A/N: You all would not believe the trouble this chap has given me.
Moving on.
Shoutout to operagirl76 for interpreting Sasuke sketches accurately in last chap. On that note, I must say that Vladexx did some amazing fan art of the eye mentioned in Sasuke's sketches, that is accessible from my profile. You simply MUST check it out. For those of you who don't go on Deviantart, I mentioned there that all fan art will be featured on the Facebook page as well, to give the artists a tiny bit of exposure, and so those who don't have dA accounts can see.
And now...39 pages, people. I hope it's not too much, or too confusing. And I hope it satisfies.
10. The Boiling Point
The morning after he'd been sick, Sasuke felt fine. He woke up late, found Itachi already gone for work, and hastened to dress and get himself up the mountain. He made it by 9:30. Naruto let him in eagerly, no comments about his tardiness. Sasuke was given pause at the enthusiastic way Naruto opened his door and beckoned him inside, but stopped. His jaw nearly hit his chest.
His pictures were up on the walls. Everywhere.
Naruto came and stood next to him, observing the walls with him. "I didn't have frames, so I made my own."
Sasuke could very well see that. A wide variety of materials had been used. Smoothed pieces of Barbican bottles, artfully folded wrappers from ramen packages, and even pieces of tree bark had been creatively used to fashion frames that somehow fit the rustic décor of Naruto's home. There was no glass in the frames to protect the pictures, a fact Naruto commented on while Sasuke walked slowly around the living room. The pictures were placed in precise spots on the walls, spaced widely and in no particular order. Some were very high up, while others were low down.
Naruto was beckoning him again. Following him down the hall, Sasuke saw more of his work. In passing the open bathroom, he found the sketch of the reaching hands placed on the bathroom wall. Naruto led him into the bedroom.
There, high up on the wall opposite the bed, sat the picture he'd spent most of yesterday drawing. It overlooked the room, as a king would overlook his domain. The armchair in the picture seemed like a regal throne.
"I don't know what to say," Sasuke stuttered. "I'm…honored."
Naruto was very aware of the fact that Sasuke was a private person. He'd been unsure of how Sasuke would react to seeing his art displayed like this, but had been helpless not to put the pieces up. It was like having Sasuke all around him, all the time, even when the boy wasn't on the mountain. Seeing that Sasuke didn't object, he smiled now in gladness.
-oOo-
In the following days, Sasuke periodically sketched for Naruto. However, most of the time was spent continuing to bridge the gap Moegi's intrusion had caused, and re-establishing their intimacy through the new medium of conversation. They hadn't progressed to outright questions, not really, but halfway through the week, Naruto did ask if Sasuke was acquainted with other forms of art.
"Sometimes I write stuff," Sasuke hedged. "Just dumb stuff."
Naruto didn't ask to see, but Sasuke reached into his bag and pulled out his laptop anyway. After unlocking it with his thumbprint, he tapped a few keys and accessed his documents, then hesitated. There were plenty of references to Naruto in his writing. Letting Naruto read his work, would be like standing up to shout of his feelings…then again, it wasn't as if Naruto didn't know already. And the thought of Naruto reading his work was sort of hot. Actually, Sasuke thought as his body slowly warmed, it was very hot. He passed the laptop to Naruto with a sheepish duck of his head.
Once he had, he didn't have much to do besides watch Naruto read his poems and short stories. Since he had several hundred of these, this took pretty much the rest of the week.
They fell into another routine. Probably the shortest one ever, since it ended when the week ended. All in all, it went on for about three days. The routine was simple. Sasuke would get to Naruto's house, whereupon he would be let in. Due to their shorter hours with each other, they usually breakfasted instead of lunched together, and then Naruto would sit expectantly on the veranda or on his couch until Sasuke handed him his laptop. Naruto would spend the rest of their time together reading Sasuke's works, while Sasuke either sketched or read right next to him.
It was a form of foreplay for them both. It was perhaps the only way for two people with their distinct personalities and social issues to be initiated into intimacy. To be given this glimpse into someone's soul was a first for Naruto, just as having someone view the private thoughts and feelings he expressed in art and writing was a first for Sasuke. In those silent hours, they sat side-by-side, just shy of touching, and listened to the quiet ticking that seemed to grow louder and louder with each passing day. Sometimes the ticking, the awareness of it, dominated their thoughts even while Naruto read and Sasuke sketched. Sometimes they would look up from their respective activities, catch each other's eye, and hold this contact, tension all but vibrating between them.
Thursday afternoon, after he'd gotten home from work, Itachi threw his keys and jacket as usual, then marched to Sasuke's room. They hadn't spoken since Sasuke had been ill, but the animosity hadn't been running quite as high between them. He poked his head around the doorway and found the kid stuffing dirty clothes into a laundry bag. "Yo."
Sasuke looked up.
"Working late tomorrow."
"How late?"
"Eleven."
Sasuke went back to shoving clothes in the bag.
"I got laundry to do too. We can go now, if you're ready."
Sasuke nodded.
The Laundromat was down the block. Neither of them had many clothes. It was their habit to keep their possessions to a minimum in order to facilitate their mobile lifestyle. This habit hadn't left them, despite the five years they'd been in Konoha, and just then Itachi was grateful. He wouldn't be working late tomorrow, but since he'd said he was, he fully expected Sasuke to stay later at those coordinates. Which would give Itachi time to set shit up. He'd already turned in his resignation at his job and notified them that tomorrow would be his last day.
Tsunade regarded the two men standing before her desk as she stood and pushed her chair in. She adjusted her green jacket over her cleavage in preparation to leaving the office for the day. "You two will accompany me tomorrow on my visit to Naruto. We will leave at night, in private, to avoid a spectacle."
They bowed and answered in unison. "As you wish, Hokage-sama."
Tsunade looked at the calendar on her wall. "My last visit was my annual January one, I believe. I'll be making this year's visit two months early, but no matter." She made a clicking sound with her tongue and Tonton rolled stiffly from her corner mat to come over to her. Tsunade stooped to pick her up, mindful of her pet's advanced age. This wasn't the original Tonton she'd had, since the average lifespan of a domestic pig was only 12-15 years. Still, she'd had this one for 13 years now and was quite fond of her. She stroked the pig on its snout and looked up at the men. "As to the reason I'll be needing you along on this visit…it is high time we convinced that boy of his duties. You have both been groomed for his service, and I will not see these preparations go to waste. Besides which, I'm old. One does not choose their successor only to have them laze about doing nothing." This was not an entirely accurate statement, since it was the Third Hokage who'd chosen Naruto to be successor to the title. A moot point in Tsunade's mind.
The elder of the two men raised a brow. "I thought he was secluded because of…psychological reasons?" he finished delicately. That could hardly be described as 'lazing about'.
Tsunade rounded her desk while pointing to the younger man. "And that is where he comes in. I have given Naruto all the time I can. The New Year will see a new Hokage, and that is the end of it. Walk with me, I must go over a few things with you."
They fell into step behind her as Tsunade left her office. She began outlining plans.
Friday dawned with a cold and overcast sky. Eyeing the clouds as he ran up the mountain, Sasuke hoped the rain held off until he made it back home tonight. He thought about how much more time he was going to be able to spend with Naruto today, and picked up his pace.
There was a surprise waiting for him: Naruto had made an elaborate breakfast of rice, miso soup, omelets, grilled fish, natto, onsen tamago, and pickles. There was also fresh green tea to chase away the chill of the morning. A sunny smile broke across Sasuke's face when he walked into the kitchen and saw this spread. Naruto must have been up for hours preparing all this. He dropped his bag and immediately sat at the table.
As Naruto was sitting across from him, he said. "I can stay late today."
"Oh? That's good," Naruto smiled.
They both reached for the pretty blue teapot at the same time, and their hands brushed each other lightly. Sasuke pulled his hand back instantly, mumbling an apology. Naruto merely paused, his eyes on Sasuke, before taking the teapot and pouring for them both.
Afterwards, when they retired to the living room couch, Naruto sat and rubbed his palms along his jean-clad thighs. This was his waiting posture, his can-I-pretty-please-finish-reading-your-stories position, or so Sasuke fondly thought of it as. Grinning, Sasuke came and sat with him, retrieving his laptop in the process. He passed it to Naruto after unlocking it, then reached into his bag and withdrew a novel he'd started the previous day. He left his bag open at his feet.
-oOo-
Naruto watched Sasuke open his book to the place he had bookmarked. He was completely taken, for the moment, by the sheer loveliness of his presence. It wasn't a feminine thing, or anything so insipid as his love for Sasuke making him see rainbows and hearts in the sky. Sasuke was just…magnificent. There was no other word for him, nor was the word itself confined to Sasuke's looks. It encompassed the whole of him. Here was a child on the run for God alone knew how long, given an existence most would have found intolerable (or so Naruto assumed), and yet Sasuke found contentment in simple things. He was an artist, poet, and writer of substantial ability (as far as Naruto was concerned), and was able to befriend, attract, and be comfortable with someone who shunned all human contact.
"I love you," Naruto whispered.
Sasuke looked up curiously. "I'm sorry?"
"Nothing." He went back to reading.
Sasuke's writing was unlike anything Naruto had ever experienced. It was much like the drawings, only…richer. Darker. With the pictures, one was given a peek at an emotional being's state of mind. With the writing, one was thrown headfirst into entire worlds of feeling. Raw emotion leapt from the sentences, dragged one in, and savaged them deliciously in a wide assortment of grisly, poignant, and angst-ridden ways. All the things Sasuke never said were present in his writing.
And quite a bit of it was about Naruto.
There were no words to describe how utterly scintillating this discovery was to him. He'd almost swallowed his tongue at discovering a short story about a boy posing nude for his older male lover. It was, for all intents and purposes, about Naruto. The piece had described a desire that was exceedingly well-defined, one that the blue eyes of the older male in the story sharpened in the boy.
Naruto had lost his breath on that one, snuck a peek in Sasuke's direction, and wondered, for the tenth time, at the boy sharing these inner most parts of himself like this. Were their roles reversed, Naruto didn't think he could do it. The honor was so great that he didn't know if he'd be able to bear it, or the unflinching trust Sasuke showed in him. As for the love Sasuke bore him, love evident in the art and writing, as well as their long stares…this, too, was nigh on unbearably delicious. Naruto reveled in it, consuming Sasuke's writing with obscene greed.
The ticking all but deafened him.
Still, as many documents as there were, Naruto had finished reading them all early the previous day. He'd then read all of them a second time, and then a select few a third time. He decided that he was done as evening deepened on that third day, Friday, and exited the documents before closing the laptop. He had to take a deep breath to clear his mind, still immersed in Sasuke's imagery. He turned to hand the laptop to Sasuke, and inadvertently brushed the boy's calf with his own. Sasuke, who'd been engrossed in his book, jumped. The bag sitting by his feet tipped over.
Naruto could sympathize. The tension between them was now at horrendous levels, and since the incident with the pie dough, they took care not to touch each other. He bent over to lift Sasuke's bag up again and froze.
-oOo-
Sasuke needed a moment for his elevated heart rate to calm down. He wanted to touch Naruto so badly that whenever they did touch it nearly gave him a heart attack. He lived on pins and needles with the strain between them, and he didn't know how much more of it he'd be able to take.
