Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Of Hearts and Dreams ❯ A card up a Ninja's sleeve ( Chapter 3 )

 

Of Hearts and Dreams

Chapter 2 - A card up a Ninja's sleeve

 

 

Naruto lay in bed, gazing up at the ceiling. The large bedroom was dark, save for the moonlight streaming through the open window, which allowed for many shadows playing across the walls of the near-silent room.

 

It had taken every ounce of discipline he had to hold his emotions in check during his meeting with his ex-teammate. When their eyes first met, he felt an overwhelming tidal wave of various emotions - happiness, anger, sadness, yearning, hope - and most disturbing, excitement. He reflected that it wasn't all that uncommon to feel such excitement for someone you feel so strongly drawn to and in his opinion he and Sasuke had never had a normal relationship to begin with. It was always...different somehow. As strange as it sounded (even to Naruto himself), it was like having a rival, best friend, comrade, brother, nemesis, and lover all rolled into one. Naruto bit his lip firmly. The 'lover' part was a bit overboard, but it was in a way... there was a strange attraction there that the blonde ninja had never understood, and was, admittedly, intimidated of.

 

Rolling over and hugging one of his pillows to his chest, he wondered if Sasuke felt that same attraction, if he felt the same rush of rolling emotions when their eyes had first met only hours before.

 

“I doubt it.” He muttered to himself. He wondered if Sasuke could feel attraction to another person. Attraction to power, yes, that one was obvious. But he really couldn't picture Sasuke being attracted to someone, which made Naruto's heart sink somewhat. “All those girls fawning over him, and he's probably not interested in one of them. Bastard. What a show off.”

 

He sighed then, rolling onto his back, sprawled out on his bed naked. The Rokudaime fell asleep pondering different ways to win Sasuke over…though for what exact reason, he hadn't concluded…there were too many of them, and too many emotions involved. Tomorrow would be an interesting day.

 

 

“GAHHHH!” Naruto bellowed as he attempted to put deodorant on, eat cereal and brush his teeth all at the same time. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work. He was in the process of cleaning up the mess he made when someone pounded on the door.

 

“WHAT!?” He nearly growled, wondering who would dare be so rude as to pound on his door. He knew very well that he was running late, but he'd never had anyone disrupt him at his private quarters like that. With a severe scowl on his face, he jerked the door open, toothbrush angled out of his mouth. He nearly choked on his own saliva (mixed with minty toothpaste) as his eyes met those of a very bored looking Sasuke.

 

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “You weren't in your office, so I asked where I could find you. Running a little late?” Dark eyes roamed over the body that was, at the moment, not hidden by the floor length cape Naruto had been wearing the night before. Instead, Naruto was only dressed in tight fitting black pants and a black short-sleeved mesh shirt, which was at that very moment hugging the blonde's pectoral muscles in an interesting way. With slight annoyance, he noticed his heart pounding in his ears, his face feeling slightly heated. Sasuke glanced away and instead focused on the extravagant living quarters of the hokage.

 

“I'm impressed. This is a big step from that dump you were living in, hm?” It was a statement more than a question; his eyes flickering briefly to the blonde haired man, watching as he shut the door and made his way back down the hall with a muffled mutter. Sasuke walked farther into the suite, eyes wandering over to the large wooden dining table, which was piled high with tomes, scrolls and a huge mountain of paperwork. The Uchiha heir smirked, wondering if Naruto found his dream to be as he expected.

 

Naruto strolled back down the hall, once again wearing a long coat, this time a deep blood red with white flames licking the hem - just opposite of the one he had wore the day before. “Really, Sasuke, you're the only person in the village that would come pounding on the hokage's door first thing in the morning.” Naruto only half-complained. He was actually quite happy about it. Even with last night's encounter - their first time speaking in many years, he was shocked to see his old teammate standing in his doorway, like he might have been ten years before.

 

The dark haired man simply shrugged. “I wanted to get the paperwork over with.” `And wanted to see you now, not later' he mused. He wondered briefly if Naruto was an addiction, one of those people that you see once and can't get used to being without. He had managed just fine for so many years…why the sudden need now? With a sigh, he pushed the thoughts away. “I want to train today, so lets get this over with.”

 

Naruto glanced at him as he piled scrolls under one arm, eyes turning slightly troubled, as if weighing options in his mind. “Actually, Sasuke… I have a gift I'd like to give to you today.”

