Nerine

Itachi's lips were chapped but they weren't very dry for long. His hands were tightly pressed against my cheeks and my own were hanging by my body's sides. My eyes were wide open as his were closed gently. It was as if only one of us were putting the effort into this moment of intimacy, until I responded. Ever so slowly, one of my palms had touched his arm and my vision had shut.

At first I didn't know how to react, I mean, this was completely unlike Itachi to be so passionate over one thing. This man had killed his own clan, for fucks sake. How could he possibly have any sort of good intentions behind this kiss?

Maybe Itachi wasn't such a bad guy. Maybe he killed his clan for another reason than as I've heard, 'to test his abilities'. I may be getting delusional but it's scary kissing a man who has murdered his own family and left the village. Then again, I did kiss Sasuke, albeit he didn't kill his family but is now after killing the remainder of it.

Itachi said there would be no lingering questions but there were so many in my mind that I didn't know which one to say first.

I lightly pushed him away, and with a bewildered look on my face, I mumbled, "I... How... Why...?"

"I guess I was wrong," Itachi said about his previous statement. "To put it in the simplest terms..."

He wants to use me?

He only wants to have my body?

He needs to let out some sort of sexual tension?

"You've made me want to protect you."

"No, I'm not going to have sex with—!" My eyes went wide. "Huh?"

This is not Itachi.

"What... did you do with Itachi?" I peered at him. "Itachi has no feelings for anyone. He is a heartless man who killed his own family... He... Itachi isn't a man who feels for another. You... are not him," I murmured in obvious denial.

"I know," He replied calmly. He supposedly wasn't affected at all at my insults towards him. "Truth be told, I am not a man who becomes drawn to a woman, mainly because that sort of thing is..." His eyebrows were drawn together, creating a frown on his face.

He didn't know which word to use without being offensive in some way or another, so he left that sentence as it was, and it was followed by an awkward silence.

"Since when?" I asked.

"Is the answer even going to help you?" Itachi replied, "It doesn't matter."

"This just seems like something you wouldn't do," I stated. "You don't..."

"I'm not going to tell you the truth. But what you should know is that I am a human, and I am much more than a murderer of my own family."

I lifted my hand and brushed my lips lightly. I said, "This is wrong."

Itachi, as always, didn't show any change in emotion. "Everything I've done is."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry," I stepped back. "I can't do this."

I had a sense of feeling that Itachi wanted to say something. After a few hesitant seconds, he did. "Is it Sasuke?"

"The whole reason I came here in the first place was because of him."

"So that means that you still have feelings for my brother?"

"Not... not necessarily," I shook my head, taking another step back. I didn't want to get him angry. "I just don't think I should get involved... like this." I didn't even know if I made sense.

"I expected that," Itachi closed his eyes and walked back to the camp. As he passed me, he laid his hand on my shoulder. His lips parted and he looked like he was going to say something, but he stopped. Itachi continued walking back. "We're leaving in the morning so get some rest."

Four days had gone without me talking to Itachi. I was in my room and I stared at the ceiling for hours until someone interjected.

"Have you realised how you're so unable to make up your mind lately?" Deidara nudged me as he took a seat next to me on my bed.

His body had shifted the bed sheets, and I almost rolled over towards him at his sudden movement. "I don't know who I am."

"It's kind of annoying," He smirked, allowing himself to then lie beside me.

"Normally I would hit you for insulting me, but I have to agree," I sighed. "I need help."

"You're not the only one," Deidara shook his head. "You're in an organisation of insane criminals, for God's sake, yeah."

My eyes were half shut when I said, "It's as if I'm a completely different character around each person I know that I don't know which one is the real me."

"Well, what were you like before you came here?"

"I guess... Quiet?" I thought hard about how I acted around the Hidden Leaf. "I was too busy making sure my brother was living healthily. I always obeyed my superiors, which was basically everyone."

"Everyone was your superior?" Deidara snickered. "What are you, a genin?"

"I certainly was not able to pass the chunnin exam. I barely made it through the Forest of Death thanks to my team."

"I can't believe Itachi suggested in you coming here, you seem pretty useless."

"Why would he suggest me?"

