Alright, I apologize...this is a bit of a crack-tastic chapter. I just used it to segue into the main plot of this arc so next chapter will be a little more relevant. And yes I may have stolen a scene from Pitch Perfect (because I WASN'T watching that movie, doing homework, and writing this chapter at the same time! XD) And sorry if the song-singing was a little cheesy...but anyway, enjoy the sad humor and epic foreshadowing!

ENJOI

Ari

I didn't care how rich or famous this Kagami chick was, she had absolutely no right to be hanging all over my man!

"So tell me, Shisui," Kagami flirted, her arm looped through his, "what brings you to the humble Land of Ogres?"

Ita leaned away from her slightly and laughed nervously. I sat on the other side of him shooting Kagami the nastiest glare I could muster.

"Oh well…just visiting is all. A vacation with my fiancé and her family," Ita choked out.

Kagami leaned her head on his shoulder, blushing wildly as she said, "my, how cute! Say…while you're here, why don't I show you around a bit? I can tell you all about this land's secrets…and some of mine if you really want to…"

"Sorry, but our schedule is really busy!" I snapped, leaning over Itachi and getting in Kagami's face.

Kagami shot me a glare, "oh come on, dear, we just want to have a little fun is all!"

"You can have all the fun you want, just don't get Shisui involved, okay, toots?" I barked, crossing my arms over my chest. Across from us, Jiraiya, Kisame, and Naruto all stared at us with wide eyes, horribly confused.

Kagami sighed heavily and batted her eyelashes at Ita, "Sweetheart, I'm sorry to say, but you're committing yourself to a stick-in-the-mud. You'll have absolutely no fun if you stick with her."

At that, Ita's nervous face fell, "Um…sorry, but if Ari's a stick in the mud then so am I so…I guess I'm just not your type. So sorry!"

"Oh, come now, Shisui! Loosen up!" Kagami giggled, throwing her arms around Ita's shoulders. I swear I felt a nerve snap somewhere inside me. At about that moment, an upbeat song started playing and people started flooding towards the floor space in the center. Rich and Charlie's was a five-star restaurant, but it doubled as a popular dance club on weekends. When she was in town, Kagami would occasionally give live performances here. Apparently. As the song came on, Kagami leapt to her feet, "Come on, Shisui! Ari! I love this song, let's dance!"

Kagami pulled Ita to his feet and he held out his hand towards me. He smiled saying, "would you like to dance?"

I shot him a jealous glare and crossed my arms, "Sorry, but I'm a stick-in-the-mud, remember? I don't do dancing."

At that Ita frowned, his feelings obviously hurt, but then Kagami nearly pulled him off his feet, dragging him to the dance floor. "Oh well, more for me!" she cheered.

When he left the table, Naruto started groaning, "Oh man…he's even more popular than Sasuke…why do those two always get the babes?"

"Naruto," I growled in a low voice, "she is not a babe…that wench is a no good, homewrecking ditz who belongs on somebody's di—"

"Okaaay! I think somebody needs to get off the jealous-train here!" Jiraiya cut me off.

"I am not jealous!" I snarled, slamming my hands on the table.

The three stared at me, not buying any of it. Kisame turned his gaze towards Jiraiya and whispered, "Definitely jealous."

"Am not!" I argued.

Naruto let out a frustrated groan, "Geez, Ari! I don't know why you're so pissed off about this! It's not like he's gonna sleep with her or anything! Nor would he sleep with you for that matter! He's psycho, remember?"

At that my blood ran cold and my eyes widened as my mind flashed back to a month before. I could have…AAAAAGH! I was such an idiot!

"I think you just broke her, Naruto," Jaws sighed heavily, he then waved his hand in front of my face, "Hello? Earth to Fox? Is anyone home in that pea-sized brain of yours?"

At that, I jumped and grasped tightly onto Kisame's wrist and let out a wild growl, "Watch it, Jaws or I might just be having sharkfin stew for dinner!"

"Oh my god, you're being ridiculous! That skank has nothing on you, kiddo," Kisame scolded, "Itachi's just dancing with her because he's a nice person and you turned him down. If you have such a problem with her hanging all over him, then I suggest you stop her. You're the Demon of the Leaf, aren't you?"

