Itachi is a fast learner in the human ways, but at the same time, I hope I am still keeping him in character. I'm positive I am, but there's a tiny part itching to make sure, you know?
Anyway, enjoy. :)
Chapter Seven
Blue Mist Spa
"Minato, Naru, did you two have fun?" Kushina called from the kitchen, and there was the sound of her footsteps. This sparked panic in Minato that he rounded on her and Itachi right away.
"Get him to your room," he whispered harshly, "and get him something from my closet quick!"
Naru nodded and grabbed Itachi by the wrist, pulling him in the direction of the staircase, Kurama leaping after them. Hinata let them keep her sarong, just for today. She planned to give it back next time. "You got to be quiet," she said to the guest. "Mom will have a fit if she sees you like this." He looked at her quizzically without a word. "She's easy to upset, and she will can both me and Dad if she catches a naked man in her house..."
Itachi nodded by the time they were both in her room. She could hear her parents talking, but she had to hurry. Her dad might have given her an excuse for their daughter to be in her room before coming back downstairs for lunch. Did he say they had a guest? God, I can't imagine what he said exactly. They arrived at her room in seconds. "Wait here, and I'll go get some clothes," Naru said, "and please don't touch anything in my room?" He frowned at her for a second before nodding in understanding.
She didn't usually go into her parents' room without a good reason, but she found a t-shirt with Konoha's logo and a pair of blue shorts patterned with koi fish. But when she went back into her room, Itachi sat with Hinata's wrap off from his waist and on the floor. Kurama sniffed at it before stepping back with a whimper and wriggling his nose.
Why did this guy have no shame being in his birthday suit in front of other people? "Itachi," Naru said, walking in and closing the door behind her in case Kushina heard by now, "here." He took them and stared for a second before standing, his hands dropping from his lap to give her a full view of his manhood. Her cheeks flared with heat just like that. Suddenly she couldn't take her eyes off of THAT...
Kami, he is big.
Suddenly, there was a slam on the door in three harsh knocks. "NARU UZUMAKI, OPEN THIS DOOR NOW!" Shit, the she-devil had to arrive now. But thank the gods Itachi had the shorts on and buttoned in the front, just now pulling the shirt over his head. Naru quickly opened the door and let her mother come in. Minato was really flipping a bitch as he tried to calm his raging wife down.
"Kushina, please don't do this -"
Her eyes bulged then and there, her temper subsiding at the sight of the gorgeous man with the long black hair standing in the middle of her daughter's room. "Oh, my...you're Itachi?" Kushina rasped. "Oh, you're better looking than I thought." Her face turned red to match her hair, not caring her husband was right beside her.
"MOM!" Naru did not remember feeling so embarrassed in her life.
Even more when her mother went on ranting, going up to stand before him and looking him over, which seemed to make him uncomfortable. "Minato was telling me that you don't know what happened to your family, or whoever was with you. I can guess you're too traumatized to talk, so you're more than welcome to stay with us until we can get this fixed for you. Right, honey?" she asked him sweetly. He was still down in the face out of embarrassment.
"Y-yeah. I'll get right on it tomorrow, but today, I think it's best we just let him take it easy. Maybe I'll take him off to the spa for some guy time, and you and Naru do what you girls do best?"
~o~
Itachi had no idea what a "spa" was, but he was disappointed that he wouldn't spend the day with Naru like he wanted, except it wasn't his nature to turn anything down. He wanted her father on his good side, right? I think I may like going to see what a spa is. It sounds like it might be pleasant, if he is to smile.
And this "guy time" Minato spoke of - was that a figure of speech that meant the fun he used to have with Shisui and Sasuke?
When he asked Minato in his car, leaving his wife and daughter at the house, the man looked surprised that he didn't know what it was, before his face relaxed. "Oh, you must not have a spa wherever you are from," he said easily. "But to keep it simple: it's a place to just strip down and relax, get your body pampered as well as your senses at ease. There's so much to take you to another place...and it's one of the spots where my old boss and teacher loves to sneak and peek in on women for his research material."
"Research material?" Itachi asked.
"He writes books on adventure and...romance. But the love is taken on a more physical level," Minato answered with a breathy chuckle. "Maybe I should let you read one sometime if you're interested." I suppose I could. I wonder if there are more books, if they are for learning and other purposes, like scrolls.
On the way to the spa, Itachi took a look at his surroundings, at the people and the buildings. The structures were made out of wood; he gave the humans complimentary for their skills. Some had food on sale, others clothing and trinkets, and other things like machinery. The humans have more than my people do. But his heart sank as he might never tell Sasuke and Shisui about his experiences.
"The rest of the guys might be enough help for you, and they might even like you," Minato was still saying. "It's also where no ladies have to worry about seeing you besides us men...only if Jiraiya was with us, he would see you as his next material for male lead."
Itachi wasn't sure he understood what it meant to be around so many other males in a state of undress, but his people weren't ashamed of it. What was the worse that could happen?
"So, I never asked you - who do you have in your family? There's me, my wife Kushina, and of course Naru."
