Chapter 14

"Don't you know that you shouldn't go out on your own this late at night, little girl?"

Naruko blinked once, twice, hoping that by doing so hard enough the man would just vanish from her sight. Unfortunately, though, he was still there, smirking down at her, amused by her reaction. It irritated her deeply.

"Cat got your tongue? Usually, you're way more talkative than this"

Naruko's breath hitched as she met the cold dark eyes of Itachi Uchiha. She had refused to meet his gaze up to that moment, not because she was scared of him, no, but his sight irritated her deeply, and she was upset enough without adding the unfortunate meeting to the mix.

"What are you doing here?" she finally choked out, her tone weaker than she had wished to use. She didn't want him to think he had any kind of effect on her, because she couldn't afford to look weak in front of him. Not when all she wanted to do was vent her frustration on him and blame him for all of Sasuke's bad choices and his decision to leave so suddenly and without much of a goodbye. It was his fault after all. His actions had turned her friend into the enraged and rancorous person he had become. She had been holding herself back all night, and her body was throbbing with rage.

The Uchiha put one of his hands in his pocket, moving his gaze towards the sky for a moment, before setting it on her again, a malicious glint in his dark orbs. He could tell she was upset, he had noticed immediately the way her body twitched with anger when she had seen him. He knew it had probably been wrong to approach the girl, after all, he had no business in tormenting her, but there was something endearing in her that he couldn't ignore. Like the way, her cheeks reddened when their eyes met, or the way her lips curled into a pout that made her look more childish than angry.

"There's nothing wrong with a little night stroll is it there?" he asked in an unusual playful tone. He didn't know why, but he was overly enjoying her little reactions.

"Liar! What business do you have here at this time of night?" she pointed her finger at him as if she had caught him doing something illegal. He technically was, but she didn't have to know that.

He chuckled at her serious tone, and she looked taken aback, expression changing into a frown. Her frustration deeply amused him.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. I would have to kill you afterward" he folded his arms on his chest, ignoring the blinding pain that shot up his arm as he tried to look as solemn as possible, his tone dead serious.

She didn't fall for his act. She had seen him a couple of nights ago barely walking, and she hadn't missed how he struggled to move his left arm. She couldn't hide she had been worried for reasons she didn't want to admit to herself, but seeing how he was mocking her made her regret it deeply.

"What happened to your arm?" the question rolled off her tongue before she could even think. She didn't care what happened to him, why would she be concerned and worried about him being wounded?

He laughed, a clear amused laugh, and she regretted caring for just one second.

"Are you worried about me? I should feel flattered. I thought you directed all your concern and affection for that redhead I saw you with the other night"

Her eyes widened. Was he talking about Gaara? Had he seen them? Why did it bother her that he had? Her cheeks reddened under his careful eyes and she looked away as an uncomfortable feeling washed over her.

"Leave Gaara out of this"

"Why? Are you afraid I might hurt him?"

"Stop playing games you bastard!"

Naruko was tired and the last thing she needed was to sit there and listen to his lies and empty threats, but he was blocking her way to the door, and she didn't want to get any closer to him. She didn't trust him.

"Your devotion to the boy is almost moving. I would admire it if he wasn't such a pathetic excuse of a boyfriend. He shouldn't let you go around here by yourself, it's a dangerous place full of criminals that might not have the best intentions."

"Look who's talking, like you're any better than any of the delinquents that roam the area" she bit her tongue, realizing that maybe she shouldn't have said those words.

His expression turned serious, and he took a few steps towards her, causing her to move backwards until her back ended against the wall of another building.

"Don't get any closer!" she blurted out, flinging her arms in front of her body to keep him as far away as possible, as if that would have stopped him if he was really intentioned to hurt paused his steps, keeping a little distance between them, and she was surprised he actually listened. His face though turned serious, and she could tell he was angry. He really resembled Sasuke, their facial expressions were very similar.

"You have a lot of courage to keep insulting me. What makes you think you can get away with it?"

She blinked at his words. He was right, she realized, and not only with him. She had always been overconfident with everyone and everything, assuming that she could always deal with everything that came at her, and pull through every situation. After all she had managed to do so through the years, but, this situation was totally different. He wasn't one of her friends. He was a dangerous criminal that could probably hurt her if he wanted to. She didn't realize she was playing with fire. He inched closer again, moving her arms away with one of his hands, his body almost touching hers, and she swallowed hard, turning her head to the side to avoid his dark gaze.

"You should be a lot more careful little girl. Not everyone that lives around here is as nice as me" He backed up a little bit, allowing her some space. She looked at him, surprise evident in her blue eyes. He might have read her expression because he let out a small smile, almost as if he was trying to reassure her.

"I'm not the monster you take me for" He actually sounded sincere, and he looked vulnerable for just a split second, but Naruko couldn't let what seemed like a moment of weakness to affect her. He was still the cause for Sasuke's suffering, and she couldn't forget that. She didn't feel pity for him, just disgust, and she just couldn't believe his words. Because it had to be an act, there was no other reason why he would even show up and try to redeem himself. It made her blood boil.

"How dare you come here and act all innocent? Especially after what you did to Sasuke, how dare you even think you can get away with it!"

