A/N: I am so happy that you guys liked last chapter! It was fairly stressful to write, but I am happy you guys enjoyed the ending! There was quite a bit of foreshadowing going on with it, and boy oh boy – are you guys in for a twist this chapter.
Please do not murder my butt hole please. I'm very sensitive down there.
Also, a big thanks to my friends LadyBug and JessieKatt for making me laugh to the point of tears last chapter. As I was trying to think of a question to ask for the bottom bit, for an entire 20 minutes, they kept asking me to put "What that mouth do" and a bunch of dick related questions. We were all in tears, and in the end, I just went with a pie question. Totally random, yes – I know.
I won't let them read my fic however. They already know I'm a weeb, but I really don't need them knowing how big of one I truly am though.
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Remember, if you guys see any mistakes/things that could be re-written, please let me know! I always enjoy a bit of constructive criticism :) Cheers!
Think I just remembered something
I think I left the faucet running
Now my words are filling up the tub
Darling, you're just soaking in it
But I know you'll get out the minute
You notice all your fingers pruning up
I'm tired of being careful, tiptoe, trying to keep the water warm
Let me under your skin
Uh-oh, there it goes, I said too much, it overflowed
Why do I always spill?
I feel it coming out my throat
Guess I better wash my mouth out with soap
God, I wish I never spoke
Now I gotta wash my mouth out with soap
Melanie Martinez – Soap
Third Person
"Daddy!" Jackie cried, running towards her father and crashing herself within his wide and open arms. The moment she grabbed onto his form, he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a much needed hug.
"Never in a million years would I have thought that I would be performing emergency surgery on someone who I consider my daughter." He let out a deep sigh, placing a hand on Jackie's messy short locks. "The only other time I have been this stressed was when your step mother went into labor and ended up giving birth in the car to twins."
Deidara and Itachi shared a look between the two of them before they turned their attention back to Jackie, who was still clinging onto her father for dear life.
"Is she going to be okay?" Jackie asked through tears, and her father gave a stiff nod.
"I have no doubt that she will be alright. Karyn already informed you of her condition, however – once we figure out what caused her heart attack, I must ask you to refrain from getting her emotional." He let go of his daughter, bringing his hands up to his covered head, and he pulled the surgical hat he was wearing off. Now that his head was uncovered, he ruffled his own blonde hair, letting out a deep sigh. "We don't need her having another one..."
Their attention turned to the doors being open, and Anna's bed being wheeled out. Jackie moved herself so she could catch sight of her best friend, and when she did – her heart sunk to her stomach. "Oh my god..."
Anna, to put it nicely, looked horrible. Almost all the color was drained from her face, she looked frail, almost like she could break at any moment. The specks of blood that lined the sheets wasn't at all comforting, and a large mass of tubes hung from the top of her bed. All in all, she looked as if she had been through hell.
"Don't worry Jackie. She looks like hell as of right now, but she should be fine when she wakes up." John continued, scratching the top of his head. He looked towards the two Akatsuki members who stood quietly, watching Anna being pushed away to her own private room. "Now, I'm going to bend the rules for you guys. I put her into the more expensive recovery suits, so there will be a cot provided, and seating for you guys. At this point, visiting hours are long over – but I'm going to allow you guys as much time with her as needed. If someone questions you, Jackie, you know what to do."
"Thank you so much daddy..." Jackie whispered, hugging her father once more. John gave a smile as he squeezed onto his daughter, returning the love he was receiving, nodding towards the two boys who spoke very polite 'thank you's.
"You are my daughter." He continued. "And you two are my daughters friends. It's the least I could do after this scary experience."
"Thank you very much." Itachi stated, bowing his head with respect. Deidara caught sight of this, and with the need and want to impress Jackie's father, he too lowered his head, only not as gracefully.
