Chapter 27
00:00
The engines were warmed up and the craft was ready to be taken off the ground. Sealing the doors and closing all hatches, Ginkaku and Kinkaku nodded to each other.
"Ready?"
"You bet. Let's get her up." Guiding the Boeing upon the runway road, Ginkaku gripped the throttle and pushed it, rapidly speeding up the plane's movement. As soon as it reached the required speed, Kinkaku deployed the spoilers and the front gear of the plane left the road, soon followed by the rest of its heavy mass that took into the air and completely off the ground.
Feeling the plane finally leave the rough surface and glide steadily into the smooth, boundless sky, Naruto opened his eyes and loosened his hold on the plush chair. He felt relief; they were finally leaving the land.
The man in front of him showed a brief smile. "Have you calmed yourself?" Naruto grinned at his father, he felt pretty content, yes, though still couldn't help but not believe that all this mess was finally over. It was hard ignoring the fact that (among other things) he had now officially become a fugitive and would have to keep himself on guard twice as much as he had before.
Pain frowned when Naruto breathed out a heavy sigh, no doubt filling his mind with poisonously unnecessary thoughts once more. "Don't let the past cloud your paths, Naruto. Try to look towards the future." Digging inside his pocket, Pain pulled out a detonator.
Seeing the device, Naruto's eyelids lowered in understanding, "Ah."
Pain pressed the button. Even though they were long since up in the air, Naruto could still hear a faint sound of an explosion over the loud hums of the engines. Looking outside the window, he could see how the airport of the Shikoku Island got destroyed by multiple explosions that followed in repeated synchrony, as if making sure to erase the very last rock from its path.
"That really wasn't necessary, you know."
"Iie. It was." said Pain, leaning back in his chair, "Computers are unreliable; they leave trails that are too easy to follow. Plus, that base stored an indelible data of you and your brother. I had to make sure to keep it from getting in someone else's hands."
"What of the other planes?"
"Minor setback."
Naruto felt a bit ashamed for making his father go through years of hard work and scheming, only to have it all annihilated the second he got himself caught and imprisoned. "I'm sorry."
Pain arched a brow at his son's words, "Sorry?"
"I didn't mean to screw up and bring this much trouble. And get the entire family involved… I just-…"
"Naruto." a deep sigh from his father stopped Naruto in the middle, "If you think that money, papers or a bunch of second-rate criminals such as that swarm in the back is more important to me than you or your brother, well then… I guess I was a lousy guardian." Pain petted Naruto's head lightly, "Don't ever think of yourself as a burden. There's nothing more important to me than you and your brother."
"Un," nodding, Naruto looked at his silent sibling, who should've started teasing their father by now, for speaking such rare and caring words. Though silence was explained by steady breathing and tightly closed eyes. Kyuubi was asleep; lying on a small bed in Pain's private cabin.
Pain's eyes softened at the sight, a light feeling of nostalgia coming over him. "I believe this is the first time since five days that he had allowed himself to finally rest at ease."
Naruto was shocked by the discovery. "Five days? He didn't sleep at all?"
"No. Hachibi told me that he had been up practically 24/7. Occasionally driving off to let out some steam… but otherwise he just drifted off only for an hour or two before forcing the gang back to work. He was quite a slave driver." The man actually chuckled at that, amused to think how the redheaded 'demon' had chewed on the gang's heads during those past days, only to make sure all's ready for the arrival of his just a few minutes younger brother.
"He does look tired. I didn't even realize." Naruto thought as he caught the formed dark circles under Kyuubi's eyes. "Should we maybe allow him to rest in silence then?" though before Naruto could stand up and leave the room, Pain spoke up something that made him freeze.
"Susanoo Itachi… Who is he to you, Naruto?"
A small blush appeared on Naruto's cheeks and his mouth opened slightly. Of course Pain would not forget to question such an important detail that loudmouth Kyuubi had blabbed out. 'Kyuubi, you bastard. I know you did it on purpose! …If I find out that you told father anything else without my consent, I'll strange you!' Sitting back down, Naruto refused to meet his adopted father's eyes. "Itachi? He's… well he is… you know…" stammering between words, Naruto fiddled with his hands, "…my boyfriend," at the end of his prolonged sentence Naruto's voice dropped till whisper, forcing Pain to sharpen his ears.
