Disclaimer: The characters are Masashi Kishimoto's property, I own the OCs.

Characters age:

Akane: 18 (51)

Itachi: 17 1/2 ( 34 1/2)

Shisui: 21

Naruto / Sasuke: 12

Kakashi: 26

Pain was pulsing in my thigh when I woke up from my nap. The sun was up now, and Itachi was already getting ready. I sat, his flak jacket on my lap; I blinked at it without really understanding why it was there.

"You could use some coverage," Itachi explained to me without a glance.

"It never bothered you before."

"I could touch before." He shot me a quick look. "I doubt you'd appreciate it."

"…sure, you're right." He handed me my pants and I accepted. I lifted my leg to put it on and had to get a break when I lifted my left leg.

"Akane?"

"Give me a sec." I managed to put my pants on. I grabbed my belongings quickly, gave him his jacket back and left the cave.

My thigh hurt like hell, but I didn't want to waste Healing Seals. We had to go to the Land of Iron, I could deal with the pain.

"Your thigh hurts that much?"

"It'll be fine. I don't want to waste my seals when we have at least a week of traveling in front of us."

"I have painkillers." I raised my head in a flash to see Itachi handing me a small, clear, orange bottle. "Take one only."

"You're my savior," I mumbled, swallowing the pill. It kicked in quickly. "Damn, they're good. Shinobi painkillers are something else." Itachi's eyes lingered on my leg.

"If it's too much, tell me." I nodded.

"Let's go."

We found them easily as I could track my summon. Seihitsu was wrapped around the kid and the woman beneath a tree a few meters away from the road. They both were asleep when we found them. Seihitsu growled quietly when Itachi woke them up and explained the situation. My wolf friend sniffed the blood on my thigh.

"It was not pretty," I whispered to him as I ran my fingers in his soft fur. "We're going to the Land of Iron now, so you can go home for now."

"Can you run?"

"Not much, but neither can they. We're probably going to walk."

"I could carry you or them." I leaned my forehead on his head with a soft smile.

"It's okay Seihitsu, you've helped already. Have you smelled anyone?"

"No one came around except for you two."

"Okay." He vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Seihitsu-sama!" the kid whined, now next to me. He looked down with a pout.

"Haruto-sama!" the nanny crouched next to him and turned him toward her. "Please do not leave my side anymore."

"I want Dad Mari." She bit on her bottom lip.

"I know but…you have seen the explosions like I have, we cannot go back there and Junchiro-sama…"

"But why?" Haruto looked up at me and Itachi. "What did my dad do?"

"I wish I knew the reason for the coup." He clenched his fists by his sides. "But, we are going to find out."

"How am I supposed to believe you?" I bent forward, leaning on my knees.

"Seihitsu is my friend. Do you think he would be my friend if I were not honest?" He pursed his lips and glanced at Mari, who nodded at him with a small smile.

"Seihitsu was nice," he muttered. "Okay."

"We need to go," Itachi stated coldly.

Itachi, staying true to himself, spoke only when spoken to on the way to the Land of Iron. I had to be the one talking with them and keeping them updated on where we were. At some point I left hunting before he could because I was sick of having to talk to them.

Eventually, after nine days, the canyon we had been walking through in the Land of Earth started to diminish and turn into a forest as snow started to fall. I stopped walking when we entered the first village.

"Okay, from now on I'm going to let Itachi take you there."

"Heh? But why?"

"Well, because I say so." I glanced at Itachi. "I need a doctor." He furrowed his brows and moved closer to me.

"You are limping, I knew it," he accused me with a frown.

"Yes, yes, sorry. I think there's an infection as well, I guess I haven't done a good job on the road."

"I would have carried you." I quickly glanced at the kid.

"I don't think showing we were not reliable would have helped us." I gulped. "Sasaki Hana." I looked at the other two and nodded at them.

"I'll be quick," Itachi told me before leaving.

I found the inn and asked if there was a doctor in the village. She indicated me to a big building near the now frozen river. When I entered it, I was taken back by the fact it was a clinic, with maybe around thirty beds separated by white curtains in the main room.

