When Suri woke up the space beside her was empty and cold. She stretched, as a giddy smile crept on her face. For the first time in a while, she felt genuinely happy. Suri quickly got out of bed and put on her clothes. She didn't bother brushing her hair and strolled out of the room. Suri made her way to the communal area searching for Itachi, but he was not there. Her eyebrows met in the middle as she walked around the hideout, but there was no sign of the dark-haired man. She made her way into the kitchen just to find Deidara sitting at the table playing with clay. Suri rolled her eyes at the sight of indecent figures the blonde was making.
"Hey, have you seen Itachi?" she asked leaning against the wall.
Deidara looked up not blinking.
"He is on a mission, thought you knew, un." He replied returning his gaze to his figures.
Suri hurried towards him and smacked her hands on the table.
"What do you mean, on a mission? I still had one day of healing to perform!" she yelled. The blonde sent her a strange look.
"I don't know the details Suri, if you want to know you have to speak to Leader-sama."
The girl groaned loudly and made her way to the Leader's room. She knocked hurriedly but did not wait for a response before entering. The leader was at his desk reading over papers.
"Leader-sama, why is Uchiha on a mission?" she said angrily trying to keep her tone in check. Pein looked up and crossed his arms on his chest. His expression was emotionless and only his eyes narrowed with a hint of interest.
"It was his initiative to go."
Suri's eyes widened in shocked. "But Leader-sama, you knew he wasn't healed yet, why did you allow him go?" her voice trembled lightly. She started panicking.
The leader stood up. "I let him go because he asked me to; preventing the members of the Akatsuki from executing their responsibilities is not an option."
Suri boiled with anger, but she kept quiet; Pein of course had a point and she was in no place to challenge his actions. She turned on her heels and made her way to the door but stopped before exiting.
"What is the location of his mission?" she questioned.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you."
Suri stormed out of the room, shutting the door with a loud thud. "Emotional woman." Pein said shaking his head.
Suri
"That silly fool. I cannot believe he went on a mission right after he got somewhat better, and after...all those things we did the night before. Something is going on here. Something is wrong. Why do I keep having a feeling that everyone is hiding something from me?" I thought as I quickly made my way to the communal area. I was determined to find out every single detail, one way or the other. When I entered the room, I instantly spotted Kakuzu sitting on the sofa and counting the budget. I smiled knowing exactly what to do. I made my way to the man and sat next to him, staring at him intently. Kakuzu did not seem to notice me at first, but as I continued staring, a vein at his temple got more visible.
"Can you quit staring at me you damn woman?" he finally snapped glaring at me. I smiled sweetly and took out quite a large bag of coins from my pocket. I knew he would not be able to resist. His eyes shone with the light of greed and hands instantly reached out the treat.
"Nah huh," I smirked. "Now Kakuzu, can you tell me a thing or two?"
Suri rushed through the forest ignoring the branches that kept hitting her face and scratching her skin. Her jaw was tensed, it almost hurt, but Suri did not notice. Her mind was completely occupied with Itachi Uchiha. She had to find him as soon as possible. It was a matter of life and death and only she understood the severity of the situation. Suri knew that Itachi's sickness could not be cured, but if he took the medicine, she prepared for him, it would slow down the spread of the illness in his blood stream and normalise his body functions. She could not understand why he refused it at first, but she did not care. All she wanted to do was to make that man live for as long as possible, no matter what it took her. Suri was up for the challenge.
A tear rolled down her cheek and she hurriedly wiped it away. There was no time to cry, tears never helped anyone. Actions spoke louder than words.
When she finally reached the destination, Itachi was out of sight, yet Suri still felt his presence. He was close. Suri closed her eyes and concentrated. She did not practice her sensor skills for a while, yet they still lingered in her subconsciousness. The large building in front of her looked deserted. Suri quickly made her way around it, testing the grounds. Suddenly someone's hand pressed to her mouth making her jump and turn around abruptly. She sighed in relief.
"What are you doing here?" Itachi hissed angrily letting her go.
"Obviously looking for you." The girl replied glaring back. "You still have one more day of treatment." She grunted angrily.
"I am more than fine now." He responded going back to his emotional self, causing Suri to furrow her eyebrows. There was a change in the tone of his voice, and she did not like it.
