And here we go again! Back to everyone's favorite pair of gangsters!
Thank you for your wonderful review, SoraROCK! I wish that was the case, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately...? Muhahaha!) things aren't going to be as easy as that!
Happy reading!
If there was one thing Itachi had learned about Raiga in the limited time he'd spent around him, it was that he liked to talk gritty, and liked to talk constantly. So it came as a surprise to him when the three of them, Itachi, Kisame, and Raiga, spent most of the drive to the hospital in silence. Kisame and Itachi were seated in the back seat and Raiga was at the wheel, and Itachi could almost hear the tension in his hands as he gripped the steering wheel.
Deciding to break the tension that was slowly suffocating the interior of the car, Itachi leaned forward and rested his hand on the arm of the seat on front of him.
"So I hear you've got a friend who's staying in this hospital, Raiga?"
Raiga jumped at the sound of Itachi's voice, then swallowed audibly. "Juzu is all our friend."
"That's not what I meant. Isn't there someone else you're visiting as well?"
Silence descended thickly over the interior of the car before Raiga hit his turn signal. "There is… another member who is recovering in the hospital as well. Ranmaru."
"And he's a friend of yours?"
"He's… yes, I suppose you could call him that."
The discomfort in his words was palpable in the air, and Itachi had to hide a frown. When Miru had been talking about Raiga and Ranmaru's friendship, it didn't seem like it was anything that would cause this level of wariness in the man driving their car. Perhaps Raiga was ashamed by his association with Ranmaru? But Miru had said that Raiga had been so upset about his injuries that he had picked a fight with members of his own gang that had failed to protect him; that was not the mark of shame. What, then?
He didn't have long to ponder, as Itachi soon felt the car take a hard turn left into what he imagined to be a parking garage before Raiga slowly pulled it into a spot and killed the engine. The sudden silence felt deafening to him.
"Well," Raiga suddenly said, pushing the car door open with a bang, "I have a visit to make. Meet back here in an hour?"
"That will be plenty of time," Kisame replied, settling his hand on Itachi's knee and giving it a light squeeze in the backseat where Raiga couldn't see them.
"Tops. See you in an hour."
Then he was gone before Itachi could ask him any more questions, slamming the car door behind him with too much venom than was warranted.
"There's something wrong here," he said instantly, reaching over and gripping the hand Kisame had laid on his knee so tightly that he was sure he was causing him pain. "He was callus. He shouldn't be like that. He's supposed to love that boy like his own little brother."
"Maybe he just didn't want to open up to us in particular?"
"Maybe… but I think it's more than that." Itachi abruptly opened his car door and got out of it, then leaned his head back in so Kisame could better hear him. "Those patients aren't going to visit themselves, you know."
Kisame chuckled a little at that and got out the opposite side of the car, slamming the door after him and locking the vehicle with a beep. Itachi quickly followed suit, closing his door and walking around the end of the vehicle to meet his escort. Just before he reached Kisame, however, his foot came down on a particularly slippery section of pavement, and he skidded and would have fallen flat on his face on the asphalt if Kisame hadn't caught him in time.
"Let's try to make it so we're just visiting and not being admitted to the hospital ourselves, hmm, Itachi?"
Itachi felt his face flush, and he pulled himself out of Kisame's arms and straightened his jacket. "Don't mention this ever again."
He heard Kisame laugh, but the bigger man wisely didn't crack any more jokes, just casually rested his hand lightly at the small of Itachi's back to unobtrusively guide him. Itachi hardly felt the contact through the jacket he was wearing, and he was glad for Kisame's casual yet firm assistance that seemed so natural, instead of making him feel like a cripple who needed someone else's help.
They were wearing their suits again, black jackets over white button-down shirts and black dress pants - though Itachi had to take everyone else's word on the color; he wouldn't put it past someone in the gang to replace his shirts with those of another color, though he hoped at least Kisame would have enough decency in him to say something if that happened - but had left the gun holsters they had worn to the meeting behind. The hospital had a metal detector at the door, and they wouldn't get further than the entranceway before they'd be dragged away by security guards if they'd brought them. They weren't completely without defense, though, which Kisame insisted was imperative now that they were part of the gang in an official capacity, as Itachi had a small switchblade made from a nonmetal substance that he wasn't entirely sure exactly what it was was, but had been assured that it would cut someone if he pushed hard enough, and Kisame had his brute strength. Itachi had also traded in his bandana for a pair of sunglasses again, not wanting to tout his affiliation with the gang more than absolutely necessary.
The hospital was busy, busier than Itachi remembered his father's in Chicago ever being, though he would admit that he hadn't had any kind of contact with the ground floors during the past decade so he wasn't an expert on the subject. Even before they entered the actual building, Itachi could hear hundreds of voices darting around him like tiny leaves floating on the surface of a turbulent river, some excited, some upset, some reserved, and some with the unrestrained joy of children. Kisame led him with purpose to a destination he couldn't see, traversing through the crowds of people heading to and from their cars to the entrance of the hospital until they reached a set of doors that automatically slid open at their approach, letting out a puff of climate controlled air that smelled faintly of disinfectant and - to Itachi - fear.
The tail of a white lab coat whirled at the edge of Itachi's nonexistent vision, followed by a prickling in his wrists where he had been bound and a phantom voice promising him in gentle tones that hid infinite cruelty that this wouldn't hurt before a needle slid into his veins, injecting him with a fluid that took away his humanity.
He stumbled to a stop right outside the doors, his feet refusing to go any further. Kisame stopped as well when he felt his arm being tugged back, pausing between Itachi and the door and - probably accidentally - blocking the source of the scent that had momentarily blindsided him.
"Itachi? Are you alright?"
"Nope." Itachi's concise response came out sounding more like a squeak. "I need a minute. Walking into here is… not the best thing for my nerves right now."
"Oh! Oh my god! I didn't even think-!"
"It's fine!" Itachi cut him off quickly, hyper aware of those around them that had quieted to hear their conversation. "Don't make a scene. I'll- I'll just be a minute."
"Excuse me!" The crackly voice of an elderly lady with a strong New York accent came from behind them, laced with annoyance. "You're holding up the line! Either go in or stay out so the rest of us can use the door!"
