DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. (Though the OCs are mine!)
REWRITTEN
Webs of Deception
Chapter Seven
Home Sweet Home
"Finally!" Sakura's voice yelled when the gates of Konoha came into view. Her pace increased, putting more space between them. Sasuke followed more at a sedate pace. Miki, Ruri and Kyoko were a few paces behind him while him and Itachi were a good distance in the rear.
Naruto eyed Konoha's gates, his steps slowing down the closer he got. Itachi attempted trying to coax him further, but it wasn't working to well. He kept shoving the eldest Uchiha's arm away and glaring certain death if he kept it up. Itachi may not be able to see his glare of death, but there was no doubt he could feel his 'don't fuck with me' aura. And it wasn't completely Konoha that made him want to throttle someone. The other reason came down to a particular fox demon sealed within, nagging him over and over and over. . .
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him. . .!
Kurama has been going on and on since he followed Sasuke and found him crying, and it has been driving him insane. He could've sworn the damn fox slept sometime, but nooo, he's been on repeat for the past five days straight. STRAIGHT! It made sleep nearly impossible. And with that lack of sleep brought his irritability to soar through the roof. God, if he could he would kill the fox right about now.
ARGGG! SHUT UP! he screamed in his mind, hoping for some kind of mercy. He really should've known better. . .
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him. . .! He mentally screamed out of frustration and lack of sleep, throwing himself on the watery floor in front of the large cage of Kurama and throwing a two-year-old tantrum.
"Shikamaru! Neji-san!" he heard Sakura's loud voice call.
He perked up and pulled himself away from Kurama's nagging at the mention of those two names. He stood on his tippi toes and saw both Shikamaru and Neji standing in front of the gates. He jumped then and waved his arm wildly. "NEJI! SHIKA!" He passed everyone and ran up to them.
"It's been awhile Tatsuo," Neji said with a nod.
Naruto nudged his shoulder playfully. "Give me a break, I saw you the last time you visited Suna. Which was what? A month ago?" He grinned at the reason why Neji visited Suna so often. It could have been because of a certain red-headed Kazekage. . . or political business as the excuse Neji often used. He knew better though. Especially when one walks down a hall and sees with their own eyes Gaara pinned again the wall with Neji's tongue shoved in his mouth. That would definitely clear up any confusion.
A light blush crossed Neji's cheeks as Shikamaru sighed and murmured, "Troublesome. . ."
"Shika!" He gave the taller man a hug. "It's been awhile."
He nodded lazily. "A year to be exact." He yawned after so many words being said and closed his eyes again, causing him to blink from the usual behavior. He shook his head and muttered, "Some things just never change. . ."
Neji bowed respectfully as the rest of his team approached. "Kane-san, Ryutaro-san, Hikko-san, Tara-san, it's a pleasure to see you all again and well."
Itachi and Ruri bowed just as respectful as Neji had. Miki gave a two finger salute while Kyoko ran forward and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "I missed you, Neji-san! And all those hot yaoi moments!" Neji's entire face flamed bright red.
Naruto let his head fall into his hand at the usual comment from Kyoko. When it comes to yaoi, she could make some of Sasuke's fangirls look tame. Unfortunately, he had the honor of seeing that behavior once and it gave him nightmares for a week. To make a long story short, she almost got arrested for stalking.
"We might want to get going," Neji said as he turned with Kyoko securely attached to his arm. He didn't even try to dislodge her. Too much experience where that failed. "Hokage-sama is waiting for you." He knocked on the gates and they were opened after a few moments. The whole group walked through the gates and into Konoha.
"So, how to you all know each other?" Sakura asked.
"We met at the Chuunin exams," Itachi said, causing not only him to turn to the Weasel-masked man, but for his team to also and both Shikamaru and Neji. The last two were the only ones anyone could see the disbelief coming from.
"Chuunin exams?" Sasuke said for the first time since arriving. "You were all at the Chuunin exams?"
"We weren't!" exclaimed Miki, his hand pointing to himself, Kyoko and Ruri. "Only Tatsuo and Kane were there. Akuma wasn't formed way back then."
Naruto groaned softly at how much information was being told. Why did Itachi feel the need to answer Sakura's question? He glanced to the side and scowled at a group of ladies whispering to each other and occasionally pointing at them. He flipped them off, causing scandalized expressions to be directed at him.
"Enjoying yourself?" Itachi asked.
"Immensely," he said, grinding his teeth together to refrain from going to the next bunch of whispering villagers and killing them. God, he hated this village. How did he even manage to bring himself to enter this place? His eyes subconsciously drifted over to Sasuke, his mind giving him his reason. And that one reason could make him do practically anything.
"Yes," he said, not taking his eyes off Sasuke, who's body was rigid with tension. "we were at the Chuunin exams, but we didn't participate. I'm the one who stopped Gaara." He wished Sasuke didn't still wear his mask, it would've been a little easier to figure out what the raven was feeling.
"Which almost got you killed," Itachi snorted.
"Yes!" He pointed his finger at the older man, finally breaking the stare he had on Sasuke. "But that was the best week of sleep I had in a long time."
"How old are all of you?" Sakura asked. "You don't sound that old to me."
Boy, was she asking a lot of questions now that they were within the walls of Konoha. Miki and Kyoko turned to him, and he gave them a shrug as an answer. They could take it as they wanted to. It's not like they weren't already giving out information.
"I'm seventeen!" Kyoko was the first to say.
"Twenty-one," Miki said next.
Ruri sighed before saying, "Twenty."
"Twenty-three," said Itachi, and then he turned to him.
He glared back, knowing without seeing that Itachi was smirking. TEEELLL HIIIMMM! Kurama howled in his mind, making him wince at the sheer loudness of him. "I'm eighteen. . ."
"You're the same age as Shikamaru, Sasuke and I," Sakura said.
She opened her mouth again, probably to ask another question, but Neji beat her with his own as they neared the Hokage Tower. "So how long are you here and does Gaara even know?"
"Mmmm. . ." he hummed. "I don't know how long were gonna be here. Tsunade-sama didn't give any details. And as for Gaara. . ." he trailed off and gave a nervous chuckle. He dug his nails into the palm of his hands to stop himself from performing his nervous gesture. "Well, I was hoping. . ."
"That I would send him notice of your arrival," Neji finished for him as he opened the door to the Hokage Tower for them to enter.
He swung his arm over Neji's shoulder while the others entered the Tower. "Thanks, Neji. I knew I could count on you."
He walked into the Tower, bringing Neji with him by the arm over his shoulder. Shikamaru walked in front of them, and the distance between them and the others in front of the brunette gradually grew larger. Shikamaru slowed his pace further until he was walking on the left side of him. He removed his arm from Neji's shoulder and waited for what they had to say. There was no other reason for them to distance him from the others if they didn't. Normally he would think they were planning an attack, but since he trusted them, he wasn't on his guard.
"Why did you come back Naruto?" Shikamaru asked a little above a whisper.
"I have a promise to keep to Baa-chan," he said automatically.
Neji scoffed. "You're smart enough not to come here for a reason like that. If the wrong person were to find out, they'd execute you for sure."
"I know, but once the contract is signed they won't be able to." He tilted his head in thought. "Well, not until the job is done and I take one step out of Konoha."
Shikamaru shook his head, his face full of displeasure. "You're taking too big of a risk. Does it have anything to do with Uchiha?"
Naruto moved his gaze on the back of Sasuke. He was taking a big risk, but being near Sasuke seem to make it worth it. He knew he was being selfish, watching Sasuke from a different persona and not identifying himself, it wasn't fair. At that moment though, he didn't care about being fair.
He held his breath when Sasuke turned around to glance at them for a second before facing back forward when they came upon the the wooden doors of the Hokage's office. He released his breath as Sakura knocked on the doors.
"Come in!" Tsunade's voice yelled out.
Sakura opened the doors and they all walked in. Tsunade sat behind her desk, piles of paperwork covering the surface, and behind her stood Jiraiya.
Tsunade stood as he walked in, yelling, "Gaki!" She crossed the room and pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. The breath was knocked right out of him, and he coughed. "Baa. . . chan. . . can't. . . b-breathe. . ."
He begged Jiraiya with his eyes, even though the old man couldn't see them. He must have sensed something, because Jiraiya came up and placed his hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "Tsunade. . . for him to live this long and then to die by your hug, it would be such a shame." That seemed to have loosened her grip around his body.
He gasped for much needed breath. "Thanks. . . E-Ero. . . Sennin. . ."
"No problem, brat," Jiraiya said with a cheesy grin. "Don't want all those sacrifices at survival be for nothing, now would we?" He lifted his hand to him and he took it and shook it. Jiraiya then brought him out of Tsunade's hold and into his own hug. Thankfully this one didn't make an attempt to crush his ribs. "Glad you're still alive, kid."
Huffing, he said, "You think I would die so easily."
Jiraiya chuckled and moved away. "Well, there's a lot of people who do."
Naruto stiffened, and glanced at the two Konoha Shinobi. Even with their masks in place, he could still sense the shock and the suspicion. Great, he thought. I should just take my mask off now. It'd probably be less suspicious. He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts.
Tsunade went back around her desk ad sat down in her chair. Folding her hand, she placed her chin on them and stared at him in that way she did when she knew something was up with him. "How are you feeling Tatsuo? Feeling alright?" Her voice underlined with worry.
Damn, he cursed. How does she always do that? "I'm fine!" he said with his usual brightness.
Her eyes narrowed, and without taking her eyes off him, said, "Tara?"
Fuck, she would cave. And that became apparent when Ruri fidgeted on the spot. "There's a small buildup, Tsunade-sama."
Naruto crossed his arms, huffed and turned his head away from the blatant worry he saw on Tsunade's face. "I'm fine," he said with finalization.
Tsunade continued to stare at him for a long moment before she greeted Itachi, "Kane-kun, I hope you're still taking good care of this misfit." Said misfit glared at her in return.
"Of course, Hokage-sama," Itachi said while bowing respectfully. He straightened, and then bowed to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya-sama."
Jiraiya let out an exaggerated sigh. "How many times do I have to say to call me just Jiraiya. Damn, you're almost as polite as Tara." And that was saying something. Ruri was the politest of them all. Naruto has still yet to get her to call him by his name.
"Jiraiya-sama, it's good to show respect to those who deserve it," Ruri said.
"But not painfully so," groaned Miki, which caused Ruri to whip around in his direction and whack him hard on the arm. "Ow!" he yelped, rubbing the abused spot. "But of course she can be disrespectful to her own team."
Ruri ignored him, and Kyoko stepped forward to Jiraiya. "Ano. . . Jiraiya-san. . ." Kyoko began. "I was wondering if you by chance had –" She was cut off by Jiraiya digging in his pocket, pulling out a small book, and then throwing it at her. She caught the book and, upon the sight of the front cover, let out a high-pitched squeal and bounced up and down in excitement.
She launched herself at Jiraiya, hugging him around the middle and yelled, "Thank you, Jiraiya-san! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She let him go and went back to where she previously stood, clutching the newest volume of the yaoi edition book to her chest. Like it was God's gift to her.
Jiraiya pulled out another book and threw it at him. He caught it effortlessly. Glancing down at the cover, he saw that it was the same book that Kyoko had gotten. "Thought you might enjoy it. Since you haven't gotten any action in over five years."
He winced at that reminded, and then cracked the book open. He looked over a random image, nodding at the graphic imagery. Snapping it shut, he said with a grin, "Thanks, Ero-Sennin!" He lifted his cloak back and shoved the book in one of his many pockets in his pants.
"Can we get back to why you're all here?" Tsunade snapped, catching everyone's attention.
Naruto folded his arms over his chest. "Yes, that's what I would like to know. You send –" He glanced over at Sasuke and Sakura standing near the side wall. "– them with a scroll that had the vaguest details possible about why you want us here in the first place. So, now that you have us here, what do you want us to do?" His voice holding the slightest bit of annoyance.
