Pairing: Itachi and Kiba with some side pairings maybe.

Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own anything

A/N: I'm not sure how frequent updates will be because I use fanfics as a way to get over writers block so I can work on my original works so I tend to switch between the fanfics I write based on what kind of writers block I have. I like this particular pairing though so I should update fairly regularly. That is if my old as dirt laptop doesn't catch another virus which it seems prone to do. This story is rated M for a reason and if you don't like yaoi or a little non-con then you might want to not read this story. I will post warning before it gets too serious though just so it doesn't surprise you. Enjoy! :D

Prologue: Back in Konoha and his Anbu guard

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, staring across her desk at the cloaked figure standing between Naruto and Sasuke. The figure stood perfectly still, black eyes focused on her face with absolutely no expression. His black hood was pulled back, leaving his long black hair falling around his face. It was a face Tsunade had never thought she'd see sitting in her office let alone peaceably.

"Who else knew about your mission besides Sarutobi?" Tsunade finally said, leaning forward to read over the mission scroll again. It specified exactly what the Anbu had ordered Itachi do after he'd found his family slaughtered by the village council. Itachi had been ordered to infiltrate Akatsuki's ranks after taking the blame for the slaughter himself. Only his promise to alienate Sasuke had kept the council from killing the younger Uchiha as well.

"The Anbu division leader as well as Koharu and Hyuuga Hiashi." Itachi said calmly, tucking his hands into his sleeves nonchalantly to hide the shaking. Anxiety pulsed in his chest but he kept all signs away from his face with long practice.

"I'll have to check with them to confirm your story." Tsunade told him with a grim stare. She couldn't imagine the life he'd lived, having to pull a mission like this as thirteen. He'd practically been raised by the Akatsuki. "Once I've checked with them, I'll reinstate your shinobi status and have you pardoned. However, you'll be watched by an Anbu member for a year before you're allowed any missions above B-rank."

"Granny Tsunade!" Naruto protested loudly, flailing his arms. A fierce frown pouted his lips comically. "That's-"

"Necessary, Naruto, for me to regain the villages trust." Itachi interrupted before the blonde could rampage any further. "I am glad my return can be given so easily." Despite his stern voice there was a flicker of amusement in his black eyes as they passed over the orange clad ninja.

"Tch, at least you don't have my probation." Sasuke muttered with a slight scowl. Although he was already sick and tired of the D-C rank missions he was assigned he still had six months to go. But he knew he deserved it after he'd abandoned his village.

"Well, while you're here I'll assign you an Anbu now." Tsunade said ignoring them as she searched through her desk. She placed a bottle of sake on the desk before pulling a small whistle from the drawer. Blowing the whistle she set it back in the desk and preceded to pour herself a cup of sake.

"Umm." Naruto scratched his head in confusion, not understanding why the whistle hadn't made any audible noise.

"Dobe" Sasuke rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Its obviously a chakra summoning whistle for a specific Anbu."

"Shut it, teme!" Naruto shouted angrily, shaking his fist at the younger Uchiha.

Itachi sighed, sharing a glance with Tsunade as she gulped down a cup of sake. Itachi knew that although the whistle was indeed a summons it wasn't a chakra summons. He had felt no surge of chakra so that ruled out a chakra summons. If Itachi had to guess he would have to say that the whistle must make a noise frequency or vibration only a certain shinobi could hear. And for the Hokage to have a whistle of this nature meant the Anbu shinobi she had summoned was one of the Anbu under her personal command.

"He should be here shortly. He'll take you back to the Uchiha compound and stay with you during your year probation." Tsunade mumbled, tired and irritated. She wondered idly why such disturbances always took place in the middle of the night. "You two can go now." She ordered the arguing pair, making them fall silent.

"I would prefer to remain here." Sasuke growled, feeling strangely protective of his older brother now that he'd gotten him back.

"Yeah, we might as well help settle him in." Naruto agreed enthusiastically with a nod.

"I said you can go." Tsunade shouted, slamming her sake cup down sharply in frustration. "I need to discuss details with Itachi." Her eyes narrowed at both boys.

Just as both boys were about to protest a fully uniformed Anbu member appeared silently in front of Tsunade's desk, hands in a transportation seal. His mask turned to survey the three of them silently, painted to depict a fiercely snarling dog, teeth bared dangerously with two Inuzuka clan markings on either cheek. He was tall, taller than both Sasuke and Naruto but shorter than Itachi, with broad muscled shoulders and an animalistic aura. Long spiky chocolate brown hair framed his mask, wild and disordered. He wore the customary Anbu armor, katana strapped to his back.

