The Actors

Summary: The Naruto world we know is real. The show we know is FICTION. The actors are real. With real lives, real friends, real tragedies. Life is awesome, until reports of a real-life Akatsuki shows up and threatens the life they know and love.

Disclaimer: I own the plot and my character, nothing less, nothing more. I wish I did own more. XD

Notes/Warnings: None this chapter. As a note, yes this story has an OC. Yes, it has Yaoi. Yes, the OC is related to someone on the show.

DEAL.

If you don't like it, don't read or review. Just hit the button that says, "Back" Or the little backspace key on your keyboard.

Sigh, what a week. We've had lots of trouble in where I live. We had a huge "windstorm", I guess, knocked down trees and such everywhere. Power went out on Sunday night, we got it back on Wednesday. For that time, I was living between my house and my Lovely Aunt's house because she had power. What's worse, I have a cold and horrible chest pains. I know I shouldn't be on, but I can't leave you guys out. I've been resting a lot, here and there, so I'm going to update again very soon (within the weekend). Things will pick up in a few chapters, just as a TINY spoiler. :D Hope you like this chapter!!

Thanks for the Reviews to those of you who have reviewed! I hope you'll keep it up! Thanks for reading!!

Chapter 11 – Anniversary

"You sure you're alright, Princess?" Sasuke asked, seeing Kirei crawl into her bed and curl up like she always did.

Staying silent, Kirei nodded, not looking at the raven.

Looking at her, Sasuke sighed, wondering what was wrong with her. That's why he was spending the night once again.

Throughout the day, Kirei seemed normal to any person who saw her. She was mostly smiles and happy, but knowing her as well as he did, Sasuke knew something was off.

He wasn't exactly sure of what it was, seeing as how she was rather normal, just a little quieter than normal. Worried as he was, he asked to spend the night, seeing if maybe she just wasn't feeling well.

She hesitated in letting him stay the night, something Sasuke had never seen her do.

Coming back to her house, she was quiet and preferred not to hold his hand, unlike how she always held it. He added this to his list of odd things she'd done during the day.

Another thing he added was later on in the night; He was the one who made dinner, Kirei refusing to make it. He knew for a fact that she loved to cook. Sometimes her meals didn't taste all that good, but she still loved it.

The last thing that made Sasuke worry was the fact that she didn't paint. Or sculpt. Or draw. She did nothing art related that night.

He sighed, watching her curl up the whole way, clutching her blankets and pillow, something he'd never seen. "Okay, Kirei." He climbed into the other side of the bed, happy that he could be in the same room, just in case she did get sick or something else happened. He was also very happy that he was a light sleeper.

If she did wake up, he'd know.

It was around midnight when Kirei awoke, feeling her stomach churn. Hoping not to disturb Sasuke, she sat up, gulping and trying to calm herself down. She completely regretted letting Sasuke spend the night again, feeling her stomach churn once more.

All thoughts left Kirei's mind as she ran for the bathroom that was attached to her room, throwing up the contents of her stomach into the toilet bowl.

Sasuke sighed, hearing her run into the bathroom, hacking and coughing, still somewhat sleepy. He knew she was sick.

Getting up, he walked over to the bathroom, flipping on the light and standing beside the blonde, holding back her hair for her, rubbing her back as well. "I knew you were sick." He mumbled.

Kirei coughed some more, sniffling.

Looking around the bathroom, he grabbed a hanging towel, handing it to her. After she took it, he felt her forehead with the back of his hand, finding what he didn't expect.

Kirei didn't have a fever.

He knelt down to her level, trying to catch her eyesight. He was going to get to the bottom of this. She wasn't sick, yet she was puking her guts out? Something was wrong.

She kept it from him, finally shutting her eyes to get him to stop.

"Okay, Kirei." He relented, pushing some of her bangs away. "Back to bed?"

She nodded, thankful that Sasuke didn't pry when health was at matter. Before she could try to stand, Sasuke lifted her off the ground, carrying her back to bed.

