She inched down the street, juggling several bags of food and supplies. It had been a while since her last shopping trip, so Kokoa found herself buying everything at once. Even a kage would have trouble carrying all that she bought. Thud! She fell to the ground, bags along with her.
"I'm so sorry!" a voice cried. "Kokoa? Oh man, I'm sorry!"
"It's alright, it's alright," she mumbled, rising to her feet. Dusting herself off, she glanced at the boy.
"You're that Ryuuji kid, right?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "Oh – here." He dropped to his knees, stuffing everything back into the bags.
"Thanks," she sighed.
"You sure bought a lot," he chuckled, facing her.
"Yeah. It's been a while." She shrugged, scrutinizing him.
'This kid has been everywhere lately. Outside my house with Iruka, with Sasuke, and now here. He better not be one of the Hokage's dogs.' She stiffened.
"Any missions?" she asked casually.
"Not recently. You see, I've been helping Iruka-san. I'm thinking of following the same career path, training and teaching instead of missions, you know. I still get assigned some though, from time to time," he explained.
"Are you and Hokage-sama close?"
"I don't have a problem with him, but we aren't best friends. Why ask?"
"Nothing, nothing. It's just…you seem to know a lot about me, but I know nothing about you. Curious is all." She avoided his eyes.
'Maybe he's not watching me. Still…'
"Well, I should head home," she stated, gathering her things.
"Here, I'll help."
"Oh, you don't have to. I'll be alright."
"You didn't look all right a minute go. It's nothing, really," he pushed.
"Fine, fine." She gave in. He happily grabbed half of the items and followed her.
"Nice place you have. Small and cozy," he commented, setting the bags in the kitchen.
"Yeah. Could be a problem once Sasuke gets older though. Space and all." She shrugged.
"So you plan to continue living with him?"
"Yeah. I've known him for a long time, and after all that's happened, I think it'd be good if we stayed together."
"I see. Itachi really did some damage, didn't he…" Ryuuji stated, admiring the little trinkets on the shelf. Kokoa fell silent.
"It's a shame such a talented guy threw it all away just like that. And to abandon his little brother…and you. Maybe you two are better off without him. You're too good for him," he continued. She tilted her head, eyes narrowed, ready to go off. Luckily, Sasuke stepped through the front door.
"Ryuuji?" he smiled.
"Hey, Sasuke."
"What are you doing here?"
"I helped Kokoa carry some things back home is all. I should actually head out though. I have some things I need to take care of."
"Ok. I'll see you around."
"Of course. Bye, Kokoa. Nice seeing you again." He smiled with a wave before leaving. Sasuke watched him walk out.
"You ok?" He turned to Kokoa.
"Yeah." She managed a smile. "Fine. Just tired from being out all day."
"You're getting lazy."
"Lies."
"I'm serious. All you do is sleep and eat," he teased.
"That's the life," she smirked, walking to the couch.
"Hn. I have some homework. I'll be out in a little."
"Take your time, Sasuke. No rush."
Not too long after making sure Sasuke had his lunch and belongings for school, Kokoa found herself on the couch in the early morning, hair scattered, clothes wrinkled, face tearstained. Every day she fought to stay strong for Sasuke, but the minute he left, she felt herself crumble.
Knock, knock, knock. Glancing at the door in surprise, she rose to her feet, trying to fix herself up as she walked.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Kokoa."
"…Ryuuji?" She blinked. "It's early, and I'm not…decent," she mumbled, trying to step away from the sunlight.
"Sorry to bother you so early, but I have some good news that'll lift your spirits."
"It has to be pretty damn good then."
"I got you a mission."
"Nani?"
"With me. We needed one more member, so I suggested you," he explained.
"Oh."
"You said you were out of action for a while, so I figured you'd want to come. Plus, you are quite skilled, so it's not like you'd be getting in the way or anything."
"But – I – Sasuke. I can't leave him," she stammered, trying to think of a way out.
"Already stopped by the academy and explained everything to him and the supervisors. He'll be taken care of."
