I had just finished getting ready which was actually quite a difficult task when it came to that dress. With a little patience and a few tries however, I managed to get it on solo.
I believe this is what they call "personal growth".
There was a knock at the door followed by Kisame's voice.
"Hey kiddo, you ready?"
I whipped the door open, startling him with my speed. Admittedly, I had been ready and waiting.
"Kisame, please. You and I both know I was born ready," I said, whipping out my sunglasses, flicking them open and putting them on, all with only one hand.
Now that I had a room, I'd been practicing that in my spare time.
So cool.
Kisame grinned and lifted his own shades to give me a wink.
"That's what I like to hear. Now let's fucking boogie, birthday girl."
I followed behind towards the common area where I assumed everyone was gathered.
"Um, Kisame… not that it looks bad or anything but… what the heck are you wearing?" I asked.
"You like? We've gotta dress as tourists so all of us are wearing weird shit like this… well maybe not like this. You'll see."
"Oh wow…" I said, biting back a wild howl as I turned the corner and saw possibly the dopiest array of fearsome missing-nin in the world. Hidan's jorts, Kakuzu's sparkly reindeer sweater, Deidara's stained tropical shirt, Sasori's floral romper. All of it was far too much to take it and I immediately lost my everloving beans over it despite my genuine attempt not to laugh.
Itachi and Kisame were both looking sleek and cool so I immediately knew Kisame had been in charge of dressing everyone.
"Oh my God… Kisame… this is the best gift... you could have given me," I was nearly crying from laughter and only speaking when I could catch my breath.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up," Deidara pouted, crossing his arms and giving me a look.
Kakuzu looked miserable, Sasori looked bored and ready to go, and Hidan seemed much less irritated than I expected as he locked eyes with me, a little smirk playing on his lips.
"Alright, we've got everyone. Let's move outside," Kisame shouted and we all began following.
I caught up to Hidan.
"I almost didn't recognize you in a shirt," I said coolly.
He leaned down to whisper, "Ditto."
"Hidan!" I hissed, smacking him in the stomach.
"Relax, I'm all discrete and shit," he teased.
"You're something alright."
"You like my new look? I heard sweating your balls off in fucking denim is in this year."
"I'm surprised you're taking it as well as you are," I said.
That was true. I was very surprised, actually.
"Well it put a smile on your face, can't be all bad. I was gonna wear this really cute dress I got recently, but this girl ended up taking it from me," he mused, feigning disappointment.
"Wow, she sounds just awful," I said with a face.
"Yeah, but she's a total babe, so..." he shrugged and gave me a sideways smile. I returned it.
It really was going to be a long day, as excited as I was. There were moments when Hidan would surprise me with his sweetness and my instinctual reaction would just be to kiss him and I couldn't do that now, per my own rule.
What were you thinking?
I was thinking I didn't want to deal with the drama of Kisame telling me I was making bad decisions and Deidara being all mopey. Itachi obviously wouldn't care and I didn't assume Kakuzu or Sasori would feel any particular way about it, but two dissenting opinions was enough to rain on my parade and I wanted to keep it nice and dry for one whole day, gosh darnit.
We had made our way to the center of the training field. Deidara stepped away from the group and began detailing the plan.
"Aerial will be a bit too obvious with all of us so I'm thinking striders, yeah?" Deidara said, his hands already munching away in his pouches and forming two handfuls of tiny creatures which leapt from his palms and inflated with a chorus of poofs.
They were adorable. I squeaked in delight as they hopped around and began fanning out. There was one for each person and amazingly, they all seemed to know who their rider would be.
"So cute Dei!" I squealed as mine trotted up to me and began nuzzling my hair.
It was something akin to an ostrich as far it's legs went, long and springy, but it's wings were small and clearly meant for maintaining balance, certainly not flying. It had big, curious eyes and a large rounded beak, and it seemed to maintain a slight, giddy bounce at all times.
You better pet that thing right this instant, girl.
But of course. It chirped and trilled as I showered it with an over-abundance of scritches beneath it's chin and through the fluffy little tuft atop it's head. I made a similar noise in response, and we chatted back and forth like this for a moment.
I assumed they would all look about the same but glancing over at Kisame's little guy, it was not nearly as cute as mine. It was larger, but Kisame was larger than me so that made sense. The difference was just that it looked so darn ugly.
It was squat and round with a mean looking expression. It nipped at him as he mounted it. Kisame frowned and seemed to resist punching the thing. He shot Deidara a look.
Deidara smiled and shrugged. "Sorry man, it's just random, yeah?"
"Oi… think there's something fucked with mine," Hidan grumbled, scratching the back of his head and looking at the thing with disdain.
I couldn't accurately describe the laugh that burst out of me if you paid me.
It was like something from another world, an ungodly cacophony that far exceeded any snort-laugh I had ever produced before. Abrupt and sputtering, I absolutely fell apart at the seams at the sight of this creature that, every time Hidan would take a step away from it, it would hobble towards him with a needy little grunt.
His creature was more like a rough draft of mine, emphasis on rough.
It was toad-like in some ways, though still with the long birdish legs. It leaned to one side as one leg was significantly shorter than the other. It's body was lumpy in all the wrong areas and it's eyes, which were too far apart and not even level with each other, blinked off rhythm, one and then the other with a delay in between. There was something dripping from its mouth which hung ajar stupidly and the noise it produced sounded more like a wheezing turtle.
