Story: Unfinished Composition
Chapter: One ~ Overture
(Overture: Ontroduction to an opera or large musical piece)
Summary: AU. Five years after becoming blind, the young music teacher finds a duet partner in the dark eyes of an assistant. But when the curtains come up, the violin is silent. Shounen-ai/yaoi. SasuNaru, implied KakaIru.
"Naruto! Get up or I'm gonna leave you here!" The gruff voice echoed throughout the small apartment, penetrating through the thin walls and into the closed bedroom of a sleeping teen. Or at least he had been sleeping a moment ago, until his sensitive ears had been assaulted by the yell of his godfather and guardian, Jiraiya. Still, he remained buried under the blankets of his bed, reluctant to face a bright new day.
"Come on, brat, you're blind, not deaf! Now get your lazy ass up!"
The form under the blankets let out a mangled groan and shifted. A tan hand snaked its way out and felt around blindly on the nightstand next to the bed, nearly knocking off a slim cell phone before grabbing it and retreating back under the dark recess of the blanket. There was the muffled sound of buttons being deliberately pushed before a long pause. Suddenly, the form under the blankets grew deadly still before violently emerging in a fury.
"Are you senile, old man?! It's only six!" The teen threw the covers back over himself, quickly hiding his messy blonde hair and naked torso, grumbling and shifting in annoyance.
"I have a business meeting at 7:30 so I have to drop you off early!"
There was a scoff before the blonde teen sat up, letting the blankets fall off him. "You're not fooling anyone by calling it a business meeting, you old pervert."
There was a loud crash downstairs that sounded oddly like a kitchen chair being overturned. "Naruto, get your ungrateful, lazy ass up right now or I swear to god I'm gonna rearrange the furniture again!!"
The teen, Naruto, shuddered at his guardian's words. "Alright, I'm getting up," he shouted, sighing in defeat. He yawned and stretched, fully exposing the tanned and well-sculpted muscles of his chest, abdomen, and arms. A large spiral tattoo around his navel shifted as he did so, morphing slightly before returning to its original shape. The sunlight filtering through the curtains of his window accentuated the dull flash of multiple scars that littered his upper chest.
The most significant thing about Naruto wasn't his heavenly built body, his tattoo, or even the scars. Wrapped under his messy blonde hair and covering his eyes were white bandages that seemed to be coming loose from a night of restless sleep. On each cheek were three fine, whisker-like scars. He absentmindedly scratched at the ones on his right cheek before slowly and carefully stepping out of bed, nearly tripping on his bright orange pajama pants that dragged on the floor. Aside from his disheveled hair and the blankets strewn about wildly on his bed, the rest of his room was meticulously clean and well-organized. His bed was nestled into the corner of his room while everything else was bordered up against the walls, leaving an open path from the bedroom door to the open bathroom. Pulling up his pants so that they wouldn't fall down further, Naruto made his way to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Downstairs in the kitchen was Naruto's guardian, Jiraiya. His thick white hair was tied back into a long ponytail and his face was stern as he packed two lunches, one for himself and one for his godson. He wore a pressed navy suit with a plastic name tag clipped to the pocket, the words, 'Jiraiya Sannin, President & CEO' under his picture.
He grinned slightly as he heard the water in the shower come on. Humph, he thought. That threat gets him up every time. I need to remember to tell that trick to Tsunade. He frowned as the phone rang before picking it up and looking at the caller id. "Speak of the devil," he muttered before hitting the button and answering. "Hello?" He listened to the voice on the other end as he leaned against the counter. "Yeah, he's up. I have to drop him off early today." He was quiet again as he listened. "I don't think he'll mind. It'll give him something to do until his class." More listening. "Alright, I'll be sure to let him know." More silence. "Sure, not a problem."
As he hung up the phone and replaced it back into its cradle, Naruto walked into the kitchen and leaned against the doorway, fully dressed and tying off a new bandage around his eyes. "Who was that?"
Jiraiya turned and smiled at his godson. "That was Tsunade. She wanted to let you know that Iruka-sensei is sick so you're gonna have to teach his class this morning." Jiraiya almost expected him to argue but instead he only grinned slightly. "That's the third time this month that he's called in sick. I imagine that Kakashi-sensei will be out sick today too."
Jiraiya chuckled, knowing full well what Naruto was insinuating. "Even though they keep denying it, it's completely obvious." He was quiet a moment as he looked thoughtfully at Naruto before approaching him. "It's crooked again," he said quietly as he reached out and gently adjusted the bandages around Naruto's eyes. The teen tensed at the touch but resisted the instinct to flinch away. Once he felt the hands move away he reached up to touch the bandages, checking their placement before whispering a soft thanks.
The older man held back a sigh before telling Naruto to grab his stuff so they could get going. As he watched him walk back down the hall to his bedroom he felt his chest involuntarily tighten. "Five years and still your scars haven't healed," he whispered to himself, not just referring to the scars that he knew laid under the bandages but to the ones that laid too deep to be seen.