Chapter 2: Distant Dinners
Naruto had been left alone for some hours to get accustomed to his new room and the house, and was almost finished unpacking his boxes. The white t-shirt he was wearing had become dampened from sweat. Even his dark khakis were becoming a bit uncomfortable. While left alone to his thoughts, Naruto had tried to think up multiple ways in which to approach Sasuke without upsetting him, and maybe even try to get him to talk back. He thought about just going up to him and trying to strike a conversation through small talk. He could even just try getting him to respond to very simple yes or no questions, anything for him to just talk!
Getting frustrated for the fifth time in not finding an answer he deemed worthy, Naruto sat down to take a break from unpacking. He checked the time on his watch and saw that it was already five o' clock. He had been unpacking since noon. Iruka would be getting off work in an hour or so and head over to the house to check up on him. Maybe he should ask how best to approach someone who refuses to talk while he was there.
Just then, Naruto heard the door to his room slide open. He turned around quickly to see that it was Sasuke standing in his doorway, still dressed in the clothes from before.
"Well, this is surprising. What, you don't knock when you enter someone else's bedroom?" Naruto rudely remarked, in which he immediately mentally slapped himself for. He was supposed to be trying to be polite!
Sasuke only frowned and stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He sat in the corner closest to the door and faced the room, staring off into space.
Naruto's eyebrow twitched at this. What was Sasuke doing there? He was pretty sure Sasuke made it clear that he didn't like Naruto, so what was he doing in his room, just sitting down in a random corner like that?
"What exactly is it that you're doing?" Naruto asked with suspicion.
There was silence, where Sasuke looked like he might not even answer. After a while though, it seemed like he was actually debating whether or not to tell Naruto his reason. Finally, he said in a very small voice, "Listening."
"Listening?" His voice sounded like a shout in comparison to Sasuke's. Naruto didn't get it. What was he listening to, or listening for? "Listening to what?"
"...Surroundings," came the quiet, almost inaudible reply.
"Hmm," Naruto hummed in thought. If someone were blind, then their other immediate sense would be sound. In essence, it was the only way he had to interact with his surroundings and understand what was going on, because he couldn't see it. If he could hear it he would have the ability to guess at what was going on. It made sense for Sasuke to want to listen to his surroundings, and perhaps sitting in a room where there was virtually no sound would be a bit much for anyone. He therefore had probably just migrated to a more 'populated' area where sound and activity was taking place so he could just listen to it. It was giving him something to do, in a house where he had lived alone for so long.
Just then Naruto got an idea. He wouldn't approach Sasuke. He had to give Sasuke time to approach him, just like he was doing now, albeit a bit distant, the effort was still there. After all, Naruto was the one invading his personal space, his home, and his security. Naruto was the one who still had his sight. He wasn't the one being intimidated, he was doing the intimidating.
I was always praised for my emotional insight, I guess this is what Iruka-sensei meant, Naruto thought, wondering how long it would have taken the other doctors to figure that out, if they figured it out at all. Well, there was a reason for him wanting to become a therapist, now, wasn't there?
"So I guess you're just gonna sit there and listen to me while I work, huh?" Naruto asked only to tease Sasuke, who seemed unfazed by it, but still being hesitant in his nod. "That's not fun," Naruto mumbled, but didn't pursue the subject. Instead he went about his business organizing his things, glancing backwards occasionally to see Sasuke's ears twitch in the oddest way, almost as if they were adjusting themselves to better hear what was going on.
Twenty minutes later Naruto was finished with all of his unpacking and stacked up the crushed boxes in a corner for him to take out later. At the moment he just wanted to take a nap.
"Man, I'm so tired!" he said while stretching the kinks out of his back and rolling his shoulders.
Looking to the corner of his room he had completely forgotten that Sasuke was there, he had sat so still and quiet. Right, he couldn't take a nap now, he had to take care of Sasuke. It was getting late, and Naruto hadn't seen him eat anything at all while he was there. Shouldn't they be having dinner right about now?
"Yo," Naruto called out to Sasuke, who in turn visibly jumped. He had spaced out completely in the time he had spent in the room, just listening. He picked up his head in recognition of hearing Naruto, who went on to ask, "You hungry?"
Sasuke lowered his head for a moment before standing up and walking out of the room, leaving the door open behind him.
Okay, so I really need to figure out what all this nonverbal communication means. It's starting to tick me off, Naruto thought as he took the open door as a sign for him to follow, which he would have done whether or not Sasuke had left the door open.