I was dying.
"Oh, sorry. A couple of them must have gotten smushed, yeah. They should still function okay," Deidara said casually, brushing it off as an accident but I could tell by the underlying smirk on his face that it had been quite purposeful. It was quickly turning red from the effort of holding back his laughter and he bit his lip in a last-ditch effort to keep it at bay.
"Hm… looks like I got it's brother," Itachi said blankly, staring at the creature before him. I would have said it was it's identical twin, if not for the oddly deformed appendage sticking out of his side and absently pawing at Itachi.
Tears were streaming down my blotchy, reddened face at that point, and I wasn't the only one.
No, all of us had collectively devolved into a fit of shrieks and howls. Kisame and Deidara were literally doubled over, slapping their knees, Sasori's head thrown back, hand over mouth, and Kakuzu was the most unusual sight of all as his body just shook silently.
Itachi's little guy, still pawing at him, began making an odd sort of grunting noise and rubbing up against him in a desperate plea for attention.
It took us literal minutes to die down. One of us would start up again and trigger the whole crew into laughing, so it was a long, arduous process to calm down.
Itachi stood there stoically as he waited, eventually reaching a hand out to awkwardly pat the thing atop it's head in an effort to get it to stop grunting at him but it only seemed to excite it more. Hidan busied himself by attempting to kick his away but it was a persistent little beast.
"I think… I'm okay to travel on foot," Itachi said as the rest of us began mounting up.
"Same," Hidan agreed.
"Nooo!" I cried, horrified at the thought that I wouldn't be able to see them riding these ridiculous creatures. "We all have to ride!"
"I promise I'll keep up, Izumi," Itachi assured calmly.
I liked that he was saying my name again.
"That's not the point," I whined, looking pleadingly between Itachi and Hidan. "We're supposed to all do it together."
"No fucking way am I getting on this thing. It already got some sorta slime on my fucking leg." Hidan complained, twitching his leg to shake it off and I choked back another laugh.
Itachi looked to be in despair about what he was about to do.
His mouth pulled into a taut line and he took a moment to close his eyes and exhale heavily from his nostrils.
"Fine…" he conceded before grabbing ahold of his mount and swinging his leg over it.
As Itachi bared his weight onto the thing, it tipped down to one side with a raucous gurgle, it's balance thrown off kilter at first, but it soon righted itself. Each step it took seemed to pain it, but it wobbled along at pace fine enough, dipping sideways every other step.
Kisame and I died all over again at the sight of Itachi Uchiha riding this blundering little abomination. He looked so out of place and out of his element, him being so elegant and composed typically. Now he bobbed around on the thing haphazardly as it let out little belches and other odd noises.
"Hidan… please?" I asked, blinking at him with big eyes. He was the only person not on his critter and he knew it. He looked begrudgingly between it, me and Itachi. Cursing the latter for giving in and making him look like the jerk.
"Goddamnit Izumi," he grumbled something about how I better appreciate this as he, too, sank onto the wheezing creature. It seemed to spit something sticky up as it decompressed under his weight, but like Itachi's, it straightened out, shimmied a bit, and lurched forward.
"Alright, everyone good to go, yeah?" Deidara asked. I noticed his mount looked a bit buffer, a bit more studly than the rest.
"Hey Dei, did you make mine the cutest?" I asked as I hugged the thing tightly around the neck, evoking a happy little warble from it.
"Of course. The cutest for the cutest," he said with a grin and let out a whistle causing all of the creatures bolted up into the treetops at once.
For the first five minutes I could do nothing but swell and giggle at the feeling of flying through the branches. It was such an incredible rush. I also couldn't help but steal glimpses of the guys behind me.
Itachi looked miserable at worst, blank at best, though there were snapshots of an upturned lip at times when he would glance over and our gazes would meet by chance. It made me suspect maybe he didn't hate it as much as he let on.
He was finding enjoyment in something at least.
Hidan only hated it. He bounced around on the thing not even holding on, his arms permanently crossed over his chest as some sort of silent protest, like he would only touch it the least amount humanly possible, and even then, only to appease me.
While it was hands down one of the most hilarious things I had ever seen, the whole thing had me feeling terribly uncomfortable and confused as I was having an increasingly difficult time reconciling the fact that I had kissed Hidan and then some... and while I was admittedly very fond of him, syphoning a small smile from Itachi was still something I chased for a high, despite his admitted lack of affection toward me.
Maybe that made it alright though... knowing he would never return my feelings, would it be so awful to continue that pursuit from time to time? It was just a smile. It was the most I'd ever get from him.
I only wanted to see it. Would that really be the worst thing?
It certainly didn't take away my feelings for Hidan, they were more than alive and well. I just couldn't seem to squash them for Itachi despite every awful thing he'd said to me. They weren't enough to undo the fondness I'd already built from all the kindness he'd poured into me before.
I had a lot to think about on our journey through the treetops. Not all of it was pleasant. I found myself dwelling on Orochimaru a lot… and if I was his daughter. Something about the thought made me sick.
I tried to keep myself distracted.
Over the course of the trip we all named our creatures, and by we and I mean I named all our creatures, mine being String Bean. Itachi's was Goose because of the strained honking noise it began making about halfway through. Hidan's was Sticky Buns, inspired by whatever was leaking out of him. Then we had Kisame on Blorp, Sasori on Mlem, Deidara on Chad, and Kakuzu on Sprinkle.
