Hey there everyone, long time no see! I've decided to star putting all my notes and comments after each chapter, so that you can enjoy reading it first! So this time…..its all at the end!

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine, and neither are the song lyrics. The song is "Beauty and the Beast" by Stevie Nicks.

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Part Three: A Strange Encounter

My darling lives in a world that is not mine

An old child misunderstood, out of time

Timeless is the creature who is wise

And timeless is a prisoner in disguise.

The rest of that day passed by in a flurry of activity. Spare stables were thoroughly cleaned, everything was straightened and anything that needed fixing was fixed. Horses were exercised and put out to grass for the day.

Naruto was a nervous wreck. Fear and anxiety twisted his stomach and gave him a pounding headache. As the hours passed, he worked on nervous energy, not really wanting to be idle. If he was idle then he had time to think about the torture the next few months were likely to be.

He had no idea why this was making him so scared. If he was only nervous, then that would have been fine, but the outright fear he was feeling was upsetting him more than anything else. Perhaps it was because he had never been comfortable around the Uchiha's, or indeed, any person who came from an upper class background. It wasn't something he normally had to deal with, so he wasn't used to being in such situations, and had no idea how he should act around them. As it was, he hardly ever ran into any of the Uchiha's. When they were around, he would usually find an excuse not to be there. There were always horses that needed exercising after all.

But now, he was going to be in the presence of one every single day for the next few months. It was a very daunting prospect to Naruto. He had been painfully shy and self conscious for years which only added to the problem.

All of this thinking was making his headache work, and his stomach growled as he realized that he'd been sweeping the same area for the past ten minutes. He'd been so preoccupied that he'd missed lunch break, and his mind definitely wasn't on his work, as it should be.

Unfortunately, Kakashi had spotted this.

"Naruto." The pale haired man was frowning at him. "Stop worrying so much and take a break. You'll collapse from exhaustion if you don't and Iruka will kill me if he finds out."

"But…"

"No buts. Go." Kakashi pointed a finger to the door.

Reluctantly, he set his broom aside and feeling as if he was being banished somehow, he left. The sunshine was bright and he had to shield his eyes while his eyes adjusted.

"Oi! Naruutttooooo!" a voice called his name.

Following the sound of Kiba's voice, he rounded the corner of the second stable block and found the said person stretched out beneath a shady tree with Shikamaru and the women. Sakura and Tenten were eating bento boxes; Kiba had already scoffed his and Shikamaru was cloud gazing. This was the spot where they normally ate lunch together. Underneath this particular oak tree, the grass was green and soft. Nearby was the farriers small workshop and the wash bays. It was not uncommon for water fights to break out here during the warmer months, using the hoses in the wash bay, and their own water bottles.

But it was autumn now, and the nice days would soon be ending and giving way to the cooler, and much wetter seasons. The trees were already losing their leaves and they'd already had some rain but today seemed to be one of those lovely autumn days, where the weather was cooler but pleasant, and the sun shone warmly.

He joined his friends beneath the tree and accepted the bento lunch that Tenten had made for him.

"Phew! What a day, eh?" Kiba exclaimed as he flopped onto his back.

"It's not over yet." Sakura muttered.

"Yeah. I can't believe they didn't tell us sooner." Tenten agreed. "It would've been nice."

"Tch. Damned troublesome."

Tenten threw a chopstick at Shikamaru.

"Is that your answer to everything? Why can't you think of something interesting to say for a change?"

And so the arguing began with Kiba looking on and laughing.

Sakura smiled at Naruto.

"Relax a bit Naruto. Things won't be as bad as you're imagining them to be."

He stopped picking at his food and took a mouthful when he realized how hungry he was.

"Yeah, I know. But how am I supposed to…"

"Act? Be yourself. Don't try to hide from them, because they'll think you're afraid of them and will take advantage of you. And stop worrying about what others think of you and start living for yourself."

He gave he a small smile. "It's easy to say that, but…"

"It's hard to actually do it, I know. Just give it a try. That's a start, isn't it?"

He nodded and accepted a drink bottle from her. Sakura's eyes were thoughtful as she contemplated the leaves above her head.

"I wonder what he's like? What they're all like?"

Naruto shrugged. It was really none of their business as far as he was concerned. He just wanted to do his job and keep out of their way as much as possible. He didn't care if no one noticed him, or acknowledged him, he just wanted to be left alone. It was better than suffering in the presence of strangers.

He talked for awhile with Sakura, but he really wanted to get back to work. He didn't have to think about things other than what he was doing.

The colt needed to be exercised today, and he knew that if it was going to get done today, he needed to do it soon. Kakashi knew that he was training the young horse, and excused him from his duties in order to work with the colt a little every day.

So when they reached a suitable point in the conversation, Naruto got up.

"I've got to…"

"Get back to work, we know." Tenten sighed. "Just take it easy, won't you?"

He nodded and hurried away with his head lowered. As he entered the stable yard, he looked up at the sound of hooves. Kakashi already had the colt saddled and ready, and was carrying a riding helmet in one hand.

"I want you to stay close today. Just a simple workout." Kakashi told him. "He hasn't been ridden much, so be careful."

Naruto nodded and took the reins. The colt wuffled affectionately at his fingers.

"Has he got a name yet?" Naruto asked shyly.

Kakashi smiled down at him. "I believe they named him Anikhetos. But of a mouthful."

"Its beautiful." Naruto smiled and rubbed the colts face.

"A foreign name I believe. It suits him."

"I think I'll call him Annie for short."

"Off you go. Not too long, remember. I want to feed up soon." Kakashi told him as he left.

Annie was alert and bright with energy as Naruto led him into the cool interior of the second indoor arena. Annie scented the air curiously as Naruto tightened the girth slightly and let down the stirrups. He slipped a foot into a stirrup, gathered the reins and swung gently into the saddle. Annie braced his legs as he adjusted to the unfamiliar weight on his back. Naruto waited patiently until he felt some of the tension drain from the colt before gently urging him to walk forward. Slightly nervous and fidgety, Annie stepped out quickly, his steps fast and bordering on a trot. Naruto eased him back slightly until he was walking at a comfortable pace.

Annie was still nervous and tense as Naruto guided him around the outer track at a walk. This wasn't the first time he had ridden Annie, now was it the first time the colt had been ridden. When they'd bought him, he had been broken in to the basics, but they people who had done it, hadn't reinforced the training with practice, so Naruto had undertaken the task of doing so. He also planned to teach him dressage and jumping when he was ready for it, but that wouldn't be for awhile yet. First he had to get him used to being ridden.

Kakashi liked to use Naruto for training youngsters such as this one. It was better to have a smaller, lighter person on a young horses back than a large, heavy one, like Genma of Kakashi. Because he was light and small, the strain on the horses developing back muscles wasn't as great. It took awhile for the muscle to strengthen enough to carry normal people/

At first Kakashi had always been with him to supervise when he was riding the younger horses, but once he had seen that Naruto was experienced enough to handle them alone, he had left Naruto to his own devices. Naruto had appreciated the trust Kakashi had put in his, and it only served to strengthen his respect for the older man.

Annie was relaxed now, and calm. Naruto had been riding him regularly now, and after the first few minutes, he had gotten over the initial shock of having someone on his back and was responsive and willing. It was the same every time they repeated the routine; once the colt was comfortable he would take him through his paces and begin some very basic exercises.

An hour later, Annie was sweating and getting frustrated and Naruto knew it was time to call it a day. Once you lost their attention, they stopped co-operating, and there was no use trying to get them to learn knew things when they were uncooperative. Naruto dismounted and scratched Annie's ears as he whispered words of praise to him. Then grey snorted and rubbed his head against Naruto's shoulder.

It took a few moments before he realized that he wasn't the only person in the arena. Turning quickly, he saw Uchiha Itachi standing a few meters away watching him.

Shocked and nervous, he bowed.

"Sir." He murmured, unsure what to expect from this strange situation.

"You have been informed of my wished, correct?" Itachi's deep voice echoed slightly in the large space surrounding them.

For a moment, Naruto was disorientated and confused as he racked his brains trying to remember what this was about. After a moment, it clicked; Sasuke.

"Hai, sir. Kakashi-san made it clear to me." Naruto replied softly, keeping his eyes lowered respectfully.

There was a whisper of movement and he jumped when a warm hand lifted his chin. Dark eyes met his and fear gripped his heart.

