Chapter 18:

"What a mess…"

Gaara stepped into his hometown to see what was left of it. Apparently, Orochimaru's group had arrived before he had.

He was late, and he knew it…

He knew it would take longer than what he had thought.

He started to sniff the air and finally figured out what the stench was.

Blood…

Casualties…

"How many died?" he wondered. "And where is everybody now?"

As Gaara began to walk further into his village, he knew it would take a lot longer. A great was would be raging soon…

XxXxXxXxXxXx

"Look, Red Eyes, I should be going back now."

The great fire that Itachi had made in the cave was starting to become more of a hazard each second as it grew bigger and bigger. It had been at least an hour that Raxiel had been sitting there, watching him make the fire and once he had, only to sit there and stare at it.

No conversation…

No nothing…

And she was getting very impatient. "Besides, won't your friend come back?"

Still no words from him…

All was silent except the sound of the fire crackling.

Raxiel sighed with sadness. She quickly stood up and started to exit the cave.

But she felt something…

Eyes were following her…

Raxiel turned around to catch a glimpse of him for a minute. He soon returned his focus to the fire. "He's not my friend. I have no friends," he stated.

"Gee, I wonder why," Raxiel thought to herself sarcastically. Knowing that he was willing to speak to her, she soon returned to her place by the fire and sat down. "Is there a reason why you brought me here?" Raxiel asked, annoyed with the crackling caused by the fire.

"Because if you had gone out there, you'd be dead in a few minutes…"

Raxiel gave him a confused look, and then it happened again…

Silence…

Red Eyes looked up at her. "It's about to hail."

Raxiel pressed her lips into the shape of an "O." Soon she was mesmerized by the fire, just like Itachi was. They continued to stare at it, not one of them making a sound.

Then it happened…

BOOM!

All hell broke loose as hail fell down, and Raxiel jumped from the unexpected noise. Regaining her composure quickly, she looked towards the exit to watch the hail fall, and quietly began to laugh.

Red Eyes looked up at her. "Funny?"

"That's three times you've saved my life. You're definitely not the type of renegade I thought you were."

"You'd rather me kill you?"

"I didn't say that, but what keeps you from killing me?" she asked openly with curiosity.

Itachi put his eyes back on the fire.

"Amaya."

"Huh?"

"You remind me of someone."

"Oh." Not wanting the conversation to end, Raxiel continued questioning him. "Was that her name?"

"Yeah. She used to be my friend, when I was a little younger than you. She died from a sickness."

"Oh, I see. So is that why you're a renegade? You're bitter?"

"Partly…"

"Hmm… Was she a kunoichi?"

"Drop it. I don't want to talk about it," he said sharply.

"Sorry," she said quietly.

"Sheesh, I'm going to be stuck here all night again," she thought. Soon Raxiel stood up and walked over to the wall of the cave. There she sat down and started trying to untie her heavy, dirty boots. She could feel sweat dripping off her face.

"Well, Red Eyes, are you happy now?" she said, finally giving up untying her boots due to lack of determination.

Itachi looked up and stared at her. Noticing she had caught his attention, she spoke, once again. "You got me to follow you to the mountains; you even got me to come with you to this cave. All that you wanted tonight came true for you; so now what?"

"Are you making fun of me?" he said impassively.

"No, I'm simply saying that you got what you wanted. Are you happy?"

"…Kunoichi, there is nothing that can make me happy," he said blandly.

Raxiel rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. That is what people think, but you know it's just a big lie."

"A lie? Tell me something then, kunoichi," he snapped, "Is it a lie that I massacred my whole clan only to leave two alive? Is it a lie that I joined Akatsuki for personal gain? Is it a lie that the only person capable of killing me is my brother? So is it really a lie to say that nothing can make me happy?"

Raxiel's eyes were widened, as far as they could be.

A murderer…

She was soon thrown out of her mesmerization by someone lifting her upwards and slamming her into the cave's wall.

"Give me one good reason about why I should be happy, Raxiel."

Now she was regretting the choice not having left sooner…

Red Eyes stepped closer to her. She knew he was impatient for an answer, and she was choking from the grip he had on her throat. "Well, I don't think slamming someone into a wall will make you happy." Itachi's grip tightened, his face drawing closer to Raxiel's.

Raxiel began to think quickly. "Firstly, can I ask you why you even killed your clan in the first place?"

"No, you can't," he snapped.

"Then I can't help you," she managed to say swiftly. Itachi's anger was beginning to rise. "But if you're thinking about killing me, Red Eyes, let me say something that "might" help. The more you kill, the more the pain inside you will hurt. Don't think that someday that pain will go away, because it never will. But as you begin to kill more, you'll start to feel even more pain. That's the simplest truth I can give you."

"Tell me then, kunoichi, what makes it ease?"

Raxiel thought for a minute before she blurted something out. After all, she didn't want to blurt out the wrong thing, especially the situation in which she was. "Most people think love will do it. I can guarantee it will help, but it won't last long."

"That's a first step, isn't it?"

"…Um – Well –"

Raxiel could sense that Red Eyes was getting closer to her…

Unfortunately, she had blurted out the wrong words…

She swallowed harshly…

"Not really," she finally said.

"Tell me, kunoichi. This Kazekage or whomever you were speaking to, do you love him? Is that why you smile so much at him and not at me?"

Raxiel's eyes widened more than what they already were. "Love is more than just smiling at someone, you know? Besides, we're just friends. You, on the other hand, are a murderer. So answer me this, Red Eyes: am I supposed to smile at you, a renegade?"

His hand jerked her into the wall again. "I could make you smile, if you'd like me to," he whispered into her ear.

Noticing the sudden change in his voice, Raxiel quickly started to get even more uneasy.

His body was very close…

Raxiel looked straight into his eyes. "Personal gain, you mean?"

No response…

"You know what I'd say to that," Raxiel said. She knew that at any moment, he could have his way with her, and she would not be able to do anything about it.

Obliviousness turned into sudden alertness…

Alertness turned into sudden fearfulness…

"It might make me smile, as well." Gently, he pushed himself against her.

Raxiel soon glared at him coldly. "Itachi, I'd rather you kill me than you receive any more personal gain from me."

Fearfulness… changed into audaciousness?

His grip relaxed…

His breathing harshly on her face soon faded…

And soon he had let go and retreated to the fire.

"Amaya…" he quietly spoke, once again; his attitude had changed from anger to nothingness. Raxiel looked out towards the exit to see the hail had stopped. The only gloomy thing still out there were the dark clouds hovering over the sky due to it being nighttime.

"I'm leaving now," Raxiel said calmly, and Red Eyes simply nodded.

And with that, Raxiel left, not even wanting to look back at him.

She was afraid she could do nothing to help him…