Nevermore

"Finally, it's all clean." She turned her large eyes up towards the window above the sink and smiled to herself. It was a lovely day outside, the sun was high and the skies were clear of any clouds. Mikoto wiped a damp hand against her apron and sighed as she turned her attention towards the front door. They should have been back by now. "Any time now, I'm sure. I should get lunch ready though," she mused to herself and then turned towards the cabinets. Running a slender finger against a row of boxes her eyes lit up and she pulled the third box out. "Itachi likes this." As she fumbled to open the box up and loud bang forced her hands to open and the box fell to the floor, spilling a deep colored broth with it.

"Kaa-san! Kaa-san!" Mikoto turned around alarmed at Sasuke's outburst, blinking as he struggled in up through the hall until he slid into the kitchen. His eyes were wide and dotted with tears and his mouth was upturned in a quivering pout. "Nii-san, he ran away..." Sasuke mumbled into the crook of his sleeve, trying to wipe away the hot tears that ran down his cheeks, "he did something bad, I just know it."

"What are you talking about? Sasuke, where's Hinamei? And about Itachi, what do you mean he ran away?" Mikoto sank to one knee and dabbed at the spill with a red piece of cloth. Sasuke pointed a short finger towards the door and soon stumbled in Hinamei, cheeks red and eyes even wider than Sasuke's had been.

"Sasuke," she breathed heavily, leaning against the door frame with her eyes shut painfully. "You just...left me back there...you brat!" She shot an accusing finger at the whimpering boy and in turn Sasuke wailed loudly and hung behind his mother's elbow. Mikoto sighed and turned her attention to Hinamei who now had a hand pressed against her chest as she willed herself to breathe.

"So where is Itachi?" Hinamei opened one dark eye and stared at Mikoto with her eyebrows upturned. Finally she shrugged and slunk back against the wall.

"I swear, we looked everywhere for him but Itachi's gone." Mikoto's eyes strayed past the girl and out through the window. A small series of words escaped her mouth and Hinamei stood up straight. "Don't worry, he'll come back. He always does." She forced a smile but somewhere in the back of her own head she questioned her own words. The old Itachi would have come back but this new Itachi, well, it was hard to say. She watched silently on as Mikoto put the whimpering Sasuke back on his feet, he wiped his nose and teetered past Hinamei without a second glance.

"We'll have to go find Fugaku I suppose. Will you watch Sasuke while I go find him? He should be at the station today, it won't take more than twenty minutes." Hinamei shuddered at the thought of Fugaku getting involved and put her hand up before Mikoto could straighten herself up.

"If you'd like I could go look for him again. It should be easier to do without Sasuke now. I promise, I'll find him before Fugaku-san gets home." She watched as Mikoto pursed her lips and looked away doubtfully. Hinamei straightened up and smiled widely, whisking her hair back with her free hand she leaned forward. "Don't worry, I'm sure everything is fine. Just watch, I'll be back in less than ten minutes with Itachi right behind me!" She didn't give Mikoto a chance to answer as she headed for the front door. Her eyebrows were firmly pushed together and she frowned, throwing her eyes towards the ceiling. Itachi owes me one, big time! The front door slid open and she stepped out into the sunlight, wincing as it touched at her eyes. Itachi could have been at a number of places, the first she would have guessed to be the dock where they spent a lot of time at as children. The next place she assumed him to be would have been the training field, assuming he hadn't been disqualified for whatever it was he did, he should have been training hard for the next trial of the chuunin exams. She stepped out onto the porch and placed a thin finger to her pink lips, tapping them lightly as she closed her eyes. Knowing Itachi he wouldn't be anywhere someone would expect him to be, that's just how he was. Always vague and completely inconsiderate of others. Her hand moved from her lip to her forehead and she shut her eyes to the bright light. Where would Itachi be least likely to go?

She snapped her fingers and smiled. Anywhere fun and full of people! First, Itachi hated fun and it just so happened he hated most people. The perfect combination, nobody would ever look there! "But if he doesn't like people or fun, why would he go there in the first place?" She asked herself out loud. With a pout she swung her arms round her torso and kicked at the air. Stupid Itachi always, without fail, had to ruin everything.

"You look pretty stupid standing there talking to yourself you know." Hinamei blinked upwards, slowly turning her head towards the source of that condescending voice. "Looking for someone?" Her teeth grated together roughly and she snapped to her left with a twitch in her eye.

