Okay, so while I am happy people are loving this story so far, there was one person in particular (Gokuto) who had the gall to call Itachi an asshole because "he made the move on Sakura when Sasuke had just introduced her as his fiancée" - this just says they did not read it carefully to see that SHE led him on for months only to wound him for his brother. (red angry face with steam out the ears) I'm not gonna escalate things, since nothing good comes out of it, but Gokuto and anyone else should examine carefully before they go bursting out the way they do.

Not the first time, but two titles combined - "Girl With Green Eyes" and "The Daring Young Man" (girl in this case).

Chapter Two

The Daring Girl With Black Eyes

Izumi went back to work, hardly able to believe what she'd gotten into, but also thrilled in a way.

She was going to be the one to take the time and help Itachi heal and move on from the pink-haired woman who led him on. It made her so angry that the girl would do this to him, since she knew how sensitive he was, even if he never showed it to everyone. She'd known more than he thought she did; he often hung out with the guys more than her, knowing her because his great-uncle and her great-aunt were longtime friends themselves.

It made her wonder how Madara Uchiha took to this drama.

Well, I'll play it safe and take it easy. I need to think about how to approach him without being blunt. That would give away that his mother put me up to it, and he could snap at me, as well.

Rika, her best friend, would know better than her on how to approach a guy, even if she didn't yet secure a solid relationship of her own. How could she, when they both got home to Konoha not that long ago?

Izumi was glad she didn't get into a wreck when she was so frustrated in that she was unable to forget the wedding photograph Mikoto showed her, with Sasuke being handsome and happy in his tux - a change from the scowling boy she remembered - and the bride herself which Izumi examined from a designer's point of view. Her hair was cropped like a fairy's, crowned with preserved white roses, baby's breath and hydrangea, and those big hoops hanging from her lobes looked like the same rose petals. The dress itself was a fit-and-flare with these dimensional, lacy flowers, the kimono-like sleeves an illusion, and the neck plunged to show small curves -

- but then there was that necklace Mikoto mentioned, making her wonder how the hell her new husband never seemed to mind. Maybe she unintentionally wore it to torment Itachi?

Not only that, but he was forced to leave the only home he'd known, and as far as she knew, he currently stayed with Kisame Hoshigaki, whom Izumi remembered enough. Last time his mother saw him, Mikoto was in tears and insisted he was still allowed to come back anytime he wanted. Sasuke and Sakura were on their honeymoon by the time, and apparently just returned.

"So, you'll do it, Izumi? Just casually go about, run into him somehow, catch up and try to take it step by step? I want my other boy to be happy after what Sakura did to him. I love her, but I struggle to forgive her for leaving Itachi half the man he was."

She sure as hell would.

Rika asked her for the details as soon as she returned, but there was work to be done now. "You owe me later!" her friend said, and she'd hold her to it.

~o~

Really, they had to drag him out to the bar, and for what if not drinking? When yesterday had been humiliating enough, in that he had to pick up his brother and new sister-in-law, even forcing himself to embrace them while stoning a smile which wasn't his own. They both noticed but didn't give it away or comment on it, and Kisame was with him through it all, while Sasori and Deidara headed back to the saloon to wait for them.

That meant facing great-uncle Madara, who told him that his mother was out and having "lunch with a friend", which made Itachi suspicious even as he was further told that Mikoto wanted him to retrieve Sasuke and Sakura. The couple themselves were still behind him even as the patriarch on their father's side tore into Itachi. Like I really need this shit after everything!

"Itachi, we have all been lenient with you long enough. Your mother has cried herself to sleep every night, she's lamented that she wants you to be happy, but there's plenty more fish out there in the sea. Do us all a favor and start healing yourself without forcing another wreckage." Madara's infamous death glare was in place the entire time. "Your grandparents would no doubt be just as disappointed in you if they saw how low you've fallen, just as your father would be turning in his urn."

The words stung close to home, so he decided - bitterly - that he had no choice. Even if he wasn't going to be who he once was.

When he arrived at the Akatsuki with Kisame, there Konan and the boys were, and the crowd outside - which could mean only one thing, even if he tried to pretend he didn't know. "Oh, you know exactly what that means, Weasel," Sasori had to say with a major wink that didn't go unnoticed at all. "Sure as hell brings back memories, unless you forgot them?"

