Title: Sinners' Devotion

Summary: Sasuke saved Itachi instead of killing him-on a whim supposedly. Now back in Konoha with Akatsuki after them along with Naruto, they have to do everything in their power to protect everything they…. love? future ItaSasuNaru yaoi – rating may go up.

Words: 5,116

Total: 27,512

Date: 6-14-10

Disclaimer: H'okay so… Here's the thing… I don't own Naru-chan… . or anything else that goes along with him…. . but hear my Kishimoto! ONE DAY! ONE DAY! I will get him from you! :D

End of Chapter 5:

Naruto huffed, drawing their attention. He turned to glare at Itachi. "You're more of a bastard then Sasuke-teme is!" Itachi's lip twitched down in confusion. "You wouldn't let me dress you up at all! Sasuke-teme put on whatever I gave him but no~ you just got the same ol' clothes that you already have. Boring!"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose. "Dobe. You are such a girl. Cooking, shopping. What's next? Cleaning? You're dick falling off all together?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh, that's mature Teme. You're just like Sai. What is it with you people and my dick! You trying to get into my pants! That's it! I can't deal with you anymore!" He stood up from his chair and began walking to Sasuke's room. "I'm going to bed!"

A door slammed shut. Itachi frowned. "It's only three." Sasuke shook his head.

Chapter 6: Familial Relations

Naruto sighed to himself as he cooked dinner. He was making Takoyaki. ( 1 ) Despite the first day's neutrality, the tension in the house kept on building up. It's been two weeks since he's started living here with the Uchiha's for their probation and eating together at the table was getting more and more strained; the silence was getting thicker by the day. Being in the same room with two Uchiha's at the same time was extremely uncomfortable and was hair raising at best. But he felt that if he left them in the room alone, Sasuke would try to cut Itachi's head off. He sighed again.

"What did I do to deserve this?" He moaned quietly to himself as he turned some of the fried octopus balls (AN: I mean like sphere's… Don't make this dirty .) over in the pan absentmindedly. His mind wandered, going into different scenarios of what he could do to get rid of this tension.

He jumped and screamed – a manly scream mind you! (if that man was high on helium) – when a hand came down upon his shoulder. He whipped his head around only to see Itachi standing behind him, his hands now down by his sides. "Holy shit, Itachi! You scared the fuck outta me! You can't just sneak up on people like that!" Naruto's hand was placed over his heart as if to physically calm it.

"Forgive me, Naruto-kun; I smelt something burning." His eyes were on the Takoyaki pan.

Naruto's head whirled back around so fast, Itachi was surprised he didn't get whip lash. "Aw shit…." Naruto sighed once more to himself dejectedly and turned off the burner. He simply started blankly at the burnt, black octopus dish they were supposed to have for dinner. A few seconds passed in silence before Naruto sighed and grabbed the Takoyaki pan with a mitten covered hand, throwing away the contents in the trashcan. He took it to the sink and dropped it in with little care.

"Who screamed? Karin? I thought they weren't getting here until tomorrow?" Sasuke walked into the kitchen. The tension within the room thickened considerably. Naruto sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day and forced a smile onto his face.

"Yeah, they won't be here 'till tomorrow." Naruto ignored the fact that Sasuke thought his scream was girly. "Tsunade finally drew up a contract for them to sign; she's been super-busy with paper work because of you. But anywhoozle, I'm going out to get us some food since I accidentally burnt what I was making and I don't feel like cooking anymore. Honestly, you two Uchiha's are useless when it comes to cooking. Aren't you both supposed to be 'perfect' or something? I swear, you can both burn water. I'll be back in ten." He put on his shoes and walked out of the house, leaving the two Uchiha alone in the house.

Naruto enjoyed being able to walk down the street without feeling responsible for an Uchiha. And there were no stares and whispers! An added plus! He hadn't gone out of the house with one or both of the Uchiha since he'd moved in with them, but he just couldn't deal with them anymore. Who would've thought that babysitting duty (albeit for two former S-Ranked nukenin) would be so exhausting? The past two weeks have been hell.

He smiled and hummed to himself as he walked, watching the sunset. The few clouds that were in the sky were painted pink, purple, and orange. Three colors that normally seemed to clash looked absolutely breathtaking in the sky. Naruto loved to watch sunsets, especially on the Hokage Mountain where it was a beautiful backdrop to his beloved village.

He apologized as he bumped into someone with the takeout bags. He moaned when he started to pass less and less people. That means he was getting close to the Uchiha Compound. The villagers and shinobi alike avoided the place thinking it would bring misfortune upon them. After all, the Uchiha Clan was said to have been cursed by the gods themselves, that's why their eyes turned red like a demons.