"Hello, how may I help you?" a nurse asked me. She was carrying a big pile of clean sheets.

"I was…stabbed in the thigh almost ten days ago." She frowned. "I have been traveling and walking since."

"Please follow me."

I ended up in a bed there, on antibiotics to fight the infection that had started to settle and with staples closing my wound. The doctor and nurse scolded me for traveling because it was what had gotten me in this position.

Lovely.

Kinzoku was…animated. It was the kind of town he would need to go to on missions for the Akatsuki and on some missions for Konoha now. He really hoped this Shinobu was not in the obvious Red-Light district.

Itachi raised a brow at the casino named 'Shinobu'. Was it what Shisui had meant? A casino?

"Stay close," he told Haruto and Mari. Itachi stopped a waitress, who was wearing a revealing outfit like all the other waitresses, if there was a Shinobu. The waiters were…not better, all of them were shirtless with short pairs of short.

"Are you asking for me?" a woman asked from behind him. They all turned around to see a woman wearing a long emerald dress. It was still provoking but not as revealing. "Oh my, you look like Shisui-kun."

"He sent me." She raised one of her define brows and moved her long copper-colored hair in her back.

"Follow me." They did and were in a big, luxurious office. It was overlooking the town, the lights contrasting with the whiteness of the snow. "Please sit down." Mari and Haruto did, but Itachi remained up. "You shinobi always have a stick in your butt." He frowned.

Mari narrowed her eyes when Haruto snickered.

"Are these the two refugees seeking shelter?" Itachi frowned slightly. "Shisui sent me a message. He said I would know who they are by…his cousin." Her red lips smiled slyly, her dark blue eyes looked up and down at him. "I am guessing you are Itachi."

"What do you want in exchange?"

"Well, life isn't free. I can't have the kid work, but I can guarantee them some form of housing if the woman is willing to work." Mari tensed.

"What kind of job are we talking about?" Itachi asked her firmly. He was not going to let these two here if it meant prostitution. He would find Shisui and strangle him if it was the case.

"I…I don't think I would be good to…do what these girls…"

"Don't judge a book by its cover," she interrupted them. "The girls and boys you have seen in the casino come from nothing and were treated like nothing. It can be seen as degrading, but it got them out of the street. They don't sell themselves anyway, unless they want to. I'm the one establishment in the whole district who has some morals." Shinobu looked at Mari. "Do you have any skills that could be useful."

"Well, I was hired to be his nanny, and private tutor."

"She knows a lot of things!" Haruto added. Shinobu leaned on her desk, giving them a deep view of her cleavage. Itachi was unfazed, his eyes stuck on her face. Haruto blushed and tried to look away, his eyes always going back to her.

"What things exactly?"

"It would be anything from school education to how to behave in society depending on the setting."

"I think I can work with that." Shinobu rolled her shoulders. "I don't want people to make a life out of working for me. I want them to get back on their feet and live a good, honest life. No one can do it if they can't read." Mari furrowed her brows. "Housing for you and your ward against teaching."

"I can do that."

"You should know some are not…well, willing to change I guess."

"It doesn't scare me."

Itachi followed them. The building housed many workers of the casino, some of them who even had children due to their previous…occupation. As Mari and Haruto looked around their tiny place, Shinobu went outside, telling Itachi to follow her. She leaned on the railing, looking at the drunk people walking around in the night and colorful lights of the obvious brothel in front of the building.

"You do not trust me," she stated calmly.

"I do not know you." She smiled faintly.

"Shisui-kun trusts me, he would not have sent you here otherwise. If anything, trust him."

"Hn." Shisui had trusted Danzou too. Shinobu chuckled.

"What if we talked around a drink. I'll tell you my sad life story and how I met him and then you can decide whether you can trust me or not." He didn't want to linger here but…he also had to make sure Mari and Haruto would be fine.

"Alright." He brought food for the two and told them he would come back later to say goodbye.

He was back in her office at the casino.