For a moment Pain didn't say anything, just stared at the fidgeting blond without a care. Although it might have looked that way, but Naruto noticed plenty of signs that showed that Pain was clearly displeased. For example, like how Pain's teeth clenched behind thin lips, or how his pupils seemed to darken, or even how his nails were digging themselves in his fisted hand. "Is that so?"
Naruto gulped, "Dad, please. He's really a nice guy. I'll admit that he might seem a bit… apathetic, secretive and perhaps arrogant at times, but he's really nice to me. And… and I… I really like him too."
Pain's narrowed eyes shifted to look outside the window. He appeared to be lacking interest by now, though Naruto knew that he was just turning what he said to him in his mind.
"It is obvious that you seem taken by him enough to trust him, Naruto. Though don't expect me to do the same." Naruto felt joyous hearing that, it meant that Pain was leaning towards acceptance; though what Pain said next made that joy start to slip away. "But do listen. From this point on, Susanoo might no longer be what you saw him as in the prison. When a man is set free, his being changes – whether for the worst or for the better. In any case, you might just not realize that the man you fell in love with was but a shadow behind which he hid."
Naruto fell silent. He didn't believe that the Itachi he knew was just an 'act', however the fact Pain pointed out was true. He knew nothing of who Itachi was or what he had done – what kind of a man he really was before and what could he become from now on. Would he change? Would freedom change him? Would he still cherish their relationship and stay with Naruto as he promised?
"I'm not saying this to spite your choice my son. Nor am I doing this to separate you from Susanoo just because, frankly, I don't like the man." Pain continued, "I just don't want you to get hurt."
There were a lot of things Naruto still didn't know about Itachi. Some made him curious and others made him scared. But there was one thing he knew for sure – that sooner or later, he will find out everything that was and is Itachi Susanoo. 'And no matter what might stand in the way, I will get through this.' Naruto stared at the ground with a sad smile, yet he was determined to face what might come. "I know, dad. Thank you."
Studying his son's reaction from the corner of his eye, Pain made sure Naruto understood everything he said to him and knew how to proceed from this point on. And whatever he might choose, Pain will try and respect his son's choice. Though in case things do turn out for the worse, Pain would have no problem to add another name to his 'blood book'. After all, the moment Itachi entered the plane he had already assigned himself a 'trigger pointed directly at his head'. It would not matter if the man turns out to be a good guy in the end, because all it will take is for him to mess up bad for that trigger to go off.
"I was actually expecting to see three people following in your plan. Though apparently things became strained at the end." Changing the subject for now, Pain's eyes meaningfully lowered towards Naruto's bandaged shoulder, the gesture speaking out loudly for itself. "Uchiha Madara was the third escapee, correct? But he escaped…"
Naruto hissed at the mention of Madara. He was pissed enough that the man managed to escape, despite their inflicted damage on him. 'But I'll get him yet.' Naruto promised himself.
"And then there's Nara Shikamaru, who's currently on this plane… along with your potential interest."
Naruto looked up; Pain's unreadable voice unsettling him.
Pain did not miss the rebelliously guarded look Naruto was giving him, as if already feeling what he might say about his ex-cellmate. And that was something that Pain found very interesting. As far as he was aware, Naruto didn't have friends that he would stand up for (except perhaps Sasuke). And this Shikamaru Nara appeared to be a really good friend to his blond son, good enough for Naruto to willingly protect him. Smirking to himself, Pain shifted his gaze towards his second son, deciding to test if his theory was true. "You know… Kyuubi once told me that out of all three, only one is worth sparing. Seeing that Uchiha Madara is currently out of the picture, that leaves us with only two left. And as far as I'm aware, one of them has already gotten close enough for you to will him the title of your boyfriend. But… what should I think about the other one then? Should I guess that he's not as important as Susanoo… or the complete opposite?"
Naruto had to waste an entire minute to calm himself down and not jump on his sleeping brother, only to strange him for giving his father such a thought in the first place.
Spotting heated fire light in Naruto's eyes, Pain hid his smirk behind his hands. "So tell me, who from the two on this plane would be more worth keeping alive? Susanoo or Nara?"
In the end, Naruto's restrain was broken and he lunged for his brother. And he would have done some serious damage too if Pain hadn't intervened and pried him away from Kyuubi's neck.
