Hello, it's me Tyler . I would like to thank twinnie1keens for the review! THANKS!
On to the story!
Chapter 2 Part Uno
He's lying, Kyuubi thought. Sort of.
He should have been prepared. He was always prepared for a lie. But this wasn't a pure, full-on lie. It was a subtle, nuanced bit of misdirection wrapped in truth, the kind of lie a magician might use: Now you see the coin, now you don't. But there really is a coin. It's just that I can make it disappear.
He was Itachi Salter but he wasn't.
Whatever he was, he was definitely a powerful talent. The strong but confusing pulses of energy that accompanied the half-truth jangled his senses. He had developed his own private coding system for lies. The spectrum ran from the hot ultraviolet energy that accompanied the most dangerous lies, to a pale, cool, paranormal shade of silvery white for the benign sort.
But Itachi Salter's lie generated energy from across the spectrum. Hot and cold. He knew intuitively that Itachi could be extremely dangerous but he wasn't, at least not at the moment.
Adrenaline flooded threw him, making him edgy and hyperalert. His paranormal senses flared wildly, disorienting him on both the physical and psychic planes. His pulse kicked up suddenly and his breathing got very tight.
Kyuubi was accustomed to the sensation. He had been living with his rare brand of sensitivity since it developed in his early teens. Heaven knew he had practiced long and hard to learn how to clamp down on his physical as well as his paranormal reactions. But unfortunately his unusual senses were hardwired to the primitive flight-or-flight response. The Konoha House parapsychologist who had helped him deal with his unique type of energy had explained to him that psychic talents that triggered such basic physical instincts were exceptionally hard to control.
When he did his own search through the genealogical records of the Konoha Society, looking for examples of others like himself, he had stumbled across two disturbing facts. The first was that, although human lie detectors popped up occasionally among the membership, the majority were fives or lower. Powerful level tens were extremely rare.
Disturbing Fact Number Two was that of the handful of level-ten lie detectors in the historical records, the majority had come to bad ends because they never learned to control their talent. They wound up in asylums or took to drugs to dull the effects of the steady barrage of lies that assailed them day after day, year in and year out. Some committed suicide.
The truth was, everybody lied. If you were a level-ten lie detector you either got used to it or you went crazy.
If there was one thing he had taught himself, Kyuubi thought, it was control.
He pulled his senses-all of them-together with an effort of will and adjusted his psychic defenses.
"I'm Kyuubi Lancaster," he said. He was proud of the fact that the words came out evenly and politely, as if he wasn't on the downside of a mini-panic attack.
"Nice to meet you, Kyuubi," Itachi said.
Okay, he wasn't lying now. He really was pleased to meet him. More than pleased, in fact. Kyuubi did not need his psychic sensitivity to detect the masculine anticipation in the words. Old-fashioned intuition worked just fine. Another little thrill quivered through him.
Itachi walked, no, he prowled, toward him, a half-filled glass in one hand. Kyuubi got the impression that he was factoring his presence into some private calculation. Fair enough. He was doing the same thing in reverse.
"Are you a friend of the family, Mr. Salter?" he asked.
"Call me Itachi. I'm a business consultant. Arashi hired me to consult on a new pension and benefit plan for Glazebrook."
Another lie wrapped in truth. Wow. This man was scary good. And scary interesting.
He had moved into the light cast by one of the wrought-iron veranda lamps, allowing Kyuubi a good look at him for the first time. He had a feeling that had not been by accident. Itachi wanted Kyuubi to see him. He understood why. Even his choice of clothing was an act of misdirection.
Kyuubi wondered if he actually believed that the black-framed glasses, the hand-tailored button-down shirt and the business-casual trousers that he wore were an effective disguise. The conservative style of his very dark hair didn't work, either.
Nothing could conceal the watchful intellegence in those dark eyes or hide the subtle aura of controlled power that emanated from him. He was all fierce edges and mysterious shadows. He would have bet the tiny amount of money left in his bank account that, like any proper iceberg, the really dangerous part of Itachi Salter was hidden beneath the surface.
