Another Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO!

Unanimous

Chapter 3

She woke up alone, so she must have had no watch last night, especially after what happened to Hidan. Now that the leader knew what she was capable of, she would probably be on a hit list if she wasn't in Akatsuki. She had discovered that her bathroom also held a shower, although the place was extremely cramped and also needed cleaning. Is that all she would do here? Probably so. She ventured out to the kitchen early, where Konan already stood, searching for something in the pantry. "Morning," Kaiya said sleepily. Konan nodded to her, still a bit depressed about what had happened earlier in the day. And then last night… What happened with Kaiya was strange enough. And then, after a bit, where she was just about ready to go back to sleep, Pain had knocked on her door and apologized to her for yelling at her. He had left right after that. Konan was feeling a bit weird now. A bit out of place… Kaiya could tell that something was wrong, or at least weird. "Konan I'm fine, trust me," she said, but she knew that wasn't all. "You wanna talk about whatever's bothering you?" the black-haired woman asked. Konan smiled and shook her head, looking genuinely happier. She noticed that Kaiya was dressed in one of her new outfits, a red shirt with imprinted angel wings in black on the back of it with a pair of slim jeans that hugged her thin legs. The entire outfit showed how small she really was. And to think, Konan had seen this woman transform into a dragon before her very eyes. "Okay," Kaiya said with a smile. If everything was okay with Konan, then it was fine. She didn't need to worry. But instead, she asked where the cleaning supplies where again. Konan said that she would go and get them for her and asked her if she could finish the guys' breakfasts for them. Kaiya nodded as Konan left the room. So far she saw bacon on the stove. Where was the pancake mix? She opened the top cupboard, having to stand on her tiptoes as it was, and guess where the mix was… on the top shelf. She sighed and pushed herself up on the counter to stand on it so that she could reach the little package.

Kisame still refused to get up, as usual. He tended to sleep for extremely long periods of time when they weren't on a mission. Itachi rubbed his eyes with one hand as he walked past Kaiya's empty room. She was already up. When he rounded the corner, he nearly ran into Konan as she turned to head back the way that he had come from. He let her slip past first, continuing on to the kitchen ahead of him. When he casually walked through in his t-shirt and jeans, he saw Kaiya standing on top of the counter, trying to get a mix bag off the top shelf. She was so short. He smirked and shook his head, walking up behind her. She turned around and noticed him standing there as she reached the pancake mix and turned around, still standing on the counter. She gave a little innocent smile. "Got it," she said. She rested a hand on his shoulder for stability and hopped down off the counter, turning back to the stove where she sat a pan down and started mixing the powder with water in another bowl. He stood right next to her, looming over her and watching her cook. He remembered when he was little and how he used to watch his mother fix dinner, when he was supposed to be doing something for school. One hand rested on the counter and the other was in his pocket. She felt a bit cramped. She glanced over her shoulder at him; her cat-like eyes were under quirked brows. He shrugged. "Just watching," he said. He glanced down at her arm, which, to his surprise, was still bandaged. He breathed out a laugh. "What?" Her eyes were open and irritated. He backed away. "Okay, sorry," he said. She glanced down at the bandage. "Oh." Kaiya started unwrapping her arm. Itachi's hand stayed hers. "I told you, you should keep that on," he said. It was like electricity had passed through his fingertips, and she pulled away from the slight shocking feeling. The tan bandage fell away from her arm, revealing wounds that were already closed. The pink scars were all that was left of the hideous wounds from the previous night. "See. I told you it wasn't necessary," she said, flipping the bacon over and returning her attention to the food. He poked at her arm. He had never seen such efficient natural healing before. "God! Do you mind! If not, then you're getting burnt food, I swear it." She was so spiky, but the air was kind of awkward. He smiled again, but this time, it was devious. He'd already seen that crazy side she had, but here was her irritable side. He was oddly drawn to that.

Arms wrapped around her waist and drew her tight. She turned her head slightly to see him out of her peripheral vision. He rested his head on her left shoulder. Her arms didn't stop functioning. She continued making breakfast, which was almost done. "What are you doing?"

