CCNote: Double post cuz I love ya. This chapter isn't SasuHina but the next chapter is!
Important: This story is not linear. It dips in and out of the lives of all of the characters/storylines from SwtE. So in order to not to be confused please pay attention to date, time, and location stamps. It will help you keep things in order.
As always please leave a review. I understand that interest in the sequel is not that high but for those of you reading I really appreciate it! Enjoy!
E is for Girlfriend
Sunday, June 3, 2018, 8:26 am
Makinohara- Uchiha Property
….
When she awoke the next morning the first thing she noticed was the silence. The beach house was not that big and its walls were thin. Usually, she could hear the sounds of Itachi getting ready in the morning but on this day there was nothing. Groggily she rubbed the remnants of a fitful sleep out of her eyes and rolled over to face her bedroom window. Outside the sun was already shining brightly against a clear blue sky. The happiness that weather like this brought only taunted her. Her mouth felt fuzzy and her stomach twisted itself in knots with the guilt and fear that had plagued her all night. Lying there in her bed she strained her ears to detect some sort of activity but again came up empty.
With a sigh of defeat, she rose from her bed and made her way to the bathroom across the hall. There she completed her morning ritual of brushing her teeth and washing her face. Briefly, she contemplated putting on regular clothes but decided she didn't want to leave the house. A too big t-shirt and shorts would be more than sufficient attire to wallow in. She stared in the mirror at her messy brown hair and ran her fingers through it to smooth down the wild locks a bit. That proved to be a useless endeavor. With a shrug of her shoulders, she left the bathroom and moved to the bedroom door right next to hers.
'Itachi.' She thought as she stared at the chipped white paint on the door.
Last night Itachi had slipped away and never gave her a chance to figure out what was going on with him. He'd simply walked away and he didn't look back once. Seeing his back to her hurt more than she thought it would. It was the physical manifestation of him shutting her out and it meant that he didn't trust her. At least...not truly. He didn't trust her with his secrets and he didn't trust her with his problems.
Part of her wanted to be angry with him. All of this, this closeness that they shared, it was all a lie. This world that that he had created that consisted of just the two of them was not real. While he got to see her frustrated or sad she only got his good side, the side he wished for her to see. Her Chi was not really her Chi. There were parts of him that were ugly and sick and he would rather she never be exposed to that side of himself. The more she thought about it the angrier she became. All night she tossed and turned in her bed but she couldn't sleep. She was too busy listening out for the sound of his cough. That wet cough filled with blood.
Taking a step forward Hanabi knocked on the door but Itachi didn't answer. She knocked again but was still met with silence. Her brow furrowed. Itachi was always up with the sun. There was no way he'd sleep in unless something was wrong. The idea of Itachi suffering alone in his room washed away her previous anger and she reached frantically for the doorknob. With a simple twist, the door was open but the room itself was empty. His bed was made and his suitcases were stacked neatly against the wall. Nothing appeared out of place but somehow that didn't settle the uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Where the hell was Itachi? She turned to leave the room but something caught her eye.
There was a desk right next to the door, old and well used. It was free of any clutter save for a crumpled brown paper bag. Hanabi bit her bottom lip as she regarded the bag. It was just a bag but then again it wasn't. She moved towards the bag but stopped when she heard the faint sound of water running on the other side of the house. That sound meant that she was not alone.
Quickly she ran towards the living room and was surprised to see that the sliding glass doors that compromised the entirety of the back wall had already been removed. On the deck Itachi was standing in front of the largest metal washbin she'd ever seen and held a water hose over it to fill it up. He heard her heavy footsteps on the creaky hardwood and he turned around, a warm smile on his face.
"My firecracker has finally woken up. Are you ready to work?" He said and turned back to the wash bin.
Hanabi stepped out onto the deck, the churning in her stomach more pronounced as she studied his face. He looked as he always did. He stood straight and tall with his shoulders squared back like he always did. His eyes were calm like they always were. His skin wasn't paler than normal and he didn't sound like he was sick. Last night hadn't been a fluke though. She had held his shaking body in her arms and washed his blood off of her skin. Yet here he was standing over a metal washbin as though none of that had ever happened. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
'Itachi.' She decided. 'Is a liar.'
"Are you trying to set me on fire?" Itachi asked with a twitch of amusement on his lips.
"Last night. What happened?" She asked firmly.
"I slept well." He replied as he set the hose down into the washbin and crouched to rifle through a plastic bag at his feet. "Did you?"
"You know what I'm asking about."
"No. I'm afraid I don't."
