Chapter 4: Missing Past

"Because of the fire that started here last week, I'm here to teach you about fire precautions", the man said and patted Sasuke's shoulder friendly. "Here we have a lucky survivor who is the living evidence of what you must not do in those kinds of emergencies."

The black-haired sent him an annoyed glance. Some of the girls giggled and Itachi who stood leaned against the wall gave the man a fierce look. Everyone was sitting quietly in their benches and the only source of light in the room was the over-head projector on which some pictures were displayed.

The man straightened up and adjusted his glasses. "Always evacuate a building completely when a fire alarm goes off, no matter if it's practice or not. You'll never know when it's the real deal."

"Anyone who wants a real deal?" Suigetsu said and looked demonstratively around in the room. Some students started to giggle again but fell silent when Itachi narrowed his eyes.

The man continued: "And don't think you can save lives with a fire extinguisher. On work places and public places like this school, a fire extinguisher can never save a life. Hiding for the fire will not help either, like this young man over here thought." He looked at Sasuke who could feel his irritation rise rapidly once again. For God's sake, I did not hide! Apparently people seemed to have found out about how he neglected the fire alarm last week.

"Fire fighters often find carbonized remnants of people who thought they had a chance to extinguish the fire by themselves or thought that they could hide from it."

Some of the girls grimaced and Naruto shivered. Itachi's face was completely emotionless, but something else was visible in his eyes. As the man from the fire protection service continued to talk about various measures, Sasuke felt his attention drift away and slowly disappear. He looked at Itachi, how his tall, slender figure almost glowered in the darkness of the room. He looked at him over and over again, hoping that the darkness would conceal his actions.

"The headmaster wants me to tell you that this accident will not be disregarded", Itachi said and looked at the students with narrow eyes, especially in Naruto's direction. The blonde boy gulped. "We will make a police report and we will find out who was responsible for the fire."

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"You're really dead, man", Kiba stated during the lunch break.

Naruto shrugged. "They'll never find out."

"Wait… did you start the fire last week?" Sasuke was shocked.

"Who else did you expect?" Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"Don't you think… it looked like Itachi was going to personally catch the guy and bring him to justice? Strange, considering that he is a new teacher and he should not give a shit about this place", Kiba remarked.

"Maybe he isn't here because of the place…" Naruto began.

"What a smart conclusion!" Suigetsu face-palmed. "I can't believe it; you guys are starting to sound like Neji and Shino all of a sudden. Destiny and other smart-ass things!"

While they ate lunch, Sasuke was happy to see that his crowd of fangirls kept their distance for once. Karin had been obsessed with him since first grade as well as Sakura, Ino and a whole bunch of other girls, but he was more than relieved when the red-haired switched her admiration to Suigetsu about a year ago. The other girls had started to get used to Sasuke's detachment and constant unconcern, and although they all still admired him madly, they knew it was useless to even try to gain his interest.

Karin sat in Suigetsu's lap and glared at Sakura and Ino who was tripping over each other's feet in their eagerness to get a glimpse of Itachi.

"I don't understand how those idiots work", she said and let her hands run through her boyfriend's white hair.

"Actually, you've been one of those 'idiots' once upon a time", he reminded her.

She glared at him. "I know already! But I can't sympathize with Sakura for a moment! Everyone knows that Sasuke is either gay or asexual!"

Naruto burst out in laughter and Sasuke scowled. "Class starts in five minutes, we should get going."

When the students thought that they would have a soft time with their new teacher, they were horrible mistaken. Itachi soon proved to be even stricter than Kakashi.
He craved absolute silence in his classes and didn't tolerate any kind of jokes, bullying or talking. Naruto and Suigetsu were most targeted, because they were used to behave as they pleased in class. Suigetsu was abruptly shooed off his bench and had to sit like everyone else and Naruto got detention whenever it was possible.

Before the end of the week, everyone had gotten scolded at least once except Sasuke and some of the quietest girls. But eventually even Hinata was reprimanded when she talked with Kiba during class time. Karin got extra homework a couple of times for being so 'loud-mouthed' and Sakura was so harshly scolded after breaking out in giggles during a test that she started crying and ran out of the room. Naruto was the only one who cared to run after her.

Sasuke was usually a much focused student, but even he would to talk with his friends during class time now and then. But the strange thing was that Itachi never seemed to notice when he was talking or eased up. His little special treatment didn't go unnoticed by his classmates and a sea of mixed feelings was rising beneath the surface.

Everyone's feelings towards the new teacher were very mixed. But somehow, few of them were able to really hate Itachi no matter which punishments he could give them. Itachi was always fair and he had sympathy, although he rarely showed it. Shino and Neji had started up some kind of Anti-Itachi club in silence and Deidara couldn't even be close to him without threatening to blow him up, but most of the other students admired him. The girls switched between hate-loving him and adore him with literally heart-shaped eyes.

Suigetsu never showed how he felt about the new teacher, but it was obvious to his friends that he both resented him and thought he was 'cool'. And Sasuke had to admit, Itachi was cool. He always knew how to answer the most knockdown questions and comments in no time and nothing could unsettle him or make him uncomfortable.
He seemed to have a whole dictionary in his head and he moved with a grace that could make a girl faint on the spot. His behavior made the students feel unsure but also very curious about him. He didn't tell them a single thing about himself.

But the strangest thing with their teacher wasn't his sharp intelligence or his good looks; it was his lack of emotions. It was impossible to guess what he was thinking or feeling, as if he was constantly wearing a mask. But Sasuke had seen the deep sorrow lingering in Itachi's eyes for a short moment, but no one else seemed to have noticed it.

Itachi's arrival was a new experience for all of them, but for Sasuke it soon became both pressing and overwhelming. It all started about three days after their first math class with Itachi.

Sasuke couldn't help but to notice that the man seemed very interested in his school work. Itachi spent the lessons walking from person to person to make sure everybody did what they were supposed to do and got all the help they needed. But he seemed to always be circling around Sasuke's bench, and he often returned to him a couple of times during the same lesson.

Every time he walked past Sasuke's bench, the younger boy forgot what he was doing and became cack-handed. He didn't know why, but he couldn't take his eyes of his teacher. Every time their gazes met, he did everything he possible could to look away. But was as if he couldn't rule his body by himself anymore. He had felt so strange for the past days. He tried the best he could to focus on the exercises in front of him, but it was goddamn impossible to behave normally around his teacher, already from the very beginning. It all was driven to its edge when Itachi passed him for the third time in twenty minutes and slowly dragged his fingers over Sasuke's writing pad.

"Is everything going well?" he asked again. Sasuke couldn't look up at him. He could feel that his face was blossoming red and he felt all feverish. His eyes were locked to Itachi's fingers. His heart pounded strongly in his neck, making it hard to swallow.

This is ridiculous. What's wrong with me? Why do I react like this?
Why can't I take my eyes off you?

Since that incident it had become a tension to be in the same room as his teacher. Sasuke tried to focus, but he barely skimmed through his book and felt more and more confused.

A week after Itachi's arrival, Sasuke was forced out of his thoughts when Naruto suddenly nudged him. "Hey, Sasuke… it looks like someone died in your pad."

The black-haired looked down and realized that he had cut himself on the sheets of his work book. It was was covered with crimson stains.

"Oh… it's nothing serious", Sasuke said and proceeded to stand up. I didn't even notice…

His teacher was already standing beside him with some paper and a patch, as if he had been waiting for something like that to happen.

"I'll take care of it by myself", Sasuke muttered.

"Don't worry; I've gone through medical education", Itachi said calmly. "Hold your hand out and let me see."

Sasuke tried to mentally force his face to go back to its normal color, but he could just as well have tried to change the color of his eyes. Humiliated, he let Itachi examine his finger and clean the small wound. His palms were sweaty from nervousness and he wished that Itachi could just stop touching him before anyone saw what he felt right now.