"Shinobu is not my real name," she started. "I don't know my real name. My mother was a prostitute who got syphilis after I was born and died. I don't have memories of her. Eventually, I was taken by a brothel as a kamuro, I was taking care of oiran until I was at an age where…I would become one myself. Do you know that there is a ritualistic deflowering?" It was not something Itachi would think of. He shook his head. "Well, it happens when a girl reaches sexual maturity, around thirteen or fourteen. It happened to me, and the man…when he saw me, he paled and ran away. The owners of the brothel kicked me out because they saw it as failure. I found myself in the street, stealing and mugging people to live. I had to run away from samurais often. I would see this place and…wonder how it was inside. I have…sold myself a few times to find a warm shelter for the coldest nights of the year. Then, it changed when I met Shisui-kun three years ago."

"Did you have a thing together?" She smiled fondly.

"Oh yes, a very enjoyable thing even." Right, Itachi did not need to know Shisui had a sex life. "He didn't tell me much about why he was here, only that he needed to find someone for his boss and that they had fled here. Long story short, we had a very nice, passionate four-month affair. I am three years older than he is and he did not know much about women bu…"

"Please spare me this part," he mumbled, rubbing his temple.

"Of course. Well, he got his guy. However, before he left, he told me he'd help me out. During those four months, I had told him everything and also that I had tried to work in the casino. The owner turned out to be the man who ran away and got me kicked out. He yelled at me and told me to leave him alone. Shisui…'nicely' asked him why."

"He was your father, wasn't he?"

"Exactly. I am the spitting image of my dead mother apparently." She looked down. "I wanted revenge because now, I knew he had run off on me so…Shisui made him sign the papers saying he was giving me ownership of the casino. After that…I killed him." She pointed to her right. "Right against the wall, I stabbed him. Shisui got rid of the body and told me even if he was leaving and would most probably not come back, at least he was putting a roof above my head." If Shisui loved her he could come back.

Sure, Itachi was not an example to follow but…if there was one thing that kept his head out of the water it was his relationship with Akane.

"He has not come back since?" Shinobu shook her head.

"The last thing I told him was that I wanted to be known as 'Shinobu' now and that I loved him. He said he could not say these words back because he couldn't stay and 'didn't want to trap me into a rocky relationship like some of his friends were'."

Screw him, the implication was clear.

"He said he was sorry and that he would not forget me, but that we had to move on. Then he left." She smirked, moving her finger on her desk. "After fucking me on my desk of course." She was doing it on purpose. "So, do you think I am going to hurt them? My goal for the past three years has been to help people who were in my situation before."

"You have money."

"I do. A lot even." She sounded smug.

"Bribery will not work on you then?"

"Not likely, and shinobi are easy to spot. There are few of them, so we, at least I, know to spot them." Itachi pursed his lips. "You are free to come back or send me a message to check on them if you wish to."

"I don't see another good choice to this situation anyway," Itachi admitted quietly. "I am going to put my trust in you Shinobu-san." It was faint, but she seemed genuinely touched and relieved by this.

"I keep my word. I didn't have a good upbringing, but I will keep my word. I know too well how it feels to be the one betrayed." He nodded and stood up. "What is her name?"

"I am sorry?" She chuckled, amused.

"There are two reasons why a man would not look at me twice. He is gay, or he is deeply in love and faithful to a fault. I do not think you are gay so, what is her name?"

"It doesn't matter, she doesn't want…" He stopped himself from continuing.

"If there are feelings, then maybe she only needs to see you as safe and reliable in every situation." He turned around and left. "It was nice to meet you Itachi-kun." He glanced at her above her shoulder and nodded.

He told Haruto and Mari goodbye, saying that if they needed, he was from Konoha and would need to contact the people there. He left and went back to the first village they went through, hoping Akane had found a doctor.

He needed to be safe and reliable. He thought he was and then she left. Shinobu was speaking without knowing.

When he reached the village, he asked the inn keeper, who indicated him the clinic. Once there, he was slightly taken back by the number of occupied beds.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" a nursed asked him.

"I am looking for a young woman, Sasaki Hana." She raised her brows.

"Oh, are you her boyfriend? You sure look handsome."

"Is she still here?"

