Imperfect Bonds

The pitch-black icy eyes had been piercing him for more than twenty minutes now. Turning away only for seconds when their owner directed his grim gaze to the hastily thrown together breakfast to take a few bites. With a coldness that almost bordered on hostility. What on earth had he let loose...?

Silently, Itachi impaled another part of his already half-eaten omelet and resignedly shoved it into his mouth before once again risking to look into the scowling pale face of his counterpart. Madara didn't even flinch when his incensed stare was finally returned from uncomprehending and tired eyes, but that didn't impress the guardsman either.

"I think if we leave promptly, we should reach the capital around noon. You were going to the government's administrative headquarters, weren't you?"

The black-haired man seemed taken aback for a second that the other would truly dare to even address him in such a state of mind, before sighing wearily and leaning back a bit in his chair to cross his arms.

"Yes. However, we'll have to establish a rule or two before that, so as not to attract unnecessary attention."

Itachi merely nodded - hoping that the official would finally forget his monstrous resentment over their planning. After all, despite his intemperate arrogance and apparently very easily offended pride, Madara was still a man in his thirties who already held an extremely high position despite that age. At least, if one believed what he had told the head of the bodyguards. Surely it had to be possible to behave like adults...? "First of all, we should refrain from formalities from here on. If we keep talking to each other like aloof strangers, sooner or later it will raise questions in the minds of outsiders, which would be decidedly unpleasant for me. I think we'll be far less conspicuous if we act like ordinary friends from now on and talk to each other more confidentially."

The guard's brows drew together imperceptibly for a moment. So the elder wanted them to give up their formal, professional distance from each other. Why couldn't he shake the feeling that his agreement to this would eventually prove to be a grave mistake? On the other hand... how much damage could such a more normal interaction do? If the statesman was capable of it at all and didn't immediately fall back into his old patterns.

"Whatever", he murmured indulgently, lifting his teacup steaming on the kitchen table to take a sip.

"Let's just drop the pleasantries. What else... do you have in mind?"

The public servant smiled with surprising satisfaction. With an expression as if a stubborn dog had just grasped for the first time a command he had been taught adamantly and was finally actively obeying it. And this man, who was apparently only used to giving orders, seriously wanted to be able to imitate a good friendship? What a douche.

"I must insist that you do not move more than a meter and a half away from me. It is known that I will enter the city promptly and many do not want me to reach my destination at all. I'm sure you understand what I'm getting at."

The employee nodded again, quite registering that the stern deep voice was slowly but steadily mellowing. What a moody person.

"The most important rule, however, is the third."

The look in the black eyes was abruptly filled with something that confirmed Madara as a true authority figure and made the subordinate instantly more attentive.

"No insubordination. You will only do what I tell you, no matter what. Otherwise, you and I could get into serious trouble. "

No... truculence? Itachi might have looked as dumbfounded as he felt inside, because his superior only smirked mischievously before calmly rising from the table to toss his dishes in a needlessly careless manner into the sink. No rebelliousness. Expressionless, the protector stared at the counter top in front of him. It was the first time he had received such an instruction. No one had ever noticed that hiding behind the well-behaved, obedient and serious boy was quite a character capable of honest defiance and displeasure when you pushed your luck. A character who, under the guise of obedience, tended to follow his own judgments. A personality that could cause some problems precisely because of its superiority. And Madara had recognized this over the period of a few hours and had taken the precaution of nipping it in the bud.

A brief smile slid across the pale lips. Perhaps Itachi had been deceived by the first impression of the other. And this thought gave him a spark of hope that they might get along. After all, one snake recognized the other, right?

Only a short time later, the front door slammed shut behind them and the yawning secretary sauntered off to their waiting cab, completely at ease, while his companion turned back to the mighty estate one last time.

Madara had made no effort whatsoever to erase the traces of their stay. On the contrary, he had even seemed to want the owner to know about his short visit. Why else would the official have left such a brazen mess in the villa's kitchen? But...

"Don't fall asleep, prig!"

...maybe Itachi was just witnessing a very strange friendship here, one that just couldn't work without a little spite. After all, the black-haired man formed one half of this relationship, so it wasn't that far-fetched.

"Coming..."

Ignorantly, he turned away from the strange place for good and followed his client into the inconspicuous carriage that would take them to the station.

Probably he just attached too much importance to the whole thing here, which is why he had also decided against informing his father about the strange development. Although this would have been his highest duty at the latest now...

Wearily, the employee closed his eyes and let himself sink against the backrest behind him. Well, a little bit of rebellion wouldn't do any harm.

Itachi had almost dozed off completely, catching up on last night's sleep at least a little, when the elder's voice woke him mercilessly and brought him back to reality.