"Strange how much a little wound like this can bleed, don't you think?" Itachi chitchatted while he leaned over Sasuke's bench and gently pushed him back to his seat.

Sasuke avoided the man's eyes and searched for a safe spot to place his gaze. But all he saw was Itachi's black hair in the corner of his visions and his grinning friends. It all filled him with unexplained anger. He sat completely motionless as Itachi carefully wiped the blood away and placed a patch on his finger. Then noticed something.

Sasuke stared in shock at the man's long, slender hands. Itachi's fingers and nails had exactly the same shape as Sasuke's own. It was like looking at his own hands, moving in front of him. Then Itachi straightened up and smiled again.

"All done. How do you feel?"

Sasuke shakily stood up. "I need some air", he mumbled and fled the classroom. Normally, students weren't allowed by Itachi to leave during class time, but Sasuke got away with it. He hurried down the now rather empty corridors. He didn't stop until he was standing in front of the small restroom he always went to when he needed to be alone. This brought him uncomfortable memories from last week. Here he had been lying on the stone floor, waiting for the end. And now he remembered it much clearer.

He remembered being on the verge of passing out, coughing wildly in the black smoke. His body had hit the hard floor and everything was just dim. Somebody had been approaching him. His body was rapidly starting to shut down, but he had seen it. Somebody was there, crouching down beside him. A strong hand had reached out, somebody had lifted him up and he remembered his head falling against someone else's shoulder. In that short moment before he passed out, he had felt a strange feeling of being... home. Home in safety. Probably it was just a hallucination caused by all the smoke that had filled his lungs, but something seemed so familiar. After that, he couldn't remember anything else until he woke up on the football ground of the school, surrounded by his friends.

He locked himself into the restroom and clutched his head in his hands. Why, why, did he react so strongly when Itachi was around? His confusion had grown so much for the past days and he didn't know what to think anymore.

I have met you somewhere before, I could swear on it. But where? Where? It feels ... like I've known you for so long. And still, I've hardly talked to you.

I've always felt... like a part of me is missing. A piece of me is gone, and I don't know where to find it. Something is missing, but I don't know what. My family has always felt half. What happened to my dad? Is he even alive? Did he run away when mom got pregnant? Why does she never talk about him?

I'm scared. Scared to get too close to anyone, scared to be used and hurt and just thrown away. Like my father must have done to my mother long ago.
I'm pushing everybody away, because I'm afraid to trust anyone. I don't want them to worry about me. I can't let anyone near me. I can't let them see my inner thoughts, or what I really feel.

A strange sound outside the door made him flinch and raise his gaze. Suigetsu's nonchalant voice was heard. "Open the door, Sasuke. We need to talk."

"I have a headache. Go away."

He could hear his friend snicker. "Such a typical excuse to skip school. Just so you know, I'm not leaving until you've told me what's wrong."

Sasuke raised his voice. "Get lost!"

"Itachi told me to go after you", Suigetsu said. He waited impatiently outside the door. At first he was only met by silence, and then he heard a strangled groan.

"Please, kill me."

"What's wrong, Smartest Student Of The Year? No matter which problems you have with that Itachi, I'm sure we can sort it out, man."

As he had expected, he had broken down the wall and nothing kept Sasuke from pouring his heart out. "This is not fun! I can't take this anymore! I'm going crazy! I'm – "

"He is kinda creepy, but I don't understand why it would be so hard. I mean, he never scolds you."

"You don't understand!" Sasuke hissed. He leaned his head against the wall, feeling crumbled up inside. I don't wanna feel like this. I don't wanna feel anything at all.

"But then tell me", Suigetsu said. "Naruto and Kiba are also very worried. You haven't been yourself since Itachi came here."

The door opened and Sasuke finally left his hide-out. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Suigetsu shrugged. "Sure. But hey, Sasuke –"

The black-haired looked questioningly at him. Suigetsu reached out and touched his shoulder for a moment. "I just want you to know that I'm on your side, no matter which creepy teachers we have and such."

A shadow of a smile played on Sasuke's lips. "I know."

