Much to my delight, I did, indeed, wake up in the morning. Kakuzu was in there shuffling and banging things around with absolutely no regard for the two sleeping people in the room.

"What the fuck, dude. What time is it?" Hidan groaned, pulling a hand down his face.

"Hidan, when I told you to check on her, I didn't mean spend the fucking night," Kakuzu whizzed past answering Hidan's question in favor of scolding him. He was mad.

Someone didn't drink their coffee…

"Aw come on, I played by the rules and she was all worried and shit. You would have done the same fucking thing."

"No, I wouldn't have. We fucking know this because I didn't," he barked back.

Hidan scoffed. "That's fucking different. You only left because you knew you could pawn her off on me."

Hey.

I was only half awake but managed to scowl. He wasn't acting like it was such a chore last night.

He continued on. "If I left, it would have meant leaving her actually alone. It's fucking apples and carrots, dude."

Apples and oranges.

I resisted the urge to correct him.

Kakuzu glared at his partner with an intimidating intensity. "I figured I was doing you a favor since you wanted to see her so bad. She'd rather be with you than me anyway. It just made sense," he justified.

I finally woke up enough to interject, peeking up at Kakuzu from under Hidan's arm and the blankets.

"Aw, Kakuzu, you don't really think that, do you?" I asked with a twinge of sadness.

Hidan basically went berserk. "What?! Are you seriously fucking denying that?! Are me and fucking Kakuzu on the same fucking rung to you?!"

"I'm not dignifying that with an answer. It shouldn't matter," I said with my nose in the air.

"Am I in the fucking twilight zone right now?!" Hidan balked incredulously.

Internally I was freaking out, bouncing up and down at finally getting his goat after all the times he got mine. It was bleating. It did not want to get gotten, but there it was in my grasp. Victory was sweet and smelled of freshly chewed grass.

I somehow managed to play it cool on the outside.

I shrugged. "I mean, he did save my life, Hidan."

Hidan went pale and speechless, muttering an "un-fucking-believable" beneath his breath.

I could hardly contain my laughter. I looked over to Kakuzu with a knowing smirk and gave him a wink. He seemed as entertained as he could possibly get, which really just meant he didn't look like he was going to pile drive anyone at the moment.

A marked improvement from 30 seconds prior.

"Hidan, get out of bed. Pain will be here soon," Kakuzu ordered.

"Why should I? Think I'm gonna make him jealous?"

"I can't imagine he has that kind of interest in Izumi," Kakuzu said blandly. He was organizing his notes, disheveled papers in hand tapping loudly against the desktop.

"Wasn't talking about Izumi." Hidan grinned, lacing his hands behind his head which set his biceps on display, perma-flexed. I was going to scold him but I lost my train of thought for… reasons.

Hidan did eventually and begrudgingly agree to get up and looked cute as ever in his briefs helping his partner catalogue the mess of books and scribblings all over the place. Pain was looking as severe as always when he finally arrived.

"Izumi," Pain greeted, cold and even.

"Hi," I said quietly.

"You're awake."

"You're perceptive."

Must you kic hornets nest?

He narrowed his eyes. I winced.

"Sorry, I was living without consequences inside my brain for two months so I'm still kinda adjusting to reality…" I apologized weakly.

"Those two months were your consequences, you foolish girl," he said, shaking his head.

"Hm, that's a good way to look at it," I agreed thoughtfully. It earned me a sigh.

"You're looking well," he said, scrutinizing me. I was certain that wasn't true, he was just being nice.

Wait just a second...

It dawned on me. Pain was never nice to me.

Quick! Say something nice back. Positive reinforcement.

Oh crap. Okay, okay, okay. I could do that.

"Th-thank you, you're looking…uhh," I stalled. Oh, beans. What did he look like?

Scary?

No. Well, yes, but don't say that.

Stern?

That wasn't a compliment

Hot as fuck?

NO. Get out of my head, Hidan.

"Uhh…" I floundered. "You're looking… um ... orange? Your hair is orange."

WHAT.

Pain looked to Kakuzu, somehow deadpanning more than his default expression. Hidan was choking on a laugh.

"I thought you said she seemed cognitively unaffected," Pain questioned genuinely.

"I did," Kakuzu said, closing his eyes with a huff.

"Hm. I suppose I forgot her initial intellectual level… It has been a while. No matter."

I balked wordlessly and Hidan continued to lose his ever-loving beans. Kakuzu shot him a warning glare, he was about to get kicked the heck out if he didn't get it together.

"Just think of it like trying to talk to Tobi," Kakuzu muttered. Pain nodded in understanding.

I had my brief experiences with Tobi. I was offended.

Before I could develop the nerve to say anything, Kakuzu cut back in, talking to Pain.

"I'll show you what I was talking about." He approached me and I immediately fell into submission as his giant hand wrapped around the back of my head, pushing it down as he swiped the hair from the nape of my neck.

I let out a surprised, helpless noise and pointlessly pushed back against him out of instinct.

"Hey, what the fuck!" Hidan was instantly shouting, his chair screeching in protest as well as he shot to his feet.

"Relax," Kakuzu ordered both of us.

I grimaced, not appreciating being manhandled with no explanation. Straining my eyes to look over at Hidan, I could see he was angrily waiting to see what was going on. So he didn't know either…? He was tensely curious though.

I supposed I should also be curious.

Kakuzu and Pain discussed things that were way over my head, Pain taking time to examine the back of my neck as well.

"How very convenient," Pain ended up agreeing with Kakuzu's consensus. "It would seem that memory seal is entirely gone."

"Wait, what?" I squeaked, gaping. It had been such a long process slowly chipping away at it, how could it just be over? Not that I was complaining...

"That seal of yours didn't carry through death. When you were revived, it didn't come back with you," Pain explained.

