I'm so sorry for the wait, circumstances have changed once more and such is life. I truly wasn't sure if anyone was waiting to read this story. Thank you for taking the time to read my story :)
Serendipity
Chapter Nine:
"Our case is a missing human child, kidnapped from its parents within the safety of their home. They were hosting a party and although well supervised the father claims that the child went missing within the few minutes that he looked away from his son…" Kisame said in a bored tone. "Honestly I think that they are lying but Pain interviewed the family personally and believes that some forest creature swept in and took the child."
Itachi, whom was carefully combing over Kitty's fur, took a step back with a thoughtful look on his face. He softly smiled when Kitty blinked those large red eyes of his and then started to lick at his fur, messing up what Itachi had so neatly combed.
These kinds of cases weren't uncommon.
Often it wasn't another human being that took the missing children, but instead the shadows of shapeless creatures that roamed around the world and found it fun to mess with humans.
It fed off their distress and anxiety.
It enjoyed the company of innocent youth.
Often it was harmless and these creatures would just play and care for the child while the adults panicked and dispatched searches. Their amusement lasted a few days, and then the child would be returned safe and sound.
For them to be personally called onto the case, this creature must have gone off the bender and started to kill the children that it so playfully took. If not taken care of properly, that creature would graduate to kidnapping adults with sure death in its wake.
"We can't blame the parents here if they truthfully tried to care for their child." Itachi said as he turned to look at his friend. "Did Pain say what forest we will be scouting?"
"The Mori No Kuni, the biggest of them all. The family live in the small village that resides just within the forest. The villagers there run a camping site that they oversee. They warn and provide safe trails for campers. Everyone knows each other so many were blaming the tourist for the child's sudden disappearance." Kisame passed the papers for Itachi to look over.
The case was strange in itself.
While the family lived within the forest, their search had ended where the tree range grew thicker and impossible for a child to travel on their own. The overall area didn't look easy even for an adult to traverse, so a child shouldn't even be capable. None of the people in the search dared venture any further than was deemed safe and the human police force could only do so much with what they had.
The risk of a grown up getting lost or injured was high, and thus they had no choice but to come to them.
As it was already, their company was more liberal with whom they helped. No other demon would even dare look at a case like this one. The child could be very much dead at this point. The only thing that they could offer was hope that the child would be found, or closure if he was found dead.
Itachi looked up from the papers when he heard Kisame let out a frustrated sigh.
The man looked tensed and irritated.
It was unusual for someone who thought easy cases like this one were better than the ones that forced them to have to deal with a crowd.
"What's bothering you?" Itachi asked.
"Nothing," the man scuffed his feet on the floor, reluctant to admit what was bothering him.
Itachi turned away from him, moving to pack Kitty into his pet backpack and prepped him for what was to come. They should be home in a reasonable amount of time, maybe a few days. Itachi was making a list of food to pick up for their trip when Kisame let out another long suffering sigh.
"Let's go Kisame," Itachi said as he moved to leave, clearly ignoring his friend's attitude.
Kisame groaned this time.
"This isn't fair!" the man suddenly wailed, growing more irritated with how Itachi was ignoring him.
Itachi continued to ignore him, stuffing his hands into the front of his hoodie. His sharp eyes took in the sight of Yamato and Orochimaru standing at the front desk, looking annoyed with the receptionist. Itachi pulled up the hood of his sweater and ducked right out the door.
He didn't want the snake demon to spot him in case he thought it was okay to talk to him. Orochimaru was incredibly annoying, never knowing when to shut up.
Kisame dragged his feet all the way to the jeep.
"Since we aren't sure how hard it will be to find the missing child or if they are dead, we should pack some food. We should stock the jeep with necessities as it will be our home base…" Itachi started to rattle off what was protocol, but he knew it would be enough to get his friend to confess what was bothering him.
Kisame exploded, "I was supposed to go on a date with Suigetsu today! This isn't fair. I just wanted to have a good day and go home so that my only adventure was Suigetsu. Why did Pain do this to us! I thought that he wouldn't make us do anything because of Kitty…"
The man looked over to the back seat, where that glorified fluff ball was safely placed in his pet carrier. The look in Kisame's eyes was accusing, as if he blamed Kitty for what was happening.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at that.