Kisame immediately rounded on the woman, his temper flaring. "Will you shut up?! Can't you see my friend is having a panic attack-?"
"Kisame!" Itachi grabbed the front of Kisame's jacket with desperate white-knuckled fingers. "I said not to make a scene! Just- shove me through the door or something!"
"But-"
Itachi gritted his teeth. "Just do it!"
Pausing only to give the impatient woman with the New York accent one last glare, Kisame turned and pushed Itachi through the open doors of the hospital, despite his locked knees and protesting feet. Once they were in the lobby, however, Itachi forced himself to take several deep breaths through his nose, causing the scent to diminish somewhat, and it was almost possible for him to ignore the fact that he was inside of a hospital, a place he'd said he'd never return to.
Almost possible.
Hyper aware of his anxiety, Kisame pulled Itachi off to the side and leaned in close to him. "How are you doing?"
"Fine," Itachi managed through tight lips, all the while chanting in his brain, This is a place of healing, not a prison; this is a place of healing, not a prison.
"Okay…" Kisame didn't sound convinced, but he backed up all the same. "I have to go talk to the secretary to get us cleared for the visit. Can you wait here for me?"
Wait here? For Kisame? As in, alone? Itachi's heart pounded a little harder at the thought, but he forced himself to nod. "I- I'll be fine."
"Good." Kisame squeezed his arm a little tighter before letting go and stepping back. "I'll be just across the room, so just holler if you need me."
Itachi could only manage a grunt in reply, but he suspected that Kisame was too far away to hear it by the time it found its way out of his throat.
The room suddenly seemed to expand now that Itachi was alone, stretching so far beyond the reaches of his limited senses that Itachi was unsure whether it had limits or not. Bodiless voices echoed in a swirling hurricane all around him as if mocking him in his inability to move by himself. Itachi was tempted to hum to himself to drown out the words, but he just bit his lip and squeezed one wrist with his opposite hand and hoped Kisame would return soon.
"Excuse me, mister," a high-pitched feminine voice near Itachi's elbow suddenly said, cutting through the swirling din and jumping him. He ignored the voice, thinking it was for somebody else, until she cleared her voice and said it again, but a little more insistently.
"Excuse me, mister!"
"S-sorry, are you talking to me?" He asked, hating the stutter that overtook his first word and shrinking in on himself because of it.
"Yes, I was." The annoyance in the woman's voice was clear.
"O-oh. Sorry about that." Itachi moved to the side so she could get past him. He had thought that Kisame had settled him in a place where he wouldn't obstruct the flow of traffic, but perhaps this woman needed to get to some place specific and thus wasn't part of the general foot traffic.
Cocking his head to the side, Itachi forgot the woman and tried instead to focus on his breathing, steady in, steady out, to calm his racing heartbeat. At least, he forgot about her until she cleared her throat again, this time anger lacing her tone and a sound like she was hitting something with the flat of her palm assaulting Itachi's ears.
"I said, excuse me, mister!"
This time, Itachi turned his face in the direction the woman's voice came from, exasperation leaking from his voice. "What?!"
"How rude!" The woman gasped. "If you continue to disrespect me and the rules of this establishment, mister, I'm going to have to call security!"
"Security?!" Itachi's jaw dropped. "Now look here, miss: I moved out of the way for you when you said 'excuse me'! What else do you want from me?"
"Move out of the way-! Now you mock me by ignoring me? I was pointing to the sign, in case you weren't paying attention! The one right in front of you that says you cannot wear hats, hoods, or sunglasses inside this establishment! Can't you read?"
"No," Itachi replied in an icy tone, something that shocked the woman into silence. "No, as a matter of fact, I cannot read, because I am blind, which is why I'm wearing sunglasses indoors. And no, I can't take them off."
"Is there a problem here?" A familiar voice suddenly asked, and Itachi turned to him with relief sagging his shoulders, but before he could say anything, the woman jumped forward with overflowing gratitude.
"Oh, thank goodness you're here! This man was flaunting our rules right in front of the front desk-!"
"Not you," Kisame scoffed, casually pushing to woman to the side and laying a comforting hand on Itachi's shoulder, which he instantly relaxed into, feeling a tension drain from his shoulders that he hadn't noticed until it was gone. "Are you okay, Itachi? Still nervous?"
"Better now that you're back," Itachi admitted, his fingers entwining in the folds of Kisame's jacket. "Did you really park me directly in front of the 'do not wear sunglasses' sign?"
"No, I di-" Kisame started, then broke off as he glanced behind Itachi. "So I did! Sorry about this, miss," he said to the woman who was still standing next to them in what Itachi guessed to be open-mouthed shock. "I forgot about the no sunglasses rule here. Guess we should have stuck with the bandana today after all, huh?" He nudged Itachi in the side with his elbow, and the blind man smiled weakly at the inside joke.
"Excuse me!" The woman's voice shook with unrestrained shock and anger. "You're supposed to listen to me, not him! What kind of security guard are you?"
"I'm not one," Kisame answered flatly. "My companion and I are here to visit a friend. He can't remove his sunglasses because he is legally blind and uses them to cover his scars. You wouldn't ask an amputee to remove his prosthetic just to enter here, would you?"
"But…! But…!" The woman floundered about before finding her voice again. "But we have rules…! And I'm not supposed to…!" Then she broke off with a sigh. "Do you at least have some identification on you?"
Itachi's heart sank; he and Kisame had been photographed for fake IDs, but they hadn't received them yet to his knowledge. He was about to open his mouth and tell the woman - who he now guessed must be a receptionist - as much, but Kisame beat him to it, drawing something out of his inside breast pocket and handing it to her.
"Here. For both of us. I'm registered as his primary guardian."
"Hmm." There was a pause as the receptionist looked over both the IDs in her hand and the two men in front of her before sighing and handing them back to Kisame. "I suppose I can let it slide this time. But we don't make exceptions like this very often, you hear me? The next time you come here, you better be wearing something more appropriate."
Itachi couldn't resist sending the receptionist a wry smile as Kisame snagged his arm to lead him away. "I'll try, miss. Nice shoes, by the way."
