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Chapter Two
Kisame Hoshigaki- missing Mist ninja, admitted vicious murderer, wielder of the beautiful chakra eating blade Samheda- was appalled at the condition of the still body held carefully in Itachi's arms.
Obtaining the Kyuubi vessel had been a source of frustration and humiliation for the blue skinned man and his pale companion for the better part of five years with each repeated attempt at capture foiled in one manner or another by some meddling interloper. Leader-sama had been losing patience with them and the pair had become the butt of many inside jokes within Akatsuki. They had been told that this was their last chance to prove that they were still worth keeping among the top ranks of the organization.
Failure meant 'retirement' and Kisame knew that the severance package would not involve a pension plan but a shallow grave somewhere.
If they were lucky.
Following a tip from an Akatsuki spy in a gambling town not far from Konoha, the pair had gone to track down Jiraiya on the hopes that the Sanin would lead them to his suddenly hard to find student. Amidst the company of several well endowed young ladies that had to be a third of his age, Jiraiya had been easy enough to locate but before the pair could attack, Itachi had suddenly called it off. Kisame still didn't know the reasoning behind the decision; the Uchiha had just stiffened suddenly and turned around, walking away in the direction of Konoha, and the former Mist ninja had had no choice but to follow.
Kisame, a fairly laid-back individual in his own estimation, had nearly attacked the Uchiha when Naruto fell abruptly silent. It was the first time Kisame had ever had the urge to cause Itachi serious bodily harm but considering what was at stake, the ex-Mist ninja thought that it was justifiable since they would be unable to extract the Kyuubi if its vessel died prematurely.
The missing ninjas had faced little opposition in their sudden entrance to Konoha's surrounding forest. They had avoided many patrols with ease and those they hadn't been able to bypass were easily dispatched with quick efficiency. As if drawn by a magnet, Itachi led them through the trees in what Kisame felt was a random pattern until they had reached an area where one tree rose slightly above the others surrounding it. Leaving Kisame behind to follow at a slower pace, the Uchiha had put on a burst of speed and rocketed up the tree until he found whatever held his attention.
Coming back to the present, the missing Mist ninja's gaze drifted up to his partner's face briefly before looking back at blonde, taking in the impassive expression. Itachi was once again the stoic individual he always was, looking very much unconcerned with the rest of the world, but he held Naruto against him with obvious care, unwilling to unnecessarily jostle the teenager in case the drugs keeping him in the death-like state wore off.
"We need to find a place indoors." Itachi ordered suddenly.
Squinting into the rays of the midday sun, the sword wielder looked back down at his partner and nodded in understanding. They had Naruto now, but his severely compromised health- demon or no- was not to be taken lightly. They could take their time getting back to base and baby the blonde the whole way, keeping him unconscious and healthy enough to survive the trip. It wouldn't be that hard- the Kyuubi would kick in eventually and heal the boy from the inside. The two Akatsuki members would be left to worry about feeding Naruto's voracious appetite and keeping the boy captive. They could keep him healthy until then, no problem.
How hard could it be?
"We're positive that it's Naruto's blood?" Tsunade said grimly, fingertips hovering over the crimson stained cloth laid double over an exam table. The blanket was as inflexible as a board and could not be straitened to lay completely flat without running the risk of destroying whatever clues it may possess.
'I should have just granted his vacation!' The blonde thought, forcing back the tears gathering behind her eyes. 'Fuck the council- I knew how much he needed a break but I caved into their commands anyway.'
Shizune, Tsunade's loyal assistant, nodded as her gaze drifted over the plastic baggie encased photograph on the table next to the blanket. The image was creased and crumpled, marred by blood almost as completely as the fabric next to it, giving the innocently captured moment a more macabre feel than the blatant hole in the top where a kunai had kept it from fluttering away. She looked down at a twelve year old Naruto's grumpy expression and willed it to tell her what had happened to his fifteen year old self.
Tsunade turned away from the table and promptly brought her formidable fists down atop an empty bed nearby. She did it over and over, destroying the bed, her rage still not satisfied.
