Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto characters and I make no profit from this story.
Chapter Ten
**Day Sixteen-Seventeen**
The dancing of the flashing lights through the glass doors illuminated the gruesome scene inside with an eerie glow. Kakashi stared down at the two bodies a feeling of disgust rising in his chest. They had them in their grasp just hours ago! Whoever was responsible for this they were bold.
“What a shame.” Genma muttered. He was staring darkly at the body of the Mayor, a bullet wound between his eyes and the body of the security guard, a fatal shot to his neck. “We were so close! I could feel it!”
“This just gets deeper and deeper.” Raido agreed making his way out into the crowded street. Night had overtaken them while they were inside, but you wouldn’t know it by the hordes of reporters with their flood lights and the multiple flashes from cameras of the gathered spectator’s. “I admit I don’t know what the hell is going on anymore.”
“The forces behind this are far-reaching.” Kakashi murmured seeking out his chief.
“Kakashi I’m leaving you in charge while I escort Chief Sarutobi to Konohagakure.” Tsunade stated as soon as he was in sight. “We will be leaving as soon as we can.”
“Is it important that you leave now?” Kakashi asked.
“There are matters that need to be handled there. Sarutobi sensei and I will have to discuss the Mayor’s murder with the Senators and they want to know where we are with Jiraiya’s investigation. I’m expecting this to take a few days. I also want to check in on Naruto and Sasuke and see how they are holding up.”
“When do you plan to leave?”
“As soon as I can, but first I have to deal with something here.” Tsunade said. She was back to biting at her thumb a sinister aura lurking just beneath the surface slowly making itself known. Whatever or whoever she had to deal with first, Kakashi felt certain he did not want to be in their shoes.
~CALM~
The man gripped the steering wheel tightly as he watched the lights from the TV flicker through the slightly parted drapes. He knew very well what was playing out on the screen, his boss having just arrived to tie up loose ends. He wasn’t lying when he said things would get messy if he showed up here. They no longer had the luxury of time; everything had to be moved up now.
“What have you witnessed since?” He asked.
“They’ve shut themselves in, remaining inside and away from the public eye. The media has no idea that Namikaze is home or they would have flocked his house for a glimpse of him. Even the Senators have stayed away.” His eyes slid to his boss, narrowing slightly and trying to gauge a reaction.
His boss chuckled and turned to stare at the window as the room went dark. “Hmm, his life can be spared you needn’t fear about that. I’m sure if that fool Jiraiya had left anything important in Minato’s study we would know about it by now. Naruto is not the kind of person to hunker down and bide his time, especially with something as important to him.”
“What should we do now?”
“We will wait. It does us no harm and may even supply us with something useful. It may even be entertaining.” He laughed.
~CALM~
**Day Seventeen**
Naruto sat in front of the TV watching the news report on Gato’s and Mizuki’s murder. Sasuke yawned as he slid forward on the couch and next to Naruto; his finger’s rubbing circles on the tense back. Naruto felt his gut clench as he watched the continuing coverage.
“Naruto, I think we should go to bed. There is nothing we can do...”
“What is going on here?” He whispered. Sasuke sighed.
“I don’t know, but that is not where we are going to focus our attentions. Not anymore. Did you forget that I promised to help find your parents?”
“I don’t have anywhere else to look, teme. My dad’s office was the only thing I had to go on and that busted.”
“Let’s look again, tomorrow, but for now we should get all the rest we can.” Sasuke muttered, kissing his temple.
“Ok.” Naruto sighed his agreement. Sasuke turned the TV off and pulled a willing Naruto along the hallway and up the stairs to their bedroom.
He took the liberty of disrobing his dobe with slow and purposeful movements, running his pale fingers over tanned shoulders before kissing just above the bandage on his shoulder. Sasuke smirked against the goosebumps that rose and the shiver that followed, a small sigh escaping Naruto’s parted lips. He slipped Narutos arms into the night-shirt and took his time buttoning up the front, popping the buttons through their holes. He was savoring the small shivers that wracked the dobe’s body, enormously pleased with himself. He backed Naruto up to the bed and sat him down before changing quickly. He climbed under the covers and was embraced by Naruto’s heat instantly. Within seconds Naruto was asleep as Sasuke lied there staring at the chandelier.
He knew that the deaths of the Mayor and Mizuki were a major blow to the investigation. It was too soon after Nara’s phone call to be a coincidence. So one of them had to be involved with Naruto’s shooting, if not both? Even though he felt sure about that he knew that neither of them were the ones that shot him as he ran to save his fallen partner.
He sighed and closed his eyes, willing sleep to overtake him. He was going against his own advice and dwelling on a case he was no longer entrusted with. What he was entrusted with was his number one priority at the moment. As soon as morning came he would take another look at that study.
