Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Opposite Sides of the Tracks	By : kizukatana Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1622 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing and make no money

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
-xXx-
Naruto woke up in the hospital early that morning to see Temari sitting in the chair next to him, a huge smirk on her face. He groaned. "Tell me... please tell me that I didn't really do what I think I remember doing. Tell me that was some sort of drug induced hallucination."
"Oh, you mean about making a complete ass of yourself in front of your smoking hot friend that you haven't seen for four years? No, that was totally real."
Naruto closed his eyes. Fucking shit. I am so going to kill Tsunade.
"Since you're clearly awake and aware, let's get your ass out of here before Gaara burns this place down."
-xXx-
Sasuke woke up in the late afternoon feeling ill. Last night everything had been wrong. He couldn't get Naruto's kiss out of his head, and no amount of alcohol had been able to hide the fact that the man he was with was not Naruto. Wrong feel, wrong smell, wrong taste, wrong voice. When the memories of Naruto had been faded with time and separated by distance, it had worked. But not anymore. Sasuke had come to the conclusion that there was not enough alcohol in all of Japan to fool himself that there was anyone other than Naruto that he wanted to be with. And he had put that theory to the test last night.
But he had bigger things that he needed to focus on. Things that he could actually do something about. Whatever messed up emotions he might have right now would just have to wait. He was an Uchiha. Emotional suppression was genetically encoded into his being. He'd deal with Danzo. Then he figure the rest of this shit out.
He heard a knock on his bedroom door.
"What," he hissed.
"Delivery for you, Sasuke-San," his housekeeper said.
Delivery? He never got deliveries except from...
"Bring it in."
His housekeeper came in with the second most hideous boquet that Sasuke had ever seen. Somehow he already felt better. She put it on his nightstand, and he reached over to pull out the full-sized card that came with it, and flicked it open.
Um, yeah. So I am thinking that "my bad" doesn't exactly cover this one. Sorry for being such an ass last night. Hope you are not fleeing to Canada under a false name. I am pretty sure I can promise that I will be drug free and will not assault you next time. Um... not really sure what to say? But, thanks. I know you probably wanted to run like hell, but I am really glad you stayed. - YTH
It took Sasuke's still alcohol hazed brain a few seconds to figure out what YTH stood for.
"Pfft," Sasuke snickered. Was it any wonder he loved that guy? As the thought crossed his mind, Sasuke literally groaned. How many stupid mistakes could he really make in a 24-hour period? Way to go, idiot. Fall for your straight best friend. Weren't you supposed to be a genius or something?
-xXx-
Naruto chatted with the guests at Nagato's compound. Most of them were already pretty wasted, and the conversations were getting interesting. Naruto was holding the same drink he had been since he arrived. But no one noticed. He wasn't a threat. He was someone to joke with, to boast to... to share a girl with. He was one of them, even if he hadn't officially joined up. Everyone felt comfortable with him. And they admired his fighting skills.
He had yet to see the Nagato tonight, but it was not uncommon for him to miss these, due to his health. But he had already spoken with Kakuzu, Deidara, and Kisame. He was just patting himself on the back for successfully avoiding Hidan, when he heard the man call his name from nearby. "Menma! I heard you were here," he waved Naruto over.
Seeing no immediate escape, Naruto reluctantly went over. There were days when Hidan was fucking hilarious, and days when he was flying over the religious cuckoo's nest. Unfortunately for Naruto, today was one of the latter type days. Naruto felt his eyes slowly glaze over as the man ranted on and on about random details of the weird cult he belonged to. When someone interrupted Hidan to ask a question about Nagato's health, Naruto took it for the small miracle it was and slipped into the door to the hallway before Hidan could spot him. He had planned on just re-entering the dining room from the other entrance further down the hall (conveniently at the opposite end of the room from where Hidan was), but a motion in a small room across the hall caught his attention. He saw a figure disappear into the darkness of the unlit room. He froze, not believing what he saw. He quickly walked to the room, fear clutching at his chest. "Sasuke, are you out of your fucking mind?" he hissed into the room, looking up and down the hallway to be sure they were completely alone. "You have to get the hell out of -"
He cut off as the person in the room turned to face him. It was not Sasuke. But the resemblance was unmistakable. This man was a little older, and his hair was longer and tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. Naruto opened his mouth, but the eyes of the man before him stopped him from speaking. He had no idea how it happened, but without saying a single word he was able to convince Naruto to turn and walk out of the room immediately and not say another word. Naruto heard a voice from the hallway, and slowly stepped out of the smaller room.
