Chapter 14

The following morning Kyuubi woke up early from a sleepless night. Constant thoughts of last night's fight with Naruto kept him tossing and turning, the dull pain in his back a reminder of how worse things have gotten. He wiped his mouth dry as he finished brushing his teeth.

Inside the kitchen, Naruto sat at the counter eating a bowl of cereal. Kyuubi gave him a small greeting, not all that surprised when he was rudely ignored. He poured himself a tall glass of cold water, downed the entire drink. Afterwards, he began his chores for the morning, waking up his son and getting him ready for the day. When he's done, he looked down at his son, the boy staring intently into the mirror as he combed his hair.

"Jaron, I think you can stop now. Your hair looks just fine." Kyuubi smiled when the boy looked up at him through long dark lashes, his mouth open in distraught.

"Perfection cannot be rushed," he said, sounding like a proper stylist as he waved the brush in his hand. He continued to brush his hair in slow strokes.

His outfit matched his mother's, a casual tee paired with blue shorts.

"And just who taught you that phrase?" Kyuubi asked, placing his hands on his hips.

"Yugi."

Kyuubi nodded at the obvious answer. It made perfect sense with the woman being such a hardcore perfectionist. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes!"

"You had chocolate chip cookies yesterday."

Jay nodded. "Yes."

"That's too much sugar," Kyuubi explained. "What about some fresh fruit salad or yogurt to balance it out?" He stifled his laugh when his son frowned at the healthier alternative. "You know I don't like when you eat too much sweets, Jay."

Jaron puffed out his cheeks. "You always do that. You ask me what I want and then you choose for me."

"I'm a mother, baby. That's my job." Kyuubi awed seeing his son's pouted lips, his little nose that was scrunched up. "Finish brushing your hair and come eat breakfast, okay?"

"Okay, mommy."

"That's my boy."

Kyuubi kept the bedroom door open. He began to prepare breakfast. Naruto was no longer in the kitchen, but the small movements in his room made Kyuubi aware he was still at home. He frowned as he reflected over last night.

He can't unsee that bruise on Naruto's face, the back of his neck. It looked painful. Like he had been shoved into something hard. It was one thing if he was being bullied. But not only that, there were hickeys too. There was someone, Kyuubi suspected, the Kiba guy Jay kept bringing up. Apparently, now he was also wrestling bears, and according to Jay, he was someone Naruto liked, sometimes he had added.

As he sliced the fresh fruits into cubes, Kyuubi thought back to his mother who had urged him since they were kids, to be closer with Naruto. Back then, being too mature for his age, he found Naruto to be a nuisance, he still was. Kyuubi chuckled at the thought. His smile eagerly fell from his face when he now understood just how stupid he had been to think that way. They were five years apart, a big age difference. But that was no excuse for the way he treated Naruto. If he had cared enough then, their relationship wouldn't be so fucked up.

Naruto would come to him if the guy he was romantically involved with was physically harming him.

Kyuubi placed the sharp knife flat against the cutting board. He was ashamed. He finally understood that the only ties of brotherhood between him and Naruto were that of the same blood running through their veins. He doesn't get a chance to feel sorry for himself when Jay came running into the kitchen.

Kyuubi hurriedly forced on a smile. "Ready to eat?" He scooped some of the fruits into a bowl, adding in a spoon and handed the breakfast over to his son. He sighed when Jaron stared at the bowl with a judgmental look on his face. "What's the matter now, Jaron?"

"Can you make it into a smoothie?" Jaron asked cutely.

"Jaron, are you serious?"

Jay gave his best puppy dog look. "Please mommy..."

Kyuubi began preparing the smoothie just as Jaron quickly slid off the tall stool. "Where are you going?"

"To Naru's room." He ran and eagerly barged into his uncle's room. "Naru, it's time to wake up lazy butt!" He grinned sheepishly when he looked up to find his young uncle awake and glaring down at him. "Sorry."

Jay casually strolled inside and eagerly climbed over the large bed.

"What did I tell you about coming in my room, Jay?" Naruto stood by his work desk, his headphones hanging around his neck as he looked through the printed images in his hands.

