Chapter Ten

Itachi gasped when his head hit the surface of the water, pulling air into his lungs. He had lasted as much as he could under water, struggled not to hold the king back as they swarm for life, but his hands had began to grow weak as his chest burned. Itachi had also caught sight of land not too far away when the king surprised him with a kiss. A kiss of air and life. Of course at the time, Itachi was far from grateful for it and when the king pulled away and smiled all he wanted to do was reach for his throat but he knew fighting under water was not smart.

Itachi immediately leaped out of the water and used his aura to quickly dry his clothes as his eyes scanned the woods and the branches. They had swarm to the far east of the ocean facing away from the fire city. Itachi had never been here so he couldn't be certain how far from the fire city they had come.

He searched himself for his pistol and found them soaked with water but that shouldn't stop them from functioning. To test that he fired at the floating king who screamed and swarm away, eyes wide with shock.

"What did you do that for, Itachi - kun! "He shouted, "I'm already so fragile, don't you have any pity for this body? "

Itachi raised one eyebrow, "We don't have time for you to lie around. There might be no hunters here right now but it wouldn't take them long to figure out we are gone. I would prefer if they do not spot us on the harbor. Let's go, "he said and cleaned his gun, not very surprised that they they were still functioning. If it had been a sword, his sword, he wouldn't have worried. His chest tightened lightly at the thought of what had happened to it.

He was almost completely dry and the king had grumbled his way out of the water, but suddenly his eyes flew wide and his mouth open. Was he drooling?

"Itachi - kun! —"

"Don't call me that, "

"Itachi - kun, food! "

Itachi tried to grab for him but he was suddenly gone. His small body faded into trees. He was still dripping wet. Damn it. Itachi took off after him, jumping on the branches. He caught sight of the sun blonde hair and increased his pace to catch up . The king's hair stood out too much, what happened to the cap he had worn all this time?

Itachi was able to catch up because the king was weak and he now had the upper hand here. He grabbed the king's arm and pulled him to a stop on one branch. The king stayed willing and grinned up at him,

"Finally, Itachi- kun, we can fill our stomach! I smell pork, beef, barbecue—"he stopped suddenly and Itachi frowned.

"What? "

"Itachi - kun get down! "

The world shifted and solidity of the branch slipped from under him. He was falling down from the branch, pushed by the king. Itachi only had a moment before something was on top of him kicking him hard and straight to the ground.

Thankfully, the ground was not hard because of how close it was to the ocean, it was made moist by the water that flowed from there. He tried to cushion his fall with his aura, releasing a large amount around his back in a cloud of purple smoke visible to anyone with skilled eyes. That didn't stop it from hurting though. Itachi gritted his teeth and kept his gasp of pain in. The ground pressed into his back and his head but as far as he could tell, nothing was broken.

Silver hair flashed and a jeweled shoe came down again, this time Itachi was prepared. Instinctively he rolled and climbed to his feet. A kicked more powerful than the first hit him on the chest and sent him flying through the air. The wind whistled in his ear, his air flapped in his face. His vision blur and he let out a little groan of pain. Had that been the same person? No, it couldn't be. How many people were there? Was it the hunters?

He cushioned his crash into the tree, unable to stop but only slow his fall. He felt someone behind him and narrowly escaped a claw. The sound of his overall ripping was almost too loud and he still couldn't see his attackers. Distance, a little more distance should be enough.

Itachi climbed up a tree vertically and flipped around a branch trying to put distance between himself and his attackers. He could see the ground below him, no one was there. A kick came out of nowhere and cracked his ribs from above. How?

Blood rushed to his lips as he fell, pain almost turning his vision black. A body caught his.

"No more! Enough, all of you! "It was the king's voice and his small body that vibrated against Itachi.

"But your Highness?! "A young female voice. This was not the hunters, it was the Nines! But how did they find them so fast? Itachi struggled out of the king's arms and fell to his knees on the grassy floor.

They were three in numbers, dressed in white hooded cloaks. They let their hoods fall, revealing green hair, pink hair and white. Two were female, one male. Two didn't look a day over twenty five and the one, a pink haired female, looked about Sasuke's age.

Itachi knew a vital organ had been hit because he couldn't breath very well but that shouldn't stop him from fighting. He pulled out his weapon and pointed one at the man and the older woman. The pink haired girl was younger, hopefully that meant less experienced.

