Title: Questions and Answers
Theme: #22/ Cradle
Pairing: Hoshigaki Kisame/Uchiha Itachi
Word Count: 1,474
Summary: Itachi isn't usually the type to find himself injured in battle. But when his mind is distracted, the little injures begin to add up.
Notes: Continuation of the Mist-Village "arc" presented in "Creating Memories."

This was not the way Itachi liked things to be. It was unsettling, unnatural, unnerving.

Something had gone wrong, but then again, he was trained to know that things never went as planned. It was just a rare fluke that the one change in the plans left him in such a state.

Sure, his opponents never knew that they'd gotten a shot in. He never let them know, and those that did figure it out didn't live to take advantage of it.

Part of him wanted to blame the heat. Or the fact he hadn't slept well the night before due to a midnight raid on their location. But the more he thought it over; it all came down to one simple distraction.

Kisame.

His crimson eyes searched the area for the blue-skinned man; but he was nowhere in sight.

A new Mist-Seven. Is it possible they knew of him since he was a former member?

Wincing, he glared at the injury on his side- the kunai still protruding out from it.

Then again. It seemed they had some knowledge of my fighting techniques as well.

Yanking out the kunai and throwing it absently atop the dead bodies piled nearby, Itachi attempted to stand, only to realize that perhaps he was a little more exhausted than it first seemed.

"Kisame?" He said quietly, eyes scanning the area once again for his companion.

A rustle of leaves drew his attention, but the cause of it only warranted a kunai in the throat. As the last of the Mist-nin group fell, Itachi straightened his stance and began to walk towards the direction he'd last seen Kisame in.

Having finished off the last of the nins that he'd lured away from Itachi, Kisame tallied up the bodies and shrugged.

"My, they sure came prepared when they heard we were in town for business. A new Mist-Seven and this many nins? Oi…Itachi-san, we can go on ahead now. The path's clear."

He waited for the reply coming from where he'd left the Uchiha back in the forest, but there was no response.

"Itachi-san?"

Swinging the samehada over his shoulder, he quickly headed towards where he'd last seen Itachi. Passing countless bodies and waylaid weapons lodged into the trees, Kisame frowned as a blur of red and black caught his eyes.

It was Itachi's cloak all right, but it was torn and bloody- and that didn't sit well with him at all. Reaching down, he cradled the cloak in his arms.

"Itachi-san?" He called once more.

Following the trail of blood with his eyes, he saw his partner resting against a nearby tree. Itachi glanced up as if nothing was out of the ordinary, not the type to even let his closest companion see his weaknesses.

"Did you finish the others off?"

"Itachi-san, what about…"

"Then we need to move on ahead and finish off the target."

The black-haired man stood, making a motion as if to snatch his cloak out of Kisame's arms. But instead of taking back his tattered cloak and putting it on like he'd planned; Itachi fell forward as his mind went momentarily blank.

Itachi wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but when he registered his surroundings, he found that he was cradled in Kisame's arms.

"Ah Itachi-san, are you all right?"

His eyes narrowed in thought as he tried to piece together what had happened.

"You must have lost too much blood, Itachi-san. It's not like you to fall like that."

Itachi regarded that comment, thinking back to the fight he'd endured. Yes, he had sustained several minor injures and due to the numerable amounts of Mist-nin that they'd had to fight off; those minor scraps had been bleeding for probably close to thirty minutes. Even he couldn't keep clear-headed with that much blood-loss.

"I suppose I was careless," He replied, once again thinking back to the one thing that had been distracting him throughout the fight.

Kisame, was that your true intent last night? That kiss, those…feelings?

His partner smiled his toothy grin as he held the Uchiha closer to his chest.

"Was something distracting you?"

Itachi raised a questioning gaze to meet Kisame's eyes.

He knows. Or suspects. Or is just trying to drive me insane. Why was I distracted? Was I too preoccupied with the question I didn't answer and the man who asked it?