Comfortable on the soft bed, Jaron rolled back and forth for no reason at all other than to keep himself entertained. He stopped when he heard his Naru call out his name once more.

"You said to always knock first," Jaron answered, his voice strained from the awkward position his body was contorted into.

"Okay, so why didn't you knock?" Naruto scattered the pictures over his desk before retreating the rest of the warm printed copies from his printer.

"Because, I thought you were sleeping." He turned to his uncle. "What are you doing, Naru?" He watched his uncle move back and forth, busied with something over the table.

"Art project."

"Art project for school?" Jay climbed off the bed and went to stand near his uncle, his eyes curiously peeking over the contents scattered neatly over the dark wood.

"Yeah, something like that." Naruto went back to his laptop and began typing something over it.

"This is the nice man from my dreams. His name was something like socks," Jay said, as he stared down at the printed image of Sasuke and Hinata.

"You weren't dreaming Jay and his name is Sasuke."

A look of confusion crossed over Jay's face momentarily before it's melted into that of amusement. "Ah, Sasuke, that sounds better." He giggled watching his uncle shake his head at him.

His mother's voice entered the room and his giggles died down. "Smoothie's ready! Bye Naru."

Jay ran out of the room. He dramatically sighed when his uncle called him back to close the door. He did as he's told and hurriedly ran into the kitchen.

"Please do enjoy, your highness," Kyuubi handed him the half-filled cup of smoothie.

"Thank you, mommy." Jaron took a sip. He hummed at the delicious taste, bouncing up and down in delight.

He continued to drink his smoothie while his mother turned on the television for him and placed it on a random cartoon show. Kyuubi stood back and simply admired his sweet boy. He was such a happy child.

The doorbell sounded and Kyuubi finished the last of his smoothie before he went to answer. He wiped his mouth as he pulled the door open. Kyuubi's shocked to see the man he thought would be back in the states but was now standing in front of him.

"I thought you would be back home by now," Kyuubi said. "What happened to your eye?" He winced looking at the purpled tender skin beneath Sasuke's right eye, the swollen skin painfully vivid in the dull light of the hallway.

"Change of plans," Sasuke replied.

Kyuubi stepped aside, permitting Sasuke and his guest to enter. He followed Sasuke into the living room while Tsukasa remained dutifully by the door.

Sasuke sat on the sofa, looked up as Kyuubi neared him. "Let's just call it a small price I had to pay for keeping your secret. I told Itachi everything." He saw the blood slowly drain from Kyuubi's face.

"You did what?" Kyuubi said in a broken whisper. "How could you?"

Sasuke lowered his head and kept his gaze on the carpeted floors beneath his feet. Tortured with the emotional turmoil that came with betraying Kyuubi's trust, he could barely manage to look up at him.

"The son of a bitch went after Ana," Sasuke explained softly. "And like before, I wasn't strong enough to protect someone I deeply care about. Shisui has been tracking me all these years. I'm ashamed to admit it but I stupidly didn't think he would go after Ana." He sighed. "If I am to protect you and Naruto, I need my brother by my side. I need his help."

"Did he…" Kyuubi trailed off uncertainly.

Resurfaced memories from the past surrounding his own experience with Shisui has him feeling nauseous. He recalled the several times Sasuke had mentioned his girlfriend, the kind words he had said of her. Kyuubi can't imagine her being mistreated in the same way he was.

"Did Shisui…"

"No, he didn't go that far. He sliced her wrist and she lost some blood. She's fine now, recovering smoothly. As far as physical damage, that's where it stopped. His specialty is fucking with people's mind." Sasuke frowned. It was as if they were reliving the past all over again. "She can't remember all the details and maybe that's a good thing."

Kyuubi felt his body trembling. "Sasuke, he'll come after me. Jay, Naruto, I can't…"

Sasuke stood up and gently embraced Kyuubi. "Shh… it's okay." He brought his hand beneath Kyuubi's chin and lifted his head up to look consolingly into wide fearful eyes. "Itachi will protect you. You have nothing to fear."

Kyuubi shook his head. "Was he on the phone with us yesterday?" When Sasuke nodded his head, he felt his nausea worsen. "He's been watching me too? For how long?" His hands slipped into his hair as he grasped the strands tightly, his expression one of sheer panic. "Oh no..."