"Tsunade-sama!" The brunette cried, trying to calm the blonde and failing. "Tsunade-sama, please-!"
"GET OUT!" The Godaime screamed, overcome with the need to be alone. She grabbed Shizune's arm and used it to propel the other woman out of the room. The blonde slammed the door shut, leaning her forehead against it as she listened to her assistant pound on the other side, pleading to be let in. Tsunade bolted the door shut and enforced the lock with chakra before slowly turning back to the exam table and it's grizzly contents, memories of her younger brother's death flashing through her mind as she approached the blanket again.
She touched it almost reverently with shaking fingers, suddenly wanting to simply take the thing in her arms, wrap her body around it and cry as thoughts of Naruto filled her. Tsunade resisted the urge, snatching her hand back and cradling it against her chest as if the blanket had wounded her in some way.
There was so much blood and she knew that, if anyone could survive the loss, it would be the Kyuubi vessel.
But he had lost so damn much of it! Not only as evidenced here but also in Naruto's bedroom had everything was painted by the crimson liquid.
Could even the powerful Kyuubi keep Naruto alive if his body was damaged that badly? Had he already died and his body been 'disposed' of? Had an enemy grabbed him as he lay dying? But then how had they gotten so close to the village without being detected?
A thought suddenly made the Godaime's blood run cold, made her strength flee, and she felt her knees give out. Tsunade stared up at the blanket not really seeing it, slow horror sweeping through her as another possible explanation for Naruto's disappearance bloomed in her mind like some poisonous flower.
Had the council done this?
Not for the first time in the past two days, the former Mist ninja kicked himself for his earlier arrogance about how easy it would be to look after their prisoner.
'How hard could it be?'He mentally groaned at the naïve question. 'The answer is pretty fucking hard!'
The moment the drugs wore off, the missing ninjas had been waging a war to keep the blonde alive. Naruto's body just didn't seem to want to live anymore, didn't have the reserves to continue. There was virtually no fat left on him and the muscle that had survived whatever sickness had been affecting the teenager was wasted almost down to nothing. After forcing copious amounts of healing chakra into him, they had taken the blonde's awakening as a good sign until he began screaming. He had screamed and beat at their hands weakly, trying his utmost to make them stop, until the pair had finally pumped him full of drugs to make him sleep again.
Since then the unlikely nursemaids had begun taking turns looking after Naruto so that the boy was never alone as he healed. The blonde, for obvious reasons, was kept heavily sedated so he would feel no pain as the two continued to heal his heavily damaged frame.
As if Naruto in himself was not enough of an issue, adding to the problem was that the Kyuubi also appeared to need support and the Akatsuki members had had a difficult time getting the aid needed to keep it alive past the seal imprisoning the demon- they had finally settled on just pouring the energy into Naruto and hoping that the boy's chakra system would deliver it to the fox.
They were only twenty miles from Konoha, laying low in a shabby inn located in a seedy town where few would ask questions or be nosy about what was going on in their shared bedroom. This had been an important factor in choosing their destination, especially when arriving with an unconscious, blood drenched teenager in hand.
Kisame was currently sitting on one of the room's occupied beds, one massive hand easing through the blond hair on Naruto's head with surprising gentleness. It was something both of the adult males had taken to practicing since they accidentally discovered that it decreased the teenager's blood pressure significantly, letting him sleep peacefully without the need for more drugs to be administered. Actually any type of touch, so long as it was given without malice, had the same effect and as hard hearted as Kisame considered himself, he couldn't help the stray thought now and then about what the hell the kid had gone through in his short life.
Not that it mattered since they still planned to extract the Kyuubi; it was just that there wasn't a lot else to do stuck in a bare room with an unconscious teenager.
