Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Trust you, Always	By : tragic.violinist Category: Naruto AU/AR > Het - Male/Female Views: 1525 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: NARUTO and its respective characters were created and are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended. I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Chapter 2. One year later
The Akatsuki had been tracking a jinchuriki near the village hidden in the grass for a couple of weeks now. Itachi had gotten wind of it from Deidara, it was a little too close to Kira in his opinion. He still wasn't sure what they wanted with them but they had graduated from collecting intel to attempting to capture them.
Kira had just returned from a night hunt tracking a tanuki. Her house was dark and locked up just like she had left it. Opening the door she immediately sensed something was off, she closed the door softly behind her. As she moved her hand towards the light switch she reached her other hand into her weapons pouch, expertly slipping three shuriken between her fingers.
The lights didn't come on but a smoke bomb went off in front of her. Kira tucked and rolled off to the side, she just barely missed triggering a snare before making it to the couch where she had a weapons stash. She stayed crouched low, eyes darting around the room for any sign of the intruder. She was therefore surprised to feel the tip of a blade pressed against the base of her neck, she froze.
"Good, you've been practicing," a deep voice said from behind her.
Kira straightened up, she knew that voice, even if it had deepened slightly since she had last heard it, "Itachi!" She whipped around throwing her arms around his waist in a quick embrace, before remembering herself and stepping back a step.
He tousled her hair, which now fell just past her shoulders. "Good to see you too," he smirked at her.
"But what are you doing here? I haven't seen you in over a year."
He frowned down at her, "something has happened, I have recently learned there are those out to capture jinchuriki." He watched as her eyes filled with fear.
"They're coming after me aren't they?" She fell to her knees shaking, fighting back sobs.
"It's okay Kira, I'm going to take you somewhere safe, they don't know where you are right now but they are tracking another jinchuriki close by," he explained calmly.
She looked up at him with those tear filled eyes. She quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath, determined to be strong. If he could stay so calm so could she. "What do you need me to do?"
"Just pack your bags, take just what you need, we need to move fast." He watched as she scrambled around the room, retrieving weapons she had stashed around the house. Next she gathered some clothes, carefully folding them so they would take up as little space as possible. She looked longingly at her desk, covered in sketches both old and new, before deciding to leave them. "Take them, they won't take up too much space. Besides you don't want to leave anything behind that could help them to find you."
Kira nodded before adding them to her pack. "Alright I'm ready to go."
"Follow me, I want to cover as much distance as we can before sunrise."
She struggled to keep up with his long strides but refused to complain. She knew they had to move fast, the more ground they could cover the better. By sunrise her legs ached.
"We should stop to rest for a few hours, we can set out again after that."
"No, let's keep going."
Itachi took one look at her and could tell she was only steps away from collapsing, "you're exhausted."
"I can keep going for a few more hours," she insisted, he didn't look tired at all, she didn't want to slow him down.
"When was the last time you slept?"
"Night before last, I was on a hunt before I came home to find you there."
"So you've been up for over twenty-four hours. Kira do you know what happens if you work yourself to exhaustion?" He quizzed her.
"Of course I know," he continued to look at her, wanting a real answer, she sighed "causes muscle weakness, and can also decrease maximal cognitive performance."
"And what does that mean if you end up in a battle?"
"You become weak and can't focus," she answered quietly.
"Exactly, so start a fire, set a perimeter and then rest while I find us something to eat."
When Itachi returned to the camp she was out cold, but at the sound of his approach she sat straight up, relaxing once more when she saw it was only him. "Go back to sleep," he told her, "I will wake you when the food is ready." She just nodded and settled back down into her sleeping bag.
When their rest period was over they pressed on, "we'll continue on until sunset and then rest for the night," Itachi told her.
"Where are we going?"
"Near the hidden stone village, far enough away where your presence won't be noticed, but close enough that it should discourage enemies from getting too close to you. You will have to keep a very low profile there, rumor is they have two jinchuriki of their own, so eventually the enemy will come but I will move you again before they do."
