A/N: w Just got a PM from someone saying that my last chapter was really disturbing. Glad that I could scar you for life. D

Shorter chapter now…I'm just trying to post as much as I can…

Disclaimer:

Deidara belongs to Sasori, my cat belongs to me, Icha Icha Paradise belongs to Jiraiya, and Naruto – sadly – belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

….after typing this, has anybody realized how WEIRD the word "belong" is?

--

Green blurred Meri's vision. She blinked, and her eyes slid into focus after a few seconds. The green that she was seeing was nothing more than the underside of thousands of overlapping leaves, creating a beautiful canopy above her. Tilting her head back, she spotted the twisted tree trunk that the leaves were attached to. It took her a moment or so to realize that she was in the meadow.

Why am I…?

She began to question herself, but stopped short as memories of the previous night flooded her mind. Meri looked down at herself, and winced. Itachi's shirt was draped over her like a blanket.

Damn.

A few seconds later, she heard a voice from beside her.

"No."

She turned. Itachi's eyes were wide open, staring straight up ahead at the tree.

"No." he repeated. Itachi pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at Meri.

"We…no, we didn't." he said, his voice dry and hoarse. "That was a dream."

Meri too pushed herself up, still holding the shirt to her bare chest.

"Yes…we did." she said quietly.

"No!" Itachi said suddenly, eyes growing wide. "Meri, listen, I'm sorry!" he leapt up and ran over to the pile of clothes. He quickly pulled his pants back on and tossed Meri her clothes in exchange for his shirt.

"Oh my god…" Itachi brought a hand to his face and he covered his eyes, sighing deeply. "Meri, this is all my fault. We never should have…no, I never should have, I forced you into this—"

"No, Itachi, don't blame yourself, it's my fault…" Meri said, pulling her shirt on.

"No, it's not…Meri, please listen to me," Itachi said desperately, pulling his shirt on over his head. "I wasn't myself last night…I didn't know what I should have done…I took advantage of you!"

Meri shook her head, standing up.

"I could have stopped you had I wanted to." she said. "Itachi, if it's anyone's fault, it's mine."

"No…" Itachi shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair, obviously distressed. "Meri…we…I'm sorry…we really shouldn't have done that…"

"I know…we're too young, we weren't thinking, and now I can no longer honestly say that I'm a virgin."

Itachi blinked.

"I forgot this was your first time…" he said slowly. "Dammit, Meri, that makes things worse! I didn't hurt you, did I? Does anything hurt, can you walk alright?"

Meri stood up, now fully dressed.

"It's alright, Itachi. I'm just a little sore, but that's normal, right?"

Itachi winced.

"Meri, I am so sorry."

"I know already, you've apologized at least five times now." Meri pointed out. "You don't have to be sorry, we were both idiots, alright?"

Itachi nodded, and slipped on his shoes.

"We can just talk about this later today." suggested Meri, following Itachi's lead and also slipping on her shoes. Itachi shook his head.

"I can't, I'm going to be leaving for a mission today, so—"

The mission!

"Meri, I've got to go!" Itachi said suddenly, snatching up his weapons bag. "Can you just…please tell me, quickly, what's happening between--?"

Meri sighed.

"Sahiro is secretly married, so I'm pretending to date him so his parents won't be suspicious about his wife, and he's pretending to date me so father won't be suspicious about you."

Itachi exhaled.

"Thank god…Meri, I really, really have to go…just please promise me that you won't fall in love with him while I'm gone."

Meri walked over to Itachi and hugged him.

"I promise."

She pulled apart, and looked up at his face.

"How long will you be gone?"

"About a month."

Meri frowned.

"Meri, I feel horrible…" Itachi began again. "If there's anything I can do to make up for what I did…."

"You can promise me that you'll hurry up and come home soon." Meri said simply, kissing Itachi lightly on the cheek. She pulled apart, and stared him straight in the eye.

"I love you."

Itachi stared back.

"I love you, too."

Meri's heart skipped a beat. He had finally admitted it, finally said the words that she had been longing to hear since the day they first began training. Back then, it was just a wild fantasy, pushed into the gloomy corners of her mind because she knew that it would never become fulfilled. But now, it was a reality. Her one and only dream was actually coming true.

Itachi pulled her into a close hug for a brief moment, before tearing away from her and sprinting off, jumping into one of the trees and then leaping into the next, disappearing from Meri's view.

