Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the O.C
A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter.
(4 days later)
"I'm surprised that you asked me to be your opponent, Naruto. I thought you are going to ignore me until the Varia came."
Naruto picked up a pawn and stared at the curious black eyes that belonged to Shikamaru. Those black eyes did not only shone with curiosity but also with suspicion. It was understandable. Their relationship was definitely on the rocks and she had not been making things easier for him. If it was up to her then she would wait till the Varia came before talking personal things to him.
But he is the smartest person that I know. She looked down at the chess pieces on the board and grimaced at the layout of the board. The way her skipping buddy moved those pieces made it difficult for her to think of her next move. But that was good. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions but if she could never beat him in a chess game…then he could help her make sense of things. She moved the white knight.
"You are the smartest guy I know," she finally answered. Shikamaru did not smile or sigh at her words, only raising a single eyebrow at her. It reminded her of how the boy had always been different from the other boys in their year. If she had used the compliment on Kiba then he would have been pleased. "And you understand tactics better than me."
Black eyes gleamed with amusement as he looked down at the chessboard before them. His eyes flickered from his black queen that stood right in front of her own white knight. He flickered his eyes to the other pieces, black eyes gleaming with a thoughtfulness that told her that he might know how to win against her. A sigh escaped from her lips and the blonde rubbed the back of her neck.
This game was almost like symbolism if you asked her. No matter how she moved those pieces, she was cornered if you asked her. If Shikamaru moved that piece then she would be forced move her king. Naruto closed her eyes. The whole situation was just like these chess pieces since she had no way of predicting Tsuna's win.
"What do you want to know?" Shikamaru asked. His eyes fixated on her and for a brief moment she recalled the easy days of their childhood. The two of them lying on the grass and watching the clouds floating around. He will help me plan my pranks. Without him, Iruka would have managed to pin the blame on her for more of her pranks.
That was why she needed his brains at this moment because her mind could not fully comprehend the Ninth or Xanxus plans. Was it because she was too close to the people involved? It must be one of the reasons. Everything she thought she knew was wrong. The future that she was confident in might not exist.
She wanted that future to exist and Naruto was not certain why she wanted it so badly.
"You know how the Varia is controlled by Xanxus and how he is the son of the current boss of the Ninth, right?" She reminded him. Black eyes inspected her like he was surprised by the way she started the conversation. Maybe it was a strange way for her to start the conversation but she did not know where to begin.
His black eyes changed from surprise to concern and Naruto stared at him. Why was he so concern? He didn't know her anymore. The previous relationship they had was no longer the same. But she must be wearing her heart in the sleeves again and that made her grind her teeth together. What Adult Lambo told her made her whole world turned around.
"It is hard for me to forget when you got royally pissed off on me and Choji for listening in," Shikamaru answered quietly. He moved his piece and stared at her. Why was he looking at her like that? Naruto tilted her head and locked eyes on the chess piece before looking back at him. No matter how concerned he was for her, she was not going to lift up the walls.
The 10-year bazooka switched myself with a future parallel version of myself.
Adult Lambo's words echoed in her ears and the blonde sucked in a deep breath. What did she have to do to make sure that there was a way for the right Lambo came out? She exhaled. There was nothing that she could do because Adult Lambo made it clear to her that it was a gamble for them.
All she could do was figure out how to get the future where Lambo would survive the confrontation of the Varia. Her future did not matter but that kid's future was important. Shit, I'm getting soft. She tilted her head backwards and groaned. When did she become so soft? Maybe her opening up was making her so damn soft.
"You could always brutally kill someone and prove a point," The Kyuubi commented. His voice leaked with bloodlust and Naruto sighed. Well she could do what he suggested but killing some innocent guy did not sound fun at the moment. Now killing the Varia…that sounds fun. A smile played on her lips and Shikamaru looked at her with weary eyes.
Killing and torturing the members of the Varia seemed more fun than torturing some poor innocent soul who didn't deserve her wrath. It would be a good idea for her to avoid spilling some innocent blood. The Varia was free game in her eyes. But I have a feeling Iemitsu will pull his support if I kill the leaders of this whole stunt. She grinded her teeth together.