He figured with how "sick" she was, she'd be a wobbly walker and he wasn't going to take his chances. Even though, she didn't seem to mind, going to sleep on him like always. Setting her back in her bed, he yawned, pulling her covers over her. "You're lucky I spent the night again."

As before, there was no reply from Kirei. Just a whine and a yawn.

He chuckled, tousling her hair gently, not wanting to shake her up too much. "If you feel sick again, let me know, alright?" He asked, keeping his hand on her head.

She nodded, now thankful that he was there.

Happy he got some form of an answer, Sasuke went back to his side of the bed, pulling out his phone. "We need to talk about your cousin." He wrote in the text message to Naruto.

"Tomorrow at Ichiraku." Was the reply only a minute after Sasuke's message.

Sighing, Sasuke set the phone back on the small nightstand, happy he'd start getting some answers. Rolling over, it was then he realized Naruto didn't specify when to meet.

Knowing the blonde, Sasuke'd be there all day.

"Sasuke?"

Surprised at the sudden, but soft voice, he looked over to Kirei, finding a pair of sleepy blue eyes looking at him. "Hm?"

"I'm cold." She continued, looking over at him. "Can I…"

Shaking his head as he smiled, Sasuke reached out, pulling the shivering blonde closer to him, keeping his arms around her. He couldn't figure out why she was cold, seeing as how she slept with 3 blankets, but was happy to hold her close to him.

"Thank you." She mumbled quietly into his chest, happy someone was there to help her.

Waiting a minute for her to fall asleep, Sasuke kissed the top of her head, smiling. "No problem."

Sighing, Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. He already knew it was bad, but could it really get any suckier?

With the downpour outside, apparently it could.

He'd been waiting for Naruto for about an hour now, refusing any food before the blonde got there. Fed up as he was, he would've left if it hadn't been that he'd be getting answers for Kirei's strange actions.

He'd left in the morning, leaving the blonde still sleeping, which wasn't too strange, but he couldn't stop worrying about her. She'd barely eaten the night before and if he didn't get back and make sure she ate breakfast…

"You're thinking about nee-chan, aren't you?"

Sasuke jumped at the sudden voice so close to him. "Bastard!" He hissed at the blonde who sat beside him, shaking some water from his hair. "Don't do that!"

"Aw," He began, ordering up a nice hot bowl of Miso Ramen. "Did I scare you?" He asked as if he was talking to a child.

"No, just startled me. Now, what's wrong with Kirei?" He wanted to find out as soon as possible, worried about the blonde who was damn near always on his mind.

Naruto chuckled, wondering just how deep Sasuke'd gotten. "Hold your horses, Sasuke." He grinned, reaching out for the piping hot bowl that was just set in front of him. "Why don't you tell me the date, ne?"

Watching the blonde separate his chopsticks, Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "The date?"

Slurping up some of the noodles, Naruto nodded.

Sasuke took a minute to think. "It's June 8th, why does that matter?" Sasuke took a deep breath, trying to keep his calm.

Looking into the broth of his ramen, Naruto sighed, knowing this date very well. "It's the Anniversary Week."

"Anniversary Week?" He questioned, his mind automatically linking Daisuke and Anniversary together.

The blonde nodded. "Yes. One week from now will be the Anniversary of Daisuke's death." He stated, voice calm. "Did she throw up last night, start shivering?" He looked over at the raven, slurping up some more noodles.

"Yeah," Sasuke nodded. "I thought she was sick, but she didn't have a fever."

"Nightmares." Naruto answered, gulping down the noodles. "It signals the start of the Week." He began. "Now, I'm telling you all this to warn you, teme. I know you like Kirei and all,"

Sasuke glared. He knew what the blonde was thinking; Sasuke loved Kirei. Why did everyone think that?! They were just close friends!

"but, from here…" He pointed at him with his chopsticks. "It gets worse."

Sasuke silently waited for an explanation.

