Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Kushina stood in the middle of the living room, humming to herself as she splattered paint on yet another wacky piece of artwork she was creating. She waved her head from side to side causing strands of her hair to stick to the red and purple substances adorning her face. Her legs moved in rhythm to her low murmurs.
She didn't bother putting down a tarp to protect the cream carpet from the colorful chemicals slowly making their way to the bottom of the canvas and dripping onto the floor. It was her way of reminding Minato that she wanted her own art studio added to the back of their home. No way was she going to settle for the basement. It was far too creepy down there. And besides, it was drafty in the basement. He surely didn't want her to catch a cold, did he?
She beamed at the thought of finally getting her way. He knew when her mind was set on something; she'd do whatever it took in order to get it. Albeit, she never did anything along the lines of being outrageous or cruel to get what she wanted. It just wasn't in her character to do so. She liked to keep things clean and fair. It wasn't like she wouldn't clean the carpet or hire someone to do it for her as soon as Minato agreed to give her what she wanted.
Besides, he knew how stubborn she was before he married her.
She grabbed a new brush and dipped it in yellow before mixing it on her wooden palette with a fiery red, attempting to get the perfect shade of orange. As she lifted the brush up to the top right corner of her painting, her thoughts wondered off to her son. She wondered how he was doing on his first day on the job. Was the child he had to babysit a brat? Would he get along well with the kid? What if the child was a trouble maker? She hoped he was doing well. Then again, she knew he would.
Even if the kid tried to act out, Naruto would put him in his place. He was just like his mother.
She smiled, remembering the week before he was born. She'd asked Minato what he would do if their child turned out just like her: rebellious, outgoing, and stubborn. Of course, he didn't care in the least; he loved all her traits, and he would love his son no matter what.
When Naruto was born and favored Minato's appearance more, they both figured he would end up just like his father. Granted, he was the spitting image of the older man, but as he grew older he acted more and more like Kushina.
Minato had his hands full. But he wouldn't trade his family for the world. And neither would she.
The sound of the front door closing snapped Kushina from her thoughts. She briskly turned around, ready to greet whoever it was. She was a little taken aback when she realized it was Naruto. Quickly glancing at her watch, she asked "What are you doing here so early?"
Naruto stood in the entranceway between the kitchen and the living room, allowing the darkness of the kitchen to hide his face. "Itachi's one badass assistant. He finished up at the office and came home early."
"I see." She turned and continued with her painting. Naruto took it as an opportunity to sneak away to his room and hastily began walking towards the stairs. "I know you're hiding something, Naruto. I could hear it in your voice."
The blond stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. He didn't want his mom to see his face. She would surely overreact about it. He had no doubt about that. "What? I'm just tired. That kid was a handful." He laughed.
'Please don't turn around. Please don't turn around. Damn it!'
She turned around.
"Naruto! What happened to you?" She quickly dropped her brush and ran over to him, cupping his face with her paint covered hands. "Did that boy hurt my baby? Oh, I'll kill him!"
"No, mom!" He immediately cut in, not wanting her to become even more riled up than she already was. His brain started to work overtime as he thought up a good excuse to tell her. He certainly couldn't tell her the truth. Who knew what would happen if he did such a thing? "We were playing hide and seek! I was looking under the door for any signs of movement and he opened it so fast that I didn't have a chance of moving out of the way. He didn't know. It was an accident."
Bless his quick thinking skills.
"Naruto you're so clumsy sometimes. What am I going to do with you?" She continued rubbing her hands around his face, examining the damage. As she did so, the paint caked on her fingers rubbed off onto his cheeks and forehead.
"My eye!" The blond yelped and covered his left eye. He began jumping up and down with his eyes squeezed shut as if it would ease the pain.
Kushina stood back and watched, the panic she once had starting to ease off. "I didn't mean to poke you. Don't be such a baby."
He was a little surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor. One second she was freaking out that he was hurt, but when she caused the pain it was no longer a big deal. "You didn't poke it! You got paint in my eye!"
He slammed against the wall as she ran up to him and grabbed his face once again, trying to pry his eye open. "Mom! What the heck are you doing? Ow!" He shoved her hands away and continued struggling with her, trying to keep her as far away from his injury as possible; which was hard to do since he could no longer see out of one of his eyes, and the other was now watering profusely.
The red head ignored his pleas and successfully pinned one of his arms against the wall, using her other hand to grab at his face. She only wanted to help, and his resistance only made her more persistent. She was his mother; she knew how to take care of him. All he needed to do was settle down and comply. So what if her tactics were a bit unconventional?
As Naruto jerked his head from side to side, trying to keep his mother from poking his eye out, her hand brushed the tip of his nose causing a shock of pain to course through his body. He immediately fell to his knees, mumbling curses through gritted teeth. His mother abruptly leaned over him. "Just be still sweetie, I'm only trying to help you." She grabbed onto him and tried to pry his hands from his face.