What was he going to do to him? Had he done something to offend him? Had he done something wrong?

But it seemed Naruto had misinterpreted the situation, for Itachi made no further move towards him. He merely studied his face closely, the way one would inspect an animal they wanted to buy. Naruto suppressed a shiver with great difficulty.

There was a disturbing stillness in those eyes that chilled him to the bone. What scared him even more was the fact that there was not one trace of emotion in those eyes. They were just….empty.

"See that you do as he wished. Do not disappoint him, or you will answer to me. Am I understood?" The question said in an almost inaudible voice, but it rang in Naruto's ears clearly enough.

He knew that Itachi wasn't just talking about looking after Sasuke's horse- that much, at least was blatantly obvious. But whatever it was that he was missing, was something very important, and no matter what it was Naruto couldn't quite grasp it. He daren't ask Itachi what it was he was referring to, because that was just not proper. He would look like a simpleton and that was the last thing he wanted. Better to just agree and hope he hadn't just condemned himself to some sort of painful humiliation.

"Hai, sir. I understand."

Itachi dropped his hand. But didn't step away. Annie shifted behind him, obviously sensing the tension in the air and not liking it. The colt's movement drew Itachi's gaze and attention away from Naruto, and he almost sighed in relief.

"He is a fine animal. You're training him?"

"I am, sir."

Itachi looked Annie over for a few moments before returning that penetrating gaze to Naruto. Naruto was afraid to move under the intensity of that gaze, so he remained as still as possible, and waited as those intense eyes traveled over his body.

"Remember what I said."

Naruto nodded numbly.

"Itachi-sama?"

The strange conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Kakashi and Genma. Naruto was flooded with relief at the sight of them- a distraction at last.

"What is it, Kakashi?" Itachi asked impassively.

His eyes, Naruto noted, lacked the intensity they had held moments before.

"Sir, there's a phone call for you. It's your father."

Itachi turned and moved towards Kakashi with that same grace and stillness that was his presence. Kakashi glanced once at Naruto before leading The Uchiha heir away.

Genma, however stayed. Once Itachi and Kakashi had gone, he hurried over to where Naruto stood and touched his shoulder briefly.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Naruto blinked, still dazed and confused from his encounter with Itachi. With a little difficulty, he focused on the concerned face before him and managed to summon up a weak smile.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine."

The reins were dangling uselessly in his hands, so Genma took them gently from him.

"If Itachi has taken an interest in you, then you'd better make sure you don't screw up. Its obvious he's been watching you." Genma told him.

"He has?"

"Never mind that now kitten." Genma dismissed it quickly, obviously not wanting to worry Naruto further. "You go and take a shower, while I put away the colt."

"B-but…"

"We're having dinner early tonight remember? I've already had my shower, so you go ahead now. We'll wait for you."

Reluctant to abandon his duties, but suddenly wanting to be alone, Naruto thanked Genma and left as quickly as he could. His eyes didn't see anything around him; the only thing in his mind was making it to the bathroom as quickly as possible.

Not a very exciting chapter, I'll admit, but it sets the stage for the next few, I promise! So, I'm finally making some progress with the story. And I know you're all dying for Sasuke's first appearance, so you'll all be pleased to know that he is arriving very soon! Yay!

I appologise for the long wait, but things have been hectic these last few month- I won't bore you with the details, so please accept my apologies instead! The next chapter will be soon!

And I'd like to let you all know, that I don't claim to be a horse expert. I do have experience with them, and yes, I can ride, but I am no way an expert, so if I make any mistakes, or if you feel the need to correct me feel free to do so (but nicely mind!) Also, I won't be going into specific details about the procedures involved in handling horses, but I'm sure you'll understand that, right?

Thank you for all of you support, and especially those who reviewed!

Thanks go to:

Quaebah24, cFox, RosemaryKiss, Fallen Dragon, DarkvsLight, Sparrow9, Chubby-King-Chocobo, Yit-ha, RedRosePrincess678, Lost Ninja #1, Cheerful-Pinkstar, GoingCommando, Native Sakura, Gothic-Rez, Kitsurune, Lambentness.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll review! Give me a reason to post the next chapter, peoples!