Chapter 7
"We're sorry the number you tried to reach might be turned off or not available at the moment-"
"Dammit Sasuke"
Naruko slammed the phone on her rickety old table, making it shake from the force she had used, her frustration growing, because of the Uchiha's lack of response. It had been a week since she had last seen him or even talked to him, exactly from the night of the infamous fight with his bastard brother. After Sakura had medicated him and scolded him for hiding the truth from her, they had brought him home, where Naruko had made him promise to call them the next day to let them know how he was doing, he had begrudgingly accepted with his usual awful manners, leaving them there without a word.
At first, neither she or Sakura had paid any mind to it, he was always grumpy and kind of distant, it was really nothing new, but, the next day,they didn't hear from him at all, and by the time Naruko had to go to work, they had both tried to call him several times, and he hadn't picked once. This had been going on for a week now and the only reason Naruko hadn't gone to his house to kick his ass for his behavior was Sakura. The pink haired girl was convinced that Sasuke only needed time to process everything, and to nurture his wounded pride. Naruko didn't agree, obviously, but begrudgingly respected her wishes, so she hadn't gone to his house to kick his butt for making everybody worry as she would have liked to do, and instead, tortured herself with stupid worthless phonecalls.
"This is ridiculous" she muttered, throwing the stupid device in her purse, and kneeling to grab Kurama's water bowl and put it under the tap to fill it, the big red cat rubbing against her legs, following her as she put the bowl down and headed towards the fridge to grab some leftover chicken she had got from the hospital cafeteria the other day at her other job.
"I don't have time for cuddles Kurama, I gotta go to work, be good okay?" she whispered, as she kneeled again to put the food on the floor next to the water, and stroked him on the head, between the ears softly, his big yellow eyes only focused on the dish before him, ignoring the girl, as usual. Naruko pulled herself up with a sigh and grabbed her purse, shooting one last glance at the cat, before closing the door behind her, rolling her eyes at his indifference towards her, it was nothing new, she was used to it.
"Stupid furball, see you later"
The walk to Kubikiriocho only lasted two minutes, and as soon as she walked in from the backdoor, that lead directly to the kitchen, she found Juugo and Suigetsu, who were already at work. The first slicing some vegetables, while the white haired teen washed some dishes, both raised their head in greeting as she walked in, Juugo even smiled at her, well almost,but still, it was a progress,for the usually sulky chef.
"hey guys, how you're doing?" she asked casually, as she put her stuff down in the little cabinet that was set in an angle next ro the kitchen, and pulling out her tiny black apron, tying it behind her back.
"Ok I guess, another day in this shithole" Suigetsu answered, his cheerful voice contrasting with his words made Naruko laugh, she was used to his sarcasm by now.
"Shut up idiot, do you want Haku to hear you?" Juugo hushed him, as he turned around towards the stove to toss something in a pan, and sent a disapproving look at the other male, who simply shrugged in his typical careless way.
As if called, the brown haired man walked into the room with two trays full of dishes, and dropped them to the sink next to sink, for Suigetsu to wash, and suddenly the atmosphere changed, almost as if it had become cold all of a sudden,and Naruko even got shivers, but maybe it was just because of Haku's expression. It was terrifying.
The teen paled it would take him a good half an hour to finish all those dishes, he wondered if Haku had wandered all over the neighborhood to collect dishes just to make him suffer, because it sure looked that way. Suigetsu wouldn't be surprised if he had, the man was a sadist, and the smug smile on his face had a sinister tinge to it.
"I just wanted to remind you, that the dishwasher is broken, you might want to watch your mouth" he smirked as he said that, enjoying the younger man's distress. Suigetsu's face had drained of all colors, and his air of confidence had vanished. Juugo rolled his eyes at hin again, and Naruko couldn't hold in her laughter, as she watched Haku flick his hair behind his back dramatically, looking like a spoiled diva, with his pink glittering tank top and low waist jeans
"Because, you know who will end up washing all the dishes if you don't do you? And, we have lots of customers tonight"
The threat sounded even more evil with the fake gentle smile and sweet coated voice, Haku was evidently pleased with himself, he particularly enjoyed terrifying people. It was unbelievable since he looked like such a gentle and delicate person, his feminine features really did trick you into believing he was the most gentle person alive.
Suigetsu huffed, pouting openly at the older man, he knew that at the end, he was going to end up washing them anyway. He wasn't going to move from that sink all evening.
