Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ HitMan (ItaNaru SasuNaru) ❯ INTERLUDE ( Chapter 8 )
Naruto and Itachi fight. What is love? Can someone know if they never felt it?
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Action / Angst / Suspense | Type: Shounen-ai | Uploaded On: 03.08.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 387 | Status: Work In Progress
“It’s going to rain.” Naruto whispered to himself. He could smell the dampness in the air and heard the roaring of the wind closing in. Night fell; the sun had long disappeared beneath the horizon and a curtain of black and gray clouds hid the full moon. He shivered as the wind grew colder and the thunder roared over the house.
The rain didn’t come.
The boy sat alone and barefoot on the hard wood floor. Through the screen door he could see a mother bird feed its babies in the branches of a tree. She covered them with her wing protecting them, loving them, sheltering them from the cold air outside.
The boy twiddled his thumbs where he sat in the corner of the room, his knees bent under his chin. Itachi had provided him a black sweatshirt that was so baggy that it went past his hips and over his torn orange jeans. The blond child sat and stared at the wall unsure of what to do with himself. The killer’s words repeated in his mind. ‘You are not to speak unless I address you. You are not to say anything, do anything, or touch anything’
Kisame left. The boy was surprised to not want the strange man to leave. His discolored skin, squinty golden eyes, and sharp teeth made him resemble a shark. He even smelled like one, the fish smell that lingered all around him was enough to make anyone gag. But even so, his company would be a comfort in the presence of the enigmatic Itachi.
It had already been an hour since Itachi had locked himself up in the bathroom. Horrible pained cries and shouts leaked out of the room from the crack under the door and Naruto had found him fearful of them. So as quietly as he could, Naruto tiptoed to the bathroom, and opened the door just a crack. He could only make out Itachi's back in the dim light of the candle-lit room; a white tank top with bandages underneath concealed any wounds Naruto might have been able to see.
Itachi clenched his fist and slammed it into the wall mirror that stared back at him. The glass broke sprinkling the reflective shards all over the place. He looked at his hand pleased with the damage he had caused himself. Anger suddenly overcame him. Anger of his weakness and his failure to kill the priest. He again slammed his fist into a wall.
That fucking son of a bitch wounded me! I’ll rip him apart. No one wounds me and lives to see another day. I will kill him. You will regret not killing me when you had the chance. And if fate is kind to me we will meet again.
Itachi lifted his arm again to give another blow to the wall only to be stopped when a pair of small hands reached out and held tight to his cold, firm arm.
“Itachi!” Naruto shouted, his grip tightened, eyes glued to the floor. “What are you doing? Why are you doing this to your self? Stop it!”
Itachi pulled his arm away from the boy with one fierce tug and shoved the boy back a step with his other hand. He backhanded Naruto hard enough that his hand tingled with the pins and needles of numbness. The boy tumbled helplessly across the floor with the force of the blow. Itachi shook his arm and could slowly feel again.
“What the hell do you care?”
The boy’s eyes filled with tears as he looked up at the man. He couldn’t help but shake in fear at the look that Itachi was giving him. He felt his body suddenly get warm and he realized that somewhere along the line he had wet himself.
However, Naruto wasn’t done with Itachi. He was far from done. He launched himself at Itachi, tackling him to the floor, sending them both sprawling across the tiles. Naruto buried his face in Itachi's chest holding tight to his waist.
“Let go of me!” Itachi was panicking. He pulled Naruto’s blond hair and hit him in hopes that he would let go.
“Why?” Naruto shouted, as blows rained down on his head and shoulders. “Tell me why you hate being touched so much! I’m not trying to hurt you. I only want to help! I want to be your friend!”
Dad, no! Not tonight! Please, I want to go to sleep. Let me sleep.
Don’t worry baby, no one will ever know.
Never know.
What the hell Itachi? Get a hold of your self! This kid is a walking moneybag!
“I want to be your friend!” Naruto shouted again.
Itachi’s body went limp suddenly; he shoved the boy away, this time Naruto stepped back covering his bleeding nose.
“You stupid brat. When will you realize this is a dog eat dog world? Staying alive means every man for himself. You have to watch your back always. Compassion is for the weak; the person with the most money and best armory wins. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t take care of yourself, nobody else will.”
“That’s not true.”
This man’s emotions are pouring into me. ‘I don’t care about anything or anyone’. Is this rage I feel from him? No it’s just pain, and fear, and something much more. But what?
