A/N: Hello. I thank you for your comments and such. There is still..so much more to this story than I had anticipated honestly. So don't worry (if you were), it's not ending anytime soon I think..cept I want to get it done so I can finish and write different stories. Random.

Anyways, thank you all again.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Naruto woke up cold, not used to the absence of Sasuke curling next to him or laying on top of him. He already missed him, so he got up to go see Sasuke. He dragged his feet to the guest room and opened the door.

It must've been to sudden, as Itachi immediately woke up to full attention. Itachi was a little bit startled, and the movement accidentally woke up Sasuke.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Naruto scratched his head.

He suddenly turned his attention to Sasuke.

"Did you brush your teeth?"

Sasuke sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked and Naruto, before registering what he said. But when he did, he laid back down while shaking his head.

"You haven't brushed your teeth in a couple of days." Naruto stated.

Sasuke pouted to himself. He only brushed his teeth if it felt absolutely disgusting. He listened to Naruto before because he was scared, but ever since he's been close to Naruto, he became stubborn.

"Otouto." Itachi warned.

Sasuke threw the blanket off of him and dragged his feet to the bathroom, trying to look as miserable as possible. Sasuke remembered the promise he made last night and didn't want to upset his aniki or Naruto.

Naruto went to the bathroom with Sasuke, hugging him from behind.

"I missed you last night." He whispered in Sasuke's ear, as he leaned into it.

Sasuke's ear twitched, and he blushed.

Naruto seemed to forget that Itachi was right there looking at them, so Sasuke quickly brushed his teeth and rinsed his mouth.

Itachi felt a little weird watching Naruto being so close to his little brother. Sasuke already told him he loved master, but it was still strange for him. He's never even heard of a master falling in love with a slave. It was looked down upon. Itachi then felt horrible that he just thought of Sasuke as a slave.

He ran his hand through his long bangs and sighed.

"Master, do I need to do anything for you today." Itachi asked, interrupting them.

Naruto quickly let go of Sasuke and leaned on the doorway connecting the room and bathroom.

"Nope." Naruto yawned. "I can buy you clothes though."

"That's not necessary.."

"Then are you going to wear my clothes then?" Naruto asked, stumping Itachi.

Itachi gave up and said a quiet 'okay'.

"Good." Naruto smiled. "Ah! That's right!" He looked at Itachi. "Your birthday passed over a month ago, I thought we should just have a little party."

"My..birthday..?"

"You don't know your birthday either..?"

Naruto sadly smiled when Itachi shook his head.

"Well it was June ninth."

"Oh." Was all Itachi managed to say.

"Sasuke's birthday was July twenty-third which means he turned twenty one not to long ago."

Itachi looked a little shocked.

"How old am I then..?"

"Twenty six."

"Hn..I'm old." Itachi muttered.

Naruto laughed.

"At least you're not the oldest in this house. Kyuubi's actually twenty seven. Which reminds me I don't think I even said my age." Naruto paused. "I'm the youngest..being twenty years old, and my birthday's on October tenth, so a little while from now."

Their attention was suddenly turned to Sasuke who tripped and fell on the floor.

"Shit Sasuke, why are you so clumsy. Aren't you a cat?" Naruto asked, but then he saw the problem. Sasuke's yukata had become loose from sleeping in it, so Sasuke ended up tripping on the cloth. He helped Sasuke up and tied the yukata properly around Sasuke so it wouldn't become loose again. But Sasuke didn't want to wear it, so he pushed against his master's hands.

"Sasuke, we're going to go back out, so you might as well wear it."

Sasuke pouted and pointed to something on the yukata.

It was dirty.

"Oh." Naruto mumbled. "I didn't think you actually cared. I'll get you your other one okay?"

Naruto left the room to go get Sasuke's other yukata.

Itachi was silently sitting on the bed letting all the information he was told soak in. It was similar to how Sasuke had reacted. Everything was so easily told to him, and his master didn't even hesitate to answer. Itachi then turned to Sasuke.

"Are you okay otouto."

Sasuke nodded, sitting next to Itachi. But he jumped back up to his feet when Naruto entered again. Sasuke messily took off his yukata, leaving him in his briefs.

Naruto helped Sasuke put the dark piece of clothing on, making the kit content.

