The warm taste of pleasure

Sun painted skin pores and brightened Kisame's complexion, grayscales going almost white with the harshness of the heat, sweat gathering at the top of his lip, and a small drop going down his forehead. "You're absolutely mental, you know that?" Kisame said, destroying rather than chewing his cracker, crumbs were expelled from his mouth and onto the floor with his speech, and whatever remained of the biscuit was swallowed with a sip of warm tea.

Itachi didn't dispute the statement for, at this point, he surely was abandoning whatever sanity he once possessed –instead, he took another sip of his own beverage, courtesy of Yua –whose beauty Kisame seemed to have taken a liking for, and frowned slightly at its bitterness. He enjoyed his tea particularly sweet.

Around them, few bugs ventured to fly close to them, the immense field was well kept by the few servants Yua allowed staying –who were, now, nowhere to be seen, giving them enough privacy to speak. The sun was also harsh against his own pale complexion, slightly pinking his cheeks, it was a weird feeling of intimacy –doing something so mundane he had allowed to have only during youthful years, having tea alongside his baby brother on his compound's gardens. A remembrance that seemed not to belong to him anymore, but someone else, someone far more innocent and naive.

"No- really", Kisame continued, "to keep a clone going…"

He gently blew the steam from his tea, it was too hot for such beverage, but habits were robes hard to strip from. "She would have escaped otherwise."

Kisame clicked his tongue, "not trusting your whore I see," he said, bitterly, stealing a glance at the door through which Yua appeared and had quickly left through, she had averted her eyes when serving Kisame, and that didn't go unnoticed by neither of them. "You have been very sneaky, Itachi-kun." He added, resting his elbows on the table and earning a harsh look for his demeanor, the man looked at him with his eyelids slightly dropped.

Itachi blinked and placed the teacup onto the table, his fingertips playing with the brim, gently tapping it, "I suppose," he moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue, "It didn't occur to me you'll be interested in my personal affairs."

"There are no personal affairs in Akatsuki." Kisame retorted, his nails drumming against the iron of his cup, "at least –not secret ones."

"My health isn't a secret." He said, dusting his cloak from the few crumbs that fell of his own ration, "I just considered that, since you were going to be away, I could search for someone that will look into it."

"Kidnap, you mean." Kisame licked his front teeth, sharp and shinning against the sunlight. "And of your own village no less."

"Is this inquiry really necessary?" He kept his tone level, his expression impassive even at the face of his partner's grin, it came naturally to him to be this desolated of emotion. "With Tsunade's return it also came a massive change in Konoha's medical formation –they're simply more equipped to treat me."

Kisame hummed, his smile widened slightly –his eyes, dark and small, glinted like those of a cat that caught the mouse in a corner, "Is that so?" He chuckled, "she seems young, I would have thought you'd prefer someone with more experience."

"Yua chose her," he replied, bringing the cup's rim to his lips –warm tea made it pass his tongue, bringing some calm to his sore throat, the steam of the liquid rose to his eyelids and lashes, forcing him to blink to keep the warmth away from his eyes. He was speaking the truth –Kisame could look as deep as he desired and would find no wavering in his voice, it was Yua who brought the young kunoichi; Itachi might not be telling the whole reason for her presence, but there was no deceitfulness in what he spoke.

Kisame's smile shrunk –he didn't like to be so quickly rebutted, and scratched his chin, the sound of dry skin went to his ears and Itachi made a displeased vibration in the back of his throat, "you always seemed so resourceful Itachi-kun," the man leaned back on his chair, "yet you almost die yesterday for such stupid reasons. Tell me," he tapped the tip of his fingers on the table's surface, "what are you planning to tell Pain?"

Itachi rested his elbows on the table and played with his cup again, turning it around slowly –the iron scratched the wood uncomfortably, the movement ended up being far less smooth than he thought it'll be. He knitted his eyebrows together and the expression distracted Kisame enough for him to think.