"Menma, what are you doing?" It was one of the other guests, but Naruto's brain was too frozen to recall it.
"I, uh... just forgot where the bathroom was."
Somehow Naruto managed to make it through the rest of the evening. He saw no further sign of the man he had seen earlier. But he was pretty sure he knew who it was.
-xXx-
Naruto was a bundle of nerves as he headed for the meeting place that Shikamaru had arranged. He had asked if Sasuke was coming, and Shikamaru had said yes. He had to trust that. He didn't know what he would do if Sasuke didn't show up, but he had to tell him about Itachi. And he needed to do it face-to-face, in case he needed to physically restrain his friend from charging off and getting himself killed. He got to the hotel Shikamaru had arranged. It had an alley entrance where there were no cameras, and he had told Naruto which room he would be in, so Naruto could bypass the front desk.
He sat down just inside the side entrance and pulled out his sketch pad. He sketched the face that he had been too afraid to set down on paper where there was any chance at all of someone finding it. It took him a little longer than he thought to get it right, but somehow he knew how important it would be to be absolutely sure. He blew out a sharp breath and ran up the 3 flights of stairs, taking them two at a time. He was a little late, and he didn't want to keep them waiting. His black hoodie was pulled up in case there were cameras he didn't know about.
He got to the room and knocked quietly 5 times. The door opened, and Shikamaru let him in. The room had a small sitting area, and Sasuke was seated in a chair by the desk. Naruto greeted Shikamaru and pushed back his hood, running his hands through his hair, using the extra couple seconds to try to assess Sasuke's state of mind.
"Hey, Sasuke. Um, I'm... sorry I was so insane the other night. Ah... did you get my note?"
A small smile flickered across Sasuke's lips. "Yeah. It's ok. We're good."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question, but neither man addressed it.
"OK," Naruto continued to fidget and look uncertain. Sasuke frowned. He shouldn't be this nervous. Didn't he just tell him they were good?
"Naruto, seriously. It's ok. I'm not pissed off."
"Yeah, that's actually not what I'm worried about. Look, Sasuke. I have something that I want to tell you. Or, I guess... ask you. But, it's a little hard. And I don't want to mess you up, so -"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Cut to the chase, Naruto. You're going to make him think you are going to propose or something."
Naruto flinched, and laughed a little. "Right. OK. So, Sasuke. I met someone at a party two nights ago. And I drew his face. And I want you to tell me who this person is."
Shikamaru went utterly still.
Sasuke just shrugged. "What, are you giving me a pop quiz to see if I studied all the ones you sent? Seriously, I'm good with faces, just give me the -"
"No, Sasuke," the intensity of Naruto's voice puzzled Sasuke. "I need you to brace yourself. This isn't... this isn't a test. I'm trying not to fuck you up with this, but I don't really know how to do it. I'm not good at this kind of shit."
Sasuke had an almost surreal feeling, a subconscious thought trying to surface, but his conscious mind was shutting it down. "Show me."
Naruto tore the page out of his sketchbook, his eyes locked on Sasuke's. He placed it face down on the table in front of him. For some reason that he couldn't explain, Sasuke's hand trembled a bit when he reached to turn the drawing over. When he did, he just stared. He looked up at Naruto, and the raw hope and anguish in his eyes almost brought the blond to his knees. "Itachi's alive? You saw him?"
Naruto nodded, keeping his eyes locked on Sasuke's, seeing the wild emotions there threatening to spiral out of control.
"Is he alright? What... what was he doing? Why hasn't he contacted me? It's been 4 fucking years! Doesn't he know how much I -" Sasuke choked up, and Naruto went and put his hands on the man's shoulders.
"He's alright, at least physically. I didn't get to talk to him. Sasuke, I'm sorry. I tried to find a better way to tell you, but I was afraid if I said it was him, and then it turned out to be some distant relative or something, that would be so much worse. But please, I need you to listen to me. I know this is really hard, but I need you to not lose it yet. I need to tell you a lot of things so that you can understand. Then the three of us are going to figure out what to do, about taking down Danzo and bringing Itachi back."
