A/N-Back from America! Got lots of new inspiration!!!! Yay!
I saw no one when I climbed the stairs quietly. The soft thud of my feet raised little clouds of dust which could have settled undisturbed since the beginning of time. It was a little exaggerated, but the place was rarely cleaned. Maybe one of them would have enough of it, and attempt to tidy it up. But normally, they kept to their own room.
Pushing open my door produced no sound. I assumed it had been oiled after much complaint of disturbances during rest. But the squeaks of half rusted plumbing still plagued the lair. Turning the tap on lead to a slight tremble of protest as water flowed in unequal frequencies. Hot water also was slow to heat up. But that didn't matter. I had freedom here. I had what I had longed for. People who didn't judge me; although maybe out of the lack of manners and education. People that could understand. People that were like me.
The water had turned tepid by the time I reluctantly stepped out. Any longer, and my skin would have turned prune like and numb. He air felt cold against my warm skin, and I couldn't help but shiver. As I walked out clocked in my ordinary clothes and a robe, I picked up a book off a chair. It was one of Itachi's. One I had taken interest in whilst visiting. I found it laying down on a bedside table. The black cover, filled with stars drew me towards it. Stars… So far away, maybe you can't see all of them. But they're their. In the sky, shining in their own individual way.
First thing I noticed when I woke up the next morning, was my hand tingling like pins and needles. I had been reading until late, and probably nodded off in a peculiar position. Clenching, and then unclenching my fist, trying to re-circulate the blood back to my fingers. It was pretty late into the morning, and my stomach grumbled in agreement. I don't think I have ever woken up so late. Normally I would have eaten, warmed up and at the Hokage's office for a mission. Naturally I was in a habit, and hurried to go downstairs as quick as possible. Maybe Itachi was back.
I didn't mind the noise I created as I jogged down the stairs. I looked down, scanning the kitchen to see the back of Itachi's head as he sat alone at the end of the counter. "Good morning," he muttered softly.
"Good morning," I replied with as much zeal, before adding "That was a fast mission," I sometimes felt, that I was the one that had lagged behind, and cause him all the trouble. He didn't say anything, so I continued. "Wasn't it humid yesterday?"
"It rained, so it's no longer as humid today," Itachi looked up slowly "Today is a good day for a walk. The flowers should be in bloom,"
He rose from his seat, and I assumed I was to follow. I grabbed a bento I had made, preparing to train for the day once more.
We walked the distance, and I breathed in fresh, crisp air. It was supposedly still winter, but spring had started creeping back in, bring color back as it did. The afternoon sun was a little too warm, and we sat on a low bough of a tree. I set the bento aside, sitting in silence and admiring what spring did. The lake had started to thaw out. Cracks in the solid ice had invaded quietly. The trickling of water downstream had begun as well. The lake was supplied with the melting snow from the mountains around its three sides, forming miniature streams that cheered at the arrival of the warmth of spring. Plants broke through the plains of white, and rapidly began to grow, reaching out to the sunlight, as a child might yearn for a balloon. Small buds had started developing, little dots of fresh, vivid color.
We both understood well, that right now words were not required. Words would destroy the atmosphere and peace that had settle, like a layer of thin, beautiful ice. Too bad, that the beauty didn't last.
The sound of stampeding feet turned our attention to a group of ninja. They were seemingly from the Hidden Village of Clouds, and angry. The man who I took for their leader had an ugly scowl of him already aging face. His eyes squinted into a narrow line as he hissed "We've found you Itachi. We won't let you off the hook for what you've done. You may be strong, but I've brought a whole group of the best ninja we have!" He signaled for the rest to attack with an anger filled swat of his hand.
We rose to our feet instinctively. But as I reached to feel the cold sharp steel of a kunai, ready to brandish a weapon; Itachi tugged me gently by the wrist. I retracted my hand, and sprinted after him. He didn't like conflict, I had previously learnt. But this wasn't simply going to be solved without a fight. I assumed it had something to do with the mission he had taken recently. The one he prepared so well for, the one that was secret. Opening my mouth, I wanted to tell him something, but I found I couldn't. His eyes were focused on the path that lay in front of him. His chest expanded and deflated as his feet pushed off the ground. I wanted to tell him, to turn around. I wanted Itachi to face the facts, we weren't going to out run them. We were stronger than all that. Unlike him, I didn't want to run all my life. There was a kind of anger in me that flared at that thought. Why were we running? It scared me. To think I wanted their blood to stain the snow a bright scarlet. I've had enough of this… this kind of submission. I don't want to be bossed around. I wanted to be able to… Choose what I want!
I grabbed his shoulder, gave him a cold stare. Itachi understood, but didn't slow down. He urged me to go faster with his palm on my back. I wanted to cry then… But I held them back. Because them would surely mess up my vision and cause me to run into something.
A shadow passed us from above. I thought it was an enemy. But as I looked up, I saw a large clay bird that soared through the sky with its wide, white wings. I person stood on top of it with a calm face. The wind caressed his yellow hair. I could make out a smile as Itachi and I jogged into a damp, dark hall. It was a passage back to the lair. Itachi continued to cough softly, and inhale sharply as we slowed to a walk. It echoed in the narrow passage, and became all the more obvious in the silence.
He didn't look back as he walked up the stairs, and into his room.
Thoughtfully, I leaned on an arm of the couch. I waited for the return of Deidara, and possibly Sasori. It seemed like, ages before the sound of feet bounced off the hard walls of the lair, and the two emerged from the shows, relatively unscathed. I ran up to them, not knowing what to say. Sasori walked off without acknowledging my presence.
"H-how did you know?" I stuttered, a mix of adrenaline with anger and fear swelling inside me.
Deidara smiled, dusted himself off. "We just knew…" He walked off into the distance.
"How!"
"When you see things repeatedly, you usually know what will happen," he replied dryly.
Itachi didn't come down for the evening, not once. He stayed in his room, since this afternoon.
I knocked at his door. When he didn't answer, I knocked again, harder. Soft sounds of uneven walking could be heard behind the wood. The door only opened a small fraction, just enough for Itachi to see my face fully. The first thing I noticed was the lines in his face deepened. He looked more tired than ever. Maybe… older. His eyes weren't so sharp, and glossy. His skin was dull, like his blood circulation had slowed considerably.
"Are you… What happened!" I exclaimed. I wanted to shake him into answering me.
He parted his cracked lips, wanting to say something but all that came out was a deathly sounding coughing fit. His body shuddered, as he covered his mouth with a hand. Itachi leaning onto the wall with his other one. I reached out to push the door fully open, but before I could touch the surface; it was slammed forcefully. The faint sound of muffled wheezing could still be heard.
"Let me in!" I cried, pounding on the door "Oi!"
The sounds behind the door faded. There was silence for a minute. Then the door opened for me again. But Itachi whispered hoarsely to me "Go away,", and closed it once more.
