It was almost six o'clock in the morning when Itachi woke up. He sat up, looked over at Natara's side and saw she was missing. He remembered what she had told him the first night when she was there
"Since you want to be stubborn and not sleep on the couch and since technically this is my room, we're gonna have to share the bed but I promise if you touch me I'll make sure you cant produce any more kids! Got it?" He smiled which caught Natara off guard "Ok well Im glad we have an understanding"
He got off the bed and listened It sounds like singing, its too early for this. Natara had been back only a couple of days but she was an early riser and tended to make noise when while everyone was sleep. Natty and Nik were hard sleepers so they didn't hear much but because of Itachi's training he had always been a light sleeper. Yawning, he put a shirt on and walked down the hall. He stopped when got to the front room. In the kitchen area he saw Natara in short shorts and a baggy shirt chopping something on the counter near the sink. Her back was to him and she had ear buds in her ears. She was singing and dancing while she cut. Itachi leaned against the wall and watched her.
"Ohh Boy you looking like you like what you see
Won't you come over and check up on it, I'm gon let you work up on it
Ladies let em check up on it, watch it while he check up on it
Dip it, pop it, twork it, stop it, check on me tonight
If you got it, flaunt it, boy I know you want it
While I turn around you watch me check up on it
Oohhh you watchin me shake it, I see it in ya face
Ya can't take it, it's blazin, you watch me in amazement
You can look at it, as long as you don't grab it
If you don't go braggin, I'ma let you have it
You think that I'm teasin, but I ain't got no reason
I'm sure that I can please ya, but first I gotta read you"
Natara danced and sang while she was cooking. When the song was over Itachi said
"That was nice" Natara dropped the pot she was holding and turned around. She pulled the ear buds out and said
"How much did you hear?"
"Was it about me?"
"WHAT? NO! It was just a song I liked from back home so don't get ANY ideas" Itachi raised an eyebrow. Before Natara could blink he was standing in front of her
"Why don't you want me to touch you Natara?" He asked
"Its…distracting…and I…don't…need that…right now"
"Uh-huh but don't you think you'll be distracted more if I don't?" Natara tried to keep calm He has a point, I think about him too much as it is but I have to keep my resolve. Stay calm. Itachi saw what he was doing to her. Her legs started to wobble as he trailed a finger down her arm. Just when she thought she'd give in there was a sound at the window. Natara immediately pulled away and opened it. Someone had been throwing rocks at it. She looked down to see two figures. It was still a little dark so she had troubled at first recognizing them but finally she made out the frames of Kaori and Sakura
"You didn't forget did you?"
"No, I'll be down in a minute" She shut the window and looked at Itachi "Im gonna go with Kaori for a while. The stuff I started to cook is in the oven so don't mess with it and I'll see you later" She hurriedly walked past him to the door
"Be careful" He said. Natara couldn't be sure but she thought she detected a hint of worry. She stopped Could he really care about me? I wish I understood him She sighed then left the room. Itachi yawned then walked back to their room.
Itachi felt someone jumping on the bed. It was a couple hours later and he had wanted to sleep longer, especially since it was the weekend.
"Dadddddddyyyyyyy!" He heard a voice say. He opened his eyes to see Natsuki bouncing on the bed in her doggy pajamas and matching slippers.
"What are you doing?"
"Tryin to wake you up. You promised to teach me ninja stuff and you're sleepin! Where's Momma? And what was she cookin this morning?"
"Natsuki Im tired"
"Ok" She stopped bouncing and grabbed her dog off the bed but instead of leaving she got under the covers next to Itachi "Now we can both sleep Daddy" She said happily.
"Fine just don't wake me up anymore" He started to go to sleep when he felt someone get in the bed on the other side of him. He turned to see Nik pull the blankets over himself "What are you doing?"
"If she gets to be in here then so do I"
"Copycat" Natty said
"No Im not and you copy me all the time"
"Daddy Nik is lyin on me!"
"Both of you be quiet so Daddy can be happy later on, ok?" Itachi answered through clenched teeth
"Yes sir" They both said. Before Natty laid down she stuck her tongue out at Nik who did the same thing back then both snuggled next to their Dad.
Meanwhile Natara and Kaori were sparing on the outskirts of town. Sakura didn't see how they could keep it up. They'd been at it for almost two hours and neither showed signs of slowing down. Plus every ten minutes they'd switch into a different fighting style. Finally they stopped.
"That was amazing! Where'd you guys learn to fight like that?" Sakura threw them the water bottles Kaori had brought for them
"You wouldn't believe how hard our training was" Kaori said. She drank some water
"Well what's next?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are we going after the guys who kidnapped Natara or what?"
"Kaori and I are but you aren't" Natara sat on the ground and fanned herself
"What are you talking about?!"
"Sakura its only gonna get more dangerous from now on and besides Tsunade and your friends are probably worried about you"
"I sent her a letter with no return address telling her I was fine"
"But that's not enough. It'd be better for them to actually see you"
"Just great" Sakura's shoulders sagged a little "When do I leave?"
"Tomorrow morning"
"Ok, maybe you're right"
"Cheer up! Its not like you'll never see us again" Kaori laughed
"I'll try" She thought for a minute then said "What should I say about you?" She looked at Natara
"They don't need to know about me and Itachi. Just tell her you escorted me home and stayed a few days to make sure everything was ok" Sakura nodded
"Alright"
"Sakura I feel I can trust you so don't let me down"
"Yeah, yeah" Her stomach started to growl. She grinned in embarrassment "Im starving"
"Head to the bakery and we'll meet up with you in a few"
"Ok" After Sakura was gone Kaori looked at her friend and said
"That was BS"
"Which part?"
"You gettin beat up/ kidnapped"
"I know" She sipped some of her water "But they don't. They found me with cuts, bruises, dirty and unconscious so she and everyone else assumed I got beat up, so I let them" Kaori laughed
"That must've been some intense training you went through in order for people to think that" Natara grinned I needed to train harder for this mission so I took a couple of months. Didn't think it'd be this big of a deal
"It was easier for the boss to send The Three here to train me than bringin me home"
"I know but when are you gonna tell everyone else, like I don't know, Itachi?"
"Lets not talk about him right now" She frowned
"Why? And I wanna know is how are you two sleepin in the same bed and not doin anything?"
"I threatened him"
"Natara sooner or later you're gonna have to deal with your feelings for him. I mean you rarely dated after you came back"
"I was a mom"
"Yeah but you know your parents would've given anything for you to find a nice guy back home, preferably military, but still they weren't extra choosy. You could've dated stupid thugs and they would've been happy. They were always tryin to introduce you to guys"
"Kaori…"
"What are you gonna do when this mission is over? Things wont be the same"
"I know but I don't know if he feels the same way about me. I don't want to push myself on him just cuz I had his kids. I don't want to trap him"
"Natara, I've seen the way he looks at you. There's actually some kind of emotion in his eyes when he sees you. Maybe you don't notice it but I do and so do the other Akatsuki guys" Kaori saw that her friends eyes looked watery "You're not gonna start cryin on me are you?" Natara wiped her eyes, smiled and held her hand out
"Young Eagles don't cry" Kaori helped her up
"Im always here for you best friend"
"I know, now lets go before Sakura comes looking for us"
"He was so crazy" Kaori said as she stuffed a small donut in her mouth. She, Sakura and Natara were sitting at a small table at the bakery. Kaori was telling Sakura stories from when she and her friend were young inexperienced agents. "Our language instructor would make us do ten push ups for every word we screwed up"
"What kind of languages did he teach you?" Sakura asked
"I guess around five then we went to another one to learn more.
"He wasn't as crazy as Iceman" Natara said
"Who was that?" Sakura grabbed a donut
"He taught us about sniper weapons. We gave him the nickname cuz he was so cold and mean. I once had to miss lesson cuz I'd broken a couple of fingers doin a dumb bike trick. When I came in to explain it to him he said…"
"…cry me a river" Kaori finished and laughed "That was his favorite line. Remember when Anthony was just starting out and he got in Iceman's face?"
"Yeah" Natara sighed "I thought they were gonna fight"
"Did he make him mad?"
"Iceman told him to he shot like he was blind and my brother didn't take too kindly to that. Even though the guy was his superior he didn't care. You could hear him cussin through the whole building. His friends had to hold him back. Almost got kicked out for that. I miss my brothers"
"How many do you have?" Sakura said through a stuffed mouth
"Three. Theres Anthony and Marcus then Julius who's the oldest"
"What about you Kaori?"
"Only child"
"Me too"
"Lets go outside" Natara said. She put money for the bill on the table then the three left. Sakura stretched while Natara and Kaori stood still. Without warning a shuriken flew at the girls. Kaori pushed Sakura down and got out of the way. Natara simply stood there.
"It took you guys long enough"
"What she talking about?" Sakura pushed herself up
"We've been followed since this morning" Kaori said
"Really?! I didn't sense anything" She looked around "And I don't see anyone either"
"That's because they're invisible"
"You're joking right?"
"No, they stole a very important technology from us. It helps them to move without being seen"
"How do we fight someone we cant see?"
"We're not doin anything. Natara they're yours"
"This is gonna be fun" Natara said with a grin then went to work
Ten minutes later
"What do you idiots want?" Natara asked. She had a guy pinned on the ground. Everyone could see him. There had been four others but they were sprawled out on the ground. She had long ago been informed that in order for the invisibility to work a small machine, the size of a throw away camera, had to be installed on the person. It didn't take long for Natara to realize where the machines were. After throwing kunai into them the invisibility wore off. "Im not gonna ask you again"
"You better answer her. She's gettin really pissed off" Kaori said calmly as she filed her nails.
"This was a warning Natara Stone. Next time you wont be so lucky"
"Really?" Natara took her foot off of him "Honestly are you tryin to be scary cuz its not workin out"
"What do you mean?"
"Come on 'Next time you wont be so lucky'. My dog back home sounds scarier when he's sleepin"
"That's pretty harsh" The man stood up and dusted himself off "What would you have said?"
"I don't know, maybe it would've sounded better if you weren't pinned to the ground with my foot on your back"
"You have a point"
"You new at this or somethin?"
"Yeah, I just joined a few weeks ago"
"Really, where ya from?"
"Georgia, wasn't much goin on there so I joined these guys"
"You like it over here?"
"Not really, I miss American food and especially baseball. I cant get any of the games over here"
"Yeah I had a problem with that. Well wait until football season starts. Then it'll really suck"
"I forgot about that, whos your favorite team?"
"The Colts"
"Im a Falcons fan myself. Those guys back there love the Patriots" He said referring to his partners. The small crowd that had gathered couldn't believe what they were hearing, one minute Natara had been fighting and the next she was holding a conversation.
"Does... she do this often?" Sakura asked
"Unfortunately" Kaori shook her head "Natara whats wrong with you?!"
"What? Oh, Ohhhhhhh. Sorry" She gave a sheepish smile "We gotta start fightin again" She said to the man
"I don't really feel like it anymore, what about you guys?" He turned to the other four
"Not really"
"Im tired"
"I wanna get somethin to eat"
"Wanna play my Xbox"
"Yeah…soooo just watch your back Natara Stone!" He gave a mean look then asked "How was that?"
"Still got some work to do"
"Ok thanks, lets go guys" The five raced off.
"That went well" Natara smiled. Kaori hit her forehead and gave an exasperated sigh.
It was early the next morning and Natara was getting dressed. She and Kaori had decided late last night that they'd escort Sakura back. Neither wanted to admit it but they'd both miss her. She was trying her best not to wake Itachi who was being pushed out of the bed by Natsuki and Nik. Natara didn't understand why the two wanted to stay with them. They'd never done it before, but then Nik told her one of the stories Itachi had been telling them. He had scared them so bad that they had been looking under their beds each night before they went to sleep. After Natara had yelled at him, Itachi shrugged and turned over on his side. She smiled as she remembered. She looked over at the bed to see Natsuki sprawled out with her dog. Nik was in the middle and was snoring while Itachi was on the edge of the bed with a frown on his face. She had already told them that she was leaving so she kissed her kids on the forehead and flicked Itachi on the nose
"How long are you going to be?" He asked without opening his eyes
"Should be back by tomorrow. If we run it wont take us long. Im leaving"
"Bye"
"See ya"
"The time is coming. What do you think James?" A man with graying hair said
"I agree" James and his friend sat at a small table in a very large house. "When are we sending someone to get the children?"
"Soon. I don't want to strike until the Akatsuki are able to get the fox. In all the chaos that will ensue we'll be able to move freely"
"Are you certain our favorite government will be distracted?"
"Yes, I've set everything up in such a way that they will think Akatsuki is a terrorist organization and with the tailed beasts they'll try to disrupt a lot of things" He laughed "The pieces are falling into place"
"What about Natara Stone? She has been a problem in the past?"
"All of the Eagles have but she wont be there when the children are taken and she wont know where they'll be"
"Sounds like everything is in place"
"Yes, I will most certainly take out the Young Eagles and hopefully a lot more when this plan succeeds" A short man ran into the room panting
"Mr. Moon sir, our sources say that Natara and Kaori have left"
"Excellent, tell the men to go"
"Yes sir" He ran out the room.
"Moon, what if the children are stronger than we think? We don't know how The Three trained them and you forget whats in their DNA"
"Dont worry, I havent forgotten. That's why this is a test run" He smiled and sat back in his leather chair.
"Just admit it" Sakura was saying "You guys were gonna miss me so you came along"
"Yeah right" Kaori rolled her eyes
"Whatever" Natara said. They had been racing through the forests and were now not too far from Konoha so they had decided to slow down and walk. Natara looked up at the setting sun. "I really want to get there before it gets dark. I hate traveling at night"
"Well we should be just an hour or slightly more away" Sakura paused then asked "Sooo…how's everything with Itachi?"
"How's everything with Kakashi?" Natara smiled at the look of dismay on Sakura's face. Sakura had told her about the situation when they had left Konoha.
"THAT'S NOT FAIR!"
"Yes it is"
"Im lost, who's Kakashi?" Kaori looked from one to the other
"Her old teacher. She's in love with him"
"Really? Wow, how old is he?"
"Maybe a little over eleven years older than me" Sakura answered
"Lucky you that you're eighteen. I know back home if you'd been a year younger he could face some serious charges" Natara told her
"Like what?"
"Prison timeeeeeeee" Kaori sang "And maybe given some nasty labels"
"Kaori cut it out" Her friend hit her on the back of the head
"Ouch, but its true"
"Whats the name of this group you two are with?" Sakura asked trying to change the subject
"The Young Eagles. It was created for young spies. Many kids are recruited in high school and stay until the turn twenty five"
"Why twenty five"
"No one knows for sure" Kaori shrugged her shoulders "Our bosses say that it was a nice, round number"
"Do people know that you exist?" Sakura thought about the non-secrecy of ANBU
"If we do our job well then no. We prefer to work behind the scenes. Besides we're sort of a branch of our government's intelligence agency"
"Sakura I think you were a bit off on how long this would take. Lets just camp here for the night and leave early tomorrow" Natara said. The sky was getting darker
"Ok" Everyone set their stuff down.
"I'll be back. I really have to pee" With that Kaori ran off into the forest. Sakura sat down and took her sandals off. Her feet were killing her. Natara pulled a small what looked like a booklet out of her bag. She wanted to read before it got too dark
"What are you reading?"
