Declaration- I do not own Naruto, but if I did… I would take Gaara, Sasori and Pein to be my personal slaves. Yup, I got a thing for redheads.
A/N- Brotherly fluff alert, especially toward the end. Tried and tried but could not get rid for it, sorry.
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Floating worlds
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That boy was his and his alone. One night simply will not do. As long as he here, in this strange city, Itachi was his, only his.
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A chance meeting
Such an awful way to start the day, Hidan woke up with the worst headache ever.
It felt like an army of thousand men, marching back and forth in his skull, beating on their drums. At first, he did not recognize the place he was in. All he knew that it was surprisingly warm and for some odd reason it smelled nice too.
He set up swiftly, and knew it was a bad mistake. The world began spinning around him and his stomach could not hold it any longer.
"Oh gods! Oh no!" A blonde girl came rushing in, a wooden bucket in her hands. It was put to use immediately. Hidan hugged it as if it was a lost friend and Ino buried her nose in her fragrant kimono sleeve. She tried to look away from the vomiting man.
How humiliating, she was furious. Last night has gone wrong in so many ways. The warlord did not choose her, Fuen was highly disappointed, and above all, she had to take care of this drunk, repulsive man.
"Is there anything you need?" she asked.
"Sorry about that, little missy. Can I have some water, please?"
"Of course." She left the room again, taking the stinking bucket with her.
Hidan massaged his throbbing temples, miserably. "Getting drunk instead of getting laid, just my fucking luck…" He was thankful that no one here knew him.
The girl returned with another bucket, this time it was filled with fresh water. Hidan gave her a thankful smile and used the water to wash his face and rinse his mouth.
"Much better now, thank you."
"You're welcome, sir. Lady Fuen invites you to breakfast."
"Will my lord join too?"
"No, sir, he has already left."
"Is that so? Did he leave any message for me?"
"In fact yes, 'You are an adorable drunk', he said."
"Fucking funny… hmm, sorry… It's an old habit, can't fucking get rid of it… Oh, sorry again." He smiled sheepishly at Ino's cold glare.
"My lady requested me to take care of you. Is there anything you need sir?"
Hidan chuckled in a low voice "Dear missy, I really like blonds, you know, and you are a very pretty one… but the problem is, you are the wrong kind of blond, if you know what I mean."
Ino blushed in anger; another rejection was all she needed. Did all the northern foreigners lean that way? Because if it is true, she will be useless to Fuen, and will be thrown out for sure.
"Just take me to breakfast, will ya?" Hidan disrupted her sulking.
"Follow me."
In comparison to last night feast, this breakfast was rather modest. The cook served them simple food, miso soup with Salmon and rice balls. Hidan was grateful; he could not stomach anything fancier. He took his chopsticks and began to eat.
"Ohayo, Hidan-san."
Hidad turned his gaze to the greeter and frowned. The crap fish has yet to leave. The rich merchant stepped to the room with one of the girls.
"Oahyo, Yamamoto-san."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Can't really remember."
"Hai, you slept well, then! So did I. How can a man have bad dreams while embracing such a beauty, ne, Hinata-chan?"
Hidan looked at the girl who said nothing. She was paler then the last night, the skin under her eyes was dark, and she was trembling. Yamamoto san did not notice at all, and instead he grabbed her and gave her a passionate kiss. His swollen lips were wet with saliva.
Hidan looked away; he did not feel like vomiting all over again. This Breakfast was not appealing anymore.
"Well, it has been a pleasure meeting you all." He said, throwing away his chopsticks and getting up "I'm done; I need to go now."
"Why not wait, Hidan san?" Yamamoto removed himself from the poor girl "If you just wait few more moments, I will be more than happy to accompany you and show you around the city."
Hidan revolted to that thought, "Yamamoto san, I am sure you have more important things to do. See you again soon." or not. He bowed shallowly and got out of there as quickly as he could.
"Come again!" Fuen was on the balcony and she waved at him with her golden fan.
"Sure thing…" Hidan waved back and closed the squeaking gate behind him.
This place is too much of a 'high class' for my taste, Hidan decided. He had the day off, and he wanted to enjoy it his way. Maybe a nice roll of dice will do, or even better, mahjong, yes, perfect. It was time to spend some of Kakuzu's precious money.
oOOo
"Is it always going to be like this?" Neji asked Itachi as they were on their way to the marketplace. Both of the boys glanced backwards at Fudo that followed them like a shadow. They caught him, as he sent his hand to his crotch and gave it a thorough scratching, and then they turned ahead again.
"Lady Fuen ordered him to 'guard' me."
"Because of this warlord, Kumori?" Neji pouted.
They approached the first stands of the market, and Itachi looked at the scroll that his mistress gave them. They needed to buy food to stock up for the upcoming winter. Winter will come soon enough, not much leafs were left on the trees by now.
It was a cold, bright, autumn day. It was the first day, after the war, that people really felt safe enough to come out to the open. And so, they came out in swarms. The streets were packed up with servants and commoners, farmers and nobles, making last minute arrangements before the first snow.
"We need fish, rice and some pickled vegetables," said Itachi. "We can get a good price at Kyoko's, come Neji…"
Neji touched the string of coins at his neck. "I hope we can last this winter."
"Of course we can, haven't you heard? He is going to pay ten thousand a month."
Neji's eyes widened with disbelieve "So desu ka."
"Don't envy me, he is a prick."
"Shush, one of his men might hear you!" Neji glared at some foreign soldiers passing by. They wore the symbol of this new comer, the red cloud of dawn.
"Let them hear me, I don't mind."
"I don't envy you, we all have our fate. But still, it is easier for you; at least, you like men."
"Well, I don't like him. Here is Kyoko; lets ask her what she can offer us."
They approached the elder woman who stood in the entrance of her shop, when an old man came out from a mahjong-gambling house shouting, "Help! Thief! One hundred mons, to the one who catches him!"
Out came storming, a blonde boy in tattered rags. He blinked in the open sunlight but recovered quickly and started running. He passed by the two. "Hey, Itachi-kun, Neji-Chan, gotta go, un!"
"Deidara…" Neji started but the blonde soon disappeared in the crowd.
"Hopeless…" Itachi frowned but Fudo grinned for the first time that morning.
"Can you handle yourselves for a while?" he asked the boys "I can sure use this money…"
He did not wait for an answer, and left running after the thief. Few other people must felt the same, for they went after the small boy themselves.
"He will get himself killed one day." Neji Said, without trying to mask his worry.
This is what happens when one enslaves himself to the white dragon of opium, Itachi thought. Once, he and Deidara were rivals, but Fuka banished the blonde teen from Sakura after she caught him stealing from her. Now he was nothing but a hungry ghost.
"There is nothing we can do, Neji."
"I hope he gets away."
oOOo
Hidan was pondering about his next move, when a wave of men passed near the table and all the mahjong little ivory bricks fell down. "Watch it, will ya? I was fucking winning! What the hell was that?" He asked a fellow gambler that set next to him.
The man chewed on his sliver and smirked, "They are after a thief or something…"
It appeared that they overpowered that felon, at the corner of the street. A crowd of people gathered around, followed by the sound of beating and the cries for mercy.
The gamblers seemed oblivion to the violence around them. They picked up the bricks and set the table once more. "It was your turn." The sliver sucker told Hidan.
Hidan glanced at the board, then at the gathering, at the board and the commotion once more.
"Fuck this shit; I can't concentrate with all this ruckus." He got up, hand on the hilt of his sword, he paced towards the crowd. "Make way! Make way? What the fuck is going on here?"
He shoved few people out of his way, as he straggled to reach the center. When he got there, he saw three overgrown men kicking and beating a young skinny boy. Hidan always had a soft spot against injustice. That was clearly an unfair fight; they were killing him.
"Stop it now, fuckers!" He shouted but the men were deep in their bloodlust fit, and did not pay attention to him. "Oi, twats! I said cut it out!"
He grabbed one of them by his robes, pulled him away from the boy and punched him with all his might. That unfortunate man was thrown a few feet away, and collapsed unconscious. Only then, Hidan got a vague feeling that he had seen that man before. The other two turned their fury towards him now, but he gave them the same treatment. Soon, they were down on the floor, bleeding and sulking.
The others in the crowd stopped their cheers and eyed Hidan with new awe and respect.
"Someone please explain this to me." Hidan demanded.
"This thief has a price on his head," someone said, bowing.
"We can split it." Offered another one, but Hidan's cold glare shut him up, and made him step backwards, trembling.
"What you should do is turn him in, to the authorities." Hidan continued "and since I am the authorities, I will take it from here. Any fucking objections?" No one dared breathing. Hidan smirked at the silence "Good, now scramble!"
