Title: Life Goes On
Author: nikki (nikkichan0829@yahoo.com)
Chapter: 4/?
Chapter Title: A Glimpse Into Misfortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Enough said. The title was from the song, "Life Goes On" by Leanne Rhymes (is that the right spelling?).
Warning: YAOI. OOCness? Spoilers until chapter 140 of the manga. (Possible wrong translation. I translated bits and pieces from the Chinese version of the manga. English is not my first language.)
Author's notes: It took me a while to get this out. I hope you guys will like this.
~Chapter 4: A Glimpse Into Misfortune~
Itachi cursed as he gingerly applied medicine to the wounds on his face. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror. He had four deep wounds on the left side o his face. Soon, those wounds would scar.
He hadn't expected his opponent to be that strong. Eight years was more than enough time or that person to become stronger than him. He shouldn't have underestimated that bastard.
Itachi couldn't understand it. Why had the clan stage that uneral eight years ago and claim his other hal was dead? They made him think his older twin was dead. They lied to him. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask... but it was not as if he could get those answered now...
The whole clan was gone... And he was a wanted criminal. Gods, Sasuke must hate him now for letting this happen. The only person who can probably give him answers would be his twin, Uchiha Renji. [1]
Itachi winced as he lightly dabbed the wounded areas. The wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding again for now. He slowly wrapped the bandages he had acquired around his head. It would help keep the wounds rom being infected and at the same time, hide his identity at least temporarily.
It was a good thing the small town asked little and tended to mind their own business where money was concerned.
Now, with that out of the way, he'd have to see to his other injuries. They were considerably lighter than the ones on his ace, and most of them were healing while the others were fading.
Finishing up on his self-inspection, Itachi sat himself down on the dingy bed.
//Kakashi...//
What was the jounin doing now? Itachi wondered as he watched the rain fall outside the window.
~~~~~
In Konoha, a certain jounin was sitting by his window, staring off into the rain.
//Itachi...//
~~~~~
Somewhere else in Konoha, a little boy cried in his bed as the rain poured on.
//Big brother... Why?//
~~~~~
Four years later...
The sun had just risen over the horizon when a certain alarm clock rang shrilly before meeting its unexpected end. Sleepy obsidian eyes regarded the mess of screws and wires on the bedside table. The first thing that registered was //What the hell?// before thinking, //Oh shit. I need a new clock.//
Reluctantly, Sasuke got out of bed, clad only in boxers and made his way to the bathroom. He looked at the mirror and scowled at his own reflection. His hair was a mess sticking out all over the place.
//"Don't worry, Sasuke. Big brother will fix that. You shouldn't worry so much."//
Sasuke frowned as he brushed his hair to a more manageable level.
//"Besides, you already look cute as you are. One day, girls will go crazy over you."//
The memory prompted another scowl.
~~~~~
The advantage of being early for orientation was getting the better seat by the window, a convenient exit to escape rabid fan-girls.
He lost himself in his thoughts as other students streamed in. then, there it was, the first pinpricks of goosebumps over his pale flesh, the constant reminder of annoying girls, their predatory stares and their rabid obsession with good looking guys. Yup. The seat near the window was definitely a good choice.
Sasuke knew he looked good but not as good looking as...
A loud noise to his right announced the arrival of Konoha's number one loud ninja, Uzumaki Naruto. He didn't really mind having the blond around as long as he didn't get in the way. Besides, Naruto was cute in his own clumsy way.
Come to think of it, Naruto reminded him of someone, a kid he used to have fun with... Wait a minute... Back track a moment. Did he just think Naruto cute?!
His inner Sasuke screamed, //Hell no!//
"Sasuke-kun, can I sit beside you?" a feminine voice disturbed his line of thought. He frowned and regarded the pink-haired girl for a moment before totally ignoring her.
//What the hell? She just pushed Naruto off his seat! Hey! You can't do that to my Naruto!// inner Sasuke ranted.
