Chapter Ten
The later had arrived not long ago. In his own crazy way, Suigetsu had assumed if he just ignored it, eventually it would just disappear. But then, strangely enough, one month passed, and the date of the doom full visit seemed to draw nearer and nearer.
Still, Suigetsu didn't mention it to anyone. He didn't know why, he just assured himself that if he just left it alone, maybe that day would just never come.
"I can't believe that woman!"
"I'm sure she didn't mean to offend you specifically, Zabuza."
"She did! That whore!"
My parents want to take me back to Osaka.
"What did she say to you?"
They want to come tomorrow.
"She said I was a bad influence on Haku!"
They mean it this time. They're taking me away.
"A bad influence?"
I don't want to leave.
"Yeah, she had the nerve to call the relationship we have 'inappropriate'!"
I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't.
"That's a little harsh!"
I don't want to go.
"She acted like I was a paedophile or something!"
"Hold on, Zabuza!" Kisame turned to look at the youngest boy, sat at the edge of the table, his eyes in his cereal bowl. "Suigetsu, what's wrong? You're not eating."
He blinked in surprise, and laughed, "I'm a bit tired, oh, is that the time? I got to go! Bye!"
I don't want to go. I don't know how to tell you.
"Oh! God, Hidan! Hidan – yes, baby!"
The albino was in Kakuzu's lap, a tie wrapped around Kakuzu's neck, which Hidan held onto, as he slammed his hips up and down his throbbing erection.
Hidan's eyes clenched shut, moaning out his lover's name, he bit his bottom lip with savageness to make it bleed.
The pair were completely lost in the heat of the moment, lost by the sound of Kakuzu's ring tone. The Thunderbirds theme as his ring tone; it had been seemed like a pretty retro hard-core idea at the time Zetsu sent it to him.
But it was now a little embarrassing.
Hidan sniggered, and Kakuzu jerked his hands away from Hidan's hips, to grab his phone from the bedside table.
"H-Hello?" His voice was shaking, half from the feel of his naked boyfriend sitting on his cock, half from the nerves of Hidan hearing his ring tone.
"Hi there, Kakuzu, are you okay?" Sasori's monotone was always more amusing over the phone.
"Yeah, I'm good," he hid a gasp as an irritated Hidan shifted his hips slightly to test him. Kakuzu covered his mouth and shot Hidan a look. The grin on the albino's face was of pure amusement.
"Is that so? Well, I was wondering if I could call in a favour–"
"Aaah!"
"Kakuzu, are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes," he swatted Hidan, who laughed, rocking his hips back and forth, leaning in and attacking his neck with surprisingly gentle kisses. His pink eyes gazed up at Kakuzu, giving a very strong message. 'Pay attention to me, pay attention to me, pay attention to me'.
"Kakuzu, would you like me to call you back when you are not having sex?" Sasori sounded irritated… not good.
"Urm, well, yes, please, that would be great."
Middle school was back in action a day early. High school had another two lucky days off. Something every high school student was rather pleased about.
Sasori's home was expanding. His three cousins' were coming to live with them. All his life, it had been just him and his grandmother, Chiyo. But there had been some domestic disturbances between his uncle and his youngest son, Gaara. So many disturbances, Sasori's uncle was now in a home for the mentally ill. It was deemed appropriate Gaara and his elder siblings would come to live with Sasori and Chiyo.
Still, after a lifetime of him and his grandmother living the simplest way (eating and storing their artwork in all the other rooms), the prospect of other people living with them, meant a lot of work needed to be done on the house.
And of course, who better for the job than his dearest friends?
"I hate… this…" Suigetsu was sat around a table with Juugo and a whole bunch of people he didn't exactly like.
Today was not his day.
Group activities in English, not to mention the fact it was poetry: his oldest foe.
He didn't need any of those things. Glancing around the room he spotted Sasuke sat on the other side of the class, with Uzumaki Naruto.
The table was in complete silence; mostly because Shikamaru was fast asleep, and Hinata was too embarrassed to say anything. Naruto and Sasuke sat either side of each other, deliberately looking in every other direction.
"O-Oh, Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed suddenly, sitting up in her seat, her cheeks red with embarrassment, "N-Neji told me to invite you over for dinner tomorrow night!"
Naruto's tense expression switched to a fond smile, "Really? Sweet, thanks, Hinata, I'd love to come!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes when he saw the content look on his former best friend's face.
Hinata was Neji's cousin, the two of them lived together at the Hyuga Estate; Neji's father was Hinata's father's younger twin brother. He was also shot whilst defending his brother from as assassin, when Neji was nine.
Sasuke heard the Neji had felt a lot of resentment for Hinata's father, Hizashi Hyuga, Head of Hyuga Enterprises, after his father's death. It was natural really.
However, Hinata, who was so shy and humble by nature was kind to her cold hearted cousin, and often went out of her way to make him happy. Neji was probably too selfish to even realize it. All of those brains and he never once noticed how Hinata was completely head over heels in love with Naruto.
Still, she pushed Neji and Naruto together, despite how it must have hurt her to do so. Neji wanted Naruto, so Hinata decided he'd have to have him.
"Hey, Sasuke-teme?"
Sasuke was completely knocked out of his thoughts… how long had it been since Naruto called him that? The blonde was sidled closer to him, waving a hand infront of his face.
