Beauty & The Beast - Chapter 06: Change
B&TB
"Oh, I'm apologize I don't know what came over me." Itachi separated from Kisame and looked away, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. "I..."
"Think nothing of it." Kisame says gruffly. "I have some work to do..."
"Of course." Itachi nodded. He wanted to be alone with the books anyway.
And alone he was. For the first time in so long he was able to forget about his brother, even just for a moment, as he lost himself in the books.
B&TB
"What the hell?" Was all Sasuke managed to ask as he, and a small group of Uchiha including his father gathered in a small room watching Sasuke's memory.
"I have never seen anything like this." One of the Uchiha stepped up and said. "This is very... Intriguing."
"What concerns me the most is the lack of anything to suggest there may be a time difference, yet clearly there was one." Fugaku spoke, arms crossed. "We should all get our eyes checked to see if we experienced the same thing when we visited the building."
"This is so confusing, if we were gone surely we would have noticed something strange upon our return, surprised faces when we asked for a plane for example?" One of the Uchiha asked. "We maintained a connection to the outside plane at all times, we were communicating with Uchiha who were halfway across the world."
"We can discuss the theoretical possibilities after everyone who was present has their eyes checked." Fugaku ordered, and his word was final.
Sasuke sank in his chair as his eyes swirled with the intake of information, syncing with the Uchiha servers.
Sasuke had indeed been gone for two years, but his eyes indicated the only a few days had passed- his eyes followed up on his story. There was nothing like a flash of light to show this time discrepancy - it just was.
Moreover his eyes showed a completely different place - the kind Sasuke remembered seeing - from the one they had visited today. It was furnished, it had relics that were reminiscent of centuries past. One of the Uchiha's well versed in history recognized them as being from approximately 1200 AD, and it was currently 2300 AD.
Most of all though, the one thing that no one had even mentioned yet, mainly because it was too horrifying a thought, was of the beast.
The beast showed inhumane vital signs that the Uchihas were now analyzing in their labs. It was not a disguise or a robot, it was real, that much they could see.
Furthermore, there was evidence to suggest it should not be able to survive, much less exist, based on anatomy and other things. But most of all, it was a monster and it had Itachi, and there was no conceivable way at the moment for anyone to go back.
Sasuke was kept in confinement in case he brought back any illness or such that could be problematic for humanity. All Uchihas who had gone were being tested as such, and the few who hadn't were doing their best testing.
Sasuke was taken from one set of chains and tossed into another.
B&TB
Itachi had fallen asleep in the library. When he finally woke, it was morning and there were loud, almost obnoxious sounds coming from outside. He hurried out only to see people working on the building.
"What is this?" Itachi asked as soon as he noticed Jared. He did not see Kisame.
"They are working to install running water, electricity, and renovating the entire place. Since you're awake, I suggest that you come with me to the temple for the day. Tomorrow we can return and everything will be done."
"In one day so much can be done?" Itachi asked with wide eyes. "And so suddenly? I don't understand, what prompted this?"
"I would have thought it obvious." Jared aid. "You. Kisame wants this place to be comfortable, for your sake."
Itachi's jaw dropped. "R-really?"
"He cares quite a bit for you."
"Why? I barely know him."
"Perhaps... Perhaps that is his weakness. He cares too easily." Jared sighed. "Come let me take you to the temple."
So Itachi followed Jared to the temple. It was a long walk, but Jared had water and told Itachi interesting stories.
"I first came here and met Kisame almost two hundred years ago. My kind were hunted and I was looking for shelter. I found this small village and managed to hide when the hunters came for me once more. I did what I could - I ran for the cursed monsters the locals spoke of, and I found Kisame. I was about as welcome as you were when I first got here, but I spoke to Kisame and told him that I too, was a monster."
Itachi listened, and shivered. Jared was a monster too? What sort? What standard made one a monster? Was he a monster as well for his sharingan eyes?
"Afterwards I told him I was no longer welcome among the humans."
Jared wasn't human? Itachi flickered his eyes towards Jared in confusion. Was Jared in need of help as much as Kisame?
"And I asked him to give me a home here so that we could be companions. I offered to be his butler in exchange for a home."
That was kind of Kisame, giving a home to Jared. Itachi couldn't help but feel warmed. Kisame had done the same to Itachi with his generosity - said the library was his. A library full of priceless books.
"Anyway, Kisame taught me the basics of magic and time here and I worked out the rest." Jared finished.
"That's quite a tale." Itachi acknowledged as they arrived at the temple.
The temple had a bell outside that rang as they approached, and was very high up. There were many stairs to climb. The smell of incense grew stronger as Itachi approached until he was finally within the vast halls of the temple.
The beast sat facing a statue of Buddha, his back to Itachi.
"I must go make sure the work is done properly." Jared explained. "I will leave you two here alone."
And then they were alone.
"Was the library... To your liking?" Kisame asked.
"It was." Itachi dared to go and sit by Kisame, facing the statue himself. They sat on a simple bamboo mat.
"I am glad. This place it... Once belonged to my father in law." Kisame said. "He was a religious man. He was also a witch."
