Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
XxX Chapter 11 XxX
Naruto didn't like being kept in the dark, figuratively speaking that is. He was so used to knowing things and being the leader that it felt so strange to be lead around by Kyuubi, not that he was underrating him, no he would never do that. But still he almost felt incompetent, having someone feeling obligated to take care of him because really that hit his pride, what little he had anyways. He didn't like feeling weak, he didn't like being indebted to others and he certainly didn't like to be treated like a child. Plain and simple.
"Where are we going, anyway" Naruto questioned, completely bored and feeling the need to talk, the silence seemed to bring thoughts on Sai and his outlandish fledglings into his mind. Where were they, no better yet what were they doing?
He gave a sigh "Kyuubi" he said his patience thinned and tearing.
He had been asking Kyuubi where they were going for the past hour and he hadn't gotten anything to satiate his curiosity. He could have easily looked into his mind but found a barrier, he could have easily broken past it but decided against it because if Kyuubi had gone to the trouble of shrouding his thoughts then that meant he really didn't want him to know, yet. It seemed that Kyuubi had become more independent than he thought, whatever happened to the Kyuubi that would always come to his beck and call, and dutifully follow his orders. It seemed that he would have to retrain him. Remind him, of who exactly he was. His master.
He stopped abruptly but Naruto had seen his sudden shift in speed and stopped from colliding against Kyuubi's back.
Naruto closed his eyes, keeping his hearing alert. Kyuubi wouldn't have stopped for a reason so he searched. Was there someone nearby, an enemy…an ally? It was another vampire, well better yet a group of them and Naruto clicked his tongue in disapproval and gave a low laugh.
"It seems out little friends, are challenging us. It appears were in his territory" Naruto fought the urge to give a low throaty growl of acceptance, he felt the urge to take some of his growing irritation and rising agitation out on somebody and to have the best opportunity slip in front of him, ah it was tempting.
Kyuubi had his eyes shut, Naruto noticed.
"They're just some punks, this isn't even his territory its mine" Kyuubi said with a scowl saying it out loud for them to hear. Even though they were a few hundred yards away, they heard him nonetheless.
Naruto raised an elegant brow "Yours?"
Kyuubi huffed, indignant. "We shouldn't waste our time, we need to catch our plane as soon as possible"
Naruto looked at him, ah so they were leaving the country. He didn't want to go, but if the vampire senate had found out of his continuance existence and had risen to power during his slumber he really couldn't take a chance and risk endangering himself. They would search for him with religious fervor and he didn't wish to be put on a high pedestal and be experimented on. Oh he knew of their intentions, he just wondered if they had increased or gotten worse over the passing centuries. The mere thought of them made him curl his lips into a look of disgust. Oh how he detested them.
They continued to run from branch to branch, leaping at remarkable distances, zipping through unnoticed.
"They're following us" Kyuubi growled.
Naruto was not fazed, or concerned for that matter. Because he could just smell them and knew that they were not even a hundred years old, they were still young and prone to childish outbursts, he was not amused.
"It's your fault, for indirectly challenging them. After all you claimed that this territory was yours did you not"
"Oh don't get smart with me" Kyuubi hissed.
"We shouldn't even have to flee from them, after all we are much more powerful than they are combined" Naruto said hoping to distract his mind further from reality.
Kyuubi on the other hand was debating with himself, running his hands through his short layered red hair. Naruto stared for a while, he hadn't even noticed that Kyuubi had cut his hair, he was really not focused but then again that's what he wanted.
"If you don't confront them, they'll only follow us" Naruto drawled.
Kyuubi glanced at him and gave an infuriated sigh. "Fine, but we have to do this quickly"
Naruto hid a smirk "Well, lead the way"
Kyuubi turned, running in the direction that they had come from.
--
-
He didn't know if he was disappointed as he gazed at these arrogant vampires. He let Kyuubi stand in front of him, making it seem to the young vampires that Kyuubi was the stronger of the two.
There were four boys and one girl. All of them dressed rather flashy and in flamboyant colors. Though to be honest they weren't wearing the best of clothes. They were wearing clothes that were over a century old.
"Here we thought that you would run away like cowards" a boy with spiky black hair said with an ugly smile, self-satisfied. His companions all laughed as if his taunting words should have them cowering at their feet. Naruto wanted to laugh and break his neck but he refrained from thinking such morbid thoughts.
