This is an rp Daydreamer and I have finished and are finally getting around to edit to post. I hope you guys enjoy this!
~*~
Naruto Uzumaki pulled himself up from the grimy ground as the group of asshole teenagers walked away, laughing and patting each other on the back as if the treatment he had received was to be congratulated. The blond wiped the blood from his mouth as he sat up and leaned against the brick wall behind him. Damn, it hurt this time. An exhausted breath escaped his lips as he pulled a battered cell phone out of his pocket. It took most of the energy he had left just to skim through the contacts to find the familiar number.
He didn’t want to make the call. He would have been satisfied staying in the dark alley until daybreak. His bloody fingers didn’t help as he tried to call one person he knew would pick him up. His friends had pretty much ditched him. Well, he could not blame them. They had tried to be supportive, but that only lasted so long. In the end, they could not understand what he was going through and slowly trickled away.
The battered blond could hear the chiding voice in his head as the phone continued to ring. Maybe his only form of salvation had finally threatened to not pick up the phone anymore. But the phone was finally picked up and a sleepy voice filled his ear.
“Do you realize what time it is?” purred Itachi Uchiha into Naruto’s ear. “I may love you, but I can still kick your ass the next time I see you.”
When only silence and a weak cough greeted his ear, the faux annoyance faded and concern tinged the sound of his voice. “Naruto? Has something happened? Are you sick? Where are you?”
“Just got my ass kicked,” the blond admitted, his voice gruff as his bruised throat fought his effort to talk. “I’m behind...behind...”
He couldn’t bring himself to say the restaurant’s name. He used to frequent the restaurant with his lover, well...his now dead lover. Even after a year and a half he still couldn’t come with grips with the hand fate had dealt him. He was ready to just give up, but Itachi had refused to let his light fade from the world, forcing him to continue exist and keeping tabs on him at all times.
“Fuck, Naruto.” The sound of rustling clothes and then the jingle of keys came through the phone. “I’m coming to get you. How bad are you hurt?”
There was a slight thud and more cursing. Itachi wasn’t one to curse often. Only in times of great stress or frustration did his calmer nature become interrupted. “Where are you so I can come get you?”
“I dunno...my throat hurts...my arm...it’s totally fucked up...” He tried to stall from saying the name of the restaurant, but knew that Itachi didn’t know it had been their place. He choked back a sob as he rattled off the name. “I’m at The Cherry Blossom...”
He tried to focus as the world started to tilt once again. “It hurts, Itachi...”
It could not have been more than ten minutes when he heard a car slam on brakes outside the quaint restaurant located downtown. If that was Itachi, he had probably broken more speeding laws than was healthy. Just before his world went dark, he sighed. Itachi was here.
Itachi Uchiha scanned the area as he stepped from his car, eyes narrowing on a darkened alley between the restaurant and the adjacent building. “Naruto?”
He took a step towards the alley, eyes going wide at the mostly unconscious Naruto sitting crumpled against the wall. “Naruto,” he whispered.
Kneeling beside the man he considered a brother in everything but blood, his eyes narrowed in on the bloody mess. One eye was nearly swollen shut and blood trickled faintly from slightly parted lips. There were lacerations dotting Naruto’s neck, arms, and hands. The wheezing way he breathed only caused him to worry all the more.
“I’m calling an ambulance.”
Blue eyes popped open and a bloodstained hand latched onto his wrist. “No!”
“I’m not arguing with you on this, Naruto. You’re getting checked out by a doctor. You could have a punctured lung or internal bleeding.” Itachi reached to pull his phone from his pocket.
“Anything but that, ‘tachi!” The blond begged, fearing the pristine white walls. His arm buckled as he tried to swipe the phone from the other man’s hand, but failed as it flopped down beside him.
“I’m fine!” Naruto tried to convince him before he began coughing. The force of the cough made his whole body shudder with force. Wild fear was evident in his glazed look as Itachi made the call, he tried to move but his body couldn’t cooperate.
When the phone was finally lowered from Itachi’s ear, he leaned against Naruto and pressed his face to dirt and blood spattered hair. “I can’t lose you too,” he whispered.