…
01:19
Itachi and Shikamaru were separated from Naruto the moment they entered the plane. They understood that Naruto had to reacquaint with his father and brother first and foremost, but that still didn't make them feel as forgiving when they got abandoned in the middle of a bunch of killers.
Thankfully, B has been a great help and company most of the time, making sure to explain what was unclear and keep them out of possible harm's way. His cousin Hachibi, who was still regarding them with a dubious look, had calmed down around them, which, however, couldn't be said about the rest of them. Half of the gang felt rather nonchalant towards the two prisoners while the rest didn't even try to change their opinions of them and regarded them with cold stares.
The moment the plane got off the ground Itachi and Shikamaru secluded themselves away from the gang and the rest of the passengers, which they had seen boarding the plane and heading for the selected classes. It had been rather amusing when some of them even tried to argue who should stay in the higher class while the rest took the economy class. For the two escapees it was more than enough that they were allowed on the plane at all. For all they cared, they would simply agree to sit on the ground inside the luggage compartment if that meant that they could fly in this plane.
Descending the stairs of the VIP section, Naruto grinned wholeheartedly when he saw his two friends hanging around in the galley. Following the blond down was Kyuubi, who was tenderly rubbing his neck for some reason. The redhead snorted at Shikamaru and Itachi and headed for the business class, while Pain simply cast them a quick glance before proceeding towards the conference room, where the mob leaders already awaited him. Though not before saying something to Naruto, which Itachi and Shikamaru could not hear; but from the look on Naruto's expression, it wasn't anything unpleasant.
"He is?" asked Naruto surprised.
"He's currently residing in the business class. You'll meet him there." with that Pain continued on his way, leaving Naruto to deal with his two …friends. He himself would deal with those escapees after the meeting.
"You two ok?" asked Naruto as he approached them.
"Other than constantly fearing for our lives? …Yep, we're pretty fine." drily joked Shikamaru, earning himself an elbow from Itachi.
"I'm really sorry for putting you through this," Naruto apologized sheepishly. "But don't worry. I'm not going to let dad actually throw you out of the plane or something…"
Shikamaru froze in fear, wondering if that was actually an option or was Naruto just messing with them.
Itachi however did not seem bothered by the possible threats as he was more taken by pulling Naruto into his arms, "Is your father always this nice towards your new friends, Naruto?"
"He's even 'nicer' towards my boyfriends." Naruto grinned at him teasingly; for a moment letting himself forget about the conversation he had with Pain about Itachi. He just wanted to relax from all the stress and pressure he had endured.
"Tough luck for you, Romeo!" Shikamaru winked at Itachi, who sent him a murderous look. "Though I must say Naruto, you really do have a wickedly prosperous family."
Naruto chuckled at his ex-cellmate. "You haven't even met half of them yet. Though speaking of which…, what about your girlfriend? She aware that you escaped?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes with a small sigh. "I told her to leave the country two weeks ago… just in case. She did. I wasn't actually sure then if I wanted to escape… Right now, she's waiting for my call."
Naruto smiled, glad that Shikamaru had someone that was there for him and would not abandon him when support was most needed. "You really like her, don't you?" asked Naruto, wanting to know if their relationship went beyond the responsibilities of raising a baby.
"She's been my best friend since childhood. And, yes, I do like her… and miss her."
"Where do you two plan on meeting?"
"The destination this plane is heading is conveniently close enough for me. We decided on Canada. It'll take some 'sneaking', but I'll get there …eventually."
Listening to what Shikamaru said made Itachi think over where he and Naruto should start their lives. Resting his chin on Naruto's head, Itachi tightened his arms around Naruto's waist, his mind drawing pictures of a house near the ocean.
"Shikamaru…" Naruto's voice drew both men away from their dreamy thoughts, "If there's ever anything you need. Don't hesitate to let me know."
Shikamaru couldn't help but chuckle. "To think… not but a few hours ago, I would have never expected to end up in such a life changing situation." His brown eyes looked wonderingly around the indoors of the craft that was taking them towards their new lives. He wasn't exactly sure what to expect in the near future… or the next 10 or so hours of their flight, but the feeling was stimulating. "…Thank you, Naruto. You already gave me more than I deserved." Glancing towards the pair, Shikamaru sure didn't pass up an opportunity to add a snarky remark, "But do be careful that your big heart doesn't swell Susanoo's big head." He teased, smirking arrogantly when Itachi looked ready to kill him. "What you saw in that man is beyond me, Naruto. Really. "
"Shut your yap, Nara!"