A howling gust of wind blew over the mountain, drawing his attention to the large picture window behind the couch. Judging by how dark it was Sasuke put the time at going on seven o'clock. He had a good two hours before he would need to leave. He hoped Itachi bought food (clean food this time) on the way home; the breakfast he'd had with Naruto had been so large that neither of them had felt the need for lunch. They'd read for the entire day, but now he was hungry again.
When Sasuke turned from the window, he found Naruto straightening up with The Joy of Gay Sex in his hands.
Itachi had their things packed and sitting in two duffel bags in his room. The apartment was wiped down completely of any prints, all dishes, utensils and other household appliances washed and put away. The place had been furnished when he'd gotten it, so no problem there. He looked around once last time.
It hurt, leaving the village again. He'd left it when he was a kid, running like mad and slipping out of the secret entrance/exit known to high-ranking officials. His father had been head of Konoha's Military Police force, and had showed him at an early age, in case of an emergency. Well the emergency had come all right. And now it looked like he'd be using the knowledge again. He picked up their bags and made his way through the village.
There was no one at the stretch of wall that held the secret entrance, Itachi saw. That wasn't unusual. Each clan had had their own way of escaping the village. He was likely the last Uchiha alive to know of this entry point. He set the bags down behind a bush, then straightened and turned to gaze up at the mountain. Even in the dark it dwarfed the city. Pulling his collar up to keep out the wind, he began strolling in that direction, careful to appear casual.
Tsunade received the two men she'd spoken to the previous evening in her office promptly at seven pm. "We'll wait an hour, then leave by unmarked car from the back entrance," she told them. "The other officials in the building will have left by then."
Naruto could not get over the title. It hit him that in his youth he probably would have been choking on hysterical laughter right about now, but here, with the owner of the book sitting next to him, and his own heart beating unnaturally hard, he could only marvel that such a title existed.
He looked up at Sasuke finally, and realized that he didn't know what to say. Sasuke's eyes were wide in his face, visible even through the hair, but he, too, said nothing. Naruto couldn't help himself; he opened the book.
Anus. Barebacking. Cock Size. Daddy/Son Fantasies… Naruto ran his eyes down the table of contents and felt his throat close up. Still unable to help himself, he turned the pages. Slowly, as if in a dream. There were illustrations. Snatches of text leapt out at him, and he noticed that the pages were turned down in a few places. The book had been read and handled extensively, he saw. Lord, but he couldn't even swallow, his mouth was that parched. His skin felt as hot and dry as baked paper, as if the merest touch would have him disintegrating into fiery ashes. He licked his dry lips. "This is…some book," he rasped.
He got no answer, and in truth didn't expect one. He looked over at where Sasuke was breathing quickly and shallowly, nostrils flared, and completely frozen still.
It was one thing to silently acknowledge something, to dance around it, and let it take its due course. It was quite another to stand forthrightly, look the thing in the eye, and say, 'Yes, all right, this is happening. I'm aware of it and I want it.' Yet, holding the book, Sasuke's possession of such a book even, was just that. It seemed that the time had finally come to speak of the unspeakable.
Oddly enough, Naruto found himself ready. There could be no bashfulness now, not holding such a book, and not having been inundated for three days with Sasuke's sharp desire for him in the form of his provocative writing. The foreplay had been established, and now came…whatever came after. He couldn't believe it was the actual act, not quite yet. As the elder of the two of them, and the one not currently close to fainting in embarrassment, it would fall to him to steer things accordingly, he guessed. Sasuke looked ready to flee. Naruto just wished he knew what he was doing. This was all new territory for him.
He looked at the book again, and helplessly opened the pages once more. "This is a book about sex with men," he said conversationally. He hoped his tone was conversational, anyway; he'd just seen an illustration that had his cock jumping powerfully in his jeans. "Why do you carry such a book?" He wanted to put Sasuke at ease, to calm him from that deer-in-the-headlights look he had to him.
-oOo-
Sasuke swallowed. As if Naruto discovering the book wasn't bad enough, now it appeared there was going to be an interrogation as to why he had it. This had to be a nightmare.
He stared into the steady blue eyes, and felt the unflinching blue slowly carve away his nerves and fright. Not a nightmare. This was real. It was happening. Taking heart from Naruto's lack of shock or displeasure, he dropped his eyes to the book and took a breath. He wanted to have sex with Naruto. He couldn't hope to do that if he was too chickenshit to even discuss it. He'd just never thought they'd verbally own up to the things they'd been feeling. He'd thought that, when the time came, they'd just go into Naruto's room and have energetic sessions on that humongous bed. This…this was just so brazen it was mortifying.
However, Itachi hadn't raised a coward. Called upon to actually speak, Sasuke jerked his shoulders in an awkward manner that Naruto eventually interpreted as a shrug. "Wanted. To. Wanted to…know. What to do."
"To do?" Naruto asked. He might be leading, but he was just as nervous as Sasuke was. He was just better at hiding it.
"Yeah. Sex."
Naruto had been leafing through the book during this stilted conversation, trying to minimize their mutual embarrassment by lessening their eye contact. His attention was snagged again by something in the book. Do I have a bubble butt? He wondered. "Did you… plan on having sex with me?"
The dark eyes lowered, then came back up. Didn't blink. A slow nod.
"Are you sure you want that?" Naruto thought that if he didn't get air soon, he would pass out.
"Yes." It was barely a whisper.
"How do you know?"
"What?"
"That you're sure? How do you know you won't regret it?"
"Because…" It was getting easier to speak, but the questions were harder to answer. "Because I can't stop thinking about you. About you…touching me."
"I…see."
Sasuke wondered if he did, and if Naruto had thoughts about him. He wondered, with a sick roll of excitement in his belly, if he would get to see Naruto's penis. This was something he thought about quite often, something that symbolized the whole complicated notion of sex in his inexperienced mind. The sight of Naruto's penis was as far as he was able to think. He speculated feverishly on what it would look like, and thought that if he could just see it, he would die happy. His eyes dropped inadvertently to the crotch of Naruto's jeans.
Naruto caught the look. He looked down into his own lap, saw that Sasuke was now blushing, and dropped his eyes to Sasuke's crotch in turn.
To the keen fascination of Naruto, and the embarrassment of Sasuke, the front of Sasuke's jeans swelled visibly. Face scarlet, Sasuke kept his eyes on Naruto's lowered gaze, determined to show that he was mature enough to handle this terrifyingly adult situation. His hands were closed into tight, tense fists, one on the back of the couch, one near his thigh. Turned toward each other as they were, there really was no hiding his erection. And the arousal was mutual. In glancing below Naruto's waist again, he could make out a bulge that put his to shame.
Naruto found himself wondering if Sasuke's penis was as white and smooth as his hands were. When he looked up again, it was to find Sasuke's eyes bright and glassy, and his lower lip being chewed nervously. In a low voice, he said, "If we do this, it won't just be sex, Sasuke."
"I know." Sasuke held his gaze.
"No, you don't. I don't know what you're thinking, but for me…if I do this with you, it's…"
"What?" Sasuke asked hoarsely. He cleared his throat. "It's what?"
"I don't think I could let you go afterwards. Ever. It would be cementing things in a way I don't think you understand or are ready for."
Sasuke, only hearing that Naruto had doubts and that things might not go down as he wished, scooted closer to Naruto on the couch. "I am ready. I swear."
"You want sex," Naruto clarified. "But you don't know what that means."
Indignant, Sasuke felt a little braver. "Maybe I don't. But I know how I feel."
And on that point, Naruto was inclined to agree. Sasuke did consistently display a distinct desire for him.
-oOo-
He closed the book and set it between them on the couch. The ticking was so loud now that it left them both shaken. Nothing else existed, nothing at all, but the hand Naruto extended across the small space separating them, and the way Sasuke slowly placed his own hand in it. Naruto tugged gently, and Sasuke rose up, came to him, crawled into his lap, and now they were in full, flagrant physical contact at last. They took a moment, several moments, to savor and comprehend this incredible development. It seemed to them that they'd been talking, and now they were touching, and it just about killed them that the moment had come so easily out of all that awkwardness.
Touching. Each other. Finally.
Sasuke shifted, testing the hardness of Naruto's thighs beneath his own, pawing lightly at the rock hard chest in front of him. Naruto settled his hands on Sasuke's thighs, squeezed hard, made Sasuke gasp, then dragged him firmly until Sasuke's crotch pressed against his stomach. Sasuke's hands went to Naruto's shoulders, his neck, his hair, over his face, down his chest again, and back to his shoulders. Naruto's hands kneaded Sasuke's lean back through his shirt, exploring, learning, running down his sides, squeezing Sasuke's arms, taking Sasuke's hands from where they rested on his shoulders and lacing his big fingers with the smaller ones. He released Sasuke's hands to touch his hair, his mouth, his hair again, and found that it was like the pelt of some woodland creature, all soft and silky.
They were trembling, almost pissing themselves with excitement, and Naruto asked again, "Are you sure? Because, if you are…I mean, once I do this…the decision to have you…Sasuke, nothing this side of Hell will stop me once I start," he finished in a low rush. "Nothing."
A glimmer of understanding penetrated Sasuke's inexperience at last. This was about commitment. Or so he thought. "I'm positive. I'll never love anyone but you. Forever."
You're too young to know about forever, Naruto thought, but didn't say. "Sasuke..." He pulled him close, bringing their heads together to experience their first kiss-
And Itachi crashed through the front door, took one look at where his brother was, saw the blond, and said, "Oh, you son of a bitch."
The sleek black sedan came to a stop outside the barricade. Tsunade rolled down her window, stuck her head out, and lifted her face for the camera to scan. At that precise moment she felt Naruto's chakra explode angrily at the mountaintop. It sizzled along her nerve-endings and made her eyes go wide. The camera caught her image, and the barricade rolled open. Her two escorts had also felt the chakra and recognized it. The one driving had the sedan speeding through the barricade before Tsunade's shout of "Quickly!" had faded from the air.
"Hokage-sama," the elder of the two men said now. They were exiting the tunnel behind the barricade. "There is another chakra source up there, one besides Naruto's…and it is not inconsiderable."
Tsunade had sensed the same thing, and wondered who it was that was able to withstand Naruto's ire.
Sasuke had been dumped on his ass as Naruto shot to his feet, but by then the intruder was crashing into Naruto. Sasuke was briefly trampled as two pairs of feet scuffled with each other, but then he rolled out of the way. He crawled to the far wall, used it to pull himself up, then turned and watched with wide eyes and a hand covering his mouth.
Itachi. His brother had found him. He watched now as Naruto body slammed him to the floor hard enough to shake the house. Itachi held on to Naruto's arms, and used this leverage to drive both feet into Naruto's gut, flip him, and have him sailing into the wall beside Sasuke, knocking the pictures down, and cracking the wall itself.
-oOo-
Naruto got up silently, just as Itachi was doing the same. They circled each other, sizing each other up. The feel of their chakra was positively oppressive.
"I don't like people invading my space," Naruto bit out. This was his way of asking what the hell was going on.
"And I don't like fucking pedophiles putting the moves on my gullible little brother."
