Disclaimer : Naruto and other characters are not mine.

Warning : SasuNaru. Shonen-ai. Some other pairings later on.

"bla bla" spoken

Bla bla bla thoughts

Sunshine After the Rain

By Misaki Sakura

Chapter 9 : Under the Same Sky

"Naruto!"

Kabuto stopped just right in front of the trembling boy. Sasuke ran quickly to Naruto's side and held his hand. The glare he gave Kabuto didn't falter the man. The bespectacled man just gave Naruto a smile and bowed at him and Sasuke before leaving.

This is interesting. Kabuto thought as he left the two boys.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Sasuke worriedly asked. If the trembling hand in his was any indication, then the boy was definitely terrified.

"Sasuke … who was that?"

"Kabuto, Orochimaru's assistant. Why? Do you know him?"

Naruto shook his head slowly. He didn't know what to say about it. Kabuto … he didn't remember … but he was sure he was scared at the man. The beach… Kabuto … and … Orochimaru …? He didn't want to be idle about his past anymore. No matter what Iruka said, he would find out about his past.

99999

"I'm not sure, Orochimaru-sama, but the boy has a striking resemblance with Kyuubi's son."

"I don't care who he is, Kabuto." Orochimaru said from his desk. After the school festival, Kabuto started searching for the painting, then he found out about Naruto. Surprising, yes, and a bit impossible but that's what he found. Especially when he knew about Sasuke. So he followed them to the villa. The guard had known him as Orochimaru's subordinate and let him in. And there he found Naruto at the beach. Surprise number two. If it weren't for Sasuke, he'd know more from the boy himself. The terrified look on his face was slowly assuring him that he was really the Uzumaki Naruto they're looking for. And somehow he couldn't find the will to tell Orochimaru about it. Later … he had to be certain.

"But if he showed any resemblance to Uzumaki Naruto, then you may as well kill him. He could be a threat if he is Naruto."

Kabuto wanted to ask what threat could a simple sixteen-year-old boy became but decided against it. He'd known better than to question Orochimaru's orders. Kyuubi … nine years ago … it came haunting him again. He wondered if he could get any sleep that night.

99999

Neji looked at Hinata who was talking with Shikamaru from his seat. Maybe it wouldn't be bad if he tell Hinata about his feelings but he didn't want her to act weird around him. He wanted her to see him as she saw Naruto. Naruto … even Neji would admit he was jealous. Though he felt sorry for the boy and envied him. Well, it might be because of they didn't know their family, they real family. The differences were Naruto forgot his family but he had one before. Neji? He didn't have any. From his nanny, he heard that the Head of the Hyuuga Clan paid some money to his family. What kind of family would sell their own kin? The Hyuuga couldn't be constituted as a family to him. He was a subordinate, not a family. He did bear their name but that's the only thing that connected them.

"Neji-niisan …"

"Ah, Hinata-sama. Is there anything wrong?"

Hinata shook her head. The smile she sent Neji was enough to make the boy felt light headed. If there's anything good in the Hyuuga family, it was that he had met Hinata. If it weren't for the girl, he would've …

"Neji-niisan, let's go inside. It's getting cold out here."

Neji nodded. The thing that he cherished was Hinata's smile and he'd do anything to protect it, even if he had to face the Hyuuga clan for it. He took the girl's hand in his and walked with her to the villa. Blushing, Hinata smiled.

99999

Shikamaru stared at the cellphone in his lap and sighed. Fifteen miss calls and ten messages, all came from one number. Ino's. The girl was his first love, if he would give his feelings a name. Shikamaru was not stupid and he didn't bother to deny it. Too troublesome. But he knew Ino had never thought about him as more than a friend. Twelve years were a long time. Could he wait anymore? Ino tried to reach him, probably since she knew he would be with Sasuke. Why bother answering only to cause himself more pain?

The sky was getting darker and the cold air shot chill down his spine but he could bring himself to get up. The sound of the waves gave him a feeling of contentment. It felt good to blend in the nature, out of the hectic life in the city. Out of his feelings … away from Ino for once …

99999

Itachi looked at the photograph in his hand. He unconsciously smiled. The picture was taken about ten years ago, when they were still a family. A family … a word that's hard to describe. That was the time when Sasuke saw him as a brother he looked up to. That's when their father wasn't to preoccupied with his plan to take revenge for his friend that he started abandoning them. That's before they found out about his father's other son, somewhere out there.

