Oruka, Yuri and Zeri waved the three off the next morning as they headed down the pier towards the beach. After much begging from Oruka to forgive him, Kisame had given up out of annoyance more than anything and let it go, Koraru was now armed with everything she would need to create Itachi's elixirs with the exception of chakra, and Itachi was struggling to unknot his hair after Zeri had insisted on plaiting it. There was a silence between the three as they walked across the warm sand, and Koraru couldn't help but glance back out towards the calm blue ocean as they began to near the mountain pass. She would lose sight of it soon, sight of her home, and who knew how long for. Kisame glimpsed to her from the corner of his eyes.

"It's not as bad as you think you know, being away from the sea. You adjust pretty quickly."

Her pink orbs trailed to him slowly, her lips pulled into an unsure frown.

"I've never been away from the water for a long period of time."

"Kisame often wanders off to the lake not too far off from the Akatsuki's main base; I'm sure he wouldn't be objective to showing it to you."

Kisame looked to Itachi in disbelief. He thought he had been doing a great job of slinking away unnoticed. Apparently not though.

"What so you're following me now?"

The Uchiha kept his eyes forward as he responded.

"Sometimes."

Koraru giggled quietly as Kisame grew more and more alarmed that Itachi was following after him whenever he left his company. Her smile stretched further as the Uchiha remained calm and quiet, which seemed to be exacerbating things.

"You two are very close hmm?"

They glanced to one another before refocusing onto Koraru as she stared back to them softly.

"We're partners."

"You're friends. It's sweet."

Kisame glared to her lightly.

"There's nothing sweet between him and I."

Itachi only sighed and shook his head as he continued forward; he only wished his partner would think his words over before he spurted them out.

"That's an insinuating sentence Kisame-kun. I never had imagined you in such a relationship, but congratulations nonetheless. Do try not to harm him, he's still quite frail."

He puffed his cheeks in annoyance before sighing loudly.

"It's not like that and you know it."

She chuckled in response, drawing Itachi's attention as the sound left her lips. Its was soft yet joyful, very pleasing to his ears. He caught her eye and she smiled to him, giving him a quick playful wink.

"You're right Kisame-kun, he's way out of your league."

Itachi's face tinted pink and he popped the collar of his cloak up to cover it as he felt the heat rising, reigning in his neck and slinking into the cover the cloak provided. She may have only been joking but still. Normally Kisame would revel in such a situation; seeing Itachi blushing was a blue moon event; but instead he found himself grumbling in annoyance, Oruka's harsh words coming back into his mind. He knew he was different, he knew his appearance terrified people, heck he worked it to his advantage most of time. However there were some situations, mainly based around women, that he wished he was a little more...normal. His eyes glanced over Itachi quickly. He must have looked even worse hanging around with the Uchiha all the time. No matter where they went, the moment they were within any neutral village, women were watching him, flirting with him, gawking at him, while he was scaring their kids off just but grinning at them. He grunted in annoyance, his brow furrowing and his arms crossing over his chest. It wasn't fair. Koraru glanced back behind her once more just in time to watch the ocean disappear over the brow of the hill, her face falling back into a sultry frown. She had promised she would come back soon, but in the meantime, this wouldn't be easy.

Koraru looked up to the sun, giving a few short moments to analyze it position. Her feet were beginning to ache, her back pulsating from the friction of her pack rubbing against the soft skin. She rolled her lips as she glanced ahead to the two Akatsuki members walking ahead of her. It would be easier for her to continue if she were stronger. Her legs wouldn't burn from the buildup of lactic acid, her soft feet would harden, iron like scales padding the bottom, and her back wouldnt ache, the scales forming a protective barrier between her skin and the ever annoying pack.... Her eyes fell onto the back of Kisame's head. She knew he had chakra to spare, and he had been very willing to share it, but she had only ever fed on Mangetsu...She shook her head, the water glazing her pink orbs dissipating as she gathered herself. This was for him. Its was for her. It was for Kisame. It was for Itachi. This was what had to be done.

"Kisame-kun."

Her voice called out before she had a chance to rethink the decision, both Kisame and Itachi coming to a halt as the blue haired male turned to face her. He stared to her analytically as she walked towards him, glancing to Itachi as she passed by.

"If it's OK, I would like to draw some chakra from you now."

Kisame nodded his head slightly, looking towards Itachi who raised his head in agreement. Although the Uchiha was already beginning to feel better, he could use with a breather. Besides they had been walking all day, and no one had eaten yet.

"Then let's stop and make camp here, and make the rest of the journey tomorrow."

She smiled to him, looking to the thick brush around her curiously. It had been more than a few years since she had last camped outside in a forest. Especially without a tent. Or a sleeping bag. Her smile dropped a little, oh she missed her home already.

Kisame threw the sticks into the centre of the area, Koraru watching on in interest as Itachi lit is with a fire jutsu. She hadn't really known any fire users in her time, so it was refreshing to see it. She smiled to him as she knelt down, gesturing towards the fire wistfully.

"Now that's useful."

He nodded his head in agreement, keeping his gaze locked onto the flickering flames before him. He seemed tense as she watched them, his brow furrowing slightly. Koraru hummed to herself quietly.

