UPDATE: Sorry for the wait! These next few weeks are going to be hectic for sure with work. So expect a delay as I write. Got it? Good. Here's to my readers out there! Oh! And Sasuke is OOC in this chapter especially (Which will be explained in the next chap or so. And I'd like to think that after bottling up all these emotions after The Land of the Waves arc, he's letting it out in his own way. So, please excuse his behavior for the time being)
7
"Hatake-san! Are you OK?" Kakashi sat up from Sakura's arm and looked around; if not a bit on edge after that fiasco. "Sakura? Oh, it's only you." His body visibly relaxed and he stood up. Looking up, he saw the familiar faces of Mrs. Haruno and Mr. Haruno. They smiled down at him. "I'm alright. What happened?" The tension in the air lessened slowly but surely.
"Thank goodness. I had to take you back all the way over here by myself. You're heavier than most men I know, sensei!" She laughed, punching his shoulder good naturedly. Little by little, Kakashi was seeing less of an idiot of a girl, but now someone worthy of being a Genin. Something about her...had changed that night along with Sasuke and Naruto's relationship. She seemed more selfless, and strong willed; quite unlike her former self. Sensei saw herself growing stronger by the day. And it was...somewhat satisfying to see her become more adult and less of a teenage fangirl.
"Gee, thanks." Kakashi says sarcastically, "you didn't happen to...look behind my mask, did you?" He asked, with a hint of teasing in his voice.
She shook her head, her long pink hair shaking back and forth. "Heh, it was tempting at first!" She admitted, "But, I didn't do it. Not because my gut told me not to. But it just wouldn't be right to treat you like that." She brushed back a stray pink hair behind her ear and smiled at him.
'Wow, impressive...' Kakashi thinks, with a nod to himself. 'Out of the three, she seems more self aware...and a good sense of character. Maybe I underestimated her after all. Sakura has the potential to outnumber them, if not in smarts in battle, too.'
'Still, I can't stop thinking about Obito...is that so wrong?' Did he really do that, or was that just his wildest fantasies shining through?
Kakashi, clueless, tries not to think about it and instead at the situation at hand.
"I see. Well, thank you, Sakura." Kakashi wasn't use to talking with the cherry blossom. Sure, he usually saw Sasuke and Naruto as important assets to the team first before her. While she was smart, she definitely didn't have the balls to kick someone's ass unless absolutely necessary. In other words, she was weak (at first). So were most of the girls who lusted after Sasuke. But, Sakura seemed to be out of that make-believe fantasy of true love now and instead facing the facts. Kakashi could at least say that much.
She smiled at him, and handed him a cold rag. "You were sweating a lot. I hope Sasuke and Naruto are doing alright, too..."
"About that." He smiled at the mother and father, before whispering to her ear,
"What about the entrance to that library? Weren't you able to enter through?" She shook her head.
"I...left because it was almost morning since you were out for a long time. I didn't want to get caught by Sasuke-kun, so I did what I had to do." She says, "And...I'm still trying to get over it. I mean..." she paused, fumbling with her fingers, "they mean a lot to me, you know? They're like brothers I never had and..." She looked up at her mother and father. "MOM! DAD! This is private!" She shouted angrily, pointing an accusing finger at them.
They laughed nervously and left the two to their conversation.
"Anyway, I'm happy for them now. I never knew they were gay for each other, but..." She looks up to the ceiling, lost in thought. "I guess it's OK."
Inner Sakura: CHA! Now they'll really love me after this! For being such a good big sister! I'd better get some brownie points for this, shannaro!
Kakashi closed his eyes "Let's hope, so." He holds up his tea cup.
"Cheers, to another night of finding out about that moon mystery!"
Naruto yawned, feeling well-rested after his dream about Sasuke's brother and his parents. Actually, right now, he felt better than ever. Maybe it was because he was warm, and he had someone to snuggle with. And... Wait, what...?