"Hey." Sasuke waited until Kyuubi glanced up at him. "You'll worry yourself sick. Have some assurance in Itachi's love for you. His abilities if nothing else. You'll be alright. We won't allow him anywhere near you. Have some faith in us."

"I'm scared, Sasuke. Sasuke, I'm so scared." Kyuubi clutched his hair tighter, trembled violently from the tears that spilled over his face. "I don't want to keep running." He buried his face in the body that embraced him. "I'm so scared."

"Then stop running." Sasuke wiped the tears from Kyuubi's face as he pressed a soft kiss on top of his head. "You and your family will be safe. I promise you this." Kyuubi finally relaxed, taking some comfort in his words. "I have a favor to ask of you."

Kyuubi wiped his face. "What?"

"This might be insensitive of me. But, I need you and your son to leave the apartment for a while. I need to speak with Naruto and it would be easier to do so if we were alone." Sasuke's both courteous and bold. "Do you have a place you can go for a while?"

"I have a friend downstairs."

"Great. The twins are posted by the desk so you'll be just fine."

Kyuubi walked past Sasuke into his bedroom. In a short while, he returned with a few objects in his hands.

"Jay, let's go visit Granny Chiyo." He removed the empty cup of smoothie from Jay's hand. "Here's your iPad."

Jay grabbed the device and looked up at his mother with big brown eyes. "Is Naru coming with us?"

"No," Kyuubi quickly replied. "We'll be back soon. Greet your Uncle Sasuke."

"Uncle Socks." Jay's laugh sounded through the room. He glanced over to his mother and his amusement instantly vanished when Kyuubi frowned at him disapprovingly. "Good morning, Sasuke," he greeted with a bow of his head.

Kyuubi finished cleaning his son's face and stood up, grabbed his cellphone from the couch. "Sasuke."

"What is it?" Sasuke replied.

"Someone's hurting Naruto," he said softly. "It's bad."

Sasuke nodded his head with a knowing look on his face. "I know. I'll get to that soon enough."

"Thanks."

—

Sasuke closed his eyes, his exposed abdomen contracting as he breathed in and out slowly. The Ralph Lauren button up he wore fell loosely over his shoulders. The watch on his wrist glistened as he moved his hand to run through his dark hair.

"Tsukasa, remain by that door until I give you permission to do otherwise." His voice was calm, the words spoken sternly.

"I understand, Sasuke." Tsukasa bowed his head.

Sasuke traced his finger over the intricate design of the marble counter. As he did so, he gathered his thoughts. He was to be careful, mindful of his tone and emotions. If he was to get through to Naruto, he had to keep his composure. He cleared his mind and when he deemed himself ready, he began towards the familiar door and gave it a loud knock. He gently pushed the door open when the raspy voice from within gave him permission to enter.

"Someone's learning to follow simple instructions," Naruto said casually, presuming his nephew to be at the door. He kept his eyes focused on the project at hand and when he doesn't hear tiny feet rushing across his room, he glanced over at the door. He chuckled seeing Sasuke leaned against the doorframe. "You sure do have some fucking nerve." He returned his attention back to the papers scattered in front of him.

"Can we talk?" Sasuke asked softly.

Naruto moved over to his printer and lifted the paper compartment open. He added more paper to the slot, focused on his work, not sparing Sasuke a glance as he ignored him.

Sasuke observed Naruto. He could see just how much he had hurt him, his best friend not even wanting to look his way. He sighed deeply as he pulled himself off the doorframe.

"Naruto, I'm sorry."

Naruto fully settled his attention on Sasuke who approached him. He watched him nonchalantly as Sasuke came to stand in front of him. "You're sorry," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Should I get on my knees and suck your dick?"

Sasuke struggled to stifle the chuckle that escaped him. He nodded his head in understanding. "Okay, I guess I deserved that."

"You haven't received half of what you deserve." Naruto's irritated when Sasuke again neared him. When Sasuke's just inches from him, Naruto glanced up at him with a deep frown. "What do you want?"

Sasuke felt his heart breaking. He averted his eyes from the beautiful blue eyes that glared coldly at him. He looked over the spread of pictures of himself and Hinata, his finger tracing the image closest to him.

