They left Keeseville the next day. This time they all rode, with Obito, Milly, and the old woman sitting comfortably in the wagon that Fitz again drove. Itachi, consulting a map, led them.
He didn't regret his actions with Sasuke in the days after that evening, not precisely. But he had a job to do and would let nothing stand in the way of that. He'd suffer no more incompetence from himself. Would yield no more, be weak no longer. Never again would he be anyone's victim. And that meant an end to softness and the sentimental drivel Sasuke insisted on plaguing him with. There could be no more mercy. With anyone. Sasuke, unfortunately, was still soft. He cringed to think that he'd been the same way. Worse, perhaps. Sasuke had always possessed a wildness he himself had lacked. That weakness was how Madara had managed to take over his life. It was how Neji-
No. He never thought of him anymore. Did not allow the man so much as a second of space in his mind. He was able to see him now with no upheaval in his breast. Nothing. He felt nothing, and that was wonderful.
-oOo-
Hinata quite agreed with him over the matter of the doctor. "But Milly is mine."
"She knows too much," he'd said. "Truthfully, I don't understand how you can suffer her to live, knowing that at any moment she may turn you in for Mrs. Millhouse's murder."
"The same way I suffer you and your brother to live, knowing the same thing," she challenged.
She was not to be pushed. He acknowledged this, but would not retreat. "She must go."
"I am certain she fears me sufficiently."
"Nothing is certain save death."
She gazed at him for long minutes. He neither flinched nor faltered as he met her stare.
She inclined her head. "As you wish. I will see to it personally."
"Wait until we reach the city. By then Milly will have supported whatever Inoichi is telling the villagers, and Naruto will be completely well."
"If I wait until we reach the city, the doctor may slip away into that mass of humanity and be lost to us. Even though he is watched. He watches us in turn, already sensing his end is near."
"Then…at whichever time after Milly concludes her performance you feel is wise."
"Understood."
At hearing that Milly had taken the opportunity to see a bit of the world when her employer left, and that she had returned now with the very people she'd left with because that same world had frightened her, the villagers clucked like mother hens. "Poor dear," they said. "She's so young. Of course she wanted a bit of adventure, her being so full of life and all." She was forgiven.
Milly stayed and tended the inn –now full to the brim with Itachi and his party, not to mention Inoichi– until ten days later, when another letter arrived for her from Mrs. Millhouse. The stamps and postage on it said this one was from London as well. The villagers gathered round in excitement to hear first hand from their beloved innkeeper as Milly read aloud.
It seemed Mrs. Millhouse would be staying in England permanently. Her inheritance was quite handsome. And she fancied a change. Too many memories in the village, what with losing Daniel and their daughters. She was leaving the inn and its contents to Milly.
Simple people that the villagers were, none thought to question this tale, or how Mrs. Millhouse could have possibly left the village without so much as a soul catching wind of it.
Milly glanced up upon reaching the end of the letter. "Me? Oh…I…" Inoichi and Itachi were standing in the crowd, listening with as much apparent shock as everyone else. They caught her eye now. "I'm sure I don't know the first thing about running an inn. All I did was cook."
"Nonsense," one housewife blustered. "I've seen you run this place as well as Beatrice herself whenever she took sick. You'll do fine, dear, mark my words. Look how well you're doing already."
-oOo-
Later that evening, Hinata sat with Milly, using Neji to translate. "You will sign the inn over to my cousin," Neji explained. "Along with its contents. Complete ownership."
Milly blinked. "I know I'm her servant, but I could rent this place and save the income while I work for her. Why do I have to give it up?"
Neji turned to Hinata and frowned. "Why does she have to give it up?"
"Because I want it. And she will not be needing it."
"Milly," Neji said, never taking his eyes off Hinata, "leave us. Tend Obito or whatever other duties you have." Even after she'd bobbed herself out, Neji lowered his voice. "I hope you're not saying what I think you are."
"By Itachi's command."
"Wha-!" He took a fierce breath through his nose. "That son of a bitch. He goes too far."
"That he does, but he is correct. His face is enormous now. It pleases me greatly to be used at his discretion."
"They're innocent."
"They know too much. Have seen entirely too much. Threats will only go so far," she added, correctly interpreting the mutinous jut of his chin. "Eventually, they will talk. Itachi is right– the only way to be certain all he has done isn't undone is to tie up all loose threads."
Words eluded him for a long time. Not until he looked away from her unfeeling eyes was he able to think. "He was ready to throw you to the wolves for killing Mrs. Millhouse. One woman. And now he plots the murders of children…dear God, I'm going to be sick." His head fell into his hands and his throat was raw. "What have I done to this man?"
"Nothing. You think too highly of yourself, a flaw of those without face. It was Madara. Itachi has gone through that fire and been tempered. Made hard. You think that you, who is too weak to stand at his side, could be the one to shape him into the dangerous man he is now?" She gave a delicate snort. "Milly and the doctor will die. As they should."
"I suppose you volunteered for the task?"
"I did." She opened and closed her fan, content with all things.
"You're a brutal bitch. I will do it. They deserve some kindness."
"Kindness is unkind in death. A swift strike they will never see coming is the kindest thing."
"I said I will do this. Unless you mean to go against me?" He turned his head enough to glare at her with one eye.
She didn't fear him. "I don't trust you."
"And I don't give a rat's ass," he snapped. "Besides which, I am done letting that bastard ignore me. This will serve to get his attention."
"Oh? If you tell him you did his killing for him, you expect he'll take you back?"
"By the gods, I will kill you too one day, you filthy b-"
"Itachi is quite…upset…with you. One wonders what you did. He is not a man who breaks easily."
"Do? I did nothing I haven't done before. His snit has gone on long enough. My patience has long since passed, if I had any to begin with. He isn't exactly blameless. High time I made him aware of that fact, and of the fact that I love him despite his bullshit." He uttered another curse to Itachi's parentage, venting his rage.
Hinata had rarely been so amused. "He doesn't seem to return your feelings. Perhaps you should respect that. You did leave him. Repeatedly."
"And I came back! Repeatedly! Can't he see that? On my eyes, I don't understand what in fuck makes this time so different."
Hinata said no more, though behind her fan she smiled. Such excitement. A delicious way to spice up these already lively days.
It happened once they left the village. They departed before noon, and approached a dense woods that would last until the next town. Neji saw Hinata ask Milly and the doc to accompany her away from their little traveling party, deeper into the woods. He saw Itachi also glance at this, face blank, then deliberately face forward again. Sasuke stared at the departing trio, his face a mask of pain and regret, before lowering his eyes to the forest floor.
Just then Neji felt the most overwhelming urge to grab Itachi by the back of his pompous head and ram his face into the nearest tree. So sweet was the thought that he was still for a few seconds, relishing the imagery. The man had successfully tamed everyone to his new and violent whim, down to striking his own brother –oh yes, he'd heard about it from Naruto– when Sasuke thought to speak against him.
Itachi, you fuck, he thought as he detached himself from the group to follow Hinata. It will give me great pleasure to demonstrate that I, for one, am thankfully outside your control.
-oOo-
He came upon his cousin facing Milly and the doctor, who clung to each other. She didn't even bother to explain herself. He watched for a moment. Fitz asked what was going on. In answer, Hinata withdrew a slim blade from the mass of her hair. He stepped from behind the tree he'd used for cover. Hinata's glance at him wasn't surprised, but he could tell she hadn't heard him following her.
"Oh, sir," Milly cried in relief. "I…we don't understand. What's happening?"
Her eyes were wide circles of fright, so he was sure she understood very well. Fitz, at least, stared at Hinata's blade with morbid fascination. They stood clutching each other like children, unable, apparently, to summon the wits to run. "What's to understand?" he said. "She's here to kill you both." He stopped at Hinata's shoulder and let his eyes move back and forth between them. "After the events in Clinton did you really expect to live? Naruto's well enough now, and Milly you're not strictly needed. I'm surprised neither of you came to this conclusion on your own and tried to escape." He shook his head at their stupidity. Hinata handed him her knife.
It seemed sense finally dawned on them, or else the fear they were feeling finally reached its peak. Milly turned to run, Fitz hot on her heels. Neji caught them with ease. His hand slashed at Fitz's chest. That man went down with a bitten off cry, to lie still. Milly he snagged by her flying hair and hauled against his chest. His hand squeezed her throat, until she too was still, face blue. He dropped her.
Hinata watched it all. "How was that less brutal?"
He shrugged. "They ran."
Her eyes were unblinking on his face. "I wish to check the bodies."
And he was there, pressing the bloody knife to her throat. She could have prevented this, they both knew it, but her attention was taken entirely by the low, silken quality of his voice. A tone she'd never heard from him. His lips brushed her ear. She was discomfited to feel a shiver pass through her, one that wasn't in the slightest pleasant. "By all means," he hissed. "Please. Check them, so you know how through I am with everything to do with you and this situation with Itachi. You think I don't see how you're preying on his circumstances? His pain? Turning him into a killer like yourself? There is a difference between when I kill and when you kill. I kill only when I have to. You kill for convenience's sake. And now Itachi has adopted your attitude and I will kill you, cousin. I will kill you before I let you corrupt that man further. He's mine. You stay away from him henceforth. You do not advise him, encourage him, or provide him with your poisonous services. Do I make myself clear?"
The blade pressed against her skin with enough force to have a rivulet of blood running down her neck. She was unmoving. Neji likewise did not move his cheek from hers, did not move his body from the intimate way it pressed against her. The horrible intimacy of death, she knew. At this proximity she would be hard-pressed to deflect any attack against her person. Skilled as she was, Neji was just as skilled, if not more so. Even if the matter of skill was a question, his strength was not. The sheer power in his body outstripped hers several times over. And he quivered with it, she realized. With his restraint. He was at his limit: whatever the separation from Itachi was doing to him had put him at his breaking point, if he could threaten her so casually. She swallowed. "Yes."
He said not a word, but walked away from her, toward the rest of the group, without looking back. She put a hand to her neck. Glanced at the bodies of Fitz and Milly. Neji seemed unconcerned with the possibility that she would check them while his back was turned. She stared at her hand. The palm was completely red. Fishing a salve from her obi, she turned and made her way after Neji.
-oOo-
He stalked up to the horse he'd left in Sasuke's care and vaulted onto its back in one smooth motion. Sasuke handed him the reins, but avoided looking at him. The old woman took over driving the wagon, proving herself surprisingly competent. As for Itachi, he only had eyes for Hinata's return. He took in the sight of blood on her neck, and apparently concluded that the job was done. Neji actually witnessed the whore's son breathe a sigh of relief. I'll be dealing with you next, he thought. Later. Once the man had his life back. Until then, he would bide his time.
Thinking of his failures with Itachi to date, his lips thinned. Each and every time he'd approached the man he was ignored. He'd tried everything, from quietly asking if they could talk, to just speaking at Itachi's profile. The times he'd jumped right to speaking were the times Itachi simply walked away. Humiliated, he refused to follow him.
He tried others ways. Held doors open for him sometimes if they were leaving the same room. Groomed Tsukiyomi. Once he'd even served him his brandy after dinner. The idea of serving Itachi no longer galled him. He would go on his knees and wash the man's feet if it would win him back this aloof yet passionate man he was powerless to forget. Itachi had not looked up from his paper when the brandy was served. And when he went back to collect the glass and tray, he saw that the brandy hadn't even been touched. He remembered standing and staring at that for several seconds. Itachi had long since left the room. He was alone in contemplating that now items he touched were apparently too contaminated for Itachi to risk handling. Such was Itachi's hatred of him.