Kisame's gaze drifted to the bathroom door, lips twisting into an almost smirk as he thought about the blonde's new outfit. Naruto had been stripped and bathed once he'd been strong enough to survive it and, since the kid's old ones were beyond any hope of repair and soiled beyond all thoughts of salvation, new clothes had been bought for him by the pair. Though neither of them would admit that they had done so, considerable effort had been made independently by Itachi and Kisame both when they weren't babysitting to find any scrape of orange clothing that would fit the boy. They had been unsuccessful for the most part, though Kisame did manage to find a kimono with orange thread worked into the black cloth and matching orange obi. Feeling unbelievingly foolish but still somehow unwilling to leave without it now that he had found the damn thing, the ex-Mist ninja had bought the entire ensemble anyway and hung it up on the back of the bathroom door, arguing that Naruto's skin would probably not be up to heavier clothing for a while, once the boy was awake. Itachi had stared at him, face unreadable, but Kisame had had the vague impression that the Uchiha was secretly proud of his partner's actions.
Frowning, Kisame wondered what was taking Itachi so damn long to get back with their food. The Uchiha had left a while ago, too, and the Mist ninja was getting extremely hungry.
The head under the Mist ninja's hand moved slightly, startling him, and Kisame hastily pulled his hand away just as the blonde let out a whimper. Dull, unfocused blue eyes opened wide suddenly and, without warning, Naruto shot bolt upright on the bed, screaming.
It wasn't a loud scream, surprisingly, just a thin continuous shrill that grew progressively more ragged as the air powering it became less. Then the sound would stop as Naruto's lungs dragged in air hungrily before it all began again, the teen staring with open horror at something only he could see while he trembled and clutched the sheets pooled at his waist.
"Kid!" Kisame said sternly once he overcame his own shock at the scene. Unsure if it was wise or not, the blue skinned man reached out and gripped the teen's arms lightly. "Naruto, stop!"
Though the sound wasn't loud but it was still attention getting even in this area and if the blonde didn't stop soon, their neighbors would hear the shrieking through the thin walls and call management to investigate. Kisame gave the boy a shake before letting go and repositioning his hands: one over Naruto's mouth, the other over his chin. One was to silence the sound while the other would force the blonde to look at him. They couldn't give the kid any more sedatives, not if they wanted him to remain alive, and Kisame wanted to avoid knocking the boy unconscious if possible.
"Stop screaming! You're fine!" Kisame ordered with all the comfort he could manage.
The sound was muffled, which was good, but Naruto wasn't stopping, which was bad. His eyes were still impossibly wide, clearly filled with terror and the Mist ninja thought how ironic the situation was: under normal circumstances, Kisame enjoyed inspiring absolute fear in his opponent however, now that he was attempting to be comforting, it seemed the only emotion he could get out of the boy Kisame was currently tryingnot to scare. This idea was confirmed as tears hit his hand, the blonde trembling as he tried to sob, scream and breathe all at the same time. Behind the blue skinned man, the door opened and the shark snarled over his shoulder at it, quite willing to tear the unfortunate busy-body limb from limb.
Itachi quickly stepped over the threshold, shut and locked the door, then deposited the bag of take out he held on the small scratched surface of the room's only table, already stripping off his cloak as he moved. In two steps the brunette had crossed the room and a heart beat later was sitting on the bed behind the teenager. The normally stoic adult then wrapped his arms around Naruto's shoulders and pulled the blonde back into his only slightly larger body, effectively getting the teenager's attention and brining him partially back to reality. Itachi put his lips close to his captive's ear and began whispering very softly, the rise and fall of the monotone voice having an almost immediate hypnotic effect on Naruto.
Kisame kept his hand over the blonde's mouth but did let go of the teenager's chin, unsure of what he should do with the appendage now that it was free. Impulsively, he put it over one of the small white knuckled fists near the blonde's protruding hip bone. He sat there rather awkwardly as Itachi continued to talk softly to the terrified teenager.
Though the trembling, staring and crying continued, the thin screaming finally died away, enabling the Mist ninja to slowly withdraw his hand. He pulled away completely and sat back, watching the scene for several long minutes before climbing to his feet and grabbing the brown turned down blanket draped over the foot of Naruto's bed. He shook the folded cloth open then returned to his companions just as Itachi gently withdrew from the teenager to help Kisame drape the blanket around Naruto's thin shoulders.
