Shikamaru received a strange look from Naruto when their paths crossed on the stairs. Considering the wadded blanket and sheet Naruto was carrying he
could have returned the look with interest. Naruto hadn't struck him as a bed-wetter, but he supposed one could never really tell about things like that. He
crisscrossed the hall rapping on doors until one was opened by a bleary-eyed Sai. He would have thought a self-proclaimed spy could pull an all-nighter
without looking as sleep-deprived as that. Apparently not. Shikamaru didn't bother beating around the bush. "I need a secure line."
Sai blinked, looked him over from head to toe, and then blinked again. His head tilted to the side and he smiled curiously. "Was he any good? He doesn't look
like he'd be very good, too stiff and reserved. Although, once his hair is messed up I suppose he might be-"
"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru muttered as he pushed past him and into the room. That distracted Sai enough for him to stop pretending he hadn't heard him. The
door closed behind him as he eyed Sai's set-up. He had seen better, but it would do. He sat down at the desk and helped himself to his computer.
"What makes you think I have a secure line?" asked Sai. For once he didn't have to feign anything. Both his curiosity and amusement were genuine.
"What makes you think I had sex with Neji?" Shikamaru tossed back. He didn't mind being watched as he typed in the codes that put his current location out
there. Even if Sai memorized and deciphered the numbers, it wasn't as if he ever used the same code twice.
"We know all about you," Sai informed him. "You have a death wish. Umino might very well kick you out of his house if he knew what you're involved in." He was
disappointed when Shikamaru didn't even bother looking back at him. "Maybe I'll tell him myself."
"Go right ahead," Shikamaru drawled. "While you're being honest, don't forget to tell Uchiha Itachi that you kissed his little brother. With tongue." He caught
Sai stiffening out of the corner of his eye and felt his lips twitch. For a member of such a troublesome group, Sai really wasn't that bright. "A person can't stay
in this house without hearing things, whether he wants to or not. You have bigger things to worry about than me."
"I'm not worried about you," Sai said, his voice smug and taunting. "We're not even the slightest bit interested in you. Frankly, you're no more than a flea biting
a lion. There aren't enough of your kind to do any significant damage."
"And yet here you are threatening me." Although he had expected that, he was surprised by the lack of subtlety. If he had known Sai was that easy, he
wouldn't have bothered setting him up with that kiss last night. "I'll be out of your hair in a minute. Go back to taunting me about Neji. That was amusing. You
almost sounded jealous."
"Hyuuga won't join you," Sai said sharply. "He won't join anyone. He doesn't want anything to do with being a mutant and he never will. If there was any chance
of that, we'd have him already. You're wasting your time."
"I don't consider any time well spent a waste," Shikamaru commented. Definitely jealous. He wasn't surprised the Order wanted Neji, but he hadn't expected Sai
to want him, too. Maybe he had a thing for the dark and silent pretty types. "Does Itachi look anything like Sasuke?" That would explain a few things.
"What makes you use his name so casually when you don't know the answer to that?"
"I have ears. I can also read. It's just fascinating what you can learn by reading. You should try it some time." He suspected he would be doing a lot of reading
once his contact finished copying everything from Sai's computer and the database it was currently connected to. Just the thought of that much work made him
sleepy. "Oz has had their eyes on Itachi for years. Of course I've run across the name. They probably know more about him than you do."
"Impossible."
"Because they share information with you?" Shikamaru turned to raise an eyebrow at him. "You don't really believe they're sharing all of their information with
you. Do you?" Although Sai's face gave nothing away, his silence spoke volumes. He might not be good at the job he'd been given here, but he wasn't entirely
stupid. Good for him. Shikamaru turned the computer off and then stood and caught his eye. "I'm not your enemy, you know."
"You're not qualified to be anyone's enemy," Sai said dismissively. "You're just another-"
"Flea," Shikamaru sighed. "Yes, I heard you the first time."
"Fleas are a nuisance, though. I might still tell Umino about you before I leave. There won't be anything to stop me then."
