Forgive me...
Onyx and Ivory
Her silver eyes, shadowed by her mask narrowed slightly as she watched the entire Uchiha clan leave the Nakano Shrine. She was perched high up in an oak tree, the leaves brushing against her arms and legs. She recognized some of the clansmen as they spoke in hushed whispers; nearly all had furrowed brows and the aura of unpleasantness surrounding them.
Hoshiko felt her heart jump slightly when a figure stepped out from shadows of the shrine. It was Itachi. From her spot she could make out his onyx black eyes staring dead ahead. His shoulders were tense as he approached the stairs and began to make his way down them, his mother by his side. She could see the perpetual frown on his face as she recognized the look of his. He was trying to ignore everyone around him, even his own mother.
Her hand tightened on the branch, creaking the wood. She bit down on her lip painfully, the taste of metallic in her mouth. It didn't escape Hoshiko's knowledge that Shisui hadn't been present at this clan meeting; she hadn't seen him enter after she got here and he hadn't exited. She decided to wait; maybe Shisui was still inside and had arrived early to the meeting of the Uchiha clan.
Hoshiko waited a few more minutes, but soon realized that Shisui probably hadn't attended the meeting even though Itachi did. She turned, intending to move off when she heard a voices coming from the shrine. She was too far away to hear what they were saying but she could see them.
One was Uchiha Fugaku.
The other was the Hokage.
Her dark brows furrowed from behind her mask, wondering why the Hokage would be meeting with Fugaku at this time of night, and here of all places. Were they discussing Itachi and Shisui? The notion had her heart racing once more. She needed to get closer; she had to hear what they were talking about. Did they know? Were they planning to do something? In her excitement to know more, she shifted her weight on the branch, causing the thin branch she was standing on to crack. She gasped quietly, cursing herself as she teleported away.
X
"Anything new to report?" Danzo asked Hoshiko later that night when she arrived at the Root headquarters.
Hoshiko knelt at the entrance of the room, "Uchiha Itachi attended a clan meeting tonight. Uchiha Shisui did not attend."
"Anything else?"
His question hung in the air as Hoshiko tried to decide whether or not to tell him about what she saw with Fugaku and the Hokage. It wasn't directly related to her Itachi mission but she felt like there could be some connection. "I saw the Hokage meeting with Uchiha Fugaku after the clan left. I couldn't get close enough to hear what they were saying." Hoshiko lifted her eyes slowly, shocked to see the mild surprise on Danzo's face. Danzo leant forwards in his wooden chair, clasping his hands together under his chin.
"Is it possible that they know? You said you spoke to the Hokage about this matter, what if they're discussing Itachi?"
"Impossible," Danzo grumbled. "If the Hokage believed, he would've already stopped this nonsense by now."
"…I understand." Hoshiko said softly.
"Is there anything else to report?" Danzo asked her, reaching over to his table and picking up a scroll and reading over it.
"No. Nothing else."
"Then you are dismissed."
The next night, after reporting to Danzo that Itachi had left on a mission from his ANBU superior, Hoshiko sat on her bedroom floor. Her legs curled up to her chest with her chin resting atop them. On the floor to her right was the file Danzo had given her about Itachi. She kept reading over the same information, hoping that something would jump out at her; telling her just when everything had changed.
"Hoshiko?" her mothers voice called, muffled by the door. "Sasuke-kun is at the door. Would you like me to send him away?"
Hoshiko smirked. She really loved her mother. "No, it's ok." Hoshiko tucked the file under her pillow and padded over to the door. She opened it up and was greeted by her mother.
"He looks upset, be nice to him." Hiroka warned her daughter with a pointed look. Hoshiko rolled her eyes and made her way to the entrance of the house. Opening up the door her grey eyes fell on Sasuke who was crouched on the steps leading up to her house.
"What are you doing here, kusogaki?" Hoshiko asked the dark haired boy. "It's late."
Sasuke pouted at the nickname, rising up on his feet and crossing his arm grumpily, "I didn't know where else to go."
Hoshiko's eyes softened, even if her and Itachi were at war right now; and Sasuke often made her want to bash her head against the wall, she still had a soft spot for the child. In her bare feet, she stepped out of the house and shut the door behind her. Sasuke watched with wide eyes as Hoshiko sat down on the steps, beckoning him to do the same. He settled beside her as Hoshiko glanced over at him, "So, what's so bad that you had to sneak out of your house in the middle of the night for?"
