Chapter 8
She slipped a little out of her dark sleep when Itachi gently shook her.
"You've been asleep for two days, Yani, you have to drink this," she heard. So she opened her mouth and drank the cool water. Then, rough hands and strong arms lowered her back onto a mat that smelled like burnt coffee and snow. She continued to sleep.
The next time she woke up slightly, it was next to a warm body. She tried to move closer, but found she was too weak to move. But the same strong arm and rough hand that had held her before drew her closer to the body, as if they understood her intentions. She drifted off to sleep again.
She woke up for a third time when she heard voices.
"Is she okay? She's been asleep for five days now."
"She's fine."
"Itachi, you have to eat, too, even if you're worried."
"I'm not worried. And I'm fine."
"When will she wake up?"
"When she's done healing."
"But she has no wounds on her."
"I wasn't talking about her body. I was talking about her heart." The conversation blurred out as she went back to sleep.
And suddenly, she was wide-awake, staring up at a ceiling that was bathed in streaks of moonlight. She was aware of a rough hand stroking her hair, occasionally brushing her cheeks.
"Are you awake now?" Yani's eyes flickered upwards. Itachi sat right next to her head, looking out the window into the expanse of stars.
"Yeah," she answered quietly, stretching. After a while, she tried to sit up. The rough hand moved away, not helping her up. She was grateful; she wasn't used to being so weak. Eventually, her chest was upright, though her head was spinning. She heard a rustle and saw Itachi come into her peripheral vision.
"Here." A cup of water came into view. Yani shook her head. "You have to drink something. You're going to get sick." He exhaled heavily when she shook her head again and moved the cup right against her mouth, curving an arm mildly around her back. "Drink. That's an order," he growled sternly, looking straight into her black and light-blue eyes. She flinched slightly and then drank a little, too tired to scowl. After, he put the cup down, he turned back to study her.
"Come on, let's go outside," he said, when he saw the longing glances she threw at the open window. When he interlaced their fingers together, his heart fluttered. Ignoring the feeling, he helped Yani slowly stand, stifling a sigh when she shook away his hand. Faster than he would have liked, she walked outside, frail in the moonlight. Almost on an instinct, Itachi caught her before she collapsed again.
"What happened?" she asked, when she recovered sufficiently, tapping his badly bandaged hand, making him wince.
"Ahhh…" he answered, looking sheepish, "I grabbed the spear that you made out of the dark mist from your clothes. It slashed and burned my hand, but I haven't had time to wrap it well…" He trailed off as Yani's eyes became wider with each word. She lunged for his kunai pouch, but he dodged just in time, and grabbed her hands, grimacing because of the pain in his right hand.
"No, Yani. You are not cutting yourself over me." She struggled, but in her weakened state, she was no match for Itachi.
"Why won't you let me help you?" she begged, desperate, "This is the only way I know how to help people. This and taking their—" She refused to speak further.
"Taking their what?" She looked away, jerking her wrists out of his grasp. He sighed loudly, looking up at this night sky, running his left hand through his hair. He looked down when he felt her hand touch his injured one. "No, Yani," he said tiredly, drawing his hand away.
"I won't cut myself. I'll do it the regular way." She made a cupping motion with her hands and the water in the air condensed into a large ice bowl, filled with cool water. He didn't protest when she made him sit down on the ground and tugged his hand into the bowl. When the blood-clotted bandages softened enough, she pulled them away gently from his skin. In some places, they had merged into the skin and she had to tug softly for them to come off, making Itachi cringe slightly.
His palm was basically cut to the bone, his fingers close to being mutilated. Blood had clotted over everything but now they were bleeding again.
"I'm surprised you didn't get an infection." Itachi just smiled slightly. But when she started to sing about hearts being mended with time, the smile slipped off his face and was replaced by a thoughtful look. Slowly, the wound closed itself, hiding the white gleam of bone. But without the actual blood, it wasn't the miraculous, scar-less healing that Itachi had seen before. However, only a few deep cuts were left, although they were now bleeding profusely.
