Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Art of The Business ❯ Time Gone Short ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Itachi was unmoved by the sudden panic that placed itself in the hearts of the people currently in the club. Crowds had shuffled out as quickly as possible and those outside had formed at the entrance to see what was happening. Itachi was grateful for the distraction though, it would certainly make it hard for cops to collect all the people that were at the scene of the crime this very night. Hastily he shifted the unconscious blond in his arms so that he could pick him up with ease. He had to get out of here before any police started showing up connecting two and two.

Holding Naruto securely beneath the lower legs and back, Itachi carried him off toward the street. Almost instantly a slick black mustang pulled up to the corner and Itachi stepped into the back. "Hurry Kisame, we have no time to waste." Itachi ordered firmly to the lightly blue man sitting in the front. Itachi was always so cautious and made sure to have a ride prepared for him after the job even though he came without one. If he had stayed in there any longer because of Naruto, things would have gotten risky.

Kisame quirked up a curious brow and looked suspiciously up into the review mirror at the extra passenger he had just taken on. "And who is this Itachi? I don't recall you being asked to take care of another target so soon, or perhaps this is another one of your little escapades in mixing pleasure with business." Kisame teased with a smirk. The look of amusement quickly faded from his face when he spotted the disapproving glare he had received from Itachi. Well someone is certainly bitchy today. Kisame was beginning to wonder if the boy had gotten in Itachi's ways tonight.

Itachi was about to reprimand Kisame further more until he suddenly heard the delightful chiming of his ring tone. Carefully setting Naruto by the side of him, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "What can I do for you?" He asked immediately upon flipping it open.

"I have another client for you..." the voice on the other line cooed in a low and intimidating tone. Itachi's eyes glimmered simultaneously with excitement and interest upon this statement. "You know Muraki Izawa of the Muraki Industry? He's finally dealt the wrong hand, signing an alliance against our client. One mil for taking him out before the end of the week. But make sure you ruin the reputation of his company in the process." The man insisted.

Itachi inwardly smiled and nodded. Oh how he enjoyed a challenge. This however, didn't seem like it would be too hard. In fact it was rather easy to slander any name with simple tactics. "No problem." Itachi replied. His eyes swiftly glanced back to Naruto leaning heavily against the window for the car. "By the way, could you look up an Uzumaki Naruto? I need the address." He requested. He'd be damned if he took the rut back to his place. Sasuke would no doubt throw a fit over him bringing over strangers. And with his younger brother already in his business, he didn't need to give the youngster any more reason to go snooping around.

It had taken only ten minutes for the house to be torn upside down in search of the knucklehead blond or any trace of where he might be. Iruka was worried out of his mind when he returned to Naruto's place at 8: 30 to find the boy gone. It was understandable that he could be gone perhaps an hour, but Iruka was filled with bad thoughts when it was running on the two hour margin. He should have told Naruto the moment after he had been denied a reservation at the restaurant, that they wouldn't be there. But Kakashi, troublesome as always, sidetracked that idea on the way back home. Iruka could only hope nothing happened to Naruto if he ended up waiting for them the whole time.

"Kakashi, where can he be?" Iruka sighed, dropping his face hopelessly into his palms as he nearly wept. "He's never been out this late before. Where could he even go? He isn't exactly popular with anyone so I doubt he's out with a group friends..." Iruka admitted regretfully. He forced his eyes back to the clock on the wall as the hour hand pulled closer to eleven.

"Calm down Iruka, I'm sure he'll be here soon. Maybe he's just out looking for work. You know how impatient he is; probably he didn't want to wait for an answer from the last place?" Kakashi suggested, coming over to settle beside his lover and husband. He never held any true resentment toward Naruto, but he did wish the teen wouldn't worry Iruka so much. The man was going to worry himself into a coma over every little thing that boy did.

