Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Evil Genius	By : Usha Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Itachi/Naruto Views: 2208 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I make any money from writing this

Chapter List
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Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor do I make any money from this writing. On that note, I do not own any part of the Evil Overlord List either.
Warnings: The usual stuff that corresponds to an ‘M’ rated story. Un-beta-ed
A/N: I apologize for the long wait, this chapter never seemed to work for me and I ended up switching paragraphs around like crazy. This chapter is un-beta-ed.
Age 10: Tainted Innocence
Itachi shuffled as he waited for Sasuke and Naruto to come running around the corner. Despite the training that he received at home, he was still required to go to school in order to learn the basics that the world had to offer. While his father and private tutors taught him how to form a strategy and other important lessons, they weren’t experts on the subjects he would learn in school. That and the schools were often the best networking for the future when it came time to pick consultants, guards, and other people to work on his staff.
He glanced at his watch, reading the time before looking back down the road. Due to Naruto being a year behind Sasuke, his younger brother was very protective of the small blond and made sure to wait for him. Even though Naruto’s grade finished half an hour before Sasuke’s, the young raven had demanded that his younger sibling come sit in his last class until it was over. This way, nothing could happen to him while he waited for Sasuke.
By now, Sasuke was aware of Naruto’s lineage and Itachi had told him that he had to watch Naruto when he couldn’t. They still weren’t sure where the enemies of the Namikaze’s were, but they were certain that they were hiding in the shadows waiting to strike. That, and since the blond wasn’t trained to protect himself, kidnapping the young child was a large possibility.
Itachi pressed himself closer to the wall and ducked into the shadows as the sounds of tire screeching reached his ears. He watched from his hiding spot as a blue car barreled around the corner before flying down the road with no respect to the flashing school sign. It turned down a service road once it flew through the intersection and Itachi scowled at the driver for being so reckless.
The wind picked up and darkened clouds rolled off to the east of the city as a new storm stalled over the flat plains behind the city. In front of the storm, the sky looked innocent and misleading with white fluffy clouds and mild temperatures that signaled the coming of a large night storm. It was ironic how peaceful the scene looked as people milled around the park area while the cities skyscrapers left parts of the grassy area in the shadows. Children laughed and screamed in delight while dogs barked at the squirrels in the trees.
It was supposed to be where they went this afternoon, but seeing Sasuke running up to him without Naruto next to him made Itachi realize that fate had other plans for them.
Immediately the elder Uchiha was on alert, Sasuke never left Naruto at school and his usually calm face was filled with emotions. Fear, anxiety, and anger played across his face and he was quick to pull on his brothers hands. And it was the three words that he said that had Itachi calling his father.
“They took Naruto.”
As to who ‘they’ were, was unknown, but Itachi’s current objective was to get himself and Sasuke to safety. He wasn’t sure if these people were planning to kidnap more of the Uchiha family or if they were just after Naruto. Whatever the reason, guards were surrounding them within moments of the call and they were ushered into a tinted car.
When they arrived at the heavily guarded mansion, their father greeted them; face stern but his eyes still showed worry etched deep within them. Itachi could feel the blood racing through his veins as they were led to one of the many rooms that they used for planning. On the table were multiple maps of the city along with possible routes that could have been taken.
People ran in and out of the rooms, bringing in maps and barking out orders while they settled around the large table. Fugaku took his spot at the head of the table and the room fell silent as he focused his attention on Sasuke.
“Sasuke, what happened?”
“Naruto’s class was practicing fire drill techniques so they were outside during the last part of class and he was already waiting for me by the school gates. I told him I was going to be running late since I was turning in a project and when I was coming down the steps, a blue car came speeding along the road. The windows weren’t tinted or anything and for a second I thought it was Kakashi’s car, but then they jumped the curve and someone grabbed Naruto as they passed by.”
Itachi frowned as his mind jumped back to the blue car that had sped around the turn and he tried to remember the specifics, but the car had been moving too fast by that time. “The windows weren’t tinted?”
His brother shook his head. “No, you could see the driver too. He had orangish-red hair and piercings on his face and the guy that grabbed him looked like he had blue skin.”
“Akatsuki,” Fugaku hissed and slammed his hand on the table. “Dammit, they’ve started to move. They must think we’re training him.”
Dark eyes flickered towards the eldest Uchiha. “Do they know who he is?”
