She caressed the petals with her hand, raising the small flower towards her nose for a breath of its fragrance. It was something strong and heady with a rich lily-like undertone. She found she rather liked it. The delicate pink petals covered her stubby hands as she gently twirled the stem … Soft satin membrane danced over her fingertips. She found herself smiling softly.
It changed in a moment. Black flames erupted from the centre of the blossom, scorching her hand. The soft pinks shrivelled to charred ash in front of her eyes. She gasped, dropping the flower on the ground as the fire consumed it.
She didn't need to be told what had happened. Though not a shinobi herself, she understood the significance of what she had seen... and the fact that there was only one family capable of producing the event. "What was that for?" she snapped, growling as she turned around, rubbing her sore hand on the fluffy fabric of her kimono, "It was just a gift from a kid who's mother I helped with... What happened to you?"
With the last sentence, her voice had dropped in volume. The anger fading noticeably as her brow furrowed in confusion and her posture relaxed, becoming markedly less confrontational. Konoha's perpetual sunlight streamed down on the narrow walkway, making its way through the gently whispering treetops. Long unkempt grass swayed on the side of the earthen walkway; brightly coloured pebbles were scattered at odd intervals underfoot. They seemed to match the different coloured roofs of the town, which sprawled out from under the wooden edging of the escarpment. It gave the feeling of being hugged close to the stone faces of watching Hokage, staring out at the world from the safe embrace of the academy below. It wasn't her favourite spot in the village, simply because Konoha boasted of so many places of natural beauty from which to choose, but she appreciated it nonetheless.
The slight sting in her hand already disappeared, but she eyed the rough-looking figure in front of her with a mix of irritation and concern. He was hovering in the shadow of a tree, wearing the darkness like a shroud over his shaking frame. It blended seamlessly into the grey and black of his ANBU uniform, even his pale skin seemed waxen in the half-light. His head was bent towards the trunk of the tree, long dark hair hanging drably over his angular features. One arm was slung over his middle, hugging himself as he pushed away from the tree. A single drop of red blood rolled over the shadowed gray of his cheek, making her chest clench at the sight.
"Kazue," he breathed her name, relaxing only slightly at the sight of her, "Kazue." He took a step forward, never leaving the shadows as he moved. His impossibly dark eyes were fixed on her. One side of his face was swollen to a blossoming crimson and purple, the black eye filling out even the deeply pronounced tear ducts on his face.
"Itachi," she whispered, her head moving ever so slightly up and backwards, her shoulders dropping along with her jaw as her eyes widened, "I thought you were still on your mission? Are you alright? Are you injured?" A severe injury was the only reason she could think of that might have brought the ANBU captain home before his assignment was complete; it was a theory given more weight by his bedraggled appearance. Her fists clenched slightly.
"Tell me it's not true." The words echoed in her ears as little more than a horse whisper. He seemed to mouth them more than say them.
She frowned, confused by the change of topic, "What's..."
Breathing still as ragged as if he had been running for an age, he gazed down at her. His mouth opened, but he couldn't seem to find any more words. Helplessly he simply stared, his hands shaking and his eyes wide and desperate.
Something in his sheer anguish made the realisation slowly dawn upon her. "Oh. I see." She felt a little flushed. Her whole body was numb with the shock and embarrassment. "I didn't think you'd mind to be honest," she mumbled, half-ashamed, as she nervously ran her fingers through the ends of her thick hair, "I thought... It's been so long since we even... I thought..."
He dropped to his knees, the motion bringing him down to her full standing height. She staggered forwards, closing distance between them in a sudden hurry. The very edges of the tree's shadow fell over her face and his hands reached tentatively for hers, pulling her towards him until they stood mere centimetres apart. "I mind," he gasped, "I mind. I mind a lot. Kazue, I..."
Tiny and childlike, her hand nevertheless managed to grip his back tightly. She blinked the water out of her eyes as she sought to lock his gaze with hers. "You what...?" she whispered, edging her face closer to his.
"I can't... Without you, I... Kazue..." one of his hands cupped her chin, the gaze searching her face was open, forlorn and vulnerable, like the words escaping his trembling lips, "Don't leave me. Please don't leave me." His expression was contorted, almost as if he were crying. Still there were no tears that she could see. Only the red stain caused by his foolish use of the Amaratsu.
"You want me to stay?" she murmured the words reverently, almost in disbelief.
"Yes," he whispered back. His grip tightened on her hands.
She took a step backwards, her frown deepening. "As more than just Sasuke's babysitter?" she growled, that same disbelief hardening the line of her jaw and narrowing those around her eyes.
His brows contracted. He stared at her as if the notion was absurd. His hands hung grimly onto her shorter arms, his fingers gripping her tightly.
"As more than just some sort of obligation you have to the clan to provide them with a female matriarch?" she went on quickly, her head rising only slightly at the hurt in his expression, "A bride for their leader?"
"Yes!" he snapped, staring into her eyes. The lids around his own were unusually reddened and his lips trembled as struggled to form words. "Of course."
She stared back fiercely, meeting his gaze head on. "And you're not just telling me this because it's what you think I want to hear?" she demanded, gazing sceptically at his expression.
"Kazue," he breathed, closing his eyes as if the word pained him, "I want... I need you to stay. I couldn't cope if you left me. I'd go mad. I'd... Kazue, please." His thumbs pressed into the back of her tiny hands at his confession, his head bowed slightly, the words clearly making him feel more vulnerable than he was used to.
"You love me?" she whispered, incredulous at her own conclusion, "Still?" Her own shoulders had started to shake. He could feel the movement through his hands. She wet her lips and accidentally bit her own tongue in the process, her entire body feeling oddly weak.
Smiling weakly, he glanced up at her face again. "So much," he muttered, his face flushing with obvious embarrassment, "So so much."
