Author's Notes: Hey, kids! Chapter 4 has been one of my favorite ones to write. I really love Kisame's character here, but not sure it's all that in character. Ah well, I tried. Next update will probably be in another week or so. No promises!

Disclaimer: Naruto characters (Kisame and Itachi) belong to Kishimoto. Miya is mine.

Chapter 4

The blur of passing trees and foliage suddenly came into focus. The calm of early dawn replaced the roar of the wind in Miya's ears. Itachi's arm fell from around her and she slowly let go of his coat, her feet feeling solid ground beneath her. She was a bit shaken, never having traveled on the branches of trees at such speed. Itachi wasted no time, taking her wrist and leading her through a line of brush. His hold was tight, and she winced, trying to keep up with his quick pace. After a few minutes, they reached a cleared area beneath thick branches of trees where sunlight could just barely shine through.

"Kisame, we have a guest," Itachi said, pulling her in front of him. Miya stumbled forward a little, her eyes drawn to the other man's face. He had a pair of gill-like slits beneath his fish-like eyes that stared at her vaguely. His eyebrows lowered.

"Is this wise?" Kisame asked, looking to Itachi.

"Don't question me," he answered and pushed Miya towards the ground. She fell over, sitting hard on her side and turned back to Itachi, frazzled.

"Sit and be silent," he said, intolerable of any complaint she might have offered. Itachi moved from her to sit by Kisame, and they commenced a private conversation, their voices kept too low for her to hear. She sighed, watching them a little while when a bird sung out and she raised her head to look for it.

In doing so, she realized just how beautiful this place was surrounding her. It felt ancient with towering trees whose branches began at least fifty feet above her head. Like a temple from nature, she thought, her gaze lingering above. A breeze rustled the upper canopy, causing a few leaves to float gracefully to the floor below. I wish I could climb up there, she thought again. I wonder what I would see?

"You're easily amused," Kisame's voice called over to her. She looked at him, her thoughts interrupted. Itachi had disappeared. Kisame could read the question in her face before she said a word.

"You'll see Itachi again later. I'll be taking you to our hideout," he said, not looking all that pleased with the task. Miya felt unsettled. She hardly knew this person, and now she had no choice but to trust him or be lost. But Itachi wouldn't risk my death, she thought. Her blood was the only reason…she bit her lip, standing up slowly.

"Your name is…Kisame?" she asked him.

"Hoshigaki Kisame."

"Mr. Hoshigaki, I hope I will be no trouble to you," Miya said, attempting to be as polite as possible. Kisame made no recognition of it, picking up his sword and beginning to walk.

"Don't get lost," he said gruffly. He's a little like Mr. Narita, Miya thought. Mr. Narita…I'll miss him. And Mrs. Narita, most of all, but I can't live my life with them when there's a chance for part of my past to be returned to me. This is how it must be.

"Hey! I said don't get lost. I'm not going to go look for you," yelled Kisame, annoyed. She was about ten feet behind him.

"S-sorry!" she cried, running to catch up and making sure to pay more attention with her eyes if her mind wandered.

---

Miya pushed her hair back from her face, fanning herself with her hand. The midday air was very warm, even under the shade of trees. Kisame and she had been traveling the entire time, not stopping to take a break and neither saying much of anything. Miya had given up trying to keep with his pace. She consistently lagged between five and ten feet behind him. Her legs ached terribly. She took another step when a painful numbness throbbed in her calf. She hissed in a breath and stopped, lowering herself carefully to the ground.

"Ouch," she whispered, running a hand over her calf.

"Mr. Hoshi-," she began to call, turning her head back to the path but he was already beside her.

"My leg is cramped."

Kisame sneered a little, looking at her leg then back at her.

"What am I supposed to do about it?" Miya narrowed her eyes a little, her exhaustion making her a little irritable.

"You could help me," she said. Kisame caught the tone in her voice and he glared, his apprehension of her becoming more justified.

"Look, little girl, you're lucky Itachi finds something valuable about you because, if left up to me, I'd have killed you and taken your blood with me rather than put up with you alive."