Sasuke's brow twitched. //My Naruto? Where the hell did that come from?//
Inner Sasuke clamped his mouth shut. //Okay, that's it! I've officially gone insane. I'm taking a vacation!//
The sound of squabbling girls prompted his frown to deepen. //Annoying.//
Moments later found him face to face with a certain blond loud ninja. Naruto glared at him while he, doing was he did best, glared back.
"Naruto! Get out of Sasuke-kun's face!"
"That's right! Sasuke-kun, beat the hell out of him!"
//Come to think of it. Naruto hasn't gotten his first kiss yet. This is my chance!// inner Sasuke piped up.
Sasuke scowled at his inner self. //I thought you went on vacation!//
He was so caught up in arguing with himself that he failed to notice Naruto as the blond lost his balance and leaned forward until it was too late.
The raven-haired boy's eyes widened as he found himself in a liplock with the blond. //What the - ?!//
When they broke their "kiss", Naruto screamed, "Argh! My mouth is rotting!"
Sasuke replied to that with, "Naruto, I'll kill you," and pretended to be extremely disgusted with what had just transpired.
While the girls beat the living hell out of Naruto for tarnishing their idol, Sasuke tried to erase the blush staining his cheeks.
Inner Sasuke, on the other hand, was celebrating, throwing confetti around and squealing, //Yes! Naruto's first kiss!//
Flustered, Sasuke blushed deeper and growled at his inner self. //Shut up.//
//Hell no! I'm having fun! This is the happiest day of my life! Naruto's first kiss nyah!//
//Damn it.// Sasuke thought. His inner self wasn't likely to shut up any time soon. //Oh crap.//
~~~~~
"Eh? How did you get out of those ropes?"
"Rope untying is the basic of the basics. You'd do well to remember that, dead last."
"Grr... I won't lose to you!"
Sasuke readied himself as five Narutos pounced. It was as if fate was smiling at him or just having a really twisted sense of humor that allowed him the opportunity to witness a hilarious scene of five blonds fighting each other for the rights to the comfort room.
"Idiot."
~~~~~
"Hmm... My name is Hatake Kakashi. Umm... I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes... Hmm... Dreams... Hmm... I have a lot of hobbies..."
Sasuke's brow twitched as Sakura leaned over to Naruto. "So, all we really got was his name."
//Hatake Kakashi?// Sasuke's eyes furrowed. //His name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?//
It was midway through Naruto's introduction to the strange jounin that Sasuke came to the realization of who the man actually was.
//He was the guy Itachi spent so much time with... also the guy who found me that day...// Dark thoughts surfaced into his mind as his turn came.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't really like anything. There are many things I dislike. I don't have anything as whimsical as a goal or dream. I must say I have an ambition... to kill a certain man."
Beside him, Naruto swallowed hard. //He better not be talking about me.//
~~~~~
It was after survival training the next day that Sasuke approached Kakashi. It was just them in the ramen stall... if you disregard the proprietor of course.
"Kakashi-sensei..."
"Hmm? What is it, Sasuke?"
"What are you to my brother?"
Kakashi seemed to ponder the question. His visible eye conveying a deep sadness for a moment.
"I don't know... I thought I did but... I don't know..."
Both of them finished their meal in silence before going their own separate ways.
~~~~~
//"Kakashi-sensei..."//
//"Who are you to my brother?"//
Kakashi laid in bed, replaying that strange conversation over and over in his head.
//Good question. Who am I to you, Itachi? I thought back then that I knew. Why did you do that? Why did you leave me? We already agreed to live together...//
Kakashi shifted to his side. //What happened to you?//
His eyes stared at the picture on his bedside table as if expecting it to answer his questions. It was a picture of him and Itachi at the last festival they went together. Kakashi remembered that day well.
Itachi and Gemma had los a bet to him and as punishment, they had to wear silk kimonos and look and act the part of a woman. It was a bit humiliating but it served to enhance the beauty that was already there.
