The Art of Patience

Chapter 20
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Classical music played softly in the background as Madara Uchiha sat in his private study looking over a file. His eyes skimmed over the documents carefully, pausing here and there to take down a quick note of his own. After he felt satisfied with the enclosed papers; he closed the folder and handed it back to his guest. "You're credentials are very good... Kisame was it?"

"Yes." Kisame sat across the large desk from his potential client with his personal achievements in hand. Finding the dark secret of people was his specialty, though the rumors about his practices kept him from being seen as a 'good guy'. Not that the dark skinned man minded, he rather liked being infamous.

Madara nodded once and leaned back in his chair. "So from what I gathered, you can find information on anyone... Am I right? Even someone not very well known to the public?"

Kisame lounged in his chair comfortably and looked his potential paycheck in the eye. "You bet. Of course the more I have to dig the more expensive the information gets. But depending on what you want, the price could be worth it.”

Madara sat forward once more. "I don't think money should be a problem. It'll be a pleasure working with you." The corrupt Uchiha stuck his hand out in offering to the dark skinned man across from him.

Kisame smiled darkly and leaned forward to seal the deal when the doors to the study were thrown open.

"I hope I haven’t interrupted anything too important here."

Madara glared at the rude interruption and focused his eyes on the man he least wanted to see. "I can assure you, you are. What do you want Orochimaru? I believe I made myself quite clear that after the little stunt you pulled last week.... you were no longer welcome in my home."

"What’s a wrecked ballroom and a few bruises between friends? Besides, I couldn't help but to notice that you were inviting a sketchy private investigator into your home. I was a bit concerned…" Without being asked, the yellow eyed doctor went over to the refreshments and poured himself a small cup of coffee with just a hint of cream before continuing his dialog. The hatred was just oozing from Madara and black guest; he could feel it all the way across the room. "I might be able to make your jobs easier for just one small favor; a gift really."

Madara's glare stayed but his interests were a bit piqued nonetheless. "What could you possibly help with? Besides telling us that your former sub was a pansy?"

Orochimaru glared at the pansy statement and continued on in a slightly harsher tone. "I can tell you something that would ruin Naruto's career permanently, which leads to my price." The intruder closed his eyes and finished his drink before setting it down in front of Kisame and turning his full attention of Madara. "I want you to give me Naruto. You can have his two subs if you want; they don’t interest me."

Madara chuckled at the man's ignorance. "I don't give a shit about that blond ass-wipe. I really don't care what you do with him. But Kisame here is supposedly the best in his field. I think I'll give him a try first."

Orochimaru grinned evilly and Kisame had to admit that this white man next to him did cut a very impressive profile form up close, almost impressive enough to earn the dark man’s respect; almost. "Oh I trust you won’t find this. There are only three people who know about it; including me of course."

Madara continued to glare and contemplated the other man’s offer without showing any outward distress over the situation. Damn; Orochimaru was getting to him. He took a small sip of his wine and sat back in his chair once more. "Fine; I'll let you work with Kisame. You tell me about Naruto; and help me get my two nephews... or I could just have Kisame do it all by himself..." He waited for a response; letting his own trail off.

"As long as I get my escaped prize, I’ll work with anyone. Even with the devil himself."

Madara closed his eyes; hoping he wouldn't regret this later. "Fine." He glanced at Kisame. "I hope you don't mind a partner. You'll get paid in full of course."

"As long as he doesn’t get in my way, and the pay is in cash, I could care less." Kisame nodded at Orochimaru in acknowledgement and held his hand out to seal the deal with Madara once more. It was much easier this way than to leave a paper trail wherever he went.

Madara once again extended his hand to shake the Kisame’s. Hopefully he wouldn’t be interrupted again. "Alright..." he said as he stood up.”Follow me and I'll get you your payment." He glanced over at Orochimaru. "And I'd appreciate it if you'd leave my home; Kisame will contact you when he needs you." With that, he turned on his heal and headed toward his basement where his vault was kept.

"Orochimaru watched until the pair was beyond his sight and walked out of Madara's home by himself without looking at the poor footman he'd terrified earlier. The poor minion was cowering just beyond his original post with his uniform shredded to ribbons with not a single scratch on his skin.

A shrouded figure made his way down the hall; just having overheard the whole conversation. He had to warn Naruto... somehow.

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Naruto led his new slave up the stairs to the nice condo that he had frequented many times. He pulled out his key and entered the nice smelling space with Sasuke trailing behind him. He figured he'd let Sasuke have the day off of duties since he would be spending all his time with Itachi tonight. "Kitty; you can do whatever you want tonight." He went up to the little sub and wrapped his arms around the boy, pressing his lips to the younger raven's in a passionate kiss.

