Home Is Where The Heart Is || Naruto Fanfic

Chapter Thirteen

If you see chapters being reuploaded that's just from me reposting them cause I made some edits through chapters and added or removed things in them :]]

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he trip to the hideout was – thankfully – not far, as Itachi and Kisame had only just left. However, the tension in the air was so thick that Naruko felt like she was choking. Gaara stuck by her side, and Naruko stuck by Gaara's. Kisame walked behind them, sword out and ready for use. His eyes bore into their backs, and they both felt the hair on the backs of their necks stand, muscle tense and body ready for fight or flight. 

Kisame – despite having been introduced to the two thirteen year-olds and vice-versa – still watched them like a hawk, as if they were some kind of threat ('or a target' Kurama oh-so-helpfully offered). Itachi didn't seem to mind, ignoring his partner's piercing stare, but offered the two kids an air of warmth and calm, so they remained by his side. 

"We're here." Itachi murmured, pausing, then ushering Naruko and Gaara through the entrance, Kisame directly behind them. "Where's Pain?" He asked the first person they saw, which so happened to be a strange-looking man with a heavy hunch and a squashed-looking body. The man jerkily gestured in a random direction. 

"Who're they?" He asked, voice gravelly and deep. Itachi didn't answer immediately, and glanced at Naruko and Gaara instead. 

"Potential allies." He said smoothly, continuing to walk in the direction of this 'Pain' person. Gaara shared a look with Naruko, who shrugged. 

"He's not wrong, though, is he?" She whispered to him. Gaara paused, then nodded slightly with a look that said 'damn, she's right'. 

Kisame stayed behind to speak with the man in the previous room, and the two watched them go. 

A few minutes of walking later, and Naruko, Gaara and Itachi reached an orange-haired man with piercings covering his face and black rings running through his completely-purple eyes. 

"The Rinnegan." Kurama grumbled from within the depths of Naruko's mind. 

"Itachi?" The man asked. He turned to face the other completely after seeing the two kids beside him. A woman peered around from behind him, confusing etching its way onto her face. Her purple hair fell over her shoulders, and the paper-like flower in it moved slightly. The man, however, looked not only confused, but also surprised. Naruko didn't know why. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Who are these two?"

Itachi glanced at them, gesturing towards the orange-haired man. Naruko sighed softly.

"Naruko Uzumaki." 

"Gaara." 

"Konan."

"Pain. Why are they here?" 

"We wanted to discuss some things." To the point, as always.

"Alright. Follow me." Pain said after a moment of contemplation.

The five of them walked a little more, reaching a doorway and entering. Inside, there was a large, round table with seats around it that Pain directed the group to. They took their seats and Naruko glanced at the man's cold, purple eyes, feeling discomfort at the familiar look in them. She placed her hands on her lap and made sure there was only her regular confidence visible on her face. 

"Why did you bring them here?" Pain asked Itachi after a few, long seconds in the palpable tension. The aforementioned Uchiha glanced at his younger sister beside him for a moment, finding the slight traces of discomfort in her body and gently tapped her foot with his own under the table. She exhaled through her nose and forced herself to relax.