

"What? She's your girlfriend, you can suffer with her. I'll just enjoy the show!"

Itachi grimaced, "Ugh…now I'm going to need a drink…"

"Too bad you're still underaged!" Kisame teased. Man, he wasn't letting up. If Kisame wasn't careful he was about to become just like his new nickname: Fish-Sticks. Deep-fried Fish-Sticks. "I'm just messing with you, Itachi," Kisame grinned as he noticed Itachi started to lose his temper, "that's never stopped you before. I heard this town has a really great pub, let's go. We can forget about today."

"No thanks," Itachi said, "I think I'll pass this time."

Kisame raised an eyebrow, "you sure?"

"Yeah," Itachi said, deep in thought.

Kisame shrugged, "your loss. Just watch yourself, okay?"

"You too," and with that, Itachi turned and made his way to Konoha once again.

He needed to speak with Danzo and the other elders.

He snuck through the defenses yet again—it was even easier at night—and made his way to the main government office in the center of the village. He snuck down to the basement where secret meetings were held and treaded his way towards Danzo's office. He knocked on the door and stepped inside to see a shadowed figure sitting at the desk, but he didn't pay too much attention to it.

"Danzo, forgive me for the intrusion today, but I must have a word with you," he began saying as he turned a couple of lights on and stepped inside, closing the door. "And why do you always keep it so dark in here? I can't see anything—" Itachi froze as he looked up.

It wasn't Danzo sitting at the desk.

In the most professional way possible, eyeing Itachi intently, Ari said in a straight face, "Sorry, Danzo is currently out of office for the night. May I take a message?"


Ari

His face was priceless. If I still wasn't tense from the day's events and if he wasn't running around acting like a criminal, I would've fallen out of the chair laughing so hard! But instead, I leaned back into the surprisingly comfy office chair and placed my feet on Danzo's desk.

I had gotten into his office after an interrogation with the two advisors. I found Koharu and Homura working late in the Hokage's office again.

"Where is Danzo?" I asked bursting through the door. Both the advisors jumped and eyed me skeptically.

"He is out with Root. He won't be back until morning," Homura said, "Goodness gracious, child, what could you want with him at this time of night?"

"I need to borrow his office for a little bit," I said, "I know it sounds weird, but you have to trust me on this."

"What? What are you plotting, Ariala?" Koharu asked sternly.

"I have a hunch that Itachi Uchiha is on his way to see one of your three, and Danzo being the one in charge of Konoha's secrets and slightly darker side, my guess is he's coming for him," I said.

"Then what are you doing, wanting his office?" Koharu asked alarmed, "we need to send ANBU after him now!"

"Now, now, guys, no need to get your panties in a wad," I lectured, much to their displeasure, "we all know that Itachi is only here to talk. And I need to talk to Itachi, but that's not going to happen unless I can corner him."

Homura narrowed his eyes, "just what do you need to talk to Itachi about?"

"Oh, you know, the usual," I said nonchalantly, "just about the mongekyo sharingan, how long it'll take before Kakashi and Sasuke regain consciousness after being hit by the Tsukuyomi, the massacre and the deal he made with Danzo, making sure that there aren't any more ties to the Uchiha that are pissed off about the clan's failed overthrow…"

"You knew about their planned coup? Did Itachi tell you that?" Koharu asked, stunned. At that, my eyes widened.

"Nope," I said, "you just did."

At that, the two advisors exchanged fairly angry glances. Homura then asked, "and if you do talk to Itachi, then what? Regardless of what his orders were or were not, he is living his life as a criminal. He can't come back to the village. And if you are consulting with him, we'll have to treat you the same."

I shook my head, "look, I'm not going to run off with him or anything. And if my thinking is correct, all the intelligence that we have received about the Akatsuki's sudden movement in recent months has come from a secret source that's only communicating with the leaf. And I'll be any money that Ita's our source."

The two said nothing.

