Where We Belong

Chapter VIII

Training Grounds N°7, sometime later...

The shark-looking swordsman could feel his friend rather than former partner's intense gaze upon him even though Itachi was actually giving his back to him. Kisame could state that Itachi Uchiha felt completely jaded of having a constant bodyguard like he was just a kid who was just taking his first steps as a shinobi. Even though he was aware that the Kirigakure man was only concerned about his fragile -severely so- condition. Not only did the pains and symptoms resulting from his illness continue to haunt him day and night, but also his spirits had fallen abysmally lately. And it had never been a common trait in the older of the Uchiha to leave his emotions as exposed as it was happening now. The imposing blue-skinned swordsman continued watching the ebony ponytailed-haired man train his moves with the kunai and shuriken until he realized one of the latter had gone off its intended direction, returning towards Itachi and grazing his uncovered left arm. Another feature absolute uncharacteristic of Itachi was having bad aim. He noticed the man briefly take his right hand to the injured area, though he removed it almost instantly, as if he didn't want anyone to notice that he had actually got hurt. It took a couple more minutes for Kisame to realize that he would have to intervene to stop that session or else the next wound Itachi suffered would be more serious. However, true to his usual custom, he decided to act cautiously. He knew that, no matter how weak the black-haired man could be, his reflexes would continue to be his best virtue. In order words, he would easily anticipate anyone's intentions before that person even thought of making a move.

As he walked towards his friend, the swordsman could clearly hear Itachi's ragged breathing. Yet he continued with his training, ignorant of the other former Akatsuki's presence. Again he got ready to throw two shuriken to the trees in front of him though, this time, he noticed something was off as soon as he moved his arm to give the weapons in his hand more momentum. Both his arm and his leg seemed to have suddenly gone numb, causing a shuriken to dig into his right thigh. Try as he might, he couldn't hold back the cry of pain this time. Kisame, who had been watching his every move closely was quick to stand behind Itachi the moment his legs gave away and he began falling backwards.

- You should take it easy... -the blue-skinned man said -I have been watching you for a while now and, to be honest, you worry me... Was it you who said that the Nanadaime was reckless?

Hoshigaki huffed visibly frustrated as he helped the younger man up to his feet by passing his left arm behind his neck and holding him with his free arm around the ebony-haired man's abdomen. He noticed when he did the latter that the Uchiha's breathing was extremely ragged, although he wasn't sure if it was only due to fatigue or if the loss of blood from his wounds would also have to do with that. In which case, he thought it unlikely, since they had barely ripped the top layer of his skin except for the shuriken literally embedded in his thigh. The Kirigakure swordsman gave Itachi a sideways glance and frowned when he realized that he seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open; they were by then not only onyx but also slightly crystalline. The ebony-haired man noticed that despite his severely reduced eyesight and commented that he was sure that it wasn't the first time Kisame saw him in that state. The older and bigger man had to admit that the Uchiha was right about that. The only people inside Akatsuki to have ever caught at least a glimpse of Itachi in such a fragile condition had been precisely Konan and him. Despite the fact that he had always tried his best to hide it and, besides, they hadn't been the only ones close to him during his time in Akatsuki.

- Let's stop... just a moment. There's some ointment in my bag...

Kisame understood the rather direct hint from his friend and nodded, helping him to sit under a huge cherry tree and then looking for the healing material in the training bag. He should have imagined that, having a relative trained in medical ninjutsu, the ponytailed man would be 'equipped' for situations like this. And boy was he! He even carried a needle and thread for simple sutures in addition to ointments and bandages. With as much calm and care as he was able to muster, the shark-looking swordsman proceeded to treat the only wound he could heal at that moment (the cut on Itachi's arm), since to treat his leg he would have to remove the onyx-eyed man's pants. Which he didn't think it was wise to do in a place where any shinobi could show up to train at any time. It was an open field after all. Itachi smiled despite the pain, pointing out that he could send a raven for someone to pick them up. Unless that (Kisame) carried him all the way to the hospital, that was. Something he didn't remember ever seeing him do. Kisame smiled with less animosity, commenting to himself that he had indeed done that quite a few times. However, he wasn't surprised that Uchiha didn't remember those moments since he was often unconscious - and even delirious - when that happened. The older Uchiha didn't answer. He could feel his body cry out in pain yet he wouldn't let out even the lowest scream. Instead, he kept his eyes shut tight and his teeth clenched. That ended up being a gross mistake on his part. The pain became intolerable and he began to hyperventilate, putting a hand to his chest. His eyes, still closed, contained tears that he would not dare to shed in front of his partner, despite the fact that they were causing him an intense burning sensation, almost as if the salty liquid was scorching his eyes from inside out.