Sasuke's face lowered, "Okaa-san and Otou-san were fighting."
"Why didn't you go to Itachi about this?"
"He's on a mission," stated Sasuke.
Hoshiko mentally slapped herself; of course she knew that Itachi was on a mission. She had given Danzo her report not three hours ago. Some spy she was.
"They've fought before, but never like this," Sasuke sighed. "Okaa-san was really angry about something."
"I hope you didn't eavesdrop," Hoshiko scolded him.
Sasuke shook his head violently, worried that the girl would go and tell his parents that he had in fact been eavesdropping on them, "No! I heard my name, and Nii-san's name a few times…"
"I'm sure it's nothing, Sasuke." Hoshiko said reassuringly. "Parents fight all the time. They'll make up, don't worry."
"Will you and Nii-san?"
The question caught Hoshiko off guard, she froze for a second before regaining her composure, "It's…complicated between us, Sasuke."
"Then un-complicate it!" he exclaimed, his dark eyes wide and full of hope. "It's no fun not having you around anymore! Nii-san's always quiet and brooding and Shisui-san always takes him away for 'training'." Sasuke seemed to mock Shisui's voice, causing Hoshiko to crack a smile.
"I wish things could go back to the way they were, Sasuke…" Hoshiko said kindly, resting her hand atop his shoulder. "But I don't think they will…not anymore."
"But you and Nii-san were supposed to…" Sasuke blurted out, but forced himself to stop as his cheeks flushed red.
"Supposed to what?" Hoshiko pressed him, poking him gently in the side.
Sasuke swatted her hand away, and if possible his face was still growing redder, "Nothing."
Hoshiko laughed, "Come on, Sasuke!"
"Not saying."
"You're insufferable," Hoshiko said with a loud sigh.
"I learnt it from you."
Hoshiko wasn't going to argue with that, he was probably right anyway. She finally decided that it was late enough and stood up from the steps, "Right, let's take you home. I bet your Okaa-san is worried about you."
"I don't want to go home yet." Sasuke pouted.
"Stop being a spoiled brat." Hoshiko snapped at him.
Sasuke glowered at her, "I'm not! I don't want to go back yet."
Hoshiko studied his expression. She could tell that he was still upset about hearing his parents fight. She could remember one instance when her parents had gotten into a huge fight and she had run away for a few hours. Sasuke was a lot like her when she was his age.
"Fine. I want to show you something anyway, but first I'm getting you a jacket." She said, feeling the chilly night air and noticing the slight shiver that Sasuke had every few minutes. "Wait here." She instructed, darting back into her house.
X
Hoshiko emerged a few minutes later with her shoes on her feet and one of her black winter jackets. Sasuke gave a small protest but couldn't do much as the older and stronger girl shoved it onto his small body. Hoshiko laughed at him, seeing how the jacket dwarfed him and stopped at his knees. She then moved in front of him and crouched down, "Ok, get on."
"Why?" Sasuke questioned, still moody from being manhandled by her.
She gave him a glare, "Because it'll be quicker and I'm not waiting for you to catch up with me."
Sasuke didn't argue as he jumped onto her back, jolting the girl as she growled at him in annoyance. When Sasuke was comfortable against her back she leapt up onto the roofs and dashed across Konoha.
She landed gracefully on top of the Sandaime Hokage's stone face, letting Sasuke slide off her back as the child rushed to the edge and gazed across the village, "What are we doing here?" he asked her.
Hoshiko let out a groan as she flopped down onto the stone, pressing her back against the cool rock, "This is where I come to think. Come lie down, Sasuke."
"Why?"
"Just do it," she snapped.
"No, you'll hit me."
"I'm going to hit you if you don't do what I say, kusogaki."
She heard Sasuke scuttle across the rock as he appeared in her peripheral vision. He lay down, right next to her as his arm brushed up against hers, "Now what?"
Hoshiko sighed in annoyance; maybe it had been a stupid idea to bring him here. She should've just dragged his bony ass back to his home. "Now you shut up and think."
"About what?"