And still with the threats? The guy was downright tiresome. "You would just be admitting that your Order knew all about that facility and the torture taking place
there without making any effort to help."
"You're one to talk about effort," Sai smiled pleasantly. "Is it really that hard to starve yourself to death?"
"Try it sometime."
Since Shikamaru didn't look back, Sai didn't bother maintaining his smile. It hadn't seemed to annoy the boy, anyway. Nothing he'd said had, which was odd.
He hoped he wasn't suffering a twinge of conscience. That wouldn't look good on his report. He sat at his desk and turned the computer back on. The loading
screen froze just seconds in, then the hard drive shut itself back off. Sai closed his eyes. He probably should have seen that coming. With a long sigh, he drew
out his sketchpad to make a functional duplicate. Maybe getting fired wouldn't be so bad. At least he'd never get assigned another recording task. If he
seriously considered switching teams he might even have Kanda's group sent to dispose of him. That would almost make it worthwhile.
.-.
"Are we in agreement, then?" Sakura asked her troops. And they were her troops. While Ino might know her way around the kitchen, and the bedroom to hear
her talk, Sakura was definitely the brains of their pair.
"I want no part of it," Neji said flatly.
Sakura did her best to glare him into submission with no visible results. He had only been included because Lee had spotted him coming out of his room and
snagged him before he could disappear back into it. Since this meeting was taking place in Lee's room it hadn't seemed polite to argue with him. Now she
wished she had screwed politeness and stuck to her guns. "If you're not going to help, then you can leave."
Lee caught Neji's wrist before he could rise from his spot in the tightly seated circle. "You might change your mind," he said earnestly.
"Don't count on it," said Neji. He did sit back down, though. If he was going to be living in this house he might as well know what was going on in it. The fact that
they intended to include Hinata in their plan was another reason to hear the rest. She must still be chopping her hair off because none of them seemed to
realize they were related. That implied she hadn't changed much since the last time he'd seen her and made him resent having to see her again. He didn't
want any part of that, either.
"What if distracting him isn't enough?" asked Kiba. "Are we going to resort to force?" That would be much easier for him than intentionally flirting with Hinata.
Actually, if he flirted too much he and Naruto would probably end up fighting anyway. Naruto was awfully possessive of her for someone with a boyfriend.
"It might come to that," Sakura admitted. "I'll have to warn Hinata about the plan to make sure she doesn't misunderstand, so her reactions might not be
enough to keep his full attention."
"That's where I'll come in," Ino smirked. "If he tries to bolt, you hold him down," she said to Kiba, "and I'll take over and keep him down."
Lee actually winced. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."
"It's not," Sakura snapped, frowning at Ino. "If Kyuubi-san is anything like my internal personality, you could end up trapped in his mind. There's no telling what
that beast might do to you."
"I'm sure he's not a real fox," Ino started, her tone very patronizing.
"I'm pretty sure he is," Kiba put in. "Tails and all."
As they bickered about the true identity, and threat level, of Naruto's parasite, Lee turned to Neji. "Is Shikamaru still asleep?"
Kiba snorted and then coughed to cover his red face. Lee had asked just the right person, too. There was way too much sex going on in this house. Poor
Akamaru was beside himself to the point where he actually felt sorry for the neighborhood bitches. Not that they had much right to complain considering the
scents they were putting out to lure his friend in. Akamaru was going to stink so bad by the time he came home that he'd probably have to give him another
bath.
Ino scowled at Neji, and at Lee for asking him that question. They might be roommates for now, but she still fully intended to fix that. "I'll inform Shikamaru of
his role." And make sure his lazy ass assumed that role whether he liked it or not. She'd never heard of anyone sleeping as much as he did. It couldn't
possibly be healthy.