Sasuke closed his eyes, and nodded, visibly swallowing his emotions and trying to regain control. His hands were still shaking, and Naruto ached for his friend.
"I said that I knew that Danzo was the one who did it. And I said that I have proof," Naruto looked over at Shikamaru, then back to Sasuke. "It's a little complicated, and you have to connect the dots a bit. So try to be patient and let me walk you through what I know. Then you can ask me whatever you want, and I'll answer if I know. Ok?"
Both men nodded. "Ok. So a week after your parents were killed, this man's body was found." Naruto pulled out a police sketch of a face of a man that Sasuke didn't recognize, labeled as 'name unknown'. "They had to sketch his face, because they couldn't use a photo of the body. The reason they couldn't use a photo, was because this guy had been sliced to ribbons. Not maniacally, by some crazy person in a rage. But very methodically, and precisely. It's a pretty safe bet that anything this guy knew was told to his killer before he died. I was able to... obtain the medical report from the police. I gave it to Tsunade. And she was able to determine that the cuts were made by a single weapon. Specifically, a slightly curved, single-edged blade about 60 cm long. And it was wielded by an expert."
Sasuke's eyes widened as he took that in. The description of the blade perfectly described a katana. Itachi had been an expert swordsman, and had specialized with his katana. Naruto had been waiting for Sasuke to finish processing, and he nodded. Then continued.
"Different Yakuza factions often have specific tattoos that represent different things, either rank or skill or tenure. Here are photos of the tattoos that this guy had on his arms and chest," Naruto handed the photos to Shikamaru and Sasuke. "Danzo is a big fan of the underground fights. He used to come to most of the matches, and many of his crew would come, too. They run some of the gambling on the fights, but also they just like to watch. After I started to gain attention on the circuit, I got invited to dinners and parties at Danzo's compound just outside of Tokyo. This is a sketch of the arms of one of the guys that at the first meeting I had there. He asked me to spar with him, and he took off his shirt." Naruto tore another sketch out of his book, and slid it over. It matched one of the tats on the dead man exactly. "A little while later, I met this kid at one of Danzo's parties."
He slid another sketch over. The kid looked like a younger version of the dead man. "He was pretty drunk, and seemed upset. I guess I was a sympathetic listener. He told me that his older brother was missing. That he had been sent on an important job for Danzo, but hadn't come back. Before he passed out, though, he said that at least his brother's work had been in the papers the entire summer, and the country was still talking about it almost a year later. That year, the papers didn't have any story bigger than the death of your family. I asked the kid what his brother's name was, and had a friend run a check on him." Naruto slid another paper over. "There weren't any recent photos of him, which is probably why the police weren't able to identify his body, but it turns out that this guy was a demolitions expert for a construction company owned by Uchiha Enterprises until about eight years ago, when he was fired for being drunk on the job."
Naruto paused now, and looked between Shikamaru and Sasuke. "You guys following so far?"
Sasuke was still staring at the sketch of the man who had killed his family. Shikamaru was the one who spoke. "So basically, a guy who worked for Danzo and had a grudge against Uchiha Enterprises blew up the house, and Itachi most likely caught him and killed him."
"Right. But the guy didn't kill Sasuke's parents because of a grudge. He tried to take out the entire family because Danzo ordered him to."
Shikamaru frowned. "Where do you get that from this? And if he wanted Sasuke dead too, why is he waiting so long to finish the job? Sasuke might have good security, but no one in invulnerable. It's been four years. He must have had chances."
Naruto nodded. "Right. That brings us to part two of the story. Why he did this in the first place. Sasuke - do you know what happens when people die without a will?"
"Yeah, if they are intestate, then all property goes to the closest living relative. But my parents didn't die intestate. They left everything to Itachi and me."
"But if you had all died, did the will specify who Uchiha Enterprises would go to?" Shikamaru asked.
"I... don't really know. I would assume so. I mean, if you have a multi-billion dollar estate, the lawyers must -"
'No, they didn't," Naruto cut Sasuke off. "Who do you think your next living relative is, Sasuke?"