The blonde looks down at himself, and sees a very familiar head of black hair on his body.
'WHAT?! Why is Sasuke laying on top of me!?' Naruto thinks to himself, his lower half excited beyond belief. He'd never thought in a million years that his rival of all people would be sleeping with him. Sure, sometimes he fantasized about having a hot waifu with big boobs and a big butt with his own children beside his bedside, but...
...NOT LIKE THIS!
Without even thinking, he shoved the bastard off of him. In response, Sasuke hugged him closer to his chest. Which left Naruto humiliated.
'Man...what happened to our training today? HUH? And now we're...' He gulped, "...hugging.' He tried moving against the teme, anything at this point, but Sasuke only squeezed him. Which, if possible, embarrassed Naruto even more.
"Shut up, I'm sleepy~." Sasuke replied, "'Sides, you're my pillow, now." Naruto didn't know what to think about THAT.
'Should I just...sleep again and then see that it's all just a dream and wake up in my own home? Even I can't wait forever for him...Or I could just wake him up?'
Carefully, he moves the arms holding him off of himself. Scooting away from the sleeping Sasuke, he stands up shakily in Sasuke's pajamas. There's even an Uchiha fan on the back. 'W - what...the hell? I don't wear blue...I want my goddamn orange back!' He thinks, looking around Sasuke's room. It's light out, and the room seems very...secluded. There's not much of anything and it seems really empty. Sure, there's a futon, books here and there, some knickknacks too, and there's a closet dedicated to the bastard. Aside from that, just...nothing. Stretching his body, he looks at the teme one last time. Something about that face...one that wasn't frowning all the time...caught the Uzumaki's attention. It seemed natural when it wasn't so serious.
Now that the blonde had thought about it, Sasuke did seem a bit stressed lately with missions. Maybe that would explain why he finally snapped.
He wondered what had changed to do that to someone, and maybe it was catching up with him? That's probably why he even dragged him with him here in the first place. Who knows? Naruto still didn't understand what their wacky relationship was, but there was still a lot to Sasuke than he let on. Even if he was a bastard, and always acted like a perfectionist, he did also understand what it meant to be all alone. Something that even the blonde could relate too, unlike the other villagers.
Naruto slides open the paper door, and looks around lazily. The hallway seems...really thinned out and long. Shrugging to himself, he walks to the end of the hall and takes a turn. Eventually, he made it past the maze of a house and into the homey living room where he stands on the stairway. At the center, there is a long makeshift table called a kotatsu, with two mats to sit on and a blanket as an undersheet. To the side of the wall is a shelf, one with a hanger for clothes and a pair of shinobi sandals are placed to the side. At the edge of the living room, is a small kitchen with a sink, a fridge, and a stovetop. There's also a rice cooker Sasuke uses to cook his onigiri for bento boxes; one of them handed over to Naruto when he was tied up for the bell test.
Something comes up from behind him, and suddenly, Sasuke's arms are around him. Naruto grits his teeth; unsure of what to do.
"There you are, dobe. Don't leave me like that ever again. Or I'll kill you." Somehow, the blonde knew he wasn't joking about that. For anyone else, they would be scared $h!tless. But, Naruto and his naivety trusted his life on the brother he never had.
"Uh...you OK, Sasuke? I gotta get back to my house before we, you know, train an' all." Instead of replying, Sasuke remained silent. That is, until his teammate spoke up from his shoulder.
"No."
"Huh?" Asked Naruto, still half-asleep. Sasuke was acting really weird around him. Sometimes, antsy. Sometimes bein' a big ol' bastard. He's always been weird, but especially now.
"...No. Stay with me. Here. In my house." He says stubbornly; dead serious.
Not used to Sasuke acting this way, Naruto decides to just go with it. Hey, a serious Sasuke wasn't one to mess with; he knew from personal experience. And if he didn't do what he said...well...maybe it was best left unsaid.
Out of the blue, Naruto's stomach growled.
