FRAGRANCE | u. itachi

十 | That guy's twenty-one

十
beyond reach

Kuina couldn't recall much of what happened last night. All she knew was that she was worried about Itachi's illness. And being swept by her emotions that were fueled by the night, she broke down crying in front of him. Her eyes were now swollen red as a reminder of how embarrassing she must have acted.

She let out a sigh as she breathed in the fresh morning air. But instead, the scent of dirt and rain, accompanied by a subtle stench of blood, filled her nose, making her feel sick to the stomach.

Kuina held in her need to throw up and glanced at Itachi's figure ahead. He seemed completely healed, walking with elegance and confidence. Every inch of him was immaculate, only his dishevelled hair and bloodstained cloak marked signs that he ever fought a battle.

Her brows drew together as she looked down at herself. Unlike him, dirt and blood stained almost every inch of her tattered, white garment. Her brown hair were tangled into unkempt knots that were hideous to look at. Bruises and cuts, both from the sealing explosion and last night's mayhem, flawed her pale skin, burning in intense pain.

And although she felt like the pain would never go away, after a whole night of agony, her body became numb to it. She was able to walk by herself without being carried, even though she still had to pour her whole body weight onto Kisame in order to hold herself up.

For some reason, Kisame, who had always been rather demeaning, wasn't complaining about it. Kuina would glance up at him from time to time to catch his amused gaze watching her. She didn't know what was going on, but the way he was in such a perturbing good mood made her feel terribly anxious.

And at long last, unable to bear it any longer, she bit her lip and snapped her gaze up at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She lashed out.

Kisame's smile widened before he broke off into a laugh. "I was just thinking, I think I'm beginning to like you, little Fragrance. What's your name?"

She raised her brows at him, instantly suspicious of his intention. "It's Kaori Kuina."

"Ah, what a cute name. Kuina-chan, I think we'll be great friends," Kisame said as he snickered to himself.

Kuina narrowed her eyes. From what she remembered, he had always hated her presence and threatened to end her life every chance he got. The friendliness he was trying to harbour right then was beginning to creep her out. Kuina might have been sheltered all her life, but even she knew people couldn't change this much overnight.

"Why are you acting nice all of the sudden?" She questioned as she analysed his expression for any hidden agenda.

Kisame gave a sly smile before shrugging. "I just thought, if we're stuck on this journey together, we might as well drop our little prejudice, don't you agree?" - without giving her time to answer, he continued - "so . . . how old are you? You look rather young."

Suspicions filled her as she eyed him intensely. He returned her gaze with a toothy smile, and in the end, she cast her gaze away with a sigh. It wasn't so bad that this shark-man wanted to be friendly with her. She would actually be happy if he truly meant it.

"I'm nineteen," she answered after a length of silence.

Kisame nodded before he eyed Itachi. "That guy's twenty-one."

"I know that," Kuina said bluntly. "And?"

Kisame's lips curled. "What do you think of him?"

Kuina looked at Itachi's figure ahead, her brows raising slightly. "He's very patient, but equally cold and indifferent"

"Ah, is that so?" Kisame chuckled as he stared ahead, entertained by the conversation. "What about his appearance? What do you think of it?"

Kuina gave Kisame a glare, not quite sure what he thought he was getting at. She sighed as she looked ahead, letting his question sink in.

To be honest, she hadn't really thought much about how Itachi looked. There wasn't any time for her to observe such details when there were bigger things like survival to worry about.

But from her brief glances at him, she would say he did look more refined than any man she had ever seen - not that she had seen much within the enclosed hibiscus field. And he seemed to be quite popular with women too from what she saw from the glimpses of his past.

"So, what'd you say?" Kisame pressed on when she lapsed into a long thought.

She shrugged. "He's good-looking - very elegant. Though I guess that's just his clan's thing."

"You think so?" Kisame made a noise with his tongue before he chuckled. "So, what happened last night?"

At his question, a strange feeling overcame her, making her heart hammered faster. She furrowed her brows as she quickly shook off the feeling. "I can't remember much. We were both very wounded, and I bandaged his wound. Afterwards, everything just became blurred. I probably fell asleep. What about it?"

Kisame nodded, snickering. "Is that it? Well, how strange. So how come when I entered the cave, you were snuggling against Itachi, sleeping tightly in his arms while he was half-naked?"

Kuina's eyes widened and her face flushed red. "I - what?"

"Ah, you don't recall? Too bad then," he said through his croaking laughter as he looked at her priceless expression. "Your face is all red, Kuina-chan. Let me ask you something, do you have a crush on him, that guy?" He gestured at Itachi. "I mean it's not very surprising. He's a goddamned Uchiha, every girl seems to have a crush on him everywhere we go."

Kuina gulped as she looked down at the ground. "Don't make assumptions. Someone like him is too untouchable. I think, sometimes, I'm even scared of him."

Kisame nodded. "Is that so?" He cocked his head to the side. "Makes sense. That boy massacred his clan at thirteen, has those formidable eyes, and has always been distant and merciless. Through my long years as his partner, I barely saw him express any other expression apart from the cold and detached ones. And I have never ever seen him let anyone close to him, well, I mean except for last night, if you know what I mean." He winked and continued his amused laughter.

Kuina scowled at Kisame. "I don't know what you're saying." She huffed and turned away from him. "Don't talk to me anymore. I don't wish to talk to you."

Kisame continued laughing. "Alright, alright, whatever you wish, Kuina-chan. I really like you now, so I'll let you have it your way for once."

*

𝐹𝑅𝐴𝐺𝑅𝐴𝑁𝐶𝐸
うちはイタチ