Disclaimer
Neither the characters nor the story are of my property, they belong to their respective authors.
This story is a dark stalker romance with extreme dubious situations.
Please proceed with caution.
Itachi
The number of people who show up to the meeting is beyond anything I expected.
Men ranging from their late teens to their sixties stand in the grand dining hall that Salli has stuffed with Southern Italian dishes and a copious amount of wine from the cellar.
Nagato and I are at the head of the table, watching the people who answered his calls — or rather, mine.
Guards stand outside as additional security to the meeting.
When I was with the Senju, I avoided such meetings for a reason. They're business and boring, and I had no interest in those. Killing made more sense than any political antics.
But now, business needs to be done.
These men look up to me — the last Uchiha around here. When Nonno and Padre were alive, they were their godfathers, the reason for their livelihood, and the Senju took that away from them.
Now, they're searching for a leader, someone to give them hope, power, and more importantly, the life that was snatched from between their fingers.
Butsuma and his sons didn't only shoot my family, but they also hunted down every friend, loyal worker and possible force that could come around and bite them — like Nagato's family.
Well, they left the most volatile of them all.
Me.
Despite the food, no one is sitting or eating. They're all waiting for a sign like the one Nonno used to give.
I stand up, clutching my glass of wine. Speeches and all this shit was never my thing, but times change.
With one last look at them, I speak in Italian, my tone calm, but firm. Like Nonno, like Padre. "My name is Itachi Alessio Uchiha, and I'm the last Uchiha alive."
Tomb silence falls on the hall.
"A long time ago, we were shot at in our house in the States and I became a contract killer for the enemy."
A few murmurs break amongst the men, but I continue, "It's the most disgraceful thing in my entire fucking life. Everyone present here has lost at least a family member to the unfair war the Senjus have started. Loss is painful, but it doesn't have to remain that way. Loss can be turned into hate, anger, it can become a driving force for revenge. Because that's what I will do. I'll avenge every last person who was ambushed, killed in his home and in front of his fucking children and wife. I'll bring you justice, but justice doesn't come without war." My gaze roams over them. "I understand if you've lost enough already, if you want to stay in your homes and not get involved in this, but for those who want to join me, I promise you three things. One, the Senjus' graves will be a lot more than ours. Two, the Uchihas' lands will flourish again with your help and your hard work. Three, and most importantly, I'm going to wipe the Uchiha name off the face of the earth."
I pause, making as much eye contact with as many of them as possible. "Those with me, please take a seat. You're welcome to my table any day."
A few seconds tick by and I expect them to start leaving but one of the elderly ones smiles. "You sound just like your father. God bless his soul."
As soon as he takes a seat, everyone else follows suit, filling the table like in Nonno's times when I used to spy from the entrance before Nonno brought me in and sat me on his lap.
Chatter breaks amongst the men and they start telling me about the season, the grapery, the olives, and everything they take pride in.
What I take pride in, too.
The Senju will be history in no time. Nagato and I are already forming our plan, and it'll come to fruition soon.
Sakura is a Senju, too.
I scowl at that thought. She won't be a Senju in my head — she's just Petal.
"That's Fūma," Enzo leans in to whisper, discreetly motioning at the old man who first sat down and who obviously holds some power around here. After all, he's the one who talked the most.
"He's one of the few powerful families that remain. He lost two sons to the Senju," Nagato continues.
I give a slight nod, my respect growing for the man. If he lost his sons and he still wants the war, then he's a loyal general.
"You want him as an ally." Nagato takes a sip of his wine, appearing nonchalant with that wicked gleam deep in his eyes.
"Noted."
"Not noted," he mocks. "Take this a step further."
"Take it further how?" I gather my cup and inhale the potent wine scent before taking a sip. I always preferred whiskey, but there's something nostalgic about the taste of our wine. Familial, made with sweat and integrity.
"Ask for his daughter's hand in marriage," Nagato says it so simply as if it's a given.
"Why the fuck would I do that?"
"Because it'll give you a root here and people will have more trust in you." He lifts his glass in Fūma's direction and he returns the toast. "She's Italian beauty."
"Then why don't you marry her?" I ask.
"I'm not a Uchiha."
"I'm not interested in marriage." Never even thought about it and never will, especially not marriage in a place like Sicily — they're too traditional and conservative here. Marriage is like this sacred shit that no one and nothing should taint.
"You're just interested in the Senju whore, yes?" Nagato asks with malice.
It takes everything in me not to bring out my knife and carve him the fuck up. Instead, I grit from between my teeth. "Talk about her again and I'm cutting you."
"Look, I'm not saying you can't have her, although it would be better if you got rid of her." I glare at him and he rolls his eyes. "BUT you can keep her as a side mistress or what-the-fuck-ever. Just marry a Sicilian and think about the grand scheme of things."
I smile at one of the men instead of stabbing Nagato with a fork.
He's right, if I want to keep the tradition and go back to my roots, marriage makes sense. That's what Nonno and Padre did, traditional, with family in mind.
But the thought of another woman other than my little Petal warming my bed leaves a bitter taste in my mouth like fucking acid.
After the dinner and emptying bottles of wine, I have private words with a few of the men about the changes to the business, the land, and even the security measures.
I'm exhausted by the end of the night. After they left, Nagato kept reminding me to think about the marriage, so I kicked him out.
The main house is quiet without the usual songs my little Petal blasts around just to dance and keep moving. Salli nods in my direction, asking me if I need anything.
"No, thank you, Salli. Good night."
She gives me a quizzical glance, and I swear she's about to say something but she pulls back at the last second, nods and leaves.
I know what she's thinking about, she must've witnessed Petal's attempts to escape, or the extracurricular activities that come after that. While Salli is loyal to the family, she won't stay still if she thinks Petal would hurt me.
And for that same fucking reason, the girl upstairs needs to stop trying to leave. She's wasting her time and mine and will probably end up making more enemies than friends around here.
It doesn't matter how much I protect her, if the locals dislike her, they'll never take her side.
Nagato already hates her, and will keep plotting to get rid of her. Not that I'll let him, but still.
I remove my jacket as I step into the room. It's dark and smells of her.
Strawberry and some lilac shit.
I inhale deeply as I kick my shoes away and lie behind her. She's on her side, fast asleep, and with the sheet to her waist, revealing her bare shoulders, the curve of her throat and the pink hair that falls down her back like a camouflage.
I place a kiss on the hollow of her throat and she moans softly, pushing back against me.
"Stop fighting me, Pet." I wrap a hand around her neck and the other around her waist as my leg cages hers. "You're already mine."
The sooner she realizes there's no way out, the better.
The longer she fights, the harder I'll break her, and deep inside me, I don't want to break her, not in that sense anyway.
I don't want to break her fight and spirit and even her naive fucking innocence.
I don't want to think of her as Sakura Haruno, the daughter of the man who slaughtered my family.
She's Petal. Just my little Petal.
All I want is to hold her like this, to have her sleep in my arms and feel...peace.
