Disclaimer: I do not own the Naruto characters nor the cover image of Itachi! I do own my characters however!

The Anachronism

Chapter VII: The Day He Saw Him

"So, Nadeshiko, whatever happened with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome?"

Nadeshiko's face flushed bright red while Megumi propped her head in her hand and smirked, and Haru stared curiously between her two friends. It was Wednesday morning, the first time since last Wednesday that Nadeshiko was able to make it to the dining hall to meet her friends for breakfast. As her clinical started before the dining hall opens, the blonde tended to get a quick breakfast in the hospital's cafeteria on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And, Monday… she had slept in, for the first time in years, and was nearly late for class as a result. Itachi, who had been taking notes and researching, had watched her nearly fly out of her apartment still in her pajamas.

Itachi. The blonde girl face grew redder and she turned away from her prying friend. Crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips, Nadeshiko groaned, "Nothing happened! I thought I told you a while ago that I was just helping him out!"

Haru lolled her head back, asking, "Who are you two talking about?"

"Nadeshiko has a secret boyfriend!" Megumi accused, pointing a critical finger at Nadeshiko's chest.

"I do not!" the blonde rebutted, turning to look at Megumi with her hands placed delicately on her hips.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Haru exclaimed, although her voice sounded disinterested. "I'm glad you've been able to move on from Akito."

Nadeshiko laid back in her chair, staring at her half-eaten omelet, and sighed. "I'm really not dating him, guys. He's just a friend of mine that needed help getting settled here. And I'd really rather not be reminded of that guy, especially with him all over that other girl behind me." Megumi peered up over Nadeshiko's head and stuck out her tongue in distaste, as if supporting her friend's statement. The blonde's eyes drifted up to Megumi's face and questioned, "Why do you mention him anyway? I figured you'd long since forgotten about that since you never brought it up earlier.

Megumi considered this for a moment before finally answering, "Despite how I may look, I do go to the library occasionally."

Nadeshiko blanched. As simplistic and obvious as Megumi's answer was, she hadn't ever even considered it a possibility. Of course, Megumi has seen him at the library. Haru has probably seen him too, and just had not known who he was. A lot of other students on the campus must think he's just another student that goes here. And yet, the very idea of him being known to others had never crossed Nadeshiko's mind. Somehow, though they had been out together shopping their first weekend together, for breakfast last weekend, and to the library together on a near-daily basis, she had felt like they lived in their own world. As if her life with Itachi and the mystery surrounding their circumstances, and the life she had lived and continued living before him, were two separate entities.

But, of course, they weren't.

"…and he has long-ish black hair. He's got a pretty scary face, but when you catch him focusing on something he just looks so serious and–" Megumi melted back into her seat. "–so, so, so attractive. But Nadeshiko has dibs of course."

As Nadeshiko continued to stare incredulously at her, Haru commented, "Oh, yes. I believe I have seen him too. The one who's always on the second floor reading, correct?"

"Can we please talk about something else?" Nadeshiko quipped, slouching into her seat.

Megumi winked at her friend. "Someone getting jealous?"

"No!" Nadeshiko said, a little too loudly and a few octaves higher than she normally would. As her face went cherry-red, Megumi started crying with laughter and Haru masked a smirk behind the back of her hand. Running her hands through her hair, she averted her eyes from her two best friends and quickly added, "Really. He has no one right now, so I'm just trying to help get him back on his feet a bit. There's honestly nothing going on between the two of us; I'm just… I think I'm all he has right now."

Megumi's face softened and she leaned back in her chair silently, as if considering this. Crossing her arms over her chest, she asked, "How did you even meet him anyway? Does he like, attend this school? I can't imagine he's a nursing major."

Nadeshiko hesitated. What excuse was she supposed to come up with to answer her friends? And a believable one at that. They know she does not get out much and meet people. She's not a member of any clubs, nor does she drink and go to parties.

Nadeshiko shuddered and a wave of nausea and unease filled her stomach. No, excuses like that would not work with them. So then…?

