Her mouth gaped, and her thoughts raced. The loving memories, the Uchiha massacre, the chase, it all came back to her. Her heart slammed against her chest, and she didn't know how to feel. What was he going to do?
Itachi looked at the building behind her, she was quick to act. Still, judging by her appearance, he knew she had fought tooth and nail to get out of there. His eyes then landed back on her. She flinched, his sight was cold and unforgiving. She suddenly heard the dome cracking behind her. They were getting out! Her eyes darted behind Itachi, she needed to discard any doubts she had and escape.
She quickly sent the last bits of chakra she had to her feet and dashed. Just as she was about to pass him, he appeared in front of her and grabbed her arm while using the momentum of her speed and throwing her back where she started. Her feet landed on the ground and she used a single hand to stop her body from moving any further away. The cracks were getting louder. She had to go now.
She tried to head sideways but he jumped in front of her. She tried to run the other way, but he got in front of her again.
"Stop it Itachi! I need to go, stop dragging me into your stupid plans!" yelled Harumi, but she was only met with his silence which angered her further. She tried to go over him but he grabbed her foot and threw her once again. She looked at him, her sharingan appearing. She hated her sharingan, she hated everything to do with it. From its power to its rarity, but she knew she'd be outmatched if she didn't use it. It used a lot of chakra but she had no choice.
"Listen, if there's any part of you that valued the friendship we shared for all those years, let me leave. You can pretend you didn't get here on time to keep me from leaving." Harumi looked at him with pleading eyes. "Let me leave. Please don't make me go through this again."
She couldn't help it, her last sentence shook in sadness as it came out more like a whisper. Her eyes glossed over as she couldn't even imagine staying with all those killers, she wasn't ready for it to happen all over again. To be a prisoner, to be used all over again, to have her health and body discarded, to have it littered with scars. She wouldn't be able to take it, and she hoped that somewhere in his heart, he still cared.
Itachi watched as a tear fell from her eye, and he knew she hated crying. She watched as he took slow steps towards her, and her hand shook against her chest. Was he going to let her go? He finally stood right in front of her, and she looked up at him, trying to read his face. She let out a small sniffle as he simply stared at her.
His fist suddenly plunged deep into her stomach, shocking her. She felt her fragile heart break as she was pushed back by the sheer power of the punch. She began coughing harshly, putting her hand over her mouth as she hunched over in her spot. Her eyes widened as she looked at her hand and saw blood. It made sense since the pressure Sasori and Itachi both put on it was too much. She stood up and suddenly felt his presence behind her. His foot rammed into her back, sending her flying forward and falling to the ground. She then felt a burning sting through her scalp as her hair was pulled back. She screamed and reached back, holding his hand tightly.
"You're mistaken if you think I still care about you." His voice was more mature, deeper and colder. "I stopped when I realized you were simply a nuisance of a girl. You're only a desperate soul who no one loves, that needs someone who cares. I just happened to be the person you chose. You're weak, and the only reason you're still alive is because we need you for something."
"You're lying! I know you cared about me too, you can't- AH!" Harumi was cut off by him pulling harder.
"I did value our friendship when we were young, but I cut my ties with you the moment I attempted to cut you down with my sword. You're weak, you're chained by your past, and you're only another burden from my old life. You mean nothingto me," he stated.
"You don't mean that…" said Harumi, desperately trying to hold on to some hope that he cherished even a single bit of their past.
She was soon proven wrong as he pulled her up by her hair and threw her back. She stumbled back on feet before he appeared next to her. His knee flew into her stomach before he stepped next to her as she was recovering from the hit. He sent his foot slammed into her ankle, and she heard a loud crack. She gritted her teeth and a whimper came from her throat, but she used her good foot to kick under his feet as she fell, causing him to fall on top of her.
He pinned one of her hands down but she was quick to move her other one. He dodged her punch so she flattened her palm and slapped him across the face. The sound echoed through the air, everything suddenly quiet. He looked back at her, her cheeks rosy and her tears finished falling from her eyes. Her teeth were visibly clenched as she looked at him with anger yet uncertainty.
He suddenly flipped her over and positioned her arm in a specific way. She gasped as she understood what he was about to do.
"STOP IT! Itachi don't!" she yelled, but her words fell on deaf ears. A crack was heard, and Harumi let out a loud, agonizing scream as her arm pulsed painfully.
He broke it, he broke her arm with no hesitation.
She contained her cries. It had been so long since she had broken something, and she had forgotten the immeasurable pain it caused. He got off of her, leaving her to shake in pain. She hadn't even noticed that the others had broken the dome and were watching the scene. Sasori simply stared, Deidara crossed his arm, and Kisame grinned as usual.
She tried to get up, but she couldn't bring herself to. Her body was paralyzed, it felt like it was burning. Itachi didn't seem to care, he only signaled Sasori to pick her body up. Sasori did without care, wrapping his tail around her in a way that pressed her arm into her body. She screeched in pain, but he didn't care. They all walked inside, and Harumi didn't miss the way Kisame said, "That was merciless," to Itachi who didn't respond.
Sasori dropped her body on the ground a little carelessly, but the pain in her arm was the only thing she could pay attention to. She really didn't know what hurt more. Her body, or the way her heart clenched at Itachi's lack of mercy and emotion towards her. Her heart shattered, she wanted to cry but forced her tears down.
He really did hate her, didn't he?
