This chapters a bit shorter then the last. Hope everyone enjoys! Please review!
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!!
Itachi sat in the mouth of the cave watching the stars. Three days had passed since they stopped here and Kisame had yet to wake again. With the bleeding stopped, the poison had latched onto him and was refusing to let him go. The black on his chest had spread to cover half his chest. After he had finished cleaning and bandaging Kisame's chest, he had stripped the bigger man and cleaned the drying blood off his skin before wrapping him in a blanket to keep him warm. The cut on the back of Kisame's had had turned black as well, which had now spread half way up his fingers.
The night before, he had received word from their leader that Sasori wasn't to far off and was on his way to see what he could do. Itachi had done all he could do. All that was left now was to wait for Sasori to show up. Knowing Sasori, he wouldn't be waiting much longer. The puppet master hated to make people wait.
Movement in the sky caught the corner of Itachi's vision and he turned to see what it was. He sneered as a big clay bird landed 20 feet outside the cave and Deidara and Sasori leapt off its back. The blonde bomb specialist was the last person Itachi cared to see at the moment. Schooling his features to assume his cold, calm demeanor, he stood as the two men approached him.
"Sasori. How unexpected to see you outside of your puppet while not in headquarters."
"Shut up, Uchiha. I cant examine your partner properly from in there. Now where is Kisame so we can get this over with and I can get on with my mission. I hate being delayed." The small red-headed man brushed roughly past Itachi and walked into the cave.
"Sasori, you should calm down, hmm. Leader extended our mission time a few days so you could help Kisame." Deidara sighed and flipped his long hair over his shoulder, his visible eye running up and down Itachi.
"Itachi get your ass in here so you can answer my questions." Sasori's voice echoed out of the cave and Itachi winced slightly at the sound as he entered the cave and sat against the wall near Kisame's head.
"What questions would those be, Sasori?" His voice was calm as he picked up a damp cloth and poured more water on it from a canteen. He lightly ran the cool cloth over Kisame's head, wiping off the sheen of sweat.
Sasori eyed his actions curiously. "How long has he been unconscious?"
"Three days."
"How long after the wound did he pass out?"
"Two hours maybe. But he had been bleeding heavily the entire time. He didn't pass out until I closed the wound."
Sasori nodded as he used a knife to cut through the bandages. "Interesting." He ran a hand over the black skin and pressed his fingers into the wound, which was now slightly green around the edges. "He is lucky he bled for so long."
"Do you know what it is?" Itachi was mindlessly wringing the cloth in his hands.
Sasori turned his head and glared at the other man. "Of course I do. It is a particularly nasty poison that causes the one effected to have his flesh rot. Fortunately for Kisame, the poison was poorly made and after bleeding for so long the effects are greatly diminished. However, if he does not get an antidote, he will die within the next two days."
Itachi paled, which Sasori had not thought possible because he was so pale already. "Do you have one?"
"No, but I can easily make one." He turned to look up at his partner, who was standing behind him staring at Kisame. "Deidara get me my bag."
"Why do I have to get it, hmm? Why cant you ever get your own bag?" Though he was complaining, Deidara turned and walked out of the cave, returning quickly with a bag in one hand. He handed it to Sasori with a glare and turned to sit by the fire.
Sasori took the bag without looking at the other man and pulled out a wooden box. He opened it and pulled out vials of herbs, looking for the ones he needed. Three vials in hand, he opened them and shook out a small amount of each into a small stone bowl and ground them together. He held a hand out to Itachi, "Water." Itachi handed him the canteen by his knee and watched as he dripped water into the mixture and continued to grind them.
Once he had made a thick paste, Sasori leaned forward and rubbed it into the wound on Kisame's chest. The green skin at the edges of the wound hissed as the paste began to bubble before soaking into the skin. Sasori nodded and leaned back. "That should take care of it."
Itachi leaned forward and lifted Kisame's hand, gently unwrapping the bandaging. "His hand was cut as well, though its not as bad as his chest."
Sasori grunted and started to make more of the paste. "You should have told me that before, Uchiha, I would have made enough for both."
As Sasori packed up his things, Itachi watched as the skin on Kisame's chest slowly started to fade to look like a big bruise. "That stuff works fast."
"Yes. But there was a lot of damage. He should wake in a few hours. Don't let him move to much or he could damage the healing muscles. He should be well enough to travel in three days." Sasori left the cave, kicking Deidara awake on his way out.
Itachi stood in the mouth of the cave again and watched as they flew off on Deidara's bird. Once they were out of sight, Itachi let out a sigh of relief and slumped down to sit on the ground.