Their Objective

Note: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.

Chapter One
His Decisions

The path leading to the Land of Fire was a long one that wound through forests and other small, individual villages. Most of the villages were under-developed and small, consisting of one or two different clans that worked together to make their existance successful. Many nomads travelled through these villages and the villagers came to accept it and welcome the wanderers to their villages. This was a fact Kisame and Itachi were finding out first-hand.

The two had been sent on a mission to gather intel about the remaining tailed beasts. Their Leader made them understand the importance of this mission, and made it clear that it was necessary for the Akatsuki to succeed in gathering information on the needed tailed beasts. Pein never revealed the true reason as to why they needed them; Kisame just went with it, regardless of the Leader's reasons. That was just how the man did things.

Kisame cleared his throat and turned to the Uchiha walking silently beside him. His eyes gazed ahead stoically with onyx irises. Kisame found it fascinating how his eyes changed from ashen to bloody crimson when he activated his Mangekyou Sharingan. The Uchiha had exceptional optical power, possibly being the reason Pein had recruited the mysterious, raven-haired man. What he did in his own, personal time was definitely that of his own. Kisame had been his partner since the Uchiha had joined the organization, but he never found himself prying into Itachi's privacy. Likewise, Itachi kept to himself and never let his interest touch down upon anyone's personal lives, especially Kisame's.

Despite the horrible bonds that most of the Akatsuki 2-man cell groups shared, Kisame respected Itachi and was extremely loyal to him. He asked for Itachi's permission before he attacked enemies, knowing the Uchiha didn't like to fight unless necessary. Kisame was very respectful to him, calling his partner "Itachi-san". Even though Kisame had had exceptional strength, intellegence, and the ability to assess enemy's basic technique within moments of engaging in battle, he acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the duo. He got along with Itachi but never really found himself around the Uchiha outside of missions. When they were on missions, Itachi spoke rarely, even when Kisame found a subject to somewhat pique the Sharingan-user's interest. The taller Akatsuki member had a tendacy to jeer at his companion but soon left him alone after feeling the irritation coming from Itachi.

One thing that Kisame did find peculiar about the Uchiha was the lack of sexual interest in women. Being such a handsome guy, Kisame was surprised Itachi had never brought home women. He couldn't have snuck the women in after night, because Kisame shared the room with his partner and he was a light sleeper. Kisame would have known if Itachi was having sex with anyone, and he wasn't. Even Kisame found himself masturbating in his room every now and again. Itachi, on the other hand...

Itachi Uchiha looked up at his partner with a blank stare a few moments after Kisame had cleared his throat. The raven-haired man blinked almost boredly before muttering a "Hn," and looking foreward again. He obviously doesn't mind silence, grumbled Kisame to himself.

"Hello there!" Yelled a voice a little farther up the path. Both pairs of eyes trailed up to assess the body the voice had came from. "Welcome to our village, Sujimoto." The man called again. Kisame squinted his eyes, trying to make out the facial features. He could tell it was a man from his voice and the scruff around his jawline, but that was about all that Kisame could see. They were still a while off from the village, but the villagers must have spotted the two and ran to welcome them. Kisame looked to Itachi, realizing that the Uchiha wasn't going to speak for the two of them.

"Hello..." Kisame started slowly, making his way closer. "Could we please rent a room for the night? We have been traveling all day and are very tired." The villager grinned and nodded eagerly. He waited a moment, letting the pair get closer to the village entrance, before turning and disappearing past the gates. Itachi grunted a "Hn," and followed behind the man, leaving Kisame outside for a moment. The blue-skinned man blinked a few times after his partner.

"Itachi-san! W-Wait up!" Kisame called, waving. He started jogging and felt Samehada thump heavily against his back. The sword was quiet, not sensing any powerful chakra for miles besides it's master's and Itachi's. For whatever reason, Samehada stayed away from Itachi. Kisame always assumed the sword had just not liked the feel of the Uchiha's dark chakra. The Shinobi couldn't blame his weapon, Itachi was a scary guy to mess with.

"It's not like I'd ever mess with him," sneered Kisame under his breath as he caught up to his partner.

The room the duo was staying in was small but had a very nice feel to it. The floor was carpeted in a beige color and the walls were also a light shade. There was a single bed, tidily made, that faced the opposite wall where the tv sat on a dresser. Against another wall was a beige couch. Across from said couch was a window that over looked the lake the town sat on. The water shimmered and danced in the blue man's eyes, calling his attention and dominating it. Kisame watched the water dance for a little while before he turned to assess the room again. He grimaced at the thought of taking the couch rather than the bed, but he knew he would offer so Itachi wouldn't have to take it.