At that, I remained silent, observing the two. Ita stood a little uncomfortably as Kagami and some of her groupies danced around him, flirting with him obsessively. It was amazing how much attention an Uchiha man could catch…

"You have a point, Jaws," I said, "he wouldn't do anything with one of those girls…he's just being nice. I'll let them have their fun."

"That a girl!" Kisame patted my head, smiling like an idiot. I ignored him, my eyes fixated on Ita and the growing crowd of fangirls. Kagami grabbed hold of his wrists and tried to pull him into dancing some more. At first Ita protested, but he began to sway his hips and started to have a little fun, letting the girls grasp onto him. I gritted my teeth. He was just being nice…he was just being nice…

But then Kagami did something I wasn't expecting. She pressed her back up against his front and attempted grinding on him. At first Ita stepped away, surprised, but then Kagami let out a huge laugh and threw herself on him, wrapping her legs around his waist and planting a big smooch on his lips.

"Alright, that's it!" I screamed, slamming my glass of water onto the table, breaking it. I stomped over to where Kagami and Ita were dancing. As I passed a bartender, I pulled three shot glasses off of his tray, downing gulps of tequila. I was underaged and I had never really had alcohol before, but at this point, I didn't freaking care. That bitch was going down.

By the time Ita had managed to pull Kagami off of him, he was wiping his mouth and started shouting at Kagami, "What are you doing? I have a girlfriend!"

"Oh come on, Shisui," Kagami pouted, "I was just having a little fun is all! Besides, it's not like she matters or anything…"

"She matters to me!"

Kagami ignored him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "Don't worry about it, handsome…now come on, let's dance…"

At that point I grabbed hold of Kagami's shoulder and shoved her off of Ita. I glared at the woman, and shouted furiously, "You wanna dance? Well then let's dance, bitch!"

Kagami narrowed her eyes at me and said through her teeth, "I thought you didn't dance."

"Well I am now!" I roared, "and get your filthy hands off of my boyfriend!"

At that, Kagami and her groupies all laughed at me, "Oh please! Even if he is blind enough to date the likes of you, you're way out of your league! Why don't you find someone as rough around the edges at you, okay?"

"Hey! Watch it!" Ita scolded, glaring at Kagami as he stepped forward, but I slammed my hand in front of his chest.

"No, no, Shisui, Kagami's right. I might just be out of my league," I snarled, "but then again, I might not."

"Oh? You wanna prove it then?" Kagami grinned mischievously. I narrowed my eyes. If it was a fight she was looking for, it was a fight she was about to get. I didn't care if she was famous or if I was supposed to be friendly with her, no one, and I mean no one could put their hands all over Itachi and get away with it. "Well, then," Kagami continued, "there is only one way to settle this!"

I cracked my knuckles, "I'd be happy to…"

"Kori! Music please!" Kagami called out to the DJ on stage, "set it to my favorite track!"

I raised an eyebrow, confused, as everyone began to circle around us, "You fight to music…?"

"Fight?" Kagami asked and then broke out into laughter, "well you said you wanted to dance, didn't you? This is how we'll settle things—the best performer overall wins."

I glared at Kagami, "well this is hardly fair. You're a professional."

"All is fair in love and war," she grinned.

Behind me, Ita gave Kagami a nasty tone in his voice as he said, "you do realize that it doesn't whether you win this or not, Kagami….I'm not leaving Ari's side for anyone."

"Oh, we'll see about that," Kagami said in a sly tone. She then gave me a devilish look. A chill ran up my spine…somehow I had a feeling that Ita would be forced to eat his words if I lost.

The song track started as the sound of a harp echoed through the club. Kagami started to sing, "Hello, hello, baby, you called? I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the club you see, you see…"

I took in a deep breath as I walked up to Kagami. Dancing, I could do. But singing? Well, I hadn't taken my voice anywhere outside the shower. I picked up the lyrics, "Wha-What did you say? Are you breaking up on me? Sorry, I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy."

"K-kinda busy."

"K-kinda busy!"

"Sorry, I cannot hear you—"

"I'm kinda busy!"

As we sang, Kagami threw her heels off and began to hip-hop dance and she popped a squat in her skimpy purple dress. "Stop calling, stop calling, I don't wanna think anymore!"