Sasuke had made his way to the kitchen where he began rummaging through the cupboards and taking out ingredients. From what Naruto could tell, Sasuke was going to make chow mein, or at least attempt to. Was it even possible for someone who was blind to cook? Naruto certainly didn't think so, though simply the fact that he had memorized where everything in his kitchen was that he needed was impressive in itself. It seemed to Naruto that Sasuke was very capable of taking care of himself.
He therefore found no reason to interrupt Sasuke, and instead decided to sit and observe him. His movements were interestingly different than one would expect. Since most people have never actually seen blind people on a daily basis do things for themselves, they wouldn't really know how they went about finding things. Instead of just directly reaching out for something, Sasuke's hands glided smoothly across the surface of utensils and vegetables as he searched for what he needed. It looked like he was barely touching them. He had pulled out a wok and set it on the stove and turned it on. There were also some specifically chosen vegetables on the cutting board, along with a pack of noodles set upon the counter. Naruto only made a movement to help him when he saw Sasuke take out a rather large knife.
"Hey, do you need help with that?" Naruto shifted uncertainly. Seeing a blind man with a knife was not exactly comforting.
Sasuke said nothing as he used the knife and began cutting up some green and red peppers. Naruto watched with anxiety lining his curiosity. Finally he resigned himself from helping Sasuke with the rather dangerous weapon.
"Do you need me to do anything for you? I mean, I don't want to sit here 'n just do nothing..." Naruto trailed off as he continued to study Sasuke. Constant detailed observation was one of the first things he learned to do as a therapist, and it was an absolute must if one was trying to understand their patient, and find the best way to help them.
"Shrimp. Freezer, bottom shelf. Behind the chicken," Sasuke all but mumbled, but Naruto heard him all the same.
He walked over to the refrigerator and opened the freezer door, looking to where Sasuke had told him to. Not surprisingly the shrimp was where Sasuke said it would be, just behind the chicken. It seemed that being blind also relied a lot on memory as well. Remembering what certain vegetables felt like to know what it was, how far to walk down a hallway before turning so you didn't run into the wall, and knowing where everything in your kitchen is so you could make a decent meal for yourself, like how Sasuke was doing now.
Probably why he drove his caretakers mad. Imagine if they had moved something and Sasuke went looking for it. I thin he'd be one of those people to get super pissed when someone touches his stuff, especially if he's blind. He would feel like he's at a disadvantage and get rather defensive, enough to just about yell at someone, I bet, to cover for his own insecurity. Over and over again. Especially if he felt like they were doing it on purpose just to mess with him.
Naruto made a mental note to write that down later. He set the shrimp down on the counter next to the noodles Sasuke had taken out earlier.
"So what do I do now?" Naruto asked after watching Sasuke chop up more vegetables. He noted some of them he didn't particularly like. He'd just have to eat around them.
Sasuke pointed to the heated wok on the stove. "In there," he said without pausing in his work.
Naruto took a second look at the shrimp and saw they were already pre-skinned. All he had to do was open the bag and dump them in the wok. They began to sizzle and cook immediately. Sasuke, who had shown up at his side from all the way on the other side of the counter, began dropping some soy sauce on to the shrimp. He handed Naruto a spatula and went back to fixing his vegetables. All this came rather surprisingly to Naruto. Sasuke knew how to do everything by himself. He hadn't even dumped too much sauce in. In fact, it was the perfect amount to cook the flavor into the shrimp. Naruto began stirring them while looking at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.
After cutting up all the ingredients he wanted, Sasuke transported them over to the wok. He stood there for a moment to hear them sizzle, then moved back over to the noodles he had already been boiling in water as Naruto was cooking the shrimp. He picked a noodle from out of the pot and held it to feel its texture. Satisfied they were ready, Sasuke took out a strainer from a bottom cupboard and put it in the sink. Lining the pot of noodles with the strainer he dumped the noodles in. After all the water had seeped through the holes Sasuke took the strainer full of noodles over to the wok and dumped them in. This time he poured in a measured amount of soy sauce over the noodles, along with some other ingredients Naruto didn't know. The bottles they were in were written in braille and very oddly shaped, each one specifically different from the others. Naruto had only recognized the soy sauce because of its smell.
After all the ingredients were in the wok Sasuke took over, taking the spatula from Naruto and mixing everything together and occasionally even flipping the wok. Obviously he was no amateur cook.
