I'll admit that I posted the first two chapters of this story with no idea where it was going or how it was going to end. Then I pretty much forgot about it except when the occasional review would pop up in my e-mail. Then I was driving the other day and a plot bunny arrived in my head with all the forcefulness of a church bell; I knew what this story needed to be. That being said I'm back to working on it, but (and this is a fairly big but) it will still take time. I know where both Wounded Angel and Of Ants and Love need to go, but finding the time and inspiration to write new chapters has been few and far between. Hopefully this story will be a bit easier to finish because its plot is no where near as angsty as the other two! And that, I'm afraid, is all the hope I can give to you.

IMPORTANT:I am changing the time restriction for Sasuke to marry from one month to six! With the added twists to the plot that I am planning there was just no way for it to work within such a short time frame.

Also there will most likely be some spoilers for the current chapters in the manga, but mostly little things. I will take and disregard things as I wish, some characters that die in the series will still be alive and breathing in my story. This also implies that it will be like some story arcs never even occurred.

Chapter 3: A Twist in the Plans

Itachi felt no need to tip toe around to the heart of his topic. It made the formal aspects of these little meetings pass quickly and gave him extra time to relax and be himself for a short while before having to assume his role once again. Sometimes he thought that these monthly meetings were the only thing that kept him sane, especially now that Naruto was his contact. Both of them knew the hardships of pretending.

"Pein has recruited a new member. I don't know much about him yet, it seems like anytime I get anywhere near him he runs the other way. I did hear from Kisame that he has information about an imposter in the upper levels of the organization." Itachi accompanied his words with a knowing look, one that Naruto understood instantly.

The chances of there being more then one spy who had the ability to infiltrate the Akatsuki at the level Itachi had were slim, too slim for comfort. While this could be the break they were searching for, the risk it presented was beyond comprehension. If the new member revealed Itachi as a spy and had the proof to back it up the eldest Uchiha was dead.

Naruto was going to have to consult with Tsunade about this before he could even contemplate allowing Itachi to resume his work. "Stay here, I have to go talk to Granny. Hopefully it won't take too long for her to decide what to do."

He did not even wait for Itachi to respond before hopping out the window and running towards the Hokage's office. He ducked into a dark corner to change before entering the building. The Itachi assignment was official ANBU business and any reports made concerning it had to be done in uniform. The last piece he put on was the ceramic fox mask. How nobody guessed that he was the Red Fox was beyond him, but it was a great source of mirth to both Tsunade and Itachi, the only two who knew the truth.

Walking into the large building as Konoha's Red Fox was a completely different experience then walking in as Naruto. When going in as himself nobody paid any attention to him except for the occasional roll of the eyes or smile hidden beneath a hand. For the Red Fox people hurried out of his way, turning their eyes away with respect. He only had to nod at the guard outside the Fifth Hokage's door in order to gain entrance instead of the normal yelling that always ended with an annoyed Tsunade having to come to the door and allow him in herself.

Tonight he opened the door to find the Hokage asleep on top of a pile of papers; undoubtedly she would have ink staining her face when she sat up. On a normal day he would have found the most annoying way possible to wake her up, but he needed to speak with her quickly tonight and did not have the time for the screaming match that would ensue if he acted like himself. So instead he walked quickly and quietly up to her desk and the gently shook her shoulder until her eyes opened.

She appeared groggy at first, but the moment she saw his fox mask her eyes snapped into focus and she sat up straight. Tsunade knew that Naruto's meeting with Itachi was scheduled for tonight and if the Red Fox was in her office the news could not be good. His words confirmed it, "He's been compromised."

Naruto told her what the eldest Uchiha had reported earlier and waited impatiently for her opinion on the matter.

……………….

Itachi continued to sit on the sofa; his impassive eyes stared at the drabness of his surroundings. A man with less control would be pacing the room by now and occasionally he wished that he could be that man. Instead he kept his nervousness bundled deep inside, not to be betrayed by even the smallest twitch of a finger.

Whatever Naruto and Lady Tsunade decided to do would change his life forever, if they chose to send him back in for more information his life was almost certainly forfeit. If they took him off of his mission he would have to readjust to life on the right side of the law and left Konoha with a dangerous blind spot. He could not bear to think on it anymore so he turned his mind to other matters. Just as he decided to clean up the mess of shattered glass that Naruto had left behind there was a knock on the door. He was going to ignore it until the pounding sounded again.

"Naruto I know you're in there. Let me in." The temptation to see his brother without any murderous intent to interfere was too great for Itachi. He quickly used Henge no Jutsu to transform into Naruto before opening the door.

Sasuke did not wait to be invited inside, he just walked right in. Itachi closed the door and turned to stare at his younger brother. He was more then a little annoyed at the boy's impertinence and lack of manners. The nervousness that clearly showed in the younger Uchiha's eyes helped distract him from the breach in niceties. What could make his brother lose his mask of indifference?