"Would you please leave my territory you stupid fools" Kyuubi said his voice as cold as ice and as sharp as knives.
This kid didn't seem to listen "Your territory, this is my territory. We've lived here for ten years, how long have you been here, huh? Five, six?"
Naruto didn't like the way he spoke, so arrogant; all talk and no action.
"I've lived here for a hundred and twenty three years, and I know you haven't even lived here for more than a few months, not even a year" Kyuubi bit out.
They both noticed that the five vampires were both looking at them with wide eyes but then the arrogant one, the one with brown hair looked unconvinced.
"As if, your lying besides we claimed it. First come, first served" he said snidely.
Naruto cracked his neck and then his back, oh this was going to be good. Naruto opened his eyes. It seemed those young fools had finally truly noticed that he was there. He glanced at Kyuubi and could feel the waves of irritation spilling forth from him.
"Kyuubi, step aside" Naruto commanded, reluctantly he moved behind Naruto.
He stepped forward, the younglings tensed and he ignored them all but one that is. He cracked his fingers and grasped the dark haired annoyance's chin, gripping it painfully.
"You really should watch that mouth of yours, or I'll rip it off. Learn to respect your elders" Naruto said his voice much darker and colder than Kyuubi's ever could be.
The boy was frozen, his companions looking for the first time truly afraid for their leader's life. But again the boy regained his composure, and his confidence.
"What can you do, your just bluffing. If you had been a half-blood and threatened me like you just did I'd rip you to shreds" he said cockily and sniffed him "Your lucky you aren't a dirty half-blood"
'A half blood, what on earth was a half blood' Naruto thought for a split second before reverting his attention to this scum.
"Is that a challenge?.." Naruto whispered harshly as he bent closer to his ear "…because I'll certainly make true of my word, unlike you" he released his hold and put himself in a fighting stance, Kyuubi mirroring him.
"Bring it on" the boy growled in irritation.
They moved quick, Naruto took out the girl- who looked eerily familiar- first followed by a boy quite effortlessly. Kyuubi took another two out and only the leader stood. It had only taken them mere seconds to take his companions out, it disappointed Naruto greatly.
"Now, are you ready" Naruto said with a wicked smirk
The boy fumbled back, looking at his unconscious comrades. He looked at Naruto then at Kyuubi. It wasn't looking good for him.
"Uhhh, I was just kidding come on can't you just take a joke" he said with a shaky laugh and both Naruto's and Kyuubi's eyes narrowed.
Naruto took hold of the boy by his short black hair and pulled him roughly "Don't you dare try to weasel yourself out of this with such feeble lies" Naruto hissed in anger.
"Scum like you don't deserve to live" both he and Kyuubi said simultaneously.
"You're not going to kill me, it's against the law" he said quickly looking around for a way out. Naruto stared at down and bore into his eyes 'against the law', since when.
"I am bound by no law" Naruto said fiercely as he bit down on the vampires neck, swallowing the blood that filled his mouth. The boy beneath him groaned and he blinked, was he enjoying this? Naruto let him go, and he stumbled on his feet trying to get away from him and consequently he left his companions, friends?, behind.
Naruto growled, that boy was truly scum "People like you give vampires a bad name" Naruto called out.
"Your not going to go after him?" Kyuubi questioned incredulously.
Naruto shook his head "I shouldn't waste anymore time, than I already have, with the likes of him, now let's go we have a plane to catch.
--
-
He was leaning against the brick wall of a shop, overlooking the people that kept staring at him with interest. Kyuubi sure was taking his time, and it made him doubt that they were pressed for time.
He gave a sigh stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. They were tight fitting and Naruto didn't like them. Kyuubi had insisted that they change into more modern clothes, lest they attract unwanted attention to themselves. Either way, they were too tight for his liking, and he wanted his loose fitting trousers back. On top of that he was forced to wear this long-sleeved maroon collared shirt, the only good thing about it was that unlike the pants it was actually loose.
The clothes were doing a poor job at keeping him unnoticed, because people kept glancing in his direction. He didn't have a choice when choosing these clothes in fact a woman, a human friend of Kyuubi's, had forced these upon him as soon as they knocked at her door. He was in fact outside of this woman's store waiting for Kyuubi and her to wrap things up, they were discussing things, privately. He had gotten the hint and left, not bothering to try and listen in, he wasn't interested. But, they were taking their sweet time.
