Kisame entered inside the medical bay first, his eyes scanning the area quickly before they landed on Koraru, who was stood in front of the whiteboard, various books scattered on the table in front of her, a mortar and pestle to her left, and something bubbling in what appeared to be an overly long and complicated set up of glass tubes and vials. Her pink eyes were affixed tightly to the book which was currently set atop the others, her fingers holding the bulging tome open as she read to herself, her lips mouthing the words. He glanced to the whiteboard, molecular formula...he thought. Koraru had changed back into her own clothing, having already healed her wound from Sasori, before she set herself up to get some research done. Kisame cleared his throat, announcing their presence to the woman who kept her head down as she spoke.
"No need for that Kisame-kun, I knew you were there."
He smirked as she straightened up, placing a bookmark into the old textbook, and closing it over gently before turning to face him.
"Well you never looked up, so I just assumed."
Koraru's lips twisted up to match his own expression.
"You did tell me to be on my guard did you not? Trust me, I'm paying attention."
Her eyes moved past Kisame and settled on Itachi, prompting her to snap her fingers before pointing to him, Itachi's calm eyes locking her own as she gave him a small smile.
"Ah, Itachi-kun, just the man I wanted to see. I was wondering if you had time for your physical this evening? I know I've given you a once over, but Pein-sama wanted me to check you over again anyway."
Itachi nodded to her and her smile widened before turned around, her finger raising to rest against her coral lips as her eyes scanned the various shelves and cabinets quickly.
"Oh and one more thing, Itachi-kun."
She reached forwards to one of the cabinets, a locked one, her fuschia finger nail extending out as she pushed it into the lock. She turned her finger and there was a click. The woman pulling her nail free to reveal it was now shaped as a key to fit the lock before her, she broke it free, the fuschia fading to lilac, with a light dusting of pale pink. The scales on her hand shimmered, stretching down towards the nail and sinking into it, regrowing it quickly, Itachi watching on curiously as her body healed itself without even having to be commanded to. Koraru opened the cabinet door, stepping back and revealing the contents inside to the men standing before her. Vials lined the shelves, corked off at the top, the liquid within a dark but glittering navy blue.
"I've refined your elixir for you. One dose, every three days. Feel free to retrieve them from this locked cabinet when you require them."
She threw the key towards Itachi, who caught it with ease, inspecting it carefully.
"It's made from my scales, so I wouldn't worry about it getting broken."
The Uchiha nodded to her, setting the key into his pocket quickly.
"Thank you."
She smiled once more and cocked her head.
"Of course, that's why I'm here is it not? To care care of you."
Itachi's cheeks darkened slightly, his eyes pulling away from her own, his neck slinking back into his cloak to conceal his reddening features. She chuckled softly at his shyness before diverting her attention back to Kisame. He smirked to Itachi in obvious amusement, greatly enjoying the young man appearing so vulnerable just because a pretty girl was nice to him. Koraru chuckled, drawing Kisame's attention.
"You're enjoying that too much, Kisame-kun."
He only crossed his arms in response, his smirk widening.
"You're one to talk. How did your training with Sasori go?"
Koraru smiled softly and leaned back against the countertop behind her, her gaze settling onto Kisame calmly.
"It went well, he of course was able to subdue me before I could subdue him, however I feel it went much better than my session with Kakuzu."
Kisame nodded to her.
"How did he subdue you?"
Koraru chuckled softly before running the back of her head and neck in embarrassment.
"Well he embedded a kunai into my side. I became too engrossed in smashing through his puppet, I honestly did not expect him to come out of it..."
Kisame quirked his eyebrow, his smirk falling a little as he processed what she was saying.
"You got him to come out huh? That means he knew he had to put a stop to you, you were too much for Hiruko to handle."
His lips twisted up once more, his sharpened fangs baring as he placed his hand on Koraru's shoulder, her skin soft as silk beneath his calloused hand.
"Well done, you should be proud of yourself."
"Thank you Kisame-kun."
He watched her carefully for a few short moments, taking note of his close proximity before stepping back, pulling his hand back to his side, his fingertips falling away from her slowly as they lingered a little longer than they should have. So he still had a few thoughts in his mind regarding their conversation the day prior. So he was still entranced by the softness of her skin, her lips on his neck, her thigh pushed against his, his fingers gripping her hips tightly. While he had carried out his own relief that night as planned, it wasn't like her wouldn't prefer a woman, especially one like her... His tongue rang along the back of his lips before he grunted, his smirk slipping into straight face as he turned around facing towards the doorway. He knew his eyes were lingering, and he knew it likely made her a little uncomfortable, but hey, there was nothing she could say or do that was going to stop him fantasising, particularly while she was still feeding on his chakra.