"About…anything," Hoshiko sighed sadly. After a moment of silence she spoke again, "Sometimes I just come up here to stare at the stars."
Sasuke turned his head away from her as he gazed up at the night sky. Without the light obstruction from the village below, he could see the billions of stars. Clusters of milky white dotted across the sky.
"That's kind of ironic, isn't it?" Sasuke muttered.
Hoshiko laughed, a grin forming on her face as her silvery eyes darted all over the open sky, "Yeah, I guess it is." They were referring to the fact that Hoshiko's name literally meant Star-child.
"Ne, Hoshiko?"
"Hmm?"
Sasuke paused. "Where's you Otou-san? I've never seen him around."
"He died."
"Oh," Sasuke muttered quietly. "Was he a Shinobi?"
Hoshiko shook her head gently, "No, but he worked for the ANBU intelligence unit as a civilian."
Sasuke fell silent as Hoshiko continued to stare up at the night sky. She tried counting them but lost it around the seventy mark when she heard soft snoring coming from her left. "Sasuke?" she hissed his name softly. Hoshiko turned her head, a smirk on her face as she saw Sasuke's peaceful smile as he slept.
Hoshiko chuckled to herself as she sat up. She knelt over Sasuke and pulled his light little body into her arms and cradled him to her chest. Sasuke shifted in her arms, resting his head against her shoulder as she teleported off the monument.
Hoshiko managed to knock on the shoji door with her elbow, seeing as Sasuke was being dead weight in her arms. The little tyke was still out cold. The door was opened three seconds later, a frantic Mikoto sighing in relief when she saw Sasuke in the teens arms.
"Oh, thank goodness he's ok." Mikoto said, holding her hands tightly to her chest. "Nearly half the clan is looking for him." Mikoto stepped aside so that Hoshiko could enter the home that she had been in dozens of times before. It felt surreal to her, being back in the Uchiha mansion after Itachi ordering her away. "Where did you find him?" Mikoto asked, running her hand over Sasuke's warm cheek.
"He found me, Mikoto-san. I would have brought him home straight away…but he wanted to talk first. Sorry for making you worry," Hoshiko apologized, waiting for the scolding for keeping her youngest son away from home late at night. Instead, Mikoto looked at her in understanding.
"I assumed he heard our fight. I don't blame him; he's too much like me in that sense. Would you please take him upstairs? I have to go find Fugaku and let him know that Sasuke is safe."
Mikoto was already half way out the door when Hoshiko replied, "Of course." Mikoto disappeared into the night. Hoshiko managed to slip her sandals off without the use of her hands as she walked the familiar route upstairs and to Sasuke's room at the end of the hall.
His room was neat and tidy, not that she didn't expect anything less from an Uchiha. Hoshiko set Sasuke down on his bed, pulling the covers over him as he finally stirred, "Nii-san?" His eyes didn't open but his hand felt around for something on the covers.
"Go back to sleep, Sasuke." Hoshiko whispered. It was like magic, Sasuke rolled over and was out cold once more. She wished she had the ability to fall asleep that quickly. Hoshiko backed out of the room quietly, shutting the door behind her. She walked silently along the wooden floorboards, her eyes glancing at the familiar photo's lining the walls of the head Uchiha family.
She paused outside of a room, the door closed. She bit her lip anxiously and tried to think rationally about what she was about to do. Hoshiko expanded her chakra senses. Mikoto was moving to the other side of the Uchiha compound, locating Fugaku, and there was no one else was in the house except for the sleeping Sasuke. Her eyes hardened as she made a decision and gripped the door handle, opening up the door to Itachi's bedroom and stepping inside.
The room was dark and hard to see but Hoshiko didn't reach for the light switch. No one could know that someone was in Itachi's room while he was away on a mission. She felt like an intruder, even though she had been in his room countless times. This time was much, much different. She would never have done this in a normal situation, but she couldn't pass up the opportunity to try and find any information concerning the Coup that he was planning. That was if he kept any information about it in his room. She went to his desk first. It was stupidly neat, two pens lined up perfectly and a sheet of paper placed in the middle of the desk. The ornamental kunai sat perfectly on the corner of the desk. She reached out to touch it, but was suddenly hit with a memory from months ago:
"Please don't drop that."
"I wont," she said defensively, "I'm not a child."