"Give me a chance to explain." He sounded desperate and again, he was ignored when Naruto silently walked around him.

"How about you go jump off a bridge?" Naruto roughly ripped open the box of ink he grabbed from a drawer. He flinched back horribly when Sasuke's hand moved towards him. He looked down at his hands, the spilled ink ran and stained his skin. "Fuck!" He groaned.

Sasuke swiftly moved and gently grabbed a hold of Naruto's arm. He tightened his hold slightly when Naruto went to pull away from him. He pulled him closer to his body, inspecting the harsh bruise behind Naruto's neck, the small cuts on his face.

"Did that boy do this to you?" Sasuke's words were barely audible from how hard he was gritting his teeth.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Naruto wrenched his arm free. "Who the fuck do you think you are? Choosing when you can care about me and when you feel it's okay to treat me like shit." He shook his head. "Touch me again and I'll fucking murder you." He aggressively shoved past Sasuke as he walked out of his bedroom.

"Would you be this bold if you were talking to Kiba?" Sasuke voiced strongly, trailing after Naruto who came to a sudden halt at the mention of Kiba's name. Sasuke watched Naruto slowly turn to face him. "Or do you only reserve such hostility for your brother and I." He knew right away he had struck a nerve when Naruto looked away from him.

"You said something to him, didn't you?" Stood at the foot of the kitchen, Naruto felt his mouth grow dry from apprehension. "What did you say to him?"

"Apparently, not enough for him to heed my warning."

Naruto swiftly moved to the counter, ripping a knife from the knife holder. He started towards Sasuke, the knife pushed out in front of him.

"Sasuke," Tsukasa called.

"Stay there." Sasuke instructed him softly. He was calm as Naruto approached him. He didn't flinch as Naruto pressed the sharp point of the knife against his bare chest.

"What gives you any right to interfere in my business?" Naruto pushed the knife forward, slightly nipping the skin beneath. "Who the hell do you think you are? You think you're better than him? Don't kid yourself."

Sasuke took a step forward. "Just this once, I will look pass your blatant disrespect on the sole reason that you are upset with me." He spoke slowly, assertively. "All I ask is that you give me the chance to explain."

"More lies," Naruto muttered softly. "Say everything I want to hear and then laugh behind my back with Kyuubi. Treat me like I'm some dumbass." He pulled back the knife. "Get the fuck out of my apartment, Sasuke."

Sasuke frowned. "I know what I said was hurtful. I understand."

Naruto quickly spun around. "No, you don't understand shit!" He yelled, knife in hand. "You don't fucking know how much hearing those words hurt. It hurt like nothing you could ever imagine. Of all people, for you to say such horrible things to me, it fucking hurt more than anything Kiba could have said or done to me. But at that time, it benefited you, so you didn't give a fuck." He shrugged his shoulders, mocking Sasuke. "At that time, it was the right thing to do, so fuck it. Fuck how I feel. You thought you would come here, apologize, explain everything and then dumb ole Naruto would just throw himself at you again, isn't that right Sasuke?"

"You know that's not true." Sasuke almost pleaded. "You're being irrational. Set your emotions aside and just-"

"Irrational?!" Naruto was baffled. "I'm being a human with fucking feelings!" He raised the knife as he stalked towards Sasuke. "You're not above anyone else. You're not the fucking hero of my story. Maybe at once I thought you were, but obviously, I was wrong. If anything, you're just as bad as them all." He lifted the knife to Sasuke's forehead. "At least, Kiba has the courage to admit he's fucked up. You, you're just a coward who justifies their actions and pretends to be the good guy."

Naruto walked over to the kitchen sink and began to scrub roughly at his hands, the dried ink stubbornly refusing to wash off. "Fuck..."

Sasuke opened his mouth with eagerness, only to find himself at a loss for words. Coward. The word taunted him like Shisui was in his ear speaking it, demeaning his pride as a man, as an Uchiha. It teared down the confidence he's been instilled with since birth. Hearing it now come from Naruto, it made him start to question himself.

"It was never my intention to hurt you, Naruto. I cannot stress that enough." He was earnest, begging for forgiveness. "I can't force you to believe me but, I hope you know my character well enough to know how much I care for you."

