Yosougai (Unexpected)

Neji opened the door a few minutes after the shouting stopped. The relief on Shikamaru’s face made him smile. “We have company.”



“Really? Who?”



Neji smiled at Naruto with a slight twinkle in his eyes. “A pervert and a friend.”



Naruto bit his lip and flushed.



When Kakashi entered the room with Kiba in tow. Naruto’s eyes about popped out of his head.



“Oh crap, your mom really did sell you to the old pervert like she said she would!” Kakashi blinked at him and Kiba’s mouth fell open.



Naruto glared at Neji. “If this is some sicko skin-trade thing, count me out. I’d rather let the Uchiha kill me!”



“Did they kick him in the head or something? Is it brain damage?” Kiba blurted.



“No, he was always this thick,” Kakashi commented idly.



“You moron! Why didn’t you just sleep with that cow and call it a day?!” Kiba stalked right past Shikamaru and pulled Naruto into a bear hug.



“I’d rather sleep with Kakashi,” Naruto growled. Kiba stepped back and then they both looked at the grinning pervert. “Don’t get any ideas old man,” Naruto said sternly. Kakashi grinned wider.



“So you do know each other,” Shikamaru smirked at Kakashi.



“And well it would seem...” Neji added in an amused tone.



“I know his adoptive father so to speak.”



“Not as well as he’d like,” Kiba chuckled. “Iruka keeps him at arms length and then some.”



Naruto smacked Kiba upside the head and gave Neji a very serious look. “Just leave him out of it. Whatever it takes… just leave him out of it.”



"That will not be possible," Neji intoned in a cold and dispassionate voice. He was a little offended. 'Just what does he take me for. I saved him. It is true that I wouldn't have under other circumstances, but I am responsible for him now.'



Naruto's face crumpled. "He's all I have. Please. I'll do anything..." His eyes fell to the floor and his face lost all its color.



"He's gonna blow," Shikamaru's warning was followed by Naruto vomiting on Kiba's shoes then passing out.



---



Iruka's hands on his face always felt so good when he was sick. "Iruka... I had the worst nightmare..." Shikamaru looked up from his laptop. The older man was still sitting on the edge of the bed. The blond apparently wasn't coherent yet. Considering what he'd just said and how deeply he'd cut Neji earlier, Shika was disinclined to rouse his friend until the little shit was awake and acting rationally.



"Naruto, can you wake up a little? You need to drink something." The blue eyes were hazy, but he sat up just enough to drink before laying back down. "You had me worried," Iruka whispered.



"They told me you'd been beaten up and had passed out. I couldn't stop shaking the whole way here."



Naruto bolted up and almost passed out again. He grabbed Iruka's arms. "No. You can't be here. You have to be safe."



They hadn't heard the door open. "There's no place safer Baka. The Uchiha's want you dead. Neji is the only one who can hold them back. Show a little appreciation. He didn't have to take interest in a brat like you at all." Kakashi was standing in the doorway. Somehow he didn't seem like the Kakashi Naruto had known for so long.



"He only saved me because of where I was at the time. It's about turf, not me." Shika had heard enough. Neji would sleep peacefully through the night without ever knowing this idiot had woken up.



He closed his laptop and stood up slowly. "He could have had you driven beyond our territory and left you there for them to find." He shut the door and left them with that tidbit to chew on.



---



Breakfast went better then Shika had hoped. The blond airhead hadn't done or said anything to bruise Neji's honor. The older man seemed to have a positive effect on the loudmouth. Shika had spent the morning admiring the man. The scar that ran across the bridge of his nose was adorable. Shikamaru could see why Kakashi was glaring at him and staying very close to Iruka.



It made Shikamaru chuckle. The man was seldom this transparent.



"I'll keep Iruka," Kakashi stated flatly as they sat in Neji's study.



Naruto shot to his feet. "No way! No way am I letting you get your grubby mitts on him..."



Neji held up his hand to forestall the rest of the outburst for it was obvious that Naruto wasn't finished. Kakashi gave Naruto a hard look. "He's safer with me than he is as a hostage for you."



