18: A Fox off his mind.

Monday, April 17, 2017, evening

My feet carried me almost automatically to Itachi's apartment. In my mind, I was here and somewhere else at the same time. When I had climbed out of the window, I had been so sure what I was doing, but the closer I got to the small side street, the more restless I became. Would Itachi even be at home? And would he want to see me after our rough goodbye on Friday?

I decided not to worry about such ifs and buts until they actually happened. It didn't help anyway, it just made me more nervous than I already was. My hands trembled slightly as my index finger hovered over the bell button that belonged to Itachi's apartment. Shit, there they were again. The ifs. Because what if Itachi heard my voice and didn't even open?

After a short hesitation and a shred of guilty conscience, I rang the bell of the person who lived above Itachi. It cracked and the croaking voice of an old woman came out of the speaker. ".. Yes, hello?" Of course, she had to be old. It would have been best if I had also rang her out of bed. Fuck.

"Good evening, forgive the late disturbance, but I have locked myself out and have to get into the stairwell so that I can go to my apartment. The second key is under the doormat. Would it be possible for you to let me in, Obaa-san?" I fibbed wildly.

"Oh, child, sure, I'll open the door for you, wait." It hurt me a little to take advantage of the gullibility and kindness of seniors for my vile purposes. But after my friendly "Thank you very much" and the whirring of the lock, an anticipation grew in me that trampled down any guilty conscience. Up on the third floor, I was pleased to see that a narrow glow of light shimmered under my targeted apartment door. So Itachi was home. I took a deep breath, braced myself for all kinds of buts, such as being kicked out by him right away, and rang the bell.

With a racing heart I watched the door slit. A slight shadow threw itself on it, then nothing happened at first. My inner devil in its self-hatred was already expecting that the figure would move away again and I could sneak back to the estate, but then the door opened and Itachi Uchiha stood in front of me. He wore black sweatpants, a dark gray T-shirt and a toothbrush in the corner of his mouth. His still wet hair curled slightly. In the background, a song by Linkin Park was playing. "Hinapa," he mumbled past the brush, took it out of his mouth, sucked toothpaste from his lower lip, swallowed, shuddered briefly and asked a little more clearly, "What are you doing here?"

"Hi.. Uh.. Can I come in?" I asked shyly. Every spark of self-confidence that had brought me here had crept into a lonely corner of my mind. Yes, he asked the important questions: What was I actually doing here?!

Itachi raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah.. um.. Of course." He stepped aside and let me in. The last time I had been here, it had been dark. But now I saw Itachi's apartment in all its glory. And I had to say: In contrast to Madara and just like Kakashi, this home was a perfect fit for its resident. Itachi apparently lived on a narrow footing, but not in some way ramshackled like Kakashi, who was lost in his depression. The apartment was small but clean and tidy. There were no dishes on the narrow kitchenette, the two chairs at the tiny table had been straightened, and the corner of the rolled out futon, which I could see behind an open sliding door made of wood and parchment, gave the impression of a person who meticulously plucked everything into shape after getting up in the morning. Next to the dining table above a small, cozy-looking sofa hung a print of an oil painting showing two purple lilies in a glass vase. To be honest, this apartment seemed a bit sterile. Perhaps except for the picture, there was no decoration or personal belongings on display. Basically, anyone could have lived here and I wouldn't be surprised if every piece of furniture and also the picture was exactly as Itachi had taken it from the landlord.

"Did something happen?" Itachi asked from behind and I turned to him. He still had the toothbrush in his hand, lowered the volume of the music on his smartphone and looked at me with a mixture of concern and surprise.

"Um... No... It's.. nothing happened."

"That doesn't sound particularly honest," he continued.

"Yeah, don't worry, it's all fine," I assured him and smiled cautiously. My mind had trouble focusing on something. Because even if this apartment didn't give the impression that someone seriously lived in it, everything smelled like Itachi. And damn, it made me crazy.

He nodded slowly. "Okay, if you say so.. Then why are you here?"

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the beguiling scent around me, and said meekly, "I. I wanted to apologize to you for what I said to you on Friday. Or rather: in what tone. That was.. all in affect. I overreacted. You had every reason to be mad at me. I didn't take your duty seriously and I'm sorry about that. I don't think it's good that you.. well, that you're not my bodyguard anymore." I tried to see if I could smile and was glad that this was the case. By doing so I hoped to lighten the mood a bit, with Itachi staring at me expressionlessly. "People at the university have already asked about you, you know? You were missed, by your fan club and Shino and.. me." I nervously pressed my lips together and smoothed the hair over my ears. In my mental rehearsal, it had been so much easier. Apologizing was actually hard.