Naruto continued to scrub furiously at his hands, the stubborn ink along with Sasuke's persistence angering him even more.

"Naruto, please acknowledge me when I'm speaking to you."

"Why should I believe anything you have to say?"

"Because I am telling you the truth. Everything I have done is to keep you safe."

Naruto shut off the faucet, his hands the most clean he could possibly get them. He ripped a paper towel from the roll next to the sink and dried his hands as he turned and faced Sasuke. "Safe from what?"

"Something happened to Kyuubi that was entirely my fault. Had I have paid more attention to the person Shisui was, I would've thought twice to feel comfortable leaving Kyuubi alone with him."

Naruto folded his arms as he tilted his head inquisitively. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Sasuke lowered his head, his hair falling over his eyes as he drew in a sharp breath. "Kyuubi was assaulted. By Shisui."

Naruto watched Sasuke as if the man had grown two heads. His wide eyes suddenly narrowed as he took a step forward. "Why the hell would Shisui of all people hurt Kyuubi? He was like family to us. What reason would he have to hurt Kyuubi?"

"Simply because he can and he did," Sasuke said, gazing up and staring into furious eyes. "We were all misled. The person we all knew Shisui to be simply never existed. We were all fooled. Everything we knew him to be, it was all a lie."

"That doesn't answer my question. Why would he want to hurt Kyuubi?" Naruto questioned in frustration.

"He needed Kyuubi out of the way. He needed Kyuubi far away from Itachi and in order to do that, he needed to make Kyuubi fear him. Fear him enough to leave everything behind. He wants my father's company. To do that, he needed Itachi who's next in command out of the way."

Naruto shook his head as he began to pace. "How does Kyuubi play a part in all of this?"

"My father is a man of many qualities. While he neglected one son, he showered the oldest, his pride and joy, with unconditional love. Trained him to one day be the successor of the family's empire. It was tough for my brother, carrying all that burden. It was a lonely journey. Constantly under my father's supervision, little to no freedom."

"Kyuubi was essentially my brother's escape. As long as Kyuubi remained by his side, Itachi endured the stress. Over the years, Shisui picked up on this. To get to Itachi was to first get through Kyuubi. Kyuubi was my brother's defense against our father's overbearing expectations. But if Kyuubi's out of the picture, then Itachi has no anchor holding him down."

Naruto finally made sense of Sasuke's long words. "What did he do to Kyuubi?"

"I can't tell you. It's not my place. But I'm sure you can figure it out for yourself."

Sasuke's confession made the coils within Naruto's stomach turn, causing him to feel sick. "Why didn't you fucking tell me? Why didn't Kyuubi fucking tell me?"

"Because Naruto," Sasuke interjected. He walked slowly towards Naruto as if weights were attached to each of his foot. "When I found out what Shisui had done to your brother, I lost myself. I wanted him dead, and I would have killed him with my own hands that I can promise you. But in order to save his worthless life, and persuade Kyuubi and I to remain quiet on the matter, he threatened your life. All these lies, the reason Kyuubi left, the reason I had to stay away, everything I and Kyuubi have done was all done to keep you safe. He's not alone. There are others like him around, lurking. If I had called his bluff and put a bullet through his head, you wouldn't be standing in front of me right now."

Naruto moved back. Wavering in his stance, he gripped the sink behind him for stability. "Why come after me? What did I do?" he asked meekly.

"Naruto, you are the most precious thing to me in this world," Sasuke said softly. "When I discovered what had happened to Kyuubi, I lost control. Never in my life had I experienced such rage. I almost killed a man with my bare hands. But, the threat of someone harming you at the cost of my vengeance kept me from going too far." Sasuke held Naruto's face, a gentle stroke of his thumb against his cheek. "I couldn't risk it. I couldn't lose you."

"His life for mine?"

Sasuke leaned his head against Naruto's forehead. He closed his eyes as he caressed Naruto's face tenderly. "You have no idea how much you mean to me. I would make a deal with the devil himself if it meant keeping you safe. Not a single day went by where I didn't think of you, where I didn't dream of seeing you again. To hold you in my arms. All these years, it was torture."

