Separate Worlds

Katherina

"Do you like umeboshi?" Kat called to Itachi, studying the jar of pickled plums in her hands. After leaving the grocery store and farmer's market, she had decided to pay a visit to the local world food market to get the things she would need to make foods Itachi would be used to. 

He quirked a brow. "I do. And you?"

"Yep! When I lived in Japan, I got to try lots of different things. I really love tempura, but only vegetable tempura. The sauce is amazing! And also onigiri, but I like it best without the salmon," she informed him, placing the umeboshi into the small shopping basket on hanging from the crook of her arm. "Not a fan of fish, unless it's sushi. Okonomiyaki. Oh! And tonkatsu dishes are another favorite!"

She rambled on for a while about her likes and dislikes as they skimmed the isles for additional ingredients. She looked up mid-sentence, wondering if he was actually listening to her. He didn't seem to be.

After a short pause, she was about to ask him if there was anything he wanted that she might have missed. However, before she could do so, Itachi reached past her left shoulder to grab something off the shelf behind her. She watched in mild surprise as he held up a bottle of Japanese-style Worcestershire sauce for her to take.

"For the tonkatsu," he said quietly, obviously delighting over the fact that he had proved he was indeed listening to her. Her eyes widened a bit before she reached out to place the bottle into the basket. He smirked and stepped back to allow her to continue walking down the narrow isle.

"Sorry, I was rambling," she said, beginning to walk again. Itachi merely fell into place behind her. "I think I read somewhere that you are a fan of sweets, is that true?" She asked.

He paused, looking taken aback. "Katherina-san, where is it that you find these facts about me?"

"Well...there are several data books out there that list trivial things such as the character's favorite foods," she explained sheepishly.

"Hn. Yes, I enjoy sweets," Itachi confirmed, still looking vaguely mystified.

"Well, I don't have any first-hand experience, but I'm sure we could find the ingredients here to make dango?" She offered.

He nodded in appreciation. "It seems you have a bit of knowledge about the characters from my world."

She shrugged, comparing two different brands of rice flour. Hmm, sweetened? Or unsweetened?  "I suppose," she said absently. "Though, I really only read up on my favorites," she stated calmly.

Wait...

Her eyes widened upon realizing what she had just said. She looked up to measure Itachi's reaction, expecting a look of surprise or discomfort. He stared at her silently, with a hint of, what was that? Confusion?

"Sorry. That was weird. You're a real person, not a made up character in a story. I didn't mean-"

"I'm one of your favorites...?" He interrupted quietly, not breaking eye contact with her. She stared back blankly, not knowing what to make of his sudden seriousness. "Why?"

She gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously? You're the favorite," she ensured him, hoping she didn't sound like a raging fan girl. "For more than one reason, of course." Kat was taken aback by his confusion. Surely he must understand why. Though, judging from his expression, he had no clue. "You kinda always have been. You never did make a very convincing villain, in my opinion." He still looked very unconvinced.

She sighed, lowering a bag of non-sweetened rice flour to rest in the basket. "You're the most brilliant, self-sacrificing, honorable...strong-willed shinobi of the series," she told him matter-of-factly. "You gave up everything for a village that disowned you. You were hated for stopping the chaos that would have resulted from the coup." She began walking, trusting him to follow. "Even if no one knows it, I know. You're a hero, Itachi," she said quietly, eyes widening slightly upon realizing she had called him by his first name.

Upon glancing over her shoulder at him, she realized that he, too, had noticed her little slip. "Sorry, I shouldn't-"

"No. Please call me Itachi, Katherina-san."

She swallowed. "Oh...alright," she agreed with a smile. "If you call me Kat," she said, looking away to hide her blush. She remembered telling him that upon his arrival, though he had yet to call her by the shortened version of her name. She figured he was just impeccably polite and formal at all times.

He nodded, though she had her doubts that he would actually do it.

