Kisame split off from the group on the way home and took Kakashi to the nearly empty rain village prison, the silver-haired man not giving much complaint. He needed to rest before he talked to Itachi about this anyway. Kisame seemed almost unnerved by how compliant Kakashi was being, eyes narrowed as he locked him up. It was clear he was full of suspicions. "Don't try anything or we will kill you, regardless of if Sasuke pleads or not," he warned.
A voice sounded from the cell across from Kakashi, Tobi speaking, "So, you've found the rug-rat then?" his voice calm and not particularly guilty. Kisame had to resist the urge to swing for the other with his sword.
"He had been retrieved but is in terrible condition. You had better count your lucky stars that he survived this and is being forgiving. If he wasn't, you'd be gone." he clarified, tossing him a wrapped up bit of food. "The kids wanted you to have this. You better be grateful." he narrowed his eyes, gripping his sword.
Tobi's single visible eye widened a bit as he caught the foods. He knew the kids were angry with him, so why would they go out of their way to make sure he ate?
Before he had a chance to ask, Kisame was gone, leaving the two prisoners alone. Tobi finally focused on the other and his blood went cold. It was Kakashi. What was he doing there? Had the Akatsuki somehow found out who he was and brought him as a form of mental torture?
He heard a sigh ring out from the silver-haired man who seemed to be trying to rearrange himself in a more comfortable position. Tobi decided to try and pry a bit of information out of the other. Maybe he could learn why he was here. "You didn't seem to be struggling all that bad," he noted.
Kakashi only shrugged a bit. "I don't care to be captured. Besides, they were rather nice when I wasn't being hoisted around like a sack of potatoes." he joked lightly, but Tobi could see the hesitance to talk to another prisoner. Kakashi shocked him when he heard his next question. "So, you're the one who left Sasuke to die?"
Tobi glared at him through the mask. Typical cold bastard. "I did. So what? It isn't like you know the brat."
Kakashi sent him a smile, but it was a dangerous one. "Not very well, but he was your comrade. To abandon him like that, you must be a pretty big piece of scum," he noted easily.
That was all it took for Tobi to begin fuming, losing his temper quite easily. "How dare you! I left him to make him stronger! As if you've never left a comrade, you seem like the kind to kill them off yourself!" he accused, the look of pure agony that crossed Kakashi's face made Tobi both smug and regretful. He knew it was a low blow, but this so-called Kakashi deserved it after what he did to poor Rin!
Kakashi clenched his jaw, looking to the side. This was a conversation he didn't need to be having with some stranger, he reprimanded himself. This man knew nothing of him. His opinion didn't matter.
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Once they got home, the first thing Sasuke went looking for was his brother. Nagato tried to ask him to hold on, but Sasuke was already gone by that time. He was carrying the kelp treats, going straight for his brother's room. He found him in there, sure enough.
Itachi was sitting on his head, Akatsuki robes off and hair let out of its normal ponytail. His nails were holding tightly to his scalp, obviously tired and a mess. Sasuke froze momentarily in the doorway, gulping down his guilt. If only he hadn't been captured, Itachi wouldn't be hurting right now. Sasuke slowly approached, Itachi lifting his head to look at his brother.
Sasuke nearly dropped the box when he received a harsh glare from Itachi. He suspected that his brother would be upset with him for not obeying, but he didn't think he'd be angry enough to return to the icy look from that night.
The look on Itachi's face was one of pure anger, as though he would reach out to attack Sasuke at any moment. His narrowed eyes and scrunched up brows made it hard to not be intimidated. Sasuke's legs didn't want to move from their spot, but he forced them to. He forced one foot in front of the other, reaching out to hand the sneering older Uchiha the food. His mouth flew open to follow the movements of a gasp as Itachi smacked them out of his hands and onto the floor.
The teen took a step back. This wasn't right. Even when Itachi was angry or disappointed in him, he'd never do this. He normally gave him the silent treatment, a cold shoulder, or simple and quick responses. He always looked calm, even when angry. Why was he doing this? "Do you have something to say, Sasuke?"