It would kill him to lose Naruto as he lost Sasuke. His brother had meant everything to him and Naruto had become just as precious. In a way, Naruto was all he had left of Sasuke.
The squeal of sirens filled the air, causing Itachi to stand and wave the paramedics towards the darkened alley. He stood watching as the brace was placed around Naruto’s neck and he was gently shifted to the waiting stretcher. Pleading eyes, filled with a mixture of fear and pain.
“I’ll follow you to the hospital, Naruto,” called Itachi as Naruto was lifted into the waiting ambulance.
As the large wailing vehicle pulled away, Itachi’s previously sturdy legs gave out beneath him and he sagged to the building. Tears he refused to cry, even while watching his brother’s casket lowered into the ground, fell in waves. A hand lifted to his mouth to muffle the sob, did little to dispel the sound. “Please don’t take him from me too.”
***
The first thing Naruto was aware of was the beeping of a machine near his head. He opened his eyes only be blinded by a harsh light. He squinted and tried to move his hand, but it was being held captive. Turning his head, Naruto was met with the sight of Itachi passed out on his bed, his features marred, lips furrowed in a frown.
He tried to speak, but his throat was so dry that only a small grunt escaped his lips. Annoyed, Naruto shook his wrist as best he could to get Itachi’s attention. He desperately needed water, his throat was too raw and uncomfortable to speak easily.
Itachi lifted his head and slowly blinked the sleep from his eyes at the faint jostling caused by Naruto’s hand. He stared at him and relief spread across his features. “You’re awake.”
“Thirsty,” croaked Naruto.
Itachi nodded and grabbed a pitcher of ice water left by a nurse. He poured the cool drink into a cup and added a straw before lowering it to Naruto’s chapped lips. “Drink it slow.”
Naruto obeyed the direction as he slowly sipped through the straw. He hated feeling like this, helpless as another provided a service that he could handle on his own. He scowled, showing Itachi his displeasure of being in the hospital. Ever since the accident, he had steered clear of hospitals and doctors, bad memories surfacing every time he was near one.
He let the straw go, signalling that he was done and sunk back into the bed, staring at the pristine white ceiling. Naruto hated that color, it mocked even now that he was the one to survive and that his lover was cold and dead, resting eternally in the ground.
“The doctors said you have some broken ribs and a bruised spleen but thankfully, no internal bleeding. You’re lucky.” Itachi sank wearily into a chair at Naruto’s bedside. His control over his emotions was recovered. Only the deep shadows beneath his eyes told of the worry and strain of the last twenty-four hours. “What happened?”
Naruto shrugged, not really wanting to reveal that he was jumped for no other reason than Sasuke wasn’t there to protect him anymore and those boys knew it. He had had run-ins with the group of boys before, but his lover had always been there to ward the little bastards off. In the last year, they had gotten a bit bigger and quite a bit more violent.
It seemed every time he found himself walking past The Cherry Blossom, they had dragged him into the back alley and vented their hate on him. He never knew what possessed him to go there last night; it was as if a burning need had flared up within and he couldn’t resist. He never could. Even if he could not bear to go inside, just walking past a place he and Sasuke had loved was enough.
A displeased expression crossed Itachi’s face at Naruto’s tight lipped expression. “If you don’t tell me, you’re going to have to tell the police now that you’re awake.”
“What?”
Itachi folded his arms across his chest and crossed a leg, looking every bit as arrogant as his reputation demanded. “It’s out of my hands. You were assaulted and the police were called in by the attending physician.”
“Can I still tell you?” Naruto asked, changing his tune. He didn’t want to talk to the police, they were strangers, at least he knew Itachi and would feel more comfortable talking about Sasuke.
Itachi covered Naruto’s hand. “You’ll still have to talk to the police, but you can tell me anything. You’re family, Naruto. Regardless of blood, I consider you my little brother and will always look out for you, but I can’t help you if you won’t let me know what is wrong and who did this so I can have them killed.”
It was plainly obvious that Itachi was only half kidding with his last statement. There were ways to get things done and he knew many of those avenues very well. Ruthless did not become an adjective to describe someone if it wasn’t true. When it came to Itachi and the Uchiha family, the term was very much appropriate.
