Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Naruto or any of its characters.
Alright, in this chapter you'll see what Kakashi's role with Hikari is. I do feel like I'm making things go fast, but I can't force myself to string things out longer than they should be. Enjoy, and please review afterwards!
Itachi finally came to a stop somewhere in the forest surrounding Konohagakure. He looked around anxiously, with his grip tight around Hikari.
"Itachi!" Hikari whined, "What was that for?"
He looked down at the girl in his arms, another vision from the past flashed before him as his crimson eyes met with her hazel orbs. He sighed, and then released her from his arms.
He sat down on the ground, and leaned his back against a tree. He rubbed his forehead with his hand, massaging it with his painted finger tips.
"Why is nothing ever simple when it comes to this girl?" he thought to himself.
Hikari sat down onto her knees next to Itachi, "Who was that man?" she asked.
Itachi turned slightly to flash his angry crimson eyes at her. He couldn't hold onto the rage for long, just like old times, Hikari's questioning gaze washed out any and all of his negative feelings. But despite that fact, he couldn't tell her the truth, not completely.
"You've never heard of Konoha's Copy Ninja?" he started.
Hikari nodded her head, "I have. But sensei always avoided talking about him much; jealous or something."
"It doesn't matter, we're leaving." Itachi said abruptly as he rose to his feet.
"No!" Hikari burst out frantically. When Itachi's questioning glance showed a flare of anger, Hikari quickly came up with an excuse, "I want to at least finish my shopping trip with Sakura-chan."
Itachi's anger sparked again, "You had me worried sick, running blindly all over that damned town, for a fucking shopping trip!?"
Hikari's anger began to flare up as well, "What are you, my mother?!" She moved to sit cross legged with her back to him, and crossed her arms over her chest in frustration.
She felt some slight regret when she heard a heavy sigh fall from his lips, but she kept her ground and her forehead wrinkled in response; she exhaled hard through her nose and focused her angry gaze on a random bush in front of her.
Itachi appeared in front of her, crouching to put his face level with hers. She let her angry orbs lock with his, and she exhaled through her nose again when she saw the smirk he wore.
Itachi extended his hand, and poked her forehead with his fingertip. "Hikari-chan," he said softly.
The wrinkles on her forehead smoothed over, but the anger remained in her eyes. She spun around to let her back face him once more.
Itachi smiled as he thought, "As stubborn as always." He continued aloud, "You can't blame me Hikari-chan, I was worried, and surely you can understand that."
"Of course I can understand," Hikari said, "I just don't understand why. You don't know me, and since when did the self-proclaimed murderer of the Uchiha clan care about anyone enough to worry about them?"
Her words stung him; surely she didn't believe him to be a cold-hearted murderer? He couldn't blame her though; it was the title he wore willingly, even if it was a false one. And besides, she didn't remember him, but most of all, she didn't remember their past together.
Itachi sighed and stood up, "I'll take you shopping as soon as we get home."
Hikari turned slightly, arching her eye brow. But she quickly turned back around as she saw the smirk painted on Itachi's face. Hikari was not about to let him win that easily.
A rustling noise came from a bush not too far from them. Hikari's eyes moved to the bush, but before she could see what was hiding inside, Itachi was in front of her ready to defend.
He watched the bush anxiously with his crimson eyes, and after a moment, a wild baby rabbit ran out of the bush.
Hikari fell backwards, holding her stomach while laughing wildly. Itachi sighed and sat down, leaning against the tree once more.
"You should have seen your face!" yelled Hikari between laughing fits. She sat up and said, "Big, scary bunny!" Hikari stuck her pointer fingers up behind her head, imitating a rabbit's ears. "Rawr!" She jumped up to stand in front of Itachi. When Itachi glanced up at her, Hikari could literally see his anger jump out of his eyes at her. She quickly fell back, but continued to laugh. She finally sat up and wiped a tear from her eye.
Itachi stared at the ground as the crimson slowly flushed away from his black orbs, ignoring the kunoichi, until another rustle came from the bush.
His black eyes looked at the bush, as did Hikari's hazel eyes.
A snake slithered out from the bush, causing a scream to burst forth from Hikari.
Hikari jumped onto Itachi, trying to get away from the snake.
