Chapter 25

Beijing

It didn't take Itachi more than a few moments to become entirely overwhelmed. Everything was so big, so busy after being in such a relatively peaceful city for so long. Beijing felt like Shinjuku station in Tokyo. He avoided that station because of it's size and the amount of people going through it. If necessary though, he found he could block out the business easily. Perhaps because people were more subdued. Perhaps because he was use to all the sights and sounds. This city, he was not use to and it took him a few moments standing against the wall outside, staring out at the people and buildings around him with Kisame looking patient but bored, before he could gather his bearings enough to begin walking. He thought that it would be a nice place to visit on vacation; to sight see and walk around. And he did look, but it was to search for something familiar. Something that might give him a clue to where Deidara may be.

This could take days – weeks possibly. By that time, it could be too late.

Pausing, he stared into a shop window that sold clothing, the mannequins dressed in thick coats and scarves. He didn't see them though. He was staring at nothing, wondering what to do. Of course, he knew that the Hunters wouldn't be lurking right at the train station waiting for him to arrive. Nor would they be in a building that advertised their presence. He had hoped that something of Deidra's memory would come to him. Give him a clue as to where to go. Taking a moment, he pounded against the locked doors of his mind.

"You promised," he whispered aloud, not realizing it.

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing," he said, turning away from the window and Kisame's reflection.

"How about we find a hotel or something to stay in before we do anything?" the man suggested. "And food. I'm pretty hungry. Aren't you?"

"No," Itachi replied, eyeing the street again. Someone across the street sitting in the window of a café caught his eye. It was a man pretending to read a novel, but his eyes were on the two of them. For a moment, as the sun briefly moved behind a cloud Itachi could see passed the glamour that helped the man blend into this city. He wasn't sure what he was, but knew he was not human. Swallowing, he raised his hands up to show exactly unarmed he was and crossed the street towards the store, ignoring Kisame's questions. He wasn't a hunter. But he smelled like one. Or felt like one. Or however paranormal creatures could tell the difference between Hunter and Human. He was not a hunter.

Entering the shop, he closed the door before Kisame could follow him, shaking his head at him through the glass and walked between the crowded tables to the man who now had his hand under the table. "I'm sorry," he said politely, inclining his head. "Do you speak Japanese or German or English?"

"English," the man grunted, face full of suspicion.

Nodding, Itachi straightened up a bit. "I know what I smell like and I know what he is," he began, indicating with a small gesture towards Kisame who was standing with his arms crossed outside. "but I'm not a Hunter. I am a vampire's Human Servant."

The man stared at him, before returning to his coffee. "I have no interest in the happenings of vampires," he informed him as a conversation closer.

"I don't care," Itachi told him, not backing down. "I just want to know if you've heard anything."

"Like I said, I've no interest in the happenings of vampires," the man repeated.

"And Hunters? I'm sure you've been paying attention to them," Itachi insisted. "There's a group holding my vampire, just tell me where they're keeping him. Please."

The man glanced up over the rim of his mug as he took a sip. "Even if I knew anything, I would not help you, Hunter."

"I am not a hunter," Itachi said forcefully. "I'm a Human Servant of my vampire. Please, just tell me where the Hunters are."

"In return for what?"

"We always repay our debts," Itachi replied, uncertain of how else to respond. He didn't want to promise anything that he couldn't give, or be made to give something he didn't want in return. This way sounded much safer.

"If you are not a Hunter, why travel with one?" the man questioned, peering outside at Kisame who looked on irritably with his arms folded.

"He wont leave." Which was partially true.

"Do you know what I am?" the man asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. It wasn't malicious, but both annoyed and deceptive.

Itachi shook his head. "I'm sorry, no," he admitted. "I don't know much about paranormal beings in China."

"Hm," the man seemed to huff out the sound, still peering at him intently, but he put his cup down. "I am Huli jing and you would be wise not to make deals with us."