"Fine fine, whatever you say boss" he complied, he didn't feel like getting into a fight with the man, he knew Haku was a vendictive bastard when he wanted to be. He didn't really feel like spending the rest of the evening scrubbing pot and pans.
Haku nodded at that, obviously satisfied with the answer, gave a long look around and then looked at his three young employees, and clapped his hands loudly to get their attention.
"Good, now that that's cleared up everybody back to work! This place won't run itself."
The three, immediately scurried back to work, Suigetsu taking care of the dishes, Juugo checking that nothing was burning, controlling the various dishes and moving pans quickly with loud banging noises, that made Suigetsu turn around to glare at him, but didn't dare to say anything. Juugo always made a mess while he worked, they were all used to it.
Naruko, scrambled to her feet, with a quick 'Sure thing boss!' was out the door so fast, Haku actually wondered of she had surpassed the speed of light, with how much energy the girl had, it might actually be possible.
"These kids are going to be the death of me" he murmured glumly. He might be just a few years older than them, but man, he couldn't keep up with them, especially with the little thunderbolt in the other room.
"Don't worry boss! We'll pay for your funeral!"
Suigetsu didn't even have time to grin, a wet rag hit him right on his face.
It was around midnight, Naruko was more than halfway through her shift and her legs were starting to bother her a little bit, she was glad things had quieted down, and that she could just stop for a few seconds to check her phone, and wasn't surprised to see there was no answer from Sasuke.
By now it shouldn't be much of a shock, this had been going on fornthe whole damn week.
It angered her, here she was, concerned as always for him, and the damn…. Teme couldn't pick up his phone.
She understood he had issues, she really did, she knew it was hard for him, especially after what had happened with his brother, but still, couldn't he have a little consideration for the people that really cared for him? Didn't they deserve to know he was alright? Weren't they good enough to support and help him during such a hard time? It really shook her, and she wondered for a split second, how Sakura could tolerate it.
Naruko knew she would never be able to be as understanding and supportive as her friend was. Naruko was the kind of person who wanted to help by being there, by making sure and seeing with her own eyes how the person was doing. The distance and the not knowing how the damn Uchiha was doing for real, was killing her.
With a long sigh, she revolved her attention to her job and cleaned up some tables with a wet rag, taking some glasses from each of them, and took them in the kitchen where Juugo and Suigetsu were busy cleaning up listening to some rock music, they didn't even notice her walk in, and she smiled rolling her eyes at the two boys. At least they looked happy.
She walked back into the hall area, and looked around. Most of the people had left, and there were only a few customers who were chatting amongst each other on the far end of the room, and for the moment they seemed like they didn't need anything else and Haku had disappeared in the office thirty minutes ago, and she was sure he wasn't going to come out for another thirty. Zabuza was there, and she didn't even want to imagine what those two could be doing in there. Once she had caught Haku walking out with his hair all ruffled up and his shirt ripped up. They had made a quiet agreement to never talk about it, but she wasn't stupid, she lived underneath them after all, and the walls weren't that thick.
Taking advantage of the newfound peace, she practically threw herself on a chair near the counter, leaning her back against it she relaxed a little bit, and she had to fight to keep her eyes from closing, as she realized how exhausted she felt, her eyelids were heavy and she figured it wouldn't hurt if she gave in and closed her eyes to rest for a few seconds.
It felt like she had slept for ages, when she finally opened her eyes, glad she hadn't been caught napping on the job, although Haku fortunately was very tolerant, he would probably not be pleased.
She stretched a little bit, huffing in content, feeling charged and ready to go for other two hours, till closing time.
"Looked like you had a good rest"
She froze at the amused and weirdly familiar deep voice, and immediately turned towards the source of it, and her blue wide eyes met Itachi Uchiha's dark gaze. He was just sitting there on a stool, as if he had been there for a while, his inky hair pulled back with a few strands framing his pale expressionless face, his black leather jacket adding an edge to the look, was rolled up to the sleeves with the zip open revealing another black shirt underneath, exposing his muscular chest and neck.
Naruko had to battle her eyelashes a couple of times trying to hide her stupor in seeing him there so casually, as if he was a normal man hanging out in a bar and not a wanted criminal with a reward hanging on his head.
"You? What are you doing here?" she accused pointing a finger at him, her face twisted in anger, she would have liked to throw him out of there, if only she could.
"Does my presence bother you?"