He'd hurled the entire bottle of brandy at the fireplace. He hadn't made an attempt to reconcile since then. In time. Once things settled.
Itachi sat Tsukiyomi several paces ahead of him. He contented himself with staring at the back of his head, visited with the same urge as before to crush his stubborn, prideful skull.
Fitz woke to perfect blackness and felt as if someone had staved in his chest. He heard Milly's frightened whimpers not far away and called out to her. Heard the rustling of her passage, her small cry as she either stepped or crawled over something that hurt her, then the trembling feel of her at his back. Her hand collided with his ear. "Dr. Fitz!" she squeaked. He could hear tears in her voice.
"I'm here," he said, though his voice was none too steady. He put a hand inside his coat to feel the damage to his chest and came across something foreign. Paper. Just inside the flap of his coat. His hand closed around it, withdrew it. The moon wasn't bright, but once his eyes grew accustomed to the dark, he held the papers up to this feeble light.
Money. Somewhat stained from the gash on his chest, but definitely money. On the topmost bill was scrawled a single word: Canada.
Milly's head came to rest heavily on his shoulder. He absently put an arm around her as his mind raced.
Neji had spared them deliberately. No doubt the money was from him. Fitz caught the command loud and clear: get himself and Milly as far from here as possible. If wind of their lives ever reached his cousin or Itachi, they were dead. And since he was already dead to the inhabitants of Clinton, and the villagers had been told by Milly that she'd sold the inn to Hinata and planned to live in New York City on the funds, they had nowhere else to go, really. He looked at the money again. The nearest railroad was hours away, he believed.
My thanks to you, Neji. Fortune be yours.
He stood and drew the girl up with him. Explained Neji and the money. "Can you walk?"
"I think so. What's to become of us?"
In answer, he drew her forward by an arm around her shoulders. He had a vague idea which direction he was traveling in. They had a long hike ahead of them to the nearest railroad, especially if they were to avoid her village.
The farther south they traveled the more the weather warmed, until, when their entourage turned into the long drive of Uchiha Manor, Itachi was startled to see flowers blooming on the property. There were leaves on the trees. Birds in song. Itachi pulled up on Tsukiyomi and took in the sight of his home.
The hole in the roof had been repaired. Looking at the house from a side view as he was, the window to his den was also visible. He last remembered crashing through it with some large opponent. That, too, was good as new. His lawns were manicured, the bushes trimmed…and there was a groom running out of the stables to bow at his stirrup. He reached for the reins. "You're new," Itachi said, once he'd dismounted.
"Gerry, my lord. Head groom. 'Tis a fine beast you have here. Never seen his like. Such coloring!" Tsukiyomi was neatly led away.
He saw that other grooms were leading away Sasuke's mount, those belonging to the Hyuuga, and driving the wagon away. Naruto stood with Sasuke's support. They were all watching him. "I think," he said, moving toward the front of the house, "that I must find out precisely what is going on here."
-oOo-
They followed him. Before he could do so himself, the door was opened by a servant dressed as the butler, to reveal Tenten.
He'd never paid much attention to her before. Outside of the time he'd sparred with her he'd never given her a second thought. She was just one more of Hinata's women. Seeing her now, as she held the sitting room in thrall, Itachi couldn't look away.
She was dressed in traditional Japanese attire. Her hair was styled accordingly. He found, to his surprise, that she was an oddly welcoming sight. It was several minutes before he recognized the feeling as one he associated with seeing a woman in charge of his home. Like his mother used to be.
"Let me see if I have this right," he said when she finished speaking. "Those weeks ago when Hinata contacted you about the officials here, about reversing what Madara had done…you went ahead and did it yourself?"
She bowed to him before answering. "But that is what Hinata-sama told me to do."
He looked back and forth between Hinata and Tenten. "I was given to understand that Hinata would lead the proceedings. That you were only to feel the situation out, as it were."
"Apologies, Itachi-san, but as Hinata-sama doesn't speak English, that would have been quite impractical."
"But you…alone…"
She bowed again. "I wasn't alone. Not always. Kurenai-san and Anko-san served their purposes." She smiled.
"Did they." He wondered how many other deaths had occurred in his name. "And," he looked around at the paintings on the walls, the new furnishings. "Everything is as it was?"
"Inoichi-san would need to confirm with bankers and such, but yes. I believe so. I did the best that I was able to do." Another bow.
Itachi blinked, glancing around again. "Where are Shibi and the others? Who are these new servants? Where did they come from?"
"Yes. Shibi and the other men left with their sons when they came here. I hired the staff. Was that incorrect?"
Before Itachi could reply, Inoichi hastened forward. "Naruto's crew is returned? Do you know if my family was with them?"
"My crew has been back since Sasuke and I came to the manor before…they didn't go with Ei to rescue your family," Naruto interjected.
Inoichi deflated.
"But some weeks after you'd all gone north, a Negro did call at the manor," Tenten said. "He said his name was Bee and that he had business with you, Inoichi-san."
Inoichi strode right up to her. "Was my family with him? Are they safe?"
"He was alone," Tenten frowned. "He did give me his direction, should you return. Would you like it?"
"Yes! Yes." Inoichi reached for her but controlled himself in time. "Please, by all means, send for him. Tell him to bring my wife and daughter with him. God." He passed a shaking hand over his face. "I do hope he was successful. He wouldn't have requested me unless he was, would he?"
Tenten didn't exactly shift where she sat, but the motion of her fan faltered before resuming. "Perhaps you'd like to have such an emotional reunion at your home. I can give you the information given to me, and you can-"
"No. Please," Inoichi said again. "Have them brought here at once. Please. I must see them right away, before anything else."
Tenten looked at him a long moment, glanced about the room, then finally nodded at a footman whom Itachi only just noticed. The man left at once, presumably to summon this Bee.
Neji went to Inoichi. Murmured to him. Inoichi could be seen nodding, trying to calm himself.
Itachi turned and left the room, shutting the door on his way out. He'd heard enough.
He made a slow inventory of the entire manor. Hands clasped behind his back, he went from room to room. The artwork wasn't just replaced, it was the original art his father had spent years collecting. The pieces he himself had been forced to sell. He'd never been much of one for art but seeing the pieces now constricted something in his chest. He was willing to bet the china had also been reacquired. The thought of his mother's jewelry crossed his mind, but she was dead. Still, those had been choice gems. He would ask Tenten about them.
Everything is almost as it was, he thought. Almost, but not quite.
-oOo-
He found himself in his room. His bed was expertly repaired, as was the rest of his furniture. No sign whatsoever existed to show he'd let loose his rage when last he'd been here. Even his sitting room was as he remembered it. He sank into one of the wingback chairs on a long sigh.
A maid bobbed into his doorway. "My lord?"
He'd noticed staff clothed in Uchiha livery scurrying about as he'd inspected the place. This was one he hadn't seen. "Yes?"
"Betsy, my lord." She gave a little curtsy. "Parkins, the housekeeper, asked if you'd like some tea."
He studied the way her hands squeezed each other until they were bloodless, and felt another chunk of his life slide back into place: servants that deferred to authority. "Have I a manservant?"
"Yes, my lord."
"Serve the tea. Inform the butler…?"
"Mansfield, my lord. Arthur Mansfield."
"Inform Mansfield that once Inoichi has reunited with his family I'll want to meet all the staff. I'll also need a proper accounting of everything. Down to the last spoon."
"Very good, my lord."
"And send my manservant to me."
"At once, my lord."
Yes indeed. None of these would fail to address him correctly.
The tea was served minutes later –in his own china– and a feeling of peace stole through him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been served tea in the correct manner. Betsey wheeled the cart in, but his eyes were on the tall youth who came in behind her. Betsy left. The youth announced himself as the manservant in question.
Itachi eyed him over the rim of his cup. "Your name?"
"Ashley Michaels, my lord."
"Young."
"Twenty, my lord."
Thankfully too young to try asserting himself, Itachi thought. He eyed the smooth blond hair and dark eyes. Dark blue. "You'll do. Right then, Michaels." He set his cup aside. "I'll be remaining in these rooms for now. I want to be alone. I will meet the staff here, as unorthodox as that is. Until such time as Inoichi requests to meet with me I don't wish to be disturbed. Not for anything. You will serve my meals here, but I will attend my own toilet. You may perform all other duties pertaining to me as is customary. Questions?"
"None, my lord."
Itachi nodded in dismissal. When the door closed behind the lad, he put his head against the back of his chair and closed his eyes. "Home."
Sasuke remained silent throughout Tenten's account. As he'd been upon arriving and finding the manor restored. As he'd been since his brother struck him. Outside of Naruto, he spoke very little to anyone. To Itachi, not at all. He had nothing to say to the man, but he watched everything his brother did closely.
He'd expected an apology, at the very least. Preferably an explanation. Some crack in the shell developing around his brother, as he'd witnessed in Clinton. Those tears. He held the memory of them close. That and Itachi's whispered admission that he loved Neji. These things were what told him that somewhere beneath that shell the man he knew existed still. So he watched him, waiting for some sign that would help him understand how to proceed.
And Neji was the key, he was sure of it.
The man stared at his brother constantly, but Itachi wasn't visited by similar urges. He never caught Itachi looking at him, not even when his brother thought he was unobserved. And yet Itachi was aware of Neji. Enough to avoid any room he was in, or any attempted eye contact on Neji's part. Like just now. Neji's eyes hadn't left Itachi once during Tenten's tale. Itachi appeared oblivious…yet knew which corner of the room to avoid looking in.
I should lock them in the cellar together. End this madness.
He was still in the sitting room with Naruto, Tenten, and the Hyuuga when the butler announced that Miss Yamanaka was at the door, accompanied by several people. Tenten seemed to brace herself, but bade him show them in.
Inoichi was also apparently informed. He reappeared in the drawing room in clean clothes and obviously freshened. He smoothed a hand over his hair, ran both hands down his waistcoat. Closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. By the time footsteps could be heard approaching, Inoichi had straightened to his full height and composed himself.
-oOo-
Ei entered first, filling the doorway. He remained there while he scanned the room and its occupants. He saw Sasuke, whom he'd met, and grunted in approval. Inoichi he also apparently knew. Neji received a nod, Naruto a small smile. Hinata and Tenten were glowered at until he was pushed aside by Bee, who entered and gave everyone the same once-over. Only when Bee was satisfied did everyone become aware of the fact that he was holding someone's hand. And that the person attached to this hand still stood in the hall outside the drawing room.
They watched as Bee leaned partway into the hall. He could be heard murmuring to the owner of the hand. He tugged, gently, and an arm became visible. A shoulder. Ino appeared on hesitant feet and entered the room to stand at the protection of Bee's side.
Sasuke sat up straighter, frowning in shock, to catalog what he was seeing. That was not the girl he'd last seen at the Christmas gala. The girl he remembered had been known for her eyes –always lidded with confidence and vanity– and her hair. This woman's eyes were wide, watchful, and wary. The hair that had been likened to everything from the sun to spun sugar was done in a simple plait that hung over one shoulder and reached her waist. This alone fascinated him. He had never seen a woman with her hair down, its length revealed. He had a vague notion that such a thing was only done in the bedroom, in the presence of one's maid or husband. Cheeks warming in embarrassment, he looked away, at Bee, whom he belatedly realized was behaving very familiarly with Ino.
