This is a really short chapter guys, but things start to get intense in the next installment.
The training ground was completely ruined. Craters smoked everywhere. The lake was completely displaced; trees had been uprooted and were lying all over the place. And there we were, in the middle of it all.
It had been quite a fight. The missions we'd had together had required very little fighting, so neither of us knew what skills the other possessed.
The fight had taken a lot out of me and I knew if I wasn't careful I'd soon end back up in the hospital for chakra exhaustion again.
I had Shisui pinned to the ground. He was plainly exhausted. Both of our chests were heaving and we were both bleeding from multiple small cuts all over our bodies. My hands were trashed from throwing trees around all day.
But Shisui was impressed and that was all that mattered to me.
"Ok, maybe I underestimated you slightly." He admitted.
"Slightly?" I asked with a grin, putting a little more pressure on his throat.
"Ok, ok a lot. Happy? You can take care of yourself." He amended.
"Thank you, and don't you forget that." I told him. "I don't need to be protected anymore."
"Is it so bad that I want to protect you?" he asked.
"I just want you to understand that I can take care of myself." I explained.
Shisui thought about it, then nodded. "I understand."
That was the difference between Shisui and Itachi, I realized. Itachi had known from the very beginning that he didn't need to protect me and hadn't tried, but I'd been forced to show Shisui that I could hold my own even when I'd just gotten out of the hospital. And I could tell he would still try to protect me even though I didn't need it.
I got off of Shisui. "I should probably head home. I really need a shower. I smell like the hospital and dirt."
Shisui laughed. "Care if I join you?" He looked so hopeful.
"I think I want to spend some time to myself tonight, you know? Me time. Maybe I'll even do my nails or something equally girly." I told him, and then added when he still looked dejected. "But you can come over tomorrow morning and make me breakfast."
He smiled. "I'll be there." He gave me a quick kiss and then raced off.
I headed back to my apartment and quietly let myself in. I was unsurprised to see Itachi sitting on my couch, waiting for me.
"Make me forget everything. Please."
"So how did you sleep last night?" Shisui asked me over a plate of bacon.
"Really well, actually. Probably the best sleep I've had in a while. As soon as I got home I crashed." I had slept so well, I'd gone to bed in the scrubs I'd battled in and it was Shisui who'd woken me up this morning.
"Yeah it took me a few tries to wake you up. I didn't realize you were such a heavy sleeper." He said.
"I'm usually not. I must have been completely wiped out." I took a bite of the delicious bacon.
After he'd woken me, I'd taken a much-needed shower. I tossed the scrubs and slipped into my most comfortable pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.
Shisui and I fell into a comfortable silence as we ate our food. Being ninja, we required more nutrition than regular civilians. We could easily finish off a package of bacon by ourselves.
When we were both stuffed, we lazed around my living room for a while. He sat on the couch watching TV while I read a book with my head in his lap. He was unconsciously running his fingers through my hair, which I found very soothing.
When the program ended, Shisui turned off the TV.
"So, any plans for today?" he asked.
I finished the paragraph I was reading and then marked the page with my finger. "Not really. I have a hospital shift later tonight, but nothing besides that."
Shisui seemed fine with just staying at my apartment and hanging out with me all day.
We talked a lot and laughed. We watched TV and had another round of amazing sex.
He left my apartment when it started getting dark outside. "My mom is making dinner for me and she'll be super pissed if I miss it. I would invite you over too, but I know your shift starts soon."
We kissed in my doorway and then he pulled away reluctantly. I watched him go. He had a really cute butt.
I closed my door and proceeded to get ready for my shift at the hospital.
The month passed quickly. It was all a blur of hospital shifts, dinners with Team Kakashi and Shisui, Shisui, Shisui. Hardly a day went by that I didn't see him. It was nice to have him around all the time. All of my friends were busy with their own lives and hardly had time for me if we weren't going on missions together.
At the end of the month, Tsunade summoned me to her office using the messenger birds. That could only mean one thing: a mission.
I quickly changed into my ANBU gear and then went to her office. My teammate was already there waiting for me. I gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement and then awaited instructions from Tsunade.
"There's been some disturbance in Wave that I don't like. Check out what's causing it, but don't reveal your presence. Your best bet to start is probably the ninja village." She informed us.
"Yes, Hokage." My partner and I said in unison, bowing.
She nodded. "Very well then. Weasel, please stay behind for a moment. Blossom you're free to go."
I glanced at my teammate. His posture was relaxed, so it didn't seem like he was in trouble.
"I'll meet you at the gates at dawn." Was all he said. I nodded to both of them and then headed home to pack.
ITACHI
I sank into the chair in front of Tsunade's desk.
"You're sure you can handle this?" Tsunade asked me.
"Yes, she'll be fine." I replied.
That was the first time I'd been close enough to touch Sakura in a month. However, that didn't mean I wasn't keeping an eye on her. Was that creepy? Maybe, but I needed to make sure she was ok and that the genjutsu I'd performed on her hadn't seriously affected her. Well, besides, you know, taking her memories.
It was painful to see her with Shisui. I had informed him of her decision and he had promised me he would never speak of it with her. I didn't want to take her memories but she begged me. She told me she couldn't live without me as her teammate, but we couldn't be teammates after everything that had happened between us.
Even a month later it still hurt to think about the fact that she only thought of me as a teammate.
"That's not what I asked you, Uchiha, and you know it." Tsunade responded, glaring at me. It felt like I wasn't even wearing a mask.
"I'll remain professional throughout our mission if that's what you're worried about. I won't even touch her unless circumstances require it." I replied monotonously. I could do this. I just had to crush every emotion I had towards Sakura that was anything more than one would feel for a teammate.
"I know it's tough, but stay strong. At least you know she still wants you in her life." Yes, but not in the way I needed her to be.
"Are we done here?" I asked curtly. I wanted to go home and pack and prepare myself for the long journey ahead of me.
Tsunade sighed. "I guess. Be careful and good luck."
I stood and left her office. I wished I could forget Sakura, but one of us had to hold the secrets of what had happened between us.
I'm not sure where things went wrong. We'd done everything by the book. We'd used disguises everywhere we went; been careful to erase whom ever we interviewed memories of us. They must have caught us sending word back to Konoha.
My teammate and I had been in the Village Hidden in the Rain for almost three months. The first month, the rain had been hard to get used to. The sun never shone here and I couldn't help but sink into a depression.
My teammate helped keep my spirits up. We would go to private places he found and talk about home. He would hold me whenever I felt like the loneliness was becoming too much. Around month two, I started to feel unsafe wherever I went. It felt like eyes were watching me all the time. I begged my teammate to stay with me. We had to separate at times and sometimes I could barely function, but I soldiered on because it was for the good of the mission.
I'd been on missions like this before. I'd once been gone from home for over six months and I had never felt this way. But there was just something about this place…
I could tell my teammate was worried about me. Finally one night he said, "We have enough information now. We're leaving tomorrow."
I sat up on the bed where I'd been slowly cleaning my weapons. "Really? Do you mean it?"
"Yes, of course." He replied. I jumped off the bed and tackled him in a hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I squealed, squeezing him.
I packed my meager belongings as fast as possible and then jumped into bed. I snuggled under the covers and waited for my teammate to join me. This mission was nowhere near the first time we'd shared a bed, but our relationship was completely platonic. Plus I needed him. I couldn't sleep without knowing for sure that he was safe in bed beside me.
When he was done packing, he climbed in beside me, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body against my back.
"We'll be home soon." He whispered softly as I slipped into sleep.