Bloodlines

Warnings: Language and yaoi. You know the drill.

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor do I make money from this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Trees flashed by in a colorful blur of green and brown as the truck moved down the Kentucky highway. The road stretched on for miles ahead of them, vanishing into a thin little dot on the horizon where blue sky met with black asphalt road.

The trucks passengers were silent as the vehicle continued on its way. In the back seat, two jockeys sat, exhausted from the previous day. One with red hair had closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, waiting for sleep to overtake him. The other with blond hair was resting his head against the cool glass window, taking in the scenery as it flew by, quietly listening to music from his iPod.

'Yeah with all of these men lining up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy

''Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy' (1)

His eyes started to droop, and he turned the volume down so he would not kill his hearing. Once it was at the setting he wanted, he allowed his eyes to fully close, letting sleep overcome him.

Next to him, the redheaded jockey had finally drifted to sleep as well. Only problem was, when he slept, he tended to twitch. A lot.

‘“Its Uzumaki coming down the stretch, winning this race by a length!” an announcer yelled out over the speaker. He turned Kyuubi around and brought him back to the winner’s circle where the track officials were waiting with a silver trophy with a horse on the top and some roses.

He flashed them a grin as pictures were taken, of him accepting the trophy and holding it up in victory. It was a perfect day, and nothing could make it better; nothing that is but some ramen.

Once Kyuubi was cooled down, and everyone was changed, they headed to the jockey’s room where a party was starting. He entered the room and knew instantly he had gone to Heaven. Ramen was everywhere.

Now his day was perfect.

After grabbing a bowl and sitting down on a sofa, he started to devour the soup, wondering what other flavors they had when his day suddenly took a turn; as the one person he didn’t want to see, entered the room.

He snorted and went back to his ramen, ignoring the bastard. However, the other jockey had already noticed him and was walking over.

“What?” he asked as he slurped the rest of the broth, “Mad that I beat you?”

The only answer the other jockey gave was a hard kick to his upper thigh, causing Naruto to spill the rest of his ramen as he grabbed at his thigh.

Naruto let out a scream, “Bastard!”’

Naruto woke up with a start as he felt the air leave his mouth. In the front seat, Sakura had turned around to look at him and give him a questioning look.

“My ramen.” Naruto cried.

“What?” Sakura asked

“The bastard kicked me!” He yelled at her.

“I’m sure he didn’t mean to.”

The jockey snorted, “You’re just saying that ‘cause you think he’s cute.”

Sakura raised her eyebrow at the blonde-haired person.

Gaara stirred as the commotion in the truck became louder and finally looked at Naruto, "It was just as accident Naruto. You know what happens when I try to sleep in a small space."

Naruto blinked at Gaara for a second, and then looked back at Sakura, “Don’t ask. It was just a dream.”

She shook her head, “I’m not going to ask,” she answered.

“So, now I’m a bastard?” Gaara asked; the smallest bit of smile on his face.

“No, not you.” The blond answered quickly, “Just the person in my dream who made me spill my ramen. It was so good.”

Gaara simply shook his head and leaned his head back, and once again, the truck was silent.

Outside the truck, a sign flashed by and Naruto let out a sigh, they still had an hour to go before they were home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn’t that he was afraid of flying; he just disliked it with a passion. The airplane stewards batting their eyelashes at him and trying hard to get his attention; it was just plain annoying.

Not only that, but there was always someone who had a small child on board that insisted on crying; and never shutting up. Then there was also that kid who kept kicking the back of your chair for the whole ride, and you couldn’t do anything to stop him.

To put it simple; flying was a pain in the ass.

Besides him, his brother removed the headphones from his ears and leaned over, “Why so tense little brother? I thought you got over your fear of flying years ago.”

Sasuke gritted his teeth, “I’m not scared of flying, and I never have been. It’s just annoying to me, that’s all. And I want to strangle that child crying back there.”