"I'll see you guys at dinner, don't skip it again Koraru-chan."
He disappeared before he actually received a response, suddenly finding himself off for another bout of 'alone time' before he attended dinner. Koraru smiled to Itachi, gesturing towards the paper covered patients table.
"Shall we get started then, Itachi-kun?"
He didn't answer her, instead setting himself atop the patients table as she wanted, Koraru pulling the white curtain across a little and opening the filing cabinet, flicking through the patient files within until she found the one she was looking for. She spoke to Itachi while she kept her back turned, pulling out the few sheets she wanted and affixing them to her clipboard.
"Please remove your cloak and tshirt Itachi-kun, I'll be right with you."
She searched along the table beside her, pulling the stethoscope into her arms and placing it around her neck, humming to herself as she pulled a tongue depressor free from the tub. Turning to face the Uchiha she gave him a small smile, Itachi failing to notice as his eyes became glued to the cabinet now containing his elixirs.
"Itachi-kun?"
He turned to face her, quickly removing his cloak and tshirt as requested, carefully folding them and setting them beside him.
"My apologies, Koraru-san."
Koraru gave him a small frown, her hand reaching forwards as she grasped his earlobe tightly, Itachi's eyes widening in confusion as she squeezed it tightly.
"Itachi Uchiha if you don't want a rectal examination while your here, you'll remember I asked you to call me Koraru-chan!"
She glowered at him slightly as his face turned beet red, a mild panic evident in his eyes as he rose his hand to rub his ear.
"Yes ma'am."
Koraru's frown slipped, a smirk taking her features before a light laugh escaped her and she leaned forwards, resting her hand upon Itachi's dark hair.
"My oh my was that actually a joke? And I thought you were too serious for such things."
Her mouth hung open as she glanced to his face, catching just a ghost of a small smile sitting across his lips. She grinned to him brilliantly.
"You're so handsome when you smile Itachi-kun, you should do it more often."
Itachi's smile remained as he locked her bright eyes, his gaze falling to her bright smile, kind, genuine, his mother entered his thoughts briefly, his smile fading quickly. A change which didn't go unnoticed by Koraru.
"I didn't mean to upset you."
The young man sighed before shaking his head slightly, there were some things he would always have to keep to himself, and missing his family, well that was one of them.
"I am not upset, you just for a moment, reminded me of someone who was important to me."
He fell silent, but it wasn't hard for her to take a guess at who she reminded him of. Itachi didn't look to her the way the other men did, he wasn't seeking any sexual attention from her. She had read his file, and knew he hadn't had any female siblings, so that only left one person in her mind.
"Your mother, hmm?"
He kept his head down, his eyes becoming shadowed by his bangs, he didn't want to talk about this anymore. She pulled her hand free from his hair, sliding it down his cheek and tilting his head up to face her, her smile adoring as she watched his saddened dark eyes.
"Hey, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, but if you want to talk to me, you can. Just remember that. Now open your mouth and say ah."
He kept her gaze for a few moments, a long since forgotten feeling washing over him, different from the calming effect Koraru had on him before, perhaps her charm allowing him to relax was having secondary effects, like opening up to her. He done as instructed, opening his mouth wide, Koraru wasting no time and pressing his tongue down to take a look at his throat. She checked him over as she had Kakuzu, his heartbeat, his teeth, inside his ears. He was in unbelievable health considering just a few days ago he was at death's door. After marking a few final things down in her clipboard.
"Ok now Itachi-kun, i just want to have a look at those eyes now. Sharingan and all, could you open your left eye wide for me and slowly elevate the forms until you reach maximum."
He done as instructed, Koraru paying close attention to the retinal shifting. She frowned when he announced he had reached his final stage, asking him to deactivate it, and telling him he could redress. She sighed as she read over her notes, her brow knitting together slightly.
"Are you aware of the adverse damage you sharingan does to your retina in its final few stages?"
Itachi nodded to her, inducing another sigh from his medic.