Sasuke reeled from the kiss and just nodded. It didn't really bother him that Itachi was getting all the attention today; it was a big deal for his brother and he was happy for him. Plus, it would be a good opportunity to get a bit of work done.

Naruto smiled at his Kitty’s response and made his way back to his beautiful Princess. "How about a warm bath?" he suggested as he ran his fingertips up Itachi's side, then neck, ending with his fingers buried in the older raven's hair.

"I'd like that very much, Master." Itachi leaned into his master’s loving caresses and closed his eyes. The pain wasn’t so bad now that he'd gotten a chance to get use to it, but the older man sure didn’t want to aggravate the skin for a while anyway.

Naruto nodded and led his Princess to the large bathroom. He stood Itachi in front of a full length mirror and started to undress his gorgeous slave. Once the man was completed divested, he rested a hand on the tape surrounding the thin gauze that covered the new tattoo that was placed there. "Are you ready to see it?" he asked gently as he pressed his lips to Itachi's neck a few times.

Itachi swallowed his fears at having the bandage painfully removed and nodded at Naruto's hand. He wanted to see what his beloved blond master had given him.

Naruto pulled the tape as gently as possible and finally pulled off the gauze to reveal the partial product. It was a bit red for Naruto's tastes, but that could be fixed with a little antibacterial cream.

Itachi stared at his reflection in the mirror for a minute before words could make their way to his mouth. Naruto had made a spiral around his bellybutton in black ink and above that was a nine tailed fox, also in black. No wonder his master had offered to stop in the middle. Even though it was only the outline, the detailing was very extensive and it looked like it could have taken the blond a lot longer than he really had. He could only imagine what it would look like once there was color. "Master… It's so, different and beautiful. Thank you."

Naruto turned Itachi around and pressed his lips to the older man's. Pulling back he stared into Itachi's beautiful eyes. "Those two symbols are mine and it represents my ownership over you. Besides that, it also represents my intentions for being with you." He gestured to the tattoo once more turning Itachi around to face the mirror again. "This spiral is something that I've always loved. To me it represents continuation and connection. A spiral never has an end; unless that person gives it one." He went higher until his hands rested on Itachi's waist. "When I was younger, I had a dream once that I was visited by a nine tailed fox that looked just like this one; he said his name was Kyuubi and that he would always be with me; protecting me." He laughed a bit. "Being a little kid; of course I believed my dream and to some extent; I still do today. That's why I put him on you also; so that I know you'll always be protected; even when I'm not with you." He rested his head on Itachi's shoulder as he tried to hold back his tears. He wasn't used to all this emotion.

Itachi listened in attentiveness to his master’s tale and leaned his head gently against Naruto’s in a show of comfort and understanding. Naruto seemed so closed up sometimes that the older slave treasured the few moments the blue eyed man opened up and let the ones he trusted see inside the mask he used every day. "I love it so much Master, you're always so good to me."

Naruto kissed the side of Itachi's neck once more before he let go of his Princess and made his way to the large Jacuzzi tub. He removed his clothing before starting up the water. Getting it to a comfortable temperature, he decided to add a few scented beads to the water and lit a few candles for a bit of calming atmosphere. Once the tub was full enough, he turned the water off and led his slave over to the warm comfort of the water. He got in first and leaned back against the side of the tub and looked up at Itachi. "Come on Princess; sit in front of me and lean back."

Itachi carefully stepped into the steaming water and got down on his hands and knees to get close to Naruto without splashing his master unnecessarily until he was in position to set his ass down. The heat from the water felt nice on Itachi's tender flesh and very refreshing at the same time as his hardening cock showed. Carefully the older man turned around and sat down with his back to his master to avoid slipping on the bottom of the tub. The smell of the candles mingled with the smell of their bodies making the slave drowsy enough to not even squirm at leaning against Naruto's muscular chest.

The blond placed his hands on Itachi's waist, being careful to avoid the irritated skin of his slave's belly. He leaned Itachi's head back so it was resting on his shoulder before he spoke once more. "You're so beautiful Princess. I feel so lucky to be able to say that you're mine." He paused as he ran a hand down Itachi's thigh, just enough to gently caress the raven's growing erection with his fingertips. "How do you like your present?"

Itachi took a shaky breath. Naruto fingers teased his flesh into goose bumps. Trust his gorgeous blond master to know just what to do! "I love your present more than anything I've ever gotten in my life. I can’t wait to see what it will look like when it's done." Itachi snuggled into his master’s loving embrace and looked at those long tanned legs under the water next to his own pale limbs. They belonged to each other like he'd always wanted.

