It's been a while, I've been kinda busy helping crew for the 6th form revue. I actually had a part in the show, I was an amazing dead body in the CSI sketch. It was amazing though, especially as we had about a week to put it together.

--

Breakfast was quiet, Itachi wanted to make sure she ate so he avoided talking about anything that Max might consider running from, there would be more time later. Max ate her fair share leading Itachi to assume that Max had just been either too busy to eat or forgetful. He had to resist stroking her ears, Max had evidently forgotten about them and it was adorable the way they moved corresponding with her expressions.

Max was due to be back at work within a few days of her 'mission' to the hospital courtesy of Itachi and Tsunade. She had been severely underweight and the doctors were amazed she was still able to sneak out on no less than seven occasions without being caught (and the three she had been caught). They had found very little problem with her other than that. Maybe a bit of liver damage from her alcoholic lifestyle.

At least it was only a few days she had to wait.

She had been warned that she might get colder easily due to less body fat to store heat and if she ever wanted kids she would need to get her weight up and keep it up. She had been given high carbohydrate rations to eat over the next month, she wasn't exactly the first to become underweight after a mission. Shinobi who spent long stints in places where food was scarce or if they had been captured and food restricted, both would lead to weight loss.

She sat in a tree considering how to get back at Itachi, she knew it was his fault. Tsunade was less subtle than that and probably drunk from the booze Max had brought back.

Naturally thinking about Itachi got her onto thinking about his relationship. Max didn't like Shiba on principal, she had done nothing to change that, and they both seemed fine with it. But if Itachi was close maybe she should try, Max may not have had much experience with relationships but she didn't want to make things difficult. She'd read stories of this kind of situations, the boy would have to chose between them, typical love triangle, slightly twisted but triangular none the less.

"What are you thinking about?" a familiar voiced asked. Laura climbed up to the branch next to her.

"Nothing"

"Liar, you're always thinking, I know you"

"Nothing I want to share" Max elaborated.

"Still hate Shiba then, but you don't want to intrude on their relationship. As I said I know you"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"This is deeper than that though, you're scared of something, nervous, you don't want to intervene for some reason."

"Stop it! I don't want my soul laid bare here and now"

"You need to get it out in the open. What happened to the Max who moved on no matter what happened?" Laura asked glaring at Max who refused to meet her gaze.

"She moved on, and none of your manipulative psychology you use can change that unless I so decide to," Max hissed.

"Do you really have such a strong desire for me to actually look into it? I only left it alone out of respect but this isn't healthy for you"

"Who would you tell? How would it help me? Knowing is only half the battle after all"

"It is, isn't it?" Max was caught before she slipped of her perch. She hated the fact she wasn't as observant, Atlantis had made her to compliant with the situation. People would have had trouble sneaking up on her before.

"How long have you been listening?" she demanded glaring at Itachi. She had made a mistake by not paying attention to her surroundings as she had argued with Laura. She was lowered to the grassy floor and followed by Itachi and Laura.

"Apparently your mind is always actively thinking," he said, referring to the beginning of the conversation. Max switched her glare back to Laura, it had probably been her plan. "I knew you were hiding things, I was curious"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Max spat at both of them. Why couldn't they leave something's to fade away? She tensed slightly, if they wouldn't leave her alone then she would leave them alone. She moved a fraction of a second too late and was pinned, her hand's firmly held apart.

"Max you need to stop running from this." Laura was almost pleading.

"I'll stop running when I no longer have to run"

"Max, I'm sorry," Itachi whispered in her ear, Max's eyes widened in confusion. "I know what happened, words can not explain how much I regret everything that happened."

"How did you find out?"

"This isn't the first time you had that reaction, I only had to find out what happened the first time." Itachi felt all resistance Max had been putting up fade. She let herself go limp, there was no point struggling, they weren't going to leave it.

"Why couldn't you have left it alone? I had forgotten it, left it in the past, why did you have to bring it back?"

"This isn't a problem you can solve by ignoring," Laura said. "You may have ignored most of your other memories but I'm not going to let this affect your life. You're my best friend, I owe it to you"

"Then I guess I owe you a full explanation before you go and make an 'ass' out of 'u' and 'me' by assuming. What happened is only part of the issue. I never blamed you Itachi. If I had thought about my actions I could have prevented the whole thing. I was the one who challenged Hathor, I knew I had no chakra, if I had been sensible I would have waited until I was fully able to fight. I think some part of me knew what would happen, but actually having it happen scared me." Max paused, letting them think about it.

She shifted a bit to see if she could at least move to a sitting position but was almost completely pinned, the contact was preventing her from apparating.

