Fissure: n. a narrow opening or crack of considerable length and depth, usually occurring from some breaking or parting; a separation or disagreement in thought or viewpoint.
In Kisame's humble but educated opinion, the ultimate form of weakness a ninja could show was blind loyalty to a team member over the success of his mission. There was absolutely no place for emotions in the world of a professional ninja; any jonin ranked man or woman knew that. He himself had abandoned partners before, even killed members of his own team for the sake of a successful mission without a moment's hesitation, because that was his duty as a ninja. To him, the world was rather black and white on this particular issue. If the success of one's assignment could be jeopardized by a weak partner, either one physically injured or likely to divulge sensitive information if captured, then said partner should be removed from the equation one way or another.
However, despite his best efforts to explain this concept to Itachi, the Uchiha adamantly refused to accept his viewpoint on the matter. Normally this was a differing of minds that Kisame would let slide, but this argument was more than a bit of a problem at the moment, since Kisame was bleeding quite badly thanks to a large burn on his side, and there was a good chance that they were being pursued by the enemy who had given him the burn in the first place and likely wanted to do a lot more harm to them.
"Leave me behind, damn it," Kisame growled. "You need to get back to the base with the scroll for Pein. I'm dead weight."
"Hn."
The shark suddenly hissed as another layer of skin cracked from the burns and another small stream of blood trickled out, running down to soak through his already ruined shirt. Currently he was using his cloak to stem the bleeding, but the rough fabric was causing its fair share of problems by rubbing the injured area raw. He needed to sit down somewhere and properly bandage it, but there was no time in the midst of their escape. "Shit, it's not stopping."
"Just a little further," Itachi reassured him, eyes focused ahead on the road for any signs of the enemy. In the event of a sneak attack, he'd be the one who needed to fight them off.
"I'll stop, you go on and get back to the base. There's no point in both of us being killed."
Once again, Itachi ignored the shark's command and kept walking alongside his partner. They were only able to go a little further before Kisame suddenly swayed and stopped walking to brace himself against a tree. The bleeding was getting worse, and he wouldn't be able to continue for much longer without proper medical care. "Damn it."
Itachi gave his partner a concerned look, and then stepped off the path and into the forest. Kisame took a breath and followed after the weasel a moment later, wondering why in Kami's name Itachi couldn't just be a reasonable person and leave Kisame to die in peace.
Itachi was able to locate a small clearing further into the woods, sheltered enough to hide them from most prying eyes but open enough to provide a decent campground. Kisame peeled off his charred cloak and shirt while Itachi extracted their first aid kit and a canteen from what remained of their supplies. They barely had enough water left to properly clean Kisame's wound, a fact that the shark was quick to point out. "Stop wasting our water! There's no river or stream around here, so you're screwed for at least another day, maybe more," Kisame protested in vain as the canteen was dumped out over the burn.
"We can go a day without water," Itachi countered as he began rubbing burn salve over the injury and then packing gauze into the wound.
Kisame let out an exasperated sigh and snatched the bandages from Itachi's hand. "I can dress my own wounds," he snapped as he began winding the fabric around his body. At least, he attempted to do so, but the constant movement he made to wrap the bandages around himself caused them to slip loose when the muscles flexed and then relaxed. He tried for several minutes more before Itachi mercifully took the bandages out of his hand and began wrapping the wound himself. "Say anything and I will kill you."
"Hn."
"It's not like this is the first time I've had to take of myself, Itachi. This used to happen back in Kiri sometimes, and I managed there just fine. Know why? Because I had to, since my teammates had the common sense to leave me behind-"
"Kisame, shut up." The Uchiha's irises had turned red now; apparently his patience had finally run out.
The shark sat quietly while Itachi finished dressing his wound, still unsure of what the Uchiha was thinking. He was putting their entire mission in jeopardy, and for what? Some misplaced sense of comradery that had no business in their line of work? It just didn't make sense to Kisame.
Itachi snipped the bandages and pronounced the work done, snapping Kisame out of his musings. Moments later the Uchiha wandered off into the woods, presumably to get dinner or firewood since he'd left his gear on the ground near Kisame. "I don't get it," Kisame muttered. "I really, really don't get it."
The weasel returned roughly an hour later with a stack of firewood and a rabbit he'd been able to snare. In only a few minutes he had a small fire going, and Kisame could only presume that they were safe from their pursuers for the time being; there was no way Itachi would dare light a fire if there was a chance that they might be followed. The weasel cooked their dinner himself and the pair ate in silence afterwards. While Itachi extinguished the flames from their fire, Kisame took the remains of his cloak and balled it up into a pillow, intending on getting as much sleep as possible before they had to move out. Hopefully in the morning the world would make sense again.
