AN: Hey guys long time no see huh? I sat down today and was just like, "I'm gonna update 'Maternal Instinct.'" And this is what I came up with. I personally love Arisa, who is female for those of you who asked. Haha. Still, she's rather odd. Uh, keep voting for pairings and erm, well I suppose that's all. ENJOY!

Disclaimer: I think it's safe to day that I don't own Naruto. I just like to fuck with the plotline : )

Chapter 2

Sinfully Easy

(I was not under any delusion that I was a good person.)

'What are your morals?'

It was probably the single most hilarious thing anyone had asked me in my entire life.

And suddenly I was very glad I had decided to come to this little meeting of theirs. Truly, this was a 'learning' experience.

When a Chunin had approached the hammock I'd strategically strung up outside of Naruto's apartment building, with the scroll demanding my presence, I almost didn't comply. It had been early, I had just returned from Iwa, and they didn't seem to understand that they didn't own me. It would have made a lovely statement if I'd just gone back to sleep.

Still, I had been curious…

And now I felt very sorry for Konoha's dear old Hokage because it must have been very difficult to run a village when there were moronic cronies trying to fuck up all your hard work.

This village was rotting, and somehow without meaning to, I had stumbled upon it's source.

I had known about Danzo and all the tension surrounding his tragically delusional self. I would have been very bad at my job if I couldn't even find that much out. I'd even done work for him once and he paid quite handsomely, so I didn't have anything against the man. But this was not Danzo as I had hoped it might be.

The cronie who had 'requested' my presence was named Utatane Koharu, and statistically speaking I probably wouldn't have had any information on her if she hadn't once been the Hokage's teammate. I'm sure she was a powerful woman at one point, but spending years just sitting on her ass left all of that a shriveled dream. This made my position a bit awkward.

There are generally two reasons I respected people. If they're my employer it's a bit of a give away; being rude was astonishingly bad for business. The other condition was if they could kick my ass or were particularly intelligent… or I just liked them for whatever reason, liiike Uchiha Itachi. This woman fit neither criteria.

"Well I try not to be too close minded, it's better for business when you're flexible." I replied honestly, and- oh my, she didn't seem to appreciate that answer.

"You need to take this more seriously. Sarutobi may have given you permission to live in this village but you may still pose a threat. Your record is something that concerns me greatly and-"

"My record is spotless." And it was… on paper anyway. Faulty information was dangerous, it could get people killed, I was being courteous by correcting her.

I locked my golden eyes with hers and watched with cruel fascination as her temper began to slip.

"Enough of this foolishness. You will tell us your connection to Uzumaki Naruto." She demanded. My eyebrow shot up and I gave her my best disapproving stare.

Old person or not,

She was being very rude.

From across the room I could see Sarutobi give me an apologetic look. Again I felt sorry for him. So, out of the goodness of my heart I nodded to him to let him know that I wouldn't let it get to me.

"Well at first I was going to be paid to kidnap him and bring him to an old guy with personal space issues."

Sarutobi twitched and ducked his head behind his pipe.

"But now after seeing what a bang up job you guys have been doing with the kid I would like nothing more than to assure that he grows up properly," Then because I was feeling particularly giddy I added, "In a risk free environment."

Sarutobi coughed less then discreetly into his fist.

Okay, perhaps I was letting it get to me… just a little.

I smiled.

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Leaving the Hokage's Tower that morning I realized something. It was rather alarming that it had taken me so long to notice it. It was in the faces of the villagers, a sudden distrust in everyone and everything around them. Shinobi lining every post and civilians traveling in groups,

Uchiha Itachi had lifted a veil on this sadly naïve village. If I hadn't known the massacre for what it was I'd have been proud. But the notion that I wouldn't know something like that, something so clearly intertwined with history and the Akatsuki was laughable.

Because I was damn good at my job.

And so was Itachi.

Itachi had no right do what he was doing. He was taking his mission and making out of it a dictatorship. No one can blame him for it because he was not foolish enough to believe that Konoha would ever welcome him back. So Itachi would dictate young Sasuke's life, from the grave if I had to guess at it. What he was intending to dictate his brothers life into had completely evaded me. Itachi confused me and I didn't like not knowing where things were going. It was not something I would have predicted, but then I had thought he would kill his brother too, so perhaps predicting Uchiha Itachi was something I should leave as a lost cause.

Itachi had no right to dictate young Sasuke's life and watching the boy cry as he threw kunai after kunai, I knew it as clearly as I knew my own name.