Despite wearing the pink kimono, Gemma still had a flock of women surrounding him while Kakashi and Itachi, who happened to be in a black kimono with cherry blossoms decorating the delicate fabric and his hair left loose on his shoulders, barely escaped the young Uchiha's fan club.
They had laughed about it afterwards and decided to have their picture taken, leaving Gemma to his own devices. It was a picture of perfect contentment as Itachi was leaning his head on Kakashi's shoulder with a soft, gentle expression on his face and Kakashi himself was smiling with no reservations. [2]
They had a lot of pictures before and after that but Kakashi had liked this one best.
He sighed. //Will you ever come back to me?//
Silence as the picture gave no answer to his question.
~~~~~
Sitting in a corner, a raven-haired young man was left along to brood. The heads of the organization had called for a meeting. This mad gathering of villains had enough sense to leave him be. Even his designated partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, had decided to keep away.
"Itachi."
He clenched his fist at the voice. Damn it all. Will he always be shadowed by a name of the past? He wasn't Itachi! He was Renji, Uchiha Renji!
"I heard your beloved little brother nearly died against Zabu-"
He didn't give a damn about Sasuke not unless it was for revenge.
"-sides that, our old pal, Orochimaru seemed to have taken a keen interest on him as well."
He needed the brat to get back at Itachi, to make him suffer. But why did he feel so bad about using Sasuke that way? It just wasn't right.
All the misfortunes of his life had all been because of his clan, especially his own twin! It was gratification no guilt that he should be feeling!
"Hey! Are you even listening to me, you little shi - Aah!"
In a flash, Renji was on his feet as he grabbed the man's neckl forcefully, threatening to snap it. His eyes turned red and narrowed into slits. "Shut up. Just shut up." Then he threw the offending man aside. The others scooted aside just to avoid being hit by the human projectile. "I'm not Itachi dammit!" Renji wanted to say but kept his silence until one of the heads of Akatsuki approached him and drew him away, out of earshot and into an empty room.
~~~~~
"What do you want?" Renji demanded as soon as the door was closed.
"We plan on giving you a mission, an all-important one."
"Oh?"
"We need you to acquire the Fourth Hokage's legacy for us. It requires you to go back home. Keep up the charade if you want."
Renji frowned. The man before him was the only one who knew of his true identity, the very man who recruited him. "What? You don't want me to attend the meeting?"
The man smiled. "Of course it's not that. I just think that the sooner you go, the sooner you come back to me."
The man's voice sent shivers down Renji's spine. Those hungry eyes made him feel mildly uncomfortable. he was used to his boss' attempts at seduction and had successfully fended them off before but... but now he wasn't sure. The man was stronger then he was and was most likely at the end of his fuse when it came to Renji's evasion.
True, the man was pleasing to the eye but Renji had his heart set on his twin's beloved Kakashi. He had no intention of giving in to this man.
"I... I should go then," Renji stammered out, unnerved by the unwavering predatory gaze. He quickly moved to the door. His hand was about to twist the knob open when another hand stopped him. he froze at the light contact and soon found himself with his back against the door with a body pressed intimately against him. "What - what are you doing?" he hissed out.
There was a smirk before lips pressed against his own, a hand brushing lightly against his rear, causing him to gasp. A foreign tongue entered his mouth and plundered it.
In his shock, Renji stayed perfectly still, eyes wide, neither encouraging nor rejecting the advance.
Moments later, the man stepped back and seemed to admire his work for a moment. Renji was sure that his clothes and his hair were in great disarray and feeling the heat on his face, there was most definitely a reddish tinge on his cheeks as he gasped for air, making no move to wipe his mouth.
The man smiled again. "Come back soon, Renji-kun." There it was, a dismissal.
Renji couldn't get out fast enough. [3]
~~~~~
"Even though they've managed to avoid total destruction, they still suffered quite a lot of damage."
"Who would've thought this prosperous village... What a pity."
