Simple Manipulation

"Simple Manipulation"
Characters: You and Itachi
Setting: Modern Day
Warnings: minor spoilers and AU

Alright...turning point.

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.:Five:.

'We need you to be our inside connection...'

The rest of the night had been a blur, filled with explanations of details and history that he honestly didn't care for. However, he was convinced they had all gone mad. Completely insane to think that he'd even agree. He had declined their request so quickly that even his father was left speechless. Since no one had anything significant to say after that, he promptly left.

He tossed and turned all night long, unable to shake the uneasy feeling that had followed him home. Unable to reassure himself that they'd give up and move on. Unable to convince himself that everything would be okay.

Before the sun began to rise, Itachi was already dressed and ready for school. He put a pen in his back pocket and left at exactly 6:30.

"Hey! Wait up!"

He turned back to see Sasuke barreling down the hallway with a piece of toast in his mouth, books in one hand, jacket in the other. "I'm coming!"

Itachi's eyebrows twitched. "What are you doing up so early?"

Sasuke stopped to situate himself. "I should ask you the same thing, nii-san. Usually you're still lost in unicorn land, creating drool pools in your pillows."

Itachi frowned and swung at the younger, missing on purpose.

Sasuke dodged while tugging on his jacket, nodded at the door. Itachi continued forward with Sasuke behind him. "Why are you up so ear--"

"Hurry up!" Kohana screamed down the sidewalk to them. You covered your face with your folder.

"Ko!"

"What? We don't have all day. I want to eat breakfast." She leaned close to you and whispered as she narrowed her eyes. "Do you know what today is?"

"Uh...no?" You leaned away slightly.

"It's Pop-Tart day!" She pointed to the sky, striking a pose that reminded you a lot of Gai-sensei. "And I have never missed Pop-Tart day...nor will I ever." She cut her eyes at the Uchihas.

It took a lot of will power to keep from giving her a look of disbelief. It was amazing how simple she could be. "You two are unbelieveable."

You looked up in time to see Itachi approach you. He noted the shocked look on your face, one similar to the one you had when he snuck up on you the previous day. Apparently, you rarely were aware of your surroundings. "Good morning, (y/n)."

You blinked several times before smiling. "Good morning."

Sasuke peeked around Itachi's arm. "...It's really Pop-Tart day?"

Kohana sighed and threw her head back dramatically. "Yes! And by the time we get there, all the good ones will be gone and I'll be left with something yucky like apple or worse..." Her eyes widened with fear. "...fudge."

You snickered and turned away. "Fine, let's go before the Drama Queen has a royal bitch fit over a Pop-Tart."

"Royal. And you don't want to witness a royal one." She waved her finger in Sasuke's face before turning away.

Sasuke blinked a few times then followed. "So what then is your favorite kind?"

You started to follow when a hand pulled you back and arms wrapped around you. "Did you study last night?"

Itachi's masculine scent filled your nose and you nodded slowly. "Yes."

"I thought so...since you didn't come by again." His voice even sounded like he was smirking.

"You don't expect me to come by every night do you?" You turned around in his arms and looked up at him expectantly. To your surprise...he wasn't smiling. His tone held amusement...but even his eyes didn't reflect it. His Sharingan wasn't activated either. Something...something about him unsettled you. Not fear. No. You'd gotten over that. Trouble. Something was wrong.

"Itachi...is everything alright?"

Such a simple question should never be so complex. Itachi closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, then looked at you again. "Why do you ask?"

You frowned a bit. "Because you didn't answer me the first time I asked."

"You only asked once."

"Exactly. You rarely ever avoid a question unless something's up." You folded your arms. "Tell me."

'And just how the hell would you like me to tell you? Oh, (y/n), it's no big deal. My family wants me to do something that's sure to get a few people killed and possibly endanger others whom have nothing to do with their issues. No problem really.' He rolled his eyes and side-stepped around you. "It's nothing."

"How is it nothing when you have no qualms about telling me I'm annoying or boring? You are known for being brutally honest. I ask you if everything's okay and you brush me off. For a supposed genius....you can be really thick sometimes."

He chose to ignore that comment.

You watched him continue to walk away. "Okay so we slept together once. True that doesn't mean that I know everything about you...but I'm learning. If you'd give me a chance...if you'd treat me as a human being and not some insignificant pawn in your chess game of life...I have the potential to mean something to you...don't I?"

That he couldn't ignore if he wanted to. He whirled around and stormed back to you...and put a hand firmly over your mouth. "Shut. It."

