Chapter Four
Pulling the dressing room curtain aside, Leiji poked her head out and scowled. "I hate it," she said to Satsuki, who was in the room next to her.
Satsuki stepped out and took in the silky red top she had chosen for Leiji. "What are you talking about? It looks great, and your date will love it." She smiled teasingly. "With a pair of skinny jeans and some boots, you'll look amazing."
"Okay, first of all, it's not a date," Leiji corrected. "No one said it was, and until it's explicitly stated, it's not a date."
"I said it was," Satsuki replied as if it were obvious. She held up her cell phone and quickly snapped a picture of Leiji. "I'm sending this to Tamako. She'll agree that you have to get it."
"This is stupid," Leiji argued weakly. "Why can't I just wear my normal clothes?"
"Because your normal clothes are plain and boring," Satsuki reminded her. She stepped back into her dressing room and pulled the curtain over the entrance. "You're buying it!"
Knowing she couldn't possibly win in a fight with Tamako and Satsuki against her together, Leiji quickly changed back into her t-shirt and met Satsuki at the register to pay. "You know, most would consider this to be peer pressure," she informed her as she pulled out her wallet.
"This isn't peer pressure," Satsuki countered. "This is making you look hot for your date."
They left the store together, chatting and feeling like normal teenager girls rather than highly skilled members of an elite ninja organization. It was rare for them to get together this way, as they were usually busy with training or missions. Mission requests tended to die down in the fall and winter and pick up with great speed in the spring and summer, so the girls were grateful for the approaching fall season. It meant they could relax and enjoy some much needed time off for once.
As they walked towards the mall exit, coffees in hand, a familiar face appeared in the crowd and Leiji stopped in front of her father with Satsuki by her side.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, knowing full well her father was not the type to wander the mall.
Sasuke held up a small bag from the pharmacy. "Tai needs an inhaler refill," he explained. "What are you doing here?"
Satsuki looped her arm with Leiji's and grinned mischievously. "We were just picking Leiji out an outfit for her date next week."
"It's not a date!" Leiji said with frustration.
Sasuke eyed the two girls who had been friends since nearly infancy and rolled his eyes. "With whom?" he asked, trying to sound casual. He had not been a fan of Leiji's last boyfriend, her former teammate, Yuki. He had had an attitude that Sasuke did not like, and after the relationship had fallen apart nearly a year ago, she had steered clear of dating. He had hoped that phase would last a bit longer.
"Hachi," Leiji said, and then quickly added, "but it's really not a date. We're just going to walk around the festival. As friends."
"It's totally a date," Satsuki said, poking her arm playfully.
Sasuke remained quiet. Hachi would be preferred over Yuki, but he also had an attitude. He was a joker who was rarely took things seriously, and he knew Leiji wouldn't go for that type. He gave her a curt nod and side, "Whatever you say. Don't be home too late tonight."
"I won't," Leiji promised. "I told Kyo I'd pick him up from school." She paused. "And buy him ice cream."
"You have got to stop giving into him like that, Leiji," Sasuke lectured, crossing his arms sternly.
"I can't help it," she protested. "He's too cute, and he knows how to use it to get what he wants."
"That's because you always give him whatever he wants." He reached out his hand. "Give me your bag, I'll take it home."
She handed the shopping bag over. "Thanks dad." She gave him a wave and turned to Satsuki. "Let's go."
"Bye, Sasuke!" Satsuki called as she and Leiji walked out together. "Let's get some lunch. I'm starving."
After the girls had eaten, Tamako returned from her mission and joined them in walking around the village. When Satsuki filled her in on Leiji's possible date, she became giddy with excitement and began to hound Leiji with a barrage of questions, despite her insistence that it was not, in fact, a date.
"Enough already!" Leiji finally cried. "Would you quit it with the questions? You're driving me crazy."
"But this is so out of the blue," Tamako replied. "I mean, you've been friends and teammates with Hachi for a long time, but nothing like this has ever happened before! I never thought you'd have feelings for a guy like him."
"I don't," Leiji said, but a hesitation in her voice made both Tamako and Satsuki stare her down until she gave a defeated sigh. "Look, I'll admit back when were genin I may have had a tiny crush on Hachi. I mean really tiny. But that was a long time ago. It doesn't matter now."
Tamako exchanged a glance with Satsuki, muttering, "She's so dense."
Leiji opened her mouth to argue further but paused when the girls walked by an alleyway and the earthy scent she had been catching whiffs of at home caught her attention once more. She stopped in her tracks, holding a hand out to stop Satsuki and Tamako as well. "Do you smell that?"
Both girls paused and sniffed the air. "What is that?" Satsuki asked, wrinkling her nose. "It smells really weird."