"Anyways, I need to go grab a coffee while I still can. I still have enough five hours on this shift, and as much as I want to take a break and make sure everything is alright – the doctors upstairs will make sure everything is okay." Jackie detached herself from her father and nodded, rubbing her eyes in a poor attempt to make herself feel better. "I should be up when I'm done to check up on here, though I doubt much will change."
"I'm sure the nurses will let you know daddy..." Jackie sent a smile towards her father as he started walking away, heading straight towards the staff room.
"I hope to god this was only a one time thing..." He mumbled to himself, exiting the hallway, leaving Jackie and the two Akatsuki member's alone.
"What now, un..?" Deidara mumbled, stifling a yawn as he stretched his arms out. Jackie turned her eyes to look at him and gave a deep sigh, looking in the direction where they saw Anna being wheeled off.
"Well we have two choices. We can head straight to Anna's room and chill in there for a few hours – or we can make our way towards the food court." She pulled out her phone and turned it on, seeing that it was now almost five thirty. "Tim Hortan's should be open soon, and as much as I want to race up there and be with her, they are probably setting her up and that could take a while. What do you guys think?"
"Getting something to eat would be nice, un..." Deidara mumbled, feeling a blush tint his cheeks as the sound of his stomach bounced off the walls of the empty hallway. "Un..."
Jackie opened her mouth to say something, only for her own stomach to join him in choir, which also caused her cheeks to turn a bright pink. "I guess for now, we eat..." She let out a nervous chuckle as they made their way towards the cafeteria – finally able to sit down and settle now that they knew that Anna was going to be alright.
"Wow." Jackie whispered, taking a look at the room Anna was provided.
Unlike the other available rooms that the hospital offered, this one was in the private wing on the top floor – sectioned off from everything, but still very close at the same time. Usually only high profile cases or celebrities used these rooms, and even that wasn't very often. "Of course he would.." Jackie mumbled, slipping off her Jackie, the boys following soon after.
There Anna laid in a typical hospital bed, only this one seemed more... Advanced. That was the only way to explain it. Instead of a thin white blanket covering her body, a tan plush one kept her warm, with matching pillows. In front of her bed, a plush couch sat, big enough to allow a very thick and tall man to be able to sleep on it with no problems, along with other chairs that lined a small coffee table. The walls were painted a dark chocolate color, and the floors were a bamboo hardwood.
All in all, the room was beautiful.
"Does your father normally do this for all his patients?" Itachi asked, raising an eyebrow as he walked towards the center of the room, nodding towards two nurses who had watched the walk in, making sure Anna's IV's were safely secured.
"No." Jackie mumbled, throwing her Jackie on one of the chairs that were provided. "He didn't even let me use this room when I was in the hospital." She started walking towards Anna. "It's probably because of his position in the hospital..."
"What position does he have, un?" Deidara asked, and just before Jackie responded, one of the nurses turned to them.
"Doctor Brookes? He is the head surgeon of this hospital! I heard talks that they were thinking of promoting him up the chain further, with his work on the board of trustee's and his charity work..." This nurse looked towards the other, who wiggled her shoulders in excitement.
"Doctor Brookes is so dreamy... Hot an successful!" Jackie sent a glare in their direction as she approached Anna's bed, making sure to bring her hands up and crack her knuckles – thus earning their attention.
"I would like it if you two didn't flirt about my father while I am standing right here." Their faces went white as the zoned onto Jackie.
"Oh dear god... You're the infamous Jacklyn Brookes?" One of the spoke, and there was a slight twitch to Jackie's eyebrow. "We know your sister! She works behind the desk in the emergency room. However, I've heard stories that you are a child out of wedlock? Is this true?"
"Please, just do your job and get the fuck out." Jackie spat, giving a look that would cause young children to cry, causing the two nurses to finish up what they were doing and run out of the room. Once they were gone, Jackie gave a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Wow, does that normally happen while you are here, un?" Deidara asked, sitting himself on one of the empty chairs in the middle of the room. He gave a content sigh as he adjusted himself, thankful that it was much more comfy then what was in the waiting room. Hell, he could say it was much more comfy then what they had at Anna's/
"Look, I would rather not talk about that subject right now." Jackie grumbled, dragging one of the unoccupied chairs so that it sat beside Anna's bed, sitting herself beside her best friend. "Right now, all I want to focus is on Anna, and what the hell is going on with her."