He glanced upon the crowds and sensed a familiar presence. Through the throng of people clustered he could see a patch of dark spiky hair followed by flamboyant colors. His eyes narrowed in anger. So that boy had followed them.
He pushed himself off the wall and skimmed the crowds, the boy had blended in regardless of his colorful clothing.
"It didn't take me long to find you" a thick voice breathed out next to him.
That arrogant little punk was standing next to him "Go away"
The boy smiled, this irritating smile. "It's your power that pulled me here, such great power" he said almost dreamily.
Naruto scrunched his nose in distaste "What do you want?"
"You."
Naruto glared at him with all his might "What!?"
"You heard me, I want you. Your power…everything" he said reaching forward and placing his palm on his chest, running it up and down. It made his skin crawl.
He grew closer again "Bite me, do it again" he said exposing his unmarred neck, begging him to do it. He had never bitten another vampire before, and the only reason he had done it to this vampire was to instill fear in him not pleasure. He had to set this vampire straight, and he would do it now.
He placed his hand on his shoulder and forcibly pushed him away, and dragged him to the nearest ally, not wanting any spectators around to pay witness to their conversation. As it was they were getting heated stares, some leered in his direction. Such vulgar thoughts.
"I have a good mind to rip you to apart, but I'll give you one and only one chance to leave this place in one piece, do you understand?" Naruto bit out as calmly as he could.
It seemed that he wasn't listening as he pushed him against the wall and kissed him, passionately, on his lips. Naruto froze in shock but anger arose soon afterwards as he threw him against the wall, hearing a crack.
He was laughing.
"Masochist" he said derisively.
Again laughter and he breathed out his words "Only for you"
His fingers twitched and he felt anger pulsating through his veins, this annoying little mongrel was getting on his nerves. And it took every ounce of his willpower to stay perfectly still.
"Yes, such power I can feel it running through your veins….oh how I wish to taste it. I'm so glad you aren't a half-blood"
Naruto wiped his lips off with apparent disgust, that kiss had burned him.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Naruto growled out menacingly and added quite angrily "And what's a half-blood anyway?" this vampire had kept saying half-blood this and half-blood that, well what in the name of gods was a damn half-blood!
"You honestly don't know what a filthy half-blood is?" the boy said with a humorous laugh.
"My patience for you is at its limit, don't push it" Naruto warned.
"Alright. A half-blood is a vampire that came into creation by a human mother and a vampire father. Unlike us, true vampires, they do not have complete vampire blood running through their veins but human and vampire blood combined"
Naruto raised an elegant brow "But that's forbidden" even during his time around he was well acquainted with that law that the vampire senate had decreed, the only one he had ever paid any attention to, anyways.
"Yes, that's true but more often than not the human dies during childbirth, I'd say about ninety percent of the time. But while the few ten percent that live, they are either turned or killed. The father is thrown in jail to rot or goes into hiding. The child is not held accounted for the crime or punished but I think they should be punished because they don't deserve to live" the boy finished.
"I take it that you hate half-bloods" Naruto said rather indifferently.
"And the sick thing is that the number of half-bloods is rising and the senate isn't doing anything about it" he said in disgust.
Naruto looked disinterested yet again, he had no qualms with half-bloods. But this vampire seemed rather against them, biased. The name was fitting though, because they had half vampire blood. A vampire, regardless of previously being a human, has it's human blood replaced; changed. It is no longer human any longer, that was the difference, that he could deduce from this vampires explanation.
As he had drifted off in thought, he hadn't noticed how close the other boy had gotten until he felt his breath ghosting near his neck.
"Your just as he described" he breathed.
"And who is that?" Naruto asked with an edge, not intent on letting this arrogant vampire- who was shorter than him by half an inch- bite him.
"My master, lord Orochimaru"
Naruto stiffened at the name and snarled "Where is he!?"
"I don't know, and he only reveals his location when he wants me to know"
"I was actually on a mission to look for you around this area, though I'm not the only one he sent with this same mission, there are others around the world looking for you" he continued.
"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto questioned, ready to strike this boy down to keep his location a secret.
"Why?, because I don't want him to capture you"
Naruto looked startled.