Itachi took a deep breath, pulled his shoulders back a little and nodded slowly. "Thank you. But I also have to apologize to you. My tone had not been appropriate. Yes, I was angry, but that's no excuse to be verbally abusive to you. That wasn't professional."

"Can we..", I began, breathed courage for a moment and asked, "Can we talk about it? Because I have the feeling that there is something between us that is not really good for both of us."

"Yes, I think that's necessary," he agreed and offered me his couch. I squatted nervously and after Itachi had brought his toothbrush into the bathroom, he also sat down next to me. "So.. I don't know exactly where to start."

"But I do," I said quickly. He turned his gaze to me. "Was it simply an overreaction and thus misinterpretation on my part or were you really jealous?"

In Itachi's red eyes, I recognized a dark glow that reminded me suspiciously of Madara. "I.." He cleared his throat and looked at his hands, which he had rested on his knees. "You haven't misinterpreted anything. I WAS jealous."

"Even though you tried to ignore what happened on Wednesday."

"Yes.."

"Um.." My heart was pounding up to my throat and a small remnant of the dinner, which I probably hadn't completely vomited out, wanted to crawl up my oesophagus. "I.. I don't want to embarrass you or anything, and if it's not the case, then that's ok and all, but.. Can you be honest? Itachi.. Do you feel anything for me?"

Itachi was silent. His fingers cramped, causing his knuckles to stand out white on the fair skin. Very quietly he said, "I shouldn't, but yes.."

"Why shouldn't you?" I asked immediately, looking at his profile, which was incessantly directed at the ground. "What's wrong about that?"

"Everything," he replied and closed his eyes. "Everything, Hinata. As your bodyguard, it is or, well, was my job to ensure your safety, and not to develop feelings for you. Especially in our case, this is inappropriate."

"Why? What is so special about our case?"

Itachi sighed heavily. "Because our clans are enemies. I lied to you, Hinata. I know, at least to some extent, what Madara is planning. He has given me the task not only to protect you, but also to gather information about the Gin'nome-kai. He knew that I would only get the opportunity to do so if I also provided Hiashi with information about the Akaiisan-kai in return, and he gave me permission to do so. You have probably already guessed it, after all, you are a smart woman, but it is true that war is approaching. Madara intends to hold it as bloodless as possible, but he prepares himself and the clan for things to get serious."

"So..", I murmured and had to swallow this confirmation of all my fears together with my dry saliva, ".. so I am the pawn?"

Itachi looked at me. There was clearly melancholy in his eyes. "No. You were my alibi. I played the double agent and I could only do that because of you. I know what this must look like for you now, but we are aware that you actually have nothing to do with any of this. I should get you out of there before it escalates. And I failed in that because I wasn't able to take my personal feelings out of the game."

"Is Madara mad at you because of that?"

"Yes," he laughed humorlessly. "Yes, he is. I didn't go into too much detail because I don't want him to know the real reason for my withdrawal, but all in all I still failed, and that, to put it politely, pisses him off massively." He lowered his eyes and said to my opal necklace, "Hinata.. I'm sorry for what happened. I didn't have myself under control and that means for you that I can't protect you. Therefore.. I can't let you go back. The fact that you're here now is my chance to make amends. I can fix my mistake."

After a short silence, I snorted contemptuously. "Tell me, do you all think I'm incompetent?"

"What?" Itachi gasped, his eyes fixed on my face in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

I grimaced to match my inner displeasure. "You and Madara, you treat me like a damsel in distress who can't take care of herself. I realize this may sound weird considering all the things I've had to endure, but I know, well, I have a rough idea of what's going on. As you said, I'm quite smart. I resist Hiashi, in my own way."

"How?"

"I can't tell you, but trust me. There were a few hurdles, but I overcame them. It won't be long before the Gin'nome-kai is history, at least Hiashi will be. You don't need to start a war. And you don't have to put any lives in danger to save me. I'm well aware of the danger I'm in, but it's worth it." I couldn't suppress a short smile. "Ironic when you look at it that way. I am my own pawn sacrifice."

