AN:

JK: Wow! 200 reviews! Happy dance!

cip: Well, I helped with ch. 19 too, so I'm still here.

JK: Otay, well. I put up live pix of Ita and his bunny and Ita waiting on DA, under this link: lacuna-coil-girl(dot)deviantart(com) Go check them out plz!

cip: And I have some new pix as well!

To Hekun - Nothing really to say to you this time. Sorry.

To Flamecolonel - I know what you mean...

To moonshine-blade - Here it is!

To Karijn Aska Shangel - Cool!! And, yeah. My mom's the same way...TT.TT BTW, I drew Ita with short hair and stuck it on my DA, the link to it is above in the AN, if you want to see it.

To fearthekyuubi - I really try not to. So sorry.

To The-New-Akatsuki-Leader - Yayz!

To t.A.T.u Crazi - You'll have details, but not the actual scene for Dei-Dei, I'm afraid. TT.TT don't worry, though! It' gonna be fine!

To The Kyuubi maiden - I dunno. Use your imagination.

To my 'Lollipop' Artistic Eloquence - I'm gonna back you up on that one hundred percent!

To Yusin - Yayz!

To xcupidxstuntx - I'll detail the aftermath because I've already got ch. 20 planned.

To SonicGaaraGirl - Whoa! I appreciate the reviews, but you could've just left one and a summery of your feelings! O.o' Oh,well. Thxs, anyway!

To ExplosiveNoteNinja - Hehehe...I like the way you think.

To Anro - (JK joins) Guilty! Guilty! (Kisame turns around and looms over us) Uh-oh...

To my lovely darling cip - Loved the pics!! And, yeah, I still used what you wanted me to. What ARE you going to draw?

To lina kazamike - Sure! Leave me what you want, and I'll make it a chappie!

To nurikos-lurver - Awws...you can get up, now. I'm very flattered.

To Dark-Rainy-Mist - I 'mist' you! XD As for your Samehada idea...Kisame's trying to PUNISH Itachi! Not FREAKING MURDER HIM!! Whew. Okay, that wasn't me speaking, those were the Pop-Tarts I had for breakfast. It would be funny, though, but don't count on it. Well, maybe a pat.

To NamimiNakashima - Yum, yum! (sugar rush)

To Renji's Baby Sister - LOL

Current Chapter Contains: Spanking of a teen

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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"Let me go! KISAME!!" Itachi begged, struggling against his partner's firm grip. The shark-nin ignored the teen's cries and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

"No."

"Put me down, you son of a bi-" before Itachi could finish, Kisame's hand came down sharply on his bottom.

WHAP!

"Ahh!" Itachi jerked slightly.

"There's a hint as to what I'm going to do. Now, shut up and stop struggling!"

"No!! Please, let me go!" Itachi begged again. "I'll behave! I promise!"

"It's a bit too late for that now, Itachi-kun, don't you think?"

"Please!! I'm begging!" Kisame shifted the weight on his shoulder so that Itachi was slightly less uncomfortable.

"This is for your own good, Itachi. And you deserve it, seeing the state poor Konan-chan is in!" Kisame scolded. Itachi couldn't help but laugh remembering the glimpse he'd caught of the water-logged Konan. He regretted it, however, when the hand holding him in place tightened on his leg and Kisame growled warningly.

"Don't make this any worse for yourself, Itachi-kun." he sighed.

"Uhn..." Itachi looked over his shoulder the best he could, and saw fearfully that they were at the door to their room. Kisame opened the door and placed Itachi on his bed.

"Don't move, I'll be right back." he warned. Slowly, Itachi nodded, afraid of what might happen if he disobeyed. The shark-nin left muttering, "Where did I leave that...?" He didn't have to wait long. Kisame swiftly returned, and Itachi let out a horrified gasp when he saw that his partner had fetched the wooden hairbrush from where he had left it on the coffee table earlier.

"Kisame, no!" Itachi begged. The shark-nin shook his head sternly.

"I'm sorry, but this has to be done." he said. Itachi looked down and began crying softly. Kisame felt his heart break, but he refused to back down.

"That won't work on me, and you know it." he stated, sitting down next to his partner, still holding the hairbrush. "Now, are you going to comply, or will I have to make a scene?" In reply, Itachi jerked away in an attempt to get away from the older missing-nin. "Fine, then. Looks like we have to do this the hard way." Itachi quickly scrambled to the door, smacking it into the process. Muttering words that not even Hidan would say, he reached for the knob, then found he couldn't move any further. "Chakra strings." Kisame said. "Sasori gave me a crash course."

"How...?" Itachi began. Then he started to cry again, terrified. Sighing, Kisame pulled his sobbing partner to him, then placed him over his lap. Itachi sobbed harder, knowing Kisame was angry at him. The shark-nin felt his heart twist again, but he told himself that Itachi needed to learn. Sighing again, he reached over and picked up the hairbrush from where he'd left it on the bed. "P-Please, Kisame...I'm sorry. Really." Begging had never worked before, but he was still willing to try. "Ki-Kisame?" Itachi tried again. "Kisame!" Kisame just sighed and moved the teen's cloak out of the way. Itachi thrashed around violently, sobbing harder though no blows had landed.

"I'm sorry, Itachi-kun." Was all Kisame said, bringing the hairbrush down. Itachi let out a howl of pain and bucked up to escape, but there was no escape. Kisame's hand on his back held him firmly in place.

