Chapter Thirteen

Ichigo was worried. She knew that it wasn't unusual for Hikari to spend the night over at the Uchiha compound but she always made sure to send a message if she decided to do so; which was why she was so worried that Hikari never made it home last night. Nervously she bit her thumb as she watched the sun slowly light up the compound.

Usually she loved to stare out her window and watch the world catch fire with the sun. That was the main reason why she had this room. It faced directly west and was high enough up that she could see over the compound wall into the streets where she could see the sun's fire dancing off of the white buildings of Konoha every morning. But today she just couldn't enjoy it as she felt worry pulse from every pore of her skin.

"Enough," Ichigo said as she roughly drug her fingers through her fire red hair. "All this worrying is going to do nothing but give you wrinkles. Hikari-nee is a very good ninja and there's no reason to think she's anywhere but at the Uchiha compound. Now relax."

Forcing herself to do just that, she crossed the room so that she could lean on the seal of her window in order to get a better look at the morning rising. Her eyes slowly roved the buildings and streets, taking in the complete glory that was the dancing oranges, reds, and golds. After nearly fifteen minutes the sun had finally risen high enough that the colors receded into the heavy brightness of the morning sky and she pulled back. Stretching her arms high above her shoulders Ichigo let out a satisfied sigh as she felt her back pop lightly.

"Time for school I guess…" Ichigo was about to head out her door to claim the furo when something she had seen suddenly registered in her mind. Panic gripped her as she raced back for her window; practically falling out from leaning so far. The color rapidly dropped from her face as her darting eyes suddenly paused on what it was that she had seen. Hikari lay sprawled out face down several meters from the Haruno gate, but she was impossible to miss with her bright white coloring splashed with a large amount of angry red.

"HIKARI!" Ichigo said as she launched herself from her window. She landed hard on the ground three stories below but somehow managed to avoid any injuries by turning her landing into a roll before she leapt to her feet and raced for the compound's main gate.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Niwa Megumi didn't want to leave the ICU knowing exactly who was outside in the waiting room. Even from behind the set of doors that separated them, Megumi could feel the dark aura that radiated from the Uchiha clan head. Finally, after several failed attempts, Megumi managed to muster up enough courage to shakily push open the doors to the waiting area where she was instantly met by the Haruno clan who all crowded around to anxiously hear what she had to say.

"Um…I'm Niwa Megumi. I'm the nurse for Haruno Hikari-san." A sudden chill raced up her spine causing Megumi to pause as she traced the source of the feeling to where Itachi sat in one of the chairs, his deep black eyes promising pain if she didn't quickly move past the formalities. Stumbling slightly over her clipboard Megumi somehow managed to flip to the right page just as small beads of sweat began to form along her forehead.

"Um, c-currently she is fine. The doctor managed to get her stabilized but she'll have to remain in the hospital for several days under supervision to insure that she is well on her way to recovering."

Instantly the suffocating feel of the room lifted allowing Megumi to take a much needed gulp of fresh air. She did her best to appear casual as she greedily consumed the oxygen she was sure she had been permanently deprived of. A heavy hand suddenly fell on her shoulder, startling her so badly that she dropped her clipboard to the floor before spinning around in irritation. However her words quickly died in her throat as she found herself standing mere centimeters from the commanding presence of Uchiha Itachi.

"Take me to her."

Normally Megumi would have informed a visitor that only family was allowed to visit a patient in the ICU but this time she merely nodded timidly before turning on heal to usher the younger man into the back, completely forgetting about her clipboard that still lay haphazardly on the floor.

Hikari's room was the first one on the right but for some reason Megumi felt like it took hours before she was able to open the door to let Itachi inside. Once he had entered she stood at the door to make sure that she was there if she was needed but the hard glare that Itachi sent her way was more then enough to persuade her that not leaving them alone would probably be hazardous for her health.

Once the nurse was gone and the door was closed Itachi moved across the room to stand beside Hikari's bed. Gazing down at her he couldn't stop his fists from clenching in fury before he closed his eyes in an attempt to regain his calm. Once the anger had passed he slowly opened his eyes again so that he could look at his fiancée properly.

Her skin was almost as white as her hair aside from the dark circles under her eyes and he had to fight back a flinch at the amount of wires and tubes that she was connected to. Slowly he sunk down in the chair next to her before reaching out to take her chalky hand in his own; careful not to disturb the IV that was inserted at her elbow.

"I'm sorry," he said, knowing that she couldn't respond. "This is my fault. You asked me to go with you but I told you I was busy. 'Tomorrow' I said." His fingers tightened around her own. He was silent for several minutes as the thought about what to say next. There was so much that he wanted to say as it was but he already knew that he never could. Not even when she was unconscious.

The sudden sound of the door being pushed open caused Itachi to gently lay her hand back down before he turned to face the intruder. However his anger at being disturbed quickly died when he realized that the new comer was actually Yotaro. Instantly he relaxed as he sent his friend a small nod of greeting.

