Chasing After You || Itachi

Ch. 13 - Can I Be Your Person?

The trio traveled north along the seaside, keeping the high ground by staying in the trees. Their journey on foot would be short, as once they crossed the border into the Land of Hot Water, they would catch a ship to the Land of Lightning. There weren't many border stations in the direction they were headed, so it was highly unlikely to be spotted by anyone. Tora tugged on the hood of her black cloak to keep it from flying off as she kept pace with the two males in front of her.

"We'll stop here and leave at dawn to cross the border." Itachi spoke as he stopped on one of the tree branches. The sun was almost set as the sky ranged from pink to deep purple and blue. "There's no point in overexertion since we're ahead of schedule."

"Why don't you make a fire, kitty? Put your claws to use." Kisame smirked. "Finding food won't be difficult with the ocean right beside us."

"Then I expect a feast with all that talk." Tora retorted before dropping down to the forest floor to look for any dry bristles. As she gathered twigs, her mind continued to drift towards her impending meeting with her father. Her mother didn't tell her what her father was like, but she would make comments from time to time saying "like father, like daughter", so maybe they had similar personalities. Honestly, she didn't know whether that was a good thing or not.

Itachi appeared behind the female and picked up a stray branch off the ground. "You seem to have a lot on your mind."

The female let out a dry laugh as she turned to him. "What gives you that impression? I think we've gathered enough firewood to last the night, so let's go back."

Once Tora returned back to camp and lit the fire, she waited with Itachi for Kisame to come back with food. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling from the burning wood as the two sat patiently on the sand. Tora stared into the fire in thought before stretching her arms into the sky. Suddenly, she thought of something and reached into her pouch, producing two small bottles and handing them to Itachi.

"Almost forgot I brought you a present. More vitamins like last time and some medicine. You didn't look okay the last time I saw you, but these are pretty general antibiotics so do with them what you can."

"You didn't have to do this."

Itachi watched as the woman took his hand and firmly placed the bottles in his grasp. The touch of her skin felt oddly calming before she let go.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Tora tilted her head. "Don't think too much about it. I'm not expecting any favors for this."

Kisame returned moments later with a small bag of fresh catch. There was enough for everyone to have their fill and dinner was eaten while sharing mindless stories of past memories and tall tales. As the night droned on, the trio called it quits and Kisame took first watch. Tora laid in her sleeping bag and tried to close her eyes and collect whatever slumber she could, but her mind was racing. With a long sigh, she sat up and quietly slipped out of her bed, walking over to the shore so she could see the stars better.

"Missing home, kitty?"

Tora turned around to see Kisame walking towards her. The dark-skinned female scoffed at his comment and crossed her arms as she looked back into the sky. "Contrary to what you think, this isn't the first time I've left home."

The two stood side-by-side for a while and Tora tried to ignore the eerie feeling that she was being watched. It felt like something annoying was crawling on her skin and she glanced over, only to find that the tall male was actually eyeing her with no reservations.

"You got a problem or something?"

"I'm wondering what makes you so special to my partner."

Tora blinked out of sheer confusion. "Did you drink too much salt water when you went fishing earlier?"