[A/N] Here it is! Are you excited? I am! Sadly this is just shy of my 10K requirement mark, but I don't add crap or fluff so it just is what it is. I had some fun writing different parts of this so I hope you guys enjoy!
REVISED VERSION- Thanks for the grammatical error tips. In my defense I have terrible vision and often write at ass-crack of dawn, so if you see anything. Tell me and I'll get right on it. Thanks!
Subduing a Fox
Chapter Four
Gaara sighed with exhaustion. Though he had grown up in a Kage household and had seen his father work, he had no idea being a political figure could be so, exhausting. Probably because his father had been the worst example. He looked to his left where Naruto was humming softly as he packed both of their stuff for the trip from Iwagakure back to Konohagakure. Although Tsunade had offered a hired hand to assist them, Naruto had insisted that he didn't need a 'maid'. He was still buzzing pleasantly from their successful closing with the Tsuchikage; Gaara could tell by the huge grin as he skipped around the room packing. The redhead sat idly and watched, going over in his head how the whole thing had played out.
Naruto had introduced him as an intended Kazekage and very close friend of his. With just a bit of stress on their relationship, Gaara could see the change that came with being attached to Naruto. He was able to be present during the conferences, dinners, galas, golf matches, and meetings that had bombarded them throughout the three day stay. Everyday the two would conference call with Ino for their schedule, and then endure the lobbying and backhanded approaches that as Intendeds, they knew they would have to ignore. Gaara actually had fun, and learned so much on how to deal with so many different types of people, just by watching the blonde. He one day wished he would be able to juggle keeping his integrity without offending people, as Naruto had done with ease.
"You look tired." Naruto finally turned to him with a small smile.
It was fairly early in the morning. "Slightly." One glance at the clock told him that their plan was due to leave in an hour, not that the private jet would leave without them. "Perhaps you should have accepted the help, our plane leaves soon."
"Naaah," Naruto shrugged with ease. "We'll make it."
The subsequent half hour was a blur of blonde and a short trip to the airstrip. Surprisingly there was a tall man, long yellow hair pulled up with bangs covering his left eye and face, waiting for them next to the small stairs leading up into the jet.
He spoke with an easy smile and a strong Iwa accent. "Uzumaki-sama, my apologies for surprising you but my name is Hibaku Deidara, I was given to you by the Tsuchikage as a gift and offering of goodwill. I look forward to working with you." A polite bow was accompanied with slightly mischievous smile and a resolute stance that left no room for negotiations. Still, Naruto was quite confused and wary.
"A gift, you say?" When all he received was a nod he continued. "And your primary function?"
" I am knowledgeable in several languages as well as the intricate history of every great country, their provinces, and current rulers. However," there was a pause as that mischievous smile came back, "I specialize as a ... Bodyguard of sorts."
"A bodyguard?" Now why would the Tsuchikage give him a bodyguard? "Well, I would hate to seem rude but, I don't need, nor can I facilitate a bodyguard." Naruto nodded in a resolute yet contrite manner, hoping this was the end of things.
"That is unfortunate." Deidara said in a sullenly thoughtful manner as the three watched the flight staff load the luggage. "But I have given my oath to follow you. I am obsolete here, one of many, and so this is the only task I have ever gotten to prove my usefulness. If you cast me away, I will have nothing." this was all said with such a straight face it took Naruto some time to grasp the meaning.
"You-you will have nothing?" instant guilt welt up in him. He didn't want to be the reason why this guy was seen as useless or worse- cast aside! It was Naruto's solid conviction that everyone deserved a chance to show their strengths.
"Yes. The Tsuchikage no longer considers me under his employment. If you refuse me, I will essentially be unemployed."
Naruto was left dumbfounded by this revelation. Gaara narrowed his sea-foam colored eyes at the other. "We had no idea that you would be thrust upon us just before leaving this country." he stated evenly.
"This is true. I will understand if you are unwilling to accept me, as this was all very impromptu of the Tsuchikage." Deidara stood still as the shorter men scrutinized him. Gaara was good and confused as to what good politics would dictate be done now, so he waited for Naruto.
Naruto sighed. "Officially I cannot hire you without the Hokage screening you first."
A smile appeared on the half hidden face. "But you will consider it?"
"Yes," It was said slowly with a cautiously probing look. "I will talk to Ba-ah, I mean Tsunade-sama when we return. If she declines, there is nothing I can do for you."
Deidara smiled and bowed politely once again with an agreeing nod. He waited while the other two boarded the plane before he climbed the small stairs behind them. He watched closely, best to learn their mannerisms now.
"Are you fucking joking?" Jiraiya spit out scathingly.
"Of course not." Sai quipped in an impersonally detached manner while Tsunade fumed silently. "This is an official edict. Besides I have trouble 'fucking joking'. Naruto Uzumaki has just been elevated to a danger level 5, his btu output level was quite high, especially near the very end of his gala. Therefore the council has deemed it necessary that he begin taking INDO, that is if he still wishes to become Hokage anytime soon. Or so head councilman, Danzo-sama asked me to repeat."
"This is-ridiculous." Jiraiya stated with quiet devastation.
"Snakes, all of them." Tsunade seconded in a whisper.
Sai was quiet, trying very hard to understand the problem, but he could recognize that this was emotionally based. He wasn't very good dealing with things he didn't have. He was a black operative, and all he could see was this was a solution that didn't involve one ghost order on the head of Uzumaki Naruto. Was this not something to be happy about? When he could see no other problem, he just decided to ask. "If I may, just what is wrong with this edict?"
Tsunade looked up from her hands where she had firmly planted her face. With a sigh she spoke, "INDO stands for Inter-Negative Doctrine; an antidote developed by the late fourth Hokage and his wife. It takes the mutated cells centered around the brain and trains them into a reverse cycle. It is all very complicated. The problem is it is not completely discriminatory, out of every 300 mutation cells it negates it also latches on to approximately 17 perfectly healthy brain cells very much needed to function normally."