But that really wasn't what caught their attention. Standing beside the man was a black monstrosity of a dog, easily as tall as the man's waist. Clearly this was an Inuzuka clan member but neither Naruto nor Sasuke could identify the dog. Since Inuzuka's never traded dogs it was logical that neither had ever met this particular clan member. The dog only gave them an annoyed huff before it flopped down beside the mans feet.

"You summoned us, Hokage-sama." The Anbu member growled, his voice deep and rumbling. He turned to face the Hokage again, seemingly dismissing the three shinobi.

Itachi eyed the Anbu member curiously, studying his future watch dog. It was logical to assume that the man would specialize in tracking and surveillance, a good choice for this particular task, but it puzzled Itachi that the Hokage would use one of her personal shinobi for such a task. She could just as easily use any other Jounin or Anbu member unless of course she felt some other reason to post such a powerful shinobi with him.

"Hey, you're an Inuzuka, right?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, pointing a finger rudely. The Anbu merely turned his mask to glance at Naruto before facing the Hokage again, ignoring the blonde.

"It's obvious he's an Inuzuka, dobe." Sasuke drawled lazily, smirking lightly.

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto screeched before pointing at the Anbu again. "I was talking to you, creep! Don't ignore me!"

"Uzumaki Naruto." The Anbu murmured, deadpan, making Naruto freeze. "It is quite obvious I am of the Inuzuka clan and it is quite hard to ignore a shrieking brat."

Itachi felt his lip twitch in amusement as he watched Naruto's face begin to turn an interesting shade of red. Sasuke and Tsunade outright laughed, which only made the insult worse. The blonde growled angrily, eyes narrowing and fists clenching.

"Why you-!" Naruto drew back as though he would attack but before he could a sake cup hit him right in the forehead, shattering under the chakra infused throw.

"Out!" Tsunade shouted, slamming one fist down on her desk, making the desk shudder dubiously. "Both of you stupid brats get out!"

"But-" Naruto sputtered, rubbing his forehead furiously, bent over in pain.

"No! Out! You can see Itachi tomorrow!" She began to stand, her eyes glowing with irritation. "Akuma-kun and Jigoku-kun will take care of him tonight."

"Fine, fine." Sasuke scowled, but began dragging the still protesting blonde from the office. Itachi lifted a lazy hand in farewell.

Keeping his expression passive Itachi showed none of his whirling thoughts. It said many things to him that the Hokage used such a suffix with this Anbu. Not only must she trust him a great deal but she must also be very fond of this particular shinobi, with and without the Inu mask. She had come immediately to the Anbu's defense as soon as Naruto had begun to attack him. This fact told him much about the Anbu himself and about the reasons Tsunade would place him as Itachi's personal guard.

"Akuma-kun, I'd like you to meet Uchiha Itachi, your assignment for the next year." Tsunade said flippantly once the door closed behind the two boys. She smiled somewhat grimly as she flopped loosely back into her chair. "Itachi I'd like you to meet Jigoku no Akuma(*1) your body guards. Akuma," She waved a hand to the masked Anbu. "And Jigoku." She pointed to the sprawled animal.

"You believe I will need a body guard?" Itachi said more than asked, head cocked to the side as he studied this Anbu that was to be his guard. The mans Anbu name implied a deadly man. Akuma only stared back, eye holes dark. His posture had not changed at all. This man showed absolutely no tension even though he had to have known exactly who Itachi was. A deadly man indeed.

"Yes, I believe the council will try to finish the job they started." Tsunade replied, picking up Itachi's mission scroll and waving it at Akuma. He took the scroll lightly and unrolled it, each movement silent. It only took him a moment to read the mission scroll, Tsunade and Itachi waiting patiently.

"Welcome home, Uchiha-sama." He said with a nod to Itachi as he handed the scroll back to the Hokage. "I am glad for your safe return home." Although formal the words rang with sincerity. The dog at his side woofed in what seemed like agreement, eyes closed and still lazily sprawled.

"Please, just Itachi." The Sharingan user replied. For some reason hearing the words from Akuma made his situation feel much more real and a full feeling spread through him. He was finally home.

"As you wish." He said before turning back to Tsunade, who had been watching them as she sipped at her sake. "What are my mission parameters?"