Naruto shook his head to clear out the rumors that he has heard about the Uchiha's. He scoffed at himself mockingly. How could he think that about Sasuke? His best friend? And Itachi wasn't all that bad either once you got to hanging around him. It took awhile to get used to oppressive silence that seemed to linger about him but once you got passed it he was a pretty nice guy.

He juggled the take-out bags in one hand as he tried to open the door. "Food's her-!" He stopped mid-sentence as he took in the destruction around him. The chairs in the living room were upturned and the pillows that were lining the couches had been ripped open, feathers still afloat in the air. "Shit!" He dropped the bags on the floor and ran inside to find the source of the destruction, not bothering to shut the door behind him. "Sasuke? Itachi?" He heard a cry of pain come from outside. He rushed toward the noise.

Sasuke stood stiffly as Naruto practically ran out the house, the door slamming behind him. He was left alone with Itachi. Key words: 'ALONE WITH ITACHI'. His body tensed up, almost to the point of pain, when Itachi passed by him. He bit the inside of his cheek, mentally debating what he should do. His mind made up, he walked into the living room only to stop right in front Itachi. Sasuke stared and waited for Itachi to finish his reading. Even when he was but a child, he knew better than to interrupt Itachi's reading. It was best to wait for Itachi to stop at the place he wanted. It seems old habits die hard.

Itachi noticed when Sasuke stood silently in front of him, but he kept on reading. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was when people interrupted his reading. He remembers shoving a kunai in Shisui's ass (he immediately washed his hands afterwards, he didn't want blood and… other… substances on one of his precious books after all) because he disturbed him when he was in the middle of a paragraph. No one dared to interfere with his reading from that day on, even his own father. When he was done with the chapter, he placed a leaf in between the pages to hold his place and set it down on the side table.

"What is it you need Otouto?" His voice was as monotonous as ever, not a hint of curiosity in it what-so-ever.

Sasuke grit his teeth in anger at the name and the indifference that the question was voiced with but he answered anyway. "Why?"

'Why?' It was such a simple question, yet it suited his purpose perfectly. It asked nothing and at the same time it was so vague that it asked for everything. Why did you do it? Why did you kill the clan-our own parents? Why choose Konoha over your own flesh and blood? Why did he leave him to suffer on his own? Why didn't you take me with you? Why? Why? Why?

These questions drove him mad! He thought about them everyday! He dreamed about them! But there was no answer and nothing to draw an answer from. Until now. Now he could finally get the answers that he has been desperately yearning for since he was a child.

"Because I had to."

The answer was so simple, so straightforward, that it momentarily stunned Sasuke. He gave a small breathy, hysterical laugh before bursting in anger. "Bullshit!" He grabbed Itachi's collar and pulled him up out of the chair close to his face. "You had a fucking choice!" He ignored Itachi's 'No, I didn't.' "You could have talked to the clan! You could have talked to Otou-san, made him see reason!"

"Don't you think that was the first thing I tried Otouto? Otou-san would not listen to reason. He wanted power; to rule over Konoha. They felt oppressed by the rules the Senju clan had put on them." Itachi shook his head and stood back on his own two feet, now slightly towering over Sasuke. "No. You do not understand. There was no other-" He flew back, the force of Sasuke's punch making him topple over along with the couch.

Sasuke and Itachi himself were shocked that he had left his guard down long enough for Sasuke to get in a hit. Itachi snapped out of it and rolled of his back and off the couch, getting to his feet. He immediately stepped back from another swinging fist, his foot catching on a pillow, ripping it open and causing feathers to fly.

Sasuke threw out his leg toward Itachi, his anger getting the better of him. 'You don't understand.' You're damn right I don't understand! And goddamnit you had a fucking choice! He launched another punch when Itachi blocked his leg. Itachi continued to block and dodge his barrage of punches and kicks, never once going on the offence. This angered him more. Was he not good enough for Itachi to fight right now?

Itachi tried his best not to let Sasuke hit any of the breakables, but after a few minutes of dodging he knew that it was a pointless task. The chairs and pillows were strewn about the room, ripped open by one of Sasuke's attempts to hit him. The vases, tables, and pictures were all broken and there were a few hand sized holes in the wall. If this progressed any further, Sasuke just might destroy the rest of the house.

Making a spilt decision, he bent over backwards to dodge the punch that Sasuke threw at his face and used that momentum to do a few back flips. He stopped on his feet when he was close to the back door that led to their outside training ground. He turned to slide open the door and ran outside. Sasuke growled behind him and followed.

Itachi quickly scanned the training grounds before him, trying to think of a way to immobilize Sasuke without harming him. A foot connected with his side and blood flew out of his mouth. He used the momentum from the kick to roll him back up onto his feet. He gave a small cough accompanied by a grimace and wiped the blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand.

Itachi almost groaned when he realized that Sasuke was seriously trying to hurt him and that there would be no other way. He would have to kick the shit out of Sasuke before he would even listen to him. He continued to dodge Sasuke frenzied punches, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Sasuke threw a clumsy punch, leaving himself wide open. Itachi took his chance. He dodged quickly, putting his hands to the ground. He brought up one of his legs, his foot connecting with Sasuke's chin. Sasuke flew back with a small cry of pain. Itachi winced as he straightened himself back out. His legs definitely not made to go that wide. He was flexible, but not that flexible. He didn't know one man who could say they could do the splits.

Sasuke got up with a crazed smile. He laughed hysterically. "Finally!" He charged with renewed vigor only to get his stomach caught by Naruto's outstretched arm. His breath escaped him in a whoosh.

"What the hell is going on out here?" Sasuke stumbled off his arm with a wince. He held his hand to his stomach. "I leave ya'll for not fifteen minutes and ya'll managed to destroy the house!"

"Get out of my way Dobe!" Sasuke hissed. He wished not for the first time that his chakra and weapons were accessible to him.

Naruto's eyes darkened with regret. Orochimaru really influenced Sasuke in so many ways; Naruto would probably never know of them all. "No, Sasuke. I won't allow you to continue this stupidity. Now what happened?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto but he knew that there would be no getting around Naruto without his chakra available to him. He turned his glare back on Itachi. Now in his right mind, he tried again. "You had a fucking choice you bastard! Don't you dare lie to me saying that you didn't! You-!"

"No, Sasuke!" Their eyes widened and they took an unconscious step back when Itachi yelled out. His usual stoic face was full of anger and another emotion they couldn't identify. "There was no other choice! Don't you think I tired everything I could think of! I-" He cut himself off abruptly as if only just realizing that he was yelling. He took a breath and composed himself, his face once again becoming expressionless. "Excuse me." He bowed stiffly and walked back inside.

Sasuke stood stock still, shocked to the core. He had never seen Itachi lose his cool like that. He doesn't think anyone has. Itachi was always monotonous and stoic.

"You should uh… go inside and… eat." Naruto could barely get out complete sentences. "The food is uhm… b-by the door." Sasuke didn't respond. He continued to stare blankly at the spot Itachi had been in earlier as if replaying the scene back in his head. "I'm going to go… check on Itachi." He left Sasuke to his thoughts.

When Naruto found him, Itachi was in his room staring out his open window. He was leaning on it heavily as if there was a weight on his shoulders, and he was gripping the window sill so tightly that his knuckles were white. A soft breeze filtered through the room and played with Itachi's hair.

I've never seen Itachi's hair out of it's ponytail. Naruto thought as the wind died down in the room, Itachi's hair once again becoming still. It looks nice. I wonder what it would feel like. As soon as that thought ran through his head he felt like punching himself. What is he thinking?

He closed Itachi's room door behind him with a soft 'click!' and walked over to stand beside Itachi. He closed his eyes as another breeze came in through the window and took in a deep breath. He loved the smell of the outdoors and the peace it brought with it. He opened his eyes to see that the sun had gone down further. Now, only orange lit up the sky, even that was beginning to fade. He looked down at the ground to see the garden that he had been taking care of.

Funny. He used to look up to this window and wonder whose room it was. Was it Sasuke's? He gave a light chuckle. He was way off. Naruto lifted himself onto the window sill and sat down on it. Silence reigned in the room and he lightly kicked his feet back and forth. His blue eyes scanned Itachi's room. He became saddened when he saw that it was bare of any personal accents. Only a desk, a bed, and a dresser decorated the room. There was another door, probably leading to his private bathroom that was as barren as his room. It was all immaculately clean, as if no one lived in here. He decided that the next time he goes out, he's bringing Itachi with him to buy stuff for him room. Even Sasuke had more things in his room! Though most of it's his stuff, Sasuke at least had two or three pictures in his room before he moved in.

He glanced down at Itachi's hand when he saw them shift in his peripheral vision. Now they were relaxed, lightly supporting him on the sill. He smiled softly to himself. He himself might not have caused the change, but he hoped that Itachi got his silent support.