"After the nightmares, she'll stop sleeping, she's too scared too. About the middle of the week, Wednesday, she starts eating less."

Hearing all this, remembering what he went through when his family died, Sasuke said, "It sounds like an advanced – "

"Depression state?" The blonde finished. "It is. Thankfully, It's now down to a week." Picking up more noodles with his chopsticks, he continued. "It used to be a whole month of depression. I'm proud of her though. She's gotten much better with talking about him over the past few weeks. Just the other day, she told Hinata about him." He cooled the noodles down before slurping them up.

Sasuke smiled, having a part to play in that. He'd been helping or trying to help Kirei make it easier to talk about him. Hearing that once she'd been this way for a month, in this depression state made Sasuke a tinge mad and a bit sad. "What happens next Sunday?"

"The two of us head up to the grave sight that night and I'll find a place to hang out while she talks to him." He answered.

"She talks to him?" Sasuke raised another eyebrow, skeptically.

Naruto nodded nonetheless. "It's odd, yes…but she'll sit at the gravestone and "talk" to him, tell him everything that's been going on in her life…kinda like he's right there with her. After a while, I head back and she'll be asleep there, like how she slept with him as a kid."

"And you take her home?" Sasuke asked, guessing the ending.

"Nope." Naruto smiled. "We spend the night on the grave. She gets her whole personality back and she'll wake up laughing," He quickly drank the rest of the broth, bringing the bowl to his lips. "That's the best part. Hearing her laugh after a week of being…" He looked over at the raven. "Well…you."

Sasuke shook his head. "Shut it." Hearing all of this, it made a bit of sense to Sasuke.

Yeah, he was getting a little tired of hearing about Daisuke, but he could understand. He was Kirei's whole world and one day, he's up and gone. "Hey," He began, seeing Naruto get another full bowl of Ramen. "Do you think I could join you two…on Sunday?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "It's all up to nee-chan. At first, she didn't want to go and see him…but I forced her to. It's something she has to do."

Sasuke smiled, remembering similar words said by the female blonde. "Okay. Thanks, Naruto."

"Nrrff," He began, swallowing down the noodles in his mouth. "problem." He watched as the raven left, smiling and shaking his head. Naruto may have been the most oblivious person ever, but even he could see what was going on.

Too bad Sasuke didn't.

For one week, Sasuke watched in utter torture as Kirei became a recluse, almost spiraling into depression.

She wouldn't even venture out of her house by Saturday.

And leave it to Sasuke, who couldn't outright say what he wanted to her, too worried too. Since he had been spending every night there – or at least tried – he had yet to ask her if he could come along with them to the graveyard. He wanted to be there to help her like every time before hand.

He sighed, sitting on one end of the couch, Kirei on the other, staring blankly at the tv screen. "Princess?" He used her "nickname", since it was the only thing she seemed to respond to anymore.

She glanced over, not moving one bit of body.

"You don't have to speak to answer…but…um…" He cursed in his mind. Why couldn't he ever just say what he wanted to say around her?!

Even in her depressed state, she still found the socially incompetent Uchiha cute, smiling a bit, waiting for him to finish.

"Can I…come with you two to…the graveyard on Sunday?" He finally asked, looking over at her. He hoped she'd say yes.

She sighed heavily, wrinkling her nose, thinking about it. Getting her answer, she finally moved, crawling over to the raven and sitting beside him, using his shoulder as a pillow. "Okay, Sasuke."

He sighed in relief, happy at her answer. Hell, he was happy because for 3 days, he hadn't heard her speak. "Thank you, Kirei."

She whined in response, closing her eyes. When he first asked to stay the week, she was hesitant, not wanting to put him through seeing her like this.

She had to admit to herself that she was getting better at talking about Daisuke, just like she promised to him in her resolution. Only at times like this, when he was cute and happy to help her did she not regret letting him stay.

She seriously started to wonder if she was falling in love with her best friend…

"Now, you be a good girl and tell Daisuke all about your adventures here in Konoha, okay?" Naruto told Kirei as he kissed her on the forehead, the three of them in the graveyard where Daisuke lied.

