The Family Business
Tycho Kouros
"Shikamaru! Choji!
Naruto sat up as his two friends entered the room. Choji, a friend of both Naruto and Shikamaru's, leaned up against the wall, while Shikamaru took a spot at the foot of the bed.
"Hey, Naruto. How're you feeling?" Shikamaru asked, looking carefully over his friend's battered body, bandages carefully wrapped around the tanned chest.
"I'm feeling better. Iruka won't let me up out of the bed though. He says I need my rest for my ribs to heal properly." Naruto released a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly.
"Geez, what a drag..."
"I'm bored out of my mind! Please tell me you have something interesting to tell me about!"
"Not really. The Nazis have been cracking down on people lately. Because of the new officers, I think. They're trying to prove themselves or something." Naruto glanced down with a look of disappointment on his face, but looked up again suddenly – hopeful.
"What about work! Has anything –"
"Naruto, what's this? It smells good." Choji interrupted, analyzing the empty bowl Iruka had prepared Naruto soup in.
"Oh! Yeah, the guy that saved me came by last night and brought me some soup. He's some big-shot kraut or something. He's really nice though! He even said he'll come by again tonight!" The air seemed to change as Shikamaru and Choji both stared at Naruto – silent. Choji slowly put the bowl back on the small nightstand and returned to his spot against the wall. Shikamaru cleared his throat awkwardly.
"The man who saved you is a Nazi soldier?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah. Well, he was dressed kind of different than the soldiers you see on the streets. But he was a Nazi, yeah. But really! He was nice!"
"Naruto, they aren't 'nice'! None of them! He's using you!" Choji said angrily. Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Troublesome..."
"Will you guys calm down? I'm not as dumb as you think I am! He's not 'using' me, either. He's really nice. Or else he wouldn't have saved me, right?" Shikamaru and Choji shared a glance, but neither answered immediately.
"Have you told him anything?" Shikamaru asked carefully.
"No!"
"Still... I don't know, Naruto. This seems...–"
"Dangerous." Choji finished.
"Guys, look. He's Itachi's brother, okay? If he's Itachi's brother, then he can't be half bad. Right?" Shikamaru seemed to look slightly more at ease, but Choji was largely unfazed.
"I guess... just be careful, alright?" Naruto laughed as gently, cutting it off prematurely with a breath when his ribs throbbed with pain.
"I'm always careful, Shikamaru!" Naruto was met with an unimpressed look.
"That's why I worry about you, Naruto." he answered. Choji laughed, while Naruto did his best to seem angry – though his smile at the joke betrayed him. "Look, we just stopped by to see how you were. Is there anything we can do for you?" Naruto cast a careful glance over to Choji, whose parents owned a local restaurant.
"Food? Please?"
"Yeah, sure. You want ramen like usual?" Choji asked. Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically. "I'll bring it tomorrow."
"Thanks, Choji! You're a lifesaver!" He merely waved it off. The three said their goodbyes, and Naruto found himself alone – again. With nothing else to do, he reluctantly lowered himself back into bed, and tried to sleep.
When Naruto woke, he could tell it was sometime in the evening – the city had a certain feeling about it. With the strictly enforced curfew, Paris all but shut down by 10 – for fear of even the slightest possibility they'd be unprepared for the curfew, beginning at 11. Shutters were to be closed, the streets were to be cleared – failure to comply was suicide.
The noise of street-going was absent, one of the more immediately recognizable aspects of the Paris night air. But, if Naruto thought about it, the gunshots of firefight and execution got louder – more easily heard against the stillness of curfew. Indeed, the crack of a sniper's shot rang clearly through the air, echoing off of the silence. He shuddered; sniper fire reminded him of lightning, the lingering echo like the rumble of thunder. Naruto hated storms. He always had, ever since he was young. He sat up, taking a deep breath to clear himself of the fear that threatened to spread.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." said a calm, rich voice. He knew who it was immediately – only one person he knew had that amount of eloquence even when speaking casually.
"Hey, Itachi!" There, leaning by the door, was Itachi; a warm, gentle smile on his face.
"How do you feel?" Naruto sat up, gently testing his wounds.
"I'm really sore. My rib hurts the worst though." Itachi stepped forward, bringing a hand to Naruto's face and gently pressing on one of the bruises. Naruto clenched his jaw at the slight pain.
"Your bruises are healing, at least. You always have been a fast healer." he said, leaning back against the wall again. Naruto couldn't help but notice that the smile was missing now, but he brushed it off to Itachi focusing on checking Naruto's wounds for himself. Naruto knew that Itachi had always been smart – he probably could be a doctor, if he wanted. But as far as he knew, doctors needed a degree. Naruto, however, would trust Itachi with or without one.
"So do you think I'll be able to get out of bed soon?" he asked with some excitement. Itachi looked down at him and chuckled.
"I suppose so. Knowing you, in a week you'll be up to your usual mischief."
"A week!" Itachi smiled as he nodded.
"You should be grateful, Naruto. Most people are off their feet much longer for a broken bone to heal. But you've always been determined." Naruto smiled at the compliment. "Or stubborn," Itachi added playfully, "or maybe both. I've never fully understood it."
"Hey!" Naruto pouted, and Itachi laughed at him gently. But, again, Naruto watched as the smile faded into the look of thought tinged with sadness that he'd come to know as Itachi's standard expression. But something was even deeper than that. Something was on his mind.
"Itachi, are you alright?" Itachi closed his eyes, nodding lightly. He didn't answer immediately. But, after a moment of silence, he met Naruto's gaze and nodded once again – more firmly.
"I'm fine. I've just had a lot on my mind lately."
"Oh... is it about Sasuke?" Naruto was worried he'd said something wrong when Itachi stared at him wordlessly, mouth gaping slightly.