The Uchiha blinked, "What?"
"Hinata and I don't understand the poem… You're smart, Sasuke," he pushed the piece of paper infront of him, grinning convincingly.
Sasuke took the paper, looking up at Naruto. Their eyes met, and that was all it took.
Suigetsu waved violently, nearly knocking into Juugo, "Hey, Sasuke!" He needed to talk to him – he needed advice, and only God knew he couldn't get it from Kisame and Zabuza right now.
"Sasuke – Sasuke, hey, I saved you a seat!" He waved a hand again, usually, he never did this, but today he needed a friend. He needed clear, sensible advice.
"Suigetsu, I'm going to eat lunch with Naruto today," Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at the spiky haired blonde, waving cheerfully from a secluded two man table in the corner.
Suigetsu had long become a master of hiding his disappointment, "Oh, that's cool. I mean, me and Juugo were like, just gonna chill together today anyway, without you, it's gonna be cool…" He looked back, and felt slightly embarrassed by the fact Juugo was muttering to himself and shaking again.
Sasuke didn't seem to notice, he just smiled his rare, casual smile, "That's cool, have fun. I'll catch you with you later, Sui."
"Yeah…"
Today was the day; that was the undeniable and terrifying truth. The letter which had lain dormant in his room for all this time suddenly left him with such serious thoughts…
Suigetsu groaned, as he sat up on the school roof, hands held loosely by his sides. The letter was from his parents. He sighed. They were visiting tomorrow at eleven-thirty, so chances were, this would be his last few hours in Konoha.
This would be the last day he spent at school. The last time he'd skip class. The last time he'd walk home to the apartment. The last night he'd sleep there.
Suigetsu sighed deeply, rising to his feet; he tossed the empty milk carton off the roof, and slid down onto the window ledge.
"I'm tired," Kakuzu groaned as he flopped into the sofa. Tomorrow Sasori's cousins were arriving, so today had been all about preparing the house.
Out of all their homes, excluding Itachi's, Sasori's was the most impressive. It had five bedrooms, a large room converted into an art studio, an enormous dining room with a massive oak table. The kitchen was roughly the same size as Zetsu's whole apartment.
It was just down the street from here, the park Kakuzu used to play in as a child. He'd force his mother to drive him down to the rich part of town. Sasori was totally wasted on such a place. He was a child who'd sit alone in a room, making puppets, while other played out in the park.
"Is that you, Kakuzu?"
Chiyo Akasuna, Sasori's grandmother, a retired doctor and a true relic. More often than Sasori liked, she'd play dead for a joke. She was going deaf, but she was one of the coolest old people Kakuzu had ever known.
"Hi there, Granny," he smiled at her, as she sat down beside him on the sofa they'd moved onto the back lawn.
"Where's that white haired lad?" she asked, squinting and looking around the garden as if expecting to find Hidan there.
"Hidan is upstairs with Sasori and Deidara, I think," he briefly remembered seeing them cleaning out the fourth bedroom.
"Well, that sounds nice," Chiyo sighed absent-mindedly, "you know, it's so nice to have this old house being full of life again."
He glanced over at her, and saw sadness in those distant, far-seeing eyes.
"It used to be full of people, my house… sometimes it's a little lonely with just me and Sasori. He's such a quiet boy, never asks me for anything… I do like it when you boys come over to see him."
"Sasori-danna – help, unn!" Deidara cried desperately.
Sasori re-entered the room to find Hidan leaning against the cupboard door to keep him trapped inside.
"Hidan," the red-head sighed, "Let him out. He's noisy, he's going to wake my grandmother while she's napping," he said this coldly, picking up a box of oil bottles.
"Ha-ha, Sasori's got lube!" Hidan pointed, "Hey, blondie, your luck's changing!"
Sasori raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't know what kind of kinky stuff you and Kakuzu are into, Hidan. But I wouldn't recommend using this," he squeezed a little out, revealing an unpleasant black liquid.
Behind the door, Deidara noticed no quirky, irritated response from Hidan… this sort of reaction could only imply…!
He started to jump up and down, "OH MY GOD, UNN! YOU AND KAKUZU?!"
"Shut the fuck up, Deidara!"
"Yes," Sasori cut in, "Hidan, stop being a shit, and help me with this box, it's very heavy."
"Ah, you're back, unn!" Deidara gasped as he answered the front door. Pein, Kisame and Itachi had gone to buy take away Chinese.
"Yeah," Pein shrugged, kicking off his shoes, "Is Konan here yet, Dei?"
"No, she's out with girls today," Sasori smirked, a little surprised by this himself.
"Where do we all eat?" Kisame whined, holding his stomach.
He'd been on his feet all day, so much for a day off…
Sasori took the food from him and handed it to Deidara, "Take this to the table. Could you also find my grandmother and tell her we have dinner?"
If anyone else had asked, Deidara's response would have been somewhat… horrible.
But since it was Sasori…
"Alright, Danna, unn," he grinned, taking the bag and dashing off.
"Where the fuck is Tobi?" Hidan demanded as he put the box of oils down, coming to stand with the others. "He's good at lifting things!"
"I didn't invite him," Sasori said it so bluntly, Pein burst out laughing.
"Sasori, that's so bitchy of you," Hidan smirked, "I never realized you were so fucking over protective of Deidara!"