He remembered the day they found out about it. Sasuke was so shocked that he locked himself in his room for days. When he finally came out, he would never be the same. Itachi knew Sasuke blamed himself for everything that happened in the family. He knew because of his success in his studies, Sasuke felt like he was nothing, that he would always be the second in the family. That's when he started making troubles at school. His grades were high but his attitude brought troubles. No one dared to say anything to Fugaku, no one, not even their mother. Years past and nothing changed, the damaged had been done. Sasuke hated his family even more, but he couldn't leave the house because his mother cried. Itachi knew fully well that when given the chance, Sasuke wouldn't bother to look back. He lived in a big yet empty house. No acknowledgement from his father, the feeling he had when he knew his father was taking care of another son when he was abandoning the one he had at home …

Itachi sighed. Every time he saw the photo, every time he remembered the way they used to be, it hurt. It hurt to see their mother grew thinner and thinner everyday, her face stained with tears. Sasuke would think it's because of their father but Itachi knew the tears were for Sasuke. Sometimes he wanted to kick his brother for his stupidity. If only he would tell them his feelings … but Sasuke would never do that.

Itachi knew, but he stayed silence. In that silence he watched his family slowly crumbled and it only took a little more time before it would be gone, but it was stopped. The destruction was stopped, by a smiling blond with an unknown past.

Sasuke changed. The heart they, he and his mother, tried to reach was opened for the boy. Sasuke always got what he wanted as long as he could buy it. He would resort to any means in getting what he wanted, including the boy, but that's the first time Itachi saw Sasuke so determined to protect something. His possessiveness maybe, but no, Sasuke was not possessive. He could buy anything he wanted, but not Naruto. Itachi hoped what Sasuke felt for the boy wasn't a mere curiosity. Then again, Sasuke never protected anything like he protected the boy.

Now, Itachi saw a side of his brother he had never thought existed. Funny thing was he was happy, incredibly happy. His brother was not as heartless as he thought he might be. And he deeply thanked Naruto for that. That's why he made a promise, that anyone who dared to hurt the people, who could bring his brother's smiles back, would be severely punished and he wouldn't hesitate in doing that.

99999

"I've met the boy."

Fugaku looked up from his paperwork and stared at his wife. Said wife calmly took a seat on one of the couches and looked back at her husband.

"I see. So how was he?"

"He's nice. A good boy. Unfortunately his past was so sad …"

Fugaku nodded. "I know you'd like him."

Mikoto sent him her brightest smile she could muster. "Of course. He had managed to make my son smile again. Don't you think that won't satisfy the heart of a mother?"

"Must you make things dramatic?"

"Only for you, my dear. But really, he had changed Sasuke in so many ways. And the boy hadn't realized it."

"Which one?"

Mikoto closed her eyes and smiled. "Both."

"You're probably right."

"He looks a lot like his father."

Fugaku looked once more at his smiling wife before nodding. "Yes, he does."

99999

Sakura sat down on one of the benches in the park. The fallen leaves made a nice view that time of the year. Autumn … and soon it'd be winter. At times like this she would look back on the year and decided what to do next year. Weird, but even Sakura needed some time alone. Especially after Naruto's appearance. She was spoilt, yes, but that didn't mean she was foolish enough not to know when to step back. The game was not funny anymore.

She remembered four years ago, the starting of her rivalry with Ino. She didn't like Sasuke that much. Sure, he was cool and smart and rich, he had everything that would make any girls swoon. Sakura did at first but it was a mere crush. Nothing more. She kept doing all those things, the fangirl club and stuff, because she thought it's the only thing that amused Ino lately. But she wanted to stop now. And maybe, just maybe, she could ask Ino to stop too. But first, she had to apologize.

99999

Ino glared at her cellphone for the umpteenth time that day. Shikamaru didn't answer to her calls and she felt angrier and angrier. Why would Shikamaru avoid her? Despite what others thought about her, Ino did care about other people. Shikamaru was one of the people she cared the most. They were friends since … she couldn't remember. They'd been friends as long as she remembered. And not even once he had let her down. Why now?

