Mirror, mirror. [Naruto] [Itachi Uchiha] (Complete)

Chapter 10

In the view of evolutionary psychology, "the mind is a set of information-processing machines that were designed by natural selection to solve adaptive problems faced by our hunter–gatherer ancestors." It was a matter of fight or flight, die or survive; Reina had seen the impact death had on people, the subdued nature of a once fiery persona, their light extinguished by one single event. The same could be said about her current turn of events; Reina had to survive this ordeal, she had to get back to her Grandmother and her family. She was determined to shine a light on her Uncle's misconducts, to prove to the world what a villain he actually was.

Villain.

Reina had been spending a lot of time with those in that category; in fact all of her time had been spent with those people. But to her surprise they went about their day to day routines like everyone else, Reina half expected them to be like the antagonists she had read about in fiction. Yes, the Akatsuki had the dark cloaks and villainous characters that was a given and well known in shinobi world. Yet having spent time with a so-called villain, Reina began to realise that he wasn't actually that heinous.

Reina knew of the crimes Itachi Uchiha had committed all those years ago, but she would not label him as evil incarnate. No, that was reserved for those who lacked any form of empathy and were devoid of any human compassion. Reina had found that the eldest Uchiha did not fit into that category; he had been rather compassionate in his own, individual way. It was a bizarrely comforting thing she had found; it was ironic that her captor had become her confidant and knew things only her Grandfather had known.

Things were turning out stranger than she could have ever imagined.

The night had be long and arduous, sharing a futon with your jailer was nerve-racking to say the least; every small touch or brush of skin made her senses jump on hyper alert. Many a time Reina had heard Itachi rouse and enter the water closet, a wave of coughs echoing behind closed doors. She too experienced it, the indenture most definitely binding more than their chakra; the lesser fits of coughs were nowhere near as severe as his, yet it was enough to make her throat raw and her eyes water.

Kisame had returned for the night during the early hours, the aroma of sake floating into the room as he flopped ungracefully onto the nearby futon, a low grunt passing his lips as he fell into an alcohol induced inertia.

The sun had barely risen over the horizon and Reina was up, her side of the futon made neatly leaving a peacefully slumbering Itachi in his place. Reina dressed quickly and slipped through the patterned shoji screens silently, the Kojiki and satchel cradled in her arms as she made herself comfortable on the wooden porch outside. The air was chilly, nipping at her skin and causing it to tinge pink as she huddled her clothes closer around her.

Reina sighed softly, her breathe appearing then disappearing almost instantly in the air; she admired the withered binding of the Kojiki not being able to believe that this artefact is the reason she is here. If she hadn't been lecturing that night, how things may have panned out differently. She could be back home, snug in her bed for another few hours before having to head to the academy to teach, not await orders from the Uchiha clan killer and the monster hidden of the mist.

It was as if the latter of the two had heard her thoughts as he slid through the screen doors, groggily stretching and yawning casually. Reina stared up at him, silently musing as he winced and cursed at the sunlight that invaded his vision.

"Urgh...too early." Kisame muttered as he took a spot opposite Reina, leaning against the foundation post of the porch, one arm swathed over his knee leisurely. Reina watched him silently, not entirely sure what to make of the situation at hand; Kisame groaned quietly, it obvious to Reina just why he was so susceptible to harsh light.