"Sasuke…" Naruto felt Sasuke's arms wrap tightly around him as if this would be their last moment together. He wanted to urge Sasuke to ease up a little, his bruises from the previous night screaming from the pressure applied. He decided to suffer through the ache, permitting Sasuke to hold him even tighter if necessary.

Sasuke pulled back, but kept his hands over Naruto's shoulders. "Itachi now knows everything. Shisui knows this too. He'll make it his priority to come after you and your brother in order to have some leverage over us." He held Naruto tighter when fear triggered blue eyes to grow wide in panic. "Calm down and listen to me. In order to keep you safe, Tsukasa will accompany you everywhere you go. School, home, everywhere."

"Sasuke, do you fucking hear yourself?" Naruto forced himself out of Sasuke's arms, completely bewildered.

"Tsukasa was formerly a part of my father's security detail. He's highly trained, I won't get into the specifics but I trust his capabilities. I'll also keep an eye on you. Shisui won't be able to come anywhere near you, I can guarantee you that." Sasuke grinned triumphantly. "Also, Itachi's involved now. Shisui won't have it as easy as he did in the past."

"And Kyuubi?" Naruto questioned in concern. "Itachi-"

"Will take care of him." He finished Naruto's sentence with a decisive tone. He moved closer to Naruto, enclosing his arms around his small waist as he placed his chin over Naruto's head. "I'm sorry for the way I've treated you these past few days. You didn't deserve that at all."

Naruto sighed deeply as he pressed his hands firm against Sasuke's chest, lightly pushing the taller man away from him. "This is all too much."

"Let me hug you a little longer." Sasuke pulled Naruto back into his arms. He stared down, deeply gazing into Naruto's beautiful blue eyes that watched him oddly. "Why are you looking at me like that?" The words slipped out in a smoothly.

Naruto smiled, content in the feeling of Sasuke's steady heartbeat against his palm pressing on his bare chest. "You know for a straight guy, you sure do love having another man in your arms." He ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair. "If you're not careful, people might get the wrong idea, especially your girlfriend who you say you love so much."

"I want you to meet her," Sasuke said. "I'm sure you'll like her." He tightened his hold around his waist when Naruto tried once again to get out of his hold. "Why are you pulling away from me?"

"Like I said, I don't think your girlfriend would want you all over another guy." He sighed when Sasuke pressed his body against the counter with Sasuke's hands stationed at both sides of his body. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke began drumming his fingers over the marble counter. "Are you okay?" he suddenly asked. He ignored the odd look he's given as a response. "I've told you a lot of things that's pretty hard to digest."

Naruto puffed out his cheeks before exhaling tiredly. "Obviously, it's a fucking lot. I don't even think I've fully grasped the urgency of the situation. I honestly don't know how to feel."

"Listen you need to make up with your brother."

Naruto turned his head away. "I don't need you to tell me that." His heartbeat quickened at the thought. All these years, he's treated Kyuubi so rudely, spoken such hurtful words to him. Just the other night, he had gone as far as to wish him dead.

Sasuke placed his hand under Naruto's chin, lifted his head up. "Don't start feeling as if you're to blame for all of this. This fight is neither yours nor your brother's. Keep that in mind."

Naruto stared deeply into Sasuke's eyes that were filled with security. He arched his brow when he's finally aware of the dark bruise under Sasuke's eye. He brought his hand up and allowed a finger to gently trace the tender skin.

"Did Shisui do this to you?"

"I'm surprised it took you this long to notice." Sasuke admitted. "Let's just say Itachi wasn't exactly fond of being kept in the dark all these years."

"Five years without Kyuubi and his son all because of me," Naruto muttered.

"It was Kyuubi's choice to leave, just as much as mine. Like I said before, this isn't your fight." Sasuke pulled Naruto to his body and held him close for a moment. "There's something else we need to discuss."

Naruto groaned in exhaustion. "What now?"

Sasuke's hand lightly grabbed his hair and tilted his head to the side to reveal in full view the mess Kiba had left on his skin as well as the large bruise just above his spine from being slammed into the bookshelf.

"Tell me how this happened."

—

Thank you for reading everyone. The story will become less confusing with more updates. Leave reviews!