Darkness. That's all there was.
Itachi had become accustomed to the dark of his room each time he woke up or the lights were out. He decided a little while ago that it was pointless to worry about going blind each and every single day of his life. It wouldn't come for another few years.
Or, so he hoped.
As he reached for the light that was next to his bed on the nightstand, he tugged the beaded string once.
Hm. It was still dark. The light bulb must have died…
"Mnn…Itachi, turn the light off…it's too early…" Kisame groaned from the bed on the other side of the nightstand.
Itachi froze.
"Kisame, I think the light bulb is dead…" Itachi said softly, hiding his shaking voice.
"Hn? Itachi, the light's pretty bright. Are you blind or somethi – Oh, God, no."
Itachi heard Kisame swing himself out of bed and take a couple steps over to where he was sitting. Itachi was left staring at the dark, not knowing whether Kisame was just fooling around with him and the light was really dead, or if…
No. He wouldn't believe the 'or if'. He couldn't. It was too early to think about that.
Kisame touched the side of Itachi's face, and Itachi turned his head to face him. He couldn't see a thing. All he heard was a sharp intake of breath.
"Oh, Itachi..." Kisame muttered. As the shark-nin looked into his partner's eyes, there was a cloudy film over his usual beautiful black orbs.
Itachi wished he could see Kisame's eyes...
If only he would put the light on.
"Kisame...can you put the light on? I can't see anything..." Itachi asked.
"Itachi-kun...oh, God...the light is on, you just...you can't see it..."
Itachi blinked. "No. Kisame, I swear, if you don't turn the light on, I'll kill you. Turn it on."
Kisame put his hands on his partner's small shoulders. "Itachi, listen to me. The light is on. I can see everything. But...you're..." Kisame stumbled on his words. "You're blind, Itachi. You won't be able to see it."
Itachi nearly passed out right then and there. However, rather, he fell limp into Kisame's comforting arms, lost in his mind.
I'm blind...Oh, God, I'm blind...this wasn't supposed to happen...no, not now...this isn't supposed to happen now!
What about Kisame? I won't ever see him again...I won't see him...no, no, no! I need to see him, damn it! He...He's the only one I have! And now...he's practically gone!
Damn it, God, what the hell have you done to me?! I blame you! I blame life! Damn it, I blame this stupid world! Why did it have to be now?!
"Itachi, I want you to lie down for a little bit...you look pale...er. Paler than usual. I want you to relax and calm down, alright?" Itachi nodded very slightly, not exactly back from his ecstatic thoughts. Kisame lied him back down and rolled the covers back over him. He gave the Uchiha a small kiss on his forehead and left the room.
Leaving Itachi all alone.
This time, really in the dark.
Forever.
...
...
...
Most of the Akatsuki were gathered at the table, eating breakfast. When Kisame entered the room, Pein looked up.
"Kisame? Where is Itachi?" Pein questioned. The Akatsuki turned their gaze over to the shark.
Kisame sighed. "Try to take a guess."
The table was silent for a moment. Hidan slammed his hand on the table once, being the first to realize. "Oh, shit, he's not--!" Kisame nodded.
"Yeah. Itachi lost his sight this morning. He panicked a little, so I told him to lie down. He won't be around much for most of the day, I suspect," Kisame explained. His voice was drained, solemn, even. He couldn't believe it. It came so fast...
"Kisame, later on today, I want to speak to Itachi. You may come, being that he most likely won't be able to maneuver his way around like before." Kisame nodded silently in understanding. Deidara stood.
"Can I see 'Tachi, un?" he asked softly. Kisame nodded.
"I doubt he fell back asleep, so sure. Don't be surprised if he doesn't act like himself, though..." Kisame told the blonde. Deidara pushed his chair back and followed Kisame back to his room.
...
...
...
It was only moments after Deidara entered Itachi and Kisame's lit room that Itachi had begun sobbing quietly on the blonde's shoulder. The Uchiha shuddered noticably, and Deidara tried to calm him down. But, even he was uneasy about the sudden blindness.
Deidara traded the sobbing man off to Kisame once Sasori arrived in the doorway. Deidara smoothed a hand over Itachi's hair before leaving.
Kisame held his partner close. Itachi, clearly, was frightened. And, this was nothing like the one morning, where it was a fluke. It was for real this time.
