Title: Life Goes On
Author: nikki3 (bloodywriter83yahoo.com)
Chapter: 7/?
Chapter Title: Temporary Peace
Genre: Romance
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. If I owned the series, I'd have Itachi and Sasuke all to myself. Hehe. But I don't. The title was from the song, "Life Goes On" by Leanne Rhymes (is that the right spelling?).
Warning: YAOI. EXTREME OOCness?
Author's notes: Well, the truth is I could've started on this chapter during the summer break but it seemed that -glares at the people behind her- the muses wouldn't cooperate. -the muses merely shrug- Grr... Anyway, they only cooperate at the most inopportune times, such as when I'm in school or when I'm on my coffee and/or smoking break. Damn it. For some odd reason, the ideas to keep this fic going don't happen at home in front of the computer. Nope. It just has to take place when I'm out. (It sucks that I have to be in school or anywhere near it to get an idea. Gods, I hate school.)
-Chapter 7: Temporary Peace-
Sasuke being suspended from missions meant that the entire Team Seven were stuck with mundane training and some occasional community work (which was okay with them since they're helping Konoha rebuild itself and the fact that they weren't exactly eager to go on missions as of yet) much to Kakashi's relief. Sasuke was actually showing his first signs of improvement.
He had actually made conscious efforts to get along with Naruto however rocky their relationship may seem. No insults, no derogatory remarks. Some occasional "dobe" and "usuratonkachi" which sounded more like endearments than insults to Kakashi's perverted ears. A praise every now and then had Naruto beaming with pride for hours (if Sakura didn't shoot him down soon afterwards). Fights had been limited to truly important matters concerning how to go about certain tasks or rather the delegation of tasks. Nothing physical, just some light banter wherein one or the other would back down consciously before they got violent and they'd agree on a compromise.
Not a bad improvement if Kakashi's said so himself. Sasuke made so many changes that he finally agreed to go out with Sakura a few times (which had the other girls green with envy). He had even gone out of his way to pay visits to Neji every other day to express his gratitude. Not only that, he had improved socially too. Sasuke was often seen hanging out with a large group of kids consisting mainly of Team Seven, Ten and Eleven, not really contributing much to the conversation but his mere presence was comforting, a good sign that he had no intention of leaving anytime soon. Kakashi smiled at the thought.
The jounin was also happy to note that Team Seven was fast forming close ties with each other. Right now, they were getting along nicely in one of their bonding sessions, which consisted mainly of the entire team sitting in the ramen stand eating ramen and talking. About what? Practically everything under the sun just as long as there were no long uncomfortable silences in between. Although there are some instances that their conversations would take a rather strange twist.
"I am so not dignifying that with an answer!" Sakura looked appalled. She was blushing profusely.
"Would it help if Sasuke asked you?"
"No!"
"Aww, come on, Sakura-chan..."
"Black." A moment of silence as two head swiveled to look incredulously at their raven-haired companion. There was a slight tinge of pink on the pale boy's cheeks. "Her underwear's black," he said, voice hoarse, barely a whisper.
A perverted look crossed Naruto's face. "Oh... So, Sasuke's a closet pervert too. Hehehe."
"Am not!" was the indignant reply.
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too, are too!"
"Am not, am not!"
"Naruto! Stop teasing Sasuke-kun!"
"Are too!"
"Am not! Besides, it's not my fault I saw up her skirt!" Sasuke said out loud, looking pretty much flustered as the conversation progressed.
"Sasuke-kun..."
"Hehe. So you ARE a closet pervert!"
"Am not!"
"What? You just admitted it yourself!"
"Did not! How was I supposed to know that her skirt would ride up like that when she fell on top of me?!"
"Sasuke-kun, you pervert!" The pink-haired girl whacked the back of the young Uchiha's had.
"Ow! That hurt!"
"Oops. Sorry, Sasuke-kun..."
"Hahaha! Serves you right! Ow! Sakura-chan..."
"That's for starting the underwear question in the first place!"
Aside from avidly watching them bond, Kakashi quietly filed the bit about Sakura's underwear into the perverted part of his brain.
-----
"So what was it that you wanted to talk about?" Kakashi wondered out loud as his companion led him to a more secluded area in the forest. "Sasuke?"
The raven-haired boy stopped and turned to look at him. "I suppose this place will have to do. I don't really plan to take too long."