~CALM~
**Day Seventeen**
Morning frost clung to the windows as sunlight filtered through, illuminating a sleeping pair lost to the wonders of their dreams. Squinting from the sudden bright light of a promising day, Sasuke woke bright and early. With a soft sigh he snuggled next to Naruto, inhaling the smell of his shampoo...oranges.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and slid expertly out from underneath a sleeping dobe, there was business to do this morning. He stretched before pulling on a pair of tossed sweatpants, shivering in the cooler room. He was sorely tempted to make his way back to the bed and snuggle further into that inviting warmth, but he had a mission to carry out. Something had been nagging him ever since entering that room and he knew Naruto felt it too. There was something off, it was too empty.
He padded over to the door and silently made his way up to the third floor only pausing to push the door open. He took another look around before making his way to the filing cabinets and opening every drawer, he even looked underneath each one to see if anything had been concealed beneath. He sighed and pushed the drawers shut, tapping at his chin. His eyes alighted on the desk and he did the same thing, looking underneath each drawer.
“What are you looking for?” Sasuke whipped his head around and stared wide-eyed at the blonde in the doorway. Naruto was standing there, rubbing at his eyes and a curious expression on his face, clad only in his nightshirt.
“Was I too loud?”
“No, I was just cold.” Naruto laughed crossing his arms to ward off the chill his shirt riding up his thighs slightly. Sasuke was mesmerized for a moment. “So what are you looking for?”
“Anything.” He replied. He shook himself dispelling the appealing sight Naruto offered him.
“And you had to do this by yourself?” Naruto asked, making his way to Sasuke and hunkering down.
“Uhh…” Sasuke swallowed against the tempting proximity Naruto presented to him. He was having deviant thoughts and it wasn’t helping him in concentrating. Turning away from Naruto he whispered. “I just wanted the chance to look myself, I didn’t mean any offense.”
“I’m not offended.” He laughed.
“Glad to hear it,” Sasuke mumbled, his eyes trained on the filing cabinet. They narrowed in thought wondering if anything was hidden beneath. “Help me pull the filing cabinets away from the wall will you?”
“How should I do that teme?” Naruto asked, tilting his head towards his shoulder. Sasuke wanted to smack himself for his stupidity. It looked like he would be moving the things himself then. He grabbed at the side and front, slowly rocking the cabinet forward inch by inch. Naruto laughed at him in the background, but kept up an encouraging monologue. With a final grunt from Sasuke the cabinet pulled away from the others, sliding easily.
Sasuke leaned against the cabinet breathing heavily and sweating. He turned back to the wall, his shoulders sagging when he realized he would have to do this two more times. Really, did they need that many filing cabinets?
“You can do it teme.” Naruto encouraged again.
“Thanks.” Sasuke growled. He stepped towards the other two and mimicked his earlier actions, rocking the cabinets away from the wall. As soon as the third one was pulled away his fatigue was forgotten. Concealed beneath was a small safe embedded in the floor.
“I never knew we had something like this hidden here.” Naruto muttered in amazement.
“Any idea what the code could be?” Sasuke puffed, but not hoping for a miracle.
“I have no clue. Why don’t we try pulling on the handle?” Sasuke did just that much to Naruto’s amusement, who cracked up laughing.
“What the hell are you laughing about, dobe. Didn’t you tell me to open it?”
“I didn’t mean to literally try it.” He laughed, tears in his eyes.
“Hn.”
“Oh, so now we are back to this teme?”
“Whatever dobe.”
“Why don’t we call a locksmith to come to open it? I know just the person!” Naruto exclaimed and raced down the flight of stairs and into his room. Sasuke could hear the phone ringing from the landing as Naruto made his way back a pair of jeans thrown over his arm.
‘Hello, yeah?’
“Deidara, I have a job for you.” Naruto chirped.
‘Who is this, yeah?’
“You know very well who this is! If you want to get paid for the job you will get your butt over here within the hour!”
‘Huh, stupid Namikaze. I’ll be there, I’ll be there! And I expect double, yeah!’
Naruto smiled up at Sasuke. “He’ll be here in less than a half an hour; do you want to change before he gets here?”
Sasuke nodded and descended the stairs giving Naruto a kiss as he passed. Naruto smiled as the door closed marginally concealing Sasuke from his view. “Just who is this
Deidara?” He asked from the bedroom causing Naruto to smile and bite his lip to stifle a laugh. He was expecting this from the teme.
“No one you need to be suspicious about, teme!” Naruto chuckled as he tugged on the jeans in the middle of his hallway.
“Hn, we’ll see.” Sasuke muttered to himself thrusting his legs into the pair of jeans in his grasp.