"You'll wrinkle more of that milky skin of yours if you always glare like that. Relax your face Itachi-kun, and your body and mind will follow."

He turned his head to face her, his brow relaxing a little as he took in her calming expression. Her sweet smile, her gentle and kind eyes affixed to him delicately. He felt his shoulders untense as his gaze focused, her presence was just so pacifying. She chuckled lightly, Itachi blinking and breaking their eye contact for the first time since he tore his eyes away from the flames.

"It's rude to stare Itachi-kun."

Itachi's cheeks darkened once more ever so slightly, and he quickly turned his head away from her, burying his face into the neck of his cloak as he grumbled quietly.

"My apologies."

"It's alright, I would like to ask though, how you feel right now."

He buried his head further into his cloak, mustering his normal dull and focused tone.

"Calm."

Her smile widened and she nodded, drawing her knees up to her chest and hugging them closely before turning her attention to the fire as he had.

"What you're feeling is the effect of my charm. It instills in someone the feeling they crave most, which apparently in your case Itachi-kun, is peaceful."

"Which allows you to lull victims into a sense of security so you can feed on them."

She closed her eyes over slightly, sighing contently as she watched the glowing embers of the fire serenely.

"Correct."

Itachi glimpsed to Kisame as he approached the fire once more, dropping another pile of wood beside it before heading back into the forest. He wanted to ensure they would have enough to see them through the night. The Uchiha waited until his partner was out of earshot before he continued.

"What about Kisame? Do you know what it does to him?"

Koraru lifted her head, staring ahead into the forest in the direction Kisame had went, and smiled softly, before leaning her chin down once more in comfort.

"I do. But I promised I wouldn't tell anyone."

The man in question broke the tree line once more, dropping more wood before sighing, that should do it. Turning he glimpsed towards his two companions, quirking an eyebrow at their proximity. It was unusual for Itachi to be seated beside someone for more than a few minutes, often excusing himself to jump off into the distance and brood. Or whatever the hell he was doing. Yet there he sat beside Koraru, his posture sedated and his eyes half closed as they both started to the orange flames before them. He smirked and chuckled to himself, even the stone hearted Uchiha wasn't immune to a siren's charm. Hauling Samehada from his back he leaned it against the tree beside him, clearing his throat and drawing the attention of those around him.

"Well Koraru-chan, we doing this or what?"

Koraru stood and dusted herself off as she headed towards the man, Itachi frowning slightly as the overwhelming aura of serenity she was emitting moved with her. Kisame smirked down to her as Oruka's words regarding this experience sounded in his mind, he was greatly looking forward to seeing what the big fuss was about; and later rubbing it in his old friend's face that he had taken it much better the first time than he had. He began a little ways away from Itachi, more for Koraru's sake than his own, the woman following behind closely, her bright eyes running slowly over the forestry around her. Her fingers reached out and ran along the crumbling bark of a fallen tree, grazing softly over the thick green moss encasing it in some areas. She smiled at the sensation, it wasn't so bad out here...it was no beach but...the fresh pine air, the thick luscious green grass, the thins rays of fading sunlight shimmering graciously through the branches towards the leaf encased forest floor...it could definitely be worse. She raised her head slowly, taking a deep breath through her nose and closing her eyes for a few brief moments. She actually felt...free, more free than she had in a long time...Kisame watched her, both amused and curious. She was just standing there with her eyes closed...He opened his mouth to speak, but promptly closed it again, deciding to seize this opportunity to instead get a good look at the woman stood before him. Koraru hadn't changed that much since he last saw her, not that he had any complaints about that. He had always found her attractive, of course he had, everything about her was designed to be that way, her long legs were toned and shapely, her hips curved and sumptuous. His lips pursed tightly and his tongue ran along the back, catching slightly on his sharpened teeth as his orbs travelled up her exposed torso, slightly muscled, just enough to make it noticeable to his preying eyes, he bit his tongue lightly, ignoring the mild taste of his blood as he inhaled deeply, her breasts were perfect, smaller than Yuri's, but he didn't mind, in his mind they were sized perfectly for hands...around the size of his own...With her neck titled he took his time traveling up, before taking a second to focus on her full pink lips, he wasn't sure if they were that colour due to the sirens colouration pattern, or because it was her own natural salmon pink hue, not that it mattered. He then fell onto her eyes, so beautifully bright, always just slightly closed, staring at him so seductively...if Mangetsu hadn't chased him off time and time again...oh the things he would have done with her just for looking at him like that...

"Enjoying the view there Kisame-kun?"

Kisame blinked and shook his head slightly, chuckling to her as she smirked back, raising her hands to rest on her hips.

"Why yes, yes I was."

Her smirk widened and she straightened up, flicking her locks behind her cockily. It was a little uncomfortable for her, having him stare at her like that, the way...the way he used to look at her. Eyes clouded, mind most definitely trailing the gutter...but still so softly, so kindly. She swallowed down the lump in her throat as she buried those feelings deep down...now wasn't the time for her saddening thoughts. She had to push on, as she always had, with a smirk on her lips, but a hole in her heart. Rising her hand she gestured to the side, Kisame eyes following it.

"Take a seat then Kisame-kun."