"How do you know all this? Who is this enemy?"
Itachi stopped to look at her, "you have to trust me Kira." She looked back at him, gazing right into his eyes, he saw no fear in those bright green orbs. It had been so long since someone had locked eyes with him willingly without fear, of course she didn't know what he was capable of though, he dropped his gaze first.
"I trust you, always."
"Good let's keep moving." At sundown he sent her off to hunt while he set up camp. He stared into the flames thinking over the situation, The Akatsuki want the jinchuriki, I dont know all the details but it's big. My main priority is the protection of Konoha, they will eventually be targeted as well due to the jinchuriki located there, but the time has not yet come for me to return. Until that time comes I will keep her safe.
"Itachi?" She startled him out of his reverie. "Do you ever miss it?"
"I'm sorry, miss what?"
"Your home, you once told me you left your village, do you ever miss it?"
"Sometimes, but I can't go back, not yet."
"What about your family? Do you ever get to see them, or do they just stay in their village?"
Itachi was quiet for so long Kira had begun to think he wouldn't answer at all, "they're dead."
"So you have no one left either, sorry for bringing it up."
"There is one, my little brother," the words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. "He's the same age as you, you kind of reminded me of him when we first met, so eager to learn."
"What's his name?"
"Sasuke." He didn't know why he telling her any of this, maybe it was just nice to get it out. He had been alone for so long, if you didn't count the Akatsuki, and he didn't. She fell silent he thought perhaps she had finished her line of questioning but she had one more.
"But you didn't take him with you when you left? Did something happen between you?"
"You could say that, we had a falling out, the damage was irreparable."
"No damage is irreparable when you're nine years old and have no one else to turn to."
He looked up at her in surprise before his mood darkened once more, if she only knew.
"If I had anyone left to turn to I would, that's what family does, gets through the hard times together."
The silence stretched on, Kira worked quickly gutting the fish she had caught. Maybe she had gone too far, after all they weren't even friends, he was more like her mentor, still he was the only one she trusted.
They ate in silence, afterwards she settled down into her sleeping bag. She had a hard time falling asleep, still worried she had said something wrong.
Meanwhile Itachi was lost in thought, he had had a plan, it was simple really, watch from the shadows, wait until the time came for Sasuke to kill him, he would find his peace in death and Sasuke would have his vengeance. It was a path of solitude, one he had chosen for himself. If he kept his distance from others, no one would blink an eye when he was killed, then he found her. He had promised himself he would keep her safe, but in doing so he had made her reliant on him. He would always keep her at an arms length, remind her that their relationship was one of necessity, as soon as she no longer needed his help he would be gone.
The next morning they set out once more, they had already crossed the border into the land of earth and the trees were beginning to thin, they would soon leave the forest behind. When that happened they would have to take further precautions not to be detected. By midday it was clear a storm was coming and it would be a big one, they could already pick up the smell of ozone in the air. Itachi scouted ahead looking for somewhere that would make a decent shelter, he found a crevice between two large boulders further in was what appeared to be a naturally formed cave, it was small but with good ventilation, they would be able to light a fire, it would serve it purpose.
"Come Kira, we'll stay here until the storm passes."
She entered the cave and shed her load, "I'm going to hunt," she told him, "it won't be long before we leave all of the forest fawna behind, and the coming storm will frighten the animals away before long. I should take advantage of the time I have, who knows how long it will last."
"Alright, don't wander too far, you're not used to this terrain."
A mile away from the cave she came across a small thicket, as she skirted around the outer edge she spotted a small buck within, presumably a yearling, just beginning to grow antlers. She took it down with one shot from her bow. She quickly surveyed the area making sure no other deer lurked near by, with the coast clear she approached her kill. She strung it up by the hind legs from a low hanging branch, slitting the throat to drain the excess blood. She had just begun to skin the animal when the first drops of rain began to fall, working quickly but diligently it took her about an hour to finish skinning, gutting and separating the meat from the bone. By the time she finished loading the meat into her game bag her clothes were soaked but at least it washed the blood from her skin. The deer had been well fed and it's meat should keep them well stocked until the weather cleared. As she made her way back to the cave she came across a cluster of Luminescent mushrooms. She picked them and placed them in a couple of glass jars, they would be good to light the cave so they use the fire just when it was needed.
