That was the third time that the young woman walked past their table. Kisame could see the look of confusion and hurt etched in her delicate features. He glanced back at the shinobi sitting across him who looked content sipping on his tea and quietly chewing on his dango. She gave them one last wounded glare before disappearing into the kitchen.
Kisame recognized the brunette, though he had never gotten around to knowing her name. The manager had mentioned to them once that the young beauty worked in the tea shop as a part-time waitress. She always managed to pop up whenever they happened to operate on missions in Jomae Village. Then as soon as she appeared, she would vanish right around the same time Itachi would excuse himself. To attend to what, he never told the blue-skinned swordsman, only that he wouldn't be back for the next few hours. During these times Kisame would entertain himself by visiting his own set of acquaintances. True to his word Itachi would reappear after a reasonable amount of time. Right on his heels would be the brunette, her hair neatly re-done and her clothes slightly wrinkled. It was a scene Kisame was all too familiar with and it was an experience he wouldn't dare take away from the younger man. It served as a reminder that despite growing up too fast, the prodigy still had his moments of normalcy.
None of the events he had anticipated happened that day. They left the tea shop without Itachi giving her anything beyond a very polite nod.
"That was the third girl who threw herself at you and that was the third girl you've shrugged off. What gives, Itachi-san?"
They were on the road, making their way back to the headquarters on the outskirts of the Land of Hot Water.
Itachi made a disapproving sound before he replied. "Can't be bothered."
"You're barely twenty years old. You can't expect me to buy that bullshit."
"..."
Kisame chuckled at the younger shinobi's reluctance in approaching the subject. It wasn't a secret that Itachi entertained a few of the women who fought for his attention. The Uchiha was unusually attractive for someone who was highly introverted. He was also a hot-blooded male who wasn't exempted from certain urges. It was the perfect recipe to get laid and he capitalized that fact whenever it was convenient.
'Until now,' Kisame thought, getting more curious the more Itachi kept mum.
"Look, if - Kami forbid - you decided to commit to one of those girls and you're worried about her finding out, I'm telling you not to be. I got your back," the swordsman said. He waited for his partner to look at him before adding, "We're shinobi. Most of us are destined to live short lives. Might as well enjoy it."
"Thank you, Kisame-san," Itachi replied with a quick nod.
"So who is it? It's that redhead from Yugakure, isn't it?"
"Hn."
Ever since that night, there hadn't been a day when Shiori woke up without that kiss replaying in her mind. Everything about it remained so vivid even as the days went by. She could clearly remember how he started it, slowly and almost tentatively, only for it to grow deeper and surer. His lips were dry and chapped in some places yet these imperfections made him all the more irresistible. Before she could change her mind, she stole a quick nip of his lower lip. The smile that followed it had been priceless. She felt it with her own mouth, spreading across his face even as their tongues fought playfully for domination. It was one of her most treasured memories of him for he had never looked so happy and carefree as he did that night.
But as the minutes ticked away and sleep slowly left her along with the orange hue of sunrise, their reality would come to mind. Realizations would hit her, forcing her to keep the memory of that perfect moment in the recesses of her mind. Shiori may be clumsy but she wasn't naive. Loving Uchiha Itachi was something she could never express in the open. They both knew that. Too many lives were at stake, theirs included. She was bound to the Akatsuki as its subject. He needed the Akatsuki to survive until Sasuke was ready. Maintaining a professional, even hateful front was a means of survival.
Her only consolation was that Itachi did most of the acting for her. He was an excellent liar who had mastered the art of maintaining a constant poker face. His stoic and nonchalant act was so convincing that even Shiori sometimes found herself believing that it was real.
"Remember," he would say to her in moments when his icy demeanor would get under her skin. And then he would look at her and she would understand.
Another memory would come to mind, one that came later that night when their urge to kiss each other silly had been satiated and he had to catch his breath while resting his forehead against hers.
"Remember this," he told her. "When I can't bare my soul to you, remember this."
"You say that as if you know that you're bound to hurt me one of these days," she had jokingly replied, even though her words had never sounded truer.
His face fell. Shiori chuckled at him.
"It's our reality, Itachi."
He placed a hand under her chin and gently tilted her head up so she could meet his gaze.
"It's part of our reality but so is this. This is real too."
Shiori had been in Yugakure's market, ticking off the last items in her grocery list when an all too familiar raven-haired shinobi appeared in front of her. She had been so startled that she screamed bloody murder in the middle of the busy streets, turning heads and invoking suspicious stares aimed at her and Itachi. Luckily, most of his face had been hidden under his straw hat.
"You're overreacting," he stated flatly.
"You obviously have no idea how scary you can be."
Itachi didn't reply. Instead, he took the two full baskets from her hands and motioned at her to follow him towards the gates.
"Why are you doing the groceries?" he asked. Wards weren't obliged to do errands outside of their missions. Though many of the handlers bent this rule to cut corners, he had no intention of doing the same thing to Shiori.
"Fudo is sick," she replied, all the while trying to maintain a respectable distance between the two of them. "He caught the flu that has been going around the village since the rainy season started. So I told him to take it easy for the next few days while I'm still free."
