I do not own Naruto~

Shisui and Itachi had actually tried contacting her, and she had managed to avoid them for around four days. Whenever someone would knock on the door, she would instantly dash into the bathroom and claim she was taking a shower, and when Mari would tell her that it had been Itachi or Shisui, Ayano would just smile and say she'd go see them the next day.

At work she had been trying to get in and out of the compound as fast as she could, ducking into alleyways and hiding behind buildings if she saw anyone that looked remotely similar to the two boys. She was glad she had several orders to deliver today, as it gave her a reason to be out of the compound so much.

"Uruchi-san," Ayano called to the back as she walked back into the store. "The Nara's have another order they're placing for tomorrow, the same thing as today."

"The imagawayaki?" Teyaki asked as he walked into the front of the shop.

"Yup." Ayano placed the slip in the basket on the counter and gave Teyaki the money. "Here's their payment." He took it and put it in the register.

"How many deliveries do you have left?" Ayano picked up a clipboard on the counter.

"Three," she stated. She blinked. "Hokage-sama ordered something?" Her voice was disbelieving. Teyaki chuckled.

"We're more popular than you know, dear," Uruchi told her as she walked to the front of the store, wiping her hands on her apron. "Deliver the Suzu's order first, though, because we just finished the Hokage's."

"Kay," Ayano chirped as she tore a slip from the small book on the counter for the customer to sign. "Be back in a bit." She ran out the door and set a fast pace to the entrance of the compound. She was extremely tired, but she didn't want to risk seeing Itachi or Shisui. In the back of her mind she wondered how long she would have to keep this up for. The gaurds let her pass without checking her, seeing as how she had been in and out of the compound nearly eight times, and they didn't bother with her anymore. When she was a block away, she let herself relax more and slowed her pace. She was safe enough. It was around maybe five, and people getting of work were walking down the streets, and kids were out playing in front yards.

"There should be a shortcut through here..." she murmured, stopping at a quiet street. She half turned to walk down it, but for some reason she just froze.

Her blood pounding was audible to herself, and she felt her body go cold. She didn't want to go down there.

Blinking in surprise, she shook her head. There was nothing wrong with that street. It had houses lining it, like any other street, and it's not like it was dark or anything.

But it would be soon, and she knew her mother would be upset if she got home too late. She gulped. Why was this road scaring her so much? She took another step, and then another. Walking down the street, she was completely tense, and found herself holding her breath. Her eyes shifted over the buildings to the side of her.

And then there it was.

She froze in her tracks, eyes flying wide open and her flesh instantly being covered by goosebumps. A shiver went up her spine, but she did not dare move.

That same evil thing that had been following her since she last saw Itachi.

She should have known. She had felt it six times in the last four days, and it had been getting worse. She should have known to stay away from deserted areas. At first it was just this nagging in the back of her head that she was being watched by something, and then it steadily got worse. It began stalking her. She would feel it gliding behind her on an entire route home, resisting the urge to just bolt.

But it had never been this bad. Not since what happened in the clearing.

Her breathing escalated, and she was scared to turn around. But she found herself peeking over her shoulder anyways.

The only thing behind her was the road she had walked on. It scared her even more, knowing that something was there and not being able to see it.

There was nothing there. It's just her imagination.

Rustle.

RUN!

The word exploded in her mind, and she felt herself running at a speed she never had before, fueled by adrenaline pulsing through her, turning the corner so fast she almost fell. She didn't stop until she was at the destination she had hoped for, panting and shaking uncontrollably.

The thing wasn't there anymore. She could barely catch her breath, and her senses were picking up on everything going around her. It took her twenty minutes to just get her breathing under control, and after that she knew she was still shaking. She tried to control herself and knocked on the door. A man answered, looking at her oddly.

"Delivery," she stated, holding up the bag. He took it and signed the slip.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, frowning, as he handed back the slip. She attempted a weak smile, but was sure it came out a grimace.

"Something just scared me, it's okay," she said. He frowned more.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he pressed. She nodded, and turned to walk off before he suggested anything. "Take the more populated streets home, it's getting late," the man called after her. She called back a thanks. She planned to anyways. She began a jog back to the compound. She didn't feel anything stalking her this time.

As she was running through the compound gates, where she noticed there were no guards stationed, she ran right into someone walking out. She felt herself fall and braced herself for impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes and looked up at the person who caught her.

Perfect. Fate liked to play games with her, didn't she?

"Ayano?" Itachi asked, standing her up straight. He looked surprised. "What are you doing?" She was all too grateful when he let go of her.