Deidara discouraged me from naming them since they would inevitably explode, but I couldn't help myself.
It was afternoon by the time we arrived in the smallish village. We all came to a halt in the forest just outside it and stretched as we dismounted our delightful little creatures.
"Alright, everyone say goodbye to your little friends," Deidara instructed.
I frowned, throwing my arms around String Bean in a tight hug. It chirped in response which just made me frown more.
"Do you have to, Dei?" I pouted.
"Aw, come on, Izumi. You knew this was going to happen. I told you not to name them," he whined.
Hidan kicked his away from him as it clamored for his attention. "Well mine can fuck right off."
Deidara studied Hidan and the beast, tapping his finger against his chin. "Why don't you hold onto him actually. I wonder how many pieces you'll blow into. Care to make bets, yeah?"
"Not enough," Kakuzu commented, climbing off his birdie and shoving it away from him.
Hidan chuffed. "Ya know I do feel pain, getting fucking blown up sounds shitty. I'll pass. Besides, it would ruin this totally rockin' outfit."
"Yes, what a shame that would be," I teased.
"Oh, so you want it to get ruined? This all part of your master plan to finally get me naked?" He teased harder.
I flushed and sputtered for a comeback.
"Well on that note," Deidara interrupted, saving me from further conversation regarding Hidan being naked. At least he'd implied I hadn't already witnessed such a sight…
A true gentleman.
"Back the hell up, everyone," Deidara commanded with a grin and we all stepped behind him.
The creatures suddenly began performing some rather daring feats of acrobatics. Jumping and leaping onto one another, forming pyramids and towers and whimsical, wobbling structures. One by one throughout the routine, they launched into the air, exploding into a shower of sparkling bright lights.
I was genuinely quite the show.
String Bean was the last to go and also the only one that rained down in a brilliantly multi-colored shock of light.
I looked on, absolutely dazzled. I was also the only one clapping at the end.
Deidara smiled at me. "Was that a suitable death for Strong Beans or whatever?"
"It's String Bean… and yes, it was very artfully done. I loved it," I gushed, throwing my arms around his torso. He immediately caged me against him in a hug that had us rocking from side to side before he let me go, looking down at me with a satisfied little smile.
"Alright guys, Izumi's already seen the coolest thing she's going to today so we may as well head back," Deidara said, only to be received by booing and getting shoved by Sasori.
We made our way to the village entrance and my jaw dropped.
"Holy shit, must be a festival going on today," Kisame noted.
There were so many people and all sorts of pop-up shops littering the streets. Some sold food, the air so thick with the mingling scents that I was practically full from the smell alone. Others were games of luck and skill and many others offered a variety of trinkets, goodies and services ranging from kites that looked like colorful dragons, to palm and tarot readings.
I wanted to do it all.
I think Itachi could see it in my eyes, all big and round and sparkling, because he quickly stepped next to me and asked that I "please stay close" in a voice that told me he was worried I wouldn't be able to follow the simple rule.
Always with his rules…
Kisame agreed. "Yeah kid, this is not the place for you to get separated from us."
"But of course, Kisame-sama," I smiled at him sweetly and grabbed his hand.
"Aw, now you're just trying to butter me up so I get you something really good for your birthday," he said as he began pulling me along at his side. And I had thought my hand felt small compared to Hidan… Kisame's hands were freaking enormous.
I did not deny his accusation.
We squeezed tightly through the crowd, my head practically on a swivel in my wide-eyed attempt to take in all the sights, sounds and smells.
There were flashes of color all around me, people of all types wearing stunning yukatas, a pair of children chasing each other donning stark red and white kitsune masks, brightly lit lanterns in the shape of fish stringing in a winding back and forth above us all the way down the main strip.
We were in a sea of people laughing and happy and I, myself, couldn't wipe the silly grin off my face. I'd never seen anything like it.
"So, what do you wanna do first, Iz?" Kisame asked.
How about feel overwhelmed?
I didn't even fully understand what my options were. There seemed to be something fun to do or see or eat everywhere I looked.
Deidara ran ahead, pushing his way through the crowd, shouting back over his shoulder. "I'm getting out of these fucking clothes!" he shouted, pointing at a shop ahead of us that had a variety of yukatas displayed just inside.
Kisame sighed deeply, "Guess we should follow him." He motioned for everyone behind to follow into the shop. I was thankful to not have to make a decision.
The group of men all filing into the little shop looked comically large in the dimly lit, intimate space. A light, relaxing tune played in the background and the shopkeeper who probably should have been terrified by the group of gruff men in questionable attire walked right over. A sweet old woman with a smile that seemed to be her default resting face.
"Ah, I see you fine gentlemen are in desperate need of my help," she said, eyeing them all once over and even pushing some of them around a bit so she could get a better idea of their dimensions.
I stifled a giggle as some of the guys grumbled and others looked uncomfortable. It had probably been a long time since any of them had any occasion to get fitted for something like this. I also fell into this category.
"Oi lady, I know I'm irresistible and shit but I usually charge for that," Hidan said as she grabbed him by the waist to straighten him out before her, her beady eyes behind thick-lensed glasses traveling up and down him.
She let out a cackle at his comment. "Ah, to be young and arrogant. We'll get you into something suitable yet," she said.
Hidan scoffed and began muttering something rude under his breath until he noticed the look I was giving him.