It was true that they had to deal with less cases because Pain was being considerate, but this one wasn't hard at all. Itachi didn't anticipate there being much of an issue with Kitty being with him.
"If we hurry and focus, we could come back home by today. You do know that these kinds of cases are only as difficult as how experience a demon is." Itachi said.
Kisame scoffed. "You might be gifted in some things Itachi, but even you know that finding a shadow can be near impossible if they don't want to be found. Especially one that has gone rogue," Kisame groaned. "Damn parents should go to hell for having children!"
"That makes no sense," Itachi said.
"Fuck you Itachi, I'm just frustrated okay!" Kisame slumped onto his seat.
"Then maybe we should stop wasting time," Itachi suggested. "Also you might want to call Suigetsu and let him know what has happened. You don't want to think that you stood him up,"
Kisame agreed as Itachi sped down the road to their apartment. Kisame took that time to call Suigetsu and told him what was happening and that he might have to cancel. Although Suigetsu had said that it was alright and for him to be safe, Kisame felt guilty.
He wanted to do something that would make up for having to cancel their date so last minute.
Once they were in their apartment, both men geared up with proper clothing and grabbed some extra just in case they were forced to spend more than one day on this mission.
Itachi looked over Kitty once more, making sure he was well fed and ready.
Kisame was looking calmer as well.
As far as Itachi had heard, Suigetsu had not snapped at Kisame for the sudden change of plans. Which was a relief because Kisame tended to date people who would make him feel guilty over any little thing. It was probably why Kisame had been acting so frustrated. The man had probably dreaded having to tell Suigetsu of the sudden change.
"Feeling better?" Itachi asked when Kisame walked out of his room, bag in hand.
"Yeah, let's get this over and done with." Kisame grinned, "I have a boyfriend waiting for my return,"
Itachi smiled, "Sure" he said.
Their second stop was at the supermarket.
They stocked up on food that would keep them for at least three days. Despite that, they hoped that they would be done even before the sun set. The food was just a precaution and something that they could easily keep in their apartment for later use.
Itachi then drove down the only street that would lead straight into the forest. The street died at the entrance of said forest.
There they had to get a permit to park their jeep as they were allotted an area where they could comfortably camp.
Neither bothered with setting up the camp.
They just parked the jeep and using a map with marked trails set on their mission. Kitty was in Itachi's backpack pet carrier, comfortably watching the passing greenery.
The moment that they stepped into the unmarked path of the forest and where the investigation had met its end, Itachi and Kisame noted how silent the forest was. Just a moment ago they had been able to hear the scurry of small insects and the singing of birds.
Now the forest was eerily devoid of any sound.
The forest was denser, with pitfalls everywhere.
They were going down the correct path. The creature here must be so out of control that it was disrupting what was everyday life in the forest.
"It's going to be a baddie," Kisame sighed, "I bet you it killed the kid already."
"It does seem like a high probability." Itachi agreed. The path was truly traitorous and difficult for any human to traverse, much less a child. The further they went, the darker it became. Itachi and Kisame moved about, quick as their eyes started to glow.
The canopy of trees was so thick that barely an sunlight seemed to seep through.
It was truly the perfect breeding ground for a shadow creature. When the path started to slow them down, Kisame pulled out Samehada and started to pummel through trees to clear the area.
Itachi paused, looking about as Kisame destroyed a good portion of the forest. Dirt and debris flew, making it hard to see. Itachi turned his head quickly when he sensed that something was watching them. They had gotten something's attention.
Left…no…right…he gritted his teeth and looked up.
His ears perked up when he heard Kitty hiss from within the safety of his pet carrier and Itachi was quick to turn in time to spot something coming his way. He dodged, landing beside Kisame who tucked Samehada over his shoulder and smirked.
"We're surrounded." Kisame chuckled, thrilled.
Itachi's face was blank as he quickly accessed their current situation. There was more than one creature and they were surely mad that they had destroyed a good amount of trees.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, ready for a fight.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he tensed up.
He could sense a lot of hostility and death around him and it was starting to make him restless. He had been looking out the small window of the pet carrier when he saw it, clear and separating from the darkness, a being like a large hairy bear man creature. It launched itself towards Itachi and he hissed out of instinct.