"What the hell?!" yelled Itachi in surprise as the kunoichi climbed onto him.
"Kill it! Don't let it get near me! Kill it!!" Hikari yelled shaking Itachi by his collar back and forth.
As the snake slithered away, Hikari was left sitting on Itachi's lap, still breathing heavily and shaking slightly.
A few moments of silence passed, and Itachi began to laugh. "A snake?" he asked, "Are you joking?"
Hikari was still too petrified to talk.
A devious smile spread across Itachi's face. He took his pointer finger and lightly trailed up Hikari's spine, hissing low like a snake.
Oh yeah, she freaked. Hikari screamed bloody murder, rose to her feet, and ran as fast as she could. She got about 20 feet before tripping on a rock, and planted her face into the ground.
Itachi walked up next to her silently as she lied twitching on the ground. Hikari heard a sound like he was choking, but her worry faded upon hearing his laughter.
"God! You're too funny!" Itachi bent over with his arms wrapped around his stomach. He heard Hikari mumble something. "What was that?" he asked as he wiped the tears from his eyes, chuckling still. Hikari lifted her face from the ground, "I hope you choke!" she yelled at him. Itachi only laughed harder.
"What?" Hikari asked annoyed.
"Your face!" Itachi could barely speak the words. He sat down next to her and calmed his laughter. "Come here." He said with a slight chuckle. Hikari sat up and scooted over to him. Itachi took a rag from inside his coat and wiped the dirt off of her face. Hikari looked up at him angrily. "What now?" he asked amused.
Before Hikari answered, another rustle was heard. Hikari screamed out of instinct, thinking it was another serpent. She jumped onto Itachi once more, yelling hysterically, "Kill it! Kill it please!"
Itachi only laughed, "You freaked the birds out."
"R-Really?" Hikari stuttered as she looked around.
Overhead, she saw a flock of birds flying. "Oh," she said.
Hikari was still scared stiff; she turned to face Itachi, only to see the trail of blood that slid down his cheek. She had hit his face when she jumped onto him out of fear.
Hikari felt her stomach twist into a knot as she stared at the scarlet liquid that had horrified her since childhood; and with that, she passed out onto Itachi's chest.
Itachi sat there for a moment, surprised, "Snakes and blood?" he thought.
He wrapped his arms around the kunoichi and laid his cheek onto her head, "You're such a baby, Hikari-chan." He whispered into her hair.
--
The blonde-haired woman sat at her desk, reading over some more papers. She sighed.
"Why did that patient look so familiar?" she thought to herself, unable to concentrate.
She turned to look out her window. Her gaze was suddenly drawn to a large group of birds flying out of the forest. "What the—" she thought to herself.
A knock sounded, and compelled her amber eyes to look away from her window. "Come in." she said as she swiveled her chair to face the door.
In walked the silver-haired ninja, "Excuse me Lady Hokage."
"Yes Kakashi-san?" asked Tsunade as she propped one elbow on the desk and placed her chin in the palm of her hand.
Kakashi closed the door behind him, and walked up to the desk.
"Have you seen her?" he asked somberly.
"Why are you always so vague Kakashi?" Tsunade asked slightly annoyed.
"The girl." He replied, "The dirty blonde-haired patient in Sakura's care."
Tsunade looked up at Kakashi, "I have," she said. "She does seem familiar, but I haven't asked Sakura-chan her name yet."
"Hikari," stated Kakashi, still showing indifference in his eye.
Tsunade's eyes widened slightly, "You mean?"
Kakashi simply nodded.
"But," started Tsunade as she tried to process her thoughts, "Hikari died…she and her parents, they burned along with their house; that couldn't have been her."
"I know," said Kakashi. He walked behind Tsunade's desk and looked out the window.
"How could she have escaped the fire while her parents could not?" Tsunade asked. "And how could she go on living undetected for 8 years. Why would she randomly show up here after so long?"
Kakashi stayed silent during Tsunade's string of questions.
"Where is she now Kakashi?" she asked.
"I don't know." He said, "I found her wandering in the Uchiha district. I tried to get her, but someone else got her first. They're gone now."
"So," Tsunade started, "she's being held captive?"
"I-I," Kakashi was feeling somewhat overwhelmed, so many things had unfolded; so many questions had been brought up. "I'm not sure," he sighed.