You didn't have to be psychic to figure out that this was not a guy you wanted to encounter in a dark alley late at night. Not unless he was promising some very kinky sex.
The last realization made Kyuubi catch his breath. Where had that come from? He was definitely not inclined toward kinky sex. Actually, he wasn't really into sex of any kind. Sex meant letting go, becoming vulnerable and taking risks with someone you trusted. When you were a human lie detector, you had a lot of trust issues. When he did go to bed with a man, he made certain he was in control.
One of the great things about Idate Morino was the fact that he had been quite content to let Kyuubi take charge of the physical side of their relationship, just as he allowed Kyuubi to control every aspect of it. In fact, theirs had been a near-perfect engagement. He and Idate never argued about anything up until the day he dumped Kyuubi.
"You're a little late," Itachi observed.
"My flight out of San Francisco was delayed," he said.
"Kyuubi."
Kyuubi jerked his attention away from Itachi Salter and smiled at his half brother. "Hi, Naru."
"I just saw Mom." Naruto swept forward, his attractive face glowing with delight. "She told me you were here. I didn't know you were coming down to Arizona tonight." He threw his arms around Kyuubi. "For heaven's sake, why didn't you tell me?"
"Sorry," Kyuubi said, hugging Naruto. "I assumed you were aware I had been invited."
"Dad probably wanted to surprise me. You know how he is."
Not really, Kyuubi thought, but he didn't say it out loud. He had met the man who was his biological father for the first time a few months before. The circumstances had not been ideal. The truth was, he knew very little about Arashi Glazebrook, aside from the fact that he was a legend in Arizona business circles.
"It's so good to see you," Naruto said.
Kyuubi allowed himself to relax a little. With his brother, at least, he was on safe ground.
"You look terrific," he said, glancing down at Naruto's elegant white sheath. "Love the dress."
"Thanks." Naruto returned the survey. "You look-"
"Don't say it. You know I'll know your lying."
Naruto laughed. "You look as if you've been traveling half a day."
"Now that's the honest truth," Kyuubi said.
He smiled. It was so good to see his brother happy and cheerful. Eight months ago Naruto had been a man in the middle of a nervous breakdown. The change was little short of miraculous. No doubt about it, widowhood had been good for him.
Naruto, like his mother, was a registered member of the Konoha Society. Tyrra was a level two on the Uchiha-Hyuuga Scale, which meant that, generally speaking, she had slightly above-average intuition. If she had not descended from a long line of Konoha Society memembers and been tested, she would have gone through life obvious to the psychic side of her nature, taking her flashes of insight for granted, the way so many people did.
Naruto, however, was a five with a strong sensitivity to color, visual balance, proportion and harmony. His psychic abilities were one of the reasons he was so successful as an interior designer.
"There you are, Kyuubi," Arashi Glazebrook roared from the open doorway. "What the hell took you so long?"
"My flight got delayed," Kyuubi said.
He kept his voice perfectly neutral, the way he always did when he was around the larger-than-life Arashi Glazebrook. Since their initial meeting he had spent very little time with Arashi. He was not yet sure what to make of him.
Arashi could have been cast as the aging, hard-bitten gunslinger in an old-fashioned western was fifty-one, sun-weathered features and sky blue eyes. He was born and raised on an Arizona ranch.
Arashi bought and sold the land. And he developed it. He did it so well that he could buy and sell anyone in the land.
Eventually he would turn it all over to his son, Ryou. But until then he was still in charge. Kyuubi knew that this summer Ryou, who was in his late twenties, was managing a Glazebrook job site in San Diego.
Kyuubi had once asked his mother what made her want to have a one-night stand with Arashi. Power is an incredible aphrodisiac, Gwendolyn said simply.
Arashi descended from a long line of Konoha Society members. His particular psychic ability allowed him to map strategies in unique ways. Many sensitives with similar abilities wound up in the military or in politics. Arashi had taken up high-stakes deal making.
At the sight of him tonight, flanked by two members of his legitimate family, Kyuubi felt the old, familiar wistfulness well up inside him. He suppressed it with the same ruthless will that he used to control the psychic side of his nature. Get over it. You're not the only person in the world who was raised by a single parent. Worst things could happen to a kid and Lord knows they do, all the time.