"His talents would be useful," Kiba admitted. Shikamaru certainly hadn't had any trouble holding Naruto in place last night. "But if we're going to resort to that,
why not just do it from the start? Shikamaru could drop him off somewhere at the first sign of trouble and pick him back up when it's all over." He suddenly
found all eyes on him, and stared back at them in disbelief. "What? I'm the only one who thought of that? Shit, you're all stupid as hell, aren't you?"
The confounded silence held for a long moment, then Neji laughed. Yes, they really were. Ignoring the venomous look Ino shot him, and Lee's attempt to call
him back, he let himself out of the room. He had heard enough.
.-.
"Iruka's back!"
Sasuke looked over from his desk when Naruto bounced off his freshly made bed and tore out of the room. Since Naruto had told him about two of the mutants
Iruka was bringing back with him, he decided to follow. According to Kyuubi, there were three mutants in total and they had been in Sisco for days. He was
curious as to why.
The sound of Naruto pounding down the stairs brought Kakashi and Sai from their rooms. Sasuke shrugged at them.
"You would think Iruka had been gone for days," Kakashi remarked, both in amusement and for Sai's benefit. Sure enough, a flash of consternation crossed
the boy's face as he quickly headed for the stairs. Honestly, Kakashi couldn't help liking that kid. He was an original trying to follow the narrow standards of
others and doomed to failure. He might prove to be an interesting person once he accepted that he was in the wrong line of work. Assuming he ever broke out
on his own. Some never did.
Iruka was bowled over just inside the door. He enjoyed the excessive affection too much to complain, though his aching tailbone wanted to. "I wasn't gone that
long."
"Long enough," Naruto insisted. Especially now that he knew Iruka was in danger of falling for even the obvious perverts. He eyeballed the newcomers as he
and Iruka climbed to their feet. Hiko was safe, annoying most of the time, but safe all the same. The really broad shouldered guy with the tawny hair and
vertical line on his forehead had to be Hiko's boyfriend. Kyuubi confirmed as much, though thankfully the scent wasn't heavy enough at present to bother him.
Tenka was easy to spot, what with the scar over his nose matching Iruka's so well. He had heard about that identifying feature of his plenty of times. The other
guy, though, he was worrisome. The trenchcoat and sunglasses positively screamed weirdo if not pervert. Despite the guy's age, Naruto was immediately on
guard. He had learned his lesson with Kakashi.
'He smells bad,' Kyuubi told him. 'Sharp and metallic, almost like when you squash a...' He took a deeper breath, looking hard at the bushy-haired mutant.
Then he collapsed into tail-waving mirth.
'What?' Naruto demanded. 'What's so funny?'
'Iruka is going to hate this,' Kyuubi howled. 'We have to be there when he finds out.'
'Finds out what?' Naruto's attention was pulled away from his hysterically amused fox. Iruka must have introduced him to Tenka because he suddenly found
himself being squeezed in a rather painful hug. Then his back was being slapped just as roughly. He shot a confused look from the smiling Iruka to the
grinning jerk who was currently assaulting him.
"You're a little old to be my nephew," Tenka was saying, "but it works for me. I love your scars. Gives character, you know?"
"You think so?" Naruto asked in surprise. Maybe the guy wasn't so bad after all. Naruto was looking up at Tenka, so he saw the moment his expression
changed. His smile vanished and a sneer of contempt rapidly took its place. Naruto followed his gaze and for a moment he thought that look was being
directed at Kakashi. But Tenka wouldn't know what Kakashi had done to Iruka so that sneer was probably aimed at Sai instead. That was okay, too, though.
After last night, Sai was only a little lower on his mutilation list than Kakashi was.
Sai didn't acknowledge the hostile teenager, who barely qualified as a gnat in the big scheme of things. He wasn't concerned about him. In a moment he might
be quite concerned about the giant wild card standing near the door – Did Iruka attract them like flies? - but at this instant his entire focus was on the hand.
Iruka was holding a little white severed hand, a dead thing one would think, yet it was vividly alive to him while Iruka was the same inanimate stone as always.