Heck yeah, silver linings. Should have just died a long time ago.

"Cool, cool, cool," I said, nodding. "Sooo… what does that ultimately mean again?" I asked with a wince.

He sighed. "At this point your memories are yours, meaning you technically have access to them… but it's like anyone trying to recall something from when they were five… very unlikely without assistance, especially if it's repressed."

I nodded in understanding. It kind of made sense when I really thought about it. Many of my dreams were foggy from 'the big sleep', blending together and such, but there were a few that stood out vividly. The nightmare, the one where I got to actually see the man in the flames, that was one of them.

I'd never been able to see his face before because of the seal.

Pain went on to explain that, based on my previous memory triggers, they would be sending me to different locations in an attempt to force memory recalls in addition to some visual therapy with Itachi when he was able.

The first stop was some shrine. I'd be sent with Hidan and Kakuzu who were going to meet an informant in a place called Inaho Village, and the shrine was only a few hours south of it. Pain thought perhaps it might jog something since in some texts, he had read there was a shrine for the Ten'yo spring as well.

I nearly crapped my pants when he said we would leave in only a few days.

Great. Not like you're a weak sack of beans right now or anything.

Not that Hidan or Kakuzu wouldn't carry me.

Shockingly though, they were not as on board with me tagging along as I expected. It gave me more than enough cause to worry.

When Hidan first saw me awake, I felt like he'd probably never let me out of his sight again. Now, upon hearing the news that they'd be bringing me with them to Inaho, he seemed strangely uncomfortable with it.

"Uh, yeah, I'm not too fucking sure she should be coming with us there," Hidan said, pushing back against Pain's plan.

Pain gave him an impatient look and explained further. "It is necessary. We need to push forward with our plans. You will stop at The Todoroki Shrine and see if it triggers any memory events. With Orochimaru no longer having a way to track her location, she will be much easier to maintain. You can just leave her in the room and take care of the business you need to there. It should not be a problem. She should not be a problem."

I hated when they'd talk about me like I wasn't there more than ever. My overwhelmingly frustrating experience in a coma of being able to hear without being heard was still quite an open wound.

"This is a bad idea," Kakuzu agreed.

Et tu, Kakuzu?

Wow. No one wanted me near them I guess.

Welcome back, Izumi… woohoo...

Pain wasn't taking no for an answer though. In a few days, we would head out.

I sincerely hoped Kisame and Itachi would arrive back before then. I really did miss them... so much. Over the course of the next couple days I asked constantly if they'd make it back in time, but no one seemed to be able to tell me.

Kakuzu kept me on a rigid physical therapy schedule and would make me do all sorts of exercises to 'get my strength back', which I thought was a cute way to phrase it as it implied I had any to begin with.

Unsurprisingly, Hidan was more than happy to help. He'd take me out to the training grounds with him and show off while I attempted typically one of two things, walking and walking faster.

Tobi at least made things interesting. I was pleased we finally got to meet in an official capacity. It was evening and I had finished packing for the journey with my favorite immortals. We were heading out in the morning.

Dei was progressing a lot faster than me in his recovery and had offered to come over and paint my nails. I happily took him up on that offer.

"Don't look now, but I think your partner misses you," I whispered to Deidara upon noticing the peeking mask through the cracked door of my room as he finished dragging a sheen of black across my pinky nail.

"Aw shit, sorry Iz… he follows me around like a goddamn puppy, yeah?" he whined.

"Oh, that's okay, not like we're doing anything important," I said, blowing on my nails. Deidara was capping the bottle of black polish.

"You can come in, you know." I smiled, waving Tobi in.

"...Who, Tobi?!" Tobi seemed startled that I'd acknowledged him directly.

I laughed and said dryly, "No, the guy behind you."

"Whaaa-?!" He whirled around dramatically, looking in every direction, including the ceiling and very low to the floor. I really wasn't sure what he was expecting to find there. All I could do was laugh at the poor creature.

"Wow, Dei," I muttered.

"I know… he's even more oblivious than you."

"Okay. Shots fired." I pursed my lips at him and he grinned.

"Tobi... just get in here," Deidara ordered.

Tobi squealed with excitement and came floundering in. Deidara breathed in deeply like he might get some patience out of it.

"Tobi… this is Izumi. Yes, the Izumi," he said before leaning into me, hand over mouth to whisper, "you're kind of a big deal around here. He's been asking about you non-stop."

"Oh, yes! Tobi already met Izumi-chan!" Tobi said so energetically that you would have believed our original meeting to be a positive experience for him, and not one that left him as a bloodied, lump on the floor.

I let out a cringing, apologetic laugh. "I don't think committing a violent act against you qualifies as 'meeting', Tobi. I've been meaning to apologize for that, by the way. I'm sorry, I wasn't quite feeling myself at that moment. Also, just Izumi is fine!"

"Oh, no problem Izumi-chan! No problem at all!" He waved it off with an audible grin.

I deadpanned. He looked like he understood. He said he understood. But clearly…

I sighed.

Deidara was certainly in for a bumpy ride.

"You must be sooo powerful to wake up and just be able to do that! So cool! I can't believe they replaced Sasori with Tobi instead of you!"

I winced inwardly at the mention of Sasori but pushed past it, cackling, which was easy enough to do given the absurdity of that statement. Deidara was going pretty good too.

"Hm, maybe it's not too late. I wouldn't mind Izumi as my partner, sure as shit beats your hyperactive ass, yeah?"

"Noooo! Senpai! Please don't kick Tobi out! Tobi will be a good boy!" The man wailed overdramatically, clawing at his mask like he was in the worst anguish over the thought alone.

"Dei," I discouraged his empty threat, although I was just slightly amused.

