'Beach Trip' - Requested Naruto One-shot

Your head flops against your friend's bed as a sigh of defeat jumps from your mouth. You close your eyes and cover them with an arm; sheltering them from the midday sun streaming in through the window. Konan, giving you a sympathetic - but slightly smug - smile, says,
“Well, think about it this way! In two weeks you'll have done all of your exams and we can celebrate with a month of straight-partying!”
You lift your arm off your face and give her a depressed look. Yes, it's exam season. You had your first exam earlier today, and in your opinion it did not go well. You had revised quite a lot, but as soon as you had turned over the exam paper, BAM! Your mind had gone blank. Just your luck, huh?
Konan sighs, trying to think of a good way to cheer you up. She knows exactly what exam-season can get like; it had been just the same for her two years ago, when she had been up to her knees in revision and tests and lack of sleep. That had been a fun couple of months...
Realising that you are about to lose the will to live, Konan quickly opens her mouth and asks in as cheery a voice as she can muster,
“Well, what would you like-”

“Konan.”
She cuts herself off abruptly, turning her head to look towards the bedroom door. Hearing a somewhat-familiar voice, you take your hand off your face and blink an eye open. After your vision focuses, you peer over to the doorway, where Konan's fiery-haired boyfriend is standing with a rucksack over one shoulder. Konan smiles,
“Hey, Pein,” you watch her point in your direction, “Kahnon's started her exams! Fancy helping me cheer her up?”
It seems Konan, with her expectant face, is the only person who doesn't know what Pein's immediate answer is going to be. Judging by the look on his face, he would much rather walk barefoot on hot coals. You take slight offence at this, but you aren't too bothered. You barely know the guy, anyway. He's the leader of a gang called Akatsuki, and the members of the gang aren't exactly A-class citizens... but that's really all you know about him. You've met a couple of the other gang members before, when they've been round for the occasional house party, but you generally attempt to stay away from them.
By-passing and ignoring the entire idea of cheering you up, Pein directs his full attention to his co-habiting girlfriend,
“The guys are wanting to go to the beach since it's a nice day, and if I'm going,” Konan's face pales as she realises what's she's being forced into, “then so are you.”
“Pein!” Konan barks, quick to protests. Only, instead of getting into a heated argument with her, Pein gives her a loving smile that lasts a mere tenth of a second – gone so fast that only those with trained eyes have noticed it – then taps his rucksack,
“You've got ten minutes, then we're leaving.”
Before Konan has a chance to pick up her pillow to throw at Pein, he turns and leaves the room. With one hand still clutching her pillow, she sighs. She drops her grip and slumps, running a hand up into her hair.
“Oh joy...”
You pull yourself up, smiling at your blue-haired friend,
“Cheer up. I thought you liked going to the beach?”
“I do,” she agrees, “but not with that lot.” You watch her start to cringe. “Even I don't like wearing a bikini when they're around.”
You raise an eyebrow, sitting up to wrap your arms around your knees,
“Seriously? What about Pein? Don't they know you're his girlfriend?”
At this, she starts scoffing. She looks at you with both eyebrows raised,
“And you think that's going to stop them?” You shrug. “Oh please. If anything, it only makes them worse! Since I'm with Pein, to them it's like I'm some forbidden fruit and they ogle me even more.”
“Oh...” is all you can really say. You shrug your own problems off, seeing Konan in more distress than you at the moment, and start to think of a way in which you can cheer her up. If only there was something you could do to improve Konan's situation, if only by a little bit-
Konan's face perks up suddenly, and she looks at you with her eyes almost sparkling,
“Kahnon! Come with me to the beach!” Damn. Anything but that. You love going to the beach very much, but the only kinds of swim-suits you own are bikinis, and judging by Konan's reaction to the idea of Pein's gang and wearing a bikini, there's no way in hell you want to be doing something similar.
You lean over and pat Konan comfortingly on the shoulder,
“Look, Konan, I'd really like to but-”
Konan smiles back, suddenly wrapping her hand around your wrist in a vice-like grip.
“But nothing, Kahnon. You're coming with me. If I have to go because Pein has to go, then you have to go because I have to go.”
