Please see first chapter for disclaimer, rating, warnings, pairings, etc.

Special Thanks: goes out to OragamiBlueAngel, PrettyInPink, and rao hyuga 18 for your encouraging reviews! Also, huge thanks to everyone who's read this story and put it on their alerts and favorite lists. You all are amazing and wonderful, and I'm so grateful!

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for this late update! When I originally wrote this, I was apparently sleep-writing or something, because when I went back later to look it over it was a complete and utter mess. I couldn't even believe I had wrote it! So I've had to go back and basically re-write it, since I want to give to you the best story I possibly can. But, on the other hand, this is the longest chapter so far, so I really hope that it was worth the wait. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

*~Chapter IV~*

~Friends~

Thursday, April 11, 1912 - 6:24 P.M.

As soon as Sasuke headed out to explore the swimming pool, Itachi went looking for the blonde woman. He retraced his steps several times before finally finding the door through which he and Sasuke had passed earlier in the day. He couldn't get her out of his head; most particularly the very fleeting glimpse of her white face and wide eyes, those haunted turquoise eyes which pierced straight down to his heart, to his soul. She seemed frightened - no, more than frightened, terrified - of someone, and with every defensive instinct he possessed he wanted desperately to find out the who, and the why so he could protect her. The realization, unexpected yet unquestioned, flowed through him from some deep instinctual level.

Once in second class, he paused. Sasuke had done all the research about Titanic. Apart from his visit earlier, Itachi knew nothing about the lower portions of the ship. In all honesty he knew only the basics about first class, usually getting lost up there, too. For a moment he entertained the thought of returning to first class, tracking down Sasuke, and bringing him back to aid in his search, but just as quickly dismissed it. His mystery lady hadn't seemed to notice his brother earlier; finding herself confronted by two men who were unknown to her, rather than one, might frighten her more. No, first he'd try to find her by himself and ask Sasuke for help only as a last resort.

Closing his eyes, he thought back to earlier in the afternoon when he and his brother wound up in second class by accident. He relaxed, breathing deeply but evenly through his nose, visualizing, trying to rebuild the route they'd taken. He remembered going past staterooms, like those on either side of him now. But on which of the second class decks had they emerged?

Uncertainty uncomfortably wiggled deep in his stomach. Opening his eyes once more he surveyed the rows of unhelpfully closed white doors, set somewhat closer together than those in first class. Besides the rudeness inherent in just randomly knocking on doors, he doubted people would appreciate being disturbed by someone from first class asking questions about someone of the opposite gender. Heat flushed his cheeks as it occurred to him how his search might be misconstrued - embarrassingly misconstrued - by others.

Itachi began to walk slowly along the seemingly endless, surprisingly empty corridors. He scanned the brass numerals on the doors he passed, hoping for some tickle of familiarity. With every step the rational, businessman side of him continued to point out how irrational his behavior was. How it was much more likely the young woman had been trying to reach her stateroom before publicly succumbing to illness, than to be running for her life.

As Itachi kept walking and searching, he harbored hope that he'd soon find his way past the staterooms and into more public areas. As close as it was to dinnertime (or were the mealtimes even the same for all the classes?), surely she would have left her cabin by now for one of the public rooms, passing her time reading or drawing or conversing while waiting to enter the dining area. All he had to do was to keep searching, and he would find her. He just knew it.

Tucking his hands into his pockets, Itachi tried to look casual - like he belonged in second class despite his cursedly expensive clothes - as he wandered along from deck to deck. The more he walked (and became even more lost, having to turn back once from the uppermost third class deck), the more his surroundings began finally to change. The low hum of mingled male and female conversation reached his ears, a few people now wandering past, paying him no mind beyond a passing glance. His pulse quickened as he followed the sounds.

