Chapter 7
"So, do you also think Sasuke is ready to join the club officially?" Neji asked Shikamaru, looking at him. They were in the house, Neji sitting onto a couch and Shikamaru leaning against the wall. Neji still had his sheets around him, still feeling a little ill.
"I think he is. It seems as though he is ready." Shikamaru said. "I have to admit though, it's a little mean of you for leading him on like that right?"
"Perhaps it is, but it was the only way to get him." Neji said. "I don't like to do it this way either, but, like I said, it was the only way. He's too good to be true for the gang, he's perfect."
"True, true." Shikamaru said nodding. "Still. He likes you a lot. Anyone can see that. And he also-" Shikamaru wasn't able to finish his sentence as the door was thrown open and Sasuke came storming inside. He pulled Neji off the couch and pushed him against a wall.
"Did you think this was fun?!" He snapped at Neji.
Neji frowned deeply as he stared at Sasuke, in shock.
"What are you doing?" He then snapped, as he pushed Sasuke off of him. What on earth was wrong with Sasuke?
Sasuke just pushed Neji back now.
"What am 'I' doing!?" Sasuke yelled. "You were the one who kept me away from Itachi! What was your gain in this hm!? Thought you could get me in your little gang!?"
Shikamaru meanwhile went to get the others. This was getting out of hand.
"You have no idea what you're talking about." Neji hissed, as he just pushed Sasuke away again. "And don't get near me." He snapped.
"Oh 'now' I shouldn't get near you huh. 'I' have no idea what I'm talking about? Let me tell you that I just met Itachi. Yeah, my brother. And he knows you, you asshole. Was it fun for you? Did it excite you? You are a worthless piece of shit and I'll kick your ass for doing this." Sasuke snapped.
Neji frowned. Shit. He already feared this would happen. He just thought the chance was too small. But it did happen after all. This was bad.
"I know that you won't believe me if I try to explain it anyway." Neji said.
"No I won't because there is nothing to explain." Sasuke snapped. "You wanted me in your gang so you thought you would just 'not' tell me about my brother. You would just lie to me about everything. Well you know what, you failed."
"I know." Neji said. "Now I suggest you to leave. Within ten minutes, the whole gang will be here. Touch me and you'll get it back at you twenty times as hard."
"Oh really now? What if I'll just kick your ass and then leave before they get here huh?" Sasuke snapped. He then grabbed Neji and connected his fist with Neji's head. Hard.
Neji let out a groan as his head snapped to the side, and his vision became blurred. He then just restrained himself and hit Sasuke in the stomach as well.
"I t-told you to not touch me anymore." He snapped.
"Tough luck." Sasuke snapped back. That hit didn't hurt so much. He then kicked Neji in the stomach, hit him in the face and pushed him down to the floor. He hit Neji's head against the ground twice and then got up. He pulled Neji up as well, by the hair this time, and then started hitting him in the stomach over and over.
Neji coughed and then managed to kick Sasuke off of him, and hit him on the head so he fell down onto the ground. Neji then gripped his own stomach, gasping.
Sasuke groaned but was quick to get up and then hit Neji in the face again, then threw him to the floor.
"Next time you try to lure someone in, think twice." Sasuke spat at Neji and then gave him one more kick, before leaving the house through an open window. He was done with Neji.
A little later, Sasuke arrived back at Itachi's house and he knocked on the door. He had been crying all the way back, and he hoped Itachi wouldn't notice. His eyes felt puffy and his face red, but he would just pretend nothing happened.
After a while, Itachi opened the door.
"Hey." He said. "..Are you OK?"
Sasuke just nodded as he waited for Itachi to ask him to come in. He didn't wanna talk just yet, afraid his voice would sell him out.
"You can come in." Itachi said. He then frowned. "..Are you sure you're OK? Your eyes are red."
Sasuke shook his head this time.
"... I kicked his ass.." He softly said.
"...You don't regret it, do you?" Itachi asked, as he mentioned Sasuke to come in.
"... I fell in love with Neji before I found out about this.." Sasuke said. "I guess I'll go again." Itachi would probably not tolerate him being gay.
"...What?" Itachi asked, highly confused right now.
"Nothing. I'm gay so I'll leave." Sasuke said.
"Sasuke you're my brother." Itachi said. "I accepted you living on the streets, and I also accept you.. falling for men. You can't help it."
Sasuke kept silent now, looking away.
"... I knew it was stupid.. It wasn't even Neji's fault, 'I' was the one who was leading myself on.. It was obvious he didn't like me back."
"How was it obvious then?" Itachi asked, frowning.
"..He didn't want to kiss me, he didn't need to know anything about me.. He never answered my questions when they were about him liking me.." Sasuke said shrugging.
"That's hard." Itachi said, frowning. "He really played with you emotions, did he?"
Sasuke shrugged once again.
".. I was just stupid." He said bitter.