He looked into your eyes as his Sharingan blazed. Fear instantly began to brew inside of you and he could feel you trying to pull away from him. Good.

He let you go. "Some things you can't blurt out loud...I don't care what it is." He hissed before spinning on his heel and marching off. You watched him leave you all behind...eyes watering as you struggled to fight tears. You wouldn't cry for him. No. Only two people deserved those tears...and they had left you alone a long time ago.

Kohana and Sasuke parted to let Itachi pass by then looked back at you. Kohana forced herself to allow you time to compose yourself...but upon seeing you take a deep shuddering breath, she dropped everything and ran.

"(Y/n)!" She whispered throwing her arms around you and hugging you tightly. "Don't let him get to you. He's an as--"

"No, he's not. I'm an idiot. An idiot for thinking things would be any different." You whispered bitterly.

Kohana frowned. "If anything, you aren't an idiot. I met your parents. Every single time I look at you..." She tilted your head up to her. "I see your mother's smile. Your dad's intellect. Their kind hearts. All mixed up into one person that they loved dearly. True, I didn't know them that well. But I knew them well enough to know that they'd kick ass if you cried. That's why I fight for you. You're the sister I always wanted. Growing up alone, with two bickering parents...seeing you with yours all happy. I admit I was jealous."

You looked at her directly. "You were?"

"Hell yeah!" She chuckled sadly. "You guys were the happy family I wanted more than my next breath. Then when they passed...I found someone who was as lonely as I was. That's why I hate seeing you cry. It reminds me of the nights I cried myself to sleep...only to wake and find that nothing had changed. Tears don't fix anything. Tears don't reset the past." Her thumb dabbed at your cheeks as she lowered her voice to a whisper. "I know it may hurt, but remember who you're dealing with and ask yourself if it's worth it."

You nodded and hugged her back. "...Thanks."

She smiled. "To be honest if that hadn't worked, I planned on attacking Ducky Butt to make you laugh."

Sasuke's jaw dropped open. "WHAT?!?!"

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Kohana got her Pop-Tart. So all went well for the morning. Sasuke settled on sticking with you two, teasing Kohana with smart comments and responses. You noticed him keeping an eye on you. Although you chose not to say anything to him about it, something about that assessing stare unsettled you.

In truth, Sasuke was still shocked about what he had seen the day before: you liplocking Itachi. Naruto might as well had tried explaining to him that there really are aliens. Of course, he'd collect the money from the bet with said blonde...but still. You were younger than Itachi. That he knew from Kohana. Age didn't matter much to him, but his mind kept wandering back to their dad. So militant and strict...it wasn't likely he'd sanction such a relationship with his "pride" that would possibly distract him from school.

Then your outburst this morning before school...he may had been mistaken...but surely someone heard you. It would explain Itachi's sudden urge to silence you. Deep down inside, intuition told Sasuke to keep an eye on you both.

"Okay!" Kohana got up as the bell rang for class. "Let's go!"

You nodded and stood up, gathering your stuff. As you walked down the hallway with Kohana, you kept an eye out for Itachi. You usually ran into him before going to your science class with him and Kohana...surely he didn't skip school? All throughout the class, you struggled to keep your mind focused on the notes that Kurenai was giving. There would be a test the following week and you couldn't afford to have a low grade in math and science. You chewed on your pen and tapped it impatiently on your desk while watching the clock. Itachi had yet to show up.

"Has anyone seen Itachi?" Kakashi looked around, laying the attendence sheet on his desk. "He's supposed to take his make-up test this morning..."

Eyes roamed around the room...and landed on you. You fidgeted in your seat until a piece of balled up notebook paper popped the side of your head. You picked it up and unfolded it. 'Arai says everyone knows about Itachi choosing you as a partner in art yesterday. Rumor has it that you two are a secret 'item'. ;-) You looked back over your shoulder at Kohana who was "busy" taking her notes then faced forward again. Great. Just what you needed to help your issues with Itachi. Rumors. And not just any old rumor, but a rumor that actually had some merit to it. Now totally distracted, you didn't even bother to try to pay attention now. You needed to talk to Itachi as soon as possible. Until you did that, you'd just be on edge, ready to fall apart at any moment.

"Kohana, I'll need to speak with you privately after class, okay?" Kakashi looked at her. She didn't respond, instead choosing to roll her eyes and drop her head down on her desk. "No, you're not going to die. It will be brief I assure you."

"Right. And I'm going to be Hokage one day, believe it!" She mocked Naruto, who shot her his dirtiest look, and gave Kakashi a thumbs up.

