I'll Wait. {Itachi Uchiha x Reader}

[I] Heartbeat of Silent Raindrops

Itachi Uchiha Romance Short

NOTE: You are a powerful rogue ninja originally of the Hidden Leaf who left and joined the Akatsuki due to feelings of isolation and distaste for how they run things. Your father is a Konoha advisor to the Hokage and he is very manipulative. Your mother died on a mission when you were 5.

Every morning I walk through the pouring rain, my eyes almost blinded by the constant streams of droplets slamming on my cheeks. The unstoppable beating of Nature's forces on my head was quite a pain, along with the cold, itchy wet mud on my feet and the pinching pebbles wedged in between my toes and sandals. This rain made the journey so rough, seeing that all I wore was simply a cloth and fishnet t-shirt covered by a red and black cloak issued to all members of the Akatsuki organization, whilst the rain felt like it could pierce through steel today. The trees and air itself seemed to be miserable this morning, however I never strayed from my routine of walking to the small, nearly dilapidated little café in the middle of nowhere. It was a small little place run by a kind old lady who didn't have too good of memory, so despite my clear affiliation with the Akatsuki I was still able to eat there.

Why did I do this every morning..? It was for a certain member. I typically got along well with most of the members in the Akatsuki, since I was probably one of the more laid back and calm members, and had done a few things with others, specifically Konan, Deidara, and Sasori. We all kind of had our own art club thing going, though Deidara and Sasori argued a lot, and I basically just sketched in my sketchbook with them while Konan occasionally joined in and did origami after getting Dei and Sasori to pipe down. I also hung out with Tobi sometimes, since he was kind of fun, even if he did act like a small child. However, the member I walked so far every morning for was not one of them. Actually, the one I did this for was perhaps one of the most illusive members, and we had barely spoke at all, even though we were from the same village. Itachi Uchiha was quite the mystery to most, however I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. The Akatsuki didn't really share backstories, however I knew his fairly well considering that my father was one of the very few village higher-ups to know the truth about the Uchiha massacre. I had heard some of the details slip when I was very young, and never told anyone really, for my father would beat me if I did. I figured it would only cause conflict anyways. I never had liked the village I grew up in or the village system in general, the way they ran things, the broken ranking system, the way people, especially my own father, manipulated people to gain political power or save their own shaky public image. It was disgusting. That's why I ran off and found the group, and found him there. That's why I trudged through mud every day to get Itachi a pastry from the café every morning. He was just another victim of thats stupid system they had in place.

Of course, I honestly have never talked to the man. I simply bought him pastries every morning, hiding them on the tiny, shadowy windowsill that led to his bedroom behind the glass pane. If I were him I just wouldn't want to be bothered, so I did this in secret and went to hang out with the members I actually talked to. Not to mention he was terrifying— those red eyes of his looked like that of a demon, and he seemed rather cold. And finally, I reached the café, taking off my muddy shinobi sandals and wet akatsuki cloak to go inside. The smell was absolutely heavenly despite the rough looking decor, the sweet yet tangy smell of freshly baked bread and pastries overwhelming the room and my own nostrils. I walked up to the wooden counter, smiling at the old owner lady, who looked at me with a kind and motherly face. "Ah, welcome back, {y/n}! I assume you will be having the usual?" She said with a wrinkled grin. I nodded at her. "Please make it quick, the rain has me late and I usually give these to my associate at 9:00." The rain was certainly the most annoying thing in a while, though I have had several things happen while walking through the dense forest to get here. I waited a second as the lady heated up the cinnamon bun until I felt a cold, piercing breath down the back of my uncloaked neck that made my spine shiver, vibrations shooting down  neck to the bottom of my fragile spine. Another customer.. how rude could you be to stand so close to a lady? Either that or I just was used to the protective collar of my cloak. I received the pastry and bowed to the old lady after giving her the money to be respectful, and then felt a hand ever so lightly tap me on my shoulder. I may not look it but I was very skilled at taijutsu and ninjutsu, and used to be one of the strongest Jonin in the Leaf. I was also considered an S-ranked criminal like all of the other Akatsuki. I immediately reacted and swept under the leg of whoever just touched me and then realized who it was far too late.

