The Dango Effect
Onyx and Ivory
"Are you injured?" Itachi asked her.
Hoshiko blinked once. Then again as she tried to make sense of what he had just asked her. "What?" She was well aware that she was standing in nothing but a shirt and her underwear in front of him, but she really didn't care.
"Are you hurt?" Itachi repeated. He motioned with his hand to her face, more specifically her cheeks where the wetness from her tears glinted in the dim hallway light.
Hoshiko realized that she had in fact been crying from her nightmare not three minutes ago as she wiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand. "No…I'm not injured." She whispered to him. "I—um…" She trailed off, her gaze suddenly jerking back up to his. "Wait, why the hell are you here? How did you find me?"
Itachi pushed open the door with his hand. Hoshiko stumbled back but allowed him into the room as she shut the door behind him. "Sure, just come right in…" She grumbled under her breath. Itachi moved to the center of the room, his dark eyes scanning it quickly before he focused back on her.
"Did you follow me?" Hoshiko asked him, suspicion in her eyes.
"Do you think it wise to be meeting with Jiraiya?"
"So you did follow me." Hoshiko stated with a frustrated sigh. Hoshiko moved around until she was near her bed and sat back down on the rumpled mattress.
"It was fortunate that it was me who found out about you meetings with the Sannin, anyone else and they would've killed you immediately."
Hoshiko gave him an exaggerated eye roll. "Lucky me then. Why'd you even come?"
"To warn you to cease all interactions with him if you are to remain in the Akatsuki." Itachi stated. "Not all are as lenient as I am."
Hoshiko smirked slyly up at him and rose from the bed. She marched up to Itachi and poked him gently in the middle of his chest. "You best watch yourself. It almost sounds like you care about me."
Before she could pull away Itachi reached up and grabbed onto her wrist, catching it and holding it tightly. "Have I given you a reason that states otherwise?" He asked, his voice low. They were close, their chests almost touching. Hoshiko could feel her heart racing, her blood pumping in her ears.
A frown marred her face. "Oh I don't know, maybe the fact that you lied to me for four years, and that you obviously didn't trust me enough to let me in on your little secret."
"As I told you previously." Itachi pulled her in just that little bit more. Their chests were touching now. "It's not that I didn't trust you. It's that we wanted to protect you."
"And I told you that you were wrong about that." Hoshiko replied.
Itachi sighed. His grip was still tight on her wrist. "I have already apologized for it. What else is there that I can do?"
Hoshiko held his intense gaze. She could feel herself getting lost within his dark eyes. Her body was betraying her once again. She tried to ignore the feel of his skin on hers, the way his long fingers curled around her wrist. Their chests were touching, breathing in sync with one another. Hoshiko ignored the sound of her furiously beating heart as she stepped up on her tiptoes. She leaned into him more, her lips inches from his.
"Bring him back." She whispered. Hoshiko rolled back down onto her feet and wrenched her wrist from him. Her eyes narrowed into a glare. "Bring Shisui back, and then I'll forgive you."
...
Hoshiko rolled out of bed the next morning with a killer headache. She had tried to sleep, but her thoughts always drifted back to her nightmare and then suddenly she would be wide-awake once more. She had maybe drifted off for an hour at most just before dawn, but even so she felt tired and drained. She wasn't even surprised to see Itachi sitting stoically in a chair in the far corner of her room still. It seemed he hadn't moved at all.
"You're still here." She stated sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. Itachi regarded her critically but then angled his head away from her. Hoshiko pushed herself up onto her feet and stretched out her back, her shoulders and neck popping. She discreetly looked over at the Uchiha, who was studying the paint of the wall very intensely. She wanted to ask him why he was still here. Shouldn't he be off finding Kisame? Where was Kisame anyway? Hoshiko rubbed at her forehead, her headache was becoming bothersome. Hoping that a hot shower could help her she silently walked passed Itachi and into the adjourning bathroom.
Over twenty minutes later Hoshiko emerged from the bathroom. Steam wafted out as she opened the door. Her head was still sore, but she felt more relaxed and less tense from when she had woken up. Her hair was damp, dripping down her back and onto the thin white towel that she had wrapped around her. She stepped one foot into the room, well aware that Itachi was still perched in the stiff backed chair next to the bathroom door. She originally had no intention of walking out in nothing but a towel, but she had forgotten to bring fresh clothes with her. And if Itachi wanted to stay and annoy her, then he would be subjected to her own version of torture.
