Once again, this story will eventually be yaoi. ItaNaru to be exact. If that's not your thing then feel free to hit the back button.
Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever, owned Naruto in any way shape or form ... unfortunately...
Chapter One
Naruto let out a frustrated groan as he eyed the paperwork on his desk. He peeked over at Sasuke's side of the office and noticed the lack of it on his friends desk.
"Teme! Why do I have all the paperwork? You-"
"Already finished mine, dobe," Sasuke shot back, cutting Naruto off with a smirk.
Naruto slumped in his seat as his head hit the desk ... hard. He seriously wanted to throw a fit. While he knew that it was important ... he still hated paperwork!
Sasuke sighed. He walked over to Naruto and grabbed half the stack on his friends desk before heading back to his own. He knew the blond was more the hands on type of leader than the pencil and paper type, but their job required that they do both. Even though the two were sharing the position as Hokage they had so many more responsibilities than any of the Kage's of the past. Even though there were two of them it often felt like it was a job that required a hundred people. The Kage's had formed a peacekeeping council with Naruto at it's helm and Gaara as the secondary head. In doing this, Naruto traveled a lot. He was often sent into areas where hostility was high and war was likely to break out. So far the blond had succeeded in peacefully putting a stop to all disputes with no loss of lives.
The Kages were all suitably impressed. None more so than Sasuke.
Naruto lifted his head up and sent a grateful smile to the Uchiha.
Sasuke let out a snort. He pointed his pen at the blond's desk. "No more excuses dobe!"
Naruto groaned, but didn't complain any further as he started on the small mountain of paper.
Later that night Naruto sat in his office alone as he finished signing and setting aside the very last paper. He stood up and stretched, wincing slightly when his neck popped. He let out a yawn as he opened the doors leading to the balcony.
As he stepped outside he lifted his face up as a gentle breeze blew past, and he gazed up at the night sky with a small smile on his face. He looked down at the village below whose peace had come at such a high price. Konoha had lost many shinobi to achieve this peace and Naruto would not let those lives be lost in vain. He would do everything in his power to ensure that the truce between the villages stayed as it was.
Life was, for the most part, good. There were still issues with rogue ninja's, problems with bandits and whatnot, and even some small disputes within the elemental nations. But nothing that shook the peace that everyone had come to count on in the years since the end of the war.
Four years had passed since then. He and Sasuke had taken over as dual Hokage's two years ago and were, surprisingly, doing a damn good job of it. Originally Naruto had been selected as the lone Hokage but Naruto had spoken with the daimyo, the council, and the Kage's and convinced them that the duties should be shared by him and Sasuke. He argued that it was better to have two people who were direct opposites of one another with two different views lead the village. They would appoint their own council to advise them including the former Hokage Tsunade, their teacher Kakashi, and the genius Shikamaru who, if necessary, would use majority vote were he and Sasuke not able to agree on something and sought out their council. It had taken hours of convincing by eventually the daimyo and everyone else had given in to Naruto's wish.
People were actually pleasantly surprised to learn that the two actually worked very well together. True, they did have their arguments but ... they had always been able to come to an agreement just the two of them and had never had to use their council to make a decision. Even the Kage's were surprised by how well the two young men worked together. Despite their bickering, they truly did respect one another's opinion and had come to rely on each other. Sasuke had given each Kage a heartfelt apology for his actions before the war and even though several had been reluctant to accept that apology, their deep respect for Naruto was what made them finally cave.
The blond was finally living his dream ... and what's more he had his best friend at his side. Sasuke had just turned twenty-one the month before and Naruto was fast approaching his own twenty-first birthday. The same age Itachi was when he died, Naruto thought to himself sadly.
Sasuke hadn't liked people thinking of his brother as a traitor, nor had Naruto. The two had consulted with their council and come up with a story to feed the public to clear his name. They announced that Itachi had not been a traitor at all and that the slaughter of the Uchiha clan had been done by Danzo. They made Danzo out to be the bad guy, and Itachi to be the scapegoat who hadn't fought back as Danzo had blackmailed Itachi into silence by using Sasuke against him. Since the man had been at fault for the order of the massacre, and for ruining so many people's lives through Root, neither Sasuke nor Naruto felt guilt for their lie.
It also became knowledge that it was Itachi who had put a stop to the re-animation jutsu and so his name had been carved into the memorial for the heroes who had lost their lives during the war ... even though in actuality he'd died months before that. He more than deserved that honor for serving Konoha even after his own demise.
