a/n: thank you everyone for supporting this story so far!!! Here's second chapter. I've been experimenting with new people and their POVs so let me know if I need to work on something!
disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Naruto POV
"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice floats in the morning air.
"Late, again!" I growl.
"He really needs to grow up!" She adds.
"Grr! How long is he gonna make us wait!?" I yell.
"Would you two be quiet?" Sasuke scolds, "It's too early for this." It's way too damn early to be out, I actually agree. We were told we were to meet Kakashi-sensei before sunrise. Here we are, at sunrise, with no Kakashi to be found.
"This is so typical. We should have just slept in." I scratch the back of my head and look to the sky. There are some early birds flying towards the forest that we're going to be training in today. The sky itself is pink, turning to purple, turning to grey, turning to a blackness with some stars that are still hanging on to any darkness they can. It's a pitiful attempt, the sunlight will soon make them all disappear for the day.
A day that may arrive with no Kakashi-sensei. I growl again and start pacing, with Sasuke watching me like a hawk and Sakura glaring at me. She can be so mean sometimes!
"Stop pacing, Naruto, it's just going to get everyone else anxious," she snaps.
"Speak for yourself," Sasuke sighs.
Sakura looks a little shot down from that comment, but persists. "Stop it Naruto!"
Suddenly there is a rush of chakra and Kakashi-sensei grins down at us from a tree branch. "Morning."
"You're late again!" Sakura and I yell at the same time. Sasuke ignores us all, as usual.
"I just was busy setting up the race course," Kakashi-sensei shrugs, "but if you're not interested I'm sure I could find some more difficult training for you to do as a warm up instead."
"A race?" I jump up.
"Sounds exciting!" Sakura leaps up as well.
"Hn." Sasuke pushes off of the tree that he was leaning up against and joins us in a line in front of Kakashi-sensei who has now jumped out of the tree.
"Alright, alright," sensei waves his hands, "The race is simple. Run through the forest and to the lake. I'll know who gets there first because I have a few shadow clones waiting. The first one that can destroy one of my three shadow clones and return wins."
"Sounds easy!" I'm ready to take off and I almost do before sensei stops me.
"Hold up, Naruto, no one gets a head start here." Kakashi-sensei moves his arm from in front of me. "Now, I want you all to take these transmitters. I know that this is only training but we are far enough away from Konoha that we could run into trouble and being split up isn't the way to handle that. If you run into any trouble at all I want you to hit the button. It'll be picked up by a master control that I have and I'll know where you are immediately."
"Alright, alright, let's get going!" I bounce.
Kakashi-sensei rolls his uncovered eye and hands us all the transmitters. I clip mine to my collar. Sakura puts hers on her shoulder and Sasuke puts his on his waist.
"Everybody ready then?" I can hear the smile in sensei's voice. "Okay. Go!"
Kisame POV
I wake up to the sun just starting to rise. There is a group of birds flying overhead deeper into the forest. Itachi is at my side, but wide awake.
"You could have gotten up," I mumble, voice still laden with sleep.
"You needed the sleep," Itachi comments nonchalantly.
"Moving wouldn't have woken me up," I shrug, sitting up, and wincing. Damn. I was not prepared for that.
"…" the normal Uchiha answer.
I run my hand through my hair and stand up, hunting down my bag for some fresh clothes. It's no pleasant task in the brisk morning air, but I get over it quickly, finding my bag and throwing on my Akatsuki cloak. I can feel the warmth of it instantly, missing the body against mine, whether it's smaller or not. Itachi is always a comforting presence. We've worked together as assassins for so long that he's the only one that I would trust at my back in a fight. It's no offense to the other members of the Akatsuki, it's just that I haven't worked with any of them in a fight and Itachi's and my powers are very complementary of each other. That and I'm the only one that he cares about getting close to.
"So where are we going?" I ask as I pull on a fresh pair of loose pants and shrug my cloak off.
"To the edge of the forest."
"What's there?"
"A small town."
I nod, knowing he won't tell me more, and throw on the rest of my clothing, then put the cloak back on.
"We'll need to watch for Konoha ninja," he adds as an afterthought.
"I know," I nod, "but they're nothing to worry about. They're weak."
"Have you forgotten your run in with Kakashi already?"
"You beat him didn't you?" I point out the fact, but I know what toll it took on his body.
From the glare that he gives me I am reminded. His eyes may only be a dead black, but that doesn't make things any better than when they are they're sharingan red. This may actually be more threatening.