Come to think of it, the boy was thin all over and way too skinny for his nearly six foot frame. What had happened to the young shinobi? Hadn't anyone noticed that the boy was wasting away? Hadn't anyone cared? And then there was the issue of the scars adorning the blonde's skin- Naruto was the vessel of the Kyuubi and it was common knowledge that the fox healed the injuries the teenager suffered during battle. To be so obviously damaged meant that he had to have been tortured or close to it and, judging from Naruto's haunted expression, often.
Once the blanket had been wrapped securely around him, the teenager clutched at it tightly, huddling down inside the fabric as far as he could. It was as if he was trying to disappear, was just trying to crawl away and hide until things got better. Kisame tried to dredge up a sneer and failed, instead opting to frown as he pulled back the sheets, holding them up as Itachi coaxed the blonde back down to the mattress with more soft words. Completely hidden from view under the extra cloth, Naruto continued to tremble as he lay in a curled up ball and, rather than stress him all over again, the Akatsuki pair decided to leave him be as they tucked him in once more.
Itachi took a seat on the bed near the blonde, one pale hand already hidden inside the folds of brown cloth and the Mist ninja bet that the hand was already buried in blond hair. Kisame, however, moved to the other side of the room and began inspecting the food containers. He found his meal and threw himself in a chair to wolf down his dinner, pausing only long enough to break his chopsticks apart before chowing down.
"What do we do with him?" He asked between mouthfuls, eye brows raised. It wasn't that he particularly cared, exactly; Kisame just needed to know what the plan was so that he could prepare accordingly. When Itachi simply continued to pet Naruto, the Mist ninja mentally shrugged and finished his dinner. When his hands were clean, he unwrapped Samehada and began doing maintenance work on his beautiful sword, taking out the necessary tools and putting them within easy reach on the table.
"He's too ill to be moved." Itachi said in his usual monotone. The brunette's gaze was directed at the bed's hidden occupant, his hand still somewhere in the mass of blankets.
Kisame nodded absently as he polished his sword's unique scale-like blades with an oil cloth, carefully working the fabric around the deadly spikes to ward off rust. He had concluded already that the blonde wouldn't be able to travel for a while; between the high fever he was running and how fragile his body was, Naruto wouldn't move from this hotel room for a long time. Kisame sighed- this town was boring but, though it was a bad idea to remain in place for an extended period of time, moving the Kyuubi vessel would be a worse idea.
Silence descended in the small room, broken occasionally by a soft whimper from the bed. Since it was Itachi's turn to watch over Naruto, the missing Mist ninja went straight for the room's second bed once he was finished polishing Samheda and had trapped the entrance of their hotel room. Pulling out a kunai, the Mist ninja crawled under the meager covers, placed the blade within easy reach, and settled back to get some sleep.
"So, what did you say to him?" Kisame asked as an after thought, curious. It wouldn't hurt to know, especially if the kid lost it again and Itachi wasn't present.
The Uchiha did not answer him, not that that was surprising, and chose to keep the one-sided conversation to himself as he sat in the gathering darkness petting their captive.
"Please don't hurt me. Please don't hurt me anymore."
Kisame frowned, feeling extremely put out as Naruto continued to cower inside the brown blanket surrounding him. The teenager was almost completely hidden under the cloth, he had wrapped it around himself so tightly. Only his eyes were showing, the blue orbs clearer than they had been since his arrival at the hotel so the Mist ninja was a bit perplexed as to why the teenager was currently begging for mercy; for the past week, Kisame and Itachi had done nothing but care for the blonde- something that the shark faced man was not suited for in the least- putting Naruto's medical needs before theirs in almost every way.
Shoving down the urge to sigh- and also tear something apart- Kisame sat down on the bed a few feet away and absently rubbed his temple as a headache began to form. He had to find a way to deal with the teenager; Itachi was getting some much needed sleep in the spare bed on the other side of the room and the Mist ninja wanted to keep it that way for as long as humanely possible.
He wondered if this was what is felt like to be a parent and, absurdly, Kisame suddenly felt extremely proud of himself for making sure to practice safe sex every time he bought a woman's company.
