I appreciate everyone's reviews! I'm really glad that the story wasn't as some expected it to be, and I'm glad that you all enjoy it! I'll try my best to continue the story.

I have a lot planned that I hope I can break out in the story. So please stick with me until the end! All your comments, reviews, critiques or compliments always help me out so thank you!

All characters belong to their rightful owners.

I am Taimukipa.

Barbed Collar

Chapter 2

Shisui was now seated in his carriage, Itachi on the other side of it sitting quietly, looking out the window. Shisui couldn't tame the feeling of excitement bubbling in him as he watched Itachi. He was so sure that they could become good friends! He wouldn't have to feel lonely in his house anymore... And Itachi and he could keep each other company! It all seemed so surreal and wonderful in his head.

Growing up he didn't have many friends, and he had abandoned the ones he did have in order to please his parents and study to taking over the company.

Itachi watched out the small window with that ever blank look on his face. Shisui watched Itachi with interest. He leaned foreword a bit.

"Itachi, how old are you?" He asked dumbly, having forgot to check it on the clip board.

"Nineteen." Itachi answered in a low voice. Shisui smiled more and nodded.

"That's great, I'm twenty-one!" He said to him. "I'm a little relieved we're close in age." He said and sighed out. Itachi seemed to be a bit defensive of this, glancing to Shisui with blank eyes, silently asking, 'why?' Shisui quickly held up his hands.

"I just meant-! Because you're so young with such a high IQ, I'm only recorded with a 5.0 myself, so to find someone with a level higher than mine, and to be younger than me is a bit of a shock." He said. Itachi's gaze seemed to become a bit more calm at this information.

"... So I was right then..." He mumbled looking back out the window from Shisui. "... I assumed you were of a higher intelligence than most other buyers." He said and Shisui blinked at him and then followed his gaze out the window as the cities slums slowly turned into a more posh environment, only getting more luxurious as the carriage continued.

Shisui saw his overly large home in the distance and smiled faintly, looking back to Itachi.

"We're almost home now." He said, to which Itachi's ear twitched on his head, though he showed no other emotion. Not that Shisui really minded it, if that was how Itachi was, Shisui could get used to it. In fact, Itachi almost reminded him of himself, or his uncle Madara. "You know, I have a lot of spare clothes. When we get inside I'll bring you to them, and you can feel free to pick and choose what you want." He said smiling kindly to Itachi.

Itachi turned his head towards Shisui again watching him skeptically. Shisui tried to give him a trustworthy smile.

"Really... you can take what you want. Then I'll have a room made up for you." He said and then paused, his smile slowly turned into a frown as Itachi's gaze slowly dropped, his ears even pressed down a bit. "... Itachi?" He asked lightly. It took a moment, but Itachi finally spoke up.

"... What are you trying to do..." He whispered lightly. Shisui's eyes widened a small fraction. What was he trying to do? Had he not told Itachi, that he was trying to befriend him? Nothing more. He opened his mouth to answer, but the jolt of the carriage stopped him again and his gaze traveled to the door as the driver opened it.

Shisui noticed that Itachi waited for Shisui to step out first before following. Though he wasn't hesitant about it, that wasn't it... he just seemed to be respectful. Of Shisui's stature? Or was he just painfully obvious of his own stature. The thought made him frown and so Shisui let himself fall in step beside Itachi, who tried once again to walk behind Shisui. Though, when Shisui made it obvious he only wanted to walk beside Itachi, the cat seemed to give up and let him do what he pleased.

Shisui watched Itachi out of his peripheral vision as they ascended the stairs to the front doors. "So, do you have any clothing you prefer to wear?" Shisui asked him cautiously. Itachi said nothing though as they stepped into his home. Immediately two maids came over and took Shisui's jacket off and hung it up and set his slippers down. They stood for a minute with shocked expressions as they watched Itachi.

Though his new companion was not fazed by their looks of surprise. Shisui smiled -fakely- but kindly to them.

"Would you two please go draw a bath for Itachi here?" He asked. "Leave out the scented oils though, bring them all out and let Itachi choose. They were still stunned but nodded regardless and slowly made their way to the master bathroom, in the hall his room was in.