"Why, thank you-" they heard her start as they hurried away, followed quickly by a, "Hey! What the-! But-!"
"Classic," Itachi sniggered once they were out of earshot.
"That was childish, Itachi," Kisame admonished as he pulled the blind man down the hallway.
"Well, she was being rude!"
"That doesn't change anything."
"So you admit she was being rude?"
"Oh, extremely. But that still doesn't give you the right to play her like that."
"I wasn't." Itachi gave a brief snort. "Her shoes were nice- thin, strappy heels that are against hospital dress code and she's likely only able to get away with wearing because she sits behind a desk all day. She's probably got a date tonight and didn't want to bother changing them."
For a moment, Kisame faltered in his step, stunned. "How could you tell?"
"The noise they make against the floor is unmistakable. I busted enough nurses with inappropriate footwear in my day to recognize the sound of a stiletto against linoleum."
Kisame shook his head in disbelief. "Amazing."
"I do try." A sudden thought struck Itachi. "Kisame, I didn't know our IDs had come in yet."
"Oh, Miri handed them to me just before we left. Sorry, forgot to mention it. I'll keep you in the loop better next time."
"No, that's not it." Itachi frowned delicately, the crease it caused between his eyebrows hidden by his sunglasses. "What does mine say for a last name? You didn't put my real one, did you?"
"No, of course not!" Kisame quickly assured him. "I gave you a different one, don't worry."
Itachi waited several seconds for Kisame to tell him what it was, then frowned again when he remained silent. "Well?"
Kisame, uncharacteristically, jumped at the sound of Itachi's voice. "Well, what?"
"Well, are you going to tell me what it is?"
"Oh!" Nervousness crept into Kisame's tone. "It's, um… Hoshi-Hoshigaki. Itachi Hoshigaki."
"Hoshigaki, huh? That's a unique one. Where'd you pull that from?"
"It's actually, um…" Then he trailed off so quietly that even Itachi's keen ears couldn't pick out the words.
"What was that?"
After taking a deep breath, Kisame repeated a little louder, "It's my last name, actually. I thought… maybe you wouldn't mind. Sharing it, that is." A note of panic crept into his voice. "Un- unless you want your own! We can change it to something else easy-"
"Kisame." Itachi came to a complete stop in the hallway, the fingers of the hand resting on Kisame's jacket-clad arm clutching the fabric with abandon.
"Wha- what?" Kisame asked with trepidation.
"Was there ever any doubt that something like this wouldn't make me happy?"
Itachi could almost hear Kisame's face cracking from the wide grin that overtook it. "You had me going there for a minute."
"Come off it; you knew I would love it." They started walking again so not as to draw attention to themselves, and Itachi bowed his head to hide the slap-happy smile still decorating his face.
"It feels nice," he said after they had gone the length of several hallways in silence.
"What does?"
"Having a… I don't know, a family again. You know my father refused to put my last name on my door, so I've been without a family name for the past eight years. It feels nice to have one again." He paused for a second, hearing his own words aloud and letting them sink in. "So, what's our cover story? Am I your estranged brother come in to town for a visit or something?"
"Close; cousin, and you're staying with me for the foreseeable future to give your former caregiver a break."
"That makes me sound like a burden."
"You're not, I promise."
The conversation came to an abrupt close as they rounded one last hallway and Kisame squeezed Itachi's hand to let him know that they were nearing their destination. They slowed as Kisame quietly read the numbers off the plaques on the wall beside the doors.
"206… 208… here we are, 210."
He knocked on the door jamb, and a disgruntled voice issued from within. "Whatever. Just get your ass in here."
Kisame took a single step inside the room so the occupant could get a good look at his face. "Hello, Juzu. Is that any way to greet a visitor?"
"Kis- Kisame!?" Juzu gasped, and Itachi got the feeling he would have jumped out of bed if he hadn't been strapped to an IV. "You gotta be shitting me! They got you back? Man, I thought you was never comin' back here!"
"It appears they did," Kisame chuckled. "And it looks like you've lost some of your skill while I was away."
"That ain't true! Those bastards jumped me from behind, ten to one too- that's the only reason I'm in here and they ain't dead! I'll show you as soon as I get outta this place."
"Are you sure you can still handle it, Zu?"
"You insultin' me? I ain't the one who's gone soft, 'Same!"
"Oh, was that a threat, now?"
"Just you wait! I'll show you!"
The tension in the room escalated with the volume of their voices until Itachi was worried that the two might come to blows right there in the hospital. But then laughter from both parties abruptly echoed into the tiny space, easing the tension from before.
"Good God, Juzu, it is good to see you," Kisame greeted warmly, sitting down next to the hospital bed in a chair that creaked under his weight and clasping the injured man's arm. "How's everything been going for you? Break up with your girl yet?"
"Which one? I've had like five since I seen you last."
"That many? You're a stud, 'Zu; you always have been."
"And you're as dopey as ever. Good to know at least something's the same."
Suddenly, Juzu pulled up short in his conversation. "You've got a shadow," he murmured under his breath just low enough to be at the edges of a normal person's hearing, and Itachi felt surprise jolt through him. He thought he'd hid his presence well, staying back from the open door of the hospital room, but Juzu had easily sensed him.
Letting an easy smile decorate his face, Itachi swung into the doorframe, using his fingers against the hinge as reference point. "It's just little old me," he said lightly, trying not to let it show on his face how jealous he'd been of Juzu's easy conversation with Kisame, even though he had no reason to be.
Kisame instantly jumped up from his seat and grabbed Itachi's elbow, leading him to the bedside. "God, Itachi, you didn't have to skulk outside! Come in, come in!"
"Didn't want to interrupt your happy reunion," he said quietly as he sat. He got the feeling Juzu was gazing at him with a suspicious look.
"Itachi, huh?" He mused. "The blind guard dog?"
"I don't suppose I'm ever going to get rid of that nickname now," Itachi sighed. "Yes, that's me. Kisame's blind guard dog."
"Ah, so you're the one who broke Fuguki's nose!"
"...I see my reputation precedes me."