I had considered altering Sasuke's course. I knew that all I would have to do would be to spare the child some time. Talk a little. I was very convincing when I needed to be, when I wanted to be. It would have been the right thing to do.

But I rather liked Uchiha Itachi and unless someone paid me to stop Sasuke, I knew I would leave it be. I was not under any delusion that I was a good person. I had promised Itachi nothing more than to keep the child relatively sane. Much like I did not care if this whole world went to hell, I also I did not care that the boy was going to drive himself blind with hate. It was sinfully easy for me to look away.

There were very few things I cared about for the right price.

Flexible morals are good for business.

In reality I'd brought Sasuke into my apartment on a whim having more to do with his brother then anything else. And so it seemed that the only person whose welfare meant anything to me at all was little Naruto.

Taking the child and disobeying Orochimaru had also been done on something like a whim. I was not afraid of Orochimaru, not really. Both of us knew he'd never catch me and though I cared for Naruto I did not think our relationship was so great that I'd actually die for him. So really, the thought that I -who clearly was no closer to becoming a saint than Orochimaru himself- was the best guardian for Uzumaki Naruto made me feel all sorts of fascinating things.

I myself had considered dictating Naruto's life into something a little happier. The thought struck me again as I watched him swing alone, without that smile that I adored so much. But the magnitude with which the idea appealed to me was astonishing. It did not even occur to me to look away as I had done with Sasuke.

Doing things on whims was apparently a habit of mine. I never did regret anything I had done and whether or not a decision was rash had never made much of a difference. So when the desire to approach the child and walk him home struck me I did not think twice on the matter.

"We meet again, little fox!" I greeted.

And when his blue eyes turned to mine and his face lit up with that smile I did not regret it. Not one bit.

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Uzumaki Naruto was a clinger.

I'd grabbed his hand to pull him out of the way of a 'mysteriously' renegade cart, and he hadn't let go since. He was aware of the contact though and I was certain there was something about it that he just could not believe.

I wasn't particularly bothered by it. Which was the flaw in the Aspeger's theory.

People in close proximities had never bothered me quite like it should have. Orochimaru getting that close to my face was something that should have made my skin crawl but it never had. I knew this fact pissed off Kabuto quite a bit when he'd first found out. Much like his master, the medic didn't really understand personal space restrictions. Or rather he did, he just blatantly ignored them.

I had to wonder why he still got that close to me when he knew I would not react. He would draw his dark eyes over me slowly, or ghost his fingertips over my skin. It was almost irritating because sometimes when his hot breath passed over my face I would catch the scent of something irresistibly sweet that I had missed in the kitchen. And I would want to whine like a child because he would be so close I could almost taste it.

And he knew it too. He probably stuffed himself chalk full of pocky before our conversations just so he could torture me. Because maybe I would do something, maybe I had a look that gave myself away. A desperate needy look that exposed my sweet spot for being larger than anyone actually knew. Because when it happened something entered his eyes as they half lidded, his breathing would change pace, quicken, and he would lean even closer till all I knew was him and the sweetness on his breath.

And I cursed him for not sharing.

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I had taken up reading.

Konoha's library was extraordinary and I did not sleep as much as my Uzumaki. So by the end of July and there on after you'd be hard pressed to find me without a book. Knowledge was power, it was also the very root of most of my jobs. And I stored everything away with a precision I was famous for.

'even the darkest hearts can find love, even the cruelest man can reach out and touch it. A sense of being that fills the void, companionship. Taste it on his tongue, feel the warmth of being needed, know you're not alone.' - Behind The Owl's Mask

Which really was just a fancy way of warning you. What I learned from that book was that, any man, no matter how secure, can still be infected with the disease of caring. A shinobi defect if you will.

Didn't that just sound lovely?

It's all just part of this beautiful shit hole we call life. If any of us had any sense at all the moment we started feeling this virus we'd kill anything and everyone having to do with it. Sever the dead parts before you got gangrene. Because you know if you don't it'll seriously drag you down.

The people you love are targets. And dear lord are they useful.

I liked taking hostages, I was one of those people that they warn you about in ninja academy while they harp you about teamwork. Which wonderfully enough wouldn't really protect you against me, it would just be more beneficial to have the hostage. Sometimes if it was important or I was having a particularly bad day I'd kill the hostage any way. Not often, unnecessary death was… well unnecessary. I had never put myself under the delusion that I was a good person, still, the things I did didn't keep me up at night either.