Naruto grimaced and turned to Neji. "Please, that pervert will assault him."



It was Iruka's turn to cringe. "Naruto... It's not like that. Yeah, Kakashi's... kind of... pushy sometimes, but he would never try to force me."



"How the hell do you know? Did you know he had ties to the Yakuza before yesterday?!" Naruto had his hands on his hips absolutely sure of himself and his argument.



Iruka sighed. "I've known since high school. Naruto, Kakashi and I dated... briefly."



Shikamaru choked on his coffee. Neji hid his expression behind his teacup, sipping at the bitter liquid very slowly. Naruto whirled and felt a moment of vertigo before righting himself.



"What?!"



Iruka gave him a look that said quite clearly; 'I'm losing patience with you.' "Kakashi's family is very loosely tied to the Hyuuga's, I found out my Senior year, that isn't why we broke up. Naruto, I trust Kakashi on this. If he says he can keep me safe, then he can. If he tells me that you are safer here with Neji-san, then I believe him. Please try to trust me at least."



"Honestly... I don't know who to trust anymore. Until yesterday I had a fairly normal life.

Well, as normal as any bartender. Then... just... I can't take anymore I need to go think."



"Naruto..." Iruka sighed. His little son had just cut him deeply and everyone sitting there knew it.



'Little jackass needs his ass kicked.' Shikamaru and Kakashi were of a like mind.



"Naruto, don't go outside," Neji told him.



"Of course 'Keeper'... anything you say 'Keeper'... you know what... just... fuck it," Naruto said before whirling around and leaving the room.



"Well, that could have gone better," Kakashi murmured as he watched the upset blond leave.



"Neji-sama, please don't take offense. He just needs some time to cope with everything," Iruka said sadly.



"Forgive me; time is not really a luxury we have right now. Pardon me." With that he left to follow the blond and have things settled.



--------



"Naruto..."



"Leave me alone."



"Don't you think you owe Iruka-san an apology?"



"Don't you think you should mind your own damned business?" Naruto asked while looking over the long haired brunette sourly.



"It is in my house, therefore it is my business," Neji said sternly.



"No, your business is something I don't even want to consider. I want to go home. I want to go back to my normal life!"



"You want to be murdered."



"Wow... what a choice I have: murder victim or prisoner!" the blond said with a sneer.



"The choice is, however, yours. Decide quickly so the rest of us can get on with our lives. Oh... and you should consider your father and his safety in all of this mess that you have created." With that parting shot Neji rejoined the others.



----



Naruto plopped down in the chair for the third time in an hour. The obviously rich man didn't even have satellite television. Just the basic... aka just the boring normal stuff. This sucked. He was bored out of his mind and he couldn't leave Neji's apartment. Of course the man didn't trust Naruto either. Hell the man was so untrusting that he had guards outside the front door.



Half the rooms were locked, so that he couldn't enter and that just fueled his curiosity! Naruto needed an outlet, anything; something to do! He stood up and started wandering again. He was sure he'd tried all the doors, but maybe he'd missed one.



---



Neji had checked all the main rooms before he called Shikamaru in from the study. Naruto was missing. There was no way someone could have gotten in to take him without the guards knowing and no man was dumb enough to stick around after screwing over a Hyuuga, yet those men were still outside. Naruto had to be in the apartment somewhere... hopefully. Neji really didn't want to find Naruto in one of those locked rooms. What would he do if he did? That was a question he'd rather not have to answer in reality.



--------



The gym was a god send. He'd been working out every day, nearly all day for the past week or so. Those first few days of nothing to do had nearly driven Naruto over the edge. He had decided to stay after all and had even apologized to Iruka. In fact it was only because of Iruka's safety that he had agreed to this insanity, though it didn't dampen the worry that Kakashi would do something to Iruka.



He didn't mind threats to himself, they had happened to him every day since high school, though Iruka didn't know it, being a big mouth... well sometimes it got him into more trouble than it was worth. Oh well, life happened and in this situation... well... 'Thank Kami I found that door at the end of the hall.'