"Watching," he said. He had pale, ivory arms with strong chest and abdomen muscles. "You're very distracting, you know that?" Kaiya asked. She pulled the pancakes off of the pan. "Do you like your bacon crispy?" When she thought about it, the situation didn't call for that question. It just sounded strange in general. "Sure," he said. And he buried his face in her neck. That same shiver from the night before ran down her spine. She caught that scent that she had that day when he covered her in his cloak. He could feel the shivers that ran down her body. She wasn't used to being touched this way. To be quite honest, neither was he. Since the age of thirteen, he had never even been with anybody besides her. Not that they did anything extreme. He had only kissed her a few times. But he had felt something, or so he guessed. He wasn't sure anymore… if he had killed her… along with everybody else… she probably wouldn't have amounted to much to him. He stole a glance at her long eyelashes from his position at her neck. He kind of wondered when Konan would be back. Had Kaiya even said anything about him to her? Women talked to each other about that right? But the idea failed him when he saw that she was only removing things from pans and stacking them on plates to set the table. She still had to start the coffee pot. Was she not interested? Even though he was a pacifist, he could make a woman interested if he wanted to. The hem of her shirt was close anyway. Kaiya felt his hands roam downwards, and she froze from the inexperience. Most people were too afraid to touch her like this. She'd never had a boyfriend because of how much she emasculated them. Most just felt inferior or shied away from her attitude. Itachi didn't. She felt his fingers toy with the hem of her shirt and then slip under it, touching the bare skin of her stomach and side. She nearly dropped the spatula. He smirked against the skin of her neck – she could tell he was pleased with himself – before he began to nibble at the skin that his mouth rested on. Luckily, she had gotten all of the food out of the pans before they burned from her inattentiveness. She leaned her head away from him, giving him a larger space. It seemed instinctual to her. And it wasn't like Hidan… Itachi was gentle, patient. Hidan was just… well… an ass. And she would have been enveloped by her thoughts if she hadn't gathered a sound from the hallway; a shuffling noise. What was with people and their constant interrupting? She had to admit, she liked Itachi. They had things in common, and then they were different in a many ways. She shook him off of her, not roughly, but gently. Her senses were far better than his. She could pick up things that he could not, not even if he was a shinobi. She smoothed out her shirt and flipped on the coffee pot as Konan walked through the doors. 'Damn it!' Kaiya thought. Konan probably wouldn't have cared. Sure… she might have said something, but she wouldn't have freaked out. Or at least she thought she wouldn't… It was if-y,

Itachi chose to pick up the plates instead, feeling a bit rejected, but not quite. He had the reaction he wanted at least. He turned around and saw Konan enter with the cleaning supplies. He actually saw those quite often. Just because the kitchen had been required a Hazmat suit didn't mean that his and Kisame's room needed one. Okay, his side of the room was relatively clean… Kisame's… not so much. "Kaiya I have those supplies you asked for," she said, holding the basket on one arm. "Thanks Konan," Kaiya said back, in an exceptionally good mood. Was she a bit bubbly? Nah… she didn't get bubbly. At least Itachi didn't think so. His façade returned to his usual. And then it was like flies to honey. As soon as the coffee pot turned on… you know. They flock. Kaiya grabbed a cup for Itachi before they were gone. Some hyper people *ahem* Deidara *ahem* didn't need coffee. And then everybody was at the table in a second. She couldn't have cooked that well? True, she liked good food, and she fixed it for herself, but it was only pancake mix… and bacon right? It was nothing "amazing". She guessed that, being men, they were just hungry, as Deidara was already wolfing down about four pancakes. Kisame wasn't really all that happy, but he ate the food. There wasn't any fish… again. Zetsu was rummaging through the pantry. Kakuzu pulled his mask down, and that was really the first time that Kaiya saw his face. It was kinda weird, but she'd seen enough weird stuff, so she really didn't have a reaction. Konan sat the basket down beside the door. "Are they always like this?" Kaiya asked, placing a hand over her mouth as she spoke to Konan. "Unfortunately…" Itachi drank his coffee black, which she couldn't fathom why. She hated that extremely strong taste. And Hidan was sitting there, pissed because he saw Kaiya that morning acting like nothing had happened. She passed him by on the way to an empty seat around the table between Sasori and Itachi. He glared at her, and he got one hell of a reaction. Her facial muscles contorted, wrinkling her nose and bringing the corners of her mouth up, baring her teeth at him. A feral growl originated from deep in her chest and he shrank away from it. She'd already hurt him once. And, after her threatening his junk, he didn't really want to mess with her right now. She plopped down in the chair, noticing Itachi's smirk into his coffee cup. She leaned over the table a bit and snatched the plate of three pancakes away from the center of the table just before Deidara stole another one. "Mine," she said. Konan had already snatched her own meal away. She normally ate a lot more than that, considering that her metabolism was extremely high, but it would have to do. Besides, she could raid the kitchen later.