You quickly decide that pulling your hand free from Konan's grip is the best chance of escape you're going to have. Whilst trying to pry her fingers from around your wrist, you protest,
“It's not a good idea! At least you know them! I won't know-”
Konan grabs your other hand, then forces both of them down onto her bed with no hopes of being let free; her face stuck with a smile that means you no longer have a say in the matter. You're going with her if she has to carry you out to the car and cello-tape you to the seat to stop you from jumping out the window later.
“Don't worry about it, Kahnon. You know me, right? We can stick together!” She giggles in that way that only ever means her master-plan has worked, “Just think! It'll be a great way for you to relax and forget about your exams!”
“Oh...” your face pales, “Great...”
* * *
A good fifteen minutes later and you find yourself sitting on the back-seat of Pein's Aston Martin alongside Konan, nervously pulling at the strings of the bikini below your jacket in an attempt to make sure it isn't going to fall down any time soon. Konan is doing much the same thing. It seems as if neither of you really want to be going on this trip.
After Pein flashes a quick glance towards Konan through the front-mirror, you take the chance to lean over and whisper in her ear,
“Be a dear and throw me out the car? With any luck I'll break something.”
Konan's head whips around so she can stare at you in shock,
“Excuse me?”
You wink, a mischievous smile on your lips – a smile strategically placed to cover up the anxiously quivering lip you have,
“I'll have to miss our trip to the beach to go to hospital, instead.”
You actually see Konan's face relaxing as she realises you had only been joking about assisted suicide. She passes you a smirk of her own,
“Oh, nice try. If I'm stuck on this trip, then so are you.”
You offer a helpful,
“Well, I can shove you out the car, as long as you promise to pull me out with you?”
Konan rolls her eyes.
“Honestly, Kahnon. I'm sure it won't be that bad.” Even as she says it, you see how Konan is doubting her own words. “What's so bad that don't you want to go?”
“Well- I-...” You lower your voice to just louder than inaudible, then whisper, “Pein's gang really make me nervous.”
Konan chuckles softly, speaking in a voice as low as your’s,
“You've only met them when they've been drunk. They're... better when they're sober-” and then she corrects herself, “Well... Tobi's not much better, but the rest of them are.”
Ah, Tobi. The hyperactive boy who always paints his face orange...- He isn't the worst of your troubles; yes, he causes headaches to anyone within a twenty-metre radius, but he isn't as bad as... Hidan. True, you've only met him when he's been drunk, but you doubt his sober personality is much better. Back when you had met him at Pein's last house-party, he had been rude, loud, inconsiderate and all round sadistic. You had made it blatantly obvious that you did not like him, and he had retaliated... a lot more vocally and violently.
You feel the hairs on your arms prickling at the memory. There had been a lot of collateral damage that night.
You are jerked from your thoughts when the car is forced to a sudden stop. You blink, swivelling your head about wildly to try and figure out what is going on, and that's when you see Konan flinching, biting her bottom lip; almost as if she is in some sort of pain.
“What's the matter?” you ask, worrying for your friend. Konan doesn't give you a reply; merely extends a finger to point at the front windscreen of the car. That's when Pein says, in no tones more cheery than a devil,
“We're here.”

In one swift movement he has opened the door to his car and has stepped out, sending a large shadow at the front of the car dashing around to the side. Your side. Before you can stop what is going on – before Konan can clamp her arms around you to stop it – the door closest to you is wrenched open and a figure literally grabs hold of you around the waist and hauls you outside, into the warm daylight.
With the hands wrapped tightly around your waist; possibly tight enough to suffocate you, you begin to kick and thrash about, oblivious to the angry barks from Pein,
“If you ever stop my car like that again, I'll blow a cap through your head!”
There is no reply from the person holding you in the air, your legs kicking wildly at their chest. In fact, the next moment, you realise that the person has started running towards the beach, towards the sand, towards- crud. Towards the water. You start to thrash more violently.
“Tobi! No! Put me down! I'm not going in the water!”
The reply you receive is a somewhat-overly-cheery,
“Yes you are~! Yes you are~! Tobi has been waiting to go in the water with Kahnon since he got here! Now that you're here, we're going in the water!”
