DISCLAIMER: We do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, contrasting opinions, the phrase 'the plot thickens', friendly convincing...very friendly..., a scene that is a little bit more than fluff, etc. etc.

Chapter Ten: Time to Choose

"Deniizu."

Setting up her tent, Deniizu pulled herself out of her thoughts and looked at the speaker dully. Korii was putting up his tent right beside hers, she realized; she had been focusing so much on planning more training for herself that she hadn't noticed Korii's presence.

"What?" Deniizu asked, not entirely in the mood to talk.

"...What do you think about just now?" Korii asked after a pause, seeing that Deniizu would rather be on her own; normally, he would leave her alone when she was like that, but this time he had to speak to her.

"My father?" Deniizu asked, her eyes hardening while she hammered a tent peg a little harder than was necessary, "The bastard...I'll get stronger and beat him, just you wait."

Korii rolled his white eyes and calmly stepped on one of his tent pegs to drive it into the ground, in major contrast to how Deniizu was working. It was strange; before, he thought they had plenty in common, but now, he noticed they didn't even set up their tents the same way.

"I don't have time to wait, Deniizu."

Deniizu froze, then stood up and faced Korii properly. Korii put down his tent and stood formally in front of Deniizu, waiting for her to say something.

I know this is probably a bad time to think something like this, Korii thought, But I really wish she would put down that hammer.

"What do you mean, 'you don't have time'?" Deniizu asked, looking at Korii incredulously.

"Deniizu, think about it," Korii sighed, "All I'm doing out here is following you around. I'm not that useful here; I'm wasting my time crossing countries like this."

"You said you didn't want to stay in Konoha!" Deniizu exclaimed, realizing what Korii was saying, "You can't just go back now!"

"Oh, but I can," Korii shrugged, "And I never said that. I never said any reason why I wanted to go. I just followed. And now I don't want to anymore."

"You can't!" Deniizu protested, frowning and shaking her head; that hammer started to look very, very menacing, "We're almost a month's travel away from Konoha; you'll never make it on your own."

"...This isn't a discussion, Deniizu," Korii said, his calm demeanor the perfect opposite of Deniizu's anger, "I'm going to leave, whether you want me to or not."

He turned back to his tent, and Deniizu thought about what he said for a moment. With a sudden, triumphant smile, she realized a slight flaw in Korii's plans.

We're following my father, you know, Deniizu said into Korii's head, also resuming the task of setting up her tent, Every day, we'll be going further and further away from Konoha. Soon it'll be too far for even you to dare travel.

Deniizu smirked to herself, feeling that she had the upper hand, but Korii's next thought made her drop the hammer she was using.

Do you honestly think that will stop me, Denise?

The plot thickens...again...

That night, Deniizu was first with sentry duty for the small camp. Using chakra to walk up the tallest tree, she stood on one of its crowning branches, looking around the moonlit world and just thinking. She needed to think up better training for herself, where her father might go next, how the Ae Nai Akasaigo worked...and yes, she had to admit to herself that she thought about certain people in Suna and Konoha.

"Deniizu?"

Looking to the right where the sound had come from, Deniizu saw Itachi was standing on a neighbouring tree.

"Did you sense my presence?" Itachi asked brusquely, "Or did you let your guard down and I caught you by surprise?"

"I sensed you," Deniizu said quietly, nodding, "Did you show your chi on purpose?"

"...A bit," Itachi admitted, walking along his branch and stepping over to hers, "Are you all right? You've been quiet since what happened earlier."

"Yeah..."

Deniizu looked forward again, and Itachi saw that she was lying; she was still upset about her weakness. Standing right by her, he caught her up in a rough hug and nuzzled her neck affectionately, knowing it was something she enjoyed.

"Mm...what?" Deniizu asked, pushing him back a little, her hands on his chest while she looked up at him.

"You did ok," Itachi murmured, holding her close and speaking into her right temple, "You had no idea he was that strong. None of us did."

"I sucked," Deniizu grumbled, pushing his face away gently, "All I could do was twitch. Barely."

"You know that isn't true," Itachi shook his head, tracing the side of her face with an uncharacteristically gentle touch, "You weren't a coward, you weren't weak. You kept your head and didn't go into hysterics, which is excellent, considering the circumstances. We both know two black-haired kunoichi that probably would have reacted like that."

Deniizu frowned and tried to break away, but Itachi was strong; he kept her right where she was, pressed against him.

"You had no idea what to expect," Itachi continued, whispering into her ear with a tone that weakened Deniizu's knees, "But now we know his weakness. We'll have you master the Ae Nai Akasaigo. You can still kill him; you'll see."

Deniizu looked away for a moment, her thoughts battling with one another, then she sighed and let herself relax against him. Her head against his chest, she could feel the rise and fall of his breathing, his heartbeat...

"Itachi, thank you..." Deniizu snaked her hands up so that her arms hung behind his neck, "But, my love, I'm so sorry. I...I got carried away with Korii and...I don't know. I..." she looked up into his dark eyes regretfully, "I've forgotten you. Please, don't hold it against me; I've finally been free from stupid protocol, and I just wanted to...I don't know. I just...Itachi, please forgive me. I've been a fool, these last months."

Deniizu said it, half expecting a prompt response, but for a moment, she was returned with silence.

...Oh gawd...Deniizu thought, suddenly feeling sick, I was wrong. He'll say 'no'. Oh gawd I feel so stupid. I shouldn't have said all that! He thinks I'm just the biggest, most useless wimp now...

"...Perhaps," Itachi said finally, in a low tone that Deniizu hadn't heard in a long time.

