Affinity
Rating: T
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a/n: where have I been, where have I been, where have I been?!
what is there to talk about, really? i'm happy. i'm glad everyone is kinda enjoying this piece. i was really worried this would be something people would easily look over. if you see any mistakes, let me know. i need a beta.
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Chapter 4: Mind Bending
The doors to the nurses' room seemed to float open themselves as Naruto approached it with squeaky sneakers. He remembered this time to take a deep breath before entering, or else he'd be blown away by the powerful energy the gems created when he entered Sasuke's vicinity. He not longer had a good reason for visiting Sasuke even on days when he couldn't be sure that Sasuke could be confined to the beds. It was the only time he didn't have to think about the situation; Sasuke would be sitting right in his face.
"Old Lady! I'm skipping class. Let me stay." Naruto said, in a casual shrug greeting that brought Tsunade's lips in a tight line. But as he approached the desk, he found it out of place that Tsunade's irritated glare softened and her eyes brightened suddenly. Before he had a chance to take the seat in front of her desk, she stood up suddenly.
"Naruto," she said, trailing off when her voice sounded crack. She cleared her throat, and then tried again. "Naruto, I can't allow you to be here."
Naruto stiffened. "What?"
"I said, you can't stay." Tsunade said, eyes looking left and right before settling on his face. Naruto watched what looked like pity swirl in Tsunade's honey-brown eyes. His shoulders slumped for a reason he couldn't explain.
"...I know what you must think." Tsunade struggled, and settled for resting a soft hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Granted, it actually took me awhile to figure out what the frequent visits were about. I understand your situation," she flashed him a look, "and I sympathize with it. But under strict rules, I can't help you ignore it this way. Every teenager here has to deal with it. And anyway, I'm not supposed to let students in here who aren't sick."
It pulled a dry smile from Naruto. "Is this all because of Kakashi-sensei?"
"As if I'd ever take orders from that old pervert. He's almost as bad as Jiraiya," Tsunade muttered, pulling her hand back.
Moving as though he hadn't heard her, Naruto dropped his gaze and began searching, muttering, "I'll never be able to see him, if not this way. What will happen now?"
Naruto's eyes slowly drifted around her, in the far back of the room, in the corner with the most sunlight and the best breeze of the outside wind, the fringe of Sasuke's hair brushed up against his sleeping face. He didn't have much time to look, Tsunade had unceremoniously spun the boy around and began pushing him towards the exit.
"I thought you were supposed to figure that one out, gaki."
"If you're kidnapping me to play out one of your homoerotic fantasies, I'm going to kill you now," Naruto muttered angrily, while being prodded in the back by Kakashi's pointy finger.
"I think any homoerotic fantasy I might have certainly wouldn't involve any blondes. Not short ones, anyway," Kakashi hummed in reply, applying a bit more force than before.
It was Naruto's immediate plan to avoid Kakashi as if their conversation never happened, but Kakashi managed to find him anyway. And after craftily challenging him with a failing grade for the report card period, he managed to get Naruto out of study hall and into the dark hallways of the fire escape. He wasn't sure how it all happened, and so quickly, but Kakashi was piquing Narutos' interest far more than he was his fears.
"Once you reach the top, open the door and go inside immediately," Kakashi spoke gruffly behind him. And only after a dozen more steps, Naruto reached for the handle of the door and pushed it open, feeling Kakashi right behind him.
It was the brightest light he'd ever seen, and it immediately blinded him.
"—the hell is this place?" Naruto growled, shielding his eyes immediately with the back of his hand.
"The observatory. It would be the place to take science classes, but somehow I don't think teachers are as motivated as they used to be," Kakashi said with a skip as he gently marched Naruto over to the edge. "In any case, I've locked us in here."
"...Why?"
"Because I'm teaching. Go, look out the window and see."
Begrudgingly, Naruto dragged his feet over to the ledge window, cautiously peering outside. He was only actually half-surprised to see the seventh period gym class out on the track field, split up into various groups in order to exercise. He was only mildly interested in watching—that is, until he caught sight of Sasuke doing jumping jacks.
The air in his lungs dissipated before he could even exhale.
"K-Kakashi!" Naruto gasped, kneeling over. "I have to—"
Kakashi shook his head, and gave Naruto a rough push, shoving him up and against the wall. When he tried to pull away, he became very aware of the fact that Kakashi had him pinned up, by the back of his head. It was impossible to look away from Sasuke now. And his pace for jumping jacks has slowed considerably.
"If you aren't allowed to run away from it, you may learn something."
Naruto growled at him, straining to pull his face away from the glass.
"Sasuke's gem color is white. Hasn't it struck you as odd ever that his color wasn't something common like blue or black or green? This much is true of what you've heard: every color has it's own description and correspondence. In a way, you kids can find out more about each other just through the color of your gems than any first date could tell you. But the system is backwards, it's designed to confuse you about each other, so that you're more likely not to ask questions."
