Warnings: cursing. Implied violence. Poetry-in-text. Things that make you think. Dysfunctional families.

Disclaimer: he holds the hand that crates, I am the mind that alters, twists, and borrows for dreams.
(i.e., I don't own Naruto. I just borrow.)

Author's note: this took a long, long time to write. I blame the Uchiha family. Now, the next part should be a little easier...

Thanks to betas who stick through my awfulness. You are all heavenly...

Thanks to everyone who gives their opinions! I enjoy hearing from you! It often helps me write faster, and get new ideas. Most of you deserve hugs and lollipops and other amazing things for your consistency, your depth in feelings, and your general cheerfulness in all that you say.

But, 'cause of a few, ah, less than, ah, polite remarks, I'd like to add a disclaimer to my "please give critique" policy. First off, please try and be polite...I have feelings. Secondly, I do a lot to help clear up issues with my writing, so, if you do have a complaint (like, "this makes no sense"), I'd like you to be specific. Tell me the "what," tell me the "why." I can't read minds, and it doesn't help me to know that the whole thing sucks—that phrasing makes me less willing to even listen. So. Consider what you say before you say it in an uncouth manner?

Edit: Wednesday, August 31, 2005. Minor changes in word choice, some added lines to help with clarification. Tell me if it's still not making sense.

Original Publish date: August 30, 2005.

愛 Something of Love: Ai no Koto
の
事

...by Taes

Chapter Thirteen

Naruto's head was heavy.

Since…before…I've just felt so…tired. He stifled a yawn as he watched the board, and Iruka mumbled something about an old, dead poet.

At least I don't have Math today…I don't think I could deal with Sasuke…

Iruka turned around, and began to lecture the class about the aforementioned dead poet. Naruto decided to prevent any on-coming memories and save himself a headache, later. So, as he concentrated on important things like the number of lines suggested in one kanji, and the number of strokes the teacher actually made, and thusly bettered his calligraphy.

Iruka, it seemed, noticed the lack of attention, and wrapped sharply on Naruto's desk. "Oi, Naruto! Pay attention, this is important…"

And then, the cell phone rang.

The class, normally all so attentive to their phones' intricacies, shifted to stare at the culprit. Every girl knew to turn her phone on vibrate, or better yet, off. And yet one of their numbers—Naruto couldn't remember who—simply blushed girlishly, and giggled. She looked dumbly at Iruka, who, for the moment, stared.

Naruto blinked in confusion, and there was a quiet, barely audible tap on door close to him. He jumped, and stared, aghast, at the door.

Shit…is this school haunted…?

Meanwhile, Iruka moved down the isles to better chastise the smiling girl, and turn off the incessant ringing.

But it was Sasuke's form that greeted startled eyes, and one word was mouthed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. Bathroom? Fuck, even Iruka's mean enough to keep with the "no breaks during class" rule…but, the teacher was distracted.

"Iruka-sensei, I have to go to the bathroom," he called, and got up. Iruka didn't seem to notice the explanation, but surely someone would.

Not that they'd convey the message…but, hey…I'll take what I can get.

Naruto was out the door in a moment, and Sasuke bossily grabbed Naruto's wrist. The sound of their feet clamoring in the hallway should have alerted someone, but miraculously, no one paid mind to the two boys headed for the restrooms.

With a final tug, Sasuke safely hid the two in the bathroom's corner, and Naruto felt his back press up against the table next to them.

"Shit, Sasuke," Naruto was annoyed. "Couldn't you wait 'till lunch like a normal person!" he fumed. "Iruka's gonna kill me, you know—I mean, I don't exactly do well in his stupid class—"

Sasuke pressed forward, and Naruto felt that the white, button-down shirts were far too hot. Sasuke's lips were millimeters from Naruto's, and he could feel the other's breath. "I want you to come back to my house." And then the gap between them was breeched, and Naruto felt warm, hot lips against his own.

…they were cold, before, weren't they…?His lips…

Naruto shook his head to clear it, and stared at Sasuke. "You coulda waited for lunch." He accused, but the boy only scowled.

Probably only just occurred to him, the bastard…and then he had to tell me as soon as the thought took form… Naruto scoffed.

