The mere picture of solitude

Tetsu no Kuni, putrid cave.

There was no plausible way for him to stop the sound on time or the source of it -which would be, undoubtedly, much better-, nor way to pretend to be doing something else as to disguise his action, the sound will undoubtedly resound on the walls of the cave and its echo would reach his partner's ears even without the man outstanding senses. He noticed, because there was no way of containing it, the tremor of his body, and he was familiar with the burning and itching sensation that started in his chest and went up all way to his throat.

The repetition of moments like these were already a part of their routine, so he didn't even bother in concealing it, choosing instead to expel all the air contained in his pharynx in the palm of his right hand. As expected, Kisame tilted his face to see him and smiled, showing the shark teeth that decorated his mouth, fixing his smalls, intense eyes on the hand pressed to his mouth.

"That one was a strong one, hu?" He asked him.

Itachi rolled his eyes, still coughing, using his state as an excuse not to reply to such idiotic question. Nothing had ever stopped him from ignoring Kisame before, but it proved to be far better when doing so with a pretext. This one, however, was less a pretext and more a valid reason, for he couldn't have responded even if he was compelled to do so.

Kisame did not speak again and devoted himself to observe Itachi while he spat saliva in the sleeve of his tunic, his mischievous eyes gleaming with the vision before him. Itachi could practically see the rejoice the man felt from seeing him in the pathetic picture of his sickness. The gray on his face was slightly different from the stone behind him, his expression dyed with lots of 'I told you', the previous warning to look for a doctor before leaving Amegakure fresh in their minds.

The cough stopped after a while and Itachi ran his hand up and down his throat. Kisame looked at him grinning -infuriating Itachi in a way only Kisame could-, and reached for his backpack. He could taste that something was bitter and really close to blood but he swallowed it before he had the reflection to vomit it out of his body. There was no award into showing his weakness, it might feed Kisame's underestimation, but Itachi was in no position to exploit this setback when he was reduced to a mess. He heard water, and when he glanced at Kisame again he was greeted with the view of a thermos being offered to him.

It was warm tea, Itachi couldn't believe he was actually grateful.

"Too much for an intelligence mission, right?" Kisame chuckled at a joke that was lost to Itachi.

Of course, both knew this search for possible bijüs in the Iron country would end in this situation -minus Itachi's decay-: Both of them bounded to hide as to avoid death by the cold temperatures of the hostile country and having found nothing. The idea of a samurai -those without a chakra system-, possessing a jinchüriki was ridiculous, but Pein did not want to overlook anything and have problems afterward just because they assumed that their residents did not have the strength or technology to seal one.

As it stands, they did not have the strength or technology to seal one. Itachi curled his tongue with displeasure at the meaningless of their mission. "Mh." It was the only thing Itachi answered, parting his lips from the thermos just enough to make that noise and then bringing it closer again, taking another sip of the tea.

Kisame growled and detached his back from the wall to look at the sky; he made a quick click with his tongue and reclined against it again. "It doesn't look like it's going to stop soon, I think we'll have to leave with the storm still active."

"All right," he answered flatly, his voice hoarse.

A pause. A much-needed pause in their conversation that allowed him to regain control over his lungs. He could hear the constant parade of drops of water falling through the stalactites to the floor, Kisame's breath through his teeth -as if his nose served solely for decoration purposes. The wind whistling low outside. Itachi shivered.

"Tell me, sweet Itachi," Kisame said, shattering the silence around him with the echo, Itachi always wondered if it was because he didn't want to be alone with his thoughts. "Aren't you a little bit curious about how your brother is doing?"

Itachi hated the adjective but despised the question even more, he forced himself to swallow the distaste that dropped like a stone on his throat, his vocal cords close to breaking. "No." He replied, his voice rough, lips reaching for the thermos again.

"Yes. That's what I thought you would say." Kisame nodded, looking at some point in the distance.

Itachi was curious to know why would he ask something he already knew the answer to, was his curiosity strong enough to risk their partnership? Or was Kisame just annoying him out of habit, looking for ways to push them closer to his limits.

"It's just weird."

Itachi took one more sip of the tea before returning the thermos to Kisame, who watched him while he stood. "I don't talk about Sasuke."

"That doesn't mean you don't want to know about him." Kisame put his thermos in his backpack again, his movements slow, his eyes suspiciously focused on the task, like expecting an attack.

