Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Naruto or any of its characters.
Okay, so I wrote like 1/3 of this chapter 1…2…3…6 months ago. Then I gave up on this story-lost my inspiration and whatnot. I went off to write my own original stories, but now I'm back and trying to pick things up. Hopefully this isn't too horrible. Anyways, please at least pretend to enjoy this one! And please, please, please review if you actually read this! I'd love to know that I'm not just pushing myself to write this for nothing. And creative criticism is loved, as well as suggestions for future chapters. –insert heart of love here- Haha.
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.
"Enjoy isn't the word I'd use, but it is something to pass the time I guess." Itachi replied.
"Mm. Your turn," Hikari said.
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.
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"What have I got to lose?" Kakashi asked himself while standing outside the doors of Lady Tsunade's office. He retraced and reevaluated his thoughts. After deciding that there was really nothing to lose, he knocked on the door.
"Come in, Kakashi." Tsunade called from inside.
After closing the door behind him, Kakashi turned to face Tsunade. His gaze connected with hers, and then he moved up to her desk.
Tsunade's amber eyes searched his single black orb. Suddenly, she sharply stated, "No."
Kakashi chuckled, "But I haven't even said anything yet, Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade swiveled her chair so she could look out the window onto Konoha, "Kakashi, I know it's Hikari. But I'm not going to make an exception. We don't know the situation. She isn't a threat to the village, nor is she a necessity to it. I cannot allow you to go off and look for her aimlessly."
Kakashi stiffened slightly. "I wouldn't go alone," he tried to compromise; "I'd take Naruto, and Sakura."
Tsunade folded her hands and rested her elbows on the arms of her chair. "No." Her voice was low, but stern, "I will not allow it."
Kakashi continued, "It'd be a simple search and rescue mission. Hikari's an asset to this village, you remember better than I do how skilled she was."
"Do you hear yourself Kakashi?" Tsunade said, "Simple. When was anything simple with that girl? She was an asset, but both Naruto and Sakura are assets as well, and they are assets to this village now. How do we even know for sure that that was her? Her strength is what made her so dangerous. Do you really need me to show you how many ninja this village lost on missions to stop attempts to kidnap her?"
Kakashi spoke, "She still is an asset. That was her. I know the numbers, I was a part of many of those teams myself, Lady Tsunade." He put his hands in his pockets and sighed slightly. "All I'm asking is for a week at most."
Tsunade stayed motionless, but her eyes moved from the window to her left. "That's all you're asking for?" Tsunade scoffed. "Where should I begin?" she started, "You're asking to take Naruto out of the protection of this village when the Akatsuki are hunting him. You're asking to take Sakura, my apprentice, and one of our talented medics whose skills are needed in the hospital. You're asking for me to let three of my strongest shinobi leave when they could be needed here. And you're asking me to let you be responsible for both Naruto and Sakura when you're so blinded by your fixation on finding Hikari; you'd be jeopardizing them and yourself."
Kakashi looked down at the floor as he took in what Tsunade said.
Tsunade swiveled back to face him, "The well-being of this village comes first Kakashi, you know that. "
Kakashi nodded, he really had no excuse. Everything Tsunade had said was both true and logical. But since when did someone's heart ever take logic into account?
"Right." Kakashi said in monotone as he turned on his heel. Before he got out the door Tsunade said, "I'm sorry."
Kakashi paused momentarily, and then closed the door behind him.
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Hikari lied asleep on Itachi's bed. Itachi sat in a chair across the room, looking at the snoozing kunoichi. He reran the words Tobi had said over and over in his mind.
"I'm letting him get to me," Itachi sighed and put his face in his hands.
His head jerked up as he heard a low, terrified moan come from Hikari. He stood up and walked over to the side of his bed and looked down at her. Pain and fear were both intermixed in her facial expression. Her head tossed left and right, showing an inward struggle. After a few moments, the kunoichi lie motionless once more. Itachi turned to walk back to his chair when he heard a hushed cry. He looked over his shoulder and saw tears silently streaming down Hikari's cheeks. Itachi quickly walked back to the side of the bed and slowly sat on the edge.
His eyes fixed onto the tears that slowly slipped from her eyes. He reached one hand out towards her and rubbed some tears away with his thumb when suddenly; Hikari screamed and began thrashing violently. Itachi quickly slid both his hands behind her back and lifted her up from the pillow. Her tears came quicker, and her screaming and shaking got worse. He pulled her onto his lap and held her tightly to keep her from moving. He laid his chin on her head, telling her to hush in a tender tone. Hikari's shakes slowed to a stop and her screaming quieted. But her tears still came and they stained his black shirt. Itachi lifted his chin from her head, and moments later, another scream came from Hikari.