She had been gone for over an hour now, where is she, he wondered to himself. He hoped she had heeded his advice and not ventured too far from the cave. When the rain first began to fall he had assumed she would return shortly, but after another hour the rain was coming down in sheets and she still hadn't returned. He would give her a half hour more before he would set out in search of her. When the allotted time had passed he donned his hat and was about to set out when he could see a small figure approaching the cave, the rain was coming down so hard he wouldn't have even noticed her if not for the two glowing green orbs she held in her hands.
The weight of the deer meat along with the rain had slowed her return, she carefully scaled the rock face to reach the cave, Itachi was waiting for her at the entrance. He relieved her of her load and helped her into the cave. While still muggy outside, the temperature inside the cave was considerably cooler. He removed his cloak and draped it across her shoulders, she was already beginning to shake.
“Get into some dry clothes and warm up by the fire,” he instructed her. She hurried to change before she joined him by the fireside, she tried to give him back his cloak but he waved her off, “Use it until you regain your body heat.” He picked up her game bag, “I see your hunt was successful, what did you catch us?”
“A young buck, it took awhile to get him all cleaned and gutted, sorry I took so long, but he was too heavy for me to carry back whole.”
“Don’t worry about that, just concentrate on getting warm before you catch a cold, you did good, this will last us for awhile. What’s with the mushrooms though?”
“I figured we could use them for light so we wouldn’t need the fire all the time, if the rain lasts more than a few a days we’ll run out of firewood and it would take time for anything else we gathered to dry out before we could use it. When these stop glowing I know where to find more.”
“That is a good idea, good to see you’re thinking ahead,” he tousled her wet hair as she beamed at the compliment.
Kira made herself comfortable as close to the fire as she could safely get, before pulling out a pad of paper and some charcoal. She lay on her stomach, feet in the air covered by the black and red cloak as she set to work. Itachi got to work on cooking up the meat she had brought back with her, he occasionally glanced over at her, trying to get a glimpse of what she was working on, but she kept it well shielded.
“What are you working on over there?” he asked curiously.
“Nothing important. Just something to pass the time.”
“May I see?”
“No,” she said a little too quickly, “I don’t let anyone look at my work before it’s done,” she finished sheepishly.
He smirked at her, “can I see the ones you brought with you then?” She nodded and slid her pack over to him. Every once in awhile she would glance over at him trying to see what he thought of her sketches. He was impressed with her level of talent at such a young age. Even more remarkable was her ability to draw from memory. He noticed that the one she had given him had been replaced by a new rendering of him, what must have been him sitting at her desk pouring over her work. It made him wonder what she would be capable of with a live subject. They were so full of life, everything was so detailed and full of emotion, even the animals looked as though they were ready to leap off the page.
Kira pulled her her bag back towards her, emptying the contents onto the floor of the cave, eager to find what she was looking for. “Are you missing something?”
“I can’t find my colored charcoal, I must have left it behind,” she repacked everything before glancing around the cave, hoping for something to use. Suddenly the idea struck her, she returned to her previous position before biting down on the tip of her thumb, she retrieved a senbon out of her pack as she allowed the blood to well up. Itachi stopped what he was doing to watch her in interest as she dipped the tip of the needle into her blood to transfer strokes of color to the page.
“What are you doing?”
“I needed red for blood, what could be better than real blood for that,” she flashed him a toothy grin before returning to the task at hand. He watched as over the next couple of minutes she bit herself several more times, she saw him open his mouth to question her, out of the corner of her eye, “I need to keep doing it because I heal so quickly thanks to Matatabi.”
“The Bijuu within you?” she nodded, “Does he speak to you?” he asked.