"That's for me to decide. I am your medic." Suri retorted taking a step away from him. She could not understand why Itachi was suddenly acting so cold towards her, after what happened between, after he asked her to...
"I am none of your concern anymore." Itachi started. "Nor do I need your assistance. Go back." The man turned around and started making his way to the building entrance. Suri's eyes widened with shock. She felt sharp pain pierce her heart making her take a couple of small steps closer to the wall.
"ITACHI!" she yelled out his name almost desperately. She ran to the man and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek on his broad back. "What are you saying? Why are you pushing me away?" tears streamed down her cheeks as she pressed her face to his back harder. The man remained silent. He did not budge as she cried clenching his cloak in her hands. Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep silent breath. He turned around abruptly pushing the girl away from him, causing her to stumble backwards and fall on the ground. It saddened him because the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but it was for the best...for her best.
"Never approach me again." He said dangerously. "Never talk to me and never, I repeat, never tell anyone what happened between us, or else..." his gaze was piercing her through, making her wince, "I will kill you."
When life gets hard and you do not know what to do, just get a bottle of sake and shout to the world "Fuck you". That was the only thing Suri wanted to do for a week since the last time she saw and spoke to Itachi. The girl locked herself in her room and did not come out, not even when the leader ordered her to. She did not feel like seeing anyone, nor did she feel like talking. Suri just wanted to be left alone and embrace her grief.
She laid on her bed with a bottle of sake in one hand and a chocolate bar in another. Her eyes were red and puffy. She blinked as she stared at the ceiling, finding it rather attractive. She brought the bottle to her lips and took a sip wincing from the disgusting taste. She never liked the taste of sake, but at that moment, she wanted nothing else. Someone knocked at her door, bringing her back to reality. She hopped off the bed and walked to the door feeling shaky. She opened it and glared at the person in front of her. Kisame scratched the back of his head, looking at her nervously.
"Suri-chan, the leader wants to see you." He mumbled trying not to look at her. Suri snorted and shut the door in front of his face.
"Tell him I'm not coming," she yelled, making sure Kisame heard her. The fish man sighed and walked away from her door and to the leader's room. He did not know what happened between his partners, but ever since she came back from the mission Itachi went to, she changed completely. Suri was not herself anymore. Uchiha kept quiet; no matter how many times Kisame tried to speak to him about what happened, he just squeezed his lips into a thin line and ignored him. Suri kept herself locked away, occasionally leaving the room for more alcohol.
Kisame clenched his large hands angrily. He was going to find out what happened between them, even if it cost him his life. Forgetting about the leader's orders Kisame turned abruptly and made his way to Itachi's room. He knocked. It didn't take long for the black-haired man to open the door. He looked at Kisame expressionless.
"What do you want?" he asked blocking the way to the room with his body.
"Uchiha, we need to talk." Kisame said pushing past his partner and letting himself in.
Itachi
Kisame pushed past me, letting himself into my room. I felt anger rise inside me, but I kept my cool. I closed the door and turned around to face my partner. I crossed my arms and leaned on the wall for support. Kisame turned around and glared at me; if looks could kill, I would be dead and buried.
"What happened?" he questioned angrily.
"I don't know what you are talking about." I replied knowing exactly what he meant, but I did not want to talk about it. Not with Kisame. Not with anyone.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about." He spat. "What did you do to Suri?"
My eyes narrowed. I knew how Kisame felt about her, and it irritated me. No, it pissed me off. Drove me insane. I hated it. And now he came asking what happened with such anger and bitterness as if he had the right to do it. It was none of his damn business.
"None of your business. Now get out." I hissed as a coughing attack quickly invaded my body. Blood splattered on my hand and dripped on the floor. Kisame watched me intently; I felt a chill running down my spine, but I ignored it. I could not read his expression, but I hated it.
"Is this the reason?" he finally asked looking straight into my eyes.
I did not reply. Kisame already knew my answer.
"It's for her best." I said looking away from him. I made my way to the bed and sat down holding onto my stomach.
"Why don't you let her decide what's best for her?" Kisame said as he walked to the door. "And it better be soon." He added as he walked out shutting the door behind him.
I watched as the door closed. I was alone once again. Funny how I enjoyed the solitude before I met Suri, and now it was almost a torture. I sighed and rubbed my face. I felt confused and for the first time in my life I questioned my decision.