Sasuke's stitched up lip quivered slightly, knowing he had to of screwed up majorly. He spoke, though his voice was nothing as it usually was. It was quiet and high pitched, the words mushing together no matter how hard he tried. "M' sorry." he panicked, "M' sorry, tachi!" not sure why his brother was being so suddenly cruel.
He could see Itachi momentarily looked overcome with grief, but his brother quickly hid it. "I don't particularly care if you're sorry or not. In case Konan hasn't told you yet, I've been a spy for the village this entire time. I couldn't care less about you or the Akatsuki. So you're free to leave, if that is all."
Sasuke felt like his lungs were going to burst, the teen breathing deeply and grabbing onto his own chest. "No!" he spoke muffledly. "No!" ignoring Kakuzu's warnings not to talk for at least another day so they would be semi-healed.
The moment Itachi had let that small look of grief pass over his face, Sasuke had known something was wrong. Now, hearing that he had been spying and was on Konan's radar, Sasuke knew exactly what was happening. "Ya not doin' it again. I won' let ya!" he glared, moving over to hold onto Itachi's arm despite the older Uchiha's protests.
Itachi did his best to shove Sasuke off, but Sasuke kept a firm hold on his arm. "What the hell are you talking about? Did you not hear what I said? I don't care about you." he repeated, as though Sasuke were a young child not understanding simple instructions.
Sasuke ignored his aching body, climbing on top of Itachi and wrapping his legs around his waist. Seeing as Itachi didn't throw him off, he knew his suspicions were right. He wrapped his injured arms around his brother, holding on like his life depended on it. He nuzzled his face into Itachi's shoulder, refusing as Itachi grabbed handfuls of his hair and tried to tug him off as gently as possible. "Ya ya do! I know ya do! Ya tryin' to play hero again. Ya tryin' to make me hate ya cus ya don' wan me to be sad when ya gotta leave. Ya wan me happy with the Akatsui." hugging onto Itachi tighter as he felt him freeze.
"I don' know why ya spied for leaf, but if ya in trouble with Akatsui, I wan be there with ya. Ya my family. I don' wanna hate ya. I don' wanna be ignor-ant no more." his words began to worsen the more he spoke, and Itachi quickly noticed the bits of blood leaking from Sasuke's mouth. He panicked, trying to shush his brother as the teen carried on, "I love ya. I love tachi."
Itachi could only lightly mutter 'shit', knowing his plan was a failure after all. He supposed it was pushing it to try and trick Sasuke into hating him twice. He used his sleeve to wipe the blood off Sasuke's lips, frowning as he saw how serious the boy was. So much for trying to quickly detach himself from Sasuke so that Sasuke would take his death easier. Itachi didn't have a doubt in his mind that Nagato and Konan would have him killed. He didn't want Sasuke to take it so hard, so he had tried to make the other one take his death easier by having him angry with him. Plus, this way, Sasuke would be less likely to behave crazier once he was gone than if Itachi was forgiven him right away. Itachi cursed Sasuke's intelligence.
Itachi wrapped his arms around Sasuke, finally pulling him completely into a hug. He felt selfish, to give up so easily. What was he supposed to do when Sasuke started bleeding all over, though? Itachi gently took his jaw, opening it up to look inside. His heart melted as he saw the cause for Sasuke's little speech impediment. He noticed Sasuke about to say something, but he motioned for him to be quiet as he hugging onto him. "You're too smart for your own good, Sasuke. You know I could never hate you." running a hand through the younger's hair.
Sasuke froze when he heard Nagato and Konan enter in the room, the boy tightening his grip on Itachi. He looked up at his pitying parents, a pleading look in his eyes. Meanwhile, Itachi held onto his brother, giving a pained look but knowing that it was his own fault things had gone so wrong. If he'd just stopped or come clean about being a spy sooner, none of this would have happened. He couldn't see how corrupt Konoha was, he was too busy focusing on his promise to Shisui. He should have stopped the moment he got Sasuke back with him. He'd just been too attached to his old promise of protecting Konoha to break it. He loosened his grip on Sasuke, ready to set him down.
