Chapter 12: Hey Little Girl, I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

Rei was gone. The apartment was back. How ugly. It was dark. Dark dark dark. Trash on the floor, putrid smell in the air. He sat on the edge of his bed in plaid boxers. He was unshaven, thin, and dirty. He layed the needle down next to him. When would Rei be back? Where was she?

Light came from the corner. Raz looked toward it gleefully, with arms open. A child greeting his mother. A smile on his face.The familiar womanly figure was not wearing a dress.

A pair of ripped jeans held up by a purple studded belt. A black Sex Pistols tee that was covered with a length of purple netting held together by safety pins.A beanie atop messy hair, paper clips in the ears. A look of worry and bewilderment enveloping heavenly features.

Not Rei. He dropped his arms and turned away.

"Go," he croaked, not looking at the figure, whoever it was, "You're not Rei. Leave me alone."

A starled cry reached his ears. "Raz-kun? Oh my god. What's going on? What is wrong with you? Who is Rei?"

Rei didn't think anything was ever wrong with him. This wasn't Rei.

"GO AWAY! YOU'RE NOT REI!" He turned and grabbed the girl and threw her at the wall. She hit it with a thud, slid down and began to cry. The sobs she uttered pierced his ears like a thousand knives. He covered them.

"Go away!" Raz called out, turning away from the huddled figure. "Stop crying and go away! I want my mother, Rei!"

He heard her stop crying and stand up. He smirked. She was leaving.

She grabbed his shoulders and turned him to face her. She looked him right in the eye. "Look at me!"

He looked down. "No-"

She grabbed his head and pulled it up forcefully to face her. "Raz-kun. Look at me now. Do you recognize me? It's me, Arty. You're friend? Come on, please know me!" She was strong. He knew her. Those green eyes. His heart started to swell while his stomach contracted. Pain and love. He knew her. He knew her well. But she still wasn't Rei.

"Arty-chan. Go away now."

Her eyes darted towards his bed, and before he knew it, she was at the open window, flinging the needles out into the night air down six stories.

He grabbed her again and slapped her. "You killed my mother."

She looked at him with flooded eyes. "Raz, please! You're poisoning yourself! Rei isn't-"

"DON'T SAY SHE'S NOT REAL!"

She was now halfway out the window, her head hovering over the great fall. He held her there, seething with anger. Her eyes turned red. She whispered.

"Where's the Piper? Why isn't he calling me?"

"Shut up!"

"Can you hear him?"

"NO!"

"Then there is hope."

"Shut up!"

She looked at him and opened her mouth.

"She'll come back as fire, burn all the liars, leave a blanket of ash on the ground."

A red-headed woman with a gaunt face that told the history of past beauty swam across his mind. A name tag was pinned to her waitressing uniform. 'Hi, I'm Frances.'

Frances...

Frances. That was his mother's name. Millefule Frances. Rei was a lie. Arty was hovering eight stories above the ground. He pulled her back in and sank to the ground. Frances Frances Frances.

Warm arms encircled his quivering form. A soothing voice spoke. A deep, edgy, yet soothing voice. She loved him. She forgave him. She wanted to help. She was sorry. She wanted him to stop. She wanted him to live. She wanted him to be happy. She loved him. He was her brother. She loved him. She would never be in love with him. He who had twice tried to kill her. He whose chest bore her mark. He who loved her above all others and all things. He who wished to bring more tears from her and then destroy them.

"You don't love me like you love Kent. You never will."

She nodded. Tears fell. She apologized.

"Never do that. Don't apologize for who you love. It makes you you. I love you. Don't take that from me. I love you like you love Kent. I love you like you love me. I love you like you love Itachi. I love you like you love music. That's all there is. You. But you are more. I am your antithesis. But I love you, and I want to be around you. I want you to have a small part of your heart reserved for me. If you do this, I will be as happy as I ever could."

She said yes. She loved him and always will. She never could understand his feelings for her, or maybe she could. Did she not love Kent? But she did not hate Kent. She did not have half the feelings for Kent that he had for her. Simply because she was not Kent's outer shell and dark soul, like he was hers. She was Kent's light. She was the part of Kent that was all that was good. She was everything Raz would never, could never, be. She kissed his forehead and tucked him into his bed. She lay by his side. He fell asleep.

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Arty satforward in her chair, surveying Tokyo with a mix of bitterness and respect. Her chair was Kent, whose arms wrapped around her protectively. But she barely felt the pressure. His arms were strong, but they were not a ninja's. She did not care. She felt the warmth and love and happiness.

"Why are you staying here? I thought you could not wait to get home."