To his chagrin, though, Itachi abruptly found himself on the well-populated second class promenade. Maybe this is a good thing, he told himself as he joined the leisurely flow of passengers. Keeping his remembered image of her in the front of his mind, he surreptitiously studied each woman he encountered. Most of the ladies wore hats; not quite as sweepingly broadbrimmed as those worn in first class, yet still sufficiently wide to induce considerable frustration as he tried to ascertain hair color or features. A few even wielded fans in imitation of their social superiors. He resisted an urge to growl. How to find her if she kept her face hidden behind a fan or under a hat?

Or, the suspicious part of his mind whispered, she's taking advantage of the fact deliberately since she has to come out to eat, even if she doesn't want to be social.

He made his way all the way to the end of the promenade, up to the boat deck, and back down again to second class territory on the other side. His search proved just as fruitless there as on the opposite promenade. Perhaps I should just give up and go back where I belong. It'll be easier to do from the boat deck. At least I can find that. Just as he began to turn, his determination suddenly flared up, so strongly and hotly it overwhelmed the impulse. So he continued his search even though the likelihood of failure appeared to await him at the end.

As he came up on a door leading inward, his sharp ears caught a faint clink and chime, a sound he immediately associated with mealtime. His steps unconsciously quickened, anticipation building somewhere below his diaphragm; only to check up sharply just inside the doorway of the second class dining saloon, where immaculately uniformed stewards were engaged in setting a staggering array of tables in preparation for the evening meal. One of them, a carrot-topped man who looked not much older than himself, glanced his way in evident surprise. Feeling flustered and thrown off his emotional balance Itachi hurriedly backed up before the steward could speak and spun to retrace his steps.

"Hey, watch where you're going!"

The harsh exclamation, uttered in a nasal tenor, followed hard on a jolt to Itachi's shoulder and jarred him from his acrimonious inner dialogue. "I beg your pardon," he murmured, not fully focused at first on the man scowling at him. "I was not paying sufficient attention to where I was going. I shall be more careful in the future."

"You got that right, mister." The belligerent rejoinder earned Itachi's complete attention. For a moment, the look on the other man's face - particularly in his strange cranberry-hued eyes - made Itachi think he planned to attack. But he seemed to think better of it at the last minute. A slow, almost malicious grin lazily curled his lips. "Aw, it's not that big of a deal," he said, thrusting out his hand for a shake. "The name's Hidan. You look like you might be able to help me."

Reluctantly extending his hand, Itachi studied the other man while trying to keep his expression coolly disinterested. He saw slicked back white hair; cruel eyes and a smile to match; a dark suit neither shabby nor stylish; plus a slight lump beneath indicating the likely presence of a gun. Minus that final detail, he might have been just a common bully; but with it came an impression of dangerous volatility. Hidan's hand closed on his own and gripped hard, his skin clammy, cold, as if not quite human - not quite alive. Itachi suppressed a shiver as a feeling of complete antipathy swept through him. "How might I be of service to you?" He allowed a faint note of almost haughty surprise to color his voice. While having no desire whatsoever to be of use to the other man, he had to admit to a certain curiosity about what kind of help a man who looked so untrustworthy wanted.

Hidan shrugged his shoulders with obviously forced casualness as he finally released Itachi's hand. "I'm here on business for my employer," he explained. "He's missing something. Actually, more of a someone." Once again his hand lifted, indicating a height just shy of reaching his chin. "A woman, 'bout this tall. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Pretty, though not really a classy sort. I'm sure you know what I mean." One corner of his thin-lipped mouth lifted in something between a sneer and a leer as his gaze flicked offensively over Itachi. "Name's Temari Sabaku." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small black and white likeness and held it out.

Only years of practice in keeping his expression neutral prevented Itachi from betraying the shock he felt. Not only did the description perfectly match the woman he himself sought - the likeness being held out to him was, without a doubt, the same woman whose terrified demeanor was burned into his memory. Some deepseated instinct warned him how the other man watched him intently, studying his every move for the least reaction, so he sternly forbade himself to show his revulsion and pretended to think a moment.

