(Author's Note: Remember to review, if you're reading! Warnings and disclaimers apply to all chapters. Next update will be chapter 40, the last chapter posted before the fic was removed. Chapter 41 will be posted two days after Chapter 40. After Chapter 41, please allow two to three weeks for updates.

Special thanks to Ruby Love, who originally beta'ed this chapter.)

And the Beat Goes On
Chapter 39: Back to the Grind

The weekend in Kiri didn't prove quite to be as wonderful a getaway as Orochimaru had made it out to be. Itachi had thought he'd been lying all along about thinking it was going to turn out okay. He knew that Orochimaru was just being optimistic and trying to get him to go. Lousy asshole.

First, it had rained all day Saturday. That was really no big surprise. Kiri had a very moist climate, being by the sea and all. It had rained on the way there too, and all of Friday night. It rained most of Sunday as well, but there was the occasional break in the cloud and the sun would peek through for a few moments. Needless to say, a motorcycle wasn't really an ideal form of transportation in Kiri.

The hotel they were staying in was in the rundown downtown core, and it had been cheap. Itachi wouldn't have minded to put out the extra money to stay somewhere half-decent. Orochimaru had refused that, and rented what he could, which was this. It had cockroaches everywhere, and the place was old. Its heater didn't work quite properly, and they were forced to huddle together, in the middle of the bed, with the blankets pulled as tightly around them as possible to keep warm. It wasn't cold, but damp. It was a permeating chill that bored into your bones, and stayed.

Friday night, they had just crashed. They had dragged everything into the hotel, and curled up on the bed together and slept. Saturday was hardly more interesting. Television was horrible in Kiri. The reception in the hotel made it even worse to try and watch. Wandering was ruled out, so they had eaten breakfast and lunch at the hotel. Leaving was ruled out when it started to rain even more at lunchtime. They had, instead, gone and curled up in the hotel room.

It was at dinnertime when they actually deemed it safe to leave the hotel room. Orochimaru had insisted that they go somewhere for dinner, and so, they had set off on the bike, and spent half-an hour in the pouring rain, trying to find a decent place to eat.

They had, eventually, decided to eat at one of Kiri's local shops, which was serving authentic food from the country. There were other shops about, that served cultural dishes from Konoha, but neither had been really keen on eating things they could get at home.

Kiri was in a different country than Konoha. They were on the same continent, and cultural advancements flowed across their borders. Konoha had the dominant culture, being one of the biggest exporters of several different things.

The food had been hot, and that had been good. The waitress had even given them a seat by the heater, so they could dry out a bit. She had seemed a little wary of them, as if she might have suspected something between them, but for all she knew, they were just teenage friends. They could have even been cousins.

They had gone for a walk down that street after that, window shopping at the local shops. They hadn't bought anything, except an umbrella, which Itachi had deemed necessary. Orochimaru had wanted to find a theatre at that point, but Itachi steadfastly refused.

They returned to the hotel, and engaged in activities of their favourite variety. Then, there had been rest, more fun in the morning, and now, it was late Sunday afternoon. Itachi wasn't normally a person to lie abed, but he was still in bed, though the clock did indeed say three-twenty-seven p.m.

They had to leave now. It wasn't that they needed to check out of the hotel, but that Sasuke had just called and informed them that Gran and Kurenai had important things to discuss with Itachi before they departed tomorrow. And they had conveniently not mentioned these issues until three twenty-two p.m.

So, back they went to Konoha. It was a long ride, and there were rain showers, and sun showers most of the way back, until they were about half-an-hour outside of Konoha. From there on, the sun shone steadily, and Itachi had never been more grateful for it. His hair was finally drying, and so was his skin. Orochimaru was drying out too, which was pleasant, because they had been sticking together in weird ways.

It was six-thirty-four p.m. when they pulled into the driveway of the Uchiha household. Sasuke was sitting on the doorstep, looking decidedly pissed off. Itachi didn't say anything to his little brother when he walked past him, but Sasuke jumped to his feet, and followed him, intent on telling his brother all about what had been going on.

"They're driving me crazy!" he'd said, very loudly.

Gran and Kuernai were sitting on the sofa. Kurenai had her head turned in Sasuke's direction. She didn't look pleased by what he'd said, but Gran hadn't heard. It was a good thing for Sasuke that she was going deaf.

Orochimaru bowed out wisely, taking his and Itachi's luggage upstairs, and hiding away. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of this conversation. While there may not have been lots of yelling, there certainly would be lots of glaring and tense situations.