"H-how do you know about him?" Itachi asked shakily.
"He's the one who saved me! Didn't he tell you?" Itachi shook his head, relaxing a bit.
"No. I didn't see him yesterday. He was busy with work, I suppose." Naruto thought he heard something sad, something longing, in Itachi's voice.
"You know, he said he'd come by again tonight! If you stay, maybe you'll see him!" Itachi watched Naruto closely, deep in though. Then he smiled, and nodded.
"Maybe. And if not, I'm sure I'll see him whenever he has time."
"What exactly does he do?" Naruto asked, knowing it might not be the best question to ask at the time – but he was curious, and Itachi might know. Itachi nodded slowly. Naruto was surprised when Itachi moved from the wall to sit by him on the bed.
"I'm exactly sure of his duties, but he's in the Schutzstaffel. It's... hard to explain. They're technically the police force of Germany, but they've outgrown that definition. They're a lot like government agents in a way, while also being police." Itachi let out a sigh, running a tired hand down his face. "Do you kind of get what I'm saying?" Naruto nodded slowly.
"So he's not a soldier?"
"Not technically, no. But most of the soldiers you see around here aren't actually soldiers – that's the Wehrmacht. The soldiers you see around here are in the SS, just like Sasuke."
"Oh. Well, he must be really important, right? Because the night he saved me, he was bossing the guys around!" Itachi nodded slightly.
"He... has weight to throw around."
"And he brought me food, too!" Itachi smiled.
"He must really like you then. I think you'll be good for him, Naruto. Sasuke never really had many friends his own age. Just remember something – his work and his personal time are very different, Naruto. The only reason I mention it is because I don't want you to get hurt thinking that they're the same. Not because of Sasuke, but because of the others. You need to treat any others he may be with as people that want to hurt both him and you. Sasuke is an exception, not the norm."
"I understand."
"Naruto!" The door swung open and a thin form dressed in clothes a few sizes too big ran in. Black hair swung forward as the body came to a stop.
"Haku!" Thin arms wrapped around him gently, careful to avoid his wounds.
"Naruto, I heard about what happened! I'm so sorry!" The blond waved it off.
"You know they can't me down for long!" Haku laughed slightly.
He was one of Naruto's best friends – they'd met years ago. Both were orphans, and met one winter on the streets. Naruto had barely been managing, but Haku seemed to be a natural at surviving in the cold environment. He taught Naruto tricks for finding shelter, finding warmth, finding food, or even drinkable, unfrozen water. The two remained close, though a year later Haku met Zabuza. Zabuza was an assassin and mercenary – a career choice that provided well. Haku was working in a bar when they met, and Zabuza was quick to rescue him.
He had intended to train Haku for use in his assassinations, but the two ended up in a relationship instead. Zabuza refused for him to be involved in such dangerous work. Nonetheless, Haku followed Zabuza everywhere – even on international missions. But lately, Zabuza had been working around Paris – working for the Resistance for free. Zabuza and Kisame had known each other growing up, and Kisame convinced him to help fight against the occupation. Haku did his part as well, though mainly doing odd jobs – distracting patrols, stealing papers or ammunition, anything to help make missions go smoother.
"I think Kisame wanted you, Itachi. Zabuza has something he needs to talk to you two about." Itachi nodded and left, leaving the two friends alone to talk.
Itachi walked into the room to see a stern-faced Zabuza – sterner than usual, he supposed. What truly surprised him was the upset Kisame, who met him with a sad look. He immediately knew something was wrong. Kisame dropped his eyes to the floor when he spoke.
"They executed some of the others today. They... burned them alive. Then hung up the bodies for people to see..." Itachi was quiet for a moment, mind racing. Then, without a word, he stepped forward into an embrace with Kisame.
"God..."
"It's this new officer – he's a psychopath... I've never seen bodies so fucked up." Zabuza commented. The clinking of glasses came behind them, and Itachi suddenly pulled away.
"We should take this somewhere else. Iruka doesn't need to hear this; it's not his problem."
"No. I'm fine. This is my city, my home. So it is my problem. I may not be on the front lines, but the least I can do is give you give you a place to be comfortable." Iruka held a glass of water, which Kisame accepted.
"Zabuza, I think the best option might be to for you to deal with this officer as soon as possible. Do we know his name?" Kisame asked. Itachi kept his eyes locked on the floor.
"No. We haven't been able to get our hands on the list of officers who just transferred. And I think it's better to wait until we can strike at this guy instead of blindly lashing out. Just so they don't have a chance to tighten security before we can deal with him."
"We should stay as quiet as possible for a few days and prepare for a strike with visibility while they think their plan worked." Itachi said, eyes never leaving the ground.
"But if they think their plan worked, they'll kill more prisoners, right?" Kisame asked. Itachi shook his head.
"They'll kill them anyways. It can't be helped. If we're too visible when too weak, we won't stand a chance. We need to strike out of the shadows for as long as possible. We can't fight an army on an army's level – we have to bring them down to ours. We know the city better; that's our advantage." Itachi said. Kisame saw the pain in his face, and pulled him against his chest.
"Itachi, will you be alright?" The man nodded slowly, drawing in a deep breath.
"I just can't help thinking that something will happen to Sasuke during all of this."
"Sasuke!" The three men quickly turned to the now terrified Iruka. "He's coming tonight!" Itachi only shrugged.
"I know, Naruto told me."
"But his superior is coming with him!"
"Shit." Kisame made his way for the door, Itachi close behind.
"Haku! Get your ass out here!" Zabuza yelled.
"I'm so sorry, I should have remembered this!" Itachi began to put the teacher's mind at ease, but everyone in the room froze when Kisame opened the door to leave. Standing in the hallway, hand still raised to knock, was Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Itachi?"