It had been dawn when his crow-summon flew to him and perched upon his forearm, Itachi followed his return since the moment he spotted him in the distance, slightly leaning on the window behind him –crystal complaining. Kisame had captured Kokuō's Jinchuriki, the summon informed him through his connection, and Itachi had barely time to think of the implications before creating a clone to leave behind, parting to the place they were to meet before his teammate made it there and saw the place desolated.

He saw the moon rise and night blend into morning and still, he stopped at no point of his journey, increasing his speed with each passing second with pressure building upon his chest. At first, he thought it to be fear or anxiety, so used to the pain he was and the feeling of his lungs hurting that he thought, for no second, that the small treatment received had changed the approach of his sickness.

Kisame's figure became visible and stood in the same space as his barely an hour after Itachi's own arrival. Ishigakure was a vast place with light green grass still damp from morning's tears. With a brilliant smile, Kisame made his way towards him, slightly moving the Jinchuriki that Samehada carried and drained from chakra –Itachi rewarded the actions with a glare to the limp man and licked his lips.

Then, his lungs collapsed.

When the usual cough turned far more violent and no air made it inside, it became clear to him that death was stretching its fingers to grab the thin threads of life still left on him. Kisame furrowed his eyebrows and he knew that his face would be the last thing he'll see if he didn't move. Thus, he rushed, bolted towards the kunoichi with incredible speed fueled by crippling fear, just twice he experienced such sensation in his chest, once when Kurama's attack forced him to run with Sasuke in his arms, twice, when Sasuke ran from his village; few tears broke free from Itachi's delicate control only to be whipped by the wind crashing against his features.

He concentrated his chakra flux onto his organs to keep them functioning as much as he could, but he knew nothing of regeneration nor precise control to prevent his energy from burning them –little was he able to do, but it was enough to keep him slightly alive when reaching the kidnapped woman. He wanted to disperse the clone sooner, but what if she left? For him to arrive only for his only hope at survival not to be there…

He hadn't known Kisame had followed him, he couldn't say he was surprised either, considering they were about to call Pain when Itachi vanished, leaving nothing but the fading sounds of sickness behind. He must have been desperate as not to hear his partner's calls –the thought of dying and leaving Sasuke alone… "I guess I should come clean about my condition, then." He concluded, shattering his remembrance with a flick of his wrist. Then, out of spite, "I thought you were to bring Son Gokü."

Kisame took the jab for what it was, and crossed his arms while making a distasteful noise with his tongue, "yeah –well, so did I. The fucker wasn't where they told us, the other Jinchuriki was." He shrugged, "at least I was able to bring him with me, but Itachi…" he paused, glanced at the garden, and inspected every corner until the pause stretched enough for the remaining tea to cool. "We need to extract that little shit before Pain kills us both." He returned his gaze towards him, "you don't want him to wake up."

Itachi hummed, pressing two fingers on his mouth and eyeing Kisame who held his gaze, it was a matter of time really, time that he didn't have anymore, the secrecy that he wasn't allowed to keep; now that Kisame knew, it was best to take advantage of it, "we need to leave." He announced and waited for the response.

Kisame snorted, relaxing his features, "you are kidding me, right?" He clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth, "of course we do! I don't know what the fuck you have going on here-" he looked at him and his eyes narrowed, "but we can just perform the extraction in the middle of the fucking living room."

He sighed, clearly, he had to be far more specific with the man in front of him, whose suspicious took over his basic thinking skills, "I need to take her with me." He added, drumming his fingertips on his upper lip.

"The fuck doll?" Kisame was rough with his words and made a pause as if to convey the end of his speech –it was true that Itachi didn't have much appreciation for his partner's cunning, but even he knew that the man was far sharper than what he was trying to pretend. He waited, and after a few beats, Kisame continued, "that bad, hu?"

"I'm not sure how long would the extraction take –I can't risk another collapse while performing the technique."

Kisame hummed, "disturb the ritual and your lungs would be the least of your concerns." He sighed, "you can't just casually be treated while performing the extraction. You need to constantly release chakra."

"It's just a preventive measure," he deadpanned because –really, he wasn't that stupid as to make her perform during the extraction. "Also," and ah –here it was, "as you smartly pointed out, I kidnapped her."