There was a weak shimmer of light by her hand and suddenly, fresh, clean, bandages appeared on her outstretched palm. Taking his hand out of the water, she started to wrap it with the lightest of touches. A black pearl landed on Itachi's wounded hand, in the way of the bandaging. Yani brushed it away impatiently, while two others clinked on the ground. When Itachi looked at her face, he was surprised to find it as stoic as his, as if she didn't know she had tears tracing down her cheeks.
"You know, Yani, it's okay to cry." Her eyes flickered up briefly and then settled back onto his hand.
"You don't cry."
"I'm the furthest thing you want to be." She continued to wrap his hand, not responding.
"Hey," she looked up, her face inches away from his. He ignored the pang in his heart again and tapped under her eye. "Don't you think you might get rid of that terrible blackness in your eyes if you cried?"
"I burn the ground to ashes when I cry for real."
"Poor grass." She smiled half-heartedly.
"I didn't know you were funny." He leaned back, matching her smile, while she went back to wrapping his hand.
"Look at me." She was still crying when she looked back up. His rough hand brushed away some tears on her cheek. "Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"
"Because it's none of your concern."
"So what? That just means I won't tell it to anybody else, right?" She hesitated, pulling her head back down.
"…you know when I said I take things from people."
"Yes." Itachi waited for her to go on.
"I take their sadness." She looked back up again, locking eyes with him. "I take whatever little sorrows they have permanently. For those that are grieving, I shoulder the burden. When they harbor something so huge, so hurtful in their heart that I can't take it completely away, I take it temporarily, or a part of it." Reaching out her hand, she curled it over Itachi's heart, which skipped another beat. "I could do it for you. I could make you happy for the rest of your life." She cupped her other hand over his face, getting up on her knees. "I can feel that sadness in your heart. It's black, blacker than anything I've ever felt before. You don't have to feel that way anymore." His eyes were wide, shocked.
Yani started the ritual. "Sing me your life-song, child," she whispered, her eyes still focused on his, and traced a finger down his sharp nose, just as she had for Sasuke, for countless of other people. "Tell me what you can't tell anyone else." She dragged her fingertips gently down his left cheek. "Tell me what despairs you", she said and touched one finger softly to his left eyelid. "And you will be free." But before she could kiss his forehead, Itachi covered her mouth with his hand.
"I'm so sorry, Yani. But I can't let you do this. I can't tell you what I'm feeling. I have to face this sadness alone." With that, he got up and walked away from her, wrapping the rest of the bandage himself.
Kabuto looked up, his head cocked.
"I believe someone is here, my lord." Orochimaru shifted.
"Oh? And who is this someone?" Kabuto hesitated.
"Once again, the presence flickers. Yani, perhaps?" Sasuke stiffened behind Orochimaru's throne.
"Hmmm…" Orochimaru's eyes wandered lazily to Saskue's face, which was stony. "Very well Kabuto, go and escort her here. Make sure no harm falls upon her." Kabuto nodded curtly and walked into the tunnel that led to the main entrance. Halfway there, he met Yani's glowing figure. As he did last time, he bowed mock politely.
"Yani," he acknowledged, holding out his arm. Yani took it, inclining her head. Although there was a smile on her face, her ice-blue eyes were sad.
"Ahhh… Yani," Orochimaru said when they walked into the room, "how nice to see you again." She didn't say anything, only smiled sweetly. "How can I help you today?"
"Can Sasuke take a day off?" she asked, her hands behind her back. Orochimaru turned his head slightly towards Sasuke.
"Would you like to go with her?" Sasuke nodded. Orochimaru thought a bit longer. "Fine." As soon as he said this, Sasuke leaped across the room, scooped Yani up, and ran out of the cave. When they burst out into the open air, the sun was just slipping over the horizon.
