Chapter 2

Naruto walked inside his math class the following morning with his earphones in and phone in hand. He ignored the looks from his classmates as he hurried over to his secluded seat in the back and sat down. The class hadn't even started yet and he was ready to leave. He turned to the window beside him, gazed out to the tall cherry blossom tree. He noticed their little feathered friend from yesterday was missing. He hoped it would return so he could daydream of flying away. The bird never came.

Naruto turned around when he suddenly felt a presence. His teacher stood in front of him with his backpack from yesterday. Naruto took the bag from him and placed it down beside his seat. "Thank you," he mumbled.

The teacher stared at him with an empathetic look in his eyes. "No more fights. Can you promise me that?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't start them."

"You don't necessarily back down from them either."

"Why should I?"

"Sometimes, that's the best thing to do."

Naruto strongly disagreed. He could argue more points but he's grown tired of the conversation already. He simply nodded his head. Even so, the words of his teacher echo throughout his head and for the remainder of the class, Naruto watched his teacher with something new in his eyes.

—

"Alright, that is all." Shizune was a fairly tall woman, her slim body in a black pencil skirt and a blue blazer.

The group of workers left the conference room, talking quietly amongst themselves as they returned to their post. The hi-end retail store was one of the largest department stores within the popular mall located in the center of the city. The store was known for its vast collection of designer products and apparel. Kyuubi waited patiently in the room until the last worker had left. He closed the door, standing before his manager, a woman in her late thirties with blonde hair tied up neatly in a bun.

"You wanted to see me?" He watched her glossed lips curve up into a smile.

"Have a seat." Shizune gestured to the chair across the table. "I have a task I'd like you to help me with. I thought it'd be perfect for a hard worker such as yourself, Kyuubi."

Kyuubi was flattered by the compliment, but his body remained on edge. "So, what do you need me to do exactly?"

Shizune found herself momentarily distracted by a small string on the table. "As you already know, we are in the midst of preparing the launch of a celebrity clothing line."

Kyuubi nodded. The meeting that had taken place centered around this.

"Well, this celebrity has asked to receive a personal tour of the store before we receive shipments of his project." Shizune went on to explain that the celebrity's manager had already come to visit the store. However, as of now, the celebrity has requested to view the set up for himself.

Kyuubi was still unsure what his role was in all of this. "What are you asking me to do exactly?"

"What I need from you, Kyuubi, is to simply be the tour guide. Show our guest around, make sure that he is comfortable."

"No disrespect, Shizune, but isn't this something you should be doing?" Kyuubi noticed the sudden tension in the woman's jaw. He averted his eyes, deciding to rephrase the question to one he hoped would allow him to keep his job. Not that he necessarily needed the job, but it has become a hobby that did well to pass the time. "What I meant to say is what if I say the wrong thing or somehow make him feel uncomfortable? I'm not all that familiar with celebrities. I don't want to be responsible for anything jeopardizing this deal."

An uncomfortable silence filled the room for a moment until it was abruptly broken by Shizune. "Show him around the store. Answer the questions he might ask. If you do not know the answer, direct the question to me. It is just that simple. Can you handle this or do I need to ask someone more capable?"

Kyuubi stood up with haste. "No, I understand. I am more than capable. Thank you for the opportunity. Would that be all?"

"Yes." She walked around the large table to a file cabinet placed at the corner of the room. Just as Kyuubi nearly escaped her gaze, she called him back inside. "I was initially not allowed to reveal the identity of the celebrity due to precautionary measures. But, since I am giving you this task, I'll give you his name so you can familiarize yourself with his brand." She hesitated. "You are not under any circumstance to reveal this information to any other employee. Is that understood?"

"You can trust me." Kyuubi assured her.

Shizune studied his eyes for any sign of insincerity. When she found none she spoke the name quietly. "Itachi Uchiha, the actor and model."

Kyuubi broke into a cold sweat and for a moment, it's as if time itself had stopped. He was sure he would pass out within the next minute. His eyes went wide with terror as his body began to tremble.

"What's the matter?" Shizune asked him.

Kyuubi shook his head. "Nothing, I'm fine. I was just… shocked." He bowed his head and left the room.

His long legs carried him to the bathroom where he shut the door and leaned his body against it. His heartbeat was thundering against his chest. He shut his eyes tightly, desperately fighting back the memories that resurfaced to remind him of the past he thought he had escaped. His hands found his hair and he gripped at the red strands tightly. Kyuubi didn't know how long he stayed in the bathroom. He knew it had been a long while when the vacant store was now filled with customers. Not much else to do, Kyuubi put on a brave face and quickly moved to his cashier post.

—

The supermarket held a decent percentage of the city folks. Naruto strolled through the cereal aisle with his nephew beside him. As his eyes scanned the boxes of cereal, his nephew's own were focused on the screen of his smartphone. He was in the middle of a game, mind determined to reach a new high score. At the call of his name, Jay unwillingly placed the game on pause and lifted up his eyes to look up at his uncle.

