The end comes in two parts: first, with the arrival of a new boy. Then, with his departure.
It starts like this:
It's February of their seventeenth year. Bitterly cold—most days they spend huddled together with their hands stuffed in their pockets, breathing each other's air, wondering why winter refuses to let up.
Fugaku's got them on patrol, watching out for any of Orochimaru's boys who keep wandering too close to this side of town. It's been happening at lot lately, and Naruto isn't sure he likes the implication.
Orochimaru's been quiet these last few years. Not calm, but quiet. He hasn't stirred any pots or ruffled any feathers in quite a while. But he's on the move again, from the looks of it, so Fugaku's not taking any chances.
The lot of them are giddy, for the most part. Excited to be left in charge of something so important. "The vanguard" Shikamaru dubs it one afternoon, breath puffing around him like his cigarette smoke. Kiba snorts, looking to the white-gray sky with a slight squint.
"You think he's really leaving this to us? Yanno, like, for real? Or do you think he's got someone watching us to make sure we don't fuck it up?" Kiba asks no one in particular. Choji purses his lips, rubbing his hands together to get feeling back into them.
It's Sasuke who answers instead, face turned away as he scans the streets for any shifty looking people.
"He's got someone watching us." Sasuke says lowly, lighting his own cigarette. He then looks to Kiba from underneath his lashes. "He always has. They aren't supposed to interfere unless things get out of hand."
Naruto swallows down a disbelieving scoff, doubting the validity of that. There are plenty of things that they've done that got way out of hand, but no one saw the need to step in then? If that's the case, what does Fugaku consider to be "too far?".
Honestly? He'd rather not find out.
"Well, why can't they take care of it? I'm freezing to death over here." Choji whines, making them all smile.
The scarf wrapped around Neji's mouth muffles hus words slightly, but they can still hear him. "Just a little longer, Choji. Then, we can get hot cocoa. Hinata's making it."
No one can argue with that. Hinata makes the best cocoa. A worthy prize after standing in the cold for hours.
"With marshmallows?" Kiba asks, sounding so young and hopeful.
A rarity, these days.
To sound hopeful.
Neji chuckles, his eyes warm. "If you want." He replies.
It's Naruto who spots him first. Only because his eyes have been fixed on the same spot as he listened to the others and their idle chatter.
Walking from the direction of the station is a strange boy. He looks tough, confident: wild eyes, hair the color of ice, a smirk that says he knows more than you ever could.
Naruto instantly dislikes him, and he can't put his finger on it.
"Who's that?" He hears himself asking without meaning to, jutting out his chin in the boy's direction. "I haven't seen him around before."
They always notice kids their own age. There's rarely people who move into this town voluntarily, so they try to be friendly to new faces as not to run them off. Or, Naruto does. He's outgoing, so befriending teens isn't hard for him. The others only do it for "recruiting" purposes.
Sasuke looks in the direction of the boy, brow furrowed. He takes a long drag of his cigarette before shrugging nonchalantly.
"I don't know." He says simply, and that's the end of it. Sasuke looked him over and didn't care for what he saw; there was no light in his eyes, no inflection in his voice to signify any interest. They've all gotten good at decoding Sasuke's non-speech, his ticks and hints. Naruto can tell immediately that Sasuke couldn't give a shit about who this boy is or why he's here, so they'll leave him alone.
Naruto smiles softly while ducking his head, relieved. In the past few weeks, Sasuke's slowly started to come back to himself. Less random outbursts or unprovoked attacks. He's thinking things through again: months ago, he probably would have beaten the boy to a bloody pulp for no reason at all, just to say that he could. Now, Sasuke looks away and goes back to surveying, the boy forgotten.
If only it would have stayed that way.
Three days later they see him again. This time, he's walking straight towards them, raising a hand in a slight wave.
Shit.
Naruto looks to Neji out of the corner of his eyes, not surprised that the other boy is looking to him already. They're tense and unsure, not certain that this will end well. Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji instantly notice their apprehension, adding their own to the mix as they straighten their backs and prepare for the worst.
"Who are you guys supposed to be?" The boy says with a chuckle, looking them up and down in a way that makes Naruto bristle like a cat. "Are you in a gang or something? Is that why your scarves match?"
Naruto can't help but look down at himself, noticing the Uchiha fan stitched into his scarf that Mikoto did by hand. It's totally normal for them to be emblazoned with the Uchiha crest and colors, so he didn't really notice that all their scarves are the same today.
To someone else, an outsider, such things would hint at a certain affiliation. It's more obvious when their jeans jackets or bombers match, but their coats are different styles so they never customized those. But the fans on the scarves aren't very big. In fact, you'd need to be standing right in front of them to notice such a minor detail so quickly.
Naruto notes for later that the boy is very observant.
And a bit reckless, to ask them something so blatant and bold in the middle of the street, even if their affiliation is an open secret.
Naruto quickly looks to Sasuke, unsure how he'll react. He's ready to jump into action in case the new boy ends up in a headlock or with his arm yanked back, just shy of the point of breaking.
Hey, it's happened before.
But all Sasuke does is chuckle, almost like he was caught off guard. He raises an eyebrow and smirks, asking goodnaturedly: "And what if we are?"