"Sasuke, let me—"
"Hush. Not here. I think people are listening," he whispered, interrupting her. He jumped on the nearest branch, traveling that was for a good fifteen minutes. When he landed on the last branch of the forest, Yani twisted out of this grasp, plummeting fifty feet to the ground and landing lightly and soundlessly on her feet. She took off running, slowing down for Sasuke, when he had finally jumped to the ground, landing, of course, not as gracefully as Yani. For another ten minutes, Sasuke followed Yani, hoping he didn't lose her.
Finally, Yani stopped in a field, a little ahead of Sasuke, who tackled her to the ground. When they stopped tumbling over each other, Yani was on top of a smiling Sasuke, their faces closer than they had ever been.
"Did you miss me?" Sasuke asked, lifting an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Yani replied, laughing breathlessly. She rolled off him and nestled into his side. "Oh! You changed your outfit." She said, gently touching his white vest and purple rope belt. He didn't respond but instead tangled his hand into her hair, moving himself closer until their noses were touching.
"Why am I hearing rumors that you're an outlaw ninja now?" Yani would have moved but an arm around her waist and a hand twined into her hair kept her from moving at all. She paled.
"Ummm…"
"Yes?"
"I was protecting members of the Akastuki." Sasuke looked mildly impressed.
"Who?" She scowled as if remembering something unpleasant.
"It's none of you're concern." His gaze narrowed.
"If it has anything to do with you, it's of my concern." She made a noise of disbelief and sat up when his hold loosened.
"Little boy, think about what you're saying before you say it." Suddenly she found herself pinned to the ground, her wrists held above her head. "Careful," she warned to the heavy body above her.
"Wanna know something, Yani?" she could feel his mouth slowly running up the curve of her face. "Don't I remember you telling me that when I was taller than you, someone was going to go out with me?" When she blushed, his mouth curved into a smirk. "Guess who's taller than you now?"
"I said that so you would go to sleep that day," she snapped. He rolled to the ground beside her, letting her sit up.
"Why won't you let me date you?" he asked, his face curious. She sighed, drawing her knees up. The silence stretched onwards.
"After you ask someone out and you start to date them," she started, her chin on her knees, "you really only have two options after that." She turned her head slightly in his direction. "One, you marry that person." Her voice dropped. "Two, you break up." Silence once again filled the air as Yani let Sasuke think. "I don't think we're going to get married. So what's the point of dating if we're going to break up anyway?"
"Didn't you date Kakashi?"
"It was a mistake. He got hurt when we broke up. Hell, I got hurt when we broke up. We were stupid."
"Why didn't you get married to him?" She sighed, reluctant to tell the lengthy story again.
"A long time ago, when I was born, or rather, made, all the gods, took a liking to me. All the gods who weren't married wanted me to be their bride. So did all the gods who were married, but that's beside the point. One day," her voice faltered. "A-Ares raped me. And I couldn't do anything, because he was a god. Hades found me and he took me to the Underworld to take care of me. He was basically the only one who didn't want be for a bride. Then, he put a very powerful blessing on me. He said that if I didn't want to marry someone, I had every right to reject him, because I was already bound to someone, my soul mate. He said I would know who my soul mate was through a series of tests. He would pass every test. If he failed even one, he wouldn't be my soul mate."
"What are the tests?"
"I'm not allowed to tell you." Sasuke leaned back on his hands, thinking about what Yani had said.
"Did I pass any?"
"I'm not allowed to say, unless you pass all of them."
"Did I fail any?" She smiled.
"I'm not allowed to say" A peaceful silence lapsed while Sasuke pondered over what the tests could be.
"Hey Yani?" When she turned Sasuke's lips collided into hers. It was a searing kiss, one that pushed her to the ground under Sasuke. He licked her lower lip, asking her to open her mouth, his tongue tracing patterns in her mouth when she did. Finally, they broke apart, breathing hard.
"Did I pass any now?" he asked, grinning mischievously.
"I can't say," she responded, shaky.
