A/N: So the super good news is, I have a reliable computer again so I should be able to update things faster than I have been! Wooohooo!
Summary: Kakashi was going through possibilities of situations and ultimately decided that he would be better off dying or seeming like he's died. So, Neji and Hinata are going to help him.
Despite his usual ability to keep track of things, Itachi had long since lost track on the amount of time he'd been locked up. The nearly constant torture he endured did nothing to help him. If anything, it made his now singular existence worse. The days bled together from the repetitive cycle. The only thing that truly kept him going was the fact that Nagato told him how miserable Kakashi was. That in itself was cause for slight celebration because it meant his love was alive.
He did however hate the fact that Kakashi was going through even worse torture than himself because of that. He had promised everyone that he would protect Kakashi and yet, he was failing so spectacularly. Even Neji and Hinata did not have much news each time he'd asked. All they said was, 'he's alive.' That wasn't as reassuring but he figured that someone had started listening in on them which was why the two of them were basically mute when they came to see him.
Despite that, he was starting to wonder if there was truly a way to get out of this. They held Kakashi over him so it would be terribly difficult. But he could manage. First he would need to take out Nagato somehow. Then he would be able to get out of this dungeon but it would need to be very quick.
Once the redhead actually came down for the day, Itachi closed his eyes and blocked out the pain. It was easy to do and this helped him think about the best way to get around Nagato. Despite thinking he was unpredictable, Itachi had noticed a slight pattern in the way the other tortured him. Whether or not he did it on purpose was debatable, but it was there. That would be what he used to escape.
He needed to wait for the right moment before he decided to break his legs. That would be the opportune time. But he would need to be careful. Or maybe it would be better to wait for Hinata and Neji? He wasn't sure. They did have the younger princess to protect so he didn't want them to risk too much without good cause to do so.
Itachi continued to mull things over in his mind until a commotion above him brought him back. Nagato even stopped what he had been doing and frowned as he looked up. The look hat was on the redhead's face was not one of happiness at all. It made Itachi all the more curious. The captor then looked at Itachi with a frown before starting towards the stairs. "I'll be back."
Watching him leave gave Itachi a slight spark of hope that he may be able to escape from this dungeon finally. He carefully took a deep breath before easily lighting his restraints on fire which didn't burn himself. After that, he fell forward, groaning from the movements that jostled his broken arm and fingers. The man could be quite brutal. After that, he was quietly looking around for anything remotely helpful. However, since it was technically a dungeon there was nothing useful in any way.
After a bit of looking around, Itachi found a chest that contained old clothes from other prisoners. He quickly changed and used his now ruined clothes to wrap his arm and make a sling. The commotion above them had obviously taken all attention in the castle. Itachi easily made his way up the stairs and through several corridors before he heard yelling. Obviously someone was upset. That was good though. For Itachi, it meant no one had noticed his absence yet. That was very good. He quickly made his way towards a window to see where exactly he was and groaned. This was very far from anywhere he personally knew. He'd seen maps but that wasn't any help at the moment.
Another round of yelling momentarily distracted the injured prince before he was quickly moving away from the window to find the nearest exit. That would be the best way out. He didn't stop until he was walking out of a door, down the dirt pathway leading towards the village that was close by. He would need some sort of disguise or they would find him instantly. That thought made Itachi shiver vaguely before he was slowly shifting using his power. He was rather weak still so it wouldn't be for too long.
Thinking quickly, he picked an animal that would hopefully gain some attention. Itachi turned into a big black dog that had an injured leg. People liked dogs and were more inclined to help them as opposed to cats and other animals.
It took several hours of wandering, whimpering and whining until someone finally decided to help him. He had been so close to giving up. He could hear the young voice begging someone else to help which ended up with him being carried to their home. He couldn't even open his eyes for the moment.
Itachi hated having to depend on strangers as his only way to be helped right now. For a moment he wondered if Kakashi would be okay for the time being. Kakuzu would surely keep him alive if only to torture him as he had been. Hopefully that would continue despite Itachi escaping. That thought left a bad taste in the prince's mouth. What if he was the cause of Kakashi's death or worse torture than he was experiencing? He prayed to any gods that were listening to keep his lover safe. Hopefully they would allow him the time to heal and return to protect Kakashi, but he wasn't going to hold his breath.
Weeks passed quickly as he was nursed by the people who had taken him in. He found out it was a young couple named Juugo and Suigetsu. They were very kind and caring but he was worried. He hadn't heard anything regarding his lover or the Hyuga plans. He hated this. Today, Juugo was coming back with food for everyone. He'd seem to take a liking to Itachi as a dog which worried the Uchiha. Especially since he would have to leave soon in order to help those he had promised to.
One useful thing he had found out was Juugo could speak to him when he was an animal. That made things that much easier to tell him when he needed help. His partner was a very interesting person. He was rather violent at times when it came to people that he didn't like. Suigetsu was a very animated man and it amused Itachi to no end. Both of them could be surprisingly kind. That also made things that much worse. He didn't want to think of how Suigetsu or Juugo would react when he left. Hopefully it wouldn't end badly.
For the time being Itachi was trying to figure out what he was going to do about finding information concerning the people he was going to help and attempt to rescue. That proved to be rather difficult for the last few days. No one was talking about the royal family or their goings on. It was quickly beginning to bug him. Perhaps he needed to go about this in a different way? Or should he just leave his current hosts? Would his leg actually heal properly then? It likely would so that would be fine, but he felt horrible at the thought of leaving them.
He wandered around during the days, hobbling a bit from the way his leg was bandaged. It was nice to not have to do that himself but he was still concerned over the problems that he was having in finding information. Usually people talked in bars and whatnot but he wasn't finding anything useful. It was rather annoying. it had been weeks already and he didn't know what to do next.
Today had been as unsuccessful as the previous attempts. Itachi found himself in the market, eating scraps that had been tossed his way by the kind people there. He was on his way back when he heard whispers of something terrible in the palace. Curious, he followed the hushed voices to an alley way. They suspected nothing since he was so obviously a dog.
The man that he'd initially heard say something was a rather curious fellow with dark hair and face paint. He was speaking to a redhead and a blond. They must be family or something with how comfortable they were with one another. Itachi walked up to the redhead initially, rubbing against his leg. A hand came down absentmindedly and began stroking his head.
"Are you sure that they were holding them there? And that he is gone?" The shortest of the three asked while continuing his gentle attention to the dog at his side.
The man with the dark hair nodded quickly as he looked at the shorter funny from the dog. But he quickly moved on and a grim look overtook his face. "I'm sure of it. The informant I have made no mistakes. It was the two princes but the Uchiha escaped and the Hatake...well, he seems to have died."