Kakashi woke up the next morning to yelling.
He whimpered and drew back farther into the sheets, curling up and shrinking down into the bed. It was as if he wanted to simply curl up and sink into the mattress, never to emerge again. Screaming had always meant pain for him; Pein had used him to take his emotions out on him, and whenever Pein was angry, pain was exactly what Kakashi felt. Kakashi's heart began to pound: where was Itachi? Was he going to be able to save him if someone did get mad at him? Kakashi had never understood why people always hit him when they were angry: it was never him who managed to get them that riled up. Still, Kakashi took it without a sound, knowing that if he resisted in any way there would only be more.
The door opened, and then slammed closed.
Kakashi stifled a whimper with the palm of his hand, closing his eyes and curling up even tighter. His only hope was not being noticed. Kakashi hesitantly opened his eyes, just to see who was in the room.
It was Itachi.
He was pacing furiously, muttering swiftly and almost insanely waving his hands in the air. His voice was swiftly rising, but he seemed to pay no mind to Kakashi. Kakashi, however, was thoroughly confused. Why was Itachi so upset? Was he really so rattled that he would be acting as insane as he truly was? Finally, after several minutes of ranting, Itachi collapsed to the end of the bed, putting his head in his hands and sighing with something like defeat. Kakashi slowly uncurled a bit-Itachi…he loved him, right? He wouldn't hurt him…right…?
Itachi suddenly lifted his head, glancing over at Kakashi before sitting up from his hunched-over position and placing his hands on the bed next to him. "Kakashi," he whispered apologetically, "I-I didn't mean to wake you up. How…how much did you hear?"
Kakashi slowly lowered his head, thinking back to when he first woke up. "Enough," he finally choked out, recalling the conversation that had taken place just outside his door. Pein and Itachi were arguing-over him.
"I can't allow you to keep him any longer! That stunt at the meeting should have been cause enough for me to take him back! Itachi, you are getting quite selfish about him. I'm beginning to think you just want him for yourself."
"I-I'm just…Leader-sama, I can't let him go. Not now. It's too late."
"And how is it too late? Itachi, it's never too ate for me to make you stronger by stripping you of all emotion-"
"That's not the problem, Leader-sama. I am-I just can't at this point. It was an accident, just understand that."
"What kind of accident? God, Itachi, did you get him pregnant?"
"You wish. No, actually, we fell in love."
"That is absolutely it!! Itachi, you have one hour, and then I'm coming back and taking him. You won't ever see him again!"
And the door slammed.
Kakashi slowly sat up, trying not to look Itachi in the eye. He couldn't bear it any more. Two weeks after he came to Itachi, and two weeks shy of the turn-over date, he was being taken away from Itachi. He knew Pein was going to really, really hurt him this time. Now doubt he was going to be beyond angry at Itachi, and Kakashi was the perfect torture toy, as far as Pein was concerned. Kakashi eventually couldn't take it anymore: he pulled his knees up to his chest, buried his face in his arms, which were wrapped around his knees, and simply broke down and cried. Itachi responded immediately, his entire person softening to reach over and pull Kakashi into a soft, sweet embrace. Kakashi uncurled and slipped into Itachi's lap, wrapping his arms this time around the Uchiha's neck and burying his face in the dark fabric of the Akatsuki cloak. Itachi sighed and leaned back, keeping his lover safely within the circle of his arms.
"Don't let him come back for me," Kakashi whimpered, clinging tightly to Itachi. "Don't let him take me again! I hate him! He's only ever hurt me, and he claims he loves me! He's lying! He's lying, I know he is! Don't let him do it again! I can't go back to that, I just can't! You know what he does to me-don't let me go, please, don't let me go back to him!"
Itachi could only sit in shock for a moment at Kakashi's outburst. He knew Pein was cruel, and he was going to stop him at all costs, but Kakashi…the poor thing hardly knew when he wasn't going to be hit, and here he was, unsure of even where he was sleeping tonight-and in whose arms. Itachi gently shushed Kakashi, reaching up and stroking his hair, trying to get him to calm down, at least enough to be able to hear Itachi's next words. "Look, I'm going to get you out of here, okay? You don't have to worry about anything. Even if you have to stay here, I won't let you go back to him. That's a promise." Itachi slowly stood up, helping Kakashi do the same. "Stay here for five minutes, okay? I need to give Kisame some instructions on how to keep Pein off our tails for a little while." Itachi placed a soft, sweet kiss on Kakashi's lips, then stepped back a bit. "I'll be back!" he promised. Kakashi sat down on the bed as Itachi backed out and closed the door, waiting for Itachi to come back.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
"Listen to me closely, Kisame because I don't have the time to repeat myself. After I leave with Kakashi, stall Pein in any way you can. Hidan is almost dead again. Kakuza's stealing money. Zetsu is eating someone. Something, anything! Just get him running around when he comes for Kakashi. Meet him halfway down the hallway and say how glad you are to see him, and drag him off in the opposite direction. I'm going down the South Waterfall Route with Kakashi. If he asks where we went, say the East Mountain Route. In his mind, it's faster. And, above all, stay as uninvolved as possible. I don't want you dead because of this. If I'm not back in a week, assume I'm dead and start looking for my body. Have Zetsu bring it back and cremate me. Sprinkle my ashes over my brother's room in the old Uchiha complex or in the water on the beach out back. Or, you may bury my body on the beach. Give a lock of my hair to Sasuke, if you find either or. Either way, please, make sure at least one bone gets buried or burned. Got all that?"
