Pestering
Sasuke was sitting in the master bedroom with his laptop and headphones watching and commenting on the sight on his laptop.
It was his and Naruto’s home. The walls had been graphited red and black, her bright coloured walls made dark and horrid. The furniture had been slashed through and turned over. Her kitchen cupboards had been ransacked and everything was all over the counters. Her bathroom wasn’t any neater, shampoo and other necessities spilt across the floor. Her bedroom was also destroyed. The bed ruined, the books in the floor, her clothes scattered everywhere.
He was highly thankful to her hiding her female clothes. Even Sasuke wasn’t know where she kept them and by the looks of it the people who had broken in didn’t know either. Her safety was paramount.
His apartment looked pretty much the same yet he didn’t care. Someone had broken into their home and destroyed the place when they didn’t find either of them.
What concerned him the most; was that he didn’t know who they were looking for. Both of their homes had been destroyed and he wouldn’t know anything until his brother checked surveillance he had had installed some time ago.
The other thing was getting everything in order before they got home. The company had so many things to deal with and getting their home in order was not on their priority list. He could call in a few favours from his teammates and have them redo their apartments but then it was a matter of letting them into his home, the only place he was free to do as he wanted. As long as it didn’t piss of Naruto of course.
He told his brother to do to his bedroom and check if anyone had found his weapons room and let out a sigh when it was clear. He gave his brother a walk through to check the CCTV and the culprits were found. Two men who he recognised; Kakazu and Hidan.
Mercenaries who shot first and asked questions never. He stiffened upon seeing them. It would be hard to keep Naruto safe if he had work and had to fend of those two.
It was then that a knock came from the door he closed the screen slightly and removed his headphones, “Come in!”
In came a very cautious Naruto. He could tell by the way she was fiddling with his shirt. He tried his best to focus on her face and not the fact that she was completely naked minus that shirt.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, moving to her as he turned the screen off. His brother would understand.
She bit her lower lip as she leaned against the wall, “Inaho rang. There was a break in back home… they need me back as soon as possible to sort some things. Apparently the information control that was supposed to be going on right now wasn’t done quickly enough and the people who messed up our home knows I live there. She wants me to move in with her till further notice, but I’m putting my foot down, I’m not leaving you.” Her voice became firmer and firmer as she spoke, making him break out a smile.
He walked over to her, hands by his side, restraining himself from touching her. It was very tempting, her messy locks were cascading just below her shoulders making him want to twirl them between his fingers yet he knew his focus should be on their conversation.
“You won’t have to. Since my home has been broken into as well, I have to move at least temporarily as well… my family owns a lot of houses and apartments around the globe, we can get what we need and go to one of them.” He watched her reaction closely, wanting to know what she was feeling yet her expression gave nothing away.
“Sasuke… I have to have my weapons and back home… I-I have weapons everywhere. I won’t feel-”
“We’ll bring however many weapons you want, however many you need until you feel comfortable. There’s no evidence they weren’t after me, it could have gone both ways. There should already be lots of weapons at the other places but most of them are shooting weapons, none are close combat weapons that you use.”
Naruto nodded slowly as she ran a hand over her face. The tightness in her shoulder deflated as she did so, “You have no idea how many minutes I stood outside this door planning this conversation yet all your replies are the opposite of what I would have expected. I’m not used to that, I’m usually the loose cannon, or at least known as the unpredictable one.”
She gave him a gentle smile as he leaned over to hug her, “Everything will be fine. I promise.”
He wasn’t sure how he would keep that promise but he would do everything to keep her safe and happy, even if he died he would come back to life to fulfil that promise.
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Naruto glared at her aunt. She had bought over Tsunade, Jiraiya, Itachi and Shisui to talk with her clearly thinking it would make her calm down which led her to believe her aunt was on something bad, she was not going to calm down.
Naruto and Sasuke had gone straight back to New York only to be told they needed to go to a safe-house that had been broken into several months ago. No one would come over again as no one was expected to go to a safe-house that had lost its ‘safe’ title.
But apparently they did.
“You expect me to leave my apartment of three years completely and move in with one of you?!” she yelled, arms crossed as she looked at them.
Sasuke the traitor was standing in the corner of the room, arms folded as he leaned against the wall to watch her and her family. And the other two.
Inaho sighed as she shook her head, clearly frustrated with her antics. Good, serves her right. “Naruto you are putting yourself in unnecessary danger by wanting to move back in here.” She tried to reason with Naruto but the younger blonde was having none of it.
“And you are putting me in unnecessary danger by letting your boyfriend know I’m a girl! In fact-”
“You have no right to judge when Sasuke knows as well.”
“Oh don’t you bring him into this! I live next door to him, of course I want to be comfy so I like to be as a girl at home! What’s your excuse for telling Itachi?!”
“Naruto, they’re engaged-” spoke Tsunade yet she simply turned to face the other blonde. Thinking that made Naruto realise just how many blonde people she was acquainted with yet she didn’t allow the thought to fester.