"Be nice," I mouthed with a pleading look. He rolled his eyes but ultimately didn't fly off the handle.
Crisis averted.
The shopkeeper moved onto Kisame. "My, you are a big boy…" she said, practically marvelling as she squinted up at him.
"Keh… lady, you have no idea," he grinned.
I slapped my palm against my face.
These guys were so freaking embarrassing sometimes. They couldn't seem to resist making dick jokes, even to this little old lady that looked like the personification of a worn shoe.
She faffed about, muttering to herself, taking measurements and rummaging through racks until she had something picked out for each of them.
"Alright, now this is what I'm talking about, yeah?" Deidara said, admiring himself in the mirror. He had on a beautiful sky blue yukata with a simple pattern of clouds and soaring white birds flitting across it, a red wrap tying around his waist.
"Oh Dei, it's perfect for you," I admired. "Has it been a long time since you've worn one?"
He laughed like that was an understatement. "Heh, God, it's probably been since I was a kid," he said, scratching his head, trying to remember.
"Hm, that looks good on you," Sasori stated, a rare compliment from the dusty redhead.
"Not bad yourself, yeah?" Deidara said, eyeing his partner adorned in maroon. The pattern was checkered between maroon and a darker shade of it. It was simple and elegant on his slight form, the black sash tying in his waist made him look even slighter. Sasori truly was a very beautiful man… puppet...
"Okay, yeah, but you guys ain't got nothing on me," Kisame said, flexing unnecessarily. He wore a striking navy yukata with stark white koi swimming through waves printed across it. "God, it's been a damn minute since I've worn one of these."
"Seriously, man," Deidara agreed.
"Mm, it's probably been almost 25 years for me," Sasori chimed in lightly, staring distantly at himself in the mirror. I noticed Kisame and Deidara looking at themselves in a similar way.
Kakuzu was the next to appear from behind the 4-panel shoji screen. He was stiff and awkward and just the cutest freaking thing in his deep green yukata adorned with an understated, dark floral print.
"Oh, Kakuzu," I began to fawn.
"Stop."
"Oh, you look so handsome," I gushed, ignoring his request and patting a couple wrinkles out of the long breast collar. I was so glad I had taken the time to do his hair that morning, he looked like such a gentleman all put together like that.
"Izumi," he warned.
"Doesn't he?" the old woman chimed in, staring at him with a swoon. I did terribly in suppressing a giggle. It was too cute.
"Ohh, if I were just a bit younger…" she began going on about him being the nicest catch of the day. And there I was thinking that phrase was only suitable for Kisame.
She disappeared behind the partition once more.
I smiled up at Kakuzu and patted down another wrinkle. He just sighed and looked at the ceiling.
"I think you're actually older than her… feel like being charitable to a kind old woman, Kakuzu? Looks like she could use a date, I bet she'd show you a good time," I murmured to him with a hum.
The taught line of his lips twitched up just a bit for a split second. He was so dead set on not letting me know he was entertained, but I knew better.
"Hidan is a bad influence on you," was all he had to say.
Speak of the devil. Hidan sauntered out and immediately took note of my hands on Kakuzu's chest. "Oi, me next," he said with a grin.
The old shopkeep came sputtering out behind him in a huff. "I told you that is not how you wear it!" she admonished, hitting him several times with a yardstick that doubled as a cane. He wrinkled his brow at her but was largely unaffected.
She was frustrated with him. I understood entirely.
Welcome to my life, lady.
"The whole world does not need to see the entirety of your chest, young man. The point of a yukata is to display the beauty of the garment, not your body," she scolded. I looked to see that he had, indeed, pulled open the top of his robe so most of his chest and shoulders were exposed.
"Look, with all due respect, fuck off you old bag," Hidan said casually.
"Oh my God I am so sorry! I will take care of him!" I rushed towards Hidan to clap my hands over his mouth and began furiously apologizing to the elderly woman.
She waved it off with some unintelligible muttering. Something about all looks and no respect.
"Mm, yeah you will," Hidan said quietly, looking down at me with a victorious smirk as I grabbed at his collar, yanking it closed and smoothing it out across his chest before redoing the sash. The yukata itself suited him beautifully. A nice, rich charcoal with deep magenta striations and a magenta belt.
The old shopkeep knew what she was doing, playing off his unique eyes like that.
"Hidan..." I hissed, annoyed to realize this was probably all his plan just to get me to touch him. "What ever happened to you being nice?" I demanded in a whisper.
"Hm, never tried it. Seems fucking exhausting," he said thoughtfully.
"You are exhausting."
He leaned down to whisper in my ear, so close I could feel the heat of his breath and the graze of his lips. "Mm, you would know..."
His tone was mischievous and the blood in my face instantly came to a boil.
Stop feeding the troll.
I ignored his comment, aggressively patting him one last time as I finished fixing his garment.
"There. You look very nice," I said angrily.
The whole thing was nothing more than a giant amusement for him. He was off and running with my goat once more. As always.
"Thanks, sweetheart. Don't know what I'd do without you," he said back, flashing a smile.
The shopkeeper interjected, "Flash the whole damn town, I'd wager."
I laughed. That woman was my kind of gal.
"Fucking please, they would only be so lucky," Hidan scoffed.
I was so caught up with fixing the whole Hidan debacle that I didn't notice Itachi had finished and come out as well. He had moved over to Kisame who I sensed was a bit of a safety blanket for him in these odd scenarios that were normal for most, but certainly not for him.
