Disclaimer: Shocking as it may seem, I am not the Naruto creator. Wow, what a surprise.

Pairing: Like I'm going to give it away…

A/N: This is my very first pairing fiction; it was originally part of a very complicated story I had made, but I realized that I had too many separate storylines and no way to tie them together. This is one of those storylines.

Keep n mind that this may get very angsty. If you don't like that sort of thing, then you should definitely not read this. But if you enjoy a good angsty romance, by all means, enjoy.

FORBIDDEN

Just outside of Konoha lay Itachi and Kisame's temporary camp. The criminal pair had their orders; they were to return to Konoha for their next mission. The leader had not yet told them what they were to do, and Itachi lay nervously in the tent. He knew his younger brother had left Orochimaru; what would happen if he had returned to Konoha and they ran into each other?

As though reading his thoughts, Kisame turned to look at Itachi.

"It'll all be fine." he promised, and then turned over to face the other direction. But everything would not be fine. He, Kisame, would see to that.

Little did Itachi know, there was no mission. Kisame had feigned communicating with the leader to lure Itachi to Konoha. The possible presence of his brother and the memories of his past were sure to have Itachi on edge, so he would be at a greater disadvantage when he was ambushed. But then again, Kisame was sure that his attack would go smoothly. After all, no Akatsuki member would expect to be attacked by their own partner. Kisame snorted. The others didn't know what it was like to have Itachi as a partner.

Kisame was ten years older then Itachi, but he was treated as if he was just a child. No one seemed to value an experienced shark-man and former mist swordsman over the young, cold genius that was Itachi. He may have been talented, but that didn't change the fact that he was inexperienced and maniacal. Regardless of these facts, the others held him in highest revere, and Kisame came to realize that if he ever wanted to become the Akatsuki Leader, he would have to get Itachi out of the way. With that thought, Kisame shut his eyes and settled down for a few hours of rest.

Kisame woke before dawn. He could hear Itachi's shallow, deep breathing and knew that his partner was still asleep. Perfect. It was time to attack.

Little did Kisame know, but there was another Akatsuki member headed their way. Deidara was sitting atop a giant clay bird, racing across the distant horizon. He too, was on no official mission, but rather, a quest for revenge. He just could not let the matter of his partner's death rest. One of the perpetrators was dead, but one had survived. He could not allow that. That fuchsia-haired girl would pay for Sasori's death with her own life; he would see to that. So now he was barrelling across the countryside, bound for the girl's hometown of Konoha.

Kisame's heart raced, though he was unaware of his nearby criminal comrade. He raised his sword, then paused. No need for such a messy death, after all. A simple kunai would do the trick; Itachi was completely helpless. A pale blue hand rummaged through a pack and emerged clutching a dagger. There was a moment of stillness, then a swift movement, and a scream broke the morning silence.

Itachi's eyes flew open, and for a moment, he did not know what had cased him to wake so suddenly. As soon as this thought had finished crossing his mind, he found himself flooded with pain. After a moment, he identified it as coming from his head. Something warm and sticky was trickling down his face. And there was something else – someone was screaming. Shinobi didn't scream. Who could be making that noise? And where was the pressure in his lungs coming from? Itachi took a deep breath, and the offending wail stopped. Ah. He was the one screaming.

Kisame shut his eyes at the sight of his bleeding companion, and blindly stabbed again. The resulting shriek told him that he had hit his target. Emotion crept up on Kisame and threatened to surface, but he managed to fight it back down. The swordsman may have been a ruthless criminal, but he wasn't so detached that he could easily kill his partner, his companion, his friend. It was crucial that Itachi died, but that didn't mean that Kisame wouldn't miss him. It was a very unfortunate dilemma, but Kisame's dreams came first. There was no other way.

Itachi was writhing on the floor of the tent. Blood was gushing down his face, blinding him, choking him as it trickled into his shrieking mouth. He was getting weak and dizzy from lack of blood, but still he clung desperately to consciousness. Something just didn't make sense. He should not be bleeding like this. In fact, he should not be in any sort of pain. No one knew that he and Kisame were here. They hadn't even begun their mission.

Red eyes blinked back the red blood. Red met blue. The red eyes began to change. Kisame. It was Kisame doing this.

If Itachi hadn't had such a horrific past, this utter betrayal would have wounded him deeply. As it was, Itachi had never really had anyone there for him and as a result, he had never learned to form important bonds. Well, he had one, but it wasn't with the treacherous shark-man now going in for another attack.

Itachi's sensitive eyes easily tracked Kisame's attack, but by now, so much of his blood had drained away that moving away was out of the question. The dagger struck Itachi's leg, and another torrent of blood erupted from the fresh wound.

Kisame choked form the thick stench of blood permeating the tent. There was no way that Itachi could survive that. But perhaps he had better be certain that his partner's life would end. The kunai's tip turned to point directly at Itachi's throat. It began to move toward its target in a slow hesitant arc, until a minute flicker of motion stopped it's course. Two red sharingan eyes were looking back at Kisame, and their usual triple pupils were gone in favour of a more ominous pinwheel. The kunai dropped and Kisame's eyes snapped shut. Itachi was awake. If he got caught in that terrible Mangekyou sharingan, it would all be over.

With that, Kisame rose and wheeled around to leave the tent. His work here was finished; the young criminal would not survive the night with that kind of damage. A chilling sputter came from behind him and Kisame resigned himself to a quiet sob. It was over. Kisame let a single tear fall for his terrible deed, and then took off into the dawn.

Itachi lay in one place, feeling his life rapidly slipping away. He knew he must not lose consciousness, or it would all be over, though it was not as if he was going to be rescued. An unfamiliar emotion wracked his hazy brain; Itachi was panicking. This panic was not born of fear for his life; Itachi Uchiha had deliberately set out his own death sentence long ago. But he could not allow himself to end like this. He knew he had been careless, but there was nothing to be done about that now. He just could not bear to let his secret die with him. But like everything else, there seemed to be nothing he could do about that.

All too soon, the sun was setting. More time had passed than Itachi had expected and no help had arrived. By now, it took every bit of energy Itachi had to retain a grip on his mind. But now, as dusk settled in like a looming monster, Itachi had to shut his eyes to sleep. And despite the fact that he knew he would not wake, he had never been more grateful to fall asleep.

A/N: Told you it was angsty. But just wait. Yes, there will be more chapters. Many more, I hope. Just you wait and see. You know, I'll bet you can figure out what happens next…

Give me a review; go on, I'd love to hear what you'd think. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope you continue to follow the story. This one's gonna be good...