Hey guys! Thanks for the support and the reviews I got. I'm moved now! Woot!
Well, anyway, onto the next chapter!
Business is Business no Pleasure or Love
Ch 10: The Cats Out of the Bag
Early the next morning, Itachi woke up to a loud knocking on the door.
He got out of bed, being careful not to disturb Sai, and went over to the closet. He looked inside and picked out a long sleeve black shirt then pulled it over his head.
Itachi stretched as he opened the door and quietly went out it, closing it softly behind him.
"So…hot date last night?"
He nearly jumped when he heard Sasuke's voice behind him.
"I heard it was loud last night…you almost woke up Liberty. Though, I never realized you were a screamer though…should I move her room farther down the hallway?"
Itachi glared at him, "Can you at least talk a little bit quieter?"
"Poor Older Brother, don't you realize that it's well after noon? It's maybe one-one thirty. I think you should also wake up your guest. After all, I'm sure after such a late night, he's probably starving…" Sasuke said as he walked on down the hall, "Oh, and remember, the walls are thin…so no funny business."
Itachi scowled, "Go fuck your self."
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Naruto picked the mail up from the doorway, and sifted through it as he walked through the living room to the kitchen, he sat down on a stool and looked at who they were addressed to.
Bills for Sasuke, something from Sasuke's business, something for Itachi, and something for…him?
Arms wrapped around his waist and Naruto jumped slightly. A deep chuckle and a small kiss to the side of his neck told him who it was.
"So, who's the mail for today?"
Naruto turned around on the stool into Sasuke's embrace, for you, Itachi…and me."
Sasuke stared down at Naruto, "Who's it from?"
"There's no return address."
Pulling the blond up from the stool, he led him to the living room and pulled Naruto down with him as he sat in one of the leather chairs, "Well, open it."
Carefully, Naruto opened the white envelope, on the inside was a white card. On the back were two family crests, intertwined. He flipped to card over and read the typed print on the card.
Sasuke stared over the blond's shoulder as a small smile crossed Naruto's face.
"Who's it from?"
Naruto looked up at Sasuke, "It's a wedding invitation, from Hinata. She's coming to New York. Her and her fiancé are getting married here."
"She's the birth mother of Liberty, right?" Sasuke whispered in his ear.
Naruto nodded, "She wants me to go…can we? She said I can bring a date."
"What about Itachi and Sai?"
He looked back down at the card, "Sai's invited too…so, he could probably take Itachi-san with him."
Sasuke held Naruto, "Does she know about our situation?"
"I could probably send her a letter or note, explaining our situation. She can keep a secret. I'm sure she can persuade Kiba to not say anything."
"What about the address?"
"Damn." Naruto muttered, "I wonder if Sai knows any way to get in touch with her."
"I wonder if Sai knows what?" a sleepy voice muttered from the doorway.
Naruto looked up from the invitation and smiled, "Guess what?"
"What?" Sai said as he yawned and sat down on the couch.
"I got a note from Hinata-chan."
"Really?" Sai asked excitedly, now a bit more awake.
Naruto nodded rapidly, "Yeah, her and Kiba-kun are getting married. Here…she wants us to come."
"I don't know Naruto-kun, should we really go? What if she accidently says something that could blow our secret?"
"All we have to do is tell her about the situation. That is, if you know how to get in touch with her."
Sai stared at him, "I don't. I never talked to her before I left Japan."
"Naruto, what's this?" Sasuke asked as he pointed towards some handwritten message.
Naruto looked at it, and smiled, "Hey Sai, I think I just found a way to talk to her. Sasuke, do you want to come with me today to see her?"
Sasuke shrugged, "Alright. I'm free today."
"Sai?"
Sai nodded, "Yeah. I'll have to let Itachi-san know."
"Let Itachi know what?"
Sai smiled as Itachi came and sat beside him, "Let you know that Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun and I are going to visit an old friend. She's having a wedding and we need to see her before the wedding…"
"Isn't it normal to see the bride after the wedding?"
Sai and Naruto looked at each other, "It's a…Japanese Tradition, for her best friends to see her before the wedding(1)."
Itachi stared at them before nodding, "Alright. I guess I have to take care of Liberty then?"
"You don't have to Itachi-san, we could take her with us," Naruto said as he squirmed slightly in Sasuke's lap, "Stop poking me in the side."
Sasuke smirked and poked harder.
"Sasuke…" Naruto said lowly.
He leaned up and kissed the blond briefly on the lips, and Naruto pushed him away.
Naruto blushed and smacked Sasuke lightly in the arm, "Let me go, I need to go do something."
"I'll just go with you then." Sasuke said as he let go of Naruto and stood up with him.
Sai watched them curiously as they went out of the room and up the stairs.
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Naruto went up stairs, his shoulders stiff, walking down the hall he came to a stop at their bedroom.
"Sasuke, you don't have to follow me, I can go to the bathroom by myself." He opened the door and went towards the bathroom.
The main door closed loudly, and Naruto winced, "Sasuke what-"
He was suddenly slammed into the wall beside the door.
"What's wrong with you Naruto?"
Naruto looked to the side, "What are you talking about Sasuke?"
"No Naruto, I can tell when something's wrong with you. You pushed away when I kissed you."
Still looking to the side, he stared at the floor, "It's nothing Sasuke, I just have to use the bathroom."
"I watched you when you walked upstairs, your shoulders were stiff, and you had that stiff-walk thing going on."
Naruto looked at the individual fibers of the rug.
"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered as he gently lifted up the blond's chin, "What's wrong?"
He shook is head, "Nothing…"
"Naruto…"
Naruto stayed quiet.
"Tell me…"
Growling lightly, Naruto glared at Sasuke, "Nothing is wrong okay? Everything is just fine, I'm fine, nothing-"
He was cut off when Sasuke pressed his lips harshly against his.
Naruto struggled slightly, placing his hands on Sasuke's chest and pushing back.
Sasuke pulled back slightly, "What's wrong with you?"
"Nothi-"
He was cut off again when Sasuke kissed him again, biting down on his bottom lip painfully.
Naruto yelped, hands beating Sasuke's chest as he tried to get him to stop kissing him.
Sasuke bit down on Naruto's lips again, almost drawing blood, causing the blond to yelp again. He pulled back, "Tell me what's wrong." He demanded.
Naruto looked over to the side and then back at Sasuke, "Alright, I'm nervous. Hinata-chan is Neji's cousin, that means Neji will be there and if Neji's there then that means that it's another chance for the secret to be blown. I don't want to leave here in a few weeks being hated because I ruined your chance to get the company."
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"So, this wedding…is a friend's? From Japan, and she's getting married in New York?"
Sai nodded, "Yeah, I don't understand why she flew all the way here to be wedded. I thought she would choose something more traditional."
Itachi 'hm-ed' "So, you're invited?"
"Yeah, I get to bring a date too…though I don't know who I should bring."
Itachi smirked, "I have an idea who…"
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Hours later, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai were on there way to a nice little restaurant twenty minutes away.
The drive was quiet, Sai and Naruto asleep while Sasuke drove.
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Itachi walked through the house towards the kitchen.
He noticed some envelopes on the counter, curiously, he sifted through them.
Stuff for Sasuke, and a letter for him?
He put the others down and went to the living room, he sat down on one of the couches and opened the letter.
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"Naruto-kun! It's really you!" A slightly shorter person suddenly ran into him.
They probably looked really funny, standing in the middle of a restaurant, hugging, while speaking a totally different language.
Naruto smiled, "Hinata-chan, you've grow a lot."
She smirked, "Not so bad yourself Naruto-kun…if you weren't gay, and I wasn't about to get married to Kiba…"
"Ha ha." Sai deadpanned. "As much as I'd love to hear your twisted fantasies Hinata-chan, I don't think now is the proper time."
Hinata rolled her eyes, "It's nice to see you too Sai-kun. How's life?"
A dreamy smile broke out over his face, "Oh"
Naruto coughed, "Well, Hinata-chan, I'd like you to meet Sasuke."
Hinata smiled at him, "Hello Sasuke. Are you Naruto-kun's boyfriend?"
"Can we sit down?" Hinata nodded and led them to the table.
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A smile broke out over his pale face, as he pulled out his phone, and quickly typed in a message, watching through the window, he waited for the perfect time…
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Itachi stared at the letter in front of him, his face a mixture of shock and anger.
'Why that little…'
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Neji smirked and sent the message.
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Sai frowned as he pocket vibrated. He reached into the dark denim pockets and pulled out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he read the text message.
'Sai, I think it would be best for you to stay away from him, or he'll know all about your and Naruto-kun's secret.'
Sai looked up from the message, just in time to hear Sasuke's cell phone ring. His rang mere seconds after, "Moshi moshi?"
"Game over Sai-kun."
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Sasuke frowned as his cell phone rang, "Hello?"
"Sasuke, you, Sai and Naruto better get here now."
"Itachi?"
"Now Sasuke, I'm not messing around with you."
The line went dead and Sasuke frowned.
"Sasuke?"
He sighed, "I apologize, we have to get going, my brother wants to discuss something with us."
Hinata nodded, "Alright, here's the address of the hotel Kiba and I are staying at, do come and visit us. I can't wait to see my daughter." Hinata smiled, "Sayanara Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, Sai-kun."
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Sai felt that the pit of his stomach had completely taken a vacation without him. A sense of some type of dread filled him, and terrified him…
What exactly had Neji meant by "game over?"
This is where I planned to end it, but this chapter is exciting to me and I'll just continue on through.
When they arrived back, and entered the house, it was eerily quiet.
Naruto looked around, Liberty, Kakashi or Iruka wasn't anywhere.
"Sasuke?" Itachi's voice echoed from the living room, "Come in here please. Bring Sai and Naruto with you."
Cautiously they went into the living room, Itachi sat on one of the couches, his shoulders squared, and his hands clutching a note.
"Sai, can you come here please?"
He gulped and walked over to Itachi, "Yes Itachi-san?"
Slowly, Itachi looked upwards, and Sai froze at the cold look in his eyes, he has seen that look before, his past customers gave him that look after sex.
"Can you please explain to me what this is?"
He handed Sai the note.
Sai's eyes widened, his breath caught in his throat as his eyes scanned the words.
"Why did you lie to me?"
There was a certain calmness in Itachi's voice that sent a shiver through him.
"Itachi-san…I can explain-"
Itachi glared at Sai, "Why did you fucking lie to me? I trusted you…and you couldn't even tell me this was an act?"
"I'm sorry Itachi-san, I'm really, really sorry."
"Save it. I don't want to hear anymore of it."
"But-"
Itachi ignored him and turned to Sasuke, "And you Little Brother! I have a mind to take the company from you, you broke our agreement!"
Sasuke stared at Itachi dumbfounded.
Naruto stood in the back, he knew that this was all his fault. He was the one who brought Liberty to America; the one who agreed to be Sasuke's husband…it was his fault.
"Itachi-san, don't do that, it's my fault for dragging everyone in…"
Itachi looked towards Naruto, "I was just about to get to you. That man that came here, Neji, he's your ex-lover, isn't he?"
Naruto nodded, his eyes trained on his shoes.
"Liberty's not really your child; she wasn't even adopted by you. You kidnapped her when she was born, didn't you? Brought her over here."
"Yes Itachi-san."
"Then you waited until the time was right, and you jumped at a chance to get money out of some wealthy family…"
Naruto's head shot up, "What? No, Itachi-san. That's not what happened at all…Liberty's meeting Sasuke and Iruka-san is just a big coincidence. I never planned any of this."
