Yo! It's thursday and you know what THAT means! ;D I was so down writing it so please don't blame me for OOC behavior :P I mean... why wouldn't I be when outside it's raining all the time. Well, not exactly all the time. More like, every 10 minutes for 5 minutes. It's pissing me off so much, that I couldn't help but bitch my complain in this chapter... so do forgive me if it's too... rough verbally :P But at the thought of Itachi with a gun in his hand... I'm me~~lting *_*
Now as for my fav part ;D
Ps. I completely forgot!!! THANK YOU ALL FOR 200 REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE WHAT MAKES ME WRITE EVEN MORE ;D I SO LOVE YOU ;D And I hope I will continue to please and satisfy you with my writing ;)
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black laurel: I love you! Seriously ;D It makes me want to update every day just to read your review! How crazy is that? xD Though I don't know why were you feeling 'giddy'-care to explain? ;P and seriously, if it keeps going, you will crack open my story before it gets to the good part :P But I'm glad you like the references to the canon world ;D Well, it IS Naruto fic so, yeah :P And about that 'Bijuu' person (glues her mouth shut) ;D I am SO NOT telling!
About that thing you mentioned- yes, i know what you mean. I am trying to avoid such confusions, but after a whole day of school/work it is easy to miss something like that. I'm not trying to make excuses here or anything. It's just my eyesight is out-of-order sometimes. You will probably notice it in this chapter too (I'm beat to a pulp from job hunting today)
Rape? I don't know... who should rape him? ;D It's funny that there wasn't even one intimate ecounter in this fic and yet everyone are implying such sexual things. Should I be mad or glad? *Carla is confused* About the bathroom scene... I wanted Naruto to look at least a little clumsy (hope it wasn't ooc too much) Unfortunately I learned walking in the dark the hard way :P (oh the bruises)
I can't believe you actually missed something! O_o You're not feeling bad or anything? *worried* What stood out the most were those 'awesome line' or 'epic'- was it really that good? :P Though I loved that 'punch the air' line ;D Seriously I'm amazed by myself because sometimes, when I'm focused on writing the new chapter and then re-checking it for any mistakes, I catch myself at reading the lines i don't remember writing. Is that bad? x_X
I wanted the interaction between Kiba and Naruto to be... girlish, for the lack of words, to ease the tension after the whole 'countdown' case. Glad it turned out well! ;D My fav part is Kiba in flirty pink tank top ;D And of course his flirting side ;D I imagine him to be like this in AU, without ninja stuff, even though i know he is ooc. But, oh well ;D
As for Glock.... I LOVE GLOCK ;D *fangirl squeek* I fell in love with it after watching too many CSI episodes ;P I mean... look at the shape, the form... it's so gorgeus that to me it's more like a piece of art that a gun ;D Ok, sorry... a little off topic here :P I am intrested in it, though I won't say I'm an expert. You saw how it looks like? i wanted the first gun for Naruto to be small, because, well... he is Naruto :P
Seriously, one day my answer to your review will be longer than the chapter itself, but still, I'm glad you like it! ;)
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lydia-chan: Yes it really is his name! Well, according to Narutowikia that is ;P Though Tobi would be priceless xD And yes, I mean THAt Tobi ;D
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ConstantSnow: Yes, it is coming in bigger steps than before ;) Though I guess it depends on what you mean by 'ItaNaru' Is it something... fluffy? Like hugs and stuff? Or is it something... spicy, like... you know :P
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salvor-chan: Of course I missed you! My overly yaoi reviewer! xD Ok... you did it again, but... how exactly do you want me to make it more obvious? ;D I'm glad though, that Peter was able to satisfy at least a little of his bloodlust ;D You missed yourself? Oh my poor baby, it's not like I'm trying to force you to review! if you're really enjoying it (whichever part of you) than that's more than enough for me ;)
About THOSE lines... it's not on purpose, really! It's just... when I'm writing, my brain is on a 'yaoi mode' so, like I mentioned above, sometimes I don't even know what I'm writing until I re-check the text :P
And it's not like Kakashi gave up on Naruto. It's just... well, now it's ItaNaru time so yeah ;D Comforting Itachi/ Oh I know what you mean *dreamy* Speaking of dreams... I had one last night after watching too much Naruto eps xD With Itachi no less ;D I will leave the details (hrhrhrhr xD)
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Strawberrychan1: Yes, it is going to move forward. From this point on, it's going to be in bigger steps than before. So, please bear with me till then, ok? ;)
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Ok, now for those who don't know *hintsalvor-chanhint* the text between the lines IS FROM THE LAST CHAPTER xD
So, read and enjoy ;)
Previously on Black Guardian:
"Don't make this more difficult then it's already going to be." The blonde to his right folded his arms and sent a glare his way.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Itachi shrugged.
"I don't expect you to succeed without extensive lessons and frankly, I'd rather be doing something else." Not one to realize or resist reverse psychology, Naruto fell right into his trap.
"Okay, fine. I'll become a master at shooting and use you for target practice." The raven turned his head, looked out of the window, and the release of focus from his principle only increased his motivation to defeat him in any way possible.
"Whatever works for you." Itachi said to the passing cars, people and trees.
"And we'll see about your master skills."
Master skills were not exactly what, in Uchiha Itachi's opinion, Namikaze Naruto possessed. He did have an impeccable ability to instill fury within the well-trained man and strip him of his self-restraint, and had successfully made him want to scream throughout the lesson. As for the blonde's master skills or lack thereof...
"Still not correct." The raven said, balancing between despair and hopelessness. The teen huffed and threw his arms up in the air before resting them on the back of his neck. Itachi watched nervously as he flung the weapon about.
"Careful with that!"
"Hey, I've never done this before." He protested.
"Give me a break!" The bodyguard shook his head in answer.
"If you would just listen to what I have attempted to tell you, several times, the bullet might go somewhere in front of you instead of the ceiling." Naruto pouted and crossed his arms, attempting to look as aloof as possible. Instead, it came off as childish.
"Yeah well you could explain it better. It's not my fault you're a bad teacher." Itachi gritted his teeth and put a hand on his hip, where his own gun rested. It was a habit of his, reaching for his weapon when he was tense or threatened. His hand twitched on it as he remembered that he was a grown man, who was immune to the immature antics of whiny kids. But this one was really, really testing his patience.
"This is the fourth time I'm doing this." He seethed.
"Pay attention and you might actually learn something." The teen rolled his eyes and then narrowed them.
"And stop acting childish."
"I am not-"
"Hand me the gun." He ordered. Naruto did so without hesitation.
"Now watch. First of all…" He began.
"… you don't hold it with two hands. This weapon is supposed to be fired with just one." Itachi took a hold of blonde's gun, slowly wrapping his fingers around it and showing him the placement.
"Also, you should keep your arm straight. Putting it in front of your face can do more damage than you might think if it's close enough. Blowback will not be your friend."
"Right." He said, with a typical snob attitude. Uchiha ignored it and continued on.
"Now this is where you always stop paying atten-Mr. Namikaze!" The blonde had zoned out, his gaze going over the bodyguard's shoulder and past him. Itachi's frustration was becoming less easy to restrain every moment in his presence.
"In a real life situation, you can't get distracted like that!" He snapped. Naruto immediately focused on the man in front of him, instead of the rather attractive and flirty woman not so far away.
"Okay, sorry."
"Just don't do it again. Now, look. This isn't hard. You hold it in front of you, arm straight, directed towards the target." The raven turned his gaze away from his principle and toward the bulls' eye in the shooting range.
"It will take practice, but eventually you should be able to aim somewhat well-MR NAMIKAZE!" The boy snapped back to attention with a nervous smile, cerulean eyes meeting black, which flashed red with anger. He lowered his voice so that it was dangerously deep. Itachi was trained to be this kind of person, one who could threaten and intimidate with ease, and his behavior corresponded as it was supposed to.
"I swear to God that I will shoot that woman here and now if you look over there one more time! This is a very important thing for you to learn." He insisted, and tried very hard to sound untroubled by his next words.
"If something happens to me, and you don't know what to do with this thing, you're out of luck." Naruto's face was struck with guilt and his eyes went to the ground.
