Editing sure takes a lot outta me.... considering I hate doing it. Anyway, disclaimer is as follows: I DON'T OWN NARUTO! I ONLY OWN THE PLOT AND THE OC'S OF THIS FANFICTION!
Chapter Eight
The Suna kunoichi was standing at the gate, waiting for the two twins to get ready. She was already suited up in her black kimono with the red obi, her black gloves, hitai-ate around her forehead, and her ever-so awesome iron fan. Katie came jogging out of the sandy gale and into Temari's line of sight, dressed in the clothes she had first seen the Kimochi in. A dirt-brown kimono with a forest green vest-like layer over it that went down to her mid-calves; the vest was split down the middle and held open. A forest green obi acted as a belt to hold her staff upright behind her back.
Emily wasn't far behind her twin, tying her red hitai-ate around her neck. She had on a very different outfit: a sleeveless black shirt that hugged her curves and a red and black plaid skirt that went down to her mid thigh. She had long black fingerless gloves going up her arms and white socks going up her calves. On her feet were not the customary toe-less shoes, but sleek black dress shoes with a slight heel. Emily smirked as she approached.
"I stole this from her closet," she told her twin and gave Temari an apologetic look. "My original clothes were too damaged to repair, so..."
"It's OK. That shirt wouldn't fit me anyway, if you know what I mean," Temari grinned, gesturing to her chest. Katie sighed, finally catching up.
"You guys are hopeless..." She looked behind her and said, "And Kankuro-kun is coming this way." It was true: the puppet master was coming up behind her and stopped close in front of his older sister.
"Temari, you aren't seriously going with them, are you?"
"Do I have a choice?" It had been two months since Temari had got the email from Gaara, and Emily and Katie's injuries had healed, and they were ready to go to Konoha and pick up their cousin. Temari had offered to go with them; Kankuro said it was because she hadn't seen her boyfriend in a while, so Temari hit him across the face.
"Oi, stop abusing me!"
"Then stop pissing me off. I want to help them, and besides, we made a promise." She then lead the twins out of the village and on the scenic journey to Konoha.
Kankuro just shook his head. "Temari.... when you get your mind on something, nothings getting you off of it."
1 day later
"Temari, are we there yet?"
"Almost, just haul your ass and we'll be there."
"You said that yesterday," Emily whined.
"No I didn't, now shut up and jump!" Emily jumped just in time to be grazed by the branch hanging before her.
"Owww, shit!!"
"You did it yourself," Katie said from up ahead. Katie then went back to talking to Temari.
"So, you summon a weasel, huh? My summoning is a raccoon named Mujina, but I rarely use her, especially now that she has kits." Temari put her hands to her face.
"Awww!! That's so cute!! Kamatari doesn't have a litter, he keeps to himself, just like Shikamaru."
"Shikamaru? You mean that escort kid that Kankuro mentioned? What's that got to do with anything?" Temari couldn't hear her, for she spaced out for a moment, having a flashback.
Lunch Date
"Shika-kun, aren't you going to eat?" Shikamaru didn't answer, looking down at his bandaged arm; he had burned it recently.
"Shikamaru, how about you tell me more about your last mission? I mean, you were put in the hospital and you never told me why."
He picked at his ramen, not willing to talk. The lazy genius looked out of the corner of his eye to his concerned and loud girlfriend, wondering in his head why he had brought her to Ichiraku in the first place.
'Man, it's such a drag, taking her places. Why me?'
"Shikamaru!!" Shikamaru snapped from his thoughts and faced a pissed off Temari.
"Is something wrong, Temari?"
"Like hell, there is! You haven't said a word since you got here and you don't include me in anything! You know I hate being shut out, and all you're doing is pushing me away!" When Temari sniffled (which was totally fake) Shikamaru freaked out,and tried to calm her down.
"Temari, shhh. People are staring!"
"I want them to stare! They have a right to see what a jerk you are," she yelled in his face. The yell, of course, was not. "You never make an effort to include me; why the hell am I your girlfriend if you won't let me in?" Shikamaru thought back on what his dad said to him that morning.
