And hello, everyone.

If you're following "Closer," I'm sorry that I have not been able to update recently. I will now take this moment to remind my followers that I am six months pregnant, a full time college student, have a full time job and am a full-time housewife. (Too many responsibilities for a 20 year old, if you ask me.)

I promise that I will try to update more often. I just ask that you bear with me, please.

Chapter Fourteen

She had spilled her guts to the Hokage, but to no avail.

"I'm sorry, Akahana," she had said, "but you're not a citizen of this country; you're just on a work visa. You still have to obey your country's laws. And as for Itachi, there's nothing I can do about that, either."

So she was stuck.

Now Akahana was outside of the village walls, and her mind was still racing, like it had been throughout the day.

She'd considered abortion. But it had only made her sick when she'd thought about it. She had saved many lives, and she had fought many enemies, but she had never been the one to kill them. Medics weren't allowed to kill on the battlefield, at least not on purpose and not in her country. She had never taken a life. So why would she be able to take one that was growing inside of her? Wasn't it still hers?

And then after that she'd considered leaving the country again after the wedding. Maybe going to visit some distant family or something, making Reiko promise to return her. And then when it was all finished never returning back to this country, the country that ruined her. She could raise her child to be a Yukimura, and never teach it about the Uchiha clan.

After that, however, she realized that Uchiha Itachi was a prodigy. He would figure her out in no time at all. And as his wife, she would have no choice but to obey every command he gave her. In her country, that was the way things worked. It had been ingrained into her brain from a very young age of how she was supposed to act as a woman and as a wife.

She hated their relationship. She hated that he read her every move, hated that he seemed to know her very thoughts. His obsession had drawn him to the point where he'd seriously observed every bit of her down to a molecular level. He would know right away that something was wrong and would question her about everything, down to who she saw all day while in town. She wasn't sure if she could handle the interrogation.

Disaster hit early, while she was in a boutique. The inn she would be staying in not only had rooms, but it also had gardens, a spa and a restaurant rumored to have the best sushi around. So she was attempting to find the most wonderful dress she could, and she honestly wasn't sure why. It wasn't like she wished to impress Itachi. Maybe she just wanted to pacify him.

But the disaster wore a mask and covered one eye with his Konoha headband, walking into the women's store and heading straight for her. Akahana wasn't sure what part of her day would be worse: talking to Itachi or talking to Kakashi.

"Hey, Akahana," the older man began, "how have things been? We've hardly talked in the last month. Did something happen?"

She barely glanced at him. "Well, Itachi and I have just been adjusting to our lives on the compound," she replied. "I've been busy, Kakashi, I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you."

"I can't sense your chakra at all."

She sighed, and glanced at him again, continuing to look through the rack of dresses before her. "I tried to run away, and he caught me. I've been sealed ever since."

Even though she was unable to sense his chakra, she could sense the anger in his words. "Why didn't you tell me, Akahana?" he asked. "I could have helped you. I could have shown you a different way to get out of the village. I could have stopped him from—"

"It turns out that I didn't know what rape is, Kakashi." Finally she turned to face him. "And that night he showed me what it truly means to be violated, to be raped. It's too late for me now. Even if I wanted to leave now, I can't bring myself to do it."

He grabbed both sides of her face, maybe a little tighter than he should have. "Why can't you?" he asked. "I can help you. I can get you away from him. We can leave tonight, and then we can—"

"Kakashi, I can't do that, Itachi and I—"

"You two don't belong together, you don't love him!" He looked way too serious for his usual demeanor. "You and I can start over, have a relationship the way they're supposed to be had—"

"I'm pregnant, Kakashi."

His hands left her face as if it had suddenly become red-hot. His face lost its color, and his visible eye widened. But he seemed stunned into silence, for as the seconds ticked by, he didn't say anything to her.

"Akahana, hurry up," she heard Koda nagging from the door. "I'm bored of looking at girls' clothes—" His eyes widened, but then the younger brother smiled obliviously. "Hey, Kakashi-sensei, what's up?"

