Welcome to Konoha
Chapter III
By: Morbid Alex (Karasu8)
A/N: Mm, I know, I know! This is most certainly not near my birthday. I feel into another slump, which was pretty scary. It's about three months late, but at least it's here. Right? Right. Still no BETA after all this time, which is lame. Things are pretty cool, too, for once, in my life. That makes me pretty happy, ha. But away from that and back to the story. I'm praying, as I type this, that this chapter will be longer than the previous ones. Oh, and I've edited the other two, to rid myself of some mistakes. I'll probably do the same around Chapter IV or Chapter V for this one, too. Unless, of course, I get my BETA. Please, please, read and review. My reviews are the only thing that are keeping me motivated now - which says something. Thank you, my darlings!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters, but I do own the plot and the fanfiction. I make no money off of this - don't sue me.
They'd stopped in his room, Sasuke putting the phone's reciever back down with a 'click'. A satisfied grin flickered across his face for a moment, before he turned back to Itachi. The elder looked somewhat inquisitive, but said nothing. Surely, he could hear the wailing of two girls on the other end of the phoneline. And, Sasuke was quite certain that his sibling had made many of his own, similar, phone calls. After all, wasn't Uchiha Itachi one of the most popular boys in the college sector?
A chuckle tumbled from the elder Uchiha brother's mouth, and Sasuke found himself easily enraptured with it. He swallowed thickly, wondering whether he was laughing at the quick, emotionless, and total rejection of Haruno Sakura's invitation, or her, and Yamanaka Ino's, reactions to that rejection. Maybe it was both, or something entirely different? He quirked an eyebrow, frowning lightly. "What?"
"It's nothing," Itachi spoke between chuckles, and Sasuke felt a familar, heartless, air to his laugh, "But I must admit, those girls, seem awfully pitiful."
Sasuke stared, blinking slowly, and then shrugged his shoulders. He'd grown far too accustomed to the whines and cries of the female populace in the high school sector. He didn't really care what they thought or how long they cried after he told them "no". Itachi, on the other hand, appeared to enjoy drawing out suspense. He was a tad more...cruel, he guessed, laughing at the reactions these girls had. He was a prince, charming, and everything a girl would want in public, but when he was around his friends and younger brother, things were quite different. Itachi's personality did a three-sixty, and there was nothing much anybody ever did to change it. Sometimes, Sasuke even considered his once-admired brother to be a little too...sadistic.
"Mm, that's mean."
"Should it not be? Didn't you just do something 'mean' as well - telling them, as plain as day, that you wanted nothing to do with their party?" A quick, easily spoken flow of words from the older male's pretty mouth. As eloquent as ever, too, Sasuke noted, mentally scowling. He still couldn't remove his onyx orbs from those lips, that handsome face, and he leaned back against the frame of his bed. Great, just great, another mini lecture from someone who had to be ten times more 'mean' than him.
"You shouldn't do things like that, Sasuke. It isn't right and can ruin your public image. If you do things the proper way, follow the rules with a polite, public-friendly attitude, then it won't appear to be so 'mean'. Do you understand?"
Itachi's eyes locked with his own, but Sasuke swiftly tore his away. He didn't want to look at the elder, to see that malicious gleam that lay within, Itachi's words mocking his own actions. Sometimes, it scared him, and others, it just made his heart pound harshly against his ribcage. This time, it was the latter. Even when lecturing, contradicting his own, private actions, he seemed like a demonic, beautiful angel.
"Shut up, nii-san. You know as well as I do that, even if I do that, somebody's going to be in tears afterwards. I'm not you. I can't hide it and then laugh about it later."
"Why not?"
"Because."
Another laugh, then silence. The sound of the bed creaking, the cheap springs devoid of the college student's weight. Itachi, who'd been perched on the edge of his bed, had stood. He brushed invisible pieces of dust from his clothes, his trendy, slimming black outfit, so similar to his own, but with more of a business edge, and looked at him. Dead in the eye, once more. Sasuke almost, almost, began to fidget. A tight, but real smile spread to Itachi's face. "Time to go eat."
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Sasuke picked at his salad, removing all the tomatoes, and placing them on the side of his plate. They'd gone to a small joint just on the edge of the campus, run by the college sector. They called it the Hoagie Hut, and it was always the place for the seniors from the high school sector and up to go. Undoubtedly, Sasuke, being only a sophmore in the high school sector in the place, was the youngest one there. He continued to pick at his salad, moving the absurd amount of tomatoes, one by one. He didn't even mind the interested expression his brother wore, watching every time the younger moved a muscle.