"I have several theories of what is happening with Xanxus but only one theory doesn't make sense to me," Naruto admitted. Black eyes sharpened with interest and curiosity while the whiskered girl held up her king to him. When those black eyes gleamed with interest then she knew the boy was going to spend hours trying to figure things out.
She needed the boy who always had some idea of how she could not get caught by Iruka-sensei.
"You want me to help you figure out whether the theory can make sense or not, don't you?" Shikamaru asked. Those black eyes looked at her as if he wanted her to confirm whether he was right or not. That gleam of his eyes brought out a little snort from her. Of course he wanted to confirm that was true or not. She nodded and the boy cleared his throat. "So what is the theory that makes no sense to you?"
Naruto hummed and picked up the King. Her blue eyes darted to the various pieces and picked up the pawn, holding both pieces up for her skipping buddy to inspect. The pawn could never be the closest thing to the king but in terms of size, it made a pretty good representation of a son if you asked her.
"I have a theory that maybe the Ninth is in on the whole thing but the thing that I don't understand is why would a father not choose his son for a position and then decide to bring him back?" Naruto asked. Shikamaru raised a single eyebrow and rubbed his chin as his eyes flickered between the two chess pieces on her hand. "Why now? Why not before he hired a tutor for Sawada?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, earning a small frown from her. Can he figure out what part am I missing? Can he tell me if there is something that I'm not considering about the whole thing? She flickered her eyes to Lambo, who had his eyes glued to the television screen, before returning all of her attention on the male before her.
"There is a possibility that he proved himself to his father," Shikamaru replied. He picked up his own king and looked at it carefully as if he was considering another possibility. He grimaced. "But that is a very slim chance since that move would be considered very flaky for a boss. So what is the other theory that you have? It might make more sense."
Naruto closed her eyes and exhaled. "I think there is a higher possibility that he is acting alone."
Shikamaru inspected her for a good couple of seconds before going to the kitchen. She guessed that he was going to get a drink while he thought of the theory that came out of her mouth. It isn't insane but it is a huge accusation. A grimace played on her lips as her blue eyes fixated on the smiling toddler sitting across her.
"If he is acting alone then does his father know?" The Nara heir questioned. "And if his father does know then why doesn't he try to stop him?"
Naruto frowned and knitted her eyebrows together. What he asked her was a reasonable question if you asked her but how could Xanxus do it behind his father's back? How could his father not know? Well if his father did know then it meant he accepted his son's actions, didn't it? She frowned. But Shikamaru implied that there was something else that she was not considering.
What was it?
"What are you trying to tell me?" Naruto asked. She put down the chess pieces and folded her arms against her chest. "If his father knows then he accepts his son's actions and that means he acknowledge it. It means that he understand that he needs to kill Sawada to become the heir…but Sawada is the son of the head of CEDEF."
Her eyes widened as the words spilled out of her mouth. How can I forget the importance of Sawada's father? She hunched her shoulders and fixated her eyes on the chess board before them. If Xanxus kill Tsuna then Iemitsu would probably retaliate against them. This would cause an internal war and that would be the last thing a leader would want, wouldn't it?
But that was under the presumption that the Ninth was like the Third. What if he accepted it and then decided to kill Iemitsu? But it would be too messy if you asked her. Too messy even for a Boss and killing too many subordinates means that no one would be willing to follow him. She rubbed her chin and grimaced.
"You realized it, don't you? It is too messy for him to kill Sawada and his friends even if his father knows," Shikamaru drawled. Naruto nodded and the male took a sip of the coffee-flavored milk. "A good leader wouldn't want internal conflict especially when he is this close to retiring. He could kill Sawada and his friends but he would also have to kill Sawada's father and everyone in that organization."
Naruto closed her eyes and exhaled. That made sense but they needed to consider the scenario better. What would I do if I'm a possible heir but my own father won't make me heir? And he knows that I'm hungry for power. An idea flashed through her mind and the blonde darted her eyes to Lambo, who was focused entirely on the screen.
She sighed. "If his father won't accept his actions then he has to either kill his father or make him disappear, wouldn't he?"
Shikamaru nodded and the blonde tucked a strand of her hair. The wise idea was to inform Iemitsu about the theory, but without any proof of the theory then they were running on guesses. She grimaced and locked eyes with the black-haired teen. While Iemitsu might support her organization, she knew he couldn't act on her words alone.