"I just got back from a delivery," she said quickly. She darted past him, trying to get away.

"Wait," he called. "You're shaking. What happened?"

"Sorry, I have more orders I have to deliver and-"

"Stop running from me!" Itachi told her, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. She flinched at the contact, and he stared down at where he held her. "...You're scared of me, aren't you?" She shrank a little, and averted her eyes. He was silent for a while.

He let her go.

"Fine," he said, completely emotionless. "I won't bother you anymore." He continued walking out of the compound, and she felt a pang in her chest. When he was out of sight, she turned back around and raced back to the bakery. Unluckily for her, Uruchi was waiting in the front room.

"Ayano?" she asked when the girl sped in. "What happened?" Alarm filled her voice.

"I think I'm sick," Ayano lied. She put the slip on the counter.

"Lord, are you breathing alright?" Uruchi placed a and over her forehead, which Ayano moved away from.

"I just think I'm sick," she repeated. Uruchi frowned.

"Well, go home and get some rest. Teyaki will take care of the rest of your deliveries, okay?" As much as she didn't want to, Ayano nodded, and walked out the door. She tried to calm herself in the slightest bit before her mother saw her, but any noise she heard made her tense up again. It was almost dark, now, and she sped up her pace.

"I'm home," she called as she opened the door. Silence greeted her. "Mom?" She walked to the kitchen. A small note was placed on the table and her eyes scanned over it.

Went to the store real quick to stock up on dango. ;) Be back soon! -Mom

Ayano sighed in relief. This gave her more time to try and calm down. But it also ade her more paranoid, to know she was the only one in the house. She went through the hallways, leaving on all the lights, and took a nice, hot shower.

The running water over her skin soothed her clenched muscles, and she decided when she got out that she might as well go to bed early. She didn't want to think about what happened that day, and she saw sleep as the easiest way out of it. She threw on her most comfortable clothes and slipped under her covers, turning only her bedroom light and hall light off, with the bathroom light on. It was enough light to see in, but dark enough to sleep in. She snuggled deep in the bed, sighing, as her fevered face, still red from the boiling hot shower, pressed against her cool pillow.

She let her mind go blank, just concentrating on stopped the sporadic twitching in her muscles, listening to the lullaby of the cicadas.

But she couldn't sleep. Something was just bothering her in the back of her mind, but she couldn't tell what. She figured it was Itachi, the look on his face when he realized she was scared of him. She felt a slight pang of guilt, and rolled over, towards the window, burying herself in the comforters. She couldn't help that she was scared of him, but part of her didn't want to be. She wondered if Shisui ever felt threatened by him, which then lead her to start thinking about Hiyuki, and wondering if she was okay.

Scratch.

!!!

Her eyes flew open, and she did what any kid did at night, not move a muscle, not even their eyes, until the heard the noise again to reaffirm the first and convince them it was real. She stopped breathing, keeping her ears wide open. The sound of cicada reached her ears, but she heard nothing for a while.

Scratch.

Her breath sped up and she breathed through her mouth to minimise the noise as she slid her gaze to the window.

Scratch.

Her eyes widened more, if that were possible, and tears of horror filled her eyes.

The black figure haunched in the window sill stared at her, unmoving. She started hyperventilating.

It was in her room.

Scratch.

In her house.

With no one else, completely defenseless.

It had followed her.

Scratch!

It looked unnatural, the way it sat. For some reason, even in the dark, she could make out it's face. A mischievous imp grinned back at her.

It new she was awake. She whimpered.

Oh, God, it had red eyes.

SCRATCH.

The evil aura exploded around her, pressing againt her skull, suffocating her, and she let a a blood curdling scream that clawed the insides of her ears out. She pushed herself away from the figure, falling off the bed, and her head hit the floor with a resounding crack, making her see spots. Her throat was raw. She hadn't stopped screaming.

"Ayano!?!" Mari yelled, storming in the room, seeing her daughter hunched in the corner. The lights blared on, blinding Ayano, but she still continued to scream, pointing at the open window. "What happened!? Ayano!"

"The window!!" Ayano gasped, tears now falling freely down her face. "Something was in it!!" Mari rushed to her daughter, gathering her up in her arms and holding her to her chest, her hand petting Ayano's hair.

"It's alright, it's alright," Mari tried to soothe her daughter. "It was just a dream-- Oh, God." Ayano looked up in alarm at her mother, who was staring at her hand in shock. A drip of blood ran down it, and Ayano's mind was screaming that her mother got hurt, but then a sudden pounding in her head made her forget. "What happened!?"