"So it was you." That deep, clear throated voice rang in my ear after I felt Itachi grab my leg before the kick could reach. He spoke like a ghost and had the speed of one too. Now the man himself was standing in front of me, my eyebrows furrowing. There was a reason I didn't ever talk to him directly— the man was quite the intimidating figure. I avoided eye contact and looked at the floor, not daring to look into those powerful blood-like sharingan eyes. I was silent, until I held out the pastry wordlessly. The moment he took it I began walking out, quite swiftly at that, putting my cloak and sandals back on until he spoke again, somehow getting behind me as I felt his voice's vibration from behind. "I've been wondering who's been giving me these. Therefore, I followed you. I wanted to say thank you." My whole body was shaking. This guy was extremely intimidating and I didn't want to mess with him. His moves were that of a patiently burning candle's flame while his personality was that of dry ice. I remained wordless once more until I finished putting my cloak on. I then turned and backed against a wall after bumping into his chest. For that moment I could feel his heartbeat. It felt so sad, cold, bitter, and empty. It was like the pitter-pattering of silent raindrops drowning the landscape in a flood... What a melancholic feeling it was. "...Excuse me." I said, mumbling, still looking at the ground. "You are afraid... I see." Itachi said, then closed his eyes. "We are in the same organization. I currently don't have any ill intent towards you. In fact it is quite the opposite. I came to thank you, like I said, and to tell you that you don't need to buy me these anymore. Do you give me them because you fear me?" What was he doing? He had read me so quickly, though my intentions were different than he assumed. His eyes still stared into my soul though. If he didn't want me to feel intimidated, why act intimidating? I still remember that he is just a victim of the stupid village system, however he still was a murderer whether he was forced to or not.

"You... weren't supposed to find out I was giving you those— it was supposed to be a secret. And no, I am not scared of you." I said. I honestly did it because I just felt bad. In fact this was probably the first conversation we've ever had in the 2 years I had been with the Akatsuki. I usually only hung out with my little group of art enthusiasts, and now I was thinking perhaps I should have stayed with them. "Look me in the eye. Why are you giving me these?" He stared through my chest and down into my soul even when I wasn't looking at him. I took a risk and ducked to the side of him, though he was just standing there with his arms to his sides, and began to walk out into the rain. Itachi seemed to just sigh and leave me alone, seeing as I made it quite obvious that I was uncomfortable. I wouldn't let him control me... I did know the truth, but that man still killed his whole family. He could kill me with one look, being one of the strongest Akatsuki. That was someone I didn't feel like messing with today. However I had felt a bit guilty, seeing as I just left him at the café.

Then, the most odd thing happened, and that's when everything was set in motion. It was a dim, cold night in the Akatsuki base, and I was there along with Pein, Konan, and Zetsu for tonight after doing a mission in the pouring rain today. The rest of the Akatsuki were out on missions, and those three kept to themselves mostly, so I was simply alone. It was that time of night, so I simply walked down the gray bland hallway, wrapped in my wet Akatsuki cloak, while I went to dry off in my room alone. I sighed and pulled a towel off of one of my shelves, closing the door and drying my hair, hanging my cloak on the hanger and squeezing the towel so the water filtered out of my hair. Something felt off as I did this, and I looked around the room out of the corner of my eye, and saw something peculiar on my windowsill. He didn't...

I finished drying my hair and went over to the windowsill, spotting a plate of three tri-colored dangos and delicious looking chamomile tea along with a note.

'Thank you for the pastries, {y/n}. Forgive me if I startled you earlier this morning. I was simply curious. If you will not accept my thanks in person, feel free to partake in some of these sweets instead.'

The note wasn't signed, however it was extremely obvious Itachi had wrote it given the context. I was surprised he would so something like that. I always saw him as sort of a cold, broken, hostile person who had just gotten corrupted by others. However this was beginning to change my mind a little. All I really did was give him pastries out of pity, thinking it may anger my dad or something and fulfill me somehow so I could get back at him for some bad things he {my father} had done to me, however this was a surprisingly nice thing to do for the famous clan-killer Uchiha, who was known all over to be covered head to toe with bloodstain. I took a bite of one of the dangos hesitantly and waited for some kind of poison, but no. It was delicious, no tricks or games. I was a bit quick to judge him during that interaction this morning... perhaps the man wasn't so scary after all... I took a mental note to be more hesitant to judge a book by its cover next time.