"I never answered your question."

Kisame grinned, "I'm afraid you have, Itachi-san."

A momentary glimpse into the youth behind the killer surfaced on Itachi's face, as the shock at Kisame's comment registered. Quickly hiding it with an irritated façade- Itachi posed a question.

"And my answer was?"

"How do you feel right now?" Kisame countered with another question, grin still on his face.

How do I feel?

Itachi's eyebrows creased in thought. What did he feel?

There he was, in the middle of the darkening forest, held in his partner's arms. One would think he would be rather irritable after the day he'd had, but when Itachi paused to think about it- his mindset at that moment was quite the contrary.

It was a feeling of contentment- not resentment. A moment of realization- not aggravation. There in the silence, cradled in Kisame's arms, all the answers he'd ever needed his entire life flooded into his mind.

Perfection. Destruction. Annihilation. Vengeance. Power.

All the things he'd ever sought never brought with them the satisfaction he'd so desired to find. All his life, he'd been searching for an unknown. But now, it looked like that "unknown" had found him.

"We should find a place to stay for the night," He replied, avoiding the question once more.

"Will another single bed suffice, Itachi-san?"

The dark-haired man frowned, knowing that Kisame was enjoying taunting him with the knowledge he now had in his possession.

But when did I answer him?

"And to answer your question about when you answered…" Kisame began, pausing a moment at the look on Itachi's face.

Great, now he's reading my mind.

Itachi's expression adjusted slightly and Kisame had to withhold a laugh at the slight pout he swore was forming.

"… Everyone knows how picky you are about your sleeping arrangements. The Leader's complained about your demands to have specific lodgings lined up for missions on numerous occasions. Itachi-san," He reached down and toyed absently with Itachi's ponytail, "It was a one-person bed we shared."

Furious at having all his walls of cold-heartedness stripped down so easily, Itachi glared viciously at a nearby tree to vent.

"Until those annoyances showed up, that is."

Kisame's grin softened into a smile at that. They both had asked their questions, and now, they both had their answers.

"So single-bed room again, tonight?" He dared ask.

"The Leader won't be pleased that we didn't take care of the target today," Itachi dodged.

"Heh, he can wait one more day," Kisame replied, standing with Itachi still cradled in his arms, "First we need to get you bandaged. Tomorrow, there shouldn't be anymore distractions. Right, Itachi-san?"

Itachi looked up at the blue-skinned man, carrying him easily along with his sword.

"I can walk on my own."

Kisame shook his head, lowering Itachi to his feet and draping his shredded cloak around him.

"Itachi-san, I think you'll need a new cloak soon."

"Is there a reason you're practically uninjured?"

"You fought all of the new Mist-Seven members at once while I just dealt with their pathetic excuse for backup. I guess they didn't think I was a threat compared to you."

Writing it off once more at all the inane distractions of the day, Itachi began to walk forward along the path. There was simply no way he'd be seen cradled in someone's arms like that. Even if…

"Itachi-san, if you really want me to- I don't mind carrying you."

The dark-haired man frowned and glared in Kisame's direction.

"That won't be necessary."

Laughing to himself, Kisame leaned down to give a quick kiss to Itachi's forehead.

"…And that wasn't necessary either," Itachi grumbled.

"Just making sure you haven't changed your answer, Itachi-san."

Snatching up his waylaid straw hat, Itachi pulled it on his head, the bells jingling at the abrupt movement.

"It's getting late."

Kisame smiled, reaching down to pick up his own hat as he left Itachi to his thoughts.

As the two headed towards the nearest town, the black-haired man sorted out all the questions and answers into the simplest of terms.

To be carried, cradled or otherwise held in another man's arms; isn't a position you want to be seen in, even if you find it enjoyable. And anyone witnessing you sharing a bed with someone should never live to tell. It's foolish to cling to such unnecessary things as emotions. But you- you make it so easy to be a fool like that, Hoshigaki Kisame.

END