Sasuke didn't hesitate. "It is Shisui-san. But I've known him for years, and the police looked into him as well. I know he is not connected with this at all."
"You're right that he is not connected. But you are wrong that he is your closest living relative. So were the police."
"..." Sasuke just looked at Naruto for a minute. "Then who the hell is it?"
"Do you remember hearing the name Uchiha Madara?"
"Madara! He emigrated to the US like 15 years ago, after a big rift in the family. But I know for a fact that the way the governance for Uchiha Enterprises are set up, you have to be a Japanese citizen to inherit, and you have to be living in Japan. Madara wouldn't meet either one of those criteria."
"Wrong again," Naruto said, and pulled out another two documents. The first showed the re-emigration of one Uchiha Madara back to Japan five years ago. The second was a moderate size financial holding jointly owned by Madara and Danzo. "He's been back for at least five years. And he is in business with Danzo."
Shikamaru's brows were drawn together. Finally he spoke. "So that is why they didn't kill Sasuke right away. Sasuke wouldn't have Itachi declared legally dead. He put enough doubt out there that no one could over-rule him. So if Sasuke died, the Itachi would still be listed as the heir, and it wouldn't pass to Madara. He needed either for Sasuke to give up and have Itachi declared dead, or..."
"Or he needed to find Itachi and kill him, so that he could then produce a body and have the matter settled. Which is why Itachi has been in hiding," Sasuke finished.
"He was in hiding because it protected you, and possibly also let him start taking action without getting caught, like with that demolitions guy," Shikamaru continued.
Naruto pretended to scowl. "Ok, so that took me like 6 months to figure out, and you guys put it together in 2 minutes."
They all laughed a little, but then went back to staring at all the papers in front of them. "So, Sasuke. Do you have a will?" Shikarmaru asked.
"No. I guess that is pretty stupid, right? I would have left the company to Shisui anyway, so I figured why bother? But I should definitely make one out, if it will put Uchiha Enterprises out of Madara's reach and get Itachi and me off the hit list."
Naruto looked at them and rolled his eyes. "Here I was just thinking that you both were so smart. If it were that easy, don't you think Itachi would have just sent you a letter and told you to do that right after he offed the guy who set the bomb? Why do you think he didn't?"
Shikamaru and Sasuke exchanged glances. Naruto pulled a sketch out of the pile and slapped it down in front of them. "Remember him? All it would do is add to his 'to do' list. How many of your cousins do you want to have to bury? The amount of money that this company is worth can buy a lot of silence." They all stared at the sketch of Danzo's top hit-man.
"So basically you're saying that the only way to keep Sasuke and Itachi safe is to kill Madara and Danzo," Shikamaru said flatly.
"Unless you come up with something better."
"Why do you think we are running out of time?" Sasuke asked.
"I would guess either Danzo has decided that enough time has passed with no word of Itachi that he could successfully go to court and have Itachi legally declared dead, or..." Naruto trailed off.
"... or he's found Itachi," Shikamaru finished for him. All three men looked grim.
-xXx-
The night's match had been tough. Next to Gaara, this had been Naruto's most challenging opponent yet. It had lasted the full set of rounds, and been decided on points. Naruto had won, but his body had taken a beating, and he was exhausted. Gaara was walking with him. Temari had gone to fetch Shizune (Naruto had put his foot down about Tsunade unless he was literally dying and she was given a breathalyzer first). They walked into the locker room together. Naruto was covered with sweat and a little of his opponent's blood, and he wanted nothing more than to shower off and go to sleep. He turned on the shower and had just pulled off his clothes when Gaara called him over. Naruto quickly wrapped a towel around his waist and walked over.
"This was on the table," Gaara said, indicating the reclining medical table where Naruto was usually treated after a match. It was a plain envelope, with his name written on it in a neat, precise hand that Naruto did not recognize. It was strange, because this room was always locked during his matches. Naruto opened it, and pulled out a small scrap of paper with a red string attached, and a note. He recognized the paper immediately. It was the prayer and promise he had tied to the incense at the Uchiha manor the day he had gone to see Sasuke. Itachi's name was written on the outside. Naruto's hand shook as he opened the small note enclosed with it.
They're going after him tonight.