"No," he said at last. "I've not seen anyone who looks like her." He forced himself to look at the picture again, before lifting one shoulder in a casual shrug. "A pity. She is a pretty little thing."

For a few horrible moments, it seemed Hidan had failed to believe Itachi's performance. But, finally, he sighed and shrugged as he returned the likeness to his inner coat pocket. "Oh well. Worth a shot. Where'd you come on board?"

"Cherbourg." Itachi kept his eyes from tracking the likeness. "You?"

"Queenstown," Hidan replied, sounding bored. "I missed boarding in Southampton, so I had to take a train and travel all night to beat the Titanic there so I could get on. Almost didn't make it, either, had to load with the last boat of mail coming across." His expression indicated he thought himself above all that. Itachi, however, briefly entertained the image of the man stuck in a boat with bag after bag of mail bound for America, bobbing in Titanic's wake. If it weren't for the people across the Atlantic waiting for word from their loved ones, Itachi could even have wished the boat had overturned altogether, dumping Hidan in the waters off Queenstown, wet and discouraged.

"Well, good thing that you managed to catch it, then." Itachi nodded once, dismissively. "Now if you'll pardon me, I believe I see my way back up to first class just beyond you. This boat is so large and confusing, it's a miracle that those whose work it is to keep us comfortable on this trip manage to find their own way around, let alone help us do so, too."

Hidan eyed Itachi's suit, which had been tailor-made and fit him to perfection. "I thought it looked like you didn't belong down here."

Itachi shrugged. "Ah, well. It's at least given me a glimpse of how others travel. Good day to you, sir."

The two men went their separate ways. As he recrossed to the boat deck and back into the warren of the ship's interior, Itachi took a deep breath, then let it out again. Hidan gave him a lingering case of the shivers. Even after wiping his hand on his pants leg, he still felt those fingers, cold and faintly slimy, like something left in the water too long, wrapping around his and squeezing. It unsettled and almost frightened him on one level, even as he experienced a sense of grim triumph on another.

He hadn't been imagining things. Thanks to the unpleasant Hidan, his mystery lady now had a name- Miss Temari Sabaku - as well as an ironclad reason for her panicked flight earlier in the day. She must have discovered he was on board and looking for her. His brows drew down into a frown as he realized how that fact made his search infinitely more difficult. Not only would he have to proceed now with extreme caution to keep Hidan from learning of his search; he had to wonder if Temari Sabaku would leave the safety of her stateroom for any reason whatsoever for the remainder of the voyage.

And - the thought made him stop walking suddenly - if that proved to be the case, how would he ever find her so he could help her? For helping her had become of supreme importance to him, especially since his encounter with Hidan.

"Oh, sir, I beg your pardon!"

Suppressing a grimace Itachi turned, mortifed that for the second time in the span of a few minutes he'd been the cause of a collision, and bowed to the pink-cheeked young woman staring up at him with wide brown eyes. "It is I who beg your pardon, madam," he said. "I believe the fault is mine for having halted in front of you. My profoundest apologies. I seem to have strayed from first class." Oh what tangled webs we weave. . . Well, at least it was partially true. He had strayed down to second class, just deliberately rather than accidentally.

"Then we have something in common, sir." Curtsying, the woman smiled, revealing small dimples on either side of her mouth. "I'm afraid I just nearly strayed into first class."

Itachi gave her a warm, disarming smile. "Titanic may be without doubt the most magnificent ship ever built, but she is also the most confusing." He studied the slender brunette before him. Her guileless smile and innocent eyes made her seem as pure as the day she'd been born; the total opposite of the kind of wench who would fall in with the likes of Hidan. His instinct told him to trust her, and since it rarely led him into making wrong decisions, he followed it. "I seem to be making something of a habit of running into people," he told her confidingly. "My brother and I wandered here earlier in the day, and I'm afraid I collided with another young lady then, too. I'm not at all sure I apologized to her adequately." Although it had to be one of the weakest excuses he'd ever come up with in his life, Itachi was feeling increasingly desperate since his encounter with Hidan.