The people grunted away, leaving Hidan alone with the youth. He hurried to check on the boy, he was afraid he was too late.
"Hey, kid! Come on! Wake up!" Hidan shook the limped body with growing fear. After a few worried moments, the boy showed firsts signs of recovery. Finally, he woke up. "Gods, are you ok?"
"Ahh?" The teen tried to sit up, and Hidan quickly supported him with his strong arms. "Who the hell are you, un?" the blonde blinked and pouted. Hidan just stared at him; he had the most beautiful blue eyes Hidan had ever seen.
"I am the one that can put you in jail." Hidan presented himself smirking. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, un… maybe a broken rib, but nothing major."
"A broken rib is something major, you stupid ass!"
Well, after one inhales the sweet smoke of opium, nothing is that big a deal. "I am fine, ok? Just let me go!" Deidara tried to get up, but a sharp pain at his side sabotaged his efforts.
"You need to see a doctor." Hidan stated.
"No, thank you." Deidara answered, "I am actually late for a… meeting" at his next try, Deidara managed to get up. "Nice to meet you, sir, good bye." He supported his side with his hand, hissing with pain, and started to walk slowly.
"I see…" Hidan frowned at the stubborn kid. "If you are set on leaving, can I at least have back the things you stole?"
Oh crap, there goes my daily fix, Deidara sighed, but turned around. That man was determinant and refusing him was a very unhealthy thing to do.
"Here you go, un." The blonde threw away a little silken bag to the filthy ground.
Hidan picked it up with no complains. He opened the little bag, and found some pieces of jewelry in it.
"It belongs to Hiroshi-san, a mahjong gambling house manager, un." Deidara took an agonizing step forwarded. Walking seemed to be a problem, yet he did not worry. All he had to do was to hold on until he reaches the nearest opium den. "If you ask me, I think… he stole those from his customers, un…" Deidara walked on, battling each move "So…it is not like I was s…" He started but did not finish. The pain overpowered him and he collapsed.
"Oi, idiot!" Hidan dashed toward the boy and caught him before he fell, face down into a puddle of mud. "Idiot!" Hidan whispered again, lifting the fainted beauty in his arms. Time to look for Kakuzu, he thought.
oOOo
"Where is that baka, Fudo?" asked Neji, annoyed "Some bodyguard, ne?"
"Hn."
"I really can't wait for him any longer. I want to go back home. I know Hinata needs me." Especially after her nightmarish night with that horrible person, Yamamoto. "Look, we already finished our errands and sent the delivery boys ahead; can I go Itachi-nii?"
"Yes, I'll go looking for Fudo."
"Arigato, don't delay for too long."
Neji hurried away and soon disappeared in the crowd. Itachi was left alone for the first time in weeks. He was not scared. That boy could fend for himself very well. He was not going to look for Fudo either, that stupid man did not deserve his efforts. What Itachi really wanted to do was to spend the rest of his money and buy his brother a little present. He had the impression that Sasuke was mad at him, probably after seeing him and lord Kumori in bed together. Maybe a little toy would cheer the boy up.
Itachi approached a toys counter. All tough it was not New Year's time yet; his eyes were drawn towards the little colorful Temari balls. Sasuke will be happy to have one, he thought. He waited for the sells woman to finish her talk with another costumer and in the meanwhile tried to decide which ball will Sasuke like the best.
Suddenly a leather-clad hand covered his mouth and another strong hand locked his arms in a tight grip.
"Hey, pretty boy, nice and easy… don't make a sound." A voice whispered in his ear. Itachi nodded in silenced agreement "Good, come along now…" The man whispered again. They did not draw any attention from the by passers.
That man led him slowly to a dim, narrow alley, hands still locked on his mouth and arms. Itachi knew he was led to a place no one could even hear him scream. His mind worked fast, he cast all other thought and concentrated solely on the way the other man moved, on the way he put one foot in front of another. When an opportunity showed itself at one unstable step, maybe a stumble across a stone or a try to avoid a puddle, but Itachi took that fraction of an unbalance moment, and managed to use it to throw the man to the ground.
Than man gave a surprised yelp, and with a cat-like grace came back to his feet. Itachi send a precise kick to that man blind spot, which he managed to duck by reflex only. The man swung swiftly to Itachi's other side and send a fist to his face, but Itachi blocked it easily enough.
