Contrition [Itachi Uchiha x Reader]

#7: Challenge

"Sasuke, what are you doing? Why aren't you in bed?" enquired Sakura Haruno, as she rubbed her eyes groggily. She found her boyfriend sitting at his desk with a laptop propped up in front of him.

"I've got a paper due tomorrow," he lied smoothly. "Go back to bed."

The pink-haired woman looked unconvinced but obliged regardless. He waited until he could hear her slow rhythmic breathing, signalling that she had fallen asleep, before closing the blank Word document that he had opened as a safety measure and returning to the webpage that had caught his interest.

Inside the criminal mind:

Dr. [Name] [Surname], professor at Konohagakure University, has taken to counselling convicted criminals once again. The twenty-nine year old criminology professor in a recent interview vowed to help convicted double murderer Itachi Uchiha rejoin society. She also requested the public to be objective and to lend their support to the initiative.

Foolish optimism, he thought to himself as he scanned through the rest of the article. But I doubt she's going to leave me alone until I give her what she wants.

Sasuke shut his laptop before returning to his bed. I guess I have no choice but to talk to her tomorrow.

*                                                                                               

The next morning, Kisame Hoshigaki woke up to find Itachi's bed empty. Panicking as his mind materialized the worst-case scenario, he quickly grabbed his cell phone and car keys on his way to the door.

"Officer Hoshigaki, surely you don't plan on going out in pajamas? What's the hurry?"

He was halfway out the door when he saw her perched daintily on the couch. "[Name]?"

The woman smiled warmly at him. "You look like you could use a cup of coffee."

As if on cue, Itachi walked into the room carrying two steaming mugs. "Kisame? I thought you were asleep."

"Yeah, uh huh..." Kisame continued to stare at [Name] in disbelief. His face took on a look of puzzlement as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Did you spend the night here?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she remarked. "Of course not! Itachi asked to meet with me, said he had something to tell me."

"At seven a.m?"

"I was just as surprised as you are, officer."

Kisame eyed the two suspiciously before clearing his throat. "Itachi, I'd like some coffee as well."

The raven-haired male blinked in confusion. "Then go get some."

The Hoshigaki smiled nervously at the woman, flashing his shark-like teeth at her before turning towards Itachi. "You know I can't use that darned machine! It's freakin' complicated."

"What are you talking about? We don't have a coffee machine."

"Excuse me," [Name] said, getting to her feet. "I need to make a call."

Once she was out of earshot, Kisame turned to his companion. "What was that about?"

"Please be more specific."

Kisame Hoshigaki smirked slyly. "I thought you wanted her replaced? You were all for it last night. You were even prepared to go to Yamato, and that guy's terrifying!"

"I changed my mind."

"I can see that. But why?"

"Simple. She promised to leave Sasuke alone."

"But if she wasn't your counsellor, she would have no reason to talk to your brother about you. Isn't that a better way of ensuring that she never bothers him?"

"I doubt that's enough to put her off. She'll just keep trying."

"And how do you know that?"

"I just know. She won't give up. If I change my counsellor now, I'll look suspicious and that'll just prompt her to dig deeper. Not that she would find anything, but it'll give her a sense of victory - and I refuse to let her have that. All that she's got so far are a couple of baseless theories and wild guesses. Sooner or later she's going to realize that that's all they'll ever be. I just have to be patient. Like a game of chicken, let's see who swerves first. The last one standing, wins."

Kisame's smirk only got wider. "Say what you will about her, but you can't deny that she's smart. Smart enough to get you all riled up."

Itachi scowled. "Whose side are you on, Kisame?"