Chapter Eleven
Song of the Mermaids
"Well, I never thought I would hear about anything like this," Jiraiya said with a shake of his head, trying to stay serious. If he had literally seen Itachi butt naked, he would have had the epic nosebleed that her mother almost did. Naru wasn't sure what provoked her into hitting him to prove her point, but she had to. "You two and Minato bring in a strange guy from the beach, and after two days, he does something unforgettable in trying to help you out. He really is an oddball." Oh, Pervy Sage, that's an understatement.
"Well, he never should have popped off like that," Kushina stated, but even she was having trouble keeping a straight face. "But you should have seen the action: he had Zabuza Momochi down before we arrived. And down to the skin!" She doubled forward, slapping a hand over her mouth. "I don't know if I could ever be brave to do that. Have you ever heard of that, Jiraiya?"
"But you gotta admit, he really crossed the line in a clever way." He laughed, turning to look down at Naru. "What about you, kid? He hasn't tried anything funny, has he?" he asked, reaching to ruffle her hair when she specifically tied it back!
She bared her teeth back. "Pervy Sage -" She ignored his protest at calling him that name in front of his deputies and officers securing the crime scene. "- it's not what you think it is. Dad, Hinata and I found him on this same shore, and he's looking for Itachi's family, but he might find the answer today." And if that was done, then that meant she might never see him again. Things had gotten so weird and confusing. She planned to tell him that she liked him - not going too far - and to not part on awkward terms, but then this happens. And on top of that, she lost her wits and slapped him in the face for his behavior.
Why the hell would he sneak out of the house - oh, Mom, you had to tell him about this. But it wasn't completely anyone's fault. She remembered being fourteen when she first took interest. So, did this mean Itachi...?
Naru knew she acted out, and she wanted to know why Itachi went off without warning to do this, and what he'd been hoping to accomplish. And on cue, the man in the conversation popped up between her and Kushina. "Jiraiya," he said happily, "or 'Pervy Sage' as these two women call you."
"Oi, I prefer Jiraiya, thank you very much!"
Itachi laughed and raised his palm. "I apologize. But it is...a pleasure to finally meet you." He extended that hand for a shake which the old perv gladly accepted.
"You really caused quite the ruckus today, eh, Itachi. These ladies and who knows how many really had nosebleeds -"
"NO WAY, WE DID NOT!" mother and daughter both exclaimed in outrage, and Kushina was the one to be serious.
"Jiraiya, if we are done here, what can you tell us now about these two in custody as well as who they are working for?"
Jiraiya cleared his throat and nodded. "Ahem, right. Well, Zabuza Momochi who earned the nickname 'Demon of the Hidden Mist' back in his land - who'd have thought he'd make his way here with his little sidekick?" He shook his head. "Kid has no home, because his family was killed during a snowstorm a few years ago by a bloodthirsty gang, and Momochi took him in." Oh, a big shot in the underworld got his ass handed without too much work by a naked young man. She could see that making damned good headlines. "Who knows, maybe he saw a part of himself in Haku. But on point, a couple of my guys are sweeping the craft, and just now we got these permits to dump the wastes into the bay." Jiraiya produced said documents from his jacket and held them for her mom to go bug-eyed once again over. Naru leaned over her shoulder and growled in her throat. Itachi peeked over curiously, raising an eyebrow.
"Who is this 'Gato'?" he asked, making them all surprised. Practically every mature adult or teenager - if they were lucky - knew who one of the wealthiest men in the five great and few smaller nations was.
"Gato is one of the richest tycoons around," Naru answered with an exasperated breath. "But long story short, he is much more beneath the surface. Very few have been able to figure that out, and many more barely live to tell about it."
Kushina clicked her tongue, gave the papers back to Jiraiya and wiped her hands on herself as if she'd gotten something dirty on them. "But that bastard son of a bitch," she spat, "is one of the many I hate so much in the world. He's a drug and human trafficker, and hires the nastiest hitmen to do his dirty work. He doesn't care about the cost as long as the job gets done." Her eyes glittered cruelly. "To think he wanted to do this to us to scare us, think to take us down like he did to Nami Island two years ago..." Naru closed her eyes when she remembered how that once independent but prosperous island had somehow vanished from the world's knowledge, if remaining charted on record. There was no telling if it was still even existing. If a man like Gato controlled the government, the people and the shipping with his iron grip, it might be completely diminished by now.
And to think this guy was going to do the same to us, a much bigger and better nation...
Itachi had been listening but said nothing. His eyes said it all: he got an idea without even asking. Then his eyes flashed with something akin to hate and rage.
At the same time, fire broke out, bullets hitting the side of the boat, the ground at their feet and their heads. A couple vehicles screeched and let loose several rough-looking men with masks over their faces. Damn it, Gato must have sent them to make sure Zabuza and Haku would be killed if they failed, and anyone who apprehended him would also go down. "Girls, Itachi, get out of here while we handle them!" Jiraiya shouted, pulling out his gun and diving behind a rock with a few of the guys.
Naru took Itachi by the wrist while her other was grasped roughly by her mother; she yelped as she was jerked away with Itachi towards the car. "Come on, that bastard doesn't need to see us here -" Kushina started only to be stopped at the sound of a sneering voice.
"Zabuza - I paid so much money for him to finish the job, and this is what I get as the result?" A sniff. "And to think he was stopped by two sluts and a...what the hell are you? Are you a man or woman?" the short, shaded man sneered at Itachi. His sandy hair, attempted to be tamed with product after product, frizzed over his head. He stood hunched over a cane. He was alone. This was him, and he thought he could be here without someone to back him up because the two women and handsome man seemed harmless compared to his loads of money and different forms of hire.
"What...did...you...say?" Kushina growled. "You think you can talk like that about the Red Hot Habanero and get away with it?"
"I get away with anything everywhere," Gato replied snidely. "As for you, and the little goldie - your daughter, I presume? Oh, I have heard about you, Kushina, and Naru. I'm honored to stand in front of you...but the lad, is he your lover by any chance, Naru-chan?" He really pushed her temper limits, and she was so close to pummeling him like her mother did to Zabuza on deck.
Itachi pushed himself away from mother and daughter, ignoring their protests. You fool, this is one of the richest men. If you so much as attack him, charges will be filed. "If you can spend as much time getting everything you want, surely you must realize one day that luck can always run out," he said calmly. "Like today."
The short man laughed as though he'd heard a good joke. "Boy, I don't know who you are, but who are you to think you can -" He never got to finish his sentence when they both heard a heavy thud and a groan as he fell forward, letting go of his cane, and that was when Naru chose to do what she wanted. And without a care in the world, since Pervy Sage and his men were busy with Gato's other hands, here the three of them were around the corner where all vehicles of their activist team were parked, and still overlooking a portion of the bay and beach. She picked it up and whacked him on the back and then on the hideous backside; she just knew it was. It felt good to actually WHIP that ass, and it made her mother laugh hysterically. Itachi chuckled, but other than that, he didn't react much.
Naru looked at him only to see him looking ahead, past her. She craned her head and saw nothing but a rippling circle in the sparkling waters, telling her something was there but had since vanished, never to be seen. She returned her attention down to Gato's now unconscious form, seeing what had hit him.
It was a conch shell - a beautiful array of blood-orange on the outside, turning into pale pink and lavender as well as a mother-of-pearl shimmer. Itachi picked it up with a dreamy, content...grateful smile on his face. She thought the "gift" was beautiful, but who had thrown it and saved their skins? And why was her strange houseguest smiling like that?
~o~
This is so strange. No boat found, no bodies - nothing.
Minato could not explain his feelings right now as he stared at the phone when Shikaku hung up first, after giving him the intel. There hadn't been reports of a storm in the last four, five days, as it had been with the Red Dawn. This meant either Itachi was keeping something, or it was as simple as the corpses and boat were just lost as it happened every day. Which meant that he had to break the news to Itachi as soon as he was back at this house.
It wasn't long before, a couple hours later and doing his best to not worry, Minato was enjoying the latest on the news, and he saw the headline and bolted forward in his seat. "Kushina...Naru...Itachi?!" he exclaimed in shock.
UZUMAKI FAMILY, KPD AND NAKED MAN FOIL TOXIC WASTE PLOT
He listened as the reporter detailed that his wife and daughter and their team had come as "backup" while a strange young man with long black hair was the first to arrive at the scene, having tackled the notorious "Demon of the Mist", Zabuza Momochi, before authorities arrived to apprehend the hitman and his young ward known only as Haku, and then Gato as well as his extra set showed up in attempts to off everyone off. And that was when it was mentioned the tycoon himself had been taken down by hand - by none other than Naru, with his own cane. Minato couldn't be more proud of his daughter; she had more of her mother's fury than her father.
And the "naked man" part? Eyes only for Kushina, Naru and the others, Itachi had stripped down in possible attempts of distraction as well as no other alternate ideas. Minato could hardly contain himself as he doubled over in his seat on the sofa with laughter, his insides clenching, and Kurama looked up with a little whimper before turning his attention to the TV before covering his face with his paw. "Sorry you had to see that, buddy," he said, reaching over to scratch the beast behind the ears.
He watched as his wife, daughter and their houseguest's faces appeared on the television to be interviewed, and smiled to himself, reaching behind himself to nervously laugh and couldn't wait to have them all back to celebrate the victory - but he also knew that the good mood might be interrupted because of a serious talk to. It was best to break the news to Itachi and then let Kushina and Naru talk to him about his popping off at dawn the way he did.
~o~
Sasuke...you saved us. You disabled Gato yourself with the shell now in our possession. But you disappeared before you could be seen. You're with me when you get the chance, foolish otouto. He sighed and lowered his gaze. Soon he would sneak out again for "fresh air", but not to be forever enough to worry Naru and her parents again. He'd already done it to them today as it was.
Itachi replayed the conversation in his mind as he sat on the dock - not the one at the bay - where a collection of boats were rowed, in every shape and size. He distinctively and purposefully started with his own, when all four of them were at the kitchen table, and Kurama the fox stayed outside, listening intently and obviously nervous.
"I only did it because I simply wanted to make you both happy - especially you, Naru. I love the ocean as much as you, for back home in my family it is a vital part of life. It never occurred to me it was a reckless decision. I merely wanted to surprise you."
That seemed to make them all speechless before Minato was the one to burst laughing when the women were sharp. "Well, you and my girls here could be a great team then. All of us love those waters as much..." But the anger of his wife outmatched and blew up the atmosphere.
Kushina had never been so frightening when she erupted in his face and slammed the table so hard it almost cracked in half. "Itachi, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought you'd be. You don't just go half-cocked without help and advice beyond what you asked me for! You have never done this before, and it doesn't appear you have as enough common sense as I thought you might!"
The lecture had never been so stinging that it was why he found himself here on the docks, looking out at the boats coming in, others going out, and the rest docked and tied. His feet dangled over the edge, not even close to touching the waters as much as he wished. I wish Sasuke or Shisui, or both, were here right now. I wish I could talk to someone right now...
But maybe Naru's mother hadn't hurt as much as the girl herself.
"I don't know what to say, Itachi. I'm agreeing with Mom, but I also wanted to tell you something. Before Dad was going to find your family, I wanted to say that I kind of...like you. I still don't know who you are, but I don't want to see or think of you as a stranger in our house."
It was also then that Minato had announced he never found his family, which relieved him internally, but on the outside, he showed a tinge of sadness, closing his eyes and saying nothing. The family seemed to take this as being so sudden for him, but not a surprise. They let him go then and there, when he said he needed to be alone, but he didn't go very far from the house. He said he would be at the docks where the boats were, where they would find him easily. He did want to be alone to think about how he could make this right before the day was over.
He also expected more shouting especially at his display of nudity before the women and their colleagues, but none of them mentioned it. They must have said enough. "I won't treat you like a child, but think about what you did," Kushina had said before he went out the front door. Naru didn't even try to stop him, and he didn't want her to.
Today he learned the hard way with trying to make the woman he loved happy without even consulting her. It turned out he really did know nothing about her life.
He closed his eyes, feeling himself drift off into another world, to a distant memory.
The dazzling scenery is in the sky's custody
A stature bent in shame, touched by sunlight
The truth is, I know it
I laugh from within my heart
Right now, can you hear it?
The voice in my heart is
Forever as it is, existing there...
It was a lullaby that existed within their people through the ages since the birth of their kind in these waters. He hadn't forgotten about his family, but he wanted to sing it aloud to himself so he could keep their memory alive. If he never saw them again, this song would be all he had left of them. And if possible, he wished for her to hear it...
Those eyes, pretending to be tough, always so sudden
The landscape swaying, what do you see?
What condemnation closes off
Perhaps your heart will gently open
If we can feel it all
The wind will envelop this body
In the days of this world, we'll surely see it
If anyone was to ask him who this was for specifically, it was his mother, brother, cousin and anyone outside the Uchiha when they would accept he was "dead". He felt a tear slip down his cheek and hit the water, glittering like a diamond.
Forever, a heart's sunlight
Even now, you understand, right?
The wind will envelop this body
In the days of this world, we'll surely see it, right?
Existing here, and...
"You sound...like a living flute."
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of the voice. Naru was standing there with two plastic white cups in hand, which he recognized as the hakuto. She wasn't blushing again, but she was smiling lightly, just standing there as if she didn't know what else to do. "What is the occasion?" Itachi asked curiously as she came to sit beside him, offering him one.
"A peace offering," she answered. "I don't think you realized it, since you don't have a watch, but you've been gone for almost an hour. Mom was cooling down and realized she was a little harsh on you today."
"She had a right to be," Itachi admitted, poking through the peach sweet with the plastic spoon. "I accept responsibility."
Naru looked at him with widened eyes which returned to normal. "You don't have to overdo that, you know. We Uzumakis unleash our wrath in the harshest way ever, but we also forgive and forget in no time," she said, baring her teeth in a grin, before getting serious again. "Tell me something...did you really mean to take those guys down for me?" Itachi swallowed. He nodded without a word. This seemed to make her happy.
He took a few more bites of the sweet dessert in silence, enjoying the comfort with her and happy that she had forgiven him. Humans do have a compassionate side for the wrongly done - except those who harm the innocent. "I really want to become like you and your mother, since I have nothing else for my life," he told her, and suddenly the air became tense again. He feared a repeat of earlier - but to his surprise, she merely gulped down the next spoonful.
"I'm happy you care about what we do, but it won't be that easy. My mom really is serious about this, and it's about teamwork instead of solo; that's something you should work on, for one, and learning to trust with the information." Which I certainly will. "And that also regards the naked stuff you pulled off. She agrees it wasn't something she ever thought of," Naru said with a nervous giggle, running a hand through her long, tied hair which found its way over one shoulder, "but it certainly got Zabuza distracted." Only it's something no human should be brave enough to pull off.
Itachi sighed to himself. There were too many laws humans had put up over the silliest of things. But if he could sacrifice his tail fin for the legs he had now, he might as well compromise his body to be seen by others.
"Come on," Naru announced, standing up and stretching. "Let's go back to the house. Mom and Dad want to celebrate us putting those bastards behind bars." She grinned. "And with any luck, Gato might be killed by one of his own men once his ass is off on bail. You know what they say: what goes around comes around. He really thought his money could control those monsters who seek jobs under him."
Itachi returned the smile and stood up, looking down with her. "Naru," he said, remembering that she had her plans with Hinata-chan, "after we celebrate, do you have to meet with your charming friend?"
She looked confused for a moment before her expression changed. "Oh, thanks for reminding me. Yeah, but I'll meet with Hinata afterwards."
"Then..." He broadened his smile. "...when you return, I would love to do something for you."
"What would that be?"
"Just as you have done for me, I wish to brush that sunlit hair of yours and tie it back the way it is now," Itachi replied, savoring the priceless reaction on her face, not the least bit ashamed. And how could she even say no to his offer?
The Land of Waves, the small island that had been under Gato's rule - "Nami no Kuni". Now it's Nami Island. As for how Gato gets his ass whipped, Zabuza did just that, but this time I wanted Itachi and the ladies to do it. ;) Show some teamwork.
The song Itachi sung was "Kotonoba" by Hideo Ishikawa (his Japanese VA). I swear to God when I heard it on YouTube, it made me weep tears. :'D Originally in Japanese, what you saw was the English translation. It really does fit Itachi's story in ninja-verse, doesn't it?