"In other words," Jiraiya spat, "it will make Naruto little more than an obliviously, vegetative puppet. Just how Danzo like them."
"To think he would go this far though…" Neither seemed concerned that Sai was hearing this, but then he supposed they shouldn't. He wasn't given orders to return with every word said in response so he would not repeat any of this. Until he was ordered. It was regrettable, but as it was, he did not answer to the Hokage.
Jiraiya sighed heavily. "There has to be something we can do…I can fix this without that damn debilitating drug. I know I can. I just need time." He looked pleadingly.
Tsunade was slowly shaking her head. "It's near impossible to reverse or even appeal an edict from the counsel. Especially when the vote is so…overwhelming."
"I just need a little time, just a little. I'll sit down with the brat, run some blood tests, and find a supplement that will help suppress at least his btu ouputs. I already have something in the works, it just needs perfecting. I just need time."
There was a terse silence while Tsunade rearranged things in her head. "How much time?" She finally asked.
"Two weeks tops."
She nodded. "Alright. I'll see what I can do. Sai," She turned to the pale and emotionless visage standing there, always ready for an order. "I am hereby revoking your title on grounds of insubordination; you are no longer a black operative. As Hokage I do have this right when I feel you may endanger the citizens of Konoha, Jiraiya, as a respected and senior member of this government shall witness your dismissal. Do you understand?"
Sai was wondering if the feeling coursing through him was shock? He felt like all his bones and tendons had just locked in awkward positions and his tongue was heavy with the need to question this rash decision. What had he done wrong? Insubordination? When had he talked out of turn…oh. The question? When he asked the problem of the counsel's edict on Naruto? He knew emotions like curiosity would be fruitless and even dangerous but to go this far? He nodded in a subdued fashion. "I understand."
Tsunade nodded sagely. "Good, turn in your resignation papers to Danzo. Now you work for me."
Honestly tailing the great and mighty head Uchiha assassin should have much more difficult than this. Kabuto sighed in a bored deject manner while he tapped the goggles he was wearing that zoomed over forty meters. He stuffed more chips in his mouth and watched Sasuke take notes in his business class, seeming eager and totally unaffected by the world. How could that be? Didn't he know that life as he knew it, was a lie? That his very brick foundations were nothing but false whispers of ghost-like, transparent toothpicks? Kabuto couldn't reconcile the difference. Sasuke should know. He should cower behind the power of Oorochimaru-sama and in front of the helplessness of that brother, whom he places so much misguided faith in. Itachi could no more keep poor little Sasuke safe now than he could then. The only difference was that now Itachi didn't know it. Kabuto had been there, younger, but there on that perfectly sunny day where the little Uchiha had been over five stories below ground trapped in a cage, bleeding over a pit of ravenous and venomous snakes. The incessant hissing had been enough to drive the, then six year old mad with grief and hysteria for the total twenty-six days he had been there. Twenty-six whole days of experimentation, hours upon hours of Oorochimaru-sama's overwhelming affection, snake hissing and bowls of gruel that he had slowly stopped eating. Every now and then his cage had lowered into the snake pit until Oorochimaru-sama had been satisfied with his screaming begs to stop and pull him back up to safety. In the pitch blackness the little one hadn't been able to see how far up he was from the snakes and the hissing had just echoed and echoed.
Then big brother had swooped in and saved the day…by making a bargain.
Little Uchiha Sasuke for….well, everything.
And the brat didn't even know. Kabuto just could not sit still with this fact. How could he have just FORGOTTEN? People don't just forget things like that…or well…they shouldn't! And so he decided he would remind him, remind little Sasuke of his origins. He was far too high on his own self-assuredness that he was a being so powerful that he was in control of his own life. And he had brought something along, just for this occasion. He waited hours for Sasuke to be done with classes and find his gift, the anticipation give him a harder erection than he had had for weeks, months. He decided that if Sasuke's reaction was delightful enough, perhaps he could stroke himself to completion over that alone.
His days were passing slowly now that he had time to attend to regular life. The strict command that he appear completely normal and benign, just in case of prying eyes, had come from his brother. Sasuke completely agreed, what with the impending interview/interrogation happening tomorrow. He was restless and more than a bit nervous. He wondered if Naruto would be there. If this had anything to do with Naruto…It wouldn't be too farfetched if the future Hokage had decided to turn him in, and he would have to live with having disappointed his Aniki…again.
Classes were finally over. Sasuke had only one more semester before he graduated with his Masters in business administration and could legally start taking over aspects of the company. He was contemplating another degree, one in politics, but Itachi always warned him that it was dirty business, politics. Though, how it was dirtier than what his Aniki waded through, Sasuke wasn't certain. He made it back to his car as the sun was just setting. He had his seatbelt secured and the engine on before he even sensed that something was wrong.
In hindsight it happened painfully slowly for reflexes like his. There was this slithering sound, like…soft metal against itself. And then a hissing that made every hair available on the Uchiha stand in resolute despair. Why was his body acting like this? A part of him, small and inconsequential in the scheme of things, was outraged by such a reaction from his traitorous body. Something was slithering over his right shoulder and slowly, so slowly wrapping around his neck so that he was secure to his head rest. How many times the beast was wrapped around, Sasuke was too petrified acknowledge. The parking deck was normal, fluorescent parking deck colors but for some reason it was so dark. Black! Nothing, he could see nothing, like his eyes were failing in his head. He couldn't breathe. The obstruction wasn't around his neck, but in his chest. A heaving motion, not unlike sobbing and more towards chocking was happening. Hyperventilating. He was hyperventilating like a woman. His hands were gripping the bottom of his seat with such ferocity he felt his joints pleading for reprieve.
