Disclaimer: still not mine
Warnings: male/male pairing
Naruto: 17
Sasuke: 7
Itachi: 13
Kakashi: 18
Minato: 25
Thanks to Lazy-Hime who's doing one amazing job at betaing.
Chapter 10
When Kakashi arrived in the Hokage's office, he was surprised to find his former sensei pacing agitatedly in front of the window.
"You have called, sensei?"
The blond man turned around to face his silver haired student and smiled warmly.
"Yes and I am happy to see you actually on time for once, Kakashi."
Kakashi watched as the man who was like a father to him walk back to his desk. His eyebrows rose when the blond man's hands formed the seals for a jutsu that would make it impossible to spy on their meeting. That kind of security measure was usually reserved for SS-class missions.
"As you might have already guessed, I have a mission for you. It regards the teenager you found with Sasuke in the forest. Starting tomorrow the boy will be staying at the Uchiha manor, with strict orders not to leave its confines.
"Naturally, he will be under Itachi's watchful eyes most of the time, but I wish for you to be an unseen second pair of eyes.
"Your mission is to guard the boy. Make sure he doesn't leave the manor, observe him closely and kill anyone who enters the Uchiha district that doesn't have my express permission or is already living at the manor.
"So far all I have told the council about the boy is that he saved Sasuke. I don't want them or their spies anywhere near the Uchiha manor. Since the Uchiha district was declared to be off-limits to anyone but the last two Uchiha, there won't be a problem with you killing them off."
The seriousness in his sensei's eyes and voice sent a shudder down Kakashi's back.
"What am I to do if the boy detects me because of outside interference?" he asked in his usual mission voice.
There was a short, thoughtful silence, then the blond Hokage answered, "Then you will introduce yourself and guard him openly. Try not to be detected before you've had a chance to observe him when he believes himself to be alone and unobserved."
Kakashi nodded, bowed and left with a swirl of leaves.
When he reappeared in his apartment, he tried not to wince at the thought of a prolonged stay in the Uchiha's presence. On the other hand, perhaps this would turn out to be the perfect opportunity to annoy Itachi while staying within his mission parameters, of course.
The thought made him smirk deviously.
O
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O
When Naruto woke up the next day, the sky was still grey and the first rays of sunlight where touching the trees in the east.
Slowly sitting up on the bed, he tested the strength of his limbs. His body was still weak, but he felt that his chakra had fully recovered. If the need arose, he would at least be able to fight, now.
He drew his knees to his chest, laid his head down on them and watched as the sun rose higher in the sky, the light touching more and more objects outside the window and inside the room.
When the first rays of light started to touch the little black haired boy sleeping peacefully in the bed next to his, a small smile stole onto Naruto's face, making him look younger in years than he was.
He felt at peace. It was an unexpected feeling, one he hadn't felt for years.
What he said to Itachi yesterday was nothing but the truth. He didn't care why or how he'd gotten here, or what exactly "here" was. It didn't matter to him.
All that mattered was Sasuke.
The only time Naruto had ever felt truly at home, truly at peace had been when he was with the black haired teen. Shikamaru had tried so hard to replace what Naruto had lost with Sasuke's death and Naruto had been thankful for the lazy Chuunin's efforts, but no matter what his remaining friends and mentors did, they had not been able to fill that aching hole in his soul.
Naruto had been under excruciating pain every second of every day until his mind broke and he shut down.
It didn't matter that the sleeping little boy wasn't the Sasuke he had known. He was still Sasuke, his scent and chakra were the same as before and most importantly, he still felt like Sasuke in his heart.
O
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Following the trend of the last day, Itachi heard laughter and giggles when he approached the hospital room his brother and Naruto were staying in.
Knocking once, he entered.
Sasuke was sitting on the teen's lap, again, playing with the unruly golden locks, trying to catch rays of light with them. Naruto was smiling indulgently, then and again tickling the younger boy.
It was a homely scene and it stabbed Itachi's heart. The blond had no business being so familiar with his little brother.
Quickly suppressing the irrational thought, as he did with any other thoughts he deemed irrational or unnecessary, he said quietly, "Good morning, Sasuke, Naruto-kun."
"Itachi-nii-san!" Sasuke squealed happily, hopping down from the bed and running to Itachi, hugging the older boy's legs tightly.
"We've been waiting for you. Naru-chan's feeling much better today and he doesn't like hospitals," the little boy babbled, frowning at the last part, "I don't think I like it here, either."
Itachi's hand moved on its own, ruffling his brother's hair.
"I see. If Naruto-kun would come over here I could transport us all home," he replied evenly.
His eyes looked at the blond questioningly. The other boy nodded, stood up and walked over to them.
The fact that he didn't ask just how Itachi planned to transport them all to another place was only further proof in Itachi's mind that the blond teen was a ninja.
The black haired ANBU captain raised his eyebrows when the teen stopped a couple of steps from him, obviously unsure how to proceed. Itachi had never known a ninja whose every thought could be so easily read by one simple look into his eyes.
Pressing Sasuke into his side with his left arm, he held out his right to the blond, an obvious, silent command. The blond hesitated a moment longer, then grabbed the hand reluctantly.
As they vanished in a swirl of leaves, Itachi wondered what the blond's hesitation had been about. The teen was openly affectionate with Sasuke, never objecting to the young boy's touch and yet, he had been openly reluctant to touch Itachi.
Itachi noticed how his brother paled when he recognized where they had reappeared.
"Don't worry, Sasuke. There is no one here besides us and Naruto-kun."