Pain eyed her from across the table. He hadn't assigned a watch last night. He didn't want anybody getting killed off, especially not after what he had seen. She was frightening. She was crazy. She would have to be tested in the field, which he would do in a few days. Akatsuki didn't just go around kidnapping Jinchūriki all the time. They were an organization for hire by the right people. And the right people had just put in an order. They were to find information for a certain high-paying individual operating alone. It would be an easy in and out mission, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be dangerous. This… information… was heavily guarded. To get in and out without much chance of a fight, Kaiya would be perfect. He stood and left the room without saying a word. "Where's leader-sama going?" Deidara asked, depressed because he hadn't been able to eat those final three pancakes. Sasori looked miffed. He had a younger partner, somebody fairly new to Akatsuki. "Don't be nosy brat." It was quite for a moment, nobody spoke. It was an awkward silence. Until Kaiya leaned her head forward to see past Itachi. Kisame sat next to him on his right. "So, how's that shoulder?" Itachi swallowed his coffee and pretended to clear his throat, a sign that he found it amusing but wasn't willing to laugh in front of the others. Sure, he would throw a smirk here and there, but he never laughed in front of the other members. Kisame gripped the fork in his hand, bending it. It was a good thing that Itachi was between them, or he would have jumped at her full-force. He hated it when she even mentioned his shoulder. He was slightly humiliated, even though he had won. For some random shinobi to just come in and inflict serious damage on him… it just pissed him off. Many had already begun to snigger. She'd make it up to him later.

A few days passed, and Kaiya was actually tested in the field. While Zetsu was good at surveillance, he was doing something else a long way off. So Itachi, who's Sharingan were quite useful for infiltration situations, was going to be paired with Kaiya for once. Normally, Pain didn't break up pairs, but this time would have to be an exception. Kaiya hadn't been given an "official" Akatsuki cloak yet, but after this, she would probably get one. But, the previous day, she had gotten a message from Konoha, saying something about a rescue mission. God they were so stupid! Had she not told them that she was fine? She had, and she sent one angry as hell message back, telling them not to. This was Konoha's chance to infiltrate Akatsuki. She was competent enough to take care of herself. And, so far, nothing exceedingly deadly had happened to her. But she left with Itachi, hiding what had pissed her off so. He was relatively quiet for most of the first day's journey. This little escapade would take place three days away, and there were plenty of small villages along the way, all of which they would have to stay at secretly because of the close proximity to Amegakure. They travelled for a full day, and, luckily, they'd be able to sleep on beds for their entire trip. They had travelled all day, along the road, and hadn't met anybody. Some of the roads in the area were rarely used anyway. They checked into the hotel quietly, Itachi clearly wearing his cloak, and unafraid to do so. Even with being so close to Akatsuki, some were oblivious to their existence. It was a two bed hotel room, with one bathroom. She basically threw her stuff down on the bed nearest the window and jumped into the bathroom first, before Itachi even set foot into the room. "Called it!" She just needed a shower. For someone who could morph into animals, she hated being dirty, even in the least. No, she wasn't a germaphobe, but she just didn't like to feel grimy. Itachi couldn't help but roll his eyes as he unpacked a few things and started looking over supplies. 'Women and their extreme cleanliness,' he thought as he pulled a few shuriken out of his bag. He heard the shower turn on. Yep, she'd be in there for a while. But he was surprised when, five minutes later, she stepped out with dry hair and ready for bed. "What?" she asked. Shorts and a t-shirt. That was her usual. She had to ask that question a lot to him. Normally, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. The man had no facial expressions. "Just surprised that you're out of there so fast," he said as he got up and walked past her into the bathroom. "Called it," he said before shutting the door. "Don't mock me!"