"Shisui, you're not helping." He took a step closer, his hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his black pants and he answered with a smirk and a toss of his eyes.

"Did you want my help? Because I'm sure I'd have a better idea of where Itachi would be than you ever would." Hinamei bit back a retort, it was true that statement kind of hurt her. Surely Itachi and herself were on the same level of friendship Shisui and Itachi were. Before she answered Shisui pulled his hand from his pocket and swung a kunai round his pointer finger, brandishing it like some sort of ninja he pointed it towards the gates of the compound and grinned wildly. "This way my darling." She frowned but reluctantly stepped down from the porch. Shisui was naturally dramatic, everyone knew it but there was no doubt that as dramatic as he was he was twice as much a genius. She followed Shisui throughout town wordlessly, both looking up alleys and in buildings as they passed them. It wasn't until Shisui dropped his name again that Hinamei realized she had never told Shisui who she was planning to look for in the first place.

"How did you know I was going to look for Itachi earlier?" Hinamei asked as they passed a down trodden area of the village. Shisui looked over at her and gave an almost sad sort of smile.

"Rumors mainly, Kiashi told me about an hour ago that one of the Uchiha's had nearly killed his own teammate in the forest. I really only assumed it was Itachi considering he's one of the only Uchiha's who's worth talking about." The taller boy gave a snort and rolled his eyes. "Not to mention Itachi's so ready to fight I wouldn't be surprised if he had killed his own teammate to win." The wind shuddered and Hinamei's hair swung round her head like a halo.

"I never knew Itachi could be so cold hearted. Surely he wouldn't actually kill someone, I mean, is it really that important to become a ninja?" It startled her when Shisui let out a cold bite of laughter. It was unlike anything she had ever heard come out of him. His eyes darkened and he looked at her with one side of his mouth tilted upwards.

"It's probably a good thing you dropped from the academy." Shisui halted and turned towards her, he took a step forward until his hands rested on her trembling shoulders. She hadn't realized how cold the air suddenly had become. His lips closed in close to her ear, "I've killed three men by myself, but Itachi, well, he's killed twice as many..." His cold voice reminded her of a snake and she felt herself go rigid as Shisui's fingers closed in closer to her skin. "Didn't you know, the Uchiha clan has their own special test you have to pass before you can become a real shinobi. You think it's hard to kill someone with a weapon, well imagine doing it with nothing but your bare hands!" Shisui let go and Hinamei fell back onto her hands and looked up at Shisui with her mouth open in disbelief.

Not Itachi, that couldn't be true. Itachi had once told her the whole reason he wanted to become a ninja was to protect those he cared for. Not for murder.

Her eyes got even bigger when Shisui threw his head back and laughed, holding his hands to his ribs as he shook about, almost unable to contain himself. "I-I can't believe you actually believed that!" He pointed a finger at her face and Hinamei just blinked in response. "A special test? Really, how stupid can you be?" Shisui slapped a hand to his forehead and bent over laughing, tears prickled at the edges of his eyes and for the first time Shisui had actually left Hinamei dead quiet.

Honestly, she should have known better by now.

Shisui lent out his hand and smiled warmly at her, "you have to admit, it's funny." She took his hand and hoisted herself up, dusting off her legs as she stood she stuck her tongue out.

"I don't think it's funny at all. In fact, I don't think you're funny ever. It's sad really, you walk around laughing at your own jokes and everybody laughs with you because they just feel bad." She smirked and looked at him coyly from the side. "Itachi's funnier than you and really, I don't think he's ever said anything funny his entire life. You-" a high scream interrupted her as she was swept up in Shisui's arms and spun upside down.

"Take it back you brat! You laugh all the time at my stupid jokes!" Shisui laughed his musical laugh as he swung the much smaller girl around on his shoulder, laughing harder as she screamed and clutched onto his shirt desperately afraid to let go. Itachi watched them from his spot on the rooftop of the abandoned weapon shop, his chin rested against his knees and he never took his eyes off of the dark haired girl who couldn't decide whether to laugh or keep shouting. A cool breeze swept in from behind him, rousing his hair from the tie he had swept it up to. What's wrong with me? His fingernails dug into the exposed skin on his ankles and he closed his eyes, what went wrong? Shisui finally put Hinamei down and Itachi watched on as she stumbled dizzily until she fell and made Shisui laugh again. He couldn't take any more of this. Itachi stood up tall and watched as Hinamei regained her balance. Waiting until he made sure she could walk straight again until he flickered away into the closest tree line.

