...Chapter Eight...

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She was interesting, at best, he decided. Taller than most girls her age, quieter and far more serious. People appeared to like her. Many of the boys held her in either a sense of admiration or consideration; consideration because they weren't inclined to admit she might be better than them.

She didn't carry on with other girls her age; not really. She had friends, true enough; however, not in sense that one might call close. She focused on her studies as a creature driven and he rarely ever saw her do anything one might label fun.

He didn't care about her one way or the other; not because he didn't like her, but, because he didn't know her. She just happened to be one of those people he spent very little time with, despite sharing a classroom of no more than twenty-five students. The most he knew about her could be---at best---summed up in her name and appearance.

Looking at her now, with a blank expression on her face whilst she looked on at the distance beyond the empty classroom window, he couldn't help but think about Sayomi Chou. She was on his team now, after all. What else was there to do while one waited for their Jounin sensei?

"I bet she's hot," he heard the only other male in the room say aloud. "What do you think, Sumi?" He heard a grin in that question.

Sumi raised a brow as it was voiced. He couldn't help but smile only slightly. "How do you even know they're female?" As he said this he tilted his head to the right to look up at Jiro in the previous, higher row where the boy sat.

Jiro, the cocky bastard he was, just continued to grin. "Well, I hope so. I need some pussy on this team; preferably some that isn't frozen over frigid." He pointedly glanced at their team mate on the other end of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

At this Sumi shrugged indifferently. He---.

Bang!

He jumped, cringing involuntarily as the sound swept across his room. It felt as though the reverberations echoed through his core, upsetting his attention immediately and nearly causing him to rip the book in his hands apart.

Pause.

He waited, his eyes on the book in his hands, his breath held not in anticipation; perhaps it was held in silent, unrevealing hope, small as it was. Silence pervaded around him, going on and on for what seemed like minutes---at least to him.

Seeming complacent, finally, his eyes began to move once more across the page and his breath exhaled from betwixt his lips relaxedly.

At this Sumi shrugged indifferently. While he usually got along with the hot shot top rookie, he didn't much care for what Jiro considered goodnaturedness. His comments about the fairer sex were really only spoken among fellows of the same gender, lest the general and overall female population find something to not like about him. It was a well know fact he--.

Bang!

At this he cringed once more, stopping where he was on the page with his eyes unmoving. Again, he didn't express anything or speak. Again, he waited.

Patiently.

He waited for the noise to start up, for another loud and obnoxious echo to vibrate the walls of his room. He waited to hear the spitting of a drill or the twanging of a hammer or the cranking of something he couldn't place the name of.

Yet... nothing.

He closed his eyes briefly and once more turned to the novel before him. His eyes scanned the pages anew in wistful, vital reprieve...

It was a well known fact he liked Sayomi just as much as it was a well known fact that she didn't much care for him. What Jiro saw in her aside from an equal was beyond Sumi; his crude use of words in reference to her didn't entirely sit well with him either though. Still, she could take care of herself; furthermore, Sumi was less than friend to her at the current moment. What business did he have speaking against Jiro's opinion of her, joking or not?

"Shouldn't be too much longer," he said, trying to change the topic as his eyes wandered towards the wall clock. He watched as--.

Bang!

Snap! The book closed in his hands, page marked by an index card turned bookmark. His form slid off his bed and into a walk across his room and out the door. He stepped quickly down the hall and further down the stairs. His ire, viewed by someone who knew him well enough, was evident on his features and in the depths of his abyssal eyes. He wasn't angry, per say; he was irritated at best.

He swept past the kitchen entrance, turned down another hall and upon reaching the doorway he sought, opened it wide. He stepped into the garage and shut the door behind him with a resounding click. His attention focused on the dark haired male bent over the open hood of his car.

"Is there a reason you've chosen today to make yourself so well heard throughout the house?"

"Why? You trying to sleep? It's noon. You never sleep in," he replied back, nary a hint of anything out of order in his voice while his back remained to face Sai. It were as though he'd known who was there the moment he entered, but, couldn't be bothered to turn and look at him for even a moment.