"Hinata.. that.. I can't let that happen," Itachi breathed, turned to me and put his cool hands on the sides of my neck. "Even outside of my duty, I don't want you to be harmed."

"What's a bit of damage compared to destroying an empire without significant casualties?"

"What about you? You are the casualty. We all know that your safety is the biggest sticking point."

"Don't worry about me." His fingers twitched. "I prepared Hanabi and when things get dicey, we flee."

"I'm afraid you're underestimating all this."

"Do you really think that? Don't you think I can judge what my father is like after more than eighteen years? Itachi, you are forgetting an important fact in your grandiose plan: it is not my safety that is at stake here, but Hanabi's. She is innocent. That day with Isshiki should have opened the eyes of each of you. Hiashi had her raised differently than me, she doesn't have this pressure on her, but she almost followed in my footsteps. She is not allowed to do that. Of course, I was the one who suffered in the end, but I only averted this suffering from my sister. I can handle the pain, she cannot. If she is broken, I have nothing left."

"Hinata..", Itachi whispered, sliding his hands down to my shoulders and digging his fingers into my bony flesh. "Please.. I can't accept that."

"You have to," I said firmly, now embracing his face in turn and looking him firmly in the eyes. "It's my decision. Let me do it my way. I can protect Hanabi, but it has to be permanent, and only I can do it. Trust me, Itachi. This is the only way I can prevent unnecessary blood from being spilled. Because honestly," I giggled sarcastically, "you already know that the Kaminone-kai is on my father's side and he's getting help in Fukuoka, right? This is not just a battle between the Hyuuga and the Uchiha. It's much bigger than last time and this isn't done with a small assassination. It will be a bloodbath, for both sides. How do you think you can protect Hanabi and me from this?"

Itachi opened his mouth as if to answer, but couldn't.

In confirmation of my own words, I stroked his smooth, freckled cheek with my thumb. "I have to do this. For her. This is our only way out. I send my father and the entire Gin'nome-kai to their doom, once and for all. Just give me some time."

I could see that Itachi was struggling. In his eyes, two sides fought a brutal battle: his protective instinct and his will to trust me. The latter apparently won. He jerked his head. "Okay. But when the time comes, come to me. I'm still a capable fighter, you know?"

Without even thinking about my actions, I smiled, kissed him, and whispered, "I know, Itachi."

This contact changed his facial expressions. Every worry on his face had given way to something else, something.. longing. I hadn't moved as far away from him as I had been before, and so the distance we both took at the same time was of little importance. We pressed our lips together in a greedy and at the same time loving manner, surrendered to an urge that completely took over us and made us forget everything. I felt his tongue on my lips, opened it for him and came to meet him with my own. It was so infinitely tender and immediately I smelled a mild spring day, grass, wood, in addition to Itachi's perfume and shower gel and shampoo and generally his randy skin. This contact transported me back under this lime tree, far away from everything that had happened afterwards.

My hands drove into Itachi's soft, damp hair, whirling it around, leaving his head no chance to escape, which he didn't even want to try. His hands brushed down my chest and sides to my hips, where they carefully slid under the hem of my T-shirt. I gasped softly as his cool fingers touched my skin, and I took the opportunity that our mouths were no longer busy with each other to whisper silently, "Sleep with me."

No further words were necessary. No open confirmation or consent was required. Itachi just kissed me again, this time more demanding. His hands grabbed me and pulled me onto his lap. In a slow, tender movement, he slipped the T-shirt over my head and undid my bra without further hesitation. I had to grin into our constant kiss. It made me unexpectedly happy how impatient he was.

Itachi began to caress his way from my lips down my chin to my neck, where he took my skin between his teeth, sucked lightly on it and let out a growl. The tickling of his tongue triggered a soft moan and I pushed my pelvis forward to signal that I liked everything he was doing. His hands responded by undoing the clasp of my skirt with ease and pulling the fabric off my hips. Then his fingers wandered purposefully under the panties onto my buttocks, clawed bitterly into my flesh and elicited another, higher-pitched moan from me, which Itachi immediately caught with his lips by attacking my mouth again. His kisses were.. addictive. I never wanted to stop. I'd just cut off his head and staple it to my lips. Yes, that sounded appropriate.

