Itachi levelled an intimidating stare at Rouge, no trace of his persona left in his expression.
"The one the Marines are looking for is you", he stated, sure of his conclusion
Rouge swallowed down her reflexive denial as she saw the unfamiliar expression on her friend's face. It was scary, the fact she couldn't read any emotion on his face anymore. It left her feeling even more shaken than the fact he had discovered her secret, really.
"Yes", she answered quietly, tonelessly. She couldn't deny it. Not with how sure he was acting, knowing. She had messed up. Most likely, he had noticed her state and put everything together.
Itachi narrowed his eyes at her.
"You were his lover then. Roger's.", he added bluntly.
"Yes", she answered again, tears clouding her vision. She couldn't even pull up the energy to be shocked he somehow knew the Marines' true goal, too busy with her racing thoughts on how this was it, this was how everything would end. A cold hard lump was forming in her throat.
She couldn't help but sob. Someone had found out. It was over. He was no doubt disgusted with her now. With how callous she was, not turning herself in but watching all the while others were taken in her place, never to return.
She herself was disgusted after all. Even more so because she didn't regret it for a second.
Yet, he, he was a honest sailor. He would run to the Marines any second and they would take her away. Her baby... they would kill it. All she had done, the regret, the self-disgust, the distance she had put between herself and everyone else…
Most of all, her poor, innocent child would die, just because of her stupid bleeding heart. Because of her trusting nature. Because she couldn't say no to taking in the man that would soon become her friend because she couldn't bring herself to ask him to leave.
She hid her tears behind her hands, not daring to look at his face for fear of what she would find, for fear of continuing to look at the unfamiliar expression on his face. She was a coward.
She couldn't keep her body from shaking as she sobbed.
Suddenly, a warm hand landed on her head and she flinched in surprise once again.
Itachi sighed audibly.
When she looked up, his eyes were genuinely warm as he looked at her in fond exasperation.
"Calm down, Rouge. I won't tell anyone, I promise", he said reassuringly. He patted her head like he would a child's but it was strangely soothing, Rouge didn't mind the treatment at all.
He hadn't run off, hadn't reported her like he should... didn't he hate her? for putting the whole area in danger? For deceiving him, for not telling him?
"It's alright. I'm here, it'll be alright"
Itachi continuously murmured reassurances as she got her shock out of her system. This was one of the few times he couldn't mind having to talk so much.
Slowly, Rouge calmed down. Her face looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy, and she got hiccups from crying.
"Don't you hate me?", she asked, sounding awfully timid and hating herself for it. She had always been brave. Stubborn and brave. Where was that bravery now?
"Why would I hate you?", he countered with a raised eyebrow.
"Because of me... *hic* all those women...", tears gathered in Rouge's eyes once again as she admitted her sin out loud. Her selfishness had caused this.
Comprehension dawned on Itachi's face.
"The orders say they'll be let go once it's confirmed they don't carry his child. Apparently, there's a way to confirm if he was the sire only shortly before they're born. Don't feel guilty Rouge, nobody will die because of you"
Disbelief and hope warred on her face at his words. That… that was way too good to be true. That would mean they would all be safe; she wasn't responsible for any of their deaths then.
"How do you...", she involuntarily asked, hope and suspicion warring inside her now she had somewhat overcome the shock of the first confrontation. She even contemplated the possibility of him only trying to stall her here for reinforcements to arrive and take her away.
Itachi hesitated for a moment, silently cursing himself for not coming up with a good excuse.
"I snuck into their commander's office", he finally admitted. This probably wasn't the best solution but a part of him didn't really want to lie to her. This also meant she now had something on him, which could cement the fact he wouldn't just run off to sell her out.
She stared at him in wide-eyed disbelief, tears forgotten. He had actually had the audacity to…!
She truly got to know a new side of her friend today.
When the silence stretched a bit too long, he added a disgruntled "It was the most untidy pigsty of an office I've seen in my life"
Silence.
Itachi already assumed his tactic to calm her down had failed, before
"Pffft", Rouge broke into hysterical laughter. She was so relieved. It seemed her friend wasn't completely gone after all. This situation was so ridiculous, she just couldn't help herself. Here she was, half devastated half confused and cursing her messed up pregnancy hormones, yet a single sentence was all it took for her to snap out of it.
Itachi quirked his lips in satisfaction.
