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

The Anachronism

Chapter VIII: The Day She Visited Her

Later that night, Itachi laid awake on the couch, staring in contemplation at the ceiling looming above him. He wore a loose pair of grey sweatpants and dark navy long sleeved shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. A maroon fleece blanket was laid haphazardly at his feet, for though winter was fast approaching the little blonde owner of the apartment had a tendency to keep the heat on high. Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his black hair as he thought of his temporary roommate.

An hour and a half earlier, Nadeshiko had left him alone to head to bed herself; however, not before sending him another questioning look as she had when she first arrived back to her room. I cannot so much blame her, Itachi thought, sitting up on his forearms and staring blankly at the window in front of him. He was seemingly speaking to himself.

"Sorry, I'm late." A warm male voice rang in Itachi's head and the Uchiha instinctively whipped his head around to peer around the room. But he was alone, of course. Had I imagined the whole thing? The Uchiha pondered, looking back out the window at the crescent moon framed perfectly in the glass. But for some reason, he doubted it; as unbelievable as it was, he'd been through stranger recently.

"Who are you?" Itachi had responded, peering up from his book and looking with narrowed eyes at the figure that had emerged, sitting on the window sill next to him as if it was totally normal. The figure appeared to be a man slightly older than himself; however, on closer scrutiny, Itachi had begun to notice the faint translucency in the figure's skin. His eyes had narrowed further.

"Oh, don't give me that look," the man had jibed, his grin growing. "Also, it is quite rude to ask for another's name before giving your own, Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes, if only for a moment, had grown wide. "You know my name."

"I do," the man responded. "I know everything about you."

Itachi's expression had remained unchanging. Even now, as the eldest Uchiha contemplated the mysterious man's statement, he remained apathetic, only considering the words and the weight they may or may not have held. Pulling one of his knees toward his body, Itachi rested his elbow against it and his chin in his palm, and gazed at the moon.

"Everything," the man had repeated, swinging his legs almost childishly as he sat propped on the window sill. "Including, that you're really dead."

Both men stared at each other for a silent minute, Itachi's face unchanging and the man's much more serious than it had previously been. After another minute in silence, the man added, "But you must have already considered this before my telling you."

And he had. Thinking of the man's words, Itachi looked down at his free hand, inspecting the palm. It looked no different than it had well over a month ago, before he fought his little brother. He turned it around, staring between the back of his hand and his palm. It looked so real, so how could he be…?

"I'm sorry this explanation is coming so late," the man had apologized, a sympathetic grin returning to his face. "That little girl has latched herself to you pretty good; there's been almost no time when there hasn't been someone around you! And especially her…" The man had shaken his head with a light laugh. "She sure is taking watching over you seriously!"

"So, what do you want?" Itachi rose from his spot and walked toward the man, ignoring his previous statements about Nadeshiko. "And you have yet to answer my first question."

"First?" The man pondered for a moment before realization hit him. "My name? Hmm… How about you just call me 'Reishi'." Itachi had questioned whether that was truly his name or not, but he decided to refrain from asking. "And what do I want?"

Itachi recalled the crooked grin the man sent him as Itachi paused just a few feet from him. The man had crossed his legs, rested his elbow on his knee, and held his grinning, all-knowing head in his palm. At the time, Itachi had felt boredom with the ghostly figure, not caring why it was here and desiring nothing more for it to leave. At the time, it had seemed to be little more than another distraction from figuring out where he was, and how to return to where he belonged.

That was, until he spoke: "Don't you want to know what happened? Why you're here?" This time, Itachi couldn't help but show his surprise, and this evidently had amused Reishi, whose grin ever-grew.

"What do you–?" However, as Itachi spoke, the man before him turned his head and peered out the window. Reishi groaned.

"On your way back already, little woman?" Reishi sighed, now crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't you realize you're only making this more difficult for yourself, too?" Itachi had quietly watched as Reishi looked out the window at who he guessed was Nadeshiko. But what did he mean by…?

Reishi turned back to Itachi with an apologetic grin. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this meeting short."