They eyed each other and smiled warmly. "You got better, Itachi-kun."
"You got older, Sensei."
"Don't get cocky, brat, I caught you off guard."
"Or maybe I let myself get caught."
Madara laughed out, "Well, it can't be proved either way. How are you, pretty boy?"
"Fine."
"Did you meet that warlord yet?"
"Yes, I did. I laid with him"
"So soon?" Madara raised a dark eyebrow "You are truly irresistible. I feel sorry for him, already. What have you learned?"
"If he is an enemy, he is not to be underestimated."
"I see. Anything useful?"
"His men are truly loyal to him. They can not be bribed."
"Interesting. Did you get any information about his current plans?"
"He will spend the winter here, but he intends to head back home, after he gets his revenge from Danzo."
"Is that so?"
"He said it himself."
"Itachi-kun, there is a chance he said it just to throw us off the lead, am I right?"
Itachi gave it a moment and then nodded. "He is a clever one, Sensei. Please, tell me why you are so interested in him?"
"Mah, Itachi-kun, can't tell you that much, Sorry."
"Tell me this, then, is he a target?"
"Listen Itachi, I am in the dark as well. I am on my way to the base now, to get new orders, until then, everything is the same. Try to keep him alive until I am back and keep an eye on him, find out as much as you can."
"Hai, Sensei."
A moment of silence passed, Madara looked at Itachi fondly, but could not master his thoughts into words. Itachi recognized his Sensei's struggle and after a few moments, it started to annoy him. "Nani?"
Madara sighed, "I am leaving, pretty boy. I just came to say goodbye. I need to hurry before the snow closes the roads."
"I know already, what is it?"
Madara smiled again, nothing passed by that boy. "I have some bad news for you. I tried to tell you on the night of the fire, but I couldn't. I need to tell you now, before I leave."
Itachi embraced himself by taking a deep breath. "Sasuke?"
"Yes, Sasuke." Madara confirmed, "The clan elders reached a decision about him. It has been decided than in the spring, I will come back to take him. He will be trained as one of us, although he is only half blood."
Itachi took a moment to deliberate, no emotion surfaced on his face "I don't understand." Itachi whispered finally "This is great news, Sensei, this if what we fought for. We wanted the elders to recognize Sasuke as an Uchiha… I…"
Madara sighed and shook his spiky mane "What it means, dear nephew, is that Sasuke will be taken away from you. You will never see him again."
"What?"
"He will train to become a shinobi, he will become a shadow, like me. He will be out of your grasp forever."
"But… why? Can't he come visit me, once in a while?"
Madara lowered his head "This would be extremely difficult. You see, the elders think that being around you, will damage his education."
Itachi guessed were this was heading, tears began streaming down his face. "Why…" he managed before choking his cries.
"I am sorry, Itachi. This is the only way the elders are willing to accept him. I guess they think that letting him see you will weaken him. They think that having a male entertainer…"
"A male whore!" Itachi shouted, "Say it clearly, now, a whore! That is what they wanted me to be in the first place! Why else would they send Fugaku to father children with a courtesan? Don't tell me he fell for her, don't lie to me!"
"You were supposed to be females, you or Sasuke… as the prophecy stated…"
"Forget the damn prophecy! We came out as boys, for the gods to laugh at us! Gods! They cannot have him! They will not take Sasuke away from me!"
Madara knew this was going to be a rough conversation, but Itachi's sorrow really took him by surprise. That boy was so reserved most of the time; he nearly thought he had no feelings at all. Now he was storming more then a typhoon, and Madara could hardly manage it.
"Don't be selfish, Itachi… you said it yourself, you wanted a different fate for your ototo, well, here is the chance. He will become a shinobi, he will become a part of his clan… not an outcast anymore… aren't you glad?"
"Yes… no…" Itachi fell on his knees, sobbing.
That was all Madara could take. He approached the boy and pulled him into a hug. Madara cradled him as an infant, placing kisses on his temples, petting his long silky hair. "Itachi… please, stop. This is my entire fault. I should have never come to meet you two. I should have never revealed myself to you… or teach you how to fight… I broke my clan's orders, and now I broke your heart."
"No! You did well. I deserved the truth. Sasuke deserves the truth. Don't apologize, Sensei, you did us a favor, I am forever in your debt. I just wish… I wish I was free as you are."
