AN: Goddamn, school. My apologies for holding this up for two weeks. I'm just so busy with school. I still try my best to get back to this story ASAP, so please bear with me. Hopefully, you guys understand

Sasuke was a genius—a prodigy, in a more appropriate term. He knew how people worked and felt. He just picked that skill to know what a guy was feeling at the moment as time passed. It helped him in some situations.

And with that, he knew that Naruto and Menma got into a sibling quarrel. They haven't talked to each other for the whole week. Naruto always tried catching up during dismissal, but Menma was gone with the wind already. He could see in Menma's eased face that he was apathetic about Naruto.

It scared Sasuke.

But he has to take his shots sometimes, being an Uchiha.

At the start of another week of school, he trudged down to Naruto's seat, where he was eating a cheese sandwich. He had prepared his apology ever since the hour after the "thrusting incident." Probably not the best move he had ever made.

There were many ways he could've possibly initiated a conversation, but he decided to keep it as minimalistic as possible.

"Yo."

"Hmm?"

Naruto looked up at the taller man. He didn't exactly have the mood to be around with a guy who was associated as Menma's childhood best friend, but it wasn't hurting anybody. So he just copied Sasuke and waited for Sasuke to say anything while eating his food.

The cheese had a nice melt in his mouth: something he learned to do after years of observing his chef mother. If only Menma had the place in his heart to accept what he prepared as a consolation gift that morning. Good thing he brought the extra sandwich with him. He pointed the second wrapped sandwich to Sasuke and waved it in an up-and-down motion.

"Do you want it?" he asked.

"Why?"

"Partially, because I want you to go away—and because I have no-one else to give this to."

"Yeah . . . just came here to say sorry about that incident, Naruto," Sasuke said, without falter.

Naruto glared at him suspiciously. He had assumed that Sasuke had lots of pride. Perhaps he had swallowed those? Maybe. Or it was probably just a casual thing that he didn't mean. But screw it. He was more forgiving than his twin anyway. He shrugged.

"Guess let's forget about that—'ttebayo."

But it was difficult to dissolve in a snap. It bothered Naruto for weeks, so he usually sought out Menma's comfort. It just wasn't right for him. He felt that he was so compatible with Menma's body. Sasuke's thrust was a red flag for his body.

"Do you . . . want to start again? Maybe my first impression with you wasn't really that good, having possibly sexually assaulted you in a vent."

"Yep. Not the best intro, man."

Naruto patted the free seat to his left, which was Menma's, and Sasuke sat there without hesitation. He stole the sandwich off of Naruto's hands and peeked through the opening. The marigold cheese glistened like a grand piano under the chandeliers of a performance hall. It looked so fluid, yet it's still so solid and intact. He pushed the plastic forward and exposed the sandwich to the open air. The tempting aroma of cheese made him flood his mouth.

Maybe a nibble isn't worthy for this. A full-sized bite would do it.

Sasuke wasn't sure whether to faint or to scream his lungs out. How exactly could he explain how it tasted? It was like eleven heavens squeezed into a square form and inherited the sweetness of a virgin's kiss. His body felt like falling apart and melting into a puddle. He gulped it down with infinite satisfaction.

"This is some good cheese sandwich."

"Really?" Naruto, flattered, scratched the back of his head. "I used to watch my mom make this. She had wake up early in the morning to whip up a special kind of recipe for store-bought cheese to enhance the taste or something. She didn't want to do it when I was awake, because it was supposed to be a 'secret technique,' but I just caught her one day. She had no choice but to teach my how to."

"Ah. No matter how much I want to learn how this is made, I believe it's best to leave her wishes as is."

Sasuke, small talk. Small talk. Small talk.

The older boy took a tiny breath to calm himself down. An Uchiha had to have a knack for casual conversations.

Sasuke said, "So, uh, how do you think Uncle Minato is doing in the afterlife?"

Damn it, not small talk!

Naruto rolled his eyes. His parents' deaths were just a distant memory for him, waiting to be brought up by someone who was getting to know him. There were a million things to talk about. He let it pass.

"Don't know," he answered to a sweating Sasuke. He finished eating his homemade sandwich and rested his chin on his right palm. "I'm not even sure if an afterlife exists—but whatever keeps people cozy in their sleep. For all I know, my parents' bodies are a habitat for worms by now."

"Aren't you at least uneasy about that fact?"

"I dunno, to be honest."

Jeez—and Menma says I'm talkative. The sandwich probably made him want to talk even more.

"I see . . ."

Sasuke awkwardly nibbled on the heavenly snack while the options of topics were exhausted. Naruto kept on staring at the red backpack that Menma owned. It was packed with unnecessary papers and quizzes with sprays of red checks, crosses, and circles, splattered across the gray medium.

