Title: Life Goes On
Author: nikki (nikkichan0829@yahoo.com)
Chapter: 2/?
Chapter Title: Calm Before the Storm
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Enough said. The title was from the song, "Life Goes On" by Leanne Rhymes (is that the right spelling?).
Warning: YAOI. OOCness?
Author's notes: Well, I haven't updated in a while. The Naruto section's getting a bit saturated so I don't think anyone would mind if I didn't update for a long while. I finally got over my writer's block so now, I'm writing again. I'm trying to make the other chapters longer than usual. I think that it would be a big improvement to my writing. I've gotten parts of this story written down on paper already... Just not for this chapter though. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update faster this time.
~Chapter 2: Calm Before the Storm~
Getting sometime off had been a bit hard. There were a lot of things to be done yet there were too little man power to do them. Kakashi sighed as he surveyed the chaotic office. If not stacked haphazardly, the papers were strewn all over the floor. There were some guys waiting by the coffee maker, watching it drip slowly with baggy eyes. (Even if it was already that late in the evening.)
There was an all-time high in the requests for the services of the nins. Things were so hectic that people barely had the time to even say hi to each other. Several nins had been sent out on a number of missions, sometimes even overlapping each other.
The jounin adjusted his head protector. Kakashi had started wearing his forehead protector tilted to the left to cover the Sharingan. Most people found it rather unsettling for him to look at them with that eye so he started covering it.
He was about to go out for a well-deserved break when he ran into a nin carrying a high stack of papers. And when he meant high, he meant overwhelmingly high. Sheets of paper flew everywhere. Kakashi stooped down to help the poor nin in picking them up.
"Oh sorry!"
"Don't worry about it."
Kakashi's head jerked up at the sound of the other nin's voice and found himself face-to-face with Uchiha Itachi. The boy's lips quirked into a smirk as the jounin realized that he had been staring. Well, how could he not? The young Uchiha looked harassed. Evidences of lack of sleep can be seen on the boy's face, the eyebags, the slightly sluggish movements, the tired expression on the boy's face, the haphazardly tied ponytail and the fact that Itachi was now yawning...
"You look very tired. Why don't you deposit these and take a break with me?" Kakashi found himself saying. He didn't know why but he liked the young Uchiha's company.
Sure, Itachi was mostly silent but his silence was an assuring one. It was like he was always listening to you even if you were merely babbling nonsense. Then, there were those small smiles. Kakashi couldn't help noticing those lips.
Then Itachi's lips curled into the small smile that the jounin loved to observe. "Aa."
~~~~~
Itachi couldn't help but smile, It had been a while since he last had an opportnity to be with Kakashi. It was indeed a treat, a welcome break from all the hassle.
But he need not say that to the man. He was sure that Kakashi already knew. After all, he looked like he'd been chased all over town by those rabid lovesick girls that couldn't leave him alone.
There was a time when he had all the privacy he needed. He was a weirdo that everyone avoided. Now, he was the top pick among the bachelors and girls with an eye out for fame and fortune had to just pick the Uchiha name for something to start with.
Focusing at the situation at hand, he looked intently at his current interest. Kakashi was currently sipping, well, more like inhaling his sake like there was no tomorrow. There was a slight pinkish tinge on the older man's cheeks that indicated that he may have already surpassed his alcoholic limits.
Itachi felt his eye twitch especially when the jounin started singing loudly... and off-key too. The people around them seemed amused and some of them even started singing too.
Letting out a sigh, the young Chuunin decided to let it be for the time being. The pressure at work was too much as of late. But so were the demands of his clan. Seeing Kakashi so relaxed was enough to make everything else seem so far away. That was enough he supposed.
Just then an arm draped about on his shoulders...
"Come on, Itachi! Sing with us! Haha!" a semi-drunk Kakashi said, his visible eye in what one may call a happy arc.
Itachi's eye gave off another twitch. Maybe letting Kakashi get away with drinking too much was not a good idea. But then again, it was amusing to some extent, meaning that as long as it didn't involve him.
Then the arm on his shoulders slipped down to his narrow waist sending a wave of heat straight to his face. The Chuunin knew... he was definitely blushing beet red. Now, there's no need to panic. What he needed right now was to stay calm and think about this rationally.