"Is there anything we forgot?" She asked, turning to walk to the counter to pay for their items. Hearing his signature grunt from behind her, she took that as a "no". As she neared the counter, she caught sight of a short metal stand off to the side. Her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Pocky!" She exclaimed, hurrying past Itachi to grab several boxes of the chocolate-covered pretzel sticks. She adored these. She glanced back at Itachi who by now was eyeing her with amusement, a single eyebrow raised at her exuberance. She grinned sheepishly. "Would you like some, Uch-Itachi-san?" She corrected.

"Do you really need that much?" He asked, not bothering to mask his amusement at this point. She shrugged.

"You didn't answer my question. Do you like Pocky?" She asked. He gave a single nod. She smiled triumphantly. "There's also green tea or strawberry flavors if you don't like chocolate..." she offered. To that he said nothing, prompting Kat to grab a single package of green tea and two of the strawberry flavor. She sauntered over to the counter and began offloading the items one by one, grumbling about stubborn, mute men all the while.

He smirked, approaching the counter silently as the old woman running the register nodded to him politely.

Kat paid and led the way out of the store. As they walked across the parking lot to her car, she noticed Itachi seemed to be studying the cars they passed in the parking lot.  She smiled, "Lots of different colors and sizes, hm?"

He nodded. "They are all unique," he noted, taking notice of the forest green mini-van parked beside Kat's much smaller Acura sedan.

Kat hummed in agreement. "They're all made to suit the needs of the drivers. Like this one," she explained, gesturing to the family of stick-figure decals on the back window of the van. "Looks like there are four children in this particular family. So this more spacious van is best suited for their needs," she told him.

She opened the trunk as Itachi approached with the bags (of course he insisted on carrying them for her) and placed them inside with the rest of the day's purchases. Closing the trunk behind her, she walked over and slid into the driver's seat. Itachi took his seat next to her as she turned the key in the ignition.

"And your vehicle?"

She considered a moment before responding. "Well, it suits my needs well. It has a roomy interior, but it isn't unnecessarily large. It gets excellent gas mileage, and it's fast enough for my tastes," she said with a smirk. Itachi looked as though he were valiantly fighting the urge to fidget at the mention of speed.

"And..." she began. "...it belonged to my mom. She bought it when it was new a couple of years before...well, it's been mine since I was sixteen," she said quickly, looking away.

He nodded in understanding. She had hoped he wouldn't press the issue. Sure enough, he seemed to pick up on the fact that her parents, and their absence in her life, was a sore subject. She smiled slightly. Out of everyone who could have been sent to her world, Itachi was the one who showed up.

Silent, patient Itachi.

She was truly grateful that he was as intuitive as he was. As much as she admired Naruto and some of the other characters from his world, she wasn't sure she could coexist with them as well as her and Itachi were able to. He wasn't the type to fill each stretch of silence with pointless chit-chat, nor was he one to pry. And for that, she was grateful. For as much as she enjoyed having company, she wasn't used to sharing her space with anyone. Itachi was the same, in that respect. He seemed to bask in the silence and enjoy his alone time as much as Kat enjoyed hers.

When they did speak, she found their conversations to be enjoyable. He was smart and kind. He wasn't as stoic as she would've thought him to be, and he even cracked subtle jokes now and then. But he was still a very intense individual.

"It's nice," he offered quietly. She glanced over at him questioningly. "The car. The seats are...unexpectedly interesting."

She grinned. Yet another thing he hadn't expected of this world--heated leather seats. Really, it wasn't cold enough today to resort to such things, but Kat thought it would be funny to turn the seat warmers on high and watch her new, and very confused, companion squirm.

Which he didn't do, much to her disappointment. He simply asked her why his chair was beginning to grow alarmingly warm. She had snickered and explained, and he had looked fairly impressed at this particular luxury. She could only imagine his reaction to hearing airplanes were a thing. Perhaps she could take him on a field trip to the airport one of these days?

