Chapter 7

It feels good to be running on my own two feet again. Exhilarating. I relish in the adrenaline rush it gives me. I'm also free of that cumbersome blindfold, now that we're nowhere near the Akatsuki hideout. My eyes try to encompass everything they see, drinking in the landscape, even though it's mainly cliffs and rocks in these badlands we're crossing.

Every now and again, Kisame looks over his shoulder to make sure I'm still here. He, of course, has no reason to believe I won't run if given a chance. Itachi and I alone know the truth: I had that chance. I chose to stay. I don't care what Itachi imagines my reasons are.

He's been showing signs of improvement during the last few days, after our stay at the onsen. His skin has gained a healthy color, the dark circles under his eyes have faded and he hasn't lost his breath once since then. I do keep an eye on him, though, because I know it won't last for long. He can't heal on his own. He needs treatment if he's ever to make a full recovery.

I can help him, but not with Kisame around. I haven't had a chance to talk to him alone since we left the onsen. At night, we camp in the open and Kisame never leaves us alone for long. I don't dare talk to Itachi about this while his partner is asleep, either. I don't know how deep of a sleeper he is, even though he sometimes snores loud enough to wake the dead.

"Hey, kunoichi!" Kisame says, slowing down to run beside me. I look at him curiously, wondering what he wants. He doesn't usually address me, but he does talk about me with Itachi as if I'm not there. "I've been struggling to remember why you seem so familiar," he goes on, and I'm surprised to hear he spent time thinking about me. "I think Deidara mentioned a pink-haired kunoichi being the one who killed Sasori."

I swallow the lump in my throat. It wasn't all me. Chiyo-sama did most of the work. What would he do if he knew I did kill a fellow Akatsuki? I can't tell from his tone.

"She's the one," Itachi says, saving me the trouble. Kisame stares at me for a while. I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable under his half-human stare and just as I'm about to look away, he grins.

"You're not all looks, then," he says, and takes the lead again.

Itachi stays behind with me, a few steps behind Kisame. I realize my mouth is open and I close it, but I'm still dumbfounded. What was that supposed to mean? I am a kunoichi, of course I can fight, shannarou! I'm getting angry, but as I keep listening to him say it in my mind, I come to realize Kisame must have meant it as a compliment of sorts. What a strange… person. I'm not sure I can call him a man.

We stop to set camp at sunset, at the base of a rocky outcrop. I shrug off my backpack and move my shoulders for a bit. My back hurts from carrying it all day, not to mention how my legs are burning from the effort. It's been a while since I've felt this good and it makes me smile.

I turn around after my stretching exercises and see Itachi standing alone, staring at me. I look around, but there's no trace of Kisame.

"He left to look for firewood," Itachi tells me.

Good luck with that, I think to myself. I've hardly seen a tree since we entered the badlands. There are some bushes around, but the wood is green and would make too much smoke. It takes me a while to realize what that means.

"Sit," I tell Itachi, already walking the distance towards him. He must know we're still pressed for time and doesn't object. "How have you been feeling?" I ask as I pour healing chakra into him.

"Better," he deigns to admit.

I can feel Itachi's muscles relax after a while. The last time we did this, he was taut as a bowstring. He's not used to being touched, I imagine. It's easier for me this time, knowing what I'm in for and what must be done. If I could, I would make my job easier still by having him take medicine, but I have no supplies, no place to prepare it, and I can almost feel Kisame breathing down my neck.

"This is manageable," I tell him. "I can fix the damage and you'll need to take better care of yourself to keep it in check, but it's a treatable condition."

I talk to him as I would to any other patient, forgeting who he is for a moment. But he manages to bring me back with only four words.

"Why do you care?"

They leave me speechless. I close my eyes and draw in a deep breath.

"I don't know," I say, and I really don't.

He seems to accept my answer for what it is: the truth. I could have lied. I could have told him I don't really care, but lying to him would be lying to myself. I don't know what he expected to hear.

"Why did you spare Sasuke-kun?" I hear myself asking out of the blue.

Itachi looks away, ignoring my question. The last of my healing chakra fades, but I don't find it in me to remove my hands from his back.

Naruto once told me what happened when Itachi came after him, years ago. Sasuke-kun attacked Itachi and Itachi told Sasuke-kun he wasn't strong enough to face him. That he lacked hatred. I wasn't there when it happened, but I remember how Sasuke-kun was when they brought him back. He was in the hospital for days.

Looking at Itachi now, it's like Naruto was talking about a different person altogether. I don't doubt he did any of the things Naruto said. What I doubt are the motives behind his actions.

The sound of firewood hitting the ground startles me. I pull back my hands and turn around. Kisame's standing there, grinning all the way up to his ears.

"Am I interrupting something?" he says.

For the first time I feel the urge to punch his face in.