At irregular intervals, Itachi dug his hands into my cheeks, pushing me closer and closer to him and gradually I felt in my crotch how his body was pumping blood into a necessary region. This feeling alone aroused me so much that I released my fingers from his hair and embraced his semi-stiff member. Now it was Itachi's turn to gasp loudly and he bit my lower lip unexpectedly hard before he kissed me again. Together with the fabric on top, I massaged his erection to full size and when even I could tell that the pants were tight, I lifted the elastic waistband of his sweatpants and boxer shorts and freed his cock from its prison.

His boner briefly flipped against my navel and when I felt for it to rub it with pleasure, I couldn't hold on to myself, broke my intense kiss with Itachi and looked down between our bodies. There, the lower part still covered by the waistband and thus pressed against Itachi's lower abdomen, a thing protruded into the air, which made me lose faith in every fucking coincidence. Inevitably, although my head had to be in the here and now, I wondered why Itachi was so perfectly equipped. His penis was so thick that my thumb and index finger were just touching, put estimated seven or seven and a half inches on the bar and was bent a bit downwards. A tiny drop of precum had squeezed out of the tip.

I must have stared down with interest or whatever, because Itachi asked, slightly amused, "What's the matter?"

"You are..", I began, moistened my lips, swallowed and carefully scratched with the nail of my index finger down the shaft towards the root, ".. perfect."

Itachi snorted. "Thank you.. But so are you." Shortly before my finger had reached the lower third of his member and was able to push the waistband further down and I might have seen incontrovertible proof, Itachi blocked my view by leaning forward, circling my left nipple with the tip of his tongue, taking it into his mouth and sucking on it. All of a sudden, every disturbing thought was swept out of my mind. I moaned softly, closed my eyes, and grabbed Itachi's cock to pump it as planned. His tongue on my nipple quickened, he released it from his mouth with a smacking pop and bit into it gently as his fingers dug back into my ass.

My free hand, not working on his member, slid under the hem of his T-shirt and stroked his smooth skin. Itachi obviously understood this as an invitation. The elastic of my underpants snapped softly as he pulled himself out from underneath, and he hastily stripped off his shirt, just so he could go after my chest and butt much more greedily than before.

But I wanted something else. I pushed him away with both hands so that he hit the backrest and blinked at me in surprise. With a hot glow in my eyes, I let my gaze glide from his innocently puzzled face over his exposed upper body. The red, stylized flame on his right upper arm immediately caught my eye. It seemed to be the symbol of the ANBU. My fingers drew gentle waves on his taut torso, marked by many freckles, a few birthmarks and isolated scars, whose chest heaved heavily under them. His defined abdominal muscles twitched slightly at my contact and his breath stopped as I let my index finger vibrate from his belly button down into his clean-shaven crotch, where I briefly played around the glans and then held his member straight up. I sat up a bit, breathed together with a kiss against Itachi's lips, "Fuck me like we're alone in the world," pushed my wet panties aside with my thumb and lowered myself onto him without further hesitation.

Itachi shuddered at these words and certainly at this feeling. And I did the same. It was almost as if I was kneeling in my closet, only this time it wasn't an artificial object that shoved itself into me. It was Itachi and his fucking perfect cock. With a quivering gasp, my hip approached his. I took in more and more of him until we touched and I stopped. Every possible sensation flooded my brain at that moment and when I looked into Itachi's eyes, I realized that he felt the same way. The blissful expression in his deep, glowing red irises gave me goosebumps and I surrendered to the desire that his gaze triggered in me. I kissed him forcefully and began to raise and lower my upper body slowly and evenly. Our tongues played wildly with each other; his hands helped me by guiding me in my movements. It made it easier to absorb this mass.

But suddenly one of his hands came off my butt. He grabbed me by the back of my head, pulled it back by the hair, licked my exposed neck and bit my skin. At the same time, he held my hip and began to thrust into me faster from below. I answered all this with a loud groan. My eyes curled in their sockets and I clung to his sides for help, where I could feel his tensing muscles. The friction that his penis caused in me drove me crazy, and I could have died right here and now and everything would have been fine.

Itachi gasped loudly and darkly against my tendons, his other hand slid between my cheeks and he pressed his index finger into my anus without warning. My pelvis jerked forward, allowing even more of his cock inside me, and I brought a high-pitched whine over my lips, which were wide open in ecstasy. Together with an excited whimper, I let out a choppy "I—ta—chi..." and I clearly felt my entire abdomen contract. My muscles cramped around both foreign bodies inside me, intensifying this feeling he triggered in me. I slammed my fingernails into his shoulders, scratched his warm, slightly sweaty skin, gasped once or twice, and released my orgasm with a deep rumble.