"So you think I came all the way here in the middle of the night just to see you?"

He was smirking again now, and it really made her hands itch. If only she had enough courage she would probably slap that smug smile off his face.

"I hope you didn't come here just to see me, because that would be a big waste of time. Especially since I hate you and just the sight of you makes me sick"

"Ouch. I do have feelings you know"

She snorted at that, was he joking with her?

"Ha, must have missed that when you decided to beat your brother up as if he was a bug you were trying to get rid of"

Her eyes flashed with anger, and Itachi's expression changed again, his eyes seemed to flash red for a second.

"Sasuke again. What is exactly the relationship between you two? Do you have some unrequited feelings towards him? What would little Gaara think of that?" it seemed almost like the relationship between her and his brother bothered him for some reason. It didn't make any sense to her.

"I told you already. He is like a brother to me and I care about him! But what would you know, after what you did to your family I can't expect you to understand."

He growled as he grabbed both her wrists effortlessly with one hand again, pushing her back into the building with force, her back clashing with the wall behind, causing her to moan in pain, as he lifted both her arms up in top of her head holding onto her wrists so tightly that she was sure it was going to leave marks.

"You like to talk as if you know me, but the truth is, you know nothing" his tone was low and deadly, and for the first time, she felt fear. She knew she had pushed him too much.

Her heartbeat skipped a beat as he forced her to look into his eyes, the dark orbs clashing with the lighter ones. They stayed like that for a few seconds that felt like ages, at least to Naruko. She was tired and scared, and her back and wrists were hurting from his raw power. But she wouldn't surrender. Her hard head would make sure of it, and it didn't seem to care if it killed her. Because Itachi looked like he would be capable of it. He had done it in the past, what would stop him from doing it again?

"You're mistaking, I do know. I know that your family is being torn apart, and that Sasuke decided to join the Anbu because of you. His only goal is to destroy you and he is disrupting his life just because of it!"

It seemed like she had hit the nail hard in the head, because he looked confused by her words.

"Sasuke joined the anbu?" He furrowed his brows in confusion and for a second he sincerely looked concerned, but Naruko couldn't put her finger on it. It didn't fit in with his personality or actions, and especially with the memory of him beating Sasuke to a bloody pulp.

"You actually care…" she muttered, shocked by the revelation, but he was quick to gain his composure back. And his usual indifferent mask was back on.

"Sasuke is a fool if he thinks that will help him defeat me."

It didn't manage to convince the blonde girl though. For a brief moment she had seen a glimpse of that young police agent that had been by her side in one of her worst moments. When he let his guard down she could still the kindness in his eyes that had made her trust him with her life. Who was he exactly? What was the mystery behind Itachi Uchiha?

"That same fool thinks that he can finally avenge what you did to your family! That putting an end to you will cause all his pain to go away! Because that is what you are to him, poison that needs to be eliminated. If anything ever happens to him, it will be on your conscience, because like it or not, I can see through you Itachi! I can see that you care"

He growled, pushing her through the wall again, his face was just a few inches from hers, and his angry expression scared her. She closed her eyes, she couldn't handle the heated gaze he was giving her. He tightened the grip on her wrists again, and she hissed from the pain.

"You're hurting me" she managed to moan, but he didn't let go, it was as if he was trying to prove a point, as if by acting so cruel he could actually erase whatever idea she had built of him in her head. His lips brushed by her ears and his warm breath made it tickle as he spoke

"You know nothing. I am not a good person. And I will tear Sasuke to pieces if he even tries to get close to me."

Her eyes watered at those words and her stomach felt sick. How could he irradiate so much hate and pain at the same time?

"Why do you try so hard…?" she muttered, trying to ignore the pain he was inflicting on her, and opened her eyes again, fearlessly meeting his gaze. Despite them being full of tears, testament of their pain, she wouldn't back down. He looked taken aback by her reaction and backed away slightly, loosening his grip on her arms, allowing her to move away from the wall again.

"Stop trying to see something in me that is not there anymore"

His gaze met hers again, and she could have sworn his eyes looked shiny, but he pushed whatever trace of emotion away with a quick blink.

It was enough though for her to spark the thought that maybe her impression of him had been all wrong. That deep inside of him, there was still something good that needed to be saved. After all she tended to always look for the good in every person she met. She had even forgiven the people that had scarred her face forever, hate wasn't a part of her, and for that same reason, she couldn't get to really hate Itachi. She had tried so hard, but she just couldn't get herself to do it.

"It's not there because you try so hard to suffocate it"

"You know nothing!"

His eyes widened for a second before flashing red, and his hold on her arms tightened again. She flinched at the rash movement, but didn't tear her eyes away from his. If he wanted to hurt her, he would have to look her in the eye while doing it.

"Naruko?"

The girl recognized Zabuza's voice immediately. He had probably stayed at the bar a little bit longer, and was just coming home.

Itachi let go of her immediately without saying a word, and she could finally massage her arms.

The man stepped a little bit closer but Itachi didn't back away, he stayed on his spot, calm as usual.

"Are you okay? Was he bothering you?"

