Chapter Forty-Two:
Izami sighed as she sat on her bed. Her hands gently touched the soft material of the blanket she had been sleeping on. She couldn't explain the sudden sadness she felt, but it was there.
"Hey, Izami, are you ok?" Izami looked up as Sakura poked her head in the door." We're getting ready to leave."
"I'm not very hungry."
"Hikaru-san's going to make you go. You know that, right?" Izami shrugged, a sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach, and she looked away. Sakura sighed, and walked into the room, closing the door behind her." Hey, what's wrong?" Izami looked up as Sakura sat on the bed beside her, and gently touched her arm.
"You know that feeling you get when you have a nice long vacation, and at the end, you suddenly realize that you have to go back to work the next day? The feeling that you kinda really don't want to go back to work, but you know that you have to because well...You have to?"
"...Yes. Why?" Sakura's voice was soft, almost like she knew where this was heading.
"Hikaru had asked me to come back. Come back to the family. A really long time ago, I would have been more than happy, but now-"
"Things changed, right?" Izami paused, and nodded.
"Yeah. I kept telling him no. I have a life, and I love being a ninja. I have a family back in Kohona, and I can't just drop everything, and go back with strangers."
"But?"
"But now...I kept telling my brother no. I didn't want to go back, and I still don't want to go back."
"But?"
"Now that the realization has hit me that I'm leaving tomorrow...I'm getting that last day of vacation feeling. Don't get me wrong. I hate Hikaru. Always have, and always will, but...I don't know..." Sakura was silent for a few moments. Izami looked at Sakura, trying to decipher what the pinkette was thinking, but when she couldn't decipher, Izami looked away with a sigh.
"...Maybe just give it some time. Come back to Kohona with Sasuke-kun and me, and give yourself some time to get used to being there away from your family. If you still feel that way, than talk to Lady Tsuande. I'm sure...I'm sure she'll let you go back." Sakura patted her hand, and stood up." Now, let's go! I'm hungry!" Izami sighed, and stood up.
"Right..." She followed the pink haired kuinochi out.
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"I can't believe you guys have to go back tomorrow. I'll be stuck the whole two months with this guy. We may not have a clan leader anymore by the time we go back."
"We'll be short a brother." Hikaru corrected with a slight smirk. Tachi looked at his brother in an offended manner with his mouth wide open.
"You think you can kill me before I kill you? Don't make me laugh!"
"Nah, I don't think that at all."
"Oh, really?" Tachi's tone dripped with sarcasm. Hikaru nodded as he took another bit of his meal.
"Really. I don't think I can kill you first. I know I can kill you first."
"Whatever." Tachi rolled his eyes, and looked at Izami, who had been silent the whole time, picking at her meal. Tachi pursed his lips, and then sighed. It was not like his sister to act so down so...Obviously."Ya know, I have half a mind to ask the Hokage for an extension."
"I have to get myself prepared for the ANBU Exams. I can't delay myself any further." Izami's tone was that of a pouting child. Again, she hadn't acted that way since she was a small child. Tachi was beginning to worry about her.
"They don't allow outsiders to view these do they?" Hikaru asked, glancing up at his sister.
"No. It's mostly for the Hokage, and then we have to get a Jonin recommendation before we even get a chance to enter. Everything else is pretty much hush hush since they like to change it up every year." Hikaru nodded slightly.
"Well, as expected. Wouldn't want any cheaters." Izami nodded silently, and continued to pick at her meal." You should eat something, Izami. I would hate to waste money on a meal that wasn't eaten." Izami glared at her brother, and then began eating slowly.
"Anyways, I think we should tell some funny stories to cheer the mood up! Who wants to hear embarrassing stories about Izmai?" Tachi looked at Izami with a teasing look in his eyes. Izami's frown just deepened as she stabbed her fork into her steak.
"I would!" Sakura said excitedly, bumping into Izami playfully. Izami sighed, and stabbed at her meat again.
"Izami-chan, I don't think that meat likes to be stabbed. Be nice to your meat, and enjoy some stories from your embarrassing childhood. Like that one time we had to look everywhere for you for over two hours because you were hiding from Mother. Izami always hated bath time."