"Fine, fine. You can stay, Tobi. But keep it in mind, if you get too annoying… Izumi is in. You're out," Deidara warned.

The idea of me in the Akatsuki was genuinely one of the most hilarious things I could imagine.

"Oh yayyy! Oh, Senpai is so gracious to Tobi!" The infantile man praised, throwing his arms around Deidara who just deadpanned and gave me a look from within his grasp. I was biting my lip trying to hold it together.

The poor dear.

"Oh! Oh oh oh! Izumi-chan!" Tobi was already moving onto the next thing.

"Just Izumi," I corrected.

"Right! So, Izumi-chan, when does Tobi get to try some of your cooking?! I heard it's sooo amazing!" he asked, gesturing wildly.

Deidara had been begging for this as well, but Kakuzu shut him down. Apparently I wasn't permitted to be around sharp objects while I was still building back my coordination. Basically, I was allowed to make cereal.

I hummed. "Well, I can't be up and about much, or touch anything sharp, but I suppose…"

"Yeah?" Tobi asked quickly, his hands clapped together like praying.

"Maybe if you guys helped…"

"Yeah?!"

"Like, if I just told you guys what to do…"

"Yeahhh?!"

"Maybe that could work." I finished hesitantly, almost scared he was going to explode at that point.

And he basically did.

Before I knew it I'd been thrown over his shoulder and was being ferried quickly down the hall, bouncing roughly up and down. Deidara was right behind us, scowling and yelling at Tobi to be more careful with me. I was just focused on trying to keep my nails from getting smudged.

I honestly didn't mind though. I, once again, didn't know my way around, so to just be brought to the kitchen and plopped onto a bar stool was kind of a delight.

The sight of the kitchen gave me pause. I blinked, utterly speechless. It was much larger than the previous kitchen, like… by a long shot. It had two ovens. Stainless steel everything. More than ample counter space. It was a freaking dream kitchen.

Deidara noticed my gawking and smirked.

"Guess someone made sure you got a better setup this time, yeah? We should probably put it to good use," he said.

"Y...yeah," I agreed quietly, absorbing my surroundings and stretching my legs to get down off the stool.

Dei noticed this and helped me with an arm under mine until he was sure I wouldn't topple over. We exchanged small smiles, mine kind of pathetic and thankful, and his said it was alright.

There had always been something between us from the beginning, a little seedling of something anyway, but it had grown into something very different than anticipated, or maybe even hoped for, and that brief flicker of a moment felt like a recognition of that.

It was okay for us to just be close like we were and nothing more. It was sweet and simple.

I opened the fridge. I stared. A long time went by as I continued just looking before my neck creaked in Deidara's direction.

"What on earth am I supposed to do with this?!" I hissed, probably angrier than I'd ever sounded before, gesturing wildly at the nearly empty fridge.

Deidara looked a little frightened, Tobi, taking his cue, began to cower behind him. Now this was an interesting dynamic and I didn't entirely hate it…

The power… it floweth through you.

What the heck? No. Well… maybe a little.

Deidara was scratching the back of his neck looking guilty. "I'm sorry, Iz. No one was any good at doing anything with the food after it got put it there… so we just kinda… stopped putting it in there, yeah?" he said with a cringe.

I shook my head as I glanced over the pathetic contents. "A bunch of sauces… who knows if they're expired… Some pork, also probably expired…"

Deidara piped up, "No! No, that pork is good!"

He sounded a little too proud of himself for knowing one thing in there that wasn't rotting. I took it in stride, continuing my scan.

"Eggs… still good," I noted, checking the date written on the container.

I had seen enough. I snapped upright as best I could and the two men seemed to firm up a bit under my gaze.

Hm, I could get used to this.

"So we've got pork… and eggs… I'm willing to bet we have oil, flour, panko and seasoning in the pantry, or at least you better hope we do," I said rigidly.

They stared back at me wide-eyed like they sure as heck hoped as well, for their sakes. Well, I assumed anyway… Dei only had the one eye visible and Tobi had a mask with a shadowy hole. Maybe I was giving myself too much credit.

No. You have scars now. People are intimidated.

That was… not true. I had never been and never would be intimidating. But the reminder of my rugged appearance was unappreciated, nonetheless.

"Alright," I clapped my hands, "we're making Tonkatsu."

Tobi squealed, "Oh boyyyy! Oh, Tobi loves Tonkatsu!"

After dealing with the rest of the Akatsuki, half of whom you may have thought were mute on a good day if you joined them for breakfast... Tobi's energy was just quite the adjustment.

"That's... great!? So... go ahead and get out all the ingredients," I directed, listing them out slowly so there wouldn't be any confusion.

The two men stood side by side next to a small array of items on the stone counter and I scrutinized them, verifying nothing was missing... I nodded, impressed, everything was there… so far so good.

"Alright, Dei, you can open the meat and get it cleaned up and pounded thin, but before you do that, please come here," I directed from my perch.

He gave me a funny, amused look as he approached. "Yes, sensei?" he asked with a charming little grin. I gestured for him to come even closer and reached my arms around his head.

"Your hair is beautiful, Dei, but I don't want to eat it," I explained as I pulled his hair tie out and began raking my fingers across his scalp to gather the bulk of it.

He looked cranky for a second, like he was going to put up a fuss, but that quickly fizzled out with a droop of his eyelids and I did my best to ignore the satisfied hum purring out of him.

I managed to wrangle down the entirety of it into an artfully messy bun, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't working for him. "There!" I said, patting his shoulders, "Now get to work!"

"Are you sure you don't need to put my hair up again? I think you might have missed a piece," he said slyly.

I raised a brow and pushed him toward the counter, "go pound that pork before I pound you."

Now he was the one raising a brow. I analyzed what I'd said.