"I can't tell Iemitsu until your team finds out what Xanxus is planning," Naruto informed him.
The black-haired teen nodded.
"But you have to get us the address."
He didn't need to tell her twice.
"So Hansuke, what information do you have for me?"
Naruto leaned her body against the wall and her blue eyes focused on the boy gobbling down his lunchbox like there was no tomorrow. The hollowness in her informant's cheeks was gone, replaced with a fatness that came from having enough food. The benefit of me cooking food for him and giving him money for his work. She lifted the mask slightly from her face, allowing the cool autumn breeze to tickle her face.
Hansuke hummed and pushed the beef from one side to the other side as if he was trying to pick out information that might be of interest to her. The way he kept pushing his lip back and forth told her that this was the case. He is probably going to give me the juiciest piece of information. She knew how Hansuke worked. If he thought the information could milk more money from her then he would start with it.
"I saw some interesting people while I was pickpocketing in one of the neighboring towns," the boy admitted. The young boy looked at her with eager eyes as if hoping that piece of information would draw her in. It did. Interesting people meant a lot of things if you asked her and the blonde was curious to know of what the boy had seen.
And people say pickpocketing was bad. She snorted at her thought and inspected her youngest informant. His grey eyes gleamed with so much hope that it reminded her of a little puppy that was eager to please its master. Naruto exhaled. He was a little puppy because he knew she was the bank that allowed him to feed his siblings and mother.
He knew if she hadn't thought he was useful, she would murder him. I will murder him if he betrays me or if he pickpocket without bringing some useful information to me. Why allow a thief to live if they couldn't be useful? Just because he gave her some important information, did not mean she was starting to have a bleeding heart like Sawada.
"What did you mean when you say you saw some interesting people?" Naruto asked. She knelt down till her eyes was at eye levels with Hansuke and the boy looked down at the food before looking back at her. Can I eat first before I answer your question? That was the question which bled through his eyes and the blonde snatched the food from him. "Answer the question and then I'll give you back the food."
If they are shinobi then I have no time to fight and kill them. She cracked her knuckles as her blue eyes locked onto the grey eyes of her youngest subordinate. Killing shinobi at this time would be of no help to her when she had bigger issues to be concerned about. With four days to go before the confrontation between Varia and Sawada's group, she could not afford to have shinobi distract her.
If Shikamaru and her were right then the whole situation with the Varia was a whole lot messier than she pictured it to be.
"Interesting people in the sense that they looked like they can be a part of the Mafia mob," Hansuke answered. The whiskered girl relaxed her shoulders and handed the food back to the male. The black-haired boy scoffed down the remaining of his food and looked back at her with eager eyes. "But it is kind of weird that they have a baby with them. I mean if a baby can join then they must not be something right, Boss?"
I wouldn't be so sure about that. The whiskered girl looked up at the night sky and darted her eyes to the boy. If it was an ordinary child like Lambo then there was nothing for them to worry about but if it was like Reborn…then it was a different story. Hibari did tell me that his great-uncle is just like Reborn and I know Reborn isn't really a toddler. She exhaled.
Well Hibari admitted that he did not know if there were more toddlers like Reborn and his great-uncle, so there was a chance that the toddler was just like Reborn. If that is the case then I worry for Sawada's group because Reborn is stronger than most civilians. She sighed and looked at the twinkling stars before looking back at Hansuke.
"Did you hear something strange while you were pickpocketing?" Naruto asked. She inspected the male, waiting to see for any clues that might hint of what happened. Had Hansuke got close enough to hear? Or had he run away? The blonde would not blame the boy if he ran away. If the people were from the Mafia then the boy had to be careful.
His mother and siblings still needed him and Naruto also did not want to go to the trouble of compensating his family if they lost him. I will lose too much money but if he did die then I will just demand one of his siblings for payment. She nodded her head. Yes, if Hansuke died then his brother would have to take his place.
"I heard that they were looking for people wielding some kind of rings," Hansuke answered. "That was all I heard before they jumped up one of those tall buildings that overlooks this city."