'Oh yeah, "If Temari is troubled, speak to her from the heart and her heart will heal." It's crap, but it can't hurt me any more than it's already hurting my ears. What a drag!' Shikamaru put a hand on Temari's shoulder and lifted her chin with the other hand to face him.
"Temari, I'm sorry, okay? The only reason I keep things from you is...is so they won't hurt you in the end. I'll tell you if I feel it's what I need to do. Same goes for personal matters you have. I know they hurt. I won't ask about them unless you want me to."
He let go of her and walked out of the restaurant. Temari followed him and held his arm. "Shikamaru, wait!" He laughed.
"I'm gonna have to now that you have your vice grip on my arm."
"Shikamaru, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said those things back there, I should've known you'd have a good reason for keeping things from me... even if you're a lazy-ass that never has a good reason for doing anything." Shikamaru took her hand and held it , on the inside, was shocked. He'd never given the effort to hold her hand before.
"Don't worry, Temari, I'll always have a good reason for doing things. Especially for you."
Temari's eyes welled up in tears. "Aishiteru!!" She kissed him in front of the 37 or so nosy villagers in the restaurant.
End of Date
"Temari...Temari!!" Katie snapped her fingers in front of Temari's face again and Temari came back to reality.
"Oh, yes Katie?"
"I think we're here." Sure enough, there was a large wooden gates with the Konoha symbol inscribed on it in red.
"Yes, Katie, we're here! Shikamaru, Temari no Subaku is here!" With that, she rushed to the gates and nearly ran into them until the gatekeepers rushed them open.
"You owe me 7,500 yen," Emily said to Katie, holding out a hand.
"Oh fine, you bitch." Katie gave up her money with a scowl.
"Cheer up, Kenisha's in here somewhere!"
"Fine, Emily. I'll cooperate." She sighed, then looked up with determination, "Let's go and get Kenisha!"
"What do you mean "not here", lady? This is our cousin we're talking about, dammit!"
"Yeah, we made a promise that I get to--Shikamaru, stop..." Tsunade was holding her head in annoyance.
'I have twins on the right and hormonal ninja on the left. What a day!' She sighed and tried to talk over them. Evidently, it worked when she told them to:
"Shut the fuck up and listen to what the hell I'm saying, dammit!" The room got quiet real fast, and Temari and Shikamaru exited the room.
Tsunade sighed, longing to reach into her cabinet for the sake that resided inside. "Okay, let me tell you this loud and clear: Kenisha is not here, she is on a mission in the Land of Waves with Team Gai." She said this all slowly so they could drink every word. The twins nodded slowly.
"Alright? You got that in your miniscule brains now?"
"Miniscule? It's on now, bit--"
"Katie, shut up before she kills us," Emily whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Tsunade continued. "I'm going to ignore that. Anyways, you can go see her, but do not interfere, or get your asses kicked by the Wave nin or by me! You got that?!" The twins nodded quickly.
"Good." Her expression changed to a happy lady selling gingerbread cookies. "You may go now; don't forget: Don't interfere, okay? Bye!" Tsunade ushered them out of the room and slammed the door.
"Okay bitch, fine with me," Katie said under her breath.
"I HEARD THAT!"
"Oh damn, we've got to haul ass, come on!" Katie followed Emily out the door to the outside and all the way to the Southern gates.
"Let's get out of here and get Kenisha," Katie said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Right," Emily said, and with that the two walked out of the gates to their cousin.
Hermione sighed, looking up at her partner.
"When do we go?" Pein had lined up a mission for the two of them and it was getting close; she was anxious. Zetsu had given them word that the "Water Kimochi" had been sighted in Konoha and was also going to the Land of Waves. Hermione wanted to go as soon as possible.
"Not until he says. Zetsu still has yet to give him the proper information and Konan-sama says that he is also incapacitated. No idea why, though," Itachi said, running a hand through his unbound hair, looking at Hermione again. She was sprawled across the bed, leaning her back off of the edge and exposing a bit of her toned stomach from her raised shirt. She looked bored, anxious, and determined at the same time as her expressions changed to match the thoughts going through her head.