"I see, well then, I'll look into it shall I? You're free to go Itachi-kun, thank you for your time, and enjoy your evening."
Fastening his cloak Itachi gave her a light bow before he approached the exit.
"And you, thank you, Koraru-chan."
She smiled to him at the use of the name, even if it did sound a little forced, she was sure he would get used to it.
Kisame sighed as he walked down the hallways once more, a plate of food in one hand and an annoyed scowl on his face. Itachi had turned up to dinner, which meant Koraru was finished with him, but she hadn't attended. He grumbled to himself as he turned down the final corridor, she certainly wasn't making things easy was she? He entered into the medical bay without announcing himself. Koraru was where she was earlier, doing the exact same thing she was earlier, albeit with a different page open.
"You said you would come to dinner."
Koraru's head shot up as she turned to face him, a look of fear passing over her eyes quickly before she released a relieved sigh, her hand resting on her heart, her eyes closing.
"Kisame-kun, you scared you."
He grunted, placing the food down on the table, Koraru's bright eyes running over it before she pursed her lips, suddenly remembering her promise to attend dinner that evening.
"I thought you were always on guard, isn't that what you said?"
She pursed her lips tighter, averting her eyes from him as he crossed his arms over her chest in aggravation as he stared down to her. It didn't help his temperament that she hadn't answered him, instead shifting slightly under his strong gaze, looking up to him through her long eyelashes, her smooth fuschia locks falling into her field of vision, her hands clasping together in front of her slowly.
"I just sort of lost track of time."
He stared to her for a moment before quirking his brow and shaking his head. He was lucky he had spent so much time around Yuri while he had been in training. This was something Mizutenshi done, something Yuri had done to him in the past, and something he had witnessed his teammate do time and time again to her now husband, often turning the poor guy into a stuttering blushing mess. He wasn't having it though, he knew what she was doing, and it wasn't going to work. She would have to do more than bat those pretty eyes at him to get away with annoying him this time.
"And you missed dinner because of it."
She released her hands, groaning loudly as she turned towards the plate of food, well, it was worth a shot.
"I know, I'm sorry."
Kisame unfolded his arms, running his hand over his face and pinching the bridge of his nose tightly.
"You need to be careful. Do you understand? What if I had been Hidan? He wouldn't hesitate if he got the chance you know."
He picked up the plate, holding it towards her until she took it from his grasp as he wanted.
"And you have to eat. I told Oruka I would watch out for you, but you need to help me. Now put the books away and go to bed after you've eaten. Itachi is training with you in the morning, and he's no pushover."
She hadn't heard any of his cautions though, her eyes already back on the formula scrawled across the whiteboard, her teeth sunk into her bottom lip as she gazed at it. Kisame groaned loudly in frustration, she wasn't even listening to him!
"Koraru!"
She snapped her head to him, straing briefly.
"Im sorry what did you say?"
Kisame growled, his brow knitting together tightly. Incredibly sumptuous sister of his friend that he had promised to keep an eye on and was keeping his partner alive of not, she was grinding on his nerves right now. Quickly he leaned forwards, Koraru squealing as he clasped one hand around her waist, heaving her over his shoulder in one quick movement.
"Kisame-kun!"
He didn't answer her, the plate of food with his other hand as he began along the hallway. Koraru shifted around as she protested loudly, but it took Kisame little effort to keep her in place, even with one arm while he balanced food in the other. She really wasn't all that physically strong. He would have to work with her on that.
"I said put me dow-"
He cut her off by bouncing her on his shoulder, earning a loud squeal, one which admittedly, caused a smirk to form across his lips as she punched his back feebly.
"That hurt!"
"Then stop squirming."
She huffed loudly as she went limp, knowing there was no point in arguing with him any further. He was much stronger than her, besides, it was just Kisame, she knew she wasn't in any danger. He was just being a jerk, throwing his muscles around because she wasn't quite paying attention. She understood how things were here, how dangerous the members of the Akatsuki were, but it was hard not to get caught up in her research. She had only been able to advance it as far as she had because she gave it 100% of her attention when she was working. She sighed as she settled her eyes on the floor beneath her, watching the back of Kisame's feet as he walked, boy he really was tall, she was so far off of the ground. Kisame's smirk widened, though he had to admit, it wasn't all bad when she was wiggling around. His eyes shimmered with intent as he focused onto her pressed against him, his arm was around her waist, holding her tightly. His long fingers curled around the velvety skin of her abdomen. He could feel her breasts pressed against his back, moving slightly with each step, soft, supple, just the right size in his opinion. He glanced to the side, his smirk widening once more, oh and of course, there was the great view of her rear end he got from this angle. He pursed his lips for a short moment as he reached Koraru's bedroom door before chuckling to himself.