"Oh!" She blinked in surprise. "That's very kind of you, sir. I'm not sure how much help I can be to you - this is only our second day and with a ship this size, I'm not sure if even a week will be long enough to get to know everyone - but I'll help you if I can. What does she look like?"

"Curly blonde hair, fair skin, big turquoise blue eyes. I would say she's probably just a little taller than you." Itachi tried his best not to describe her the same way Hidan had. She deserved more respect than that. Her beauty should be appreciated, not mocked, the thought went through him fiercely.

"Ah!" Nodding, the woman dimpled again. "Today must be your lucky day, sir. That sounds just like my roommate, Temari Sabaku. I was just going back to our stateroom to get her since it's nearly time for dinner. If you'd care to accompany me, sir...?" She arched one eyebrow curiously.

Her gentle prompt made him realize he'd failed to introduce himself. "My apologies once more, Miss," he said with a slight bow. "My name is Itachi Uchiha."

"Mr. Uchiha." She curtsied again. "My name is Tenten Hyuuga. Well," she giggled, "soon to be Hyuuga, as soon as we reach America so I can join my betrothed and we can finally be married."

Itachi fell into step with her, shortening his strides to match hers. Luck indeed smiled down on him - what were the odds of him literally running into someone who knew exactly for whom he was looking? Let alone so quickly after starting his search? On a ship the size of Titanic, he knew, they had to be nothing short of astronomical. Someone was certainly watching out for him - or, more likely, Temari. "Thank you, Miss Tenten. You are most kind."

She blushed as her eyes slid away from his shyly, making a great pretense of examining each room number as they passed. He wondered if she were embarrassed by his formality, until she said, "I think I've heard of you. Are you by any chance one of the Uchiha family from New York? The ones who patented a safer and less expensive way to produce steel for railroad lines?" She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, then quickly returned to counting off the rooms.

Itachi blinked. Accustomed since his family's advancement to meeting vapid, shallow women who preferred to discuss the weather and the latest fashions rather than anything so "vulgar" as business, he rather liked this Tenten, who spoke so frankly and knowledgeably. "Yes," he said. "I'm rather surprised by your knowing that, actually."

"My future husband, Neji, works for one of the companies who produce that steel," she replied. "He arrived in America not too long after the production ways changed to the new method, and he's written to tell me he's heard stories that makes him glad they were." Suddenly she halted in front of a door and smiled. "Ah, here we are. If you will excuse me for just a moment, sir...?"

"Of course." Itachi nodded, then settled in to wait as Tenten unlocked the door, opened it, and slipped inside. He caught a brief glimpse of the interior of the room - a sink against the wall with a mirror hung above it; a small couch and writing desk on the wall to the left of it - before the door closed again.

Letting out his breath, Itachi tucked his hands into his pockets and nervously rolled his weight onto the balls of his feet, then back onto his heels. What was I thinking? he wondered. What if she refuses to see me? What if it isn't even her? Perhaps I would have been better off just leaving this whole situation alone. But it's too late to back out now. I'm committed...

After a few eternal minutes, the door opened again. Itachi snapped around. If only I were wearing a hat! Then at least I'd have something to do with my hands! Without daring to look at her face, he made his most formal bow to the woman standing in the doorway. Please be Temari, please be Temari...

Straightening, he dared to raise his eyes to her face. Relief exploded within him. Tenten's roommate was indeed Temari. And she looked even more beautiful than he remembered.

*~Thursday, April 11, 1912 - 6:52 P.M.~*

"Temari! There's a gentleman outside to see you!"

The tenuous control Temari held over the contents of her stomach threatened to desert her as she jerked up her head. "Wh-what did you say?" How did Hidan find me so quickly?

