I have no imagination when it comes to thinking up chapter names. Oh, and I made up Jiraiya's address. 24 Cranberry does not exist, and if it actually does and I don't know about it, well, that's not it. God, I hate myself. I said there would be more Sasuke/Naruto interaction and there's almost next to nothing, like the last chapter. Reviews please!
Chap 2
Sasuke put one hand to his ear, trying to protect the phone from the wind so he that could actually fucking hear what Suigetsu was saying. The angry, anxious voice vibrated into his ear like buzzing bees and Sasuke wondered when Suigetsu had gotten so stupid. He'd been arguing him about Juugo's attack the entire bus ride and had had old people giving him reproaching looks and whispering amongst themselves.
"Karin!" Suigetsu was screaming through the phone. "Karin is goddamned unconscious because of Juugo, Sasuke! How the hell do you not understand that?!"
Sasuke felt cold cement underneath his feet as his frazzled feet and brain struggled to remember where Karin lived. Was it that way, next to that fountain, or…? He turned around impatiently, ignoring Suigetsu's rant. He could go on forever.
Blue and yellow flashed in his peripheral vision and he focused his eyes on that, and felt surprise race through his skin. Blue, sparkling blue eyes set into a tanned face were staring at him intently. Sasuke was seeing Naruto for the second time today. He swallowed, and to his uttermost disdain, felt his hand tremble. He hadn't thought he was that love-struck for the idiot.
He didn't want to see Naruto, not right now and turned away as fast as he could. He'd talk to him some other time, when Suigetsu wasn't screaming in his ear, when Karin wasn't sick and when Juugo and Suigetsu were on good terms.
There was silence on the other line, he noticed and began arguing his side.
"Juugo is like that, you asshole!" he screamed. "Karin knew what she was getting into when she tried to go calm him down! Don't blame me for not taking care of Juugo, because you know I can't, and don't go blaming Juugo, because he was crying about it, for fuck's sake! He didn't want to and he can't control it! And since when are you so sympathetic to his victims, you hypocrite? When he beat up that fat dude, you never gave a shit! You laughed about it!" he finished angrily, knowing full well why Suigetsu was making such a big deal out of it. It was Karin, which was the entire reason. If Juugo had pummeled Sasuke, Suigetsu would not be arguing, screaming over the phone with Karin.
He waited barely a second, determined not to look at Naruto and feet moving towards Karin's house and when Suigetsu didn't say anything back, continued lecturing him about it. "Juugo's already ordered, like, 20 chocolate boxes of her favorite and has 20 roses to go along with it, so that he can give it to her when she feels better, and don't you dare tell me she hates him now. Karin's not like that, I mean, she likes you, for reasons I can't comprehend. She's gonna forgive him, even if he didn't waste all that money on her." Sasuke doesn't bother to mention what Juugo spent on her is more than Suigetsu spends on her in a year. He already knows that.
Suigetsu's voice penetrated. "She's still hurt." Stubborn and stupid. Kind of like Sasuke, when it comes to Naruto.
************
Naruto abandoned his backpack on the table, throwing it onto the wooden surface uncaringly. Stupid bag and stupid Sasuke. The comforting thought echoed in his head. Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke. It even rhymed.
The cold black eyes were still stubbornly imprinted in his mind. The hard look, moving mouth, swaying bangs and everything else that suggested just how much Sasuke didn't care for him anymore. It was all stuck.
Naruto scowled at the wood in front of him. He didn't feel like doing anything today, especially meeting up with Ero-sennin. He could pick up Neji's present any other time, couldn't he? But, his uncle had sounded excited over the phone about something, and had even mentioned a surprise. Some of Ero-sennin's surprises were all right, Naruto would give him that, but most he didn't care for.
Ero-sennin was just the nickname Tsunade had used for him, and Naruto made a point of using it whenever he could, because it was true, and in the beginning he had thought Jiraiya would have been embarrassed. But no, the sick old man was actually proud of the damn title (which translated meant Pervy Sage) and by the time Naruto had figured that out, it was too deep of a habit to let go.
Naruto himself didn't know Japanese, but his parents were Americans living in Japan, before they died. Ero-sennin had apparently been a good friend to them in Japan, but after they passed away, Iruka-sensei became his guardian and took him away from a Japan he'd completely forgotten to America, which was as familiar as it could be. Ero-sennin visited him from time to time, and this was one of them. He was actually staying for 2 months, and even rented out a house in the rich part of town.