Itachi nodded to his elders, wearing a trademark expression of blankness. Sasuke glanced nervously between his relatives, then sat down on the floor, kneeling. Itachi sat down in the armchair, facing his family.

Kurenai nudged Gran, who looked as if she had let her mind go wandering to some far off places. She looked at the young woman, who smiled apologetically, and said, "Itachi is here, Gran."

The old woman looked confused for a moment or two. "Itachi?" she said at last, squinting at Kurenai, as if she had never heard the name before in her life.

Kurenai nodded. "Yes. Your great-grandson. You have something very important to tell him, Gran."

She frowned, in deep thought. Kurenai looked to her nephew, smiling with apology. "I'm sorry. Gran's been acting up lately. I'm afraid her memory's gone."

He nodded, to say that he understood, and then, the old lady spoke. "Ah, Itachi. How is the little tyke? I haven't seen him since he was in diapers."

Kurenai glanced at the Uchiha heir, as if to say, "Be patient", and patted the old woman's arm. "He's sitting right here, right now. He's seventeen now, Gran. We've been staying with them for the past four months or so."

The old woman looked surprised. "We have?"

Kurenai nodded, and Gran looked past her, to the young man sitting in the armchair. "Itachi?" she asked, almost timidly.

He nodded, and then, her memory seemed to come back to her all at once. "Ah! Yes! We are leaving tomorrow, and I thought it was about time for you to know why we're here."

Itachi thought that this was something the old lady should have mentioned at the beginning of her stay. Maybe she had forgotten.

She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. "We came to observe your behaviour, and I have decided, as clan head, that you are a worthy heir for the Uchiha clan."

She gave him a smile, something that was a rare and coveted thing from the crusty old woman, or from any member of the Uchiha clan in general.

- - - - - - - -

Sasuke and Itachi had both bowed out of class early, muttering something to Naruto and Orochimaru, respectively, about their relatives finally leaving. That left Naruto and Orochimaru at practice, without partners. Such was luck, that they should get stuck together playing doubles.
Orochimaru was very clearly frustrated with Naruto's lack of skill. They won their first match by a narrow two points. Naruto grinned sheepishly at the older male, who glowered in his direction. "What the hell are you doing?" Orochimaru asked him, as the practising teams rotated.

Naruto scratched his head. "Uhh. . .playing badminton?"

Orochimaru glowered, and muttered something under his breath. Naruto, not being completely oblivious, noted that his hand tightened around the neck of the racket. Naruto looked up. "Uh! Hey! Sorry, you know, but. . ."

He jogged a bit to catch up with the storming teen. "I've never played before. Iruka-sensei's a great guy and all, but he doesn't have time to take me places, or the money for me to do things. So. . ."

Orochimaru paused, and gave him a look, then shrugged, turning away. "Whatever, kid."

Naruto snarled. "Don't call me kid!" He mustered all the strength he could, and punched the older teen in the arm.

Orochimaru spun about and smacked him solidly in the face with his racket. "Don't touch me, brat. Do you want to see tomorrow?"

Naruto stuck his tongue out childishly, and rubbed his nose. They settled into stance on the court, glaring darkly at their opponents, who were just staring at them. The whistle blew, and the match began.

The match was over almost as quickly as it started. Apparently, all it took to get Naruto to play well was to get him pissed off. Orochimaru, also rather ruffled, was hitting the birdie back, with twice as much ferocity as Naruto was. Their opponents never stood a chance. As it was, they weren't even keeping score, just smashing the birdie back across the net every time it happened to sail their way.

The whistle blew twice again, to end the match. Naruto glanced at Orochimaru, who glared at him, and then, the blond promptly turned his head away. They went to sit the next match out, as they were told. They'd reached the end of the courts. In the next match, they'd start at the other end.

They must have made quite the sight, sitting there, glaring out at the rest of the floor, and pointedly not being near each other. They were sitting at opposite ends of the bench. Orochimaru's foot tapped out time on the floor, in an angry, erratic rhythm.

At last, the silence grew almost unbearable. Naruto hated being mad at people, and being quiet. It wasn't his nature. "Oy, Orochi-bastard, did you hear what Tsunade did to Sasuke?"

The serpentine teen glanced his way, glaring still, with an eyebrow raised. "What did that old bat do now?"

"She cast Sasuke as Juliet in her play."