“The resemblance is too hard to miss; they must be going off that. If they continued down the street like Sasuke said, they could have grabbed you as well; they must only want him.”
Itachi nodded and glanced at the maps on the table. “I saw a similar blue car speed by while I was waiting. It continued straight down this road before turning onto the service road. That’s the main road that leads to the industrial side of the city for which Akatsuki is known for directing themselves from.”
Sasuke curled his hands. “He’s only ten; he doesn’t know that much information about what we’re planning. What if they torture him because they think he’s lying and not giving them information?”
“They might be baiting us, the industrial side of town is a place we aren’t that familiar with,” Itachi said softly. “The windows might have been un-tinted so Sasuke could see who was inside, either that or they just didn’t think that anyone else was there.”
Silence settled over the group in the room and everyone else who was running around seemed to still. It was an unasked question as to what they were going to do. No matter the reason for the kidnapping, it was still dangerous to send people into unknown territory. Men could lose their life and precious equipment could be destroyed or damaged all for the sake of a young ten-year-old child.
Itachi glanced at his father who was looking at the maps. His eyes were unfocused; seeing, yet not. It was a hard choice for him because Naruto wasn’t exactly blood related but he was so close to the family that it would seem that way. These were the times that being an Evil Overlord were difficult. It wasn’t always about pointing in a direction and having your men march that way.
The best of leaders were those that ruled with a steady mind and an even steadier heart. They needed to be stubborn when the time called for it and compassionate at times when gentleness was asked for. To balance these two was hard and everyday people rarely thought about it. But even at times when the most logical answer comes to mind, you have to listen to other things besides your mind.
As long as you approach it rationally.
“Get the cars ready, we’re going after Naruto. We’ll need snipers set up at all positions surrounding their known warehouses and a small group ready to go in once the way has been cleared. I want him unharmed and if we can keep any of their men then take that route, if not, kill them,” Fugaku barked. “We leave in ten minutes.”
“Yes sir!”
The dark and serious eyes settled on Itachi. “You will lead the group that rescues Naruto, go make yourself familiar with the layout and figure out the best place for the snipers to work.”
Itachi nodded and swept out of the room. He knew that Sasuke wanted to go with them, but at the tender age of eleven, his father would be reluctant to let him go; especially since he was still learning to fight While Itachi was only sixteen, he still had several successful missions under him when dealing with infiltration and recovery thanks to Naruto’s unconscious pushing. As he swept out of the room, he heard his brother asking to go but the response was lost to him.
His mind was focused on the task of bringing Naruto back, because part of him felt as though it was his fault in the first place. After all, he knew about Naruto’s habits of sneaking around when he was younger and he had never said anything. Thinking back on it now, he couldn’t help but think that it was selfish of him to act that way, but at the time all he wanted to do was preserve Naruto’s seemingly innocent nature.
Itachi was ten when he first came to realize the genius that was Naruto, but it wasn’t until he was thirteen that he came to understand the depth that Naruto seemed to hold. He had thought the whole incident with the paintball was nothing but a spoof, but seeing the gleam in those bright blue eyes, he came to realize that the blond wasn’t as innocent as everyone once thought.
He kept the discovery to himself, as though it would help to prevent Naruto from loosing more of his adorable innocence. The blond always had an air of naïveté surrounding him, making him seem as though he were innocent to everything around him. But Itachi soon realized that the child was watching everything.
He truly was his parent’s child.
After the shoelace incident Fugaku decided that it would be easier to wear buckle boots instead of lace ones, preventing further accidents. But despite the minor setback, Naruto was not to deterred and soon found new ways to cause havoc. Itachi enjoyed watching the child’s mind work in the planning room and took great pride in watching the small blond bring grown men to their knees with his pranks. He also carefully watched Naruto and Sasuke play their not so innocent games, because it gave him time to watch Naruto and see the small mind work
The knowledge that Naruto possessed pushed Itachi to train and study harder in hopes that he could better protect Naruto. His skills at analyzing grew sharper as did his skills at fighting and for a time, it seemed as though the blond was acting like a normal child. He basked in that knowledge, thinking that the blond may have given up on trying to be like his parents.
It also helped that after sitting in the planning room for two years, Fugaku noted that Naruto was becoming fidgety while sitting in the room and listening to the talks. He stated that the child probably wished to play with Sasuke and told him that he didn’t have to attend the meetings anymore. The blond simply nodded and enjoyed the freedom by playing with Sasuke until his eighth birthday when the raven was taken away.
