Untitled

Chapter 1

 

Tired blue eyes scanned the snow covered sidewalks of New York City. It was hard to live the way he did; everyday wondering when your next meal would be or if you’d get a meal at all. Nights were the worst; trying to find a safe shelter to sleep in. He wouldn’t have minded sleeping on the streets but he had to think about his companion, she would never last out in the snowy cold of winter in New York, not to mention all the weirdoes out there; he had to keep her safe. His daughter Aomi was the only one left that mattered to him. Brett Uzumaki had lost everything when he was laid off from his job about a year prior. He considered himself a very lucky man still; he had Aomi and that’s all he needed. As long as she was with him and he was able to provide for her, it was enough.

 

The subject of his thoughts pulled on her father’s coat to get his attention. “What about over there?” The black haired green eyed eight year old pointed to a window that showed a very nice looking display of fruit.

 

Brett shook his head. “No good baby girl. That place looks like they’d nail us from a mile away.” He had a love/hate relationship with fancy restaurants. Some you could con no problem; others will just get you a kick in the balls for your trouble. “Let’s try somewhere else.”

 

Aomi gave her dad an indignant look befitting someone older than eight. “We won’t know until we try. And we’ve never been here before, maybe they’re easy…”

 

The blond stood there for a moment and contemplated his daughter’s point of view. He guessed it would be alright. They needed to eat, so why not give it a shot? Plus, the place did look like it had some nice food. “Alright, let’s go, but don’t forget to use the face. That always seems to work.”

 

The little girl nodded. She knew all about the face. She made it up after all. It was the classic ‘pity me’ face. It always seemed to get them both anything they wanted. “Don’t worry Naru, I got it covered.”

 

Brett nodded and grabbed her hand before crossing the busy street to enter the elegant eatery.

 

Immediately stepping through the door the two nomads were greeted with the wonderful warmth that only came with a very high powered heater. The two hadn’t taken two steps inside before a snooty looking waiter made his appearance with a strained smile. “Welcome Sir and…” he looked down with slight disdain at the dirty coat the young girl was wearing. “…madam. How may I help you this evening?”

 

Brett plastered a smile firmly on his face and held out his hand. “The name’s Brett Uzumaki, perhaps you’ve heard of me?” He winked, hoping that the man would be stupid like all the others and assume he was someone important. But Brett’s luck befell him tonight however, for the man just kept his smile even.

 

“Sorry, I don’t believe I have… Now if you’ll…”

 

“No? Brett Uzumaki, Harold Street 4216 New York Chapter?” He hated when it didn’t pan out with the snobs of the rich. The blond figured that if this didn’t work, he’d quit before getting his ass handed to him.

 

The waiter feigned recognition and an almost genuine smile graced his features. “Oh yes, I do believe I remember your name somewhere; a very important man, yes?” While saying this, the man gestured for his two chefs to enter and the two burley men came immediately.

 

Aomi took the opportunity of the distraction to head over to the display case they had seen earlier and pocketed a few of the sugar covered peaches; enough to last for at least a night. With her bounty in hand, the little girl made her way back to her father’s side just as the two chefs were approaching.

 

Upon seeing the men, Brett smiled once more and bowed a tad before backing up out of the door. “Well I see you have a full room tonight so I should just head…” But before he could finish, the two large men had picked up the slightly shorter blond and bodily carried him outside, slamming him against the side of one of their delivery trucks.

 

Brett groaned as he pushed himself up. Well, at least it wasn’t his balls this time.

 

Aomi headed out of the restaurant quickly to help her father up. After making sure the man was alright she approached one of the large chefs and fearlessly stared up at him. “Why don’t you try that to me, you big jerk.” With that, she placed a well positioned kick to the man’s shin.

 

Brett took that opportunity to quickly grab his daughter and head away from the scene. Taking a peach from her and absently munched on it. “You shouldn’t have done that baby. You know how I feel about stealing.” Of course he wasn’t referring to the kick. He had mentally cheered for his daughter. She was one tough cookie. But he prided himself on being a con artist that never cheated or stole. Yes, technically what he got out of conning was stealing, but it was not for his personal gain. It was just a way for him to make sure that his daughter was fed and subsequently, he was fed so he could continue to take care of Aomi.

 

Aomi sighed and ate her own peach. “I know, but he wasn’t going to let us in anyway. Who cares if we stole tonight, we’re eating aren’t we?”

 

The blond just shook his head. They’d have to try something different tomorrow. The ‘sneaking into restaurants then running’ con was starting to get a bit old. “We’ll try something different tomorrow. But you have to promise me, no more stealing alright?”

 

Aomi gave a dramatic sigh but nodded nonetheless. “Fine.”

 

Brett smiled and wrapped an arm around the girl to help keep her a bit warmer. “That’s a good girl.”

 

They continued to eat as they walked along the busy streets. The snow was starting to grow heavier and they would need to find a shelter to sleep in soon.

 

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On the other side of town, in an all glass high rise office building, sat a man who was not very happy at the current moment. He was sitting slumped in his office chair, his long black hair a mess as he had no time to fix it up after a long day of work. His equally dark eyes skimmed over yet another proposal requesting his services.

