Thank you greatly to everyone who reviewed – especially to the regular reviewers whom I appreciate so very much. I tried to update a little quicker for you all this time around.

I have final exams for the year looming up in the next two weeks and then I am off to Japan for a few weeks directly after that. I will try my very best to update before I leave and as soon as I am back.

Thankyou all for your continued patience and as always best regards,

Cherie x

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Ten: Where Art Thou Kisame

"Uh, no." I said flatly. "Absolutely, 100 per cent, completely out of the question N.O. Do you hear me blubber brains?"

Kisame looked back over his shoulder as he continued to load up the baggage and cracked an evil grin, clearly enjoying my obvious distress. "You act like we give you a choice."

"Listen here, buddy; I don't care if the entire Australian army turned up on my doorstep with flame throwing bazookas, my answer would still be a solid no. Call me crazy, but from where I come people don't just throw themselves off the top of thousand metre cliffs. Especially, might I add, people without any chakra!"

"You have chakra." Itachi pointed out.

I immediately turned on him with a scowl. "Ahem, yes, thanks for that oh wise one. Unlike yours, however, mine only activates when I'm drowning slowly in an abyss. So I stand by my previous answer and will be remaining on solid ground, thankyou."

Itachi let out an almost inaudible sigh in what I can assume only to be an attempt to calm his nerves before answering once again. "It is not expected that you make your own way down the cliff face, we only ask that you remove yourself from that tree so that we may assist you in doing so."

I latched my arms even firmer around the thick tree trunk and shook my head defiantly. "No way in hell are you getting me down there." I spat, indicating my head to the sharp, sheer drop just a couple of metres away.

"Listen," Kisame growled then, finally finished with the task of packing up the last of the camping supplies. "You detach those scrawny limbs of yours from that tree or I'll pry you off myself and throw you over the edge of this cliff face. If you're lucky, Itachi or I may or may not be there to catch you at the bottom."

I glared at the psychotic fish man in disbelief, only pushing myself further into the bark of my trusty safety post. As long as the two missing-nin insisted I accompany them down the side of the treacherous cliff face I was in no way ever letting go.

Kisame, seemingly on his last length and doing everything he could not to follow through with his threat of launching me off the cliff, ground his teeth in frustration before shooting the Uchiha a look that clearly meant: you sort her out.

Itachi nodded lightly and Kisame grumbled loudly in frustration before taking a long swig from his water canteen.

As Itachi graciously stood from his perched position on a stray log, I racked my brain viciously for something to say that wouldn't eventuate in me free falling down the drop of death. The Uchiha heir swiftly began to close the distance and I blanked completely, panicking before saying the first thing that popped into my reeling mind.

"I kissed your little brother!" I blurted out.

Itachi didn't stumble, but stopped dead in his tracks. Kisame on the other hand snorted rather loudly into his water canteen, presumably inhaling a rather large portion up his nose before spluttering liquid all over the place.

Itachi blinked. "Pardon?" He said.

"I, uh…ahem, kissed your little brother."

Itachi's eyebrows slowly rose, whether it was in surprise, disbelief or amusement I wasn't entirely sure. "Enlighten me as to why exactly you felt the need."

Kisame, still recovering from his coughing fit wiped the side of his mouth crudely. "Well, doesn't matter really. With the way he was staring at you back at the Snake's lair, dare I say kid would have enjoyed it."

I felt my face heat up at Kisame's suggestive comment and flung a finger in his direction. "I…It wasn't like that! I only did it to prevent my kidnapping!" I shot defensively.

"Yet somehow you still managed to end up kidnapped." Itachi noted, an emotion I just couldn't put my finger on flashed ever so briefly in his onyx orbs before his face returned to the same blank expression I had grown so very accustom to.

Kisame waved a hand nonchalantly and looked back over at me with a sly smirk. "Whatever you say, kiddo. I'll see you at the bottom…unless you're too busy kissing this Uchiha brother to make it." And with that the shark man disappeared over the edge of the cliff face and out of sight.

I gawked at the spot Kisame had only previously just been standing, before awkwardly looking back over at Itachi with a red-tinged face and a guilty expression. The eldest Uchiha's eyes lingered on my parted lips only for a second before he seemed to disregard the information completely, closing the rest of the distance between us.

I clung stubbornly to the tree and scowled, kiss or no kiss, he was not getting me down that cliff.

Itachi regarded me silently for a moment, before doing something that completely and utterly threw me off guard. I watched in horror as the Uchiha genius pushed his weight forward slightly, leaning his face so very close to my own.

Blinking owlishly at the sudden invasion of space, I felt my heartbeat throb against my chest and the blood rise hotly to my cheeks as I felt his breath fan out against my face. Half an inch closer, and our noses would touch. I stood frozen, too immobilised to move and when the very tip of his nose grazed the top of mine ever so slightly, my lips parted in involuntary shock as an electrical current shot through me.

My arms dropped from the tree on their own accord and I didn't miss the slight smug look that flashed in his otherwise blank eyes as he watched me carefully. He waited another second and the corner of his lip twitched upwards lightly before he finally pulled back, allowing me to let out a breath I didn't even realise I was holding.

Pivoting skilfully, as Uchiha's seemed to be able to do, Itachi lowered his position suddenly, bending his knees slightly and gazing back over his shoulder expectantly.

I blinked in confusion this time, not really sure what it was he expected me to do. "Umm…"

"Your fear of heights-"

"I do not have a fear of heights!" I yelled exasperated and flustered at the same time.

"What would you wish to call it then?" He questioned.