A thin hand fell on his gun. Itachi blinked, panting slightly, and looked from it to the king who shook his head. Was he being serious? There was no way Itachi was going down without a fight. No way.

But for some reason, Itachi couldn't pull his gun away. The king's blue eyes shone brightly and they asked for his trust. Trust. How was Itachi to give him that when all he's ever wanted to do was kill him?

"Your Highness, I'm so glad you are alright, "the pink haired girl sighed.

The king's blue eyes turned from Itachi and he smiled at her, "of course I am, Sakura, "he said.

"Your Majesty, I don't mean to question you but why are you protecting that man, "it was the man now. Itachi recognized him, he was the king's right hand man. Lance. He was highly honored and spoke of so very much in Elfrim. Even more than any other Nines.

"Lance, I'm glad you found me but this man is not the enemy, "said the king in an aged tone that made Itachi look at him again, his gun still pointed but he was not pulling the trigger. Yet.

"What do you mean, your majesty. He is the one that took you from the palace. "Itachi almost smiled at this. He didn't want to say kidnapped, maybe he was embarrassed that their mighty king could be kidnapped too.

"Yes. But he is mine now, therefore you cannot kill him, "the king replied. If Itachi didn't already know what whiny brat he could be, he would be amazed and even convinced that he was much older and wiser. And just what did he mean by that?

Lance sighed, "I don't understand, your majesty. What do you mean? Please explain it clearly. "

"I will, just as soon as we return to the castle. You have managed to find and rescue me, "he smiled, "so let us return home and celebrate. "

The sigh Lance released was exactly the one Itachi would have if he could.

"I shall call for a carriage, "the older woman finally spoke. Itachi looked at her. All these while she had the same expression. Droopy eyes, lips turned down, a poker face. Like she was bored or unhappy. Even as she talked, her lips remained downward.

The king smiled at Itachi when he caught his eyes, "that's Nishiki, she's my fourth child, "he said.

Fourth child. Itachi assumed that meant the fourth one he turned. She would be a formidable opponent. Itachi reflexively tightened his grip on his guns when her blue eyes that greatly resembled the king's sans the sparkles and mischief Itachi had grown to notice more and more of in the king's eyes, turned to him. The air felt hot. Whatever ability he had to breath was slowly leaving him. Was she... doing something to him?

Itachi's vision blurred and he felt his knees hit the ground.

"Enough! "The king growled, his thin cold hand on the back of Itachi's neck. Itachi took a deep breath and it was suddenly easier to breath. His vision restored. Nishiki had stopped staring at him, her eyes on the king.

Itachi rose to his feet and turned to look from the king to Nishiki again. They were having some sort of silent conversation. Itachi didn't care. He pulled up his gun and tried to fire but that thin hand was back again and so were the king's blue eyes. That had ended whatever battle those two were having.

"I'm sorry, Itachi - kun, Nishiki is usually not this disrespectful. "

Itachi blinked when Nishiki suddenly bowed to him. But it was obvious she still hated him. Itachi wanted to shoot her. His fingers twitched and the king grip them and smiled.

What was wrong with him? Itachi frowned at him, "what are you doing to me? "He asked.

Blue eyes blinked and smiled, "why? "

Itachi couldn't say. He felt like himself except for the part where he was trusting the king and not following his hunter instinct to fight these vampires. They had done a number on him. His broken rib had punctured his lungs and was bleeding, slowly, into his chest.

Itachi swallowed, "what did she just do to me? " He asked instead of explaining and giving away his problem to his enemy.

"It's a power only Nishiki possess. It's the bloodlust aura. "

"Blood lust aura? "

"Unlike normal auras, it has the ability to choke the person it's directed at and even cause them splitting headaches. People have gone insane under them. I'm surprised you managed to endure it that long, "the king was very cheery as he talked. He didn't seem to mind that his one week vacation had ended. Wait, it was already one week. That meant Itachi had fulfilled his end of the bargain.

Just as he opened his mouth to demand what was promised, he caught sight of the hunters. Lance was glaring at him, the pink haired female was looking at the king and Nishiki was gone. No one noticed the hunters preparing to fire.

Itachi had no reason to alert them. He was a bit impressed that the hunters were ignoring the Nines in favour of killing the king. A suicide mission.