"I'll take that as a yes." With that, he leaned in for another kiss.
"Where are you going?" Kisame asked when he saw Itachi strap on his equipment.
"To the meadow." He put on his coat and picked up his bamboo hat.
"Yani's meadow?" He nodded. "I haven't seen her around in awhile. Did you guys get into a fight?" There was no answer.
"A lover's quarrel?"
"Funny." Kisame smiled, amused at Itachi's stoic face.
"Don't worry, Itachi. You were always kinder than all of us. She'll forgive you." Kisame's face became thoughtful. "Do you love her?"
"No."
"Then what do you think of her as?" The only sound was the rustle of Itachi's coat as he moved over to the doorway. "Not to sound cliché, Itachi, But I don't think we're allowed to love people or let people love us. Romance doesn't come with the job description."
"I said I didn't love her, didn't I?" Kisame shrugged as Itachi walked out the door of their room.
"Just saying," He called out after Itachi, "you guys would make a perfect couple."
When he arrived at the clearing, he slowed down, moving so that he was barely making a sound. He peered through the dense foliage. Yani was curled up on her side, her back to Itachi's direction. He couldn't see her face, only her long hair spilling to the ground behind her. From where he was standing, Itachi thought he could see the slight shift of her frame as she inhaled and exhaled.
She didn't move when he walked over to her, or sat down next to her.
"Hey," he said, looking at her still form.
"Hey," she replied, not looking around. She didn't say anything else.
"Are you angry with me?"
"No."
"Can you please turn around then?"
"No." Itachi sighed heavily. When she heard that, she turned her torso until she was looking into his eyes, studying him.
"Is your hand okay?" she asked, touching her fingertips to his. His mouth curved upwards into the barest hint of a smile.
"It's fine." She withdrew her fingers, her light blue eyes mixing with swirls of black, as she sat up.
"You're sadder today, aren't you?" He was silent. When she reached for his face, he blocked it with the hilt of his sword. Her hand fell back, her eyes more black than ice blue.
"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm not sure if you realize it, but even if you touch someone without the intention of healing, you take his sadness away. Or at least some of it." Yani turned away from him, curling up back on the ground.
"Hey, come on." Yani settled once more into the steady rhythm of breathing. "Yani." He felt her move slightly away from him. "Yani, usually people avoid pain. Why would you want those of others?"
"Everyone wants to be happy. And everyone wants to be of some use" she whispered quietly, "so why not me? I can be helpful in a way nobody else can. Maybe," her voice dropped to the point where Itachi had to lean forward to hear, "maybe if I take someone's sadness away, they'll learn to love me. And I can also finally be happy."
Why is it always love? Itachi thought. For the thousandth time, his heart twinged when he looked at Yani's fluid form. Indigestion, probably, he said to himself, uneasy, willing himself not to touch her hair, her cheek, anywhere. As the day eased on, the little meadow creaked sleepily in the heat. Itachi could have sworn the trees nearby that shaded Yani moved their branches slightly to keep their shadow evenly over Yani as the position of the sun changed. He remained sitting, leaning back on his hands, running his eyes over her fragile, beautiful form. Then, fireflies blinked on and off as night crept slowly across the sky. Still, Yani remained curled up on the ground, unresponsive to the occasional howls that rang across the sky.
Finally, Itachi saw Yani's body relax, right before dusk, in a natural sleep. Her breaths took on a heavier quality, rattling a little because of the cold. He waited a little and then moved ever so slowly to curl up next to her cold body, keeping her from shivering, but making sure he was not touching her, that only the body heat radiating off him kept her warm. Half the night passed like this, with Itachi studying her tired, sad, and still slightly desperate face in the pale moonlight, really wanting to wrap his arms, legs, heart around her. But finally, he was aware that it was time to go. He carefully moved away from Yani, who had unconsciously moved closer to him while she had been sleeping, and stood up quietly. Then, he took off his coat and tucked it in around Yani. Once again, Yani smiled when Itachi accidently grazed her face with his hand. He, on the other hand, was jolted with a startlingly vivid picture of the ruins of a smoking, bloody village. He quickly jerked his hand away and was about to flee into the forest when he stopped to look at Yani's face. It seemed less… intense… in its sadness.