Rivulets of blood ran freely from his nose and fell in spatters on the floor. “That’s not true! If you have someone to hold and love and-”
“Love?” For a moment Itachi seemed to be at a complete loss for words, he looked at the ceiling then back at the boy. “Love is nothing but an illusion, which means it doesn’t exist. Love is a fairy tale for people who can’t cope with the harsh reality of life.”
His response made Naruto angry. If love was an illusion as Itachi clamed it to be, then that would mean everything he felt for Sasuke was nothing but a lie. This made Naruto furious.
“That’s because no one ever loved you. I can see why: you’re a monster. A cold-blooded killer who cares about nothing but himself and money! You’re nothing but a monster!” The harshness of the words surprised Naruto himself. He stepped back, clapping a hand over his mouth, expecting a blow and was surprised when nothing came his way. Their eyes locked for a second until Itachi pulled away. He seemed unfazed by the boy’s words.
“I have to go.” He said, eager to leave the house. “We will talk more when I get back.”
He stood up and grabbed his cloak, heading for the door.
“But we just got back from the city and now you’re leaving?” Naruto cried, running after him. “W-wait I don’t want to be alone! Please don’t leave me alone!”
The front door slammed and dust from the ceiling fell to the floor. A book from the ledge fell to the floor. Surprised by the noise from beside him, Naruto bent down and picked up the book. It had a blue velvet cover and with silver-gilt pages. He turned the pages not knowing what to think or say. Names upon names were written on each and every line was a name, a number and a date.
924…. 925 …927
“930? He’s killed 930 people?”
“This man… he really is… a monster. How can someone do this? What am I doing asking help from a monster? What am I going to do?”
Sasuke what am I going to do?
Naruto cradled the book in his lap. He sniffled, tears running down his face. His nose ran, snot fell onto the velvet cover, but he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve. His eyes became heavy and suddenly fell asleep, body wrapped around the horrific book of Itachi’s accomplishments, too exhausted to find a blanket. -ooo-
Burning tires littered the deserted city, the fumes from the fires black and accosting. Itachi turned left down the cobblestone road and walked down the narrow alley between the buildings. It was the fastest way to the bar; hopefully a bottle or two would calm his nerves. As he walked he could smell the male urine on the side of the buildings.
Honestly Itachi you have been losing your cool an awful lot lately, the voice whispered in his head, forever reminding him of his failings.
If the bastard would just keep his fucking paws off of me we wouldn’t have a problem.
He did more than just touch you. Remember? He slept with you. And you liked it. You liked his soft warm flesh against your cold skin. You foolishly dropped your guard and allowed that filthy child to touch you. Who knows, he might of even had his way with your body while you where sleeping. Just like him. Just like everybody. You liked it didn’t you?
I didn’t like it. I hated it.
You did.
I didn’t.
Liar.
Itachi was so caught up in his internal argument, he didn’t immediately notice the two dark-haired youths that ran out to meet him. They were nothing more than children, maybe half Itachi’s age. Desperation was bright in their eyes, chins beardless and as smooth, they wore their hair in long black curls that barely touched their shoulders.
“Give us your money!” The one welding a knife shouted.
“Look kid, I’m not in a very best of moods today. If you value your lives I suggest you leave now.”
The children looked at each other and then at the man with long black hair tied neatly in a ponytail.
You’re nothing but a monster!
“Please,” Itachi said again, this time there was a hint of pleading in his voice. “Please, I have no quarrel with you.”
“Fuck you!” one of the boys shouted. “Don’t tell us what to do!”
Itachi said nothing to the boys; his eyes spoke for him.
“B-brother,” The younger of the two boys said. “Please let’s go. His eyes…they scare me! He didn’t pay us enough for this!”
“Shut up stupid! Did you hear us? We out-number you two-to-one. Just leave us the money and you won’t get hurt!
“Me get hurt? You obviously don’t know who you are dealing with.” Itachi said with a smirk. “Fine.” Three-inch blades fell out his jacket; he lazily bent down and picked one up. “Then it is time for you to meet your maker.”
With an expert flick of his wrist, the blade flew through the air, perfectly balance. The boy’s eyes widened, only to have on pierced by the blade. He was killed instantly, even before the blade broke through the back of his skull. He collapsed, blood pooling around his broken head. The scared younger boy took it as his chance to run away. The terrified boy turned the corner but Itachi kicked him down with his heel.
Itachi rammed the blade into the boy’s neck, and cutting a deep gash in the weak tissue. The boy fell limp to the floor gargling on his own blood. He wasn’t dead yet.
“M-mommy,” the boy cried his hand reached out to the heavens.
