Chapter 1

Rhombus

Glen sat on the dirty porch of his white home, clad in a black tank top, cameo pants and black, ankle-high boots, his seemingly lifeless gaze locked onto the individual particles of the cement upon which he sat. His hands fumbled in his pant pockets, pulling out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and a plastic red lighter. Quickly looking around, he popped out a stick, placing it between his lips nervously before lighting it, striking the lighter several stressful times before being granted a tiny flame. He lit his cigarette and waved out his lighter before shoving both the lighter and box of cigarettes back into the pockets of his pants.

Slowly, he took a drag on the white burning stick, his black eyes rolling to the back of his head in relaxation, his tension seeming to flow out of his body. Removing the stick from his lips with two bony fingers, he released a cloud of smoke from his lungs through his slightly parted lips. He adjusted his seating, leaning his back against a support beam that held the small makeshift roof over the porch. He looked out over the fields of grass about the house, his view consisting of a large red barn, a corn field and a silo. It was late afternoon, the sun just getting ready to set, painting the sky with a mixture of reds, blues and purple hues.

"Lisa is going to fire you if you don't stop smoking."

Glen rolled his eyes, arching his thick, black brows to the voice piping up behind him. It was his best and only friend, Kaleb, towering over him in nothing but his blue jeans held up by a dark brown leather belt. His silvery gray hair was limp about the side of his face, his left eye noted with a small scar, jagged yet hardly noticeable to the untrained eye. In his lanky arms he held a basket of laundry.

Kaleb glared at Glen's unresponsiveness, "You promised me you'd quit." Glen lowered his head slightly, "I promised I'd stop when I'm ready. There's a difference." Kaleb growled softly, "I don't care. You finish off that pack and you're done. Got it?" Glen sighed softly, "Yes, Mother…"

"I mean it, Glen. I don't do this to you to piss you off. …I do it because I care…" Kaleb's voice trailed off at the last bit as he turned and went inside, shoving himself through the screen door, the rusty hinges wailing in pain as the door moved throughout its frame. Glen stood, staring out over the sunset before setting the cigarette back between his lips and taking another relaxing drag.

Once he finished off his cigarette, he tossed it into the outside garbage can before entering the small house. Inside, immediately beyond the door, was a small, slightly cluttered living room. It was held together by a couch, a small TV set accompanied with a VCR, a small rack that which held a pile of magazines, a coffee table, and was wrapped up by a rack on the wall that held up two jackets, two full backpacks and a set of keys. Upon the coffee table was the remote to the TV and VCR, a magazine, an empty soda can and the telephone.

The carpet was a dark rich brown, ragged and worn by roughhousing with shoes on. The walls were lined with posters of either rock bands or small paintings that Glen had done, mostly of dragons and griffons with the occasional woman's face. Shelves were barren of knickknacks and held instead small books, all old and decrepit. The couch was dark maroon with bright red plaid, slightly ripped up in some areas and corners, shredded by tiny claws of a certain white kitten that Glen had found recently out in the barn behind the house. It was only two weeks old at the time and had been dubbed "Snowball" by the two teenagers.

Glen shivered slightly to the crispness of the autumn breeze against his bare skin through the screen door, the October weather soothing yet torturous to the boys. Glen hauled himself over to the couch, where the tiny white kitten awaited him, kneading her little paws against the cushion upon which she was sitting. He smiled to her innocence and sat next to her, taking her tiny form into his large bony hands and stroking her fur delicately with his fingertips.

"Sara is coming over tomorrow," Kaleb announced quietly as he entered the living room from the kitchen. He walked over to the couch and sat next to Glen, resting an arm over the ledge of the back of the couch and sheltering the other's shoulders. Glen sighed softly as he looked down at Snowball, watching her tightly shut her little green eyes and massage his leg through the fabric of his pants with her paws, "What for?" Kaleb snickered slightly, "You really don't like her, do you?" Glen frowned, knitting his thick brows in annoyance, "Damn right I don't…"

"Why do you hate her?" Kaleb asked, blinking a bit as Glen rest his head back against Kaleb's bare shoulder. Glen lifted Snowball up and held her against his chest, "Because she's the damn devil, that's why." Kaleb rolled his eyes, "She'll be here while you're at work tomorrow so you won't have to see her, alright?" Glen huffed, not satisfied.

A long silence followed, saved for Snowball's loud purring. Kaleb broke the silence as gently as he could, "So what are your hours tomorrow?" He couldn't help but hesitate to rest his head back against Glen's, mixing their silver and raven strands. Glen had a smoky fragrance about him. He sighed as he rolled Snowball over in his lap, poking and stroking her belly, "Nine a.m. to three p.m. I may go in early to have my own breakfast there…The pancakes are actually pretty good." Glen was relaxed now, much to Kaleb's relief.

Kaleb shifted, leaning towards the coffee table and grabbing the T.V. remote, "I'll have to try it sometime." Glen ignored Kaleb's movement, "No discount for you, I'm afraid." Kaleb slumped back, almost draping his arm about Glen's shoulders, "Darn." He turned the T.V. on, flipping through the channels, bored with everything that popped up. His thin brows knitted as he felt the other boy press up against him ever so slightly. It was a faint movement, but he could feel it.

Glen had always been his closest friend since they were children, having met in an orphanage ran by an old woman named Annie. There were only about four children there including Glen and himself. Glen was a scrawny little boy having been taken from his father about six months after his mother died, while he was parentless completely.

The orphanage itself was a tall, old obsidian church, labeled with intricate designs of black marble vines and roses all merging up top at the steeple and forming a large cross. The church was old and gothic, big enough to live in and foster homeless children, but too small to take in a whole group at once. The main room of worship was barren and used mainly for playtime, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and praying for a safe new home in the future.

Annie was an old woman, old enough to be considered elderly. Despite her age and slight plumpness, she was able bodied and full of energy. Her cheeriness always gave the children hope, a hope that Glen could never completely stomach no matter how he wished to. Kaleb always remembered him being timid and scared, always having tears in his eyes. He always hid from the other children when he was first brought there.

The boy was covered in bruises and scratches, his face cluttered with dirt and tears, his hair a mess of tangles and he had an aura about him that suggested he hadn't bathed in quite a while. The little boy was as miserable as he could be, and being the sensitive child he was, Kaleb always felt sadness coming on when he saw Glen--or any other little one, for that matter--cry.

Kaleb was slow to come on to Glen, not getting too close to the boy when he was in his corner sniffling and holding a small teddy bear to him for comfort. He got closer and closer every single time until he was able to wrap his little arms around the other and hold him in an attempt to comfort him. Ever since Kaleb was able to comfort the younger boy, Glen had become his shadow, hiding behind him whenever they were playing with the other two children, a boy and a girl named Adam and Kelly, outside in the backyard.

Once he had gotten used to Adam and Kelly, Glen no longer relied on Kaleb as a hiding place. Glen began to open up, revealing facts that Adam and Kaleb would blink to in shock and caused Kelly would giggle with intrigue. Kelly and Glen always played together from then on, doing what they both enjoyed together while Adam and Kaleb, being the oldest of the four, talk about their parents, the reason they're there and their hopes and dreams for the future, subject matter that Annie never thought she'd hear six and seven-year-olds utter.

Glen and Kelly could always be found in the grassiest part of the backyard, picking up bugs and looking at them, exclaiming at how cool or pretty their colors were before putting them back down on the grass blades from which they were plucked. Glen's favorite insect was the grasshopper, while Kelly's was the butterfly. Often times, the two would dig around through the dirt away from the grassier areas in search of newer bugs, once having found a two-foot long earthworm after a long rain.

After several years, Adam and Kelly were both adopted. Adam was adopted by a middle aged, middle class couple, while Kelly was taken by a rich, younger couple. Glen and Kaleb were both crushed from their losses and soon began to rely on each other for comfort. Over the years, Annie didn't take in any new children. She took care of Glen and Kaleb and put them through school after having tutored them at home. Once Kaleb turned seventeen and Glen sixteen, the two moved out, buying out a house with money they've collected and saved up since they started working at about the ages of fifteen and fourteen.

Although the two lived on their own, Annie insisted persistently that she pay for their schooling. After a long argument, Kaleb reluctantly allowed Annie to take care of school finances and book rentals until they graduated. Kaleb's only worry was Annie insisting on paying for college funds as well, knowing they were perfectly capable of working up enough to pay for what they needed to.

It was their senior year in high school, both having already filled out college applications to the same college and receiving approval, though Glen got his later than Kaleb by about two months. While Kaleb's major revolves around architecture and the grandest structures, along with the cultures of the countries and peoples that built them, Glen planned on going into the fine arts industry, if there ever was such a thing, and desired to focus his time and effort on painting.

Glen had put his time and effort into all the art classes he had signed up for after pushing himself through all the required classes he needed in order to graduate, most of them being painting or ceramic classes. Kaleb on the other hand took the challenge to go into college based classes, AP and Honors courses to get a higher level diploma.

It's their final year of high school, a fact that both of them are happy for. It was somewhat relaxing for them. It made them a little lazy, though it was in their mindset that they earned the right. That same belief drew them closer, be it physically or in terms of friendship, "What time is it…?" Kaleb glanced down at Glen, who was slumped against him, his head tilted back and partially pressed against the back of the couch.

"It's just now nine-thirty. You seem tired," the silver-haired boy said as he looked down at his friend. Glen's response was no higher than a whisper, "I am…" Kaleb looked away, relaxing and letting his exhausted friend rest against him, "Maybe you should go to bed then. You do have work in the morning after all."

Glen didn't want to get up being as comfortable as he was. Lazily, he whispered, "Carry me…" Kaleb grinned at the playfulness in Glen's voice, "Yeah, when the sun dies. Go to bed. Don't make me push you off." Glen whimpered as he rolled himself off the couch and onto the floor on his hands and knees. He stood and stumbled, slightly due to his exhaustion. Slowly, he made his way into the kitchen, veering sharply left into a large bedroom, which contained two beds, one for him and the other for Kaleb.

Their room was separated by an invisible line between the beds and the two sides differed by cleanliness. Glen's half of the floor was slightly littered with books and clothes while Kaleb's was completely spotless. On the other hand, Glen's bed was neatly made while Kaleb's was left the way it was when he woke up that very morning.

Between the beds was an evenly placed bedside table with a lamp and a digital alarm clock. On one side of the lamp sat a phone and on the other a Kleenex box. One the opposite side of Glen's bed was pair of bowls, one full of cat food and the other of water, and a litter box with a small kitten bed in front of it all. Within the kitten bed were a few toys; a small mouse, a bell attached to a fuzz ball, a small pouch of catnip, and a ball of light blue yarn.

Snowball passed into the room between Glen's ankles, mewling softly as if to reprimand him for leaving her. He stalked behind her and removed all of his clothes, taking the large wad and tossing them into the farthest corner on his side of the room. He flew open the blankets before crawling in and burying himself between the large sheets of fabric and cotton. Snowball climbed up onto his bed and made her sleeping space atop of his head on his pillow, mixing the white and black colors of their hair.

Snowball's purring lasted long into the night before both of them passed out into deep, restful sleep.

Kaleb stayed up well past midnight watching the news, feeling slight tugs at his eyelids due to not being used to staying up so late. He never stayed up past eleven o'clock for fear of missing something in a class should he ever doze off. He stared at the reports and shivered slightly at what he heard.

"Here, you see, we have a very large, just a massive storm system moving eastward through Greynolds, Jasper, Richardson and Zions Counties. All those of you who live in or near these areas should take cover when this storm hits. We have cellular rotations in the clouds, as well as other instabilities that could result in tornadoes. We advise that all of you in these following areas to keep watch and take shelter immediately if necessary; Greynolds County, Jasper County, Richardson County and Zions County."

Kaleb glanced over his shoulder towards where his and Glen's room were before turning his attention back to the television. "If this ends up as serious as they say, I may end up having to keep Glen home tomorrow…" Kaleb heaved a small sigh before slumping back into the couch and deeply yawning. His eyes became teary from his exhaustion and he carefully wiped them over the skin of his arm before paying his attention back to the news.

"All of these counties will be held on severe thunder storm warning and tornado watches. This super cell is capable of creating devastating tornadoes and we advise all citizens of the counties to take shelter immediately as the storm approaches."

Kaleb lowered his head slightly.

"The thunderstorm warning for Greynolds, Jasper, Richardson and Zions counties will be held until one o'clock p.m. tomorrow; tornado watch will last until ten o'clock a.m. tomorrow morning as well."

Kaleb winced slightly. Glen didn't leave for work until eight o'clock a.m. He would have to keep Glen from leaving the house tomorrow, as well as try to keep peace with him and Sara, assuming she would be able to make it through the aftermath left in the storm's wake.

He stood and turned the television off, dropping the remote on the couch before stretching out his lengthy arms and arching his back, popping vertebrae back into their rightful places along his spine. He ran a bony hand through his silver hair as he turned, careful in the now complete darkness not to run into anything as he made his way into their bedroom through the kitchen.

He could see Glen and snowball snoozing together in the vague darkness as his eyes adjusted to it. Glen was on his belly, half of his face buried into his pillow and his blankets pulled up to his neck. Snowball was sprawled about his hair, her little paws kneading his scalp gently in her sleep.

Kaleb smiled gently before removing his clothes, keeping his underwear about his waist and climbing into bed. He relaxed under the protective blankets of his bed and dozed off as the first rumble of thunder rippled through the hovering clouds above.

"Alright, you three, great job today! You're all dismissed! I'll see you tomorrow bright and early!"

"Yes, sensei, see you tomorrow."

"Hm."

"Yes, Gai-sensei! Bright and early tomorrow!"

Gai grinned inwardly as he watched his three students make for their homes in the direction opposite of him. Before the three were out of his line of sight, he turned and set down one of the slightly busy roads of Konohagakure.

Today's training had been a successful session and he felt that each of his students had made a breakthrough. The lesson was particularly over teamwork and the three had certainly proved to him their improvement in working together as far as strategies go. The day was now his for the taking and if he recalled correctly, he was supposed to meet Kakashi. Where exactly the meeting place was, he couldn't quite recall. A walk throughout the busy streets was sure to jog his memory.

It wasn't long before he came across Naruto and Sakura, the orange-clad boy covering his head and fleeing from the pink-haired girl, who seemed to be flailing a large object and screaming incoherent insults towards the boy. Situations like these were best kept to themselves and required no interference unless Sakura decided to toss her current object and pull out a deadly looking knife.

He winced at the way she shouted at him and bit his lip. He then grinned, letting the boy run past him before putting out his arm to stop Sakura in her tracks and looking up at him with a calmed look of confusion. She blinked at him with her turquoise eyes, "What is it, Gai-sensei? Something wrong?" Gai winced, not knowing how a girl like Sakura could be beautiful one moment, and a complete monster the next. She truly was like…Tsunade.

"Er—Nothing, really… Would you happen to know where Kakashi-sensei is?" He asked, grinning nervously. She blinked and looked down in the direction of Naruto, who was taking advantage of his current window of escape.

"Um…" she mused aloud, "I think he went to…Gosh, I can't remember. Uh…Oh yeah, he went to the Memorial stone, I think… If he's not there, try looking at the bookstore."

Gai nodded slightly, smiling, "Ahh, thank you, Sakura. I'd best be on my way now. Thank you, again." Quickly, without another world, he made his way off at a quick pace, Sakura transforming back into her monstrous form of steely anger and resuming her chase after Naruto for whatever he did to epically upset her.