“Yes engaged. Imagine if the engagement broke off then I would have a person I don’t trust know my deepest darkest secret which is the only reason as to why I am alive today! Genius plan!” she yelled sarcastically.
Inaho grit her teeth in response, knowing Naruto had a point. If their engagement gone wrong for any reason a complete stranger would know the secret Naruto had given so much for to keep as a secret and that could cost her, her life or the lives of those around her.
She glared at them all, willing them to just let her live her life as she wished. She wasn’t exactly telling the world she was an Uzumaki nor Namikaze, she wasn’t telling people she was an assassin, and she wasn’t telling the world she was a girl.
Whilst Naruto was thankful for how they had kept her alive and kicking her entire life, that didn’t mean she couldn’t be rebellious. She had always been the dutiful soldier, always listening to the commands given to her by the higher ups without question or fail. She had killed far more men and women than she cared to remember yet she never flinched or allowed it to affect her life.
If someone were to look at the blonde they would see a bisexual male who was as cheerful as a person came, never suspecting the truth. Well she was bisexual but that wasn’t the point.
Since she was a child she had done her duty and now that she had a simple request she was being denied. Screw that.
“It’s either my way or the highway. I have obeyed my whole life without ever asking for a single thing. Now I am asking- no, demanding that you let me live how I want to. I can protect myself and those I care about.” Her eyes whilst holding a fierceness that she usually kept only for missions also implored them to agree with her.
She counted the seconds in order to hold her bravado. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven- “Very well. You and Sasuke can live together.” Inaho said, yet she refused to smile, knowing there would be a ‘but’ coming sometime soon.
She remembered in the Game of Thrones Jon had said Ned had once said that everything that comes before the word ‘but’ was horse crap.
“But there will be rules and certain demands. Fail to comply-”
“You seem to be under the impression that you’re doing me a favour. You’re not. Stop acting like you own Me.” she glared at her aunt and was about to continue when she felt Sasuke’s hands on her waist.
He whispered into her ear, “Calm down. Humour her, she won’t know whether or not we listen to her rules or not so it can’t hurt any.”
She deflated and nodded to both him and Inaho, allowing her to continue, “You need to be armed at all times, meaning Sasuke no matter how much you enjoy stripping her bare, I expect you to leave her weapons holster on her thigh and anywhere else she keeps them.” Due to having been around Jiraiya the two of them only gave the smallest of blushes, Naruto’s less prominent due to her tanned skin. “The next, make sure to not let anyone through the doors, not even us. We won’t come over and if we need to see you or talk with you, we will call or video call. Sasuke can leave for work as he usually does, Naruto on the other hand, you need to be escorted by Shisui who will wait outside your home for you. Any questions?”
She raised a brow expecting no one to argue with her and Naruto agreed.
Sort of.
“How come he gets to gallivant around town as he wants but I need a guard?” she pointed her thumb to Sasuke, miffed.
“Because Sasuke hasn’t been in such danger that he has to hide his identity, his gender and his family.” Everyone gave Sasuke a look when she mentioned family yet they went back to the conversation soon after. That wasn’t suspicious what so ever.
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“When do you intend on telling her the truth, Sasuke?” asked Itachi. The girls had gone with Jiraiya back to the apartment to go grab all of hers and Sasuke’s things whilst the three Uchiha remained where they were, talking.
“When I know she won’t mix up her hatred for our clan with how she felt about me for so many years. We weren’t the best of neighbours and I hadn’t been- I hadn’t been the most polite to her.”
He was interrupted by Shisui talking, “I’ve known her for ages. I know for a fact that she’s in love with you or at least highly besotted with you. I mean that with both its meanings. She can’t seem to get enough of you and she’s also highly infatuated. Even if she doesn’t know it.” He looked and sounded so sure of himself that Sasuke had to remind himself how to breathe.
Naruto and his relationship had progressed a lot, yet he hadn’t been so sure that she was in love with him. Shisui had basically made things a lot clearer and it made him thoughts a lot harder to organise.
“You need to confess the truth to her before she confesses her feelings, Sasuke. It won’t be fair to her to confess her feelings to Sasuke Uchiage only to find out he is in fact Sasuke Uchiha. She has another secret I know of only because of my relationship with Inaho, however I am sure she will be willing to share that information when you confess.” Spoke Itachi.
He understood why he and Shisui were pushing for this but it would take a lot on his part to confess. He would be telling Naruto he was a member of the Uchiha clan, a clan who she hated. However she seemed to get along with Shisui and Itachi. He was also sure he had heard her mention Obito once or twice so he assumed she knew him also.
It made the odds of her staying with him look a lot better however there was no confirmation. He was sure she would not change how she felt, merely how she viewed him.
“You’re thinking too hard, foolish little brother.” Itachi came up to him and poked him on the forehead. How he hated it when Itachi did that, it made him feel like a kid again. “It doesn’t suit you. When we think too hard we think of bad things. I am sure she will accept you no matter what. If she didn’t, I can’t think of another reason why she would accept your ring.”
