A/N: Holy...I am at seven chapters and pushing 3000 hits. Ah, love. I'm so glad you people like it. Anyhow, this is an important chapter for me because it marks the half-way point of this fic. That's right, I have it all worked out, and High School Blues will be 14 chapters long. It's action and angst from here on out. Stay with me, I assure you this is going to be a good read.
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"I want to see my brother.", Itachi demanded. His voice was low, but it sounded pretty threatening. He didn't care that he was hurt, too, or that he'd dislocated two of his fingers in his left hand, had a small gash above his left eyebrow, or even the fact that his ribs were bruised and he probably shouldn't be walking.
Normally the sight of a seventeen-year-old car crash victim wouldn't be threatening, especially not when his hair was hanging loose around his shoulders and he was still in a green paper dressing gown, but Itachi Uchiha was not your normal seventeen-year-old car crash victim. The nurse flinched, her pretty face growing pale.
"Itachi, he's getting a brain scan now. Your brother suffered a pretty bad bump to his head and his leg is broken in three places..."
"You mean he has a concussion and multiple fractures? You don't have to water things down. I'm not stupid. Now, you go find Sasuke's doctor and tell him or her that I want to see my brother."
"Why don't we get you to bed? You've obviously had a rough night, Itachi. You're injured, too. You seem to forget that."
"I don't care about my injuries!" Itachi, who had kept his voice relatively low up until this point, was ready to scream. Why wouldn't they let him see Sasuke? Their refusal to let him see his brother made him worry that Sasuke's injuries where worse than what he was being told.
"Your ribs are bruised, it's a wonder they didn't break from your airbag, you have a bruise on your left temple, and you still haven't let us relocate those dislocated fingers of yours. I'm amazed you can even stand up straight. We can't let you see another patient until we're sure you're alright."
"You let me see Naruto and Kisame." Itachi wasn't buying her explanation. "What's it matter if you let me see Sasuke? You think the sight of him in critical care is going to make my ribs break suddenly?"
"Itachi, please. You're causing a scene..." The nurse was starting to get nervous. Itachi didn't realize just how fragile he was.
"I don't think you understand. Someone tried to kill us tonight!"
The nurse glared at him. "Are you implying that someone is going to attack your brother when he's got doctors around him?"
"I wouldn't be surprised." His dark eyes glittered broodingly as they drifted to his arm. They'd drawn his blood to make sure he hadn't been driving drunk and the person who'd done it had not been very good at it. Deep purplish-black swelling decorated his pale arm. It was both gruesome and fascinating to look at.
"Why don't we get you some sedatives so you can sleep if you don't want to be treated. Your parents can deal with you when they get here."
Itachi sighed. "Fine. If I let them put my fingers back into place and check my injuries, can I see Sasuke then?"
The nurse nodded. "I think that will be alright."
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Itachi's eyelids drooped. He was suddenly very tired, but he couldn't go to sleep. Not until he saw Sasuke. He didn't even protest when they suggested he ride to Sasuke's room in a wheelchair. His head dropped back against the headrest and he worked to keep his eyes open. As soon as he saw Sasuke, he could rest.
Itachi drew in a short breath when they took him to Sasuke's room. Well, room wasn't entirely accurate. He'd be moved tomorrow into the room with Naruto, but right now they were keeping him in the ICU overnight for observation. There was his brother, hooked up to machines that were monitoring his head rate, pulse rate, and every other kind of rate that could be monitored. Thankfully, Sasuke could breathe on his own and didn't need any medicine drips. Itachi didn't think he could bear seeing his younger brother on a respirator or ivs. Sasuke's face was stark-white, painful-looking swelling on his temple stood out vividly against his pale skin. His leg was in a cast, elevated off the bed. But he was alive. He would, as far as they could tell, be alright.
"I think I'm ready to go back to my room now.", Itachi murmured, pulling his gaze from his brother.
The nurse pushing the wheelchair nodded and took him back to the room he'd be sharing with Kisame.