"Sorry, un..." Deidara mumbled, diverting his eye's from Jackie's before he down turned his gaze.
Itachi watched the two of them with curiosity. Yes, he was aware of the feelings that Deidara was expressing the the short haired blonde, and to be completely honest he wasn't shocked. Deidara was young and vulnerable to love. Seeing him go 'out of whack' over a girl in some ways amused him, for his usual attitude of 'fuck Uchiha's' had pretty much gone out the window.
This whole experience, not including this new incident with Anna had opened up his, and possibly the other Akatsuki member's eyes. They in their lives of criminals, had never expected to experience love, a warm and accepting home, or even the chance to live a semi-decent life. They were murderer's, thieves, bounty hunters, the list goes on and on, yet here they were, stuck in this new world with two completely innocent girls.
Now of course they hadn't forgotten the fact that they had forced them into the situation. Coming here, as kittens no less was stressful, and they acted on a whim. A whim Itachi had to admit, he was very happy they took. Because again, in the years that he had been a criminal, he had lost the dream of having a normal life... Until now.
"Alright boys." Anna said, standing from the driver's seat and waiting for Itachi, Kisame and Kakuzu to step out of the vehicle. "I have written down a list so that we can split up and get this done faster. Kakuzu and myself are going with one half, you guys are going with the other."
"I didn't sign up for this." Kisame mumbled, and Anna sent the smallest of a glare in his direction.
"Yeah, well I didn't expect to go shopping and feed ten healthy and active criminal shinobi now did I?" Kakuzu gave an irritated sigh as he pulled out the two lists he scribbled down and handed it to Kisame, who accepted it with a grumble. "Chin up, Kisame. I'm sorry this is nothing compared to your 'going around and butchering people' routine."
"Whatever.." He mumbled again, only this time Anna smacked him on the head, earning a low chuckle.
Kisame's bond with Anna had become an interesting one. Though the two didn't get much alone time, it was clear that they had formed some sort of friendship. Kisame liked Anna's attitude, Anna liked Kisame's. They just fit well together, there was no other way to really describe it
"We'll find you guys when we are done – then we'll check out and get the heck out." She and Kakuzu took their lead, heading towards one of the various racks of shopping carts that waited outside. Kisame turned to Itachi, who had just finished closing his door, waiting for the job that was being assigned to be finished.
"Never in a million years did I expect to be ordered around by a woman to help her with shopping." Kisame mused, a smile plastered on his face. He turned his attention towards Itachi, who looked passive as he always had. "Sorry you have to be dragged along with me partner."
"It's fine." Itachi stated, as they made their way towards the same rack of shopping carts.
"You don't seem that upset with the thought of occupying your time with mindless shopping" Kisame questioned, raising a delicate eyebrow in his henged state. Itachi gave a light shrug as he continued walking with his partner.
"It isn't anything I haven't done before." The Uchiha commented, pulling out a coin from the wallet Anna had given him, grabbing one of the carts and handing it to Kisame. The blue man in turn handed Itachi the list.
"Ah." Kisame bobbed his head. "I forgot. You must have been subject to your mother's shopping tendencies, weren't you?" He questioned, but Itachi only responded with a 'hn'. Kisame held back a sigh – Itachi always did this whenever he tried to talk with him. "Anyways, since we have a bit of time to yourself, I have questions I want to drill into you."
"Oh?" Itachi asked, genuinely curious.
Kisame was never one to ask questions. He just killed, talked, and that was it. He never gave a second thought about what he said – and he had always been this way since Itachi had been partnered with him. The thought of him actually having a lineup of questions for him perked his interests.
