Disclaimer: Back at this again, huh?

A/N: Hm, a good excuse as to why this chapter is SO late? I don't really have one. Basically the lack of responses on this site has caused a lot of great authors to leave and I guess... I became a bit hesitant to post. It just really sucks when you work so hard and long on something and it just doesn't get the appreciation you believe it deserves, so I completely understand where they're coming from. I have never seen this site so... dead. Then I kind of needed a breather to deal with my own life issues, but it does feel good to be back. I feel somewhat refreshed. There was somethings I was surprised about last actual chapter. I was surprised that no one really spoke on the Yagura and Shikamaru thing LOL. I thought I would get a lot on that. Then it was received on a more humorous note Sasuke's disposition about Itachi 'hurting' after a break up and that was intended, but I also thought readers would see beyond that and realize how sad that actually is. There was one reader that spoke on that and I was so relieved because I'm glad someone understood that moment. :) It's why I'm so excited because this chapter gets more in depth with Sasuke and Itachi's relationship, so brace yourselves.

"Down to my last match fire, I'll touch just to feel
Why's it easier to burn than it is to heal?
Out in the cold you have been
I've begged you to come back in
But I can't do this again, I can't keep you from harm
But I'm set on fire to keep you warm, I can't go on and on
Setting fires to keep you warm, I can't keep you from harm
But I'm set on fire to keep you warm
I can't go on and on
Setting fires to keep you warm.
What would I do
What wouldn't I do to save you
What would I do
What wouldn't
I do to save you." ( - Setting Fires. The Chainsmokers. /Uchiha Sasuke.)

Warnings: Unbeta'd (please excuse any mistakes.) DEPICTION OF PAST SEXUAL ASSAULT. Speak of alcoholism, drug addiction and witnessed DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. Angst-y with some fluff? Mature content.


Chapter 47 - The Walls as Thy Witness. (part one.)


"Thank you so much, dear."

"Oh it was no trouble at all, really. It's always a pleasure to serve you and your family, Mikoto-san."

The sound of the water and voices around him drowning out in his ears, Daisuke grinned at the plate of 'strawberries on a cloud' that the waitress set down on the table in front of him, his brown eyes shimmering brightly on the dessert. Eager to fill his stomach, he picked up his fork and licked over his lips before driving the fork downward for the whipped cream topping.

"–Dai-chan!" Mikoto clipped tersely and Daisuke immediately froze before raising his head and looking at her with an expression of absence, his fork a mere few inches away from diving into the dessert.

Sasuke finished refilling his glass with ice water and then looked across the table at his son, setting the water pitcher back down. "Manners, Daisuke." He said, able to infer the intent of his mother's chiding tone without her having to explain further.

Mikoto stared at the little Uchiha across from her bafflingly, her eyebrows rising. "Yes. Where are your manners, Dai-chan? Thank the woman." She sternly enforced as the waitress set her plate down in front of her.

Honest realization suddenly dawning on his face, Daisuke blushed and looked at the waitress now walking over to give his father his dessert. "-Oh, sorry!" He exclaimed, showing the brunette waitress an apologetic look. "Thank you very much, miss!" He gleamed, aiming a grateful smile at her.

The woman giggled and gave an accepting nod, setting Sasuke's bowl of cobbler down on the table in front of the man. "You're very welcome, Daisuke-kun."

Daisuke then turned his wide smile down at his own dessert, glad to finally be able to sink his fork into the strawberries and whipped cream at the top.

Sasuke breathed out a hopeless chuckle, thanking the woman and she blushed slightly before dismissing herself so that they could enjoy themselves.

"My goodness," Mikoto shook her head, a light-hearted laugh escaping her. "You're so forgetful sometimes, Dai-chan."

Daisuke munched happily, cake stuffed in his mouth and then swallowed it down, looking over at his grandmother with a pout. "Sorry, but I was really hungry. .."

Her eyes softened on the child. "That's alright. Go on. Eat." She insisted, smiling at him.

Daisuke grinned back at her and then shoveled another mouthful of the pastry into his mouth. "Yuuuummmy!" He shuddered, savoring the taste throwing a festival on his tongue.

"Daisuke, don't stuff so much in all at once." Sasuke reprimanded.

Daisuke pouted down at the huge forkful he had already began to gather onto the utensil and then knocked half of the cake on it off onto his plate. "You know what sucks? That Naru-chan isn't here too!" He whined, showing his father a disappointed scowl. "He wouldn't even let me go with him either!"

"Yes and I could say that sucks just as much as you lying about being sick this morning in order to avoid going to school," Sasuke pinned his son with a pointed expression and Daisuke lowered his head, puffing out his cheeks. "And he explained the reason to you very clearly, Dai'. What did he tell you, eh?" Daisuke poked out his pouted lips, defeatedly. "The orphanage is a home to him and he wanted to make a more personal visit first. You know that. He wants to get to know the kids for today and keep focus on the kind of playground they would enjoy the most, not one that you would enjoy, Daisuke. And he did promise to take you with him next time, right?"

"Yeah..," Daisuke quit pouting, now wearing a smile. Yes, next time he would be able to visit and see where it was that Naruto had grown up for the first ten years of his life!

Mikoto chuckled softly and then looked out at the rippling, aureus water from her seat, the sound of seagull cries in the distance while the winds licked at her beautiful, long hair. It was a nice day and she was glad to spend it with Daisuke and Sasuke. They were out on one of the hundreds and thousands of Uchiha chain yacht-restaurants in the world, which was booked private for them today. The dome canopied above them, shielding them from the unrelenting and beaming rays of the sun was another luxury of comfort she basked in. It was too bad Naruto and Itachi couldn't join them, but she would capture those two at some point. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took in the delicious aroma of the sweets on the table and then she turned her head, looking at her youngest next to her.

Unaware of his mother's eyes on him, Sasuke idly gathered some of the ice cream that was on top of his peach cobbler onto his spoon and brought it into his mouth, sucking the frozen treat off of the utensil while doing a funny movement with his eyebrows at Daisuke and the child giggled.

"You certainly can tell when your child is in love," Mikoto said with a smile, drawing Sasuke's attention and he looked at her, an odd expression arising on his face as he took the spoon out of his mouth. "You look happier these days." She noted, picking up her fork from where it was on the folded napkin beside her plate.

Sasuke was impassive, although he couldn't pretend that his mother's outspoken observation hadn't caused him to fluster a bit. He at least hoped the fluster wasn't burning red on his face. "Do I?" He mused, now curious to know the kind of look he showed in front of others.