By the time Yani opened her eyes in the morning, Itachi had been long gone. Her breath steamed in the cool morning air, swirling as the wind picked it up and dissipated it into the air. She was surprised she was not cold; usually on mornings like these, she woke up with blue lips and chattering teeth, but it was much better than sleeping in that huge house alone. Her eyes widened when she smelled the powerful scent of burnt coffee and the airy scent of snow. Her hands felt the blanket draped tenderly around her and recognized it as a jacket. When she brought it to her nose, the heady scent she had smelled before swirled around in her brain.
"Itachi?" she called out, but was greeted by the sound of silence. Her stomach twisted in disappointment, a feeling she hadn't had for a while. She brushed it aside as she stood up, slipping her arms through the jacket, although it was too big on her. "That idiot," she muttered, "forgetting his coat." But she clutched the collar tighter around her, burying her nose in a smell that she wished would whirl around her forever. She shook her head, regaining her senses, and skimmed over to the mansion that was her home. Once she slipped inside, she snatched a couple of items around various parts of the house. Then, she slid out the door, closing it behind her, and started the long walk to the Akatuski base.
"Oh, Yani! Whatcha doin' here, hm?" Yani laughed and hugged Diedara, raising a hand to the chorus of hello's around the table.
"I brought dessert," Yani said, and placed a cake box in the middle of the table. A blue haired girl with multiple piercings smiled warmly at Yani and stood up.
"Hi, my name is Konan, nice to meet you, Yani. I heard so much about you." Two elegant hands shook and the one belonging to Yani automatically went up to Konan's face.
"Nice to meet you, too, Konan. May I…?"
"Of course." Yani's sensitive fingers gently went over her heart shaped face, pausing curiously when she felt the piercings. But before she could continue, Kisame lifted her and crushed her, gently, in a bear hug. "Kisame! I missed you!"
"You didn't visit in a while. I thought that gigantic chakra of yours had been a bluff and you had died somewhere."
"Hah! I wouldn't just die somewhere, silly!" Yani was once again picked up, though not quite so high this time, and hugged.
"Hey, sis," Hidan grinned and set her down, ruffling her hair, "I hope that cake is strawberry flavored."
"It is! I know you like it, so I made strawberry."
"Good girl," Hidan said and gave her one more rub on the head before sitting by the table and starting his dinner again. Just when he let her go, Yani felt stitches wrap around her body and draw her into the arms of Kakuzu, who hugged her briefly.
"Do you need money?"
"No," she said scowling, "do you?"
"My coffer is always open." Yani smiled and handed him a bag of golden coins.
"I recently sold some drawings, and you know me too well," she teased, sticking her tongue out, "you know I don't need money." The stitches tightened around her, Kakuzu's version of a smile, and let go, slithering back into his arms.
"Thank you for the cake, Yani," Konan said serenely. "Would you like some dinner?"
"Ah, no thanks, I don't like steak."
"Who's jacket are you wearing, hm?"
"Itachi's. I meant to give it back to him. Do you know where he is?" The table quieted. Eventually, all of them looked at Kisame, who was his partner, silently choosing him to explain everything.
"Itachi hasn't been… well. He's been coughing a lot more recently and there are dark circles under his eyes. And he didn't get any sleep at all last night because he went somewhere," at this point Kisame stared pointedly at Yani, "and came back with a fever and chills. He refused medicine or food. I think he's in his room. I saw him take a couple of apples in there. Stop getting so worried," he said when he saw Yani's pale face, "he'll be fine."
"Is she going to be fine in there? By herself?" Konan said after Yani had bolted.