-n-
"Kisame?"
The shark awoke to the sound of his name, as well as a hand gently shaking him by the shoulder. Normally Kisame was one to rise before Itachi had even begun to stir, so for him to sleep in to early morning was already unusual. On top of this, his normally sharp mind felt fuzzy, and it took far more effort than it should have simply to sit up and acknowledge his partner's greeting. "Hey Itachi."
The weasel gave his partner a confused look as a still groggy Kisame began to undo the bandages around his waist to change them. This confusion morphed into worry as Kisame swore when he checked his wound. The flesh was red around the edge of the injury, and a quick check by his fingers confirmed that the skin was feverishly hot. They'd waited too long to dress the injury, and now Kisame was going to deal with a nasty infection.
The shark let out a few more choice curses and slumped back against a tree. "Now will you leave me? It'll take a week, maybe more, to get back to the base with me like this. Pein will start freaking out and think we've abandoned him, and there's no way that's going to end well for either of us."
Itachi shook his head and extracted more bandages from the first aid kit. They were almost out, so they'd need to find both water and medical supplies in the next few days. Not exactly the best situation to be in, given how far out in the wilderness they were now situated. Itachi decided to pack the dirty bandages just in case; hopefully they'd find water and could at least wash the cloth before reusing it, if need be. Seeing that his partner was not about to do the sensible thing and leave him behind, Kisame reluctantly got to his feet and pulled on his ruined shirt and cloak. They scattered the ashes from the campfire and covered the fire scar in dirt, hoping to mask their campsite in the event that their pursuers came this way. Finally, they were off.
-n-
As Kisame had predicted, progress with his infection was painfully slow. It took another day and a half before they were able to find a stream, which certainly didn't do either of the ninjas any good. Kisame's wound wasn't getting any worse at least, but he'd still need proper medicine soon before the flesh could start to rot. They spent two more days on the road before Itachi was able to find an old fisherman's hut to take shelter in. It wasn't spacious and had long since been cleaned out of any usable supplies, but at least it was a proper shelter not far from a source of fresh water. All the same, Kisame couldn't help but worry. "Ok, maybe we're not being followed anymore," the shark acknowledged as Itachi redid his bandages yet again, now forced to use strips of fabric made from Kisame's ruined shirt (the old bandages were simply beyond another reuse), "but I'm still slowing you down! You can't deny that you'd be back at the base right now if I were in better shape."
"Hn."
"I'm not going to die from this, at least not yet. Just go ahead and get back to the base; I'll catch up with you soon, if my injury doesn't get worse."
"Hn."
"Would you stop with the 'hns' already?!" Kisame snapped. "You're not stupid, Itachi, you know that basic protocol says that if it's between a comrade and the success of a mission, the mission always takes priority! You're a ninja, act like it!"
Itachi finished wrapping the bandages and sat back, looking up at his partner.
"Can't you understand why this is a problem?! What you're doing right now makes no sense," Kisame ground out. "Konoha may have been softer on ninjas than Kiri, but I know you were trained to put your assignment before your teammates. Hell, you've killed people to protect your village, and not just enemies."
Itachi flinched but still said nothing.
"So why the hell is it different this time? We're not family, the Akatsuki is way less forgiving than a village council would be, and no one would say you were in the wrong leaving me behind, so stop acting like an amateur emotional idiot-"
Kisame's chiding was interrupted by a loud crack as Itachi slapped him across the face.
The shark blinked several times, trying to comprehend what had just happened. He and Itachi had gotten into disputes before, but it had never gotten physical. "Itachi-"
"Don't question me," Itachi commanded in a frighteningly soft whisper. "We are not at risk, nor is our mission. If you tell me to leave you one more time, all that will be left by me is your charred corpse after I incinerate you with Amaterasu. Understand?"
The fury in Itachi's eyes left no room for argument; Kisame had no doubts about his partner's willingness to carry out those threats. He nodded silently and Itachi rose, murmuring something about going out to catch them some dinner. They didn't look at each other as Itachi left; instead, Kisame quietly leaned back against the wall of the hut and stared blankly up at the ceiling. "What the hell's wrong with that kid," he wondered softly to himself. No answer came.
-n-
Days later, they were able to find a small farmer's hut that was still inhabited. Kisame waited in the woods while Itachi snuck inside and ransacked the place for any medicine they could use. The results weren't great; more bandages and some pills to keep Kisame's fever down (which had only gone up in the past few days), so they still needed to find an actual hospital or clinic to get antibiotics and possibly an x-ray on Kisame's ribs, which were quite sore now.
