tampered | (no subject)

When; Jan. 2nd, late evening.
Rating; PG
Characters; Tomoe Hotaru

crimsonmangekyo
Summary; Overcome by her own worry at Archer's condition, Hotaru slips out of the apartment at night and seeks an answer to her nerves.
Log;
Frowning slightly, she carefully squirmed her way out from underneath Archer's arm. Pulling herself free, she sat up to stare at him where he lay beneath her on the couch. It was...unusual to see Archer sleeping. Not that Archer didn't sleep. She knew perfectly well that he did. But it was usually a matter of his simply feeling like sleeping rather then any response to the fatigue of his body. And he was always awake when she was. From the moment she opened her eyes in the morning, he was there. She'd grown so accustomed to his presence in the back of her mind, like a whisper that wrapped around her psyche and enfolded her essence with his own. But...when he was asleep like this, that presence was faded, weakened. The sensation was unnerving, at best.

Archer...what's wrong with you?

Sliding off of the couch, she tugged the black knitted afghan down and tucked it around his larger form. Making sure the darkly-hued felted wool was snug around his shoulders, she leaned over and gently pressed a kiss to his lips. Pulling back, cheeks red, she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I'll be back soon. And maybe I can find someway to figure out what's wrong."

Pulling the thick cloak off of the iron wrack that stood to the side of the door, she swung it's heavy weight around her shoulders, fastening the metal clasp with a slight click and a jingling chime of the bell. Stuffing her feet into the chunky oversized black boots that sat beside the coatrack, she pushed open the door and slipped out into the snow.

With soft crunching steps, she made her way down the dimly-lit streets in silence. The snow fell slowly all around, the only real sounds the soft whispering of the wind through the alleyways and trees, the barely audible patter of the snowflakes as they mingled with the frosted coat of white on the ground, and the impact of her footfalls breaking through the crusted snow. Feeling a slight tremor pass through her body, she pulled the cloak tighter around herself.

Must be the cold..

The thought that it wasn't the first bout of strange trembling she had encountered wasn't frontal in her mind. Besides, it wasn't anything that a nice cup of tea couldn't cure. Just like the anxiety attacks that she seemed to have more often now then before. They didn't really bother her that much. Not in principle. In fact, they were similar to the attacks she'd used to have when she was younger, when her ruined body would spasm and threaten to shut down. And, like the trembling, it always went away when she sat down and simply enjoyed a nice steaming cup of tea. So...there wasn't really any need to worry about it. Afterall, it was probably just due to all of the many things that seemed to be stressful in her life right now.

Maybe Itachi-sama has some more of that special tea he made me. It's got such a nice taste to it, and it just calms me right down when I'm feeling overwhelmed.

Hotaru didn't really know where she was going, but she knew that if she headed towards Xanadu and the ruins of the hospital, she was bound to run into either Itachi-sama or Shark-san. Afterall, it only made sense that they would be patrolling the perimeter of the areas they claimed as "theirs".

Itachi-sama...are you here?

Whether it was luck, fate, or something else, a dark shape with crimsoned eyes stepped out of the shadows in front of her, familiar soft chime heralding the presence of the Uchiha. He stepped into the stark light of the streetlamp, bowing to her.

"Hotaru-chan. What brings you to this part of the City?"

Bowing in respect, she stepped forward into the light, looking up at him with violet eyes. Clasping her hands in front of her, she bit her lip.

"Itachi-sama..I..I wanted to ask you something. To..ask for your help, I guess."

The tall man studied her quietly, nodding. Reaching out, he slipped his fingers into the fabric at the angle of her jaw, pulling up the hood on the cloak and smoothing the black wool.

"It's snowing. You should be wearing your hat."

Hotaru felt her cheeks redden at the gesture, and she gulped and glanced away. He was part of the reason why her life was so chaotic. How...how did she feel about him? Certainly he was older then her, by a good deal. And she didn't even know if he thought of her as more then someone to be thankful to for the healing she had done for him. But...would it have made a difference? The man drew her, called to her like a siren song that caressed her psyche and slid around her mind and emotions like silk wrapping around smooth glass. His presence was like a drug, threading it's addictive and intoxicating melody through her bloodstream. Swallowing, she turned her eyes back to the scarlet and black ones that bored into her soul.

"I...I'm worried. About Archer. He's...sick, and I don't know what to do."

Sitting down on the bench beside the streetlight, she folded her hands in her lap and began to explain.

"He...Archer doesn't get tired. I guess because he's a spirit, but...it's different from you and I. I..I'm afraid for him."

Itachi took his place on the bench beside her and simply sat silently as the girl explained her problems. While that in itself was rather mundane, and certainly not the way that Itachi had planned on spending his evening, it suited his purposes quite well. And thus, the Akatsuki put on a mask of concern and care as he nodded to her words, face displaying nothing but kindness to her.

"I see. It sounds like a difficult problem, indeed. I wish I could tell you what you should do. Unfortunataly, I don't know Archer very well. But, I'm sure he's probably going to be fine."

He placed a hand on top of her clasped ones with a smile.

"You shouldn't worry so much. It's not good for you. Oh, speaking of good for you, I brought you something."

Reaching into the folds of his robes, he pulled out a small bag and handed it to her.

"It's more tea, like the tea I gave you before. I thought, since you liked it so much, that you might appreciate some more."

With a smile, she took the bag from him and cradled it in her lap.

"Thank you, Itachi-sama! I was beginning to run low, and I wasn't sure if it would be polite to ask you for more. It's such a wonderful tea, I love the flavor. And it always seems to make me feel so much more relaxed whenever things get stressful. I...I'm so grateful that you're willing to make it for me."

He smiled and nodded, eyes flickering around the landscape. He'd been mildly surprised to see her on her own, without the typical looming shape of Archer. And still, he couldn't sense the other man's presence. With a sly grin, he turned to her with a smile.

"Hotaru-chan, it's your birthday soon, isn't it? And it seems that all I have for you is tea."

Pausing, as if in thought, he cocked his head at her.

"Well...there is something else that I could give you, if you'd allow me to."

Hotaru frowned slightly, not sure what he was talking about.

"I...I guess so. I mean...I trust you, Itachi-sama."

He nodded, mentally formulating his strategy. The Uchiha knew it was a gamble, and it wasn't something that he could risk doing if Archer was around. But...at the same time, there was a small portion of him that couldn't help but feel a small thrill at the idea of getting the better of the white-haired man.

You just watch, Archer. Watch as I tear apart everything you know.

A hand raised, cupping her cheek as he leaned in to brush his lips against hers in a tentative touch before pressing forward to mold his mouth to hers in a kiss.

Violet eyes widened in shock as his lips pressed against hers. For a moment, she brought up and hand as if to push him away, but dropped it as her eyes slid closed. It...was it really bad? Afterall, it was only a kiss..

Itachi grinned inwardly as he felt her relax into his kiss. It was pathetically easy to manipulate her. After a moment, he pulled back and stood up.

"Happy Birthday, Hotaru-chan. Though it's a little bit early, I hope it's a worthwhile present. And now, sadly, I must take my leave."

Bowing, he turned and vanished into the night.

Hotaru sat there in silence, eyes still wide. She raised a trembling hand to her lips in shock, staring after him. Did he just... Her shock and slight awe was coloured by a shaft of shame.

Archer...I...why do I feel like I just did something wrong?

Tucking the bag of tea into her pocket, she turned and headed home, feeling, if possible, even more conflicted then she had to begin with.