Hm, yes. Very sexual, very sexual indeed.

"Dei! Not like that!... Now please go hit the pork with a mallet!" I said, careful to be overly specific.

"Can't blame a man for dreaming, yeah?" he said wistfully, laughing his way over to the pork just waiting to be pounded.

So much for purely platonic.

I snorted and shook my head like I disapproved… but I didn't. Not really. He was sweet and cute and Dei. I took a deep breath before setting my attention on Tobi. Oh boy.

"Alright. Tobi, we're just going to make a simple egg wash for the pork, so all you need to do is put two eggs in a bowl and beat them," I said.

"Oh, sure! That's eeeeasy!" Tobi grabbed a bowl, definitely not the right one, way too big. He promptly set two eggs in it.

I stared at him. Deidara stared at him. We shared a brief look with each other.

Tobi looked far too proud and eager to move onto the next step after having just set two whole eggs in an over-sized bowl. He yanked his fist back and I realized with horror that he was winding up to quite literally beat the eggs.

"No no no no!" I rushed to stop him, stumbling off the stool and nearly wiping out in the process.

"Huh?" The guy was utterly oblivious to his mistake. I held onto him by the elbow until I was sure he wouldn't engage in battle against the eggs.

"Tobi… I… you just need to crack them, dear," I said, mentally noting I would have to be much more specific moving forward. I didn't bother mentioning the unnecessarily large bowl.

One thing at a time.

Was I beginning to regret this decision already? Yes. Yes, I was.

"Ohhhh! No problem! Tobi thought something didn't seem right!" he giggled.

I just sighed. It was hard to be too frustrated with him, he was like a puppy. A giant man-puppy. He grabbed the eggs back out and held them up. I gave him an encouraging nod.

"Okay! How's this?" he asked as he suddenly reeled back and whipped them into the bowl like he aimed to destroy the freaking thing. They made quite the clatter as they smashed against the bottom of it, causing the bowl to raucously spin around off-kilter for a moment.

I stared at him. Deidara stared at him. Déjà vu.

Deidara suddenly went from deadpan to deadpissed. "What the hell, Tobi! You like your pork extra fucking crunchy or something? You know all of us have to fucking eat this, right?!" Deidara scolded him much more harshly than I would have.

Time to step in, Mom.

"Okay, okay, you know what? That was my fault," I said calmly, putting my hands out and trying to diffuse the room. Tobi was looking so defeated and I couldn't help but feel kind of bad for the pup. "There were some assumptions made on my part that… looking back, well, it was a mistake. Moving on! Tobi, why don't you be a good boy and help me with the sauce instead?"

Tobi was instantly placated by this new task, ditching the thoroughly egged bowl and scrambling over to me, ready and eager to please.

"Oh, sure! You can count on Tobi! Tobi is a good boy!"

"Perfect. I know you are, Tobi," I said, pleasing him thoroughly as could be seen by his satisfied little wriggle. I clapped my hands, "Dei, please take care of the eggs properly. They simply need to be whisked in a bowl…"

"Got it, yeah!" Dei set off to clean out the previous mess.

"Tobi, please set me on the counter next to the fridge. It'll be easier if I'm by all the ingredients."

"Leave it to me, Izumi-chan!" Tobi chirped happily, grabbing me up quickly and settling me on the flat stone, my feet dangling.

I took to checking the expiration dates of each item as he handed them to me before I poured any of it into the small mixing bowl. A couple times he gave me something completely different from what I'd asked for... The third time it happened I cIosed my eyes, taking a second to gather myself before I politely told him how very wrong he was.

"Tobi… dear…." I said, mustering my kindest voice. "This is not… ketchup, Tobi."

"Tobi? I don't think you've ever called me something more insulting, kiddo."

That wasn't Tobi's voice.

That was…

My eyes couldn't seem to move as fast as I wanted them to. They traipsed up the tall, bulky form beside me until they reached the familiar blue face grinning down at me. Tobi had been shoved aside in my distraction and Kisame had taken his place, hulking over me with that pointy smile of his.

I no longer cared about whatever freaking sauce was in my hand. It was on the ground now.

"Kisame!" I shrieked, launching myself into him. Oh, I could barely reach my arms around the behemoth of a man.

He chuckled and pretended to cough a little from the force. "Shit, kid, you been working out?" he said, pulling me off the counter and lifting me into a hug. I used every limp noodle muscle I had to squeeze around his shoulders and wrap my legs around him as he heaved me up.

"Kisame…" I murmured again, still processing he was there when I thought for sure I'd ending up missing them.

I didn't know what else to say. There was nothing else. Kisame was there and he was hoisting me up like I was a five pound sack of flour. I, being the person I was, immediately started crying and clung to him like I hadn't seen him in months.

Oh wait…

"Hell yeah, Izumi's crying? Just like old times," he said approvingly. The jerk.

I scoffed into him but couldn't wipe the smile from my face. "That's not fair, I'm just really happy to see y-"

I didn't finish my sentence. I didn't say anything more. Every word that ever existed in my brain went poof. I had opened my eyes, now staring at the figure standing frozen in the entryway.

Kisame chuckled lowly. "Itachi's behind us, isn't he?"

I slowly nodded. Itachi was also wordless, staring back.

His face ran pale, especially in stark comparison to the shiny curtains of delicate, black hair framing it. His unmoving expression was markedly cautious, almost skeptical. Almost afraid?

I think my heart just flat out stopped. That was it, I died again.

Okay bye, it's been real.

"Itachi," I breathed out with a hesitant smile, peering at him with big eyes from over Kisame's shoulder. Seeing Kisame had already opened the floodgates so there wasn't a shot of me not blubbering like an idiot. In my defense though, I did try to keep it to a minimum.

