Hello hello! Right, I try to play it cool cos I know I was supposed to update like, in September? Because I had said I would. Never trust me, people.

I really want to thank everyone who still takes their time to read Who Knew. More than 50 chapters mean that I spent a lot of my free time (or I used to) writing it, which I used to love, but now that I live in Paris free time is a luxury that I cannot afford as much as I did before.

Excuses, excuses.

Some of you asked specifically for an Asuka-Kakashi scene, so here it goes. I hope I won't die on you guys again, even though updates will still be irregular :(

Thank you for reading 3

52. THEM

Asuka was close to being happy, she believed. Her heart ached a little bit less, she thought, waking up every morning on Kakashi's side. She felt as if his affection was slowly washing away the stains of guilt, of hatred, of blood. There were some things that, even though she could not forgive nor forget, she was taking in as a part of what made her the person she was now.

Her escape, her quest for power that had brought her to Orochimaru; she could hardly forgive that betrayal to herself, nor forget everything she had had to endure. The inhuman trainings, the wounds, the fights. The many times she had managed to escape his labs, only for him to find her back and lull her to go with him once more. The weakness of her heart had been replaced by a strength coming from hard work, desperation, hatred, and lust for revenge. Did she regret those days? Yes, as she had gone looking for everything she had been taught to hate. No, as even though she had almost lost her life and her soul, she had now the power and the means to crush the object of her hate. To kill Itachi.

Itachi was what kept her from being happy. Asuka knew it. No matter how well things with Kakashi, with her family, or with her missions were going, there would always be an empty spot. Empty, yet filled with all those black feelings that she was trying not to think about. She was in love with Itachi; more with the idea of killing him, actually. Images of his death brought to her mind the days in which she daydreamed about a stolen kiss, a lingering look, his breath on her skin. Those days were far, dead and gone, and nothing could bring them back. In all his power and might Orochimaru himself was still struggling to find a jutsu that would allow him to rewind time.

Could she have known what Itachi had been seemingly planning all along? She remembered times in which he had looked to her so much like them; human. Her mind had now sublimated the image of him, turning him into the ultimate nightmare, the monster all children should fear. The monster she feared was herself, for she still felt that her killing him was not to be taken for granted. She was much more afraid of the tangle of emotions that came with the word Itachi than of the fight itself. Fighting was in her nature, as much as it was in his. Putting her life at stake, that was not something she was afraid of. What terrified her was failure. And especially failing because of her own emotions. Even though almost six years had passed, Asuka remembered well the binds that tied her to Itachi. Though unripe, that bundle of butterflies and feelings had meant the world for her, and it had scarred her heart in ways she still believed impossible to heal.

She had loved Itachi. And maybe she'll eventually learn to love Kakashi with the same intensity. Maybe, when this all would be over, she would feel like she could return all the love he was giving her, drop by drop, kiss by kiss.

She could not deny that even just living under the same roof had done wonders to her mood. Coming home and finding someone who is truly happy to see you sure did the trick. This reminded her of the same feeling of a few years before, when, after having escaped the Yoshizumi mansion, she had felt that his warm smile was the only link to reality in what was becoming a daily nightmare.

She also remembered how her grandfather had reacted when he had heard of her acquaintance with Hatake Kakashi. Now her family was more than condescending with regards to their relationship. Asuka could not help but think with a certain bitterness that it only took them a failed engagement with a psychopath mass murderer and having thought her dead for a couple of years to understand that.

"Why don't you ever sleep" whispered a half asleep Kakashi, kissing her shoulder through his masked mouth.

"I'm sorry I woke you up" she turned to look at him. Were her thoughts so loud?

He pulled her closer, kissing her shoulder and her neck. "Nah, I wanted to make love to you anyways" he purred, removing his mask.

Asuka chuckled and leaned in to kiss him, while letting him remove her light nightgown. Would she ever get used to this? The strength of Kakashi's feelings irradiated from his every touch. Whether he was stroking her hair, or exploring her body with his hands, she could tell that it was as if he was touching something precious, something to be handled with care even in the midst of passion. It almost made her feel guilty.

She broke the trail of wet kisses on her stomach to slow him down and make him look at her, sitting on his bed.

"What" he sighed out of breath. He had almost never dared to dream that days like these would come, and now that Asuka was his, Kakashi was determined to make the most of it. To make her love him as she did, if not more, before the Uchiha had come around and messed things up. "What" he repeated sitting up, impatient to go back to his ministrations.

Asuka rested her head on his shoulder and softly stroked his chest. She felt his breathe even as he held her closer. "When did you get this scar?" she asked him tracing with the tips of her fingers the rough skin on his chest.

"It was when Zabuza…" but he was cut short by a deep kiss as her hands cupped his face. He moaned. Screw his scar.

"You're beautiful, did you know?" Asuka told him, quite absent-mindedly, as he undid her bra. He shrugged, murmuring something about her being beautiful and having to shut up.

She couldn't fight back a smile while reaching again for his mouth. If this was happiness, she could try and pretend that the empty space was not there in her heart for a little longer.