Itachi quickly began to hush her once more. One of her hands clutched onto a handful of his black shirt, an occasional gasp for air sounding from her. Itachi rubbed her back.
"What's running through your mind, kunoichi?" he quietly asked.
He kept one hand on her back, and moved the other one to brush her some hair from her damp cheeks. As he took his hand away from her face, she caught it in one of her own, and held onto it desperately.
After Hikari calmed down, Itachi laughed in his mind as he thought, "Still sound asleep."
He gently moved her from his lap back onto the bed. When he tried to pull his hand free Hikari's grip tightened around it. "Great…" he thought to himself. He sighed before climbing in to lie next to the girl. Hikari snuggled next to him and then lied motionless. Itachi turned his head to look at her, "I'm sure I'm going to get an earful in the morning," he thought to himself with a small smile.
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Kakashi walked down the street with his nose buried in his favorite book, a pitiful attempt to try and divert his mind from stressful thoughts. As he turned a corner, he could hear shouting from the other side of the building. He moved his single eye from the pages to look up at the corner of the building in front of him. By now he could clearly distinguish the voices of his students. He sighed, closed his book, and put it in his vest before turning the corner.
Sure enough, there was Naruto and Sakura, bickering again. Kakashi rolled his eyes, "Cool it you two," he sighed while he said this. "Maybe Tsunade was right," he thought to himself, "These two would be a real pain to have on a mission like this."
"Sakura is blaming me for Hikari leaving!" Naruto stuck a finger at her.
Sakura smacked his hand away angrily, "Naruto was a jerk to her! Why else would she leave? "
Naruto then turned to face her, "How was I a jerk?!"
"'You girls get so bitchy once a month?? Big boobs are very attractive??' Jeez, Naruto! How immature could you be?"
Kakashi shook his head with a sigh, "These two fight as much as…" his eyes went wide in shock. "Why didn't I think of that before?!" Kakashi looked back towards Naruto and Sakura, "Gotta go. You two stop fighting and go train or something." And without another word, Kakashi was gone with a poof of smoke.
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A girl in her early twenties walked into the restaurant a scanned the vicinity. The woman was tall and slender, about 6 feet tall and maybe 120 pounds. She had shoulder length chocolate brown hair that was naturally wavy. Her skin was a light healthy color and her eyes were a light green color. Her outfit was of the same green color-a tight fitting sleeveless shirt that acted more as a dress, extending down to her lower hips. The remaining skin on her legs was covered by white training tape (A/N: could not remember what it's really called! D ). With standard black sandals, it was easy to see that this woman was a kunoichi. The Leaf ninja headband she wore proudly on her forehead was probably the biggest indicator.
She placed her hands on her hips and let out an angry sigh, "Where is he?" she thought to herself. She flipped her hair behind her shoulder with her hand, and then strode over to a bench where she would be able to have a view of the entire restaurant.
She placed an elbow on the table and laid her chin in her palm, her eyes moved about the room as if she were daydreaming.
"What can I get for you?" the woman picked her head up to look at a handsome man.
"Uh," she stuttered for a moment, "Just some water."
The man nodded with a smile and walked away. The woman was about to go back to her daydreaming when she noticed someone entering the restaurant. She furrowed her brows as she made eye contact with the man.
He walked over with a smirk and sat down across from her. "What's with the ugly face, Manami?"
"Why are you always late, Masaru?" she said ignoring his insult.
The man was about her age, with short, shaggy light brown hair. His eyes were a dark cerulean color, and his skin was slightly tanned. He wore a slightly baggy navy blue top and a matching pair of pants with black sandals. He wore his ninja headband tied around the upper part of his left arm, right underneath his shoulder.
Masaru propped his elbows on the table and folded his hands in front of his face, "If I'm always late, why do you still expect me to be on time, Manami?"
Manami rolled her eyes, "It's a simple thing, dinner every other week. You can't even make an effort to be on time for this either I guess."
"You're water, Miss." The man had returned and placed a glass of water on the table.
"Thanks," Manami nodded, but still glared at Masaru.
"Anything for you, Sir?" the man turned to Masaru.
"Some sake and an order of barbecued pork, please." Masaru grinned at the man.
His eyes trailed the man as he walked away, the grin on his face only growing wider.
A sudden hand against the back of his head snapped him back to reality, "Ow!" Masaru yelped and rubbed the back of his head, "What the hell was that for Manami?"
"Don't even think about it," her eyes turned to angry slits.
"You don't have to get violent," he spat back.
The man suddenly reappeared with Masaru's order, "Here you are," he placed the plate and sake on the table. "I'll check up later, enjoy."
This time Masaru just glared at Manami angrily. She laid her chin back in her palm with a bored look on her face.
"Good job," Manami spoke to Masaru, "See? Training is effective." A small smile spread on her face.