Itachi didn't know what that was, realizing quickly that he was not telling him his name, but species, but he smiled politely anyway and made a note to look it up when he was able. "I'm not making a deal with you," he reminded him. "I am requesting directions as a stranger in China. If you help me I will return the favor."

He was stared at long and hard, the coffee was finished, coat gathered and put on. "There has been a gathering of power that is not common here," he murmured, more to the floor than to Itachi, but the brunette was listening intently. "It's in an old building that has been deserted for a long time, but I suspect that it is a hunter's checkpoint that only looks as such. People have been seen going in and out, so I suppose it's been spelled to look collapsing."

Itachi followed him out the door, refusing to leave him be until he told him where this place was. They walked out, the man glancing sideways to look at Kisame who looked a bit irritated at being shut outside. They walked a little ways before the man took out a slip of napkin and began writing something on it. Itachi politely waited, while Kisame craned his neck to see what it was without trying to look very obvious.

"I will await your payment," the man said with a devious grin as he handed the napkin to Itachi. His hands slipped into his pockets and crossed the street while Kisame turned to Itachi looking worried.

"What did you promise him?" he demanded.

"A repayment of debt," Itachi answered, turning over the napkin, his heart sinking as he saw that whatever it was, it was written in Chinese. "I didn't say anything specific."

"Are you sure?" Kisame asked, peering after the man.

"Yes. Can you read Chinese?" Itachi asked, showing it to him. The Hunter shook his head and Itachi looked at the writing again. "I wonder if we can find someone who can translate the address or give us directions…"

"How about we look for a hotel first," Kisame suggested, watching the smaller man glance around. "I know you're in a hurry to find the vampire, but we've been on a train for a week. Let's sleep in a real bed, eat a decent meal and start fresh."

"I'd rather find where this address is," Itachi asked, squinting carefully at the Chinese kanji. Based on the arrangement, he guessed that was what it was.

Kisame took it out of his hands, making Itachi start and try to grab it back, but the taller man held it over his head. "You look exhausted. Whatever you were doing on the train that whole time wasn't exactly restful," he stated, frowning at him. "If you're going to do anything, it's better to do it at your best, okay?"

"No," Itachi insisted, his frown turning into a glare. "Please give that back to me."

"Not until you eat something and take a nap," Kisame said, grinning as he walked away.

Panicked, Itachi ran after him, trying to block his way, but blocking the way of someone who was over six feet tall when you are only average height is quite difficult. "Kisame, wait, please give it back," Itachi demanded, grabbing his arm. "I need to find this place. You don't understand, I know you don't care, but I need to find him."

"Hey, I'm not saying this to keep you from getting to him," he told him, easily keeping his hands out of Itachi's reach despite his pulling on it. "You look like a little kid doing that, you know."

Flushing, Itachi released his arm and clenched his fists at his side. "I don't want to sleep, I'm rested enough," he informed him.

"I doubt that," Kisame said, raising an eyebrow at him. "Look, it's almost dark anyway," he added. "I wont give it back until you've eaten and slept."

Staring at him, Itachi swallowed and stared at the napkin. He iwas/i tired and he was also hungry, but all he could feel was the pain that had woken him up. The loneliness that was left behind in Deidara's absence. Frustration built up in him, but a little voice in the back of his mind agreed with Kisame, saying that he was reacting like this because he needed to sleep and eat. Slowly his fingers unclenched and his shoulders began to relax. Kisame saw him and gave him a light clap on the shoulder with a smile that could have been triumph, but Itachi didn't look too close. With the brunette following close behind, Kisame began trudging down the street looking for what Itachi assumed was a place to stay. As he walked, Itachi did begin to realize the benefit of finding a place to spend the night. He had been wearing the same clothes for the last week and a half and hadn't had a decent shower since the night before the break in. Closing his eyes as they stopped for a traffic light, he rubbed his temples lightly. But Deidara was still prisoner somewhere. Deidara was alone too. Knowing what he knew of the blond so far, he probably wasn't scared, but he was probably worried about him. Probably didn't know if he'd gotten away or not. He wondered if Deidara could feel him pushing with all his might against the barriers trying to get through to him, giving himself migraines from the effort.