Sai watched on as Sasuke twisted a wrench in his hand. Both of his arms and hands were coated in black oil, grease and in part: dirt. His dark green tank top was splotched in the stuff. He wore a pair of jeans ripped and apparently used quite often to do such labor intensive work.

"Are you going to do this all day?" Sai asked, avoiding his question.

"I might?" he answered somewhat evasively.

The artist resisted sighing in exasperation. "Then I may go out for the day."

"Why? Am I interrupting your painter's focus?" his words were light and sarcastic, almost more so than normal.

Sai placed his hands on his hips, book somehow still held. "Why are you up?" he asked stoically, but curious. Unlike Sai, Sasuke almost never got up before at least two PM on weekends, especially later if he'd been drunk the night before.

He bent further over the engine, looking very interested a what Sai assumed was a piston. "What do you mean?" he responded after a moment.

"You're never up before noon on the weekend."

"It's noon now."

He'd been up for a while now and they both knew it. Arguing with Sasuke childishly was not something Sai gave into easily. He learned fairly quickly in his much younger years what a pointless effort that was.

He was deliberately avoiding him in all respects he concluded. He wasn't looking at him. He was trying to add as much humorous sarcasm to the conversation as to avoid whatever the heart of the matter was. Sai wasn't even sure he was really doing any work on the car; he couldn't tell because he knew about as much about cars as Sasuke knew about paint: jack squat.

Sai knew what he wanted to say, but, really what good what it do? Sasuke had probably been up all night thinking about Naruto. There was no sure way for Sai to know what had happened the night before; however, whatever it was, it was enough to cause Naruto Namikaze to run like a bat out of hell out of his house; it was enough to make his only brother stay up all night long thinking about it.

He wasn't in the mood to start a fight with him anyway, not today; no, that was Sasuke's perogative.

He turned around and headed towards the door he previously came through.

"Where you going?" Sasuke asked.

"Out."

ooo

"To right a little... yes, ok. No, tilt your head towards me. Good! Give me that mysterious look... perfect! Keep that face while you move for me, darling!"

Camera flashes were abound. Light continuously bounced off the background as she moved from one position to the next. She sat, she knelt, she pulled her hair up and twisted her hips this way and that into various poses while she stood.

"Beautiful!" he cried and she couldn't help but smile briefly at his enthusiasm.

"Mysterious!" he corrected her and she immediately banished the small expression.

She wondered, momentarily, if Leonardo's models had to conform to such silliness or, if the intellectual artist simply let them fall as they may. There was certainly a difference between commercial art and the more emotional driven. Who knew really, right?

Sakura let it go from her mind as she moved into another pose and tilted her gaze, this time, away from the camera. She gazed off into what would later appear to be the distance in a fully developed photo. As she did so, the camera flashes became hazy and distant. Her movements became mechanical.

She felt stupid after last nights encounter; not because it was something she should have known. She felt stupid because when she thought about it, it just seemed so obvious. How was it no one knew Sasuke and Sai were brothers? How was it she never knew? When you really looked at them they appeared a lot alike. That didn't always equal siblings, but, why had no one asked?

Because.... no one cared?

It seemed both a logical and depressing answer to her. Sai didn't have any friends aside from Sasuke. What friends Sasuke had were stoners and nobodies; although, that really didn't account for no one knowing. If she really thought about it however... she never heard anything about the brothers' pasts or their home life in general. In fact, the first time she'd been to their home was last night; it was brief, at best.

Didn't Sai realize a lot of these gay rumors would stop if he and Sasuke just told everyone the truth? Not all of the rumors would quit, but, surely quite of few of them would go away. No one was really sure if Sasuke was gay, but, they were sure (it seemed) that Sai was; they were sure that Sai hanging with Sasuke so much was a big indication that he liked him on top of a lot of other criteria. Sasuke allowing Sai to hang out with him didn't click with many people because Sasuke had sex so often with the opposite gender. He was just too billy badass for it to even be considered among the regular high school crowd.

