A Crack In The Mask

Toki: You wanted Itachi and Naruto? Well here I am to give it to you...COME AND GET SOME!

Sasuke: Not if I have anything to say about it... *Grabs Naruto and runs off*

~Naruto~ HEY, LET GO TEME!

Toki: Um...Well here's the warnings and disclaimer...Kakashi can you take care of the rest as I go retrieve Naruto?

Kakashi-Im on it...

Warnings: Some lime with a pinch of pepper! Basically light yaoi. A dash of OroKabu and issues with depression, anger and sadness. And drama between Itachi and Naruto, but other than that none else for this chappie.

Disclaimer: Itachi came over to my house again and I almost had him until Itachi's parole officer came in and took Itachi away..Dammit, Itachi, you will be mine! Oh and I still don't own Naruto :(

Kakashi- Hope you enjoy Chapter 21 of A Crack In The Mask kiddos! Now time to read more Ichi Ichi Paradise! *Runs off into the distance with his book*

~By the way~

●Talking- "ItaNaru"

●Thinking-'ItaNaru'

●Flashback- ***ItaNaru***

●Naruto Mentally Talking- 'ItaNaru'

●Kyuubi/Kurama Talking: 'ItaNaru'

●Kyuubi/Kurama Thinking: (ItaNaru)

Chapter 21: The Sickness

"You can't go, you have to stay in bed!" Naruto scolded as he blocked the door, the main exit for Itachi to leave the hotel room.

The two plus Kisame, who was staying in the room beside them since he and Itachi got a double room, have been in Cloud for the past three days. The day Naruto finally woke up, which was yesterday, Itachi decided he wanted to go out and get some supplies for them before they headed out to travel to Rain tomorrow where Kakuzu and Hidan were, then go on from there. Although that was hard when your feisty young boyfriend who just woke up from a coma for three days was blocking your path from doing so...

"Naruto-kun please." Naruto narrowed his eyes to the point where his pupils turned to slits and he growled, exposing his fangs sharpening. Itachi sighed. "Naruto, if we don't have medical supplies and food how are we suppose to survive?" Naruto shook his head.

"Then have Kisame do it!" He protested.

"He's been doing everything since we got to Cloud and he needs rest. He may be half shark but he is also human as well." Naruto scowled, then an idea popped up in his head.

"Then i'll do it!" Itachi glared.

"No."

"Why not~!" Naruto whined as Itachi sighed once more, removing him from the door so he could walk out.

"Naruto I-" Naruto hugged him from behind, burying his face into Itachi's back.

"Don't go...You don't underst-stand what I saw...I heard you go through..." Itachi closed his eyes as the the sun hidden in the clouds caste a shadow on the two from the window. The only sounds being heard were the sniffles from Naruto who was crying into his cloak and the soft breathing from Itachi. Flashbacks from last night flashed into his head.

Flashback...

Naruto and Itachi were sound asleep as the night went on until Naruto woke up when he got a heavy whiff of blood coming from Itachi's body and the way his breathing had drastically changed from soft to heavy had Naruto sitting up and looking over at the elder Uchiha sadly. It took him a while that night to realize Itachi was internally sick but with what he didn't know. He thought about sneaking Itachi into Konoha to see Tsunade but he doubted that she would heal someone like Itachi, and he didn't exactly know what was wrong with him or how he could treat it so he left that idea out...

Minutes later Itachi slowly sat up and began to cough violently, blood coming out of his mouth the harder he coughed. Naruto panicked and helped him up to the bathroom where Itachi shakily washed the blood off of his hands and got out three purple pills from his pill bottle in the cabinet. Naruto grabbed him a glass of water so he could swish the blood out of his mouth and take the pills. Once he did and got his breathing to a somewhat normal pace again, Itachi slid down the sink and grabbed his chest, his face showing all the signs that he was going through a great deal of pain.

Naruto could only sit and watch as Itachi suffered for the most of the night.

The harsh coughing eventually stopped as did the heavy internal bleeding, but he was still in a lot of pain. Itachi sadly looked over at Naruto with tired eyes and a blurry sight before intertwining one of their hands. He suddenly broke out into a cold sweat and Naruto panicked as he could see Itachi's breaths were becoming much slower and slower.

"It-Itachi, what can I do...?" Tears leaking out of his eyes as he watched Itachi slowly suffer.