Daisuke swallowed the cake in his mouth, peeping the small smile grace his father's lips, and then reached for a lemon square on one of the trays in the center of the table. The feeling that bubbled up inside him, was one that he hadn't understood until now. He felt happy knowing that his father was happy. He had wanted that for his father for a long time. His father could never find anyone that made him really happy before Naruto. Daisuke blushed a bit, taking a bite of the lemon square.

Mikoto hummed and nodded, eating the cake off of her fork. "You especially smile easier as well," She responded, returning her warm gaze back to him. "And I know why you smile so easily. ..Why you're smiling right now."

Sasuke snorted in amusement, pretending she was being absurd.

"Oh you think I don't?" She laughed, pointing at him with her fork, her eyes dancing softly with tease. "You're thinking about when you'll see him later," She started, setting her fork down on her plate and Sasuke's eyes widened at that, admitting to her just how right she had been. "When you'll get to run your fingers through hair kissed by the sun, his scent, his smile, his voice...," She smiled wider at the light flush of crimson she watched sprout along her son's cheekbones and then she reached over, pressing her hand against the side of his face. "I know because you're much like me in that sense. When we love, we can't help but express it, without a shred of shame," Her voice grew quiet as she looked him in the eyes. "I wish I could I read your brother this easily." She confessed, her smile slowly fading.

Daisuke stopped eating and eyed his grandmother, unsure of what she meant.

"I'm surprised you can't honestly," Sasuke remarked, the admiration in his voice genuine. "You're the cleverest woman I've ever known, aside from grandmother. I thought at least you knew what goes on beneath that bow-before-me smirk of his." He murmured that last part, a dark brow twitching in slight annoyance.

Mikoto laughed a bit, the ring of it sounding unusually dispirited, and dropped her hand from his face. "Trust me, if I did know I would know how to make him feel better. I'm his mother and I don't know how to ease the pain he's going through." She said, unable to help the hopeless feeling that took root in her. She hadn't seen much of Itachi since his break up and that left her uneasy, because she knew if he was hurting, he would probably bottle it up. The way he had taught himself to, even as a child.

She couldn't blame him for it either. She often felt guilty about the responsibilities she knew would fall on him from the moment he was born, as the first son to the eldest son of Uchiha Indra, Fugaku. She thought she had been prepared for that, but the moment Itachi was born she realized how much she hadn't wanted that for him. Maybe that was why she coddled Sasuke so much, because she had that say-so over him. With Itachi it was different. His choices were decided for him and his freedom was restricted, no matter how much she argued against it. In Indra's eyes and her husband's, despite how much she knew he loved their children, Itachi was born with a sole purpose: to be groomed as the successor of the prestigious Uchiha empire. She inwardly rolled her eyes. How many times had she heard that pompous speech Indra never failed to preach whenever the chance arrived?

"Maybe Itachi's more like father in that sense," Sasuke voiced, reaching for his glass of water.

Mikoto shook her head, "Actually, I can't say he is like your father. Your father is good at cloaking his emotions, but I can always read him, like the back of my hand. Itachi... he's different. The way he can cut himself off is almost terrifying."

"..Itachi hurting after a break up? That so doesn't sound like him," He muttered, the corners of his mouth curving up in skepticism as he took a drink.

Mikoto made a small sound of disparity, her eyebrows crinkling in a bit. "Your brother does hurt, Sasuke. He isn't some empty vessel," She said, touching a delicate finger to the crystal flower of her pearl necklace, the necklace Itachi had given to her as a gift not too long ago. "I just wish I could spot it, even when he tries to hide it from the world." She sighed heavily, the disheartened look in her eyes making Sasuke go quiet and set his cup down.

"I don't think Ita-nii is that hard to read at all," Daisuke chiseled in matter-of-factly, raising another forkful of cake to his mouth, his grandmother and father looking over at him in inquiry. He tilted his head from side to side with the rhythm of his voice, his expression certain. "I know when he's happy, I know when he's sad, and I know when he's mad. It's very easy for me to tell."

Mikoto showed him a soft smile, adoring the innocence in his brown eyes. "So you're the one who holds that gift now? I was wondering who it had passed to."

"Gift?" Daisuke arched an eyebrow, his eyes sliding over onto his father. "Why is that a gift? I thought that's only normal."

"Hn," Sasuke laughed lightly, humored by the oblivious look splayed wide on Daisuke's face. "Your uncle is somewhat like a daiyōkai, Daisuke. So yes, having the ability to know what lies behind his smoke and mirrors facade is something us human beings normally can't do." He smirked as his son's eyes grew wide and then his mother slapped him on the arm, causing him to wince at the sting.

"Sasuke, your brother is not a damn demon! You will quit saying that!"

Daisuke slacked back in his chair in relief when he realized his father was only joking. Although, he was beginning to understand a little of what his father meant. His uncle didn't seem like the type of man hindered by such feelings of vulnerability. Physically, Itachi appeared bulletproof, calculated, and powerful. Daisuke admired that about him because it assured him that his uncle could never be defeated. But now, it made him feel kind of sad, too, because if no one ever believed his uncle could truly feel then Itachi would have to handle a lot of painful things by himself. Or like he already had been, he guessed. He must be very… lonely.

Daisuke reached for a folded napkin on the table, wiping his mouth and then put it down beside his plate, feeling that urge. He had drank too much water today. "I have to use the restroom," He announced in a murmur, moving to get down from his chair.

"Alright," Sasuke said with a sigh, about to stand up from his seat so he could accompany the boy to the restrooms, but then his mother's arm shot out in front of him and he arched an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"I'm not done talking with you, Sasuke," She stated, aware of the mischievous grin she sensed spilt wide on Daisuke's face. "So sit." She commanded and Sasuke obeyed, sitting back down in his chair.

Mikoto then leaned forward, looking passed Sasuke and over at the servant she had had accompany her for the day. The young man was having a conversation with a stewardess on the front deck of the yacht when she called out for him and he promptly excused himself from the conversation before coming over to their table, his expression cordial and dutiful.

"Would you mind accompanying Daisuke to the restroom, Kazue-kun?" She asked him politely, ignoring her grandson's declaration that he could go on his own just fine.

"Of course not," The young man smiled at the pouting child making his way from around the other side of the table and over to him. He held a hand out to him. "Can't have you making mischief around here again, now can we?" He chided lightly, laughing a little at the mixture of shock and insult that bloomed onto Daisuke's face.

"I wasn't going to do anything," Daisuke retorted, looking up at the man as he took his hand and strolled off with him. "I was going to use the bathroom and come right back. I swear!"

