Ever Play 20 Questions? (Trying To Get An Uchiha To Talk)

XxX

So I kinda felt bad (and kinda weird) about staring, but the boy didn't seem to notice at all. Or if he did notice, he didn't mind.

But now, looking closer... he and Sasuke didn't really look that alike at all. This boy's hair was a darker shade of black, whereas Sasuke's looked a tiny bit more blue (as strange as that may sound). His hair was also pulled back into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck, while Sasuke's style strongly resembled a duck's ass. And his skin, although still extremely pale, seemed to hold slightly more color than Sasuke's did. The boy also had creases below his eyes that gave the appearance that he hadn't had a good night's sleep since who-knows-when (or maybe they were tattoos. Or something). The shape of his face kind of resembled Sasuke's, and he also had bangs that framed either side of his face, which is probably why he had caught my attention. Okay, so they didn't look exactly alike, but there were definitely similarities between Sasuke and Mystery-Man.

Upon closer inspection though, the similarities were few... Totally there, but not as intensely as I had first thought. Honestly, I can't believe I was stupid enough to mistake him for the bastard! Though there was something there... something that... looked a little like... damn, what is it? Can't... put my finger on it...

There was undeniably something that had caught my attention! But for the life of me, I can't remember what it was that made him look so much like Sasuke! Not the hair... not the face, though they hold similarities... not the skin, even if they're only a few shades apart... not the eyes-

No, wait. That's it. His eyes.

Black as the darkest night; kinda reminded me of that bottomless I always dream about falling into. You know, those dreams where you wake up with a start when you think you've hit the bottom? Now take that feeling of falling, and not knowing when you're going to hit the bottom, and transfer that into a pair of black, soulless eyes. The depth went far beyond superficial - even a blind person would be able to see that this kid's eyes had seen many things, things that someone our age probably shouldn't be subjected to. And that's what caught my attention - Sasuke has that look, too. The dark, unforgiving glare from eyes like his would be enough to scare anybody - except me, that is.

Now that I figured it out... maybe they did kind of look alike, after all. But, Sasuke couldn't have a relative here without me knowing! Because of course I would know if he did. I always see him go home alone, and no siblings, cousins, or any family for that matter, have ever come up in our conversations.

If he had a relative here, surely I'd know about it.

...Right?

Suddenly, I didn't feel so sure anymore.

But, realizing that I looked like more of an idiot than everyone already assumed I was just standing in front of the supply table holding nothing more than an eraser, I quickly made my way back to my seat. Thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed that I just had one of my rare contemplative moments in the middle of the classroom.

My mind simply shrugged off the thoughts of the dark-haired boy, deeming them unimportant and time-consuming when I had an Arts Showcase to prepare for.

Only two months to go... and with basketball... ugh. This may be harder than I thought it would be.

XxX

The rest of the week passed by in a blur, much like Monday itself had. Because of the way our schedules rotated, I didn't have art the following day... and mixed with the stress from basketball practice that day, I was pretty antsy. Coach Gai didn't like that too much (youghfullness= good. Two much energy=bad) and told me I had to loosen up to perform well in our upcoming game on Friday. Which, of course, made me even more stressed. Two months may seem like a long enough time to create an acceptable piece, but in my mind anything can happen in that time - the uncertainty of the situation was making me want to use up every available second of my time, not allowing any of it to go to waste. So the fact that I didn't get any time on Tuesday to work on it had me on edge, thinking I had even less time before that quickly approaching deadline hit me like a ton of bricks - which, in reality, I did.

The irrational stress had Gai blowing my ears off all throughout practice that day.

And on the day following that, Sasuke and I had another one of our one-on-one morning training sessions. It was particularly intense, since it'd be our last chance to train together alone before the game. I was so worn out that I couldn't focus for the life of me when I had art first period that day. Realizing I had wasted yet another day to make some progress on my piece didn't really settle too well with me - which, yeah, you guessed it, it just stressed me out some more.