She knew she had done bad things and when she thought about it, she felt ashamed. But she liked Sasuke very much. It's not a wrong thing to like someone, right? Even though Sasuke had been cold to her, Ino wouldn't give up. She would make Sasuke hers, with Shikamaru's help or not, and she wouldn't stop, not until Sasuke was hers.

99999

Iruka rubbed his temple in annoyance. His cellphone hadn't stop ringing since two hours ago. He knew who was calling him and he didn't feel any inclination to answer it. But he couldn't work with it constantly ringing and he couldn't turn it off in case his editor called to check up on his work. No, Kakashi always chose a bad time to call and he hated it.

"What do you want?"

"Wow, what happened to you? You sound tired."

"Shut up, Kakashi. What do you want? I have fifty pages to be finished by tomorrow and I don't want to waste my time."

"Relax. How about going to the movies this weekend?"

"… Bye."

"Wait, wait. Jeez. Fine. It seems like Orochimaru has seen Naruto."

"What?!"

"My source told me. And he's planning something bad. You'd better watch out and take care of Naruto too. As long as he's with Sasuke, he'll be fine but when he's with you or Gaara, don't let your guards down. Orochimaru is dangerous. I don't want anything to happen."

Iruka held his cellphone tightly. "I'll take care of Naruto."

"I mean, I don't want anything to happen to you."

Iruka stayed silent for a few moments and sighed. "I can take care of myself but thank you. Now, will you please leave me to my work?"

Kakashi laughed. "Okay. That offer is still valid, you know."

"… I'll call you later." Then he hung up.

Iruka sighed deeply. He wanted to run away, far, far away from Kakashi, but he couldn't. For Naruto and Gaara, he had to stay. Gaara, sometimes he felt that he had neglected him. But he understood. He knew Gaara would understand. Their world revolved around Naruto for some reasons beyond their realization. Sometimes Iruka thought what if Naruto had been gone. Would Gaara be there with him or would he leave? Iruka wondered the question but was afraid to know the answer. What about Kakashi? He didn't want to think about the silver-haired man anymore. The thoughts sickened him … everytime he thought about how easy he was to be fooled… he didn't want to hate him, which was the reason he didn't want to get involved with him anymore. He's afraid he would end up hating the man he loved. Iruka was afraid to hate people, even if those people had hurt him before. And still hurting him without realizing it…

99999

"Gaara, what's wrong with you?"

Gaara looked up and gave his sister a stare. He noticed Kankurou also gave him a strange look though he didn't say anything. The red head shook his head and kept silent. Nothing was wrong yet he didn't feel it right either. Iruka had been acting weird. That Kakashi whatever must have something to do with that fact. Naruto was not well either. Everything was weird. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe he could talk to something about it, but not his family. They always thought he was weird. They were even afraid of him for no reason. Some people didn't have any problem in hating him, which was the reason why he practiced all the time. Though he didn't look like it, Gaara was strong.

"Gaara?"

"I'm fine!" He snapped.

He couldn't understand them as they couldn't understand him. He had known from the beginning that even though they didn't hate him like most members of his family did, Temari and Kankurou couldn't stand him. Maybe because they still saw him as the cause for their mother's death. So what's the point of the regular meetings they'd been doing?

"Gaara, you know you can talk to us about anything."

Gaara could see something flicker in her eyes as she said those words. Hurt? Lost? Time to act as a caring family? It's too late. He had his family now, somewhere he knew he belonged to. Iruka and Naruto. And that's all that mattered.

"I think it's time for us to stop pretending."

"Gaara, what are you talking about?"

Gaara stood. He saw Kankurou moved as if to protect Temari. Yes, they're definitely afraid of him. Like he would attack Temari … He gave them a quick nod and left. And he didn't look back, even to see the tears on Temari's face or Kankurou's look of relief. Not even a black haired boy who look at his back with a surprised look.

99999

And under the same sky, they sought resolution and salvation for their problems.

TBC

A/N:Hi! Long time no see… Sorry for the long update. It's been hectic these days but I'll try to update sooner. There's no much SasuNaru in this chapter but I'll try to write about them more the next chapter. R&R please!