"I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me."

Dylan Thomas

The silence was deafening.

She lost track of how long they sat in her bedroom surrounded by the growing darkness. Was the sun already setting? She couldn't tell. But her thoughts decided it was the perfect time to let her mind wander onto other things, like how the routine she had made for herself was thrown out the window. Was Konohamaru, who followed her relentlessly, wondering where she disappeared off to? It just so happened to be one of the days where she spent a couple hours integrating herself into society. But the bustling streets of Konoha did not reach them. The gossiping villagers accompanied by frolicking children on her afternoon walks back home felt too far and unreal. When she was supposed to be out on the streets doing the tedious tasks of a hard working civilian, she was instead drowning in a meltdown and now, most likely, about to be interrogated. Not to mention she was foolishly getting distracted.

Kagome almost forgot she was still housed in a restricted and heavily guarded area. With an important figure of the hidden village. Under her care. But she knew he was equally keeping a close eye on her too.

Bringing her attention back to him, Itachi shifted to center himself on the chair he occupied. She felt like a child about to be chided. The confidence she usually carried with pride was no longer present. Kagome battled demons, she fought tooth and nail against her raging teenage hormones and upheld her responsibility as the Shikon guardian, and even survived Sesshomaru's ire. There were many events of her life that shaped who she was to that day, but in that moment, the victorious events fell far too short to Itachi's strange eyes.

Kagome berated herself for being too lax. She didn't think he would be able to use those eyes so soon, even while she fed him her powers to counter it. She underestimated him.

He was calm, a bit too calm for her liking. If anything, she expected questions and threats to be hurled at her. But he did none of that. Though she did catch his jaw twitch every now and then. Annoyed? Angry? Impatient? She couldn't discern his emotions. It almost triggered a fight or flight response. Her instincts were on high alert, alarm bells ringing loudly as if sensing the impending danger.

"If you do not speak, say so now. I will not waste my time."

Kagome flinched. Her through dry, she forced down a gulp of saliva. .

Was it too late to start over? A quick and quiet escape out of the Land of Fire? Maybe the deep forests far away from any civilian or hidden village would do her good. She was good at staying hidden. The cons of running away outweighed the risk of being discovered. But, deep down, underneath all the complications of an un-aging guardian from a different universe, Kagome questioned herself if she would miss the company of the man she barely knew. She'd come to accept that maybe, just maybe, she had self-sabotaging tendencies.

Mind made up, Kagome fought away intrusive thoughts and just like that, her confidence returned back with a strengthened resolve.

She knew exactly how to deal with this.

~oOo~

He had grown accustomed to the moans and groans of the house. A month has passed since he had taken refuge here with Kagome. The wood bending to her soft footsteps, a chair sliding against the floors, finger taps on the table - if he closed his eyes, he could imagine Kagome in all of them. That day felt no different. Soon she would leave the house.

But he was wrong. A loud thump caught his attention immediately. For whatever reasons his sensitive senses decided to focus on the sudden sound, it was enough for Itachi to take a defensive position.

It didn't sound like an innocent accident. But what sealed the deal was the horrific screams that followed after. It was blood curdling.

It didn't take Itachi long to materialize wherever Kagome was.

She was still seated on her chair. Her arms flailed around her to fight away her invisible attackers, while her eyes were squeezed shut with tears streaming down the sides. She kept throwing her head side to side, but with each thrash he could hear the blunt force of the chair rocking back against the floor.

He was frozen for a second before jumping into action.

"Kagome." He first calmly spoke. Catching her arms was easy. But she fought against him as if her life depended on it.

"Kagome!" He demanded her attention. An unexpected kick staggered him backwards. He watched Kagome fall back off the chair and onto the ground. He didn't catch her in time, he wanted to, but there was something in her screams that made his heart race in fear. He was now on top of her, straddling her hips, easily gaining control over her.

And suddenly she was different. She was pink. And his eyes hurt.

Kagome tried to fight off his bodyweight, so Itachi couldn't fully register that he had activated his sharingan. He was so focused on the woman beneath him who, strangely enough, displayed a strength he didn't know she possessed..

"KAGOME!"

Wrapping his large hands around her balled fists, he forcefully nudged her back to reality.

