Chapter 3

Uchiha Itachi reminded him of the strange Uchiha from before. He gave off similar vibes of a man with limited patience, one that possessed the ability of snapping with shocking ease should he push the wrong buttons, contradicting that calm aura that surrounded him.

After all, how could one be so relaxed when they were capable of ruthlessly slaughtering an entire clan, their entire clan? It took guts to cause or create such a bloodbath, to enact such inconceivable crimes. He supposed, in a way, one could even claim it was a crime of passion considering it was his own family he murdered. That meant he wasn't as emotionless as he appeared.

Kisame couldn't wait to see the hidden rage he knew was in there.

However, much to his increasing disappointment, it was taking a while to reveal itself.

Whereas he willingly gave himself up to his darker side, Itachi contained it. Whereas Kisame delighted in cutting down his enemies and dragging it out until both he and Samehada was fulfilled, Itachi ended things unsatisfyingly quickly. Even when Konoha's ANBU inevitably managed to track them, the Uchiha greeted them coolly, unaffected by their presence and effortlessly put them down. Kisame had attempted to call him out on it, complaining about being bored and needing a decent battle (Konoha's ANBU were not up to Kiri's standards, but when they sent platoons, they were capable of making his blood burn with adrenaline), but he'd simply walked off without a word.

He'd definitely met his match in Uchiha Itachi and although he would probably never know it, he'd earned a fraction of his respect – a rarity.

They were currently keeping their heads down while gathering information on the tailed beasts and their vessels, preparing themselves for future missions of capturing them. Biding their time was essential when it came to the tailed beasts, and even Kisame was not arrogant enough to believe he could run blindly into battle against one. Their abilities were relatively unknown given how shielded or protected they were (nobody wanted their trump cards exposed, after all), leaving too much to chance. He hadn't lived as long as he had by being a fool and recklessly risking his life.

"The Kyuubi is under the watchful eyes of Konoha and never leaves the village due to being sealed within an orphaned child," Itachi informed him during their brainstorming session. "We won't be able to get close to him."

Konoha, eh?

"You were an ANBU captain," Kisame had no qualms in calling out, taking note of the bland way the Uchiha looked to him, almost making him feel like an annoyance. It was quite the change from his days as a loyal Kiri-nin and he almost wanted to laugh at the audacity of the brat before him. "One of the youngest, if not the youngest. Are you trying to tell me you have no knowledge of Konoha's security protocols?"

As expected of Uchiha Itachi, there was no indication of what he was potential experiencing in that moment while discussing the village he'd once served. It evoked a barely contained chill within Kisame, for the apathy in his gaze was surely a sign of his being a psychopath and had him rethinking his earlier beliefs of the massacre being a crime of passion.

Shockingly, psychopaths were quite the rarity in their profession. Kisame had crossed paths with sociopaths many times, but never a psychopath.

"To believe a village such as Konoha would retain the same security measures after my desertion is foolish," came his levelled response, and Kisame almost wished Itachi would at least look at him like an idiot. "They will be on high alert for quite some time–"

"In case you go after the sole survivor," he interjected, smirking wickedly as he jabbed at the imperturbable man's patience. "Your younger brother, if I'm not mistaken."

A beat of silence passed between them, one where Itachi appeared to be assessing him once more and Kisame felt his own bloodlust spike at the possibility of their clashing hard enough for it to become physical. He wondered who would be the victor from that battle.

Many naturally gave their booth in the tavern a wide berth without even realising what they were doing, much to Kisame's eternal amusement and he knew that their current clashing was doing them no favours. Then again, the fact that they were discussing missions details meant that wide berth worked in their favour. It wasn't really something he should complain about, he supposed.

"Saying that," he continued brutally. "I suppose survivor's guilt will kill him off long before you get your chance to."

So far, nobody stood out to either of them as shinobi or even low level thugs – they all appeared to be civilians relaxing after a hard day of grafting. Even if they weren't, it wouldn't matter. Shinobi or not, they were all easily dealt with if they heard too much.

Itachi remained silent at his jibes and Kisame inwardly sighed with annoyance. That limited patience was proving difficult to break.

"As I was saying," Itachi continued like he hadn't uttered a word and it intrigued him as much as it aggravated him. "Infiltrating Konoha at this time is close to impossible and isn't worth the risk it poses. We are lucky that they haven't sent their strongest after us."

"After you," he corrected offhandedly.