There was a beat of silence where, comically, the birds around them sang their pretty call absolutely unaware of the turmoil happening in between the quiet amongst them two, "I'm estimating they'll look for her here, no?" Kisame was… surprisingly calm at the face of the bare truth –the complicated turmoil in which Itachi had put himself into and to which he had dragged him. Itachi nodded, the tip of his fingers concealing his petit smile. "Kill her –leave her body somewhere else and find another medic."

"You know we don't have enough time to do all of that, also," he brought the fingers that were until then upon his mouth to the table "they'll come here regardless. They won't be as stupid as to not investigate the last place she went."

"A little too much trouble for a simple medic, no?"

Itachi shrugged, thought about diverting his attention, yet in doing so it would only spike Kisame's curiosity on the woman's nature, he could imagine it, an heir? Fucks sake Itachi get rid of her, get rid of her now! No. It would be too obvious that Itachi knew of the implications of having someone with such future responsibilities –and Kisame would soon realize the existence of far more hidden intentions. "Tsunade has a soft spot for her own kind." He lied.

In the pause between Kisame's inevitable agreement and Itachi's imminent victory there was a moment, barely there, barely pulsing, where Itachi truly considered losing. The silence stretched long enough for him to dismiss the idea of it simply being a mere spectacle, Kisame truly was thinking about it, truly was about to become an obstacle. What will Itachi do then? "Pain can't see her there," Kisame said, and Itachi swallowed a gasp of relief.

"He won't." He replied, as nonchalant as always, concealing the former anxiety.

"You'll take care of her."

"I will."

Kisame tsiked and spoke nothing for a few beats once more, the birds sang around them still –a bug had drowned in Itachi's tea. After he looked at Itachi with a serious expression, they both knew the game they were playing. "I'll go ahead with the Jinchuriki," he finally conceded, "–you better be in Ishigakure by tomorrow's nightfall, I'll contact Pain by dawn with or without you."

"I expected nothing else."

"Itachi," Kisame hissed, standing and smiling once again, his forehead creasing, "didn't I tell you to watch out for me when we first met?" He asked, starting to turn to go inside the house where his sword alongside his victim was, "don't forget it –it isn't with you where my loyalty lies." He expected no reply, for no rebuttal of any kind, simply walking and disappearing through the doorframe.

Truly –the woman could fake as much as she pleased, pretend to enjoy his roughness and love his raw facade, but kindness was her undoing. Plain and simple. Faked or real, she didn't care to uncover this particular mask of his because it filled her needy, pumping heart. It was his slow motions inside her, his shushed whispers told against the skin of her neck, and his faint kisses over her mouth that first drove her to him and what lastly made her fall to her knees. This was no different, with her, he experienced simple pleasure –simple and fulfilling, he wasn't to deny his carnal satisfaction, so he made her peak with his tongue and again with his seed, simply asking for obedience in retribution.

"My love," he whispered and felt her crumble under his lips –her mouth pink and soft, "you understand?" He concealed a smile by biting softly her lower lip and returning to the warmth of her neck.

She hummed, nodded, and grabbed his face to bring their mouths together once again, "I'll send them away if they come," she spoke against his lips –darting the tip of her tongue through his skin, "they won't find him."

Itachi would like nothing more than to take the man with him in his journey –but he'll die without the proper care, Yua had proven herself to be useful in keeping his heart beating (regardless of her being, also, the reason for the state he's in), and he trusted Karin's seals. Ah, Karin, what a waste. He wondered where had Orochimaru taken her –how did he use her unusual gifts and, not for the first time, thought about how much easier his life would be with someone like her at his disposal.

Yua purred when he kissed her slowly again, and he opened his eyes to find hers closed, his mind post-coitus wasn't as bare of thoughts as it was a long time ago when he used sex to release stress and fulfill physical desires and attractions, instead of a common currency, like a simple prostitute. To think of Orochimaru when his shaft hadn't softened completely yet –disgusting, truly. "Good. Very good." He hummed, tentatively giving the tip of her nose a soft kiss and finally parting from her naked warmth. She tried to follow, stretching her arm to reach for him, but he took it and gently placed it on the bed. "I need to leave, Yua." He spoke softly, not wanting to break the spell she was under –magic that needed no chakra, no Jutsu, just pretty and tenderly spoken words. Women's nature, he considered.