"No." Sasuke shook his head, and the fire in his eyes was more than the usual determination. "You've got to meet my family."

Sasuke pressed closer for another, warm, dizzying kiss, and Naruto forgot his complaints. Forgot about class, about the possibility of someone seeing them…

"…I'll go," he mumbled.

And, in its way, that was that.

Sasuke put his arm on Naruto's waist. He smiled a little, and said, "Your muscles are so tense…" his hand slid under Naruto's shirt as his laughing eyes lifted. "Relax. Just trust me."

The blond's answering face was a mixture between amusement and irritation. "Didn't I ask you not to be all…you know..."

Sasuke's lips twitched. "Not act so…sensual, Naruto?" the other squirmed helplessly as Sasuke laughed aloud. Sasuke lowered his eyes. Closed them.

Naruto leaned forward. Sasuke felt his muscles tense as Naruto pulled his arm back. Without opening black orbs to see, Sasuke moved himself out of the way just as Naruto's fist went whizzing by. Naruto pulled back almost immediately—his arms threatened to collide with the thin paper walls. Such an impact could break the stuff, despite their misleading, orange design.

At least at the Uchiha household, it seemed, Naruto had to be careful of his feet. Socked feet on tatami made for little traction.

Sasuke clucked in disapproval. "Come on, now." His eyes were mocking. "Be serious. You're ridiculously easy to read, and your form sucks."

The scowl on Naruto's face was no worse than usual, but the boy felt like he'd been frowning all day. The Uchiha house, he'd found, made him distinctly uncomfortable. "Hell it does, Uchiha!" Naruto whined, and his fingers yearned to crush that flexing hand. Sasuke's fingers touched to the palm of the same hand in an undeniable 'come here' gesture. Naruto scowled and met the challenge with a determined shout. "I'll prove it, too! By beating the shit outta ya!"

Naruto's fist carried him forward and as his arms flew, Sasuke smiled. He seemed to—to Naruto's extreme annoyance—thoroughly amused.

"Try again, idiot." And the other pulled Naruto into something of an embrace. For an instant, it was as warm and comforting as Naruto could have hoped, but it quickly became too tight, too hot and too confining. The Uchiha had successfully blocked Naruto's poor attack and in fact used the movement to his advantage.

Sasuke released Naruto quickly, whereupon the blond stumbled. Briefly. He was about to launch a counter assault when Sasuke shook his head.

The boy, beautiful in the way a boy of the orient can be, assumed an easy, balanced position before he nodded curtly. "Your guardian's tried to teach you, hasn't he?"

The strangely accented words, the unexpected lilt to the expression, both of these had Naruto confused. Nevertheless, his bedazzled mind was caught off guard for only a moment. "Yeah. So?"

…ugh…great response there, Naruto…he winced a little as Sasuke's lips quirked upwards.

"So think a little, and move a little more gracefully…it'll help preserve your strength, and cause less stress on your muscles." He paused. "Or at the very least, it'll trick your opponent into believing you've got some actual skill."

There was laughter hiding in Sasuke's eyes, Naruto knew it, but the red haze forming before his own blue eyes had the blond focusing too intently. He flushed, and opened his mouth to reprimand the tactless brat. "Bitch! Shut your—"

But Sasuke, he realized, was a step ahead of him. With one hand, he sufficiently stalled the offensive flow of words, and with the other, he gently—oh shit, this feels so…right—moved Naruto's awkward limbs.

"Like this," those lips, so close to Naruto's ears, he could hear the movement as well as the sounds…The simple sensation had Naruto in a state between bliss and irritation.

Close behind Naruto now, it felt as though the other intended to dance, not fight. The warmth was irresistible, the feeling, so soft... Naruto was charmed. Amused. He let the Uchiha brat control his movements, and he smiled for the sweetness of it.

Uchiha Sasuke, it seemed, was more of an artist than he let on. First, the calligraphy…then this…

Half an hour through the dream-like dance, Naruto called an end to the movements. He successful spun about and captured the Brat's attention. With a kiss.

Laughter twinkled in his voice, hidden behind tender lips and a warm tongue. Sasuke, he was amazed to find, tasted clear. Clean. Like

cold

fresh water…Naruto'd always heard that kisses tasted like food, like sweets or honey, but it was not so with Sasuke. There was no hint of strawberry, no lasting impression of clouds or sunshine. It was just…refreshing. Cool as air and as rejuvenating as the wind in his face on a hot day.

…nice…

"You fight clean, right?" Naruto fought to keep a knowing smirk off his face, "So you don't know how to fight a guy who don't."

"Doesn't." Sasuke corrected. Furthermore, he didn't bother hiding the arrogant expression that overtook his eyes. His smile.

Naruto growled. "Fuck you." He grumbled quietly for a moment, and finally found the energy to return the expression. He thrust his left hand forward—brought it up in salute to the other—and snatched Sasuke's hand from the other's side. "I told you to remember me," he grinned. "R'member?" he smiled then, and Sasuke looked utterly dumbfounded. "When we fought on that float…with the girls and their stupid kimono…?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Your point?"

Irritation flashed. "So, think! I coulda beat you then, and I will beat you now!" he paused, coughed a little. "Er, after I teach you a little…" he felt the heat return to his cheeks, and shook his head furiously. "Um."

Sasuke regarded his friend for a moment before sliding his hand from Naruto's. He opened his mouth, as if to dispute the claim. But he only scoffed a littler—quietly—and a sweet smile overcame his face.

...beautiful...

"Naruto, you don't n—" he began, but his words stopped before they could flow.

Naruto wanted to hear what Sasuke had to say. He leaned forward to try and force them, but the other's eyes were trained on the wall behind Naruto. He turned to see what it could be, to hold Sasuke's attention so.

...that's...a girl... the thought was slow, sluggish, even, and Naruto had to blink the surprise away.

I guess that's...does he have any sisters...?

She was a willowy woman, a girl with long limbs to give the illusion of height, and straight black hair that she could have sat on—and could, still, even though it was pinned up in a loose Heian-period style... like a temple girl.

Her eyes seemed vacant, but soft. Her smile grand, but forced.

Her lips trembled for a moment before she managed a calculated nod. "Sasuke," she murmured, eyes downcast.

But her voice's so sharp...almost like she's...mad? No, worse...but what's—

His thoughts were distracted by her changing face. Her smile was forming the foundation of a frown. "Who's this?"

Naruto lurched away from his friend—rival—and turned to face the girl. "Uh," he grinned a little, rubbed one hand into his hair, and shut his eyes. "Neechan," older sister, "...um, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

The soft laughter should have fallen like roses on his ears, but it was too rough. Jagged, almost.

Like the pebbles thrown into a stream... It tore into his senses more than a reprimanding glance could.

"Uzumaki Naruto, is it?" she smiled, a frozen little smirk only an Uchiha could bear. "I am Sasuke's mother; it would hardly be appropriate for you to refer to me as 'neechan.'"

The implications of that statement hit Naruto all at once. Pale skin, dark hair so rich it was favored with blue shadows and soft charcoal highlights...full, sweet lips and a long, graceful figure. Both Uchiha children took after the woman, the phoenix-like figure with deadened eyes and cold smiles.

...she was beautiful once, I bet... Naruto thought. He swallowed hard. But she's just...hard, frozen...now...like the idiot maiden who froze beneath the ice, waiting for her lover...

I wonder how long this one waited?

"Mother." Sasuke cut through the silence easily. As if he was accustomed to such awkward pauses. "I invited him to dinner." He glared. Haughty and distant even to his mother. "Don't embarrass me."

That pretty, uneven laughter again, and she covered her mouth with a soft, dainty hand. "Aah, Sasuke..." she smiled again, and teeth white as pearls shone behind pink lips. "Any meal I prepare should do." She spared Naruto a quick, softly glazed look. "Ne, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto froze, mouth stiff. Her intonation, phrasing and the overall expression...to Naruto, she could have been Itachi. The comparison sat heavily in Naruto's mind. He didn't reply.

"Jya." So. "I'll see you boys when dinner's ready." And she wafted out of the room like a faery ghost...