With jerking motions he crawled his right hand towards the center console where he shift gears and pressed a blue ringed button.
"Activated." Sounded throughout the car.
"It-Itachi. Itachi" He strangled out, and his car took a few seconds to comprehend the whispered request.
"Calling Itachi, mobile, one moment please."
The ringing seemed like forever, like time was standing still just to gloat at the hubris-filled little Uchiha. And with the beast, on his neck, hissing, constantly moving; Sasuke belatedly thought he was dying. There was no other word for this terror. In reality it rang once.
"Otouto."
"Itachi." Sasuke whispered, not able to get enough air to make a louder sound. "Aniki, please." He tried again, this time the sound coming from the back of his throat.
"Sasuke." There was alarm in the voice now. "Sasuke, what is going on, where are you?"
"S-s-s-snake." It was pathetic, the amount of difficulty he was having.
"I'm coming. Where are you? No, there is no need, you are in your car. Stay on the phone with me." Sasuke would have nodded, except he felt he could barely blink let alone a more difficult notion. He heard his brothers hurried footsteps, the opening of the car, the announcement of Itachi's automated system pulling up directions to his own car, the sound of the engine and then the sound of Itachi breaking several traffic laws to drive a half hours distance in less than ten minutes.
But those ten minutes were longer minutes that Sasuke had ever dealt with in his life. He wondered if this was penance for all the lives he took, though he was always one for a fast kill. He couldn't stomach torture as much he liked to think he could. That was Itachi's strong point. Then Itachi was outside his car looking at him with eyes that could have singed the metal separating them. He pulled at the door and they both discovered it was locked. But the button to unlock it was….much farther than the automated system button that Sasuke just realized he had not moved from. He would have to …lift…his left arm, moving his shoulder, jarring the beast resting on it. At some point it had quieted down to soft whispers of death along the rim of his ear.
"Sasuke." It was his brother staring at him, giving him strength. If he could just get to him, he knew Itachi would save him. From everything. Why did he ever think it was his brother than needed the protecting? He was only as strong as his most dire weakness. Sasuke began the slow trek of lifting his arm slamming his eyelids closed when it did exactly as he had predicted. The snake tightened around his neck and shoulders causing what little breath he had been getting to stop wherever it may have been. He slid his fingers up the door hitting the first button he got his fingers on. It was the window, for the back seat. He slid further up, his own window, which might have helped but he knew Itachi needed the entire door open. So he gathered his courage and slid his finger just a bit further and unlocked his door.
For a moment nothing happened and he opened his eyes. Then his brother acted so quick- that if his eyes weren't trained to follow such speed, he would have missed it. The door opened, almost like it was on its own and two hands reached for him at an incredible pace. One clamped over the mouth of the considerable sized snake, the other lodged a large blade in the body and quickly unwound it before it could perform a death squeeze on it's victim.
While Sasuke came back to himself from his rather embarrassing episode, he learned two important things. One, Itachi was incredibly comfortable with the slithering beasts, staring at it with his blood limit activated. And then when his brother spared no second look and pulled out the blade just to detach the head from the body and secure the head in a plastic bag, he learned that Itachi was much more frightening than he had always thought. He was given a cursory glance before his brother walked around the car and opened the passenger side door, sliding Sasuke's unresponsive body into the seat. He only then noticed he was full body shaking. His Aniki walked back around and proceeded to drive them both back to the mansion, this time obeying all traffic laws. "I'll send someone to pick up my car." He voiced the unspoken question.
Sasuke nodded and allowed himself to slip into the black out he had had too much courage to allow before.
He missed the absolutely enraged expression on his brother's face.
Or the pleasured sigh as Kabuto found orgasm to the memory of his terrified face.
Hinata hummed as she chewed on the back of an expensive black pen. "So, is it better if I replace the genetic code in one model or change the sample mediums all together? They should equal about the same thing, right?" She looked across to her companion, appreciation written on her naturally pale visage. She was so lucky Sakura had taken time out of her schedule to help her with her thesis. They had been bouncing ideas back and forth for about two hours now. Settled in one of the outside tables of a little, but well known, café they had direct view of the City Hall skyscraper just across the five-lane intersection.
Sakura thought as she swiped through a PDA that held multitudes of figures and text. "Perhaps, or you could change the culture for the same set of genetic code examples. Oh! Or try just altering the temperature in the set culture, perhaps it will give you the expected results."
Hinata perked up. Change the temperature, of course! Why hadn't she thought of that? With a light blush she looked to Sakura, "Thank you so much, Sakura. You really are a life saver. I've been having such a hard time with this and Neji-niisan can't really help me…." The girl blushed a bit more, her naturally soft spoken words trailing off a bit more.
Sakura gave a sparkling laugh and flip of her daintily styled hair. "Don't worry about it love, I love to help!"
As they continued on in a companionable exchange, a dark limo pulled up just outside the City Hall and Hinata looked up, her heart skipping a beat, as soon as her peripherals caught blazing blonde hair. He looked amazing for no reason whatsoever. Still clad in the thick gi with one arm exposed, native to the Hidden Rock, he stood out amongst the bustle of busy Konohagakurans. She watched, enraptured, as he, the Kazekage and another unknown, but very tall, blonde exited the car and filed into the building. She hadn't even realized just how many love sick sighs she had breathed as her eyes followed each and every movement of Naruto's.
But Sakura noticed, and for some irrational reason, she was…upset. But it was common knowledge! Her mind was screaming inside its pink fashioned head. It was common knowledge to anyone inside the secretly dubbed 'Naruto circle' that Hyuuga Hinata was enamored, infatuated, in love with one Uzumaki Naruto. And yet, the rosette had an urge to dip her perfectly manicured nails into the opalescent eyes that were near long-distance-raping the future Hokage's figure.