The boy's jaw drops slightly and he swings his eyes around to look at each one of them, face colored with disbelief.
"Oh shit, seriously? I was totally joking! That's fucking awesome!" He says, excited like he's found a new, favorite show.
After, they see him a lot. He goes out of his way to speak to them—hanging on to their every word like he's impressed with everything they do. They chat for a while about random things; the town, the school they all attend, whatever's on their mind, and then he's off; he leaves with an obnoxious wave that's only a little endearing. Simple, normal interactions. It seems like the boy just wants to be friends with them, and strangely, Sasuke's the most open to it.
Naruto doesn't get it.
The boy's name is Suigetsu. They find that out after their second run-in. He isn't from here. He doesn't know their ways, hasn't taken the same pledge that they have, hasn't lived the horrors that they do on the daily —but suddenly he's everywhere and Sasuke allows him to stay.
Naruto's confused about the why of it: Sasuke doesn't make new friends and doesn't like outsiders. Suigetsu falls under both of those categories, but for some reason, Sasuke allows him to stay.
Naruto can't help but ask about it weeks later, trying to sound nonchalant and only vaguely curious instead of—well, he's not sure what he's feeling.
Apprehensive? Hm, probably. Wary? Most definitely. Violently jealous that Sasuke's paying so much attention to some random boy he's only known a few weeks?
That's a hard maybe.
Sasuke shrugs, propping his head up with his hand as he lounges on the couch in Shikamaru's living room.
"I don't know." Sasuke says simply, jaw cracking as he yawns. "There's something about him. Potential. I'm thinking of bringing him in."
Shikamaru blinks, brow furrowing quickly in confusion before he schools his face back into a blank mask. Kiba looks at the side of Sasuke's face like he's grown a second head. Choji looks to the ground, probably to hide his surprise, and Neji's mouth pulls down into a thoughtful frown, but he says nothing.
Well, that's new, Naruto thinks.
Sasuke barely trusts anyone outside of his immediate circle, so for him to already consider Suigetsu as worthy, that's —
"Okay." Naruto says, too shocked to say much else.
He knows better than to argue, anyway. Sasuke will dig in his heels if he hears protest, especially if his mind is already made up. Naruto doesn't feel like fighting because he's not super against it per say, but there's something off about Suigetsu. Odd. Wrong. But he can't vocalize it like he wants to, so he'll let it go for now.
The others bring it up when they're waiting for Sasuke to arrive one day, late as ever. Shikamaru's got his arm crossed, tapping out a silent beat with his fingers. Kiba's got a thoughtful look on his face, Neji's ignoring all of them while texting a mile a minute, and then Choji's clearing his throat to get their attention.
"I don't like him." Is all Choji says, curt and forceful. They don't have to ask who he's talking about.
"Thank fuck." Kiba sighs heavily. "I thought I was the only one."
"Hardly." Neji scoffs without looking up. "He's strange."
"More than strange," Shikamaru concours lowly, blowing a frustrated raspberry. "Too...overzealous? Clingy? Attentive? He wants something, I just don't know what it is."
Naruto feels less childish now, like he was throwing a fit because he didn't want to make new friends. If the others noticed — so much so that they dare to talk about it even though Sasuke could show up any second—then that means there's something there, right?
"It's weird how calm he is about the whole "gang" thing, you know?" Choji mutters. "And it's weird how Sasuke let's him get away with saying whatever."
"Yeah, when he came up to us that first day I definitely thought Sasuke was gonna break his nose for daring to make eye contact." Kiba muses.
Neji snorts, finally looking at Kiba with eyes full of amusement. Kiba shrugs theatrically, shaking his head with a smile.
"What? I know you all were thinking it, too. We all know that like, 75% of Sasuke's personality is going overboard. I'm just calling it like it is."
Yet somehow, they still love him to death.
"What do you think, Naruto?" Shikamaru asks. He know that they all noticed that his commentary was absent. Naruto catches a flinch, wary of being the center of attention.
One word from him and they'll never stop talking about it. Or, if he shuts them down and tells them to leave it alone, they will.
He's not sure which is the better option, at this point.
"Sasuke's coming." Naruto notes instead, looking over Neji's shoulder. "Suigetsu's with him."
"Of course he is." Choji mumbles quietly, but that's the end of that.
The others draw themselves up, trying to look casual and like they weren't just talking shit.
Sasuke notices their awkwardness immediately, narrowing his eyes and looking between them.
"What?" He asks, mouth falling into a slightly confused frown.
He hates being left out.
He's not the only one.
"Nothing." Naruto says calmly, face blank and still. And because it comes from Naruto, Sasuke instantly believes it.
B.
The first time Naruto catches Sasuke doing cocaine, he freaks the fuck out.
Drugs aren't something they do. Never have. Save for run-of-the-mill weed, the occasional pill or two, and of course cigarettes and alcohol, but those barely count.
They definitely don't make that jump to fucking cocaine on a whim. So, Naruto can only assume it's not a whim and instead that it's basic, simple persuasion.
Because Suigetsu's there too, laughing up a storm at the look on Naruto's face when he walks in on them, already high off his ass. Sasuke chuckles too, holding out the pipe to Naruto in offering. Naruto can't even form words—that's how pissed and disappointed he is—so he hits a three-point turn with his feet and gets the hell out of there.
