Red Dawn

Chapter Two: Getting things straight

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. However, the plot and whatever Original Characters I use are my own.

Warning: If I do finish/continue this piece of fan fiction, it'll have male on male pairings in it. Also it will have some blood and gore in it so if you don't like it, don't read it.

Summary: Itachi, after killing his clan, takes Naruto with him to the Akatsuki after a beating by the villagers that would have killed him if the Kyuubi hadn't stepped in. See what happens when Naruto is raised be a bunch of S-class missing ninja.

Beta: None.

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It had been two days into his stay at the safehouse when Naruto's clear azure eyes opened fully, wide awake and bright. He winced, feeling his stiff muscles from obvious lack of use, and bit back a yelp when he felt his head throb with what had got to be the worlds biggest and most painful headache in the history of everything. Well, to Naruto it was.

"Ugh, where am I?" He groaned out and winced again as the sound sent lightning bolts of pain to his head. He jerked out in surprise when he felt cool slim fingertips press against his temples.

"Naruto-kun it would probable be best if you kept your movements to a minimum, as not to inflict any unnecessary pain on yourself." A cool and calming voice seemed to echo all throughout the room.

Naruto slowly nodded and looked around at his surroundings. He was in a room, a rather plain looking one at best. A wooden dresser painted a faded green had what looked like the remains of Udon noodle soup on top of it was sitting in one of the corners of the four by four meter room. The white walls were slightly dirtied with age and the floor was a simple blue colour. There was a simple white wooded door leading out side of the room to the right of him.

"We are at an Uchiha safe house, just out of the borders of the Fire Country." Itachi answered simply.

Naruto nodded in understanding. "Wh-why?" His voice was quivering, Itachi noticed as he looked at the kid who had asked the question.

Naruto shuddered as he looked up at the pale impassive face of Uchiha Itachi. It looked so cold; empty and emotionless. As if the young man had ripped out all his emotions and used high level fire jutsu to burn them, and once they had been burnt to look like extra crispy bacon, put in a box then forgotten them. But as Naruto looked deeper into the smouldering dark coal eyes of the Uchiha, he saw a tiny spark of emotion. It was small, undeniably so, however there was emotion was in those eyes.

Somehow, surprisingly, unbelievably, Itachi's dark eyes softened as he looked at the trembling blonde. "No-one deserves to be treated like you were back there Naruto-kun. Especially not children. So I took you away from the ones that were slowly killing you. "

"B-but I'm a d-demon!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue eyes wide in confusion.

"No, you are not a demon, Naruto." Itachi stated forcefully, coal orbs flashing crimson in rage at the foolish villagers.

"But it's what I am! Why else do they hate me? Despise me so?" Naruto cried confused and desperate at the same time. "Why else would they treat me like that? Beat me as if I was scum on the soles off their shoes? Did I do something wrong in a past life?" Big fat tears dripped down from his face, leaving shiny salted trails as they did so. "I don't understand." He whispered brokenly.

"Naruto-kun, you are not, in any shape or form, a monster or a demon." Itachi stated forcefully, eyes flashing a tattle-tail crimson that told Naruto he was an Uchiha.

He looked down at the weeping child on the bed and smiled slightly at the sight. Blankets tangled at his knees, a tear stained tan face with golden locks resting just above his shoulders, no this child looked like the exact opposite of a demon. He looked like a angel, one that's heart was breaking. Naruto's face showed his bewilderment when Itachi said that.

"I-I'm not a demon?" He said, fear and hope seemed to be battling for dominance as he asked.

"No, Naruto-kun." Itachi almost sighed at the shear idiocy of the villagers. Almost. "Whoever said that was a complete and utter moron."

Naruto's heart seemed to stop and then start again, beating at least three times faster than usual, when Itachi said that he wasn't a demon or monster, and now he was saying that the people who said he was were stupid.

Itachi's eyes widened almost comically and he staggered back as the blonde attached himself to the dark haired youth, sobbing loudly and refusing to let go. Itachi smiled and wrapped his arms around Naruto, whispering sweet nothings in his ears. Settling down on the bed, Naruto firmly in his arms with silent tears running down his whiskered cheeks, Itachi comforted the child.

"Uchiha-sama?" Naruto mumbled uncertainly into Itachi's chest. Unbeknownst to Naruto, Itachi's elegant brows lowered at disgust at the name. Uchiha-sama was his father, not him.

"Don't call me that." He said, his voice soft but firm. Naruto smiled at the sound that told him the coal eyed teen was listening.

After a short pause, Naruto spoke. "Thank you; no-one has ever said I wasn't a monster, not even Old Man Hokage." He whispered. "I think that deep down, he hated me too. We're not going to go back to Konoha, are we?"

Itachi's arms tightened around the frail body he was holding and he silently cursed the village he had once been apart of to hell. "No, we will be leaving for a long, long time Naruto-kun. Don't you be worried." He answered.

"What should I call you?" Naruto asked, as sleep tugged at him, wanting to pull him under.

"Itachi." Was the reply he got before he gave in. His eyes slowly shut and he fell asleep.