Twenty minutes later and Naruto was directing Deidara into the room and showing him the safe. Sasuke growled as the enemy blonde was too touchy feely with
his blonde hugging him when the door was answered. Naruto could only roll his eyes as Sasuke pulled him into his embrace, warning Deidara off.
“Wow, my lil Namikaze is all grown up and being thoroughly owned!” Deidara cried in mock pride.
“Deidara!” Naruto screeched his face flushing red in embarrassment. “It is not like that!”
“Uh-huh and who bottoms in this relationship blondie? I can’t see him letting you inside him unless…”
“Don’t finish that! Knowing you it is bound to be something disgusting!” He gagged.
“Why do you always think such things about me, yeah?”
“Because I’ve heard what comes out of that mouth of yours.”
“I’m not that bad, yeah. Sasori is the one with the filthy mouth. Never shuts up about what he does with his puppets and the unfortunate men he preys upon.”
“Ew that is disgusting, Dei!” Naruto scrunched his nose in disgust. Sasuke growled and covered Naruto’s ears to spare him from hearing such depraved words. This only caused Deidara to laugh.
“Trust me, he’s heard worse.”
“He doesn’t need to hear such things, let alone imagine such things, being spoken from
you!” Sasuke snarled. This once again caused Deidara to burst out laughing.
“So you’ve finally found what you were looking for lil Namikaze?” Deidara crowed eyeing the Uchiha thoroughly. He seemed pleased with Naruto’s choice which surprised Sasuke. “No offense meant by this, but I’m glad it wasn’t Shikamaru.”
“What do you mean?” Naruto asked wearily even though he was intrigued. Knowing Deidara anything could come out of his mouth…maybe he didn’t want to know after all. Didn’t the saying go ‘What he didn’t know could hurt him’? But before he could change his mind Deidara was speaking.
“Well, Jiraiya warned him off you, stating that he wouldn’t accept you two dating or something like that, yeah. I guess Shikamaru listened because you finally branched out and took a risk. I’m so happy for you! ”
“Wait, Jiraiya told Shikamaru...”
“To keep away from you, yeah.” Deidara replied, bobbing his head.
“Why? Why would he do that?”
“I would think it would be obvious with what Shikamaru had done, yeah.”
“What had Shikamaru been doing?”
“You don’t know?” Deidara asked, his blue eyes widening in shock.
“If I did I wouldn’t be asking you!” Naruto exclaimed in exasperation a smirk rising on Sasuke’s face.
“Well, maybe I shouldn’t be telling you then, yeah.”
“If you want paid for opening that safe you will tell me right this minute!” Naruto threatened, his eyes burning red.
“Sheesh, there’s no need to get your panties in a twist.” Sasuke growled at that comment and pulled Naruto even closer. “Ok, ok. Sheesh, you really are owned…” Sasuke growled again, but this time Naruto added his growl to the mix. Taking the hint Deidara swallowed quickly and jumped in.
“Ok, ok…Jiraiya found out that Shikamaru was interfering with your relationships right when they were beginning to get, you know, a bit more serious, yeah. As I overheard it Shikamaru would set them up using himself as bait and the thing is, every one of them fell for it and I mean literally. They fell into his bed readily enough, yeah.”
Sasuke felt his hands tighten around Narutos arms, anger coursing through him. It was instantly cooled when he felt how cold Naruto became, frigid and lifeless. He had an idea how upset Naruto was, but it wasn’t until he saw the tears running down whiskered cheeks that he really grasped the depth of it.
“Naruto?”
“Why would he do that to me? Why would Shikamaru do that?”
“I can’t answer that.” Sasuke murmured, shaking his head for emphasis.
Unsatisfied, Naruto wrenched away from his grasp and stormed down the stairs, leaving Sasuke and Deidara stunned. Deidara whistled lowly and settled back into work on the safe, his ears primed to hear every spoken word. Sasuke came to his senses and chased after Naruto, reaching him just as Shikamaru picked up on the other line.
“Don’t do this, dobe.” He hissed, reaching out to grab the phone in his hand only to be thwarted by Naruto.
‘Hello?’
“Back off!” Naruto growled, readying himself to yell at Shikamaru. He wanted answers damn it and Sasuke was not going to stop him from getting them!
‘Naruto? Is something wrong?’ Shikamaru asked in concern, his voice filtering through the phone, loud enough for Sasuke to hear.
“YES!!!”
“NO!!!” Sasuke yelled.
‘What has Uchiha done?’ He asked worriedly which only fueled Naruto’s rage. How dare he put this on Sasuke!
“He hasn’t done anything you ass!” Naruto snarled as he was pushed against the wall, trapped beneath Sasuke and glaring. “Let me go!”
“No.” Sasuke growled.
“Let me go!!”
“No.”
“Damn it Sasuke, let me go!” Naruto snarled, struggling against the iron grip that had him pinned.