'Should I tell him? Maybe he'll understand... but maybe he won't. Even if he is like I am in a way, would he think that it's a major betrayal to the organization, or just doing what my heart is telling me?'
She sighed in annoyance, for now she really feels sorry for those actors on television and movies; keeping it up for an extended period of time was hard! She looked up at Itachi again, straightening herself and sitting up, her legs crossed over the bed's edge.
"Itachi-kun..."
He looked up, "Yes, Hermione?" His obsidian eyes looking like liquid shadow and capturing Hermione for a brief moment before she shook her head, chasing the thoughts of the sexy Uchiha out of her mind.
"What if there was something you needed to do but... but your heart is being stopped by an outside force? And your very life depends on what decision you make... and the lives of others? What choice would you make? Would you go with the outside force and ignore your heart, or would you do exactly what your heart tells you, no matter what the consequences?"
Itachi sat up from his slouched position in his chair and cocked his head. "What brought this on?"
"Nothing really," Hermione said slowly, "Just a thought." She leaned backward and splayed her hands above her head, taking in a breath. "I'm just thinking..."
"Hm," Itachi rubbed his chin, his bare fingernails resting underneath his lip; he had recently used nail polish remover on them. "Well, in a better world, I would have followed my heart. But this is not a better world, as we both know well. But I would not go with a force that prevented me from doing what I felt needed to be done. I would simply use it to my advantage, and deal with the consequences... but it depends on who you're dealing with and what your heart is telling you to do. Give me a scenario."
She craned her neck in shock; this was her chance! "Well, what if it was somebody you loved that you needed to get to, and the outside force is like a prison; making you work for a goal you don't understand nor want to fulfill. You're going to use this prison to get to that loved one, but if you try to break out of the prison, it could mean death to you both. What would you do?"
Itachi looked at her with a sort of understanding, got up from his chair and sat next to her. She sat up and looked a bit puzzled.
"Um," she started, but he cut her off.
"You would need a friend in the prison to help you see that loved one, and escape. That friend would need to know everything though, even if it hurt, even if they could be found out if you told that friend. You'd need to trust that friend, and the three of you could escape together without the risk of death, and reunite every loved one you lost. Hermione," he said, making her look up at him. Light brown met deep black.
"I am that friend."
A chord struck in her heart as she let the information sink in: Itachi knew, and he was going to help her.
Itachi knew, and he was going to take her away from this place and reunite her with the other survivors.
"I'm going to help you, Hermione. As I promised," he leaned closer, making Hermione turn a light shade of pink. She could feel his breath on her face. "There's no need to cry anymore." Then he pulled her into a hug, which Hermione returned, her emotions nearly overcoming her again.
"A-Arigatou, Itachi-kun..."
"The pleasure is mine, Hermione-chan," he said, petting her hair. "We're going to get Kenisha, Emily, and Katie, and then we'll live far away from all of this. I'll help you, and then..."
"And then what," she said quietly from his shoulder.
"Then," he breathed, tilting his head so his lips were mere centimeters from hers, "We'll finally live without pain, together." He kissed her sweetly, his lips surprisingly soft against hers, as he held her tighter to his Akatsuki cloak-covered body. She kissed him lightly back, not sure on how to take this; her heart was more confused than anything else.
They parted and Itachi slowly got up, reaching for Hermione's hand and kissing it, then walking away; leaving Hermione on the bed happy, confused, and still determined, now with two goals in mind.
Goal one: Reunite with Kenisha and the rest of her remaining clan members.
Goal two: Figure out her feelings for Uchiha Itachi.
This wasn't going to end well.
WOOT, Koneko likeys!
Well, sort of. I didn't add any Konoha stuff, but that's alright. This was strictly an "other Kimochi" chapter in the original plot as well. So, I guess I did alright.
Tell me how you think I did in your review! Please and thankies!