Ero-sennin wasn't really his uncle, though that what he usually acted like and what Naruto called him. Naruto didn't have any uncles or aunts. Or grandparents, when it came to that. Iruka-sensei, Ero-sennin and Tsunade were pretty much it. But, he hadn't seen Tsunade since Sasuke got hospitalized, so maybe she didn't count.
Thinking of Tsunade led to thinking of Sasuke, and the rhyme filled his head again. Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke, Stupid Sasuke. It was childish and silly, but Naruto gained a little comfort from it. He sat down at the table, sighing and letting his hands fall into his face. He'd just call Ero-sennin and tell him that he'd come tomorrow to see the stupid surprise and pick up Neji's present.
Satisfied with this plan, he got up and dialed the number, listening impatiently as it rang and rang. Ero-sennin picked up on the 5th ring and a jolly voice answered: "Hello? Moshi moshi?" In Japanese and English.
Naruto smiled despite himself. Moshi moshi just sounded way too damn funny. "What the hell is 'moshi moshi'?"
"Oh, Naruto!" Jiraiya's loud voice boomed through. "I'll have you know moshi moshi is the Japanese greeting for hello, but only over the phone. Really, boy, you should know this. Your parents spoke Japanese fluently so so can you, damn it!"
Naruto scowled. "But I don't live in Japan. I live here."
"Your point, boy? You need to read my books in its original language. When they translated it into English, they got all the details wrong." Vain as usual.
"I don't wanna read your perverted books, Ero-sennin," Naruto snapped.
"Why not?" Fake hurt oozed. He'd heard this so many times before.
"Because they're crap." Naruto growled irritably and skipped ahead to the real problem. "Look, Ero-sennin, I don't really feel like coming over today. Can I just come tomorrow to get Neji's gift and get your stupid surprise? I real-"
He hadn't even finished his fucking sentence and the stuck-up writer was already yelling in his ear: "The hell you can't Naruto! I have to show you the surprise today because today is the only time in world it's gonna happen! You idiot, boy, do you have any idea what great of an opportunity this is?! And no I'm not going to give away my books for that friend of yours on another day, do you have any idea what a wonderful offer this is! I'm giving them away for free! And I'm not going to lose a reader when you start telling me every day you'll pick it up tomorrow and never actually show up!" Heavy breathing was evident on the other side.
"What kind of bull was that?" Naruto grumbled back, unaffected. Ero-sennin got this way. "Fine, I'll come over for your damn surprise. When do I have to be at your house?"
A huff. "Glad you've seen the light. 6 o'clock, boy. Don't be late." He hung up.
***********
Sasuke entered Karin's house the way he always did, her parent's staring at him and watching his every move. They had some sort of delusion that the real reason Karin was usually with Sasuke was because she liked him and he liked her back. Thus, there were often eyes following him around the house whenever he visited, which he generally tried to avoid. Karin's rich, big, expensive and well-furnished house reminded him too much of his own. Now, though, everyone (Suigetsu, mostly) was freaking out of her fainting and she was imprisoned in her bed, so Sasuke had no choice.
He climbed the red-carpeted staircase to the second floor, bypassing the one that led to the third floor and walked to Karin's door with her parents still dogging his steps. Sasuke generally had authority issues and had no idea how to get rid of these people. And he didn't know what story Karin had made up to cover up her injury, so if they asked he was in deep shit.
He turned around, thinking of those sit-coms Juugo watched. "Um…I'm kinda thirsty. Can I have some water?"
The 2 heads bobbed up and down eagerly, anxious to please Karin's supposed crush. They flew down the stairs, the woman in high heels, faster than Sasuke would have thought possible.
He pushed the door open and walked in and the first thing he saw was Karin in an unaccounted for mess. Her glasses were smudgy and greasy, she was in her Hello Kitty pajamas that no one else had ever seen and her hair was one big wet mess of red seaweed. She was sitting on her bed, knees drawn up to her chest and head resting on them. Suigetsu was sitting next to her, flipping channels on the small TV.
"Hey," he greeted.
Then: "What the hell happened to your hair?!" Karin was staring and pointing.
Sasuke scowled. Trust girls o be worried about hair. "I cut the bangs off. They kept fucking falling into my eyes."
"Cut 'em off with what?! And when did you have time to go to a hairdresser? I saw you in school this morning with bangs!"