Mikoto chuckled, watching them walk away. "That boy, honestly. ...Always up for an adventure," She remarked, picking up her plate and moving it into the center of the table near the other trays of various desserts. "So," She folded her arms in front of her on the table, looking over at her son simply. "Sasuke, why haven't you called or visited your brother at all, even after you promised me you would? I'm aware that Naruto-kun has talked to him, but you have not. Why?"

His eyebrow lifted, Sasuke looked away from the water he was staring out at and turned his face to her, his expression indifferent. "Talk to him and say what exactly, Mother?"

Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him. "You fibbed."

Sasuke opened his mouth, taken aback and uncertain of how to respond to that. "I... didn't." God, he was lying straight to his mother's face and he was doing a terrible job at it. He felt like a guilt-ridden, tongue-tied child.

"You promised me and you broke that promise. That's lying, Sasuke." Mikoto sharply rebuked.

Sasuke stayed silent for a moment, knowing that denying his lie any further would dig himself into a deeper hole since he did in fact lie to his mother, twice, counting him trying to deny the first lie. He eyed the disappointed look on his mother's face and then released an exasperated breath. "I don't know what it is you want me to say to him, Mother–"

"It's not what I want you to say to him, Sasuke! You're to comfort him because that's your responsibility as his little brother and I shouldn't have to tell you what to say!" She shouted at him, mildly.

"Mother, I..."

Mikoto stopped and calmed herself because Sasuke's indifference towards the situation was beginning to upset her. All she wanted was for him to understand that Itachi needed someone, and that someone couldn't exactly be her. He would never open to her because she was his mother, so Sasuke was her best bet. Her strict, dark gaze was solid, but also held a hint of warmth. "Sasuke, you are to make sure he's doing okay and assure him that Deidara is the one at fault."

Sasuke tsked, reclining back in his chair. "That Deidara is at fault? Mother, a relationship works both ways, so if Deidara had his faults, then I'm sure Itachi had his."

Mikoto took her arms off of the table and slid the side tresses of her hair behind an elegantly pierced ear, biting at the inside of her bottom lip. Of course she understood that more than anything, however, "I know that, Sasuke, but as his little brother you're to glorify him. We're family. That's how it works. Even when we know each others faults, we're still to back each other no matter what." Itachi was her baby, and she didn't give a shit what he did wrong. She wanted to protect him more than anything in this world, like everyone else that she loved.

"So I'm supposed to care that he's hurting? I'm sorry, Mother, but when has he ever cared after he's played a hand in ruining many of my relationships?" He countered, although really annoyed that everyone thought that he of all people should care after Itachi had been such an asshole towards almost every relationship he's ever had. However, his annoyance began to falter when his mother looked at him as if he sounded very heartless. It wasn't like he didn't care about Itachi. He cared a lot actually. He just didn't know what he was supposed to do. Itachi would hate it if he tried to make sure he was fine. That was the kind of person his big brother was. So if Itachi was in fact hurting it was all Deidara's fault in his eyes, and that angered him too. Ever since Deidara had come into Itachi's life he had done nothing but drain the life right out him. Sasuke brought his arms cross his chest, a glare forming on his face.

"I don't even know why he and Deidara got into a relationship in the first place. We all knew how this was going to end. Is it really that much of a shock? Deidara isn't exactly the most loving or dutiful person. It's a well-known fact that he's treated anyone he's ever been in a relationship with like utter crap. Why did Itachi think he would be any different?" He scoffed, glaring off elsewhere. "He's stupid. That was so utterly stupid of him."

Mikoto's eyes softened when she spotted the tension building in Sasuke's jaw and inwardly, she felt a bit relieved. She was sure Sasuke wasn't aware of it, but right now, he was indeed showing how much he cared about Itachi. Sasuke had never been good at dealing with his own emotions, even as a child, and it never occurred to her that maybe sometimes that was why he showed he cared so harshly. Quiet, she turned in her seat, facing him completely and then spoke, gently. "Do you remember when you were six and you came sobbing to me that Itachi killed your bunny rabbit?" Sasuke returned his eyes back to her, silent. "You said, 'he told me he did it because she was an annoying pest and looked perfect for sword practice.'" She cited, as if the incident had occurred only yesterday. "Do you really believe he did that?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

Sasuke remained quiet for a moment, his brow crinkling in oddly. "...Am I supposed to believe otherwise? He told me that he did it."

Mikoto nodded, a small, humorless laugh leaving her. "...That entire summer your grandfather kept getting angry with you because you wouldn't keep her in her cage and was allowing her to run rampage throughout the manor. Do you remember that?" She said and Sasuke slowly nodded, seeming to have clear memory of that. "One afternoon your grandfather, Indra, and Itachi were having sword practice in the gardens. They had been practicing with real swords that day mind you. The man's insane I tell you, Sasuke."

Sasuke blinked, appalled.

"You forgot to put her in her cage, again. You know that man has no patience and if it's one thing he hates, it's repeating himself," She rolled her eyes and frowned at the thought of the proud, cold Uchiha Indra. "..She had disrupted their practice that afternoon and you know what that man did?"

Sasuke uncrossed his arms from his chest and sat forward. He hoped the conclusion he was coming to wasn't what she would say.

"Your grandfather struck her with his sword, in front of your brother. And then told your brother to pick her up and take her to you so you could see what happens when you don't do what you're told."

Sasuke's eyes widened incredulously. "Then why didn't he tell me that–"

"Itachi told me what happened when you two came back from your grandfather's," Mikoto cut him off, "He cried, you know? Because he knew how much you loved her."

Sasuke sat, confused, trying to rethink the day that Itachi brought him his pet rabbit, wrapped in a cloth, her fur lacerated and bloodied.

"You think he wanted you to know how much of a monster that man is? You love your grandfather, and so does he. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin your beloved image of him. He wanted to protect you from that reality," Mikoto bit her lower lip, the hatred she felt for that man welling up inside her all over again, and also out of frustration of how even then, Itachi had been such a sweet boy. He was kind, and it angered her that the people closest to him tried to take advantage of that. She couldn't blame him for learning to guard himself. "Your brother... he's not cruel, Sasuke. Everything he does for you is to protect you-"

"If I thought he was cruel do you think I would allow him around Daisuke?" Sasuke said obviously, looking her in the face.

Mikoto had a smile appear on her lips, glad that Sasuke knew at least that much for himself. "No, of course you wouldn't."

Sasuke ran his fingers through his hair, still stuck on what his mother had just disclosed to him. For so long he had thought that... "He sure as hell plays the part perfectly though." He murmured, unable to hide how exceptional he thought that was.

