Itami's final goodbye
She stared at the picture then tears came. She new she had to say goodbye. She closed her eyes tight and sang,
"Of all the things I believe in
I just wanna get it over with
Tears form behind my eyes
But I do not cry
Counting the days that passed me by
I've been searching deep down in my soul
Words that I'm hearing are starting to get old
Feels like I'm startin' all over again
The last three years were just pretend
And I say
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything that I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
I used to get lost in your eyes
And it seems that I can't live a day without you
Closing my eyes
And you chase the thoughts away
To a place where I am blinded by the light
But it's not right
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything that I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
Oh oh oh
And it hurts to want everything and nothing at the same time
I want what's yours and I want what's mine
I want you
But I'm not giving in this time
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything that I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
Goodbye to you
Goodbye to everything that I knew
You were the one I loved
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
The one thing that I tried to hold onto
And when the stars fall
I'll lie awake
You're my shooting star (goodbye to you by Michelle branch)" Itami had broken down and was crying. The memories of the times she spent with Shikamaru flooded her mind. She knew she would never get over him. He was her first and only love. She knew that would never change. There was him she had to say goodbye to, like her team, her sensei, the whole village and everyone she knew from there because from that point on she was a rogue ninja. In her mind she was the Akatsuki's tool and she always would be. Yet, the one person she needed to let go of the most was the one she just couldn't leave, Shikamaru. She wasn't hungry but she was extremely tired. She rest her head on the comfy pillow and let sleep steal her consciousness.
The next morning when she woke, she changed her clothes and sat on her bed with Koinu. Suddenly, a knock came from her door. She opened it slightly to see her mum standing there. Itami let her in.
"Good morning, sweetie. Your farther is holding a meeting this morning and we would like for you to come," Konan informed her daughter. Itami felt safer around her mother, like she could be herself.
"Sure, what time?" Itami asked. Konan looked at a clock.
"Now," she said, grabbing Itami by the arm and the two of them running to the conference room.
In the room, there was a large table, big enough to fit all the Akatsuki on plus Tobi and Itami. Everyone looked at the two women that had entered the room. Itami was scared by the number of missing s-rank criminal nin.
"Good, you came. Itami, you can sit next to Itachi," Pein instructed. Konan sat in the closest seat in front and to the left of Pein. Itami sat opposite her mother and next to Itachi.
"Now that we're all here we can get this meeting under way. First I would like you all to meet or, in some cases, re-meet Konan and mine's daughter, Itami. Itami, tell me, do you recognize any of the people here?" Pein asked. Itami looked around the room. In a seat across and to the left was a man with a mask across his mouth with stitches that she remembered.
"Him," she pointed to the man. He seemed to smile. She scanned the room some more and saw a man with a wooden look to him.
"Him too," she pointed to the other man. She remembered Itachi and Kisame from earlier but she swore she could remember them from earlier in her life.
"Them as well," she pointed to Itachi and Kisame. She finished searching the room and found no one else she knew. She looked back at her father. Suddenly, a few memories from her childhood flashed through her mind. She could barely grasp onto many of the images but one stayed longer than the others. It was a memory of her dad and her when she was two or so and they were just sitting there, her in his lap and him holding her closer, they were on the ledge looking out at the village. She was suddenly back at the table with all the murderers around her.
"That's all the people I remember," she finished with a serious tone.
"What about us?" a soft voice above her asked. She looked up and saw a half black, half white plant man. Itami fake smiled badly.
"Should I?" she asked shakily. The plant man frowned and disappeared into the wall. She looked back at the people she remembered.
"You," she pointed at Sasori, "you used to make little puppets of me." The man smiled and nodded.
"That I did," the puppet man smiled. Itami smiled back.
She looked at Kakuzu and said, "You used to buy me anything I wanted. No matter how expensive."
"He fucking did what?!" a man with silver hair and pink eyes exclaimed. Kakuzu nodded at him, proving it was true.
"Fuck," the man breathed, awestruck.
I don't get it. Shouldn't it be normal for someone to buy things?
"Kisame taught me how to swim but refused to get in the water himself," Itami continued laughing at the shark man. She looked next to her at Itachi.
"Itachi, you were just like a big brother to me," she finished.
"Seems you do remember the people that were there when you were a child," Pein concluded.
"I do but, wait. Where's the scary, snake guy?" she asked.
"I assume you mean Orochimaru. He was kicked out; in fact, he's the reason you were taken away from us "Pein explained. Itami looked at her dad with confusion.
"When we kicked Orochimaru out of Akatsuki, he got mad so, he took you," Pein explained simply. Itami nodded in understanding.
"Now, the rest of the Akatsuki are Deidara," Pein pointed to a man with long blonde hair, "Hidan," he pointed to the man with swearing issues, "Tobi," he pointed to a man with an orange swirl mask on his face, "and Zetsu," Pein finished by pointing to the half white, half black plant man.
"Hey, do you wanna be a Jashinist?" Hidan asked Itami.
"Hidan!" Konan yelled. Everyone started arguing about Itami. She smiled. It was the first time anyone had really fought over her.
Maybe a goodbye is the best. This is where I belong after all. With my family.
She looked around at everyone.
All of them.