What a gross way to be in love. She found herself thinking as she pointedly scraped her PDA with more force than necessary. Her air-brained companion had yet to tear her gaze from the imposing double doors of City hall. Probably chanting something to make him reappear; Sakura decided she was not bitter. She wasn't in love per say, but she could admit to her infatuation, and she refused to exist in such a pitiful state as the Hyuuga heiress. What was she doing with her infatuation? Why, fucking him silly every week on the proper. Too bad she couldn't say the same for poor Hinata. And with that a lazy sneer appeared on her aptly glossed lips.
When the silence bordered on disgusting, Sakura decided to be magnanimous. "Was that Naruto? It looked like him but I can never tell until he changes back into normal clothes." Her voice lilted with false pleasantness. Not that Hinata could see too far through her blonde-induced fog.
She blushed on time and nodded as well. "Yes, he is quite dashing in…everything." She sighed out, her eyes not having left City Hall quite yet.
Emerald green eyes narrowed. "Dashing, yes. The Kazekage is quite handsome as well, with that aristocratic face. Doesn't he just remind you of a doll?"
"Mmm, a doll? Yes, with eyes like the sky and hair like sunshine." Hinata was smiling in a dopey but proud sway of her ABC poetry hailing Naruto when Sakura had clearly been talking about SABAKU.
"No….his hair tends to remind me of blood. Though, he is a bit on the short sid-"
"He's the perfect height!" Hinata had snapped her head forward in such a quick manner, her hair had taken its time catching up and fluttering around her. Sakura stared a bit stunned that such an abrasive interjection had come from the mild mannered girl. She was acting as if he was defending Naruto's honor! Sakura grit her teeth and let the awkward air settle around them.
Hinata felt her face heating up to degrees that bordered on dangerous. Had she really just yelled at Sakura? About Naruto's height no less? Oh how embarrassing, humiliating! And it looked as if Sakura was upset! If only Neji-niisan had not been poking at her saying the same thing just a while ago! She decided she had to do something to clear the air. A peace offering of sorts. But about what? Her voice felt like it was caught in her throat and Sakura was pointedly ignoring her now. This was horrible. What did Sakura even like….Oh!
"S-Sakura-chan? Have you heard about the promo party Niisan is hosting? It's supposed to be super exclusive but I could g-get you an invitation." It was a near whisper, but Sakura had given her undivided attention just a few syllables after promo.
A very wide and classic smile fell over Sakura's lips and she marveled at why anyone would ever let this little Hyuuga out of the house. "That sounds fantastic Hinata! Who's going? What should I wear? You know what! Lets discuss this over dinner and you can tell me all about it. How does that sound? I'll even look over your thesis."
Hinata nodded with enthusiasm. "I would love that Sakura-chan." And it seemed all was right with the world.
Ino was perusing through gift baskets, it was about time to start sending thank you offerings to those who had donated to her lovable blonde's many causes. There was a rap at her apartment door and when she got up to answer it she was pleasantly surprised to see her on-again-off-again boyfriend. "Shika-" she was just barely able to get out before she was snatched into a strong hold with lips attacking her neck and hands squeezing the curve from her waist to her hips. The front door was kicked closed and she was pushed up against the opposite wall and thoroughly ravished until she was able to negotiate some space and a bit of a reprieve. "Shika," came a high whisper. "What's wrong? You hardly ever just show up here like…this."
The ante chamber was dark but there was a weary sigh that moved towards her bedroom. "Everything at this point. Jeez, I come here to forget about it all and I can't even do that. Troublesome woman, what a drag." He muttered all the way to Ino's bedroom where he promptly slung off his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and dropped his pants so that he was in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He fell back onto her bed with a huff, sigh and stretched before settling bonelessly and looking back at her. "Shit is going down Ino." He rubbed both hands over his face in a decidedly defeated fashion. "I-we don't even think we can stop it. The council, they're trying to screw over Naruto, especially that creepy fuck Danzo. Probably have the Daimyo right in their goddamn hands. I'd hate to be whatever little boy they used to pay him off."
"Shit." Ino hissed out. She sat down next to her man, rubbing her hands across his chest and stomach in lazy manner, just like she would stroke a fat cat. It was something he secretly loved but never admitted. Still, this was terrible, horrible news. "How are they going about it now?"
"They've just sanctioned the INDO program for Naruto. You know that shit I was telling you about? It'll take six months, tops, before he's like a….like a….shell, or something. He'll be able to function but, not without serious help. Shit, Ino, they're really trying to fuck everything he's ever worked for up. And the really shitty part is they have solid evidence, I mean, rock solid. It's taking everything I have to think of a way to even prolong this."
Ino closed her eyes in an overwhelming mixture of anger and grief. If they did end up without any other way outside of INDO, it would just be better for Naruto to give up the Hokage seat altogether. But he wouldn't, because he swore to Konoha that he would do everything in his power to change the metropolis for good and he wouldn't turn his back on a promise like that. It was her job to not only build and maintain the brand that was Uzumaki Naruto, but to advise him on certain actions that shifted his public view in one direction or the other. At some point, she must have failed. For them to have solid evidence that Naruto was regressing…it would be near impossible to fix that. Near impossible, but not impossible. She wasn't hailed as the best fucking PR to have ever lived for no reason. If she could take the once cursed and spat upon child, the monster Kyuubi jinchuriki child, from the dregs of Konohagakure nothingness and make him Uzumaki-fucking-Naruto the most badass and lovable future Hokage Konoha has ever seen….then surely she could change the minds of some senile and pompous old bats.
"We need to expose this."