Kakashi's brows furrowed. Sasuke sounded serious, different from the flustered boy who was discussing Sakura's underwear color in Ichiraku earlier that day. Not to mention the one who collaborated with Naruto and nearly stole the jounin's beloved book, "Icha Icha Paradise". The key term is nearly, much to Kakashi's relief.
"You shouldn't read such... erotic books in public, Kakashi-san. People will think you're a pervert."
"But I AM a pervert, Itachi-kun."
"I'll pretend that I didn't hear that."
"Hahahaha!"
Itachi sighed dramatically. "What am I to do with you?"
"Anything you want and more..." Kakashi waggled his eyebrows at the innuendo.
Itachi grinned. "I'll hold you to that..." Kakashi leaned closer as Itachi whispered in his ear, "When I'm ready, of course."
The jounin fell over in disbelief while the raven-haired boy chuckled.
Sasuke sighed. "I just wanted to tell you that one of the people who stopped me was my brother, Itachi."
Seconds ticked by as Kakashi stared at the younger Uchiha in shock. Itachi? He stopped Sasuke? He had not expected that. Why would the older sibling stop Sasuke from leaving?
The raven-haired boy sat on a large rock. "He told me that he was framed. He didn't kill that clan. I didn't understand it. I still don't." The number one rookie looked up at him. "You don't happen to know an Uchiha Renji, do you? I've checked the names and he doesn't exist!"
"Obito mentioned him once and Itachi mentioned him a couple of times when we were seeing each other. Why?"
"It's just that he told me that - Wait a minute. You were seeing my brother?" Sasuke raised a brow at him. "You never told me that."
Kakashi shrugged. "You never asked and it never came up. Besides, we were all afraid to mention him to you. You weren't exactly receptable to the idea back then."
"Oh."
"It wasn't that it wasn't important though, our relationship. It just hurt to think about him. That's all." The jounin's visible eye was downcast as he continued to speak. "He was already living with me, you know. He was going to leave the clan to find another prodigy when it happened. He had a lot of reasons to hate the Uchiha clan but not enough to hurt you. That much I was so sure of. He absolutely adored you to bits."
A sad smile graced Sasuke's lips. "He did huh?" Then he shook his head. "We're going off topic. Itachi mentioned Uchiha Renji. He said that guy killed the clan!"
Kakashi stared at the boy for a moment before speaking. "That's impossible. Itachi said his twin died when they were five years old."
-----
Kisame was out again, which was fine with Renji. His partner had taken one glance at him that morning and knew that he wanted to be left alone. For a blood-crazed criminal, he was pretty understanding of Renji's moods.
It was way past noon. He had spent the entire morning staring out the window and immersing himself in his own thoughts. He looked down on his hands and flexed them, remembering the time they were soaked in blood, Itachi's blood. He had originally aimed to gouge his brother's eyes out with his bare hands. Somehow, his twin had evaded his intent but not without injury. Renji figured it must have scarred by now, four jagged lines on the left side of Itachi's face, marring the perfect white skin. The older twin closed his eyes. Despite having his twin suffer, it just wasn't enough. Yet at the same time, he felt uneasy and, for some odd reason, guilty. Guilty about what? He didn't know. But neither did he want to find out.
"You should stop doing that," someone said. Kisame was back and judging by the look on his partner's face, the shark had no intention of leaving him alone this time. Renji wondered briefly what his partner wanted. He didn't have to wonder too long. "You've been brooding since we met. It just isn't right. It can't be healthy for you, Itachi-san."
The older Uchiha twin narrowed his eyes. "And what business is it for you to tell me what I can and cannot do?"
"I'm your partner goddammit!" Kisame growled, slamming his fist on the wall beside him. Renji showed nothing outwardly but inside, he flinched at the sudden outburst. "How do you expect us to function well when you don't even trust me?"
"But I do trust you." Then, Renji scowled, raising his voice. "I trust you to stay out of my business!" This was the first of what the Uchiha wanted to avoid - an argument.
"Itachi..." There was a tone in his sharkish partner's voice that the raven-haired boy was not familiar with. But he ignored it in favor of his anger.
"Don't call me that!"
"But Itachi -"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Renji screamed as he covered his ears, shaking his head from side to side. Itachi this, Itachi that. He was so tired of playing that role. "I'm not Itachi dammit! I'm not! I'm Ren -" The older twin caught himself and clamped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide in shock. It was childish of him to rant on like that and nearly give everything away. If Kisame found out and word got out, his boss would come for him. And Renji was not willing to accept the man's lecherous advances no matter how attractive the man was.
The room was silent, so silent that Renji could hear his own heart beating wildly and his sharp intakes of breath. Seeing Kisame's confused expression, he closed his eyes, not being able to bear to look at his partner. He took a deep breath and said, "Leave me. I need to be alone for a while." Hopefully, the shark would say no more on the matter and leave him be.
Seconds ticked by, and still Kisame didn't move. The tension in the room was suffocating him. Unable to bear it anymore, Renji growled, "If you won't go, I will."
Then he moved to leave, only to be stopped when two large hands grabbed onto his shoulders and he found himself in a tight embrace.
"Itachi or whoever you are. I would die for you. All I want is for you to trust me."
Renji's eyes widened before his sight became blurred with tears that threatened to fall. Kisame... Surprising even himself, the raven-haired boy slowly raised his arms and grabbed on, holding tightly onto the taller man. "It's Renji."
"Hmm?"
"My name is Uchiha Renji," Renji whispered.
"Aa."
-----
"That's impossible. Itachi said his twin died when they were five years old."
Sasuke froze. He didn't expect that. "Dead?"
"Yes."
"Itachi's twin?"
"Itachi's older twin, therefore, your eldest brother." Kakashi frowned.
"But Itachi showed me scars," Sasuke pressed on.
"He's only got one scar and a deep line on his lower back. He got it trying to save a fellow shinobi."
"You actually know that?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.
Kakashi grinned sheepishly as he scratched the back of his head. "Yes, I guess I do. Haha."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his jounin sensei, scrutinizing the man for a moment before sighing. "Should have expected that. You are a pervert after all. But..." He touched the left side of his face. "He showed me scars here."
Kakashi's visible eye widened a fraction. "How is he?" Worry and concern were laced in that voice. The raven-haired rookie could tell.
"He seemed fine aside from the scars. We didn't talk much."
"Aa."
Moments passed before Kakashi spoke again. "Whether or not what Itachi told you was true, we don't know for sure. We have no means of confirming it unless he could give us proof himself."
Sasuke stood up. "I know." He started walking back to the main road but stopped for a moment. Without looking back, he said, "But wouldn't it be great if he was innocent after all?" I could have my big brother back.
Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Aa."
-----
"So Naruto... What do you think about Hinata?"
The blond in qeustion turned to his pink-haired companion with a confused expression on his face. "Eh?"
"Well?"
Naruto scrached the back of his head. "Hmm... She's okay, I guess... Why?"
"Ah, well, it's nothing except that... she likes you. A lot." Sakura smiled. It was one of those smiles that frightened the hell out of the loud-mouthed ninja. Then, what the pink-haired girl said sank in.
She likes me?
But instead of Hinata, images of Sasuke cam to mind. Eh? Why am I thinking of him now?Sakura cocked her head a bit. Voice laced with concern, she asked, "Naruto? Are you alright? You look like something terrible just happened."
It was only then that the hyperactive blond realized that he was frowning. "Ah, it's nothing." To make up for his temporary lapse, he said, "So she likes me eh?" He grinned. "Of course! Why wouldn't she? I'm better than Sasuke after all!" This statement earned him a big whack at the back of his head.
"Baka!" She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sasuke-kun will always be better than you."
"Sakura-chan..."
Then she smiled at him again. It was like watching a horror movie where the psycho was acting all nice before stabbing you in the back with a kitchen knife. The blond shuddered. He had got to stop watching those creepy films.
"Anyway, I was supposed to ask you if you wanted to go on a double date. Hinata didn't have a date so..."
"Hmm... okay!"
Sakura threw her arms over Naruto and said, "Thank you! I'll expect you to pick Hinata up before meeting up with Sasuke-kun and me tomorrow!" Then, she ran off.
Naruto waved her goodbye. He frowned at no one in particular. Why was he bothered by the thought of Sasuke going out with Sakura?
-----
Sasuke sat on his perch on a branch of a tall tree. Normally, he would be enjoying the fresh, cool breeze but at the moment, he paid no heed to it. he found himself thinking more and more about his teammate. Not Sakura as most would think but Naruto, of all people to think of. The blond evoked feelings with him that he hadn't noticed were a constant even way back in their earler childhood until after the little runaway stunt he pulled. He had only become even more aware of it after Sakura approached him earlier in the day.
"Sasuke-kun, what do you say to a date tomorrow night?"
Sasuke thought about it for a moment. He wasn't doing anything tomorrow night. "It's okay... but why?" The raven-haired boy raised a brow and regarded the girl suspiciously.
