Best Friend's Brother 18
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters aside from my OC.
After the awkward events that took place at the school, Natsumi was relieved when the students were dismissed from the float decorating for the day and thankfully with all the extra help, the need for a later shift was diminished completely. She quickly went about ushering Naruto and Sasuke off campus when she returned from her trip to the Student Council room with Gaara and his two admirers.
"You alright Natsumi?" the blonde teen boy asked in curiosity as the girl had a hand on the back of each boy, as she was pushing them through the parking lot.
"I just want to get away from school" Natsumi replied continuing to push the boys.
When the trio finally arrived at Sasuke's car, the teens made their way into the vehicle and prepared themselves for the trip to the Uchiha residence. Sasuke gave no real expression, but Natsumi and Naruto knew the dark haired young man was relieved to finally be escaping from the hordes of his fan club. Naruto bounced with excitement in the front seat, ranting on about what Sasuke's mother might make for the teens. And although Natsumi and Sasuke would acknowledge the blonde's antics from time to time, they both had tuned him out. Natsumi kept quiet from her seat in the back seat, allowing herself to lean her head back and close her eyes as she thought over the day.
Her thoughts went over the various tasks for the day before memories from the float decorating drifted back into her mind. After Gaara's announcement that he had already had a date, the two girls seemed so gloomy. Matsuri and Yukata (as Natsumi learned what their names were) had nothing else to say after this, leaving an awkward silence amongst the teens until they reached the classroom and finally returned to others.
'It's weird to think that some girls can become so enthralled in a guy that they like, that the smallest things could so easily throw off they're moods' Natsumi thought as she thought of the brown and black haired girls, before the image of Sakura and Ino flashed across her mind, making the teen girl shake the thought from her head before opening her brown hues and allowing her gaze to shift to Sasuke.
"What?" the Uchiha asked bluntly, catching sight of her glance from his rear view window, and making the girl jump in surprise.
"Nothing" Natsumi mumbled shifting her gaze to the window as thoughts of the girls crept back into her mind.
'It's almost crazy the lengths some girls will go to when they like a guy' Natsumi thought continuing to stare out the window. 'I can't imagine putting myself through so much just for a guy ...' she thought before her gaze shifted to Sasuke again. '... especially if he was someone so ... much like Sasuke' she thought before closing her eyes and releasing a deep breath as she tried to rid the thought from her mind as the teens pulled toward the Uchiha home.
Once they had entered the home, they were met with the warm welcome of Mikoto as the woman offered each teenager a tight embrace along with snacks before allowing them to make their way up to Sasuke's room to start their homework. The English assignment didn't take long for the group, which was somewhat upsetting for Natsumi as the boys were now more or less getting in her way, whereas earlier neither one was much help in class. Yet choosing not to make a big deal of this matter, Natsumi chalked it up to the nerves the boys had as they were most likely mentally preparing for volunteering afterschool and she would not hold this against them as the only reason they did so was for her. The group worked for a while before putting the finishing touches on the poster and deciding it was done. Afterwards the teens then went about beginning to work on other homework assignments when they disbursed throughout Sasuke's room. The Uchiha himself had sat at the top of his bed working on other assignments, while Naruto laid all of his work around him as he sat on the floor by the foot of the bed and finally Natsumi who laid on her stomach at the edge of the bed working on other assignments. Soon evening approached, with Mikoto poking her head in to inform the teens that she would be taking a quick trip to the supermarket to pick up a few extra things for dinner as she wished for Natsumi and Naruto to stay. Yet not long after this, the dark haired teen girl rose from where she worked as she felt thirsty.
"I'm going to go get a drink, do you guys want anything?" Natsumi asked as she rose from the bed with her arms, standing up and smoothing out the front of her skirt before looking to where Sasuke sat and where she could see the tuft of Naruto's blonde hair over the edge of the mattress.
"No" Sasuke replied not looking up from his notebook that he wrote in.
"I'll take a ramen" Naruto said enthusiastically holding up a finger, earning questionable looks from both Natsumi and Sasuke as they looked at the blonde young man.
"I meant to drink" Natsumi clarified in a serious time, making the teen boy's finger drop as the girl's words sunk in.
"Oh no I'm fine" Naruto said dejectedly as the girl simply shook her head at the young man before making her way out of the room.