No sobbing, just very wet.

Itachi let out a breath and returned a small, strained smile. "Izumi… you're..."

"Izumi-chaaaaan!" Tobi suddenly leapt into my line of sight, shoving the bowl of unmixed sauce in my face. "How can Tobi be a good boy if you don't finish telling him what to doooo?!"

I'm sorry, does he not see this is a moment here?

I stuttered something out, something pinched and unintelligible. Trying to respond appropriately and bring myself back into reality, but it was proving to be problematic as I had been in the middle of short-circuiting as it were.

Cue Kisame.

"I got it, Iz. Picked up a few tricks while you were being a lazy little asshole. Take a beat, test out the new couch, I'll manage these guys."

Tobi protested loudly in the background and Deidara had a freshly sharpened butcher's knife in hand as he tried to angrily reign him in. I was a touch worried.

They're probably fine… probably.

I tried my best to ignore the potential murder about to happen, looking pointedly at Kisame.

"You're going to direct them? You don't even know what they're making."

"Right, and now neither do you. It'll be fun," he said, skirting around a wailing, disappointed Tobi flailing about the kitchen. "Yo Itachi, think fast," Kisame said, dropping me into his arms.

Itachi's veneer of stoicism all but disappeared as he blinked rapidly and scrambled to catch me as gently as possible, scolding Kisame under his breath the whole time. The scroll that was in his hand clattered to the floor as he abandoned it.

Kisame could be heard chortling as he walked back into the kitchen, beginning to bark orders that made no sense for what they were supposed to be making.

Did… did he just tell them to boil the pork in milk?

But that was neither here nor there. I was in Itachi Uchiha's arms again. I wondered at which point that would ever stop happening. I somehow always wound up back there.

Kisame was such a plotting little scamp, he knew what he was doing.

"Long time no see," I breathed out, unable to hide my smile, looking to cut the tension. It wasn't even really on my end, it was just dripping off Itachi. Seriously though, he was sweating and he looked like he hadn't bothered breathing for over a minute.

He nodded. He swallowed.

"Too long," he eventually agreed quietly. You'd have thought I was an extra-terrestrial with the way he was staring at me, like he was trying to figure out if I was a trick of the mind or something supernatural.

Ba-dump

Oh lord.

Heavens, why did he still have to make me feel this way? I could hear my heartbeat drumming in my ears and I prayed he couldn't somehow detect it. He must have realized we were both just kinda staring at each other, our faces far too close to one another, and quickly snapped to walking us out to the living room.

"Izumi… you should sit and relax," he said, trying to find his cool. He usually kept it on him at all times, it was very rare for him to lose it. His eyes were darting in a way that made me think perhaps he was looking for it on the floor.

The new living space was nearly a replica of the old one, only with more seating. That made sense, I members of the Akatsuki were also getting along better than when I'd first met them… maybe that had something to do with it. The setup now consisted of not one, but two couches with a large coffee table between them.

Perfect for a game night.

Itachi gingerly set me down in the corner of the plush leather couch and then, much to my dismay, moved to sit on the other across from me. He sat stiffly on the edge, staring at me.

"You're awake," he said.

His eyes fell on me in such a way that I half wondered if he could see through my clothes, he was scrutinizing me intensely with a rush of red pulling across his irises, three little tomoes dancing in each one. It was like he was waiting for the glue holding me together to dry out and finally witness me peel apart.

I managed to stay whole.

"I-I am. It was three days ago that I woke up," I explained.

"Oh… I didn't know," he said, looking mildly perturbed. "I wish someone would have told me. I apologize I wasn't here… or didn't come sooner... Not that I assume you wanted me here anyway." If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was rambling. A flustered Itachi was an interesting one, indeed.

"That's okay, not your job," I said, dismissively. He didn't have to force himself to say nice things like that to me.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as he still just continued to stare at me blankly like he couldn't process me sitting upright and speaking to him. He was practically quinting at me, like he was trying to count my light freckles from a distance. Suddenly the notion struck me that he probably just wasn't used to seeing me the way I was now… you know...

Slightly disfigured?

"How are you feeling?" he asked. It was the natural next question. I supposed I should ask him about the weather after.

"Okay, I guess… I get tired easily, but I suppose that's better than what my alternative was," I said somewhat grimly, though not without a laugh, thinking about how I had apparently died real quick. Just for a hot second.

Itachi just stared. I felt so pressured under his gaze. Why was he looking at me like that?

"Is it my scars?" I blurted out, touching my fingers to my face and pushing down the revolt building in my esophagus. I couldn't help but ask.

"What?" Itachi asked like the breath was punched out of his lungs.

"You're just staring at me like… like…" I couldn't put words to it. "It's nothing. You're just quiet, that's all. I know I'm kind of… difficult to look at now," I said, eyes downcast, cupping my elbows and shrinking into the corner cushion.

I didn't want to be this depressing girl, so I tried to smile. I'm not sure I did it right though. The torn sigh from Itachi told me I didn't. It came out of him followed by some muttering under his breath like he was scolding himself.

"Ah… no. I'm sorry, Izumi. No… It's not… I'm just… it's a relief to finally see you like this. It's taking a moment to sink in, is all."

I gulped down the painful lump in my throat and he furrowed his brows as he just continued looking on like his face was carved of stone. He seemed genuinely concerned for a moment and I could have lived off that look for a month. Those rare blips when it felt like he actually cared were so filling.

He shook his head when I had nothing to say. "Why would you think that? You're not... difficult to look at, Izumi."

"Okay..." was all I said, not believing that for a second but not feeling like debating it either.

"Izumi..." Itachi said my name so helplessly, like there was so much more he wanted to convey with it. Inject it with comfort, assurance, maybe even... affection? That was probably just in my head.

