With the death of my latest victim, our mission drew to a close. I stepped over the dead body and began the trek back to headquarters, knowing Kisame would follow. Sure enough, I could hear his heavy footsteps behind mine moments later.

I was ready to go home. I wasn't exhausted, injured, or anything of that nature, mind you. This mission had simply dragged on much longer tan I would have like, and the relief that always came with a finished job could only truly be acquired once my partner and I were back at the base, in our rooms while Pein read our report. I inwardly frowned at that. Kisame would no doubt expect me to write the report, a habit I'd made after Kisame reported my "cruel" treatment towards a nameless assailant we'd fought early on in the partnership. Pein had chewed me out for it, and ever since then I'd written our reports, giving Pein only the facts of our missions. The methods I used for disposing my victims were of little consequence, overall, and therefore were often omitted, or summed up with something along the lines of, "Sharingan was used on # of victims".

I am not, as Kisame sometimes crudely refers to me as, a sadist. I merely enjoy invading a person's mind and exploring what it takes to make them cry, scream, or beg. If there is any joy in my torture, it is in the finding of what these people truly dread.

I remember one mission we were sent on, where I battled a woman atop a bridge. I cannot recall her face, body type, or even what village she hailed from. Yet, I still remember her.

Like nearly all my victims, she became trapped in the Tsukiyomi. It was a long battle; I stabbed, burned, sliced, smashed, and used countless other tortures on her, with no response. She fascinated me, having such resistance.

And then, I tried to drown her.

The reaction was almost immediate. She began struggling, eyes widening in fear, a scream escaping, noise muffled by the water surrounding her. I'd found the weak spot in her near-impenetrable armor, at long last. Had I had even an ounce less of self-control, I may have smiled at this.

Finally, I grew tired of this game, and released her. Her body fell unconscious to the ground at my feet, her energy spent, her mind snapped. I picked up the poor thing and threw her over the side of the bridge to drown in the blue liquid beneath us.

I did not do this out of cruelty. I did not kill her because I enjoyed her suffering. She merely died because I had gained all the information I could from her, and thus was useless to me. Had she been left to live, she may have somehow given away valuable information about me. That being said, I really had no choice but to kill her.

Each and every victim that falls at my hand always gives me new information. Some new hint about what makes the human mind tick. A clue as to what all fears are based on. A new page to add to my book of torture and pain. One step closer to perfecting the method of how to rip apart a human being at their innermost core.

Alright, maybe I am a bit sadistic.

I heard my partner speak, but the words were lost on me. Kisame really should learn not to speak to me when my mind is elsewhere. I give him a short "Hn," in reply. He can interpret it as he pleases.

"I thought not. Looks like we'll have to camp out tonight, Itachi."

Ah, he'd been speaking of finding a town to stay in. I frown at his statement. Summer has finally left, taking both its light and heat with it. I am not looking forward to spending the night outside where it is sure to be both cold and windy, but dusk is fast approaching, and we need to start searching for shelter before we lose all light.

In some ways, I am lucky to have Kisame for a partner. He's always had a better understanding of nature than I, and as much as I hate to say it, he is better at survival techniques too. In under an hour he had found a cave that would provide adequate shelter. It was not too deep, and the mouth was wide enough for both of us to enter without bending. Now that shelter had been found, our next priority had to be heat. Wood was gathered, a fire was lit, and finally we could settle down and eat.

I only ate half the dinner I packed; just enough to silence my growling stomach. Should we be attacked in the middle of the night, I would not want to fight on a full stomach. One slash to the gut, and it's all over. You'll bleed out in no time. Kisame, of course, lives under the code of treating each minute like it's your last, and all but inhaled the entire tray of food he'd packed. I sighed to myself. How this man had lasted so long living like this astounded me.

Once we were done, I moved to the mouth of the cave, sitting just outside it. Kisame picked up on my body language in an instant. I was agreeing to take the first watch.

In all the years Kisame and I had been together, we had never slept at the same time. Our idea for this is simple enough: when you are a criminal, there is no such thing as safety. The threat of death is always a hair's breath away, and as such we must always be on our guard. This means sleeping in shifts.

As I look around for any signs of danger, I begin a mental outline of our report to Sir Leader. This report will be rather short, despite the battle we encountered at the end. In truth, this mission was simplistic, free of complications, and no real challenge to the two of us-

"Itachi, it's my turn."

Kisame's words startle me, and I turn to look at the shark. Judging by how far the fire has died down, I've managed to let him sleep through part of his shift.

This isn't the first time I've done this. I merely become lost in thought and allow the shark a few extra hours of sleep now and again. I see no harm in giving my partner more rest; his attacks are always physical, so he requires more R and R than my body does.

I nod and brush past him, stripping off my cloak and laying it on the ground to sleep on. The cloaks we wear serve many purposes; a symbol of the Akatsuki, a shelter from wind and rain, and, on occasions like this, a bed.

I curl up in silence, shutting my tired eyes. I'm beginning to think I overused them again; they're starting to ache, and I'm feeling drained. As I drift off, my eyes fall on Kisame, who's sitting calmly in the cave's entrance.

I find myself hoping he'll return the kindness of a few extra hours of sleep.