They weren't normal for me either and I was kind of glad I didn't get pulled into the mayhem of sizing and being dressed. Perhaps it was because I already looked presentable enough. Either way, I wasn't going to question it.
Itachi stood there quietly staring at himself in the mirror as so many of the others did and it hit me in a very sad way as I reasoned out the cause for this somewhat forlorn, lost look.
They were seeing themselves as normal people. Perhaps kind people. People that would attend a festival on the weekend with friends. It must have been odd to see themselves like this. A reality check in a sense.
This might have been a snapshot of what their life could have been had they made different choices.
Or maybe it was a snapshot of who they used to be.
Maybe both.
Were they happy with their departure from that person they once were? Did they miss anything about them? Did they regret who they'd become?
I'd come to know them all well enough to understand they were not all bad. But I also wasn't blind to the fact that I got to see a side of all of them that others did not. They were not good to most. Not even a little, I surmised.
Kakuzu left me feeling especially disheartened as he stared blankly into the mirror. I wondered what he was imagining. Perhaps what a little girl riding on his shoulders might have felt like, giggling and pointing out the lanterns and kites floating through the air.
And maybe they weren't thinking about these things at all.
Perhaps I was sick in the head and humanizing monsters because I'd come to love them in my own way despite their shortcomings.
Maybe they were all just bored and liked to look at themselves because they were all so damn beautiful. I could never know. But something about the look and their faces made me believe that wasn't it.
Itachi looked so sullen, but striking as always. His hair was secured in a small bun against the nape of his neck. His yukata was black with a white geometric design, tied at the waist with a simple red belt. He was always very calculated and I had to give the old shopkeeper credit for choosing such a befitting style for him.
"Itachi," I said softly, almost as a sigh, tilting my head as I looked at him.
Whoops, didn't mean to say that out loud.
I had gotten caught up in my reverie and realized my error when he actually turned to look at me.
My head snapped back into a normal upright position and I swallowed, quickly rearranging the sympathetic tilt of my brows to be cool. Cool as a cucumber. Cool as a freaking ice cube.
Oh, beans. Who was I kidding?
You probably look like a stressed hamster.
Praying my startled response did not register too terribly, I hastily racked my brain for a way to play it off like I meant to say that.
I approached him hesitantly, mind racing for what I could do that would fall under our professional interaction requirement.
My tone had been far too delicate. I had nothing. There was no saving it.
I just did what felt natural, laying my hands against him and smoothing out the fold of the collar down his chest as I had with a couple of the others.
"It suits you," I eventually said quietly, not meaning for it to sound as sad as it did. It's not really what I wanted to say.
He was staring down at me saying nothing. I noticed the bob of his adam's apple as he swallowed.
I stepped back, my touch lingering before falling away, trying to resist the urge to apologize. I felt so stupid. It was like I just couldn't stop myself.
Maybe Hidan is rubbing off on you. You're a freaking masochist torturing yourself like this.
One last glance showed me his jaw was clenched. Putting my hands on him and commenting on his wardrobe was, as I suspected, not a professional necessity.
I immediately broke at the sight, giving in with the quietest, rushed apology and turning away.
I was ever thankful for Kisame who appeared to be entertaining the others. Apparently he'd found a polaroid camera. I had a very brief urge to go over and remind him we don't play with things that aren't ours… but it was occupying the boys and I would take that win.
His sunglasses were on again and he seemed to be striking several poses as Sasori snapped his photo. Hidan was chastising Kisame for not doing it right, snatching the sunglasses off his face to wear them himself. He pulled the top of his yukata open again and ran a hand through his hair leaving it slightly disheveled, striking a pose of his own which involved sticking his tongue through his fingers which formed a V.
The others snickered. I didn't want to know.
Deidara jumped in the shot, sticking all three of his tongues out. Hidan pretended to strangle him from behind. I realized I should get a camera for home. It certainly kept them busy.
The shopkeeper swooped out from behind the folding screen, scaring the living biscuits out of me.
"And you next, miss?" Her eyes crinkled when she smiled.
"Oh. Oh no, no I'm okay," I said, waving my hands in front of me, flustered and still recovering from my embarrassing slip up with Itachi.
"Oh miss, I must insist. Your dress is quite pretty but a beauty like you should be in something more worthy for a festival like this," she pressed.
I laughed nervously. "You're too kind, it's really not a big dea-"
Itachi cut me off. I felt the weight of his hands on my shoulders from behind and his torso against my back.
"Of course she should," he agreed quietly.
I breathed in slowly with a swallow as I felt the reassuring squeeze of his fingers pressing into my bare skin. After all we'd been through, the electricity still ran through him.
Was he… not mad then?
"Finally, a man with some sense," The old woman chirped approvingly.
Between her pulling at my wrist and Itachi gently pushing me forward, I had no choice but to let it happen. Glancing back, I shot Itachi a bewildered look. He simply nodded towards the shoji screen which I disappeared behind whether I wanted to or not.
"Let an old woman have her pleasures, my dear…" the woman said with a chuckle as she leafed through a rack of robes with a tittering noise.
"I have just the thing for you… just need to find it… ah there it is," she said, fumbling to pull it out.
I smiled and conceded. "You must love your job, you're so good at picking these out for people you don't even know."
Her crows feet deepened at the compliment. "My dear, it's not difficult. It's all just a feeling, and when you're as old as me… well, you've learned to trust those feelings."