"Yeah," Tamako agreed. "Kind of herby, I guess? And it's so strong."
"I've smelled it at my house lately," Leiji said and turned down the alley to follow the scent. "It's mostly been wherever Hideki's been." She paused, realization washing over her, and turned back to look at the girls. "You don't think…?"
"No way," Tamako said, shaking her head. "Konoha is super strict about drugs. There's no way anything like that could get in here."
"There's always a way," Satsuki reminded her. She turned to Leiji. "We better check it out."
Nodding in agreement, Leiji led the small group through the alley and stealthily peeked around the corner. Her heart sank when she took in the sight of Hideki standing amongst a circle of his loser friends all passing around a joint, and her fears were confirmed. The smoke trailed lazily to the sky as Hideki inhaled deeply and passed it on to another of his friends.
Leiji glanced behind her and motioned to Tamako. "Go report this to your dad," she instructed. Turning her attention to Satsuki she added, "You keep these dumbasses rounded up until he gets here."
"What are you going to do?" Tamako asked. She peeked around the corner to get a view for herself and frowned. "This really serious."
"Oh, I'm taking Hideki home," Leiji said matter-of-factly.
"Shouldn't he stay with the rest of these kids?" Tamako asked, unsure.
"Who do you think he's going to be more afraid of; my dad, or yours?" Leiji asked.
"She has a point," Satsuki said. She met Leiji's eye, suddenly feeling like an ANBU again. "Are you going in first?"
"Yes," Leiji confirmed, "but stay behind me. Don't let any of them scramble away."
"Right," Satsuki said with an affirmative nod.
"I'll go get daddy then," Tamako said, and with that she jumped up and took off, taking the fastest route possible.
Satsuki gave Leiji a nod and quickly disappeared; planning to pop up behind the ground so all immediate escape routes would be blocked. Once she was gone, Leiji strolled casually up to the group and, before he could turn around, grabbed Hideki by the shoulder and whirled him around to face him.
"So, what kind of flowers do you want at your funeral? Because mom and dad are going to murder you," Leiji said with a scowl.
Hideki paled and gulped, glancing behind him to his friends. Panic-stricken, they turned to run but were cut off by Satsuki, who crossed her arms with a smug smile.
"Oh, you guys aren't going anywhere," she said matter-of-factly. "The hokage's on his way right now."
Hideki scowled and turned back to face Leiji. "Why do you always have to ruin a good time?"
"Why do you always have to be such a dumbass?" Leiji countered. She tugged at his shirt, pulling him along as she started walking. "You're coming with me. Dad's going to be the one to deal with you."
"Leiji, don't," Hideki begged. "Come on, we can work out a deal or something. Be cool for once and don't rat me out!"
Rolling her eyes, Leiji pulled her idiotic little brother along farther. "Just how long have you doing drugs, Hideki?"
He scoffed. "I don't have to answer you."
"Fine," Leiji said with a shrug. "You can just answer mom and dad." With her free hand, she threw open the front door of the house and jerked Hideki inside, calling out loudly, "Dead man walking!"
Hideki stiffened as he heard footsteps from somewhere in the house and grumbled, "You're not funny."
"Oh, I think I'm hilarious," Leiji replied in a monotone. Sasuke and Sakura rounded the corner, Sasuke holding a sheaf of papers from Naruto's office, and Sakura looking disheveled after a long day at the hospital. Leiji felt a little bad that her parents' stressful day was about to get to much worse, but the satisfaction of seeing Hideki get grounded for life trumped anything else. She shoved her brother forward and announced, "Look who I found smoking pot behind an alley."
Both Sasuke and Sakura seemed to need a moment to let this information sink in but, much to Leiji's surprise, it was Sakura who was the first to react.
"Hideki," she said slowly, her brow furrowed with confusion, "were you really-?"
"No, she's lying!" Hideki cried quickly, hoping for a way out. Unfortunately for Hideki, both Sasuke and Sakura knew who the more trustworthy of the two were.
She took her son by the chin, examining his red-rimmed eyes closely and taking in the smoky, earthy scent stuck to his clothes. She frowned, disappointment heavy on her features. "I can't believe you, Hideki. You've done some crappy things before, but this is by far the worst."
Sasuke cast a side-glance at Leiji. "Go to your room," he said levelly.
"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "There's no way I'm missing this."
"Damn it, Leiji, I said go to your room!"
She sighed and released her clutch on Hideki's shirt. There was the rage Leiji was expecting, she just didn't think it would be directed at her. She climbed the stairs and opened her bedroom door, then closed it again without going inside. She would have preferred a front-row seat to this showdown, but listening from the sidelines would have to do.