Large, fearful black eyes rose to meet his.
"The clan has been punished by the Hokage. You won't find a single Uchiha besides me in the whole Fire Country."
Catching sight of a coded notice on the back of the front door, Itachi suggested: "I've remodelled many parts of the manor. Why don't you show Naruto around so he'll know his way? His room is the one next to yours and opposite mine. I'll prepare breakfast in the meantime."
He waited till the two where out of sight, before leaving the house and signalling to the hidden ANBU to come out.
Silently the guard appeared from the shadows of a neighbouring house.
Itachi nodded at his fellow ANBU and explained, "His room is on the west side, the fifth window from the left. I will inform him about the rules after breakfast."
The ANBU nodded curtly, then vanished again.
"I should have known he'd sent Kakashi. He can't risk news of the boy to get to the council before he knows who the boy is," Itachi thought grimly. It was no secret that the vultures in the council were always scheming to gain more power. Thinking back to the assignment his team had received this morning he felt amused.
It looked like Minato-sama had grown tired of the constant intrigues, since most of them were detrimental to the village and its ninja.
O
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Naruto looked astonished at the wooden walls and floors of the seemingly endless manor. He couldn't imagine living in a place this huge and wealthy. Paintings of landscapes and ninja sayings decorated the halls. Out in the back was one of the biggest and most beautiful gardens he had ever seen.
Sasuke had become livelier and livelier when it became obvious that there were no hidden Uchiha in the house. The two rooms on the second floor he had approached apprehensively had been empty but for a couple of shelves filled with books each.
Since the next few rooms were impersonal bedrooms and the three at the end of the hallway where Sasuke's, Itachi's and his, Naruto was pretty sure it had been the rooms where Sasuke's parents had slept.
The little boy that was dragging Naruto happily from room to room had obviously not thought further about his brother's statement regarding the other Uchiha, but Naruto had caught the hidden meaning pretty fast. The Sharingan could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. If there were no other Uchiha in Fire Country it could only mean that they had been executed.
Itachi's gentleness and caring for his brother had Naruto on edge. He just couldn't bring his mind to view Itachi as anything but a danger to Sasuke.
"And this is your room, Naru-chan," Sasuke's cheerful voice brought Naruto out of his thoughts.
Naruto looked wide-eyed at the nicely furnished room in front of him. The bed, dresser and desk were made of a dark wood, contrasting nicely with the pale yellow curtains and bedspread. There was a single painting of a lake on the wall. It looked serene.
"Do you like it? Nii-san remodelled the rooms himself," Sasuke told him.
Naruto tried to talk through the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat. It was just so surreal to imagine Itachi of all people as an interior designer, choosing a colour scheme that would make Naruto feel at peace.
"Yes, Sasuke, I like it very much."
Breakfast was a mostly silent affair.
After seeing Sasuke's obvious fear of eating, Naruto simply took a bite from every dish Sasuke had on his plate, then smiled at the surprised boy and said merrily, "Yours tastes just as good as mine. Your brother is a good cook, Sasuke."
Nothing else was said regarding the issue and Sasuke happily dug in.
When they were finished, Itachi told Sasuke to keep up on his studies, then turned to Naruto, who was busy washing the dishes. "A word, if you please, Naruto-kun."
The blond teen nodded, dried his hands with a towel and followed the dark boy into the living room.
"There are a couple of rules Hokage-sama has placed on you. One, you are not allowed to leave this house. Two, you will take care of your health. There won't be any starving yourself to death any more. Three, you will answer any questions you are asked by either the Hokage or myself.
"Starting with your name, age and occupation." Itachi kept his voice monotone, an obvious sign that he was acting in his capacity of a ninja not of a host.
Naruto nodded, he had expected something along the lines. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I'm 17 years old and a retired ninja."
Black eyes bore into blue ones. "Retired?"
"My request to leave the force was granted by the Hokage. Seeing how fast my health degenerated afterwards, it was a wise decision."
Itachi nodded once, then, his voice intense, low and dangerous, said, "I will kill you if you hurt my brother."
Blue eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in anger. Before Naruto could reply, Itachi continued, "I am aware that you saved him from harm. And I do not think you would cause him pain intentionally, Naruto-kun. I am concerned about your reason for caring about Sasuke. My brother has a fragile heart and it would break him to be betrayed by someone he loves.
"You have known my brother for less than a day. I believe your liking for him is based on the memory you have of the other Sasuke and it will hurt my brother should he ever find out you cared for the illusion of a dead friend whose face he wears and not for him himself."
Naruto didn't know what to feel or say at first. Itachi had reason to warn him off and he had so far proven to be a courteous host, so screaming at him furiously was definitely out.
"Sasuke is Sasuke. I do not care for him for what he was in my world, but for whom he is. He is an adorable, courageous, smart, little boy and I want nothing more than to keep a smile on his face. Should I ever show signs of confusing my memory with what is in front of me, I would want you to kill me."
Behind his mask, Kakashi's eyes widened at the conversation he was listening to. It was the first time he had heard any emotion in the young Uchiha's voice. It kind of destroyed his theory that Itachi was an unemotional, unfeeling machine.
Their topic of conversation was just as interesting. If the blond boy did come from another world, as their words implied, it would explain the need for absolute secrecy.
Well, that, and the fact that he was the mirror image of Minato.
He couldn't wait to learn more about this Uzumaki Naruto.
TBC
AN: Since I'll devote my free month, August, to writing, do me a favour and keep my muse happy so she won't go on strike. ;-)