"I want you to stay with him at all times." Tsunade said sternly, slumping back into her chair. She was getting too old for this shit. "I will have another Anbu member watch the house at night but I want you to sleep close to Itachi just in case. If you require time off you're to inform me a week prior. For all intents and purposes I want you to be Itachi's shadow for the next year. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Akuma replied firmly, nodding his head lightly. "What of my clan? How much would you like me to tell them? They will want to know the missions rank."

Itachi almost started at the Anbu's words. As the Uchiha heir he knew exactly how clan politics worked in accordance to a clan members shinobi life. A clan could demand the rank and the time estimate of any given mission, but only if the shinobi in question was under eighteen. And a clan usually only went to such measures if the particular member was the heir or of significance to the clan. This told him two very surprising facts about Akuma that Itachi never would have foreseen.

The first was that Akuma had to be younger than eighteen, most likely Naruto and Sasuke's age, which made him fifteen or sixteen maybe seventeen. Although Itachi had become an Anbu captain at a younger age it still surprised him to see such a young man so clearly trusted by the Hokage. And she did trust him, Itachi was sure of it. Not only that but Akuma's actions had all been calm and sure, his voice deep and not at all young sounding. He seemed much older than he was. The second was that Akuma must be a prominent figure in the Inuzuka clan, possibly the heir. There would be no other reason why the clan would keep tabs on Akuma's missions.

"You can tell them you'll be in Konoha but don't tell them any specifics. I don't want them to know who your Anbu persona is. They'd be liable to throw a fit." Tsunade sighed wearily, tapping her fingers along her chair armrest. She could imagine what kind of hell the Inuzuka clan would cause if they knew what missions she'd put Akuma on. They would go berserk.

Itachi's eyes widened slightly as Akuma laughed, the sound so sensual that a shudder danced down his spine. He knew he was attracted to men, known it for a long time, but he'd never felt such a sudden attraction as he did now. And over such a small thing as a laugh. It seemed ridiculous to feel so much over a laugh but Itachi couldn't seem to help himself. He kept his face expressionless with effort, actually having to fight to remain passive.

"Is that all Hokage-sama?" Akuma asked, head tilted slightly, voice still amused.

"Yeah, I'll send the mission scroll to you in the morning but until then you might as well settle in with Itachi for the night. Starting tomorrow I'll be sending over someone to cover night duty so you can sleep." She said waving them away as she picked up the sake bottle.

"Shall we?" Akuma asked Itachi politely, moving to the door. As the both of them exited the room Akuma turned to look over his shoulder. "Don't drink to much Tsunade-san or Shizune-san won't be pleased." With that he shut the door, laughing lightly at Tsunade's curses in the office. The distinct sound of a cup hitting the door sounded shortly after.

"Looks like we'll be rooming together for a while." Akuma commented, patting Jigoku on his furred head as the three of them turned to head down the hall.

"So it would appear, Akuma-kun." Itachi curled one corner of his lips in a small smile, amused.

"You livin' with Sasuke or are ya livin' in the Uchiha district?" His speech seemed to become less refined as they moved away from the Hokage and Itachi could finally hear the Anbu's young age. It was an interestingly rough intonation that Itachi found strangely pleasing.

"I will be living in the Uchiha district." Itachi told him stoically as they stepped out into the empty street. The night air was chilled, winter having just ended but not quite gone yet. He pulled his hood up to conceal his face, not wanting any trouble until the Hokage announced his presence.

"Ah, I wouldn't want ta live with the teme either." Akuma muttered as they headed towards the abandoned Uchiha district. "Especially since he's been livin' with Naruto fer ah few months now. Naruto is ah pig." Jigoku rumbled his agreement.

"I didn't know my brother lived with Naruto." Itachi commented quietly, intrigued by Akuma's relaxed manner. No one had ever really relaxed around him, not since it became apparent that he was dangerous. The change was quite refreshing.

"Yeah, they been together since Sasuke got back." He snorted, hands shoved into his pockets as he scanned the buildings around them. "Weirdest couple I ever seen. Course they won't ever admit they're ah couple if ya asked but everybody knows they are." The dog at his side seemed to laugh at this.

"Hn." Itachi grunted absently, surveying what used to be his home. He was glad to finally be back. A choking feeling crawled up his throat but he fought it away, focusing instead on what Akuma was saying. "I did not know they were a couple either."

"Yeah, well, they'll probably deny it but there's no way they can fool our noses." With that Akuma poked the painted nose of his dog mask, a smirk clear in his voice. "All the Rookie Nine know their together."

"Rookie Nine?" Itachi asked curiously, one brow raised. He had never heard such a term.