You plant a firm kick to his stomach, but it does not seem to affect him. He just keeps on running. You yelp, feeling Tobi take a firmer grip around your waist.
“Let me go! You're going to drench my clothes!”
“You'll dry~!”
From back across the beach, marching her way down from the car with some bags, Konan yells a loud and malicious,
“Tobi! Put her down or so help me I'll-...” The last part of her sentence is unheard because Tobi picks up speed, running out of ear-shot. Now only a few meters away from the water, and with Tobi running as fast as ever, you brace yourself, waiting to be dunked deep and hard into the freezing ocean. That's when you feel Tobi haul you up and over his shoulder, clamping you to his back with an arm. Yeah, you're not escaping this one.
You see the world below you change from sandy beach to foamy waves to clear shimmering water, and then you close your eyes. Oh hello salt-water taste, here you come! Tobi takes one final step, then you feel his grip tighten across your back and he jumps-
Or at least, that was how it should have gone. Instead, with his hand still wrapped tightly across your back, Tobi has frozen stiff in the water, looking out to sea with wide, scared-looking eyes.
Realising that you are not soaking wet, spluttering and gasping for air, you crack open an eye, wondering what the hold up is. All you can see is the clear blue water below you, lapping gently against Tobi's legs.
“T-Tobi?” You feel his arm start to shake. “Tobi, what is it?”
“Sh-...Sh-Sh-” You feel him jump high into the air, then he makes a 180-degree turn, landing back in the water; now facing in the opposite direction. You lift your head up, trying to figure out what it is that's made Tobi turn tail. And then you see it. A shark fin. Oh God.
Before you can tell him yourself, Tobi has set off running at full pelt, charging back out of the water and up the beach to where Konan is waiting with the sunbathing blankets. Seeing her best opportunity, with Tobi charging blindly forward, she stretches out her arm and as Tobi runs past she manages to catch him right in the stomach, forcing him to a stop with an 'umph'.
He starts jumping up and down,
“Konan! Konan! Konan! Shark! Shark! Shark!”
Taking enough time to drop the sunbathing equipment, Konan looks out at the water. Stood there, looking very confused with a snorkel in his mouth is Kisame.
“Oh for goodness sake...” she mutters under her breath. Every single time? How can Tobi forget about Kisame every single time? They have this same scenario every SINGLE TIME. “Tobi, you idiot! It's just Kisame!”
It takes a moment for Konan's yell to register in Tobi's mind – a moment spent screaming and jumping about on the spot – and then he stops, turns, looks back at the water, then stares wide-eyed and confused.
“Kisame?!” he notices the blue-skinned man diving back underwater. “Oh! It is Kisame!” Tobi starts to walk back to the water with you still over his shoulder, only Konan says loudly,
“A-HEM! Tobi, you can go but leave Kahnon here.”
Tobi spins quickly on the spot, making you dizzy.
“Never!” he yells, clamping his other hand over your legs to hold you in place. “Me and Kahnon are going swimming!”
You, facing the sea at the moment, don't see the look of pure evil flicker across Konan's face.
“Put her down or I'll-... oh.”
Hearing Konan cut herself off like that you wonder what Tobi has done, only the next moment you realise it has nothing to do with Tobi – Konan going quiet - because a pair of arms wrap themselves around your middle and pull you away from Tobi's unsuspecting grip. Now with your face close to the ground and your legs up in the air, you see Tobi turn on his heel and his mouth drop open.
“Itachi?! What are you doing!? Tobi and Kahnon want to go swimming!”
You are only glad that you are being held upside down, because you can blame the fact that your face had turned five shades redder on the blood rushing to your head. You reach your arms down, letting your fingers drag across the sand in an attempt to place them on the floor, only the next moment you find yourself being hauled up into the air, where you are flipped upside down and dropped gently on the ground. A hand drops to your shoulder, steadying you as you start to sway on the spot.
“Give it up, Tobi. She is not going swimming with you.”
Tobi opens his mouth to protest again, only Itachi gives him a warning expression. Tobi closes his mouth. He can do nothing more than wave, before rushing off with his eyes directed firmly at the ground to avoid Itachi's testing glare.
Watching Tobi disappear towards the water, Konan smiles – directing it towards Itachi,
“Thanks, Itachi.”
