FINALLY wow this is really the longest chapter so far by a lot. Sorry that it took such a long time, but this time of year is just spazzing in my face... drama production next week and exams and writing... Too much... So about the chapter - I actually edited it this time (and i edited the last chapter and updated it sorry for not editing toute de suite) and lots happens. This chapter needed to incorporate the rest of the two week holiday, and there is just so much tension it's insane. Please don't throttle me for updates cos I really am working very hard at the moment.
7 – Thinning Blood
Civil war. Sasuke gazed wearily out the window and watched as the aerial acrobats dive-bombed one another in an all out war to occupy the tiny perch. The sparrows would grip onto the plastic stand and take a few quick beakfuls of the nutritious seed while snapping their heads back and forth. Suddenly, a brown blur of feathers would flap them off and take over the prime feeding spot. And only a few seconds later, this one would be sent rocketing away as the were smashed off by the beating wings of another. At times, the poor plastic feeder would be shaking violently at the centre of the dogfights. Smaller birds gripped dangling vines that were hanging from the garden arch, waiting for a chance to sneak in without putting it up to the noisier ones. Miserable creatures. All of them.
It was only yesterday that the group had arrived at the lake, and the snake had already managed to dive down and prove himself worthy of the fox's friendship. Naruto had been so excited once they returned to the villa. He wanted to stay up with Sasuke all night, catching up on all the good times that they had both missed with each other. However the raven went straight to bed after eating dinner all alone in his room. It wasn't because of the filthy looks he kept receiving from Sasori and Tobi, or the petty swipes from Deidara that sent him to bed, though. To put it in the simplest terms, he was totally worn out. The world seemed to be spinning around him for the remainder of the afternoon, and even when the entire group all sat out in the garden until dinner, Sasuke only sat in expressionless silence. But when he tried to sleep that night, it just wasn't working for him. Because that image – one he'd be dreaming of for so long – was real now. The way Naruto had looked with that pendant hanging from his neck to Sasuke was… godlike. The raven wasn't generally interested in touching himself. But the cold shower wasn't making it go away.
So the next morning the raven was sitting on the window seat in self-disgust. Just sitting in the hall, waiting for the servants to call them down for breakfast. It was only six thirty in the morning, though. Breakfast wasn't going to be ready until nine. And it was at six that his bare feet made contact with the chilled spring grass as he crept out to the back garden with the birdseed and a bucket of water. Jeans rolled up his shins; he took the bird feeder from the archway and sat at the top of the lawn with his bucket and bare feet and shitty feeder. He scrubbed it clean as the sunrays began to reach like fingers stretching into the dull sky, illuminating the fluffy white clouds. A smile crept across his face as the swishing water caught some of that radiant orange light. The first sunrise he'd ever seen was when he turned six. He and Naruto were so excited about a gift Sasuke had been given by his mother on his birthday – a mechanical train that ran on rails – that they stayed up all night long, playing in the garden and the treetops.
"Sasuke," Naruto had whispered, as the red sun began to pour over the hills, "we'll be together forever. We're even better friends than bestest friends."
"Dobe. You can't be better friends than best friends," Sasuke had muttered in reply, frowning at the boy.
The raven sighed as the wind ran gentle hands through his hair. As often as he wished he could change time, he knew it was impossible. Powerless. He was powerless as time changed him into a different person. Just the fact that positive memories were making him bitter made him snort in self-hatred. Glaring menacingly at the sunrise, and totally unaware of how the pinks and oranges swam in his black eyes, he sloshed the feeder out of the bucket and poured in a sea of seeds, screwing the lid back on tightly. He hung the birdfeeder back on the rusty nail and emptied the bucket into a bush, before stomping damply back indoors.
The sun was well up when the birds discovered their breakfast, and it warmed their feathery backs even as they fought over the food. But if one of them had glanced up to see the cold, intimidating man staring down at them from the window, they would've frozen solid and fallen out of the air with a loud clunk.
"Sasuke?" The raven looked over his shoulder to see Gaara tiptoeing around the corner. Only in his boxers, the boy was just making a quick trip to check on his friend. He wasn't expecting to find Sasuke sitting out in the hall. "Are you okay?" he asked, taking a few awkward steps closer. The snake narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. Do I look sick?"
"No," Gaara replied, looking slightly relieved. Sasuke put down his legs to give the lizard room to sit with him. As they sat together in the crisp morning light, the redhead regarded the raven with suspicious eyes. "You've been outside," he stated, gesturing to Sasuke's grassy feet and damp pants.
"Hn. There's no fooling you, is there, Gaara?" he muttered, turning his gaze to the sparrows. "I know what you're thinking – that I should be happy that Naruto has decided to accept me. And of course, I should be happy that his attitude is so supportive." Sasuke paused, waiting for the redhead to object to or affirm his assumption, but Gaara only watched. "And I am, obviously. But… I don't want to just be his friend. I just don't know what to do."
"You feel powerless," said the lizard, patting the snake gently on the back of his white shirt. "It doesn't matter. Worry about that later."
"But…" Sasuke shot back to Gaara with a glare. "I want some control for once. Going with the flow… that's just not me at all."
"You aren't weak," Gaara said, holding in a very deep sigh. Too often they had had this discussion. "And power is overrated. You hold too much faith in your father's words."
"Ts!" hissed Sasuke, scrunching up his nose in disgust. "I don't listen to that bastard. What the fuck, Gaara?"
"Yes you do," the redhead contradicted. "Just be with Naruto. You'll be happy soon."
As Gaara left Sasuke alone on the window seat again and the sun climbed higher in the sky, the raven found his lids growing heavy again. Maybe Gaara was right. There was no use dreading what would come of all this. He was being a little like Shikamaru; worrying about what'd happen if things didn't go the way he wanted. Confess.
"Are you asleep?" Sasuke's eyelids fluttered open to see a blurry orange and yellow figure leaning over his face. The raven blinked. Naruto's smile burnt into his retina as the now brilliant sun reflected off his olive skin, and his hair shone gold like straw in the summer. His cute whisker marks curved the shape his cheeks made as he grinned down. "I was looking for you."