By the time he makes it to Neji, he feels like he might cry. Or scream. Or both.
He's pacing as Neji sits on the bed, watching him wear a hole in the carpet.
"It could be a one time thing, Naruto." Neji tries to reason, even though he looks equally disheartened. "This doesn't means he's going to get hooked on drugs."
"You know he's not well, Neji!" Naruto exclaims. They don't have a name for whatever mental illness Sasuke has yet, but it's apparent that he has one. "Who knows what this will do to him? The last thing we need is for him to be more unpredictable than he already is!"
Neji, for all his words, can't refute that. Probably because he was thinking the same thing, but he's smart enough not to drive himself crazy with all the possibilities.
Naruto can't relate.
The second time he sees Sasuke doing it—or about to, but we'll get to that in a second— the others are there to witness it, too.
They're in Naruto's room after a pretty lazy afternoon. They only went to school for a half day and needed time to kill before dark. Kushina's at work, so they're alone, and that's probably why Sasuke feels bold enough to pull out the offending material from his bag.
He never would, if Kushina was home.
She's scarier than all of them combined.
"Whoa." Kiba says with an awkward chuckle, choking slightly on his drink. "Since when are we doing that?"
Choji's eyes widen and he looks around, trying to see if everyone is surprised as he is.
Neji frowns, grunting out a pointed: " Sasuke. " Like he can't believe he has to deal with this. "You can't be serious —"
Sasuke can't say anything before Naruto's springing up, incensed, looking down at Sasuke like he's completely lost his mind.
"No," He hears himself saying. Is he yelling? It feels like he's yelling. Shit. "I think the fuck not. You're not doing that in here."
"Naruto—" Sasuke sighs, rolling his eyes like it's not a big deal. But it is, and Naruto's not going to pretend it's not.
"If you want to do it so bad, get out. Go somewhere else." When Sasuke blinks at him— and the others do too. What, is it so goddamn shocking for him to stand up for himself? Tch. — he doubles down, nearly growling out a bold, very spirited: "I'm dead serious, Sasuke. Get the fuck out."
"Dude," Suigetsu breathes, stilling smirking in that annoying way of his. "Chill, it's—"
"You can go, too." Naruto interrupts, pointing to the door. He's not going to let this slide. He means business. They're not going to bring this shit into his house without asking first. There are boundaries and it's high time that Sasuke started to abide by them.
Sasuke stares at him, cold and closed off like maybe he doesn't even recognize Naruto's face. His heartbeat picks up at that, fearful for only a second that Sasuke might do something to him. But he doesn't. The other boy stands up, grunting a clearly pissed off: "Okay. Fine."
He makes his way to the door, not breaking eye contact with Naruto as he's about to exit with Suigetsu on his heels. Then, he stops, throwing a look over his shoulder to the others still sitting.
"C'mon, then." He says with such fierce finality that the others are scrambling up to follow. Naruto blinks, failing to cover his hurt when Kiba won't look at him, when Shikamaru breezes passed him without a apology like he usually does, when Choji wrings his hands together in nervousness but he still won't get involved.
Neji doesn't move, legs still crossed together as he sits on the floor. He meets Sasuke's challenging look with one of his own, one far more venomous than any of them were prepared for. Naruto sees the moment that Sasuke realizes that he crossed a line, but he's far too prideful to admit it.
"I'm good here." Neji says calmly, voice betraying nothing of the storm in his eyes. "See you later."
"Whatever." Sasuke mumbles, leaving with his entourage quickly and quietly. Naruto flinches when the door slams, sighing as he cleans up the paper plates strewn around the floor from their lunch.
Neji says nothing, but it's not like he expects him to.
No one likes being wrong.
The third time, they're at a party. Sakura's party, to be exact. One she threw just for the hell of it, since they're juniors and they can do whatever they want.
Naruto hasn't talked to her in awhile—not because he didn't want to. Moreso because they've all been busy and she doesn't run with them anymore, so he sees less of her.
It was awkward at first, when he explained that he and Sasuke are sorta-not-really dating. She took it in stride, told him she was happy for him, and then told him to watch himself.
"Sometimes you're certain he loves you, and other times, you're absolutely sure that he doesn't." She says sagely. Naruto hates that he knows exactly what she means.
Especially since the last few weeks have been hell. Sasuke's flown off the handle again, acting wild and violent. Naruto feels like he doesn't know who he is anymore and Sasuke looks like he's waiting for Naruto say something, anything—to tell him to stop , that it's enough, just so Sasuke can scoff and tell him to quit being such a pussy about it.
But yes, they're at a party and Naruto's had a few beers. He gets giggly and attention-starved when he's drunk, so if course he seeks out Sasuke in the hopes of a subtle cuddle.
They haven't been widely open with their relationship. If you can call it that. They aren't exclusive and Sasuke does whatever he wants—or whoever, when the mood suits him. Naruto can't call him his boyfriend. They're friends who occasionally fuck. That's all, that's it. And then Sasuke goes and fucks someone else but god forbid Naruto do the same.
He hasn't tried, for fear of what would happen.
But it isn't weird for Naruto to hang all over Sasuke. Onlookers wouldn't find anything strange about that, since Naruto's one of the only people allowed to touch Sasuke freely. No one would figure out that their relationship has changed just because Naruto wants a hug.