Sasuke dug his nails into the soft pillows that cushioned him. The urge to do something, and help Itachi crossed his mind as well as wanting to run away and hide.
The creatures were looking at him.
He could sense it.
He could see their piercing dead black eyes so distinguishingly different from the darkness that covered them like a blanket. Sasuke's small kitty ears dropped over his head, trying to block out their whispers as they blended and he started to understand them.
They were calling for him.
Telling him that they could have fun together.
That he would be safe with them.
That they just wanted to show him something incredible that he had never seen before.
Sasuke panicked, wanting their whispering to end. Why where they talking to him. They were liars, how dare they?
Just as Sasuke's eyes started to glow and his fur buzz in a sheen of blue electricity, he was enveloped in the warm red energy that belong to Itachi.
It cut off the whispers, leaving him disorientated as he tried to come back to his wits. He looked out once more, wondering what was happening.
"Return the child at once!" Kisame roared, wanting to get this over and done with. Hitting creatures left and right was getting them nowhere fast.
"Hahaha" laughter followed his command, and the shadows swarmed among themselves, becoming denser.
Their laughter kept mocking both demon.
Kisame could tell the swarm of shadows were manipulating the space they were standing in. They were at the center of their territory. He could feel it in the heaviness that filled his body so suddenly. There was too many of them.
"Itachi, can you locate the one that kidnapped the child?" Kisame asked as he tried to ground himself. The whispering shadows were starting to mess with his head, and focusing was becoming hard. They were making promises of showing him something wonderful and he was starting to believe them.
Itachi shook his head. "It's none of these. They seem particularly interested in Kitty though," Itachi narrowed his eyes. If any of them dared come close he'll personally end them. The whispering didn't work on Itachi, in fact, he could distinguish it well.
They were referring to his kitten as a child. They wanted to play with him and show him paradise. Itachi wasn't sure how it was that they took pets, but he knew these creatures would if given the change. After all, they enjoyed anything that was pure and innocent.
Kisame blinked, turning to look at his perturbed friend. "Why, it's just a cat," Kisame said.
"That might not be the case to them," Itachi looked up when he heard rustling. His eyes widened as the shadows started to make their move and he pushed his hands forward. He used his Yata mirror to protect them, swallowing in the shadows into oblivion.
At the sight of Itachi's Yata mirror, the shadows whispers ceased and they started to retreat. They knew they were powerless against it. It would only swallow and return their power back to them, destroying their cores.
Angry, Itachi lashed out.
Kisame watched in awe as Itachi did what was utterly the impossible.
He caught one of the shadows by the scruff of what would be its neck and pinned it down, the Sword of Totsuka at the creature's throat. Itachi's hand pulsed with red energy, digging into what was essentially the creature's back. Red energy shaped like claws that threated to shred what it was pinning down.
"Tell me who has the Mokuzai child!" Itachi hissed, his red eyes locked on the creature's dead black ones.
Kisame swallowed thickly, wondering what was going on.
It was hard to tell what kind of conversation Itachi was having with the beast. While he could see them, and could perceived what Itachi was asking, the creature didn't seem to respond back. It just hollowly stared back, buzzing around in whispers that were nonsensical to his ears.
Itachi, on the other hand, could hear the shadow and clearly understand them. The way it softly laughed and teased, refusing to give up the information. It was boldly daring Itachi to go ahead and kill him, that he would never know.
Itachi's expression didn't change and the shadow soon started to quiver in fear. It wasn't exactly the same, but as the creature looked into Itachi's eyes it was shown horrific things. It found that its will wasn't as strong as the demon that was challenging it.
"Okay, okay," it conceded. "I will tell you if you give me the lovely kiddy in your bag. I want him…he's so innocent…"
Itachi bristled, "How about you get to keep your life if you tell me," Itachi rebuffed, not in the slightest contemplating losing his kitten to this shadow.
"Why would a demon keep something so useless…ack" Itachi pressed his blade down, showing that he was serious.
