♥︎|𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖋𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝖞𝖔𝖚|♥︎𝐈𝐭𝐚𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐮|𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝

第6章

chapter 6: take me in your loving arms

She didn't know where it had all gone wrong.

The party was in full swing and had turned out to be a roaring success...for the most part. The Konoha twelve were a naturally rowdy bunch and when they were all gathered together like that there was little that could keep their spirits down.

Kiba had spiked the drinks in his umpteenth attempt to get Naruto drunk but had only succeeded in getting everyone else smashed. Hinata, with atypical inebriated courage, had dragged Sasuke onto the dance floor and later that night Naruto had found the two making out in her study. Lee had broken his ankle with his insane dance moves and was going to spend the next couple of weeks in crutches. Kakashi and Iruka had commandeered one of her spare rooms earlier in the evening and had yet to reappear and the rest of the Rookie Nine were embroiled in a hilarious game of drunken twister. Even the balance and agility of a ninja did you no good when you were trashed.

Everyone seemed to be having a blast, with one glaring exception. Itachi had barely said two words to anyone all night. He'd stuck close to Nanami and yet still somehow managed to avoid Naruto every time she planned to talk to him. Naruto's eyes narrowed as she watched the Uchiha in question make his way to the kitchen, presumably for more drinks, and she seized the opportunity. As quickly, and stealthily as she could, Naruto excused herself from her conversation with Shizune and followed him, only speaking when Itachi was reaching for more soda.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Itachi?" Naruto asked, her face as innocent as only a master prankster's could be.

The only sign that Itachi was surprised by her presence was the way his eyes slid to the side to meet her own.

"Hn," Itachi grunted his affirmative and Naruto fought the urge to grit her teeth.

"Ne, are you alright?" she asked instead, her brows furrowing with genuine concern. "Nobody's been giving you any trouble have they?"

It might have been a silly question to ask given that anyone with the ability to actually trouble Uchiha Itachi had absolutely zero inclination to do so but Itachi was acting strange and Naruto couldn't really think of any other reason why. The look Itachi gave her was so blank, so reminiscent of his Akatsuki days that Naruto actually took a step back, her eyes widening in shock. Without another word, Itachi brushed past Naruto and left the kitchen, rejoining Nanami and handing her a fresh drink.

Naruto stood, rooted to the spot, unable to properly process what had just occurred. Itachi had brushed her off! Not for one moment since his return to Konoha had Itachi been anything less than attentive and now he'd just brushed her off like she was some...some…stranger! Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she dropped her head, letting her bangs fall forward to shadow her eyes. To be dismissed so easily by a friend really, really sucked. Why the hell did she bother with those Goddamn Uchiha's in the first place?

Never in her life had Naruto been so glad that Kakashi-sensei used to set such outrageously early times for Team 7 to meet at. Sure, he was always late, but they'd never had that luxury and the habit had somehow become ingrained in Naruto to rise with the sun. She'd had a restless night, tossing and turning and managing to snag a few scant hours of sleep before she was awake, her mind unable to rest.

Most of the Rookie Nine had spent the night and were sprawled across the sofas and floor of her living room and Naruto had rolled her eyes at them but hadn't had the heart to wake anyone up. She just wasn't in the mood to deal with hangovers right now so she slipped out of the house and made her way to the Hokage tower.

Because Lady Luck never smiled on Naruto, she met Itachi on her way in. She slowed to a stop, staring at Itachi and finding herself intimidated by the man for the first time in years. Naruto bit her lip, her shoulders tensing as she tried to figure out what to do. Normally she would have bounced up to Itachi and talked his ears off but he looked so unapproachable right then. Naruto needn't have worried, however, since Itachi ended up making the decision for her as he continued on his way, brushing past her without a word and Naruto had to stop herself from turning around and calling out to him. It wasn't her fault Itachi had suddenly become some sort of...of pod person! Naruto had done nothing wrong and she was through chasing after angsty, emo Uchiha's. If Itachi had a problem, he could damn well solve it himself.