"I get it, I'll be careful," I give in.
"No fights."
"I know, I know, Itachi." I reach out and place a hand lightly on his shoulder. "Don't worry about me."
I pick up Samehada after throwing last nights clothing into my bag and we're off. He leads me through the trees with his eyes as black as the night sky, but there is no sign of stars in these eyes, only the promise of death. Our walk, as it always is, is quiet. We both value the company of another fighter, but not enough to want to talk. That's mostly Itachi's rule, but I don't mind. Talking with Itachi doesn't go very far if there is no need to say the words.
With Samehada on my back I'm more down to business, more ready to fight, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still wondering about Itachi's strange mood. He just has not been himself the past couple of days. Sure I've seen him in bad shape before, worrying about getting accepted into the Akatsuki and especially just before the massacre of his family, but if I know Itachi he'll be back to his normal self within just a couple of days. Then again today he seems to be himself.
I glance over at him in the corner of my eye and see that his eyes are bright red. We must be getting close. Now that I'm trying I can feel the energy of someone familiar drawing closer. I just can't place who the energy belongs to.
Itachi stops and so do I. He seems to feel the energy too, almost like he can see the person. Maybe he can. There's a burst of chakra and a rustling of leaves. Itachi jumps into a nearby tree and I follow, taking a position in a tree across from him so that the noises will pass in between us. Suddenly Itachi steps out in front of the noises just in time for a blur to stop, a gasp resonating through the forest.
The boy looks a lot like Itachi, almost like a mini-Itachi, but this boy doesn't have the killer instinct, he just doesn't have that look to him. He's too soft.
"Itachi!" the boy yells, reaching for his waist, possibly for a hidden weapon. I toss a shuriken at his hand, successfully cutting it before even Itachi can react. I step out of the trees myself.
"Now, now," I grin, "let's not have any fights."
"You wouldn't win, Sasuke," Itachi drawls, smooth and even.
"Ah, right, so this is the little brother," I laugh, "still looks nothing like you, Itachi."
Itachi ignores me and approaches Sasuke, who charges with a fist in the air. Itachi catches the fist in one hand and shoves little Sasuke into a tree chest first. There's a short struggle, Sasuke trying to fight his way free, but it doesn't last long. Itachi takes both of his brother's hands, puts them behind his back and forces him to stay still.
"I'm not here to fight, Sasuke."
"Like hell you aren't!" Sasuke growls into the tree.
"I'm not here to fight," Itachi repeats.
"Too bad!" Sasuke yells, trying to get free.
"What was that?" a voice in the distance yells it, some girl's voice, and then I can hear someone approaching.
Itachi leans in and whispers to Sasuke, something that even my trained ears can't pick up. I can see the young one's eyes widen, like an animal about to be slaughtered: terrified. Suddenly there is a renewed fervor to Sasuke's struggles, but Itachi releases him on his own will.
"It's time to go, Kisame."
I look to Sasuke, watch his line of vision and turn to see a girl with pink hair staring in horror at the scene.
"What's going on Sasuke?" she asks, "who are these guys?"
Sasuke doesn't answer though, taking Itachi's and my momentary distraction to attack. Itachi doesn't even turn his attention to Sasuke as he evades the attack. "It's time to go, Kisame."
I don't hesitate this time, turning to Itachi, grinning, and adding, "Alright, the funs about to be ruined any way."
Itachi takes off then, just as another presence, this one much stronger, starts getting too close for comfort to the clearing that we had been in. Itachi is silent, but picks up the pace as the energy starts to pursue us. Soon we have gotten far beyond the power and it turns around and starts heading away from us again.
"What was that all about, Itachi? We come all this way just so you can say hi to your brother?"
"Something like that," he answers.
"What did you whisper to him?"
"It's none of your business," he warns.
"You terrified him," I point out.
"It was a promise," he answers.
"Of what?"
"That he will be mine to kill."
"How?"
"He's addicted to me, Kisame," as if that explains anything.
"Addicted in what way?"
"You wouldn't understand, Kisame."
"Maybe you're right, so enlighten me."
"Sasuke has an addiction now. He won't be able to resist trying to find me now." With that he gives a short chuckle, soft and yet with the promise of so much pain.
"Right, Itachi," I follow him wordlessly, knowing this is definitely not the last time I'll get to see the little Uchiha, the only other surviving member of Itachi's clan.