I continued, "so why don't we just arrest the guy that Itachi's been cooperating with then? Huh? And besides," I leaned in and whispered, "I think this village owes my family a debt. And we all know what I am referring to. I don't care whether what happened can be justified or not, you know what I am, and you know what I can do. I care about this village, but if you turn against me I will not hesitate to defend myself. And unlike Dad, you can't seal me away. You can't even kill me."

Homura and Koharu both exchanged nervous glances. They knew I was right. They then turned to me and granted me access to Danzo's office.

"Make it quick," Koharu said, "we can't have anyone catching wind of you speaking with Itachi."

"Understood," I said.

And then there I was, face-to-face with my old teammate. The Silent and Deadly were reunited again.

"A-A-Ari?" Itachi stammered in disbelief.

I spread my arms slightly and smiled, "In the flesh!"

"But how did you…?"

"Koharu and Homura let me in. They figured someone had to greet you," I explained.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "I don't understand…"

"Well, since you've been talking to Jiraiya about Akatsuki's movements, and since Danzo's down working with Root tonight, someone had to hold this meeting when you came in to give your report, right?" I said a cheesy and sarcastic smile plastered on my face.

Itachi's mouth hung open and he scoffed in disbelief, "how do you know about all that? Who told you?"

I grinned, "You."

At that, Ita shot me a nasty glare, his face turning beat red. He then lowered his voice and asked, "just how much do you know…?"

I stood up and paced around Danzo's desk, my hands behind my back before I walked up to the man before me and explained, "well, something about a coup d'etat the Uchiha was planning."

Itachi didn't trust me, thinking I was still trying to squeeze information out of him, "Oh? Really? And who told you that? It wasn't me because I know nothing about that."

"Actually, you do," I said, walking past him, "See, I got the two advisors with that trick earlier and they told me about the coup. So I'm guessing that's why you killed them. It was an order."

"Hn."

"Humming," I noted, "which means that's what happened."

"You don't know anything about me," Ita barked, shifting his weight back and forth uncomfortably.

I turned back around and shot Ita a nasty glare, "I don't think you're in the position to be accusing me, Itachi. Don't forget about the years of heartbreak and grief you've given me."

At that, Itachi shut his mouth and looked down.

I took a step towards him, placing my hand underneath his chin and getting him to look at me, "but that doesn't mean I'm still angry with you," I said gently, "all I need from you now is to talk to me. Just tell me the truth. No one is around and I'm not going to tell your secrets."

Itachi bit his lip, his eyes shifting around. "And why aren't you?" he asked, "why don't you hate me? I'm a criminal. I killed my entire clan, orders or not."

"Because I know how much it hurt you to do that deed," I said, "and I know that you still love me."

"I still love you," Itachi scoffed, "and what makes you think that?"

I placed my hand on his silver necklace and stated, "you seemed pretty worried about this old thing when it fell into the river earlier."

"Agh!" Itachi swiped my hand away and walked over to Danzo's desk. He leaned against the wall opposite from me and crossed his arms, avoiding my gaze. I shrunk towards the other wall and crossed my arms, watching Itachi intently. I had clearly put him in a difficult position, and I hadn't realized how upset I would make him with this confrontation.

I pursed my lips and muttered, "I've missed you…"

At that Itachi turned his eyes towards me, looking up at me with that same pitiful gaze he gave me the night his brother was born when he had been worrying so much about his family. Itachi had grown up. Those eyes were encased in a man's face now, but they still held the same innocence, the same gentleness, and the same kindness that didn't really seem to belong in a world of shinobi.

Ita then looked away and pushed himself off the wall lightly. He sighed heavily as his form pitched forward slightly, defeated. "I missed you too…" he whispered.

At that, I fought back the tears and walked up to him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and smiled, "you can talk to me, you know."

"Hmph," Itachi responded.

I glared at him, "god, I swear, your humming can be pretty annoying sometimes!"

Ita threw his hands up and backed away from me slightly, "well, I'm sorry, but this isn't exactly something I can talk about, you know!"

At that I laughed, "you're right, I'm sorry. But I really did miss you. A lot."

Itachi turned to face me fully. I placed my hands around his neck, running my fingers through his hair. Itachi gazed down at me, his eyes glistening. Slowly, he placed his hands around my waist and pulled me close. He then cracked a beautiful smile and joked, "even the humming?"

I giggled, smiling wide, "yes, even the humming."

This time, I pressed my lips against his when he was unprepared. Itachi jumped back slightly for a moment, but then he leaned back into me, pulling me closer to him. Our kiss became more and more passionate. My hands shifted around his neck, one ran down his side. His hands moved up and down my back, rubbing it lightly as his hands grazed lightly over my side underneath my armpit. He licked my lips lightly and I opened my mouth as we explored each other. I sat back on the desk and he stood over me, balancing some of his weight on me as I opened my legs up slightly to let him closer.

And then came the knock on the door.

We broke free of our make-out session and looked up, startled and our hair in disarray. A young Root Member's voice spoke through the wall, "Lord Danzo? Are you in here?"

The Root member opened the door and looked around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He walked over to the desk and set a stack of papers down, then sat down in the chair to leave Danzo a note. The entire time, Ita and I watched through the coat closet in Danzo's office, our bodies pressed up against each other as we panted heavily but silently. I masked both of our chakra signatures in case this kid was a sensory type.

*Well this is slightly awkward* I thought. Itachi suppressed a chuckle.

*Oh, I'd say we've been in worse situations before* he replied. I nodded my head to the side.

*That, my dear, is very very true.*

The root member left and we both spilled out of the closet. Ita sat on the ground and I placed my hands on my hips. "Well, I think we're done here…you wanna come back to my house?"

"Actually, I should probably get going," Itachi mumbled, "it's getting late and I left Kisame at the bar…and I'm sure half of Konoha is after my head right about now."

I sighed, frowning and said, "Alright. Well, be careful."

Noticing my disappointment, Itachi stood up and clasped my hand, "I can walk you home if you want, though."

I shook my head, "Ita, I'm fine. Thanks for the offer though, you worry about yourself."

"You never let me walk you home," Ita pouted, "and besides, that wasn't an offer."

I eyed Ita curiously, but he scooped me into his arms holding me bridal-style and dashed out of the office. I wasn't used to being carried and Ita ran, hopping from building to building with such speed I had to hold in a few screams. He landed at my doorstep and I quickly unlocked the door and brought him in. We went straight up to my room, avoiding windows and sat on my bed like we used to.

"I thought you had to go," I said.

"I do," Ita began, "but I need to take in this moment first. I probably won't see you again unless it's on the battlefield…"

I frowned and looked down. He had a point. This would probably be the last time we spent together as anything other than enemies. What we didn't know yet, however, was that we were actually about to see a lot of each other, and our love was about to grow and blossom more than we had ever imagined. And for a few short years, we would be able to find a way to live in a secret peace together.

With nothing better to think of, I pulled out the scrapbook I had been working on and showed Ita what I had put together. By this point, the book was just over half-full and was filled with mostly Naruto and Sasuke by this point. I caught Ita up on every event that happened with those two, and Ita listened intently, practically living each moment as I told my stories.

"So Orochimaru gave Sasuke the Curse Mark, huh?" Itachi asked, frowning. His eyes were sad as he said, "when he was still with Akatsuki, Orochimaru tried to steal my body for my eyes. I'd imagine he'll attempt the same with Sasuke."

I grimaced as he spoke, "Ita, think about what you just said there…"

Ita thought hard as he calculated for a brief moment and then grimaced, groaning, "Oh, Ari! Not like that! Ugh, you know what I mean!"

At that I giggled lightly and grinned, "haha! I know, I'm just messing with you."

Itachi chuckled and smiled back at me, "you have such a pretty smile, you know that? You should smile this big more often."

I chuckled lightly and shook my head, "you think so? Well, I really only smile this much when I'm with you."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, his face turning pink as he teased, "So is that smile one that you saved for me? I'm flattered!" He then leaned in and kissed me gently. I leaned back onto the bed as he positioned himself on top of me. We made out and attempted to push the boundaries. I unbuttoned his cloak exposing his t-shirt which he swiftly took off. He pressed his body against mine and I managed to strip down to my underwear, but suddenly my body raised all of the red flags when my shirt tried to come off.

