Challenge: The Real World
The first thing Itachi noticed upon awakening was the sound of something beeping next to his ear. The second thing was that this wasn't his dorm room at college, as the sheets felt far too rough. Not enough fabric softener, Itachi decided after some deliberation.
"Kisame?" The question came out in a croak, making his dry throat and mouth the third thing Itachi became aware of. Even so, the inquiry was understood, as soon Itachi heard someone getting to their feet and moving to his bedside to crouch beside him.
"I'm right here, Itachi-san."
The panic that had just begun to bubble up in Itachi (God, how he hated hospitals) subsided at the sound of his roommate's voice. "What-" Itachi coughed, and tried to wet his lips with his tongue. "What happened?"
There was a slight pause. Itachi cracked open one eye, and after the pupil had finished focusing, he managed to make out the reticent expression on his friend's face. Finally, Kisame responded, "You overdosed and started having seizures. I'm sorry, Itachi-san, but I had to take you to the hospital. If I hadn't..." Kisame didn't need to finish the thought. If he hadn't, Itachi would be dead. But even so... how could he have taken too much?
"Shisui... he said it wasn't that concentrated."
Kisame let out a bitter chuckle. "Turns out your cousin isn't as a great a drug dealer as he is a psychiatrist." Another pause. "Your father tried to stop the lawsuit, but your cousin is going to be tried for this, Itachi-san. It couldn't be hidden anymore. Not with you like this."
Wait. Lawsuit? "How long was I out?"
"Four days, Itachi-san."
That… didn't sound good. "My father is unhappy with me, isn't he."
Kisame's silence was enough of an affirmation. Itachi didn't know how he could have hoped for the contrary. It had taken Uchiha Fugaku twenty years to build up the reputation and wealth of the Uchiha Empire, and Itachi had managed to utterly destroy the reputation part of it in less than a week. The heir and nephew of Uchiha Enterprise's founder standing trial and likely to serve twenty years. The eldest son in the hospital waiting to recover from a cocaine overdose. All that left was Sasuke, sixteen and more interested in saving the whales than saving his father's business. No wonder Fugaku was pissed.
How could he have been so stupid? He should have known better than to take anything from Shisui. He should have stuck to his regular dealer. Even if Zetsu had OD'd more than once himself, at least he could tell the difference between the low-quality stuff and the high-grade. His cousin… his cousin had ruined everything. The Uchiha family's reputation. His career. Itachi's life.
No… it hadn't been his cousin. That was his father talking. His father had known about Shisui. He'd known about Itachi. And he'd never done anything to stop it. To stop them. He didn't care what they were doing to themselves. He just cared they'd been caught.
Under the hospital blankets, Itachi felt his hands clench. "Kisame, you once told me about that group you are a part of. The Akatsuki."
Next to him, Kisame nodded reluctantly. With good reason. Even if they were putting Kisame through college, that particular criminal organization wasn't something you talked about during the light of day. "What about it, Itachi-san?"
"Do they happen to have an opening?"
"Why would you want-"
Itachi felt a dark grin spread across his face. It was oddly relaxing. "I have some favors I'd like to ask."