They rolled back and forth across the living room floor, pinning each other down then losing dominance and switching places before starting the process all over again. Naruto knew she meant well, but she was just as clumsy as he was. If he let her try to patch him up, he'd end up even more bruised up. Even though fighting with her was just causing the same outcome.
Throughout their quarrel they failed to hear someone entering the house and standing in the doorway, watching their silly predicament break out into utter chaos. Figuring it was time to make his presence known, and end this catastrophe, Minato spoke up. "Will there ever be a day that I come home without you two causing some sort of turmoil?" He raised an eyebrow and watched as both their heads shot up, wide eyed from being caught.
Kushina stood up and wiped off her clothes as she smiled at her husband sweetly. "Our son is injured and he won't let me help him. Maybe you'll have more luck."
Minato looked from her to Naruto, noticing the bruising on his nose almost completely covered by paint. Naruto laid on his back for awhile with his eyes closed, trying to catch his breath, before finally sitting up. As he did so, the top of his head hit the side of the table that held a bottle of Kushina's paint, causing it to tip over and pour onto the top of his head. He groaned as the paint covered his hair and ran down his face onto the floor, but didn't make any effort to move out of the way. There wasn't a point in moving anyway, he was already completely covered.
"I see." Minato kissed his wife on the forehead before walking over to Naruto and squatting down in front of him. "I'll take care of this." He told Kushina over his shoulder as he wiped some of the paint from Naruto's eye with his thumb. He knew that if he didn't intervene and at least act like he was going to help Naruto, the poor boy would end up having to go through even more chaos.
Not that his son needed babying. He was a teenager after all. But no matter how old he got, Kushina would always consider him as her baby boy.
As the red head nodded and walked out of the room, Minato grabbed Naruto's arm and helped him onto his feet. He then led his son to the closest bathroom and grabbed a wash cloth before wetting it and handing it to him. Naruto sat on the sink counter and began wiping off the paint, wincing the closer he got to his nose.
Minato stood back and silently assessed the damage as more of the bruising became visible. "Don't tell me your mom did this? You two weren't fighting over food again, were you?" He lifted his eyebrow and shook his head at the memory.
Naruto laughed and shook his head no as he splashed water on his face and cleaned off the rag. His hair and parts of his face were still covered in paint, but plain water and a rag wasn't going to do the job. He'd have to wait until he took a shower to get it all off. "It was an on-the-job accident. No big deal."
Minato chuckled and walked out the room, leaving Naruto to finish cleaning the rag. When he returned he was holding a frozen bag of peas. "I hope he isn't too much trouble?" He asked, handing his son the bag.
The younger blond took the frozen package and held it against his nose. "Actually, he's no trouble at all…" He drifted off, wishing he could explain that he hadn't really had to deal with Sasuke yet; and didn't know if he ever would. He looked up at his dad and threw the rag in the hamper. "You're home early. Itachi's good, huh?"
"Better than I expected. He finished his work then helped with the rest of my own. It's incredible, really." He crossed his arms and continued. "I told you it'd all work out. You don't have to work as long as you thought."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." True, he didn't have to work as many hours as he expected, but the job was still very bizarre. "So what's for dinner?"
Minato nodded his head in the direction of the peas Naruto was holding. "Bring them to the kitchen when they're thawed. We're having stew."
Naruto ran downstairs after taking yet another shower in order to get all the paint from his hair. He'd taken a quick shower the night before, but failed to get all the clumps out. This time he managed to get most of it out, but still had a few blue strands sticking out in random places.
Opening the fridge, he grabbed a box of orange juice like every other morning and poured a glass, while his mother took out a tray of muffins from the oven. The smell of banana nut filled the air.
Not able to resist the mouth watering aroma, he quickly grabbed one and shoved it into his mouth. "I think I'll eat this morning." He smiled and sat at the table across from his mother.
"Why don't you take one for…? Hmm, you never told me the boy's name?"
Naruto took another bite, remembering what Hidan told him the day before. 'He doesn't eat… Huh… He has to eat sometime, I don't care what that guy said.'
"Sure, I guess I could take him one." He watched as his mom picked up two muffins and put them into a small plastic container. "And his name's Sasuke." Even if Hidan wouldn't let him give them to Sasuke, he could still eat them himself. Since Hidan refused to fix him anything to eat while he was there.
He finished up his breakfast and drank the rest of his juice before standing up. "Thanks mom." He took the container and threw on his jacket.
"You're leaving already?"
"Yeah. I was a little late yesterday. Gotta make a better impression today!" He smiled and ran out the door, not giving her a chance to say anything more. He didn't really care about what Itachi thought of him, not personally anyway. But the muffins had given him an idea. Maybe if he attempted to be nice to Itachi, the guy wouldn't act as creepy around him. If so, his job would be that much easier; hence why he wanted to make it there before Itachi left, so he could offer him a muffin for breakfast. It was a foolproof plan really.