"I'm surprised he didn't put up a fight," he said, giving her a sideway glance.
"He did. But I won."
"Hn."
Itachi took an unexpected turn into one of the village's alleys a few yards away from the gates. Shiori, though confused, followed him. He had pulled his straw hat down, revealing a rather amusing glint in his obsidian eyes. Shiori narrowed hers at him.
"When are you expected back in the temple?" he asked.
She shrugged, "After doing the groceries. Before sunset maybe?"
He smiled at her. "We still have time."
Without another word, he lifted her off her feet and the two vanished into the trees above them. Itachi hopped from one branch to another with chakra-induced speed until they reached a clearing in the woods beside the quiet road leading to the old monks' temple.
"Itachi, you know I trust you with my life and all but what in the name of Kami are we doing here?"
Shiori blinked a few times. Her head was still spinning from being unceremoniously swept off of her feet.
"You'll see," he replied, setting the groceries on the grass as he walked over to the what looked like an old forgotten pond. Its stony borders were crumbling and were covered with spider webs and rotting leaves.
"I found this recently when I was training. I don't think anyone knows about this place."
Shiori walked over to him. Without eyes nearby, she was finally confident enough to rub elbows with him. She gazed at the murky body of water. Algae had turned it into a brownish-green color.
"Looks...depressing."
Itachi looked at the sky above them. "It will be sunset in a few minutes."
"Exactly. We need to head back."
"Don't be a wet blanket."
She felt a sharp jab on her ribs, which took her by surprise. She gaped at him. The young man beside her had not acted this playful since his otouto was still a young school boy.
"Who are you and what have you done to Itachi?"
Itachi merely smirked before nodding towards the pond. What Shiori saw next made her gasp. As darkness fell over the woods, hundreds of pulsating dots of light appeared in the water's surface. They floated lazily on it, not unlike the lanterns on Kibo River during the village festival some months ago.
"Wow," she sighed, unable to stop the childlike grin on her face. "This is awesome."
"Watch this." He bent down to retrieve a tiny pebble. Then he tossed it on the pond, causing ripples on its stagnant water.
The lights exploded into a flurry of motion. Many took flight and began dancing in the air around them.
"Oh, they're fireflies!" Shiori exclaimed as the cloud of blinking lights started to surround them. It was one of the most beautiful scenes she had witnessed, something she had never expected to encounter at this point in her life, all circumstances considered.
She cupped her hands together and held them out until one dainty firefly slowly floated away from its group and descended on her upturned palms. It stayed there for a few moments, tickling her as it crawled from one hand to another. Not wanting to isolate it for too long, she uncurled her fingers and gently tossed her hands up. Shiori let out an amused laugh as the firefly joined its friends, disappearing and becoming a part of the surreal scene surrounding them.
A strong pair of arms wrapped around her belly and she felt Itachi against her back, enveloping her in a warm hug. His scent made her giddy, made her want to press more on to him. He rested his chin on her shoulder.
"The world can be a noisy place to live in. All the fighting makes it worse. So I was more than thankful when I found this spot. Everyone here is at peace with everybody else."
The fact that he could no longer see the fireflies individually made him realize this. In his deteriorating eyes, they were one body moving harmoniously from one place to another.
Shiori held on to his arms before shifting her head to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you for this," she whispered. "I feel like I'm in a dream."
Itachi shook his head. "Just because its beautiful doesn't mean it's not real."
There was a long pause before she spoke up once again.
"Think of this as your happy place, Itachi. In times when the world gets so bad. Or when you fall so deep into yourself that I can't get to you anymore. You have this place and this moment and these are things that can never be taken away from you."
He smiled and hugged her tighter.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you all enjoyed this bit. First off I'd like to apologize for the late update. I've been busily adulting these past couple of weeks hence I haven't had a lot of "me time"...which is something I need in large doses in order to write.
The next couple of chapters are within the timeline of what I like to call as "The Lost Years". Post orange-jumpsuit-Naruto era and pre-Shippuden. For those who are huge fans of canon (who are reading this fanfiction ironically), please bear with me. I do intend to follow the events of canon as much as possible. But of course we also need to tackle wth is happening with these two within those years.
And re: Itachi's unusual attitude, it's just my depiction of how he is when he's in love. I don't think anyone has even seen him head over heels with someone (other than Sasuke and dango) so technically, this side of Itachi is fair game. I did try to keep his usual stoic demeanor whenever possible so hopefully that makes up for everything.
Itachi's speeech. Admit it. He has a weird way of talking. Kind of like an old soul stuck in a young (and highly attractive) body. I think its an interesting peculiarity of his in the anime and manga and it's something I really want to incorporate in this piece. I'm no old soul so hopefully the attempt wasn't too bad.
Anyhoo, you guys know what I want. A review would be great. For those who have reviewed (esp. those who have left long ones...I know they can be quite taxing to write) THANK YOU VERY MUCH! You always make my day whenever you review. Your reviews are the only payback I receive for this piece so they mean quite a LOT to me. Hope to update sooner rather than later. Love you all.