Inoichi also noticed. In the back of his mind it registered that the gentle presence of his wife was absent, from whom Ino would surely have taken her cue. His wife would have run to him, embraced him, and his daughter would have followed.
Instead he noted the way his child needed to be pulled into the room. Cajoled. Encouraged. And then once in the room, that courage failed her. Was that his girl, looking at him so guardedly? She had never looked at him with anything but love and laughter. Even now, Bee passed her hand from his right to his left, so that he could now place his right hand on the small of her back. She took a step at this gentle prodding. Then another. Until she stretched a cautious hand toward him. He caught it, clasped it. Used it to pull her completely from Bee and into his arms.
Those watching saw the way Inoichi cried, but that Ino didn't. He wilted around her, collapsing into the embrace, yet Ino held herself straight, neither returning the gesture nor comforting her father. At last Inoichi stood back from her and held her shoulders. "Daughter. You have no idea how I've prayed for your safe return. Are you well?"
An expression crossed Ino's face at last. Surprise, followed by wonder. Then her lip curled the faintest bit. "You really don't know what I've been through, do you."
Sasuke blinked at that voice. He'd never before given thought to the tone of a woman's voice. How it was always pitched, especially if the woman was a girl Ino's age, in such a way as to attract men. Feminine. With a smile hidden in it at all times. And always that deferential air that told a man he was superior, that he knew best. The voice Ino used was none of those things. He'd heard accusation and contempt, yes, but there had been the hint of a threat there as well. As if Ino were warning her father against saying more, against condemning himself further.
Clearly Inoichi heard nothing of the kind. He was in the process of stammering something, but Ei stepped up beside him and asked to have a private word about his wife. That halted father and daughter both. Inoichi followed Ei out of the room, led by a footman. Ino went directly to Bee who, Sasuke was scandalized to see, held her against his chest.
"Sir?"
Sasuke jerked at feeling a presence by his elbow. He glanced up. "Gaara!" He was standing and giving the boy an embrace of his own, squeezing far harder than was decent. When he released him he found a large smile on Gaara's face and his eyes shining. "Dear boy. You look mended."
"I am, sir. Ready to return to work."
"I-"
A cry from wherever Inoichi had been led had them all going silent and still. The sound wasn't repeated.
"Tenten?"
Everyone first looked to Ino at her questioning tone, then at Tenten who, it must be said, looked suddenly uncomfortable.
"It is you." Ino came away from Bee and stopped in the middle of the room. "What on earth are you doing in such strange clothes?"
Neji posed a question of his own, eyes narrowed. "How do you know Tenten?" This girl was no spider. And Inoichi never behaved as if he'd known Tenten.
Ino glanced at him, one long assessing look, before returning her gaze to Tenten. She took another step closer to her. "I've known her a number of years. Tenten? Why don't you speak to me?"
"What does she mean?" Hinata asked sharply. "I know all of your acquaintances. Never was this girl mentioned."
Tenten kept her face composed, but inwardly she screamed.
Long ago, when this task was first given to her, she'd predicted an oversight. A mistake. Something that would bring everything crashing down. Her senpai believed otherwise, though, and in all the years she'd known her the woman had never been wrong.
Taking a deep breath, she slowly closed her fan and turned in her chair enough to give Hinata-sama a bow. "Forgive me. When you sent me to this country you bade me align myself with those who'd be able to aid your plans. A single woman like myself must be seen to have acquaintances…"
Hinata's chilling eyes thawed somewhat, but Ino gasped. Quite aside from Tenten's fluency in Japanese, the suggestion that their friendship was somehow false… No. She would not jump to conclusions. Tenten was her dearest friend. And after all, perhaps she'd misunderstood. She herself couldn't claim to know Japanese well. No self-respecting girl would ever admit to knowing a foreign language outside of French or Latin, and that was only if one wished to be seen as an intellectual. She had never been any such thing and prided herself on that. At least, that had been her mindset prior to Hawaii. Much had changed. Perhaps her friend had also been through something. She stepped back, close to Bee's side, and waited for an explanation.
The Hyuuga were also waiting, apparently.
Tenten was aware of every pair of eyes on her, but until Hinata-sama had been appeased, to acknowledge anyone else would be suicide.
After many minutes, Hinata snapped open her own fan. A sound and movement that made everyone flinch. She sat back. "Are my rooms still available?"
"Yes, Hinata-sama." She did not straighten from her bow.
"Wait for me there. And Tenten…"
Tenten turned from where she had her hand on the door handle. "Yes?"
"I'll want to hear a full report. On everything."
Tenten bowed again and left.
Sasuke and the long-haired man who'd spoken to her seemed comfortable with this, but Ino was outraged. She went right up to this Hinata. "How dare you speak to her like that? Tenten is my friend. My good friend. I've no idea who you are, but I know Tenten has no family outside her aunt, so you can't be that important. You've no call, no right, to speak to her that way, and I won't allow it!"
The silence was profound, as Hinata rose to her feet. Those watching were surprised to note that they were of a height.
Hinata had almost no information on this girl, but her behavior was at odds with what she did know. She knew that as Inoichi's daughter, the girl must be in possession of at least some Japanese, as evidenced. Inoichi also seemed comfortable with Japanese customs, with who and what she herself was…yet his daughter behaved like a complete Westerner. Rude didn't even begin to describe her. She was also stupid. Pity. "It doesn't sound as if your father received good news," she said. "As your mother is not here, I can guess why. In the interest of sparing your father further loss, you would do well to watch your words with me. Safer still would be for you not to address me at all."
Ino, belatedly realizing that she'd been threatened, lost her tenuous grip on control. A rage she hadn't been capable of before her kidnapping seemed to be her constant companion these days. Either she was crippled with insecurities or shaking with anger. Bee usually calmed her from both extremes. Helped her. Supported her. She was slowly settling into her new skin, but this bitch was more than she could tolerate. After Hawaii, and her captors, and the escape, and her mother, and everything, she would not be threatened by a mere woman. Women, she knew. Women, she could handle. And no woman anywhere, ever, got the best of Yamanaka Ino.
Before Hinata completely turned from her, she grabbed her shoulder and spun her round. From the corner of her eye she saw the fan twist in Hinata's hand, angling up toward her arm, but by then her fist had crashed dead center of Hinata's face.
Through the confusion of gasps and shouts that followed from the onlookers, Neji was there to step between his cousin and this Ino, who was even now trying to claw Hinata's eyes out. Bee hurried forward and wrapped an arm about Ino's waist. He hauled her, kicking and snarling, out of the room.
Ei snorted a laugh. "No clue what yo' cousin said, Neji, but dat girl don' never need no excuse to hit somebody." He laughed again, shaking his head.
Sasuke and Gaara, who knew Hinata and knew exactly what had been said, exchanged a glance. Then they looked at where Hinata stood rooted to the floor.
Her nose was bleeding.
"Hinata," Neji winced. He reached for her face, but she stepped back smoothly, went to the door, opened it, and left.
Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Remember when you assumed I'd live here in the manor with you and your brother? I take back what I said. I'm staying. Never knew you nobles were guilty of such drama under one roof. That girl? Ino? She was standing next to you at that party. Christ, the woman fainted at the sight of me. Fainted! And she just punched…Hinata's…face…" He was beside himself, crumpling in a fit of hilarity that soon had him moaning in pain. Cradling his shoulder, he wheezed, "You couldn't pay me to live anywhere else."
Inoichi exited Itachi's study in time to see Ino being carried down the hall against her will and Hinata striding swiftly in the opposite direction. He was grateful that Ei had given him some time alone after breaking the news to him, but he thought it was now past time he found out what was going on with his daughter.
Hinata expressed a rare display of temper by slamming into her room. Tenten prostrated herself on the floor immediately. Hinata stepped right up to the quivering hair ornaments, put her hands into her sleeves, and spoke through lips stiff with fury. "Who is she."
Tenten babbled what she already knew. That Ino was Inoichi's daughter, born and raised here, and so forth.
"What," Hinata's voice lowered dangerously, "is your relationship to her? Why was I never told of this friendship? How does Inoichi, her own father, seem ignorant of you if you are his daughter's friend, as the girl claims? Speak!"
She listened to Tenten closely. She had only seen Inoichi once, from a distance, she stuttered. The man was not overly involved with his daughter's social life, and likely would be unable to definitively point out any of her friends. It was the mother who'd known everything about Ino's actions, down to the way she'd befriended a girl most considered less than socially acceptable.
"And your reason for befriending her? The only benefit to knowing her would be the power her father enjoys as a lawyer to the wealthy, yet he didn't know you before seeing you here at the manor."
Tenten's body tightened at the suspicion in that tone. "I…she was the most popular miss in the city. Second only to…someone. A girl I never met. Ino was more approachable. I thought… I thought it would be suitable to have such a person as my friend. To associate with someone who'd elevate my inferior respectability. She had nearly every male heart in her pocket. That in itself is power to those our age."
Hinata supposed this made sense. "Then why did you not go after the most popular girl, if power was your aim?"
"I tried. She wouldn't speak with me. Wouldn't even meet with me."
"Hn." Something about this smelled foul to her but she wouldn't press the issue. Not with Tenten, anyway. "There is still the matter of you neglecting to tell me of this girl. I have yet to hear a reason for that. You cannot tell me you forgot; a spider never forgets. You cannot tell me it was of little consequence, since you are required to tell me the smallest detail of your existence. Furthermore, I know you are aware of how a spider never acts on her own. Yet you tell me that this is precisely what you've done. Stand."
She cried out at seeing Hinata's face, but lowered her chin immediately, silent and obedient. "I beg of you to allow atonement."
"Whether or not you would be allowed that honor will be considered. You've proven yourself to be one of my most invaluable initiates." She went to her small couch and sat. "Yamanaka Ino. The woman in that room is not the girl you describe. Explain."
Tenten, aware of how tenuous her position was, hastened to try.
Ino closed her eyes for patience, but cut off her father's latest round of pleading. "I can't explain it!" Her voice was nearly a growl. "You think we were held in some civilized place with meals and a powder room and baths, simply because our kidnappers took us away in a coach! I was put into a hole in the ground, where vermin and filth were my companions. I bathed in offal. The youngest girls were violated, killed, we-" She covered her face with her hands. Bee went to her and curled an arm around her shaking shoulders. Inoichi frowned. "I cannot tell you what we did to survive," she whispered. Her hands lowered to show that though her face was red, her eyes were dry. "I cannot tell you what they did to Mother, how they… I cannot." She shook her head. "Please."
He was sick with grief over his wife, but now he felt numb with horror. Had he known… if he'd had any idea his wife and child were suffering such cruelties he'd have swum the Atlantic to retrieve them himself. He had thought they were being cared for. People of his station were never mistreated, especially not women. He hung his head now, unable to meet the accusation in her eyes. "All right. I'll not press you. But if I could speak with you alone?"
"No."
It hurt him to see the way she drew back against the Negro as if afraid. "I am still your father." When she said nothing, he nodded. "Very well, then. You leave me no choice but to speak plainly. You, sir," he addressed Bee. "I've observed a number of times now that you behave in entirely to familiar a manner with my daughter. I realize our ways are unknown to your kind, but I'm afraid I must ask you to step away from her. I am grateful beyond the expression of it that you've brought her home safe, but I have paid your brother the remainder of his fee. Your services are at an end." This time he walked toward his daughter and lightly grasped her arm. Bee had already moved away from her with a bow of his head and a murmured apology.