"You've lied to Neji, and to me, so how can I trust you?"
"I had to Itachi-san, you don't understand why kind of person Neji is…he's a ruthless, arrogant bastard."
The room was quiet for a moment.
"Yet you loved him didn't you?"
The room went quiet again, "At first I did."
"Then how do I know that you're just using Liberty as a pity card to get money from Sasuke? What haven't you told him about your past? Did you ever tell him about how you helped Sai steal things from innocent people?"
"Itachi-san-"
"What about how you became a prostitute for a few months after you found out that Neji impregnated a woman? Did you find comfort in their beds? Being a whore?"
He heard a quiet gasp from Sasuke and a low growl from Sai. Naruto let his head hang, before looking up at Itachi.
"I've done many things that I regret in my life Itachi-san. Those two are two of the biggest things that I regret. If you think that I regret kidnapping Liberty, then you're delirious. I don't. I actually have done her a favor. You see Itachi-san, Neji failed to mention who the mother is. Liberty's mother is actually his cousin, Hinata. She knew as well as I did that when Liberty was born he wouldn't give two flying shits about her. I know that Americans have different views on judging whether or not it's kidnapping, but as long as the mother consents to the person that takes the child, then there is no problem. I done her a favor you see, if I left her there, she'd be on her way in training to be an heir of the main branch of the Huugya Clan. Hinata didn't want her to live that hell of a life. That corrupt and vile man that runs the clan is a stuck up bastard. She didn't want Liberty to live like that. Hinata understood that it would be hard for an immigrant to take care of a child in America, she still trusted me enough, even though she knew that I'd be living on the streets for the first few years of Liberty's life. Meeting Sasuke was a chance meeting. I didn't even know about the company or the fact that he needed a marital partner to keep it. I didn't know until Liberty came up to his door asking for some food, all because I had spent the last few dollars at a McDonalds two days before. I didn't ask for this life Itachi-san. I didn't have my life handed to me on a silver platter like you did. I had to work for my life, even if it meant doing dirty things like prostituting and thievery."
It was quiet in the living room. Really, eerily quiet.
Naruto took another breath, "Look Itachi-san, how about we make a deal, between two adults? You allow me to call Iruka-san, and find out where he's at, and I'll go pick up Liberty from there, then, you won't hear anymore of me…"
Sasuke's eyes widened, "Naruto…you don't mean…"
"Yes, I'm sorry Sasuke." He turned towards Sasuke, "I really did enjoy being your husband. It actually made me feel wanted again." He carefully pulled off the ring and grabbed Sasuke's hand and placed the ring in it, "There, give it to someone you really love. I'll get the necklace back to you as soon as possible."
Sasuke shook his head, "No, keep the necklace. Think of it as a token of my thanks."
Nodding, Naruto turned and started to the hallway where a phone was, he stopped, "Oh, and since I'm laying my life's story out on the table. Remember when I told you that I named her Liberty because I saw the Statue of Liberty? That was a lie. I actually named her Liberty because, as an American raised child, it's her right to have a free life, even if mine isn't. Her name symbolizes that she shouldn't have to worry about the horrors that I went through growing up. I made a promise to Hinata that I would keep her safe…and I intend to keep her away from Neji, even if it somehow makes me unhappier in the process." He smiled back at them and disappeared into the hall.
Sasuke stared at the place where Naruto had just stood, his mind rushing as he tried to move his body, his legs wouldn't though.
He heard the front door close, and suddenly everything went black.
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Naruto turned around and took one last look at the house that had protected him for the past weeks.
He sighed, turning away; he stepped off the stoop and went down the street…
…back to his old life.
Uh….please don't kill me for stopping, it's just it's almost 5am and I'm dead tired…so yeah…
Lovely chapter eh?
Please review!
Next time: Back to the Way Things Were.