Gaara had felt no qualms reading the note over Naruto's shoulder, and he saw the look of sheer panic on his friend's face. Gaara reached in his pocket and handed Naruto his cell.
"Go. I will call you on this number in 24 hours. You have cash in your bag. Find him, and go to ground. Don't talk to anyone once you find him."
Naruto nodded, fighting down the panic. He knew who Danzo would send. What he didn't know for sure was exactly where Sasuke was. Due to tight security, the papers often had misleading information on where he was or what he was doing. But Shikamaru would know. Naruto quickly pulled on his black jeans, tank top and hoodie, not bothering with the shower he had craved earlier. He wiped his face so he could pass a quick inspection and not look bloody, though there was nothing he could do about the bruise on his cheekbone.
But it was already night, and he would need to keep to the shadows anyway. Hopefully no one would see his face. He was just headed out the door when his friend's voice stopped him.
"Naruto. You know who Danzo will send. If you end up having to fight him, you know what you will need to do. You know what he is."
Naruto didn't look back, because he knew what Gaara would read in his eyes. "I will stop him from hurting Sasuke."
"Naruto -"
"Gaara - I will do what I need to do to protect my friend. But in the end, I am who I am. And I won't be able to go beyond that."
With that he ran down the corridor, dialing Shikamaru as he headed out into the night. Gaara had a sick feeling in his stomach. But he had work to do. He needed to get another disposable phone to replace the one he had just given Naruto so they could make contact after it was done. And he had to make arrangements for some sort of safe house for them to go to that would be completely untraceable. Temari walked in with Shizune and Kankuro, stopping in her tracks when she saw Gaara's face.
"What happened?"
...
Naruto was glad that they had planned ahead enough that Sasuke always let Shikamaru know where he would be, in case they needed to get ahold of him. As annoying as it was, it wasn't safe for direct communication between Naruto and Sasuke yet. Sasuke had told Shikamaru that he had a big business lunch with the executives of a large Russian conglomerate earlier that day, and was in Tokyo. Shikamaru had tried to call his cell, but Sasuke hadn't picked up. At least Shikamaru had known which hotel he was staying at, so Naruto had just gone directly there. It appeared to be some swanky business resort, with villas, pools, and landscaped lawns. Shikamaru wasn't sure what name Sasuke had used for checking in, though, and Naruto was wondering if he was going to have to go knocking door to door.
A figure moving silently across the courtyard caught Naruto's eye. He stayed perfectly still in the shadows, waiting until he had almost lost sight of the man before following equally silently. He had dreaded this. He had been hoping that he would be able to get Sasuke out of her before they had come. But it looked like his luck had not been good tonight. The figure had reached one of the larger villas in the back, and had thrown some sort of grappling hook attached to a rope up to a second story window. With fluid grace, he pulled himself onto the rope and began rapidly climbing up. Out of time, Naruto grabbed a fist-sized rock that was at his feet and threw it with all his strength at the head of the climbing man. Fortunately, he had always been good at sports, and the rock clipped the man behind the ear and his grip faltered. He fell to the ground, but landed on his feet, turning immediately to face Naruto. Before Naruto could even process it, a knife was flying directly at him. Sai's eyes widened when he realized who his opponent was.
"Sai. I'm sorry. I was really hoping it wasn't going to come to this. Please. I don't want to fight you. But I can't let you kill Sasuke."
Sai didn't say anything, he just pulled out another knife, and readied himself. Naruto knew that fighting Sai wouldn't be like fighting the opponents he was used to. Sai was trained to kill with the first strike. Second strike only if absolutely necessary. This would be over in seconds. And Naruto had already avoided the first strike, out of luck and quick reflexes. Naruto felt his hands sweat. But he did not try to take advantage of Sai's momentary surprise.
"You can tell Danzo it was me. Tell him you saw me taking Sasuke out just as you arrived. He won't blame you. He'll just come after me, and I'm ok with that."
"Why? Why would either of us risk something like that?" Sai looked honestly curious.
"Sasuke is my friend, way back from when we were kids. He helped me when no one else would. Sai... I can't let you kill him. Please don't make me fight you."
Sai looked at Naruto consideringly for a second. But he shrugged. "I have to complete my assignment. You need to stop me. Fighting is inevitable. Though I don't look forward to killing you." Sai frowned a bit, seemingly puzzled by his own comment.