Tsunade sighed too, "We can't do anything about it. We don't know the details, and so until then, we'll just have to wait."
The silver-haired man simply nodded.
"I'm sorry, Kakashi-san," said Tsunade quietly, "I know it must be hard, after so long."
Kakashi remained silent; he put his hands in his pockets, and stared out the window onto the city.
Right when the waters had seemed to calm down, another stone was hurled into it, disrupting its peace, and sending ripples throughout everything, bringing back the past to haunt Kakashi once more.
--
Sakura walked back into Hikari's hospital bedroom.
"I wonder why sensei got so worked up. Maybe he knows Hikari-chan," she thought to herself.
She looked at the bed and noticed a folded paper lying on the pillow.
Sakura-chan, thank you so much for taking care of me; you're truly a gifted medical ninja. I'm sorry about missing our shopping trip, but I'm needed elsewhere. Take care of yourself Sakura-chan, and tell Naruto-kun that I know he'll make a great Hokage one day. –Hikari
Sakura's shoulders drooped in disappointment. "I was looking forward to spending more time with Hikari-chan," she whined aloud.
She folded the paper and put it in her pocket. She turned to leave but was stopped by Kakashi's figure blocking her exit.
She was surprised to see her sensei leaning on the door frame, hands crossed over his chest casually.
"What's that you got there Sakura?" Kakashi asked, indicating the paper she had just put in her pocket.
"Oh," said Sakura as she dug the note out of her pocket and handed it to her sensei, "Just a note from Hikari-chan."
Kakashi quickly swept his eye over the note, and then handed it back to her.
"Sakura," Kakashi started, "I need to know everything that Hikari said to you. Did she tell you anything like where she was from, or why she was here? Why was she in the hospital?"
Sakura went a little wide-eyed at Kakashi's sudden interest in the girl.
"Well," Sakura told Kakashi all that was said outside of the hospital. Then she began to explain everything that took place in the hospital, and why Hikari was there in the first place.
"Mmm." Kakashi pondered the situation in his mind, "And was there a man with her?"
"Yeah," Sakura replied, "His name was Katsuo."
"Katsuo…" thought Kakashi. The scene from earlier in the day played through his mind once more. "Obviously a cover. Who is he really I wonder."
He nodded to Sakura, "Thanks." And his figure dispersed into a puff of smoke.
"Well that was weird…" thought Sakura.
--
Visions of the silver-haired man calling her name danced throughout her dreams. Hikari lied asleep, but when she awoke, she felt exhausted because her mind had been racing even in slumber.
She scanned the entirety of the room, a dim atmosphere blanketed it. She was in Itachi's bedroom again, lying in his bed for the third time in the past two days.
Hikari sighed and fell back onto the pillow. "I hope I'm not supposed to spend every night here," she thought to herself.
Hikari thought about the past events; at first believing them to be a dream. She sat up in bed, and then tossed her legs over the side to rise to her feet.
"Nature calls," she mumbled to herself and headed towards the bathroom.
After emerging from the bathroom, Hikari decided to leave the room, feeling too confined even though the room was somewhat large. Closing the door behind her, Hikari stopped as she heard voices coming from down the hall.
She could barely see, there were no lights in the hallway, so she used her hands to feel around, hoping she would make it down the hall without trouble.
Her hopes were in vain; she tripped over something on the floor, and fell forward, hitting her head on the wall. She heard the voices stop, and then heard Kisame say, "What the hell?"
Hikari sat up, and rubbed her forehead, "God damnit," she whined as the pain coursed through her entire cranium. She felt someone next to her, but her eyes were glossed over with sleepiness, and she couldn't make the face out.
"You're such a klutz Hikari-chan," she heard Itachi's voice. He extended a hand and placed his palm on top of Hikari's hand on her forehead. He pushed her hand off of her forehead, and felt it himself, checking the damage. Hikari looked into his obsidian eyes as he gently examined her forehead, his gaze
dropped down from her forehead to meet her eyes for a moment; again, she was left confused. Why did he care so much? Why was he so gentle and kind with her?
He dropped his hand after seeing that there were no bumps, and then gently took up Hikari's hand, picking her up from the floor.