"But after what happened – he needs me –"
"He has his friends, and a lot of school work. He'll be fine. Besides, you need this too. Get your mind off of the tragedy and what's his name."
'Itachi…'
"I…" She couldn't think of anything. "When?"
"As soon as you're ready. Meet us at the front gates."
"Hai." Turning her back, she shut the door. "Damn him. What's his deal? He doesn't seem like he's been sent to watch me, but he's getting a little too close for comfort," she spat to herself before heading off to prepare.
It was a basic mission; exchange and gather some information; keep the scrolls safe, etc.
"So, Kokoa, what do you like to do?" Ryuuji started the conversation. She looked over, not in the mood to talk, but she would feel too guilty if she denied him.
"Training. I'm always looking to improve. I used to like going to small cafés, but…not so much anymore…You?"
"Ninja stuff of course," he grinned. "I'll be honest, I got into fishing. Like the relaxing kind, not where I'm struggling for food."
"That's different."
"Yeah. I'll have to show you one day. There are a lot of lakes, rivers, and streams in Konoha."
"I bet." She managed a smile.
"I'm serious. Tag along one day. It'd be fun. Just us."
"Just us…"
Leaning against a tree with her knees to her chest, Kokoa watched the flickering fire. The two other members had drifted off to sleep not too long ago.
"Kind of chilly tonight," Ryuuji commented, walking over.
"Ah," she replied, eyes fixed on the flames.
"We've got a good fire going though. No worries."
"A fire? Where there's a fire, there's a person. Why don't we check it out, Itachi-san?" Kisame suggested as they wandered the woods.
"All right." He followed.
"Ho, ho, looks like I was right. And not just ordinary people. We've got ourselves a team of Konoha shinobi. You think they're tracking us?" he inquired, leaning against Samehada. Itachi examined the group, eyes landing on Kokoa. His lips parted, fortunately not dramatically enough for Kisame to notice.
"I doubt it," he replied, keeping his cool.
"Really?"
"If Konoha was after us, I doubt they'd send a bunch like them."
"What do you mean?"
"They're a mixture of chunin and jonin, hastily assembled, a last minute team. They're probably on some basic C rank mission, if that."
"Hm, you have a point. Still, Itachi-san…"
"I'll keep an eye on them. You can head to town and finish what we set out to do. I'll meet you near the base in the morning."
"Sounds good to me. Try not to get yourself killed," he smirked, jaunting off with his sword. Lifting his collar, Itachi hid in the shadows, watching the team, watching Kokoa. He narrowed his eyes at Ryuuji, the boy talking to her. He didn't like the way his eyes wandered, the way he engaged her. More than anything, it hurt his heart, knowing that he could never take his place beside Kokoa. What hurt even more was the fact Kokoa didn't respond much to the boy. She never looked at him, rarely answered him, and her body language closed her off.
Itachi knew, he bore the guilt of destroying her heart. She would never love or trust again. She would never be open, and he hated himself. If Kokoa found someone who loved her…of course he would want her to be happy, to be safe even if it wasn't him, but he was convinced that he had ruined that for her. He had destroyed her. He crushed her heart, and she hated him.
With a nod, Ryuuji was off to bed. Kokoa remained where she was. Itachi tilted his head, curious when she reached in her shirt. Slipping the chain over her head, she let the necklace rest in her hands. His eyes widened, stunned that she held on to the Uchiha pendant. Closing her fingers around it, she rested her fist against her heart, struggling against the tears.
Itachi looked on in confusion. He ended the relationship the night before the massacre in hopes of making it easier for Kokoa to let go. If she was angry that he chose the clan over her, perhaps she wouldn't have been so upset. He wanted her to hate him. He used his father as an excuse to walk away from her. He told her they wouldn't get their happy ending, all to make her turn her back on him so she wouldn't come running after him; however, she never did turn away. After all the planning, and all that passed, he found himself watching her hold onto the only piece of him she had left, and for the first time in a while, he found it hard to control himself.