I Want You For Myself (Sasuke/Itachi Romance)

42. A Promise To Her

The walk to Itachi's room had been completely silent, Akira still too caught off guard by how quickly things had escalated to say a word. She glanced up at him as he carried her in his arms, the look of annoyance still on his face. It was an expression that she rarely saw from him, and yet it had been the realest trace of emotion she had seen him make these past few weeks. It wasn't until he had taken her into the room, set her on his bed, and shut the door that she had finally found her voice.

"Wh-What was that all about, Itachi?"

She wanted answers, but he not only ignored her question, but completely avoided her gaze entirely, taking off his Akatsuki cloak and draping it over a chair, "You can sleep here tonight. He'll be gone by the morning."

Akira scowled her temper flaring, "You can't do that! You can't just decide who I can see and who I can't see."

The lack of response and dead silence of the room boiled her blood. He just stood there near the doorway, his dark eyes refusing to acknowledge her.

Akira scoffed, running her fingers through her hair in frustration, "You know if you're not going to talk to me, there's no point in me staying here." She stood up, crossing the cold stone floor with bare feet, passing him and making her way towards the door. "I really don't understand you. To think...for a split second I thought you were jealous of something for once," she whispered softly in disappointment, her hand reaching out and grabbing hold of the doorknob.

It was then that his large hand suddenly came from behind her, gently clasping her hand in his, preventing her from leaving. Akira froze in surprise staring at the both of their hands together, sensing just how close he was as his other hand rested on the side of her waist.

"Why do you feel it's so unbelievable for me to be jealous?" his deep, soft voice spoke right in her ear, "Am I not human, just like you?"

There it was...the feeling Hidan tried, unsuccessfully, to replicate. Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her face began to flush at the thought of turning around to see just how close he really was. He had to know how crazy being this close to him made her feel. He didn't want her to leave, and he did just that, stopping her in her tracks just with his touch.

She couldn't wrap her mind around what was possibly going on in his head. One moment he would be so distant and the next he wouldn't want her to leave. Truth be told, she wanted to stay there and just enjoy the moment, but her stubborn mind was still stuck on his words.

"Human, just like you...but that's not really what you believe, is it?" she took her hand away from his, slowly turning to face him. "I'm a monster to you."

Itachi frowned slightly, glancing away with an expression of regret at the sight of her sad blue indigo eyes. He hadn't realized just how much those words had been eating away at her, but he decided tonight would be the night he would clear things up.

"I need you to believe me when I tell you, I wouldn't have said that if I didn't need to, Akira. I needed to convince Pein that there was still a reason to keep you here."

Akira, still somewhat intoxicated, fought back angry tears, "Then why not just tell me that? Why did you let me believe that the one person I actually cared about thought so little of me? Why did you say what you said in my bedroom before I left? It's like you want to keep pushing me away!"

Her voice broke near the end of her sentence remembering those words of his. "I can't do this. Not with you."

He sighed, pained to see her crying. Sadly, what he said to her when she tried to confess to him, he very much meant. His thumb brushed her cheek, wiping away her tears, and she leaned into him, burying her tearful face into his chest embarrassed to have him see her like this.