(A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews. To tell the truth, I was thinking of abandoning this fic. I've cooled off my Naruto obsession; K-pop and Dong Bang Shin Ki have taken over my life. But but…today I watched a Japanese movie called Shinobi – heart under blade. It made me remember how passionate I used to be about shinobi and their lives, and the reason I started writing this fic. So…I sat down and the words came out even after so many months. Sorry for the long wait! Please read and review because reviews are my motivation. )

Chapter 21 – Drifting II

Itachi gazed out the window, feeling worry gnaw at him. He couldn't explain exactly why he was worried. He just was. It was instinctive. Everything was just moving so fast in the past few months and now there was almost no time to put his –

The knock disrupted his thoughts. He frowned as he located two chakra signatures. Who was it at this hour? And here of all places. Officially, Itachi lived in the Uchiha family dojo, with his parents, which was his rightful place since in the eyes of the clan law, he was still a minor.

But he had always been a loner by nature. And he had argued with his father that it wouldn't do for him to come home, dripping blood over the tatami mat and scaring Sasuke if he happened to chance upon him. So he had his own apartment, to be used only before and after his missions. Of course, his father was rather pleased that his eldest son was undertaking such a great number of ANBU missions. In fact, he was so busy he had almost always had missions going on.

To cut to the chase, Itachi had his own apartment, which very few, other than his parents and the council elders, knew about. He glanced at the clock on his wall, attempting to remember if he had some meeting scheduled at this time. It was 9pm. 9pm 9pm. He racked his brain.

"Itachi-nii!" An impatient voice sounded outside. A smile tugged at his lips. There was only one blonde chibi that voice could have belonged to. Naruto. Of course. How could he have forgotten? He had promised Ryuuga he'd take the boy for the next few days. He had already been training the kid (along with Sasuke) in the afternoons to free up Ryuuga to do some digging around. And now he'd promised to take Naruto for the next day or so, because Ryuuga had a night shift he couldn't substitute, and besides, Kakashi was already 2 days overdue.

He made his way to the door slowly, smirking as the boy's exclamations grew louder and louder. He opened the door with a bang, clapping a hand around Naruto's mouth and dragging him in, while somehow managing to wave Ryuuga off at the same time.

He let down the struggling boy, noting the angry blue eyes and the flushed red cheeks with a certain, almost childish, glee. Feh, the kid should try and stop being so fun to tease. Both for Itachi's sake and his.

"Itachi-nii!" the boy whined instead, huge blue eyes looking up at him. What? No outburst this time? That was…surprising. Itachi could normally tell a person's entire character just hours after meeting them. But days after meeting Naruto he could only be sure about one thing about Naruto's personality – it was unfailingly unpredictable.

It was all too easy to write the boy off as a loudmouthed brat at first glance. But Itachi was the master of masks (though Kakashi would argue with him over that), and he could spot one, and in most cases see beneath it when he bent his will to it. In Naruto's case, he could definitely tell the boy had a mask. But he couldn't see through it. In many ways, Naruto reminded him of the Copy-nin and even himself. The boy definitely intrigued him. He convinced himself that that was why he was taking such a personal (and unhealthy) interest in the boy.

"Haven't I told you not to make so much noise?"

"But…but", Naruto pouted. The glamour ninjutsu Ryuuga had cast over him had melted away at first touch, replacing Sasuke's likeness with Naruto's true form. It wouldn't do at all for the Uchiha clan heir to be seen welcoming the Kyuubi no Gaki into his home.

"My neighbors…don't take kindly to small children", he growled. Naruto just stuck his tongue out at him and flopped on the floor, tiny overnight bag and all.

Itachi looked at him. Naruto looked back. Itachi gritted his teeth. Why couldn't the damn boy be as easily cowed as Sasuke was. He continued glaring at the kid. Naruto ignored him and began opening his bag. Itachi watched him curiously. What was Naruto doing?