He'd been lucky. He had a loving mother and a doting great-aunt.
"Well, come on inside and get yourself something to eat," Arashi ordered. He started back into the house.
"I can't stay long," Kyuubi said quickly.
Arashi stopped and looked at him. As did everyone else. Okay, so it had been an odd thing to say, given that he had just flown all the way from San Francisco.
Naruto frowned in dismay. "You're not planning on going back to San Francisco tonight, for heaven's sake? You just got here."
"No, I'm not going back tonight. I plan to catch a flight home day after tomorrow."
"Forget it," Arashi growled. "We've got business to talk about. You'll need to stick around longer then that."
"I have things to do back home," Kyuubi began, speaking through clenched teeth.
Itachi was suddenly beside him, taking his elbow, drawing him towards the French doors.
"You could probably use a little food after that flight and the long drive from the airport," he said.
It was a command, not a suggestion. His first inclination, as always in such circumstances, was to dig in his heels. That intention got even stronger when he realized that everyone, including Arashi, was clearly relieved to see Itachi taking charge of him.
Itachi must have felt his incipient resistance. He gave Kyuubi a slightly amused smile and raised his brows, silently asking him if he really wanted to cause a scene over a trivial matter like hitting the hors d'oeuvre table.
What the heck. He hadn't eaten anything since the small carton of yogurt he'd had for lunch.
"All right," he said.
"Where are you spending the night?" Naruto asked.
"At one of the chain hotels near the airport," Kyuubi replied.
Naruto was appalled.
"It's an hour's drive back to the airport," he said.
"I know," Kyuubi said.
"You'll stay here," Arashi declared decisively. "Plenty of room."
Tyrra's mouth opened and then closed abruptly on the objection. Kyuubi felt sorry for her. Having your husband's long-lost son, the product of his one-night stand with another woman, show up on your doorstep thirty-two years later had to be in the top ten of every wife's worst nightmares.
"Thanks, but I prefer the hotel. I've already checked in and left my suitcase in the room."
"If only I hadn't just moved out of my apartment," Naruto said, "you could have stayed with me. But like I told you on the phone last week, I'm here with Mom and Dad until the deal closes on my new condo."
"It's okay," Kyuubi said. "I don't mind the hotel. Honest."
Arashi's jaw flexed ominously but Itachi had Kyuubi almost to the doors.
"He has plenty of time to decide what he wants to do," he said, drawing Kyuubi through the doors. "Let me get some food into him first."
Every head in the crowded room turned when Itachi escorted him inside. A split second later, everyone looked away. The noise of hastily resumed coversations and false laughter rose rapidly, filling the large space.
Kyuubi had been prepared for the uncomfortable reaction but it nevertheless hit him like a psychic shockwave. He had to remind himself to breathe. He felt Itachi's hand tighten on his arm but he said nothing.
Itachi steered him toward a leather padded bar at one end of the long, spacious room, evidently unfazed by the covert glances and curious stares.
"Let's start with the drink first," he said. "If you've been in the Valley of the Sun for more than five minutes at this time of year, you need water."
"I am a little thirsty," Kyuubi admitted.
He brought Kyuubi to a halt at the bar and looked at the attendant. "Sparkling water and a glass of Chardonnay for Mr. Lancaster, please."
"Never mind the wine. I won't be staying here long and I've got to drive back to the airport."
Itachi shrugged agreeably. "Just the water, in that case."
The man filled a glass with bubbly water, and handed it to Kyu.
"Thank you." He said.
"Now we do a surgical strike on the buffet." Itachi said.
Itachi guided him to a rustic, wooden plank table that looked as if it dated from the early 1800s when Mexico controlled a large chunk of what was now Arizona. He knew the table was probably a genuine antique. Tyrra had excellent taste and could afford the best.
The buffet was decorated with colorful, hand-painted pottery dishes. A large, tiered ice sculpture with hollowed-out bowls held an assortment of cold hors d'oeuvres. At the other end of the table steam wafted wafted up from some dishes.
It dawned on Kyu that he was hungry.