"I'm very fond of it. It's never let me down, not even once," she told him honestly. Absent-mindedly, she reached down and switched on the radio. He watched her movements with muted interest. As she turned the dial and the volume increased, she looked up to gauge Itachi's reaction to modern music.

He showed no outward reaction, of course. He merely looked at her, raising a questioning brow at the sudden noise filling the car. "Music..." she told him amusedly. His expression grew even more skeptical. She rolled her eye in response. "Oh, come on," she chided. "It really isn't THAT bad," she insisted. Itachi gave her a look that clearly showed he was unimpressed by the racket blaring from her speakers.

Kat sighed, whipping out her phone and checking her personal music catalog. "Fine. I admit the crap on the radio isn't the best."

She scrolled through until she found several that would be beneficial to Itachi's education of modern music.

"Hmm. Upbeat or acoustic, to start with...?" She wondered aloud, tapping her chin thoughtfully. She decided to go the safe route with acoustic. No need to scar the man into hating all music for the rest of his existence. "Yeah, we'll work our way up to the fast stuff," she mumbled, choosing a playlist she had put together awhile back. It was filled with the acoustic versions of random songs she'd taken a liking to way back when. 

She switched the stereo input and the song on the radio stopped suddenly as another song began to play. She smiled nostalgically. "This is Bon Iver," she informed him as the acoustic guitar began to thrum. He stared at her. "Classic," she assured him.

Kicking the car into reverse, she pulled out of the parking lot back onto the highway in silence, giving Itachi the opportunity to simply listen, and ultimately decide if he hated her music.

"Well?" She inquired, after roughly a minute. "I made this playlist, so you'd better not hate it," she warned jokingly.

Itachi smirked and begrudgingly admitted that this song was more bearable than the radio rubbish. This was the best compliment she was likely to get, so she took it as a win.

After a few minutes, one song bled into the next, and Kat found herself humming along, glad that she had come across this old playlist. It was strangely relaxing. She looked over at Itachi to see that he was already looking at her. She felt her face flush pink. Was she bothering him with her singing? She was certainly not a professional singer, though she was certainly not tone-deaf.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking away. "Habit," she confessed, clearing her throat awkwardly. She chanced a glance at him to find a tiny smile gracing his handsome features. She grinned. "What am I that bad?" She asked, schooling her features into a mock wince.

He shook his head minutely. "It's not that," he said, looking out over the dashboard, watching traffic move around them on the bustling highway. "I'm just not accustomed to anyone trusting me enough to behave the way you do when you're around me," he explained.

She stared, blank expression hiding the inner horror she felt. What had she done wrong?

"Someone once told me that if I person is comfortable singing in front of you, they must trust you."

Kat considered that, relaxing. Well, he made a good point. She could see where people would be a little unnerved by his presence. But the difference was, she knew better than to think that he was a ruthless, power-hungry monster. It seemed their everyday exchanges would take some getting used to on his part.

"Does it bother you?" She asked carefully. He looked at her questioningly. "That I'm not afraid of you?" She clarified, looking over to meet his gaze. His gaze seemed to intensify slightly at that.

"It's refreshing," he murmured almost inaudibly.

She nodded. "I could see that," she agreed as she turned off the busy highway onto the interstate. She decided to take a different route home instead of driving all the way through the city once again. The day was too nice to not put down the windows, which Kat rarely did in the city. She hated breathing in all the exhaust fumes that seemed to always find their way into her car.

Exiting off the ramp, she sped up reaching over to open the windows, smiling as the wind filled the car. Her breath hitched in her throat upon looking over at the man occupying her passenger seat. Something about the way his long bangs blew around his face, revealing the cut of his jaw. The way his eyes fluttered closed instinctively at the feel of the autumn breeze on his skin. The way the sides of his mouth lifted-without his knowledge, it seemed- into an almost smile.

A new song came on, then. She smiled. In Kat's opinion, the acoustic version of this one was way better.

Oddly fitting, she thought, forcibly tugging her gaze away from Itachi and back to the road before she killed them both. Well...killed herself, most likely.

