The sun was setting in a beautiful array of vibrant shadowing colors. It masked the clouds above with swirling shadows like a reminder of the day. Exhaustion swept over Akari in such force that a yawn bubbled up and out of her sitting form. For a moment there was silence just before Kisame pulled the kid against his side letting her head fall against his bicep. Itachi glanced in their direction taking in how calm they now were. Earlier they had completed an Intel mission that Pein had requested Akari bait in their targets for Itachi to interrogate and Kisame to capture. They didn't make a half bad team but it hadn't been that long since Akari had been with them. He couldn't forget how she'd done everything she could to explain to him what was going on because Danzo had made her incapable of physically telling him in words. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that he'd sent her as a spy but then again she wasn't really a threat. The girl was desperately sick. She was growing more sickly by the day and he hadn't figured out why. Tonight Itachi promised himself that he was going to corner the girl and figure out why she was coughing up blood. She'd only recently started talking to everyone and he'd started teaching her how to read. Danzo had kept her so tightly under his thumb that she didn't even know how to read and write. They all delicately enjoyed the others company at this point and the silence was preferred. Kisame was the one to break it.

"So, how are the reading lessons coming along?" he asked glancing down at the child who's eyes were half lidded as she laid against him.

"Not well. I can't read anything in your guy's books. I can only read that dumb one about the duck." She snorted staring at the ground.

"You will learn in time. You are much too impatient." Itachi eyed her gently.

"If you make me read about that damn duck one more time I'm going to go insane." Akari gave him a pointed stare. Kisame started laughing but quickly tried to cover it up as a rattling cough in his chest.

"I like the duck." Itachi said gazing up at the sky. His hair slipped back from his face letting the stray lines of sunset fall over his skin.

"I'm going to skewer the duck." She muttered under her breath. Even Itachi fought back a hard laugh.

"Come on, Let's get back before Leader-sama comes to find us." He started to heave himself up on his knees when Kisame caught his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow arching it slightly on his forehead and looked to his partner. Akari was already asleep snoring lightly against the blue man. She had barely spoken a moment ago and it had been as she'd fallen into sleep. He couldn't help but shake his head and he leaned over the elder male sliding his arms beneath the girl. He stood carrying Akari back to the hideout Kisame following behind.

He'd laid her in his bed when Kisame had rounded the corner to their room from the hallway putting a hand on his hip. He tried to ignore his partner as he pulled down the black covers sliding the girl's slender frame under them. A breath slid from her lips as he leaned over her sleeping form to adjust her head on his own pillow and he stiffened. The warm air hit his neck and thoughts of a tiny Sasuke ebbed through his thoughts. Kisame watched as Itachi wrapped the soft material around Akari's body tucking her into his bed. It wasn't like his partner to be so effortlessly gentle but he chalked it up to having had a younger brother. He knew that was the main reason why he had allowed Akari to come back with them in the first place.

"You're getting attached." He stated bluntly as Itachi turned to face him. There was severe pain aching in his eyes as they looked at one another.

"Some things cannot be let go of." He muttered before pushing past him into the hallway to go to the bathroom.

"Itachi, I would protect that girl just as much as you, but we have to be smarter about this. If the others see how gentle you are being with her…" Itachi knew he was right but it was so damn hard to turn it off. It was not like he had a switch inside his body that he could automatically forget all the things that had only happened years ago to him and his family. Now, Akari was being thrown into somewhat of the same controlled situation and he couldn't help but to want to help her. He couldn't stand by and watch someone go through what he had been through.

"Then we get the others to protect her just as much. We make her the kid of the group." He said pushing the bathroom door open but stopping in the frame.

"We market her you mean? Make the others start to like her?" he asked tilting his head. This was why Itachi made the plans and he was the brunt work. He would have never thought of getting the others to like Akari so that they could ensure her protection.

"Exactly. I'm going to shower…" he said glancing back at the shark man. There was a brief awkward moment before Kisame made a face.

"Well then shut the door idiot." And he left padding down the hallway.

It wasn't until the stillness of night had settled over the hideout that Itachi really started to relax enough to begin to fall asleep. He had crawled into the bed effortlessly leaving enough comfortable space between himself and Akari that she wouldn't feel threatened to wake and find him. His body was hurting much too much to sleep on the floor this night. He hoped she'd understand which she normally did. There were certain days that he had unspoken slipped inside the bed near her and she had found him when she'd woken up. There had never been a fuss about it. They stayed on their respective sides of the bed and that was that. However, he listened intently as Akari shifted her weight groaning a little onto her left side facing him. Her face was strained and covered in a light sheen of sweat like her body was aching all over. He had felt this sort of pain before and he knew just how often your body could give out on you even when you tried to control it. She clutched her stomach as she quickly tried to detach herself from the blankets sprawling like a spider out of the bed barely moving it trying her best not to wake him; she just didn't know that he was already awake. Her bare feet slid against the hardwood floors until she hit the bathroom shaking there wasn't time to shut the door. Itachi silently made his way from the bedroom to watch her from the doorway. He watched as she bent coughing holding her insides together hurling into the sink. Even in the dark he could see that blood coated the basin as she struggled to breath. It was then that he saw it. Her eyes blazed red in the darkness surrounding her doubled in the mirror above her head. He stood stock still as this new piece of information hit him.

"Your eyes…" he whispered causing her to stumble backwards as she jumped catching the sink to grip it.

"I-itachi…"

"You're sick because you have our eyes." He came closer immediately making her back up towards the shower behind her. She looked terrified and tried desperately to blink and shut them down but it was no use.

"I didn't…it wasn't…I can't…" she shivered trying not to throw up again. His fingers touched her chin gently before lifting it up examining the sharingan staring back at him.

"I could have never imagined. That's amazing…why did you not tell me?" he asked sighing he pulled her against himself and just hugged her like he used to hug Sasuke. Now he had to protect her.

"I've never told anyone because I couldn't." she shivered against him her face nestled against his chest.

"Well don't worry about that anymore." He told her as he helped her to sit on the edge of the sink. "I'm right here."