The missing ninja picked up the bowl of soup beside him and readied a spoonful as he spoke in what he hoped was a low, comforting voice. "I am not hurting you. I am trying to feed you."
Naruto didn't move from the blanket.
Damn it! He was going to have to say it. In a voice that sounded like ground glass, as if every syllable was being dragged from his throat, Kisame played his final card. "Please?"
If the kid didn't take the food after that then the Akatsuki member was going to literally pour the soup down Naruto's throat.
Amazingly, the blanket loosened oh so slowly to expose a blonde head. Clearly still uncertain and frightened, eyes warily watching Kisame, the teenager leaned ever so slightly forward and took the offered spoonful.
Only to choke on it, sputtering and coughing up the warm liquid and vegetables all over Kisame.
"It's alright." The Mist ninja growled, unable to hide his frustration and irritation. He forced his hands to unclench from around the bowl and the now bent spoon handle, putting both down out of the way. He turned back and used a corner of the blonde's blanket to clean Naruto up, occasionally patting the teenager on the back to help him breathe correctly.
They wouldn't be trying the soup again, that was for sure, but maybe just the broth would do. When Naruto was finally able to sit upright, Kisame reached for the soup again, this time making sure to avoid getting the small vegetables in the spoonful. Unfortunately the blonde had already retreated under his now soiled blanket, trembling pathetically in a little ball with none of his body visible.
The ex-Mist ninja bit back a curse and allowed himself a brief sigh before changing tactics again. He wasn't going to say that word again but maybe another avenue would work. Inhaling deeply to calm himself, he once again forced his voice into something friendly. "Have some soup. It's good…" He wheedled, feeling foolish as he talked to the teen as one would to a fussing toddler.
"See?" To prove that there was nothing wrong with the nutritious concoction, Kisame downed the spoonful he held before it could spill on his cloak.
Seconds later, he was the one coughing and sputtering, leaning over the bed side to spit the vile liquid out. Durring this less than dignified period, he felt tentative slaps hit his back and when he looked back in Naruto's direction, he found the blonde still trembling but at least visible.
"That was disgusting." Kisame said, promptly getting up to dispose of the soup. "No wonder you wouldn't eat it!" Then he frowned, realizing that he had been presented with a new problem. "We need real food…"
On the bed, Naruto perked up marginally and Kisame didn't blame him in the least.
The easiest remedy for this would be to simply send a clone out to fetch food from the inn's restaurant but the ex-Mist ninja was bored, bored to tears, of being in this room. He had officially caught cabin fever and wanted to go outside, to walk around, to explore. Hell, to get laid! Besides, the kid needed some fresh air. Getting a little loving wouldn't hurt, either.
Mouth settling into a thin line as he finished mentally debating the issue, Kisame fetched Naruto's new outfit from the washroom where it had been stored and returned to the bed to lay all the pieces out.
Feeling suddenly shy, he held out a blue skinned hand for Naruto to take, waiting patiently and holding absolutely still. "If you stand up, we can get you dressed and then we'll go get food."
'What the hell is this 'we' business?' He scolded himself. 'Once he's healthy enough to survive the trip, we're heading straight to base to yank out the Kyuubi! He's our captive, damn it!'
But he held still, posture relaxed, as Naruto stared at him from under his soup smattered safety blanket.
"You're blanket needs to be washed." The missing ninja reminded in a carefully neutral tone.
"Cl, cloak…" The blonde stuttered out, sounding as if he had had to fight to unglue his tongue from the roof of his mouth, and Kisame saw a barely tan finger gesture in his direction. Frowning, he looked down and saw that, indeed, the black red embossed cloak had not been spared from becoming soiled by the soup.
Grumbling curses, Kisame strode from the bed and stripped the garment off, barely wrangling his temper enough to keep from stomping around the room. The cloak was made of durable cloth, was water resistant, generally all-weather, and a bitch to clean once dirty. It would take hours to get that shit off! He stormed- quietly, since he didn't want to wake Itachi- into the bathroom and filled the cracked porcelain of the sink's basin with water to soak the tainted section of his cloak in.