Just as her hesitance was about to begin looking suspicious, an unexpected visitor approached the table, saving her from having to respond and completely distracting the table from the topic at hand. Saved her and, as she followed the disgusted gazes of both Megumi and Haru, simultaneously sickened and depressed her further.

Standing there, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dark pants and his head tilted innocently to the side, was Akito. Nadeshiko swallowed hard as she took in his ruffled black hair and light brown eyes staring back at her, unsure what to do or say. For a moment, the man averted his unreadable gaze from his previous girlfriend and smiled at both Megumi and Haru.

"Hello," he said simply, as if his only intentions in casually walking up to their table was merely to give them a half-assed greeting. Megumi, whose blood boiled beneath her skin, was not having it.

"You have some nerve," she seethed, unconsciously cracking her knuckles beneath the dining room table.

She all too well remembered the day a dull-eyed, blank-faced Nadeshiko had returned to the apartment they both lived in, after what was supposed to be her and Akito's one-year anniversary dinner. When Megumi had asked how it went, her blonde friend had merely continued on passed her, entered her apartment, and quietly shut the door. For days, this continued, until finally the black-haired woman cornered her friend and demanded for answers: the answer being that Akito had chosen to break up with her.

"What the actual–" Megumi had practically screamed, but Nadeshiko had shaken her head and the black-haired woman paused. Finally, out of curiosity and frustration, she harrumphed, "So what was his bullshit excuse? God, pray he didn't cheat–"

But Nadeshiko had only shaken her head again silently. And after a pregnant pause, Megumi had given up, realizing she wasn't going to get anything out of her friend. The whole situation had confused her, especially when only a few short weeks later her friend was her usual self again. Not only that, but in the presence of a guy, this Itachi fellow.

Megumi, who had been caught in thought, realized that Akito had stopped looking at her and was now staring at Nadeshiko. However, when she averted her eyes to her friend, she noticed the blonde had a newfound interest in the fruit on her plate, her blue eyes dull and detached. Megumi's eyes softened. Maybe she isn't as over him as I thought…and maybe this other guy, Itachi, isn't one-hundred percent what I thought he was to Nadeshiko either.

So then, what is he?

In front of her, Nadeshiko was frozen in her spot, feeling Akito's gaze tear right through her. Deep in her chest, her heart throbbed and she began to feel more nauseous than she had before.

"Nadeshiko?"

"You're just…" he had said that day, nearly two months ago. "You're just different. Something's been up with you and I just… I feel like I'm not reaching you anymore. Like there's something you're not telling me."

"Hey, Nadeshiko?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nadeshiko had lied, chewing at her bottom lip nervously. She'd kept it to herself for so long, worked so hard to deal with this on her own. She wasn't about to let all that work, all the walls she'd constructed, fall just like that.

"Hey…"

"Then…" Akito had responded then, averting his eyes from her. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we can do this anymore. I think we should see other people. I'm sorry, Nadeshiko."

Suddenly, a hand flew toward Nadeshiko and she was jolted out of her head and away from her memories. When she looked up, Akito's arm was slightly outstretched; however, it was Megumi's hand, swatting his away from her, that Nadeshiko had seen. She stared wide-eyed between the two, although ultimately choosing to remain silent and averted her eyes to Haru, who, like Megumi, was sending Akito a stony glare.

"I think you should go," Megumi stated, more as an order than a recommendation.

Akito gave a stiff nod in response and took a cautious step backward. However, before completely stepping away from the table, he returned his eyes to Nadeshiko, who had finally looked up again to unintentionally meet his gaze. Unsurprisingly, the eyes staring back at her were the same as they always had been for the year they were together: bright and full of life. However, there was something else there, something she had never noticed before, something that was even unlike the confusion, curiosity, and questioning that had been there the day they broke up.

Something, that even as he walked away and she was now stuck staring at the back of his fitted navy blue shirt, she could only come to describe as "interrogative".

"Ugh!" Megumi growled, falling back in her seat with an exasperated sign. "What the hell was that about?" Haru shook her head and muttered something incomprehensible under her breath. Nadeshiko remained silent, but Akito's eyes and expression played back in her head a million times over.