Rolling his eyes at the near start of another squabble, Naruto escaped Itachi's hold and beckoned the two to follow him towards the stairs. "Come. We've got a long way ahead of us. You'll feel so much better once we get all that grime off. I think I'll even manage to get ya a pair of nice new clothes." Snatching… or borrowing clothes would be no sweat; there were so many people on the plane that Naruto would bet he'll manage to get just the right sizes for them all.
…
02:26
"Well if it isn't that annoying little brat! You sure did grow up, you little pipsqueak. Though I can't say the same about your trouble making habits." Naruto grinned happily at his favorite uncle Gamabunta.
"Boss!" he hugged the bulky man, the smell of tobacco still palpable on the man's clothes, just like he remembered.
After refreshing themselves and changing into something more comfortable, Itachi and Shikamaru followed Naruto up to the upper cabins and into the business class. It was filled with people whose appearances slightly different from those of normal citizens or rich folk. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that a part of the passengers were distinguished assassins while the other part belonged to highly ranked criminals, some of who were even famous to the eye.
"Where's your salutatory pet-hat?" asked Naruto jokingly, missing the usual toad that was sitting on his uncle's head.
"Your brother looked in need of a playmate. I couldn't resist the glum look. Did you two get into a fight?" Gamabunta jerked his thumb behind him, where Kyuubi was conversing with Hachibi while playing with an orange skinned toad that was jumping around in his hands.
"Nothing he can't handle. Anyway, while we're speaking about toads, have you seen that sweet teme of mine?"
"I should sue you for calling me names, dobe."
Naruto's grin broadened even more when his best friend emerged. "You can try. But I doubt you'll be able to beat my kickass lawyer."
Sasuke arched his fine brow, "Lawyer, huh? Does he, by any chance, go by the name Sasuke Kusanagi?"
"Ah, so you know him?"
"That tall, strong, devilishly handsome and superiorly smart stud of a man? How could I not?"
"You're a helpless narcissist, Sasuke, you know that?"
"Takes one to know one."
Both had a good laugh after that and pulled each other into a friendly hug. Though before Naruto moved, Sasuke tightened his arms around him and hissed almost threateningly in his ear, "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I will seriously break your legs."
Naruto gulped, "This bizarre concern you have for me is becoming real scary."
"Good. Then maybe you'll finally heed a warning before running straight into the arms of your enemy." Removing his hands from the blond's back, Sasuke did a double take when he spotted two unfamiliar faces. But it didn't take long to realize who they were. The tagalongs. The taller of the two in particular caught Sasuke's eye the most and his eyes narrowed, puzzled by the thought of why he had a feeling that he'd seen the man before.
For the dark haired man's own safety, Itachi really hoped that the man was Naruto's cousin, relative or brother even… if not, then he better let the blond go; because another wave of deep jealously and wish to break a few bones was threatening to take over Itachi's mind. And he didn't want a repeat of another huge misunderstanding.
"Are those your new friends?"
Naruto grinned in the direction Sasuke was staring. "Aa, sure are. We've been through some rough times together and become pretty close."
Sasuke didn't like how the taller man was glaring at him; even more because he recognized that look. And what made him look that way was pretty obvious. It was apparent that he was showing possessiveness over Naruto. However that raised an interesting question: did that then mean that Naruto was involved in an intimate relationship with another inmate? And how the hell could that have happened? His thoughts suddenly dispersed as Naruto got jerked away from him.
"Naruto-chan~ Is that really you?" a voice full of gentleness and warmth quickly covered the rising tension, forcing Itachi away from his thoughts and Naruto to blush as he was pulled into a tall woman's soft embrace. "Good gracious, child, you're just a miniature figure of Minato, aren't you?" Mei squealed, "The more you grow the more you become like him."
"He has his father's looks, but he's got Pain's temper," commented a gruff voice. "What conclusions can you draw out of those facts?"
"Say one more word Zabuza and I won't hesitate to stab you in the eye." threatened Pain, exiting the conference room with the rest of the mob leaders following.
"Hmph!" While the gruff man grumbled a few threats, his benevolent companion scurried off to greet Pain's blond brat.
"It's so good to see you, Naruto." said Haku as he pulled Naruto into a hug. "How long has it been?"
