Sasuke had begun his training the very next day with Orochimaru and I was permitted to watch and observe. Orochimaru himself looked different from when I had last seen him, arms heavily bandaged and could move them very little. It took me some time to piece together the information I gathered in order to understand fully his condition as well as his jutsu, which also led me to understand that Orochimaru desired to possess the body of Sasuke in order to gain incredible power. He was impatient, however, and the moment Sasuke was out of the lair with Kabuto on a training mission, Orochimaru attempted to take hold of my body.
I had been simply going about my new daily routine which consisted mainly of chores, cleaning the lair and washing clothes and preparing meals for everyone. Meal preparing was my task at the moment, anticipating the time when Sasuke and Kabuto would return so I endeavoured to have hot food ready for them. "Such the dutiful sister, it is heart warming to see you always so diligently taking care of little Sasuke's needs." Orochimaru's voice slithered into my attention as I continued to chop. "It is almost as if you were his wife."
"I am his sister by adoption." Continuing my work, I ignored Orochimaru for the most part, or at least pretended to. Using the cooking utensils around me, including the reflections of spoons, metal bowls and such, I carefully continued to observe Orochimaru as he leaned against the door frame behind me.
"Yes, I am aware. He adores you like a puppy adores his master, but that will soon change. Slowly, I am becoming the one he admires. I can teach him strength and power whilst you only exist as his nursemaid. One day, perhaps one day very soon, little Sasuke will not even remember how he had once adored you so faithfully." My heart pulsed slightly, wondering if he was right. With the way in which Sasuke was becoming increasingly obsessed with avenging the death of our clan, he was closing himself off from his emotions more and more. "But, if you were to give yourself over to me, Sasuke will have the best of both of us in one. He will not need to choose, and you will be the one who helped him achieve the power he desires. He will adore you forever."
Give myself over to him? Now where had I heard that phrase before, it sounded oddly familiar. Oh! Blushing deeply I lowered my head quickly in order to hide it, freezing in place as I recalled the Make-Out Paradise passage I had accidentally read. The main character had said the exact same thing to his lover, but in that context it had a far more sexual indication. Gulping to swallow back my embarrassment, I composed myself once more to deal with the situation at hand. Hmm…perhaps I should play a little game with Orochimaru, it will be fun.
"Very well." Finally speaking, I slowly turned around to face Orochimaru who grinned with success, however instead of going to him, I lifted my hands to slide my yukata off my shoulders, exposing the top of my chest and arms to him which immediately had him frowning at me.
"What are you doing?"
"Giving myself to you. Is this not what you meant?" Since I spoke in such a toneless expression, Orochimaru did not know that I was of course joking. I merely wanted to teach him a lesson, though I enjoyed how he had suddenly lost his daring and even stared at me in shock. "I am lonely, Lord Orochimaru, come into my arms and hold me." Extending my arms towards him, I recalled every line that I had read of the female counterpart, enacting it here in order to dissuade Orochimaru from attempting to possess me. "What? Am I too ugly Lord Orochimaru? Do you not want me?"
"S-Stop with this ridiculousness, it is unbecoming!" Seeing Orochimaru flustered certainly was worth the humiliation I will no doubt feel later, so with a victorious sneer, I pulled my yukata back into place then glowered at him with my Sharingan, the three tomoe spiralling into shape. "Ah, I see."
"There will never be a day when I will surrender myself to you." Speaking with a voice of storm, thunder and tidal waves, the low rumble was enough to make Orochimaru reconsider his position. Everything about my stance and countenance screamed death should he attempt to take my body by force in his current state, there was no doubt that he would fail. Seeing that he was outmatched, Orochimaru gracefully acquiesced to retreating, giving me a toothy smile as his angular eyes narrowed minutely.
"Very well. Just remember that I offered you this chance, should you change your mind, you know where to find me." Maintaining a watchful eye on Orochimaru, I did not dare turn my back until I sensed his chakra was far away from me. This place was full of suspicion and constant danger, every day I was so openly aware of the fact that we were in an enemy's lair that it meant I received even less sleep than usual. My only comfort was that I knew Orochimaru had no intention of hurting Sasuke, and that he would grow up over these next two years into a strong, handsome young man.
Letting go of the breath I had been holding I resumed my task, morbidly cutting up the vegetables and preparing the meal which was set on the table the moment Sasuke and Kabuto returned. I spoke even less now than I used to, becoming reclusive to the point where even Sasuke became a little concerned but no matter how he tried, it was nothing he could cure. Each day I would go outside to absorb the sunlight or to watch the stars, and each day I would wait in hope that Itachi would somehow send word.
Nothing ever came, and my hopes dwindled into dust until finally, I gave up on them altogether and decided to take matters into my own hands. I sought out his location through the future, giving myself an infinite number of directions and possibilities as in my Kamui combined Tsykuyomi I went in search of Itachi. I scoured the land for as long as it took me, restarting every few months in order to look elsewhere until finally, after a total seventeen years, six months and twenty one days of searching, I found him in the not too distant future.
When I awoke barely a minute had passed in reality, meaning that I knew exactly where Itachi was going to be in just a few days and I wanted nothing more than to go to him. Rising to my feet I went back to my room in order to change, adopting lighter clothing for travel and effortless movement before I left a note for Sasuke, explaining to him that I would be gone for a week or so to investigate a personal matter and not to worry about me.
Once I was ready, I left Orochimaru's lair and journeyed with all haste and speed. Itachi would not stay in the same place for long, and there was also the matter of Kisame I had to worry about. All the same, I just had to see him again, even if it was only for a moment at a distance. I travelled across several lands and evaded detection all the way, avoiding other ninja whenever they might cross my path so that I did not become recognised. The place where I would find Itachi was going to be. It was a rather large town, full of people and a perfect place to blend in.
I entered with the hood of my cloak drawn up to hide my hair, moving slowly in order to carefully observe my surroundings and sense for any possible ninja or threats. According to my analysis, I was perfectly safe. Feeling more settled now that I had surveyed this new place, I continued on my way down the main street which ran through the very centre of the town, bustling with market stalls and vendors. For the most part I paid very little attention to what was around me, focusing instead on finding Itachi, for I knew he was here somewhere. It took some time, but when the sky began to deepen and the stringed lanterns of the town were lit, I finally caught sight of him. Itachi was sitting at a tea house with Kisame, drinking tea in silence whilst Kisame appeared to be enjoying sake.
His companion had his back facing towards me, so when I came to a stop outside the shop, I looked inside directly at him, feeling my heart flutter with delight to be so close to him once more. Eyes shifting, they fell upon me and a sharp jolt flew up my spine. Still the meaning of these strange symptoms still eluded me, but I hardly cared to understand them at this moment, for Itachi was finally looking upon me. Distant and severe, he looked at me unblinkingly before then turning his head to ignore me, giving no indication whatsoever to Kisame.
At first I was a little hurt but then I reasoned that Itachi could not been seen coming to me, for if we were both recognised then we were done for. Suddenly I heard the caw of a bird and looked up to see a crow perched on a slated roof, eyeing me intensely. Brightening a little, I followed the bird after it flew away, allowing it to lead me away from the teashop and back to the main street. The crow came to a stop when it landed upon a wall at the end of an alley which I walked down. I watched it for a while, wondering if this was where it meant to lead me or if I had unwittingly followed a random crow that did not in fact belong to Itachi.
When I felt his hand touch against my back, however, all doubts vanished from my mind. We were hidden here so I turned around to face Itachi, breathing softly as I immediately began to read his features. His face was calm and collected, still pale and drained from his illness but he no longer bore the intensity of his constantly activated Sharingan. Rather, he was finally looking at me with his real eyes, deep and beautiful as they were. "Tachi." I reached out for him, gripping onto the sleeve of his cloak tightly so that he could not escape then allowed my right eye alone to shift into my Mangekyo Sharingan in order to use my Kamui.
Immediately I felt the world swirl around us as I drew us both into my time-space dimension, taking us away from the place where we would have to pretend to be enemies in order to act freely among ourselves. No one could ever find us here, we were alone. The moment we were in my Kamui's dimension, I filled the world with beautiful scenery for Itachi to enjoy, thinking of all of his favourite places and combining everything together until we were surrounded on all sides with sights of wonder and beauty.
"Yuki." Finally he smiled at me, allowing his body to go lax as he lifted his hand to my face and held it there. "You look thinner than before. Are you alright?"
"Better now." Now that I was with him, I hardly even remembered what discomfort or sadness felt like. Had it always been like this with Itachi? Ever since we were children I had always yearned for his company, for he was calming and a rather constant presence I could trust in, but now that we were both older, it felt to be much more. "Itachi, you did not keep your promise." This time Itachi flinched, face falling with regret.
"I am sorry, Miyuki, but I did not know if I could bring myself to face you after hurting you the way I did. The time never seemed to be right, and I did not know if I could risk everything…" Seeing that he was distraught with himself for having to go back on his word, I raised my hand to touch my thumbs to his cheeks, cradling his neck in my hands as I gave him a gentle smile.
"It is alright, Tachi. I forgive you." Taken aback at my effortless forgiveness, Itachi stared at me for a few moments before he recovered, smiling at me once more. Drawing me closer with his other arm around my back, I nestled myself against his robe as I pulled the hood of my cloak down so that I could feel his warmth against my cheek. "Where is Kisame?"
"He has gone to the red light district and will not return until late tomorrow afternoon. Although he is strong, he tends to drink too much when he receives the opportunity." Good, that means we have all the time in the world. Literally.
"Hm." This time with my Mangekyo Sharingan, I activated both at the same time, controlling both the time and reality around us so that when I brought both Itachi and myself back to the time point where we had left before as if had ever changed or that we had even left. We were laying upon the roof, gazing at the stars together and after a few moments to realise what I had done, Itachi turned over to smile at me with utter tenderness.
"Yuki…"