As he pulled into the driveway he sighed and crawled out the driver's seat, noticing Itachi was already outside, walking to his own car. "Itachi!" He waved and ran over to the dark haired man.
"You're early." Itachi opened the door to his car and threw his briefcase in the passenger's seat.
"You're leaving early. Aren't I supposed to be here while you're gone?"
The raven looked at him quizzically before answering. "I suppose so." He retreated into the car and reached to close the door. Naruto quickly stood in the way and held out the plastic container. "My mom made muffins; I figured you might want one before work. You know… Brain food." He opened the lid and held them out.
Itachi cranked the car up and stared at the container as if the baked goods would somehow spring to life and bite him before he scoffed and finally took one.
Naruto grinned and waved goodbye as Itachi drove away. "Have a great day at work!" He added at the last minute before walking into the house.
He didn't bother knocking this time.
After making his way inside and down the main hall, he quickly scanned the area for Hidan. When it seemed as if he was nowhere close, he eagerly rushed towards the room he found Sasuke in yesterday, in hopes that he would be there again today. Once at the door he took a deep breath and pushed it open, a grin plastered on his swollen face.
Noticing Sasuke wasn't there, his smile faded. He groaned and turned around, figuring he might as well walk around the entire house. Maybe he'd get lucky and run into the guy. He wasn't allowed to open any doors, but the brunet had to make his presence known sooner or later.
As he turned the corner and began walking down a small corridor, he heard the faint sounds of whispering. Maybe even a little humming mixed in.
The blond rushed off towards the sound and found himself in front of yet another closed door. Remembering what happened the day before, he carefully leaned close to the wooden slab, staying far enough away from it so he'd have enough time to escape if he had to.
Someone was definitely inside the room, talking and moving things around. After a few minutes of careful observation, Naruto could tell it was Hidan. But no one was saying anything back. So either the guy was talking to himself, or someone was in there with him that refused to engage in conversation.
No matter how much he strained, Naruto couldn't make out anything the man was saying.
Deciding to take a risk, he slowly reached for the handle and opened the door, holding his breath as it squeaked. What he saw next caused his eyes to grow wider than they ever have before and all the blood to drain from his face.
Hidan was kneeling on the floor in front of an old stained mirror. The room was dark besides two lit candles on either side of the man making it impossible to see much of anything.
Unaware that Naruto had walked in, the silver haired man continued on with what he was doing. After mumbling a few incoherent words, he brought his thumb to his mouth and bit down on the tip, drawing blood. He then squeezed a small bit of the red fluid out and pressed his thumb against the floor, drawing a circle around where his body sat. Naruto could now see that Hidan was sitting on what looked like a triangle that was also drawn in his own blood.
The blond stepped back in an instant, silently cursing as he tripped over his own foot. He watched, wide eyed as Hidan's head snapped up to look at the intruder. The man's face was covered in a white substance, with a black dot on his forehead and around his eyes. As he stood up, the blond could see that the rest of his body was also covered in black and white lines.
'What the hell…'
The closer Hidan got to Naruto, the more flustered the boy became. He wasn't sure what to do. Should he apologize for walking in unannounced or run for the hills like a madman? Before he had time to react Hidan was standing centimeters away from him with a maniacal smirk plastered on his face.
"I-I uh…" The blond fumbled over what to say as he backed up until his back hit the wall.
Hidan began to laugh as he watched Naruto squirm under his stare. "You were told not to open any doors unless you were invited in, dumbass." He noticed the bruising on Naruto's face and grinned. Lifting his hand up to the blonds face, he slowly pressed his thumb to the space between his nose and eye. Naruto winced but didn't move. Who knew what this guy was capable of? No way was he going to say anything to piss him off even more.
Hidan pressed down harder as if Naruto's pain brought him some sort of twisted pleasure. When the blond no longer responded, he retreated his hand and walked back into the room. "Be careful of what you do from now on. I'll be out in a few minutes to give you your first task." He explained before shutting the door and leaving Naruto to stare off in shock.
Naruto sat at the kitchen table, pushing his container of baked goods across the table from one hand to the other. As soon as Hidan shut the door and left him in the hallway, he quickly made his way to the kitchen. He wasn't sure what else to do really. What was one suppose to do when they witnessed something like that anyway? He didn't know. In all honesty, he wasn't sure what he saw to begin with.
So here he was, staring off into space while waiting for further instructions. As he waited he contemplated on whether or not to go ahead and eat the muffin his mother gave him as a snack or do as she told and try to give it to Sasuke. He felt he deserved some sort of comfort food after what he saw.