You turn your head to say the same, only before you can utter the first syllable he has turned and walked away again. You raise an eyebrow.
“Okay...?”
You feel Konan place a hand on your shoulder, so you turn to look at her. She grins,
“Just be glad he rescued you.” She winks, “Told you the guys weren't that bad.”
You watch Itachi walk a distance across the beach, where he settles down on a towel to sunbathe, shielding his eyes with an arm. You shrug.
Pein arrives next to Konan, hooking an arm over her shoulders, and pecks her on the cheek – a show of affection he only gives when no one is looking (no one but you, of course. You don't count because you're always with Konan. If Pein cared about you seeing his affectionate side, they would never get anywhere with their relationship). Konan turns a little pink, her eyelids fluttering, but before she can return the kiss, Pein has unwrapped himself again and is walking off towards a guy with darkly tanned skin, with stitches all over his body. You shudder, turning away from him. Goodness knows how many fights that guy's been in.
“Well!” Konan says suddenly, pulling off her jacket to reveal the blue bikini underneath, “we may as well get this beach-party rolling!” You watch her stoop down to the towels sprawled on the floor. She grabs one, unravels it and lays it out across the sand. “Time for a sunbathe, anyone?”
You laugh, reaching down to grab the other towel.
“With pleasure!”
* * *
It's a good while later; after having your clothes stolen by Konan - purposely leaving you in only a bikini - after coating yourself in sun cream, after baking your front, flipping over and baking your back, then after flipping over to your front again, you start to drift off to sleep. You only just-in-so manage to wake yourself up when you hear a slight thud next to you, on the side where Konan isn't. You hold your arm lazily up in front of your eyes, shading them from the sun, and peep a lid open to try and see where the noise has come from. You see a figure sat right next to you; a blue beach-towel sprawled on the floor, touching your green one. It's the guy from before – Itachi. Without saying a word he lies down on his back, settling comfortably next to you. With his elbow resting about an inch from your own, you begin to wonder what has made him decide to sunbathe next to you. You sit up on your elbows and clear your throat softly. Itachi opens one eye, as if inviting you to speak.
“W-why are you...?”
He lifts his arm and points across his body to where he was sat previously,
“Tobi.”
You press your lips together, trying to stop yourself from laughing. It's funny when it's happening to someone else. Tobi is sat in the exact spot Itachi had been sunbathing before, only, now there is an extravagant six-foot tall sandcastle being built, moat included.
Itachi flops his hand back to his side, his fingers brushing over the edge of your towel, and says,
“Tobi was persistent. He wanted to build a sandcastle in that exact spot. I either had to move, or become part of the castle.”
You put the back of your hand to your mouth, stopping yourself from giggling. Itachi notices, rolls his open eye, then closes it.
Well, fair enough. Itachi is only sunbathing next to you because it's the quietest part of the beach. Everywhere else and it's either water, noise – or in one case, explosions.
Paying no more attention to Itachi, you close your eyes and settle back down, lifting one knee up and flopping your arm over your eyes. Konan, on the other side of you, is smiling – cogs and bolts whirring in her head as she starts to accumulate a brilliant plan.
You only just begin to settle down, your breath slowing and your body becoming heavy, when a shadow appears over you. You drop your arm and open your eyes lazily, only, when you see who it is staring down at you with a malicious smirk on their face, you force yourself up and crawl back slightly, away from the figure. Hidan's dark smirk only widens.
“Tut, tut, tut, Kahnon. Long time no see, and you're still a little whore.”
Still in the process of backing away from Hidan, your hand gives way underneath you when you realise what he's said,
“E-excuse me?”
By this time, Itachi has opened an eye to see what all of the commotion is. Hidan steps forward, scuffing sand across the length of your towel, pointing at your bikini in over-exaggerated distaste.
“And you came to the beach wearing something like that because there were a bunch of guys coming? Seriously? How desperate can you be?”
On impulse, feeling Hidan's venomous eyes boring down on your skin, you bring your arms up in modesty. You see Hidan's mouth twitch, shadowing somewhere between a snarl and a smirk,
“And there's no point thinking that just because you're lying so close to Itachi - practically straddling him – he's going to want to fuck you, because believe me, I've seen pigs look better in bikinis than you.”
