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: It's become interesting writing a now-semi-silent Itachi . . . I think of so many things he might want to say but can't due to a certain reputation he has to keep . . . I almost feel sorry for the guy . . . almost. You still get a taste of his past self, though, when no one's looking . . . haha. Anyway, it should be noted that any telepathic communication through the network of Akatsuki rings are indicated by brackets -- [. . .] -- just to clear up any possible confusion. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
XVII
Itachi was acutely aware of Kimi's presence – her warmth – beside him as the trio walked down a beaten path through the forest. Down, though, did not really best describe their trek; up was more like it, as the path took on a steadily increasing slope. This only increased Itachi's awareness of the young woman beside him, however, due to the fact that Kimi was breathing a bit harder than he and Kisame in her effort to keep up.
It would be so easy for him to reach out and take her hand. In fact, his fingers itched for him to do so. Such an action, however, would not be wise in their current predicament. Any outward, open showing of affection might harm any of Kimi's chances of being accepted by Pein as a subordinate of sorts. It could put her in danger – the last thing he wanted for something precious to him.
"So, where are we going again?" Kimi asked, breaking the tense silence.
"Amegakure," Itachi grunted in return, not even casting a fleeting glance in her direction. He could only imagine what she was feeling at this moment. Was she hurt that he would not look at her? Was she worried – scared? Itachi could not tell.
It had been so long since Itachi last felt her presence beside him – so long since he had heard her voice – her laughter. He wanted to just stare at her for hours, rememorizing her features – so different after all those years, yet still somehow the same. He could not spare such time at the moment, however, and could never act in such a way around Kisame. What would the shark-man think?
Kimi spoke again. "How long will it take us to get there?"
Kisame growled. "We'll get there when we get there. Stop asking stupid questions."
The young woman dropped her head. "Yes sir."
The blue-skinned man glanced over at her with a scowl. He seemed about to say something, when he was interrupted by a soft voice only he and Itachi could hear. Both men halted, listening.
[Meeting. Now.] The Akatsuki Leader's voice spoke in their minds, flatly snapping out the two words.
"Already?" Kisame smirked, sharp teeth flashing in the sun as he eyed Kimi again. "I'll give you three guesses what this one'll be about." He gave a harsh laugh, drawing a puzzled look from the girl in question.
Itachi merely grunted and turned off the road. They needed find a secluded grove or something of the like – and fast. Pein did not sound like he wanted to wait very long for anyone. After a moment's pause, Kimi followed after him with Kisame bringing up the rear. Itachi could almost feel her unspoken questions, but thankfully, they remained unspoken.
After finding a suitable location for what had to be done, Itachi folded himself into a seated position with his back to the trunk of a thick tree. A few feet away, Kisame did the same, speaking as he settled his giant sword across his lap. "How do we know she won't run off while we're gone?"
Kimi's eyebrows furrowed slightly from where she stood in front of Itachi. "You're leaving?"
"Not exactly," Itachi responded to Kimi before turning a sharp, wordless look on his partner. That single, implication-filled glance left no room for discussion of the matter.
Kisame shrugged and made a series of hand signs. "If you say so." He closed his eyes and focused his chakra. A moment later, many many miles away, an astral projection formed in the designated meeting place.
Itachi's gaze softened as he returned it to Kimi. "Sorry," he said softly.
Kimi gave a sad smile. "It's alright. I understand. You're a shinobi, after all. It's no big deal."
The Uchiha repeated Kisame's motions, but before he completed the jutsu, he sent a smirk up at Kimi. "Don't climb any trees while we're gone. I won't be in any condition to catch you."
She giggled. "Okay."
Kimi might have said more, but Itachi's mind was gone, following his partner's to where the Akatsuki were gathering in their astral forms. As his took shape, the sound of someone speaking overtook those of the woodland.
". . . only one left. We will begin as soon as he arrives."
Itachi opened his eyes. The darkness around him was only broken by a single torch in the middle of the cavernous room, casting a small orb of light in the middle of the seemingly-endless void. The soft glows of nine astral projections did little to aid in banishing the darkness, but that did not matter much in the long run. They could not really see each other clearly as astral projections anyway.
When Itachi completed his materialization, Deidara's voice calls out from across the circle. "Took you long enough, yeah."
