Sasuke sat on the couch beside Itachi, Kisame on his brother's other side. Gaara was sitting at the dining room table. He was assisting Sasori with his puppets and talking about his internship as per usual. Meanwhile, Neji rested on the floor, head on Kisame's lap. The shark ninja was lightly patting the drowsy teen's head, the ninjas surprisingly content after the horrors of the day prior. Hinata was in a similar position, sitting beside Neji with her head on Itachi's lap.
The five ninjas sat in silence, happy with each other's company and the small chattering of the redheads in the background. Nagato and Konan had finally given into the children's pleas of releasing Itachi for the time being, more so to ensure Sasuke's sanity than anything. It didn't seem like having Itachi locked up had weighted too well on his mind, and the other children had seemed similarly upset. They didn't trust Itachi, but they couldn't risk hurting the kids any more than they had in the last few weeks. The compromise was Itachi being put under house arrest.
Itachi was unable to leave the hideout until they trusted him to be alone and was to be under the watchful eye of Kisame. A few worried that Kisame's status as Itachi's lover could lead to issues, but then, Kisame never was the type to lie. It wasn't like they could leave Deidara or Hidan on the job. Spirits know that would end badly.
His chakra had been restricted to the bare minimum, leaving him with mainly just his Sharingan and taijutsu. They were sure that was more than enough for Itachi to handle himself, though. Especially given the now eldest living Uchiha's particular skill set. If push came to shove and he had to fight, they were sure it would be fine. Besides, it wasn't like there were any real threats in the village.
Still, for Itachi, he couldn't help but feel a bit discouraged at his lack of chakra. While he didn't need it, the energy was a part of him. To feel the tug chakra-restricting fabric on his wrists and see Kisame constantly glancing over at him was frustrating. It was as though he was being treated like a child who couldn't behave.
Itachi sighed quietly at the thought, running his fingers through Hinata's slowly lengthening hair. He felt one of Kisame's hands squeeze his shoulders, the shark ninja disliking the situation just as much. Now he was forced to go on missions alone, which wasn't all that bad, but it was still rather lonely. Even with Itachi never really talking, at least the other listened to his constant chatter. Now there was no one to listen to him without it seeming odd. It was strange, but Kisame missed his partner a lot more than he would have thought.
Sasuke mentioned, "I like your old captain. Kakashi's pretty friendly from what I've seen." not lifting his head from Itachi's shoulder as he spoke. He heard Itachi muse at that and quirked a brow. "What's so funny?"
"It's ironic, hearing you so open about liking him. You never really cared for him, even when you were little. The tantrums you would throw every time he came to pick me up for a mission were enough proof for me to know that. Then according to poor Kakashi, you ran away every time he came near and even guarded Naruto against him." the elder teen mused a bit, lightly hugging Sasuke with his open arm.
He noticed the teen glare at Neji as the Hyuuga snickered a bit, Sasuke lightly flashing his Sharingan at the other in a warning. Neji's Byakugan snapped on soon after, the teens falling into one of their silent arguments once more. Itachi rested a hand on Sasuke's head, Kisame doing the same for Neji. Kisame mused, "Yes, yes, you're both strong. No need to start your silent bickering, brats." he scolded
They snapped their kekki genkai off, the teens glancing off to the side in annoyance. Sasuke grumbled, "I was just saying I liked his company. He's nice to be around when he isn't reading those nasty books." the teen's face scrunching up a bit at the thought.
Neji tilted his head a bit, "I didn't see any books with him. What was so nasty about them? Too gory for your taste?" imagining some sort of violent manga. Though, that would be strange since Sasuke never seemed to have an issue with gore before.
Sasuke's face went red, the teen looking down at his lap. Suddenly, Neji's went a similar color, though the elder ninja was unable to hold back his own laughter at the younger's expense. "Oh-! Oh-! It was one of those."
Neji, unlike Sasuke, knew very well about the theme of the books due to his Byakugan. He and Hinata had occasionally woken in the middle of the night and wound up using their Byakugans. Him out of nervousness from a strange noise and her out of fear of being alone. They would occasionally end up roaming the halls when they heard strange noises and, well, there are things no ten-year-old wants nor should have to see. Unfortunately, with a kekki genkai that can see through walls, there's no helping it.