Instant betrayal like instant Ramen. Is that what I was? Was I traitor? Yes, I realized. That's exactly what I was. And that made me no better then Kabuto and that thought gave me a migraine, because I was sooo better then Kabuto and did not need to brought down to his level.

What a bitch.

So laying in my hammock and letting the brilliant July heat beat down upon me I wondered what I would do if someone took Naruto hostage. And I frowned at the thought of loosing him. It was strange how much the idea bothered me. Still I was perfectly aware that if it came down to my life or his I would not choose him.

To me Naruto was something like having a favorite kunai. Like Orochimaru had sent me to retrieve a particularly shiny kunai and I decided that I would rather keep it for myself. That was astonishingly greedy but not uncommon for me. I kept things that I liked. I didn't particularly want to loose Naruto at any point but what kind of moron chooses a kunai over their own life. The kunai was worth having, worth taking risks for, maybe even risking life for, but not worth jumping in front of in immediate danger.

There were very few things I cared about for the right price.

But I made a shitty bodyguard.

Again I am not a coward, not in the sense that I feared death. I just don't really fancy the idea of dying and I had yet to find anything worth dying for.

Still, there were things that could be done to prevent getting my shiny little kunai taken away from me. Put a lock on a box to stop the more petty issues. Set a few traps to keep more advanced problems at bay…

Teach the kunai to fight back.

And I smiled behind my sunglasses, because I was pleased with the sudden onslaught of ideas that were filling me. I smiled because I would protect Naruto, because he was mine now, and I took care of my possessions. And I smiled because I had never once in my life taken an oath that said I could not do so. Because I was not a shinobi. And It felt fantastic.

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I sighed and decided to reread the Kazekage's request for an assassination. It was a rare occurrence to have a Kage call on a Tanaka when it wasn't during a great war. Probably the only reason I hadn't discarded the scroll like I had so many others. Naruto had taken up a great deal of my time and I hadn't accepted a single mission outside of Fire Country since I had returned to Konoha. But getting involved with Kages like this was not a good idea.

I didn't usually discriminate whom I did business with but there was a difference during a war and a peaceful time that I could not ignore. During a war anything goes. Though Konoha didn't know it, my family had assassinated many of Konoha's allies during the last shinobi war.

War is the trickster's feast. And so we fed till we'd become famous, gorged ourselves till we were rich with yen from both sides, and then we picked a winner. Don't believe that tosh that the Yondime ended the last great war.

It's the assassins who end the war, not the leaders..

We are the assassins.

After we were full of the spoils of war we faded into the background. Neither side could get a hold of us. We were silent because we chose to be so, we did not wish to be found.

It was my father who had made the decision and for life of me I hadn't been able to decide why he had picked Konoha. If grass had won the war our business would have gone up exponentially. But that was just me, I was all about the business, which was why I had so rapidly become famous in the underground.

Flexible morals are good for business.

That was something my father had taught me. Konoha was weak, they were soft. But after a year of silence from the Tanaka's my father had suddenly taken action. And before I knew it the war was over.

By the time my father had come back to us, the war had ended and we knew what he had done.

"Hello Darling." My mother had said. "Anything interesting?"

He looked at her and through her and this man was not my father. This man was too soft to be my father and this woman too soft to be my mother. Who were these people? I had not understood.

And after a time he said, "I saw White Fang's son," My mothers eyes widened, "the war has not been good to him." My father didn't mention that he had ended the war and we ate dinner in silence and went to sleep in silence.

White Fang was actually, Hatake Sakumo of Konoha; I knew that now. What my father's connection to him though was lost as the man had passed away. I, in turn, had found out everything there was to know about Hatake Kakashi, the genius, the copy ninja, the son of Konoha's great White Fang.

He protected my Naruto sometimes. He was the dog in the ANBU, the one with the silver hair. I wondered if he knew what my father had done for him, if he knew that he was really the reason the war had ended. I do not think he did, But he was kind to my Naruto-kun, and that alone had given him my very valuable favor. I knew then that if he never knew my name, it would not make any difference but I would never accept a mission to assassinate Kakashi.