Nagato spoke to Sasuke, "We know you're nervous, and that Itachi had probably already filled you in, but you don't need to worry right now, Sasuke. We aren't going to kill him. A lot is going on right now with you being hurt, Tobi being dangerous, and that strange hostage. Our priority is you, but you need to understand that we can't risk Itachi sending them back and information while you're still healing. Until you're better, he'll be in the prison with Tobi and the hostage we brought back. No harm will come to him, and it isn't for sure he'll be punished once we release him. He just needs to be...set to the side for now. So we can focus on you."
Itachi was surprised to hear that they weren't planning on killing him right away, but he assumed it had more to deal with Sasuke's mental health than him specifically. Plus, they were right. They couldn't deal with him while they were overwhelmed by so many other obstacles, otherwise, they might do something rash. He felt Sasuke grip onto his shirt tighter and lightly rubbed his back. "It's alright, little brother. I'll just be staying in the prison a while. It's no worse than a time-out." he hated relating it to something so childish, but by making it childish, he hoped Sasuke would see that it wasn't that bad. "You just focus on getting better." he lightly kissed the younger Uchiha's forehead, nudging him towards Konan as he went with Nagato.
As they headed down, he ignored the pained looks Sasuke gave him as best he could. He could feel Nagato watching him in case he tried to run for it, but he followed quietly. If he just gave them more time, he was sure they would forgive him. If he played his cards right, he might be able to rejoin Sasuke and the others once Sasuke was better. For now, he just had to be patient.
Once they reached the prison, Itachi noticed Tobi in another cell as well as someone he didn't think he'd ever see again. Was that Kakashi? He looked over at Nagato for clarification, but the man didn't seem to notice. That, or he didn't care to answer.
Itachi was placed in the cell beside Kakashi. He could feel the other leaf ninja's eyes on him and wondered momentarily if his old captain would recognize him. Nagato was quick to seal his chakra, blindfold him, tie him up, and take the necessary precautions so that the skilled ninja wouldn't escape, seemingly noticing the increase in Itachi's heartbeat, but not for the reasons he thought. Nagato frowned at him as he locked the door. "Don't worry, Itachi. We'll listen to your reasons. You'll just have to save that story until after Sasuke is healed up and the more dangerous threats are dealt with. We all just need to cool off, I think." turning to leave the tired Uchiha.
Itachi lowered his head a bit, only able to pray to Indra that Kakashi wouldn't recognize him. He didn't want the guilt he felt for what he'd done to Kakashi to resurface any further. His wish was seemingly denied as he heard Kakashi speak, "Itachi, that's you, isn't it?"
Itachi kept his head down, trying to make as little noise as possible. His hands and feet were mostly free, but not enough so that he could escape. He had them pulled up to his chest, trying to ignore Kakashi. If he didn't answer to his name, the other would most likely assume that it had been an issue on his part.
"I know it's you. They blindfolded you, but not me. I know those bags under your eyes and that long hair of yours. You aren't slick." he scolded his old comrade on habit, Itachi seeming to reject the attempt to lighten the situation.
The young Uchiha instantly shot back with a calm demeanor, "Tobi has the Sharingan and doesn't have his eyes covered. Your comrade could have cut his hair. Your argument is invalid."
Kakashi gave the other a look as if asking him if he was serious, though he knew he couldn't see it. "To be fair, they sucked all the chakra out of him anyway so he couldn't use them. Itachi loves his hair. Your defense is invalid." he mused, almost amused at his words.
The dark-haired man felt frustrated, settling for resting his head on his knees. "Fine. What do you want, Hatake?" waiting for Kakashi to start yelling at him about asking him to watch Sasuke only to kill off their family without warning and leave him with a traumatized boy. Him coming back to collect Sasuke only a few months later probably didn't help Kakashi any, either.
Which was why he was surprised as he heard his old captain's words. "I'm sorry, Itachi. You have every reason to ignore me. I failed to keep my promise to you. I came here hoping to apologize and try to set things right. If you'd rather I keep my mouth shut as a prisoner, I will. I just wanted to apologize."
