Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters, unless otherwise stated. In this case, I only own Kimi and her village.
Author's Note: I'm really on a writing spree. Wow. I was up 'till about midnight last night because I had idea for two chapters that I didn't want to lose (one of which is over 2,000 words!) . I haven't written so much on one story in one sitting before. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside now, working on yet another chapter. Yay! I should really take some time to work on my Green Rider fic . . . but this one's coming so easily at the moment that I can't let it go. As long as this spurt of inspiration keeps going, I'll be posting a bit more often. Yay! Well, here's the next chapter. Woot! We're in the double digits now! Enjoy!
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Fall turned to winter then slowly to spring. As time flowed on, Itachi continued to study Kimi during their sporadic meetings. He listened to her talk and laugh, speaking himself from time to time. She seemed so open to him, and he attempted to put on the same face. He remained wary of her, though, unsure of the affect she had on him.
He startled himself from time to time by actually speaking what was on his mind. The fact that he opened up to Kimi like that made him even more uneasy than the fact that she was from another village. She was not a shinobi; she did not use any justu – did not appear to even have any sort of chakra control – yet somehow he got the impression that she was attempting to deceive him.
It was never anything open or obvious. Every now and then, Kimi would merely fall silent and stare thoughtfully into the distance. She might have just been spacing out, but there was a sort of seriousness to the expression on her face that alerted Itachi to trouble. Those bouts never lasted long, though, and she would laugh at herself and continue on with whatever it was she had been doing.
The question that plagued Itachi, though, as he walked through the summer trees did not concern Kimi's behavior. It was focused on his own. What were his intentions concerning Kimi? Why did he seek her out when he had free time? What about this civilian girl drew him to her?
Itachi shook his head as he walked through the forest. It made no sense to him whatsoever. He surveyed the meadow as he strode from the trees. Empty. Itachi sighed, not sure if this was a good or bad thing.
The genin walked smoothly to the center of the small clearing to put down his bag of training gear. As he did, though, the sense of someone watching him returned. Was it the same as last time, all those months ago? He focused on it. It was intelligent, yes, but not quite the same. His hand inched toward his kunai pouch.
"Hey, Itachi! Up here!"
Itachi jerked in surprise. Kimi? He turned and looked up. The young girl was sitting on a tree branch several feet above the ground. She smiled and waved down at him cheerily. Itachi blinked up at her. Kimi was the one he felt this time?
Dropping his stuff, the young Uchiha walked toward the tree. "What are you doing up there?" he asked, eyebrows furrowed. "How did you get up there?"
Kimi laughed. "I climbed of course. What else would you do with a tree?"
He scowled. "Get down from there. You'll fall and hurt yourself."
Giggling, she gave a dismissive flap of one hand. "Don't be such a spoil-sport. I used to do this all the time back home and never fell. I know how to judge a good climbing branch from a bad one. No fear!"
Itachi crossed his arms over his chest. "Why are you climbing the tree anyway?"
Kimi grinned and rose to her feet. "Because it's here, duh," she answered with a laugh. "I wanted to see how high I could get."
"Well, that's high enough. Climb back down. You're not a ninja. If you fall, you could seriously hurt yourself."
Smirking, Kimi climbed to a higher branch. Itachi sighed. Was she trying to make his life miserable? He could not explain it, but watching her up there made his stomach uneasy. Scowling and putting one fist over his stomach, he called up with a warning tone, "Kimi."
Kimi grinned, reaching up for a higher branch. "Seriously, Itachi. You worry too much. I've been doing this forever. I'm not gonna fall." She pulled herself up onto the branch, standing and turning carefully to look down at Itachi. "See? I'm perfectly fine. There were tons of trees where I grew up I know what I'm do–"
A sharp crack split the air, and Kimi froze mid-word, eyes wide. Itachi's breath caught in his throat when he spotted the deep fissure through the branch she was standing on. He took a step toward the tree.
"Kimi, don't move!"
"O-okay," she squeaked, but it was too late.
The branch snapped by the trunk. It took three heartbeats. In the first, Itachi's Sharingan analyzed every speck of the surroundings. He was up the tree in the second. The third thumped in his chest as he snatched Kimi's wrist from mid-air, his feet clinging to the underside of a thick limb with chakra.
The rotten branch shattered against the ground. Kimi grabbed Itachi's wrist in return, swinging her other arm up to wrap her second hand over her first and looking up at him with wide, frantic eyes. "Don't let go!"
"Don't worry," Itachi answered with calm that astounded even himself. "I've got you. Just say still, alright?"
Itachi's mind was racing at an incredible speed, analyzing and processing information as it ran through his head. Kimi wasn't very heavy, so he would easily be able to carry her down, but he had to get her out of this awkward position before doing that.
"Kimi, you have to trust me, alright? I'm going to bring you up, but you have to stay very still."
"O-okay."
Slowly and carefully, Itachi backed up around the outside of the branch, keeping his arm perpendicular to the ground. When he was mostly upright, he bent his elbow, lifting Kimi up so that he could grab her other wrist with his left hand.
She obeyed his actions without need for prompting, releasing that hand's grasp on his wrist so that he could pull her further up. After a few more tedious moments, Kimi was safe in his hold. Itachi leaned against the trunk of the tree as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.
At first, Itachi was unsure what to do, standing there awkwardly with his hands out in front of him. But then he relaxed and allowed his arms to wrap naturally around her, patting her back gently. Soon, her fearful crying subsided.
"Are you okay?" Itachi asked her softly.
"I-I think so, yeah."
He patted her back again. "I'm going to carry you down now, okay?" He did not want to startle her by moving suddenly.
Kimi nodded, and Itachi carefully scooped her into his arms. She hugged his neck, squeezing her eyes closed. For a moment, he just looked at her. Strange. A moment ago, she was fearlessly climbing into the sky, but now she was afraid to look down.
Itachi smoothly jumped down from the branch, landing silently on the grass below. He gently lowered Kimi to the ground. "We're down now. You can open your eyes again."
She blinked up at him. "You saved me," Kimi breathed.
Itachi shrugged one shoulder. "It's not like I could let you be an idiot and kill yourself like that." Kimi winced and he froze. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
Kimi shook her head and stood. "No. It's nothing. Sorry for making you worry. That was really stupid of me, hey? I'm really sorry. I should've listened to you in the first place. Then none of this would've ever happened. Sorry."
A small part of Itachi wanted to ream her out for apologizing so much, but he bit his tongue and shrugged instead. "I think that's enough excitement for one day." He picked up his gear. "Come on. I'll walk you home."
Kimi looked up at the sky, not moving as Itachi began to walk away. "Already? But it's not even dinner time yet. We've still got a while to – hey! Wait up!"
She ran down the slight incline after him. Pushing down a smirk, Itachi turned to look at him. His eyes widened when he saw where her feet were headed. "Kimi, look out!"
Kimi's foot landed in the rabbit hole, sending her tumbling to the ground. She gave a sharp cry of pain, curling up and grabbing her ankle. Itachi rushed to her, kneeling down beside her. Thankfully, her ankle was not broken – only twisted painfully.
Itachi sighed. "Today's just not your day, is it?"
Kimi gritted her teeth. "Apparently."
Sighing, Itachi turned his back to her. "Alright, climb on. I'll carry you." Again. I hope this doesn't become a habit.