"Hn," Sasuke grumbled, blocking his eyes from the light with the back of his hand. "Dobe. I haven't gone anywhere."
"Right. I knew that. But aren't you the dobe? You have a room, you know. You don't have to sleep out here."
"Ts," Sasuke muttered, pulling away his hand to frown at the smirking fox. "I didn't spend the whole night here. And I wasn't asleep, anyway."
"Okay, well just so you know that you have a room. Hey I had a good idea last night." The raven raised an eyebrow at the pride on the playful boy's face.
"Oh really?" he drawled, sitting up and rolling his jeans back down his chilly legs.
"Really, teme," Naruto drawled back mockingly. "I was thinking we should celebrate for the New Sasuke!" Brushing down his shirt and pulling himself swiftly to his feet, Sasuke sent a venomous glare towards the innocent and well-meaning blond.
"Nani, Naruto? Usuratonkachi!" He crossed his arms irritably as the fox's bottom lip began to droop. "Firstly; there's only one me and that's that. Secondly; a celebration where we play 'everybody hates Sasuke' is contradictory. Face it – I hate your friends as much or more than they hate me."
"What? They don't h-" Naruto began to insist, but the snake shot him down with a single cynical sneer. "Well… that's because they only know about the Old Sasuke. But I knew the Old Old Sasuke, so they don't see it the same as I do."
"Usuratonkachi…" he grumbled again, trying to think of a worse idea than celebrating with those apes.
"Then how about this – let's just you and me celebrate." A spark of delight appeared in the fox's blue eyes as Sasuke paused. Even if only fractionally, his half lidded eyes seemed to widen. "That sounds like fun, doesn't it? How about we celebrate at the end of the holidays? We can hang out and I'll bring a bag of tomatoes or something." The raven's lips tightened as he looked darkly toward the puddles of sapphire. Narrowing his eyes didn't seem to wipe away the smile on the blond's face.
"Hn," he sighed, gazing away forlornly. "If you want."
"Good. The last Saturday then," the fox said, his smile fading as the raven let out another sigh. "What's wrong, Sasuke? You should be happy."
"Ts. You sound like Gaara," said the snake, smiling slightly at Naruto. "I just want things to work out."
"Oh, so you're worried…" the blond said, placing a thoughtful finger on his lips. Sasuke's face flushed.
"Nothing like that! Dobe!" he cried, glowering at the laughing boy.
"Sasuke, you're so funny. I missed you so much." The blood returned to his face faster than it had left.
"Yeah, you too…" mumbled Sasuke, who was now as red as a tomato. "I have to get into some dry clothes." Whipping away from the blond as fast as he could, he whisked off down the hall.
As time passed, and the greatness of his achievement began to fully dawn on him, Sasuke's mood seemed to lift. Not that he was getting along with Deidara better. Actually that was considerably worse now, because the snake found his forked tongue again, much to his delight. Naruto was also making a noticeable effort to spend time with Gaara and Sasuke as well, though he spent most of it with the others. It didn't take long for the ferret to discover Sasuke's hydrophobia, and every day after he'd keep suggesting they go swimming. In response to this, the raven would bribe the fox with a ramen picnic he 'prepared himself' to keep him on the shore. Naruto had, in effect, become a human MacGuffin. Not that he seemed to mind at all.
"Ne, Sasuke. Spending lots of money isn't going to make him ditch his friends," Gaara said, cradling an armful of magazines and a worried expression. "This is too much."
"Here," Sasuke muttered, putting his arms around the magazines and lifting them into his own arms. "I'll just go buy these." The redhead inhaled deeply as the raven took the pile to the counter as the convenience store owner looking hungrily at the wad of cash on top.
"Sasuke," he called, glaring at the back of the bastard's head. "I am losing the will to live."
"Just these, Gaara, I promise," replied Sasuke reassuringly, as hauled them back off the counter in a canvas shopping bag. Straining, he put them over his shoulder and walked back to Gaara and they left the shop. "He got excited when Deidara lent him a National Geographic magazine, but now he can have some of his own."
"I don't think he reads 'Vogue'," drawled the lizard, as they walked around a puddle on the dirt road.
"Ts. I don't know what magazines he reads. That's why I got one of each," Sasuke said, shifting the bag's weight on his shoulder. Gaara snorted quietly to himself. Frankly, he'd have preferred to be swimming with the others right now, not helping Sasuke suck up to Naruto. It actually just about made him sick to see the raven behaving like this, but he knew he'd have to put up with it for his friend's sake. At least for a little while. Wrapped up in his thoughts, Gaara kept walking, as the other seemed to pause next to him and look over his shoulder. All by himself, he continued around the corner.
"Sasuke-kun?"
"Hyuga… when did you get here?" Sasuke asked, staring at the brunet with white, pupiless eyes who had just stepped out of the information center. Meanwhile, Gaara just about swore when he realised that the bastard was gone.
"What is with him?" he growled, turning around and stomping back around the corner. "No way…" he stumbled backwards as his friend came back into view. That guy who always seemed to want to talk to him was there. His chest tightened with his mouth as his eyes widened slightly as Neji waved a lazy hand toward him. It wasn't that he didn't like being talked to or anything, but talking to this guy in particular wasn't very pleasant.
"G-Gaara," Neji said to the perplexed redhead, folding his arms. "Been a while, hasn't it?" Glancing between them, Sasuke detected the tension right away. The taller coughed and turned to the raven once again. "I arrived ten minutes ago, but Sasori said you'd gone to the shop so I decided to look for you and maybe get a map of the area to see if there were any good walks around here. Sasori didn't seem to want to come with me, though." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Of course he wouldn't. We're just heading back to the house now," he told him, gesturing to the brunet to walk and talk. Seeing this, Gaara huffed and started walking as well, though he hadn't waited for them to catch up. He could talk to Neji when he was in a better mood.
"What's in the bag?"