"Uh... sorry."
"Sorry isn't going to prevent whoever is after you from taking you away. A bullet will. Mr. Namikaze, I don't think you understand the gravity of your situation." The teen's ashamed expression turned into a pout as he raised his head.
"What's it matter, anyway? This is stupid. If something happens, you'll just beat people up or shoot them yourself." Itachi's rage calmed and his expression became gravely serious.
"Naruto, as much as I can do, I'm not invincible." The raven managed to maintain a steady voice devoid of doubt, though it took effort not to waver. Admitting he was weak in any way was not something that came easily to the man.
"We don't know who these people are or what they're really capable of doing. But if they can drug you like they did, then they probably could do a lot of other things to you."
"That was just-"
"No objections." The blonde bit his tongue to hold back a rude comment. Itachi turned his body fast, his arm rising swiftly and his head locked in place to focus on the target in front of him. It was a decent distance away. With a furrowed brow, he fired six consecutive shots straight into the center as if they were magnetized and drawn to it. Naruto's eyes widened and he began to fidget with his hands. Uchiha did not alter his stance.
"It's not difficult for an experienced person to put a bullet straight into your head. You could be out in public with your friends, enjoying a day, suspecting nothing at all. Out of the corner of your eye, you see someone headed straight for you. But there's not enough time to turn and run." Still, he remained poised with his arm extended and ready to assault the target.
"Suddenly people around you scream and try to escape the area in a panic. Your friends are torn between fleeing the scene to save themselves and staying with you, as you lie dead on the street, in a pool of your own blood. One second you're carefree on a summer day, and the next..." Itachi fired a single shot straight in the center, the bang echoing against the walls louder than any other shots, and the teen jumped.
"...You're dead. Do you know how serious this is?"
"But you-you would see them!" The blonde refused to process the preciseness of his bodyguard's flying bullets and how easily they could pierce through unprotected flesh. The man lowered his arm and craned his neck to look at him.
"You'd take them out and nothing would happen!" Itachi offered no response to his claim.
"Imagine a similar situation. Only this time, you're one of the people torn between staying and leaving." The bodyguard lifted the weapon in his hand, finger ready on the trigger, and put it right against his temple. Naruto's eyes widened as the pale finger slowly began to retract to the palm.
"There's red on the ground, and you look down to see what it is." Before the blonde had time to stop him, his protector had pulled the trigger while pointing the gun at his skull.
"No!" He screamed in alarm, heart jumping out of his chest. But after a quiet click, Naruto found Itachi to be still standing there, alive. The man had already emptied the gun of all its bullets, which were embedded in the target instead of his brain. Young Namikaze was too shaken by the display to yell at him for scaring the hell out of him. The only reason that the pair hadn't gained the attention of every other person refining their skills is because of the constant shots being fired, drowning out the heated argument for anyone not in the immediate vicinity.
"The one with a hole in their head…" The raven said while thumping the unloaded weapon on his chest.
"… is me. This leaves you alone and helpless. You look up from my lifeless body at the person who has killed me, and the last thing you ever see is an evil smirk on their face."
"That wouldn't h-happen!" The blonde stuttered.
"You're faster than that and I could just hide behind something and-"
"No, Naruto! And even if they didn't kill you, you would still meet an unfortunate fate. I can't guarantee that I'll always be there to protect you." Itachi's unoccupied hand balled into a tight fist at his side.
"I'll try my damn hardest, but sometimes that's not good enough."
"Don't-don't say that. You're just saying things to-"
"To what? Make you shut up and listen to me? Yes, maybe I am. But you need to not be so careless anymore!" Just when it looked like the teen was finally going to cooperate, he came up with another refute, reigniting the raven's anger.
"They don't want to kill me." He assured himself.
"If they wanted to, I'd already be dead."
"Now you're just being stubborn. So what if they don't want you dead? They want you, and we know that. Do you want to find out why? Do you want to be taken somewhere foreign and be a prisoner of who knows what kind of people? Certainly not the good ones. 'They' may be after more than cash. And from my discussions with several people, no, we don't think they want to kill you."
"Wait, then why are you freaking me out so much? That's not fair!"
"What's not fair is you being held captive. It might be for money, but ransom is the lesser of two evils." Naruto's look of innocent confusion made something twist in the bodyguard's stomach.
"You're attractive young man, and your recklessness makes you an easy target. There are a lot of sick and warped people in this world. Do you want one to take you away? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't enjoy spending quality of time with someone who's more than interested in you. Do you understand?" The blonde did not respond. He was looking at his feet, and Itachi could barely see his face. The man held out to him the firearm in his hand and waited for the boy to stop biting his lip.
"Take it, Mr. Namikaze." Uchiha's voice was neither quiet nor gentle. It was firm and unyielding, as was the man it belonged to. Itachi could be annoying and teasing, but... well, Naruto had though he would get special treatment, being his responsibility and all. Proved wrong, the young man tried not to think about the bodyguard being strict on discipline or not treating him in a different way. His thoughts remained stuck on Itachi's demeanor.
He was trained to be a killing machine, after all. It was his job to take people down whenever he had to. And that was good, because it would help to protect me, right? The blonde wondered how many people the man had killed.
Did he think about how he was ending a life whenever he pulled a trigger?
"Take it!" Naruto nearly jumped when he all but shouted at him, gaining the attention of a few other people practicing around them. Without meeting his gaze, the teen timidly retrieved the weapon from Itachi's outstretched hand. Had he looked at his face, he would have found it not crossed with anger, but anxiety. The bodyguard didn't want to upset the boy, but if instilling terror into his principle was the only way to make Naruto learn to protect himself, then he would do it. There was no way he was letting him resist a way to prevent getting himself hurt, even if he had to hurt the blonde himself. Getting attached to him was never a part of his plan, even if he didn't know he was.
Uchiha watched with a blank face as cerulean eyes blinked several times, trying to follow his directions. He bit his lip and readied the weapon, aimed as best he could, then closed his eyes and pulled the trigger. Sure enough, it went in a straight line in the direction it was supposed to go. While it didn't strike the target, it was a great improvement from his earlier performance. The blonde turned his head to Itachi with questioning eyes and nodded slightly, looking towards the target.
"Do it again." The teen took a deep breath, grateful for the change in tone; indifference was better than outrage. He did not look at him. This moment dragged on for just a few seconds more, he looking at him and him denying recognition. The blonde released him from his gaze and followed his command. Neither of them spoke nearly an hour, Naruto's bullets piercing the air with sharp noises and Itachi wordlessly showing him how to reload and observing his progress. Eventually he turned to face him, though he did not do the same.
"Um... how am I doing?" There was a moment before he spoke, and the blonde waited with baited breath.
"Terribly." Naruto nearly gaped at him and exhaled heavily the air he had been holding in. He had been working really hard, and thought that he was definitely doing better. Grouchy had just crushed whatever confidence he had built up, adding that the blonde had already been feeling down. His hands hurt from gripping and firing the gun with sliced palms and his nose was assaulted by the musty smell ever-present in the air.
"That's enough for today. We'll come back tomorrow."
Young Namikaze felt his eyes become watery, but refused to let anything spill onto his cheeks and give him any sort of satisfaction. Overcome with frustration, anger and a feeling of inferiority, the blonde stared murder into the side of his bodyguard's face. Still not making eye contact, the man held out his hand and Naruto forcefully thrust the gun into it, then briskly walked towards the exit. He wished that he would leave him alone, and that he wouldn't have to spend any time with him, but still he followed. And he would do so to anywhere he would go.
The teen stormed out of the building and towards the road where a car was waiting for them on the other side. The place was on the corner of a big intersection, but their ride was parked at a spot in a small line of metered spaces. The blonde looked both ways as he approached the street, and seeing no oncoming traffic, didn't stop to wait for the man behind him; who was catching up anyway. Naruto's exhausted heart was furiously pumping hot rage through his veins, and he couldn't hear anything Itachi was trying to say to him over the pounding in his head. The only sound that did manage to reach his ears assaulted them, but he was still in his own world. The noise came before it was visible, but both reached him far too slowly.