I spluttered, trying to think of a feasible answer through my jumbled thoughts. It didn't help that Itachi was acting as if his complete disregard for my personal space had even happened. Was it just a ploy to get me to let go of the tree? Or…was it payback for kissing Sasuke?

I disregarded the thought with a light shake of my head. "Can't we just, you know, go around?" I reasoned logically, my voice heightening in panic at the thought of dropping off the cliff. Or was it because I was so close to being kissed by none other than Itachi Uchiha?

"That is not an option."

Wow, thanks Itachi for that ever so helpful and elaborate reply. Now I feel much better about falling to my death.

"Well, why not?" I shot back, equally as salty.

"Straying from this route will add on an additional two days to our travel time. As we have already found ourselves delayed," He began, shooting me a blank yet pointed look. Yeah, like it was my fault they took the time to kidnap me. "I do not believe we have that time to relinquish."

I threw my head back and let out a loud groan before stomping my foot against the ground hotly. Palms sweating, I bit my lip firmly and teetered uncomfortably on the spot. This really, really wasn't something I wanted to do.

"Allow me to help you." Itachi offered from his crouched position and finally, like a switch had been flicked, I realised exactly what it was he wanted me to do. Despite his actions, he still was willing to be somewhat reasonable.

I stood stubbornly for a moment, glaring at anything and everything. I knew if I didn't cooperate I'd find myself thrown off the cliff one way or another – better my own way than Itachi's. Or Kisame's, for that matter.

I shakily took the few steps to where Itachi was patiently positioned. Using my palms, I pressed them lightly against his strong shoulders and attempted to scramble up and on top of the genius's back. His arms wound their way slowly to the back of my thighs then and, when I still hadn't managed to grabble on completely, lifted me easily the rest of the way before holding me securely in place.

Itachi was unusually complacent as he walked ever so slowly, for my benefit I'm sure, to the edge of the cliff before looking back over his shoulder. The second I let my head bob in a nod of reassurance I felt the air begin to surge around us as he built the momentum.

Preparing myself for the inevitable launch off the cliff face, I just so happened to look down…into the never ending drop below and screeched like a banshee.

"Wait! Wait, please wait!"

Just like that, the momentum dispersed. Itachi had actually stopped.

I tried to contain my surprise as I struggled awkwardly around on the back of the patient Uchiha, trying to find a position that felt even remotely comfortable. Breathing becoming rapid with frustration, I was just about to give up before I felt Itachi readjust his grip on my legs, pulling me up and holding me tighter against him.

"Close your eyes." He ordered lightly, watching me closely as I continued my hysterics.

Nodding numbly, I obliged and screwed my eyes shut tight.

"Ready?"

I grit my teeth in anticipation. "Just don't drop me!"

"I will not drop you."

That was the last thing I heard before the wind rushed painfully into my ears.

As we began to free-fall, I felt my stomach fly up and into my throat, my breath catching in my lungs I let out a silent scream and moved my hands to cling around Itachi's neck before burying my face into his velvety hair. Why did he smell so good?

The sensation of plummeting through the open air, whilst completely and utterly terrifying (I definitely would not be recommending ninja air travel to any of my close friends or immediate family), was somewhat surprisingly riveting.

Don't misunderstand, my eyes stayed glued shut and I did not once lift my face from the nook of Itachi's neck due to fear of having my eyeballs ripped from their sockets via severe windburn. Yet somehow, I still managed to feel both empowered and wholly free, senses I had not ever been able to fully experience back in the real world.

The feeling was so surreal I barely noticed when we touched back to earth once more. That is, until I heard the faintest of coughs from in front. Lifting my head slowly, I cautiously blinked open my eyes, coming face to face with none other than Itachi's brilliant coal orbs. Involuntarily, I sucked in a breath of air and, so he wouldn't pick up on my inevitably large and embarrassing blush, I licked my lips and glanced around the shadowed area hastily. Sure enough we had made it down the edge of the rocky cliff face and safely into, yet again, another rather large canopy of never ending forest. I sighed, everything always looked the –

Hold up…there was something missing. Something large, blue and incredibly easy to annoy.

I frowned and let my eyes quickly dance once more over the lush woodland. Wasn't Kisame supposed to be waiting down here for us? It's unlikely he would have gone ahead without confirmation from Itachi, but I guess not entirely impossible given the missing-nin's unpredictable behaviour.

I let my gaze slowly shift back to the Uchiha in question, only to realise he must have been deliberating the same thing. Eyes narrowed, he too was expertly scanning the area for what I assumed to be signs of his missing associate.

While there was no doubt in my mind that Itachi would rather prefer the short absence of his rowdy partner (he still hadn't had the chance to finish his psycho question and answer session that was cut short back at the trading district), even I had to admit that it was unlike the walking fish to simply run off ahead without at least giving Itachi some sort of warning.

I mean, let's be honest, the two criminals had barely let me out of their sight since the event of my planned escape and I had just counted myself lucky that they hadn't bothered to punish me (like they had once promised) for even attempting an irrational escape in the first place. Really, I think it had more to do with the fact that neither was willing to admit they were outsmarted by a chakra-less, civilian girl such as myself.

However, my musings were cut short as I felt Itachi's shoulders stiffen under me and my head snapped back around to look at him once more. It was hard to see, considering I was still held tight against his back, but I immediately noticed the appearance of his Sharingan as his eyes bled crimson. In that instant, I knew Kisame hadn't simply gone for a brief walk around the forest.

So that posed the question; in the time that Kisame had disappeared from the cliff face to the time it took for Itachi to finally coax me off the side of the tree, what on earth had happened to Kisame?