"Nah, don't worry about it." Juzu reached out and slapped Itachi's upper arm, causing him to grit his teeth to avoid outwardly wincing. How on earth was a man injured enough to be strapped to a hospital bed that strong? "Fuguki can be an asshat sometimes. I mean, he's strong and smart and we all look up to him 'n all, but there's been plenty of people who wanted to break his nose before, myself included. You just beat us to it."
Itachi gave a light snort. "Glad to offer my services."
Another whack that had Itachi gritting his teeth hit his arm, and another laugh burst out from Juzu. "Kisame, where'd you get this guy? He's hilarious!"
"Broke him out of a psychiatric ward."
"...And I wasn't expecting that. Fuck, but you've been busy while you were away, eh, Kisame?"
"Probably not as much as you have." Kisame shook his head appreciatively. "Do you know when you're supposed to be out of here?"
Juzu heaved a sigh of great impatience. "Who knows. The doctors said a week a week ago and two days five days ago, so damned if I know. I mean, it's not that big of a deal; it's only a stab wound to the stomach. It's not like I got shot or anything."
"Well, don't you worry about rushing things," Kisame said, clapping a hand on Juzu's arm. "You come back when the doctors say you're good and healed, alright?"
"Easy for you to say," Juzu grumbled. "You're not the one going stir-crazy sitting in this room with nothing to do all day."
"I'll tell you what: when you get back and are all healed up, why don't we have an old-fashioned skin rumble? That oughtta give you something to look forward to."
"Yeah!" Ironically, or at least it seemed that way to Itachi, Juzu seemed more excited about the prospect of potentially getting injured again than being fully healed. "It's been forever since I got to punch that stupid face of yours!"
The sound of cracking knuckles filled the room. "Not if I punch yours in first!"
Itachi heaved a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's always senseless violence with you folks, isn't it?"
"What's the fun in reasoned conversation?" Kisame teased, poking his cheek.
"It's less likely to get someone killed."
Kisame tweaked his cheek. "Says the person who tackled a man to the ground and then smashed his face into the floor hard enough to break his nose. Three times, no less."
"That was different. He deserved it."
"Um, excuse me?" A timid knock at the open door broke off the conversation, and Itachi was suddenly very aware of how loud they'd been talking and how well sound carried in the hospital hallways. "But Mr. Juzu needs to have his medications now, so I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."
"Already?" Juzu groaned. "I suppose. Drug me up."
"We'll see you again soon," Kisame promised as he stood and helped Itachi do the same.
"You better. I can't wait to rough you up. By, 'Same."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Kisame and Itachi managed to escape Juzu's hospital room as he was making some snarky comment to the nurse about the drugs she was giving him. Itachi shuddered at the thought of the needle that must be embedded in Juzu's arm, feeding him painkillers at a rate to keep him comfortable but still coherent. The smell suddenly got to him again, and he had to resist the urge to dry heave. Kisame, as if sensing the resurgence in his distress, grabbed his arm and dragged him down the hallway for a few paces before coming to a stop.
"How are you? Up for one more?"
No. I want out NOW. But Itachi only took a deep breath to steady his shaking hands and nodded. "That is what we came here to do. Let's go see the little boy special enough to charm Raiga into submission."
As it turned out, Ranmaru's room was only a few hallways away from Juzu's, and they reached it within a minute of walking. To his surprise, however, Itachi heard someone hovering nervously in the hallway, their fingernails scraping the skin of their arms with quiet scritches and their toes tapping on the floor in an irregular rhythm. He was even more surprised to hear Kisame greet him.
"Raiga? What are you doing hovering out here?"
Raiga jumped when his name was called, embarrassment creeping into his tone at having been caught. "Oh-! B-Boss! I didn't think you were… um, well… I just… he's asleep now," he finished up rather lamely.
"Did you get a chance to visit with him before he fell asleep?"
"Well, um… no," Raiga finally, admitted, scratching his head in embarrassment. "He was asleep when I got here. I didn't want to wake him."
Itachi frowned slightly. "So what, you've been standing outside his room this entire time?"
"No!" Raiga quickly defended himself, then added sheepishly, "Just… just most of it. I, um… saw Juzu for a few minutes… and then I went and sat down next to his bed for a little while… but I left when he started to move; I don't think he would really want to see me…"
"And why not?" Kisame demanded rather loudly. "Isn't he your friend?"
"Shh, shh, keep it down!" Raiga whispered desperately, grabbing onto Kisame's arm before realizing what he had just done and dropping it like it was a red-hot branding iron. "Don't wake him! He needs rest! He doesn't… well, he doesn't need me. I'm the one who got him into this life and this mess in the first place."
Unfortunately, the warning came too late, and Itachi heard a small sound of stirring from the open door in front of them, and a sleepy voice floated out to greet them, punctuated by a yawn. "... Hello? Is there… aahhh… anyone there?"
The voice couldn't have come from a boy older than twelve or fourteen, the crack of a register drop still evident in his timbre. The words that most quickly jumped into Itachi's brain at the sound were sweet and innocent, and he easily understood the rough-'n-tough Raiga's attention to the young boy; something about his voice just screamed vulnerability, the kind that would make people instinctively want to protect.
Or, in this kind of environment, the kind of vulnerability that attracted attention in other ways and painted a target on his back.
Itachi surreptitiously elbowed Kisame in the side and jerked his head an infinitesimal distance toward the open door. Quickly catching on to Itachi's plan, Kisame stepped into the open doorway and gave a quiet knock on the doorframe.
"Ranmaru, is it? May we come in?"
Ranmaru took in the sight of the strange man in a suit standing in his doorway and shivered. "Wh-who are you? And h-how d-do you know my n-name?" He gasped, drawing in on himself. A heart rate monitor that was emitting constant, steady blips suddenly went up in tempo. "Are- are y-you here t-to finish-sh the j-job you s-started?"
"Don't worry, Ranmaru, we're not here to hurt you," Kisame said in a steady, soothing voice, taking a single step into the room to allow Itachi to join him in the doorframe. "We just wanted to come see you- pay our respects, like. I don't know if you've heard, but my name is Kisame and I'm your new Boss."
