Ch4

It was beyond challenging in more ways than one. Nagato was starting to get in too deep with those developing feelings, which he had yet to admit was very distressing and frightening. Just when he thought that he could raise the boys without taking too much thought into this whole sappy happy caring family business, it all came back biting him in the ass. No matter his struggle within his own head, he could not get rid of the thought of emotional attachments slowly building up. And what's worse, those feelings were not only interfering with his way of life, but work as well. His plans were slowly drifting further away from the reach.

At the end of the second month, Nagato received a phone call from Jiraiya. He had another assignment.

…

"Are you going to leave us again?" the moment Nagato turned to him, Kyuubi had read his plans through and spoke beforehand. That little fact was bringing a smile to the man's face.

They were on their way to a playground, located in the middle of a town's central park, just across from Nagato's actual destination. Naruto had already run ahead and disappeared in a swarm of kids while Kyuubi and his godfather stayed behind.

"I'm surprised your father never complained about you. You're too shrewd for your own good." Nagato silently cursed himself once he realized he had said the taboo word; however Kyuubi just beamed at him and took the whole thing as a complement.

"I was a fox in my previous life."

A small sigh escaped Nagato's lips. For the past few months the words 'mother' and 'father' were labeled as forbidden, unless Nagato wanted to live through another sleepless night of muffled cries in a pillow. Though it wasn't anything to feel joyous over, Nagato was still glad that the kids were slowly coming to accept the terms of what had happened and proceeded to live their life without carrying the sorrow.

"I'm sure you were," dismissed Nagato with a roll of his eyes, though Kyuubi couldn't see them behind the dark glasses he wore. "Stay on this playground and don't leave it. I won't be long. And I believe you know what to do, yes?" Without Nagato voicing his task for him, Kyuubi was already nodding with a confirmed declaration of 'count on me' and ran off to his brother.

'Good boy.' Making sure the boys were fine on their own and Kyuubi was keeping an eye on Naruto, Nagato left the park and stepped in a café just across the street. Buying himself a cup of tea, he sat and waited for his client to arrive.

It took him half of his tea worth of wait until the expected client showed up.

The smugly dressed man wore a rich grin as soon as he spotted the punkish-looking mercenary sitting at the very far corner of the shop.

"You Pain?"

Nagato's eyes narrowed at the authority the man was spouting against him. No signs of politeness or class; though such things should be the last on Nagato's mind right now. He was here on a job after all. "Take a seat."

The man grinned and plopped down. "Ain't you a bit young to be a mercenary? Seriously man, how old are you really? Fifteen?"

Nagato placed his hand upon the opened curved up napkin on the table and the man bleached when he heard a distinctive sound of a gun's safety taken off. "Guess again and see what happens." Nagato warned, holding a gunpoint against the man in front of him.

"Ch-chill man! I was just…"

"Stop wasting my time."

"R-right." Fiddling with his coat pocket, the client pulled out an envelope and began laying down his request. "The target's name is…"

Nagato took out a picture of his target and quickly counted down the money that was placed in the envelope.

"Half now and half once the job's done. Can't have you running off without doing the job right, right?" the man elaborated while shooting another glance outside the window.

Usually Nagato cared very little for the oddness of his customers, but this time, the man had shown a particular behavior that raised a wave of nausea in his gut. Through the man's one-sided debate, he had more than once caught him throwing frequent glances towards the children playground that was seen through the shop window. Whenever that occurred the man became fidgety and he rubbed his hands against his thighs.

Nagato's fingers tightened around his cup of tea. 'What the hell?'

A sudden crack and pop suddenly had half of the shop looking in their direction. The client sprang to his feet and cursed loud while Nagato held his breath. He didn't even notice himself squeezing his cup so hard that he had actually broken it.

"Shit, man! The fuck?! What's wrong with this ungodly grip?!"

"Leave. Now." was all Nagato said to the man – though he didn't realize that his voice had dropped a few octaves lower and his words were voiced out as a bold threat. Which would explain why the next second he saw the man fleeing the café.

'Those kids will surely be the death of me.' Taking a handful of napkins, Nagato cleaned his cut hand from the blood and tea. Leaving money on the table, he left the suddenly too silent café shop.