"It's nice to see you're no different." He heard Itachi mutter. Shisui glanced at him and frowned. He knew Itachi was referring to his earlier statement in the slave shop, when Shisui had told him that he wasn't like any of the other masters that had bought Itachi. Shisui rolled his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, forgive me for allowing my staff to live in luxury free of charge in exchange for a few measly chores." He muttered and ushered Itachi to follow him. "You know, It's not like I'm all for the whole slave and master relationship, I'm actually exclusively against it, but you're pretty mouthy for someone who was forced to live in servitude." He said glancing back to the cat. Said cat only looked up to him blankly, locking eyes for a minute.

"If you're against it then why do you feel the need to point out my authoritative flaws." Itachi questioned him in a low voice. A question to which Shisui narrowed his eyes somewhat and pursed his lips. He turned away from Itachi, deciding not to answer him and end up saying something stupid.

He led Itachi up the stairs and then down the west wing, the wing that his room and master bathroom were in, and previously, his parents room. He had moved into his parents room after they passed, and his old bedroom was turned into a guest room. Or as of now, it would be Itachi's room. Only a door down from his own room, and locked doors inside the rooms that connected them.

He passed his bedroom door and then about four feet before him on the opposite wall was another door. Opening it he stepped into a adequate sized room. Shelves lines the walls and clothes and shoes filled up all the shelves.

"Alright... well the left half is woman's' clothes, and the right half is for male's." He said calmly. "You look to be a little smaller than my size, so any clothes on these three shelves should fit you, and the shoes are all mixed up, so just try some on you think will fit." He said looking to Itachi. "... Do you want me to stay with you?" He asked Itachi.

Truthfully he wanted to stay with Itachi, but he had some last minute work to get done and ready to be mailed before the night was over, and since he went to bed after dinner usually, the hour it would take until dinner was served was his last chance.

Itachi said nothing and merely stood in the room. He didn't look to Shisui as he went over to the clothes and hesitantly started picking through them.

"This is fine." was all the silent man said.

Shisui watched him for a moment longer before nodding. "Alright. I'll give you about twenty minutes, and then I'll have the maids come here to get you for your bath." He said to him stepping to the door. "I'll be in my office, so if you need me just as someone to bring you to their." he said before leaving. Though he could have sworn that at the word bath, Itachi had flinched. Or was it just Shisui's imagination?

Shisui sat in his office quietly. Heaving a loud sigh he pulled out a small stack of papers. They were orders for fabric dye to make the colored silk, letters to different trading companies, bills, profit and demand margins, sales pitches, orders for silk for clothing and furnishing- The list went on. There were many papers each of these things, and this was only from the past month. Shisui had to sort through them and get to what was most important before dinner.

Usually he didn't pile everything together, usually anything to do with sales or purchasing materials was left to his uncle, but since Madara was away meeting a client face to face for a large order, Shisui was left on his own. Not that he couldn't handle the work. On the contrary, it might have all been done by now if he hadn't put it off in order to visit the slave shop.

Either way, as he responded to letters and organized order vouchers, his thoughts slowly drifted back to Itachi, as he wondered how his new companion was fairing.

Itachi was picky as he sifted through the clothes Shisui had pointed out to him. He was the last one to accept charity from his new master. Figuring that there would be some catch along with it, but the clothes he was currently in were the ones he had been dropped off to the shop last time, and since that shops policy on 'slave hygiene' was lacking with a grand incredulity, Itachi was more than humble to accept a change of clothes, and even at this point a bath.

Truly he didn't enjoy them as much as he could, but his previous baths consisted of harsh scrubbing with hay bristled brushed that turned his skin red and raw, and frigid cold water with some kind of scent, to mask to disgusting odor he was lathered in daily. He briefly wondered if his 'bath' would be prepared in some kind of firewood shack in a crude tub with the dirty cold water he was used to, and at the same time, he assumed he might be lavished...

A smooth porcelain tub with comfortable warm water filled with bubbles and soothing scents, horse hair brushed for his hair and soft cotton clothes to wash him. Either was very plausible considering the luxury Shisui lived in, and the so called 'truth' he spoke. But it was also just as easy for Shisui to suddenly change his mind, not give a damn. Want to test Itachi's limit.

