Apprentice
Hello! So many nice reviews! (Happy face) I'm glad people were able to grasp Sakkon's complete and utter craziness in the last chapter. He was a fixated ghost! (Sort of) I actually went online to study about fixated ghosts and crazy people and how the act and whatnot (I ended up just reading Shaman King and Bleach) and I tried to portray those features. One of the things aboutcrazy people is that they tend to repeat themselves, and mostly all Sakkon said was "I'm sorry but you can't have her" and "We'll live forever" and "You'll never get her back" and all that. So, yes... Sakkon is cracked up. He also said "I'm sorry" a lot, even though we all know he wasn't. (There were a lot of widened eyes in the last chapter, too...)
That chapter was, like, so hard to write, because, originally, it wasn't supposed to be a double-song chapter, it was just supposed to be My World, but then I ran out of lyrics (ha-ha) and I had to find another one that would fit. I like Streamline (S.O.A.D. 4EVA, YO!) so I decided to use that... I hope it worked.
Review answers! (I got so many that I want to respond to, so, yay!)
Dragonman180: Yes, I hope you never get a ghost mad at you, either, lol. BTW, Thank you, your review questions really help me develop my storyline. They give me something to think about... So, thanks! (Kenshin grin)
Rose: Woot! I'm glad you like it! Normally, people don't like stories with an O.C. as a main character, and this one is really popular! I'm glad you like it! Please keep reading!
RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: You take it all back...? I'm confused, you didn't like their relationship but now you do? What's going on?! Yes, Shizuka has done everything she can do... and yet, she always seems to find something else... Hee hee! Thank you, I'm glad you like it!
Malitia: Yes, yay for Itachi, sad-sad for Sakkon... who to chose to pity? Hmm.. I chose Sakkon, I feel bad for him... He is so unloved!
Dyroness: Of course something with Sakkon had to happen! You think he'd just lay down and die? Jesus, man, he's too stubborn for that! Lol
Peter Kim: Uh... The Atatsuki can't send people to the Chuunin exam... They aren't a village. You have to have a group of Ninjas registered to a certain village in order to do that, and they have a mixed group of ninjas. But thank you for the review! It was very nice and I had to think about it... Please keep reading!
Kie-san: Yes, poor Sakkon... He really does love Shizuka, but he is so unloved, it's sad... Y.Y ... But, to be honest, who in their right minds would not love Itachi? I mean, seriously! He's so damn hot! (drool) Thanks for the comment on the lyrics, they're really hard to do and I'm glad someone noticed!
Tigerwolf: Yay! I have an anime effect! I'm glad you think it's original... (grin!) Ty for the review please keep reading?
JapanAnimeGirl: The end? Oh, god no! There's still so much I have to have done! But don't worry... eventually, there will be an end, but it will be a nice one, I assure you! I hereby swear that there will be no deaths! (Although I'll probably forget...) :)
OH YEAH.... To those interested in Naruto joining the Atatsuki slash going with Shizuka and Itachi's teams... Yeah, read the manga... the last few chapters before Kakashi's story... Naruto can't leave, he's kind of busy! (I don't want to say anything that would give something away...)
Double "Oh yeah," um, I'm thinking about writing an O.A.S. (Obscured Apprentice Storyline) for this story and I need ideas! It's going to be very random, and hopefully funny, and if you have any ideas, please let me know! (Thanks to DM180 for inspiration; that beach comment was hilarious!)
Triple "Oh yeah," I have new Shizuka pics on this comp, and I happen to think I did a pretty good job... I drew a picture of her and Itachi snuggled in my sketchbook, and ti looks pretty good... God I wish I had a scanner!
Omigosh, I'm really close to 200 reviews! Will I get them? Hmm... That's up to you people. I know you're out there, so please review! I (heart) reviews!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Field Of Innocence
Kisame glanced over to where Itachi and Shizuka were walking in silence behind himself and Gaara. Of course, it was natural for Itachi to walk behind Kisame, as he preferred to walk at his own speed (slow and steady wins the race) but, normally, Shizuka led the pack, walking with Gaara in the front, laughing and joking and making a general nuisance of herself until Itachi called her back to him, after which she would walk with him in the back, deep in intimate conversation. However, today, she was unnaturally quiet, walking slowly in the rear, behind Itachi. In fact, come to think of it, Kisame had not heard her utter a word since...