The creature silently chuckled, highly amused. It never thought it would see such a sight. How funny, a demon protecting a child that was nothing but a useless creature! Once more, the shadow looked up into the demon's blood red eyes and gasped, fear settling into its chest like it never had before. It's guard had been let down for just a second and now it felt like its mind was being crushed under the pressure of the demons anger.
Fear was foreign, it didn't have such an emotion and yet it knew it so well. It had seen it and experienced it through the countless children that it had lured into the forest. It had seen it in the eyes of the parents that lost said children.
It fed it…
"Tell me," Itachi hissed.
"…okay, you will find the kid asleep…eek," it trembled, unable to look away from the deep red eyes, "The child is in the heart of the forest. It…it sleeps…" it gasped, arching. Itachi was impatient now, digging into the creatures head.
Inside it was a turmoil of experiences and things that it had seen, like moments lost in a void. Itachi cut it, locking it away into the drunken land of dreams. He jumped out of the way before he was attacked, and Kisame batted the new shadow away.
Noticing that one of them was missing, its friends had returned to help.
Itachi opened his mirror once more, sending the rest of them to oblivion. As soon as he did that, the darkness lifted along with the heaviness of dread and death. Just a longing sadness seemed to saturate the air the both of them were on the move once again, this time with Itachi leading the way.
Itachi and Kisame broke through to a clearing.
The place looked innocent, beautiful in fact with a running river and a small waterfall that cascaded pleasantly. The sun was shining bright around them and in the center of the river, in what could have been a one man island was a small boy, curled into himself, asleep.
He was unbothered by the world around him and looking well taken care of.
"That's him," Kisame breathed, amazed that they had found him and alive to boot.
"It's too much of a target, don't you think?" Itachi asked, looking around in caution. While the creature had not lied, they were still not out of danger.
"True, but by what you said it seemed like no one was going to tell you where he was, so…" he trailed off.
Itachi clicked his teeth, and pulled out his sword. His sword was no simple blade, it not only punished, but it helped as well.
He swung his sword in the direction of the child, locking him away within.
In other circumstances, he wouldn't use his sword in this manner, the sheer fact that they were in the middle of the forest somewhere, and with potential threat—he had no choice. The child was human, so their time was limited. If he didn't want his blade to consume the soul, seeing as humans were weaker to this, they had to get moving.
"Let's go," Itachi said.
"Okay," Kisame sighed, more than ready to end this mission. They had come and gotten what they were after.
Of course, nothing was ever that simple.
Just as they moved to leave the area, they were made aware of just how surrounded they had been all this time. None of the shadows were happy with how they had forced themselves into the forest, and more than likely ended their game with the child prematurely. Whether they planned to kill him or not, it wasn't clear.
The child was still their plaything and they had taken him.
They were not going to let them pass easily.
"Looks like we're going to have to fight our way out of here," Kisame groaned, but got ready.
Itachi didn't say anything, he was ready to get rid of these creatures.
The creatures all gasped, watching as Itachi melted into a murder of crows, and Kisame rushed them with a sharp blade from hell.
Sasuke was panicking inside of his pet carrier.
He couldn't see anything that was going on. All he could see was darkness and he was starting to get worried about Itachi. The only thing that gave him assurance was that he had to hold on so he wouldn't get tossed around.
That alone let him know that Itachi must be outside fighting.
Gritting his teeth at being unable to offer support, he started to meow and hiss. In his own way he was calling for Itachi.
His nerves were on edge and his small heart was beating fast.
If I were big I could help Itachi. I could stand by his side and help him battle all these things… Sasuke thought in distress. I would be strong enough to be able to protect him like he protects me…
Just as Sasuke thought this, he noted that there was something peeking at him from the window of the pet carrier. Sasuke's fur stood on end as the thing grinned at him with sharp teeth, looking at him as if he was some sort of snack.
Sasuke was reminded of the rat that had taken him against his will.
It was enough to make him spark in distress, sending a jolt of pure electricity to the peeking creature. It popped the little window of his pet carrier. The jolt of electricity was enough to crush the creature to the ground. It was draining, and left him disorientated.
Sasuke growled, going crazy within the pet carrier. In his fear he stumbled about, memories of getting attack by that damned dog. The laughter of the stupid rats and they cheered and betted how he would die…
The cold metal digging into his back and the sharp canines at his throat…
When a hand came at him, he hissed and bit into it without mercy.
