Serendipity
Thirty
Hinata yawned, wandering around her home.
She had just returned from her trip and all she wanted was to lie down, curled up next to Naruto, but that might not happen for some time. She had departed earlier than Naruto, but he had mentioned that he would be home just a few hours after her. In that case, she'd settle to cuddle with her second choice—her cat Ramen.
In her search for her cat, she glanced out the window and frowned.
Had Ramen decided to go out and play?
The weather outside had chilled dramatically. Heavy dark clouds were moving in, promising rain.
Her phone sounded off as she kicked off her shoes. She clicked open the phone and read the alert, there would be a storm coming, it was suggested that everyone remain indoors as there would be high winds and the potential of floods. Further instructions would be provided in case an evacuation was needed.
Sighing to herself, she tucked her phone back into her pocket and made her way to the living room. She wished Naruto would come already. He would be able to help her locate Ramen quickly. For now, she simply called out to him.
She searched around, confused when she didn't hear the familiar ring of the bell on his collar, nor the sound of his meow greeting her. It wasn't like Ramen not to come to her. Sure, it had been a while since she last saw Ramen. Her cat had been left on his own for the past months as it had become crucial for her to attend meetings with Naruto—as she was the future Hokage's wife.
It wouldn't be long now.
Naruto was in the last stretches of taking over the position from Hiruzen.
Much to her relief, many were taking well to Naruto. There were fights at first. Arguments and disagreements about how he wasn't qualified, and how dare a child come in and try to change what was already so well established. Older demons had a hard time letting go of things that they thought worked and accepting what they thought was nonsense from the newer generation.
Not seeing how broken their system was.
She didn't doubt that things would continue to be hard on them. Demons were still going to fight against having Naruto as Hokage and what he represents. But her husband wasn't going to let that stop him. She knew that Naruto would push forward and change their minds on bettering their world.
Frustrated, she active her eyes.
The Byakugan allowed her to see past any wall or thing, making it easy to locate any living being. Yet the small life she was looking for was nowhere in sight. Hinata was starting to panic when her phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, but answered anyways.
Naruto's frantic voice greeted her.
There was a storm coming.
Sasuke shivered as he gazed towards the darkening, anticipation lacing into the pit of his stomach. The weather had rapidly gone cold and he could smell the scent of rain in the air. It wouldn't be long now for the clouds to break.
Before heading to the boarder, they had stopped at the house to leave behind anything that was important to them. The only thing they brought with them was a light change of clothes for each, all of it packed in one draw string backpack.
"Are you sure that you want to do things like this, Sasuke?" Kimimaro turned to him with hard eyes. "We can wait and get to Itachi with time," and legally, but that was something that he didn't want to add aloud.
Sasuke shook his head. "There is no time Kimimaro. I can't lose Itachi to some loser out there."
"You know, if you are meant to be, then Itachi and you will be together." Juugo said, trying to reason with Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't believe it. Kiba and Shino's words about Itachi dating echoed in his head and spurred him forward to do something about it.
"I don't want to wait. I've been complacent and waited long enough already." Sasuke glared at them, "You two can stay. You don't have to get in trouble because of me. But I have to follow what my gut says, and it's telling me that I'm out of time. I have to get to Itachi, now!"
"Okay Sasuke," Kimimaro and Juugo let out deep breaths. There was no way that they were changing Sasuke's mind.
Sasuke, Juugo, and Kimimaro had infiltrated the main building and had miraculously avoided security. They had made it to the edge of the bridge, a task that would be difficult—this was too easy. It was scary just how easy it was. They knew that if they got spotted, they might be shot on sight. If not that, then they would be caught and taken to a lab, where there would be no chance to prove if they were just normal cats or shifters.
The fate of anything going over the boarders was a pretty cut and dry immediate death.
Juugo transformed into his cat form. He was the largest of them naturally. They had decided that it would draw less attention if they remained in a regular house cat size anyways. Kimimaro tied the backpack to his body and then turned to face Sasuke who hadn't looked away from the barren dam they would have to dash through.
Senju only had two entering and exiting points, besides the airport—it was this bridge. The river under it was usually dry because the water was kept behind a tall wall. The basin would then distribute water to where it was needed after it had been collected. Since there hadn't been a lot of rain recently, things had remained dry. Now, things might change.
It started raining.
"This could be dangerous." Kimimaro said. "I'm not saying that we can't make it, I'm sure that we can be fast. No one should be checking for us here either." IF anything, it was a miracle they had managed to sneak in this far. They had gotten lucky so far, but that could just be that Sasuke in general tended to have dumb luck.
"I'm willing to do this myself, you and Juugo don't have to come with me," Sasuke turned to Kimimaro with worried eyes.
"Shut up, that's not a choice. We're your older brothers, we can't let you go on your own," Kimimaro nudged his hand against Sasuke's head and scrubbed hard. "The moment you came to us you became family whether you like it or not. If you are doing this, we are ensuring that you do it safely."
Sasuke refrained from smiling. He huffed and crossed his arms, "Alright, just don't get hurt trying to do something like this when you know you don't have too,"
"Yeah yeah, we love you too little butt hole" Kimimaro rolled his eyes.
Sasuke smiled at him this time.
"Thank you for everything that you guys have done for me," Sasuke shakily looked back at the path they would have to cross. "I just,"
"Hey, don't start hesitating now. We're doing this because you say Itachi is important to you. If he is that important then he is important to us," Kimimaro flicked Sasuke's nose and then transform, leaving no room for Sasuke to continue to hesitate.
Sasuke was the last to transform and finally they were on their way. Juugo led the way while Kimimaro and Sasuke followed. The dirt under them was now muddy, and not the best. Being small meant that the rain pelted on their little faces, making it difficult to run.
They hadn't been in the trenches for more than five minutes, when suddenly there was a loud thundering sound that not only crackled from the sky but it spurted from the wall across the bridge. They turned their heads in time to catch the moment that the wall opened—and water came rushing at them at high velocity.
Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Juugo sped up, intending to get away from the flood—but it was too late. They were caught in the current.
Itachi Help!
Itachi jolted awake. Panic sprung in his chest as he looked around his room. Someone was calling out to him. Someone needed him…
As the minutes ticked by, the more unsure he became about what he thought he had heard.
He could swear that he heard someone calling out to him. The call had been clear, but only for a second. It had brought about the feeling of panic that he couldn't get rid of. He wanted to so badly help that person.
He had wanted to run to their side- whoever they were.
Itachi walked around his room, unsure of what he needed to do. It wasn't like he knew who was calling him. He had no direction to that person or if it was even a person.
Perhaps it was all in his head.