Sakura twiddled her thumbs. "Well, I was thinking of helping Hinata..."
"I'm not going out with Hinata," was Sasuke's flat out answer.
The pink-haired girl shook her head. "No, of course not. You're my date." She blushed and giggled at the young Uchiha's confused expression. "As I was saying, I wanted to help Hinata get a date with Naruto -"
Sasuke's heart lurche. The feeling was painful. It was as if someone drove a kunai right into his heart and twisted it.
"- so I figured we'd go with them to make sure everything would turn out just fine. I'm so glad you agreed to go."
"Aa." That was the only answer he could gve her, not really noticing that she had just volunteered him to go. He didn't understand it. Why was he so bothered by the thought of Naruto going on a date with Hinata? Sasuke shook his head, trying to shake the nagging thought.
"I just hope that Naruto would say yes."
His heart dropped, deep down wishng and hoping that Naruto would say no.
Sasuke didn't like it, this feeling of having your heart ripped out. The thought of Sakura going out with Lee or any other guy wouldn't have evoked this sort of pain. If she or any other girl for the matter were to date a guy other than him, the raven-haired boy wouldn't have paid them a second thought, so as long as Naruto wasn't included in the equation. And that was the strange part. He couldn't possibly be attracted to Konoha's Number One loud-mouthed ninja now, could he?
Before, had anyone bothered to tell him that he'd be infatuated with Naruto, he would've scoffed at the idea and told that person that he or she ought to be locked up in a loony bin. Because there was no way in hell he was ever going to fall for the blond idiot. Right now, contemplating the very thought frightened him.
Then he paused in his thoughts. I like Naruto?
Inner Sasuke shouted, HELL YEAH!
-----
Kakashi yawned as he entered his apartment. It was still early yet he was tired as heck. He wanted to catch some shuteye before any more missions come his way. He shut the door behind him and pulled down his mask, not minding the fact that anyone could just come in at any time and see his face.
He opened the window beside his bed, allowing the cool air to breeze in. The jounin lay in bed and closed his eyes. Funny, he could've sworn he sensed someone come in through the window just before he drifted off to sleep.
-----
Itachi re-familiarized himself with the apartment where he was often a guest in the past. He had let the jounin rest, seeing as how tired the older man was. Konoha had suffered great losses from Orochimaru's attack and now they were hastily trying to regain the balance they had lost, exhausting their human resources rapidly.
He hoped, with Tsunade-sama's ascension to the Hokage title, that Konoha would soon return to its original stature or perhaps even better than before.
Itachi felt greatly relieved that at least for now, Sasuke wasn't willing going to hat snake bastard. He was glad that his litle brother had enough sense left in his brain to come back. The chuunin had thought that Orochimaru might have killed it. Sense, that is.
He quietly pulled up a chair beside the slumbering jounin's bed and watched as Kakashi shifted in his sleep. He allowed himself to smile. Kakashi looked so cute. The raven-haired nin resisted the urge to pinch the older man's cheeks just like the jounin used to do to him.
"Hmm..." Kakashi scrutinized Itachi's face, making the chuunin nervous. "You got a bit chubby around... Hmm..."
The younger's brow twitched. "Chubby?"
"Yup!"
"No need to sound so happy about it! Where?"
"Hmm..." The jounin moved closer, making the raven-haired boy blush.
"Kakashi..." Itachi said, warningly.
"Right..." Kakashi raised his hands and pinched the uchiha's cheeks -- hard. "Here!"
"Ite, ite, ite." When the jounin finally the now red-faced chuunin, Itachi growled as he tried to assuage the sting on his face, "Kakashi..."
"Oops. I think I hear life calling me. Bye.' And the other man made a hasty retreat with the irate boy chasing after him.
"Kakashi! Come back here!"
Itachi smiled at the memory. Those were the days when things just weren't as complicated as they were now. It seemed strange how old his thoughts sounded. But imitating Gai's enthusiasm for youth is not how he wanted to sound like either.
He was roused from his thoughts by the chirping from the open window. A mission. The chirping was followed by the sound of frantic footsteps coming closer. It became apparent that it was unsafe for him to remain right where he was. Although it was important that he speak with Kakashi, it would have to wait for a more convenient time.
The said jounin stirred and opened his eyes. Itachi's heart fluttered. By the time Kakashi blinked, the ex-ANBU captain was gone and the door to his room burst open.