Hanabi crouched down on the other side of the washbin and frowned at the Uchiha's evasion. He pulled out a plastic container of white powder and poured half of it into the washbin. Then he grabbed another box that she recognized to be laundry detergent and poured that in as well. The washbin slowly began to bubble up with the concoction.
"Something is wrong with you." She grumbled, her worn out collar exposed her shoulder but she didn't bother pulling it back up.
Itachi put his hand into the sudsy water and stirred the mixture a bit.
"There is something wrong with everyone." He said simply. "I am no exception to that rule."
Hanabi's brow furrowed. If there was to be an exception to anything it would be Itachi. What was wrong with him? Why was he skirting around the issue? Clearly, he didn't trust her the way she thought he did. He didn't trust her the same way she trusted him.
"Itachi-" she started to say but was met with a stream of water hitting her face. "Hey!"
"It is too early in the morning to look so sad." He said flatly cocking his head slightly to the side. "And besides, you left some toothpaste on your face. Do I need to teach you how to wash your face as well?"
Hanabi blushed and furiously swiped the back of her hand over her mouth to get the leftover toothpaste off. Itachi's dark eyes betrayed no emotion as he shook his head.
"Pathetic." He said and sprayed her with the hose.
The Hyuuga squealed at how cold the water was and all heavy thoughts flew out of her mind. She held her hands out to protect her face but Itachi continued to spray. The water drenched her hair flat and made her shirt stick to her body like a second skin. Blindly she splashed him with the soapy water from the washbin and that finally made him stop. His laugh was small at first, barely a chuckle, but it quickly became louder and heartier. The sound of his laughter was infectious and slowly a mischevious idea sprang into her mind. She began splashing more of the washbin water, taking Itachi off his guard and making him just as wet as she was.
"What in the world is going on here hun?" A curious voice above them asked catching the Hyuuga and Uchiha off guard. "I thought you wanted my bin for washing not playing. At the very least you could have invited me to join I'm hurt!"
Dedira stood before them with his hands on his hips, his long blonde hair catching the small breeze from the ocean. Hanabi looked from the new arrival to Itachi who was completely unfazed by his sudden appearance. Then it clicked. She hadn't heard Itachi because he must have been with Deidra earlier that morning. Knowing that he had been gone and hadn't even told her made her feel a bit miffed.
"I've got breakfast. Kia has the best donuts on this side of the peninsula. You're going to love them."
"Donuts." Hanabi repeated as she pushed some of her wet hair off of her face.
Despite how irritated she was at being kept out of the loop the thought of donuts made her feel better. Her stomach growled with anticipation causing their blonde guest to laugh.
"They're on the counter. Let's go eat!"
Not needing to be told twice Hanabi stood up and started to walk around the washbin but Itachi's hand shot out quickly and grabbed her wrist. She looked down at the Uchiha unsure of why he would impede her from getting breakfast but he refused to look at her. She turned her head towards Deidra who appeared just as confused as she was.
"Go change first." He said and Hanabi huffed. She used her free hand to tug her at her wet shirt.
"Its only water and it's already really hot today." She said indignantly. "It will dry off in no time."
"Hanabi."
He let go of her wrist and focused on refilling the wash bin again. The tone of his voice was much harsher than before and was one he rarely used with her. Narrowing her eyes she turned her nose up at him but gave in to his request.
"Fine whatever." Hanabi she grumbled. "You're being weird."
….
Monday, June 4, 2018, 12:11 pm
Ren's
….
"Do we have to leave again?" Hanabi asked as she pushed some of her uneaten french fries around on her plate. "Can't we just stay here for another week?"
They were currently sitting at their usual booth in the diner which was nearly empty at the moment. On the table, maps were spread out wide along with pamphlets that held bus and train times. Itachi still wasn't telling her where their next stop was but she had a sneaky suspicion that they were heading somewhere cold since he'd asked Deidra to take them to the nearest sporting goods store tomorrow.
"I thought you wanted to travel." Itachi said with a smirk as he looked up from his map. "Don't tell me you're tired already."
"I'm not!" Hanabi snorted before popping three french fries into her mouth. "I'm just saying maybe we should stay for a little bit ya know. The weather's nice. I still want to go to the whirlpools at low tide you told me about. Also-"
"Don't talk with food in your mouth." He reprimanded and Hanabi grimaced at him but finished chewing her food. "You have many reasons you wish to stay. I, on the other hand, have completed what I came here to do. We will leave in three days so do what you want between now and then. Just be back by sunset."
"But..." Hanabi started but her thoughts trailed off.