"I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!" I sang as I did several turns on point. I brought my leg up and caught it in front of my face before I fell into the splits. As I took over the song, I noticed that I was catching the crowd's attention. I knew I could stay in tune but, hey! I think they liked me!

I took the opportunity to show off some of my dancing ability as I sang and got in Kagami's face, "Not that I don't like you, I'm just at a party. And I am sick and tired of my phone r-ringing! Sometimes I feel like I live in Grand Central Station. Tonight I'm not takin' no calls, 'cause I'll be dancin'!"

Kagami pushed me out of her face and took over the chorus as she belted out, "'cause I'll be dancin'! I'll be dancin'! Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to think any more! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!"

Kagami continued to sing, making her sad attempts at modern dance. She could bust a move, but she had no technique. Somehow, I managed to take over this competition. Aggravated at this, Kagami leapt onto the stage and found a pole conveniently placed in the back. The crowd all followed her as she began pole-dancing (of course!). All the men started cheering and hollering. Okay…so she had some talent somewhere. But Kagami knew that she could get them with this move.

I took back the second part of the chorus, standing still and allowed Kagami to dance more as I sang, "Stop, calling, stop calling, I don't want to think anymore! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor! Stop calling, stop calling, I don't want to talk anymore! I left my head and my heart on the dance floor!"

Kagami glared at me but stopped dancing to take a breather and continued to sing, "Call all you want, but theres no one home and you're not gonna reach my telephone! 'Cause I'm out in the club and I'm sippin' that bubb aAnd you're not gonna reach my telephone!"

While she sang, I motioned for everyone to back clear a path on the stage. I spotted a clean row of tables going down a straight line for me to the right of the stage. I maneuvered my way over to the row as I danced to Kagami's music. I then took a brief pause to settle myself as I used to do in floor routines. The ceiling looked high enough for one of my signature moves. I broke out into a short sprint, taking a few steps as I cartwheeled into a single back-hand spring as I landed on my hands on the first table, then continued down the row, catching air as I popped into a high corkscrew, my body staying as straight as a pencil as it spun and twisted in the air. I landed on the middle table on both feet. The table shook as my knees bent and attempted to hold the landed. When I regained my balance, knowing I stuck it, I instinctively raised my hands into the air to salute. The crowd went crazy, leaping into the air. I had a huge smile on my face as I looked over to see Kagami speechless at the front of the stage. She continued singing as she hopped back onto the floor and attempted a cartwheel but was out of breath and fell.

I quickly took over, finishing the song as I walked up to her, "Call all you want, but theres no one home and you're not gonna reach my telephone! 'Cause I'm out in the club and I'm sippin' that bubb aAnd you're not gonna reach my telephone!"

The music ended and I stood over Kagami who glared up at me with slightly crazed eyes. Everyone circled around us cheering loudly.

"Well, I think I know who won this round," I grinned maniacally.

"How did you…?" Kagami asked, out of breath, "you aren't even tired?"

"I'm a gymnast," I explained, "I'm used to hours of relentless training. And I've had plenty of practice singing in the shower too."

"Ari, that was incredible!" Naruto hopped around, giving me a big bear hug.

"Thanks, Naruto!" I smiled back.

Kagami let out a frustrated grunt as she leapt to her feet, "Agh! You're just some mediocre nobody! You don't deserve to win!"

"And you didn't deserve to share a kiss with my boyfriend, so I guess we're even," I snapped back. And as if on cue, Ita snuck up behind me and put his hand around my waist, pulling me close.

"That was amazing!" Ita said, "I knew you had it in you, but wow!"

"Oh, it was nothing," I lied. Actually, that whole fiasco was incredibly embarrassing and took throwing away almost all my pride to stand up and sing in front of people.

"Ugh! You are so out of his league! I am Kagami Hoshiyo! There isn't a man alive who could resist my charm!" she whined.

"Well, I guess there's a first time for everything," Ita said politely, "my apologies, Kagami, but I fell for Ari's charm long before I met you."

"You don't even know what a high class woman is!" Kagami scoffed.