"Wait," Itachi abruptly responded, causing Reishi to raise his eyebrows questioningly. The Uchiha knew it was out of character, but he couldn't be sure when he'd see the translucent man again. And, though he was irritating, he seemed to know much more than any book he's read up to now. "Am I really dead? Tell me why I am here. Please."

Reishi looked at Itachi for a moment, then averted his eyes out the window, before returning them to the Uchiha. "Okay, I'll give you the expedited response, so listen up. You and I both know you're dead. However, you're in a sort of…limbo state, like you're stuck in purgatory. Neither your mind nor body are able to move forward. So, you're here. But…" Reishi paused, looking passed Itachi toward the door as if he had heard or seen something. Itachi had waited for his response, hands squeezed into fists in impatience.

And then, finally: "But, you aren't the only one who's stuck in a sort of limbo. And neither of you will be able to move forward alone." Reishi serious expression and hard eyes had met Itachi's, who, although appeared outwardly apathetic, was otherwise still confused.

Then, Reishi's expression had melted into amusement and he leaned forward toward Itachi's ear, whispering, "Good luck! See you, someday, maybe!"

"Wait!" Itachi had spoken quickly; however, he was too late. Reishi had completely vanished and, instead, his only response was the door behind him being thrown open.

Presently, Itachi considered the blonde girl, while his eyes remained still on the moon and stars beyond the window. He peered down at his hand again, flipping it back and forth and inspecting it before squeezing it into a fist.

"So, I'm dead, huh?" Itachi spoke quietly, disbelieving. He sniffed and laid back down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. A crazy hypothesis, but I suppose I cannot rule out an apparition's account as illogical given the situation. It's not like anything about this situation is logical, truly. Itachi sighed and turned onto his side, staring through the doorway, passed the kitchen and bathroom, to the door to Nadeshiko's room. The Uchiha's eyes softened.

"But, you aren't the only one who's stuck in a sort of limbo." Reishi's words rang in his head and, for a moment, his mind continued its illogicity: that maybe it had not been so random that he found himself in the apartment of the overly-trusting, overly-welcoming, overly-everything blonde girl.

But then he shook off the thought, lifted himself up, and swung his legs over to sit. He flipped open to a random page in the text and began to read. He'd gone without sleep before; this was nothing different.

As his father always said, he would sleep when he's dead.

xXxXxXxXx

Days had passed uneventfully for Nadeshiko following Wednesday. After the events that had occurred during that breakfast, she had not returned to the dining hall for the remainder of the week. Thursday she had to be at clinical, so that was nothing new, and Friday and Saturday she slept passed breakfast and lived off instant macaroni and cheese, ramen, and soup for both lunch and dinner. By the time Sunday had rolled around, Itachi had become suspicious of her actions.

"Nope!" Nadeshiko responded, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away from the Uchiha after he asked if anything was wrong. "Absolutely nothing, everything is lovely and wonderful! Why do you ask?"

The Uchiha, who had peered up at the girl from his book, averted his eyes back to the text. "You have not left the apartment since you returned from the hospital on Thursday." Nadeshiko harrumphed and looked at Itachi with pursed lips.

"Maybe I just wanted to have a relaxing weekend home!" the blonde retort, a bit more aggressively than she had intended. Spinning around on her heel, she stomped forward a couple steps before pausing and adding, "And also, I'm going out today, so you don't have to worry about me!"

Itachi said nothing in return, so Nadeshiko stomped off again, this time back to her bedroom. After shutting the door behind her, the little blonde fell back against her bed. Blue eyes stared sadly up at her ceiling.

"Why am I so dumb?" she asked herself.

Although she had not wanted to leave her apartment to avoid possibly running into Akito, she had also had a nagging desire to leave the apartment. After Megumi and Haru had teased the blonde about Itachi, while she continued to tell them and herself she was not developing feelings for the man, she found it hard for her to feel comfortable around him now. Every time the two were in the room together, Nadeshiko's functionality went completely out the window. It was as if the man's deep, black eyes pierced through her and caused everything to short-circuit. Usually, she couldn't speak and her stomach would be become so full of butterflies she felt ill.