"You were right," he said to Itachi. "I do need something to eat."
"I recommend those minature blue-corn tortilla things." He handed him a red plate. "The filling may be a little too hot for someone from SF, though."
"Obviously you don't know much about us San Franciscans." He piled several of the tiny tacos onto the plate and moved onto the cold shrimp and salsa.
Naruto materialized out of nowhere scaring the hell out of Kyu, who was just about to get his fork and napkin. Kyu glared, and Naru grinned sheepishly.
"Everything okay?" He asked. He looked intensely relieved when he saw the assortment of food on Kyu's plate. "Oh, good. You're eating."
"As you know, that's one of the things I do well," Kyuubi said. "Don't worry about me, Naru. I'm fine. Go back to your guests."
"I wish Dad had told us you were coming. We could have made some other arrangements." Naruto glanced around uneasily. "I realize this must be very uncomfortable for you."
"I'm fine. Go mingle. Don't worry, now that I'm here, I'm not going to skip town without spending some time with you."
Itachi looked at Naruto. "I'll take care of him."
Naruto clearly drew strength and reassurance from that statement.
"Well in that case, I'd better go talk to some people," Naru said. "If I don't, Mom will be upset. Thanks, Itachi." He gave Kyu a warm smile. "I'll catch up with you later."
"You bet," Kyu said.
Naruto disappeared into the crowd.
Itachi did a quick study of the room. "I suggest we go outside. It's a little crowded in here."
"Fine by me."
Kyuubi munched a mini-taco, feeling remarkably better, and let Itachi pilot him out a door and onto another long veranda. This one fronted an elegantly curved pool. The underwater lights made the water glow a strange shade of turquoise.
They left the veranda, walked across the patio and sat down at a round table that ovelooked the pool.
"Nice night," Kyuubi said around a mouthful of taco.
"Hit a hundred five today. Supposed to be hotter tomorrow."
"Yeah, well, it is Arizona and it is summer." He drank some of the water and lowered the glass. "Any idea what Archer wants to talk to me about?"
"No. I didn't even know you'd been invited to this party."
He was telling the truth, Kyu realized. That made for an interesting change.
"I got the feeling that you were taken by surprise," he said. And you don't like being taken by surprise, Kyu thought. "You're used to being three steps ahead of everyone else, aren't you?"
"Obviously i screwed up this time."
Kyu smiled cheerfully. "Don't blame yourself. Everyone else seems to be equally startled to see me. Looks like Arashi played his cards close to his chest on this one." He paused, thinking about that. "Which, I admit, makes me a little curious."
"Is that why you came down here? Curiosity?"
"Nope. I'm here because Mom insisted." He raised his brows. "You do know a little of my family history, I assume?"
"Some," Itachi agreed. "I'm aware that you're all registered members of the Konoha Society."
"You, too?"
"Yes."
Kyu nodded. That explained some of the aura of power that radiated from him. It also explained why Arashi hired him as a consultant. Society members often prferred to work with other sensitives. They tended to choose their closest friends and spouses from the Konoha community, as well.
"Actually, I was referring to the somewhat complicated aspects of my parentage, not our Society affiliation," he said to Itachi.
"I know something about that, too."
"The thing is, I never met Arashi or Tyrra or Naruto or Ryou until this past year. We're all still feeling our way. Naruto and I get along great and Ryou is friendly. But my presence upsets Tyrra for obvious reasons so I try not to inflict myself on her very much."
"What about your relationship with Arashi?"
"Still under construction."
"Why did your mother want you to come down here tonight?" Itachi asked.
"It's kind of complicated. The background is that Mom and Aunt Nala asked me to wait until I was in college before deciding whether or not to introduce myself to Arashi. I respected their wishes. By the time I actually did go off to college, I had decided I didn't want to establish contact after all."
"Why not?"
He hesitated, uncertain how to put it into words. "Every time I saw a photgraph of the Glazebrooks in a magazine or a newspaper they looked like the perfect family. I knew that would change if I showed up at the front door. I guess part of me didn't want to destroy what they had."
"No such thing as a perfect family," Itachi said.
