On Display - Chapter 13

Katsuro sat next to his friend Noboru, both done after a day of fishing. Some younger folk might have used the last rays of light to get some work done, but for aging men like themselves, sometimes it was easier just to relax and discuss the events of the day.

"Eh, Katsuro, you think that guy Kisame will come back?"

"Bah! He can't give up the big jobs forever, it's in his blood just as much as it is ours! 'course he'll come back, he can't sit around playing with that kid all the time, gotta go back to the ocean once in a while."

"Aw, you gotta give him a break, man. Taking on a kid is a big deal, you know? What'd you do when your wife got with child, huh?"

Katsuro gave an indignant snort. "Y-yeah I guess... Still, though, we haven't seen hide nor hair of the guy for bout three years, you know? Geez, he didn't even bring the kid by to show us! Come on, what kind of gratitude is that?"

A sharp female voice suddenly sounded behind them. "Well you've got some kind of gratitude yourself, gossiping like old fish wives!" Both turned around to the source of the noise, the young kunoichi Sakura staring down at them with a smile. Her feet didn't make a sound as she continued down the dock, leading her young boy down to meet them. He was still quite a shy child, though he followed along when she led him. The men were a bit surprised to see that the boy didn't inherit either parent's hair color, the long locks a deep black. His warm ebony eyes watched carefully, though he didn't speak a word, even when Sakura patted his back. "Come on... why don't you tell them your name!"

Katsuro chuckled and patted the boy on the head. "Quiet kid, dunno who he got that from. You'd think he'd be quite the hellcat coming from you!"

She whacked him swiftly but gently across the head. "Hey! Watch who you're calling a hellcat, you're just as bad!"

Noboru chuckled at his friend's misfortune, nodding up at her. "So what's been keeping you from taking to the sea again?"

She smiled, kneeling down next to her boy and holding him lightly. "We're going to wait until he's five and we'll take him with us on the first journey back. By then he should know how to use his chakra to stay on the boat and walk on top of the water."

Katsuro shook his head. "Geez... To think some kid will be able to do what we can't. Well hey, tell Kisame to get his butt over here once in a while, we are his friends, right?"

"Of course. I'll force him to visit if I have to!"

"Speaking of him, what's he up to right now?"

"He should be by in a little bit, he just had to put away a few things in the house. I wanted to get a bit of a head start and get some air."

He chuckled once more. "Right. Hey, so what did you name the kid anyway?"

Her lids lowered, smile small in reminiscence. "His name is..."

Kisame mused to himself, thinking deeply about the past, even though he had always told himself to just focus on the future. Sometimes it was good to think back, though, especially on happy memories. He was focused on an old, beat-up photo he had retrieved from Itachi's body the day he died, the scrap showing Itachi at his most elusive. He was smiling, both he and his brother unaware of the camera capturing the moment. Kisame had become aware of this long before Itachi died, having stumbled upon it during a mission that had left Itachi severely sick. He had taken his cloak and the paper just slipped out.

He never said anything about it, merely returning the photo to its pocket and never mentioning the incident again. No matter what, he had always been respectful of privacy, especially when it came to his trusted partner. Once in a while, Kisame would wonder what Itachi would say if he saw what the world had become. Maybe he would say nothing, as was his custom. Even so, Kisame smirked, looking down on the photo. "I bet you'd say that thinking about it is just a waste of time. You know, though... we had a good time out there, as shitty as it was."

He turned the photo over, reading the date. It was taken when Itachi was thirteen, not long before he assassinated his entire clan and left for Akatsuki. "You looked so much like I used to. And you know what? The kid's got the same look, doesn't look a thing like me, at least not the way I am now. I wonder if you'd laugh at that. Nah. You'd probably give that hint of a smile and turn away." He replaced the photo into the desk, hidden well under a secret panel. With a small smile, he looked out the window, noticing that Sakura was on the dock talking to the fishermen with their young boy. Funny how things turned out in a way he never expected.

That kid looked so much like he himself used to, so much like Itachi used to. Maybe, then, it was appropriate that... "I guess we really have come full-circle again... Itachi-san."

A/N: I intend to rewrite this, but I would like feedback. It is currently March of 2015 and I have no idea why people like this, because I hate it. What did you like? What did you dislike? If I rewrite this, I want to know just one thing. Why on Earth is this my most-viewed fanfic? What did you enjoy, if anything? Feedback is much appreciated, feel free to send me a PM.