“Sometimes, not often, usually just when something is wrong, like that night with the bandits, or the night my parents were killed, he told me to run, so I did. Even he didn’t like the look of that man.”
"But you could talk to him if you wanted to?"
"Yeah, I guess so, why?"
Itachi thought for a moment, perhaps if he could question the beast he could possibly learn what the Akatsuki was planning before they chose to divulge the information, but that could cause Kira to worry about it as well. "I was just curious," he said smoothly, he could wait, he would ask if the situation called for it.
"You're lying," he looked at her and she stared right into his eyes.
"I have no reason to lie to you."
"That's not true either, I can see it in your eyes. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to but I don't like being lied to. Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean I can't handle the truth, you'd be surprised the things I heard from villagers when I was younger."
"What kind of things did they say?"
"That I didn't deserve to live, that I and all the other jinchuriki out there would be better off dead."
Itachi was shocked, sure he had heard some villagers in Konoha express similar sentiments before, but never so blatantly. "You never should have had to grow up hearing that."
"Better I grew up hearing it than not knowing what they wanted to do to me. It taught me who to avoid." She went back to her work, scribbling furiously on the paper, occasionally stopping to bite her finger again to add a splash of color.
He let her be, let her workout her frustration on the paper, at least she hadn't pushed him for the truth about his questions about the beast. One thing he did wonder about though was how she was able to tell he was lying with just a look, not even his clan had been able to tell when he was planning something.
She finally finished her picture and pushed it off to the side before readying a new piece, she glanced at him nervously biting her lip before turning back to the paper, "can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
“Could I...Would you mind if I sketched you?” she mumbled.
Itachi quirked an eyebrow at her, “But you’ve sketched me before.”
Redness filled her cheeks, “It’s different when working from memory, it’s hard to explain, sketching from memory just doesn’t always capture the emotion right.” She let out a heavy sigh, “Nevermind, it’s stupid,” she sneezed.
“No it’s alright, go for it. It’s not like there’s much else to do. Do you need me to do anything?”
“No, just be as you are.” She worked quickly, sometimes she would just stop and watch him for a moment or two, trying to get things just right. The reflection of the fire in his eyes and the shadows that danced on the walls of the cave. She bit her lip in quiet contemplation. She stood up quickly, “I’ll be right back,” she shouted as she bolted out into the storm, leaving a very confused Itachi behind.
She return less than a minute later with a fist full of grass clenched in one hand, in such a short time her baggy clothes had become so drenched they were plastered to her body, she ignored this as she sat back in front of the fire, stopping to allow her hands to dry before touching the paper again.
“What on earth are you doing?” he asked her, obviously confused at her odd behaviour.
“I needed something to show the green glow of the jars,” she told him as if it was obvious. She gathered up her supplies again, she picked up a blade of grass and rolled it into a ball between her fingers before pressing it to the paper to create stains on the page. Soon after she was biting her fingertip again to draw blood. Before he knew it she was done. Kira let out a breath she didn’t even know she had been holding, “Finished,” she announced proudly before dissolving into a coughing fit.
“Are you alright?” he asked her when she finished.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” she told him as she tried to catch her breath.
“You were out in the rain for quite awhile earlier, you should change into another pair of clean clothes, you need to stay dry. The food will be ready soon, then you should rest.”
When she came back from changing again Itachi gestured towards her two new sketches, “May I?” She nodded and passed them to him. The first one she had done, must have been of the young buck she had taken down earlier, it lay prone on the ground, she had even managed to convey the glassed over look of dead eyes. The dark swatches of red blood escaping from the kill shot, the arrow still protruding, were the only accents of color.
For the second, it was simply amazing considering what she was able to pull off with just charcoal, grass stains and blood. She had captured his eyes, perfectly, just as she had meant to, the lines of his face, not a hair out of place, it was really remarkable. “So, what do you think?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
“I think you have a lot of talent.” He watched her blush at the compliment and couldn’t help but smirk.