“Yeah, call for your mother!” Itachi snarled and pulled out his gun, firing a round into the boy’s small chest: the final blow.
“I don’t see her, do you?” He shot again, the shells bounced on the floor making a hollow clicking noise. "Where is your mommy now?” Itachi taunted. The boy’s eyelids fluttered and his eyes went blank.
The killer looked down at the lifeless bodies. “Fools,” he managed to say, wiping the blades on his pants. He frowned, noticing a change in the atmosphere. “I know you’re there: I can hear your breathing. Come out before I make you.”
Orochimaru appeared from the corners of the shadows. His lank black hair had grown longer since the last time Itachi had seen the man. He was dressed like a Victorian fop: his ruffled white collar tucked neatly inside the lapels of his gold pinstriped purple vest.
“Orochimaru.” Itachi hissed. “What the fuck do you want? I thought I severed all my ties with you.”
“Well, I need you to kidnap someone for me.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone. He leaned against the side of the wall, examining his well-manicured fingernails. “You will be well compensated, of course.”
Itachi scanned the alleyway where the boys’ bodies lay. The raven-haired man could see Orochimaru’s golden eyes twinkle in the darkness. “You sent these children after me, I suppose.”
“That I did,” the pale man said without the slightest bit of remorse. “I wanted to see if you still got it.”
“I should kill you for that. How dare you say that to me? How dare you doubt me?”
“I can smell blood from your chest, fresh blood. From today perhaps? I’ve never known the Hitman to ever get hurt. What do they now call you the Grim Reaper?”
“A minor mishap, I assure you. Nothing of the sort will ever happen again.” Itachi told him, his hand itching to point the gun and watch the snake-man’s brains splatter across the walls.
“That’s what I wanted to hear. Anyway, I need you to kidnap someone for me. You could say it’s for old time’s sake.”
“Who?” Itachi growled, his voice filled with annoyance.
“A young boy by the name of Naruto. Refrain from lying to me because I know that you know him. Does 300,000 sound fair to you?”
Itachi lowered his head; his mouth opened and yet he said nothing.
“I can see you need to think this over. So, tomorrow then? We’ll meet me here tomorrow night for you to give me your finial answer. Hopefully you will be more eager and more willing. We have to make this quick: I’m going on a vacation. I know you won’t disappoint me. You’re the man who killed his family for five dollars, after all.”
“Why do you want him anyway?”
“The number one rule of a hit man is to never ask why you are going to do the job, so long as you get it done. Don’t ask, don’t tell, remember? But being as we are old friends, the real reason is that… I want to fuck him raw, so hard that he will beg me to cut his throat. His death is inevitable; I might as well get some fun out of it.”
Before the Hitman could respond, Orochimaru disappeared into the shadows just as quickly as he had come. Suddenly, Itachi didn’t feel like drinking anymore. He turned around and continued walking home.
He paused on the porch, only a few steps away from the front door. Something moved on the cement catching Itachi’s attention. The raven-haired man turned toward the movement and bent down to see what it was. It was a baby bird struggling for life. Its chest was moving with the steady rate of its breathing, but even so, Itachi knew it could not survive. Its wings were not yet fully-grown, so it couldn’t get away if it wanted to.
The wind had obviously knocked it out of its nest. Itachi’s eyes scanned the palm tree and sure enough, there was a nest. The mother-bird sat protectively over her other nestlings, fiercely flapping her wings as if to call back her stray chick. So, as carefully as he could, Itachi picked the baby bird up off the pavement and began gently stoking its soft feathers. He smiled but his mind was elsewhere.
300,000 dollars? Yes, money is important. The one with the most wins and the one who pays the most wins.
You’re nothing but a monster! The blue-eyed boy’s horrified cry echoed in his mind.
Itachi eyes widened and his hands relaxed, dropping the bird to the ground. If the bird wasn’t dead from the fall alone, he made sure it was by stomping his foot down on it. He could hear and feel the thing’s tiny bones shatter under his weight, and its skull flatten beneath his boot. Frowning in mild disgust, he leaned against the wall and scraped the gore off of his boot. -ooo-
Kakashi, for once in his life, had a day off of work and for once, he was bored out of his mind. So, today he decided to loiter around the shopping centers looking at pointless and frivolous objects for no reason whatsoever. One particular store caught his wandering attention and in the window, he saw the perfect thing to amuse himself with.
A maid’s outfit.
He bit his lip, hesitant to walk into such a store. Screwing up all his courage and resolve he slid the door open. The owner, who was very glad to have a customer for the first time in weeks, gave the silver-haired man a nod and grin.