Itachi glanced back at the main cabin where the child could be briefly heard crying, “You shouldn’t have forgotten you earplugs then.”

He leaned back against the seat and placed the headphones back into his ears, foot tapping slightly to the music he was listening to.

Sasuke drummed his fingers on the top of his armrest for a while before finally turning to his brother, “Care to explain to me what is so special about the idiot jockey that you invited over today?” he asked,
“As jockey, and family, I think I have a right to know.”

His brother shook his head and pointed to his headphones, “I can’t hear you right now.”
“So take them off.”

“What?”

Sasuke blew out a sigh of annoyance, “Never mind.”

He glanced out the window and down at the clouds below, briefly wondering if he could toss his brother out the window.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours and a slight headache later, they touched down in Kentucky. He ended up napping halfway through the flight and woke up to a sharp stinging sensation on his forehead.

“What the hell?” he asked as they taxied to the gate and he rubbed his forehead.

“Consider that your wake up call.” Was the answer.

“I hate you.” And Itachi smirked slightly.

After picking up their bags at baggage claim, they headed outside to the parking lot where the game of ‘Find your Car’ began. A few moments later, their car was located and they were on their way back to their Estates where Sasuke was planning to take Sanis for a ride around the complex for a while. She hadn't been exercised in a week or so and he wanted to make sure that she hadn’t forgotten her training.
It had been a side project of his to try to retrain her out of her racing ways and into a trail horse.

He leaned his head back and scowled when he remembered that he still had schoolwork to do. Next week was mid-terms and then he was off for Spring Break, and during that week, his father would be out on business overseas, and his mother was going on a trip of her own. Meaning he would be alone with his brother. For the entire week.

Damn.

When they arrived home, Sasuke stepped out of the car and grabbed his bags from the trunk, ready to head to the stables when a soft voice stopped him

“Don't forget that we have company coming over later, Sasuke.”

He scowled; he had been trying to forget.

“Don't hold your breath; that idiot blond will get lost coming here.” Sasuke replied and walked into the house.

He made it to his room and dropped his bags on the floor, before proceeding to change into some riding clothes. He had always found riding as a way to get away from everything, and give him a chance to relax. After he finished pulling on his boots he headed back outside and moved towards the barn, where behind the buildings, the sun was getting ready to set.

Sasuke found Sanis in a pasture with the rest of the mares and called her over. Delicate ears perked and she trotted over where she lipped at his pocket, asking for some carrot that he had tucked away. He pulled some out, let her eat while he slipped a halter over her head and led her back towards the barn.

“Sasuke, do you want Sanis saddled?” A groom called as he walked by.

The raven shook his head, “I'm good.” he answered.

Even though he had Ino groom Madara and Tobi for racing, he always took care of Sanis himself, knowing that it was the best way for her to learn that she needed to listen to him. And he did enjoy taking care of her; he wasn't a stuck up prick all the time.

Once she was groomed and saddled, he led her out to the trails.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“Are we there yet?” Naruto whined from the backseat of the truck.

“Brat,” Jiraiya said warningly. “You know that annoys me, besides we're almost there if you would just look around.”

Naruto grinned, “I know, I just wanted to say it, that's all.”

Outside the truck, newly blooming trees lined both sides of the black paved road, and black fences surrounded tree filled property. The trees slowly began to thin out and then eventually vanished as green grass pastures over took the scenery.

They pulled onto the gravel driveway and two large white barns were visible to the left, blocked only slightly by some blooming trees. Their operation was still fairly new and needed to expand more, but things needed to be taken at a slow pace. If they expanded to fast and bought new horses too quickly; debts could pile up and never be paid off. Resulting in them closing Eclipse Estates.

Naruto grimaced at the thought of closing the Estates down. He didn't want to lose Kyuubi or Shukaku. He had raised Kyuubi from a small colt and parting with him wouldn't be easy. Besides, it took a long time to get the farm where it stood today and he refused to rid under any other colors.