He woke in the middle of the night to the sounds of her coughing, the fire had burned low but his eyes could still see her clearly. Despite the hacking cough she was still asleep. He slipped around the fire and he placed a hand on her forehead, it was coated with a thin sheen of sweat, she was burning up.
Her eyes snapped open at his touch, “‘Tachi,” she said sleepily, “what’s wrong?”
“You’re running a fever and still coughing, I think you’ve caught something. Just go back to sleep.” She closed her eyes again and he leaned against the wall of the cave to watch over her, after adding more wood to the fire to keep her warm. She was restless, tossing and turning.
He lifted her head and placed it across his lap. She looked up at him again, her eyes were clouded with confusion due to the fever. “Keeping your head elevated will keep it from settling in your chest, it will help with the cough,” he answered her unasked question.
She relaxed against him but he could tell she wasn’t sleeping by her breathing pattern. “Always so sad,” she mumbled.
“Hmm?”
“Your eyes, they’re always so sad, I wonder why that is,” she whispered before slipping into unconsciousness.
Itachi woke hours later, still sitting where he had been the night before, Kira’s head was still in lap, her fever had gotten worse. It was impossible to tell from the sky but his internal clock told him it was well past dawn. He gently eased her off of him, soon placing his bed roll beneath her head to keep it elevated. She didn’t even budge, that was his first clue of how bad it was, the second was by how pale she looked. He took stock of how much firewood they had left. At the rate they were burning it, it would last them a couple of days. She was right about what she had said before, he would have to gather more today so it would be dry by the time they needed it. He donned his cloak and hat ready to leave, he wouldn’t disturb her sleep.
When he returned he prepared a light breakfast before gently shaking her awake, “Kira, you need to eat something.”
She tried to sit up and struggled, he helped her to lean against the wall, placing his bed roll behind her so she wouldn’t be against the cool wall. “Thank you,” she said softly.
This carried on for several days, and the rain still showed no sign of stopping. There was no way they would be moving on until she was completely better and the weather had passed. He wouldn't risk her relapsing by forcing her back out in the rain. By the fourth day he had to help her to even drink broth and from there she was lucky if she could keep it down.
“I can’t sleep,” she complained and threw off her blanket, “it’s too hot.” She looked up at him. “Talk to me, tell me about your past, your childhood, your favorite color, your favorite food, I don’t care if it’s boring, maybe it’ll put me to sleep,” she rambled.
Itachi sighed but decided to humor her, “Let’s see I don’t really have a favorite color but I like cabbage and onigiri. As for my childhood, there’s not really much to tell.”
“You're a terrible story teller,” she let out a weak laugh. “Okay, when’s your birthday then?”
He thought for a minute, trying to remember what day it was, “Five days from now,” she looked confused, she couldn’t remember what day it was either, not that he could blame her after being so out of it. “On June ninth.”
“Well that’s gonna suck.”
“What do you mean?”
“Being stuck here for your birthday, bad weather and only a sick person for company.”
“It could be worse.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Could be alone,” his frown deepened.
“Yeah being alone on your birthday sucks, I hate it.”
“When’s yours?”
“When’s my what?” her head still felt fuzzy.
“Your birthday,” he reminded her what they were talking about.
“Oh yeah, July twenty-second,” she flashed him a dazed smile, “Hey you know what we should do, we should make a pact.”
He gave her an amused look, she probably wouldn’t remember any of this when she had a clear mind, “and what kind of pact is that?”
“That we will always see each other on our birthdays, so we don’t have to be alone.” he felt his lips twist up into a smile before he could stop it. She could feel her eyes growing heavy. “Look so much better when you smile,” she whispered before allowing her eyes to fall closed.
Two days later the sky finally cleared on the same day that Kira’s fever finally broke. She still felt weak but now that she could keep food down her strength was returning. After another two days she felt well enough to travel again. Itachi agreed as long as she conceded to take it slow and let him handle the hunting.