The streets began to clear out once the evening sun began to set, the red orb in the sky forcing the green beast to shield his eyes with his hand. After a small while of walking through Konoha, he was nearing the Memorial Stone. He would be most upset if Kakashi wasn't there. His mind was still blank concerning their agreed meeting place and if Kakashi wasn't at the stone like Sakura suggested, then he'd have to make his way back into Konoha to search the bookstore and other various places that Kakashi could be found.

It would have been a task he would have taken pleasure in fulfilling in the earlier hours. The latest evening was a time for relaxation for him to prepare him for the next morning. He slowly walked up to the large slab of obsidian, sighing in sad frustration as Kakashi was nowhere in his sights. He turned his back on the stone and leaned against it, folding his arms across his chest and looking down at his legwarmers and blue ninja sandals.

"You're late," said that cool voice from behind him within an exploding cloud of white smoke, smooth and playful with a slight singsong tone, "You missed me getting here on time, Gai. I'm almost impressed." Gai looked up at him, tilting his head back to look at the copy ninja perched on top of the Memorial Stone. Gai shrugged, "I've had a long way to go… and you know you shouldn't be up there. You'll dirty up the monument."

Kakashi rolled his visible eye and hopped down from the stone, folding his arms across his chest, "My house or yours?" Gai turned to him, shrugging, "Doesn't really matter much to me, Kakashi. Anywhere is fine." Kakashi smiled from underneath his mask, "My place then. I really don't want to carry everything over to yours." Gai nodded, "Sounds good."

Through the streets they bolted, the sun dipping into the horizon and coloring the sky deep shades of reds, blues and purples. They landed neatly before Kakashi's home, Gai stretching out his limbs and yawning deeply. Kakashi fumbled with his keys and unlocked his door, pushing it open and leading Gai in before shutting the door and removing his jacket and Gai his.

"Nice place you got here," Gai said quietly as he removed his hitai-ate from around his waist. Kakashi disappeared into the kitchen, grabbing two large bottles and two small shot glasses before returning mask-less into the living room in which they had first entered. Gai sat down on the couch, slumping against the cushions and relaxing with a deep sigh. He watched as Kakashi sat the bottles down on the coffee table before them.

Gai's eyebrows twitched with uncertainty as Kakashi poured full shots for each of them. He wasn't sure how well he would fare in the early morning, nor would he be able to explain his condition to his team should he ever be afflicted from alcohol consumption. It had been about four to five months since he's even seen a shot of sake, however, so he thought it was only fair for him to get hammered at least this one time when he's not 'off for the weekend'.

Kakashi sat down next to him, about a cushion length away, leaning back and folding one leg over the other's knee. He looked to Gai with shot in hand, the rim of the small glass barely touching his bottom lip. He grinned as he watched Gai take up a shot, "You sure you want to do this? You do have training early tomorrow morning and I don't know if your students would be able to handle the disorder your absence would cause in them." Gai's black eyes slowly rolled over in Kakashi's direction. He had the glass up to his own lips and quietly, he uttered, "I'm sure they're scarred enough that they can handle me being even just a little late. When they're training, I'll go try to sleep it off."

Kakashi laughed heartily, holding up his shot of sake so as not to spill it all over his pants as his body racked itself with giggles. When he calmed he looked into the swirling liquid, having been disturbed by Kakashi's shaky movements, "It's so awkward to hear such things come out of your mouth… and yet so funny. I'm gonna enjoy this…" His voice trailed off as he downed the shot, tilting his head back in a jerky fashion to swallow the stuff quickly.

Gai did the same, wincing gently as he slowly rest his head back into normal position from tilting it back, "And it's unlike you to be so quirky like you are now." Kakashi snickered as he leaned to fill up his glass, "Quirky, huh? You're being all dull and boring. I guess it is Opposite Day." Gai blinked and looked over at the copy-ninja. His lips were slightly agape in somewhat disbelief. He watched as Kakashi took in shot after shot after shot of sake before quietly speaking, "Do you honestly hear some of the stuff you're saying?"

Kakashi laughed openly to the ceiling as he filled up another glass, "Nope. I really actually don't." Gai watched him with an arched eyebrow before thrusting his glass to him, "Fill me up."