He was 20 now, still in his prime as captain of the ANBU Black Opts. Genin at 5, chunin at 6, Jonin at 9, And at age 13 everything had changed for him. Yes I knew all there was to know about poor Hatake and his team. 'The war has not been good to him,' my father had said. The war had given Kakashi his sharingan eye and had taken his best friend as payment. I had not understood the magnitude of that then. At the time the trade seemed fair to me, but now…

Would I give Naruto up for the sharingan eye? I mused. Give up my shiny little Kunai for the famous sharingan? But what use did I have for the Sharingan? I was smart and I knew when to run. I already possessed Genjutsu immunity and I did not desire absolute power like so many others. I did not want to rule, I never had. I was the spy. I decided quite dismissively that no, I would not. My shiny little kunai had become far more valuable to me.

So the Kazekage wanted his son dead? That wasn't anything particularly new. I could do it, I knew I could. Young Gaara had terrifying power, but it was raw, completely the demon. He did not know how to use it yet. I could kill him because this was a case where brute force was virtually useless.

It was not the first time I had received this request from the Kazekage nor was it the first time that I wrote, in neat cursive, 'Rejected' at the bottom of the parchment. However it was the very first time I had ever felt nauseous at the idea of excepting.

That was interesting…

Gaara and Naruto were too similar. I could see myself slipping past the demons defense to assassinate little Gaara, whose eyes were wide with surprise and years of pain. Wide like Naruto's had been the day I'd first met him. Wide and teal. And then his hair bled blond, his eyes blue and I didn't want to kill him anymore. Because Gaara was Naruto and it made me sick.

Perhaps I would visit Wind Country soon, but not for this mission.

'Rejected' I wrote. And then because I still felt incredibly ill at the very notion I added, 'You fucking asshole.'

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August had come when I had finally decided to invade the Uchiha compound. There was so much valuable information to be found and I wanted it. It was a miracle I had restrained myself till now.

It was dusty from months of neglect, and a haunted silence tainted the air. Perhaps it was not the best idea to let Sasuke live here. And I knew he still did live here cuz I kept tabs on the child. Someone was a moron for letting him even sleep here, it was probably fucking with his psyche like crazy.

Still their library was utterly beautiful. Scrolls upon scrolls of endless information. I let my fingertips drag over labels and papers as I walked down aisle after aisle of information.

I would enter every house, I decided, as I pulled my hair into a low pony tail. There was a great deal of work ahead of me. And I wanted to know everything.

Every room was plain and traditional, whether it held information or not. Rice paper doors and thick stone walls. It was still early afternoon but every time I left another house the sun seemed to increase it's intensity till I was pushing up the sunglasses sliding down the bridge of my nose. The heat was making me very tired.

I yawned, because no one was around to see it and I would not have cared if they had been. Then something caught my eye. And I let my hand drag slowly over the cracks in the Uchiha emblem on the wall. The large hole where someone had thrown a kunai straight at the Uchiha fan.

I took a moment to muse with morbid fascination that it must have been there before the Uchiha Massacre and that if that assumption was correct, then that was some seriously foreboding shit. There was something to be said for Kami-sama's cruel irony.

The next home I entered was cool and quite like the others had been, but larger. There were small intricate carvings here and there that made the difference between this home and the others.

I left my shoes at the door.

The place had a personal library where I found some of my most valuable information and some of my most worthless. Dates and times, meetings and their outcomes. And suspicions of Uchiha Itachi written in a code that I had come to perfect since I'd first entered the compound. But there was nothing on what the clan had been planning. Absolutely nothing. And I wondered if this was because of the ANBU or Itachi himself.

A hollow sound in the floor of the study revealed a trap door that I did not decide to open. I was getting so very tired and I did not know what was down there. I was not stupid. I would wait till the timing was better. That's what I was using this day for. A general layout. A quick skim over the details. Realistically it would take me about a month to get through all the information of the Uchiha compound. Perhaps more. I was good, but I was still very much human.

The rooms were plain where bedrolls were laid out ready for the people whom would never again lye in them. Tragic really. Sasuke had not changed anything.

The last bedroom I entered was the coldest, located in the corner of the building and there was a window open that let in the horrid August heat. It was a nice contrast actually.

There were books in the room but most of them where novels. There were scrolls but most of them were seals. There was a picture face down on the desktop that held Sasuke on Itachi's back. I picked it up and stared at it for a moment.

Happy…

My brows furrowed and I let myself flop down onto the bedroll while still holding the picture above my face.