He watched her with curiosity, his head prodded on one of his hands and the other free one was holding a lit cigarette, and was smirking at her, his black eyes following her in every movement. She had forgotten how good looking the damn bastard was, last time she hadn't had the chance to look at him so closely, and her memory of him didn't make him justice. Still, she hated him with a passion, and she didn't feel like backing down, still feeling as bold as ever.
"What do you think, bastard?" she muttered standing up, reluctantly getting closer to him, still feeling his intense gaze fixed on her, she wondered why he was staring at her so much, did she have something on her face? She checked it spying on the glass behind her, it didn't really give her a clear vision but it was still better than nothing.
"You wound me, I thought you would be overjoyed to see me. Pity"
He shrugged his shoulders, looking anything but sorry, and took another breath of smoke, making Naruko's left eye twitch. She hated the stench of smoke, and she hated him too, her blood was boiling as she avoided to look at that smug expression,who the hell did he think he was? Why would she even be happy to see him after what he had done to Sasuke? Did he have a short term memory problem or something?
"Don't you know it's not allowed to smoke in here?" she said, ignoring his words, leaning across the counter to take the offending thing from his fingers throwing it in the small sink and turning the tap on to turn it off with a disgusted look on her face.
He watched with an amused expression, chuckling to himself, and simply pulled another one out of his jacket and lit it with a lighter, letting outa puff of smoke, leaning both his elbows on the wood as he tilted his head to the side, his lips slightly turned up in a small smile. The confidence he had, the way he seemed to think he could get away with anything just bothered her deeply, and she gave him a look that seemed to say, are you kidding me? And, in fact that's what she was thinking.- Is this guy for real? I mean, the nerve he has ! –
He seemed to catch up on that, and his smile turned into a mocking one, as he was daring her to take it away from him again, oerfect eyebrow arched in question as he inhaled the venomous smoke never taking his eyes away from her.
"Is something wrong?" he finally asked, a small cocky smile still present, and she really wished she could slap it off of his face, which was never a good thing, lately she was having too many violent thoughts when it came to Uchiha. Maybe it was the only way to deal with them and their terrible attitude. Especially Itachi's.
"Yes, there's something wrong! I told you before asshole, that it's not allowed to smoke in here" she frowned at his unbothered expression and leaned with her upper body against the counter again and reached out to slip it from his fingers again, but this time, he caught her wrist with his other hand, and she yelped at the gesture, almost tipping, and brushed her fingers on the lit cigarette, risking to burn her fingertips with the damn thing.
"Ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you" he warned her, a ghost of a smile on his lips, as he took another smoke from the offending thing, making her blood boil from both his disrespectful gesture and the fact that he was still holding her arm, clutching at it with an iron grip, and she was sure it was going to bruise. At the thought, something clicked in her, she didn't want any testament of the contact and immediately snatched her hand away in anger.
"Don't touch me you piece of-"
"You're sure you want to finish that sentence?" his voice sounded menacing and sharp as a razor, a sudden change from the former amused one of a few seconds ago, and his eyes somehow held a challenging glint in them, and it almost looked like he was challenging her, curious to see, just how far she would push herself.
Well, Naruko almost smirked, she wasn't one to back down from such a tempting invitation. She straightened her back and without fear, looked straight into the pitch black eyes
"I'm not afraid of a bastard like you"
He held her gaze, and distended his lips, both his hands slipping under his chin to hold his head up, completely unfazed by her insulting sentiment.
"I would measure my words if I were you little girl, you have no idea how much of a bastard I can really be" he might have been calm as he said the words, but his voice was laced with venom, contrasting with his apparent calm expression.
"Don't call me little girl bastard! I have a name you know!" her hands balled into tiny fists, she looked so small and delicate, even with her features contorted in anger, it almost made the Uchiha want to smile.
Almost, but he had to admit, she had courage. No one ever spoke to him like this, except for that idiot of Deidara, but he was an exception simply because Itachi couldn't be bothered and teach him a well deserved lesson.
"Ah, you're a brave one" he paused for a second, feeling the girl's gaze on him, and he felt the impatience in it. He smirked, he would leabe her hanging, it was entertaining to see her get pissed.
"Or maybe you're just…. foolish"
He tilted his head as he spoke, but he was focused on his hands, ignoring the girl's annoyed huff and he figured she didn't look too happy. He had practically insulted her by just stubbornly standing there without really feeling like ordering something. He had walked in only because he had to meet stupid Deidara and Sasori, who as usual were running late.
