June 6th ****
I have not written anything for four months, but I am planning to cover in detail all the events that happened up until now.
First things first, exactly four months ago I met the Leader of the Akatsuki organisation, who easily talked me into joining them. The decision came too easy because the offer was "Join me or Die" type. When I first arrived at the hideout, I felt nervous about meeting the other members, but to my surprise they turned out to be not what I have expected at all. A lot of them acted like a group of teenagers undergoing belated puberty. Let's take Hidan as an example, when you see him in a battlefield, he gives an impression of someone cool, hot headed and untouched by everything that surrounded him. Guess what? Wrong! Hidan – perverted, witty, cry-baby! Every time Kakuzu got fed up with his rituals and bleedings all the floor, he'd kick Hidan out of the room, leaving him to pout and plead behind the door all night.
Or Deidara, another vivid example, all he does all day is make clay figures and explode them laughing with a madman. Sasori just sits there playing with his puppet, while Kisame usually just fools around humming "I'm a little yellow fish in a deep blue sea, somebody please save me." to himself, and he does not even have good voice. But I think these secrets should never leave the hideout. After all the Akatsuki had a reputation to live up to.
Upon joining the organisation, one of my biggest fears was not fitting in, but somehow things turned out better than I expected. Yes, they were not the most welcoming people, but to my surprise they did not ignore my existence. We did not become friends, no, but rather good acquaintances with all, except one.
Itachi Uchiha.
The man with piercing dark eyes and intimidating presence, pretended that I did not exist. At first I thought that it be because he was suspicious of my sudden appearance in the organisation, but as the time passed I have realized that Itachi Uchiha hated me with every fibre of his skin. Every time I spoke to him, he would look right past me and ignore me. Every time we interacted in any other way; he would pretend that I was not even there. The only acknowledgement I received from him was during our missions, when he had to make sure that I, and I am quoting, "not get in his way". It was unpleasant and hurt every time.
Normally I would just back off, but this time I could not. Whenever I laid my eyes on him, I wondered what the hell made me fall in love with his man? It was a mess, every time I tried to stay away, the urge to be around him got stronger. I kept praying for this affection to fade, but I was not in luck. My eyes followed him everywhere and after watching him for a while I concluded that Itachi was sick. He was hiding it from everyone, maintaining his composure. I did not know if it was fatal without examining him, but when I sae him coughing blood one time, I had no more doubts. When he saw me standing there in the doorway, my eyes wide open, gaping at the blood trailing down his chin, he snapped. For the first time he raised his voice at me, telling me to get out. The grimace of pain on his face was evident, but the look of rage in his eyes overpowered any other emotion.
I felt like a stalker every time I glanced in his direction when we sat in the common space, or every time I quietly followed him when he went into the forest. I realised that he could probably sense my presence, but he never mentioned it, in his way allowing me to continue. I couldn't help but wonder how he would react if he ever found out about my feelings?
Suri sighed as she rested her chin on her hand and pressed the pencil to her lips taking a break from writing. Her thoughts were once again occupied with the black haired man. She groaned throwing the pencil on the desk and dropping her head on her folded arms.
"Why can't I get him out of my head?" she exclaimed in annoyance.
Suri didn't hate being in love; it was a beautiful feeling that couldn't be compared to anything else, but she hated being in love with him. Her love for Itachi Uchiha was as unrequited as Tobi's love for Deidara.
The closest friend I made here in the Akatsuki turned one to be Kisame Hoshigaki. We clicked instantly. He was one of those men who liked to talk a lot, especially if there was someone to listen. And of course I did. I've tried to find out more about Itachi, but every single time, Kisame would change the subject or somehow avoid talking about him, in the end I gave up. If he didn't want to talk about Itachi, I wasn't going to push him. After all, they've been partners for a long time; I had no right to invade their privacy.
A knock on the door startled her. Suri jumped up and quickly shoved her notebook in the desk. She cleared her throat and called in the visitor. Kisame walked in grinning widely, showing his sharp teeth.