The truck came to a stop in front of the barn that housed the stallions and in the trailer behind them, Kyuubi let out a loud whinny. Naruto let out a smile as he climbed out of the truck and headed back towards the trailer where he could hear the two horses shifting around.

“Alright you two just give us a moment.” He said

Gaara came up next to him and opened the trailer doors, entering carefully. Even though the horses were calm most of the time, they were still high strung and excited to be back home, and could accidentally injury one of them.

A few moments later, Shukaku backed out of the trailer, dancing on the end of his lead line. Gaara's face was calm, but Naruto could see the amusement in his green eyes. Inside the trailer, Kyuubi kicked at the floor, and the blond slipped inside.

He grabbed his halter and slipped it over the chestnuts head, talking quietly to him, making sure he stayed calm. Kyuubi's ears twitched back and forth, as he listened, then backed out as Naruto guided him from the front.

Once his hooves were on the graveled ground, he tossed his head up proudly and looked around the pasture, as if expecting some sort of welcome back committee for doing so well at the track. After his inspection, he snorted and yanked his head over to the pasture, wanting a good roll in the grass.

Naruto led him to his pasture and took the halter off, giving him a slight slap on the shoulder. Kyuubi turned his head towards him, eying him. The jockey let out a laugh, reached into his jacket, and pulled out some apple slices.

“You are a spoiled brat.” He said but gave him the slices.

After the horses were settled, he headed back towards the trailer to help unload when a familiar voice called his name.
He turned around, a smile appearing on his face, and he attacked the person who called his name. “You missed a great race, Iruka." he said, "You should have been there.”

“I saw the race on TV, Naruto. Besides, I was able to take care of some business here while you guys were gone.”

Iruka owned Eclipse Estates and was responsible for the finances and business sides of the farm. His parents owned the farm when he was younger, and he raced for the farm for a while before his mother had fallen sick. After that, he helped his father run the farm by taking care of the money issues while his father dealt with the racing aspect.

When his father died, he had left Iruka with the farm, and Iruka continued to run the farm with the help of a family friend.

“Ah...” Naruto started and rocked back and forth on his heels like a young child, catching Iruka's eye, “I have a favor to ask of you about that business stuff.”

Behind Naruto, the others continued to work, though trying to listen discreetly. The white haired trainer could already guess what the Uchiha wanted from their farm. They had valuable animals, but anyone with eyes could see the affection between the horses and Naruto. If the Uchiha wanted Kyuubi, he would have to take Naruto as well.

That could mean trouble for the farm.

“I met with Uchiha Itachi yesterday at the track after my race.” Naruto started, “He wants me to come by and see their facilities later today.”

Iruka was quiet for a while, brown eyes studying bright blue eyes before answering, “Well, if you accepted his invitation, you should go.”

“That's the problem, Iruka.” Naruto huffed, “I don't want to go alone. If Sakura comes, she'll just be swooning over that Sasuke bastard, leaving me to Itachi.”

There was a loud cry from behind him, and Sakura chunked a brush at Naruto head. He let out a yelp as it connected with his head then rubbed the small bump. “Anyway,” he said, “I want you to come with us, so that way, if anything tricky comes out, I won't fall victim to a loop hole. I don't want to lose anything.”

The group at the trailer let out a sigh of relief. Even though the blond acted as though he didn't have a clue, he was smarter than he let on. He knew that Itachi was up to something and having the owner of the farm present at the time would help Itachi keep his hands to himself.

Iruka nodded that he would go, causing Naruto to grin and hug the older man, “Thanks Iruka.” He pulled back, “Now, how 'bout some ramen? I had the best dream with some ramen in it and now I'm hungry.”

Iruka rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but give into Naruto's blue puppy eyes. Damn those ramen-begging eyes.

“Fine.”

Naruto let out a happy cry, only to be grabbed by the back of his shirt. He glanced up into Sakura's face, noticing the pulsing vein. “Do-Don't worry Sakura,” he stammered, “I'll help unload the trailer before I leave.”