The first man who spoke grinned at his companion. "That's totally unlike you.... Who would've thought even until now you would miss your own village..."
His companion's red eyes narrowed. "No... Not at all."
~~~~~
"It's been a while since you came back right? Before looking for it, let's have some tea. How about it?"
"... Fine..."
~~~~~
Kakashi stood outside a shop as he waited for Sasuke to arrive. He was half watching the two suspicious men in the shop while half looking out for his student.
Then he noticed his co-workers, Kurenai and Asuma coming his way. "Ah... Looking good. Are you guys on a date?"
Kurenai blushed. "Idiot! Anko asked me to buy her some sweets!"
Asuma grinned. "What about you? You're not really fond of eating sweets right?"
Kakashi smiled. "Not really... True, I did buy something but then, I have to meet someone here... I'm waiting for Sasuke."
One of the men he was observing shifted at the sound of Sasuke's name.
"Wow! I can't believe it! Someone would actually make you wait..."
The one who moved also twitched his finger. It did not go unnoticed.
"Kakashi, that's rare. You actually came early..." someone said. It was Sasuke.
"I usually am..."
Sasuke raised his brow at him. It didn't look as if the young Uchiha actually believed him. But then, the boy looked past him and noticed the empty seats.
The two suspicious men were gone.
"I don't like nattou and sweets."
"Oh..."
Kakashi signalled the other jounins to go after the men and they nodded an affirmative and left, leaving their co-worker and a confused Sasuke.
~~~~~
As the two men in black cloaks made their way out of the village, they were blocked by two jounins, namely Asuma and Kurenai.
"You're not from this village right? What were you doing here?" Asuma asked.
"It's been a while... Asuma... Kurenai..." one of the cloaked men said.
"The fact that you recognize us... must mean that you're ninjas from this village then?"
The one who spoke to Asuma shifted and tilted his hat up, revealing crimson eyes.
"!!"
"You..! You are...!!"
~~~~~
*TBC*
[1] I'll try to have my sketches of Itachi and Renji scanned and uploaded to mediaminer.org just so you'll see the difference in their appearances in this story. After all, they're twins so it would be hard to tell them apart but as indicated in the first part of this chapter, Itachi would have scars.
[2] If the review counter reaches 75, I'll write a chapter on this festival (unless you guys would rather settle for this short version, which is actually fine with me). And I'll draw that picture of Kakashi and Itachi if the review counter reaches 50 before I put up the next chapter (otherwise, you guys will just have to wait for the counter to reach 75 before I actually do it). Hehe. (But honestly speaking, I don't really think that this fic would actually get fifty to as much as seventy-five reviews. That's just me dreaming I guess.)
[3] Renji's boss is a lecher, I know. I can't believe I wrote this scene. Lynlyn said the same thing when she read it. Oh and just to clarify this, this happened during the last few days to the Chuunin Selection's third and final exam. Somewhere around that time.
Author's notes: Well, I hope that you guys liked this chapter. It was supposed to be Renji (my invented Itachi twin) centric chapter but then again, that would be boring if I centered on him alone. (Just imagine how short this chappie would be if I did that!) It took me a while to piece them all together to make this chapter. (a mixture of angst, humor and instrospective stuff... I hope it wasn't that boring...) *sigh* It took two days of sitting in the Starbuck smoking area for one and a half to two hours to write out several parts of this chappie. Thank goodness for Japanese music, coffee and cigarettes. They seem to have a way of giving extra bursts of inspiration when I need them most. (Sometimes too much. As you can see, instead of updating this earlier, I uploaded an omake chapter for Real Emotion instead. Too bad I can't use that technique in studying...) My brain's fried and I have exams on Monday and Wednesday! *mutters* Damn school...
Anyway, please review. Flamers can go to hell and kiss Zabuza's ass! (They'll have to get through Haku first though.)
Started: March 15, 2004
Ended: April 6, 2004
Author: nikki (nikkichan0829@yahoo.com)
Chapter: 4/?
Chapter Title: A Glimpse Into Misfortune
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Enough said. The title was from the song, "Life Goes On" by Leanne Rhymes (is that the right spelling?).
Warning: YAOI. OOCness? Spoilers until chapter 140 of the manga. (Possible wrong translation. I translated bits and pieces from the Chinese version of the manga. English is not my first language.)
Author's notes: It took me a while to get this out. I hope you guys will like this.
~Chapter 4: A Glimpse Into Misfortune~
Itachi cursed as he gingerly applied medicine to the wounds on his face. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror. He had four deep wounds on the left side o his face. Soon, those wounds would scar.
He hadn't expected his opponent to be that strong. Eight years was more than enough time or that person to become stronger than him. He shouldn't have underestimated that bastard.
Itachi couldn't understand it. Why had the clan stage that uneral eight years ago and claim his other hal was dead? They made him think his older twin was dead. They lied to him. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask... but it was not as if he could get those answered now...
The whole clan was gone... And he was a wanted criminal. Gods, Sasuke must hate him now for letting this happen. The only person who can probably give him answers would be his twin, Uchiha Renji. [1]
Itachi winced as he lightly dabbed the wounded areas. The wounds seemed to have stopped bleeding again for now. He slowly wrapped the bandages he had acquired around his head. It would help keep the wounds rom being infected and at the same time, hide his identity at least temporarily.
It was a good thing the small town asked little and tended to mind their own business where money was concerned.
Now, with that out of the way, he'd have to see to his other injuries. They were considerably lighter than the ones on his ace, and most of them were healing while the others were fading.
Finishing up on his self-inspection, Itachi sat himself down on the dingy bed.
//Kakashi...//
What was the jounin doing now? Itachi wondered as he watched the rain fall outside the window.
~~~~~
In Konoha, a certain jounin was sitting by his window, staring off into the rain.
//Itachi...//
~~~~~
Somewhere else in Konoha, a little boy cried in his bed as the rain poured on.
//Big brother... Why?//
~~~~~
Four years later...
The sun had just risen over the horizon when a certain alarm clock rang shrilly before meeting its unexpected end. Sleepy obsidian eyes regarded the mess of screws and wires on the bedside table. The first thing that registered was //What the hell?// before thinking, //Oh shit. I need a new clock.//
Reluctantly, Sasuke got out of bed, clad only in boxers and made his way to the bathroom. He looked at the mirror and scowled at his own reflection. His hair was a mess sticking out all over the place.
//"Don't worry, Sasuke. Big brother will fix that. You shouldn't worry so much."//
Sasuke frowned as he brushed his hair to a more manageable level.
//"Besides, you already look cute as you are. One day, girls will go crazy over you."//
The memory prompted another scowl.
~~~~~
The advantage of being early for orientation was getting the better seat by the window, a convenient exit to escape rabid fan-girls.
He lost himself in his thoughts as other students streamed in. then, there it was, the first pinpricks of goosebumps over his pale flesh, the constant reminder of annoying girls, their predatory stares and their rabid obsession with good looking guys. Yup. The seat near the window was definitely a good choice.
Sasuke knew he looked good but not as good looking as...
A loud noise to his right announced the arrival of Konoha's number one loud ninja, Uzumaki Naruto. He didn't really mind having the blond around as long as he didn't get in the way. Besides, Naruto was cute in his own clumsy way.
Come to think of it, Naruto reminded him of someone, a kid he used to have fun with... Wait a minute... Back track a moment. Did he just think Naruto cute?!
His inner Sasuke screamed, //Hell no!//
"Sasuke-kun, can I sit beside you?" a feminine voice disturbed his line of thought. He frowned and regarded the pink-haired girl for a moment before totally ignoring her.
//What the hell? She just pushed Naruto off his seat! Hey! You can't do that to my Naruto!// inner Sasuke ranted.