Well, actually, he hadn't heard her speak at all. She had gone straight to bed after getting out of the hospital, and except for daily walks with Itachi or Gaara, she stayed in her room. He hadn't even heard her speak once.
Finally, the silence was starting to get to him, and he decided to speak. "So, where are we going now?"
"..."
"..."
"Home," Gaara answered, after another ten minutes of silence.
"Oh." So much for conversation... I should lift the tension. Kisame thought for a while. Light bulb. "I'm talk about the walk but I'm feeling horse! Get it?" He looked around expectantly.
"I wish I didn't," Itachi said out of the corner of his mouth. "We're not even riding."
Kisame sweat-dropped. So much for lightening the mood. "Ok, what's wrong?" he asked finally, stopping and turning on Itachi and Shizuka.
Itachi stopped, looking at him expressionlessly. "...?..."
"Neither of you have hardly spoken at all since we left Konoha," Kisame explained. "And yes, I know, Itachi never talks, but what's your excuse?" He looked at Shizuka.
Itachi glanced back at Shizuka, as well. She'd come to a stop about a foot behind him, looking at them blankly. If he hadn't known for a fact that something (or someone...) was troubling her, he would have thought she either didn't know what they were talking about, or simply had nothing to talk about. But, of course, that was not the case.
Flashback
"You're leaving? Already?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, looking up from the many papers she was signing. "Is everything alright?"
Itachi nodded. He and Gaara had come alone to give the message to Tsunade that they were leaving. They knew, of course, that their absence left Kisame and Shizuka to stare blankly at each other, but who cared? "We must get back to the Atatsuki. We've spent too long here, and Gaara and Shizuka are starting missions soon so we need to train."
Tsunade shrugged, although she looked a little put out. "Well, alright then. It was nice having you, please stop by again." She gave them the necessary papers that would gain them permission to leave Konoha. "Give these to the gate keepers."
Itachi took the papers and nodded. With a quick nod of the head, he and Gaara left, leaving Tsunade confused and a little annoyed that she didn't have any S-Classed, scary Nins in her village to brag about anymore.
Gaara turned to Itachi. "Why are we–"
"I just said why," Itachi interrupted. "We have to get back so we can register the two of you for missions."
End flashback
Gaara was not a complete idiot, nor was he dim. He knew something was up with Itachi and Shizuka, and he was rather curious to find out, but he had decided early that morning that he would wait for Shizuka to come talk to him. After all, if you wait for the person in question to want to speak, you get more details, right? Right.
But, God, would it be a trying wait.
(Later that night)
There was a heavy silence as the four Atatsuki members sat around a camp fire that Itachi had made with his Fire Element Jutsu. The scenery was almost the same as the last time they camped out, except, this time, there was no energy, no sound, except for the cracking of the fire wood and the rustle of leaves overhead as wind passed through them. Itachi sat cross-legged on a fallen log, his eyes closed, although he wasn't asleep; Kisame sat on a fallen log across the fire from Itachi's, adjusting the bandages encasing his Samahada, as he had nothing better to do; Gaara sat between the logs, his eyes closed, meditating like Naruto had advised him on; Shizuka sat on the ground leaning against Itachi's log, twirling a few strands of black hair around her fingers, using Itachi's knee as a pillow.
After what seemed like a whole eternity, Itachi stood up, drawing the attention of everyone but Gaara, who remained in his meditating position. Itachi brushed off his robes, gave Shizuka a look that told her to follow him, and stalked off into the pitch-black woods.
For reasons unbeknownst to both, Shizuka glanced at Kisame, as if asking whether or not it was safe, and he shrugged, to show he wasn't sure, but knew that Itachi wouldn't attack her, or anything.
Shizuka nodded and stood up, brushing herself off and tracing Itachi's footsteps.