"Yeah, yeah, that's the nine of us that all graduated the Academy at once." He didn't seem to catch the fact that he'd used us, telling Itachi that Akuma was a part of this Rookie Nine. "They all took the Chuunin exams together. But the Rookie Nine is Team 7, Sasuke and Naruto's team, Team 8 and Team 10. All of them are Chuunin but everybody still calls them the Rookie Nine."

"Hmm." Itachi hummed lightly, pausing as they finally came to the gates to the Uchiha district. With a quick hand seal Akuma pulled the heavy lock from the gate and dropped it on the ground. His arm muscles flexed heavily as he pulled the gate opened several feet, leaving it open as they slipped through. Itachi barely noticed as Akuma placed an intricate trap on the open gate.

Itachi studied the surrounding houses with detached eyes, fighting the memories back. The houses and streets were so familiar yet so very different that he could feel his chest tighten painfully. It was clear no one had come here for years, signs of disuse everywhere. A suppressing air hung over the entire district, ominous and dark. He didn't notice when his chest began to heave and his breathe began to hitch. He continued to stare sightlessly at what used to be his family home.

He remembered running these streets when he was younger, playing with his cousins before he began his ninja training. He remembered always going home to his mother, covered in dirt, but no matter what she had always just smiled and hugged him. He remembered how his mother used to visit his aunt for tea every few days, smelling like chamomile tea when she came home. He remembered carrying Sasuke on his back down this very street, heading home from the Academy. His Sharingan recalled all his memories of home for him flawlessly.

With a harsh sob, Itachi closed his eyes and doubled over, a hand fisted over his chest, trying desperately to catch his breath. Pain shuddered through him but he tried to push it back. He couldn't break down, he couldn't, if he did he knew he'd never stop crying. But it was much harder to pull back his mask now that it was cracked.

In the end he didn't need to. With a low whine, Jigoku pushed his massive black head against Itachi's chest, his fur soft and warm. Itachi buried one hand into the dog's fur, grateful for the warmth and steadiness the dog gave him. It was the push he needed to resurrect his mask and regain his composure. Pulling in a deep breath he smiled down into the dogs warm brown eyes and straitened.

"So, which house are we gonna be stayin' in?" Akuma asked making Itachi grateful that the Anbu apparently wasn't going to mention his mini panic attack.

"There are houses in the back of the compound that are conveniently next to a training area." Itachi said, pointing a finger absently. He gave Jigoku a last lingering scratch behind the ears before moving. He didn't mention that these particular houses were also some of the farthest from the main house.

"That'll be nice." Akuma said patting Jigoku as well as he passed the dog. The dog only grinned sharply as it trotted after them. "We won't have ta wait ta get a training area and I'll be able ta train with you without hidin'."

"Hn." Itachi kept his attention on Akuma, who seemed to move more like an animal than a human, rather than on his surroundings. Akuma was undoubtedly animalistic, both in nature and movements, which intrigued the Sharingan user. What else would the Anbu do with animal instincts?

"I won't be able ta walk around with ya in public but I'll be able ta train with ya as long as we're in here. You'll beat my ass but it will be good practice." Akuma said with a little laugh.

"You assume you will lose already?" Itachi asked curiously. Although Itachi knew that he had a higher probability of winning than Akuma did it interested him that Akuma seemed to already know this.

"Well, yeah, yer like a Kage level shinobi." Akuma said candidly. "I'm in Anbu for my tracking, surveillance and interrogation skills, not so much my fightin' skills. I mean me and Jigoku can kick some ass when we want to but we're mainly fer chasin' the little bastards down."

Although Itachi was surprised by Akuma's honesty it pleased him more than he wanted to admit. Living with S-ranked criminals for so many years had trained him to see a lie in everything but he could see nothing but surprising honesty in Akuma. It was nice to know that Akuma so obviously trusted him, even if it was puzzling.

"Isn't that confidential information, Akuma-san?" Itachi glanced at the Anbu's mask, studying the fierce red paint before looking away. The fierceness of Akuma's mask seemed to be at odds with his open speech patterns.

"Maa, Tsunade's gonna restore yer shinobi status which means yer gonna be of a higher rank than me anyway." Akuma said, waving one broad hand. Itachi noted absently that Akuma had broad calloused hands with a thin white scar starting at his thumb and traveling all the way up the inside of his arm to his shoulder. Not able to identify what could have caused the severe scar he dismissed it. "So you'll find out all this stuff in the end either way."

"Hn."

