I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.
"talking"
'thinking'
Chapter 3:
Naruto shut the door behind him. He smiled. He had just finished putting Kohaku to bed. Kohaku was now six months old, making it three months since they had come to the Uchiha Manor. After some training, Naruto was given the position of Kohaku's caregiver.
Naruto stepped into his room, leaving it open a crack. If Kohaku started crying, he'd be able to hear him. In all honesty, he'd rather sleep with Kohaku by his side, but Mr. Uchiha kept bringing him back into this room. He hadn't really talked to Mr. Uchiha except the few times they ran into each other when Mr. Uchiha visited Kohaku. Naruto noticed that Mr. Uchiha tried to spend time with Kohaku while Naruto was busy helping out in the kitchen. It wasn't like he hated Naruto, but being ignored by the man hurt Naruto's feelings a bit. Naruto didn't understand why though.
He yawned as he stripped himself of his work clothes. Mr. Uchiha had gotten his a tailored uniform. Naruto had no idea how Mr. Uchiha had found out he liked orange, but he was more than happy with the black and orange uniform. He was also given some red and black nightwear. Naruto blushed when a maid had given him a bag of boxers. She had also given him slippers, shoes, and socks. All in all, Naruto had found himself a place to belong.
-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-
He rolled his eyes. Here the blond was, once again sleeping on the floor near Kohaku's crib. He sighed as he bent down and took the boy into his arms. The man frowned. The boy was still underweight. He carried the boy back into his room, pulling the covers over his small body. The boy was fourteen, that's what the background check revealed. It also said that he had lost his parents the night he was born. He had someone taking care of him until he was four. Ten years, that's how long Naruto had been in that Prison. The man glared at the wall. He hated that place and he was glad he only had to go there once.
Catching his wife with his co-worker had made him extremely angry. He had his wife thrown into that place and his co-worker had paid dearly, with his left arm. The man had sworn that he hadn't slept with Mizori. This was actually true. Sena hadn't selpt with Mizori, that time. It seemed that Sena and Mizori had sex just before Mizori had gotten pregnant. When he found this out, Sena was sent to the same place as Mizori. He had commit suicide the next day. He was also sent a letter stating that Mizori had also died. But her son, the baby that was either his or Sena's. He was still alive. However, he wasn't about to go get the baby. For all he knew, it was Sena's. This changed when a letter appeared on his desk. It confirmed that he was indead the father of Mizori's baby. He knew who had gotten the test down. Glaring at Kakashi, he walked out of his office, slamming the door behind him. Without another thought, he drove to the prison. The warden had been surprised at his appearance. Scared of what the Uchiha would do to him, the warden let him retrieve his son.
When his eyes met Naruto, he was filled with a mix of emotions. Part of him was angry that he would give him his son, but another part had to admit that he was glad someone cared about him. It was easy to come to the decision he made. Taking them both home with him was simple. No one wanted Naruto, that was why he was there. But now, he was needed. Naruto would be his son's caregiver in an exchange for a place to stay, food to eat, and clothing to wear. Though, Naruto never even asked for it.
At first, Naruto seemed to be afraid, but all of workers at the Uchiha mansion made him feel welcomed. They liked him and enjoyed working with him, especially the cooks. He helped wash some dishes and even tested the food. The man had seen the boy and the cook laughing. It put a small smile on his face. If anyone had seen his smile, they would have been very surprised. The man hasn't smiled in a long time.
The only thing he didn't like was when Naruto was wearing Itachi's clothes. Luckily, his son had distracted him enough from Naruto that he didn't blow a gasket. He did however make sure that Naruto got different clothes. Itachi's clothes were washed and returned to his room, once more locked.
On the first night, Naruto was found sleeping by Kohaku's crib. He carried him into a guest room across from Kohaku's. Every night after that, the same thing happened. Finally, he had to tell Naruto to sleep in his own room. The look of surprise on Naruto's face at the mention of the room nearly made him laugh. From then on, he only caught Naruto sleeping near Kohaku's Crib eight times, making tonight the nineth time. There as also one times that Naruto fell asleep on his own bed with Kohaku safely in his arms. Kohaku whimpered when he was taken from the blonde's hold but then he snuggled into his father's embrace. He had to admit that Kohaku was the cutest thing he had ever seen, Naruto being a close second.
He shook his head at that thought. Never before had he been attracted to a man. It scared him not only because Naruto was a boy, but he was a fourteen-year-old boy! Kakashi had told him that it wasn't odd since Naruto was basically a replacement for Mizori. To him, this made sense. He had loved Mizori, to a point. And now that the one who watched over his son for the last six months was here, he felt love towards Naruto. Of course he would never say that outloud though.
