Sunlight crept into the room warming Nari's face gently. She woke slowly, her eyes squinting from the sunlight. Her head rested on a soft pillow and the blankets were pulled around her snuggly. As her eyes adjusted, she saw she wasn't alone. Konan lay next to her, facing her. Konan's blue hair was a tangled mess and her face looked relaxed.
As Nari woke more, she realized she had something in her hand. She gave it a squeeze, and the hand she held squeezed back. Somewhere in the night, Nari had grabbed Konan's hand, lacing their fingers together. Nari blushed in embarrassment and tried to let her go, but Konan held her hand tight. Nari blushed further when Konan opened her eyes and sighed comfortably, snuggling her face into her own pillow.
"Morning," She mumbled with a smile on her face. "How'd you sleep?"
"Really well." Nari admitted and tried to let her go, "Sorry, for this." She said, making Konan giggle. Konan let go of her hand but wrapped her arms around Nari, pulling her in close. Konan rested her chin on Nari's head while the red head giggled at her friend.
"Don't worry about it." Konan sighed.
"Pein's not mad I took his spot, is he?" Nari asked as she wrapped her arm around Konan's torso, not bothering to fight to get away.
"Nah, and if he is, he'll get over it." Konan joked, making Nari snort. "We've got some time this morning. We're taking a plane to Suna."
"Oh yeah, how long are we staying there again?" Nari asked as she closed her eyes, starting to nod off again.
"Five days." Konan told her. "We usually hang out at the beach for a bit. Why?"
"I've actually got some friends in Suna I haven't seen in a while." Nari explained. "Was wondering if I could see them."
"Of course." Konan told her. "You're allowed to do whatever you want on your off time. Don't let them make you think you have to spend all your time with them." She chuckled and Nari smiled. She opened her mouth to say more when the door bust open, making Konan groan and pull the blanket over their heads. Nari was starting to realize Konan was not much of a morning person.
"Good morning!" Tobi's cheery voice filled the room and they felt him bounce on the bed. "Breakfast is here! Come on!" He all but chirped at them and he grabbed someone's leg over the blanket, shaking it. "Deidara! They aren't getting up!" He called before plopping on top of the two women, making them laugh.
"Tobi, don't you dare!" Konan laughed as she caught her breath. The three on the bed grunted and oofed as another body was added to the pile. Nari laughed as she pushed the blanket off her face, seeing Deidara had jumped on top.
"How are you guys so energetic this early in the morning?" Nari asked with a big grin.
"It's ten, yeah!" Deidara laughed at her. Konan grabbed a pillow and whacked the boys with it. "Hey, man, not my fault you won't get up, yeah!"
"I can't get up if you're sitting on me!" Konan laughed.
"Hidan!" Deidara shouted and Konan and NAri laughed and tried to escape but the boys kept them stuck. "Hidan, they still won't get up, yeah!"
"No!" Konan laughed as they heard Hidan running towards them. The pile of grown ass adults groaned as Hidan slammed down on all four of them. Konan swatted at them as they finally started letting them up. Nari was too busy trying to catch her breath from laughing. Tears had formed in her eyes at their little wakeup call.
"You guys are gonna break the bed." Sasori mumbled from his spot at the door.
"You better not!" They heard Kakuzu call from the other room, making Nari laugh harder.
"Hey, man, don't get him on our ass this early in the morning, yeah." Deidara whined at his boyfriend. Sasori just noisily sipped his coffee. Deidara rolled his eyes at him before sitting up.
"You bitches are so fucking lazy." Hidan huffed as he got up and stood with his hands on his hips. He was only in a tank top and boxers and Konan groaned.
"Go put on some clothes, you wack job." She told him and tossed a pillow at his head. He caught it and tossed it back at her.
"Oh, Nari," Tobi gasped worriedly as she sat up. Nari froze as he gently grabbed her arm. She had forgotten. "Did I do that? I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful." Tobi apologized as he looked at the bruises on her upper arm.