"Something was in the window," Ayano whimpered. Mari snagged a random shirt from the floor and pressed it to the back of her daughter's head. "It had red eyes and it was so evil and I had the window closed and locked!" Mari looked up from her hysteric daughter to the window, which was wide open. Her eyes widened and her face paled even more. She reached up behind Ayano to the dresser, which had a phone sitting on it. She shakily grabbed it and dialed the numbers, leaving blood on the buttons she pressed. She clutched in to her ear, her free hand rubbing Ayano's arm.

"Hello, police?" she asked, her voice trembling. "Someone broke into my house."

They were standing in the living room, and the police were questioning Mari and Ayano, who was sitting on the couch with a blanket draped around her shaking form.

"And you say this thing has been following you for four days?" a police officer questioned. Ayano nodded.

"Oh, baby," Mari sighed. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ayano kept quiet.

What's going on?" a loud voice boomed throughout the house, and Ayano barely recognized it.

"There was a breaking and entering, sir," one of the officers informed, clasping his fist over his chest in a salute. Fugaku walked into the living room and saw Ayano and Mari. His eyes barely passed over the mother, but he seemed to be scanning Ayano's face for something.

Ayano's eyes widened when she saw Itachi step out from behind Fugaku, his eyes immediately going to her own.

"Did you get a glimpse of what he looked like?" Fugaku asked Ayano directly. Ayano lifted her face.

"B-black clothes," she stuttered. "He had a mask on, I think. Red eyes." Every person in the room except for the owner's of the house narrowed their eyes at the mention of 'red eyes.'

"Do you know what the mask looked like?" he asked.

Ayano noticed Itachi shooting glares at his father that were absolutely terrifying.

"A monkey or something," Ayano muttered. "It was grinning." Fugaku looked skeptical.

"And you're sure you didn't open the window yourself? That it was a dream?"

Mari scowled. He didn't believe her.

"Fugaku-san," she came to her daughter's defense. "The windows have been nailed shut since we moved here, as well as locked, and we haven't bothered to open them."

"Alright," he said with a sigh. He looked angry. "We'll investigate in the morning. I suppose you'll need a place to stay?" Mari felt offended when she saw that they couldn't care less about what had happened, but bit her tongue.

"You can stay at our house," Itachi stepped in. Every person in the room looked at him with surprise. Fugaku shot his son a look, which was returned with another glare.

"Alright," Fugaku sighed. "My wife would be happy if you did. We'll have someone keep a watch on your house. Go get some clothes and anything necessary." Mari pulled her daughter up and went upstairs.

"Where did they break in at?" Ayano heard Itachi ask as they were walking up the stairs.

"Come on, honey," Mari whispered, tugging her daughter along. Ayano went to her room and grabbed a set of clothes and a toothbrush while her mother waited at the door.

"Excuse me?" a boy's voice asked. Mari turned her head to look at Itachi.

"Oh, Itachi-san," he breathed. "What is it?"

"He broke in through the window, right?" he asked. Mari nodded, and moved so he could get through. His eyes passed over Ayano and landed on the window, and he walked over to it.

The nails that had been in it had been forcefully pulled out, and it was messy, too. Itachi had more proof that it had not been ANBU, like the description had said, and then there's the fact that the only ones who were in ANBU with Sharingan were Shisui, himself, and Hatake Kakashi, but none of their masks matched the description.

Oh, he knew he was going to be hearing about this tomorrow. He'll be told to exterminate the ANBU impostor.

"The way you describe the person," he began, directing it at Ayano, "it sounds like it was ANBU. But the way he broke it was too messy, so it was someone impersonating an ANBU operative. And there are only three with Sharingan, but none of them have imp masks." Mari nodded. She had heard of Sharingan from her grandfather. Itachi turned back around and began walking out. He didn't want to tell them that it was someone from the clan, seeing as how they would leave the compound and be in more danger. "If someone were following you, though, they wouldn't dare break into my house, so you'll be safe there. We'll leave when you're ready." He left, and Ayano went with her Mom to get her mother some clothes, and she threw all of the clothes in a shoulder bag.

Ayano was still having trouble getting her shoes on, seeing as how she couldn't stop shaking. After a few tries she got it, and they were walking to Itachi's house, with the police staying behind the clean up any mess they made.

Ayano kept her ears open for anything.

She felt it after about ten minutes of walking.

It was following her again. It wasn't completely terrifying this time, instead it actually felt wary. She took a deep breath.