"Yes, we couldn't let her go on her own with the state of her leg. Come on, follow me."

He followed her to the back of the room. The curtains were closed around the bed, but he recognized Akane's voice. She sounded awake and not in pain.

"Tachibana-sensei, Hana-chan's boyfriend is here."

"Is he the one who made her walk with this big of a wound in her thigh?" a gruffy voice retorted bitterly. "Because I have some words."

"I was the stubborn one who walked," Akane defended him. "Masashi-kun, is it you?" Her great-grandfather's name, really?

"Yes," he replied, stepping forward instinctively.

"Doctor, can he come inside?" the doctor grumbled a few things and accepted.

Akane had dark circles under her eyes but was less pale. She had bathed, was wearing a white gown and the doctor was taking care of her wound. There were staples closing it now, but it was still red and a little bit swollen.

She smiled at him. She was tired.

"I'm okay, I have antibiotics."

"There really was an infection then." The doctor glared at him.

"You should go get a room at the inn when you can, you look exhausted."

"I will, I just need to tell you about a few things before." The doctor left a few minutes later, a new bandage now around her thigh. Itachi took his place on the stool.

"I'm taking everything went well?" He nodded. "So, this Shinobu, girl or boy?"

"Shisui is straight." She nodded, but then blinked when she understood the implication. "They're…"

"Don't tell me. The less I know where they are exactly, the less I can potentially spill to the higher-ups." He nodded.

"How about your thigh?"

"Well, an infection started to settle but it was slow. I have antibiotics to fight it and just got off some heavier treatment like an hour ago. I walked a lot so my wound couldn't close, I didn't care for it properly and the moisture of my sweat just…made it bad looking. Your painkillers were too efficient in the end."

"Hn."

"They said it should have been way worst and that I was healing quicker than normal so…" She leaned toward him. "Uzumaki and all of that help."

"It better." He relaxed a little. "How long do you have to stay here?"

"Here at the clinic? Four days, I have two to go. In town ten days total, Tachibana-sensei was clear he would not let me go without removing the staples first." She sighed. "We rely a lot on medical ninjutsu and we realize it when we have to go through traditional medicine."

"They know what they're doing, it's the most important. You're getting better." He stood up. "Should I book one or two rooms at the inn?" She blinked at him.

"I'm fine Itachi, you can go home when you ca…" He frowned at her. "Don't you have responsibilities and all of that?"

"They can wait. Now, one or two rooms?" She pursed her lips and sighed when she realized he wouldn't budge.

"If there are two beds then one room is fine." He nodded.

"I'll come back later."

"Sure." He left.

He had left two weeks ago; they could live without him for two more.

"So…she kept making sexual innuendos about her and Shi…" Itachi nodded, keeping me from finishing my sentence. My crutches were resting against the table.

We were at the inn. I had my final medical appointment tomorrow, when the doctor would remove the staples and then…we would go home. He would go back to Konoha and I would go back to Kiri. We'd go our separate ways, and it would be for the best.

Yup. For the best. Had I gotten used to his presence again? Yes, and very quickly but…there was this tension, this awkwardness between us that was caused by our past together and…

Well, physically speaking I was turning eighteen today, he was seventeen so we were horny teenagers. The longer we were together, the more likely we would end up jumping on each other and tear each other's clothes off. I knew I wanted to.

Sex did not necessarily mean a relationship so maybe we could just hook up and then…

No, nope Akane, don't get down that path!

"Are you okay?" Itachi asked me curiously. I drank my glass of water in one go.

"Perfectly fine!" I stood up and grabbed my crutches once my dinner was finished. "I'm going to go stretch out my legs."

"Wait I'm go…"

"No!" He raised a brow, and I couldn't help the blush from creeping up onto my face. "I…I need to be alone a little bit."

"Okay…"

I sighed when I was outside, glancing at the slowly melting snow. It was May in three days after all, the season of snow was over except for the heart of the Land of Iron. I took the lucky charm Itachi had gifted me years ago from my pocket and ran my thumb on the raven on it. It was…easy. It was so easy to fall for Itachi all over again and forget what happened years ago just to be in his arms again.