Kisame gave him a prod in the side to bring his attention back to reality as the light turned and they crossed the street, making a comment to get out of his own head for a little while. He didn't seem irritated, in fact when Itachi didn't reply, he just grinned to himself. The Hunter wasn't unpleasant company for him, except that when he conversed, it was about nothing particularly important about something he noticed that day. Deidara did the same, only it was in an erratic, unpredictable kind of way that made Itachi smile. At least Kisame was making sure he wasn't hit by a car or one of the many bicycles flying passed.

A quick stop in a 7/11 allowed Kisame to grab what appeared to Itachi a very poor assortment of snacks and drinks, and also to speak to the man behind the counter – using many hand gestures and English words – about a hotel that they could walk to. When they were outside, Kisame handed him a hot cup of chocolate then mimicked the directional hand gestures the man had given them, even though Itachi had been standing right next to him when Kisame had received them.

The hotel they arrived at took them a bit longer then the directions given to them suggested, much to Kisame's verbal annoyance. It was small, and looked more like a window shop than a hotel, but the taller man entered and walked up to the counter. The man there spoke English much to their relief and sold them a room for the night. Like the hotel, the room itself was small, barely big enough to house the two beds that it contained. Kisame's legs humorously stuck out from the end of the bed, but the blue haired man only chuckled and commented that they were getting what they paid for: cheap.

"Go take a shower and soak for a bit," Kisame gestured to the open door of the bathroom. "I'll go find us some food."

"You sure you don't want to go first…?" Itachi asked, glancing at the door and back again.

"Yep, I'm sure," Kisame said, waving his hand. "Soak a bit too, okay? I might be a while."

The bathroom was cleaner than the cheap price predicted. Clean and white with small bottles of soap and shampoo with fresh towels available. Stripping off his clothes, he folded them neatly and turned water on. As he waited for the water to heat, he glanced his reflection in the mirror and stared. He looked horrible. Pale, thin and tired. Darkness smudged the skin under his eyes and his hair looked dirty and stringy. Seeing himself like this made him want the bed, the sleep and the shower despite his desire to find Deidara. One night wouldn't hurt. They couldn't move him for another few weeks for sure and he was closer to him. That made him stronger. Turning his back on his reflection, he stepped into the blissfully hot shower and sighed. Dirt, sweat and worry seemed to slide off him down the drain at his feet and he stood there for much longer than he normally would before he began to scrub his skin and hair. It took longer than usual for him to feel properly clean and human again and when he was finished, he took the time to fill the tub up and slide under the water.

He missed his own bathtub at home.

After a proper long soak, he sat up suddenly and pushed his bangs out of his eyes. He let Kisame go out on his own. He could be alerting the other Hunters. He could be bringing them here to grab him. Why? How could he let himself get so tired and exhausted that he just let something like that slip? Sliding under the water completely, he closed his eyes. This whole trip had been ill planned. There was nothing he could do about it now.

Coming up for breath, he glanced around the bathroom. Deidara's bag lay on the floor by the sink next to where his clothes had been, containing helpful things but no answers. He had to figure this out on his—'had been'? He looked back at the bag, then around the room. Where were his clothes?

Standing up, he pulled the tub's drain and grabbed for a towel to dry and wrap himself up in. He had left his clothes right by the bag so he could put them on again, but they were gone. Throwing the door open, he stared around at the unoccupied space, mind blank. Where were his clothes!? The sun had set, the lights of the room casting a warm orange-yellow against the walls. He had been in the bath for quite a long time, but his clothes!

The hotel door clicked as the lock turned and the door opened, Kisame stepping inside. "Where are my clothes?" Itachi demanded before he had taken a step into the room.

"Whoa, chill," Kisame said with a startled laugh. "I paid the hotel staff to wash them in their laundry. I grabbed them while you were in the shower," he tossed him his clothes and snickered as Itachi stomped back into the bathroom to put his clothes back on. "I figured you'd be a while!" Kisame called through the door. "Did you just get out? You were in there for almost two hours, you know!"

"I was dirty," Itachi muttered as he came out of the bathroom, dragging Deidara's bag with him. "You took my clothes?"

"You're welcome," Kisame smirked at him again, sitting down on the bed closest to the door. He set down the bag he brought in on the floor and pulled out several wrapped sandwiches. "And just to show how awesome I am, I brought food too." He began pilling the items on the nightstand between their beds and gestured for Itachi to help himself while he went into the bathroom himself with a sandwich in hand. "Don't try stealing my clothes while I'm in here though," he added, laughing at the expression on Itachi's face.

Itachi definitely wouldn't steal Kisame's clothes. In fact, who steals someone's clothes while they were showering? "You could have asked me," he said to the door. "Please don't take my clothes again."

He sat on the bed furthest from the door and picked up one of the sandwiches. It was just a simple burger from a fast food place, but Kisame had gotten quiet a lot so the brunette supposed it would be enough for the both of them. It was nice of him to get his clothes washed, but what if he'd gotten out of the shower before he came back? Why hadn't he asked him?

With a sigh, he unwrapped the food and began eating. Once he started, he realized how hungry he was and went through four before Kisame came out, dressed and towel drying his hair. "Hey, think you can actually sleep this time, instead of whatever you were doing on the train?" Kisame asked him as he picked up another burger for himself.

"Maybe," Itachi said, crumbling the wrapper so he could throw it away.

"Did you ever find that thing you were looking for?" Kisame's expression was curious, though a little ridiculous because he had a mouth full of meat and bun.

To counter that, Itachi chewed and swallowed his own mouthful before replying. "Maybe."

The blue haired hunter gave him an expression of displeasure or annoyance, Itachi couldn't tell, but it didn't look mad. In fact, he looked as though he was wondering if Itachi was making a joke. "Alright," he finally said with a shrug. "Well, look, when you're finished, sleep and we'll start early tomorrow."

"Don't lose that napkin," Itachi said, watching him closely.

"I promise I wont," Kisame assured him. "And I will not take your clothes while you're sleeping either."

"Yes, please don't do that again," Itachi said with a frown. Reaching down, he picked up Deidara's bag and began digging through the contents again even though he had them memorized. Just feeling them, knowing Deidara had gone through them made him feeling slightly better. He opened the passports, smiling a little at the picture of Deidara in the passport. He looked as though he was trying to look serious but also that he had just swallowed something spicy and sour.

"You really like this guy, don't you?" Kisame asked, who had been watching him.

Itachi looked up at him then reached for another burger even though he wasn't hungry. It was mostly to fill time. "Yes, I suppose," he said finally. "He's a little strange and crazy, but he's… important to me."

"And you're his… Human Servant?" Kisame asked, propping a chewing chin on his hand. "What is that exactly?"

"We share things," Itachi said, unsure himself. "Like I can feel things he's feeling. We can talk psychically."

"Hm… So why can't you just ask him where he is?"

"He blocked me out," Itachi replied. "He's hurt; he doesn't want me to feel it too." Kisame didn't reply, just kept eating the rest of the burgers. Itachi rubbed his face and laid down on the bed, which was thankfully comfortable, arms wrapped around the bag.

Itachi thought it was going to take him a while to fall asleep. He'd been having difficulty sleeping the past several days, but tonight in a real bed he quickly fell to sleep. If he dreamed anything, he didn't remember when he woke up the next day. The sun shone through the window and he felt refreshed. Sitting up, he looked over at the other bed and found Kisame sitting at the edge of his bed polishing the barrel of a small handgun.

"Morning," Kisame said when he noticed Itachi moving.

"Good morning," he replied, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "May I have the napkin now?"

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Kisame pulled out the small slip of paper and handed it over. "I was going to ask around to see if I could get directions, but I figured you wouldn't want me doing everything for you," he told him with a grin, going back to polishing his weapon. "I figured we'll find a touristy place and find someone who speaks one of the languages we understand so we can get directions."

Itachi smoothed the piece of paper out and took a slow breath. "Will you be able to see where they are?" he asked, glancing up at Kisame.

"Well," the Hunter breathed, putting the gun back into its holster. "It depends on the kind of defenses they've put up. I should be able to. I'll know if we're in the right place and we may be able to get through easily."

Itachi glanced down at the address and thought hard as he stared at the Chinese characters. He knew some of the letters, but they may mean something completely different here. This had seemed extremely easy when he decided to do it in Germany, but obviously it wasn't. He felt for Deidara out of habit, but felt nothing. This lack of something was becoming extremely frustrating. Did Deidara not think he could handle whatever it was he was feeling? He was tougher than that, he could handle it. He could handle some of it at least, he countered himself, thinking of the pain that morning. Could he take some of it to make Deidara feel better?

He needed to be better informed about his role as a Human Servant.

"Okay," he said, folding the napkin carefully so he could slide it into one of the pockets of the messenger bag. He pulled his shoes back on and pulled his jacket on as well. It was very cold outside and he wished he'd brought more clothes.

"We're getting breakfast first, right?" Kisame said casually as he pulled his own overcoat on.

Disappointed, Itachi turned to face him. "We already took this detour," he reminded him. "I'd like to find Deidara now."

"On an empty stomach?" Kisame grinned at him. "We can get some when we get directions. Simple."

"Fine," Itachi muttered, buttoning the jacket up and pulling the bag over his shoulder.

"They have to hold him there, remember?" Kisame said, standing up. "He'll be fine, probably."

"'Probably'," Itachi repeated, quite certain of the doubtfulness the word 'probably' had. "Fine, but let's be very quick."

He wanted to be quick, but it ended up being two hours before they had finally found a place where tourists were gathering and also to find someone who could translate the writing on the napkin and direct them to the address which was quite a distance away. They grabbed more sandwiches for breakfast, Itachi too worried about the time that passed by to be even concerned about how poorly they were eating. As they sat down to eat their meal – Kisame grinning at Itachi's sour face – the brunette realized that his trying to rush was probably not good for his cause anyway. His own health affected Deidara's. If he was tired and hungry, Deidara would be weaker. Frustrated with himself he ate his sandwich like a duty and bought water instead of soda.

Together they walked to the closest train station that would take them closer to their destination. They had wasted enough time this morning and he did not want to walk for over two hours. The train was dark from the underground, lights suddenly blinding every second or so from the bulbs that lit the tunnel. There were a number of people standing together, eyes on their phones or nose in some form of literature. Kisame was several heads taller than most of the people on the train but seemed completely oblivious to their stares. He seemed to enjoy watching Itachi, and found amusement in his frustration and confusion about what they were doing. Why, Itachi couldn't figure out, but Deidara did the same thing so he was relatively used to it. What he did know was that it wasn't mocking, nor malicious. He just seemed to find amusement in his existence. They rode the train together for nearly a half hour before transferring trains and riding for another ten minutes. Then, blinking in the sudden brightness, climbed out into the daylight again.

"Excuse me," Itachi said to a man waiting to cross the street. He used English in case the man knew a little. Holding out the napkin, he pointed at the address. "Do you know where this place is?"

"33…Zhongguancun," the man spoke, leaning over. He made an exclaiming sound and pointed at a large brick building across the street a block down. He couldn't understand what the man was saying, but he gathered that the building was their destination.

"Thank you," Itachi replied, staring at it. So close…

Crossing the street they walked up to the building and stared up at it. Kisame made a humming noise and squinted as though he was searching for something. "Yeah, this is definitely the place. There's wards and stuff all over it," he said, pointing at various points on the wall.

"I can't see anything," Itachi commented.

Kisame shrugged. "Well you're not trained to look for them."

"Oh."

"So… do you have a plan or do you want to just walk right in?"

"Can we walk right in?" Itachi questioned, startled by that fact.

Another shrug. Kisame was full of shrugs. "We're both Hunters, I don't see why not," he said, walking up to the building before Itachi could protest that he wasn't a Hunter and definitely didn't want to be.

The building appeared to have been forgotten years ago, the outside faded in the years of weather and sun it received. The windows were broken in places and one of the two doors was hanging off its hinges. It could have been an old factory that had been abandoned, but the closer they came, the better Itachi could see through the magic that surrounded it. Parts of the decay was real, the rest was fake and magicked to appear forgotten. Kisame pushed open the door and they stepped in together, the feeling of ice water passing over Itachi though nothing touched him. The inside of the building told an entirely different story.

It was cleaner than the outside suggested. Walls lit with warm glowing bulbs from old fashion Chinese lanterns showed a hallway leading deeper into the building. Further down the hallway seemed to split into a fork, the pathways leading in the same direction too straight and too deep for the actual building. The walls and floor were large grey stone laced with exposed wooden beams that supported it all. There was no one in the hallway.

Kisame led the way, Itachi just a few footsteps behind. He walked to the fork and looked at each before reaching behind him to grip Itachi's shoulder and walk him right into the middle of them at the wall. Yet instead of hitting it, they slid right through as if it was a curtain and they were back into the hallway, but instead of the path and forked hallways, a lobby stood before them, it's ceilings high and had ancient and modern details laced in the design. Before them were two people standing in the middle of the room, armed and attentive, watching them approach with curious expressions on their faces.

It was a man and woman, dressed in similar clothes to Kisame – thick fabric tops that moved easily with dense bulges in various places for extra protection, heavy looking pants with extra pockets and weapons strapped to their bodies. The woman was tall with deep lidded eyes and curly red hair tightly pulled off her face. The man was shorted, his hair closely cropped to his scalp. They looked at Itachi, then Kisame with more familiarity.

"Welcome," the woman said to them. "There is always sanctuary for traveling Hunters here, but this is a dangerous time now and we recommend continuing on your way."

"We kno—"

"I'm here for Deidara," Itachi interrupted Kisame, stepping forward as calmly as he could. Now that they were out of the entrance hallway, he could feel Deidara in here. He was somewhere close, but it still seemed very far.

The two Hunters stared at him, then at one another. "The vampire?" the man asked for clarification.

"Yes," Itachi replied. "He is my vampire and I would like him back."

They continued to stare at him, unsure of what to make of him. He didn't look away or back down, but continued to stare at them as the wolf Alphas did when one of their pack was acting up. Apparently, he did it correctly because they looked away unable to meet his gaze and looked at Kisame. He, they seemed to decide, was more like them than Itachi was. Kisame, however, had assumed the role of a follower instead of an equal with Itachi and was silently standing just behind him.

"Your vampire," the man repeated again, a little sneer creeping on his face. "Aren't you a Hunter? Were you hoping to claim him as a prize or something?"

"No," Itachi replied. "He is my vampire. I am his Human Servant, Itachi Uchiha." He watched their grins drop from their faces as he said his name, staring at him with a different expression. "Please take me to him so that we can return home."

"Take you to him?" the woman repeated with a snorting laugh. The two shared a look and smirked together; it made Itachi's chest clench nervously. "Sure. We'll take you. Follow us."

At her gesture, Itachi took a step to follow her, but Kisame stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. He looked about to say something, but couldn't find the words he wanted and let go. Eying him curiously, Itachi continued to walk, feeling him moving behind him as they walked up a set of steps and onto a floor that had a similar design to the foyer. They turned down another hallway and stopped in front of a thick wooden door with silver holdings. The man turned and grinned at Itachi and pushed the door open with a broad gesture.

"Your vampire, Itachi Uchiha," he said as the woman snickered behind him. "Come see him."

A sickly feeling of dread bubbling in his stomach, Itachi stepped through the door and looked.