Blanket Disclaimer:
Naruto, and the characters therein, are the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I am in no way affiliated with Kishimoto, or VIZ Productions.
.: Kisame POV :.
When I think of Uchiha Itachi, I don't think of a murder, I don't think of a sadist nor an S-class criminal or that he somehow managed to kill his entire clan, save on little raven haired boy. I think of my best friend, I think of a lost child who was haunted by what he'd done. Of the young man I had heard cry at night, his voice echoing off the walls of our bedroom as he slept.
Of cause back when he first joined us he made my blood run cold in a way no one had ever done before.
--
Water lapped across my feet as I rushed into the mist covered lake, just east of the Akatsuki hide out, the beach rock covered and rather painful on the feet, the water cold, icy and that green blue colour deep water gets. I loved this place, my hide away from the often-harsh comments I was given by my teammates, my hide away from the reality of my physical 'impairments'.
By this I mean the fact that I am one; blue, literally, my skin is a grey blue pigmentation, two; I've been told, by everyone, even my parents, told me that I look like a land bound shark. And three; I'm close to seven foot tall. All in all I look like a freak and naturally this makes making friends, and any other relationship other than a hate/violence one very hard to start.
I also love to swim, so you can imagine my shock when I dive under, going as deep as I can, which is pretty much to the bottom, since I do have gills, I find the sinking body of a pale child. Long dark hair floating around the child's face, slightly obscuring the child's facial features to the point I couldn't see whether it was a he or a she child.
Shock flooded my system, relaxing my body, which causes me to sink before adrenaline kicked in, propelling me towards the kid, and afterwards I ask myself my the hell did I save some random drown victim. At the time, all I could think was not him, and I didn't even know him or if it even was a him. My hands grasped the kids heavy clothing, ANBU issue, thick and for the most part helpful in a fight.
Underwater, with the wearer out of it and not helping, it was just a pain, and as I propelled up to the surface I kept my eyes on his/her face, just watching, waiting for some reaction. I didn't get one, not even when we broke the surface he/she lay limp in my arms, not helping nor hindering, just still, inert and not breathing.
"Fuck," the word slipped from my lips before I could stop it and I twisted onto my back, dragging the child's soak, tiny form on top of mine, its head resting beneath my chin as I kept us afloat and moving to shore. A shore that seemed further away than before.
--
"Hay kid," I murmured twisting him/her onto his/her side to smack the child's back, jerking the water from its lungs. A small, pained sound crawled from its throat before he/she coughed and vomited water violently his/her shoulders rounding and its body jerking with the force. "You okay no?" I asked waiting for the kid to turn towards me, waiting for the gasp of horrified realisation and the attack soon to follow.
It never happened, he/she just stayed their panting, his/her body shuddering, and almost vibrating as I knelt in nothing but my pants, I didn't want to scare it more than I would anyway. The longish black hair clung to his/her back and the sides of his/her face, a face I could see better once I stepped over his/her body and knelt on the other side. Watching the blue tinged cheeks and trembling jaw and that was when I felt the kids dangerously low chakra levels. So low I wondered if he/she had either had a small amount to begin with or if it had been in some kind of battle that used up all his reserves.
"Kid, look at me,"
Black eyes, glazed and wary, the shadowed sadness in their depths shocking as he/she looked up at me, and whispered, "Not a kid," his/her tone petulant no matter the weakness of his/her vocal cords.
Chuckling I grunted, "Sure what ever, look, I'm gonna get you somewhere safe kay? You'll be able to rest up and shit," he/she just stared at me swaying ever so slightly before his/her eyes rolled back into his/her head and he/she collapsed.
"Fuck!"
--
"Kisame! Who's the kid in your room?" Zetsu asked or rather demanded as he stormed into the kitchen, a room where Deidara and I stood, the annoying blond kid, who was only fourteen and already in the fucking group. Constantly preaching about art being temporary and explosive.
"No clue, found the little brat in the lake over east," I said now knowing that the kid was a he though he was awful pretty for a boy, like Deidara, a little pretty boy I figured was around 12-13 though it wouldn't surprise me if he was younger.
