-
"Alright people! Keep moving! Keep moving! We have to finish this gym before tomorrow!" Temari shouted into a megaphone.
Kankuro glared at his sister. How did he get wrapped up in this decorating thing? He glanced up at Tenten who stood atop a ladder. He held the ladder steady as she hung the banner. His eyes wandered until they landed on her blue-jean rear. Oh yeah. That's how. He hadn't been listening to Temari when she was asking him, so he said yes before he knew what had been asked. He cursed his sister under his breath as Tenten climbed down.
"Now, all we have to do is put up these streamers," Tenten said, holding up the bag.
Kankuro grumbled something. Tenten laughed.
"We're not using you as a slave, Kankuro-kun. Now come on!" she said, pulling him along.
"Then how come the other seventh graders aren't here?" he asked.
"Well, I know why your brother isn't here. Not sure about the others . . . ."
Kankuro raised an eyebrow at her.
"Then, how come Gaara's not here?"
Tenten's grin looked way too much like a fox's smirk.
"Because Temari-chan is too busy trying to hook them up. She sent Gaara off to accompany Naruto-kun to a book release. She's also trying to find them tickets to an Evanescence concert and make them go on that."
Kankuro choked. The neuron passageways that controlled his shock and gag reflex crossed temporarily, causing him to choke on air. Tenten dropped the bag and patted him on the back. She almost called for someone to help when Kankuro calmed down. He straightened up and looked at Tenten. She recoiled slightly at his pissed look.
"And how do you know this?" Kankuro asked, his eyebrow twitching.
"Uh . . . she said she wasn't supposed to tell me, or Neji or Lee, but she couldn't resist. She said that Gaara liked Naruto and that she was going to try and get them together," Tenten explained.
She watched as the twitch that infected his eyebrow spread to his facial muscles. Then, suddenly –
"TEMARI! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Kankuro ran after Temari. Temari broke into a dash and sped out of the gym, yelling orders to everyone as she went. Kankuro continued to scream at her. It was something about abusing Gaara's rights of privacy or about using a cop's son for her own perverse fantasies.
-
Itachi stared out the window of the police car. Arashi kept his eyes on the road. Occasionally, the blond would glance at his partner but other than that, one would think they were ignoring each other.
Arashi pulled up at a red light and watched the cars pass in front of them.
"Pretty crime-free day today," Arashi commented, relaxing into his seat.
Itachi grunted. Arashi chuckled. He stopped when he noticed Itachi wasn't smirking, as he usually did when the blond made pointless observations.
"What's wrong?" Arashi asked.
Itachi turned to look at him. His face looked affected by lack of sleep. As usual, Arashi couldn't tell what he was feeling or thinking. He half expected the Uchiha to just turn back toward the window.
"You know how most people think I'm an immoral cop?" Itachi muttered.
Arashi ignored the erotic chill that the deep voice sent down his spine.
"Yes," Arashi replied, just as the light turned green.
He stepped on the gas and continued to drive. Itachi waited until they reached another red light to continue.
"This time I really did do something bad," Itachi muttered.
Arashi waited for him to say more. Itachi looked up at the red changing to green. Arashi sighed and stepped on the gas again. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow as the blond pulled into a parking lot. The police head parked and gave Itachi his full attention.
"What was it?" Arashi asked, a ghost of a smirk fluttering around his face.
Itachi glared; this wasn't a laughing matter. The last time Itachi had brought this up, Arashi had honestly burst out laughing and said that it was none of their business because it was in a different city. The Uchiha didn't want to be laughed at again, especially not for this.
"I think I turned my brother into an alcoholic."
The ghost of the smirk became extinct. Arashi stared at him blankly for a while. It was a good thing it was a quiet day.
"Why would you think that?" the police head asked.
Itachi turned his head away from him. He concentrated his gaze onto the windshield.
"I . . . let him have a couple of beers one night. A few days after that, I overheard Mother accusing Father of drinking too much. She said all of the sake in their cupboard was gone; they keep it in a cupboard that Sasuke's not supposed to be able to reach, but knowing that brat . . . . He's also been staying out later at night than usual. And . . . after that recent drug scandal we broke up, you know how I was told to take some of it home and give it to those scientists later so they could see exactly what it was?"
Arashi nodded.
"I only was able to give them half of it. The other half disappeared. Later, after I came back home, Mother was crying and was saying something about Sasuke having to go to the hospital. When she explained it to me, it sounded as though Sasuke had taken an overdose of something. He looks okay now, but . . . ." Itachi trailed off.
Arashi looked down at the floor. That did sound really bad, but . . . .
"Why would Sasuke do that? He doesn't seem like he's the type to - ."
"You don't know, do you? About what happened between him and Naruto?"
Arashi's eyebrows furrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Itachi looked over at Arashi.
"Naruto and Sasuke had been dating for two years before this happened. Recently, Naruto broke up with him. Sasuke suspects it's over that red-haired kid from Suna. It's messed him up a little." Itachi explained.
Arashi stared at Itachi for a while. What?
"But – Naruto would've told me - !"
"Not if he thought you wouldn't approve. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto know about us, right?" Itachi interrupted. "Besides, you'd have to be at least bi to marry a woman and let her have your child."
Silence reigned in the car. Arashi sat there, thinking over what Itachi just told him. Itachi leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling.
"What do we do?" Arashi asked.
Itachi paled somewhat. That wasn't what he had wanted to hear.
-
Gaara stopped and turned around. Naruto halted and looked over his shoulder, book in hand.
"Gaara, what - ?"
"Someone's following us."
The red-head scanned the crowded hall. Everyone looked as though they were in a hurry or talking to one another. He tried to find someone who stood out. Anyone . . . but to no avail. He looked and looked but he couldn't find anyone. The strangest people he found were some oddly-dressed teens, though he shouldn't talk.
"You sure?" Naruto asked.
Gaara nodded.
"Come on," Gaara muttered.
He picked up his pace. Naruto followed him. Gaara practically ran through the mall, Naruto finding it hard to keep up. The sense of being followed still plagued Gaara. He looked over his shoulder. He couldn't see anyone. The faster he ran and made unnecessary turns, the more he felt as though they were being followed.
"Gaara, wait up!" Naruto called.
Despite his better judgment, he stopped and waited for Naruto. The blond panted and looked like he wanted an explanation.
"We have to get out of here, or else I'm not going to be able to find out who's following," Gaara muttered.
"Okay. Why don't we just go out the way everyone else does? It might make it easier for us to loose him," Naruto suggested.
Gaara nodded. They made a right and calmly walked to the mall entrance. They reached the bus stop and looked around. The only ones standing there were them.
"I think we lost whoever it was in the crowd. Either that, or all that running you made us do," Naruto said, glaring at him slightly.
The corner of Gaara's mouth twitched upward.
-
Atop the bus stop hanging stood a man. He peered over the awning enough to see the tops of their heads. He hoped he hadn't lost Wind Shadow's child in the ground and that this was, indeed, the proper red-head. He had no idea who the blond was, but that didn't matter. All that mattered was that he filled out his mission. He needed to fulfill this mission, no matter what the cost to him, his master, or that traitorous bastard.
-
Red Roses2: Sorry if this is too short, but I haven't had much inspiration lately. Sorry. Hope you like this update, though! Please review.