"...I have a younger brother who is the same age as Naru," Itachi answered after a moment's pause. "And a distant cousin who is also my best friend. Our father, is, shall we say...a good man but very strict. If we leave the compound to be on the outside without permission, it's severe punishment that you don't see many administer." It was best to give enough he could without saying everything. Minato looked interested but disturbed, and said nothing. He simply nodded without a word.
When they arrived, this structure looked like it was constructed from nature, but with a sharp rooftop aiming for the heavens. "We're here," Minato announced cheerily, turning off the engine. Standing at the entrance was a group of men who called out to him and waved.
"Hey, who's this new face?" a man with brown hair spiked a little atop the head and then flat on the sides asked, smirking.
"This is Itachi," Minato answered. "He is a new friend my daughter and I brought home today. We kinda...clicked." Itachi furrowed his brows. It sounded like he referred to the fact they'd already connected. His friends here seemed to buy it, but a couple looked at him with suspicious glances. One of them had something drifting smoke from his mouth that he took out and then puffed more.
"Itachi, huh? Is that it or do you have a last name?"
He wasn't sure if he would be able to say his family name, but it wasn't like they lived on the surface. He promised himself he would never do this to them. Would he endanger them if he said it...was it a risk he was willing to take...? And Minato was looking at him as if mentally scolding himself for not asking him for his surname. He must have forgotten. "Uchiha," he answered. "It's a long story how I came here, but I was washed ashore, and that's when Naru and Minato found me on the shore."
There was a murmuring at his name. "...Uchiha...that's interesting. I've never heard of that before. It sounds like it came from uchiwa, meaning 'fan'."
Another made what sounded like a joke: "What can 'fan' be used for? Fan to the fires? I think it has a nice ring to it..."
"Come on, guys," Minato interrupted, laughing. "Can we go inside now? I'd like to introduce the new guy to the club."
Things had just gotten more interesting. Itachi was among human males, who laughed and teased him, making him feel welcomed. But he also knew he had to be careful with where he stepped, and he was not just talking about both his feet.
~o~
"Keep searching and leave no stone unturned!" Fugaku barked to the armed soldiers at command. Sasuke and Shisui were behind him, keeping straight faces. The Uchiha clan head was currently in the underwater spring, with steam rising and bubbling, and his wife was beside him. She was trying to keep smiling and hope that her son would be safe and sound...but his younger brother and cousin knew the truth.
The water his father and the surrounding members were in was dark blue with a lighter, fiery core. It wasn't made to be in for more than an hour, but they could tolerate it. But all were leaving now except Fugaku, because it seemed they were tired of hearing about Itachi being missing. It will take a week before his fate is decided, and either way, he'll be presumed dead by Father. Sasuke turned his back from the sight and from Shisui, feeling two eyes burning holes into his back.
He and Shisui had made it back in time to not be noticed, and an hour later, Fugaku had gone to his heir's room to give him another talk...only to find the room empty. He'd growled and bellowed for the guards to start searching the grounds. Itachi wasn't there, and then the orders went to search outside the compounds, even ask their neighbors and allies if they had seen him around. A cold chill ran up Sasuke's spine as he feared it would get back to Kisame Hoshigaki and that tongue-wagging Zetsu...
"Sasuke, if you're feeling guilty enough, why don't you go off and see Sakura? I heard she and her parents are coming today," Shisui told him, but there was nothing warm in those words. His cousin didn't hate him, but he wouldn't let him have peace over bringing his own brother into this mess. And when it had to be Orochimaru of all people.
I saw what it made Itachi feel...those things at the bottom of the cave, trapped...I'll hate myself for the rest of my life if Itachi ends up like that. Or if I can, I will fight that monster with all my might if I have to...
I don't know what will happen in the end, but it would be worth trying to save my brother. Except that meant breaking the hearts of his mother and Sakura.
He never had any regrets in his life, just that he hated being in second place because of his elder brother, but that had always been so with everyone. But he would NOT live with the guilt and pain forever gnawing his heart because of this disaster.
Later that day, with Fugaku still refusing to speak to anyone and confined on his throne - never allowing anyone to come to him unless it was extremely important - Sasuke chose to busy himself with a certain pink-haired, green-eyed mermaid who arrived with a beaming smile that did little to lighten him up. Her tail matched her hair, and the spikes up her back as well as the flaps on her hips and her tail fin were shimmering pale green which also reflected off her scales. Put her and Sasuke together, and you see a polar opposite of dark and light.
"Sasuke...I heard the guards whispering about your brother," she said softly, when they were away in his room. "You don't know what happened?"
He looked down, refusing to meet her gaze. He had never felt so conflicted about telling her the truth or lying - and finding middle ground was worse.
~o~
The spa was also called an onsen. As for how it functioned, he could see it with his eyes, that vivid blue light of the water reminding him of home, it was charged by volcanic core - the heat transferred into the waters - because the country of Japan was active with volcanoes as the ocean's depths could be.
Indoors, the men and women's baths and changing rooms were kept separate; parting the genders was called safety precautions as well as a sense of propriety. Itachi was learning everything with great speed, and it excited him endlessly. The faster he learned, he would be able to live with Naru and her people.