Naruto stopped moving. He'd recognized Itachi after about five seconds, but it hadn't occurred to him that the cause of this intrusion was Sasuke. "That's what this is about? You think I'm molesting your brother?" He looked at the boy now and saw, by the expression on Sasuke's face, that he'd known this confrontation was a possibility. He also saw rank fear of Itachi.
"Sasuke's doesn't belong here," Itachi said. He'd stopped moving too. "He doesn't belong with you. I'm willing to walk out of here with no further grief if you tell him he's not welcome here anymore."
Naruto thought he'd go blind, his rage was that strong. "Sasuke is mine, now. I won't begrudge him the relationship of his brother, but I'm not giving him up either." Which gave Naruto pause. When had he decided to take on all the possible danger that surrounded Sasuke?
The object of this discussion made a noise that drew both men's attention. Then Itachi cursed and leapt.
-oOo-
Sasuke saw an amazing thing. Particles from the air and undiluted chakra were coalescing in Naruto's hand, forming a rapidly spinning sphere. He could feel the weight of that jutsu from across the room. His eyes flew to Itachi in worry.
-oOo-
Itachi checked his leap and grimaced, impressed in spite of himself. His strategy had been to overwhelm the guy with brute strength, and hold off on ninja arts. He'd hoped to fuck the guy up, leave him unconscious, and be on his way with Sasuke in tow.
The first wrench in those plans had been Naruto unmasking his chakra. The strength of the stuff, the sheer enormity of it, had made Itachi wince, but he hadn't backed down. The second wrench had been the realization that Naruto wasn't simply protected by military, he was military, and high ranking at that; nothing else explained the jutsu taking shape in Naruto's hand. Itachi had never seen that move, and had never gone up against anyone remotely as powerful.
But he intended to take this piece of shit down. God only knew how many times he'd fucked Sasuke. This asshole had ruined the only thing Itachi had in life: his bond with his brother. It didn't matter that Naruto seemed stronger than the Hokage herself, this jackass wasn't getting away with it.
He'd need his eyes on for this one.
-oOo-
Naruto figured that things were probably about to get ugly. If Itachi didn't back down, then Naruto would hurt him. He didn't care if he was Sasuke's brother. But then Itachi blinked, and Naruto's world tilted dangerously. "You're Uchiha," he gasped.
This statement was made at the specific moment that The Fifth Hokage appeared in the open doorway.
Tsunade caught sight, through the picture window as she darted past it, of three people in Naruto's living room. She made it to the open doorway in time to hear this incredible statement, and felt her companions stop behind her.
Ringing silence.
She looked around the wrecked room. There was a teenage boy who stood petrified against the far wall, and the young man Naruto had accused of being Uchiha. Looking closely at this young man herself, Tsunade saw the Sharingan.
Naruto's statement seemed to push the young man past all reason. He lunged at Naruto with a speed not many Academy graduates could match, and had managed to stab, slice, and skewer Naruto before he could do more than bring the Rasengan he had in his hand toward the man's head. In the midst of this flurry of flashing knife, limbs, and screaming chakra, Tsunade heard, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"
The boy screamed, "Itachi, no!" just as the Rasengan was deflected, Naruto's skin took on a dangerous glow, and Tsunade decided that enough was enough.
-oOo-
The stunning kick to his head was the first Naruto became aware that anyone other than Itachi and Sasuke was in the house. He flew in a high arc, just as Itachi was engaged by one of Tsunade's escorts and held down. Naruto thought, The fuck? as he landed on his face. He felt a heeled shoe slam down into the back of his neck for good measure, keeping him immobile.
-oOo-
Sasuke was in full-blown 'ohmygodItachiwe'rescrewedI'msosorryjusttellmewhattodo' mode. He stood pressed to the wall, hands covering his mouth, sure that their cover was finally, finally blown. At long last. And it was all his fault. All his Christing fault. His brother was caught, he was caught, and he was just waiting now for Itachi to give him some signal as to what to do next. If it came down to fighting their way out, then he would fight at his brother's side, and think about Naruto later. For the first time in months, his safety and the safety of his brother was all that occupied his panicked mind. They were dead. Shit on wheat, that was the Hokage skewering him and his brother with her eyes. And she knew they were Uchiha. He'd masked his chakra as a reflex when his brother had crashed into the house. He unmasked it now as discreetly as possible. Even so, the Hokage's eyes sharpened, and the two Jounin who'd come with her turned their heads in his direction. Sasuke wanted to pee himself, but he was more or less outwardly composed. He lowered his hands to his sides, the better to defend himself if he needed to.
-oOo-
Tsunade removed her foot from Naruto's back, kicked him hard in his side for the sheer mess she suspected this situation was, then turned and ran her eyes across the room. She noted the pictures, the laptop, the bag, and the book. Her eyebrow twitched at the book title, but she turned and walked with stately grace and obvious fury to where the man called Itachi was being held in a full nelson by the elder of her escorts. The Sharingan was no longer evident. She did not mince words. "You are Uchiha Itachi, son of whom?"
Itachi didn't look away from those golden eyes. "Sasuke, get out of here."
Sasuke, taught to obey his brother's commands from infancy, was in no mind whatsoever now to disobey. He bolted for the door. The younger of the Hokage's escorts caught him and had him on the floor in five seconds. Sasuke got right back up, serious now and with every intention of doing murder, but Tsunade barked out a command. "Cease!"
Sasuke froze.
Tsunade held Sasuke's gaze a beat, making sure that he was properly cowed, before she walked closer to Itachi and leaned into his face. "You are Uchiha Itachi, son of whom?" she seethed.
Itachi didn't answer. Behind this tableau, Naruto got to his feet holding his ribs.
Tsunade, who'd yet to unmask her own chakra, did so now. At feeling it, Sasuke broke from his position to put himself protectively in front of his brother. "Please, ma'am. Please don't hurt him."
The Hokage was not unmerciful, but she wanted answers. She was not Moegi to be easily deflected or denied. "Give me an answer to my question or you both will suffer."
Seeing as they were caught and there was no way out of this mess that he could see, Sasuke did. "Uchiha Fugaku was our father." He turned immediately to face Itachi, who was glaring murderously at him. "I'm sorry, I had to tell!"
Itachi was released at Tsunade's nod to his captor. She was stunned, but issued orders quickly. "Take them to my office. See to it that no one learns of their presence or even lays eyes on them. I will be down directly."
The brothers were marched out. She frowned after them, suspicious of how meekly they were going, then decided at the last moment that she would accompany them. By the feel she'd gotten of the older brother's chakra, he could overpower her escorts if he wanted to. She spared a single glance for Naruto as she strode out of his house. "You stay put. I'm not done with you."
"You're not taking him-" Naruto ground out, holding his bruised and bleeding side. Before he could finish speaking, Tsunade re-entered the room, and plowed her foot into his gut. He wasn't quite bastard enough to hit her back. Doubled over, he wheezed, "Fucking…bitch," and swallowed his gorge. When she'd banged his door shut behind herself, he slid to his knees and lay weakly catching his breath.
Hag, he thought furiously. Hitting a defenseless man. I could take you with one hand tied, if I actually decided to fight you back.
Itachi was indeed just about to give the signal to Sasuke that they ditch their escorts when the Hokage landed in front of them and led their little procession to an unmarked government vehicle that sat in the clearing.
Tsunade sat up front while the younger of her escorts got behind the wheel. The elder escort sat in the back with them. This man, who Sasuke recognized from a photograph in Naruto's bedroom, put cuffs on the brothers' wrists that immediately began draining their chakra. The ride to the Hokage building was made in silence.
Sasuke looked at Itachi, but his brother sat still, hands clasped between his knees. Still, but not calm. Sasuke knew the difference, and adopted the same position. He glanced down at his cuffs. These wouldn't pose a problem should Itachi give the signal. He and Sasuke had played with a pair just like these for several months when they'd been younger, until they could withstand them for days, with no noticeable drain on their chakra stores. Just one of the many ways Itachi had trained him.
-oOo-
Once in the building, Tsunade led the way to her office. Her palm print unlocked the heavy metal door. The brothers were nudged inside, and the door locked behind them all. Tsunade swept around her desk and planted herself firmly in her chair. Her male escorts pointed to the two chairs in front of her desk, and the brothers sat.
Tsunade leaned back and swiveled from side to side, taking in the miracle before her with a finger to her lips. When she abruptly began speaking, she startled the younger of the two brothers badly.
"The Uchiha clan was slaughtered. Uchiha Fugaku and his wife were particularly butchered. How is it that you two are alive?"
She received no answer.
"We searched everywhere for Fugaku's son. Clearly, you are the son in question, Itachi. Tell me what happened."
Itachi sat as if he was a statue, neither confirming nor denying the slightest thing, or answering the question posed to him. He stared at the Hokage with his hands still clasped. Sasuke, after another tiny sideways peek as his brother's profile, waited to see what would happen.
Tsunade leaned forward, clasping her own hands on her desk and lowering her voice. "If you're afraid of Madara catching wind of your location, you are safe here. Having found you, we –I- will do everything in my power to see that you are safe. You have my word on that." At Itachi's continued stare, she sighed shortly. "I only want to know how you fit into things, and what happened the day of the Uchiha slaughter. It's possible that you're in possession of information that would lead us to Madara."
Itachi had been thinking a mile a minute, cataloging his surroundings, what was said, what wasn't said, and how deep in shit he and Sasuke were. Could be they were in too deep to escape. Could be they weren't in as deeply as he thought. He wasn't answering anything, though, until he got some answers of his own. "Who is Uzumaki Naruto?"
Tsunade waved a hand. "I will address how you two came to be on that mountain, a complete breach of security, mind you, at a later time. However, in the interest of incurring my leniency for those crimes, it would behoove you to answer my-"
Itachi had heard enough. He stood up, causing the two male escorts to move in his direction. Tsunade stayed them with a raised hand. Itachi sneered. "Lady-"
"She is Hokage-sama to you, Itachi-san," the younger escort interjected in a shocked murmur.
"-don't give a flying fuck for you or your threats," Itachi went on. "You said you'd been searching for Fugaku's son, which leads me to believe that you knew my father. Now that I think on it, your ass was Hokage when my family was killed. How does an entire clan get slaughtered right under your nose? Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"Sit down," Tsunade hissed. "You will speak to me with the proper-"
Itachi flexed his arms and the cuffs snapped apart. The escorts closed in as Tsunade surged to her feet, and Itachi turned to face them with lethal intent.
Sasuke looked between his brother and the escorts, aware that Itachi's Sharingan had snared the younger one, but that the older one was able to resist. "Let's just say that how things went down on the mountain won't be repeated here," he heard his brother tell the older man. "I can take you. You want to be taken, then step right up. If not, then get the hell out of my face. Sasuke."
Spellbound by the sheer size of his brother's balls to tell that guy of all people to fuck off, Sasuke jumped. "Huh?" Then he colored in shame. He belatedly pulled his own cuffs apart, and stood to go to Itachi's side.
Tsunade tsk-ed in annoyance. "All right." When Itachi remained where he was, she dropped into her chair tiredly. "I said all right! Stand outside," she snarled to her escorts. "Leave them to me."
-oOo-
Tsunade felt bone-deep weariness weigh her shoulders down, but she maintained the image of strength and anger as she moved her chair closer to the desk and fixed the brothers with a hard glare. They sat once more.