So the Varia don't know who wields the rings. The whiskered girl quirked her lips into a tiny smile and pulled out her wallet from her pocket. That piece of information meant more than Hansuke would ever realize. He gave her an important hint of how she could protect Lambo. Other than Iemitsu and maybe even Reborn, no one else knew about Lambo's involvement.
Because if Tsuna knew the real reason for Lambo staying in her apartment then he would have come barging into her apartment. He would have yelled at her for not convincing his father or Reborn about the danger that the little boy was put in. I will implement the plan tomorrow. She nodded her head and pulled out ¥55,000 from her wallet. She slapped it onto his open palm.
Grey eyes widened and Hansuke jerked his head. "B-Boss, are you really going to be giving me that much money? That is quadruple the usual amount that you give me!"
The girl stood up from her kneeling position and inspected the boy. Those grey eyes looked at her like she was his savior for handing him that much money. I guess it is way more money than his mother makes in her various jobs. She looked up at the clear night sky before shifting her eyes back at Hansuke.
"If you continue to do an excellent job then you can expect this kind of money from me," Naruto informed him. She picked the boy up by the collar and pulled out a kunai from her pants. The boy gulped when she placed the kunai right at his Adam's apple. "But just like I can be generous and give you a prize for good information, I can also be cruel and slice off that right arm you treasure so much if you ever consider betraying me."
Hansuke gulped and vigorously nodded his head. The boy relaxed his shoulders and clutched his throat while Naruto spurn the kunai back into her socks. You always have to scare your subordinates once in a while, so they can never think of betraying you. She curled her lips into a tiny smile. Only fools think that kindness would be enough to maintain the loyalty of their subordinates.
Sometimes a little fear could go a long way.
(Next day)
"Naruto-neechan, can we please take Lambo out to play?"
Blue eyes lazily inspected the two children standing outside her door before flickering to her charge, who stood behind the door of his temporary room with Haku. I-pin was a familiar sight to her and for the first time in months, the little girl did not look up at her with heartbroken eyes but pleading eyes. The 9-year-old boy was also familiar to her.
So I'm guessing that the boy I saved that day was Fuuta. She never had a good look at his face when she threw those kunais at those Mafia men chasing after him. He was a cute boy and Naruto knew that the boy would grow to be quite the looker when he reached his teens. With those soft features, the whiskered girl could imagine the nicknames he would get by the time he reached middle-school.
A sigh escaped her lips and the blonde turned her head to inspect Lambo. Bright green eyes widened and a silent plea shone through his eyes. Please let me have a break! Lambo-sama wants to have fun. That was what his eyes begged from her and the young teen paused. Should she do what the boy wanted? It was rather unfair for her to only let him train or be stuck in the house.
Why won't anyone play with me?
The memory flashed through her mind and the blonde flickered her eyes to the two children pleading for her to let Lambo out. I have to think rationally and pick a plan that makes everyone happy. Letting them go without her was reckless but being with them was also dangerous too. There was work for her to do and if she wanted the plan to work then she could not be around them.
"Come in," she finally said, swinging the door open. Fuuta and I-pin blinked, exchanged glances with each other, before looking at her with wide curious eyes. Did they think if they did the cutesy act that she would just agree to their wishes? The blonde sighed. "While I consider your request, you can have lunch with Lambo."
Fuuta sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I understand now why Naruto-neechan ranks number one as being the strictest babysitter."
Well it is better for me to be strict and make sure Lambo is alive then for me to neglect or abuse him. Naruto pinched her nose and watched as the kids rushed straight to the 5-year-old. Until the boy was allowed to go back to Tsuna's house, she would have to be the parent. There was no one that could really parent that kid in this apartment besides her and Haku.
Jiraiya would have no problem using Lambo to pick up women and Naruto did not want the boy to get involved with prostitutes. Shikamaru was a great strategist but even she would admit that did not mean he could be bothered with taking care of a kid. Choji was good but he would be easily pushed over by Lambo. Ino? The girl would have no patience for the toddler.
"Haku, I need to talk to you!"
The words rung out in the air and within a couple of seconds, Haku strolled out of his room with a book in one hand. He shut the book and his brown eyes inspected her before flickering to the three children. All three children relaxed their shoulders when the 17-year-old boy offered them a smile. Those brown eyes lingered on Fuuta before looking back at her.