His mind was sending out warning signals. Not good. Not good.
His heart skipped beats. Kakashi was comfortably warm.
Warmth. Very comfortable. Not good. Not good.
Damn calm. Damn thinking rationally. Damn it all.
"Okay! That's it! We're leaving!"
"Eh? What?!"
~~~~~
A few minutes later, they found themselves sitting side by side under a tree.
"You shouldn't have drank too much."
"I know."
"You knew yet you still did it."
"I know."
"Obito..."
"..."
Then the silver-gray-haired nin leaned to his side and rested his on Itachi's shoulder. Blood rushed to the Chuunin's face, red staining his cheeks.
"Ka-kakashi? What-what are you doing?"
Kakashi sighed. "Just let me rest my head a while. The world's spinning a bit. It's comfy here."
"A-aa... Souka..."
~~~~~
Minutes turned to hours. Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks and soon, weeks turned to months. It wouldn't be long now for it to be a year.
It didn't really take long before everything went into routine. Kakashi would drag Itachi to take a break, they'd talk, they'd eat, then Kakashi would do something that would make Itachi drag him out before trouble starts brewing.
The boy's small smiles were a constant thing now. There even a few times that he'd actually laugh. (Yes, on the boy's birthday, Kakashi got so drunk that he tripped over his on two feet. But yes, he did remember hearing Itachi's laugh for the first time.) Kakashi liked it that way. Itachi was too young to start feeling older than he should. The spring time of youth shouldn't be taken lightly or shoved back only to have regrets later on.
If only Gai could hear his thoughts now.
It was strange that lately... all the missions he's been given had not been lower than B rank. And most of them had been of high risk. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of handling them. No, it was because it had been backed up by a powerful clan namely, the Uchiha clan.
Kakashi knew that he must've crossed an unseen line somewhere because he certainly knew that he didn't piss them off directly. The only connection he could think off was his friendship with Itachi. But he didn't think that he did anything to offend the boy and the boy certainly gave no inclination of any of the sort.
Which went back to the question of why. Why were they pulling strings to get him out of the picture?
Kakashi was so deep in his musings that he was startled when he heard something snap. He glanced down at his feet.
In his carelessness, he broke a twig and now, the opposition knew he was there.
//Shit.//
~~~~~
Itachi wandered aimlessly in his own home, having taken the day off. Sasuke had dragged him out for "training" earlier. His little brother was just so cute that he couldn't say no.
Besides, Kakashi wasn't back from his mission yet. He had wondered about that. All those missions and not one of them had been lower than B rank. There must be something wrong, something that he didn't see.
No one would tell him anything.
There was a nagging feeling that he already knew what was going on. He hadn't exactly been discrete about his friendship with the jounin. Well, it hadn't really affected his performance in a bad way. In fact, it improved it to his mind's eye, of course. Who knew what his clan thought?
But they couldn't possibly have seen Kakashi as a threat, now could they? A threat to what? His performance? The clan's status? Or was it their semi-complete control over his life?
What can easily be taken away, cannot be easily brought back. Control was one of them and so was life. The only difference would be that with life, you can't bring it back no matter how hard you try.
It made his blood run cold at the thought. Could it be possible that they mean to kill the only other person besides Sasuke who meant something to him? They wouldn't. He'd kill them.
Which would explain the missions he supposed. But Kakashi was strong. He wouldn't easily...
"Are you sure that it would succeed this time?"
Itachi stopped in his tracks exactly outside his father's study and hid his presence from the people in the room.
"We've hired the best that we could find to make sure that his bloody carcass would be brought back before the end of the week."
"Does that monster know?"
"He doesn't. Otherwise, he would've done something by now."
"It is regrettable though. Kakashi has a lot of talent. It was too bad that he had to get mixed up with such a demon. Now, he'll be facing an S-class criminal and drown in a watery grave."
"We'll just have to make sure that -"
The door flew open. The occupants in the room were at first startled then afraid as Itachi glared at them, Sharingan activated.
"What did you do?"
Itachi's father as well as the elders of the clan said nothing. The Chuunin grit his teeth, seething in anger and hatred. His eyes pinned down each of them, making sure to let them know just how dangerous he could really be.
"If he dies, I'll kill you."