"Oh, no, Tobi." Nari mumbled as she gently pulled out of his grip and grabbed her hoodie, struggling to pull it over her head. "You didn't do that." She explained as she felt eyes on her. "That was from the other day." She tried to explain lamely.
"Oh, ok!" Tobi said brightly, "You should be more careful, that looks painful!" He suggested, making her smile. Konan was watching. She had seen the bruises last night when Nari changed into her pajamas. If you looked close enough, you could clearly see she had a hand print on each arm, as though someone had grabbed her roughly. Hidan not only recognized the hand prints, but he'd seen Konan staring. Something was up.
"You better not have broken anything." Kakuzu said roughly as they filed into the main room once more. Nari sat on the couch as Konan chuckled.
"Good morning to you, too." She said as she walked over to the table where the food was sitting. Nari blinked and looked over her shoulder as someone tapped her. She looked up to see Itachi standing behind her, a cup of coffee in his hand as he passed it to her.
"Here." He said gently and she took it, careful not to spill it. "I only added one creamer." He told her.
"That's perfect." Nari said before smiling at him in thanks with a slight flush in her cheeks. "Thank you." She said and he nodded. "How soon until we leave?" She asked before taking a sip. "Suna is farther than six hours, we aren't driving are we?"
"No, we will be flying." Kakuzu told her. "I have booked us a flight there this afternoon."
"We should probably get to the airport early," Konan suggested, taking a bite of food, "We don't need a repeat of last time."
"I can't believe you're setting them loose in an airport again." Sasori said with his hoarse voice as he sat down on the couch, letting his head fall back and closing his eyes.
"What happened last time?" Nari asked him curiously.
"Deidara kept making bomb references." He said, not bothering to open his eyes until he let out an off as Deidara sat on his lap.
"Hey, it's just the way I talk, yeah." Deidara said, trying to defend himself. Sasori let his head fall back again, closing his eyes once more, his hands resting lazily on Deidara's hips.
"You were being a brat and you know it." Sasori called him out, making Nari snort.
"Tobi wants a window seat!" Tobi announced from his seat on the floor. He sat on the other side of the coffee table, his legs crossed like a pretzel. "Tobi likes the view!" He was practically bouncing with excitement.
"Man, you're way too excited for a fucking airport." Hidan told him. "Every fucking time we go to one, you're bouncing off the damn walls."
"Leave him be, Hidan." Itachi said calmly from behind Nari, always the voice of reason.
"You're just mad you almost got left behind." Sasori sighed and looked at Nari before continuing, catching her attention. "He fell asleep on the bench and we didn't realize it." Nari laughed out loud at that and Hidan grew visibly frustrated, his face heating up in embarrassment. Konan watched the red head laugh, trying not to spill her coffee.
She looked over the girl who sat, her legs crossed in a pretzel on the couch. She had her sleeves pushed up to her elbows and she still wore her pajama shorts. Her red hair was pulled into a messy bun with escaped strands curling around her face. The sun light seemed to illuminate her, making her smile seem brighter. Konan could hear the mirth in her laugh. The conversation from the previous night echoed in her mind.
"I get it, it's on me."
"Nari was raped?"
Her self-blame struck a chord. She had been there, she had experienced the violating touches of another man.
"When she is ready, she will know what to do." Pein's confident voice echoed through her, comforting her, reassuring her. He was right, he usually was. She looked over the guitarist, watching her joke and laugh with her new bandmates. She'd be ok, they had her now. They weren't going to let her fall.
Konan felt eyes on her and glanced to the man who stood behind Nari. Itachi stood with his long black hair in a low pony tail, one hand on the back of the couch, the other lifting a cup of coffee to his lips. Their gazes met for only a moment before he blinked and returned his attention to the girl on the couch who had turned to him, smiling up at him as she asked him something. Konan smiled to herself. Yeah, they got her.
