ILLUSIONS - ITACHI UCHIHA

two

 Saori was sure they were the most deafening table in the whole dining room. Konan had taken Saori down to the dining room of the boarding school, and after getting their dinner from the crotchety lunch lady, they sat down at a slightly crowded table. This was supposedly Konan's friend group.

 Forget about first impressions; Saori's was far from decent with this group. They didn't seem to notice her as she sat between Konan and another boy. All of them were yelling at each other chaotically or wound up in conversations. Saori could see how they needed to work on their obedience.

 Konan whispered something to a serious-looking guy, and he nodded. "Silence!", he ordered, and everyone settled down. Saori assumed he was the leader of the group by the way they all obeyed him, but not in a way that they were scared, they just respected him.

 "This is Saori", Konan stated. "She's new".

Saori felt awkward as everyone stared at her, unsure what to do.

"Damn! Hot stuff!", someone shouted. A gray-haired guy looked at Saori with a hungry gleam in his eyes. "How did a princess like you end up in a school like this?"

Konan rolled her eyes at him. "Hidan, be quiet. Saori, this is Hidan, Zetsu, Deidara, Kisame, Sasori, Pain, Kakuzu, and Itachi", she said as she pointed to all of them.

Lacking assurance of what to say, Saori simply nodded. To be honest, she thought that they were a bunch of freaks due to the way they dressed, talked, and acted. Even their auras gave off that ghostly sensation.

Perfect, Saori thought. Weirdos. Right where I belong.

Gradually, everyone returned to their conversations, bickering, and food. Saori poked at her food; a pile of pulpy peas.

"It is alive?"

Saori almost jumped. She looked to her side, seeing that the other boy she sat next to had spoken to her.

He had beautiful eyes, Saori observed; the darkest and glossiest she had ever seen. His hair was about the same shade, eye-catching at the sight of his pale skin.

Saori laughed, which felt nice. "Maybe. Itachi, right?"

Itachi nodded. "Welcome, I guess. I'd tell you it gets better after the first day, but it doesn't."

"Well, thank you for the reassurance", Saori replied politely.

"Sorry".

"You're good. So, you been here long?"

"A year or two."

"Wow. I wonder if I'll last", Saori said thoughtfully, though she knew very well she wouldn't.

Itachi shrugged. "We all get through it. Pain and Konan have been here since elementary."

"Without going insane?", Saori asked playfully, but Itachi responded, "Don't know about that one." They both smirked.

Saori sighed and set her plastic fork down. "Does anything exciting happen here?"

Itachi shook his head. "Not really. Meals are considered the highlight of the day."

Saori took another glance at everyone and shivered. "If this is the best part of the day, life must be pretty sad."

"Yeah", Itachi agreed.

"You just, like, live with it?"

"What other choice do I have? Life's dull."

Saori shook her head. "You need a change of mindset. It's my first day, and I'm already planning to do something rebellious."

Itachi raised his eyebrow. "Which is...?"

A mischievous grin spread across Saori's face. "Sneaking out after curfew. But I haven't really figured it out yet. Or where to go."

"Snarky much?", Itachi remarked, studying her.

"Nah. I'm always like this."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. Saori became aware of the fact that he wasn't exactly outgoing.

"Wanna come with me?", Saori offered, mainly because she didn't know her way around the school.

"Where?"

"To my mission!", she said, pretending to be offended that he already forgot.

"No", he bluntly stated.

"Oh, come on! Plus, you need this. Your life sounds boring. No offense."

"None taken", Itachi replied.

Suddenly, a loud, high-pitched ringing sounded, startling Saori. She realized it was the bell, indicating that dinner was over.

"Dinner always goes by fast", Itachi stated in response to Saori's awed expression.

She brushed it off and got up, collecting her food and shoving it into a trash can nearby. Then, she walked back to Itachi and said, "Meet me in front of the dining room doors, 11:00 o'clock sharp, if you can manage". She smirked and walked away.

...

"I know, it's lame. But, according to the rules, lights have to be out at 9:00. Welcome to boarding school", Konan declared, though she didn't sound too happy about it herself.

Saori sighed and peered at a clock on the wall. It was 8:58.

"How do they know when we're asleep?"

"They don't. As long as the lights are off and we're in bed, they don't care."

"Great custody", Saori joked.

"Yeah", Konan agreed, rubbing her temples.

"But it's a Friday", Saori continued. "Why so early?"

"They say it messes up our sleep schedule", Konan remarked, making air quotations with her fingers.

"Whatever", Saori said. Not like she was going to obey that rule.

Konan laid down and settled on her bed, making herself comfortable. "Can you turn the switch off before you hop in bed?"

Saori nodded and lifted herself from her chair. She walked over to where the switch was, turned it off, and everything was dark. The floorboards underneath the carpet creaked as she stepped lightly into the bunk bed. She climbed the short ladder and collapsed on the white sheets.

Her head hit the pillow with a slow, soft fall, but made a hard impact. Something harden in her pillowcase, making a rattling sound when she shifted. Saori dug her hand into her pillowcase and took out a white, plastic container. Realization hit her and she didn't dare open it.

One: she already knew what was inside, for she had obviously put it there.

Two: It was dark, and if anything inside spilled without her noticing, landing in the wrong spot, she would have a lot of explaining to do.

She stuck it back inside her pillowcase, this time on the side where her head wouldn't be.

Saori shuffled some more until she was comfortable. She was still planning on sneaking out, but she had told Itachi to be there at 11:00. There were still two, lengthy hours left.

Deciding that she would just wait, her mind drifted into other thoughts.

This was her new home now. This spot would be exactly where she would fall asleep every day until she pursued her plan. But her urge to perform it was less powerful. Ever since she talked with Itachi, well, she wasn't sure, but something had changed. Clicked.

It was stupid, Saori was aware, for she had only spoken to him for roughly fifteen minutes. But she felt more alive.

Her eyelids felt heavy and she blinked almost simultaneously, trying to keep them open. A sleepy impact washed over her, and she drifted into sleep.

~

A/N:

i can't tell if this feels rushed or too slow. lmk pls