"A comic book called X-Men" She said without looking up. Sakura nodded. At Kaori's she had learned of Natara's love for comics. While she had been gone, the comics that she ordered came to Kaori's house. Sakura had seen a few but she didn't understand it. She especially saw a lot about some guy named Batman. She decided to ask Natara about it later. She laid on her back and closed her eyes. It was peaceful until…
"Ummm…GUYS!!!" Kaori ran to them. Sakura sat up
"Whats wrong? Wipe yourself with poison ivy?" Natara grinned
"No DumDum. We have visitors" At that moment six ANBU agents appeared.
"Don't try anything ladies" One said stepping out from the group. It was Neji.
"Neji?! What are you doing here?!" Sakura jumped up. I forgot that Neji Hyuga was ANBU now. His uncle threw him that huge celebration. I got an invite but ended up on a mission so I couldn't go.
"Sakura have you been harmed?"
"No, why?"
"There have orders to capture these two" He said referring to Natara and Kaori "There are suspicions that they have been working with Akatsuki"
"Is he serious?" Natara started to laugh
"Yes I am!" Turning back to Sakura he said "Since you disappeared, we had been looking everywhere then a source came forward and said you'd been kidnapped and that these two were helping Itachi Uchiha."
"That's crazy! I wasn't kidnapped! Didn't the Hokage get the letter I sent?"
"What letter?" He asked puzzled
"I sent her a letter explaining everything. When we get to Konoha she'll be able to explain"
"No she wont" He shook his head. "She left on a trip yesterday. A council is ruling in her place"
"Isnt that convient" Natara whispered
"You two will be taken into ANBU custody and you Kaori Sato should be ashamed. You've represented your fellow ANBU agents badly"
"Wait a minute…" Sakura started to say
"Its ok. If we resist they'll be more suspicious so we'll turn ourselves in. Im sure Ms. Tsunade wont be gone long" Kaori said
"WHAT?! NO WAY IN HE…" Natara started to yell but her friend held a hand up silencing her. She crossed her arms and grumbled.
"Come on Natara. Its not that big of a deal. Im sure it'll all be cleared up as soon as we get to town"
"I hope so"
"Get your stuff and move" Neji said. Sakura got her things and watched as her friends were put in the center of the agents and escorted down the road. She followed behind them
It was getting darker out as Itachi sat at the kitchen table. Since Itachi had accidentally burned what Natara had fixed earlier, Kisame had invited him and his kids over to eat, along with Deidara and Tobi. Natsuki was playing with her food while Nik watched as Deidara made small animals for him.
"Itachi are you ok?" Kisame had never seen him look this down.
"He hasn't touched his soup" Tobi was sitting next to him.
"I know whats wrong with him" Natty said
"What?"
"He misses Momma" She smiled
"Awwwww, isn't that cute!" Deidara rolled his eyes
"Theres nothing wrong with me" He gave all of them an evil look
"Whatever you say. Im still tryin to get used to you as a dad" Tobi said as he took Itachi's soup and started to eat it. As they talked Nik looked around.
"Someone's here"
"What are you talking about? You've been actin weird like your Dad" Tobi put the bowl down and belched
"Disgusting" Deidara frowned
"You have terrible manners Tobi" Kisame added
"Why are you guys listenin to me?!" Nik jumped up on his chair "Someone's here!"
"Just us" Kisame tried to calm him down
"Nik's right" Natty said to Itachi "Since I could 'member he could always sense stuff others couldn't" Itachi watched his son Something isn't right.
"Well isn't this nice. I'll be able to capture the twins and kill their father" A woman dressed all in black and wearing a mask said as she stepped into the room
"Where'd she come from? Hiding someone from us Kisame?" Deidara sipped some of his tea
"I don't know her"
Itachi sighed. He didn't feel like doing anything, much less fight.
"Touch my kids and you're dead" He watched the woman
"Actually I don't think so" She pressed a button on a small machine attached to her outfit and immediately became invisible.
A note from me- Im gonna introduce a slight twist to the story soon and I decided to just leave it alone. I wont cross it over with anything. In case you didnt know, that song that Natara was singing was "Check on it" by Beyonce. I thought it sorta fit with what I was doing. I feel like Im forgetting something...