She turned to look at his perfect face and smiled sadly. "I can wait now, I want Raz-kun to be there. And he can't be there while he's in rehab."

Kent nodded. "I'm sorry this happened."

"Me too," she sighed, leaning back into his chest. "But life's a bitch, sometimes you just have to play with it and give it a treat to fix things."

"We're its owner? Or our we it's puppies?"

Arty kissed him on the cheek. "Depends on how you live it. I own my own life. I make my decisions, I deal with things."

"While Raz-san is just a blind puppy, looking for a nipple to feed from. You're the owner who has to guide him."

She nodded. "Yes. And I intend to do it better. It's been my job ever since I marked him three years ago."

Kent stroked her hair. "Well, I won't let you do it alone this time."

Arty turned her head to face him. She smiled. "You're beautiful."

"I know," Kent said after kissing her, "It's why we're such a good thing. No, wait, we're not a 'thing' we're more. There isn't a word to say what we are. But words are irrelevant, we're above them. That's what makes us own our lives."

"You're perfect."

"Dead wrong. If I was perfect, I wouldn't be beautiful. I'm an oxymoron. You're everything."

"Shut up. You're gettiing philosophical on me. I hate it when you sound smarter than me."

"I'm not. But I am making a point here. I'm taking your point and adding on to them. Appreciate it, if no one did that, we wouldn't have music."

"Hm." She pouted and crossed her arms like a little kid. Kent laughed and tickled her tummy. She squirmed and laughed. "STOP!"

Kent lifted up the edge of her shirt, exposing her stomach and blew on it.

"Sto-ah-ah-op!"

"Name five bands of the sixties!"

"The Beatles! The Stones! Sha-na-na! Ten Years After! The Who!"

"You are beautiful."

"You are God."

"You are a Godddess."

"Then I guess I'm stuck with you."

"Sorry."

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Patty hung to Itachi's arm. He looked at her with mock annoyance. "What are you doing?"

"I want this man you've become to stay. I don't want anyone to take you away and replace you with some prick. Stay. With. Me."

"What if someone cuts off my arm?"

"Then. They. Die."

"Well, then, I guess I'll have to learn to deal with you."

"Guess you will."

"Guess I have to keep you around."

"Guess so."

"Guess we'll have to get married."

"Guess sooooooo--WHAT?"

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They were beautiful. All babies are beautiful. Especially when there were two. Expecially to their own parents. Especially when both were there to appreciate it. Especially when it was the first time they were together to share in this. Especially when the mother had stopped calling the father a 'mother-fucking cock-suck.' Especially when epiderals were involved.

Green eyes. Black hair. Pale skin. Big Forehead. Long necks. No dimples, but that was okay. They didn't need or want another Artemis. They were happy with one. The didn't have more kids just to have copies of the first.

So pretty. Beautiful little girls. No curse seal, either. Well, Orochimaru was dead. Nice thing too, it came with healing for Sasuke and Arty too. At least that was what they figured, they had nt seen her as of yet. She was supposed to have come by now, but something came up in Tokyo.

But now all they could think about were these little angels. Ai and Shika. Perfect little children, just like their sister.

Sasuke looked at a jubilant Sakura with a smile. "We HAVE to get around to making more of these."

Sakura snorted. "Easy for you to say, you're not the one who has to spend six hours pushing something the size of a watermelon out of an opening the size of a lemon."

"Ahhhhh," Sasuke pouted after checking to make sure no one was around to see him act cute, "Pweeeeese? Pwitty Pweeese?"

Sakura looked at him. "God help our kids, they're being raised by one."

"Ah, at least you'll never get bored."

"I havn't been bored in eighteen years."

Sasuke laughed. "You have me to thank for that. And I know how you can repay me. Marry me."

"Don't worry, we'll have it done as soon as Arty gets back. I couldn't get married without her being there," said Sakura seriously.

Sasuke nodded. "Hey, you think once she gets back and we get hitched, we might be able to call ourselves normal?"

"No chance in Hell."

"Good. I'm not happy unless something weird goes on. We'll get bored," Sasuke said smirking. Sakura smacked him. He responded by planting a kiss on her cheek before doing the same to the twins. "Please, darling, no violence in front of the children."

Sakura smiled. "I love it when you let down your guard."

"And when I don't?"

"You don't amuse me."

"Well, nice to know this risk of humiliation renders you service."

"Marry me," Sakura said, turning his words on him.

"Not till Arty gets back," Sasuke assured her, returning the favor.

"Good."

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AN: Chapter short but sexy. Sawwy.