He looked up to Itachi's face to see him staring at him out of the corner of his eyes. He smiled brightly and held out his hand, palm up. Itachi faced him, confusion shown in his eyes.

"Your hand." Naruto explained.

Itachi lightly lifted his hand and placed it in Naruto's smaller one. Naruto brought up his hand and lightly touched the long, thin scar that was on the back of hand. Curiously, he turned it over only to find the same scar on his palm. He cocked his head to the side as he traced it with his index finger. Probably got stabbed through the hand with a Sai or something. He flattened the larger hand out with his out and traced every nook, cranny, and scar with his fingers. There were tiny scars on his fingers, probably from training as they were faded and there were calluses on his palm from handling kunai and the like. He traced his fingers along the lines that tell your future according to fortune tellers. He briefly wondered what was in Itachi's future before flipping his hand back over and doing the same, noting the scars that were on his knuckles. Done with his right hand he gently placed it back on the sill and picked up Itachi's left hand. He rubbed the red lines that the window sill imprinted on his hand and continued to do the same.

All throughout this inspection, Itachi didn't breathe a single word. His eyes watched as Naruto's fingers lightly traced his scars, wrinkles, and calluses. His eyes traveled up to Naruto's face. He searched Naruto's face, trying to see what he was thinking. His eyes would occasionally lighten or darken when he discovered a new scar or callus.

By the time Naruto was done, it was already dark outside and the cool breeze turned into a chilly one. But he wasn't affected by the wind; he was used to the cold. Naruto turned his face back up and met Itachi's gaze. No words were spoken as they searched each other's eyes, trying to find out what the other was thinking. A cold wind came in through the window and a shiver ran through Naruto's body, as if just realizing that it was cold.

Naruto blinked as if coming out from and trance and broke the gaze, looking down. He dropped Itachi's hand like a hot potato when he noticed he was still holding onto it and jumped up to his feet, stumbling a little to get his balance back. A blush was apparent on his face.

"W-Well! We should go join Sasuke in dinner! I'm starving!" Naruto avoided looking into Itachi's eyes and turned around to the door. He heard Itachi shut his window behind him and follow him into the kitchen. "Oh! I'm so sorry Sasuke! You should have eaten without us!" Naruto felt guilty when he saw Sasuke sitting down at the table, all the food around him uneaten and set for three. Sasuke just shook his head.

He sat down at the table, Itachi not to far behind. "Well, I didn't know what ya'll like so I just got some Yakisoba for all of us. I hope that's okay?" The Uchiha's nodded their agreement. "Good. Itadakimasu!" ( 2 )

When Naruto was finished he placed his chopsticks over the plate and said his thanks. "Gochisoosama." ( 3 ) He waited for the other two to finish. Silence reigned once again in the Uchiha Manor as they waited for Naruto to say something. Usually, as soon as he was done, he got up to start with the dishes and Itachi would join him soon afterwards leaving Sasuke to stalk out the room. "Okay. I'm done with this stupid, thick cloud hanging over us all the time when you two are in the same room. I don't know exactly what that fight was about earlier but you two are going to talk this out. And when you are done, you are going to fix that living room." Naruto glared at the both. "We are having guests stay with us for the next five plus months, and you two are going to be on your best behavior. Gods help me if you two fight! I won't hesitate on making sure you two can never have sex!

"Now, let's start!" Naruto's face went from threateningly stormy to happy in an instant. "Who wants to go first?" Sasuke's eye twitched. "Ah! Thank you for volunteering Sasuke!"

"Dobe I did-" His eye twitched again when Naruto's smile grew wider, his eyes promising pain beyond his imagination. "Tch. Whatever." There were a few moments of silence, but they waited patiently. Sasuke started when he realized there was no way to get out of this if he wanted his dick intact. He turned his gaze onto Itachi and took a deep breath. "In the courtroom," he hesitated, "you said… that you did it because you loved Konoha, but you loved me more." He shook his head in confusion. "I don't get it. Explain it to me."

"I had no choice." Before Sasuke could come back with a heated reply, Itachi continued. "I know you are getting tired of me saying that, but it is the truth. You heard what the contract entailed. If I didn't do it, the Council would have. And they would have killed you and instead I would be 'The Last Uchiha'."

"What do you mean? Wouldn't you have been killed, too?"