He had ignored that the girl worked in the scummy place, not that it would have changed anything, even if he knew.
"Who did you just call foolish?" the blonde squeaked, her face scrunched up in disgust. If she didn't have a short skirt on, she might have just climbed the counter to let him have it, her hands had been itching to slap him the whole damn time he had been there.
Itachi stood there obviously unimpressed by her reaction, and shook his head at her, face emotionless as always.
"That explains why you're friends with Sasuke"
Now, that really got to Naruko, her eyes widened and she banged her fists on the hard wood, hurting both of them, but too enraged to care for the sting of pain she felt right into her bones.
"Don't you dare pull Sasuke in this you damn motherfucking backstabbing bastard!" she blurted out in anger, her whole face completely red and her heart beat sped up, uncertain of what would happen now. Would Itachi finally get mad? She hoped he did, she was capable of defending herself, she had taken self defence lessons after what had happened to her, and wasn't afraid of taking him on, pushing aside the fact that he was in all effects, a dangerous criminal, something she shouldn't underestimate, but unfortunately Naruko had a bad control on her impulses, and threw caution out the window when she felt she had to defend a friend. Especially one like Sasuke.
Itachi though, didn't move. He didn't show any signs of being annoyed or bothered by what she had said, actually he wasn't even paying much attention to her, his gaze concentrated on something else.
"hey asshole didn't you hear me?"
Sometimes she was her own worst enemy, and she yelped as soon as his eyes moved to whatever had caught his attention, to focus on her. The black eyes staring at her in such an intense manner, it made her blush. If only she could figure out what he was thinking. He was such an enigmatic person to figure out, even if she had only met him twice, she was sure he was like this with everyone.
"When I found you that night, you were such a scared little defenseless thing…now look at you, challenging someone like me. You might have grown stronger, but you have to mature further. You should know, never pick a fight with someone more experienced than you, little girl, you better learn that fast, if you don't want to get into trouble again"
Naruko winced at his words, a little taken aback, and her fist tightened, her knuckles were almost white. Itachi noticed, and raised a brow at that, interested by the small reaction. Impulsive as she was, he thought she would react strongly. It was interesting, how she seemed to care more about others than her own self. She had almost attacked him when he had mentioned Sasuke.
"This… this is the second time you mention that night…-" her voice was soft, almost confused, but he heard her clearly, and his gaze on her intensified, his eyes slightly narrowing, he opened his mouth as to say something, but no words came out, and Naruko glared at the man, wishing he would just leave instead of tormenting her further. Apparently though, he had made it his personal mission to make her life miserable that evening.
"Oi Uchiha! What ya doing?"
Naruko looked up, glad for the interruption , and spotted a young man, who didn't look much older than Naruko, walked in, he was tall, with long blonde hair that covered half his face, one visible big blue eye (the other covered by his hair) a narrow face and slender body, wearing a jacket similar to Itachi's. He walked up to the Uchiha, swinging an arm around the other's shoulder, an action that didn't seem to please the black haired man, that glared at the offending limb, until the man slipped it off, sitting on a stool next to Itachi, who still looked like was bothered by the other's presence.
The man raised his head, his only visible eye looked straight towards Naruko, who raised a brow in question, at the cocky grin he sent her.
"Well well, look at what we got here." He gave her a disgustingly heated gaze that made her want to throw up everything that she ate all week, and she immediately covered her chest folding her arms against it. His gaze was lingering to much on her low neckline, it made her feel uneasy.
"You're a precious little thing aren't you, what's your name darling?"
The man wiggled his eyebrows at her, and forgot about the frustrated looking Itachi, who was still sitting there, and looked like he was seriously considering murdering the blond, who by the way, was still clinging to him.
Her pushed his arm off his shoulder, making the man stumble and lose his balance for a couple of seconds.
"Hey! What's wrong with you ? Can't you see that I'm trying to start a conversation here with lovely… darling you still have to tell me your name"
Naruko turned her face to the other side making a gagging sound and a loud "Ughh" escaperld from her throat.
"Speak a little louder sweetheart, I didn't quite catch that"
Itachi was trying to ignore the other man's terrible flirting attempt, but they were se terrible even he couldn't tolerate them.
"Deidara, where's Sasori?" he asked dryly, not even glancing at the hyper man, who simply huffed in answer, probably annoyed that he had to take his attention away from Naruko, who was seriously considering escaping from the backdoor. Itachi had been enough for her to deal with, she didn't feel like putting up with a damn pervert, who, was also Itachi's friend.