A few months after Naruto turned eight though, Fugaku decided that it was time for Sasuke to join the meetings in the planning room. His logic was that the younger Uchiha had some schooling under him and was old enough to understand parts of what happened. While Sasuke was thrilled with finally being old enough in his father’s eyes, it left Naruto without a playmate.
To Itachi’s surprise, the blond didn’t complain about the loss of Sasuke. Sure, he sulked whenever Sasuke and Itachi would talk about plans or missions that Itachi had been on, since he didn’t know what they were talking about. He would then plead to play a game and the raven found that he could never resist the watery blue puppy eyes that Naruto would throw his way.
Itachi was always content to keep Naruto company whenever Sasuke had meetings with their father but he had never noticed the way the blond would seem to blend into the background whenever Sasuke came back. He simply thought that Naruto went back to his room while Sasuke would happily tell Itachi what his new training would entail and ask for help. So it came as no surprise to Itachi that when Obito came running into the main room with news that they had the main code for Akatsuki, Naruto was already gone.
Everyone was assembled for the meeting when Naruto poked his head cautiously in the room, asking Itachi if he could come in as well. The raven could tell that Naruto was tired of being left out and would have let him sit in but Fugaku stepped in and told the blond that it would be too dangerous for him but next time he could join them. With a small defeated nod of his head, Naruto left and headed back to his room.
After pushing away the image of Naruto’s hurt face with some difficulty, Itachi was able to focus on the plans in front of him. It wasn’t until he had settled back in his chair and was reading over a thick packet of papers that he first caught sight of the strange image. It was only a small snippet followed by a faint grinding noise but he kept a skilled eye trained on the vent where he had seen the thing.
A few minutes later, his eye caught sight of it again and his eyebrows furrowed. The noise sounded again and he realized that the thing was gone. It didn’t take long for him to put the sound and disappearing thing together; realizing that it made the noise whenever it moved. And if his memory served correctly, he had heard that noise once before.
From a toy that Naruto asked for the Christmas he wasn’t allowed back in the planning room.
He asked to be excused and his ears noticed the strange noise again. His feet led him to Naruto’s room, where a closed door met him and he knocked on the wooden surface. There was no scrambling noise behind the door and it opened in a normal amount of time, but Itachi was certain that the blond was behind the odd noise. His innocent face looked normal, with no red to make his face look flush and the raven squatted down in front of him.
“What are you doing Naruto?”
“Reading,” he answered and pointed to the rumpled bed that had an open book on its surface.
Itachi nodded and his hand reached forward to push back a lock of hair that was covering his ear, revealing a small earbud. “What are you listening to?”
“Music,” he responded, showing a cord that connected to a music system.
The raven hummed and plucked the piece from his ear before bringing it to his own. He knew he shouldn’t have been surprised to hear the conversation going on in the room, but he couldn’t stop the slight shock from racing through his body.
“Naruto...how did you?”
The young child pouted. “How’d you know? I thought I slipped it in carefully enough,” his eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth in an attempt to keep from talking.
Itachi didn’t answer, but instead moved to the bed and pulled back the covers and pillows. Hidden under the mass amount of blankets that Naruto liked to curl up in was a small viewing screen and a remote control. Carefully, he pressed one of the buttons on the remote control and watched as the viewing screen moved closer to the vent.
He turned back to the blond who was standing frozen with a hand still covering his mouth. “What did you do?”
Naruto shook his head frantically and pressed his body closer to the wall when Itachi stalked closer. Darkened eyes narrowed as he noticed Naruto’s body tense and he lunged for the blond as he bolted for the open door. They tumbled to the ground, with the raven rolling his body so the young child wouldn’t be injured and straddling his hips when they came to a stop.
His leg reached out behind him to kick the door shut and his hands tightened slightly on Naruto’s upper arms. “What are you hiding in those vents Naruto and how long have you been doing this?”
Again, Naruto shook his head and his blue eyes were wide. “Nothing.”
“You’re not in trouble Naruto,” he said in a gentle voice. “I just need to know what you’ve been doing.”
A slight whimper escaped Naruto’s mouth but he once again gave a negative shake of his head followed by a stubborn ‘nothing’.
“Naruto…” He growled lowly and his grip tightened unconsciously as he leaned in closer. “Tell me now.”
“It hurts,” Naruto cried out after moments of silence and squirmed under the tight grip. “Please Itachi, let me go.”
Itachi blinked at the choked out sob and he quickly released his grip. He pulled the blond into an embrace, running a gentle hand over his back in order to calm the child down while he muttered soft words. Wet drops fell onto his shirt and he cursed himself for slipping; Naruto didn’t need to be interrogated like an enemy.
“I’m sorry Naruto, I didn’t mean to do that to you,” he said softly. “It just surprised me, that’s all.”
“I just wanted to know what was going on, it’s all you and Sasuke talk about and I was lonely.” Naruto wailed into his neck. “The vents are too small for me now.”
The information made Itachi jerk back in surprise and he wanted to ask how long Naruto been crawling through the vents, but he had a feeling that the child would clam up again. Instead, he shifted the attention back to original reason he came to see the blond. “What are you using now? It sounds like the toy truck you got for Christmas.”
Naruto nodded. “I put a small camera in the back of it,” he peeked up carefully. “You’re not going to tell your dad are you?”
Itachi faltered at the question and he found himself unsure about the question. Knowing that someone could be listening through the vents proved a problem, but at the same time, he didn’t want Naruto to get in trouble. His father would no doubt think it was another one of his pranks and possibly laugh it off, but there was a chance that he wouldn’t find it funny at all.
“You’ll be fine, but I don’t think you’ll be able to use the vents after this,” Itachi answered and set Naruto on the bed. He picked up the viewer and remote. “I’ll fix this tonight after the meeting.”
Naruto nodded sadly and the raven ruffled his locks fondly.
“I’ll play with you tomorrow and show you have to throw darts if you behave the rest of the night,” he said, moving towards the door. “I’m sure if you ask Sasuke, he’ll play something with you too.”
The blond didn’t answer but nodded anyway. It wasn’t until Itachi was walking back into the room that he realized what had just happened in Naruto’s room. Not only had the child mounted a small spy camera on a remote control car, but he also fought through a mock interrogation, even if he broke quickly. The stubbornness wasn’t just a child acting out, he was learning the inner workings of spy’s as well.
While he tried to think about it as nothing more than a stage, he couldn’t help but worry about Naruto’s childhood. His mentality was maturing quickly and he wasn’t sure when the child was learning everything. Because despite the genius that he showed that day, it didn’t extend to his throwing skills; which Itachi learned quickly the next day after loosing a lamp to dart practice.
So it was rather easy to brush off the whole spy incident as just an act. After that meeting, technicians were called in to work on the vents. They were shrunk to the smallest possible size and small locked gates were placed every few feet along the entire system. It was deemed foolproof and the incident was stored away in Itachi’s mind as Naruto showed signs of behaving like that of a normal child.
Because of this, Itachi never told Fugaku about the spy and interrogation incident since he never saw a point to it. Naruto stopped listening in on the meetings and even if he had listened to previous meetings, he doubted that the child knew what was going on. Even when he was in the planning room when he was younger, he never showed any interest unless he was called on.
Therefore, it was safe to say that Naruto was once again innocent to the deeds going on in the mansion.
But now at age ten, Naruto was older and wiser about the hidden agenda in the mansion, and Itachi was beginning to realize how wrong he had been about not saying anything to his father. Naruto knew information, that much he was sure of, but how far it extended was a big uncertainty. Should he break during an interrogation, everything could be at stake.
As he moved through the lower levels of the mansion to retrieve the needed blueprints, his mind subtly provided the thought that Naruto’s capture couldn’t have happened without help. The school was silent on when they did the random fire drills and Naruto had happened to hear them mentioning it in the staff room two days ago. The blond had come home extremely proud of himself for knowing something that was supposed to be so secret and proceeded to tell Itachi all about it.
They’d have to check over the school records once they came back and Naruto was safe. Getting the young blond back was the only thing that ran through Itachi’s mind as he spread out new blueprints of the older parts of the city; one thing that they had over the Akatsuki was the knowledge of the buildings. They had at least one engineer involved in all the projects that happened throughout the city, therefore, giving them the blueprints to every building ever built. He quickly located the correct map and spread it out on the table, allowing it to project on the screen. Pulling out a red sharpie, he marked down several key locations to place their pawns and started to formulate a plan.