It didn't sit well with him when the feeling vanished just as quickly as it had hit him. The relief that had filtered through him hadn't been an assuring one, but the echoing cold emptiness that followed disorientated him. There was no telling what the feeling coursing through him had been,
He had thought about asking his friends, but he didn't know what to say. He much less knew how to put it into words.
No, he had to be going crazy.
Itachi's alarm suddenly went off, letting him know that it was time for him to start his morning.
Damn.
Naruto was irritated.
He was the future Hokage, damn it, but he was being made to wait in the long line to get back into Senju. He wanted to go home and check up on Hinata. His phone was dead so he wasn't able to call her and his smart ass forgot to pack a charger for it.
He wanted to know if She had made it home safe.
Nothing mattered more than her safety.
Naruto hit the steering wheel in frustration. He lowered the window and stuck his head, a poor attempt to try and see ahead of what he already knew.
A sharp cry suddenly caught his ears. The sound of a cat's cry. There was no mistaking it. The cry reminded him of his little Ramen. He sat back in his seat, trying to focus- but traffic wasn't moving and the sound was getting to him.
Forgoing that he could get into trouble, he turned his car off and stepped out. No one batted an eyelash at the fact that he was walking towards the edge of the bridge, overlooking the barren land. Well, what he thought would be just land- he was shocked to see that the water gate had been let open, releasing a large amount of water.
At the bottom of the rapid river were Ramen and those cats that he usually hang out with. He was sure those cats belonged to his strange neighbor lady.
Naruto hesitated, and ran towards the officers at the front. He pleaded with them that his cat was in danger and needed help.
"Sir, calm down," one of the officers tried to calm Naruto down.
"There are animals reported at the base, shoot them dead," Another reported to the security team using his walkie talkie.
"What?" Naruto eyes widened, "Why would you shoot them, I just told you they are my cats!" Naruto hissed at them with anger. "They escaped from me just now."
"Sir, it's protocol. No animals even pets are allowed through." The man said. "Especially when you have no permit for them"
"How do you know if I have a permit or not, you never asked." Naruto barked.
"I find it easier to get rid of the problem than have to deal with the paperwork," The man rolled his eyes,
Naruto punched him square in the face. He ran towards the bridge and jumped. He could hear an uproar and police scrambling to stop him.
The invitation had dropped like a hot potato into his email.
Itachi had stared for what was demeaned longer than necessary at the brightly colored letters. They burned his already tired retinas. He hadn't gotten much sleep after waking up in such a panic. He was already not in a good mood. He didn't need this. It couldn't be what he thought it was.
There was no way.
His friends didn't even like Saisu.
With no choice, he opened the invitation.
Pain and Konan were a very traditional couple. They celebrated the minor milestones, and made a big deal of bigger events in their life. It was something that Itachi found that was sweet in their relationship. A complete contrast to how his mother and father expressed their love for each other. Pain didn't just give Konan roses, he bought her the whole bush in bloom. They also weren't shy about sharing that happiness and openness with their friends.
Thus the invitation.
Thus the impending group date.
Thus why they wanted to get to know Saisu better and give him the benefit of the doubt.
Itachi felt guilt twist deep in his gut. His friends were so trying so hard to get to know someone that wasn't his boyfriend. He was lying to them through his teeth and it had started to eat up at him.
On one hand, he could come clean and face their anger for attacking another person. Maybe they would never leave him alone ever again…or he could continue with his lie and get it over with. Once he dealt with Dokan he could break off this deal with Saisu.
He just had to hold on a little longer.
The more Itachi thought about it, the more he wondered why they had to pretend to be boyfriends. Sure, it was to make Dokan think that Saisu had moved on and he no longer had a chance, but that had backfired on them. Dokan was crazy. The man probably didn't care about the incident that had happened, otherwise he would have mentioned something about it.
Itachi could have been in trouble with his friends by now, but the fact that Dokan didn't report him meant the man was taking this personal. Itachi had been ready to deal with everything if Dokan had decided to mention the attack.
No, interestingly enough Dokan had kept it hush and instead started to investigate him. Itachi knew that Dokan was delving deep into his life, but he wouldn't learn much. No, what was dangerous about this was the Dokan was taking matters into his own hands and things could end up worse than he had anticipated.
Shutting off his email, Itachi focused on pulling up information on Dokan's company. Once he had the number of the head, which happened to be Dokan's father. Itachi made a call and then headed out, determined to see the head, Funeno.
Sasuke, Kimimaro, and Juugo weren't sure what had happened, but they woke up, cold, wet, and caged to the screams of an angry blond man. The guards of the boarder looked affronted.
"They are my cats," Naruto furiously argued.
"We can't trust your word; we need their files."
"Like I told you, my wife will be here soon." Naruto gritted his teeth. "She is going to bring their registrations"
Naruto took a seat when he was asked to do so and crossed his arms, waiting. He had already called Hinata, but someone thought it was fine to try and take the cats out of his sight. The blond wasn't going to allow for that.
In his time training for the Hokage position he knew that the moment those cats left his sight these boarder officers will pretend to have lost them or worse. Somehow, someway, they would find a way to kill them and Naruto couldn't allow that.
Glancing at the cages, he noted that the cats had woken up. He approached the cage with a smile.
"Ramen, you're awake." Blue eyes filled with little tears and clear relief to see the red glaring eyes of his cat, "Thank goodness, I thought I had nearly lost you." He reached a finger in to try and pet him. Ramen didn't move in to his touch. Instead he shook his body and sprayed Naruto with the water that coated his fur. "Hey, Teme," Naruto growled, ready to break into that cage and force his affection on the little bastard.
Ramen turned his back to him as he started his cat duties of licking his paw.
Naruto rolled his eyes and turned to the other two. He recognized them as his neighbors weird cats, although he didn't know their name.
"Hey there you two, how are you?" He greeted them trying to pet them. Both cats turned to get attention from him, and softly purring. Naruto grinned, glad to know that he wasn't hated by every cat out there.
Just his own.
From there, they waited for Hinata and his mother Kushina to show up. The two had stopped by The Kaguya household to get the registration for the other two cats, and the butler there had been kind to provide them since the lady of the house was on a trip.
"How did Ramen and these two end up all the way out here," Hinata discretely asked Naruto who accepted the registrations from her.
"I'm not sure, but I'll have it investigated," he pecked her lips and headed towards the guards. A few words were exchanged, making Sasuke, Kimimaro and Juugo realized just why it had been so easy to sneak in. It wasn't exactly their luck that security had been evacuated from that area. It was because the dam would be open in order to accommodate for the water of the incoming storm and such an event posed danger to their employees.
They could have died.
Realizing that, they huddled closer to each other. Sasuke silently apologizing to Kimimaro and Juugo for making them go through such danger.