"He borrowed my knife," Suigetsu elaborated.
"WITH A KNIFE!?"
"Yes, Karin, with a knife."
"But, but, but you looked so good like that! And now you look horrible!"
"That's the point, Karin," Sasuke groaned. Girls were so dumb sometimes. "I want to look horrible."
"WHAT?! WHY?!"
Suigetsu looked up. "He wants to get rid of girls."
Compression dawned. "Oh. Well, Ok."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Is Suigetsu still an idiot about Juugo?" Some time with Karin might have quelled his rage, but he remembered the phone conversation and found it hard to believe.
Karin started shouting, arms waving and yelling. "Sasuke, Sasuke, please tell this moron that Juugo can come over. Please. He's being such a baby about it. And he didn't even get hurt. I got pummeled."
Sasuke dropped the backpack on the floor. "Who's he? Suigetsu or Juugo?" Suigetsu glared.
"Suigetsu, of course. Juugo's just nice." She turned. "Something you could try being," to Suigetsu.
"You feeling better, then?" Sasuke asked, moving over to the bed.
Karin followed him, nodding vigorously. "Much better. When's Juugo coming over?"
"I dunno."
"Well, didn't you talk to him?"
"No. Look, he'll come tomorrow, okay? You know he bought chocolate for you?"
"Really!? For me!?"
"Yeah, like 20 boxes. Oh, he got flowers too. He's really sorry." Sasuke looked out of the corner of his eye to Suigetsu. He looked the same, eyes fixated on the TV.
Karin is much less discreet. "Aren't you going to say something, Suigetsu?!"
"No."
"Prick."
"Bitch."
Sasuke sees were this is going and intervenes. "Your parents still think I'm in love with you," he objected to Karin, staring pointedly.
She blushed. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" A pause. "You aren't, are you?"
Suigetsu snorted. "Hell, no. For one thing, he's gay. And don't you know he's still mooning over Blondie?"
Karin, surprisingly, didn't start another shouting match with Suigetsu. Instead, she turned to Sasuke, hands on her hips. "You still haven't done anything about Naruto?" Her eyes were narrowed in the usual way, the way they always were when Suigetsu informed her of Sasuke's latest (un)progress.
Sasuke glanced away, uncomfortable. It's ridiculous, he knows. 4 months gone since he started noticing Naruto in that way, and nothing done about it. The first 3 months he tells itself it's alright because of their summer and the tempers that brings back, but now it's ridiculous. Ridiculous and pathetic.
And their past isn't really that dramatic anyway, he thinks too himself now, standing in Karin's bed. Of course it wasn't that dramatic now. 2 years ago, it was terrifying. Naruto had cried in plain sight, in front of everyone. Sasuke had cried too, but much, much later, where no one had seen him.
White sand and white clouds. White walls and white skin. Sasuke only didn't shudder after 2 years of forcing himself not to, telling himself how weak he looked that way. Not that Tsunade had ever agreed. The damn psychiatrist was always preaching about how he should be 'letting it out' and 'expressing his feelings'. White walls and white skin, he'd never tell anyone about them. Except Naruto, who maybe already knew.
Karin was still talking. "Although, I think you could do better than Naruto."
Suigetsu glanced up. "What's the sudden dislike for Blondie?" Sasuke kept his eyes on Karin, waiting for the answer.
"Do you know what he and Inuzuka did today!?" Karin exploded. "I was doing nothing, alright, nothing. Absolutely nothing except reading my magazine when-"
"That's something." Suigetsu put in.
"Stop interrupting!" Karin shrieked at him. "Look, I wasn't doing anything when Naruto and Inuzuka come up and spill water on my head and all over my magazine! I paid for that magazine, you know! And now it's ruined! And my hair was a mess. And when I tried to run up and punch the 2 assholes, they fucking got away!"
Sasuke smirked, remembering the basketball court and Naruto's voice floating over to him. 'Water' and 'magazine'. Suigetsu rolled his head back to the TV, unsurprised.
The door opened without warning, slow and creaky. Karin's mom entered, teetering on high heels and carrying a tray with water, cookies and fruit on it. Sasuke watched the apples, bananas, and chocolate chips unbelievably. He'd asked for water.
Suigetsu raised his eyebrow. "Wow. Is that for me?" He was already moving off the couch.