"You see, he's been dying to find you. He wants you back and he fully intends on using you, and if that were to happen I'm certain that I will never be able to see you again, and that is an unpleasant outcome."
"Why?" Naruto questioned again, he didn't understand why this boy was helping him.
"Simple, I love power….and I want yours the most. Yours is stronger than his could ever be"
Naruto stared at him straight in the eye, unblinkingly "And how exactly are you going to keep your companions quiet about your run in with me because you may be their leader now but you aren't their master. Their loyalties lie within Orochimaru, not you"
He gave him another smile "Ah but you see I have this little ability of mine that will give them no choice but to forget"
Naruto looked skeptical "And what is this 'little ability' of yours?" he challenged.
"I have the ability to make other people; vampires, humans and werewolves alike to forget a certain event, place, things and even meeting other people"
Albeit reluctantly he admitted to himself that he was indeed impressed.
"Ah but the catch is that this ability of mine is not affective to those that are more than four times my age. And I'm sure your much older than that, am I right?" he said with a smirk.
Naruto didn't answer.
"I can't wait to see you again" he finished with a sigh, reluctant to leave.
Naruto glanced at him strangely. "Don't count on seeing me anytime soon"
"Your companion is almost done with his little meeting, you should hurry back to him"
Naruto continued to glare at him as he stepped out of the ally and into the crowds but turned back before he was swallowed by the passing crowds "What's your name?"
He was smiling again "Zaku, and don't forget it" his voice echoed as he made his leave.
Naruto shook his head, Zaku was strange but he could be useful when the time arouse. He didn't trust him but who knew, maybe in time he would learn to. But then again he could also learn to have doubts. It seemed that only time would tell.
--
-
Sasuke had his hands shoved into his pockets, a permanent scowl etched on his face. He was angry, and he cursed his older brother's name.
"Now, now Sasuke I can hear you" Itachi said rather passively.
He merely snorted "I meant for you to hear"
There weren't that many people, vampires, scurrying around in the main hall as he would have expected but there were still several people passing here and there with briefcases and such.
This place looked the same, some of the furniture was arranged differently than what he remembered but the things like the carpets and chairs were the same.
"Sasuke, come on" Itachi beckoned as he made his way to the front desk.
"Is Shisuiavailable?" Itachi asked politely.
The receptionist eyed him with recognition "Ah, Itachi its been so long since I've seen you, and if I remember correctly Shisui doesn't have anything scheduled for today" she skimmed through a book and turned to him "He should be at his office on the third floor, why the sudden appearance though" she inquired.
Itachi gave a polite smile "Family matters, we have things to discuss about"
She gave a nod, and it was then that she finally noticed that Sasuke had been right behind Itachi the whole time.
"Ah, Sasuke its…good to see you" she said with a forced smile, it was quite obvious for the two Uchiha brothers but none of them commented.
Itachi gave her an appreciative nod while Sasuke glared at her, both headed for the elevator. As the doors shut Sasuke let all his anger hang loose.
"Do you mind telling me exactly why, I have to come with you and have to deal with people like her" Sasuke said with gritted teeth.
Itachi gave Sasuke a blank look "Your foolishness amazes me. Now before you stream a colorful range of words, listen. There are people wiping out our entire family and it would be much easier for them to wipe us out one by one. But if we stick together we have a higher chance of surviving, given the fact that we know we're being hunted. And even though you may not like it this place is safer than standing outside."
Sasuke stared. In one breath Itachi had ridiculed him, made him feel stupid and angry at the same time.
As he opened his mouth to give a stream flow of colorful words Itachi brought up a hand to silence him. "Sasuke, we're here"
He clenched his fists and punched the side of the elevator leaving a dent. "I'm not going to pay for that" Sasuke said as he stepped out of the elevator.
Itachi eyed the indent with a smirk "You really should take those anger management classes I talked to you about before"
Sasuke whipped around and eyed him fiercely "Itachi, thank your lucky stars that we're here or else I'd throttle you and beat you within an inch of your life"
Itachi was amused "In your dreams"
"Well isn't this a heartwarming sight" came a sarcastic voice off to the side.
"Ah Shisui it's been a while" Itachi said with a smirk.
"So what brings you and Sasuke here. It can't be to just drop by and say hello, now is it?" Shisui said knowingly.