As she stood, he dropped her hand along with his tender manner, taking up his cold, emotionless personality, and turned to walk into the living room dining room combination of the house. Hikari followed silently.
Upon emerging from the dark hall into the bright lights of the room, Hikari rubbed her eyes and groaned.
"Morning sunshine!" Hikari turned to see Deidara seated at what looked to be the dining table, beaming happily.
"How the hell can you be so cheery in the morning?" Hikari groaned.
"How the hell can you look so ugly in the morning kid?" Hikari turned to see Kisame with his arrogant smile.
"I picked it up from you, you fucked up fish." Hikari replied with a scoff.
Deidara laughed as Kisame's smile disappeared, "You need to learn some respect brat!" Kisame yelled heatedly.
"I know I'm supposed to respect my elders, but I don't think that rule applies to tuna." Hikari answered him as she walked over to sit on one of the sofas in front of the fireplace.
"Are you calling me old, brat?!" Kisame just would not let the fight drop unless he had the last word.
Hikari wasn't about to give it up either, she was having too much fun. "You're deaf too?" she replied with a slight smirk.
Kisame sat up from his chair, "Damn brat!" he yelled with furious eyes.
"Enough you two," commanded Itachi.
"Just when it was getting fun too," said Deidara with a smile.
Kisame sat down with a huff.
Itachi took a seat at the table next to Kisame, "Come here Hikari," he said coldly.
Hikari got up, and walked over to take a seat at the table between Deidara and Itachi.
She looked over at Itachi, his eyes looked as cold as steel, and his facial expression held no emotion. This was not the Itachi she had spent nearly two days with in Konohagakure, but she realized he must have reasons for acting differently among the other Akatsuki members so she decided not to bring anything up.
She looked to her other side, at Deidara; he was just smiling and acting flamboyant. She rolled her eyes; Hikari had never been able to comprehend cheerfulness in the morning, morning had always been the worst time of day for her.
Tobi was just sitting across from her, quiet as usual, and Kisame sat horizontal from her with his sharp-toothy grin.
"So kid," started Kisame, "what's your story?"
Hikari's thoughts wandered to Naruto for a moment because of Kisame's question, "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Why were you outside of Sound, unconscious with two other Sound shinobi?" Itachi asked frigidly while staring down at the table.
"Well," Hikari started, "I was found wandering in the forest a few miles from Sound when I was only 8 years old, and no one knew who I was or where I was from. My sensei was the one that found me. He brought me back to Sound, and raised me as a father would. He trained me, and taught me, he really took me under his wing. But, through that whole time, I felt like something was missing. I can't remember the first 8 years of my life before Sound. I don't know where I'm from, who my family is; nothing of those first 8 years. I felt I needed to find those answers, and I wasn't getting anywhere in Sound, so I left. Those two Shinobi, they've been my companions since I was first brought to the village. They were sent by Orochimaru to apprehend me, so I had to fight them."
Hikari slouched in her chair; she didn't like having to recall all of those memories. And she knew they would want to know more, so she waited until another question was thrown her way.
"Your eyes," started Itachi; he turned to look into them for a moment, then turned back to resume his staring contest with the table.
Hikari understood what he meant, so she began, "I wasn't born with them, no. When I was about 10 years old, I was taken to live somewhere else. My sensei said that he'd be around, just not as much as before. It was only until later that I realized he had placed me in Orochimaru's care. I'd never met him until that day, but just from that first encounter, I felt a deep hatred for him. I don't know why, I just hated him. He was kind enough I guess, not as kind as my sensei though. He was experimenting, trying to recreate many powerful kekegenkai abilities. And he needed a test subject strong enough to take the experiments. He was working hard on recreating the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, and as you can tell, he did a pretty good job of doing so, minus the color." Hikari stopped for a moment. She looked up at Itachi; he was still staring, except now at the wall across from him, as if he weren't even listening.
Itachi's glance slightly shifted to Hikari, then back to the wall.
"If Orochimaru has the power to recreate the Sharingan, shouldn't we be a little worried?" Kisame asked, looking at Itachi.
"No." stated Hikari. Kisame looked at her, doubt in his eyes. Hikari continued, "Orochimaru tried to instill his recreated Sharingan in other ninja, but none of them made it through the procedure. He gave up on making an army of Sharingan wielding ninja because no one other than me survived the procedure; he didn't want to wipe out too many of his ninja."
