Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Being and Belonging ❯ Battle ( Chapter 2 )

Being and Belonging

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

A/N: This is my first Naruto story and I'd appreciate any feedback that I can get.

Summary: When Itachi leaves town on the eve of his parents' murder, he doesn't go alone. Can Naruto handle what comes next? “Ano sa…Ano sa, where are we going?”

“Itachi ni-san, are we there yet?” Naruto asked yet again.

This time Itachi let a sliver of frustration flit across his stoic face. What an irritating boy, absolutely nothing like Sasuke. Loud when he was quiet; hyper when he was calm; annoying when he agreeable. It was-

“Itachi ni-san!” Naruto whined.

Itachi finally stopped, jerking Naruto to a stop beside him. “What is it, Naruto?” Itachi asked, a hint of anger entering his calm voice.

“I…I smell something weird.” Naruto murmured, hitting up dust with his feet.

“Stop that.” Itachi said automatically, “You're worsening fighting conditions. Where is the smell coming from?”

Naruto sucked in a lip. “I dunno.”

“What. do. you. mean. you. don't. know?” Itachi asked patiently. He couldn't smell anything except themselves on the air, but kitsunes were known for their sharp senses. Naruto's hearing, at least, would be better than his, even untrained.

Naruto sniffed the air experimentally and thought it through slowly. “I don't know.” he annunciated as if Itachi was the slow one, “It feels like it's all around us.” Naruto spread his arms wide at the last statement.

“Hnn…” Itachi pulled Naruto closer to his side and took out two kunai, handing the smaller one to Naruto. “Do you know how to use this?” he asked.

“Of course!” Naruto yipped, “I'm the best in my class, much better than stupid Sasuke.”

Itachi frowned at the mention of his brother's name. “Good, because you're going to have to use it in a couple of minutes.”

“What?” Naruto's childish face creased in confusion. “Why do I need to use it?” He held the kunai with familiarity, but it dangled off his hand like a limp noodle.

Itachi sighed, taking the kunai away from Naruto. “The way you grip your kunai means everything. Hold out your hand as if you were about to shake hands with me.” Naruto complied, holding out his hand obediently, but instead of shaking his hand, Itachi put the kunai in his hand, wrapping his fingers around it. “This way you can throw it with a flick of your wrist or you can engage someone in hand-to-hand combat without changing your grip.”

“But, Iruka-sensei told me to put the kunai between my index and middle finger when I'm throwing it.” Naruto argued, looking suspiciously at his new grip.

“Yes, that does give you better accuracy, but are you fast enough to switch your grip from throwing to close combat?”

Naruto tried, his small fingers flicking around the kunai to try and rearrange themselves. Instead, he fumbled the kunai and dropped it to the ground with a dull thud. “Oops.” Naruto said, frowning.

“Stay with what I taught you for now…” Itachi thought for a second. “And tonight, practice switching your fingers on that kunai for fifteen minutes. Do that every night until you can apply it in fighting situations.”

“But this kunai is yours, Itachi ni-chan.” Naruto protested.

“Not anymore. Now it's yours.” Itachi answered, eyes snapping up to scan the horizon. Someone was coming.

“Really! Thanks-”

Suddenly two kunai sped towards them and Itachi scooped Naruto up, jumping into the foliage of a nearby tree. “Stay here,” he hissed, not trusting Naruto to understand sign language, “Don't move.”

Timing his jump, Itachi leapt from the tree, kunai in hand, just as their unknown assailant walked into the clearing. Itachi threw his first kunai at the attacker's back and landed a few feet away, another kunai at ready. The attacker deflected the kunai with ease, sending it pinging into a nearby tree- thankfully nowhere near Naruto, Itachi noted.

“So you are the famous Uchiha Itachi.” he said.

Itachi didn't allow even a flicker of the disgust he felt for the man show in his face, even though the man truly was a monstrosity. He had a shark-like face with cold beady eyes and a cruel smile. Over one shoulder was a huge sword wrapped in bandages and his hitai was two wavy lines with a slash through both of them. A missing nin then.

“Yes,” Itachi allowed his onyx eyes to melt into infamous red. “And who are you?”

“I am Kisame formerly of Mist.” he smiled, showing shark teeth.

“And what do you want? Itachi asked pleasantly enough, even though he and Kisame had started to circle each other warily.

“Drop your supplies and whatever other goods you have and I'll let you live.”

Itachi smirked. “Reduced to scrapping leftovers to eat? A great former Mist nin like yourself? Wait until the news gets out that one of the seven legendary swordsmen has been reduced to banditry.”

Kisame snarled and launched forward. Itachi parried his kunai to the throat and with a quick thrust hit Kisame twice in the ribs, cracking three, and once in the stomach. Then he plunged his kunai into Kisame's shoulder, ripping flesh and tendons.

Kisame's screamed in pain and rage and tore forward, bellowing like a bull. He lifted his sword off the ground and swung it in an underhanded arc. Itachi blocked the swing with his arm, infusing chakra into it to make the sword shatter. Instead, he felt himself losing chakra steadily and wrenched away from the sword.

Kisame smirked and took another swing with his sword. “My Samehada will destroy you!” he yelled, swinging the sword again, this time dangerously near Itachi.