The red head shot him a dirty look, "No, I know if he was here, he'd get over excited and drop something. I'd rather not have valuables smashed."
"Sure," Pein patted him on the shoulders, "We believe you, short stuff," he sighed as he walked over to the dining room.
Sasori growled to himself as the other's followed.
"We'll be with you all in one minute," Itachi called, grabbing Kisame's hand.
"Okay," Sasori waved briefly as he followed after Pein.
"Kisame-san," Itachi put both hands on his shoulders. Kisame stared down at him nervously.
"I really care about you," he said, making sure he didn't loose eye-contact, "But I'm not ready for this… yet."
"No – No, please, don't, Itachi-san," he reached out and touched his face, stroking soft locks of hair which rested on his face, "Is this about Orochimaru?"
Itachi shook his head, "It's not about Orochimaru. This is about me. I promise when I'm ready, I'll be the man you want me to be. I want to be ready soon, but right now I'm just not. We'll suffer for it if we're together now."
Kisame's face fell, he lowered his hands from his face to his shoulders, "I… understand, Itachi, I really do… just…"
"I don't mean to disappoint you," the younger man stood up on tip-toe, "Please, just be patient, Kisame-san. Wait up for me?"
Kisame looked away, "I will…"
Itachi grabbed his chin and kissed him on the mouth. Kisame was so taken back; it took him a second to wrap both strong arms around the Uchiha's waist.
Panting a little as he pulled away, Itachi dropped back down to his usual height, "I'll be ready soon," he smiled softly, "Please don't resent me for it."
Kisame took his hand, "I can wait for you. Now let's go get some Chinese before Hidan eats it all."
Itachi squeezed the hand reassuringly as they reached the dining room, before letting go.
"Kakuzu, you lazy fucking slacker!" Hidan hit him over the head sharply, "We've been working our asses off – you move one sofa – one fucking bitch of a sofa, and spend the rest of your jolly bastard time sitting your ass on it?!"
Kakuzu's top priority seemed to be protecting his head. "Owwww – I wasn't slacking, I was talking to Granny Chiyo!"
Everyone called her 'Granny Chiyo', except Sasori who was always so formal with everyone.
"Hidan, Kakuzu, you can act like an old married couple after you've eaten," Pein sighed sharply, half-way through his noodles.
For the first seven weeks after he got his tongue pierced, the others had watched him eat with mild fascination. The tongue piercing was how he assured his first kiss with Konan. It was pretty much a good thing all around.
"Sasori-danna, are you looking forward to your cousin's coming to live here, unn?"
Sasori shrugged, "I don't really mind. I haven't seen them in a few years now."
"How old are they, Sasori?" Pein asked, naturally, parties here would be off if a bunch of grade schoolers were coming here.
"I'm not sure. Grandmother, is their father coming too?"
"No," she said coldly, "He's not around to be around the children anymore." She looked up at the others, explaining a little embarrassedly, "My late daughter married poorly, so I promised to take Temari, Kankuro and Gaara into my care."
Chiyo once had three children. Sasori's father was the eldest, then the mother of Temari, Kankuro and Gaara. Her third son, Yashimaru, had died nearly ten years ago now.
"I'd like to thank all of you," she said suddenly, "for helping us out today. And you, Kakuzu for chatting to me, I know it can't have been very exciting…"
"Crap," he laughed, touching her shoulder, "It was great."
Kisame jumped as he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket, "Oops, sorry everyone. Excuse me for a minute!" he picked it up, walking into the hall.
It was Zabuza.
"What do you want?"
"I need you home now, fat ass! Before the kid gets here."
He blinked, "What? How come? I told you I'm busy today!"
"Just do it – it's fucking important – that little shit's been keeping stuff from us! Bloody important stuff! Like, did you know his parent's are coming tomorrow?"
Kisame paled, "What the hell?"
"Yeah, I know! I was looking for my jacket and guess what I found in his room? Apparently, they're going to take him away from the wording!"
Suigetsu kicked off his sneakers as he entered the apartment, "Hey, Kisame, Zabuza? Are you two home?"
It was stupid that his middle school had to go in for Friday whereas the high school was off until next week. "Where are you guys?"
He walked into the living room/dining room/kitchen, and flickered on the light switch, revealing his two room-mates sat in the dark.
"Woah, creepy," he laughed nervously, going to open the fridge, "what's this? Guess the movie?"
Before he could open the fridge, Zabuza grabbed his wrist and tossed him down into a chair, "Sit your ass down, you little brat!"
Suigetsu glared angrily at them, "What the hell? Listen, Zabuza, I only took your jacket to wear to a party like once – I was gonna give it back!"
"Shut-up," Kisame interrupted, before softening his tone, "Suigetsu, why the hell didn't you tell us about the letter from your parents?"
"What letter?" he stammered.
"This damn letter!" Zabuza lifted it up, "and I quote: 'We don't want you wasting your time in that town anymore'. Damn it, why the hell didn't you tell us as soon as this arrived?!"
Suigetsu looked away, hissing under his breath, "It only arrived this morning. It was late because of the post."
Zabuza's fist slammed into the wall, "Well when were you going to tell us about it? Tomorrow when they got here? Or tomorrow night when we manage to call you when they're driving you back to Osaka?! What the fuck, Suigetsu?"
