The Things She's Seen (An Alternate Story-Line)

Chapter 27

Third person pov

"No." Itachi said simply. It was the next day, and Hidan had immediately dragged Hollow off to find Itachi so they could request he train her. The Jashinist didn't look all to happy at the blunt refusal. Hollow simply stood by Hidan's side, head ducked and thumbs twiddling. She didn't want to be troublesome.

"Case closed." Meatball Kyle said. "Let's go."

"Hollow, I'll train you." Shisui volunteered, his hand shooting up as though he were volunteering. Hollow supposed he sort of was. But she didn't want Shisui to have to go to the trouble of doing something so time-consuming. Sure, as a ghost he didn't have much to do, but he surely had more important things to do than train someone as weak as her.

"No, no, me!" Yahiko jumped excitedly on the idea of training Hollow. She definitely wasn't prepared for all the world had to bring on. Sasodai and Midori didn't look super pleased about this, but they evidently didn't think it was the worst idea in the world, because they didn't say anything. Instead they shared a couple of looks that told Hollow that they had somehow devised a way to silently communicate.

"No, me. You weren't even that strong when you died. I was an ANBU." Shisui thrust his thumb into his chest proudly. "Plus, we don't even know what element she has. What if you can't train her?"

"Yeah, and what if you can't?" Yahiko fired back hotly.

"Ugh, Itachi, you're such an ass." Hidan groaned loudly. "Look, she needs your help, okay? She's going to die if we try to do much of anything with her. I don't know how to fucking hold back man. I'll chop her fucking head off."

"Tell Itachi to do it or I'll tell them about Vermilion." Shisui said with a grin. Midori let out a snicker, and Sasodai, a groan. Shisui never stopped talking about "Vermilion," and nobody could figure out what the hell it was. Only Midori seemed to know. It annoyed Yahiko, Rin and Sasodai to absolutely no end.

"E-Er, Mr. I-Itachi-san." Hollow spoke up. Itachi raised an eyebrow, looking coldly down at her. She really was a tiny little thing, and the amount of confidence she had was close to none. "S-Shisui said s-something about t-training, a-and Vermilion-"

"When do we start, then?" Itachi looked to Hidan, who sputtered, his eyes going wide. He looked down at the nervous Hollow, and then at the blank-faced Itachi. He couldn't fucking believe it! Hollow, little puny Hollow, had fucking dirt on Itachi. Actual fucking dirt. Blackmail! This was the actual shit! They could do so much stuff with this.

"Now." Hidan grinned.

"Holy shit. That worked. You know how Itachi is." Yahiko muttered, narrowing his eyes at Shisui. "What is Vermilion?" 

"None of your business, if I remember correctly." Shisui said thoughtfully. Yahiko flipped him off without a second thought, his eyes narrowing sourly. The dead Uchiha honestly didn't seem too fazed by this. He simply brushed it off and instead cooed over Hollow, who stared back nervously. Itachi sighed.

"Fine. Follow me, then." He muttered. Hidan fist pumped, reaching down and snatching Hollow's hand to drag her alone. Midori let out a shriek. It wasn't the bad sort of shriek, Hollow noted. It was the good kind. But Hollow didn't understand. Nobody was having a birthday, was pregnant or had won the lottery. So what was it?

"He's holding her hand!" Midori pointed. "What a dad!" 

"That's... no." Sasodai told his wife simply.

"I have to agree with him on this one. Hidan may be old enough to be her dad, but in no way can he be classified as dad material." Yahiko shook his head in immediate denial. Shisui scoffed at that. This was dumb, and Hollow was getting dragged away. 

"If she gets a fucking scratch on her, I'm going to eat out your fucking eyes." Meatball Kyle told both Itachi and Hidan. Itachi's eyebrows raised. Where had they gotten a talking rodent? Why had Hidan even allowed this? Not only was it a security risk, but they didn't know if it was actually a.... hamster or not. 

"Noted." Itachi, once again, didn't seem to enthused. Hollow felt guilt pool in the pit of her stomach. She was the one who'd said Itachi's name. Hidan may not have thought of him if she hadn't said anything. But she just had to open her mouth, didn't she? He didn't want to be here. She was most certainly wasting his time, and that most certainly wasn't a good thing.

"S-Sorry, Mr. Itachi-san." Hollow apologized as Hidan dragged her along. 

"Why the fuck are you apologizing? You ain't done shit. Yet." Hidan grinned. "Remember, one of the rules to being a badass is that you don't apologize."

"T-That's rude."

"Did you just call me rude?" 

"Just Itachi will suffice." Itachi said, drawing both of their attention. He pulled open a thick metal door that looked old and weathered. Hollow wondered if it led to a dungeon, or some sort of secret vault. It seemed like one of those kind of doors. She just... wasn't sure why. Something about it... it gave off a vibe. 

"Things do that sometimes, Hollow. It's normal." Hikari assured with a smile.

"Ah, this shithole. Why here of all places? Has Itachi never heard of a clearing in the woods?" Yahiko scoffed as they entered. It was basically the inside of what seemed to be a giant concrete box. It was cold, smelled like mildew and was most definitely not sanitary. Hollow gazed around in slight awe. To think someone, a human like her, had constructed such a structure.

"Itachi's element is fire, asshole. He'd set the whole forest on fire." Shisui scoffed right back.

"Well then. Let's begin." Itachi said.

~