If the Akatsuki group kidnapped Naruto due to his heritage, there had to be a reason behind it. The child wasn’t dangerous yet and if he didn’t take any training, he would stay innocent to the acts that happened at the mansion. He was certain that the group thought they were training him and needed to be disposed of before he developed his parents’ skill. The idea that they wanted him for themselves crossed his mind and he quickly stamped it down.
They couldn’t have him.
Not only was Naruto an Uchiha of sorts, but Itachi had also promised to protect him five years ago. Saying that he would protect the innocence that was Naruto and keep him from harm. And he had no intent on backing down from that promise.
Once the plan was formed, he moved outside the room where he noticed one of the commanders under his father’s control waiting for him. The man was in charge of the group that was going to go after Naruto directly and today he was under Itachi’s command.
“This map shows key points surrounding the building that will give the snipers a good position if someone should escape,” Itachi stated as he showed the map to the man. “I’m certain that the place will be crawling with underlings but it’ll be best for Naruto’s safety if we can get in unnoticed.”
“That means that we can’t go around killing everyone in sight,” the man finished and Itachi nodded.
This mission was something that required stealth and while the snipers would be set up around the perimeter, any excess noise would just draw the Akatsuki’s attention to their location. Instead he was taking a small, five-member group that would follow his orders while another group watched their movements and made sure the area was secure. He glanced at the man and questioned if there was anything else that should be covered.
“No. If we cover the entranceways, we’ll be able to prevent them from escaping. I would suggest using the top air vents so long as they aren’t being protected. They’ll lead straight to the inside top floor,” he answered, handing the map back to Itachi.
They emerged outside and Itachi squinted against the bright sun. To the right side of their house, dark clouds rumbled away from the city, leaving in their wake a clear blue sky. One that reminded everyone of the energetic blond and it only steeled their resolve to bring him back. But it served as a reminder to Itachi that if they didn’t hurry things would get harder for them. The rain would slow things down and make it harder to track the group. Not only that, but Naruto still didn’t like storms.
The vans moved out one at a time so they didn’t draw suspicion. Several had already left earlier once the order had been given and the snipers were already waiting in the shadows of the tall factories. Itachi’s eyes narrowed as they raced down the road and silence enveloped the car. His father was going to be working the surveillance from the mansion while he relayed information back to the troops on the ground. He was now in charge of this mission to bring the blond back and failure wasn’t even on his mind today; this wasn’t just some test mission where a mistake could be overlooked.
Innocent lives were on the line today and he wouldn’t let any of them die on his hands.
Information was coming in from all sides of the fields, as the snipers gave the all clear call and their van parked behind a building. They’d go the rest of the way on foot so they wouldn’t draw suspicion. As they crept closer to the shadows, the area was oddly silent as all the mills had been turned off; leaving only the occasional sound of an animal scurrying off in the distance.
“Approaching target, one mile and inclosing.”
Itachi nodded and froze as soft mutterings reached his ears, making him hold out his hand. The group froze and blended into the shadows as two males walked down an alleyway. “Underlings,” Itachi whispered. “Don’t waste gunfire on them; it’ll only alert Akatsuki to our position.”
Silently, knives were pulled out and the first two men ran forward, taking out the small members with accurate procession. Once they were down, the commander stepped forward and plucked out a small black earpiece. His fingers skimmed the buttons on it, searching for the frequency, trying to decide if the members were required to report in. When no noise crackled through the earpiece, he sighed in relief and motioned for everyone to move.
“They’re not trained to report when someone goes missing,” he stated. “That means that this force is still freshly trained on following orders, making our job easier.”
Loud gunshots were heard from the building, making everyone freeze and Itachi heard frantic cursing coming from his headset. The screams that they couldn’t get a clear shot inside the building and that something was happening inside the area, made a drop of cold sweat run down his face. A loud explosion made him snap his head up towards the top of the building were smoke was rapidly pouring out of the vents and he cursed.
“What’s going on in there?” he snarled.
“We can’t see. Someone dropped a smoke bomb or something, can’t get a clear shot even if we tried; it looks like someone blew up the vents. Besides, we hadn’t located the target inside the building yet and it’s too dangerous to go in now.”
The commander shifted. “It could be an escape attempt if they know we’re close by. I’ll have the snipers watch the exits carefully.”
Itachi nodded. “We’re going in, now would be the best time if they’re moving away from us. We can hit them from behind.”
