Ichigeki Hissatsu

Chrysanthemum

Family was supposed to protect you. It was supposed to be a word that created warmth and safety for those who were too weak and defenseless to protect themselves. Itachi had believed in his family for the longest time, especially when Sasuke had been born. He loved his little brother, protecting him and loving him when no one in their family cared for the youngest Uchiha boy. Then he’d had enough. He’d had enough of their father comparing Sasuke to him – couldn’t he see that Sasuke was trying so hard? – and he’d had enough of their mother playing favourites between him and his little brother. He’d had enough of the adults staring at him like he carried some sort of plague simply because he’d found a way to activate the most powerful stage of the Sharingan, and though they knew he’d killed Shisui, they couldn’t prove it. So they punished him in another way, depriving him of Sasuke, depriving him of his little brother, the only person in the world who saw him for who he was and not a tool. So they needed to be punished. Itachi had taken care of them, leaving the bodies where they lay, a path for those who would investigate come morning and find Sasuke curled in a ball against the wall, eyes wide in shock and fear. Itachi would have taken Sasuke with him; he would have cared for Sasuke. He knew though, that Sasuke’s place was in Konoha, and Sasuke belonged there. The trials that were to come in the future were only going to serve as roadblocks to make Sasuke stronger.

In turn, Itachi kept his skills honed, kept practicing even before he knew what Akatsuki was, building up his chakra to be able to keep the Sharingan present at all times. It would take a severe toll on his body, he knew, but Itachi felt it was worth it. Even if he passed out after using too much chakra to defend himself against animals, other ninja, or even in simple training, it would be worth it in the end. It was worth it, because by the time Akatsuki realized he existed, he’d already been rescued by one of their members. Itachi had been delirious when Kisame pulled him from the river, half dead from exhaustion alone. He couldn’t see the blue-skinned shark man as well as he wanted to, and he decided since his rescuer hadn’t started molesting him, the man could live for a while. When Itachi was lucid enough to understand the man, introductions had been made and Itachi learned Kisame had the belief that he owned Itachi. Itachi had rectified that thought by giving Kisame a taste of his power and declaring that if Kisame owned him, then he owned Kisame because he was letting the man live. Kisame had laughed and patted Itachi on the head, treating the fourteen-year-old jounin like a child. Itachi had promptly caught Kisame’s offending hand and twisted until bones grated and the shark-like man winced as he offered an apology. They became partners soon after, Kisame teaching the young Uchiha all he needed to know about Akatsuki and their job, along with the small odd jobs that the pairs sometimes undertook to keep currency flowing into the pockets of their leader.

Sometimes Itachi enjoyed the jobs, though by looking at his face one couldn’t tell. Sometimes Itachi hated the jobs, and only Kisame could tell when he was angry. It took a lot to make Itachi angry, but there was no telling what could really set the Uchiha off without any warning. Which was why Kisame had kept their latest mission a secret from the volatile young man. Kisame didn’t enjoy pulling the wool over Itachi’s eyes, considering those eyes could destroy him with a blink. The leader of Akatsuki had given Kisame the scroll containing their orders and left it to Kisame to inform his smaller partner of their mission parameters, a job which Kisame didn’t enjoy. He knew Itachi wouldn’t hurt him too badly; after all, he was Itachi’s protection when the young man could no longer use the Sharingan. But Itachi could still hurt him, could still make him regret existing. Kisame watched the young man over the flames of their campfire, wondering what Itachi was thinking about. The elder Uchiha was watching the flames, apparently thinking, or reminiscing, Kisame never knew. He dropped his gaze and sighed, his golden gaze sliding to his pocket where the scroll was settled. He needed to tell Itachi. But how?

“Ah… Itachi-san,”

Itachi’s crimson gaze flicked up to Kisame’s face, his head tilting just a little bit in answer to the spoken words. Kisame swallowed, reached inside his cloak, and removed the scroll, tossing it toward his smaller partner. Itachi caught the scroll even though his eyes never left Kisame, that sanguine gaze finally dropping when he opened the scroll to read the flowing script that detailed the mission the two were supposed to complete. Kisame felt good when Itachi merely tossed the scroll onto their campfire, but realized it was only the calm before the storm.