"I don't need high class," Ita retorted before pulling me into a long passionate kiss. The house roared with cheers as we made out. Kagami let out a frustrated scream and I made things worse by giving her the finger, still kissing Ita.

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Kagami screamed as she stomped out of the club. A few long moments after that, Ita and I finally broke our kiss, our arms around each other. We both broke out into a fit of laughter.

"Okay, she's gone now, show's over!" Naruto scolded, averting his eyes from us.

"Oh, calm, down, Naruto!" I teased, breaking from my embrace with Ita, I shoved the little boy to the side. Later in the evening, we all decided to call it a day and headed back up to her rooms. I grimaced at the froo froo honeymoon suite as we stepped back inside. It was so…pink…

I unzipped my backpack and began pulling out clothes. Since this mission was partially a mini-vacation, I had actually packed like a tourist for once, and even included an actual toiletry bag and not the little hygiene survival pack that ANBU gives you when you first join to avoid you from smelling too terrible when you come back from missions. And of course, knowing that I was going to a beachside resort where it was hot and humid, and making the mistake of thinking I would actually have a room to myself, I packed only my skimpy pajamas.

"What's that?" Ita asked, eyeing my sheer yellow nightgown. I groaned.

"I thought I would have a room to myself so…I packed a little lighter…" I moaned, "and sheerer…"

Ita chuckled as I blushed, "relax, Ari, it's not like I haven't seen you half-naked before."

I shrugged. He did have a point. I began to pull my top off to change into my nightgown and Ita jumped.

"Ari! What are you doing?" Ita asked, landing on the foot of the bed.

I rolled my eyes as I took my shorts off and mimicked him, "oh relax, Ita. It's not like you haven't seen me half-naked before."

Ita sighed heavily and took his shirt off, lying down on his back, and took in a deep breath.

"You know, if we weren't on missions right now, I might actually be enjoying myself a little more," he groaned.

I laughed and sat down on the bed next to Ita. "What? You didn't have fun with all those beautiful women frocking around you?" I joked.

Ita rolled his eyes, "Not really…although I did enjoy you showing up Kagami completely. Ugh…I am so sorry about that, Ari. I really don't know what to do when girls come onto my like that. It's just…don't they have their own lives? Come on! But it's not like I can be rude…"

"Oh, Ita," I whispered softly, lying on my side. I gazed at his beautiful features, brushing his hair out of his face, "I'm surprised you say that, considering how handsome you are. You should have known that it's every Uchiha man's curse to be a lady's man, whether you like it or not."

"I am no lady's man," Ita chuckled, "Shisui, on the other hand, he was a lady's man!"

"And who are you pretending to be now?" I joked, referring to the disguise he had taken on. Ita sat up on his side and gave me a curious look. He then rolled onto his stomach, lying on top of me.

"Right now," he said in a low and sexy voice, "right now I am not pretending to be anybody. All I wish to be is the man you know me to be. The true Itachi Uchiha, the one that only you are able to see. Right now I am nothing, but a loyal man who wants nothing more than to have the love of his life all to himself because he is a greedy," Ita kissed my lips then lifted up, as I giggled, "no good…" he drifted down to my neck, "pervert…" he licked my collar bone lightly before he breathed, "who wants to take absolutely everything from you."

I spat out a laugh, "Yeah, right! A pervert? Ita, you're joking!"

At that, Itachi popped up, sitting on top of me as he grinned, "yeah I am!" He then scooped me into his arms and lied me down closer to the head of the bed so we were more comfortable. We exchanged a gentle kiss as his hand gently slid one of my bra straps down. I unzipped his pants and he pushed them off. He broke the kiss, "though if you don't mind…we could try…a little more…"

I gave Ita a playful smirk as I pressed my lips against his. We fooled around for a bit, finally we took off all boundaries that had once separated our bodies. Ita whispered my name as he panted, pressing himself against me. This was it…I could finally…I could do it…

I closed my eyes and relaxed. I felt safe in his embrace. I felt so at peace in our tangled up love affair. I could finally give myself to him.

This time, however, it was Ita's body that kept us from going all the way. Just as he was about to do the deed, he broke from our kiss suddenly, his back arching in a spasm as he suddenly began to cough uncontrollably. He sat up in several jerky movements, one hand over his mouth as he coughed, another clenching his chest tightly.