After a few too many times of passing Itachi and Kisame's rooms, it would have to be explained to them by someone. Hinata had at first thought they were only roughhousing, so when the trust was revealed, she had book horrified, to say the least. Neji had taken it better, though he could never look at his mentor the same way again.
Hinata nuzzled her face into Itachi's lap, the teen now about ready to pass out of embarrassment. She did not need to be hearing this conversation. It wasn't knowledge she enjoyed having, not one bit.
The two byakugan users had been given 'the talk' early on, Hinata by Konan and Neji by Kisame. It was, to say the least, unpleasant at the time. Neji would have never guessed that Sasuke hadn't learned about it by now. He was fourteen, after all.
As if reading the Hyuuga's thoughts, Itachi and Kisame both sent him a scolding look that had him forcing his laughter into a cough. Sasuke was flustered as could be, the teen suddenly finding his wrist very interesting to look over. Spirits, how did Hinata learn about it before him!? He knew the basic concept from some elder classmates, namely Yoi and Shu. The elder boys seemed to enjoy flustering the younger students with joking flirting, but Sasuke only ever understood half of it since their sensei often put a quick stop to it.
Sasuke shrunk down as Kisame lightly nudged Itachi. The shark ninja spoke with an awkward tint, "Ah, we can, go to our room if you two need to talk. I can't let you out of my sight but it'll be more private than the livingroom-"
The youngest Uchiha went an even brighter shade, quickly moving to stand. "I don't need anything explained. Just- just leave me alone." moving to head out and towards his bedroom. He was only stopped as he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt.
He glanced around to see Itachi had stood up, Neji and Hinata moving out of the way so Kisame could do the same. Sasuke felt a wave of embarrassment, "You assholes! Fuck off! I know all I need to-!" more embarrassed by Neji's amused expression than anything. Idiot Hyuuga, he was going to tear that supportive bastard to shreds-!
Sasuke grunted as Itachi pulled him towards the bedroom, Gaara glancing at him with a pitying look. Gaara's look turned to one of pure dread as he noticed Sasori studying him a bit too close. Oh, hell no. Why did Kakashi have to expose Sasuke to those nasty books? That silver-haired bastard had doomed them all!
Sasori opened his mouth to speak, Gaara sending him glares as sand rose around him. "Don't even think about it. I'll move back to the sand village."
The older redhead quirked a brow, "You don't mean that. It's far too extreme for you." he challenged, rising to his feet and lightly hooking his arm under the younger red-heads shoulder. He could see the pout on Gaara but set it to the side. He doubted Konan was ready for grandchildren this early.
"This is idiotic! I don't even like most people! I'm gay, for hell's sake!" he tried to reason, his pleas falling on deaf ears as they made their way towards Sasori and Deidara's room.
Naruto rolled his eyes from where he was cooking ramen in the kitchen. "Idiot, that didn't work for me either. Just accept it, dattebayo." the blonde rubbed the back of his head.
Karin nodded from her spot on the counter, the girl organizing medical herbs and not paying any of them much attention. "You'll survive, walk it off," she commented as she lifted a herb up to sniff it.
Nagato had brought this up during one of their little meetups when Naruto had spoken about how pretty Kicho was. Both Uzumaki's were fairly uncomfortable, but it was a necessary evil.
One it seemed neither Sasuke nor Gaara were able to escape once it was brought up, judging by the way the two were being hulled to their rooms.
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Later on in the night, once dinner rolled around, everyone sat at the table. Sasuke and Gaara were both mildly disturbed, the other siblings noticed. Life went on, though not without a few not so elegant jabs at the conversation from Naruto. He sat beside Sasuke, lightly elbowing him with a grin split across his face. "So, anyone you'd want to try it with? Maybe Yoi would let you practice with him." wiggling his eyebrows in a joking way.