When he did see the source of the screech of tires, the slow-motion phenomenon took over. A black sports car skidded around the corner, which weren't fifteen or so from the walking blonde. It had been doubtlessly speeding down the road before turning onto the street Naruto was now in the middle of, and the momentum was too much to stop in such a short distance. As soon as the boy in the road was noticed, the car's driver slammed on the breaks and jerked the steering wheel as far as possible to the right, the automobile rotating as it sped towards him. A classic deer in headlights, the teen froze, mouth opened in a silent scream. He turned ever so slowly to the left to face the inevitable collision.
Before he knew what was happening, a heavy force slammed into his body and he went flying towards the pavement. When his body connected with the ground, he felt the bruises that would be visible later begin to form. The young man could only gasp as the street made contact with the bare skin on the right side of his body, the rough surface skinning his arm and leg raw with a terrible flash of pain. Any and all bruises he might have received would now be hidden behind a great red mess. Naruto slid across the pavement with his eyes shut tight as his flesh was abused, but came to an abrupt stop as his body came in contact with the median in the middle of the road.
Laying there in fiery agony, the blonde managed to wonder why his skull hadn't cracked open, being what had hit the object splitting the road in two. His skin burned as he lay still on his side, but there was warmth on the front of his body. And there was also something that had come between his head and the block of cement that was warm.
Come to think of it, there is something around me, too.
Cerulean eyes opened weakly when he heard a pained groan, and what he saw was shocking. In front of him lay Itachi, eyes squeezed shut and jaw clenched tight. His right arm was above his head, having taken the blow of the separator instead of his fragile skull. The left was wrapped tightly around his body, to prevent him from flying any further across the street and into moving cars. The bodyguard had somehow snatched Naruto from his spot on the road and leaped out of the path of the deadly vehicle, putting his body between him and the car. He had taken the brunt of the landing, and as a result prevented the boy from serious injury upon the impact of their landing. In turn, he had also received the brunt of the pavement's cruel caress.
The boy himself was in too much pain to do much of anything, but Naruto heard voices rising all around him and the opening of car doors. Someone was on a phone calling for medical aid, and others were stopping their vehicles to see the fallen pair. Worry and guilt crossed blonde's brow as his protector groaned again and removed his left arm from him. The raven attempted to push his body into a sitting position with his right arm, which shook under the pressure of lifting his weight while wounded. The man nearly collapsed, but gritted his teeth and caught himself. Naruto was overcome with emotion when he saw the blood on his face, arm, and part of his back. Itachi's shirt was ripped on that side, as was the skin underneath it. His left pants leg was tattered and also decorated with his blood, and the raw flesh in so many places on his body made the teen nauseous. He opened his mouth to speak, but it was dry and released no words.
"Fucking... cars." The man growled.
"You... should fucking w-watch for them." Not so much hurt as shocked, the boy sprang up to sit and supported the bodyguard as he almost collapsed again.
"Idiot!" Itachi hissed.
"I-oh my God." Naruto sputtered instead. He still wasn't sure what had happened between storming out of the building and laying on the street.
"Oh my God! Itachi, what-are you okay? Oh shit!" The teen's concern grew as he saw the extent of his pain. Uchiha looking remotely uncomfortable meant serious injury. In his peripheral vision, Naruto saw a figure running up to them. He rushed and bent over the raven, looking frantic and guilty.
"Sir-sir! And you boy, are you all right? I'm so sorry! I've called an ambu-" Pale fist cut off the man's apologies. Fury flashed on his face as Itachi pulled his arm back and threw his clenched hand into the driver's jaw. The blonde was still too surprised to pay attention to the driver who had almost hit him, and was now incidentally also laying on the pavement. Flat on his back, the 30-or so year old cradled his cheek and whimpered to himself. The bodyguard winced as he made to stand up and continue an assault on the driver, but Naruto pulled on this uninjured arm and he sat back down.
"Itachi, don't-"
"Naruto, he almost killed you!" The raven asserted in a low voice, through gritted teeth.
"Why do you defend him?"
"Because-well, I don't know." The teen frowned as he realized that he was angry at the man, too.