But he doesn't get it, mainly because Sasuke's already wrapped up talking to Suigetsu, laughing at his lame jokes, nursing the same beer as he hangs onto the other boy's every word.
One look into Sasuke's eyes and Naruto can already tell that he's high. Probably has been for a while, from the looseness of his body and the rapid, excited tone that's wildly foreign coming out of Sasuke's mouth.
(One more look—a simple glance, so very fleeting—just observing them for a second, and Naruto just...knows. He fucking knows , but he can't say anything. He doesn't have the right to be mad about it, because Naruto never told him that he couldn't.)
Naruto tries to subtly pull him to the side, just to talk, because he hasn't had the chance to all night. No, that's not right. It's been days since the last time he spoke to Sasuke privately, even longer since there wasn't a strange sense of discord and awkwardness surrounding them like a shroud.
It's been tense with the boys since they think Naruto's pissed at them for leaving him behind, for clearly taking sides. Don't get him wrong: he totally is, but he hates feeling distanced and left out so he's willing to let it go.
He just wants things to go back to normal. If that's even possible at this point. If any of this could be called "normal" in the first place.
Sasuke shakes off his hand before Naruto can get a word in, huffing like he's annoyed. Naruto tries his best not to take personal offense, but he's pretty sure he fails. Pretty sure his free hand fists into a ball and his teeth grind as he fights not to curse him out.
"I'm not in the mood, Naruto." Sasuke says. He didn't even know what Naruto was going to say!
"Sasuke—" He tries, even though he knows it's not going to work.
Sasuke pulls Naruto close by grabbing his bicep, looking into Naruto's wide eyes with all the clarity he can muster.
"I'm gonna say this as nice as I can, okay? Fuck off." Sasuke hisses, pushing Naruto back hard enough for him to stumble, but not enough to hurt him.
Not physically, anyway.
Sakura notices this even though she was caught up in another conversation with a partygoer nearby. She blinks, her smile slipping ever so, eyes growing apologetic as she watches the exchange.
Naruto can't look at her. He doesn't know what to do, so he spins around and storms off. He doesn't tell anyone that he's leaving and doesn't say where he's going. He just leaves, shaking so hard that he has to stop and punch a wall before he explodes.
Jiraiya treats his hand gingerly when he gets there, wrapping it in gauze just tight enough for it to stop the bleeding, but not enough for his hand to ache.
The old man watches him like one watches a loose dog: carefully, warily, mindful of it's bark and it's bite.
"You wanna tell me what happened?" Jiraiya asks gently, handing Naruto a cold glass of water. This town is lawless, but he still won't let Naruto slide with underage drinking. Not on his watch.
"It's not like you to lose your temper like that."
"Nothing." Naruto says, too angry to say much else. That's all his efforts have amounted to, right?
Nothing.
Jiraiya leaves him alone after that. Let's him sit in the corner and brood until it's closing time, shaking Naruto's shoulder as he started to nod off.
"Time to go, kid." Jiraiya says, ruffling his hair. Naruto grunts, but welcomes the touch. "You want a ride home?"
"Nah, I'm good. I'll walk to clear my head." he replies, yawning.
He's going to get chewed out for sure. first by his mother and then by his friends for not telling them where he was. The party's gotta be winding down or over at this point, but he's positive that the others noticed he was gone hours ago. He's not going to look at his phone or respond to any texts, though. He's going to shut up and fuck off just like Sasuke wanted by going straight home.
"If you're sure." Jiraiya replies, voice filled with uncertainty.
"It's okay. I'll be careful." Naruto assures. He can take care of himself. He always has. Just because he's upset doesn't mean he's lost his sense.
"I know you will." The older man says, and that's the end of that.
He bundles up his coat tight after they finish their goodbyes, stuffing his hands in his pockets to fight the bitter cold. The walk back from Jiraiya's is short—always less than fifteen minutes, depending on how fast he's going—but he doesn't quite make it into Uchiha territory before a sleek, black car is pulling up beside him, window rolling down slowly.
Shit!
All Naruto has is a small knife. That'll do fuck all if he's about to get shot. He panics internally for a few seconds before the window comes down entirely, ready to run at a moment's notice.
Nothing happens.
He finds himself blinking, incredibly confused because he was certain that he would need to run for his life, but he's only staring back at one Kabuto Yakushi as he leans his head out of the car.
"Naruto." He says, voice betraying nothing, "You look cold. Want a ride?" He asks.
No way, Naruto thinks. No way in hell.
He doesn't like Kabuto, for obvious reasons. Doesn't speak to him or find himself near him for those same, exact reasons. Why should he start now? It's not like this is some friendly offer anyway: Kabuto does everything on his uncle's request. Everything. Naruto doesn't think that there's been one time where the boy tried thinking for himself, so hungry to inherit Orochimaru's throne that he'll lie, cheat, and steal to get it.
That kind of dedication isn't surprising. Not in the least.
Naruto does all those things on the daily.
"No thanks." Naruto says. "I need the exercise."
Kabuto doesn't relent, smiling softly at him. It makes Naruto uneasy because he doesn't think Kabuto's face is supposed to do that. It's too gentle and wholly unsettling.
