Hello~ I'm back again with another update.

I want to use this space again to thank Chise, TheEternalRise, and the two guests that left reviews for chapter 4 ! You guys are fueling my inspiration and I really appreciate it (:

R&R little ones

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The early morning sunshine forced Itachi to squint his eyes open again, irritation bubbling inside of his chest. He had woken up a few hours before the sun had risen to enjoy the light of dawn but dozed back off without realizing it. No matter how old he got, he never grew into a morning person.

His back ached a bit from leaning on the rocky walls of the cave that they decided to camp in the night before and he stretched his arms out before letting a yawn escape his dry lips. Besides his complaints of waking with the sun, the sounds of the morning forest always relaxed him, reminding him of better times.

But instead of enjoying the moment, his eyes would glance down at the whimpering girl beside him. Another one of his ghosts that he thought he'd left behind for good was now breathing an arm length away.

He didn't understand what compelled him to stick that blade through her. The stubbornness in her words, dismissing him as a killer, struck a cord deep inside of him. He didn't understand the girl he left behind so long ago.

He wondered idly if Sasuke would ever look at him with the same hope that she displayed. He dismissed the thought immediately after. It wasn't like he deserved it.

A small sob escaped her lips and he once again turned his head to stare down at her.

He loved her of course, but there was no future where he would act on those feelings. He decided that a long time ago.

She clenched a spot on her stomach, her fist tightening into a ball while her knuckles turned white. His heart stirred with what he assumed was guilt but the feeling was so natural to him that it didn't faze him like it did before.

"Itachi.." She spoke his name in a pained whisper.

Before he could stop himself, his fingers reached out to stroke the soft skin of her cheek.

Her whimpers died down and he wondered for a moment if she was waking up and his hand paused.

When her breathing evened out again, he resumed running his fingers across her cheek. As he did he noticed her face relax and her hand fell from her stomach. He tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. His eyes closed momentarily to enjoy the moment.

When he did open his eyes again, his gaze fell on the small fire and he retreated his hand from her. It quietly popped and the flames danced around the pieces of logs placed in a tight circle. He fidgeted with his cloak, rubbing the dark material between his fingers.

He wondered what she thought of him, what thoughts ran through her head when she heard his name. It was pointless to want to know such a thing when he already had a good guess but it lingered on his mind anyway.

Footsteps at the front of the cave alerted Itachi to his partner, forcing him to look over at the other man who had left earlier to check around the area.

"There's a town a few miles away" Kisame grinned, his pointed teeth sparkling.

"Want to go get breakfast?" The shark man asked after Itachi failed to give him a response.

"I'd rather not" Itachi looked back down at the fire.

"Tch starve then" Kisame snickered, probably enjoying the thought of it and jumped out from the large opening.

He just couldn't conjure up an appetite

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"F-For you" Hinata held out a small container wrapped securely with a lavender cloth.

He blinked a few times before he let her drop the box into his hands. The warmth from the bottom of the box spread onto his palm and registered that this was a bento box. The initial shock seemed to carry on as he tried to find his voice again.

"Y-You...I noticed you haven't been eating properly" She glanced up at him with a light blush stained on her cheeks.

His widened eyes fell back into his normal, tired stare and his thoughts lingered on the reason of his lack of self care. At the age of 13, his membership of Anbu would seem like a joke to anyone that didn't know him. Even Hinata expressed her concern after she was informed of it but she knew that he was more than capable of handling himself.

"You didn't have to trouble yourself" The words left his mouth after he realized she was waiting for him to speak.

She shook her head and clasped her hands behind her back "I have time in the morning."

"Thank you" He gave her a warm smile, watching her fidget under his gaze. When he turned to walk away from her she reached out to grab the sleeve of his shirt.

"Rely on me more Itach-san" She looked at him with determination swimming in her eyes and he lost his will to speak again.

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Again, his gaze fell on the girl besides him. He itched to touch her again and he wished that he didn't indulge in that earlier.

When her eyes fluttered open, he watched numbly as the life ran back though her body. She struggled to push the upper part of her body off the ground and kept a hand pressed against her stomach. Her forearm pressed into the dirt as she succeeded in keeping her face out of the dirt.

"Iris.." She coughed.

He looked over at her, his eyes glinting in interest.

"What was the point?" She asked as she looked up at him, despair swimming in her pale eyes.

He turned the question over and over again in his head as he thought about the flower. His eyes watched strands of her hair fall from her shoulder, the long locks pooling on the ground.

"We'll be staying here for a few days" He decided to ignore her question and looked back to the spot in front of him.

"What do you want with me?" She asked after a few minutes of silence and he closed his eyes.

"I'm not the person you should be asking that" He didn't exactly know what Pein-sama wanted from the girl but he guessed it was her byakugan.

She remained silent as she pushed herself off the ground and into a sitting position as she leaned against the wall for support. He could feel her gaze on the side of his face as if it was brushing against his cheek.

And then her arms were around his neck before he could register it in his head. His eyes widened considerably as his fingers dug into the dirt. Her body was shaking against him as her arms tightened their hold on him. After a minute he realized that the trembling was coming from his own shocked body.

The small sobs that left her lips was the only thing he heard for a while as he tried to decide to either push her away or pull her closer.

When his arms wrapped around her middle and crushed her against him, all of his willpower washed down the drain and his eyes closed. For the first time in a while, he breathed in the earthy scent of her hair as his nose pushed into her neck.

"You never let me help you" She mumbled against his shoulder. He remained silent and still, worried that if he dared to move she would crumble away in his fingers.

"Y-You..never let me take the burden off your shoulders" Her pained voice forced him to pull her closer, if it was possible. His head had finally cleared enough to start thinking logically once again and his eyes cracked open to gaze at the fire. Everything seemed to slow down around him as his grip on her loosened.

His hands fell onto her shoulders to push her away enough so he could look at her face but she remained glued onto him.

He knew he could just force her off of him but the thought left a sour taste in his mouth. He decided to turn his head to gaze at the opening of the cave instead, a warm feeling blossoming inside of his chest as his hands fell against the ground.

You can't help me.