Karin's mom sniffed and her broad smile fell a little, and it was so obvious she didn't want to deal with this lowlife orphan, but wanted to reward and praise the rich orphan, the one with all the money and who was supposedly in love with her daughter. Sasuke took only the water and Suigetsu devoured the rest. Karin watched, lips pursed.
"Thanks mom, that's good. You can just leave it here," Karin spoke up when Suigetsu had had 2 cookies and 8 were left. Karin's mom, nodded, beamed, and obeyed.
The moment she was out the door, Karin spoke up. "I don't know why she hates you," she complained to Suigetsu. "She's nice to all the other homeless people we find on the street-"
"Hey, I'm not homeless!"
"You're poor, it's the same thing! As I was saying, she's nice to everyone on the street, but she doesn't like you for some reason," Karin growled, with a cookie in her mouth.
Suigetsu shrugged. "I don't care."
"I know you don't care. I care."
"Well, you figure it out then."
"You little piece of cra-"
"I'm gonna leave," Sasuke spoke up. He'd forgotten how exhausting it was, being in the same room as these two.
"I wouldn't mind," Suigetsu mumbled.
"I would, so shut up!" Karin yelled.
"Yeah, I'm going," Sasuke said and got up from the bed, stretching. From experience, he knew these two would go through the same argument 15 times in one hour.
"Great, now you made him leave, you're wonderful, you know that? Are you even listening to me?"
"I made him leave, what the hell did I do? You're the one who started the whole damn argument."
"I did fucking not!"
"Hey, what's the story you told your parents?" Sasuke asked, ignoring the fight completely.
"That I fell." Karin answered.
"It's so original, isn't it, Sasuke? I never knew we had such a genius amongst us." Sarcasm oozed from Suigetsu's mouth.
"Look, dumbass, I couldn't come up with anything better and you didn't have any ideas either!"
"I wanted to actually tell the truth!"
"What truth is that? That Juugo did it? He didn't do it on purpose and you know how my parents would freak!"
Bing, Bing, Bing!
Heads turned to the direction of Sasuke's backpack, still on the floor.
"That's the most boring ring tone I've ever heard in my life, Sasuke. I told you a million times to change it. You sound like an old man."
"Yeah."
"I don't care what it sounds like," Sasuke snapped at them. "It works, doesn't it?"
He dug out the black phone from the black bag and his guardian's black number flashed across the screen, along with his guardian's name. He wasn't much of a guardian, though, and Sasuke had no idea exactly how they were connected by blood and why the court picked him of all people. Kakashi didn't even live in the Uchiha Manor anymore, ever since Sasuke learned how to cook worth a damn.
Karin and Suigetsu began to argue again, although in lower voices.
"What do you want?" he asked, one hand deep in his pocket, digging around for a smoke, and frowning harder when he found none.
"Talk with more respect to your elders." Kakashi's voice answered.
"So you admit to being old, then?" Sasuke smirked. Vain Kakashi with his grey hair and porn books who insisted on being 30.
"I'm older than your scrawny 17. Now, listen, brat. You're coming with me to Jiraiya's-"
Sasuke's mind buzzed and his photographic memory reminded him with surprising clarity the cover of Kakashi's ridiculous porn books, that trash Icha Icha Paradise, and its paperback cover proudly displaying By Jiraiya! in bright yellow bubble-letters.
"-t 6 o'clock, so don't be late, this is a real privl-" Kakashi's voice, oblivious to Sasuke's musings continued to pour through the phone.
"Is that that porn writer?" Sasuke interrupted, checking his other picket for smokes. What did he do with them? Suigetsu froze, looked at Sasuke with surprise and grinned that unnaturally sharp grin of his, mouthing 'porn?'. Karin poked him impatiently, obviously having missed Sasuke's words.
"Don't interrupt, but, yes, it is. Now, did you hear me? 6 o'cloc-"
"Why am I going?" Sasuke growled. Where did Kakashi get these idiot ideas? Suigetsu was finally answering Karin's poking and was whispering in her ear about Sasuke's conversation. Karin's mouth hanged more and more open.
"Because, I haven't seen you in a week. Didn't you miss me at all while I was in England?" Kakashi sounded pouty and childlike, like the way teenage lovers talked to each other.
"No."
"Well, anyway, he's having a party, and all the fans and fellow writers are invited, including me. And, we actually get to have dinner with him, so it's a real privilege. Do you know why we get to have dinner with him?" Kakashi boasted.
"No."