Hoshiko reached for her bag, setting it on her bed and fishing around for new black shorts and a shirt. "Get out before I start to change. Because I'll rip your eyes out if I catch you looking at me." Hoshiko commented.
She heard the rustling of his cloak. "There is nothing desirable for me to see anyway." He spoke dryly.
Hoshiko's expression dropped, a blank look coming over her face. She twisted, glancing over her shoulder to see Itachi turning away and walking into the bathroom. Before he had completely turned, Hoshiko swore that she could see the faintest of smirks on his face. She scoffed at his retreating back, waiting for the bathroom door to be fully closed before she dropped her towel and proceeded to get changed.
Itachi was having his own shower from the sounds of it. Hoshiko sat cross-legged on her bed and brushed her long hair out. She also had a map detailing the Land of Wind out before her. If she had to collect information of the Bijuu and their Jinchuuriki's she might as well start with the first one. Kisame had told her that Suna had possession of the One Tails before she had left their little group. She had only travelled to Wind country once, and that was around two years ago. She had wanted to see what it was like, and if it really was a desert. The answer was yes, it was, so she had turned and left as soon as she could.
Hoshiko didn't register that the sound of the shower had stopped; she was too focused on her map. She did however; hear the sound of the bathroom door opening. She glanced up, mid brush through her long hair and froze. She had seen some of Itachi's torso when she had been tending to his wound a few weeks back, but she hadn't seen him shirtless before.
Her mouth went dry immediately as her eyes raked over his stomach quickly. He had defined stomach muscles, but nothing too godly. You could tell that he was built like a shinobi, with muscles on his arms that rippled as he reached up to tie his damp hair back in his signature low ponytail. His chest was completely bare, his skin pale and smooth and Hoshiko had to quell her sudden urge to reach out and touch him. Itachi reached back into the bathroom and placed his cloak and shirt over his arm as he stepped out into the room.
Hoshiko couldn't tear her eyes away from him. She swallowed and wet her lips with her tongue. She could feel heat rising to her cheeks and then spreading throughout her whole body. Itachi turned again, his eyes meeting hers for he briefest of moments before Hoshiko launched herself off the bed and collected her belongings.
"I'll wait for you downstairs." She muttered hastily as she sped out of the room.
It took her a while to calm herself down. She had paced for a few minutes in the foyer of the inn. She had been talking to herself, trying to keep herself level headed. She couldn't act on any urges, they were silly and stupid and she'd be betraying herself if she did.
Itachi was a stupid man. A liar, traitor and…a ridiculously handsome man…no! He was nothing of the sort. He had done that on purpose because she had done the exact same thing to him. That was all it was, revenge. There was absolutely no way that she would ever go there with him. She couldn't, it wouldn't be right.
He appeared not too long after, looking perfectly put together with his cloak and Hitai-ate in place across his forehead. The zip on his cloak wasn't done up fully, so she was able to see his face. She could only stare at him for a couple of seconds before she could feel her heart beat picking up and her palms become sweaty. She let out a frustrated huff and marched out of the inn.
She didn't know where she was going, but she was well aware that Itachi was following behind. Her stomach gave a loud grumble as she realized that she hadn't eaten anything yet. There was a little teashop on the corner of the street she was on that looked pretty empty. It would be as good enough as any for now. She detoured into the shop, ducking under the curtain and waving to the middle aged man behind the counter.
Hoshiko sat at the back of the room, sliding into the booth chair. She noted that she was the only patron in the shop—that was until Itachi ducked under the curtain and joined her table. Hoshiko didn't have the energy to send him away, so she didn't say anything when he sat across from her. Hoshiko was looking anywhere but him, and she could feel his eyes on her. She avoided his gaze; she was still trying to get the image of him from this morning out of her head. She hated being a woman; she hated being in the position that she was in right now.
The server came to their table; it was a lady, middle aged and more then likely the wife of the man behind the counter. In her hand was a small platter. "Ohayo. Here are some complimentary dango for you both, may I take your order?"
Hoshiko gave the server a pleasant smile. "Tea, please, and I'll have some oyakodon."
"I'll have the same." Itachi told her.
The woman gave them both a bow and left the two dango sticks in the middle of the table and hurried off. Hoshiko's gaze was drawn to the little blue plate. She slowly moved up until she met Itachi's eyes. He had been staring at her. Hoshiko reached forwards and picked up one of the skewers with her fingers. She held it up and then stifled her chuckle.