Once everything was checked, their cats were returned to them. Although they had to leave them in the cage until they were home. Naruto had groused about how unfair animals were treated and vowed to change that.
Sasuke felt guilt twist in his gut. If Naruto only knew he was one of those creatures actually trying to leave illegally, he'd see that the guards had reason to doubt and want him dead.
When they finally got home, Hinata squeezed and cooed at Ramen as punishment for what he had done. She let him know how mad she was that he was where he wasn't supposed to be and proceeded to shower and pamper him.
All things she knew Ramen hated.
Kimimaro and Juugo were returned to their home, but the two snuck back to hang out with Ramen. After a day or so to calm down, Naruto and Hinata allowed for them to come into their home, but Ramen couldn't leave.
He was grounded.
The day of the group date came faster than he had wanted it to.
That early evening found Itachi dressed in a dark red shirt, black suit vest, black dress pants, and polished dress shoes. He looked amazing, according to his friends, but he didn't feel that way. He felt forced. He didn't want to go out on this date night, but he had no choice if he was going to continue with the farce he had created. IN a way, he was silently protesting by sitting in the living room of their new house, playing a game on his phone while he waited on Kisame and Suigetsu to finish getting ready.
That, and he slightly found his friends antics amusing.
"Suigetsu, do you have the keys?" Kisame yelled from across the living room, frantically searching for the keys of the jeep. An issue that had become common between the newly weds.
"No, you had them last time!" Suigetsu yelled back from one of the many bathrooms they had. "I told you to put them in the key holder, i just knew you were going to lose them,"
"Well I'm not used to taking care of keys, you know that!" Kisame slammed the door to one of the rooms, upset that the keys hadn't been there either. HIs eyes scanned the hallway and towards the living room.
The structure of the new house was a bit divided, one of the many features as to why they chose it. Staring at the doorway, there was a nice space for where you could remove your choose or put them on. On the side there was a closet that could store several jackets. From there, it opened up to a large and luxurious living room that was framed by two stairways on either side. They lead down two different hall ways filled with rooms. Kisame and Suigetsu had decided they would take all the rooms on the left side, leaving the right for Itachi to do with what he pleased. At the bottom side of the left stair case was a path that led to the kitchen. On the right, it led to what they had decided would be a game room, and finally the two sliding doors there led to a large backyard that was being modeled to be a place for them to cook, and eat. Basically so they could all hang out and chill.
"We just used them yesterday," Suigetsu stepped out of the bathroom, still fussing with his hair. The white haired demon glared at his husband who was looking at him with a slight daze.
Itachi figured that Suigetsu must have used an entire bottle of gel just to get his hair to stick to his head like a helmet, but if Kisame liked it then of course he would.
"Yeah, and we carried in our grocery bags and some fast food, I…you don't think I threw them away again?" panicked, Kisame ran to the kitchen. None of them really used the kitchen, except for the table, fridge, and microwave. The fridge was currently stuffed with frozen dinners, old take-out containers, and fruits.
Suigetsu let out a frustrated sigh as he walked to the closet next to the front door. He pulled out his and Kisame's jackets. They were more or less dressed the same as Itachi. The restaurant that Konan had chosen called for a dress code.
"Ah, found them," Suigetsu called when the keys fell to the floor the moment that he moved Kisame's sweater.
Kisame came out from the kitchen, looking relieved, "Good, I nearly made a mess in there,"
Suigetsu rolled his eyes, sticking out his bottom lip to see that Kisame had smeared something on the front of his blue vest. His husband had to stay looking his best. That was a standard that Suigetsu had kept from the start of their relationship and Kisame took to it like a guppy to water. The man melted for Suigetsu's fussing and couldn't seem to function without it.
"Come here, let me look at you," Suigetsu brushed a napkin over the stain, and when he deemed it well enough handed Kisame his jacket. "There, looking so handsome now, my love," Suigetsu praised, wrapping his arms around Kisame's shoulders.
Kisame gave him a proud toothy grin, "You know I only look good for you, darling,"
"That you do," Suigetsu returned the grin.
Kisame leaned in to kiss him.
Itachi frowned when he received a text message from Saisu, asking of he was on his way. He decided to ignore it for now, trying to complete the game he was playing. His character was so close to beating the crap of its opponent. He just needed his special move to load for him to deliver the final blow.
"Itachi, you ready?" Kisame called as he helped Suigetsu put on his own jacket.
Itachi waved him off.
"Come on Itachi, we will be late and no one wants the wrath of a pregnant woman." Suigetsu reminded.
Right. He got it. They had to go. Itachi finally placed his phone away and got up. He hadn't done much to really fix himself up all that much. His hair was tied in its usual ponytail and his expression was bored. Besides his fancy clothes, he looked the same.
"Ready?" Kisame asked.
"Yeah, sure," Itachi said.
With that, they walked out of the house. Itachi locked the door for them. They had their own drive way and a parking place for more than five cars. They had two cars so far, but Kisame and Suigetsu were talking about buying a third one. They needed something that would be fast and small for just the two of them to travel over the weekends. For now the Jeep was the main car for when they were traveling with friends.
"Itachi send me your boyfriends address," Suigetsu said as he sat in the passenger seat. Kisame was going to be driving them today, at the request of Konan. She had wanted to make sure that Itachi wouldn't flake out on them.
"Alright," Itachi got in the back seat.
He texted Saisu when they were close to his house. The man was waiting for them outside when they got there. Saisu had gone all out, dressed in a chocolate brown suit with a golden yellow undershirt and white vest. His leather loafers looked the most expensive out of everything that he was wearing.
"Hello everyone," Saisu greeted as he climbed in. Itachi was looking out the window, not even greeting his so called boyfriend. Saisu didn't mind, he was more determined to make a good impression on Itachi's friends.
"Hey man, how is it going?" Kisame greeted happily.
"Buckle up, we're about to hit the highway," Suigetsu warned, knowing how his lover was when driving at high speeds.
"Oh, yes," Saisu strapped himself down and then glanced at Itachi. He reached over to try and hold his hand, but Itachi shot him a glare. Saisu gave him a pleading look. "Itachi…" he started, but was unable to finish because Kisame had suddenly turned up the volume on the music. It was so loud that his ears were hurting and he couldn't hear himself think.
Saisu had been so happy when Itachi had invited him out on this date with his friends. He thought it was a way for Itachi to say that he might have a chance. After all, it was no secret that Itachi valued his friends and their opinion. He couldn't understand why Itachi was acting so cold.
Well, he will have to wait and see if he could get Itachi to warm up. He might just be tired from work.
The drive to the restaurant felt long. Once they were there, Itachi offered him his arm. Kisame and Suigetsu were so wrapped in each other that they didn't notice the awkwardness between Saisu and Itachi.
"Remember, we're only here because of my friends insistence, let's not over do anything," Itachi reminded him of the fact that there was only a contract between them and nothing else.
"You know there is nothing stopping us from actually being together," Saisu pointed out. "We don't have to just pretend, we can,"
"Saisu, don't make things difficult," Itachi said.
"I don't get it, you're single, I'm single—why can't we pursue a real relationship," Saisu demanded.
Itachi shrugged, "Because I'm not into you," he led them inside when Kisame and Suigetsu called for them to follow. The hostess at the front took their names before leading them to the reserved table. Pain and Konan were already there.
"Hey, I'm glad that you all made it," Pain said, like if they didn't all know that Konan would have their heads if they hadn't. "Sasori and Deidara are running late, but you can go ahead and order something," he said.
"Saisu, I'm glad you were able to make it," Konan immediately focused on Saisu.
"Oh yes, I'm happy to be here," Saisu said. He took a seat and watched the waiters place menus at the table. Itachi's phone went off before he sat, and excused himself to take the call. Kisame and Suigetsu were already bickering over what they would have.
"Good, I'm glad. How have you been?" Konan asked.
"I've been great." Saisu felt himself start to sweat. The look in Konan eyes said that she was going to start getting answers out of him.
"If I remember correctly, your company is one of the ones that sponsors Akatsuki, but it's been wavering." Konan started, "Is there a reason why you might be thinking of finding another source of security outside from us?"
"Oh, I wasn't aware that we were," Saisu gulped. "Father is the one that usually takes care on the front,"
"You don't help run the company?" Pain asked, raising an eyebrow. That was odd, he would think someone as old as Saisu would have a bigger part on a company that was family orientated.
"I never really cared about taking over the company or anything, father is just going to train someone else to do it. In the end I'll just have to manage it," Saisu proudly said. "I don't have to worry about anything else,"
"Aren't you curious about the sales that your company makes?" Pain was perplexed at someone not interested in what their company did.
"Pain, calm my love," Konan placed a gentle hand over his. "It's okay if Saisu doesn't see himself being too involved in the company."
"Then what are you interested in?" Kisame asked, curious.
Saisu took a second to think before answering, "Itachi,"
"Something wrong?" Itachi asked, standing behind Saisu. Saisu jumped in his seat, startled that the man was suddenly there.
"We were just talking," Saisu laughed.
"I see," Itachi took his seat.
"Are you ready to order?" The waitress asked. She had complimentary cups of water that she placed on the table with flourish. She immediately took their orders and moved away.
"Pain, could I speak to you about a case?" Itachi suddenly said. Pain frowned.
"Does it have to be now?" he asked, subtly gesturing to Konan. She didn't allow talk about work once they had called it a day.
"It's urgent," Itachi said.
Konan gave them the go ahead.
"Alright," Pain excused them away from the table and they went somewhere silent to talk. Itachi had already told Pain about the case he was planning to pursue. He knew Itachi was onto a big criminal that everyone was after and had failed to catch. "What happened?" he asked.
"We have a lead." Itachi said. "I just need your approval to assemble a team so we can head out within the next few days."
"What's the lead?"
"Dokan will be trading a few creatures and body parts. He will be loading everything at the docks and getting them over the boarder towards Senju,"
"Again with Senju, is there a destination?" Pain asked. While they had uprooted the operation that Kabuto had a few years ago, there was no telling what new system they would have.
"The orphanage," Itachi said. "It's being funded under Shimura Danzo, a wanted criminal."
"Fuck," Pain nodded his head, and thought over the situation "alright, we will set up a team, I will have you lead it. I will investigate the orphanage that you think is corrupted, and we will see about how we can approach that. You know to be careful right?"
"Of course," Itachi said. It had been a while now since he last worked on a large case like this one. The other cases were minor compared to this one.
With that settled, they returned back to the table.
Itachi already had a team in mind. It wasn't going to be easy, but if they could confiscate the product and creatures that were being shipped off, that meant that they had enough of a reason to stop the exports from Danzo's ships.
"No, we can tell that you are interested in Itachi, but what about the future of your company?" Kisame was grilling Saisu about that. If there was one thing he would never allowed was for someone to think that they can take advantage of Itachi because he was rich.
"Who knows, I mean I am still taking care of the company, so what if I just don't know certain details. No one cares as long as things run fine," Saisu argued back.
"You should care." Konan chided, "How do you plan on taking care of things if something does go wrong,"
"That's why I have my workers, they will solve it and keep things running just fine," Saisu said matter of fact.
"In the case that you could lose everything and your employees can't take care of it, what then?" Konan challenged.
"I don't know," Saisu shrugged, perking up when he saw Itachi had returned. "Itachi your friends are being mean!" he whined, latching onto Itachi. He didn't want to continue listening to any of them. He already had his father nagging him about being more serious, he didn't need Itachi's friends doing the same.
"Guys, stop being mean," Itachi indifferently said, taking one of the cup of water.
"Thank you Itachi!" Saisu said, and shot his friends a triumphant look. This upset Konan the most.
"Really now," Konan's eye twitched, not noticing that Deidara and Sasori had just joined them. Her eyes were dead locked on Itachi and that boyfriend of his, "why don't we get started on the couple games," she asked.
"Couple games?" Itachi wondered.
His friends smirked at him and he had a daunting feeling come over him. There was no way. The food hadn't even reached them yet, but they were headed to the patio. Pain and Konan had set up several trial games for them.
"First, we will do the sack races. The winners will win a money price, as promised. Does anyone have any questions?" Konan smirked. Everyone was looking ready for the competition, ready to do better than they had before.
Saisu's eyes lit up at the fact that there would be a cash price. He didn't care that they were being challenged as a couple.
"Alright, let's get started."
With that, the competition started. Itachi grabbed the sack, thinking it should be filled with potatoes instead. Saisu snatched it from him and got into it.
"Come on Itachi,"
"Wait, we haven't decided who will lead,"
"I will, don't worry I got this,"
Itachi glanced at his friends, seeing how they comfortably fitted themselves against their partners inside of the sack. Disgruntled, he got into the front. He was taller than Saisu, obviously, making it difficult for them. They couldn't even jump forward. Instead they fell flat on their faces, while the others managed to get to the finish line—Pain and Konan being the undefeated winners.
"Listen if we are going to make things work, we should plan out things," Itachi tried to reason with Saisu, but the man was unhappy about having lost the first round.
"Whatever Itachi, go stand on the other side," Saisu narrowed his eyes, "We will win this round,"
Why wouldn't Saisu pause and listen to him. It was so hard to get the attention of someone who went along with his own whims. For someone who claimed to like him, he didn't really show it that much. Saisu always did what he wanted without consideration of Itachi and how he felt. Not that Itachi was the kind to mind people doing what they wanted, but when it came at his expense, when it went against what he actually wanted, it bothered him.
The second game was a ring toss, with hula-hoops. You had to throw the hoops over your partner in order to score a point. The couple that had the most in once the five minutes were up was the winner. Itachi had readily told Saisu that his aim was perfect and they could win if he was the one to toss the rings. Saisu shook his head, saying something about wanting to make a good impression and for Itachi just to stand pretty while he did his thing.
He had this.
In the end, Kisame and Suigetsu won, narrowly winning against Pain and Konan with Deidara and Sasori as third, and Itachi and Saisu weren't even on the board. Itachi had to cover his face in shame when his friends made fun of them. Saisu had failed to get a single hula-hoop over Itachi's head, and instead nearly hit him several times.
"We would have won if you wouldn't have moved!" Saisu complained.
"If you just knew how to aim," Itachi argued back.
"Hahaha, that last time he nearly had your head Itachi!" Kisame and Suigetsu were laughing.
"Dead man walking," Deidara smirked.
"Okay, let's get ready for the next game," Pain commanded, trying to cut Itachi and his boyfriend some slack. The others got curious about the next game and followed him and Konan.
"Itachi, why don't you just hang back and let me do everything," Saisu suggested. "Obviously you're no good at games, so i'll do everything, okay-"
"Enough already," Itachi hissed at him, irritated.
"Calm down Itachi," Saisu rolled his eyes, "We will win the next one, you just have to trust me,"
"Stop telling me what to do," Itachi grabbed Saisu by the collar of his shirt, "You are not allowed to say anything else,"
Saisu felt his legs tremble. He liked it when men got rough with him, and Itachi doing it was better than any other demon- this man radiated danger as easily as breathing. Irritating him was so much fun. At some point it had gone from impressing Itachi's friends, to this. Wanting Itachi's full attention on him.
"Yes," He breathed, knees dead under him. Itachi stalked away from him to join his friends and Saisu followed a few steps behind.
The next challenge was to have one of their legs tied to their partners leg. They would then have to dance to a song, of Konan's choosing, and the couples who were able to complete it without toppling over would be the winner.
Needless to say, Saisu fell flat on his face and Itachi barely managed to catch himself, and that is how they lost before the song was even ten seconds in. They had lost because Saisu wasn't listening again, wanting to lead the way. Itachi had been unwilling to follow him and thus, how things ended.
Itachi untied himself from Saisu and settled for watching his friends instead. Deidara and Sasori had an understanding, and when one made a wrong more Sasori corrected it before they could fall. Kisame and Suigetsu easily talked with each other, sharing every move that they would make so the other anticipated it. Pain and Konan were a breathtaking sight. They were the pair that had been together the longest, but they had such harmony that it was like they were gliding through the air instead of dancing. It was hard to say that one was leading the other, their moves were so flawless, like they both made the decision to sway left, and then right, a spin, a dip, whatever it was...
Amazing.
"They always win this challenge," Deidara silently complained, but secretly, he admired what he was seeing. He and Sasori too were aiming for a partnership like that.
The last challenge that Konan had prepared was an egg one. One that would test balance and trust. They had to toss an egg between each other while completing a course that required them to run, climb, jump, crawl through the ground, and take a small boat to the finish line. The couple whose egg survived, won.
Deidara and Sasori had been close to the finish line when their egg slipped. It was such a devastating loss.
Kisame and Suigetsu were crawling through the ground, doing so well, when Kisame squashed their egg. Suigetsu had laughed at the devesation that Kisame showed, causing the shark demon to join in. They had made it farther then the last time they had plauyed the game, and by turn were getting better.
Itachi was dreading his turn with Saisu. They started out fine, but Saisu refused to toss the egg. Itachi tried to encourage him, to tell him it was okay, he would catch it. No, that didn't happen. Saisu refused and in the end dropped it while trying to climb the wall. Itachi stared at the shattered egg with a blank look on his face. Saisu cursed.
Konan and Pain completed the course flawlessly. Even pregnant, it showed how Konan trusted Pain to carry her through tough spots. She trusted him when tossing the egg. She trusted him with herself and their unborn child. That is why they remained the undefeated champions.
Finally, exhausted and full of merriment, they went back in to finish their meal. All except Itachi and Saisu who wouldn't even look each other in the eyes anymore. Their silence sort of killed the mood and Pain figured that Itachi and Saisu would have to do some talking. This had secretly been their plan anyways. Itachi and Saisu could be great together if they figured out their differences and what they lacked. That is what those games were meant to show them. Any couple willing to work it out would survive just fine and they had confidence in them.
And like that, the night was over.
Itachi drove them back home, stopping first to drop Saisu off. They were still upset with each other so they didn't exchange any words. Saisu slammed the door, marching himself back to his home. Itachi flinched, thinking that the poor car didn't deserve such treatment. Letting out a breath, he glanced towards the back seats.
Suigetsu was dead asleep and Kisame was sluggish and drunk to care about what had just happened. The man was more concerned with his sleeping husband. Itachi snorted a slight laugh, thinking that his friends something else.
He might not understand fully what a relationship meant, but he could tell from the start that even if he gave Saisu a chance, there was nothing there.
Nothing like what his friends had.
They each were different in their relationship, but one thing was the same.
They all had that same, strange glow of happiness that couldn't be compared to anything else in the world.
"You guys okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," Kisame nodded.
With that, he started their drive home. Once there, he helped them get into the house. He then locked the doors and went to bed. Itachi wasn't sure when, or if he really slept—all he could remember thinking was that he hated his life.
It had been a few days since the escape had failed and things were relatively calm and back to normal. Hinata had started to vomit and it had worried Naruto. That was why he had called in that house doctor, Amaru to come and check on her. It was too bad that Naruto had to go to work, or he'd stay home.
Sasuke was seated quietly next to Hinata while Amaru performed her regular checkup. This checkup was long overdue, seeing as Hinata had been keeping herself busy for the past few months. They were all hoping that nothing bad had happened, nor that Hinata's past illness had returned.
"Oh," Amaru suddenly had a strange and serious look plastered on her face.
"What is it?" Hinata tilted her head at her, raising a brow. She looked delicate and beautiful, bright despite the fact that there was a storm outside. Like a flower with soft glowing petals blowing in the merciless wind—and Amaru was jealous of her.
Amaru shook her head and offered a smile.
"Congratulations," She said, "You're pregnant."
It was amazing news that had Hinata feeling happy. She preciously placed her hands over her still flat stomach, unable to believe what she was hearing.
"Are you sure, am I really…?" She questioned.
