"What exactly do you want from me?"
"Me?" Itachi leaned back in the booth area. "I just want you to stay away from my younger brother." He smiled. "I can take care of his mottled reputation as it were fairly easy. Your background and your ah, true expertise in the past has forced me to employ you to step aside."
Naruto's eyes flittered along the news clippings in front of him. Kyuubi wrecks havoc in Tokyo and Whole police forces wiped clean; Bodies missing. Countless more papers and articles were swept across the table and each one brought a memory. He flexed his fingers automatically and they immediately reached for his sides where his knives used to be. The blood, the grime, the bright scales of his daggers slashing through muscle and bone, all of those raw emotions came flooding back to him. He remembered his cold laugh back then, and his life.
Running, always running.
Fighting without control, without restraint.
To live without a heart.
"Do you understa-"
"Just shut up." Naruto's words came through his clenched teeth. His lips turned upward in a feral snarl and his face contorted into a fox like ferocity. Itachi felt his hair stand up on end. Something wasn't right with this author and he was correct to doubt the background the publication was supplying. The blond in front of him suddenly withdrew in himself and started to breathe slowly in and out. He lifted his eyes toward Itachi once more and he saw something entirely different from before. "I'm not going back there." Naruto said slowly. His eyes remained downcast along the printed words.
"It doesn't seem to be that way from the way you're acting." Itachi tensed his muscles and readied himself for anything. "Although my brother deststs me, he is still in my care. I will take care of him and make sure someone like you doesn't get a scrap of his bloodline."
"Bloodline?" Naruto's eyes started to become dark once more."This is what this is about? Bloodline?" His fingers swept across the table. "This is how you're planning to blackmail me? You have no evidence and I am no suspect by any government or local department. You have no foundations for this."
"I will in time. I am just demanding now that you extract yourself from my brother."
"Demanding?" Naruto snickered. "Don't you think he's man enough now to be with who he wants without the help of his mommy?"
"I am doing this for his best of interest." Itachi stood up and slammed his hand on the table which caused others in the restaurant to look up from their meals. "You are not even fit to raise your own child let alone Sasuke. He is unstable and all you're doing is taking advantage of him when he's weak."
"Then I will take care of him until he's ready to move on." Naruto snapped. "Obviously you haven't been doing a good enough job when I'm the one who found him in the streets."
Itachi inwardly grimaced at the fact but he declined to agree. "You won't be able to let him go, seeing as how balanced you seem to be in your own mind." His eyes scanned the articles. "I will not believe you would be able to let him go on his way when you've already invested so much into him. Think of his future and think of your own. You have no future together."
"Because of people like you who just think they should control the world because they have the ability to." Naruto stood up. "You have no right to judge me when you have no relationship with me to deduct your doubts on. Neither you nor I have the ability to chose Sasuke's fate, so why squabble over it. He's done enough on hiw own with you, and he's making it through without you. You want to assess me and my ability to care of others? Look at yourself first before blaming your inadequacies on others around you. Good bye."
"Do you have any idea what my influences in this town are?" Itachi continued to yell as Naruto walked away from the table. "Your life and his will be a living hell if you don't separate."
Naruto turned his head. "If god himself came down and tried to lay a hand on Sasuke I would kill him. What damage could a mortal man like you bring to me? Take my word for it and don't come attacking us. You'll lose more than what you can give." He looked straight ahead and kept on walking, ignoring the stares he got from the employees loitering by.
He calmly entered the elevator, but once the door closed he slumped on his knees.
Well that went smoothly. Kyuubi's voice resonated in his mind. Naruto tried to push the voice away but failed. You already swore to give up on being drug lord and street fighter.
"Unless for someone I loved."
Kyuubi was silent for a few moments. Yes, but you can't love this child.
"I don't see why not." Naruto grasped his face in his hands. His palms were like ice and dead to the touch to his cheeks. "I'm just a hopeless case. Maybe it was a case of Nightengale Syndrome, but I know I care for Sasuke so much more than my own life."