Itachi noticed how careful he was to give Ranmaru the correct information without saying too much that might be overheard by the wrong person. The boy obviously recognized the name, because the mechanized audible heartbeat filling the room slowly decreased in tempo again, though not quite as far apart as they had been when he'd been sleeping.
"B-Boss Kisame?" He gasped. "What are- why are you here? To see… me?"
"Well, why wouldn't I?" Kisame gestured to the inside of the room with one hand and reached back to touch Itachi's wrist with the other. "May we come in?"
"Of- of course!"
"Thank you very much, Ranmaru." Kisame guided Itachi toward the bedside and the few chairs that were next to it. Closer to the boy, the smell of chemicals and medicine and the sound of the heart rate monitor got more intense to his sensitive perception, and Itachi had to fight to keep every breath he took entering and exiting his lungs at a steady rate.
"P-please f-forgive the mess, Boss; I don't get very many visitors," Ranmaru gasped as Kisame and Itachi sat down next to him. "Actually, I've only gotten one since I came here."
The words jumped out at Itachi, and he focused on them with laser-like intensity to take his mind off his churning stomach. "What do you mean? I thought Raiga visited you nearly every day."
"R-Raiga…" A mournful note entered the boy's voice. "I don't think… I don't think he wants to see me. Why would he? I'm a disappointment to him."
"I'm sure he doesn't think that-" Kisame tried, but Ranmaru only shook his head and started to sniffle.
"Of course I am! He found me, gave me everything I have, including a home and the job I have, and now… I failed him. I failed everyone."
"Ranmaru, a single mistake and a few injuries do not make you a disappointment! Everybody has times like these; you'll pull through, you'll see. I would never deny anyone a second chance for something that isn't their fault."
"Th-thanks, Boss, but…" And then Ranmaru started to cry in ernest, his semi-pubescent voice wracked with sobs. "But I couldn't use a second chance even if you gave it to me. The doctors said… they said… the bullet hit my spine. They couldn't repair the damage. I'll never… I'll never walk again!"
Itachi and Kisame sat frozen in their chairs as the news sunk in. They'd had no idea - and Itachi was miffed that no one had thought to warn them not to upset the boy, who was currently sobbing his eyes out, his breathing coming faster and faster, which in turn… made his heart rate go up… and made the mechanical beast hooked up to him beep faster and faster.
"Ranmaru…" Kisame said quietly, and Itachi could tell that he was struggling to find a way to comfort him, but didn't know how. Itachi himself was just trying to find a way to hide his mounting panic attack as the mechanized sound of the young boy's heart beating brought to mind the feel a tight band at his wrist monitoring his pulse and a syringe full of cold liquid being injected into his veins, dulling his senses and stealing away his humanity.
"Now look what you did," a quiet voice interrupted from the doorway. "You made him cry."
"Raiga?" Itachi turned back to the door, desperate to find something else to focus his mind on.
"R-Raiga?" This time, the word echoed from the bed, accompanied with a sniffle. "You w-were… you were here?"
"I been here a lot, little guy," Raiga said quietly, a sad smile in his voice. "Just… mostly when you were asleep."
"Why didn't you wake me?" Ranmaru cried, his voice thick with tears. "I wanted to see you! I wanted… I wanted-!"
"I know you did, little guy. Sorry that I… I wasn't strong enough to see you. I didn't want to disappoint you more than I already had."
Shock and hurt crept into Ranmaru's broken tone. "Disappoint… disappoint me? How could you disappoint me? You're the best, Raiga- I've always looked up to you! You gave me everything I have, a job and a home, a family! How could you ever think that you could disappoint me? I'm the one who disappointed you!"
"No, buddy. It's not your fault. It's mine." Raiga stepped closer to the bed, and Itachi quickly gave up his seat so he could get closer to Ranmaru, getting himself further away from the chemical smell and the sound of his heart being monitored in the process. "It's my fault for involving you in the world that I live in. You're too pure for a life like this, Ranmaru. If I saw fit to bring someone like you into my mess, the least I could do is protect you in exchange. But I… I-!" He gasped, his voice suddenly cracking as if there were tears rolling down his cheeks. "I couldn't even do that! And now you're here, and it's… it's all my fault!"
"I-it's not y-your fault, R-Raiga," Ranmaru sobbed, choking noises breaking up his words. "I-it's my f-fault for being s-so weak!"
"Ranmaru!" Raiga closed the remaining distance between him and the hospital bed in a blink, taking Ranmaru in his arms and crushing the injured boy to his chest with as much strength as he dared. "I'm sorry…! So sorry!"
Kisame stood up and backed away from the sobbing pair on the bed, coming to stand next to Itachi. "Do you think we should give them a moment?" He whispered quietly out of the side of his mouth, but Itachi didn't answer. As it was, he was barely able to grab Kisame's jacket sleeve with scrabbling fingers and keep himself from falling to the ground.
Instantly Kisame's strong arms were around him, holding him as his weak knees threatened to send him to the floor. "Itachi, what's wrong?" He demanded, shaking Itachi's shoulders with enough force to make his head loll.
Itachi's mouth opened in a futile O shape, but nothing came out. He started shaking, violent tremors and cold shivers wracking his body, despite the heat of the hospital and the layers of clothing he was wearing. His fingers turned to claws, and he started to tear at the front buttons of his jacket, but they were shaking too hard to accomplish any real work.
"Itachi?!"
Finally, Itachi found his voice, grasping Kisame's shirtsleeves in both hands. "Get… get it off me…" He rasped, nausea starting to build in his stomach as the mechanized heartbeat started to beat louder in his ears, competing with his own thundering pulse.
"Itachi-!"
"GET IT OFF ME!" Itachi suddenly roared, ripping at his own clothing. His breathing was fast, too fast, and his medical knowledge told him he would pass out from hyperventilation soon if he couldn't slow it down, but somehow there was a disconnect between the rational part of his brain and the part directing his actions.
Kisame heeded his demand, quickly undoing the buttons down the front of Itachi's jacket and pulling it off, throwing it away somewhere Itachi couldn't follow with his limited and distracted senses. As soon as it was gone, Itachi yanked up the sleeve of his left arm as far as it would go and started to scrabble with the fingers of his right hand at the flesh of his upper arm, gouging long scratches deep enough to well blood.