My private parts twitched wildly around his hard member, which left me no peace, my ass gripped his hand tightly and I lowered my head gasping for air. Only now did I register that he no longer caressed my neck and had let go of my hair. Our gazes met. His eyes, gleaming like glowing rubies in the ceiling light, kindled a passion in me that I could not resist. I leaned forward, buried my fingers on the back of his neck and kissed him vigorously, as if it was my last chance to touch his lips and taste his minty saliva. Itachi stopped moving, penetrated me instead with his searing tongue, stroked my back stormily and pressed my quivering upper body closer to his. In a deep desire we clung to each other like two drowning people at a saving buoy. He was my buoy, my support, my safety in this merciless sea of fire and sweat.

Without moving away from my mouth or even slipping out of me, Itachi turned our bodies over, pressed my head into the soft backrest, held me in place with his strong hands, and began to ram his hip against mine again. I groaned, bit his lower lip demandingly, and allowed his tongue to go into battle with mine again. My fingernails dug deep notches into his scalp and I pulled him by the short, wavy hair.

Itachi broke away from my mouth again, grinned panting and his half-closed, flashing eyes spoke a lust that almost chased me over the cliff again. With my legs spread wide, I placed my feet on the edge of the seat, tensed my back to provide more resistance to his firm blows, and clasped my hands above my head so that they hit the wall every time Itachi thrusted. I hung there like a blank canvas, ready to be painted by him.

And Itachi didn't hesitate to create a masterpiece. He took his hands off my hips, put the thumb of one of them next to the slip pushed aside on my swollen clitoris and grasped my neck with the other. His fingers around my throat tightened, his thumb rubbed my clit vigorously and his thrusts became more merciless. In my head everything exploded. I moaned loudly past the pressure, and begged in my mind that he should never stop, never let go of me, never truly deliver me. It was heaven on earth and Itachi was the archangel who was only here to satisfy me, to fuck me.

My vision blurred with tears and yet I could see his face in front of me. That beautiful, perfect face. His gaze ate its way through my body to my soul and thus opened the gates to an inner force that wanted to be discharged. I pressed my abdomen further up, towards his hand and cock. My blood pooled completely in my center, growing into an ecstatic knot that robbed me of all my senses. When Itachi, who rubbed my clitoris incessantly, thrust his hip against me another, a hundredth time, a huge lightning bolt pierced my vagina, I threw my head back screaming, clawed at the backrest trembling uncontrollably and couldn't and didn't want to stop what left me through his movements. Whatever he might think, I didn't care.

It was as if fireworks were set off in my brain. Bright lights glowed on my closed eyelids, our moist, heated skin popped with every blow and an irrepressible euphoria flowed through me, which actually made me grin in my moans. I clenched my teeth, held my breath and found my salvation with a long-drawn-out "Yeeeaaahhh...". A stream of indecently desecrated water poured over Itachi's already sweaty stomach, each further thrust smacked vulgarly and his fingers on my larynx closed a little more. I opened my eyes a crack, threw every spark of my aroused fever at Itachi. His answered with the same ardor that burned me further and further in my lust.

"Itachi..." I croaked past his grip and couldn't stop a tear from running out of the corner of my eye and drying up in my hairline. "Ngghh.. Itachi..."

"Ye-hess..", he gasped, grabbed me by the hip with both hands, held it tightly, so that I could hardly have escaped if I had wanted to, and became even faster. He thrust himself into me so forcefully that I thought something had torn inside me. I screamed in pain and pleasure, whimpered and lifted my legs again. It was too much for my overstimulated libido. For the third time, my abdomen narrowed, my body vibrated, and I completely forgot how to breathe or even exist. Everything in me went out, was awakened again, only to disappear again. I disappeared, in Itachi's hands, on his hip, which rammed against me two or three more times and finally stopped with a loud moan from his lungs.

Completely exhausted, Itachi let me sink gently into the depths, his sopping pink cock sliding out of me, dragging a long, thick string with it. Sperm was still coming out of the twitching tip in small spurts, dripping onto my vulva and the completely soaked panties. In an obviously aroused mania, he picked it up with his finger and shoved it into my wet and pulsating vagina. He let it circle, further tickling my already overstimulated nerves.