"...she's like a washed out painting..." Naruto mused, his voice dull, hands lax. "All soft, pale colors except where there was brilliance." He paused and looked at Sasuke. "...her lips." He flicked a hand lightly, closed the fingers into a loose fist. The shape, he thought, was rather like a not-quite bloomed rose... "Her eyes."

Reality caught him, and pulled him hard.

So he laughed suddenly and jerkily, afraid then that he'd upset his friend. "And maybe her toes, huh?" he quipped with a grin. He winked, and let the smile take over his face. "I mean, yours are awfully cute—"

A wadded up sock hit Naruto in the neck. Naruto whirled around, and his mouth dropped at the smirking boy.

"Cute, was it?" and Sasuke kicked right in front of Naruto's wavering face. The long, pale toes were centimeters from Naruto's chest, and the idiot held the pose long enough for Naruto to glance at dainty, pink toes. And then he was slapped by the ballerina-like movement that followed.

"Hey!" Naruto laughed, and let images of paintings fade from his mind.

Time's just begun...

After sparring for a brief hour or so, Naruto and Sasuke collapsed into a comfortable sprawl. Sasuke's legs were entwined with Naruto's, and Sasuke's firm, warm body was—like an organic pillow or somethin' –atop him. Naruto twirled his fingers into Sasuke's long, silky hair...and he smiled.

Soft...warm...sleepy...what could be better?

His mind had turned to mush, and his lips found it acceptable to deliver whatever came to mind. And said mind, he would find later, had gotten over the creepiness. He sighed quietly to himself, and murmured, "Sasuke, your mom's hot..." in a sleepy, foggy manner. "Like you." He laughed quietly, and grinned into Sasuke's hair.

It took maybe five seconds for the statement to reveal itself to Sasuke in its full glory. Beneath Naruto's tender, attentive attentions, Sasuke froze.

He turned, roughly, and managed to jab Naruto in several painful places. Narrow eyes, frowning lips, Sasuke was the picture of displeasure. "What?" the boy growled, and Naruto felt the other's heart skip. It was as if he'd woken the boy from a nightmare—his skin suddenly seemed cold to the touch.

"Chill, Sasuke...I mean, it's true. Your mom's a—"

Sasuke leaned forward, aggressive and unheeding in response to Naruto's startled snort of disdain. He claimed Naruto's lips forcefully. He smirked, and his heart raced the entire while.

Effectively silenced, Naruto touched his lips in wonder. He stroked Sasuke's cheek—so soft—and let his eyes roam over the porcelain-like skin.

"You're much prettier, though, Sas—"

The boy lurched to his feet; he leaned painfully on Naruto's knees for an instant too long as his arms pressed up against the tatami. Naruto was still, shocked beyond words, and the wall opened once more to reveal Sasuke's charming mother. As Sasuke regained a poised, indifferent—standing—position.

"What." Sasuke snarled. He has a knack for making questions sound like demands, Naruto decided. The blond slowly began to pull himself into a sitting poison...that he hoped would go without attracting attention. But that seemed impossible. His tousled hair—from sparring—and pained movements—from a lack of blocking—probably seemed... awful to her.

And Sasuke just attacked my lips... Naruto thought glumly.

Naruto blushed, and smiled weakly. "...uh...hi."

Those dark eyes sharpened on Sasuke, and the lying mouth twisted into a small smile. "Dinner, boys." And with a flourish of her feminine hand against a soft, curved figure—she's telling the way to the dining room, isn't she?— she left.

Naruto looked blankly to Sasuke. He raised an eyebrow. "...we weren't doing anything..." the blond felt the need to defend their strange position.

Sasuke merely laughed, though it was untamed and shallow. "I know, Naruto." He walked towards the far wall—

in his mother's wake

—and Naruto thought he heard the words, "I know..."

The wall—it's a moving screen, damn it, not a wall—slid open. Naruto watched his friend disappear behind elaborately painted walls.

...there are no boundaries in this house...

But he stood, and he followed the sound of small feet on tatami mats. He smiled to himself, and let images of sparse belongings—but those here are really rich... with their symbols and high quality material—blur in his mind. He simply followed his ears until he reached the family dining room, with its oddly western table and chairs on a wooden floor.