Instead of letting go Sasuke brought his lips to his, trying to silence the overly loud blonde. It didn’t seem to be working well, because he couldn’t block Naruto’s ears from hearing Shikamaru’s concerned questions which only fueled Naruto’s blistering anger further. Sasuke was astonished to say the least that his dobe could hold such anger and rage, seeming almost wild and feral to him. Note to self: never piss off the dobe!
‘Naruto? What’s wrong?’ Shikamaru asked again. Sasuke snorted in disgust amazed with how stupid the genius could be. Didn’t he realize that Naruto was angry with ‘
him’?
“Shut up Nara and hang up already! Unless you want a pissed off blonde coming down there and pummeling your ass you will heed my advice. And trust me I won’t stop him next time!”
‘What the hell?’
“Nara!” Taking Sasuke’s warning to heart he hung up the phone and stared at everyone who had heard the conversation. He cursed himself for accidentally hitting the speaker button when his phone rang.
“What the hell did you do to piss him off so much that he would want to verbally attack you?” Genma asked his forgotten toothpick lying on the floor. It had fallen out when he heard Naruto’s yell.
“I don’t know.” Shikamaru admitted, wondering that himself. He couldn’t think of anything that he had done that would warrant Naruto’s antagonistic behavior. Sai opened his mouth to respond, but was silenced by Tsunade.
“We’ll be off now.” She sighed, walking out of her office. Everyone stared at her with shock…how could she completely miss this little soap opera episode? “Kakashi, keep me notified if anything changes?”
Kakashi nodded as she made her way from the precinct and to her waiting Lexus. She was departing later than she had expected and it was all thanks to Danzo. Tsunade had made it her personal vendetta to tear the man down even as he vowed to do the same to her.
He watched her go, followed by Chief Sarutobi, before taking a seat at his desk. He inhaled at the dark aroma wafting up from his newly replenished cup of coffee. He couldn’t wait to taste the new blend that Neji had supplied them with.
Genma secretly eyed the man, waiting to see beneath the turtleneck when he took a sip. Raido rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of coffee, ignoring the dog that came bounding into the precinct, shivering from the chilly morning and barking at the top of his lungs. By the time Genma looked back at Kakashi the cup was empty.
With a grumble he stalked back to his seat and plopped down, glowering. Raido shook his head and pinned the newest pictures to the board. He circled Naruto’s picture and drew a giant ‘?’ next to it in red marker. They had decided to focus their attentions on Naruto and how they all correlated to him instead, hoping that something would pop out at them. Hell that was the only thing they had to go on at the moment.
~CALM~
It took Sasuke a full hour to calm Naruto down enough to release him. Sasuke had him held in a tight embrace, preventing him from reaching the phone and orally abusing his partner. He couldn’t understand why he was going through so much trouble for Nara. He should have been happy that the dobe was pissed off at him, but he wasn’t.
“Are you calm…?”
“No!” Naruto snapped, not letting Sasuke finish.
“You should be.”
“Don’t tell me what I should be!” He growled. Taking a chance Sasuke slowly released Naruto from his grasp. Once he had been released he had put some distance between him and Sasuke. He was now roosted on the bottom step and glaring icy daggers at his boyfriend.
“As much as I feel Nara would deserve what he got from you I don’t think you would deserve to lose a friend over this.”
“He should have thought about that before he did…THAT!” He yelled.
“Dobe, regardless of what he has done, he has undoubtedly been a good friend to you. When you talk to him you need to be face to face and calm, not angry and yelling through a telephone.” Sasuke soothed. Naruto gave no sign that he was even listening to Sasukes words, but he wasn’t fooled. His mind was processing rapidly, mulling over the words being spoken. He hated to admit it, though, that Sasuke had a point.
“I guess.” Naruto conceded, his eyes taking on a glassy appearance.
“If you want me to be there…”
“That wouldn’t be wise.”
“Just think about my offer, ok?”
“Sure.” Naruto whispered, sniffling. “Why would he do that to me?”
“I don’t know, unless he really fell for you.”
Naruto sniffled again and looked up at Sasuke. He had a wretched look on his face and it broke Sasuke’s heart to see it there. “You don’t do this to someone you love. Why would he even think that I…What was he thinking?”
“That will be something to ask him when the time comes. Only he can answer why he did it?”
“This is my fault; all of it. If I had been straightforward from the beginning…” Naruto paused, his eyes widening in shock of what he just heard himself speak. He slowly looked up at Sasuke sorry written on his face. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that! Please, don’t be angry with me…” He was rambling so fast that it made Sasuke’s head spin.
“Shh, dobe, you’re making no sense.” He soothed. Naruto took a deep breath as Sasuke moved to sit next to him on the step, rubbing circles into his back. “Now what is this about hurting me?”