It was a very short-term want though. On the long-term, I had needs, and he would too, and we wouldn't be able to fulfill that for one another. Giving into temptation would only hurt.

"Hey." I jumped and turned around. Itachi's eyes were soft yet concerned. "Are you really okay?"

"Yes, I was just…overthinking." He pursed his lips and noticed my lucky charm.

"You still have it?"

"Of course, always." He looked genuinely surprised, and I cleared my throat. "It's a lucky charm, I need all the luck I can get. I don't want to be unlucky like Tsunade-san and realize it's in our genes."

"Wait, your genes?" I blinked at him.

"Have I not told you?" He shook his head. "Tsunade-san and my father are related like Naru and I are. Mito was my great grandaunt." He just…stared.

"Is this a joke?" I shook my head quietly. "You've never thought about bringing it up before?"

"It didn't seem important, and with the number of things I have learned about my family since I got here…I didn't feel like talking about it." His eyes were burning through me. "I'm tired."

I had a shower when we got back at the inn. Itachi opted for the onsen next door. I put on my gray yukata and sat on my futon and looked at the sky outside. Days were getting longer.

When I'd go home, I would…need to go to the Resistance HQ. Shortly after Ao-san confirmed Yagura was under a genjutsu, I was taken there against my will to explain to Mei-sensei what I knew. I had to bullshit my way through the explanations, making it believable without making me sound deranged. I was a part of it now. She wanted me to contact Minato-san about it, not only to have support but to free Yagura.

I had seen Saiken. With the Shinigami Claw, I had been able to see Saiken in Utakata-senpai. They had told me that if I were to use the Claw to break Yagura's genjutsu, it would work but it would also kill him in the process. I didn't want to kill him. After all, who knew what he knew?

To break the genjutsu we needed an Uchiha basically. I wanted to find a way to extract Shisui from the Akatsuki too but now…Hell, Minato-san couldn't just send an Uchiha to the Land of Water, and they'd need to be qualified. Honestly, at this point I'd pick Itachi to do the job, but then his sickness…

"You know, maybe the onsen would help with the tension," Itachi told me as he entered the room.

"Being naked with strangers is weird and it's the hill I'm willing to die on," I retorted quietly, cracking my back.

"Nobody really looks at each other."

"Well, I do, and I don't need to compare myself with other women and feel bad." I could feel his gaze on my head. I glanced at him above my shoulder and was surprised at the surprise in his eyes. "What? I have to live with a B-cup, I don't want to feel bad at seeing women with big boobs."

"I just…never realized you had issues with your body image."

"You don't know a quarter of the issues I have in my head Itachi." I didn't know why but he looked down at this, almost in guilt. "It's fine you know; I don't really ask for help or think about them. I just sweep them under the rug until they come back to haunt me."

"…I think you're perfect the way you are." I widened my eyes at him, stunned.

Had he…just complimented me on my appearance? Was it what had just happened?

Itachi raised a brow.

"What is it? You know that."

"I…huh…I don't remember you ever saying anything about the way I looked, good or bad. No wait, you'd say stuff when you didn't like my outfit."

"That can't be right." I pursed my lips and slowly, a frown formed on his face. "I had to have said something at some point."

"…I think I'd remember it." He quickly averted his eyes. "Huh, it's okay you know, there's no law saying you have to give people compliments and every…"

"You're not just 'people'." He looked…disappointed in himself.

I went to him on all four and sat on my heels. I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it really is okay. You struggle with talking about things like that, I know that." He shook his head weakly.

"It's not, it…" I hugged him around the neck. He sighed and leaned his cheek against my shoulder. "You shouldn't have to comfort me on your birthday."

"You remembered?" He put his hand on my arm.

"Every year." He sniffed. "I forgot it enough as it is." I smiled faintly. He never was good at remembering my birthday or presents, that's true.

"You always have a lot on your plate." He moved and glared at me.

"Be mad at me for once." I blinked, confused. He angrily gave me a present. "Just be mad. I've been the worst boyfriend to you, I know it so; why aren't you mad?"

