Slave to a Shark – Chapter 6: Stress
-.-.-
Itachi woke feeling intense pain. Pain from the torture he had experienced days ago at Kisame's hands. Pain from the curse seal. Pain in his heart from seeing his best friend lose his eyes.
Itachi groaned and forced himself to sit up, sitting at the edge of the bed. He could vaguely hear water running in the bathroom.
What happened back there? Why were Shisui and Tohru in that room? What was Kisame doing? Is Kisame researching us after all...? Will they do it to Sasuke too?
Dread filled Itachi, strong enough to make him walk across the room despite his pain. Was that Kisame in the bathroom? Should he talk to Kisame first or should head straight back to Shisui and Tohru's side? Or more importantly check on Sasuke?
Kisame is the one who can explain any of this, or stop it... I can't be in three places at once, and how could I protect all three of them at once?
Itachi felt stress and tension tie his stomach into knots, creating a sickening feeling as he tried to figure out how to save everyone. He had to start by speaking to Kisame.
Itachi opened the closet door that led to the bathroom, the sound of running water becoming louder. The bathroom door was slightly ajar. Deciding that after their love confession the previous day, there would really be no need to worry about walking in on Kisame showering. Besides, he had walked in on Itachi taking a bath.
With a gentle push, the door slid open and Itachi was greeted by the sight of Kisame showering. It was a sight through the clear glass - Kisame's large, towering and muscular figure arched into the spray of the water. Itachi could almost make out the defining muscles along his stomach, a blush quickly forming on his features. How could one being so ferocious and fearsome be so…enchanting?
Itachi was entranced. It was a beautiful sight. He may hate the man for all he did, but he did have a nice body - now that Itachi had considered and thought about the possibility of sex with the man, he had allowed himself to notice these things. Shrugging the thought aside, Itachi stepped forward. The noise was finally enough for Kisame to turn and see Itachi.
Instantly, Itachi knew something was wrong. Kisame's expression was cold and calculating, not the soft, loveable one he had the day before. He shut off the shower with a twist of the knob and slid the door open, stepping out into the tiled floor.
If he wasn't so focused on Kisame's cold eyes, Itachi might have noticed how the water was dripping down the edges of Kisame's navy blue locks, which stuck to the side of his head softly. Or how his chest rose and fell with his breathing, stretching that beautiful blue skin over defined muscles across his chest. He might have noticed so many things about Kisame's body under any other circumstances - but this time he didn't.
Kisame, for his part, was thoroughly disgusted with himself. He had just tortured and horrifically killed Itachi's girlfriend - which he realized now he probably should have asked Itachi about before jumping the gun. Moreover, he was now convinced that after what Itachi had seen him do, there was no way in hell he could expect love from the man.
He hates me. He will never love me. He might lie about it. But he won't mean it.
Kisame wanted, more than anything, to hate Itachi back. To kill him. To stop caring. But he couldn't. Instead, he found himself just as attracted to the crow as before, just as full of admiration.
It pissed him off. That look he was giving Kisame right now as he entered the shower was almost accusatory - it was like he was there to judge him.
Filled with rage Kisame decided it didn't matter anymore. Fine, he couldn't have Itachi's love. Not now, or ever. But he owned Itachi's body. He owned it. He would use it and do whatever he wanted, it didn't matter anymore what Itachi wanted; it never did.
Kisame stepped forward, his eyes getting colder as he considered the best way to go about what he was going to do. Was this the best place? Should he move to the bed? No, why bother caring about Itachi's comfort? It didn't matter anymore, Itachi was like a doll. An object.
"Are you alright?" Itachi asked, his eyes boring into Kisame's.
This stopped Kisame in his tracks. Instead of a "why did you kill my girlfriend?" Or a "what have you done to my friend's eyes?" Or "why did you capture more of us?" Or all manner of things he could've asked, he asked the least expected. He asked about how Kisame was doing.
Guilt coursed through Kisame again, causing his hand to shake.
Is Itachi doing this on purpose to make me feel guilty because he knows how awful I feel about what I've done? The same way he took advantage of my feelings and didn't even tell me he was already in a relationship?
The last thought brought upon the rage again, and filled with this anger Kisame was about to shove Itachi to the ground. That is, until Itachi moved closer, taking Kisame's shaking hand into his own two and holding it closer to his face, finally kissing Kisame's fingers.
The gesture did things to Kisame that couldn't be described in words. It was beautiful, it was everything Kisame wanted. But the guilt ate away at his insides.
Why?
"Itachi..."