I squirmed and let out a slight yelp and Ita jumped and pushed away from me. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, alarmed. I shook my head, panting hard, trembling.

"N-no," I said, "Sorry, I don't know what that was about."

Itachi eyed me suspiciously but I gestured for him to continue. We slowly got back into rhythm as he took his pants off and I wriggled my way out of my shirt so he was in his boxers and I was in my bra and underwear. But again, as soon as his hand grazed over my breast, I squealed and pushed him off me.

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I said, sitting up and placing my hands on my head. What the hell was wrong with me? This has been what I've wanted, hasn't it?

Ita hesitantly approached me. "Ari, I don't think this is such a good idea," he sighed, stroking my cheek, "I'm not pushing you into something you're uncomfortable with."

"No! No!" I whined, "I'm fine! I just…I don't know!"

I fought back the tears and looked down. This was Ita we were talking about! He was the love of my life and now I finally had him in my arms and I was ready to give myself to him, so why was I freaking out like this? Man…and this was probably the only chance I had too!

Ita smiled sweetly and said, "You may be ready, but your body isn't. We never even got to the other bases before today, and we kissed like what, twice? And we haven't seen each other in a few years, so it's natural, Ari. Don't worry about it. I'm not sure I'm even ready."

I fought back tears, furious with myself, "but if not now…when? Just when? You're a wanted criminal now! I'm never going to see you again, and-!"

Ita broke me off with a kiss as tears hung at the corners of my eyes. He pushed me down onto my back before he broke and whispered into my ear, "someday, my love. I will find you again and you will be mine, my sweet wild flower."

As he said that, my mind flashed back to that night where a dream of our little Hana came to be, and I thought of the sweet baby that Auntie Tabi had planned to give to me but had lost when she was sealed away again. At that thought I began to whimper and broke out into tears. I covered my face as I cried.

"Ari, what's wrong?" Ita asked gently, his heart visibly breaking as he watched me cry. I sat up and melted into his chest as he held me and stroked my hair. I cried and cried, but I didn't tell him about the conversation with Auntie. I didn't tell him about Hana. I couldn't.

"I'm sorry, I—" I choked, but shook my head. I couldn't stop crying and I didn't know why. Ita just held me in his arms and rocked me back and forth like a child.

"I know, honey, I know," he whispered gently, his voice shaking, "I'm sorry."

I felt like such an idiot. Of all people who should have been the comforting one that night, it should have been me. After all that Itachi had been through, he should have been crying in my arms. And yet, I was the one balling like a baby, being rocked in his arms as he sung softly to me with his rich and beautiful voice. Though in that moment, I didn't care about how stupid I was being, all that mattered was that I was in Itachi's arms, and I could finally let out all of the bottled up pain I held inside me for years.

When I had finally calmed down, I pulled away from him and wiped my eyes, "I'm so sorry about that."

Itachi smiled sadly and wiped a tear off my cheek, "don't be. Everyone needs a good cry now and then. Even men."

I nodded and leaned my head against his chest, "I love you…"

Itachi kissed the top of my head, "I love you too."

We remained silent for a few minutes before Itachi looked at the clock and sighed heavily, "I really do need to get going…"

"Oh shit, sorry," I cursed, wiping my face as I stood. I threw my pajamas on as Itachi got dressed back up in his Akatsuki cloak. I ran down stairs and grabbed leftovers out of the fridge and heated them up. I then plated them and wrapped them in tin foil before packing them in a medium-sized lunch sack and gave to Ita. "I figured you didn't have any dinner yet so…"

Itachi gladly accepted the food as he turned to leave through my bedroom window (it was safer than waltzing out the front door). "I'll see you soon," he said. I nodded, feeling a little uncertain. We then shared a long embrace and he held me tightly. As he pulled away, he kissed my lips gently, "I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled. And with that, he slipped away, and I wouldn't see him again for who knew how long.

Which for those of you who are wondering, it was actually only a month before I saw him again.