"That idiot, he said he had better things to do than hang out in a bar. I told him he should come and not be so fucking uptight all the times!"
Itachi tsked at that, Sasori was smarter than he was, at least he thought so at that moment, unlike him, who was unfortunately stuck in the place with him
"I'm leaving"
Sasori would have made that evening slightly more tolerable, but he couldn't stand Deidara's idiocy on his own, it was too much even for a patient man like him. He was almost tempted to stand up and just leave.
"What do you mean? I just got here! You should buy me a drink at least!"
The blond shouted back indignantly, raising his voice at the Uchiha, obviously bringing all the attention towards himself.
"As if I would lower myself so"Itachi answered with a sharp edge to his voice, that for a second reminded everyone who he was. His impassive expression didn't flinch at Deidara screeching, offended by his displays of superiority.
The few customers who were still there were eyeing tje two Akatsuki members with wary glances and sjared preoccupied glances towards each other.
Itachi snorted at the blonde, his menacing glare a good enough of a response for Deidara who simply huffed and slomped down on his stool.
"You're a bastard Uchiha, but no worries, I will just entertain myself with little bomb over here" he winked at her again, and Naruko wished she could just disappear, but she wasn't going to just stand there and be molested by the pushy idiot.
"Ugh, would you just stop! Tell me what you want to drink so I can get rid of you" she finally blurted out, tired of the man trying to hit on her.
"Oh feisty! I like that even more, come over here sweetheart, my lips won't kiss themselves!"
He made disturbing smooching sounds with his lips, and Naruko felt sick, never in her life as shs been molested in such a way. That didn't make her back down, actually it riled her up, and she smirked, lowering her upper body against the counter.
"You know what you can kiss with those disgusting lips?"
She spoke with a sugar coated voice, that made her words sound even more menacing, her big blue eyes opened wide made her look a little bit of a psychopath.
Unfortunately, she didn't have the hoped reaction from the man. He sighed and rested his head on his hands, looking like a lovesick man.
"I think I'm in love with you, I feel like I want to make a sculpture with your beautiful curves"
He smirked as his hungry eye studied every line of her body, mimicking the trail of his vision with his hands although covered by her clothes, they were tight enough that her shape was evident.
Itachi snorted loudly and Naruko was horrified. Was that night a stupid joke? What did she do to deserve such a punishment? First the freaking Uchiha bastard and now this pervert. She just wanted for this night to end, so she could go home and shower to wash away the feeling of disgust that man gave her.
Even Itachi was tired of the other's bullshit. He was almost tempted to drag him out of the fucking place, he was infuriating him that much. It was the reasons why he hated to go out with him on his own in the first place, he flirted with anything that breathed, and Itachi found it fucking annoying. For the first time ever, he really wished Sasori was there with them, he was the only one to put the blond in line, taking advantage on the weak spot Deidara had for the red head. The two were in a sort of weird open relationship, in which Deidara was free to fuck whoever he wanted, men or women, there wasn't much difference for the blonde, he was open with his sexuality, so, provided he didn't get attached permanently to someone else, Sasori didn't care.
Fortunately for the Uchiha, Haku graciously walked in, his face all red, and his shirt looked like it was back to front. His always perfectly smooth hair, were all tied up in a high ponytail. He looked like he had rushed to get there, and Itachi wanted to snort, it was pretty obvious in what activity he had been involbed in, that had caused him to disappear for all that time.. Apparently he was surrounded by peeveets who couldn't keep it in their pants.
"Get a fucking grip on yourself Deidara, for God's sake stop molesting my employees!"
"Sweetheart is fine with it, aren't you dear? Don't be jealous my little Haku, I've got enough space in my heart for both of you" Deidara licked his lips as he set his sight on the feminine man who didn't bat an eyelash at the blond man, instead rolling his eyes in desperation.
"You're disgusting . Tell me what you want to drink and get the hell out of here"
Deidara pouted like a little child
"Always so harsh with me…"
"Give us two beers, then we'll clear the air"
Itachi spoke finally, and Haku looked surprised as his gaze turned towards the raven, who was quietly sitting in his stool.
He probably hadn't even noticed the Uchiha's presence, but was secretly glad of his intrusion, and immediately shooed Naruko to go grab two bottles of beer in the fridge in the back. The girl ran out, relieved to get away, even if just for a few minutes.