She had me undress before helping me into the stunning garment. I knew immediately it would be much more expensive than any of the guys' robes, but I didn't want to be rude and tell her no when it was halfway on. Trying it on couldn't hurt… right?
I sighed. "Well consider me jealous, then. Trusting my feelings hasn't gotten me anywhere good…" I mused.
"Oh?... it wouldn't have anything to do with the dark haired man waiting out there, would it?" She asked with a knowing little smile.
I gaped. "Wh-what?... How?"
She let out a raspy old chuckle. "Oh my, I thought so. I can tell these things, you know. It's easy to spot the affection in eyes like his. That light shines for you, my dear."
And that's when I knew she had it all wrong. I laughed quietly, thinking it was me that was the obvious one.
"No. You have it wrong, sorry to say," I said with a humorless laugh.
She chuckled again. "No. I don't." She finished securing my sash and stepped back to look me over.
"Hmm," she hummed, a twinkle in her eye. "Do you want to know my favorite part of this job?" she asked.
"What's that?"
"It's witnessing the moment when every man in the shop goes speechless at the sight of a beautiful woman in one of my yukatas." Her cheeks plumped as she took me over to a small vanity.
I snorted softly. "Sorry to disappoint but I wouldn't count on that, not with me."
She shook her head with a little giggle to herself.
"Humor me a bit more, dear," she said, opening a pot of rouge and smearing some on each of my cheeks, rubbing it across the apples of them with her wrinkled fingers.
I sat patiently and stared at the ceiling as she went about applying some to my lips before moving on to swipe something across my eyelids and brush my lashes, coating them thickly with jet black. She grabbed at my hair, twisting it in sections and pinning it seemingly haphazardly, but when she had me look in the mirror, there was nothing haphazard about it.
I breathed out at the sight. It was nothing like when I'd had makeup done before for Gorzo's. I still looked like myself… though the part that struck me was how much I looked like my mom.
I nearly reduced to tears but bit back the feeling.
"Let's see who's right, shall we?" she asked, that twinkle still in her eye.
"I wouldn't count on much of a reaction. I think they found your camera, which I'm sorry for, by the way... they'll be too distracted taking pictures pretending to kill one another…" I half laughed at the end. They were absurd.
"My money is on the loud one finally shutting up… and the quiet one won't be able to keep his mouth shut. That's usually how these things go," she said excitedly, pulling me away from the vanity.
As I approached the edge of the folding screen, I could hear the guys still horsing around. I looked back and gave her a very 'I told you so' look. She waved it off and smiled, ushering me forward.
I took a deep breath and awkwardly stepped out from behind the partition. I immediately took to staring down at myself, looking out seemed too expectant.
The yukata was truly the most beautiful thing I'd ever had on my body.
You mean besides Itachi?
Stop that.
Oh, so you mean besides Hidan?
STOP THAT.
I huffed, focusing again on the shimmering, white yukata, adorned with hundreds of delicately embroidered powder pink sakura blossoms that looked to be blowing in a breeze across the expanse of pearly cloth. The details were immaculate. The sash was silken and red, a winding cherry blossom tree branch sprawling across it producing even more little pink buds.
I swallowed and looked up, shuffling out even more per the urging of the shopkeeper who came out and stood behind me with a little grin on her face like she was getting ready for some sort of show. She cleared her throat which garnered the attention of Itachi who was closest and had been absently watching the others mess around.
He turned to look, freezing halfway through his movement the moment his gaze fell on me.
He didn't move with the exception of his eyes travelling slowly up and over my diminutive form.
He didn't seem to breath at first either, though when he did, his chest expanded in an exaggerated way and the breath that came out parted his lips ever so slightly. He didn't blink for the longest time.
"Izumi…" Itachi said quietly, almost mirroring how I'd said his name before. My heart was pounding in my chest. It was a lot of hyper focused attention on me and I wasn't used to that.
Plus it was Itachi.
It was the most warmth I'd seen in him since that night and I flushed pinker than my blush under his gaze, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear nervously.
The old woman whispered into my ear from behind. "What did I tell you, my dear? I am never wrong."
My stomach was confused and fluttering. Was he really looking at me the way I thought he was or was I misreading him as I so often did lately? And why should I have even cared? I had Hidan.
You're the literal worst.
"You look…" he started, and suddenly the cacophony of fully grown men play-fighting in a robe shop came to an abrupt halt. I looked over to see all of them still and staring at me as well. Apparently Itachi speaking up pulled their attention toward me.
Itachi realized the sudden draw of focus as well and finished his sentence coldly.
"...It suits you."
I smiled awkwardly, if not a little disappointed, and gave him a small thanks. He seemed uncomfortable.
I looked back over at the others.
I'm not sure I'd ever seen Hidan so speechless. His brows were unabashedly drawn together as he gazed at me with a heavy breath from his nose and a slowly shaking head like he couldn't fully take in the vision before him, like it pained him in a way.
He acted like he was seeing an angel or something.
"And that's two for two," the shopkeeper startled me by whispering in my ear again. I fought a smile and stared at the floor with a shake of my own head.
"Holy fuck, Izumi," Hidan's voice had me glancing up.
Well that didn't last long.
The woman scoffed, apparently having the same thought.
He blinked several times like he was sussing out an illusion, breaking away from the pack swaggering towards me, still shaking his head incredulously.