Just as Itachi shut his eyes, and Shisui's smiling face painted his memories. He heard a small voice. His ear twitched and he opened his coal eyes, turning himself to face the doorway of the room, as the two maids from earlier stood there, watching him with interest, with curiosity, with fear, and with a kindness he wasn't used to.

One with short brown hair in a bonnet stepped foreword first.

"Have you picked out some things you wanted, Itachi?" She asked, addressing him with respect. He wasn't taken back by it, just wasn't really expecting it. Did Shisui not understand what being or owning a slave meant? Itachi turned, picking up the small pile of clothing he'd chosen. He had found no shoes that interested him. They were all too sharp, they hurt his feet.

The maid came over and carefully took the clothing from him.

"This is perfect. I'll select an outfit for you, and if you just follow Madeline, she'll lead you to the bath." The woman spoke before going off, leaving Itachi with Madeline. Madeline seemed a bit more hesitant, or was it shyness? after the first maid had left. She quietly ushered him with a small smile, and Itachi followed.

He observed her quietly, his expression blank as ever as she walked down the hall, leading him to the last pair of doors in the hallway before opening it. Inside the room was a white and blue marble bathroom. Warm steam filled the air and gave the mirrors and marble a light film of condensation. He followed the maid inside the bathroom and was immediately hit with the smell of warm, clean water.

"Um... we have three scents of bath beads for you to choose from, since Mister Shisui enjoys these three the most." She said, her voice was quiet. "The scents include lavender, apple, and cinnamon." She said, motioning to the tray that held three small bottles with white beads in each of them. Itachi stared at the bottles for a long moment as if deciding. Eventually he pointed to the cinnamon. The maid gave him a small smile before she nodded and then opened it up taking out a small scoop, going over to the tub and dumping them in. The still warm running water took the beads and slowly dissolved them, filling the room with a cinnamon scent, and bubbles coated the top of the tub.

The maid came over and then was hesitant as she watched him.

"I am, will you allow me to bathe you?" She asked. Itachi flicked his coal orbs directly to her, causing her to almost flinch back. Eventually... he resigned himself, holding his arms up and closing his cold eyes. He felt the maid carefully removing his clothing, before he was led and sat in the tub. He didn't look up to her though he could smell the embarrassment from her, and feel her hands shaking somewhat. He didn't question whether or not this woman was even supposed to bathe him or not. He just accepted it.

It felt nice. He shut his eyes as the cotton cloth was carefully dragged across his skin. The cinnamon scent filled his nose and coated his body. Some shampoo was poured onto his hair and washed the grime of the slave shop from it. His face was tenderly washed and he was treated with sincerity.

He just accepted it.

Truthfully, It'd been the highlight of his dark days in a cage. He felt like finally, for the moment he could breath.

Shisui was just finishing up a letter, folding it and then pouring a bit of wax onto the letter fold, sealing it with his family crest, when he heard a knocking at his door. He looked up to his door a little surprised, since no one typically bothered him in his office.

"Enter." He called out lightly. One of his maids opened the door and bowed to him respectfully.

"Dinner is waiting, Sir." She said to him. Shisui, once again stunned, had to look towards the clock in his office, seeing that it had been over and hour.

Oh...

He was only so shocked because he usually made sure he was well on time for everything, punctuality was his strong point. He knew where he had failed this time though... instead of solely focusing on his work, his thoughts drifted to Itachi more often than they should have and he fell behind.

He nodded and then set aside his work, standing up from his desk.

"Alright." He said and then followed the maid out of the office and down to the dining room. He smiled lightly, now that he was done with his work... he could finally let his thoughts solely focus on Itachi. He wondered what kinds of things they would talk about... what kind of person Itachi would turn out to be, and what kind of friendship the two could grow together.

Shisui quickened his pace, and as he stepped into the dining room, his feet wouldn't move after they'd stopped. Itachi sat there at the table, his hair was illuminated in the light of the room, his ears glistening a healthy, silky black color. His cheeks and arms were now relieved of any marks or dirt, showing Shisui to the fullest extent how perfectly untouched his skin actually was. Itachi, at hearing him enter, turned to look to him, his expression still blank as ever, but with his hair now trimmed a bit, Shisui could see his entire face. Itachis eye lashes were long and thick, hovering over his eyes like two butterfly wings, giving his face a dark but beautifully exotic look.