"Do you want to go with them, is that it?" Kisame asked, grabbing hold of his arm, "Do you hate living here that much, Suigetsu? Is that it–"
"How the hell could I tell either of you anything?" He screamed, standing up straight and slapping Kisame's hand away, "You're so fucking self-involved you wouldn't notice!"
Zabuza's hand shot out and slapped him smartly across the face with such force it knocked him onto his back.
"So you agree with your parents?" He snarled angrily, lifting the letter back up to quote it, "'those two selfish punks are completely incapable of taking care of themselves, how on earth do you expect them to take care of you?' I didn't realize you thought like them. Like father like son, huh?" Zabuza was so angry that the rising misery in his voice was probably completely over-looked.
Kisame stepped between him and Suigetsu, "I know, it isn't perfect here, but I always thought we had a laugh here, the three of us."
"It doesn't fucking matter what I want!" Suigetsu snarled, standing up, his knees were shaking as he spoke, "Tomorrow they're gonna come here and when they see this place there's no way in hell they'll let me stay!" He ran off to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Itachi frowned as he picked up the phone, "Hey, Kisame-san?"
"Hi, Itachi-san, I need your help, more than ever."
Itachi's frown deepened, he settled himself down on the sofa, "What is it?"
It was nine o'clock at night, unusual for him to call this late. Ever since Pein made that joke about Itachi needed his beauty sleep, Kisame had stopped calling after eight thirty…
"I'm sorry, but can you come over? We need your help."
"So," Itachi sat at the table, staring across at the two anxious looking young men infront of him. "Let me get this straight, Suigetsu's parents are coming here tomorrow morning at roughly 11:45 am, am I right so far?"
"Yes," Kisame nodded.
Itachi glanced at his hands, "By tomorrow at 11:45 am, you want this apartment to be completely tidy and clean, as well as the two of you disguised as respectable members of society. Correct?"
They both nodded, slightly irritated by the 'disguised' comment.
"Conclusively, by doing this, you tell me you don't want to alter Suigetsu's parents image of you, but more specifically, his need to stand up to them regarding their letting him stay here. And you'll need my help," he glanced around the crap-filled apartment, "This will require us working through the night. Where is Suigetsu now?"
"I think he ran off," Zabuza glanced at his phone, "Since he's not at yours, he must be with that Juugo kid. I don't think he'll be coming back."
"Okay," Itachi clasped his hands together, "Let's get started."
Naruto leant against the sofa, trying to suppress his laughter, "T-Teme, I missed this," he said through laughter, holding his stomach.
Sasuke was in a similar state, catching his breath, "Me too, dobe!"
Laughing still, Naruto got up and made his way into the kitchen, "Do you want anything to drink?"
"No, I'm alright thanks. Geez," Sasuke entered the room, "You still drink too much fizzy stuff. I'd have thought Iruka-Sensei would have narrowed that down… where is he by the way?"
When he was eight years old, Naruto had been adopted by their grade school teacher, Umino Iruka-sensei.
"Oh, I think he's out with Hayate-sensei and Gemna-sensei again," Naruto laughed, he reached up for a mug. One of the annoying things about being a teenage boy was waiting for the growth spurts. He'd wanted to catch up with Neji by this age… but he still only came up to his shoulder. But whenever he complained about it, Neji would shrug, with his infamous cocky smile, and say, 'Well, I am older than you'.
Sasuke smirked; Naruto looked totally adorable, standing up on tip toe to reach to ever tempting prize of the mug with a cow on it.
"Here," Sasuke reached over his head, and took the mug down, passing it to the blonde.
"Aw, thanks!" Naruto said, flashing him another flawless smile.
Sasuke ruffled his hair, "I've grown since the last time I was here, dobe."
"Yeah, I can see that!" he raised a hand, measuring himself against Sasuke, "You're about as tall as Neji is now!"
Instantly he realized his choice of words had been a mistake. Sasuke's fist bashed onto the table with a thudding volume, "Damnit, Naruto, why the hell did you have to go and mention him?!"
"I didn't mean too, Sasuke!" Naruto began.
"Well you did, didn't you?" he said coldly, turning his head away, and stalking out of the kitchen, grabbing his jacket, "I'm not going to stand here while you fag out about your stupid boyfriend!"
"Sasuke, please don't go!" he ran after him, taking hold of his arm, "Sasuke – Sasuke, why are you acting so – Ow!" He yelped as Sasuke yanked away with such force, Naruto fell on the ground.
"Don't touch me!"
"Why not? I'm not germy! I don't understand – I'm still the same Naruto I've always been! What's changed?"
"Yes you have! You've changed, you idiot! I can't stand you touching me with the same hands you touch him with!"
"You wouldn't talk to me, Sasuke! You wouldn't talk to me before me and Neji were going out! This began at the party–"
The Uchiha turned frantically to find his bag, "Shut-up, Naruto – that never happened!"
"You kissed me!" Naruto protested.
He went crimson as he remembered that night.
Neither of them had had anything to drink. The whole group of them were camped out in Kiba's living room, so the door had about ten bags sealing it shut to keep the dogs out. It was four in the morning, and Sakura and Ino had refused to sleep with animals in the room. Right now, Sakura was lying between Lee and Neji on the floor. Ino had her head on Chouji's lap; Shikamaru slumped onto the arm chair, with his head down. Kiba had smuggled himself onto the sofa between Hinata and Tenten, he'd managed to sneak Akamaru in under his jacket.
Naruto and Sasuke had been sat together, squished up together into a corner; they were sharing a bottle of coke and laughing.
Suddenly Sasuke had found himself staring down at Naruto; he wasn't listening to his words, just staring at him. The way his lips moved when he spoke, the way he smiled when he said something funny. How he held the bottle infront of him to try and muffle his laughter in order not to walk anyone up.
"Dobe, you had confetti in your hair," Sasuke said suddenly, gazing down at him, reaching a hand to take it from where the pink confetti dangled from his ear. Naruto's cheeks tinged pink as he allowed the touch.
It happened in a soft beautiful moment. Sasuke's hand cupped his friend's chin, their eyes met. Deep blue gazing into coal black, and then it happened.
Sasuke's lips pressed against his; it was a deep, clumsy first kiss. Naruto's hands reached up almost timidly to take hold of the Uchiha's shoulders, three of his fingers stroked the back of his neck, as Sasuke pressed him against the kiss, lost in the kiss.
And then, suddenly it came to him what he was doing. He pulled away from Naruto, and sat still, the blonde snuggled into him, leaning his head against his chest.
"You wouldn't talk to me!" Naruto cried, blocking the door completely now, "You avoided me at school, you wouldn't answer my calls!"
Sasuke turned his face away, "I didn't – I was confused!"
"I love Neji!"
"No you don't – he's a guy, it's disgusting and wrong!"
"It's not!" Naruto yelled out, his hands balled into fists, tears in his eyes, "If two people love each other then why should gender get in the way!"
"I don't want to talk to you anymore, you disgusting fag!" The words were out of his mouth before he realized they were there at all.
He forced Naruto out of the way and slammed the front door behind him, leaving his friend sitting on the floor, crying.
"Wow!" Zabuza gasped, "Ita-chan, you're really good at scrubbing!"
Itachi sighed; he looked completely exhausted, his long black hair tied back from his face with a bandana, in a loose ponytail. He smiled up at Zabuza, and in that moment, he looked completely radiant. The swordsman's face went bright red.
"What the heck are these stains anyway? I thought at first they might be stains from maybe grapefruit juice, but the smell is too… What are they?"
Why the hell did it have to be Zabuza to tell him those were piss stains, when he was looking so beautiful?!
"Those… urm… well, those are pee stains."
Itachi nearly leapt back from where he was, with his hand pressed against the wall, "W-What? Why on earth would you – You really are slobs – why?!" he gabbled the sentence all at once, his eyes focused on Zabuza, who was now completely embarrassed.
At the time, it seemed cool, funny…
But now, the look on Itachi's face told him that, no, it was not cool, it was no funny, it was not endearing. It was just disgusting.
"Well… last month, we had ourselves a contest… to see who could pee the highest – the winner was–"
"I don't care!"
The phone rang three times. That was strange for Naruto's house. Usually Naruto or Iruka-sensei would pick up the phone instantly.
Neji frowned; playing with a lock of his hair… where was Naruto? Was he asleep? It was uncommon for his idiot boyfriend to just crash asleep anywhere in that apartment as soon as he got tired. Still, the idea of his adorable Naruto fast asleep on the sofa was very… endearing.
The Hyuga boy slapped himself for being soft, and went back to his homework, Naruto was probably asleep. No cute connotations attached to that.
"Hello, Naruto? Naruto, are you still up?"
Iruka closed the front door behind him, taking off his scarf and hanging up his coat, before making his way into the living room. The lamp was on, he thought briefly of scolding Naruto for leaving it on in the morning, when he saw his foster son sitting on the sofa.
He gasped and rushed to him, "Naruto! What's happened? What's the matter?"
The blonde's eyes were red from crying, he seemed exhausted from it.
"I-Iruka-sensei!" He cried, reaching out and clinging to him, burying his head in his father's chest.
"What's happened to you?" he begged, stroking his hair.
"I-It's Sasuke!" Naruto managed to say, his chest heaving, biting his bottom lip.
Iruka sighed sadly, "Oh, Naruto…"
1:25 AM
"I'm scared – I can't do it!"
"Come on, Kisame – Zabuza, what's wrong with you?!"
"Don't do it, Ita-chan!"
"Stop calling him that, Zabuza!"
Itachi looked around the relatively clean kitchen, "I just don't understand why you won't let me look in the fridge!"
"Itachi, if you saw what was in the fridge, you wouldn't want to see it!"
"Just let me open the door," Itachi frowned, barging past them and opening it. Instantly his eyes narrowed, his nose twitched at the smell.
The door closed.
3:10 AM
"I'm tired – I can't do this anymore – I love the kid, but I don't love him that much – we've been cleaning for hours, and it STILL doesn't look like we've done anything!" Zabuza threw himself onto the sofa, holding his head.
Kisame lay on his front on the floor, his arms sprawled either side of him. "We're never going to be finished by tomorrow!"
Itachi, although still on his feet, was nearly at his limits too. He held his head in a hand, "Yes. This just won't do. Alright, I've decided to call in the professionals."
Zabuza and Kisame looked up, confused, "What?"