Itachi refused to talk to him for the better part of their four weeks of travel into the Land of Honey, and Kisame settled for the glares and cold shoulder as a more preferable punishment than death, or worse, the Tsukuyomi. He didn’t particularly care for the nights spent shivering by a small campfire, as usually when they didn’t want to risk detection Itachi and Kisame would share body heat, but Kisame figured staying alive was better than being strangled to death by skinny hands. Itachi could do it too, Kisame knew, some ingenious plan would allow Itachi to kill him in his sleep and blame it on hunter nin. It irked Kisame a bit, but as Kisame was the brute strength and Itachi the brains, he let everything slide.

“Kisame,”

Kisame looked up at Itachi for the first time in four weeks, surprised that Itachi was deigning to speak with him now. He stood up and moved over to the smaller man, joining him in watching the village below wake with the morning sun. Itachi tilted his head at the larger man, watching his partner who didn’t dare meet his eyes. Finally, Kisame’s golden gaze turned to Itachi’s, their eyes meeting for a brief moment. Since Kisame didn’t fall over writhing in pain, he figured Itachi had forgiven him. Sort of.

“Our target is down there,” Itachi said.

Kisame only nodded, watching Itachi move down the hillside toward the village. The older nukenin followed his partner, stopping just outside the village. Itachi turned to look at the shark-like man when he realized Kisame was no longer following him. Kisame only gave him a toothy grin at the narrow stare of the Sharingan eyes and felt his nervousness return. Itachi stared for a few more moments before finally returning to Kisame’s side, demanding an explanation.

“He borrowed money from Akatsuki,” Kisame clarified. “He’d know us.”

Itachi’s eyes narrowed as his gaze dropped to the village. Chasing a target that wasn’t a biju was just problematic, and it gave Itachi a horrible headache. The smaller nukenin sighed and finally looked up at his partner, knowing he was going to regret saying anything. Itachi didn’t bother to say anything after all, raising an eyebrow at his partner for Kisame began to grin in a way that gave Itachi a reason to worry.

“Hey-! Kisame-! Put me down-!” Itachi ordered once the taller – and much stronger – man picked him up and tossed him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Itachi swore then and there to pulverize Kisame’s mind with Tsukuyomi.

“We need to get close to him,” Kisame said cheerfully. Itachi glared and kept struggling, “So we’re going to play dress up.”

“Get your hand off my a-!”

“As I was saying,” Kisame dumped Itachi unceremoniously to the ground, “we need to disguise you.”

Itachi glared up at his partner, Tsukuyomi a very real threat when his supposed friend procured a kimono for him to change into. Kisame only tilted his head and accepted the threat, stiffening when Itachi snatched the kimono from his hands to inspect it. Itachi certainly wasn’t having any fun; in fact, he was going to first murder their target and then Kisame.

“This is a woman’s kimono,” Itachi said dryly, gaze inching up Kisame’s face. He hated the smug look the Kiri nukenin wore and considered killing the man first. Kisame moved first and put his hand over Itachi’s eyes, effectively cutting off retaliation. Itachi snarled softly and reluctantly let the Sharingan fade. When Kisame pulled his hand away, Itachi kicked him in the groin.

“That was uncalled for!” Kisame rasped out, glaring at his young partner.

“Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?”

“It’s not my idea.” Kisame replied, trying to fight back pain. He was glad Itachi held back, for it he kicked any harder there would have been real damage done.

“Oh, well then.” Itachi said snidely. Kisame glared at him and got a glare in return, Sharingan powered. “Why don’t you quit pussyfooting around and tell me why the –hell– I have to dress as a woman!”

Kisame snarled but he couldn’t defeat Itachi’s cold silence. Like Kisame wanted to alienate his friend. Itachi said nothing, waiting for the pale skinned man to speak. Finally, Kisame looked away from that bloody-red gaze and heaved a sigh.

“All right. The point is the bastard’s so paranoid that he won’t let anyone near him. So if we strolled in announcing we’re part of Akatsuki, he’d run.”

“What makes you think he won’t run when I approach him?”

“Don’t use the Sharingan and he won’t run,” Kisame said. Itachi raised an eyebrow at him.