"I never thought I'd be sitting in a teashop with you eating dango ever again." She muttered. Hoshiko bit off the first piece and met Itachi's gaze once more. The Uchiha seemed to be tossing up the idea if he wanted some. He finally took the second skewer and examined it for a moment. Hoshiko had to wonder if he had even had any since the massacre?
Hoshiko smirked into her hand as Itachi finally ate the piece of sweet. She could see how tense his jaw was, he was probably trying not to let on how much he had enjoyed it. After all, dango had been his favorite thing to eat when they had been young. "Some things never change then." She commented nonchalantly with a smirk directed at him. Itachi polished off the rest of the dango as Hoshiko did the same. She leaned her head on her hand as she studied Itachi for a moment.
"Why are you still here?" Hoshiko asked him suddenly. Itachi placed the skewer on the plate and then leaned back into the chair. "You warned me about Jiraiya, you did you job…so why are you still here? Isn't Kisame gonna be wondering where you are?"
"I'll find him soon enough. He's not hard to locate." Itachi replied.
Hoshiko rolled her eyes at him. Trust him to deflect once again. "You still didn't answer my question. Why are you still here?"
Itachi stared her dead in the eye. "I'm fulfilling a promise to a friend." He told her seriously.
"Shisui?" Hoshiko asked curiously. Her expression turned into a frown as she leaned back in her chair, mimicking Itachi's posture. "Why? He's dead." She spoke bluntly.
"Promises transcend death." Itachi replied.
Hoshiko regarded him skeptically. "So what? You're going to protect me now? Well, you've done a real good job so far."
Itachi rested his hands on top of the table. "I admit that I may have failed once before, but I do not intend to do so again."
Hoshiko rolled her eyes dramatically at him and then crossed her arms over her chest. "So the only reason you're here right now is because of Shisui?" A smirk danced across Itachi's face. The sudden appearance of it has Hoshiko's heart palpitating in her chest.
"Do you think that is the only reason I am here?"
Hoshiko didn't know what to say to that. From his tone of voice, it sounded like Itachi was teasing her, but that was absurd. So, Hoshiko played it off coolly. She shrugged her shoulders. "I can never tell with you. You're not exactly the most easiest person to read."
Itachi chuckled, shutting his eyes for a brief moment. "You are indeed naïve, Hoshiko."
She frowned at his statement. She ground her teeth together in annoyance and pointed her finger at him. "I resent that, Itachi-baka."
"Kisame was heading to Takigakure. We shall follow after him." Itachi ordered as he took off into the trees outside of Kuen. Hoshiko made a disgruntled noise in the back of her throat.
"Hey—what!?" She cried but chased after him. "I'm not going to Taki! I was going to head to Suna to start my mission for Pein!" Hoshiko yelled out to him over the roar of the wind in her ears.
Itachi tossed a look at her over his shoulder. "We're going to Taki."
Hoshiko was ready to fire off another retort but silenced herself. It wouldn't be any use. Even if she tried to head to Suna, she knew that Itachi would just drag her with him. Best to just follow him and then hopefully once they met up with Kisame again he would let her go to Suna.
They travelled together through the trees at a full sprint. Hoshiko had caught up to the Uchiha as she jumped by his side. She couldn't help but cast quick glances over in his direction every so often. She could sense a change in him, she didn't know what it was but he seemed more like the Itachi that she had once known before the massacre. It made her heart giddy at the thought but she had to keep telling herself to focus. She was still mad at him.
It was almost late afternoon when Itachi turned his head to look over at her as she jumped over a low hanging branch and sprung off. "Hoshiko…"
"I know…" She replied, a grin on her face.
She had noticed them a while back. There had been flickers of chakra signatures just out of her reach every so often, but now they were closing in quickly. And there were half a dozen in front of her as well. Itachi and Hoshiko slowed their pace, allowing the enemy shinobi to catch up with them.
They were all varying in chakra levels, but they were mostly Chuunin and Jounin shinobi. Hoshiko was locating all of their locations with her chakra senses. All up there were around twenty of them, easy pickings for her and Itachi to deal with.
"It's been a while since we have fought together, we should have a plan." Itachi told her, activating his Sharingan as he did so.
Hoshiko barked out a laugh and drew her wakizashi from under her cloak. "I have a plan…" She told him, grinning as he met his crimson stare. "…Don't get in my way." With that, she ignited her wakizashi with lightning and bounced off the next tree branch and flung back towards the shinobi that were coming from behind.