"Are you actually doing all this out of genuine conviction, or are you just sticking your neck out so they'll leave him alone as much as possible?"

The younger man paused for a moment to let the strange question sink in before slowly opening his eyelids.

"What are you talking about...?"

"Your brother. I was wondering if you were just going through the motions because of him, or if you were playing along with this nonsense out of your own conviction."

For a heartbeat, the bodyguard thought he detected something like somberness on the otherwise mocking features. What was going on inside this strange man...?

"After all, you probably know best that sooner or later this job leads to death. You may survive longer the more talented you are, but eventually... you inevitably die trying to do your duty. And that's a fate that probably awaits everyone in your family, isn't it?"

Itachi eyed the other for a moment as he tried to gauge what Madara might hope to gain from an answer to such a question. Was he testing his companion's blackmailability once again? Was he just trying to make fun of him? It didn't really look like that...

"Maybe."

Thoughtfully, the guardsman put his head back.

"In fact, I'd rather he -"

Clinking glass and a gurgling sound rippled through the interior of the vehicle before Itachi could feel a huge gush of warm blood hit him. Then, he was forcefully hurled through the car, which came to a stop only moments later, kept back by a bush.

Silence. Silence, which was interrupted solely by quiet hissing, crunching and steady dripping.

"Shit..."

Only very hesitantly did Itachi finally dare to open his eyes again, just to realize with a painful groan that he had landed in the front of the car. Though upside down and lying on his back between the dashboard and the shattered windshield, at least he was still intact. Other than a few bruises, he seemed to have remained in one piece, but unfortunately that wasn't his biggest concern right now.

"Are you still alive?"

Silence reigned for a moment before the man, who until just now had been lying face down on the back seat, slowly lifted his black mop of hair and pressed his pale hand in front of his bleeding nose, cursing.

"Yeah well, I'm not that easy to kill, but we still have a problem..."

Almost pleasantly irritated, he lifted up a severed head whose neck had been cut clean through.

"Our driver's kaput."

The younger man felt his entire body tense instantly. So it was happening now. And apparently someone wasn't being very squeamish about it.

It wasn't long before the two men had finally extricated themselves from the wreckage and stood warily at the edge of the country road. The attack had been so abrupt that neither could say for sure where exactly it had come from, but that it would not be the last was undeniably clear.

"What are we going to do now?", Itachi wanted to know resignedly as he gracefully tried to re-tie his rumpled hair.

"Staying here would be crazy, but if we call another cab, they'll discover the accident and cost us a lot of time..."

Madara nodded absentmindedly, staring incessantly at his cell phone.

"True enough... but we will have to chose one option for better or worse."

The guardsman stroked the back of his neck in annoyance before looking down the completely empty street once more. Knowing the area roughly, he quickly came to the conclusion that it could take hours for another car to stray here. And unless they were planning to ruthlessly ambush the driver, that wouldn't do them any good either. Was it wiser to walk the rest of the way? Even if it made them a much better target? He could hardly justify that, but still...

"I think we should go back to the house again. If we hurry, we could be there in half an hour, and if we call another cab there from nearby, there's a better chance that they'll drive us without making any inquiries. After all, they have to notice that their driver has disappeared first."

His plan seemed to meet with acceptance, as the black-haired man instantly seemed to be in a better mood and even tore himself away from his cell phone.

"The idea is not so stupid, maybe I did you wrong after all!"

Yes. Yes, he had, but just the fact that he was beginning to consider that possibility made Madara that much more bearable. And that was really all that could be expected at this point, wasn't it?

"I'll try to take that as a compliment, but you better save the credit until we get back to the house saf-"

A sickening shiver chased down Itachi's spine before he reflexively wheeled around and knocked the secretary, who was crying out flabbergasted, to the ground, only narrowly avoiding a huge, shiny metallic projectile that rammed itself into the ground not far from them.

A scythe. From the looks of it, it was made of solid steel or even iron. With three disturbingly sharp blades. Absolutely capable of doing serious damage to the bodyguard if he let it catch him just once. What the hell?

"Can't you moron do what you're told just once?"

The deep irritated voice made Itachi raise his eyes tensely before he slowly straightened up.

"Shut the fuck up, asshole, I did exactly what you wanted!"

"Idiot."

The protector eyed the two strange figures that had appeared so suddenly in front of them and involuntarily sighed deeply.

These were not the common weirdos he usually had to deal with. The two strangers were of a completely different caliber than the attackers he had had to deal with so far, and that meant that this time he would have to make a real effort.

Slowly, his gaze slid to Madara, who had long since picked himself up again and was no less astonished at their new acquaintances. Yes. Itachi's estimations had always been correct so far. This idiot would indeed get him into a lot of trouble...