Again, though, why didn't he just tell them the truth when they muttered out insults in the halls? Why didn't he defend himself or explain it? Why didn't Sasuke? Didn't it bother them? It had to bother Sai a little bit. The very idea of people gossiping about her made her nerves shiver. It didn't seem fundamentally possible that it didn't bother him in some way.

She couldn't help but ask herself if she should care; rather, was it really a good idea to care at all? Sai was a nice guy; a nice guy who just happened to be the very thing her kind of crowd didn't like. It was one thing to do a school project with him; however, it was another to care about his personal life or social status.

Rumors, drama, choices: it all rolled around in her head like an out of control train on a marked line of tracks.

As she drifted back to reality, her eyes were drawn to a tall woman in white behind the photographer with deeply appraising eyes. Her attention was solely on Sakura and lacked any indication of disappointment. Sakura wanted to say she saw pride there, but, she was never really sure. Still, her presence made her work harder than she would without it.

"Damn!" she heard the Leon, the photographer, suddenly cry out.

Her mother's gaze drew away from her and Sakura stilled as she looked over at Leon.

"Is something the matter?" Vivian asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," replied the brunette. "Although I can't really tell why, but, it just stopped altogether." He indicated to the camera. "It may be both batteries are dead, but, I'll have to take it to the shop for repairs right away. We can reschedule, right?"

Vivian sighed, hands on her hips and indicated she wasn't pleased, but, would make due. "Very well." She looked over at Sakura. "Go on and change while we reschedule your next shoot, Sakura."

Sakura nodded and escaped into the dressing area. When she returned her mother had made the date.

"I have an appointment in one hour," she was telling Sakura. "I'll see you at home later."

Sakura blinked and tried not to look confused as she looked up at her mother. "I was hoping we could get lunch."

"You have the rest of the day to yourself," she replied as if to assure her in some way. "I'm sure you would rather spend it with your friends."

"Of course..." Sakura allowed as a small smile crept on her face. She watched as she walked away away, blond hair swaying along her back and her heels clicking in her wake. Grace oozed out of her every movement in a way Sakura admired. She looked on a while longer in quiet thought before grabbing her bag and leaving as well.

When she looked down at the time on her phone she was surprised to find she really did have the whole rest of the day. When she been told she had to do this shoot today she hadn't had any clue how long it would last; as a result, she'd told her friends she would be busy all afternoon as well. She supposed she could call Ino and see what she was up to. It wouldn't be hard for the blonde to fit her into whatever she was doing.

But... for some reason she just didn't feel like it. She didn't want to hang out with Ino today. She wasn't really in the mood for a round of shopping, gossiping and boy talk over ice cream. She could call Naruto. She should considering his state of being last night; however, she found when Naruto had a problem it was always best if she let him come to her. Whatever it was, it was still too new for her to ask him, especially if it involved Sasuke.

When she considered all of her other options, none of them evoked a feeling of desire either. She didn't want to be by herself though. Going home to an empty house felt stagnant and uninteresting.

She sighed as she slid into the driver's seat, closed the door behind her and stared off into the parking lot beyond the front windshield. She leaned forward and her arms were made to rest on the top of the steering wheel. Her chin sat there almost uncomfortably as she stared on at the scattered vehicles and a score of empty spaces before her.

Immediately, she got lost in her own trove of thoughts for naught a better thing to do at that moment.

It shouldn't bother her so much that no one knew or that they didn't tell anyone; it did, though. It bothered her for a reason she completely blamed on him and his vexing response to her yesterday when she said he didn't care what other people thought of him:

"I do. Sometimes, though, it doesn't always matter."

She locked her gaze on some spot in the scene beyond her windshield as those brilliant wheels in her mind began coil and turn like clockwork.

Suddenly, she turned the keys in the ignition and set the car into drive. Moments later Sakura was pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

ooo

Dark depths rolled as the door shut and echoed in the garage. It was the closest his brother would ever get to slamming the door in aggressive emotion. He really didn't care though. He was too damn busy to be bothered with Sai's artist version of PMS.