Itachi sat gazing at the wall, taking in Hikari's story. "That could explain why my Tsukuyomi didn't affect her," he thought.
"How come you were the only one that could survive the experiment?" Tobi suddenly spoke up.
Hikari paused for a moment, "I-I, I'm not really sure actually. I asked my sensei, he said I was just very lucky but I don't believe that."
"Why not?" Kisame asked.
"First of all," Hikari turned to look at Kisame, "I'm not prone to good fortune, and second of all, I overheard Orochimaru conversing with someone else. He said it didn't surprise him that everyone else died from the procedure; he said that they were all missing the 'special ingredient', as he called it, which allowed for me to survive through that procedure."
Itachi glance turned to her suddenly. "So," he thought, "she did inherit her father's kekegenkai ability."
"You don't remember anything?" asked Deidara unexpectedly, "Before Sound, I mean."
Hikari stared at the table, "I have dreams once in awhile, but I usually don't remember them afterwards. I know that the memories are still there, I just can't process them consciously I guess."
Every time Hikari had to admit that, she felt a little piece of her crumble. Her past, it was right in front of her, but she could never reach it. It was as if someone were cruelly taunting her.
"Orochimaru definitely tampered with her memories," Deidara thought to himself.
Everyone remained silent.
The silence was interrupted when Hikari's stomach growled loudly. The kunoichi wrapped her arms around her stomach to try and silence it, and then she dropped her head to the table. She quickly snapped her head back up.
"Fuck!" she yelled as she rubbed her forehead.
"I forgot that I already hit it once," she thought to herself.
Deidara and Kisame laughed at Hikari, and Itachi got up to walk to the kitchen.
"Serves you right, brat," said Kisame with a sharp grin.
Hikari glared at him, "You're on my list you psycho sushi!"
Kisame just smirked at her as Deidara laughed.
Kisame sat up after a moment, "Tobi, let's go." Tobi sat up as well, and the pair walked back down the hallway. Before Kisame left, he yelled, "Be a good girl now kiddo!"
Hikari slouched as her lips pulled into a frown. "Don't wander into any sushi restaurants! They might eat you!" she yelled back at Kisame.
Deidara laughed again and said, "You two are cute."
Hikari crossed her arms on the table and laid her face in them, "You're so gay Deidara."
She stole a glance at Deidara, hoping he was annoyed; she was disappointed to see him smiling as if she had said nothing.
"Where are they going anyways?" asked Hikari.
"A mission," said Itachi as he placed a plate of food in front of Hikari.
Hikari sat up and stared at the well-prepared food.
"I didn't poison it," said Itachi with a slight smirk.
Hikari laughed, "I didn't think big, tough Uchiha men cooked so well."
Itachi shrugged and sat back down at his seat as Hikari began to eat.
"I thought Kisame was your partner?" Hikari spoke to Itachi before shoving some noodles into her mouth.
"Yes," he responded while staring straight ahead, "but that doesn't mean we go on every mission together."
"So," Deidara said quickly after Itachi finished, "What was with the whole squeal and then fly out of the window combo the other day?"
Itachi glanced over at Hikari, obviously wanting to hear an explanation as well.
A light tint of pink filled Hikari's cheeks, "U-Uhh." She took in a breath, "It's not my fault. It was you who was riding Itachi, Deidara."
Itachi's eyes widened a little as he remembered Deidara on top of him, trying to keep him from killing Kisame and Tobi.
Deidara leaned far back in his chair laughing, "So, you find gay men attractive Hikari?"
"No!" yelled Hikari defensively, "I mean, I'm only 16, and…it's not like I see men on top of each other often, I was just a little surprised." She nervously twiddled with her fingers.
Deidara stood up from his seat, "I wonder," he thought as he walked over to Itachi.
Itachi glared at the blonde, but Deidara paid no attention to him. Deidara swung one leg over, and sat on Itachi's lap. He wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck, and leaned his face in towards him for a kiss.
Before Deidara's face was within two inches of Itachi's, a loud squeal burst from Hikari, just as Deidara had been expecting.