Itachi couldn't see Kakashi's face, but he could hear the truth to his words. Itachi sighed a bit. "It's not your fault. I never thought it was. It was wrong of me to all but force you into accepting my request. It was clear you weren't comfortable with it when you asked. It was a burden I wasn't supposed to drop onto someone else."
Kakashi seemed interested, scooting over as close as he could to Itachi's cell. "No, really. It's not your fault. I was your captain and friend. I should have seen the signs that you were becoming so unhappy. You shouldn't have even had that burden to hand off."
Tobi made a gagging noise from across the room, rolling his eyes. Kakashi promptly glared, focusing on Itachi's words. "No- I didn't go mad. It wasn't something you should have been watching for. There was no way for you to catch something that isn't wrong with me."
Kakashi reached through the cells to lightly try to tap Itachi's shoulder. The teen moved away on reflex, but Kakashi tried his best to pull him over despite his pulling away. "I'm not saying you did. I'm just saying you had to have a momentary lapse of sanity if you decided to end your clan. I know how much you loved the village and your family."
Itachi gritted his teeth, awkwardly allowing Kakashi to pull him into a half huge, the two only restricted by the bars between. "I knew very well what I was doing." he gulped down, head going downcast. "It was a mission for the village. My clan was planning a coup. It was killing them all or risk nearby countries noticing and invading. I was allowed to let Sasuke live since he was so small and knew nothing of it. I- I was in control of my actions. I chose to kill them. I wasn't going insane so there was no way for you to of foreseen it." he assured him.
The silver-haired ninja felt his heart shatter once more. Every hour he was with the Akatsuki, it seemed like he lost more and more trust in his village. "They ordered it? Who? Lord Third?"
"No, Danzo did. Lord third only worked to keep it quiet so that things wouldn't get out of hand. Danzo said people have to do this all the time, make things look like one ninja went mad for the benefit of the village. I was just playing my role. Or, I was. I just couldn't anymore. So I took Sasuke back after a few months since Konan wanted a child of her own. I wanted to see him again while also keeping my promise to Danzo. That's how I ended up locked up. I had to come clean and tell them about my siding with Danzo." shame clear on Itachi's face. "I couldn't keep my word of never speaking of it. I couldn't...not when Sasuke was in danger."
Kakashi nodded in understanding, giving Itachi a serious look. "I understand. You aren't to blame though, Itachi. You were thirteen. Back to my original point, even if it is a bit altered now, you shouldn't have had that burden to share."
Itachi frowned a bit, understanding Kakashi's logic, but still disagreeing with it. Well, sort of. He was conflicted. On one hand, Sasuke was thirteen and he still saw him as barely old enough to make big choices. On the other hand, he was thirteen when he made the choice to end his clan. So it was a bit difficult to say.
So he was wrong on at minimum one account. If Kakashi was right, that meant he was wrong about himself being mentally ready to take on the clan at thirteen. That would also mean he was right about thirteen being too young to take on dangerous missions, proving him right on his choice with Sasuke.
If Kakashi was wrong, that meant he was ready at thirteen just as he had thought. That would also mean he was wrong about coddling Sasuke so much, though.
The thoughts alone hurt his head, and he sighed a bit in the half hug. He knew it depended on the person, but that didn't help his Sasuke situation any.
Now that Sasuke had been taken away for over a week, he didn't want to risk him getting hurt again. His coddling instincts only strengthened. On the other hand, Sasuke had handled himself well and even taken charge back in the bedroom, not letting Itachi lie his way through the situation. He knew his brother was strong, it was just hard to think about letting him go again after such an incident.
"What's wrong, Itachi? I might not be your captain anymore, and I understand if you don't see me as a friend, but I came here to repay you for the broken promise. I'll do what you need of me. I'm on your side alone. I'm your comrade." Kakashi swore.
Itachi glanced over at the other, though he couldn't see him, he knew Kakashi wasn't lying. "Thank you. It's nothing you need to concern yourself with. Just some...private thoughts. I'll fill you in some time."
Kakashi crooked his head, about to ask for more when the door opened and three people came in. Itachi crooked a brow, "Who's there?" trying to get a feel for the chakra signatures but finding it difficult when all tied up. He heard a throaty chuckle. Oh, of course. "Kisame, who's with you."