The hunters had a weapon with them. Something new with malicious aura and was shaped like a mini cannon. Something like that couldn't kill the king.

"Any more and this body would die "

That was something the king had said in the cave. What did it mean?

Itachi didn't really think and until he was in front of the king, a living shield, he had no idea he'd even move. But he knew he couldn't allow the king to die, there was more he needed to know. Besides, a hunters weapon can't hurt humans. He briefly caught the shock expressions of the hunters before he exploded with a flash of white.

There was pain. More than he'd expected. More than he'd ever had to endure and he was screaming. It burned and hurt so much.

"Itac—"sounds were dull, he couldn't hear them well. Like they were on another frequency that was somehow too loud and too low and nothing made sense.

He opened his eyes and found he was staring at the sky, no trees around. Blue eyes looked at him and they were worried. "$&¥€IK. KDOH?"

The pain slowly faded and with it came sweet relief. His head was moving but he couldn't feel the rest of his body. His head was placed on something. Someone's thigh and he could see anxious blue eyes talking to him. Itachi swallowed wanting to tell him he couldn't understand.

"Itachi, please, "that made sense and noise returned. The Nines were talking and some people were screaming. The hunters?

"I.. "he tried to speak and realized that was the only words he could form. He wanted to know what happened.

"You were hurt, the hunters —"the king seemed a little shaken, he took a deep breath and continued, "they tried to kill me but you saved me. Oh my sweet Itachi, why did you do that? "

Itachi had no idea. He just felt that he should and did. He never thought he'd have to sacrifice himself. Was he wrong? Had the hunters not been aiming for the king?

"They were, "the king took another deep breath. How was he doing that? Answering Itachi's questions when he couldn't even speak or move.

"I formed a link with you, I'm trying to keep you alive and so I can read your mind, "the king said and Itachi felt the tip of his fingers on his face. He was slowly losing feeling in his face. Whatever the king was trying to do isn't working. Itachi could feel it. He was dying.

"I won't let you die, "the king said.

Like he had a choice. Tell me how this happened. A hunter's weapon can't hurt humans, he thought.

"It's a different kind of hunters weapon, I've only seen one of it's kind. I can't believe the hunters have something like that, "the king bit his lip and looked away at something. He closed his eyes, a furrow formed between his brows. What?

"Nothing, I just. I will take you home. "

Don't bother, I can't even think anymore. Guess I can't kill you now. My journey ends here. It was hilarious, he had set out to kill the king only to end up saving him then dying.

"You are not going to die,"the king said vehemently. His eyes took on a whole new light. Itachi would have smiled, for the first time but darkness took him.

Sasuke woke up that morning to find that Kuro had packed up his things sometime during the night and disappeared.

"Damn it! "He swore and jumped to his feet. That bastard. He did it again. Just when Sasuke was beginning to think he could trust him.

Hastily, Sasuke gathered up his things into his backpack. They were not much. A blanket, two shirts, a rope, and two daggers. He kicked the fire out and started searching for clues. Life in Ame had thought him a few things about following animal tracks but this was no animal, Sasuke wasn't even sure what he was.

"Certainly not a hunter, that lying piece of —"he stopped mid grumbling when he noticed something white daggered to a tree some few feet away. A piece of paper?

Sasuke took out the dagger and red the paper. Gone to see someone. Make yourself useful and get some food. Then he had the gall to draw a Smiley face under it. And it was a pretty good drawing too. Sasuke balled up the paper and threw it over his shoulder, grinding his teeth.

"That son of a lying bastard, just what does he think I am, a magician?! "Just where was he going to get money to buy food? At least he was coming back. Why did he have to leave so secretly. He had been acting strangely yesterday too.

Sasuke sighed. There was so much he didn't know about his unwilling master. He wasn't a hunter and he possessed a blade with the power to hurt humans too. A blade that powerful can't be cheap and wouldn't belong to just anybody. So who exactly is Kuro? The man, or boy, he was probably only two years older than Sasuke so... anyway, he was very difficult to read. And where did he go to so early and why?