"Could've fooled me," Itachi muttered.
She withdrew her hand, smiling sadly at the memory as she gently opened the desk draw, careful not to jostle anything inside it. If there was one person who would be able to tell if someone had opened up a draw, it would be Itachi. She shut it when nothing of interest jumped out at her. Sighing heavily, and ignoring the little voice in her head telling her that what she was doing was so wrong, Hoshiko spotted his clothes drawers.
If I were going to hide something, I'd definitely put it in my underwear draw. She hurried over to the drawers, checking her surroundings once more just incase Mikoto and Fugaku came home. She'd hate to think what would happen to her if Fugaku found her snooping around in Itachi's room, and in his underwear draw no less. The first draw she opened was indeed Itachi's underwear. Her cheeks reddened as she pressed down on the fabric, trying to feel for any foreign objects that Itachi may have hidden away. She went through all the drawers, cursing in her head when she found nothing again.
"Dammit," she hissed under her breath. She walked to the other side of the room when something flashed out of the corner of her eye. Stopping and turning, Hoshiko's eyes settled on something on the floor under his bed. The moonlight from the window had shined on it at the right angle. She hurried over to it, dropping to her knees and pulling the small object out from under the bed.
Her eyes widened. She knew what the object was.
It was the winter before Hoshiko had taken her ANBU exam; the winter festival was in full swing tonight. Villagers walked around the streets in large coats, drinking hot chocolate and playing games. Hoshiko was rugged up in her black winter jacket, a emerald green scarf wrapped around her neck with her long ebony hair falling around her face. Itachi and Shisui both wore the same outfit, their usual black Uchiha shirts but with arm warmers and black scarfs wrapped around their necks.
"Itachi-baka, hurry up!" Shisui shouted from ahead, his arm waving madly in the air.
"I will never forgive you for telling him that name." Itachi grumbled to the small girl next to him. She innocently clasped her hands behind her back.
"Don't know what you're talking about." He sent her a mock glare as Hoshiko grinned up at him, causing him to roll his eyes ever so slightly.
"Hoshiko-chan! Stop slowing him down and both of you hurry up!"
"We're coming!" Hoshiko yelled back to the older teen. She tugged on Itachi's arm warmer, pulling him behind her as they trudged through the thin snow that was coating the ground.
They laughed with each other the entire night, playing the stall games that some vendors had set up and eating warm food that filled their bellies. They emerged from the food stall with dango sticks in hand as Hoshiko noticed the small white flakes falling from the sky, "It's snowing!"
With her free hand she reached up and let a few melt against her warm palm. "It's going to be a blizzard soon." Shisui mused as he munched on his sweet. He looked down the street when something caught his eyes. "Hey! Let's do that!" He exclaimed, pointing to the man taking photos of couples and friends.
"No way." Hoshiko grumbled.
"No." Itachi echoed.
"Come on!" Shisui whined with a grin. He finished the rest of his dango and grabbed onto one of their arms and pulled them along behind them, "We've never had a photo with the three of us together."
"I hate photo's." Hoshiko said stubbornly.
"Aa."
Shisui sighed, his expression blank as he looked over his shoulder at the two younger teens, "You two are insufferable."
They arrived at the vendor as he finished with the group of four friends as they giggled at their photo and scurried off. Shisui walked up to the man, "One photo please!"
"Thirty ryō."
"Thirty!" Shisui exclaimed. His head dropped to his chin. "I only have ten left…" Hoshiko, feeling compassionate, stepped up to the vendor and handed over her thirty ryō. Shisui grinned, latching his body against hers, "Hoshiko-chan! That's so nice of you!"
She gave him a blank look; "I only did it because you would probably sulk the rest of the night if we didn't."
"You can stand in the middle!" Shisui continued on, ignoring her statement as he pulled her to the designated spot. Shisui glared over his shoulder at the Uchiha heir who hadn't made a move to join them. "Oi, get your useless ass over here, Itachi-baka. Are you really gonna be a stubborn ass when darling Hoshiko-chan paid for this?"
Itachi remained impassive as he came and stood next to Hoshiko, the girl had her arms crossed tightly over her chest as Shisui beamed at him, a few snowflakes dropping onto his hair.
"Ready?" the cameraman asked.