"Itachi is a gentleman, Konan. She'll be fine." Hidan cut another piece of steak but spit it out when a knife almost hit his face.
Hidan's screams of rage at Diedara faded as Yani ran to Itachi's room. She burst into the room, breathing hard. Itachi was sitting, his back against the wall, calmly peeling apples with a kunai in sweatpants and a gray shirt. But as soon as she came in, he looked startled and worried and stood up. As soon as he did, he clutched his chest in pain and burst out coughing violently. In an instant, Yani was beside him, healing his throat with a brush of her hand and a thrum of her voice. Once again, Itachi caught her before she collapsed.
"When's the last time you ate?" Yani struggled out of his grasp, scowling.
"Why did you leave me your jacket? Now you're sick, aren't you?" Itachi took one look at Yani and had to stifle the almost overpowering urge to kiss her. Her hair was messy, her cheeks, red, and she was almost drowning in Itachi's jacket. She was breathing heavily and her eyes were a crackling deep, angry, blue. In other words, she was absolutely gorgeous. Itachi was just about to smile when he saw other things about her, making the thought of a smile vanish from his mind. The unnatural shine and flickering of her eyes. Her pale and shaking hands. In one step, he was right in front of Yani and pressed his forehead to hers, making her yelp.
"You idiot. You're the sick one," Itachi said gently, straightening up to smooth back her hair. She moved back, clearly shaken. "Get in my bed," Itachi said, walking out the door with the bowl of peeled apples, "I'll be right back. I have to get something." When he entered the kitchen, Kisame and Hidan were also there, eating the rest of the pieces of cake.
"Did Yani find you?" Hidan mumbled around a mouthful of cake.
"That idiot walked all the way to our base with a ridiculously high fever." Both Hidan and Kisame choked slightly.
"What?" Kisame and Hidan exclaimed, swallowing their cake. Itachi fished ice out of the fridge, wrapping it in a towel. Quickly, he cored and sliced the apples, filling another bowl with the slices.
"Make sure everyone is quiet," he said, before clamping a thermometer between his teeth and picking up the iced towel and bowl of apples. When he entered his room again, he was surprised to see Yani actually sitting on his mat. "Good girl," he praised quietly, inserting the thermometer in her mouth, checking it a minute later to find that it read one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit. "Get under the covers."
"No." The quiet refusal unnerved him more than a screaming one would have.
"Yani, you're going to get cold."
"I don't care."
"If you don't get under the blankets this instant, I'll be forced to transfer body heat in another way," he threatened, "and I don't think you would like it."
"I don't care, stupid." He sighed, the anger going out of him, only to be replaced by worry. He bit into an apple slice, giving the other half to Yani, who ate it quietly.
"Eat the rest," he commanded, placing the bowl in front of her. When he was sure that she was eating, he got a bowl of water from the kitchen and dumped the ice in it along with the towel. "Yani, get under the covers and take off the jacket." She did, to his surprise, putting aside the half eaten bowl of apples. She slid underneath the blankets, facing away from him. He wrung out the now cold towel and folded it in half. "Come here, Yani." There was no response. "Yani." She only pulled the blankets above her head. "Yani!"
When she turned around slowly, Itachi's eyes immediately softened. Her eyes were pitch black, her face streaked with tears.
"Y-yes?" she stuttered. He gently wiped her tears with his thumb and placed the cold towel on her forehead, making sure to cover her eyes.
"Go to sleep Yani, you're sicker than I am." He shifted so that he was leaning against the wall, right by Yani's head.
"Those… you were going to eat those apples, were you? You didn't eat dinner, too."
"Eating dinner is no big deal for me. You looked like you skipped at least three meals."
"Four."
"Even worse." Yani struggled into a sitting position, making Itachi sigh. But he became very still when Yani picked up an apple slice and held it to his mouth.
"Ahhh…" she said, opening her mouth slightly. His thoughts flashed back to the same scene in another time with another girl.