Ino looked at Bee, who had trouble meeting her eyes. She'd noticed that he behaved very differently in New York than he had in Hawaii and aboard his ship. Seeing the way he deferred to her father thinned her lips, but now was not the time to confess everything. Her father had only just learned of Mother. She might be changed, but she wasn't completely heartless. Besides which, if she was obedient now, it might soften her father for when she did confess. Whether he softened or not, however, her mind was made up.
Bee left.
-oOo-
"Darling?" Her father put his other hand on her other arm and gave a bracing squeeze. "Shall we go home? You look as though you could do with a bath. Perhaps a bite to eat? And then to lie down in your own bed. How well I recall the naps you would take for half the day. I'm sure you miss that. Oh, my beauty," he drew her head to his chest. "You are home. You're safe. Everything will be all right, you'll see."
It's happening, she thought dully. He's already prodding me back into my rightful place in life. Forcing a small nod, she said that yes, she would like a bath.
"That's my girl. You'll see. I won't let anything happen to you ever again. A bath, some food, and a bit of rest. Before you know it you'll forget that nightmare. Not your mother. We will never forget that gentle soul, but if you let me I will see that our lives return to normal."
A realization hit her. Her father was a weak man. He would not have survived down there, not even as long as Mother. He needed things to go back to the way they were. It was the only world he knew, the only way he could function. Not just him, but all men. Or most, she amended when she thought of the Uchiha brothers. She'd heard a bit of their troubles from Ei and marveled at their ability to adapt, but her father had no such ability. And now that she was considering it, she realized that all men of her station were weak as well. And terrified. It came to her in a burst of clarity that the many rules and regulations governing behavior and everything else about their lives was their shield. They knew exactly what the world was really like and chose to construct their own safe little world of nonsense to hide in.
She hugged him. Hard.
Picturing the man she saw when she'd entered the drawing room, she further realized that he'd aged in her absence. And in the hour she'd been here he'd further aged a lifetime. His face was lined, his shoulders bent with grief and guilt. A ghost of all the love and adoration she'd felt for her father twisted in her breast. Through her hug she could feel his tremors. The grief he tried to keep silent. How much weight he'd lost.
She spoke, her face pressed to his shoulder. "Thank you. For sending Bee. He saved me. You saved me."
His tears were hot where they fell on her hair, and she reasoned that the lie did no harm. He needed it. And his arms did feel good around her. Not as good as before her capture, but not as abhorrent as she'd feared they would.
In the morning, Michaels served breakfast in his sitting room. He made his report while Itachi reached for the coffee.
"I'm to tell you that Yamanaka has verified that every dollar, brick, and jewel stolen from you has been returned, my lord. All creditors have withdrawn their claims, and your accounts are no longer frozen. Lord Sasuke's inheritance is likewise intact and restored to your safekeeping. Nothing whatsoever is out of order. He also bade me tell you that reports such as these are best given directly from him. He wants to know when you'll allow him an audience, as he has other questions of a sensitive nature to ask."
Itachi felt a small smile settle around his mouth. Now everything is as it should be. The nightmare is finally over. But his smile dimmed at thinking what it had cost him.
He sat back and blotted his mouth with his napkin. "Do you know, I'm coming to find being addressed as my lord very tiresome."
"My l-"
"Tell Inoichi I will see him promptly at six this evening. Is his daughter well?"
"Yes, my…uh…"
Itachi refused to help him.
"Yes, my lord. She and her father returned home yesterday afternoon. His wife didn't make it."
"May God rest her soul. What of my brother? Where did he sleep?"
"In his room, my lord? I believe he slept in his room."
"Alone?"
Michaels stared. "Yes. My lord."
So he's being discreet. "And Naruto? Where is he? Where's Obito?"
Naruto, he was told, had taken up residence in the rooms above the carriage house. Obito was being looked after by a maid who'd been promoted to governess, but the truth was that the child was terrorizing the kitchen, staff, and everyone else.
"Lord Sasuke cuffed him a good one," Michaels said, "but the little beast bit him until he bled. The governess is black and blue."
"What?"
"He's a horror, my lord. And since it's being said that he's your lordship's brother, no one will scold him or switch him the way he deserves."
"You don't say. Where is the old woman who came with us?"
"She's taken to the kitchens, my lord. Cook is highly upset. Says she keeps trying to foreignize her honest cooking."
"I see. Send the old woman to me, please. I'll be heading out before noon, but I'd like you to carry a message to Neji. I'll want to see him in my den this evening. At five. Just before my meeting with Inoichi."
"Very good, my lord."
-oOo-
He'd since learned her name was Lin Ling, but as he rarely spoke to her he consistently referred to her as the old woman. She bowed herself into his sitting room and stood before him, eyes on the floor.
The few times he'd had occasion to be in her presence she'd never worn any expression. She didn't have one now. He'd always interpreted her moods by her words or her body language. He had an idea that the amount of activity and people now in her life pleased her tremendously, but one would never know it to look at her. He rubbed one lip in thought, studying her.
"What is Obito's story?" he asked at length. "How did he come about? Clearly Fugaku was his father, but Madara honestly believed that child was his. He turned the world upside down for him."
She spoke while bowing over and over. "I was just another child slave from China until the Uchiha clan took me in. I was maid to Obito's mother, one of Madara's concubines. He had many, as well as two wives, all of whom he swore were barren, since none of them could grow his seed. I don't know why Fugaku-sama came to Japan, but my mistress said he befriended Madara. Over mutual business, I believe."
"I can imagine what business my father had. I'm sure he went there for the sole purpose of ingratiating himself. Looking for a weakness to exploit."
More bowing. "Yes, Itachi-sama. Perhaps. But Madara was obsessed with Fugaku-sama. They went everywhere together. Ate from the same dish, slept in the same bed-"
Itachi held up a hand. "My father laid with Madara?"
"Yes. Many times. For months."
He thought of the cane breaking on Sasuke's back and felt bitter regret that his father was now beyond reach. A twice-damned hypocrite. "Continue."
"My mistress said Fugaku-sama was all Madara spoke about. That he no longer visited his concubines as much, or tolerated his wives. She decided to speak to Fugaku-sama herself to see if she could discover his aims, or how long he would be in Japan. Anything. She wanted any information on Fugaku-sama that she could use to her advantage." Ling's mouth pursed and released several times. "I never went with my mistress whenever she visited Madara, so I did not go with her to the meeting with Fugaku-sama. She was gone the entire night. When she returned, there was a new light in her eyes."
And just like that, he thought he saw his father's plan. How he'd done what he'd done, and why. What a charmer you were, Father.
"She went to him for a part of each night, every night afterward. And then Fugaku-sama would go to Madara. The Uchiha Palace has many rooms, and they all have eyes. I told my mistress she would be discovered, that her life would be forfeit. I begged her to be discreet. She didn't care, she said. She was carrying Fugaku-sama's child and he planned to take her away to a fabulous new land, where she would have a house for herself." Ling was silent, staring at the patterned rug.
"Go on."
"I cautioned her. Told her Fugaku-sama was not to be trusted if he could double-cross Madara this way. She said to me, 'No, Ling. You are wrong about him. He told me he couldn't hurt his friend, so I am to tell Madara-sama tonight that I carry his child. He will cherish and praise me above all others for being the one in which his seed took root. Would Fugaku-sama do that, please his friend, and bring me such honor, if he was false?' I asked her what would happen when Fugaku-sama went back to his fabulous land with her and the babe. What of Madara then? She looked at me and smiled. She said, 'You must promise me that what I say stays between the two of us, Ling…but Madara-sama will not care.' So it was that I knew Fugaku-sama had enthralled her to the point of murder."
From there Itachi could deduce the rest. Madara had been besotted with his impending child –and evidently too stupid to consider another man's issue growing in his concubine–while the concubine had been in love with his father. A flawless and masterful plan.
"When her time came, Fugaku-sama killed her. Cut the babe from her. I told him Madara would hunt him until the end of time, but Fugaku-sama only told me that I was free. That I could live in his land and raise my mistress's babe. Madara would not follow because he himself had spent the months in Japan eradicating Madara's subordinates. The ones he relied upon. He replaced them with his own. When the time came, they would engineer a coup, and he, Fugaku-sama, had all the leverage he needed to ensure Madara did not rise again."
"Obito."
She bowed.
"It seems Madara not only rose again, but got the idea for the coup against my father from my father himself." A cunning plan, brilliantly executed, yet pointless in the end. He stared at Ling's bowed head. His father had been weak, he decided. In his place, if he'd been close enough to Madara to share his bed, he'd have slit the man's throat. Taken over Akatsuki. Obtained power that way, instead of the roundabout mess that had culminated in Clinton. Remembering the way he'd told the concubine that he couldn't hurt Madara, he wondered if his father had loved him. A disturbing thought. "What happened once my father returned here?"
Ling shrugged. "The house he promised my mistress. He set that fat cow to watch my movements, but no one was to know of the babe. No one. Whenever she came by, I put him to sleep and hid him. Fugaku-sama bade me keep him in a locked room once he was old enough to walk."
"So young? Why?"
"He feared someone would hear him or see him. I myself was never allowed to leave the house, not unless there was some emergency."
"What sort of emergency?"
"The payments stopping. He gave me instructions. A map to the next town."
No emergency involving the boy. Father didn't care if Obito lived or died. He was a tool, something used to keep Madara at bay. He supposed Madara was threatened with death of the boy.
"Madara found us. One night, when Fugaku-sama was with his wife and sons, Madara found the house, found Obito, and took him. Fugaku-sama-"
"Wait. If Madara knew where to find you then, how did he not know this time? He killed my father, my mother was held, my life upended, and he knew all along where-"
"No. We were in another house. Another town."
"But you said Mrs. Bentley…the fat woman," he corrected hastily, "was set to guard you."
"She, too, lived in that town. By the time Fugaku-sama found Obito again he'd decided on another of his houses for us to live in. He said it was the original house he'd meant for us, but that he'd wanted to keep Obito closer to where he lived."
"The better to keep an eye on him," he muttered. So, though the house in Clinton had been bought around the time of Obito's birth, it hadn't been used right away. Only later had his father stashed his prize there, and taken Mrs. Bentley from her original town to boot. "How many years ago was this?"
"Nine, maybe ten years."
Each time, it had taken Madara years to regroup and come after his father. "And he gave you the same instructions should an emergency arise, my father?"
"Yes."
And that was the tale, it seemed. Things had been uneventful until a year ago. Having now lived through Madara, he felt a grudging respect mixed with the disgust he felt for his father. "That will be all, Ling. Thank you." She left, and he spent some minutes staring at the door.
There was no controlling the boy, not if he'd been raised like an animal his entire life. He greatly feared Obito suffered from an inferior intellect, but he would have to see about Inoichi drafting documents that declared the boy his kin.
Later. Right now the city called to him, restored as he was. He pushed up from the chair and rang for Michaels.
In the carriage house, Sasuke held the note recently delivered by Michaels in his bandaged fist, and read it aloud:
'Brother,
As it is apparent that you will not be siring any children in your lifetime, Obito will be your heir. He is, therefore, your responsibility. I trust you will bring him to heel in short order.