"It's a little fucked up, you know," he said, not once taking his eyes off me.
"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked. The weight of everyone's gaze was becoming oppressive and I was tempted to retreat behind the screen once more.
He stood towering over me, entirely unphased by my obvious nerves. He never did feed off my anxieties, nor did he allow me to run from them. If my thoughts were stormy seas then he was my anchor.
With a thoughtful tilt of his head, he reached out and rubbed his thumb across my cheek.
"I'm supposed to be the beautiful one, sweetheart. Now what the fuck am I supposed to do?" he said with a slowly growing smile.
A weird chuffing noise came out of me followed by his name in a pseudo scolding tone like he was being ridiculous.
And he was being ridiculous.
They all were. All eyes were on me and he was being his usual forward, oddly and assertively affectionate self regardless of who was around. I did not know how to react.
I only took comfort in knowing he was like this before, too, so it didn't really let on to whatever our relationship status was.
Mm, like you didn't also enjoy his sexy hand brushing against your face? You little something-or-other...
The old woman started cackling wildly. "So maybe he's not an entire idiot," she laughed.
Kisame said, "Yeah, holy shit, Iz. You wanna save some for the rest of us? Fuck, I feel like the ugly step sister all of a sudden." He pouted. It was terrifying as usual.
I laughed and rolled my eyes, pleased he brought us back to a joking place. That, I could do.
"And what do you think of her, young man?" The shopkeeper asked keenly to Kakuzu who was sitting in a chair. She touched her hand to his shoulder and gestured to me. I watched with a smirk, knowing he hated interaction with strangers.
"Yes, what do you think, young man?" I antagonized in my own way, smiling sweetly.
"She looks… expensive," he said flatly, rolling his shoulder to shake her hand off. She balked before letting out another cackle, slapping hard on his shoulder.
"Perhaps, dear. But she is worth it, no?" she said, giving him a squeeze before moving to pluck her camera out of Deidara's grasp.
"Izumi, come," Kakuzu said to me. I obliged right away, shuffling over.
He grabbed the price tag, his face deadpanning at the number.
"No." It was short and decisive.
"Oh come on," Deidara whined before I couldn't even get a word out. "Look at her, yeah?"
I looked at him with a small, appreciative smile. "It's okay, Dei… I kind of figured this would happen."
I didn't expect anymore freebies from Kakuzu. Afterall, he'd already gotten me the dress and suggested we come here in the first place. Now they'd all be buying robes which would be expensive as well. Tacking on mine was pushing the envelope.
It was a shame though. I couldn't pretend I wasn't a little sad because, and maybe this was dumb, but I actually felt pretty for once? I knew it was a silly, superficial thing to dwell on, but I liked the way it made both Hidan and Itachi look at me.
The way it made all of them look at me. I guess it just felt like they cared.
I also enjoyed the way it made me look at myself. I looked like her, my mom, and it felt like it was my only way of seeing her in some messed up way.
You've got issues, girl.
Like I didn't know that.
Deidara started going on about how it was certainly not okay before Sasori interrupted his train of thought, whispering something to him. If I wasn't mistaken, he was also discretely pointing to me.
Uh oh. Where's this going?
Oh, I quickly found out.
My body seemed to move on it's own, or rather, with Sasori's help I surmised. Kisame had gone over the rules with me and I knew the guys were not supposed to put on any display of obvious chakra usage. Though, I supposed it wasn't obvious unless I said something about it. To the naked eye, it only looked like I was moving to sit on Kakuzu's lap of my own free will.
I plopped down onto his hulking form.
It was a dirty move on Sasori's part, knowing he could manipulate me and I couldn't say anything about it, lest I get him in trouble or blow our cover. He knew I wouldn't do that.
"What the hell are you doing?" Kakuzu asked, irritated as a biscuit without butter. Sasori had me wrap my arms around his shoulders and lay my head against him.
Oh good lord.
The only thing he couldn't make me do was speak but it seemed even weirder if I didn't. I realized I'd just have to play along.
"Please, Kakuzu," I asked with as much sugar coating my voice as I could muster.
"No. Now get off me," he said, not returning the hug… though also not pushing me off, I noticed.
Sasori had me squeeze him harder and bury my head into the crook of his neck. I got the gist he wanted me to lay it on even thicker. It was something I could do because I actually did want it, it's not like it wasn't genuine, it just wasn't the route I would have taken.
"Please? I just… when you guys are all done with me and I have to leave… I just want something to remember you by. Something nice."
It was something I didn't like thinking about, that I'd have to leave them someday, probably someday soon, but it was the truth.
I looked up at him to see he was regarding me with a strange, conflicted look.
Kisame piped up from behind, "Well shit, Izumi. Way to pull at the fucking heart strings, I'll get it for you, kiddo."
"Really?" I snapped to look at Kisame and flashed him a big smile.
"I can too, yeah? We can go splitsies." Deidara offered.
"Same," Hidan added.
"No. I will get it." Kakuzu said suddenly. I'm not sure when it happened but his hand was on my knee, the other around my side in what felt like an odd territorial display.
Hidan started complaining. "What the fuck? You just fucking said-"
"I said… I'll. Get. It." Kakuzu cut him off sternly.
He was like a big teddy bear to me and I couldn't help but squish him all on my own, no Sasori required, murmuring a happy thank you into his shoulder and planting a small kiss on his stitched cheek which caused him to grumble awkwardly in annoyance.