"You brought an unidentified Konohain ninja brat into the compound?" Zetsu demanded and I nodded stirring the soup I had on the stove, soup I was making for the unidentified dark haired child I had in my room. Stashed away like a cat I had picked up and brought home, not wanting my parents to take away or kill, as was often the case in my family.
"Yeah, what of it?" I asked looking over at the plant looking ninja who was glaring at me, both side were. "Shark-man do you want Leader-sama to kill you? The compound is meant to be a fucking secret!" the two sides informed me and I shrugged.
"He's a kid, Zetsu he's fucking younger than blondie bomber, he wont tell no body, 'sides I saved his life…" I reasoned strangle reluctant to let Zetsu take the kid away and dispose of him. That meaning eat the poor kid, which I recon would be worse than drowning, especially since I think the kid passed out before he hit the water.
"And you did that why? Kisame are you nuts?" Zetsu asked as Leader-sama walked in behind him, a frown pulling down his brow.
Crap.
--
"Hay kid, you wake?" I asked walking into my room, a room I would soon be sharing with a partner, once Leader-sama found one suitable…more durable than the last, and I have been warned not to kill this one. I swear innocence on the last…six, I have no idea how they drowned themselves in the toilet and smothered themselves with pillows. The first one, well that I did in front of the whole group, so can't plead innocence in that.
"Where am I?" he asked weakly as I took in the sight of him, laying against the pillows, his dark eyes guarded, wary.
"Safe,"
--
Days passed and amusingly enough the boy rarely left my side, not since his encounter with Orochimaru when he was alone and though I didn't know what had happened between them I had a feeling no one in the group would like it. It was funny how one of the deadliest in our select group brought out our most protective instincts, well except for the snakes but he was into little boys. The reason I felt none of us would approve was mostly because every time the snake bastard saw the child he would smirk, his eyes flashing suggestively and the boys' habit of moving closer to me.
Almost but not quiet hiding behind my large and far more intimidating frame.
I didn't mind though, the boy, unlike the rest of the Akatsuki, didn't act or seem repulsed by my shark like appearance. Hell he could be having nightmares in his too quiet, too still sleep about me trying to eat him and I wouldn't have been able to tell you. But it was a nice change not to be treated as if I had some sort of contagious disease or just plan hated for the face and skin I was born with.
"Itachi, its your turn to do the dishes, so once everyone is finished do them," Pein said as we all sat down for the last meal of the day and the boy nodded though I caught the slight change in the alignment of his eyebrows.
"Hay, Itachi, un," Deidara called and we both turned to look at the blond who was grinning like a cat, "Later, un, I'll show you what real art is, un," and thus started another argument between Sasori over whose art was real art.
"Itachi, un!" Deidara called with a huff and this time all eyes turned to the blond, lucky for me though Itachi was in the same direction to I could see him too.
"…yes," Itachi said back staring at the blond with boredom on his expressionless face.
"What is art to you, un?" Deidara asked and the child blinked, before he spoke, "Art? What is art? It's the creative workings of the brain and can be ever lasting or temporary, beautiful or hideous, though those two are interpretational."
"Huh? If something is ugly it is ugly, its like Kisame, he is ugly by anyone's standards while you, you my little friend are the epitome of beauty," Orochimaru said and I cast him a glare as Itachi looked at me then at the snake.
"As I said the beauty or lack of it is open to interpretation. By common standards yes Kisame lacks in the beauty department, but have you seen him naked?" the boy asked and unfortunately half the table's occupants had decided then was a good time to take a drink. Mass coughing erupted as my face turned purple and Pein shouted, "Kisame! For gods sake! He's 13! What the hell have you been doing to him!"
"Leader-san, its was my fault, Kisame-san had been having a shower, I walked in on him," Itachi said saving my blue hide, it was true though I really can't believe he said that, it was like one of those odd dream like moments. The ones where you know you're awake but you can't really believe what had just happened or had been said.
"Oh…very well," Pain mumbled something else under his breath as Orochimaru glared daggers at me.
--
AN; I am placing a request for prompts, a word or sentence, even a quote or a song, for a new one shots in any of the following categories, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Naruto, InuYasha, Twilight and Loveless. Please state the pairing you would like and weather or not it is a romance.
Hope you enjoyed my latest brain and fear not I won't be abandoning any series published.