The noodles cooked a bit longer before Sasuke turned off the stove and moved the wok off the burner. Taking down two plates he put a fairly generous amount onto both of them. He also took down two cups, poured tea, and took out two pairs of chopsticks from one of the many drawers. Naruto decided to just stay out of his way. Sasuke was obviously trying to show that just because he was blind did not mean he was incapable. Naruto had no objections, and just let him do as he pleased.
After he had set everything up Sasuke took a plate, cup and pair of chopsticks and moved to the dining room connected to the kitchen by some open sliding doors. Naruto took the other set and followed in suit.
The dining room had a low-set table, with cushions instead of chairs. It was a small square table that sat four people comfortably. It looked very strange and a bit out of place in the large room. Resting up against the wall were extensions for the table for when there was company over. They were covered in a thin layer of dust, hinting that not many visitors came this way too often, if at all.
Sasuke had sat down on the left side of the table and was getting ready to eat without waiting for Naruto. Naruto walked over to the opposite side of the table and sat there, facing Sasuke. He was debating whether or not to strike up conversation, or wait for Sasuke to get comfortable with Naruto being around all the time. He didn't want to come on too strongly too fast, but he probably blew that chance anyways earlier in the day. Once again he mentally slapped himself for it. He would have to try harder than that if he was going to help Sasuke.
Deciding just to relax for a while he began to eat after a polite 'ittadakimasu.' With Sasuke's obvious Japanese-orientation, the way the house was designed, and the food cooked, Naruto decided Sasuke was one of the more traditional people, and to just be careful and follow all the traditions of a Japanese household to further avoid upsetting Sasuke, though Naruto hadn't heard Sasuke say anything he might have just missed it because he talks so softly.
He was halfway through his meal when he noticed Sasuke stopped eating. He was also only halfway done. Naruto watched as Sasuke stared in his general direction.
"Somethin' wrong?" Naruto finally asked.
"You keep shifting it. Your food." Sasuke said after a short pause. "You don't like vegetables." It wasn't a question, Sasuke made a statement, like he already knew.
"Ah, yeah. Sorry, but I don't really like red peppers," Naruto laughed a bit nervously. Had he offended Sasuke by not eating them? More importantly, how did he know Naruto wasn't eating them? Just by listening to him eat? That was impossible!
Sasuke didn't say anything else. It seemed like the only reason he had spoken at all was to confirm his suspicions. He continued eating after that, and didn't say anything more for the rest of the meal.
It was then that Naruto heard the door bell from the front of the house.
"I'll get it," Naruto said, already getting up. He was happy Sasuke gave no objections, and walked out the doors to open the front door.
It was Iruka, who had come right over from work to check-up on Naruto and see everything was okay.
"Ya every thing's fine, Iruka-sensei. We're just eating dinner right now. You hungry?" Naruto asked as they walked back to the dining room.
"Oh, well I don't really want to be rude and interrupt your meal," Iruka said rather nervously.
"Ya right! Come on, it's fine! Not like he's talking much anyways. And you gotta be hungry from just getting off work," Naruto pleaded so Iruka would stay a little while longer.
"Well, if you insist. I am a bit hungry," Iruka admitted.
"Great! There's some chow mein in the kitchen, so help yourself while I go check on him," Naruto said as they parted ways.
Upon returning to the dining room Naruto found that Sasuke was already done with the rest of his meal, plate completely clean. He was getting up to take his plate to the kitchen when Naruto walked in. He had to pause a second to confirm who it was that had walked in, listening to the way they stepped. When he confirmed it was just Naruto he continued his way to the kitchen without even waiting for Naruto to tell him who it was that was at the door. He was pretty sure it was Iruka anyways. No one else had come around his house in half a year besides that man.
Naruto sat back down in front of his plate as he watched Sasuke walk into the kitchen where he heard Iruka by the wok serving himself. He placed his plate, cup, and chopsticks in the sink, washed them, and then placed them in the drying rack. He then walked out a door in the kitchen that was connected to the hallway, with no recognition of Iruka's presence whatsoever. No doubt he was heading back to his dark room in the corner of the house.
Iruka walked in to the dining room a few minutes later holding his food and sat to the left of Naruto, his back to the kitchen.
"Man, you should see him, Iruka-sensei. This guy's pretty capable of taking care of himself. He basically cooked the whole meal!" Naruto said, eager to share what he had witnessed in the kitchen earlier.
"By himself, what do you mean?" Iruka inquired as he began to eat.
