Chapter 9

"Izumi. Hello." Naruto quipped with a friendly smile that held a hint of devious intent that Itachi noticed. "What a wonderful surprise."

Itachi saw the gleam in the blonde's eyes from the side of his own, but decided not to react, as doing so may actually cause the blonde to do something Itachi didn't want. "Hello, Izumi-chan, Komiu-san." He said addressing her and her father.

"Hello to you two as well, Itachi and Naruto." The man said with a smile.

"What are you two doing out so late?" Itachi asked curiously.

Izumi looked a little hurt by the question for some reason. "w-Well, it's my birthday and all, so Tou-san was teaching me a new technique…"

Itachi stiffened, almost unnoticeably at the mention of the girl's birthday. He had completely forgotten about it with the day's chaotic events. Trying to play it with indifference, he simply nodded, hoping no one noticed his subtle reaction. Of course, he knew for a fact one person did without a doubt.

"Well." Naruto said, breaking the awkward silence that settled following Itachi's silent reply. "I wish you a happy birthday. I must apologize, as I had almost completely forgotten about the joyous occasion this morning as we were heading to our meeting. Almost of course, as Itachi was there to bug me about it the whole way through." He said covering for his friend flawlessly.

Itachi mentally thanked his friend for being so aware and helpful. He watched as Izumi's eyes lit up in happiness as her father laughed. He had no words as he simply smiled and accepted the story Naruto had made for his cover up.

"Komiu-sama. May I ask of you the honor of having your daughter join us for dinner tonight, as a way of both making it up to Izumi and repaying Itachi for reminding me?" Naruto asked with his ever present intellectual speech pattern.

Komiu looked at Izumi's pleading eyes and then at the faces of the two boys. "Well, if it were anyone else, I'd say no. But, with Itachi and the son of the Yondaime, I am sure she is in good hands." He said with a nod. "You kids have fun." With that said he walked off, leaving the three kids standing in the street, two of them in embarrassment, and the other in wonder.

-break-

They all sat in a booth at the Akimichi bar and grill. Naruto sat on one side as Izumi and Itachi sat on the other, trying their hardest to avoid each other's eye contact. Naruto was once again stuck in the book Itachi had bought for him, and Itachi was at that moment cursing the book for capturing the blonde's attention so intently. It was a bit of a paradox, as when it came to Naruto, he could get any conversation going with ease, but with his limited human interaction outside of books, he knew very little on what questions or topics were appropriate for certain situations.

His current fear was that the blonde would start talking and he'd ask Izumi something stupid that would pit them as a couple. A fear he wouldn't admit was that he'd ask that question and she'd be speaking of someone else when she answered. Glancing over at her hand that was laid out on the table, he noticed a few scorch marks around her fingers. He smiled as he immediately knew the technique she had been working on as he had the same injuries at one time.

To his satisfaction and discomfort, the food finally arrived. The discomfort came as he knew Naruto's table etiquette would prevent him from reading during a meal. Reading at the table was no crime, but reading once the food arrived was taboo.

When the waitress passed out the individual plates and took her leave, the table was covered in silence. The only sound coming from the clanking of their shifting glasses and the chattering of the other patrons. Naruto hadn't noticed as he was stuck on a very good part in his book. The silence was incredibly uncomfortable and he could just sense their collective discomfort. With his extensive knowledge of these circumstances, he planned for a joke. Seeing as Itachi was the table's common ground, he'd use him as the focal point.

"So, Izumi-san." He began. "You are finally twelve years of age?"

Izumi swallowed the food in her mouth so that she could answer. Nodding her head and covering her mouth to prevent excess food from flying out, "Yes I am." She said, glad someone had finally said something.

"Well, that just leaves little Itachi here, huh?" he said nudging at the boys age receiving a chuckle from Izumi.

Itachi executed the Uchiha infamous 'hn' at the jab. "For just three more weeks." He argued.

"Aw, you're still a baby for three more weeks." Izumi added, receiving a chuckle from the blonde across the table and a deadpan look from the brunette.

"I appear to be the most mature at this table." He said with a face of indifference, but they could both tell there was a hint of amusement or relief in his voice. "Besides, you two are merely a few months older than me." He said.

"Astute observation." Naruto remarked. "I am only joking. You will get it when you are older." He said as he and Izumi cackled up at Itachi's look of annoyance.

As he has been doing more and more recently, Naruto successfully broke the tense silence that the table was drenched in upon their arrival. Then, when everything got rolling and he finished his meal, he pulled out his book and simply listened to the two flirt with each other for the next hour or two.