 

Chris Uchiha sighed as he picked up the phone and dialed the number provided on the sheet in front of him and waited none too patiently for an answer. When a male voice picked up on the other line, the long haired divorce attorney sat up a bit straighter in his seat. “Yes Mr. Donavan, this is Chris Uchiha returning your call…” There was a pause before he continued to speak. “Yes, I’ve looked over your proposal and feel that my firm would be the perfect candidates to handle your divorce… Yes, I’d be doing it personally… Of course, let’s go over your payment then.”

 

Chris was one of New York’s most cutthroat attorney’s when it came to domestic court. He could win anyone’s case and enable his clients to reap the benefits of a higher payoff than if they went to someone else. Yes, he had it all; money, a nice house, a fiancé… Although as cushiony as his life seemed to be, Chris wasn’t very happy. As a matter of fact, the long haired man was sick of his life. He handled his home and social life as he did at work; to the point and through the motions. He supposed it was due to the familiarity of the high life, he was so accustomed to it that it was all just a bore to him.

 

Chris finished up his phone call, confirming an appointment with Mr. Donavan within the next week just as his fellow attorney, and brother, Sasuke, entered the office. The long haired man hung up and gave his younger sibling a calculating look. Sasuke tended to be overly concerned when Chris’s social and home life was involved. Chris sometimes wished that the other male would just stay out of his business. But, he figured it was a little brother’s duty to worry about things like their big brother’s well being. “What is it Sasuke?”

 

Sasuke, who was a bit shorter than Chris, with short spiked black hair, kept his own calculating stare on his brother as he approached and sat down in a chair across from his sibling. “Was that a client?” he asked hesitantly. Usually Chris didn’t like to talk about work, even though they usually worked with the same people a lot of the time.

 

Chris merely nodded and pretended to look busy with paperwork. “Is there anything in particular you wanted?”

 

The younger man sighed in defeat. There really was no point anymore. “Ino called. She said you two had a dinner engagement tonight or something and to have you call her as soon as your done here. She’s going to be late and wanted you to know in advance.”

 

Chris nodded absentmindedly and stood up. “Well I’ll leave then. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes but stood up as well. “You know you should try to relax more. You don’t have to be so detached all the time.”

 

Chris ignored the advice and left the office promptly after he gathered his belongings. He didn’t look back as he headed out of the office, ignoring his secretary’s farewell, and made his way to the parking structure where his car was sitting. His life was a total hell.

 

 

About a week later, Brett and his daughter found themselves sitting patiently in a parking structure. Expensive cars surrounded them and Brett figured the parking garage belonged to a very nice office. This was sure to work! His new plan was full proof. Actually, Aomi came up with most of it.

 

Seeing a long haired man in a black trench coat and gloves head through their level toward a very nice BMW, Brett put his plan into action. “Now remember Aomi, we have to do this right or else it won’t work.” He picked up a plank of wood that was about three feet in length and about six inches in width.

 

Aomi rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. “I know; we’ve gone over it a million times already.”

 

The blond chuckled and handed her the wooden plank. “I know, I know. Alright, now, you have to hit me REALLY hard ok? Right here on the side of my head.”

 

This was the part of the plan Aomi didn’t like. She would never intentionally hurt Brett, but she figured if he told her to do it… “But it’ll hurt.” She said, a bit unsure as she took the plank.

 

Brett smiled and bent down so he was squatting at her level. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You love me don’t you?” he asked with a bit of a playful smile. After seeing Aomi nod he continued. “Well then, as much as you love me, that’s how hard you hit me, alright?”

 

Aomi still looked a bit unsure. “I love you a lot…”

 

Brett’s smile grew a bit wider. “Then, that’s how hard you do it…”

 

“You’re going to cry…”

 

“In all the time you’ve known me, have you ever seen me cry?”

 

Aomi thought on that for a moment. “No, but I’ve seen you sad…”

 

Brett glanced at the man and realized how much time they were taking. “Don’t worry honey, I’ll be fine. Just do what we talked about. We’ve gone over it a hundred times already.”

 

“I know, but that was talking. That’s different than doing!” The little girl looked at her father’s pleading gaze and finally gave in. “Alright, let’s get this over with.”

 

 

Chris unlocked his car and slid fluidly into the driver’s seat. Ino had proposed another dinner engagement tonight. Third one in the past week. And on top of that, she was going to be late again. It was official, his fiancé was a flake. He wouldn’t be surprised if she showed up late to their wedding.

 

He put the key in the ignition and started the car. Not really caring about what was going on around him, he began to back out as he dialed Ino’s number.

 

Meanwhile behind the car, Brett and Aomi were getting into position. Just as the car was close enough, Aomi swung the plank with all her might and smacked the blond right across the head, and threw the plank underneath a nearby car.

 

The blond went down hard and blacked out for a moment. Man, that girl could hit.

 

Chris slammed on his breaks and felt his heart race in his chest. He did NOT just fucking hit someone. The long haired man exited his car quickly and went around to the back. What he saw made him stop cold. A man was indeed behind his car. He looked unconscious, but the worst of it, was the little girl sobbing over her supposed father.

 

After Aomi threw the plank somewhere, she turned on the waterworks and flung herself over Brett’s body. When she saw the man approach she looked up at him with accusing watery eyes. “YOU KILLED MY DADDY!”

 

Chris was speechless. He couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything… He couldn’t believe this was happening… So he did the only thing that came to mind. “HELP!”