"But I need to talk to you," Kabuto insists. "It's important."
"What could we possibly have to talk about?" Naruto scoffs. He shouldn't be entertaining this, but he is.
This is dangerous ground. Kabuto knew just the time to catch him, like some freaky sixth sense shit. Right when Naruto's pissed and questioning everything.
"I heard you all made a new friend." Kabuto says, raising a brow at whatever face Naruto makes in response. "Suigetsu, right?"
"And why do you know that?" Naruto questions, feeling uneasy. About which part, he's not sure.
Is he upset that Kabuto knows about what they've been up to, or is he upset that he'd dare imply that Suigetsu is Naruto's friend?
Maybe both.
"You should probably get in the car." Kabuto says, voice so stern and serious and Naruto can't help but oblige, looking around to make sure that no one's watching him ride off with the enemy.
He sees no one, no one at all, so he sighs and gets in the car.
…
"You're fucking kidding me." Naruto breathes, anger threatening to lash out, directionless, because of what Kabuto just told him.
"I'm not." Kabuto says, sighing heavily. "I'm sure you see why that's a problem, don't you?"
Of course he does. Suigetsu is one of Orochimaru's many nephews. Nothing is more surprising than that.
Violent, childish and unpredictable. That's how Kabuto describes him. Naruto wants to add "professional actor" to that, because he hasn't shown any of those qualities to him and his friends so far. They just thought he was weird. Odd. Something was...off, and none of them knew why.
Now Naruto does.
Fuck.
"Why has he latched onto Sasuke, then?" Naruto demands, mind running through countless possibilities. "He knows that we're at war, right?"
"Careful, you almost sound jealous." Kabuto teases. At Naruto's murderous look, he hastily explains: "He's rebelling. He was never considered to one of Uncle's heirs. He doesn't have the temperament for organized crime. Suigetsu thought Uncle would change his mind when he got older but he hasn't, so now he's lashing out."
"By hanging out with the Uchiha?" Naruto exclaims, incredulous. "That'll get him killed before it gets him promoted."
Kabuto snorts, shaking his head. "You would think, wouldn't you? But he's one of Uncle's favorites—" He hisses it like the words burn his tongue. "—so he gets away with plenty that the rest of us couldn't dream of."
Naruto can relate to that, can't he?
Tch.
"So what do you want from me?" Naruto asks. Kabuto wouldn't be telling him shit unless he thought he could benefit from it.
Kabuto crosses his legs, adjusting in his seat. He looks at Naruto over his glasses and smirks, absently fiddling with his nails.
"He's slippery and...overambitious, to put it lightly. I suspect that he's only getting in good with Sasuke so he can take him out later. Then he'll show it off to my Uncle like a prize, as a way to prove himself. You don't want that, do you? And I don't want some weak little shit potentially taking my spot. Do you understand what I'm getting at?" Kabuto drawls, tilting his head as he waits for Naruto's answer.
Naruto blinks, absorbing Kabuto's words. This is terrible, what the other boy is implying. But this is the life they live. Cutthroat and ruthless.
He'd destroy the whole world to protect Sasuke. No matter what's happened between them—what keeps happening between them— that fact won't change. He can't let a threat like this go unnoticed, but if he brings it to anyone else, they might say he's jealous just like Kabuto did.
And, when we really get down to it, Naruto doesn't want his spot taken either.
As fucked up as that sounds.
"I'll make sure that he's where you need him to be and I won't ask what you plan to do to him." Naruto says, sounding colder than he's ever heard himself. "If you get caught, you never saw me and we never agreed on anything, alright?"
They can work out the specifics later. Naruto just needs to get out of here, already regretting agreeing to this.
Kabuto grins, eyes crinkled up like he's pleased. "Of course, Naruto." He says, lightly. "I knew I could count on you. Out of all of them, you always had the best eyes."
Naruto doesn't know what he means by that, and he won't dare ask.
C.
They don't hear from Suigetsu for a few weeks. One day he's there, yucking it up with the crew, and the next day, he's gone. Poof, just like that, he's —
Gone.
Naruto calls Neji in a panic after the third day, speaking gibberish as he breaks down. Neji rushes over, skipping the door so Kushina doesn't get alerted, using Naruto's tiny bedroom window to slip in and surrounding Naruto as best he can.
"Tell me what's wrong." Neji asks, voice deceptively calm even though he's freaking out, too. He's always hated seeing Naruto in a state, hates that he's usually powerless to stop it, and Naruto hates that he always puts it on Neji to carry all of his emotional weight.
"I fucked up." Naruto manages to get out, gripping Neji for dear life. "I fucked up so bad and I don't think I can take it back."
Is he crying? Is he making any sense? He can't tell.
"I—" He begins, ready to bare it all.
Neji pulls away sharply, grabbing Naruto's face to get him to focus. He shakes his head hard, staring deeply into Naruto's eyes.
"Don't tell me." He says fiercely. Naruto hiccups a sob but manages to nod. "If it's done, If there's no changing it, don't tell me. That's what Fugaku-san always says. Take it to your grave."
He wishes that he could. He prayed that it would stay buried, but it didn't. Of course it didn't. When does Naruto ever get what he wants?
But speaking of want, Naruto isn't thinking clearly. He's too raw, too open, too afraid and desperate for comfort that he surges forward and kisses Neji before he can stop himself.
He expects to be punched, or for Neji to shake his head in that disappointed way he does when Naruto's acting like a fool—but that's not what happens. Neji looks at him, eyes wide, silently asking for permission in their quiet language. Naruto nods, eyes fluttering closed when Neji kisses him again, sighing when he finally gets to card his hands through the other boy's hair.
Damn, it's even softer than he thought.
They don't talk about it, after.
How far they went.
Best not to advertise that when things are already so tense.
Sasuke's constantly in a bad mood. He's annoyed that Suigetsu disappeared without a word, just like that. Naruto forces himself to shrug casually, feigning innocence. None of the others were overly attached to him so they shrug it off, too.
Life goes.
Naruto finds himself confused, unsure what he should do now that he's gotten involved with both Sasuke and Neji. They already fight over him enough as it is. They'd probably kill each other if they duked it out in the hopes of winning Naruto's affections, too.
He can't bring himself to call things off with Sasuke—if they were even on to begin with—but he can't help but to be drawn to Neji as well.
He's known them both too long. How they are on the inside, how thoughtful and gentle they are in quiet moments.
Worst of all, he knows how they both fuck.
So there's that.
Ahh, what a mess.
Naruto expects for it to come to a head—the long looks, the secret touches, the jealous glares — all from Neji's end. Sasuke's none the wiser, paying more attention to Naruto now that his shiny new distraction is gone. Sasuke starts showering him with affection, buying him things, paying for his meals again. The attention is nice, but—
Naruto doesn't think Neji will be able to take it much longer.
He was never one to share.
Then, it ends like this:
One night they're meeting at the new safehouse. A tiny loft above a plain, innocuous deli, gifted from Fugaku to Sasuke in a vote of confidence right after his 18th birthday. The old man thinks he's getting better. No, that's not right. Sasuke hasn't sent anyone to the hospital in weeks so Fugaku has to show that he's proud somehow, right?
The deli is Sasuke's to run. He can do whatever he wants with it, so his first decision is to make the empty upstairs a cool place for them to hang out, away from their parents prying eyes.
Neji and Naruto meet there first. Naruto felt sick all day so he didn't go out with the boys earlier, and Neji had personal business to attend to so he didn't, either.
It's awkward, being just the two of them. Naruto tactfully avoided the subject as long as he could, but now Neji's looking at him from the sides of his eyes—borderline pleading—and Naruto feels so fucking guilty but he grabs Neji and kisses him anyway, crowding into his space like he's trying to meld them together.
"Thank god." Neji sighs between kisses. "I thought I pressured you before."
"No," Naruto says, trying to steal the air from the other boy's lungs. "Trust me: I wanted it."
It feels all types of grimy to do this in Sasuke's new place, but he can't help himself. Neji's hands are all over him and Naruto considers throwing caution to wind so he can drop to his knees and blow Neji like he's wanted to since they first hooked up.
A door opens downstairs, startling them. If they weren't so trained to notice such things, they wouldn't have heard it. Neji pulls away sharply, giving Naruto a look that screams of promise later, taking the time to smooth out his rumpled shirt and clear his throat.
Naruto does the same, counting down from ten to ease his excitement. He sits on the couch to seem casual, pulling out his phone to distract himself as they wait for Sasuke to come upstairs.
The others are probably with him, too, so Naruto hopes that no one will notice anything out of the ordinary. Just in case, he crosses his legs to hide his crotch from view as he wills down is growing problem.
Neji puts on his best smirk, ready to welcome the others when they come in, stopping only to send a slightly amused, secret look to Naruto at the last second.
Naruto grins back, feeling stupidly giddy, tingling all over from the warmth in Neji's eyes.
A bullet comes through the door, finding its mark in Neji's right shoulder.
Naruto's head whips to the door, then back to Neji, watching in horror as blood blossoms on his friend's shirt like a budding flower. There's air stuck in his throat from the shocked gasp he pulled in, so he can't shout, can't scream, can't say anything as Neji stumbles back, absently reaching for his wound.
Naruto springs up, tackling Neji before another bullet is fired and embeds itself in the wall behind them.
Neji groans, grunting against the pain, but Naruto couldn't care less. If he hadn't acted just then, Neji's brains would have been sprayed all across the floor.
Naruto drags him behind the couch, ducking other shells as they're fired off in rapid succession. He knows that Sasuke's hidden a gun in here; probably the same one he had in his room at the Uchiha compound. A black, high-powered handgun, meant for protection. Naruto thinks this counts as trying to protect himself so he racks his brain trying to figure out where it would be.
"Naruto," Neji says quietly, dragging him from his thoughts. "Run."
"I'm not going to fucking leave you, dumbass." Naruto hisses back immediately, making Neji smile, both amused and pained. "I just need to find—"
The door gets kicked open before he can move, thunderous boots making their way over the threshold.
Fuck.
He looks up and sees boys his own age. Kids, really, but their expressions are black and their eyes are dead, so he knows they won't hesitate to kill him. There's a set of twins—they're fucking eerie and they move like one—and a giant brute of a boy who looks like he eats little kids for breakfast.
The odds aren't good.
Shit.
