Itachi, stretched out on the cloud of duvets and soft pillows that Nagato liked so much, was turning over a business card between his fingers, he had been keeping it for a year now and maybe now it could come in handy again. Now his nails were their natural color, he had to clean them every morning after finishing his shift at Susanoo to avoid Nagato noticing anything.

I advise you to tell both Sasuke and Nagato the truth before he comes out in the worst way.

Itachi often thought about Obito's words; even though he was aware that his older cousin was absolutely right, imagining Nagato's eyes filling with tears and Sasuke tearing down the house in anger and then crying himself sick had held him back for six years. The dark-haired man no longer even remembered the exact date when he had started working there.

Kisame…

Lately things with Nagato finally seemed to have taken the right direction even if there were still many aspects that should have been present in a life as a couple. It was evident that Nagato suffered from eating disorders and depression, Itachi had realized it for some time despite the fact that his companion was convinced of the opposite. Every time he had tried, with great tact, to offer him a solution to undertake a cure, the redhead had reacted by almost attacking him.

"Itachi, am I wrong or were you the one who hated being tossed from one doctor to another? I made you feel better by giving you love, but evidently you are not able, or do not want, to reciprocate me. Besides, I can't force anyone to love me."

Those words had cut Itachi like a rusty and badly sharpened blade. Theirs were completely different issues and Nagato hadn't understood that he had acted like this precisely because he cared.

Nagato, you need someone other than me. Someone cheerful, smiling and positive, who knows how to reduce problems and not let you notice them.

However Itachi had stopped offering him solutions for a long time. It was evident that if Nagato wanted to solve the troubles that afflicted him, he had to be convinced first to take the decisive step.

Itachi sighed as he changed position on the pillows, the shoulder that he had fractured during his last acrobat performance had begun to send him an excruciating pain again. Not that he ever really stopped, but it had gotten a lot worse lately. He closed his eyes trying to relax.

I'm starting to really appreciate these quilts, Nagato.

Some days Itachi had even been forced to sleep on it, after the exhausting shifts at Susanoo the shoulder presented him with the bill even while lying in bed; the pain was added to the tracks that turned in vain and together they tore the thin veil of his sleep which in recent times seemed almost an impossible conquest. However he would have had to abandon his work as a trapeze artist anyway, if that day he had fallen like a pear it was due to one of his usual illnesses that had made him lose consciousness right in the middle of the performance. He wasn't supposed to go to work that night. After the disastrous New Year's party that had prevented Nagato from getting out of bed for a whole week, Itachi felt his heart beat very irregularly, perhaps due to stress and those eternally repressed emotions that were wearing him down all the time.

Nagato is also one extremely damaged by negativity, it's not necessary for me to show him mine she already has enough on his behalf.

However Itachi had decided to participate in the last show of his life to escape the heaviness that he breathed within the home in those days. After the accident, he had been forced to stay in bed for two months completely blocked by a cast that completely wrapped his torso and right arm, unfortunately preventing even the slightest movement of the shoulder was a problem. Since Nagato couldn't move him half a centimeter, Shisui and Yahiko had come to help him practically every day, after all he had to wash, eat and go to the bathroom.

Yahiko, you haven't told your brother what you do either. I know, the fear of how Nagato might react has always held us all back. I should think about Sasuke but I can't do that either.

Obito had offered him that job to help him out and Itachi hadn't been able to find anything better yet. Both he and Shisui and Yahiko were starting to feel that situation, however Itachi seemed to be the one who suffered the most both physically and emotionally. He had repeatedly thought about doing some exercises in the gym to relieve shoulder pain, he should have gotten advice from someone in the branch to know exactly which movements to do.

Kisame…

Itachi was awakened by Nagato's voice calling to him and shaking him slightly. He opened his eyes as if he had been snatched with unheard-of violence from a warm, pleasant liquid to have been suddenly slammed back into reality.

"I'm sorry to wake you up, I haven't seen you sleeping so peacefully in ages, but it's late and you certainly can't go to work without eating anything." Nagato was sitting next to him.

The dark haired let out a dejected sigh. Nagato's fondness for cooking and his concern that others eat enough was a consequence of the restrictions he placed on himself. He liked to manipulate food because it was one of the obsessions of his life, but eating it was out of the question, what little Nagato swallowed Itachi, he knew it ended up in the toilet as soon as he closed the door behind him.

"What's this?" Nagato asked referring to the business card Itachi had between his fingers, he had slipped into sleep without ceasing to hold it tight.

"I was thinking maybe we could join the gym, why not? It would be good for my shoulder and maybe you would finally see your physique improve and that could give you confidence in yourself."

A shadow quickly crossed Nagato's particular eyes: "Don't start over, Itachi. I'm not going to get big, I don't like it."

"The person who left me this note is an expert personal trainer, you don't necessarily have to do bodybuilding, if you explain to him what results you want he will be happy to direct you on what you need."

"I'm fine as I am, I don't want to change."

"Okay, then I'll go alone. My shoulder is hurting more and more and I'm going to have to intervene somehow."

Itachi was about to get up to go to the table when the further darkening of his companion's gaze froze him again to the ground.

"Explain to me where you met this guy and why he left you his number? You've been talking for a long time it seems."

"He hired me to check out the sports center he works at during my late night rounds. While we were making arrangements, my shoulder gave a sudden twinge and I winced, which is why the talk came up. He seemed like a very professional person to me."

You grimacing in pain, Itachi? You who always hide the worst misfortunes do you get fooled by physical pain? I'm sorry but it smells a bit burnt!

"Okay, let's try. If I don't like it, I can stop whenever I want." Nagato forced his pale face to relax. He had always been absolutely wrinkle free, however after that infamous New Year's Eve party he had noticed some small marks on his cool white skin, which weren't there before, lately the complexion was also taking on an unhealthy purplish tinge.

Itachi gave a small smile as he moved his wine red fringe to place a kiss on his forehead.

Kisame, you remembered me after four years from the first time you were with that blond boy, you noticed that I don't use my right hand and even that I've lost weight. Then you went out of your way just to come talk to me. Forgive me if I haven't made myself heard for a year.

Kisame had always thought that a divorce was a catastrophic thing, that it was full of tears, broken dishes, flat tires, rich gossip with friends behind the back of the respective ex; justifications with the family, years of lawyers and various paperwork. And instead, when after three years of acting with Tayuya, he finally took the courage to face the speech, it seemed that his wife was waiting for nothing else.

"Kisame, unfortunately I don't know what happened but we got lost along the way" Tayuya hinted a bitter smile giving him a pat on the muscular knee.

I believe that this road has never actually been taken from the beginning.

"I really admire your maturity, Tayuya. I will be even happier if you remain my friend, I am aware that someone like you must be kept close."

After all, Kisame had learned to appreciate that particular woman, tough and direct, characteristics that are usually purely masculine; her that she doesn't know how to wear all the frills and uncomfortable feminine clothing and she manages to make a mess every time she tries to wear a minimum of make-up. Tayuya would surely have found someone capable of esteeming and loving all of this. Eventually a lot of men are attracted to these characteristics.

"Well, when you finally open your gym call me, Samui and I will be happy to get back in shape. It's something we've faced a lot of times without ever deciding to do it."

In fact, the two women had later become his first customers. Soon Naruto and Kiba would also be added, at the moment the blond was very busy with the upcoming election campaign, he had finally managed to present his candidacy for the role of mayor. Kisame felt a little guilty about this, but Naruto's busy schedule had come at just the right time for him. He was going through another phase of transition, it wasn't a real break from feelings this time, because the passion was there and he had been feeling it burning more and more for almost four years now. However Kisame needed to clarify.

Since he had decided to know the destination of the third track, all the rest had gone into the background, perhaps Naruto had understood this without the need for many explanations. However, he and Kiba continued to be his best friends, in their free moments they always went out together. The conclusions of an evening of unbridled sex at the blond's house still happened. Officially they were always together, now they had turned into two totally positive people who took life as it came, enjoying the best and without building castles of totally unrealistic projects for the future. Perhaps they both understood that this had been a youthful phase of their lives, but they were adults now.

I'm here waiting for you, my dream, when you want you know how to find me.

The divorce from Tayuya hadn't created so many upheavals in Kisame's family, the parents were entering that phase of tranquility typical of old age.

"If you weren't happy, Kisame, you were right to make this decision. When two people realize they're not compatible, there's no point in ruining each other's lives."

His father had smiled at him addressing these words while he was having lunch with them, the wrinkles around his eyes had accentuated following that extremely sympathetic expression on that face so similar to his. Kisame's heart melted with tenderness.

He's real dad, we look a lot alike. Big and thick on the surface but always careful to do no harm, I'm honored to have taken from you.

That spring had been a real rebirth, Kisame had a lot of fun following the cold war that Samui and Tsunade had waged with the sound of necklines, ever lighter shades of blonde, skimpy shorts and Workout makeup, resistant to sweat and workouts .

"Kisame, what do you think, if the pectorals get bigger can I increase them by a few sizes?" Samui looked perplexed at the training card that his technical director had given him.

"In the meantime, try to train your whole body so as not to become disproportionate, then we'll see" Kisame hadn't been able to hold back a smile.

"Tse!" Tsunade exclaimed perched on a stool in the infirmary intent on crossing her shapely legs under the white miniskirt "when you're my age we'll talk about it if you'll always be here."

"Train yourself aunty, because from now on the force of gravity will be felt."

Kisame laughed both at the moment and the next day when the doctor asked him to draw up a program for her too. In fact for now Tsunade had little work, she made visits to new clients to ascertain their suitability for the sport, but things would soon change. There was still a lot of space in the building and Kisame also intended to do some other classes, maybe aerobics or rhythmic gymnastics, he would have to find some teachers for the new disciplines, then he would have made a decision.

Tayuya had returned to her usual self, the girl that Kisame had met at Kiba's party had only fallen asleep, betrayed by the mistakes of her life. She was sleeping but she hadn't completely disappeared and now she was resurfacing like a fresh blossom of that beautiful spring.

You will find someone who will make you happy, in my opinion you won't even have to work so hard.

A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits honked with the horn made everyone jump one day suddenly. Where have I seen this scene before?

"Kisame, you put on such a marvel and you don't let me know anything? I learned it from Kiba."

A showy blond had just entered the glass door.

Other than entered, he literally broke in.

Kisame could never forget that retro ponytail, playful smile, and incredible cascade of hair, he hadn't changed one iota in all that time.

"Deidara, what a pleasure!" Kisame went towards him while all the people who were training had suddenly stopped to look at him, Karin had lowered her reading glasses to better focus on the long distance.

He was also irrepressible in clothing, he showed up with laminated nappa leather trousers completely covered with a print that recalled an old parchment in shades of light brown, a solid-colored shirt of the same material and the same shade of brown.

"This is Hidan, a friend of mine. We have a lot of things to tell each other, I'd say, how about tonight we treat ourselves to a nice pre-workout outing?"

"That's fine with me, you know, the evenings will have to be different because one certainly won't be enough."

Kisame shook hands beaming and smiling to the other strange but equally eccentric. These two must fit together!

His silver hair, as if it had glitter in it, certainly didn't go unnoticed. A thick layer of concrete-effect gel kept them glued back as if they were eternally pulled by an invisible comb, only the tips that brushed his neck full of thick golden chains, were free from that constriction. His face, unlike Deidara's, was impassive, smooth, almost unreal.

No, he is not of that absolute perfection like Susanoo's dark haired brother, the weasel's brother. Perhaps the peculiarity of him lies in the rough line of the jaw, or in these strange, small, sharp eyes. They are dark but appear to have some reddish sheen.

"Someday a friend of mine should also come, we took a long course on anger management together and they advised us to play sports to better govern impulses."

You can tell he's making an effort to stay calm, actually.

"Kisame, when can we start?" Deidara was on the verge of hopping like a child.

"Make an appointment with Karin over there, and then see Dr. Tsunade. Tonight I will prepare your personalized program based on the information they will give me about you."

Hidan had gritted his teeth a second before walking away calmly, his concentration was evident so as not to get carried away by emotions.

But all of this came naturally to you, didn't it?

"Hey cutie, did you know I've never seen anyone like you? You have red hair but I could swear your eyes have the same shade" Deidara's approach had been this even before greeting and introducing himself.

"But no… they are brown" Karin blushed for the umpteenth time since she had started working there.

Kisame would have gladly listened to the continuation of that particular and amusing conversation but he was interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone inside his suit pocket. A number he didn't know.

Strange, usually new customers call the landline. I stopped using this for business purposes last year when I was still an employee.

"Kisame?" it was a warm, persuasive voice, yet it had the power to plunge him into that principle of panic that makes his hands tremble but does not yet lose his lucidity. He didn't understand why.

"Yes I am. Who's talking?"

Kisame had gone outside, the noises and piped music had never disturbed him so much; the other had paused as if he expected something. Kisame had heard him catch his breath as if he had just emerged from the water.

"My name is Itachi Uchiha, I would like to make an appointment."

He continued linear as if nothing had happened while Kisame had almost dropped the phone from his hand.

Madara… Obito… no who are you? Are you contacting me because you want to give me news of Madara? Obito the last time you spoke to me you let it slip for a moment that you have two cousins who have been hit by an accident. Madara also told me the same when we were together.

The lucidity that had been spared by the initial impact was now severely in the balance.

"Kisame?"

That kindness was disarming, unreal, yet genuine and not fabricated like Hidan's.

Am I talking to a computer? One of those super sophisticated ones you see in sci-fi movies?

Kisame gulped with his heart breaking through his chest: "Tomorrow morning is fine for me as soon as I open, at eight."

However, I feel like déjà vu, as if I've met you before. But no… even if you were one of the cousins Obito was talking about, where did I see you?

"Unfortunately I have a night job, I don't think I can make it before the afternoon."

Kisame felt his head spin sharply, something was pounding inside him but it was still part of those things that manage to condition your life while remaining trapped under the threshold of the subconscious.

Now I am facing a turning point or yet another hurricane. How could I react if I was faced with Madara? What effect could it have on me? One thing is certain, having exited my life in such a violent way, it didn't give me the opportunity to deal with it and, consequently, put it aside.

Kisame had loved Madara with all of himself but so many years had passed, surely time had changed the guys they were then.

"So I start at four in the afternoon, if it goes well" Kisame perceived his words as if they were coming from a stranger.

After Kisame had given him the address, the other had even managed to hang up the phone with his usual kindness of him.

You pressed that key softly, it's like you felt it.

"Hi Kisame, we're going for now, see you tonight" Deidara walked past him walking quickly followed by Hidan "but what's happening to you? It looks like you just saw a ghost."

Kisame raised his eyes finding the light blue and strange eyes of the blond a few centimeters away. To recover he tried to concentrate on the marked but precise strokes of black pencil that highlighted those irises so thin in proportion to the pupils and on her breath that he tasted of strawberry chewing gum.

"No nothing, I'm just a little tired" Kisame had finally managed to put the phone back in his pocket.

"I want you in shape tonight, after a lifetime of not seeing each other I took the liberty of organizing a nice party."

Kisame hadn't even for a second the doubt that it wasn't so. From what little he had had the opportunity to guess about Deidara the only time he had seen him at Kiba's party, he had immediately understood how energetic, enthralling and full of life that blond was.

Deidara chose a very particular and incisive place for that evening, just worthy of him. It was a very small pub outside the city and surrounded by a cool garden. It had ended up being occupied almost entirely by their large and boisterous group; the drinks were served in large carafes with a side spout, in this way they could be passed from hand to hand to be used in common. After the first Deidara round, he lay down on the wooden table pouring the carafe of mojito directly into his mouth and it didn't matter if the liquid dripped on his hair and on his silver shirt unbuttoned deeply on his chest. With his laughter, and not only his, he had quickly infected all the others by disintegrating the initial ice in a way that reminded Kisame of the deadly hand-made explosives with which he had enlivened the New Year's Eve at Kiba's.

Now that I think about it, maybe that was the best New Year's Eve of my life.

He wondered why Naruto and Kiba weren't there.

Did Deidara not warn them or did they decide not to participate?

The blond had invited all the people who were in the gym that same morning in just over ten minutes, including Tsunade and Karin.

No one can resist him, everyone has come.

Deidara had taken a seat next to Karin making her blush every five minutes, Sasmui and Tsunade looked at each other's neckline but this time smiling and no longer with that rivalry that seemed to have been at first impact.

"Beautiful evening, right Kisame?" Tayuya had just passed him smiling a carafe of beer that had the same system as that of the Mojito.

He drank in the way he had taught everyone Deidara, for the first time he spoke to his ex-wife in such a natural way as never before. They learned more about each other that night than in three years under the same roof. He confessed to her about the relationship he had with Naruto and learned of her brief affair with her friend Samui.

"Naruto has relieved me of very difficult moments in my life, I don't even know how he manages to crumple things up if they were something to throw away. He always knows what the right thing to do is, to this day I still don't understand how he does it."

Kisame had almost sighed with bitterness, that sensation that a phase of his life had ended returned to appear inside him.

Maybe now I have the tools to figure out what's right for myself, and Naruto figured it out before I did.

They both laughed feeling relieved. The most difficult phase of their lives, which was the three years they had been married, was finally over. They didn't admit it with her words but it was written in their looks, Kisame ruffled that rebel tuft with her hand wishing her all the luck possible.

Their attention was suddenly drawn to Deidara's boisterous, unrestrained laughter, followed by that of everyone else, including Hidan. The argentate assumed a strange expression in hilarity, his eyes curved down taking a sarcastic edge that was in contrast with the rest of the face.

That must be the true nature of him that he occasionally pushes to resurface, the one that he struggles to manage.

Kisame and Tayuya turned around just in time to see Samui who had spilled a few drops of mojito inside the neckline of Tsunade's pink shirt and then stuck her face in the middle of her prosperous breasts with the excuse of licking them off. Karin, increasingly red in the face and with her gaze downcast, was taken by the hand by the irrepressible blond and led into the garden.

"Sorry Kisame, can I steal she for you for a moment?" Hidan's strong cologne smell had anticipated it.

"Of course."

He watched Tayuya and Hidan pass by Samui who continued to work on a Tsunade made red not only by blush and alcohol.

I'll know something about you tomorrow, Madara. Often the right thing to do is understood only in the moment.

Tayuya had been happy to feel some fresh air in her hair and on her face.

"So you don't like girls like I thought." Hidan said.

The redhead stifled a laugh.

Of course Deidara knows how to choose her friends well, everyone always leaves... bomb!

"You know, sometimes life's difficulties lead you a little off the road, the important thing is to get back in the right direction in time."

"Sorry Kisame, can I steal it for you for a moment?" Hidan's strong cologne smell had anticipated it.

"Of course."

He watched Tayuya and Hidan pass by Samui who continued to work on a Tsunade made red not only by blush and alcohol.

I'll know something about you tomorrow, Madara. Often the right thing to do is understood only in the moment.

Tayuya had been happy to feel some fresh air in her hair and on her face.

"So you don't like girls like I thought." Hidan said.

The redhead stifled a laugh.

Of course Deidara knows how to choose her friends well, everyone always leaves... bomb!

"Sometimes life's difficulties lead you a little astray, the important thing is to get back in the right direction in time."

"You are an interesting woman, wise and not with that too perfect femininity as is found in most cases. I don't know why but I feel you have other qualities that are all there waiting to be discovered. Your difficulty in life has been pretty big, I see" Hidan's smile took on a mocking and asymmetrical note clearly referring to Kisame's physicality.

"Everything is settled, despite the divorce we remained good friends, as you see."

They had stopped to gaze intensely into each other's eyes, they remained several seconds holding each other's gaze. Tayuya noticed that Hidan gritted his teeth for a moment but relaxed immediately after pointing his eyes towards a bush on which Karin's mint green blouse was thrown awkwardly, something decidedly not entirely precise as she was. A lock of blond hair flashed for a moment among the leaves.

Hidan relaxed exhaling air through his nose slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans "There are people who understand this from birth, like Deidara, while others who have to make a long journey like me and my friend Sasori. You are somewhere in between, life has taught you the lesson quickly but brutally, the important thing is that the result is always achieved."

They lay on the grass looking up at the balmy April sky full of stars, a precious but seemingly trivial thing that most people forget about as they go through life.

I'm thirty-two now, but how many times have I looked at the stars in my life? Ten? Maybe less… The certainty that the stars are always there without running away makes us postpone this moment until it's too late.

Saying "I'll do it next time" is often synonymous with "never".