The forest was quiet and he slunk against a cool branch high in the trees and closed his eyes. And no matter how hard he tried not to think about today, it always came back and hit him tenfold.

----------------------------------------------------

Itachi's team consisted of two other people. There was Takami, a girl with vibrant red hair and special scouting techniques and a boy named Jin, a rapid hand to hand master. In order to complete this stage of the exam your team and yourself had to maneuver through the forest and obtain six different scrolls, all different from the next. If you did manage to obtain all six you then had to summon a key using your scrolls and unlock the gate out of the forest. It was simple enough, and they all had it made until the last scroll was sitting beneath the tree they were all crouched in. Below them stood a group of stone shinobi, holding the last scroll they needed to get out and finish the stage. "Uchiha," Jin looked over at Itachi and nodded towards the group. "Let me take these guys, you and Takami stay up here and wait for my signal to move ahead." Takami nodded and secured herself higher up to the next branch but Itachi shook his head hastily.

"I told you Jin, you're not getting another chance at this. Who had to clean up your last mess? You sit up here and I'll be back in three minutes." His scarlet eyes flashed at the green eyed boy and he set his hand down on the branch, preparing himself to pounce. Until a thin hand stopped him.

"I'm so sick of you Uchiha. Thinking you can order everyone else around like you do." His slate colored hair fell over his eye and he smirked, "It's my turn to show them you're not the only prodigy." With that being said Jin leapt backwards off the branch and pulled two kunai from his belt. He landed amongst the group of three shinobi, smirking as he did so, slid two of the kunai between his fingers and pinned two of them against a nearby tree by way of their sleeves. "You've got what I need," he eyed the center one devilishly and watched with amusement as the last shinobi pulled a kunai from his sleeve, fumbling awkwardly.

"Don't give it to him!" One shouted as he tried to dislodge himself from the tree. His sleeve tore and he looked to his left. His teammate had hit his head against the tree and now lie unconscious against the log. "Dammit," he hissed, unaware of the shadow falling towards him. Jin glanced up, his mouth bit back angrily between his teeth. Itachi landed gracefully on the boy's shoulders, weaved his fingers nimbly around the crook of his underarm and swiftly, flung him over in a loop. Itachi landed nimbly on his toes, watching as the other boy hit the ground loudly, a soft spray of blood leaving his lips.

"Itachi, what did-" Jin started, focusing his attention on the smug Uchiha, all the while unaware of the stone shinobi in front of him taking advantage of the situation. The ninja that still stood took the kunai from between his fingers and made a wide swipe, leaving Jin to jump back with hardly any time to spare. He stumbled backwards and looked down at the blooming line of red directly across his chest. The stone shinobi took another swipe and landed Jin a hard punch to his left eye, Jin staggered back even further with a cry.

"Shinobi rule number three, never take your eyes off of your opponent lest you're looking for a death wish. Idiot." Itachi crouched low, eyes a blazing scarlet and before the other nin could turn around Itachi had delivered a swift kick straight to the latter's spine. The boy spun loosely to the ground, a shrill scream escaping his lips as he curled on the ground, twitching. "You're lucky my eyes can see for the both of us." Itachi stepped over the boy he had just kicked and quickly unlatched the sixth scroll from his belt. "Takami, the scrolls. Now."

"You bastard! You could have gotten me killed!" Jin started, his fingers dabbed at the red spot, holding them up plainly for Itachi to see while his other hand covered his bruising eye. The latter paid no mind and instead grabbed the scrolls from the red head that had stormed down from the trees. Her eyes narrowed wordlessly as Itachi unraveled all six scrolls over each other in complex order. "Are you listening?"

"Unfortunately, but to be honest Jin it probably would have been for the best." He closed his eyes and weaved a fast signal and in a poof of air a key sat center on the scrolls. His eyes had returned to their normal dusty grey color and he gingerly placed the key into the pouch on his hip. "Look, it only took two minutes. You should be thanking me. Not to mention, we've got twenty minutes to spare till the time limit's up." Jin reached round his back pocket and quietly pulled a dagger out, his eyes glanced at Takami before settling on the Uchiha's back. "Nothing to say?" A smirk settled across Itachi's lip and he looked over his shoulder, his sharingan lit up like fire. "I hope you don't intend to hurt me with that."