Then he was gone.
~~~~~
Getting to the city could take an hour or two, which meant time that he couldn't afford to waste. Itachi strapped on his katana as he quickly ran out of Konoha's main gates.
At the moment, he didn't care if he wasn't following protocol to inform the other nins or even the Hokage of what he was planning to do. He had to get to Kakashi before something happened.
He had to move fast. Doing anything else would most likely slow him down. He had barely glanced at his pouch to check on whether or not he had brought enough weapons with him. It didn't really matter though.
Whoever his family hired, he'd kill him with bare hands. Kakashi had to be alive long enough for him to get there!
~~~~~
"Hokage-sama! This is bad!"
"Hm?"
"Itachi's gone missing!"
//So it has come down to this...// the Hokage thought. You can only push something so far with mere brute force. Everything and everyone has a breaking point. Go over the limit and you'll find a lot of trouble in your hands.
Itachi had been feared by his own flesh and blood for being a prodigy. In their fear, they exerted too much control over the boy's life. When the boy could've been having fun and making friends, he was being forced to study jutsu's and restricted from doing what he wanted.
That boy had always been on guard. Not many could come close to him. It wasn't that he looked down on them. It was because when his family should have taught him trust, they taught him mistrust and betrayal instead. The fear of trusting and being betrayed had left the young one isolated from the rest.
One could count with just one hand just how many people Itachi trusted with his whole heart.
Obito.
Sasuke.
And... Kakashi.
But even with such a harsh upbringing, Itachi knew how to value the people important to him. That was what's important.
The Hokage had not wanted to interfere before but it seemed that things have gotten out of hand. This had to stop.
"Send four available jounins out to find him and bring him back here."
He would have to speak to the clan heads immediately. Unfortunately, the ones involved were not around.
"Inform me when they return."
~~~~~
Kakashi winced as he leaned against the wall. Kabaji Gozaburo. A Water nin wanted on charges of multiple murder. He hadn't expected to encounter such a high-ranked criminal in this mission.
This was bad. How could he have gotten careless? It was just like... Oh gods. Before Obito took a hit meant for him...
Damn it!
Images came to mind but all of them indicated to only one person.
Itachi...
He had never really paid much attention to why he had been so adamant about asserting himself into the boy's life. He never really knew until now why. But it probably doesn't matter anymore.
He'll never be able to tell Itachi.
He knew it. He most likely wasn't going to get out of this alive.
~~~~~
By the time Itachi got to the place Kakashi had been assigned to, there were bodies strewn everywhere. There had been a big fight and there was no doubt that Kakashi never made it easy for them.
He paid no heed to the blood on the ground, neither did he pay attention to the look of horror on the faces of the corpses that littered the area. He was only focused on one thing: finding Kakashi and getting him out of here alive.
He knew that he would most likely have some jounin trailing him, given his abrupt departure. He had to find him fast before they decide to drag him off and leave the man behind.
//Kakashi... Where are you?//
He saw something flash meters away and saw red. He pulled out several shuriken and let them fly before drawing his katana and rushing after them.
~~~~~
The blade swung downward. Kakashi closed his eyes. He was going to die.
Then something warm and wet hit his face. His eyes flew open and widened. It was raining blood...
His opponent had several shuriken embedded on him and a katana in his gut. And the one holding the katana was none other than...
"Itachi..."
The boy twisted the blade once before pulling it out and lopping the man's head off. Then he turned to Kakashi, his eyes still cold. Covered in blood, he was the ideal image of a fallen angel. Dark, forbidding and beautiful.
Funny, he had never really thought about Itachi in that way.
He had expected the boy to throw himself at him. "Kakashi! I'm so glad you're alright!"
Despite having suffered a great many injuries, the sound of Itachi's voice alone made them seem to feel much better already.
~~~~~
Itachi got a week's suspension for running off without informing the proper authorities. He spent that week sitting by Kakashi in the hospital and helping him with domestic chores when he got released.
His clan no longer meddled in his affairs. Most likely afraid of him making his threat true. Partly it was also because the Hokage had called a meeting with him and the clan heads telling the clan members to stop controlling his life. He couldn't help but feel a little bit uneasy. It wasn't like them to just give up like that.
Kakashi was resting at the moment. Itachi smiled as he brushed a few errant locks away from the man's face. He was glad that he was okay. Then he surveyed the rest of the room. It was all clean and in order. He had to go home. He had to tuck his little brother into bed like he promised.
He opened the door out and looked back at the sleeping man. He smiled. "Oyasumi."
~~~~~
It had been a simple mission. All they had to do was to retrieve a scroll from a lord who had useless thugs instead of professionals to guard it.
How could it have gone so terribly wrong?
There were four of them in the team. Only two of them lived. The other survivor was in critical condition. He, on the the other hand, got away with merely a few cuts and bruises.
It had been two months since the incident involving Kakashi. More than a year since he was last here. Now he was back. Not for Obito but for his two teammates. Two people he was responsible for. Two new names on the memorial. Two people who died because he got careless.
How did Intelligence's information get so screwed up?
He fisted his hand tightly until they bled. Kakashi was there behind him. He knew. He could feel the man's presence.
He bare felt the arms on his shoulders, steering him away. Strange. It wasn't raining. Then why did he feel moisture on his cheeks?
~~~~~
It hurt to look at the boy. Kakashi didn't want to see Itachi like that. Even though the Chuunin's expression never changed, the tears that trailed down his pale cheeks gave everything away. He didn't think that Itachi knew that he was crying.
As he walked, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder every now and then. Itachi was following him mechanically. It was obvious to the jounin that the boy's mind was focused elsewhere.
He sighed. Ever since that incident, he had noticed a lot of things that he hadn't noticed before. He noticed just how much he liked it when Itachi talked. He liked the way the boy moved. He loved his chuckles, his laughter, his smiles... He loved everything about him. It was then that he came to the conclusion, a conclusion that he wasn't sure of back then but he was sure of it now.
He was in love.
He was in love with a boy years his junior and not only that. The boy had yet to reach his thirteenth year.
"Kakashi-san?"
"Hmm?" Kakashi tilted his head slightly and before he knew it, a slender hand slipped into his own.
"Stay with me? I don't want to be alone."
Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction before closing, fighting an internal battle in his mind. He couldn't do this. Itachi was too young. Too vulnerable. It was too much. He was trembling as he grasped the boy's hand tightly, raising it to his chest.
"You should go home. I'm not the one who should be with you right now. It should be your family."
"I don't want to go home! I don't want anyone else right now! I want you!"
~~~~~
"I don't want to do home! I don't want anyone else right now! I want you!" Itachi's eyes widened as he clamped his free hand over his mouth. He hadn't really meant to say that. He just wanted to be with the jounin. He lowered his eyes in shame. He wasn't supposed to feel this way.
He knew now what Obito felt was worth dying for.
But Kakashi loved Obito. His name simply didn't fit in the equation. Kakashi's heart would never be his.
It was then that he realized that he really was crying. Tears... for the men who died on the mission, his responsibility... for carelessly destroying what cannot be replaced... for the aching heart whose love shall remain unrequited...
But then, rough yet gentle hands cupped his tear-stained cheeks. He had expected Kakashi to reject him, shun him, anything... anything but this...
"Itachi."
The Chuunin kept his eyes lowered not being able to meet the jounin's eye.
"Itachi, look at me. Please."
"Please don't," Itachi croaked. "It hurts. Please don't do this. I don't need your pity. I never meant for you to know, to see me like this."
Kakashi's hands left his wet cheeks. Itachi's sobs filled the silence between them as the older man shifted his stance and removed his head protector. Moments later, the jounin's hand clasped the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing Itachi to meet his gaze.
"I won't hurt you, Itachi."
Gray and scarlet eyes met obsidian.
"Maybe you already have," Itachi whispered. Strange. Kakshi seemed to be getting closer.
//What is he...?//
"I'm sorry..." the jounin whispered as lips met under the pale moonlight.
~~~~~
~TBC~
Author's notes: HAHAHA! *pulls out Naruto manga 16 and 17* ITACHI!!! WAH!!! My muses are back!!!
Please review. Flamers can go to hell and kiss Zabuza's ass!
Started: November 30, 2003
Broke off: November 30, 2003
Resumed: February 29, 2004
Ended: March 2, 2004
Author: nikki (nikkichan0829@yahoo.com)
Chapter: 2/?
Chapter Title: Calm Before the Storm
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Enough said. The title was from the song, "Life Goes On" by Leanne Rhymes (is that the right spelling?).
Warning: YAOI. OOCness?
Author's notes: Well, I haven't updated in a while. The Naruto section's getting a bit saturated so I don't think anyone would mind if I didn't update for a long while. I finally got over my writer's block so now, I'm writing again. I'm trying to make the other chapters longer than usual. I think that it would be a big improvement to my writing. I've gotten parts of this story written down on paper already... Just not for this chapter though. Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to update faster this time.
~Chapter 2: Calm Before the Storm~
Getting sometime off had been a bit hard. There were a lot of things to be done yet there were too little man power to do them. Kakashi sighed as he surveyed the chaotic office. If not stacked haphazardly, the papers were strewn all over the floor. There were some guys waiting by the coffee maker, watching it drip slowly with baggy eyes. (Even if it was already that late in the evening.)
There was an all-time high in the requests for the services of the nins. Things were so hectic that people barely had the time to even say hi to each other. Several nins had been sent out on a number of missions, sometimes even overlapping each other.
The jounin adjusted his head protector. Kakashi had started wearing his forehead protector tilted to the left to cover the Sharingan. Most people found it rather unsettling for him to look at them with that eye so he started covering it.
He was about to go out for a well-deserved break when he ran into a nin carrying a high stack of papers. And when he meant high, he meant overwhelmingly high. Sheets of paper flew everywhere. Kakashi stooped down to help the poor nin in picking them up.
"Oh sorry!"
"Don't worry about it."
Kakashi's head jerked up at the sound of the other nin's voice and found himself face-to-face with Uchiha Itachi. The boy's lips quirked into a smirk as the jounin realized that he had been staring. Well, how could he not? The young Uchiha looked harassed. Evidences of lack of sleep can be seen on the boy's face, the eyebags, the slightly sluggish movements, the tired expression on the boy's face, the haphazardly tied ponytail and the fact that Itachi was now yawning...
"You look very tired. Why don't you deposit these and take a break with me?" Kakashi found himself saying. He didn't know why but he liked the young Uchiha's company.
Sure, Itachi was mostly silent but his silence was an assuring one. It was like he was always listening to you even if you were merely babbling nonsense. Then, there were those small smiles. Kakashi couldn't help noticing those lips.
Then Itachi's lips curled into the small smile that the jounin loved to observe. "Aa."
~~~~~
Itachi couldn't help but smile, It had been a while since he last had an opportnity to be with Kakashi. It was indeed a treat, a welcome break from all the hassle.
But he need not say that to the man. He was sure that Kakashi already knew. After all, he looked like he'd been chased all over town by those rabid lovesick girls that couldn't leave him alone.
There was a time when he had all the privacy he needed. He was a weirdo that everyone avoided. Now, he was the top pick among the bachelors and girls with an eye out for fame and fortune had to just pick the Uchiha name for something to start with.
Focusing at the situation at hand, he looked intently at his current interest. Kakashi was currently sipping, well, more like inhaling his sake like there was no tomorrow. There was a slight pinkish tinge on the older man's cheeks that indicated that he may have already surpassed his alcoholic limits.
Itachi felt his eye twitch especially when the jounin started singing loudly... and off-key too. The people around them seemed amused and some of them even started singing too.
Letting out a sigh, the young Chuunin decided to let it be for the time being. The pressure at work was too much as of late. But so were the demands of his clan. Seeing Kakashi so relaxed was enough to make everything else seem so far away. That was enough he supposed.
Just then an arm draped about on his shoulders...
"Come on, Itachi! Sing with us! Haha!" a semi-drunk Kakashi said, his visible eye in what one may call a happy arc.
Itachi's eye gave off another twitch. Maybe letting Kakashi get away with drinking too much was not a good idea. But then again, it was amusing to some extent, meaning that as long as it didn't involve him.
Then the arm on his shoulders slipped down to his narrow waist sending a wave of heat straight to his face. The Chuunin knew... he was definitely blushing beet red. Now, there's no need to panic. What he needed right now was to stay calm and think about this rationally.