Standing there thinking about this wasn't helping. As if to confirm that, his stomach growled. "Okay, I still need to find food. "He took off on a run to find the little village they had passed the night before. It had been a festival and Kuro had even bought some food for them. That is what they ate to bed. But for some reason, Kuro refused to pay for a room. He was obviously loaded with all those piercings that looked like real gems. Stingy jerk. Made them sleep outside again. Sasuke was so hungry for warmth and a bed, he'd even thrown away his pride and begged him but who knew Kuro could be a jerk and a bastard too.

Sasuke came across the ocean and stopped. Wait, was he going the wrong way. He noticed a two people coming out of the water and decided to ask them. One was probably around eleven, a kid, and the other looked older but not by much.

As he took two steps to start running, they disappeared.

At first, blinking, Sasuke thought they were some kind of spirit or something but he realized that they were up in the trees. Running. No ordinary person could do that. He started running to catch up with them. Leaves from the trees fell. First a few leaves then a lot. The wind wasn't that strong even near the ocean. He looked up and caught only a glimpse of shadow.

The way they moved reminded him of only one thing. Hunters. Sasuke couldn't help the smile on his face as he gave chase. He didn't have the ability to run in the trees yet so he stayed below, on the ground looking up to make sure he had not lost them. They were so fast and many times Sasuke almost ran into a tree just because he couldn't look in front of him and up at the same time. Where were they going so fast. They must be at least four of them. Together? Whatever they were hunting must be tough.

The ground turned from moist to dry and hard, this must not be the fire city.

"Ah? "There was a cliff ahead and Sasuke saw he running straight for it. "Crap! "He managed to slow down and stopped just barely an inch from falling to his death. He sighed, that was close. Sweat pooled on his forehead and ran down the side of his face. Maybe this was still the fire city after all, it was still hot.

Sasuke turned left and right, they were gone. He figured they were running in one direction since whatever it was they were chasing must be there and he only needed to walk around this cliff. It was at least ten meters wide surrounded by trees and tall grass. By the time he walked around this, the hunters would have done their jobs and left. The cliff didn't look very wide though.

Sasuke took a few steps back, pushing out air through his mouth and pumping his chest. "Okay, let's do this! "He ran forward, ignoring the fear and jumped real high. He made it to the very edge and almost fell back, hands flaying to find balance. He did.

Panting, Sasuke glanced back at the cliff, smiled and took off to find the hunters.

It was a good while before found them. Something had exploded otherwise he was as good as lost before then. The battle must have started then. When he got there, it was to see a large hole in the ground and around it lay five bodies missing one or two body parts.

Wide eyed, Sasuke climbed down the hill and ran towards them. Their blood still dripped freely from their wounds which meant this had only happened a few minutes ago. He looked around and found no one. There was no sign of battle. Whatever had happened, the hunters didn't have a chance to fight back.

Sasuke's hands started to shake . Blood splattered on his cheek. A hand grabbed him around the shoulder,

"Come Sasuke, we have to go! "His mother's voice. Screams so loud pierced his ears.

Sasuke slowly crouched and covered his ears. The cries grew louder, children crying, mother's screaming. Sasuke was almost screaming himself.

"Hey! "A sharp pain stung his cheek. Sasuke fell on his ass and gaped up at Kuro. What was he doing in his nightmare?

"Are you listening to me, brat? What happened here? "

"I —I don't know, "Sasuke said and looked down, his eyes fell on a torn limb, red, the fingers were missing. Bile gathered in his throat and he turned to throw up everything he'd eaten.

"Get up, go back to the village I'll take of this, "Kuro again. Sasuke looked at him.

"What are you going to do? "

"Take care of this like I said. Get up already, you are practically sitting on your vomit. Here, "he took Sasuke's hand and gave him some fire city coins. "Get a room and some food—"he must have seen Sasuke scrunched up his face at the mention of food, "or clothes, just get out of here. "

Sasuke let Kuro drag him to his feet and push him to move but he turned to stare at the dead. Why was he so weak. They were his kin and he couldn't even look at them. "Will you bury them, please? "

"Hunters association will want their corpse to give to their families, "Kuro replied, his voice strangely kind. No one had bothered to return Sasuke's brother and father's corpse to him.

"Don't let anything eat them then, please?! "He desperately caught the front of Kuro's overall.

"You —"he sighed, "fine. Just go and pick up the money."

Sasuke exhaled and picked the coins, not sure when they fell. "Thank you, "he said and turned.

To be continued