"I…" I unwrapped the present nervously. It was a maneki neko, a black and adorable one. "It's cute." Itachi stood up and walked away, running his hands on his face. "Do you really want to do it right now?"

"Yes!" He turned around, his eyes desperate. "You always do the same thing! We both mess up and we both need to apologize, but you do it and tell me to forget it and move on! You never let me apologize, you're never…mad at me when I can see now I've done everything wrong and…" He put his hands on his hips. "Why aren't you mad?"

"Probably because I know our relationship only happened because of the circumstances and not because it was meant to be or anything." He kind of…stopped moving altogether. I sighed. "I've never…expected anything from you as a boyfriend to be honest, as long as you kept coming it was all I really wanted and needed. I knew it was bound to break. What we had here…maybe deep down I knew it was doomed from the beginning and never expected anything from you either, then it was confirmed by your behavior and…" Quietly, he sat back down in front of me.

"Am I reliable?" I blinked, taken back.

"It's…"

"Akane, please. I need to know how you came to feel like you felt." I sighed.

"You're not giving up."

"I'm using the Sharingan to keep you trapped in a time loop if you don't talk."

"Look, as a shinobi you are more than reliable, and as a brother and son too I guess now, and fr…"

"Akane."

"I think you'd be a more reliable boyfriend to a girl from Konoha or from your clan." I shrugged. "I know my place. I know I'm not…enough, and that I'm not in your priorities." He clenched his fists on his pants. "I've always known. When I said you had not changed, it's because ultimately, you never open up to me, go do your own thing and I'm left behind."

"I didn't have a choice before," he whispered in a hoarse voice.

"You did Itachi, you could have talked to me, and I would have gladly told you your plan sucked and that you would just let Sasuke fend for himself…" I looked away and took a deep breath. "You fucking died. You…you died, you messed your brother up so bad and then you weren't even there to pick up the pieces of your actions!" The anger I thought disappeared was back. Itachi wouldn't look at me. "You have no idea of the kind of shit he went through! After the war? He trapped all bijuus and tried to put an end to the shinobi system, Naruto fought him, and they both lost an arm! You were not there when he was in jail, tied up and covered in seals. When he moved back to Konoha, he couldn't even face Naruto or Sakura, or Kakashi and he'd stay inside all day long. Itachi, you were not here when he needed someone to talk to about the darkest things going through his mind, I was, and I wasn't any better. I started resenting you then because I couldn't help but think that maybe, maybe if you had told me about your plan, then Sasuke wouldn't have been half as messed up." I took a deep breath. "A relationship goes both ways. I can't see you as reliable when you don't see me as reliable. I…"

My heart was beating wildly, and I could feel a lump in my throat. Everything needed to come out anyway.

"But the worst was that then, as I built a life in Konoha, I felt like I was living off your sacrifice. Shisui's sacrifice. I resented you so much for not cleaning up your own mess, but I resented you more for leaving because I couldn't even scream at you and tell you what a fucking asshole you were. When we…reunited, the one thing I thought was that you could have a happy life this time, with your family, and friends in your village. I thought that if I could do that…help with that then I would, I should. God knows you never had someone fight for you and we both know where it led you." He licked his lips and looked away. "I thought you'd talk to me about the coup, all of it because yeah, your brother didn't tell me but literally showed me a few memories you had showed him." He closed his eyes painfully.

"You were never supposed to see any of this," he muttered painfully.

"Well tough luck." I gulped and wiped a treacherous tear. "You didn't say a word. I could see you were…you never said anything. You put me aside, again so I started to go my own way, not just for you but because I would not let your parents be killed, I wouldn't let Sasuke become an orphan if I could help it and then…when they needed you, you were going in a wall and kept making the same choice over and over again. I know my place, and you've made it very clear the last time we saw each other in the village. Whether it is the crest on your back, of the leaf on your forehead protector, it never failed once to remind me we were not from the same world and would never be. How am I supposed to rely on you when I'm always the least important?" I bit my bottom lip. "I don't even care if I sound selfish, everybody deserves to be someone's priority and I should be too. You…you said you loved me once, just once Itachi, in so many years. You never said I was pretty or anything. How am I supposed to believe you ever really loved me?" He mumbled something under his breath. "What?"