The room, Naruto recalled, was in stark contrast with the remainder of the house. As the tatami and screen-wall-doors indicated, it was an old building, a family house. And it breathed Honor and Wealth.

But the dining room...it was more homelike, but all the same, stiff and intimidating to a boy who'd grown up in various overfilled, cramped quarters. The zen-like decorating made him ill at ease...

Sasuke's mother stood behind her chair, but Sasuke had already assumed his. Directly across from it someone had dragged a kitchen stool into position...presumably, it was Naruto's seat. Thusly separating the boys as perfectly as could be managed.

Naruto paused, and he realized that the doors to the kitchen went right by the hallway—and connected to the unnerving, emotional—emotionless, Naruto thought—room with the sand pit...

"Aa," he mumbled, and blinked at the intensity of the light. "Are we...really going to eat now?" he asked, but what he meant was, 'Can I sit down yet?'

Sasuke's mother had assumed a cheery smile as sweet and depthless as the illumination made the room seem. Yet her blackened, unsoftened eyes remained the same. "Naruto-kun, we're waiting for the men of our family." The 'our' in her script was misleading, but her voice made it clear who was in 'our' family, and who was not blessed enough to be of 'our' kind.

Not me, sure as hell...

"Oh." Naruto took a seat, but the stool seemed for smaller tables, not the tall, old thing they sat around. He noticed that he was only a little lower than the rest, but even those centimeters showed.

Naruto sullenly looked towards the center of the table, eager to see what kind of food his host had prepared. The meal, he noted, was as traditional as the rest of the house, if a bit warm for the year's mid-Autumn. The cooling kiritanpo, hallowed sticks of rice stewed in chicken broth, would hardly be appetizing as a cold dish, but he realized soon enough that the pot was atop a small heating unit...and if Naruto judged correctly, the vegetables needed at least five minutes longer for cooking time...

"So," he grinned cheerfully, but the presence of Sasuke's quiet, geisha-like mother made him feel like a child under pressure to behave. "Um, me and Sasuke are partners—"

The sweet smile cracked, and dark eyes opened a little wider.

"—er, in Math." He hastily concluded. "I, uh, help him, sometimes..."

The following silence could have swallowed them all.

Naruto picked up his chopsticks, and began to tap a quiet rhythm on the table. This small amusement brought the mischief back to his eyes, as perfectly as it brought the Uchiha lady's fair features. Sasuke, on the other hand, seemed indifferent to Naruto's antics.

"...do you like to cook, uh, Uchiha-bachan?" Aunt Uchiha. The use of familiarity alongside the lady's name seemed to please her less than 'neechan' alone. Naruto fidgeted. "Mrs." He paused. "Uchiha?"

The beautiful, glass smile returned. "Aa, of course, Naruto-kun..." she lowered her eyes graciously. "I enjoy serving my family."

As if on cue, footsteps resounded down the hall, and Naruto turned on reflex to see the wall open. A tall figure emerged. Stocky, and dark as the Uchiha children were fair, the stern eyed man could only be Sasuke's father...and his children did resemble the well-built gentleman...the expressions they displayed were in equal to the displeasure the man showcased.

"Okaerinasai." welcome back. "Anata." dear... With a flourish of feminine grace and beauty, the lady moved to take her husband's things, and in minutes, he was situated opposite his wife. Dinner could begin, though Itachi's seat remained unfilled.

The lord took his sake from his lady, and sipped from it. His face lightened, and his wife relaxed as he took the chopsticks in his hand. "Itadakimasu," let us eat, he murmured and filled his bowl with delicacies like golden mushroom, and long, succulent leeks alongside the prize of the meal—eggs from a chicken's stomach. One just ready to fall into some lucky farmer's basket, others still tiny, and as far from birth as imaginable—but all were lacking in development. They were still soft and tender, without even a shell in that traditional stew. And, of course, the kiritanpo, rice sticks roasted around a fire, were delicacies in themselves.

Only after the lord found himself satisfied with his meal did the rest take from the bowl. First, the mother, then the son.

Naruto began to reach for a tasty looking piece of meat, but a lovely smile from Lady Uchiha stalled him.

"You be sure to leave something for my eldest," her smile revealed a red tongue behind coral teeth. Naruto resented her use of the uncouth word 'you,' when she knew his name so well.

"Aaa," sure, he replied, and snatched a slightly smaller piece of chicken. Sasuke, he noted with affection, waited until Naruto had his portion to begin the meal. Naruto smiled wanly, and poured Sasuke a drink of mugicha, barely tea. The other graciously returned the favor.

They smiled at each other—if that teeny twitch of lips is a smile, the jackass—as Naruto relaxed.

Some minutes passed in silence, and they ate slowly. The only word spoken in that length of time was a quiet command for more sake, Naruto was amazed to find. At last, his patience ran thin, and Naruto opened his mouth. Sasuke, on the meanwhile, closed his eyes in exasperation.

A wind chime resounded mysteriously out of doors. The mountain air was stirring.

"So, um, I heard that there's this calligraphy contest between schools, right?" it was a piece of news he'd gleaned from meals with Kakashi. Naruto paused as both remaining sets of eyes turned their focus. "And Sasuke does calligraphy, yeah?" he smiled and spread his hands in a gesture widely accepted for 'why not?' as well as for peace— 'I bear no arms, see?'

"I think Sasuke's good enough to enter, ya know? He's got some real talent, and you guys've definitely got the supplies to set 'im up!" he laughed, but soon gave up when no one joined him.

Naruto scowled for a minute.

"Ummm..." he chewed on the toughened rice stick. "And y'know, math? It's not goin' too badly, either...it's, uh, fine, actually, and I'm really, really glad I'm partners with stupi—er, Sasuke, I mean, and uh, we get a lot of work done!"

...a lot of work for me, anyway...

He chewed nervously. "...right...and, um, school trip's gonna be soon, ya know? We're gonna go see Kyoto and Nara and part'a Tokyo, too! But only for an hour at the airport, but that's still Tokyo, y'know? It's still the city, an—"

"Naruto." Sasuke interrupted. He'd put his chopsticks down.

"—everything, and it's all so—" he cut himself off at Sasuke's look. "What?" he asked, still tense. He moved restlessly. "Er..."

The Lady seemed amused. Her smile was real, if mean-spirited.

"About that calligraphy contest..." Naruto smiled broadly. "Sasuke wrote this really cool little proverb last time, and I really think he's, uh, good! I mean, especially for a high school entry, you know? He's got—"

"—potential." A cool, deep voice finished.

Naruto whirled around to confirm what his ears told.

Uchiha Itachi had returned.

Naruto squeaked with surprise. "Uh." He mumbled. He laughed dryly, painfully, and began to finish the dish. "This is really good..." he mumbled.

Itachi walked around the table and picked up the chair closest to his father. He tossed it into the air where it nearly skimmed the ceiling, but due either to extreme luck or incredible hand-eye coordination, there was no collision. In fact, the chair arced downwards in an amazingly foreseeable path, to land right next to Naruto.

The blond stifled a gasp as he felt the chair fall, and saw it land out of the corner of his eye.

"Itachi," the Lady scolded gently. There was no force behind the word.

The elder only smiled. He walked around the table, cupped Naruto's right cheek in his long-fingered hand, as if too observe the lonely three markings there, and he asked, "I hope I didn't hurt you? Naruto-kun..." not even a cold smile from this man, Naruto noticed.

He was glad.

"No." Naruto replied, and his gaze wandered to Sasuke. The blond shrugged hopelessly, and turned his attention to the stew as Itachi stepped away.

"...does kiritanpo take long to make...?"

Itachi sat down, and took a generous portion from the serving bowl with the back ends of his chopsticks—a polite action Naruto had forgotten about. The taller Uchiha smiled, Naruto saw.

"Oh, mother only boiled the vegetables, right?" Sasuke quipped. "The seasoning's something the gardener's wife makes up...all she has to do is empty the packet, add the neighbor's kiritanpo, and inelegantly carve a gift-chicken from some awe-struck villager...

"After a while, one gets to be a master of timed meals." Sasuke's voice was hard.

Naruto risked a glance at the older brother. Itachi smiled, gently. "Brother," he murmured, "We have company."

The Lady, Naruto was amazed to find, said nothing at all.