Thursday was probably the only day that I actually got some work done - since art was second period, it was in the perfect time for me to organize all my ideas and transfer some of them to the canvas. They weren't completely as good as I'd wanted them to be, but it was definitely a start - at least my creativity was starting to kick in again after being dormant for a while, and that was always a good thing. But my good mood went away once school ended and practice started again.

Gai was even more demanding this time. He was totally freaking out and yelling at us for every single misstep or missed shot; the pressure of the upcoming game was really getting to him. And since he was so stressed, it made all of us stressed too. I went home last night and didn't get a lick of sleep, my head so consumed with thoughts of the game and my work, neither of which would allow me even a minute of peace and quiet.

My stress had carried into today as well, and it seemed that I only began to calm down when I entered the art room third period. Sure, my thoughts were blurry and fogged over with thoughts of sleep, but I sure as hell felt my stress ebb away slowly as soon as my pencil hit the paper. It didn't even matter what I was drawing; just the process was enough to calm me down.

Which was why I was on my way there now.

I had asked Sasori after class if it would be alright if I came after school, and he said he didn't have a problem with it at all. The only thing he mentioned was that he he had somewhere to be and wouldn't be back for at least an hour, but he trusted me and said he'd leave the door unlocked anyway. Fine by me; not only would I get the chance to make some headway on my ideas, and loosen up before the game tonight, but I'd also get to do it in complete silence without the thought of someone constantly looking over my shoulder. Sasori was one of my favorite teachers, but with him in the room I'd just... I don't know, feel like I was being watched. That situation wouldn't really help my ever-fluctuating level of stress.

And as much as I hated silence, it was completely necessary for my sanity right now.
The hallways were all empty by now - hey, it was Friday, and kids really had places to go and people to see. I guess only a loser like me would actually choose to remain in school longer than absolutely necessary.

Well, since no one's here to see... I flipped my backpack around so I could access the front pocket. Doing so while walking was harder than I thought it would be, so I stopped for a moment as I dug through my useless crap to pull out what I was looking for (which took an annoying long time) until: yes! Finally found the frigging thing.

After zipping the pocket back up and shifting my position so my backpack would make its way back onto my back, I unraveled the white earphones from my blue iPod Nano. It was after school; no one would really care if they happened to see me with it.

I just shook it lightly and let the songs shuffle, turning the volume up as I bobbed my head in time to the music. Honestly, I didn't care if it made me look like an idiot: I was having fun, and I would dance down this empty hallway with all of the dignity I could possibly muster in a situation like this!

As I was attempting to dance my way to Sasori's classroom, I was about to pass by Deidara's and decided I could at least stop in and say hi. As I made my way to the door though, I looked through the little window to see that the lights were off. Huh, that was weird... maybe there was some meeting that all the art teachers had to attend or something. Yeah, that had to be it.

Shrugging it off, I just continued on my way.

I turned the handle to see that Sasori really had left it unlocked, true to his word. Still moving to the beat of the song, I pushed the door open and danced my way over the my usual spot. I put my backpack down and turned towards the supply table to gather the necessary supplies. Now I was humming to myself, and I had to thank whatever God was up there that no one was around to hear. I couldn't hear myself over the song playing in my ears, but Sasuke has made it a point to let me know how tone-deaf I am on numerous occasions. Well, screw the Emo Uchiha! When I'm alone, I'll sing if I damn want to!

And on that note (literally), I belted out a particularly high one that definitely had some window-breaking potential. Quite pleased with my work, and since I had grabbed all the things I needed, I spun around to make my way back to my seat when-

Wow, this situation felt oddly familiar. I was now cursing whatever God was up there.

"Holy shit!" I managed to gasp out as I saw the other person sitting in the corner. Never, ever has the shit been scared so completely out of me in my entire life. And I've seen some pretty scary things. But this one completely took that cake.

I stumbled backwards and my back met the table, but still I attempted fruitlessly to scramble further backwards. I could feel my eyes open as wide as saucers and my mouth gasping for air as my hand clutched itself over the spot on my chest where my heart was attempting to beat itself right outside of my ribcage.