At that moment, Nagato realized that the kids might be at an even greater danger than he had first expected. That fact was proven to him more than once. That wasn't the only time Nagato had to see a pervert or a pedophile leering at the boys whenever he stepped a foot away from them. And unless he hadn't kept his eyes on the kids the entire time, he wouldn't be having them running around his flat and breaking everything on their way. Though chances of survival for those perverts were not that wide, because he had killed them all anyway, including his last paying client.

…

After four days of pleasant peace, peril came back once again. They were just entering the yard of their home with groceries in hands, when Nagato saw it. A glimmer of a light reflecting a sunbeam against a shiny lens of a camera pointed in their direction. Hiding the fact of awareness, Nagato casually opened the doors and waited for the kids to go first before following them in.

A man sitting behind the wheel of a van grinned as he took several pictures of their searched hitman and, to his immense surprise, together with two brats. "Boy, this is rich. The boss's gonna looove it!" Pressing the dialed number on the phone, the man reviewed all the pictures he took on his camera. "Hello, Hanzou. / Yeah. We finally got him. Got pictures right here. / Not only that – but I have a very interesting information to share with you. / Hah! Get this, he has fucking kids. Can ya bel-… / Huh? / No… / Not sure. Hmm, well… either the scum got himself a bitch or he's a pedoph-…"

CRASH!

The side window of a car suddenly broke, hitting small shreds of glass against the man's face. "THE FUCK!?" The photographer's eyes widened before his face collided with a tightly clenched fist.

Nagato grabbed the man by his blond hair and slammed his head against the edge of the car door, the sticking glass of the broken window pierced into the man's face; it was an instant kill. Opening the door, Nagato stepped aside as the dead body tumbled out of the car seat and onto the ground, the phone falling near his feet with a rough voice still shouting on the other end. "What the hell's going on, Heuze?! Answer me, damn you!" Nagato crushed the phone under his foot. Grabbing the camera, he left the scene. There was no need to worry about someone seeing him. The dead man's boss would surely get the message soon enough what had befallen his henchman and by whose hand it was done. And as for the people around, Nagato brushed the thought without it actually coming; the fool of a photographer had parked himself way too discreetly to have anyone else witness or see him and his demise.

"That's just not fair! You're too fat, Kyuubi." whined Naruto while trying to wrestle his brother off him.

"I'm not fat! You take that back! Admit I'm just stronger than you. Just look at my glorious muscles."

"You don't have any!"

Their game of wrestling was suddenly interrupted by Nagato's voice. "Kids. Pack the stuff. We're moving."

The twins exchange perplexed looks. "Where are we going?"

"Away from this town."

While the kids went about, Nagato took a look at the pictures in the digital camera. Yet another reason was initiated to start an all-out war between him and a gang which apparently he had 'offended' by stealing its power, messing with the order and killing its targets. Usually it would be less than a problem to deal with the matter… but only if he were alone and didn't have someone anchoring him down. The kids were his priority for now, games of war could wait… as could Hanzou.

Nagato's eyes shifted towards his laptop. A sinister smirk appeared on his face. 'Or I could just deal with him right now.'

…

Kyushu Island, Japan

Hotel Gokan

"Why is it that I find this from Hanzou first and not you?! I'm hurt! Hurt! Do you honestly wish for my death so much?" Jiraiya's voice boomed over the phone.

Nagato mentally readied himself for another round of Jiraiya's one-sided rant, which he had no doubt would soon change to conversation about women in baths, as always. "I'm surprised he called you."

"You hacked into his system and robbed his bank account!"

'Yeah I did that,' thought Nagato as he dropped himself onto the soft sheets of their newly booked hotel room. 'Courtesy' of Hanzou; and he spared no expense. "Didn't take Hanzou for a moaner. Couldn't he come and tell me that in the face?"

"You know that he knows that I'm the only one who knows how to find you. You work for me after all."

"You being my boss is hardly specific. What you are is a supplier."

"Now-now, don't harass. You should be nicer to me. Me, who helps you so much. I'm placing my reputation on the line for this, you know."

"Unless you forgot, I never asked you to meddle in my business."

"Nonsense. I can't have my pupil wondering around without his master keeping an eye on him. That would be unbecoming of a sensei."

"I'm 27, Jiraiya. Hardly your pupil anymore."

"Why must you say such hurtful things!?" cried Jiraiya while Nagato rolled his eyes. "How are the kids by the way?" the man suddenly did a complete 180 and started asking about the boys; sounding way happier than what he was a second ago.

"They look fine to me."

"… Can you be a bit more specific?"

Naruto was filled with joy. It was his first time staying at a hotel. While Nagato busied himself with calls and Kyuubi went to take a bath, Naruto was running from one side of the room to the other. Everything was so interesting and new. He ran from his bedroom to the balcony – from the balcony to the bathroom – from the bathroom to the doors –throwing open the doors, Naruto ran out into the hallway. Nagato's eyes followed him tiredly, while he listened to Jiraiya, who, to no major surprise, suddenly changed their conversation from inquiry to nonstop 'bragging' about his experience with women in baths. 'Why the hell did I pick up the stupid phone?' Nagato sighed once Naruto finally ran out of the room… at last, he was left in peace; at least one less headache to listen to now. It was only then that he realized that Naruto had run off to who-knows-where. "Shit! Naruto!" he dropped the phone and ran out of the room.

Kyuubi exited the bathroom and blinked confused when he saw no one inside, except the phone on the floor which was carrying a familiar yelling voice. Picking the screaming phone, Kyuubi answered, "Ero-Sennin?"

"Kyuubi? That you? How are ya ya little brat? And stop calling me that! Where did that godfather of yours disappear to? Tell him I'm not going to tolerate a student who's not listening to his master. Is Naruto with you? How is he doing? You boys ok? Anyway, where's Nagato? I didn't finish telling him my awesome tale. Oh! Maybe you want to hear it? It's about the devilishly handsome stud of a man, which is none other than me and a…"

Frankly, Kyuubi had stopped listening to Jiraiya the moment he mentioned Nagato. "Wait. Naga-chan's not here? And Naruto's gone too? Can it be that it's dinnertime? …HEY! But what about me!?" throwing the phone away along with his towel, Kyuubi jumped into his pyjama pants and ran out of the room and down the hall.

"Why isn't anyone listening to meee!" yelled Jiraiya.

That night Nagato was going to sleep like a log. It was proven to him that day, that it was near impossible to keep those kids on a leash without losing some part of his sanity. After running a 'marathon' and thoroughly checking out the whole hotel (including every room, despite the many complaints of its residents), Nagato finally found the troublesome blond brat in the kitchen – happily stuffing his face, which the employees' found quite amusing and didn't even try and kick the boy out. But their game of 'hide and seek' didn't end there; once Nagato finally got the hyper boy back into their room, another problem fell upon him – Kyuubi was missing. "FUCK!"

…

Staying at a hotel was fun. Everything was paid for and for once Naruto didn't have to clean the messes he made… it was like a dream come true. Next best thing of course was the pool – which Naruto was dashing for the moment he woke up. Running downstairs, Naruto yelled for Kyuubi to catch up.

"You're so slow, Kyuubi! I'm already halfway there!" Rounding the corner, Naruto yelped as he suddenly collided with something hard.

"Ouch! Watch it ya brat!" yelled an undeveloped high-pitched voice of a boy. Naruto looked up at the other boy he had knocked of his feet and the one standing next to him. If he had to guess, he'd say that they were brothers, as the two shared a lot of similar points, starting from their weird wild hair that had long peacock feathers stuck in them and ending with… Naruto blinked in bewilderment, "Wait. Is that…"

"Naruto! Wait up!" finally catching up to his twin, Kyuubi was surprised to see a pair of two bigger boys standing in front of him.

For a moment the four paused in silence. The two boys stared. Kyuubi and Naruto stared as well. The reason for their staring was clearly visible on their cheeks. Three similar whisker-marks on each cheek. Four pairs of whiskers.

Kyuubi frowned, 'What the hell?'

The bigger boys scowled, 'What the hell?'

Naruto pointed his finger at them with a complimentary yell in between, "How come you have those?!"

"Oi, copycats! The marks are our thing! Take them off!" yelled the lesser of the two boys, also pointing his finger at them to emphasize his point better.