Clearly excited by her news, Tenten grinned broadly at her, her dimples out in full force as she tilted her head toward the door. "A gentleman is here to see you. He's from-" her voice hushed slightly "-first class."

Perhaps Hidan had not been the only one to board. Swallowing hard and feeling perilously lightheaded, Temari whispered, "What does this gentleman look like?"

"Well, he's quite a bit taller than either you or me. He has shiny black hair he wears pulled back in a ponytail, and his eyes are just as dark and so kind and gentle. Oh, and he's quite pale. Very much the gentleman." She winked tellingly.

Temari wished she could tell her friend that gentlemen weren't always everything they seemed, and most not even deserving the word; but she couldn't risk doing so. It might betray too much about her past. Well, the description doesn't sound familiar, she thought as a little self-control returned to her. That's a good sign. "I don't suppose he offered his name?" How Tenten answered would help her decide if she wanted to meet the man - or if she should just slit her wrists now.

"Itachi Uchiha," Tenten offered promptly. "Of the Uchiha." At Temari's blank look, she sighed. "Don't you remember, Temari? I told you about Fugaku Uchiha patenting a safer and less expensive way to produce steel for railroads," she said. "And my Neji works for one of the companies who produces the steel."

Though she'd lived in proximity to a lot of high society people for the majority of her life, in one capacity or another, Temari possessed only the haziest knowledge of who belonged to which family that did what. Apart from vague memories of that earlier conversation with Tenten, the name didn't mean anything to her at all. "Does he look a nice sort?" she ventured.

"Oh, definitely." Tenten nodded vigorously, nearly bouncing up and down in her excitement. "He explained that he saw you earlier today and ran into you, literally. He wants to apologize."

Everything abruptly clicked into place in her head. Temari had basically forgotten the man she'd collided with on the way back to her room, but now she'd been reminded of the incident she realized Tenten's description fit what little she'd noticed about the man. "And he said he's here to - apologize?" Suspicion warned her to refuse his request. After all, what rich "gentleman" would take the time to track her down and apologize to the likes of her? She wasn't worth his time or attention. He had to have an ulterior motive of some sort, if only she could figure out what it could be.

"Yes. Come on, Temari." Tenten's voice lowered as she raised her eyebrows slightly. "How many chances in life are you going to have to spend some time with a real first-class gentleman?"

Not many, Temari thought grimly. In fact, this was probably her first and only chance, if indeed he was the gentleman he claimed to be. But Tenten's words had given her an idea. A crazy idea, of the most completely improbable sort.

Her earlier assumption of there being no safety in either third class or second had proved true. But Hidan would never think to search for her in first class. Neither he nor his employer thought of her such a context, and thus the possibility of her ever being in first class would never occur to them. She could not hide from Hidan in second class forever. Every passing minute brought him closer to her. She had to take a risk and hope it paid off.

"All right," Temari said, sighing. "You talked me into it."

Tenten clapped happily. "You can't meet him looking like that," she admonished, crossing the tiny distance separating them in a couple of quick steps. "I don't know what you were doing to lose track of the time so, but it's nearly time for dinner! We need to get you changed!" Without waiting for a response, she pulled Temari off the bed. Throwing open the blonde's trunk, she dug through the dresses carefully packed inside, finally withdrawing one in various shades of blue: a gift from Temari's previous employer and one of the few nicer dresses she owned. "Here, put this on."

Temari obeyed, not bothering to tell Tenten she'd had no intentions of going into the public area and running the certain risk of Hidan seeing her. She'd intended to feign illness, something not at all difficult considering the state of her stomach, and ask her friend to bring some food back for her. But now she'd hold that plan in reserve, and felt surprised to realize she wasn't really that disappointed about doing so.