Hikari tried to muffle her squeal with her hands, but it only made her squeal louder. She closed her eyes and squealed into her palms. She leaned back in her chair, too far, and fell over. She just sat there on the floor, still seated in her chair, kicking her legs in a squealing fit.
"Bingo," he said as he leaned back and unhooked his arms from Itachi's neck.
Before he could take another breath Itachi grabbed Deidara by the collar, rose to his feet, and tossed him across the room. Deidara landed gracefully on his feet, and a smug smile pulled at his lips.
Itachi glared at Deidara before turning his gaze to the kunoichi kicking on the floor. He sighed and closed his eyes."God," he thought, "I blame Manami for this."
He and Deidara looked down at Hikari. Small tears glazed her eyes, and her cheeks were scarlet. Deidara laughed again as Itachi picked the chair up with Hikari sitting in it.
Hikari fanned herself with her hand, "Damn it Deidara," she said with her cheeks still flustered.
Deidara beamed and stuck his tongue out at Hikari teasingly, "You should've told me the truth to begin with! I'm totally going to exploit every bit of that weakness Hikari-chan!"
Hikari looked up at Deidara, and then her gaze turned to Itachi, "If Itachi-kun doesn't kill you first, that is." A small smiled pulled at her lips.
Itachi rolled his eyes at the smiling kunoichi.
--
Kakashi finally decided to get out of bed after a sleepless night.
After showering and getting dressed, Kakashi found himself sitting at his table, staring at the picture in the pendant he kept chained around his neck.
"She must be working with someone," he thought to himself, "She felt that man's presence before-hand, she had plenty of time to run if he weren't someone she knew. Whoever that was that took her to the hospital, and who ran off with her, they must be the one she's working with."
He closed his eyes as he thought of the night he found his sister's house burned to the ground. He couldn't help but shed tears at the sight of his sister's charred body among the debris. Both his sister's and her husband's bodies had been found, but never Hikari's. He had always hoped that somehow, Hikari had made it out, but they predicted otherwise. The ANBU ninja that came upon the scene said they never saw someone escape from the house, and that it was very unlikely that the little girl could have gotten out without aid.
Kakashi put his face in his hands as he remembered the guilt he felt for years afterwards. He told himself that if he had been there, if he had just stopped by to visit that night, that both his sister and niece would be alive.
And finally, when he had been able to accept the past and move on, when he had finally stopped blaming himself, this had to happen. It's not like he wasn't overjoyed that his niece was alive. She was the only family he had left, and he knew that he was her only family. Kakashi had always thought of her as his own child, that little girl and his sister were the lights of his life; he was absolutely crushed when he was told that both of them had been snatched from his life so suddenly. But now that he knew she was alive, he would stop at nothing to get her back.
"Kakashi."
Kakashi lifted his face from his hands upon hearing his name called. He turned to face a tall man in a skin tight green jumpsuit.
"Gai." He said with a nod.
Might Gai, his undeclared rival, had been one to sympathize with Kakashi after the night he lost his two joys. Gai was one of the few people that saw first-hand the grief Kakashi hid under his mask, and he had helped him through it. Gai constantly reminded Kakashi that neither his sister nor his niece would want him to beat himself up. He was very thankful to have Gai around.
"I heard about Hikari." Gai said, "Do you know where she's been this whole time?"
Kakashi sighed, "I know about as much as you do Gai."
Gai stood next to Kakashi, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll get her back." Gai said.
Kakashi put the pendant back down his shirt. "I hope," he thought.
--
The sun was high up in the sky, the afternoon was pleasantly comfortably with a slight breeze. Hikari and Deidara had been training together for about an hour.
"Gosh Hikari-chan," whined Deidara as he fell to the floor with a tired sigh, "I never knew you were so psycho."
Hikari sat next to Deidara, "I wouldn't be talking Deidara-kun. You're just as psycho. Look at your fucking hands!" Hikari pointed to the small mouth on his palm teasingly.
Itachi appeared behind them, handing them each some water.
"Thanks mom," said Deidara playfully.
Itachi glared at the blonde, and then sat down next to Hikari.
"Itachi-kun," said Hikari, "You promised that you'd take me shopping. You can't expect me to wear your clothes all the time."
"Why not?" he started with a smirk, "You look fine in them."
Hikari glared at him, "You promised."
