Summary:
'"Please Itachi… I know I can't save Sasuke but I can save you." Itachi considered these words before knocking Naruto's hand away.' Redemption begins in the form of salvation, at least that's what Naruto believes. ItaNaru Spoilers for Manga Chapters 365+'
Pairing:
ItaNaru
One-sided SasuNaru
Challenge From:
xXxFrostyIceCubexXx
Warnings:
Character death, Manga incorporation, predictions as to 'what happens next', sexual situations later on/eventual Yaoi.
Cursed Salvation, Descending Redemption
Chapter Ten
Fox
A cunning or crafty person
ずるさ
There had been a time when the world had been little but a play toy beneath his paws. It had been a fresh world, a new world, and one that the Bijuu had ruled over. The Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't remember many of the events that had taken place, but he did remember being seated in the grand halls of the Central Palace, eight companions by his side.
It was true that the Kyuubi was a huge mass of chakra contained to a body but wasn't that true to say of all creatures? They had watched the clans of Shinobi fight amongst themselves, waiting for their time. The Kyuubi had laughed along with the other Bijuu when they had placed bets (the Kyuubi had always won) and anger had grown when the first of the nine left the safety of the halls.
It had been that Bijuu that had indirectly caused the safe hold to be breached. Once the two men had contained the power of one, it had led to the remaining eight and the Kyuubi hadn't been one of the ones to escape.
The Kyuubi, to this day, still wasn't sure why one of the nine had escaped the safety of their hold, the rules laid upon them from the Beginning had stated that they could only watch and would be offered protection. If one split, they all split and their power was fractured, each Bijuu given one power rather than all of them sharing them all. Even so, there was harmony among them and they could, upon being pushed, share the given powers. They were still whole yet the Clans were the ones to make sure this changed.
Hashirama and Madara… Uchiha and Senjuu; two damned clans who couldn't just let be. The Kyuubi had been entranced by Madara's eyes and Hashirama's wooden abilities to the point of enslavement but the fox learnt more amongst their company than the time at the Central Palace.
There had been a few others and the time spent hadn't been that bad. Things had only turned when Hashirama – the Hokage at this point – had decided to give the chakra of the Bijuu to neighbouring countries in the hopes that they would see it as a peace offering. Never before had the Bijuu been purposefully split apart from each other, nine harmonious chakras scattered to various countries and never to be reunited.
The destructive force was first put into play then; if the chakras were to reunite they would mix to form something deadly and potent. They had been harmonious yet the separation would lead to each being slightly tainted and a re-introduction would end in a devastating force… it was a small hope but even the Kyuubi hoped that he would never see the other eight Bijuu.
When Uchiha Madara had first approached the Kyuubi – before he had left Konoha – he had promised freedom to the fox. The nine tailed Bijuu had tired of his solitary life and the cage he had been restricted to (if he was brought out from the Summoning realm that the men had banished them to) and so welcomed the man and entertained his thoughts.
These thoughts had ended in the destruction of Konoha and the Kyuubi had been forced to disagree. Madara had been counting on the demon's approval and sought to control the very basics of what made the fox living; his chakra. The Kyuubi had been brought to its knees as Madara enacted his Mangekyou Sharingan upon him and the chakra spiked from a dark yellow to crimson red, changing and becoming hypersensitive to the Uchiha chakra. Madara had called it captivity and the fox had been left alone to literally lick his wounds.
Kyuubi was waiting the next time he was summoned in secret by Madara. Instincts told him it had only been a week – at the most – since the Uchiha had turned his chakra but it felt like an eternity to the fox. He had been waiting to meet the human so he could literally rip his head off for what he had done to him but something else happened that night.
Uchiha Madara had returned to Konoha that night in the hopes of destroying the village. The Kyuubi felt the chakra well up and burn through his body as Madara stood on his head, eyes flickering with the stolen eyes of his brother.
"We shall go now Kyuubi. Destroy every last relic of this village."