Hearing the demanding tone snapped Kyuubi's composure. He hated people who threw threatening demands at him for no clear reason. "Shut your trap, bird-ass!" pulling Naruto away from the two, Kyuubi stepped in between them and his brother. "They're our birthmarks. Unlike yours, these weren't drawn with crayons!"

"Those are tattoos, you flame-headed moron!" yelled the other.

"What'd you call me?!" Naruto quickly grabbed Kyuubi by his clothes before he could jump on the rude boys and start beating them up.

"Kyuubi! Enough!"

The children flinched under that harsh voice.

Stepping behind his two charges, Nagato placed his hand on Kyuubi's head to keep the boy calm and in place before his gaze went to the second pair of brats staring at him with wide eyes.

"P-Pain-sama?" the boys shrunk under Nagato's cold gaze.

Naruto and Kyuubi exchanged baffled looks, 'Pain-sama?'

"Ginkaku, Kinkaku. I haven't seen you for a while now. Is Ay around?"

…

After a short discussion and explanation, it came as a shocker to both Kyuubi and Naruto once they learnt that the two pushy boys they met in the hallway were actually their relatives. Albeit very afar, but relatives nonetheless.

Ginkaku and Kinkaku were the sons of Kushina's cousin, who had left town once she became the personal nurse of Ay's father during his weak days. And as a result, she was always welcomed into their family and at times asked to accompany during long trips. And whenever a gathering was formed, Ginkaku and Kinkaku were attending it with their mother.

Though all that was a boring tale Naruto and Kyuubi didn't want to hear in detail. Because all of their attention was on the fact that they had real cousins, who were almost the same age as them, perhaps a bit older.

And in time, before they might know, their disheveled family was going to grow in exceeding number.

The meeting between Nagato and Ay in the same hotel was purely coincidental. Ay (still a novice in the field of leadership) and his family were having a family gathering in an honor of his father's 70th birthday. But that wasn't the only reason for such a huge ceremonial gathering – it was also the celebration of Ay's promotion – he was to take the leader position after his father.

As soon as he heard that "Pain" was in the area, Ay excused himself from the guests and went to pay the man a little visit. Surprisingly, it didn't take him long to find that slick bastard of a man, who was always hard to find when he didn't want to be found. Ay was intrigued, when he saw Pain surrounded by the Namikaze twins. The boys looked beyond happy as they ran around before jumping into the pool and splashing a few of those rich scrooges sunbathing by the pool. 'So the rumors are true. He actually took the custody.'

"I heard what happened to Minato."

Nagato looked away from the pool (where Naruto and Kyuubi were 'bonding' with their newly found friends/cousins – Ginkaku and Kinkaku; though from his perspective it looked like they were trying to drawn each), he regarded Ay with a raised eyebrow. An intriguing thought about 'underworld lords' (aka criminals) was that information came very easy to them. Not much was kept as a secret through those walls.

"Sorry to hear that. He was a decent man." Nagato's dubious eyes lidded halfway, he was wondering if it was a jest or was the man actually having good intentions. Though it would be no wonder if the man was paying his respects; he knew that Ay respected Minato in his own way.

Nagato nodded solemnly in reply, "He was."

"So what you plan on doing now?" taking a seat by the bar, Ay ordered himself a glass of whiskey. "Retire from your hunts and answer your true calling – babysitting?"

Nagato scowled at that remark. Ay knew damn well when to choose the right time to get on his nerves, especially when it was near impossible for him to lift a finger (that is – hurt Ay immensely) without anyone seeing or stopping him.

Unlike Ay and his 'family', Nagato wasn't a familiar. So it was quite difficult for him to get away with things that usually required backing. He wasn't a leader and most certainly did not have his own gang or mob to gloat about. What he was in the eyes of other mobsters was but an insignificant existence of a one man. He wasn't a fearsome leader and he did not hold a title. No. But still, for reasons some might question why, everyone was smart enough to respect him. Which was why Ay truly hated him. The man was just full of himself from Ay's point of view.

"Stories of your Honshu experience are spreading between the gangs like wildfire. Three of Hanzou's men were found killed by your hand, not to mention in his area. Was there even a reason behind those actions? Or was it just another phase to fill your sick boredom?"