She inhaled deeply, ordering her thoughts. "Very well," she began. "You asked me a question. To answer that, I will need to lay a few facts out for you. What I am about to tell you is known by very few. The only reason I am telling you is because the Uchiha are actually involved in this tale, and I don't just mean Madara. Who is Uzumaki Naruto? Well.
"Thirty-nine years ago the last known Vessel left this village. She was not authorized to do so, but it is believed that she fell in love with the Fourth Hokage, and that he persuaded her to leave so that she could give birth, and so he could extract what she contained, thus freeing her from the burden of Vessel-hood. It would also have allowed them to be together, since the policy at that time was that Vessels remain secluded. I must say that theirs was a secret romance, known only when she escaped and gave birth."
"What's a vessel?" Sasuke asked, not aware of the capitalization of the term.
Itachi asked the more important question. "What does a vessel contain?"
Tsunade ignored them both. She withdrew a bottle of sake from a desk drawer and uncorked it. She tipped this to her lips, to the surprise of both brothers, before continuing.
"Their absence was discovered," Tsunade said as she set the bottle down. She covered a tiny belch with her hand. "They were tracked, and it was learned that the Vessel, whose name was Uzumaki Kushina, had indeed been freed of what it contained. The Fourth was ready to seal it in a specially crafted container, but their pursuers, led by a man named Shimura Danzo, prevented this. It must be said that Danzo was a very powerful man. He was able to control what Kushina contained, reseal it in her, and defeat the Fourth. Namikaze Minato was slain before his wife's eyes as a means to subdue her into cooperating and coming back to Konoha quietly; she was told that if she didn't, her newborn son would also be murdered. Weakened as she was, she agreed and came back to the village."
Sasuke frowned, imagining the red-haired woman in the locket.
"It must also be said," Tsunade went on after another sip of sake, "that the Third Hokage was not aware of these things. He was told that the Vessel was safe in the small home she lived in, and he was able to verify this with periodic visits. He neither knew of the Fourth's courtship of the Vessel, or of the escape attempt at the time. He did learn of these things later, after the Vessel had been brought back, but was told that the Fourth had died fighting them. The Third was also told that the Vessel was distraught, and uncontrollable, necessitating her incarceration in a military facility located beneath Konoha's surface. For whatever reason, perhaps old age, perhaps a desire to avoid conflict within his own council, the Third did not question what he was told. He did visit the Vessel shortly after she was brought back, and saw for himself how wild she was with grief, but he didn't know that the reason for this was that her son had been threatened. He only knew that the boy existed, and so elected to watch over him. As stated by his mother, the boy was named Naruto. Naruto was taken and raised in the village.
"Twenty-four years ago now, the boy, Naruto, was fifteen. A distinguished ninja of some domestic renown. Exceptionally strong, powerful, idealistic, and courageous. Virtually indestructible. He was selected for specialized training in the Sage Arts at a relatively young age by his godfather, the only other living master of the arts. Naruto had then been given a team of his own, and things were going well.
"However, the boy's mother lay dying. As the Vessel, what she contained would need to be extracted. Madara got wind of this through spies no one at the time knew he had in the village. He descended on Konoha with a member of his organization, called Akatsuki. Akatsuki was, and continues to be, infamous. They are known for going after and obtaining Vessels. At the time of his attack, he'd obtained all other Vessels from their various countries. All he lacked was the one owned by Konoha, arguably the most powerful Vessel of all nine Vessels."
"What did he want the vessels for?" Itachi asked. Tsunade ignored him again. He grit his teeth.
"The one Madara selected to attack the village was his strongest ally. A man named Pain. The Third was killed going against him, as were many that day. The damage to this village was great." Tsunade stared through the brothers, her eyes faraway. "Naruto happened to be out with his team that day on a training mission. Quite by accident, he came upon Madara, who was in the forest, watching the carnage from afar. Madara didn't know who he was, but he took no chances. He attacked. Naruto wasn't easily taken, though, not even by such a one as Uchiha Madara. Perhaps Madara taunted him with the attack on the village, perhaps it was seeing two of the young members of his team killed, but Naruto got away. He made it back to the village, with the remaining member of his team, a girl who we will call M for now. Naruto arrived in the village and went head to head with Pain. He…saved Konoha. He was a hero."
Tsunade seemed to need a few minutes to compose herself. She looked aside, clutching her sake bottle, but not drinking now. She only sat, staring off into the shadows, brows knit, and her throat working.
"Pain wasn't killed, but he was so weakened that he had no choice but to withdraw. If…if I'd been present at this time, things would have gone very differently for Naruto afterward, but I…wasn't elected to Hokage until the following year. At the time of these events, I was nowhere near the village, and only learned of the details when I took office."
"What happened to him?" Sasuke asked shakily. "What happened to Naruto?"
This was one question that she did answer. She needed to take a breath before she did, but when she spoke, her voice was firm.
"As I said, the Third Hokage was slain. The Vessel lay dying. Danzo, having witnessed Naruto in action, and aware of his parentage, thought he would be a suitable replacement. Naruto was taken-" Tsunade swallowed. "He was taken one night soon after Pain's invasion, and told that he would be honored at the council building. He went with Danzo and his accomplices, no questions asked. It is my belief that Naruto thought he would be called upon to take the Third's place. He'd been chosen at a young age for this purpose, as the original Fifth Hokage. It only needed to be made official. In any case, he went with Danzo, and he was not on his guard.
"Once in the underground military facility, Danzo turned on him and had him restrained before he could react. It is not easy to get the drop on Naruto, even when he's unaware. I believe Danzo drugged him beforehand by some means. The Vessel was brought before Naruto, who'd lived his entire life under the impression that both his parents were dead. This was a lie told to him by the Third, on Danzo's orders, to protect the Vessel; it was put out that the Vessel no longer existed to prevent anyone else trying to take her or what she contained. Later, it became known that the Third and Danzo were aware of Madara and his organization, and that an attempt would eventually be made by Akatsuki to retrieve the Vessel. Naruto, seeing his mother alive, was outraged at the lie he'd been told, but more so at her condition.
"To keep her subdued, Danzo had had her tortured. If Kushina had been allowed to regain her full strength after giving birth, she would have escaped, taken her son, and been lost to the village forever. It is my medical opinion that Kushina would have lived another fifty years or more, in perfect health, if she'd been left alone. She was quite as strong as her son, aside from being the Vessel. Her constant torture likely led to her physical decline. Naruto, learning of this, went insane."
There was a short period of silence. Tsunade pressed a button on her desk, and her escorts entered again. They had refreshments with them for the brothers. Itachi and Sasuke mutely shook their heads when offered these, waiting for the Hokage to resume. The escorts bowed and stood back, but did not leave the room.
"Naruto was forcibly made into the new Vessel. He watched his mother die from the extraction process, even as he himself was also tortured. Danzo forced Naruto to witness his mother's death, it says in his reports, in order to force Naruto to sync with what he now contained, to call on its strength, and merge with it fully. He was right, Naruto was compatible, but he withstood the torture with uncommon resilience. Worse, Naruto had a wealth of hatred for his mother's tormentors, which interfered with full control of what he contained. Many men and women died in that facility, victims of Naruto's uncontrollable rages. Even so, Danzo increased the torture. He… did things. To Naruto. Things no human being should ever have to go through, testing the new Vessel's ability to heal, forcing him to rely on…" Tsunade swallowed. "Danzo had him for a year. There are files on Naruto's time with him that detail what was done, files that I cannot look at even now."
Itachi watched as the Fifth wiped her eyes. He could hear Sasuke breathing heavily, but the boy wasn't crying.
"My former team mate, and close friend Jiraiya, was the godfather I mentioned. He came to the village a year after Pain had attacked, heard of Naruto's heroic deeds, and searched for him. He wanted to congratulate his former student on a job well done. When he couldn't find him, he went to the council, who was acting without a Hokage. He first asked them how they'd gone a year with no leader, whereupon he was told that Danzo was their proxy leader while a suitable Hokage was found. When he asked where Naruto was, he got no answer. It was at this point that Jiraiya found me and urged me to become Hokage. I refused, but he mentioned Naruto, mentioned his parentage, which was a fact known by precious few, and what he suspected. I didn't believe his tales of corruption, not then, but it must be said that Naruto is a distant relative of mine, and one of the last of his clan name. I went. After my election, I set about obtaining information and interviewing those close to Danzo, as well as Danzo himself. It took me some time. Months, in fact, but I found the facility, and…Naruto.
"He was feral. He had no respect for people or human life at all; Danzo had broken him completely. He was so far gone that once released from his confinement, thirty-two medics and Jounin were killed trying to restrain him. I myself had to do so, and it was not easy. Not by any means. He was wild, an animal. A powerful animal with almost no capacity to think or reason anymore. His former student, M, was brought in, and the sight of her helped calm him somewhat. Jiraiya sat with him for long weeks and months, and that helped as well. Naruto had lost the abilities of language and speech during his torture, but with Jiraiya and the girl, he re-learned most of what he'd forgotten. He still could not tolerate other people, but he allowed me, the girl, and Jiraiya near him. He could not re-enter the village, of course. Out of the question. He was too distrustful of people, and as yet still too violent. There was too much hatred in him, and the thing he contained threatened to break free with the slightest provocation. People and socializing just complicated things. It was at this time that I offered him the house at the top of the mountain. It had been built by the first Hokage, and has belonged to every Hokage since then. Naruto consented to this. Jiraiya offered to train him so that he might gain control of himself, but Naruto declined. He wanted to be alone. Seeing as solitude was the only way to avoid his rages, we left him alone."
Far away, the rain that had threatened all day seemed closer as a distant clap of thunder could be heard. The wind freshened against the window behind the Hokage.
"Naruto's former student, M, visited him often. I, too, visited him periodically. Left alone, he trained himself, and eventually gained control on his own. I, on the other hand, had a village to run. I had Danzo assassinated, with Jiraiya's help. After that, it was a matter of weeding out Danzo's supporters, and destroying any factions loyal to him. I also implemented a vigorous campaign to find and neutralize anyone who could be considered a spy for Madara. At the time, I thought I was successful. As far as anyone in this village is concerned, the boy who saved Konoha died shortly afterward, and I am not inclined to confirm or deny this for anyone. You asked me who Naruto is. He is Konoha's current Vessel, Sixth Hokage of Konoha, and likely the most powerful man alive, outside of Madara himself."
Of this last, Itachi heard only one thing. He did not comment on it, but continued to listen, as Tsunade finally came to what he really wanted to hear.
"Perhaps because I was successful in neutralizing his spies, Madara made another attempt to get to the Vessel," Tsunade said. "Seventeen years ago, this city was hosting the bi-annual Chuunin Exam. I didn't know it at the time, but Madara conspired with the head of our Military Police, Uchiha Fugaku, to assassinate me during the Exams, and obtain the Vessel. Fugaku, unbeknownst to Madara, only pretended to go along with him in an attempt to lure Madara to the village and thus into a trap. The stadium holding the Chuunin Exam was emptied of Daimyo and spectators, and replaced with a false crowd of elite Jounin and other military. Mock matches were held, and the trap was ready to spring. We were only waiting for Madara to make his move.
"Apparently, there were spies I was unaware of. Madara got wind of the deceit and went directly to the Uchiha compound instead, while nearly every member of our military was waiting at the stadium. Through a massive illusion, he cloaked the compound to appear normal, and killed everyone inside. Those Uchiha who were in the stadium were attacked by the token few Madara had sent there for that purpose, and killed. By the time we became aware of the crisis in the Uchiha compound, we were too late. Not a single man, woman, or child was left standing. We later got wind of other Uchiha stationed in foreign countries also being assassinated. I inspected Fugaku's residence myself. At discovering that Mikoto was devoid of her fetus, and finding no remains of her son, I thought Madara had taken you both. We searched every blade of grass in every nation under the sun, and could not find a hint of your whereabouts, nor of Madara and Akatsuki. I had to conclude that he'd killed you both at a separate location.
"But here you sit before me," Tsunade finished in wonder. "And I would dearly like to know how that is possible. That boy," and here she nodded at Sasuke, "if he is the one Mikoto carried, should not even be alive. Mikoto's body was in no condition to give birth to a live fetus."
Before he began, Itachi said, "Why would Madara expect my father to turn against the village?"
Tsunade clicked her tongue. "Your father had some resentments towards the position his clan was in, the status it held in Konoha, but he would never have turned on his own village. Madara grossly misjudged your father. It's possible that Fugaku furthered the misconception in an effort to capture him. Your father was an excellent head of Police, and would have seen it as his duty, aware as he was of the attack on the village years before."
Itachi tugged on his lip a moment, but gave it to the Hokage straight. He didn't embellish, or go into details about what his years on the run had cost him, or the hardships he'd suffered. When he was done, Tsunade wore a stern frown of disbelief.
"A child of six would not have been able to hide a newborn infant and himself from the search parties I sent out," she said sharply. "The search was hottest during the two weeks immediately after the slaughter. Where were you?"
"I don't know. Grass Country, maybe. I made sure I wasn't seen by anyone, since eyes carry tales." Itachi faced her penetrating stare without blinking. "I hid Sasuke in a bag I carried on my back whenever I had to go out hunting for food or formula during those first weeks. Stole what I needed, when I needed."
Tsunade cleared her throat after some seconds, and sat back at last. "Well. As I'm sure you must have realized, you cannot possibly think to continue running. You are back home where you belong now, and safe. We will not let any harm befall-"
"With all due respect," Itachi drawled. "You couldn't protect an entire clan when you had a heads up that Madara was coming. What makes you think you can protect us now? My whole family died because you geniuses were looking the other way. My dad told you what was going down, warned you, put the matter in your hands, and you assholes dropped the fucking ball." He snorted. "The way I see it, my brother and I are better off on our own."
Though it stung, Tsunade could not deny the reasoning. She tried to persuade him anyway. "You must put yourself in our protection, Itachi. Out in the open, it is only a matter of time until he finds you. We have the resources to make sure you're safe. The village is more secure than it was seventeen years ago."
"You're overlooking the fact that I've kept myself and my brother safe all this time. I'm sure putting myself in your hands will have me dead inside of a week. The more people who know a secret, the less of a secret the secret is, you feel me?"
Tsunade searched for some way to convince him, even while secretly admitting that Itachi was likely practiced at keeping ahead of Madara. "Is there no way I can change your mind?"
"No."
"Very well. Take the brothers below," she said to her escorts. To Itachi, she said, "For the time being, I cannot disagree with you on the fact that you are not in immediate need of assistance. Should that change, however, I want you to know that you have the full power of the Hokage behind you. Whatever happens, your running days are over. Now, then. My medical assistant is a trusted man. He will take samples from you both, just to verify that you are in fact Uchiha, even though I can see the resemblance to Fugaku and Mikoto plainly. No one but myself will see the results, so knowledge of you will remain safe. After that, if you wish to leave, you may."
They were led by the same escorts to a room below ground level, where they were soon joined by a bespectacled older man. Sasuke watched as blood was taken first from him, then from his brother.
"That should do it," the man smiled. "Your names? I need to put them on the vials."
Sasuke waited for Itachi to answer. When he didn't, he looked over at him curiously.
Itachi stared blandly at the guy. The look on his face was not one Sasuke could ever remember seeing. It was equal parts alert and preoccupied, while somehow managing to be completely closed. Then Itachi said, "Some people yell."
Both Sasuke and the medical assistant were confused over this senseless sentence. Eventually the man smiled again, and bowed himself out of the little room. Sasuke thought about asking what Itachi had meant about people yelling, but Itachi fell into a moody silence that he knew better than to interrupt.
-oOo-
Thirty minutes later, the Hokage came in. "The tests results are positive. You are the legitimate children of Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Mikoto."
Itachi looked up at her. "We're free to go?"
"Yes." She watched as the brothers slid off the examining table in unison, watched as Itachi held the door open for Sasuke, then waited with a puzzled frown as Itachi told Sasuke to wait for him at the end of the corridor. Itachi closed the door and turned to her.
"I met Naruto the night he tore up the store. The same night he met my brother. Going by everything you've told me, I can now understand why the creep came off as crazy. He is crazy. What I want to know is, is he dangerous?"
She objected to the term crazy. "I'm not sure I understand you." The answer to his question seemed obvious, if he'd listened to Naruto's back story earlier.
"What I mean," Itachi said as he lowered his voice, "is this shit he's containing, whatever he's a vessel for. What is it?"
That was privileged information. It was never mentioned out loud, if it could be helped, and generally never admitted to. Still, in the interest of eventually incorporating Itachi into the village once more, and gaining his trust, she relented. She told him, as succinctly as possible, and about how such things were used as weapons by the major cities.
Itachi stared at her, mouth slack. "The fuck? I mean…Jesus. Wait, has an Uchiha ever been a Vessel?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Is it dangerous? Is Naruto dangerous, I mean?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Gee, I don't know. Maybe because my brother was hanging around his ass? Why do you think!"
Tsunade folded her arms. Itachi seriously needed to learn the meaning of respect. "Under ordinary circumstances, which is to say when left alone, no. I can't say that he is."
"But when he's around people he is?"
"You must not have understood my lengthy explanation, Itachi. Naruto is not ever around people. He isn't crazy, as you put it, but he isn't well either. Better than he was, yes, but not well." When Itachi only continued to stare, she asked, "What were you doing on that mountain? You and Sasuke?"
"I think my brother's been having a relationship with him."
Highly unlikely, given what she knew of Naruto's emotional state, but that would explain the book she'd seen. "For how long?"
"I don't know. I assume since the night of the store."
"That would mean months." Which would mean Naruto had some serious explaining to do. "Still, that doesn't explain your presence."
"I had no idea where Sasuke was during the day. I thought he was jeopardizing our cover. When I did find out, I went up there to set the child-molester straight, and to get my brother. We were going to leave tonight."
"Were?" Child-molester, indeed.
"Well, we'd have been gone by now."
"I see. It's good that I showed up when I did, then. Naruto does not like having things taken from him. As far as he's concerned, he's lost his parents, his team, and his entire life. I can't imagine that he'd tolerate losing anyone else, which is another reason he lives as he does; he's distrustful of attachments of any kind. You seem to be quite capable, but he would have had your guts for garters."
Itachi had recently come to the same conclusion.
"Are you sure you won't reconsider my protection?"
Itachi had to force himself to think of her question, and not the million and one other thoughts this evening had given birth to. He chose his words carefully, suddenly aware of the time. "I think we're all right. Seeing as the cat's out of the bag now, though, I guess Sasuke and I will stay in the city. If I feel like danger's closing in, I'll inform you. You do realize that my brother and I will have to keep living under false names?"
She'd figured as much. "I can't say it agrees with me. You are citizens of Konoha and should live here under your rightful names. However, until Madara is caught and Akatsuki neutralized…"
Itachi nodded. "Do you think Madara will make another attempt at getting Naruto?"
"I don't know. I suppose him returning to capture it is a risk, one that will exist for as long as there is a Vessel, but…if he has spies here, and his knowledge is deep enough, he knows that Naruto is no one he wants to go up against, even with his organization behind him. But the only ones who truly know of Naruto, in detail, are myself, his former student M, and the two men who escorted me tonight. And of those four, only the student and myself know absolutely everything. Knowledge of you will not reach Madara, Itachi. Trust me. My offer still stands, though, if you change your mind."
Itachi opened the door. "Like I said, we're good."
Tsunade inclined her head. "Understood. However, we will be keeping an eye on you behind the scenes. Very subtle. You won't even know we're there."
"I doubt that. I can sense a tail five miles away. I know when I'm being watched, Lady." The hag just wouldn't take no for an answer. "I'd like to leave now, and take my brother home. Were the blood samples destroyed?"
"By my own hand," she assured him. She stood aside to let him leave.
Sasuke looked him over quickly, assessing him. Good. Kid was back to the way he'd been trained, and vigilant. Probably too late to do any good, but better late than never.
Tsunade told the younger man of the escort to drive them home, and Itachi consented to this only because it meant he would get home faster. On the ride home, he kept his face turned aside, looking at the predominantly quiet village slide past the window. Dashboard clock said 11:18 pm. Thunder rumbled again, closer this time, and accompanied by a faint flash of lightning. Storm coming. In so many ways.
At his building, he got out of the car, and stood looking up at it. His escort got out and stood beside him, while Sasuke stood behind him. Itachi wasn't actually looking at his building, though. He was scanning his surroundings, seeing without seeing, his senses drawn high and tight. The tripwire of his internal alarm was thrumming something fierce. He had time, but not a whole heck of a lot. Shrugging his shoulders as if the area between them itched, he went inside his building and took the stairs at a normal pace. The escort came up with them. Sasuke made sure to put himself behind the escort.
-oOo-
Itachi unlocked his door, pushed it open, and let his eyes and ears determine if things were as he'd left them in the apartment. They were. He crossed the threshold, turned, stood aside for Sasuke, but held up an arm when the escort tried to enter. "I got it from here, Scarface."
"I need to assure the Hokage that I left you and your brother in safety." The escort frowned, probably at the reference to his scar.
"And you have," Itachi said with a roll of his eyes. "Now, if you yourself want to continue to be safe, I suggest you take your ass off my doorstep. Had about all I can handle tonight. Beat it."
The escort left. Itachi closed the door, but left it cracked open about half an inch.
Sasuke was at the living room window. "He's gone," he confirmed. "Doing 40 mph, heading east. License plate-"
"Gee, Sasuke. Where was all that attention to detail when we really needed it?"
Sasuke turned from the window, letting the curtain drop. "What-"
In a deliberate move to further his plans, Itachi punched his brother in the face hard, snapping Sasuke's head back, and sending him reeling toward the window. Itachi grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and yanked him back into the room before he could cause a scene outside by dashing his brains out on the street. He threw him down on the floor.
Sasuke choked, his nose bleeding profusely, but he got to his feet and faced Itachi. He held a hand to his nose, eyes watering.
"Oh, little brother," Itachi crooned softly. "Still want to tell me you're not endangering us?"
Seeing the hard glitter in Itachi's eyes, Sasuke swallowed. "I'm-"
"Sorry?" Itachi smiled mirthlessly. "You have no idea how much I hate you right now. We are exposed, Sasuke. Fuck your sorry."
He waited until he sensed no one on the mountain before letting his chakra seep out of him in a controlled amount. Just enough to speed up his healing, and close his wounds. His ribs creaked as they set themselves. That bitch had staved them right in with her kick. His breathing remained sharp, short, and painful until his lungs repaired themselves, then he was able to take a deep breath. He lay quietly a moment, feeling his chakra retreat.
Later, he sat at his kitchen table. His hand was fisted on his mouth, much the way it had been the night he'd realized that Sasuke was in danger. His foot jigged up and down rapidly, the only manifestation of the chaos in his mind. Other than that, he was perfectly still.
Itachi was Uchiha. That meant Sasuke was Uchiha. The only dealings Naruto had ever had with the name Uchiha were when he'd come across Madara, but that had been more than enough. Madara and his Sharingan. Madara, who'd killed Konohamaru and Udon. Madara, who'd had his village attacked while trying to get to his mother. He'd fought Madara and gotten away. He'd taken Moegi and run, forced to leave Konohamaru and Udon's bodies behind.
After his fight with Pain, when Danzo had had him…that Sharingan, all of them, had featured prominently in…
Don't think about it. Don't go there.
Normally he didn't think about it. He was able to keep those thoughts and memories at bay. By concentrating on his breathing, and counting the tiny lines in the wood grain of his table, he brought himself under a semblance of control once more. Sasuke. Okay. Yes.
Sasuke was on the run. From who, Naruto didn't know, but it could be from Madara. The only evidence to support this was that one time Moegi had come to him sometime in his early twenties and told him the village had suffered some kind of tragedy. The Uchiha clan had been massacred. She hadn't said by whom, but in one of her annual visits, Tsunade had let slip that Madara's last known appearance in the village had been a failed coup against her, and the killing of his former kinsman. If Madara had killed off all the Uchiha, that would then suggest that Sasuke was on the run from him…
Which meant Madara was indeed the one looking for him. And if Madara found Sasuke, he would find Naruto, and the one thing Danzo had said over, and over, and over again during that hellish year was that Naruto should be grateful that Madara didn't have him. Whatever Naruto was suffering at Danzo's hands would be a hundred times worse with Madara, Danzo had said.
Naruto could not say that he was afraid of Madara, precisely. What he feared was events spiraling out of his control, of being at the mercy of those events, of so many indefinable things. And all his fears could be wrapped up in the idea of being around people. He'd spent so many years convincing himself of this, of the fact that people were to be avoided, that he couldn't think otherwise now.
Setting all that aside, Naruto focused on the events of this evening. Their secret was out now. He couldn't imagine that Tsunade would let Sasuke and his brother remain unprotected. All that really needed to be decided was what would happen to his and Sasuke's budding relationship.
Before he could think on this further, he felt a presence stalking across the clearing his house sat in. Moments later, this presence opened his door and slammed it again. Heels marched across his living room, to resolve themselves into Tsunade herself standing in his kitchen doorway.
-oOo-
She came and sat across from him without being invited, and then the two silent specters of her escort also appeared in the doorway. One took up a position by the fridge, the other near the kitchen sink. Naruto regarded them all stoically.
"Are you going to offer me tea?" Tsunade snapped.
Naruto resisted the urge to offer her half of the peace sign. That was childish behavior, no matter that he thought she could benefit from such an offer. "Moegi told you, didn't she. The bitch swore to keep her peace about Sasuke, but she told."
Tsunade blinked. "Moegi knew of this situation?"
Naruto nearly bit his tongue at realizing that he'd just given Tsunade information she hadn't had.
The escort by the sink turned to the stove to make the aforementioned tea. Just having the man touch his dishes tightened Naruto's jaw. Tsunade got to the point after getting no reply. "Well. I will deal with her later. Uchiha Sasuke. Start explaining."
"I don't have to explain anything to you," Naruto muttered.
A stiff wind blew around the kitchen as The Fifth Hokage not only unmasked her chakra, but released it in such an amount as to indicate that the house on the mountain would shortly be no more. Naruto, who ordinarily was not so combative with her, dropped his eyes to the table. Tsunade took this for an apology, and reigned herself in.
Explain Uchiha Sasuke? He couldn't. He couldn't even explain the boy to himself, much less to anyone else. He couldn't tell how the boy had insinuated himself into his life, how conscious he was of Naruto's preferences, how submissive he was to Naruto's way of life, how all these things were things he'd needed desperately, yet hadn't known he'd needed… No. The best he could do was, "I love him."
The cup of tea clattered on its dish in the hands of the escort at the stove. Tsunade gasped softly, her eyes large and moist with emotion. "Naruto," she breathed.
Naruto ignored their displays of shock. "Are they leaving?" he asked. "Sasuke and his brother? Are they leaving the village?"
Overcome by his breakthrough, Tsunade nevertheless tried to answer. "I don't think so. It's hard to read the older brother. Something tells me he's well-versed in saying one thing while meaning another, but he did tell me that they would remain in the city."
"Who's after them? Are they under your protection? When will Sasuke officially be given clearance to come here?"
Tsunade accepted the tea that was placed before her, and waited until the escort moved back. "I don't think I've ever heard you talk this much. It does my heart good, I must say. As for Sasuke, I'm sorry but he will not be given clearance to this mountain, Naruto. It hurts me to say this to you, especially in light of your feelings for the boy, but Madara is the one after them. I'd just as soon not have the boy lead him inadvertently to you."
"But-"
"Furthermore," Tsunade went on, "Itachi has refused my offer of protection. I can't say he's wrong to. I believe that if Madara makes an attempt to retrieve the brothers, Itachi will learn of it long before we do. He seems skilled at staying ahead of threats. He'd be a great asset to ANBU, and this city, I can tell you that."
"Madara might find them, then. They might leave. And let's face it, you're not strong enough to protect this village if it was attacked like it was back then," Naruto stated. "What happens if Madara comes for them, and this time they don't get away? What then?"
Tsunade smiled around the teacup. "A very good question. Can you think of anyone who-"
Naruto stood up and turned his back. "No."
"Naruto, please. It's your rightful place, where you belong."
"I said no."
"The city would welcome you, every effort would be made to see that your transition-"
"I can't."
Tsunade set her teacup down. "Look at me," she sighed. "I said look at me!"
Naruto turned his head to look behind him, and saw the true face of the Hokage.
"I'm old, Naruto. And unwell. Unlike me, your sickness can be remedied." She gestured at her escorts. "They have been trained from the time I took office to assist you. Kakashi there will be your advisor, and Iruka has obtained several distinguished degrees in psychotherapy and analysis. He can help you, Naruto. They both can. What's more, you know them, and they know you. I've done all I can to ensure that your ascension to the seat of Hokage is as smooth as possible, but you must take your place-"
Naruto lunged for the table, grabbed it, and threw it, barely missing all three of them. Tsunade and her escorts scattered. "No!" Naruto roared. "I won't be manipulated into serving the people who killed my family and made me what I am. Get out! Get out!" He turned, crunching over the shards of the teacup and saucer, to lean his hands against the pantry door.
Tsunade stepped from behind the protective bodies of Kakashi and Iruka, and addressed the broad quivering back. "I had everyone who was involved in those crimes replaced, you know that. You were a hero, Naruto. Despite everything that's happened to you, I know you can be again. I know you still are. I'm not giving up on you. I know you could be my hero, and the hero of the village, if you'd just give yourself a chance."
"I'm nobody's hero," he moaned miserably. "Just go, please."
He didn't hear them leave, but nonetheless knew when he was completely alone. There was no one on his mountain except him. He hung his head, as the sky finally opened and released a downpour of freezing rain.
After those few words Itachi spoke to him, his brother turned away to sit at the kitchen table. There was an edition of The Leaflet folded on the counter. Itachi reached over, snagged it, and proceeded to read. Sasuke quietly left him alone to go clean up his face in the bathroom. When he was done, he went to his room, closed the door, and flopped onto his bed.
He'd never been to school. Itachi had taught him how to read and write, and thereafter would bring him books for Sasuke to educate himself with. These covered a wide range of subjects. They had to be read quickly, because the books were too heavy to bring with them whenever they moved. Once Sasuke had been old enough to train, Itachi had brought him quite a few books on ninja arts. Where he'd gotten them, Sasuke hadn't known at the time, but he now supposed Itachi had gotten them the same place he'd gotten his fighting skills. At work. At least, that was what Itachi had always said when asked. Now, though, Sasuke thought it safe to say that Itachi likely serviced a few ninja and asked to be paid in trade. That would explain the skills and books.
There had been one book on chakra theory that had been so incredibly thick as to be impossible for Sasuke to even lift. He couldn't have been more than eight or nine at the time. The text had been difficult, full of ancient and archaic language. He'd had to skip whole sections of it. He only recalled it now because it had contained a chapter dedicated to vessels. No, Vessels. Capital. The word for them had been Jinchuuriki. He hadn't been able to understand much, but the word 'demon' had leapt out at him, and there had been an illustration of some beast with ten swinging tails and a single huge eye smack in the middle of its forehead.
He'd had nightmares for weeks. Itachi had needed to stay home from work a few nights, Sasuke had been so terrified. His brother had listened to the garbled tale of demons walking the Earth and slapped him for his nonsense. He'd cuddled Sasuke afterward, but explained shortly that he didn't have time to sit around soothing stupid fears. Time was money, Itachi had said, and he had to go to work. The book had been taken away and disposed of, and Sasuke had never seen it again.
He hadn't thought of it since. The Hokage's words had triggered the memory. He lay listening to the rain, and wondered if Naruto had a demon inside him.
It really wasn't so different from the idea of ninja, he supposed. All the ninja arts really were was science. People who were evolved enough and trained to use their minds to manipulate their bodies, earthly matter, and the energy around them. Certainly not everyone could be ninja, but if people existed who could bend the laws of physics, wasn't it also possible that demons walked the earth?
Abruptly Sasuke shivered in fright.
Eventually, his thoughts turned to Naruto. Just before all hell had broken loose, he'd actually touched him. He'd been in his lap, embraced by him at last, and had been this close to getting his first kiss. He ached at the loss, at the remembered feel of Naruto's hard body. Naruto had been warm. So warm, and trembling as badly as he himself had been. A deep, dark longing welled up Sasuke's chest and into his throat at thinking he'd never see Naruto again. If he thought Itachi would allow it, he'd go and say goodbye, just in case they did end up leaving the village. But Itachi had told Sasuke he hated him. That hurt. It hurt more than leaving Naruto hurt.
But everyone knows about us now, so why can't I see him? Because Itachi wouldn't let him, that's why. Not now that their real names were out. Itachi would be a thousand times stricter, of that he was sure.
Sasuke felt resentment. He loved his brother intensely, but it was not the same as what he felt for Naruto. His love for Naruto was a full, bright, hot, and sexual thing. What he felt for Itachi was hard and unbreakable. The way a diamond was hard and unbreakable. And like a diamond, his love for Itachi was sometimes a beautiful thing, too precious for him to think about closely. But looked at objectively, in its raw form, the love he and his brother shared was something elemental and dark. Sometimes…ugly. It encompassed duty, dedication, guilt, and a wealth of sacrifice. It could not be shaken off or walked away from, the way he suspected his love for Naruto could be. Somehow that made the bond he shared with his brother more difficult to bear…and yet he would die without Itachi. Just the thought of Itachi being hurt or dead clogged his throat with tears.