Naruto decided to keep his silence.

A cold, fabric-enclosed arm brushed against Naruto's side, and the boy sat up straighter. He looked carefully away from his right—and Itachi—to the nearest figure—Sasuke's mother.

So it was that Naruto did not follow Itachi's expression as he spoke.

"There are rumors of increased violence in your village... Konoha." a pause, and Naruto thought he could hear the red. "Specifically around the train station." The quiet murmur was distant, unconcerned.

Sasuke scoffed; scarlet anger was much more apparent in the younger brother, strangely. "It's a way of passing. Naturally criminals" he bit that word rather hard.

Is that...an accusation...?

"will congregate there. They'll wait for the weak." They were to infer from the statement that Sasuke was not another number among those ranks.

Naruto almost heard the tiny smile in Itachi's voice. "Aa, and that brings me to my concern." The smile fell before it showed the pearly teeth within. Teeth white like his mother's. "Should Sasuke travel alone?"

Naruto watched the Lady cut her meat cleanly with two motions of her chopsticks. He watched her place a small portion onto that crimson tongue—and he watched cherry lips close in a quiet, meaningless smile.

"Hhm." The father paused. "Mikoto." He spoke softly, in a commanding fashion, and he lifted the tiny sake cup.

Sasuke scowled as his parents continued—acting like they don't even care...

...about their own son...

Next to Naruto, Itachi sighed. Naruto's blue gaze followed the sound, and he looked a moment upon the comely man.

"Itadakimasu," the wine-eyed man mused, and he leaned across the table to pluck something from his father's bowl. Naruto twisted to see, shocked by this vulgar gesture. Dangling from Itachi's chopsticks, Naruto glimpsed the golden, soft eggs...half formed and clutched,

together,

by a sack of tissue and white, white meat. And with the ends untouched by pearlen teeth, Itachi dropped the treat into his bowl. He righted his chopsticks, and

pulled

one golden globe

apart

and into his waiting, reddened mouth.

The gold-white sphere disappeared into that scarlet, cavernous moth, and dead-white teeth closed delicately around the prize.

Itachi closed his eyes to savor the taste, the texture, and Naruto felt the blood leave his face.

What's pleasant about eating the unborn?

For the remainder of his stay there, Naruto could think of only one thing.

Red swallowed gold

Soon, Sasuke took Naruto from the house of Wealth and Honor...but the thought remained.

Red...

devours

gold...

Sasuke was infuriated.

In the dim, evening light, he could hardly see his boyfriend's form, much less his golden hair or brilliant eyes...what little illumination the streetlamps offered seemed to fold away from his Naruto's tense, strong body...as if the night itself would have him.

"Naruto." Sasuke called, and the boy stopped. He thought he saw a shining, white light from where Naruto's eyes would be, but it was only a reflection. As he got closer, Sasuke realized he had been looking at the back of Naruto's head...and it was unlikely that the golden locks could hold that much light.

Naruto whirled around, a snarl on his lips and challenge in his eyes. "What?" Naruto demanded.

The taller boy had to snort with disdain. You're not supposed to challenge me. But Naruto had, constantly, and would continue, despite Sasuke's genius.

"Your fucking family's a madhouse!" Naruto was screaming, now, and the anger in his voice dulled what was left in Sasuke's heart, for a moment. "What were you thinking, Uchiha, bringing me there! Am I some kind of a prize, asshole? Am I supposed to bow down to your every fucking whim?"

Of course not, you fucking idiot... Sasuke replied, silently. But his mouth wouldn't move.

"I'm not going back there!"

"Yes, you are." The words came from Sasuke with a quiet rage that should have calmed the fool, but didn't. "You have to!"

No, not right... I have to. You...don't... Sasuke thought, deep within his mind.

Shouldn't.

"Fuck you!" Naruto's voice was too loud; it echoed down the lonely street. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" his choice of words stung. Cut bloody rivets into Sasuke's mind and made it impossible to see. "You're always trying to shove us in every fucking one's face! Shit, you ever heard of being discrete?" his voice sounded strangled. "How I feel!"

He hadn't.

It just didn't fit... Naruto was supposed to love attention. He was always putting himself in the spotlight...always trying to be noticed.