"Yes, of course." Amaru responded, but there were cracks of her bitterness threatening to show on her voice and face. Sasuke didn't miss them. "I wouldn't lie to you. We will have to start you on prenatal medicines to ensure that you and the baby stay healthy," Amaru explained.
She could hear herself talking, telling Hinata about everything that she would need to have successful and healthy pregnancy. But really, she couldn't stop thinking of how Naruto and Hinata might have been working hard on the front of their political offices, but behind the doors they'd also been creating the life of their child.
To see the once broken Hinata glowing and happy made something inside of Amaru crack. She was already heart broken—but who knew that an already broken heart could break again. Everything in her was screaming that Hinata had her baby.
Naruto's baby was supposed to be hers.
Naruto should be hers.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, sensing that Amaru was even more of a danger than before. He felt a growl leave the back of his throat when Amaru placed a hand on Hinata's belly. She didn't have good intentions and he realized, Hinata and the baby were in danger.
One Amaru left, Hinata started to plan a party. She decided to call everyone in their family that she wanted to tell about her pregnancy. She decided to start with her sister.
"Hey Hanabi," Hinata greeted, "How are you doing?"
"I'm good," Hanabi greeted, she was on speaker. Ramen meowed startled as he was pulled into Hinata's lap. "Why are you calling?" she asked.
"Can't I just call to say hi?" Hinata shook her head.
"That's not how it always works sister, no one calls me unless they need something from me," Hanabi sounded so self-important about that.
Hinata giggled. "Well I guess I was hoping that you could help me with something."
"I knew it," Hanabi laughed, "What is it?" she asked.
"I want to hold a celebration." Hinata did her best not to reveal she was pregnant, "It has to do with Naruto," she said.
"Oh, by when do you need it," Hanabi asked.
"Maybe this weekend,"
"Maybe I won't get to help you, I am planning to travel out to Konoha this weekend. That's the only time that there will be a lull in the storm long enough to use the private jet." Hanabi said. Sasuke perked up at the fact that Konoha was mentioned.
"Um, well, let's have it before you have to go, I want you to be around. It doesn't have to be anything big," Hinata quickly said before realizing something, "Why do you need to go to Konoha, anyways?"
"You didn't hear it from me, but Father has been looking into ways that he can help Naruto's future as Hokage by gathering some of the best defenders of the justice and the law. I am heading there to have a meeting with the Akatsuki,"
"Akatsuki?" Hinata smiled, "They are the officers and detectives that helped catch several bad men from trafficking creatures at the pound," she remembered. The only reason she knew was because it hit so close to home. Kabuto was someone that Naruto had known well, and was even the reason they had adopted from his animal shelter.
To find out that he was running such a dark black market like that had been a shock.
"Yeah, they are the ones. We are investigating them before we ask for their support." Hanabi said.
Hinata blinked as Ramen started to get restless in her arms.
"I hope we do get it, they did an amazing job and helped so many people." Hinata tried to calm Ramen down. "The celebration won't be anything too out of the way, so please,"
"Oh, okay," Hanabi couldn't help but get the feeling that Hinata was holding something back from her. "let's have it before I have to leave then. I want to make sure that I have everything in order,"
"No problem," Hinata agreed.
With that they spoke about a couple of other things before they said goodbye. Ramen rushed to get away from her the moment that he could, wanting to tell Juugo and Kimimaro about what he was thinking.
He could use Hanabi to get to Konoha- and in turn to Itachi.
Funeno Daikoku had come in handy.
If there was anyone that had a concern about Dokan, it was his own father. The man had given Itachi all the information that he would need to take him down. Dokan was dealing in some underground black market, led by Shimura Danzo- someone who was well wanted by a lot of people and yet praised and loved by others.
The main reason that he'd stayed out of jail and not paid for his crimes was because he was such a careful person. This mission wasn't going to be easy.
Itachi's team was small. It consisted of Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori. He had chosen the three of them because of their skill and ability to work under pressure.
They didn't have much time.
Danzo was the kind of man that was open and shut. He did things in a manner that left no room for anyone to catch him. Not that there would be a reason for him to be suspected. Danzo was using his own ships under the guise of a stake and beef restaurant. Importing the cold cuts of their meat wouldn't be seen as suspicious.
The chain of restaurant was owned under a different name, Hanzo, an odd person who was known for dealing with poisons for pests. It was enough to confuse anyone looking in to them from the outside of knowing their influence. Hanzo was known to be close to Hiruzen, working under him as security, an expert at not only creating, but detecting any poison that could come to harm the Hokage.
The deal was clear as to why Hanzo was helping. His goal would be to help Danzo become Hokage. Bringing a man like Danzo to the top position would revoke Hiruzen's past laws for creatures, and bring about a reign where crime would thrive.
Itachi wasn't blind to how the elders were all opposed to the new and young upcoming Hokage that Hiruzen had chosen. Politics was never something Itachi cared to get involved with, but this was huge for everyone. A new Kage was always a delicate transition to any nation. It would lead their future for the next hundreds of years. If the wrong person was chosen, it could mean a period of suffering.
Thing was that Danzo, wanted or not, if he killed the current Hokage, the position for him would be open and ready to take over. Demon rules allowed for it, after all, it would be considered as Danzo proving himself fair and capable of taking over.
Naruto, the transitioning Hokage would be pushed out by the votes of the elders, who in no doubt would choose Danzo and whatever he was promising. As long as it met their agendas—agendas that Naruto had been pushing back against and doing his best to change.
"Itachi, we're ready," Kisame reported.
"Alright, keep alert," Itachi responded back through the earpiece he had to communicate with his team.
Dokan and his men arrived shortly, in a large truck that was parked close to the edge of the dock. The goods and creatures were being unloaded into the ship. Dokan jumped out of the truck, in time to greet a black shinny car. One that had him bowing and looking surprised.
What was shocking was that Danzo himself had shown up.
Itachi and the others hesitated.
"Why is he here in person?" Deidara asked.
"Who knows, let's move in," Itachi commanded.
With that, their team went to work. Deidara snuck about, planting bombs on the veihcles being used, and then blasted the ones already set on each ship that had been found to belong to Danzo. The loud commotion had everyone scrambling and Danzo was surprised, his eyes widening but he was a professional. HE wasn't about to run around worrying for no reason.
"What is going on?" he asked instead.
"I don't know," Dokan was scared. He didn't think that they would be attacked- fuck they were so close to finishing up with this export.
"Fucking useless how can you not know. Deal with it, driver!" Danzo turned to his driver, expecting him to drive away. Instead he turned to the sight of his driver convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
"What the…" He looked around, noticing that he was in a trap. It felt familiar, as he had dealt with this kind of thing before…it had to be an Uchiha. How…he was sure that he had the Uchiha's off his radar. How would they know he was here…
Well this wasn't going to work on him. Danzo teleported out of the car, jumping out in time before it exploded.
"Help! Help me!" Dokan yelled, falling onto his face when something heavy crushed him. Everything was on fire. The men that had been working for them were caught in one way or the other, knocked unconscious. The product that they had been trying to sell was taken, and confiscated already.
Everything was happening so fast and efficiently that it left them confused.
Danzo decided to fuck it, he was out of here. He started to run towards the warehouses. He had to get away from here before he got caught. This was such a small shipment, he couldn't believe that they had let their guard down.
He blamed Dokan, that foolish boy didn't know how to do things right. It was his fault for thinking he could count on him.
"Itachi, Danzo is heading towards the warehouses, do you want us to chase him?" Sasori asked, he had multiple puppets running around as their army.
"No, I got it, finish cleaning this mess up," Itachi said. He ran after Danzo, intending to catch him.
Everything was going easy, their way because they had planned it out that way from the inside. Dokan had been an idiot, thinking that he could use what belonged to his father without consequences. IF anything it made it easily trackable, and accessible.
The only element of surprise was that Danzo had actually shown his face.
"Stop," Itachi called, throwing a several blades, nicking the man's ear before he could open the warehouse door. Danzo trembled with fear, turning his head. He feared who he would find just behind him.
"You," he growled, recognizing Uchiha Itachi, the son of that damned Fugaku. Suddenly, he was feeling smug. A child, they had sent a child after him.
Itachi decided small talk was out of the question, with someone dangerous like Danzo. Instead, he went in for the attack, only to be stopped by what seemed to be an invisible wall between them. His knuckles stung from where his fist had met the barrier. Danzo laughed, holding his hands out, his eyes wide and crazy.
"Amazing isn't it Itachi, you and your father would never understand, but creatures really do have such exceptional properties that us demons could benefit from—like force fields." Danzo shoved his hand forward, "and the simple ability of Force!" he thrusted at the wind in front of him, and sent Itachi flying.
Itachi caught himself midair, twisting his body perfectly and landing on his feet. He pushed his body forward, running at Danzo once more. Danzo, the coward that he was, pulled open the door and ran inside.
Itachi followed.
"Give it up Danzo, you have nowhere to go," Itachi stated, moving to block Danzo. The man tripped and rolled his body away before Itachi could punch his face in. Danzo was panting hard, making his way to the other door.
Itachi kicked him down, but Danzo suddenly melted away, like water slithering over the dirt. Something that Itachi had only seen Suigetsu do before. The man had been showing off his abilities in a past outing with everyone. It was a unique trait to certain demons.
Danzo's laugh echoed through the walls, manifesting by the other door- the exit.
"Oh, you still don't get it how amazing this all is," Danzo flicked his fingers, "Fire," he said and red hot flames covered the building. Swirling, and climbing over every surface. "I never come without a backup plan Itachi, never, my men are waiting for me on the other side,"
The sound of a helicopter could be heard just outside, whipping at the flames as it descended.
Itachi's eyes flashed.
He wasn't going to let Danzo get away from him.
Danzo smirked. "Such pretty eyes should be mine," he said mostly to himself, but he didn't mind if Itachi heard. Instead he pulled his sleeve back to show Itachi his own arm covered with different eyes—some belonging to the Uchiha clan. "I won't be fooled by them," he said.
Itachi wasn't deterred.
Danzo fell for his eyes.
The man tripped, but when he thought that he had him—the man had somehow escaped death. One second his body was pinned on the ground with his sword, and the next Danzo was running to the waiting helicopter.
Itachi cursed for falling for the trick.
Danzo smirked as he looked over his shoulder, "You're still too young and foolish," he said, "Vanish," he disappeared. The building around Itachi started to collapse.
In a second, Itachi covered the distance to the helicopter where Danzo had just climbed into. Itachi aimed, and sent black hellish flames at the man, setting the helicopter on fire as well. The people inside started to scream and the helicopter started to lose height.
Danzo, who was hanging off the side of the helicopter took the moment to use a gun. He shot several bullets at the Uchiha to keep him away. "Die! DIE!" he yelled, the helicopter spiraled as it flew off.
Itachi barely had the sense to dodged out of the way, except for one bullet that hit him in the stomach.
Itachi's power manifested into his red Susanoo, the large blade of his sword cut into the helicopter, making it explode- but it was too late.
Danzo and his pilot had pulled on a jet pack and they flew away from the danger together. Danzo pulled out a bomb of his own, throwing it in Itachi's direction, with a few choice words of how sad it was to lose such pretty eyes. Itachi barely had time to protect himself as the bright white blast hit—enough to set the ground, and buildings around them into nothing but black ash in a matter of seconds.
It was only thanks to Susanoo that Itachi hadn't faced the same fate, but the aftershock had hit him hard enough for him to cough blood and fall unconscious.
It was the day of the party.
Sasuke had talked with Kimimaro and Juugo about his plan to leave with Hanabi to get to Konoha. They were still asking him to wait and think about it.
"I can't wait," Sasuke had told them. "I tried calling Itachi but he isn't answering. Kiba and Shino said they hadn't seen him- I have no news about Itachi at all and I feel this desperation here," he pointed at his chest, "I have to get to him."
"And you will, but does it have to be now?" Kimimaro asked.
"Please,"
"Mom will be back soon, what's the difference between a day or four…" Kimimaro wanted Sasuke to wait and be patient. It took until the day of the party to convince them, because at the end of the day Sasuke was determined to leave whether they approved or not. It was better if they were part of it and could keep in touch with Sasuke—in case they would need to save him.
"Just keep your phone with you at all times." Juugo patted Sasuke's head.
"I will," Sasuke agreed.
"Where are her bags anyways," Kimimaro asked. The plan was for Sasuke to sneak into Hanabi's bags, so she wouldn't notice him. They had already gone through the details on what to do so Sasuke wouldn't be stuck in the cargo place or freeze to death.
"Neji's trunk, she said he would be dropping her off."
"The stuck up prick,"
That would be their next goal, getting the keys from Neji so they could get into his car. Neji was the kind of guy that would keep his things close to himself. He also had a thing about how things are meant to be and fate. The man was the kind that read horoscopes in order to tell him what he should do next.
"He needs someone to love him," Kimimaro muttered, shaking his head.
Sasuke wondered about the living room with the others, when he noticed that Menma had made it to the party. Minato and Kushina were fussing about him.
The man looked like he was doing alright and Sasuke would believe it if he hadn't read all the headlines about how Menma's company being sued for billions. There were complaints about the quality of his products. His production, distribution centers, and laboratories were all being investigated. There was nothing Menma could do about it until he corrected everything that was found wrong and he established himself once more.