Itachi pursed his lips. "No. It doesn't."

"So-"

"So I don't talk about Sasuke." He repeated the phrase so carved in his tongue he could practically taste it. The name of his little brother almost drawing blood out of it. The flavor of the tea still lingered on the back of his mouth, almost washing away the taste of his disease. Kisame stood with his back turned to Itachi, inviting him to try his luck to take him on. Itachi furrowed his eyebrows. Akatsuki in its entirety was to believe he saw his little brother as a burden, someone he eventually will kill when the younger Uchiha proved himself worthy enough. But Itachi wasn't -nor he was allowed to be-, stupid enough as to believe the mask was not unbreakable. All of the members in the group were not average jönin, and the truth was that every single one of the members of Akatsuki were more than aware that, despite the reason, Itachi had let him live.

He had given him a chance.

And that's more than any of them could say they did.

Shinobi were meant to kill. It was a true statement as it was a stupid notion to say out loud both because the shinobi who'll hear it will be familiar with it as it would be dangerous for any civilian to see them in that light. There were few things of equal importance as to be at peace with the commoners by keeping them away from shinobi's matters, for those without chakra system were superior in numbers, and the sheer power of persistency was not to be ignored.

There was no secrecy about their nature tho, Ino often wondered what it was so important to maintain a facade already inexistent, but a prospect and the knowledge were two things of deep discrepancies between each other, and while one kept the fragile peace, the other sank the world in the most basic of its natures. War. A frightening concept. Ino hoped to never be forced to witness its unleash.

A yawn escaped her lips and she stretched her back, the grass under her making a sound at the movement, caressing the skin not covered by the bandages around her torso. She was tired and sore from the mission they were paid to do, and not for the first time that day she wondered why a person would need so many holes dug in their backyard. Now she was dirty from the roots of her hair to the nails of her toes and smelled like mud, her muscles barely responding to her commands. She wasn't used to be moving that much in such a short period of time.

It might have been an exaggeration to obsess over the concept of their fragile existence when doing tasks as hard as to use a shovel, the result of her effort for purposes not confided on her, but she could not take her mind out of the possibility of some of them being used to dispose of bodies. It has been long since one of her relatives has been killed and the funeral was held up to the north of the village where the cemetery was located, but the sound of the shovel against the dirt was the same in any ground.

"Your stamina is awful." The shadow of his face over hers blocked the sun out of view.

"Leave me alone, Asuma-sensei."

"I never said you could rest."

"But I finished my work."

"Oh…" he blinked, looking at the dirt she had dug out from many -too many- parts of the yard. "I see." His shadow did not disappear from above her and she was still forced to wear it for passing seconds until he inspected her part of the deal with a bored expression. He sucked at his teeth and made a weird sound with his throat, finally acknowledging her eyes with his own. "Then fill them up again."

"Wh- what? Why?" She whined, and even for her own ears sounded childish, but she did not look away when he smirked and made her flush red in her entirety.

"Because you finished your work." He replied, his smug expression plastered on his face, unwavering, his hand reaching for his box of cigarettes on his vest pocket. His figure still above hers. "And because our clients changed their minds, they don't want the holes anymore." The cigarette was lit with a lighter that she did not see but heard, Asuma exhaled a cloud of smoke that hit her face.

"It's not fair." She complained, a barely contained grunt deformed her expression for statement purposes. "Who does this client think it is?" The grass on her back made her skin itch, she squinted her eyes and brought a hand to her face to protect her vision from the sudden burst of light Asuma's recoil forced on her.

"Someone who believes you need to bit the dust a little bit more before speaking in such a tone to your commander officer." Asuma's tone was playful, there was no amount of dust-bite that will allow her to ever engage in such parameters of conversation with a superior. He took another drag of his cigarette and stopped breathing, keeping the nicotine a little longer on his mouth. He exhaled without looking at her, his tongue licked his lips. "Go."

She repressed a complaint that was making its way up her stomach out of habit and stood with quick motions. Her head spun at the suddenness of the movement and her stomach growled on hunger. She scratched her lower back to relieve the itch and glanced miserably around her. Both Chöji and Shikamaru were digging their own holes at opposite parts of the field, their figures barely visible from where she was standing.

"Gather both Chöji and Shikamaru and tell them about the change of plans."