"Get it off of me!" He begged again, desperation leaking from every pore of his body. "I can't… I can't take it anymore…"
"Take what, Itachi?" Kisame asked in concern, grabbing his hand to stop the scratching. "There's nothing there!"
"Don't lie to me; I can feel it!" Itachi started to sob brokenly, and tears would have been streaming down his face if he still had eyes. He pulled desperately at Kisame's grip, seeking to rip away the phantom cloth tightening around his upper arm. "It's right there, on my arm; I can feel it, I know it's there! I know they put that band on me so they can put the medicine in me!"
"Medicine-?"
"I can smell it!" He cried hoarsely, his left hand unconsciously curling into a fist as the doctors had always forced it when they'd been about inject him with a syringe full of sedatives, right after they'd tied a tight band around his upper arm. "They're going to put it in me and make me sleep… you said they wouldn't do that to me anymore! You said you wouldn't let them sedate me ever again!"
"And they won't, Itachi," Kisame said very calmly, having finally caught on to what was going on with Itachi and swiftly decided on a course of action. "They aren't here. It's just you and me. I promise no one is coming to sedate you."
"But… the monitor… heart rate monitor…" Itachi gasped, hearing Ranmaru's heartbeat jump up in tempo as it was mentioned, a sign that they had an attentive audience, but he couldn't bring himself to contemplate the repercussions of that or even care. "It's too loud… too fast… they don't like it when it's fast…"
Kisame swore, now realizing exactly what had set Itachi off. "Raiga, is there any way you can silence that thing?" He barked across the room as Itachi shivered in his arms.
"I… Sure thing, Boss!"
After a few mechanical noises as Raiga punched a few random buttons, the constant infernal beeping finally cut out, and Itachi sagged like a marionette whose strings had been unceremoniously dropped to the floor, an unwanted toy. He might have landed on the ground if Kisame hadn't caught him, and he just allowed himself to lay against the bigger man's chest, his breathing slowly returning to normal. Just as slowly, the phantom band resting tight around his arm loosened and fell away into the black nothingness surrounding him, and Itachi finally heaved one last trembling sigh when it was gone, burying his nose in the fabric of Kisame's jacket so he wouldn't have to smell the antiseptic chemical scent of the hospital room anymore.
"S-sorry, Kisame…" Itachi whispered brokenly when he had recovered enough to speak. "I… It was just too… too much, all at once. Sorry."
"Idiot." Kisame wrapped both his strong arms more snugly around Itachi and laid his chin against the top of his head. "I asked you and you said you were fine! You should have told me if it was getting this bad!"
"It… kinda erupted before I knew what was happening. Sorry."
"And quit apologizing about it! It's not your fault, you hear? I should have been paying better attention."
"Sorr-" Itachi caught himself in the middle of the apology, then changed his words. "I mean, okay."
"That's better."
Into the silence that followed Kisame's gentle scolding, Ranmaru's voice echoed out suddenly. "You… your face…"
Itachi instantly stiffened and reached up to find, to his horror, that his sunglasses had been knocked aside during his fit and his scarred and empty eye sockets were on display. His shoulders hunched and he pushed his hands over his face.
"Where…" His lips were dry and cracked, so he paused to wet them with a tongue that was almost as dry. "Where are my glasses?"
"Here." Kisame leaned back for a second to bend down and retrieve something from the floor, then gently pulled Itachi's hands away from his face to slip the sunglasses over his empty eye sockets. "Better?"
"Better," Itachi agreed shakily at the same time as Ranmaru piped up from the bed again.
"So… you can't see?"
Itachi froze at the words. He could tell Kisame was about to respond to them, but he managed to thaw quickly enough to lay a hand on his arm, their signal to let Itachi do the talking. That didn't mean that he could do it right away, however.
"That is… correct," he finally managed to say, turning back towards the hospital bed and flashing the young boy who lay there a weak smile. These words were important, so he had to choose them carefully, each one rolling around his mouth like a marble before slipping off his tongue. "I can't see. And as you can obviously tell, I have some… other issues as well."
"So… you're a little like me. Crippled. No longer whole." The words and you're still working in the gang were left unsaid, but implied.
Itachi paused, the words running through his head. He hadn't thought about it before, but he and the boy in front of him were similar. They had both lost a part of themselves that other people, looking in on them, would say was necessary for normal life. That they were no longer whole people. That they were crippled.
But Itachi had never been fond of that particular word.
"Let me tell you something," he announced to the boy laying in the bed. "I've been through a lot of pain in my life, and I've lost parts of myself that I thought were important before. But I will never call myself a cripple, because that would mean that I am broken, that I am useless. And I am not."
Ranmaru's breath hitched in a gasp, but Itachi foraged onwards.
"A life can be changed by any kind of loss, whether that loss is internal, outward, or in the environment around you. You can either allow the change to rule your life, or you can simply learn to live with it. Work around it. Try something different. You might surprise yourself with what you can do if you put your mind to it."
Itachi let his hand slip off Kisame's arm, ending their signal, and he grabbed the shorter man before he could say anything else. "Itachi…"
"I may need to… step outside a minute," Itachi said tightly, raising his hand to his nose to block out the chemical scent which had set him off earlier.
"Go; I'll be right behind you."
Itachi needed no further coaxing; he quickly turned and left the room, keeping his hand over his mouth and nose all the while, and walked down the hallway using his other hand, trailing across the wall, as a guide. When he reached a corner, he stopped, taking several breaths of the air surrounding him. It still smelled faintly chemical, but it no longer had the medical tint to it that had hovered around Ranmaru and set off Itachi's panic attack. Forcing himself to breathe normally, Itachi rolled the sleeve he'd ricked up to his shoulder down again, wincing as the fabric pressed against the scratches he'd inflicted. Damn, he'd really done a number on himself with that one. Leaning back against the wall, he settled in to wait for Kisame.