"Then you should start treating him like you know he's playing a part," Mikoto voiced, turning back to the table and bringing her plate back in front of her. "Your brother does a lot to protect you, in a way that may come off as cruel, but that's only because he doesn't like telling you the honest truth."

Sasuke frowned, his eyebrow twitching. "I'm not a child anymore, Mother."

"No. You're not, but you still see your brother through the eyes of one." She replied in all honesty.

Sasuke was silent, taking in the meaning of that. Maybe Naruto was right. He should 'grow up' a bit, even with how difficult it was to tell himself that. "I'll... talk to him." He finally said as he reached for his glass of water again.

Mikoto looked at him with a tender, pleased smile. "Good."

Sasuke drank his water, a lot of thoughts and memories still wracking his mind. He couldn't help but wonder what else he was wrong about when it came to his older brother.

"I never did like that manipulative diva of a boy. He fed Itachi's impulses too much." His mother grumbled flatly.

Sasuke smirked, hearing that and lowered his cup from his mouth, quirking an eyebrow at her. "Did you ever tell Itachi that? That you didn't like Deidara?"

Mikoto gracefully shot him a pointed look. "Heavens, no. Of course not."

"Why?" He chuckled at her in amusement.

"And take away the bit of freedom he has? If I told your brother that I didn't like someone he considered a good friend it would make him feel guilty that I didn't approve. Itachi has the right to choose his own friends and I've never wanted to take that from him."

Sasuke nodded, finding that understandable. Still, "But if you said something he could've avoided getting hurt by someone he considered a friend." He felt that his mother could have at least given his brother a hint of the disapproval she felt.

Mikoto picked up her fork, her brow furrowed. "I didn't say I said nothing, did I? My job as a parent is to advise my children through life. Not forbid from making their own decisions."

"Sometimes forbidding children from doing as they please teaches them limitations, Mother. Spare the rod, spoil the child. Or that's Naruto's view on it at least," Sasuke disputed, a small smile of adoration peaking on his lips. He was finally beginning to understand his lover's stance on the whole parenting thing. "And he's probably right. You never forbade me from doing whatever I pleased and that got me Daisuke." He expressed with a laugh.

Mikoto pursed her mouth at that, eying him humorously. "Yes, you certainly are in love. Head over heels."

Sasuke stopped smiling and the slight blush that he managed to get rid of earlier reappeared. He could feel it. He set his glass down on the table, clearing his throat in a coy manner. "Earlier, what did you mean... I look happier? Do I have a stupid look on my face or something?"

Mikoto hummed playfully, feeling a bit chirper. "I would consider it more of a goofy kind of look. You never had that love-struck, goofy look when you were with those...," She smiled tightly when Sasuke's expression narrowed. He was probably expecting the usual, some-sort-of-bash she used to describe his past lovers. "Women that were unfit for you. You know? I'm still trying to figure out when exactly you began to go rampant for pretty things in skirts." She moved her fork in a whirling motion at him. "Maybe because of..." She started before going quiet in thought.

"What?" Sasuke asked, genuine curiosity arising on his face.

"There was a time when you were younger. .. That incident."

Sasuke lowered his gaze onto his dessert, to hide the guilt that appeared in his eyes. Shit, Itachi still hadn't told her the truth about that. He swallowed and forced a smile onto his face before he looked back at her. "I doubt it was that, Mother. I barely even remember the girl's face, let alone the incident." He dismissed rather briskly.

Striding through the corridor of his home, Sasuke smirked up at the kendo shinai in his grip. After yesterday's defeat, and heeding his mother's words of encouragement this morning, there was a fire lit inside of the six year old and he was prepared to have another go at his older brother. He wasn't going to cry anymore, and he wasn't going to lose to his older brother, again. He was confident in himself, so confident that he felt nothing but excitement as he headed to challenge Itachi to a sparring match in the Uchiha dojo across the road from the mansion.

He smirked wide, lowering his fiery gaze ahead of him, and it was at that moment that he saw his older brother come darting passed the corridor, looking very spooked and frenzied. Sasuke's smirk receded and he stopped in his tracks, his eyebrows furrowing in strangely before he started ahead down the corridor, again, but at a faster pace.

What happened? His shinai falling from his grasp, he ran out from the corridor, turning to look in the direction Itachi had come from, but he didn't see anything. His brother had certainly been running away from something, and he could guess something terrifying with how quick he had been. Sasuke went off in the direction Itachi had gone in, this terrible feeling building in his gut. Something was very wrong.

"Itachi!" Sasuke called out, heading down the open hall as fast as his feet could carry him and just when he was about to pass the corridor that led into the south wing of the mansion, he heard the ragged and frantic breathing coming from that direction. "Itachi-" He stopped with a stumble in his footing, turning his head and his eyes widened as he caught sight of his older brother with his back up against the wall, his usually impassive eyes wide with panic and trembling fingers in the middle of zipping up the front of the trousers he wore.

Itachi stared back at his little brother, his long hair and clothes disheveled.

Sasuke eyed his brother closely, but said nothing. Itachi's button-down shirt was undone most the way, hanging off of his shoulders, and the look in his brother's eyes was something he had never witnessed in those eyes before. He looked frightened. His expression furrowed in a sudden flood of unexplainable anger, Sasuke rushed over to his brother. "Onii-chan, what happened? Are you okay?" He asked, his voice shaky with worry.

Itachi turned his face away and looked off to the side, almost appearing ashamed. "I... I'm.. fine, Sasuke." He managed out, quickly pulling the zipper of his trousers up the rest of the way.

"But you're not! You can't tell me that everything is fine when you look like this!" He responded with a frown, reaching up and grabbing Itachi by the shoulders and his older brother looked him in the face, taken aback. He was tired of Itachi treating him like such a kid and always hiding the truth from him. He wasn't going to let him this time. "What happened? W-Who did this to you!" He demanded, pinning him with a solid glare.

"Nothing happened, Sasuke!" Itachi shouted acutely, forcing Sasuke's expression to falter and the tight grip he had on his shoulders let up. "Father asked that I keep Lady Estelle company while he and her father discuss some business, so that's what I did!"

Sasuke looked Itachi's ruffled appearance up and down once more, finally piecing everything together. He raised his eyes back on Itachi's panicked face, his expression dark. "She.. did 'no-no things' to you, didn't she?!" He presumed in outrage and that was when he felt his brother's shoulders tense. Sasuke shook his head, ready to raise living hell on that girl and snatched his brother's hand in order to drag him along. "We have to tell mother and father, Itachi!–"

"-N-No!" Itachi refused, pulling back and touching the grasp Sasuke had on his hand. "Sasuke, we don't need to tell!"