Sasuke's brow twitched. //My Naruto? Where the hell did that come from?//
Inner Sasuke clamped his mouth shut. //Okay, that's it! I've officially gone insane. I'm taking a vacation!//
The sound of squabbling girls prompted his frown to deepen. //Annoying.//
Moments later found him face to face with a certain blond loud ninja. Naruto glared at him while he, doing was he did best, glared back.
"Naruto! Get out of Sasuke-kun's face!"
"That's right! Sasuke-kun, beat the hell out of him!"
//Come to think of it. Naruto hasn't gotten his first kiss yet. This is my chance!// inner Sasuke piped up.
Sasuke scowled at his inner self. //I thought you went on vacation!//
He was so caught up in arguing with himself that he failed to notice Naruto as the blond lost his balance and leaned forward until it was too late.
The raven-haired boy's eyes widened as he found himself in a liplock with the blond. //What the - ?!//
When they broke their "kiss", Naruto screamed, "Argh! My mouth is rotting!"
Sasuke replied to that with, "Naruto, I'll kill you," and pretended to be extremely disgusted with what had just transpired.
While the girls beat the living hell out of Naruto for tarnishing their idol, Sasuke tried to erase the blush staining his cheeks.
Inner Sasuke, on the other hand, was celebrating, throwing confetti around and squealing, //Yes! Naruto's first kiss!//
Flustered, Sasuke blushed deeper and growled at his inner self. //Shut up.//
//Hell no! I'm having fun! This is the happiest day of my life! Naruto's first kiss nyah!//
//Damn it.// Sasuke thought. His inner self wasn't likely to shut up any time soon. //Oh crap.//
~~~~~
"Eh? How did you get out of those ropes?"
"Rope untying is the basic of the basics. You'd do well to remember that, dead last."
"Grr... I won't lose to you!"
Sasuke readied himself as five Narutos pounced. It was as if fate was smiling at him or just having a really twisted sense of humor that allowed him the opportunity to witness a hilarious scene of five blonds fighting each other for the rights to the comfort room.
"Idiot."
~~~~~
"Hmm... My name is Hatake Kakashi. Umm... I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes... Hmm... Dreams... Hmm... I have a lot of hobbies..."
Sasuke's brow twitched as Sakura leaned over to Naruto. "So, all we really got was his name."
//Hatake Kakashi?// Sasuke's eyes furrowed. //His name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?//
It was midway through Naruto's introduction to the strange jounin that Sasuke came to the realization of who the man actually was.
//He was the guy Itachi spent so much time with... also the guy who found me that day...// Dark thoughts surfaced into his mind as his turn came.
"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't really like anything. There are many things I dislike. I don't have anything as whimsical as a goal or dream. I must say I have an ambition... to kill a certain man."
Beside him, Naruto swallowed hard. //He better not be talking about me.//
~~~~~
It was after survival training the next day that Sasuke approached Kakashi. It was just them in the ramen stall... if you disregard the proprietor of course.
"Kakashi-sensei..."
"Hmm? What is it, Sasuke?"
"What are you to my brother?"
Kakashi seemed to ponder the question. His visible eye conveying a deep sadness for a moment.
"I don't know... I thought I did but... I don't know..."
Both of them finished their meal in silence before going their own separate ways.
~~~~~
//"Kakashi-sensei..."//
//"Who are you to my brother?"//
Kakashi laid in bed, replaying that strange conversation over and over in his head.
//Good question. Who am I to you, Itachi? I thought back then that I knew. Why did you do that? Why did you leave me? We already agreed to live together...//
Kakashi shifted to his side. //What happened to you?//
His eyes stared at the picture on his bedside table as if expecting it to answer his questions. It was a picture of him and Itachi at the last festival they went together. Kakashi remembered that day well.
Itachi and Gemma had los a bet to him and as punishment, they had to wear silk kimonos and look and act the part of a woman. It was a bit humiliating but it served to enhance the beauty that was already there.