"Like hell!" Itachi plopped himself up on the nearest barstool he found, the cushions red and popping out against the cherry wood, steel and black appliances of the rest of the place. Besides the single wall mural which was a mad storm of red and black clouds to symbolize the tavern's name, the Akatsuki could use another addition to warm it up, now that he thought of it. Anything to take my mind off things. He then reached for a bottle of whisky only to be stopped by Deidara.

"Dumbass, seriously? You're not gonna dig into that to drown your problems away, un! Yeah, Sasori and I do that after a long day's work in our studios, but for you to use it as an excuse while knowing what it will do to your liver if you go on for the rest of your life?"

Itachi's temper snapped then and there. He picked up that bottle of whisky, knowing they had more in the back, and threw it right at Deidara who quickly ducked only for it to smack bang into Kisame's hard midsection, setting off the chain reaction which became an occasional ritual for the Akatsuki and the source of entertainment for the crowd watching.

Wouldn't even be the Akatsuki without this, eh? I suppose I could use it today and just have the pain punched out of me!

Which was exactly why he didn't bother getting off the stool; he let his flash rattle, roll and blaze like fire when Kisame's fist sent him over the bar itself, knocking over some shot glasses in the process. "That was some damned good whisky you tossed a second time in a row this year, idiot!"

And THAT was the second time today someone called him a name. He picked himself up, unfazed by his still-burning visage. Not even Konan was coming to his aid, because she enjoyed this too much. Smirking, she turned behind herself and made way for the cabinet of fine sake just behind the bar, only intending to cut the fighting short when she saw fit. She shouted for Sasori and Deidara to join her, since the brawl was between him and the big guy.

The fight went on like this: he wound up throwing his head forward and cracking Kisame good on the jaw rather than his own forehead, causing him to flinch and recollect himself by ducking the fist Itachi threw. That was the cue for the large man to pick him up by the waist, hoisting him up and over the shoulder which dug into his stomach, briefly cutting off the passage to his lungs - only to throw him down on the nearest table that was found. This was enough to make Itachi's head jerk up and back, threatening to snap his neck and causing him to see white dots.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE HELL?! ARE YOU TWO A COUPLE OF CHILDREN?!"

The voice which broke off their traditional brawl was at the door entrance. All heads turned in that direction to see the pair of young women who both stared in shock as well as glared at the mess they made. The one who spoke - and called them overgrown children - was in jeans and a lively jewel-toned bohemian shrug over a purple tank with the geometric "yantra" representation of chakra and the human body united. He instantly recognized ebony eyes within an oval-shaped face framed by bouncing chocolate curls on the shoulders.

You're here...

How could he ever forget the luminous face of his friend since childhood, whom he'd occasionally kept in touch with but hadn't seen since she went to Kyoto? He'd heard she moved back to Konoha and started a studio with her friend - assuming that was who the other young lady was, with the heart-shaped face, short dark hair and eyes, wearing a supple black tee with a golden elephant joined with fitted khakis - but hadn't encountered her yet, even forgetting about her when his heartbreak consumed his life.

How could he have been so stupid to forget about her, seeing her at a time like this?

"Izumi Miyazaki, what a hell of a surprise! Come here, princess!" It was just like Kisame to spread his great, muscular arms out for her to gladly be enveloped in. "Came to see the show, did you?" He looked over her shoulder and whistled at the girl who lifted her nose at him. "Who's your friend?"

She pulled from his hold. "Kisame, this is Rika. Since designer school. We now own the new Fountain of Fantasy. And Sasori, Deidara, Konan, it's been a while," she said to them. "And what the hell is going on now?" Her expression reverted back to stern, her attention landing on Itachi, who forced himself to stand up, accepting Kisame's hand only to push it away. His body ached so much that he could use a good drink now just to numb it away. He needed that sake Konan had ready for them.

"Just a tradition we established after you left," the blue-haired woman answered snidely, tone targeted at the boys more than their guest. "Often for fun, making it good business, but Itachi here deserves it." He glared at her for letting it slip, but not the reason why. Everyone around him was pushing it, and his temper threatened to once again explode.