"Yes, we have a problem"
"Then let's step into my office" Shisui said with a flick of his hand.
--
-
He was lounging in a chair, a rather comfortable one he might add, in Shisui's office. Both he and Itachi were discussing of what was going on with the diminishing numbers of their family and of the reasons why the senate was unaware of the whole thing.
"Could it be that the people doing this have someone within the senate?" Itachi speculated.
Shisui was quick to defend "No, the senate is composed of the most powerful vampires and the oldest, the wise not the corrupt. How dare you insinuate that"
Sasuke tuned out their bickering as his thoughts drifted away. He hadn't been here for thirty years. Though he hadn't liked his visit the first time and even now he still didn't like it. He could tell that these people didn't like him save for his cousin Shisui, but he was family. It was because he was a half-blood, Itachi wasn't one though.
The only reason they even let him past the doors was because they knew who his father was but even then he could feel their animosity. His father used to be part of the senate, a key player. He had broken the law by having a human lover and a half blood son, him. His father, Fugaku, had two choices: go to jail and never see his family or be stripped of all his power and authority in the senate but remain with his family. His father had chosen the latter, obviously.
The only reason he even had a choice, his father that is, was because the senate didn't want to lose face. Because if word got out that a member of the senate had broken the law and was left unscathed, there'd be a riot. They only revealed his crimes after he had resigned, what a joke. His cousin was wrong, the senate had become corrupted. Though the real question was how far did this corruption run through?
"Sasuke?"
He looked up at the mention of his name, Itachi was already at the door as Shisui was bidding them goodbye.
"Yeah, yeah I'm going" he said with a wave of his hand.
He bid Shisui farewell and they both shook hands, a hug was out of the question. He wasn't the hugging type, not by any means.
He leaned against the elevator walls "So where are we going now?"
Itachi gave him a peculiar look "Weren't you listening?"
He merely shook his head, negative.
'We need to head up north to find a man called Jiraiya' Itachi spoke silently in his mind.
'And why exactly?' he questioned
'He will be able to provide us with shelter and protection'
He scoffed 'We don't need protection and if Shisui couldn't then how is this guy going to be able to, hm?'
Itachi gave an audible sigh of frustration 'Well if you were paying attention to the conversation earlier you would have heard that he is part of the legendary Sannin. You must know who they are'
He scowled 'Of course I know, only an ignorant fool wouldn't know who they are. But how exactly are we going to find and convince him to help us?' sarcasm laced his silent words.
'Shisui said that he would send word to him, warn him of out impending arrival that and he owes Shisui a favor'
"Oh" he said aloud.
There was a loud ding and the doors slid open. They left quickly, not exchanging words through mouth but thoughts because the walls had ears. And if Itachi's paranoia of the culprit having connections within the senate then it wasn't safe.
He made a low guttural sound of approval as they stepped outside the building. "Finally we're out of that place"
"You really hate that place, Sasuke" Itachi said with understanding.
"No, I just love visiting" the sarcasm came again.
"No need to be rude, Sasuke" Itachi said with a grunt.
They both walked, but soon took to the rooftops as they slipped into the shadows. They needed to be quick, after all they weren't in the clear yet. Danger lurked and if they stopped who knew what would spring out and drag them away, to their deaths.
--
-
He straightened himself as he was leaning against the brick wall once again. He shifted and felt an urge to walk into the store and drag Kyuubi out, because seriously he was taking a really long time. Yes, he was patient by nature but all his patience had been dwindled to nonexistent after his conversation with Zaku.
With the sound of a creak Kyuubi made his way out of the store, the woman following close by. Kyuubi bent down to whisper into her ear, and he noticed that her heart beat quickened and her face reddened. He distinctly heard the low whispered words that Kyuubi spoke- 'It was such a pleasure to see you again, I do hope to see your beautiful face sooner than later, my dear'
He stared at Kyuubi for a moment, perplexed. Was Kyuubi actually seducing this woman with his sensuous voice?, how odd. Again he stared at the close two and looked blankly as the woman leaned forward and planted a kiss on Kyuubi's. They broke apart and her gaze locked on his, her face reddened once again. No doubt embarrassed, that he had been staring at their whole exchange, quite blankly, the whole time. She apologized and gave them both warm farewells, her eyes longingly gazing at Kyuubi as they both left.