Natsumi quickly made her way down the stairs, making her way through the home until arriving into the kitchen. The bright room was as beautiful as ever, with Natsumi noting how well organized Sasuke's mother kept everything. Yet as she had this thought, a new one quickly replaced it as Natsumi's brows rose in realization.
'Where does Mikoto keep her cups' the teen thought as she glanced around the many cabinets of the room, before releasing a sigh as she knew she would have to search.
Typically this would not be such an issue but Natsumi was fairly small so the teen knew that if the thing she sought was on a higher shelf, she would most likely have to scale a counter to reach it, which was something the teen did not want to do considering the luck of her week on top of the possibility of her making a mess or ruining anything in the clean room.
Running a hand through her black locks, Natsumi quickly went about opening cupboards and looking though the contents before moving onto another. After the dark haired teen had opened about six cabinets, a smile of relief graced the teen's lips as her brown eyes lit up upon finding the right and discovering the cups to be on a shelf she could reach. Natsumi then poured herself a glass of water and took a small sip before slowly beginning to make her way back to the staircase, when she noticed a door that was slightly a jar, something she hadn't taken notice of on her way down.
'I guess I was too focused on getting a drink' Natsumi thought as she gently placed her glass down on a small table outside the door, that held a simple house plant while her eyes looked over the door with curious eyes.
Natsumi remembered from her previous tour of the home, that the door led to the basement, the same basement that was renovated for Itachi's band and it was at this time she noticed the faint sound of music that emitted from the cracked door. Once she was standing directly in front of the doorway, Natsumi had a moment of considering closing it, when the familiar melody of the guitar, caught her attention.
'That sounds like Weightless by All Time Low' she thought feeling herself freeze as she stood with her hand on the door knob as she strained her ears to hear more.
When her curiosity finally overcame her, Natsumi fully opened the door and began slowly making her way down the stairs, where she heard more of the song, except she knew it wasn't just something being played on a speaker as it wasn't the voice of Alex singing, this was being played live by other people. Once she reached the bottom of the staircase, she curiously peaked around the corner, to see the source and in that moment her brows rose in surprise.
She immediately recognized Itachi playing the guitar wearing a pair of blue jeans with a red flannel that was opened to reveal a black shirt underneath. Next she saw Sasori who played a keyboard and then Deidara who sat playing the drums. She then noticed a girl with blue hair and eye shadow who wore a white t-shirt tied in a knot at the side with black skinny jeans as she played the bass. Finally the lead singer who had bright orange hair as he wore a white t-shirt with a grey zip up hoodie with no sleeves and blue jeans. She allowed her eyes to scan over them further when suddenly a large figure stepped in front of her and blocked her view of the band completely. Looking up, Natsumi was met with the sight of Itachi's friend Kisame who wore all black looked down at her.
"Hi" Natsumi greeted the young man awkwardly as she stood up straight and offered him a half smile as she nervously ran a hand through her hair before Kisame smiled down at the teen with his many sharp teeth, making the girl feel anxious as she waited for him to speak.
"Closed practice kid" he said after a while, pointing for her to go back up the stairs.
"Oh sorry" Natsumi awkwardly apologized as she nodded in understanding. "I just ... I heard the song and I know it so ..." the teen girl began to explain as she placed a hand on the back of her neck, and catching the attention of another as he tuned into her explanation.
Kisame gave no reaction though as he now folded his arms over his chest, giving the girl a bored look while she continued on, before finally losing her nerve and turning to make her way back up the stairs. Yet before she could climb the first three steps another man stepped forward and placed a hand on Kisame's shoulder and spoke in a commanding tone that halted the dark haired teen.
"Kisame let her in" the man said surprising both Natsumi and Kisame as they turned to look at him.
Natsumi then recognized him as the man who was with Itachi and Kisame that day for a meeting at the school. He looked just as serious as he looked that day and with the expression he directed at the teen with his green eyes, Natsumi felt completely intimidated. He wore a black button up with the sleeves pushed up with black pants. From what she could remember Itachi had said his name was Kakuzu.
"You know this song?" he asked gruffly pointing at the girl directly and earning a simple nod in reply. "Who sings it?" he asked in the same tone as gave the teen girl an expectant look.
"All Time Low" Natsumi replied as the man looked her over, almost testing to see if she was really confident in this answer she gave.