What…was that about?

xXxXxXxXx

After the events of breakfast, Nadeshiko's day seemed to fly by in a flash. She went to class, had a quick lunch, and went to more classes. By the time her day was finally over, she had all but forgotten what had happened with Akito. However, as she meandered up the sidewalk back to her apartment, she couldn't help but remind herself of the look he had given her.

Why had he approached their table in the first place? What had he hoped to gain? To shove in her face how happy he was now without her? But then, she thought, pausing for a moment to look at the vast expanse of forest to her left. Why would he look at me like that? She considered what he had said to her that day, about how he felt she was hiding something, and ventured to wonder if maybe he could still be wondering about what it was she was hiding from him, despite her attempt at denying it.

Nadeshiko snorted and shook her head, before she continued on her way to her apartment. As she neared the entrance, she found herself speculating aloud, "I wonder if Itachi is already back from the library…"

Quickly, her face flushed red and she throw her hands over her mouth. Her eyes darted around the lobby of the apartment. To her pleasure, no one was around to hear her proclamation.

Thank god, she thought with a sigh and pressed the UP button on the elevator. The last thing she needed was some curious ears to hear her say that and learn that she had an undocumented person living with her in her room. Plus, she thought as she covered her reddened face with the back of her hand. How embarrassing to be thinking about him like that. I need to calm down; I think Megumi and Haru are beginning to get to me.

A ping sound resonated through the lobby and the elevator opened. A few girls stepped out and Nadeshiko walked on and rose to the fourth floor. When it reopened, Nadeshiko sped out and headed straight to her room and pressed her ear to the door, curious to see if Itachi had already returned. She had gotten into this practice as another precaution, in case someone happened to walk behind her, so that she would know not to open to door immediately.

However, what she did hear surprised her, and for a moment she had to step back and listening again to be sure she'd heard correctly. It was not the familiar silence, or the sound of flipping pages, or even the sound of quiet steps wandering between the living room and kitchen

Is Itachi…talking?

Curiosity getting the better of her, Nadeshiko unlocked the door and immediately through it open. To her surprise, Itachi was standing by the window in her living room and, upon her entrance he had turned his head to look at her. Slowly, the little blonde entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"Hello, Nadeshiko," Itachi greeted her; however, he did not move from his spot.

Ignoring his greeting, Nadeshiko raised a brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "Itachi, what are you doing by the window? I thought I heard you talking from outside…"

But Itachi's expression gave nothing away of what had occurred prior to Nadeshiko's entry into her apartment. Instead, he merely turned back around where the ghostly white figure of a man had previously been just outside her window speaking to him. He wondered if he had finally begun going crazy.

Finally, he responded, "Why, indeed…" before sauntering passed a confused Nadeshiko and back to his spot on the couch to continue reading, deciding to ignore what he had seen and heard.

This is so late. Oh, my goodness, this is so late. And I am SO SORRY.

I don't want to just sit here and give you my excuses. But it has been a very difficult time in my life over the last month. Unfortunately, I lost my grandfather very suddenly to a heart attack and have not been able to sit still and write because life has just gotten so crazy over here. Hopefully with the end of the semester and things quieting down with my family, I'll be on here more and actually get updates out.

On the plus side, my phone is FILLED with ideas for this story so please don't give up on it! I really do love this story, I promise. I'm always thinking up new ideas for it and trying to make it better than where I originally planned to go with it. Even this chapter is slightly different than where I'd wanted it to go originally.

So THANK YOU ALL AGAIN for your continued support! Following the previous chapter, I wanted to give you all a fun story fact before I finish writing: I got the idea from this story when I returned to my own room at college one day and wondered, "Wouldn't it be so weird if I came back to my room and Itachi was passed out on my rug and I had to take care of him?" It's come a LONG way since then and a lot has changed, but that's how it had started: as a self-insert story about Itachi popping up in my extra-large single. Lol.

Thank you to infinity and beyond for your support! I love you all dearly and hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving!