Lethe
Chapter One
-Anniversary-
"Okay." Akito said, walking into the living room where his five children were lounging, watching as their parents got ready to leave. "Everything's put in the car, so all that's left is for your mother to finish getting ready and let me see her." He shook his head as he finished put on his suit jacket. "I can't believe she made me get dressed in one of the guest rooms."
Hayate, the youngest at age thirteen, smiled. "You know mom just wanted you to be surprised by how pretty she looks. Tonight's an important night, after all." He nodded.
"How can you be married to one woman for twenty-two years?" Noriaki, the middle triplet, sighed. "I mean I know you guys have sex more than like four times a day, but I can barely stand one girl a week."
"Shut up Nori." A dark haired girl rolled her eyes. "You know you would have a panic attack if mom and dad even considered being separated."
Akito just chuckled. "You'll understand someday when you find the person you're supposed to be with." He said.
Sanosuke frowned. "The likelihood of any of us, Hayate not included, finding someone we can stand for the rest of our lives isn't very high." He stated.
"That's what I thought until I met your mother." The eldest Uchiha smiled.
Akito's eldest son, Kanamé, glanced up from his book with a dejected breath. "The likeliness of that happening is quickly dwindling into the single digits. Considering how you and mother met each other in middle school and have been in love ever since."
"What are you all talking about?" a soft, but sweet voice came from the doorway, getting everyone's attention. Natsumi stood in doorway, her short pink hair cut just above her shoulders. She walked in, her strappy heels clicking on the hardwood floor. She was dressed in a tight white halter top dress, with a slit cut high that cascaded sideways, making only one side of the dress fall to her knees.
"Love." Akito said simply, walking over to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, giving her a chaste kiss. "You look absolutely beautiful darling." He said.
She laughed, kissing him back as she leaned into his embrace. "Thank you sweetheart and you look handsome as always." She whispered, kissing along his jaw line. At the cough from their children, Natsumi pulled away slightly and smiled at them. "Alright we'll be back tomorrow night. Try not to destroy the house. And for the love of God Noriaki," Natsumi groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Do not mess with your little brothers. If I have to hear one more time from the house keepers about you, duct tape, and Hayate so help me God, I will strangle you myself."
"What!" the teenager gasped. "That was one time!" he shouted, becoming flustered.
"Twice." Sanosuke said in a bored tone.
"Okay, maybe twice." Noriaki huffed, crossing his arms.
Natsumi snapped her fingers, shaking her head and getting all their attention once more. "I don't care. Behave." She ordered, pointing at every one of them individually. "Be good. Do your homework, and for God's sake get to school on time. Kanamé, you're in charge." Then she smiled, wrapping her arms around Akito's waist. "Ready to go baby?"
He smiled back at her. "Of course." He said, as they began to head towards the door. "Bye kids." He called over his shoulder, opening the door for his wife.
"Be safe!" Natsumi called once more as the two disappeared through the door.
Izayoi sighed, laying back on the couch. "About time."
"Yup." Noriaki smirked, hopping up from the couch and pulling out his iPhone. He hit the talk button and started walking off. "Hey Kai, they're gone. Text everyone to head on over. We'll be ready in fifteen for the par-tay!"
Kanamé's eyes widened, "Noriaki! What on earth are you doing?!"
"We're having a party." Sanosuke smirked.
Hayate's eyes widened. "We can't have a party! Mommy will be angry when she finds out!" he said, clearly distressed by the mere thought.
"Shut up Hayate, what mommy doesn't know won't kill her. Besides it'll be all cleaned up by the time she gets home tomorrow. Everything will be fine, it's not like she's going to have a heart attack if she does find out." The middle triplet scoffed, leaving the room to get ready.
Izayoi got up from the couch and ran her fingers through her hair, "I need to change."
Kanamé stood as well, slamming his book shut. "No! You know this is a bad idea."
"If you don't want to participate then go up to your room." Sanosuke said. "You too Hayate." He instructed, getting up from his seat to prep the rest of the house of their shindig.
"But…" Kanamé began.
"But…" Hayate said as well.
The two sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this." Kanamé frowned, looking down at his younger brother.
"Me too." Hayate said softly. "I think I'm going to just hang out upstairs and finish my homework." He said. "Are you going to party?"
"I have to make sure Noriaki doesn't go too crazy." He shrugged, walking Hayate out and up the steps. "Hopefully it stays contained."
"With Noriaki as the ring leader." Hayate smiled, "Doubtful."
"Go! Go! Go! Go!" People cheered as Noriaki and Kai faced off with multiple empty shot glasses in front of them.
"And time!" Sanosuke said, hitting the table. The two drinkers stopped then, both equally breathless from the swiftness they had been drinking. "Now count your glasses." He instructed.
"If I won you owe me fifty bucks." Kai smirked, sliding the shot glasses over to the other side of the table as he counted them. He had stormy grey eyes and white spiky hair, the bottom half of it being black.
The dark haired man mirrored his best friend's expression. "Uchihas don't lose. I could drink you under the table baby." He snickered, sliding his glasses as well, his smirk grew when he had two more than Kai. As the group broke into a cheer he stood, throwing his hands in the air since he had been the victor. "Thank you! Thank you!" he bowed, grabbing a nearby blonde and kissing her deeply. She giggled, grabbing his white V-neck and dragging him closer.
"You guys are idiots." Izayoi sighed, as she walked by her brother and the bimbo attached to his face.
"Yeah Noriaki, you're an idiot." Kai slurred a bit, tossing a fifty dollar bill onto the table before walking after the ebony haired girl. "Hey Izayoi, do you wanna dance?" he asked as he caught up to her.
The girl scoffed, stopping only to meet his gaze. "With you? No thanks, you're just as much of an idiot as my dipstick brothers." She sighed, walking off once more since Kanamé had now challenged Noriaki to another round.
He deflated a bit, turning and beginning to sulk off. Then he spotted a flash of white through the crowd and his smile returned. Stumbling over to the girl, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, causing the two of them to sway with his lack of perfect coordination. "So what do you think? I told you they have a nice place."
Vibrant purple eyes met his gaze. She was wearing tight black skinny jeans with a black shirt to match it, the top hanging from around her neck and tying behind her back, showing off her midriff and cleavage. "Your breath smells." She pointed out, her nose wrinkling in distaste.
Kai leaned closer and exhaled on her face, making her shove him off. "Kai!" she complained, rubbing her nose. "You're such an idiot."
"That's what Izayoi said too." He sighed. "Anyways, you should quit hanging out in the corner and come have some fun. We can even play a drinking game. I know you're good at those." He elbowed her playfully.
"Shut up." She smiled slightly. "I don't want everyone to know that about me."
He grabbed her hand and began to drag her towards the table. "Come on, just one game."
"Kai." she protested, just as they stopped next to the table where Noriaki and Kanamé were still going at their game.
Sanosuke hit the table. "Time!" he called out loudly. "Count your drinks."
"I bet Noriaki won again. He's never lost." Kai smirked.
The two counted out their drinks, both laughing, though Kanamé swayed. "Shit." The elder triplet cursed. "Twenty-two."
"Ha!" Noriaki stood in victory once more. "Twenty-five!" he threw his hands up in the air, getting a cheer from the nearby group that droned out the pounding music. Noriaki stopped for a moment, his only slightly inebriated gaze landing on Hikari. His smirk grew as he took a step closer to her, touching his fingers beneath her jaw. "Sup Hikari." He said sweetly, looking down at her attire. "You're looking extremely gorgeous and sexy tonight. Maybe I can melt that icy heart of yours with my body heat, eh?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Why don't you just focus on staying on your feet." She smirked. She glanced at the table and then back up at him. "So, you've never lost a game, huh?" she asked, raising a brow at him. "No matter how many times you've played?"
He paused in his actions, laughing. "Are you really giving me an opportunity to get you drunk? Because as much as I would love to have you sober, any chance to have you beneath me is worth it."
Hikari's smile turned devious, and she reached up to trail a finger along his jaw, ignoring his comment. "If you don't want to play again I won't make you." She said, before pulling away from him and walking to the other side of the table. She picked up the bottle of vodka and began to refill the shot glasses. "Unless you think you're going to lose." She glanced up at him.
"Uh, Hikari…" Kai began, looking between his cousin and his best friend. Antagonizing the Uchiha when he was sober was bad enough, but inebriated? Worst. Idea. Ever.
"Shut up Kai." She ordered, leaning over the table to fill the rest of the glasses, as well as giving Noriaki a nice view of cleavage. "I'll even kiss you if you win." She placed the bottle off to the side and straightened, giving the ebony haired boy an expectant look. "Well?"
Noriaki watched her with a suspicious gaze, but sat down. He placed down some more glasses and filled them, "You seem pretty confident." He smirked. "But let's up the stakes, if I win, after all I've already drank so much, I get to sleep with you."
She stared at him for a few moments in deliberation, before nodding. "Fine." She conceded, sitting across from him. "And if I win, you have to stop hitting on me. For good. Think you can manage that?"
He just cracked his neck and laughed. "Nope, I can't manage that, but there's no need to worry about it because I'm not going to lose with your virginity on the line." He said with a dark laugh, meeting her embarrassed gaze for only a moment. Noriaki slapped his hand on the table, "Let's do this Sanosuke, get ready."
Sanosuke nodded, resetting his timer. "Ready." He said, raising his hand. It slammed down on the table, just as he shouted, "Go!"
Hikari quickly grabbed a glass, swallowing it and shoving it aside before going for another. She didn't even pay attention to how many Noriaki was drinking, only focusing on her own glasses. There was no way in hell she was going to lose this, not with these stakes. A hand hit the table then, and Sanosuke ordered them to stop. Wiping her mouth, she set down the empty shot glass that was in her hand and stood, a small smile coming to her face when she saw how many she had drunk compared to the Uchiha.
"I don't believe it." Kai blinked, watching as they began to count. "You might have actually won."
Noriaki only smirked, leaning back in his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sanosuke began to count his brother's, and then recounted them before he counted Hikari's. "Wow…" he said a bit breathlessly. "For a woman you can drink."
"Yes!" Hikari cheered, throwing her hands in the air until Sanosuke spoke again.
"But, Noriaki drank thirty-one…and you only had thirty."
Hikari cursed. "Fine, let's just get this over with." She said, marching around the table and grabbing Noriaki's arm. "Come on Casanova, show me what you got." She ordered, pulling him out of his chair towards the exit, so that they could go upstairs.
He simply laughed, slowing his pace, in turn making her slow. "Hikari," he said softly, taking a hold of her wrist. "Don't worry about it." Noriaki smiled slightly, lifting her hand and kissing it. "Debt paid." He released her hand and pulled away, walking backwards until Kai called out for him once more.
Her brow furrowed. "Huh?" she asked, though nobody heard her. She shrugged, not caring in her buzzed state to think on it further. She wandered around until she found Izayoi, who was sitting on one of the couches. "Noriaki had the perfect opportunity to sleep with me and he didn't." she said, giving the ebony haired girl a dumbfounded look. "Am I missing something? Is it because I'm technically not sober?" she asked, frowning in confusion.
"Naw." The dark haired princess waved off her friend. "I'm pretty sure it's cause' he actually likes you. Something about you not sleeping with him, that ski trip that the sports teams took to Colorado, and how you guys hung out and he taught you how to snowboard."
"It's all too confusing." She whined, laying her head on her friend's shoulder. She sighed. "I'm bored."
"If you're bored then why don't you go have sex with him?" Izayoi asked, glancing down at her friend. It was then that they heard a loud song begin to play. She fished out her phone and looked down at the caller I.D., her eyes widening. "Oh crap." She stood, silencing her phone as she headed off to find her brothers. "Sorry Hikari it's my mom!" she yelled by way of explanation.
Hikari blinked, falling on her side as she lay on the couch. "Oh…that can't be good."
Natsumi let out an annoyed huff as she sat in the driver's seat. "None of the triplets are answering their phones." She said, looking over at her husband.
"I don't know why you're worried, I'm sure they're fine." Akito sighed, "I don't understand why you just can't let them be for one night. It's our anniversary and we said no kids, remember?"
"I know, I know." The pink haired woman frowned, scrolling through her phone to find Sanosuke's number. "I just want to make sure they're okay, since we're just driving to the hotel and all. I promise that once we're there, no more worry." She smiled, giving him a hard stare. "Now call Hayate and see if he answers."
He raised a brow. "At the same time you call Sanosuke?"
She glared at him, "Are they unable to speak at the same time? What if Sanosuke is in his room? He could get his phone and Hayate might be in his, they should all be getting ready for bed but those two always shower in the morning so we're safe."
Akito simply let out a sigh and pulled out his phone, hitting the speed dial for his youngest. He held it up to his ear and looked back at his wife. "Sometimes I think you worry too much." The corner of his mouth quirked up in a small smile.
"Well you don't worry enough, so I have to make up for it." She smiled back, listening on her own. She huffed and lowered it after a while. "No answer."
"I didn't get one from Hayate either." He frowned, looking down at the screen. "He might have gone to bed early, so I'll try again." He pressed the redial button and put the phone back to his ear. After a few rings he almost gave up, until he heard a click.
"Hey dad!" Hayate's voice greeted through the phone. "Sorry I didn't answer the first time. I was…uh…busy. Busy with my homework."
"Hayate, it's almost eleven. Surely you finished your homework by now." The elder Uchiha said, giving Natsumi an okay sign to let her know that he had reached one of their children.
A nervous laugh came through the line. "Yeah, I was just putting the finishing touches on my science project. So, um, what did you need? Are you and mom having a good time on your date?"
"You seem a little jumpy Hayate. Is everything alright?" Akito asked, glancing at Natsumi to see if she wanted to take the phone.
The pink haired woman's brow furrowed and she snatched the device from her husband, "Hayate! What's going on? Why are you still awake? Where are your brothers? And Iza isn't answering her phone. Is something wrong? Are they doing something bad?" she badgered. "You know that if you lie to mommy it will break my heart and I will not be able to forgive you for a long time."
"Mommy, I would never lie to you!" Hayate gasped. "Nori, Iza, and Sano decided to throw a party!" he shouted through the phone. "And it's so loud, and people are everywhere, and Kanamé and Nori are drunk…and…and…" he took a deep breath. "I told them it was a bad idea, so I went up to my room like a good boy. I'm so sorry mommy!"
Akito snatched the phone before Natsumi could react, a frown etched into his features. "What?! They threw a party and are drinking?!" he asked. "How dare they get into my good alcohol!"
Natsumi took the phone back and tried to hold in her anger. "Hayate! Why didn't you call me the second those three were up to no good! I am very disappointed in you! We're coming home right now! And those teenagers better be out of my house and I swear to God if my sofa is ruined it will be the death of you all!" she screamed into the phone, hitting the end button. "Turn around." She ordered, though Akito was already in the process of the action.
"We should have paid the nannies to stay with them overnight." Akito said, pulling a U-turn. "The sheets in the guest rooms will need to be burned as a precaution. No telling what was done and by how many kids on them."
"I knew they would try and pull something like this." Natsumi huffed, "How dare they!" she flailed, knocking Akito's phone from the cup holder. "Oh sorry honey," she sighed, reaching down to the driver's side to try and get it.
"I got it sweetie." The dark haired man let out an annoyed breath and reached down as well.
Natsumi swatted at his hand, "Akito you need to watch the road. Just let me get it."
"I am watching the road." He said, leaning down even further and grabbing his phone. He glanced up, his eyes widening as he saw a large semi heading straight for them. "Shit!" he yelled, sitting up straight and moving to maneuver the car to lessen the damage, though he knew it was already too late.
The impact pushed the car across the road and onto the side. Akito coughed, opening his eyes slowly, though his vision was blurred by the smoke coming from the front of the car. He let out a groan, wincing when he tried to move his left arm. He must have pulled a muscle or something, because it didn't feel broken. "Natsumi…" he said softly, turning his head to look at her.
When his eyes landed on her hunched form, he let out a shout. "Natsumi!" he yelled, seeing the blood that was oozing out of her head. Knowing that he needed to call an ambulance for his bleeding wife, he raised his right hand, only to see that his phone was shattered, the fragments having cut his fingers a bit. He didn't even know where Natsumi's phone was, and it would take too long to look for it.
Dropping his phone, he unbuckled, slowly easing himself out of his seat belt. "Natsumi, baby, wake up." He said, placing his hand on her shoulder. He froze, recalling something she had told him once. If he moved her, he could actually be doing more harm than good. A wave of dizziness hit him then, and he laid his head against the headrest. He needed to stay conscious.
Minutes seemed like hours as he sat there, trying to stay awake and worrying about his love. But when he heard the familiar sound of sirens, and saw the flashing lights, a small smile came to his face. Finally, help had arrived. The paramedic ran towards his door and opened it, flashing a bright light in his eyes to check his pupils.
"Sir, I'm going to help you get out of the car." The man announced, grabbing his arm and pulling him.
"No, help my wife!" he shouted, struggling against the hold the other man had on him, though it was to no avail. The pain in his left arm was excruciating, and so reluctantly he got out of the car. "You can see to me once she is taken care of!" Akito felt his body begin to move with the paramedic towards the back of the ambulance, and when it registered in his groggy mind, he yanked his arm away from the hand supporting him, stumbling a bit.
"Natsumi!" Akito shouted, making a run for their destroyed car. A hard body practically tackled him before he could reach it, and his arms were restrained.
"Sir." A deep voice said. "You need to calm down, or we will have to sedate you. We are doing what we can to help the other passenger, but we need to assess your wounds before doing so."
Akito didn't even respond, instead continuing his struggles, his only goal to be there for his love. Something pricked his neck then, and it wasn't too long after that his already blurred vision began to get worse. Damn bastards were making him fall asleep, despite how badly he didn't want to.
The feeling in his legs disappeared, and if it weren't for the hulk of a paramedic holding him, he would have collapsed on the ground. His head drooped, though he turned it to the side in order to watch the car as the top was being taken off of it. And as his vision began to go black, the last thing he recalled was seeing Natsumi's bloodied form, and knowing that it was all because of him.
"Hayate I thought you said that mom and dad were coming home." Kanamé sighed as he sat on the sofa with his arms crossed. The second their little brother had run down and alerted his other siblings of his blunder, everyone had been kicked out. Aside from Kai and Hikari.
"That's what they said." Hayate replied, fidgeting nervously. "And they sounded really angry too."
Noriaki huffed and stood, stretching out his limbs. "Whatever. I'm going to bed. They probably just wanted to freak us out and clean up. It's not the first time Mom hasn't come home cause' she's so mad and doesn't know how to deal with it yet. Dad's probably just fucking the stress out of her right now." He smirked at the thought before glancing at Hikari. "Anyways, I wouldn't worry about it, they'll be home tomorrow." He said as he walked out.
"Well I think it's time for us to go home." Hikari said, standing. "Come on Kai. We have school in the morning." She instructed, before waving to her friends. "Bye guys, thanks for inviting us." She smiled, walking out of the room.
"Yeah it was great." Kai smiled, though his gaze was on Izayoi. "See you tomorrow Iza." He said, before following after his cousin.
Izayoi watched him leave and let out a tired breathe. "Come on Hayate, let's go get you ready for bed." She told her younger brother as she stood and took his hand, leading the worried boy out of the room.
Kanamé frowned as only he and Sanosuke were left. "I hope nothing bad happened."
Sanosuke looked at his elder. "Yeah, but I think Nori is right. I mean, how many times have they said they were going to come home and punish us and waited until mom was de-stressed?" he raised a brow. "Besides, it is their anniversary, and I bet they still want to enjoy the night before they have to come back and be parents."
"I guess so." Kanamé nodded and headed out with Sanosuke, flipping out the lights. "Well get some sleep. It's not long till we have to get up for school." he sighed, departing from his brother and heading towards his room. Despite the 'assurance' from both his brothers, he still couldn't help the feel of unease that was beginning to prick at his mind.