"Backwards? I thought teachers were supposed to be supportive of this."
"Supportive?" Kakashi echoed, with an empty stare. "You have no idea how little on this you can really understand. I am not a supporter of it. I am an enforcer of the rules."
Naruto blinked and tried to close his eyes, and shut everything out. He could feel heartbeat starting to speed up, and realized he was honestly scared. If Kakashi decided to keep him here to lecture him, Naruto's health would continue to deteriorate just from the sight of Sasuke below.
Speaking of...
Naruto peered with a sense of guilt through his eyelids at Sasuke, knowing before being able to see that redness consuming his pale face. One students pats on Sasuke's back. Another grabs his shoulder. Both catch him when he faints.
Kakashi glanced over at the window, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.
Naruto's gaze softened and his heart hammered. "Are you trying to kill the both of us?"
Ignoring the comment, Kakashi started. "The partnership was designed to control every inch of your life, down to your bodily functions. In a way, the gem is you. A more selfish, uncontrollable kind of you...do you know what the white gem represents?"
Glassy blue eyes swam to the edge of the eye to meet his own, and hardened to ice. Kakashi noted the beads of sweat gathering together on the blond's face and arms. He released him slowly, letting Naruto's slump against the window.
"White itself is not a color. It is the manifestation of all colors, and the completion and wholeness of the energy of light. It also represents gestures of openness, truth, and purity."
"None of these qualities are sounding anything like Sasuke yet." Naruto sniffed, eyes refocusing onto Kakashi's face and his bored, one-eyed stare. He'd almost missed the squint of his eye before Kakashi stiffened and briskly walked to the door.
"You hardly know him. If you gave him a chance, you'd be saving his life. And if you let him, he could save yours too."
Naruto sighed loudly, and angrily dug his fingernails into his scalp until the feelings of rawness chased away his thoughts.
Sakura's swig of beer from the bottle had grown from two to ten seconds, if the glassy look in her green eyes was not enough to tell Naruto she was pushing the limit. He had counted the seconds each time she took a break from talking, which was about six sentences before each break.
When he wasn't counting the seconds, he was counting the stars above them.
Usually, Sakura doesn't prefer the company of Naruto so much that she'd sneak him through her house and into the expanse, green backyard her parents never pay attention to. But Naruto is the only one who knows about Sakura's lush tendencies, and will helpfully supply them with cheap and grimy beer for a place to retreat every now and again.
"I figured you'd be too busy for this," Naruto gestured vaguely, "with your whole new relationship and all the drama about the gems."
Sakura snorted. "As if. Ever since my gem matched up with Gaara my life has nothing but a snooze fest. All he does is brood and stare at things, and eat weird organic crap. Since most of my friends have ended up in similar situations to mine, things have almost died down to normalcy. You are just an anomaly, Naruto. And the worst part is, I can't even stay away from him if I tried. It's this feeling, you know? Like I get sick if I'm away for too long."
On cue, she took another long sip, sighing deeply when she pulled her mouth away from the bottle. "I needed this."
Naruto, who was lying on his back and recounting stars, nodded softly. He turned only his head to the side to look at her. "Do you like Gaara?"
Sakura shrugged. "I do and I don't. My heart and my mind will probably fight the idea forever. But I at least I got the whole thing out of the way and didn't end up lonely or the last one to-" She stopped herself suddenly, and hiccuped.
"Oh, sorry."
Naruto waved his hand. "It's alright. I don't mind being one of the last ones. Actually, I hope I don't get matched."
Sakura sighed again slowly and carelessly let her body fall against the grassy lawn. She blinked a few times, driving away the cloudy intoxication from her eyes. "There's something magical about alcohol."
"I don't wanna settle down. Never wanna get married..." Naruto continued.
Sakura paused. Swallowed loudly. "It erases pain, eases doubts, frees inhibitions."
Naruto rolled over fully this time, staring at Sakura's profile until she followed suit. Naruto had only seen this look in Sakura a few times, when they were alone like this. There was so fake smile on her face, her eyes weren't bright like a child with candy, they were muted in color, and swimming with emotion. He chuckled.
"You want me to get drunk from now on to forget this gem bullshit?"
Sakura grinned at him. "I want you to do what feels right, and don't let anyone force you. Seriously Naruto, you were never like one of us. You do things different, find your own conclusions and your own happiness, you always have. You've never needed a piece of jewelry for that."
The smile blooming itself over Naruto's mouth was interrupted when she hiccuped suddenly, sprung up and turned to vomit. Pink mush over a green palette.
He rubbed her back, gave her water to rinse and rink, and gave no fuss about helping her reach her bedroom to tuck her in. The walk home was dark and long, and the papers Kakashi gave him weighed heavily in his pocket. He wondered if what Sakura would make a difference.
He briefly wondered if Sasuke was sleeping well.
sorry about the delay. don't worry, i will tie every end i've created, promise. reviews are love ~
