07:39

Chapter XIX – Quality Time

I sat up on my bed and contacted Kakuzu, hoping that he would still be coming in and out of my head like he had been the past few hours. With no contact from him after a few minutes, I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair, ruffling it thoughtfully. Closing my eyes, I hummed softly to myself, swinging my legs off of the side of my bed boredly. I heard a door open and close, and I thought it was my parents coming home. I jumped up to hide, but it was the door to my art room opening. I blushed as Kakuzu laid his eyes on me, one eyebrow raised in amusement at my skiddishness.

"Hm, you scare easily." I scoffed and frowned.

"I do not!" I close my eyes and fold my arms across my chest. When I did not hear anything, I opened my eyes and looked around my room. What the hell? Where did he go?! I started walking around my room, looking for him. I went back to sit on my bed, and when I was almost there, Kakuzu jumped in front of me with unreal speed. He looked into my startled eyes and narrowed his, as though making a point.

"Boo." He said, his deep voice thick with sarcasm. I giggled and shook my head, secretly more aroused than scared.

"You're not scary. You're just fast! Which is annoying, because I am slow." I allowed myself a smile. He sighed and sat in my desk chair while I sat on my bed. The two of us were a few feet away from each other now, but our eyes never left each other's.

"How much do you know about me, Ivy?" My eyes widened as he used my name for the first time. I liked the way he said my name, but I didn't tell him that. I thought for a minute, scratching my head in thought. I couldn't help but watch him watch me.

"Well… I know that you have a total of five hearts: four on your back, each of which represents a different element- Fire, Wind, Water and Earth- and each of the hearts can act independent from your body-"

I was silenced by his hand over my mouth. He was now standing up in front of me, leaning down so that one of his hands were covering my mouth, and the other hand was next to me on the bed. He towered over me, looking down at me.

I never realized how huge he was compared to me.

My eyes widened as I stared into his piercing neon green eyes, and I could hear my heart beating in my ears. He sighed in annoyance, and I shrunk underneath him, feeling bad for annoying him. I turned a dark red as he leaned forward as I leaned back; he was determined to keep eye contact with me.

"That's not what I mean. What do you know about me? About my past? About my personality?" I blinked a few times, unable to form a sentence. His eyes consumed me. Our closeness took over me. How badly I just wanted to lean up and…

"I-I don't… I don't know anything, I swear…! I-I know about Deidara, Sasori, Pein, Konan and Itachi, and that's it!" I said, having to speak up due to his hand muffling my voice. His intense analytical stare scanned over my features, trying to see if I was genuine or not. I assumed he found what he wanted, because his expression softened.

"That's right... you know nothing about me. No one knows anything about me. That's the way it's always been." I looked up into his eyes, and I sighed shakily into the palm of his hand. His facial expressions kept changing, I couldn't get a solid read on what he was feeling. He's gone from Pissed Off to Blank to Pissed Off to Sad, now.

If you had asked me last month about Kakuzu's emotional capacity, I'd have said that it escalates from Irritated to Pissed Off to Seething to I'm Going To Destroy You. I never would have guessed that sadness would be one of them. I decided to break his stare by closing my eyes and sighing again. I gripped my bed blankets in order to keep my hands from shaking. I opened my eyes again and saw that he had grabbed his mask that was still laying on my bed and put it back on, his face hidden from me once again.

I stared into his eyes, and it seemed as though when he put on his mask, he not only hid his face, but his emotions as well. I stared into his now blank eyes, and found my voice again, though it was still muffled by his hand covering it.

"Stop it… please." His eyes widened, and he reluctantly took his hand off of my mouth. I leaned forward, closer to him, and he leaned away. Reaching up, I slid my icy fingers underneath his mask, caressing his warm cheeks and lacing my fingers in his soft hair. I pushed his mask down so that his face was once again revealed to me. His eyes shot over to my hands, glancing from them to my eyes, like a deer in headlights. Yet another emotion I'd never expect to see in him.

Panic. Shock.

I knew that I should stop, but I couldn't bring myself to. He wasn't objecting to it anyway. I laced my fingers in his hair and stroked the back of his neck with my chilled fingers, causing him to shudder slightly. I stared into his eyes and managed to hold his gaze, still trying desperately to read him.

"Stop running from everyone… please, let me in…! No one knows me either, so let's let each other inside, Kakuzu-san! I know you might think I sound stupid, but… I know what it's like to be lonely, and I-" My eyes widened as I noticed that his eyes had left mine and were now staring at my lips. He caught me staring at him and looked into my eyes once more.

"What… what are you staring at…?"

"You." I didn't expect him to be so straightforward.