He found it to be something unique to see up close. The blossoming of love was being played out before his eyes. In a book he read, the author explained his own theory of the concept of love as being 'our human minds becoming over-infatuated with another person to a degree that is dangerous in a self-implosion stand point.' Naruto took that as saying falling in love was the equivalent of dooming yourself to death. For, if you fell in love with someone weaker and you lose them, your judgement is clouded and you are no longer who you were as you fight for one thing and one thing only. Vengeance.

Looking at the two from where he was sitting, Naruto felt it was a possibility that seemed to present itself at this very moment. There was a piece of him that didn't want their relationship to flourish, not out of jealousy, strictly for the safety of his best friend. He didn't have too many real connections in this world, so this was one he couldn't lose.

Having Itachi for a friend is what fed Naruto's belief that any man could be more than the selfish and cruel creatures he's seen in his life. For, Itachi is a killer. Not a murder, just a man following orders, but a killer none the less. For a boy who has taken countless lives to retain the pieces of him that keep him human, Naruto was convinced that Itachi was a light within this dim world he's come accustomed to. Itachi inspired him to see through the pain and sorrow and to look towards the future. The future being the next generation.

Before meeting Itachi, Naruto was a hateful individual. Not verbally, but he was very pessimistic in his way of thinking. Of course, for a lonely little boy, it was an inevitable outcome. Then he met the boy without a smile, but with lots of love. For a while, they butt heads with their clashing ideals, but eventually, Naruto was shown something so beautiful, his heart was touched with a grip of warmth he hadn't felt in years. A new way of viewing the shitty things that happened on a daily basis.

Ironically, it was a few days after their first kill, the day in which he believed Itachi would see his views, and realize how cruel and vicious human beings are. Something he himself had read in his books. To his surprise, while following his partner, he watched him interact with people as if nothing had happened. He expected Itachi to seclude himself much as he had the first day. He expected him to stray far away from family, for fear of them witnessing the monster he had become.

In his child like mind, he believed Itachi was just naïve to the core. He felt that he just didn't understand what it was he had done. When he got the chance, he approached him with a heated argument, trying to convince him he was a monster like he felt himself. All Itachi said was that he was not. When he stood up and began walking away, Naruto was almost compelled to follow him.

When they finally stopped, they were standing on a cliff overlooking the woods. Naruto was confused to the reason they were up there. He just watched as the brunette stared out at nothing. He asked him what it was they were supposed to be looking for, but Itachi just told him, "… it's beautiful isn't it?"

Naruto tried to see what it was he was talking about, but all he saw were scarred up trees and people yelling at each other. When he spoke on it, Itachi only smiled and said, "You only see what you wish to. But, it is worth saying that you know what ugly looks like… therefore you must know beauty as well…" With those wise words, he turned and walked away, leaving the blonde standing at the top of that cliff seeing things a lot clearer than he had just a few moments ago. It's like saying there can't truly be darkness if there is no light to compare it to.

Those words got him thinking over everything he had come to hate. He hated the people that fought each other, but then he remembered seeing people that were in love, and how happy they were. He hated seeing people die, but he remembered when Mito and Menma were born. He hated his family for leaving him all alone, but he remembered the amazing times they had in the past. He was brought to his own conclusion about the concept of mankind. We hate something only when we once loved it dearly. And if you once loved something dearly, forgiveness is as easy as remembering what you loved before.

Naruto feared for his friend, but at the same time couldn't have been happier. For once, he was getting to see his friend genuinely, truly happy. Something he has noticed was becoming more and more scarce. There was another book he read in which the author gave his own description of love as 'the emotional embodiment of peak human strength. Yet, at the same time, our greatest weakness. A paradox in the truest sense.'

In both cases, he noticed the outcome of death. Never directly said, but implied both times. Death was inevitable, and in the line of work that he was accustomed to, he knew better than most that death effects the living more so than the dead. But, over the time spent with the two in less awkward situations, he became close to Izumi as well. So, the fear of one of their deaths became a lot more worrying.

Breaking him from his thoughts was a head of silver hair poking out at a booth a few away from theirs. Thinking it was Kakashi, he almost called out to the man. When the guy stood to his feet it wasn't him. Glad he dodged that awkward conversation, he went back to reading. Again, interrupting his musing was Izumi standing to her feet. "It's getting late. I better get home." She waved to the two boys with a smile. "Thank you guys so much. This was the most fun I've had all day."

Naruto nodded at her with a smile. Itachi however stood to his feet as well. "I will walk you home." He said as they bid Naruto a good night. Naruto returned the gesture and headed home himself. He couldn't wait to see what their relationship developed into. Something exquisitely dangerous he presumed.