Itachi said nothing, merely looking to where Pein's projection studied him. After a tense moment of silence – and without taking his ringed eyes off of the Uchiha – the Leader stated, "We have had an – interesting development."
"What sort of development?" Kakuzu inquired from Itachi's left.
"Deidara and I picked up a stray," Sasori replied, voice grating in the silence, "sticking her nose where it didn't belong. She should've been executed on the spot, but Itachi protected her."
Itachi could feel everyone's eyes turn to him, but he did not move his gaze from Pein. Deidara sniggered softly, "Stone-face's got a girlfriend, yeah."
Pein sent Deidara a sharp look of warning. "Enough, Deidara." The blonde man fell silent as Pein's attention returned to Itachi. "Explain."
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as Itachi made no indication that he intended to reply. Kisame glanced worriedly down at the young man. Pein arched an eyebrow.
Finally, Itachi answered, "She is no threat to the Akatsuki."
Pein's eyes narrowed, and he repeated, "Explain."
Itachi sighed inwardly. He had attempted to answer Pein's question with as little words as possible, but now he would have to go into more detail. He took a breath, and plunged into his answer, carefully maintaining a monotonous voice.
"Kimi is from a village that provides all of their citizens with basic defensive training but is very selective with who they actually allow into their shinobi academy. She was deemed unsuitable to be a shinobi at an early age and was thus dropped from the program. Kimi is not a shinobi, has no chakra control to speak of, gets lost very easily, can be rather clumsy at times, and is completely harmless."
Itachi could easily have continued on that list, but deemed doing so unwise. If he did, his emotions would undoubtedly rise, revealing how strongly he felt about the young woman. There was a strong possibility that Pein might choose to use this fact against him in order to achieve some unknown end.
Stunned silence followed his words – understandable since that was probably the most any of the Akatsuki had ever heard Itachi speak at one time – or in all, probably. Pein studied him carefully.
"You seem to know a lot about this girl."
"Hn." We met when I was still a genin. I haven't seen her since I passed the Chuunin Exams.
Pein continued to peer at him skeptically. "Very well. I expect to see you here shortly." There was a threat veiled behind those words. There would be dire consequences if Itachi and Kisame did not arrive in Amegakura soon with Kimi in tow.
The Leader of the Akatsuki then turned his attention – and the subject of the meeting – to a growing conflict in the nearby Land of Earth. Apparently, villages that could not afford protection from Iwagakure had begun to turn to the Akatsuki for help.
Itachi only half-listened to the brief on the teams' respective missions. He would be able to call up the information from his memory at any time later, so it was not necessary for him to really pay attention. His thoughts focused instead on Pein's reaction to Kimi. Would she really be safe in Amegakure? It was not as if he could take her somewhere else now that the Akatsuki knew of her; that would be even more of a threat to her safety than residing in the lion's den.
Slowly, Itachi became aware of an odd tingling sensation in his left shoulder. It slowly grew – some sort of pressure pushing against him. He puzzled over this for a moment before realizing what it meant. Something – or someone, more like it – was touching his physical body. There was no doubt in his mind who that was, but why would Kimi be touching his shoulder? Maybe trying to rouse him from what she must see as merely being a meditative state?
"You have your orders," Pein stated, drawing Itachi's attention back to him. "Report back as soon as your missions are complete. Dismissed."
One by one, the astral bodies faded away, Itachi and Kisame included. As Itachi's mind remerged with his body, the pressure against his shoulder became more distinct. As soon as he was settled, he opened his eyes and glanced over. What he saw was not what he had expected.
Kimi had taken a seat beside Itachi against the tree and had apparently fallen asleep. She leaned slightly toward him, her head resting on his shoulder. He took that moment to commit her new face – so relaxed in sleep – to memory.
She was older, but the Kimi he had fallen for was still there. Her hair was parted the same, but it was longer now, tied back at the nape of her neck by a black ribbon. She wore an indigo shirt reminiscent of a kimono, with a thick black band around her waist and long sleeves that nearly covered her hands. Upon closer inspection, Itachi found a black feather motive etched throughout the indigo cloth, dark against dark.
Still, he could see her in the slight upward tilt of her lips, a faint shadow of the smile he longed to see once more. Itachi reached toward her as if to touch her cheek, but was suddenly aware of Kisame watching him carefully. Instead, he gently shook her shoulder. "Kimi, wake up. Time to go."