“It’s nothing…” He whispered dejectedly.
“It’s not just nothing. Are you worried that I would be hurt? If you had been straightforward with Shikamaru would you have chosen him?”
“I don’t know!” Naruto admitted. He brought his head into his hands grasping his hair tightly. He was trying to punish himself for thinking such thoughts especially when he had Sasuke. He was happy with him damn it! Now he could lose him because of this.
“That could be a problem.” Sasuke whispered. He was trying to hide how hurt he felt. Just hours ago he was happy and comfortable; confident, in his relationship with Naruto. Now with one blondes comments everything was thrown into turmoil.
“You hate me now?”
“No, that will never happen.” Sasuke whispered.
“What do we do now?” Naruto asked, afraid to hear the answer. He sounded so heartbroken and miserable and Sasuke tried to be understanding, but he couldn’t help the burn of hurt that flared inside. It was evident to Naruto by the way the raven’s jaw tightened and his fist clenched, the knuckles turning white.
“I’ve hurt you anyway.” Naruto muttered. He stood up and started to walk away, his heart breaking, when he was grabbed by the wrist and forced around to kneel before the Uchiha. Sasuke grabbed up his chin, forcing him to make eye contact.
“This is what is and I need to know that you are happy with it. If you want out, let me know. If you…”
“I’m happy with you.” Naruto interrupted. “I want only happiness with you.”
“Dobe.” He was bursting with happiness inside over Narutos words, glad that they were still on the same page. For him that was all that mattered.
“Teme.” Naruto sighed and leaned in to kiss him soundly, hungrily. A small smile lit his face. Somehow the fact that Sasuke was willing to let him go made the ties that bound them even stronger in his blue eyes.
“Don’t stop on my account!” Deidara muttered, leaning over the railing and staring at them. Sasuke growled and pulled Naruto to him, glaring at the safe-cracker. “Awe, your possessiveness is so endearing, Uchiha. The safe is open if you want to take a look. And for once I didn’t need to use explosives.”
“Don’t sound so sad.” Sasuke snarled, moving to stand up. “Wait! Explosives?!”
“I’m not sad.” Deidara admitted, laughing at the pale Uchiha. “I’m devastated!”
“Hn.” Sasuke growled. He arched an eyebrow at Naruto, questioning about Deidara, but the blonde only shook his head and followed Sasuke up the stairs and into the office, his attention focused on the safe door lying wide open. “Did you peek inside, Dei?” Naruto asked softly.
“No.” He admitted.
Tan fingers sought out pale ones, intertwining instinctively, he begged support. Sasuke was only too happy to offer, his thumb rubbing the tan palm in his grasp. Naruto knelt in front of the safe and took a deep breath before looking inside. His eyebrows raised in question… “What the hell?”
~CALM~
The two occupants in the car perked up as they witnessed a long-haired blonde traipse onto the Namikaze Estate. They wasted no time in researching the man, pulling up a Konohagakure Federal criminal file. “Deidara Iwaga, aged 26, criminal arsonist, bomber, and safe-cracker. He’s currently under the payroll of the DA’s office in exchange for not going to prison.”
“Well, this has taken a turn for the worse, hmm.”
“So they found something after all.”
“So it appears, but let’s watch a little more. This could be very interesting indeed.” He laughed.
“Do you think that Senator Jiraiya left something behind? He was on to us...”
“You do not have to concern yourself about that, I’ve dealt with Jiraiya and if need be, Naruto too. Though, I admit that would be less than desirable.”
The man settled back down into his seat on the driver’s side, his mind swirling with concern over the blonde Senator and his fate.
~CALM~
Raido sat tapping the marker against his desk, beating out an unknown rhythm on the polished surface. No one was paying him any mind as they all stared at the board, each lost in their own thoughts. Even Akamaru was being quiet, resting at his master’s feet, his ears rising and falling in sync to Kiba’s foot tapping.
The ballistic report was back from Iruka who had hand delivered the report to Kakashi who had perked up while the lead CSI was in their company. He deflated as soon as Iruka left, turning his thoughts to the covered board.
It had confounded the detectives leaving them wondering what kind of web they had themselves ensnared in. The bullets matched the one extracted from Jiraiya’s body, leaving them to wonder how Naruto, and Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha played into all this. No one had any doubts that Mizuki played a part in Naruto’s shooting, but how was he connected to Jiraiya and for that matter, the Uchiha’s when he was too young to have been the perpetrator to their murders?
“We’re back to the drawing board again.” Genma exclaimed. He was growing tired over the many questions the case, or cases, provided. They couldn’t even prove a link to join the investigations as one!
“I have no doubt that it’s all connected somehow.” Raido whispered to himself. “What are you hiding from us?” He leaned forward in his chair the pen finding its way to rest against his lips. “What are you hiding?”