Itachi looked down at the blue eyed child in his arms and softly smiled when he saw those eyes where covered by tanned lids and that the fox-boy was sleeping. Shifting into a more comfortable position, he decided that resting was a wonderful idea. Proceeding to do just that, he shut his dark eyes and let sleep sleep take him

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Naruto wrinkled his nose as the bright orange rays of the morning sun came to contact with his shut eyes. Burying his head deeper into his pillow Naruto let out a small moan. Naruto rolled over and went to go back to sleep, but that option was soon forgotten as the most amazing smell he had ever had the pleasure of whiffing touched his nose. Crawling out of bed, Naruto slowly opened the white door and walked out.

"Naruto-kun." The quiet silky voice of Itachi made Naruto jump.

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed coming face to face with his saviour, his heart beating a mile a minute. Looking into those dark eyes Naruto suddenly felt rather nervous. "How are you today Itachi?"

Itachi smiled at the young boys discomfort. It was quite amusing to watch the way he smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, Itachi noted.

"I'm okay, I trust you slept well?" The teen inquired.

Naruto suddenly felt unimaginably embarrassed as he remembered what had happened. "Yeah … Sorry about that. I guess I kinda got a little,er, You know ... You get the idea." He finished with a bright smile.

"Don't worry about it Naruto-kun. You have been lied to all your life so it's understandable that you would react that way to the truth." Itachi said with a smile.

Naruto could not believe it! This man had rescued him from the village who had tried to kill him numerous times and called him a demon and a monster Kami knows how many times. Then he told him he was not evil and demonic, that the villagers were stupid, comforted him when he cried and was still being nice to him.

"So, what will happen to me now?" Naruto asked, an inch of fear leaking into his voice.

Itachi smiled. "Now? Now I think we will have breakfast."

Naruto realised that had been the smell from earlier on and smiled widely at Itachi. Nodding his head he motioned for the elder to lead the way. Itachi smiled and led the blonde down the hall and into the lounge room that was joined to the kitchen. Naruto looked around; it was a modest house, that was for sure. The same blue floor that was in the bedroom, same white walls that were in that bedroom, heck; even the same doors! The only difference was the furniture. The furniture was all black, or at least a very dark brown, and made from what seemed to be oakwood. The table, placed at the far end of the room next to a set of beautiful stained glass windows that were open letting sunlight filter in, had plates of steaming hot blueberry pancakes on it.

Naruto walked over to the table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs, almost moaning when the smell of the dish in front of him became even stronger. Naruto's stomach growled loudly in wanting. Itachi smirked and went to grab some orange juice from the stainless steel refrigerator in the kitchen and a pair of glass cups, one for him and one for the blonde child at the table.

"Uchiha-sama?" Naruto asked, momentarily forgetting the dark haired teens request to call him Itachi, cutting into a pancake and raising it to his mouth.

"Naruto-kun, please don't call me that. It makes me feel old, and that shouldn't happen since I'm only thirteen. But other that that, what were you asking? "

Blushing a vibrant red, Naruto asked, "Itachi, what will happen to me?"

Biting into his own pancake, Itachi said, "You will be coming with me."

"Where to?" Curiosity clear in his voice.

"A place."

"Well, that was helpful and informative." Annoyance had replaced the curiosity from earlier on, and Naruto was pouting.

Itachi smiled, the child was just too cute sometimes. "First we will be head to the village hidden in the rain, where an organisation has agreed to let me join. I will be taking you with me."

Smiling brightly, Naruto asked. "Are the people nice?"

"I would not know, Naruto-kun." Itachi paused to take a drink of orange juice. "I have never met them."

"Oh." Naruto said flatly. "But I bet they will be!" He smiled up at Itachi, trust clear in his deep blue eyes. The pale skinned teen lips twitched up in a smile at he looked at the blonde Jinchuuriki.

"What does the organisation do, Itachi?" Naruto asked.

"They want peace." Such a simple statement held so much meaning. Naruto looked up at Itachi in awe. "I want to help them bring peace, that is why I am joining them."

"Do you think … I can help bring peace?" Nervousness and fear making his voice quiver and stutter. "I-I mean t-t-the villagers … they s-said that I-I was a m-monster, a-and that I could o-only k-kill. They s-said I-I would b-bring death." Big fat tears leaked from under thick blonde eye lashes, shoulders began to tremble with the force of the sobs let loose by the blue-eyed child.

Itachi couldn't stand it any more. He shuffled over to the boys chair and scooped the blonde up into his black clad arms and carried him over to the leather couch in the living room and sat down on it, Naruto still in his arms and weeping quietly. The five year old sat, one of frail leg on each side of Itachi's lap, straddling the Uchiha, thin arms wrapped around the dark haird teens shoulders and his tear stained face buried into the crook of a pale neck.

"Now, now, Nauto-kun." He said in a somewhat soothing voice, running circles with his fingertips on the small of the blondes back. The boy sniffled his response and further buried his head into the smooth skin of Itachi's neck and shoulder. "It's okay." Itachi whispered, a sad smile on his face. "They are stupid, wrong, and altogether idiotic."

"Really?" Naruto whispered against Itachi's neck, voice filled with hope.

"Of course." Naruto could feel the deep rumble in Itachi's firm chest and grinned happily against the skin he was currently leaning on.

"So, what is going to happen next?" Naruto asked, voice filled with trust.

Itachi almost grinned. "We head over to Amegakure no Sato, after all, we are only half way there. I thought you could use a rest is all." Naruto nuzzled his neck and laughed.

"I think I did as well." He said with a sad smile.