With that, he launched himself at Naruto. He was fast... faster than even Gaara. Naruto saw the knife coming but couldn't avoid it in time. He felt it hit right above his heart, but it hit the rib and slid along and was deflected to the side rather than going straight in. Naruto was able to hit one of Sai's pressure points at the close distance, as he tried to twist the knife away, and they went down in a heap.
Naruto's heart was racing and he tried to determine if he was alright. He looked at Sai's face, and saw the shock etched there. He pulled away and saw the hilt of the assassin's blade sticking out of Sai's chest, just under his right arm. It most likely had pierced his lung, but not his heart. He would live if he got medical attention right away. Sai was looking at him, clearly waiting for him to finish it. Naruto reached down, and the man did not flinch. He reached into Sai's pocket, and pulled out the man's cell phone. He dialed 911. "There's been a stabbing. Send an ambulance."
Naruto tossed the cell down next to the shocked man, leaving it open so they could locate the phone and the injured man.
"Why?" then man asked, looking completely confused. He had lost. Naruto should have killed him. It didn't make any sense.
"Because I can't kill a friend," Naruto turned and ran to the rope, quickly climbing it. He assumed that Sai knew exactly which window to go through to avoid Sasuke's security detail. He'd get Sasuke and run like hell before the ambulance or Sai's back-up could arrive.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Sasuke was currently face down in his bed wearing just the black sweatpants he had pulled on after his shower. Fucking Russians and their fucking vodka. The lunch had started at noon, and by 4pm when it ended Sasuke had been totally wasted. Fortunately, he was more than capable to continue functioning in that state, so business had concluded successfully, and he had staggered back to his hotel and landed in bed. It was now 11 o'clock at night, and he was finally coming back to himself. He was about to get out of bed and call room service for some dinner, when he heard the sound of a window sliding open from the other room.
Sasuke kept his breathing slow and even. So much for Kakashi's 'top notch' security, he thought dryly. He slipped his hand under his pillow, where he kept his butterfly knife. Ever since his conversation with Naruto, he always kept it with him. When he heard the soft footfall in his room, he whipped it out and threw it in one fluid motion. For the second time in less than 15 minutes, Naruto just barely dodged a knife coming at his chest. The knife grazed his right arm just below the shoulder, and passed through with a thunk into the wall behind him.
"Fucking knives! Dammit Sasuke!" Naruto whispered furiously, grabbing his arm.
"Naruto? You idiot! I could have killed you!"
"If you'd learn to answer your fucking phone, shit like this wouldn't happen. Hurry up and pull a shirt and some shoes on. We have to get out of here now. Leave your cell here, or they'll trace it. We're going out the window."
Sasuke was glad he had sobered up. He didn't waste time on questions quickly pulled on a dark blue button-down shirt and slipped into some shoes. He grabbed his wallet as Naruto was already heading out the window again. He followed, glad he still went to the gym enough to have decent upper body strength as he looked down at the ground two stories below. His attention caught on a figure lying still in the grass, but he didn't question Naruto on it. He could hear sirens approaching. They ran quickly across the grass and Sasuke again just silently followed Naruto's lead as they climbed over a stone wall and jumped down into an alley. Naruto pulled the hood of his sweatshirt up over his hair, realizing belatedly that he should have told Sasuke to grab a hat or a jacket with a hood as well. But it was too late now.
"Sasuke, flag down a cab. We have to get the hell out of here."
Sasuke did, though he wondered why Naruto didn't do it himself and instead was seeming to be avoiding the light from the streetlamp as much as possible. As soon as one stopped, they both jumped in and Naruto gave him directions to a part of town close to the redlight district. Sasuke didn't question it. If they needed a hotel that would take cash and not ask questions to hide out in for a while, this was the place to go. When the cab let them out, Naruto started walking south. But as soon as the cab had disappeared from sight, he turned west. "Don't make eye contact, and don't walk like we're together. Follow me from half a block away and when I stop in front of a hotel and take out my cell, I want you to go in and book a room. Wait for me by the elevators. I will follow you in 5 minutes. Only pay cash, and don't give them your real name."