With the sheer amount of shadows, even when you knew how they worked, their patterns were always unpredictable. Itachi and Kisame managed to take a large amount out, but figured that at this rate, they would only grow tired. This forest housed more shadows than could ever be imagined, and they were at a disadvantage.
They truly needed to retreat.
They had what they came for and that was important. Exorcising the forest of every dark thing was not in the description of their mission.
Their mission of finding a missing child soon became one of them escaping. Kisame laughed as they traveled through the forest, enjoying himself. He had not anticipated for this to be so much fun. Itachi himself found it amusing how these creatures thought that they could capture them.
Things got less amusing when a small shadow landed on his back. Itachi gasped, pausing in his run to try and get the thing off when suddenly a zap of lightning hit.
Itachi cried out as it burned his back, lacerating his skin.
Kisame stepped in, slamming Samehada onto the creature that was writhing on the floor, looking very much like it was in pain over a blast of what was electricity. Itachi growled, moving too quickly rip the pet carrier from his burnt back, filching in slight regret when it pulled at his skin.
His concern was solely on his kitten being alright.
The shadows were advancing on them, but he didn't give a damn as he reached for Kitty.
He flinched when he felt claws and fangs sink into his hand, but didn't waste time as he collected kitty and ran. Kisame created a wave of water to block their path, and then chased after. It felt like forever before they cleared the thick of the forest and they fell back into the marked trails, where they startled a family that was making their way through.
"Oh my, are you alright?" the woman asked, concern deep in her eyes.
"We can call for help for you guys!" her husband said, reaching for his phone. Their kids stared wide eyed, but also ready to help.
"No, we're okay. We just got a little turned around," Itachi said, offering a small smile in gratitude. Kisame hid Samehada behind him and nodded in agreement to the statement.
"We're near our camp. We will be fine," He added.
"Are you sure, you look badly hurt," the woman said, wanting to reach for Itachi. There was something about him that invoked her motherly instincts to help him.
"We're sure," Itachi said, taking a step back.
"Alright, if you're sure," the woman's husband placed a hand over her shoulder. The family left, waving and calling for them to have a great rest of their day.
Itachi and Kisame both groaned. Itachi pressed the still hooked in kitten closer to his chest and pulled out his phone. "Two days…" he muttered. He turned to look back into the forest, the place looking so innocent compared the dangers they had just seen moments ago.
Kisame gasped when he saw that he had over fifty missed calls from a concerned Suigetsu. He had promised him that he would message him often during his mission, but that had not happened. What felt like only a few hours, if not less, had turned out to be a couple of days.
Kisame rubbed at his head. He knew this was bound to happen. Those danged creatures always had a way of distorting time and space.
"Creatures truly are the worst. Like the scum of all humanity. All of them are nothing but useless waste of space." Kisame hissed, kicking at the dirt in front of him.
"That may be because of their behavior, but not all creatures are that way." Itachi tried to reason but Kisame was not listening. The man was already making his way back to the jeep. Itachi let out a small breath and followed.
Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard what Kisame said. His fangs and claws retracted, and he started to lick at Itachi's wounds apologetically. It had taken this long for him to get out of his head and back to the present time.
It was only now that he realized who he was hurting.
Itachi smiled down at the kitten, finding his apologetic licks to be adorable. "I'm sorry. That must have been so scary. For a moment I thought you had gotten severely hurt…" Itachi trailed off. Thinking back on it, that surge of electricity had been painful and strong enough to harm him.
Had it been that shadow that produced such a strong attack?
It wasn't like creatures to have that kind of ability though…
Perhaps the ones in this forest were just more evolved?
It was concerning. Maybe the idea was not too far off to come and get rid of all of them. Thing was that Itachi thought that they didn't deserve to die. He wished that kidnapping small children was not in their motives, but it was because they were classified as being nothing but useless that probably drove them to what they were now.
Terrorizing those that were more useless than them- humans.
"Man your back suffered a hit," Kisame flinched just looking at Itachi's burnt back. His back had become an angry red. His ripped flesh oozed with blood and pieces of his shirt stuck to the charred skin. Itachi had already tried to remove his shirt, but found it to be too painful and concerning. There was no way of removing it without adding further damage to his wounds.
He was going to have to get professional help.
"I'm fine, nothing to worry about," Itachi dismissed.
"If you say so, because the last thing you need is an infection,"
"It won't get to that." Itachi said.
Kisame frowned, turning his eyes back to the road.
They were finally back on the main road and heading back to civilization. A report would have to be filled out over the overgrown population of the shadow creatures in order for proper measures to be taken.
Otherwise more humans would be taken and the situation would never get resolved.
Itachi glanced at Kisame when he heard the clicking of his phone. The look on his friends face looked stressed.
"Is Suigetsu angry that you didn't respond to him promptly?" Itachi asked.
"Huh…oh no," Kisame sighed and let a small smile grace his face. "Actually he has been concerned and left me a few messages asking me to please be safe. You know it feels nice not to be yelled at or be accused of doing something wrong…"
"Well you did explain to him that you had to do work and he knows what your job entails. It'd be strange for him to accuse you of being a liar," Itachi reasoned.
"Yeah, you'd be amazed of how many times that has not been the case. I've gotten so many angry messages from past lovers over me neglecting them or worse cheating on them…" Kisame sadly said.
"They weren't worth your time if they didn't trust you when you didn't give them a reason not to in the first place," Itachi said with confidence that Kisame had no idea where it came from. It made him laugh though as he looked at his friend with fondness.
"You've never been in a relationship Itachi, how would you even know," Kisame teased.
"True, but it seems like common sense to trust someone unless they give you a reason not to," Itachi said.
"I don't blame them though, because I know the reason they don't trust is because they had and had been hurt before…" Kisame shrugged. He knew how many wanted you to earn the trust and sometimes being absent didn't let that happen. He knew his job could pull him away from everyday life, but he always came in transparent letting his partners know what it took to be with him.
Often many couldn't handle it.
So far it was okay, Suigetsu wanted to try and that was enough. Kisame already liked him a lot.
"When we get back could you drop me off at his house…?" He asked as he pulled down the visor in order to use the mirror. He started preening, wanting to look his best for when he got to his boyfriend's house, not that Itachi thought it was helping. Kisame was a mess and only a bath and new clothes would be able to fix that.
Itachi nodded, "Sure, I'll report to Pain and tell him that our report will be emailed later." Itachi said. "I'll have to see a medic about my wounds as well…" Itachi didn't really like seeing any medics. Still, it was better than calling up his mother and asking for her help.
He was already busy ignoring her as it was.
Sasuke who was tucked into his pet carrier that was kept in the jeep was sitting up on alert. He had only gotten a glimpse before Itachi got into the driver seat, but he had seen it. He hurt Itachi so badly that his back was ripped and bloodied.
Tears sprung to his eyes and for the rest of the car ride he kept berating himself.
He never had wanted to hurt Itachi. All he wanted to do was protect him like Itachi protected him. He had been so scared and now he couldn't even say he was sorry. Itachi must truly hate him now. There was no doubt that he knew it had been Sasuke that hurt him…
It was high noon when Itachi dropped Kisame off at Suigetsu's house. He then drove back to his work office. He parked and hissed in pain as he climbed out of the jeep. Itachi opened the back door, reaching for Kitty.
He quickly noted how Kitty flinched away from him, and curled into a tight ball.
"Hey, are you alright. Was it too scary for you?" Itachi asked, softly.
Kitty turned to him, eyes wide and teary.
Itachi smiled kindly, reaching to pet the frightened kitten. He was glad when Kitty easily melted into his touch and came into his arms. He figured that he was scared over what had happened. Itachi paused for a second, with Kitty nuzzling into his chest,
In his head, he went back over what had happened, repeatedly, but he just couldn't place it.
He couldn't fathom how a creature could have such powers. All creatures were half human, and along with being so they were grounded by the physics and laws of the earth. They weren't like demons who defied everything.
It was the reason that creatures were considered inferior.
While they had adapted tricks and were able to warp the time in the space that they settled that was all it was. A manifestation of their will and humans weren't weak when it came to their wishes and desires. If so, Itachi couldn't put it in the realm of impossibility for these creatures to have wanted something so badly that they are now able to have some form of power that can hurt demons…
If anything it would be stupid not to consider it.
Gathering kitty into his arms, Itachi shut the door of the jeep. Locking the vehicle he went to report to Pain. The man was in his office. Pain watched the trembling boy that Itachi pulled back into reality, and had him escorted so that his mental health could be evaluated before being returned to his parents. Although Itachi had tried to hide the fact that he was hurt, it didn't escape Pain for a second.
There was no way Itachi could hide such injuries. It wasn't hard to miss, especially with the revolting smell of burnt flesh following Itachi around.
Truly though, Pain was amazed.
As far as he had known Itachi the demon had never suffered any such injuries before. This truly was a rare and worrying sight. Pain glanced at the kitten tucked in the curve of Itachi's arm. All of this had started ever since that little pet of his had entered his life. Pain frowned, Itachi was going to have to get serious.
He couldn't have one of his best agents getting sloppy over a pet.
The six month. That was all Pain was giving Itachi. If the ridiculousness didn't stop then he would have a talk with him.
For now, he'll be patient.
"They got your back pretty bad," Pain said, reaching for his stack of documents. "Get treatment right away before you go home. I'll expect your report by tomorrow night." he commanded when Itachi shrugged off his injuries as if they were nothing.
Itachi mentally groaned. He had been hoping to just be dismissed so he could treat himself, but luck was not on his side.
Once he was dismissed walked towards the medical floor.
They had one since injuries tended to happen. Kitty was in his arms, silent. Itachi ran his fingers through his fur as they waited to get treatment, but the kitten remained unresponsive. It worried Itachi as he frowned, and wondered if he was hurt.
"Itachi, come in," the nurse called.
Sasuke sat back watching as Itachi flinched every now and then as the nurse worked to clear the demon's wounds. Wounds he had caused because he'd been careless and scared in a time that he should have been strong and brave.
His ears lay flat on his head as Itachi's back was slowly and carefully cleaned. Each deep scar, every drop of blood burned into Sasuke's little mind. He never wanted to see Itachi hurt like that ever again.
It took a few hours, but once fully cleaned, Itachi's back healed flawlessly as if it had never been hurt. Sasuke was enthralled by the sight of flesh mending itself so quickly, it was bizarre and otherworldly. Relief flooded Sasuke at seeing the wounds disappear. It didn't change the circumstances, and Sasuke's resolve was set.
He wanted to get stronger.
He wanted to be able to stand at Itachi's side as an equal.
If he could… Sasuke's small paw curled around the soft plush chair where Itachi had placed him. His future wasn't clear and Sasuke wasn't sure what could possibly happen. That didn't mean he didn't dream of a day that he could tell Itachi who he truly was and be allowed to remain with him…
If I'm strong I won't have to fear being a creature. I can prove to not only Itachi but everyone that I am worthy and deserve to live! Sasuke thought with pure determination.
"As expected of you Itachi, you've healed completely." The nurse praised as she scanned his back just to be sure there was nothing wrong internally.
"Thank you," Itachi humbly said, accepting a generic company shirt and pulled it on as the nurse told him he was free to go. She walked out the door first, allowing Itachi the privacy to make himself decent. Itachi let out a small breath, his shoulders slumping a bit.
He was finally free to go back to his apartment.
Itachi lifted Kitty into his arms and made his way downstairs. He wasn't going to have to report into work for the next three days and felt glad over it. His plan was to first sleep. Next he would spend the rest of those days with Kitty.
He wanted to take Kitty out to a park and show him more of the neighborhood.
Just as Itachi walked out into the parking lot he cursed.
Leaning against his jeep was that creep, Orochimaru. The man looked like he had been waiting for him. Of course he would be, Itachi bristled.
Pain had mentioned that Orochimaru had been acting more annoying than usual. The man kept coming to their office and had been kicked out a few times for trespassing, but it seemed he was adamant on talking to Itachi.
So far Itachi had avoided him, but not this time.