She wasn't able to hide her displeasure this time at being deprived of another one of her decisions. Not talking to her teammates, particularly Shikamaru, was the only option she was left with to show her contempt after her outburst. She had never seen Inoichi so mad at her to the point of a threat of physical punishment, but her father replaced what would have been her face with the desk in his office. Shikamaru became more an enemy than a comrade under her infuriated gaze. What a stupid boy he was for not seeing the emptiness in her words. Such a stupid boy from such a smart clan.

"Chöji!" She screamed, walking towards the boy she less resented, "team meeting! Asuma's orders!" She purposefully ignored the Nara's existence, she knew he wouldn't be as idiotic as to ignore her statement after making clear he had no choice in the matter. He will go to her encounter despite his pride. It was a lucky thing that her voice reached that far, it prevented her to have to repeat herself.

Chöji stopped his motions and glanced at her, his figure seemed to pause. The more she walked the more clear she saw his confused expression, his head turning in between her and his best friend, who approached him as well at a slower pace. Chöji glanced at her, pursed his lips, and walked towards Shikamaru, forcing her to change directions and walk to both of them instead of him alone. It was a statement of his loyalty. Her brows furrowed and her mouth sealed in a dangerously thin line.

Exhausted was the right way to describe her current mood but she was all harsh reactions and even harsher edges, each step making her legs tremble with anger and the thought of loneliness, she was suddenly resolute at the prospect of leaving this team for good. She wanted to let herself fall on the dirt and give in to her fury. Disappear to spare herself the humiliation of being beaten at the game she started. She has been shamed.

The sound of the shovel against the dirt. It was sad to the point she wanted to laugh at herself because somehow she hasn't laughed in days, weeks, the last time being when she saw Sakura tripping during their graduation a couple of weeks ago. She had laughed because she wanted Sakura to feel as humiliated as she made her feel all those years ago when she dropped her like a toy, but Sakura looked at her in a way that reminded Ino that she was the one who was at the bottom of the pit.

(Next, Team 7. Haruno Sakura - Uzumaki Naruto - Uchiha Sasuke)

Now Sakura was finally where she wanted to be and Ino was the one who was being swallowed by her frustrations. How dare she to start a rivalry and then left her collecting failures? Has Ino become such a pitiful person over the course of a few days? "We have to fill the holes." The command came naturally to her lips and filled her with the conviction that ruling was her nature. She glanced around the field with disgust. She had buried her pride at the bottom of one of the cracks.

"What?" Shikamaru's surprise overcame his distaste for her, Ino mused, the victory of Chöji having his back when Ino tried to dismiss him sweet on his lips, his mouth opened to speak to her despite their silent agreement of ignore each other.

"It's the client wish to fill the holes we just made." She didn't conceal her displeasure and she looked at a point in the distance to ignore Shikamaru's gaze, he rolled his eyes, she could tell without looking, he always considered her childish, now she was actually giving him a reason for it.

"You've got to be kidding me," his shoulders slumped forward, his palms pressed against his eyes. "What a fucking drag."

"Who is this client?" Chöji's stance was of exhaustion, dirt covered the corner of his mouth, "why is he toying with us?"

"Either Asuma-sensei or our families to teach us a lesson," Shikamaru twisted his mouth and pointedly looked at her, it was his wish to let her know he blamed her. He had made her the pariah before their enrolment in the Academy and just confirmed her position after their graduation. She did give him a ghost of a reason to be right. He purposefully exaggerated it.

She blinked, barely giving him the attention he desired, validating the point that stated she wanted nothing to do with him. She turned and walked back to her previous position, imagining Shikamaru's narrowed eyes at her rudeness and lack of response. He deserved her resentment.

"O...kay then." The breeze carried Chöji's voice, Ino regarded his confusion as a victory.

A/N: There's no proof in canon that the Ino-Shika-Chö relationship previous to the chünin exams was this difficult but there's an air to their interactions that portrayed it as at least conflictive. There's to believe that the three of them interacted even before their gënin days, but Ino is shown to have a circle of friends that did not involve Shikamaru or Chöji. Furthermore, Shikamaru picked Chöji and didn't even think of Ino during the Sasuke retrieval arc, even going as far as saying that he was the person that was easiest for him to work with, so -despite sparks of support between them during the exams- I don't believe they had a friendship, not until Shippuden. My portray of their relationship is constructed on seemingly canon material, but their distaste for one another is purposefully exaggerated.