"But don't hit him again, Itachi. We don't want to cause any trouble."
"That man nearly drove his car into you!"
"...Well, yes."
"It's my job to ensure your safety and take out whoever threatens it. Are you getting on my case from fucking protecting you?" Although without any sound of pain, Uchiha's face was contorted with distress when he peeled off pieces of fabric from a revolting-looking exposed biceps muscle. Not that the boy noticed, too occupied with being surprised at the man's behavior.
"I sort of just saved your life …" He gritted out.
"… because you decided to be stupid and-"
"Okay, I know. But... he didn't actually hit us, so technically you assaulted him when he didn't hit you." Itachi glared at Naruto and gestured to the blood on his body. The guilt returned in a strong wave that hit the teen hard.
"Er... never mind. Oh, Itachi. I'm so sorry-"
"Wait." He interrupted, having caught sight of the blonde's own marred flesh.
"You're hurt." Cerulean eyes glanced down at his form, and compared the flowing red on him to the dripping crimson on his protector.
"Not nearly as much as you." Itachi frowned and observed his arm closely.
"Yeah, but you're a kid." Naruto didn't snap back at him, because he looked so tormented. And a little concerned, which was kind of nice.
"Are you going to be all right?" The teen inquired again, more gently this time. His worry faded and the aggravation returned. The raven looked down at his oozing arm and leg, and fought the urge to touch his face. With the skin nearly stripped off of his body entirely in places, the bodyguard wasn't eager to increase the damage.
"Arm feels broken. Had to punch that idiot with my left... could've done more damage with my right." Namikaze briefly mused if he was trying to show off. He noticed that some people were gathering near them, too timid to approach closer due to Itachi's display, but concerned enough to see if they were still alive or not. He paid them no attention.
"I believe you." He mumbled with pity for the driver, still out of commission. But he had more sympathy for the bodyguard, who was in a pretty bad shape, and because of him. Uchiha coughed and breathed in deeply, then exhaled with a shudder.
"Itachi, I'm sorry."
"Just... never mind. I need to hit that son of a bitch aga-" Before Naruto could cut him off, sirens and flashing lights rounded the corner that the black sports car had come from. Itachi gave up the idea of beating the other man to a pulp and checked up on his principle again.
"You need to get cleaned up." He murmured, lifted a bloody hand and placed it on an uninjured part of Naruto's arm, turning it gently to assess the damage.
"Also, you need to stop getting hurt. Your father is going to fire me."
"I guess I should say thanks... I'd be a lot more hurt if you hadn't pulled me out of the way."
"Don't run away from me like that again." The raven said firmly, like his earlier tone. But there was a subtle undertone of concern in his voice, and the blonde couldn't bring himself to be upset with him. Uchiha mused if the anger was caused by him feeling afraid, scared that something would happen to the boy. If so, then maybe he didn't hate the blonde bundle of trouble before?
The teen doubted it.
"Disinfecting is going to be a bitch."
Naruto nodded to him, and Uchiha released his arm to turn and look at the vehicles. They had stopped near them, and people were pouring out of the opening doors. In seconds they were surrounded by medics, both bodyguard and principle assuring that nothing was deathly serious. Still, they insisted that both, Itachi especially, be taken back to the hospital to have his arm looked at and both their bodies cleaned up. Thus, he and young Namikaze got into one of the vehicles, and the former groaned as he saw something out of the back of the ambulance as the doors closed in on them.
"Great." Came the raven's sarcastic and rather hoarse voice from beside the teen.
"What?" Naruto asked quietly, seeing his discontent with people invading his personal space to assess his injuries. Itachi put his head in his hands, as if closing his eyes and hiding would make the frustration and inevitable explosion disappear.
"This is going to be all over the news. Your father is going to kill me."
Like it? A lot of bitching, I know :P But I did warn you, didn't I? ;D
Next chapter will be a continuation of Naruto's training and of course... more bonding! ;D
PLUS! You will see Itachi's possessive side ;D Of what you ask? Mwah, you need to wait ;) Hrhrhrhr xD
Well then, see you next week? ;) Maybe, maybe not *grins evily*