Her face broke out into a smile, “Great.” She then looked up at Iruka, “We'll be right up.”

A few minutes later, the small group entered the bunkhouse and a very impatient blond whined for his ramen. He was happy to find a bowl waiting for him at the table, where everyone sat down and began to eat. Gaara declined the salty noodles however and said that he was going to shower, then vanished into the back hallway where stairs lead to the bedrooms.

The bunkhouse had been built off the original house years ago, when Iruka was still young and housed the full time grooms and trainers. Both Sakura and Jiraiya lived at home, living only a few minutes down the road from the Estates, while Gaara and Naruto stayed in the bunkhouse with a few of the other grooms and exercise riders that helped Sakura from time to time when she couldn't make it to the track or was busy with schoolwork.

After finishing eating, Naruto thanked Iruka and went upstairs to shower as well, knowing that he couldn't avoid the meeting with the Uchiha. Even if he didn't like it and didn't want to go, he was anything but rude. God forbid him being late to a meeting or even skipping one. His father would kill him.

He straightened at the thought and looked around, as if checking to see if he was somewhere in the house, but he shook his head. That would be impossible. He let out a grunt and continued to the bathroom so he could shower, knowing it would help clear his mind.

It didn't take long for the blond to shower and get dressed in some new clothes that looked presentable, and for added measure, he slipped on his black and orange jacket with the words ‘Eclipse Estates’ embroidered on the front. He messed with his hair for a moment, before deciding that it was helpless to make it look decent, and then tromped downstairs.

Gaara was waiting for him with a stubborn look in his eyes that said he was going and there was no way Naruto could convince him otherwise. So they both left the bunkhouse and wondered over to Iruka who was looking over a mare.

The brunette looked up and smiled, “Ready to go?”

Naruto nodded, “Let's get this done with.”

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The trip to the Uchiha estates was quick, proving that Itachi was right about them finding it quickly. It was borderline with their own property, separated only by a wide creek. They drove down the long driveway and stopped in front of the large barns and Naruto felt slightly awed by looking at the facilities.

Door's slammed behind him as Gaara and Sakura joined him. Sakura had been waiting in the truck when the climbed in, and insisted that she was coming. As backup, she insisted. She had to endure two minutes of Naruto’s teasing her about her like for Sasuke, before she knocked him in the head, creating a large bump.

They stood silently next to him as Iruka came up and glanced at the facilities. From one of the barns two figures walked out and headed in their direction. One had short, messy, brown hair while the other had blond hair that covered her face.

“Mr. Uchiha told us to expect you,” the one with blond hair said and extended her hand, “I'm Ino Yamanaka, one of the grooms here at the Estates. And this is Kiba Inuzuka; he's one of apprentice jockey's.”

“Not for long though,” Kiba interrupted, “I just need a few more races before I drop the bug on my license.” (2)

“Still lagging behind as always, eh, dog breath?” Naruto asked

“Shut up fox face.” Kiba snapped, “Just because I wanted to wait for a year before I tried doesn't mean that you're better than me.”

Sakura looked at the two boys arguing, “How do you two know each other?” She asked.

“We went to high school together.” Naruto answered, “I had started training to ride a few years before he did. He just copied me all the time, couldn't stand me being better.”

He let out a yelp as Kiba tackled him to the ground and soon they were rolling around in the dirt, wrestling as they used to in high school. Sakura and Ino shook their heads, “Boys.” They said.

Their fight didn't last long as a shadow fell over them, and a quiet voice spoke, “What's going on here?”

Fist stopped in midair as they glanced up to see black eyes gazing quietly at them and lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Mr. Uchiha.” Kiba gasped and quickly stood, brushing the dirt off his clothes.

“I told you we had guest coming today and to treat them with respect.” Itachi said, “I see we have different views of respect Inuzuka.”