"Because I knew a friend of his. Have I told you about Minato, Sasuke?"
"Yes." The dude was some teacher and friend of Kakashi's, or used to be. He was dead now.
"Well, Jiraiya knew him too, and we want to catch up together, you know, old times. I was on his facebook page and he had stuff about Minato, so I got in touch with him and told him about how I knew Minato, and now we're invited to his party! And I'm going to meet his son. I never even knew Minato had a son. This is really lucky, you know, Sasuke!?" Kakashi made him sound like the Pope.
"So I why am I going?" Sasuke didn't get how this was happening. He'd had his whole day planned out as knock some sense into Suigetsu.
"Because I haven't seen you in a week! And you might actually start appreciating the brilliance that is Icha Icha!" Kakashi had never sounded more like an old perverted man.
Sasuke didn't answer, just looked at the clock on Karin's wall. It was 5:30. He had to be there in half an hour. "I have to be there at around 6, right?"
"Yep. The address is 24 Cranberry lane. Don't be late." The phone clicked off.
"What porn writer?" Suigetsu demanded immediately, the too-sharp grin still grinning.
"Yeah, what porn writer?" Karin asked, looking somewhat bored. "Is your crazy guardian back?"
Sasuke stuffed the phone back into his backpack and plunged his hand into his jacket pocket, still looking for cigarettes. "Yeah, and the porn writer is some idol of his he thinks I'd love to meet. He wants me to go over to the guy's house at 6."
"Does he write gay porn?" Karin asked, brow furrowed.
"I don't think so. Just het." Sasuke answered. He checked his back jeans' pockets. Nothing except denim.
"Are you going?" Suigetsu asked, eyebrow raised.
"Hell, no. Suigetsu, do you have my cigarettes?"
************
Naruto stood inside Ero-sennin's vast entrance hall, smiling uncomfortably at all the weirdos passing by. Ero-sennin was in the bathroom or something, and without the stuck-up old man to argue with, Naruto's attention wandered to everyone else in the vincity. Most of them were men and Naruto saw maybe only 3 girls altogether.
And the men were weird. Not like crazy-weird, just weird-weird. Most men were like Ero-sennin, old and no sex life except hookers and whores, Naruto could tell from just a glance. There were some deranged younger guys, too. Not really, really, young, but like 30 and 40-young, still not old enough to actually completely be deprived of women and forced to read shit like Ero-sennin's. Every single one of them, every damn person had all 3 of Ero-sennin's book either in their hands or thrust into pockets, and that's all Naruto needed to know how crazy people were.
He leaned against the wall with another huff.
He had not been expecting this sort of surprise. It was one of Jiraiya's stupid parties and while had gotten Neji's presents (autographed) he had been forced to stay longer. Ero-sennin had promised he could leave at 7, but it was only 6:30 now and Naruto was dieing. And on top of that, Naruto knew for a fact that Ero-sennin would make him stay longer, as had happened way too many times before.
Naruto glanced to his right and whipped it around back to straight again, scowling. Another 2 weirdos, clutching Ero-sennin's books and practically squealing and cooing over it, like they were fucking girls. Weirdos.
Naruto sighed again, letting his head fall even further back against the wall and he averted his eyes up to the fancy chandelier on the ceiling. Shadows danced on the walls.
An explosion of white caught the corner of his eye and Naruto lowered his head back down and to the right, and there was his weirdo uncle talking with his two weirdo girl-fans. Jiraiya's ridiculous, enormous, white ponytail that he thought was the height of fashion fell into his eyes as he pointed to something on the page and his eyes shined with maniacal gleam. To Naruto's eyes, anyway.
"Hey!" he yelled, pushing himself off the wall. "Hey, Ero-sennin, what am I supposed to do here!? I'm bored!"
Jiraiya glared at him over the person's shoulder and he marched over to Naruto quickly, grabbing him by the ear and whispering into his ear harshly: "Listen, boy, do not embarrass me like that in front of fans, Ok? As soon as I'm done with these 2, I'll find something to show you. You know this would be a perfect opportunity to read my book?" It was the 6th time he'd suggested that this night.
Naruto crossed his arms and glared. "Hurry up," he growled and went back to sulking. Jiraiya bounded away.
Naruto sighed, eyes downcast. Sasuke's last look had been on his mind all day, and he hated the bastard even more because of it. He really did. Those black eyes and pale fingers wouldn't disappear.