"Kisame, let me help you dry off." Itachi offered. "Or if you want I can help you run the bath now that you're done showering... I could even join you in it..." Itachi looked away as he said this, blushing.
Kisame shoved Itachi away, causing the crow to hit the wall behind him and groan in pain, his eyes wide and full of shock.
"Get away from me." Kisame said coldly, both his hands shaking now.
Itachi decided to comply, leaving the room. He had a bad feeling it wasn't a good idea to ask Kisame about the others just yet.
What has him so... Afraid? What was with that pained expression on his face?
Itachi wondered these thing as he left the room, ignoring the pain he felt yet again because he had to check on the others.
I'm going to die from this pain. Itachi sighed, closing his eyes and hoping his wounds would heal quickly. His master's tendencies to toss him around certainly weren't helping with the healing process.
When was the last time I didn't feel pain or stress? Itachi wondered to himself. This place... Really is hell.
Itachi had just barely left the bedroom when he was caught by Jared.
"Itachi... Come with me." The butler said. Itachi noticed instantly a disguised grimace on Jared's face.
"Why? Is something wrong?" Itachi asked curiously, as he followed Jared.
"No, the master has simply requested you do some work."
"Work?"
"Cleaning."
"Oh." Itachi said, confused. After that confession the day before, the last thing Itachi expected to be doing here was work or cleaning. "Are you sure it was Master Kisame who asked this?"
"He asked me personally to make sure you did this."
"Okay." Itachi was still doubtful, but he couldn't afford to make anyone angry right now. "What kind of cleaning is this...? Also how is my brother doing?"
Jared may or may not know about Shisui and Tohru, but he would definitely know about Sasuke.
"Sasuke is resting as we speak. He and Suigetsu have gone to the lake to fish. I think some fresh air is good for him. His condition has also improved significantly, I believe he will be back to normal within a few days." Jared tried to elongate the conversation about Sasuke. He didn't want to answer questions about anyone else. "We are here."
"This is the torture room." Itachi said matter-of-factly.
"Indeed it is." Jared could not bring himself to look Itachi directly in the eyes. "There is a cloth, soap and water inside. Please clean until everything shines as it was before. Now, if you excuse me, I have work to do."
Jared did not want to be there to see, hear or experience whatever else Itachi's reaction may bring. He wanted out.
"... Okay..." Itachi's confusion did not end. The dread and sickness from his earlier stress filled him again.
I think I'm going to be sick. This is too much stress for me. But no... Must persevere. For Sasuke... Shisui... Tohru...
Itachi sighed and opened the door to the torture room and was instantly greeted by the metallic smell of blood. It littered the walls, the floor, it was dried and caked and in some parts bits of skin were left over.
Itachi clutched his chest and fell back against the wall. Nausea and a sudden intense pain seeped through him, his muscles screaming in protest against every move he made. Itachi's vision blurred.
No... I'm not blacking out again... I've been blacking out constantly... Though it is because of torture and blood loss... But I refuse to again.
The pain increased in ministrations and Itachi fell to the ground.
Whose blood is this?
Itachi groaned and quivered.
Outside, Jared stopped in his tracks. He had known Kisame his whole life. He was loyal to Kisame. For lack of a better word, he loved the man like his own son. He could see that Kisame was falling for Itachi, he knew why Kisame had brutally murdered that girl.
He knew him long enough to recognize when he made such a grave mistake as this one.
Jared couldn't ignore that voice in the back of his head for much longer - so he didn't. He went back to get Itachi, he would approach Kisame and force the two to speak to each other and resolve whatever problems they needed to. If Itachi wasn't good for Kisame... Well... Jared would take care of Itachi himself then.
With that resolve, Jared walked back to the torture chamber.
Itachi was on the ground, holding his chest and struggling to breathe.
Am I having a heart attack?
Whose blood is this?
Who was tortured?
Was it Shisui? Tohru? Someone else?
Itachi used his free hand to drag himself forward, barely crawling. He wanted to get out of this room with the awful, bloody smell.
"Itachi!" Jared's voice could vaguely be heard as Itachi half crawled half dragged himself another single step forward. His heart felt like it was failing. The tension inside of him churned his stomach, if he had eaten he probably would have vomited, but he hadn't eaten in a while.
Jared ran forward and helped Itachi up, placing one of Itachi's arms around his neck and using the other to help prop him up.
"I'm sorry you had to see that Itachi... I never thought you would've figured out so quickly that it was her blood." Jared said as he quickly helped drag Itachi out.
Her blood.
Her blood.
Tohru.
Itachi let himself black out again as the pain in his chest took over.