"But.. you're in love with him?" Itachi asked, frowning even deeper.
"I was.. I am.. I don't know." Sasuke shook his head. He really had no idea anymore.
"Well.. let's get you something to eat first." Itachi said, sighing, as he walked towards the kitchen.
Sasuke nodded as he followed his brother.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"For what?" Itachi asked, as he was gathering ingredients he had carefully moved out of sight into closets.
"..For everything. For being a streetrat, for being in a gang, for being gay.. just everything." Sasuke answered.
"I don't mind Sasuke." Itachi said. "I'm happy to have you here. I've searched so hard to find you and here you are."
"Yeah but I'm not what you expected right?" Sasuke said, sighing.
"I expected you to be dead, so this is a lot better." Itachi said, smirking a little.
Sasuke looked at Itachi and then looked away.
".. A lot better then being dead hm."
"Sasuke." Itachi said, sighing. "It was a joke. I like you. I don't care about you living on the streets or whatever. You're my brother."
"But I don't fit in your life. You're rich and you have manners and you're... well.. straight. I'm just scared that I won't live up to your expectations from me." Sasuke said.
"I'm your brother and not your father." Itachi said. "If you want me to teach you manners, I will. If you want a job, you can work at my company. But if you don't want all of that it's fine as well."
"Of course I want that." Sasuke said. ".. It's not about me wanting to be with you or not, it's about you. I might be your brother, but I'm sure you expected someone a lot different from me."
"I didn't have expectations." Itachi said as he shook his head. "In this time, you can't expect things like that."
Sasuke shrugged now.
"..So you don't mind me being who I am?"
"No, how many times do I have to tell you that?" Itachi asked, bringing up an eyebrow, while he was cutting some meat.
"Not once more now." Sasuke said and smiled at Itachi. He was happy that his brother 'was' everything he had expected. Everything he had hoped for at least.
"Good." Itachi said as he gave Sasuke a kind smile. "I hope I can be a good brother for you."
"You already are." Sasuke said nodding. "The best."
"Thank you, let's hope I can go on like that." Itachi said, laughing a little. "So, tell me. How was life in the orphanage? Did they even look at you?"
"Not really." Sasuke said shaking his head. "It was horrible. I had to be home before eight and they expected me to make money. In the mean time all my friends were adopted and I stayed behind."
"They didn't abuse you, did they?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke shrugged.
"They hit me and stuff if that's what you mean. But they said it was normal."
"It is, in orphanages." Itachi said, nodding. "But they shouldn't."
Sasuke shrugged.
"I can handle it. How did it go with you?" He asked.
"The same." Itachi said, while he was preparing the food further. "They hit me and sometimes locked me up in a small room."
".. I'm sorry." Sasuke said, not knowing what else to say. "When did you end on the streets?"
"I think around the age of nine." Itachi said. "I was very young."
"When did you find that job then?" Sasuke asked.
"I think around the age of ten." Itachi said. "I was very lucky to bump into that guy."
"You were." Sasuke said nodding. He then was silent before he asked his next question.
"..Do you remember our parents?" He asked.
"A little." Itachi said, frowning. "But not a lot. I can't even imagine anymore that we had parents."
".. I was too young to know them anyway." Sasuke said. "I wish they had just raised us though."
"You didn't hear why they put us there?" Itachi asked, lifting up his eyebrows.
Sasuke shook his head.
"They didn't tell me anything about where I came from and why. Like I said, I heard about you a month ago and even that was just because I heard them talking."
"They were killed." Itachi said with a sigh. "Friends of them brought us to orphanages. But because I was so much older then you, I was placed in a different orphanage."
"... So who killed them? And why did they split us up? I mean, who cares you were older. How much older are you anyway?" Sasuke asked frowning.
"I'm six years older." Itachi said. "I don't know the name of who killed them. But I heard it were those street gangs again."
"..Oh." Sasuke said. "Hey, did you ever have a girlfriend?"
"No, I've only been busy with my own company." Itachi said, as he shook his head. "What about you? And then I'm talking about boys of course."
"No I don't have a boyfriend." Sasuke said, thinking back of Neji. But he quickly shook that thought away. "Don't you want a girlfriend?"
"Not really." Itachi said, as he shook his head. "I'm not into those things yet."
"Yet? But you're already an adult." Sasuke said confused.
"I know, but does it mean that when you're an adult you immediately want to have a relationship?" Itachi asked, while pulling up one of his eyebrows.
"No, but it mostly means that you would be into those things." Sasuke said. "Do you even enjoy being around women?"
"Depends." Itachi said, shrugging. "Not sexually at least." He was almost done cooking.
"..And men?" Sasuke asked as he smelled the food. It smelled really good.
"Not either." Itachi said, as he shook his head.
"..So do you intend on staying alone all your life?" Sasuke asked.