"What is it that you want to talk with me, Naruto-sama?" Haku asked. He tilted his head to the side and placed his novel onto the table. She pressed her lips into a thin line and gestured for him to follow her. I might believe that kids have the right to know everything, this requires all three of them to be clueless of what is happening. She exhaled and walked out to the balcony, not bothering to check if Haku followed her or not.
She knew the boy long enough to know that he would follow her.
As soon as the two of them stepped out of the balcony, Naruto closed the door behind them and moved the handle down to lock the door. I'm not repeating the same mistake like I did with Team 10. She exhaled, allowing her ribs to stretch, before fixating her eyes on the former shinobi standing right in front of her.
Out of everyone that worked under her, she trusted Haku the most to do the job properly. Was it because he was one of the people that worked for her the longest? Most definitely. But there was also a rationality for picking this boy for the job. He was the strongest subordinate that she had working for her. The only one with the patience of a damn saint.
If Kyoko or Haru was stronger then I would have given them the job but giving them a test run with high-ranking assassins is a terrible idea. She sighed and leaned her whole body against the balcony door. Besides it would give a way to everyone of what she had been up to with those girls and this was definitely not the time for anyone to get distracted.
Besides, she needed those two to continue surveilling the respective Guardians.
"I got wind from Hansuke that the Varia are already hunting down the Guardians," Naruto informed him. She inspected the older male. Those brown eyes flashed with concern as it flickered towards the door. She followed his gaze and curled her lips into a thin line as the boy smiled and dashed around the living room without a care about the shelves.
Haku thinned his lips. "Lambo isn't ready to face them."
I'm not insane enough to make my charge fight a losing fight. Naruto rolled her eyes and flickered her eyes to the floating clouds before swirling her eyes back at the male before her. The best gamble for them was the 10-year Bazooka and even then…it was a huge risk. A huge risk that she really doubt Iemitsu considered.
"I'm not expecting him to fight them but I expect you to protect Lambo and those kids when they go out after lunch," Naruto informed him. Brown eyes widened and the blonde swirled her body away from him. She locked eyes on Lambo before flickering to the other two children surrounding him. "I don't know how the Varia plans to track them down but I will make it difficult for them to get that ring."
"You plan to trick them, don't you?" Haku questioned. His tone leaked with amusement and the blonde did not need to turn around to know that her subordinate had a slight sadistic gleam in his eyes. Gentle he might be but Naruto knew that the boy did have a sadistic quality inside of him. It was probably a side effect from being a shinobi for a long time. "You are going to take the ring from Lambo."
Naruto nodded and locked eyes on the shiny ring inside of Lambo's hair. It was better for everyone if she kept guard of the ring until he was ready for the burden that ring held. Besides we don't know how they plan to track them down but they don't know who owns the ring. Just like how they only had two names, those people had no idea of who their opponents were.
"From what Hansuke told me, the Varia has no idea of who owns the ring."
Haku narrowed his eyes at her.
"But you are not certain, are you?" he asked. "If you thought they were tracking them down by the ring then you wouldn't tell me to protect them, but you think that there is a possibility that they could get names."
The whiskered girl nodded and pulled her phone out from her pocket. It was probably a good idea for her to inform Iemitsu so he did not have a panic attack when he realized that Lambo did not have the rings. He should have given me the damn ring for safekeeping. She shook her head and looked back at Haku.
It was time for her to get back to the topic at hand.
"We have to think of every possibility."
Just like she told Sawada all those months ago, the Mafia was filled with cruel, heartless bastard who would have no problem trying to kill him. If she could get information on who was the leader of the Varia, there was just as much possibility that Xanxus would know the names of the ring holders. Either way she was not going to let him lay a hand on her charge.
Hopefully they will send someone that will make us sweat.
She wanted to have some fun after all.
A/N: So Naruto plans to take Lambo's ring and here are another round of questions.
Question 1: What do you think of the whole discussion between Shikamaru and Naruto?
Question 2: Do you think Naruto is a Mary Sue?
Question 3: How do you think Tsuna will react when he finds out what Naruto has been up to?
Please do tell me of your thoughts about the chapter.