Chapter 43: A Pool of Blood

Itachi took care of me until I could stand and move a little more freely. Because of the demon's power it only took a day for my body to heal enough, to which I was grateful. It's not that I disliked having the powerful Uchiha here to aid me...though he was gentle and caring when it was just me... it was a little strange, considering that I had grown used to his emotionless and serious persona. He was treating me like a fragile glass figurine and it was starting to stress me out. I did my best to put up with it, considering that he was intending to part ways for a while. He was supposed to be leaving tonight and I wanted to make a good dinner as appreciation for his help before he goes.

I decided to make Gyoza and Okonomiyaki. Both had Itachi's favorite food in them. I smiled when I finished and set the table before setting a plate in front of him. He looked at it with a rather impressed expression.

"How did you know that I liked cabbage?"

My eyebrow raised as I sat across from him. "Wouldn't it be a little sad...knowing you for as long as I have...to not know? Also...you brought so much of it that it was a huge giveaway..." I smirked, pointing to a large basket, still filled to the brim with cabbages. Itachi had a slight blush as he looked at the basket. "I also know you're not a big fan of beef...which to me is a sin."

He eyed me with a smirk. "A sin, huh?"

"Yep. Because it's my favorite. Just an fyi, in case you're ever actually curious." I winked at him before taking a nibble of the gyoza.

He tried the okonomiyaki and had an expression of pure bliss. "When I return I would be very glad for you to make this again."

I nodded. "That can be arranged."

When we finished I quickly moved to clean up before Itachi had to leave. I was hurriedly washing dishes and then suddenly stopped, due to the careful embrace I felt from behind. Itachi was holding me delicately as he rested his chin on my shoulder. A light smile crossed over my lips and I continued to wash.

When I was finished I turned to him. "I feel better now, I should come with you, Itachi-sama."

He lightly shook his head 'no.' "As much as I'd like to keep an eye on you, it's better that you're here, where you're at peace."

I wanted to object but Itachi didn't need to be troubled any further. I sighed against my better judgement. "Okay..." I gave him another smile, closing my eyes which were giving away my disappointment. "...I'll be here, then."

I felt his soft lips upon mine. He held me as the kiss deepened and gently raised me up on to the edge of the counter. My arms wrapped around his neck. I knew for certain that I didn't want him to leave, especially now. I felt his light sigh as he slowly pulled away from the kiss.

His obsidian eyes met my lilac ones as he leaned his forehead on mine. "Don't leave me...Shikara."

I felt my heart ache and I closed my eyes to avoid his. "I promise that I'll wait for you here."

"That's not what I meant..."

My eyes opened again and they felt a little shifty. "Itachi...if I can't get rid of this thing...I-"

He kissed me again before I could manage to say what I needed to. This time the kiss was much more powerful and I felt him reach under the frilly black skirt I had on and removed my panties. I tried to break the kiss to object but he didn't allow it. I gave in to him as he undid his pants and I felt him press in between my thighs which he held with his strong arms. A quiet whimper escaped me as I felt him enter and I blushed against him.

He released me from the kiss, staring deep into my eyes again. "You're mine and I will be the one to decide when you can leave me." He paused for a moment and with a gentler tone said, "do you understand, angel...?"

I gave him a slight nod to show that I understood.

"Say it." He demanded.

It was getting hard to breathe as he pushed in further. "I... understand... Itachi-sama!" I gasped, the blush deepened.

His eyes which had been intense, softened in approval. He kissed the tip of my nose before moving to my lips, then to my neck and slowly, gently, took claim to me once again. As he moved the light aura became more and more vibrant, energizing him. As this went on, an unsettling feeling rose inside me as well. Suddenly, the light aura beamed and expelled the darkness from my body and it flew over Itachi, finding its place near the door. I gasped and Itachi's lips spread into a dark grin.

He carefully removed himself from me and made himself decent before turning to the glaring demon. "What's wrong? You don't like it when her energy becomes light?"

I realized what Itachi was up to and placed a protective hand between his shoulder blades and released more of the light energy so that it was now surrounding him.

The demon's glare became more intense. "You think you can save the whore?"

Itachi's grin darkened further. "I won't entertain the disrespect you've shown for my angel... I wanted to tell you... that you can't have her."

"Are you challenging me...Uchiha...?"

"She's mine." His protective tone caused the light aura to intensify and Itachi was flowing with the power that Shikara was giving him purposefully. She was protecting him and giving him the ability to face the demon head-on, if that's what it came to...

The demon began to laugh ominously. "The girl has more than one lover..." he mocked before his dark energy ghosted it's way back to me.