Itachi released a sigh of resignation and pinched the bridge of his nose. She was still as rash as ever…
...
When Hoshiko got close enough, she was able to see that the shinobi were from Kumogakure. Hoshiko bounced off a few trunks, dodging their water jutsu's as she rounded on one of them and picked off a weak looking shinobi that was on the outskirts.
"Akatsuki dogs!" One of the kunoichi bellowed. "Our Raikage will rewards us greatly if we take you two down!"
Hoshiko could sense Itachi a little ways behind, engaging the enemy. She didn't focus on him for too long as she scoffed at the Kumo shinobi. "Please, it's gonna take more then some little Kumo rats to kill me." Hoshiko flicked her hair over her shoulder and then jumped down to engage the shinobi.
Once they realized that Hoshiko had an affinity for lightning most of their arsenal was out the window. She would be able to neutralize any of their attacks. So they kept their attacks to Taijutsu and even the odd water jutsu from whoever had it. Hoshiko had always prided herself on her speed. She was quicker than most, but her downfall was that she was never nearly as strong as her opponents. She had to keep her steps light and fast. Kumo shinobi were also fast in their own right, no doubt it was something that their Raikage required of them, considering he was the fastest shinobi alive right now.
There were too many for her to perform a Katon. By the time she had performed the hand seals she would be surrounded on all sides from them. Hoshiko dodged an incoming barrage from both sides as she dropped down off the branch onto a lower one. Another Kumo shinobi was waiting for her as Hoshiko blocked their kunai with her blade and then grabbed out a handful of shuriken from her weapons pouch. She electrified them and threw them out. The Kumo shinobi dodged the majority of them but got nicked on the cheek and shoulder. She felt the presence of a shinobi coming up behind her as Hoshiko dodged out of the way. She was trying to think of a way that would allow her to hit them all at once. The only thing that was faster then herself right now was her weapons…but she didn't have anything big enough to throw.
"Hoshiko!"
She turned at the sound of her name. Her wakizashi clashed against the Kumo shinobi's katana at the same time that Hoshiko saw Itachi throwing something towards her. It was large and sharp.
"That'll work." Hoshiko said to herself. She kicked the Kumo shinobi away from her just as her hand connected with the fūma shuriken. The momentum had her spinning with the large shuriken in her hand. As she twirled back around she launched her wakizashi towards Itachi who was waiting for it with an outstretched hand. When she saw that Itachi caught her sword Hoshiko faced her opponents.
Fūma shuriken was something that Itachi had in his scrolls for special purposes. He normally would use normal sized shuriken and kunai during his battles, as they were easier to handle and maneuver. This shuriken was about the width of her forearm and had a special ability.
Hoshiko held onto the metal wire and sent her lightning through it and to the shuriken. It lit up as Hoshiko spun it around and launched it towards the shinobi. She used the wire to move the shuriken around them. They were dodging out of the way and Hoshiko could sense someone creeping up on her rear. Just as they were about to stab her in the back, the shinobi was impaled by Hoshiko's wakizashi that Itachi had thrown.
That had been their plan all along, to make them believe that she was vulnerable while Itachi watched and waited to strike. He turned back to his own fight once again. Hoshiko twisted the shuriken in the air and then pulled on another wire that she had created with her own chakra. The two-shuriken split, one of them being metal incased in lightning, the other was pure lightning chakra. They spun in opposite directions; she managed to catch one of them off guard with her chakra one as it sliced them in half from the waist.
Another shinobi was coming up behind her as Hoshiko leapt forwards but pulled her arm back so that the fūma shuriken launched towards them. They backed off as Hoshiko sent her chakra one after another shinobi. The one advantage that came with her chakra shuriken was that you couldn't block it. There was no way to block a pure mass of chakra. One shinobi made that mistake as he got his arm sliced off. He shrieked in agony but was quickly silenced by a well-placed kunai strike to the chest by Itachi.
Hoshiko didn't even have time to berate him for stealing her kill, as she had to block a barrage of kunai with the fūma shuriken. She didn't have much time with it left as they had seen through her attacks quickly. Hoshiko tossed the fūma shuriken out one last time and quickly made the seals for a Katon. Flames erupted from her as the Kumo shinobi scattered. While they were distracted she made a clone and had them jump into the higher parts of the trees.