Deidara raised an eyebrow at me, saying, "You haven't noticed our numbers decreasing? We needed new members, stat, so basically all of the best criminals around the world have joined, and are dying, so Leader wanted us to find suitable candidates, yeah."

"So that's why...?" I whispered.

"I'm confused why he picked you, though. If he hadn't trained you, you would've been a complete waste here."

I wondered what triggered him supposedly wanting to 'protect me'. I sat up.

"Deidara, I have a secret to tell you."

He sat up with me and listened intently. "I'm all ears, yeah."

I turned to him seriously and said, "But you cannot breathe a word to anyone. I'm telling you this so that I don't have to explain myself later."

"Go on..."

"Actually..." My eyes wandered around the room. "Recently Itachi has told me something..."

"He sees you as 'more' than a 15 year old girl?"

"No! Wait, uh..." Delayed, I then nodded slowly.

"I think we could all tell as soon as he wanted to take you under his wing."

"I should go talk to him... I didn't respond very well to what he told me."

He shrugged. "I don't really care but I think you should really get your thoughts together, yeah."

"What is there to think about?" I defended.

"Okay," He sighed, moving closer to me. "Truthfully, what do you think of your brother?"

"Um," I sent him a confused look and answered, "The last of my family." I thought about Kakashi and our last encounter, and I was worried if it was the final time I would see him. "...I don't want him hurt by anything... but I guess I shouldn't be saying that if I've been the one hurting him this entire time."

"Eh... Sasuke Uchiha?"

"My..." What was he to me? He was no longer a lover, no longer a comrade, but I'm sure he wasn't my enemy. "Sasuke's... a... former acquaintance."

"Nothing more?" He suspected a lie in my sentence.

"N...Nothing more," I sighed.

"Now, yeah, what do you think of our Itachi Uchiha?"

I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know if I wanted to answer.

Deidara hit the back of my head and grunted, "Spit it out!"

"I don't know!" I smacked his hand away from me and glared at him. "Itachi's... I don't know."

He did his dramatic sigh and fell back on the bed. "You're damn hopeless, yeah."

I kicked his leg out of the way and I got up, brushed my dress off and left the room. I made my way down the hallway and tapped Itachi's door lightly. It was barely audible. I knocked a little harder and the door opened. I looked at the door handle and realised the door wasn't locked nor closed. I peeked inside the room and slowly made my way in.

Where was Itachi?

I winced as bumped into a table, which made me look down to curse the inanimate object. Grabbing my hip in pain, my eyes skimmed over the objects that were spread across the desk top; papers on top of papers, ink brushes and pens.

Something caught my vision: the word 'Uchiha'.

I mumbled the word as my hands moved all papers aside except for that. Reading the information on it, my lips parted and a small gasp followed.

'Susanoo – materialise chakra, sword strikes – trapped in a genjutsu, seals anything that is hit, invincible.

Battle begins on June 16th at Uchiha Compound'

Who would he meet at the Uchiha compound...? My heart had skipped a beat when I'd realised.

"Sasuke...? Itachi's going to fight Sasuke?" I questioned this paper. I shook my head and yelled out, "Itachi!" Was he here?

With the paper in hand, I also grabbed a map. I then ran out of his room and grabbed my own bag, stuffing as much weapons and essentials into it. Deidara wasn't in the room anymore to question my motives. I didn't know what I was doing, but for all I really knew, I'd wanted this fight to stop.

I packed food pills and as I was about to leave my room I bumped into a towering person.

"Zetsu," I breathed with only a bit of shock.

He gave me a look of concerned after his eyes grazed my backpack. "Where are you going?"

"No where."

"I assume you will be going to the Uchiha compound now," He guessed.

Gulping, I nodded. "You can't stop me."

"That's not what I'm here for," Zetsu closed his eyes before continuing his sentence. "I'm informing the Leader that Itachi has already begun a battle between Sasuke Uchiha."

"Already!"

Nudging the plant monster aside, I made my way to the door and ran as fast as I could out of the Rain Village, and towards the Uchiha compound.

Who did I want to stop?

Sasuke or Itachi?

I still had no idea.

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