"Ah course it'll be good fer me ta practice with you anyway seeing as you're a lot stronger than me. My Taijutsu needs some work, at least my Taijutsu without Jigoku does." Akuma rambled as though he knew that Itachi was using him as a distraction to keep from focusing on the silent compound around them.

"You use combination attacks with Jigoku-san?" At Itachi's question Jigoku whined lightly, nudging his nose into Itachi's hip. Itachi looked down at the dog before looking back up at Akuma in question.

"He says not ta call him Jigoku-san, he says it's just Jigoku." Akuma said amusement in his rough voice. "That goes fer me too, it's just Akuma."

"Then you will refer to me as simply Itachi." It was more a command than a request although Itachi's lip curled minutely in amusement. "I have heard the Inuzuka clans combination attacks with their nin dogs were quite effective."

"Yeah." Akuma paused and his voice became very grim. His hand not shoved in his pocket fisted into Jigoku's ruff, who looked up at his master sadly. "But Jigoku can't be there all the time and my Taijutsu technique is pretty dependent on him being there. So I need to work on my solo attacks."

Itachi fell silent, observing and calculating his guard's reactions. It was quite obvious to Itachi that something in the past had happened to Akuma while the nin dog was not present, something bad enough for a trained Anbu flinch at. It made him highly curious, especially considering Akuma's open attitude but he wouldn't pry, just like Akuma hadn't pried into his family memories.

"I would be glad to help you." Itachi offered uncharacteristically instead of questioning Akuma like he wanted to. He found he was more curious about this single Anbu than he'd been about anything in a long time. "Although my strong points are in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu not Taijutsu."

"Maa, I need some more work in Genjutsu too." Akuma said, relaxing his fist in Jigoku's thick black fur. He stroked his hand down the dogs back soothingly, something that Itachi did not miss. "Since I'm one of Tsunade's personal Anbu I don't get a lot of missions that I use Genjutsu."

"Ah, it's that house there." Itachi pointed and Akuma's mask turned to follow his slender finger.

It was a smaller house, by Uchiha standards anyway, two story with only one bedroom. If Itachi remembered correctly it had belonged to an elderly couple, not closely related to the head family. But it was a quaint home, kept in good repair even after Itachi had gone. And it had a small court behind it that someone had at one point turned into a training area, ideal for their purposes. The house would be perfect for the time being.

"Cute." Akuma said, amused by the feminine touches surrounding the house. The colorful flower beds along the front porch and the vibrant ivy growing up one wall and almost completely covering the porch roof.

"Very." Itachi deadpanned perfectly, striding forward to hide the amused gleam in his dark eyes. Akuma laughed heartily before following the Uchiha up onto the porch. Itachi ignored the satisfied feeling he felt at having made the Anbu laugh.

Itachi slid the door to the house open, noting that it squeaked very lightly. It would have to be oiled. The front door opened into a long hall, two shoji doors on the right side and two to his left as well as stairs leading upstairs. At the end of the hall stood the back door, most likely leading to the back court. The house was dark and silent but with his Sharingan activated he could see well enough. He stepped into the house and opened the first door on the right, Akuma peering over his shoulder silently.

The door opened into a traditional medium sized living room. Two bookcases stood against the far wall, still filled with books. Between the two bookshelves was an enormous floor to ceiling window. In the center of the room sat a large traditional table, dozens of silk cushions surrounding it. Along both side walls were comfortable looking couches. The room was rather stark, but warmly decorated in greens and browns.

Itachi hummed softly before leaving the open doorway to open the first door on the left. After finding a large bathroom he moved further down the hall to the next door on the left, bypassing the alcove with the stairs for the moment.

This shoji screen hid a kitchen, decorated in cheerful yellows and blues. All the cabinets were dark wood and the counters were a rich tan marble. It seemed to be completely outfitted with appliances. A fridge stood to the left, a stove beside it and several other appliances placed under the cabinets. A center island filled the center of the room, several high stools surrounding it. A large window sat above the sink, looking out at a window bed of flowers.

He moved to the last shoji screen on the right, Akuma and Jigoku following. This contained an office/weapons room. Half of the room contained an empty desk with two more bookshelves behind it. The other half of the room contained several empty weapons racks and tables meant for mission gear. Jars of weapons polish and things of that nature still stood on a shelf above one table.

With a barely audible sigh Itachi went to the stairs leading upstairs, already making a list of what was needed and what to get rid of. It was evident that Sasuke had people come and clean regularly but Itachi didn't know if he could stand to be surrounded by things that he knew had belonged to his dead relatives. He would much rather surround himself with things that he had picked and liked. Too much of his life had been surrounded by things he didn't like already.