"It's fine, really, Itachi. I understand," I said with a smile. A more believable one.

"No, you don't…" he said, quietly frustrated as he seemed to be forming his thoughts. Apparently my smile wasn't believable enough still.

"Itachi, I know what I look like. Please, can we maybe just… drop it? I'm just happy to se-"

"You don't, you have no idea." He cut in, his words were short and sure.

I huffed and blinked at him. Since when was he this stubborn about these things? "I… I'm not going to fight about how gross I loo-"

"Izumi," Itachi interrupted again, voice raised, "you're beautiful as always," he pushed out in a rush, his hands gripping his knees tightly as he sat at the very edge of the couch.

Ba-dump

My entire nervous system fried to a crisp.

He wasn't… he wasn't supposed to say things like that. A silence stretched between us as I went non-verbal. He hadn't said anything like that to me since that night. I think my jaw went completely slack, but honestly, since my neurons had stopped firing I really wasn't sure what my face was doing.

"Sorry…" Itachi muttered, "I just… I did not want you to think I was staring at you because of that."

"I-It's okay." I managed to pick my jaw off the floor.

Hah. Yeah, it is.

No, but it really wasn't. I didn't need Itachi confusing me like that, especially now that I had Hidan in some capacity. I wasn't sure what we were yet… we hadn't really talked about it, but even so… it felt serious, for me anyway.

I wanted to think the feeling was mutual, that Hidan was serious about me as well, but there was always that voice in the back of my head that questioned if I was just the flavor of the week with him. Just like I had been with Itachi.

Yes, I needed to not look into what Itachi said too much. He had a tendency to be exceedingly polite, it didn't change his feelings of lack thereof that he'd made clear to me before.

"Um, Itachi…?"

"Yes?" he answered quickly.

"I-I know this is against your rules…"

"Yes?" he answered even more quickly.

"Will you… please come over here… and just give me a hug?" I asked with big, uneasy eyes, my fingers creeping up over my mouth as soon as I asked, like they were barring any more ridiculous requests from sneaking out of it. I looked at him intently in waiting.

"Would that... would you feel better if I did?" he asked, still with those haunting eyes.

I nodded quickly.

He was practically already off the couch with how far off the edge he'd been sitting on it. He pushed off and approached wordlessly, sinking into the cushion beside me.

"I think I can probably pull some strings," he said with a slightly professional timbre. His eyes weren't on my face though, they were focused just a little lower, on my chest.

I wasn't wearing anything particularly revealing, just a Kakuzu dress which came up plenty high around my collar. I cocked my head, watching him.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

Itachi shook his head, his eyes snapping up to meet mine as if he'd just been caught doing something he should not have been.

"I… I'm sorry. This is an odd request…" Itachi began, already looking somewhat guilty about whatever he was about to ask me. It was me on the edge of my seat now. "But would you mind if I just… if I felt your heartbeat for a moment?"

Unexpected… but I'll allow it.

"I-I…" I stammered. Not in a million years would I have anticipated that question to come out of his mouth. My face was suddenly tingling with heat and I wondered how noticeable it was.

It's pretty bad.

He shook his head, wearing a bit of a flush himself. "My apologies… I shouldn't have asked." Itachi rescinded his request, shifting away from me a bit.

No. Absolutely not. I couldn't have that.

I grabbed his hand without thinking and clapped it over my chest, holding it there beneath mine. He blinked a few times, processing, but didn't pull away.

It should have been awkward, the two of us staring at each other like that with me holding his hand like a hostage over my rapidly beating heart. But it wasn't, not for me anyway. I enjoyed the brief time to admire him up close as he seemed to decompress the longer he felt my heart beat against him.

"Do you feel it?" I asked. "Kakuzu says it's strong."

He finally met my stare and nodded. "It's… fast."

Yeah. I'd been worried about that.

We didn't break for a long time, I could tell he was counting the beats in his head as he continued to hold my gaze. After a while, his eyes closed and his lips curved the slightest bit.

I thought maybe since he hadn't come to see me much during my coma, or least wasn't vocal during his visits, that I was truly inconsequential to him. But the face I was witnessing, the stress rolling off him as he breathed out deeply through his nose, it told me that couldn't possibly have been true.

Not if this was his reaction to the proof of life hammering against his palm. Not if he even asked me for such a strange thing to begin with.

"Thank you…" he said quietly, pulling his hand away before immediately closing the space between us.

Finally, that hug I'd asked for.

His limp hold around my small frame led me to believe he now thought of me as a cracked porcelain doll. I wrapped my arms around his back and clutched at his shirt.

"No, thank you…for everything you did for me. I know you saved me from that horrible pain," I whispered, recalling the seconds I did have to endure the curse before Itachi came to my rescue.

I felt him shaking his head, the tips of his fingers curling to grip me tighter. "I didn't save you. I wish I could have, Izumi… you've had to endure so much."

I could feel his lips moving against my hair as he spoke, hand holding the back of my head against his shoulder. I resisted the urge to nose into his neck. A hug with a friend you hadn't seen in over two months while in a coma seemed alright, but not that.

I felt a tingling prickle in my eyes and my fingers wrenched into his shirt even more, as if that would stop the shaking of my shoulders.

It did not.

Well, it wouldn't be a reunion if you didn't cry at least three times though, right?

"I'm sorry, I… I just missed you so much… I'm sorry," I said through my tears, embarrassed.

"It's... nothing to be sorry for, Izumi..." and then he breathed out like he'd been holding it for 66 days. It was long and shaky against me and the hard swallow that punctuated it was audible.

"You're really here? You're okay…?" he murmured.

"I am…" I assured, loosening my grip to rub his back, breathing him in. I felt like originally I was needing comfort, but I wasn't so sure roles hadn't switched somehow.