"What? Fucking Uchiha, I'm not ready to leave, not with the pretty view around here"
"Hn, we have a meeting with Pain tomorrow. It would be best to get some sleep before it, but suit yourself I could care less about what you do"
"Always so caring…."
Deidara's eyes widened for a brief second, finally taking in what Itachi had said and grunted tiredly, his hands shooting in his hair, he almost gave the impression he wanted to pull them out. Now, that would have been an entertaining thing to watch.
"Fuck… why do we have to go to the stupid thing…I'm a fucking artist! I have more important things to do"
He whined, raising his hands towards the ceiling in a dramatic gesture.
Itachi ignored him as he always did when Deidara. Started to brag about him being an artist, and decided to leave. He had reached his level of tolerance, and he would probably have to face Kisame's ugly face as soon as he got home.
He threw some bills at Haku and stood up taking his beer with him, without adding another word, and with one last glance at the blonde girl, he left, just as quickly as when he had arrived.
Naruko hadn't even realized she was holding hee breath, until the Uchiha disappeared behind the door. Her eyes uncapable of looking away, her blue gaze lost on the retreating figure until it disappeared from her sight. Haku noticed, and curoosluly observed the exchanged in total silence.
"I really hate that guy" Deidara groaned once again, breaking the heavy silence, leaving some change on the counter, anticipating that Itachi wouldn't pay for his drink.
Hell would freeze over before that happened.
"Well goodnight my sweethearts" he gave them one last smirk, and blew a kiss to both of them with a loud smacking sound that made Haku's left eye twitch, sign that he was loosing his patience.
"Fuck off!" the brunette yelled after him, deafening Naruko's left ear, throwing a menacing fist in the air as he did so.
"I will send Zabuza after his ass one day!" he muttered with an annoyed voice folding his arms on his chest.
"Is he always like that?" Naruko asked, and the brunette sighed, moving towards the dining area flopping down on a chair, inviting Naruko to do the same. There was hardly anyone left in the place might as well take advantage of it..
"I'm used to it, he flirts with anything that moves… my previous employees, they left because of him"
"He annoyed them to the point of making them resign?"
She chuckled but something in Haku's expression made her stop immediately.
"Naruko, don't be tricked by his angelic looks. You remember what I said about Akatsuki, right? They are not good people. Next time one of them walks in, come look for me or get Suigetsu or Juugo okay?"
He looked worried and very serious, and she imagined that something must have happened to make him react like that.
Haku sighed, and sat up straight, his fingers drawing circles on the plastic of the table, he looked nervous.
Naruko sighed and let her head drop backwards, leaning with her back on the chair. Her whole body felt tired, and her head was slightly hurting her, but mostly she was still feeling irritated because of the meeting with the Uchiha. It had bothered her when he had jusr walked in, as if nothing had happened, as if he was a regular customer.
"Haku…. Why are these people still out, free to do what they want, instead of rotting in jail where they belong?"
The brunette battled his eyelashes in a stunned gesture. His mouth opening and closing a couple of times as he tried to come up with a honest answer.
"Because…. justice doesn't always work as it should, like many other things in this fucking place"
He admitted, sighing loudly, stretching his arms above his head stifling a yawn.
"It's not fair…"
"Life isn't fair. It's the way it is over here. We can't do a damn thing about it, just do the best we can to stay out of trouble"
He looked over to the girl, who had closed her eyes, her head had dropped on her right shoulder and her arms were lying limp hanging across the chair. A weird position, that made the man smile and shake his head. Figures, only Naruko would be able to fall asleep like that.
"Poor kid, must be tired"
Zabuza entered the room, losing no time to get to Haku leaning his hands on the smaller man's shoulders, massaging them lightly.
Haku groaned in pleasure, enjoying the feell of his boyfriend's rough arms on his tired muscles.
"Yeah… we were talking a second before and the next she concked out"
Zabuza stopped his ministrations, hugging the man from behind, leaving a kiss on his cheek
"So, who made you run away earlier?" he asked with a quiet tone, not wishing to disturb the sleeping girl next to them.
"Fucking Deidara, and he was in good company too. Tsk"
The older man raised a brow at Haku's reaction.
"Who was he with?"
"Uchiha" he spat out with venom coating his voice, as if he had said a bad word.
Zabuza made a surprised sound, more because of the tone the other had usedof.