She could hear them whispering, but she didn't bother to listen. She wanted to die at that moment. She wanted to escape all the pain she was feeling, to just rest for a while. She looked at her palms, the cuts from before were still there. She looked at her wrists, the red marks from the ropes hadn't disappeared yet. Her arms had dried blood and bruises on them. Her legs were painted with bruises and small burns. She hesitantly lifted up her shirt with her good arm and had to stop her lip from wobbling as she saw the blood and the large bruises that were on it. She felt a lump in her throat, and she did everything she could to prevent her tears from coming out.
Itachi had already gotten to see her tears of defeat, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction again.
She tried to move her ankle, but a pang of pain shot through it. She looked at her right –and broken– arm, which she didn't even try moving. Harumi took in a deep breath, but hissed loudly when it stung. She touched her throat again, was there something wrong with it? Or was it coming from her lungs? She didn't know, and frankly didn't care. She knew the drill. Get the life beaten out of you, then heal yourself. It was just like she expected. She could check off the box of having her body and health disregarded.
'Listen, I know you hate me but could you lend me a bit of chakra? I need to heal myself. I wouldn't ask if it was tolerable,' she thought.
I don't hate you Harumi. I just don't have enough time to talk.
Harumi's ears perked up at that. Enough time to talk? He was in her body, he didn't exactly have anywhere to go. She tried to talk to him again, but she got no response. She felt her chakra spike, and sighed in relief. She started on her throat, wanting to heal whatever was wrong with it.
Deidara watched her use medical ninjutsu, and from what he could tell, she was pretty good at it and at detecting the areas which needed the most help. He then looked back at Itachi who was also looking at her, his eyes cold as usual. He couldn't tell what he was thinking. Itachi looked back at him and raised a brow, so he just scoffed and turned his attention back to Kisame and Sasori's conversation.
Itachi tried to keep himself from looking at the girl who was now healing herself, but he couldn't help it. He side eyed her, and it hurt him to see her biting her lip so harshly to keep herself from making any noises. She stopped healing her throat and moved onto her stomach. He could see that she was avoiding her arm. Not only that, but her shoulder was dislocated too, and he knew she'd have to put it back in place herself, no matter how much it hurt.
His eyes darted to her hands. They had marks on them again. Another flashback, he guessed. She had the terrible habit of doing that when they were younger, to try and remind herself that she was in the present. She always used to squeeze his hand to let him know what was happening. That, and she'd have a distant look in her eyes or would cover her ears. He always sat her down and talked to her when it was happening, or hugged her. It bothered him to know it was still happening, and bothered him more to know that the recent events had probably triggered it. He saw her trace the marks on her palms, seemingly having a look of shame in her eyes.
"What do you think, Itachi?" Kisame asked.
"We should wait for Pain to send his message, he'll want to talk to her," Itachi replied, turning his attention back to them.
"So what do we do with her for now?" asked Deidara.
"Let her heal herself, I doubt she will try to run again with all four of us here," Itachi stated. And so, that's what she did. She took the time to heal each of her wounds, and nearly cried when she put her shoulder back in its place and when she fixed her arm. The others didn't interact with her, but she could tell that they were keeping an eye on her. She didn't have the energy to run, she felt so empty. Where is Hido? The question crossed her mind, and the doubts started to seep in. Did he get hurt? Was he still looking for her? Was he okay?
Her eyes dulled, was she okay? No, she wasn't, and she knew that. She found herself looking around for Itachi, and it made her stomach turn. He had just beaten her up, he broke her arm, yet she was still looking for him. She first thought it was because she wanted to claw his face off, but soon realized it was because it was getting dark. Now she wasn't scared of the dark, but he had killed a whole clan at night, and he could easily kill her as well.
She wasn't looking for him for comfort, she was looking because she feared him. She truly feared him. Looking at him made her sad, it was as simple as that.
She watched as the sun set and the moon rose, still sitting in the place Sasori put her. She noticed Deidara kept staring at her, which was bothering her, but she didn't say anything. It only made her feel self conscious, wondering if she looked all that bad. Her heart felt weak, along with her body. She found herself closing her eyes, but everytime she did, they'd snap back open, keeping her awake and alert for any danger.
"I'm tired, we should go to bed," Deidara stated as he yawned.
"I agree, we have a long trip ahead of us. We should get some rest," Sasori agreed.
"Alright, we can go to the floors that aren't broken," said Kisame. Normally, she would've snickered at that, but she didn't have the energy to even smile, much less laugh.
"Get up, we're going upstairs," Deidara called out.
She nodded her head slightly before walking towards the stairs. Her eyes narrowed at it, it was all broken up from Deidara's explosions. Her mind began to drift as she climbed up each step, the noise echoing through the large stairwell. She could still somewhat smell the smoke that engulfed the place, it reminded her of the instant fear that spread through her body when she saw Deidara at the top. When she arrived at the next level, her hand hesitated on the doorknob.
The cold metal reminded her of how cozy her old room used to be, and how she always had a fire going on cold nights. The doorknobs were never cold there, but then again, she wasn't home anymore. She slowly opened the door, and walked to the room she could feel Kisame's chakra in. She didn't enter, but obediently stood beside it as she leaned her head against the wall.
Deidara watched her warily, she seemed much more submissive now. It seemed as though she had lost her spirit for the day, a now sad presence in front of him. Was it something Itachi had said to her, or simply his remorseless actions? He didn't know, so he simply watched as Sasori picked his own room, and Itachi walked over to one as well. Eventually, he walked over to his own as well.
"So what do we do with her?" he asked, watching as she continued to look in a different direction, like she wasn't truly present in the conversation.
"It's probably a good idea to keep her in Itachi or Kisame's room. You're too much of a deep sleeper, and I can't tolerate anyone in my space," Sasori explained.
"Kisame is already asleep. She may stay in my room," Itachi spoke up.