Suigetsu strolls in after them, eyes wild. Naruto damn near swallows his tongue when he sees him, shocked beyond belief. He's pretty sure he gasps but he can't be sure, struggling when Suigetsu's hand snakes out and starts to drag him from behind the couch, muttering nonsense as he does it.
There's a fresh burn climbing up his face, an obvious sign of torture that he endured very recently. It's grotesque and it looks extremely painful —staring from the temple and curving down underneath his chin to hide beneath his collar.
It looks like someone held his face to a hot stove, leaving him there even as he screamed and sizzled.
Naruto swallows thickly, grimacing when Suigetsu tugs his hair back so he can look into his eyes.
He leans in close to Naruto, hissing lowly; "I know I was you, you fucker. You never say shit but your eyes don't lie."
Naruto can't say anything, can't make sense of that before Suigetsu's punching him with his free hand, knocking the wind out of him. He coughs, trying to raise a hand to protect himself but then one of the other boys is grabbing his arms and yanking them back, just shy of dislocating his shoulders.
Naruto grunts, trying to keep eye contact with Suigetsu so he won't focus on Neji. He's not sure how far the other boy is planning to go, but he doesn't want Neji to be a part of it.
It's obvious that Suigetsu's high on something. His pupils are blown wide and he keeps losing focus, so that makes him even more unpredictable right now. There's nothing that Naruto can say to make this right, Nothing at all, but maybe he can try to calm him down.
"Sui—" He tries, earning himself another punch. This one's hard enough to have his ears ringing, disorienting him.
Suigetsu chuckles wildly, shaking his head. "Shut the fuck up. You don't get to talk." He points to his face, finger shaking as he makes Naruto look at him. "You see this shit? This is never going to go away. Never! I'm gonna look like this for the rest of my fucking life!"
He takes a shuddering breath, gazing at Naruto with all the hate he can muster. "I should just kill you."
That's fair. Naruto can't really argue with that, to be honest.
"But I have a better idea. You're gonna get one, too." He finishes, nodding to himself like he's a genius.
No.
Nonononono.
Fuck.
Naruto struggles harder, trying to get away, but he can't move with his arms held and the knee pressing into his chest. Suigetsu straddles his middle, looking down at him with a crazed smile as he pulls a knife out of his pocket.
"How should I do it?" He mumbles to no one in particular. "Ooh, I know! Do you want to know?" He asks Naruto, forcing him to nod his head like he's agreeing.
"I'm gonna make you some whiskers! Sasuke said you were sly like a fox and you know what, I can see totally see it! Isn't that cute?" At Naruto's terrified silence, he laughs loudly, wiping away an imaginary tear.
"I'm gonna cut you now, okay?" Suigetsu says, way too calmly for what he's about to do.
"Plea—" Is all Naruto gets out before the first cut to his skin.
It burns. Worse than anything he's ever felt before. The scream that forces its way out of his throat sounds awful to his own ears, but he can't stop. Neji manages to drag himself over, shouting Naruto's name, but then he's being held down too by one of the other boys and forced to watch.
"Don't worry," Suigetsu says, admiring his handiwork after he finishes the first cut. "You're going into shock. You won't be able to feel it in a moment."
That's a lie. Naruto feels the whole thing.
He's not sure how long it takes, lost in a haze of pain and blood.
The fourth cut is deeper, noticeably so. Suigetsu adds more pressure as he switches cheeks, maybe unintentionally, lost in his mania as he is.
Naruto gasps, choking on the blood that starts to enter his mouth, doing his best not to move too much so he doesn't end up with a permanent cheshire smile. It'll be hard enough to look at himself after this is over—if he's allowed to live —but he doesn't want to get his mouth sliced open, too.
He manages to look to Neji, too beautiful for words, the other boy quietly sobbing silently into the floorboards as he watches on. They make eye contact for one short, torturous moment—Naruto can barely see him through his tears but he clearly makes it out when Neji mouths that he loves him.
Oh.
Okay.
He's really going to die, then. Good to know.
But he doesn't. As soon as Suigetsu finishes the last cut the calvary busts in, lead by Kiba. He swings his trusty bat, catching one of the twins in the side of the head hard enough for them to hear a crack . He falls and doesn't get up again, no doubt concussed.
Shikamaru descends on the other twin who's holding Neji down, twisting his wrist until it breaks, hitting him with flurry of punches that Naruto couldn't hope to keep up with.
Choji tackles the bigger boy who was holding Naruto's arms, punching him in the throat before he has a chance to defend himself.
Suigetsu pulls his gun and points it at Naruto's head right as Sasuke gets to them, cocking it in warning.
"Don't touch me." He hisses, recoiling from Sasuke's murderous gaze. "I'll shoot him. I swear I fucking will."
Naruto's afraid.
Not for his own life—He's already resigned himself to dying. He might even prefer it at this point — No, he's afraid for Suigetsu and afraid of what Sasuke's going to do.
He's never seen Sasuke's eyes so empty. Flat, lifeless. This is the angriest he's ever been and it shows. Naruto can't hear the scuffle behind him anymore. Too focused on the way Sasuke's mouth twists and his fists clench.
"Sa—" He starts to say, voice hoarse and quiet.
Stupid. He should've known that'd set him off.