"Paranoid, much?" Sasuke feigned annoyance, but he hadn't forgotten the figure laying in the grass just outside his room, and had noticed the way Naruto was moving stiffly as if he were injured. He was glad Naruto seemed to have thought this through, truth be told, since his brain was only just now coming out of its Vodka induced stupor. It was one of the few times in his life he simply did as he was told.
. . . . . . . . .
They got into the hotel room, and Naruto quickly pulled the curtains closed while Sasuke locked the door and angled a chair against it. When Naruto turned to double-check the door, Sasuke's eyes widened and he felt panic tighten his stomach. In the full light of the room, he was able to make out the dark patches of what appeared to be quite a lot of blood all over Naruto's sweatshirt, not to mention a bruise on his face.
"What the hell? You're covered with blood. Dammit, Naruto! Why didn't you say something? Every time I see you you need a fucking hospital?"
"Calm down. Most of this isn't mine. We absolutely can't risk going to a hospital. I have first aid stuff in my pack. Anyway, I'm fine," Naruto still felt the adrenaline pumping through him. Three fights in one night was more than his nervous system could take.
"Who was that guy on the lawn?" Sasuke said, already knowing the answer.
"Danzo's assassin. The one I warned you about. I had wanted to get there before him, but..." Naruto scrubbed his hands through his hair. He still had a sick feeling about the fight. He hoped Sai was ok. And was also afraid about what would happen if he was. He wasn't naïve. But he didn't want to have that conversation with Sasuke. He could see Sasuke opening his mouth to ask about what happened, but he quickly distracted him with the one topic he knew would work.
"Itachi was the one who told me it was going to happen tonight." Sasuke's head snapped up at Naruto's words. "He must have gotten my name from someone at Nagato's, or recognized me somehow from back then. I came back from my fight tonight and he had left me a note in my locker room. If I had been able to end that fucking fight earlier, I could have been here early enough to avoid Sai." Naruto blew a breath out noisily, clearly upset. "But at least we know Itachi is ok. He must have been able to avoid whoever Danzo sent if he was able to get that note to me."
Naruto sat in the chair and rubbed a hand across his face. His body and mind were both at their limit for stress and fatigue.
Sasuke looked at his friend, reading the tirenedness and tension. "Can I... see the note?"
Naruto heard the raw emotion in Sasuke's voice. He pulled his pack open and handed it to Sasuke, not knowing what to say to his friend. Long fingers smoothed over the writing on the outside of the plain envelope. "That's his writing," Sasuke whispered, a smile ghosting across his face. "He's really alive. Thank god." He opened the envelope and saw both the small prayer and the note. He looked questioningly at Naruto.
Naruto flushed, feeling a little embarrassed about the note he had left at the mansion that day. It wasn't a part of a traditional ritual or anything. Naruto had his own sense of spirituality and he had just followed what he felt. It was his way of feeling like he could send a message to the people who had mattered most to his friend. Sasuke was oddly touched by the gesture, and gave another small smile as he tucked both pieces of paper back into the envelope.
"You can keep it, if you want," Naruto said, sounding a little hesitant. "We'll find Itachi as soon as Gaara gets us settled in a safer location. But for now... you can keep it."
Naruto instinctively knew that Sasuke had wanted to touch something that held a direct link to his brother, and judging by the expression on his friend's face as he stared at the envelope, he knew he was right. Deciding to give his friend some privacy with his thoughts, Naruto walked to the bathroom to clean himself up and assess the damage he had taken tonight. He pulled some suture tapes and gauze from his pack, and grabbed a washcloth, soaking it with warm water. Pulling off his hoodie, he sat on the edge of the bed in his tank top and black jeans. The cut to his arm from Sasuke wasn't so bad. The knife had just grazed him and sliced the skin, but the muscle was ok. The slice along his rib hurt a hell of a lot more, and was deeper, but given that he would have been dead if the knife hadn't caught the rib, he wasn't going to complain.
A shadow fell over him and he looked up, surprised to see Sasuke standing next to where he was sitting.
"Here, let me do that, since I am the one who gave it to you," Sasuke said brusquely, taking the washcloth from Naruto. The bed dipped as his friend sat next to him and began wiping around the gash in his arm. When most of the blood was washed there, he applied a bandage to the gash, then looked down to the slash in Naruto's shirt where Sai's knife had cut through. Naruto flinched when Sasuke lifted the hem of Naruto's tank top up enough to see the cut and grimaced. "Shit, you were lucky with this one. Take this off."
