A/N: I absolutely loved typing this. Enjoy!

Kisame was one to enjoy horrifying news. He was always the bearer of bad news and this time it was absolutely no exception. Kisame ran, almost skipped towards where Itachi stood, an unflattering smile erupting amongst his features.

He was praying he would witness a crack.

"Uchiha Sasuke is pronounced dead, along with Deidara" he speaks clearly, slowly.

For someone who has never trained nor travelled with the Uchiha, one would assume that the man conveyed no form of empathy nor sympathy. One would say his face remained untainted, lines never formed between his eyebrows and his lips never curled into a smile.

But Kisame trained with him. Kisame watched for years as beautiful black flames engulfed villages and bodies for seven days and seven nights.

Kisame watched on as the kaleidoscope of black and red tortured the most powerful ninjas until they were reduced to a pile of whimpering flesh.

Kisame witnessed the monster. The creature that buried and hid himself beneath the layers of muscle and skin.

A shark is acknowledged as an animal with highly developed senses which allows them to detect the smallest of movement.

Kisame noticed the slight change; the way his jaw tightened.

It was all Kisame needed.

There.

The crack became visible.

Oh Kisame was having a field day!

Surely, for the great Uchiha Itachi's façade to slip for a mere second could only indicate the amount of turmoil he hid underneath?

But Kisame wanted more, so much more.

After all he was a sadist.

"The civilians who witnessed the fight said he begged for mercy" he urges, fingers trembling in mere excitement.

A blink.

"They say his limbs were mangled beyond recognition, his muscles torn and his bones crushed"

An inhale.

Kisame presses, he pushes. Because if one applies too much pressure to glass it is bound to shatter.

"The ones that found him swear to the gods that he had no eyes. That instead of unblinking eyes, he had empty hollow sockets."

An exhale.

Oxygen indeed was a luxury.

"Others say Deidara implanted his little bomb devices into his mouth, forcing him to suffer a gruesome death becau- "

"Due to the internal bleeding, due to his arteries being torn, due to his nervous system shutting down. Due to his lungs no longer able to function, oxygen was no longer entering the body. I assume his heart stopped long before his brain gave up" Itachi cuts him off, his voice unwavering.

Kisame flinches. Struggling to contain his own excitement and impatience.

"Surely he must feel a sense of pain? How could he mer?-"

"He is dead. There is nothing more to it" Itachi mutters, answering Kisame's unspoken thoughts. Itachi's rigid shoulders relax as he leans onto the mouth of the cave, its sharp stone edges dig into his back but Itachi ignores them.

Itachi has become accustomed to ignoring.

Denying.

Drowning.

Kisame shifts his weight onto his right foot.

There had to be something. Something to trigger the great Uchiha Itachi. Surely one person could cloak this amount of mystery?

An imaginary light bulb flickers to life above Kisame's head.

He inhales.

"They say they found him naked, clothes torn"

Itachi exhales, loud enough for the ex-Mist ninja to hear. Itachi knows which path Kisame is willing to take in order to gain a reaction from him. The fish knows it's a threat but he's having too much fun to even consider stopping.

"They say the found traces of semen on his-"

With speed that is considered abnormal even for a Ninja, Itachi suddenly materializes before Kisame. His arm extends only to grip onto the thick muscles protecting the main artery in Kisame's neck.

So easy. So close.

Thump.

Thump.

Kisame's shock slowly morphs into excitement.

Like a puppet he played the great Uchiha, like the broken puppet he was. He dangled the bait and the damaged man came lunging.

Kisame witnesses the Sharingan bleeding to life, he notices the light tremble in Itachi's arms, and he senses his rapid breathing.

Itachi leans in, eyes barely narrowing.

Inches from Kisame's ear, he exhales loudly.

Kisame cannot fight the shiver travelling along his spine.

"You will never speak ill of my brother again. Do you understand, fish?

Yes. The mask crumbled. Here, standing before him, is the insane murderous Uchiha that slaughtered his entire clan.

"Blood slayer"

"Murdered his entire clan with no regret"

In the flesh, the man stood before him, his hand still gripping onto the twitching muscles.

"So this is the great Uchiha Itachi" he murmurs.

Itachi's grip tenses.

Kisame does not choke or cough. He is a shark, he could live for an hour with no water or oxygen. Itachi's threats were empty.

Hollow.

The Uchiha's eyes narrow dangerously before he releases his grip, flickering back to his previous position.

As if on que, a blur of ginger hair enters the caves. A pair of amethyst eyes glow fiercly in contrast to the dull cave.

"We have captured the Uchiha"

The sound of a knuckle cracking against a cheekbone echoes throughout the cave.

Pain leaves with his lips twisted into a humourless smirk.