“They...were a bunch of teenagers...they gave me a bit of trouble before...before...the accident,” he said. Naruto couldn’t bring himself to say Sasuke’s name, the hurt still deep in his soul. “But he kept them away. I was foolish enough to go there alone...”
His shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his sob. He didn’t want to be weak in front of Itachi, the only family he had left in this world. He sat there and stared at his hands as he picked the threads from his blanket.
“Do I really have to talk to the cops?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Itachi shifted slightly and tapped a finger on his knee. “I’ll call in a favor. The police commissioner owes me quite a bit. You’ll still need to write and sign a statement, but I’ll see about keeping the police from questioning you if you really don’t want to speak with them.”
He lifted a hand and stroked his fingers down Naruto’s cheek. Even after eighteen months, the scars were still vivid on his cheeks. A frown turned down his lips at Naruto’s flinch.
The hand was dropped and Itachi stood. “I have to make some phone calls. I’ll be back later.”
Naruto watched as Itachi left the room, glad that he was able to at least get out of talking to the men in blue. He wouldn’t mind writing up the report, it was something that would be easier than talking to them in person.
He wasn’t sure how Itachi had the connections, it was something he and Sasuke had spent countless hours speculating about. It was a game that always relieved the stress in their relationship or even made the stress from the day dissipate. It was an activity that they would never have again and his heart cried out his loss.
In the waiting room down the hall, Itachi collapsed into a chair and fisted his hands into his hair. This was a rare sight, to see him so torn apart. He prided himself on his firm and unwavering mindset and appearance. There were very few people allowed to see past the facade usually worn. Still, even Naruto was not completely allowed in. He would never know just how frightened he was of losing him.
His hands shook as he reached into his pocket to extract his phone and promptly began to scan the list of names. Only the most important people made it onto his phone, whether they be associates or businesses. He paused as the name Kisame Hoshigaki became highlighted on the screen.
The last he had heard from him was at least three or four years prior. They were...friends of sorts in college, Kisame leaving after their freshman year to join the military. He kept in touch periodically, occasionally sending an overseas post card or calling though it had decreased as the years went by. Since the war in the Middle East began winding down, he expected to hear from him more often. Three years was a long time, even for Kisame. It was slightly troubling to Itachi at his not thinking to look up Kisame’s whereabouts at some point during the long expanse of silence between them. It had just slipped through his mind.
He pressed send and brought the phone to his ear, instantly receiving a message informing him of the number no longer being in service. “He better not be dead,” growled Itachi.
Scrolling up the list, he pressed the number for the private investigator he kept on retainer for both his business and his personal use. Something to focus on other than Naruto might be therapeutic to him.
“Hello?”
Itachi stretched out his legs and rotated his shoulders in an attempt to ease the cramp having formed in his long night at Naruto’s bedside. “Shino, I want you to find someone for me.”
“Oh?”
“His name is Kisame Hoshigaki. The last I heard he was in the Marines. I want a cell number and address. You had better not find him dead.”
“I can not raise the dead.”
Itachi’s cheek twitched. “Just find him.”
He ended the call and sat back with a sigh. His next bit of business was the police. Itachi collected favors like a child collected baseball cards. In his business, it paid to have multiple options.
***
Naruto made a face at the nurse’s back as she left the room. The woman had been rude and had poked him longer than what was necessary. And the fact that she had spoken to him like he was damned child especially grated on his nerves. Itachi was paying for this expensive private hospital, so he supposed he could just bare with any treatment for a while longer. His temperament used to be that of a fighter, but of late, all that had left him.
He idly wondered just how long he was going to have suffer in this room. Itachi could have him easily moved back to the house if he asked. Naruto didn’t want to stay here any longer, not when grown men were treated like children by people not much older than him.
He would die of boredom if he stayed here, the memory of his last stay came to the forefront of his mind and he shivered. That had been such a hard time that he would anything to avoid the hospital, including lying to Itachi.
He was hungry and had asked for food, but the nurse had only tutted and told him that he wasn’t allowed any food because of a few tests that had to be run in the morning. This of course only fueled his anger. He heard the door open and was about to tell the person off when he saw it was Itachi.