Shisui raised both his brows and got a twinkle in his eyes, however a glare from Sasuke made the glint and any trouble it may have caused go away.
For now.
“You make it seem like the ring holds a promi-”
“I do not care why she wears it. What matters is that she is. She trusts you, a lot more than she does her own family. I expect that your revelation will simply help to making her feel even more comfortable with you. She isn’t stupid, she knows you’re keeping something from her yet knows she can’t say anything since she has her own secrets.” He stopped talking as he turned around and looked to the front door.
Each of them raised their hands to their holsters and removed their guns, pointing them to the door and only lowered them when three blondes and one white haired man.
None of them said anything about the guns, clearly used to such a sight and not seeing them as a threat. At least to them.
Each of them were carrying several boxes filled with several things. It made him wonder how many of them were filled with weapons. He had promised Naruto she could keep as many weapons as she wanted and would keep to his word, but he would have to find room for all these weapons.
Naruto went straight to Sasuke when she put her boxes in Sasuke’s jeep. He held her close to him and led her to the car after bidding everyone farewell. They said nothing on their way to his apartment and it made him wonder why she was quiet. What she was thinking about.
He was thinking about his family’s earlier conversation so he could only assume she was thinking about her conversation from earlier with her family. It most likely had something to do with Inaho wanting Naruto to leave for Konoha again because she though Sasuke wasn’t good enough for her. In which he agreed. But in his head, no one was worthy of the cheerful blonde.
Fate had dealt her a very crappy hand similar to his own yet he was not able to smile through it like she did. He could only shun people, build barriers and keep people at a distance.
He was going on autopilot and had been taken highly by surprise when he felt lips against his own when he had exited the car.
Naruto.
He smiled against her lips before pulling back, placing an arm across her shoulders and leaned her against him. He may be distracted, but not enough to not notice she wanted some attention which he could give.
They stood like this for a few minutes before Naruto sighed, stating they needed to get everything up to the apartment if they were going to be able to put everything away and have time for dinner.
Four hours later Naruto seemed to be very pleased with herself. She had placed her knives and other bladed weapons all around his apartment. In his sofa pillows, under the mattress, behind books on the shelves, and in the bathroom. Lots in the bathroom and bedroom.
He chose to make no comment since he had no room to judge, he also kept many weapons around the place as she had seen as she went around. In fact, in all homes, there was a hidden passage or room that held weapons brandishing the walls, making him feel a lot safer and at home.
Once everything had been put away they sat together on the sofa, their pets sitting beside them as they got their bearings together.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes after sitting down that a phone rang. He looked up confused. Naruto had very loud music as her ring tone and it was unlikely something so plain would belong to her.
He was proven wrong when she groaned and reached into her pocket for her phone. He didn’t recognise the phone she had. Well he did, he just didn’t remember Naruto owning it.
She got up, gave him a chaste kiss and headed out to a different room to take the call.
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“What’s up Konkuro?” she held back a groan as she spoke to him. It was supposed to be a vacation week yet she hadn’t had any more than a half day of vacation.
“Well captain, you sound cheerful this afternoon. But we both know that’s not why I called. No the reason I called was because there were attempts on Gaara’s life again as well as an attempt on Fu’s life.”
She froze at hearing the latter name. Fu was a young girl and was thrown into being the heir of one of the nine clans. By all means she was a civilian with a kind heart who should have been very much hidden. Very much out of harm’s way.
“How did they find out where she lives? It’s not on any device and the only people who know where she lives are members of the nine clans.”
She wasn’t insinuating anything, merely pointing out the obvious. “I think we’re thinking the same thing. Temari, Baki sensei and I were talking about this earlier and it’s likely that we either have a mole or someone’s being tailed without knowing.”
She gave no reply as she contemplated the two options. Both were the only options really and they had to make things clearer. If they didn’t nothing would change and everyone would be on guard even at home. As captain of the night shift, she won’t allow it. “I’m going to call a meeting soon to call for the nine clans as well as the major clans from back home. Not everyone, but at least one or two members of each. You and your two siblings should all come.”
“E-mail everyone about this and get back to me. We don’t have anything planned but if something happens we still need to attend this meeting. The air needs to be clear. Lives are at risk-”
“Konkuro. I get it. No one has a heavier heart about these things than the leaders. Get some rest and take care of Fu if she’s with you. In fact, can you tell me if she’s safe?”
She was being very careful. Their conversation could be tapped and to be careful they shouldn’t give away locations. “She is. She’s with eight.”
Eight was their code word of Killer Bee and other members of that clan. “Good. Eight will protect her. Have a good day, Konkuro, kay?”
“Okay, you as well.” With that he hung up and Naruto tossed the phone onto the bed, running a hand over her face and hair. This wasn’t what she had in mind when she agreed to move here but she shouldn’t have expected any less.
Wishful thinking seemed to be dimming her mood.
She quickly sent an email to each member of the nine and major clans to attend a meeting that weekend and hoped she wouldn’t have to go through too much to get it done.