The only answer was running water. He took much longer than she did. 'Vain,' she said. But he walked out of the bathroom soon after that, fully dressed and with his hair untied and damp. "You should dry that," she said, lifting her face from the book that she had been flipping through at a rapid pace. "You'll catch a cold." Silence, and then: "And you're worried about that?" he asked, just standing there. "Not particularly," she said with a shrug going back to her book, her icy blue eyes skimming it rapidly. She was a fast reader. She wasn't sure what happened next; truth be told, she wasn't paying that much attention. But the book was pulled out of her hand, and she grabbed after it in vain. The dark colored nails and the ringed hand holding it pulled it away tauntingly. She felt an arm slink around her waist and pulled her close. The book dropped a few feet away and landed on the covers of the mattress and the taunting hand came up to her face, grabbing her under the chin and pulling her face gently up to meet a set of warm lips. She was shocked, but she didn't pull away. She froze eyes wide. Her heart skipped a beat. And he pulled away. "You know, I never got to finish what I started in that kitchen," Itachi whispered to her. When he had taken care of her arm, her gesture had been sweet. But he didn't want sweet. Not right now. His pacifistic behavior was shattered. He was on his elbows and knees above her, wearing what he normally wore under his Akatsuki cloak. A V-neck t-shirt and blue pants, and he still wore that necklace. 'Has he always worn that?' she thought. She didn't say anything, but her breath was a bit heavier than she thought it needed to be. But, before she could calm it, he bent down again, planting his lips on hers again. This kiss was soft… softer than she initially thought it was. She closed her eyes slowly, bringing her arms up from around her stomach and wrapping them around his neck, slipping them under his hair slowly. She couldn't help it. He realized that she had long nails. 'Noted,' he thought. Those might prove difficult to overcome. She moved her legs underneath him, causing him to shift his weight. He slipped his hand under her back again, pulling her up towards him, and the kiss became more feverish. His tongue brushed her lips, basically asking permission. She sighed, granting, and he slipped his tongue between her soft lips. She wanted an intake of air. No she wouldn't have it, not while he was in control. Before she knew it, he had her sitting on his lap, one of her legs on either side of his hips, bent at the knee He pulled away, tilting his head to the side, giving her that look. You know the one. That "I won" look. But it was gone in a second, replaced by his usual emotionless gaze. "Don't give me that look," she said. "What look," he said, playing coy. She had seen it. "Don't mess with me, Uchiha." God, he gave her the oddest urges to slap him and hold him at the same time. "Don't call me that," he huffed, grabbing at her dark hair and making a slight pulling motion backwards. Her neck was fully exposed. She wasn't fighting back. Not yet. He kissed under her chin, littering her neck with kisses and, when he finally reached her collarbone, his tongue ventured upward, ending at her chin bone again. He let go of her hair, his hands venturing down her back now. With nobody to interrupt them, he could do whatever. Her breathing hadn't slowed in the least.

"So what, you're… trying to… seduce an agreement… out of me?" she managed to gasp out, bringing her head back to its normal position. He breathed out a laugh. "If necessary," he said. The setting sun filtered through the window, filling the room with a reddish-gold hue, contrasting oddly with her eyes, but littering her pale skin with the same hue. She felt the shivers running through her body at his touch. He smirked at her, looking even sexier than he already did as he slipped his hands under the back of her t-shirt and resting on the small of her back. The sun's last flitting lights winked out, leaving them in darkness. The only light flooding into the room was through the bathroom's open door. She looked down at him from the position on his lap, giving him a coy grin. "Well, you shan't get it," she said. "Oh?" He tossed her back onto the bed and was on top of her in an instant, just like before. She let him kiss her again, the same as before, him exploring her mouth. His hand was on her waist, and slowly moved down to her thigh, pulling it up and around him. But she just had to stop it there. "Stop…." His eyes met hers. "Why?" he asked, not really paying any heed to her. She pushed on his chest with her hands, digging her nails into his shirt and he could feel them embed in his skin. . "STOP." And he stopped. She meant her threat. Kaiya was prepared to push him back into the wall and defend herself if necessary. His dark eyes were hidden from her. Silence. "Kaiya?" He felt a hand on his lips. He caught the blue glint in her eyes. They were icy blue, hazy. He moved over, lying next to her. He didn't really know if he was just rejected because she was tired or because she really didn't want him. The latter definitely wouldn't be the case, not with her behavior that night. All the same, he didn't really care when her head rested against his chest. He let out a sigh. She used to do that a lot. For some random woman, she made him think about his past a lot. His right arm curled around her thin waist, and his left hand twirled around her head, weaving into her hair. He heard her breathing slow, none too quickly, and before he knew it she was asleep. He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling slowly and exhaling at the same speed. She smelled like scented soap. And he was about to fall asleep himself when he felt a leg wrap around his own. Her arms encircled his upper torso, and he let her press herself farther against him. He tightened his grip on her as well. 'Great,' he thought. She was a spooner. This would be fun.

