Adoration

Random Ninja's POV

"That man is the most infuriating—"

"I told you, Aya—"

"—cold-hearted—"

"He's an Uchiha, and you know how they are—"

"—difficult—"

"Not just that, he's the Uchiha heir—"

"—attractive—"

"Are you still saying that—"

"—frigid man I have ever met."

Ikose sighed with tragedy at his partner's hard head. Ever since they were genin, she'd been the most stubborn one in their three-man cell. She never knew when to give up, and that extended to the men she chased. But now that they were full-fledged Chunin (and were currently preparing to take the Jonin exams at the end of the year), she'd grown into her body and had become a lot bolder. While he was glad that she was confident in herself, Aya had the tendency to go after men that were ridiculously out of her league.

Sure, she was pretty, but not belongs-on-the-arm-of-a-future-clan-head pretty. She was nowhere near what could be considered ninja "nobility." Far from it, in fact. Aya was a second generation ninja. Her father being the first ninja in her previously all-civilian family. She'd done well for herself. As her teammate, he was proud of her. As a fellow ninja, he recognized her skills. As her friend, he thought she was a damn idiot.

They, along with a three-man group from their home-village of Kiri, were sent to meet up with a few Konoha ninja in an extremely rare collaboration mission that would last three months. They'd be guarding diplomats from their respective nations. Clan heads and heirs were also among the ninjas sent, so any deals hammered out would also have the interests of the village's ninjas in mind. The other three-man group they arrived with were composed of one clan head and two heiresses; while Konoha had two Uchiha males—one being the Uchiha heir, himself. The weather had apparently been spotty, so their other group had yet to arrive... and that was why they were all here now, camping outside in the cold.

But truthfully, Ikose was just glad to be there. Neither Ikose, nor Aya heard much about the intricacies of politics—let alone clan politics—so this was all extremely new to them. They were still fledgling ninjas in the eyes of all those around them, but Ikose didn't mind if they found him lacking in some areas. He was here to do his job and learn. Besides, to be sent on such an important mission looked good on his records. There was no way he was going to mess this up. This was considered A-class.

He noticed early on that Konoha's diplomat was especially skittish. The man jumped at the slightest of sounds, his spectacles practically falling off of his face whenever he did so. It was no wonder he needed such absurdly powerful escorts. Two Uchihas?—and more ninjas on the way. There was a limit to how much manpower you needed.

Ikose blew a breath of warm air into his hands, before huddling closer to the fire before him. The diplomats had begun going over their own individual notes, while the ninjas had taken to either talking amongst themselves or crossing their arms and waiting patiently for Konoha's final group to arrive. None had bothered to mingle. That only went to show just how hotly the blood between the two villages ran.

Aya, however, was the grand exception.

As soon as they'd settled, she'd approached the Uchiha heir, her sashaying hips watched by all... only to be shut down with a quiet word and a cold stare. The other one, Uchiha Shisui, even had the audacity to laugh when her face heated in embarrassment. Personally, Ikose thought she would've had a better chance with Shisui, mainly because he seemed more outgoing in general. But Aya always had a thing for long hair, and who was he to dictate her preferences.

"I can't believe he shot me down!" Aya whispered harshly, not realizing that she was still talking loud enough for those in the clearing to hear.

"I thought you liked challenges," Ikose said.

"He told me he wasn't interested in speaking to me," she whined, warming her hands by the fire.

"At least he was honest."

"We're going to be around each other for three months. Inside and outside of meetings. He could at least try to be civil."

"He's a clan heir, Aya," Ikose said, trying to cheer her up. "An ANBU Captain and considered one of Konoha's geniuses. I heard they were considering him for Hokage and that he actually declined the offer. Don't feel too bad. I'm sure he has to deal with a lot of women that want to just talk to him and that must be his go-to response or something."

"Well, I'm not like them!"

"So, you weren't trying to get in his pants?"

"Now, I didn't say that," she winked, "I'm not one of those prissy types he most likely deals with."

"Yea, you're an entirely different kind of overbearing."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said, holding his hands up innocently. Ikose watched the two Uchiha's from the corner of his eye. Itachi's back was rigid. His partner, on the other hand, was slouched forward and smiling slightly at something the man had said. Ikose could understand where she was coming from at least. Their looks were devastating. It was the sort of attractive any woman would fall for and any man would be annoyed by.

"Ugh," Aya groaned, pulling her overcoat tighter around her body and nudging a nearby rock with her shoe. "It's freezing."

"Well, it is almost winter," Ikose reasoned.

"I wish we could've waited at the nearby town instead," the Konoha diplomat suddenly interjected. He looked pointedly at the two Uchihas. "For all we know, our companions could've been trapped by a storm or forced off the main road by enemy ninjas. It's freezing here and my papers are starting to feel damp from the air. Just how much longer do they expect us to wait? This is an embarrassment, especially considering the fact that we're making Kiri wait here with us."

Ikose slammed his mouth shut, not wanting to get involved with whatever nonsense their diplomat was saying. No way in hell was he going to complain. Especially not to two men with short swords sharp enough to make it seem like they killed for sport during their off days.

"They were given the option to wait in a nearby town," Itachi said calmly.

"Exactly," Shisui butt in. "They chose to stay here, so that as soon as our party arrived, we could move onto the next stop where the talks will be taking place. If anything, your speaking out is an embarrassment. Don't bring your complaints about us out for everyone to hear. It's in poor taste."

Ikose's jaw dropped. Were they really reprimanding their own diplomat? The man was a representative of the feudal lord!

"Besides, we don't have to wait much longer," Shisui went on, piling his hands behind his head, as he jutted his chin in the direction of two dark specks over his shoulder. "They're right there."

Everyone in the clearing turned to find two figures running towards them at full speed. Not a moment later, and they were already standing before them, eyes roving over each one of their faces.

A Nara and a Hyuga, Ikose noted.

Shikaku Nara was known far and wide. The scars across his face and the easily discernable hairstyle made it obvious to all who he was. And although he relaxed at the sight of all of them gathered there, his face was severe enough to make him look anything but. A Hyuga stood beside him. Deep, purple hair, regal features, and a body that made him pause for a moment to stare. She was gorgeous. Were all of Konoha's future clan heads beautiful? Because they needed to bring some of their genes to Kiri—preferably sooner rather than later.

Hell, they should just go ahead and make some kind of marriage arrangement now. He was sure more than a few would fight over that woman's hand. Their clans heads were either strange-looking from too much inbreeding or had these off-putting features common to them... like awfully pointed teeth. Just imagining a blowjob from someone with teeth like that made him shudder.

She's young, Ikose thought. Older than me, but young. Too young for a clan head. The Hyuga heiress then.

"Sorry for keeping you," Shikaku immediately said.

Behind him, the Hyuga heiress bowed in apology. "Many of the main roads were closed due to the inclement weather," she said, her voice carrying all across the camp.

They received a number of grunts and nods in return.

It wasn't long before they were packing up to leave. But as soon as they started doing so, Aya grabbed him by the arm.

"Look!" she whispered in his ear.

Ikose turned just in time to see Uchiha Shisui nudging his cousin, who merely grunted and shook him off. Itachi walked over to the woman, who was busy tightening the sash around her waist to properly accommodate that fucking ridiculous rack. Itachi's shoulders were as straight as ever, his jaw set, as he walked unhesitatingly toward her.

Both Ikose and Aya found themselves leaning closer, straining their ears to hear their conversation.

"Itachi-san," the woman called, delighted. "I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting for so long."

"So he does talk," Aya said, eyeing the dark-haired woman critically. "Think he's just being polite because she's an hei—"

Whatever else she was going to say was lost in an embarrassed squeak when Itachi reached up to brush a strand of the woman's hair behind her ear. The woman blushed cutely. Her eyes darted around, as if he'd just done something improper. She looked down and bit her lower lip, unintentionally making the Uchiha zero in on the area.

A second after, and Itachi was already pulling a respectable distance away, not prolonging their contact. Though his fingers did trace across her cheek, before they fell, lingering in a familiar way that just spoke of tenderness and intimacy. There was a softer look in his eyes that made him seem like an entirely different man in the warm glow of the fire.

"It's no trouble at all," Itachi said.

Whatever Hinata said in response was lost to them, as Shisui pounced on the two with a wide grin and a mischievous glint in his eye. The man seemed so much more animated in the face of such a reserved couple.

Aya pulled Ikose around again, her eyebrows were so high that Ikose thought they might actually touch her hairline. "He could've at least mentioned that he was taken instead of just shutting me down like that."

"If he was taken, then I'm sure the entire ninja world would've known about it by now."

"Then how do you explain that?"

"Courting?" Ikose offered. "Maybe just a passing interest?"

"I'm not touching a man already set on someone else." Aya groaned, aggravated by it all. "She's pretty. But I haven't seen enough to know whether or not she's interested in him though."

"He's Uchiha itachi. Of course she's interested."

"You don't know that," she said, biting. "And don't you dare ruin my dreams."

"Dreams? What dreams, Aya?"

"Of me and—"

"You just said you weren't interested in a man that had eyes for someone el—"

"Let me finish!" Aya said, kicking his shin. "I didn't mean him. Do you think she's interested in women?"

Ikose gave a long-suffering sigh.

Sage, help me.