They came across a small village around midday, at first Itachi wanted to pass right through until he noticed that they were holding a festival. The crowded streets would provide the perfect cover and with any luck they could get a couple of rooms at the local inn. After so long in a cave he could use a night in a real bed.
Kira's eyes lit up in excitement, it was her first real festival. Back home her parents never took her because the large crowds could prove dangerous for her, especially when alcohol was added to the mix, with the way the other villagers felt about her. Then back in the last town, she was all alone so she hadn't bothered with them. She scanned the food stands and game booths as they passed them, Itachi was intent on finding a room first so they could drop off their bags before he allowed her to enjoy the festival.
The inn only had one room left but it had two beds so they took it. They left everything in the room except for the few weapons they carried in their pouches. Itachi mostly just watched as Kira flitted excitedly from booth to booth that lined the street, a small smirk on his face.
Kira's eye lit up with joy at the produce stand, "look they have cherry tomatoes, it's been so long since I've had fresh vegetables, they look so good."
Itachi let out a soft chuckle, "why not get some then?"
She looked at him in awe, "really you mean it?" At his nod she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the stand.
"You really like these don't you?" He asked curiously.
"Yes they are one of my favourite things, this and dark chocolate, I like the bitterness of it. My mom used to poke fun of me for not liking sweets like a normal kid, I've always liked salty things better. As far as meat goes I'm not a big fan of farm raised animals like beef and chicken, I like what I can kill myself," she reached up to scratch the back of her head. "Sorry I'm rambling."
After a few hours he could tell all the excitement was taking it's toll on her, "why don't we get something to eat before heading back to the room?" He suggested, she nodded as she followed him over to a sushi stand.
Kira caught a short nap back in the room and when she woke back up it was already dark but they could still hear the festival in full swing outside. Kira approached the window and peered down at all the paper lanterns lighting the street. “Can we go watch the fireworks?” she asked hopefully.
“I don't see why not,” he couldn't help but smile when he saw her eyes light up. From all that she had told him he knew she had had a hard life until now, and with the looming threat of the Akatsuki it was unlikely to get any easier, if he could let her be normal for even just one night he would.
They walked through the streets looking for a good place to watch the fireworks but all the good spots were already packed, when he saw the disappointed look on her face he was hit with an idea. “Have you been continuing to practice your chakra control?”
She gave him a confused look, why was he asking about her training now, “yes, why?”
“Have you practiced climbing trees with it like I suggested?” she nodded, “Good come with me,” he offered her his hand and she took it without hesitation. “I know the perfect place to watch fireworks.” He led her over to scale one of the taller buildings so they could watch from the roof.
Morning came too quickly in her opinion, she had had so much fun yesterday and had slept better than she had in a long time. She didn't want to leave yet.
“Kira it's time to get up, we should get moving.” he gently shook her.
She just burrowed further into the blankets, “Don't wanna,” she whined, “Can't we stay for one more day?” she flashed those big bright eyes puppy dog eyes at him.
Once again he thought about how much she reminded him of his brother when they were younger. “I don't know, we've already taken a lot longer than I thought it would, and I really need to get back soon.”
She pouted at him, “come on, didn't you tell me today was your birthday, you should be relaxing not traveling.”
He had hoped she had forgotten about that, “Fine but we leave tomorrow morning at first light.”
That got her out of bed as she jumped up to hug him, before remembering herself, she stepped back, “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“Don't worry about it,” he told her as he ruffled her hair, “go get dressed.”
“So what do you want to do today?” she called through the bathroom door.
Itachi actually had to stop and think about that one, it had been so long since he had celebrated his birthday, even when he was still at home he was usually too busy with missions to be bothered with a birthday celebration. She came out of the bathroom and stared at him still waiting for an answer. “I'm not sure. Why don't we just take a walk around the village and see if anything catches our eye?”
They had only walked a couple of blocks when Itachi noticed a small kissaten, he couldn't remember the last time he had visited one, “Let's go in here.” The atmosphere was calming, not crowded, light and airy.
“This is really nice,” she remarked taking it all in, “I've never been in one before.”