“How do you expect me to see?”

“You can pretend to be blind. I know you can see shadows at least. Just get close enough to kill the guy and make it look natural.”

Itachi narrowed his eyes at the elder man and finally shook his head. “Why weren’t these instructions in the scroll?”

“Because I’m making them up right now.” Kisame dodged the swipe of the kunai and grabbed Itachi’s arms, pinning the smaller body against his own. Kisame shook his head when Itachi stopped struggling, glaring at the elder’s shadow.

“Look, just –trust– me, okay?” Kisame said. “You’ve been awfully emotional lately.”

Itachi said nothing. He only relaxed and Kisame released him. Kisame couldn’t understand the sudden change in the normally stoic Uchiha, and he wondered if it had to do with Itachi’s refusal to work without the Sharingan. Those eyes were both a blessing and a curse, giving Itachi the upper hand in most fights and being a serious detriment to his chakra. He was so dependent on those eyes that it seemed almost cruel to deprive him of them.

“Tell you what,” Kisame said finally. “Just go without the Sharingan for the time it takes you to kill the guy and I’ll buy you dango every time we stop in a restaurant.”

Itachi looked over at the elder and finally shook his head. “Bribery. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.”

Kisame only sighed, watching Itachi almost tiredly. The smaller man looked away and sighed. He held the kimono out to study it, flicking red onto yellow and studying Kisame as he studied the kimono.

“All right, I’ll do it. Just… turn around.”

Kisame nodded and presented his back to Itachi to allow the smaller man his privacy. Itachi slowly stripped, not enjoying a moment of it, slipping into the kimono with a practiced grace. He tied the obi as tight as he could before he allowed Kisame to turn around to look at him. Kisame had to work hard to control his facial expression at seeing Itachi so vulnerable, so open as he was despite most of him being covered by a soft, sky blue kimono. Kisame moved closer to his smaller partner and reached to untie his hair, letting the soft black strands make a curtain around Itachi’s face, fingers smoothing back his hair to hook it behind his ears.

“There.” Kisame said with a small smile, watching Itachi’s face and pretending for the Uchiha’s sake he didn’t see the blush that was threatening to take over his cheeks.

“Shall we get this over with?” Itachi asked. “I don’t want to be dressed like this longer than I have to.”

Kisame only nodded and took Itachi’s arm, leading him to the outskirts of the village, moving with him into the village and hiding behind the wall of one home, glancing around the corner to look at the populace. He didn’t see the target, but he knew Itachi would find him.

“All right. Coast is clear. I won’t be far if you need help, but take care anyway.” Kisame said, knowing Itachi wouldn’t heed him anyway. The Uchiha only nodded and straightened his kimono, smoothing back his hair, not quite nervously fidgeting with it.

“I’ll be fine. Just be nearby.”

“I’ll be in the shadows, Itachi-san.”

The Uchiha only nodded and left the safety of the wall and Kisame, walking with feigned confidence into the open. It wasn’t that he was afraid – Uchiha Itachi rarely was anymore – he just wasn’t sure if he could function without the Sharingan. He was doing just fine, so he thought, moving carefully around people who were shopping and working, never drawing attention to himself. He could sense Kisame somewhere, but the Kiri nukenin was very good at hiding. Itachi just kept moving, just kept looking for their target, wanting to end it all and get rid of the man so he could just go home and never be reminded of pretending to be a woman again.

Itachi watched the change in scenery as he moved through the village, watching the homes become shabbier and more desolate. It wasn’t a place he’d enjoy moving through if he wasn’t on a mission, but he supposed their target would choose such a place just for that reason. He paused for a moment when the people around him moved to the side of the road, wondering what was happening. He followed, curious, and he could feel Kisame moving to a vantage point to cover Itachi’s back just in case. A cart rolled through, drawn by an old mule, a tarp thrown over a pile of… something. Itachi studied it as those around him did, catching whispers and whimpers. The wheel of the cart hit a rock, bouncing the cargo enough to loosen the tarp. A pale, thin arm slid out from under the barrier, flopping against the wood as the dead are wont to do.

It made Itachi sick.

After the cart passed beyond anyone’s vision, life began again as though bodies hadn’t passed through a moment ago. Itachi hated it, but he moved on, stilling when he saw the target. There was only one small problem.