Shisui had to stop himself. These thoughts of his were only getting stranger. It was okay to look at someone and think they were beautiful. Man or woman, Shisui could at least accept that. But when the details of said beauty began to go into deeper thought and comparison was where he should draw the line. Which, and whenever that line had somehow been created?

Shisui threw on a charming smile as he made his way over to the table, taking the seat across from Itachi. He glanced down to the mans' attire, seeing Itachi was dressed in a cotton black dress shirt, and tan cotton pants.

"I see you have some good taste, Itachi!" She said smiling to the man. Itachi said nothing to him. "I hope that you feel better after your bath." He tried again. But Itachi only shifted his gaze down to his plate. Shisui had to let out a faint sigh. "Won't you please talk with me?" He asked Itachi lightly, frowning somewhat.

At these words though, Itachi finally properly looked up to him.

"What do you wish to talk about Shisui?" Itachi asked him lightly. Shisui blinked, his eyes widened a bit. He smiled at Itachi though, glad to hear his voice, glad that a conversation could finally come about.

"Well how about we tell one another a little about ourselves?" He asked Itachi. "You can ask me anything, Itachi." He asked him, smiling comfortingly. Itachi watched him with calm, almost calculating eyes. Shisui waited in anticipation, keeping his smile on for show, wondering what kind of things Itachi would ask him.

"... Why do you throw out fake smiles, like I can't see through them." Itachi finally spoke out, causing Shisui's eyes to widen and the smile to vanish from his face.

He stared at the younger man before him for what seemed like ever. No one. No one Shisui knew, had even questioned the sincerity of his fake smiles. He was good at fooling them, charming them. Itachi... he could see through them? Itachi's expression didn't change an ounce as Shisui tried to compose himself.

"Ah... well, um I..." He blinked,snapping out of his daze, before smiling again, letting out a faint laugh. "... There's no way that my smiles are fake, you must be mistaken, Itachi... Any other questions?" He asked, trying to change the topic. He could have sworn he heard a faint sigh from the cat before him, but wasn't sure as Itachi turned his head away, closing his eyes somewhat, thinking.

"I've heard your name before, Uchiha... you own the silk company, correct? Where did that originate from." Was what Itachi came up with. Shisui held back a relieved sigh.

"Well you see, my parents started the company up before I was born. Through the years, I was born and my parents continued to build the company up. By the time I was four, and old enough to walk and talk, the company was a big success and we were making a lot of money. From that point on, my parents polished me to become the successor one day." He spoke quietly, looking to Itachi again, smiling somewhat.

Itachi was quiet, looking up to him with coal eyes, flecked with obsidian marks.

"And where are your parents now? Your family, Shisui?" He asked lightly. Shisui refused from showing any of his emotion.

"Well, my family is few and far between, there aren't many of us left, and we're all spread out through the land. The only family member with me currently, is my uncle Madara. My parents died about a year ago." He said lightly, picking up his fork and quietly beginning to eat. The meal consisted of a tomato soup with some steak tips and assorted vegetables and bread.

He could feel Itachi staring at him and then he heard his smooth, low voice.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Shisui just shook his head.

"It's behind me now, I can only move foreword." Was his answer. The table was silent after that, he and Itachi eating quietly, feeling Itachi glance to him every now and again.

"... If you wish to ask any questions about me Shisui, please feel free to do so. I'll answer them as best as I can." He heard Itachi's voice. Instead of a blank emotionless tone, Shisui could hear something else, something familiar... was it, empathy?

Shisui lifted his head to the cat.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Itachi looked to him properly, his expression blank, but firm.

He nodded.

And there goes the second chapter! I hope I'm doing alright keeping the length consistent. Also, please forgive me if there are any grammatical or spelling errors, I do my best to catch them when I can, but not everyone is perfect.

As always reviews, critiques, praise are always welcome and appreciated. I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as I can.

I am Taimukipa.