The upstairs contained only a very large bedroom and an equally large master bath. Itachi found he liked the bedroom most of all. Although it was stark, with only a large and insanely thick sleeping mat, a few chests and cabinets and a closet it was painted in a soothing olive green shade and seemed to radiate comfort. Almost one entire wall was covered with a window, looking over the training court, and it had a large balcony covered with ivy. The room was serene and soothing, something Itachi appreciated.

"Fuck, I knew you and Sasuke was rich but damn." Akuma finally said, Jigoku barking his agreement. Itachi, facing the window merely smirked lightly, somehow put at ease by the others crude statement.

"We have the entire Uchiha fortune at our disposal with nothing to spend it on." Itachi replied, watching Jigoku paw open the door to the bathroom and wander through it.

"Tch." Akuma scoffed with a flip of his hand, flashing the underside of his left arm. Itachi's observant Sharingan caught the flash of another scar, the exact replica of the thin scar on Akuma's right that he'd seen earlier. "Well, ya must be tired so ya might as well get some sleep. If ya don't wanna use that bed till ya replace it I got a sleeping mat in one of my scrolls. I got ta stay awake fer watch tonight anyway."

"Please." Itachi murmured softly, knowing there was no way he would be able to sleep here without replacing the bed first and glad that Akuma didn't seem to mind.

With that Akuma knelt, withdrawing a small scroll from his thigh pouch. Standing behind him and to his left as Itachi was he had a perfect view of the back of Akuma's neck as he bent to summon the sleeping mat from the scroll. So he was in the perfect position to see the clear scar marring Akuma's nape.

The scar was startlingly brutal, the perfect copy of teeth imprinted thickly into Akuma's skin. Someone had bitten the back of Akuma's neck, quite savagely if the thickness of the scar was anything to go by. And it hadn't been healed with chakra, which would have left no scar at all. No, this scar injury had healed naturally. The only assumption Itachi could make was that Akuma had not had any medical treatment for several weeks after the injury was given. The thought made Itachi uneasy but before he could contemplate further, Akuma summoned the mat and stood after packing the scroll back away.

"Well, here ya go." Akuma said cheerfully, handing Itachi a thick rolled up sleeping mat and blanket. His cheerful voice seemed at odds with Itachi's thoughts on the scar, jarring Itachi back to the present. "Not the most comfortable bed but it'll do till you can buy new sheets and stuff."

"Thank you." Itachi replied softly, taking the mat and beginning to spread it out beside the farthest wall from the window.

"Maa, least yer not like Sasuke." Akuma lowered himself to a cross legged position in front of the window, several feet from Itachi. "That teme can't say thank you ta save his life. I woulda strangled him by the time the year was out."

Itachi huffed a light noise, as close to laughter as he came. "My brother has much to learn." Itachi said, removing his cloak and outer shirt, leaving only his mesh tank top. Folding the cloths neatly he placed them beside the mat before he began to remove his weapons. He could feel Akuma's eyes on him but Itachi had already decided to trust the younger shinobi and felt comfortable enough to remove the majority of his weapons. He did slip one kunai under his pillow but more out of habit that precaution.

"That's fer damn sure." Akuma laughed as Itachi slipped under the blankets and settled onto the soft mat. Jigoku wandered out of the bathroom and began sniffing lightly around the room. He looked to Itachi like a giant moving shadow as he prowled the room. "I don't know how Naruto and Sasuke tolerate one another."

"Hmm." Itachi hummed in answer as he lay on his back, exhaustion clouding his mind. He had thought it would take a long while to fall asleep but he felt shockingly comfortable with Akuma's chakra pressing against his senses almost like velvety fur along his skin. He had become used to Kisame's slightly prickly chakra and the softness and warmth that was Akuma's was a nice change.

"I'll see ya in the morning, Itachi." Akuma murmured, warmth entering his voice. "It's good ta have ya home." Sincerity rippled through his tone sending Itachi closer to sleep.

Uchiha Itachi's last thought before sleep was that the next year accompanied by the Anbu Akuma was going to be very interesting. He fell asleep to the sensation of Jigoku's massive warmth settling down beside him and the masculine earthy smell of Akuma surrounding him.

These translations are as reliable as Google Translator can make them, so if I get some wrong then just message me and I'll try to fix it.

(*1) Jigoku no Akuma: Hell Demon

Akuma: Demon

Jigoku: Hell