Enigma - An Uchiha Itachi Fanfic

9 - Changes

Itachi pov:

"You seem more energetic than usual off late, Itachi san. Are you finally more enthusiastic about missions?" spoke Kisame, a teasing hint in his tone. We had just finished dealing with an assassination request and had been done with it much sooner than usual thanks to my increased involvement and precision.

"I merely want to get missions over with quicker," I answered dismissively.

While my wish to get missions over quickly was true, it was also true that I was more energetic than normal. The brief healing session that Asumi san had given me as a way of expressing her gratitude for saving her from the Prima gang had rendered me feeling so much better than I had ever felt over the past several years. She was truly a gifted healer, and could probably heal the illness of my lungs completely if she treated me in multiple sessions.

Thinking of her brought back memories of our last mission together, more so what I had witnessed in her rather than anything else of the mission itself. She had been as calm as usual when we set out and neared the hideout of the Prima gang, and had remained just as bold when we had been surrounded by their shinobi. However, she had recognized one of them suddenly and everything about her had flipped 180. Color had drained from her face and she could not stop trembling as she watched the man with wide, terrified eyes. The man, in response, was amused and appeared sadistic.

Their conversation was hard to miss, though there had been nothing that had given away any details besides their former acquaintanceship and that Asumi san had been a victim of some sort of abuse from him. The way she had screamed and ran away from him without putting up a fight was enough of an explanation that she had gone through something rather traumatic that she had not been able to move forward from.

Contrary to how I had planned on keep my distance from her even though she was only in the Akatsuki to aid Konoha, I could not stop the immense worry that had roused in me when I had seen her so frightened. I had dealt with the others of the Prima gang as quickly as I could, even pushing past my limits to feel pain and cough up blood by the time I was done killing them all. The ear piercing scream I had heard from Asumi san after that had me pushing myself more and rushing to her aide, only to feel a jolt of fright at the sight of her pinned to the ground and writhing in pain while screaming at the top of her lungs. Just before she could be jabbed with a vial of murky liquid, I had kicked away the man who was abusing her and gathered her into my arms.

An odd sense of protectiveness that I had not felt for anyone besides Sasuke ever since the massacre had stirred within me, making me hold Asumi san close and tightly. Though I had done nearly nothing but speak a few words to her, she had seemed to return to her senses enough to breathe instead of continue screaming. She was in much pain, and her reactions had me thinking that it was far more than what I was going through. That thought itself had me summoning strength to hold out against the pain of my illness and kill the man that had hurt her to this extent.

When he and the girl with him were dead, I had collapsed to the ground with Asumi san still in my arms. She was unconscious though, and limp, and sweating profusely. Her breathing was shallow but I could tell that her life was not in any danger.

It had taken a lot of strength to move to a safer location, into a cave that gave us shelter from the rain that had begun to come down on us. I had started a fire and sat close to it with Asumi san in my lap, my arm around her petite waist. The fire did not give us much warmth but the proximity of another person was more than enough warmth and comfort - for me, at least.

I had not been able to bring myself to lay her on the cold ground, and it had not been because of mere concern that the ground would be uncomfortable. Having her seated in my embrace had felt so natural, so comforting, and so warm. The warmth of another human had been out of reach to me for so long that it had overwhelmed me at that moment, so much so that something inside felt filled to the brim and felt like it would burst out of me. A sense of completeness had encompassed me, making me feel real and alive. It was nearly insane how I had held her to me as if she belonged to me.