Precious Broken Things

Chapter 4:



It took Shikamura several hours to get the girl calmed down again, to a point where her hands stopped shaking and her voice was steady once again. He'd gotten up and made her tea then, and she'd sat on the couch sipping it, staring silently at the wall. He couldn't help but frown when he looked at the way she was now. She got like this sometimes, but it had never been this bad before, well not since the first time anyways. She hadn't been like this always, it was only after Itachi that she was this way. It made him want to kick the boy's freaking ass. He was smarter than that though, he knew enough not to challenge Itachi. He knew what the older boy was capable of, he knew from the stories Shishi had told him, small snatches of memory and scattered facts.



He got up from the couch, where he had been sitting beside the shaking girl, with a sigh. He wasn't sure why Itachi chose to return now, from what he head heard the man was successful, he'd built a new life, he didn't need her, or anybody else. He scowled.



X



Shishi had been a wreck the whole next week, dropping plates and spilling drinks, always dissolving into a puddle of emotion at each little failure. It worried Shika, but he wasn't sure what he could do about it but stand by her. The manager had told her to go home on Monday when she'd had several accidents before they'd even been open for an hour. She had. Tuesday though, she couldn't afford to. Staying at home in that empty apartment and seeing his face whenever she closed her eyes was trying to say the least. Now it was Friday night, and she was calmer than she'd been. They hadn't seen Itachi all week and Shika was sure that was a big part of it.



Still, they let her bus and take orders, but they didn't trust her with anything big, no bringing out food no delivering drinks. She was still frazzled, and it showed. He closed his eyes behind the bar, hoping it would stay this quiet, but something in his gut told him it would get worse again soon. Still, it was shaping up to be a decent night, all this said and done, and there were only couple more hours until the place closed.



Ino had been on stage tonight, and as cute as she was she couldn't sing for shit. He'd winced a little when the opening notes to the song she was singing fell from her lips, and he was glad that she was done now, and the piano player dropped back into the spiraling peace of the jazz he now played.



He had felt the sense of dread fall around him before he noticed the man, looking at him from across the room. His breath caught in his throat and he cursed softly. Itachi wasn't supposed to be here, they'd done too much to let it fall through again now, Shinobu was calm again, if still a little on edge. He swore quietly, and tried to avoid eye contact while still keeping an eye on the tall form across the room. Shika shivered when their gazes met accidentally, and his eyes widened a bit when he saw the man moving towards him. He tried to act cool.



"Placing an order?" he asked when Itachi was within range. The man grunted.



"I'd like a rum and coke and some information. Im looking for someone, you hang around with them quite often. I need you to tell me where they are right now." Shika schooled his expression into a bored mask.



"Dunno who you're talking about." Itachi glared at him a little. "Okay, so I do know, but she'd not in tonight." Itachi's grin went slightly feral then.



"You're lying, they're always here on fridays. Tell me where they are or I'll go find them myself, but that would put me in a bad mood and I don't think that would make it any easier." Shika flinched a little at being caught in his small lie. He turned away, twisting his body a little, and was just about to ask Itachi to leave when the kitchen door slammed open and Shinobu came out with a dishpan under one arm.



They all froze. Shika was worried about how they would react to each other, and Itachi was naturally distant and detached. Shinobu's face was etched with surprise though, and she dropped the dishpan, causing an echoing thud as it hit the floor. She shook her head and started backing away.



It was then that Itachi felt a clammy hand on his bare arm, and he turned to look into a rather oily looking face. The man was scowling a little, trying to look as dangerous as possible.



"Please kindly refrain from harassing my wait-staff." Itachi shrugged the man's hand off violently before turning back to the frozen girl in front of him.



"Come, we need to talk." He reached out for her, but the slimy man grabbed his wrist. Itachi shot him a glare before slapping him across the face. "Don't touch me," he turned back to his quarry then, repeating himself. "Come with me now."



The man recovered from the stinging blow quickly and reached out for Itachi again.



"I would advise you not start any trouble here, this is a Yakuza block, and I have certain connections down here that could make you plenty sorry." Shika flinched as Itachi turned on the man once more, looking him straight in the eyes, an an amused scowl on his face.



"Your connections mean nothing to me, I have drunk from Oyabun's cup. I neither answer to nor fear any man outside of him." the man stepped back slightly then, recoiling from what was now shown to be an utter mistake. Shika swore quietly behind them, watching the little ritual unfold before his eyes.



The girl just shook her head lightly, tears coming to her eyes from the fear and resignation. Shika stepped forwards then, though he knew it was stupid to do so. He reached out to grab Itachi's wrist.



"Itachi, stop it. Don't push her, she's scared, I won't let you take her." Itachi smirked softly before raising his own hand, slapping the boy. Shika shook off the blow a little dazedly but stood his ground, wrapping his fingers around the other boy's wrist. He was on the floor clutching that hand only moments later, cradling it to his chest as it hung at a weird angle to the wrist. He whimpered slightly in pain. It was probably broken, he almost swore he could feel bone grate against bone. Shika shivered and Itachi went to face the girl again.



"I have had enough of this game, I'm taking you home now." He wrapped his own fingers around her arm. The girl flinched, but didn't draw back. She knew better than that. Itachi smiled, small and feral. He tugged her towards him sharply, and that was what it took for her senses to reclaim her. She twisted in his grip, cocking one hand back to punch the older boy squarely in the face. His fist failed to connect though, as Itachi caught it in the air. The man shook his head.



"Are you quite finished? I don't think that's any way to treat your dear Aniki, who has, by the way, been very very worried about you." The girl stilled in his arms, not able to struggle any more. She sighed heavily, and tried to blink back her tears but they oozed out the side of anyways.



"N-no..." was all she managed before he was pulling her gently, steering her towards the door.



"Nara, she won't be in tomorrow, please inform who ever is in charge." The boy who had moved back towards the bar blanched at the command. He tried to argue but he was cut off by a terrifying glare. Their gazes locked for a second before Itachi went back to pulling her towards the door. He looked to be in a hurry, but he still paused before the stairs and glanced down at the dark haired girl he held.



"Come on then, we have much to discuss Sasuke."