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Kiba was lying down on the couch in only his pants and a t-shirt with a book in hand and a glass of water on the floor next to his shoes. It had been a long day and the scruffy haired man was trying to relax enough to get to sleep without having to stare at the ceiling for hours waiting for said sleep. It was really frustrating knowing you had to sleep only to have to wait for sleep to finally come.

In the opposite corner of the couch Akamaru was scooting backwards with his owners jacket between his front paws and grunting as the little dog tried to get the thing into just the right shape for a nap. Occasionally the white dog would shove his snout into the wadded mass and shove a fold of material back before starting to wad the jacket again.

Kiba kept an eye on his furry baby and hoped the little fur ball would notice where he was going before it was too late.

The brown eared dog grunted happily until his back legs slipped on the edge of the couch. With an almost comical expression of surprise, the mutt fell on his belly, still on the couch, and wriggled his legs in a fierce attempt to keep from falling on the floor.

Kiba chuckled at his dog and sat up in time to save his puppy from falling off the couch completely. "I wondered if you'd see that coming."

Meanwhile, a figure made his way through the rainy streets covered in only a thin sheet. He vaguely remembered where the blond lived... he hoped he hadn't moved.

The man finally made it to his destination and took a few breaths to calm himself before kneeling in front of the door and knocking a couple of times. He really hoped Naruto was home.

Akamaru jerked into a sitting position as the unexpected sound woke him form a light sleep and stared at the front door.

Kiba followed his dogs example and put a slip of paper in his book before getting up to see who was there. Naruto had a key and would have let himself in unless the blond had lost it, again.

Kiba looked through the peep hole and blinked. He couldn’t quite make out who that was on the other side.

Behind the brown haired man, Akamaru decided that he should be a guard dog and started yapping to his heart’s content until he leapt off the couch and started walking to the door with is ears flipping back with each bark. "Who's there?" the brown haired man asked, making sure it wasn’t someone that he wouldn’t want in his home.

The soaked man looked up at the voice he didn't recognize. What if the blond had moved? This guy didn't sound like Naruto... but Naruto did have a room-mate. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was looking for Naruto." He hoped the man on the other side could hear him through the door. He knew he was a very quiet person and usually had a quiet voice.

Kiba blinked at the mention of his roommate’s name and carefully opened the door with the sliding lock in place. "How do you know Naruto?"

Akamaru walked between his owners legs and tried to push his way out of the door to get a better look at the soft-spoken man in front of him.

The dark haired man outside continued to look down in respect. "My name is Sai; I'm Naruto's former sub. There's something really important I need to tell him. Will you please let him know I'm here?"

Kiba nudged his little wad of fur away from the door before he could escape and looked around for Madara or anyone who'd stoop so low as to try and trick Naruto into coming out to get this little sub. "He's not here right now, but you shouldn't stay out in the rain in only a sheet. You’ll get sick or something.”

Sai tried not to look up at the other man. "Please, I really need to speak to him... it's really important... If you could maybe tell me where he is?" This information was very urgent... it concerned his former master's safety. Even though he didn't belong to Naruto anymore; he still cared about him deeply.

Kiba caught the urgency in Sai's voice and unlocked the door completely. This sounded serious. "It's too far away for you to walk to. Why don’t you come in? I'll give Naruto a call once you're cleaned up and warm. Akamaru! Behave yourself; this is no time to play around!"

The dog snorted with his paws on Sai's knees and wagged his tail hard enough to make his whole butt wiggle. He liked this new person.

Sai smiled faintly as he brought his hand up to let the dog sniff. "It's no problem Sir, I've always loved dogs."

Kiba closed his eyes and sighed at his dogs antics. If Akamaru was acting like this, than Sai must be on the level. "Come on in. I doubt Naruto would like it if I let you catch a cold just because I didn't get you warmed up fast enough.”

The little dig barked happily and put his head under Sai's long fingers for a scratch behind the ears.

Sai gave the puppy a smile before standing up and making his way into the apartment. "Thank you so much Sir, I really appreciate your kindness. Is there anything I can do for you? To make up for my rude intrusion?"

"The names Kiba, not Sir. It makes me feel old. And I don’t need anything other than you being dry and clean so I don’t have to get the carpets cleaned." Kiba felt so, stale, when anyone called him Sir and he couldn’t explain why that was. With his previous subs, he had them all call him by a nickname. He’d pick it of course, but it was better than sounding like he was an old man when being asked a question.

The man closed the door and locked it to keep the warmth in and the cold outside where it belonged. Aside from the sad state this Sai was in, he was really good looking; even when shivering with his hair plastered against his skull.

Sai nodded his understanding and pulled the soaked sheet closer to him as he followed Kiba into the bathroom. "As Naruto’s friend, I'm sure you'll want to know about this situation too... Um, if you want to that is."

Anyone willing to walk naked in the rain to talk to their old master must have a good reason. “You can give me the details while I get you cleaned up.”

The short haired man turned on the water and tried to get the temperature right before motioning for Sai to ditch the sheet and get in. Of course the naked sub could bathe himself, but then there'd be no time to hear what Sai had to say before either of them fell asleep. Also, it was strange, but he just had the compelling urge to do everything he could to take care of this misguided sub.

Sai got into the water carefully; not even bothering to be embarrassed about his nudity. He had been forced to be without clothing inside Madara's home for almost a year now, so being naked didn't really bother him. "Well... it's about my Master.... he's trying to get revenge on Naruto by ruining his potential business and taking his two subs away."

Kiba put some shampoo in the palm of his hand and worked the gel into Sai’s rain-slicked hair carefully and made sure to get the hair product worked in at the roots. This news was troubling. Kiba knew about Madara's reputation to keep everything that had once belonged to him and never let it go, and about the perverted old man’s knack at getting his revenge but that still didn't prepare the subless Dom for this. Naruto was going to have to be on guard.

Sai stayed still as Kiba took care of him, which he was extremely grateful for. He was just so tired. "Orochimaru offered his services and Madara had hired some kind of P.I. also... I don't know what their planning exactly; just that their trying to get blackmail information on Naruto." Sai was almost in tears as he told Kiba of what he had heard. He finally had the courage to look at the brown haired man. "Please, you have to tell him soon; before something happens to him and his subs..."

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Naruto had spent the past half an hour in the bath with his new slave. It was nice to just relax for a bit; but the water was starting to get a bit cool. He looked down at Itachi and realized that his Princess had fallen asleep. "Wake up Princess; it's time to get out." He accentuated his statement with a few licks to Itachi's ear and neck.

Itachi woke and leaned into the pleasant sensation before he opened his eyes. A few of the candles were burning low and the bath water had gotten a lot cooler than the new slave remembered it being. “Huh? I don’t remember falling asleep." Itachi scooted forward on his ass and snagged a towel for Naruto and himself.


Naruto stood up as well and grabbed the towel from Itachi and wrapped it around his waist. "Be careful around your stomach when you dry off. I'll put some antibacterial cream on it for you once we get into the bedroom."

Itachi winced but nodded as the usually soft towel felt like sandpaper near his new tattoo and was thankful for the warning. He didn’t even want to think about how much actually touching the raw flesh would hurt. Itachi dried off the rest of his body and left his tattoo to air dry.

Naruto led the way to the bedroom and stopped off in the hallway where the medicines were kept. He grabbed a small tube of Benadryl and continued on his way.

Once he was in the bedroom, he turned to Itachi once more. "Go ahead and get comfortable Princess. I'm going to go check on your brother."

Itachi nodded and looked for a nice place to sprawl out belly up where the air would make his stomach cool and dry until Naruto got back.

The blond made his way out of the room once more and into the living room where he saw his little Kitty catching up on some work. He quietly made his way over to the younger man and gently wrapped his arms around Sasuke's neck from behind the couch. "How's my gorgeous Kitty doing?"

Sasuke firmly sat on his irritation over having the singularly annoying task of balancing the bank statements and carefully set the innocent looking papers on his lap before giving his blond master’s arms a little squeeze. “Bored, but otherwise alright. I caught one bank error already." Sasuke knew that wasn’t what Naruto probably wanted to know, but he couldn’t say that he'd rather be having sex on his brother’s ownership day, that would be tacky in the extreme.

Naruto went around the couch to sit next to his sub and pulled the younger man in so his head was resting on the blonde's shoulder. "I know you probably feel left out right now. But trust me, with the way your progressing you'll have a day like this very soon." He ran his fingers through Sasuke's hair and held him close. He really did love Sasuke so much.

Sasuke buried his nose and mouth into his master’s bare shoulder and stayed there breathing the freshly bathed scent mingled with something else; and felt safe. Now that the little raven took the time to notice such things, he realized that Naruto had always smelled like this, safe and reliable. Strange that he'd never noticed that before. "I know; I just wish it were now instead of later."

Naruto smiled and continued to run his fingers through jet black locks. "Don't worry, I love both you and your brother the same.... always remember that. Just because he completed his training doesn't mean that I suddenly love him more. But my love is always growing for both of you every single time I see you." He paused when he heard a cell phone ring. He looked on the coffee table and realized that it was his phone. Weird... maybe Kiba locked himself out again?

He let go of Sasuke and picked up the ringing device and pushed the talk button. "What's up Kiba?"

"Akamaru, I just washed him he doesn’t need a tongue bath too! Hey Naruto? We have to talk. Someone who knows you walked up to the apartment."

Naruto looked at his phone strangely... "Who?"

"Sai." Kiba scratched his head as he watched the little man actually play with Akamaru like the two had been together for longer than an hour. This was some kind of weird. "I was thinking I’ll keep him here until you get some time tomorrow so he can tell you the story about Madara."

Naruto felt the blood drain from his veins at the mention of that man. "Madara? What's he done to him? No, hang on I'll be right over."

Sasuke looked up from his continued work and didn't really know what to make of Naruto's statement. The man was really going to leave right in the middle of his special day with Itachi?

The blond hung up and raced into the bedroom. He started to grab clothes from the closet that he always kept there and began to throw them on in a hurry.

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"Kiba blinked at the phone as it droned the lost connection into the empty air of the kitchen before being silenced by the brown haired man. Might as well get Sai clothed and ready for Naruto's arrival.

The older man walked into the living room where Sai was busy petting a sleeping Akamaru. "Naruto said he's going to be right over so I guess I need to get you dressed in something.”

Sai looked up, then back down and nodded. "Thank you, but I don't have anything but what I came in and I don't want to impose."

"Don’t worry about it. It's so damn quiet here with that dumbass sleeping over at the Uchiha's most nights that it'll be nice to have some company." Kiba beckoned Sai and walked into his bedroom where he kept his extra clothes, the ones that were still good but weren't worn for whatever reason. The little slave was probably going to have a fit entering another Dom’s room, but it wasn’t as though he was Kiba's slave.

Sai slowly made his way into the room. He was cautious but still did it since Kiba asked him to. He kneeled on the floor once more and waited for Kiba to speak to him again.

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Naruto finished zipping up his jeans and went over to the bed. "I'm so sorry Princess; but Kiba just called and apparently Sai ran away and is at the apartment. I need to go over there and see what's going on; but I promise I'll be right back ok?"

Itachi turned confused eyes on his master but said nothing; it wasn’t his place to criticize his beloved master even if he was hurting inside about the choice. Sai would always be Naruto's soft spot and nothing could change that. "Will you come back soon?"

Naruto wrapped his arms around his Princess and pulled the older man closer to him. "Of course I will. It is our day to be together after all. I just need to see if he's alright... I love you."

"I love you too, Master." Itachi closed his eyes and prepared for the hardest wait in his life while his stomach told him stories of irritation starting with his tattoo. He tried not to let the lump in his throat take over and held back the clenching of his chest. He wouldn’t cry over this, it wasn’t like his master was leaving him forever or anything.

Naruto felt his heart clench at the disappointed look on Itachi's features, but he really couldn't just leave it alone. He decided to at least make Itachi feel a bit more comfortable.

He unscrewed the cap to the ointment he brought with him and squeezed a bit out onto his fingers. He warmed it up a bit before gently rubbing it onto the red area of his slave's skin where the tattoo was.

Itachi moaned gratefully as the ointment smoothed away the burning pain and tried to hold still long enough for his master to finish before giving his loving blond a kiss.

Naruto smiled as he kissed his raven back. He then stood up and put on his jacket. "I'll be back really soon; don't fall asleep, I have lots more for you when I get back."

"Yes Master."

Sasuke looked up as Naruto walked quickly into the living room and toward the door to his car. What was it about this Sai person that made Naruto act like a clingy girl? "So you’re just going to leave?"

Naruto stopped in the doorway and turned around. "I'm sorry Kitty, I have to do this. Sai might be hurt..." He didn't know what else to tell Sasuke. He knew the boy was likely to be upset, but there was really nothing that could change his mind.

"Today is for my brother, Can't Sai wait until the morning?"


Naruto sighed and looked at his youngest sub. "Itachi already knows... I'm going to be coming right back once I make sure that Sai's ok and to find out what happened. You really don't have a say in the matter." He was starting to get a bit frustrated... he wanted more than anything to be with Itachi right now, but he still cared deeply for Sai and the sooner he got over there, the sooner he could get back to his Kitty and Princess.

Without another word, he left the condo, not knowing in the least how badly the younger Uchiha would be affected.

TBC
Next chapter will be an emotional rollercoaster for our poor Sasu… It’ll be coming soon!!!!!
Review my loves XD