"Always so demanding, even in a position like yours." Kisame reached through the rails to pinch Itachi's cheek, the Uchiha giving a light gasp at the meaty hand's pressure. He glared from behind the blindfold, but Kisame could more than feel it. The shark ninja lightly patted the area he had pinches, rubbing a circle over it. "Don't be a baby. It's just Sasuke and Naruto. We aren't technically supposed to be in here, but Sasuke kept giving my kitty eyes." he heard a smack sound off, and he assumed it was Sasuke jokingly hitting Kisame's arm. Not that it would affect his thick skin. Another chuckle came, and Kisame added, "Naruto wanted to visit Tobi. So I thought I'd sneak them in just once."
Itachi quirked a brow as Kisame went on, tugging him forward and away from Kakashi in a joking manner. "I sneak down to visit and I find you cuddling up with another man." he could hear the smirk in Kisame's voice, the shark ninja bringing him closer and landing a rough kiss on Itachi's mouth. The Uchiha flustered, shooing Kisame off as he knew his brother was still near. He hated showing affection to Kisame in front of Sasuke, it just felt strange if it was more than a peck on the lips. He assumed Sasuke felt the same way since he could hear Sasuke swatting Kisame's arms.
Itachi cleared his throat, wiping his mouth off with a blush. "If you're down here against Nagato's wishes anyway, you should take this blindfold off for me."
Kisame hummed, "I don't know, I'm kind of liking it on you. Once you're out-"
"Kisame!" Itachi's voice echoing in a loud but startled whisper. "Sasuke is right there. Behave yourself." swatting at him through the bars. He felt the blindfold being removed but was surprised when it was Sasuke who did it rather than Kisame. Sasuke looked extremely upset with Kisame, though Itachi wasn't sure why the teen's feelings were so extreme.
Itachi smiled at Sasuke, "Thank you, little brother." Sasuke nodding in response, the teen sending Kisame dirty looks.
The shark ninja looked at Itachi in confusion, not sure why he was so clearly angered by it. "Hey, kid, I wasn't going to leave it on him. I was just joking. It's something couples do sometimes. We just haven't been around each other for a while without focusing on...other things." not wanting to blame the boy. "I was just playing."
Sasuke crossed his arms at Kisame, looking fairly annoyed with the other as he nodded a bit, holding the blindfold tightly. Naruto was pulled away from his awkward stare off with Tobi, the teen having heard the commotion. Well, this visit couldn't get any more awkward.
"Itachi, I thought you were straight?" came Kakashi's awkward question.
Itachi whipped around with a warning look at the question, on guard, Kisame doing the same. Even Sasuke and Naruto took a moment to size up the 'stranger'. "...I'm on the ace spectrum with a demiromantic orientation, if you must know."
Kakashi raised his hands in mock surrender despite the chains. "Hey now, I don't mean it like that. I just meant because you were dating Izumi before. I mean nothing bad by it."
Itachi's face went red, and Kisame asked, "You never told me you had a girlfriend before me. Weren't you like, thirteen?" assuming it was one of the little nothing relationships teens have.
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes at Kisame, muttering, "I was twelve when we started...getting to know each other. Just because I was younger doesn't mean it doesn't count."
Kisame shrugged a bit, "Never said it didn't." reaching through the bars to lightly rub Itachi's cheek, which was heading up by the minute. "You are mine now, though. Don't forget." he hummed, Sasuke once more sending a grossed-out glare Kisame's way and turning his back to them. Naruto had a similar reaction, gagging in Sasuke's direction. For once, Sasuke could agree with the blonde.
The only reason Sasuke wasn't shooing Kisame off his brother as he normally would was because he knew they probably missed each other after spending nearly two weeks looking for him. Sasuke took Naruto's hand, grumbling, "Les' go, loser." now that he had seen that Itachi was safe.
Kisame smirked in amusement at the teens, Itachi sending a glare at Kisame as he petting on his hair and caressed his face. Idiot shark was lucky he loved him, he bitterly mused, relaxing into the surprisingly soft touches.