Itachi shook his head, giving Naruto's hand a tight reassuring squeeze. "There is nothing you can do. This is something I've (cough) lived with since I was a child..." Tears kept pouring out of his eyes as he shook his head.

"W-what if I took you to see Tsunade!" Itachi shook his head once more.

"You can't (cough) take me to her. I've been seeing doctors since I was six years old, but since I (cough)(cough) was little no doctor has ever been able to cure me...(1)My parents took me to doctors all around the country, but no doctor has ever been able to heal me...And I doubt I can walk into Konoha and just have Tsunade willingly help me..." His breath started to slow down even more. "I was suppose to die at the age of fifth teen but as you can see im still alive, although (cough) the older I get the pain worsens..." Naruto was physically shaking at this point at all the information he was receiving and instantly wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck.

"You can't die, you can't die, you can't die." He kept whispering into Itachi's ear, not realizing he was hurting Itachi mentally. His only wish after joining the Akatsuki was for Sasuke to get strong enough to kill him, but he knew that would never happen so he thought about committing suicide at times and was going to if it were not for being the one assigned to bring Naruto to the Akatsuki hideout. Seeing his young blond sunshine again gave him hope that maybe he could be happy and loved again... But that was hard when you were trying to keep yourself alive everyday and on top of his internal sickness his eyesight was weakening and it was getting harder to see images the more he worked his eyes. He honestly didn't want Naruto to know that he was sick now that he had him in his grasp again, but due to being so stressed over Naruto he over worked himself and now here he was, soaked in his own blood as he explained to Naruto how he was slowly dying.

Naruto wanted to do something, anything. He wished he could have the cure and heal Itachi right away, he wished he could just be some kind of help, he wished anything to prevent this from happening right now. But Itachi was dying on the inside and here he was just crying and making him feel bad. He felt horrible on the inside and wiped his tears away before cupping Itachi's face and giving him a soft kiss on the lips and resting his head above Itachi's. Itachi smiled and wrapped one arm around Naruto to pull him close as he buried his face in the crook of Naruto's neck, giving it a small kiss.

The two stayed in that position until Itachi's breathing came back to normal and both stood up. Naruto cleaned Itachi up and helped him into a different shirt before going back to the bed. Itachi quickly went back to sleep as the warmth of Naruto's heat consumed him. Naruto, however, didn't go back to sleep and watched as Itachi closed his eyes and drifted off.

He held his head close in his chest and kissed his forehead as he continued to watch him for the rest of the night...

End of Flashback...

"I'll be right back Naruto." He pushed Naruto away from him and exited the room, slamming the door. He was not in the mood to talk about what happened and was already upset that Naruto knew about his sickness. He wished he wasn't born with this disease and now that Naruto knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it. He grit is teeth as he heard Naruto crying from the inside but he rather have Naruto let his emotions out while he wasn't near him rather than when he was around. It would spare him the pain of having Naruto now know that he was somewhat dying.

Naruto stood speechless, staring at where Itachi just was before he began to cry again. Well damn, didn't he know how to push Naruto's buttons and send his emotions flying? Itachi knew this wasn't going to be the end of Naruto's worries, but to leave him there like that in silence crushed Naruto's heart. All Naruto wanted was for him to be safe and okay, but the Uchiha continued on with life as if nothing had happened the previous night and that pissed Naruto off. He was on the verge of dying yet he acted like he was 100% fine when they both knew good and well he wasn't and Naruto couldn't stand it.

Over this past month his heart has gone through a roller coaster of emotions from hating Itachi to never wanting to leave his side. Every time he was around him his stomach would feel like it wanted to do jumping jacks and his throat felt dry. His face was always flushed and he always felt dizzy, so the questions still remains.

Was he really falling for Uchiha Itachi?

He shook his head! Now was not the time to think such thoughts! Speaking of which, other than Itachi what was wrong with Kyuubi? Naruto noticed that she had been silent ever since everything went down and hadn't even tried to contact him while he was unconscious. Was she alright? Usually she spoke to him everyday but this has been the longest she hasn't spoken to him in a while and it put him on edge. He decided he would go speak to her tonight after Itachi got back and they ate dinner.

He heard loud slam from the other room that had Naruto instantly turning his head and making his way towards the door. He sniffed the air, sensing Kisame in the other room and knocked on the door. He hadn't talk to him since he was unconscious and wanted to see how the other man was holding up. From the other side of the door, Kisame plopped down on his bed and mumbled a few words before telling Naruto to come in. With a gulp Naruto twisted the door knob and entered.