"I mean, he was able to do everything just like if he was able to see. He was even able to use this huge knife without even cutting himself!" Naruto exclaimed, and Iruka choked.
"You let him use a knife? Naruto, what are you thinking?" Iruka began, his voice raising at Naruto.
"Well, it's not like I coulda stopped him! I asked him if he needed help, but he didn't say a thing. I watched him the entire time he was cutting up the vegetables, but he didn't make one mistake. I'm tellin' ya that guy's an expert at being blind." Naruto commented at Iruka's exasperated look.
He sighed at Naruto's choice of words. "I"m not sure you would call it being an expert at being blind. More like he's just gotten used to it after all the years, and knows his strengths and weaknesses. It's like if you were to lose a finger, say, your pinky on your writing hand. You would still be able to write, but at first it would be very difficult and feel uncomfortable. But after a while you just get used to it and your handwriting eventually goes back to normal, right?" Iruka explained.
"Only this is a more extreme situation than that, but ya I get it, I guess," Naruto nodded, not wanting to admit he only understood half of what Iruka was saying.
"But I am a bit surprised he can cook to this level of difficulty without any assistance," Iruka complimented as he ate another bite of the noodles. It really was good.
"Well the only thing I did was put the shrimp in the wok, and he just took over from there," Naruto stated as he finished his meal and said thanks.
"Well I'm very impressed, but I guess I can't say surprised anymore. Now that I think about it, it's only to be expected. I've seen some people walking around barely having to use their canes. After a while you just become accustomed to it, and it becomes a part of life. Instead of going around a problem, you change it so things fit with you and your situation. It's only natural that Sasuke's done the same thing. The periods in between caretakers he's lived alone, so he would have had to take care of himself for those times. And he hasn't had another one for about six months."
"Ya I also saw that in his report. Which reminds me, Iruka-sensei you said he was prone to bouts of rage and things like that, and his file said he often attacks the people in his home. In fact, every person who has ever come to this house has reported being attacked tin some way. But he hasn't been any hostile with me at all," Naruto said, noting the strangeness of the situation.
"Well, I don't doubt that your time will come to pass. After all, you're the only person that's ever lived with him since the incident eleven years ago. Before he gets used to you he's probably going to attack you," Iruka tried not to make Naruto nervous, but there really was no other way to say it.
"Most likely?" Naruto asked.
"Most definitely." Iruka answered. "The therapists before you said it was his way to see if they were any threat to him in his own home, and to show them that he was one to be reckoned with. He's very skilled in some arts of combat I've been told. And somewhere around the house he has a sword I believe, but one of the caretakers previous took it away from him and hid it. They never told him where it was before they left so it's either still hidden or he has it. What I'm trying to say is Naruto, try not to sleep while he's awake, okay?"
Naruto's mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe he was hearing all of this for the first time! After he'd moved in and everything!
"And you tell me this now, WHY?" Naruto yelled. Iruka just laughed nervously.
"Better late than never? I'm sorry, but if I had told you before you moved in you wouldn't have wanted to come anymore, and the hospital had already run out of personnel to take care of Sasuke, you were our only hope!" Iruka tried feebly to quickly explain as Naruto sent him a death glare.
"So you'd rather I die by some crazy blind kid than just giving me a normal assignment?" Naruto whined.
"I doubt you'll die, Naruto. The hospital's already warned Sasuke about hurting you-"
"And you really think that's gonna stop him? I was fine with him attacking me since I can defend myself, but if he's gonna try to chop off my head in the middle of the night, then I'd rather sleep outside!" Naruto huffed as he tried to settle his anger. "How am I supposed to know when he's awake and when he's asleep anyways?"
"Well, if you look at his file again, some of his previous therapists and whatnot have all made notes to him sleeping, and found a relatively stable pattern. You should be able to get by with that." Iruka said as he watched Naruto pout in a look that bordered fear and defiance.
"Oh gee, thanks, sensei. Anything else you wanna tell me?" Naruto asked mockingly, but still hoping there really wasn't anything else.
"Oh, right. You might not want to let him in your room for extended periods of time. If he's in there long enough he'll be able to understand the layout of your room better, so it'll make it easier for him to attack you at night. Many caretakers were constantly moving around furniture so he couldn't attack them so easily without bumping into something. But since he hasn't really shown much interest in you, he shouldn't have really had a reason to go to your room, right?"
Naruto stared at him in disbelief, then hung his head in despair.
"I'm doomed."
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And I may or may not continue. JK. I'm continuing no matter what.
-Xenophili