Air rushed out of her, as she was filled with a heady dizzying sensation, almost as if she were in freefall with both feet firmly on the floor. She wasn't sure if her knees were going to buckle or if she would fall straight on top of him. She did neither, somehow managing to mutter, "I didn't know..."
She might as well have hit him. His body jerked backwards, yanking at her arms where they were still connected. He stared at her, his eyes wide with shock and hurt.
"I didn't know that," she repeated, gasping, staring at her feet.
His hands left her arms. They hit his knees with a quiet slap as he slumped inwards. Defeated, his shoulders shook almost imperceptibly. His breath came in slow heavy gasps.
"You didn't know," he repeated, his voice a little flat, "That I love you any more?"
Smiling sympathetically, almost apologetically even though in truth she had little to apologise for, she reached out and touched his face, gently caressing his check. His hand enveloped hers, pressing the tiny appendage tightly in the grip of his fingers.
"How could I have known?" she sighed, by way of explanation, "When the only response you ever give someone is 'sorry, not now' there will come a time when even 'right now' will be too late."
He gazed at her, fixing her gaze on him. "Is it too late?" he inquired, his voice almost pleading, "Am I... too late?"
"What?" she blinked, her nose rumpled in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"This other..." he swallowed, as if his mouth were suddenly too dry, and he seemed unable to look at her face, "The other man... Do you love him? Do you... do you want him more than... me?"
She froze, staring at him in shock. Slowly she pushed both her arms around his neck, pulling him down sharply into the crook of her neck, his body flush against hers.
"Don't be a damned idiot," she growled, twisting her fingers tightly in his hair, "I'm not leaving you. Not yet. Not ever, as long as you still want me. I can't help that. I'd always stay. Yes, someone tried to ask me on a date a few times. I admit I liked the attention after being ignored for so long, but I never did anything with him. I didn't even kiss the guy, not while I still have even a small part of you. I love you, idiot, even when you ignore me for a year and a half."
"Kazue," and suddenly she found his arms tightly around her, lifting her off the ground as he pressed kisses against any part of her face he could reach, her ear, her nose, her lips, her eyes... His mouth mumbled her name all the while as he kissed her. His voice was dry and breathless, his breath conversely hot and moist against her skin. Her fingers were still locked in his hair, so tightly it must be painful, but he didn't seem to mind as he rained kisses on her in wordless relief and joy. She giggled slightly under his persistent touch, pulling sharply on the back tresses until he was lined up with his mouth in front of hers. Her expression glazed over slightly, and she licked the corner of her upper lip, pulling his head down ever so slightly.
He stared breathlessly as she pushed forwards across the tiny gap between them, pressing hard against his mouth. His shoulders relaxed and she wobbled in his grip, almost falling until he pulled her tighter against him, closing his eyes and loosing himself in the warm, hot pressure on his mouth; the heady sensation shot straight to his head and spine and knees. He felt breathless and weak and amazing as his brain virtually exploded at the sharp trilling sensation against his lips. His wholer body was heavy, full and numb with the sheer joy of holding her, of feeling her, of knowing that everything would be all right once again.
"Was it a rough mission?" She touched the bruising around his eye, tracing the swelling with her fingers as they broke apart. Her breathing came abnormally fast and her face was flushed, her eyes sparkling with an abundance of love, even with the obvious concern for him.
"I... err... No," he said at last, realising what she meant, "No, Sasuke did that."
Her fingers froze. "Sasuke?"
"Yeah," Itachi grimaced with embarrassment, avoiding her gaze as he recounted, "He tracked us down with that Naruto-friend of his and started screaming something about how if I ever made his Nee-san cry again, he'd dedicate his life to hunting me down and killing me as painfully as he could... Truth be told, I didn't catch half of it. Once I realised what he was yelling, I couldn't move, couldn't think... I just stood there... let him hit me. When I could finally move again... all I could think about was finding you..."
She nodded, a little nonplussed at the declaration. "That's... oddly romantic," she kissed her teeth contemplatively, something just off the edge of sardonic at her own realisation, "Not that I'm exactly thrilled by the fact that you let your little brother beat you to a pulp, but still... in a strange way, it's kinda romantic, isn't it?" Her laugh was a little dry, but her eyes were alive with her affection him. There was a blush on her cheeks and a slight tremble in her breathing that spoke volumes about the way the admission of his emotion had really made her feel.
He smiled at her, still a little embarrassed, and then suddenly his features went blank and his eyes fixated on a point just beyond her face. "Oh no," he groaned and buried his face hard against her shoulder.
"What?" Her eyes widened in alarm at the tone of his voice.
"I abandoned the mission half-way through," he hissed, his shoulders suddenly tight beneath her grip, "I'm going to get all of us in so much trouble with the council and the Hokage and..."
"It'll be fine," she informed him curtly, with far more confidence than she actually felt. Her arms gripped him a little tighter by way of reassurance, "Sasuke and your team are a bunch of smart kids, they'll figure something out."
"Famous last words, I'm sure," he muttered softly against her skin, dropping to his knees so that her feet were once again resting on the ground. All the time the warm tight pressure of his arms still clasped her tightly against his chest and he wouldn't take his face out of the crook of her neck.
"Do you regret coming?" she asked, refusing to let go either as she tugged at a strand of hair near the back of his head to get his attention.
"Not a bit," he sighed, "That's probably the worst part." He tilted his head, smiling ruefully at her from the side of his face. A life-time of being the perfect professional shinobi crumbled at the mere sight of the emotion shining out of her features for him.
"The best part, thank you," she smiled back and kissed him gently, stroking the top of his ponytail with her fingers, "We'll figure something out."
He leant forwards, breathing in the familiar scent of her hair as he did so."We will," he mumbled back.