Regards,
Itachi.'
"That bastard!" Sasuke flung the note down but it only swayed to the floor. "The nerve of him to saddle me with that monster, or presume I can't make heirs of my own."
Naruto frowned. "I think it's rather decent of him. Isn't he talking about your relationship with me?"
That thought cooled the violence on Sasuke's face, but not by much. "He has no right to presume upon my relationship either. Bleeding arse, he is."
"Still sore over the way he treated you, I see. Ordinarily I'd avenge you, but he's only keeping you safe. Do you plan to forgive him anytime soon?"
Sasuke turned to Naruto with a comical look of surprise on his face. "Forgive him? For wanting to murder Fitz and Milly? For doing it, apparently? Why should I forgive that, or the way he silenced me for trying to stop him?"
"And yet," Naruto said, glancing to where Neji stood, "you seem bent upon bringing about his romance."
"I am bent, as you so eloquently put it, on saving him. He is mad, just as you said. I mean to right the wrong done to him."
Naruto glanced at Neji again to see his reaction, but Neji seemed lost in his own mind. "Right. Of course. Because sodomy has ever been the cure for madness. How could I have possibly forgotten that?" He shook his head, anguished. "Is there any hope for him, do you think?"
Sasuke held himself from striking Naruto's face just barely. "Why must you antagonize me? I tell you, something happened to my brother. Something. This is more than resentment over Neji leaving him."
"For the dozenth time, if Neji's account of things is true."
Sasuke kicked at Naruto's legs, kicked until Naruto tipped sideways on the sofa, weak with laughter. Gaara, watching this all from where he stood near the kitchen, felt tension at his master's wrath.
Fed up with Naruto, Sasuke turned for another target and found Neji standing near the window. The man hadn't moved in some time. "Have you anything to say?" he snapped.
When Michaels had delivered Sasuke's note, he'd also handed one to Neji. Neji listened to the argument between Sasuke and Naruto with half an ear, reading and rereading the note until the words ceased to have meaning. Hearing Sasuke now, Neji blinked away his daze and looked up. He indicated the note. "He wants to see me. Itachi."
That had a collective gasp issuing from the three other occupants.
"At five. Today." He looked at the note again, trying to understand. "Do you think it's a mistake?"
Sasuke came and snatched the note. "That is your name. And this is Itachi's handwriting." His lips pursed a moment. "High time that wretched brother of mine saw sense. You're going, of course?" His eyes stabbed at Neji. "Now's your chance to declare all."
Neji plucked the note from Sasuke's hand and pocketed it. "I doubt that's why he wants to see me, but yes. I intend to settle this once and for all."
"What if he rejects you again?" Naruto wanted to know. "The man doesn't strike me as someone who changes his mind."
"I'm not backing down this time," Neji said. Sasuke gave an emphatic snort of approval.
Naruto looked back and forth between them, shaking his head.
The bank manager himself ushered Itachi into his private office. An expensively decorated room, complete with a sidebar. He declined the solicitous offer of refreshments, and sat himself in the proffered chair, cane across his knees. While he peeled his gloves off one finger at a time, the manager hurried behind his desk. He sat as if he meant to bolt right up again: at the very edge of his seat, poised for flight.
Itachi leaned back and regarded him. "I don't believe I've made your acquaintance."
The man stuttered an introduction to himself. "But please, my lord. Before we approach the nature of your visit, allow me to apprise you of the absolute horror I feel at my predecessor's actions regarding your family. That you have magnanimously elected to leave the governor and courts ignorant of this institution's crimes places us forever in your debt. I trust that all has, uh, met with your approval? Your secretary came by to verify for himself on your behalf." His eyes were small and glassy in his shiny face.
"Yes, quite. I do hope such actions will be absent from future dealings with this bank?" What on earth had Tenten done?
"Of course, my lord. It goes without saying."
"Nevertheless, I felt it needed to be said. Now. As for the purpose of my visit…"
-oOo-
He stopped at quite a few of his old haunts during his outing. At the gaming hall, he came across several of his friends, who clustered around him eager for news. One young man at the front of the crowd caught his eye. Vaguely familiar, he was the only one not pressing questions on him. After a moment, the name came to him. "Jared Wilkins?"
"Lord Itachi. I arrived home last month to discover your parents dead, Sasuke traveling, and the city abuzz with the news that the Uchiha had suffered financial ruin. I was not granted admission when I called at Uchiha Manor." His eyes raked the charcoal grey suit Itachi wore. "Pray tell us, are you well?"
He could see it now, Itachi realized. The way Wilkins' eyes lingered on his face, how he stood just a hair closer than was seemly. To see the knowing looks cast at the back of Wilkins' head after his question, it would appear that his infatuation with him was neither secret nor gone.
They all waited to hear his reply. "I'm afraid the majority of the rumors are precisely that, though my parents are indeed deceased. It is nothing I care to speak of just now. The wounds are still too fresh. Losing them both so tragically, scarcely a year apart…"
They watched him, eyes wide, as he averted his face and fished for his handkerchief. "What happened?" one asked. "You never described the accident that took your father. Now your mother-"
Itachi shook his head, face covered by the kerchief, and turned away. They let him leave, murmuring condolences.
Outside, he snapped the kerchief, folded it expertly, and tucked it into his breast pocket, eyes dry and clear.
-oOo-
At length, a box of Veniero's pastries under one arm, he turned his horse for home. He would be glad of the two-hour trip. It would afford him time to prepare for what was coming.
It had given him pleasure to ignore Neji, Sasuke had been right about that, but he'd rarely thought of him in any case. Correction, had not thought about him. He'd seen all he cared to of Neji. The man was a whining, pathetic, abuser of men who would do well to keep his distance after this evening. He would alert the groundskeeper and Mansfield that Hyuuga Neji was no longer to be allowed on the premises. A smile curved his lips. He was sure Neji would protest vociferously, just as he was sure the man intended to argue his way back into his bed when they met. He would allow neither action. Fifteen minutes past five, he expected his audience with Neji to be over.
His smile left. Once Neji was shown the door, he expected Hinata would likewise take herself to some other location. He would be well and truly done with the Hyuuga. There would be no reason he should ever run into Neji again. They did not move in the same circles.
The thought brought an ache to his chest. His throat tightened, squeezing off his breath until he had to pull Tsukiyomi to the side of the road. The pastry box fell to the ground. His heart fluttered unpleasantly, as if trying to beat through an obstruction. Coughing and gasping now, he sagged forward, forced to bury his hands in his horse's mane as he battled back the blackness encroaching on his vision.
These spells normally only overtook him at night, once his bed curtains were closed. He would need long minutes to bring his breathing under control, to calm his struggling heart. He usually managed it with difficulty, needing as long as half an hour sometimes. That was what he got for trying to fool himself. For telling himself that Neji didn't exist, that he neither saw nor heard him every bleeding day. After Fishkill, he swore that he would not give in to the rage that was still with him. He would not let the man reduce him to that again, but this only ensured that his wrath turned inward. He feared a stroke one of these days, but he'd been forced to wait until he could do the job properly before dealing with Neji. Now that his affairs were in order, he could do so.
His knuckles were nearly as white as the hair in his grip. He pressed his forehead against them, feeling the pommel gouge his mid-section. Smelling the horse's body. He was sweating by the time his throat loosened. One long, cool breath served to strengthen him enough to sit up properly. He looked around, forcing himself to breathe evenly. The road was deserted. And it was nearly five.
He passed a hand over his watering eyes. Tsukiyomi heeded the prod of his heel and resumed walking. He did not retrieve the pastries.
Her father was out, she knew, but she could still hear the servants passing outside her door. Her maid, a woman who'd been with her since birth, had welcomed her back with hysterics she'd found annoying.
To the staff's dismay, she didn't want to be cosseted and pampered. She didn't want to talk to them, or be fed sweets, or read the latest Vanity Fair, or even be touched. She bathed herself, brushed and styled her own hair, and selected her own clothing, whereupon she dressed herself. She then asked that they leave her alone. They meant well, she knew, but if she had to look at one more pitying pair of eyes she'd scream.
Thank God Father agreed to turn away all callers. That she was back had spread like wildfire throughout all of New York. If she had to endure the concern and curiosity of her friends just now she would do more than scream. She really would throw herself from her balcony.
Well, maybe Tenten. She'd receive her, if she came by, but she hadn't seen her since Uchiha Manor. Just as well. She had other things on her mind at the moment.
Finished, she sat on her bed and looked around her room.
It was the largest suite in this wing of the house. Her powder room alone could have fit Bee's entire crew. It seemed like a cavernous allotment of space for one person. For the past few months, she'd occupied corners, often sitting in one spot for hours at a time. On Bee's ship, she'd had one dress. No spare. She'd washed it every other day, at night, and wrapped a sheet around herself while it dried. Here, her closets were stuffed full with dresses. Day dresses, riding habits, evening wear. Half of them she'd never even worn. Boots, shoes, slippers, and bonnets all crowded another closet. With Bee, she'd gone barefoot. She'd run barefoot through the jungle. This was not to say she desired a return to that mean existence, but she could not live this life. It frightened her. Reminded her of when she'd been so weak she would rather have died than be seen in a dress she'd worn before.
Prior to arriving in the port of New York she told herself she would give it a week. One week to see if she changed her mind. She'd been here three weeks now. Her father had been back five days. She'd never been more sure of anything in her life.
She'd spent the last few hours painstakingly searching through her closets for the plainest clothing she owned. Those items now sat in a trunk she'd packed herself. She had a large valise on the floor at her feet, stuffed full with two changes of clothes, her toiletries, and as many jewels as she could fit in the thing.
She glanced out her window. It would be dark in a few more hours. Perhaps she could sneak to the kitchen and obtain some food to take with her.
His den. The very room he'd confessed an attraction to Neji in. The room in which Neji had informed him of the attraction being mutual. This is where it began, he thought. His stomach rolled in a way that made him clench his jaws. And here is where it will end.
His new pocket watch. He fumbled it from his waistcoat, where it promptly slipped from his sweaty palm. He could see the time from where it came to rest near his desk chair. Ten minutes of five. Clenching his jaws wasn't enough. He was going to be ill.
There was a small water closet off his den. He entered it and used the face towel to mop the perspiration from his brow. Twisted the thing in his hands to dry those too. Went back to his desk. Sat. Placed his palms flat on the desk, his back straight, in a posture of calm. Breathed. Breathed. Breathed. Closed his eyes.
Why are you doing this to yourself?
Breathed.
He still wants you. If you are this undone at the prospect of talking to him, go to him. Accept him back.
No.
Breathed.
He only needed to regain his control. To think of something. Anything that would push this meeting from his mind. A moment. He needed one moment, a chance to catch his balance.
Breathed.
The memory of ramming a knife into Madara's stomach came to his assistance. Surprising. He hadn't thought of that since he'd done it. He saw, in his mind's eye, the way Madara's mouth jerked open. Heard the sound the knife made as he stabbed again. Felt again the impact of gutting him with that blade. Recalled the smell and feel of Madara's bowels spilling at his feet.
He opened his eyes and felt stillness. A calm. He could breathe. The tightness in his chest and throat was gone. Leaning sideways, he snagged his pocket watch and returned it to his waistcoat. When next he looked up, Neji was standing in the doorway.