Masaru just rolled his eyes and shoved the plate forward towards the middle of the table and handed Manami a pair of chopsticks.
The two began eating the meat, and Masaru nudged the sake bottle over. Manami pushed it back.
He rolled his eyes, "Water? Are you serious? When are you ever going to live Manami?"
She smirked while looking down at the plate of food, "Someone has to be sober in order to carry your drunken ass home."
"Are you saying I drink too much?" He pointed his chopsticks at her playfully.
"Just enough to wake up the next morning with a hangover."
Masaru downed his drink in one gulp, and then poured more from the bottle. "I don't get hangovers."
Manami stuffed a piece of meat in her mouth, "Yeah, and birds don't fly. 'Don't get hangovers', my ass you don't. You obviously don't remember how we first met."
"Not really," Masaru smiled.
"See," Manami laughed, "You don't remember because you had a hangover the night after we met."
Masaru stopped and thought for a moment, "Oh," his cheeks turned a crimson color, "You can't blame me for that. I was just a kid, and it's not like you were drinking any less than I was."
He downed his shot of sake once more. This time, Manami's face flushed crimson. "Uh-h." she cleared her throat nervously.
Masaru laughed, "That's the same face you gave me that morning. That I could never forget."
Manami forced a smile, but Masaru could still tell he had brought up some bad memories. He placed his hand over hers," Hey," his tone was soft, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up Mii-chan."
She shook her head lightly, and gave him a sincere smile, "Naw, it's nothing. I can be such a hormonal wreck sometimes." She moved her gaze away from his face and continued thinking in her mind, "You'd think it'd stop hurting after so long. Get it together Manami, you're so weak."
"Stop beating yourself up," Her attention was captured by Masaru's serious tone.
"What are you talking about?" she offered a smile.
He just rolled his eyes, "Stop it Mii-chan. You always do that, pretend like nothing's wrong. You shouldn't bottle up things like that."
She pulled her hand out from under his, placed it in her lap, and continued eating.
Masaru became frustrated, "Are we going to have this argument again?"
Manami keep her eyes down, and replied, "Only if you push it again." Her tone sounded bored.
"If you bottle things like that up, you never get over it. You need to get it out, so you can leave it behind. You'll never be able to forget the past if you hold onto it Manami."
Manami's brows furrowed in anger, but she kept her mouth shut and continued eating.
Masaru saw that she wasn't going to answer, and he got angry himself. He downed some more sake, and began pouring another shot. "Jeez Manami. That's the only thing about you that irritates me. You act so childish, not letting anyone help you."
"I don't want your help, Masaru," Manami kept her eyes down and tried to keep her tone even.
"Why not?" his tone was harsh, "Why are you always like this? You get all sad about the past then don't want any help to try and forget it. You-"
Manami lost her control and slammed her palm down onto the table, "I don't want to forget!" Her olive green eyes were misted over with tears.
Masaru just sat there, dumbfounded.
"Damn it, Masaru," Manami wiped her eyes; "You always have to push these things, don't you?"
"What are you talking about? Why not forget?" Masaru's voice was low.
"I never want to forget. The past isn't what hurts, Masaru. It's now, it's the present. It's the future. All of that hurts to think about, but not the past." Manami's voice was a whisper.
Masaru didn't know how to respond, he just sat there for a moment. Boy, did he feel like crap now. Well, we all know what's good for forgetting things and draining yourself of emotion. He downed his sake and poured some more, "Come on hangover," he thought to himself.
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(A couple hours, and a dozen shots of sake later…)
Manami felt better after getting that out. She decided not to say anymore, and to try and salvage whatever fun there was left in the evening. Masaru seemed to try and forget their little fight, but she could tell that she made him feel bad because, boy, he really was trying to get drunk. Masaru always did that when he felt upset.
Manami paid for their meal, and all of Masaru's sake…she'd strangle the money out of him later.
"Are-vwe leavin allllready?" Masaru's face was flushed and his speech was horribly slurred.
"Yes, we are." Manami couldn't help but smile as she held out her hand to him, "My little drunkard."
Masaru took her hand, "I'm nuuut d-d-d-runk." Once Manami got him on his feet she wrapped his arm around her should and wrapped her own arm around his waist. Masaru slouched and laid his cheek on the top of her head.
"Of course you're not," Manami said sarcastically as she practically dragged him out of the restaurant.
They slowly made their way through the streets of Konoha in silence, the streets were relatively empty as the sun slowly disappeared from the sky.
The two were about another block away from Masaru's home when he suddenly spoke, "I'm sorry about pushing you."
Manami was caught off guard, but kept quiet.
"You should have told me how you felt, Mii-chan." His voice sounded sleepy.
"Hush now," she said quietly, "You're tired and drunk, speaking nonsense."