Now they faced each other in silence. She still glowed pink. And his eyes hurt even more excruciatingly.

So many questions littered his mind. Once praised for his patience, it was now dangerously wearing thin.

"If you do not speak, say so now. I will not waste my time." Itachi spat rather harshly.

While grateful, he did not expect her to respond right away.

"From what I hear, your eyes are quite special." Itachi forced himself to not react.

Kagome continued. "One of the many wonders of Konoha. Some say it's the strength and pride of the Uchiha clan, especially yours." She paused. Be it for dramatic effect or a simple catch of breath, her eyes did not move an inch away from Itachi. "But after treating you, I wonder if it's a curse instead."

She was speaking carelessly. Itachi wondered if she wanted to trigger an irrational response out of him. Was she so distraught she hoped to poke at his pride? If it was to incite anger, she was wasting her breath. Countless curses were thrown at him from when he first activated the sharingan to when he got the mangekyo years later. Her words did nothing to phase him.

So he said nothing in return.

But Kagome didn't just stop there. "Tell me, Itachi, how far does your sharingan see?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as the comma-like symbol swirled around his pupil. Her nonchalant attitude was now beginning to grate his nerves. Or was he feeling slightly perturbed because not too long ago, before their plans began to fall apart, he had asked the same question to his immature brother.

Deciding this was something he did not wish to unpack, he countered with, "You have a pink glow surrounding you..and in you."

He would never be caught admitting the translucent pink made the hair on the back of his neck stand. Whatever he was witnessing though his sharingan was anything but gentle and innocent. He had never once before fallen prey to fearing the unknown, but this was different.

"Right, yes, well, I guess you would notice that." She mumbled. At this point her shoulders began to relax. She looked away for a moment in deep thought, before gracing him with her attention once again.

"I'm aware there are very few of us and we're not often spoken of, but don't hold your breath. It's nothing exciting, and honestly, other than my mother, I know no other."

Itachi couldn't help but raise a brow. Her explanation gave away nothing and if he was being honest, he was still trying to settle his discomfort from the pink glow.

"A priestess." She grudgingly admitted after a while as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Silence was an active player in their conversation.

"A priestess?" Itachi repeated back after a while. Kagome peered at Itachi through her lashes.

"A priestess." She asserted.

"They are children's tales." He retorted without missing a beat.

"I'm sure in this world of shinobis and jinchurikis, you would at least find it yourself to accept that maybe there are other unnatural beings you may not know of."

Stewing in her response, he watched the pink swirls flowing through and around Kagome flare uncontrollably. It was alien. Then an epiphany struck Itachi. The feeling of danger heightened, but there was a tinge of excitement. Almost uncharacteristically, Itachi chuckled.

It was time to end this charade.

"You asked how far does my sharingan see…" Itachi slowly got up from his chair and moved towards the bed. Kagome did not move as he stepped closer. He stopped once he was only a breath away. Looking down into her eyes, he wanted to smirk when he noticed a freckle of worry.

"What are you, Kagome?"

Unsure on how to answer him, Kagome stuck to her story. She thought she knew how to deal with this, but now was uncertain. What did he see with his eyes? Would he suspect her if he accidently shut it off again?

"...A priestess, Itachi, I told you this already. I kno-"

"Where are you from, Kagome?"

"The Land of Tea. Look I can understand if you find it hard to believe me bu-"

"Kagome." By now Itachi's face was right above hers. He was so close she could feel his breath on her face. And in this close distance, his sharingan gleaned knowingly. Her breath hitched.

"Kagome." Itachi repeated. His hand reached out and fiddled with the few strands of hair that sat on her shoulder. With a single move he could have his large hands around her pretty little neck and snap it without her realizing what happened. But his instincts told him otherwise. And for once he found himself appreciating his sharingan in a new light other than protecting Konoha or Sasuke.

"You may be a priestess. Or you could be something entirely different. But you are not from the Land of Tea," he tugged on her hair lightly, drawing her closer to him, " and most definitely not from this world."

It didn't take long for Kagome's persona to change. The moment itself was mesmerizing. She had the face of an angel, maybe spoke like one too, however at that moment, she was anything but.

There was something unhinged in the way she looked back at him.

"So this is it."

I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Like away, apologies for any grammatical errors.

BlossomBlues 3