Shisui gave him a thumbs up as he quickly threw his arms around both Itachi and Hoshiko's shoulders, lowering his head between them as he grinned at the camera.
"You better be smiling, Itachi-baka…" Shisui warned through gritted teeth.
She held that very picture in her hands. She remembered that Shisui had insisted that she keep it because she had paid for it, but she had given it to Shisui anyway. He was the one who had wanted the photo anyway. So why was it currently in Itachi's bedroom, under his bed to be exact?
Her chakra sense alerted her to two people coming closer to the house as she placed the picture back under the bed and sprinted out of his room, shutting the door quietly behind her. She was at the bottom of the stairs when the front door opened and Fugaku stepped into the foyer with Mikoto behind him.
Mikoto smiled when she saw Hoshiko, "Thank you again for bringing him home, Hoshiko-chan."
"It's no big deal," Hoshiko said bashfully.
Mikoto turned her attention to the stoic man by her side, "Anata, are you going to thank her?"
Fugaku was silent for a moment, and Hoshiko wanted to run away as quickly as she could. It took a few more seconds, by the Uchiha clan head acknowledged her by nodding his head. He removed his shoes and disappeared into the house.
Well, Hoshiko guessed that was about as close as she was going to get with a thanks from Uchiha Fugaku.
"Sasuke adores you, you know."
"What?" Hoshiko scoffed. Trying to figure out if she had heard Mikoto right.
Mikoto smiled, removing her own shoes and stepping into her house slippers, "Mm, he's always asking Itachi about you. I'm not surprised he went to you when Itachi is away. He thinks of you as a sister."
"He said that?" Hoshiko asked in disbelief.
Mikoto giggled, "Not in so many words, but as his mother I can tell." There was a twinkle in the Matriarch's eyes. "I've noticed you haven't been around Itachi and Shisui-kun much."
"We've all been busy, you know, ANBU stuff."
"I understand," Mikoto sighed. "I worry about Itachi, he's worked too hard by them."
"He's tough." Hoshiko said firmly.
Mikoto held her gaze as she ran her long fingers through her hair, "Itachi has always been independent, ever since he was a baby. He's never really needed me to mother him or look after him, but even so I still worry a great deal about him." She sighed again, reaching out to tuck a strand of Hoshiko's long black hair behind her ear. "I'm grateful that he has someone like you watching out for him."
Hoshiko felt the guilt in her stomach. She didn't deserve the kindness that Mikoto was showing her right now. She had been snooping around Itachi's bedroom not five minutes ago looking for clues about a Coup that he was planning.
Hoshiko cleared her throat, "I should really be going, it's very late."
"Yes, don't let me keep you here. I do appreciate everything you do for them."
Hoshiko shoved her sandals onto her feet in record time as she reached for the door, "Goodnight, Mikoto-san."
"Goodnight," she replied.
It was mid morning when Hoshiko woke up from her deep sleep. She rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the bright sunlight in her room. It had been a long time since she had been able to sleep in for that long. She yawned loudly and stumbled out of bed, tripping from her foot being caught in the blanket. After cursing her blanket she went into the main area of her small home, heading to the kitchen for a drink. She knew, after gathering information from some ANBU members that Itachi wouldn't be returning to the village until later in the day. So she had a whole day to herself, and she was going to spend it in bed. Hoshiko yawned once again, shutting her eyes as she felt around the wall until she came to her bedroom door. She shuffled into her room, still half asleep, and froze when she noticed a figure standing in the center of the room.
"Ginyo—" He couldn't even finish his sentence before Hoshiko was upon him. Her glass smashed on the floor the exact moment that her fist connected with Itachi's stomach. Her speed was remarkable. Itachi didn't even have time to recover from her blow. She had ducked to the ground, swinging her leg out and catching his as he lost his balance and tumbled back. He tried to steady himself, but found it impossible as Hoshiko then grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pushed him to the ground. His back smacked against the wood as Hoshiko pressed one hand onto his shoulder and had the other pulled back into a fist at her ear. She was sat on his waist, her legs either side of him.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Her silver eyes now alert narrowed down at him.
"You've improved." Itachi commented.