"Naw-uh," Masaru replied. "I would have understood."
Manami kept quiet again, this was not what she wanted to hear right now. True, she didn't want to forget the past, but she did want to forget that. "There was really only one person that understood," she thought to herself. "But now she's gone…" She felt her depressed mood coming back as they rounded the last corner and walked up to Masaru's home.
Manami dragged Masaru up to the door, "Where's your house key, Masaru?"
"Uhhh. It's…hah, hah, hah." Masaru sounded like a loon.
Manami sighed, "Damn it Masaru." She propped him up against the wall next to his front door, "I don't want to wake Kaito up." She began digging in his pants pocket. "I don't know why he just doesn't come with us," she was talking more to herself than Masaru.
Manami began rummaging through his other pocket when she heard the door open. "Manami-chan?" she looked to her left to see Kaito's light blond head sticking out. "What are you doing to Masaru?"
"Uh-hh," Manami quickly removed her hand from Masaru's pocket, "I was looking for his house key." Wow, did this feel awkward.
"Masaru-kun got drunk again, didn't he?" Kaito sighed and walked out to help Manami carry Masaru inside.
"Yeah," she said as she wrapped Masaru's left arm around her shoulders. After they got him into his bed, Manami and Kaito took a minute to talk to each other.
"I'm sorry," Manami started, "I know I shouldn't let him drink so—"
Kaito held up a hand, "Masaru does what he wants, I know that." He offered a smile, "At least you're nice enough to drag his ass home. I'd just leave him there."
Manami laughed, "What kind of man did I leave my Masaru with?"
"He doesn't complain too much," Kaito laughed too.
Manami took a moment to look at Kaito. Short, light blond hair, with powder blue eyes that stood out underneath his ninja headband.
Manami wore a small smile, and her olive eyes were smoldering, "No, I don't see any reason why he would." Once she heard herself she shook her head, god did she sound like a sentimental loser. "I mean, you do seem to stand him pretty well. He can be an asshole sometimes."
"Well," Kaito was cut short by a soft knock at the door.
Manami's olive eyes widened slightly, sensing the chakra, "What does he want?"
Manami swiftly walked to the door and opened it to find, "Kakashi?"
The silver haired man stood with his left hand in his pocket, "Manami." He nodded. "Can I come in?"
Manami looked to Kaito; when he nodded she stepped out of the way and closed the door behind Kakashi as he entered.
Kakashi leaned against the nearest wall and closed his eye with a sigh. Manami and Kaito stood in front of him; Manami folded her arms against her chest, "No."
Kakashi sigh was louder this time, "What's with women and saying no before I say anything?"
Manami cocked an eyebrow, "So, Tsunade-sama said no too? What could you possibly want to do so badly that would provoke you to find me even after Tsunade said no?"
Kakashi opened his eye and looked Manami straight in the eye, yeah, Manami could see he had something big planned.
Manami's mouth dropped and her eyes went wide at what Kakashi had to say next, "I want you and your team to come with me. I've found Hikari, and I'm going after her."
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Hikari's eyes cracked open a little, but she quickly squeezed them shut to try and go back to sleep. She hated waking up when she wasn't ready to get up; she tried to move her hand. When she couldn't her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she decided it would be worth it to open her eyes in order to curb her curiosity.
She opened her eyes slightly, and then her eyes went wide with shock when she saw Itachi right in front of her. His eyes were shut, and his breathing was slow-he was sleeping soundly. She found that her hand was in his, "Wha-?" she thought to herself. "I don't remember this." She stared at their hands, and then she looked back up to his face.
He was so peaceful when he was asleep; Hikari felt déjà vu looking at his face. This was going to drive her mad, she kept feeling these sensations of familiarity, but no memories came back to her.
She decided not to worry about it; she learned to enjoy normal Itachi for as long as she could. He had bi-polar disorder or something; he always acted like a completely different person around Deidara and everyone else. She kept telling herself that he probably had a reason behind that, but it still didn't make her feel any less irritated.
She scooted a little closer to him and snuggled her face lightly into his chest. With a small sigh and a smile, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
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Okaaaaay. Hahaha. Well, this was a little challenging. Can't believe it took me hours to write this crap, but yes. D: I feel like I'm lacking in creativity with this story. But oh well. Chapter 7 isn't going to be up until after next Saturday. This is my last week in school before I get 3 weeks off, and I'm going to have all my focus on school until vacation. Plus it'll give me time to think of how Chapter 7 is going to go, and we all know how long it can take me to think of a story…it took me 6 months last time didn't it? xDD I hope whoever reads this enjoys this at least. And please leave a review if you do read! A small comment about what you liked/disliked, some creative criticism, or some suggestions would be very appreciated! :]