There were not many things that needed to be said between them. They had been best friends for so long and they understood each other quite well. They started walking in a silent agreement of going back to class, when they spotted two familiar figures come running towards them.

Naruto and Kiba stopped in front of Sasuke and Suigetsu. The two latter stared at their friends who supported themselves against the wall and laughed their heads off.

"What's so funny?"

The only thing they heard was: "Panic – anxious attack – French – Ebisu sensei – homework –"

"Whaaat?"

"We met our French teacher when we were looking for you", Kiba stuttered – "you know, that creepy elite teacher Ebisu. He is so damn scary! I almost died! You know, he gave me that look of disappointment when he realized I didn't understand a word of what he said. Then he started screaming how disappointed he was – " Naruto laughed violently. "I'm so shocked that I can't even -" Kiba and Naruto clutched their heads and continued laughing. Suigetsu tilted his head to the side.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows. "I don't think it's very hard."

"No, because you win the Smartest Student competition all the time! This is different! We are fucking victims of that teacher and his strict way of teaching! I'm seriously drowning in that shit! C'est difficile as HELL!"

"Study some more and the problem will be solved", Sasuke said calmly and put his hands in his pockets. He was rewarded with glares from his unfortunate friends.

"LA FERME! WE WILL END UP IN MENTAL HOSPITAL BEFORE THIS YEAR IS OVER! WE SERIOUSLY CAN'T TAKE THIS ANYMORE! EBISU-SENSEI IS A DICTATOR! DO SOMETHING!"

Suigetsu still didn't understand a thing. "La ferme …?"

"It means 'Shut the fuck up'", Sasuke translated kindly.

"Ohhh, now I see…..! Anyway, my parents scream at me regularly when something goes wrong, so I'm not very sensitive. And they scream at my brother quite often too." Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"And mom is a hell of a bitch when she gets angry", Naruto remembered and laughed nervously, "But still, I think we died. Ebisu-sensei called me a 'worthless nuisance' and he was really angry with us. But when I showed him a picture of a naked girl, he got a nose-bleed! He is a total pervert! I'm gonna call him Pervy-sensei from now on!"

"No shit. Ebisu-sensei only likes teaching the elite, but he is a really weird guy", Suigetsu stated.

At the same moment, said teacher came hurrying towards them as he pushed his black sunglasses further up his face with his middle and index fingers.

"Students! What are you doing here?"

"Can't you see we're studying?" Suigetsu answered innocently. "It's called corridor-studying!"

"Naruto! Kiba-kun! Tell me the six ways of 'I am, you are, he is' etcetera in French!"

Both Kiba and Naruto were panic-stricken and looked wildly for an escape route. Kiba was the one who first spoke up: "Ehhhh…. shit shit shit…My brain just stopped working, I think I need to go to a hospital, p-p-pardon …."

"Worthless scum! I, Ebisu, will only teach the elite! Sasuke! Your turn!"

"Je suis, tu es, il est, nous sommes, vous êtes, ils sont", Sasuke reeled off in two seconds.

"Formidable! Trés bien!"

Naruto pretended to vomit behind his teacher's back. Sasuke looked as unfazed as usual. Ebisu adjusted his glasses again. "Well, I have to get going, Au revoi-"

"Here, Pervy-sensei." The blonde boy held out a porn photography in front of his teacher. Ebisu literally fainted with blood spurting out of his nose.

"Let's run!"

They sprinted back to their classroom. Everybody looked like they just had witnessed an explosion when the four of them entered the room with laughter and excitement. Naruto and Kiba high-fived and got a warningly look from Itachi. Suigetsu and Sasuke sat down and exchanged a happy look.

Everything felt better when he was with his friends. But as soon as Itachi strode over to Sasuke and asked how he felt after his little injury, the mad tension returned.

Sasuke looked down in his book with red cheeks and hoped it was just a temporary thing. But something told him it wasn't.

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Review if you want more! :D

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(lol my French teacher would be proud of me if he saw what I managed to remember xDD)