Kisame and Itachi had just finished another assignment, and were currently seeking shelter for the night. The pair had been completing missions left and right as of late, and they were getting a little worn down. Kisame was happily chatting about things like a nice, warm bed to sleep in, a nice, hot meal to share, and maybe even a bottle of sake to drink. When all he got in response was a tired 'Hn', he chuckled softly. "Ah come on, what's the matter, Itachi?"

Itachi sighed. "I'm tired."

Kisame looked down at his partner and smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, I was sure there was a village nearby. We might just end up having to stay in a cave or a tree tonight." His smile turned into a frown when he received no further response from Itachi. They carried on in silence for another hour or so. Kisame was afraid his talking had been bothering Itachi, so he decided to leave him alone for a while.

Itachi glanced up at Kisame as they continued to walk in silence. "He hasn't said anything in almost two hours… I usually rely on his talking to keep me awake…" He frowned and took his eyes off of his partner. His eyes were becoming heavier by the second, and he was struggling to keep them open. After another hour or so, he started lagging behind. He could no longer see straight, and he wasn't sure if it was due to his fatigue, or side effects of his sharingan. "He hasn't even noticed how far behind I've fallen…" He attempted to quicken his pace so that he could catch up to Kisame, however; his body was kicking into overdrive, and he began to feel his illness at work. He stopped walking and leaned against a tree for support. He used his free hand to clutch at his chest in pain. "…N-Not good. My breathing is getting heavy, and… ah!"His hand shot up and covered his mouth; he'd suddenly felt as if he was going to vomit, and he was barely able to keep it down. "K-Kisame!"

Kisame, who had gotten quite far from Itachi, immediately stopped when he heard his name being called. "Eh?" He turned around and saw his partner standing against a tree quite a few yards back. "Hey! Come on, what are you doing back there?"

The Uchiha felt like smacking his head against the tree. "Honestly…"

Kisame sighed and made his way towards Itachi. Upon closer inspection, his partner looked awful. "Hey… are you all right? Because you certainly don't look it."

Itachi let out a pained grunt. "What. The. Hell. Do. You. Think?" His breathing was getting heavier and heavier by the second; making it difficult to breathe and speak at the same time. His sharingan was no longer active, and he had beads of sweat rolling down his face.

"Er, right... Sorry, dumb question." Kisame scratched the back of his head. "Should we find shelter somewhere in the forest, or do you think you could reach a village if we go at a slower pace?"

Each question made Itachi's head spin. He took a deep breath and let it out in a shaky sigh. "Calm down, Itachi. It's not like he knows how much pain you're in…" He looked up at Kisame's silhouette. "Kisame, I am tired. I am in pain. I do not give a damn if we sleep in a bed, in a cave, or on a pile of rocks. I just want to sleep."

Kisame scratched the back of his head again. "Got it… Then in that case… I believe there is a cave just up ahead."

Itachi was finding it very hard to stay calm. "That's what you said about the village."

Seeing his young partner this angry was never a good thing. At least not when he was the one causing the anger. "Okay… point taken. Let's just keep moving, we're bound to find something."

Itachi sighed heavily. "Whatever would I do without you?"

Kisame could practically taste the venom coming off of Itachi's words. He stood there in shame as he watched Itachi walk off. He waited another minute before reluctantly following suit.

/Time Skip.

The two of them had indeed found a cave, but it had been another couple of miles away. By the time they reached the long awaited shelter, it had started to storm. They had been lucky enough to get inside before the rain started, but they weren't going to be able to get food any time soon.

Kisame sighed. "Boy I'm sure glad we found this cave; it wouldn't have been very fun getting stuck inside that storm." He chuckled softly.

Itachi completely ignored what his partner had said, and walked another ten feet into the cave. He laid down and used his arms as a pillow.

Kisame gulped. "Er, good night, Itachi."

Itachi simply mumbled, "Hn", and that was the only reply he gave Kisame before going to sleep.

Kisame sighed. "Well, Samehada; looks like it's just you and me now." The sharkskin simply grumbled at him. "Ah, you're mad at me too?" He received another grumble from his sword, and that was it. He set Samehada on the ground, and sat beside him. He thought about going to sleep, but looking at the exhausted expression on Itachi's face changed his mind. "Ah… there's no way I can sleep and keep him unprotected. You can do this Kisame, you can stay awake for a few more hours." He managed to stay awake for another hour or so before realizing sleep was inevitable. "Damn it, sorry, 'Tachi…" He drifted off to sleep a moment later….

Itachi woke with a start around 7:00 a.m. the next morning. The rain was still coming down hard, and showed no signs of letting up. He found it calming to focus on the rain. His sleep had been filled with nightmares of the past; twisting his memories into sick and horrid scenes. He felt the urge to vomit again, and this time he couldn't hold it down. He rushed outside and began vomiting blood, along with whatever food had still been in his system. Just when he thought he could catch his breath for a moment, he was overtaken by a violent coughing fit. This was accompanied by more blood, and more chest pains. His eyes started to sting from the rain, and he'd begun to cry. "You're only crying because it's your body's natural response to throwing up…you're not that weak child anymore… you're not…" A sob interrupted his thoughts, and he realized it had come from his own mouth. He gasped and unwillingly let out another sob. "Damn it!" It had been far too long since the last time he'd cried, and between the psychical pain from his illness, and the mental pain from his previous dreams; he couldn't hold his tears back any longer. They kept falling from his traitorous eyes, and his mouth continued to betray him with pathetically broken sobs. He stayed like that for quite some time, allowing himself to have an emotional breakdown for the first time in over ten years.

Inside the cave, Kisame was still blissfully ignorant to the chaos outside. He was sound asleep against Samehada, when he suddenly woke up. He sat up and looked around the cave. Something felt off to him. "Hey, Itachi—" He blinked. Itachi wasn't here. Was that what felt so off to him? What was this horrible feeling in his chest that caused him to wake up? He turned to look outside, and immediately made his way to his partner. "H-Hey, Itachi, what are you doing out here?"

Itachi was standing again. He was just staring out into the rain with unfocused eyes. When he heard his name being spoken, he slowly turned his head and looked at Kisame with a blank expression. He remained silent though, unsure of what to say. He also knew Kisame would have no trouble picking up the hint of brokenness in his voice if he answered.

Kisame frowned. "Itachi?" He took a step closer, and blinked in surprise. Itachi looked absolutely miserable. His eyes were red, puffy, and unfocused. This didn't even look like his partner anymore. He just looked, so, so… broken. "I can't believe I'm saying this, because I know how cold you are, but… from where I'm standing, looks like you're crying."

One.

Itachi's eyes went wide. "It's only rain, Kisame…"

Kisame smiled reassuringly. "You know you can trust me with anything, Itachi."

Two.

Itachi's lips started to quiver. "It's only rain…"

Three.

Kisame took another step closer and held out his arms. "Come on, you don't have to be strong for me."

Four.

Itachi was done for. All of his walls had been broken with a few simple words. His lips continued to quiver, and he fidgeted nervously for a minute before finally breaking down completely. He stepped forward and buried his face in Kisame's chest. He wrapped his arms around the taller man and let out a broken sob. Lightning cracked through the sky, and thunder rumbled the earth; it seemed nature itself was crying out with Itachi.

Kisame held the small, broken man in his arms for what seemed like an eternity. He kept his grip tight, but gentle. He didn't want to let Itachi go until he knew he was all right again. He stood there, watching as the earth cried and sobbed with his young partner. It seemed whenever he heard Itachi start to sob, the thunder would sound off. After a few more minutes, Kisame could feel Itachi start to calm down. "Ah, how strange… he's calming down, and now so's the sky."

They had been standing there in the rain for almost twenty minutes before both Itachi and the storm had completely calmed down. Itachi kept his face pressed into Kisame's chest, and just focused on the sound of his beating heart. His breathing was slowly returning to normal, and he was extremely grateful that Kisame was here with him. "Kisame?"

Kisame looked down at the man in his arms. He softened his expression and smiled. "Yes, Itachi?"

"Thank you…" The Uchiha's voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but it no longer sounded broken. He laid his head back down against Kisame's chest and sighed.

Kisame smiled and began to gently rub Itachi's back. He made sure his movements were slow and careful; wanting nothing more then to comfort his young partner. He placed his chin atop Itachi's head, and continued to gently rub his back.

Itachi sighed contently and nuzzled further into Kisame's chest. Once he was completely calmed down, he realized just how wet they both were. He suddenly felt guilty for the fact that Kisame had gotten soaked because of him. "Kisame?" He looked up at the sharkman's face. "Forgive me… it's my fault you're this wet now…"

Kisame brushed Itachi's hair out of his face and smiled softly. "Eh, don't worry about it." He pulled the Uchiha back against his chest and nuzzled his face into Itachi's hair. "After all; it's only rain."