Itachi watched as the men stripped down - and he meant completely - and then made way inside the stations. He read the rules on the wall, on a scroll in a wooden frame, stating clearly that going into the spring waters dirty was unacceptable, and you had to clean yourself spotless first. To also go in with traces of cleaning supplies on your skin was equally unsanitary, because then you were at risk of infections and diseases. This made him frown, since his people never had such troubles besides difficulty regenerating in the flesh, scales, bones and so on. Their systems were more advanced than the humans.
His bodily functions had changed drastically, though his organs remained in place, from what he could tell, though a physician was the ultimate judge. He imagined the humans had health welfare. His bones registered thicker strain as he walked, and if he'd been struck by anything soft to hard, his flesh was all the more prone to sensitivity along with his bone structure and muscles. He wasn't sure he liked that part of being human.
He discovered these products called "shampoo" and "soap", the former being used in the hair, the latter for the entire body. He sat, like the others, on this thing called a stool, and he flinched when it pressed into his backside. Speaking of which, as he looked around the males, he saw the same thing just like the spot between his legs: every one of them had the length of meat, but he wondered if it had a name, like the organs in the body. There was also hair there, but each man had a different color like suited atop their heads. His own was raven black, and looking down at Minato, the man's was a darker gold than his waving shock-mane.
"Um...Itachi?" He looked up to see the other gazing at him curiously, cheeks dark pink. Itachi looked ahead and continued to wash his body with the soap bar, which smelled very sweetly of herbs and something else. To ease Minato's conscience and take off the awkward air, he asked what it was. The blond chuckled, picking up his own bar. "There's also lotus extract and citrus." Lotus extract and...citrus? "You know, the white flower that grows in ponds, and a sweet but sour piece of fruit for antioxidants. Make your skin healthier."
Someone called over from the other end of the wall stations. "Was Itachi looking at your business, Minato?" It was none other than Asuma Sarutobi, who worked with Minato aboard his ship - actually, most of them did. The silver-haired man, Kakashi Hatake, was the first mate, and Asuma as well as his wife were among the crew.
"Oh, no, it was just an accident," Minato told his partner, standing up and wrapping a white fabric called a towel around his waist. Itachi stood up, following suit, and making way towards the sliding door that led out to the pool of crystalline water steaming within earthly rocks. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The moisture on his skin intensified and made him feel...was this tired? He hadn't even stepped in yet, and already he felt like this! Itachi made the first move, removing his towel from around his waist, folding it up and placing it on the bench against the wall, stepping into the water.
I have never felt such pleasure before.
The rest of the men to follow him were eyeing him with interest as they joined in. Another interesting part of the human body he noticed: on the rear end were two rounded parts of flesh, which happened to support as you sat upright. It was the same as having legs, arms, hands and feet, but the differences were each body structure and the area between the legs - the latter varied in length and coloring of the crowning hairs.
Minato seemed to catch his watchful eye and had a look that Itachi couldn't figure out, and it told him not to ask him with all his friends around.
~o~
Naru had to put up with her mother while her dad and Itachi were out there, because Kushina could not stop burning mad and passing out every now and then at seeing a smoking hot younger man in her house - and none of them really knew anything about him! "Mom, get it together!" she pleaded, helping the redhead onto the living room couch. "Okay, he's sexy, but that doesn't mean anything!" Kushina looked up at her in disbelief while Kurama barked once and then crawled up onto the loveseat to take his nap.
"Seriously, Naru? Maybe you should start looking at guys now," Kushina said excitedly. "I agree we don't know him, but maybe you can try to get to know him while he is with us. If your dad can't locate his relatives, he might have to live with us if he wants to."
Oh, God, Mom, now you're setting me up with a strange guy. You're trying to set me up period.
Kushina barked with laughter and collapsed on her back, laying along the length and putting her feet in the air. "I also think Dad likes him already, knowing Minato," she went on without shame, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Or do you plan to play hard to get just like I did...?" Naru just about growled in frustration at the same time the front door opened up and in walked her dad who had his lips in a tight, expressionless line that made her worried Itachi had done something...
The man in question came in right after her father, smiling lightly as if nothing was wrong, and it got wider when he saw her.
Her skin was on fire. Why was it that no guy made her feel like this before? It couldn't be LOVE at all; she'd just met him, for Kami's sake! So he's all hot, mysterious and that...
"It's good to see you again, Naru," he said, her name a mantra on his tongue, "Kushina." Her mother was such a blushing schoolgirl when she wasn't raving mad over the littlest of things. Minato just rolled his eyes and snickered, but it became serious. Naru wanted to know what happened at the spa, but her father looked like he was too embarrassed to bring it up. She decided to talk to Itachi alone - and luck was on her side when her parents told her to entertain their guest in her room for awhile, but NOT in a dirty way.
Damn it, you guys embarrass ME more than you do to each other. But Itachi looked at her with a twinkle in his dark eyes. It wasn't the same as those bastards in Red Dawn, but it still made her uncomfortable.
Call me a perv if you want, but Itachi studying the male anatomy in the onsen made me blush and thrill. Though it was purely curiosity and interest on his part, and poor Minato. Who knows if Itachi will get to live it down.