"We have a mission." He stated. Suri nodded.
"I'll just grab my cloak."
Kisame waited patiently as she put it on and quickly brushed her hair. "Making yourself look pretty for him?" he asked knowingly.
Suri blushed. "I don't know what you are talking about." She stated walking out and closing the door.
Kisame chuckled. "Of course you, everybody does."
Suri stopped abruptly and marched to the fish man. She barely reached his chest which made them look rather comical next to each other. She stretched out her hand and pointed hard at his chest. "Everybody whom? And what do they know?" she questioned sternly.
"Everybody knows that you like Uchiha." He explained shrugging his broad shoulders.
"Kisame, I didn't take you for the gossip type and FYI I absolutely do not have feelings for that man." Suri hissed still poking his chest. Kisame grinned but did not reply, he looked behind with his eyes narrowed. Suddenly she felt a chill running down her spine; the girl gulped and slowly looked around.
"Itachi-san" she gasped praying that he did not hear their conversation.
"Hurry up you two." His voice was low and dangerous. Suri sighed and turned to Kisame.
"It's not my day is it?" she mumbled as they walked after Itachi.
"Suri, I want you to stay out of our way." Itachi warned as soon as they were outside, making the girl snort in annoyance.
*There he goes again. How weak does he think I am?* she thought annoyed with herself for still admiring him.
"We don't have much time, let's go." Itachi said and took off running. Kisame and Suri followed closely.
The fight was intense. She watched the battle carefully from behind the trees, where she was told to stay until she was needed. She noticed a masked ninja blending in with the branches of a nearby tree. He was clearly a skilled assassin, hiding his aura with such ease. She narrowed her eyes and rushed towards him. She launched forward and charged immediately, knowing that any wasted second could be fatal. He dodged her attacks and hit her with a series of his. She dodged them and cloned herself, circling the enemy.
They jumped down to the ground sending violent discharges of energy at each other. Suri whispered a jutsu performing hand seals; her opponent was swiped away by a gush of wind. His body hit the nearest tree. Suri could hear an unpleasant crack and knew that his spine was broken. A sigh escaped her lips as she turned around and then...it happened. "Suri, watch out." He yelled; she turned around in slow motion. A blast of energy was quickly approaching her, it was close, too close. Suri's eyes widened. She had no time to perform a protective jutsu, she had no time to run, so she shut her eyes and prepared herself for the impact.
The impact never came.
When Suri opened her eyes, Itachi stood in front of her with his arms wide open, covering her body with his. Some of the impact was redirected, but the remainder struck him hard.
"You..." blood gushed out of his mouth, " careless idiot..." the man collapsed at her feet. Suri gulped as she kneeled beside him. She checked his pulse, he was alive, but he was losing too much blood.
"Kisame, finish them." Suri snapped harshly and turned her full attention to Uchiha. Kisame nodded and charged at the remaining opponents.
Her hands hovered over his body as continuously chanted shosen jutsu. Suri did not bother bringing Itachi back to consciousness, because she knew that the pain from the impact would be enormous. A final flow of chanting escaped her lips. She sighed and touched Itachi's forehead. He was boiling. The final jutsu was supposed to work as an anaesthetic, but only to lessen the pain, not eliminate it.
"How is he?" Kisame asked stopping behind them. Suri looked back at the shark-man; his arm was injured.
"How are you?" she asked as she reached out to heal his wound.
"Much better now."
Suri nodded. "We need to get him to the hideout as soon as possible. If we don't. He will die."
"He covered her with his body?" Hidan exclaimed in disbelief. He stared at Itachi's body then at Kisame and finally at Suri, who was on her knees next to the black-haired man.
"Enough chit-chat." The leader said approaching the group. His cold gaze was on the Uchiha.
"I have two questions," he finally said. "Can you heal him and how long will it take?"
Suri grunted and got up. She crossed her arms on her chest and looked up at the Leader.
"I think I can." She replied. "I will need five, six days, maybe a week. It all depends on the speed of his regeneration."
The leader nodded. "Get to it."