But there was resentment.
His first love, and Itachi had shat on it. If his brother had only trusted him, everything would have been fine. Secretly, he thought Itachi was jealous of the fact that he had someone to love. Maybe Itachi had fucked up his chances with Naruto deliberately. He hadn't even tried to talk to Naruto, but had just barged in swinging. Thinking of the way Itachi sat in the kitchen now, all calm and collected, Sasuke was ashamed of him. Itachi hated him? Well, Sasuke hated him right back. Controlling jerk.
On the way back to the Hokage building, which held her apartments, Tsunade collapsed.
"Hokage-sama!" Iruka rushed to her side.
"She didn't do much tonight, but it was still more than she's done in years," Kakashi fretted as Iruka lifted her. "I'll notify her assistant to meet us at the hospital."
Back on the mountain, Naruto broke from his paralysis and began putting his kitchen to rights. The table had shattered the kitchen window, letting in rain and wind. Since two of the table's legs were also broken, he snapped off the other two, retrieved his tools, and used the large square of wood to cover the window. He nailed it into place, and arranged the curtains so that they were partially hiding it from view.
Next, he swept up the broken glass and china from the floor, emptied this into the waste bin, and washed the floor. He moved to the living room.
A mess. Couch overturned, scratch marks on the floor, and the pictures he'd gotten from Sasuke knocked down and trampled on. This last cored him from within. He picked up the fallen pictures with a wordless cry, and tried to smooth them out. Hopeless. He ended up smudging the graphite or charcoal, and ruining them further. He held the crumpled pages in his blackened hands as his vision blurred. The only thing he'd had of Sasuke, and now they were nothing but garbage. He looked up, looked around-
Sasuke's bag. Beside the bag, the book.
Naruto went and picked it up. It had a shoe print on it now, but holding it, Naruto forgot everything but the feel of Sasuke in his arms. Sasuke, whose presence was always soothing and never abrasive, or intrusive. He never made demands of Naruto, and his quiet presence invariably calmed Naruto from his most panicked episodes. He needed Sasuke. There was nothing more pressing than that. Madara was an abstract idea at this point. Sasuke was real, Naruto was real, and the feelings they'd spent months trying to come to terms with were real.
He stared at the book, but didn't see it. He saw Sasuke sitting in his lap, his light weight leaning forward, his pale lips parted, and his eyes shining with love and anticipation. The only person who'd ever loved Naruto, taken away. Probably never to return, if Tsunade got her way.
Naruto righted his sofa and sat on it, the book in his hands.
There was no clock in the room, but he felt the strange sensation of time speeding up, while at the same time slowing down. An odd image came to him: The minute hand of a large-faced clock sweeping forward with uncharacteristic speed, while the hour hands rolled backward.
He supposed he had a choice. He remembered making declarations tonight, telling Itachi that Sasuke was his, that he wasn't given him up. Where had that conviction gone? He'd been in the process of claiming Sasuke. Was he willing to let that go, and never know the taste of him? Since when did he let what was his be taken from him?
But he also remembered thinking some days ago that when the time came, he would have to let Sasuke go. And sitting there, with the fallen lamp giving skewed light, Naruto knew he just didn't have it in him to step up and be the man Sasuke would need. He was too afraid, yes, afraid; their relationship wasn't a secret thing, just between them anymore. Now everyone knew, and everyone would be sticking their noses in. Already he'd been called a pedophile. Tsunade said it was safer if he and Sasuke went their separate ways. In order to see Sasuke, Naruto would have to go through his brother, The Hokage, and God alone knew who else…and though just the idea of being with Sasuke was worth any price that was within his power to pay, it was not within his power to overcome himself.
When Itachi judged the time to be right, he got up and looked for something to eat. The cupboards were bare. Then he pulled open a utensil drawer and found three dusty packages of instant ramen. He prepared one of them and carried it back to the table. Sasuke, who'd come out at hearing the rummaging in the kitchen, looked at him as if to ask where his share was. Itachi left him to prepare his own.
They were undeniably in a crisis, a time when Itachi typically spoke to Sasuke, outlining what their next step was going to be, reassuring him, etc. The silence effectively left Sasuke to his own devices. He could see Sasuke's rebellious little mind making suppositions and assumptions, filling the silence with is moody angst, and victimized self-delusions. It would have been cause for Itachi to lament his stupidity, if he weren't deliberately pushing his brother towards this thinking. Sasuke was not stupid, so Itachi had to take care here.
He ate his noodles as if he had all the time in the world. Dipping his chopsticks in slowly. Lazily stirring the noodles. Dragging up a mouthful of the stuff. Eating the noodles with a long, wet, drawn-out sluurrrp. Licking the chopsticks clean. Repeating the process. Sasuke had his own noodles in front of him now, and stared at him as if he'd gone insane. Itachi continued his little performance.
It was probably unwise to floor the accelerator when going down a rain-washed incline, but Naruto didn't ease up. There was just too much –the possible re-emergence of Madara, discovering that Sasuke was Uchiha, the Hokage, and Sasuke being taken from him- for him to slow down. He needed Sasuke, wanted to take consolation in the only true source of solace he'd ever found in his life, and yet was too cowardly and emotionally handicapped to do that. He'd sat in his house, pushed and pulled by these conflicting thoughts until he'd ultimately run away. He'd run from the thoughts, thereby shutting them out and gaining some quiet.
It was in this quiet that the mad clock of before resurfaced. This time the minute hand was slowing down. It slowed the faster Naruto drove, until each tick stood alone, momentous. This monotonous sound helped keep the chaotic thoughts at bay, so it wasn't precisely unwelcome, but it also served to spur him on. He couldn't explain it, but his speed was as much him trying to outrun the ticking as it was fleeing from his confusion. He was helpless not to keep his foot jammed to the floor. Nothing so minor as possibly wrapping his truck around a tree was going to stop him from getting to his destination. Urgency bordering on panic filled him.
He was coming up too fast on the barricade for the camera to scan his face. Besides which, the rain wouldn't allow a clear picture to be taken. This was fine, since there was a control for the barricade in Naruto's truck. He pressed the button now, and the huge, orange door leisurely rolled open. It looked like he was going to fatally ram his truck into the barricade at this speed, or else get wedged into the slowly-widening gap, but he rocketed through. Tore both side view mirrors right the fuck off his truck, but he was alive and kicking and that good.
His Windracer fishtailed briefly upon exiting the barricade, then righted itself and sped down the road, kicking up a large rooster tail of mud and rain in its wake.
"How long are we staying in the village?" Sasuke asked when he could stand the silence no more.
Itachi slurped noodles.
"Do you think the Hokage can be trusted?"
More slurping.
"How long are you going to stay mad at me?"
A slurp and a belch.
Sasuke was seriously considering shoving the cup of noodles down Itachi's throat when the apartment door was kicked open without warning. He jumped, holding his chopsticks defensively, as he spun to face this new threat.
-oOo-
Naruto bulled his way inside, dripping wet, and fists balled aggressively. His eyes zeroed in on Sasuke. "Come with me."
Outrageous command though this was, Sasuke nevertheless felt happiness rocket steeply within him at hearing it. He slowly unclenched his body and released his Sharingan. He stared at Naruto, taking him in from head to toe, how he seemed to fill all the space around him. Naruto was here, in his apartment. He'd come for him. Sasuke looked at Itachi, ready to ask if he could go…but Itachi was looking at him expressionlessly. Sasuke felt his resentment flare up again and suddenly decided that he didn't need permission. He moved toward Naruto.
Itachi casually dropped his chopsticks into the little cup. "Sasuke," he said as they headed for the door. "You walk out of here, you better stay gone."
Sasuke shrugged into the jacket he had hanging behind the house door. "Itachi, give it a rest will you? Everything's out in the open. The Hokage isn't going to give us away so it shouldn't matter where I-"
"You're never to bring your ass back here again." Itachi picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating. "I mean it."
Sasuke stood there, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You're disowning me?"
Itachi sniffed shortly, turned his mouth down in an odd facial shrug. "Hey, you won't let me protect you, you think you're so grown, well then go. Be his bitch. Just don't bring your lily-white ass back here when shit goes wrong. I'm done with you."
Sasuke took a step back into the room. "Itachi."
"Get the fuck out of my house. Both of you."
Sasuke stood there until he heard Naruto walking out of the apartment. Before he followed him, he said, "I wish you'd just trust me for once."
Itachi pushed his empty cup aside and fixed Sasuke with a stare. "I am trusting you, bro. Go. Your pimp is waiting. Me? I never want to see your face again."
It was the worst thing Itachi had ever said to him. Sasuke's eyes burned as he followed Naruto to his truck. He stopped at the passenger door to turn and stare up at the place he'd shared with Itachi for five years. Itachi couldn't really have meant what he'd said. Not really. He couldn't. They were brothers. It sucked that Itachi was this mad at him, sucked hard, but…Itachi hadn't mean those words just now. His brother loved him.
Telling himself that Itachi just needed time to cool down, Sasuke finally climbed into the truck and pulled the door shut. He did his best not to cry too noisily.
Upstairs at the window, Itachi watched the truck speed off from the curb, and sighed. Kid had almost stayed. Almost.
He turned, and became a flurry of motion. Maybe if he moved fast enough, he would make it in time.
The house door. Had he actually closed it behind himself, Naruto would have broken it when he came in. He didn't have time to replace the door, and it was imperative that his apartment appear unmolested. He closed it now and locked it, before hurrying to Sasuke's room.
Naruto bent over the wheel, trying to see through what looked to be conditions for Noah's Ark. His wipers were on high speed, and were doing absolutely nothing to aid visibility. He didn't reduce his speed; he simply opened his senses to make sure he didn't hit any pedestrians that may or may not be crossing in front of his hurtling truck.
Hunched, every muscle tense, hands nearly breaking the wheel, Naruto's fury was held in check by a tight, frayed leash. Not only was his peace of mind fucked beyond repair, not only was he confused and afraid, but now, apparently, he'd gone and screwed up Sasuke's relationship with his brother.
Sasuke's quiet crying was like being attacked with guilt. The steady, but strained fwip-fwip of the wipers, the sound of his tortured engine, and the continuous roar of the rain were background accompaniment to the crying. It was a melancholy orchestra, one that did nothing to ease Naruto's nerves. He drove with the same speed he'd used when getting to Sasuke.
He skidded to a halt in front of the barricade, and pressed the button under his dash. When the barricade rolled open, he drove through, and the brief respite from the rain while he was in the short tunnel was welcome. With the absence of the rain's noise, he felt some of his anxiety ebb. Not much, but it was something. When he exited the tunnel into the rainstorm again, he wasn't doing more than 30 mph. He stopped halfway up the steep, winding road, put the truck in park, and jerked the emergency brake upward. He turned off the wipers as well, and sat staring at the way the rain cascaded over his windshield, listening to Sasuke's sniffles.
The ticking had slowed so much that each individual beat was now a surprise, occurring after many minutes. He looked over at Sasuke now, found the black eyes wide and wet, and looking at him in turn, and then it stopped. The ticking stopped for the final time.