-oOo-
Figures, Neji thought. The man looked as unshakable as a rock, his face free of all emotion as he put something into his pocket. When Itachi raised his eyes and saw him, he merely sat back in his chair, crossed one leg over the other, and laced his fingers over his mid-section. The picture of ease.
Meanwhile, he was nearly shitting himself.
But I can be as calm as you. He entered without waiting to be invited, shut the door, leaned on it, and folded his arms. The fact that Itachi had requested this meeting meant he was finally ready to talk. Maybe not about them, but about something. Point was, he was no longer being ignored. He'd let Itachi begin. Listen to what he had to say, then calmly and intelligently say his own piece.
-oOo-
Itachi made himself lean back. Made himself look at him. Neji said nothing, which was a surprise. When five minutes ticked by, he sat forward and withdrew something from an inner pocket of his waistcoat. Setting it on the desk, he rested his fingertips on it and directed his words at it.
"I have here a bank draft for your loan of one thousand dollars."
Neji's brows drew together.
"Included is the cost of meals, room and board on our journey north, the money you spent acquiring the furnishings, etc., in Clinton, and the expenses you incurred on our behalf during our trip back to the city."
Neji stared at the bank note.
"Lastly, I have included all wages you earned after my accounts were frozen, both as manservant and secretary." He pushed the note three inches across his desk, towards Neji. "That is all."
"Oh, that's all, is it?"
"That and the fact that once you take this and leave my den you are to also take yourself off my property. You have given me a great deal of assistance, for which I thank you, but we are done. Leave, please. And don't come back."
Neji walked toward the desk as if he had all the time in the world. Staring not at Itachi, but at the bank note. He read an amount in excess of ten thousand dollars, far more than he'd spent or was owed. He finally unfolded one arm to pick up the note and bring it closer to his face.
He ripped the note in half, fourths, eighths, and arranged the pieces in a neat little pile on the desk, right before Itachi's disbelieving eyes. "Get up."
"I beg your-"
"Get. Up."
Itachi, heart already hammering, felt dull rage begin to heat his blood. "You do not command me, least of all in my own home."
"You're right, I don't. But I'm about to say a few things to you and I think you're going to want to hear them as an equal, with every advantage you can give yourself, so get up."
Itachi stared. Neji had his palms braced on the desk. One lock of his hair had escaped his ponytail to hang loose from his temple. The end grazed the knuckles of one hand. He was beautiful, Itachi thought in disgust. And far too capable of reducing him to an anxious, shivering mess. The sooner Neji was gone, the better off he'd be. "Your nerve is endless. Get out of my house-"
Neji slammed one hand to the desk in a violent gesture. "No," he roared. "I'm sick of this! You speak of my nerve? Your arrogance far exceeds any nerve of mine. What have I done, can you tell me? What…I left? So I left! Does the fact that I came running back at the first opportunity mean nothing? I have done everything in my power to show you what I feel and still you shun me." He went around the desk, leaning into Itachi's face. He was so close that he could smell his breath. "You think I'm still afraid to say the words? I'm not." He swallowed. Here it was, his trump card. "I love you. More than anything on earth. More than Heaven, Hell, right, or wrong. More than my pride. More than my life, I love you. Why can't you see that? Why can't you forgive me, or admit that you love me too?"
Itachi's voice was ice. "Because I already did."
Neji straightened in surprise. "What? You never-"
But now Itachi finally got to his feet. "The day you left. In Fishkill. I saw your back, your body, in the light of day and knew the most eviscerating shame. I learned that you'd been gambling to keep me fed and sheltered, and knew a desire to open my veins for hurting you." He took a step, forcing Neji to take a corresponding step backward. "You left the room. I sat there and admitted I'd gone too far. I was the coward. Afraid of my feelings, the strength of them. Afraid of surrendering to you, when every day I did just that." He took slow steps as he spoke and Neji matched him, backing away across the room. "I was yours. In every sense. Yet I persisted in resisting that one simple fact. I wanted you to give in first. You kept running from me. Demanding things I wasn't ready to give. It's not in my nature to concede defeat. But I was defeated the moment you kissed me over that lunch."
They were across the room. Neji's back hit the wall beside the door. He couldn't look away from the dark eyes searching his face. There was a frown between Itachi's eyes. As if he was trying to understand his own words. He himself had no trouble understanding. If only Itachi had said these things sooner! Each word was a punch to his heart.
"I hit you for fear of losing you…and realized the time had come to stop running. I love you. Loved you. You left, but I thought you only meant to speak to the proprietor. That you would be back. I…waited. I waited for you to come back so I could tell you that I would no longer fight you. That if you wanted me, I was every inch yours. That I loved you. I surrendered." His eyes finally came to rest on Neji's. "And you were gone. I looked for you. All over Fishkill. The proprietor finally told me you'd gone. And then I…then I found the money in my pocket." He dropped his eyes a moment, but brought them back up to Neji's stricken face. "I was finally ready to give you all. Without reservation. And you…were…gone. I was left exposed as a nerve in my surrender. Humiliated. You played me for a fool, Neji. If you felt a tenth of what you claim to feel now, you would not have left. I could not have walked away from you had my life depended on it. My life was in danger, and all I could think of was your touch. Why can't I forgive you?" he rasped. "Because I have never hated anyone as much as I hate you. So. Get the devil out of my house." He twisted the door handle and yanked it open.
Neji slammed it shut again. Itachi wrenched it back open, and Neji reached for his head. His mouth barely touched Itachi's before the man's fist landed with enough force against his head to stagger him sideways. He caught himself. Slowly turned to look at Itachi, where he stood with his chest heaving and his hair in disarray. Seeing red, he lunged for him, knocked his fists aside, and jerked him in by a double fistful of his jacket. He felt those hands hitting him, pushing him, but he also felt the way Itachi's mouth opened beneath his own on a groan.
The man shuddered in his grasp. Fought him with his mouth. Bit him. He switched to holding Itachi's shoulders. Slid his hands to either side of his neck, upward into his hair. Held his face still and kissed him, kissed him, kissed him.
Itachi sank his hands into his hair and pulled him closer in turn. Pulled until their bodies were flush, and their tongues entwined, lips fused together.
He moved, walking with Itachi toward the desk. He was shaking. Quaking in need at Itachi's declaration. He felt when Itachi came up against the desk. His head was swimming. Barely aware of slipping his hands beneath Itachi's shirt, of bending him backward. The sharp pain at his crotch went ignored. But it was insistent. When he could ignore it no more, he broke away, but only enough to glance down.
Itachi had the tip of a letter opener pressed to his cock.
While Neji was thus distracted, Itachi righted himself from his sprawl. He pressed with the letter opener. Neji took a step back, hands raised, eyes steady on his face. It was an effort, but he managed to draw in breath enough to say, "Leave. Leave my house, my land, my life. Now!"
Neji didn't budge. "Bullshit." He was breathing heavily. "You wanted that kiss too. You were all over-"
He threw the letter opener at him. Groped behind himself on the desk, found an inkwell and hurled it. And a small marble figurine. "GET! OUT!"
Neji was at the door, an arm up to shield his face. Mansfield and two footmen were suddenly behind him, wide eyes looking to Itachi for direction. "My lord?" one of them said.
Itachi composed himself with difficulty. "Get him out of my sight. The next time he sets foot on my land I want him shot." He was looking into Neji's eyes when he gave that order, and so saw the look of blankness that quickly covered the hurt.
"Come along then," Mansfield said. He reached for Neji's arm.
Neji jerked away from the touch and left on his own.
Itachi turned and leaned his hands on the desk. "Out."
The servants hurried away.
Sasuke and Naruto, peering from their place in the drawing room across the hall, closed their door and stared at each other, eyes bulging.
At the appointed hour they'd of course followed Neji to the house. They'd secreted themselves in the drawing room, itself nearly directly opposite the den, in the hopes of overhearing a word or two. As it happened, they'd heard the entire riveting conversation, down to Itachi's shouts near the end. Sasuke put a hand to his mouth and gasped at hearing why his brother wouldn't take Neji back. But then the door to the den had opened. They'd caught a glimpse of Neji's arm and leg before it shut. Then it opened again and Neji was seen moving away. Their luck was in: the den door continued to swing inward. This time it was Naruto who gasped. Sasuke could only hang his mouth open in shock.
Neji and Itachi were locked in a passionate embrace. Kissing.
Thankfully, there had been no servants about. They'd continued to watch until the kissing men moved out of their line of sight. They'd waited a few moments, then opened their own door a little wider. Right then, though, Itachi could be heard telling Neji to get out of his life. Neji made some unintelligible response and then the letter opener that sat on Itachi's desk had apparently been thrown. They saw it land in the doorjamb, quivering with its impact. And then an inkwell shattered against the wall not far from it. Something else crashed, and then Itachi had bellowed loud enough to have other people hearing at last. Mansfield and a couple of footmen brushed right past them. Naruto muttered at hearing that Neji was to be shot on sight. Neji stormed out a second later. Naruto stared after him, but Sasuke only had eyes for his brother, who was leaning on his desk. And then they'd closed their door.
Naruto spoke first. "What in God's name?"
"Not here. In the carriage house."
-oOo-
Once they'd gained the rooms above the carriage house Sasuke rounded on him, eyes wild. "Did you hear him? Did you?"
"I heard him give an order for Neji to be shot-"
"Not that." He flapped an impatient hand. "The rest. About how he'd surrendered completely to Neji and that cad trampled the offering!"
"That's not-"
"Oooh, this is far worse than I thought." He paced back and forth feverishly as he spoke, chin in one hand. "I don't know, I thought he'd witnessed or heard some trauma, or else he'd been angered over Neji's conduct. I mean, we both knew Itachi loved him, but this?" He stopped to stare at Naruto. "He surrendered. Completely. My brother surrenders to nothing. He's in love. The way I love you. I'll confess, I would never have believed him capable of such feelings. Not to this extent. And Neji broke his heart. Broke it." Sasuke shuddered and gasped.
Naruto hardly thought that was fair, but said, "What is it?"
"Well, I said my brother isn't jealous or childish, but he is proud. Exceedingly so. It might be the one thing I detest about him. His insufferable pride."
"You're proud as well."
"Not to the magnitude he is. And when a man with his pride gives his heart to another only to have the offering thrown in his face…" Sasuke paled. For the first time he truly understood the destruction of that room in Fishkill. "My God. He really will have Neji shot."
Naruto frowned. "If Neji doesn't have enough sense to stay away I'll make sure he does. But Sasuke, all this time you've been saying how, deep down, your brother still loves him. Given what we just saw, couldn't we be wrong? Might he not still accept Neji?"
"What's this? You're singing a different tune."
"That kiss." Naruto shook his head. "Had I not seen it, I would never have believed it."
"Am I wrong about Itachi's wrath? No. The fact that this is all over a man probably makes it ten times worse. He didn't just give in; he gave in to sodomy. Not only did he surrender his heart, he went against everything he believes in. And Neji left him."
"To be fair, Neji didn't know any of this when he'd left him the last time."
"If Neji was with my brother a year he should have known the man he was going after. He's not stupid. But it seems he is stupid, and now…God help him if he crosses paths with Itachi again."
"I'll go find him," Naruto said, hurrying for the door, "and make sure he stays as far away from Uchiha Manor as possible."
"Be careful. You're not a hundred percent yet." He went to him and gave him a brief kiss.