"What cereal should we get?"

The five year old scanned the cereals on the shelves and pointed to the blue box of Frosted Flakes at the bottom near his uncle's feet. "That one."

Naruto sighed. "Again? Why do I even bother asking?" He bent down to grab the box when a sharp pain instantly had him regretting the action. He hissed in pain, a strained groan escaping him as the throbbing pain in his side worsened. He closed his eyes and slowly lifted himself back up, his hand resting on the large bruise beneath his shirt.

Jay sympathetically looked up at his uncle. "Naru…?"

"I'm okay." His voice wavered as he breathed in sharply. He cursed lowly so his words wouldn't reach the child's ears.

"You look sick," Jay mumbled, his small hands placing the box of cereal inside the cart as he generously assisted his uncle. "What are we getting next?"

Naruto gave him a small smile. "Fruits."

"I know where they are. I'll go get them. You stay here and rest."

"Jay!"

The five year old made a dash down the aisle, ignoring the call from his uncle to stop running. He made a sharp turn and found himself on the ground when he collided into something hard. Luckily, the landing wasn't too harsh on his little body and he's back up on his feet right after. He rubbed the side of his leg as his eyes peered up at the towering stranger.

"Careful." The stale tone contradicted the concern behind his words. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Jay peered up amazingly at the most beautiful man he's ever seen. The man stood tall, some inches over six feet. His broad shoulders and muscles looked cool in the all black attire he wore. His hair was long, left out to frame his face as it fell over his shoulders and curtained down to his back. His cold eyes had poor Jay suddenly afraid, his small body intimidated by the man before him.

"Jay, what did I tell you about running?"

Jay hurriedly ran and hid behind his Naruto's legs. His hands clutched the waist of his Naru as he peeked out his head to glance at the threatening figure. "Make him go away," he whispered.

Naruto sighed deeply. He looked up, ready to apologize for his nephew's behavior when he was met with a familiar face that left him stunned and utterly speechless.

"Long time no see, Naruto."

"Itachi?" Naruto tried to move and found his body held in place by his nephew's strong grip. He looked down and Jay shook his head, forbidding him to go any further towards the scary man.

"It seems he doesn't like me much." Itachi's deep voice was soothing and the slow manner he spoke was pleasing to the ears.

Jay looked up at the man and was met with brown eyes that strangely resembled his own. He didn't like those eyes. He had never seen eyes so mean before. "He looks like a vampire." He whispered secretly to his uncle.

Naruto couldn't help but to laugh. He removed himself from his nephew's hold and walked over to Itachi. He embraced him in a warm hug and he felt Itachi reluctantly hug him back. He smiled as he pulled away, still in disbelief.

"I can't believe you're actually here." The low screams of fans filled his ears.

Naruto looked around to see three women pushing back the small crowd of shoppers peering at the celebrity before them. Naruto took the opportunity himself to check out Itachi's imposing figure. He hasn't seen him in over five years, only images through movies and catalogs. Staring at him now in real life, he too found himself amazed by his impressive built and breathtaking features.

"Woah, you really are unreal."

Itachi smiled. "You don't look too bad yourself." His attention quickly returned to the boy who glared at him from behind the shopping cart. "Your brother's son?"

Naruto followed the man's eyes to his nephew. He pulled the boy to his side and ruffled his hair. "Introduce yourself," he said.

Jay instead pouted his lips and folded his arms. "Mommy said not to talk to strangers."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "This is Jaron... your twin." His eyes studied Itachi apprehensively. He knew a little of the situation between his brother and Itachi to understand they didn't exactly end on good terms. Being sinister, he decided to use it to his advantage.

Itachi kept his eyes on the boy a while longer before they averted to Naruto who turned quickly to meet his gaze. "How are you?" Itachi asked him.

Naruto tried to remember if Itachi's voice had always been that deep or if it had gotten deeper over the years. He wondered if Sasuke's had gotten deeper as well. He also probably looked so different now.

"My life is pretty much shit compared to yours. Actor, model, and fashion mogul… the list just keeps going."

"Mere titles."

It was astonishing how he was able to say the most humbling words with the most arrogant smirk.

"Do you have any idea how much influence you have? You are everywhere. There's no one in Japan who doesn't know your name. I mean you were already powerful with your family, but you, you took it to a whole new level."

Itachi looked around awkwardly. He's suddenly reminded of his status as his body guards continued to push away insisting fans with cellphones and rising blood pressures. "I wouldn't go that far." His proud smile said otherwise.

Naruto suddenly glanced down nervously at his hands. "By any chance is Sasuke here with you?" All these years, he had missed his childhood best friend, the younger brother of the man in front of him.

"He's been living in the states for the past few years. I'm sure he'll be on the next flight here when I tell him who I had the pleasure of running into."

Naruto nodded his head, unable to hide his grin. Those words were enough to set ablaze the dimming flame of hope inside of him. In that moment, he knew his life was about to change for the better and he couldn't wait to start the journey.

—

Thank you for reading as always.