The front door was kicked open as the front person carefully walked in once the sniper above them cleared it. The rest of the members slunk in after him, ready to fire at anything that didn’t belong to them, but they froze at the sight before them. A large empty first floor greeted them, where a single chair sat in the middle of the room with cut ropes surrounding the feet of it.
“They already left,” someone breathed out, shock and disappointment lacing his voice.
Itachi’s hand tightened around his weapon and he fought the urge to hurl it across the room. Instead, he sucked in a deep breath and tried to regain control over his emotions. “Check the rest of the warehouse, if they’re still in here, we’re sitting targets and…” He paused as a dripping sound reached his ears. Turning around, his boot splashed against something wet and he glanced up, eyes going wide. “What the hell?”
A dead body lay on the catwalk above them with a bullet wound through his chest. It wasn’t one of their men, but rather, one of Akatsuki’s.
“Sir, there are more dead bodies over here,” a voice called out. “And they’re all Akatsuki’s.”
“Search the rest of the place, you know the rules.”
Everyone vanished and the commander followed him as they moved towards the second floor. Itachi’s body was tense as they searched the rooms carefully; he wasn’t sure what had wiped out the lesser members of their enemies and the thought that it might not be friendly to them was an even bigger concern.
“Do you hear that?”
The raven froze and strained his ears for the noise the commander heard; it sounded like muffled singing. They exchanged glances as they crept forward towards the room where the noise was coming from and cautiously opened the door. Next to him, the commander’s gun dropped to the floor in shock and Itachi nearly collapsed on his knees with relief.
“Naruto…”
The small blond was sitting on a chair, swinging his legs back and forth. Headphones covered his ears and he was singing off key to the sound while he cuddled something on his lap. As much as Itachi wanted to grab Naruto, he still entered carefully and once the room was deemed clear, he circled around to come in front of Naruto. He jumped at the sudden appearance but pulled off the headphones and launched himself into Itachi’s arms.
Loud music blared from the large headphones and he watched as Naruto reached up to pull out small earplugs from his ears. “Itachi, is this part of your training?”
“Why are you in here Naruto?” Itachi asked as he pulled the child into an embrace.
“Well I was downstairs blindfolded, but there were a lot of people shouting after they tied me up and then someone picked me up and put me in here,” a large smile graced his face. “Then they pulled the blindfold off and my mommy was there; she gave me this!”
A stuffed fox was thrust into Itachi’s stunned face. “Your mom?”
“Yup. She gave him to me and then said that her and daddy miss me a lot and to be good. After that she told me to put those earplugs in before she put the headphones on. I couldn’t hear anything once she put them on.”
Itachi frowned and gestured the commander into the room. He came in with a large blanket and several bags, while his eyes slid over the room with a trained eye. The items were set on the chair before he turned around and faced a corner, allowing Itachi to handle the next part.
“Naruto, you’re going to have to change so we can check your clothes for bugs,” he said carefully. “And we’re going to have to keep your fox for a little while too.”
Tears formed in the blonde’s eyes and he gripped the stuffed animal tighter. “But my mommy gave him to me.”
“You’ll get him back, but only if you listen to me.”
Frowning, Naruto handed Itachi the stuffed fox who sealed it inside a bag, before proceeding to change out of his clothes. The raven held up the blanket for him, looking away as Naruto finished changing and then wrapped him up in the thick material. He picked him up and moved towards the door while the commander followed him, keeping a close watch on the extra hallways. The reports had already come back clear, but it never hurt to be safe.
Itachi paused at the stairs and he felt Naruto turn his head around. He quickly caught him and pulled the blanket over his head. “Naruto, keep your eyes closed until I say so. If you peek, you won’t get your fox back.”
Naruto nodded and pressed his head into Itachi’s neck while they moved through the bloody area. They were ushered into the van as soon as they passed through the front doors and Itachi pulled the blanket off the child’s head. Bright eyes blinked up at him. “I didn’t peek Itachi, I promise.”
The raven settled the child on his lap, pulling him closer as he buried his nose in the blond locks. “I know Naruto.”
When they came back, Naruto was instantly checked over by not only the doctor but also a highly distressed Mikoto. When he emerged from the examining room, his tan skin was red from the doctors scrubbing at it and tears tracked down his face. In an instant, the female was at his side, trying to reassure him while she threw a harsh glare at the doctors. Itachi smirked as they cowered away from the look and moved forward to take the little blond, but was stopped by his mother.
