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At this point, Hikari grew quiet, her face becoming heated at the mere recollection, "So yeah… Then all that and---" Itachi cut her off with a soft chuckle, "We're not skipping out on that part. It was one of my favorites."

"Then you tell it," She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"With pleasure, my dear," He mused with a smirk.


His curious fingers found the edge of her sweater, fiddling idly with the fabric as his hungry lips captured her own. Her lips were soft and vulnerable. He found himself never wishing to part with them. But his own lips craved for something more.

Timid hands pressed against his clothed chest. Diminutive yet insistent as her fingers bawled into fists, capturing the fabric between them.

Itachi's lips trailed from her soft ones down to her jaw, placing rough butterfly kisses along her jaw line and finally halting at her neck. The man surprised her with a small nip at her exposed flesh, earning a gentle moan to slip passed her parted lips. A smile curved at his own, and Hikari could feel it against the crook of her neck.

The butterflies in her stomach made her squirm against his figure. Why she felt nervous, self-conscious, she didn't know. However the feeling only grew when his hands wandered to her hips, digging in his nails as his excitement escalated. Despite the fabric of her sweater, she could still feel the sharpness of his grip. It terrified her and thrilled her in the same breath.

Just like that, Hikari felt her back press against the large oak tree. It towered over them in the moonlight, as if concealing them from any danger that might lurk in the shadows.

His hands grasped at the edge of her sweater, tugging it upwards as the chilled air brought goose bumps to her exposed stomach. Without a second's notice, he yanked her sweater above her head. Flailing just a bit, her arms became tangled in the cloth enclosure. With a faint chuckle, Itachi removed the suffocating material and tossed it to the grassy knoll. Itachi's lips glided against her collarbone, sending a different kind of chill down her spine.

And just as his hands found her soft breasts, a pang of dread surfaced within Hikari's chest. Her breath caught in her throat as she closed her eyes tightly. This wasn't right. Comfort sex wasn't going to make their lives better. It was a connection she wasn't ready for. A connection she didn't want. Sex without devotion was just an empty act.

Those petite hands found his own chest, however they weren't aiming to please. Gathering all her strength, she shoved the man away from her. As he stumbled, Itachi gave her a puzzled look, his eyes flashing with slight annoyance. She said nothing as she scooped up her sweater, thrusting it over her head and wrapping herself in the comfort of its stilled warmth.

"I can't do this, Uchiha," She muttered, her voice as steady as it could be under the conditions.

"It's just for a night," He straightened up.

The wind whistled through the once still trees.

"No," Hikari shook her head, "I don't want that kind of life."

"What the Hell are you talking about?" He quirked a skeptical brow. This woman's emotions were unbalanced at best.

"You wouldn't understand," She hissed, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. She felt defenseless under Itachi's scrutinizing gaze.

"You're right. I wouldn't understand such a pathetic lifestyle. Always running and locking yourself away in such a small dormitory. It really is pathetic. No wonder you don't have a boyfriend," His laugh was bitter.

"You criticize my life, yet take a look at yours. You're begging for a one night stand in the fucking park! If I'm pathetic than you're---" the girl couldn't even find the right word to describe the disgrace before her. The tears stung her eyes and as Itachi's temper began to settle, he found himself feeling horribly guilty for the words that had escaped his mouth.

He wanted so badly to reach out and comfort the girl a few feet away from him. To apologize and ask for forgiveness. It was a bottled up feeling he wasn't used to.

But then again, this girl had a way of making him feel these emotions he had since locked away. And that's exactly what drew him to her. Unfortunately, perhaps that was also why their distinctively different personalities seemed to clash so vilely.

While lost in foreign thoughts, he was unaware of Hikari's retreating figure. Not until she was well down the sidewalk did he make a move to follow after her.

"Wait, Hikari!" He breathed out, finding it ever so hard to walk after performing such draining acts.

"Go away," Her voice was bleak, different from the usual irritated tone.

It killed him inside.

"Please, don't walk away. Not like this," Itachi's eyes pleaded with her own.

"Shall I run then," Came her sarcastic remark. She kept her eyes locked on the sidewalk ahead of her. Thank god her dorm was only a few blocks away.

But he wouldn't let her go so easily. His hand grasped hers in a weak attempt to stop her from leaving. She gave him a dismissing glance before jerking her hand free from his.

"You can't tell me you didn't feel something," He growled as she continued to walk away, "Anything. There was a connection there. Not just sexual, Hikari."

The last of his sentence did bring her to a stop, if only for a moment. Hikari glanced over her shoulder towards the man. He had a look of relief hidden under his sober attitude. She couldn't find the words, her mentality was a mix match of jumbled thoughts.

The opportunity would not evade him. Itachi snuck up behind the girl, engulfing the coy girl within his secure arms. His chin found her shoulder as he buried his nose into the crook of her neck. She smelt of a perfume he hadn't had the pleasure of ever sampling. Something so vivid it stood out to him, yet so secretive that it eluded his identification.

This time she made no move to escape him. Hikari was frozen within his arms. Either that, or she had finally become content.

And despite the smoldering words they had exchanged just moments before. Both seemed at ease to just stand with each other. To be so close to each other. Their steady heartbeats mixed with the whistle of the trees and the distant parking of apartment dogs.

Her hands found his forearms, a soft, delicate touch. She breathed in his elegant cologne, bathed in the warmth his body was producing on such a chilly night, and sighed with ease when she felt his lips press, ever so delicately, against the flesh of her neck.

"Lets just stay like this a little longer," Hikari muttered with closed eyes.

"Alright," His voice was sweet like chocolate.

But in truth, Itachi found he wanted to stay like that for as long as he could. It was a feeling of security. Of assurance. Something he had secretly longed for, but was never able to obtain.

That was, until now.