"Ts. Magazines," Sasuke told him, pulling the bag off his shoulder and showing Neji the huge stack of glossy paper. "They're for Naruto."
"Uh," muttered the brunet, not quite sure what to make of that, "okay then."
When the trio made it back to the villa it was nearly lunchtime, and a trail of smoke was twisting its way into the grey sky like a serpent from the beach. Not bothering to stop off at the house to put away the magazines, they headed straight for the lakeshore with Gaara leading.
"Nice," Neji said with a small smile. "Very European." Stumbling forward, Sasuke tried to pick up into a run. It wouldn't show on his face, but he was getting girlish tingles at the thought of Naruto's face when he made his offering. Sitting in a semi circle around the beach bonfire were the others, dripping with lake water and wielding sausages impaled on sticks.
"Oh look. It's the slime bucket," Deidara moaned, as Sasuke jogged down the hill and up to Naruto, who was sitting in a beach chair wrapped in an orange towel. The snake glared at the ferret.
"Slime? You'd know all about that, you ass-licking moron," he hissed, clenching his fists. Deidara snorted, then pulled his arm around Sasori's shoulder.
"Don't fight or I'll kick both your asses!" growled the fox, baring his fangs warningly at the pair. The raven sighed and turned back to the blond with a frown, dumping the magazines unceremoniously on the ground in front of him.
"Here. These are for you." Naruto tilted his head at Sasuke.
"You know you can stop giving me stuff, right?" he said, both worried and flattered by the size of the canvas bag sitting in front of his feet.
"Hn." Shaking his head, Naruto reached forward and pulled it open.
"Sasuke…" the fox began, running an exasperated hand down his face. "You're really weird. Couldn't you have gotten me one magazine, not fifty?"
"I don't know which one to get you," he huffed, leaning over and fishing through the girly magazines down to the sports magazines. "What else was I supposed to do, dobe?"
"Well maybe you could've chosen one and given me that, rather than giving me the whole store's worth." Eyes turning thunderous, Sasuke began to sneer.
"I don't see what you're problem is. It was really nice of me to go out and buy those for you. Usuratonkachi," he snarled.
"I'm not saying it wasn't nice. It was just weird, is all," the fox told him, not wanting to flare the snake's temper any more than he already had.
"Hey Sasuke," Tobi called from across the fire. "You need to cool down, so have one of these." Unnoticed by the raven, a cool box had been sitting on the ground between Tobi and the taller lizard, and the boy swept a chilled beer bottle out of the box and chucked it over the bonfire toward Sasuke, who had no trouble catching it.
"Ts," he hissed, sitting down heavily on an empty beach chair, not realising that it was Gaara's who had gotten up to grab a sausage, or that Neji had made a move to sit in it, or that the hostile three had set up the chairs so that Sasuke would have to sit on the ground. Easily removing the cap from the bottle from his teeth and taking a large chug, he glowered around at the rest of the party.
"Dude… you didn't even break a sweat," Tobi said, staring at the raven in awe.
"Hn. Just like in our fight, ne Tobi," he said, taking another sip.
"Fuck you," growled the older raven, making Deidara chuckle next to him. Neji, who had moved to sit in the sand with Gaara groaned.
"Has it been like this the whole time with those guys?" he asked Naruto, tugging his towel. The fox rolled his eyes in confirmation.
"Pretty much." Sasuke pushed the bottle to his lips again and drained the last of the beer, before tossing his empty golden shell to the side. Naruto turned to him with a snarl, pointing furiously at the litter. "Are you gonna pick that up, teme?" The snake gave him a gormless look.
"Not yet, dobe. Are there any more?" The blond blinked.
"Seriously, Sasuke? Have a sausage and some bread," he told him grumpily, thrusting him some food. As lunch continued, it became apparent that adolescent men could not sustain themselves on only one or two sausages, so most of the group ended up returning to the villa and scouring the cupboards (and putting away magazines). But Neji had eaten on the trip and he and Gaara reclaimed some empty seats, taking advantage of the temporary absence. And an amazing coincidence, too – Deidara and Sasuke caught each other searching for more alcohol down in the cellar.
"Hey bastard – what's that in your hand?" Biting his tongue to stop himself hissing, the raven took a quick step backward, tucking the whisky behind his back. The ferret took three more even closer, his visible eye narrowing. "I'm not going to steal it, you hideous freak."
"What are you talking about? You're a nasty little rodent!" spat Sasuke, feeling the brunt of the insult in his chest.
"Ferrets are mustelids, actually. Isn't Haruno a mouse? You really are harsh on your friends," sniggered the blond, turning to a bottle rack and running his finger along an empty groove. "So you took the whisky. Good choice. Let's take it to the beach."
"I wasn't going to take it – I was just looking," the raven lied, carefully walking around Deidara and returning the bottle. Letting out a sarcastic laugh, he snatched it back, pushing Sasuke away.
"Don't be like that. We can have a beach party." With that said, the snake shrugged and let the maniac carried the bottle up the stairs. Just as long as he could push blame onto Deidara if need be. Just in case one bottle wasn't enough, Sasuke took another and followed the ferret back to the beach. Met with roaring laughter from Tobi and Naruto and expressions between boredom and exasperating from the other three, the dark-haired boy tore out the cork and took a swig straight from the bottle.
"Yeah Sasuke – you the man!" Tobi cried, still laughing. "How do you do that?" Unfortunately for the taller dark-haired boy, Sasuke's party mode wasn't magically friendly.
"Are you blind? I just pulled it out, you moron," he said coldly, pushing the bottle toward Naruto. The fox grinned mischievously.
"It's only one o'clock. My Dad would kill me if he knew we were doing this at this time of the day."
"Same," the others chorused. After taking a drink himself, the tanned blond gave the bottle to Neji who had taken his seat. The white-eyed boy turned to Gaara, taking a somewhat flirtatious sip from the bottle before offering it to him.
"S-sure," muttered the boy with brick-red hair, taking the bottle. Sasuke stared down at his friend, about to ask furiously why the lizard was suddenly drinking alcohol. But it was the smile on the brunet's lips as his eyes locked with Gaara's that stopped him.