His mind was sending out warning signals. Not good. Not good.
His heart skipped beats. Kakashi was comfortably warm.
Warmth. Very comfortable. Not good. Not good.
Damn calm. Damn thinking rationally. Damn it all.
"Okay! That's it! We're leaving!"
"Eh? What?!"
~~~~~
A few minutes later, they found themselves sitting side by side under a tree.
"You shouldn't have drank too much."
"I know."
"You knew yet you still did it."
"I know."
"Obito..."
"..."
Then the silver-gray-haired nin leaned to his side and rested his on Itachi's shoulder. Blood rushed to the Chuunin's face, red staining his cheeks.
"Ka-kakashi? What-what are you doing?"
Kakashi sighed. "Just let me rest my head a while. The world's spinning a bit. It's comfy here."
"A-aa... Souka..."
~~~~~
Minutes turned to hours. Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks and soon, weeks turned to months. It wouldn't be long now for it to be a year.
It didn't really take long before everything went into routine. Kakashi would drag Itachi to take a break, they'd talk, they'd eat, then Kakashi would do something that would make Itachi drag him out before trouble starts brewing.
The boy's small smiles were a constant thing now. There even a few times that he'd actually laugh. (Yes, on the boy's birthday, Kakashi got so drunk that he tripped over his on two feet. But yes, he did remember hearing Itachi's laugh for the first time.) Kakashi liked it that way. Itachi was too young to start feeling older than he should. The spring time of youth shouldn't be taken lightly or shoved back only to have regrets later on.
If only Gai could hear his thoughts now.
It was strange that lately... all the missions he's been given had not been lower than B rank. And most of them had been of high risk. It wasn't that he wasn't capable of handling them. No, it was because it had been backed up by a powerful clan namely, the Uchiha clan.
Kakashi knew that he must've crossed an unseen line somewhere because he certainly knew that he didn't piss them off directly. The only connection he could think off was his friendship with Itachi. But he didn't think that he did anything to offend the boy and the boy certainly gave no inclination of any of the sort.
Which went back to the question of why. Why were they pulling strings to get him out of the picture?
Kakashi was so deep in his musings that he was startled when he heard something snap. He glanced down at his feet.
In his carelessness, he broke a twig and now, the opposition knew he was there.
//Shit.//
~~~~~
Itachi wandered aimlessly in his own home, having taken the day off. Sasuke had dragged him out for "training" earlier. His little brother was just so cute that he couldn't say no.
Besides, Kakashi wasn't back from his mission yet. He had wondered about that. All those missions and not one of them had been lower than B rank. There must be something wrong, something that he didn't see.
No one would tell him anything.
There was a nagging feeling that he already knew what was going on. He hadn't exactly been discrete about his friendship with the jounin. Well, it hadn't really affected his performance in a bad way. In fact, it improved it to his mind's eye, of course. Who knew what his clan thought?
But they couldn't possibly have seen Kakashi as a threat, now could they? A threat to what? His performance? The clan's status? Or was it their semi-complete control over his life?
What can easily be taken away, cannot be easily brought back. Control was one of them and so was life. The only difference would be that with life, you can't bring it back no matter how hard you try.
It made his blood run cold at the thought. Could it be possible that they mean to kill the only other person besides Sasuke who meant something to him? They wouldn't. He'd kill them.
Which would explain the missions he supposed. But Kakashi was strong. He wouldn't easily...
"Are you sure that it would succeed this time?"
Itachi stopped in his tracks exactly outside his father's study and hid his presence from the people in the room.
"We've hired the best that we could find to make sure that his bloody carcass would be brought back before the end of the week."
"Does that monster know?"
"He doesn't. Otherwise, he would've done something by now."
"It is regrettable though. Kakashi has a lot of talent. It was too bad that he had to get mixed up with such a demon. Now, he'll be facing an S-class criminal and drown in a watery grave."
"We'll just have to make sure that -"
The door flew open. The occupants in the room were at first startled then afraid as Itachi glared at them, Sharingan activated.
"What did you do?"
Itachi's father as well as the elders of the clan said nothing. The Chuunin grit his teeth, seething in anger and hatred. His eyes pinned down each of them, making sure to let them know just how dangerous he could really be.