From the sidelines, Shikamaru and Itachi were left to watch and endure how Naruto went from one hold to another, getting reacquainted. "I'm starting to feel left out," said Shikamaru, though despite the uncomfortable feeling, he couldn't help but smile seeing Naruto so alive when surrounded by his family, friends or whatnot.
Itachi crossed his arms, trying to feel nonchalant about the matter, but he had to agree with Nara. He also felt out of place in the group, not to mention feeling a bit on edge upon seeing so many people touching the blond.
"Yo! B-man has arrived!" Upon entering the room, the cheerfully humming B dropped his heavy hands on the two blocking the entrance. "What's going down you two? Not thinking of escaping again are you?" he laughed.
Shikamaru sighed in exasperation, "Quit joking. I would never wish to go through that again."
Itachi smirked at his frenemy. "Things will surely be different from now on. But do try not to get yourself caught again. Chances of meeting someone like Naruto with a prepared escape plan are close to none."
"Hmph! Same goes for you. Don't be full of yourself and screw Naruto's life. You're now a part of it, after all."
Itachi couldn't take offence in that. As 'nicely' as Shikamaru might have tried to put it, it was true. He would hurt Naruto if he got himself caught, though he would never do anything to endanger Naruto's life and drag him down with him, if something like that ever did happen. And Itachi made sure to reply it to Shikamaru, though not through words but by stepping on Nara's foot. 'I know that!'
"AGH! You fucker!"
Looking towards the sudden yell, Sasuke again spotted the two escapees he had forgotten about. This time however they were engaged in a rather friendly chat with B. Glancing once more at the smirking man, Sasuke abruptly gasped. Realization finally hit him.
"No way! That was after you dropped like dead and fainted," snarky replied Naruto to whatever conversation he was having with blushing Haku before he was grabbed by a firm hand and dragged to the side.
Not caring if he disturbed something special, Sasuke pulled Naruto further away from earshot.
Itachi's smile fell as he saw the dark haired man take away his blond. Taken over by whatever force, Itachi was about to march over and tell the weird haired bastard to shove it but Naruto's redheaded brother suddenly blocked his way.
"Easy there, Casanova." Kyuubi kept Itachi in place. "No need to feel threatened. Sasuke is Naruto's friend."
"What kind of a friend?" looking back at the two men, who par and completed each other in many ways but one, Itachi had to place a lot of restrain to subdue his violent urges and hit the 'nifty' dressed man in the face, just to declare a clear message.
"Naruto, have you any idea who that man is?" Sasuke hissed in whisper as he nodded towards Itachi.
"Of course I…" confidence quickly left Naruto. "I mean… no, not really. I don't."
Shooting Naruto a reprimanded look, Sasuke then elaborated, "I've been there, during the prosecution of his case."
Naruto's smile faltered. "You were?"
"I was a trainee back then, gaining experience. It was during his case that I was taken to a real court." Sasuke cast a sideway look at the dark haired escapee. "He's what you would call a mass murderer. He was sentenced for execution in 2003. However, two days before the deadline, new evidence were brought in. The case went back under prosecution. It dragged on for over half a year. You can say he got off luck; because on January 2004, a new law was written, it forbade the process of execution. Thus Susanoo was sentenced for life in Konoha prison."
Naruto was shocked. Sure he himself was no saint in the field of justice. But Itachi was nearly executed for his crime. Who the hell did he kill to be granted such a harsh sentence? "What did he do?"
Feeling his friend's worry, Sasuke was reluctant to answer, but Naruto needed to know. "Guilty for second degree murder… and…" Naruto looked up when Sasuke paused, "… and for the brutal murder of his family."
Naruto suddenly felt very cold; an emotion ran through him that he could not explain. "Itachi… killed his family?" Unconsciously Naruto looked towards where Itachi stood. Dark hollow eyes stared right back at him.
… … …
A/N
Thanks to: NiChee, baka36411, Manga Ren, none of ur knowledge, TigrezzTail, Kurokage Kitsune, xdevil-childx, lulubeck, LillyTigress, Nemesia23, AkitaIce, Narutopokefan, Kyuubi's Death, itachisgurl93, TheSmartIdiot, Stoic-Genius, ShEiLdEd-WiNgS, Emptybubble, jayjay jin, PurpleSong, The Winggoddess, Guest, AnjoRemix, ShaDow EmpIre & She who quacks alot! ;DD