"Ha! That seems like a story to tell!"
"Oh, it sure as hell is! See-"
"No one wants to know about those stupid stories. I'm going back to the house. I'm not feeling well.." Izami's tone was less of a snap, and more a resigned sigh as she stood up, and walked out of the restaurant.
"You know, if she keeps doing that...I'm not inviting her to anymore dinners." Hikaru said, and went back to eating. Tachi just sighed, and stood up at the same time that Sasuke stood up. His plate was already finished.
"Sit down. I'm done. I'll go see what's wrong with her."" Tachi paused for a second, and then nodded as he sat down.
"She's a woman! Is there some mystery to that?"
"So, about that story?" Sakura continued, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong.
"Oh. Right, so anyways, Izami was like three when this happened, but anyways..."
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Izami was laying on her bed, still in her clothes. Her hand was over her eyes as she tried to clear her thoughts. Why was it bothering her now, of all times, about going back? She angry at herself for feeling that way. For feeling the confusion, and hurt. By exactly why was she feeling hurt? Maybe at the thought that Hikaru really didn't mean what he had said by inviting her back, and it was just to mess with her head. Well, if that was the plan, he was doing a damn good job of it! Izami sighed, and turned on her side as she stared out the window.
"Hey, you ok?" Izami turned, and looked over at Sasuke. Sighing, she laid her head back down on the bed.
"I'm fine."
"You don't look fine." Sasuke walked into the room, closing the door behind him. He walked to her bed, and sat on the edge, touching her arm. Izami sighed, and looked at him with a small smile.
"I'm just over thinking again."
"Hmm...That doesn't sound good." Izami laughed dryly, and shook her head."Still...What's on your mind?"
"Thought you didn't like to pry into other's business?"
"I don't, but when it comes to you...It's different. What's wrong?"
"...Nothing."
"Liar."Izami sighed, and sat up, her legs criss-crossed over one another. She gave Sasuke a hard look.
"I don't appreciate being called a liar."
"I don't like being lied to. I just want to know what's wrong. If it's Hikaru that's bothering you, I can-"
"It's not him!" Izami snapped, and then sighed as the energy left her." Not really, anyways. Hikaru hasn't really done anything."
"Then, what's wrong?"
"Nothing...I don't want to think about it..." Sasuke looked at her, scowling just the slightest. He moved closer to her, not really noticing her body tense up just the slightest before relaxing when he cupped her chin, and brought it upwards, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Tell me. What's wrong? I'm concerned, and I'm not the only one, either. Tachi's worried too." Izami's heart pounded in her chest, looking at Sasuke's face. Her eyes averted his eyes. She felt relief as she felt the heat in her cheeks die down. "Now, you can't tell me you're ok." Sasuke's tone was teasing, bringing another blush to Izami's cheeks.
"I'm fine. Stop being weird."
"Not being weird. I want to know what's wrong." Izami looked back at Sasuke as he dropped his hands from her face.
"I..." The words caught in Izami's throat. She couldn't get the words in her head, on the tip of her tongue, to form sound. Enough sound that they could be heard outside of Izami's mind."Never-mind." Izami shook her head, and leaned up until her lips made contact with Sasuke's lips.
For the first time, it was Izami that had made the first move. Her hands held him into the kiss by holding his jaw lightly, but firmly. Sasuke's hands moved to her back, tracing along her spine with gentle movements that set goosebumps on Izami's skin. Izami, like always was the first to pull away, both of them were slightly out of breath. Izami rested her head against Sasuke's forehead, both thier eyes were still closed. Sasuke's hand was still tracing up and down Izami's spine through her shirt.
"Nice try, but I still want to know what's wrong." Sassuke whispered. Izami smiled slightly, rubbing her nose against his for a second before pecking him on the lips.
"Stay. Stay with me tonight, and maybe, if you're really nice to me, I'll tell you." With that said, she kissed him again. Sasuke, taken off guard by her breathless reply, didn't kiss back for a second, but he got his sense together, and eagerly kissed her back, to the delight of Izami.