A Red Head Namikaze (Itachi Uchiha fiction)

14. Long time no see

She couldnt believe what she was seeing. It was Itachi and Orochimaru.

'Why the heck are they wearing matching outfits? Are they buddies now?' Inora thought to herself. But it seemed like the Sannin couldnt move. Did Itachi cast a genjutsu on him? She saw Orochimaru trying to weave signs and Itachi suddenly cut of his left hand. Inora was shocked. The cold look on Itachi's eyes gave her chills.

"Perform all the jutsu you want. But my eyes can see through all of them." Itachi spoke his voice ice cold.

"I am not sure what to do with you. Whether to kill you right now or find a way to use you." He said pointing a kunai at the Sannin.

Inora sensed a third chakra. Suddenly a bunch of shurikens were launched at Itachi and a guy jumped in front of Orochimaru. He distracted Itachi with few paper bombs and escaped with the sannin.

Inora watched the entire thing unfolding in front of her. She couldnt believe that Itachi was powerful enough to take out a Sannin in a single look. The look in his eyes reminded her of herself when she woke up from the hospital after her parents death. She also remembered how Itachi was the one to give her a shoulder when she cried.

She saw Itachi standing there alone. She thought of approaching him.

"Who is there? Come out." She heard his voice.
He sensed her? Impressive. She was still wearing her Anbu mask. She went and stood in front of him and her chakra was still masked.

She slowly unmasked her chakra and removed her mask. It was only for a millisecond but she saw the look of surprise on his face.

"Long time no see Itachi Uchiha"

Shocked was an understatement but he hid it well under his emotionless face. He never thought he would see Inora. He thought it was some bounty hunter who came for his head.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with the same cold voice.

"Well.... Let me think..... I guess I had this best friend whom I expected to welcome me back once I came home but unfortunately he wasnt there when I got back. Since I am a wonderful friend I came searching for him" she said sassily crossing her arms over her chest.

"...."

"Whats with that matching outfit you and Orochimaru were wearing? Are you a part of some stupid cult?"

"........."

She saw confusion written all over his face. It was clear to her that he didnt expect her to speak to him so casually.

"I am not the little boy you knew Namikaze. I am a..." she knew what he was doing. He was trying to provoke her. Too bad she wasnt in the mood to get provoked.

"Save it." She deadpanned. "You have always been good at masking your emotions Uchiha. But you should know better than try to make me buy your useless lies."
The great Itachi Uchiha is busted!

She closed the distance between them and hugged him tight. "I missed you Itachi." She whispered which he heard perfectly.

He just stood there frozen letting her hug him. So many emotions crossing his mind. He would be lying if he said he didnt miss her. It has been over 4 years since he last saw her. He missed her smile, her hugs and everything about her. He didnt hug her back, he just closed his eyes taking in her warmth.

She felt him relax in her arms. She broke the hug and started walking. She turned around and raised an eyebrow "Are you coming or not?" He looked at her for a minute and started walking behind her. "Thats what I thought" she said.

They went to what seemed like a little cave on top of a cliff perfectly secluded from outsiders. They both just sat there in silence.

"How are you doing?" Inora broke the silence quietly. He decided not to lie. Lying to Inora has always been useless. She can always see right through him. "I have been better."

Silence.

She decided not to push him further. If he wanted to talk he will. She just wants to let him know that she is there for him no matter what.

"You wont ask about me?" She said a little annoyed at this awkward silence.

"The rumours of the Crimson Flash spread fast."

She laughed "I havent really been a fan of that name. But hearing you say that, it seems to have a nice ring to it dont you think?" Itachi chuckled at her words.

They stayed there talking for a fews hours. Itachi was mostly listening to Inora ramble about what happened in the past 4 years. It felt nice to engage in a normal conversation without talking about blood and murder. She didnt ask a single question as to what happened and Itachi was grateful for that. He really wanted to stay like this for long but he knew he had to go back.

Inora noticed his sullen expression. "Is it time for you to go?" He just nodded. Inora summoned a small toad and it was carrying a scroll. She opened the scroll and it had her name written on it. She took Itachi's hand and poked his finger with a small pin and smeared his blood on the scroll.

"What are you doing?" He asked confused. "This is Roda, my personal messenger toad. I am entering you into a contract with him."

"Why?"

"Well. I cant really write letters to you can I?" She showed him the hand signs to summon Roda. "We can communicate through him. Tell me when you are free and we will meet again. Okay?"

"Inora..." Itachi hesitated. "You cant get rid of me that easily when it took me over a year to find you, Idiot. I am your best friend and I will always be there for you." she said looking straight at his eyes after marking their new meeting spot with her teleporation jutsu formula.He smiled at her words. He never really thought he would be able to smile again. But this girl standing in front of him made it happen. Her words gave him so much comfort than she could ever imagine.

He poked her forehead. "See you soon Redhead." And they parted ways.

Author's note:
What are your thoughts on this book so far?