“I’m sorry Itachi, but your father wanted to talk to him first. Anything you want to know will be in a file; you’ll have to wait to ask him anything in case his mentality isn’t set yet.”
Itachi opened his mouth to protest but realized that it was probably best this way. He watched as Mikoto led Naruto away, allowing the blond to complain about the mean doctors who were too harsh with their treatments.
Inside the large room, Naruto stood patiently before the heavily covered desk as Fugaku read over everything that Itachi had written down. Mikoto had already left at the blonde’s request, despite her offering to stay with him and make it easier. The papers were set down and dark eyes settled on him, making him stare back.
Fugaku rubbed at his temples. “I’m not going to ask what happened at that warehouse since Itachi wouldn’t lie. So why don’t you tell me what you know, Naruto.”
“I want to be trained in the arts of combat. In the arts that my parents undertook,” he answered evenly.
Silence settled in the room before Fugaku spoke again, trying to convince the blond otherwise. “Naruto, are you sure this is what you want to do? You’re only ten and still young by all standards.”
“I’m sure.”
“So, you know what they did?”
Naruto nodded. “Those memories don’t die as easily as people think they do and I think you know what I’m going to ask next.”
The elder Uchiha chuckled. “If that is your wish, then I won’t stop you from it. I’ll offer you the best training I have, the best tutors and trainers under my command will be at your disposal. Although I’m curious to see how you’ll tell Itachi and Sasuke about this.”
“I’ll tell them myself when the time is right, but I don’t want them to know now. I’ve watched them before and they enjoy the fact that they can protect me; I don’t want to ruin that for them.”
Fugaku pressed his fingers together. “If you change your mind at anytime during your training, you can back out. We won’t hold it against you, nor will we think any less of you for doing so.”
Naruto’s eyes narrowed in determination. “I won’t back out; I’m going to protect them at all costs,” he paused. “I also believe that you have a book of mine.”
“I do,” he answered. His hand dropped to a book on the desk before he passed the worn leather into Naruto’s waiting hands The blond flipped through it carefully and then tucked it against his side. Fugaku watched at the child turned around and exited the room without another word and he felt something tug at him.
It was the same feeling he felt when Itachi and Sasuke were old enough to start training; the times that they first learned the art of killing and their hands were stained forever. It was the feeling of tainted innocence and lost childhood, one that he had hoped to keep Naruto away from. He wasn’t sure if he would’ve undergone training with his own parents had things worked out different in the past, but there was no sense in thinking about that now.
For now, it was best to think ahead, where the future was never set in stone, unlike the past.
Itachi sat in the plush leather chair combing over the small stuffed fox. It had passed clear of all bugs compared to the clothes and they had no right to keep it. He was pulled from the taxing test as another cackle escaped Sasuke throat.
“Ne heheheh!!”
“No, keep trying.”
Sasuke growled and tried to clear his throat again so he could reach a deeper pitch. This time, the laughter came out darker for a second before it pitched into a higher tone, making Sasuke squeak. He instantly slapped a hand over his mouth at the noise while Obito turned his head to the side to hide his smile.
Muffled laughter came from the side of the room as Naruto gasped for breath against the wall. Red color bloomed into Sasuke’s cheeks as even Itachi chuckled and the younger raven stormed over to Naruto’s side. However, when he spoke, his voice was raspy from too much use and he croaked badly, making the blond burst into more laughter.
When he finally calmed down and wiped the tears from his eyes, he looked Sasuke over. “What were you doing?”
“Practicing my evil laugh,” Sasuke stated. “Every great evil overlord has one.”
Naruto cocked an eyebrow. “Well, even though it’s a stress reliever, I would never do it. If you get too occupied with it, you’ll miss something develop and people will take advantage of it.”
Sasuke scowled. “Where’d you get an idea like that?”
“I just heard it around,” he said. “But if you want, I’ll practice with you.”
“Runt!” Obito called out, scooping the small blond into his arms. “I heard that you were rather popular today, are you alright?”
Itachi picked up a coaster on the table and chunked it at his cousin’s head. “Idiot. Why would you ask him something like that?”
The older Uchiha tweaked Naruto’s nose making him giggle. “Because it happened and acting as though it didn’t isn’t going to make him forget. I just want to make sure he’s fine.”