The look Itachi gave me was full of the same confusion that I felt. "Who does the demon speak of?"

My eyebrows knitted together. "Shisui? But he's...gone..."

Itachi blinked a couple of times. "There's no one else?"

My eyes narrowed at him. "Really? He's a demon of pain and suffering... Shisui would be the only other person and you knew that."

Itachi's eyebrow raised and he smirked at me. "Were you able to give the energy freely this whole time?"

I crossed my legs and blushed, still sitting on the countertop. "I never tried until now... also... did you seriously just make love to me to piss off the demon!?" I glared at him.

He fully turned to me with a sexy grin. "No." He leaned his forehead on mine again. "...Kind of..." He was looking into my eyes and being cheeky.

"Your possessiveness is not helping my control over the possesser."

Itachi's grin became a soft smile before he stole another kiss from me. He then pulled himself away to go grab his Akatsuki cloak. "I'll be back in a week."

"I want to come, too..." I grumbled with a light blush.The soft smile returned to Itachi's face as he returned to me and poked my forehead. "Next time."

My eyebrow raised and I smirked, no longer sulking. "Really...?"

He turned away and headed for the door and I hopped off the countertop to follow after to see him off. When he stepped outside, he put the cloak on and turned to me. "Remember your promise."

I held up my pinky teasingly. "I'll see you soon."

Itachi took it with a gentle smile. "See you." He turned away and quickly disappeared from sight.

I sighed, feeling a bit dejected, then turned to go back inside. The demon had caused a slew of questions to rise in my mind and it was better for me to shower and try to wash them away. Afterwards I put on black sweat pants and a maroon, long sleeved crop top before snuggling into bed. I stared at the ceiling for the longest time. The questions kept cycling through. Why did the demon say what he did? Shisui's dead...right? Is it even a possibility that he could have survived? No...I saw him go. The demon was simply trying to get a rise out of Itachi...though it worked on me instead... I sighed and tried to at least close my eyes. Tomorrow would be the start to a very long week of waiting around.

The next morning came too quickly and I covered my eyes from the sunlight which was beaming through the bedroom window. I lazily rolled myself out of bed and slowly dressed myself into the white laced dress which was short in the front and long in the back. I then searched my bag for the hairpin that I treasured so much and placed it in my hair after styling it.When I was happy with my appearance, I grabbed a small purse and decided to make my way to the closest standing village to get more supplies for the week. I found the over grown path which eventually opened up to a commonly used trail. I followed it all the way to the bustling small village.

There were kids playing together at the edge of town as I arrived. "Hey! Isn't that the super pretty lady from before?" Said the pink haired girl.

"No, way! It really is her, it's Shikara!" Said a boy. They all seemed to get excited as they greeted me.

"Do you remember us!?" Asked the girl after running up and took my hand.

"I sure do!" I smiled at them. "You all have grown so much, though, I almost didn't recognize you!"

"It's been two years, right? Since we last saw you." The boy said with a grin.

"That's right." I couldn't believe they had actually remembered me.

"I can't believe it! You're famous!" Said pinky.

"H-huh!?" Her statement took me by surprise.

"Yeah! You're famous for being a bounty hunter, right?"

"That's so cool!" Another kid said.

"I can't believe a lady as pretty as you is so strong!" The boy said.

I blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, wow...thanks, guys...I'm not really a bounty hunter...anymore."

"You're still an S-Class criminal, though, aren't you?" The pink haired girl said.

My blush deepened. "Oh, shoot..."

"It's true, then! No one really believes it though, that you're a bad person, that is." The pink haired girl stated. "You're not bad, right?" She asked with slight concern.

"Oh, no. I only hunted the really bad guys to protect people and earn cash on the side." I tilted my head. "Unfortunately a couple of them weren't listed yet, though, so I've been marked." I shrugged. "It's okay though, I don't mind as long as I can keep helping people." I smiled again and the kids were looking at me in awe.

"You're a hero!" One of the kids shouted and I giggled.

"I'm not so sure about that but I do my best... so anyways...does anyone want to show me to the market?" I gave a an awkward expression and all seven of the kids volunteered, so we made our way.

One of the parents ran out of a shop when she saw us. "Harumi! Get away from that lady!" The pink-haired girl blushed as her mother took her arm.

"It's okay, mom, she's a hero."

"A hero!? She's a criminal!"

I blushed again. "Uh-um...I'm sorry if I've caused you trouble." I bowed to the worried mother.

She paused and stared at me for a while before releasing her daughter. "So you're not a criminal?"

I looked up at her with a sad smile. "According to the bingo books, it seems that I am...however I believe that it's a simple misunderstanding that I can't seem to fix right now."