"Goodbye, Kakashi," she said. "You won't see me again until I'm a member of the Uchiha clan, and I'm afraid that's the way things must be."

She met Itachi in the lobby just before dinner. He wore something similar to the things he wore every other day, just in darker colors. And yet his eyes had never widened upon seeing her before. She wasn't sure whether she liked it or not.

She still wasn't sure why she was dressed the way she was. Itachi was into outfits that were provocative, and he loved to be seen in public with her while she dressed the way she was now. Something about making men jealous of what he had.

But soon that would all change. Soon he would be making men jealous about not only an attractive wife, but he would also be making everyone envy the family they would have. Handsome man, attractive wife with more than likely an attractive and prodigious child. Why was it that despite his nature, Itachi loved to be the man on top? He loved to have the best and to be the best, and yet he did not brag and his nature was completely peaceful and modest. Some even considered Itachi to be the most humble of the Uchiha clan. Why was he like that?

On this night she wore hot pink, a color that was definitely not her favorite. Her dress was strapless and tight around her entire body, reaching her knees while hugging her every curve and her very shape. The stilettos she wore were stark white, and she wore silver earrings and bracelets. Her makeup was heavy, just the way he sometimes enjoyed it, although she went without the red lipstick this time.

"You look wonderful," he told her, a smirk appearing on his face. "I hope you brought your appetite with you."

"Of course," she replied, attempting to smile. "Tonight you won't have to sneak food to our room."

He chuckled slightly. "After tonight, I'll never have to do so again."

Throughout dinner Itachi asked what was going on with her. He knew something was on her mind, and he was bound and determined to find out what it was.

By the time they were in the hot spring together, naked, he was losing his patience. "Come now, Akahana, tell me what's the matter," he said while kissing her collarbone. He had her in his lap again, facing him as always. "You look much prettier without that worried look on your face."

"It was about my exam with Tsunade," she said plainly. She supposed she would have to tell him. But how would he take it? And what's more, how would she do it?

He looked up at her with a worried look of his own. "You're not actually sick, are you?" he asked. "If you need to rest up before the wedding, then you and I can hurry to bed. Tomorrow we will spend the day in here, relaxing in every way that we can."

"No, I am healthy for the most part," she said. "But I won't be able to go on missions for awhile, you see." Surely she was blushing. She could feel the heat in her face.

"Well?" he asked. "What is it? Are you hurt somewhere?"

The tears began before she could get herself under control. She didn't know what to say to him. She didn't know what to do. If he knew then everything would be over.

But he would find other ways to get it out of her, if he deemed it necessary.

"Shh, Akahana, don't cry," he began, and started to kiss her face and her hair. "Whatever it is, you and I can get through it together, I promise."

"Itachi… I…" She wished none of this could ever have happened to her. "I can't…"

His loving touch on her back tightened slightly, and she felt terror rise in the back of her throat. "You can't what, angel?" he asked. "What can you not do?" He hesitated before asking his next question. "You're not trying to leave again, are you?"

She felt her breath hitch. "No, no," she breathed through her messy sobs. "That isn't it at all, Itachi, I…"

His expression softened. "Then it can't be that bad."

She should have just said it from the beginning. She should have gotten it over with instead of letting her stupid emotions get the best of her. What the hell was she doing?

"I'm… I'm going to have a baby," she cried. "I'm pregnant, Itachi and… and I…"

She lost it, throwing her arms around his neck and beginning to sob just like she had at the hospital. She didn't know what else to say about it. She had told him, and it scared her to death. She could have handled that better.

He hugged her back, his arms shaking. She had never felt him shake before, not even when he was cold.

"I'm so happy, Akahana," he breathed. "I can't believe that you're… that we…" He was squeezing her too tight. But she had never seen him so… so overjoyed before…

Why did it feel so good to know that he was this happy? Did she really want to continue to make him feel this way? Why would she ever…?

"I love you, Akahana."

He didn't have to torture the response from her, not this time.

"…I love you as well, Itachi."