The bell rang and everyone quickly gathered their belongings and left. You took your time, wanting to walk with Kohana to your next class. "(Y/n)?" You looked at Kakashi.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Do you mind going on without Kohana? I don't want her being your excuse for being late to class." He smiled. Your shoulders slumped but you nodded. The hallway was filled with faces that once were familiar to you yet now belonged to strangers. You remembered when you actually got along with Sakura and Ino, when you and Hinata would study together...back when you were normal. Now those same faces either looked at you with disgust or pity...none of them held friendly recognition. You held your folder tightly against your chest and kept your eyes on the ground. 'When did I become so...weak?' You wondered. Someone bumped into you, causing you to lose your balance and fall backwards on your butt. "OW!"

"Hmph."

You looked up to see some girl with jet black hair with emerald streaks looking down at you with an evil sneer as her onyx eyes eyed you with apparent disdain. "Is it so hard to watch where you're going?"

You ignored her, reaching for your folder. Right when you hand landed on the folder, her foot stomped on your hand. "Ouch!"

"I asked you a question." She said coldly. "Is it so hard to watch where you're going? You owe me an apology."

You tried moving her foot by yanking your hand but she only pressed down harder. By now a crowd was beginning to gather around. "I don't owe you shit." You muttered still yanking.

She blinked a few times. "Come again?"

"She said she doesn't owe you a damned thing, you deaf ass bitch!" Before the girl knew what had hit her, Kohana's fist had connected with her jaw and knocked her back a few feet. The crowd "ooh"ed with excitement and pressed closer. The girl caught herself and managed to avoid Kohana's second punch, which was aimed for her nose. You forgot all about the folder and jumped in. No way were you going to sit by and let Kohana get all the credit. As the girl grabbed Kohana's hair and pulled, you promptly pulled hers too. She screamed out in pain as you tried ripping the hair straight from her scalp as Kohana pried her hair free.

"Hey! Hey!" You heard a familiar voice but didn't care. Adrenaline was pumping. Your nerves were already fried and you needed to release the frustration and anger from the morning's events. The poor girl didn't know what she had gotten herself into. The second Kohana was free, you gave her hair one hard yank and she fell flat on her back. "(Y/n)! Kohana! Emi!"

Arms wrapped around your abdomen and you were lifted up. "Hey!!" You screamed and began flailing your arms and legs to get free.

"(Y/n)!!" Gai yelled in your ear as Kakashi and Iruka rushed past him. "Calm down now or you'll be expelled!"

Part of you acknowledged his threat and you slowly did as you were told, soon just hanging limp in his bear hold. Kohana, on the other hand...

"Fucking bitch!" Kohana growled pummeling the girl's face with her fist. Kakashi managed to get his arms around Kohana's waist and lifted her up off of Emi. As soon as Kohana was a safe distance away, Iruka yanked Emi to her feet. "Ooh, I swear to God, if I ever--"

"Shut the hell up, skank!" Emi hissed and spit on Kohana, right in the face.

And all hell broke loose.

Kohana blinked a few times to process what had just happened and she lost it. "BITCH!!!" With a sudden gust of strength, she raced back towards Emi but Kakashi caught her in time. Apparently, Kakashi wasn't trying to hold her back since she shouldn't have gotten past him in the first place. Nonetheless, he caught her before she could touch Emi. Due to this sudden dash, Kohana had closed to gap between them, allowing her just enough room to hop up in Kakashi's arms, deliver a powerful kick to Emi's chest with both feet that knocked Emi and Iruka to the floor.

Kakashi lost his balance and he and Kohana fell backwards as well. Kohana managed to recover quickly, rolling over onto her feet within seconds. Emi was short of breath and unaware of the danger she was in. Kakashi jumped up and tried to block Kohana, but because he hadn't gained the right footing, she knocked him back over with a powerful shove and dived on Emi.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" A female's voice yelled out. You watched in horror as Tsunade caught Kohana's arm and twisted it behind her back so that she was unable to move without breaking it.

"Let me go!!" Kohana screamed yet did little to try to free herself.

"What's going on?!" Tsunade looked at the three men, then at you three.

"She started it!" Sakura stepped forward and pointed at Emi. Immediately the crowd agreed and some even pointed at her too. Tsunade pushed Kohana back to Kakashi and yanked Emi up.

"Is this true?"

"Fuck off." Emi looked away, pride bruised and obviously not happy about it.

Tsunade looked extremely pissed and grabbed the girl's arm. "We'll see about that." She muttered as she dragged the girl through the crowd. "Bring them too."