“One thing that ties them all together.” Kakashi supplied. Raido nodded, exhaling through his nose.
“It’s finding that binding piece that is giving me such a nagging headache! It’s right there in front of us, it has to be! So why are we overlooking it?!”
~CALM~
“A book! That’s all that is in there is a book! A book! He leaves me a book! A book teme, a freakin’ book!” Naruto growled, pacing back and forth in front of the safe.
“Yes, dobe, I believe we have established that it is indeed a book.” Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, slowly becoming exasperated with his dobe.
“A BOOK!!”
“Damn it dobe, if you don’t shut up about that damn book I will throw it out your damn window!” Sasuke snapped.
Naruto stalled momentarily before pointing at the window. “There are bars on the window, teme.”
Sasuke growled while Deidara rolled on the floor dying from laughter. “Don’t get technical on me, dobe!”
“It’s the truth! All this for a book?!” Naruto growled in frustration grabbing at his hair.
“Yes, a book dobe, it’s a book.”
“I know it’s a book teme! I just said that like 50 million times!”
“Then why do you have to keep bringing it up?!”
“Because I don’t understand it!”
“Well, uh…” Sasuke stalled, at a loss for words. “Who wrote it?” He muttered grasping at the first thought to enter his head and running with it.
“Like I know?!”
“Well, look at the front cover?” Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto glared and flipped the book over in his hands. What he saw shocked him.
“It’s by Jiraiya.” He muttered. Deidara stopped rolling on the floor and sat up attentively.
“Jiraiya wrote it, let me see?” Sasuke held out his hand waiting for Naruto to hand it to him. He surveyed the cover, reading the title*. He peeled it open and read the dedication: To Minato and his lovely wife Kushina and to their bright future; Naruto. “It’s dedicated to you, dobe.”
Naruto held out his hand and turned to the first page, reading the dedication for himself, his tan fingers running over the inked print. He flipped over to where the story began, exclaiming as he read. “This isn’t one of his porn novels!”
Sasuke almost faced palmed, but by the grace of being an Uchiha; stood his ground. “What the…!”
“I told you Jiraiya was depraved. He writes porn on the side and would often travel to do ‘research’ for his books. What he really wanted to do was spy on naked women.”
“You can’t be serious?” Sasuke asked holding back a snicker when Naruto flexed his fingers in the quotation symbol to the word ‘research’.
“Jiraiya’s study is all the way at the end of the hall farthest from our room. Feel free to take a look at his collection, written all by him.” Naruto muttered engrossing himself in the one book that Jiraiya wrote that didn’t make him feel dirty in a bad way.
“I’ll take your word for it.” But Naruto shook his head and shooed the Uchiha away, who had no choice but to go take a look. Sasuke took one glance in the room, taking everything in, before he raced back to Naruto paler than usual.
“I told you.” Naruto smirked as Deidara rolled around on the floor dying from laughter once again.
“Wow, you two are too adorable!” Deidara gasped, wiping away tears of mirth. “Now that I’ve been rewarded by your lovely show of young love can I please get compensation for my safe-cracking abilities, maybe even a bonus for not using explosives?”
Naruto laughed and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his wallet and four wrinkled $100.00 dollar bills. “That should be more than enough for you.”
Deidara stared in wonderment not expecting to receive triple. “Thank you Naru!” He reached out to embrace the blonde but found himself kissing the wall, his arm bent behind his back painfully.
“Oww, damn it. I wasn’t going to hurt him, yeah! I just wanted a hug.”
“Hug a porcupine instead!” Sasuke snarled.
“A porcupine?! They’re full of needles, yeah!”
“That’s the point.”
“Teme let him go.” Naruto muttered, unfazed by his show of possessiveness.
“No! Not until he understands that he doesn’t touch what is mine!”
“Promise him that you won’t touch me Dei?” Naruto asked, sighing at the stubborn Uchiha.
“I promise, I promise! Now let me go, yeah!”
Sasuke growled and released the man. “Mine!” He stated, causing Deidara to roll his eyes.
“You are thoroughly owned, Naruto, so don’t deny it, yeah.”
“I could have it worse.” Naruto muttered, smiling when Sasuke turned a glare on him.
“Am I not good enough for you?” He demanded.
“The very best, teme.” Naruto replied nonchalant.
Deidara took this opportunity to slip off silently smirking and happy that Naruto found who he was looking for.
Sasuke Uchiha, he thought,
Itachi was right…he was the perfect match for Naruto.
“Do I not satisfy you enough?”
“You’re the only one that can.” Naruto muttered, stroking the Uchihas ego and trying not to laugh.
“Do I not love you enough?”
“I want all that you have; I want it every day.” Naruto whispered, coming to embrace his teme, a tender kiss on the lips.