Itachi had no reason to stay here anymore. She wasn't quite sure what brought him here in the first place but he appeared to have made his peace with it. Sighing she ate another fry and rested her her cheek in the palm of her hand. Perhaps it was for the best that they leave. The next location would likely be more interesting and she wouldn't run the risk of crossing paths with Moegi or Konohamaru. Perhaps...
Hanabi's eyes wandered from their cluttered table to where another pair of dark eyes were staring at them intently. Izumi was supposed to be wiping down the diner's bar but she'd been cleaning the same spot for almost fifteen minutes. She was too busy watching them to even notice. Hanabi glanced suspiciously at Itachi who had raised his mug of coffee to his lips before returning her attention Izumi who was now blushing. An idea started to bubble up in the teenager's mind.
'No reason to stay huh?' She thought to herself.
The Hyuuga cleared her throat and raised her hand to give a small wave to Izumi. The woman stopped pretending to wipe the bar and blinked slowly as though she wasn't quite sure the girl meant to acknowledge her. Hanabi put on her best 'I'm not up to anything' smile and waved the waitress over to their table.
"Is everything okay?" Izumi asked, quickly making her way over to the table. "What can I get for you?"
Itachi looked up from his maps slightly puzzled as to why the waitress had returned to their table. Hanabi bit back a chuckle and did her best to keep a straight face.
"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering, how long have you lived here in this beach town?" She asked innocently and Izumi's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Oh! Well, most of my life actually. I know everything there is to know about this little place."
"Really? Do you hear that Chi? She knows everything."
Itachi lowered his mug, the suspicious look in his eyes heightening. The Hyuuga looked away from him. If she kept his gaze he would make her lose her nerve.
"Itachi here thinks he's already experienced the island enough but I bet you know the super interesting local stuff he doesn't know about."
"M-maybe..." Izumi said, blushing under the inference. "I could show you both around to some cool landmarks. My shift is over in a little bit."
"Oh, would you really do that for us! That's so nice!" Hanabi cheered and she hoped it sounded genuine. She then gave Itachi her best puppy dog eyes in hopes that he would give in to her request. "Can we go? Please?"
"Hana-" he started to say but stopped when she pulled out her patented lip quiver. When he cut his eyes away from her and sighed she knew she had him.
"Yay! This will be great!" She said and hopped up from the booth. "I'm just going to head to the bathroom right quick. You two talk or something!"
Hanabi then scurried out of the restaurant as though she actually had to use the restroom but that was a lie. Even if this diner's bathroom was the last one on earth she'd piss in a bush before she would ever use that dirty outhouse. Instead of heading towards the back she jogged up the street towards the beach. Itachi was likely to catch on that he'd been ditched rather quickly so she had to put as much distance between them as possible. With any luck, the Uchiha might just find his reason to extend their stay.
….
Monday, June 4, 2018, 2:30 pm
Makinohara- Shizunami Beach
…..
'Gross.' Hanabi thought to herself as she peered into a shallow pool.
Inside of it was a sea urchin, spiky and black with bits of seaweed stuck to it. The other shallow pools held life as well. Starfish, hermit crabs, tiny unlucky fish. It was like an aquarium and every bit as interesting as Itachi had made it out to be. Curiously she reached her hand into the shallow pool to see if the sea urchin felt as sharp as it looked.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." A familiar voice said and Hanabi jerked her hand back.
Standing less than a foot away with his hands on his hips and a cheeky smile was Konohamaru. He was wearing bright yellow swim trunks but for once was actually wearing a shirt. For that Hanabi was grateful.
"What's it to you what I do?" She grumbled and the boy shrugged his shoulders.
"Go ahead and touch it. It's gross."
Hanabi looked at the little black creature before turning her head away. It was kind of gross. Konohamaru laughed at the look on her face, enjoying himself at her own discomfort. With a short huff, Hanabi stood up, adjusting her black baseball cap as she did so. She slipped her flip flops back on and turned to walk back towards the sandier area of the beach. Konohamaru stopped laughing and trailed behind her.
"Why are you following me?" Hanabi asked without looking at him. She sped up her pace but his long legs easily kept up with her.
"I should ask you that same question." He countered and she could hear the amusement in his voice.
"The beach is a free area. I can go wherever I want." She said and Konohamaru snickered.
"Actually it's not. Most of this beach is owned by my family."
Hanabi stopped in her tracks turned towards him.
"You have got to be kidding me."
"Nope. You're on Senju property right now."
"Well good for fucking you." Hanabi said with a roll of her eyes and started to walk away again although not as fast as before.
It was a long way from this point back to the Uchiha beach house and she would much rather not run all the way there. Konohamaru wasn't leaving her side anytime soon either much to her own conflicted annoyance.
