A/N: Yeah, I know I said it'd be a while, but the story just wouldn't stop, and I had to write it down before I forgot it! Many thanks to all of you who reviewed – love you to bits! Also, recognition to my co-authoress Shoujo Queen, without whom this chapter would be much different. And, probably, worse. So, without further ado, the story!
Disclaimer: I own Kakashi. Shoujo Queen owns Itachi. You guys can fight over everyone else.
Chapter 7: First Steps to Separation"You gave me orders to watch the estate," Nariesha said simply. She and Itachi were talking under the cherry tree where he had dragged her after her sudden entry onto the estate.
He glared at her. "But not to reveal yourself."
"Hey!" she retorted, "That bitch was trying to kill you!" He shook his head. "I was assisting her in practice. It was all part of the plan."
She sneered in derision. "Itachi-kun, if you weren't number one - my leader and number two - likely to kill me, I'd say to hell with your screwed up plan. This elaborate plot based on a stupid 'vision of the future' is a total waste of time.
You aren't succeeding, things are obviously falling apart around here, and we have better things to be doing. Plus, because of your stupid plan, Hikaru, Mirina, and Shoji are dead.
Sure, the kids show promise. But, c'mon! How can you believe anyone who says that these little idiots could defeat all of us? Seriously, why not give up this insane scheme?"
He stood and looked down at her anger-flushed face.
"Are you overheating under that heavy outfit? Your face is red."
She glared at him, and shrugged out of the heavy black and red kimono, revealing a tighter, shorter pink kimono. Her hands went to the two fans tucked into her green sash. "I think it's time I took this into my own hands," she calmly stated, and walked away from him.
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Sasuke was feeling a bit left out. As much as he would never admit it, he had fun with Naruto, but the dobe was off with Sakura. Who Sasuke liked to have around as well. Who knew where Kakashi was, and Ayumi had disappeared as well – he didn't even want to think about what they could be doing. He wasn't exactly about to talk to his brother, or the small kunoichi either.
All talking (or doing other things he didn't care to think about) together – Sakura and Naruto, Kakashi and Ayumi, Itachi and the girl. Exactly how everyone managed to fall in love he was unsure, but he was sure that he would never…
"Hello!"
Sasuke nearly jumped out of his pale skin as the pink-clad figure grinned at him.
"I'm Nariesha," she announced, brandishing her fans and winking slowly at him. She sauntered to the side of the house beside him, and sat down, stretching out her long legs before folding them beneath her. "So, what's your name?" she whispered at him, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
The normally impervious boy gulped, and uttered, "Sasuke Uchiha."
Nariesha giggled coyly. "Oh, my! You're that slime ball's little brother. I wouldn't have guessed, you are so good looking, and Itachi certainly isn't. I wonder…do you like girls?" He tried to regain control over himself, and failed. Knowing that if he spoke, his voice would sound strange, he opted fro a noncommittal shrug.
"Well, that's better. Itachi emphatically hates them, so you are not quite as cold as he. That's good – I don't like cold men," she murmured.
As she continued flirting, Itachi groaned inwardly from his vantage point across the lawn. She obviously didn't get the meaning of 'subtle'. If she wasn't careful, she'd ruin everything!
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"So…care to explain?" Kakashi had adopted a relaxed air as he leaned casually against the counter. But Ayumi could see that he was incredibly tense.
"What am I explaining, Hatake?" she asked simply.
He stared unblinkingly at her. "Exactly how Naruto, the son of your old sensei, Uzumaki, has the Kakai Genkai of your clan."
She looked shocked. How could he doubt her? How could he even suspect what he was accusing her of? Didn't he know how much she loved him?
"UZUMAKI-SAMA? Hatake, are you out of your mind? I know what you are asking, but it doesn't make sense that you would think such a thing! Uzumaki didn't even have a girlfriend – he wasn't interested in women, much less a small 15-year-old girl. Good grief, he hated me! And I hated him! How could you think that I slept with my sensei?
What is more, how do you know that Naruto is Uzumaki's son?
What proof is there for either of those possibilities?"
She looked genuinely distraught, but he held himself back from wrapping her in his arms and soothing her. He had to know the truth. He had to know what had happened. He had to know how, against all odds, one of his students seemed to be Ayumi's child with her sensei.
"The proof is this. On the day that the Nine Tail Fox demon attacked Konoha, Uzumaki was found dead, his chakra depleted. He was lying near the wall of the village, and next to him was a baby wrapped in blankets. The Hokage sealed the spirit of the demon in the boy, and today he has displayed the Ikaesu Gaisen bloodline trait." He grew colder and more distant as he continued. He felt himself loose all compassion and love for her, and, powerless to stop himself, he ploughed on.
"I suppose you also desire the proof of your death, Ayumi-san," she flinched at the honorific, but he relentlessly continued, "The facts are this. You were seen entering the village that day, but no one saw you leave, and, although your body was never found, your hiate was. It was charred, and we knew then that you had been killed." He pulled the headband out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table.
Ayumi blinked back the tears that accompanied his tone, and steeled herself for what she needed to say.