Now that the war had ended and Sasuke was back in Konoha ... now that he'd finally achieved his dream of becoming Hokage ... Naruto often found his thoughts focusing on Itachi. He hadn't known the man well, but he held a great deal of respect for him. He wished that he'd been given the chance to know him under different circumstances. The blond had a feeling that they would have been close.
Naruto let out a sigh and made his way back into his office. He frowned when he saw an anbu with a kitsune mask on his knees, bowing before him. He didn't have an anbu member with a kitsune mask.
"Hokage-sama..." a familiar voice murmured respectfully.
Naruto continued to frown as he studied the bend head of the anbu. He recognized that voice from somewhere but he couldn't place it.
"Remove your mask, please," he stated, still frowning.
The anbu lifted his head and nodded somewhat hesitantly. Slowly, the man reached back and carefully removed his mask, exposing his face.
Naruto blinked, unable to believe who sat before him. He opened his mouth ... yet no words escaped as he literally gaped at a dead man. He cautiously approached the man and ... poked him in the cheek.
Itachi raised a brow at him. "I'm real, if that's what you're attempting to find out."
"H-h-how?" Naruto stuttered out.
Itachi shrugged helplessly. He didn't have an answer either. "I woke up in the middle of a forest under the night sky dressed as you see me now. I heard a voice whisper that I was being given a second chance at life and not to waste it. I honestly don't know how I'm alive ... or why I'm being given a second chance. But ... I'm not going to waste it. I started my journey here immediately and it took me seventeen days to get here."
Naruto leaned back against his desk as he studied the man. "Do you want to be a shinobi of Konoha again? Or would you prefer to simply be a normal citizen?"
Itachi looked up at Naruto in surprise. "You're giving me an option to be a regular citizen?"
The blond nodded. "Sasuke and I took it upon ourselves to clear your name so ... you're no longer considered a rogue ninja. The only problem is going to be explaining just how you survived..." Naruto frowned. He couldn't even begin to guess how this was possible but ... Itachi was alive. He closed his eyes and smiled. One of his biggest regrets was never having the chance to get to know Itachi ... but now he had that chance. He wouldn't waste it.
"I would like to be a Konoha shinobi again," Itachi stated decisively.
Naruto nodded. "Well then, we need the approval of my partner to reinstate you to our ranks. Let's head on over to his house and tell him the good news!"
Itachi frowned confused. "Partner?"
The blond grinned at the look of bemusement on the man's face. "Sasuke and I are Hokage together. We share responsibility."
Itachi's eyes widened in shock and Naruto giggled (yes, giggled) at how unfitting the look was on the elder Uchiha's face.
"Sasuke is going to be surprised to learn you're alive!" Naruto announced cheerfully.
"Wait!" Itachi pleaded as the blond started out the door.
Naruto stopped and turned around at the panic in his voice.
Itachi stared at the blond silently as he seemed to struggle with something internally. "Can we not ... tell him right now? I'll serve in Anbu until I can adjust to being alive again, and back in Konoha ... and then you can tell him but ... just not right now. Please?"
Naruto studied Itachi silently. Konoha owed the man a debt that it could never repay, and if this was all he asked of him then he had no right to turn him down. Even if keeping this from Sasuke didn't sit well with him ... it was the least of what he could do for Itachi.
He nodded and watched as Itachi seemed to immediately breath easier at his agreement. "However, if I'm going to agree to this, I'm going to take you as my personal guard."
Once more, the elder Uchiha stared at him in surprise. "You want me as your guard?"
Naruto nodded. "This way you can stay in Anbu and keep your mask. Also, it won't look odd that you're going to be living at my house."
Itachi shook his head. "I'm sorry, what? You want me to live with you as well?"
Naruto sighed. "You don't have anywhere else to go and I have a large house. The villagers built it for me as a thank you and ... well ... it's far too big for just me. You can take one of the extra bedrooms."
"Naruto-kun..."
"You can pay me back by cooking for me so that I don't have to eat out all the time. Everyone always berates me about it, saying how unhealthy it is. Sasuke once told me that you were a great chef so ... I think I'm getting a good deal out of this. I'll certainly be healthier for it."
After mulling it over a bit Itachi nodded his agreement, his eyes alight with gratitude.
Naruto smiled. He gestured for his new guard to put his mask back on, and when he did so, he asked the Uchiha to follow him home.
Which he did.