CHAPTER 1
Of Old Friends and New Neighbors
"Hurry up! I want to get this done before breakfast!" a voice, with a slight Irish accent broke the usual morning silence. The loud voice slightly echoed through the empty street. Six muscular and well-built men jumped from the back of a large white, rusty truck while the Irish man parked the truck in front of its destination. Shouting more orders for his workers to follow, he failed to notice the couple standing in front of the house. A tall blond man and a fair skinned red haired woman, both wearing grey tailored suits, stood quietly and watched as the movers kept moving in and out of the truck looking for furniture. Noticing the man was unaware of them, the blond man cleared his throat.
"Good morning Mr. Balfe" he said.
"Oh! Sorry sir didn't see you there! Morning! Good morning to you as well ma'am, looking lovely as usual! Hehe" he sheepishly greeted, slightly embarrassed.
The man known as Alfred Balfe is a man to be feared. Even though his tall and muscular complexion is contrasted with his kind looking face, he gained the reputation of a short-tempered guy throughout the years he's been in business. Yes, the man is kind and very fun to be around, but he takes his work seriously, maybe a little too much; and when someone tries to "sabotage" him, as he believes, his temper quickly gets the best of him. But he gets the work done; always, quick and professionally. This was the reason this couple hired him and his men to help them settle into their new home.
"Why thank you! But please, enough with the formalities Alfred, we've been friends for years!" answered the woman, her smile sweet and fond of the Irish man in front of her. "Please do visit us when you have the time! We have so much catching up to do!"
"Will do! But for now I gotta get going! I've got quite the busy day! Alfred shouted as he climbed back in his truck and ordered the men back. The married couple stood in front of their house and waved as the truck moved out of their driveway and drove down the street. The man took a deep breath and smiled.
"What's the matter dear?"
"I think we're going to like it here. It's nice" he said as he looked around, admiring the peaceful neighborhood.
"Yes, I think we'll be happy here too, Minato". The red haired woman smiled at her husband. A smile he knew to be mixed with an incurable sadness.
There aren't really that many things I am passionate about. I am very selective that way. But one of those things I do is silence. So as to not call it love, I am very passionate about waking up to complete silence. I don't need alarm clocks or anybody to wake me up, I do that on my own, and always on time. Always on time to go through my morning routine; shower, breakfast, morning newspaper, exercise, then school. All of these in complete and utter silence. I cherish every bit of it, knowing it will be what I have least once I leave my quiet house and equally quiet neighborhood. Now, for someone who enjoys silence as much as I do, imagine my distress and absolute rage at being woken up by the lack of silence, two hours before my usual wake up time.
"Hurry up! I want to get this done before breakfast!"
His body quickly jerked and jumped out of bed at the sound of men screaming orders at each other. The startling sound of what seemed to be of a truck revving confused him. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and it read 5:00a.m. in bright neon green numbers.
"What the?" he mumbled, sleepiness and confusion clear in his dark eyes. Who in the world is making so much noise at five in the morning, and in his quiet neighborhood, no less?! He quickly got out of bed and crossed the room to his window, which had a view to the street and row of houses in front, and saw the source of all the commotion. Movers. Sailor-looking, tough men were shouting instructions at each other, probably trying to be louder than their truck, to move the furniture inside the two story white house across the street. He could barely make up their silhouettes beside the truck due to the remaining darkness of the night. He could see two figures talking with who seemed to be the moving company boss, or at least the owner of the truck.
"Out of all good timing, why in the world would they move at such an ungodly hour? How rude." Have they no consideration for all those who need their rest? It's five in the morning, on a Monday, and most people around don't wake up this early.
Thankfully, the movers finished unloading everything from the truck and left quickly. The young man decided to go on with his morning routine. "I guess I'll just be a little earlier to school today."
Like he has done every day for the past three years, he showered, read, jogged and ate in silence. He planned what he would accomplish during the day, and headed for the front door of his home. Just as he opened the door he was greeted with a comical sight of a red haired woman with her hand in mid-air, about to knock on his door.
"Oh! Good morning!" she said, a slight blush adorning her cheeks.
"Good morning" He replied dryly while directing a confused look at her still raised hand.
Noticing this, she quickly retracted it.
"Hello! My name is Kushina. My husband Minato and I just moved to the house across the street from you." She said with a friendly smile.
So she's responsible for all that noise. The young man stepped outside and locked the door silently.
"Are your parents home? I would like to meet them and say hello"
"No."
"They left for work already? What do they do? When will they be back?" Kushina tilted her head to the side while asking, her sweet smile never faltering.
"They won't be back"
"What do you mean they won't be…oh. Oh dear I'm so sorry" she said, her happy expression suddenly changing to one of sympathy.
"What?" he asked. This lady's really getting on my nerves with all this questioning. Watching her sadden even more he understood what she was thinking.
"They're not dead, lady. They live in Spain."
"Oh is that so?! Hahaha What a relief! And here I thought I might've hurt you! Haha sorry! Well then how.." Kushina was cut short when she noticed the boy started to glare and tap his foot impatiently.
"I'm so sorry! I've been keeping you here for a while and you're probably on your way to school right? I'm sorry I just love to meet new people and everything. Well since you live alone and all, feel free to come to my house for dinner from time to time! We'd love to have you over, and that way you can meet my husband! Would that be nice? How about this Friday? Maybe we could-"
"Yes, yes okay Miss Kushina, I would love to come over for dinner on Friday. But can we please discuss this some other time? I'm late for school." Total lie, but hey, can't blame a guy for wanting alone time in the mornings.
"Oh right! Sorry again!" she laughed nervously and looked as he walked away from his home. J
"Wait! I didn't get your name!" she shouted after him. He stopped walking and turned to her, and gave his name with a smirk; a name so painfully familiar that she was left speechless as she could only watch his back walking away.
"My name is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."
