I was dead. That's all there was to it.

Actually, I was beyond dead. Not only had I invaded my partner's personal space, but I'd rushed up, grabbed onto him, and dragged him into a treetop. If I was murdered in a way that was only excruciatingly painful, I'd count myself lucky.

Right then, I was cursing my choice to save Itachi. Why the hell did I step in?! Surely the little weasel could have gotten out of the way in time without my interference, right?

But some little part of me said no. Some little voice said that for the first time that I could remember, Itachi had been caught off-guard, and had it not been for my actions, he would have been swept away by the current.

Nice going, stupid inner voice. I was about to be violently murdered because of you.

But something kept bugging me. A tiny detail about my rescue that broke through all the fears of painful death, and the self-reprimanding of my actions.

You see, when Itachi and I were standing in the tree branches, I could feel his heart pounding against my chest. Not in the way a heart beats when its owner has been exercising or anything like that, but when a person in startled or mortified. Don't ask me how I know the difference; it's a long story that I would really rather not go into right now.

This brought a whole new problem to light. My partner has been stoic for ages, and within the span of the last few months, he's suddenly decided to be civil to me, smile, and now get scared/embarrassed! What was wrong with Itachi?

I started thinking, and realized that nothing was wrong with Itachi; it was actually the opposite. My partner was starting to act human, instead of being an emotionless robot like he'd been for so long. This only seemed messed up because I was used to my partner's normal, antisocial attitude. All I would need would be a little time to adjust to this new Itachi. Which wasn't likely to happen, since he was probably going to murder me in less than twenty-four hours. Oh well. I lived a long and full life, with not too many regrets.

A few more miles down the road, Itachi stopped walking and turned to face me. I gulped and waited for the torture to commence. Goodbye, cruel world; I knew ye well.

My partner looked somewhat annoyed and slightly frazzled. He stared at me for a time, and then took a deep breath before speaking to me. "Would you mind calming down? I'm not going to kill you."

So, I would be spared death in favor of violent maiming then?

"I am extremely irritated with myself that I could be caught unawares on the battlefield. Much as I hate to openly admit it, had it not been for your assistance, things could and would have ended badly for me because of my negligence. Thank you."

Itachi was thanking me. Wait, Itachi was thanking me?! Itachi does not show gratitude; hell, up until now I didn't think he knew the meaning of the word. Yet here he was, acting grateful that I'd saved him from being drowned. I was starting to believe I may come out of this intact.

"However," (oh crap) "I doubt that this will happen again, so please be aware that the next time we are in a situation like that, it's unlikely that I will need your help, and I very well may hurt you if you try to aid me."

I was being let off with a warning? Oh thank Kami!

I assured Itachi that it wouldn't happen again, and he 'Hn'ed in an accepting manner. The rest of our trip went rather peacefully, and was filled with my silently thanking every higher power in existence for sparing me what could have been a cruel fate.

Our arrival back at the base was routine enough. We'd come in early in the morning, which meant that soon the others would be up and leaving for their missions, while Itachi and I settled down in our room to sleep. My partner dropped off the report in Pein's office while I went straight to our room to undress and sleep. There's no way I was taking first watch today.

I'd just finished stripping down, when Itachi came into the room. He pulled off his cloak and neatly folded it up while I began cleaning Samehada and watched him from the corner of my eye like I often did.

He was completely silent as he undressed; first kicking off his shoes and setting them by the foot of our bed, then slipping out of his capris and folding them as well, and finally getting rid of his shirt-I started when Itachi removed the last article of clothing.

There, sitting just above his waist, were a couple of dark bruises. "You're hurt," I muttered before I could stop myself.

Immediately he turned to face me, and in that instant I knew I was a dead shark. Itachi had been kind enough to spare me, and I'd gone and revealed that I watched him while he undressed. Torturous murder, here I come.

To my surprise, he replied to my statement with a soft, almost inaudible question. "How bad is it?"

I stared at him for a few seconds before my legs carried me to the foot of the bed, where he is now sitting. I looked over the bruises yet was careful not to touch my partner's injuries, frowning all the while. These wounds, though not serious, would take a bit of time to heal up.

His eyes were glued to me, watching my every move. "You're gonna be sore for a while, but it's nothing too major." He nodded at my words. "How'd you get these?" I asked in a curious tone.

He looked away, and seconds later I mentally kicked myself. Those bruises had to be from where I grabbed him on the battlefield. No one else could have gotten that close to the weasel.

I chuckled and smiled weakly. "Guess I don't know my own strength." He said nothing, and the smile fell from my face. "I'm sorry, Itachi. I didn't mean to hurt you."

He nodded again, and quietly asked if I would please take the first watch. Two minutes ago I would have said no, but now, how could I refuse anything from my partner, whom I had physically harmed?

I told him of course I would, and he quickly crawled into the bed, pulling the covers up to his chin with his back turned to me.

For the first time in ages, I felt guilty about hurting someone. Not only injuring another human being, but my partner; the man who I lived in fear of daily. It sounded strange, even to my ears, but it was the honest truth.

I let Itachi sleep for hours, and didn't wake him until mid-afternoon. During that time, I remained deep in thought, and finally came to the conclusion that although I feared Itachi with every fiber of my being, I never wanted to harm him again.