I didn't have time to think about the confusing logistics of it, given our complicated history, I just wanted for both of us to feel better on a human level.

"I missed you," I said again, "I know I'm not supposed to say that, but I really did. You barely came to see me. Not like some of the others... Why?"

I could practically hear his heart sink at the mention, calling him out like that. It took the form of whatever scraping, tired noise came out of his throat.

"I… wanted to, Izumi. I did. I just… you know me."

Did I? Did I know him? I certainly didn't think so, but I felt weirdly warm that he would say that to me. That he thought so.

He sighed. "I didn't have a lot to say. It was always you that shouldered the weight of our conversations, if you recall. I know it's been a while," he said apologetically, pausing for a moment. "Wait… does that mean… you could hear?"

"Oh shit, am I missing out on the hugs?" Kisame's boisterous voice cut through the room. Itachi took a moment to release me and I pulled back to look at the giant, blue, grinning man who had apparently deemed it safe enough to leave Deidara and Tobi to their devices.

"They're fiiiiine," Kisame assured with a smile upon noticing my look of mild trepidation.

He swaggered over and I put my arms out, inviting him into them.

"I feel like I didn't get a real one," I said. Kisame did not hesitate to oblige, dropping down to his knees, arms swooping around me and pulling me in, his cloak seemingly devouring me whole.

Itachi had to remind him to go easy on me at one point, as it was obvious he didn't know his own strength.

"Heh, sorry kid, guess I'm just a bit tickled to see you," he said, loosening his hold a bit.

"Hm. Likewise. It's been a minute, huh?" I said, my cheek smushed against his broad chest.

Kisame was warm and his heartbeat was forcefully pounding against my ear. I thought about all the times I wanted to touch his arm and or have him hear me while I was trapped inside my head, and to finally have him there wrapped around me… there were no words.

I squeezed him tight.

"Mhm, pretty damn rude of you if you ask me," he answered with an audible grin. He pulled back and looked down at me all toothy and adorable with that dark blue flush of his.

"I promise I won't do it again," I said, crossing my heart.

He put his pinky out. "You better fucking swear on that, kiddo."

It was comical how his pinky dwarfed even my largest finger. We latched pinky's and I swore on it with a roll of my eyes.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys," I said, wiping my face and looking between Kisame and Itachi just kind of shaking my head in disbelief.

"Keh, you kidding me? We're not the ones that died. It's you that has no idea, you little bean turd," Kisame retorted.

Ohhh instead of 'bean curd', I get it. I get it and I love it.

I was so glad he had still taken to using bean-related insults. Itachi scoffed disapprovingly at his partner's lackadaisical recognition of the event though.

"Yeah, I heard about that…the whole dying thing... both of you were there?" I asked.

"Mhmm, we all were. It was a real shit show, if I'm being honest."

"What was it if you're being a liar?" I inquired curiously.

He shrugged, "Ehh, just okay."

"Sounds about right… Regardless, I am sorry about that," I winced with a small laugh.

"You're apologizing for dying?" Kisame raised a brow.

"From what I understand, it was very inconvenient. So yes, yes I am."

"Well good, you should be," he teased. "Talk about stressful. I thought Itachi here was going to off himself. At least him and Hidan had each other though."

Itachi glared at his partner with his face flashing unusually bright. Now that was an interesting sight. Kisame was unfettered as he continued.

"Yep, and Deidara went to go cry himself into next century I think. I was totally fine because I knew you'd be back, of course. It was a weird day…" he trailed off thoughtfully with a bit of a scowl as he recalled the events.

"I know we're half joking, but I really am sorry to have put you all through all of that… thank you for visiting me when you could, it really means a lot," I said, my little hands clapping over my heart.

Kisame gaped. "So you could hear us?!"

I laughed, "Mhm, sometimes. It was weird. I didn't fully understand what was going on but yeah, I would hear you guys talking to me and you'd just, like… poof into my dreams. It's a little fuzzy to remember details though."

Kisame wrenched his fist back in a victorious arm pump. "I fucking knew it. Didn't I know it, Itachi?"

"You did know it," Itachi agreed begrudgingly, seemingly unimpressed, or maybe just annoyed that he was impressed.

"Speaking of being able to hear you… you know what I know?" I asked, looking at Kisame pointedly.

"Hm, what's that?"

"You need to learn how to eat with your freaking mouth shut," I said sternly, pursing my lips. With all the times I had to just lay there listening to his chewing and somehow try to place it… yeah, I needed to say something.

Itachi let out an abrupt, scoffing chuckle and Kisame cracked a grin.

"See? This is why we need you around. What would I do without knowing how to chew politely? They'd probably kick me out of the Akatsuki. I'd probably just shove food straight up my ass since that's where it ends up and what it's been tasting like anyway."

I sputtered at the visual.

Itachi favored a deadpan expression, shaking his head. "Filing that away under 'disturbing mental images from Kisame'…" Itachi muttered which left me giggling even more.

I wondered what else was in that mental cabinet. Probably a ton of good stuff with the amount of time they'd been partners.

Kisame smiled, pleased with Itachi's repulsion, and looked back to me. "So when are you cleared to start cooking? Gotta be honest, I didn't actually pick up any tips and I'm pretty scared about what's going to come out of that oven. Pretty sure Itachi's gonna have to kill it with fire."

I snorted. So typical.

"I'll see what I can do… hopefully soon. Kakuzu has been really strict with me though, I'm not allowed to wield a knife yet… not even to chop a carrot."

Kisame nodded, "True. Man went through hell to keep you here, I've never seen anything like it. That med stuff is actually pretty tough, kinda interesting though, been fucking with it a little."