Don't let it know you know it's there, she thought to herself. It usually gets worse after I react to it. Fugaku and Itachi were walking in front of them, and Mari was about two steps ahead of her. She pressed her lips together. What should she do?

"Fugaku-san," she called. He stopped and looked at her. She had a slightly distressed look to her face. "It's here again." Itachi stopped and blinked, then looked up over her head, towards one of the buildings.

And then he disappeared.

There were some sounds of a fight behind her, and she turned around to see Itachi drop down and throw a form onto the ground. Fugaku walked over to it and kicked it on it's back. A mischievous imp grinned up at the sky, not matching the groans of pain coming from the person.

"That was faster than I expected," Fugaku said in surprise. "Take him to the jailhouse," he told Itachi, who carelessly picked up the man and disappeared. "Itachi will take care of the rest. You two need to get some sleep." Mari was now holding on to her daughter as they walked and Mikoto was standing at the door, looking surprised.

"What happened?" she asked in alarm.

"Someone broke into their house," Fugaku sighed. "They're staying here for the night. Itachi found the criminal and is taking care of him." Mikoto's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked, looking at the two behind him.

"Ayano hit her head and she's bleeding," Mari told her with a grimace.

"It stopped, though," Ayano mumbled. Mikoto ignored her husband and went to check Ayano's head.

"I can heal it over, but she can wash the blood off here," she said. Mari's brow pulled togther in confusion. "I know a little medical jutsu. Just the basics." Mari nodded, and Mikoto led them inside to the living room.

"Kaa-san?" Sasuke asked sleepily from upstairs. "What's going on?"

"It's nothing, sweety, go back to bed," Mikoto called back up. She sat Ayano down on the couch and the younger Uchiha bent her head and an uncomfortable angle so Mikoto could see it. "Oh, it's not too bad," Mikoto told her. "Just a small wound." She felt Mikoto's hands hover over her head, and she saw a faint green light reflect off her lap.

Mikoto's aura exploded in her head, much like it had with the stalker, but this time it wasn't unpleasant. It felt like someone was putting a damp cloth over her head. It was way too close, and she immediately yanked herself away.

"Ayano?" Mikoto asked. Fugaku was observing her reaction closely, for some reason. Ayano had one hand over where she hit her head.

"I think I'll just let it heal by itself," she said quickly. Mikoto blinked in confusion.

"If that's what you want," she shrugged. "You know where the bathroom is, right?" Ayano nodded. "I'll let you take a shower, and I'll get you some pain reliever, kay?" She smiled, and Ayano offered a weak smile back and left to wash the blood out of her hair. It only took about twenty minute, but she still had to try and untangle the dired-over tangles in her hair. When she walked out of the bathroom, new change of clothes, her mother was laying on one of the couches in the living room, talking with Mikoto. They stopped when Ayano walked in, so she knew it was about the baby.

The baby, Ayano thought. This whole thing hadn't made her mother overstressed, right? The baby was fine, right?

She knew she was overreacting, so she tried to quiet the thoughts.

"I hope you're fine with sleeping on the couches," Mikoto said, embarrassed. "We don't have a guest room."

"We're fine with it," Mari objected with a smile. "Thank you for letting us stay here." Ayano went and layed on the other open couch and tried to drown out their conversations. She was surprisingly tired. With a few goodnights, Mikoto left them to go to sleep, and Ayano heard the even breathing of her mother's sleeping before she could asleep herself.

The front door opened, and Ayano's breath caught without thinking, but she relaxed slightly when she saw it was just Itachi. He walked through the living room, pausing before he went up the stairs.

"Yes?" he asked Ayano, feeling her eyes on him. Ayano pressed her lips together.

"...sorry," Ayano whispered. He was quiet for a few seconds.

"What do you have to be sorry about?" he asked.

"I'm scared of you." He was quiet again.

"...You don't have to be sorry about that," he said quietly. "It would be bad if you weren't scared." She raised an eyebrow, and he apparently saw it. "I can kill you. It's important that you know that." She let out a breath she didn't knew she had been holding. "But it's also important that you know I would never hurt you. I promise." Her gaze softened, but then she stared in the direction she thought he was in, raising an eyebrow, and heard him chuckle. "Of course it was kind of getting on my nerves, seeing you duck behind a trash can or building every time you got a glimpse of me." She rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Trust me, that guy's not going to go near you again."

Wow, I'm updating fast, aren't I? Well, if I get more reviews, I'll update faster! How bout that? ;P

And this one was really long, wasn't it?