"Really now, and what is bothering you so much about Uchiha? I thought you liked him. You always say he is the only one who has good manners"
It was true. Amongst all Akatsuki members, Itachi was the odd one out. Reserved and always quiet, the only one who thanked him or talked to him with a little respect. He had actually been very surprised when the usually stoic Uchiha had beaten up his own brother without any remorse.
"I don't know….he has been acting…. Different"
Zabuza didn't say anything, but Haku knew he didn't need too to know what he was thinking.
"I know, I know, I read too much into things and I baby my employees too much" he said with amusement in his voice, and the older man raised a brow in question
"What does that have to do with you babying our employees ?"
"I don't know… I might be just under the impression… maybe it's just me… forget it"
Haku was a good observer when he wanted. And he had noticed the weird glances Itachi had been discreetly sending to Naruko, especially the last one before he had left. He didn't know what it was supposed to mean, or if the two even knew each other, but he hadn't liked what he had seen. Not one bit. Although he didn't want to rush to conclusions, he hadn't stuck around long enough.
"You're crazy you know that?"
"Yes, but that's why you love me. Come on now, get off me, and let's get that poor girl to bed, or she will wake up with a terrible stiff neck tomorrow, and, she's got her morning shift at the hospital, she should get some sleep- what?" he asked, noticing Zabuza's lips curling at the corner.
"Nothing mama Haku, guide the way, I will follow your instructions "
"Idiot" Haku glared at Zabuza, watching as he picked up Naruko from her chair taking her in his arms, under Haku's watchful gaze.
The girl must have been really tired, she had barely moved, and Zabuza had no problem carrying her all the way to her bed, thankfully Haku had a spare key of the apartment, and so he cautiously lowered her onto the soft sheets, Haku delicately took of her shoes, and covered her with another blanket on top so she wouldn't feel cold during the night.
Kurama got out of a corner mewling and started to rub his body against Haku's legs. The man kneeled down and scratched the cat behind the ears smiling softly at it.
"Take good care of our little Naruko mh?" he whispered softly, knowing that Zabuza would probably make fun of him if he caught him talking with the animal.
The feline just watched him with his big yellow eyes and licked one of his paws with indifference., drawing a chuckle from the man.
Zabuza walked behind Haku, hugging him from behind, leaning his head on the man's shoulder, kissing him on the nape of his neck.
"We gotta go, it's time to close up, Suigetsu and Juugo should be finished cleaning up by now" he yawned, relaxing into his boyfriend's embrace.
" let me take care of it, you go home and take a long relaxing bath, and wait for me in bed" he snickered, and Haku sighed at the sound.
"I like that idea" Haku approved, it had been a long time since he had a little time to himself, he was alway busy with the bar, he knew Zabuza felt a little guilty.
"Good, let's get out of here then, I'm starting to feel like a creep, hanging around this place"
"Let's go, but first let me set the alarm for her, knowing her she won't wake up if she doesn't hear it"
Zabuza sighed, and with a low chuckle, left the apartment shaking his head in amusement at his boyfriend's antics.
"Mama Haku, I think it suits you"
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"So, have you got the information I wanted?" It waa dark, and there was nowhere around in that part of town in the middle of the night. A black sedan was parked in a dark area with almost no illumination, and two men were standing in the close proximity of it, careful to not be seen by anybody.
"I collected every trace of evidence I could find, and from what I found, I'm almost sure we are on the right trail"
The older man hummed in approval, as he took the folder with the proof he needed from the hands of the other.
"You've been careful right? You know nobody has to know about this. It would put this mission in even more danger then it is"
"Yes sir. No one suspects anything."
"Good. I need you to stay on top of things. I can't allow any more mistakes on this case. Call me as soon as you have more. And we will meet" he said as he started to walk towards the car, turning his back on the other man, who standed in the dark comfortably as if he was part of it.
"You can trust me, sir"
"I know. It's why I chose you"
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Hello to everyone! Finally I'm back! I know I made you sweat for this last chapter, but unfortunately, there have been a lot of big changes in my life lately, the last one, I just moved to a whole different country, so I was busy with stuff, and I had very little time to dedicate to this story, unfortunately, I really love it, so I assure you It won't be left unfinished, but I might be slow updating, so please just have a little patience with me!
Anyway, I hope you like it and I would really love to hear your opinion! So read and review guys!
Thank you to all the people that have added the story to their alert list and to those that have reviewed! I love you all! Thank you for showing support to story! It makes me want to write more!
Lots of love! Darkshadows92