Feeling a little hurt by his comments, but not wanting to submit to Hidan, you open your mouth to say that it was actually Itachi who had come to sit next to you, but before you can get the words out, Hidan says something that cuts you short and makes your throat run dry,
“Don't be such a desperate bitch. It's not that you're making it too fucking obvious that you want to get into Itachi's pants or anything, but for the record, he wouldn't even let you suck him off, you're such a whore. Fucks knows what he might catch.”
The world around you stills. You feel your throat clogging up, and the corners of your eyes prickling. Where on Earth has this come from? You have not spoken to Hidan since the house party a good few months ago. True, you did not leave on very good terms, but where does he get off saying hurtful stuff like that?
Seeing that you've been stilled into sadness, Hidan only manages to bask in the warm glow of accomplishment for a couple of moments before he sees the person next to you rise to their feet, a fist clenched. Not Itachi. Konan. She is absolutely seething; her body shaking, and her eyes blazing with murderous-intent. It would be fitting to see venomous-snakes in her hair, but alas, there are none. So, with no carnivorous reptiles to help her, Konan takes a step forward, raising her clenched fist. Hidan, finally taking his eyes from you, notices this fist and takes a step back, trying his best to keep a cool composure.
“Tch. Konan, what the fuck's got you so riled up? Calm the fuck down.”
Konan's teeth clench down into a snarl. She takes another step forward, but Hidan does not back off so she growls,
“Don't you ever talk to my friend like that, you bastard. I swear, if Pein didn't need you, I'd-” Konan, realising that actions always speak louder than words, takes another step forward, and another. By this time Hidan has given up his attempt to be the hard-man and is also backing off. It takes one more step before Hidan realises he went too far with you, and turns, rushing off across the beach with Konan darting after him.
Now that it is only you and Itachi, with Itachi looking at you wordlessly with one eye open, you realise you cannot look at him properly. You can feel a horrible sting of embarrassment every time your eyes drift anywhere close to his person. Damn it! That's stupid Hidan! He's such as absolute-
You get up hurriedly, leaving Itachi to sunbathe in peace. Leaving your sun towel, you wrap your arms protectively around your upper-body and run off in the direction of a large cherry-blossom tree sitting in a grassy area at the top-end of the beach. As the day is warm, you decide to shelter from the sun there; also hiding from anyone who wants to talk. Hidan's words have hurt you, but you don't want to admit to it. It will only give him incentive.
You reach the tree and sit in the shade of it, your back pressed firmly against the trunk. You can still feel the enormous stain on red across your face and it makes you want to whimper. You told Konan from the beginning that you didn’t want to come to the beach with Pein’s gang, and this is exactly the reason why.
Taking a deep sigh to relax yourself, you watch quietly as Konan reappears by your beach towels, looking quite out of breath. She runs her hand through her hair, glancing around briefly when she realises you are no longer lying on your beach towel, but, unable to find you at first-glance, she shrugs, assuming you can look after yourself, and settles back down on her beach towel with Itachi lying close by.
Seeing that Hidan is now no where in sight, and the others seem to be busy doing their own things, you give another small sigh and close your eyes, still feeling a small tightness in your chest from embarrassment and sadness. You try to let the sounds of the beach wash over you as a distraction. For the life of you, you can’t get the stain of red to drop from your face. You’ve never met Itachi properly before today, so where does Hidan get off saying that you want to get into his pants?
With your eyes closed and the sounds of the waves and the various shouts of the other’s floating in and out of your ears,  you barely register the thud next to you as someone sits down with their back against the tree trunk. It is only as you hear a sigh - possibly a deliberately loud sigh - that you are forced to register the presence of the other person. You don’t really want to talk to Konan right now, it’s still too awkward to think about.
You open your eyes.
“Look, Konan, thanks and all for beating off-… oh.” Staring into the deep red eyes of the person next to you, you realise that it is not Konan. The bright red blush jumps right back up to your face. “I-Itachi?”
He has a stoic expression on his face - it seems to be his default look - but he nods his head. He turns his head and rests it gently against the tree, looking out at the ocean.