Happy…

A breeze rolled in through the window and I let it fall over me. Closed my eyes as it brushed my hair. And I inhaled deeply the warm scent of musk and wood smoke and old parchment…

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I had fallen asleep, which was very unprofessional of me. The sun was setting and a rather cold draft had woken me. And I frowned because I still held the little picture in my hand. That relaxing smell that dominated the room was cold and made me uneasy. I wanted it to be warm again. It seemed so dead when it was cold.

I put the picture back in it's original place and decided that the Uchiha Compound would not be a pleasant place once darkness fell. I would come back tomorrow. Perhaps take another nap when the room was warm again.

Leaving the compound was irritating because something made me want to look back. And I did because there was no harm in doing so. It looked like a painting. A cold, sad, little painting. I tore my eyes away thinking on how useless that had been and waved goodbye to no one because I would be back tomorrow.

That was when I saw Sasuke. Not five minutes after I left I found him sprawled over the grass. He had managed to pass out while training, in the middle of Itachi's personal training ground. There were targets everywhere and had I not watched his brother before I wouldn't have had the slightest idea what he had been trying to accomplish.

I frowned and looked left and right. Shouldn't there have been ANBU guards on this child? Kami, Itachi would have no trouble dictating Sasuke's life at this rate. Though I cared for little Naruto I still had to say that Konoha pretty much set itself up for betrayal.

It was on a whim that I went to him. On a whim that I picked him up and began the trek back to the Uchiha compound. It would be very cold, very soon. Itachi would not want his brother to be cold…

A small hand laced through my ponytail as Sasuke inhaled deeply. From my peripheral vision I could see his black eyes open just a fraction.

And he smiled.

"Itachi-nii," He whispered. I almost stopped walking. Because he sounded so damn sure I was tempted too look for Tichi-kins as well. But he buried his face in my hair, inhaled again and I gave a small nodd, because he probably wouldn't remember this in the morning.

"I had the scariest dream Nii-san." he muttered, his voice still thick with sleep but his arms folded tightly over my shoulders.

"Dreams can't hurt you Sasuke," I whispered wondering if he'd notice that I was not his brother. "I won't let them." That was brotherly right? Not really Itachi-like though…

"What if…" he paused to yawn. "What if you are the one in the dream?"

"Do not be foolish Sasuke, I would only hurt you to protect you. And is that really so scary?" Was I talking to myself.

"To protect…" He yawned again his head falling forward onto my shoulder.

"Sleep Sasuke. No more nightmares, not while I'm here."

When I reached the compound again something made me put Sasuke into Itachi's bed. I wondered what his reaction would be. Horror perhaps? That he had slept in the bed of the clan's murderer. But I wanted him to be comfortable like I had been not 30 minutes earlier in that very spot. I pulled the covers up to his chin and let myself stare at him for a moment. I wanted to watch him, to see his reaction in the morning. But I had been away from my Uzumaki for too long and it was easy to turn my face away from Uchiha Sasuke… though perhaps not as sinfully easy as it had once been.

"Goodnight Sasuke." I said clearly.

"Don't go Nii-san…" The child pleaded quietly. What came next I probably should not have said. But there were a lot of things I did that I probably should not have done, all of which had been done on whims, none of which I had come to regret. Because I did not regret.

"I have a mission Sasuke. Do you trust me?"

"Mmhm…" He hummed.

"Then trust me." And I left.

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Dear Tanaka Arisa,

His thin fingers moved over my skin.

I request the assassination of Kara Obano.

I straddled his waist and allowed a hot look to grace my features.

Since my mothers passing he has become a disgrace,

His hands moved over my hips and I pulled my nails over his bare skin.

Who spends the family fortune on gambling and whores.

"Do you want me?" I whispered hotly into his ear.

I am ready to take my fathers place.

"God, yes!" He choked out, and I felt his hard member through the fabric of my kimono.

70,000 yen for the death of my father.

He moaned as I rolled my hips on top of him, as his left hand began it's run up my thigh.

~Kara Kyoshi of Fire Country

"Take me!" I pleaded my hands untying the sash that bound my clothes together.

~Accepted~

His smile fell and my sash was around his throat. His hands scrambled desperately to dislodge me but the mild sedative I'd slipped into his sake had taken effect. Blood vessels in his eyes popped and a blue hinge lingered around his eyes and his mouth. And then he lay still.

I waited another moment before removing the fabric and tying my kimono back together. And then I walked away. Outside of the room he waited for me with my payment which I took in silence.

"You really are quite beautiful…" Kyoshi said thoughtfully, He was younger than I expected,18. Odd white hair and vibrant blue eyes, strong, ready to lead. I smiled at him in a very secret way.