“It wasn't his fault, Mr. Uchiha.” Naruto said, quickly butting in. Even though Kiba rode with a different stable, they were still good friends through thick and thin, and he knew that the brunette had worked hard to get his job. The last thing he wanted was for Kiba to lose his job because of him.

“We've known each other for a long time and we used to wrestle a lot when we were younger.” He laughed, “Old habits must die hard.”

Itachi brushed off the remark and looked at Kiba; “We'll talk about your punishment later.” He turned to look at Naruto, “Mr. Uzumaki, you brought some friends.”

Naruto stared at him for a moment before snapping out of his glare at being ignored, “Yes, this is Iruka Umino, owner of Eclipse Estates. You've met Sakura, one of our grooms, and this is Gaara, our apprentice jockey.”

Itachi nodded and held out his hand towards Iruka, “Mr. Umino, it's pleasure to have you here.”

Iruka gripped Itachi's hand, “Thank you for having us here, Mr. Uchiha, you have a nice place.”

There was a brief silence and before Itachi could answer, he heard his name being called from inside the stables. They turned to see an older man with silver hair coming out onto the yard and Itachi suppressed a sigh.

“Excuse me; I have some matters to attend to. Ino can give show you around in my absence.”

He turned and stalked towards the trainer and glared at him, but his glare was evenly meet, and they vanished inside the last barn.

Ino smiled at them, “Okay then. Welcome to Uchiha Estates, my name is Ino and I will be your tour guide. The Estates was founded by Uchiha Fugaku and has been running for the past few years under his eldest son, Itachi. Now if you will walk this way, I'll show you the training barn.”

They followed her into the first barn, where the horses that were in training for the track draped their heads out of the stalls to greet the newcomers. Whinnies echoed down the clean aisle way as they asked for dinner and grooms moved by them with buckets in hand, while other horses were being let out to the pasture for the night.

Naruto counted eleven Thoroughbreds’ in their stalls alone and he stared in awe at the ones that were being led outside. He had to admit that the Uchiha’s had an eye from quality and their horses were beautifully built. Almost all had the wide chest, long straight legs, and powerful hindquarters that allowed the horses to carry themselves across the track. And he was sure that their lineage was exceptional as well.

“Alright, our next barn is the foaling barn; it houses our mares and the horses that aren't in training at the moment for whatever reason.” Ino said as she led them into the second barn where a mare was being brought out, followed closely by a young foal.

The last barn was the stallions’ barn where some of the older stallions stayed after being retired and put to stud. Naruto walked down the aisle way, looking into some of the stalls and admiring the horses, when one caught his eye.

“I remember you.” He said and glanced at the name, “You were the one that Sasuke was riding yesterday.” He bit back the rest of his comment, not trusting himself to continue talking, unless he wanted to get in trouble again.

Instead, he moved away from the stall and looked at some of the other stallions that were eating or resting. He continued through the stables and found himself back outside when a voice stopped him.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Naruto cringed and turned around, hoping it was all just a bad dream like earlier.

Wrong.

Even in the darkening sky, Naruto could make out the dark eyes that glared down at him on top of a light grey Thoroughbred.

‘Don't say anything stupid, don't say anything stupid.’

“Your brother asked me to come by, remember?” Naruto said politely

Sasuke dismounted and took a step closer, “I would have figured you gotten lost, or maybe your tiny little brain would have forgotten to come.”

‘Fuck this.’

Naruto took a step forward and for a second Sasuke wondered if he had gone too far, but the blond simple allowed Sanis to sniff at his hand before reaching up to rub in between her ears, and she pushed against him in content.

‘Traitor.’ Sasuke thought.

“I've never seen this mare at the track before.” Naruto said.

“She's retired after pulling a tendon. My parents gave her to me after I received my jockey's license, and I'm retraining her.” Sasuke answered trying to have some self-control.

“I feel bad for you.” A soft voice said, and Sasuke looked over at Naruto who was still rubbing Sanis, “You're so nice, yet you can't do what you want because everyone expects something else from you.”