"I saw you walking earlier with that guy. He's Sasuke's older brother right? Imachi? Irochi? Ikari-"
"Itachi." Hanabi snapped and the boy nodded his head.
"Yea, Itachi." He said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "How old is that guy anyway?"
"Why does it matter?"
Konohamaru's face flushed for a moment and he halted in his tracks, muttering something inaudible to himself. The Hyuuga rolled her eyes and kept walking. Eventually, Konohamaru caught back up to her and was just as persistent as before.
"Lots of people have seen you two together around town and they talk." He said and Hanabi shrugged her shoulders. She didn't care. "What are you guys doing here anyway. The Uchihas haven't set foot on their property in-"
"Konohamaru." Hanabi said calmly and the boy's mouth snapped shut. "What I do with my time and who I spend my time with is of no concern to you anymore."
"Yes, it is." He replied matter of factly. The simplicity of his statement made her stop walking, confusion was written clearly across her face. "Everything you do concerns me. I...I still care about you ya know."
Hanabi snorted and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You have a terrible way of showing it." She grumbled but a small selfish part of her liked hearing those words.
Konohamaru took a step towards her, a cheeky grin on his lips. The same grin that made her heart turn flips and her fingertips to tingle. It was weird being in his presence alone. It felt natural, as though no time had passed between them at all. The feeling was frightening yet comforting at the same time. Why was it so easy to slip back into their old pattern?
"So are you his ward or his girlfriend?" Konohamaru asked again and just like that the ease they were starting to slip into was broken. Now they were only falling and she had no idea where they would land.
"What we are is none of your business." She hissed and started walking away again. Konohamaru grabbed her wrist and yanked her arm back with more force than she'd remembered him possessing. She tried to wrest her limb away from him but it only made his grip tighter.
"What do you think you're doing? Let go of me." Hanabi demanded as he pulled her flush against his chest.
"Hanabi you need to understand that the Uchiha aren't good. I heard what happened to your sister. Don't let Itachi ruin you too-" he said and although his voice was soft his eyes were hard and unfamiliar.
"You are being absolutely ridiculous right now. Let go of me and go bother your girlfriend."
The reminder of Moegi made his finally let go of Hanabi's wrist and his fingers curled around empty air. The Hyuuga turned away from him completely, heart pounding wildly in her chest. It was the first time she'd acknowledged Konohamaru's relationship out loud. She'd thought about it a million times in her head but it felt different when spilled from her own lips. She cradled her wrist to her chest and rubbed the burning limb with her other hand in hopes that the feeling of his touch would go away.
"Moegi is not my girlfriend." Konohamaru started, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I mean she is but she's not. This whole trip is an arrangement between our families to get to know one another."
"You two already look cozy together. Job well done." Hanabi spat. Konohamaru tried to step closer to her to close the distance between them but Hanabi backed away. "I'm leaving."
"I tried to chase after you that night but you ran away. You always run away Hanabi. Is that why you're here with the Uchiha? Are you running away from something else?"
Why? Why was he like this? Why did he know her better than she knew herself?
"Shut up."
She hated it.
"Just hear me out-"
She hated him.
"I said shut up!"
Her voice was much louder than she intended it to be. Standing there with the sea at her back and the only boy she'd ever cared for by her side one would believe that she was in paradise. Instead, it felt more like hell. She took another half step away from him but he reached out and grabbed both of her shoulders. She gasped at the contact but was silenced by his lips angrily claiming her. She tried to push him away but Konohamaru was much too strong. He knew how she would move before she even did it and as a result sent them toppling down into the sand with him on top.
The kiss was clumsy and messy but it held within it a warmth that she had missed the last few months. It was that same warmth that led her to believe she was in love. Yet it wasn't love. She cared more for Konohamaru than she'd ever done for anyone outside of her family but it wasn't love. It was close, so close. His tongue passed over hers and her heart wished for it to be love. However, she'd seen love recently and what she and Konohamaru had wasn't it.
Love was jumping into a freezing lake to save the life of your lover's sister because you didn't want her to cry. Love was abdicating your status to ensure the one you loved had a better life. Love was working tirelessly to ensure that your futures together would be secure and happy. Would Konohamaru ever do any of those things if the shoe was on the other foot? Would she? She turned her head away from his lips and they traveled down her jaw and neck. Part of her wished that he would. If push came to shove she hoped that he would choose her. Yet...despite his heated kisses, she knew that his lips didn't belong to her. He would not allow her to be the sole owner either. He was the last remaining male heir of the Senju and as such he had a role to uphold. She was extraneous to that.
