Itachi had changed—but not in a bad way.
Imi had been expecting it, anyway. He had grown up—physically speaking—in the years they had been apart, and in a way Imi had predicted would happen, Itachi had simply gotten more handsome. He’d been a good looking child to begin with, so it wasn’t that hard to imagine—especially with his genes. Generally, Imi found, the Uchiha had carried a handsome gene along with their kekkai genkai; it would explain why so many of them ended up as the focus of the fangirls. Itachi was no different in most ways, with a strong jaw and dark hair, but just like always there were things about him that others—whether the rest of the clan or the Akatsuki themselves—didn’t share.
Itachi had never been physically intimidating in the same way, say, Kisame was. He was an average height, and there was nothing about his appearance that marked him as the type to be afraid of. It was how he acted; what he said and most importantly, the way he looked at people that changed that. But even so, Imi knew that it wasn’t always like that. All the while she had known Itachi, there had been a gentleness in his eyes; in his expression, and it was one that would never fade. His features were softer than the rest of the clan’s had been, and though no one particularly pointed it out nowadays with his reputation, Imi could spot it straight away. There was a more delicate look about him; with deep, intense eyes that made him nothing like the people he was around now.
But he didn’t have a choice.
Nodding in greeting, Imi said nothing for a few moments to allow Itachi to gather his thoughts together, before she finally decided to speak up, not noticing her hands were clasped together in front of her. Not noticing she had closed off her abilities entirely, unsure how he would react and almost afraid that it wouldn’t be how she wanted it, instead beginning softly,
“Itachi. It’s good to see you again—it’s certainly been a while, no?”
There was nothing on her face or in her eyes that revealed anything to Itachi—that gave anything away, and ultimately, he didn’t know how to respond. Why was she here? She was a Konoha ninja, a member of the ANBU. The Akatsuki wasn’t a place for her. But with the way everyone was acting and treating her, it didn’t seem as if she was there because they’d kidnapped her. From what Itachi could make out, Imi was there because Pein wanted her to be. For information? He didn’t know. Only that in itself would suggest she had let herself get close enough to be seen—to be invited in. What would she do that for? For a moment Itachi's stomach clenched with the possibility that Imi was not the person he had known in Konoha, but he forced himself to remain calm, his face a blank mask as always as he replied,
“It has. What brings you into the Akatsuki hideout?”
“I have information you can use. Information gathering is what I do best, after all,” she shot back quickly, wishing she could say more, but hoping her eyes would do the talking, staring back into his gaze and not moving in the slightest. Even having shut off her abilities she could tell he was completely confused—but she wanted him to know the truth, smirking a little with her words.
But it was genuine, and Itachi could see it. Her expression was soft and sweet and with that, Itachi knew she hadn’t changed. Everything else in her life might have done, but Imi was the same as she had always been. Her eyes shone with something, though he wasn’t sure what, and right away Itachi wanted to take her away to talk—she had things to tell him, he could see she could. It was only made more desperate by the relief he felt. As much as he kept up his emotionless façade, he couldn’t stop the wave of reprieve that washed through him as he realised Imi was still that girl he had known in Konoha.
The girl he had kissed.
However, it still took a while before they finally got a chance to talk alone. People wanted to get to know her—to get properly introduced and understand just how she had come to be in the hideout right now. They were interested in her abilities, so they wanted to know more about those, and not to mention, she was pretty. All in all it was like having a shiny new toy for the Akatsuki, and none of them would leave her alone. Especially as talk turned to who she greeted first—and the fact they knew each other. And as Hidan's gaze passed from him to Imi, Itachi knew what was coming, proven right as he questioned bluntly,
“So Imi; you know Itachi, fair enough. But how? You said it had been a while—so where’d you two meet?”
Everyone looked over, expecting them to glance at each other to communicate a message of some kind. But they didn’t need to; both Itachi and Imi had known it was coming, and they knew they weren’t about to say a thing—they simply kept it blunt and mysterious: They had both lived in Konoha and both been in the ANBU, so they’d met there. Nothing more. And though the curiosity was still evident, knowing there was more to it than that—Itachi Uchiha didn’t react to someone like that if he ‘just met them’—no one pressed for more details, gathering Imi was just as silent and introverted as Itachi was—and that meant they weren’t getting anything out of either of them about their pasts.
So the night went on, grabbing something to eat and everything beginning to wind down, and seeing their chance, Imi and Itachi took it. They left the lounge silently and without looking back. Only a couple of people saw them, but they didn’t say anything, knowing they probably had stuff to talk about—and they wouldn’t choose to stick around either. So they headed to Itachi's room, silently choosing it and not really caring where they were, closing the door firmly behind them and making sure no one could listen in. What they had to talk about was for their ears only; and they might be a while.
To begin with there was silence; neither of them knew where to start now they were in there—and that in itself was strange. Imi and Itachi had never been the type to easily become speechless or lost for words. If they needed to say something, they were able to come up with the words to convey it, regardless of what it was or what they were feeling at the time. Yes, it had been a long time since they had seen each other. Yes, things were confusing and complicated. But that shouldn’t mean they were utterly silent—should it?
Then again, they had a habit of doing this to each other. Changing things round in a way they couldn’t do to anyone else. Itachi's emotions were so used to being hidden, he wasn’t sure how to deal with them now they were rolling about on the surface—and there were several of them. Imi was surprised to find she was dealing with her own set of emotions. She was happy to see him, she was confused as to why he was acting like this, yet could still understand it, she was…she was a little bit afraid, and that didn’t happen often. All in all it froze them in their tracks, building up around them until it had to break—and Itachi was the one to break it, blurting in frustration,
“What are you doing here, Imi?”
Well, she did have some explaining to do…
