Book 1: The Three of Us

Chapter 39: Truth Comes to Light

Once the third week without any word from Kisame, I couldn't sit back any longer. Making my way into into the Hokage tower, I stop by Itachi office first. Stepping in, I shut the door behind me. Itachi looks up at me, a brief flicker of his sharingan visible before his eyes are back to normal, "Hey, you okay?"

My face softens at his question but the deep frown stays, "I'm worried about Kisame." I take a seat at the desk with Itachi.

Itachi's face pulls down into a frown, "Me too. Something about this mission doesn't feel right."

"It feels like Tsunade-shishou isn't telling us the whole truth," I admit.

Crossing his arms in thought, Itachi gives a nod of agreement, "The way Kisame acted before he left was strange. Something was off."

I bite the inside of my cheek, "I think we should confront Shishou about this."

Itachi nods and lets out a hum of agreement. Uncrossing his arms he uses the desk to pull himself up to a stand, "Let's go."

I follow after him and we quickly make our way across the hall to Tsunade's office. Itachi doesn't bother to nock before entering and I make sure to close the door behind us. Tsunade looks up from her desk and raises her eyebrows in question, "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, there is. You're not telling us the whole truth about the mission Kisame is on," Itachi says, getting right to the point.

"Something about it feels off. Kisame was off," I continue.

The casual look disappears from Tsunade's face, replaced by a serious and heavy look. The look sets me on edge and makes me tense. She lets out a heavy breath before continuing, "I sent him on a mission to gather intel about the Akatsuki."

"But why Kisame? Intel gathering isn't his specialty," I say.

"All previous attempts to complete the mission have failed," Tsunade says. Glancing over at Itachi, I can see his whole body tense up at what she says.

Itachi's voice is sharp when he speaks, "You mean no one has ever returned from the mission alive." It's not a question, it's a statement. The realization makes my stomach drop with dread.

I give Tsunade a horrified look, "Why did you send him?"

"It wasn't an order. I gave him a choice," Tsunade defends.

"You're an idiot. He respects you, he cares about Sakura and I, knows how much we are loyal to Konoha. It wasn't a choice for him," Itachi snaps, his sharingan spinning to life in his eyes. The anger in his voice surprises me, having never heard Itachi speak so harshly before. Itachi continues, "What team is backing him up?"

"Anko Mitirashi," Tsunade answers.

"You only sent one person to back him up against the Akatsuki?" Itachi asks, looking at her in disbelief.

Tsunade crosses her arms, "I didn't see you getting all worked up when I sent Sakura on a mission against the Akatsuki."

"That's because she had a whole team there to back her up if anything went wrong!" Itachi continues, his voice sounding slightly frantic.

"I need you to trust me that Anko will keep him safe if anything goes wrong. She's not a power house like Kisame but she's smart and resourceful. She has escape plans and back up plans for every possibility," Tsunade says.

"You didn't tell us about this because you knew we wouldn't approve," I say.

Tsunade looks between the two of us, giving us both a firm look, "Kisame will come back alive. That's not me being hopeful or making a promise. It's a fact."

Itachi and I's gaze meets, his sharingan still activated. His face softens as he looks at me. I look back over to Tsunade, "I'll try to trust you on this. But don't hide something like this ever again."

"Kisame left a gift at his house for the two of you," Tsunade says, her shoulders slumping forward in exhaustion as she lets out a breath.

***

Being in Kisame's house when he wasn't here felt odd, without his presence the place felt empty and lifeless. A layer of dust has settled over everything. Opening the fridge, my nose scrunches up in disgust when I smell spoiled food. I quickly close it and tell myself I'll deal with that soon. Taking a look around the kitchen, the sink still has dirty dishes in it and a small note book with a pencil beside it lays on the counter.

I pick up the notebook and take a look inside. Most of the pages are blank but the first few pages have writing on them in a language I don't understand. It makes me wonder what is written in it.

Itachi taps his knuckles against the table gently, his way of saying 'come here' without speaking.

Setting the notebook back down, I step out of the kitchen and to the dining table Itachi is by. Standing beside him, I look at the thing on the table he's looking at. There's a note beside two necklaces. Picking up the note, the words written make me want to cry. Itachi picks up one of the necklaces, tracing the tooth with his finger.

Gently grabbing Itachi's hand that's holding the necklace, I look up at him with a teary smile, "I can put it on for you."

He nods silently and lets me step behind him to clip the necklace on. I step back around to his front and look at the necklace on him. He picks up the other one and motions for me to turn around. Once I turn around, Itachi moves my hair out of the way and clips it on. Turning back towards him, I pull him into a tight hug. The gift made us both incredibly happy but also terrified. Terrified we'd never see Kisame again but happy that he gave such a thoughtful gift.