There was silence, and then "What?" Shikamaru opened both eyes and gazed upon the blonde woman staring up at her ceiling. Her pale blue eyes were narrowed and he could have sworn her could see all those synapses firing off in that brilliant mind of hers. There was a reason he was so attracted to her it bordered on violent. Their turbulent relationship was nothing more than a serious clash of IQs and sex so good in made him drool in the daytime. Still even from his brilliant girlfriend this was a little, brash. People have gotten ghost orders for less. Much less. "Ino, shit like this is beyond classified. It's like, nonexistent." The fact that an average civilian like her knew what INDO was, was enough to have one such as Sai showing up just to escort her off to the pearly gates. It was another reason he kept his distance from her, he never wanted her to be on radar.
"Not the INDO specifically Shika, I'm not stupid, just the fact that there are…lets say forces… that want to take advantage of Naruto. It can be as ambiguous as you want it, but it should snowball and get larger and larger and more and more important until it's like silent paranoia. I know a few news anchors that owe me favors. We can twist it and I'm sure the Blondie can get statements of support from a few other Kage's like the Kazekage and Mizukage. If you can buy time, we can make it so that the threat seems domestic and people will want to know what he's doing all day, every moment. Especially with him showing the Intended Kazekage around. Anything fishy, will show up without you or I having to lift a pinky. Well, maybe we can drop a tip or two to some paparazzi."
"Whoa, this was all sounding great unit that last little bit. Are you crazy woman? Do you know what would happing if that tip got traced back to one of us?"
"I know, I know. That's why it won't get traced back to us. You got me? Now, just buy me some time. I'll get the first part under control. And let Tsunade know too." Ino snuggled against his shoulder, her long blonde hair falling over her and onto his chest.
He played with it, feeling the stress leave every muscle in his over-wound body. Something had told him to come here, to confide in her. She always had a different way of thinking through things than he did. It was so damn…sexy. "Yeah," He husked out, slowly turning and leaning over her just to wrap some of that pale blonde hair around his fist and pull. He buried his face in her neck. "I'll buy you some time. Got Jiraiya already working on it."
He shifted between the legs already opening for him and into the heat that gripped him mind, body and soul. He rolled his hips and was always surprised by how quickly she got him harder than he could ever get himself. Her breasts moved freely against his chest, her flimsy and laughably thin nightgown doing a lot of nothing. "Shika." She breathed out nails already digging into his back and dragging down under his boxers to claw at his ass. With a squeeze she pulled him harder into her. "Stop playing around and fuck me."
God, this woman was wild personified.
Itachi Uchiha liked to think of himself as a man with plentiful patience and amazing self-control. But it was failing him at this point. It was close to eight o'clock in the morning and they were being driven to City Hall. Because of his high tolerance to sedatives, it took extraordinary means, something like a horse tranquilizer, to knock out Sasuke. Itachi had fed them to Sasuke before he could wake from his own unconsciousness, just to assure he didn't have any horrible nightmares as he was sure to have had, sleeping on his own. He needed his Otouto fresh and wit-filled to tackle whatever the hell the problem was that they were about to encounter. Sasuke sat across from him in the short limo nursing a cup of very strong, very black coffee, while Itachi sipped on his own latte. They both had a sweet tooth, but Sasuke needed the caffeine like…yesterday. He was already beginning to look chipper, no outward appearance of the trauma had manifested in bags under the eyes or sickly pallor. He was a little rosy cheeked from embarrassment, Itachi knew, but it just helped him look healthy in the big brother's eyes. He couldn't stand the pale, frightened and utterly lost Sasuke that he had witnessed last evening.
It was enough to break the back of his patience and self-control. He hadn't killed a man in a very long time and right now, he felt any man would do.
It was a bit chilly on this early November day, and darker than it should be for eight o'clock in the morning. An ill omen, Itachi was sure. It seemed to be magnified as there were soft rolls of thunder as they pulled up outside the buildings and four individual guards were stationed to escort them to the interview room. The word 'interview' was used lightly. It was disconcerting. The brothers exchanged a glance and Sasuke made sure to walk so close to his brother than their shoulders touched. Perhaps they looked to be mourning, Itachi thought. What with his brother in a charcoal grey turtle neck and black slacks, while he wore a black turtle neck under a black suit.
It wouldn't be their first time in City Hall, but certainly their first being escorted into an elevator and told to face the back wall. Sasuke was so tense, Itachi feared if he so much as flicked him, the boy would crack into pieces. Now while Itachi had expected to go down, he didn't expect to be going down for so long. Just how extensive were the subterranean levels of City Hall? When they stepped out in the corridor it seemed to be a replica of every scary movie there ever was. The halls was eerie, maze like, a bluish white fluorescent color, and pin-drop silent. They were led through many twists and turns until they hit a long stretch with wide black windows down the hall. There was one room, with a soft orange glow and an open door, but all other rooms were unoccupied. Or so they looked.
As they entered, the first thing Itachi noticed was the Hokage sitting regally in a comfortable but intimidating black chair. She had on a traditional kimono that, even with several layers, she managed to show ample cleavage. She was breezing through a PDA and took her time noticing the newcomers. When she looked up her hazel eyes were strong and potent. Fitting for a Hokage and woman who looked a mere fraction of her real age.
"Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, thank you for coming. Please sit." She indicated to a long black couch sitting just before her chair. There were two long black windows that Itachi recognized as one-way glass. So they were being observed from the seemingly empty rooms….perhaps. Both brothers bowed respectfully and took their seats. Itachi setting his latte on the coffee table between them and Sasuke still nursing his. Tsunade waved her hands to the remaining guards and they left closing the door. There were two other fellows who did not leave. Tsunade pointed to the one in the corner on a stool with a PDA and stylus in hand. "That is Nara Shikamaru, my head intelligence agent, he will witness everything you say. And that," She pointed to a fellow in a black ANBU suit with wild silver hair standing off to Itachi's left and bit behind them, ready to disable and attack if necessary. "is Hatake Kakashi, my personal bodyguard."