The odor of grease and motor oil swathed his sense of smell, almost becoming a drug as he bent over his work. The heat of the garage, the feel of muck on his hands, the grit under his nails, all of it overwhelmed him; though, not because he couldn't help but be overwhelmed, rather, because he wanted to be.

Still, despite his (forced) hyper focus, he stopped when the sound of a car suddenly coming to a stop dwindled on in the background beyond the garage door. His eyes narrowed in curiosity and his brow furrowed as he looked off to the side of the hood. He couldn't quite see the vehicle from behind the other in the driveway, though, he did hear the car door slam to a close and the echo of a woman's heels.

The corner of his mouth twitched in a partial smirk before he just went back to his work. If Sai hadn't left yet then he could take care of it. If not, they'd eventually figure out where he was.

"Hello?" he heard seconds after his recent thought.

A sigh escaped him, but, he kept working.

"Sai?" her voice questioned as she came around to the open hood. Her clicking heels stopped as she looked over at him working. It took her a moment or two to realize the person bending over the engine was not Sai; instead, the person she was addressing was his brother.

Without much consideration, she blurted, "You two really do look a lot alike."

Sasuke looked up at her, dark depths catching her gaze. Surprise washed over him like a sudden wave and evoked silence, but, somehow he managed to hide it. At best he assumed it was someone there to see his mother or father. There weren't many girls his age, even in his high school, who wore heels like some damned daily event as Sakura Haruno did.

He reached for a rag resting on the edge of the car while he kept his quiet, assessing gaze on her; her standing there in her pristine, pink and white skirt and blouse with matching jacket; her standing there with her perfectly styled blond curls bouncing just enough and those big green eyes that demanded adoration.

His eyes, expectedly, drew down the rest of her form and beyond the thin material she donned, exploring silently and wondering what it was the male population found so appealing about her. She was too clean, too plastic, too perfect. Innocence pervaded every part of her. It was almost sickening to him, but, for reasons he wouldn't admit; not to himself, not his brother, not to anyone.

Yet, angst and pent up aggression, especially from the night before, were working things in his mind more emotionally than normal. His train of thought directed him to look at Sakura Haruno in a way he wouldn't dare do normally knowing what he knew about her. If she were any other girl, his next coarse of action would have been a bit more acceptable.

He lips curled into a smile, carnivorous, clandestine and charismatic. "We do, but, that's pretty much where it ends." He took a step towards her and leaned on the edge of the car with his hip. "You're looking for him aren't you?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry, yes. Is he...?" she trailed off questioningly while pointing towards the door Sai had taken a good fifteen minutes ago or so.

"He left not long ago," he replied smoothly as he crossed his arms over his chest, as he leveled his dark depths on her own green hues. He stepped away from the car and towards her again, coming very close to invading her personal space. He dug his hands into his pockets and leaned a little closer to her.

"You know, I'm much more fun than my brother," he murmured so only she could hear.

Sakura blinked a bit in surprise at his sudden advance. A tinge of pink bloomed on her cheeks as a direct result. "W-what?" she asked. She smiled nervously, taking a step back. "Sai and me..? I have a boyfriend. I--."

He chuckled and placed a hand on the wall behind her and to the side of her head. His presence trapped her. "Naruto? Can you really call him a boyfriend?" Sasuke edged, leaning closer. "Five minutes," he breathed, "and you won't even remember his name," he promised enigmatically.

Sakura felt frozen in place and quite unsure of what to do just then. She couldn't really deny that Sasuke was attractive. His soft yet masculine features, his lithe and muscular frame, his dark eyes and darker mess of a hair, all of it added up to something any woman in her position would be tempted to say yes to.

She was caught in a web by a master weaver. She swallowed and narrowed her eyes as she tried to come up with a response or reaction. Naruto's smiling face appeared in the back of her mind and a tinge of guilt prodded at her to stop; get away, it told her.