 

Sasuke stared at the blonde ninja as if he'd just grown horns out the top of his head. Had he heard that right? “A…gift? For what? Why? “

 

“I'll explain when we get to my office. C'mon.” He said, literally pushing his old teammate out the door before physically locking it and sealing it with chakra from the outside. Minutes later, he was nodding to the ninja guard in front of his office, opening the door and then officially starting his workday. Not that his workdays ever ended, truly. He was always on duty, always needed. That didn't really bother him, though. It was all part of his job, all part of his dream. He had always wanted to be needed. Now it was a bit overkill, but he wasn't about to complain!

 

Dumping the scrolls on a low table next to his desk, he opened a drawer and proceeded to place a stack of paper in front of Sasuke, along with a pen. “Write it all down. Sign it. Then we'll talk more.”

 

Sasuke sighed, nodding slightly before turning to the task at hand. Almost an hour later, he was finished, and placed the pile of papers in front of Naruto, who read them over, nodded and added his own seal next to Sasuke's signature.

 

Naruto let out a soft sigh. “I'd like you to come with me, Sasuke. It won't take too incredibly long.”

 

Sasuke blinked at that statement. “Where are we going?” He asked, cocking his head to one side slightly while narrowing his eyes with slight suspicion. He could feel an odd sort of…excitement…radiating from the other man, which piqued his interest, as much as he hated to admit it. Actually, he wasn't going to admit it at all. Instead he plastered a bored look onto his face and nodded. “Fine, but make it quick. Even now I feel my IQ being sucked away by your dobeness.”

 

The blonde man looked annoyed at that, but said nothing as he stood and walked out of the office, motioning for Sasuke to follow. As Naruto made his way down the hall, and then down each floor of the tower, his muscles tightened and his fingers began to itch. He wasn't sure what Sasuke's reaction would be, wasn't sure how this would turn out. But it really didn't matter… all that mattered was that this was his last card, his last chance to make things… right. He'd made a lot of mistakes in his life, but he held no regrets so far, and he wouldn't regret this either. As they went down one last set of stairs, Sasuke slowed, his eyes showing uneasiness that Naruto picked up on immediately.

 

“Why are we going down here, Naruto?” He asked, his voice low.

 

Naruto turned to look at him, gazing at him for several seconds. “I have a gift for you, remember? Trust me, Sasuke.” He smiled then, a small smile that lit his eyes. Sasuke was tempted to return it, but the other man turned around and bounced down the last few steps, the flames on the hem of his cloak jouncing softly.

 

They were met with a full team of assorted ninja, including medic-nin and Anbu members, all of them clustered around one of the holding rooms. They were now in the “jail”; the dungeon, so to speak, though it was far from medieval. One of the Anbu immediately stood erect. “Hokage-sama! Uchiha-san! “ The others quickly followed suit.

 

Naruto lifted a hand and then motioned them all to leave. “We'll only be a few minutes.”

 

Sasuke watched as everyone filed out of the hall, his eyes being drawn to the solid gray metal door and large window that everyone had been gazing into. He had a sinking feeling suddenly, a strange ball of anxiousness that twisted itself in his gut. He jumped as a hand was laid gently on his shoulder, and he inwardly cursed himself for showing such weakness. “I don't understand why we're here, Naruto.”

 

Naruto nodded, bright golden spikes of hair swaying softly. “Come over here, and you will.” He said, leading the way to the window, before turning towards it and gazing inside the holding cell. Sasuke followed behind, his eyes watching the hokage's face, slightly surprised when he saw them flicker with red, kyuubi's chakra bubbling to the surface only briefly. The dark haired shinobi slowly turned his head to stare straight ahead into the cell. His heart stopped, and without knowing it, he held his breath, his eyes wide. He couldn't speak, couldn't move. His sharingan had flared to life almost immediately.

 

The hokage turned slightly as he heard a strangled sound, staying silent until Sasuke specifically asked him to speak. He waited.

 

“Naruto…what…what the FUCK is going on?” Sasuke finally manage to gasp out.

 

Uchiha Itachi glared pointedly at Naruto, the thick chains on his arms and legs pulling taut as he strained against them. Naruto didn't flinch or look away, but instead smiled somewhat tauntingly at the other man, his eyes still flickering crimson and orange. Without looking at Sasuke, he murmured softly. “It's my gift to you, Sasuke.” He said it simply while lifting his chin, his eyes never leaving those of the older brother; he waited for the outburst that was inevitable.

 

“Wh- how…” Sasuke growled and pulled Naruto down the hall with him. Turning around sharply to begin his tirade, Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as his nose brushed against flesh, body stiffening as he leaned back out of Naruto's face. `How the hell did he get so close?' Scowling darkly, he shoved the blonde man away from him. “What the fuck, Naruto?? You'd better start explaining before I bash your head into the ground and destroy what little brain you have. How the hell did you capture Itachi?” He wasn't sure if he was upset more over the weirdness of the situation, at being shocked and thrown off-guard, or because it had been someone other than himself that had managed to capture the older Uchiha.