"If he dies, I'll kill you."
Then he was gone.
~~~~~
Getting to the city could take an hour or two, which meant time that he couldn't afford to waste. Itachi strapped on his katana as he quickly ran out of Konoha's main gates.
At the moment, he didn't care if he wasn't following protocol to inform the other nins or even the Hokage of what he was planning to do. He had to get to Kakashi before something happened.
He had to move fast. Doing anything else would most likely slow him down. He had barely glanced at his pouch to check on whether or not he had brought enough weapons with him. It didn't really matter though.
Whoever his family hired, he'd kill him with bare hands. Kakashi had to be alive long enough for him to get there!
~~~~~
"Hokage-sama! This is bad!"
"Hm?"
"Itachi's gone missing!"
//So it has come down to this...// the Hokage thought. You can only push something so far with mere brute force. Everything and everyone has a breaking point. Go over the limit and you'll find a lot of trouble in your hands.
Itachi had been feared by his own flesh and blood for being a prodigy. In their fear, they exerted too much control over the boy's life. When the boy could've been having fun and making friends, he was being forced to study jutsu's and restricted from doing what he wanted.
That boy had always been on guard. Not many could come close to him. It wasn't that he looked down on them. It was because when his family should have taught him trust, they taught him mistrust and betrayal instead. The fear of trusting and being betrayed had left the young one isolated from the rest.
One could count with just one hand just how many people Itachi trusted with his whole heart.
Obito.
Sasuke.
And... Kakashi.
But even with such a harsh upbringing, Itachi knew how to value the people important to him. That was what's important.
The Hokage had not wanted to interfere before but it seemed that things have gotten out of hand. This had to stop.
"Send four available jounins out to find him and bring him back here."
He would have to speak to the clan heads immediately. Unfortunately, the ones involved were not around.
"Inform me when they return."
~~~~~
Kakashi winced as he leaned against the wall. Kabaji Gozaburo. A Water nin wanted on charges of multiple murder. He hadn't expected to encounter such a high-ranked criminal in this mission.
This was bad. How could he have gotten careless? It was just like... Oh gods. Before Obito took a hit meant for him...
Damn it!
Images came to mind but all of them indicated to only one person.
Itachi...
He had never really paid much attention to why he had been so adamant about asserting himself into the boy's life. He never really knew until now why. But it probably doesn't matter anymore.
He'll never be able to tell Itachi.
He knew it. He most likely wasn't going to get out of this alive.
~~~~~
By the time Itachi got to the place Kakashi had been assigned to, there were bodies strewn everywhere. There had been a big fight and there was no doubt that Kakashi never made it easy for them.
He paid no heed to the blood on the ground, neither did he pay attention to the look of horror on the faces of the corpses that littered the area. He was only focused on one thing: finding Kakashi and getting him out of here alive.
He knew that he would most likely have some jounin trailing him, given his abrupt departure. He had to find him fast before they decide to drag him off and leave the man behind.
//Kakashi... Where are you?//
He saw something flash meters away and saw red. He pulled out several shuriken and let them fly before drawing his katana and rushing after them.
~~~~~
The blade swung downward. Kakashi closed his eyes. He was going to die.
Then something warm and wet hit his face. His eyes flew open and widened. It was raining blood...
His opponent had several shuriken embedded on him and a katana in his gut. And the one holding the katana was none other than...
"Itachi..."
The boy twisted the blade once before pulling it out and lopping the man's head off. Then he turned to Kakashi, his eyes still cold. Covered in blood, he was the ideal image of a fallen angel. Dark, forbidding and beautiful.
Funny, he had never really thought about Itachi in that way.
He had expected the boy to throw himself at him. "Kakashi! I'm so glad you're alright!"
Despite having suffered a great many injuries, the sound of Itachi's voice alone made them seem to feel much better already.
~~~~~
Itachi got a week's suspension for running off without informing the proper authorities. He spent that week sitting by Kakashi in the hospital and helping him with domestic chores when he got released.
His clan no longer meddled in his affairs. Most likely afraid of him making his threat true. Partly it was also because the Hokage had called a meeting with him and the clan heads telling the clan members to stop controlling his life. He couldn't help but feel a little bit uneasy. It wasn't like them to just give up like that.