This is my life, it's not what it was before

All these feelings I've shared...

She had not a single doubt that Itachi's shinobi reflexes and insane speed would save him should she accidentally veer off the road while ogling him. Get a grip, woman, she thought disgustedly, trying her hardest to remind herself that he is just a man. Just a...brilliant, beautiful...hero of a man...who has hair like silk and eyes-Okay, that's not helping, she thought, mentally willing herself to snap out of it.

And these are my dreams I've never lived before

Somebody shake me cause I, I must be sleeping...

Tossing her head back to rest against the neck rest, she replaced her left hand on the steering wheel with her right, hanging her left arm out the window. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the feel of the mid-afternoon sun on her skin despite the chill in the air. She looked to her right to see Itachi still had his eyes closed. She knew he wasn't sleeping, though he appeared to be, for all intents and purposes.

Now that we're here, so far away

All the struggle we thought was in vain

And all the mistakes one life contained

They all finally start to go away

It seems, just as she is comfortable enough to let her guard down around him, he is able to do the same in her presence, more or less. She basked in the thought.

And now that we're here, it's so far away

And I feel like I can face the day

They rode on in comfortable silence. Itachi didn't so much a twitch the entire drive back, though she knew he was just as aware of what was going on around him as he would be if he were sitting bolt upright, sharingan blazing.

And I can't forget that I'm not ashamed

To be the person that I am today

Katherina

As they drove up her long gravel driveway, Itachi opened his eyes just as Kat was slowing down. As their eyes met, she noticed that he seemed to have no more complaints as far as her music tastes were concerned. She smirked. "Better?"

He held her gaze quietly, giving only a single nod in response. "Well, good. There's plenty where that came from," she teased.

"It wasn't as horrible as before," he stated, drawing a smile from Kat. The man could never seem to give an actual compliment.

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "Get out of my car, Uchiha," she ordered playfully, putting the car into park and opening her own door.

She stood up and stretched, glad to be home. She glanced up at the sky. It was still mostly clear, though there were some heavy looking clouds in the distance that threatened rain tonight or maybe tomorrow. She felt a mid-day run was in order while the weather was still so nice. She quickly opened the trunk and took as many bags into her hands as she could while still being able to hold herself upright, placing her wallet between her teeth. This resulted in a very odd look from her dark-eyed friend.

"What?" She managed to get out while clamping her jaws around the wallet.

"Are you attempting to fracture both your arms, Katherina-san?" He asked smoothly. His face was as blank as ever, though his eyes gave away his amusement.

She grunted as she took the first step toward the front door, quickly deciding she'd better move faster if she was going to make it before her muscles gave out on her. "Nope. Two trips are for wimps," she called over her shoulder, already struggling to get the key into the lock. Finally she managed to turn the key and kick the door open.

She squealed and nearly dropped the load of groceries as Itachi flew past her, his image nothing more than a blur. She recovered quickly looking into the kitchen where he was standing, casually off-loading his own load of groceries. Had she not been biting down on her wallet to keep it from falling, she was sure her jaw would've hit the floor.

Hobbling into the kitchen, she set down the bags, her stare never once leaving the man standing opposite her. He looked up at her, placing a bag of shredded cheese to the side where he had separated the foods needing to be refrigerated. Realizing he was looking directly at her, and she had yet to remove the clutch from her mouth. She flushed what was sure to be a brilliant shade of red, quickly setting the accessory off to the side.

"That was amazing," she managed when he had looked away from her to continue sorting the goods they had acquired. She was partly surprised that he had used his speed around her again. He seemed to realize his actions wouldn't frighten her anymore.

"Hn."

She emptied the bags one by one, beginning to put away the refrigerated items he had set aside. Upon finishing, she ran upstairs to change into leggings and a dry-fit top. Dashing back down the stairs, she entered the kitchen to fill her water bottle. He was sitting at the table perusing through a book she had left lying around.