How is this different? How are we different, Naruto? He wanted to ask, but the words did not come.

"Whoreson," It fit. If Sasuke's family was so intolerable, surely Naruto's was, as well. Sasuke reached across the divide to touch Naruto's face. Naruto pulled at his hand with a fury that surprised the older boy. "You shouldn't be ashamed!"

Naruto was laughing, then, and Sasuke couldn't see why. "That's bullshit." Naruto's voice shook with anger. Soon, the smile tore his face asunder, in Sasuke's mind. One part laughed. The remainder wept. "This is Konoha, not fucking Tokyo!" his laughter swallowed parts of the words, and he looked at Sasuke with wide, wide eyes. "Don't you get it?" A lopsided smile.

Sasuke growled, and moved his hand to Naruto's neck. "What's there to understand," his voice was low, smoky. "Bitch?"

Another strangled scream and Naruto jerked away from Sasuke's hand. "You fucking bastard!" it seemed that the blond had more opinions than Sasuke had anticipated. "We're in shit-country, man. People don't like change, they don't like certain things to be shown around every fucking corner!" he paused, ran a hand through his hair, but his eyes continued to blaze. "You're Japanese, Sasuke. Not a foreigner." He laughed, and Sasuke found himself frowning. "You're supposed to be normal in public, and screw you if you bring it out of the bedroom."

Sasuke found himself laughing at the phrase, at the words Naruto used. He shook his head with a small, charitable smile. "Fuck the country," he murmured, and closed the distance between them. He let Naruto cup small hands around Sasuke's face—his hands are beautiful, the black haired boy thought—and Naruto allowed a kiss—

just a kiss

—to be placed on waiting, soft lips. And when Naruto slipped his tongue between the barrier of flesh, Sasuke pulled on it with his lips, amused.

But Naruto pulled away, a scowl on his cherub face. "Idiot, don't pull." He grumbled, and wiped his mouth on the back of one hand.

Sasuke merely laughed.

"Orochimaru-sama..." Lord Orochimaru. "It is done." Leaning against the 7-11's far wall, anyone who happened to pass by would see a quiet young man holding a cigarette that threw light, curling smoke into the air. They would look past the dark shadows with hurried eyes, and continue on their way.

However, the tall, gray-haired man was not alone.

White light flashed on glasses as round as the sun, and ice-blue eyes were hidden in the glare. A quiet, knowing smile graced his face, and long fingers grasped the cigarette loosely. A strong wind, it seemed, would knock it from him.

From the shadows, a low, musical sound came. It echoed in a quiet fashion, as if from the belly of a snake…and the laughter wound itself around the young man as even the cigarette smoke could not. "Ahh, is that so, Kabuto-kun?" Golden eyes glinted from the darkness, and a pale hand tapped against the stone.

A cold, calculated smile. "Yes," a bit of silence traded, the two settled back. "I said to him as you bade, and I set the wheel in motion…"

A young housewife walked by, and she felt the cold eyes of a predator upon her back. She hurried, unknowingly, for the safety of a hole—the building—and stepped just out of reach.

"Tell me, child? What did you say." The statement was a quiet purr, a command for the boy who would have no governing hand.

But Kabuto smiled, anyways. "Orochimaru, the management knows now of the…events…that take place on our shifts," amusement danced behind whitened glasses, but not even a snake could tell. "They heard of laziness" stress here, for there was no such thing, "and of fatigue.

"I told of a boy who brought blood in,

"Children's squabbles, ending in pain,

"And an innocent kiss that could bring bad light.

"'A bit, you know.' I told them.

"'A fraction, you don't…' I smiled, and their greedy eyes begged for more.

"'The child is no good. He will bring trouble wherever he walks…you would do best, sirs, to get rid of him.' A humble student with a small opinion and open eyes. That is how they saw me.

"His future is decided." Kabuto's voice was quiet, and it was firm.

Quietly, Orochimaru laughed. He had gleaned enough from the cryptic tale, so away he turned. Nevertheless, the last of the boy's words caught his ear, and the sly smile grew.

"There will be no more distractions."

tbc...
Footnotes:

...I'll get around to simplifying them...'till then.

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