In the living room, Hideki knew he was deep trouble. He was used to getting yelled at and grounded for acting out, mouthing off, visiting some websites he shouldn't have been on, and the works, but this was on a whole new level.
"How long, Hideki?" Sasuke growled. He was gritting his teeth, struggling to keep his cool in this situation, and Sakura reached out and touched his arm.
Hideki knew one wrong word in this situation would make both of his parents lose it, and more than likely worsen the punishment he was already going to get. "I don't know, a few weeks, maybe," he admitted quietly.
"Why on earth would you go and do something like this?" Sakura asked, her voice thick with hurt. "We've talked about drugs. You know what they could do to you."
He shrugged, looking to the side to avoid meeting either of their eyes. "I just wanted to try it."
"Where are you getting it from?" Sasuke asked, already thinking of the piles of paperwork he and Naruto were going to have to do because of this. Drugs of any form were highly illegal in the Land of Fire, and he knew he was going to be the one tracking down and arresting the person responsible for bringing it into the borders.
"Just some friends," Hideki said simply, still avoiding their gaze.
"This is no time for games, Hideki," Sasuke said, his voice low and threatening. "I assume Naruto is dealing with the rest of your so-called friends?"
"Yeah," he admitted quietly.
Sakura turned and pointed a strict finger towards the staircase. "I want you to go to your room and bring me anything you may be hiding in there."
"I don't have anything up there!" Hideki replied sharply.
Sakura looked him up and down. "You better be telling me the truth, because if I find anything when I go look, you're going to be in even deeper trouble." With that, she quickly went up the stairs, just barely giving the eavesdropping Leiji enough time to duck into her own room.
Alone with his father, Hideki gulped and turned to face him. "All right, just tell me how stupid I was being and ground me like you always do."
"You're definitely grounded," Sasuke replied lowly, "but this goes far beyond stupidity. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know, I just wanted to try it!" Hideki cried defensively. "I only did it a few times and now that you've got me, I'm not going to do it again!"
"Do you really expect me to believe that after all you've pulled in the past?" Sasuke countered. "You will spend two weeks in your room. No TV, no laptop, no phone. And you won't be going anywhere without supervision for a very long time."
"Two weeks?" Hideki cried in shock. "What about my birthday?"
Sasuke sighed. He had heard rumors that having a child born on Halloween meant a lifetime of troubles; he just didn't think it would turn out to be so true. "Do you really think you deserve a birthday after all of this?"
"Oh come on, it's my birthday!" Hideki protested.
"I've had enough from you, Hideki," Sasuke growled. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused me? Do you know how much your stupid choices hurt your mother? I'm sick of you pulling stuff like this. Until you can learn to clean up your act, you're going to spending a whole lot of time with me, got it?"
"That's bullshit!" Hideki said and clamped his hands over his mouth after the words had come flying out.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, his temper about to reach its boiling point. "Three weeks. Go to your room. Right now."
"But dad!"
"I am done arguing with you, Hideki!" Sasuke shouted loud enough to make Hideki cringe. "You bring all of your electronics to me and you stay in your room. I don't ever want you seeing those 'friends' of yours again."
Hideki opened his mouth to protest, but he had never seen his father get so angry. He usually pushed his parents' buttons without even meaning too, but he decided just staying quiet from then on would be the wisest thing to do. Sulking, he retreated up the stairs, passing Sakura as she came back down.
"There's nothing in his room," Sakura informed Sasuke.
He sighed and glanced up the stairs. "What the hell is that boy thinking?"
"I don't think he is," Sakura replied with a frown. "We've got a natural troublemaker on our hands. No matter what, trouble seems to follow him." She placed a hand on his arm. "I heard you all the way upstairs. I think the punishment is appropriate. We're both going to have to work to keep a closer eye on him. Apparently he needs it."
Sasuke nodded in agreement. "When he's not at training, I can take him to the tower with me."
"Oh, he'll hate that," Sakura said with a light smirk, which was quickly replaced with a frown. "I'm so disappointed in him, Sasuke. I know he makes bad choices sometimes, but I never expected something like this. I'm really worried. What if things escalate?"
Sasuke shook his head, trying to be reassuring. "I think we put a stop to this early enough. He'll just have to be monitored for a while."
His words seemed to help, and Sakura nodded lightly. "One of us better go get Kyo from school."
"Leiji said she would do it," Sasuke said. "And he may not be too hungry for dinner, either. Apparently she promised him ice cream."
Sakura laughed lightly and motioned for Sasuke to follow her into the kitchen, wanting him to help with dinner. "I suppose we have a manipulator on our hands, too."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and followed after her. "One problem child at a time, Sakura."