Naruto threw his eyes up, bored. He tried to find someone normal, and just frowned and scowled more and more as more freaks came in. This one dude, for instance. His hair was the most fucked up thing Naruto had ever seen, including Jiraiya's, Sakura's and Lee's. It was grey, boring grey and shooting straight up in a tower of hair. And as if that didn't make him stand out enough, there was a goddamned mask covering everything except 1 eye. It was an uninteresting eye, grey like his hair, but everything under the mask suddenly Naruto wanted to desperately know what it looked like. He supposed this was the whole point of the mask, and mumbled 'idiot' to himself for falling for such a dumb trick.
And now Ero-sennin was walking over toward him. Figured, his crazy uncle going to the strangest guy here.
And there they were, hugging each other like long-lost lovers, though Naruto had never ever seen or heard of this guy. Oh, and crap, now Ero-sennin was waving at him to come over. Great, fucking great.
Naruto walked over, feigning a smile. "Hi," he said to the grey dude.
The guy moved his head up and down, face hidden and giving away nothing. "You're Minato's son?" he asked curiously.
Jiraiya beamed. "He is."
Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um…what…" The guy came all the way to Ero-sennin's stupid party because he was his Minato's son? He must have known his dad or something.
"Naruto," Jiraiya bumped in. "This is Kakashi Hatake, a good friend of your father's. Minato was his teacher."
Naruto was lost. "Teacher in what?" As far as he knew, Minato hadn't been some great expert in anything, but, then again, Naruto didn't know a whole lot about his dad or mom.
"In various things," Kakashi answered. His eye watched him intently. "Naruto, you look familiar. Do you know my son?" A small movement underneath the mask and Naruto couldn't tell if he was frowning, smiling, or smirking. "Well, not my real son, my legal son. Sasuke Uchiha."
Naruto stared. Sasuke's dad. Suddenly, he felt very sorry for both Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke for having to live with this nutjob and Kakashi for having to live with Sasuke, who was worse than a nutjob. He smiled shakily. "Yeah, he goes to Konoha High with me."
Kakashi studied him thoughtfully. "That's it, then. You know, Naruto," he leaned in close. Jiraiya leaned in closer. "I think my boy likes you," he said, smiling.
Naruto stayed the same, not comprehending. "What?"
Jiraiya frowned. "That emo-looking kid with the duck butt who smokes?" He asked Kakashi.
Kakashi laughed. "That's Sasuke."
Naruto gaped. "What the hell do you mean he likes me?!" His thoughts flashed to the bus encounter. Sasuke hadn't given him a second glance, hadn't even stopped for a second to look at him. And 2 summers ago…Naruto didn't want to think about that. Sasuke didn't have a choice then, he reminded himself. But, besides all that: "And whaddya mean, Sasuke smokes?!"
Kakashi shrugged. "He smokes, I tried to get him to stop, it didn't work." He turned to Ero-sennin. "Has he come here yet?"
Ero-sennin shook his head. "He's coming?"
Naruto jumped. "Whaddya mean, he's coming?!"
Kakashi sighed. "He was supposed to. Little shit is probably with at home, lounging on the couch watching TV." He glanced at Naruto. "Although, I stole his cigarette stash back home, so he's probably gonna show up any minute now, demanding them back. You'll see him then, Naruto."
Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "How does he know you took them?"
"I left a note."
"He likes me?!" Naruto repeated again. The idea was so strange and Naruto's teenage mind rocketed. Sasuke, Sasuke liking him, Sasuke kissing him, Sasuke doing things to him…Naruto blushed. Sasuke coming here. Now.
No way. No way in hell. Kakashi was delusional, like so many other people here.
And, besides, Naruto hated Sasuke and Sasuke hated Naruto. It was the law of the universe.
He swallowed thickly. Sasuke didn't like him. Or maybe he did. But Sasuke would still be here.
Naruto swiveled his head around to the door. He glared at the poor door, willing it with the full extent of his Star Wars induced make-believe physic power to Not. Open.
Of course, it opens in 12 minutes and 13 seconds. Naruto knows. He counted.
Sasuke entered the room with all the anger of a junkie having his drug stolen; the sort of crazy, desperate sort of anger Naruto sees on cop shows, but the anger on Sasuke was much more subdued, much less noticeable. He was walking quickly, hands thrust deep into pockets and a murderous look on his face and crazy, absolutely crazy angry eyes.