Naruto shifted uncomfortably.
"What are you, Nurse Sasuke? I can do it myself. I'm pretty used to it by now. All grown up and shit," Naruto growled, trying to cover the coil of tension he had felt in his stomach when Sasuke had lifted his shirt. I mean, here they were, sitting on a bed. Alone. In a hotel room. That charged by the hour. And had very interesting things on the nightstand.
"Look, you got the shit beat out of you twice already today, and you are probably already stiffening up. Plus, you won't be able to see what's on your back. Just take your shirt off."
Naruto looked at him for a moment, trying to determine if Sasuke was intentionally messing with him. Sasuke just quirked a brow.
"For fuck's sake," Naruto grumbled. Please don't let me get a hard-on from this.
Annoyed at his own stupidity, Naruto jerked his tanktop over his head, hissing as it tugged on the cut on his side.
Sasuke's face went completely blank. Naruto wondered briefly if he had more bruises than he had thought, or if Sasuke was just freaked out by all the blood that had soaked through his shirt.
"Look, don't worry. I can do this. Like I said, most of the blood isn't mine anyway." He tried to take the washcloth back, but Sasuke just glared at him and shoved his hand away.
"We already had this discussion. Just shut up and sit still." He slowly wiped along Naruto's rib, getting the dried blood off. Naruto noticed his friend's hand was shaking a little. He must really not like the sight of blood. He took three of the suture tapes that Naruto had in his bag and applied them to the deep gash, then went to the bathroom to rinse out the washcloth. Naruto heard Sasuke blow out a long breath.
"Look, if the blood makes you queasy or whatever, just let me do it," Naruto said,standing up from the bed. Sasuke came back, a faint flush across his cheekbones, and wordlessly started wiping the blood from Naruto's chest. Sasuke was standing so close... just a few inches away. Naruto could smell the shampoo that Sasuke used. That combined with the feel of Sasuke's hand that was resting lightly on Naruto's back while the other hand washed his torso was starting to make Naruto feel a little dizzy.
Fuck. This is totally karma paying me back for jerking off to my best friend. Fuck, fuck, fuck... Naruto gritted his teeth and tried to think of something else. Anything at all. But his brain just kept focusing on the sensation of Sasuke's hands on him. Naruto jerked as Sasuke shifted the hand on his back as he moved to a different spot on Naruto's chest with the washcloth.
"It's fine, I can do it," Naruto said brusquely. Sasuke ignored him. The washcloth dipped toward Naruto's stomach. Naruto's hand shot out and grabbed Sasuke by the wrist. Hard.
"I said stop."
"Don't be a baby. It can't hurt that much. Like you said, most of this blood isn't even yours," Sasuke said, twisting his wrist to try to free it.
Naruto tightened his grip on Sasuke's wrist and jerked it to the side, further away from his body.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, closing the gap so their bodies were almost touching. "Let go," Sasuke's voice was low. They were eye to eye, almost perfectly level with each other.
Naruto tighted his grip even more, probably leaving a bruise. "Look, I hate to spell it out for you, Sasuke, but I'm not a kid anymore. Touching me like that is going to have unintended consequences. So unless you're saying 'go for it', I need you to just go sit on that chair over there across the room from me and let me do this myself. I'm fine," Sasuke's eyes drop to the front of Naruto's pants, where it was rapidly becoming quite clear exactly what he meant by 'unintended consequences'.
"Exactly. So just go sit over there and let me wash up," Naruto said firmly.
Sasuke looked back at Naruto and leaned in, a smirk forming on his lips. "What if those consequences aren't unintended?"
-xXx-
to be continued... (yes, will continue immediately with this scene. I won't be that mean. Also backstory of Sai's relationship with Naruto will be explained, along with scenes with Itachi)
FYI - for those of you who were also reading 'Nice Guys Finish Dead Last', aff has removed this story due to a complaint from a reader about the comments. I will be continuing it a fanfiction.net, where I am also posting as KizuKatana. You can continue to follow it there if you like.
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