It is so wrong how we can all talk without speaking, Kisame thought with a shiver.
Shizuka met Itachi in a small clearing out of earshot of the camp; he stood in the middle of the circle of trees, his back to her, and there was, once again, a silence.
"Um," Shizuka said, in case he hadn't noticed her presence.
"If you and I hadn't..." Itachi began, searching for words, his back still towards her. "If you and I weren't... would you have gone with him?"
Whatever Shizuka had been expecting, it wasn't that. "What?"
"Would you have gone with Sakkon if I wasn't around?" he rephrased.
"...Why are you asking this?" she asked finally, mortally confused.
Itachi turned to look at her; his black-grey eyes were pained, as if saying this were a hardship on him. "Because all day, you've looked disappointed, like you missed out on something. Would you have rather gone with him?"
She didn't answer at once, still caught by the pain in his eyes, before she looked away. "If I hadn't... If you hadn't..." She stopped, remembering.
'W-What's going on? This... This isn't Sakkon... is it?'
"No," she said, rather decidedly. "If he had been the same Sakkon that I'd left in Konoha four months ago, maybe I would have gone with him. But he wasn't the same... He changed... The old Sakkon was..." She stopped again, uncomfortable.
"...In love with you," Itachi finished, looking away again.
"Yeah, and he would have done basically anything to make me happy..." She paused yet again, remembering. "Actually... he always tried to make me happy...No matter what, even if it put him in danger with Orochimaru, he wanted to make me happy..." She suddenly stopped herself, looking up at Itachi's back. "I-I'm sorry... I shouldn't say that..."
"..."
Shizuka felt a large weight drop inside her at his silence; it wasn't like his normal silences... This one was sad, pained, almost angry.... "I'm sorry," she repeated in desperation. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry for hurting you...." She felt her voice break. "I'm always... hurting the people I love... I'm... I'm so sorry..." She gulped, her eyes burning, willing away the tears she knew would come if she didn't stop them.
Finally, he spoke. "I'm not angry at you," he said softly, causing her to look up at him. "And I'm not even mad at Sakkon. I suppose I'm angry that the two of you have a history. I've only known you for a little while, and he's known you all your life." He turned to give her a small smile, beckoning her to come closer, which she did, and he encircled her in his arms, folding her against him ever so gently while she cried (or, rather, tried not to cry). "I'm just jealous, that's all. I'm a guy, and Sakkon's a guy, and we can't help being idiots." He ran his thumb under her eyes; it came away wet. "But I love you, so I can understand why he would drive himself crazy over you." He pressed his lips against her forehead. "I would have done the same thing, in his position."
Shizuka's eyes widened, and, for a split second, she forgot that she was trying to ignore the fact that she was trying not to cry. Did... Did Itachi just say he loved me... with wordsShe starred at his throat as he rested his lips against her forehead, trying to remember a single time when he had said he loved her. She couldn't find any.
A thought occurred to her. "Itachi."
"Hmm."
"I need to go to Oto." She looked up at him determinedly. "It's personal."
Orochimaru watched calmly as Kabuto and Sasuke trained before him (A/N: In case you haven't read the recent mangas in the 200 region, Orochimaru now has a new body temporarily, and it's really cute! Well... it was....). His container was getting strong, indeed; Kabuto was barely a match for him anymore. Three years would pass, and his Sasuke-container would be amazingly strong; strong enough to kill the Kyuubi's medium, and then, Orochimaru's plans would be complete.
But... something was bothering him, in the back of his mind, a nagging little voice was yelling at him to remember something, but, for some reason, he couldn't remember it to save his life.
BOOM!
Orochimaru jumped halfway out of his borrowed body. A huge explosion echoed through the head quarters, rattling window panes. Sasuke stopped in mid-kick, looking around. "What was that?"
"An explosion," Kabuto answered, as if it were not obvious. He ducked under Sasuke's foot and crossed the room to a monitor, turning it on and waiting for the image to appear.
Sasuke and Orochimaru looked at each other, then Sasuke went to stand at Kabuto's shoulder, squinting to make out the image.