"I'll buy you clothes as a present Itachi, how's that?" Naruto would buy Itachi clothes regardless, but he thought it being a gift for his birthday will make Itachi feel better in accepting it.

"Thank you." Itachi said softly.

"Yup." Naruto smiled.

Naruto had them go downstairs to eat breakfast. He cooked eggs for them and himself as a simple breakfast. He tried having Kyuubi join them for breakfast, but he was still asleep.

He decided to just go into town anyways, so when they were done eating, he got himself ready to leave.

Sasuke and Itachi were waiting at the front door when Naruto finally changed. They all left together and left to the carriage.

Itachi was still uncomfortable sitting on the seat in the carriage. Usually he was forced to sit on the floor. In some cases, he was forced to run besides the carriage as it gave him a workout to enhance his endurance and muscles. It was extremely rare that he sat on the seat.

Sasuke on the other hand was becoming more and more comfortable with the privileges he never had before.

When they reached town, Naruto didn't leash Itachi or Sasuke. He just hoped Sasuke wouldn't wander around when he wasn't looking. He remembered that he had Itachi to look over him.

"Itachi." Naruto called, getting his attention. "Sasuke tends to wander around way too much whether I'm looking or not. Think you can make sure he doesn't do that? Or else I'll have to leash him."

"Of course. He's my little brother. I'll watch him." Itachi turned to grab Sasuke's hand, but Sasuke wasn't there.

"See?" Naruto said, pointing somewhere.

Itachi turned around to see Sasuke bent down, admiring a flower growing from the ground. He hurried over to Sasuke and brought him back.

Sasuke kept looking back at the flower. His flowers had died and he wanted more to fill the vase.

"You can pick flowers from the garden later Sasuke." Naruto told him.

Sasuke's face lit up and he smiled while nodding. He finally stopped looking at the flower and they could finally get moving.

Naruto went into a candy store and bought Itachi chocolate. Itachi had never tasted it before, and he wanted to know if he liked sweets.

To his surprise, Itachi's always sullen ears actually perked at the taste.

"Do you like it?"

Itachi couldn't even say anything, so he nodded. He really liked the sweetness it brought.

"Man, you guys look alike, but you two sure are different. Sasuke didn't like it at all."

"You don't like this otouto?"

Sasuke shook his head and made a face when he remembered the taste.

Itachi thanked Naruto and ate the rest of the chocolate, thoroughly enjoying it.

Naruto went into a bakery and ordered a chocolate cake to be made so they could pick it up on the way back.

Everything was going good until they went into the area where they sold hybrids. Itachi froze when he saw the shops and that same podium he was auctioned off from. He didn't express anything on his face, but the slight tremble on his body gave his fear away.

"What's wrong?" Naruto turned around to see Itachi. Sasuke was also wondering what was wrong as he was looking up at Itachi.

"A..are.." Itachi took a breath to calm himself. "Are you selling us..?"

Naruto was shocked at that question.

"Of course not! We have to pass this area in order to get to the clothing shop. I'm never going to sell you guys. Never." He gave Itachi a look to ensure he was telling the truth. He could only guess that whenever Itachi was brought to areas like this, he was probably sold or bought off.

Itachi took in a shaky breath of relief. He loosened his grip he didn't know he had from Sasuke's hand.

People were looking at the Uchiha's like merchandise. It was rare to even see Uchihas, and the buzz from Itachi was still lingering, so people recognized him. They offered Naruto sums of money that he flatly rejected. It was really a sight to see two Uchiha's belonging to one person.

They quickly went past the area, and they were finally in front of the clothing shop. Both Itachi and Sasuke felt relieved. They didn't like the attention they brought.

Inside the clothing store, Naruto asked Itachi what types of clothing he preferred. Itachi had told him anything was fine, but Naruto managed to squeeze out an answer from him.

Itachi didn't really like wearing pants as his tail got in his way. He actually preferred the silk kimono, but he kept quiet about it.

But Naruto saw him lightly touching the material of the kimono, almost admiring it.

Itachi was one to appreciate the work of anything. He particularly liked the little designs that were on the kimono. He liked the more simple ones rather than the ones with big designs.

"You want that?" Naruto asked.