The other boy, however, just lazily moved his head to look up at me for a moment before they returned to his work. No. Effing. Way. Was he there the whole freaking time? "You- I- you weren't- holy-fucking-shit-I-had-no-idea-anyone-was-here!" I said it so fast that It all sounded like one word all mushed together.

"I could tell," he deadpanned, not even looking up at me. He was probably referring to that high note I just let out. Damn, so much for thinking I was alone... He really didn't seem to care at all though. His focus remained in front of him, on his work the whole time.

"Well, you...why didn't you say anything?" I gasped out. "You could have, you know, warned me or something! Or said 'hi'! Just to let me know!" Still transfixed on his work, the boy did nothing more that shrug lightly in response. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, the initial shock having worn off. "And, and what are you doing here anyway? Does Sasori-sensei know-?"

"I come here every day."

Lovely. I was lucky enough to be graced with a five-word answer. That he cut me off to say, no less. There was a hint of finality in it as well that said 'please shut up, you're annoying me'. Well you know what? Good. I'm going to keep annoying him, because Uzumaki Naruto is not upstaged by bastards like this! If I have to be in the same room as him for the next hour, it is most definitely not going to be time spent in awkward silence.

"You still could have let me know or something. Save me the heart attack."

Finally, he looked up at me with dark, blank eyes in a way that that I'm sure could be mistaken for a glare that said 'shut the hell up' if they weren't so emotionless. I would have probably pissed myself, or at least come close to it, if his eyes didn't look so completely empty. Finally after a moment or so, I heard a soft "Hn," before he looked back down at his sketchpad.

My mouth opened wide again, and my eyes followed suit. There was no mistaking that "hn". No one but Uchihas made that noise. Which had to mean...

And with that, all doubt was removed. "No way...," I said, moving closer. Which I assume he wasn't too pleased about, by the way his eyes zeroed in on his work. But I just couldn't help it. It was just too much to refute; no matter how small they were before, the similarities were too hard to ignore this time around. Pale skin, dark eyes, black hair, short responses... it just... there really was just no denying it."You guys are related, aren't you?" I asked, turning my head to the side in thought as I looked over his features.

Again, Mystery-Man didn't seem amused. Rather annoyed actually. Well, as annoyed as he could possibly look without a hint of light in his expression.

Instead of asking a question like a normal person, he simply glared at me expectantly.

"You and... I mean, I know this may sound weird... but, you really remind me of Sasuke!" I said. His expression didn't change at all, so it kind of felt weird... I mean, maybe he didn't hear me, or maybe he just thought I was some weird kid who just asked him a strange question or something. That last one happens quiet often, according to Sasuke's reports. The former? Not so much. But just in case, I rephrased, "I mean, like, are you-?"

"Brothers," he cut me off (again) to say with finality. Another one-word answer. He looked back down at his work, a silent hint to tell me to go away. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't know that I don't take too well to hints. In fact, I'm very proficient at ignoring them completely. It's a skill I've been perfecting for many long years.

"Why can't you give normal answers?"

"I'm working." Really? Really? You were working? I would have never been able to tell.

But seriously, that was the last straw. I mean, this guy acted so much like Sasuke it wasn't even funny. And, just like with Sasuke, there was no way I was just going to walk away with my tail between my legs like he wanted me to do. No - much to his distaste, I pulled out a chair near him and plopped down into it. "What's your name?"

"I don't see why you need to know."

"What is it?"

"That's not your-"

"Just tell me," I said, cutting him off this time.

I was met with a hard(ish) glare as he tried to stare me down for a little while. But what Sasuke's-Unnamed-Older-Brother didn't know was that I was already immune to the Uchiha glare. Plus, he was actually reacting to my comments. That means we were getting somewhere...right?

"Itachi," he said after a moment. But again, he just looked back down at his work after he answered.

"Why hasn't Sasuke said anything about you?"

"I don't know."

"How come I haven't seen you around here before?"

"I'm in your art class." This guy was clearly a genius; nothing escaped him.

"Well yeah, I know that. I meant before that."

"Not my concern."

Okay, this was getting really irritating. Seriously, this guy didn't budge for anything. Not even Sasuke was this hard to crack... "What's your favorite color?"

"Don't have one."