Sasuke felt his heart speed up surely he hadn't...

“And you're so attractive, from your long legs and broad chest, to your black silken hair and dark eyes. You're forced to run every day, never getting the chance to be free, always forced to live up to someone else’s expectations and never your own. All because you have the biggest, duck butt, bastard on your back, named Sasuke.”

The sound of self-control snapping can be very loud in one's mind.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi strolled across the lush grass after finishing his meeting with Kakashi who had been concerned about one of the horses. Now he could finally put his plan into action. He had to admit that he was slightly disappointed that Naruto had brought the stables owner with him, this threw in a small twist to his plan, but it wouldn't effect the outcome.

He wondered how far along Ino was with her tour of the farm and where the blond jockey was at the moment. Black eyes noted that his brother was back from his ride, talking to said jockey. Then they watched the most amusing sight of Sasuke launching himself at the blond.

Interesting.

“Father will be most displeased to see you acting like this, little brother.” He said when as he approached them.

Sasuke glanced up at his brother and then looked down at the blond he was straddling. He was still holding Naruto's collar and he felt the blond's nails digging into his other wrist as he tried to pull him off. The raven let go of the collar and Naruto's head hit the ground, making him curse at the other jockey.

They both stood up and looked at Itachi who's face was blank, leaving plenty of room for speculating what was on his mind. “Sasuke, go untack Sanis and we'll talk later. Mr. Uzumaki if you will come with me to my office please.”

Sasuke felt a smirk tug at his lips as the blond followed after Itachi. If this didn't deter his brother from working with Eclipse Estates, he didn't know what would. He led Sanis into the second barn and waved a groom over.

“Take care of her for me today; I have something I need to do.”

The groom nodded and Sasuke slipped off.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was nervous. This was the second time Itachi had caught him fighting, this time it was with his own brother though. What if wanted to sue the Estates for bodily damage. Shit. They didn't have that much money. He could claim self-defense though since Sasuke attacked him first.

He was jarred from his thoughts at the sound of a door being shut behind him, and he realized he was in Itachi's office. Itachi gestured for him to sit as he sat down behind a desk covered in papers and Naruto swallowed as he took a seat.

“Not many people would try to take on a second fight after being caught on the first fight; that takes courage, or stupidity.” Itachi said, still ignoring Naruto's sputtering, “It's the same way when you race.”

The comment stopped the jockey from talking and wondered where Itachi was planning to take the conversation. He was pretty sure that the older Uchiha wanted him to ride for their farm but that would mean bringing Kyuubi as well, and leaving Eclipse Estates without a fully license jockey.

And he wouldn't do that to them.

“I don't like to drag things out Mr. Uzumaki." The raven continued, “I would like to offer you a position riding for our stables.”

Naruto sucked in a deep breath, this was what he feared, and he valued his career but he refused to back out on Iruka and Gaara.

“I'm sorry Mr. Uchiha, but I'm under contract for Eclipse Estates.”

Itachi waved his hand, “Details, we have lawyers who can easily transfer you over if it came down to it.”

The blond shook his head, “I appreciate the offer; I really do. But Iruka has given me so much and if I leave, the stables won't have a jockey. And I like it where I am. Besides I couldn't leave Kyuubi.”

Black eyes regarded him calmly and Naruto held the gaze. Itachi had figured this would happen, and it proved to be a nice challenge that he would enjoy, but he needed to play out his pieces just right. And luckily, several had already been dropped into place earlier that day.

“I understand.”

“Look I-” Naruto stopped and looked at the calm face, “You do?”

The raven nodded, “Loyalty to the colors you race, Mr. Umino is very lucky to have you for a jockey. You have a lot of talent, and perhaps if we happen to be shorthanded one day you could ride for us. Temporary of course.”

“Thanks. And sure, I could help out, as long as I'm not in that race too.” He added.

The Uchiha stood up, “We'll keep in touch then, Naruto.” He held out his hand.