"Itachi-san, how do you like our room?" Kisame said, grinning from ear to ear. He didn't expect an elaborate response from the Uchiha but didn't mind a short "thank you", but Itachi didn't even give his partner that. The Sharingan-user glanced around, stopping to look at the single bed. His eyes squinted as he turned to look at the couch.

"There's only one bed," He stated, as if Kisame hadn't already noticed. "I'll take the couch." Itachi said before making his way inside the bathroom, closing and locking the door. Kisame blinked after his partner and cocked his head in confusion. Why had Itachi offered to take the uncomfortable couch instead of the bed? Kisame would have willingly offered to sleep on it if Itachi had just given him the second to speak. Kisame scowled and set his things down against the wall, wondering what could have made Itachi offer to take the couch. He had no idea, unfortunately.

"`tachi..." Kisame muttered under his breath as he walked over to the tv, turning it on and setting the volume on a low setting. He postioned himself at the edge of the bed, and flued his eyes to the program that was shiftin before his eyes. He didn't really mind what he watched - the point was to distract himself from whatever was bothering him, and that's what it did. Kisame wasn't sure how much time had passed by when Itachi finally came out of the bathroom, looking tired. The Uchiha's ponytail looked retied and less sloppy than it had after their long journey, and any dirt that had fell on his face was now washed off.

Itachi walked over to the end of the couch and set up his things for the night. He placed a pillow at the end away from the wall, and set a thin blanket across the length of the couch. Soon, after adjusting things to his liking, he turned toward Kisame and sat down gently, also perched on the edge of the furniture.

"Kisame?" Kisame shook his read and yanked his attention away from the tv for a moment to look at his black-haired partner. "The bathroom is open." Itachi said simply, before laying down and stretching, covering his lithe body from view with his thin blanket. He was still in his cloak, but had a new pair of clothes on. Kisame assumed the Uchiha wanted some privacy before he stripped himself of his cloak in the main room. He stood, nodding subtly, and made his way over to the bathroom. He wanted to take a long and hot shower. Itachi always showered first so Kisame could use the rest of the hot water after his partner was finished washing his body.

Kisame closed the door behind him and locked it. Hardly before the door was locked, Kisame was stripping from his clothes, enjoying the feeling of his skin against the air. It was cold, and goosebumps rise across his blue skin. Reaching out to turn on the water, to let it warm up, Kisame glanced in the mirror at his naked torso. He was extremely muscular. He had to be, to carry around Samehada all the time like he did. Along his sides, markings that resembled gills were doted upon his blue skin. Kisame turned away from the shower to step closer to the mirror, taking in a deep breath. He watched as his chest rose, making him look even bigger than he was. He let the air escape from his lungs and watched as his chest lowered and his shoulders dropped.

Kisame found himself assessing his anatomy often, usually whenever he had the time to stop and look in the mirror. He admired his muscular stature and found himself an attractive male, although he never really found a woman to settle down with. How could he? He was half shark. His teeth were sharp and short, a trait that he shared with his fellow swordsmen. His eyes were small and his face was litered with more dark markings that resembled shark features. The man raised his hands and looked at them in the mirror. They looked human. Once Kisame was satisfied, he reached up and took his headband off, letting a few strands of his hair fall. The majority of his hair stayed upright, though, due to it always being styled that way.

The man reached up and touched his hair. It wasn't soft. It was almost rough to his sensitive fingertips. He always had hair that wasn't soft to the touch, but he never really thought anything of it. Nobody ever touched his hair other than himself, so why did it matter? It didn't. His hands lowered to his neck and slid down over his chest. He could feel his taunt muscles, tense from a day of walking, moving slightly under his thick skin. The Akatsuki member would never diss his thick skin. It made injuries less common and he always felt as if he healed faster with his strong skin.

Curious hands that belonged to himself lowered to his hips, and he slowly took off his standard black Shinobi pants. He was left staring at himself in only his black boxers. His fingers lingered at the opening of his boxers before he hooked the tips of his index fingers in the waistband of the underwear. He slowly eased the soft fabric off, letting it rub against his private area before discarding it. Kisame looked at his naked self in the mirror for a moment before he turned back to the shower. The water was now running hot.

A/N: What did you all think? I thought of the idea for an adventure fic with Kisame at school but I'm not too sure. Does anyone have any ideas? I'm kind of dreading writing any fight scenes, especially with Itachi's Sharingan. Review, please. c: