Author's Note: I honestly have no excuse for why this is being posted a good few weeks after I actually finished writing it….

A week had passed since the raid, and Itachi had been studying like a man possessed. Ever since they'd returned, Kisame hadn't been able to so much as open Itachi's door, for it was barricaded from the inside. Kisame was worried. What if whatever he was doing in there would sabotage the Akatsuki? Kisame had to know.

"Hidan, how good are you with lock picks?" He asked one morning at breakfast.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I would actually. There's something I need for you to do for me." Hidan perked up considerably.

"Could you get me into Itachi's room?"

"I could be…persuaded. However, you must convince Kakuzu to lift his ban on my cursing!"

"I'll see what I can do. Does he have anything to do with your sudden vocabulary shift?"

"Yes."

Kisame and Hidan agreed to meet outside Itachi's room in ten minutes. During that time, Kisame went to "borrow" a sedative from Sasori.

Just in case, he reminded himself. When the time came, Kisame was surprised to see Hidan was there early. Hidan crouched down in front of the door and pressed his ear against the wood.

"He's playing music, but stay quiet," Hidan whispered. Carefully, Hidan slipped a pair of bobby pins into the lock. The tell-tale click of the lock came mere seconds later. Kisame gently turned the knob and peered inside.

Itachi was pacing in front of his desk, book in hand. He'd let his hair down, which Kisame felt was odd. It was also longer, well past his shoulders in fact. His luminescent golden eyes were glued to the text. Kisame smelled fresh coffee and heard it brewing somewhere within the room.

"That's not Itachi," Hidan muttered just a bit too loudly. Itachi whipped around.

"Kisame, Hidan," Itachi's voice had acquired a strange accent," come here." Cautiously, the two obeyed. The room was like ice, and both Kisame and Hidan could see the other's breath misting in the air. Oddly enough, they couldn't see Itachi's.

"Now, what do you two want?"

"Pein ordered us to check on you," Kisame lied.

"You could've knocked," Itachi reasoned, "If you had come for the reason you stated, there would be no need for you both to break in."
"We did," Kisame challenged, "you never answered."

"Oh?" Itachi's eyes glittered dangerously,"Perhaps you should learn to knock louder."

Itachi had been sleeping in the same clearing for a week, alone and defeated. Kaito could've done anything by now, and his body could very well be lost. He didn't bother looking up when the brambles rustle as someone came into the clearing, for he knew contacting them was hopeless.

"Why did you lie?" Mizuumi asked calmly.

"I didn't. I merely kept certain details hidden."

"Why?"

"Because," Itachi held her gaze. He was sick of it, sick of Kaito, sick of the mind games, sick of her, " to me, you're nothing but a mindless tool who's rusted to the point of worthlessness."

"That may be true," Mizuumi approached him stolidly," but even a worn down tool won't let its user wallow in self pity. Come on Itachi, let's go catch Kaito."

"How do you plan to do that?" Mizuumi shrugged.

"You're the smart one, you'll figure it out."

"Even if we did find him, you'd have to fight for the both of us. Think you could do it?"

Mizuumi smiled and reached into her pocket. Her expression darkened to confusion, then panic.

"My dad's staff….It's gone."

Mizuumi dug furiously through her bedroom drawers as Itachi looked on. It was nowhere, her staff was gone. How was she supposed to fight without a weapon?

"Mizuumi, what's wrong?" Arashi rubbed his sleep heavy eyes, still dressed in his favorite shuriken print pajamas.

"It's nothing, Arashi," Mizuumi assured," just go back to bed."

"M'kay," he shuffled back up the stairs. Mizuumi smiled, her brother had a habit of brightening people's days. Mizuumi looked over at Itachi and her eyes narrowed. He was looking through one of her mother's photo albums, an expression of boredom clinging to his features.

"You don't have a long family history of Shinobi," he mused.

"My mother and father were the first."

"No wonder," Itachi walked through the door, "Come on, you're going to learn how to fight."

"From who?"

"Me. Hurry before I change my mind."

"How do you plan to teach me anything?"

"Don't make me kill you."

Kaito had spent endless daily hours pacing his brother's room. The room would appear detached and impersonal to the untrained eye, but to Kaito, it was an open book. Itachi left nothing from his past in the open, but that didn't mean it wasn't there. Under his bed was a hidden door, and through that hidden door was a hidden room. In that room were pictures, mainly of him and Sasuke. Graduation pictures, a birthday party, his first mission report. Delicately arranged on the shelves were old mementos Itachi had squirreled away over the years. Most everything was from back home, too much too carry in one small backpack.

The book he'd been searching for was on one of the two shelves in the room, and the only one covered in dust. The title was in a different language, but Kaito knew exactly what it said. Sometimes his fate was useful to him.

"Summoning the dead? No. Summoning giant toads? Not likely. Ah, here it is!" Kaito flipped to the chapter he'd been looking for and engrossed himself. He pulled a notebook out of Itachi's downstairs desk and scribbled down notes as he read. Itachi would get his body back; it was just a matter of how that plagued Kaito. Luckily, he had all the time in the world.

A month went by before anyone saw Kaito again. By then, he had gained so much knowledge that he felt his mind was going to overflow. All that remained was for him to gain the necessary power. With their combined strength, he could do it easily.

"NO!" Mizuumi let out a yelp as she hit the ground. Her sword bounced away across the grass and Itachi's katana tip grazed her forehead. A thin line of blood seeped from the shallow cut.

"You're letting to too easily. Try again."

"But I can't do it!" Mizuumi wailed. They'd been at it for at least a month and she still hadn't been able to last more than two minutes against Itachi.

"Yes, you can. Stand up and this time don't let go of your sword." Mizuumi staggered to her feet, leaning on her sword for support. She looked around the area they were training in. Itachi's attacks tended to scrape the ground, but there was something that didn't make sense to her.

"Hey, Itachi?"

"Yes?"

"How come you're solid to me, but your sword doesn't cut the grass?"

"It doesn't matter. If I can't get my body back then I can't fight Kaito."

"Well, what about me?"

"What about you?"

"Can you possess people?"

"I'm not a ghost, Mizuumi."

"But have you tried? I'm not strong enough to beat Kaito; I'm not even good enough to be a jonin! You know how to beat him, I don't."

"We can try, but first we have to build up your endurance."

"Or what?"

"Or my fighting style may kill you. Come on, once more."

Cool water lapped at Kaito's ankles as he let them dangle lazily into the slow flowing stream. He watched in pleasure as Itachi tried to teach Mizuumi how to wield a sword. Mizuumi tired quickly of the lesson and had simply seen fit to stay on the ground.

"It doesn't matter. If I can't get my body back, then I can't fight Kaito." Kaito smirked. Excellent, Itachi was determined to fight him. His plan would be easier than he thought. Let Itachi build Mizuumi's strength all he wanted, he'd only crush her anyway. Kaito cast a look towards them.

"Too easy."

"Kisame, what are you doing?" Kisame cringed. The sound of Pein's sandals slapping against the stone floor filled his ears. Slowly, Kisame rose to his feet.

"My office," Pein barked," Now!" Kisame followed. He'd seen Itachi leave the room and seized that was the time to see what his partner was hiding. He'd just about popped the lock when Pein found him. Pein slammed his office door shut behind them.

"Now, why were you breaking protocol?"

"It's not Itachi sir. I believe that-"

"Not this again," Pein interrupted, "Listen, I'm only saying this once. Itachi. Isn't. A traitor." Pein sighed," You and Hidan both are overreacting."

"I saw him drink alcohol," Kisame deadpanned," and he liked it."

"…You're lying."

"I wish I was."

Kaito slinked into the Akatsuki base.

"Where have you been?" Kisame leaned against a wall, arms folded.

"I got hungry," he shrugged.

"Bull."

"You're right," Kaito smirked," the restaurant I went to served fresh grilled bull." Casually, he walked towards the corridor to his room.

"Kaito." Kaito froze. Kisame peeled off the wall.

"That's your name, isn't it? You took Itachi's body."

"Well," Kaito sighed," I guess there's no use hiding it."

"Where was he last sighted?"

"In the entrance chamber, waiting for Itachi."

"When?"

"Last week."

Pein stormed down the hall Hidan at his side. He'd burst into Pein's office early that morning spouting gibberish about a kidnapping and a plot against Akatsuki. Kisame and Itachi were both missing.

"You're sure you didn't just miss them somewhere?"

"Pein, it's been one whole week!"

"Point taken," they stopped outside Kisame's room.

"Open it," Pein ordered.

"Too good to do it yourself?" A cold glare wiped the malice from Hidan's eyes. The door opened before Hidan so much as touched it.

"What do you want?" Kakuzu snapped.

"More importantly, why are you in there?" Pein demanded.

"Kisame owed me money, and seeing as I'd heard he'd disappeared, I decided to collect."

"Out. Now."

Kaito paced in front of his prisoner, who glared back defiantly.

"Who so stubborn? You're merely leading them to me." Kaito's hair was long and flowing, no longer contained by a ponytail. His eyes were deep golden pools. He was taller and paler than Itachi, but still similar in appearance.

"Never."

"Pity and you were so close to freedom." His red wings accented every word;" I suppose I'll just have to do it myself." Kaito flashed Itachi's sword.

Thoughts? Anyone you want to see more of?