“A girl,” Kisame whispered in Itachi’s ear, confirming what Itachi’s eyes told him. A girl, no more than ten years, stood beside their target, clutching onto his hand and beaming up at him in a way only a daughter could.

“This complicates things.” Itachi replied. He watched the father and daughter’s interaction, the girl happily clinging to her father’s hand, bouncing and jumping as little girls did. Itachi had no remorse for killing the father, as he was the target after all, but the girl. The girl pulled at the heartstrings he so desperately tried to hide and deny.

“I could just go up and break his neck.”

“It has to look natural, Itachi-san,” Kisame replied. Itachi snorted and continued to watch their target and his daughter.

“It’s going to be complicated.”

“I know.”

Itachi hummed a little bit before sighing softly. He shifted, leaving the safety Kisame provided to walk closer to the pair, studying and observing. The man clearly adored the girl, taking his time as she wanted to see everything. She never let go of his hand, eyes wide and intelligent. Yes, it was certainly complicated now. Itachi followed them as long as he could, watching his target, waiting for an opportunity. It seemed futile, fruitless, and then some god smiled upon the Akatsuki nin when the little girl tripped over her own two feet. The man jerked her up with much more force than necessary, the little girl giving a whimpering cry and staring at her father with teary eyes. Itachi studied what he could see and fell back before he jumped the bastard and beat him to death with his bare hands. Itachi stepped into an alley and felt Kisame’s arms come around him.

It felt nice.

“What did you see?”

“Bodies. Bodies and the culmination of a malicious mind.”

“That doesn’t make any sense Itachi-san.”

Itachi didn’t grace Kisame with an answer; just tilting his head back and giving the taller a short glare was enough. Kisame let his partner go and followed Itachi as he moved down the street, catching sight of their target again. Itachi could move quickly when he wanted to and caught up with the target quick enough to be stealthy. The girl was crying still, though her sobs were quiet, and the man paid her no heed. It was grating on Itachi’s nerves, reminded of his own childhood and his little brother’s, his mind blanking to anything else. Kisame pulled him into another alley before their target saw Itachi, both watching the man disappear into a shack quite removed from the rest of the village. Itachi didn’t bother to struggle against Kisame as the shark-like man was much stronger physically. Itachi should’ve struggled, for Kisame lifted him up and settled Itachi against his waist, holding him against the wall in a lover-like fashion. Kisame pressed his head against Itachi’s neck, teeth against pale flesh. He needn’t have bothered with the primal command for silence, as Itachi stilled the moment his legs were forced around Kisame’s hips.

“Itachi-san, you need to calm down.”

Itachi’s eyes centered on Kisame’s own, watching his partner suspiciously. “Now isn’t the time, Kisame.”

“I think now is the perfect time. We know where he lives now.”

“Kisame, don’t make me kill you.”

Kisame dropped his partner and Itachi deigned not to mention the fact that he rather enjoyed being pinned like that. Kisame didn’t need to know where Itachi’s feelings lay. They stood in silence, watching the house their target was in until nightfall. Itachi moved then, pulling off his kimono as he went. Kisame shouldn’t have held his breath. Itachi –would– wear his black nin outfit beneath his kimono. Itachi slipped into the house with ease, nose wrinkling at the rank smells of chemicals and body odor. He saw the little girl asleep on what must’ve been the bed, more just a pile of straw with a ratty blanket thrown over it. Their target was pouring over some sort of lab, Itachi staring at him and wondering if he knew death was near. Itachi could almost overlap his own family in this scene, wondering what his parents thought when they saw him drop soundlessly from the rafters, radiating death. The target whirled at the sound of a kunai being drawn, Itachi’s weapon held out toward his throat.

“You yell, I’ll kill you.” Itachi said. “You move, I’ll kill you.”

“You’re going to kill me anyway.”

“Yes, but I want to enjoy it.” Itachi moved forward, placing himself between the man and the girl, his eyes bleeding back into the comfortable red of the Sharingan. He watched the man tense, watched him try to shift. Itachi didn’t give him a chance, kunai burying into the man’s thighs and shoulders, bringing him down. Itachi glanced once to the girl on the bed and then to the man, moving to crouch before him.