The Kyuubi knew it was a classic case of 'if I can't have it then nobody can' but his mind had been too weak to stave off the urge brought upon by the chakra change. He had destroyed as much as he could – trees, buildings, people even – until the Shodai had turned up. The Mokuton ability had calmed the Kyuubi's chakra and Madara had scarpered, leaving the fox standing in the centre of a partially crushed village.
There had been silence in the Kyuubi's cage for years, too many years to sleep but too little to wither away and die. The chakra lost its edge and softened to a deep orange colour yet the mind of the Kyuubi never dulled. If anything the blade of hatred grew, disturbing the balance of the chakra for good. The fox didn't care – hardly noticed – his mind set on one thing; destroy Uchiha Madara.
The Kyuubi had opened his eyes to a blinding light. The first person he noticed was a masked man and he knew, without a doubt, that this was the source of his re-entry to the Shinobi world and that he was the very target he sought.
The Kyuubi's chakra darted towards the man but he vanished; a replacement or a Bunshin taking the place of the man who would've died. Upon finding no living human around, Kyuubi had taken off to the one place Madara would have been; Konoha.
He had been there too, standing on the Yondaime's head with a smirk beneath his mask as the Yondaime had stood atop Gamabunta and performed the Jutsu that would end in the final sealing of the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi may not have been near to Konoha but he had seen that and the Shinobi gathered around the fox had never seen anything give off as much hatred as the Kyuubi had the second before it was sealed into the child. They all assumed it was directed to the Yondaime and Namikaze Minato's words were forgotten as they remembered their 'hero' was capable of such hate.
The Kyuubi had returned to sleep then, resting his giant head on the wet floor of his new prison. His eyes had grown heavy and the beast had succumbed to sleep… at least until he woke with an anguished rage. Memories swirled in his head and one name repeated over and over;
MadaraMadaraMadaraMadara
The Kyuubi allowed the child access to his powers and relinquished the feeling of control on the boy. With a slight dip of his furred body, he was able to send the boy's own spinning into a kick and he loved it. He could feel the hum of emotions overwhelming his Jinchuuriki – how off it was to call the person holding him back from revenge his human sacrifice – and knew that he was scared, frightened and yet would do anything to avenge the supposed death of his friend, one who was lying on the ground with senbon sticking out of him.
Unfortunately the next time the boy had used his powers they had been sealed away and the Kyuubi's chakra had been thrown into disarray. In all honesty he did really feel gratitude to the boy's mentor – Jiraiya – especially as the kid then used his chakra after the Toad Sennin had thought to unseal it.
The harmony had been affected once again when Shukaku had arrived on the scene; the Kyuubi had been unable to control his own chakra and it had literally flamed around Naruto when he asked for it. Not even the fox had been able to control it and he felt a little respect towards the kid as he fought it back to the seal. From there on, it had been Kyuubi's job to absorb the chakra or risk it destroying him from inside the sealed cage.
There had never been more fire running through the chakra since that time than when the Kyuubi was allowed to access Naruto's body. It had occurred to him a handful of times yet only twice was he given full control over the situation. The first time he repaid a debt to the Sannin in the only way he deemed acceptable – half killing the man. The second time it had been his former companion, the snake man that Naruto had so loathed, that had duelled with the beast and he would've died if the Kyuubi had been given a true chance. The fox knew that the man had once been in the same league as Madara and it reminded the fox of everything he had done; how he had been used.
The most interesting encounter had been the one with Uchiha Sasuke. The Kyuubi knew he was nothing compared to Madara (or even the other Uchiha, upon whom he's only known of through the Jinchuuriki and Naruto's fear was something to go by) but the boy was able to see him and that was what mattered. It had been partially to do with the chakra reacting to the Sharingan (from Madara's 'gift') and the power of the boy himself.
The warning had partially been a bluff; if Naruto died then so did the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi wouldn't allow that just yet. He wanted Madara six feet down, chopped and wrapped for hell. Sasuke accepted the bluff and the Kyuubi carried on the plotting.
It was also for his own gain that he had helped to save Uchiha Itachi. The Kyuubi had held back the chakra that instinctively seeped out to help the man (another effect that Madara's change had; if there was a wounded Uchiha, to the point of almost death, touching the Kyuubi or the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki then he would be forced to heal every wound) then allowed it once Naruto's emotions had washed over him. This Uchiha was a keeper; he did everything for Konoha and even knew Madara… even fought off the taint that Madara brought along with him.
This was why the Kyuubi was silent in his seal as Naruto slept that night, blissfully unaware of what the fox was planning. It wouldn't be long before everything could begin and the Kyuubi could finally drench himself in the stench of Madara's blood.
Even if he had to wait it out in this stinking cage with the sewer water climbing steadily upwards by each day the fox would be patient. There was too much to lose and so much to gain…
Even to the point of risking everything and counting on people he had never met. The Kyuubi hoped Naruto moved fast because there was something approaching and not even the fox knew if it was a blessing or a curse.
ずるさ
Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked down at the sheet of paper. Itachi had abandoned him for the day, saying that he was going to check a source of his. Naruto had retorted that technically a dead man shouldn't have sources but the Uchiha had looked at Naruto in a way that made the man uncomfortable (well, more specifically, hoicked the percentage up a little to ninety nine point nine-one-three) and he dropped it instantly.
This left the Hokage alone in his office with the paperwork previous Hokages had fought off with ink and curses. For someone who had never enjoyed school work, Naruto strangely enjoyed this type of work; filling in boxes and snooping in other peoples' reports sometimes proved very amusing.
Today, however, was not a day Naruto wanted to be doing work. He only had a few mission reports to sign but it was what was happening later that set him on edge; Shizune had come in with morning tea to inform Naruto that Danzou had requested an emergency meeting with him later that day.
Ideally Naruto would have wanted Itachi to be there for the first meeting with the ROOT ANBU Captain but beggars can't be choosers and it was just going to be the Hokage and Danzou. Not everyone's cup of tea.
Naruto scanned through the A- and S-classed reports first to see if there were any leads of what Sasuke or Akatsuki were up to. Itachi had mentioned the possibility of Madara getting Sasuke and if this was true Naruto wondered what Madara would do next. Would Sasuke become part of the Akatsuki? If so, would they come after him still? No one outside of Konoha knew that Naruto was the Hokage yet as the messengers to Suna probably hadn't reached them yet but if the Akatsuki got wind that he was in charge of the village before they were ready to deal their own then a lot of problems could occur.
Not that they didn't have enough problems on their hands already…
Naruto's mind wandered back to Danzou. He had never met the man properly in person; Tsunade had shown him a picture and he had walked past the man once when he had been leaving the Hokage office but the Uzumaki hadn't really paid any attention to the war veteran. The blond only hoped that the man would be easy to evaluate as he had such little information on him.
"Hokage-sama?"
Naruto looked up and smiled at Shizune. She swapped the empty tray on his desk for the one in her hands and smiled in return. The tea tasted like heaven to Naruto and he sighed contentedly, gesturing for Shizune to join him. She did so and took a cup of her own.
"Do you miss Tsunade?"
Shizune blew on the hot liquid and waited for Naruto's answer.
"I have been a bit busy to really notice her absence, if I'm honest, but I do miss her. Baa-chan was always there for me to bother or just talk to but I know she'll be back. With Jiraiya," he added in afterthought. Naruto looked questioningly to Shizune and she swallowed the mouthful.
"It feels strange to be absent from her side… I've been with her ever since she left Konoha. I guess I reminded her of my uncle and she wanted to honour him by taking me upon as her apprentice."
Naruto tilted his head,
"Your uncle?"