The mother sighed. "This whole village looks to you as a hero. You took out the majority of the gangs and madmen from our area. It's been peaceful since."

A tear slipped from my eye and I laughed softly. "I'm so happy to hear this."

The mother shook her head and smiled at me. "Thank you for your hard work, I don't understand why they would label you the way they have but we are all lucky to have you. I'll tell everyone I see about this misunderstanding if they question your presence."

"Thank you!"

She gave me a nod before heading back to the shop. Everyone on the road nearby seemed to relax and went about their business.

"See?" Harumi said with a smile, then she and the group of kids guided me to the market.

I treated the kids to sweets as thanks for helping me and we said our farewells before I continued with my shopping. Everyone at the market were very kind and offered things to me without charge. I still tried to offer payment but they wouldn't accept. When I had what I needed, it was time for me to return home and I made way way out of the village. I was so happy as I made my way down the trail that my aura started to radiate around me.

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks, dropping the bag of groceries I had. About twenty paces before me stood Orochimaru and a few of his subordinates.

He had a devilish grin on his face. "You took something of mine...Angel of Death."

My eyebrows creased. "It doesn't belong to you. It belongs to the Akatsuki, whom you abandoned."

His grin widened. "I'll ask you only once, Shikara..." he held out his hand. "Give me the ring." His three subordinates took an offensive stance, ready to attack, so I took a defensive one. Orochimaru chuckled. "Is that a no?"

My eyes narrowed. "Correct." The light aura surrounding me was replaced with the darkness.

Use my power. The demon's voice rumbled through my mind.

No. Never again will I use your power, demon.

You will die by the wrong hands... Suddenly the demon forced it's way out and faced Orochimaru and the other three, who were now charging me. The demon used it's dark power to push them back and they flew past either side of Orochimaru.

You would rather die this way...and for what?

I put a hand out, extending the light energy to capture the demon. "I won't use your power and don't except the help, either. Return!" I managed to drag the demon back to me before glaring at Orochimaru who was now chuckling.

"Very interesting... no wonder you were able to infiltrate my hideout so easily..." His eyes had a strange gleam. "I bet I could take your power from you and use it for myself." He then charged me himself, releasing snakes from within his sleeves and I did my best to dodge his attack.I barely scraped by and quickly made hand signs.

"Ice-style! Frozen prison!"

Orochimaru's body was just like a serpent's as he twisted and dodged my attack. I didn't have time to move as his hand took my head and slammed it to the ground. When his serpents twisted and bound around my body, he released me and stood back as his companions rejoined him.

I struggled to try to free myself as Orochimaru watched with an evil grin. "You won't be able to free yourself."

I glared at him. "We'll see about that!" The red ring around my irises bled to the rest of my eyes and a black fire erupted from my body. When the snakes released, I rolled away and sent the flames at Orochimaru and his lackeys. My body had acted on it's own. Damn demon...They quickly moved away as far as they could and I managed to snag one of them with the flames and grinned as the person screamed in agony, before being completely consumed.

Orochimaru's stupid grin became a frown. "Such power..."

"Do you like it?" I called out to him, my voice was a sinister growl.

"What do we do, Lord Orochimaru?" Asked one of the remaining two.

A smirk came over Orochimaru's lips. "It seems that we have underestimated my replacement..." he chuckled, "...not to worry, though... we will just have to play a little harder." His smirk became a grin. "Sasuke!"

My eyes widened and the redness of my eyes disappeared. Sasuke? I turned my head, hearing someone charge me from behind and caught a glimpse of an electrical attack. The screeching sound was defening and I quickly moved to the side, catching Sasuke's eye as he passed me. He was pissed.

He discharged the attack and turned to me again. Orochimaru was chuckling and Sasuke's glare caused me to completely drop my defenses."Sasu-kun...?" My voice was soft with a hint of hurt. I couldn't fight him... I wouldn't be able to hurt him. "Why, Sasuke?"

His glare deepened. "You tricked me...you're just as bad as my brother and you deserve to die!" He shouted that last part before charging me again.

The shock I felt by his words left me stunned. He seemed to be moving in slow motion, with full intention to release another deadly attack upon me. I could have easily dodged or redirected his attack but seeing the boy that I viewed as my own brother express so much hatred towards me...I couldn't make myself move. By the time I blinked, a tear fell and a horrible pain erupted through my abdomen. When my eyes reopened, I was staring into the shocked sharingan eyes of the young Uchiha. He had hit me so hard that the hair pin he and Itachi gifted to me fell and hit the ground which was starting to pool with my blood. My vision blurred and I felt myself falling, before completely blacking out.