Itachi had noticed she almost had two distinct personalities. On one hand she could be serious, she had a grasp of things far beyond her years, but on the other hand she still had that childish innocence when it came to some things. It was like night and day.
“I wish I could get you something for your birthday,” she said quietly.
“You don't have to do that, it's okay.”
“I still wish I could, you're my friend, I know you may not consider me your friend, but I consider you mine, I don't have anyone else,” she finished sadly.
He frowned at her, “I consider you a friend too,” he told her, he wasn't sure what made him say it but it just felt like the right thing to say, he didn't like seeing her look so downtrodden.
“Really?”
“Really.”
Her mood seemed to bounce back after that. Once they finished their meal they continued on exploring the village. They visited the temple just outside the town and took in the zen garden there, Itachi thought Kira might find it boring and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she loved it. Before he knew it they had been there for hours and it was starting to get late. They began the long walk back to the inn, stopping for dinner along the way.
“Happy birthday Itachi,” Kira whispered before curling up in her bed for the night.
Itachi lay in bed as thought about the day, although simple he found he had enjoyed the day, but tomorrow they would be back on the road. He had to find her a place soon so that he could return to the Akatsuki.
“Come on time to go,” he knocked on the bathroom door.
“Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a minute,” Kira called back.
Itachi took one last look around the room making sure they hadn't left anything behind. They checked out and he purchased a map of the area before they departed. Stopping for breakfast at the same kissaten from the day before, he spread the map out on the table between them.
“This is where we are right now, and this is their shinobi strong hold, it's about a days journey from here. I'm hoping to find you something in between, you'll be able to travel to either place for supplies, but remember to keep a low profile, I can't stress that enough. You should also visit their shinobi village once in awhile just to see if there is any information that may help you out.” she nodded her understanding.
They came across a small cottage in minor disrepair, Kira insisted they check it out. It was obvious that no one had been there in many years, it was constructed from stones in the area so it blended in well with the landscape. The foundation seemed sound, and other than needing a new door and windows it was in pretty good condition. There was no electricity or running water, but it had a large fireplace and wood burning stove in addition to a well behind the cottage.
Kira looked like she had hit the jackpot, “I love this place, it's perfect.”
Itachi was less taken with the place, he wasn't sure how safe she would be here, “It doesn't even have a door,” he pointed out.
“It's not that hard to make a door, the windows will be a little more difficult but summer is just beginning so I have plenty of time, for now I will look into getting some waterproof fabric that I can secure there when it rains. It seems the previous occupants left a rather large wood pile out back.” She went around the building, “You see those dead trees over there, If I can get my hands on the right tools I could even build a small smoke house so I can preserve meat for the winter months. It has everything I need.”
“Except furniture.”
“I can make furniture, don't underestimate me, even though I got a late start with ninja training, I was always trained well for having to survive on my own should I ever lose my parents.”
“Are you sure about this?” Itachi looked unconvinced.
“I'll make you a deal, leave me here for the next month and a half, come back on my birthday and if you still don't think the place is livable they I will agree to let you find me something more to your liking.”
“Alright but I'm not leaving you with nothing, I know you had a good thing going in the last village trading meat and furs to the merchants but it will take some time to build up a rapport here too. What kind of tools do you need to construct the things you mentioned?”
“Just the basics; hammer, nails, hand saw, ax, measuring tape, and sand paper that kind of stuff.”
“Alright this may take a couple of trips, you're also going to need a futon, and food as well.” Kira bounced on the balls of her feet, excited that she would actually get the chance to prove herself.
Back in the village they were able to find a couple of young men willing to help for the right price. By night fall Itachi had filled the house with everything she would need for at least a few weeks.
“One day I'm going to pay you back for all you've done for me, I promise.”
“Kira, you owe me nothing,” he told her placing a hand on her head.