"Fuuuuck," I moaned and clawed into the backrest, trembling desperately.

Itachi grinned diabolically. "Open your mouth."

Even if I had wanted to resist, I wouldn't have been able to.

Together with a lot of bodily fluids, he let his fingers slide into my mouth, brushed all the secretions on my tongue.

I closed my lips and soaked it all up. It was a bit bitter, but maybe it was just my own secretion or both of our sweat.

"What do we taste like?" Itachi asked with poorly suppressed arousal in his voice.

I scratched his fingers with my teeth, released them from my mouth with a loud pop and purred, "Absolutely perfect."

Itachi laughed breathlessly, bent down to me, laid his head on my shoulder, and whispered in a hushed voice, "You're disgusting.."

"I know," I whispered back. "And I'm sorry I messed you up."

He stroked my sides with trembling fingers and I heard and felt clearly how he took a deep breath to calm down again. "Stop that, Hinata. That was.. Shit, that was good."

I giggled dirty. "You think so?"

"Yes..", he murmured and took his head out of the crook of my neck to look at me. "Don't you?"

"Itachi, honestly," I laughed, biting my lower lip and looking at him as he knelt between my legs on the edge of the sofa, his sagging cock losing more and more size and leaning on the damp fabric of his sweatpants, "you let me come three times. So it was more like an eleven out of ten."

Itachi grinned crookedly. "That goes better, I think."

"Oh yes?" I replied with a raised eyebrow. "What would you want to do better?"

With a diabolical smile on his lips, he kissed me. "That.." He kissed me again. ".. I'll show you.." A third, much longer kiss and finally he breathed, ".. if you're good."

"Itachi..", I whispered, "you should have noticed by now that I don't really listen to you."

"Mh-hm," he muttered against my lips, licked them with the tip of his tongue and said in a clearly erotic tone of command, "I'll get you to finally obey me. So far, I just haven't used the right means."

I giggled again. "And what do they look like in your case, Uchiha-sama?"

Itachi flinched. I blinked in confusion as I saw dark clouds gathering behind his previously passionate irides. Every erotic or even romantic crackle was gone in one fell swoop. He straightened up, covered his now completely flaccid and therefore quite small member with his pants and turned his gaze away from me. It was clear that he was pulling away from me, and not just by standing up and picking up his T-shirt from the floor with his back to me. A sudden cold surrounded him, cooling my sweaty skin and making me shudder. "Um.. Did.. I.. Did I say something wrong?" I asked timidly and because of this radical change of mood I felt strangely naked, although I was wearing no less than I already was.

With the shirt in his hand, Itachi paused, tugged at a loose thread and said, still without looking at me, "I'm sorry, Hinata. What just happened here was a mistake."

Huh, such an attitude sounded familiar to me. And like Kakashi, I felt anger boiling up inside me. What was it with these men and their "I like to fuck you to hell and enjoy it, but afterwards I'll draw in my horns"?! I exhaled contemptuously, crossed my legs so that I didn't sit quite so freely anymore, and for once let my thoughts run free. "You know, Itachi, I don't understand you men." Again he flinched. That's good, tickle his jealousy again, apparently that was the only way to elicit any emotions in him. "What is your problem all of a sudden?"

"I shouldn't have done that," he said quietly. "Everything is far too complicated between us and—"

"Complicated in what way?" I interrupted him harshly. "You're into me, I'm into you, we're having good sex – I don't see any complication there."

"That's because—" As he spoke, he had turned around and his gaze had caught on my nipples, which obviously threw him off his game. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and said to his feet, "You don't understand the seriousness of the situation, Hinata. We can't just fuck around when... when the world out there is on the verge of a fever."

"If not now, when else?" I asked, got up and came to him. "We both know, or at least we suspect, we fear," I snorted, "what is about to come. Why not use the time until then? Who knows how long we have left."

"Don't say something like that," Itachi whispered, finally looking me in the eye and adding, "Please, Hinata, don't say things like that. That makes me afraid that you.."

Nodding, I put a hand on his cheek, which was covered with cooled sweat. "I'm just realistic. We have to be prepared for anything. What kind of utopia would it be if everything went smoothly, we ended up hopping across a sunny flower meadow and never suffered any harm?"