"What are you drawing?"

"None of your business."

"Can I see?"

"No."

"Are you going to enter it in the Winter Showcase?"

"I don't see why it would matter."

"You realize I'm not going to stop until you actually answer my questions, right?"

"I had assumed as much."

"So why are you still being difficult? Maybe if you answer I'll go away."

"Clearly that wouldn't happen even if hell froze over first."

"What? Me going away, or you actually answering?" And finally, he ceased all movement. Not even his hand was gliding across the paper fluently anymore. Finally! A reaction of sorts.

"Both."

I snorted, leaning back in my chair and folding my arms across my chest, "Well you're right about one thing; I won't be going away. Not until you actually answer me, that is. So you'd have to actually talk to get me to go away. The cycle will have to break eventually."

There was a light pause where Itachi began moving his hand back across the pad. "Hn."

Again, my eyebrows pulled together. "You know, I got through to Sasuke. I'll get through to you, too. Uzumaki Naruto never gives up, and you'll figure that out soon enough!"

A ghost of a smirk appeared on Itachi's face. It kind of looked faded, weighed down... surreal almost. "Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

"Yup!" I stood up and pushed my thumb proudly into my chest. "That's my name, don't wear it out!"

"I had no intention of doing so." he took a moment to flip the angle of his sketchpad to better access an area of the paper before speaking again, "Now, assuming you're here for a reason other than to waste my time, I suggest you do whatever it is you came here to do and leave me be."

I scowled when I realized that he was right - I really should get to work before time runs out. But still, admitting he was right (which meant I actually had to concede defeat - something I absolutely despise doing with every fiber of my being) was hard for me to do. So, instead of saying anything, I just addressed his statement with a scowl as I stalked away to my seat. I actually did have work I needed to do...

Plus, I came here to remove my stress before going into the game. Not to sit here and plot the many ways I could potentially get Itachi back for making me do something as horrid as give in.

Xxx

I actually got a lot done while I was there. My ideas flowed more freely in the secluded environment, so I made a lot of progress and vowed to come back another day whenever I felt my anxiety take over next. The whole experience was just really refreshing.

And, oddly enough, I didn't feel paranoid with Itachi there. I thought I would have been with Sasori, thinking he was always looking over my shoulder to see what I was working on. But with Itachi, I didn't that feeling at all. It almost seemed as if he... couldn't care about it less. Which I'm pretty sure is the case. I just find that weird... you'd think he'd at least be curious, right? I mean, I wanted to be nosy and just see what he was working on. Was the feeling not reciprocated?

Huh... maybe Uchihas were just immune to an emotion as petty as curiosity.

Altogether, Itachi's company went beyond just quiet seclusion. He seemed rather... despondent. There were times when I forgot he was even there to begin with! And yeah, I know that must sound horrible, but really... he was even quieter than Sasuke. Honestly, no matter how alike they may seem to be, there were definitely a lot of differences between the two of them. I just... can't put my finger on exactly what's different between the two.

Even when I called back to him as I was leaving, giving my signature, "See ya," I didn't get more than a lazy, detached nod from him. He didn't even look up, but I can't say I'm surprised about that.

But enough of that; it was finally showtime.

"Dobe," I heard Sasuke call from ahead of me, breaking me from my reverie. "Try not to get in the way, alright?"

I matched his smirk with a flashing smile of my own, extending my arm and bending it upwards so my hand lay as an open invitation between our faces. "Only if you promise to actually do some work so I don't have to save your sorry ass."

He looked at my hand for a second as his smirk widened before grasping it. The slap of our hands connecting reverberated through the locker room before we broke it to walk out and meet the rest of the team for pre-game warm-ups.

XxX

Of course, we won. No one had expected any less form a team as good as us.

I played a good game, free of the stress that, just a couple days ago, I had feared would completely take me over.

Maybe I can do this after all.

A/N: Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I'm basically doing the easy stuff right now, and pumping out all of myonewish's stuff in my own words. I don't think updates will be this often once I actually start writing. I never put disclaimers into my work (I'm already on !), but I didn't make any profit from this story, and I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters.