Eight-year-old Itachi sulked in the corner of his room. He hated his father and envied his younger brother who was almost three but he might not be able to see that happen.

That's because his father was sending the boy off to military camp for the summer.

Itachi was there now and it was "better for him."

The view was nice. It was by the beach and the ocean breeze felt great at night though he and the other boys weren't allow to play in the sand.

It was their training field and the softer ground would be hard to run in, thus easier on solid earth.

From the time that Itachi got there, he's been using his ninja skills to detect what possible escape routes there are on this place.

One late night while coming from the outdoors bathrooms, he spotted his treasure. There was a cabin of some sort and it would seem like the perfect place to hide.

The dense growth of vegetation would make a great cover and make it look like no one's been there for a while.

Itachi continued to stare at the cabin. Even if someone were to be here, I'll be long gone by that time.

He made the move the next day. It was a weekend and he knew that the sergeants and any other adult in their right mind would take this as an opportunity to drink. They would be drunk while the kids were locked in their own room.

Itachi wasn't scared of the. He'd always kept a sharp eye in case anything were to happen to him.

Holding his bag of belongings close to him, Itachi ran to his freedom and clutched his ninja headband tightly in his hand.

I won't let them catch me. I won't!

When there was only two dozen paces left or less, Itachi gasped. There was a man lying on the ground and Itachi could tell he was turning in a shade of inhumanly color – blue.

Itachi told himself not to panic as he dug around for his first aid kit.

It's just like how everyone tells you; keep calm and focus on the task at hand. I don't want to be a medical ninja…

Itachi pulled out water as well as the kit and placed the rim on the man's lips. There was too much noise made from this but there wasn't enough time to think. A life was on the line and he'll have to save them from dying.

For the rest of the night, Itachi slept next to the man, using his own bag as a pillow.

The sound of seagulls wakes Itachi up the next morning. His neck was stiff from the sleep when he realized that the man was gone.

Oh no, the man! Where is he?

Itachi couldn't believe that he'd let someone injured leave. He wasn't like this; he was usually a light sleeper and wake to almost any sound.

He searches frantically for any clue if where the man could've walked to. Itachi finally spotted the man hunched over by a pile of weeds.

"Um... sir, are you... Oh my!"

Itachi turns away. He had accidently walked in on the man when he was trying to empty out his bladder.

"I'm sorry mister. I didn't know..." But Itachi couldn't finish from the embarrassment.

The man did him some good and broke the awkward silence. "Were you the one that saved me last night?" His voice was raspy and his face showed a sign of evilness.

"Yeah, I found you lying on the ground."

"Thank you." He looks closer at Itachi and said, "I've never seen you in these area before."

For some reason, Itachi told the stranger the truth and of his escape. The man nods and motions for Itachi to follow him. They headed towards the direction of the cabin and the man opens the door.

"Isn't this considered breaking in?" Itachi asked in a whisper.

"No, I doubt it. This is my vacation home," explained the man. "By the way, I'm Kisame and this

here's Samehada."

"Itachi Uchiha," said the boy.

"Ah, you're from Konohagakure?"

"Yes sir. What about you?"

"Kirigakure."

"This isn't anywhere near the Mist. Why are you here then?"

"I was here for vacation. Our group was taking a break. Everything was fine until I ran into a few

dogs."

"The dogs at camp must've sniffed you out and thought you were an intruder."

"Probably. And thank you for saving me last night. I feel much better now."

He picked up Itachi and gave him bear hug and a kiss on the forehead. Why am I getting weird feelings from this? These aren't feelings I should have towards another guy.

Kisame did look healthier to Itachi but he was still a bit blue for his own liking.

"Are you sure you're fine because you're still a bit blue..."

"Oh this?" Kisame gestured his arms as if to include his whole body. "This is my regular skin

color. I'm actually half-shark"

This amazed Itachi. "Half… shark…" he muttered to himself. "Cool!"

A week passed when the ANBUs had caught up with them. Itachi made himself look calm inside the cabin when Kisame had spotted them but he was really panicking inside. It wouldn't be long before they came in and asked.

Kisame was smart enough to lead the boy to the cellar once he spotted them. There weren't any telling in when the Leaf's ANBU might do.

Though the darkness was like a huge shadow suffocating him, Itachi stayed strong. He had everything he needed down there. At night, Kisame would blow out the candles upstairs and join Itachi where he held boy while they slept.

"Please hold me Kisame," Itachi pleased. "I don't want anything bad to happen." He wrapped his arms the best he could around Kisame's waist but they didn't make it all the way. The shark man lifts the boy onto his lap and Itachi felt immediate comfort.

Itachi's head was rested on Kisame's shoulder when there was a loud banging sound upstairs.

"Oh no, Kisame, they're here," whispered Itachi in a frantic voice.

"Okay, you stay down here while I go up to check things out." Kisame bent down and kissed Itachi's forehead for reassurance before he left upstairs.

Please be careful Kisame, the boy prayed in his mind.

Kisame didn't need to pretend that he looked sleepy as he answered the door because he was!

"Uh, how can I help you?" he asked in a drowsy voice.

The one with the fox mask spoke. "We're wondering if you've seen a boy wandering in this part of the woods. He's about this tall," he gestured his hand to his waist. "He has black hair and eyes

and from Konohagakure."

"Nope," shrugged Kisame. "Are you sure he's not there?" He points towards the camp.

This time, the one with a cat's mask spoke. "The boy we're talking about ran away from that camp." He turned his head to see if he could look pass Kisame and when he moved, the moonlight casted shadows in his silvery hair.