Despite wearing the pink kimono, Gemma still had a flock of women surrounding him while Kakashi and Itachi, who happened to be in a black kimono with cherry blossoms decorating the delicate fabric and his hair left loose on his shoulders, barely escaped the young Uchiha's fan club.
They had laughed about it afterwards and decided to have their picture taken, leaving Gemma to his own devices. It was a picture of perfect contentment as Itachi was leaning his head on Kakashi's shoulder with a soft, gentle expression on his face and Kakashi himself was smiling with no reservations. [2]
They had a lot of pictures before and after that but Kakashi had liked this one best.
He sighed. //Will you ever come back to me?//
Silence as the picture gave no answer to his question.
~~~~~
Sitting in a corner, a raven-haired young man was left along to brood. The heads of the organization had called for a meeting. This mad gathering of villains had enough sense to leave him be. Even his designated partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, had decided to keep away.
"Itachi."
He clenched his fist at the voice. Damn it all. Will he always be shadowed by a name of the past? He wasn't Itachi! He was Renji, Uchiha Renji!
"I heard your beloved little brother nearly died against Zabu-"
He didn't give a damn about Sasuke not unless it was for revenge.
"-sides that, our old pal, Orochimaru seemed to have taken a keen interest on him as well."
He needed the brat to get back at Itachi, to make him suffer. But why did he feel so bad about using Sasuke that way? It just wasn't right.
All the misfortunes of his life had all been because of his clan, especially his own twin! It was gratification no guilt that he should be feeling!
"Hey! Are you even listening to me, you little shi - Aah!"
In a flash, Renji was on his feet as he grabbed the man's neckl forcefully, threatening to snap it. His eyes turned red and narrowed into slits. "Shut up. Just shut up." Then he threw the offending man aside. The others scooted aside just to avoid being hit by the human projectile. "I'm not Itachi dammit!" Renji wanted to say but kept his silence until one of the heads of Akatsuki approached him and drew him away, out of earshot and into an empty room.
~~~~~
"What do you want?" Renji demanded as soon as the door was closed.
"We plan on giving you a mission, an all-important one."
"Oh?"
"We need you to acquire the Fourth Hokage's legacy for us. It requires you to go back home. Keep up the charade if you want."
Renji frowned. The man before him was the only one who knew of his true identity, the very man who recruited him. "What? You don't want me to attend the meeting?"
The man smiled. "Of course it's not that. I just think that the sooner you go, the sooner you come back to me."
The man's voice sent shivers down Renji's spine. Those hungry eyes made him feel mildly uncomfortable. he was used to his boss' attempts at seduction and had successfully fended them off before but... but now he wasn't sure. The man was stronger then he was and was most likely at the end of his fuse when it came to Renji's evasion.
True, the man was pleasing to the eye but Renji had his heart set on his twin's beloved Kakashi. He had no intention of giving in to this man.
"I... I should go then," Renji stammered out, unnerved by the unwavering predatory gaze. He quickly moved to the door. His hand was about to twist the knob open when another hand stopped him. he froze at the light contact and soon found himself with his back against the door with a body pressed intimately against him. "What - what are you doing?" he hissed out.
There was a smirk before lips pressed against his own, a hand brushing lightly against his rear, causing him to gasp. A foreign tongue entered his mouth and plundered it.
In his shock, Renji stayed perfectly still, eyes wide, neither encouraging nor rejecting the advance.
Moments later, the man stepped back and seemed to admire his work for a moment. Renji was sure that his clothes and his hair were in great disarray and feeling the heat on his face, there was most definitely a reddish tinge on his cheeks as he gasped for air, making no move to wipe his mouth.
The man smiled again. "Come back soon, Renji-kun." There it was, a dismissal.
Renji couldn't get out fast enough. [3]
~~~~~
"Even though they've managed to avoid total destruction, they still suffered quite a lot of damage."