This was easily put to a stop as Sasuke reached over, easily smacking the other square in the jaw with his elbow. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched a bit, the teen clearly not amused. "Shut up, dobe. I don't want to hear another fucking word from you."
Karin took a piece of her chicken, plopping it in her mouth with a hum, "Poor choice of words."
Gaara and Hinata nearly choked on the food in their mouths, both sending Karin dirty looks for her musings. Neji shook his head back and forth at them, "I'm trying to eat if you haven't noticed." sending the younger children scolding looks despite having earlier poked fun at them too. He'd rather not think about that while he's eating-- it would cause nothing but problems for all involved.
Sasori nodded as he spoke, "Yes, let's not talk dirty while we're trying to eat." he hummed, noticing Konan and Itachi's defeated looks as they listened in on the kids.
The teens seemed half relieved and half annoyed at their conversation being shut down. An uncomfortable silence followed. Since Konan and Itachi had banned any talk of work from the table while they ate, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about.
Normally, it would be Tobi, Deidara, or Naruto to bring up a new topic. Unfortunately, One was dead and the other two were a bit conflicted at the feeling of Tobi's death. They had been doing their best to stay busy, but they couldn't help stealing glances at Sasuke occasionally when lost in thought. Tobi was truely dead by Sasuke's hands. He was a low life who had only recently shown his colors, but he had lived with them for years. To not hear him screaming happily about something in the background was unsettling.
Sasuke finally broke the silence, lightly picking at his half-eaten dinner. "What gets fed in the prisons?" not having thought about it before.
Clearly, this wasn't something Konan was prepared for Sasuke to ask as she lightly rubbed the back of her neck, Nagato being the one to answer with an unsure voice. "If I remember correctly, last I checked, it was a bowl of soup every week and some bread each night."
Sasuke frowned at this, Itachi asking, "Is something wrong, little brother?" the elder Uchiha scanning over Sasuke's thin frame in hopes of pinpointing what could have made him think of such a thing. He noticed the guilty look that was laid across Sasuke's face and frowned a bit. Perhaps he was feeling guilty over the prisoners' situation now that he had faced it himself? Though, the people locked up in their prison all deserved it for the most part as far as Itachi knew.
"When I was living with- er- under Kakashi's guard- he was really generous about his food. He cooked us a big meal to share every night. He's probably not used to so little food." the gears in Sasuke's mind turning. "He was more pale than usual yesterday, too. He's probably hungry."
Kisame spoke with a tired and confused voice, "Yes, Sasuke, that's the entire point. Keeping the prisoners hungry keeps them weak and is cheaper. It's the best thing to do. It isn't as though they're our guests. They're lucky to be alive." he noted, taking a piece of food into his mouth as he spoke.
Sasuke seemed to pout a bit at this, leaning his head on his palm. "Kakashi kept me fed and taken care of. He even let me roam free around his house and backyard. He didn't have to do any of that. He could have locked me up in a closet for all the village seemed to care. He's a good person. Doesn't that count for anything?"
Hidan tore a piece of meat off the bone of his food, waving the bone around lightly as he chewed. "The world doesn't reward good people, we all know that well enough."
"Why not?" Sasuke scowled a bit as he felt all eyes fall on him. He crossed his arms a bit, grumbling, "He was good to me so I should be good back. It's not like someone is putting a kunai to my neck and telling me that I have to be his enemy. He's done nothing but be kind to me. I have no reason to spit in his face."
Itachi made a small motion with his hands, the other's attention being taken in by this. "It might not mean too much, coming from me, but I think Sasuke makes a good point. He did all but let us take him prisoner, plus he's shown no hostility towards the kids."
Kisame nodded in agreement, deciding he should probably support the idea since Itachi's words alone wouldn't hold much weight to them. "That's true. He's treated the brats pretty good so far."
Sasori narrowed his eyes, "I don't trust him. He's too happy in his situation. I suppose he could just be staying positive, but he could always have other goals."
"Yeah, just look at Tobi! We thought we could trust him with the kids. We left him home with them. We had him bringing them to school. We knew him for years, yet we couldn't trust him." Deidara nodded, sending Sasuke a hard look. "It's too soon to trust him. You've only known him for a few weeks."