"Ita…?" I asked, alarmed. I placed my hand on his back and rubbed it, trying to sooth his coughs. But they got worse, and as he heaved and hacked, it sounded almost as if he were suffocating or trying to vomit or both.

"My…! Chest…!" Ita cried out between coughs. He suddenly lost his balance and fell of the bed, crumpling to the ground as he gave on last final, and incredibly loud hacking noise that sounded like he had coughed something up.

"Ita!" I cried, kneeling down beside him. Ita still covered his mouth, wincing. He motioned for me to keep my distance. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and panted, "Sorry…I don't know what that was…" He lifted his hand off his mouth carefully but kept his hand balled into a fist. I eyed that hand suspiciously. Did he vomit? The other hand, Ita held over his chest as he fought to catch his breath.

"Maybe we should just call it a night…" I offered, "I don't want you hurting yourself if you're going to do that again…"Itachi shook his head in frustration.

"Man…there's always something," he said. I rubbed his back lightly and pulled his hair behind his ear.

"Don't worry about it," I said, "we'll get there. And besides, you have fantastic abs."

At that Ita began to laugh but suddenly started coughing again. I jumped and hovered my hands over him, unsure how to help, but this coughing fit only lasted a few minutes.

"It feels like…my chest is on fire…" Ita complained, grimacing. He cleared his throat, still keeping that one hand balled into a fist. Alarms started sounding off in my head. That couldn't be good.

"Do we need to take you to a doctor…?" I asked.

"No, I'm fine!" Ita assured, "this hasn't happened before, I'm probably just getting sick or something."

"Ita…" I eyed him, "has this really never happened before?"

Ita looked away from me, "Hm...I mean…once, I guess…right after that fight with Sasuke. I started coughing a lot after I had to use Amaterasu to break out of Jiraiya's jutsu but…that was probably unrelated wasn't it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You need a doctor."

"No, Ari! I'm fine! And where am I going to get a doctor anyway?" he asked. He had a point there. I sighed heavily.

"Alright, alright, fine," I said, "just promise me you'll let me know if this gets any worse, okay?"

Ita nodded, "okay."

I crawled back in bed, neither of us bothering to put our clothes back on. Ita went into the bathroom to wash his hands. He came back out and crawled up next to me, a big grin on his face.

I giggled, "what?"

"You are so beautiful," he said. I chuckled and shook my head.

"Try telling other girls that," I scoffed.

Ita kiss my lips gently. "Don't listen to them…they're just jealous they aren't as amazing as you are."

I sighed happily and smiled as I buried my face into Ita's bare chest. Even if we didn't go all the way, I was in my own slice of heaven. Just holding him close, with no physical or emotional barriers to separate us was enough. I brushed Ita's coughing fit out of my mind and dismissed it as nothing more than a bout of fatigue. Itachi was a strong and healthy man. Nothing too serious could be wrong, right?

And ignorant me, I had absolutely no clue as to how wrong I was.

Itachi

He couldn't sleep that night. He was thrilled to be lying this close to Ari. He felt so at peace as he watched her sleep, her beautiful porcelain face relaxed and dreamed of only pleasant thoughts. But the pain in his chest kept coming and going. Itachi worried as to what this could mean, in more ways than one. He grew frustrated, having to keep from gazing at Ari for too long because if he began to overheat even in the slightest, his chest would start burning and would ignite another coughing fit.

But these pains would only be temporary. He didn't care about those. What really kept him up was trying to find a way to tell Ari what was really going on. And he felt incredibly guilty as Ari hadn't even picked up on his lies yet. He was getting too good at hiding the truth.

Itachi sighed and thought back to his childhood when he and Sasuke had both spent several scary weeks running back and forth from the hospital. His uncle, Itachi's father's brother, and Shisui's and Saya's dad, died suddenly of heart failure. It was soon discovered that his early death was caused by a malformed heart valve triggered from a genetic disorder that ran in the Uchiha bloodline. The disorder was a recessive trait, so it occurred in very few individuals. However, knowing that Itachi's uncle had this gene, meant that Fugaku, Sasuke, Itachi, Saya, and Shisui could all test positive for having this same disorder.