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, my bad. Kinda forgot to eat before we left...Hehe, guess I am kinda hungry! So, maybe it wouldn't hurt just to wait a little while longer..." Sasuke's body against him visibly relaxed for a second.
"Come with me," Sasuke says with a smirk, walking in front of him, "I'll make us some breakfast, you moron. Oh," he looks Naruto up and down; beady black eyes softening, "and that shirt suits you. It shows that you're..." 'Mine,' he thinks internally, "...an usuratonkachi." Naruto sticks his tongue out at him, and crosses his arm. "You ALWAYS say that. Baka this, idiot that." The blonde complains bitterly. They walk down some stairs to the same living room. As his teammate leads him to the kitchen, Naruto can't help but look around. Compared to his $h!tty apartment, this looked like...heaven ten times fold. Seriously, why did Sasuke never mentioned his mansion of a house?
Sure, it was a traditional Japanese wooden home handed down by the infamous Uchihas, but it was still so much more unlike his one room apartment. In fact, if Naruto could explain what it looked like now...
(1)
The doors were either/or fusuma and shoji (the difference being the types of paper, whether it's thick or not), sliding in and out at will. Underneath the creaky-old floorboards were shikii, dodai, and neda which held the whole floor altogether. Though the flooring was wooden, and the walls were, too; there was a padding of paper on either types. The roofing was structured with nageshi and tenjo; a traditional style used in lots of modern day Japan houses. And then add in mischallaneous things like displays of old things over the years, a picture of team seven, and one singular bed stashed away to the side. And there was Sasuke's house in a nutshell.
There was also an incense; which smelled smoky as Naruto sniffed the air. Overall, the atmosphere felt at home; if not a bit empty with only one owner in a big building and odd blood .
Anyway...
"...maybe you're just too chicken to man up to this." Sasuke says with a superior smile, as he fastens a frilly white apron around his waist.
"Eh?" It took the blonde a moment to process what his bro was talking about. After all, he was so sidetracked at the thought that someone was living in this! This heaven of a home, and-! Wait, what did that teme just SAY?
"Oh, I'll show you, I'll -!" Naruto pumps out a fist to punch the damn bastard, but stops once he sees what his best friend is doing.
"Hey, what IS that?" The blonde asks, his big blue eyes full of curiousity as points at...whatever THAT thing is on Naruto. It looks WAY TOO girly, TOO feminine, even for Sasuke's standards (which is saying a lot).
"It's my mother's."
Sasuke says simply, as they walk over to the kitchen, where he pulls out a hot pot from a cupboard and a spatula. Once he sets this on the stovetop at a high heat, he pulls out random ingredients to the counter and starts chopping off some vegetables and fruits. He adds in tomato broth as well, and stirs. The Uchiha smiles softly as he's boiling hot water. Naruto watches this from the table close by to them, as if it's clockwork for the Uchiha. He starts thinking about Haku of all people, and how he sacrificed himself for Zabuza Momochi because of his undying love.
Is that what it's like to have a precious person? To die for them, to protect them with their life? And Sasuke has already done that for him. Two times.
Realizing it's a touchy subject, Naruto talks about something else.
"S - Sasuke, I - I'm sorry." He says, his blue eyes looking down at his hands on his lap. 'What the hell is wrong with me,' Naruto reflecting on what he had just said, clenching his fists, 'We're orphans...I can't talk about things I wouldn't want to talk about. I even shoved my picture of my parents away from him, because it was too personal to me. How is this any different for him, than how it is for me? I should apologize, not as a shinobi, but as a friend.'
"Hn." Sasuke replied as his usual response to everything. The blonde looked up in shock; expecting a far worse reaction. Instead, his rival was nonchalant. After a few seconds, the Uzumaki cleared his throat.
"Uh, well, anyway, I just wanna be smart, you know?" Naruto said, in deep thought, "I'm gonna lead the village someday. I gotta know enough to get me through;for them to accept me for who I am! For them to acknowledge me as somebody! Somebody important!" He exclaimed heartily.