Though Kisame was bigger than any of these three men, he was still having his cautions about making his move. The one that spoke first was the tallest one and probably the leader from the looks of it.

The third man spoke. His mask was somewhere in between a dog and a wolf's. "Sir, we would like it if you give us some time for us to search your house. We won't ask you any more questions and we won't touch anything…"

Kisame made a final decision that he wouldn't do anything stupid. Knocking them down or killing them wouldn't do him any good and the Leaf would only get more suspicious of him. That was the last thing he and Itachi needed.

Inside, Itachi peep through one of the front windows but still had himself hidden from view.

The four had walked towards the beach now and he saw that Kisame's face was calm which was a good sign.

Before Kisame had left him back at the cellar, he gave the boy a note: Itachi, run away from here. I'll distract them and DON'T LOOK BACK. It's time for goodbye my friend.

In the end, Itachi couldn't bring himself to do it.

I'm not leaving you alone Kisame. I got you into this so I'm going to you out of it.

"Okay, thank you sir," said the one with the fox mask.

Kisame turned and mentally sighed that this whole thing was over. It was way too close for

comfort.

Behind him, the ANBUs nodded towards each other and the one with silvery hair jumped onto Kisame.

Kisame's landed on the ground hard and the wind had been knocked out of him during the process. The one that jumped was on his back and the other two held his legs as he struggled. The one on his back held a katana at his throat and something shiny dangled from his hand. It was Itachi's headband.

"Then how do you explain this?" he asked in a harsh voice.

Itachi couldn't take it anymore. Watching someone he cared fro getting hurt was too much fro him.

"Stop!"

The three ANBUs looked up from the noise.

"Itachi, I told you to go! Why didn't you listen?"

The leader spoke, "Itachi Uchiha, under the command of the Hokage and your family, we have to bring you back to the village."

Itachi recognized the voice behind the mask. He'd seen the man train and was always assigned on the most important missions. He wouldn't be friendly to you unless you knew him well enough. A distant relative of his was once in the same squad as the man.

"Take me then," he muttered. "But don't hurt Kisame. He has done nothing wrong."

One of the men got off of Kisame's legs and performed a jutsu. A wooden cart appeared and something that seemed like nin-dogs in the front to pull the cart.

"Get on and don't make any stupid choices."

"But my stuff – " the ANBU with the wolf's mask was already heading to the cabin door where Kisame had left everything for Itachi.

The other shooed them into the cart and the silver-haired one took the seat in the front.

Kisame took Itachi into his lap as they pulled away from the cabin. Once again, Itachi wrapped his arms around the shark man and this time, it was Kisame's neck.

The cold was seeping in from the early fog and Kisame pulled the boy closer. They had been through so much in just about a week's time.

"Don't worry," Kisame whispered to Itachi. "Everything will be just fine. I promise."

How Itachi wished the words were true. He didn't respond, just rested his head on Kisame's shoulder and closed his eyes. The night had exhausted him and he didn't want this bond with Kisame to end.

Itachi woke to the shifting underneath him. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he saw that they were approaching the village. The sun was already rising in the east. Dawn.

"Dawn is a pretty time, isn't it Kisame?" the boy whispered. Kisame only nodded in response.

Up ahead were the Hokage and his father. When they arrived, the ANBUs bowed down at the Hokage's feet.

"Thank you. You are all dismissed." But the leader of the group started behind and the Hokage didn't say a thing about it.

"Itachi, do you have anything to say for your actions?" barked his father.

"But Father, you know I didn't – "

"Ahem," coughed the Hokage. "I know that they two of you have your disagreements at times but maybe this wasn't what the boy wanted to have in the first place. Going to military camp at such a young age is a bit harsh. Don't you think so too?" He looks at and the man besides him nodded.

"And who is this?"

"Kisame Hoshigaki, Hokage-sama. I took care of Itachi while he was away from camp. This boy saved my life when I was attacked." Kisame pried Itachi off of him. "I believe that I should get

going. Back to where I belong."

For the second time, Itachi felt tears rolling down his face. He ran back towards Kisame and wrapped the shark man in his own bear hug. "Goodbye Kisame," he whispered.

Kisame walked on without looking back. He became smaller and smaller until he disappeared from view.

That night, Itachi was in his own room again. He tried to sleep but he found that he couldn't. His father had forgiven him for running away from camp and he wouldn't be forced to go back there anymore.

Suddenly by his window, he heard a twig snap all his senses went on alert. Peeping out from under the blanket, he saw that it was Kisame.

"Kisame, how did you – " but he was silenced by the shark man's kiss and bear hug. All Itachi could do was fall into Kisame's arm and return what the man gave him.

They went onto Itachi's bed, which was a bit small for Kisame, and cuddled up in a comfortable position.

After a bit of shenanigan, when Itachi finally agree with Kisame, the boy began to drift off to sleep.

"Itachi, if you ever need to find me, you know where to now." The boy nodded and slept. "We'll meet again when the time comes," Kisame whispered to himself. "Good night." He kissed the boy one last time and left.

Four years had passed but Itachi never went back to see Kisame though he always had an urge to. He just couldn't bear the thought of the splitting up again until they were both in the Akatsuki.

They pretended they didn't know each other and started formal greetings again but once they got a chance, they would sneak into their room for privacy. In the mornings, they would get up at dawn as they did the morning Itachi was brought back to the village and watch the sunlight shine over whatever it was that they were looking at the time.