"So what was that all about, Itachi?", Izumi skeptically asks, while she fiddles with her fingers.
She'd told me that she'd passed by my mother, who wanted to deliver me some fresh clothes. Izumi, being Izumi offered to take them instead. She even went out of her way to wait for me as I went to the hot springs to refresh myself again.
My hair was still wet as I tied it back. The clothes she'd gotten me were baggy and covering. My figure got lost in the baggy material as the Uchiha crest was disfigured when I threw my long ponytail behind me.
"It's a long story...", I swallowed the lump in my throat, "...th-thank you for bringing me fresh clothes, I couldn't tolerate one more second in my sweaty ones".
"You're welcome", she smiles, the brown of her eyes glimmering.
I patted out my baggy fit and took the bag which contains my dirty clothes. Izumi quickly took hold of it and said, "I'll carry it".
"Y-you don't have to", I breath a little heavy as she persists.
"You must still be tired, wanna take a walk to the Uchiha Senbei?".
"Uchiha Senbei?", I echo in recall of the place.
"Yeah, it's near the hot springs and our district since the relocation after the Great War", she elaborates.
"I know that", I pucker my lips, "I just remembered how Sasuke likes to eat from there. Teyaki Uchiha and his wife are such good people", I smiled to myself.
"Then why don't we pay a visit? Sasuke might be there, we could tag along to the district", Izumi proposes as a cold breeze hovers over my face, making me shiver.
"I don't want to go back to the district, Izumi"
"W-why not? Mikoto was frantic ever since she received the news of your detaining and-"
"Izumi", I cut her off and glance over into her chocolate brown eyes, "playing dumb doesn't suit you", I remark, observing her bodily language carefully.
"I-Itachi..."
"How many people in the Uchiha district know?", I sternly ask, hoping she wouldn't stall. When she fixes her gaze elsewhere I simply sigh and shove my hands in my pockets before strolling away.
I could sense her following after my footsteps, but the silence was kept intact between us. We kept walking further in distance before she broke the silence.
"I-I don't believe any of it, Itachi", she stammered, making me swallow a lump in my throat.
"What don't you believe exactly Izumi?", I sternly ask, making sure my voice came out steady.
"You'd never hurt your own clan members..."
For mere minutes the sound of our echoing footsteps circulated in my ears as I heavily sighed. My tongue was knotted in tight knots as I refrained myself from saying anything.
Izumi must be in denial. She thinks that I'm this knight in shining armor that's close to perfection, when in reality, I'm anything but. Once she accepts the truth, she'll be very disappointed, but that should put an end to her affection for me.
I might be cruel to have disregarded her feelings all this time, and ever since we were kids, but I am not obliged to return back feelings. I am thankful for her, thankful to what she feels towards me, but lying to her will only hurt her further.
"...E-even if you were to do that...then I'd understand that you had your reasons..."
Her unsteady tone of voice makes me halt in my tracks as I tip my head low. Seems like she stopped as well, because right then, I could hear her heavy breaths.
YOU ARE READING
Red Butterfly
Fanfiction"The Namikaze clan huh?", Itachi took a step closer, his eyes calm, but fixated. I took a step further back as I kept reminding myself that this is no ordinary Uchiha. My face never gave away a glimpse of doubt as I smirked. "I heard that the Namik...