-----
Renji wrapped his cloak even tighter around himself. It was particularly cold tonight. He and his partner had received new orders from the organization. He had paled considerably so when he got the message. Tendouji Eiri, his boss, was coming.
He had clung onto Kisame tightly like a frightened child begging his father to save him from the boogey man. "Please, please, don't let him get me! Please!" It was pathetic. He knew. But he was truly terrified of the man. He wouldn't have been able to do half the things he'd done if it weren't for Tendouji-san. But it was also because of his boss that he was caged. True, Tendouji released him from the prison his clan had put him in but he also dragged the Uchiha to another one.
A weight on his shoulders roused him from his thoughts as Kisame draped his own cloak over the younger man's lean form. "You shouldn't stay out when it's cold, Renji-san. You could get sick."
Renji turned to his partner and gave him a grateful smile. "Aa. Thank you."
The shark muttered a reply with a reddish tinge on his cheeks, "Don't mention it."
-----
Kakashi opened his eyes and blinked. The window curtains fluttered as the wind blew in. He could've sworn he saw Itachi with the scars Sasuke claimed he had. But the room was empty. Emphasis on the word "was" as Gemma burst into the room.
"Kakashi! Meeting. NOW!" Then the other jounin was gone.
What's going on?
-----
The date wasn't going as well as she hoped, Sakura thought as she analyzed the situation. Hinata could barely get two words out from stuttering too much. Naruto was being unusually quiet and Sasuke... well, he was being himself, quiet and all but a bit disturbed, Sakura gathered from her extensive knowledge of his many silent moods. Yes, Sasuke did have a number of different kinds of silence. There was an "I'm-listening-so-I'm-quiet" silence, a "don't-bother-me-I'm-thinking" silence, a "shut-up-or-I'll-bite-your-head-off" silence, a "what-the-hell?!" silence, an "I'll-agree-to-whatever-you-say-as-long-as-you-leave-me-alone" silence, an "I'll-keep-you-company" silence (Sakura's all-time favorite) and many other kinds of silence. The silence he had right now was the "I'm-freakishly-disturbed" silence. Sakura surmised that it might have been because anything that concerned Naruto for the young Uchiha was both weird and disturbing. That summed it all quite nicely.
There were times when the pink-haired girl would make a rather neutral conversation, it would die as soon as Naruto and Sasuke actually spoke to each other. The entire group would lapse into an uncomfortable silence. Not exactly the ideal date but then again, it could've been worse.
She just didn't know how worse it could be.
-----
Sasuke shifted his stance as he took a break from having to see the rather painful sight of Naruto with Hinata. He had breathed a sigh of relief when he excused himself without having Sakura question him. Gods, he needed to think. He sat himself down on a bench.
Naruto... was the only one who could make his heart beat faster and slower at the same time. A contradiction but Naruto wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't evoke such feelings from the normally stoic boy. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings so was startled when someone sat beside him. Naruto.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself, dobe."
Somehow, things had gotten awkward since they all met up earlier this evening. It was rather strange, knowing that you like the person sitting right beside you. Sasuke didn't know what to say. He had gotten a bit self-conscious around the loud-mouthed blond, acting like Hinata without nervous gestures and the stuttering.
"You're awfully quiet tonight."
"Yeah... so are you."
"Yeah, but I'm always quiet."
"Yeah..."
This was getting rather ridiculous. In the days that passed they could talk about practically anything under the sun (which included Sakura's choice of underwear courtesy of Naruto's perverted mind) and there still wouldn't be enough time for them to finish. And now, they couldn't even hold a decent conversation for five minutes without lapsing into silence.
Sasuke frowned. Then he looked at Naruto and noticed something new. He leaned over and tapped the blond on the head.
"Hey, you got taller."
Really?" The blond replied, turning to look at the younger Uchiha, and consequently bringing them nose to nose against each other literally.
They stared at each other for what seemed like eternity. Then Sasuke's eyes widened as Naruto closed the small gap between them and kissed him. Blood rushed through his veins like wildfire and color blossomed on his pale cheeks as he closed his eyes and kissed back.
-----
-TBC-
Author's notes: Not as long as I hoped it would be but I hope you guys liked it. I finally got a livejournal of my own. I still don't know how to use it well yet. I'll slowly figure it out I guess. Please review!
Started: May 22, 2004
Ended: June 15, 2004
Transferred to Word from Notepad because of Ffnet's QuickEdit function: June 27, 2004