"Why else would I have been with you?" he repeated, his voice even hoarser than before.

"Shisui asked you to keep an eye on me, you did but then saw I had feelings for you, you felt bad an entertained me and when you left you pitied me and told me what I wanted to hear. Maybe you thought you still had this responsibility when we got here, I don't know but point is…"

"You think I lied to you; I get it."

"Why else would you keep me in the dark about everything? There's no point in a relationship if you can't rely on your partner when you need them." I exhaled slowly. "I can't see you as reliable, or even trust you as a boyfriend because I know if I need help, but that Konoha, your clan or Sasuke also need help, then you wouldn't be here. You're just one more person who left me behind to fend for myself, I'm used to it. The others had the decency to stay dead and not try to be a hero when I died."

"…what?" I lowered my left sleeve a little, showing him the marks.

"Three years ago, I went to Uzushio to make my seal evolve. I met the founder of my clan before a great series of tests in which I died the way my predecessors died." He frowned at that. "Anyway, he told me you were the one who threw a tantrum when we were with him and the Shinigami and somehow, you convinced the Shinigami to send you back with me! And then you just…put me aside like a toy you wanted to keep for later."

"You're not a toy," he denied firmly. "You never were a toy to me." I gulped with difficulty.

"Point is, I'm in love with you, I'm yours and have told you so before but I can't pretend I don't understand you're not mine. You never were and will never be because they'll always take you away."

"It's my family and my village Akane," he whispered. "I can't just leave them."

"I know that. That's why I removed myself from the equation. I understand I'm neither." Even if he were family to me once upon a time. Even if he were the father of my children.

My perfect twins, how I hoped they would have been accepted by their family.

"That's not what I meant."

"Frankly I don't care." He looked like I had slapped him, his whole demeanor indicating defeat. "It's frustrating because I don't even hate you. I…stupidly really want you to be happy, and I know for a fact I can't do this anymore. I can't build my life back forever. I made my peace with us, we're in the past. I have a mission to do, and you have a shot at a life. I didn't send Tsunade-san's my brother's file and the one about the infection for nothing, it's…"

"You did?" he asked me, his eyes so big he looked like a confused kid. I sighed.

"Yeah. Anyway, you're not a criminal and you'll fall in love with a nice girl, you'll get married and have children probably, and I'll…pull my own weight this time instead of staying under the radar. I have people to lose this time and I can't fail them. Whatever you saw in me…you'll get them from someone else. You don't need me anymore and I get it. Don't stay hooked to a ghost of the past Itachi and move on." He just stood up and left. "Ita…" The door was closed shut.

I had not intended on telling him any of this, especially now. Yet once I had started, I couldn't stop and…

I burst into tears. I thought I was over this. I thought I had made my peace with not being…with not being seen the way I was seeing him. Yet now, now that he had left again I just…

I wasn't even entirely over seeing him again after five years and now…

I slipped in my futon and just cried in my pillow like an idiot.

The door was opened just a few minutes after I had started crying. I knew it was Itachi. He closed the door and, instead of going to his own bed, slipped beneath my blankets to hug me around the waist. He pressed me tightly against him, kissing my head, then my neck and my shoulder as if it would take my pain away. Without a word, he climbed on top of me to lay on my other side, my face now in his chest. I gritted my teeth and punched his chest repeatedly, although weakly.

"What was I supposed to do to make you stay?" I asked him in a whisper. He didn't say anything and just squeezed me tightly against him. I couldn't move a muscle and his face was buried in the crook of my neck, his leg around mine to keep them against the futon. I just cried harder.

He didn't say anything. He didn't move either.

He stayed and let me weep to my heart content until I fell asleep in his arms.

Thanks for reading. I hope you have liked it, please do let me know in reviews! Thanks to Amaterasu53, Guest(s) and Blue-Happens for their reviews! Yes, I do enjoy hurting my characters, I can't lie about it ^^'.

Bye!