“Sorry about Hidan, Kahnon. He’s been in a bad mood all week because he lost someone close to him doing a ritual.” You feel a small pang of sympathy in your chest for him, but even so, you cannot stop feeling slightly upset about what he has said to you. Itachi continues, “But that doesn’t excuse him for what he said to you.” He opens his eyes and looks at you, “We don’t know you, so he had no right to say any of those things.”
“Oh,” you blush slightly from the gaze he is giving you, but manage to say, “Well… umm, yeah, but thanks.”
He nods and turns to look at the ocean again. You give a small sigh, glad that someone is apologising for Hidan. That’s when you feel something soft drop against your eyelash, your vision blurred pink for a moment. You hold your hand out and let the petal fall into your hand, looking up at the tree as the wind glides through it, scattering the delicate pink blossoms on the breeze. You smile at it, though the smile is short lived, as Itachi taps your leg a moment later.
“Kahnon.”
You glance at him, and see he is looking out onto the beach, where Konan is lying. A short distance away, Hidan has reappeared on the scene. He is looking beaten and bruised - well done, Konan! - but you really do not want to talk to him, or for him to even see you (especially with Itachi sat right next to you). You shrink into a ball, bringing your knees closer into your chest. Itachi notices your reaction although his eyes have not left Hidan. It looks like the idiot’s had something broken. Well, it’s his own fault. Everyone has been warned about Konan’s temper when it comes to her friends.
Itachi notices Hidan’s eyes fall on the two empty beach-towels next to Konan, and then the Jashin-worshipper stops, his eyes flickering around with intent on finding the pair of you. Itachi sighs. Does he ever learn?
You gasp when you feel Itachi snatch hold of your hand, but before you can say or do anything, he darts around the tree-trunk, easily pulling you with him. Now on the other side, you try to ask what he’s doing, but instead of stopping and letting go of your hand, the raven-haired boy darts up the grassy banking with you in tow, looking over his shoulder every now and then. He stops again when you are both over the other side of the grassy banking, just having pulled you down the steep hill without letting you trip. That had been quite a task.
Now that you have stopped moving, you catch your breath and ask,
“Wh-what are you doing?”
Itachi stands up fully, not letting go of your hand yet.
“I assume you don’t want Hidan to find you yet?”
You raise your eyebrow.
“No, not really…”
Itachi nods then sets off walking, though now he’s slower.
“This way then.”
You comply to his pulling and walk behind him, looking ahead to try and figure out where he’s walking to.
“Where are we going?”
With his free hand, he points ahead of him, across the dusty road, to a field enclosed with a quaint wooden fence. Well, you can’t complain. Hidan will probably never find you there!
“How did you know it was here?” you ask, making conversation to distract yourself from the fact that Itachi’s hand is still holding yours.
“We come to the beach a lot…” he looks over his shoulder, at you, “I had to find somewhere to escape Tobi’s screaming and Deidara’s explosions.”
You laugh at his response, wincing slightly as your bare feet make contact with the uneven and stone-covered road. Once on the other side, Itachi lets go of your hand so that the pair of you can climb over the wooden fence successfully.
Itachi puts one foot on the fence then pushes himself over. When he lands, he turns and looks at you expectantly. Wanting to impress him slightly, you decide to try and get over the fence whilst looking as cool as possible. You run at the fence slightly, placing one hand between two of the pickets and throw yourself over. You land on the other side, both feet planting firmly on the ground. You turn to face Itachi, trying your very best to cover your surprise at not making yourself look like an idiot with a smile. He chuckles softly.
“That was good.”
You laugh, scratching the back of your head.
“Oh, thanks!”
As Itachi turns and heads off to the middle of the field, you see something small and pink land in his hair. You go to say something, but another floats past your eyes, swirling in circles. You turn your head in the direction of where they’re coming from, then your eyes light up like sparklers.
Itachi notices that you are running across the field, and without having to look he knows where you’re going. He calls,
“I suppose you like cherry blossom trees, then, Kahnon?”
Now that you’re stood in front of three of the largest cherry blossoms you’ve ever seen, you turn back to Itachi and call,
“Do I ever?”