Naruto leaned forward and shook it, “Thank you for the tour, you have very nice facilities. And I look forward to racing against your brother again.”

They let go and Naruto let himself out of the office then went off to find Iruka and the others. Itachi walked outside the office and closed the door. He leaned against it for a while with his eyes closed before he spoke.

“I know you're hiding there Sasuke, you might as well come out.”

It was silent for a while before the raven appeared in front of his brother with hay sticking out of the black hair.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It hadn't taken Sasuke long to make it back to his brothers office once the grooms had taken Sanis from him. He had several hiding spots that he had acquired over the years of eavesdropping; allowing him access to news that normally would have taken days for his brother or father to tell him.

He was fairly certain that Itachi had wanted to offer him a chance to race under the Uchiha colors, but after getting into a fight with the owners son, Itachi would more than likely turn him away. It would make his day even better if his brother told the blonde-haired jockey to stay away all together.

After settling into a spot above the stalls, Sasuke crept over to wall that outlined Itachi's office walls. He listened closely and was shocked to find out that the other boy had been in another fight earlier and Itachi didn't care.

Instead, Itachi seemed to agree with the rash behavior, comparing it to his racing style.

Then of course the dreaded question came up and Sasuke had never been happier with the blond when he turned the offer down. Even at the threat of him losing his career, he still chose to place his stables first.

Impressive.

He had to admit that he was amazed. In a sport where jockeys were traded around constantly, a bad comment from an owner or trainer from a respectable source could mean the end of their career, and even the stables he rode for if it came down to the stables owner as well. (3)

However, his respect turned to disgust again when the blond agreed to help out if the stables needed it. Not that they should ever be so low on jockeys that they would have to turn to some second-rate jockey for help.

After Naruto left, he hung back in the shadows waiting for his brother to leave when Itachi had called him out. He wondered if he stayed still long enough the other Uchiha would leave, but he seemed content on waiting so he gave up and climbed back down to the concrete floor.

Sasuke glanced at him, even though it was hard to pick out his brother in the dark lighting. He couldn't tell if he was mad or just tired from the flight and having to deal with him.

“You didn't do anything to the idiot.” Sasuke said after a moment of silence.

“He wasn't the one that started the fight. If I remember correctly, you jumped him first.”

The younger raven snorted, “But to still offer him a position. I can't see what's so great about him. He only beat me once.”

Itachi's voice was soft when he answered, “Sasuke, trust me on this one.”

“Hn.”

Itachi smirked, “Anyway, I think the best thing to do right now is for you to apologize to Mr. Uzumaki for jumping him. Tomorrow afternoon will be a good time.”

Sasuke stared at his brother, surely, he wasn't serious.

“If you keep staring at me like that your eyes are going to fall out.” Itachi said.

“You can't make me.” Sasuke said with the standard come back.

There was a pregnant pause before an evil smile spread across Itachi's face. “I think I can Sasuke. I know a certain word that's going to let me get onto a certain web page and make your profile available to everyone.”

“Yo-You don't know my password.” Sasuke sputtered. “You're bluffing.”

Itachi chuckled deeply and walked away, “It's the same as all the others, Sasuke.”

He walked off a few steps before a single word caused Sasuke to straighten, “Tomato.”

And with that, he left Sasuke to his fuming and the sound of a fist hitting the wooden stall door echoed throughout the stables. He let himself laugh as he walked out into the cool night, sending the grooms hiding as he walked by them.

All according to plan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(1) Song by Brad Paisley, 'I'm Still a Guy', from the CD 5th Gear. It's the very end of the song, and I just thought it was funny and seemed Naruto-like.

(2) When a jockey gets their licenses, they have a small asterisk (*) next to their name, signifying that they're an apprentice jockey, and it's sometimes called a bug. They drop the bug after they've raced in a certain amount of races and proved to the track stewards they can handle the horses safely.

(3) I'm not too sure about this one, but it seems possible, and I've read some accounts on this happening before.