Several tests were run, and the family sighed in relief when the kids all tested negative, holding the dominant allele which kept the killer at bay.

But Itachi didn't end up so lucky.

This discovery came just after Ari and Saya had graduated from the academy. Wanting to keep spirits from falling too low, Itachi never told Saya or Ari about his condition. Sasuke never found out either, as Itachi asked his parents to not worry Sasuke over a treatable condition. There were three options to approaching the situation, depending on what stage of development the disease was in, Itachi was lucky and didn't show any signs of his affected heart valve ballooning out, so he was placed on a cocktail of medications to keep the disease from progressing. If his condition did worsen, Itachi would have to have corrective surgery and have that valve replaced. But if left untreated, and Itachi started showing signs of heart-failure, it meant that the failed valve was causing problems for the rest of the heart, creating irregular heartbeats, inefficiency, and other disastrous problems. At that point, Itachi would require either a heart transplant or would have to accept death's cold embrace.

But Itachi remained healthy and had no troubles as long as he took his medications. And he had lucked out living in a wealthy country such as Konoha, which could easily afford for his healthcare. However, when the Uchiha's revolt began, and Itachi was forced to take matters into his own hands, any and all access to proper medical attention for his condition ceased to exist.

His meds were expensive, and were not available anywhere outside the five great nations. For the first few years, Itachi hadn't noticed any signs of his heart failing. But recently he did begin to notice his stamina steadily decreasing with every battle.

And when he felt something warm bubble out of his throat at the end of his coughing fit, Itachi knew something was wrong. He didn't want to alarm Ari, she had suffered enough pain because of him already. He easily brushed off the incident and went to use the bathroom. Ari hadn't even taken notice of Itachi's fib.

As he looked in the mirror, his face a ghostly pale, and opened his palm to reveal the puddle of crimson sitting in his hand, Itachi could only feel a flood of guilt overwhelm him.

He had gotten way too good at lying.

Ari

The next morning, I awoke in Ita's arms. I stretched lightly and looked up to find him smiling down on me.

"Morning, Sunshine," he said softly.

I smiled and sat up, stretching, "Good morning, to you too. What time is it?"

"About eight or so. I was thinking of running down to the market place and pick up a few things, do you need anything?" Ita asked, getting out of bed and changing into some clothes.

"Let's get some breakfast first, I'm starving!" I said.

"Alright," Ita replied. I threw on a t-shirt and some track-shorts. I figured I could shower and doll myself up while Ita was gone. I went to look in the mirror and was horrified at the tangled rat's nest my hair was in.

"Oh great…" I spat, grabbing hold of a brush and furiously trying to brush through my hair. The main only got poofier and the brush couldn't break through most parts. "This damn humidity! Ita…do you think you could pick up some detangler while you're out? My hair is disgusting…"

"I think it looks fine," Ita said, but then noted, "though I am curious how you get it to stick out like that…but sure, what does detangler look like?"

"It should be in a shampoo bottle with 'detangling formula' labeled on it," I said. Giving up, I tied the nappy mess into a high bun and we walked down stairs. We were greeted by Jiraiya and Kisame who were already sitting at a table. We helped ourselves to the buffet and sat down with them.

"So…how was it, you two?" Kisame grinned, "did you guys sleep at all or did you just…'sleep'?"

I blushed a deep red and glared at Jaws and Ita groaned saying, "We slept fine, Kisame. And that's none of your business!"

At that, Jiraiya let out a billowing laugh, "You two can relax, you know! The four of us all know what's really going on and Naruto is still upstairs sleeping like a baby. So don't worry!"

Ita and I both let out heavy sighs, blushing. I looked up and noticed Kagami walk past and shoot us a nasty glare before taking a seat at a table across the room with her father, Master Hoshiyo. The two seemed to be speaking seriously about something, and Kagami's gaze flashed towards me several times. I gulped hard, nervous about what had happened the night before. I had forgotten all about the actual mission at hand and the fact that the Hoshiyo's were the two people who couldn't turn their noses up at us on this mission.

"Something wrong?" Ita asked.

