When the younger Uchiha awoke, he was not sure where he was. He certainly wasn't in his room. The king sized bed was too nice, the sheets too clean (where as his own had been hand me downs from a certain red head, and Itachi was certain that that member hadn't been able to fight off the great snake sanin), and the walls were too white. Everything seemed white. Itachi wondered for a moment if he had been admitted to an insane asylum. Then he heard the familiar noise of Kisame snoring.

The fish man was sitting in a chair next to the bed Itachi was resting in. He snored loudly in his sleep and drooled a tiny bit. The teenage Uchiha shook his head slightly and realized how weak he felt. He made a small noise of complaint and the fish man woke up with a small start. "Itachi! You're awake!" He stood up, and Itachi closed his eyes, wishing he hadn't just woke him up. "Madara! Madara-san! He's awake!" The younger Uchiha opened his eyes. The older Uchiha was not one to run around giving out his name. This was serious. However, what 'this' was, was still fuzzy.

The older Uchiha appeared in the room, and Itachi realized that he didn't know whether it was night or day. Madara rarely, if at all, acted as himself during the day, and rarely, if ever, made 'Tobi' disappear to take care of his own business. Madara rushed over to Itachi's side, but by the expression in his eyes, it was more of a show for Kisame, so he would think the older Uchiha was a wonderful, loving guardian, rather than an act of genuine concern. "How are you feeling, Itachi-kun?" He had spoken softly and forced care into his voice. It would fool the fish man, but Itachi, after so many years around Madara, had learned to pick up on the subtleties of figuring out how the older man truly felt about certain situations.

"I feel fine." Itachi coldly lied. "Now let me get out of… Wherever we are." Madara felt Itachi's warm forehead.

"Liar!" Madara realized he had yelled, and got close to Itachi to whisper, "You know how I feel about you lying…" Itachi yelped as what felt like a static shock flickered in his head, under Madara's hand. "I'm not afraid to kill you, and I will, if you become more trouble than you're worth. Then who will protect poor little Sasuke-kun from the big bad Madara-san?" Itachis growled.

"Oh, you must be so sick!" Kisame shouted after Madara straightened up. The fish man hugged the younger Uchiha tightly, and Itachi heard Madara chuckle in amusement.

"I think that's enough, Kisame." Kisame immediately let go of the younger Uchiha and stood up straight. Madara smiled. "Why don't you go and entertain yourself or wash up while I treat our dear Itachi-kun."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Dead serious. You are a great nurse, Kisame, but I can handle his treatment on my own."

"H-hai, Madara-san…" Madara was still smiling the one psychotic smile he had when he turned to Itachi.