As one group left Tanzaku Town, another had a head start. Forced to retreat rather than continue the fight, shinobi criminals Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki were trying to put as much space between them and the town as possible.
Itachi, however, had already started to lag behind.
"Having second thoughts?" Kisame called back, glancing over his shoulder with a menacing grin. "We can always go back and finish the job if you like."
Kisame laughed, but Itachi didn't rebuke him. Instead, he stumbled, his pace slowing even more while he regained his footing.
"Oh, I get it." Kisame continued. He held back for a half second, letting Itachi catch up again. "You know, you really shouldn't be using those eyes so many times in one day. You can keep telling me those branches aren't getting blurry, but it's times like this when…"
"No…" Itachi winced. His hand clutched his chest and he stumbled again. "It's… it's not my eyes..."
This time, Kisame outright stopped. He spun around just in time to see his partner fall beneath the trees.
"Itachi?" Kisame slipped through the branches. His partner was already on the ground. "Itachi! Are you all right?"
Itachi managed to shake his head as he coughed. He tried to speak, but couldn't find enough breath to get a word in edgewise. Kisame crouched next to him, hitting him squarely several times on the back.
"Itachi?"
The coughing continued, and Kisame could only watch as blood shot between Itachi's fingers. He pulled a shaking hand away from his mouth. His eyes were having difficulty focusing on it, but he didn't need to see clearly to realize what it was covered in. He coughed again, blood dribbling freely down his chin.
A branch snapped close by, and Kisame jerked.
"Itachi. Come on." He whispered harshly, grabbing his partner by the shoulders. "Someone's coming. We can't stay here."
Itachi nodded, all the while spitting up another mouthful of blood. He tried to get up, but a series of pained gasps sent him curling in on himself.
"Kisame… can't breathe…"
"Come on!" Kisame shouted as he tried to hoist his partner to his feet. They could both hear the footsteps clearly now.
Despite relishing in the thrill of battle, this was no time for a fight, and Kisame knew it. Itachi couldn't defend himself and would surely die trying. Kisame had no doubt in his own abilities, but getting his partner back to base or to a medic, any medic, was a far higher priority.
"Itachi, we have to move!" Kisame swung Itachi's arm over his neck. "If we backtrack, we're dead meat. But the nearest village isn't that far away."
Itachi tried to nod between labored gasps, but it was tainted with the realization he probably wouldn't make it that long or that far. He slumped as he choked on another mouthful of blood, and Kisame lost his grip.
"Itachi!"
Kisame froze. The footsteps were coming closer, so close that they could even hear voices…
"And so she said – That's not my sister. That's my shadow clone."
A pair of traveling shinobi broke through the trees and stepped into the clearing. Faced with no other options, Kisame drew his weapon. He hesitated between keeping a protective stance over his partner and simply charging in for the kill. Fortunately, it only took a moment of hesitation for House and Wilson to realize exactly what they'd walked into.
No one spoke, making Itachi's agonizing coughing spell seem that much louder. House picked up on it immediately. He took a couple of steps forward and the tip of Kisame's samheda met with his eyes.
"House…" Wilson grabbed for his friend's vest, and almost missed. "Those are Akatsuki..."
House didn't reply. Instead, he took another step closer. Kisame followed.
"House, they're going to kill us if we keep going that way!" He whispered through clenched teeth.
"Not if one of them dies first." House shrugged it off, and limped closer. He drew no additional weapons, but kept a tight grip on his cane. "Put that away. We're not here for a fight. We're medical shinobi."
Kisame scoffed.
"And just why should I trust the likes of you?"
"The fact that massive hemotypsis, without immediate treatment carries at least a 75 percent mortality rate." He answered without fear or hesitation. "Combined with the fact that if you don't, your buddy has an almost 100 percent chance of ending the day as a statistic."
After an uneasy pause, Kisame put away his weapon, letting the special jonin through.
"What the hell is wrong with him?"
"I don't know…" House replied, deep in thought. "… Yet."