After helping Temari out of her day dress and into the other (plus tightening Temari's corset, citing the reason, "You have a lovely figure and should show it off to full advantage!"), Tenten began pulling pins out of Temari's hair as she hustled her to the chair by the desk. "Pinch your cheeks," she ordered. "You need some color." While Temari unwillingly complied, Tenten's deft fingers combed through the mass of blonde curls falling down her shoulders, before twisting them up into a simple yet elegant hairstyle. She admired her efforts for a moment, then pulled Temari to her feet, allowing her friend only a brief moment to see the effect of her ministrations in the mirror before pushing her toward the door. "Go on," she urged. "He's waiting for you."

Drawing in a deep breath for courage, Temari swallowed once more to still her quaking stomach. She opened the door.

The hall was empty except for a single gentleman, who whirled from his pacing to face the door as it opened. Before she had a chance to say anything, he swept her a bow so low she thought it highly likely he'd hit his head on the floor: an old-fashioned, courtly bow, deep and from the waist with his right hand before him at the waist, his left behind him at the small of his back. She'd been witness to such a bow only once before. It startled her to see it now. Whatever in the world possessed him, a first class passenger, to bow to her, a second (who should technically be in third) class passenger? She couldn't figure it out, and her head began to hurt when she tried.

"Mr. - Uchiha?" Her voice, small and timid even to her own ears, made her scowl at herself inwardly, wishing she sounded less meek. Apparently all of her courage and bravado had abandoned ship when Hidan came on board.

At her address, the man's dark head snapped up, his body following only a moment later. For a brief, whimsical moment, Temari thought he looked rather like a toy, a marionette jerked around by an untrained child. His movements, so stiff and almost uncoordinated, made him seem rather more like a schoolboy than the first-class gentleman Tenten had described him.

"Miss Sabaku." He breathed the words, his dark eyes studying her face as if trying to memorize it, to paint it onto the canvas of his mind.

She felt an uncharacteristic blush crawl up her neck and sweep into her face at his scrutiny. Unlike when most men looked (leered) at her, she sensed no sexual overtones, no lust or desire in his gaze. Instead, he stared at her as though he thought her the most beautiful work of art in the world - not something to be possessed, but something to be admired from a distance to preserve it from damage.

She found it strange, but at the same time breathtakingly exciting. Temari honestly had no idea if it were an act or if he was genuine in his admiration, but she knew that suddenly her heart thrummed wildly in her chest and her stomach now felt fluttery for an entirely different reason than previously.

And he'd called her Miss Sabaku instead of just by her unadorned first name. As if she were his equal. Even if she had been at one time of her life, that was no longer true. The words hit her like a knife to her stomach, but at the same time his use of them felt so good. They gave something back to her she'd had ripped from her so long ago, something she thought impossible to regain. Perhaps the desire made her a masochist, but despite the pain those words caused, she wanted to hear them again because of the pleasure they also invoked.

After another long moment of gazing at her, Mr. Uchiha blinked and tore his eyes from her, seeming to sense her discomfort. "I wanted to find you and apologize for running in to you earlier today," he explained, now staring fixedly at a space on the floor halfway between his highly polished shoes and her own slightly scuffed slippers. "I had taken a wrong turn, you see, and really had no business being where I was. But my brother is interested in - fascinated by would be more accurate - mechanical things and the building of them, so he wanted to explore more of the Titanic, and I-"

Temari gently cleared her throat, amazed by his amusing and shy rambling on in such a nonsensical manner. She found it surprisingly endearing. "Mr. Uchiha," she said softly, breaking him off mid-sentence. His eyes darted back up to meet hers, a hint of pink appearing along his finely sculpted cheekbones. "I do believe I, sir, should be apologizing to you. As I recall, I was the one paying absolutely no attention to where I was going, and I ran into you."