-.-.-
Itachi woke up about 30 minutes later. He was back in Kisame's room.
"Drink this." Instantly Jared was at Itachi's side, pouring a liquid down Itachi's throat. Itachi was in too much pain to object, and his throat was so dry he would drink anything given to him at this point.
"W-what is this?" Itachi asked, his head barely above the pillow he was propped on.
"It's water."
It didn't taste like water. But what did water taste like? Itachi could not think about it right now.
"What happened?"
"Stress. You had a panic attack it seems."
"Ah." That wasn't a surprise. Itachi had been stressed since the day he and Sasuke were captured, desperately trying to make things work and being put in the worst possible situations. Worry about his brother haunted his every thought. Worry made hundreds of time worse when more people he cared about were in the picture. Like Shisui and Tohru.
Except... Tohru. Blood.
Itachi threw up, but all his body contained was he water he just drank, so a clear liquid dispelled from his mouth.
Tohru was probably dead considering the amount of blood everywhere.
A small sting forced itself into Itachi's arm and he turned just enough to see Jared use a syringe. What was he doing?
"Don't worry it's nothing bad... Just something to calm you down. You need to be calm right now."
Itachi said something but couldn't figure out what. A moment later Jared was cleaning up the mess Itachi had made.
"Sasuke?"
"He's okay. He's with Suigetsu learning to use swords. Suigetsu's teaching him. He's fine."
Teaching? Swords?
-.-.-
The next day Itachi asked Jared if he could see Sasuke.
"You're not allowed to right now." Jared responded.
Why am I being restricted? Is it because I didn't clean up... Itachi stopped that train of thought. He couldn't think about it. Period. Nope. Thinking about it would add to stress and make it worse for himself and Sasuke. Don't think.
"Where is Master Hoshigaki?"
"He's in his office, but you are not allowed to leave this room."
"Why?"
"I cannot say... Also I have to go back to work." With that, Jared left Itachi alone in the room.
Should I try to escape? Smash the windows and run? Should I try to contact Kisame?
Instead, Itachi simply read the books in the room. He didn't want to make matters worse. The key to everything was Kisame. Everything he wanted could be solved through Kisame, so how could he get through to him?
Itachi thought back to Kisame's confession and general mood swings. It seemed obvious the man changed his mind on things every other day.
Can I trust his words to be true and use them to my advantage? Or should I assume he is bipolar and just stick to original plans... I should assume he is bipolar, he has been anything but consistent so far. I can't trust his words, I have to think of Sasuke first.
Shisui... Tohru... I'm sorry. I can't save all of you -too late for Tohru-, but I can still save Sasuke. I will.
Itachi put away the books as he resolved what to do in his mind, and pushing his grief over the loss of his girlfriend and the soon to be loss of his best friend to the back of his mind. It wasn't as hard as he thought - all he had to do was focus entirely on Sasuke, the one person he could save from this hell.
-.-.-
Sasuke jumped back as Suigetsu's large iron sever sword, the Executioner, swung towards him. Sasuke ran forward and slashed with his own blade of choice, the Sword of Kusanagi.
The Executioner was too large to retaliate at a fast enough speed so instead Suigetsu turned to water to avoid the slash.
"Cheater." Sasuke accused as he stopped his assault. He was out of energy - he still wasn't back to 100% after his sickness.
"Don't be jealous."
"Nn."
"So cold." Suigetsu materialized and draped his arm around Sasuke's shoulder. "We should get back though you look like hell."
"Suigetsu, do me a favor."
"Shouldn't you say please?"
"Go check on my brother and make sure he's okay."
"So demanding. What do I get in return?"
"Go."
Suigetsu made a face. "He's not okay."
"What?" Sasuke showed emotion this time, unable to keep up his attempt at a stoic appearance. Uchiha's practiced stoic appearances, but Sasuke was still learning. Itachi had been a natural. Shisui just didn't try, he said it went against his code.
"I said he's not okay. I keep a water clone that drips through the mansion regularly so I know what's going on. He's not okay."
"Be more specific! What happened to him?" Sasuke grabbed Suigetsu by the collar and was glaring threateningly.
"I can't tell you. You're a slave here too. Itachi isn't hurt, but that might change. It all depends on Hoshigaki-sama."
"..." Sasuke loosened his hold on Suigetsu, his mind wandering on what he could do.
"Listen to me. Hoshigaki-sama won't touch you as long as Itachi is around. Stay out of his way. As for Itachi... He did tell you he has a plan, didn't he? Maybe you should believe him, because last I checked on him he definitely looked like he was scheming between books."