"Shh...calm down, Itachi..." Kisame cooed softly. Itachi began to breathe deeper, but with each deep breath came a new fear, a new realization about his blindness.
If it weren't for Kisame, he would have already stopped breathing.
Itachi opened his sore eyes. He knew he could only see the dark now, but that didn't mean he wasn't used to it.
In all truth, he believed he would never get used to seeing only dark.
As Kisame put Itachi back down in bed, he told the now-blind man, "I'm going to get some breakfast for you, alright?" With a nod in response, Kisame left the room once again.
It didn't take long for him to return. But Itachi got awfully tired of not listening to anything and not seeing anything. He knew that when he was around Kisame -- or anyone, for that matter -- he was bound to have his spirits lifted slightly. But he couldn't find the will to even live right now, so spirits were out of the question at the moment.
As Kisame fed him his usual breakfast (cereal, mind you), Itachi felt weak, not even being able to feed himself right. But Kisame said he'd get the hang of feeding himself soon enough.
Kisame told him about other things, too -- the others' reactions to the news, how Hidan was first to figure out (what was ther chance of that?), how Deidara was the first to want to visit (which made Itachi feel as if he were in a hospital...), and how worried and scared Kisame really was about this. That topic became a bit rocky for him.
"It's just...It doesn't feel right. It feels as if this wasn't supposed to happen for another few years, you know?" Kisame told him.
"Mm," Itachi grunted in response.
"But now we're here. We really can't turn back now, can we? Have to keep moving forward."
"Tobi always says to 'Just keep swimming'. I wonder if that means the same thing..." Itachi mused. This earned a chuckle from Kisame.
"Tobi's been watching 'Finding Nemo' again. But, yes, I suppose he does have a point in that."
"Mm...'Finding Nemo'...is that the movie where the fish is kidnapped and his father has to get him back?"
"Yes."
"And how do you know?"
"Tobi dragged me down to watch it. Listen, if there's any good reason that you're blind, it's that you will never have to watch that movie. It's so...sappy." Itachi smirked slightly, which could have been considered a small smile.
"One small thing...out of so many..." Itachi muttered. Kisame put a hand on top of Itachi's head.
"Ey, you don't have to talk that way. You'll make it through," Kisame assured him. Itachi nodded with a small sigh escaping his lips. Kisame turned his head to the clock. "Leader-sama wanted to talk to you. Want to go down now?" Itachi nodded. "Alright."
After Kisame got him up out of bed, Itachi argued that he didn't feel like getting changed and that he would just be coming back to fall asleep. Kisame was defeated once again, and watched as Itachi put his hair into its usual low ponytail. At least that was something he knew how to do by himself without looking.
Kisame had an arm around Itachi's sunken shoulders as he led him through the numerous hallways. The shark would steal a few glances every now and then, and each and every time, he would run his finger lightly over the Uchiha's hollow cheek, trying to lift him out of the pit of despair and desperation he was stuck in.
Finally, they reached the large doors that led into the office once again. Kisame knocked. Thud.
"Come in, Kisame, Itachi," Pein called. Kisame pushed open the door and walked in, Itachi still under his arm. Pein walked over to Itachi. Without any warning, Pein put a cold hand on his face. This made Itachi's eyes widen and he jumped back slightly.
"It's only Leader-sama, Itachi," Kisame told him.
Itachi knew very well that it was Leader. Those cold hands...
"Haha, fucking around with Blind Boy is fun..."
Those cold hands just suddenly...
"Hidan, stop it. He doesn't need anymore..."
It was like mind-rape. Trauma to stay in your mind forever.
"You have to move on, Itachi. Please, just move on..."
Kisame was staring down at the two. Itachi's eyes were being inspected by Pein, as if to see if there were any implications and whatnot.
But, Leader just touching his partner's face at all seemed to traumatize the guy.
Finally, Pein put his hands down and sighed. "Kisame, you're going to have to take care of him for a while."
"Yes, I know."
"It's not just about his blindness, you know that, right?"
"Eh?"
Pein sighed again. "Itachi doesn't have much of a will to live anymore. His eyes tell a lot." So that's why he was inspecting them...