Gai put you down and only pointed in the direction Tsunade was going, silently ordering you to follow. You fell in step beside Kohana and together you two marched to the office.

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You sat alone during lunch, eyes red and puffy from crying. Usually Kohana would have been eating lunch as well...but the worse that could happen...happened. You pushed your mashed potatoes around on your tray and fought more tears. Hearing them expell Emi for good had brought a bright smile to your face. Hearing them permanently send Kohana to military school nearly killed you. Gai and the others were so impressed by her fighting skills that they offered to ignore her actions in exchange for her cooperation. You were granted a pardon since Sakura, Ino, and a group of their friends had willingly come forward and insist that you were innocent.

"You demonstrated skills of a well-trained kunoichi. You should accept this offer we're making you, Kohana. Otherwise, you will be permanently expelled as well as Emi." You closed your eyes. Kakashi was such a traitor. He was supposed to vouch for her. He was supposed to take up for Kohana like he usually did. Instead he had led the damned bandwagon. As a result...you lost your best friend. The only person in the whole entire school that didn't see you any differently.

In Gai's math class, Itachi didn't show up. To make matters worse, Gai asked you to demonstrate the tutoring Itachi was supposed to be doing. Although you managed to get the basics done, you still screwed up the problem and got it wrong.

"Well," He looked at some papers on his desk. "That's better than what you did on your last test. I suppose some more tutoring is needed."

You slumped down in your chair. "Psst." You looked over at Shikamaru.

"Hm?"

"Itachi's supposed to be tutoring you?"

You nodded.

"If you want, I'll tutor you. Sasuke told me how much of an ass Itachi can be sometimes. We can just meet up during lunch or before school."

It was a good offer and you knew Shikamaru wouldn't offer to do anything he wasn't sure he wanted to do. Despite his "slacker" title, Shikamaru had his moments. Itachi didn't have to know about it, did he? Even so, that meant less work for him. You could still tutor with Itachi as well. "Okay."

Shikamaru turned back to his work. "We'll meet tomorrow morning then in the cafeteria."

Of course, over-dramatic Ebisu seized every moment available to mention how much he had missed you last class period you had missed. He also knew his limits. He made sure not to mention Kohana around you lest he would possibly be exposed to a crying teen....and he could do without that. You picked up your missed assignments and turned in the homework assignment that Kohana had told you about. Because you showed "such responsibility", Ebisu even changed your absent from that missed day to a tardy.

Instead of running home, you ran straight to Kohana's house. Her mother answered the door after the third round of knocking...and she didn't seem too pleased. "(Y/n)."

"Please, may I see Kohana-chan?" You bowed deeply to show her respect.

Natsumi looked down at you. Part of her was pleased to see you. Part of her was convinced you were the reason Kohana had gotten in trouble. "She's in trouble. I haven't decided when she can have company over yet."

You looked up at her. "I-I can't even see her when we're not in school?"

"Not at the moment. I'm so mad at her I might strangle her." She folded her arms. Your shoulders slumped and you promptly turned away without so much as a goodbye. Now you truly felt alone. Itachi had abandoned you that morning. Kohana was officially gone....

You sat in your room on your bed, knees drawn up to your chest. How exactly were you supposed to keep going?

~---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~

Itachi leaned against the school building and waited patiently. He was tired of playing follow the leader. "You can come out now...Shisui."

Shisui Uchiha stepped from the shadows. Shisui, who was no older than a month or so than Itachi, stepped from the shadows wearing his Konoha police vest. Shisui resembled Itachi a bit. His hair was only shoulder length because he frequently got it cut. He had a small scar to the left of his nose that was shaped like a crescent moon. "I was wondering when you'd acknowledge me."

Itachi didn't respond, instead shoved his hands into his pockets and didn't look at the other. "What do you want?"

"I was supposed to try to persuade you into reconsidering your decision last night." He stepped closer and smirked. "I was told that despite how close we may be...your cooperation is of utmost importance."

Itachi looked at him from the corner of his eye. "And?"

"Well...I think we both know that you have been a bad boy." Shisui folded his arms. "Seriously Itachi? Her?"

Itachi closed his eyes. "Shisui. Please don't--"

"She's underage. When your father finds out, you won't have much of a choice."

"He won't find out." Itachi looked at him indifferently.

"Who says he won't?" Shisui looked down. "Itachi, try to be understanding. Their concerns aren't so bad considering the history. I would do it but they know I'm close to my father."