Nari grabbed her bag out of the bin and slung it over her shoulder. Next she grabbed her phone and stuffed it back into the pocket of her hoodie since her athletic shorts didn't have pockets. Her flip flops smacked against the linoleum floor as she walked, her ponytail swishing behind her.
"Where's our gate?" She asked Itachi over her shoulder as he grabbed his bag and followed, heading to where Pein, Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Konan were waiting. Those four had been the first to go through and were waiting patiently.
"I think it's down a good bit." Itachi told her as he stepped next to her. "We still have plenty of time. We will most likely eat near the terminal." Nari nodded, showing she was listening as they stepped over to the group.
"I'm starving." Konan added. "I hope they have something good. I hate airplane food."
"You're just picky." Kisame teased as he joined them, having heard her as she approached. She opened her mouth to disagree but the alarms from the metal detectors blared obnoxiously, startling everyone. They turned to see Hidan with his hands up and a devilish grin as a guard waved their hand held detector over him.
"I never should have given him those piercings." Pein sighed and Konan gave him a little nudge with her elbow.
"If it wasn't you it would have been someone worse." Kakuzu sighed as they all watched Hidan get scanned. "And knowing him, he would have lost his tongue to an infection." Hidan stuck out his tongue and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the male guard and Nari tried to hold back a laugh at the antics.
"He causes problems anywhere we go." Zetsu sighed in his softer voice. "We should have checked him with the luggage." He followed up in his rougher tone.
"Hey, Pein?" Nari asked, turning to the orange haired man. He looked at her, quirking an eyebrow as he waited for her question. "What made you stop piercing? How did you get into music?" Pein looked her over for a brief moment before answering.
"After school I worked at an apprenticeship for piercing. I was certified and worked in a tattoo parlor for a while. Eventually, I was introduced to the band. I had a few connections in the underground music scene in the city and used those connections to get them gigs." Nari listened, intrigued by the story he told. "We worked together for a few years and used our connections to grow. I used my profession as a piercer to be more involved in the underground scene, opening up more doors than you would expect."
"As the band got bigger he needed to manage it full time." Kakuzu added. "He hired me to assist with the financials. One by one more people joined our merry band of misfits." He added dryly as though annoyed with the addition of band members.
"Nari, you said you knew people in Suna." Konan said after the history lesson. "Did you grow up there?"
"Yeah, actually." Nari smiled and nodded. "I actually moved to this city only a few years ago."
"Oh, yeah?" Kisame asked. "What made you move? Got tired of the sun?" Nari giggled nervously. The city she had moved to was notorious for darker weather and higher precipitation, but the hospital was what she had moved for. Nari didn't need to explain herself since a ruckus from the boys at the metal detectors interrupted them. The group turned to see a guard trying to pull an irritated Deidara off a laughing Hidan. Deidara had his hands wrapped around Hidan's neck and when Nari looked to Sasori, she balked. Sasori stood there, a look of mild surprise on his face, accompanied with a small blush. That was the most expressive she had ever seen him.
"Zetsu." Pein spoke flatly and the tall man moved, approaching the remaining group.
"Next time, we fly, they can drive." Kakuzu growled as he headed down the long hall of terminals.
"Let's go." Pein told Konan as he picked up his carry on bag and slung it over his shoulder. "They will catch up when they are finished here." He explained before bending down and grabbing Konan's bag.
"You don't have to-" Konan started, reaching for her bag. Pein pulled it out of her reach.
"I know." He responded flatly as he walked away. Nari smiled at the adoring expression on Konan's face as she followed her boyfriend.
"I'll stay here with Zetsu." Kisame spoke up, pulling Nari's attention to him as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm gonna help him get everyone to the gate. You guys go on ahead."
"I'll take your bag." Itachi said, reaching out and grabbing the strap. It wasn't a requested and Kisame just shook his head and chuckled. He knew better than to argue. "You have enough on your hands." Kisame laughed and slapped a heavy hand on Itachi's shoulder before jogging over to help Zetsu break the boys up.