"If my life means nothing to you, then why should yours?" Jin hissed, circling round Itachi till he faced him. "Answer me!"

"Well to be honest," Itachi pulled his own kunai out, brandishing it ahead of him with one eye closed. "It's because of who I am. An Uchiha, an elite shinobi with blood line limits your family could only ever dream of touching. I can see right through you and all I see is a joke. They put you next to me so that in comparison people could see my true power. An elitist next to a mere waste of breath. Face it, you have nothing on me." Takami slapped her hands to her mouth and stumbled backwards.

"Itachi-san! Please, don't say such cruel things! He's done nothing to you!" Itachi whipped his head round his shoulder and snarled, bringing her to a shuddering halt.

"Don't even get me started on you! You pitiful excuse for a kunoichi, how they even let you graduate from the academy is beyond me! The only reason you're still alive is because you have a leech unwilling to stray from your side. Isn't that right, Jin?" The other boy yelled angrily, sprinting forth with his weapon thrust out in front of him, silver hair flung back as he darted only to shudder forward as Itachi swept underneath. With a smirk the Uchiha landed on one hand and used the force of his fall to bring one leg under Jin, sweeping his feet off the ground. The green eyed boy choked as he landed, sucking in air just as the dagger landed next to his cheek. A thin line of blood pearled out and swept under the crook of his ear. "Pathetic." Itachi's eyes flashed towards the cowering girl and he nodded. "Either you guys get out of this place with me or I go alone and you all fail." With one eye closed and teeth sharply grating against each other Jin looked up, ready to tell Itachi to not move but the Uchiha had already raced off.

"Dammit, Takami, help me please." The fiery girl bent down close to the ground and gently lifted up Jin's shirt. It wasn't a deep cut but it was wide enough that if he kept bleeding from it he would surely pass out. She bit back her bottom lip and pulled from her pouch a set of bandages, only to have them hit from her hand by Jin. "We don't have time for any of that! He's going to get out, without us! I didn't go this far just to be stranded halfway from my goal." His voice softened and he looked up into the large hazel eyes of Takami, "and I know you didn't either. Help me up, if we're fast, we might be able to catch him if we go now."

"R-right." As softly as she could she hoisted Jin up until he wobbled dangerously on his own two feet. The second fall had made him dizzy but he focused his attention on the tree line, determined to go. He took a sideways glance at Takami and grinned.

"Think you can keep up?" A small blush crept into her cheeks but nevertheless she nodded and braced herself to go. They both flickered off into a nearby branch until it became second nature again to pounce from tree to tree. Itachi smirked from where he stood, having been watching since Takami had helped Jin up. He wanted to know if Jin could really keep moving. If he wanted this bad enough to push himself. Part of him regretted what he said, it wasn't how he truly felt but that boy brought the worst out of him. He needed to prove himself one way or another, stopping at nothing and arrogance like that simply made Itachi fume. It was about time someone put him in his place. Itachi jumped to the next branch and began moving at his one pace towards the gate, as he had planned Jin and Takami would get there before him and would think he had gone without them. A small laugh left through parted lips and Itachi shook his head. And he had always thought that only Hinamei was this easy to pick on, he really should give her more credit. I wonder how she's been doing, a small smile tugged on the corners of his lips and he looked up over the trees. It was a nice day out, he wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke had drug her out of bed just to play. He's probably driving her mad by now. An ache in his chest brought him out of his small wonders, he wouldn't admit it but he missed both of them. Sasuke had finally gotten to that age where he admired every step Itachi took. Which was why there was no possible option of quitting or losing. He couldn't bear to not meet that boy's expectations. And where Hinamei was involved, Itachi bit down on his lip and his hands clenched, moving faster. He couldn't even begin to comprehend Hinamei, which was why it was so entertaining to keep her hanging around. Itachi grinned to himself.

Yeah, that was the only reason she was still there.

A small group of voices filtered in through the trees and instantly Itachi recognized Jin, and he wasn't in good shape. "That bastard! He meant it, he just left us!" Jin's fist slammed against the tall gate and he yelled louder. The gate was protected by a seal, you couldn't jump it or climb it. The only way out is if you have that one key that opens it and even that, it's a one time use key after it's been used it flies back in a cloud of air. Just like it came. Takami watched as Jin beat against the gate, tears prickled at her own eyes and hastily she wiped them away. Itachi had seen enough. He gracefully leapt from his branch, key between two slender fingers and he grinned cheekily.