Instead of seeing the blue shark man, what he saw was an actual man. Instead a blue skin and scales Kisame had tan skin and flesh. His shark eyes and blue hair were gone and replaced with tan eyes and brown hair. He was still muscular and had sharp teeth, but he looked like an actual human! (2) Kisame sat up and watched as Naruto tilted his head as he looked up and down at his transformation. How ironic, it was usually the opposite look he got when he changed from human to shark.

"How...?" Was Naruto's only question.

"Well my mother was fully human and when I was a kid she developed a jutsu to where I could change into a human whenever I entered a village full of them so I wouldn't be such an outcast. It was one of the few last things she did for me before she died." Kisame confessed with no hesitation while Naruto frowned.

"Oh...Sorry I asked." Kisame scoffed before waving him off.

"It's okay Kid, no biggy. So how are you holding up?" Naruto made his way over towards the bed to sit beside him.

"I could be better..." Kisame grinned.

"Well you did just wake up from a three day coma so I would be feeling like shit too." Naruto gripped the sheets from the covers tightly, narrowing his eyes.

"No that's not it...It's Itachi." The shark man slightly tilted his head.

"Itachi...What did he do now?"

"H-He didn't do anything except." He felt a lump in his throat as he looked up at Kisame's now tan eyes with is watery purple ones. "I think he's dying Kisame..." The older man raised an eyebrow before Naruto explained exactly what happened the other night in full detail. Kisame's eyes widen as he let out a heavy sigh, a hand covering in his face.

"It's getting worse..." Naruto's heart clenched.

"What do you mean by that? What's getting worse?!" Kisame looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes as if testing him before answering his question.

"His illness...Let me tell you something kid." Kisame cleared his throat before he spoke.

"When me and Itachi first became partners it was only little coughs here and there, but that was back when he was a young teenager...But if what your telling me is true then he seems to be getting worse the more he gets older, which I won't lie but that fact is true." Naruto grabbed his heart, suddenly it was hard to breath. Kisame sighed and placed his good hand on Naruto's shoulder. He felt sorry for the boy as he felt him physically shaking under his touch. Itachi was his partner and his best friend, so he knew exactly what Naruto was going through.

"Don't act like that kid. The more you worry the more Itachi gets worse..." Naruto raised an eyebrow as Kisame exhaled loudly. "Look, Itachi didn't want me to tell you this but im going to let you know anyway. When you passed out at the old hideout Itachi went berserk and killed any human and animal in sight as we traveled over to Cloud...It was pretty gruesome but he wanted to make sure you were safe and sound and he made it clear he didn't want to be bothered as he carried you in his arms. He hasn't stressed himself out like that in a while since we first met you back at that motel when he mentally sent his little brother in a horrific trance. Basically what im saying is he's in love with you kid and the more you worry the more you'll stress him out and he'll get worse." Naruto looked down at his now shaking hands.

"So your saying...I-Im the one that causing Itachi's sickness to come back?" Kisame nodded as pain shot through Naruto's chest once everything registered.

He didn't realize he was making Itachi worse by acting worried like that for him...

"It'll be okay kid, just don't worry so much, alright? Itachi is tough guy, he'll get over this sickness soon. But what he needs from you is support, not pity." Kisame wasn't really good at comforting people but with his good arm he patted Naruto on the back and wiped his tears before standing up to use the bathroom. Naruto nodded as he left the room and back towards his and Itachi's to think...

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A few hours later Itachi entered sometime in the afternoon with dinner and supplies and set them down by the door with a sigh. He stopped walking and stared at Naruto who was sitting on the bed looking at him with a blank stare. They stared at each other without speaking words until Itachi walked forward and Naruto stood up, just an inch away from the bed. Naruto grabbed his cloak and pulled him down into a soft kiss, Itachi immediately wrapping his hands around his waist and kissing back with as much passion as Naruto.

"Im sorry..." Naruto said as he parted his lips to catch his breath before reattaching them on Itachi's. Itachi responded by pushing him back on the bed and getting on top of him, deepening the kiss. Naruto instantly wrapped his clawed hands into Itachi's black locks while parting his mouth open for Itachi's tongue to slide in and dominate him. He loved the feeling of Itachi inside of his personal space and shivered as that wet muscle came into contact with his. Itachi slid one hand down Naruto's thigh while the other held him up, but before he went further he stop kissing Naruto and looked into his fox-like purple eyes with his dull black ones.

"Im sorry as well Naruto. I did not mean to walk out on you and leave you in despair." He kissed each cheek before continuing. "I hope you can forgive me for my rudeness." Naruto shook his head with a smile, bringing his hands back down to cup Itachi's face and bringing his lips down towards his once more. Itachi and Naruto were about to continue further with their make out session until a cough stopped their actions.

"Is this really how I have to walk in just to talk to one of you to find you guys always kissing?" Naruto sat up and held Itachi with a grin plastered on his face.

"Well I hope you always enjoy the shows, they're no refunds and trying knocking for once!" Kisame growled.

"But I did knock and im hungry!" Naruto stuck his tongue out, as did Kisame and soon they broke out playing a childish game of making faces towards each other.

"Really you two." Itachi sat up completely and smiled.

Something rare both Kisame and Naruto ever see...

"Let's eat." Both Kisame and Naruto came to an agreement and instantly grabbed their cartons of food and had an eating contest. Itachi smiled as things were starting to look up for him. His best friend and young love were getting along as well as the progress in his and Naruto's relationship. Things couldn't possibly get worse from here on out.

Could they?

Kabuto scowled as the last subject he had to check on in the cage tried to touch him. He kicked it, gaining a whimper from whatever it was in the cage before heading up the stairs and back into the dim, candle lite hallway. He sighed before making his way down the hallway and through a secret passage way only he knew, other than Orochimaru himself, then headed up the stairs to the room that lead to none other than the notorious snake villain himself.

Sannin Orochimaru.

The door closed as Kabuto adjusted his glasses and his eyes focused on Orochimaru who had his legs crossed, sitting in his throne like chair with narrowed snake eyes and a sinister smirk on his face in the dim candle lite room. Kabuto gave his own smirk before bowing down, showing his respect and loyalty towards the snake like man.

"Lord Orochimaru-sama." He shivered as Orochimaru's chuckle echoed around the room and into his ears, sending shivers down his spine.

"Kabuto, my precious dear boy, I told you to call me by name and not by that unnecessary title. You know you're more special than all the others and are given permission to do so." Kabuto blushed slightly, but luckily it was dark so his master couldn't see him all in detail, or so he thought. "So my dear boy, what have you came to me for?" Kabuto silently gulped before answering.

"Yes Lord Oro-...Orochimaru. My apologizes for popping in so suddenly but I have a question about our new...companion." Orochimaru grinned.

"You and only you can stop by anytime without warning, you know that Kabuto. Now, what could be peeking your curiosity about the pink kunochi?" Kabuto sighed.

"I can tell that she is very determined at what she does and I have no problem with her here since she is very obedient but...I am not sure as to why she is needed other than to heal your arms. She already agreed to the contract that if she heals your arms she will have Sasuke-kun back-if we manage to do so, but your arms are going to be healed in no time and then boom- there is no more need for her." Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"Are you questioning my decisions Kabuto?" He narrowed his golden eyes. "Or are you jealous that she has my attention more than you do?" Kabuto almost choked on his spit as his eyes widened. How could his master catch on to him so quickly? Orochimaru's grin widened, loving the reaction he was given by his choice words to Kabuto.

"N-No Orochimaru-sama, I will always agree with your decisions." His voice suddenly got low. "And I am not jealous of some useless one trick kunochi with no real talent except being the apprentice of a tired old hag." Kabuto narrowed his eyes, almost as if challenging his master by his words. Orochimaru's snake ones lite up in excitement, shocked and surprised at the words that flew out of his apprentice's mouth.

"My my, such words Kabuto~!" He chuckled, seconds later his laughter filling the air until he stopped and looked directly into Kabuto's eyes, silence filling the room. Kabuto knew that look all to well before standing up and walking over towards his master. Orochimaru stared up at his apprentice with glowing snake eyes before he felt two warm hands on his cold white skin and lips come into contact with his very roughly. He loved it when Kabuto was angry and if he could he would wrap his arms to pull the younger boy in his lap, but he couldn't, thus Kabuto plopped himself down in his lap on his will. He detached his lips to look into his master's eyes closely.

"Don't ever think your losing my focus Kabuto. No one will ever have my attention like you do and your right. She is only here to heal my arms seeing as I am only using her, but I have another plans for her in my mind." Orochimaru smirked as Kabuto sighed and leaned into him. His master was so confusing sometimes and he wondered if he was losing his sanity the more he stayed around him...Not that it matter sense he had little anyway to begin with.

"Looks like you two are having fun." A voice from the shadows taunted. Kabuto grunted, burying his face into Orochiamru's neck as Orochimaru's smirk widened.

"Well well, looks who's decided to join us Kabuto! And how are you doing my darling~?" The voice chuckled before reviling it's whole figure into the dim lited room.

"I just came back home for a bit to see how my father and Mapa were doing before heading out to cause some trouble." Orochimaru raised an eyebrow.

"I do appreciate you coming by to check on me and Kabuto my dear but what do you mean by trouble? I hope nothing too messy?" He questioned as the voice chuckled.

"Well I haven't visited the Akatsuki in a while...plus I miss a certain someone and I heard he has a new lover now, although I doubt they could replace me~" They purred as Kabuto lifted his head up at this information.

"New lover? You mean Itachi has someone new?" Kabuto knew that the Akatuski had just kidnapped Naruto recently but could the container of the nine-tailed demon fox and the Uchiha be together? Him and Orochimaru looked at each other with knowing looks, already feeling sorry for Naruto if he was Itachi's new pet.

"Well it's only a rumor but I feel like I should make myself known since i've been gone so long and put Itachi back in his place so he knows who he really belongs to...Don't worry Mapa, I promise not to cause that much trouble." The figure came over and kissed Kabuto on the cheek before doing the same with Orochimaru and disappearing into the darkness once again.

"Hmm..." Orochimaru got lost in thought.

"What is it my lord?" He questioned, stroking his face.

Orochimaru leaned into the touch before answering. "Well if I believe what's going to happen might happen, then we may have our work cut out for us Kabuto and the Uzumaki boy will be in the palm of my hand in no time." Orochimaru began to chuckled, which soon turned into a loud psychotic laugh that echoed around the dark room, causing the candle lights to flickered the louder his laugh got. Kabuto stayed silent as his master's chest vibrated the more he laughed, soothing Kabuto's nerves.

He only hoped that Naruto would be alright if he was in the position he really was in...

(1) So im honestly not really sure how long Itachi had been sick in the manga/anime, but I did study what lllness he has and for now im just going to say it's something he's had since childhhood, so bear with me :)

(2) So it's not really a true fact and Kishumoto did not go into depth on Kisame's family or anything about him so that info is made up by me, don't tale it seriously! Altough I do have a theory that his mother was the one human since she had to give birth to him, or she was one of Oro's test subjects and was half fish like Isarebi who was in the classic Naruto, but I won't get into details on that!

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Toki: So yaaay, this story is now 37% done and I have soooo much more in store for this story, but keep them reviews coming okay? They're my motivation to keep this story going and also, am I keeping everyone in character so far? I feel like sometimes I make Naruto and Sasuke a bit OCC, but at the same time im making them go through a lot of emotions so they might seem a bit strange at times, but I don't want them to be too strange *Blushes* Tell me what you guys think.

~Naruto~ Wait, wait Toki, question!

Toki: Yes Naruto?

~Naruto~ Who was that person at the end? Even Sasuke wants to know! *drags Sasuke into the spotlight*

Sasuke: Hn...

Kakashi- I would like to know too.

Toki: Hmm...That's a surprise that will come in due time, but that little baby is going to play a HUGE role in Itachi and Naru's relationship. So much drama and old romance (plus a hint of a one sided love triangle) is going to happen that everyone is going to be like..."WTF how do you...even!" So stay tuned. Until next time~

A/N (8/12/14): Hey guys, so you know I like to keep you updated on things so the biggest things in my life that are happening is that I move on campus next Thursday, which im very excited about and im attending Matsuricon in Columbus, Ohio this weekend! Are any of you guys cosplayers? If you are, let me know. It's always fun to meet a fellow cosplayers, but then again even if you aren't you all are awesome! Also I just loss my best friend in the world over the littlest thing and now no one is friends with her because she treated me like poo...But im getting over it. She'll come around eventually and i'll keep you guys updated on that. You guys ever have friend problems? Let me know, I love when you guys talk to me :)

Toki Out O3O