He was talking to her, but even with the dark, she could tell that he was looking at Itachi.

"N-no. We...were just talking" she hadn't realized how scared she was, her voice breaking at the end.

"Are you sure? It didn't look like you guys we're having a friendly conversation from my point of view"

"Because it wasn't" Itachi answered calmly as if he hadn't been the one pushing her up a wall just a few seconds before.

"Young girls are so delusional" he added with his usual neutral voice. His apathetic mask was back in place. Naruko didn't understand why him dismissing her so easily made her eyes tear up. Why did she even care in the first place? Why did she believe he could be saved, if he himself didn't seem to want it?

"Naruko, you should go inside."

Zabuza looked at the girl, she couldn't really see his expression with all the bandages covering half of his face, but she could see anger in his eyes.

Naruko glanced at the two men, wondering what Zabuza wanted with Itachi. He obviously wanted to talk with the Uchiha, she just hoped it didn't turn into a fight, Itachi didn't look in his best shape. She looked at the man's pale face, and gasped when he looked back at her, their eyes meeting for the umpteenth time that night. His expression though was completely different from a few minutes again, it was blank and completely void of emotions. It deeply bothered her, more than she cared to admit, because she knew that it wasn't who he really was. Zabuza looked between the two of them with confusion and unease. He had interrupted something, he didn't know exactly what, but he didn't like it. He wanted the Uchiha to stay away from the girl, he was dangerous, and she would never be safe with him around.

Naruko swallowed and without adding another word, turned her back on the two men, and started walking towards the door of the apartment. Only once she was safe behind the door, she realized how many emotions she had been bottling up, as her hands and breath started shaking. She heard footsteps come from the steps and she immediately tried to calm herself, she didn't want Sakura to see her like this, she would probably think she had caused it and feel guilty and that was the last thing her friend needed.

"Naruko? Is that you?"

Haku appeared at the beginning of the stairs, he was wearing a pink robe, holding it closed over his chest with one of his hands, rubbing his eyes with the other. He looked tired, but she knew he had been waiting for Zabuza to come home. His brown eyes widened as soon as he saw her properly, and he immediately ran to check on her.

"Oh my God! What happened, are you okay?" he enveloped her in a big warm hug and she basked in the warmth, letting herself go as tears roamed freely, wetting her friend's shoulder, who didn't seem to care, as he hushed, rubbing her back in comfort.

"I'm sorry...I...I don't know what's wrong with me" it wasn't in her to be so emotional, but her meeting with Itachi had caused memories to rush in and it deeply upset her.

"Shh...it's okay. You feel like talking about it?"

Haku sat on the steps, next to her and the blonde sighed, trying to calm herself.

"I think I just want to go to bed"

The man nodded in understanding and stood up, offering her his arm.

"Come on, I will walk you to your apartment"

Naruko took the offered arm, happy that he was there, because she didn't know how she would have managed to take those few steps by herself. She felt so drained, that the only thing she wanted to do was to lay in her bed and not think of that terrible meeting.

The two walked into the girl's apartment, and Naruko noticed Sakura sound asleep on the couch.

She was uncovered as if she had tried to stay awake, probably waiting for her to come back. She moved to go and put a blanket over her, but Haku stopped her, holding her arm firmly.

"Take care of yourself. I will put a blanket over her on my way out. Let's get you into bed now"

She could only nod, and walked into her bedroom. Kurama was waiting for her on the bed, and meowed softly when he saw her. She smiled weakly at him and ran her fingers through his reddish fur. He purred and just sat on the bed, as if he was waiting for her to get in it so he could cuddle with her. Sometimes it seemed almost as if he understood when she needed the affection.

Haku helped her wear her pajamas and tucked her into bed. It was comforting to have someone take care of her, usually it was always the other way around. Kurama moved to the end of the bed and laid on her feet, purring, falling asleep immediately.

"Okay, now get some sleep. I am right downstairs if you need me okay? Don't hesitate to call me, I will come see you in the morning okay? We can talk over some tea for breakfast"

Naruko just nodded tiredly, and her friend gently moved some hair away from her face, his fingers ghosting over her markings.

"Haku? Can you please hand me the plushie that is on the chair?" Naruko mumbled tiredly, as she pulled the cover over her shoulder.

The man smiled, and grabbed the little fox plushie that looked like it had seen better days, and gave it to the girl, with a small chuckle.

"You are just like a little girl, this thing looks old, maybe you should wash it one of these days"

Naruko yawned and pulled the fox plushie to her chest, inhaling deeply.

"I have had it for a long time. It helps me sleep"

Her eyelids felt heavy, and Haku chuckled as he fixed her blanket again, turning the little abat jour on her night stand off.

"Must be important then. Is it a childhood memory?"

Naruko's eyes were closed and the man wasn't expecting an answer at that point, so he just turned to walk out the room, as silently as possible.

"A police agent gave it to me to comfort me, after the accident"

Haku halted in his steps turning around to look at her.

"He must have been a very nice man" He said with a soft smile, before realizing that she might have fallen asleep since he didn't hear an answer.

Naruko though, was still awake, a tear escaped her eyes, as she hugged the fox tighter to her chest.

"He was…"