When there was a terse silence she continued. "You are here under suspicion of murder and endangering international peace."
Itachi was shocked, though not as much as he should be. Perhaps one of their assassination missions has finally caught up to them? Though he didn't see how, Sasuke was an excellent ninja. Sasuke in particular seemed a bit more shocked, though neither of them made so much as a peep. The younger sat close to his brother, his arm thrown across the back of the couch and his body angled slightly to the left for two reasons. One, was to see Hatake Kakashi more clearly, should he decide to move, and two was to see Itachi more clearly, should any subtle signs be given. His knee was just barely touching the side of Itachi's thigh; a wide expanse of empty couch left completely unused. If their proximity aroused any questions, they weren't showing it.
Once the silence had prolonged enough, Tsunade let out a sigh, as if she had known speaking with them would be difficult. "You don't seem concerned." She stated.
Sasuke spoke while Itachi blinked slowly. "We are merely confused."
She nodded slowly. "Very well, where were you the entire last week of October?" Of course she was addressing the both of them, but felt no need to make distinctions.
"That was the week of the Kazekage's assassination." Itachi said slowly. He certainly hoped that was not where this was going. Neither one of them had stepped foot into Suna during that entire month.
"Yes, it is. Please answer the question."
Itachi narrowed his eyes in thought. Where were they? Sasuke had an outside mission of sabotage in Kumogakure as well as one to steal some competition information here in Konohagakure. He, had spent the entire week in his office, planning more missions and running one of the wealthiest conglomerates in history. However, there were no records of Sasuke leaving the country or returning, as far as he knew….With a flickered glance towards his brother Sasuke spoke. "Working, here in Konoha, and attending class." He offered no distinctions either.
Tsunade spent another few moments observing them before reaching over and touching a small black box Itachi would have sworn was for decorative purposes only. She reached in and pulled out a small, clear bag made with thick plastic with a white label on the top. She slid it over the coffee table towards them. Sasuke picked it up and froze so completely that Itachi felt his heart flutter and closed his eyes to control his body. His self-control was certainly thinning.
Sasuke leaned between them offering the bag to Itachi and spoke so low even he had a hard time picking it up. "How could this be?" The elder decided to lean over and look before picking the bag up in absent disbelief. He looked at Sasuke and then the Hokage but he didn't need her to verify its validity. He could feel the quality through the bag. There is was an original Uchiha Shinde-Kitte, or death stamp. A primitive way of marking the dead with egotistical little flares that did nothing but praise yourself and promote hate; or so Itachi had always thought. But these hadn't been used in, hundreds of years. No one assassinated like this anymore! And certainly neither had they. But this was real; long incredibly thin but very strong metal with the Uchiwa fan painted delicately at the top. The grooved tip most likely still help whatever poison it had been soaked in. This had been well taken care of.
When Itachi closed his eyes in exasperation he handed the little bag back to Sasuke, signaling him to speak. "It is a known fact, perhaps not well known, but known throughout the clans, that the Uchiha clan has one set of five Shinde-Kitte, just as we know the Hyuuga clan has two sets, the Aburame clan has three sets, the Inuzuka clan has none and the Senju clan has nine sets." Sasuke paused looking resolutely into the Hokage's eyes as she was a Senju descendent herself. "Of this we can assure you, all five in our set are present and accounted for within our vault. This..." he looked again at the glorified dart. "is not of our own. Yes, it does seem to be an original of the Uchiha but not our own."
"It is not unreasonable to consider you have more Shinde-Kitte than you exhibit, just for occasions such as these."
"Please tell me why, Hokage-sama," Itachi's voice was dry and far more acerbic than usual. His patience was wearing thin. "I would allow this office to impede into my life by authorizing a poorly designed attack on the Kazekage using such an ostentatiously, archaic and barbaric method such as the Shinde-Kitte? Does that seem at all intelligent to you?"
Tsunade seemed taken aback for a few moments before regaining herself. "If it was your intention to cause international unr-"
"Would I intend to cause any unrest in a country I benefit from fiscally?" Itachi cut her off, no longer looking at her, but up at the ceiling as if asking some deity for guidance though his voice never rose. He still spoke in a quiet lulling manner that always suggested boredom.
"I am not positive what your goals are in this-"
"You know exactly what our goals are. The continuation and prosperity of first ourselves, then our clan and then our country. So it has been for hundreds of years, and so shall it continue. It is the Uchiha way." There was another strained silence where Sasuke casted furtive glances toward his brother. Obviously Itachi was aggravated, which was hard to find on its own, but also…Sasuke had never seen his brother so outwardly, rude! This man was one whom could be surrounded by the most disdainful group of people and still maintain strict polite etiquette with a benign smile. However, that seemed to have all but gone out of the window today.
Tsunade watched both brothers, Sasuke watched his brother, and Itachi continued to silently pray for just a little more patience as the day wore on. Please.
"Nevertheless," Tsunade continued. "we can be sure of nothing, most of all your motives."
Sasuke spoke. "It is entirely possible that this needle came from a descendent of a victim from long ago. It seems much care had gone into preserving it."
"Yes, we also agree that is a strong possibility, especially if the goal was to tarnish the Uchiha name. This is where finding the perpetrator becomes exceedingly difficult."
Sasuke nodded slowly. "We have logs of all of our victims from hundreds of years ago. They were once sources of pride in our prowess as ninja, now however, not so much. They are very old and very heavy, but most of them are filled with complete profiles of the victims down to likenesses drawn and reasons for their assassinations given for the more important ones. We can offer these to you, but you must ensure their safety, they are extremely fragile at this point."