"Reason? Hm… I might have one," Nagato breathed out without a care as he too took a drink. The men he killed – be them Hanzou's henchmen or just some nobodies – were people who dared pose a threat against the twins, therefore he didn't even consider an option that required to think twice. He just sliced.

"So arbitrary." Ay brushed his slicked light hair back with his hand. If there was one thing he hated more about Pain than everything else, it would be his abiding arrogance. "This selfish bullshit of yours is annoying. Though I have to applaud your boldness. You must be pretty eager and pray for your death if you wish to start a war with one of us. Ain't that just a perfect example of pure stupidity? I do hope Hanzou kills you soon. Your existence itself is disturbing the balance we're upholding."

The reign of the underworld was indeed unstable. Many of the growing gangs, which craved the title of the biggest and most powerful in the boarders of Japan, were gravely disturbing the stability of the order. The entitled leaders of mobs, criminals, assassins and mercenaries had to question the proficiency and skill of many, which more than not resulted in horrendous bloodbaths and gang wars. There were many who wished to battle and challenged the true leaders, as the title was something to be earned through acknowledgment and skill. And not many were even close to succeeding it. The current three leaders, known through their history and professionalism were widely known in the crime world by names alone: Gamabunta, Hanzou and now a new heir after his father – Ay. The gangs of these crime lords had upheld their title as the best in Japan for years now, and whenever there was a whisper of someone trying to fuck with their ruling lands, he/she were to be dealt with at a moment's notice. And Pain was one of them.

Nagato shot Ay a sideways glance. "Such judgmental speech. It's rare to see you actually try and act like a leader for once. Unless I'm mistaken, I thought you hit first and ask questions never."

"Watch your mouth, Pain. I can be nice only for so long." warned Ay, his eyes burning in anger and his heavy fists barely containing themselves from smashing Pain's head into the ground.

Nagato chuckled to himself. "Don't you have anything better to do? What is it that you want from me, besides practice your poor leadership skills?"

Ay slammed his empty glass with a loud bang against the table, cracking the bottom and upsetting the pale bartender who slowly shrunk away from them. "I didn't come looking for you for no reason."

"Must there be one?"

"I was just wondering… maybe I should give Hanzou a hand in the matter and kill you right here, before you start messing around my town. Getting rid of you could be a relief to many." Now that was taunting Nagato to react. Ay was openly threatening him now.

"As far as I recall, this is Kyushu, not Hokkaido. You're far away from home, Ay."

"Better be safe than sorry."

Nagato placed the half-empty glass on the bar and faced the bigger man with a steel gaze. "You can side with Hanzou ten times over and I will still give a rat's ass about it. I don't owe you an explanation for my actions, Ay. But cross my path or threaten me again, you better know that I'm going to fill your brain full with lead."

Ay was actually going to punch Pain in the face, but before he could, a boy suddenly ran over to them and hugged Pain's leg, a redheaded child not far behind.

"Na-… I mean… Pain-chan. We're real hungry! Let's go eat!"

Nagato's eye twitched at the 'chan' suffix, but he bit his tongue and refrained from saying anything offensive. The boy did good not revealing his name after all. "Fine. Go on, I'll catch up." Pushing Naruto to go, Nagato stood from his chair and paid for his drink.

"Let me tell you one thing, Ay. As long as there are people threatening my charges, I will break all the laws inside and outside your precious crime codex. No one will lay a finger on those kids if they value their life before their time."

Ay watched Pain leave with a frown. That statement revealed a very interesting part of gen. But it also arouse a few other facts he had to question, like: was Hanzou aware that Pain had killed his men only because they had become a threat to the kids? And what the hell made that cold steel of a man so protective over those two brats in the first place?

…

During that night, Naruto and Kyuubi were restless and refused to sleep – much to Nagato's annoyance. Not that he could blame them really, they had not only just met with the next closest thing to relatives they had left but they had also gained a new friend. B was his name. He was a close friend of Kinkaku and Ginkaku and was also the younger brother of Ay, who twins understood to be a big shot of sort. What sort exactly the twins didn't quite get, but apparently he was very important. Though when they asked Nagato about him, he just grumbled without providing an answer whatsoever.