He watched her giggle to herself for a while, calling him ridiculous in between fits of laughter.
"Rouge", he was regretful to have to interrupt her now, but the sooner they talked about this the better. They couldn't just ignore the fact he now knew for certain, even if he had bluffed her into admitting it.
The woman heard the switch in his tone and soon stopped giggling
"Haa.-*hic*... Coma? *hic*"
In all the excitement, her hiccups had gotten worse, it seemed. Wordlessly, he fetched her another glass of water, which she took with a thankful nod and a blush. Pregnancy really was a curse when her reputation as a strong self-reliant woman was concerned.
"I may have a solution.", he started. Seeing her about to interrupt, he raised his hand in a gesture to wait.
"I need to know something first though."
He fixed her with a serious look before she nodded, cautious.
"Did you know his crew?"
"Roger's?"
He nodded.
"Why?" If he couldn't tell her, she may not answer. She really didn't want to expose the companions of the man she had loved to possible danger, despite the man's many faults. If he really forced her to, to protect her baby, she would… she just hoped it didn't have to come to that.
It took a moment for the Uchiha to decide on what to answer.
"I'm searching for something. They may know where it is."
She raised her brows at that. She hadn't taken her friend to be one of the ones after treasure but... she thought back to the unfamiliar expression on his face earlier... she apparently didn't know him quite as well as she had assumed so who could tell.
"I met them all", she finally admitted. While she couldn't be sure, logically speaking, that he was telling the truth, her heart told her to keep trusting him. It hadn't led her astray yet and she didn't want to start doubting it now, not when he could possibly keep her unborn child safe.
Itachi smiled in satisfaction. Good.
"In that case, I have a proposition for you."
She fixed her attention on his face. If he could really help her, there really wasn't anything she wasn't willing to do.
"Hn, this may take a while. For now, how about you clean yourself up a bit. I'll go make us some breakfast. Don't worry, I won't run off... Is there anything you'd like?"
Rouge blinked, completely thrown for a loop for a second. Then her gaze travelled down to her ruffled nightgown and she groaned in realization.
Some of her puke had gotten on there earlier and had now started drying into the fabric. She probably looked a right mess, honestly felt it too.
Given the serious nature of their upcoming talk, she had better get herself freshened up a little. She would also take the opportunity to correct her mindset and start processing the events of just now. She vaguely realized she was still half in shock from the earlier proceedings.
She threw a glance at Itachi out of the corner of her eyes. He probably realized it too. Most likely, that was the main reason he had decided to interrupt their talk.
She felt a pang of warmth in her chest at the thought he didn't take advantage of her state.
"Alright", she nodded, "Then, could you make me an omelette? With dried pickles and persimmons"
She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
Itachi looked at her strangely at the weird combination but nodded in agreement regardless. He had heard pregnant women craved some weird things so who was he to judge.
He headed out of there and towards the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.
Rouge's thoughts only caught up to the present when she was nearly done getting ready, causing her to blush furiously at the request she had made, followed by a look of worry.
Did… her friend even know how to cook?
Rouge stared at Itachi accusingly.
She pointed at her plate with an angry look on her face.
"You… what is this?"
"It's an omelette", Itachi said dryly while sipping on a hot cup of tea.
"I can see that", she snapped, "but why is it so good!? It tastes better than my own cooking!"
Rouge pouted.
Itachi merely raised an eyebrow, unamused.
"Why didn't you tell me you could cook?", she asked next.
"You didn't ask", the infuriating man before her had the gall to say. She stabbed another piece of omelette viciously, imagining it was his eyeball instead.
Ok, maybe not, that was gross. But really, this tasted heavenly.
Rouge had to hold back a moan as she bit into the still slightly gooey goodness on her plate.
Itachi hid his satisfied smile behind the rip of his teacup.
Rouge was silently relieved at the easy, familiar banter that accompanied their breakfast. While she was indeed impatient to get to the point and ensure the validity of his proposal, the affirmation of their continued relationship was relieving. She hadn't truly realized how tense the uncertainty of their continued friendship had made her until she relaxed just then.
Sneaky bastard.
She did adore him for it though. He could've easily taken advantage of her overwhelmed state earlier, yet he hadn't. That had to mean something, right?