Interesting, she thought. She didn't peg Itachi as a fiction reader...

"I'm going to go do some speed work," she informed him. "I shouldn't be long. Forty minutes, or so...?" She estimated.

He looked up curiously. "Speed work?"

"Sprints, mostly," she clarified, dreading the exercise already. Kat was infinitely better at distance running; speed just wasn't her thing. But it was necessary if she wanted to improve her overall times. "These are usually the hardest for me," she told him honestly. "So I work twice as hard," she called over her shoulder, already heading out of the kitchen. She stopped by the closet in the hallway to grab her green yoga mat and a small towel before hurrying out the door.

She made her way over to the favorite tree and began unrolling the yoga mat. Lying the water bottle and towel to the side, she sat down and began to stretch. Her gaze unwillingly flickered to the porch steps that Itachi had appeared at during her morning workout. She was both relieved and disappointed that he wasn't there watching her this go around. Forcing her gaze away from the house to avoid looking like a creeper, she continued to stretch out her muscles. Standing, she repeated her ministrations until she felt loose enough to properly commence with the torture.

Taking her mark in front of one of the oak trees raised roots, she leaned down for one last stretch. Taking a deep breath, she poised her body to lunge forward. With a sudden burst of speed she took off, pumping her arms furiously and focusing only on her movements and her breathing. Roughly 25 yards away, there was a smaller tree that she used as a turn-around point. Reaching the tree, she reached out and tapped it lightly with her right arm before pivoting on her left foot and hustling back in the direction of the oak. She repeated this action four times before halting her steps.

Breathing deeply, she raised her arms above her head, allowing her eyes to close. The breeze today felt lovely against her heated skin, making her sigh in contentment. Opening her eyes, she walked over to snatch up her water bottle and take a tiny sip before replacing it on the ground by her towel. Steadying herself for the next bout of sprints, she crouched, once again stretching her calves and hamstrings before standing. Propping her leg against the tree, she reach upward to grab the ends of her toes, effectively stretching her entire leg. As she switched, she felt a whoosh of wind that signaled she was no longer standing alone under the tree. Opening her eyes, she slowly turned her head to the left to find Itachi sitting in the shade facing away from her.

She grinned. "Bored, already?"

He chose not to answer, merely reclining backward until his body rested against the sturdy oak. It was then she noticed that there was a tiny, black object in his hand he seemed to be tinkering with.

Her stopwatch. Her brows rose upon recognizing it.

She normally did not time herself unless she was distance running. She wasn't fond of holding items in her hand as she executed sprints, and unless she did, she had no way of accurately timing herself. She hated the idea of not knowing whether she was, or wasn't, improving. Though she had felt that holding the object would hinder her since she felt so bothered by it. And until now, there had been no one around frequently enough to aid her.

"Well?" He spoke, turning back to glance at her. "Are you going to train?" He asked.

Her eyes lit up at the challenging tone of his voice. She smirked. "You snarking me, Uchiha?"

"Hn. Then I assume you are tired, already?"

She twitched at his subtle prodding. Dropping her right leg from the tree, she righted herself, moving to stand by the raised root that was her starting line. "Ready when you are," she growled.

He graced her with a ghost of a smile. "...go," he instructed.

Itachi

Her body surged forward, leaving the Uchiha reclining casually against the tree, watching her movement with muted interest. He activated his sharingan to study her further. Strange woman, this one was. He'd never met a civilian in his own time, let alone a female, who ran for recreation. Though on the drive into town, Katherina had explained that many people here, both male and female, enjoy jogging as a pastime, or in order to stay healthy. Perhaps this world was more interesting that he'd originally thought.

Watching Katherina turn on her toes and sprint back toward his resting place he decided that yes, yes it was.