Kisame waited a moment to let his brain catch up, and then nodded. Itachi nodded once and gave Kisame a quick "Thank you, I owe you one" before bolting back into Kakashi's room. Itachi heard the window slide open, and sighed as Itachi's chakra vanished into the abyss of the world, leaving him with his thoughts-and quite possibly, a pissed-off Pein.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Itachi rushed back into Kakashi's room, took the jounin by the hand, and dragged him over to the window, where he thrust it open and jumped down, holding Kakashi securely to his chest. The jounin clung to Itachi, deciding it was better to trust and be trusted. Itachi moved at nearly the speed of light, aiming to get as far away as quickly as possible. "The worst scenario we could face is rain," Itachi explained, his words short and clipped. "Pen controls rain, and can sense anyone or anything in it. He could know exactly where we are, what we're doing, and where we're headed if it starts to rain. Unless it's a natural storm…but there's no way to tell. So, we run and run fast. He won't suspect anything for another forty minutes, which should be enough for us to get out of range. Just hang on tight, and we should be okay. But please, tell me if you see any rain clouds at all. Pein could be sending those, and in that case, we need to go even faster."
Kakashi nodded, and Itachi kept moving. He needed to get out of there, and fast! Once he was far enough away from the Akatsuki hideout and he could get out of the rain, he would rest. But for now…now, they ran.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Kisame could sense Pein all the way down the hallway, and dropped a book on the floor, as planned. He promptly ran out into the hallway, pretending he hadn't heard Pein at all. He lied, just as planned, and got Pein running for Deidara's room, saying that the blonde had blown something up again. Then, he ran down to the kitchen, hoping it would take Pein some time to find him again. Sure enough, by biding his time carefully and by moving in and out of the kitchen naturally, Kisame was able to hold off Pein for almost another hour.
But, all good things must come to an end. Pein finally caught up to Kisame in the living room, where he was lying on the couch, reading a magazine on the latest movies coming out. "Kisame!" Pein barked, striding over to him and looking furious. Kisame stood up (slowly, though, so he didn't look suspicious) and gave Pein a small bow, greeting him, "Leader-sama." Pein, however, didn't seem to buy it, and glared pointedly at Kisame.
"Something wrong, Leader-sama?" Kisame questioned innocently.
"Itachi is gone, and so is that cute little fuck toy that was supposed to be mine. I don't suppose you would have anything to do with this?" Pein's voice was colder than ice, and he sent shivers down Kisame's spine. Still, the shark-man steeled himself and spoke again, pasting a shocked look on his face.
"He's gone?!" he gasped, letting his jaw drop and his eyes widen. "And he took Kakashi with him?! I knew he loved that jounin, but he's gone pretty far, disobeying you directly!"
Pein snorted in disgust. "Don't suck it up," he growled. "Now, tell me where the hell he went, or I will castrate you!"
Kisame willed a flush to his cheeks and "admitted," "Actually, I kinda…lost those a year or two ago…had a shark jutsu go wrong…I really don't like to talk about it…"
Pein sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this. Tell me where he is, or I will bring such harm to you, you won't be able to see straight for the rest of the Goddamn month!!"
Kisame swallowed hard, feigning intimidation. "He took the East Mountain Route," he lied, hoping Pein would mistake his fear of being found out about lying for fear of him. For a moment, Kisame could only see the malice in Pein's eyes, staring straight into his eyes and sending tremors through the entire earth. But, finally, Pein seemed to come to a conclusion.
He turned on his heel and walked out.
Kisame breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Please…please, Itachi, please have gotten far enough away…I'm going to leave this place, because once Pein finds out I lied, I'm dead anyway. Forgive me.
OOOOOOOOOOO
No will to wake for this morn
To see another black rose born
Deathbed is slowly covered with snow
Itachi knew he couldn't stop. But still, his eyes hurt, his legs hurt, his chest hurt, his head hurt-
"Itachi-sama, please stop!" Kakashi cried. "I can see that you're in pain; please, even for five minutes, you need to rest!"
Itachi knew Kakashi was right, and yet he needed to desperately to keep him safe. But still, his body was giving out, and they had made it halfway to Konoha in only half a day-normally, it would take an entire day. Itachi knew there was a village a few hundred yards over; Kakashi had perfect timing. Itachi slowly put on the brakes, slowing down to bring them to a gene, walking pace across the forest floor. Kakashi stepped away from Itachi a bit, walking next to him with one hand in Itachi's and the other hanging loosely at his side. Itachi noticed how badly he was aching all of a sudden-they could probably stop in an inn for the night. It was getting cold, too, and Kakashi needed shelter and rest. As they walked, Itachi came to a realization:
Kakashi was always on his right.
Wounded is the deer that leaps highest
And my wound it cuts so deep
Turn off the light and let me pull the plug
The two checked into an inn, and headed up to the room for the night. Kakashi slipped quietly into the bed Itachi left him and fell asleep quickly. Itachi, however, lay in bed deeply troubled and hardly coming close to sleep. He couldn't stand the thought of Kakashi being hurt…and how could he, with such a sweet creature? No one except Pein could ever have the stomach to hurt him, Itachi swore.
Kakashi slept well that night, knowing Itachi was there to protect him. Itachi was up all night worrying if he could.
Mandylion without a face
Deathwish without a prayer
End of hope
End of love
End of time
The rest is silence
A/N: A bit of Nightwish for ya, peeps. : ) That would be End of All Hope. Review-plot twist in the next chapter or so!!