"No will to live? So he could turn suicidal?" Kisame asked, eyebrows narrowed. Pein gave a simple nod. Itachi turned his head away.
"Keep a close on on him. You two may leave." Kisame led Itachi out of the double doors and noticed how Itachi's head hung.
"Itachi...you won't turn suicidal, will you?" Kisame asked softly. Itachi didn't give a straight answer for a little while. Finally, he sighed.
"I don't know, Kisame." Kisame's muscles tensed at the deathly response he didn't want to hear.
Itachi kept his head down. It didn't matter. He couldn't see anything either way. Even if he had kept his head up, there wouldn't be any light to see. Looking down is just the same as looking up, to the left, or to the right.
Because all there was was dark.
...
...
...
Deidara sat silently next to Sasori, who was carefully poring some liquid into a test tube. He placed the tube on the rack in front of him and turned to Deidara.
"Deidara, are you alright?" he asked. Deidara looked at him.
"Hm? Yeah, un. I'm fine," Deidara replied dazedly. Sasori put a hand on Deidara's cheek.
"Mm. Alright..." As Sasori turned away, Deidara shook his head.
"I'm worried, you know? About Itachi. He seemed so scared when I saw him this morning, un..."
"Itachi? Scared? You are talking about the Uchiha, right?" Sasori asked.
"Yeah. And I just...worry about him. I don't know why. It just..." Deidara sighed and pulled at his bang as he slouched. "I've been this way ever since I was a kid, I think. Worrying about people non-stop, un. I guess that's why I made my clay bombs. Because I didn't have to worry about those. I didn't have to worry that they exploded. Because I knew that I was the one in charge of their short lives, un. And when you know when something's going to happen...it almost seems as if you don't have to worry.
"But, we knew that Itachi would go blind, un. We knew it would happen soon. I guess it's just nerve-wracking that it happened so soon, un. Almost like..."
"Like it wasn't supposed to happen," Sasori finished. Deidara nodded.
"Exactly like that. Because...I really have the feeling that this is all a fluke, but I know it's not, un. Maybe I'm going insane..."
Sasori shook his head. "You're not insane. It's normal for humans to be that way."
"You seem a little worried yourself, you know. I thought puppets didn't feel things like that."
As Sasori continued to mix things together, he stated, "That's because I'm not all puppet."
...
...
...
Hidan was on his back, on his bed, his head lolling off the side. Watching the room upside down seemed to help him clear his mind somehow. He didn't know either. Maybe it was all the blood rushing to his head.
Kakuzu sat on his own bed, counting the money again. He wasn't really doing it because he wanted to. He was just doing it to get his mind off of Itachi's sudden problem.
"Can't believe it actually happened. Fuck, this is too early!" Hidan groaned as he sat up straight on his bed. Kakuzu looked over at the troubled Jashinisht.
"Give it time. You'll get used to it." Hidan gave him an angry glare.
"Stupid-ass...You've never had to get used to someone going blind..." he muttered. Kakuzu's eyes wavered over to the Jashinist.
"And you know that how?"
"I can fucking tell! You have no fucking sympathy, seriously!" Hidan yelled. Kakuzu shook his head and turned his gaze back to the money.
"Sympathy? When have I been known to have sympathy?" Kakuzu asked. Hidan lost his words. Rather, he gave a whole-hearted death glare and turned away from Kakuzu's sight.
"Rot in hell."
"Really?"
"No, dumbshit!" Kakuzu gave Hidan a questioning look.
"Hm? So you don't want me to rot in hell?"
"Ehr--! Forget it! Go back to counting your damned money!"
Kakuzu didn't argue.
Hidan did.
Hidan wanted to talk some sense into the man, but was worried that his little secret might slip.
That stupid little secret...Well, he figured it wasn't much of a secret anymore, but might as well try to keep it safe, still.
So, instead, he growled and fell face first into his pillow. He needed to think...
A/N: Haha, I finally made a chapter longer than 2,000 words XD Haven't done that in a while.
We have a new person to add the the Cell Phones Review Bandwagon! Welcome Tsukia13! x3
I wanted to get you guys off of the cliffhanger as soon as possible so you didn't freak out xD Happy? Good.
I can't seem to make good endings though...hm.
Oh well. See you next time! (:
--Abby