"Yes, I know. Quite shocking isn't it?" They passed through the doors with ease, eyeing Anna and Kakuzu as they went towards one corner of the store. With that, they decided to go towards the other. "What are your views on Anna?"
'Views on Anna?' Itachi questioned in his mind. Why was he asking a trivial question like that? "Views on Anna... In what way?" He asked, in an attempt to get a more clear question.
"Thoughts, feelings... The general outlook on things?" Kisame continued, and they stopped in an aisle, pulling items into the cart that were on the list. "Just, how do you feel about her?"
"There are many answers to that question, Kisame." Itachi continued, eyes scanning the list as he attempted to process an answer. "However, if I were to say how I generally feel... I would say that I feel a friendly connection with Anna."
Normally he would not share this information with anyone. However, this was Kisame in which he was speaking with. No one else in the Akatsuki would he sit down and chat with regarding things of this nature. One of the nice things about Kisame, was that he was loyal to the bone. Never in their time of working with each other, had Itachi felt the need to hold back information unless it was regarding his situation back in Konoha. It was to the point where Kisame even knew about his illness, yet never spoke a word towards their 'leader' about the matter. With that said – Itachi had no issues talking with Kisame.
"Friendly connection?" Kisame continued on his answer, raising yet another eyebrow. "Are you sure it's just 'friendly'?"
It was Itachi's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What are you going on about, Kisame?"
"Well, it is just, well, in my views – I have seen you and Anna bonding on a level that some would consider more then friends." His tone turned somewhat defensive in it's nature, and Itachi pondered for a moment.
"How other people see our 'relationship' is something that shouldn't be a problem, nor do I care about it." Itachi stated, turning his eyes back to the list as the passed down another aisle.
"You seem to be getting a little bit defensive there Itachi." Kisame mused, a slight smirk on his lip as he threw down two boxes of crackers into the cart. "I'm only asking because I am curious about it. Well, me and a few others."
"As I have stated, I-" Itachi attempted to say, but Kisame shut him up.
"I know that." He continued. "However, I just wanted to ask on a more friendly level if you had any feelings about her."
"Feelings?" Itachi pressed.
"Feelings. Something that you are known to shut out. Heart thumping when you look at her, stomach bubbles, the whole shibam." Itachi looked up from the list and gave an 'your an idiot' type of look towards the shark man. Kisame paused, trying to think of this as 'explaining it to a baby'. "...Do you like her more then a friend."
Itachi said nothing as they walked down the next few aisles. It has been plaguing his mind for days, possibly even weeks. Why was this? Why was he suddenly down spiraling from a calculating individual to someone affiliated with another person. Though he wanted to say no, that he wasn't attracted to her in some way, he knew that would be a flat out lie, for he knew that these feelings were developing, and for many reasons, he didn't know what to do. He looked up from passively staring off into space, and just as he did – he caught a sight of her.
There she was, standing at the deli with a very annoyed looking Kakuzu. Probably not annoyed by her, but annoyed at the fact that the clerks probably weren't accepting his coupons. The smile on her face, the dusty rose tint to her cheeks... Why did this stand out to him.
"...I do not know." He finally asked after a good minute of staring. Kisame tuned back in to his words, now curious as to what he was going on about.
"You don't know, or don't want to accept?" The shark man asked, and for the first time in a very long one, Itachi didn't know how to respond, for he had been risen a good point.
Did he know, or was he just not willing to accept this?
"Whatever you choose, just know that I'll support you on this one." Itachi looked to his partner, curious. Kisame caught the look and gave a deep sigh. "Itachi, in case you haven't realized it – I actually consider you probably the first friend I have had in a very long time. Hell, it took me a long time to realize and accept this. All you need to know is, I'll look out for you when you need it. If you need someone to talk to, I'll listen." Kisame ran a hand through his hair as they turned down another aisle. "I know we were taught to not trust anyone being criminals that we are – but even after a while, being trapped in this strange world, I have just come to accept things the way that they are."