"So I take it that your enthralled by that girl" Naruto said, his tone revealed a taint of curiosity and confusion.
Kyuubi regarded him with a raised brow "No, why would you ever think that" he said perplexed.
He gave Kyuubi a pointed look "Are you really trying to tell me that what I saw only a few seconds ago wasn't.." he trailed off, if Kyuubi couldn't take a hint then he'd leave him an ignorant fool.
Kyuubi made a face, a sour one at that "No, it wasn't. She's merely someone who has helped me during the time that you remained asleep. Though I am leading her on, if only to make sure that she continues to be a loyal ally. She may not look it but she has very useful connections"
He searched Kyuubi's face for something, anything to imply that he was covering something up, but he found nothing except honesty. And he clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction. He had missed so much in his time away, and he didn't like it one bit. Not at all.
They were quick on their feet, running so fast through the crowds that no one noticed that they even passed, or were there for the matter. Again Kyuubi had taken the lead, though it was easy to find the airport with its loud and deafening engines. He felt a migraine forming when they were a few hundred miles away. He cursed his hearing.
He focused all his attention on drowning out the sound, and subsequently drowned out Kyuubi's voice at the same time. He did catch a few fragments of what he was saying before everything was on mute. Something about a safe house, contacts, their old home and something about Tsunade and Jiraiya. He didn't know for sure but, from what he had heard, he summed up that they needed to go to a safe house, their old home, and they needed to get in contact with Tsunade and Jiraiya.
Well that was fine by him. They needed to leave, he knew that. But one thing he was sure of, most definitely, was that two groups were after him; Orochimaru and the vampire senate. He'd just have to run from the senate like old times, Orochimaru on the other hand, he wondered how long he'd be able to stay away from him, his former son. Yes, in his eyes his fledglings were like his own offspring; his family.
--
-
He felt paranoid that was for certain, and it heightened when he realized that Sasuke was off in his own mind, plotting something. Now he had to watch both their backs. He was calm and controlled by nature but he still couldn't shake the bad feeling he had, gut instinct if you will. He could almost feel as if someone was watching both of them, malicious intent directed at them but most of all at him. Maybe it was because out of the two he was the stronger one, he could pose a threat to their would-be-assailants. But then again this could all be a part of his imagination, he could fooling himself to believe that someone was following them. But the real issue here was where to draw the line from imagination and reality. Right now he wasn't certain but he wasn't going to brush this off, even if it was in fact his imagination conjuring up these enemies. It never hurt to be on alert, at least not now.
He forced his muscles to relax, but even that was impossible. His whole body was rigid and tense with anticipation, ready to spring into action when the time arouse. He glanced at Sasuke once more and noticed that he had gone into alert and was scanning at their surroundings, that fact alone relieved some tension. At least Sasuke wasn't ignorant of the impending danger. It was a good thing that Sasuke hardly seemed to notice when he was troubled, because if he caught wind of it then Sasuke would actually start imagining many dark scenarios, paranoid and afraid. No he would protect him, if only for a while, from it. He didn't need to be burdened about it.
Sasuke may have not voiced it but the death of their clan, its dwindling numbers really affected him. When they had gone to travel away from home, it had taken him great effort to get him outside the door and agree. Though even then, the sole reason why he had given into going along in his travels was because of his mother, well not his mother but Sasuke's mother.
They had different mothers but the same father, though his mother had died long before Sasuke was even able to walk. He didn't begrudge his stepmother but he had always wanted to ask his father, 'why?'. He had never asked, and now he would never be able to know the truth, the reason…the justification.
He snapped his eyes open -when had he closed them?- and could just feel a certain wave surge. This feeling was the one that Shisui had described, it meant that they were going in the right direction and hopefully it wouldn't be long until they reached Jiraiya.
--
-
Kyuubi felt something akin to nostalgia pass through him. It had been so long since he set foot on this soil. And he just knew that Naruto was feeling the exact same thing. The flight hadn't taken long, and Naruto had slept through the whole flight. His discomfort in the whole thing was obvious, Naruto had never traveled by a plane. He hadn't liked them back then and he sure as hell didn't like them now. He abhorred them, silently complaining about the loud people they were surrounded by; which was almost laughable because the whole ride was silent.