Tsunade looked to be thinking. "Yes, I suppose that would be the logical next step. Just how many logs are there?"
"Seventeen, and I suggest that two people carry one as they are large and would not survive a fall."
Tsunade sighed. "Very well then, with this I conclude this meeting. Also, may I strongly suggest," she stood and looked both Uchiha in the eye as she spoke. "to not leave the country without telling me first. As of right now you are just suspects, not convicted, if you try to flee the country that WILL change. Am I understood?"
Itachi was already standing and making for the door so Sasuke answered. "Of course, Hokage-sama." As he watched his brother leave; the man obviously upset, though whether it was from this conversation alone, Sasuke was left to wonder. As Itachi exited he immediately activated his Sharingan, allowing him to follow his own chakra signature throughout the maze of hallways to the elevator. Only problem there was his lack of identification to use the damnable contraption, so he stepped through the doorway marked 'stairs' and looked up through the spiral. It seemed that all doors were locked but he was almost positive such would not be the case on the ground floor. So with a huff at his soon to be undignified behavior he hopped on the railing and leapt four stories up, before repeating the process a few more times until he saw the door marked with a loud yellow G.
Itachi straightened his jacket and fixed his face into its customary look of indifference as the heels of his shoes clicked smartly across the lobby floor. He swore his driver was telepathic, as he was opening the car door just as Itachi was exiting. "Wait for my brother." Was his passing order as he sat himself comfortably to brood. So much was happening all at once. Not being able to leave Konoha? That was simply terrible. . He had everything in Konoha in control. Most of the urgent missions he sent Sasuke on were outside Konoha; and now leaving was a problem. He supposed he could ask other members of the Uchiha black ops, but he trusted none of them to be infallible. And honestly, a mistake was all they needed for it to be proven that they did conduct unsavory types of business and it was entirely possible that they consorted to kill the Kazekage. Something that Itachi had honestly been surprised to hear about. If he had to prioritize anything of course it would be Sasuke's health and wellbeing. And of course Oorochimaru's sick and twisted idea of a practical joke, which still had him seething inside his own skin. Things were becoming…dare he say….
Overwhelming.
The door was suddenly opened and Sasuke sat himself down with a sigh. "That was quite unlike you Aniki, and I must say it certainly surprised our Hokage, having the head of the Uchiha clan stomp out in an upset tizzy."
Sharp onyx eyes pierced a younger pair before doing quite an uncharacteristic roll back towards the window. "I did not stomp."
"Well whatever, it may have worked in our favor." Sasuke was all smirk.
"How so?" Itachi questioned with a risen brow, he was now utterly ashamed of his lack of control. Though he would rather peel his own nails off than let his younger brother see it.
"The Hokage seemed quite surprised, said she heard you were a more level headed, stoic individual. I assured her that you were indeed upset at the fact that we are being very near framed for something so dire that we had no hand in. She was quiet a bit and then swore she would get to the bottom of it and no innocents would be charged guilty until she was positively sure. I thanked her and was escorted on my way."
The car was moving now, to some unknown location Sasuke must have picked, and Itachi was once again lamenting the sured death of his self-control. He kept his body positively rigid, and yet his index finger softly tapped the luxurious seat he was in, he was subtly chewing the inside of his lip and his leg felt the need to shift every thirty to forty seconds. "Aniki." There it was, Itachi sighed inwardly. His Otouto was far too observant to not catch the turmoil his elder and always calm brother was going through. "Aniki, what is troubling you?" When Itachi could not even perform an elementary diversionary tactic Sasuke continued. "Aniki, I've never seen you quite so upset. If it's about last night, I'm fine. I don't want you to worry or be upset." Just bringing up the incident caused such a rush of rage to flurry over his skin that Itachi had to close his eyes in concentration, sure his blood limit was spinning furiously. A terse silence took over. "It must be a lot, all the reorganizing I know you have to do to get things done without being able to leave Konoha. I can help you."
"Sasuke, I'm-" But the rest died in his mouth as he turned to look at his brother upon hearing the word uttered with sincere eyes.
"human, Aniki, you're human. And…" Sasuke turned back towards his window, but it wasn't enough to hide the blush that spread above his cheeks. "what am I here for if not to help you lighten the burden?"
Itachi looked away and felt his body relax into his seat. Yes, his little brother was here to help lighten his burden. A smirk came over pale lips.
And little Sasuke looked so cute confessing.
"Well?" Tsunade asked back in the observance room where Naruto, Gaara, and the two Suna detectives sat in contemplating silence. "How do you feel, Kazekage-sama? I will take your opinion into consideration."
Gaara's eyes shifted from Naruto to Tsunade with a hesitant blink. "I am unsure, seeing as how I have no knowledge of their personality types and could only see that they looked surprised at our accusation. I would like to believe that this does not involve them, but a different party. Only…that would make this much bigger than I had previously thought. Not only did someone kill my father, but it seems the primary motive had little to do with my father and more to do with destroying the Uchihas. In a way, it is a slap in the face of Suna. Our previous Kazekage seems just a bit more worthless than he previously was."
As it was all said in such a steady, mellow fashion, just above a whisper it was hard for Naruto to tell if Gaara was really upset. But he could see very clearly in the eyes of the detectives that they were beyond upset. What about? Naruto didn't know, but he could smell trouble a mile away, and they smelled like trouble. "Gaara, you know that we don't think that way. This is very important to us, not only because it pertains to you, but Suna is one of our greatest allies and it is important to them as well. We will get to the bottom of this, ne Tsunade-baachan?"
Whether or not she was getting the same vibes Naruto was, he wasn't sure. But he was happy that she answered, with a furtive glance towards the detectives, whose faces looked like they were planning mutiny, torture and world domination. "Yes of course! We won't rest until we clear this up, it is unacceptable as it is." Her voice was strong and convincing. At least to Naruto.