Naruto took out a pen. And a pencil. And then an eraser. And finally a ruler. Then out came the Shinobi Academy Year TWO booklet, brightly emblazoned in green with the Leaf's symbol. He was going to do his homework. Itachi grimaced at the sight of the textbook. He had always hated that particular shade of green. He watched on as the boy started writing in it.

His eyebrow twitched. Uchiha Itachi was NOT used to being treated as though he was invisible. His eyes narrowed. "Naruto", he called, injecting enough coldness in his voice to make Naruto turn around.

"Nani? I have homework to do Itachi-nii. I'll play with you later ok?"

Itachi lost it. "You little brat!" he snarled, grabbing the kid's textbook. "I do not play with people. I was teaching you the other day. Teaching", he said.

"And besides, you're supposed to go to sleep now, not –" he stopped as his chakra sense tingled again. More visitors. He sighed. "Naruto, go down the hall and stay in the last room, and don't make a sound".

"What, but?"

"I have visitors", he stressed the word. Naruto gulped and nodded. He didn't like the Uchihas and their creepy eyes. Sasuke, and by extension, Itachi, were exceptions of course.

Itachi strode to the door and opened it. He blinked once or twice to hide the shock coursing through him. Kakashi was there. With one of the Council's Chuunin henchmen.

"Ah, Uchiha-sama, this shinobi said he's here to see you", there was an implicit question in his tone.

"Of course. You are late, Hatake-san", he said, being careful to mask his surprise at Kakashi's presence.

"Aa. Sou des".

Itachi frowned when the Chuunin didn't leave. "Hatake-san and I have important things to discuss".

"Ah. Erm. Concerning that, Uchiha Chizue-sama requested that I follow Hatake-san. This is, of course, in accordance with the Council's latest security rules", the Chuunin replied, politically correct as always.

Itachi felt his lip curl. His father had passed him a scroll the other day, but he had not bothered to look through it. "Hatake-san is here on the Hokage's business".

"Hai. And that is the reason why we allowed him into the compound after 9", the chuunin replied. Itachi's mind whirled. He locked eyes with Kakashi for a moment. So, that was why Kakashi was here – he had probably come here looking for Ryuuga.

"I am sure, Chuunin-san, that I can safeguard the clan's security better than you", Itachi replied coldly. The other shinobi looked from Itachi to Kakashi, taking in the steely glances in their eyes, and noting the powerful chakra aura they effortlessly projected. Kakashi's lazy shift of his hands seemed to decide the Chuunin.

"Forgive me, Uchiha-sama. I will take my leave," the man disappeared. Kakashi nonchalantly followed Itachi inside the house. He tensed as he realized there was a faint sound coming from within the chakra-masked walls. Nani?

Then he abruptly relaxed as the voice got clearer…and became familiar to him. Naruto. He smiled, before his eyes narrowed and he turned to Itachi.

"Why is he here?"

"Ah…Ryuuga-san has a night-shift today," came the reply.

"Still, Naruto doesn't do well with strangers," Kakashi muttered. Itachi's lips just twitched faintly. He entered the small room at the back of the hall. And was immediately pounced. He staggered for a moment, tussling with the tiny thing that was attempting to gnaw his head before coming up victorious.

"Itachi-nii!" Naruto whined as the Uchiha held him up in the air by a single ankle.

"Let me go!"

"Apologize, brat!"

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!" the answer displeased Itachi, so he shook Naruto once more.

"Ahhh! Ok! Ok! Stop! Please!"

"What did I ask you to say?" Itachi asked as he continued shaking the brat.

"…"

"Well?"

"Argggh! You're a big bully and I'm sorry! Ok, there? Let me down!" Itachi shook his head and put the kid on the floor.

Kakashi just stood there, watching the scene unfold in front of him, wondering when Naruto would notice there was someone else in the room.

He coughed lightly as he noticed the tell-tale sign of Naruto beginning another one of his tirades. The blonde froze. Saa…at least his instincts have improved. Slightly. Huh, but I still could have slit his throat where he stood before he even noticed me.

He voiced the thought out aloud. Naruto looked up with wide eyes. He stared at Kakashi.