"When are you coming back?" She asked, just as softly, poor creature.

Itachi pretended to think while he dressed, "I don't know," he was being truthful, "few days, a week, I'm not sure when we shall return." Yua pursed her lips, and Itachi was close to rolling his eyes –he didn't, of course, walking towards his lover and gently passing his thumb through her mouth. "You know the reasons."

"I do," she gritted her teeth, "I don't like her… why can't she stay and I'll go with you? I can take care of you as well!"

Itachi sighed, she was testing his patience, and he scratched the skin under his nose to keep the mask on, "Yua…"

"I know," she exhaled when seeing his frustration, always so compliant. "I know." She nodded, and Itachi allowed his hand to drop –he returned to his dressing, Akatsuki cloak left for last.

"I only trust you with this." He assured her –she was the only option now. "You know what to do if I give you the signal, don't you?"

"Yes," she whispered, leaning towards him, such a desperate creature looking for his praises. "I'll make you proud."

He almost snorts, yet he had much practice maintaining his impassive expression, "no missteps."

She giggled, like a child, it turned his previous orgasm into a sour remembrance. "None."

The door creaked when he opened it, it did serve to introduce the gloomy tension their relationship has reached –it was almost funny, the way the tables turned so slightly during his deteriorated condition only to return and turn into crueler normalcy. Delightful, pleasurable; how the hope was built only to be taken away by the damp, gray fingers of his partner –Itachi would have enjoyed it if hadn't been at his expense. "Should we make amends?" He asked, leaning in the doorframe, the kunoichi looked at him with eyebrows furrowed and mouth gagged. Her arms, shaking with exhaustion, were tied behind her back, the chains scrapped the wall behind her.

She didn't reply, at least there was nothing muffled by the gag to make him think she tried to say something back to him. Itachi wasn't smiling, but he did turn his face into something colder. The heat from the previous activity had dissipated entirely, now, nothing remained but the slight pinkness on the tip of his ears and the faint gratification still lingering in his bones. When approaching, her eyes followed him with not concealed disgust, a front no doubt, for the more he reached her side the more her eyebrows drew themselves downwards.

He leaned towards her, marble-white skin against soulless, black eyes –and saw himself reflected in the sea-like hues of her gaze, it was definitely true then, anguish did take hold of her wishes and laminated her eyes with a transparent, watery coat –weak little thing. It was her pure, strong will that prevented the mist upon her lashes to fall in small drops, exposing whatever was left of her soul to him, naked and raw; but even that would crack eventually under his scrutiny, such was his power. "You stupid child," he said, his tone of voice reaching a mocking tone, "you honestly thought you could pull it off?" a small –short side-smile reached his lips and pulled them up slightly only to return to normalcy before her eyes could follow the movement.

He cocked his head to the side, "breaking what you amended, was that your strategy?" It was a simple theory he concocted to understand the reason behind such powerful collapse under the kunoichi's care –he knew her performance would be questionable, but the girl took her chances and tottered around inside him, correcting some flaws whilst creating others, thinking it'll buy her time until she could run away from his clutches; he wasn't sure of it yet, but the way her eyes widened and looked away in shame was enough confession. "This will never be an eye for an eye situation, kunoichi," he snarled and his fingers flexed reflectively under his anger, "for you see, I hold all the cards in my hands."

He gritted his teeth and fought the desire to destroy her until nothing but her remains laid in front of him, only to obliterate them too –ah, if he didn't need her he would! "Fool," he hissed, passing gently his thumb through her soft skin –his touch was unrequited, and she barely managed to look upset by it, rather than terrified. But Itachi knew, he could feel her heart jumping under his fingertips when he reached her neck, nothing was kept from him. Nothing! To think that she was that close to taking his life by beginners' luck rather than professional judgment! For her to doom Sasuke to follow a lonely, traitorous path! If he could just… "you, damn—" his voice, always so calm and collected, trembled under the idea of his beloved child stripped of protection, all alone with his misguided intentions and ideas belonging to a passionate, innocent boy!