“Oh it’s you,” he said a little more sourly than intended.
“Should I leave?” Itachi’s voice shifted to a slight monotone, showing his displeasure at the tone, but willing to leave if his presence was not wanting.
“No, it’s fine.”
Dark eyes drifted over Naruto’s body before he moved to his briefcase, left untouched near the bedside chair. He extracted a blank pad of lined paper and placed along with a pen on the adjustable table. “I’ve arranged for your statement to be written. I spoke with the detectives in charge of the case and they gave me a list of questions for you to answer. I shouldn’t have to tell you to be truthful.”
Itachi watched a small pout form on Naruto’s face. “If you’re nice, I’ll arrange for you to be released tomorrow after your tests.”
“And I can have real food?” He asked hopefully, blue eyes shining.
“Yes. Anything you want.” Itachi settled back in the chair and closed his eyes. “You’re staying at my house. I’ve already arranged for your belongings to be brought from your apartment until I decide you’re ready to be alone.”
His eyes drifted open and he could see the annoyance and anger spreading across Naruto’s face. If not for the obvious pain he was in, Itachi might have thought he would receive a punch to the face. He knew very well that the apartment was one Naruto had shared with Sasuke and would loathe to leave it, still things needed to be taken care of first--Naruto’s health and well-being being the first.
Naruto was off put that he had to leave the apartment for the duration of his recovery. He should have been grateful that Itachi hadn’t seen it yet. The apartment was left as if both men were still living there, Sasuke’s things had never left their spots, staying where the Uchiha had last thrown them. Even after so long, he couldn’t bear to move them.
He took the pen in his hand and looked at Itachi. Hopefully, whoever went into his apartment wouldn’t tattle on him, at least if it were a stranger, they wouldn’t know that he didn’t touch his apartment.
“So...questions?”
Itachi opened his mouth only to be interrupted by his cell ringing. He tossed the pad with questions dictated to him by the police detectives onto the table for Naruto to read and lifted his phone to his ear. “Shino? Found him already?”
“Rather interesting really. For someone with his background, he’s been awful quiet. It wasn’t so much difficult as annoying. Apparently he was discharged from the military a year ago and has been jumping around from job to job with long stints of unemployment between them. I’ve seen it before. Military veterans tend to have difficulty being integrated into the workforce. The jobs just aren’t there for people with their limited skill set, especially so for men and women who have spent any significant amount of time enlisted.”
A frown turned down Itachi’s lips. He rose from the chair and moved to the window offering him a stunning view of the parking lot below. “Where is he now?”
“Working part time at a junkyard in Michigan. With what he earns, he probably disconnected his cell because he wasn’t able to pay for it. His military pension is a piece of crap since he didn’t get in twenty years of service,” answered Shino blandly.
“Hmm, I see.” Itachi glanced towards Naruto, seeing him doodling on a piece of paper instead of answering the questions. “I can’t leave the city. Have a man go out to him and call me. I want to speak with him.”
“Does he owe you money?”
Itachi smiled faintly. “I think it would be the other way around, if one was counting.”
“I’ve already sent someone. They should arrive in three hours.”
Itachi ended the call with a sigh. He would not divulge his private life with anyone. His short, volatile affair with Kisame, while pleasant, was something both knew wouldn’t last. Kisame needed someone to protect and Itachi refused to allow him close enough to take on that role. In the end, it was better to end it on pleasant terms.
He shifted his gaze to Naruto. “Finish answering those questions or I’ll make you stay another day and eat the food they serve you.”
Naruto scowled as he stopped doodling and started to answer the questions. The first three or so weren’t too bad, asking about the location, injuries, etc. It was the fourth one that had him freeze, it had asked about previous encounters. Of course there had been encounters before. He resisted to huff under his breath. He jotted the answer down quickly, handwriting almost unreadable in his haste to be done with the questions.
When he was almost done he paused, his hand was cramping from all the writing. Naruto sighed as he laid the pen down and flexed his left hand. He looked up to Itachi who sat down once more on the chair near his bed.