WHAP!!

"Waah! Stop!!"

"I'm sorry, Itachi-chan, but not yet."

"B-But I'm sorry! P-Pleeease!!"

" 'Sorry' doesn't change the fact that this isn't the first time you've pulled a prank like this, and it probably won't be the last time either."

WHAP!!

"Aaaaah!! B-But I-I-I'm sorry, Kisame!" Itachi sobbed pathetically. Kisame realized there were tears falling from his own eyes as he brought the hairbrush down again. Itachi flung his hand back for protection with a wail of pain, only for Kisame to trap it in his large one, restricting movement but comforting to them both at the same time. Itachi began sobbing harder, feeling more helpless at his lack of movement. "Ow! O-Okay! I-It was a-a-a stupid idea! Let go!!"

"The fifth 'stupid idea' you've had and carried out this week!!"

"Owwwwww!! P-Please! I-It won't happen again!" Itachi wailed.

"You said that last time." Kisame said, pausing for a moment.

"...I...I did?" the black-haired shinobi sniffled.

"You did, little weasel. And the time before that. You never keep your word."

"I...I will th-th-this t-time!! I-I swear!!" Itachi promised. Kisame shook his head with a sad sigh.

"The trouble is, I can't trust you."

WHAP!!

"Waaaaaaaah!!" Itachi kicked violently. "Pleeeeease!! I-I mean it!!" Kisame sighed, then paused again.

"I don't doubt that right now. So why DO you insist on doing these silly things?"

"...I...I don't know...!" Itachi whimpered, lightly rubbing his face on Kisame's thigh to wipe some tears away. Kisame noted the action and ran his fingers through the youth's hair.

"Well, I wish you wouldn't. I hate making you cry."

"Well, d-d-don't spank m-me i-in the first p-place!"

"I wouldn't if you didn't act like a spoiled brat!"

"I hate you, you son of a bi-"

WHAP!!!

"Aaaaaaaahh!! I won't t-t-take it back!!" Itachi wailed rebelliously.

WHAP!!!

"Apologize. NOW!" Kisame demanded.

"AAAAAH!! N-No!" At this, Kisame sighed inwardly. And he'd thought they'd been making so much progress. Itachi seemed to be right back at square one.

WHAP!!!

"AAAAGH!!" Itachi sank his short, purple nails deep into Kisame's thigh. The shark-nin winced at this, for his partner had dug in deep enough to draw blood. He wanted to stop, but Itachi's stubbornness was proving to be a challenge this time. "Let me go now!!" Itachi yelled. "I...I'll use Mangekyo!" It was an empty threat. Itachi knew better than to use Mangekyo Sharingan on his partner. The shark-nin slowly put the brush down.

"Fine, then." he said, shoving Itachi off his lap. "I can't deal with this anymore. I'm going to talk to Leader about being assigned a new partner." As he spoke, Kisame headed for the door.

"What?!" Itachi panicked. "What do you mean?! Y-You can't! I...!" Kisame turned around.

"You 'what', Itachi?"

"I..." Itachi couldn't find the words. He knew if he didn't say anything, he'd lose Kisame. Just the thought of that made Itachi begin to cry harder than he ever had in his life. Kisame couldn't stand to see the teen that upset, so he crouched down next to him.

"You 'what', Itachi?" he repeated in a quieter tone.

"I...my...p-p-parents...n-ne...n-never...y-you..." Itachi sputtered.

"Shh...shh..." Kisame rubbed Itachi's arms soothingly. "Calm down and speak slower. Now, what are you trying to say?"

"My...my p-p-parents...never...you know...a-and...y-you...I...I don't...und-understand..." the black-haired shinobi managed. Realization hit Kisame like a ton of bricks.

"Your parents never spanked you?"

"N...n-no...n-n-never...n-not e-e-even...th-threatened..."

"But...how come? What about when you did something naughty?" Kisame prodded. Itachi blushed at the word 'naughty, but stuttered,

"I...I was...the...'golden boy'...they...didn't want...t-to..." he trailed off, then turned to Kisame and reached out like a frightened child wanting to be held.

"Hey, hey...it's okay..." Kisame couldn't understand how one minute he was mad, and the next minute he was holding the sobbing cause of his vexation in his arms.

"I...I'm sorry..." Itachi whimpered into Kisame's shoulder. "I...I'm so sorry..."

"I know, it's okay." Kisame gently smoothed Itachi's hair down. "It's all okay now."

"...Don't...leave me...I...y-you..." Itachi seemed to want to say something, but couldn't find the right words.

"Shhh...I'm not going to leave you, my little weasel." Kisame said fondly, tightening the hug. Itachi cried into Kisame's shoulder for a full ten minutes before he began to quiet down again.

"...love..." he said finally, exhausted. Kisame blinked, his hand pausing in mid-rub on Itachi's back.

"Itachi...what did you say?" the shark-nin asked, startled.

"...love...you..." Itachi murmured softly, closing his eyes and falling into a contented sleep. Holding the Uchiha close, the shark-nin smiled and pressed a kiss to the teen's hair.

"I love you too, my naughty little weasel."

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AN:

JK: Another hassle down the drain.

cip: We really need to do that again sometime.

JK: We will, we will. But, until next time,

JK and cip: WE GONE!!