"I am not free, my dear nephew." Madara whispered. "I am nothing but a killing machine, obeying my clan's orders. My will and my desires interest no one."
"But…. but at least you live like a man, not like men's toy…"
"Submitting to one's fates, shames no one."
"Sensei, why did you train me as a ninja? Why did you let me dearm?"
"This is no dream, Itachi-kun. You are a weapon, a perfect weapon. You should know that the clan values you as one of its most deadly tools. Your beauty is a weapon. Your skills can match any Uchiha I know. Itachi, please remember, you serve the clan as a courtesan and one day, they will reward you. Just be patient, dear boy."
"It is so hard…"
"I know, Itachi-kun, I am sorry. I really need to hurry. I hate to leave you this way. Please, you have until springtime. Think about it. Don't throw your brother's life away, just because you need him. Do you hear me, Itachi?"
"I hear you." The boy tried to shove Madara away and control his trembling "We have until spring time." This will have to do.
Madara sighed with relief and freed Itachi from his hold. They helped each other up, Madara smiled and ruffled Itachi's hair. "I will see you in few more months. Take good care of your brother and yourself."
"One thing…"
"Yes, Itachi?"
"When you come back…"
"Yes?"
"I want a sword."
Madara frowned but said nothing. He brushed the dry mud from his robs and walked away.
oOOo
"Just because you gave me a Temari, doesn't mean I forgive you." Sasuke hugged the little toy in his lap, but his face remind pouted.
Itachi smiled and tried to ruffle the boy's hair, but Sasuke drew away. "I am sorry." He gave up and lowered his hand.
"Hn." Sasuke gave him a cold glare that could diminish any right-minded person into a little, helpless bug.
Itachi sighed softly and tucked the blankets around them. Lord Kumori did not show up, and since no one else was allowed to touch him; he had a chance to spend that night with his brother.
"Just because I am young, doesn't make me stupid, you know!" Sasuke continued. Itachi put out the light of the lamp. "You broke your promise to me!"
"Did I?"
"Hell, yes! You said you'd never let any man hurt you!"
"Sasuke…"
"And he did. Did he? That bastard of a carrot-head!"
"Watch your language, Sasuke!"
"Did he?"
"That man is going to get us through this winter, Sasuke-kun. Now is that a way to treat the man who saved our life?"
"But you promised!"
Itachi send a slender hand and force Sasuke's teary eyes to meet his. "Listen Sasuke, you are a grown boy already. You should know that sometimes people do bad things; things that they don't want to do, in order to survive. Remember our story? about Mikoto and Mizukun?"
"What about it?"
"Where did I stop?"
"They were going to his palace underwater."
"Yes, ototo… little did they know that Anagoru, the king eel was already waiting for them, lurking underwater. He wanted to kill Mizukun."
"Why?" Sasuke asked casually. He tried to hide his interest in they story, but could not fool anyone.
"Well, I already told you, Mikoto was very beautiful. Anyone who ever laid his eyes on her, wanted her for himself."
"Mizukun too?"
"Well…kind of… they were best friends, but Anagoru wanted her to himself. He prepared a golden cage for her, in his underwater castle. When Mizukun and the princess arrived he jumped on them and…"
"And what?" Sasuke was now captured; he send a hand to grasp his brother's robs.
"Well, I am sorry to say that the evil king eel managed to kill poor Mizukun. It was a long bitter fight, and although Mizukun tried his best, the king eel was far too strong. After a battle of twenty days and nights, the water dragon was killed."
"Oh… no…" Sasuke gasped.
"I know, I am sorry. The evil king's plotting came through. He caught poor Mikoto and put her in the golden prison of his. And she? In order to survive, she had to obey him in every way. She had to do what ever he said, even things she did not want to do."
"Like what?"
"Like… umm… like sing, I guess. She really hated singing."
"That's bad…"
"Yes, but don't worry, Sasuke. The story doesn't end here."
"There is more?"
"Tomorrow, I'll continue tomorrow. Now get some sleep, ok?"
"Ok."
"Good night…" Itachi leaned over the boy but Sasuke pulled away.
"Don't kiss me! I am a grown-up, remember?"
Itachi felt those words stabbing his chest. He remembered Sensei's news. Yes, Sasuke-kun, you are truly a grown-up now.
oOOo
TBC
OooO
A/N- And here is the part were I am pending for reviews. How did you like it? Review, please?