“I didn’t understand before why Akatsuki would lend money to a rat like you, but now I do.” Itachi reached to wrap his hand around the man’s throat, squeezing gently to keep the target from screaming. “You’re sick.”

“You Akatsuki are just as sick,” the man rasped out, “taking power from those who are defenseless.”

“Just as you do.”

“Kill me and she’ll die.”

Itachi paused, an eyebrow raising. He looked over at the girl, studying her for a few tense moments before he turned that hateful Sharingan gaze back onto the man he was choking. Itachi said nothing, eyes narrowing as he drew upon the Sharingan’s powers, the man starting to writhe a bit as Tsukuyomi took hold, Itachi letting the man go to retrieve his kunai. He watched the target writhe in the hell of his mind, moving away from the man to examine the little girl. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, proving she was asleep and not dead. But how long did she have to live? Itachi was no stranger to death, no innocent when it came to killing children. ANBU did all sorts of missions that no normal ninja would do, mostly for the sake of their fragile sanities. It was a moment where his conscience got in the way of duty, watching the girl and the dying man. She wouldn’t survive long at all without someone to feed her. Itachi could see that she was close to death anyway. What should he do? He watched the man give one last jolt before he finally expired, his body slack and motionless. With a kunai in hand, Itachi moved to make sure the man was truly dead, though not that many people survived a full onslaught from Tsukuyomi anyway. A quick jab to the trachea crushed any hope of revival, and Itachi turned his attention back to the girl.

It was best to kill her quickly, part of his mind told him. Another part tried to convince him to let the girl live and take her away from here, let someone back home raise her. The logical side of him glanced over at the laboratory set up and took in the chemicals and the syringes and examined the girl’s arms and other parts of her body that had access to important veins. Track marks ran over her arms, little pocks in pale skin made by needles, the skin vaguely discoloured where the marks were freshest.

Itachi’s eyes closed as if in denial, though it was more to prevent the Sharingan from digging deep, seeing how far into the skin those needles went, traces of fluid still clinging to the microscopic wound, the poisonous blue betraying the liquid’s nature. This girl wasn’t just a ruse; she was a lab rat, used to test the effects of this… monstrosity on the human body.

Considering how many marks were covering her, the girl wouldn’t survive withdrawal beyond a few days. The kunai was drawn across the girl’s throat as quickly as possible to spare her pain, his hand on her forehead to keep her from thrashing as she died. It was simple after that to stage the scene, the kunai set in the man’s fisted hand, a little blood sprinkled here and there to make it look convincing, and Itachi was leaving, bolting from the home as controlled as he could back into the forest. Kisame was quick to catch up and when he offered Itachi’s cloak, the smaller man pushed him away to give in to a moment of weakness and expel his stomach contents into the bushes.

“Itachi-san?” Kisame questioned, hands moving to pull Itachi’s hair back, holding the dark strands away from his face. Itachi wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and pulled up, Kisame watching his face. Itachi couldn’t quite meet his eyes, but Kisame knew all the same.

“Want to forget, Itachi-san?” Kisame asked, caressing Itachi’s face with his fingertips, stroking his cheek. Itachi stared at his partner for a long while, head tilting.

“I forget that I’m still human, sometimes.” Itachi replied, head tilting into those soft touches.

“It’s a hard trait to kill.”

“She was a child, Kisame. I’ve killed plenty before her, all on missions like this, but…”

“It hurts.” Kisame cupped Itachi’s chin in his hand and tilted his head up. “Children are children, Itachi-san. Innocent until they have that stripped away from them. You wouldn’t have killed her if you didn’t need to. I know that, you know that.”

Kisame shifted, pressing his mouth against Itachi’s. “It’s okay to be human, Itachi-san. You can be human in front of me if you don’t want anyone else to know.”