He sought for assistance or at least some evidence from the Internet to prove what he felt was real, and that Menma was feeling the same as he does, though in denial. All he found was the Westermarck Effect, which was an opposing idea of what he was feeling. Giving up wasn't an option—but a break was. Although he had spent those past few days pushing away the thoughts about Menma by disturbing himself, he just found Menma in everything he tried to busy himself with. Playing Handball only reminded him that Menma was cheering for him every time he had a game. Music didn't help because Menma downloaded a bunch of his favorite songs on Naruto's phone, in case he didn't bring his. Reading books made him recall how Menma hated reading a summer book requirement when they were little. They did almost everything together that it scared him.

Maybe this is beneficial for the both of us.

"Yo, do you want to do the homework with me now?" Sasuke offered, snapping Naruto back to his conscious self. "I can help you. As far as I've analyzed, Miss Kurenai wasn't joking when she said Math was going to be difficult this year."

Sasuke could be a distraction.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah—sure. I have nothing else to do, anyway."

Smiling wasn't Sasuke's forte. He doesn't even allow a millimeter of a smile. And that's what he did. No matter how stoic he was, he was beaming inside. Maybe, for once, Naruto could keep him distracted from chasing Itachi and leaving the school for Akatsuki.

After a quick lunch at the cafeteria with Kiba, Menma was walking back to the classroom with his friend. With a black cloud booming on Menma's head, Kiba couldn't help but notice. Menma usually had an uncaring face when Naruto wasn't around. But that whole week, he had a permanent scowl, even when Naruto was around.

"I'm not an idiot, Menma," Kiba said—basically stating his death wish, while the two were silently passing by, "Do you have some sort of sibling beef with Naruto?"

"That's none of your business."

Menma massaged his temple, relieving a bit of pressure accumulated there. Who was to take the blame? He hurt Naruto for what he felt in the process. Naruto was the one who felt that he could be more than brothers with Menma. The older twin was the one who got the idea of losing both of their virginities to each other. The younger twin was the one who got addicted to the sex. Well, both of them were. Sex between them was out of lust. But was Naruto actually feeling lust? Menma was Naruto's first kiss anyway—and that was way before the proposal of sex.

He was just too confused.

Whoever was to take the blame, there was a devoid of stinging pain developing on his chest. He still took it too far with Naruto. He could've done it slow and more conserved, but he had to throw in the Silent Treatment and obvious distaste. Body language sure was deadly. He pinched his left thumb.

"Naruto is just . . . probably having a man-period. You know it's that time of the month again."

"BS. You're the one who looks like having a man-period. You're just making Naruto affected in this. There's gotta be a reason you seem pissed or something. What the hell happened between you two?"

"I already told you," Menma snapped. "It's none of your business, okay?"

"Alright." Kiba raised his hands in surrender. "But you can't really stop me from nosing in whatever you two have."

"Just shut up already—"

Menma was speechless—a little damaged as they turned to the open doorway of their classroom. There wasn't much of a sight. His classmates were eating lunch. Some were preparing a prank for their next teacher, Mister Mizuki. The girls were gossiping as always. But at the far end, column six, row six, were Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Namikaze—having decided to go with his proper surname after Kakashi had shown his concern about the confusion of the class because he went with their mother's name—mingling with each other and doing homework.

And Sasuke was eating the sandwich that was meant for him.

He gulped, feeling some sort of tension. Sasuke was not holding back at showing how good Naruto's sandwiches were. He was frequently entering euphoria after every bite he took. Naruto was frequently taking Sasuke back to reality by his barrage of questions on how to factor efficiently. A sigh, then Menma bit the inside of his right cheek until the bitter kiss of blood was welcomed by his tongue.

"That's . . . my cheese sandwich."

A backstab and a spear, piercing through his heart. Who would dare approach Naruto without his permission? He wouldn't even allow his childhood friend to do so. But apparently, he was more in shock than angered.

He shook his head, disregarding the growing pain in his cheek. As soon as Sasuke caught a glimpse of him, he muttered something to Naruto and moved to the chair at Naruto's right. Seeing Menma, Naruto's whiskers resembled more of the black-haired twin, a trait he had when he was pissed off. He scoffed and returned to his homework.

"Yep. That's some massive beef you have." And frankly, Menma was finally genuinely sorry.

As the leader of Akatsuki, Obito had to wear a swirly orange mask and venture between alleys to get to Kakashi's home. The Akatsuki was becoming a high target by all organized criminal organizations because of their goal to keep a zero crime rate between the Five Great Polis. He cursed the design he picked for it. He wasn't a kid anymore. He shouldn't pick a mask like that just because it looked cool. But apparently, he did. And he was having a hard time seeing with only one eye.

He pressed the plastic button of the doorbell. Unlike most doorbells, Kakashi's was a painful metallic buzz that sounded like a zillion jolts. Obito loathed that doorbell. He noticed the rapid opening and closing of the abaca blinds. Kakashi pulled the wooden door from the inside and pushed the screen door outside. Underneath the fabric of Kakashi's mask, he smiled.

"So, you finally have a thing with masks now, huh?"