The pills did little to help; Kisame's fever kept rising, and the normally quiet shark had fallen in to talking constantly to keep from passing out. What's more, some of the comments he made now were silly bordering on absurd. Their only saving grace was that their pursuers had either given up chasing them or completely lost the trail, allowing the pair of them to travel at a steady but slightly slower pace. Unfortunately, this gave Kisame ample opportunity to ramble. "Geez, don't even know what to think about you now, Itachi," he grumbled one afternoon, draped heavily over his partner's shoulder to help keep him upright. "One minute you're this hardass who's nothing but business and completing our missions, next minute you're going all no man gets left behind on me. What are you, a knight in cloudy armor? The most murderous guardian angel in the history of ever?"
Itachi chose not to reply, instead focusing entirely on keeping Kisame upright and moving, which was proving to be quite the physical strain. He was strong, but Kisame had a good head in height and several dozen kilos in muscle on him. Besides, Kisame had been carrying on the conversation on his own for a good hour now, so any contributions the weasel might make would be entirely superfluous.
"You're something else, Uchiha, you know that? Really something else."
"Hn."
"And hey, I've been thinking. So you won't leave me; whatever. How about we both take a break then, huh? Find an inn, get some booze, pass out for a few days."
"Hn."
"Fine, be that way." A pause, and then: "Geez, you're small, you know that?"
"You're huge."
"Nah, you're just tiny. Tch, bet I could pick you up with one arm if I really wanted to."
Itachi glared at him, daring him to try.
"Fine, fine. Still bet I could though…" and then the conversation turned to topics of food that Kisame wanted to eat when they got to his imaginary inn, allowing Itachi a break to once again focusing on carrying his partner and wonder if the clinic they were hoping to find would be able to do something about his utterly sore back.
-n-
It took another two days of walking, but they were finally able to come to a small village that had a clinic with actual new medical equipment and wasn't run out of some old doctor's back porch. The nurses were smart enough not to press Itachi and Kisame when the ninjas fed the women a set of obviously fake names and a fake story about where Kisame's injuries had come from, and must have warned the doctor to do the same, because he didn't press it either. He did scold the pair of them for waiting so long to get Kisame's wound looked at, and had to clean out a bit of dead skin and tissue after putting Kisame on a round of the strongest antibiotics he had available at the clinic. He also advised them to spend the night at the clinic, or at least get a room in a hotel (this comment was made while giving a pointed glare to the dirt and twigs clinging to the bottom of Itachi's cloak) where they could properly wash up and get a good night's rest. While the two ninjas could have survived another night in the wild, a decent room did sound good, especially to Itachi and his aching muscles.
They ended up renting a small room above an old woman's house for cheap, and as soon as Itachi had dropped Kisame on his bed he'd left to get a new shirt for his partner. By the time he got back, Kisame was already completely passed out, and once he crawled into bed neither of them woke up until nearly lunchtime the next day. The shark claimed to be feeling better, but the meds wouldn't really take effect for another few days. Still, they couldn't afford to stay in this place for much longer (not unless they wanted to risk Pein sending other Akatsuki members after them), and after a quick lunch the duo were back on the road.
Kisame kept his promise not to argue with Itachi about leaving him behind, particularly since it became a moot point once his infection began to clear up. It would still be weeks before the burn was properly healed and his flesh completely knitted, but the treatment and medicine from the doctor would at least prevent him from scarring too badly. Eventually they were able to resume something bordering on their normal traveling pace, and returned to the Akatsuki base in a week.
Still, they'd arrived back at headquarters much later than Pein had expected, and were naturally subjected to a fierce interrogation by their severely displeased leader. Kisame had to walk a fine line of making his injury sound severe enough to delay them, but not so bad that Itachi would get into trouble for not leaving him to complete the mission (like all ninja protocol said to do, the shark bitterly added in his own mind). Eventually they were given a severe scolding and put on cleanup duty for the next two weeks, but Pein allowed them to leave his office in one piece.
Walking down the hallway towards their room, Kisame knew that he should just let the matter drop. He knew it with every fiber of his being. The mission was over, he was on the road to a full recovery, and there was no way it would ever come up in conversation again. And yet, there was still something he had to say. "Itachi?"
"Hn?"
"Just so you know, if the situation was reversed, I would have left you behind without a second thought."
"I know what you would have done," Itachi quietly replied as he walked past their doorway to the kitchen.
Kisame watched him go for a minute, and then shook his head as he entered their bedroom. He needed medicine and sleep, preferably in large quantities for both. "Seriously, I just don't understand that kid…"