"Who would've thought this prosperous village... What a pity."
The first man who spoke grinned at his companion. "That's totally unlike you.... Who would've thought even until now you would miss your own village..."
His companion's red eyes narrowed. "No... Not at all."
~~~~~
"It's been a while since you came back right? Before looking for it, let's have some tea. How about it?"
"... Fine..."
~~~~~
Kakashi stood outside a shop as he waited for Sasuke to arrive. He was half watching the two suspicious men in the shop while half looking out for his student.
Then he noticed his co-workers, Kurenai and Asuma coming his way. "Ah... Looking good. Are you guys on a date?"
Kurenai blushed. "Idiot! Anko asked me to buy her some sweets!"
Asuma grinned. "What about you? You're not really fond of eating sweets right?"
Kakashi smiled. "Not really... True, I did buy something but then, I have to meet someone here... I'm waiting for Sasuke."
One of the men he was observing shifted at the sound of Sasuke's name.
"Wow! I can't believe it! Someone would actually make you wait..."
The one who moved also twitched his finger. It did not go unnoticed.
"Kakashi, that's rare. You actually came early..." someone said. It was Sasuke.
"I usually am..."
Sasuke raised his brow at him. It didn't look as if the young Uchiha actually believed him. But then, the boy looked past him and noticed the empty seats.
The two suspicious men were gone.
"I don't like nattou and sweets."
"Oh..."
Kakashi signalled the other jounins to go after the men and they nodded an affirmative and left, leaving their co-worker and a confused Sasuke.
~~~~~
As the two men in black cloaks made their way out of the village, they were blocked by two jounins, namely Asuma and Kurenai.
"You're not from this village right? What were you doing here?" Asuma asked.
"It's been a while... Asuma... Kurenai..." one of the cloaked men said.
"The fact that you recognize us... must mean that you're ninjas from this village then?"
The one who spoke to Asuma shifted and tilted his hat up, revealing crimson eyes.
"!!"
"You..! You are...!!"
~~~~~
*TBC*
[1] I'll try to have my sketches of Itachi and Renji scanned and uploaded to mediaminer.org just so you'll see the difference in their appearances in this story. After all, they're twins so it would be hard to tell them apart but as indicated in the first part of this chapter, Itachi would have scars.
[2] If the review counter reaches 75, I'll write a chapter on this festival (unless you guys would rather settle for this short version, which is actually fine with me). And I'll draw that picture of Kakashi and Itachi if the review counter reaches 50 before I put up the next chapter (otherwise, you guys will just have to wait for the counter to reach 75 before I actually do it). Hehe. (But honestly speaking, I don't really think that this fic would actually get fifty to as much as seventy-five reviews. That's just me dreaming I guess.)
[3] Renji's boss is a lecher, I know. I can't believe I wrote this scene. Lynlyn said the same thing when she read it. Oh and just to clarify this, this happened during the last few days to the Chuunin Selection's third and final exam. Somewhere around that time.
Author's notes: Well, I hope that you guys liked this chapter. It was supposed to be Renji (my invented Itachi twin) centric chapter but then again, that would be boring if I centered on him alone. (Just imagine how short this chappie would be if I did that!) It took me a while to piece them all together to make this chapter. (a mixture of angst, humor and instrospective stuff... I hope it wasn't that boring...) *sigh* It took two days of sitting in the Starbuck smoking area for one and a half to two hours to write out several parts of this chappie. Thank goodness for Japanese music, coffee and cigarettes. They seem to have a way of giving extra bursts of inspiration when I need them most. (Sometimes too much. As you can see, instead of updating this earlier, I uploaded an omake chapter for Real Emotion instead. Too bad I can't use that technique in studying...) My brain's fried and I have exams on Monday and Wednesday! *mutters* Damn school...
Anyway, please review. Flamers can go to hell and kiss Zabuza's ass! (They'll have to get through Haku first though.)
Started: March 15, 2004
Ended: April 6, 2004