You look up into the sky and see it more pink than blue. High above you, thousands of cherry blossom petals are dancing in the wind, flittering around like butterflies. So busy staring at the scene, you don’t realise Itachi has come up behind you until he brushes your shoulder with his hands. Your cheeks stain pink, and you look down at your shoulders.
“What are you- oh.” You start laughing, seeing your shoulders covered in cherry-blossom petals. “Thanks.” You dust the most of them off, but more continue to fall on you. No doubt your hair is more pink than brown, too. Itachi is much the same, not attempting to dust the petals out of his raven-coloured hair.
“It suits you.” You joke, to which Itachi tries to shake some of the blossom from his hair.
“I’m sure it does, but I don’t think the rest of the guys would think the same.”
You shrug.
“Well, it’s your loss!”
Itachi gives you a small smile, then suddenly he lurches his hand out, grabbing at something in the air. Surprised by his quick action, you turn to look at his outstretched hand.
“H-huh?”
He smiles softly and pulls his hand back, opening it to reveal a whole cherry blossom flower, stem and all. You smile at its prettiness, so Itachi holds it between two fingers, holding it out for you.
“Here.”
Slightly taken aback by his gesture, you don’t really know what to do so you just stammer. For a second you think you see Itachi roll his eyes, though you could have just imagined it, then, as you don’t make a move to take the flower, Itachi leans forward, brushes the hair out of your face with one hand, and tucks the flower behind your ear with the other.
You giggle, feeling a small blush run up to your cheeks again.
“Well, I guess you Akatsuki boys aren’t all bad, then.”
Itachi smiles, but without saying another word he turns and heads back towards the middle of the field, leaving you standing in the petal shower, the blush still on your cheeks. Almost mesmerised, watching Itachi walk away, you have to bring yourself from your trance by shaking your head - not hard enough for the flower to fall out, but enough to bring you back to your senses. Setting one foot in front of the other, you start to run after Itachi in an attempt to catch up, loving the feeling of the soft grass below your toes as you go.
Once Itachi makes it to the centre of the field he stops and turns around, watching as you catch up. When you’re only a couple of meters away, he sits himself on the ground, putting his arms behind him to lean on them.
“It’s a sunny day.” he says in conversation. “Perhaps we should do some sunbathing here.”
You sit on the floor next to him, crossing your legs.
“That sounds good to me, but won’t the others wonder where we are?”
Itachi shakes his head, moving his arms round to his front so that he can lie comfortably on the grass.
“No. I’m sure we won’t be missed, and if we are, Pein knows where to find me.”
You watch Itachi close his eyes, a small contented smile on his lips. You watch him for a moment more, wondering how an Akatsuki member can look quite so calm, then smile and lie down besides him, resting one hand above your head. You look up into the air, watching the petals floating above you, then you sigh peacefully and close your eyes, your mind no longer worrying about Hidan or the upcoming exams. You would never have thought it possible, but Konan was right. Hanging out with Akatsuki has relaxed you. You’re never going to give her the satisfaction of letting her know she was right, though. Oh no.
You give another contented sigh, then giggle as you feel something soft fall against your eyelid. No doubt you’re going to end up looking more like a petal-person than yourself by the end of this. You giggle again slightly as something falls softly against your other eyelid, but this time you feel your cheeks heating up. It’s either complete coincidence that petals are falling on your eyelids in concession, or- when a third something falls softly against your lips, your cheeks begin to feel like they’re going to spontaneously combust. Nevertheless, you don’t open your eyes, but let what’s happening, happen. When the pressure lifts from your lips you flutter your eyes open and see Itachi leaning over you. You blush profusely, giggle and roll over, burying your face in your hands. Enjoying your innocence, Itachi smiles and lets you continue for a short time before he leans over and wraps an arm over your shoulders, turning you back over. You lie on your back, looking up at him as the blush slowly attempt to crawl off your face. He smiles down at you, brushing a petal from your forehead, then says softly,
“I promise you, we’re not all as bad as Hidan.”
Seeing you grinning again, Itachi settles down next to you, looking up at the blossom-filled sky. He only looks away when he feels something bump against his side. He looks down and notices your hand there, then looks at your face but you’re purposefully looking in the opposite direction with a grin on your face. He smiles again, this time wider, and takes your hand in his, chuckling as a petal falls on your entwined fingers.