Two Loves, One Fate (Itachi & Sasuke Uchiha)

№.24 :: Meaning of Friendship

Chapter Twenty-Four 

Quickly, I raised a hand to silence Naruto. He quickly grew silent as he watched me with fearful eyes; even he knew that something wasn't right. I made a promise to myself that I would protect Naruto with my life, and even though thousands of people depended on my survival back home, I quickly stepped in front of Naruto. I got into a defensive stance as my narrowed gaze scanned our surroundings. I could feel Naruto's gaze on my back; his stare was a combination of awe and confusion. I wanted to look over my shoulder and give Naruto a reassuring look, but my attention was fixated on the direction were the rustling was coming from. The rustling noise grew louder with each passing second; I quickly closed my eyes out of desperation. I whispered a quick prayer for Naruto's safety and for my own survival since I already knew who was going to erupt from the darkness at any moment. The only sound that was audible to my ears was the nearing rustling, the loud pounding of my heart, and the quick rasps of air that I was breathing in. I was edging closer to the line that made me sane and kept my panic at a minimal; I knew that I should have a better grasp on myself since this wasn't the first time that I ever encountered the Akatsuki, but the intimidation was enough for me to fear. I knew that I ran out of time when I heard the gasp escape from Naruto as Itachi and Kisame walked out onto the training grounds. Itachi's gaze held anger as he stared at me through his Sharingan eyes; I barely got a glimpse of Kisame, but a grim line of disapproval pulled at his lips. I remained in a defensive stance as the two neared even closer towards Naruto.

"Serenity, what did I tell you earlier? If I have to remind you of your orders, you were told not to intervene in this mission. And what do you do? You obviously like going against what you've been told because that's exactly what you're doing. You were supposed to bring the Jinchuuriki deeper into the forest and here you are, conversing with the target." Itachi's voice came out harshly as his angered gaze continued to watch me for fear. I merely stared back at him through narrowed eyes; I was way too stubborn to ever listen to anyone who belonged to the Akatsuki. My gazed moved between Itachi and Kisame, my senses quite aware of Kisame clutching Samehada tightly in his hands. My gaze lingered on Kisame's sword, my fear quickly returning as my eyes stared at the chakra sucking weapon. Well, that's not good...If I were caught by that sword in an attack, I could throw all my attempts at saving Naruto to the air. Wind caressed my cheeks as a rush directed itself towards with such speed that I was taken my surprise. My eyes widened as I saw Itachi standing right before me. Fear flooded onto my features as I knew what was coming before it even happened. Itachi's closed fist made contact with my bruised stomach, a surprised gasp escaping from me as pain flooded through my torso. I landed on my knees, my arms tightly wrapped around my torso as if it were the only thing that I could do to control the pain within. Blood was trickling from the corners of my mouth as I looked up at the indifferent look on Itachi's face. I already knew that anger and betrayal lingered in my eyes as I watched the eldest Uchiha through a tearful gaze.

 My gaze quickly swept towards Kisame, the shocked expression on his face telling me that he wasn't expecting such behavior to come from the Uchiha. Tears spilled over my cheeks as my bright, red eyes landed on Naruto's petrified form. "Naruto, run! And please don't stay behind..." My voice came out weak, but the order within my words came out as strong as my determination. Naruto stared at me for a moment with fearful eyes and I already knew what was going through his head; he didn't want to leave me behind with two ruthless Akatsuki members. A battle raged inside of Naruto because he didn't want to abandon me with such a burden, but a dark look glazed over my eyes when I saw that Naruto was contemplating going against my orders. Uncertainty filled Naruto's eyes as his gaze met Itachi's narrowed Sharingan; with a short nod of his head, relief filled me as Naruto quickly began to back away from my fallen form and away from the danger that lied ahead. I watched as Naruto backed away with each passing second; I wondered if I would ever see him again. Naruto neared the edge of the training grounds, the exact area that divided forestry from the huge clearing. Naruto was still watching me as confusion entered his eyes when he noticed my widened gaze. I opened my mouth to shout a warning as Naruto turned around and came face to face with Kisame. Naruto couldn't even react as Kisame's Samehada came down upon him, the sword's ability swiftly shaving Naruto's chakra from his body. "Kid, you're not going anywhere just yet." Kisame's voice was as chilling as the set of sharp teeth that he revealed in his large grin.