He was so empty that the poison in his veins meant nothing. His eyes held no expression at all as they looked over the horizon. He wished for nothing more than some time to himself but he knew his time alone would not be prolonged. So he tried making the most of this peaceful silence, even closed his eyes some, letting the wind softly brush his hair gently against his face.

A sharp pain resonated in the center of Itachi's chest, slithering its way up and down his body, leaving Itachi to hold his side where he hurt most. He tried ignoring it at first but he could feel it slowly getting worse and laying against a rock, sitting on the hard grassy-ground wasn't really helping. He could possibly die from the poison if this kept on for much longer. His head was starting to pound and he began feeling nauseous and dizzy. All he wanted to do was go to sleep he was so tired. The longer he stayed there the more severe his pain and his symptoms became. He needed to get up but-

"Well well, Itachi…"

"You look proud," Itachi commented, his eyes reaching that of Kisame's bold eyes as he was rewarded with Kisame's teethy-grin.

"The girl was easy to dispatch."

"And the four-tails?"

"Barely alive, as promised."

Itachi stood up slowly and his pain intensified. He did not make an effort to respond to Kisame's work and instead looked past him with his eyes unfocused at nothing in particular as the breeze picked up.

Kisame's eyes stayed on Itachi's though as if expecting something else, but there was nothing until the "let's go" came from Itachi's lips.

Itachi did not want to stay there any longer; it was getting late anyway and they had no reason to stay.

Itachi grabbed his side. Something was wrong- he felt such severe affliction like something inside of him was cracking. How foolish he felt for letting Kabuto poison him like that. Itachi winced.

"Heh, so where are we off to now, Itachi? Itachi?" Kisame turned around. He had thought Itachi was with him, following right behind him, and so he had already turned and started to leave. Now he saw that Itachi was still standing right there where he had left him and he was going to start yelling at him for not coming with him, but then he saw Itachi wincing and clutching his side and didn't say a thing.

Itachi noticed him staring and forced himself to move forward, trying to fight the pain, trying not to look weak. But as he stepped forward, he tripped and fell.

"Itachi?!" Kisame shouted, surprised.

Itachi was breathing hard and the poison was really starting to infect him. He was just barely conscious enough to notice that Kisame was now above him and asking if he was alright.

Kisame's POV:

I searched for a medical ninja and took off our cloaks, hoping that it would be enough for someone not to realize that we are Akatsuki. And while Itachi was passed out, the medical ninja I had found healed him and was smart enough to find a way to draw out the poison within him that I had not been aware of. I was trying not to be concerned for Itachi in the slightest. I told myself it just would be a hassle if he had died and left me with all the work to do by myself, right?

The medical ninja finally left when I gave her money for her services. And I still had to wait for Itachi to wake up.

He was slowly coming to. He could now feel soft cloth against his skin and a gentle warmth lulling his body. He opened his eyes slowly and waited for his vision to focus.

Itachi was laying in a small bed in a tiny room of white walls with an ugly brown door fit for a cabin. The warmth he felt could have probably been from either the sheet, the window, or Kisame who was crashed out by the bed.

Kisame was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed with his head resting against Itachi's chest/ribcage area as he slept. And it surprised Itachi that his partner would do such a thing. Nevertheless, Itachi shifted slightly in the bed but did so carefully so as not to wake Kisame, and searched his memories trying to make sense of the present. Oh yeah, he had been poisoned and slightly wounded…but how could he have gotten here then? Itachi would leave that question for later when it could be answered. So instead of guessing possible outcomes or an answer for why he could've gotten here, he let himself fall silent with only Kisame's breathing for company in the quiet.

Eventually Kisame awoke. He opened his eyes ever so sluggishly to see Itachi staring at him. Had he really fallen asleep? He glanced at the clock above the bed and realized he had only been sleeping for 20 minutes at the very most. He looked back at Itachi who was still boring holes into his face. "Heh, what is it? Do you feel any better? I paid someone to heal your wounds and take out the poison, you should be grateful…I carried you all the way into town."

"That's odd of you…" Itachi murmured, shifting his position and turning his head in the other direction.

"You're one to talk. It's not like you to be injured like that, or to be out of it for three days. Heh heh."

"I was out for three days?!"

"Yeah. I stayed awake the whole time until just now and I haven't been out for very long. I'm so tired….What happened anyway?"

"I was careless."

"The famous Itachi Uchiha careless? Now that would be a sight." Kisame chuckled.

"Stop wasting time; let's leave," Itachi said, starting to get up.

Kisame pushed him back down. "No need to get so excited. You need more rest. If you left now in this condition you'd only slow us down."

"Are you worried?"

"Of course not. I could care less. I'm just saying…"

Itachi smiled.

"And anyway, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna get some shut eye before we go."

Itachi scooted over, "Well you'll never get it on the floor."

"Heh heh, well thanks," Kisame grinned getting into the bed and closing his eyes.

They woke up at dawn and Kisame was the first to get out of bed.