She was different. Much kinder than most, as he'd noted during the previous night. Also, she didn't seem to fear him. Though she had initially panicked, she gained her composure rather quickly upon realizing his identity. Which of course made him question her sanity. Regardless of the fact that she knew the reason behind the massacre, the fact remained that he had carried out the order. That he was even capable of committing genocide, never mind the reasoning behind it, was surely enough to deter most people. Especially non-shinobi, who were not accustomed to such atrocities.

Yet she had helped him, taken him into her home even, despite knowing all he had done. She'd provided him with shelter, food, clothing--even past the point of bare essentials. She had no personal ties to him. She owed him nothing. So why? He still couldn't fathom.

She was unique in not only her personality, but also her looks. Her hair seemed to be what set her apart from most of the women he had encountered in his own world. Where most women he had known tended to have straight(and spiky, in some cases) hair, Katherina's hair was perhaps her most distinguishing feature. Her dark tresses were as long as they were curly. And currently, they were working their way out of the neat side braid she had styled it into that morning and were beginning to join the wispy, side-swept bangs that framed her face. Somehow, even her hair seemed to perfectly suit her personality.

As he continued to observe her, he vaguely wondered if she was always this fond of running, or if it had more to do with his sudden presence in her life? He'd wager it to the be former. She did not seem the type to show off in front of others, shinobi or otherwise. Which left him wondering why she was pressing herself to such lengths. He had went so far as to question her about it earlier in the day, to which she replied that she wasn't training for anything other than her own personal satisfaction. Were all the people in this world like this?

Thinking back to his experiences with the people of this world thus far, he concluded that they most definitely were not. He shivered inwardly remembering the "cougar", as Katherina had referred to the woman, invading his personal space. He had reassured Katherina that he would not, no matter how bothered, use his visual prowess to harm a civilian. Though if he were being honest, he would have to admit that the thought had indeed been tempting. And just when he thought he was out of the woods, another insistent, albeit more age-appropriate, woman had set her sights upon him in the clothing store.

He tore his gaze from woman in front of him to glance at the abysmal, messy scrawl still covering his palm. Who knew such things existed? Honestly, who in their right minds would invent pink ink? Was this normal behavior here? He balked inwardly at the notion.

As he glanced down at the timer in his hands, he was mildly surprised at the speed with which she moved. Though she had a fairly large amount of chakra, he was certain she was unaware how to harness it. This was pure, raw determination fueling her. He toyed with the idea of helping her to unlock her true potential. Would she even wish to learn such techniques? When he had informed her earlier that she possessed chakra, she had at first seemed ecstatic. However, very soon after the overjoyed expression was replaced by one of disappointment.

Looking up to see her making her last turn, he watched as she pushed herself further, moving her legs even faster.

So much determination, he mused.

It made him wonder how she would fare in his world. The life of a shinobi was a difficult life at best. One chock full of solitude, loss, and sadness. But had she not already led such a life here in her world? Though she had yet to explain to him her lack of family, he knew grief when he saw it. The times he had studied her expression as she stared at the family photos adorning the walls. The melancholy look she wore when looking upon the tire swing hanging to his right. Though there was something less prominent behind her sadness. Something most would surely miss, but was starkly apparent to Itachi. After all, it was an emotion he had struggled with the better part of his life.

Guilt.

Yes, he knew the expression when he saw it. For some reason, it made getting to know her all the more appealing. Why she felt such guilt was beyond him. And though he itched to ask her, he had decided he would not. She would tell him in her own time if she so wished.

Making her last circle around the distant tree, Katherina closed the space between them, crossing the tree root she seemed to have marked as her start/finish point. He halted the stopwatch just as she rushed past it. He noted the time.

Impressive, indeed, he thought. Her second set was actually quicker than her first. Though he hadn't timed her first run with the stopwatch he had found hanging near the door, he had followed her movements with his sharingan as she ran from tree to tree. Sharingan was even more effective a tool than the object in his hand, though he reasoned that she would want to see the times for herself.

Sure enough, he looked up to see her looking at him expectantly, reaching for the bottle of water on the ground. He tossed the stopwatch to her with more force than was absolutely necessary, for some reason feeling the urge to test her reflexes. She caught it nearly effortlessly, fixing him with a confused scowl nonetheless.

He smirked. "Very good," he complimented, hoping she would not misinterpret his comment as sarcasm as she had this morning.

She nodded appreciatively, glancing down at the timer. "It felt better than the first set. But I didn't time those, so I can't be sure..." she started, taking a seat on the rubber mat she had placed in the shade.

"Your last set was eight seconds quicker than the first," he informed tonelessly.

"Eight whole seconds?!"

"Yes." Her eyes widened slightly. "Quite an improvement," he added. And it truly was. It seemed needing to prove herself was quite a powerful motivator for her.

She leaned against her tree, looking over at him from where she sat. "But wait. How do you know that?" She asked, frowning slightly. "I didn't know you recorded the first set?"

He shook his head. Before she could question him further, he locked eyes with her, watching her reaction as his eyes bled crimson for a fraction of a second. Her jaw dropped for a moment, though she didn't flinch away from his gaze this time, he noticed. She looked...almost reverential. 

She nodded in comprehension. "Of course. How useful..." she remarked absently, stretching her legs in front of her once again. Suddenly she sat upright, as if remembering something vital. "I was wondering, prior to your...death, your sight was deteriorating," she began thoughtfully. "Are you...able to see clearly now that you're here?"

Itachi blinked. Though he was aware that this woman knew his entire life story in a nutshell, it was always a bit unnerving to learn how much she actually knew. "It is as if the damage accumulated from using the mangekyou never happened." Which was a mystery in itself, though one to be solved at a later time. And he was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She nodded in understanding. "And your-ah, never mind," she shook her head, looking away.

He frowned. "Speak freely, Katherina-san." Itachi found himself needing to understand her, the way she thought. Neither of which were possible if she continued to hold back in his presence.

"No, it's really none of my business," she said, avoiding his gaze.

"I'll decide that," he assured her. "What is it?"

"It's just...your eyesight seems to have corrected itself upon your arrival in this realm. Also, there were no physical wounds on you when I found you. There's not even any indication that you sustained those injuries that we both know you had from the fight with Sasuke. All the damage you took during your time seems to have...rectified itself," she stated.

Not seeing where she was going with this, or how it was out of line, he merely nodded, waiting for her to elaborate.

"Is it the same for your illness?"

Ah, that. "I do not feel any discomfort, or urge to cough," he informed her. "There is no burning sensation when I draw breath, nor can I feel blood in my lungs."

She nodded apprehensively, still unsure whether or not her curiosity was inappropriate, or not.

"I'm no expert, though it would seem that upon landing in your world, my ailments have all but vanished."

"At least there's that," she said with a smile. "This world...it has many flaws. But after being sick and nearly blind for such a long time, your health and sight have been returned to you."

He considered her words. Yes, not only was he healed, he was in the company of someone who trusted him. Who didn't flinch away from him if he walked next to her. Who didn't freeze up in terror upon hearing his voice. Someone who showed him basic human decency. How long had it been since he'd had a proper conversation with someone?

Sure, there had been Kisame. Though there was nothing more than forced camaraderie between the two of them. They were two men who happened to (seemingly) work for the same organization. No more, no less. In fact, he could recall feeling Kisame's bloodlust directed at him on more than one occasion over the span of their partnership. Though the sharkman was never bold enough to attack him head on. Headstrong or not, the man wasn't under the illusion that he could stand up against Itachi's infamous doujutsu. They held a healthy dose of respect for one another, but that was all.

"Indeed," he agreed easily, allowing his gaze to continue to rest on the woman before him as she stared off into the distance sipping from the water bottle. However he found himself here, this was where he was now. He knew he was lucky this person was the one who found him. How much they could learn from one another he did not know, but he felt himself overcome with an eagerness to try that he had rarely felt in the past.

How interesting an adventure this was shaping up to be.