Seeing as she had finished eating, Itachi took the empty dishes and proceeded to clean up quickly. His employer simply stared through him blankly as he did, clearly lost in thought. With a final audible click that ripped Rouge out of her contemplation, he placed the last newly cleaned cup into the drying rack and joined Rouge at the table.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wondering if she should thank him yet again. She probably should. Instead, she got straight to the point.
"You said you had a proposition?"
"Hn", he nodded.
"There is a technique in my homeland that female warriors use to temporarily put their pregnancy on hold. They use it when they find out about the pregnancy during times when it wouldn't be safe to birth a child. I can perform it for you but it'll only work safely for around a month. After that, the risk of complications grows stronger the longer it is used."
He started to explain the theory the Jutsu worked on to Rouge roughly, without giving away anything about his homeland but the fact they had females fighting there on a regular basis. The kunoichi sometimes got pregnant before or during missions and used this skill to put the foetus into stasis so it wouldn't hinder them or their objective. Sometimes, he recalled sadly, the whole objective was to return pregnant. Itachi hated what some of those missions did to perfectly good kunoichi, especially mentally.
As for why he knew the Jutsu, he had copied it accidentally from a kunoichi of an enemy village while on patrol. He really didn't want to think about what happened to her after that.
"That's really interesting. It doesn't really help much with the situation though?", Rouge asked, confused.
Itachi rolled his eyes at her. Just how did that not help…
"What I propose is this. I will use this technique on you for the safe period of a month, after which I'll pretend to be the father. We've been living alone here together for 2 months so it isn't strange for something to happen between us. A timeframe of 2 months in also isn't unusual for first symptoms like nausea to show. We visit a doctor for a check-up and when the Marines come poking around, we take the opportunity to clear your name. It's not difficult to falsify the blood test if they insist on it despite the fact the foetus won't be developed enough to have been sired in the time Roger was alive. Simple."
Rouge was staring at him like she'd never seen him before in her life, mouth slightly agape. He talked about this so dismissively, as if he'd done things like this all his life. Just how was that simple!?
Also, why would he take such big risks and sacrifice his reputation to help her? They were friends, yes, but this was honestly outside the scope of what normal friendship entailed. Rouge couldn't even analyze if the plan had a chance to work, she was that bewildered.
"But… why?"
"Why?"
"Why would you help me?"
"Besides the fact I consider you to be a friend", he started admonishingly, "There is actually something I'd like your help with in return."
"Right"
Right… She could work with that, probably. Since he considered her a friend, he shouldn't be expecting her to do anything impossible. In fact, she was a bit relieved. This likely meant he wasn't Cipher Pol or otherwise working for the government... she wouldn't let her guard down completely until she was completely sure though. She would have to think of some contingencies just in case.
"What is it?"
"Help me find one of his old crewmates. Join my team and help me find what I'm looking for."
Intermission: The revelation
Or alternatively: How Itachi got interested in Gol D Roger and how Mihawk had a mental breakdown
"This man", Itachi pointed at a recent article on the pirate king's execution. Mihawk himself had taken part in the whole ordeal. He hadn't been impressed.
"He sailed around most of the world, yes?"
Mihawk nodded.
"Then, he is the most likely to have found something. Maybe he even found the Nations"
"Yes, but... he's dead. I watched his execution myself", Mihawk reminded in resignation. He had also thought to seek out the late pirate king to ask about his ancestral home but hadn't been able to meet the man in time before his demise.
"What happened to his crew?"
Stunned, Mihawk could only stare at the ninja.
"His... crew..."
"Hn, they'd have been there with him."
His CREW! Fuck him, Mihawk had never considered that. No news ever talked about the fate of Roger's crew! If they got annihilated or executed the Marines would no doubt have bragged about it. Their silence could only mean one thing...
The crew was still at large.
The thought of how or why Roger was captured without his crew made Mihawk curious, but he shoved it to the back of his mind for the more important fact that they finally had a real clue!
On another note, Mihawk was surprisingly enthusiastic in his studies afterwards. He had been disappointed in himself for not having realized a fact Itachi had pointed out after only having spent days looking into it.
The goddamn crew… right.
Author's Note:
Hey guys!
I hope Rouge's reaction is believable. Pregnancy hormones can make women cry over the weirdest stuff... like the fact the neighbors dog barked at them... or a pea fell off their fork or ... yea, you get the point.
So, the fact that she isn't quite herself or thinking as straight/quickly as usual is because of that.
Hope you enjoyed the update and stay healthy and safe!