Chapter 21. this is actually switched from how i originally wrote it. this woul dhave been chapter 22. but i thought about it last night and decided that i liked this chapter coming first instead. i don't know why. so anyway. read on faithful readers!
"He hasn't come back yet?" Itachi asked. Naruto shook his head. Itachi sat on his bed with a bandage around his arm and his abdomen. Naruto sat on a chair beside the bed, where he had been for the past two days. Itachi had kept Naruto in his room to hopefully distract the blonde from worrying too much about Sasuke, and also to keep himself company.
"Itachi, you don't think Orochimaru," Naruto started.
"Definitely not." Itachi said before Naruto finished. Naruto smiled a bit and nodded. Itachi noticed how pitiful Naruto looked and frowned. "Something wrong, Sunshine?" Itachi asked. Naruto laughed softly at the nickname. Itachi rarely used it, only when he knew Naruto was upset about something and was trying to make him feel better.
"No. Just worried I guess." Naruto said. "I bet Sasuke's fiancé is worried as well." Naruto added.
"Sasuke didn't announce his engagement. We left before he had to." Itachi said.
"What?" Naruto asked looking up at Itachi with wide eyes. Itachi nodded.
"I don't even know who he was going to choose." Itachi said. Naruto forced himself not to get too excited, but he really couldn't help it. Sasuke wasn't engaged, and although he was sad that Fugaku and Mikoto had been killed it meant that there was no one to keep them from being together.
"Wait, why did you leave?" Naruto asked.
"Sasuke said he had a really bad feeling and that we needed to get back home." Itachi said.
--Flashback-
Sasuke fidgeted slightly as the carriage pulled up in front of the large courthouse where the ball was being held. Tonight was the night he was supposed to announce his engagement. He had told Naruto that he would think of some way out of it, but even after three months he had nothing. He knew he would be forced into a marriage even if he refused to announce and engagement tonight. He really couldn't see a way out of it.
After being announced and greeting a few of the other guests Sasuke went over to a table to think for a while. He could always feign illness and have to be taken home, but that wouldn't really do much to help him other than postpone the inevitable. Sasuke sighed heavily. Suddenly he felt his stomach lurch and his chest clench up. He felt like he really was going to throw up or something, but had no idea why.
"Sasuke" Naruto's fearful voice echoed in Sasuke's head. Sasuke's heart beat really hard and felt like it was about to explode. Something was wrong. Sasuke got up and quickly went to his parents and brother.
"We need to leave." Sasuke said.
"Sasuke, you can't be serious. We just got here." Mikoto said.
"No. We have to go now. Something is wrong." Sasuke said.
"What are you talking about?" Fugaku asked.
"I have a really bad feeling and I know it sounds stupid, but you have to trust me that something is seriously wrong at home. We have to go back." Sasuke said.
"A bad feeling, Sasuke?" Mikoto asked. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know what it is exactly. It's just this feeling like Naruto is in serious trouble." Sasuke said.
"Sasuke," Fugaku sighed.
"Please you have to believe me." Sasuke said loudly. Fugaku looked at the guests that started staring at them.
"Sasuke, you're making a scene. What if I send Iruka back to the house to check on Naruto?" Fugaku asked as he turned to find Iruka.
"That's not good enough! If you're not going to do anything, I will. I have to go save him!" Sasuke shouted angrily as he ran out of the courthouse.
"Sasuke!" Fugaku yelled but Sasuke was already gone.
"Father, what if he's right?" Itachi asked. "I too have a strange feeling like something is off." Fugaku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Itachi, go get the carriage. We'll head towards the house and pick Sasuke up on the way." Fugaku said. Itachi nodded as Fugaku went to give their apologies for leaving early. Itachi, Mikoto and Fugaku got into the carriage and headed towards their house quickly, looking for Sasuke on the way. They, however, didn't know that Sasuke had taken a shortcut through the woods because he was on foot and it would be faster than running on the street. The carriage arrived before Sasuke but only by a few minutes. As Sasuke was running up the stairs he saw Orochimaru pulling two swords out of Mikoto's lifeless body that was laying over Fugaku's corpse.
--End Flashback-
"I guess that means we were both orphaned by Orochimaru, huh?" Itachi asked. Naruto looked at Itachi.
"You knew?" Naruto asked softly. Itachi sighed.
"There was no proof, but we all knew Orochimaru was behind your parents' murder. I'm sorry that you've been in the dark about this all and I know it wasn't fair for you in any way, but my parents thought they were protecting you that way." Itachi said.
"Oroachimaru said that too. What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"I guess it's time to explain things to you. What did my father tell you about your parents' Will?" Itachi asked.