"Stop." She said flatly and his kisses immediately ceased.
"Did I hurt you?" He asked looking down at her with worried brown eyes.
She wanted to say yes. That her head hurt from thinking too much. Her heart hurt from caring too much. Instead, she shook her head.
"Moegi doesn't know who I am to you." She said and yet again the mention of his girlfriend made him draw away.
Taking the opening she slowly rose to her own feet and casually brushed sand off of her arms and legs. Konohamaru remained in the sand and refused to look at her.
"She knows you are a friend." He said and Hanabi let out a short breath through her nose.
Konohamaru was a liar.
"I'm not your friend." Hanabi said and walked away from the boy in the sand.
This time he didn't follow her.
...
Monday, June 4, 2018, 6:01 pm
Makinohara- Uchiha Property
…..
When Hanabi reached the Uchiha beach house sunset had begun to sneak its way over the town. She hadn't been in any kind of a rush to get back. Konohamaru hadn't chased her down so she was able to walk back at a much slower pace with only her thoughts for company. She'd walked up and down the beach, the waves lapping at her ankles and her own guilt tormenting her heart. Eventually, she had nowhere else to walk but home. However, the beach house was empty when she arrived much to her own surprise. Maybe her plan to ditch Itachi with Izumi had worked too well? To occupy her time she took down the laundry drying on the line on the deck and brought it inside.
She folded all of her own clothes and packed it away in her suitcase. When that task was complete Itachi still wasn't home and his clothes were quickly becoming wrinkled in a pile. With nothing else to do she folded his clothes as well and brought them into his room. His room was just a pristine as before, not a paper out of place. She set the clothing on top of his stack suitcases, unsure of how he wished to organize his own things and turned back to leave the room. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the crumpled brown paper bag on his desk. It was still sitting as unbothered as it had been this morning and just as odd. It was an imperfect thing among Itachi's near-pristine possessions.
It was wrong to snoop through other people's things but she could help but reach out for the bag hesitantly. Maybe it was just snacks or something Itachi had left out. It could be a completely innocuous thing and she'd feel silly for even looking. However, the memory of Itachi doubled over the other night was still fresh in her mind and it drove her to find out more about his condition. Hanabi opened the paper bag, the sound explosive inside of the quiet room. Inside were half a dozen orange bottles of prescription pills. The labels on which she couldn't even read because the words didn't even look like anything she'd ever seen before. The only other time she'd seen this many pills in one place was in the medicine cabinets of some of the Hyuuga elders and they were all well into their eighties. Itachi was barely twenty-nine years old. He should need anywhere near this many pills. Not unless...he was dying.
Hanabi sank down onto the edge of the bed, clutching one of the pill bottles to her chest. All of the blood had drained out of her body, leaving her weak and disoriented. She doubted that she would be able to move even if a tsunami threatened the shoreline. Something was terribly wrong with Itachi. She had been too busy wallowing in her own melodrama and Itachi was suffering alone. He still wasn't back yet. Was he okay? Was he with Izumi? Hanabi hoped that he was. If something happened to him while he was alone he would be defenseless. A defenseless Itachi sounded like such an oxymoron yet it was a reality right now...
The teen wasn't quite sure how long she stayed on Itachi's bed. Hours perhaps? Eventually, the door to his room opened again and he paused at the sight of her curled up in the middle of his sheets. His attention slid from her to his desk and upon seeing his bag messed with, realization sparked in his eyes. White eyes met black in the darkness, the silence between them thickening. He took a few steps toward the bed and she moved over to make room for him. When he slipped underneath the covers she smelled it. A flowery perfume that was distinct against Itachi's usual scent. It was a smell that could only belong to a woman. Despite that foreign scent she buried her face in his chest and clutched the front of his shirt. Somehow this made him feel more real. If she just held him close he wouldn't slip away. Large hands calmly patted the top of her head, imbuing in her the same subdued energy that the owner possessed and making it impossible for her to cry.
"Chi." She whispered and a deep rumble of acknowledgment through his chest vibrated against her. "Are you dying?"
She felt him let out a slow deep breath, the air ruffled the flyaways wisps of her hair. Hanabi removed herself from his chest and sat up so that she could look at him fully. Her messy brown hair tumbled down her back as she sat up and Itachi lazily twirled some of the ends with his fingers. The room was pitch black now save for the few beams of moonlight that slipped in through the curtains yet she could feel his eyes on her.
"I'm not sure."
To be continued...
F is for Regret
The only thing he'd regret in this life was not holding her closer or kissing her longer.