I finished straightening the room the girls were in and came out shaking my head. "I'm surprised they're still breathing. They look and sleep like the dead."
He smiled at me softly. "They drank a lot."
I looked at the bottles scattered about. "Tsunade may have some competition..."
He chuckled. "Doubt it."
I started to clean the area, and he helped. "You don't need to..."
He poked my forehead. "Faster this way."
I looked towards the boys' room. "I... I'm not comfortable leaving them in that state..." Itachi nodded, and we sat on the couch when we finished. He pulled me into his lap, and I curled into him, drawing designs on his shirt. "Are you okay, Itachi?"
"Hn."
"Liar..."
He sighed. "Drunk or not... I didn't appreciate it. He hinted at knowing more earlier and then led them to my apartment."
I nodded. "I know..."
He rested his cheek on my head. "I wanted to strangle him for the way he was looking at you. I almost did before you put him to sleep."
"I know..." He fell silent, and I started to hum. I felt him drifting to sleep and smiled softly. Some time after him, I too surrender to oblivion.
I jerked awake when I heard a click. "Aw... look at the love birds."
I glared at Shisui. "What the hell..."
He smirked. "You two looked so nice sleeping like that."
I felt Itachi's fury and looked up at him, concerned. He didn't take his eyes off. Shisui and I touched his face so he would focus on me. "Get rid of it, Shisui. I mean it."
He looked amused. "Why?" The shift was sudden, but the intent to kill was clear.
Itachi had him by the neck, Sharingan activated. "Get rid of it."
I sprang up and touched Itachi's back. "Let him go... he's not worth it."
Itachi glanced back at me, and I thought he would break Shisui's neck, but he released him. I picked up the camera and quickly deleted the photo, but the next one that popped up was equally as disturbing, but the more I deleted, the worse it got.
I froze, unable to breathe, I threw the camera on the ground and stomped it under my foot, crushing it into the smallest pieces I could manage. I felt violated, but I knew saying anything now would only anger Itachi more.
Shisui looked dumbfounded. "What?" I saw red, I heard his scream, but I didn't care. Then, I was wrapped in a familiar warmth and scent as everyone came rushing out of the rooms.
Then, it was silent except for the beating heart in my ear. "Come back..." I closed my eyes, trying to contain my rage. "Kunoichi... come back to me."
I opened my eyes again and wrapped my arms around Itachi, sobbing. He lifted me up and sat on the couch. "What happened?" I shook my head, and he sighed. "When you're ready..."
It wasn't long before a frantic knock came at the door. Itachi stiffened as I clutched him tighter. "Itachi... you need to open the door."
He carried me to the room. He placed me on the bed and closed the door on his way out. I folded my knees to my chest as I heard as Ryo rushed in. "What happened?"
Itachi closed the door slowly. "Is he alive?"
Ryo sounded scared. "Surprisingly..."
"Damn."
"Itachi... the girls are terrified. It was all I could do to get him home because he refused the hospital..." He remained silent. "They'll want answers..."
"Maybe you should ask Shisui..."
Ryo sighed, frustrated. "He can barely speak, but I've seen Kunoichi do that before... he didn't..."
"He is still breathing..."
"Then... let me talk to her."
"No."
"Look, I get it. I care about her too, but this... you haven't seen this." There was a pause, but then the door opened. Itachi held his hand out to me, and I took it, following him into the living room. "Kunoichi..." He hugged me, and I closed my eyes as he smoothed my hair. "Tell me..."
I pulled away from him and sat on the windowsill. He didn't follow. "I remember back when I first met you two... was this similar?"
I shook my head and heard him sigh in relief. "More personal then." I looked at him, then glanced at Itachi. He understood and grimaced before bowing his head. "Then, I'll see what I can find."
He looked at Itachi. "I would suggest leaving for a bit. She can be a bit... restless after. We can't afford her killing him." I watched him go, frowning.
Itachi came over and put his hands on my shoulders. "What was on that camera?"
I met his gaze. "You heard Ryo... we can't kill him right now." He frowned, and I smirked. "He never said anything about erasing his memories, though."
Itachi's eyes widened. "Wha-"
I looked back out of the window. "I need to reserve and build my chakra. Before we leave... I'll ensure he never knew I existed."
He pulled my face towards his. "Tell me..."
I searched his eyes, feeling his rage. "Not now, but I will... when we both are calmer. However, I now agree with what he said... we can't stay here anymore."
He blinked and nodded. "Okay."
Fortunately, there wasn't much to pack, and we transferred our things to Mikoto's. She didn't ask questions, knowing whatever happened, we had good reason. We went to Tsunade's office to let her know we would be leaving for a few days.
"When will you be back? This has to do with Shisui, I'm sure." She looked concerned.
I averted my gaze. "My team will let me know when it's best..."
She studied me carefully. "And if I have a better solution?" I looked at her, listening. "I'll give you two a mission... nothing major, but it won't be like you're running either."
I looked at Itachi, feeling his interest in her proposal. "What is it?"
She nodded. "A B-class mission... recover some documents in the Land of Lightning."
I frowned. "By recover, you mean steal..."
She shrugged. "Possibly."
I shook my head. "Not my flavor of mission."
She paused and thought a moment. "Okay then... an S-class mission. There have been reports of villages being sluaghtered in the Land of Waves, I'm sure you're familiar with the area." I nodded, and she handed us a scroll.
I read the details before handing it to Itachi. "Consider it done."
She nodded. "Let's take out those stitches first." I followed her to an exam room, and Itachi waited outside. She activated the Silencing Seals as I removed my vest and shirt. "You can tell me, you know..."
I felt as she sent healing chakra through her hands to assess my body. I bit my lip. "Not sure I can control my anger."
Tsunade chuckled. "I can take it. Seems all this activity I'm telling you not to do is helping you."
I blinked at her, feeling I could trust her. I sighed as she moved to get supplies. "He woke us by taking a picture of us after a not so good night... outside of me being drunk." She nodded as she snipped at the sutures. "That picture wasn't so bad, but the action alone sent Itachi over the edge. When I went to delete it... there were others."
She listened, silent as I lowered my gaze. "Tsunade... I joke all the time about Itachi being a stalker, but this..."
She began to pull the threads. "What was it that set you off." I blinked at her. "If it were me and I noticed more pictures, I would just delete those too... what picture made you lose control?"
I averted my gaze. "It was me and Itachi..."
She met my gaze. "Say no more..."
I blushed. "We haven't..."
She smiled softly as she removed the last suture. "Even I know that much, but that moment was intimate enough."
I arched a brow. "What's that mean?"
She pat my knee. "I've assessed you enough to know, but if it's ever any interest to you. Even though you massacred your innards, somehow your uterus was spared..."
I paled. "Thanks for the info?"
She chuckled. "You're free to go. I will assign your team to investi-"
I shook my head. "Just Ryo..."
She nodded. "Ryo then... be safe."
I slid from the table, smiling. "I don't really have a choice in that matter." Hopefully, Ryo doesn't kill him... that would not be ideal...