 

Naruto sighed, studying his friend's face. His rival. There were things about Naruto's life that he just wasn't willing to reveal to Sasuke just yet. Forcing his eyes to go steely, he gave a smirk. “Simple. He made a mistake, and I caught him.” He shrugged lightly. “I was given a report saying he was headed this way, so I laid a trap. Once I had him, I had Neji block his chakra channels completely - he's entirely neutralized.”

 

A pain look crossed Sasuke's face before he slammed his fist into the wall. “Naruto….” He growled, his voice dangerous and low. “You shouldn't have interfered!”

 

Naruto knew what Sasuke was thinking without asking. “It's not permanent, Sasuke. It can be reversed, and I can release him at any time. I know it's important for you to kill him on your own…” He said the last part softly, moving his eyes away to glance back down the hall towards the cell.

 

“Release him? What are you talking about, baka? How can you release him, he's S-class…if you release him, they'll imprison you. You'll lose your position as hokage, Naruto. Have you thought about that, dobe?” His mind was reeling. What the hell was Naruto trying to pull…had he really lost his mind completely?

 

“Aa. Of course I have.” He then flashed Sasuke a large grin before walking back to Itachi's cell. He watched as the blonde man leaned forward towards the window and grinned, waving at the man inside. Coming up behind Naruto, his brow furrowed at the gaze exchanged between the two men. Itachi glared daggers at Naruto, then turned and gave the younger Uchiha a look of venomous distaste. There was something…off…about their actions towards each other. There was something Naruto wasn't telling him, and Sasuke was bound and determined to find out what.

 

“So?”

 

Sasuke's suspicious glance moved to the man next to him. “So what?”

 

“Do we have a deal?” Naruto asked lightly. Sasuke frowned.

 

“Deal? What the hell are you talking about, dobe?” He was more than annoyed with the other man. He turned towards him, the hokage with a hard glare. He was infuriated when Naruto just smiled, one golden eyebrow arched high.

 

“What, you haven't figured it out yet? You're supposed to be the smart one.” He chuckled lightly, leaning forward to flip the switch on the intercom. Sasuke's eye twitched. “It's simple, Sasuke. If you agree to stay here, with me, you can have Itachi, as my gift to you. I'll release him, and you can get your revenge.” Naruto's eyes held those of the one inside the cell. “If you can't promise me that you'll stay, I'll execute him myself.”

 

There was a shocked silence before Itachi jumped up from his spot on the floor despite his restraints, hissing and growling. Sasuke jerked in surprise, eyes wide.

 

“You son of a bitch! You're trading me off, just like that!? Was that your plan all along? All this time? I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!!!” the man shrieked with rage, restrained wrists turning deadly white as the hands attached to them clawed towards the thick glass window. Naruto smiled softly and flicked the intercom off. He was aware of dark eyes boring into his from beside him, even as Itachi's mouth continued to move with speech. He could only make out a few of the words with the movements of the mouth, but everything else was lost to him. He didn't have to hear or see the words to know what was being said.

 

“Well, I guess we're done here.” He said lightly, smiling to his companion. “So, what's your answer, Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke stared unbelievingly at the man before him. Was this really Naruto? Was all of this really happening? Because he was pretty damned sure that Naruto… Uzumaki Naruto… the Rokudaime…the dobe…just basically blackmailed him.

 

“Don't misunderstand me, Sasuke.” Naruto said gently, azure eyes gazing fondly into his, one large hand settling comfortably on the paler man's shoulder. “I'm not doing this to be an ass.” With that he turned and walked briskly down the hall, cape swirling around his ankles. Sasuke's chest was heaving, though if it was from anger, he wasn't sure. He felt the adrenaline pumping before he took off down the hall at top speed, only to be met with Anbu guards making their way back to his brother's jail cell. Naruto was gone.

 

 

 

A/N: Well, we're sloooooowly moving forward.

 

Keep in mind, that I don't have a beta, so these chapters will assuredly be a bit on the rough side. I'm not too incredibly worried about it because…well…I've read some of the stuff posted in the Naruto category -_-;;;;;; You know the one's I'm talking about.

 

This chapter is dedicated to Dilemmalicious who inspired me to get this chapter finished and half of chapter 3 done, thanks to her great review - Thanks Dilemmali ^____^

 

Review! Let me know what you think.