Midday progressed into afternoon, and the level of the bottle was near empty. Naturally, the two boys who had found the drinks were the ones who had drunk the most by this time, but it was Gaara who had the least tolerance.
"Neji," drawled the snake, grabbing the brunet's arm a little too tightly. "You… need to look after Gaara. Can you do that for me?" he asked him, his black eyes uncharacteristically pleading.
"Uh…" The high tolerance, sensible young man scratched his head with an uncomfortable chuckle. "Sure. But who's looking after you?"
"Usually Gaara," replied Sasuke, very seriously. Neji nodded slowly.
"Right." The raven nodded back, before walking around the fire (which they didn't apparently see as a hazard even with stumbling drunks) to where Naruto was sitting with Deidara, talking happily about something or other.
"Move, Hokuto," he mumbled at Deidara, tripping a little on solid air. "You've talked to him all afternoon."
"No I haven't, bastard. I only just sat down," said the drunken ferret, combing his fringe with his fingers.
"Hey Deidara!" Sasori called, cutting in front of the raven's rant. The taller redhead was down the by the water, waving at his boyfriend with a rare grin. "Let's go out to the raft!"
"Yay!" cried the longhaired blond, completely forgetting about arguing with Sasuke. As Deidara bounced away, the snake proceeded to steal his seat and spin around to the cuter blond – well at least Naruto was cuter in the raven's opinion. To his annoyance, the fox's sad eyes were on the other blond as he hopped off to join Sasori and Tobi.
"Naruto!" yelled Sasuke in an unneeded attempt to regain Naruto's attention.
"What?" huffed the fox with a pout. "You're so rude."
"Ts." For a minute, the raven frowned at his friend, trying to remember what he was meant to say. "You've got a very nice chest under that pendant," he told him, as all tact flew out the window. Naruto blushed and looked down at the blue stone resting on his warm skin.
"Gay," he giggled, punching Sasuke gently in the arm. "That… was kind of a gay thing to say to another guy."
"Do you like it when I say gay things to you, Naruto?" asked the raven, leaning in with a spoony look on his face. The fox leaned in as well, cupping Sasuke's cheek jokingly.
"You know it, my dear," he whispered, gazing bravely into the raven's lustful eyes.
"I want to taste your cock," drawled the snake, inching forward enough to touch the fox's nose with his.
"Okay that's enough," Naruto breathed, moving quickly back into his seat. Perhaps that would've been funny if Sasuke didn't always seem to have a straight face. When he looked up at the dark-eyed boy again he was smirking.
"Nah. Not really," he chuckled. Not something he would usually say drunk or otherwise. "No need to look so worried."
"Uh…" The fox scratched his head, feeling bewildered by the alcohol. "I'm going to put out the fire. Look – Neji and Gaara are going to the raft. Why don't you join them?" he suggested, hoping it wouldn't seem like he was trying to get rid of him.
"Ts. Usuratonkachi. I'm not a fish – I hate swimming," he told him, sneering over at the lake.
"Well I'm going out too when I've put out the fire, so you'll be all alone," replied Naruto with concerned eyes.
"Be alone with me," mumbled Sasuke, putting a floppy hand on the fox's arm. "I don't want to go onto the water." Naruto pulled his mouth to one side in a pensive manner.
"You're drunk. You can do anything when you're drunk," he finally said, standing up from his chair.
"This is all true," said the snake with a slight frown. "Okay I'll go out on the canoe with Gaara." Suddenly the fox grinned cheesily down toward the beach.
"Oh look," he cooed, as Sasuke turned to see. "They're waiting for you." With the fear in his chest of drowning diminished by the drink, and the chances of it happening increased by the drink, the raven clumsily tried to walk coolly down to the waterfront and awkwardly yet smoothly entered the canoe.
"If you fall in," Gaara told him, his slanted eyes dripping with boredom, "I will kill you." Head drooping forward, the snake hiccupped as Neji pushed off from the beach and the redhead waded through the water (he was now in his swimming trunks) and climbed onto the nose of the canoe. The boat rocked in the water as the brunet jumped in behind Sasuke. Dark eyes searching the still shallow water as the canoe pushed forward, the raven whimpered. Why was he doing this again? Gentle sloshes of water patting the side of the canoe combined with the slightly topsy turvy perception Sasuke currently had of the world almost put him to sleep, until the boat bumped sharply into the wood of the raft, and Tobi and Sasori immediately lifted out Gaara. Shocked by the sudden change in angle, the raven rolled back into Neji, but the brunet calmly took the boy under the arms and with help from the other dark-haired boy, he was lifted onto the damp deck.
"Don't get my clothes wet," he mumbled, pushing away the dripping bodies. As gay as he was, he still didn't care for seeing all the other young men on the trip in only board shorts. Really, he only had eyes for Naruto. Wobbling to his feet, Sasuke looked across the water as the blond dumped buckets of water onto the fire.
"Woohoo!" came a cry from Deidara. Looking around blearily, there was a loud splosh from next to him and a large spray of water slammed him across the face and chest.
"N-no!" he spluttered, spitting water out of his face. "My new rugby shirt! Why?" Sheer despair filled his chest as he looked down at his dripping white and blue top. "Why does this always happen?" Sasori snorted.
"It's an ugly shirt. And it's only water, so what's the big deal?" he snarled, stumbling across the deck toward the snake.
"Ts!" the raven hissed, cautiously side stepping away. He wasn't in the mood for drunken violence. "I know it's only water. But it's brand new after Naruto ruined my other one." Suddenly, the sneer on the lizard's face twisted into a smirk.
"Leave him alone, Sasori," Gaara suddenly said to his cousin, with a stern glare in his hard eyes.
"That's right," Neji agreed. "Your attitude toward Sasuke is irrational. Not to mention the fact that he's the chairman's son. He'll always be more powerful than you." Those words seemed to slap the raven in the face, as he stared at the brunet. He was powerful. Not words he was used to hearing, but words he knew were or would one day be true.