Itachi sighed, and looked out towards the small lake.
"Well," said Deidara as he heaved himself to his feet, "I don't know about you two, but I'm starving. I'll see you later." And with that, Deidara disappeared.
"I-Ta-Chiii," Hikari whined. "Please?"
Itachi just lied down on his back, and stared at the sky.
Hikari exhaled through her nose, anger building up inside.
"Hikari-chan." Itachi spoke softly.
Hikari's eyes looked down onto Itachi, "Yeah?"
"What would you do if you figured everything out? I mean, if you found your memories? Would you leave to go live wherever you were from?" Itachi's tone was somber.
Hikari thought hard, "Would I?" she asked herself. She lied down next to Itachi.
"Why do you care?" she asked indifferently.
"Don't try and change the subject," he said with a smirk.
Hikari sighed, "Well, right now, I would go, but things can always change with time."
Itachi turned his head towards Hikari, "How so?"
"If I had a reason to stay, I would." Hikari said matter-of-factly.
He turned his head back, "Mm." he thought to himself.
"It's strange," started Hikari as she turned to look at Itachi.
"What is?" he asked as he turned to look at Hikari as well.
"This whole thing. Just sitting here talking, it seems…familiar. I know you're not the talkative type, not around the others at least. Why are you so talkative around me?"
Itachi sat there looking at Hikari for a moment, "I guess you could say it feels familiar to me too." He smiled at her.
Itachi sat up and scooted back to lean on a tree. His gaze wandered over to the small pond. Without warning, Hikari scooted near to him, and laid her head down on his lap.
Itachi looked down at her; he smiled as he saw her smiling back up at him.
"I think I had a dream about you once." Hikari said suddenly with a small smile.
Itachi arched an eyebrow, and his smile turned into a smirk, "Really?" he mused.
"Mhmm." Hikari nodded slightly, "It was just like this, with you looking down at me. Except," she stopped.
"Except?" Itachi pushed her on.
"Except," a slight pink colored Hikari's cheeks, "You didn't look as old."
Itachi laughed, "Now I'm old too?"
Hikari giggled slightly.
"There must be a way to get those memories out," Itachi thought to himself, "It appears that Orochimaru only hid them; forced her to forget. Forgotten memories can be remembered again. I wonder…"
Itachi took his right hand and stroked the hair on top of her head. The familiarity surged through Hikari, the whole scene felt as if it had played a hundred times over throughout her life. Hikari grabbed Itachi's left hand; she just sat there with it in front of her, examining it with her eyes, tracing the lines on his palm with her fingertips, moving each of his fingers individually.
Itachi laid his head back to fully rest on the tree. He smiled to himself as he thought, "She may not have the memories clearly in her mind, but her body remembers,"
"I must have known you," Hikari said quietly, "It's so surreal. My inhibitions just up and disappear around you. I feel like my body remembers you, but my mind can't."
"There she goes, reading my mind again," Itachi mentally said as he smiled.
"That's quite possible," he said quietly.
"I won't ask right now." said Hikari, "But I know you're not telling me something. And no, I don't plan on leaving after I figure things out, not immediately."
Itachi arched an eye brow, "Not immediately? It's not like that doesn't thrill me, but why?"
Hikari stopped examining Itachi's hand for a moment, and then she laced her fingers with his. "I guess you could say I have my reasons."
Itachi felt his heart skip a beat; he smiled and gazed at their intertwined hands before looking back at Hikari.
"I never thought things could be like this again," he thought to himself.
--
Itachi had been sitting there with Hikari for well over four hours; their intertwined hands never parted.
Hikari kept her word, she didn't ask about all the things he hadn't been telling her, but Itachi knew that she would soon. He comforted himself in the fact that she promised not to leave when he told her the truth. He just wanted a little while longer with her to somewhat try and make up for the past 8 years.
They had spent most of the time talking, and now they took turns asking each other questions.
"Do you enjoy working with the Akatsuki?" Hikari asked while tracing her finger tip over the length of the back of his hand.
"Enjoy isn't the word I'd use, but it is something to pass the time I guess." Itachi replied.
"Mm. "Hikari glanced up at him, before hiding her eyes with her lashes, focusing on his hand once more, "Your turn."