Though, the barely detectable squeeze of his hand on my knee told me otherwise.
Such a softy.
There was a small bout of excited clapping from the old woman, she was incredibly pleased by this outcome. With the camera in hand, she briefly scolded the men for taking too many stupid pictures earlier, but coralled us all together to get a group shot.
They all gathered around Kakuzu and I. I asked Kakuzu to please smile and he seemed to frown even more which just made me laugh. I didn't actually think he would do it. Itachi wouldn't either, but the rest cheesed it pretty good, myself included.
She took a few shots. I couldn't stop laughing, the guys were hamming it up so ridiculously. You might have even thought they all liked each other for a second.
The old woman was getting her kicks too. She had me stand in front of the screen for a picture of just me afterwards.
"It's really okay, I don't need a picture of myself," I said, trying to get out of it.
"Nonsense, I keep a camera in here for this reason exactly. Besides, who says the picture will be for you, hm? I don't know your situation, but, from the sounds of it, you won't always be with this ragtag crew... Perhaps they'll want something to remember you by as well, no?"
Itachi approached quietly. "I think… it's a nice idea."
So he wanted me to do it.
Guess that settles it then.
I stood there looking awkward and she snapped a shot.
"Why don't you get in there with her, dear?" She said, pushing Itachi towards me.
He made some small dissenting noise and she chuckled. "Go on, don't be shy."
Of course he didn't want to. She couldn't possibly know how awkward this was, given our history. He stood kind of to my side but behind me a little. I looked back and up at him with an apologetic smile and he stared down at me with his usual vacant look with just the slightest hint of softness to it and let out a sigh.
When I reset my attention back to the shopkeeper for the photo, she said she was all done.
"What?! I wasn't even looking!"
"You were looking, just not at me. It's better that way, trust me dear," she assured, holding out the black photos that still needed to develop. Itachi reached out and took them from her with a thank you.
Just then I felt myself being lifted off my feet and let out a surprised yelp. There was no mistaking Hidan's strong arms beneath me.
"One more, lady," he said, referring to a picture I assumed.
While she'd been annoyed with him before, she seemed over it. I sensed she was living vicariously through me and eating up all the attention I was getting while in her yukata.
"If you boys hadn't gone so crazy earlier I'd be able to take more," she tutted. "I only have one shot left."
"Perfect, we saved the best for last," he grinned, looking down at me draped bridal style between his arms. I couldn't deny returning him a smile, he was so darn cute sometimes.
"Done!" she exclaimed.
"W-what! Again?! I wasn't looking again!?"
Everyone got their chuckles out at my expense while Itachi gathered up all the photos and discreetly stored them in a scroll.
Kakuzu begrudgingly went to pay for all our robes and unshockingly, attempted to haggle. The shopkeeper must have liked our company enough, or at least Kakuzu enough, to agree to a discount.
I pulled Sasori aside as we waited. "Um, excuse you. I think you owe me an apology," I said, crossing my arms and pursing my lips.
"Oh. Yes. Um, I'm sorry you haven't learned how to emotionally manipulate people yet. I'm glad I could assist, however." He smiled lightly.
I deadpanned. "That was the worst apology I've ever heard."
"Well, I'm not terribly sorry. It worked out alright, didn't it? You're the lion tamer here, I merely nudged you toward the beast."
"Sasori…"
"I will make it up to you, Izumi. I'll find you something to remember me by as well. Something nice," he assured.
"Fine. You better." I accepted his plea bargain begrudgingly.
Kakuzu finished up and we all filtered out of the shop. I paused, staying back for a second to thank the sassy old shopkeeper.
"No need to thank me, dear. It truly was my pleasure," she said smiling and pulling a photo from her waist belt.
"Here. Take this. If you ever need proof of what we were discussing earlier…well, you just look at this," she said wryly, holding it out to me with a shaky hand.
I took it from her, more than curious. It was a photo of Itachi and me. In a sense, anyway. We weren't exactly posing together, we weren't even particularly close together, there must have been a few meters between us.
Clearly neither of us knew the photo was being taken, it was a candid. I don't know what I was looking at in it, probably something shiny in the distance, but Itachi was looking at me. He was looking at me with an expression that I hadn't been allowed to see.
But there it was in the photo. My heart clenched at the image. I'd seen the expression on him before but… that was then. And this was now. But if he was still looking at me like that now… what did it all mean?
Probably just that he's still a man and still has needs. Don't overthink it, Izumi.
"You better catch up to your friends, dear."
Her voice snapped me out of it, I realized I'd been staring speechlessly at the photo for too long.
"Right, sorry, thank you so much!" I pushed out quickly as I tucked the picture into my belt and ran out the door. I could hear her giggling to herself as I left.
I caught up to the group in a rush. Kisame was leading the way. "Hey, we better at least start making our way towards the bookstore. I think it's this way."
He gave me an extra pointed look. "You stay close to at least one of us at all times, remember?"
"I remember," I whined, annoyed but guilty as charged. He must have noticed I lagged behind for a second.
A/N:
LOVE THESE GUYS IN YUKATAS.
Seriously, I just couldn't resist. They are too cute. I plan on doing some silly sketches of them all dressed up in the polaroids and maybe them on their little Dei creatures hehe
A little fluffy slice of life garbage before... stuff happens :3
As always, thanks for reading, love you crazy people