7:56 AM
Suigetsu slipped into his sneakers, "Thanks for letting me stay the night, Juugo."
The ginger boy shrugged, he was in his calm mood right now.
"I should go back home… try and patch things up with my room-mates… before I pack up and leave town forever…" He sighed, rubbing his hair out of his eyes. In a stupid way, he'd come to accept it… "Oh well," he grabbed his jacket, "Nice knowing you, nut-job!"
"Right… Suigetsu."
It was a rarity that Juugo spoke, Suigetsu gave him a toothy smirk, "Oh, I almost forgot. Tomorrow, on Monday, would you give Sasuke this?" He took out a few pieces of paper from his jacket, "But if you read them, I swear to God," he joked, pretending to slash his own throat.
Juugo nodded and bowed, "Bye."
He was making his way up the stairs of the dreary apartment, when a large group of men in white coats ran past him. For the slightest second he wondered childishly if aliens landed here last night, or if the nice doctors came back for Zabuza.
"Hey! Kid – get your ass up here right now!" Zabuza appeared at the landing… so those guys hadn't come to take him away after all… "Something amazing has happened!"
The apartment was… somewhat spotless. Things sparkled – they actually sparkled!
It had been so long since he'd seen it like this – infact he never had!
The kitchen looked like you could actually… cook in here! The sofa had no crumbs or porno magazines crammed down the sides – it looked like you could sit on it!
Suigetsu turned and stared at his beaming room-mates with near tears in his eyes, "Y-You guys? You guys did this for me? You cleaned the apartment?! You want me to stay after all?"
"What do you mean after all?" Zabuza snapped.
Kisame slapped his forehead, "Of course we want you to stay, you little asshole!"
"Why the fuck do you think I spend all night cleaning this place with my bare hands!" Zabuza hit him sharply over the head.
Itachi clicked his teeth irritably, and Kisame laughed, rolling his eyes, trust Zabuza to take credit for it.
Suigetsu smirked, "You do realize I saw those people run past me on the stairs? By the way, they're from Uchiha, right? What sort of cleaners work through the middle of the night 'till morning?"
"Yes, they're from Uchiha," Itachi smirked, slightly impressed he'd worked that out, Zabuza thought Itachi had bought them from some kind of genetics lab…
Suigetsu let Kisame hug him around the shoulders, Zabuza always considered himself too hard-core for it, unless it was from Haku.
"I am grateful," the younger boy said softly, "But, you know, there's still no guarantee they'll let me stay…"
Zabuza ruffled his hair, sounding half affectionate, half irritated, "Little brat, that's why you need to fight your cause."
"Well, seeing as you all went the hells end to fix this place up, the least I can do is give my parents a bit of lip."
"Hello, Gaara?"
The red headed boy was sat facing the window. Bright blue eyes peered out at the park opposite the Akasuna home. He was wearing a warm beige sweater which he'd pulled over his knees in his comfortable sitting position in the taxi.
"Gaara, we're here now," his sister Temari called to him, her hand gently touching his shoulder.
He blinked turning and staring at her, "Really? This is the place where we used to live?"
His elder brother, Kankuro, had already begun helping the driver get the cases out of back. Stretching, Gaara got out of the car to help them, "Hold on, niisan, let me help you!"
Chiyo was making tea when she spotted the taxi. The boys had nearly all stayed over last night. Kakuzu and Hidan were crumpled together on the arm-chair. Pein was already awake, sat at the table, reading the morning paper.
Her eyes grew soft as her old eyes fell upon Sasori and Deidara, lying leaning on each other on the sofa. It was a rare thing Sasori slept, hardly ever since his parents died. And yet, there was a peaceful serenity in his face when he slept.
"Are they your grandchildren?"
Pein's voice cut her from her thoughts.
"Ah, yes," she put down her tea-pot, "Pein-kun, would you mind greeting them with me?"
He grinned, tilting his head, "Of course not."
"Hey there, can I give you a hand, miss?"
Temari blinked, staring into the eyes of an immensely attractive young man with spiky auburn hair and a face full of piercings. He looked instantly like the bad boy you'd date for a little while… She blushed – was that – could it be? Was this guy her cousin, Sasori?
"Temari-chan, it's been a while!" Granny Chiyo rushed towards her and hugged her around the shoulders. This guy must be Sasori – damn, he's hot – why are they related? That must be killer for the girls around here, who'd have thought her cousin would be so cool and rebellious looking?
"Hello, Grandma, it's so nice to see you again. Thank you for letting us come and live with you," she bowed her head, smiling apologetically.
"The pleasure is all mine, Temari It's nice to have some life back in the house," she turned to the young man who was potentially Sasori, "I'm sorry, but would you mind helping the drive take their bags inside?"
"On the double," the guy gave a teasing salute, before heading over to the taxi driver.
"Hiya, oh my God, it's good to see you, Granny!" Kankuro leapt from where he stood and ran to his grandmother, hugging her around the waist, "It's been so long!"
She laughed loudly, ruffling his hair, "It's so good to see the three of you looking so well!" The old woman waved cheerfully at Gaara, as she knew he disliked close physical contact.
"Hey," Pein smirked, standing next to Gaara, "That bag looks a little big for you," he gestured to Temari's suitcase the thirteen year old was attempting to haul from the back by himself.