It only took a few minutes, during which he heard muffled voices coming from the room he had just left, before Kisame's familiar heavy footsteps stepped out into the hallway, paused as he searched for Itachi, and then headed confidently toward him. Itachi pushed himself away from the wall as he approached, reaching out to grasp the jacket he knew Kisame would be handing him when he got within arms reach.
"It's creepy when you do that," Kisame murmured, depositing the jacket in Itachi's open arms.
Itachi shrugged as he pulled open the jacket and slipped it over his dress shirt. "Process of elimination and subtle clues in the rhythm of your footsteps. What's so creepy about that?"
"The fact that it seems so natural to you." Kisame reached forward and did up the buttons on Itachi's jacket with measured precision. "That was an impressive speech you gave back there."
Itachi couldn't help but puff up a bit with pride at the words. "You think so? I was just trying to make up for the damn panic attack I had in front of both of them. God, that was embarrassing. First Miru, now Raiga. I'm going to be lucky if I don't freak out in front of every member of the group before the end of the month!"
"Well, look how that ended up with Miru. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Itachi: it's not your strengths that make you admirable. It's your ability to overcome your weaknesses." Kisame laid a hand in the center of Itachi's back in preparation of guiding him forward. "Come on; let's get you out of here before you faint on me."
"But what about Raiga?" Itachi protested with a frown, though Kisame's words did ring with an uncomfortable truth; he did feel close to passing out. "Wasn't he supposed to come back with us?"
"Change of plans. Ranmaru doesn't want Raiga to go, Raiga wants to spend some more time with him, and we need to get you someplace less hazardous to your mental health. So we compromised. We're walking home."
"Walking?!"
"Not all the way," Kisame quickly amended in the face of Itachi's affronted tone. "Just a little bit. There's… well, I remembered how you were the first night after our escape, in that little field, and I thought some nature might make you feel better. This hospital is only a few blocks away from Central Park, so I thought… we might as well make a day of it. Raiga will pick us up on his way back."
A smile started to spread across Itachi's face. "So… it's like a date?"
"In a way. If you want it to be."
Suddenly, the hospital didn't seem so much like a desolate prison of antiseptic and monitors anymore. "I think I'd like that very much."
As if he couldn't contain himself any longer, Kisame moved his hand from Itachi's back to his hand so he could lace their fingers together, and when he spoke, there was barely concealed laughter in his voice.
"We'd better hurry, then. Wouldn't want to be late for our very first date, now would we?"
It was late afternoon by the time Neji opened his eyes again, judging by the angle of the sun coming through the window of the hotel room. For a few moments, he was blissfully unaware of where he was, only conscious of the softness of the sheets surrounding his body and the utterly satisfied ache in his bones, before the events of last night - erm, that morning - flashed into his mind and he sat bolt upright in bed. The bed next to him was empty, so he figured Sasuke was in the bathroom, a guess that was proven correct by the sound of the shower running, which he noticed a moment later.
The sheets slid against Neji's skin as he shifted slightly, making him acutely aware of the fact that he'd been naked when Shikamaru had put him to bed and - though he hadn't believed it so he had to duck his head briefly under the sheets to check - he'd slept like that comfortably for the first time in his life. A red fire started to burn in his cheeks as he remembered words Shikamaru had murmured to him that first night in that husky voice of his: Real men sleep naked, Neji.
Well, Neji thought-argued right back to the past version of the phantom, I hope Real Men also clean up bathrooms, or Sasuke will have gotten an eyeful and a noseful of things he never needed to see or sniff in his life. Because I certainly passed out too quickly to take care of it.
Thankful that Sasuke was in the bathroom and couldn't bear witness to his lack of clothing or his embarrassed cheekbones, Neji quickly shoved the sheets off him and hurried to his suitcase, where he clothed himself in the first few layers of his normal outfit, a three-piece suit with a tie, before his roommate could return. In less than a minute, the shower turned off, and Neji found himself buttoning up his cuffs with his collar popped when Sasuke made his way out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that clung to his still-damp frame, his towel still hanging around his neck.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."
Neji acknowledged the insult with a scowl. The first thing out of his mouth hadn't been a crack about the soiled towel Neji had left or any lingering scent of sweat and musk, so Shikamaru must have cleaned up after the mess they had caused after all. "It's afternoon. And you slept longer than I did."
"Yeah, sorry about that. Where'd I pass out? I honestly don't remember coming back here last night- this morning."
"At the top of the tower." Neji slung his tie around his neck and tied it with practiced fingers before pulling his collar down to its proper place. "I had to drag your sorry ass back here."
"I already said sorry." Sasuke passed behind Neji to sit on the bed and tug on his socks and shoes. "So, did you find out anything useful? Do we have a plan now?"
Neji couldn't help the small smile that spread over his lips as he bent down to slip on his shoes, then grabbed his jacket and slipped it over his shoulders. He loved it when he was the one calling the shots. "I'll brief you on the way. Let's go."
"So, let me get this straight: the wraiths are circling the city, searching for something. What?"
"I already told you: I don't know," Neji replied with gritted teeth, dodging a homeless man on the sidewalk and doing his best not to strangle Sasuke as they walked through one of the busier areas of the city. "My best guess is more recruits since they lost that member in their fight with us in Konoha. In a city like this one, there's always a few ghosts on the pre-wraith side; you just have to find them and push them over that boundary. That's one of the reasons why the turnover rate for the FIle Operator position here is so high."
In fact, Neji knew - though he didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Sasuke at this particular time - New York City was just about the worst place this could have happened in. If Seattle was the safest city on the continent - ghostwise, at least - because of the heavy involvement of the Hyuuga family, New York City was the exact opposite. It was the farthest major city from any area of heavy influence, plus one of the most crime-ridden and populated by ghosts. No one from the Hyuuga family went there if they could avoid it, and even the people stationed there tried to leave as soon as possible.
"Anyway," he continued as they paused briefly at a crosswalk before walking forward when it blinked to green, "I found them, and that's that. Now we're going to do a little more in depth scouting, but that is all. We don't want to get caught like last time."
"Holy shit, no. That was terrifying."
"Then we are agreed. You had your turn organizing this last time, now let me take the lead. We're doing it right this time. No mistakes."
"Al… alright."