Tomatoes, considered to be a vegetable by many, despite them being proven to be a fruit, were Sasuke's favorite food. He'd ordered a salad and made sure that the man taking orders, who happened to be his brother's friend Hidan, had it made with more tomatoes than there was lettuce. He remembered the brief scrunching up of Hidan's nose, no doubt thinking about the money that would be lost, and gained, with this order. That man...always thought about money, simple as that.
Slender fingers wrapped around Sasuke's, halting his constant sorting of lettuce from tomatoes. He met eyes, Uchiha eyes, like his own. Itachi held a soft, amused expression on his face, that had to be the opposite of the youth's. He was annoyed by the sudden interruption.
"You're supposed to eat it, not sort it." Itachi spoke in a partial whisper, grinning, and Sasuke wanted to kiss that teasing look right off of his face, but refrained. He glowered instead, huffing, and hastily removing his hand from the longer, larger one. He picked up a tomato and popped it in his mouth.
"I know that," he murmured, still keeping his glare, but lowering its intensity some, chewing on the tomato for a moment. He swallowed and continued, letting out a light sigh. "But I only wanted tomatoes."
"I can see that," his voice was thick with amusement as well, and it did nothing but further Sasuke's discomfort. "But, you can't live on tomatoes."
"Shut up," Sasuke snapped, scooting his chair farther to the other side of their small, white-washed table. He was fuming again, but not at Naruto this time. He was getting frustrated, watching Itachi talk, wanting him to do other things instead, and then lecturing the teenager on what to and what not to eat. And, to top it off, the twenty-something year old didn't seem fazed. It was normal, after all, for the two of them to do this. Didn't all siblings? Well, maybe they didn't think sexually of their older sibling like Sasuke did, but you get the idea. Sasuke slipped another tomato in his mouth.
"Sorry," a lightly spoken, breezy apology, Itachi waving the situation off with that single word and a motion of his hand. He didn't seem upset in the slightest, still, and Sasuke felt his irritation with Itachi's attitude grow.
Not a word, he thought to himself, and maybe then, you can eat without further issues.
While Sasuke was going through to find tomatoes, Itachi was sipping from a cup of coffee. He had a simple coffee cup, about half way full, and a bit of a toast, with jam and butter. He reached for a piece of that toast and bit into the end with only a small 'crunch', staring at the younger of the pair. Funny, wasn't it, how their eating habits were complete opposites? While Sasuke enjoyed tomatoes, Itachi enjoyed plums, but refrained, and had toast instead. He closed his eyes, chewing thoughtfully. Hidan had put plum-flavored jam on his toast. How...thoughtful.
"So, what was it that was causing you to become so angry this morning? Was it that blonde boy?"
"Yes, but it's nothing new. Don't worry about him." A bitter retort, slurred with bits of partially chewed tomato. Sasuke was being stubborn today. Quite stubborn. Itachi shifted in his seat, crossing his ankles. He liked it when the boy was stubborn - it was adorable, or as adorable as Sasuke could be for his age.
"Does he usually bother you, then, or was that a rare occurance?"
"He's a friend."
"And he makes you angry?" Itachi stared, leaning forward, and then took a sip from his coffee cup. Strange, for someone to upset you if they were a friend.
"He's a friend," Sasuke repeated, opting not to speak anymore on the subject. It bothered him - Itachi didn't need to know everything about his life. He was Sasuke's favorite interest, and his brother, but still, he didn't need to know.
There was an exasperated sigh and a shake of the head before Itachi let the subject drop. He moved his attentions back to his toast, finishing the first piece and starting on the second. He'd have to thank Hidan later for this, but was sure he'd also recieve an earful about the cost for this interesting jam. Hidan had his ways of covering up his own human emotions - and it always came right back to money. "How are your classes?"
"They're fine. Naruto and I, the blonde boy, were late to History II. The per...no, Kakashi-sensei, reprimanded us. Although, I'm sure he had just gotten there himself."
The slip, Sasuke nearly saying "the pervert" rather than "Kakashi-sensei", had caught the college student's attention. The corners of his mouth quirked upward some, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, Itachi nodded his head and listened to the other talk about the initial invitation from Haruno Sakura, his math class, and then how her gum chewing annoyed him. It was half an hour later that he realized lunch for the high school sector had started, and seniors were starting to pour into the Hoagie Hut.
"Time to go, I've got a business class to intend," he told his little brother, tone smooth and even, "I'll see you tonight or later tomorrow morning. Maybe sometime after lunch, if I can't make it any sooner."
"Yeah, fine."
Itachi smiled inwardly, thinking about the eyes he felt on his back as he left, brushing past a few senior girls. They squealed and turned various shades of pink and red, but his thoughts were elsewhere. Sasuke was so cute when he was angry.