"So I'm chosen because I don't affiliate myself with you all?"

"You can put it that way if you want." Shisui looked at him. "In the end, we need you in order to do this. Your first step is to go to military academy and start your training as a shinobi. It wouldn't take you long."

"I said it once and I stand by my original decision: no." Itachi pushed away from the wall and started to head to class. The last thing he wanted was to hear your mouth about his not being there.

"Too bad...then I will have to tell your father what I heard this morning." Shisui spoke to his back. "(Y/n) announced that you two have had sexual relations."

"And?" Itachi repeated once again.

"And...you can either go to jail for statutory rape or consent to attending the academy."

Itachi balled his fists up at his sides as his eyes flickered red. "Let me clarify something. Is that a threat?"

"No...it's a promise." Shisui turned to leave. "And what good are you in jail? We won't have the help we need and she'll be all alone. Everyone loses."

Itachi unconsciously switched on his Sharingan. "Shi-san."

"Hm?" Shisui stopped and looked at Itachi over his shoulder.

"You once told me when we younger that there was one rule a shinobi always followed."

Shisui waved him off and kept walking. "There are many rules a shinobi must follow."

Itachi moved so quickly that even Shisui was caught of guard. Itachi pressed a kunai to the elder's throat and hissed in his ear. "A shinobi never turns his back on his enemy."

Shisui tried to move only to realize one of his arms was being twisted behind his back. "So..." Shisui smiled. "You really like her? Enough to turn on your family and friends?"

"I haven't turned on anyone. Leave her out of this."

"Either accept or prepare to go to jail." Shisui softened his tone. "Itachi...what if they really planning something? Can you imagine something happening to Sasuke all because you didn't humor us?"

Itachi paused. Shisui always knew Itachi's greatest weakness. Sasuke.

"Do you want that on your conscious? You may survive but he...he has yet to even consider military school!"

Itachi pushed Shisui away from him and put the kunai back in its holster against his leg.

"When will he learn self defense? When will he learn to be strong so that you won't have to be strong for him?" Shisui rubbed his neck. "Meet me in exactly thirty minutes by the river with an answer."

Itachi watched Shisui shimmer away like a fading mirage and sighed. How did something simple like tutoring become so complicated? He covered his face then began pacing, thinking of ways to weasel his way out of this one. He didn't have much time to think of something elaborate, leaving him to believe that was Shisui's goal. He only had two options. Cooperate or go to jail. Yet...

And yet...

Shisui was the only besides Sasuke who knew their secret. He knew Sasuke wouldn't tell. In fact, he was sure Sasuke was still shocked that he wasn't gay as Naruto had tried convincing him. So then there was only one loose end.

And he had to tie it.

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Itachi didn't go back home until school was out. Greatfully his mother and Sasuke weren't home, thus allowing him to make it to his room and change out of his soaking wet clothes. What happened? Even he didn't know. Yet, he came home anyway and acted as if nothing had happened. He showered and stretched out on his bed. He didn't bother to turn on the TV. He had too much on his mind. He hadn't seen you all day. There was no telling what happened after he left you with Kohana and Sasuke.

He concluded that you hated his guts and didn't ever want to see him again. Fine. He could deal with that...'Like hell.' He got up and pulled a t-shirt over his head. As much as he wanted to let his mind jump to conclusions and detach himself from you--'Detach? When did I get attached?'--he had made an unspoken promise.

And he intended to keep that promise.

He tapped on your window. You jumped slightly from the noise and rushed to the window. You thought it was Kohana but who you found instead nearly made you faint. "Itachi?" You whispered, utterly shocked.

"Move and let me in." He whispered. You stepped back and watched him heave himself inside your room. He looked around and shrugged. It wasn't as bad as he thought. At least there weren't posters of him all over the place....

"W-what are you--" He cut you off with a hard, demanding kiss. You had to practically cling to him to keep your balance. When he finally released you, you could do nothing more than watch him as he laid down on your bed. "Um...?"

"Someone heard you this morning."

Your eyes widened. "Who?"

"You mean besides Sasuke?" He cut his eyes at you.

"Yeah..." You looked down out of guilt.

"Just...someone." He motioned with one hand for you to come lay down next to him.

"Oh." You remembered the last time you pressed for information and dropped it. You laid down beside him and curled up in his embrace.

"Did I miss anything today?" He asked.

"Kohana got sent to military academy." You whispered. For a while, Itachi didn't know what to say.

"Are you okay?"

"...I am now that you're here." You muttered sleepily. "As long as I have you, I won't always be alone."