‘Faster! I have to go faster!’ You run through the forest, dodging branches. You try to increase you speed, but you already know you’re at your limit. ‘I have to get away from him!’ You glance down at your hand, which had the Sharingan tattooed on it: you were marked as a personal subordinate of Itachi Uchiha.
But that was just it, Itachi Uchiha.
He was the one you were running from.
Actually you’re running from these feelings!’ Part of you chimes in. You ignore it, but it was right. Recently you had begun to feel strange things for the Uchiha. You’ve had crushes before; you had spent your first week at the Akatsuki practically obsessing over Deidara, until you saw his hands.
But this was different. If Itachi had mouths on his hands you wouldn’t have cared. It wasn’t his looks you had fallen for, but his personality, when he let it show.
‘But feelings are weakness, right?’ You thought. You couldn’t stay near Itachi, he was almost intoxicating. You had been training with some other subordinates, and had almost gotten decapitated because you had noticed Itachi was in the room. It had been embarrassing.
You dodge a few more branches then almost shriek, as the main focus of your thoughts suddenly appears in front of you. You screech to a halt, landing on the same branch as him, not two inches from contact. You stumble back hurriedly.
“I-Itachi-san!” You gasp. You drop to your knees, pushing your head to the branch below you. Usually Itachi didn’t require such obedience, but you were running away, and he had caught you.
“Shiori, where do you think you are going?” He asks, not coldly, but with a hint of warmth in his voice that he had always shown just for you. You decide to try your luck.
“At this moment, Itachi-san? No where, I’m talking to you.” You say, hoping he’s in a good mood.
“Hm. Nice try.” He says. You curse silently. You couldn’t tell him the truth, he’d probably kill you.
“Away, Itachi-san.” You say simply. You hear him sigh. You know what that meant. It was sort of a word-less code between you and Itachi. The sigh meant ‘are you going to do this the hard way? Make me ask individual questions?’ Your silence meant Yes.
“Why?” He asks.
“Because.” You respond, knowing you sound childish.
“Shiori...” You recognize the warning tone. You sit up, ready to lie.
“I’m sorry, Itachi-san, it’s just lately I’ve developed feelings for you, and I know that feelings are weakness, so I decided I have to get rid of them, and the only way to do that seemed to be to run away!” The words burst from you before you could stop them. You slap your hands over your mouth. You drop your head back to the branch, horrified.
“I’m so sorry Itachi-san!” You gasp. “I didn’t mean to say that!” You decide to shut up before you make it worse.
“Shiori.... are you lying?” Itachi’s voice has turned ice cold. Not a good sign.
“I wish, Itachi-sama.” You switch to the higher honorific, knowing he’s angry,
“….”
You risk a look. Itachi is gazing off to one side. He looks distracted. You consider making a break for it, but as if he sensed your thoughts, his eyes drop back to you. You drop your head quickly.
“Feelings aren’t weakness.” Itachi says abruptly.
You don’t respond. You don’t know how.
“If you love someone, truly love someone, you must protect them.” He sounded like he was talking to no one in particular. You look up and notice he is looking to one side again. You sit up and listen to him.
“That need to protect… it overwhelms the desire to kill.” You sit mesmerized by his words.
“When you truly love someone, and you want to protect them with your life, it makes you stronger…” He trails off. You feel a question bubble up inside of you, refusing to be ignored.
“How do you know this?” You whisper. His gaze turns back to you. You go to drop your head to the branch again, but before you can he crouches down in front of you, cupping your face in one hand. You give up on hiding how much you love his touch, leaning into his hand, closing your eyes. He gently rubs your cheek.
“Because I love you…” He says simply.
Your eyes fly open.
“M-Me?” You squeak. He nods.
“Yes, Shiori, you. I love you.” He says, still stroking your cheek. “And that makes me stronger. My love for you demands that I be strong; strong enough to protect you.”
“I love you too, Itachi-san…” You whisper. He smiles softly, a rare sight you’ve only seen a couple of times.
“Good…” He replies. “Are you still running away?” He asks. You shake your head.
“No, Itachi-san. I’ll never be away from you again.” You say, raising your hand to show him the tattoo. This was a typical gesture, used whenever another Akatsuki member tried to boss you around. It showed that you belonged to Itachi. He smiles again.
“Then we should return to base.” He says rising. You nod straightening as well. You turn to leave, but before you can, Itachi catches your hand. He pulls you to him quickly.
You stifle a gasp as you are pulled into his arms.
“But first…” Itachi whispers. You look up, loving the feeling coursing through you.
Itachi leans down and pushes his lips against yours softly. You slip your arms up around his neck, pulling him closer. He slinks his arms around your waist as he deepens the kiss.
The feeling rushing through you increases. Your stomach starts to jump around; your knees start to wobble.
Itachi pulls away after a couple of minutes.
“I love you.” He whispers softly. “And I will protect you until the day I die.”
“I love you.” You reply just as softly. “And I will serve you until the day I die”
He smiles softly.
“That’s not going to happen for a long time…” He whispers.
“Not while you’re here…” You reply.
“No… and I’ll always be here.”