"How is she?" Yotaro said motioning at Hikari with his chin.

"They tell me she is fine." He said as he turned back towards the bed.

"'But they tell that to everyone'," Yotaro finished. "Right?"

Itachi just shrugged.

A moment of uncomfortable silence fell over the two comrades before Yotaro finally managed the courage to speak.

"A suspect has been identified, Itachi," Yotaro said. "The charges against him have already been filed and I've been…instructed to bring him in for questioning."

Itachi nodded as he gently reached out to brush some stray hairs away from Hikari's emotionless face. He never could stand those few times that she was unconscious. It always seemed unnatural for her to be so still and quiet. Again his hands curled into fists as anger over took him again. Whoever did this would pay. Dearly.

"Who?" Itachi said. "I want a name. Now."

Yotaro was quiet for several seconds before he shifted his weight and cleared his throat.

"It's you Itachi." Yotaro said, clearly uncomfortable. "I'm supposed to be bringing you back to headquarters right now."

Itachi froze; every cell in his body stunned by disbelief. When he was finally able to speak again his voice was low and dark.

"They think that I tried to kill Hikari." A dark chuckle escaped his lips. "Setting aside the fact that she is to be my wife, if I had wanted to kill her I assure you she would be dead."

"I know you didn't do it Itachi. Everyone does. Unfortunately the only evidence we were able to find all pointed to you and…well…After what happened four years ago with Sasuke-kun the Uchiha council seems to believe that unstable homicidal attacks run in your immediate family."

Itachi turned abruptly to glare at Yotaro; his clenched fists slowly dripping blood from where his fingernails had cut into the flesh of his palms.

"You know who really did this don't you?" Itachi said, his voice dripping with venom.

"Kenta," Yotaro said quietly. "He is the only person that would dare."

"I'll kill him," Itachi said. "But not before every finger, every toe, every disk in his back, is shattered into a thousand pieces."

"You know you can't do that. If you were to attack Kenta so soon after Hikari's hospitalization there would be no way that we could manage to lift the charges off of you. And then what? You would lose your place as clan head, your standing as a ninja, and Hikari. Is that really what you want?"

Itachi's teeth were clenched as he forcefully stopped himself from slamming his fist through the wall of the ICU. The last thing he needed right now was some crazy nurse running in to see what happened.

"Well what do you suggest then Yotaro?" Itachi said, his legendary cool finally seeming to crack. "I won't let him get away with this. I will kill him."

"Give me forty-eight hours and I swear that I'll get the evidence necessary to drag him down to hell." Yotaro said; his face unusually serious. "Until then just cooperate. What ever it is that they tell you to do, do it. I'll take care of getting Kenta."

"You expect to be able to do all of this alone do you?" Itachi said. "You may be a good field ninja but you and I both know that reconnaissance and information gathering isn't something you excel at."

"I won't be the one out on the front lines." Yotaro said. "This time I'll be behind the scenes. Too many people would expect me to look into this."

"Then what is your plan, Yotaro?" Itachi said. "I'm tired of playing these games."

"Three teams of genin passed the initiation tests yesterday." He said, a small grin playing at the corner of his lips. "It just so happens that they all have the requirements needed for this particular mission. I've already talked to Sandaime-sama in private and he approves. I'll use the genin as my eyes, ears, and, if necessary, muscle. After I have what I need I'll take the information to the Konoha council and the ANBU board."

Itachi nodded slowly. "If I remember correctly the nine genin you are talking about include that Hyuuga girl, the Aburame clan heir, and the genius young Nara am I correct?"

"Yeah. And of course there is that one person that you could never forget."

Itachi smirked. "Yes. The dead-last that is somehow always first. Uzumaki Naruto."

End Chapter Thirteen


Kaliea: It's a little shorter then the last one but at least it's an update right? So, Yotaro only had forty-eight hours to prove that Kenta is the real bad guy (if he even is the real bad guy) before Itachi goes berserk and kills the guy he's hated since childhood. Personally, if I were Yotaro I'd just let Itachi kill the jerk and get it over with. No one would miss him after all. Anyway, don't forget to review!


Review Answers:

rosieweasely: Sometimes I am. Honestly it just depends on what is happening in my life at the moment. Quick updates like this one are usually very rare though.

waveblader213: Or did he? Hmm. It's a mystery. And only my second one. Hopefully I'll do better on this one then I did with my Spiral story. That one was all over the map.

Music 1s my s0ul: Thanks for the cookies but she's not dead…yet…(evil grin)

Lover of Stories 24: Yeah, Kakashi is cool. As for Hikari…well, she always seems to get the tough breaks. If you've read my other stories I'm sure you'll understand what I mean by that. Also, thanks so, so much for all of your reviews. I really appreciate them.


Kaliea: Thanks for your reviews guys. They give me ideas and keep me going. Till next time, ja ne!