Itachi suddenly appeared at her side, he made seals for his own Katon and blew it out and into hers. The flames grew exponentially larger then before, and spread out further. Hoshiko did a quick check of his enemies. Most of his ones were alive, but from their chakra signatures his Genjutsu knocked had them out.
While the flames were burning, Hoshiko's clone was making a Raikiri and was now picking them off as they tried to dodge the Katon. A shinobi was coming up behind them both. He jumped up and made hand seals for a Suiton attack. A sharp line of water burst from his mouth and intended to slice them. Both Itachi and Hoshiko dodged out of the way. The water stream managed to slice the fire, dissipating the flames quickly. But Itachi and Hoshiko were quicker. Hoshiko retrieved her wakizashi from the body of the fallen Kumo shinobi and Itachi whipped out a kunai from his weapons pouch. Before the Kumo shinobi even realized that they were launching a pincer attack on him he was impaled from both sides. Blood spurted out of his mouth and gurgled in his throat for a long moment.
Hoshiko removed her sword from his body, as did Itachi. The shinobi dropped from the branch and to the ground with a sickening thud. Around them, the forest burned and Hoshiko's clone finished off the last Kumo shinobi with the Raikiri. Hoshiko's eyes sought out Itachi's, and she wasn't surprised to see him gazing down at her with his red eyes.
Their chests were both heaving from the exertion. Itachi's eyes faded to black slowly as Hoshiko felt her heart skip a beat. She could see a fire in his eye, something that wasn't linked to the battle they had just fought. It was something else entirely.
Hoshiko was the one to take the step towards him; it was like her body was forcing her to approach him, she wasn't aware of anything else around her at the moment. All she could think about was how captivating his gaze was. His mouth was parted slightly, hot air rushing between his parted lips. Hoshiko took another step towards him.
It had felt like old times, fighting with him. It was like they were fourteen again, going on the ANBU mission and training for hours on end. It was reigniting the emotions she felt for him all those years ago that she was trying to keep locked away. She was almost to him, and he wasn't moving away from her. Her wakizashi was hanging by her side, dripping with blood. Her free hand rose up towards Itachi's face. He made no move to stop her, or to move away from her.
The palm of her hand made contact with Itachi's cheek. His skin was warm under her hand, and his eyes slid shut at the contact. Hoshiko gazed up at him, taking in every detail of his grief-stricken face. She rubbed her thumb over his cheek soothingly.
"Why are we so messed up?" She whispered sadly to him. Her throat was starting to close up from the emotions she was feeling.
Itachi's eyes opened slowly as he released a heavy sigh. His own hand came up to cover Hoshiko's that was still resting against his cheek. Hoshiko swallowed the thick lump in her throat as Itachi pulled her hand away from his cheek. He dropped her hand and turned away from her.
"We need to go."
Hoshiko's brows knitted together as she dropped her gaze to the tree branch. She didn't want Itachi to see the disappointed look on her face. She didn't know what she was disappointed about in the first place. Itachi, not giving her another glance, took off into the trees again.
Hoshiko gave it a few more moments so that she could collect herself and her thoughts on what had just happened between them. It was the closest either of them had ever come in showing their raw emotions to one another in a long time. It terrified her.
Hoshiko had to shake her head roughly from the thoughts of what might have happened had Itachi not pulled away from her. She couldn't go down that path. She wouldn't. She steeled herself and her emotions once more. What had happened between them was a brief lapse of judgment, brought on by the emotions she felt with fighting alongside him. That was all it was, and nothing more.
They didn't speak a word to each other. Gone was their previous mood before the Kumo shinobi had attacked them. It was almost the middle of the night when they had come across a small village near the border. Hoshiko didn't bother to read the name of the village on the sign; she was too exhausted, emotionally and physically.
Itachi scoped out an inn for them. He led them in where a man was sleeping behind the desk. Hoshiko slammed her hand down on the bell, jolting the man out of his sleep with a start.
"Oh, oh! Do you want a room? We've never had customers come this late in the night before?" He stammered out, glancing between Hoshiko's pissed off glare and Itachi's stoic face.
"We wouldn't be here otherwise…" Hoshiko said sarcastically. The man fumbled around on some of his charts and then produced a key for the room. He told them the price which Itachi quickly paid for and then snatched the key out of his hand.
Hoshiko followed him down the hall. The inn was pretty small, it was only one level but it seemed to be a very nice place. They had obviously spent the money to make sure that their visitors would be comfortable in this small village. Their room was at the end of the hall. Itachi opened up the door and stepped in first, Hoshiko followed in after.