"Hn…" he muttered, as a venomous smirk began to spread across his face. Power was one word that was as appealing an idea to Sasuke as the idea of Lust. An urge was coming over him – the urge to use this power. A little indiscretion wouldn't matter, especially if he was drunk. The smile spread dangerously across his face as he caught Deidara in the corner of his eye, paddling in the water and swimming around the base of the raft. "Hn… that's right Sasori. I might not have minions like you and your boyfriend, but my father will hear if you do anything stupid." The redhead raised a skeptical eyebrow.
"Actually, bastard, that's not how it works. You're father doesn't care unless you do something to us, because our families are an asset to him, unlike you. You may be an Uchiha, but you really are a nobody." A low growl escaped the raven's mouth as his teeth began to lengthen. Seeing this, and how Sasuke's eyes flashed red and his pupils narrowed to slits, Sasori scoffed. "I'm sorry, bastard? Did I get a nerve? Are you really that pathetic?" Considerably taller than the redhead, Sasuke took a strong step forward, but Neji quickly moved in front of him before he could grab a fistful of the blood red hair and yank it out of Sasori's scalp.
"What's going on?" Deidara asked, half hauling himself up on his arms. "Bastard – don't get violent, or you'll pay for it, un," he gently threatened. Sasuke sent him a freezing glare.
"Don't undermine me, you weakling," he murmured, his voice too low. "Hokuto…" The blond blinked, still clutching onto the side of the raft.
"Yeah?" All of a sudden, just as the ferret went to push some water out of his dripping fringe, warm hands clamped around his elbows. "What the hell are you-" he cried furiously, as his body was lifted right out of the lake. He opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of two red eyes with pupils like narrow slits, before a powerful force sent him flying backward through the air. A cold pain slammed into his skull as he slapped onto the water, very hard and at the wrong angle. What stung even more was the laughter that came from the raven as he splashed into the water. It was too harsh and loud. Not a nice laugh at all.
"Sasuke!" Neji shouted, stomping toward the dark-haired boy. "That wasn't funny! That throw was dangerous." He stared over the edge of the water as the ferret resurfaced, clutching the side of his head and a face twisted with rage. It was almost as scary as the one Sasuke found himself confronted with as he turned to see Sasori, readying himself to tackle the raven into the water. As the panic suddenly dispersed through his body, the snake coiled away from the lunge before lashing out at the redhead's waist.
"Sasuke – don't be dumb…" murmured Gaara, too out of sorts to walk over and do something. There was another great splash as Sasori was flipped into the water. As the cackling from the too-drunk Sasuke started again, the couple that had been humiliated turned to Tobi with both of their faces absolute masks.
"Push that bastard in the water!" Deidara yelled out to him, while swimming madly back the raft. "Fucking drown him!" But after taking a few shy steps toward the grinning drunk, Tobi's trembling knees disallowed him from moving any closer.
"That's enough," Neji growled, grabbing Sasuke's shoulder and guiding him away from the edge of the raft to sit with Gaara, but the raven wouldn't comply. Totally pissed in every sense of the term, Sasori and Deidara clambered out of the water and onto the platform. Both were gasping, but whether it was due to lack of oxygen or just extreme rage, it couldn't be certain.
"Sasori," muttered the blond, nodding at his partner. The taller of the redheads smirked, before advancing on Sasuke. Smirk still on his face, the raven stepped around Neji, keen to fight. But suddenly his vision went blurry, and the figure moving toward him seemed to waver, and he didn't notice as Deidara then winked at Tobi, who made a move for Neji.
"Hey!" roared the brunet, as the stronger arms of Tobi grabbed him tightly and held him in an armlock. Struggling to escape as the arms tightened, Neji gasped as Sasori easily took hold of Sasuke. The poor raven seemed to lose his wits as if he momentarily forgot what was happening.
"Bring the bastard here!" yelled Deidara, looking the snake up and down as if he was the most disgusting piece of crap he'd ever seen. It was akin to the expression that someone might make if they had just been asked to clean a long drop. Sasori was met with little resistance as he dragged Sasuke across the raft to the feet of the furious blond. The raven's head lolled back as he squinted at Deidara, as though he couldn't quite make him out. "You really are the most vile, putrid reptile ever to breathe! I can't figure out why you even exist, you disturbing freak!"
"Hn?" the snake shook his head. "Hey… let me go!" he cried, suddenly finding that he was being held by two strong arms. "Neji-kun? Gaara? Gaara!" The first time and last time the shorter redhead had ever drunk, he was unconscious very quickly. Today wasn't an exception, as Sasuke stared in horror down at his friend's body that was now sprawled on the wooden planks. "Hey! I have to help him! Don't you care about your cousin, Sasori?"
"He'll be fine," sniggered the cousin into Sasuke's ear. "He's just had too much."
"Deidara – snap out of it! You've had too much," pleaded Neji, still struggling against the tallest raven. Ignoring his wise friend completely, the blond grabbed the snake's face, squeezing it painfully hard in his fingers.
"You treat everyone like they're beneath you. You treat my friend like your goddamn plaything. And I won't stand for that. No good friend would." As hard as Sasuke tried to listen to the words and feel the pain to help himself to sober up slightly, his cheeks were numb and his mind was a blur. All he could do was flinch as a large glob of saliva spattered across his eyes and forehead. His reactions were too slow. A weighty fist swung around and collided with his cheekbone, smacking his head hard to his right and finally sending a building pain shooting through him as he cried out. It still wasn't enough to make him sober.
"Sasuke!" screamed a distant voice. The voice was a blended mix of anger and mortification, and had a familiar grittiness.
"Naruto," he mumbled, as his head began to spin more. The fox had disappeared up to the villa to dispose of the rubbish and hadn't seen anything that had been happening on the raft. But when he came back down and looked across the water to see Deidara punching Sasuke so violently, his heart filled with despair. He dropped the bucket he was holding and threw himself toward the water's edge.
"Deidara! You bastard!" spluttered the blond, in absolute hysterics as he pounded through the water. It was as though the ferret couldn't even hear him, and he kept sending shameful blows for the raven's unguarded face. With each punch, Sasuke screamed in agony. The more he was hit in the face that year, the more it seemed to hurt.
"Le-let me go!" roared the snake, shaking against Sasori. "That's enough!" Another cry of pain flew from his lips with a spray of blood, as this time Deidara aimed a fist for his gut. Before Sasuke even had a chance to breathe again, the ferret clamped a hand around his white throat.
"You want Sasori to let you go?" he drawled, his breath drenched with the scent of whiskey. "Really stupid choice of words there, fuckwit." Suddenly, the blond's knee flew up hard between the raven's legs. The pain that ripped from the knee in his crotch through to his stomach and even his extremities almost made Sasuke vomit aggressively on the attacker. Letting out a strangled gasp as his eyes flashed white, he felt his knees give way to the cheap shot that the ferret had gone so low to take. Sasori heaved the lump back up before dragging him over to the water.
"In you go, un," Deidara laughed, as Sasori pushed the gasping boy hard over the edge of the raft. Drunk, head spinning, body contorting in hideous agony, plummeting into the water, Sasuke immediately felt his clothes tugging him down and his chest heaved so hard he had to fight to stop himself drowning. Where did the surface go? Whether it was the alcohol, or just pain and shock, the snake felt himself dragged into blackness as he lost consciousness, mere seconds after being submerged.
"Sasuke!" Neji had cried, as Sasori dumped him into the lake like a lead brick. "I thought he couldn't swim!" Deidara burst into laughter at the brunet's horrified revelation.
"Would it be so bad if he accidentally died? It was just an accident, right?" he cackled, tripping slightly on his feet as he peered over the edge of the raft. "I'm sure someone could dive down and retrieve any remains for a funeral." Neji felt a rumbling in his chest as his teeth tried to grind each other flat. How could someone he called his friend act so cruelly? The patter of the water on the pontoons began to grow in volume. As he twisted his head around to the beach he saw Naruto, pounding toward them through the water. Hope. With a sudden burst of energy, the brunet slammed his shoulder into Tobi's chin. Yelping in pain, the boy let go of Neji long enough for him to leap away. Ignoring the sound of water spattering on the deck as the fox pulled himself out, the brunet advanced upon the dazed Deidara and grabbed the front of his collar.
"That's enough! It's time to go back!" he barked, yanking him to the canoe. He looked up just in time to see Naruto sprinting to the edge of the craft, slamming Sasori heavily over the side with a strong arm before leaping with his smooth body slicing knife-like into the water. Wasting as little time as possible, Neji put the most intoxicated – Deidara and the unconscious redhead – in the water. He climbed into the boat with them, yelling at Tobi to be ready to haul Sasuke and Naruto out. Then he paddled faster than humanly possible back to shore.
"Now, you fucking idiot," he hissed to the ferret, who only frowned sleepily, "take a nap for the rest of the afternoon! I don't want to see your face until you're sober!" Neji was perfectly aware of the power he had to be intimidating when he needed to be. Defiance sparked in the blond's eyes, but with a heavy sigh, he complied and stumbled up the slopes. "Gaara," he muttered, putting his arms around the boy and picking him up out of the canoe. "I always wondered…" He pushed some of the rust red hair off Gaara's forehead and examined the red character tattooed into the pale skin. "Of course it says that." Moving quickly up the beach he laid the boy in the grass before returning to the canoe. The people on the raft could well need it to get Sasuke back.
Deep water felt like a living thing. It was an entity that could control you, smother you and kill you. There was no beauty, and no art. Like an empty void where no one ever goes, Sasuke felt the sense of being alone more profoundly than anywhere else. Just like when he was a child and he was at the bottom of the pool. I'm only a hideous reptile. I shouldn't have even been born. Even his closest friends treated him like he was volatile. Shikamaru, Sakura, Gaara, all of them. And everyone else was either madly in love with him or hated him with a passion. These baseless emotions made him feel fake, and the water made it echo around his head like a screaming voice. You're weak. Pathetic. Drown now or live on in self-disgust. Asphyxiation was a death that the raven could feel comfortable with. But the arms of a hero would never agree with him, as they wrapped around his unconscious head and pulled him back up through the water.
"You got him!" Sasori paddled over to help Naruto as he resurfaced, carrying the pale and unconscious raven on his collar. Together they swam him to Tobi, who lifted the boy out of the water and rolled him onto his back. Practically flying out of the lake, the fox clambered across Sasuke and reached out to his white face with shaking hands.
"Sasuke…" he whispered. "No…" As his shivering fingers stroked the deathly white skin, his heart panged. The snake was stone cold. Dead. Sasuke was dead. "No!" Naruto cried, tears springing to his eyes as he clasped the boy's peaceful face to his own.
"He's not dead until he's warm and dead. Besides, I can see him breathing," Neji said, pulling the fox away by the shoulder. But the blond clung tight to Sasuke's limp body, wrapping his arms around his neck and burying his face in his collar. "Did you hear me, Naruto? He may be alive, so we need to get him warm right now!" With no hesitation, Tobi picked up a fluffy white towel and laid it across the raven.
"He could be alive?" the fox cried, turning to the brunet.
"Yes!" Heart pounding in his chest from exhaustion, Naruto tore Sasuke from the ground and pushed the canoe off the end of the raft while leaping in himself. Neji grimaced as the fox sped away toward the beach, as though he was escaping a tsunami. "Naruto! Get him a doctor!" he yelled after the stupid blond. Sasori frowned.
"Why does Naruto care about someone as dangerous as Sasuke?" Neji shot around to him with a deadly glare, but the redhead only shrugged. "I know we went too far today. I just mean in general – why does he care?"
"You don't see Sasuke as a human, do you? Because of what he did to Naruto," the brunet said airily, gazing across to the fox as he hit the shore. "He is though. People do terrible things to one another. But people like Naruto and Gaara – the people who truly know him – don't want to focus on his sin, or his failings. I believe that the true Sasuke is the one we see now, and the one who was Naruto's friend, and I believe that he will always be like that at heart." Tobi's eyes narrowed.