She nodded, "Mm-hmm." She looked at both of the boys, offered a small smile and ran off, weaving through gravestones to find her special spot.

"And now what?" Sasuke asked as Naruto turned the other direction and started walking. Of course, he followed.

"We wait. About…2 maybe 3 we'll go check on her." Naruto pulled out his phone, setting an alarm for 2:30 AM. Once he was finished, he set it back in his pocket, looking to the raven who followed him. "I usually head off to my mom's grave, if you want to join me." He offered.

Seeing as how the Uchiha looked solemnly at the graves, remembering just who was buried in this cemetery, Naruto figured that would be a "No."

"No…sorry. I'm think I'm gonna go speak to someone. Meet up at the mausoleum?" He answered, disconnected with the world.

Naruto nodded. "Sure." He sensed Sasuke's teleport, sighing. "I guess the idea of talking to dead people is catching on…"

Looking down at the two very well kept headstones with a disconnected gaze, Sasuke set his hand on one of them, sighing. He hadn't been here in over 10 years.

"Hey, mom."

Sitting down, the Uchiha was glad he was alone. No one could think he was crazy for doing this.

"…Life's gotten better, if you're wondering." He felt very odd to be talking to a gravestone. "I have a few friends…no one really close, other than two of them." He smiled at the thought of them. "I mean…it was hard to make friends…after what happened…"

Oddly enough, as the Uchiha became more comfortable, he found that talking to the headstone wasn't that bad. He could reveal any feeling he wanted and no one would know.

It's the perfect therapist.

"And I still don't forgive you guys…but I'm here with a friend…so I figured I'd let you know how life has been." He sighed heavily, staring at his mother's name. "I hate to say it mom…but I miss you guys. I'm not sure why, seeing as what you both did is unforgivable…"

He couldn't tear his eyes away from her name. Uchiha Mikoto; Loving mother and wife.

"I gave your necklace away, mom." He decided to change the subject, not wanting to dwell on that part of his past. "I gave it to a girl who needed it more than I did. I hope you don't mind or anything."

Silence was his answer.

"I guess you could say I like her…everyone else seems to think so, but I'm not sure…I think about it a lot." A smile crossed his lips. "I think you'd like her, mom. She's cute and kinda happy a lot…she has the prettiest blue eyes I've ever seen…and she likes to paint. A lot."

Sasuke felt oddly happy, talking to someone who wasn't even alive. It was strange to think that talking to a gravestone in a graveyard could make someone happy.

"Just so you know, mom…I get mad at you and dad for doing this to us, to Itachi and me…but I also realize it's made us who we are…gave us a reason to be us…so," He said, standing up, setting his hand on the gravestone, smiling just a bit. Even though he liked talking to her, Sasuke didn't want to talk anymore. He was starting to remember things best left forgotten. "…thanks, mom," He looked at the stone next to it, his smile vanishing. "you to, dad."

He vanished, not wanting to be there any longer.

Arriving at the mausoleum, finding no Naruto, Sasuke looked at his phone, realizing that only 15 minutes had passed.

He sighed, crossing his arms and leaning on the door of the building. "It's gonna be one long night."

"He's cute, Daisu-nii-san." Kirei said as she sat, her arms wrapped around her knees, looking at the headstone of her dearly departed brother. "I mean, don't get me wrong, he's my best friend, but he's cute. Especially when he tries to be social." She giggled at the thought of the failing socially Uchiha.

Kirei never minded the silence she got for an answer. To her, it just meant that he was listening.

"He has a past a lot like ours, too." She nodded. "I think you know his brother, Uchiha Itachi."

A strong wind blew, blowing Kirei's hair out of her face.

"I thought so. It's his little brother. He's with Naruto and me today. He wanted to come with us." She sighed, knowing that talking to a gravestone was deemed as crazy to people, but she was a Namikaze, after all.

Looking onto the night sky, she sighed, feeling something hit her chest as she gently rocked back and forth. She didn't need to look down to see what it was. "Oh, yeah, Daisu-nii-san, he gave me this necklace to remind me of him when he's not with me." Kirei couldn't help but smile, the raven on her mind. She always smiled when he was on her mind.

Which just meant that she was always smiling.

"I miss you, Daisu-nii-san…And I know you wouldn't like to hear about how depressed I get without you, but I'm getting better! I think next year, it won't be Anniversary Week. It'll be Anniversary Day!" She laughed a bit, knowing her brother would tousle her hair in this instance, a gesture of approval.

It seemed the wind did this for her, messing up her hair.

"I love you, Daisu-nii-san."

Hours later, Naruto let out the largest yawn of his life, sitting next to the mausoleum, hopping that 2:30 would come soon. He was starting to fall asleep.

Had it not been for Sasuke standing next to him and poking him in the arm with his foot, Naruto would've fallen asleep for sure. "Even though it's not 2:30 yet," Sasuke yawned, cursing the blonde for starting the yawn-fest. "We should go check on her. She's probably asleep anyway."

Naruto nodded as his eyes closed, head rolling off to the side a bit. "Yeah, sure…"

Sasuke sighed, seeing Naruto nod off. Was he the only one who could stay up this late? Looking at the blonde, he figured yes. "Okay, okay, get up, dobe." He gently kicked the blonde, startling him.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" He jumped up, shaking his head at an attempt to wake up.

Sasuke pushed off he building. "Alright, let's go find Kirei, cause I have no clue where I'm going."

"Yeah." Naruto started off going to the left.

Sasuke followed.

Suddenly, Naruto stopped, opening his eyes and looking around. "Oh, whoops. Wrong direction, sorry." He turned, heading to the right this time.

Sasuke shook his head, sighing as he followed the blonde. Naruto never was good with directions.

Coming up on a Sakura Tree in the dead of night, Sasuke saw the sleeping form of Kirei, hunkered right below a grave. The grave was of course, Daisuke's, his name displayed on the headstone. Despite all these facts, she still looked adorable when she slept.

He watched in silence as a sleepwalking Naruto went up to her and crawled close to her, setting his head on her shoulder and finally going to sleep. The last thing he did, conscious of it or not, was reach for Kirei's hand, grabbing it and holding it with him as he slept.

Standing there over the two, Sasuke wasn't sure if he could do the same. Well, he could, but did he really, really want to? He would be sleeping within the crook of her arm, something she always did with him.

Looking at her, he smiled. Yeah, he could do it, just for tonight.

Just like Naruto did, he sat beside her, using her unoccupied shoulder for a pillow, curling up next to her. He did this only because he figured she was cold, since it was nighttime. "Goodnight, Kirei." He mumbled softly.

He heard no answer, but felt a very small, soft hand connect with his. Instead of opening his eyes to see whose it was, he smiled and pulled it closer to him.

If he thought about it in the right way, this was just like a best friend sleepover. The only difference was that they weren't at home.

They were in a graveyard.

A graveyard filled with past emotions and future depressions, love and hate, regret and happiness and most important of all, the spirits of family who meant everything to everyone.

Sighing as she felt light penetrate her eyelids, Kirei whined softly as she woke up. She tried to stretch out her fingers and hands but found both were occupied.

The one she could understand; it was with her cousin who always ventured this trip with her. He always held her hand out of habit during that night.

The other hand she was a little confused with. At least until she looked, seeing the head of spiky black hair snuggled into her shoulder, causing her to smile.

Sasuke was with her too.

Seeing the two of them; the blonde stretched out, the raven curled up, Kirei began to chuckle, shaking her head.

Oh yes, with these two, Anniversary Week would become Anniversary Day.

Kirei found it was a good way to start her morning.

Waking up in a graveyard with two boys sleeping on top of her in completely different ways.

She smiled even more. What a great way, indeed.