"That they asked your parents to take care of me and support me until my money ran out. And then when the money ran out to allow me to earn my stay even if it meant being a servant." Naruto said.
"That's what he told you to keep you from worrying. What the Will really said was to make you a servant and keep your identity hidden from Orochimaru just incase he decided to come after you. They didn't want you to be treated differently than the other servants because they were afraid that Orochimaru would figure it out." Itachi said.
"Then why did they wait until I was 12 to make me a servant?" Naruto asked.
"Because they didn't want to make you a servant. They were going to pass you off as Sasuke's play friend and use some of your inheritance to support you until you were 18 because that's as long as Father could stretch that amount of money." Itachi said.
"Wait, 18? When I was six they told me I was going to be a servant at 12." Naruto said. Itachi sighed.
"The original plan was to wait until you were 18. But then when you started getting too close to Sasuke, my parents got scared and decided to separate you two. But Father also would have felt bad if he suddenly made you a servant so he gave you a few years to transition. They had hoped that you becoming a servant would keep your relationship with Sasuke from staying in the direction it was headed, but it obviously didn't work and it frustrated my parents very much and they took out that frustration on you." Itachi said.
"So the whole time they were worrying about me and Sasuke Orochimaru was figuring out who I was and planning his move." Naruto said angrily.
"Again, it wasn't fair, I know." Itachi said.
"Then why? If they were supposed to be protecting me," Naruto started.
"I don't know. I only learned about everything recently as well." Itachi said. Naruto looked up at Itachi. "I always knew my father was afraid of your relationship with Sasuke. He didn't know what exactly was going on between you two, but he was afraid that it was more than just friendship. When father found you in Sasuke's bed a few months ago, I was against him forcing Sasuke into a marriage. And that's when he told me everything." Itachi said.
"I understand, but it's a stupid reason." Naruto said softly.
"Naruto, your relationship with Sasuke is not my business, but I do want to ask you, are you in love with my brother?" Itachi asked. Naruto smiled softly.
"I am. Very much." Naruto said.
"My lord, Itachi." Iruka came into the room.
"Yes?" Itachi asked.
"We've found Master Sasuke's horse, but we've lost Sasuke's trail. From tracking the horse, it looks like Sasuke fell off of his horse but there are many foot prints and a carriage and even what looks like a large dog. We can't tell if Sasuke was maybe picked up by the occupants of the carriage, maybe taken off by the large dog or he could have just gotten up and walked off." Iruka explained. Itachi sighed.
"We need to keep looking. We need to find him before Orochimaru does." Itachi said.
"Let me look for Sasuke too, please." Naruto said. Itachi shook his head.
"Absolutely not." Itachi said.
"Please, Itachi, please." Naruto begged.
"Can you handle the worst case scenario?" Itachi asked.
"What?" Naruto asked.
"Could you handle it if when you found Sasuke he was dead?" Itachi asked. Naruto's eyes widened slightly.
"You said he's not dead and I believe he's going to stay not dead." Naruto said. Itachi sighed. "Either you can send me, or I run off on my own. I'm sure you'd rather have Iruka watching after me than me being all alone." Itachi glared at Naruto.
"Fine. You may go with Iruka. You two will find at least two more people to go with you and then go searching for Sasuke. Please at least touch base every few weeks." Itachi said. Naruto smiled and hugged Itachi the best he could without agitating his wounds.
"Thank you, Itachi." Naruto said. Itachi smiled.
"No problem, Sunshine." Itachi smiled.
"Who else should we choose?" Iruka asked.
"Shikamaru is really good with strategizing and thinking up scenarios. Plus he knows a lot about outdoors stuff because we've been working in the garden for so long. We should take him." Naruto said. Itachi nodded.
"Shikamaru is a good choice. Also I think you should take Neji. He's been worried about Sasuke as well. He also is very smart and always brings in a different point of view. Also, having him will help you with your expenses considering that I can only give you access to so much." Itachi said. Iruka nodded.
"Those two sound good. Naruto we should ask them to join us and head out by this afternoon." Iruka said. Naruto nodded.
"I'll go tell Shikamaru." Naruto said running out of the room.
"I'll contact Neji." Itachi said. Iruka nodded and left. By that afternoon, the four were head out in search of the missing Uchiha.
so Itachi is fine. and now everyone understands why fugaku and mikoto were always so mean to naruto. the "will" at the begining was the fake will obviously. but it would have made this chapter significantly less revealing if i had told you all in the beginning. sorry. anyway. REVIEW PLEASE!!
next chappie is up too so go enjoy that...