Sasuke looked at him in confusion. "B-But she did this to you! If we tell them she'll-"

Itachi yanked his hand out of Sasuke's, his facial expression firm. "Sasuke, you can't tell them." He went on to slip his shirt onto his shoulders and started re-buttoning it, unware of how shaky his own movements were. "It'll cause problems, so... don't. ..Alright?"

"But-"

Itachi breathed out and finished with his shirt, piercing his little brother with a steely look. "Sasuke, I'm your older brother. What I say goes. You won't tell them, understand? Promise me." He demanded, his voice more pleading than harsh as desperation arose on his flustered face.

Sasuke opened his mouth, reluctant.

"–Itachi-kun! Hey, I was only joking around! Where did you run off to? I'm bored! My father won't be pleased if he finds out you've left me all alone!"

Itachi stilled and Sasuke's eyebrows flew up at the heavily accented voice he heard traveling down the hall. He was going to make her pay! He looked his older brother in the eyes and showed him a smile. "Fine. I won't tell what she did to you. It's a promise." Sasuke stepped back and took a look over his own appearance before he began unbuttoning his own shirt and then went on to undo his trousers, Itachi eying him in confusion. "But that doesn't mean I won't be your shield, Itachi." He reached up into his own hair, messing it.

Itachi's eyes widened. "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"Being your shield of course, Onii-chan." Sasuke answered valiantly, turning to leave before Itachi could stop him and walking out into the open hallway. He spotted the eleven year old, dark-haired, French girl strolling down the hallway and scowled. He then straightened his stance and took off running toward her.

The girl realized the boy heading for her, looking at him oddly. "Ah, Sasuke." She smirked as he approached her, brushing her hands down the front of her olive-green dress. "Have you seen your brother perhaps? You know, it was so rude of him to leave me all by myself in this place."

"No, I haven't," Sasuke responded, showing her a sweet smile. "But I doubt he wants to keep a disgusting girl like you company anyway."

Her smirk immediately dropped, insult ablaze on her face. "D-D-Disgusting?! You little runt-"

"Wench!" Sasuke delivered a swift kick to her leg, causing her to yell out in pain and then stuck his tongue out at her before running off in the direction she had just come from. As expected, he heard the echoing of her footsteps after him as she cursed him. He turned, grasping the banister of the staircase that led down into the foyer where it was lively with servants, and where he knew his mother was this afternoon.

The girl chased him all the way down the staircase, shouting a string of threats at him.

Cue his master plan. He opened his mouth wide and screamed out terrifyingly, "Mother, help me! She undid my clothes and touched my 'no-no spot'! Someone help!"

A bitter frown on her face, Mikoto spoke gingerly. "That doesn't mean it didn't leave an impact on you, whether you remember it or not."

"Or maybe pretty things in skirts simply drive me wild, Mother." He smirked wide, working to divert his mother's mind off of that incident and picked up his spoon. He dug into the actual peach cobbler in his bowl and not the ice cream since it was already kind of melted, bringing the spoonful of the dessert into his mouth.

Mikoto thought about that considerably. She then blushed a bit and gave a casual shrug of her shoulders, a sly smile spreading across her lips. "Maybe. ...Naruto-kun was a pretty thing in a skirt not too long ago as well. Maybe that is what drives you wild."

Sasuke choked on the dessert in his mouth and coughed, startled by his mother's subtle, lewd implication and dropped his spoon into his bowl. He brought a hand to his mouth, coughing into it and then turned his head, looking at her in disbelief and utter shock, the crimson that erupted throughout his face at full-bloom.

Mikoto tilted her head at him, now wearing a smirk herself. "Sasu-chan, the extensions were completely a mess when I had to take them out. Did you think I didn't notice? Try not grabbing at them so roughly next time."

"-M-Mother!" Sasuke managed to shout, reaching for his glass of water and slapping his other hand against his chest in order to help himself with the coughing fit he was in. "I didn't- How-"

"I'm back! Guess what? Kazue and I saw this really cool fish in the water on the way back!" Daisuke beamed, returning to the table at full-speed and his grandmother showed him a look of interest.

"Sasuke-sama, a-are you okay?" Their servant, Kazue, asked in concern when he saw the coughing fit his master was in and Sasuke raised his hand, giving a nod while struggling to drink his water down.

Daisuke laughed a bit at his father and Mikoto thanked Kazue before she dismissed him. It took a good few minutes, but Sasuke eventually gathered his composure. However, he decided to stay quiet on what it was his mother had said that sent him into such shock in the first place. He would rather not deal with the embarrassment any further and change the topic.

Daisuke had been listening to the idle discussion his grandmother and father were having as he finished his cake, and then decided to interrupt them with what was on his mind. "Um.. I was thinking," He began loudly, getting the attention of the two adults across from him. "That if Ita-nii is hurting right now, maybe he'll be okay."

"Oh?" Mikoto eyed him, curious. "And why is it you think that, Dai-chan?"

Sasuke noted the flush of his son's cheeks.

Daisuke smiled big at them, certainty gleaming in his eyes. "Because I think Onii-chan makes him feel pretty happy, so he's sure to make him feel better. Ita-nii's always smiling and laughing when he's around him too! Well, more than he normally does anyway." He told them with a joyous laugh.

Sasuke tensed, his eyes going wide. "You mean.. Menma?" He questioned, honestly surprised by what Daisuke was saying and the boy nodded. It's not like a while ago he hadn't noticed something going on between Itachi and Menma, but he hadn't suspected it to be anything meaningful, or even emotional.

"Hm, is that right," Mikoto's expression was more amused than shocked. She was a clever woman, so she felt it, the last time she had heard Itachi speak of Menma, that there was... something deeper there than what Itachi had even realized himself.

"I think Ita-nii.. more than likes Onii-chan. I think he's in love!" Daisuke crooned, blushing. "The last time I spent the weekend with him I could tell. Ita-nii was going over Onii-chan's lessons with him and I saw him make a weird face. I've never seen him look like that. Ever."

Sasuke mentally hollered after Daisuke said that.

A smile appearing on her face, Mikoto hummed and leaned in closer to the table. "You say he made a face? What kind of face? Why did he make a face?"

Sasuke whipped his head to her, baffled.

Daisuke smirked mischievously, like had been waiting to tell someone, anyone, a secret only he knew. "Well.., you see, Ita-nii was correcting Onii-chan's English and that's when Onii-chan said he wasn't surprised that Ita-nii's handwriting was as handsome as he is," He exclaimed in excitement as he put up a finger. "And that's when Ita-nii made a face. Like the face Daddy makes when Naru-chan surprises him with a kiss!"

