****To The Secret Sal: Again, this is not the dark gift that I mentioned. This is simply another chapter of Parallel Lines~ ;)
Visiting Itachi in his current state wasn't at the top of Kisame's to-do list for the day. After throwing a punch at Sasuke only to miss and hit the cabinet behind his head instead left his right hand bruised and bloody and in need of bandaging which was going to be a bitch when he returned back to Hozuki's. By then, he hoped he wouldn't need the bandages anymore and could proceed with his day-to-day tasks.
As much as he wanted to avoid confronting Itachi about the events that transpired last night, Sasuke's words lingered at the back of his mind. "When was the last time you saw Itachi?"
Kisame still didn't have a clue as to what the younger Uchiha could have meant by that. He can't be dead. I just saw him last Thursday. Less than one week ago. He can't be dead. Surely if Itachi had passed away, Sasuke would've kicked Kisame out the first chance he got if not last night. But he didn't. And even if Sasuke had some sort of ulterior motive for keeping him around Kisame surely would've caught word of Itachi's passing. If anything, he would've seen the signs in Sasuke.
As emotionless as the little shit is, the death of his beloved older brother would surely affect him, right? Right.
Upon reaching Itachi's room, Kisame clenched the smooth metal handle and took a deep breath. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll find out soon enough, he thought to himself and pushed open the door.
Before him, Itachi was lying in bed with his eyes closed. Not wanting to wake him, Kisame gingerly stepped forward to examine if he was still alive or not. His chest was rising and falling and his mouth was free of any tubes which meant that he was at least breathing on his own. The tubes attached to his chest to feed chemotherapy directly into his system had been removed several weeks ago so their absence didn't bother Kisame any. All around him, Itachi was surrounded by computer screens that monitored his heart rate and stuff (and come to think of it, Kisame never knew what half of those machines were even for, but figuring that out was for a different day). Looking him up and down, Kisame noted that Itachi was still wearing the knit hat Sasuke had given him and there were no signs of his jet black locks growing back as they would've been peeking out from beneath the fabric. And at the foot of the bed hung the Uchiha's medical charts. So he's not dead. Kisame exhaled. That's a relief.
Looking him over once more, Kisame decided it would be wise to take his leave. It was stupid of him to think that Itachi would be awake every time he stopped by to visit and there was still the matter of finding a ride back to Itachi's apartment since Sasuke had driven him to the hospital last night.
"When was the last time you saw Itachi?"
Kisame grit his teeth at the thought. I guess that was just another attempt to egg me on…make me think my roommate's dying just to get a rise out of me…and now I've gotta explain why there's a hole in his cabinet now…unbelievable…
"…-same…?"
At the mention of his name, Kisame turned from the door to see Itachi's eyes flutter open. "Did I wake you? Sorry. Go back to sleep, I'll come back another day."
Itachi raised his hand and beckoned him over to the bed. "No…stay…there was something I wanted…to ask you…"
Great. It took all of the willpower in Kisame not to roll his eyes. "What'd you want to ask?"
"Sit down."
Without asking questions, Kisame did as he was told and pulled a chair over to Itachi's bedside.
Itachi's eyes lolled to the side and drifted shut before opening moments later.
"If you're tired, I can come back another time. Or I could call you or I could—"
"It's fine." Itachi dismissed in short breath. "What happened to your hand?"
It was only a matter time. "I got mad and punched a cabinet last night." He said which wasn't lying. He did get mad last night and he did punch a cabinet. "I'm sorry; I'll pay to have it replaced."
"So Sasuke told you?" Itachi asked and glanced at the ceiling. Upon close examination, there were tears forming at the rims of his slowly reddening eyes.
"Told me what?" Kisame asked.
Itachi spared a glance at him before closing his eyes again. "The chemotherapy didn't work."
"What do you mean it didn't work?" Kisame asked, his bandaged hand and stitches now forgotten. "But you have cancer and chemotherapy's supposed to cure that, right?"
Itachi shook his head. "There is no cure for cancer, Kisame. You can only hope that surgery, radiation or chemotherapy can control it to the point where it goes into remission. Even then it can come back."
"Then have it removed! You said surgery right, so get it removed!"
The barest of smiles graced Itachi's face. "It doesn't work like that, Kisame. I don't have a cancerous tumor that can be cut out with a scalpel. My cancer resides in my bone marrow and is thus spread across my body. The only thing I can do now is hope for a bone marrow transplant."
It didn't matter that Kisame didn't know much about cancer or the treatment that went into it. Itachi gave him a place to live when he was in danger of living on the streets again. Itachi gave him a chance even when he didn't deserve any. Itachi trusted him. At this point, Itachi was one of Kisame's only friends and didn't want to lose him before having the chance to get to know him better. "Then what are you waiting for?"
"I need a donor."
"What about Sasuke?" Kisame suggested helpfully. He may not have fully understood the siblings' relationship with each other but if there was a chance that this thing could kill him, Kisame was sure that Sasuke would step up to the plate no matter the risk.
Apparently that was the wrong thing to ask as the tears collecting at the rims of Itachi's eyes finally dribbled over, running down his cheek. "He's not a match."
Wasting no time, Kisame fired off his next suggestion. "I'll do it. Tell me what I have to do to help you get better."
"Kisame," Itachi sighed, "it's not that easy. They say that siblings are the closest match – second to that being one's parents or blood relatives but all of my blood relatives are dead."
"I can try though, can't I?" Kisame pleaded with him.
Most days, Itachi's eyes were unreadable but in this moment, his doubts were clear. "If you want, but trust me when I say that you most likely won't be a match."
"And if I'm not?"
Itachi released a shaky breath. "Then they'll have to consult the national bone marrow registry for someone who's a close enough match."
"And then what?"
"And then we proceed from there. But first we need to find someone whose bone marrow closely resembles my own before we can begin to think of the transplantation process."
Having no other suggestions or helpful remarks, Kisame nodded and stared into his lap. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
Itachi wiped at the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. "There is, actually."
"What is it?"
"Be patient with my brother. This…this isn't easy for him, especially since he's used to getting his way." Itachi explained. "Me being in the hospital has made him more irritable than usual and when that happens he'll say things he shouldn't which I suspect is why you nearly punched him in the face again, am I correct?"
Shoot. He knows. "I'm sorry. It was kinda my fault, actually; he scheduled an appointment with this lawyer and I blew it off to help out a friend and—"
"I know Kisame. Sasuke was here when he received the text and flew off the handle quite simply." Itachi said. "Needless to say, I knew this was going to happen and I'm happy no one got hurt…save for your hand."
"My hand will heal, Itachi. Just focus on getting better for now, okay?"
At this, Itachi gave him a genuine smile. "Thanks. I will. And don't worry about Sasuke. I'll talk to him later today. Just…"
"Yeah?"
"If Sasuke ever goes out of his way for you again…don't take it for granted, okay?"
Kisame smiled as Itachi's eyes drifted shut again. "I won't."
How heart-warming~ (Absolute Anarchy and The Secret Sal - I had to work really hard not to let my KisaIta roots show through by having Kisame reach out to hold Itachi's hand after that last bit there! (not that you guys would've protested but still~ ;) )
Fun fact!: So far, this story contains 23 Kisame chapters and 20 (soon to be 21) Itachi chapters! Can you believe how even it is?
The next chapter is set to be an Itachi chapter - though you all know that it can change on a dime~ just depends on my mood!
Until next time~!
Sasori33-001