“You know, those things aren’t allowed in the hospital,” he said grinning, referring the cell phone that had been tucked away from sight. “And I want to go that fancy upscale restaurant you normally take clients to.”
Itachi rolled his eyes. Though he didn’t smile, his gaze softened upon looking at Naruto. There was no doubt Naruto owned a place in his heart. Ever since the day he met him, he slowly began worming his way inside. That he was so good with Sasuke only sealed the deal.
A painful twinge pulled at Itachi’s chest. He tried not to allow his thoughts to linger for overly long on thoughts of Sasuke. Showcasing his emotions to the public was something he tried to never do, however, it did not stop him from feeling them and Sasuke’s death left him painfully wounded.
“And here I thought you would want something from that rundown diner you would frequent with Sasuke.” Itachi dodged the pen tossed in his direction. “Temper.”
“If I’m being forced to answer questions like these, I want to be compensated well,” Naruto shot back, not wanting to reveal that he couldn’t bring himself to go to that restaurant anymore. It just felt empty without his lover there by his side. He tried to eat there not too long ago, but the food tasted like sandpaper in an atmosphere that constantly reminded him of Sasuke.
“You will be,” drawled Itachi “Now write.”
Itachi’s lips quirked faintly as Naruto’s tongue exited his lips. It was good to see the more light-hearted attitude, even if it was an act. Or perhaps, he was simply wished to live in a fantasy world where his brother’s lover, someone he considered his own brother, was happy.
“Make a list of what you want and I’ll have it ordered and brought to you in a few hours if I can convince the doctors that they can go ahead and do their tests instead of waiting for morning.”
Blue eyes looked up from the paper, wide with disbelief. “Really?”
With Itachi’s nod of confirmation, the blond started to hastily write his answers down, his penmanship be damned. The less time he had to spend here the better, he thought as his tongue peeked out from his lips as he concentrated on what he was writing.
He continued to answer the questions, ignoring the pain that flared up with each one. Especially when the first occurrence happened when he was still with Sasuke. He stopped writing as he answered the last question and dropped the pencil, giving Itachi a smug look as he held the paper for the other man to take.
“Finished already?” Itachi chuckled lightly. “It is amazing what a little incentive can do.”
Itachi watched as Naruto sat back against his bed with a grin splitting his lips. This time it was real, or at least, appeared real. “I suppose I should begin with my portion of the bargain.”
Naruto smile broadened as Itachi left the room. For the first time in a long he felt like himself, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he were at least healing somewhat. But the fact still remained that he was alive and Sasuke wasn’t. He couldn’t imagine Itachi’s feelings since he had never seen the other grieve for his brother.
But the blond knew that Itachi was a very private person and he was lucky that he was still allowed in his life. He always thought of him as an older brother and the family he never had. He rested his eyes for a moment as thoughts flew around his head like birds diving for worms.
While Naruto’s mind wandered, Itachi slipped silently into the room. “The nurse will be in shortly to take your blood. They usually prefer to do the blood work first thing in the morning. You’re lucky I am who I am.”
Naruto snorted, earning a light tap on the back of his head from Itachi. “Show some respect and I’ll order you dinner.”
“Yes, Mr. Yakuza,” Naruto quipped as the nurse entered the room, supplies in tow for his blood work. She introduced herself and quickly went to work on getting his blood, Itachi’s eyes on him the whole time to make sure that he was behaving himself.
And behave he did. The promise of fancy restaurant food kept him still as he was prodded, he hated the feel of needles now. The memories of them in his arms for weeks haunting him. The nurse tried to make polite conversation, but Naruto only answered half hearted. He didn’t like strangers and didn’t take to them quickly. The fact that she was a nurse, only added to his apprehension. When she left the room with the needed blood, he sighed deeply in relief, the nightmare was over.
“Food?” He asked imploringly to Itachi.
Itachi arched a brow at Naruto. “It should be here momentarily.”
As if his words summoned the food, a pink haired woman entered the room following a short knock. “Mr. Uchiha?”
“Put it on the table, Sakura.” Itachi shifted wearily in his seat. His closed faintly, and he took a moment’s rest.
Sakura placed several bags onto the bedside table. “Hi, Naruto,” she said with a smile.
“Thank you, Sakura.” Itachi’s eyes slid open. “You can leave and take the next few days off.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it closed. “Yes, sir.”
Naruto waved to Sakura as she left, happy to see a familiar face. He watched as Itachi took the food out of the bags and pushed his table so that it was over his lap. He felt helpless, but he had been in this position before and knew that Itachi would win no matter what.
“Did they give you a recovery time for me?” Naruto asked as he eyed the food that laid before him, almost like a feast.
Itachi shrugged. “Your ribs are going to hurt like a bitch for a few weeks. I’m sure the rest of you will ache for a week or two. There isn’t any lasting damage, but...”
Itachi paused and glanced at Naruto. “But this isn’t isn’t the first time you’ve taken a beating, is it?”
Naruto couldn’t look at Itachi, giving the older man his answer. He fiddled with the fork in his hand as the silence seemed to stretch between. He was at a loss as to what to say and the expression on Itachi’s face wasn’t a pleasant one, it was his “scheming” or “revenge” face as Sasuke had liked to call it.
“It’s been happening less lately...” He ventured. “I was just careless and wasn’t paying attention to the time.”
“Less lately?” Itachi’s eyes flashed dangerously. “It’s a good thing I’m moving you in with me, so I can watch over you. You’re hopeless.”
Itachi gave a low growl under his breath. Naruto wouldn’t be leaving his home without a bodyguard. The last thing he was certain he could handle would be watching Naruto lowered into the ground beside his brother. His heart could not take the loss and that only made him more certain in his decision to protect him.
Naruto cursed himself, he couldn’t believe that he had slipped up like that. He hadn’t meant to tell Itachi that little bit of information. He could see his freedom flying out of the window now. He wouldn’t be able to go through his semi-weekly routine of visiting Sasuke’s grave and then going to the restaurant. He was sure that he would be tailed now and he just didn’t have the skills to ditch anyone Itachi would hire.
“I’ll be babysat, you mean,” he said sourly before he bit into his chicken, glaring at the other man even though his food was divine.
Itachi’s eyes narrowed at Naruto. “Until I am sure you can take care of yourself, you’ll have a guard with you. I’m a powerful man, Naruto. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone thought to use you to get at me. It’s no secret I favor you, though I try to keep our relationship hidden from public view as much as is possible.”
Raising a hand to the bridge of his nose, Itachi rubbed the space to fight off the ache of exhaustion building behind his eyes. “It won’t be permanent if that is what you are glaring at me for. I’ll figure out something to keep you safe without smothering you, but until I do, you’re living with me and taking a bodyguard with you whenever you leave the house.”
“I guess I can do that,” Naruto answered after he swallowed. He figured if it was just temporary he could put up with it. He just hated seeing Itachi looking so stressed, he was no doubt aware that he was part of that problem. It kept him wondering just why Itachi put up with his childish ass. Naruto was sure he had to have been at his limits.
“What are we doin’ tomorrow?”
“The doctors want to keep you one more night, but tomorrow, I’ll take you home. I’ll have to set up a nurse for you until I’m sure you can take care of yourself.” Itachi tapped a finger on his chair. “But if you like, we can stop by the cemetery on the way home.”
He smiled at the eager look on Naruto’s face, only to inwardly cringe. He hated going there and made a point to avoid doing so. He could forget Sasuke was dead if he tried hard enough. It was only a nightmare until he stared at the engraved stone; then, it became real.
The phone buzzing in his pocket was excuse enough for him to step out of the room before his face revealed anything to Naruto. “What?” he barked into the mic.
“Itachi?”
At the sound of a familiar deep voice, his body froze. “Kisame?”
“You sound surprised since I’m practically standing here at gunpoint under orders to call you.”
Itachi shook his head and tightened his fingers around the phone until it was in danger of cracking beneath his grip. “You’re a hard man to find, I’m told. I’m sure my investigator only wanted to insure my money was well spent. My bill from him is certain to be quite impressive.”
“If I don’t want to be found, I don’t want to be found,” snorted Kisame.