"What, no welcome hug for me?" Kakashi attempted to lighten the mood as Naruto's blank stare and Itachi's narrowed eyes made him resist the urge to shift from foot to foot. That was just something anbu captains, even former ones, did not do.

Naruto bit his lips, standing there. "You're late," the boy said at last, head bent to the floor.

"I…" Kakashi hesitated. If they had been at home he would not have hesitated to take the boy into his arms and explain that his mission had been hard and he had rushed home. But Itachi was here now…

Kakashi still didn't know which side Itachi was on. Playful moments with Naruto aside, Itachi was shinobi to the core. The best of shinobi knew how to employ subterfuge to such a skillful degree that it was impossible to suspect them. Itachi was certainly the best.

But Kakashi was better. So he never let his guard down. Even when he saw Naruto, his Naruto, shifting from foot to foot with tears burning in his eyes. It was for the boy's own good. If the Uchiha Clan, or anyone else, found out about the extent of his emotional attachment to the boy…Naruto would be placed in an even more dangerous position. He couldn't let that happen.

So Kakashi stood his ground. He remained still even when drops of water began to draw a haphazard pattern on Itachi's flooring. He felt the absurd need to take a cloth and dry those droplets from the floor – as though he thought erasing them could expunge the damage he had just committed and let him rewind the last 5 minutes.

If I could do that, I would just wish sensei back into existence. Or would I…

If sensei were alive…Naruto would be fine. But I wouldn't know him. We wouldn't be as close as we are. As we…were. He admitted to himself sadly.

"Let's go back," he took hold of the kid's arm. Naruto didn't reply. "I will not interrupt you any longer, Itachi-kun. Thank you," he said, inclining his head toward Itachi.

A steely arm on his shoulder stopped him from leaving. He looked up, eyes widening in surprise as they met twin pairs of spinning Sharingan eyes. So…I was wrong after all. Itachi was…all along…

"The boy's staying."

He felt the sour taste of betrayal fill his being. Despite all the caution, some part of him had still trusted Itachi. Some part of him had desperately wanted to trust the other. My foolery is repaid in kind then.

He tensed, readying himself for attack. But Itachi didn't move forward. He just stood there, glaring intensely.

"You told me you knew what it's like to have a younger brother," the words, when they came, where heated and disjointed, burning with a passion that Uchiha Itachi rarely allowed to run wild.

Kakashi stood there, head bowed, unable to reply.

"I'm telling you, you don't," Itachi spoke resolutely; the scorn in his voice and the implication felt like a punch to his gut.

And still Kakashi stood there. It's a game. I can't break. He repeated the phrases over and over.

"Hokage-sama placed Naruto-san in my care. Are you going against his orders?"

Silence reigned. It was the Uchiha's turn to stand close-mouthed; the rage he had put into those words having been leashed the moment they left his mouth.

"I…" the soft, trembling voice of a six-year old orphan filled the suddenly large room, slicing the tension between the two shinobi as easily as a knife sinking into butter.

"I want to stay," he said, his head fixed on the floor, as the sniffling increased. Itachi squatted down.

"Eh. You have homework to do, right? Come on, you can go finish it, and I'll get out a spare futon," he gently took the boy's hand, leading him to the backroom.

Kakashi's hand let go of the child's arm of its own volition as Naruto followed Itachi. Neither of them looked back.

He sighed and sat down. One-step forward five steps back. It had been like this from the start. Every time Naruto trusted him, he had to do something to set back their relationship. For once, Kakashi wished they could live without restraints. Without constant threat, without the shackles that seemed to hold him back at every single turn.

He sat and stared at the wall blankly. He couldn't leave Naruto. Despite everything, guarding the boy wasn't just a personal choice. It was a mission.

The rush back to the village had tired him considerably. And fatigue soon set his thoughts wandering upon abstract paths. It was hours later when he chanced upon a startling realization - Naruto had not reacted to Itachi's activated Sharingan.

Not even the slightest bit.