Itachi prowled his den until seven, but Inoichi never showed, nor did any of his staff bring a note from the man explaining his absence. His meeting with Neji kept running through his mind. That kiss. Those hands on him. The look of hurt on Neji's face at his final command. The way he'd left. He was gone. For good this time. Good bloody riddance. He felt as if his heart was falling out of him. A sensation that stopped his breath for several seconds.
Feeling close to murder, Itachi wrenched open the den door. Down the hall, he caught sight of Tenten entering the dining room. He stalked after her.
-oOo-
He came upon her arranging flowers as a centerpiece on the dining table. Set for dinner, the china and silverware gleamed. She stood back to survey her handiwork, then reached to stroke a flower petal into place.
"You are exceptional."
Tenten whirled at hearing these words.
Itachi was unsurprised to see a small, pointed weapon of some kind in her hand. Only for a moment. It was gone before he could blink, and her hands demurely tucked into her obi. "Itachi-san." She bowed low.
"Become my wife."
She actually screamed. A tiny, hastily cut off sound as she snapped up from her bow. "Itachi-san! I couldn't!"
"Why?" He didn't approach her. "You run my home as well as any goodwife. You understand my ways, are capable of meeting the danger my life may attract." Now he did step toward her, holding her wide gaze with his own. "You are comely. I'll not mistreat you."
"But Itachi-san-"
"Do I displease you in some way? My manner? My person?"
"Never!"
"Then why?"
She bowed again. This time she held the gesture, her forehead almost touching her knees. "You do me too much honor. Too much. But I belong to Hinata-sama."
"I will speak with-"
"No! You mustn't. No spider marries unless by Kumo's will. I have heard of only one, to a man of much influence. She-"
Itachi reached her and pulled her up by her shoulders. She eep-ed in dismay, but the thunderous look on his face silenced her. "I want you for my wife and I'll not be denied. In this country it is a man's will that decides things. I said I will speak with her. Will you have me?"
This was growled down at her in a tone that did not brook refusal. Fascinated, and not a little star-struck, Tenten felt her cheeks warm. "Yes."
Her acceptance sent a stab through him, but he ignored the pain. Focused on her shining eyes. Blessedly brown eyes. Her lips trembled through a smile and he suddenly, savagely kissed her.
She neither fought him nor protested, but yielded to his assault with a compliance that had him quickly pulling back in distaste. Her eyes were closed and she swayed in his grasp. He released her. "I'll speak to Hinata," he said. Clearing his throat, he beat a hasty retreat.
Inoichi decided to stop home before his meeting with Itachi. Ino didn't like him hovering over her, and she'd specifically asked to be left alone, but he couldn't resist checking on her. She was so different since coming home that he hardly knew her. So angry, where once she'd been gay. Meals were tortuous. Gone was her lively conversation, replaced with silence. Accusing stares. He had no idea what to do, but he had to try. She was his daughter, all he had left in the world.
He was told by her maid that Ino wished solitude, but he went to her door anyway. "Darling?" He knocked softly. "I only want to see if you need anything before I depart for Uchiha Manor. Ino?"
He tried the door handle. Locked.
This time he rapped smartly on the door. "Discourtesy is not like you," he said. "You can at least answer me when I speak to you, even through a locked door. Ino? Ino!"
No answer. The housekeeper and Ino's maid shared the hall with him. He turned now and found their eyes as wide as his own. "Bring a footman. Break this door in, she may have harmed herself."
All through the commotion that followed, he cursed himself for a fool. Of course any girl of breeding who'd lived through what his daughter had would prefer death to life. Especially if she'd been violated, something he couldn't bring himself to ask her. When the door finally gave, he swept inside before anyone else, expecting to find her corpse.
There was a note affixed to her vanity mirror. It was brief.
Ino had to pause in an alley to catch her breath. Besides a few rats that glared at her reproachfully, she was alone. Leaning back, she pulled the hood of her cloak farther down over her face, put her head against wall, and sighed.
She'd gotten impatient waiting for dark.
Her balcony was supported by a colonnade. Peering over the edge, she thought she could lower herself down one of the columns without causing herself too much injury. Their mansion was in the heart of Manhattan. The back of the house, where her room was, looked out on their garden, her mother's pride and joy, and one of the largest in the city. It was currently deserted. There was a chance she'd be seen by servants from one of the rooms that also faced the garden, but she'd take that risk. Throwing her valise to the ground, she'd hiked up her skirts and swung one leg over the balustrade.
The Lord was with her; she was able to slide halfway down before she lost her grip and landed on her rump with a squeal of pain. She was up and running the next minute, valise clutched to her chest. She had only a vague idea of where Bee's house was in relation to hers. Thankfully, she did know the city very well and was able to work out her direction before too long.
A man lurched into the alley now, caught a glimpse of her hair and skirt, and showed a mouthful of missing teeth. "Well now. It's a wee lassie what lost her way. Such a find for a puir bloke like meself!" He staggered toward her.
Ino heard him but kept her eyes closed a moment more. Only when he was reaching for her did she turn, place her hands on his shoulders, and ram her knee into his groin. He fell away to the side, and she retrieved her valise from where she'd set it. There was no one immediately close by when she peered out of the alley. She bent her head and scurried on, just another denizen of the streets.
"We could move out dis hole," Ei was saying. He stared at the pile of money on the table. "I could rebuild Lightning, an' we'd still have money lef' over. Chris' Jesus." He touched a stack with one reverent finger.
Inoichi had been generous in his gratitude, paying them more than the balance he owed them, despite the absence of his wife. "For the lives of the men you lost," he'd said. "Your ship. And the kindness you showed my wife. I realize you tried to bring her body home. That this was impossible due to how warm the weather was, and how quickly she was…she was decomposing." He'd lifted the scarf that belonged to his wife, the only item they'd been able to bring back aside from the locket, and held it to his face. Ei had left him to his tears.
Bee opened his mouth to comment on the money, but a furious pounding on the door had him surging to his feet, knife in hand. Ei scooped the money up in his one arm and deposited it in a crate that he kicked under the bed. Bee was at the door. The pounding hadn't stopped once. When he received Ei's nod, he yanked the door open.
He almost stabbed her. She flew at his chest the moment the door was open and clutched at his shirt. "I can't take it!" she wailed. "I cannot take another second in that house."
Ei came over and slammed the door shut, then rounded on them. He had to peel her off his brother by a hand on her shoulder. "Bad enough you stayin' here while we waited fo' yo' daddy to get back, but I ain't lookin' to be shot for compromisin' you. Get out."
"Ei," Bee chided. "Clearly something happened."
"Ain't nothin' happen but what always happen wit' dis chile! If she ain't 'tached to yo' hide she like to raise nine kinds o' hell. Dat foolishness was a'right on the water, wasn't nobody around t'see. We's in the city now. People see a white miss like her wit' a nigger they's gon' lynch us. Now, I says t'send her ass back. You best do what I say, boy."
Bee was of a strong mind to fight his brother on this issue, but Ei was right. They were back in the city now, and free men or not, there were those who'd kill him for even looking at a white woman, much less harboring one. The days she'd slept in this very hovel had been tense for him and Ei both. All they'd needed was for someone to see or catch wind of it for Ino's reputation to be ruined, and their bodies found in the Hudson. He wasn't sure she wasn't ruined already, thanks to the traveling conditions on Lariat, but no one on land knew of that outside the crew. "He's right, Ino. It's too dangerous for you to be here. Did you come alone? To this neighborhood?"
She ignored the question to step back and look at him. "I need to speak with you. Alone. If you still wish me gone after what I say, I promise you will never again be troubled by me." She turned from the frown on his face to gaze at Ei. "And I know I have been trouble. I know saving me has cost you more than money can replace. That you want nothing more than to finally be done with me once and for all. But I…" she frowned now herself, and looked at her hands. "Please let me speak with him. Please."
Ei's murderous expression grew more so, if that was possible. Bee stepped in front of her to stare him down. His brother would fight him, Ei knew. Bluster and argue and cuss, all on behalf of that skinny white girl. He shook his head, but moved toward the door, where he stopped and spoke without turning around. "On yo' own head be it. I's already los' an arm proteckin' yo' ass, damned if I'ma lose my life. You's my brother. I would lay down my life fo' you, but not over some white girl. You so blind by her you ready t'go fo' my throat." He took a deep breath. "So it's her or me. Choose. I be back when I be back."
-oOo-
Ino's hands flew up to cover her face when the door slammed. "No. Oh no." Her eyes peered from between her fingers. "I never meant to come between you! Of course you can't make such a choice, I won't-"
"What do you want?" he went across the room, turned, and leaned against the wall, arms folded. "I don't often go against my brother, and I've never seen him this angry."
Her hands lowered further, now clasped at her neck. "Is what he said true? Are you blind? By me?"
He received her question without the slightest twitch of eye or muscles. Posed to any other man she'd have been answered with stammering and blushes, but Bee was not easily discomfited.
"If you're expecting to have your vanity stroked, look elsewhere. And if that's all you've come to say, there's the door." He nodded at the door behind her.
Ino brought her hands down so that they were laced before her hips and forcibly gathered her tattered courage. "All right." She dipped her head but could not immediately find words to convey the urgency in her. Simply blurting it out would get her thrown from the house, she suspected. He would refuse to believe her. She'd implied that what she had to say would convince him to let her stay, but what if he still refused her? She had to make him understand what was hard for her to understand herself. She stared at the pallet before the fireplace, still there despite the fact that she'd been gone for a few days now.
"Six months ago I'd have had someone whipped for requesting I sleep on the floor," she mused. "I would rather have died than be seen in this neighborhood, and given a tantrum for no less than half a day at the mere suggestion of being expected to walk anywhere. Yet on my way here I was accosted and defended myself without a second thought. Without the slightest shred of fear." She looked at him. "If one of the men of my previous acquaintance had been with me he wouldn't have defended me. Likely he would have screamed and flung his valuables at our attacker, begging for his life. I think part of my change was living through Hawaii. Nothing on earth could be worse than that. But I know that the majority of my change is you."
His brows had snapped together at hearing she'd been attacked. Now they parted slightly at learning she considered him responsible for who she currently was. "Me."
"Yes. You." She took a step toward him. "I couldn't recognize any part of who I used to be in who I am now, true, but that's because I'm never going to be that girl again. You helped me see that. That even though my life had been ripped from me already, it was all right to let go. To be this new person despite how she frightens me sometimes. In any case, there are no other options, no paths before me except this one. I was almost certain of it before we arrived in New York, but I told myself that I would give it a little time. To see if I could… To see if the new me could fit into my old life. I tried, Bee, and I can't. It cannot be done." She took a breath. Tipped her head as she looked at him. "Do you know I've never felt more real than I did on your ship? Kneeling on the deck with the other crew women, washing clothes and mending sails? There wasn't a bit of entertainment to be had but I was never bored. And never more at peace. You showed me all that."
Bee swallowed and looked away. Lowered his eyes to give himself a minute to breathe. The woman had no idea what impact her words had. He was only a man. She was too enticing by far, and he was fast losing his composure, something in short supply whenever he was near her.
He'd noted the bag she'd brought in, but if the woman thought she was staying here again he'd set her straight. Best she said her piece and was gone. "What do you want?" he said again.
Ino felt herself color in embarrassment, but forged ahead with a certain thrill of excitement. "I suppose what I'm trying to say, rather inelegantly, is that I'm…I've fallen in love with you."