Itachi didn't question the contradiction in Kisame's words. He didn't understand a lot, and had come to the conclusion it was easier not to question these things.
"You were married once?" Itachi asked, hoping he wasn't treading on dangerous territory.
"I was." Kisame said sadly. "I loved her you know. But not like I should have... I was a monster even before I was a monster. I was naive to think... Well it doesn't matter it was the past. She died long ago."
"And your father in law as well?" Itachi didn't answer for the prickling in the back of his neck warning him of danger. Monster before he was a monster? Did Kisame beat his wife?
"Yes, he as well." Kisame spoke sadly. "I do not believe in Buddha as my father in law once did, yet I still come to sit by this statue of him and just talk. Sometimes I even wish to destroy it, but I never do. I wonder why. Perhaps because this place is sacred in a way that I should never defile."
Itachi didn't answer, but he wanted to leave. This was dangerous ground.
"Tell me of your life Itachi." Kisame asked.
Itachi thought for a moment. "My life is rather dull. I have nothing interesting about it. I have a family like most do, you met my brother. He is the most important person to me. I have a boring job doing boring things. I had a lover once, his name was Kakashi. Hmm... Not much else of note." Itachi said after thought.
Only then did he realize that Kisame was staring at him.
"Your lover was... A man?"
Itachi was startled. "Yeah. That's not strange."
"It is very strange." Kisame said, his eyes glistening with a pain that Itachi could not understand. "Were you not hated for it?"
"Of course not." Itachi answered. "What's wrong with loving a man? It is completely normal."
"You live in a strange world with running water and homosexuality." Kisame laughed. "It is like we truly are from different times you see."
Itachi glared. "Do you have a problem with homosexuality?"
"Me? Oh not at all." Kisame answered, his shoulders relaxing. "But in my time a girl was killed in my village for loving another girl. My father in law cursed me into the monster that I am not because I did not love his daughter. I loved men you see."
Itachi's eyes widened. Yes he had heard that homosexuality was not as accepted in the past. It was ridiculous to think of, for he could never imagine such a time.
"I'm sorry." Itachi said, although he did not believe the entire story.
"Hm." Kisame hummed, seemingly in better spirits as he looked towards Buddha. "Perhaps Buddha has strange ways after all."
"I do not understand." Itachi said.
"No. You wouldn't, not if I did." Kisame seemed to laugh at the idea as he stretched. "I will be right back, I wish to check on Jared for breakfast."
And then Itachi was alone. Alone. His heart hammered. He was alone. What more could he ask for?
Itachi waited five minutes before he bolted, sharingan blaring to life to give him the extra speed and reflexes to pull off the escape. His sharingan allowed him to ignore his ankle, but now it would be severely damaged. He might even have to replace it utterly later, a simple matter for the Uchiha.
He ran from the backside of the temple to wherever his running would lead him. He ran and ran and ran until he could run no more, his sharingan having depleted his energy.
He fell from exhaustion.
It was the wolves he heard first when Itachi opened his swirling red eyes. When he opened them he saw it.
A beast, similar to wolf-human hybrid carrying a spear. There were several wolves by its side, prowling and circling Itachi as he rose, and shivered in the cold afternoon air.
"I-..." Itachi's heart hammered once more as his eyes worked in overdrive trying to find s way out. There was none. One of the wolves jumped forward to attack and Itachi moved into a defensive position, ready to fight.
The wolf never made it to Itachi.
Instead, Kisame's tall glowering form, suddenly a welcome sight that brought a smile to Itachi's face, tossed the wolf aside as if it were nothing.
"I'll take the wolf man." Kisame scowled. "Can you handle the small fry? You are an Uchiha, I know you are strong."
"Yeah, of course." Itachi answered, his training coming in. He always played defensively. Itachi circled slowly, letting the wolves lunge for him first as he carefully avoided their teeth and claws, his eyes giving him the boost he needed to attack them in their vital spots. It didn't take long for Itachi to knock them all out.
Then he heard the howl and Itachi whipped around to see a spear launched through Kisame's heart, and several more sharp teeth throughout his body. Kisame was bleeding out in a way that he would certainly be dead.
"NOOO!" Itachi screamed as he rushed for Kisame.
But Kisame wasn't down. He whipped out s large toothy sharkskin sword and slashed the wolf man.
"Kisame! Kisame!" Itachi approached to see Kisame heaving, his body shaking as he ripped the spear and claws out of his body.
"Don't! You'll bleed to death!"
"I am immortal." Kisame choked out in blood before falling into the ground.
Itachi had a chance now- he could run for it. Go home. Leave Kisame to die in his delusions.
He didn't. Itachi powered his sharingan and dragged Kisame's unconscious body to the temple where Jared was waiting, with eyes as red as Itachi's.
Itachi didn't question it.
Jared grabbed hold of Kisame from Itachi, glaring at him as if it were his fault, and took him into one of the temple's rooms.
"Will he... Will he die? We need a doctor right?" Itachi asked.
"No, he is immortal. He needs only time to heal, and someone to stay by his side."
"I... I will stay." Itachi sank to the floor by Kisame in distress. He did this. Because of his stupidity, Kisame was hurt!