"Naruto I need to tell you something. It has to do with what happened earlier." Sasuke uncharacteristically reached up and rubbed the back of his head.

Itachi waited for him to elaborate, but his brother seemed to be waiting for something himself. Itachi knew Sasuke was waiting for him to respond in some way so he matched his voice as closely as possible to Naruto's and responded. "Hn."

Sasuke looked at him oddly due to the un-Naruto like response, but it would have to do. Itachi simply could not bring himself to adopt the happy smile and forgiving nature that Sasuke was so accustomed to. Perhaps he could help his little brother to see a small piece of the real Naruto, even if he was not the real Naruto(1).

It seemed to take Sasuke a minute to decide if it was enough of a response to allow him to continue. Eventually he decided it was and brought his hand back down to his side. "You see the only reason I was acting like that with that girl earlier was because I thought she was someone else. I thought that it was the perfect opportunity to show my hand without any consequences, but then you showed up and it turned out I was wrong." Sasuke had begun wringing his hands in the middle of his little speech.

Understanding came in waves to Itachi. The first was why Naruto was always so sensitive to all things Sasuke. The second was what Sasuke was having so much trouble saying. The third and final wave was that if Sasuke did manage to get a confession out it would mean nothing but trouble for everyone. He had to find some way to distract his brother from his intent.

Moving his foot slightly he crushed a sliver of glass beneath his shoe, successfully drawing Sasuke's eyes to the broken frame, discarded picture, and trail of blood that led to the bathroom. It was enough for the nervous teen to forget what he was trying to say.

"What happened?" Sasuke's eyes betrayed his feelings toward his teammate even more as they worriedly search what he thought was Naruto's body for injuries.

"N-nothing." Itachi attempted to look sheepish as he tried his best impression of Naruto's voice, mimicry was not his best ability. In fact it was the one thing that he seemed to have no talent for.

Sasuke seemed suspicious. His eyes narrowed as he once again took note of Naruto's body. Itachi knew his brother was checking to make sure he was talking to the real Naruto and hoped that there were no imperfections in his henge. After a long moment Sasuke seemed assured that it really was Naruto in front of him, but his suspicion was still evident in his eyes. The younger Uchiha spoke while scanning the room for anything out of place. "What's going on Naruto, I can tell that someone else has been here and I can tell that they are strong. Are you in trouble?"

Itachi was not sure how to assuage his brother's fears without raising any more suspicion. He was busy hoping for a miracle while trying to come up with a plan when there was a noise by the window.

"I'm back, did you miss me?" The words had both Itachi and Sasuke turning to the newest addition to the room. Itachi would have paid good money to see Naruto's face beneath his mask, but at the same time he was more then overjoyed to see that the blond had kept his ANBU uniform on. He would have hated to see how the scene would have played out if Naruto had shown up as himself.

Sasuke had a look of shock on his face as he looked between who he thought was Naruto and Konoha's Red Fox. The Fox's words echoed inside of his head taking on new meanings. The strong presence he had felt earlier and Naruto's nervousness upon seeing him made sense. Naruto had been waiting for the Red Fox to come back. The casual way that the infamous ANBU had spoken to the blond inferred the familiarity between the two. With a stricken feeling in his chest Sasuke came to the only logical conclusion in his mind, Naruto and the Red Fox were lovers.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you Naruto. I can see that you are busy so I'll just be going." Sasuke could not get out of the apartment fast enough for his own liking. All he wanted to do was crawl into a hole and die from the pain exploding inside of his heart.

As soon as the door shut behind Sasuke's retreating back Itachi released his jutsu and Naruto took off his mask. When Naruto spoke there was a softness to his voice that hinted towards the hope he kept buried inside, "What was he here for?"

"He came to tell you something, but never really got around to saying what it was." Itachi had seen the look of pure despair on his brother's face as Sasuke had run out the door and feared that the boy had jumped to the wrong conclusion. Until Naruto had a chance to sort out his own problems with the younger Uchiha, Itachi was not going to be responsible for raising the blonde's hopes.

"He didn't figure out who you were though?"

"No, but he did seem to think something strange was going on here. I don't blame him; I really can't pull off a very convincing happy go lucky attitude."

"But he didn't recognize you, that's good. That's very good." Naruto's voice trailed off into a whisper at the end like he was speaking to himself. He took a moment to just stare out the window before turning back to Itachi. "Think you can transform back into me, Tsunade needs to see both of us in her office."

…………………

(1)Does this even make sense?

So there it is: chapter 3 of House Shoes with Head Lights. Do you think it took me long enough to update? I do hope you enjoyed it! Please tell me what you think!

Wind to thy wings!

Kayume