His friends and his family had most likely conspired to get him out of his shattered shell; it seemed that it began with that girl he'd known all his life standing in front of him. He wished he knew what to say, since a simple reunion might as well have rendered him incapable. Damn it, he felt like an awkward teenage boy again, but slowly, it began to ebb away when she turned, along with her friend, to let the onlookers inside the bar so that they could go about what they came here for, but the mess made had to be cleaned up...

...and that meant Itachi had to assist.

Izumi didn't have to help, but she did, all the while looking at him with both pity and sympathy together. Which told him she somehow knew of his predicament, but did she hear word around, or was she told before today and decided to come on her own? I don't know whether to be angry or annoyed - or what.

~o~

"Well, that was a hell of a show to put on," Rika noted when they were closing the store that same day. "It was really my idea to go, but you did want to see him all the same. Who would have thought?" She was blushing, but it was because of a certain Kisame Hoshigaki she ended up getting acquainted with especially when he checked her out and made his version of a "flirtatious but meaningful conversation", which just left her solo and chatting with the man she still cared about even now.

Seeing him again caused old feelings to rush to the surface, stronger than ever, but it was nothing like a silly girl's fantasy. She was doing this to help him overcome what ruined his life in the past year. She wasn't doing this, either, just because his mother and friends asked her to - Mikoto did let her in on the latter fact - but namely because she didn't want him to go on like this.

Take it easy, one day at a time. Catch up with him and tell him about the studio, then listen to his end.

She did just that, even mentioning the costume she made for his mother, and that caused his face to light up...actually, his eyes did, but his features seemed taut and forced as if putting on joy was hard enough. She remembered being just like that when her mom died. But he put that smile on for her because it seemed he was willing to give her a chance. While it made her happy, it was saddening as this wasn't how things were supposed to be.

Another thing she was good at: having a good time when it came. And the opportunity arrived when Kisame had to boast that he knew just the thing, and no matter that it was so fast, he was going to take Itachi and the boys out for water skiing at the south beach...

...and of course, she was asked by the shark-like man. This stunned Itachi, the reaction seen in his eyes. "Kisame -?!"

"What, Itachi? What perfect timing to invite her for a couple weeks down at the beach, where we all can stay at the property still in your father's name after his death - courtesy of great-uncle Madara - and you two can start reconnecting without interruptions?"

Izumi was shocked; she'd been back home for a few months, with still so much work being done, and already she was invited for a two-week vacation at the beach house that she remembered going to when she was a child. Not only that, but they would leave next Saturday, and Rika wasted no time saying yes to Kisame, who also asked her personally. Honestly, this was just so much! It also meant they would have to leave a substitute for the shop until they returned!

Itachi Uchiha, I come to the tavern and find you brawling like some degenerate and not like the one I remember. I'd have thought you'd be more mature and unlike a sorry sod. If I had the power, I'd make no one see you like this.

She had a hell of a story to tell Aunt Kazue when she got home. The old woman was going to give her not only a helpful heads up, but also a hell of a hard time.

~o~

Looked like Miss Mikoto's tactic of asking the girl from childhood to come into this might work, but Kisame also knew what would happen if Itachi found out if not from any of them: all hell would break loose, and he would really jump off the depression cliff.

She was the first to walk in and call him out on the fighting, before what happened was explained to her, and she offered to help him clean the mess up. Seeing that made Kisame smirk; instantly, that was a hell of a good woman even if this was the first day of the reunion. Spirited and gentler than rainwater. That was a sweet exterior, stylishly modern with a heart of gold and a steely core which didn't take shit from anyone. Add that she was incapable of true resentment towards anyone - although, he wondered if she would have harbored anger towards Sakura Uchiha because of how she treated Itachi.

He looked forward to seeing how things would turn out. No doubt their friendship would come first, and that would always help as the first step.

Speaking of friends, Kisame found himself entranced by her friend, Rika Nishina. Her appearance was rather average, but that didn't make her any less delectable in his eyes. Her irises locking with his was enough for him to decide they might have time to get better "acquainted", though that didn't mean an immediate jump into bed. He had enough morale to know that you should never treat a woman that way.

Before, he said he didn't intend to have a wife and family, since he enjoyed the bachelor life and occasional lady, though he couldn't have predicted the shift in the form of Izumi Miyazaki's partner and friend.

The yantra is a sun-like symbol which represents the union of chakra and the human body.

The bar brawling comes from "Donovan's Reef" which stars John Wayne. A childhood classic of mine! :3

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