Kakashi was resting at the moment. Itachi smiled as he brushed a few errant locks away from the man's face. He was glad that he was okay. Then he surveyed the rest of the room. It was all clean and in order. He had to go home. He had to tuck his little brother into bed like he promised.
He opened the door out and looked back at the sleeping man. He smiled. "Oyasumi."
~~~~~
It had been a simple mission. All they had to do was to retrieve a scroll from a lord who had useless thugs instead of professionals to guard it.
How could it have gone so terribly wrong?
There were four of them in the team. Only two of them lived. The other survivor was in critical condition. He, on the the other hand, got away with merely a few cuts and bruises.
It had been two months since the incident involving Kakashi. More than a year since he was last here. Now he was back. Not for Obito but for his two teammates. Two people he was responsible for. Two new names on the memorial. Two people who died because he got careless.
How did Intelligence's information get so screwed up?
He fisted his hand tightly until they bled. Kakashi was there behind him. He knew. He could feel the man's presence.
He bare felt the arms on his shoulders, steering him away. Strange. It wasn't raining. Then why did he feel moisture on his cheeks?
~~~~~
It hurt to look at the boy. Kakashi didn't want to see Itachi like that. Even though the Chuunin's expression never changed, the tears that trailed down his pale cheeks gave everything away. He didn't think that Itachi knew that he was crying.
As he walked, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder every now and then. Itachi was following him mechanically. It was obvious to the jounin that the boy's mind was focused elsewhere.
He sighed. Ever since that incident, he had noticed a lot of things that he hadn't noticed before. He noticed just how much he liked it when Itachi talked. He liked the way the boy moved. He loved his chuckles, his laughter, his smiles... He loved everything about him. It was then that he came to the conclusion, a conclusion that he wasn't sure of back then but he was sure of it now.
He was in love.
He was in love with a boy years his junior and not only that. The boy had yet to reach his thirteenth year.
"Kakashi-san?"
"Hmm?" Kakashi tilted his head slightly and before he knew it, a slender hand slipped into his own.
"Stay with me? I don't want to be alone."
Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction before closing, fighting an internal battle in his mind. He couldn't do this. Itachi was too young. Too vulnerable. It was too much. He was trembling as he grasped the boy's hand tightly, raising it to his chest.
"You should go home. I'm not the one who should be with you right now. It should be your family."
"I don't want to go home! I don't want anyone else right now! I want you!"
~~~~~
"I don't want to do home! I don't want anyone else right now! I want you!" Itachi's eyes widened as he clamped his free hand over his mouth. He hadn't really meant to say that. He just wanted to be with the jounin. He lowered his eyes in shame. He wasn't supposed to feel this way.
He knew now what Obito felt was worth dying for.
But Kakashi loved Obito. His name simply didn't fit in the equation. Kakashi's heart would never be his.
It was then that he realized that he really was crying. Tears... for the men who died on the mission, his responsibility... for carelessly destroying what cannot be replaced... for the aching heart whose love shall remain unrequited...
But then, rough yet gentle hands cupped his tear-stained cheeks. He had expected Kakashi to reject him, shun him, anything... anything but this...
"Itachi."
The Chuunin kept his eyes lowered not being able to meet the jounin's eye.
"Itachi, look at me. Please."
"Please don't," Itachi croaked. "It hurts. Please don't do this. I don't need your pity. I never meant for you to know, to see me like this."
Kakashi's hands left his wet cheeks. Itachi's sobs filled the silence between them as the older man shifted his stance and removed his head protector. Moments later, the jounin's hand clasped the boy's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing Itachi to meet his gaze.
"I won't hurt you, Itachi."
Gray and scarlet eyes met obsidian.
"Maybe you already have," Itachi whispered. Strange. Kakshi seemed to be getting closer.
//What is he...?//
"I'm sorry..." the jounin whispered as lips met under the pale moonlight.
~~~~~
~TBC~
Author's notes: HAHAHA! *pulls out Naruto manga 16 and 17* ITACHI!!! WAH!!! My muses are back!!!
Please review. Flamers can go to hell and kiss Zabuza's ass!
Started: November 30, 2003
Broke off: November 30, 2003
Resumed: February 29, 2004
Ended: March 2, 2004