His head came up, eyes blazing at her.
"You're a very direct man, a blunt man," she went on, moving a bit closer. "And I've seen how little patience you have for idle chatter, so I will endeavor to be just as candid." She took a deeper breath this time.
He felt his insides cringe at her inhalation; whatever she was about to say, there would be no going back for him once it was said. No way for him to forget it, forget her, and move on.
She began walking toward him. "You fascinate me," she said, cheeks scarlet. "From the moment I first saw you. Your power. Your practicality. Your strength and frankness. I… I know you're attracted to me. I'm very aware of it despite how well you keep it hidden. I love your complacency around me, how nothing I say or do unnerves you. And I love how you're not attracted to me for my beauty. I can tell, you know. When a man is besotted because of my looks. Nothing so conventional for you. It isn't my wealth, either, or my ability to produce children. And I know you'd never view me as an ornament. "
"No," he grunted. She was very close to him now. "How do you think I see you?"
"As someone with ideas. Someone with a right to ideas. Someone with a right to defend herself, and make her mark on the world. Bee, you make me feel as I've never felt in my life. Like someone of true value." She frowned down at her hands a moment. "I couldn't tell my father what happened to me and Mother. Not the details. Not how we killed a man. He wouldn't understand. He would never see me the same way again. He never even asked where I stayed before I was brought to him at Uchiha Manor. But you, when I told you my story I left nothing out. And you were proud of me. Something you said to me after that has never left my mind: That I have a right to decide my life. Not a man. Me. That was a new concept to me." She finally looked up at him once more. Her eyes were large and dark. "To answer your question, I want you. I want to stay with you. For good."
Her words tightened his loins but he clenched his jaw to remain focused.
He remembered the day she'd told him everything. The same day she'd insulted Gaara. He had been proud of the way she'd survived, violently proud, because if she hadn't he wouldn't have been sitting in her presence and falling in love with her. However.
"You belong with your own kind." His voice was husky with the effort of denying her declaration. "I'm not for the likes of you."
"My own kind? What kind would that be? Rich people?"
"White people."
She blinked.
"What. You see many white women shacking up with Negroes? I don't. You heard what my brother said."
"I know whites and blacks don't mix, but I don't understand," she said. "You're afraid you'll be murdered? For being with me?"
"Lynchings are a fact, Ino. The Night's Watch isn't so far in the past. It's still in practice, and friends disappear every month."
"But…" She frowned. Shook her head. "You fell into that cellar in Hawaii and faced madmen. You're the largest, strongest man I have ever seen, save your brother. You approved of my actions with my captors. How can you be afraid of anything? You're not," she answered herself. "You fear nothing." Her eyes dared him to say different.
Bee sighed. Dug a forefinger and thumb into his eyes. "If a man came up to me with foul intentions, he'd be dead. White or not. I'm not afraid, Ino. But I'm black."
She drew back on a gasp as understanding skimmed her mind. "You're… Are you ashamed of yourself?"
When he brought his hand down she saw that his eyes were wet. Right then she knew there was no force in the world that would tear her from this man who cried so easily in front of her. "I am many things," he said in a low voice. "Angry. Ashamed. Proud. You don't know what it means to be black. You went through three months of hell. I went through thirty-two years. I'm a good man, but I'm not good enough for you."
It occurred to her that she was dealing with something large and complex. Far larger than the issue of race. Her sheltered mind dimly grasped that she was looking at the product of centuries of subjugation. Degradation and shame and brutality quite as bad as she'd endured, if not worse, had made up the Negro world until very recently. And if what Bee was saying was true, it still made up their world.
"I remember what you told me," she said carefully. "That same day I told you of my captivity? When you told me you were a slave. I remember everything you said, every horror. But Bee…That's why you're the only one for me. No other man understands, or has the same experiences. You expect nothing of me and yet you expect everything of me. You expect me to stand up and acknowledge what happened to me. That I'm different. My father would have me forget. Bee," she cried, stepping to him at last. She touched his folded arms. "Please. Please don't send me away."
A tear slipped from his eye. The muscles beneath her hand tensed. "You're killing me."
Encouraged, she placed her other hand beside the first. "Do you love me at all?"
His pale eyes searched hers long and hard. He saw what he'd seen every day on his ship. Her love, fierce and bright, that had been his final undoing. "More than my life."
She caught her breath, tears coming to her own eyes. "Then I can stay?"
"Here? No."
"But-"
Unable to deny himself another second, he reached out, and spanned her tiny waist with his hands. Slowly, deliberately, he pulled her against him. Just as carefully, he wrapped his arms around her, imprisoning her against his body. He'd held her many times, but never like this. Never with these words between them. He could see she was aware of the difference. Her face was flushed and her heart hammered against his chest.
"Bee?"
"What."
"I…" She bit her lip. "I want to be your wife."
She never stopped amazing him. Did she feel the way his heart lurched at that statement? "They would kill us."
"No one would dare harm me here. And my name will protect you, you'll see. Once we're wed-"
He took one hand off her to finger of lock of golden hair that had escaped near her temple. "Listen to me. Your name means nothing. As long you live in your father's world it carries weight, but the moment people find out you associate with me, it'll be like a stone, dragging you down that much faster. 'The bigger they are, the harder they fall.' That applies to the rich and powerful too. All the people beneath you will consider you beneath them. Nothing satisfies a man or a woman like seeing their superiors fall from grace and privilege. Society will devour you in their blood lust. You think your name protects you? They will taunt you, laugh at you, shun you. Then they'll stop selling to you at the shops. They'll throw things at you. Your father would suffer the same treatment, just because he's your father. People will stop doing business with him. He might even be attacked. And before you go thinking I can protect you, I can't. Not from the whole city. If a bullet doesn't find my back in the dark, my own people would ostracize me for getting above my place. If they're seen accepting us they'll be persecuted too. No, Ino. You can't stay here. And you can't be my-"
"No."
"Ino-"
"I said no, Bee. There must be a way. There must. I will endure anything to be with you, even total disgrace. Anything but being parted from you."
He could only shake his head at her. "Ino, Ino, Ino. You would condemn us all to satisfy yourself? Me, Ei, your father?"
"I trust you to find a way." Her gaze held perfect faith. To her mind, there was nothing he couldn't do.
As educated as he was, the term external validation did not exist in his vocabulary. Yet it was something he and every other Negro craved in this world of freedom. It was something never received, though. Shame and persecution was their way of life. Even the whites who did accept and associate with them let it be known in subtle ways that they were…less. The only exceptions he'd ever met were Neji and Naruto. Yet here Ino stood, the very pinnacle of white society, so in love with him that she would take on the world to have him. To be loved with such ferocity, much less by someone of her beauty and stature, was nearly impossible to believe. If he wasn't living it he wouldn't believe such a thing. God, but he loved her like he loved nothing in life. And if the truth were known, he himself would doom them all to be with her. She was strong in mind and spirit. Fierce. There wasn't another woman in his acquaintance, black or white, who could equal her.
"Were you serious?"
"If you'll have me. I was…pawed…by my captors, but my virtue is intact."
"The absence of your virtue wouldn't change my mind. But I'm not rich."
"I am."
"Your father may disown you. Anyway, I won't live off my woman. I can support us. Just not here."
"Where?"
"Panama. We'd be safe. Kakashi offered me and Ei positions in his company. Ei could do the sailing, if you want me home. I'd handle the business end. All the paperwork. You'd have a house. Not like your father's, but a lot more than this. No servants, though. And nothing fancy. If you can live like that, then yes, Ino. I will have you."
"Oh! Bee. That is exactly what I want. I couldn't live the life my father wants for me. It would remind me of before. And I can't go back to that. I can never be that weak again or that helpless. Oooh. When? When can we be wed?"
"If we're to avoid a scandal, not until we're in Panama. But I want to speak to your father."
"He'll forbid it."
"We'll just have to convince him. And my brother. First your father, though."
She nodded, staring up at him in bald adoration.
He'd been ignoring the effect of her body against his for too long. Now, seeing her capitulation to the life he could provide, having her acceptance of him as her husband, the fulfillment of his most secret fantasy, the feel of her suddenly could not be denied. The scent of her skin exploded though him as if he'd just inhaled it, and he threaded his fingers through her hair. Brought her face in slowly, searching her wide eyes the whole time. He was going to kiss her. He'd never kissed a white woman. She leaned into him, eager for it, and he closed his eyes.
It was soft. She tasted of some fruit. Cherries, maybe. Her hands rose up the bunched muscles of his chest to snake behind his neck and he found her mouth open to him, her tongue in his possession, with no memory of taking it further. She was sweet. So sweet. So fresh and young and sweet. She moaned deep in her throat, and he thought he'd go mad.
She'd stolen her fair share of kisses with suitors, but none of them had been a fraction of Bee's height and width. She'd certainly loved none of them, and consequently had not felt the riotous clamor of emotions that drugged her the moment Bee's lips touched hers. He was hot. And so strong. His muscles quivered beneath her hands and she trembled with him in rising excitement. His tongue was a shock, but one that thrilled her unbearably. The taste of him was strong and masculine. She was feverish and aching in places too private for consideration. She felt as if a wildfire had been started in her veins, one that raced through her body, obliterating all thought. She couldn't help the sound that escaped her.
-oOo-
And that was how Ei found them. The door opened silently, so his brother and that girl heard nothing. Kept right on kissing. He stood there a minute, surprise at Bee engaging in this unprecedented activity overcoming his disgust, before he turned and left just as quietly.
-oOo-
He broke the kiss to bend and yank up her skirts. She felt his large hands skim the outer length of her thighs, to grab her hips and lift her high. She was settled on his waist, and the massive ridge of flesh she'd seen so often through his short trousers pressed alarmingly to the core of her womanhood. Such shocking, soul-shriveling contact to this most intimate part of him, even through layers of material, made her cry out in both need and fear, but she clung to him. Terrifying though that hardness was, the pressure it gave satisfied something primal in her.
For a moment, just one, the screams of those women and girls in the cellar invaded her mind. Visions of her mother at the hands of her captors. She whimpered, but held Bee tighter, burying her face in his neck.
He kissed her hair. Held her. Ran his hands down the length of her back and up again, and took her fears away. She leaned back to kiss him again, touching his hair now in turn.
He stopped her. Grabbed her hands in gentle fists and eased her off his waist. "Ino, love. Not like this," he sighed.
"I want to."
He set her down. "I don't want to do it this like this. I won't disrespect you like that."
Her hands went to the row of buttons on her bodice, but he covered them with his own. "I want you," he said. "Lord knows I do. I shouldn't have kissed you like that, shouldn't have touched you, but I won't have you like this. Won't ask it of you. As my wife. Only as my wife. All right?"
She hung her head.
He drew her close and hugged her, aware that nothing he said would make her view this as anything but a rejection. "Though it's hard for me to admit, I know you see me as your safety. You love me, but you want to be safe. I promise you, we will be married. You don't need to compromise yourself or force my hand by giving me your body. And I know you want me too," he said when she protested. "I can see it. I can smell it on you. You're mine already, whether your father gives his permission or not. We'll go to Panama and live in peace, and then," he said, pulling back to gaze into her tearful eyes, "I will claim you properly. Make no mistake about that. Until then, trust me. I won't fail you. And no one can make me leave you. Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Then let me do this my way."