Cleaning the fabric carefully, Kisame glanced up into the mirror over the sink and looked over his shoulder into the room proper where Naruto was cautiously inspecting the new outfit laid out in front of him. Deciding that it would be less stressful if the kid was allowed some time to acclimate to the whole thing, the former Mist ninja quietly stayed in the bathroom, observing the bed's occupant through the mirror. The blond was lifting sections of the cloth, touching them, poking at the lumps formed by the irregular padding of the comforter underneath. The behavior reminded Kisame of a child, a very frightened, shell-shocked child, that just so happened to be nearly six feet tall. The missing ninja had a hard time picturing the teenager as a shinobi, as someone who had been trained as a lethal weapon, especially when said teenager hooked his fingers in the cloth of the narrow obi and retreated with it into the confines of his blanket, very much like a hermit crab into its shell after finding something yummy to nibble on.
Kisame hadso not just thought the word 'yummy.' He had not and anyone who said different would be fed to Samehada. In. Pieces.
"Would you like to put it on?" The missing ninja offered dryly, watching the teenager visibly jerk and look at the bathroom guiltily. "That's the belt you've got there and it goes around your waist after everything else has been put on."
Seeing that he now had the boy's attention, he decided to press a little verbally while remained firmly where he was. Baby steps; baby steps would get him much farther than force and he kept telling himself this as he rung out his cloak, setting it to dry on the back of the door. "I can help you, if you don't know how."
Actually, Kisame was much better at getting woman out of said clothing than in it, but he figured that he knew enough to work backwards and reverse engineer the outfit.
He was stared at for a long time, so long in fact that Kisame was about ready to loose his patience and force Naruto into the outfit. The Mist ninja was fairly certain that the obi would make a very nice gag. But then the blonde nodded, very slowly, and Kisame felt himself actually smile as he walked over.
Kisame looked over his handiwork and scratched his chin, pleased with himself by how well Naruto had turned out. It had taken a while but when all was said and done, Naruto sat dressed in his kimono, decked out with the minimal fixings Kisame had bought. The black of the cloth really didn't do anything to flatter the teenager's skin tone, making him look washed out and fragile to the Mist ninja, but the orange threadwork managed to somehow draw attention to the blonde's hair and lovely blue eyes. Naruto's face had been washed free of sweat, as had his neck, hands and arms, and his hair had been combed into some semblance of order to be pinned into place by black lacquered barrettes. Make up had been applied to hide the whisker marks on each cheek, a difficult task since Naruto's normally tanned skin was paler than normal but, with a little tinkering and some blush thrown into the concealer mix, the problem had been solved fairly well. To complete the ensemble, the Kyuubi vessel wore black silk slipper shoes that offered only meager protection from road debris- a definite deterrent should the blonde decide to escape.
'Not bad, not bad,' He thought even as his lips turned down in a frown. 'Something's missing…' Kisame realized, looking over the blonde again, scrutinizing the teenager as he would the instructions for a new jutsu.
"Jewelry." His lips twisted into a brief grimace before relaxing. Any woman in such an outfit would also be wearing some jewelry to indicate her social status: the more subtle, the more influential the woman just as the more garish the pieces, the less influential. A woman wearing a nice kimono but no jewelry would stand out and attract attention from people who would notice such things.
Anyone taking an interest was sure to cause all sorts of problems and ask questions.
A necklace would be a waste simply because, unless the piece was colorful, there was no way anyone would see it against the predominately dark backdrop of the blonde's flat chest. Bracelets, though heard, would be lost to sight under the volumous sleeves. A ring was a bit more personal than Kisame was willing to get so that left…
"We've got to buy you some earrings." He said suddenly, watching Naruto tilt his blonde head questioningly. Kisame had to say, the teenager was behaving remarkably well considering how terrified he had been earlier. Maybe they had formed some sort of bond over their agreement of the awful soup?
The missing ninja formed a few hand signs before taking a firm hold of Samheda's hilt and swinging the massive sword into position on his shoulder. "Alright, let's go."