I shook my head, "the home-wrecker still looks mad…"

"Oh well, she'll get over it. And we have other means of finding out what's really going on here," Itachi said. I nodded. He must've been thinking the same thing I was.

But little did I know that the tables were about to turn in my favor…just in a really awkward way.

Kagami

"Daddy, I want them all thrown out!" she hissed angrily. "I don't deserve to be treated this way!"

"Kagami, sweetie, I would if I could!" Daddy pleaded, "but they are paying guests and right now we can't afford to lose any more revenue! Besides, don't you think it was a little rude to get in between two people who are engaged to be married?"

Kagami rolled her eyes, "Daddy, don't tell me who I can and can't get with. Shisui is a hunk and he liked it, I'm sure! But really…what makes that street urchin so much better than me, anyway?"

"N-nothing, sweetheart!" Master Hoshiyo assured his daughter nervously, "there is no one in the world who could possibly surpass your beauty or talent! That Shisui boy just has poor taste in women, is all!"

Kagami looked back and glared at the messy-haired freakshow. She was pretty, and had a nice body, but she was so unkept. It was like she didn't even care about beauty at all! But she did have a charm to her…the way she smiled, the way hers and Shisui's faces lit up when they were around each other.

"She isn't the prettiest…but she's happier than me…" Kagami thought to herself, "why is that…?" she grimaced. She wanted that happiness. She needed to get it from Ari somehow…but how?

"Well, one thing is for certain, my buttercup, people have been buzzing about the duet you and that Ari girl did together last night! It was a hit! I don't think I've heard people talking about your performances like that in over a year! It's simply thrilling!" Master Hoshiyo went on another rant, slightly obsessed with his daughter's popularity.

At that, Kagami got an idea.

Ari

After breakfast, Ita ran out to the store to pick up groceries and I ran upstairs to take a shower. To my dismay, I couldn't even run my regular shampoo through my hair, it was such a mess and was so humid out. I sighed and washed my body, singing quietly to myself as I awaited Ita's return.

The bathroom door opened and I heard who I assumed was Itachi walk in.

"Ita? Did you get that detangler I asked for?" I asked as he maneuvered around the bathroom. I heard shuffling of objects, but Ita ignored me. "Ita?" I asked again, "Where is that detangler? Ugh…it's too humid out here."

Suddenly, the shower curtain was pulled open and I screamed, slamming into the wall behind me. Kagami Hoshiyo stood in front of me butt naked with a wild grin on her face.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I shrieked.

"You are a really good singer!" Kagami stated, "you're going to sing with me at Rich and Charlie's tomorrow night."

"What? No! I'm not a singer! G-Get out! And why are you naked?" I yelped, covering my chest with my arms. Kagami sighed and opened the curtain all the way, stepping into the shower with me.

"I'm not leaving until you agree to sing with me," she said, taking a step closer to me.

"I'm not singing with you," I stated, "This is so awkward! How did you get in here, anyway?"

"My dad owns this place. Duh," she said, "now you will sing with me or I'm not leaving. And I know how to make things awkward. Trust me, I've done some crazy things before."

"I'm sure you have!" I said, "Now, go!"

"No."

At that moment Itachi walked into the bathroom holding grocery bags. Without looking up he pulled out a shampoo bottle and said, "Ari, I found what you were talking about—" Ita then looked up to see two naked girls in the bathroom as he yelped and fell backwards, screaming at Kagami, "WOAH! WHY ARE YOU NAKED?"

"You know you like it," Kagami teased.

My temper flared and I pushed Kagami out of the shower, throwing her a towel, "Get! Out!"

"Not unless you sing with me tomorrow night! Come on! It's supposed to be a big crowd! And my agent will be there…he could sign you a record deal…" Kagami bribed. I shook my head furiously.

"Not interested!" I protested.

"Wait," Ita lifted his hand, "Ari, this could be your chance. You are a fantastic singer, you know…"

"Oh, not you too!" I glared at him, "Ita! I have no interest in-!" I paused and noticed the look Ita was giving me and then turned back to Kagami. My big chance wasn't a record deal. It was getting to know Kagami. I sighed, defeated, "fine. Now will you get out?"

Kagami jumped and let out a squeal, throwing her clothes back on, "Oh goodie! I'll see you tomorrow morning bright and early so we can rehearse! I can't wait!"

And with that, she was gone, making that moment the most awkward situation of my life that I hope I never ever have to relive again. I would give up sleeping with Itachi if it meant I never had to go through that in the first place. Well…maybe I wouldn't give up that, but it was a really bad experience that day with Kagami, let me tell you.

The next morning, I met Kagami at Rich and Charlie's and she was sitting on a stool on stage, messing with a guitar. She groaned and looked up, "can you play?"

I shrugged, "yeah. Kind of."

"Okay, good," she said, handing it to me as I walked on stage, "so what do you want to sing first?"

I pursed my lips, "well, I thought I would just sing whatever you wanted. You are the professional."

"Nonsense!" she said, "this is your debut night, you are the star! Besides…I don't have any original songs for a duet. Have you ever written anything?"

"Well…" I blushed, "there was this one poem I wrote when I was little…I sometimes sing that as a song but…it's not very good."

"Well, just sing me the chorus!" I rolled my eyes and went over to a piano as I sang, "Everytime we touch, I get this feeling. Everytime we touch, I swear I can fly…can't you hear my heart beat fast, I want this to last. Need you by my side…"

"That's really pretty," Kagami said, "did Shisui inspire you to write that?"

I nodded, "kind of. We were going through a…rough patch in our relationship and there was a point where I thought I was going to lose him. I saw a quote somewhere and decided to make a song out of it."

"We're singing that," Kagami said. We rehearsed all day and as night came, the club filled with people.

"Good evening, everybody!" Kagami called out as the crowd cheered, "Tonight I'm starting things out a little different. Any and all couples may come forward for a slow dance as this is a ballad. I'll be singing this song with my new best friend, Ariala Drake. I'm sure you guys remember her! Ari?"

Kagami held out the microphone to me as I stepped forward, my heart pounding out of my chest. Those were a lot of people…

"Um…hi…" I muttered. The club erupted in roars and cheers, most of the people recognizing my stunt from the other night. "This song…well…it was a poem I wrote a while back for…a really close friend." I made eye contact with Ita who drew in a breath before I sat down at the piano. Kagami and I both sang our hearts out in this song, and that was the quietest Rich and Charlie's had ever been at one of Kagami's concerts. When we finished, I broke out into a cold sweat. You could hear a pin drop. As I looked back up, though, the club broke out into a standing ovation, and I noticed some people up front even wiping tears out of their eyes. Was it that good…? Or was it that bad…? I couldn't tell, but Kagami stood and bowed, before she took my hand and brought me forward.

"Give another round of applause to Ari!" she cheered as everyone began roaring again. I was stunned. This was…new… "Thank you dear, I hope we get to see much more of you in the near future. And now, who's ready to party?"

I walked over to where my friends sat in a daze. Several people applauded me as I walked passed, but I hardly paid any attention. Ita stood as I got to the table.

"Um…that was…great," Ita stammered, at a loss for words. I nodded, still shaking. Did that really just happen? We both averted eye contact. He knew I wrote that song about him. Parts of the song made me tear up as it brought back hurtful memories, but really, that whole song was one big love confession. Even though we were together, the thought of what I had just done still made me feel a need to hurl. It was like we were falling in love all over again.

I sat down and Naruto stared at me with sparkling eyes, "Wow, Ari…your voice is so pretty!"

I smiled at him, "Aww, thanks, Naruto!"

"Man, Itachi, you sure are a lucky man!" Jiraiya laughed, patting Ita on the shoulder.

Itachi chuckled and took my hand underneath the table, *I really am…*

I glanced over at Itachi, *So you like it?*

*I loved it. Is there anything you can't do?*

*There's a lot of things I can't do…but with flattery like this, I might just have to sing to you more often.*

Ita smiled, *I wouldn't mind that at all…*

Kagami

After the concert, she met Ari and the two giggled and squealed over how well it went. Ari was an instant hit with the audience and gladly accepted Kagami's offer to sing more. Over the next several days, the two got to know each other better. You could even call them friends kind of.

Good, that's just what Kagami needed. Pretty soon, Kagami would have Ari right where she wanted her. And then, that street urchin—and Shisui—would be all hers for the taking.