"But what if the cruel Sasuke is the true one?" he asked Neji, causing the brunet to flick his head around to him in surprise.
"We already know that he's cruel. Like I said, it's possible to look past his failings. And I think Naruto believes that it's worth it, if it's for Sasuke."
The fox in question was still pounding to the villa, with the raven lolling in his arms. A worried servant dashed out to meet him, but was met with yells to set up the in-house hospital in the boy's room. The boy was thrown into bed, and immediately examined by a doctor, who told Naruto that the boy was absolutely fine and that the fox had probably completely overreacted to the entire situation. But the doctor probably didn't know the dangerous mental state of the raven as he sank deeper into the water.
When Sasuke awoke, he had no idea where he was. There was no sound, and when he opened his eyes everything was a blur.
"Hn…" He tried to move his arms. "What the-?" Was he tied to something? Even as he squirmed he couldn't move at all. Suddenly he gasped. Something tickly was wiggling against his stomach. Blinking furiously, trying to clear his vision, he found that he was in a pale room. His room. "Ah," he sighed, as his tense body began to relax. Somehow he was back in the villa. Did that mean? No. It wasn't a dream. His head and guts were aching from where Deidara had attacked him. Figuring that it still hurt a lot and that the ferret wasn't as good at delivering beatings as the fox, he knew that he must've only been unconscious for a matter of hours. Whoever rescued him must've done it pretty quickly. The thing on his chest wiggled again, only this time Sasuke could see what it was. A lump of bristly red fur wriggled two black tipped ears, and yawned with its little white mouth, showing a row of fangs. From what the snake could tell as the bundle flopped onto its back, it was fast asleep. "Naruto," he muttered, going to poke him before remembering he couldn't move. The fox's ear flicked. "Naruto!" Sasuke shouted suddenly, lifting himself up slightly and then slamming back down. The fox's golden eyes burst open in surprise as it was bounced on the raven's stomach. Naruto blinked blearily at the figure above him. It was Sasuke. He was tied into his bed by the sheets and looked furious. And he was okay. "Agh?"
"Sasuke! You're okay! I was so worried," cried the blond, hugging the raven's waist.
"Usuratonkachi," he choked, trying to push the boy off him. "You're heavy. You don't just transform while you're on top of people." Naruto laughed, before releasing the panting, red-faced Sasuke and clambering off him.
"I thought Deidara had killed you, so I'm kind of excited." The raven raised a cynical eyebrow.
"You're still drunk, aren't you, dobe? I know that I still am." Despite the serious face that the snake held, Naruto couldn't stop beaming.
"I'm just so glad you're okay. You know the doctor said you just passed out because you were scared." Instead of Sasuke's face relaxing, his eyes turned to glares. It wasn't that it was embarrassing though. The blond bit his lip. "Look," he said, trying to appease the angry Uchiha, "things are going to change for you, I promise. The others will stay away from you. We can be together again." As Naruto locked eyes with the boy's dark orbs again, he couldn't help but feel a strum of surprise. And Sasuke couldn't save himself. His façade crumbled like it was made of gravel and mud, completely washing away as his eyes began to brim with emotion. The fox could see it all.
"Usuratonkachi. I hate you," Sasuke growled. Oblivious as ever, Naruto completely missed the raven's head with the umbrella, allowing the rain tumbling onto the canopy and spray his face.
"What? Oh sorry," the fox cried, pulling the taller boy under the nylon cover. "I'm mortified, Sasuke. It wasn't supposed to rain today." As it happened, today was the last Saturday of the holidays, and as promised, Naruto had spent the morning stuffing his friend with tomatoes.
"Dobe," he hissed, snarling at the fox's innocent blue eyes. "The weather forecast was for torrential rain. You can't will it to be sunny." Naruto shivered and looked down the muddy road to the café. There were people inside eating their lunches, bathed in an appealing warm glow. Next to him, the irritable Uchiha let out a huff. "What are you so happy about?"
"I'm just glad it's still open, because I didn't want everything that was supposed to be good on this trip spoiled," the blond muttered, frowning slightly. "How did you know I was happy? I wasn't smiling."
"I just knew," the raven grumbled, pushing Naruto slightly. "It's freezing. Move." So the two continued down the muddy road, with the fox hogging the rain cover the entire way. As they opened the café door and stepped inside, Sasuke was irritated to find his hair was dripping and flat, while the blond was completely dry and fluffy.
"Are you very hungry, teme?" Naruto asked him, completely failing to notice the disparity. Sasuke didn't bother to answer, but his eyes flicked over to a glass of tomato juice sitting on the table in front of a thin woman by the window. It must have been very cold outside, as the corners of the glass had fogged up. And the heat that had wrapped itself around the newcomers as they had entered, too, just emphasized how freezing they had been. "What flavour of ramen do you want?" The blond gave the raven an exasperated sigh as he was completely ignored again. Sasuke brushed past Naruto and made his way to the girl at the counter.
"Tofu salad, a bowl of ramen, a Sapporo and a tomato juice," he declared, reducing the girl to a bubbling mess as he flicked some of his dark hair out of his eyes.
"O-okay I'll get that to you and your friend as fast as possible. You look cold," she burst out, unable to control her blush. "Why don't you take that seat by the fire? It's lovely and warm." Naruto suddenly appeared next to the raven as he shunted him to the side.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm paying," he said, grabbing some money from his pocket and shoving it on the counter. "Is that enough?" A whisper of a sneer appeared on the corner of the girl's face, as she looked Naruto up and down.
"You're short," she told him bluntly, folding her arms. "You're one hundred yen short." Next to him Sasuke found himself measuring the blond's height with his eyes. Yeah, that's not what she meant.
"Well I didn't bring one hundred more yen!" the fox snapped, crossing his own arms in a grump.
"I think I have one hundred yen," Sasuke interjected, reaching for the back pocket of his jeans. Suddenly, the girl's demeanor did a total u-turn.