Sasuke looked decisive for a moment; scrutinizing Naruto as he cooked up a soup.
"Alright, I suppose I could teach you later about all the lessons Iruka taught you, dobe. If you weren't so dumb, you'd probably have actually sat and listened to them. ...Right now, just eat. I don't want you dying on me for..."
"...something stupid like malnutrition." He mumbled the last part to himself, but Naruto heard it all the same. So he knew, about his starvation. The blonde snickered, with a foxy grin at that. Sasuke's face reddened even more, and he hid it by averting his eyes from the other.
Without even thinking, he shoved a plateful of Tomato-Miso Soup (丸ごとトマトの味噌汁) in front of Naruto, who eyes it with hearts in his eyes. Before the blunette can blink, it's already slurped up into Naruto's mouth.
"SUGOI~! Mmm, this is really good, Sas'ke!" Naruto moans into the mouthful of food. Bits of food are spat out, and Sasuke eyes it with distaste. 'Disgusting,' he thinks, 'at least he likes tomatoes, too. And the miso ramen I made for him.'
"Don't talk with your mouth full," Sasuke deadpans, with a faint blush only one perceptive could see, "and...I wanted to talk about what happened last night." The blonde's face falls, and it's all serious again. Sasuke rolls his eyes.
"I...oh." Naruto says sullenly; his blonde bangs shadowing his eyes. Sasuke feels like supporting him somehow, but he had something to say.
"I heard you talking in your sleep, about stupid things." Sasuke says matter-of-factly, "I couldn't sleep at all. And you were annoying, as always. Even when you were asleep." Naruto gulped, torn between telling the truth or laughing it off. He chose the latter.
"Hehe! It was nothin', really. Just me and my funny imagination!" He says sheepishly, and laughs for the whole effect. The Uchiha frowns at his "fakeness" of it all.
Sasuke grabbed him by the arm forcibly, and snarled with teeth bare. "NO! You're lying to me again. Again, acting like an idiot doesn't work on me, Naruto! Play a fool all you want, but I sure as hell am NOT buying it!"
Naruto looks down at the table, away from Sasuke. "Look at ME!" Sasuke shouts, at full speed pins him against the wall. The Uzumaki shivers under his iron-like grip and at their close proximity. Sasuke stops once the blonde clears his throat. He lets him go with a heated glare.
"Listen, I -!" he was about to say something, but then the front door burst open. Sakura was at the door, waving to them.
"THERE YOU TWO ARE! Kakashi-sensei and I were wondering where you were. Anyway, no missions today! There's a new ninja in our village, and we're going to introduce her to everyone." She says cheerily. "Look, Karin, say hi -!" She's stopped mid-sentence by Naruto, who flings across from Sasuke and outside the house.
"Hey, Naruto!" Sakura shouts, with the redhaired shinobi by her side. Karin is tossed aside in favor of the other Uzumaki; who's emotionally distraught by everything. The dream, his mom and dad, Sasuke, and even his becoming a hokage in life. He really hated at how he was treated like trash all the time. Trying to smile for the sake of others; just so he could cry when they weren't there. But, no. It was never enough! Nothing was ever effing fair, at all!
With tears in his eyes, Naruto's already out the door. And like a flicker of the wind, he's gone.
(1) Contains Japanese house structuring. Look it up sometime, it's interesting to look into. Oh! And I'm listening to 80's City Pop as I'm writing. Why? I don't know.
Man, I miss the good ol' days. Like, when I could listen to old school music and think 'Hey! This is actually really good!' Nowadays, music is like...meh. Is there ANY originality? (not that I'm any different, but still!) Sure, sing all you want about broken relationships and smutt. I'm outta here.
(P.S. Sorry for all this shounen-ai drama! I had to let it out somehow (the relationship between these two is full of angst!))