"I might not like you but I wouldn't leave you in here like that." Takami sucked in a sharp breath and Jin turned around slowly, eyes like slits as he stepped forward.

"Are you blind Uchiha? Did you not see how you acted back there? You attacked me! Your own damn teammate! And you expect to just come down here and have us all praise you for the scum you are?" Itachi's grin fell away and in turn he looked through narrowed eyes at the boy. No one had ever spoken to him like that, it was so condescending and accusing, and he couldn't stand it.

"You attacked me first, what I did was merely out of self defense." He snidely responded, lowering the key and falling into an automatic crouch. Jin merely threw his head back and laughed.

"Self defense! I'm not stupid and neither are you Itachi! I pulled a dagger out but both of us know I didn't stand a chance. Is that what you want to hear? You're better than me, you're better than all of us," Jin's eyes fell to the ground. "But if it weren't for those eyes of yours, you'd be nothing. All you are is blessed with good genes, it's not fair and I refuse to accept it!" Takami's hands rushed to her eyes as both boys growled and Jin made the first move and rushed at Itachi. A clash of metal, a cry and then it was all silent. Gently, she peeked through two fingers and her eyes went wide, hands falling to her side.

"There is no excuse for attacking your own team mate," it was a tall man who spoke, his hair was dark and framed his face softly and his eyes were closed. "You," he opened a single dark eye and eyed Jin curiously. "What's your name?" Itachi froze, his eyes wide and darting back and forth between the two. The man that stood before them was no laughing matter, and for him to be a part of the exams shook Itachi's nerves, it didn't make sense.

His name was Uchiha Kai and he worked with Fugaku on the Konoha police force.

"Hiroshi Jin, but listen I didn't do anything wrong!" Kai held up a single finger and reopened both eyes, pointing his attention towards the other Uchiha with a smirk.

"Itachi-chan, is this true? Because from where I was watching it plainly looked like this boy attacked you. And don't forget," his sharingan lit up and he turned back towards Jin with a leer. "I could hear every thing you said, even yourself admitted you pulled a dagger out in battle." Jin's mouth hung open, he slunk back against the ground terrified and awe struck. "So what should your punishment be?" Itachi couldn't help but look away, he knew what was coming and he couldn't stop it. He never wanted it to go this far.

"You-you're an Uchiha?" Jin's deep green eyes flickered back between Itachi and Kai, widening as he did. "Itachi, tell him, please!"' Itachi opened his mouth to help the tender situation as much as he could but Kai held up a hand and tossed a warning glance at Itachi, all he could do was look away. Too weak to look Jin in the eyes.

"I've heard enough, your begging is disgusting. Hiroshi, as a proctor of the chuunin exams I hereby disqualify you for inappropriate conduct towards a team mate. Maybe next year you'll learn some respect." Itachi's eyes shot up and Jin's eyes had never been wider. Disqualified? It didn't make sense, it was a small duel, nothing more. But he didn't have time to think as Jin rushed towards Itachi with tears streaming down his face. His fingers wrapped around Itachi's shirt and Itachi couldn't move to stop him, he didn't have the heart at this point.

"Say something Itachi! Tell him!" Itachi's back hit against the fence and Jin shook him again. His eyes searched desperatly into Itachi's and yet, the boy refused to look at him. Itachi knew what he had done, sealed this boy's future and made a true enemy. "Itachi please!" Jin's voice cracked and Itachi shut his eyes until he saw white beneath his lids. He couldn't take it anymore. Itachi pushed Jin off of him only to have the boy's fist collide with the side of his jaw. Itachi's eyes opened wide and he choked on an intake of breath as he stumbled sideways. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted another instructor, this one was a woman with brown hair and furious pale blue eyes. She shot down beneath the tree and hissed at Kai.

"Don't just watch, do something!" She raced forward and pried Jin off of Itachi, Jin swung wildly around, missing his target and prying at the cold hands that held him still. Kai raced over to Itachi and his hand fell on his shoulder.

"Do you have the key yet?" Itachi nodded roughly, hoisting the key from his sleeve and dropping it into Kai's hand. The man laughed and dipped down. "Good boy." Kai raced to the gate just as the woman grabbed a hold of Itachi's arm to, Jin swung his arm over and clawed roughly onto Itachi's shirt.

"You coward, see what you've done!"