Hoshiko grit her teeth, her nails digging into his shoulder, "That's not an answer. What are you doing here?" She repeated again. Hoshiko watched as his onyx eyes, so familiar but distant dart over her face. She realized it was the first time that he was seeing her since she had left to join Root. She had seen him plenty over the week she had been following him, but not this close. She could see every eyelash, the fine hairs of his eyebrows. The thin lines that run diagonal under his eyes and the way his bottomless black eyes stared into her eyes. It was like they were both seeing each other for the first time.
Itachi was the one to break the connection first, his dark eyes moving to the side as he inclined his head to the bed. Hoshiko followed his gaze, seeing her black jacket that she had leant Sasuke last night folded neatly on her bed.
"Sasuke informed me on what happened last night. I was simply returning your jacket."
Hoshiko's hand, the one curled into a fist didn't move from its position as she glared down at him, "And you couldn't have used the front door like a normal person?"
"I would've thought you'd prefer it if I came here undetected. I'd suspect a certain person wouldn't be pleased if he found out you had met with me."
Hoshiko's throat constricted, her words drying up in her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock as her posture slackened slightly, "What?" She managed to gasp out.
That opening was all Itachi needed. In a split second he shoved her off him and had her pushed up against the wall. Their positions reversed, one of his hands braced against the wall by her head, the other was holding onto her shoulder. His form towered over her by a head but they were inches from each other.
"You said so yourself, you joined Root. You're working for Danzo."
"With him," Hoshiko snapped. "Not for him."
"It matters not." Itachi sighed, his cool breath caressing her face. Hoshiko had forgotten what it was like to be in his presence, he always smelt clean, fresh. It was hard for her to admit, but she still missed him. Even after everything, the argument and the mission. She would always care for him. "Do you think I'm incompetent?"
His question caught her off guard for a second. Confusion flashed across her face before she smirked.
"Depends on the context," she said in her familiar sarcastic tone.
His eyes narrowed at her, "Do not insult both of our intellect, Hoshiko." Itachi saying her name had made her heart skip a beat for a second. "I know you have been following me. I'm offended that you thought I wouldn't have realized."
Hoshiko stayed silent, her lips pressed into a firm line. She wasn't exactly surprised that Itachi had caught on to her; she was more concerned about what he was going to do about it now.
"If you're going to kill me, just get it over with already. I'd much rather join the world of the dead then listen to your sanctimonious bullshit."
Hoshiko was surprised when Itachi's eyes widened for a fraction of a second and then closed. When he opened them, the hand on her shoulder tightened and she felt the one by her head shift slightly so that the skin of his hand brushed against her exposed neck. Goosebumps appeared on her flesh where he had touched her. She was stunned at the gentle contact.
"Do you really think I would be able to hurt you?' His voice was quiet, barely audible. She had to strain her ears just to hear him.
"You already have, usuratonkachi."
She heard the sharp intake of breath from the boy in front of her. It was like he was finally realizing his actions. Hoshiko was even more shocked when Itachi's head dropped onto her shoulder. Her whole body froze. Her mouth parted slightly as she felt the hand on her shoulder slip down, stopping at her waist. His fingers pressed against the exposed skin.
Hoshiko finally found her voice, "Itachi…"
"Forgive me…"
She had almost missed the words. Her body had muffled them and his voice had been even quieter than before, but she heard them. His other hand dropped to the other side, matching its counterpart. Hoshiko didn't know what to do. She felt confused, sad, guilty, happy and fearful. What had made Itachi act this way? Was he regretting their argument? What did all of this mean? She wanted to ask so many questions but she couldn't find the words. She was scared to move, she barely breathed. If she moved, would Itachi realize what he was doing and leave? She didn't want him to leave. If anything she wanted him to stay with her. She had been angry with him for a long time, and now she was more confused then ever. Why was he asking for her forgiveness?
In a bold move, Hoshiko maneuvered her arms. She went slowly, as to not jostle him as she wrapped one arm around his neck, the other joining when he didn't flinch or shove her away from him. She didn't know what the hell was happening between them right now, but all she knew for sure that somehow Itachi wanted her near him. Her eyes shut as she laid her head against his chest, her ear pressed against him as she listened to the erratic beating of his heart. His arms suddenly wrapped around her torso, squeezing her tightly but not painfully.