"Oh no, don't worry about it!" she cried, waving casually. "You guys don't need to worry." Shrugging, the raven grabbed a number, but she placed a hand on the top to stop him. "Don't worry – I'll remember your order," she told him with a smile. Naruto poked his tongue out at her as they went to take the other window seat.
"How do you do that?" the fox finally managed to say, after five minutes of just sitting there, opening and closing his mouth at the raven. Even their orders had finally appeared.
"Do what?" asked Sasuke, sipping restlessly at his juice. The blond flailed his hands.
"You know," he wined, sending a meaningful glance back at the counter girl, who hadn't taken her eyes off the snake since they'd sat down. "How do you attract women so easily?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" he asked him, leaning in slightly. Sasuke's brow furrowed. If Naruto were going to interrogate him on how to pick up girls, he wouldn't hesitate to get up and leave.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Will you please shut up?" Damn you, dobe. The fox began to pout and his frowning blue eyes began to waver. They weren't puppy dog eyes, but if they had been it wouldn't have worked on Sasuke. "Fine. I hate every one of them – that's why."
"But," the blond tilted his head in a manner that made the raven have to divert his gaze to the rain pattering on the ground out the window, "aren't you good friends with that Sakura girl?"
"Why are you asking me this?" the dark-haired boy bit out suddenly, making Naruto's eyes widen. "The rule for you and friends sharing the room with us is that you can only bring in Hinata, because she doesn't stalk me. I mean I hate all the stalkers."
"Oh yeah," the fox said, looking up at the ceiling. He shoveled a wad of noodles in his mouth. "Sho then why doeshn't shomeone like you have a girlfriend? There musht be shomebody you like. Ish it Shakura?" About to take a bite of his salad but having his appetite ruined somewhat, Sasuke grimaced.
"Don't talk with your mouthful. Sakura and I are friends and nothing more. There is a very simple answer to the mystery. I have never been interested in any of them before," he told the blond. At this point, Sasuke didn't really care if Naruto figured out that he was gay.
"Neither," the whiskered-boy sighed, completely missing the point. "But if I was as attractive as you then I'd never need to worry about it." The breath hitched a little in Sasuke's throat at this, and he felt his cheeks tinge pink.
"What are you talking about?" he snapped. Naruto winced as the snake slammed a fist on the table. A few people nearby glanced their way. "Is everyone insane? Girls should be throwing themselves at your feet!"
"But I'm ugly," chuckled the fox, his eyes slightly worried.
"You have got to be kidding me, Naruto," the raven muttered, sculling his tomato juice. "Are you done?"
"Does this really need to be the quickest lunch in the history of the universe?"
"Hn." Quickly before the moron could grab it, Sasuke swiped the umbrella and moving to the door. Sighing, the fox followed suit. As the umbrella flew open, the raven lifted it over his head and stepped out onto the muddy ground. Lustful eyes turned to the blond. "Naruto…" he muttered, grabbing his friend's arm and pulling him under cover from the rain. "There is something you must know. Gaara knows it, Shikamaru knows it, Sakura knows it and Itachi knows it. If this is meant to celebrate our friendship, then I must tell you now."
"Uh," Naruto bit his lip, looking up into Sasuke's dark eyes. "Can I guess?" The pale boy smirked.
"Ts. Go ahead," he murmured, inching ever so slightly closer to the blond's gentle face.
"Okay… Are you secretly very lonely?" he asked him. The snake's smile vanished more quickly than an inkblot on oiled paper.
"Why the fuck would my secret be something stupid like that?" he hissed, rolling his eyes at the fox's blatant stupidity. Yet to his surprise, Naruto's face cracked into a grin.
"Well then it's the other thing, isn't it?" Sasuke blinked.
"What are you talking about now?" he drawled.
"Pretty much all my friends are gay or loners." He blinked again. The fox grinned back, as if to say 'BINGO', as the snake's face went from irritated to blankness. Suddenly, a jet of lightening rocketed up the raven's body and his face burst into flames.
"Usuratonkachi!" he cried, clasping a hand to his mouth as a blush spilled across his face like red wine. "I-I never said I wasn't a loner, you fucking idiot! I just said it wasn't a secret."
"I was just kidding, Sasuke – calm down," Naruto said. "Pfft… Hahaha!" he said, bursting into laughter. "You should've seen your face! You really are a homophobe, aren't you?"
"Am not!" yelled the snake, shunting the fox and forcing him to walk.
"Yeah, okay. What's your secret then?" he asked, still shaking with laughter. Sasuke bit down on his lip. The moment had really been ruined. Or maybe he wouldn't have had the guts to tell Naruto in the first place.
"It was that I don't really know what I'm like, so your friends are right to be wary of me," he muttered. It wasn't a total lie, so it sounded convincing enough. The fox frowned, watching the splashes his feet were making in the mud.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know," he sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Well, Sasuke," Naruto began, stroking his chin, "whatever you mean exactly, you can be sure I'll help you find out what you're really… hang on."
"What is it?" The snake glanced over as the cute blond pulled out his phone. "A text?"
"It's from Rock," the fox said, squinting at the screen and wiping off the condensation.
"Ts." Sasuke dug his hands deeper into his pockets.
"MG broke his leg." The raven's eyes shot back to Naruto's phone in surprise. "Really?" he asked, genuinely shocked that his P.E. teacher had injured himself.
"Ah… yeah. Apparently he was showing Rock about parkour and he had a fall." The whole time the fox was shaking his head. "We won't be seeing MG again for ages. That bites – he was a great coach. Insane, but great." Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"I guess he didn't say who's replacing him." Naruto shook his head.
"No, he did," he said, scrolling down. The raven leaned over his shoulder and peered at the text.
"Huh. Orochimaru. Who's that?"
Well WE know who that is. TROUBLE. WOOHOO~! By the way, I'd like to welcome you to the sexier half of the story haha... so many potential relationships... And i know what's going to happen - ain't I a stinker?
I'll TRY to update within a week but with the way things are I really can't make promises. BUT I WILL TRY :)