Itachi closed his eyes as Kisame bent for another kiss, tilting his head to change the angle and press a little closer to the stronger body. Kisame took the moment to lift Itachi off his feet and into his arms, cradling the younger man as he walked deeper into the woods. Itachi just let himself be carried, trying to rationalize his actions and lock the memories away in the deepest recesses of his mind. He didn’t have to think about it after a moment, when Kisame’s teeth sank into his neck, crimson welling up and sliding down to pool against his clavicle, a soft hiss escaping Itachi. Kisame pulled Itachi against him, lifting him and pressing him against a tree trunk, forcing Itachi’s legs apart and shifting between them, rubbing against Itachi’s crotch. Itachi hissed again, arching against Kisame when the older man’s mouth conquered his, teeth and tongues pressed together in a vicious play for dominance, blood flowing along with saliva between their mouths as Kisame moved roughly against Itachi, forcing him to react.

Kisame’s free hand snaked up beneath Itachi’s shirt, caressing pale skin as his hand explored his partner’s body, fingers running over Itachi’s nipples, pinching and pulling to force them erect, Itachi arching into those hands as he let out a soft cry. Kisame thought it cute; for all the strength and abrasiveness Itachi had, he was awfully quiet when making sounds of pleasure. Itachi gasped when he felt Kisame’s growing erection against his own body, reddening slightly as Kisame chuckled, biting Itachi’s throat again, pulling back only to force Itachi out of his shirt, revealing lightly scarred skin to his eyes.

“You’re beautiful, Itachi-san,” Kisame whispered to Itachi’s ear, biting the shell until there was a dark bruise on the pale flesh. Itachi gave a snort and purposely shifted to cause the most friction against Kisame’s aching erection. The shark-like nin hissed, hand moving down to open Itachi’s pants and slip inside, wrapping his hand around Itachi’s length, stroking as Itachi arched against him, fighting not to whimper. Kisame chuckled and made it a personal challenge to try and get Itachi to scream before they were through. He held Itachi against the tree with his body as his hands slid down to Itachi’s pants, pulling them down to his ankles, fumbling with one sandal, dropping it to the ground as he pulled at one pant leg, forcing the material off his partner’s body. The pants hung awkwardly now, still on Itachi’s body only by one ankle, providing absolutely no protection for Itachi.

The Uchiha arched as Kisame’s mouth bit into his shoulder, drawing more blood, his own mouth open but lacking sound. Kisame growled a little bit, nipping and bruising Itachi’s neck, chest, and shoulders as he stroked his lover’s need. Kisame didn’t bother preparing Itachi; they were running out of time and amenities could be given when they stopped at an inn. The shark-like nin pressed his erection against Itachi’s entrance and let gravity do the rest, impaling Itachi against the tree. A rough rhythm started then, Kisame thrusting up and letting gravity bring Itachi down on him, scraping Itachi’s back nearly raw with the roughness. Kisame wanted to hear some kind of sound from Itachi, some sound of pleasure or even pain. He thrust hard into Itachi each and every time Itachi came down on him, fighting to ignore how tight Itachi was, how much tighter he was getting.

Kisame distinctly heard a sharp whimper on a particularly hard thrust and felt Itachi’s lacquered nails bite into his shoulders. He thrust harder and finally got Itachi to whimper oh so quietly with each thrust, driving Kisame to want to hear him scream. He didn’t get a chance to, Itachi’s body locking around Kisame as hot seed became sticky white ribbons on Kisame’s hand and Itachi’s abdomen. Kisame hissed as Itachi’s inner muscles squeezed his penis, biting yet again into Itachi’s shoulder as he bathed the smaller man’s insides with his own seed.

Itachi slumped against Kisame, panting as the Kiri nukenin let him down, both hissing as Kisame withdrew from Itachi’s body. Gingerly Itachi dressed as Kisame draped his Akatsuki cloak over his shoulders. Itachi pulled it closed around his body, looking at Kisame as the older man hefted Samehada, the sword discarded to the side at the start of their activity. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a long while. Kisame finally draped an arm around Itachi’s shoulders and pulled him close, head tilting to take one last kiss before they started to walk.

“Let’s go home, Kisame.” Itachi whispered, still pressed close to the older man in declaration of the words he couldn’t say. Kisame hugged him tighter in reply.

“Let’s go home, Itachi-san,” Kisame repeated, keeping an arm around Itachi’s shoulders, a silent declaration that he would be Itachi’s shield. Itachi accepted Kisame’s offer with one last loving kiss.