"For now I am." Itachi said, nodding. "But I'm still young, I have a long life to go, so I have more then enough chances to marry in the end after all."
"I guess... Well I'll just have to stay with you then, so you won't get lonely." Sasuke said and smirked.
Itachi snorted.
"What about you?" He asked.
"What about me?" Sasuke asked.
"What do you plan on doing?" Itachi asked, as he was putting the food onto two plates.
"..What do you mean what do I plan on doing?" Sasuke asked, staring at the food. It looked just as good as it smelled.
Itachi sighed now.
"What do you plan on doing in your future?" Itachi asked as he walked towards the table in his living room. "Do you plan on being together with someone and build up a life?"
Sasuke was silent as he thought of that question. If he was truly honest, he had been planning on nothing at all. He hadn't even expected himself to come so far, he had expected to have died years ago.
".. I don't know. I don't have a plan for the future." He answered.
"Well, then you should get one." Itachi said, as he sat down at the table, smiling a little. "Now you're here, you can build up a life."
".. I guess.. I wouldn't know what to do though. I sure as hell don't ever wanna fall in love again, that's for sure." Sasuke said.
"You fell in love with the wrong person." Itachi said. "That's not a reason to never want to fall in love again."
"Well it was the first person I ever fell in love with, so I don't wanna do it again. And I won't." Sasuke said.
"That's your choice." Itachi said, nodding. "Well, let's eat before it gets cold."
Sasuke nodded as well and then took a bite.
"Hmm.. this is great." He said, with his mouth full.
"Don't talk with your mouth full." Itachi said, as he started cutting his meat. "And before you start eating, you say 'have a nice dinner'. It's also common to let the one who cooked take the first bite."
Sasuke stared at Itachi for a while now.
"... Sorry.." He said as he put his fork back down. He then quickly swallowed.
"You wanted me to teach you manners, right?" Itachi asked, and then took his first bite, while chewing carefully.
"... Yeah.. But I didn't think I was this unmannered.." Sasuke said, waiting for Itachi to tell him he could eat.
Itachi nodded, as he swallowed.
"It doesn't matter." He said, while he was using a handkerchief to dab away the food that had come on the edges on his mouth. "You can eat now. Do you know how to use the cutlery?"
"..I know I can cut my meat Itachi. I lived in an orphanage, not a zoo." Sasuke said and then started eating, trying to be as mannered as possible. It felt a little weird though.
Itachi smirked.
"In my orphanage we had no cutlery." He then said. "And most people don't even know how to hold their forks."
Sasuke looked at Itachi while eating, then swallowed.
"So how did you learn how to be mannered?"
"I paid close attention to the way my teacher was eating when he had guests." Itachi said. "Then he was the most neat. And my teacher was very neat overall, so I quickly took over those habits."
"Who was your teacher?" Sasuke asked curious.
"I'm sure you don't know him." Itachi said. "He's dead for three years now."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Sasuke said and then silently ate his dinner. "The food is really good."
"Thank you." Itachi said. "And don't worry about it. He was old." He continued eating as well.
"OK." Sasuke said and then both of them ate their dinner. When they were done, Sasuke spoke again.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked.
"Of course." Itachi said, nodding, as he was once again using his handkerchief.
Sasuke looked at it and then used his as well.
"What would you have done with Neji and that gang if you had been in my place?" Sasuke asked.
Itachi looked at Sasuke and then sighed.
"That's difficult." He said. "I think I would've called the police for revenge. And probably having let out all my aggression on Neji. Having wished for him to suffer. But that's not a good solution to your problems of course. It's not a good way of handling a situation."
"I did that. And beside, I don't wanna call the police... I would go to jail if I did." Sasuke said. He really started to wonder if Itachi was gonna put up with his murders as well.
"And if you told them you were forced to do those things?" Itachi asked.
"I wasn't forced. I did it because I was stupid and because I wanted Neji to like me." Sasuke answered. "And even if I was forced, I still did it. You don't even know what I've done."
"Like I said, I know those gangs." Itachi said. "You probably did horrible things. But you're forgetting that I'm here too. The police knows me, and you could say they have a very good image of me. If I choose your side and tell them you were forced, there will be no problem. No matter which crimes you committed, it was about life and death."
Sasuke was silent now. He knew that if he had truly wanted to have Neji pay for what he did, if he truly didn't care anymore, he would have taken Itachi up for that offer. But that wasn't the case.
".. I still can't do that." He said.
"...You don't want Neji to be in jail." Itachi said, understanding what Sasuke meant.
Sasuke nodded.
"I know it's stupid... I guess I'm still leading myself on in some way."
"You can't help it." Itachi said. "I think the boy just got some charms."
"Apparently." Sasuke said. "But I don't want to talk about this anymore. I wanna get to know you. Everything about you."
"Alright." Itachi said, and took a sip of his water. "We need to catch up. A lot."