Orochimaru started to laugh. "Short stuff? She's gonna make him play Juliet? Does she have a death wish?"

Naruto felt a smile quirk at the corner of his lips. "Maybe," he replied. "She is pretty old."

Orochimaru's smile faded away. "Are you gonna go back to playing like crap now?"

"Probably," Naruto said with a sigh, tilting his head to the side.

They were silent for a few minutes. Then, Naruto said, "Say, do you give lessons?"

"Lessons in what?" Orochimaru asked, his voice a dead monotone, but his face decidedly perverted.

"Gah! Not like that!" Naruto practically yelled, jumping in fear, and consequently falling off the bench.

Orochimaru laughed at him. "Sure, squirt. I can give you lessons. You name it, I've been there and done it."

Naruto blushed a bit at the implications of that, but scowled nonetheless. "Badminton. I just want lessons for this stupid game. Nothing more," he growled.

Orochimaru smirked. "Are you sure? 'Cause I know this trick, that you-"

The whistle blew, signalling the end of the match, cutting Orochimaru off. They rose, and trotted off, down the length of the gym, to the farthest court. They played their match, and won, unsurprisingly. Naruto's playing was back to its usual, sloppy self.

The whistle blew, and they trotted between to the next match. Naruto glanced at Orochimaru. "But seriously," he said, "can you give me some pointers or something? Sasuke was pretty pissed at me the other day. . ."

"Pfft!" Orochimaru said, bashing Naruto over the head with his racket, and stopping. "Don't even bother trying to please that little bastard! He wouldn't be happy unless you killed his brother - which, by the way, don't even try, or I'll kill you - and even then, he'd still be pissed, because he could have killed him, you know, and you took away his opportunity."

Naruto blinked, stupidly. "Uh?" he said at last, leaning forward a bit, communicating that he had not understood what the other teen had said.
Orochimaru shook his head. "Never mind. I'll give you some pointers."

"Yeah!" Naruto cried, throwing his fist up into the air, signifying his victory.

Orochimaru smiled, a little bit. Naruto wasn't such a bad kid. Even if he was annoying at times, he was. . . He didn't even really know how to explain it. Naruto just was. It was more than he could say about some people he knew, namely himself.

They played another three matches, and then, practice was over. They headed to the change rooms, with the rest of the team (so to speak). Orochimaru found the word he'd been looking for to describe Naruto. Enthusiastic. The brat was enthusiastic.

"So, when will you give me these pointers? Huh? I really want to play better next week!"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, then tugged a t-shirt over his head, and tossed his soggy towel in Naruto's face. "Brat. Hurry up and change or you won't be getting any pointers at all."

Naruto practically dove into his clothes. Orochimaru didn't think he'd ever seen anyone get dressed so quickly in his life. "I'm still getting pointers, right?" the blond asked, whipping back about to face the older teen.

". . .yes," Orochimaru said, slowly closing his eyes. Naruto was also persistent. How wonderful.

Naruto threw his fist into the air again. "Great! When do we start?"

Orochimaru looked blankly at Naruto. "Are you this eager about everything?" he asked, looking away, stuffing the rest of his things into his gym bag.

Naruto nodded vigorously. "Yes! So, when do we start?"

Orochimaru looked at the clock on the wall. "When do you want to start?" he asked, with an almost tired sigh. Naruto could take a lot out of people without even trying. How did Sasuke manage with this brat?

He thought he knew why, but he didn't bother going there. He was apparently going to have to spend the rest of the afternoon with Naruto anyway. Why should he bother dwelling on past events?

"I want to start immediately!" Naruto hollered, slinging his gym bag over his shoulder.

Orochimaru winced. Naruto had no decibel control. "That's very good, Naruto. The first trick to playing well is shutting up."

It was a very good thing Naruto was gullible. He clamped his mouth shut instantly. Orochimaru nodded sagely, then turned to walk away. Naruto followed him. He wanted to tell the younger teen that he couldn't follow people if he wanted to play a good game of badminton, but he figured that was just cruel.

Naruto was a bit confused when he saw they were going to Sasuke's house, and forgot rule number one about playing a good badminton game. "Hey! Why are you taking me to Uchiha's house? Do you live there or something?"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No. I don't live there. But I like to, and generally, I don't go away. And you just broke rule number one."

Naruto made a small noise, and shut up again. He was silent for the remainder of the walk to the Uchiha house. Orochimaru was happy for that. He let them into the backyard through the gate, and shut it behind them and locked it again. Naruto blinked once or twice. He'd only seen Sasuke's backyard a couple of times, when it had been snow-covered. He'd had no clue, really, as to how vast the land the Uchihas owned was. No wonder this was considered the 'upscale' part of town.

There was a tennis court, and a good-sized in-ground swimming pool. Those gave way to a well-tended lawn, surrounded by well-kempt gardens and at the far end of the property, there was a line of tall trees, both coniferous and deciduous, and the fence was hidden behind their tree trunks. There was even a waterfall. Naruto mentally made a note to force some of the fish in his over-populated pond into Sasuke's.

Orochimaru had dropped his gym bag on the ground and was fishing out his racquet. It had been a gift from Itachi when they'd managed to walk away with the gold. The Uchiha could be sentimental sometimes, though Orochimaru didn't dare tell him so.

"Ready?" he asked Naruto, walking to the equipment shed that was locked up near the pool.

Naruto nodded dumbly, then shook himself to life, and dashed over to the shed, grabbing a racquet from the wall. He didn't own his own.

They played singles, with Orochimaru shouting out tips that sounded more like orders to Naruto. The blond did his best to improve his game, but eventually, Orochimaru would have to stop the game, and show Naruto what he meant. Then, they would start again, and continue playing, and the whole process started again.

They stopped when the sky got dark, and Naruto got hit in the head with the birdie and they lost it. No amount of scrambling in the darkness could recover it. It was a nice evening, and they didn't really care that it was dark outside. Orochimaru flicked on the outside lights, and enlisted Narut's help to open up the pool.

It was a bit strange, Naruto thought, to be swimming in someone else's pool in the middle of the night, without the owner of the pool, and with someone else's boyfriend. It wasn't as if they were doing anything, but it was just. . .strange. He thought he would have liked it better had it been Sasuke in the pool with him.

"Oy," Naruto said, resting his arms on the side of the pool, slowly kicking his feet out behind him.

Orochimaru looked at him, his hair straggling in his face. He looked a bit like a drowned animal. "What?"

"Do you. . .remember?" Naruto asked, haltingly, fighting back a blush.

They could hear a car in the driveway. The occupants of the house had returned. They both paused, and then, Orochimaru turned back to Naruto. "Remember what?" he asked, trying to read Naruto's expression, but having a feeling he knew what the blond was trying to say anyway.

"Erm," Naruto said, "do you remember what happened. . .at the cottage? When Itachi was drunk?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Yeah. What about it?"

Naruto shrugged, trying to brush it off. "I just. . .wanted to know. What did you think about that? I mean. . .I dunno. Sasuke doesn't like to talk about it."

"I would think so," Orochimaru said, "he's such a straight-laced bastard. I. . .dunno. It was fun. I guess. Weird. What do you think?"

Naruto looked at the ground, at the floor of the pool and the rippling of the water. "I. . .didn't know what to think. It was weird. I. . .don't know what to think."

He shook his head slowly. There was a thumping, and then, the backdoor opened. Sasuke was standing there. "Get out of the pool!" he yelled, but he sounded a bit tentative.

Naruto glanced at Orochimaru. The older male grinned. "He can't tell who it is," he said, and splashed over to the side, clambering up, out of the pool.

"Hey, Short Stuff! Is that anyway to greet me?" he asked, flipping his hair back out of his eyes.

Naruto stayed in the pool. He didn't really want to get out of the warm water and lend the cool night air his flesh. He hunkered down in the water, hoping Sasuke didn't see him. When he peeked up again, Sasuke and Orochimaru were having an argument. Or maybe Orochimaru was lecturing Sasuke. He couldn't quite tell.

At last, Orochimaru stopped pointing and shaking his fist, and turned to go inside. Sasuke glanced back at the pool. The door to the house banged shut.

Sasuke started walking toward the pool, his feet slapping against the patio. "Hello?" he called. "Anybody in the pool?"

Naruto contemplated hopping out and scaring him, but refrained, holding back laughter. Sasuke came closer still, frowning. Naruto ducked under water, holding his breath, his nose, and closing his eyes. He kept one hand on the ledge.

Sasuke stopped just beside the pool. He frowned, glancing out across the unbroken calm of the water. "Hey! I know you're there! Come on out!" he called, crossing his arms across his chest.

Naruto pried his fingers from the ledge, and slid his fingers slowly up Sasuke's foot, to rest firmly around his ankle. And he pulled.

Sasuke yelled, and went with splash into the pool. All the air was squashed out of his lungs when he hit the water, and the liquid gushed in, choking. He came up a second later, sputtering and gasping, trying to wipe the chlorine out of his stinging eyes, amid much laughter from Naruto.

Sasuke spat water out of his mouth. "Goddamnit, Naruto!" he shouted, then made a move to deck the blond in the face.

He stumbled, instead, unused to the sudden change of elements, and fell against Naruto. The blond grinned down at him. "Hi, Sasuke. You're all wet."

"Thanks," the dark-haired boy grumbled, frowning.

Sasuke made as if to move, then winced. Naruto glanced down at him. "Something the matter?" he asked, trying to pull the other boy up a bit.

Sasuke growled, "Yes," and became very concerned with something submerged. "I've got fucking cuts all over my legs, moron. Thanks a lot."

"Sorry," Naruto murmured.

Sasuke pushed away from him, and clambered out of the pool, unable to stand the chlorine infiltrating his cuts any longer. He scraped his knees on the way out, and cursed. Naruto was laughing at him again. "Want some help?" the blond asked, clambering out of the pool as well.

"If your idea of help includes tossing me in the pool again, then no," Sasuke retorted bitterly. He was limping a bit.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Goodness," he said, exasperated, "you're such a stick in the mud. Let me help you."

He linked Sasuke's arm with his own, regardless of the boy's protests and dragged him toward the house. Sasuke hit him in the arm. "I told you, I don't need your help Uzumaki!"
Naruto turned to face him, holding him by the arms tightly, frowning. "Why the hell are you so uptight? There's nobody here, but you and me. You don't have to act like a prick all the time, Sasuke."

The dark-haired boy frowned, then looked away. "Whatever," he mumbled.

Naruto shook his head, laughing silently at Sasuke's persistence. And people said he was stubborn. "All right," he said, jovially, "we'll get you upstairs."

He picked Sasuke up, and carried him into the house, bridal style, with Sasuke kicking and screaming all the way. Naruto didn't mind. What were a few bruises? He somehow managed to get Sasuke all the way upstairs. He tossed the other teen unceremoniously on the bed. Sasuke swore at him. Naruto shut the door. Sasuke glowered. "Aw, poor Sasuke's got some boo-boos," Naruto said, in the most 'I'm-so-cute-it's-sick' voice he could muster.

Sasuke swatted his hand away when he tried to get a look at the wounds. Naruto frowned and shook his head. "And how do you expect to be able to bind your wounds properly if they're on your ass?"

Sasuke growled. "They wouldn't be there if it weren't for a certain moron."

Naruto looked thoughtful. "I suppose this means no sex, right?"

Sasuke just glowered. Naruto grinned sheepishly, and went off to the bathroom to get some salve and bandages. The blond returned with several items in tow, saying, "Okay, I'm sorry. But you're going to have to take off your pants."

Sasuke glared. Naruto smiled, and shut the door very slowly. "Would you like me to close the curtains first?"

"Yes," Sasuke snarled. "Please. I'd rather not show my bloody ass to the entire neighbourhood."

Naruto drew the blinds, snickering. "I dunno. I think your neighbourhood would like that. I mean, who wouldn't like that?"

"Me," Sasuke hissed. "It's my ass."

Naruto knelt down behind the half-naked boy, and pushed some salve onto his finger thoughtfully. "I dunno about that, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared back at him over his shoulder. "Don't you even consider telling me that my ass belongs to you, Uzumaki. It doesn't."

Naruto grinned happily, holding his finger just above Sasuke, letting his right hand slowly splay the boy's legs. Sasuke growled in warning. "Naruto. . ."
The finger went on its merry way, happily plying itself to Sasuke's back end, the cuts and the scrapes there. Sasuke winced at the cold touch, but said nothing. It was a little bit of a shock to him, not just from the cold or the touch, but the fact that Naruto was actually being gentle. Somehow, it didn't seem fitting for the blond to be gentle. Normally, Naruto was brash, bold and rough.

He stiffened considerably, paralysis taking over him, when Naruto trailed his fingers up that insides of his thighs, and came just a little too close to some things that probably were better left alone thanks to the injuries plastered all over his backside. But Naruto's touch was soothing, and soft, so he decided to take it while he could get it.

- - - - - - - - - -

Play practice on Tuesday was hell, Tsunade decided. Officially hell, by her doctorate's degree in English.

She had spent all weekend trying to fix the costume for her newly acquired 'Juliet'. The previous player had been a girl. She had anticipated getting another female to fill the role of Juliet, but she had no such luck (although Sasuke did make a very pretty girl). So, she had to vastly modify the entire costume.

Now Sasuke was refusing to even look at it. She shook it at him. "Put it on!"

Sasuke crossed his arms and shook his head. "No way in hell. I'm not wearing a dress."

Tsunade glowered. "Get. In. The. Dress. Boy."

"You're speaking in sentence fragments," he said, avoiding the topic altogether.

Tsunade could have screamed. Instead, she said, very calmly, "Sasuke, my dear. You are playing Juliet. Juliet is a girl, in the fifteenth century. Girls in the fifteenth century wore dresses and nothing but dresses. You, as Juliet, are going to have to wear a dress."

"But I'm not a girl!" Sasuke refuted, stomping his foot against the floor.

Tsunade bit her lip, and grabbed Sasuke in a headlock, forcing the dress over his head angrily, and tearing out some of the seams. Sasuke tried to fight her, but it wasn't working. The seams could be fixed later. Much later.

Two minutes later, Sasuke was in the dress, glaring. Tsunade frowned, and tugged at the edges of the dress. "Don't have much of a figure, do you?" she said, pondering what to do about that.

Sasuke would have hit her, had she not been a teacher. Instead, he tried tearing the dress into little pieces. Tsunade slapped the backs of his hands. "Bad. Don't do that. Hmm. . .you're going to have to wear a corset."

Sasuke spluttered, and that was the point Naruto decided to walk on stage, late as usual. "What's his problem?" he asked Tsunade, pointing at Sasuke as he strolled casually by.

"It's going to be your problem in a minute, brat!" Tsunade growled, and Naruto ran away from her, hurrying backstage.

He returned a moment or two later, screaming, "Aw, crap! I forgot my script!"

"A corset!" Sasuke practically whispered, his voice hoarse, but choked with so much anger. Tsunade was slightly scared of him at that moment.

She was excused from one tentative outburst of homicidal rage, to tend to another bout of murderous violence, which stemmed this time, from Sakura toward Ino. The two girls were screaming at each other, and pulling at each other's hair. As it turned out, Sakura had been trying to have a nice, civil conversation with Ino, and the blonde girl got snarly with her. So, she slapped her.

Or, if you wanted Ino's version, Sakura was being a total wimpy bitch, and when Ino tried to indicate she wanted nothing to do with her, Sakura slapped her. Tsunade wasn't sure which were worse at this point: boys or girls.

The practice continually got worse from there. Hinata had an obvious lack of self-confidence, despite the fact that Kiba was sitting in the auditorium, clapping for her. Tsunade had to chase him out with a broom. She wasn't going to have any unwanted spectators. If he wanted to see the play, he could come when it was polished, and he could pay for a ticket.

Then, it was back to the current impending disaster, the one currently known as Sasuke. Naruto had returned, with his script, and then, said something to Sasuke. Sasuke was now trying to kill Naruto. Tsunade had thought that Macbeth had been the play with bad luck.

There was a new actor who had just signed on too. His name was Gaara. She had seen him around the school before, but no often. He was a quiet sort, but he could speak his lines just as well as anyone. She supposed that was one thing she had to be thankful for. She wasn't sure she could deal with another Naruto. The blond kept tripping all over the language.

Naruto had been surprised to see Gaara, apparently. The redhead and blond had looked at each other, one completely stoic, the other looking terribly surprised. She got the distinct feeling there was something deeper between these two.

"Gaara!" Naruto cried, then rushed to clap the other boy on the back. "Where the hell have you been? You been keepin' okay?"

Gaara nodded, and glanced at Sasuke, who looked warily back at him. Tsunade tried to remember whether they had any scenes together. There was definitely animosity there, and it wouldn't do to have them in a lot of scenes together. Gaara was in more scenes with Naruto, thankfully.

Ino and Sakura had seen Gaara, and started to squabble again. Naruto had dragged Gaara back to Sasuke, who cringed, but tried not to, and the chatter started to take up all of Tsunade's thinking space.

She was going to have one massive headache before this was over.

- - - - - - -

"So, you see, Sasuke? Gaara's my half-brother, so you can't hate him."

Sasuke glowered at Naruto, then looked at Gaara, who looked completely nonchalant. "Why shouldn't I hate him? Just because he's related to you doesn't mean he didn't. . ."

"I'm not sorry," Gaara said, in a monotone.

Naruto looked at him. "Don't make this difficult, you two, please. . ."

He sighed. It was going to be very difficult to try and unite these two. Gaara was related to him, though. He had some of Naruto's blood in his veins. Naruto had family. Naruto also had Sasuke, but he didn't want to choose between the two of them. He wanted to be able to have big family meals where everyone would come over, and have fun, and talk. He wanted something normal like that.

He couldn't blame Sasuke for not liking Gaara, especially not after Gaara had said that. Gaara was looking Sasuke directly in the eye. "I will say, however, that I am past the stage in my life that made me wish to hurt you, Uchiha."

Sasuke still looked wary. Gaara said nothing more, and turned away. Naruto sighed. "I understand, Sasuke but. . ."

Sasuke closed his eyes. "I can't just. . .not, Naruto. Not even for you. I can try to get along with him. . .but. He still did what he did."

He bit his lip, and closed his eyes tightly. "I don't want to talk about this."

Thankfully, play practice was almost over, because it was at that point that Sasuke stormed out of the drama room, tearing the dress from his person. Naruto wanted to chase after him, but restrained himself. He ended up chasing after him anyway.

Gaara watched him go, eyes bored and lazy. He snapped his attention to the two females who were currently standing slightly behind him, seemingly slightly wary of each other, and of him. He gave Ino a nod, and then Sakura. "I have a note for you from Temari," he said, blandly, producing the note from his pockets, and handed it to them.

Then, he left, turned about and loped off, like the loner he was. Ino and Sakura were both holding the note. Then they started glaring at each other. "Let me read it!" Sakura said, trying to take the note away from the blonde girl.

"No!" Ino cried. "She clearly meant it was for me!"

"It's for both of us!" Sakura retorted, giving another tug to the paper.

Ino gritted her teeth and pulled back, harder. "Let me read it, big-forehead!"

Sakura stopped pulling, letting her arm go slack, but she didn't let go. Instead, she let Ino tug her closer to her. "Let's read it together," she said, her voice even and clear.

Ino glared at her, for a moment or two, then let her eyes drop to the note in resignation. "Fine," she grumbled.

They leaned in closer together and read what Temari had to say. Then, they paused and looked at each other. Their expressions dropped off, and suddenly, "I'm sorry," wasn't enough.

- - - - - - - -

Hinata found Kiba waiting just outside of the school after the practice ended. She blushed a little bit, and pressed her index fingers together. She didn't know why, exactly, but being in Kiba's presence made her more nervous every time.

He grinned at her. It hurt her to see him smile like that. It reminded her of something she couldn't have. "Hey, Hinata! You were doing great up there!"

He slid his arm about her, and they walked slowly, easily. She wished she felt calm about him. "Y-you really think so, Kiba?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the ground.

She could see him nod from the corner of her eye. "Yes! You were doing absolutely great."

"Ts-sunade-sensei said I . . .w-was stuttering too much," she murmured, watching as her fingers pressed their pads together, then retracted again, in their continual dance.

Kiba shook his head. "With a bit more practice, you'll get that worked out."

She loved his confidence in her. He acted so much like she had always wished Naruto would. It hurt her. He was a cheap imitation, a rip-off of something she wanted, but didn't have the money to buy. She had to settle for less, something that was like, but not the same.
"D-do you really think so, Kiba?" she asked, looking up, almost hopefully.

"Of course, Hinata!" Kiba cried, stopping and throwing out his arms. "Why are you always doubting yourself!"

She looked away, and down. "I-I. . .I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know."

Kiba stopped, dropped his arms, and looked down at the ground. "Don't be sorry," he said, slowly, in a low, almost comforting tone. "It's who you are."

She glanced up at him, and for the first time, noticed just how close he was to her. Not physically, but in his eyes right was a sort of unconfident stride, as if he were someone who didn't know exactly where he was going. "Kiba," she murmured, and reached out for him, unable to stand the kicked puppy that resided in his eyes.

He nearly fell into her embrace, and he hugged her back, as tightly as he could. He was scared of losing her. They were so very, very close, and yet, she was still so removed from him. No matter how far he reached out, he couldn't seem to break the glass that separated them.

And now, he had.

- - - - - - - -