They were greeted with a small room, but it was decorated nicely. There was another door to the left, hopefully a private washroom. The main problem was the bed in the middle of the room. It was a double bed, and Hoshiko cursed herself because neither of them had thought to state that they needed two beds and not one.
Hoshiko suddenly had the uncanny urge to fling the bed out the window. It was just her luck that this would be their current situation after what had happened on the road between them. It was going to be a long night again. And seeing as she was only running on about an hour of sleep from the previous night she honestly couldn't care if Itachi chose to sleep on the floor, she was not giving up the bed for anything.
Itachi moved off to the washroom. Once the door was shut Hoshiko sleepily stripped off her cloak and dropped it to the floor. Next she toed off her boots and then flung herself onto the bed and curled up under the covers. She didn't care if she stunk like ash and blood; all she wanted was sleep.
...
Sunlight shone directly into her eyes, causing her to groan and wake up. Hoshiko rubbed at her lids as she yawned and peeled them open. She was still exhausted, but had thankfully had a solid block of sleep free from any nightmares. The sight before her had a gasp ripping out of her throat as she jumped back.
Itachi was passed out on the bed. He was lying on top of the covers while she was under them so there had been no chance for their skin to touch in their sleep. He was lying perfectly still on his back, his long bangs falling over his closed eyes. His breathing was deep and even, telling Hoshiko that he was still out cold.
She found herself staring at him. He looked peaceful. One of his hands was lying up on the pillow near his head, palm up. One of his fingers twitched slightly as he slept, making a small smirk come over her face. The urge to place her hand in his came on suddenly. She wanted to feel his touch again, feel his warmth after thinking for so long that he was a stone cold bastard. She now knew that he wasn't.
Hoshiko rolled onto her back, tearing her gaze away from him. She stared up at the ceiling. She wished that this could be easier. All of this had started when he had admitted the truth to her. It had been simpler to just hate him, but now she had seen another side of him, the side that she had always longed to see. And now that she had it, she was scared of it.
She needed to put some space between them, however little. She tossed the blanket off her and padded barefoot across the wooden flooring and to her bag. She grabbed out a new shirt and long pants and tucked them under her arm. She would make sure to bring her clothes this time. She didn't want to think about what might happen should the same thing from yesterday occur again.
Her shower was over far too soon. She had stayed in there for as long as she could, but she couldn't hide forever. She dressed in her new clothes, thankful that she now didn't smell like a dead carcass. It was a wonder how Itachi had managed to even fall asleep next to the stench that had been her clothes last night.
She filled up the sink and let her clothes soak in soap and water before she rinsed them out and hung them over the railing to dry. She was stalling in the washroom, she knew. But at least this way she was actually doing productive things while she avoided Itachi.
She then chose to brush her hair in small sections, making sure that it was tangle free. Next she brushed her teeth and checked on her clothes once more. She had now run out of things to do in the washroom, it was time for her to face her fears and walk back in that room like nothing had ever happened between them.
She walked back into the room, and spotted Itachi immediately. He was leaning up against the wall, staring pensively out of the window. She could see the side of his face and felt all previous fear flush out of her. All that was left with her strong desire to hold him once more.
He wasn't wearing his cloak, so Hoshiko was able to see the outline of his tall and slim body. His long hair was draped over his shoulder, his dark eyes scanning the landscape outside. He didn't make a move to acknowledge her in the slightest. A part of Hoshiko was thankful for that, but the other was pissed. How could he act like there was nothing happening with them? Did he not feel it too?
Hoshiko sucked in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly. She didn't want to give off nervous vibes that he would undoubtedly pick up on. Hoshiko had been adamant that she would ignore it, her feelings. It was too complicated. She didn't want to put herself through the pain and heartache that she had already gone through once before. But as she stared at him, she thought back on her childhood with him. She remembered every laugh, every joke, every moment they had shared together. She still to this day couldn't pinpoint the moment she had fallen in love with him.
But she had, and she still was.
"Is there something you wish to ask me?" He spoke quietly, his voice even. He didn't look at her, but he could obviously feel her staring.
Hoshiko clasped her shaking hands into fists. She moved around the bed slowly, her steps slow and deliberate as she thought on what to say. She waited until she was within reaching distance before she spoke. "If I ask you a question, will you answer it?"