Gaara moved his hand swiftly as Pein took hold of the handles and lowered it to the ground; brushing his fringe out of his face, the younger boy smiled shyly.
"Are you a friend of Sasori-nii's?"
Temari over-heard this and blinked, "Gaara, you do know that is Sasori-nii."
Pein laughed, "Urm, I'm afraid not. I'm a friend of Sasori's yes, my name is Pein. You'll find your cousin is still asleep, please excuse him, but he doesn't do that very often."
To be perfectly honest, her stomach did a funny leap when he said wasn't Sasori, specifically, not related to them in any way. However, his black button up shirt showed a lot of neck, and the love-bite on his collar-bone was the tell-tale sign of a girlfriend marking her territory.
Damn.
"Pein-kun and the driver will take care of your bags," Chiyo said, trying to lead them inside, "Please, come in you three."
As Gaara went to pass her, she placed her hand gently on his shoulder. Ever since he was a small child, he only invited the touch of his uncle, Yashimaru… and that had of course, turned out so brilliantly.
"Sasori!" Gaara gasped as he instantly recognized his cousin as Sasori stepped out onto the front porch.
He smiled gently, "Hello, it's so nice to see you all again. Welcome home."
Temari and Kankuro briefly exchanged amused glances. Sasori Akasuna, nearly eighteen years old, couldn't be more than five foot tall. He was undeniably good looking though; his face was perfectly featured, giving him all the appearance of a beautifully made china doll.
There was something which reminded them of Gaara in his face.
"Hey, Sasori," Kankuro shook his hand, "It's been a long time, and – Woah!" His jaw dropped as he spotted Deidara appearing from behind Sasori.
The blonde was dressed in a baggy black t-shirt which came to down his mid-knee, his long hair tumbling down his skinny shoulders. He was tiredly holding onto the back of Sasori's shirt… of course to anyone who didn't know Deidara, would think it was Sasori and his beautiful girlfriend.
Temari blinked… how could a girl who looked like – that, possibly want to date Sasori. Sure, there was nothing wrong with the guy, but surely, there must be at least five inches between them, wouldn't that be a little embarrassing?
Not even bothering to look over his shoulder, despite the fact everyone was staring at the beautiful blonde, and waiting to be introduced, Sasori sighed, "This is my friend, Deidara."
Her decor potentially implied Sasori was already nailing this girl… Kankuro's expression only read complete and utter jealousy.
The girl opened her mouth to say something, when Sasori interrupted, "Well? Don't just stand there like a lemon, Deidara, help Pein with their bags. Make yourself useful for once."
Temari and Kankuro nearly died – how on earth could their cousin be so cruel?! Perhaps Sasori was a cruel boyfriend – maybe the two of them had a very abusive relationship!
"No, please, it's okay – I'll help!" Kankuro cried, leaping forwards infront of the door.
"Yes, you can come and sit with me!" Temari smiled reassuringly at Deidara, she had to get the gossip on this potentially abusive relationship Sasori had with his pretty girlfriend.
Looking slightly confused, Deidara allowed the girl to lead him into the kitchen with Granny Chiyo. Kankuro elbowed Sasori, "Dude! Don't tell me that babe is your girlfriend?!"
Sasori looked like Kankuro was from another planet, "Deidara?"
"Who else? She's hot!"
"Deidara is a boy, and therefore, he is not my 'girlfriend'," he said coldly.
"What?" Kankuro looked horrified, "But how?!"
Sasori lost interest in the conversation and began to make his way into the kitchen, where Gaara was stood waiting for him. "Hello, Gaara."
"Hi, Sasori-nii, I'm glad you're doing well."
He ruffled his hair affectionately, "You too."
11:45 AM
"Suigetsu, Suigetsu, open the door!" His mother, Miyuku ran a small office which wrote a column offering advice to young people. This had awarded her with the natural impression that she knew everything about everyone between the ages of 5 days to 21 years.
His father, Takeshi, was an accountant, numbers were his life. Anything which interfered with numbers was just a nuisance. His son was one of these many nuisances in life.
The door was opened, revealing Zabuza who smiled politely, "Ah, hello, it's nice to see you both again."
"Momochi-kun," Miyuki scanned him almost nervously, "Where is Suigetsu?" She folded her arms across her chest.
"Yeah, come inside," he opened the door for them. He hated Mr and Mrs Hozuki. They were the rudest couple he'd ever met, all they did was complain, and they despised kids, especially their own.
He and Kisame grew up in a foster home and never had to deal with this sort of thing. To be honest, if all parents were like Suigetsu's, he was sure neither of them had missed anything.
Miyuki went to argue, but found she was staring at the glimmer inside the apartment. On first thought, she mistook it for maybe another sharp weapon – but on her second glance… it was the kitchen… the shinny, CLEAN kitchen!
Stepping inside, she shot her husband a look of complete confusion.
"You boys… live here?!"
Zabuza nodded smugly, "Yeah, we do."
The older woman took a brief glance at his clothes, "I must say, Momochi-kun, you really have smartened up. Is Hoshigaki-kun still living here also?"
"Hello, Mr and Mrs Hozuki," Kisame appeared from the bedroom, "it's very nice to see you both again. Suigetsu-kun, your parents are here."
Suigetsu walked out of his bedroom, he bowed politely, "Welcome, Mother, Father."
