Chasing After You || Itachi

Ch. 14 - Composite Confrontation

"We'll be arriving at the Land of Lightning soon. First stop is the port city, Raiton."

Tora slowly opened her eyes as she heard the captain speak, her light slumber interrupted. She couldn't remember when she dozed off, but she figured it was good regardless because she hadn't been able to sleep the last couple of nights. The boat ended up getting fixed so she and the others boarded it early in the morning. During the trip, she found a quiet corner to rest and, now that it was late afternoon, she couldn't wait to get away from the melodic swaying from the sea that was making her a little queasy.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

Grabbing her wrist, she stretched her arms towards the sky and let out a loud sigh. "I was really hoping you wouldn't find me since the boat was so big, Koji."

"You should've never fallen asleep. That was careless on your part." The male stood next to her, leaning against a couple of shipping crates. How she managed to sit in such a small space between the crates and the wall, he couldn't understand. Had it not been that he knew her sleeping habits, he probably would've overlooked it. Or maybe it was just a cat thing.

Standing up, Tora slid out of the space and walked up the stairs towards the deck for some fresh air. "You got any anti-nausea pills? I'm never getting on a boat again."

"Small price to pay to meet your father." Koji followed behind her. "And, on that note, who have you been traveling this whole time?"

Tora looked over the railing, watching Raiton get bigger and bigger as they sailed closer. "I told you not to worry about it and trust me." Turning around, she leaned against the rail and crossed her arms over her chest. "You don't need me to tell you. All you're going to do is overreact anyway."

"Why would I-" The gray-haired male glanced at her before his eyes widened in realization, then quickly narrowed. "You didn't... Tora! That means he's on this ship too, right? Where is he now?" Immediately, he jumped to conclusions and got ready to hunt down his target. "I can't believe you did something so idiotic!"

The ravenette grabbed her friend's wrist and yanked him back towards her. "See, that's exactly what I mean. What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Do you have any idea what he's involved in? If word gets out that you were around him, I won't be able to save you."

"And what makes you think I need saving? I can justify all my actions up until now. He's my friend and you're not my bodyguard."

"But I'm your friend too, aren't I? With all the time we've spent together, we're more than friends. Everything you do makes me worry about you."

"I'm not stupid, Koji. There isn't a minute that passes by where I don't think about what I'm doing."

The two had an intense staredown, neither one bothering to break eye contact. Conceding first, the male let out an aggravated long breath and pulled his wrist out of her grasp with a roll of his eyes. She was here without a scratch that he was aware of, so he could lay off for now but he still couldn't accept it. Ever since they were kids, it was like she could never see the true severity behind her actions and it always pissed him off.

Once the boat anchored at the dock, Tora and Koji made their exit and the male went to gather some food and supplies for the rest of their trip while the female went to find a bathroom. On her way back to find her teammate, she took a detour to see where Itachi and Kisame had gone. When she woke up that morning, they were nowhere to be found and she figured that signalled the end of their journey together. The least they could've done was tell her they'd disappear.

"You ready?"

Tora glanced around the city one more time before turning back to Koji. "Yeah, let's go."