Hm. You take that as a sign for love? Kyuubi sounded skeptical. Granted, it's not like I know what love is, but we're the same person no?
"Yes, we are. Sounds like we should be in a crazy nut house when you put it that way."
His inner voice growled. I'm just a part of your personality as a whole, you just supress my characteristics because I remind you of the old times. If you let go, we wouldn't have this schizophrenic type of discussions you know.
"Alright, alright, I get it." Naruto exited the elevator on his floor and stumbled to his room. "I just need some sleep.." He checked ihis watch before slipping his card key in the slot. "Damn, almost midnight. Sasuke and Kiba should be asleep by now." He gently opened the door and crept inside. He looked left and right in the dim darkness and didn't see anyone near by.
When he sat down on the bed to remove his shoes he felt a warm body brush against him. "Ah? A present?" He couldn't help but smile.
"As if. I'm not wearing a bow." Sasuke sat up. "I bet you'd be happy to see me wear nothing but that."
"Hardly." Naruto pulled off his shirt. "It wouldn't be that fun for me anymore. So where am I sleeping?" he asked playfully. "There was a bed next to Kiba's in the room next door."
"What? You don't want to me to sleep here?" Sasuke retorted. He pulled the sheets to his chest as Naruto turned around to face him. "I can move over there if I wanted to." Naruto's hand gently carassed the side of his cheek. Besides turning a little pink, Sasuke looked up into his eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Promise me something."
"Wh-What?"
"Always choose what you want." Naruto's eyes looked sad to Sasuke. "Don't let anyone hold you back. If you don't want to do something, then you don't do it... don't stay."
"What does that have to do with-"
"Promise if you're ever to tired of me, or just want to leave you should-"
"Naruto enough!" Sasuke leaned forward and connected with Naruto's lips for a quick kiss. "I have chosen." He said quietly, barely above a whisper. "I'm staying here."
Naruto's face burned from the contact. He responded just as softly. "Are you sure."
"I am." Sasuke fidgeted. "Can we go to bed already."
"Heehee!" Naruto pounced on Sasuke into the sheets and the raven swore he could hear purring. "Okay! Good thing we don't have shirts on~"
"H-Hey" Sasuke tried to shove the seme away with his elbow. "Don't-get-so-cocky" he grunted.
"Hehehe. Cocky." Naruto grinned.
"Sh-Shut up." Sasuke feel the sudden heat springing up in his muscles. Naruto took his left hand and kissed the silver band.
"You're mine for now Sasuke." Naruto laid completely on top of him and began to smother him with kisses. "Too late to turn back now."
"..." Sasuke opened his arms. "Come."
"Uwaaah~" Kiba rubbed his eyes with his blankie. Light streamed in through his grand window onto his face. He squinted upwards and tumbled ungraciously out of bed. He crawled about like a worm on his stomach and rolled around. His little toes curled in and out as he stretched his body in his own unique way. He rolled over to the adjoining room door and grudgingly pulled the handle down. "Daddy~"
He opened the door to a pitch black room. He blinked several times into the darkness. "Sasu-nii chan?" Kiba's voice cracked. "Hellloooooo?"
He stumbled about bumping into things probably desks and drawers and made his way to the windows with very miniscule streaks of pure daytime light struggling to come through. He reached out and felt the silk curtains and tugged them with all his little might. "WAKEY WAKEY!" He screeched.
"AH!" Naruto was the first to react first the blazing afternoon light. "MY EYES!" He toppled out of bed stark naked and rolled about on the ground similar to Kiba's previous excercise routine. "I'M MELTING!"
"NO DADDY NO!" Kiba tackled his father on the ground. "LIVE DADDY LIVE!"
Sasuke resurrected from his deep slumber and slowly got up. He blinked once. Twice. And stared at the father and screaming son rolling around on the ground. He stared. "Well then." He slithered underneath the sheets and turned the other direction. In the dim light beneath the sheets a smile touched his lips. I love this family... and I love Naruto...this is my home. It's where I belong.