"How familiar are you with them?" he asked as a confused look now crossed Natsumi's face.
"Pretty familiar" she replied wearily as she looked at Kakuzu.
The man said nothing more to her, now turning his attention to Kisame.
"If the kid really knows the song, she'll be able to react to their cover, knowing what to base it on and we need to make sure they won't be thrown off by an audience because if they screw up, we lose money" he explained as Kisame gave a nod of understanding and stepped back to allow the girl to enter.
Kakuzu beckoned the girl over before pointing her to a couch that sat in front of the band. Natsumi gave a nod of understanding before she cautiously stepped in and took a seat in front of the members, watching them play with attentive eyes.
'They're really good' Natsumi thought as she watched them, but as the bridge of the song came, she noticed how some of them were slightly thrown off after noticing her. 'I guess Kakuzu was right about testing them with an audience' the girl thought as her eyes traveled over the group before her brown hues locked with Itachi's onyx orbs and for the briefest of a second seeing surprise in them before the Uchiha recovered, looking away to refocus his attention on his instrument.
When the song finished Natsumi stared in awe of the group when Kakuzu then spoke.
"That was awful" he stated gruffly as he walked behind the couch. "Deidara you were off the whole second half, Konan you're lagging towards the end, and Yahiko you need to stop looking back at Konan and pay attention to the audience." He chastised the group as the orange haired young man had a bright pink blush cross his face, while Deidara laughed loudly at the young man and the others smirked to stop themselves from laughing.
"But we don't even have an au-" Yahiko began to argue until taking notice to the dark haired teen who sat in front of him. "Oh" he said looking downward. "Who are you?" the young man asked in confusion as he looked over the teen curiously.
"Natsumi you're here!" Deidara exclaimed excitedly as he stood from his seat, earning a small wave from the girl as she looked at him.
"Natsumi?" the girl with blue hair asked looking at the dark haired teen before turning to Sasori with a curious look. "The kid Deidara has a crush on?" she asked bluntly, making the blonde blush deeply as Sasori smirked and nodded in reply.
"What?" Natsumi asked raising a brow in question as her gaze traveled between the girl with blue hair and Deidara.
"Don't mind them un, you know how Sasori is" Deidara tried to explain waving his hands in front of him while Sasori gave a 'tsk' in reply.
The group all had different reactions to this as the girl with blue hair gave Natsumi a kind smile, while the orange haired boy looked around scratching his head in confusion and finally Itachi who pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes in annoyance as he processed the situation.
"So you're name's Natsumi?" the boy with orange hair finally asked pointing to Natsumi to who started to nod slowly in reply before being interrupted by Kakuzu.
"Would you kids stay on task?!" Kakuzu yelled regaining the groups' attention. "I asked her to sit in so you could practice with an audience" he explained as the group shrunk back. "And from what I could see, you could all use a lot more practice!" he went on criticizing the group.
"We weren't that bad un" Deidara tried to argue. "Plus we still have another week until Homecoming and we're just playing for a bunch of kids" he went on; earning a glare from Kakuzu that immediately silenced him.
'They're going to play at Homecoming' Natsumi thought with her eyes lighting up in interest.
"You're the last person who gets an opinion on that Deidara. You were the first one to screw up the song and when you saw Natsumi; your focus was thrown off even further. If you can't keep it together in front of one kid then how do you expect to be any better in a room full in a week?" he asked rhetorically.
"Um Kakuzu, I know you're in the middle of a lecture for Deidara but can we take five?" the orange haired young man asked raising his hand like a young child in school. "I kind of have to take a bathroom break" he went on, making Kakuzu release an aggravated sigh before waving off the young man.
The orange haired young man gave an appreciative smile before jumping off the small stage and rushing to a door at the far end of the room, which Natsumi assumed was a bathroom. Meanwhile the others slowly made their way off the stage before going about stretching and picking up bottles of water to drink.
"Natsumi I can't believe you're here" Deidara said jumping to sit beside the teen girl as he casually brought an arm to rest behind her.
"Of course she's here idiot, she's friends with Itachi's brother" Sasori said standing beside the blonde who now shot him an annoyed look.
"I don't recall talking to you un" Deidara said with narrowed eyes before turning his attention back to Natsumi who already had a smile on her face as she took in the antics of the two boys. "But anyways Natsumi what brought you down here to spend time with us?" Deidara asked, catching the attention of Itachi as the Uchiha tuned into the conversation.