“I can do all that and more.” Sasuke whispered, nipping at Naruto’s jaw. “But not right now.”
“Hmm…why not?” Naruto purred.
“Because, dobe you are still healing and I haven’t forgotten that I pushed you too hard the last time.”
“Who says that you pushed me too hard?” Naruto whispered, leaning into Sasukes nips.
“I say I have and until you are better we don’t do much…but teasing could be fun.”
“Is that a promise?” Naruto questioned his breath hitching.
“Yes.”
“Maybe we should take a shower instead?” Naruto sighed against the warmth rising in his body.
“A cold one, I think.” Sasuke agreed, pulling Naruto along to the bathroom and turning the water to a cool temperature. Naruto slid inside, molding himself to Sasukes back for warmth as the washcloth was lathered up to scrub his dobe down.
~CALM~
Tsunade stifled a yawn as she sat at the polished desk listening to the other Senator’s drone on about pointless things. It was a complete waste of time for them to be here discussing things that didn’t concern her. There were more important things that needed her attention. She blinked her amber eyes as the conversation finally made its way to Jiraiya.
“How is the investigation progressing? Are there any leads?” Mifune asked.
“There is a shocking lack of evidence and no leads as of yet. Whoever shot Jiraiya was sure to cover their tracks.”
“Raido and Genma can’t find anything?” Mei questioned leaning forward in her chair. Sarutobi just shook his head sadly. “Not even Sai?”
“There is nothing.” He admitted.
“What is Gato’s involvement in all this?” A barked.
“We’re still digging into that. He was the owner of the apartments that employed Mizuki, the one that we were looking at for Naruto’s shooting.”
“How is he holding up?” Mei asked, a small smile lighting her face.
“I hear he is recovering rapidly.” Gaara stated.
“Then you have heard correctly. He was in brighter spirits when he left Konoha.”
“Wait! Naruto is not in Konoha?” Mei questioned. “When did he leave the hospital?”
“He didn’t tell you?” With a sigh Sarutobi lit his pipe and settled further into his seat. “Why am I not surprised? Naruto returned a few days ago with Sasuke…”
“Sasuke?” Gaara inquired.
“Itachi’s little brother?”
“That would be him, Mei.” Sarutobi laughed.
“If Naruto is back then there should be no reason for him not to take his Seat. When will the boy be ready, Hiruzen?” Onoki asked.
“He must heal first, Onoki, a few months at most.”
“That is too long!” A growled banging his fist against the desk.
“There is nothing to be done. He must heal first…”
“When you say a few months do you mean two or three, Hiruzen?” Mei asked.
“More like six at the most.”
“That is unreasonable!” A growled again.
“It is not that unreasonable A. Naruto has promised to fill the Seat, his birthright by the way, and we need to respect that he has an injury...”
“An injury, Gaara, which he would not have sustained had he not been gallivanting around the country chasing down criminals!” Onoki snapped.
“We couldn’t stop him and why should we have when we had Jiraiya?” Mifune asked trying to placate the Senators.
“We were not guaranteed Jiraiya forever. We should have taken precautions for every eventuality.” Mei stated.
“True, but who could have predicted that Jiraiya would have been murdered? Besides, Naruto never flat-out stated that he didn’t want the position.”
“Naruto never said anything, Mifune! Jiraiya kept that boy under lock and key!” A spat.
“And it was a good thing too! Did you see how those people flocked to the hospital? We had to close the bridge to stem the traffic.”
“That was because they wanted a glimpse of Naruto. It was not out of any real concern for the boy!” Onoki grumbled.
“How can you say that? If they had known that Naruto was their Senator…”
“That is the point, Mei; they didn’t know it was Naruto.”
“Onoki…Mei that is enough.” Mifune soothed. There is no doubt that Naruto has made an impression on the citizens of Konohagakure. He is well liked and it will not come as a surprise to many to hear that Naruto is their Senator when he finally debuts.”
“He has already confirmed to Chief Tsunade and myself that he will be assuming his role as Senator.” Hiruzen replied. “You’d need only to wait out his injury a short while longer. You know the kind of person Naruto is. Is that not worth the wait?”
“He is quite a charmer.” Mei laughed. “He has a way about him that lets you be swayed easily, that lets you put all your faith in him. It isn’t that much longer A and if anything serious comes up we can always call him. There is no law saying that he has to be physically present; Jiraiya is proof of that.”
“I think that is reasonable and fair.” Gaara seconded.
“It is not undesirable, but I still have no liking for it! He should have known better and it is his own fault that he was injured as such!” Onoki growled.
“I would find fault with the shooter.” Tsunade muttered darkly.
“Naruto would have never been in that position if he had listened to Jiraiya in the first place!” A snarled.
“That was not our decision to make.” Gaara drawled.
