The trees barely rustled as two cloaked figures sped past. Kirigakure no Sato was still a day's travel away, but they had to get to the inn before the mists rolled out. Not that they had to worry about getting lost. Hoshigaki Kisame knew the terrain like the back of his shark-skinned hand. Uchiha Itachi shook his head to get his damp hair out of his eyes, and winced. He had been very rash last night, using the Sharingan on a group of rogue ninja. It was probably a good thing Kisame had intervened. The genjutsu had sapped his strength. He couldn't wait to get to the inn to rest. And no doubt Kisame couldn't either. The shark-nin hadn't had a drop of sake for days now.

A small "Tch" behind him told Kisame that his partner was mentally berating himself. He had been surprised too, at Itachi's decision to use the Sharingan. Itachi seemed slightly perturbed these days, although he would never admit to it. "Nearly there." He called. Itachi nodded, eyes screwed up against the oncoming headache.

0o0

Itachi came out of the shower, steam rising from his pale skin. The hot bath had done him some good. His headache had subsided to a persistent dull haze before his eyes. He tied up his yukata and lay on the bed. Kisame was still downstairs, emptying the sake stores of the inn. Kakuzu would throw a fit, Itachi thought, if he knew the amount of money the shark-nin spent on drink…

A commotion outside broke through his idle reverie. A first he assumed it was a drunken brawl downstairs, but it was too early for anyone to get drunk, even Kisame. He rolled off the bed and willed himself to walk to the window, which he'd left half-open. Then he heard a yell.

"Shin! Inside!"

Before he could react, a dark blur sped in through the half-open window and rocketed underneath the bed. Itachi advanced towards the bed, kunai slipping into his hands from the yukata sleeves. At the sound of muffled sobbing he stopped. It sounded like a child. He slid the kunai back in place and bent to peer under the bed, wincing at the sudden throb of his head. A pair of silver orbs glowed in the gloom. They widened at the sight of the stranger, and the sobs stopped.

"You won't hurt me?"

It was more of a statement than a question, but Itachi was too tired to bother. "Come on out." He said.

And a little boy, no more than seven years old, crawled out. His spiky black hair and dark sweat-soaked shirt reminded Itachi of another child, years ago…

"Niisan! Let's play!" The black eyes sparkled up at him happily, arms stretched around Itachi's waist. Their mother's voice floated out, along with the smell of fresh laundry. "Your brother has a lot of homework. You can play later, Sasuke."

Sasuke…

"Are you all right?" The concerned voice of the silver-eyed boy shook Itachi out of his memories. He nodded, not trusting his voice. He hadn't come across many children, since he joined the Akatsuki. Destiny had to fling one at him now of all times. And one that looked like Sasuke shrunk in the wash, for Kami's sake. With silver eyes, of course. He looked out of the window, at the fight which hadn't relented. A silver-haired girl was battling a couple of grim-looking men.

"Is that…-?"

"My sister. She's a Chuunin. And when I grow up, I'm going to be just as strong as her."

Itachi surreptitiously stowed his sweat-soaked clothes in the back of the closet, folding the cloak so the red clouds didn't show. Shin turned from the window.

"There's a slash on your hitai-ate. Did you get hit?"

The boy seemed to sense the truth. Itachi replied shortly.

"Shuriken."

It was true, after all. A shuriken, hurled by a tearful eight-year-old, whose pain-filled eyes sometimes floated before his face, accusing, pleading, questioning. Shin was satisfied, though, with his answer.

"Is that why you have a headache?"

Itachi let out a sigh. The boy was very perceptive. It was probably some bloodline limit. Normal children weren't supposed to be that way. Then again, he hadn't met too many normal children for a while. He changed the subject.

"So you're a student?"

"Yes, but I'm not good enough at taijutsu to graduate yet. I can see through genjutsu well, though."

It was just as he had thought. He was about to ask some more when the door opened and Kisame stumbled in. With a squeal of fright, Shin hid behind Itachi as the shark-nin stared in surprise. He clearly thought he was hallucinating, because he tried to laugh it off, even though his eyes kept straying back to the trembling child behind Itachi. As the raven-haired youth tried to collect his senses, he felt a small hand clutch at his.

"Please don't let him hurt me, Onii-san."