"You heard?"
"Yes. Don't get the wrong idea I'm not helping you or anything... I just like to watch things unfold or break..." Suigetsu smiled a dark smile, his toothy grin showing. "I want to watch how things will turn out."
"Won't the master punish you for keeping things from him?"
"He's not my master. He's a family friend. He won't hurt me, even if I betray him." Suigetsu shrugged.
"You seem confident considering he is the Monster of the Mist."
"There are some people who Hoshigaki-sama values more than he values the truth, even if he won't admit it. It's a rare occurrence but such people exist. I'm one of them. It's mutual."
"If you care so much why do you call him Hoshigaki-sama?"
"I respect him."
Sasuke snorted. "You respect him so much you're letting 200 million Seo of his escape just to have some fun."
Suigetsu smiled sadistically. "Oh, you see... I have my own plans."
"What are your plans?"
"That's a secret... For now."
"You sicken me."
"You love me."
"Go to hell."
"Only if you come with me."
-.-.-
"What are you still doing here?" Kisame asked as he entered his bedroom.
"You ordered me to stay. I wasn't able to leave."
Kisame gave a strange look towards Itachi. "I ordered you to be kept out of my sight."
"That's not what Jared said."
"Well, get out now." Kisame sounded amazingly calm. Itachi took that to mean there was a storm brewing underneath.
"No."
"What? I said Get. Out."
Itachi's curse mark turned red at the disobedience, filling him with pain once more. "Talk to me and I will."
"What's there to talk about?"
"Why are my relatives here?"
"That's not your concern. Get out, you're in pain."
"It is my concern!" Itachi lost his cool and stood up, his eyes shining crimson. "Why? I don't understand you! What's with your mood swings? One minute you torture me until I'm almost dead, the next you proclaim your love for me, the next you go and kill my distant cousin!"
"She was your girlfriend!"
"Ex-girlfriend!"
"What?"
"Our relationship was over the moment I got captured and ended up here. There was no future with her for me. I considered it finished."
"..."
"What the fuck were you even thinking?!" Itachi was quivering with so much pain as the curse of the slave seal strengthened and his old injuries resurfaced. His eyes began to bleed, but he pushed forward and pitifully hit Kisame's chest with his fist, doing absolutely no damage before he slumped to the floor, closing his eyes and screaming because the pain was overtaking him.
"Forget the orders I gave you." Immediately the pain of the slave's curse ended, but Itachi wasn't okay.
"I hate you." Itachi managed to say as he was slumped against Kisame's feet. "I hate this hell you created. Let my brother Sasuke go, or I'll kill you."
Kisame wanted to laugh, seeing Itachi in his condition, honestly thinking he could kill anyone.
"I'm serious." Itachi whispered, his brain fuzzing. He wasn't going to live much longer at this pace – hell, how alive could he be considered? The constant pain and stress was slowly leading him towards insanity.
Kisame shivered. Somehow Itachi's words rang through his mind. "I gave you my word I wouldn't even stay in the same room as him."
"Your word can't be trusted." Itachi seethed.
That was the first time Kisame had ever heard someone say his word couldn't be trusted. He was evil, he was a monster, but he was known for his honesty.
"I'm not someone who goes back on my words."
"You already did! You may not have said it directly but you implied you loved me and you… do this." Itachi was done. It was time. He had to kill Kisame that was it. The act of attempting to kill your master would put you in incredible pain without actually physically harming you – it was how the curse seal worked. Disobedience was enough to bring almost any slave to their knees. Attempted murder was a pain worse than death. Also the slave had to kill with enough speed because with a single word the master could either physically cripple or kill the slave through the curse seal. Itachi had to kill Kisame in a way that would bypass such restrictions. He had already resolved to do it. I will act tonight and get rid of Kisame.
"You're right… I was wrong. I'm sorry."
Itachi laughed. This wasn't like him – but really he laughed. How many times has he apologized to me now? After every bad thing he just apologizes like it's all okay now. He just keeps doing this.
"So that's the mood you're in right now? The apologetic kind?" Itachi laughed again, the stress releasing from his body with the laughter. "I guess it's better than your torturous mood swings, though I can't say I care anymore." Itachi was delusional. He was over the edge now.
After the shit I've done to him it's a surprise it took him this long to break. Kisame thought.
"Fine, I'll remove your slave curse."
-.-.-
A/N: Thank you to elric0sis/HikariHaruno for editing this
Also thank you to everyone who reviewed and made me feel better about that last chapter~ I hope I don't disappoint with these going forward!