Mikoto blushed a bit, her eyes wide. "Ah, you mean he looked flustered?"

"Yup! That's how it looked!"

Mikoto leaned back, "Hmm," And then she noticed how Sasuke was looking at her, as if he was caught off guard by something. "What?"

"M-Mother, you're okay with that?"

Daisuke now wore a confused look. What was wrong with it?

"Okay with it? Sasuke, I'm sure you are aware of how old I was when I married your father. I believe love has no age."

"Yes, I'm aware of the age you were when you and father married, but times were different then and that's not exactly my concern."

"Times were different? What's that supposed to mean! Also what's so concerning? And if it's what I think, you should know that Iruka is my best friend and I know him better than anyone. Sure he may be a bit apprehensive at first, and of course stunned, but in the end I think he will be open-minded about it."

Sasuke looked her in the eyes, lowering his voice and spoke briskly through his teeth because Daisuke was right there. "Yes, but you don't know that for sure, Mother. And if Itachi is in fact in love with Menma, I think it would be wiser for him not to act on that. Not because of the age difference between them, but because Naruto would more than likely tear off Itachi's most beloved, flesh-attached accessory and feed it to him."

The expression of horror that flashed across Mikoto's face let him know that she at least understood the severity of his concern now.

"B-But it's just speak of feelings, Sasu-chan. It's not like there's anything more going on or has happened."

Sasuke stilled. "N-No, of course not."


'I could fall off today..,'

Naruto glanced over at his little cousin in the passenger seat of his car, his eyes widening on what the fifteen year old was doing. "M-Menma!"

'Okay, now put yo ass, on my dick, and pose on this shit..! Okay now Freak my Shit, freak my shit, freak my shit. Bitch freak my shit, freak my shit, freak my shit, freak my shit! Bitch freak my shit!'

His cheekbones flushed dark, his mouth stammered open incredulously at the provocative display of dancing he was witnessing. "Menma, quit shaking your ass and sit down in the seat! People can see in here, dummy!" He sharply chided before returning his hardened eyes back on the street ahead of him and making sure there was no traffic police around. "God.., you're gonna get me pulled over." He murmured, tipping his snapback up a bit with his free hand while driving with his other. It was hard enough for him to get around unnoticed and getting pulled over because a cop saw his younger cousin twerking in the car was the kind of headlines he didn't want to make.

"I'm aware people can see in the car, Naru-nii. That guy in the lane next to us winked at me," Menma laughed, getting off of his knees in the seat and sat back down, properly. "I swear," He said with a slight, teasing grin, pulling the seatbelt over himself. "You're such a prude sometimes. If we get pulled over I'm pretty sure it wouldn't even take the two of us to persuade the officer to let you off the hook. That's what good-looks are for."

Naruto gave a hopeless shake of his head, stopping at the stop-light he approached and then looked over at Menma, eying his clothes. They were on their way to the orphanage today, so he was pleased that Menma put together something moderate, but still totally his style. The raven-haired Uzumaki was dressed in a red, thin-material-ed, sleeveless, midriff turtle-neck and a baggy pair of distress jeans with a weaved-rope-looking belt looped through them and fastened just below his navel, and thank God, he didn't have that navel piercing in for today. The look was finished with the black bandana Menma had tied to the front of his messy, over-grown head of hair, the small, silky-smooth hairs of his hairline exposed.

Menma seriously was a gorgeous kid, with a raw and good-humored personality, which was why he just wished Menma handled himself in a more respectable manner. He wanted more than anything for Menma to see for himself that everyone wasn't deserving of him and he shouldn't allow himself to be 'fine' with being 'everyone's cheap ride.' "You're crazy, you know that?" He mentioned in a low chuckle, feeling a small smile begin to spread across his lips. He hoped Menma would see his worth sooner rather than later.

Menma nodded and grinned at him cheekily, swaying to tempo of the music playing from the car stereo.

"But in a good mood. Clearly." Naruto's smile grew wider and his gaze softened. "..I'm glad." A couple of nights ago Menma called him because he had been feeling really depressed and he guessed since Itachi had been working then, Menma just needed someone to talk to. It had worried him and he made sure to give Itachi a call that night after he got off the phone with Menma and let him know. Thankfully, Itachi had just gotten off of work when he had called him and was already on his way home.

Sometimes Naruto forgot how thoughtful Itachi was, so when Menma texted him the next day and told him about how the Uchiha made a stop at 7-Eleven on his way home work the night before and picked him up a ton snacks and a Slurpee and that they watched thriller movies until about two in the morning together, even though Itachi still had to work that day as well, Naruto felt a sense of warmth swell in his heart. He was glad that Menma had someone that could be there for him when he, himself physically couldn't. It put him at ease.

"It's my meds," Menma told him before he began to sing along to the vulgar song still playing. "Ass all over me. Drunk, that's the only way I'm 'posed to be. My ex say I'm trippin', the money made me different. I said, bitch, you just addicted, because of what the dick did," He rolled his hips in a fluent motion, the dimpled-smirk on his face confident and mischievous. "Do you like this position? Do you like this position? Is that sip you sipping get you interested in kissing women? Is it fuck your inhibition? Fu-Fuck your inhibition? Then bring that ass back, like it's stuck in intermission. Ay, cute chick with her hair curly. She ride a dick till it get early," He brought the verse to a finish, doing the 'hit dem folks' while seated.

"Aye," An impressed grin had spilt on Naruto's face, his eyebrow rising as he stepped on the gas. "When did your English get so good? Definitely better than mine, you almost sounded fluent."

"Y-You think?" Menma blushed at the praise and gave an uncharacteristically, bashful shrug of his shoulders in order to mask how happy it made him to hear that sound of... recognition in Naruto's voice. "Well, Itachi's been cracking down on me hard, so... ."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. He takes the shit so seriously, I'm surprised I haven't keeled over with how much grammar, vocabulary and literary recitation he's forced on me," Menma grumbled with a half-hearted pout, leaning forward to lower the volume of the music. "But, I guess, if he wasn't so harsh then it wouldn't exactly pay off, especially when it comes to me." He admitted, sitting back and turning his head to look out the window at the passing scenery as Naruto drove onto the expressway.

Naruto nodded agreeably, keeping his eyes focused ahead of him, even though he so badly wanted to reach over and ruffle Menma's hair in urge to show him how proud he felt of him right now. "That's good. Itachi is the best teacher anyone could have. You're lucky, you know? Itachi is what people call a prodigy. Take advantage of your lessons with him, Menma."

