Sound Waves
Zaku Abumi had never thought he would get out of his village. Never thought he would get out of his life of stealing. Never thought he would be a ninja. He even thought that the idea of having friends was a sign of lunacy or the apocalypse. Let alone finding love.
The day that Orochimaru found him was one of the happiest days of his young life. Certainly the happiest thing he could remember. It used to be the only happy memory he had, that was until he showed up.
Dosu Kinuta, one of the angriest, smug, condescending bastard this side of Kirigakure. When they first met, he could have sworn that the other boy was enough for someone as young as him to have an aneurism. He hated everything about him. The stupid bandages, the way he only had one eye showing, and that damn porcupine thing one his back. It just drove him insane.
He had never tried talking to the guy…well that isn't completely true, they did speak when they first were told they were going to become a team.
(flashback)
"Zaku", said Orochimaru, "I have a surprise for you."
"What is it master?" He asked with all the excitement an 11 year old could muster.
"You're going to be on your own genin team!" He said excitedly.
"Really?" he asked confusedly, "but who with?"
"Oh some of the other children I have taken in over time." He explained.
A couple of hours later Zaku found himself looking at two people that baffled his mind.
One was a girl about the same age as him, though taller, and was glaring at him with a fair amount of hatred.
While the other belonged in some sort of exhibit, he was a boy looked to be a year younger due to his height but Zaku knew he was the same age as him. The boy had extremely long sleeves and was perpetually slumped over, and he was covered in bandages.
"He probably pissed off the wrong guy." Zaku reasoned, since he had been threatened with blades enough as a child to know where thugs went first in shakedowns.
The boy also had straw or hay on his back in some sort of bundle and was focused on Orochimaru-sama. Given all of this Zaku figured he might get along with this guy.
Then he spoke.
"Oi, what are you looking at moron?"
Zaku didn't realize he had been staring, but the guy didn't have to be a fucking dick about it!
"Che", Zaku began, "Not much." He said snidely while turning his head.
Zaku will swear the guy caught him off guard, but when the boy grabbed him by the throat he let out a gasp of surprise.
"What was that insect?", Dosu asked while squeezing a little tighter.
After struggling for a bit Zaku freed himself by kicking Dosu in the chest and jumped back. Orochimaru stopped it before anything could really happen but since then they have always been at each other's throats.
(end flashback)
After a little over a year of being in the same team, the three had created a sense of camaraderie and borderline friendship, though none would admit it.
On one particular mission this was put to the test when Dosu had been poisoned by the inn keeper and held hostage, Orochimaru's policy was to never negotiate, leave the stragglers as they were too weak for his ranks.
Zaku and Kin discussed for a while and decided they would help their team leader. He and Kin used there enhancements and a combination of misdirection and traps to take down the miniature army of bandits and mercenaries in around 5 minutes, and just as they entered the bosses tent they found Dosu standing over the dead body.
Later, on the trip back they rode in a covered wagon caravan of sorts with Kin taking one of the other carts with some other women. While Zaku and Dosu took the cart in the back to watch for any tails they might have. Several hours later Zaku got bored and wanted conversation but Dosu beat him to it.
"You know that what you did goes against Orochimaru-sama's teachings, right?" Dosu asked while looking at him with his one eye.
"Yeah," Zaku sniffed, "your point?"
Dosu chuckled a bit, acknowledging that the year of freedom had given them a sense of independence from Orochimaru.
"Why would you disobey him?" Dosu asked quietly.
Zaku remained quiet for a few minutes thinking of why he went back. He thought he hated Dosu, he wasn't exactly the easiest guy to get along with, but they hadn't really argued in a while, in fact he had argued more with Kin the bandage-boy.
"That's what you do for your teammates." Zaku said evasively.
"I wouldn't do it for a teammate." Dosu said honestly. "I would have followed policy."
"No, it would have to be someone important." Dosu whispered not realizing zaku could still hear him.
"Well," Zaku began, "maybe you're important to me." He muttered.
Dosu stared at Zaku for what felt like hours and then reached up to the back of his head. Zaku was looking out to the woods and didn't notice, so he only looked over when he heard something hit the floor.
Zaku looked over and saw Dosu, without his bandages. He had what appeared to be soft silver hair that was kept rather short, and his other eye had a scar going diagonally across it from the center of his forehead to the edge of his cheekbone, but it stayed open, half-lidded, which gave him the sight of two shining hazel eyes that were reflecting the light of the moon.
He noticed several scars going all over the formerly bandaged area but one stood out. A jagged scar going along his jawline from the right side reaching the middle of his chin looked incredibly painful. He slowly raised his hand towards the wound but Dosu backed away in the slightest motion. Zaku, seeing this, realized he would have to show him something that would give him trust.
He turned away and started lifting his shirt and once it was completely off he turned back to Dosu and showed him his scars. His front and back was littered with scars, some worse than others, but all were either dark enough to give pause or in certain areas to cause worry.
In silence they observed each other, slowly coming to the realization that they were the same. They had lived similar lives, had gone through the same hardships. Orphaned, beaten, starved, mutilated, and ignored by the masses. They did not feel anger or sadness, they felt content as strange as it sounds. They had found someone to share in their sorrow, and with this contented ness came curiosity. Their hands were out of their control now and wandered all over the others' scars.
After some amount of time they came to a stop and sat in silence.
"Dosu?" Zaku asked tentatively, cautious to break the calm silence.
"Yes?" Dosu responded equally as cautious.
"Does this make us friends?" Zaku questioned with a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
"No." Dosu responded, catching Zaku off guard.
"W-What?" Zaku asked, he didn't know why they weren't friends, did he do something? Did he not do something? What was wrong?
"We're more than friends." Dosu said as he leaned in and captured the other ninjas lips with his own.
Zaku was shocked that he didn't respond for a moment, but when he felt Dosu pull away he had to have more and went with him, eventually ending up on top of him, where they kissed until they couldn't breathe and even a little bit afterwards until they finally pulled apart.
They promised themselves and each other that they would never fail the other, they would stick together, them and Kin would always be a team and would never be separated. They would live together and die together. They also promised in their minds that they would always be…
"More than friends."