Itachi shifted, quickly taking his hand off the kimono. He looked down. He wanted it, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. But a little nudge from Sasuke brought a little confidence in him.

"I do." He said softly.

Naruto smiled, telling him to choose what he wanted.

Itachi chose a couple, but that was it. The first one he picked up was a black kimono with red clouds going across it. The second one was a simple midnight blue kimono.

Naruto frowned when Itachi came back with just two kimonos in his hands.

"Itachi, you should at least choose enough to last you a week."

Naruto took the liberty of picking out more of the silk kimonos for Itachi. He also had Itachi fitted for custom made briefs like Sasuke, but he would have to pick them up tomorrow. He then bought a pair of sandals for Itachi so he didn't have to walk barefoot anymore.

Itachi was overwhelmed from all the things his master bought for him, but he was actually very happy at the same time. He was going to bend down to kiss Naruto's feet, but he was stopped.

"You don't have to do that to thank me. Just the words are fine." Naruto smiled.

"Thank you.." Itachi was truly grateful.

"You're welcome." Naruto continued to smile.

Naruto had Itachi change into the kimono now so he didn't have to wear Naruto's clothes. Itachi chose to wear the black one with the red clouds on it. Naruto also had Itachi put on the sandals.

Itachi couldn't believe how huge of a difference the shoes made. He did wear shoes before since he was forced to hunt poor animals and run, but they weren't nearly as comfortable as the ones he wore now. Like Sasuke, he was glad to be carrying his own things for a change.

They turned back to pick up the cake and as a bonus, he picked up more fish. They then finally left to return back home.

Kyuubi tiredly greeted them at the door. He wondered where they went, as he woke up to an empty house.

Kyuubi startled Itachi, making him freeze.

Naruto then saw why Itachi was acting like that; Kyuubi had his ears and tails out. His ears were a little fallen, and his tails were tiredly sagging behind him.

"Kyuubi..your ears." Naruto started, but Kyuubi noticed it.

He lightly touched his own ears and tails to confirm that it was actually showing. He muttered to himself and tried hiding them but failed.

"Shit..I think I'm too tired." He mumbled.

Naruto pushed Kyuubi inside, telling him to just go back to sleep.

Kyuubi yawned and stretched. He slowly moved back downstairs in a languid manner, his tails dragging behind him.

"He..he's a hybrid..?" Itachi dumbly asked, still stunned.

"Yeah." Naruto sighed. He didn't feel like explaining everything to him. "Don't worry about him though."

How could he not? No wonder Itachi felt something different from him. He had never seen anyone contain that many tails before. Hell, he's never seen anyone with more than just one tail. He felt that strong presence from him.

Naruto again told Itachi not to worry about it. He brought them to the kitchen and took out the cake.

"We're celebrating your birthday today, since it already passed." Naruto declared.

Sasuke seemed excited since it would be the first he and Itachi had ever done this together. He saw Naruto light the candles and started to sing.

It was quiet without the maids still not around, but it was still nice.

Itachi seemed a little lost in what was happening, but he's seen some birthdays so he somewhat understood. He couldn't really explain the feeling. It was just special. It didn't matter that his birthday had passed already. It was really the thought that mattered to him.

"Now blow out the candles and make a wish." Naruto said after he finished.

Itachi chuckled softly at that. It was just childish, but he did so anyways. He wished to never be separated from Sasuke again. He saw Sasuke staring at him, as if to say something.

"What is it?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke shifted a little bit, but opened his mouth.

"H..happy birthday a..aniki." Sasuke softly stuttered. He was not used to using his voice at all, so it always came out choppy and hoarse.

Just hearing the word aniki made his heart soar. He tightly hugged Sasuke.

"Thank you otouto."

Naruto watched the exchange in jealousy. He really wished Sasuke would speak to him, but he didn't want to press it on him. He would rather it to come out naturally.

Itachi and Naruto ate some of the cake. Sasuke refused to eat any of the sweet cake. But Itachi really enjoyed it. It just filled his mouth with so much joy. The flavours and everything was just so intense on his dull tongue that tasted many bland foods.

Naruto and Itachi spent a long while talking with each other while Sasuke silently listened. Itachi felt comfortable talking to his master, always making sure he said things with respect.

