? Nushi

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The two days until Itachi was to return passed almost torturously slowly for Naruto. Even with the guests coming, the preparations still needing to be done were few, and done quickly. At the moment the only Uchiha remaining in the house was Sasuke, and while they were technically also bound to serve Kakashi while he was there, as he was a teacher to the little Uchiha, and thus worthy of respect, to say that the man was low maintenance was an understatement. Sasuke was distracted in his lessons without his brother around, so Kakashi took the older boy's absence as a chance to take some time off. He spent as much time outside of the mansion as was possible, leaving Sasuke to wonder around the complex alone.

Sasuke, for his part, seemed to be avoiding Sakura as much as was humanly possible, which both annoyed Naruto and amused him. He found it a bit ridiculous that the beautiful girl would continue chasing after the seemingly cold and distant Uchiha, even when he only acknowledged her existence in the act of avoiding her. He made the mistake of bringing up the humor of this in conversation while helping her to hang up laundry the day before his master was to return. He walked with a slight limp for the rest of the day, one eye pretty much swelled shut.

He spent the rest of the day that day in the kitchen, complaining to Raidou, who just laughed and put him to work making onigiri for the next day. He explained that this was just how the household worked, weird as it may seem. It had never been any other way, not for a long time anyways. That didn't stop Naruto from sulking around though, convinced that he had in fact been completely and totally right, not that that fact mattered anymore, but that wasn't the point.

Naruto was truly surprised when Sasuke came to him the next afternoon, the day that Itachi would be returning, and requested that he help the Uchiha get ready for it. The steel in Sasuke's voice though, let Naruto know that, request though it may be, he could not refuse, at least not without some form of serious retribution being rained down upon him. He'd followed the young Uchiha out, he wasn't stupid.

Sasuke's room was a room down from Itachi's, and Naruto was surprised he hadn't figured that out sooner. It had the same round window at one end, looking into the garden, but the screens were closed, muting the light, casting the shadows of the lush garden on the other side into sharp silhouette on the surface. Sasuke went straight for the closet, big enough for him to walk into it. He grabbed two hangers from it's depths, holding them both out in front of him.

"Which one looks better?" Sasuke managed to make the question sound an awful lot like a demand. Naruto studied them both carefully. They were both Yukatas, one a pale blue, with a simplified pattern of fish swimming upstream along the bottom, the other was darker blue, almost black, with a small, complex pattern of twisting dots and commas ringing the sleeves and the bottom, a simplified version winding around the edge of the neck, and down both sides of the opening in the front. Naruto pointed to the darker one.

"I think that one would look a lot nicer, it would bring out the tone of your skin, and accentuate your hair, it's almost blue when the light hits it. That is, of course, only my opinion, they would both look perfect on you, Sasuke-san." He bowed a little, his head inclining but his back not really curving much. Sasuke looked like he was thinking.

"Alright, put the other one back for me, and get some pants from the dresser, middle drawer. I have to go bathe now, I will return and expect your help. Stay here." The command was curt and cold, and with that Sasuke really did leave.

Naruto felt uncomfortable in the boy's room alone, not sure how to act around him. He glanced at a small cluster of pictures on the surface of the dresser, recognizing Sasuke in most of them, and a younger version of Itachi-san as well. It made him smile to see his new master like that. He shook his head, knowing it wasn't his place to look through his master's family's things. He pulled out a pair of black pants, meant to fit loosely and comfortably, laying them across the bed before turning to stare iddly at the screen behind it.

It surprised him when Sasuke returned, slamming the screen open, a chattering Sakura following closely behind him. Naruto felt like laughing, but his awkwardness took him over when he took in the Uchiha. The boy was wet, his hair dripping water into his shoulders, the little droplets sliding down his porcelain skin, and he wore nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist with an open plain black yukata thrown over it. Sakura smiled at him as he stepped inside, and the boy just glared at the floor in front of him. He interrupted her swiftly.

"Sakura, I have to get ready now. Why don't you find something else to entertain you, after all I know Itachi doesn't pay you to annoy me. Not that his putting someone on payroll to do that in his abscence would surprise me much." The last part was muttered under his breath as he closed the screen behind a beaming Sakura, who was either oblivious or in denial about the insult he had just made to her. Sasuke seemed to notice Naruto's discomfort then, and smirked.

"Oi, idiot. Come on and help me get ready." He paused for a second, locking eyes with Naruto's as they moved to look up into his, "Unless you're too busy staring..."

X

Naruto heard the crunch of car tires on gravel and he rushed to the door to stand beside Sakura. The afternoon had been long, spent almost entirely with the younger Uchiha, listening to him fuss, and helping him get ready. He honestly didn't understand where the four or so hours he spent in there had gone, Sasuke was a boy after all, and really shouldn't need that much time to get ready. Honestly, Sasuke had spent more time fussing over his hair than Naruto had ever seen any other person, male or female, spend in his entire life, and he had assisted a lot of finicky guests in his old life.

Still he had bit his tongue and helped the younger Uchiha, doing everything he was told, even if he did do a certain amount of standing politely behind him, giving honest, and sometimes not so honest, opinions about how something looked. Still, he had to admit that Sasuke looked good when he had left him a moment before, in the little traditional reception room by the dining room. There were so many rooms in this house, Naruto still got lost sometimes. He sighed.

He straightened though, when he heard the sound of a car door shutting, and quiet conversation outside. He stood still as Sakura opened the sliding screen in the doorway, his eyes trained on the ground. His breath froze in his throat though, when his Master halted in front of him. He looked up then, a smile on his face.

"Welcome home, Nushi." Itachi smiled at him, not bothering to introduce him to the guests who followed. Naruto didn't care though, if Itachi-danna wanted him to know the men he would tell Naruto. Right now Naruto just focused on leading them to the reception room, sliding back the screen and kneeling by it, waiting until everyone else had entered before going in himself, closing the sliding door behind him. He moved silently over to Itachi's side, kneeling down next to his master. He felt a small jump of joy in his stomach when the man raised one pale hand and ran it through his sunshine blond hair.

Naruto flushed slightly, leaning into the contact, his eyes fixed on the table in front of Itachi, waiting for any command given to him now. If he had looked up he might have seen the glare he was being shot by Sasuke from across the table. The darker boy was trying not to let his displeasure show on his face, but he was failing miserably.

X

Naruto had been nodding off slowly over the course of the last few hours. Itachi-danna and his guests had dined and retired to the living room, and had been talking for quite a while now. Naruto had rushed around at first, wanting to be as much help as possible until his Master had politely requested that he sit down and let the servants take care of the serving and clearing of dishes and the like. Naruto had blushed then, nodding as he sunk to the ground, kneeling on the tatami next to Itachi's cushion silently.

That was where he had nodded off, his head falling to Itachi's thigh where his Master's fingers still stroked through the boy's blond hair idly as they talked. He hadn't been awake to see his Master dismiss Sasuke, telling the youngest Uchiha that it was time for a serious grownup conversation, and he had slept through the subsequent glare trained first on Itachi for treating him like a little kid, and then on Naruto for getting to stay there, even though he'd fallen asleep like a child.

Naruto slept through everything really, only waking when Itachi shook his shoulder lightly, a small smile playing across the usually blank face, to inform the boy it was probably time for bed. Naruto smiled up at him sleepily, and stood. Itachi let him help showing the guests back to their rooms, but gave the boy instructions to come back as soon as he was done.

That led to Naruto's nervous rocking as he stood outside of the door to his Master's bedroom, knocking timidly on the paper screen. He heard the shifting of movement inside, and then a soft cascade of familiar laughter, which sent shivers down his spine.

"Enter" Itachi's voice was smooth, and Naruto could taste the small smile on his master's lips. He swallowed hard before pulling the door open, the screen sliding silently to one side in it's track, before stepping inside and closing it once more. He kept his eyes glued to the floor in front of him, out f respect. Itachi chuckled again.

"Naruto, look at me." The boy raised his eyes obediently, determined still to show his new Master he could be the perfect slave. The man still wore the clothing he had arrived in, a dark western style suit, well tailored and expensively simple. He drew in his breath in a little hiss, barely audible in the small room. Naruto smiled, as Itachi beckoned the boy over.

His steps were a little shaky, but he closed the distance quickly, waiting patiently before Itachi. He didn't have long to wait though, as the man reached out, taking hold of his hands and raising them to the buttons on the jacket. Naruto knew what to do from there, delicately undoing each one before sliding the dark fabric down the man's arms, over the crisp white of the well pressed shirt underneath, and off. He hung the garment reverently on the back of the chair sitting at the desk.

Naruto came back then, unsure as to what to do next. Itachi gave him no clues though, so he raised one had to tentatively touch the top button on the starched white shirt. Itachi nodded slightly and the boy striped that away as well, laying it across the seat of the chair before going back. He blushed, this time his hands falling immediately to the shiny leather belt his master wore, fumbling with the buckle a bit before getting it undone. It slid smoothly from the loops, and he set it aside as well, trying to focus on the task at hand.

His hands shook even more though, when they came to rest on the button on the front of the man's pants. He swallowed nervously, not sure if he was meant to continue. Before he could think of pulling back though, a larger, paler had covered his, halting it's progress. He swallowed hard, and let his face be turned up, so that his eyes locked with his Master's. The man smiled, his eyes half lidded and deep, like the depths of the ocean where light never intruded.

"Ssshhh, calm down. Just breath a little." The voice was smooth, deep, hypnotic, and Naruto did what he was told without a second though. He closed his eyes, feeling the skin of his Master's pale palm against his cheek, cool and reassuring. He leaned into the contact unconsciously.

He felt the air change around him and then there were smooth hot lips on his own, their pressure just enough to steal his breath, push him back a little, but not enough to shove and bruise. He sighed into the contact, letting those lips roam against his own, opening his mouth in small degrees until he felt the warm slide of Itachi's tongue over his bottom lip.

Then, just like that, the man had withdrawn again, leaving Naruto feeling vaguely empty, but also a lot more calm. He managed a smile as he returned to his task, popping the button quickly, and falling to his knees to pull them down, followed by the silk of the man's underwear. Naruto blushed again at the sight of Itachi's groin, revealed to him now, hard and damp in the low light.

Naruto covered his embarrassment by quickly busying himself gathering up the man's pants, now pooled before him on the floor, and carrying them the the chair, smoothing the wrinkles from the dark fabric before laying them over the back, on top of the coat. He took a deep breath, lingering to fiddle with the garment until he felt the heat in his cheeks cool a little.

"Naruto-kun, come back." Itachi's voice made him jump in the almost oppressive quiet of the bedroom. That was all it took for his heart to start racing again. Naruto swallowed hard, forcing himself to turn back around, focusing his attention on walking slowly but gracefully back to his master's side. Itachi smiled at him, the action feeling a bit hollow, guiding his face up so their eyes met again.

Naruto swallowed hard once again, his mind reeling with quick calculations. Suddenly he felt like he understood, the hand still stroking softly in his hair, the other one cupping his cheek softly. Naruto dropped to his knees then, parting his Master's legs gently. He calmed himself once again, focusing completely on the task at hand like it was the only thing he was made to do. In a way, it was. This was all about pleasing his Master in the end, and this would definitely fall under the category of "pleasure."

Naruto ignored the raised eyebrow Itachi shot him, raising one tanned hand to grip the man's half hard shaft around the base, liking the way the deep, sandy color of his skin was contrasted with the pale flush of the Uchiha's. He nuzzled his face into the man's thigh, reveling in the smooth feel of the skin there on his face. Carefully, he planted slow, open mouthed kisses on the flesh there, nipping it slightly then laving it with his warm tongue in apology, his hand working his Master's erection to full hardness, which didn't take long at all.

Naruto smiled when he felt the hand in his hair tighten a little, and decided it was time to move on. He pumped the shaft in his hand once again, slowly, before running his tongue over the tip. He suckled it gently, rolling it around on his tongue, mapping out the taste and texture in his head, focusing on every little detail. He felt his Master sigh quietly above him as he laved the shaft, coating it with saliva to cut the friction, his hand gliding more smoothly on the now slick surface.

He took the tip in his mouth again then, suckling around it, sliding it into his mouth, along the surface of his tongue, and then back out. He took as much of it as he could into his mouth then, slowly feeling out what his Master liked and disliked through a system of trial and error.

Still, it surprised him when Itachi came, the pale limbs going tight around him, the shaft in his mouth shivering and twitching slightly as it emptied itself into Naruto's throat. The boy coughed and sputtered a little, but remained remarkably in control really. He gave the softening shaft another quick lick, cleaning it off, before pulling back. It still left a glistening trail on his chin though.

Itachi smiled at him again, and it looked more real this time. Naruto was overcome then with the impulse to kiss the older boy on those dark and inviting lips once more, but he settled for pressing his lips against his Master's stomach instead, nuzzling the soft skin there with his face.

"You did well, Naruto-kun. Why don't you change into your bedclothes now, and we can get to sleep. Tomorrow will doubtless be a long day." Naruto nodded mutely, before turning to grab the nightshirt Itachi had given him. He felt the man's eyes on him as he stripped down, and the sensation sent shivers up his spine.

He remained silent though, changing as fast as he could, laying the yukata he had been wearing on the floor carefully. He rushed to the bed then, slipping in beside his Master with a comfortable sigh. Itachi just smirked before pulling the covers up over Naruto's shoulders, wrapping one arm around the boy to hold him close. That was the last thing Naruto remembered before sleep came.

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A/N: heres an update, hope you liked it. so ... Good? Bad? Ugly? Read, review and Let Me Know!! ^.^