He sighed as he left the room, closing the door softly behiind him. Heading down the hallway, he stopped before a door and took out a key. Unlocking the door, he stepped inside, locking it behind him. It had been a long time since he had been able to step into this room, four years, eleven months, three weeks, six days, and eighteen-hours in fact. Five years, that was how long Itachi had been gone. Losing his parents had been nothing in comparison to losing Itachi. Itachi had kept him sain and level headed. Mizori had done that same, until just under a year ago. And Sena just made it worse.
He walked over to Itachi's closet, bent down, and pulled out a red box. He hesitated before he put it back down. He had tried several times over the past five years to open it. It was the last thiing Itachi had bought. Once more, he left the room, locking it behind him. He wasn't ready yet, but hopefully he would be soon.
-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-
Naruto woke up in his bed and smiled. Mr. Uchiha had carried him in here again. Getting up, he checked on Kohaku. After changing his diaper, he headed down to the kitchen. There, he found some food for himself and for Kohaku.
"Hey Naruto!" the chef said. The chef was a kind man who was just a few months older than Mr. Uchiha. He was... husky. The first time they met, Naruto had heard someone call him fat. He had exploded, yelling at whomever it was that he was husky. Naruto walked into the room, clear his thoat, and asked if he could get something to eat. The man had calmed down instantly with a large smile on his face, and gave Naruto some food. After some questions, some of which Naruto didn't answer, they became friends. The chef had asked Naruto to simply call him Choji.
Choji then introduced Naruto to his wife Ino. Ino had a mouth. She loved to hear the sound of her own voice and would talk about the most random things. One time, Naruto had to sit through her explaining the meaning of her favorite flowers. Luckily, Choji's best friend had walked in the room. Shikamaru was lazy, to say the least. He found everything troublesome. Quieting Ino had been an easy task. Shikamaru simply walked into the room saying his favorite word. She openedher mouth, then shook her head and fell silent. She knew saying anything to Shikamaru would be pointless.
"Good morning Choji," Naruto said. He smiled before taking a seat at the taste-testing table. He held Kohaku on his leg as he began to feed him.
"Ah, Uchiha-sama," Ino said. "Good morning!"
"'Morning," the man grumbled. He took a seat across from Naruto, accepting a cup of coffee, black no cream or sugar. Everyone could tell that the man was tired.
"Rough night?" Ino asked. The man only nodded.
Shikamaru walked into the room a minute later, taking the seat between Naruto and Ino. "Sai is coming today, right?"
"Today?" Ino asked. "Dammit! I haven't hid my stuff yet!" She stood up and ran off.
"Sai?" Naruto asked.
"Sai Uchiha," Shikamaru said. "He's... troublesome."
"Uchiha?" Naruto looked at Mr. Uchiha. "Is he your brother?" The sound of ceramic breaking filled the room. Eyes widened as the cup in Mr. Uchiha's hand had shattered, causing blood to leak from the cuts made from the broken pieces. He was glaring. Naruto shivered. Suddenly, the man stood up and left the room. Naruto looked down.
"It's not your fault," Shikamaru said. "Sai isn't his brother. He's his cousin."
"Then why did he..?" Naruto began.
"Itachi Uchiha," Shikamaru said. "He was Uchiha-sama's brother. He died five years ago."
"Oh," Naruto said. He wanted to ask some questions but the atmosphere told him not to. Instead, he just finished feeding Kohaku. He got up and grabbed an apple. "See you guys later." He brought Kohaku back to his room, burped him, then laid the boy down on his bed. Naruto began to eat the apple as he read a book. Now and again, he'd steel glances at Kohaku who had fallen asleep. Naruto smiled then it vanished. His mind went to Sai, Itachi, and Mr. Uchiha. He wanted to know more about the person that had given him a home.
-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-
He slammed his door shut as he sat down on his bed. He knew Sai was coming, but it was only because Sai was having a gallery opening nearby. Naruto wasn't at fault. He didn't know anything about Itachi or the Uchiha family. sighed. He couldn't keep getting angry at people for talking about Itachi or the rest of his family. Getting up, he made his way down the hall to Kohaku's room. When he opened the door, he noticed that Kohaku wasn't there. Thinking about it, he walked across the hall and knocked on the door.
Naruto opened the door, eyes widening in surprise. "M-mister Uchiha."
"I'm here to see my son," he said.
"R-right," Naruto said. "Come on in." He moved to the side to let Mr. Uchiha in. The man instantly walked over to the bed and sat down. He took his sleeping son into his arms, smiling. Naruto watched the scene and decided to leave the two of them alone. He walked towards the door.
"Naruto," Mr. Uchiha said, stopping the blond from leaving the room. "Thank you."
"N-no problem, Mr. Uchiha," Naruto said.
"Call me Sasuke," the man said.