"That would be a dream."

"Right. A dream. This is reality."

He jerked his head. "I know.. Nevertheless, I will try everything so that you are not harmed. Only.." He actually managed something like a smile. "My problem is that you're distracting me. I'm not in my right mind when you're around me. I no longer act rationally, but highly emotionally, although I had trained myself not to do so in all that time in the military – at least that's what I thought. You're driving me crazy, Hinata" – my brain flinched at these words – "and that's why this whatever between us cannot happen."

I sucked in my lower lip, dropped my hand, and asked softly, "So just like our kiss? Nothing happened? We ignore everything?"

"Don't think I want it that way," he murmured, putting his arms around me and leaning his head against mine, causing his deep, hoarse voice to echo loudly in my brain. "If the circumstances were different, I would give a shit about everything, but they are not. I.." He swallowed hard. "Hinata, you should go now." He loosened our embrace, which turned out to be a sticky affair and elicited a snorting laugh from both of us. Itachi gave me a warm sparkle in his sad eyes, touched my cheek briefly and whispered, "When this is over.."

"Yes," I nodded, gave him a little kiss goodbye and got dressed again. Once again, it was a disgusting feeling to slip into clean clothes right after sweaty sex, but it was necessary this time too. "But first.. Um.. Very sexy, I know, but can I go pee? You stimulated a lot down there, you know?"

Itachi grinned and nodded. "Of course. Right next to the dining table." He pointed to a narrow door, behind which I disappeared and relieved myself with a soft sigh. With the vagina freed from urine and sperm, everything felt much more pleasant and I was washing my hands carefully when my gaze fell on a small shelf below the simple mirror. In addition to a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, hair wax, roll-deodorant, quite expensive perfume and, surprisingly, nicotine tablets, there was a blue tube of Vaseline with a red lid, which looked very familiar to me. I turned off the water and stared at the bean-shaped logo of the manufacturer. There it was again, the uncertainty, this unspeakable uncertainty. Why couldn't he have used another brand?!

I gave myself pinched eyebrows in the mirror, dried my hands and left the bathroom. Itachi knelt with one leg on the sofa, tapped the pillows and placed a small, crumpled teddy bear, which he had gotten from elsewhere, in the left corner. So he had decorations after all, albeit quite inappropriate ones. This made him strangely human, less spartan. There was more in him than he wanted to show. "So then, bye."

He straightened up and raised his hand before burying them both in his trouser pockets. "Yes.. Take care."

When I closed my shoes in the genkan and turned back to Itachi, who was standing shirtless in the middle of the living room and watching me, a narrow stake pierced my heart. I had come here to apologize and to get to the bottom of my feelings towards him. Well, I had done one. And okay, at least the last hour had provided me with a little clarity: My hormones were one hell of a mess. I had hoped that I would realize that Itachi was just a buddy for me and that he could never be King despite all his love and attractiveness, but shit, I was disappointed. In front of me stood a man I more than just liked and with whom I would like him to take the distance between us, kiss me and confess to me that he was this ominous man from the Internet. Then my suffering finally came to an end and we were able to leave it all behind. But he didn't and I had to go.

Smiling faintly, I waved and left Itachi's apartment. Outside it was dark, mild and quiet and on my way home I felt Itachi's cum tickling out of my vagina. Shit. The man had really pumped me full of his juice. Even if there wasn't a soul to be seen, I couldn't just fumble around in my crotch. I crossed the rough wall in my usual place, scurried through the deep black garden, climbed up the tendrils and quietly closed the window.

The sex and my thoughts had made me tired. Maybe I could look up if King had answered, but on the other hand, I didn't want to spoil my mood again. Despite Itachi's talented cock, I wasn't quite as musty as I had been in the morning, but the two conversations with him had given my unsaturated brain new food for thought and I didn't want to be disappointed by the fact that King continued to ignore me. He had his reasons for keeping me waiting, whatever they might be.

If Itachi was King, I could definitely understand his respite. And in Madara's and Kakashi's case, too, I understood the pause. Shit. Now I hadn't even seen King's possible answer and still racked my brains again. Maybe we didn't know each other at all and I unnecessarily got into my wild imagination. I should go to bed and end this eventful day a little more relaxed. Maybe I should take a quick bath and—

"Will you finally explain to me where you have been?" asked an ice-cold, angry-soaked voice behind me.