"Hmm, I see." Gaara nodded calmly. "Well, let us go. I leave the next course of action to you Hokage-sama, seeing as how they are Hidden Leaf citizens. Thank you for your time."
The ride back to the surface was silent and tense and as the detectives readied for departure they managed to get Gaara aside and with some very pleading gestures, were denied something Naruto had no knowledge of and made their way to a car waiting to take them to the airport. As Naruto was giving Gaara a ride back to his estate the blonde fidgeted. He himself had a few test tomorrow so he couldn't stay on this side of town or he would never study, but he felt Gaara needed some sort of comforting. "Don't worry Gaara, we'll find out what happened."
"Naruto," The dry voice began, as wide black rimmed eyes turned to face him fully in the car. "I do not care." He said and turned back to the window. "It does, however, look like soon the Uchihas and Konoha will begin to."
And while one half of his brain protested that it was his father! And of course he cared, for heavenssake! One look at Gaara solidified that no, he didn't care, at all.
The phone ringing in Sakura's apartment was not a new or uncommon thing, but the number ringing it was. "Hello?" She asked in her sexy/flirty/love me voice. Because honestly, every femme fatale seemed to own one, so it was by time she perfect hers.
"Haruno." Came the brusque reply. "I require to meet with you soon, be discreet, the Bulvaea Hotel will be fine. Cover up that pink head of yours. Eleven thirty on the dot, don't be late or else….please. Goodbye."
"Wait!" She yelled a bit upset that he felt he could just spit orders at her without even a bit of sexy talk for conversation. The uncouth prick. "You barely even greeted me, and I didn't get all of that. Let me get a pen."
The was a huff of exasperation before a voice grated. "I am not going to greet you outside of cordial business etiquette, Haruno. Don't mistake this for something it isn't."
"Grumble, grumble." Sakura began to mock, my she was so much braver over the phone. "All I hear is you trying to stifle my price-"
"Careful what you say over the phone, Haruno."
Sakura furrowed her pink brows. "Do you think me an amateur? My lines are secure, all of them, Sasuke."
It was almost like she had turned on the air conditioner, that's how cold the voice became. "I did not, nor will I, give you leave of my given name. You will not use it again. And your price was physical intimacy, anything else is just an extra farce that I need not deal with. I do not wish to punish myself with your voice any longer so if you did not hear the specifics I gave than that will be your fault but I expect the next shipment of information or I will come bodily retrieve it. Goodnight."
Sakura sighed at the dial tone. Some people just couldn't take a joke.
Naruto was honestly surprised. Here he was at a restaurant with Gaara and the newly employed Hibaku Deidara. Apparently he'd checked out just earlier that day and only three days since arriving in Konoha, he was declared mentally and physically fit to serve as Naruto's bodyguard under the guise as a translator/language tutor. While he was fluent in many different languages, Deidara often insisted his most native tongue was 'explosives'. Naruto didn't ask. It was the night after a day full of dreadful tests and the equally dreadful interview and Naruto was so looking forward to the seven different bowls of ramen he had coming to him, for he was only allowed to eat them a few times a year by Ino. Suddenly and awfully his phone started ringing. Gaara and Deidara both started at him expectantly as he searched his pockets for the annoying little device. It was the worst possible person he could imagine could want to speak to him right now. He contemplated not answering when it stopped ringing. And then began ringing again.
"Hello?" He tried to sound civil and indifferent but he could tell off the bat it was annoyed and jaded. This guy was such a jerk.
"Aaahhh Mr. Future-Hokage. How are you this lovely evening?"
"Actually, I'm at currently a restaurant. I'm about to have dinner, so if you don't mind, perhaps I can call you back later?" Diversion tactic number one, success pending.
"I do mind actually, as this topic is far more important than whatever dinner you may or may not be having."
Naruto blinked furiously. There were so many disrespectful, rude and wrong things in that one sentence alone, but all he could think was. "You think I'm lying about being in a restaurant?"
"I didn't say that." There was an infuriating smirk sounding off in his voice. Naruto actually grit his teeth and hissed, drawing the rapt attention of the two other occupants at the table. "I was simply including the option that you may not actually be at a restaurant. Not the same."
Naruto closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Whatever, what did you want?"
"To see you."
Naruto groaned aloud. The damn date again. "Look I'm really, really busy. I'm sorry if it doesn't seem fair, but I promise that s how it is, my schedule is a mess. You should talk to my PR, she'll-"
"I don't care." It was firm and very no nonsense, very different from how the voice was just a few moments ago. "I don't care about your schedule, I don't care about your PR or any other excuses you would care to think up and throw at me. I'll be picking you up and then we'll be going out."
For a moment Naruto was confused, alarmed and stupefied all at the same time. "What? Wait! When?" Why did he just go along with this?
"Soon. Goodnight Naruto."
Both Deidara and Gaara were very interested to know just who and what was going on over the phone to cause such an intense blush to overcome Naruto's innocent face so suddenly. But the blonde himself was having trouble staving off terrible bodily reactions that were rampaging just from the sinful way that man had spoken his name. As time moved on and the three men eventually got on to enjoying their dinner and then going their separate ways, Naruto found himself standing in his bedroom staring in the mirror with very wide blue eyes as he froze in unbuttoning his shirt. A very large and simple truth had just presented itself in his mind.
The fact that the Uchiha had not asked for an address meant that he obviously knew where Naruto lived.
Shit.
[A/N] Sooo? What did you think? I need reviews to feed the little plot bunny beast inside my head! And they help motivate the hell out of me. I mean, why would anyone write something that isn't being read, ya know? So let me know whatever you think about it.
Ciao!