“I’m told you’re living quite the humble life of late.” Itachi leaned casually against the wall outside Naruto’s room. “And here I thought you might have made it to general by now.”
Again Kisame snorted, quite loudly, into his ear. “The jobs just aren’t there, especially not for an non-college graduate. You still haven’t told me what you want.”
“What makes you think I want something?”
This time there was an exasperated sigh. Kisame knew him too well--more so than anyone but Sasuke. “You wouldn’t have paid an exorbitant amount to a private investigator just for me. So tell me or I hang up.”
“Fine. I was going through my phone and saw your name, with a disconnected number and no call from you to replace it. That’s not like you, Kisame.”
Kisame chuckled--a rich deep sound reminding Itachi of the days they had spent together. He almost regretted ending their short relationship. Perhaps if he had been the man he was today, things might have been different. But then again, things changed.
“People change,” commented Kisame. “And I didn’t want you to think I was looking for handouts. I can take care of myself pretty fucking well considering I dodged bullets in the Middle East long enough.”
Itachi cocked his head, a small frown turning down his lips. “Then perhaps a compromise is in order.”
“Itachi, what did I just say.”
“Hear me out before you hang up,” growled Itachi dangerously. “Because if you hang up, I’ll call my investigator and have him tie you up until I fly out there and beat the shit out of you. Trust me, with how I feel at this moment, you do not want me flying to you.”
Kisame must have heard something in his voice. It wasn’t the words, because between the two of them, words were just words. “Itachi, is something wrong?”
“I find myself in need of someone I can trust and those are quite few of late.”
“When have you ever trusted anyone but your brother?” asked Kisame, a laugh evident in his voice. “Just call the brat and confide in him.”
Itachi almost hung up. It was so tempting because he rarely spoke of Sasuke in anything but present speech and even more rarely did he speak of his death.
“Itachi?”
“Sasuke’s dead,” hissed Itachi.
A long, drawn-out pause filled the space between their phones before Kisame finally broke it. “The brat? I’m sorry, Itachi.”
“You’re coming here. I need someone to watch out for Naruto and teach him self defense. I don’t trust anyone else. Now put the other man on the phone.”
“Itachi,” began Kisame.
Itachi shook his head, though he knew Kisame could not see the action. “Put him on, please.”
Kisame sighed and then the sound of the phone exchanging hands resounded in his ears. There was a slight crackling sound before a voice came on. “Yes, sir?”
“Get him on the first flight here.”
“Sir?” He could practically hear the investigator frowning. “I just got off a plane and he probably has things to pack.”
“Kisame always travels light. It won’t take long. Get him on the plane and I’ll give you a bonus.” Itachi ended the call and leaned his head against the wall. He never visibly allowed Kisame to see it, but he always did ruffle his feathers. He was quite a bit more perceptive than man gave him credit for. Only Itachi saw Kisame for what he was, an intelligent man who hid it behind Itachi’s popularity.
Taking a breath and tucking a stray hair behind his ear and then returned to Naruto’s room. “I’ve just procured you a bodyguard and self defense instructor. He’ll be here tomorrow when you are released.”
“Who is it?” Naruto asked curiously as he stabbed his green beans. He wondered what kind of man Itachi had hired and how soon he would be able to get on the guy’s nerves and give up the job. When he put his mind to it, Naruto could be very annoying. He was the only person to date to frazzle Itachi so much that he had forgotten a very important board meeting.
“And old friend and one of the few whom I trust.” Itachi chuckled lightly. “I’m sure he will be satisfactory in the position.”
Itachi’s gaze drifted to the window. The words he spoke to Naruto were true. When it came to someone precious to him, Kisame was one of the few he would fully trust to protect them. Thoughts of Sasuke and his inability to protect him burned his stomach with heavy bitterness. “Finish eating and then rest up, Naruto. Once you’re able, I’m going to have Kisame training you. I don’t want a repeat of this event.”
“Were you closer than that?” Naruto asked curiously as he studied Itachi. He could tell that the Uchiha had a deep respect for Kisame and he couldn’t help but wonder what was in their past.
“My relationships aren’t important,” whispered Itachi as his eyes became shuttered. “Now, finish up and rest.”