"Maybe not. But the Glazebrooks sure looked like they had come mighty close. Earlier this year I finally did contact Naruto, though. Now that the damage has been done, Mom and Aunt Nala decided it's about time Arashi and I bonded."
"Family," Itachi said. "Gotta love 'em."
Kyu smiled and drank some water.
"The situation with your relatives isn't the only complication you've got in your life, is it?" Itachi lounged back in the chair and stretched his legs. "You're a level-ten parasensitive with a rather unique talent."
Kyu stilled. "You know?"
"That you're a human lie detector? Yeah. I did some background research on the family before I took this job. I may not have all the facts but I think I know the basics. Must be tough at times. People lie a lot, don't they?
"Yes," he said. "All the time, in fact."
Kyu wondered if Itachi had been testing him earlier when he gave him his name or if he thought he could beat his sensitivity. Maybe Itachi just didn't give a damn if he knew he was lying. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it was probably the latter.
"What's your sensitivity?" he asked.
Itachi didn't answer. He turned his head to look back toward the house.
"Damn," he said softly.
Kyu followed his gaze and saw a stick-thin woman silhouetted against the lights of the house.
The woman hesitated. Kyuubi realized she was searching for someone. With luck she would not think to check the heavily shadowed sitting area on the far side of the pool.
But at that moment the woman started purposefully forward. It was obvious that she making for the table. So much for luck, Kyuubi thought. His was not in good form toninght.
"Ino Yamanaka-Czar." Itachi said.
"I know. Just what I need to make my evening complete." Resigned, Kyuubi put down his uneaten taco.
"You know her?" Itachi asked.
"I met her once. That was the night her son, Kabuto McAllister, was murdered."
"McAllister was your brother's husband, wasn't he?"
"Yes." He watched uneasily as Ino came toward them with an unsteady gait. This was going to get ugly.
"Just so you know," Itachi said quietly, "Ino drinks. A lot. I"m told the problem started after her son's death."
"Naruto said something about that."
Ino stopped near the edge of the pool. She had a glass in one hand. Kyuubi could see that she was tottering on her high heels.
Ino was in her late forties with platnum blonde hair, looking sleek. Six months ago she had looked fit and younger. Tonight she appeared emaniciated, almost, in her tight cocktail dress. The bones of her face were knife edges; the hollows of her cheeks were that deep.
"I can't believe you had the gall to walk into this house tonight, you murderous bitch," Ino said. The words were slurred but the rage embedded in them was clear.
Kyuubi got to his feet. Beside him, Itachi did the same.
"Hello, Mrs. Czar," Kyuubi said.
"Who's that with you?" Ino peered into the shadows beneath the ramada. "Is that you, Itachi?"
"Yes," Itachi said. "I think it would be a good idea for you to go back inside, Mrs. Czar."
"Shut up. You work for Arashi. You don't tell me what to do." Ino turned back to Kyuubi. "You don't give a damn about the pain you've caused me, do you? You think you can waltz back here to Stone Canyon as if nothing happened."
Kyuubi started slowly toward her.
"Don't," Itachi said in a low voice.
Kyuubi ignored him and came to a halt at thew edge of the pool, facing Ino.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mrs. Czar." Kyuubi said.
"You're sorry?" Ino's voice rose, anguish and fury inextricably mingled. "How dare you say that after what you didYou murdered my son and everyone inside that house knows it!"
Without warning, she dashed the contents of her glass across Kyuubi's face.
Kyuubi gasped and closed his eyes. Instinctively he took a step back.
Ino gave an inarticulate cry of rage. Kyuubi opened his eyes in time to see the woman coming straight at him, arms outstretched. In the eerie glow of the underwater lights, Ino's face was a demonic mask.
Itachi was closing in with astonishing speed. He caught Ino's arm before she could strike but Kyuubi had already taken another step back to evade the blow. The heel of his shoe found nothing but air to support him.
He toppled sideways into the pool with an ignominious splash.
At least the water was warm, he thought as he went under. On the rare occasions when he was in Glazebrook Territory, he was grateful for whatever luck came his way.
The action and other drama with actually begin from here! . Read&review please! I do accept criticism ya know!