He could not finish the sentence, for when the vein of her neck jumped up and brought her heart's distress to his senses, a sudden haze of desire overtook his every muscle and forced him to take her by the neck and brought her to him. So weak she was, her fragile and small neck felt divine under his touch and strength, he thought nothing could feel as good as to see her whimper under his power, yet far more pleasure was waiting for him. He licked his lips when she opened her mouth in her desperation to breathe, so soft, so powerless she was that her entire body followed his command, and he brought her closer –closer still, until his lips were near enough her skin that his breath caused goosebumps on her flesh.

He bit the juncture between her neck and shoulder and a deep, guttural sound originated in the back of his throat only to climb upwards and spring free against her pulse, her moan of pain reminded him to lessen his hold, and oxygen passed through her throat with a desperate gasp. This, all of it, brought a feeling upon his heart that pumped it to all of his system, feeding limbs with raw excitement. He felt like a child again that had barely discovered a woman's pleasures, eager to try, to lick, and to touch until his heart's content. A hot, dense liquid made it to his tongue and he parted his teeth from her warmth to lick his lips; he was used to the metallic taste and felt no apprehension for it, and he knew upon seeing her face that he could spill his seed easily just like this.

Itachi released the kunoichi and she gasped again when her knees hit the floor, the wound of her neck was mesmerizing to watch, and he pursed his lips and scratched the skin under his nose to regain composure when a crimson drop drew itself downwards. His carnal needs and eventual satisfaction never felt like this before, so rough, powerful, and primitive. He always tamed his most intrinsical nature in the name of facades and peace, he was capable of cruelty and he was capable of love –deep down, both of them were so intertwined that there was no separation in between them, no way for him to distinguish them both. Sasuke had always been the object of his affections, he assumed that the pleasure he could get from sexual explorations was enough to put his mind at ease when he needed it, yet now…

Was this…? Was his true being so dark that only pain brought him this… freedom? Back then, when he allowed his emotions to reign over him and burned alive those Iwagakure ninjas, he had sought for sexual release –he thought it to be the best way to release stress in order to regain his tight control on his emotions, could it be that he simply was linking that cruelty to pleasure? No. No, it couldn't be. He simply just… he just… she…

Itachi pinched his thigh when his saliva-coated mark shone upon his gaze on the kunoichi's skin, warm and inviting, she had brought this upon herself for disobeying and putting everything he fought for in danger, but he couldn't deny his enjoyment. He swallowed and before her misty glossed eyes he returned to normalcy, and all his desire was hidden under his cold countenance once again.

He released a tight breath and spoke again, this time calmly, "we'll be moving now. I know you won't be stupid enough as to run –yet let that be a warning." Yes, a warning, a threat of what was to come for any more of her missteps, Itachi would grab her, pick her apart and wait for her to rebuild her will anew before tearing her down again, so much so, that death would be a mercy.

A promise of what he could and would do, that, and nothing else… nothing else…

A/N: It's never shown, for what I can remember, the capture of some of the tailed beast (nor in the manga, or the anime) –we are to believe that two of them were extracted before the start of Shippuden (one even during Orochimaru's time in Akatsuki), but we're never told which ones. Although technically Son Gokü (four tails), was assigned to Kisame –I decided to also make him responsible for the capture of Kokuō (five tails), since both are from Iwagakure. That way, I prevent myself from deviating much from the canon timeline (allowing Kisame to, later on, be able to capture Son Gokü –if that's to happen); making Kokuō one of the two-tailed beasts extracted before the kidnapping of Gaara. Remember, this part of the story is set before Naruto's return.

I deeply apologize if this was confusing,

Also, Itachi's sickness is particularly exaggerated in my fiction –while he was in quite bad health in his final battle against Sasuke, it was the strain his body took with their fight that drove him to the brink of death, his condition barely benefited Sasuke.

I apologize for the lack of updates, I have personal issues that will slow down my schedule, but I will keep returning to see this project finished.