"Dan," she said simply and Naruto nodded. It was little details such as the revelation of the true connection between Shizune and Tsunade that added to everyday life. Naruto briefly wondered if Shizune hadn't been Dan's niece, would Tsunade have taken her as an apprentice?
"I better get on with organising the files as they come in; Suna should be contacting us shortly as the team we sent out should get there soon. Iruka requested your presence at the mission's room later on today, shall I tell him you'll be there after Danzou has finished?"
Naruto's day brightened at the prospect of torturing Genin with D-ranked missions as well as seeing Iruka.
"Yeah, hopefully we won't be too long. Tell him I'll be along when I've finished up."
Shizune smiled and left quietly. Naruto's eyes fell to the paper again and he read over the first line,
'Mission class: B, Mission brief: escort a wealthy businessman to one of the outer towns in…'
No Akatsuki there. Were they doing something so secretive that nothing even trickled out? At times like this he knew Tsunade would have had Jiraiya to ask but even that resource was gone (only temporarily, his mid supplied) and so was Tsunade. Even his trump card was out in whoever knows where with whoever knows who – Naruto ignored the jealousy stirring up as he thought of Itachi with Mr/Miss Whatsitname – and he was here, waiting for Danzou.
A knock on the door interrupted Naruto's cursing and blue eyes snapped to the wooden frame as it swung open. Shizune was carrying another tray and Naruto stood to do the swap quickly as he saw Danzou walk in slowly.
"Hokage-sama," he greeted and Naruto gestured for his guest to sit. He skilfully poured the tea – in a way that would make Jiraiya proud – and handed a cup to Danzou. The man accepted and nodded his head in appreciation.
"Danzou-san, is there anything that need to be urgently addressed?"
The man set down his tea and opened his uncovered eye.
"Of course, Hokage-sama, this isn't just a social."
Danzou 1, Naruto 0.
"I wish to talk to you about my division, ROOT, and its future. As you're aware, the organisation acts directly from me without any interference from the Hokage… I was hoping that you would extend my powers to that of ANBU."
Naruto blinked at the sheer courage this man had. It was rather insulting; straight forwardly asking if he could take over the strongest of the Konoha Shinobi. Naruto knew that Danzou didn't see him as a threat and vowed that this opinion would change soon. In Danzou's eyes, Naruto was still just an idiotic Shinobi, one who had got this place through being close friends with the Godaime Hokage. To him, Naruto had got this position simply through his birth parents and friendship, that most certainly did not deem him worthy to protect the whole village.
"If I agreed with your policies then I would hand ANBU over to you in the blink of an eye, but seeing as I learnt the hard way about what you do to your subordinates I'd rather keep my ANBU away from you."
Danzou 1, Naruto 1.
The man in front of the Hokage twitched slightly and took up his tea once more. Naruto waited patiently for the man, sipping his own beverage.
"May I be allowed to go see your new recruits and offer placements?"
Naruto set down his cup and shook his head.
"I haven't seen them myself yet and I'd rather that I was their main influence rather than you."
Another point to Naruto,
"I also wanted to visit the ROOT members to check their progress. I know the previous Hokages let you a free rein but I was hoping to work with you. I'm sure you were aware that Tsunade had ANBU tailing you and I think it would be far more beneficial if we were open about this agreement. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to combat all targets with even more efficiency through working together."
Danzou 1, Naruto 3. Maybe he didn't need Itachi…
"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I was told that I would be given full control of ROOT and I believe that if you interfere then this condition will be breached."
Okay so maybe Itachi's help would have been nice.
"Nevertheless, I would like to meet these Shinobi; I am the Hokage and they are still citizens of Konoha. Just take this as a warning; if I find any of them in as bad a state as Sai was then I will pull them from ROOT and you will have nothing to do with them."
Danzou nodded, his face pinched and a dissatisfied look in his eyes. Naruto wondered if he had forgotten Naruto's personal involvement with ROOT.
"I will allow that as there is no other choice. Though may I be so bold as to ask a question?"