Their thoughts, well that was a different thing. Naruto's ability to see into someone's mind was fascinating to him, he had never gotten around to ask him how it felt or the like. Every vampire could speak through their minds and only the more powerful ones could actually read a humans thoughts, it all depended on the blood you had or the years that you had lived as a vampire. It took effort for Naruto to block all the voices a feat he pulled off countless times, making it seem as if it was so easy but he knew it wasn't.
He could tell from the tired look Naruto would have or the constant migraines that he had. But besides that Naruto was able to actually see so far into a humans mind, a vampire too, that he could know their whole life story in mere seconds. Know what they did, their past thoughts, their childhood, the people they loved and hated, the emotions they had felt and displayed with others…everything. It was in times like these that he wondered if Naruto was he bothered by it, were the effects of this ability bad, like his acute hearing. He pondered about it but he was sure that Naruto would most likely give him a half truth, at best, if he asked.
He felt a heated stare and realized that Naruto was (im)patiently waiting for him to hurry up. They had already gotten off the plane and were near the exit of the airport. He hadn't noticed that he had spaced out but it was obvious that Naruto had, if his pointed look was anything to go by.
"You remember the plan that I told you about earlier right?" he said quickly.
He looked at Naruto and noticed that he hesitated before he gave a small nod in acknowledgement. Strange why would Naruto ever hesitate?
"Okay well I'm going to need you to find him, see if he's anywhere close by, alright?"
Naruto gave a firm nod but then looked at him with a look akin to irritation as he looked at the crowds.
He understood instantly "Yeah, we should do this where there is less of a crowd"
Naruto gave him another pointed look.
He relented "Alright, somewhere where there is no one around"
He could just feel the smirk that must have curled on Naruto's lips. The smugness rolled off in waves.
As Naruto's eyes slid shut he went over the facts all over again. It was a habit, he grew into during his own resurrection, more so because he knew Naruto would be facing danger. He was almost glad that he had woken up sooner, because during that time he had made so many connections that would be beneficial to both he and Naruto as well as protection; places that would be safe and secure. People he could trust and would give up their lives to help him and Naruto. Though Naruto really didn't need to know that.
Their old home was off limits, he had heard that there had been sightings of suspicious characters lurking around the manor that was now covered completely by overgrown grass, bushes, trees and vines. Their were also numerous safe houses that they could reside in, but ultimately they would be moving from place to place. They couldn't stay too long in one place, that would be risky.
From what he heard from his many contacts, those after Naruto hadn't had any luck in finding Jiraiya or Tsunade to question them, luckily the senate wasn't aware of his existence which was good. It could play into their advantage. Even with the advantage of this he still needed Jiraiya and Tsunade because not only were they incredibly loyal to Naruto they were also very strong, though not as strong as him. He was a hundred percent certain that they would welcome them with open arms, and a few questions as well.
"I found him" Naruto breathed out lowly.
Kyuubi gave a nod and hid a smile. They would pull this off, they had to. No sacrifice was too large to keep Naruto alive--safe, well not in his eyes.
"Lead the way then"
--
-
Sasuke stiffened when he felt a presence, getting closer and closer. It was so powerful. He felt the energy around, trying to see how many there were, three? No two vampires. There fast coming presence sent him on high alert. His muscles were so tense it hurt, Itachi looked as calm as ever, how could he be so calm at a time like this!?
"Sasuke, get ready"
He gave a small nod, this was it. They wouldn't go down without a fight, no better yet they would win. They wouldn't be defeated, not before he exacted his revenge on whoever was pulling the strings of the murders.
Like two bullets they came, he almost lost his balance as one whizzed right past him and stopped. It infuriated him, to be caught off guard so easily, and the fight hadn't even started. He was steadfastly becoming agitated, but beside that he felt incompetent once again.
Itachi had dodged the other with ease, sidestepping the vampire that had zipped by. Again he was, infuriatingly, calm. You could say he envied his older brothers level headedness, his calm demeanor.
Both figures had stopped and were eyeing them impassively as if they were weaklings, and he wanted to bar his fangs at them and let his frustration tip over the edge so he could take it out on them.
The stronger of the two stepped forward, and he prepared himself. He looked at Itachi from the corner of his eyes and saw the small nod. They would have to work together if this vampire attacked. He glared at the figure and that only seemed to make him smirk.
"Well, well, well what do we have here?"
Tbc…