Itachi pressed his lips, taking a moment to breath out his nose. What happened to being the hardened criminals that they were meant to be? What was happening to them in this world? At a minute, he nodded.
"Thank you, Kisame. I too think the same." With that, he gave the smallest of a smile he had ever offered anyone in the Akatsuki, and Kisame almost bring his hand up to hold his jaw closed.
It was then that he realized that he wasn't alone in that sense. Everyone was changing, being in this 'strange new world' as Kisame titled it. It was nice, don't get him wrong – but it was just very confusing, even for a genius like himself.
Now here he was, along with Deidara and Jackie, waiting for Anna to wake up from an internal near death situation. In many ways did his stomach churn upon hearing the news that Anna was gravely ill. Never in a million years had he expected to be where he was, her planted firmly in a hospital bed, and yet here he was, still pondering his feeling.
He gave a deep sigh, cracking the sides of his neck as he attempted to adjust himself on the chair in which he chose to sit on. Much like the others, he was very tired himself. Though he was used to spending many nights awake and in the forest, he too had to admit that his ninja skills were starting to become somewhat rusty. He suppressed a yawn as he watched the blonde beside him stare at Jackie, who was now resting her head beside Anna's form. It was clear that she was well on her way to falling asleep.
Soon, they all were well on their way to falling asleep. Deidara made his way towards the couch, throwing a pillow in Itachi's direction as he plopped himself down. The Uchiha nodded in thanks which clearly caused the bomber to puff out his cheeks, irritated at the lack of response, but he himself was too tired to respond. Itachi placed the pillow behind him, adjusting it until he was comfy, and when he turned around to look at the others, they were already asleep.
He gave a small smile, one of the few that he would only allow to pass when no one was able to see it. They had been stressed all night to the point where they fell asleep the first chance that they got. Giving a deep nose sigh, he shuffled his shoulders until his head touched the pillow, and soon he too was well on his way to getting much needed sleep.
Because in the end, they knew when Anna woke up, there were still questions to be answered... Questions that she had the answers for, and answers the doctors had as well.
A/N: A little bit of a smaller chapter. I rarely do this any more – but I just couldn't bring myself to make this any longer. You can only add so much detail to one thing before it becomes repetitive, and anything else that I would or could have added would have made this rather clumpy... And no one likes clumps in their mascara.
HAH. I know, I need to stop. Trust me, I have heard. (Also, my family likes to inform me of this too. So, thanks.)
Anyways! How did you guys like this chapter? I really didn't feel the want to write this one, so I decided to add a flashback to make it more interesting! I'm happy with the way it turned out – but I want to add that if you see any mistakes, please for the love of god – LET ME KNOW! Anyways – I know this chapter was late, but I hope you guys enjoyed it in the end. Now, lets get to responding to your reviews!
AmbertheCat: Who doesn't love some limbo? I have many future goals for that scene - It wasn't just put there randomly. THERE IS A PLOT I TELL YOU!
caityyy: THANK YOU! You are so far one of the few who have actually picked up on this. I won't go on as to why they are important, cause - spoilers, but they are SUPER important to the story. More will be revealed in later chapters!
Mimosa Evans: Pumpkin pie is life :')
Kiki's Stories of Awesomeness: Sarcasm is a way of life. You either get it, or you don't - haha! Either way, thank you so much for you continued support! Love you long time!
The Question Last Chapter: What is your favourite flavor of pie?
Answer: I LIKE PUMPKIN PIE! I also like lemon meringue and key lime :') However, I can't have those in my house. My older sister is deathly allergic to anything citrus, so Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit and all that Jazz are banned from the house.
Question of the Chapter: What is the most serious injury you have ever had? Let me know!
Anyways! I hope you guys are doing well! Hopefully I will get the next chapter out sooner then this one. Who knows? Cheers! :)