Naruto resisted the urge to growl; the man was asking now if he could be bold!?
"Of course," he gestured for the man to continue.
"It would appear that you are getting ready for some sort of fight… is there something we should know?"
He was a sneaky one, this Danzou. To the point but blunt enough so that Naruto couldn't charge him with something like treason.
"Tsunade activated the terms of war when she left so it is natural that I continue as though we are under a threat. Akatsuki are still around and-"
"If Akatsuki are still around then is it safe for you to be in control of a whole village?"
Naruto's eyes darkened as the man interrupted him. Danzou knew very well why he was starting to take the offence and was now taunting him in no man's land.
"I would say it is even safer. Konoha treated me with little respect but even so I was still able to love the village. That takes something, don't you think? I love this village with my heart, even during the times when it hated me. I would never use Konoha as a stepping stone for my own gain and I believe that my love for Konoha will allow her to grow."
Danzou flinched at the implication Naruto made and he gritted his jaw.
"What will happen in the event that Akatsuki does get to you?"
Naruto smirked, prepared to finally admit the extent of his knowledge to someone who had thought very little of him.
"You make me sound as though I am just warming this seat up. I may be young but there is no doubt that I can hold more than my own in a fight. I wasn't just chosen because of who my father was; Tsunade was informed of my training from Jiraiya-sensei. She then based her choice upon that, I had no influence… in fact I was out on a mission trying to get your precious Uchiha back."
Naruto closed his eyes; two out of the three Oni knew about Itachi…
"And I have to add that I did return one to Konoha… not the one you wanted though."
Danzou's eye widened and he took a sharp intake of air,
"Uchiha Itachi? He died!"
Naruto shrugged the comment off before rolling his eyes as a raven swooped in through the open window. He knew Itachi had been there for a short time but, of course, the Uchiha had chosen the perfect time to make his entrance.
"I assure you Danzou that I am one hundred per cent alive. Naruto-sama was the one to heal me after he learnt the true details of that night."
Naruto was sure that – had Danzou been any less of a man – he would've fainted. His face paled and he stood up from his chair, the legs scraping against the floor noisily. After all, it wasn't every day that the man you practically sentenced to death came back after you had thought that the sentence had finally been carried out. Danzou had everything to fear in Itachi – he was ruthless, beautifully so, and there were plenty of reasons to do it. Naruto knew that Itachi wouldn't do something like that but Danzou… Danzou had no idea.
"I will contact you to arrange a date that I will visit your organisation. If there is nothing else then you are free to go."
Danzou left quickly, leaving the door wide open to reveal Shizune looking into the room. She blinked before hurrying into the room and collecting the tea.
"Would you like some Itachi-san?"
Itachi shook his head and Naruto chuckled at Shizune's expression. Itachi noticed her face as well and hurried to correct his error;
"Coffee or something would be very much appreciated though."
A smile broke through the glare and Shizune left happily. It seemed that if anyone rejected her offer of a drink, she became your worst nightmare.
"What was the score at the end then?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow to the cloaked man.
"Seriously, can you read minds?"
Itachi gave a dry laugh and shook his head. His eyes sparkled as they connected with Naruto's and the Hokage felt a jolt of something pass through his body.
"If only. It just seems a very Naruto thing to do."
Naruto looked at the man and smiled. Itachi smiled back and Naruto's heart literally skipped a beat (okay so it was more like ninety nine point nine-nine-nine now). This feeling, he guessed, wouldn't be one to go away any time soon so he might as well embrace it, even if just for a little.
"It would appear that my source is currently entertaining our previous Hokage."
Naruto blinked, confused slightly. He had thought that Tsunade would be heading straight to Jiraiya and, besides, when did Itachi have time to meet someone who would willingly entertain the Godaime Hokage? As far as he knew, which was pretty far considering, the Akatsuki hated Konoha (hated everywhere really, if you take it into true account) and he loathed to think how the Uchiha had managed to get the Akatsuki off of his back long enough for the unsociability to reside and actually make this entertaining source a… well, source.
"Tsunade? But isn't she with Jiraiya?"
Itachi nodded and paused as Shizune entered the room once more with coffee and tea. She set them down and Itachi took the hot mug and took a sip instantly. Naruto frowned; were Uchiha's heatproof or something? If he had tried that, there was no doubt that his lip would have been scalding hot and red. Not a very Hokage-like thing to do really.
"My friend seems to have taken Jiraiya into her care and I was able to contact her long enough to know that 'Tobi' hasn't been around Akatsuki that much recently. I think it's safe to say that he either has Sasuke or is hunting for him…we should only to contact her if there is no other alternative; her partner is Pein and he is not someone to take lightly, he's the reason Jiraiya-sama is in the condition he is now."
Naruto's eyes widened but he recovered quickly; Jiraiya was in Tsunade's hands now and he knew from experience that Tsunade was literally a miracle worker. She had lost too many people as well, so if she lost Jiraiya it would be too much to bear. Surely that was enough to give her the strength to fight whatever injuries threatened to overwhelm her friend, her team member and the man she had known for so long.
"So why exactly do you want to look over ROOT?"
Naruto swallowed tentatively and looked into dark eyes. There was curiosity, an almost foreboding curiosity, in Itachi's eyes and it both thrilled and scared Naruto. There were so many things about ROOT that he knew would throw him into the deep end but he couldn't leave the people in the organisation there. No matter what path they were on, they were still loyal Konoha Shinobi.
"In the past, Danzou has been tracked by the Hokage's trusted ANBU and I wanted to try a different approach. I changed Sai and I was hoping that we could get a few more people to switch. I know they joined ROOT either of their own choice or grew up in it but I hate to think that they feel there is no other option."
Itachi nodded and remembered a time when he had been in the ANBU headquarters and one member commented on how creepy the daughter organisation was. Itachi hadn't really contributed but he had listened and it was enough;
"I remember someone saying it was like a cult. The members were close, a family on the outside, but they would sooner stab you in the back if it guaranteed them power."
Naruto looked at Itachi and the man pulled his hood up, covering his face. Naruto frowned but sighed as he looked down at the reports; if Itachi wanted to be reclusive then he wouldn't stop him. Taking a trip down memory lane could be peaceful sometimes but it wasn't always the safest way to travel.
"I'll arrange a meeting with Sai. He came from ROOT so maybe he can help us."
Itachi nodded and Naruto called Shizune in.
"Can we call Sai in here for tomorrow?"
Shizune nodded and looked at Naruto pointedly. He hummed in response and the woman disappeared.
"I have to go join Iruka-sensei in the mission's room now so I'll see you later?"
Itachi turned to him and the hood fell back slightly, revealing dark eyes and long lashes. Naruto's breathing suddenly felt shallow and his head almost span. Blue eyes roamed unabashedly over the man's features and he stepped forwards. There was over ten centimetres difference in height but that could be solved by tiptoeing and resting an arm on Itachi's for support.
Naruto closed his eyes and allowed his lips to touch Itachi's cheek. The skin was cold and smooth – just as he'd expected – and he fought the urge to just stay there like that. A heat emitted from his cheeks and, as he lowered his body back to the ground, he kept his eyes fixed to the ground.
"I'm just returning the favour from the other night," he muttered lightly and turned. Itachi watched as Naruto waved a hand and shut the door.
It was a good twenty minutes before Itachi returned to reality and he touched his cheek gently.
He absently noted that the skin had grown warm and remembered the coffee that lay waiting for him. He knew it would be cold but it seemed like a fair trade for the skin over his cheek.
ずるさ
Notes:
06/12/08: Edited (additional paragraphs added, typos fixed)
If you are lucky enough to be able to read the line-breaker characters, you can probably tell that they don't mean fox, per se, but rather the meaning of someone who may have traits of a 'fox', namely they are cunning.