Neji pulled up short and turned to glare at Sasuke, who had stopped several paces back. "And what does that mean?"
Wincing a little at the ice in Neji's eyes, Sasuke shrugged. "Can I… add a condition?"
"What?" Irritation laced Neji's tone as he snapped at Sasuke, grabbing his arm and pulling him forward to avoid the pointed glares they were getting for obstructing the flow of foot traffic.
"Can we… take care of it ourselves again? Not call for backup?"
Neji couldn't help it; his jaw dropped. "And whyever not? It's not like we're trying to protect anybody this time!"
"But what if we are?"
Neji's eyes narrowed. He tugged Sasuke off the main sidewalk through the first gate he found, which lead to a section of Central Park, then pulled him onto the grass so they weren't blocking traffic anymore. "Explain. And fast."
"Okay." Sasuke took a deep breath. "Here's what I'm thinking: the only people who know we fought the wraiths in Konoha are us, correct?"
"Correct."
"Wrong." Sasuke squeezed his hands into fists. "It's us… and the wraiths."
Abruptly, Neji's gaze widened as what Sasuke was getting at suddenly hit him. "Shit!"
"My thoughts exactly. It would be laughably easy for us to get caught in our lie if anyone else were involved in this."
"But there are other Hyuuga in New York; they'll sense the energy as soon as we start fighting. We won't be able to hide from them."
"Then we'll cover." Sasuke was speaking desperately now, his fists shaking. "Say we got caught off-guard, that there wasn't enough time to call for backup-"
"Sasuke." Neji cut the younger man off with a hand on his arm. "This is getting too elaborate! We couldn't take down five wraiths on our own the first time, and we sure as hell can't do it now! We didn't even win last time, if you remember: the wraiths gave up, and the only reason they left as a party of four instead of five was because they killed one of their own members themselves. Your little toy phantom isn't here this time, so why can't we just take the low chance that we might get caught in a lie instead of the almost certain choice that we're going to get killed?"
Sasuke's gaze shifted downwards, unable to meet Neji's as he mumbled, "Because if they ever found out, they'd track down Naruto and… and…"
And force him to fade, Neji finished in his mind. With a sigh, he said, "Does it really matter? All those ghosts are living on borrowed time anyway; they died years ago, and should have faded naturally before now."
Before Neji could react, Sasuke's hands were gripping his collar and he found his back slammed into a tree as the man in front of him snarled with hard eyes. "You take that back!"
"No! I won't! What we found in Konoha was wrong, abnormal, against everything we've ever been taught was right! Why are you still fighting to keep them - to keep him - alive?"
"Because-! Because…" Sasuke's hands went limp at Neji's collar, and his face lost its hues of anger as he lowered it. "Because I love him," he admitted.
Out of all the possible answers Neji was expecting, this one wasn't even on his radar. He almost laughed until he caught the expression on Sasuke's face.
"Jesus, you're serious."
"Of course I'm serious!" Sasuke glared him directly in the eye again. "And what about you and Shikamaru, huh?"
Neji's heart suddenly thumped harder in his breast, and he hoped Sasuke wouldn't be able to see the blush starting to creep along his cheekbones- or if he did, that he would mistake it for a flush of anger. Had he figured out what had happened earlier in the bathroom after all? "What about him?"
"I know you two were getting cozy together back in Konoha, with all those chess matches! Shikamaru even came up to me after you left and asked where you were! Did you think I hadn't noticed? I don't think I'm the only one who'd be upset if they dropped the spectral equivalent of an atomic bomb on them!"
That would be true, Neji thought, if Shikamaru was actually in Konoha right now. But he wisely chose to keep his mouth shut. At least that had answered his question about whether Sasuke had figured out what they had done that morning once and for all.
"That's beside the point," he finally said. "I'm talking about us dying here, Sasuke. I know enough to put my own life ahead of someone who's already dead."
"I guess that's where you and I differ, then," Sasuke said quietly, stepping away from Neji and dropping his hands to the side. "Because I don't know enough."
"Jesus," Neji whispered under his breath again, placing his palm over his eyes long enough for him to think of a response. None came, so he just sighed and let his shoulders sag.
"Regardless of what our final plan is, we still have to do the scouting, so why don't we put this conversation away and pick it up again later-?"
Suddenly, Sasuke was on him again, pressing a hand over his mouth to cut off his words. Neji struggled against his for a few seconds before finally throwing him off. "What the hell, Sas-?!"
"Shhhhh!" Sasuke begged desperately with wide eyes, and the shock on his face alone was enough to quiet Neji- for now. He shut up, and Sasuke gestured behind him. "Do those two look familiar to you?"
Neji turned his head slowly, trying to be unobtrusive. There were a dozen people in the vicinity of where Sasuke had gestured, including several who were giving them strange looks and wide berths. "Who?" He hissed.
"There!" Sasuke's hand came past his nose, pointing to two people a little ways off.
Though Neji could only see them in profile, he could tell they were both men, wearing full suits, but solid black fancy suits as opposed to the slightly more casual tan suit Neji was wearing. (He'd never thought he'd think that, that someone was better dressed than him. WHat was the world coming to.) Both were tall, though one was so tall that he dwarfed even the slightly-taller-than-average man next to him. The taller one was also muscled to the point where he looked almost comical stuffed in his suit, and his hand was resting on the elbow of the shorter man as they walked, as if to guide him. They both looked happy and relaxed, even laughing a bit as the taller man reached up and adjusted the pair of sunglasses perched on the shorter man's nose and brushed a fallen lock of his slicked-back hair away from his face.
"What about them?"
But before Sasuke could respond, the shorter man turned slightly, giving the pair a straight look at his face, and Neji felt Sasuke stiffen next to him before a growl of anger ripped out of him and he charged at the pair. Neji was too shocked to stop him, and he only reacted when Sasuke was almost upon them, starting after him in a vain attempt to stop- whatever he was planning to do. His mind supplied the information almost subconsciously that the shorter man's hair was the exact same shade as Sasuke's a half second before the Uchiha punched the man in the face without warning, sending the sunglasses he had been wearing flying and revealing-
Oh. Oh.
Well, this was going to be an awkward family reunion.