"I do not get paid for being beautiful." I responded mindfully.

And suddenly he was very close to me.

"Well perhaps you should." He breathed.

"You are interesting." I said clearly, not at all bothered by his close proximity. Because I was very used to it by now, and because unlike Kabuto, his breath did not smell like strawberries dipped in sugar.

That helped a great deal.

"I hope we see each other again." Kyoshi smirked arrogantly and I gave him my most serene smile.

"Oh yes, and I do hope it is not because you have become my mission." He stiffened. "Rule wisely Kyoshi darling, for it will decide whether I reject or accept the mission that takes your life."

I glanced to the door on my left.

"Anyone who drank the sake will be back to normal quite soon. Perhaps you should act like you are asleep while I make my escape."

"They will never know a ninja entered the home." Kyoshi replied thickly.

"I am not a ninja, but I do not wish to start a war." Did I? "Goodbye."

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I was getting rather tried of seeing that look on Naruto's face. That one that told me he was miserable and lonely. So I decided it was time. Much like when I had come to the conclusion that I was going to kidnap him I had now reached the decision to alter his life once more.

We Tanaka's didn't act on impulse so much as we acted when the time was right. Which was whenever we deemed it to be right… Was that impulse?

So I took silent steps toward my Naruto-kun and waited for him to notice me. He didn't. I sighed and placed my hand on top of his little blond head.

He swiveled around in surprise and then he grinned, his blue eyes danced, and something inside of purred at knowing I had elicited such a reaction.

"Hello little fox." I said softly.

"Arisa-chan!" He shouted which really wasn't necessary but was so him in every way that I found I did not mind.

"How have you been?" I asked for the sake of normality which he so dearly needed in his life right now.

"I've been just great!" Lie. "Where have you been?! I haven't seen you in weeks! I missed you!"

I blinked… He missed me? I had become a regular sight to little Naruto. He still didn't know I had a hammock strung up outside of his apartments since I wasn't too sure how he'd take that but I visited him on occasion and I ate at the ramen stand regularly enough to see him at least twice a week.

"I had a mission Naruto-kun." I smiled deciding to analyze that emotion later.

"You're a ninja, Arisa-chan?!" His eyes were so wide.

"I'm something better, but I can't tell you. It's a secret." I winked. "I have some bad news Naruto-kun." I began. His brow furrowed. "I got into a fight with your landlord about your living conditions." Lie. "He says I can't come by anymore."

"Was it something I did? Does that mean I won't get to see you anymore?" Naruto's face fell into such a sad expression that I almost panicked. But I remembered my plan and I would carry it out.

"Well I have become very fond of you little fox and I have this big apartment all to myself…" I trailed off wondering if he'd catch on. He didn't. "You don't have to if you don't want to, and I'll be in and out at all kinds of crazy hours, but it has warm water and two bedrooms, and a good sized kitchen… I thought, I dunno, your landlord's such an asshole I figured you could move in with me for awhile." He didn't respond and suddenly I was feeling something very odd, I was… nervous?

"Me… live with you?" Naruto asked quietly, but he didn't look happy. Why didn't he look happy? I nodded numbly. "Like a family?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Was I babbling!? "I just thought that since-"

"Of course!" Naruto exploded throwing his small arms around my waist and laughing, and crying. Why was he crying? "I'd be happy to live with you onee-san!"

Oneesan

Sister

He called me sister.

I smiled and patted him awkwardly on the head as he buried his face in my stomach and tightened the hug.

And form across the grass I saw him. From across the grass I saw Uchiha Sasuke looking at us. He turned away with his eyes closed and began his walk to the Uchiha compound. He turned away and I imagined tears on his face and a loneliness in his eyes that struck me powerfully.

And then my Naruto was speaking. And I turned away from Sasuke. Because I was not under any delusion that I was a good person. After all it was still so sinfully easy to look away… but perhaps not as much as it had once been…

AN: WOW I haven't updated in forever! I'm sorry guys seriously. I don't even know if it turned out that good. But I'm gonna post it anyway cuz it's all I've got. Isn't little Naruto so good at changing people. But what really gets me how many people like the ArisaXItachi pairing. I still don't know who the pairings gonna be with so keep voting alright. Itachi and Kabuto seem to be in the lead though as of right now. ANYWHO! Please update soon and tell me what you think kkz! LOVE! : )