Itachi shook his head to Naruto's question. "No. I was too… 'valuable' to the Council. They still had 'use' for me. So, I killed the clan so that you would survive. Then, I went to the Akatsuki. They came to me a few weeks before The Massacre and offered me a position even though I wasn't a nukenin. When I asked what the job entailed, I realized they were quickly going to become a problem. I gave Jiraiya-sama information about them as much as possible without getting caught. Everything I did, everything I have ever done, was for Konoha," he looked at Sasuke in the eyes, "was for you.

"I have already told you, Sasuke. I love Konoha with all my heart. But… I love you, Sasuke, with all my heart and soul. Every time I had to harm you to make sure that I wouldn't get caught, hurt me a thousand times more. I never intend to harm you again. And I will do everything in my power to make sure that you never get hurt, and that you are never unhappy."

Silence reigned once again. Naruto smiled, they were making progress.

"I hate you." The smile dropped. Or not… "I've hated you ever since you killed Okaa-san and Otou-san. I've hated you since you killed everyone that I loved. I've hated you since you became 'Itachi' and not 'Aniki'." Sasuke's voice broke on the word and tears built up in his eyes, but he ignored them. "And I've hated you since you left me alone." That sentence was said with such anguish that it brought tears to Naruto's eyes.

"I lived by myself after you left. Alone, in this very house where you killed our parents. In this very Compound where you killed our family. Every day I was plagued by the images of their death. I can still see the blood on the walls and streets and lamps. I can still hear them screaming, begging for you to spare their lives. I can taste, smell, and feel their blood and tears. And..." Sasuke took in a shuddering breath as the tears finally left his eye to make their mark on his cheeks. He looked up to meet Itachi's eyes. "And, I can still see that single tear sliding down your cheek."

Itachi's eyes widened and he touched his cheek with his hand as if making sure he wasn't crying right now. Assured, he put his hand back down on the table and allowed Sasuke to continue.

"But, you know something?" Sasuke gave a shaky laugh. "I… I don't actually hate you. I-I though I did, but I just hated the fact that you left me alone. I hated the fact that you killed our parents. I hated the fact that you were no longer my 'Aniki'…." Sasuke trailed off as tears made their way silently down Itachi's cheeks. "I want 'Aniki' back." Itachi's eyes widened further.

Naruto watched as they continued to talk, tears streaming down both their cheeks unknowingly. He smiled softly and sat back, happy that their bond was mending. It wasn't going to be perfect, and it wasn't going to happen overnight, but slowly and surely, they were rebuilding what was left of their family. He left quietly seeing that his job was done.

It was almost one in the morning when Naruto finished with the living room. All the feathers and broken furniture were in trash bags waiting to be taken out; the pictures that lost their frames were in a neat pile ready to be reframed when he bought some; the holes in the wall were going to have to be repaired more thoroughly later by professionals so they were just covered with cardboard. He was going to make the Uchiha's do it, but they were busy mending their relationship. So just this once he was going to be nice and do it for them. But never again!

Naruto let out a heavy breath and wiped his brow with the bottom of his shirt. He scanned the room one last time, just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. Satisfied, he grabbed the ends of the trash bags and took them outside. Realizing that he didn't know any fire jutsus he pouted. He'll have to get one of the Uchiha's to do it in the morning.

He smiled as he came back inside without the bags, thinking about how they were still talking. Silences were frequent and plenty, but they were going somewhere. He walked up the stairs to Sasuke's room and took a quick shower before jumping into bed. The smile faded from his face as he closed his eyes.

He was glad that they were becoming a real family again but then… where did that leave him?

Sasuke was like a brother to him but, he was only a replacement for Itachi. Now that Itachi was coming back….. A tear slipped down from his eye.

He didn't like to be alone either, but for the sake of Sasuke's family, he'd be alone again.

( 1 ) He was making Takoyaki.

-Takoyaki (literally fried or backed octopus) is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps, pickled ginger, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, ponzu (citrus-based sauce), mayonnaise, green laver, and katsuobushi (fish shavings). Just WIKI it!

( 2 ) "Itadakimasu!"

-Literally 'I humbly receive.' Kind of like saying grace before a meal. This is said before a meal and is considered polite.

( 3 ) "Gochisoosama."

-Literally 'Thank you for a good meal.' This is said after a meal and is considered polite. (obviously)

OKAY! This is finally up! :D Thank you for reading! I'm sorry for not putting anything up for a 30+ days but I think I'm just going to do monthly updates now. I haven't been working on my other story lately (if you read it) but I'm going to try my best to put up a chapter (or two) by the end of the week!

Reviews make my mouth happy! So please give me some feedback! Arigatou-gozaimasu! :D