Menma was quiet, of course taking in the advice, while staring out the window.

His blue eyes on the pickup truck in front of him, Naruto was silent for a moment before he decided to ask. It had been bugging him as of late and he hadn't exactly gotten an honest answer from Itachi, so Menma was his best bet for now. "So, how is Itachi really? After everything that happened between him and Deidara? Rumor is it was a bad break-up, but last I talked to Itachi he didn't say much."

His eyes going wide, Menma snapped his face away from the window and looked over at the blonde. "A bad break-up?" He repeated, a comical snort leaving him. "A bad-break up would be an understatement, Naru-nii. It was monstrous, okay. Horrifying. I seent it." He stated point-blankly.

"You seent it?" Naruto was humored, despite the gravity of the subject. He took a quick glance over at the younger Uzumaki, wearing an amused smile. "You seent it? With your own two eyes? You seent it?"

"Y-Yes," Menma laughed in response to Naruto's mockery of the improper speech he decided to use, but hey, Itachi wasn't here to correct him on how to talk, so he was free to say whatever the hell he wanted, and how he wanted. He leaned his head back against the headrest of his seat, letting a sigh slip pass his lips. "I saw everything. I felt like I shouldn't have, but I did. I couldn't look away from it. You know, it's like seeing a house catch fire. It's terrifying to look at, but you can't look away."

"What?" Naruto said in disbelief, giving a shake of his head in dismal as he smoothly steered over into another lane. "It was really that bad?"

"Mmhm. They woke me up out my damn sleep, that's how bad it was! I was tired as hell!" His eyebrow twitched as he recalled that night and Naruto snickered a bit, the smooth sound of it empathic. "But having front row seats to that entire shit-show woke me right up. I mean I felt like someone slapped me wide-awake, Naru-nii," He went quiet for a moment and his expression dimmed. "Watching them go at each other the way they did, I almost forgot that they were close friends. Granted Itachi flying off the handle was justified, but Deidara wasn't even remorseful about the situation. That's what was so crazy, and as if that wasn't bad enough, he had the nerve to throw a low blow up in there."

"Deidara did? Really?" Naruto responded incredulity, taking precaution as he exited off of the expressway. He had never seen Itachi and Deidara argue. Sure he had seen them have disagreements, but never argue, so it was hard to believe that it had gotten so nasty and heated that it came to low-blows.

Menma had more or less expected the expression of disbelief that Naruto wearing on his face. He didn't think that Itachi's relationship would end the way it had and being a witness to it, he hadn't been able to wrap his head around it either because of the friendship Itachi and Deidara did have. From what he saw between the two of them on a daily basis, he knew they wouldn't last and he felt like the break-up was well over-due, but he didn't think it would end so terribly and destroy even their friendship. He stayed quiet for a moment and took his lower lip between his teeth, hesitant to mention what he heard that night. "...I didn't know that Itachi had a drinking problem at a point." He half-murmured when the car came to a momentary stop, staring over at Naruto for confirmation and his older cousin immediately looked at him, wide-eyed.

"Don't tell me, that's what was said?" Naruto frowned a bit.

Menma nodded. "Deidara pretty much brought it up as if to say Itachi owed him something. That doesn't sound much like a friend if you ask me."

"That..," Naruto paused, his blood beginning to flair to a boil, and then worked to calm himself when he saw the expectant glint in Menma's eyes. Menma had told him that he got angry too easily and Naruto very much agreed with that, so he wanted to show him that he was working hard to control that. He breathed in, gripping the steering-wheel tight. "That really pisses me off. I can't believe he brought that into it. Yes, Itachi had a drinking issue that he's already dealt with, but that makes me think that Deidara has had that stored in the back of his mind just so he could deliberately throw it up in Itachi's face. I don't get how he could bring up something like that when he knew what Itachi was going through at that time. His grandmother had just passed and he was taking it hard while at the same time trying to suppress it. Even now, he still is suppressing it. But what the fuck does a past drinking issue have to do with him breaking up with him though? –Ugh, I'm so fucking pissed off right now," Stepping on the gas, Naruto's face darkened as he watched the road ahead. "Now I literally want to–Mmh!" He snapped his mouth closed, stopping himself and forced his blood to cool. "...Let me calm down."

"Yes! Call on the Lord if you have to!" Menma advised with a laugh, raising his hand up above his head. "You're too pretty for prison, Naru-nii."

Naruto sighed, his eyes narrowing. "You know what? I've tried calling on the Lord, multiple times, but sometimes I feel like he's placed this anger in me so that I can better protect myself and others dear to me. You know what I mean? Maybe, just maybe, it's the Lord's plan that I wrap my hand around Deidara's throat, lift him off of the ground like a weightless ragdoll and slam him into the nearest wall," He shrugged his shoulders, taking a hand off of the wheel.

Menma stared at the older Uzumaki, bewildered.

Naruto caught onto the shocked silence in the car and glanced over at the teenager, looking as clueless as ever. "What? Don't look at me like that, Menma. I can't help that when my protective instincts kick in it's so uncontrollable, and I think that's how it has to be. Itachi's my Big Bear, so naturally if someone feels they're going to fuck with him I have to go into shield-mode. So I think from now on I should start riding out that anger. Just go with the flow."

"Y-You crazy ass," Menma laughed out in bafflement at the serious look on Naruto's face. "I agree with rag-dolling Deidara up against a wall, but I kind of disagree with you riding out the anger at any other time. It'll get you in a shitload of trouble and I'm not trying to be talking to you through a window or see you hand-cuffed to a table in a ugly ass jump-suit. Sorry."

Naruto screwed his face up at that, taking a glance at the screen of the car's GPS system. "Menma, you have the nerve. You have a shorter fuse than I do- and I would appreciate it if you and Sasuke would quit calling me crazy because I'm not. I'm the nicest person and so friendly-"

"Until someone crosses you." Menma remarked, wearing a teasing smirk.

The car came to a stop when it approached the stoplight and then Naruto turned his head, eying his cousin with skepticism. "Hey, so do you remember that time when we got into that fight and you threatened to choke me with my own intestines?"

"Okaaaay, I was angry at the time. I apologized, didn't I?" Rolling his eyes, Menma reached onto the dashboard where he had put his cell phone when had first gotten into the car and grabbed it. "I would never seriously hurt you because I love you too much, Naru-nii. Even if you piss me off at times." He said, dropping his focus onto his cell phone.