"Depends on the context." He echoed the words he had spoken to her years ago. It was ironic. Over four years ago, they had been in this exact same position in her home as she had asked him a similar question. And here they were years later doing the exact same thing.
Hoshiko wanted him to look at her so that she could gauge his expression and reaction when she asked him, but she knew he wasn't going to. So she would just have to ask it anyway. "When you showed me your memories." She began. Her voice cracked in a few places but she cleared it to make it seem stronger then how she really felt. "You showed me everything that I needed to see to understand the truth about you."
She waited to see if he knew where she was going with this but he remained silent.
"But the one thing you didn't show me, was the memory for when you placed me under a Genjutsu when we fought." Itachi's head angled towards her. Hoshiko took a step towards him so that she was almost touching his arm. "I want to know what happened."
The look Itachi had on his face was pleading. Like he didn't want to do this. Hoshiko knew that this was what she needed. It had bugged her for years that she couldn't remember, and after Itachi had shown her his memories she had seen a flash it before he had forced it away, she knew it.
"Are you sure?" He asked her quietly.
Hoshiko thought on it again. But she knew her answer hadn't changed. She nodded. "I am." Itachi sighed regretfully, facing her and activating his Sharingan.
"As you wish…"
daayuuummmmm ok well this was so much fun to write. sorry not sorry for leaving you on that god awful cliffhanger but it had to be done! xD i am one evil bitch just saying ahaha i am sure most of you can guess what will be happening next chapter but we shall see, maybe i wanna torture you all a bit longer? hmm. we'll see next week anyway.;)
I seriously hope you all enjoyed this chapter, again I loved writing it ah the angst! Im such an angst whore hahah im glad you all loved jiraiya being back in the picture but again he's gone now. he'll pop up again tho :D Thank you to all of you who reviewed, alerted and just read! Means a lot to me!
REPLIES
rocoaleksis01 - Thank you! Hope I didn't disappoint!
Hikari Heidi Haruki - sorry for making you wait! Hope you enjoyed! :D
Janeth16 - Thank you so much for your kind words about my shitty week! everything is much better now and im in a really good place! oooo will Sasuke find out, that is the big question but i'm not revealing anything haha! Thank you so much, makes me all giddy and happy inside when people love this story as much as I do!
TheProcrastinatingPerfectionist - hahah itachi is one sexy piece of ass ill admit xD glad you can visualise what I write, always brings joy to a writer to hear that!
Kris XD - of course he followed her, cause itachi is just that creepy-but like a sexy creepy hahah Kisame is off doing kisame things, probably terrorising some poor village or something xD My week did get better and im so much happier this week!
FANGIRLWHODIES - never be embarrassed *screams in equally as much pervert xD
Nostalgic29 - Thank you for your kind words about my shitty week! honestly made me feel so loved and happy that you guys were all there to say lovely things and make me feel better! man sasuke will be fun when we get round to him, but after going over my notes again we won't be seeing him for a while yet hope you enjoyed what transpired between our lovebirds this chapter! ;)
sHiZoooo - i have always said that i will give itachi a happy ending. we just gotta get there first so prepare yourselves for more heartache (no pun intended lol) before we get the happiness!
addresskorskiruiz - thank you!
Lotus48 - You're welcome, and thank you for wishing me a good week! Seeing all of you looking out for me made me feel so much better and everything is on he right track again! ooo he almost broke, and so did Hoshiko! We'll see what happens between them next week ;)
katydid001 - Thank you!
Tomato - Thank you! So much excitement for Jiraiya! Like i loved him in the show but even in this story i love him even more! He's just got such a good relationship with Hoshiko!
asianuruknan - omg im so sorry for missing you! Last week there was a glitch with the site and reviews weren't showing up on he story but they did in my emails! I write my replies with the story open in another tab and because of the glitch i must have missed you! Im sorry but i appreciate you so much and thank you for leaving a review anyway! They both had some major torture in this chapter and it'll continue on into next for you guys mwahaha!
Guest - He's back yay! aaaaand now he's gone sadface. hope you enjoyed this one!
MK - Im glad you loved the reunion, hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Guest (2) - im so happy that everyone loved seeing Jiraiya again! hes a fave of mine for sure!
i do love to torture you all! Thank you all again and i'll see you next week ;) (ps the title of this chapter had me cackling like an old woman for a good ten minutes. i thought of it as a joke but then I couldn't think of anything to call this chapter so here we go xD)