He told him about how he was sold, which brought him to the auction, and then to Naruto and Sasuke. He was on a mission with his master to hunt wild animals, but Itachi's body was just tired. He had failed to kill and catch the animal, causing his master to become angry. His failure made his master lose an important hunting game. He became angry and beat Itachi, making those scars on his face as punishment. His 'prized' pet had failed him, so after the scars had healed, he basically threw Itachi out, calling him useless.

Of course it had hurt Itachi's pride. As a hunting slave, he took pride in being one of the best out there, only because that was the only thing he could do. He didn't particularly like killing the poor animals, but it was what he was made to do.

He had a minor depression as he was degraded as useless. He was so broken to the point that he wanted to be some worth, even if it meant having sex. It was just his life. Always being told no. Always being rejected. Always forced to do things. He couldn't find stability in him. Without Sasuke, he was just lost.

He explained that Sasuke was really just his life. He did his best to protect Sasuke. He also said that whenever anyone tried touching Sasuke's body, he would offer his instead, claiming he would do anything he was told. Of course that lead him in immense pain from the torture he had to endure.

This was the first time Sasuke had ever heard of it like this. His ears were fallen and his eyes were watering.

Itachi comforted Sasuke saying that it was worth it and it was all in the past. He didn't want Sasuke to be upset at his own choices.

Naruto now understood how Sasuke stayed a virgin his whole life. It was all Itachi's protection. Itachi had offered himself in place of Sasuke. He almost felt bad for taking Sasuke's virginity, but quickly shook it off since it was mutual. He looked at Sasuke squirming around and, he knew what he was thinking.

How would they tell Itachi that Sasuke wasn't a virgin anymore?

Unknown to Naruto, Sasuke had already told Itachi that he loved him. But Naruto was worried about just confessing his love for Sasuke to Itachi. He decided to just wait for the right time.

Itachi continued explaining how they were separated. As he softly talked, memories of that time came flooding into him. He felt ashamed.

Naruto was horrified at what they did to them. It was just cruel to make Sasuke watch the rape of his brother. But just listening to Itachi made Naruto understand just how strong the bond between the brothers were. And he acknowledged the bravery both Itachi and Sasuke had.

Itachi then went back to talk about how they were when they were together. He explained how talkative Sasuke used to be, which Naruto found hard to believe as he was so silent now. Sasuke used to be so energetic and excited. Despite being a pet, he always found happiness in the smallest things. The downfall for Sasuke was that he was easily hurt. Their masters made Sasuke their punching bag when their moods were foul. They didn't take it out on Itachi much, only because he was a hunter. They wanted him in good shape, and because Sasuke healed fast, it made it even better for them.

They would hurt Sasuke to the point of the skin breaking, but because of Sasuke's healing, they believed it was fine as he wouldn't scar. Itachi told Naruto that at one point Sasuke had a mental breakdown from all the harsh beatings that he couldn't stop. Despite him never failing to heal, the mental scars were always present. Sasuke would cry nonstop, screaming in pain and agony.

Itachi started to get very emotional. He didn't mean to talk about this. But he explained that Sasuke was very forgiving. And he told Naruto that it was probably why he trusted him so much. If Sasuke was shown kindness, he would become attached to them. But he's never seen Sasuke smile so much as he did with Naruto, so this was why Itachi trusted Naruto as well.

They only had each other before, to keep them sane. Itachi thanked Naruto for treating them so kindly. Itachi now understood the true intentions from Naruto, and that was not to hurt them in any way. But Itachi apologized saying that it would take him a while to actually act normally. He was aware that he was traumatized. Even though Naruto had claimed to treat them like normal human beings, he still found it hard to adjust. He still had flashes of fresh memories rush through him. He just couldn't help it. Fear ran through his veins no matter how hard he tried to hide or stop it. But he was honestly happy that Sasuke didn't seem to be traumatized like himself.

Naruto promised that he would help Itachi through this, and Itachi thanked him.

Itachi felt much better, being allowed to express his thoughts and feelings. He, for the last time, thanked Naruto for taking care of Sasuke and letting him express his mind.

Sasuke had wiped his own eyes from the small tears that formed. He grabbed Naruto's handed, wanting to express his gratitude as well.

And with a soft voice, he opened his mouth.

"Thank you.."