Naruto threw open his door, got out, then reached back into the truck to snatch Sasuke out by a handful of his jacket. Sasuke was there, falling into his arms, throwing himself against his chest, with the same craven cry of raw need that left Naruto's lips. The door was shut again and they stumbled against it, wrapped tightly, fiercely, in each other's arms. The rain threatened to drown them both. They stood shivering and gasping in the downpour.
There was so much Naruto wanted to say, so much he wanted to explain, but he couldn't. He'd never been great with words, and this whole situation was so far beyond his ability to cope with that he didn't even try.
Threading a hand through the dripping black hair, Naruto jerked Sasuke's head back and kissed him roughly.
-oOo-
It happened there in the rain, on the road, against the side of Naruto's rain-slick Windracer. Too much stress had been put on the dam of their emotions; it burst wide open, flooding them both, and it was all they could do to continue breathing. The heat of their mouths surprised them, but the kiss flat out rocked them to their depths. They grappled, and clutched, and grunted, and keened through this long-desired contact with each other.
As abominable as the day had been, as wounded as their respective confrontations had left them, this was the right conclusion to such a day. The only possible conclusion. Breathless, electrified, shaky and frightened, they clasped each other's dripping heads and kissed hungrily. They kissed with crude passion, in relief of their long, pent-up tension, and in search of some measure of security from the storm their lives had been caught up in.
There was no gentleness. Sasuke may have required this, but Naruto was unable to give it. A wild, yet quiet fury of lust suddenly suffused Naruto, and this was unleashed on Sasuke without restraint. Sasuke's jacket was ripped off and thrown down. The kiss grew in heat and urgency. It was a wonder to them both, the feel of the other's mouth. Hot. Soft and yielding in Sasuke's case. Firm and insistent in Naruto's. High sounds, faint squeals from Sasuke, had Naruto crushing the slight boy hard in his arms. Naruto's heartbeat pounded away in his ribcage, driving him to aggression.
Naruto pulled away only once. Using one hand, he wiped Sasuke's drenched hair from his face. Sasuke switched his grip to hold Naruto's forearms tightly, but he wasn't objecting to anything. And seeing Sasuke's face, unable to tell tears from rain, Naruto saw no regret. Fear, yes, but there was trust there also. Their eyes did the talking, begging silently, giving each other permission. This was all that was needed. Enough foreplay had taken place between them over the past few months so that, when Naruto lowered his head with more deliberation this time, they both gave in to what was coming next.
-oOo-
Sasuke couldn't help the thin cry that left him; Naruto's hands were brutally hard as he was yanked against an inflexible chest. Arms like iron bands closed around him, but he was still being kissed, so he didn't care about how much Naruto was hurting him. He needed the contact, needed to be held, and kissed, and crushed in Naruto's arms. He didn't think he would ever need anything else in life but to feel Naruto lifting his legs to wrap around his waist.
He felt himself further lifted to sit on the hood of the truck. The windshield was to his left, and he briefly rested a hand on it as Naruto bent him backwards, kissing him hard enough to have him dizzy. He clung to Naruto tightly. Due to the incline the truck was parked on, the place where the hood of the Windracer met the windshield created a V. He was pressed into this pocket, kept from sliding off by Naruto's big body.
A rough hand hooked in the waist of Sasuke's jeans, and thumbed the button free. The jeans, along with his briefs, were tugged down his hips, down his legs, where they caught on the tops of his boots. Cold rain hit Sasuke's privates, making him hiss at how strangely stimulating this was. But then he was nearly pulled off the truck as Naruto resumed pulling on his stubborn jeans. He flung his hands wide, grabbing futilely at the slippery hood and windshield. He caught one of the wipers, but it snapped off in his hand. He cried out again as he began falling. Naruto steadied him with a hand, before given a final yank that had one boot flying off, and that pants leg at last peeling away from Sasuke's calf. Naruto stepped back briefly to quickly undo his own jeans.
Sasuke stood with one boot on, the other buried in mud, as Naruto lowered his zipper and released himself. The cock that flopped heavily free seemed to accurately reflect its owner, he thought with a weak flutter in his belly. It was long and thick and tanned darker than the rest of Naruto. The veins were very prominent, as was the large, rounded head. Fleshy lips marked the slit, and the balls that hung beneath the cock itself was full and pendulous.
Somehow, Naruto's cock put Sasuke in mind of battle; it looked like a crude, yet effective club, one that was used to bludgeon lesser mortals to death.
That was all he had time for; Naruto closed in.
There was a gasp when their genitals touched, a sharp intake of breath at how hot their cocks were. And then too, the fact that their privates were in direct contact with each other had Sasuke and Naruto standing in stiff uncertainty for a moment. Sasuke lay trembling against Naruto's chest, his head beneath the taller man's chin. Naruto ran awkward hands over his thin shoulders, and slender neck. Then he leaned Sasuke backward over the hood at an angle. Sasuke was forced to use an elbow to support himself.
When Naruto's blunt cockhead pressed against him, Sasuke felt his nerves come back tenfold. A soft "unnh" escaped him, and Naruto gathered him close. Their faces were less than an inch apart, noses almost touching. Rain ran ceaselessly from their hair, over their eyes. Their breath steamed from them as they breathed in unison, breathed and remained still…and then Naruto pressed upward against the tightly closed ring of flesh resting against his leaking tip.
Sasuke dug his fingers into Naruto's shoulders and clamped his jaws shut. He was determined to ride out the pain, but the pressure didn't let up. He remembered the book saying that one should be completely relaxed for anal sex, and knew that he was anything but. He found himself using his grip on Naruto's shoulders to pull himself upward, moving away from that burning club forcing its way into him. He squeezed his eyes shut. Buried his face in Naruto's neck. Bit his neck, bit hard, kept biting, and then he screamed with the flesh between his teeth as Naruto took hold of his hips and yanked him downward.
-oOo-
Naruto froze, unable to breathe after penetrating Sasuke's resistant sphincter. Those muscles quivered, and throbbed, and massaged his sensitive head until his climax roared out of him. He dropped his forehead to Sasuke's as he rode the sharp spikes of pleasure. The boy was shivering in his arms, likely in pain, but he couldn't withdraw. It felt too good to withdraw. That unearthly squeezing on his tip finally broke his paralysis. He pressed upward once more, slowly widening the tightly closed chute of Sasuke's rectum around himself. The boy was tight beyond belief; Sasuke pushed against him now, clawing bloody lines in his neck. This wakened a greedy beast of carnality in Naruto, one that drooled in mindless pleasure at the notion of bending this helpless boy to his needs, of slaking his urges on him. He shoved upward a final time, the fearsomely tight passage eased somewhat by his seed. He was able to plug himself all the way in.
Sasuke's harsh cry of pain was absorbed in a rolling spate of thunder. He locked his arms around Naruto's neck, pressed his cheek to his hard shoulder, and held on tight as Naruto immediately struck up a steady, forceful pounding that jarred his teeth.
-oOo-
He couldn't breathe. The pain was enormous, quite equal to the size of Naruto's cock. There had been a gush of heat from Naruto that had soothed his pain at first, but now the pain was back. The skin of his rectum was stretched so wide and tight that his eyes ran with tears. The veins on that engorged organ further abraded his sensitive flesh, and had him fighting not to scream. Naruto gave harsh, wordless grunts with each powerful stroke, rolling his hips into Sasuke in a firm and ceaseless rhythm...and then Sasuke was unexpectedly caught by the same rhythm and the pain began to lessen. Just a bit. There was pleasure creeping in now, making itself known, mixing with the pain. It grew with each thrust, each soul-shaking impact, until Sasuke gave a tiny squeaking moan each time Naruto rammed home. The burning in his ass was replaced with sizzling friction, and this added to the pleasure. His own cock leaked steadily; he was coming halfway and remained in this acute state of non-release until, before long, his arms lost their panicky grip on Naruto. He was too weak to do more than cling feebly to Naruto's shirt. His body was loose, his legs slipping from around Naruto's waist as more heat coiled tightly low down in his belly. A feeling of intense pressure and achiness built in his balls as Naruto increased the force of his thrusts. Sasuke felt himself rocking dangerously with the truck, heard the thing squealing on its chassis, much as he himself was voicing a mindless stream of pleasure bordering on pain, and then his entire body felt as if it had been struck by lightning.
-oOo-
Naruto didn't stop when Sasuke came in his arms. The boy gasped in what seemed to be surprise, then bit Naruto's chest hard. Naruto spread his legs for balance and held Sasuke closer as he pumped and pounded with ever-increasing force and need. Caught in his first throes of erotic passion, he was helpless not to plunge with wilder and wilder abandon, squeezing Sasuke hard enough to hurt. He felt himself swiftly approaching a a second release, and threw himself headlong toward it. He hammered strongly at the tight, hot, furnace of Sasuke's ass until his climax boiled over and filled Sasuke's rectum. Only then did he pause for breath.
But the need rose in him again. Still panting heavily, he braced his palms to either side of Sasuke's body. He was both unable, and unwilling to even consider stopping before he'd been sated.
This time he started off slow. He rocked experimentally against Sasuke, and was rewarded with the boy giving a whimper of enjoyment.
Sasuke's mouth opened on a soundless shout as Naruto pressed too deeply a moment. His breathing sharpened. He whined. He squirmed. He squeezed his legs around Naruto's waist, and all these things served to make Naruto thrust harder, then a bit harder still. He stared down into Sasuke's face the entire time, waiting, judging, and when the boy began pulling at his shirt, he gave in and went all out once more.
There was yelling that was repeatedly cut short as rain filled Sasuke's mouth, or whenever he tried to catch his breath. It was a few moments before Naruto determined that the yelling was done in pleasure, but by then his body was on fire again with his impending release. Water splashed wetly from the impact of their hips as he rode Sasuke hard for the final strokes. His cock swelled to the bursting point, making Sasuke sob. When he came, he slammed home a final time, holding there, and swallowed Sasuke's scream with his lips. His cock pulsed in the hard vise of Sasuke's ass, emptying itself in long, rich spurts of scalding seed.
After, he leaned up and looked down into Sasuke's face. He considered asking him if he was all right, but didn't want to sully this particular moment in their relationship with anything so coarse as language. He settled for smoothing the soaked hair from Sasuke's brow.
Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. Naruto gave a questioning half smile. Sasuke answered with a tremulous curving of his own lips, and that was good enough for Naruto. He dipped his head and kissed those lips, tasting rainwater. He kissed, and bit, and nibbled until Sasuke responded with more spirit. His thin arms came around Naruto and pulled him close, pulled him down, and the kiss deepened. Sasuke shifted his legs around Naruto's waist, locking his ankles at the small of his broad back.
They slid down the side of the truck in a heap, and tipped sideways into the mud. Naruto was dislodged from Sasuke's body by this, but he didn't complain, too spent to do anything but close his eyes.
Sasuke hissed in pain when Naruto's cock slid free of his ass. He managed to crawl weakly onto Naruto's chest, his jeans dragging heavily at the one leg that still wore them. He lay listening to Naruto's heartbeat return to normal and thought how good the rain felt on his ass. Naruto's arms came around him, and held him. Sasuke's eyes drifted shut, and he slept.