Itachi closed his eyes for a moment, contemplating what to ask. "What's your favorite color?"
Hikari paused, caught off guard by his simple question, "Purple." Her eyes glanced at him questioningly.
Itachi smiled, "I would've never guessed," he said sarcastically, "Your turn."
"Have you ever been in love?" Hikari asked nonchalantly as she moved their intertwined hands so that her cheek pressed against the back of Itachi's hand.
Itachi laughed lightly, "Yes, Hikari-chan."
"More than once?" Hikari asked.
Her breath on his hand made it tingle slightly, causing a minute skip of a heart beat in Itachi, "No, only once."
Hikari opened her mouth to ask another question, but Itachi took up his free hand, and placed a finger to her lips, "You've already asked two questions, Hikari-chan." Hikari sat silent.
"What about you? Have you ever been in love Hikari-chan?" Itachi arched an eyebrow.
Hikari's gaze left his. She took his hand away from her face and unlaced her fingers from his. She then spread his fingers out and placed their hands together at the palms. His hand was larger than hers, naturally, and Hikari just sat there looking at their hands and brooded over an answer.
"I…think so," she said.
Itachi could see the struggle in her eyes, "Think so?"
"I feel like, I'm not sure. I feel like I know what love feels like. And they say you don't know what love is until you've experienced it right? So that must mean I've loved someone. But in my 8 years at Sound, I've never fallen in love with anyone. So it must have been before then."
Itachi laid his head back onto the tree, deeply satisfied with Hikari's answer.
Hikari yawned suddenly, bringing Itachi's soft gaze back down to her.
"We should head back," he said.
"No!" Hikari said anxiously.
Itachi cocked his head a little, "Why not?"
Truth be told, Hikari really wasn't looking forward to the emotionless stone Itachi would transform into when they returned; she enjoyed his tender and warm personality. But she wasn't about to admit that.
"I want to see the sunset first." Hikari said with a sheepish smile.
She turned her head towards the horizon, as did Itachi, and they sat there and watched until the sun dipped below the hills.
"Alright," started Itachi, "time to—"he stopped as he heard a very light snore from the kunoichi.
He smiled, and then sighed. He gently picked Hikari up, and began to run through the forest cradling her close to him.
Itachi slowed down as he came near the hideout. Upon entering he crossed paths with Tobi. Tobi looked down at Hikari in Itachi's arms, then back up at Itachi's face.
"You're awfully kind and gentle with that girl." Tobi said.
"Hn," was Itachi's brilliant reply.
Tobi shrugged, "I don't really care," he said uninterested, "Just don't let her make you too vulnerable, now." Itachi could hear the arrogant smirk in Tobi's tone, and he fumed inside, but didn't dare show any hint of emotion in his face. Tobi brushed past him and left Itachi alone with Hikari.
Itachi brooded over Tobi's words, but then shook his head. "Now's no time to think that way," he told himself. Itachi walked down the long, dark hall, and walked into his room.
He placed the kunoichi on his bed and sat down on the edge next to her with a sigh. He propped his elbows on his knees, and let his face lie in his hands. He sighed once more and ran his fingers through his dark hair. He glanced over at Hikari for a moment, then back down at the floor.
"Make me vulnerable," he repeated Tobi's words, and then laughed quietly to himself, "In some ways, Hikari is stronger than I am. And besides, she's never held me back before, only pushed me forward."
He smiled to himself, but then quickly wiped the expression from his face, "I wonder what crap Tobi's trying to pull."
There you have it! And, now I'm sure you all can figure out the main paring here. ItachiXOC. I had writer's block BIG time while writing this one. The next chapter will be delayed for at least 2 weeks for two reasons. 1) I'm going to be in Utah all next week, and 2) I need to stop writing so much 'smut' as my friend puts it. (Flying bloody corks out your butt Dylan!!) I need to buckle down and come up with some plots, and that'll be hard for a tiny-brained person like me. I'll try my best though! I also need to be funnier. I mean seriously. Either I'm really confused about what genre I have in mind for my story, or I just suck at humor, and I'm the funniest person I know! The ideas are in my head I swear! I just don't know what happens when I try and put them into typed word… As always, please review! (: I would love it VERY much if people would tell me what they like and don't like, and maybe suggestions for future chapters? ;D