"I suppose you are right Kakashi..." Iruka recollected his thoughts and courage. Naruto wouldn't fall prey to any mischief on purpose and he certainly wouldn't accept being subdued. That blond could put up one hell of a fight when he wanted to, that much Iruka could be sure.

The night progressed ever so slowly for the two before they suddenly heard a loud and decisive knock at the door. In a worried hustle, Iruka scrambled up from his seat and came bounding for the door. He could only hope it wasn't an officer to tell them Naruto was in the hospital or something of the sort. Kakashi hesitantly followed after. He, unlike Iruka, figured it could have been Naruto with the explanation that he had lost his key during a mugging which was much more believable to him than anything Iruka could be thinking at the moment. The terrified brunet threw open the front door, his eyes widening at the unexpected guest.

Kakashi smiled shortly upon seeing the relief flood into his lover. A rather menacing young man stood at the front door with the unconscious blond in his arms. He looked more trouble by the effort he put into bring the blond back rather than having an ill intent look about him. "Is this the Uzumaki residence?" Itachi asked politely with mild interest. Of course he knew this was the boy's home since his information was never wrong. But he couldn't let them know of that.

Iruka nodded anxiously, stepping forward and slipping his arms beneath Naruto to exchange him. "Thank you so much for returning him home. What happened?" Iruka asked insecurely. Being an officer he had his suspicions of the man of course, but it probably wasn't proper to address them so directly.

Itachi, nonchalantly, slipped his hands away into his pockets. "It's my fault really. I shouldn't have let him drink so much. But I was convinced it would cheer him up some." Itachi said in fraud concern. As he expected the brunet and the silver haired man did not buy his excuse so quickly. "I'm sorry, I would stay and chat, but I must be going. I hope Naruto will be alright here. Tell him I will see him later." Itachi replied, bowing before turning on heels and heading back for the car. He could care less that the men never received his name, Naruto would fill in all the gaps sure enough.

"Kakashi...?" Iruka hesitated watching the man step into the car and pull off. "Did you get the same impression I did from this guy?" Iruka asked carefully, retreating fully into the apartment where he could put Naruto away to bed. Kakashi reluctantly nodded and closed the door. They may have been startled by the man's presence, but it was clear he hadn't done much harm to Naruto as far as they could tell right now.

"We can question Naruto in the morning." Kakashi requested, placing his hand comfortingly on Iruka's shoulder as he lead him to the blonde's pigsty of a room. It was obvious he had been in a rush himself before leaving since clothes were thrown haphazardly all over the room. Kakashi straightened the sheets across the mattress a bit before Iruka gently set him down. He was use to doing this sort of thing when Naruto was younger. At least back then, Naruto was never afraid of coming to him when he was troubled. It warmed his heart to remember the slender, almost girlish boy sheepishly crawling into his bed at night during a serious thunderstorm. He claimed it was Kyuubi, having his parents, now wanted him as well. Iruka missed those sort of problems. He liked the simple ones that could easily be soothed by a gentle rocking and shushing as he would lull the boy into a peaceful sleep. But now, problems had become so much more complicated.

The brunet’s eyes lingered on his sleeping son as he pulled up the blankets to reach Naruto's chin. His reminiscing was soon interrupted by the violent sounding static of a police walky-talky. Iruka nearly jumped out of his skin hearing it. Kakashi chuckled and shuffled back the kitchen where he had left it. But the soft joy quickly fled from his face when he got news of a body found downtown in a club. It wouldn't have been so upsetting if he believed it was death by natural cause, but any time they were called it dealt with homicide. "Iruka, we have to go." Kakashi called out firmly to his partner and spouse. Iruka nodded, throwing one last pleading look at Naruto before rushing out with Kakashi.