There was a moments pause, Miyuki blinked, then elbowed her husband, "Takashi!"
"Ah, yes," he cleared his throat, "Suigetsu, your mother and I are taking you back to Osaka, get your things. We – we don't want you to carry on living in these… poor conditions," he muttered, his face red as he looked at the shinning windows and spotless sofa…
Zabuza and Kisame chuckled, amused by the man's embarrassment.
"But I like it here," Suigetsu cut him off, sitting down gracefully on the sofa, "This is my home."
"Don't say stupid things, Suigetsu!" His mother cut in "This is not a suitable environment for you – and your home is with me and your father, not these delinquents! A young man like you is completely wrong for this!"
"And just what sort of young man do you think he is?" Zabuza snapped indignantly, "Do you even know your own kid, lady?"
Her eyes flickered, "How dare you speak to me!"
"Mom," Suigetsu interrupted, "Zabuza-senpai is right, I want to stay here – all of my friends are here!"
"You can make friends anywhere," his father cut in, "Now be a good boy and listen to your mother."
The silver-haired boy held his head, he sighed, "No."
Miyuki blinked, "Suigetsu, I'm not going to ask again. You're upsetting me, and you don't want that."
"I said I'm not coming!" He yelled, "I don't like the way you treat me, Mom, Dad… You say you want me to come home, but you don't know me personally, you might as well have a stranger in your house! You don't know me or my friends, but you think you can make assumptions about them!" His fist slammed against the wall, "I think you like the idea of having a son much more than actually having one!"
Takashi's eyes widened, then he grabbed Suigetsu sharply by the collar, "You insolent little brat!"
Zabuza's hand slammed onto Takashi's wrist, but Kisame pulled him back.
"You're a disgrace to this family!" Takashi roared, shaking his son harshly, "You've always been an embarrassment to me and your mother!"
"I DON'T GIVE A GODDAMN!" Suigetsu put both hands on his father's shoulders and shoved him off, "I NEVER ASKED YOU TO HAVE ME!"
Takashi looked horrified, "W-Worthless boy – when we leave, we won't come back for you, no matter what trouble you get into – drugs, prostitution, prison! We don't care, Suigetsu! You'll have nobody! Nobody!"
Suddenly, the boy felt a hand on each shoulder, and he turned to see Zabuza and Kisame glaring at his parents.
"No he won't, because he'll always have us." Zabuza snapped firmly, and at that moment, Suigetsu had felt like he never resembled Zabuza more.
"So you can go. Without me," he said, feeling strong and on his one two feet for once.
A part of him would always wonder if it was right or wrong to desert his parents that day. But he was sure he'd have felt one hell of a lot worse if he'd gone home with them.
"Naruto, thank God – I was worried!"
He smiled fondly as he heard the honesty in Neji's voice. "I'm sorry to worry you; I went to bed early last night."
"Oh," he laughed gently, his suspicions had been correct, "Enough beauty sleep I trust?" Neji smirked, glancing at his watch.
"You know it!"
"Are you still coming to dinner tonight, Naruto?"
Eventually Neji was improving at small talk.
"Of course I am! I'm just going to buy a new shirt to wear tonight!"
"Why do you need a new shirt?"
"Is there something wrong with wanting to look my best?"
Neji sighed, "You've met my uncle before."
"Yeah, but he thought I was naked! I need to make a better impression, Neji! I don't want to be remembered as the naked pool boyfriend!"
Neji blushed as he remembered the time last summer, where he and Naruto had been hanging out by the Hyuga Family pool. They were drying off when Neji's uncle returned from his meeting. In their shock to be ready, they fell, Naruto straddling Neji's hips. And from the angle, that older man thought the two boys were naked and was completely furious.
That was Hizashi Hyuga's first impression of Naruto.
"I see your point… though by now, my uncle is well aware of the fact you were actually wearing something."
Naruto wouldn't be persuaded, so he tried to change the subject, "Lee is in town, he sent me a text me a minute ago. He's buying sports equipment for the tennis tournament; you should meet up with him."
"Oh that sounds fun!" Naruto smiled happily, "I will – I'll see you later, Neji!"
Neji and Lee had been sort of friends since grade school. Ever since then, Neji was always Class President with Lee as Vice-President. Not much had changed in middle school, now Neji was Student-Body-President, with Lee working under him as Vice-President yet again.
Everyone saw the chemistry between their work. Lee was so hyperactive and hardworking, he never stopped. Neji was much more calm and collected, with charisma which attracted people accidentally. Nine times out of ten, their friend, Tenten was the balancing force between them.
"Naruto, hey, Naruto – over here!" Lee called, waving at him.
Naruto made his way over to him; Rock Lee had a huge bag of rackets over his shoulder.
"Hey, Lee… nice jackets," Naruto laughed, "I didn't know you were on the team!"
"Yeah, I am, got accepted last month," he beamed.
"Cool," Naruto blinked, spotting the slender young red head behind him. "Urm, Lee, who's your friend?"
Lee beamed, scooping an arm around the boy's shoulders, "Naruto, do you remember Gaara-kun? He would have been your year in grade school!"
Naruto frowned for a moment, and then his eyes lit up as he recognized those shy blue eyes, and the awkward smile.
"Ah, yeah, Gaara Gaara," he offered him a hand, "It's great to see you again!"