She sighed, and dusted off her shirt with her hands, making an attempt to straighten out the wrinkles that had appeared due to the shirt being balled up and tossed aside so carelessly. She made a sad attempt to neaten her hair by tucking it behind her ears and flattening it with her hands. With that, she sighed and began to walk.

The weather was unseasonably warm for mid-august. The leaves were still violent shades of green, not a single one had begun to turn, you could examine a leaf for hours and discover not a single speck of brown, red, or yellow on it's tips. It was going to be a late fall this year, Meri knew it. Fall would come soon, and it wouldn't bother taking it's time either. Somebody would go to sleep with green trees and a clean lawn, only to wake up the next day and look out their window to find completely bare trees and a lawn with brown leaves layered over every inch of grass. And as quickly as fall would roll in, the temperature would drop. Mother nature was being evil, tormenting them with warm, sunny, and bright whether. The villagers would get used to it, buying numerous tank top and short sleeved shirts, and then suddenly – COLD. Meri, unlike the other villagers, appreciated this odd weather pattern. It was harsh and violent, unforgiving. It could appear calm and collected when it wanted to, and then suddenly something unexpected would happen. It became predictable over the years, but still, you never know quite when it would suddenly lash out at you and change dramatically.

It took Meri a few seconds to realize that the description of the weather she had formed also fit her father.

It also took her a few seconds to realize that she was standing at her front door. She blinked.

Guess I was just so lost in my thoughts… Meri thought, reaching out a hand and pulling open the front door. …about the weather. Jesus Christ, I'm lame…

Once she had closed the door quietly behind her, Meri walked into the living room and flopped down onto the couch, burying her face deep into a pillow and sighing deeply into it. It didn't take long for fatigue to overcome her mind. Her eyelids grew heavy, and she allowed them to close, drifting into a peaceful and well needed sleep.

And, of course, sixty seconds later, Kasumaru walked into the room, spotted Meri, and started yelling.

"What are you doing on the couch?!" he barked. Meri jumped and her eyes flew open. She jumped up quickly, wincing slightly as she did so.

"Why did you just cringe? Why were you sleeping? Where were you last night? Why didn't you show up for your date with Sahiro? Why is your shirt wrinkled? Why is your hair so messy?" Questions flowed like a river from Kasumaru's mouth, Meri could only stare as he finished. "MERI, WHY ARE YOUR PANTS ON INSIDE OUT?!"

Meri blinked.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION." Kasumaru spat.

"Um…which one, father?"

"ALL OF THEM."

"Alright…" Meri took a deep breath, and thought up something quick. "I needed to wash this outfit because I was going to wear it on my date with Sahiro. We don't have a washing machine, so I took it to the Konoha Laundromat on Kyashu street. The machine wouldn't take my change, so I couldn't get my clothes out. I was sitting there for a while, waiting for the worker to try to fix the machine, and eventually it got late and I fell asleep. The chairs there aren't exactly comfortable, so that's why I fell asleep on the couch, and that's why my hair is messy. I cringed because my legs are sore from sleeping in the chair. I was so tired this morning that I wasn't concentrating on what I was doing, that's why my pants are inside out."

It was the most complex, intricate, outstanding lie she had ever told.

Kasumaru glared at her.

"Meri." he said simply. "You are aware that I own many Konoha businesses."

Meri nodded.

"I can simply ask them if you were there – and despite the 'customer policy,' they will have to answer to me. If I found out you have lied, then you are no longer welcome in this house."

"That is fine with me, father." Meri said, making her voice louder and more confident. Kasumaru eyed her for a moment.

"Alright then." he finally decided. Hopefully, the confidence in Meri's voice would keep him from asking the Konoha Laundromat if she really was there. After all – if everyone in Konoha was too terrified to lie to him, then why would his own daughter do such a thing?

"Right….room, now."

Meri bowed, and walked silently up to her room, closing and locking the door behind her. And suddenly, she was overcome with emotion, and she threw herself down onto her bed and shoved her face into her baby blue pillow, back shaking with sobs. Or perhaps you wouldn't call them sobs. Just hyperventilation. Meri's face was completely dry, not a single tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek. She hadn't cried in about ten years, and she wasn't about to start now. This continued, until Meri had "cried" herself to sleep.