The remainder of the night was somewhat pleasant without all the troubling noise that came during the day and having been put out in a more effective way; Naruto was not going to wake up any time soon even if he wanted too. Unlike the day before, Naruto had no need for annoying alarm clocks. He woke up rather abruptly shortly after sunrise. He had thrust up in bed, his eyes widened and startled by a distant memory could not quite place just yet. A light cold sweat had formed at his brow as he panted in place. He would have been in a true uproar if not for the fact he found himself in his own room. He had been taunted with the thought of waking somewhere that was not his home after what happened last night.

Whiskered tan cheeks flushed red as the fuzzy feeling of a pair of lips coming over Naruto's, rushed to memory. Looking quite like a child who had just discovered where babies came from, Naruto hid quickly back beneath his covers, pulling them high over his head. "What was he thinking?" Naruto asked himself in disbelief. He doubted Itachi had grown any feelings for him in such a short time and Itachi didn't look like the type to act so reckless on them. He could be wrong however, after all he only knew the guy for two days now. More importantly, Naruto was plagued with the unclear gaps of the night before to this morning. Everything after that seemed blank....which only made him more worried.

He didn't drink anything Itachi gave him by hand , but who was he to say the other couldn't have slipped something in through the bar tender. And if that was the case did he somehow end up locked away with Itachi in a blind ecstasy of doom?

"No way you idiot." Naruto bellowed defiantly to himself. "I would have known if something like that happened..." he replied in a coy mumble. There wasn't a way he could tell any of this, but feeling alone should be able to tell him right? He was thinking way into this, that had to be it. But was it wrong of him to wonder how he got home for it was obvious none of it had been a dream?

Naruto didn't have long to contemplate on anything that happened yesterday before he heard a confident knock at his front door. He rose slightly from beneath his covers, staring blankly toward the entrance. He didn't know anyone that would need to be here so early, even Iruka had common curtsey and wouldn't come at ungodly hours. The thought came to Naruto suddenly that the guest might be Itahci himself, come to explain himself for last night. Eager to hear whatever lame brain excuse the jerk had made up, Naruto climbed out of bed and rushed to the door. "I'm coming!" He exclaimed when the knocking had continued profusely.

Naruto didn't care for his appearance any before pulling the wooden door open to reveal himself. But to his disappointment, it had not been the slick and sophisticated looking con-man he had accompanied last night. But that didn't exactly mean he wasn't upset with who he had seen standing in his door way.

"Well, dobe? You going to let me in or just stand there like an idiot?" Sasuke questioned irritatingly. Naruto pulled his wits together and quickly stepped back letting the other in.

"What are you doing here again teme? Don't you have better things to do than come to taunt me so early in the morning?" Naruto question, closing the door behind them. By then he had realized his house was barely in a state of hosting in. It looked as though a Hurricane ran through his apartment. And that wasn't actually the picture Naruto wanted Sasuke to remember each time he thought of him.

But reminded Sasuke would be as he glanced over the hideousness of the small complex. "When's the last time you did some cleaning around here, I know you certainly have the free time to do it." Sasuke pointed out. He turned around once he reached the kitchen to face a flared blond. "But that's hardly the reason I have come here today. 'WE' are going to start your training today." He announced, dropping a pile of books and magazines right on the kitchen table. He was tempted to laugh triumphantly when Naruto burst into unsatisfied groaning. "We shall have none of that dobe. You want the job, so you are going to have to work at it. You can expect me to be here bright and early 'everyday' until you get your act together."

"What?!" Naruto bellowed. "That's not right! Don't I get a break at least one a week?"

Sasuke briefly shook his head. "Hell no dobe. You have two weeks before you are expected back at Orochimaru's. And after seeing your experience, we need all the time we can get."

To Be Continued...

A/N: Yay another chapter in! Sorry it took me longer. Time is scarce for me. But I will try to update at least once every week. So please give me your support in reviews! I look forward to them. See you soon.

PS. I just putting out a warning for any other fanfic writers here. I had my story 'Brother's Can't Be Trusted' stolen and claimed as another's work on DeviantArt. So I advise you to watch out for a member there named Tekozuru because he has taken other people's work on there as well!