"Enough!" The woman called out and the gate flung open. She swung both boys and they fell against the ground, dirt flying up in a cloud around them. Jin was bleeding and his eyes were focused on Itachi, never straying.

"I don't care what they do to me, we all know that you and your dirty clan are nothing but filth to this village!" Jin's eyes flickered to Kai, who stood smugly watching the boy break beneath his gaze. Itachi crouched low to the ground, afraid to move. Jin, stop talking! He knew the more Jin talked ill of his clan the more Kai would have against the Hiroshi family, this didn't need to happen. It couldn't! But Jin continued, his rage getting the better of him. "It was unfair to let you in here, thinking you're so much better with those eyes, you're nothing but-" Itachi couldn't let him continue, he was going to get his whole family hurt. The Uchiha stormed upwards and dashed towards Jin with a kunai in hand. Eyes drilling into him so he got the point but Jin paid no mind, his eyes were dull and wide, frightened and hurt by the betrayal Itachi had committed.

"You wouldn't want to say anything you'll regret now, do you?" Itachi, as secretly as he could, gave a pleading look to Jin and flashed his eyes over to Kai. "Don't do this!" Itachi hissed under his breath and Jin finally closed his eyes. The older Uchiha dashed towards Itachi, who had let his weapon go just as Kai's hand wrapped around his wrist. He pulled Itachi over and bent down to his level, hissing dangerously.

"Keep acting like that and I won't be able to cover this. Just keep your mouth shut and we won't have to include Fugaku-san. Is that understood? You've passed already, stop while you're ahead."

But Itachi heard none of it as his eyes settled on Hinamei and Sasuke. Both frightened and concerned. All he could do was turn away, after all, how could he face them after what they had seen?

------------------------------------------

The sun was getting lower now, painting the sky a dusty burnt orange and as Itachi lifted his heavy lids he looked over the village and clutched at his chest. This didn't feel right and after seeing what Kai had done to his fellow teammate he couldn't help but question himself. Was he defending the wrong person? Was his praised clan really all that much to glorify? His eyes settled on the tree to his left where he watched a mother bird bend over and coo at her babies. "Why can't everything be that easy?" He mused to himself quietly, almost hoping to fall asleep for three days and not be bothered. He couldn't face Takami again, especially not Jin. He knew, without even having to think about it, they would never forgive him. He ran a small hand up his forehead and tangled it into his sleek back threads, musing with a groan. Would this damn day ever end?

"Ita-chan? Ita-chan is that you?" Itachi jumped and squinted under the branch, sighing as he understood he had finally been found. "Shisui it is him!" Hinamei gave a short wave and laughed, running closer to the bottom of the tree till her hands rested against the old bark. "Come down, we've been looking all over for you!" Shisui stood against a twin tree, his arms crossed across his chest and that everlasting smirk plastered on his face. For a slight second Itachi grated his teeth. Why are they so damn persistent? What have they got to gain from this? His fingers dug deeper into the midnight blue fabric of his shirt, feeling threads peel under his nails. None of this made sense. "Itachi please, you don't know how much we've all missed you! And look," Hinamei dug deep into her pocket and held up a bright object, to which Shisui loudly snickered at. "I've got this for you, it's from Sasuke and it's kind of squished but I know how much you and your brother like these things!" Itachi's eyes relaxed and his hand fell slowly to his side, listening to their voices wasn't as irritating as he initially thought. In fact, it was almost comforting.

Maybe that's why they keep trying.

"If you don't take it Itachi then I will, I've worked up one hell of an appetite looking for you, you know." Shisui yelled with his hands cupped around his mouth. Itachi looked back over the edge, swinging his feet around as he went and he smiled down at the two beneath him.

Because they're my friends and maybe, they actually don't mind me the way I am.

"Fine, I'm coming. But Hinamei said it was for me so don't expect me to share it with you." Hinamei giggled, clutching the tomato close to her chest as she watched Itachi leap gracefully down from the branch and land just as elegantly in front of her. "Thanks I guess," Hinamei grinned and tossed him the fruit and even Shisui came up to him and tossed an arm round his shoulders. The small girl shut her eyes, enjoying the small breeze that swept in from the south and wrapped around her. Itachi and Shisui walked ahead of her, talking and laughing as they usually did. It was then she realized that if things stayed the way they were, it would all be okay, just like Itachi promised her they would be.

Even if Itachi wasn't very good with promises, she had her fingers crossed.