Kakashi saw too. "Ah, I'm going. Good luck, Naruto." He ran away. Ero-sennin followed him with a sympathetic look on his face, directed at Naruto. Naruto couldn't believe this was happening and Sasuke was coming closer and closer.
Goddamnit! He was not going to get set up by 2 perverted old men!
Naruto turned to run. Where the hell had Ero-sennin and that weirdo Kakashi gone…?! One leg stepped in front of the other in a random direction and the other was mid-step, when one arm, pale and strong, grabbed his own arm and yanked him back to his first position. Naruto twisted around and Sasuke black eyes and white face were right in front of him.
"What are you doing, here, dead-last?" The old nickname stung and it was the sort of tone that made Naruto want to punch the bastard's head in, screw Kakashi's ramblings.
He yanked his arm back and glared back. "None of your business, bastard."
Sasuke scoffed. "You read this shit?" His hand had let go of his arm.
Naruto bristled, offended. "No! My uncle's the author, jackass! He dragged me along!"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, something Naruto had always hated, 'cause he couldn't no matter how much he had practiced. "Nice uncle," he said and Naruto lost all faith in Kakashi's idea. Sasuke hated him and was a bastard, just like he had always been.
The hypocrite, he had a father, or legal father or guardian or whatever, just as bad as Ero-sennin! Naruto fully intended to point this out, and he did so. "You've got a dad, or guardian or whatever that's just as bad, asshole! And Ero-sennin isn't my real uncle, I just call him that!" Naruto stood on his tiptoes to try to make himself look taller.
"Kakashi isn't my real dad, either, just my guardian who doesn't even live in the same fucking house as me anymore, just steals my smokes." Sasuke answered coolly, with none of the fury Naruto was feeling shown on his face. "And how do you know he's a pervert, dead-last?"
"Because I saw him 10 seconds ago!" Naruto had no love for Kakashi, making him meet Sasuke like this, and he'd be damned if he was gonna cover for the pervert.
"Where?" Sasuke demanded.
"Here."
"Where here?"
"I dunno where here, he was standing right next to me and then he went somewhere!" Naruto shouted. "And since when do you smoke, bastard?"
Sasuke looked annoyed. "You're wonderfully informative; you know that, dead-last? I know exactly where I'm supposed to go now, since you helped me so much."
Naruto gritted his teeth together. "You didn't answer my question, bastard. When did you start smoking?"
"I don't know. 2 years ago, maybe. What do you care?" Sasuke's eyes were locked on his, and had a sort of intensity to them. He wanted to know why Naruto cared, Naruto knew. He wanted to know, and wanted to argue and challenge him.
Hot words shoved and pushed eagerly inside Naruto's mouth to get out into Sasuke's ears, but they were the sort of split-second, don't-think-before-you-speak words that would only remind both of them of summers past and neither Sasuke nor Naruto wanted to hear that. Instead, he thought up much more simple words: "Go to hell, bastard."
"Only if you come with me." Sasuke was leaning on a table behind him, his head was thrown back and his hands were gripping the table behind him, and all in all it would make any girl faint and Naruto had no clue what it was supposed to be. He stood there, stammering and choking out breathes of air, not understanding how they had gone from arguing to whatever the fuck this was.
Sasuke smirked, a I-know-what's-going-on-and-you-don't smirk, leaned in and put his head, his lips, right next to Naruto's ear, whispering: "I'm gonna see you tomorrow, dead-last."
Naruto stared at nothing and Kakashi's voice echoes in his head. 'I think my boy likes you.'
No. No way in hell.
Sasuke's arm pulled at his (again) and Naruto's head made the mistake of snapping up, right into Sasuke's face. Right into Sasuke's perfect, beautiful face and his treacherous, beautiful eyes. Eyes that were right now very close.
Naruto tried to sound badass and so-what-ish, he really tried, but instead it came out uncertain and shaky, like he was some boy in puberty. "What?" he stammered.
Sasuke's eyes stayed where they were.
Eventually, he whispered: "Nothing."
Naruto moved away, relieved, wanting nothing more than to go scream at Kakashi.
"Except," the smoker started again. "Your scars. Where'd you get them?"
TBC
Um, is this too weird a place to end a chapter? Well anyway, I said there would be more Sasuke/Naruto interaction, but, that, uh, didn't happen. There's what, 2 pages of them? Look, the entire next chapter is gonna be all them, I swear! Don't hate me! And reviews please!