Obito said, "Just let me in, baka; I need your oh-so-great counsel."

"You never fail to show your inferiority to me, Obito."

"Whatever."

As soon as Obito felt the smooth tiles underneath his shoes, he took a deep sigh and flung his mask to Kakashi's couch. It was so ancient that about ninety percent of the exterior was cotton. Still, it never disappointed with its awesome comfort. It proved that it was still as effective as ever when the Uchiha took a seat and felt the pain of walking transfer out through his bottom and to the furniture.

Kakashi served ice-cold lemon juice with a green straw. Kakashi's home was welcoming to Obito as always. The fireplace was lit, spreading comforting warmth across the house. In front of Obito was the flat-screen television, reflecting Obito's image. The shoe racks were at his left and the kitchen-dining room was just at the left end of the single-floored house. At the right end was Kakashi's bedroom: the only room which no person other than the owner of the house itself has ever seen. It always bugged Obito.

"So," Kakashi said, "are you going to ask me how to arrange an extravagant proposal to Rin?"

"Goddamn," Obito blurted out, with immense intensity of an obvious blush, "Just not now, okay? I have my Akatsuki duties to attend to."

"Hmm."

Kakashi wasn't sure when Obito would ever propose to Rin, but he was determined to make it so. A crush as simple as that, developing into a dedicated adoration—Kakashi thought a proposal was long overdue.

"Anyways," Obito announced, "I need you advice on how I can deal with out issues with Akatsuki."

"Ah—so the rumors are true."

"Tsk. They're more than rumors; I tell you. Some bastard was apparently a spy and leaked info about us to criminal groups and made us vulnerable. We just wanna organize world peace—damnit!" Downing the glass of juice, Obito stood up and faced Kakashi in the eye. "So, as my faithful comrade and Friend A, I want you to provide me your sacred advice."

"Ah . . ."

Kakashi had his opinions on how to help. Unfortunately, Obito wasn't always one to agree with his ideas because of his warm nature. Kakashi wasn't the welcoming type. But he knew what was best for Obito if he wanted Akatsuki to survive. The doubt was already crawling on the Hatake's back. He could already hear Obito's objections already.

"Well," Kakashi answered at the top of his head, "you can always close the organization out. Make it strictly exclusive. Akatsuki is too big. Make it small. Fire people you can't trust. Keep only about a few people and make it bigger when you are really undercover."

Obito was taken aback as Kakashi continued to fire. But that was to be expected. And for once, he was all ears.

"For example, you could keep Itachi Uchiha. He's a formidable youth. He could also be bait to develop Sasuke with his studies. You know him, right?"

Obito didn't know much about his relatives. He just didn't have the time to catch up with the clan. But he was surely aware of Sasuke. He was considered a developing master in the Uchiha clan, with the characteristics of a just king. A prodigy second to a genius. Itachi was basically the motivation to Sasuke to be the best he could be in academics, athletics, and basically everything. Fortunately, Obito already proved himself with the Akatsuki. He didn't want to get stuck with the boring Uchiha Police, developed by the Second Hokage. He knew the rare Uchiha clan was meant for something more than that. It's a good thing that the police made a nice profit for a legacy.

"There is also that puppet lover, Sasori. He could be a nice member for your Intel Department. It would be beneficial for you if you keep him. And then there is Kakuzu, as a treasurer and secretary. Well, you'll know. You have a lot of people there who you can trust. They have valuable skills and talents that you can turn as a relevant asset to Akatsuki. But of course—" At that part, Kakashi wanted to hold back, but there was no turning back. "—you have to go ask permission from the government to make sure their names would be gone. Forever."

"You mean . . . I'll have to delete their records?"

"If you want it to be undercover, then yes."

If anything, Obito and his compassionate self wouldn't want to do this. He almost panicked with Kakashi's remarks. He resigned back down to the couch and contemplated, staring at the orange mask. How could he deal with their families? But having looked through their documents, most of them don't have families. Only Itachi was the one with a family among all the people he was listing down mentally.

Akatsuki could be . . . their family then. I have to put my mercy aside, for now . . .

Obito asked, "So how about the people who want to join Akatsuki after that?"

Kakashi almost laughed. "You're actually listening to me?"

"Shut up and answer."

"Alright." Kakashi held Obito back, who was almost ready to throw a clean punch to the arm. "You'll test their willingness to join Akatsuki by doing the same thing the past members would perform."

Too bad . . . according to some student profiles, they want to join Akatsuki in the future. What a shame.

"Kakashi . . ." Obito sighed and suppressed his melancholy emotions. That's what an Uchiha does best. "I guess I'll listen to you. Just this once." He put both his elbows on his knees and tapped the floor repeatedly with left foot. "So what you're basically saying is I'll disconnect them from their circle of friends and family by saying that they are shutting out the whole world, just to join Akatsuki?"

"Not just that. Hit 'em hard. You have to delete them after killing them off."