"Ah, Itachi, you should eat, right?"
"Hn." She giggled and nuzzled into Itachi's outstretched arms. Then she held up an apple slice.
"Here. Ah!"Itachi smiled and bit the apple. "Is it good?"
"You tell me." He kissed her roughly, putting one hand under her chin.
"Itachi?" He snapped out of it, brought back into the current time by that lovely voice. She lowered the apple, her eyes turning back into the heartbreaking mixture of black and light blue. "You just dropped in brightness by a couple of notches. Are you okay?" His eyes focused on her face and suddenly, he smiled. "Okay… now it just got brighter."
"Yeah, I'm fine." He wrapped his fingers around her wrist and raised the apple again so he could bite into it.
I'm not going to let her die. It's a different time, Itachi, snap out of it, he thought. She's here with you right now. Don't let her go.
She shifted her hand towards him, but thought better of it and retracted her hand, instead, pushing the bowl closer to him and laying down on the mat. Instead of covering herself with the blanket, she took the jacket and pulled it up to her nose, looking pensively at the wall.
Itachi noticed that she wasn't even bothering to close her eyes and go to sleep.
"I told you to go to sleep." Just then, Kisame walked inside the room.
"Hey guppy, you okay?" Yani smiled, still staring at the wall.
"Yea. Can you sleep with me? I can't sleep in a closed area without someone else."
"Sure, come here." Yani leaped into his outstretched arms. Itachi thought nothing of the roaring jealousy in his chest and say on his now vacant bed, eating the rest of the apples.
The night went on and her breathing settled into its quiet rhythm, barely audible over Kisame's snoring. In the half-light, he say that she still held the jacket to her nose, He walked over to her and slowly drew the jacket away from her fingers, covering her with the blanket. But as soon as he say back down, Yani started to whimper. Alarmed, he gave her back his jacket, stunned to see her quiet down immediately when she unconsciously moved it to her face. He took it away again, replacing it with Kisame's jacket. She whimpered again, this time louder. He replaced Kisame's jacket with on of this own shirts, fresh from the laundry. She quieted down bust still had a panicked expression. Then he took off the shirt he was wearing and gave it to her.
He almost laughed when she smiled in content and nuzzled it.
"So is it two way, this feeling?" Holding his jacket to his nose, he inhaled. It was his jacket, so of course he picked up his own scent. But the other scent woven into his clothes almost made him weak-kneed. It was mint and rain, almost like the forest on a rainy day. The scent wrapped around him, faint. He desperately wanted to know what a strong scent would be like. Itachi lowered himself onto the ground, still clutching the jacket to his nose.
I should go to sleep, he thought, I haven't slept in awhile. But he couldn't stop himself from looking at Yani, studying her face once again.
Suddenly, a wolf howled right outside and she jerked awake. The wolf howled again and Yani lurched to her feet, leaping over Kisame. She stood stock-still in the middle of the room, as if sensing the atmosphere of the world. Her body relaxed and she slowly started to move towards the door.
"Where are you going?" She flinched, startled. When she turned around, Itachi was standing with his arms crossed.
I… have to go somewhere."
"You're still sick. Why don't you rest?" He felt her eyes on him, trying to see if she could trust him.
"Kakashi is having one of his… bad days." Itachi raised his eyebrows. "He needs somebody." With a few steps, Itachi crossed over to Yani and put a hand on her forehead. He didn't want to let her go. Of course he didn't. She still had a fever and she still looked tired. But he couldn't say anything to those bright blue eyes, sprinkled with a rich gold color.
"Wait here for a second." He rummaged in his closet and came back with a grey scarf. He put his coat on her and buttoned it. Reaching closer to her, he wrapped the scarf around her neck, gently tucking it in the jacket. "Don't over exert yourself, okay?" His fingers lingered near her cheek for a moment, lightly skimming over the skin. Then, he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled. When she turned around, he didn't see her dazed eyes and the bright blush that stained her cheeks.