"Oh really? Looking for a career change?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Maybe. Can't you see me in one of those sexy little nurse outfits?" he asked, raising a brow of his own rather deviously.

"And another..." Itachi mumbled, in reference to the Cursed Kisame Image File.

The Return of Femme Kisame… the sequel no one asked for.

"Good lord, Kisame… that visual is even worse than you having sex with a giant fish…" I complained.

"Uh, I'm sorry, come again?" He asked, pulling his head back, eyes blinking madly.

Apparently Itachi hadn't told him about the illusory fish he'd created for me in Kisame's likeness. It was decided that Kisame was indeed the father, and the mother was undoubtedly a giant fish. A very pretty one, of course.

I started cracking up at just the thought and looked at Itachi who seemed to be struggling to maintain his aloof veneer at the memory. That had been two months ago, it must have seemed so distant for him. It was simply hard to place for me.

"You are the one telling him! That was your creation!" I said, jabbing my finger into Itachi's chest and throwing my hands in the air to show I was tapping out.

Kisame slowly wrenched his head in his partner's direction and gave him a pointed, answer-demanding look.

Itachi angled his head at me with an exasperated expression like he couldn't believe what I'd just strapped him with.

"Did you miss me?" I asked, smiling sweetly with my tongue between my teeth.

He looked between Kisame and me and closed his eyes with a small smile, releasing something akin to a laugh through his nose.

"I'll tell you later." I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or Kisame.

"Are you two done bothering my patient?" Kakuzu's stern, flat-lining voice broke up our nonsense as he entered from the hallway.

I scowled. I was rather enjoying that nonsense.

I couldn't help but dissolve it into a smile though. His 'patient'. He was so cute taking his medical responsibilities all seriously.

"They weren't bothering me," I attested.

"Well, they're bothering me. You two, leave," he ordered. "I need to run some tests on her and then she's going to bed so I don't have to listen to her whine about being tired when we leave tomorrow morning."

"Leave?" Itachi questioned, clearly shocked I would be going anywhere so early in my recovery. His hand inadvertently shot out to clasp around the back of my neck as he stared at Kakuzu, like that would somehow keep me there or protect me.

"Yes, take it up with Pain. His choice," Kakuzu said bluntly, not feeling like dealing with anyone's bean paste. I knew he didn't agree with the decision either, so that's really all he could do to defend.

"You're going somewhere close, I hope?" Itachi pressed.

Kakuzu looked between Itachi and Kisame, like he wasn't sure if he should divulge. Not because they couldn't know for any particular reason, I'm not sure what the hesitation was.

Kakuzu finally settled on spitting it out, probably easier that way. "Inaho Village."

Kisame started coughing after choking on his own spit. Him and Itachi exchanged a look. Itachi's fingers curled around my nape tightly.

"I'm sorry, Kakuzu, my good lad," Kisame began, "I think I misheard you. Did you just say… Inaho Village?"

"Mhm," Kakuzu said with a disapproving grunt, his own expression clearly in line with whatever their obvious internal thoughts were.

"What's wrong with this place? Why is that everyone's reaction?" I whined, wanting to feel included.

They ignored me.

Kisame was staring at Kakuzu wearily. "Okay. Interesting. So uh, if you don't mind me asking… whatcha guys planning on doing there?"

Kakuzu shrugged. "Same old shit."

"What?" Itachi asked sharply, eyes narrowed. I came to the conclusion that Itachi was definitely unaware in the heat of the moment that his nimble fingers were squeezing and practically massaging the muscles at the base of my hairline compulsively.

I remained absolutely still, not wanting to let on that it was a little unusual, though admittedly, it felt pretty nice.

Kakuzu sighed heavily with irritation. "Look. It'll be fine. Izumi will stay back in the room. There are things at play here that you don't understand. Now if you don't mind, or even if you do, I don't really care, fuck off."

Kisame and Itachi both seemed to be digging mental daggers into Kakuzu's face who shrugged them off well enough.

When my hand topped Itachi's, he snapped back to regard me. "Itachi, what's wrong with this place?" I asked quietly, starting to get genuinely nervous by everyone's reactions.

Itachi blinked and stared at his hand beneath mine like he was wondering how and when it had gotten there. He immediately pulled back.

"It's nothing, Izumi. I'm sure everything will be fine. Just please listen to Kakuzu while you're there."

Kisame scoffed. "Yeah, and don't touch anything, oh and make sure you wash your hands a lot."

"You're not helping," Kakuzu cut in, starting to physically move Kisame along.

"But I barely got to see them," I whined, half-heartedly reaching out for Itachi as he stood. I knew it was useless. What Kakuzu said, went.

Papa Kaku.

Itachi gave me a small apologetic smile, his head tilting as he regarded me just so. "We should be here when you return."

The two hesitantly left. Kisame lightly mussed my hair and Itachi gave me a weary look over his shoulder which instilled a nice little pit in my belly.

Well doesn't this suddenly sound like such a fun trip.

I stalked behind Kakuzu to my room. On the bright side, I was somewhat thankful I wouldn't have to meet whatever monstrosity came out of the kitchen. I could have sworn I heard an explosion come from that direction as I shut my door.

A/N: Well, to those of you asking about Itachi... The Raven King hath returned. He is here and he is awk.

Sooo Izumi going on a little trip with our fave zombie boys. These trips always end up well, right? Never any trauma or danger...? Hm...

Thanks for reading, always dears :3 feel free to let me know your thoughts, good or bad!

Oh and if anyone is interested, I posted a test chapter of what will likely be my next project (a KisaSaku fic- I know that's cracked as fuck but don't knock it til you try it), called Yokai Sunset. If anyone would like to check it out and provide feedback, I would be forever grateful :) (Warning though, is a little spicy, y'all know how it is if you've read this far.)