"I will allow it." Jared said, his red eyes boring into Itachi's. "However if you hurt him, I will hunt you down and rip you to shreds."
Itachi didn't doubt it. Not the way Jared said it, nor with those red eyes that no one but the Uchiha should have. Well Jared's red eyes weren't the same shade as his, did not have the Uchiha copyrighted swirls inside. But they were unnerving still.
Itachi sat by Kisame's side, wallowing in guilt and despair.
B&TB
It was as Jared and Kisame said. Nothing needed to be done for Kisame. His wounds were healing even as Itachi watched in awe. It was a slow process, but noticeable as Itachi changed Kisame's bandages.
When Kisame came to, he did not speak, but did allow Itachi to do what he wished.
While Kisame did not speak, Itachi would read stories that he had saved in his eyes to Kisame. He would also tell Kisame about his own eyes, about the Uchiha, about his world.
Because finally Itachi believed Kisame and Jared. They weren't human. They had a different life in a different world.
Itachi tried to hide the dread he felt about his brother. Did his brother make it home? Or was he lost in some in-between reality?
It was a week before Kisame was up and back to his normal self. During that time Itachi did not falter in his care, for it was his fault that Kisame was the way he was. And during this time, Kisame did not once speak to Itachi, only watched Itachi.
When Kisame was better, he and Itachi walked together to the renovated building. Itachi took his time showing Kisame how showers worked, how taps and running water were a thing, and how switched could turn lights on or off. Kisame was intrigued and finally spoke to Itachi to ask questions.
When he spoke, he answered in short answers, as if he weren't all there.
The new building was amazing. Everything that was previously dark and dreary was now bustling with life. The roses had been trimmed back so they were no longer protruding into the castle. There was a large crystal chandelier that glistened in several rooms, which were newly painted. The tiles were also new, with a more modern aesthetic and added to the overall shinier appearance.
There wasn't a room that went untouched. Every bathroom now had new sinks, bathtubs and showers.
It was unbelievably different. Even the closets had little lights added in. Whoever had wired the place had done so quickly and efficiently as there were now electrical outlets almost everywhere, though most were unused as there weren't many things that required electricity in the home yet. There were no basic electronics like phones or television sets, and Itachi suspected there was no Wi-Fi. He would check with his eyes later.
They explored the place together at first. Until Kisame wished to be alone. And it stayed that way, for the next entire week, Itachi did not see Kisame. He did not come out of his room, and Itachi was perfectly fine with that at first, enjoying the library which now had study desks with lights attached to each one, and all of the books had been dusted off.
Itachi found modern paper and modern pens. He found dictionaries and blank journals and began translating some of the ancient texts.
It wasn't until the fourth day that be began to grow worried. His host was leaving him alone. He was afraid to leave, for any time he left the library, Jared's menacing red eyes followed. Morever, he had hurt Kisame. He realized this, but didn't know how to fix it, he thought it would be enough to take care of him while he was getting better.
But for that, Kisame had Jared. He was also immortal, he didn't need Itachi, not really. The thought was humbling. He had been useless, and had only brought unnecessary pain to Kisame. It would have been easier for the beast to kill him, but he hadn't. But in the end, it didn't matter. Kisame didn't matter, or at least Itachi had to convince himself of that. He did however, need Kisame to explain to him where his brother could be.
With that in mind, Itachi finally made it to Kisame's room and knocked. Would Sasuke be in another world? Another time? Some lost place in between, all alone and starved? Dead? Itachi tried hard not to think about it.
B&TB
It took a few days for Sasuke to finally be fully tested to the Uchiha's satisfaction. He allowed it. It was protocol. He wouldn't be a danger to everyone, even though Itachi was all that filled his mind. Well that and there was no way out. He had been weakened to prevent escape. They knew him too well.
"Did you learn anything?" Sasuke asked daily. He never received a response.
When he got out, he went back to the village right away. It was quarantined by the Uchiha's and he spent weeks in there, searching the halls, crying out for what was no longer there. Everyday his despair increased, for his brother was no longer with him.
He pushed away everyone in his life, his parents and even his friends Naruto and Sakura. They never gave up on him, coming time and time again to get him to back, but he never came out of his daze.
Until one day he wasn't allowed there anymore. His eyes, the very soul of his existence betrayed him, for through it the Uchiha controlled him. It made it so he could no longer go to his brother's lost hiding place.
He clawed out his eyes.
They bound him and placed him in therapy.
Nothing worked. His parents drifted apart, they didn't even live together anymore, only he kept them together in any form.
Naruto came every day. Sakura brought him apples and fruits. He cursed their existence.
They surgically placed his eyes back in. He wasn't awake for it.
When he finally came to, he was happy. He had a great life and two parents and two amazing best friends, Naruto and Sakura.
Yes, Sasuke had it all. So what was this feeling in his chest, this feeling that something was missing?
Sasuke ignored it. He had everything in life. Everything.
B&TB
A/N
Thank you to Jessi-mini, HikariHaruno & HeavenOnFire. Art by Jessi-Mini (only viewable on ao3)
Also you can follow me on tumblr, I occasionally post KisaIta things and always enjoy talking to KisaIta fans :) URL : thorkys