“It’s okay Itachi,” the blond chirped, popping his head over Obito’s shoulder. “They didn’t do anything to me except tie me to a chair and ordered their minions to shoot when you guys came through the door. I was worried ‘cause I didn’t want anyone hurt. They had people up in the vents, waiting for a good shot.”
“The vents were destroyed when we arrived.”
Naruto nodded. “Of course, daddy blew them up. Any good evil overlord knows that your vents need to be small so no one can get in them.”
The two elder Uchiha’s were silent and Obito set the child on the ground so he could scamper over to Sasuke’s side. Obito drifted over to Itachi and watched as Naruto tried to help position Sasuke’s face so it looked more demanding and fierce but only proceeded to make him look annoyed. They both were silent as they mulled over their thoughts, knowing that this would somehow drift back to their father and it could no longer be overlooked.
Naruto was no longer innocent to the deeds going on in the mansion.
Heaving a large sigh, Obito walked over to the two young children. “Right, Sasuke let’s try that laugh again.”
Itachi groaned and stood up from his chair, he wasn’t going to get any work if he had to listen to two young children trying to work on a laugh. He knew that Sasuke and Obito were using this as a way to distract Naruto from the incident that afternoon; hoping that if his mind was occupied, it would keep the ordeal at bay. They would be watching him carefully and every shred of information would be used to track down the Akatsuki, but the blond was their main concern right now.
He moved into the study and glanced at the fox again. His eyes narrowed as something shinned in the light and he plucked at it carefully, bringing it under the small lamp on the desk once it was free. He stared down at the long strand of red hair and he searched for any signs of a hair tag. Standing up, he swept out of the room and down towards a lab where he handed the hair to a technician.
“Tell me who this belongs to.”
The female nodded and started to work quickly while Itachi waited outside. If the hair belonged to an Akatsuki member, then it would show who gave the fox to Naruto. Itachi wasn’t sure what the blond meant when he said he saw his mother, since the woman was dead. Perhaps he had seen someone who looked like her and in the stressed state; his mind connected it with his mom. His own mother had suggested that perhaps the child was referring to something spiritual that protected him, but there were a number of possibilities.
Thirty minutes later, the door opened again and Itachi found himself staring down at the piece of paper in disbelief. DNA tests on hair were rarely wrong and if that was the case then this paper was telling the truth.
Naruto’s parents were still alive.
It was late as Itachi stared at the darkened ceiling. His mind was spinning around at the new discovery and although he considered all possible theories of the hair being planted there, nothing worked out. If it hadn’t been Kushina that Naruto had seen, then the person had gone through every effort to assure that the child was well protected. The earplugs and headphones kept him from hearing the gunshots and the windowless room made it impossible to see the bodies.
But the detail and care that were orchestrated couldn’t have come from a random person. It was something that a parent would do for their child and it further helped to solidify Itachi’s theory that it had indeed been Kushina in that room. No doubt, they were waiting for the rescue team to arrive and drive away safely before even thinking about leaving. But he couldn’t figure out why they didn’t take Naruto with him then; not that he was complaining as he had grown rather attached to him, but Naruto was their son.
Speaking of Naruto, he wondered where the blond was. It was storming outside as the delayed storm had finally moved over the rest of the city, hitting the suburbs. By now, the child was usually in his room, asking to stay with him.
Itachi climbed out of bed and moved down the hallway carefully. He hesitated at Naruto’s door before poking his head inside the messy room, searching for any signs of the blond. His eyes settled on the large mass of blankets on the bed that jumped as another crack of thunder sounded across the sky. Moving across the room, he knelt next to the bed and called the child’s name. It was silent until another bolt of lighting lit up the room and he was tackled to the ground by a shaking blond.
Wide blue eyes stared up at him and he ushered Naruto down the hallway towards his room. As soon as they entered the room, Naruto bolted for the bed, diving under the covers. Itachi followed him silently and slipped in next to him, feeling the trembling body press up against his. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist, assuring him that he was there and eventually the shaking died down, giving way to peaceful sleep.
He felt Naruto snuggle closer and Itachi sighed at the innocent nature. There was no way that something so small and young could be so dangerous; let alone an evil genius. But looking at it from all sides, he was slowly being forced to admit that there was something about Naruto that was starting to make him think otherwise.
A/N: Next chapter will be when Naruto's fifteen. I'm not sure when it'll be out since my readings and work for school have shot through the roof, but something will be posted eventually. :D
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Evil Genius