"He's a brave man." Nari teased as they turned and followed the rest of their group.
"Hn." Itachi hummed and nodded in agreement. The two walked in silence but this didn't bother her. Nari looked around the airport with a small smile on her face, watching people rush past. Many were in suits or business clothes. Some families looked exhausted, their kids still in pajamas. So many people coming and going from so many places.
Itachi watched her as they walked. He noticed her looking over the people that passed them and he couldn't help but stare as she smiled. Nari looked so at ease in the airport where most people were tense and anxious, either rushing to get to their flight or uncomfortable with security. He almost envied her, but a bigger part of him burned with questions and he struggled to bite his tongue. Perhaps he should ask her about something else.
"You said you moved." Itachi spoke as they walked and Nari looked up at him, blinking. "What brought you to this city?" He asked. It was a simple enough question, so why did his stomach drop when he saw the sad smile on her face. Nari looked ahead before answering.
"Better hospital." Nari told him simply. "There is a specialist in the city, so I moved here when my brother transferred."
"What happened?" Itachi asked after a moment of silence.
"Car accident." Nari said before shaking her head with a humorless smile. "Even the specialist is doubtful, but they've agreed to let me keep him on life support as long as I keep paying." Itachi watched as she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "It was getting kinda close there for a while. You guys hiring me really saved his ass." She paused and looked up at him with a sweet but still sad smile and his heart skipped a beat. "I really owe you guys." Silence fell between them and Nari looked ahead with a slight blush, feeling like she shared too much. "Konan is the only person who knows how bad it is." Nari continued, suddenly feeling the urge to just tell him everything. What was with her lately? "Even our friends in Suna think it's just medically induced, that he'll wake up one day."
"There is a chance he won't?" Itachi asked gently.
"It's unlikely." Nari admitted with a shrug. "I guess I haven't really accepted that yet." Itachi said nothing, letting silence fall back over them as the noisy airport continued around them. What do you say to that?
"If you need anything…" Itachi trailed off when she turned her head to him again and smiled, the blush still tinting her cheeks. His heart raced when she lightly touched his arm in thanks, effectively silencing him, even if it wasn't her intention.
"You guys being you have helped me in more ways than you can even imagine." Nari admitted, smiling brightly at him. Itachi just looked at her for a moment, almost startled by her positive attitude, and then he offered back a small understanding smile of his own. Nari's blush deepened when she realized she was still touching his arm and she dropped her hand like he burned and looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry," She mumbled and continued walking. Itachi continued, keeping pace with her, his small smile still gracing his face. "So," Nari cleared her throat, "Did you see where they went? I don't really know where we are going." She told him as she looked at her ticket, trying to see what gate they were at. Itachi didn't get to answer her question.
Tobi crashed into her like a bullet, screaming, and bouncing with excitement. Nari was rocked and she dropped her bag, grabbing onto Tobi to try and keep them both upright.
"Tobi's so excited! Tobi's so excited! Is Nari excited?" Tobi asked, his arms tightening around her.
"Christ, where do you get the energy?" Kisame panted as he stopped, dropping his bag, and resting his hands on his knees while he caught his breath. Zetsu caught up just after, looking completely unbothered.
"Two love birds are fucking bitching again." Hidan huffed as he sauntered over, his bag slung over his shoulder. Nari and Itachi looked past him and saw Deidara looking embarrassed while Sasori spoke to him quietly. "Wish they'd just fuck and makeup already." Nari swatted at him as he walked past, laughing at her disapproval.
"We need to get to the gate." Zetsu said flatly, continuing on as well. Nari bent to pick up her bag but stopped when Itachi grabbed it first. She looked up at him, a little surprised and looking for an explanation. He offered none and just gave a gentle smile before walking away, following Zetsu. Nari watched him go and Tobi shook her, still hanging off her.
"Let's go get something to eat!" Tobi cheered, starting to drag her along and making her smile.