"Sasuke, could you--."

Sakura turned to see Sai enter in through to door leading into the house. His ebony hues, somehow very different from his brother's, caught her own green ones immediately. She felt Sasuke pull away from her physically instantly. His arm dropped to his side and he slowly dug his hands back into his pockets while he turned to face Sai.

Relieved, Sakura began to speak, "Sai, I came to--."

"Can I talk to my brother, Sakura?" he asked coolly, tonelessly. "Alone." When she didn't say anything right away, he continued, "You can wait in the house, if you like." He pointed to the door behind him while his eyes stayed on his brother.

The tension in the room directed towards Sasuke from Sai was so evident that even if she had a reason to argue with Sai, she didn't think she would have.

"Alright..." she replied slowly, nodding. She eyed him contemplatively as she walked past. The door to the house shut behind her with an almost soundless click.

"Well," Sasuke allowed after a long moment, "That was fun."

"Have you no sense?" he asked.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's a stupid question. Enough sense for what?"

Sai ignored his question and continued, "I'm not sure what you're problem is all of a sudden, but, leave Sakura out of it. Pick another girl to mess with while you're...emotionally unstable. Better yet," he emphasized, "call Karin."

The other male snorted, half laughing at the same time. "Is that some sort of order?"

"It's me asking you to leave her alone."

"Possessive little bastard, aren't you?" he half snapped half joked.

Sai stilled the moment the accusation flew out of Sasuke's mouth. He frowned. "This isn't about your delusion that I'm in love with her."

That sarcastic grin remained on Sasuke's face. He crossed his arms over his chest as his backside rested on the front of his little blue Dart. "Really?"

"Yes."

"Then why else would you give a flying fuck about anything I did with her?" He argued back. "You're not her friend."

"Is that hard to believe?" he returned curiously, lacking the emotional delivery his brother expressed easily.

"Yeah, actually, it is."

The artist sighed in return."Sasuke..."

"Why can't you just admit you want her?" he snapped, barking laughter. "She's hot, isn't she? Nice breasts--."

"Stop it, Sasuke."

"--nice ass--."

"Sasuke."

"--I'd fuck her."

"Sasuke!" he said louder, raising his voice just enough to get him to be quiet, or to at least listen to him. He wouldn't yell. He didn't need to no matter what he thought he was feeling.

"Piss you off did I?" he asked, coming closer to him after he pushed himself off the car.

Sai said nothing a moment. He didn't even look at his brother. His eyes were drawn to the side and locked on something he really wasn't even looking at.

How badly he'd wanted to avoid this argument with Sasuke. He had been so close to walking away. He might be more upset than he was use to, but, he wasn't without control. He wasn't 'pissed'.

Finally, after a while, he returned his gaze to his brother. "If you thought I liked her even a little bit, more so loved her, as you claim, then why would you do what you were attempting to do to her only ten minutes ago in here? Logically, what do you have to gain from.... pissing me off? Hm?"

It was Sasuke's turn to pause. His mouth opened for a moment and his eyes narrowed. His mouth shut slowly. His jaw tightened and a vein in his neck twitched as if he were brimming with unleashed anger.

"I'm not going to fight with you, physically or verbally, Sasuke." He turned away from him then and only paused once he reached the door, his hand stilling on the knob. "Leave Sakura out of your problems with Naruto, Sasuke. If for no other reason than because I asked you to."

When he left the room Sai briefly shut his eyes and exhaled. It was barely seconds later he heard the slam of a hood and revving of an engine as he walked down to hall to look for Sakura. He momentarily noted he would have tell his mother that his brother wouldn't likely be home for a few days.

Fantastic.

AN :: Sorry this chapter took a bit of time; however, if you've read my profile you guys know why. If you haven't scoot on over there and find out. Anyway, one more month before summer is here. Then I'll have a little more time on my hands. Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'll take some times to read and reply to all of them flooding my inbox. Oh, and if you're reading Torn as well, that will be the next fic I update.

--Blade