He opened the lid and set it aside when Hidan finally walked in. His hair was dripping onto his neck and his shirt clung to his muscular form. Naruto relaxed with the fact that he'd washed off all the weird makeup but tensed up once again when he sat down across from him.
"Go ahead."
Naruto raised an eyebrow in question.
"I know you have questions. So go ahead and ask what the fuck I was doing."
"Fine. What the fuck were you doing then?" The blond asked, mocking Hidan's tone.
The grey haired man laughed and snatched the necklace from around his neck, dangling the pendant above Naruto's face. "This is the symbol of Jashin; the God of my religion. I wear it everywhere I go." He took the necklace and sat it down on the table. "It's expected that all followers of Jashin bring nothing less than utter destruction and death." He smirked at the shocked look in Naruto's eyes and suppressed a snicker. "Now I couldn't very well go around killing people and starting fights all of a sudden. Itachi wouldn't allow it. The last time he bailed me out he swore he wouldn't do it again. And since we no longer live in Japan, neither of us have as many connections as we use to."
Naruto tried his best to keep an emotionless face as he listened to the man's ramblings. Was he confessing to murder? Or just trying to freak him out? If he was, it was working.
"When a Jashinist isn't allowed to kill, they are expected to pray for forgiveness… What you saw back there was a ritual. I was asking the bastard to forgive me."
The blond leaned back in his chair, studying the man's face for any trace of lies. "You injured yourself and drew a circle with your own blood…"
"Well did you want me to use yours?" Hidan snapped.
Okay, so maybe he shouldn't start questioning Hidan so soon. "No." He stood up, figuring it was best to act like nothing happened and change the subject. His plan to become this guy's friend just wasn't going to work anymore. At least not anytime soon. He would just have to avoid the guy as much as possible for now. Otherwise, he didn't know how much longer he could keep all of this from his dad. "Where's Sasuke? I have something to give him."
"You're early." He picked up his necklace and tied it around his neck.
"Im aware. Where's Sasuke?"
Hidan glared and continued his last statement. "You're early. He's busy."
"So what if I'm early! What the hell could he be doing?"
"He's always busy at this hour, dumbass. You can't talk to him so how do you expect to give him anything?"
Naruto picked up the container and began to walk off in search of Sasuke by himself when Hidan reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Now's not the time to grow a pair. I could easily make up a week's worth of rituals by getting rid of you."
The blond glared and forcefully pulled his arm away. Hidan looked at the container, eyeing its contents. "I told you he can't eat that."
"He has to eat sometime."
"It's not that he can't; he won't." When Naruto looked at him in confusion he continued. "I told you he was busy… He's knocked out. We have to feed him somehow." He stood up and grabbed the muffin, shoving it into his mouth as Naruto verbally protested. "Come on." He started, as he pushed the blond forward and began walking towards the back of the house. "You're gonna find out everything sooner or later anyway."
Naruto followed Hidan into a small room that looked somewhat like a tiny doctor's office. It had everything from band-aids to an MRI machine. His eyes quickly focused on the bed that held a seemingly unconscious Sasuke. The raven haired boy was connected to a heart monitor among many other things. An IV with fluids was connected to his right arm while a food drip was connected to the other. Now he understood what Hidan meant by they had to feed him. But why? Why wouldn't Sasuke eat anything?
He slowly walked over to the bed, examining the boy closely for the first time. His face was clammy and his clothes were drenched in sweat. Naruto looked up at Hidan in question.
"It's the meds. They cause his temperature to rise, but it's for his own good."
"What if he's in pain? This has to be doing some sort of damaged on his brain…"
"Like that matters. He's already fucked up." Hidan snapped as he walked towards the door. "He'll be like this for another hour. You can stay until I get back. I have a few errands to run, but when I come back you're helping me out with some things. Don't touch anything and don't try to wake him up. Got it?"
Naruto shook his head and watched him leave. When he could no longer hear Hidan's footsteps, he opened the window in hopes that a small breeze would help cool down the room. He then made his way to the sink and wet a handful of paper towels in ice cold water and brought them back to the bed. He rubbed Sasuke's cheek with his finger so see if he'd get a reaction; when he got none he placed the damp towels on the boys forehead.
It pained him to see someone in this condition. Sasuke looked so helpless and alone, just lying there. No one should have to live like that.
Naruto sat down on the bed and looked down at the brunet's face, his eyes filled with sympathy. "You're not alone, Sasuke. Not anymore."
Author's Note: Dun dun dun! Longest chapter I've written so far! Are you proud of me or what? Cx I had to do some major research on Hidan's religion in order to get this chapter done, so I hope you guys like it. But of course I had to tweak it… Kind of a lot… Since no one can be immortal in the real world 0.o Eh. Anyway, I'm not sure if this chapter should be rated M or not. I mean, I don't feel like it should, but then again I'm not sure. And I don't want it to be taken down. Hm.