Kisame woke up when he heard them enter. He looked at Itachi with concern in his eyes.
"Is Sasuke...", he trailed off.
Itachi shook his head. "No. He'll be alright."
"Then what's wrong?"
"Don't worry about it", Itachi said in such a tone that Kisame knew the conversation was closed.
The blue-skinned teenager lay back down and was asleep again within minutes.
Itachi didn't sleep at all that night.
He stayed up and watched over his boyfriend, pretending to be asleep the few times Kisame woke up during the night.
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Kisame and Itachi were released from the hospital on Saturday morning, Naruto went home late Sunday evening.
"Just in time for you to go back to school" Jiraiaya had teased to a groaning, complaining blond.
Sasuke, however, was to remain in the hospital until his leg got a little better. So here was Itachi, standing in front of Orochimaru's classroom Monday afternoon, trying to see if he could get Sasuke's homework for the week.
"...My power over you grows stronger yet..."
Itachi smirked as the music reached his ears. The creepy teacher loved listening to music from plays when he thought no one would be entering his classroom. "Orochimaru-Sensei", he called."It's Itachi. Sasuke's going to be in the hospital for a while so I came to pick up his work."
"...and though you turn from me to glance behind, the phantom of the opera is there, inside your mind..."
Itachi frowned. The only response he'd received was the creepy-sounding music.
"Sensei. I know you're disappointed, but you can rape Sasuke when he gets back. I'll even gift-wrap him for you."
Itachi braced himself for Orochimaru to yell at him for saying such a disrespectful thing, but all he heard was more Phantom of the Opera music.
Itachi frowned. He couldn't still be angry about that prank he, Kisame, and Deidara had pulled on him in 9th grade, could he? Though it had been funny-upon learning the feminine-acting band teacher wore nail polish, the boys had gone to the store without Sasori knowing and had bought nail polish in an assortment of flamboyant colors. They'd then bought a frilly pink basket and put a big bow on it. The boys had made a big show of presenting Orochimaru with the "gift" in class the next day. Orochimaru's face had obtained actual color that day. He didn't speak to them the rest of the year, either. Itachi had actually been surprised he didn't fail them.
"Sensei?", Itachi called, stepping into the classroom.
Orochimaru was lying curled on his side on the floor, his head resting almost delicately on his arm. Itachi rushed over to him and flipped him onto his back. The teacher was burning up, his cheeks tinged a slight pink, his breath coming out in short rasps. Itachi saw an empty cup beside Orochimaru, most of the contents spilled onto the rug, and quickly came to the conclusion that the creepy band teacher had been poisoned.
"Sensei?", Itachi gently shook Orochimaru's shoulders.
He received no response. Itachi ran to the door, hoping Kisame was still waiting outside. He was.
"Hey. Can you go get Sarutobi? Let him know I think Orochimaru was poisoned and I need him in here now. If you by any chance see Tsunade, send her in here. Or Kabuto. Doesn't matter."
Kisame nodded. His face took on a sort of grayish tinge and Itachi could see the nervousness in his boyfriend's eyes before he turned and headed off to get Sarutobi.
Itachi went back over to the unconscious teacher. He was no doctor-to be honest, needles made him quiver-but he felt it would probably be safer to watch over him until Kisame came back. His eyes darted around the classroom. What if the killer was still in the classroom and planned to attack once a whole group was assembled? He was aware of every sound-had the clock always been so loud? He supposed he was just nervous-where was Kisame?
A few moments later, Kisame returned with Sarutobi in tow, Jiriaya and Tsunade with them. Tsunade immediately knelt down beside Orochimaru and started checking his condition. She glanced at Kisame and Itachi. "Go on. Get out of here."
The boys had no choice but to comply, wondering if the teacher would be alright.
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Orochimaru returned to school on Thursday. By then, the news that someone had tried to poison him had spread through the whole school like wildfire. He still looked sick, but as he walked through the halls with his hair swishing around him and his earrings gleaming, the students were given the impression that he wouldn't be dying anytime soon.
"Ok. So what have we established here?", Sasori asked as they watched Orochimaru walk past them after school that day.
"The killer is absolutely insane?", Kisame suggested.
"He or she is someone in this school, un?", Deidara asked.
"Ummm...we don't know that, and that's a possibility." Sasori looked to Itachi expectantly.
"The killer isn't just targeting people connected to me. They're also targeting people who are connected to people connect to me."
"Ohhh...Un. That makes sense, un." Deidara nodded. "We hang around Kankuro more than we do Temari, un."
Sasori nodded, happy that he'd caught on so quickly. It wasn't that the blond was stupid, because he was pretty smart, but he could be dense sometimes.
"The attack on Orochimaru-one of Sasuke's teachers-was a warning for us. We can also assume the killer is highly intelligent and knows their medical stuff.", Itachi explained.
"This also proves my theory that they're toying with Itachi.", Sasori added. He rubbed his face. The others took in the dark circles around his eyes and the fact that his skin was paler than usual. He was loosing sleep over this.
Kisame slung his arm around Sasori's shoulder. "When was the last time you slept?", he asked. "Because you're not doing Itachi any good if you're three seconds from passing out."
The redhead shrugged. "A few days maybe?"
"Danna! You need sleep, un!", Deidara scolded him.
Sasori ignored them. "I don't get it...", he muttered.
"Detective Sasori on the case", Itachi said humorlessly. "What do you suggest, oh brilliant detective?"
Sasori rolled his eyes. "I thought that would be obvious. We inspect the band room, the spot where you guys were ran off the road. We go where Toby was attacked and go to Anna's shop."
"And before we do all this, you get some sleep", Kisame said firmly.
"I say we all get some rest. I'm going to bring Sasuke his homework and get some sleep myself. We can meet up at nine in front of my house.", Itachi said.
"Alright. I'll get Deidara at 8:30 and we'll be there", Sasori told him.
"Right. See you later."
The boys headed their separate ways.
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"What do we do if we run into the killer?", Kisame asked later that night as they all stood in Itachi's driveway.
"Make them pay for torturing us, un!"
Sasori smiled a bit. He was, in a way, happy to see Deidara being his usual cheerful, cocky self. The blond had been acting weird the past few days, and the redhead felt it was his fault.
"We'll go in pairs", Itachi cut in. "I don't like the idea of going alone. Sasori, you and Deidara can check the band room and go to the spot where Toby was attacked. Kisame and I will check out where the car accident happened and look around Anna's shop. We'll meet back here at midnight."
The other boys nodded. Going off in pairs sounded much better than going alone.
"And if we meet the killer?", Kisame repeated his question.
"We get in our cars and drive to the police station", Sasori told him.
"That will work. If he follows you, though, be careful. Pull off the road or something. Don't give him the chance to crash you", Itachi instructed.
"Alright. Come on, Deidara", Sasori said, motioning for the blond to follow him.
Itachi watched them get into Sasori's car, the excitement and danger of what they were doing made his heart pound. He looked at Kisame and saw resignition etched on his face. As they climbed into his car, Itachi found himself morbidly wondering if this would be the last time he'd see his friends alive.
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"Kisame, check this out", Itachi said. "It's hair."
Kisame appeared at Itachi's elbow. Sure enough, several strands of hair were visible wrapped around a table leg. The strands weren't Anna's, either.
"Either there's more than one killer, or our killer has very unusual tastes when it comes to hair color.", Kisame murmured.
"Has to be two of them-look. The hair's different lengths. The white hairs look longer than the red ones. What interesting luck. I can't believe the cops missed this clue" Itachi stared at the hair a moment longer.
"Should I call the police and have them come get the hair?", Kisame asked.
"Oh, yes. And then we can try to explain why we broke into our former employer's coffee shop if we had nothing to do with her death", Itachi replied sarcastically.
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kisame bit his lip.
Itachi glanced at him. Even though his face remained emotionless, he felt bad. It was obvious he'd hurt Kisame's feelings. He sighed. "Go get me some plastic gloves."
The taller boy hesitated.
"Kisame!", Itachi hissed. He was rummaging through the supply cabinet in search of a plastic bag.
Kisame sighed and went over to the blender. This was so wrong. He snapped two gloves out of the box beside it and handed them to Itachi.
Itachi took them, glancing at him as though he were stupid. This hurt-Kisame wasn't stupid. He just knew when things were out of their hands. This was definitely one of those cases.
"Here we go" Itachi had separated the red hairs from the silver ones in two plastic sandwich bags. He stuffed the bags in his pocket, his eyes gleaming.
Somehow, Kisame wasn't as thrilled as Itachi was.
"What are you going to do with those?", Kisame asked.
"Show them to Sasori and Deidara, of course"
"Itachi, we should just give the hair to the police."
Itachi ignored him. "Come on, Kisame. We've over-stayed our welcome."
Kisame signed. It was times like this when Itachi's cold attitude made him wish he'd fallen for...well, someone else. The thought never lasted long, though, as Itachi would then do something-in this case, put his arm around his waist-that would chase the thought from his mind.
"Think Sasori and Deidara are having more luck than we are?", Kisame asked as Itachi opened the door for him.
"I hope not, because the only way for them to have better luck is if they run into the killers themselves."
Kisame shuddered.
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"Danna, un! Look at this, un!"
"This had better be important, Deidara", Sasori said, going over to the blond.
"I think this is Kabuto's scarf, un. It says "K.Y.", un. Kabuto Yakushi, un."
"So? Kabuto lives with Orochimaru. Why would him forgetting his scarf be such a big deal?", Sasori asked.
"Not the scarf, un. The things in the scarf, un." Deidara passed the blue men's scarf to him. Sasori craddled it gingerly in his small hands. Wrapped in the scarf where several syringes filled with some sort of clear liquid.
"Where did you find this, Deidara?", he whispered.
"In Orochimaru's drawer, un."
Sasori felt the blood drain from his face. His reddish-brown eyes scanned the band room.
"We have to get out of here."
"Danna, why?"
Sasori opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by some banging.
"Stay here", he mouthed to Deidara. The sound was coming from the back room, where the instruments where kept.
Sasori opened the door and gasped. Kabuto, bound and gagged, tumbled out. He untied him quickly.
"I thought I was going to be in there all night!", Kabuto gasped. "There was someone in here-a woman, I think. With red hair. She caught me completely off guard." He gave a sheepish smile and put his hand to the back of his head.
"How long ago was that, un? Is she still here, un?", Deidara asked excitedly.
"I...don't know...", Kabuto admitted. "I think I've been in there a while."
"Well, come with us, then. It's not safe here, especially alone." Sasori told him.
Kabuto nodded. The three of them left the band room then.
Sasori looked at his watch. "Eleven o'clock, and we still haven't gone to where Toby was attacked. We'd better get a move on."
The group walked towards Sasori's car.
"Race you there, un", Deidara called, breaking into a run.
"Deidara, slow down. You're gonna..."
Sasori trailed off as Deidara slipped to the ground. He shook his head. Deidara was playing stupid now.
"Alright. Get off the floor", Sasori said, going over to him.
Deidara didn't move. Sasori was growing worried. He knelt down beside Deidara and slapped him. "Stop fooling around! This is serious!"
"He's not playing..." Sasori heard the voice say. "I knocked him out".
The redhead turned his head to see who it was and felt a sharp crack above his temple. Then the world around him slowly went dark.
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A/N: Mwahahahahahahahahahaha. I'm evil! Sorry for the delay, I didn't like how the chapter initially came out. I played with it for a while. I hope it was enjoyable. I'm getting some food now. Please review.