Hoshiko had never been hugged like this before from the Uchiha, normally it was forced one-armed hugs that she always initiated. For Itachi to willingly embrace her, even after saying that he never wanted to see her again, it was more than strange it was downright bizarre. This whole situation was bizarre.
"If I ask, will you tell me what's going on?" Hoshiko whispered after a few moments of silence.
"You're already asking," came his reply.
"I want to help you, Itachi."
"You can help by staying away from me…" Itachi sighed, from his tone of voice it was like he was having a hard time believing his own words.
Hoshiko scoffed, "Says the one who showed up in my room."
It was like Itachi finally realized what he was doing. He pushed away from her, detangling himself from around her body and was on the other side of the room in two seconds. Hoshiko felt incredibly cold without the heat from his body on hers, she followed his movements with her eyes as he leaned against the wall by the window.
She approached him slowly, waiting to see if he would order her to stop or disappear entirely. She was two feet from him as she extended her hand, touching his arm gently.
"You tell me to stay away but your actions contradict you. Don't insult my intelligence, Itachi." She quoted him from before as his onyx eyes ghosted over her face.
She held her breath as he angled his body towards her, his free hand reaching out and brushing over her cheek softly with the back of his hand, "I do not…deserve to have…someone like you in my life."
"No, you don't." Hoshiko agreed with a scowl. She saw the ghost of a smirk on his lips. "So consider yourself lucky. There aren't many people stupid enough to be your friend after everything you've done."
His expression darkened, and Hoshiko wondered if she had said the wrong thing. Itachi pulled away again, putting up his emotional block, "It was a mistake coming here. I shall not return again."
Hoshiko sighed in frustration, repressing the urge to hit him again, "And there you go again. You know, your constant mood swings are giving me whiplash."
"It's better this way."
"What way?" Hoshiko exclaimed. "The one where you were almost bearing your soul to me or the one right now, acting like you've got a ten inch stick up your freaking ass?" Hoshiko continued to glare as she walked to her dresser; opening up the top draw she fetched the small square box out and tossed it over to the Uchiha. He caught it with ease. "There." She muttered, crossing her arms and leaning away from him. "I bought it a few months ago for your birthday last week."
Itachi opened the small box, if only to appease her. He knew that it was rude to ignore a gift, especially one from Hoshiko, as it was very rare that she bought someone else something or even remembered a birthday. Inside the box was a necklace, silver and shining. It had three silver rings, shaped like eyes and separated by the chain.
"Shisui saw it and said it reminded him of the three of us." She explained as Itachi continued to stare at the necklace.
"I cannot accept this," he said, holding it out to her.
If Hoshiko was hurt by his statement, she didn't show it. "Then don't. Sell it. Give it to someone else I don't care. I just don't want it here anymore." Itachi didn't reply. "If there's nothing else to discuss then you can leave. If you decide to stop being such a miserable child and own up to everything then you can come see me, if not then I don't want to see you again."
Itachi disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hoshiko hated being 'summoned' by Danzo. No sooner had Itachi left her house Danzo's right hand man had appeared, informing her to get her ass over to the Hokage tower for an assignment. As she entered the Hokage tower, she tried to control her anxiety over the fact that the Root member might have sensed Itachi in her house and she was about to be severely punished. She walked to the council chambers, knowing that that was where Danzo would be after finishing up with his meeting with the other council members and the Hokage.
She leaned against the wall, toying with her mask in her hands as she shifted weight on her feet. She glanced up when she heard the door slide open. To her shock Shisui stepped out. He spotted her at the same time, halting in his own stride as the two stared at each other for a few seconds. She wanted to run up and hug him. Her feelings were hurt when he walked straight passed her.
"Shisui, matte!" she called, hurrying after him. She grabbed onto the back of his shirt as he stopped, turning to face her. "I haven't seen you in a while. I've been wanting to talk to you." She said, hope on her face that he wouldn't reject her like Itachi had.
"Gomen, there are things that I need to take care of."
"But I need to ask you about Itachi—"
She stopped talking when Shisui placed his hands on her shoulders tightly, he gazed down at her with his large eyes, "Don't worry, Hoshiko-chan. Everything will go back to normal soon."
Hoshiko scowled, "What do you mean?"
Shisui grinned at her. She felt her heart elated at the gesture; it had been so long since she had an actual nice conversation with her friend. "Everything's going to be ok, trust me."
He was gone after that. She wondered if the conversation between them had even happened it had been that quick. What did he mean that everything was going to go back to the way it was?
"Tenshi."
Hoshiko quickly placed the porcelain mask on her face as she spun on her heel and faced Danzo who had emerged in the doorway. He beckoned her into another empty room. She was ready for her punishment; there was no way that Danzo hadn't seen her talking with Shisui.
"Shisui is a double spy."
Umm…had she just heard him right?
"Explain, please."
"The Hokage informed me that Shisui has secretly been relaying information to him about the plans of Uchiha Itachi. The meeting you witnessed with Uchiha Fugaku and the Sandaime was a transfer of knowledge."
That explained Shisui's attitude, she guessed that whatever plan to stop Itachi from ruining his life was about to go into effect.
"He revealed there is a building a half a days run from Konoha that Itachi uses to keep his plans. I want you to go there and investigate, take two others with you."
"But what if he goes there?" Hoshiko asked.
"Uchiha Shisui will be distracting him until you return, you must hurry with this. The fate of the village rests with you."
Hoshiko nodded, "I understand. I'll leave immediately."
X
Hoshiko sighed and shoved open the door of the old shack. The two other Root members were keeping watch but glanced over at her when she emerged. The shack had been just over a days run like Danzo had said. It was tiny, most of the roof missing and was completely bare inside. The only thing she had found was cobwebs.
"There's nothing here." Hoshiko said to them sourly. "Either we're at the wrong place or the information was bogus."
"We should return to Konoha," the older Root member said.
"Yeah, I'd like to give Danzo a piece of my mind about believing stupid information."
Their return to Konoha came at dawn, the village gates coming into view just as the sun broke over the horizon. The three Root members took the secret entrance around the back of Konoha that lead them directly into Root headquarters. Hoshiko strode the familiar stone corridors, heading for Danzo's room that she could sense his chakra in. The two Root members had disappeared upon arrival, probably realizing that she would be well suited enough to inform Danzo on what they had found. Which was shit all. She knocked on the door and waited.
"Enter."
Following the command she entered the dimly lit room, the strong smell of incense wafting into her nostrils. She hated the smell.
"There was nothing there," Hoshiko informed him with a sharp tone.
Danzo looked disappointed as he clasped his hands under his chin, "That is…unfortunate."
"Yeah, it is." Hoshiko said, placing her hands on her hips. "Look, you've got to talk to Shisui again. He probably got the places mixed up or something."
"I'm afraid…" Danzo started, "That is now impossible."
"Why?" Hoshiko questioned, frowning at him.
She saw the regret on Danzo's face, how much of it was real she didn't know. It was an emotion she hadn't seen on him before. He was quiet for a moment, and then…
"Uchiha Shisui is dead."
Whew. My longest chapter yet. Sorry this took a little longer to get out I worked really hard on this chapter at certain parts! I'm sure you can guess which one's ;) I know a lot happened in this chapter and it turned out way longer then I anticipated but I hope it was well worth it. I'm super happy with this chapter and I hope you all are too! I'd love to know what you all thought about it!
REPLIES
StarshineRose18 - Um about Shisui...we'll have to see...*nervous laugh*
Dark Rose Charm - Dude...I would never have been able to come up with something like that! Kudos to you! Thank you for your input I really love it!
Me And Not You 1001 - Shit definitely got real! Especially in this chapter too! I have a feeling that your feeling is right tbh xd I noticed in the anime when Shisui was talking about his Sharingan he seemed to always touch his eye (not eyeball cause that's nasty(cue that's so raven lol)) Well they definately found out that she was back, and from little Sasuke of all people, and you know, Itachi being a stupid know-it-all like ususal. Damn Danzo and that damn genjutsu, when will she be saved!?
Davina - Thank you! Hahah yep I'm totally ready for pitchforks and angsty tears! And to answer your question no, Hoshiko does not know about the Sharingan's. She has no idea that Danzo's got that nasty ass arm hidden away and to her he's probably sucking at cosplaying a pirate right now. lol.
Thank you everyone! Look forward to next chapter where we have an explosive confrontation with Itachi and Hoshiko, finally!