She felt her chest tighten with emotion, she threw her arms around him and sobbed into his cloak, “Thank you, Itachi, no one has ever showed me as much kindness as you have.” Itachi hesitantly returned the embrace, the world had been so cruel to such a sweet girl and his heart couldn't help but ache for her. She withdrew herself from him once she got her sobs under control. “Will you stay one last night and head out in the morning?”
   He nodded, he couldn't deny her that. She insisted they share the futon, after all he had done for her she wouldn't hear of him sleeping on the bare floor. In the morning he slipped out while she was still sleeping.
   When she did wake up she wasn't surprised to find him gone, she was however shocked to find a handsome looking golden eagle perched on the windowsill. At first she thought it a wild bird until it landed next to her and extended it's leg towards her revealing a rolled up bit of parchment. She took it and unrolled it to read the message.
       Kira,
           Should you ever need to reach me for anything
       just give the message to him and he will find me. You
       may name him if you like.
                       Itachi.
   Kira smiled to herself and stroked the bird's head, he really was a beautiful creature. She ate a couple of cereal bars before getting to work on making the cottage livable. She had a lot of work to do and not long to complete it, all the while she thought of what she could call her new companion.
   Time seemed to fly by in the blink of an eye for Kira, seeing as she had been so consumed by her work. Just days before her eleventh birthday she finished her last project, the smoke house. The next few days she spent hunting, and clearing a small patch out back where she could plant a small garden. With meat smoking and the seeds sowed she barely had enough energy to clean up before collapsing into her bed on the night of the twenty-first, she couldn't wait for tomorrow.
   She woke the next morning with the sun flooding the room, and her bird preening her hair, “Go away Fukushin, I'll feed you later,” she grumbled and turned over in her bed, a low chuckle stopped her in her tracks.
   “That's a good name,” Itachi said as the regal animal glided over to perch on his shoulder.
   “You came,” she smiled as she sat up in bed.
   “I said I would.”
   “So what do you think, is it livable?”
   Itachi took in the room, she had built a low platform for her futon to sit upon to protect against the possibility of flooding,she now had a sturdy door, a low table, with a couple of large pillows, seemed to double as a dining table and a desk for when she was sketching. The aroma from the smoke house filled the room as the breeze blew it in the windows. She had done a fantastic job on the place. “It's looks great in here, I see you even managed to get glass for the windows.”
   Kira beamed at him, “Yes those guys that helped us get everything up here, they came by a few days later to see how I was settling in, and they saw what I was working on. They helped spread the word around that I could provide services for the merchants, I've branched out a bit from before,” she explained. “Now instead of just meat and furs, I'm dealing in woodwork too, someone traded me the glass for making a cradle.”
   “Impressive, not exactly keeping a low profile though are you?”
   Kira looked slightly panicked, she had let him down. “I'm sorry Itachi,” her eyes began to fill with tears.
   He was at her side a moment later, “No Kira's it's okay, really, I'm sorry I've upset you,” he placed an arm around her shoulders drawing her into an awkward hug, he was trying at least. “It's alright, look at me.” Her watery eyes met his own. “I'm glad you've made some connections here, just as long as you stick to what you are doing you'll be fine, just don't let on that you have any ninja training okay, that would raise a lot of unwanted questions, you understand?”
   She nodded against him, “Yes Itachi, I understand.”
   “Good, now dry your tears I have something for you, a few things actually.” he gave her a smile.
   “You do?”
   “Of course, it is your birthday after all.”
   She wiped her tears away on her sleeve and excepted the gifts he gave her. The first was a large stack of good quality parchment. The second filled with charcoal, oil pastels, and paints of more colors than she had ever owned before. The last one was a long thin package, she tore the paper off of it to reveal an easel.
   “Do you like them?” He asked her, he hadn't been a hundred percent sure on what to get her, but knowing the passion she showed for her art, he figured these things were a safe bet.
   “I love them,” she pounced on him laughing, “I can't wait to try them out.” If her smile had gotten any bigger it would have split her face in two. She knew he would be gone again tomorrow, but her friend was with her today and for that she was thankful.
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Trust you, Always