If anything, it was a surprise that Menma had decided to attend the party. Hinata had invited him for the sole reason that at the end of the day he was still family.
Ignoring him, Sasuke went about searching for the person that held the keys to his future. Neji was currently filling up a plate with food, minding his own business. Kimimaro was already under the table, trying to decide how he would attack him. Sasuke signaled to him, and Kimimaro nodded.
Sasuke then ran to Neji, clawing himself onto his pants. Neji yelped, nearly dropping the plate of food. The fact that he held onto it meant that he cared about the food he had snatched for himself.
"Ramen, what the," Neji shook his leg, trying to dislodge Hinata's dumb cat from his leg. Ramen held on, slowly climbing up. "No, stop, stop it right now!" Neji snapped, but Ramen was determined to get to his plate of food. Damn cat, didn't they feed him enough?
With Neji wiggling, and getting embarrassed when his family started laughing at him. The man fell on his ass, along with his plate. Ramen was determined to snatch the food and Kimimaro rushed in. Neji was suitably distracted for him to get ahold of his keys. Kimimaro disappeared back under the table, and made his way out the door.
Ramen snatched a morsel of meat, before running away.
"You okay?" Naruto took pity on Neji seeing as everyone else was busy laughing.
"Fine," Neji groused, "Don't you feed the little demon?" he asked as he dusted off his pants, flinching where he still felt the sting of Ramen's nails.
"He eats plenty, but he's also a bottomless pit," Naruto shook his head, "Ramen doesn't even seem to get full."
"Damn, look at this mess," Neji sighed.
"It's okay, I'll have someone clean that up. Do you want to go fix yourself up in the restroom?" Naruto asked, noticing how some of the food had spilled over and stained Neji's nice clothes.
"Yeah, thanks," with that, Neji left to go fix himself in the bathroom. It wouldn't be perfect, but he needed to make himself presentable.
The rest of the party continued in a calm manner until someone started to wonder why they were celebrating. It was a question that no one had the answer to. Just as they were becoming restless, Hinata and Naruto called the attention of the room. They headed to the front, where the food was and each of them had a drink on hand.
Hinata was sipping on some juice, trying to calm her nerves.
"First, thank you for coming to our celebration," Naruto started, "We have some news that we want to share with you," he turned to his lovely wife. Hinata smiled at him, reaching for his offered hand. She nodded her head once she was ready. "Hinata and I wanted to let you all know that we are finally pregnant,"
Their family paused, a little surprised at the news before happy smiles and congratulations were given out.
The women rushed to Hinata, asking her if she was alright. If there was anything that she needed help with. They knew how hard the first pregnancy had been and were ready to land a hand in case she needed anything.
The man teased Naruto about still having it in him to finally get her pregnant. They were starting to question if he was truly a man. Naruto blushed hard, calling them assholes for their jabs at him.
While everyone was happily congratulating, teasing, and offering their help to the couple, Amaru who had been invited since she was the doctor, stood back. She pulled out a vile of poison, intending to drop it into Hinata's drink. Before she could, her hand was snatched by someone.
She gasped, turning her head to face the angry blue eyes so similar to Naruto's and yet they weren't his—it was Menma.
"What do you think you are doing?" The man asked, pissed. Amaru's fingers loosened, dropping the vile of poison to the floor and screamed.
"Ahh, let me go!" She demanded, wanting to get away. Everyone stopped talking and turned to face them.
"Not until you tell us what you thought you were doing!" Menma insisted.
"What's going on?" Naruto stepped forward, wanting to figure out what was going on, "Menma, don't cause trouble."
Menma scoffed, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. "I'm not trying to cause trouble, why don't you ask her what she was trying to do to Hinata's drink," He twisted Amaru's arm.
"Ah, Naruto help me," Amaru tried to seem innocent. There was no way that Naruto was going to allow someone to hurt her.
Naruto glanced from Amaru, to the vile on the floor. He was overprotective of Hinata since her health had become bad her first pregnancy. He wasn't taking any chances. He picked the vile up and sniffed it. It stung his nostrils, but he wasn't sure yet what it was.
"Kurama," he called his brother. Kurama could identify certain poisons, seeing as he had to train to do so when people tried to get rid of him using such methods in his childhood. He approached Naruto and sniffed the vile.
"Poison," he confirmed.
Naruto turned to Amaru, anger in his eyes, "Were you trying to poison Hinata?" he asked her.
Amaru shook her head, "No, I wasn't…I…" she trembled in disbelief that Naruto was suddenly so angry at her. That wasn't fair. He was supposed to defend her. It wasn't just him, everyone was looking at her with anger and accusation. "It isn't fair, why does she get to have you. I love you Naruto!" She confessed. "You would be much happier with me if only she wasn't here…"
Hinata slapped her. She'd move with determination, her own anger bubbling inside of her. She'd had her suspicions, but she didn't think it would be true, not like this. Amaru would not only have harmed her, but the baby growing inside of her.
"How dare you," she whispered at her. Menma knocked the woman out.
Needless to say the party ended there. Naruto had taken Hinata to their bedroom and let her sleep. The police had come to arrest Amaru. Naruto made it clear that she would be convicted for her crime of trying to poison the soon to be Hokage's woman. The police agreed and left. The other family members started to leave as well.
Neji and Hanabi hung back for a moment, searching for his keys. Once they had them, they bid Naruto a good night.
"Ready to go?" Neji asked.
Hanabi yawned, and nodded her head. "I have to be ready, I'm about to go face a potential client of ours," she said, sounding really tired.
"You'll be fine, uncle has trained you well." Neji assured.
"Yeah,"
Kimimaro and Juugo were outside, watching as Hanabi and Neji got into the car. The bags had been in the trunk. Sasuke had slid into the smallest bag, assuming that it would be Hanabi's personal bag that she would keep with herself.
Sasuke also had his cell phone, just in case he needed to call them for anything.
"Do you think Sasuke's going to be okay?" Juugo asked when the car drove off.
"He'll be fine," Kimimaro said with confidence, "That boy had dumb luck on his side…" he trailed off. Luck or not, he was worried about Sasuke and whether or not he would make it back to Itachi.
He could only hope that he would.
It felt like a long day. After bidding everyone goodbye, Naruto made his way towards his and Hinata's room. He wanted nothing more than to hold and cuddle his wife, when he noticed Menma. His brother was silent, before turning to look at him.
"Menma, what are you still doing here?" Naruto asked, perplexed by his brother.
Menma hesitated for a moment before he softly said, "Naruto, could I speak with you about…something,"
Noticing his brother's discomfort, Naruto decided to hear him out. What he learned from Menma, shocked him.
That's it for this chapter. Next Chapter- Itachi and Sasuke reunite!