While Sasuke knew this wasn't true, he felt like mentioning that the silver-haired ninja was Itachi's old partner and that the man had been his self chosen enemy since day one was a bad idea.
The teen puffed up one of his cheeks as he looked at Konan with one of his signature pout-glares. "I'm not an idiot. I'm not saying I trust him. I'm just saying maybe give credit where credit is due. I just want to at least give him something better than that nasty prison food. Please?"
The blue-haired woman sighed heavily. Damn her children's strangely pure souls. "Fine. It's fine with me." Nagato allowing a nod from beside her. "Just finish your own dinner first."
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About an hour later, Sasuke was headed over to the prison with a box of leftovers from dinner. He got a few looks from the villagers since normally their curfew was two or so hours ago, but he didn't mind. He felt a strange nervousness and happiness at the thought of seeing Kakashi again.
He didn't know why, but the man seemed to let off such a calm aura. It was the same one Itachi had always given Sasuke-- calm, but with a hint of strength that let everyone near them feel either safe or in extreme danger. Knowing he was locked up and didn't seem to have harmful intent, Sasuke wasn't too scared of the elder ninja.
Sasuke headed into the prison, making his way to the back where he knew the other was. It was strange, being in a prison. It gave him mixed feelings. Half of him shot to the memory of the torture rooms. The other half shot to the police station he would sometimes visit with his mother to deliver his father food when he was young. It was a double-edged sword, really.
As he entered the room, all these thoughts seemed to float away. He headed over to Kakashi, sitting down in front of the bars. Getting a good look at the man, he seemed to look rather sick. He was pale with his body hunched against the back wall of the prison. Even so, Sasuke was startled to see the man give him a weak smile as he entered. "Yo." the man greeted, friendly as ever.
Sasuke parted his lips a bit, barely about to make out an awkward "Hey." he saw the ninja force himself up into a straighter position, "I-" he started, unsure what to say. He hadn't thought about it up until this point, really. He settled for sliding the food box in through the small opening in the bars meant for serving food. "I brought you some food. Bread probably isn't enough to hold you over with how much you seem to eat. You look sickly." scrunching up his nose a bit at the sick smell of the man once he got closer.
Kakashi gave Sasuke an even brighter smile, the man taking the food without hesitation and beginning to neatly eat. He turned to the side to hide his face. "Why, thank you, Sasuke. It seems your not as rude as you seem." thinking back to the little tyrant that seemed to walk through his house as though he had owned it and not been a prisoner.
"Tch, whatever. I just had to bring you food because you're too old to be going without food for long." he excused his actions, crossing his arms with a scoff.
Kakashi sent the boy a mildly annoyed look, though the smile still remained. "I'm not that old, you know. I'm only twenty-eight." he scolded, ignoring his situation easily.
The Uchiha crossed his arms with an unamused look. "That's still old. You're almost thirty. The average life of a ninja is at the latest forty. You're over sixty-five percent done with your life."
Giving a light pout, Kakashi pointed out, "You're not very nice."
"Well, you're not very mature." Sasuke bickered back lightly. The two continued on, enjoying each other's company much more now that Sasuke wasn't technically Kakashi's prisoner. Kakashi didn't mind being on Sasuke's turf, it seemed.
Neither noticed the hovering ninja just outside the doorway. Itachi kept his eyes trained on his little brother, Kisame standing with him, arms wrapped around the ravenette's waist. Kisame had his head resting on the tired Uchiha, eyeing Sasuke along with him. "I'll keep an eye on him," Kisame promised. "You should go see what Nagato wanted to talk with you about. He said as soon as possible. It's probably best not to keep him waiting."
Itachi nodded a bit, sighing lightly as he pried himself away from the warmth of the shark ninja. "I suppose so. Keep an eye on them. I'll meet you back in the bedroom once we're done speaking."
He received a nod, and he was off to go see what Nagato wanted to speak about. Though, he had to admit, he had a pretty good idea already.