Itachi quickly took out another kunai and threw it at Kisame's face as a distraction as he prepared a huge fireball. The fireball blasted into him as the kunai was deflected into another tree. A second later Naruto came tumbling out of it and Itachi felt a stab of fear. He swiftly ran towards a falling Naruto and caught him just before he hit the ground. Hurriedly, he felt Naruto for injuries, but the young boy was grinning wildly.

“I deflected it, Itachi ni-chan! I did it!” he shouted happily, “I-”

“Shut up.” Itachi interrupted harshly, looking behind him. “We have to go.”

“Go?” Naruto asked, chancing a glance at Kisame.

“Now,” Itachi pressed, “Those men are coming.”

Naruto's eyes widened. “Oh no! We have to go, come on.” He yanked Itachi's hand towards a prone Kisame. “We have to get him too! We can't leave him for those guys.”

“He's a ninja.” Itachi snapped, the closeness of the hunter nin agitating him. “He can take care of himself.”

“No, that…isn't nice! Not nice at all!” Naruto exclaimed, shaking his head. “We've got to help him. Please!”

“No.” Itachi said shortly.

“You're not nice then.” Naruto said stubbornly, “and I won't go with you.”

“Fine then!” Itachi hissed, completely fed up. “Then stay here and get yourself killed.” he snapped, taking off and leaving Naruto behind.

He had traveled two miles before he turned back and sped towards them. Naruto was helping a limping Kisame hobble along side of the road. It was pathetic really, but Itachi bottled up his exasperation and picking Naruto up by his collar and throwing Kisame over his shoulder, he ran, hoping that on the off chance, the hunter nin were having an bad day.

_________________________________________________________________ __________

It was nighttime when they finally stopped, Itachi even chancing a small fire to light up Naruto's glowing face as he pranced around it, studiously practicing switching fingers with a kunai. He kept shooting Itachi deliriously happy looks as if he had been justified in thinking that Itachi was a good guy all along.

Itachi diligently ignored the pleased, self-satisfied grins. He wasn't a good person. A child shouldn't put their trust in him, not when he had killed both of his parents and ruined his younger brother's life. Just trusting him would sully Naruto's carefree existence, but Itachi couldn't tell him that- he didn't dare. That would ruin everything.

“Hey…” Itachi looked over at Kisame, the third member of their camp. He had just woken and even now Itachi could tell he was in pain; he would hide it, but he was hurting.

“You're awake.” Itachi stated dispassionately, poking the fire with a stick and sending Naruto dancing away from Kisame as sparks flew towards him.

“You…” Kisame licked his dry lips, “You didn't have to do that.”

“Sure we did!” Naruto chirped, going around the other side of Kisame and giving him a cup of their precious water while subtly sticking his tongue out at Itachi. “We like you, and we wouldn't have left you to the bad people.” he added seriously.

“Bad people?” Kisame croaked confusedly, “Kid, let me tell you something.” Naruto leaned closer as if receiving a secret from the Hokage himself. “We are-”

“Hey! Ow!” Naruto shrieked as Itachi sent another burst of sparks flying towards them with the stick. This time embers fell in Naruto's hair and exposed skin. “Itachi ni-chan!” he yelled angrily.

“Go over there,” he ordered, pointing to the far side of the small camp “and finish practicing. It's late; you have to go to bed.”

“But-”

“Tomorrow I'll give you something else to practice as well. Some chakra control exercises, perhaps.” Itachi added.

Naruto sighed in resignation, only slightly cheered up by the prospect of learning another ninja technique. “Kay, night Itachi ni-chan, night Kisame-san.”

Grinning, Kisame brushed off the fading embers from Naruto's clothes and pushed him gently towards the other side of the campfire. When he was a suitable distance away, Kisame turned serious. “So what happens now? Shall we leave when the kid falls asleep and then you can tell him that I had an accident when I don't show up in the morning?”

Itachi stiffened. “That was not my plan. In fact, I have a proposal for you. You're a strong fighter and sometimes Naruto is…a bit much to handle. Help me train him.”

“Train him?”

“Yes. You are a master swordsman, are you not?” Itachi asked.

“Yes, but…look, he's a great kid, and I owe him for saving my live, but there doesn't seem to be anything too special about-”

“He's the kyubi vessel.” Itachi stated.

“That little slip of flesh and bone! He houses the Kyubi?” Kisame hissed.

“Yes. I took him from Leaf, because he'd be great- powerful under the right tutelage, but no one there will give it to him. He doesn't even know how to hold a kunai properly.”

“Yes, he'd be great under the right tutelage, but he'd also be completely loyal to the one who taught him, wouldn't he?” Kisame insinuated slyly.

Itachi looked at him. “If you're going to leave, leave now. If not, never mention this to Naruto. He knows nothing about any of this and I intend to keep it that way.”

That said, Itachi doused the light and turned over to close his eyes, feigning sleep. A short distance away, Itachi could hear Naruto mumbling softly in his sleep and Kisame…seemed to be shifting deeper into his bedroll.

Well it was decided then.

Two killers and an innocent traveling together…how ironic.

To Be Continued…