"Aww," Naruto felt the smile spread across his lips as he reached over and touched Menma's shoulder, getting the younger Uzumaki to look at him. "But that's not my point. My point is that if you're going to call me crazy then you're just as crazy as I am."

"I'm not crazy though."

"Yes we are."

"..."

"Deal? We're both crazy."

"No!" Menma did a refusing hand motion, laughing. "Naru-nii, I don't know what kind of crazy you are, but you're a whole other level of crazy that I am not."

Naruto shut his mouth into a pout, turning his attention forward and stepped on the gas. He wasn't crazy at all and was tired of being called that. Sasuke had even made sure to mention to just about all of his past girlfriends that he was an 'insane' hot-head and he found that to be annoying. He was not crazy, in any shape or form. He was a nice and caring person, of course unless crossed, and then he would have to rip out someone's throat. His eyes widened in realization at the end result of thinking he came to. ...Maybe he was a tad crazy and a slight hot-head, but would keep that to himself.

Menma leaned back and held his phone down in his lap. He still couldn't get what Deidara said out of his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about it, no matter how hard he tried not to. It hit so close to home with him because he knew what an alcoholic looked like. He had watched an alcoholic, a junkie, …a monster, .. beat on his mother day in and day out when he was a very small child. But Itachi wasn't anything like that. He was nothing like that. "..I never knew about it," He said, his voice low and soft with curiosity. "Itachi just seems like he's always had it together. He's so... smart."

Naruto was quiet, in hearing that. He could understand why Menma found it so odd to now know such a thing was true because he had picked up on how much Menma admired Itachi when he listened to the kid talk about him. Naruto wasn't surprised that naturally Itachi and Menma had grown to have some type of bond with each other. "Menma, even Itachi has his faults. We all do," He voiced honestly, taking notice of the all too familiar neighborhoods he was driving through. "Itachi is just the least person you would expect to fall into that kind of... stuff," He tried to put it in a way that Menma would know that he understood why it was so incomprehensible to him. Menma was fifteen and to him, it probably seemed like Itachi went through life unscathed.

However, since Menma was getting older, he felt it was his job to teach him that everyone got their asses kicked by life at some point, even the most egoistic and beautiful of people. Naruto steered the car. He regretted his own mistakes when he thought back to what had been a mental breakdown for Itachi. "When everyone started to notice Itachi drinking more than usual we didn't think anything of it. It was kind of brushed off at first because, you know? Hey, if he wants to get fucked up, let him," He couldn't even say that without grimacing in disappointment, at himself. He wished that he had seen it for what it was sooner.

Menma listened, staring off out the window. His heart felt heavy as he thought of a time that he hadn't been around to make Itachi feel better. That Itachi had had to deal with his own emotions by himself, without even knowing how to do that.

"But it didn't take long for it to turn into something more than that. Itachi would wake up in the mornings with a hangover, sunglasses 'nd all, hair a mess, and it wouldn't even be ten o'clock yet when Sasuke would see him pouring Vodka or Tequila or whatever into his orange juice or coffee. He would be completely smashed by ten o'clock, not even noon." Naruto told him, wondering how he hadn't seen it sooner. It was like Itachi had been a completely different person, a person who only lusted for self-destruction. It was still difficult to think about what happened to Itachi then.

"I, myself, realized what was happening when I saw he was drinking way way too often, almost on a daily basis. I eventually mentioned to him that I felt like he was drinking too much, but he wasn't trying to hear that. He wasn't himself and I knew it was because Mikoto's mother had passed. Itachi didn't know how to deal with it. ...He was in need of comfort, but he didn't know where to find it," He shook his head, his facial expression furrowed. "So for Deidara to bring that up, as if Itachi owes him anything is fucked up and utter bullshit considering when everyone had been telling Itachi he needed to cut-back on the alcohol, I mean even Hidan, Deidara was right there in his ear, 'let's go to the club! Let's get some strippers! We're about to get fucked up tonight!'"

Menma felt his jaw tighten, an unexplainable anger flooding up from somewhere deep inside of him. He wasn't surprised by what Naruto was saying because Deidara was the kind of person to take advantage of someone for his own gain. But knowing that he took advantage of Itachi when he had been at his lowest made him want to choke slam that selfish prick. He turned his eyes away from the window and looked at Naruto, the same anger he felt himself reflected on his older cousin's face as the blonde drove.

"He was fucking feeding the problem, and I thought maybe he honestly didn't realize that, until now. You know me. I like to give people the benefit of doubt and I don't know Deidara's character that well to say he just didn't give a fuck, but that rubs me the wrong way. I didn't think he was that kind person to be there for someone he supposedly 'loves', but only because he wants some credit for it later. That pisses me off so much."

Menma felt the same way he had felt the night that Itachi and Deidara broke up. Relieved, for Itachi. He didn't need that bullshit in his life anymore. "Well, that's not even the icing on the cake. Deidara hit him too." He mentioned, frowning, and Naruto's eyes flew so wide and fast off of the street Menma almost thought the blonde would swerve the car. Luckily, Naruto's driving was still level-headed. "Yup. Straight gave him a solid punch to the face." He said casually, having gotten over the shock of actually witnessing the altercation days ago.

"Damn. ...," Naruto looked back at the street, unable to close his mouth. "...There still hasn't been anything on why they broke up either," He then took a swift glance over at Menma, expectantly.

Menma realized the look in Naruto's eyes and put his hand up firmly. "Don't look at me. I'm not telling."

"Well you already told me all the other stuff, Menma!"

"But it's not my place to tell you that part. Ask Itachi and he'll tell you, if he wants. I ain't trying to be just spilling all his business. You want to know everything that was said, did or thrown, you better ask him 'cause I've already said too much."

"Oh, fine. I'm definitely paying him a visit because he probably needs my cuddles anyway," Naruto breathed out in defeat and began parking the car along the side-walk, looking into the rear-view. "Look across the street. We're here, Menma." He announced, making a clean park.

Menma turned his head, looking out his window and the brown and white, three-story house that greeted him had such a warm familiarity to it. He didn't think he would remember it that much, but at first sight, it all came flooding back to him. The neighborhood, .. everything.


to be continued...

Author's note: Next chapter is filled with kiddies, more past flashbacks and some Neji and Itachi. ;) And you should expect it sometime this coming week since it's like 95 % finished already and it's actually the second half of this chapter, but everything was too much to fit together.

A/N (2): I wonder if anyone pieced together that comment that Sasuke made back in the chapter 'Pretty Lady' to Itachi about being 'his shield' and the flashback in this chapter. ;) Now you get the meaning of that.