All at once, Deniizu felt herself being pushed back, and she found herself pinned against the tree trunk behind her. Itachi took her hands and held them high above her head, also against the tree, and he leaned against her comfortably, preventing her from moving.

"But you'll have to convince me," Itachi whispered, his mouth moving against Deniizu's ear.

Deniizu laughed quietly, suddenly relieved, then gasped softly; Itachi could be very clever with his tongue.

"Come on," he purred, moving so that he could rest his forehead against hers, "One kiss. Convince me that you meant what you said."

"...What would happen if I don't try to convince you?" Deniizu asked coyly, twining their legs in such a way that made Itachi pause for a moment.

"I won't forgive you," Itachi answered, ...for more than one reason.

"And if I do?" Deniizu asked, raising her chin slightly in friendly defiance.

"...We'll see," Itachi answered, bowing his head down to investigate her neck.

"That doesn't give me very much incentive," Deniizu remarked carelessly, then her grip on Itachi's hands tightened for a second; Itachi had bitten her.

"Kiss or no, Deniizu," Itachi said, raising his head and locking eye contact with her.

Deniizu looked at him, a small, coquettish smile on her face, then leaned forward to meet his lips with hers.

"Deniizu?" a male voice came from behind Itachi.

Deniizu froze, recognizing the voice, then pushed Itachi backward and looked at the man behind him.

No...no, it can't be...Deniizu thought wildly.

For behind Itachi was...Itachi.

"Wha..." Deniizu stopped, a nonplussed look on her face, then completely let her anger take over.

She punched the Itachi she had been about to kiss, enraged, and the young man let her, staying unmoving where he was. The punch sent him reeling backwards, and at once, the illusionary transformation faded away. Korii stood in its place, nursing a growing black eye.

"Oh-"

Deniizu closed her eyes and swore at the top of her lungs in as many words as she could think of, in Japanese, English, and Romanian. It helped that the latter was one of the more notorious languages for swearing. A good minute later, she opened her eyes to see Itachi with one hand around the Hyuuga's throat, the other hand on the hilt of his katana, ready to pull it out and strike. Korii, however, was completely calm. If anything, he was trying not to laugh.

Deniizu muttered to herself, still in Romanian, then stomped over and put a restraining hand on Itachi's arm; the one with its hand near the katana.

"Just let him go," she growled, glaring at the unrepentant Hyuuga boy's face, "He doesn't deserve to die, but he doesn't deserve to stay with us for any longer. Make him go home."

"Very well," Itachi nodded, his voice hard, "Korii, you are no longer part of our group. Leave us."

Itachi shoved Korii away from him, but both he and Deniizu couldn't help but notice the triumphant look on the 17-year-old's face. Of course this banishment was what he had been aiming for.

"Thanks," the white-eyed boy nodded, with a small salute, "I've been wanting to go home for weeks."

Deniizu's hands balled into fists, but she knew it wouldn't prove anything to hit Korii again; the boy was so pleased with himself he was quietly laughing. When Korii had finally gotten out of sight, Deniizu screamed wordlessly and punched the tree trunk with as much force as she could muster; it snapped and the top of the tree fell away accordingly. With a groan, Deniizu dropped to her knees and refused to cry any tears of indignation and embarrassment; she had done enough to make a fool of herself with the real Itachi. Wordlessly, Itachi sat beside her, took her up into his arms and held her against him.

"What happened?" Itachi asked, taking the hand she had punched with into his, checking to make sure she hadn't damaged it.

"...I thought he was you," Deniizu lamented, looking up him defenselessly, "I...my love, I chose you."

Itachi blinked, but Deniizu continued on, trying to explain herself.

"He came up here, and I...I didn't even think that it was an illusion! I'm weaker than I thought! He...I was so sorry, and I wanted you to know that I hadn't meant to be such a bitch, but now it's all wasted because he...my gawd, I'm such a stu...mmph!"

Itachi covered her mouth with his, silencing her completely with the kiss.

"You chose me?" Itachi asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, I did," Deniizu nodded, holding his hand tighter, worried that he might pull away, thinking, I look like such a desperate...girl! Of all things, and have to be such a gi-!

Again, Itachi interrupted her thoughts, in the same manner he had before.

"You...are such a girl," he said amorously, a slight, rare smile on his face, "And...Deniizu, you're making me soft."

"No, that's not possible," Deniizu laughed quietly, then frowned, "You really are Itachi, right? If you're Kisame, I swear..."

Ruroni: EXCELENT! MY CHARATCTER HAS HER AWESOME TIM EWITH ITACHI!!! NEXT IT WILL BE MOR THEN JUST FLUFF IT WILL BE SUGGESTIVLY THEMED THEN DARE I SAY IT...

Esperwen: Ugh...

Ruroni: HENTAI!!!!!!!!

Esperwen: NO! These fics are rated T so that we can get away with some suggestive theming, but we're not going to make a whole fic end up with an M or R rating because of one stupid porn-esque chapter!

Ruroni: WAT ABOUT UR HOPES 4

Esperwen: Turn the caps lock off!

Ruroni: wat about ur pooriinxkiba and michikoxshino stuff??

Esperwen: That's none of your business! (looks at reader) OMIGOSH! (back to Ruroni) Great! Now they're either looking forward to or hoping against stronger themes! And, unlike Deniizu and Itachi, Michiko and Shino are being really careful and responsible with their relationship, and Pooriin and Kiba are trying to focus on the friendship part. My gosh! Just because your characters are the way they are, doesn't mean my characters have to be!

Ruroni: u make that sound lik a good thing

Esperwen: Ugh! Forget it! Reader, just review already!