Mr. Uchiha blinked again, suddenly looking confused as well as a little lost and rejected. "I - oh. If so - then I suppose I have no business here, after all, and must apologize for needlessly disturbing you, ma'am." Disappointment bordering on despair slashed through Temari's chest, shocking her with its fierceness. He started to turn. Before she could think of anything to say or do to recall him, he jerked to a halt and whirled back, so quickly she jumped. "No," she heard him mutter, as if to himself. Bowing to her again (though not quite as deeply this time, thank goodness), he said, "Miss Sabaku, I would like to request the pleasure of your company this evening. Would you - join me for dinner tonight?"

Tenten poked her excitedly in the back, reminding her of her presence after having lost track of her in the swirl of confusing emotions, as she blurted out, "In the first class dining saloon?"

Itachi's head lifted again. He smiled at Tenten past Temari, something oddly charming about the way his lips curved, and the light the emotion brought to his dark eyes. It made Temari's heart, just settling back into a halfway normal rhythm, start to pound again. He returned his gaze to her face. "Only if it would please you," he said softly.

Although exactly what she had been planning just a few minutes ago, Temari still found herself shocked by the offer. "I - I'll be so out of place," she breathed and promptly wondered why she was arguing with the man, since it was counterproductive to her original intentions. If it saved her life, who cared if she was out of place? Because you'll be noticed, and if you're noticed, you'll be talked about. She swallowed hard at the thought. But perhaps I'll only be discussed among the first class passengers, and Hidan will not hear of it at all.

Mr. Uchiha extended his arm toward her, an offer his eyes assured her she could accept or refuse. But she knew refusing was not an option, and not just for the safety she hoped to gain from it. She couldn't stand the thought of disappointing him, of making that charming smile vanish and the light leave those intoxicating dark eyes of his.

Almost as if on its own, Temari's shaking hand reached out and placed itself atop his. As soon as their skin touched, an electric tingle shot up her arm, sending a buzzing rush through her skull that made her lightheaded again for a totally different reason. For a moment his smiling features blurred before her eyes; then his other hand reached out, grasping hers gently and guiding it to the crook of his elbow. He murmured something to Tenten, who offered an enthusiastic response, before guiding her forward, his stride shortened to match hers perfectly, his steps confident and slightly bouyant.

Temari's own steps felt oddly light, like she floated over the decking. Her mind felt disconnected from her body, detached as she gazed around at the changing scenery as they progressed from the second class portion of the ship to first. She knew beyond doubt her sudden giddiness had absolutely nothing to do with her lavish surroundings and absolutely everything to do with the man who still gazed at her as though she were the most amazing thing, amazing person, in the world.

In a place full of glittering jewels, beautiful and rich women, and everything else that made up Itachi's world - and should have held his attention - Temari felt like, for him, she made everyone else pale in comparison. The unexpected, unfamiliar sensation almost frightened her. She tried to ridicule herself for letting her heart guide her rather than her head; for being reckless, and stupid, and - and. . .

She couldn't stop herself. First class surroundings, second or third, suddenly all became utterly unimportant. Being with Itachi himself was all that mattered to her. She didn't care if she were noticed, or talked about for the rest of the trip; stared at, criticized, looked down upon, or turned into some sort of entertainment for the first class people around her. Itachi admired her for her, not for what she could do for him or be to him. He didn't care about her lower social status. Had he even noticed that her clothes - although some of the best she owned, since she had changed for dinner - were worn and slightly threadbare? She knew instinctively that, even if she wore the Crown Jewels and the most expensive gown in the world, he wouldn't look at her any differently.

Somehow Itachi Uchiha saw Temari Sabaku as herself, a person of worth in her own right. Not until much later did she remember she should be very, very terrified by that, indeed.

*~To Be Continued~*

Author's Ending Notes: Again, a thousand apologies for the lateness of this update. I've learned my lesson, though - no more writing when I'm more than half-asleep, no matter how well the ideas are flowing through my head! This is the longest chapter yet, so I really hope it was worth the wait. And I plan to have the next chapter up much, much sooner and not make you wait so long! Thanks again for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed this chapter!