"I'm glad it's not up to you then," Miya retorted. "I haven't been trained as a ninja. I can't run at super speeds or use jutsus to help me." Kisame was unmoved.

"Too bad," he said. "You'll have to deal with it. Now, get up! I've survived far worse than a measly leg cramp."

Miya tightened her lips. She wasn't used to unfeeling men like Kisame. She pushed herself up from the ground and tried to take a step with the cramped leg, but the same jolt of pain made her stumble a bit. She tried again, with the same result and continued until her other leg began to hurt in the same way. Kisame watched her, serious at first but as her walk became more strained, he started to crack a smile, then a grin. He laughed.

"You're pathetic," he said, walking up to her. "You'll cause more trouble for me if I don't help you at this point." He reached across pushed her behind him.

"Get on," he said, crouching down a bit. Miya hesitated; she was a little scared to be that close to him.

"I said, get on, damnit! I don't have all day to wait for you," he growled back at her. She pushed aside her rattled nerves and reached for his shoulders, getting on his back. He looped his arms around her legs and held to her lower thigh just above the knee. As he stood up straight, Miya clung a little tighter, seeing just how high up from the ground she was now. His grip tightened and before she could brace herself, Kisame shot off into the trees. She squeaked, holding on for dear life.

"Aghck!" Kisame readjusted her position on him, loosening her arm from around his neck. "This'll work better if you don't choke me."

"Sorry!" she cried, her eyes closed tight. The air rushed over her arms and face, her hair blown back from it. A leaf or two would hit her, but it didn't hurt. Every change in Kisame's step she could feel. She'd gotten used to the feeling of his blade against her stomach. Slowly she opened her eyes. The forest rushed past her. The only thing in clear focus was the distance in front of them.

"Mr. Hoshigaki?"

"Stop with that Mr. Hoshigaki crap! I'm not an old man," he said more annoyed than before. She paused.

"…Kisame, what's Itachi like," she asked. Kisame didn't answer for a while, but she thought she heard him smirk.

"Why do you want to know?"

"…We used to be friends a long time ago," said Miya more quietly. There was no mistaking Kisame's laugh.

"And you think everything will just fall back into place now? My, you're foolish, " he said still snickering.

"I didn't say that. I just wanted to know…know who he is now," she said. Kisame snorted.

"He's a man who won't let anything get in the way of his goals. Not even Akatsuki could make him back down," he said. There was great reverence in his voice as he spoke of him. "He never bothers with unnecessary details. Although, since he's decided to keep you around, I don't know if that's true anymore."

Miya was used to his distaste for her by this point, but she worried about his description of Itachi. He sounded ruthless.

"Nothing will hold him back?"

"Nothing. Emotions only weaken the soul and mind. Attachment provides one's enemies with a weak point. To fear is to die, to be feared is to survive."

A set of rules for a ninja live by, she thought. No wonder Itachi is dying inside himself. His cold red eyes and hard face…she could see him in her mind. His expression rarely changed, the sharingan ever present. His forehead protector with a scratched line across it denounced his affiliation with Konoha. Black nails, a tall-necked black coat with red clouds, and the straw hat affirming his new self. But there were parts of him still familiar to her: his hair, dark as night, lay wispy around his face; his voice, deeper and not as warm, was his own; the two marks beneath his eyes, his family trait.

But he was a murderer. And probably wanted in every village.

"We're here," Kisame said, and Miya looked up. They were at the base of a mountain, on a thick branch. The trees tapered off and grew smaller as the slope elevated upwards.

"You'll see Itachi at the top, so you can stop daydreaming about him now," Kisame said with another snicker, leaping off the branch and making his way to the top with her. Miya would have snapped a witty remark back at him, but this time he was sort of right.

To be continued...Chapter 5

I decided to respond in bulk since most of the comments were similar. Thanks everyone for reading my story and reviewing it! I had some trouble in the beginning (I hadn't planned that out before hand) but now that the middle is coming, I think my writing will get better. Anyway, thanks again and continue to read and review! Kiss kiss!