"It's ironic really, I created FA so I wouldn't have to experience it, yet two times it's been directed at me I haven't been using FA," Max couldn't really bring herself to smile at her own joke. It would probably help if Itachi wasn't sitting on her to stop her from escaping. They stayed like that for a while, mulling over the information

"Itachi-koi!" The trio groaned, why did Shiba have to turn up now. "There you are, what are you doing?" Shiba screeched. Max managed to roll over taking Itachi by enough surprise that he couldn't keep her pinned. She sat up and stretched, then fell backwards to lie comfortably on the grass.

"Can't you keep your abnormally large arse out of this?" Max complained, Shiba had walked over to Itachi next o her and was casting a shadow over Max. "It's bad enough that you exist, but must you ruin my day be making me endure your presence." Screw being nice and not intruding. There was something about Shiba that rubbed Max the wrong way.

Laura had noticed this, she dislike Shiba as well, but this was more out of distrust than just hate. In one of her cases she had seen something suspicious but there was no way to currently follow it up. She would have to wait.

"Still short tempered I see, Max you really need to grow up." Shiba taunted, giggling at her joke.

"I would prefer to be short with my skills than tall with your lack of skill," Max responded dryly sitting up. She sensed someone running at her from behind. She grabbed the fist aimed for the back of her head and pulled it forward, using her other hand to tip her attacker forward into a dive straight into the ground. "Strength is nothing if you are easily taken off course, Sakura. I take it from that fact Sasuke was in Laura's room this morning that you haven't achieved your 'dream'," Max sneered.

The reactions were priceless, Laura blushed, giving Max the impression it wasn't the first time he'd been there. Itachi was chuckling, Max could already imagine the ribbing that Sasuke was going to receive, and Sakura was looking very pissed off. Shiba just looked indifferent.

"So what, I'll win him over at the summer festival," Sakura declared. Max looked puzzled, prompting an explanation from Laura.

"The summer festival this year has a talent show, due to our connections with earth some people have copied some music styles or will be singing to earth songs. The actual show is on the last day of the festival. Tsunade wants any shinobi not on a mission to participate"

"You know what, I think I'm gonna skip out on that," Max said, she could take a wild guess that the stage would become a battlefield between kunoichi and would rather avoid it. She was fine with her current self-esteem and no show was going to change that.

"Figures you would be too talentless to take part," Shiba sneered at her, of course the sedsec kunoichi would be singing. She'd heard the perfect song to taunt Max some more.

"Oh I have talent, plenty of it. I, how ever, don't need to inflate my ego." Itachi couldn't help but be a little disappointed. He would have liked to see what Max could do. Max looked up to the sky after noticing something. "Oh and would you look at the time, I have somewhere to be," Max mumbled looking at her tattooed wrist as it there was a watch there, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. She reappeared in Tsunades office.

"That was quick" Tsunade looked startled, not just at the quickness but the solid stance, the nearest Max would probably get to showing she was annoyed.

"I wanted to get out of the situation anyway," Max shrugged. "So, what's up?"

"I know you still have three days rest but this is hardly going to be stressful, you need to deliver this scroll to the Kazekage, he may need time to compile a reply so wait for it." Tsunade informed her, holding up said scroll. "And you may have heard but there's a talent show later this month, I expect you to participate"

"With all due respect, forget it, I don't want to incite a pissing contest with the other participants"

"Max-" Tsunade began but was cut off.

"No-" It was Max's turn to be interrupted.

"Max. you may have blackmail on most of the people on this planet, and probably others as well, but I still am your superior, I don't pull this often but it would really boost morale in the village. It didn't help when you seemingly abandoned this place"

"Seeing as I don't seem to have a choice, I will have something sorted by the show. I know this isn't for morale, and I know you have some other motive for this. I will find out." Max said her voice almost in a growl, she shushined back to her house to pick up her sealed equipment that she had dumped on her return from Atlantis. It had felt weird without them but she would eventually get used to having a place to call home again. She didn't think Naruto would forgive her if she ran off again so soon.

Picking out the right scrolls was easy enough, a quick check of her room revealed that it was untouched except for the bed, it was as if someone had either sat or lain on it. She would ask about it later though, she wanted to be on her way before the dinner rush. A note was left on the kitchen table for the other occupants of the house.

-

Tsunade sat in her office thinking over her plans, Max wasn't quite responding as she had initially thought,, this would need to carefully sorted or everything would fall apart. She held up the council's statement on the matter and glared at it. If she could be straighter to the point with Max then this would have been easier. If only Max had never bothered to piss of the council when she was younger then this wouldn't be a problem.

--

I bet your curious now. Oh so very curious.

Review please