Luckily, nothing had happened that night. He forgot to set any traps on the door. She had preoccupied his time. But she was the first one awake, finding herself encircled in Itachi's embrace. She looked up from his chest, and his sleeping face greeted hers. It may have been one of the only times that she would see him that way, unless this happened again. His lids were lightly closed, and she could hear the slow intake of air that was emitted softly later on. His hair was still untied, and he must have gone to bed the exact way he had come out of the bathroom. He would have terrible bed head. The start of the sun lit the world toward the window, but it couldn't be seen. The mountains where it had set the day before were still dark. She lifted her hand to his face and touched his cheek. She didn't really know why. Maybe it was just because she felt like it was necessary. A confirming touch maybe? She wondered if it was real, because she had never had it before. She didn't even want to think of Konoha at this point. Knowing what they did to him and how she really loathed most of the place anyway didn't really turn her on to the thought of thinking about it. He shifted under the touch, but he didn't open his eyes if he was awake. He just settled again and breathed in deeply. She wanted to get up, move around, so she had to shift into something small, something that could walk without transferring much weight. All she had to do was think about it. He wouldn't even feel it. Her skin changed to fur in a dark cloud, and she shrank to about the size of his forearm. The soft paw pads slowly pulled at the sheets of the bed, dragging the hind legs and tail with them. With virtually no weight transference, she slipped off of the bed and jumped onto the windowsill, letting the bushy tail curl around the delicate paws as she watched the world wake up. She liked doing that. It was fun to see that start of the day, especially if one was in an unfamiliar place. She licked her left paw and ran it over her ear, purring to herself. Her sleek, long, black fur shone in the reflection of sunlight from the window across the street. And she flicked an ear back when she heard movement but she knew it was only Itachi.

He looked up from his position on the bed and didn't find her there. He flicked his eyes upward and saw the black cat sitting on the windowsill. So, she had slipped away? He sat up on the mattress and swung his legs over the side, stretching a bit before getting up and walking around the bed to the window. He searched around, gathering a small piece of string from the floor and stood behind the cat. It didn't look at him, but he soon got its attention by swinging the string in front of its face. Kaiya let out a meow, not talking as of yet. She swatted a paw at it, catching it on a claw before yanking on it a bit, only to have it pulled away again. She couldn't help it. If she was one animal or another, she would have a weakness of that animal. A cat would chase a string; a dog would chase a ball, etc. Itachi smiled, snatching her up with one hand. "Hey," she mewled. But she allowed her ear to be scratched anyway. She purred, nuzzling his hand. He shook his head. She was adorable. She changed back into a human in his arms and her feet touched the ground just barely. He was taller than she was, though he was a short individual, but she was far shorter. "We should get going," she said with a smile. Not what he was expecting, but whatever. He let her slip away, and she gathered her things. He tied back his hair and pulled his cloak out of his bag, giving it one good shake to relieve it of wrinkles, and slipped it over his shoulders. He buttoned it up as Kaiya made last minute checks around the room. She gathered her book off of the edge of the bed and stuffed it in her bag last. She unlocked the door and opened it, stepping out into the hallway first. Itachi followed behind, locking it back and travelling down the hallway behind her. It was like nothing had ever happened, which was the way it should have been as far as work was concerned. But he still followed the sway of her hips down the hallway. They checked out and began to leave the village. But that didn't go as well as they planned. A few shinobi roamed the streets, and they both ducked into a back alley. Itachi's cloak fluttered around the corner before disappearing. "Did you see that?" one of them asked. There was no answer, but Kaiya felt pursued. Both she and Itachi took off without saying a word, jumping over the back wall without sound. They fled into the surrounding woods, weaving through the trees in an attempt to ditch their pursuers. Kaiya leaped over a fallen log and pointed up ahead, motioning to the tree tops where the foliage was thick. They set their ambush there, Kaiya positioning herself behind Itachi. All three shinobi struck the limb at the same time, only to be lost in a frenzy of black fur and red clouds. Two went down easily under the paws of the blue-eyed wolf and the other two were trapped against the tree, pinned with a few kunai. "What the hell!" Hadn't there been a girl with this guy earlier? "Silence!" the wolf growled into his ear. "Well, what are we supposed to do with them?" she asked, turning to her mission partner. He gave her a look. Oh this was going to be fun.

This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but whatever. I'd love to know how this is going and how much you guys like it ^^ Review plz!