Designed For War...But Not Meant For It (Itachi Uchiha Story) Info.

Chapter 6

With that, Itachi pointed out Kiken would have to meet the rest of the Akatsuki, and nodding in agreement, she glanced around him to find out where they had gone, spotting them within a few seconds. Pein hadn’t exactly been trying to hide incredibly well, but he had figured that getting out of the way had been best. Even sending in Itachi first with the rest of them loitering a few metres away was stupid, and so he—and the rest of the Akatsuki—had disappeared; or for the moment, at least. So to see Kiken pick them out so quickly, eyes passing over each of them in a way that made Pein suspect she already knew a lot about them by the time they were standing in front of her...

He couldn’t help but not be surprised at the idea of her being the only survivor.

Hidan pushed past them all first, wanting to get his introduction done before anybody else did, only to find Pein stopping him; just like always, to tell him that it was best to get out of the street and to continue the conversation somewhere more private. Glancing once over to Kiken he saw she made no protestations to that idea in the slightest, merely bowing in respect upon meeting him. Blinking slightly at her actions, Pein shrugged it off for now, gesturing the direction of where they were headed and walking off first, the others following straight afterwards.

Instantly Itachi appeared next to her, acting as a barrier against the others all wanting to meet her, and Kiken couldn’t help but feel a slight warmth coming to her face at the idea of him protecting her. Itachi noticed none of this, however, too focused on wondering why she had bowed like she had. It hadn’t been a small nod of respect, but a full-on bow that would have been better placed in a meeting between a servant and their master. She had every right to be the opposite of this, and though Itachi had known from the start she was polite—there was a difference.

But he didn’t know her full story, of course, and merely knocked himself out of it, glancing up to consider her reluctance to accept the mission, but then simply allowing it to be thought of another day. He didn’t want her to feel cornered or pressured into anything, and automatically felt himself attempting to help her; to protect her. Why, he wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter, even when he noticed himself doing it. He knew keeping Kiken safe was something he wanted more than the rest of the Akatsuki, and he wouldn’t alter that to adapt to the others opinions. As such he kept an eye on her as they walked; his mind unable to always stay on task.

And then eventually they reached the hideout.

Leading her inside, Pein decided to go to the lounge for the moment; she had practically accepted—something he wouldn’t let her get out of now—and it made more sense to make her feel more comfortable. It gave the others space to sit, too, instead of them all standing in front of her, eyeing her over critically; or in some cases, perversely. Therefore a minute later and he was standing alone in front of her while the others took seats—raising a slight eyebrow as Itachi was the only one who broke that mould, leaning against the wall near her, acting as if he was her back up.

Though it didn’t faze him for long, and soon he began to speak, going over the whole plan once again, setting out the different things she was going to be doing, and how much she would be paid at the end of the mission. For the most part Kiken stayed in silence, thinking over all they were expecting of her and what she would have to do. That nervousness of what would await her when she got back to Hoshi valley was still lingering in her mind, but she had agreed to it now; and she didn’t go back on her word.

With that, Pein left; and now the others felt it okay to finally approach Kiken, the introductions beginning. Itachi made no attempt to move away, his eyes fixated on each of the Akatsuki as they walked up to her and made their introduction. That urge to protect her hadn’t faded now they were here, and as such he wasn’t going anywhere. Though things for Kiken seemed to lighten at that moment; though everyone had their faults, the Akatsuki seemed pretty easy to get along with, and at least that was one weight off of her mind. At least now she didn’t have to worry about getting into arguments with everybody and ruining the travelling part of the mission—if it made any difference at all.

But she was going to be staying in the hideout tonight, in the spare room; Pein wanted an early start, and it would be easier to have her right there in the hideout than to have to pick her up when they left, so he sent her back to her house to get her stuff with Itachi. She was a little unsure about being with him alone, it was true, but with how calming his presence was, they both fell into a companionable silence as she showed him the way back to her house. There wasn’t much for her to get from her house, anyway; she didn’t really have many possessions—with all her travelling, there was no sense to be carrying around a lot of stuff—so they wouldn’t be there long.

Holding the door open to allow Itachi through, Kiken continued on down the hallway and into her room, collecting the rest of her weapons. Itachi’s footsteps echoed out as he followed, but they stopped as he reached the doorway, and looking up, she saw he remained hovering there, ready to act but unsure how to do so. Pausing as he opened his mouth to say something, she smirked and shook her head, straightening for a moment to answer what she already knew he was going to say;

“Itachi-sama, it’s okay. There’s just a couple of things I need to get—you don’t need to help me. I won’t be long.”

Nodding in agreement with her words, he relaxed slightly, and Kiken returned to picking up her weapons. Itachi noted how tidy everything was with a smirk; if it hadn’t been for the weapons, he would have thought the building was empty—something others had said after seeing how he dealt with his own space. A sudden urge to start talking about the connection he knew was there arose within him, and he gritted his teeth in order to control it. They’d just met; coming out with something like that was stupid. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder whether there would be many chances for them to be alone together like this. What if they did become friends, and he said nothing of it?

Now finished with her weapons, Kiken finally stood again, looking over at Itachi to confirm she was ready to go, only to freeze in surprise at what she saw. He was watching her, and from the way he was standing—it had been for a while. Somehow…she was of interest to him. His eyes were deeply focused on her, moving to look into her eyes as she shifted position. But they weren’t looking at what was on the surface; they were clouded over with thought to the point where he didn’t notice Kiken having moved. He was seeing something within her that went deeper than anything, and that feeling of connection came back. Even when he jolted slightly as Kiken pointed out they needed to leave, that same film remained over his eyes as they walked back, but she didn’t care.

Suddenly the fact she was travelling to Hoshi valley seemed much less important. Visiting the battlefield—a place that held so many memories for her—seemed less important. They were things she could deal with; just like she’d dealt with everything else in her past. But after having met Itachi—it felt like it was to do with her future; something she had never really considered before. Everything had always been so unpredictable, there hadn’t been any point thinking about it. But there was a connection to Itachi, and a feeling that he could understand, regardless of what she was or what she had done. He could know the way out of this rut she had gotten herself into.

And now it was Itachi that was the important thing in this mission.