"No, no, no!" Nadeshiko squealed as she thought about it and covered burning face. "Stop thinking like that! You're helping him! H-E-L-P-I-N-G!" She let out a long sigh and rolled onto her side and closed her eyes.

Even if she could like him, it would never work out anyway. It would be like Akito all over again, she thought, reopening her eyes and staring at her clock.

14:56. Nadeshiko's eyes widened and a feeling of dread overtook the nervousness she'd previously felt deep in her stomach.

Shoot, I'm going to be late! Nadeshiko thought as she leapt out of her bed. Changing quickly from her lounge clothes into a cardigan, maroon tank top, and dark jeans, Nadeshiko ran out of her room and passed Itachi. She yelled out some sort of 'goodbye', but her mind was so jumbled she had not been sure what she'd said, or even if Itachi had even responded.

xXxXxXxXx

Room 6032. Nadeshiko read the number over and over again, as she did every time she arrived to this hospital. Although it looked unlike her own that she did clinical at, it was amazing how familiar the smell and the sounds were. In any other situation, she wondered if maybe this would be comforting to her.

Well, silly to wonder that, I suppose, Nadeshiko thought, running a hand through her hair. At least in this situation, coming here would never get easier. If anything, with every visit, it only gets so much more difficult. Nadeshiko closed her eyes and inhaled slowly before sliding the door open and revealing the all too familiar scene. Beneath her chest, her heart hammered away. Despite this, she took a slow step forward, eyes trained on the beautiful woman before her.

"You're late." While Nadeshiko froze in her spot just passed the doorway, an American-looking woman with blonde hair in a delicate bun sat in a chair next to the bed. Her face was apathetic but her eyes were narrowed, and Nadeshiko felt her stomach twist into knots.

"I'm sorry," Nadeshiko bowed her head as the woman stood and walked passed her, sliding the wooden door shut as she left wordlessly. The girl released the breath she was holding.

For a moment, the blonde only stood in her place, as she did every time she came here, every Sunday. Swallowing, Nadeshiko finally pushed herself forward to the chair the woman had been sitting in previously. Only when she sat down did she look at the motionless figure in the bed: a tiny blonde girl on a ventilator, with tubes and drains and wires seeming to stick out from everywhere around her. Occasionally, the breathing mask around her mouth would fog up; however, aside from that, there was no sign of life from the girl. Nadeshiko reached out and grabbed the girl's hand, squeezing it gently.

"She's as lovely as always," Nadeshiko whispered, bringing the girl's hand to her cheek. "Huh, little sister?"

And as she did this, the hospital bracelet that had dangled around her wrist spiraled and fell down her forearm, revealing the all too familiar name: Arata Yamato. Nadeshiko stared at it, before her eyes drifted again to the girl's face and her eyes began to burn.

"I'm so sorry, Rata," Nadeshiko choked out, warm, salty tears sliding down her cheeks and onto Arata's face. The blonde moved their hands to cover her face as she bent down over the still girl below her. "I'm so sorry. Please, forgive me, Arata."

But the girl said nothing in return, no "Relax, relax!" or "It's so fine, Nade!" She would not respond, because she could not respond. And whether their mother wanted to believe it or not, she would never respond again.

And it was all Nadeshiko's fault.

Fun Fact!

Okay, so I know I previously stated that Nadeshiko's appearance was based off of Kaori from Your Lie in April. Well, I have the anime characters who were the physical/appearance inspiration for the other character you all have met so far! So, if you want to see the characters I imagine, they are:

Nadeshiko – Kaori from Your Lie in April

Arata – Chitoge from Nisekoi

Megumi – Yukino from My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

Haruka – Mirai from Beyond the Boundary

Akito – Kou Mabuchi from Blue Spring Ride

Feel free to look them up if you'd like! Or these anime! I can only speak to Your Lie in April, Nisekoi, and Blue Spring Ride, but those ones are great.

Anyway! Thank you all for the continued support and patience with me, and thank you for your encouragement and sympathy for my grandfather. I cannot tell you how appreciative I am. While this…reveal sort of thing was originally planned for a bit later, I felt like it fit well with where the story was at so far and I wanted to get it out for all of you to read.

So, thank you all again! You're all lovely!