The collective chattering within the tavern was enough to cover their conversation from the civilians, and the quaint place boasted the added bonus of a sake potent enough to knock even the village drunk on their ass relatively fast.

That was potentially one of few things he missed about being a part of a village, for as toxic as the whole system was, within the village walls he'd been able to sit back and fully relax. If he wanted to indulge in sake, he could do so without concerns of letting his guards down and being targeted in his weakest moment. Although they were partners, Kisame did not trust Itachi enough – if at all – to have his back, should he bring such a situation upon himself.

The depressing thought of having no one he could trust brought forth an odd burning sensation that Kisame belatedly placed as longing, and with said longing was a featureless face that he couldn't place for the life of him. And it was so goddamn frustrating because he usually wasn't one to experience such sentimental emotions.

Regretfully, he savoured the taste of the few drinks he allowed himself to have.

"Speaking of ANBU leads me to my next point," Itachi continued in that bland tone, languidly holding his gaze. "What are you going to do about the ANBU captain tailing you?"

Ah, there it was. Kisame had wondered when he'd bring the persistent wench up, considering they'd crossed paths a total of four times since their pairing up. Each time, she gave him a run for him money and retreated when her comrades were cut down, seemingly without a backwards glance. Itachi never intervened with those battles, always watching steadily from the side lines. He wondered if that was going to change any time soon.

"Between Konoha's ANBU and Kiri's, we cannot fully immerse ourselves in our reconnaissance."

"I agree with you there," sighed Kisame. Sitting back in their booth, he took a long sip of his sake, wishing more than anything that he could shot it back like he'd once been able to. "That captain seems to have a personal vendetta against me."

"You're not sure?"

"Nope," he informed him with a wicked grin, emphasising the 'P'. "But it's not too surprising. I took out a great number of Kiri-nin. One was probably a relative or a lover of hers."

When there was no immediate response, Kisame assessed the Uchiha's expression and briefly amused himself by thinking he was no better than the faceless woman his thoughts continuously strayed to. With how perfected his pokerface was, he may as well have had no features too.

"She appears well-versed with your fighting style," Itachi pointed out. Was it an accusation?

"She does, doesn't she?"

"And you have no knowledge of who she may possibly be?" Definitely suspicion or distrust if not an accusation, he concluded.

"Nope. None."

Taking another sip of his drink, he wondered if he was finally getting under Uchiha Itachi's skin as the much younger man settled him with a steady stare. Well, he hoped so, anyway. Life as a missing-nin wasn't half as action packed as he'd believed it to be.

Kisame pondered the possibilities of his actually being a psychopath, and whether that nature was going to reveal itself at any point during their partnership. Even if he didn't face it head on himself, he wanted to witness what pushed Itachi into slaughtering a clan of hundreds seemingly unprovoked, because until that happened, in his mind at least, something just didn't sit right. Indifferent sure, but he'd yet to witness even a hint at the cold-bloodedness required for such a heinous act and the more Kisame heard about that night, the more his gut instinct kicked up a fuss.

Either Uchiha Itachi was a full blown psychopath who didn't feel a single emotion, or he was hiding something even greater.

Interesting, Kisame not for the first time thought, hopefully unnerving him with his sudden leer because more than anything, he just wanted to break him.

He didn't.

"Either way, you should put her down for good next time you battle," Itachi told him in no uncertain terms. "Your game of cat and mouse puts our mission at risk."

Putting the ANBU captain down wasn't as easy as he'd once longed it to be, and Kisame now outright refused to senselessly end their game for it was a break in the mundane routine he'd unwillingly fallen into. She cropped up when he least expected it, always demanding he take notice of her and then just as smoothly, she disappeared, lurking, waiting for the next opportunity of his guards being even slightly lowered to attack.

Which one was it then? Kisame continued to wonder idly as he calmly suggested he ended another's life (even as shinobi, it was proven difficult), assessing the relaxed muscles in Itachi's body, yet the alertness of his apathetic eyes. Although to an outsider he appeared at ease, there was no doubt in his mind that should they suddenly be attacked, Itachi was more than capable of snapping into battle mode with even a millisecond of hesitation. He appreciated that about him.

So, was he a psychopath?

Itachi shut his eyes in resignation.

Chuckling to himself, Kisame finally downed the last of his sake, baring his teeth at the strong aftertaste that burned in his chest.

And then in true bloody Kiri-nin fashion, the doors to the once peaceful tavern exploded, uncaring for civilian casualty.