"I can't see it," Sasuke stated bluntly.
Kabuto gave him a swift look, then twiddled a small dial on the keyboard, bringing the image into focus. His eyes widened. "Orochimaru-sama.."
"Who is it?" Orochimaru asked casually.
"There are... two Atatsuki members in the tunnel leading in, and..." He adjusted to another scene. "...Two standing guard outside." He turned to look at his master. "Do you think they reconsidered our offer?"
Orochimaru shrugged, looking none-too-concerned. "Go greet our guests, Kabuto."
Kabuto starred at him for a moment, rather nervous about meeting two stranger Atatsuki members alone, but nodded anyway and stepped out into the hall. Sasuke frowned and looked back at the scene, touching the button Kabuto had to change the scene, making the image switch back to the hallway. Something didn't feel right...
Orochimaru suddenly smacked his hand into his palm as if he'd just had a stroke of brilliant insight. "Now I remember. Speaking of Atatsuki, Shizuka's out to kill me."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him.
"Well, it's something to think about." Orochimaru shrugged, sitting back in his chair.
Sasuke shook his head and turned back to the screen. Kabuto was approaching the two Atatsuki members standing in the hall. There was a low murmur of voices before a thick, crawling... something... grabbed Kabuto by the foot and lifted him into the air, slamming him into the wall, undoubtedly knocking him out. Sasuke winced, then gave a small gasp, remembering; he knew exactly (he thought) what that crawling something was...
Gaara...
One of the Atatsuki members moved to stand in the middle of the hall, right in the center of the camera shot, and shouted up at it, "Orochimaru!"
Sasuke turned to Orochimaru as the Atatsuki member kept shouting at the camera. "They want you, not Kabuto."
Orochimaru smirked, resting his chin in his head. "Let's hope they know where to find me, then."
Sasuke shrugged and turned back to the screen in time to see the Atatsuki member who had been shouting, bite their thumb and make a hand-seal.
"Kuchiyose No Jutsu!" There was an explosion of smoke before the screen went fuzzy.
Sasuke turned back to Orochimaru again. "What was–"
BOOM!
The wall behind the monitor exploded, hurling Sasuke back; chunks of wall and stone flew everywhere through the smoke. Sunlight poured into the room as the ceiling was blown away, as well. A whole half of the room was gone; through the smoke and dust, a humongous shadow loomed through. The sound of crashing echoed through the wood as the shadow drew closer. Finally, the dust and smoke cleared, revealing an unearthly huge, purple, horned snake; standing atop it's head, at least a hundred feet above Sasuke's head, were the two Atatsuki members who had been standing in the hallway. Some ways down the snake's body, where the door to the head quarters would have been, stood the other two Atatsuki.
Orochimaru's eyes widened. "Manda?!"
"Hello, Orochimaru," said one of the Atatsuki members on the so-called Manda's head; they remove their traveling hat, revealing long, black hairand an Oto forehead protector with a deep gnash through it. "I'm home." Shizuka smirked.
Wow! Finally! God that was hard to write! I don't know why... it just was... That scene with Itachi and Shizuka was really hard, since it's so mushy, and drawing mushy scenes with other people (glares at mom's boyfriend/fiancé) in the room is embarrassing.
I got online last night, and got every single Itachi picture, or group picture with Itachi in it, known to man. Kyah! I'm happy! Itachi is a sexy bitch!
(Glomps)
Itachi: Get off.
Neji: (streaming tears) I thought I was your favorite sexy bitch!
Aww... (pets Neji) You are... but only when I'm writing a fic for you! Don't worry, I will love you lots when I get around to writing Purity Of White again!
Neji: (ego recovers) Who cares?
-.-' Review! (Kenshin grin)
Kyuubi: I haven't said anything in a while..
Then say something!
Kyuubi:...
SNG: ....?
Kyuubi:....
SNG, Itachi & Neji: ...?
Kyuubi: I DRIVE A PICKLE MOBILE!
SNG, Itachi & Neji: (fall over anime style)