"Oh well look at who it is," the snake demon smirked, "I see you like playing with pussies," he chuckled. Itachi's face remained passive, devoid of any emotion that would tell the snake just how he was feeling. Itachi was always so cold and that gave Orochimaru so much pleasure. He wanted to crack that mask of indifference and make Itachi cry for him…
Orochimaru licked his lips when Itachi didn't answer and instead turned his eyes to the kitten hanging off Itachi's arm. Like a little piece of eye candy, the tiny creature was truly adorable. What a tiny little play thing Itachi had found himself.
"That little kitten seems to have all your focus Itachi," Orochimaru drawled, smirking when the arm around the kitten tightened just the slightest bit. "It would be a shame to lose that little baby in some freak accident."
The kitten in Itachi's arm surprised Orochimaru when it hissed and growled, fur standing on end as intelligent red eyes glared at him.
Fascinating…Orochimaru thought. He definitely wanted the kitten now…
"Consider this a warning Orochimaru." The snake demon blinked as he found himself face down on the ground, his arm twisted on his back and Itachi's boot threatening to crush his skull. How…when… Orochimaru tried to move but he found himself locked in place, fear trailing down his spine. "Don't even dare think of touching what is mine if you want to keep breathing."
The threat was so low, but chilling.
There was no room for argument.
In the next second, Orochimaru scrambled to his feet, panting hard. He gritted his teeth in anger as he snapped, "You can't tell me what to do I…" he looked around, confused to find that the parking lot was now dark and empty.
He screamed in anger when he realized that he'd somehow been robbed of his whole afternoon by that damned baby demon that thought he was so great. "I'll figure out your game Itachi and I will make you pay for always making me look like a damn fool!" the snake roared.
Orochimaru stomped his way to his car, where Yamato was waiting for him. "Did you manage to see him?" Yamato asked, moving to turn the car on.
"No, just fucking drive!" Orochimaru yelled, pulling on his seat belt and crossing his arms angrily. He was so frustrated. He couldn't figure out Itachi's game, but he would! Oh he was going to make that baby demon cry.
Itachi was relieved once he was back in his apartment.
The first thing he did was feed Kitty and himself. Once that was done, he headed to his room and the attached bathroom. Itachi took a quick shower and bathed kitty as well. Itachi then blow dried the fur ball and got dressed for the night.
He had just tucked them into bed when he noted that his mom was calling him. Itachi considered answering her, but then shook his head and decided not to. He already knew what she wanted. She'd ask how he was doing, before jumping into how he should be dating someone. That he needed to get serious.
He could already hear her voice in his head,
Itachi felt stressed over it until he felt kitty snuggle into his chest, purring lightly. Itachi smiled, running his fingers over the soft warm fur and closed his eyes.
"I kind of wish life could remain this peaceful and silent…" he whispered, trailing off as sleep claimed him.
Sasuke watched Itachi sleep, pocking at him to make sure the demon was truly asleep. When he got no reaction, Sasuke shifted to his demon form. He couldn't sleep. His mind just wouldn't shut up and the events that had happened kept repeating themselves. It wasn't like he could talk about it with anyone either so it was distressing.
Instead he did what he felt brought him the most comfort. He processed his small forehead against Itachi's, rubbing his nose along the demon's temple.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry Itachi," he mewled softly as tears ran down his cheeks. Sasuke wasn't sure how long he remained with his face squished against Itachi's when he heard commotion in the living room.
Sasuke jumped off the bed, and ran to investigate what was going on.
Was someone trying to break in and hurt Itachi?
Well he wasn't going to allow that!
Moving through the shadows, Sasuke made it to the living room. He paused and hid behind the couch when he noted Kisame entering. He relaxed at the sight of the man and his eyes widened when he noted that a white haired man was with him.
"Suigetsu wait, not here," Kisame giggled, and then gasped as said Suigetsu kissed him. The white haired male reached under Kisame's shirt, making soft noises as his mouth was pried open and Kisame's tongue was pushed inside.
Sasuke stared wide eyed, unable to look away as both men made their way to Kisame's bedroom. Sasuke came out of the shadows when the door closed behind them and went to check the front door was secured and locked.
Frowning, and wondering what he had just seen, Sasuke made his way back to Itachi's bedroom. He closed and locked the door before jumping back into bed, returning to his kitten form. Sasuke curled into Itachi's chest, breathing in his calming scent.
He happily purred as sleep finally claimed him.