Kakashi walked straight to the mannequin in the window, his hands gracing the soft folds of material that made up the elegant bit of fetish-wear. The frilly petticoats and satin laces and pristine white apron were soft to the touch.
He sighed, checking the price. Certainly more than he had intended to spend today, but in the end, it was nothing more than chump change to the handsome cop.
Kakashi suddenly knew exactly what he was going to do with his day off. He pulled the outfit off of the mannequin, and rooting around in his pocket, he produced a rather large wad of bills, which he slapped on the counter before the satisfied shop manager. The man behind the counter grinned at him and wrapped it up, free of charge.
The older man walked out of the shop with a bounce in his step and a pink package tucked neatly under his arm. He gave a whistle and a hum while taking the long walk to the infamous Pink Cobra. The occasional bum or two stopped him, but he was in such a good mood that he gave whatever change he had to them.
In truth, he did feel rather perverted for buying the maids outfit, but he knew it was in his favor. It would be worth it to see a steamed blond stomping and pouting in furious indignation.
Kakashi scratched his head and looked himself over; he wasn’t wearing anything special beyond the tailored suit that he usually wore to work. His white oxford shirt was halfway unbuttoned exposing his muscular chest, and his jacket was slung over his shoulder, but really, it was a hot day in the city. No one was going to hold it against him.
When he finally reached the Pink cobra it was surrounded by yellow warning tape, signifying the wrap-up of a crime scene investigation. POLICE LINE: WARNING—DO NOT CROSS. Confused, Kakashi spotted his friend and old partner Asuma surrounded by some ten other officers, whom he was barking orders at.
“What’s going on?” He asked Asuma, climbing the steps. The man looked at him and pulled out a crumpled cigarette from the mostly-empty pack. Kakashi rolled his remaining eye and lit it for his former partner.
Asuma inhaled, a cough rising from his chest. He had lung cancer and he still smoked at least a pack a day. Kakashi had long given up telling him it was bad for his health.
“For what I can tell, everyone here is dead.” Asuma told him, scratching his beard and exhaling a cloud of smoke.
Kakashi's heart stopped. He turned around. It was only little over a week ago that he had first come here. Why should I care if that kid died?
“And the bodies?” Kakashi asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer Asuma was about to give him, his hand griped the package under his arm.
“Y-yah that’s the problem: there are none.” Kakashi glanced at Asuma their minds seemed to be suggesting the same thing.
Kabuto.
“You had better get home,” Kakashi reached out and put an assuring hand on the older man’s back. “Your Kurenai is pregnant, isn’t she? Don’t worry, I can take it from here.”
“But Kakashi-”
“It’s fine. Kurenai is going to be worried if you don’t get home soon. Then I’ll have to hear it in the morning.”
Asuma’s honey brown eyes lowered and studied his feet. “I heard about your father. I am sorry for your loss. To be killed in a bar by the bloody Hitman, that just isn’t right. He was a good man, too. I wonder who would’ve wanted him dead.”
“Who knows?” Kakashi lied, quietly.
“Hey what’s with that package? Pink? Is it for a sweet heart? I never thought I would see the day Kakashi would get a- Wait a minute, isn’t today your day off? What are you doing here?”
Kakashi’s face flushed hotly, turning him as pink as the package he carried.
“It’s none of your damn business!” He snapped; his remaining eye narrowed in annoyance. “You had better leave before I change my mind.”
“Yes, sir!” Asuma mock-saluted, marching off.
As soon as Kakashi was sure he was alone, he dropped the package into the bottom half of the complementary ash-trey and garbage receptacle by the door. His heart felt unbearably heavy, and he had no clue to why.
He gave a heavy sigh and looked at the package still in his hand. He couldn’t seem to make himself let go.
The ribbons wrapped around the box would have for sure gotten the blond steamed. That thought alone had made Kakashi smile and he realized he couldn’t let go of the package. He held it close to his chest and closed his eye.
I'll get them, Kakashi thought to himself. Whoever did this to you, I will get them.
He pulled out his cell phone and flipping it open, pressed it against his ear. “Yes, this is Officer Hatake Kakashi speaking. I am going to need to speak with Kabuto. Bring him in to the interrogation room immediately.”
INTERLUDE END
Chapter EIGHT- What will Itachi do … kick Naruto to the curb and sell him to Orochimaru without giving Naruto his hit, or will he tell Orochimaru to shove it and take a hike? The choice for him and him alone, but whatever the decision, it can only lead to more hardship…..