Sasuke looks at him for a single second, pupils dilating wide. He looks like a demon, and Naruto can't catch his flinch when Sasuke kicks the gun from Suigetsu's hands, shocking the both of them, landing a punch on the side of Suigetsu's face that's hard enough to knock him clear off Naruto's form.
He lands in a heap, spitting blood and the remnants of a tooth, staring down at it like he's not sure what he's looking at. He looks up to Sasuke, flinching back at what he sees in the other boy's eyes. Suigetsu scrambles up and runs, taking off through the darkened door and hitting the stairs two at a time.
Idiot, Naruto thinks.
Never show your back to a beast.
Sasuke takes off after him, stopping only to grab the bat that Kiba dropped after he landed the first hit. Naruto tries to protest, throat croaking with garbled words. It takes three tries, but he manages to get his feet underneath him.
Shikamaru's putting pressure on Neji's wound with one hand, talking rapidly into his phone as he calls an ambulance. He notices Naruto trying to go after Sasuke, grunting out a stern: "Naruto—!"
"Stay with Neji." Naruto slurs, feeling lightheaded. Kiba and Choji are too busy securing their attackers so they aren't quick enough to stop him, either.
He stumbles down the stairs, stopping every few steps to catch his breath. He uses his shoulder to push the door open at the bottom of the stairs, looking around into the black night for Sasuke and Suigetsu.
They didn't get far.
Suigetsu's on the ground, leg bent oddly. Naruto realizes that Sasuke must have hit him with the bat from behind, shattering his knee. Naruto swallows, forcing himself to walk forward to calm Sasuke down.
Suigetsu's dragging himself backward, trying to escape, shaking his head as he stares into Sasuke's eyes.
"You d-don't understand," Suigetsu stammers, holding his hands up to shield his face. "He—"
The first crack echoes so loudly that Naruto has to fight not to throw up. Suigetsu screams, hands hovering over his second broken knee. He looks up—the fear of God in his eyes, black fear and red-hot pain turning his face an array of colors— catches Naruto's gaze as he stumbles up behind Sasuke, silently pleading for help.
Naruto can do nothing. Nothing at all. He raises his hands to grab the bat, yelling at the top of his lungs for Sasuke to quit it — but he's not quick enough.
Or, maybe Sasuke just can't hear him.
Not when he gets like this.
Naruto realizes, coldly, that Sasuke isn't going to stop.
Oh.
Suigetsu takes the bat to the jaw, blood flying out of his mouth as more teeth find their way onto the pavement. Sasuke swings again. And again. And again.
Again, again, again—
Naruto's pretty sure he's crying. Hot, ugly tears. Not like the ones the movies. He's tugging on Sasuke's arm, digging his feet into the ground, desperately trying to stop Sasuke from beating someone to death right in front of him. He can't cross this line. Not right now, not for Naruto.
Suigetsu's crying out with each blow, his blood staining the street: first with random splatter and then with a slow puddle around his face.
Naruto's vaguely aware that Kiba and Choji have joined them—Choji's pulling at Sasuke's middle in an almost hug. Kiba's got Sasuke's other arm and his face is ashen gray. They're both shouting too, joining in with Naruto's raucous yelling.
There's a crowd forming, watching them. The people —neighbors, shopkeepers, random faces that he sees everyday. They're staring. They look horrified, scandalized, deeply disturbed and afraid. But none of them move. None of them try to help. They stare and cover their mouths with their hands, but no one's willing to get involved.
Because they're afraid they'll be next, when Sasuke's done.
Naruto feels his hands go limp, his body giving up. Something deep inside him breaks— his very core aches and he can't breathe. Sasuke finally looks at him— first at Naruto's hands that aren't holding him anymore and then deeply in Naruto's eyes.
Naruto wishes he could say he was surprised when he sees—
Nothing. No light of recognition, no realization of what he's doing. He looks at Naruto but he really doesn't see him at all.
All Naruto can hear is the sound of wind going passed his ears. There's sirens in the distance, Kiba and Choji are still shouting, Suigetsu is still softly begging for his life.
(The fight's mostly left him. It won't be long.)
—but Naruto can't hear any of it. All he hears is Sasuke's hand tighten on the hilt of the bat, his teeth as they grind with resolve. The small breaths he takes as he rears up to swing the bat again. Naruto watches. feeling loose and sluggish, as he brings it down one final time.
Suigetsu's head snaps to the side with one loud, final echo. .
He doesn't move again.
Naruto isn't sure how long they stand there, staring down at his body. Kiba and Choji have quieted, horror robbing them of their voices. Choji's holding himself around the middle now, while Kiba runs a shaking hand through his hair, muttering a heartfelt: "Fuck, fuck, fuck." Every few seconds.
Naruto takes a step back, looking at Sasuke with empty eyes. He's never been so scared in his life. He doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know what to say.
But it doesn't matter. Sasuke looks at him, eyes flooding with terror-filled realization. He drops the bat, flinching when it clatters on the ground, reaching out to Naruto abortively.
"Naruto—" He whispers, tears pooling in his eyes like a flash flood.
"You need help." Naruto declares, more serious than he's ever heard himself. Black closes in on his vision since his adrenaline has all but dried up, and Sasuke reaches out just quick enough to stop him from crumpling to the ground.
It's chaos, after.
That's the only way to describe it.