"No one saw me leave, Kakashi-sama, because my baka sensei transported me against my will out of the village. Far away. Out of danger. I saw the village in flames from the distance, and ran until my feet bled."
He narrowed his eyes. "You still haven't explained about Naruto."
She walked up to him, and blazed, "Think. We were young, but we were also fertile. Did we once think about the possibility of a child? No. Did we once think to protect ourselves from that eventuality? From that shame? No!" she was seething, speaking with barely controlled anger, although the hurt was evident in her green eyes.
"Was that six-month trip I went on really to visit my family? You, of all people, would have known that my family had all died years before. There was no family to visit! I did what I did, for your protection, and that of the child.I found out that I was pregnant, and spent a month forging letters from my family. I spent another month getting my correspondence verified, and getting permission from the Hokage to leave for a certain amount of time.
"I returned to the village when the pregnancy was over, intending to tell the village about my little brother who I had adopted, and to tell you about your son."
He turned away from her sincere, hurt face. "It's a good story, Ayumi-san. I'm impressed how fast you think," he added coolly, "to make up something that elaborate in so short a time. It's almost believable."
He left her in the kitchen, and she scrubbed at the one stubborn tear that fell onto her cheek.
Itachi nearly smiled from the rafters where he had observed the whole thing. Nariesha had actually done something that turned out well, for a change. The plan was going better than expected! Thank goodness that Kakashi was responsive to the Mangenkyo's distance hypnosis.
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Sakura stopped mid-laugh as she spotted the girl sauntering towards them. She glared Nariesha's tight-fitting outfit and seductively made-up eyes.
Said kunoichi looked surprised, and called out, "I'm so sorry for attacking you! I only did so to protect my friend. I know," she continued in a more regular tone as she reached Sakura and Naruto. "that you would have done as I did, but I apologize all the same," she grinned winningly.
Sakura's expression softened, and she held out her hand. "I accept your apology. My name is Sakura Haruno – what's yours? I didn't hear what Itachi called you…"
Nariesha shook Sakura's hand, and announced, "Nariesha Hamasaki! Pleased to meet you! And," she purred, smiling seductively at Naruto, "you as well."
He stared at her. She winked, and turned back to Sakura. "Let's leave these baka boys, and go have a girl talk!" she suggested. Sakura grinned, and nodded. "Bye, Naruto!" she called over her shoulder as she and Nariesha left.
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That night, supper was a strange affair. Kakashi was silent, and ate sparingly. Sasuke and Naruto were vying for Nariesha's attention, and she was flirting with both of them. Itachi was watching with an amused air, and he and Sakura occasionally exchanged comments on the scene. Ayumi was nowhere to be seen.
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Sakura woke once again in the middle of the night to quiet sobs coming from the room across the hall.
She sat up in bed, hoping that the crying was part of a dream. No such luck. The sobs continued.
She stood, and tiptoed to the door. Opening it slowly, so as not to wake Itachi sleeping in the next room, she crept out into the hall and opened Ayumi's door. Ayumi sat up quickly, and brushed her brown curls from her eyes. Eyes that were rimmed in red and still full of tears.
"Sakura," she whispered, "go back to bed. It's late." The pink-haired genin shook her head. "Ayumi-chan, what's wrong? And," she added, seeing the older woman begin to dismiss the theory, "don't tell me there's nothing wrong with you."
Ayumi bit her lip, and looked away. "I don't want to get you involved, Sakura-chan. It is my own stupidity that brought this on." She stood, and gently pushed Sakura out the door.
Sakura left willingly, but silently waited outside the door. Ayumi was too distraught to notice the girl peering through the half-open door. Sakura watched as the jounin softly lay on her bed and buried her face in the pillow. Her shoulders began heaving, and her fists clenched the charred Leaf hiate that Sakura hadn't noticed previously.
Sadly, she saw Ayumi's wavy dark hair spill over her pale blue dress. The Higurashi's still-sandaled feet drew up, and she curled into a fetal position, softly crying.
Sakura crept in, and sat at Ayumi's back until the latter fell asleep. She was getting up to leave when Ayumi began to murmur in her dreams.
"No…no…please believe me…don't go…HATAKE!" she shrieked, sat up, and promptly began crying again.
Sakura shrunk into the shadows as Ayumi went to the window and parted the curtains. She lifted her face to the breeze, and jumped lightly onto the roof, then onto the grass. Sakura ran to the window, and watched Ayumi walk to the old cherry tree and chakra-climb up into the blossoms.
Down the hall, Kakashi tried to shake from his mind the sound of that scream. Itachi felt his efforts, and grinned savagely. "You want the memory gone, Kakashi? My pleasure." His eyes began to swirl, and Kakashi felt his mind beginning to leave again. "No!" he cried inwardly, trying desperately to regain control of himself.
A/N: This chapter feels really disjointed. -- I don't like it much. Oh well. It serves its purpose, because without it, I couldn't really finish the story, now could I? Sorry to those of you who were all happy that Itachi was nice…turns out, he's not after all. Man, this fic really is plunging, huh? I mean, going from humorous arguments between our two favourite power-hungry genin, to fighting drama, to sweet Kakashi/Ayumi romance, to angst and dark plots…Heehee! I 3 it!