“He defied everyone including his grandfather! He put himself in that position and was injured as an outcome!”
“That is a moot point A. In the end you have what you wanted all along. Naruto is assuming his position as a Senator and leaving his job of being a federal detective.” Mei soothed.
“Six months?” A growled.
“At the most, yes.” Hiruzen agreed.
“Then it is settled.” A nodded.
“Agreed.” They replied in unison.
Tsunade sighed again and pushed away from the desk. “How is Naruto really doing?” Gaara asked, his emerald eyes reflecting concern. Tsunade paused in her rising motion.
“He is doing fine.” She stated.
“I take it that the rumor is true then? He has taken a lover?” Mei asked, leaning forward in interest.
Tsunade frowned and sunk into her seat. “Where did you hear such a thing?”
Mei laughed. “Please, we all know that Shikamaru called Hiruzen about Naruto. That only means one thing: that he went out and found someone to be with. And knowing Naruto he probably tracked the poor person down and persuaded them to give him a shot afterwards. We all know what he is like in that respect. It always got Jiraiya riled up; it was quite entertaining to watch.”
Tsunade narrowed her eyes, not liking the way they made Naruto out to be. “You believe him to be a whore!”
“There is not a person in this room that believes that statement, Chief Tsunade. But we cannot ignore that Naruto is…‘sexually loose’.” Gaara muttered. He seemed to have trouble finding the exact words to fit Naruto.
“Sexually loose?” Tsunade asked.
“There is no better term to explain Naruto’s behavior. Don’t get us wrong Tsunade,” Mei smiled. “We know that Naruto has his issues, but that isn’t a concern of ours. He is unmarried and young and frankly he can do whatever he wants. I, personally, wanted to know if he had finally found the ‘one’.”
“I couldn’t tell you.” Tsunade shook her head.
“But it’s Itachi’s little brother, right?”
“It is indeed, Sasuke, Mei.” Hiruzen agreed ignoring the dark look Tsunade shot him.
“Ohh, does he look like Itachi? He must or he wouldn’t have caught Narutos eye. Or maybe it was the other way around and Naruto caught his eye. He is a looker. Oh, we must meet him sometime! Do they get along fine…well the must to be lovers? Oh, I can’t wait to see them. Maybe Itachi was right all along…”
“Calm down, Mei.” A warned.
“Oh, but you must agree that this could be a good thing for Naruto. If this Sasuke is anything like Itachi...”
“Mei!” A warned again.
“Fine, fine.” She laughed, ushering everyone from the room and out into the waning sunlight. “If you are not in a hurry would you care for some dinner; our treat of course.”
“We did want to check in on Naruto...” Tsunade started.
“He will be fine with Sasuke watching over him, Tsunade.” Chief Sarutobi stated. Tsunade bit her thumb, worry etched on her face. “A few more hours won’t hurt.”
“Fine.” She relented, but she was going to make it to see him before the night was through. He had her worried with that phone call this morning…it was unlike the boy she knew to want to orally attack another person; especially one he counted as a friend.
“Great, there is a nice place right around the corner; you are going to love it. They have the best sake in the entire country.” Mei smiled, locking arms with Tsunade and pulling her along. Tsunade rolled her eyes, but didn’t pull out of the Senator’s grasp. How could she argue with the promise of good sake?
~CALM~
Sasuke padded into the living room, two steaming cups of tea in his grasp. He smiled at the sight of Naruto curled up at the end of the couch reading his grandfather’s book. The dobe had settled in, getting comfortable, after their shower.
“I thought you were angry that it was just a book?” He smirked.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and closed the book after marking his spot. “I figured that it was there for a reason and the best way to understanding why was to read the book.”
“Was it helpful?”
“Not yet.” Naruto laughed accepting the cup Sasuke held out to him. “I think it is just a book and a really good one at that.”
“Maybe I should be reading it too.”
“When I’m done.” Naruto laughed, promising to relinquish said book. His head snapped towards the front door as the doorbell rang catching both occupants by surprise. “I wonder who that could be at this hour.” He asked wearily staring at the clock, six p.m.
“Do you want me to get it?”
“No, I’ll do it.” Naruto replied and made his way to the front door, his stomach fluttering like mad. He opened the door slowly and leaned against it as he looked at the man on his porch.
“Naruto Uzumaki?” He asked.
“That’s me.” He nodded.
“I have a package for you, please sign here.” The carrier stated holding out his clip board with a scowl. Naruto reached for the pen and signed for the package before being handed the item. He closed the door behind him and tore the fat envelope open all the while feeling nauseous. Sasuke walked from the living room curious to what was taking his dobe so long.
“Dobe, what is it?”
Naruto knit his forehead in concentration reading the page that he pulled out first. “It’s from Jiraiya.”