"Don't move."
He didn't give her time to respond before he placed the plate of food onto her back, Koraru shuddering at the temperature of the cold ceramic dish as he opened the door with his now free hand before removing the plate and entering inside. The fire had died down substantially from when she had re-stocked it earlier, only glowing embers remaining in the stone fireplace, a distinct chill in the air. Kisame frowned at the low temperature, although he wasn't all that bothered by the cold, even by his standards, it was freezing in here. He slid the plate onto Koraru's desk before carefully setting the woman down in front of him. She glared to him, frown deep, arms crossed, she was less than amused, however he only grinned in response before a low chuckle slipped past his blue lips.
"Like I said, rest, and eat."
Koraru huffed, puffing out her cheeks as her glare deepened.
"I was going to! I just wanted to finish what I was doing first."
Kisame ignored her as he passed her by, approaching the fireplace and kneeling down before it. He pulled a few of the logs stacked to the side free, cautiously setting them inside to ensure they would catch. He lingered for a few moments before he re-stood, an air of seriousness surrounding him as he locked eyes with the Mizutenshi stood a few feet away and approached her, stopping only when he stood before her, causing him to tilt his head down to maintain eye contact. He rested his hands onto her shoulders, squeezing them tightly.
"Koraru you need to listen to me. You can't ignore yourself here, you have to rest, you have to eat, and you have to train. I get that you have your own things you want to do, but surviving here has to take priority. You done well today, so whatever you done to prepare, do it again. Once Pein see's you belong here, he'll let up on your training, until then though, you need to stay focused."
Koraru remained silent, her eyes misting with guilt as she stared up to Kisame, there was no hint of cheek or playfulness in his words, he was being straight with her. She knew she had to focus, but it was hard not to immerse herself in her research with everything that was available to her. She knew she wasn't making things easy on Kisame, he wasn't just feeding her his chakra, he was taking care of her, more for Oruka than for her, but that didn't mean she appreciated it any less. She smiled up to him softly, her shoulders relaxing slightly as her bright orbs glimmered. She set her hand atop Kisame's.
"Thank you Kisame-kun, for looking out for me."
She leaned forwards, wrapping her arms around his waist quickly in a small hug, Kisame becoming rigid quickly as he unsurely rested his hand onto her back. It wasn't that he hadnt been hugged before, of course he had, it had just been a while since the last one. He loosened up with a deep breath and a heavy sigh, before patting her back once, his annoyance slipping from, his mind as she released him, smiling up to him gratefully. He smirked back, nodding once before she stepped back.
"I promised Oruka I would keep you safe, so help me out will you?"
She returned his smirk, gesturing towards the plate of now stone cold food resting upon her tidy desk, and then to her neatly made bed, where her nightdress was already folded carefully at the bottom awaiting her. Kisame didn't miss it when she gestured in the direction, the pale seafoam green silk catching his eye. Very nice.
"I know I know, dinner and then bed."
He gave her a toothy grin before nodding once more, turning back towards the open door. The room was already beginning to warm up thanks to the re-stocked fire, but a chilled breeze was blowing through the hallway, catching the back of his neck and causing a tingle in his spine. He shivered noticeably, rubbing his arm with his hands before turning to face the hallway, glaring to it.
"This place is always too cold, even for me. Good night Koraru-chan."
She waved to him as he stopped at the doorway, glancing back to her once over his shoulder.
"Goodnight, Kisame-kun."
He pulled the door closed behind him slowly, its hinges squeaking quietly before she locked it behind him, a heavy sigh slipping past her glossed lips as she closed her eyes. Her eyes fell onto the plate of foot Kisame had brought her, the low rumble emitting from her stomach a grim reminder that she was famished. Koraru hung her head a little as began towards it, pulling a dried mushroom into her hand before gently placing it into her mouth. She shuddered at the earthy taste, resisting the urge to spit it out before pulling another into her grasp, grimacing at it hatefully. Perhaps she would be more inclined to eat the food if it actually resembled food in taste...