He could draw that hand, and possibly part of the arm it had once been attached to. That wouldn't tell him whose it had been or where it had come from,
though. He finally dragged his eyes up to look at Iruka, who was plainly bracing himself for an explosive encounter between him and the black-haired teenager.
Iruka would probably intervene on his behalf, too, Sai thought. Iruka was nice like that. So why was he holding a child's severed hand? "Whose hand is that?"
Since Sai was staring directly at him, Iruka could only assume he was talking to him. He glanced around for a second before responding in the only way he
could. "What?"
"So you're the spy, eh?" Tenka drawled, edging past Naruto to size Sai up. He faltered for a split second when he got a good look at Sai's bare midriff, but he
forcefully shrugged that off. "What's to stop me from throwing you out of here right now?"
"That would be me," Iruka reminded him, not that Tenka was listening. Sai was still staring at him in a way that made him very uncomfortable. He quickly turned
his attention to Naruto and introduced him to Bunchu. Then he noticed that Kakashi, who had been hanging back, had been joined by Sasuke and,
surprisingly, Neji. More kids were now peering down the hall from Lee's room and a movement out of the corner of his eyes turned out to be Shikamaru
lounging in the doorway to the livingroom. His house suddenly seemed very small, and for someone who enjoyed being closed in as much as Iruka did, that
was saying a lot.
"Okay," Iruka said loudly, a smile belying his sharp tone. "Everyone into the backyard. We can do introductions and such outside since it's such a nice day."
"For a barbecue!" Tenka put in, to the excitement of more than a few of the kids.
"Do you roast marshmallows at a barbecue?" Lee asked curiously as they headed for the back door.
"Only if there's a bonfire," Sakura sighed sadly.
"What?" Tenka grinned back at her. "You want to burn the town down? I saw all that grass on the drive here. One spark and the whole place would go up."
"Not really," Naruto said, thinking of the fire Sasuke had spewed at him in the field that time. "We could build a pretty big fire in my garden if we wanted."
"That's a mud patch," said Kiba, "not a garden."
"Just because you've never seen me plant anything in it doesn't mean I never have," Naruto countered, with a wry look at Sasuke. 'He's bloomed beautifully
since I planted him.' He grinned when Kyuubi gave a heartfelt groan.
Hiko kept near Iruka at the back of the pack. "Want to keep the spy in here so Bunchu can look him over for you?"
"It can wait," Iruka said firmly. "He really hasn't done anything to anyone since he got here."
"Which doesn't mean he won't," Hiko muttered. He glanced back at Bunchu and was surprised to see that Kakashi had fallen in alongside him. Shouldn't
Kakashi be following close on Iruka's heels? Surely he hadn't given up already. He would have asked if he weren't afraid Bunchu might decide now was a good
time to have a word with him. Thanks to the packed car they hadn't spoken to each other yet. He preferred to keep it that way for a while longer.
By the time Iruka had finished with the introductions he was feeling quite content. Naruto wasn't as quick to accept Shino into the fold as he had expected, but
Lee was, and with Tenka's support he had Kiba's and Sakura's approval as well. Neji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were being as antisocial as ever, watching it all
without offering anything. If Shino was as quiet as he had seemed during the drive home he would probably fall back into their ranks before long. That only left
Sai, who was at least refusing to rise to any baiting Tenka threw his way. Now if the strange boy would just stop staring at him like that he could truly enjoy
seeing his yard filled with young mutants.
"How about now?" Hiko prodded, ruining the moment.
Tenka must have heard him because he hurried over. "What? You're not taking off already, are you? We're having a barbecue!"
"Says who?" Hiko scowled at him. "This is Iruka's house, not yours. Anyway, I wasn't talking about leaving. I'm talking about finding out what that 'spy' is really
up to. Like I'd really leave him here to murder them all in their sleep."
Iruka let out an aggravated sigh. "He is not going to-"
"Relax," said Bunchu.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow when all three of them did just that. So this was the guy Iruka considered so reliable, was it? The slit in his forehead had opened
up to reveal a creepy eye that made the sharingan look downright lovely in comparison. Sure, his voice had a ring of soothing authority to it but, meh, Kakashi
had heard better. He edged the band off his left eye just long enough to confirm his suspicions. He immediately stopped viewing him as a rival. It was easy to
get people to rely on you when you gave them no choice but to do so. Even he wasn't that manipulative.
Sai returned the wild card's bug-eyed stare with open curiosity. He had seen that eye even when the man had been standing in the hall with it firmly closed.
That was all he had seen when he looked at him earlier. Looking into the real eye was no different. It was just a vertically set blue eye that threatened to turn
green with the yellow-gold energy currently thrumming behind it. When he drew him he would have a blank page with only that eye staring out of it. Odd, but
not that interesting. It wasn't until he glanced at Iruka that he realized what that eye had done. The hand was gone. Gone from his sight but not, he suspected,
from Iruka's grasp. The first time he had actually seen something in Iruka and now it was gone. That wouldn't do at all. With a sigh, he walked over to confront
the wild card.
"If you limit my talents I won't be able to do my job," he pointed out. "I'm not harming anyone. I haven't and I won't. You have no cause to interfere with me."
Bunchu nodded and closed his third eye. "He hasn't lied outright," he told Iruka. "His primary objective is to witness and record. Secondary to that, he believes
he's here to protect you and Naruto if it proves necessary for him to do so. Your lives are the only two that matter to him."
"I never said that," Sai complained. His orders had said that, not him.
"You're here to protect them?" Tenka scoffed. "Yeah, right. What the hell are you going to do? You draw pictures!"
"Useful ones," Sai said amicably. "Would you like me to draw you?"
"No," Iruka said sharply, before Tenka could jump at the challenge. "Bunchu looked him over, just like you wanted, and he didn't see anything-"
"I saw quite a bit," Bunchu interrupted. "Let's go inside and discuss it. You two stay out here," he said to Tenka and Sai.
Sai didn't budge. "You need to undo what you did to me." If the man thought his size and sober stare were intimidating he really had a lot to learn.
"What I did only affects the way you see Iruka," Bunchu told him. "As it won't hinder your mission in any way, I won't be undoing it." He brushed past the boy
and led the other adults inside.
Tenka promptly rounded on Sai. "Just what were you trying to do to Iruka, anyway?"
"I was trying to see him," Sai admitted. Why the wild card considered that to be threatening was a mystery to him. If Iruka didn't want to explain the hand he was
carrying around with him then he could easily refuse to do so. Blocking his sight of it wasn't going to make him forget he'd seen it, after all.
"What's going on?" Naruto demanded. He had seen enough to be more angry than suspicious. Kyuubi had reacted with revulsion the moment Bunchu's third
eye opened up, but since it had been aimed at Sai he had no complaints. Bunchu was Hiko's, who was Iruka's, which made him one of the good guys.
"Apparently," Tenka muttered in a disgusted tone, "your spy here plans to protect you and Iruka by drawing pictures." He threw his hands up and wrinkled his
nose at Sai. "And to think we hid out for days to avoid you guys. Buncha useless pansies."
Sai smiled blankly at the attempted insult. Tenka was definitely a gnat. Between him, Shikamaru, and the bug-crawling newcomer, Iruka's house was a
veritable infestation. He wondered how that would play into Uchiha's arrival tomorrow. If the wild card really had read his mind he was no doubt informing Iruka
at this very moment. Since Sasuke's continued presence proved Naruto hadn't passed along his warning he could only hope Iruka or Kakashi did the honors.
Uchiha had no more use for insects than the Order did, and he was far more likely to swat any that got in his way.
Iruka slammed out the back door, his expression determinedly cheerful. "We're having a barbecue," he announced. The resounding cheers were all he
needed to hear. If things were set to fall apart tomorrow that was all the more reason for his kids to enjoy themselves today. He would do his part to make sure
they did. In the end, that might be the only thing he could do for them.
.-.
PART 44
.-.
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