Tsunade gave a sweet smile. "What Tatsuo, didn't like who I sent?"
He glared at her smiling face. "You are not gonna win me over with a guilt trip." His closed his eyes and groaned silently at his own stupidity. Why can't he think before he speaks? He reopened his eyes only to see Tsunade's smile had grown. He scowled.
"The reason why I sent for you is because the Chuunin exams are approaching in a week and I need your and your team's strength for extra protection. We will accommodate you all with rooms, food and anything else you may require."
He smiled sardonically. "I'm gonna take it that's our payment." And when her smile had turned all teeth, he knew he was right. He sighed, this is gonna suck.
Tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him, tell him. . .!
Arrgg! When are you gonna be SILENT!
When you tell him the truth! TELL HIM, TELL HIM, TELL HIM, TELL HIM, TELL HIM, TELL HIM, TELL HIM. . .!
Naruto winced at the sudden increase of volume that Kurama was putting into it now. Each time it seemed like the volume got louder, until he couldn't take anymore. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I'LL TELL HIM! JUST SHUT UP!" he hollered while he gripped his hair tightly. Almost immediately Kurama went silent.
He breathed a sigh of relief at the silence in his mind. Oh, thank god. . .
Kurama snickered. I wouldn't be thanking god yet, Kit.
With that, Naruto realized what he had done. Shit. . . He glanced up, the feeling of several stares and the sound of snickers had him cringing.
Tsunade gave him a look of pure amusement. "Tell what to who, brat?"
He swallowed deeply, trying to moisten his suddenly dry throat. "Nothing," he squeaked out.
Kiiit. . . Kurama warned.
Wait! he quickly said. I will tell him. So pleeeaaase don't start up again. Just let me figure out how to tell him, okay?
It's easy. Walk up to him and tell him. It's as simple as that.
It's not as easy as that, Kurama. Although, I wish it was.
Whatever. As long as you tell him in a reasonable amount of time.
He physically nodded as he nervously laughed and resisted from raising his hand to the back of his head. "So where are we gonna stay?" he asked, hoping to redirect the conversation away from him.
"If you weren't yelling out for no reason you would have heard that you were staying at the Uchiha Compound," she said, her smile turning – if it was all possible – even eviler.
If Naruto didn't want to draw anymore attention toward himself, he would've yelled and screamed at having to stay at the last place he wanted to be. And why wasn't Sasuke yelling and arguing for him anyway? He turned to Sasuke, his body just as rigid since entering Konoha, but his hands gripped his arms so tight that he wouldn't be surprised if he had deep bruises. Yeah, obviously Sasuke wanted them in his house as much as he wanted to be there, but also wasn't willing to risk the wrath of the Hokage. Couldn't really blame him there. . .
"Fine," he grudgingly agreed. This meant that telling the youngest Uchiha the truth would come sooner than his more favorable later.
"Good. You're all are probably tired." She said her next words to Sasuke. "Uchiha, why don't you show them the way and give them rooms."
Sasuke stalked to the doors, yanked them open and walked out of the office. Miki, Kyoto and Ruri followed Sasuke as he brought out a scroll from his back pocket and threw it at Tsunade. "Already signed by us," he said. "All you need to do is sign yourself."
He then went to Shikamaru and Neji, just remembering about everything they found about the Bijuu and Jinchuurikis, and said, "Can you two come over tomorrow? I need your help sorting through some things we found on a mission." He looked directly at Neji before continuing in a whisper, "It involves Gaara."
Neji stood up straighter, his concern showing on his face. "I'll be there." When it came to Gaara the man would probably go to hell itself if he had to.
"You know I'll be there," Shikamaru said lazily, but he could hear his curiosity.
"Great, I'll see you guys later then." He turned around headed to the open doors. He lifted his hand and waved behind him. "See ya, Ero-Sennin, Baa-chan!" he yelled over his shoulder as he exited the office with Itachi right behind him.
He followed after his team, dreading what the coming days would bring.