"Oh I just came down for a drink" Natsumi replied making Deidara's eyes light up excitedly.
"Oh well you could share my water with me un" he said taking the lid off his water bottle and holding it to the dark haired girl with a smile, before Sasori suddenly reached over.
"Thank you" the redhead said plucking the bottle from Deidara's hand and bringing it to his lips as the blonde jumped from his seat.
"I wasn't talking to you Sasori!" Deidara yelled reaching to try to pull the bottle from Sasori's grasp, while the red haired young man used an arm to keep the blonde away while he used the other to pour more of the drink into his mouth.
Natsumi couldn't help the laughter that escaped as she watched the two males.
'There's never a dull moment with these two' The girl with blue hair said as she approached the scene and watched with Natsumi as Deidara tried to reach around to retrieve his bottle while the remaining amount of water disappeared. But it was when this took place that Natsumi's eyes lit up in realization.
'I left my water on that table upstairs' Natsumi thought as she imagined her abandoned glass and felt herself grow thirsty all over again. 'Would it be weird to leave to get it?' she thought before tuning back into the conversation or the commotion between Sasori and Deidara.
"I'm Konan by the way" the blue haired beauty introduced herself in a calm tone that brought Natsumi out of her thoughts as she turned to look over the female.
"Natsumi" the dark haired teen introduced herself with a small smile as Konan nodded in response before the girls turned their attention back to Deidara and Sasori.
"Sasori, you jerk, you finished it un!" Deidara exclaimed angrily as he snatched the now empty bottle away from the red head.
"You were the one offering to share it" Sasori said dismissively in a bored tone.
"Yeah, with Natsumi, not you!" Deidara shot back.
"She didn't want to share with you" Sasori said in a dull tone.
"She came down for a drink!" Deidara argued.
"Then she can have my water, I haven't even opened it yet" Sasori said in a bored tone.
"You had your own water and you still finished mine!" Deidara yelled in further anger.
The room chorused in laughter as they watched the two boys go back and forth. Natsumi placed a hand over her mouth to try to calm herself before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Upon turning to the source she was surprised when she saw Itachi holding a half full water bottle to her.
"You can go ahead and finish this one for me since those two will be at it for a while" the Uchiha stated as Natsumi reached out and accepted with a nod of understanding and a smile of appreciation.
'Ever the kind one' Natsumi thought turning back to face forward in her seat as she unscrewed the top from the bottle and brought it up to meet her lips as she took a sip.
"Ok what did I miss?" the orange haired young man asked, emerging from the bathroom as he clapped his hands together.
"Break's up!" Kakuzu announced bringing silence to the room.
"Aw but Kakuzu I barely came out of the bathroom" the orange haired young man complained before Kakuzu gave him a hard stare.
"It's not my problem that you spent the entire time in there" Kakuzu replied bluntly as the young man's shoulders slumped. "You all have a lot of work to do so you don't have time for anymore setbacks" he stated in a serious tone.
There was an awkward silence in the room after this as the band members glanced to one another, giving understanding looks before nodding in agreement with the man.
"Maybe I should go" Natsumi stated slowly beginning to stand before being stopped when Kakuzu placed his hands on her shoulders, making her sit down again.
"One more song" the man stated more than asked, earning a feeble nod from the teen as she stared at him with surprised eyes before her gaze shifted to the band.
"Kakuzu, Sasuke is probably expecting her back" Itachi tried to reason before the man gave a dismissive wave.
"Yahiko introduce yourselves" he commanded as the orange haired boy jumped.
"Uh yeah" he said in understanding. "I'm Yahiko and this is Konan, and Itachi, and Sas-" he began pointing out the various members before Kakuzu raised a hand to stop him.
"The band Yahiko" Kakuzu stated in an annoyed tone as he rolled his eyes then pointed the group to the stage. "Not your names" he went on as Yahiko's eyes lit up in realization before offering giving an awkward laugh and complying with his directions.
"Oh sorry" he replied sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck and the group made their way back onto the stage in their perspective spots before he spoke again. "We are the Akatsuki" he said more confidently with a smile.
"Play another one by the same band since the kid knows them" Kakuzu stated earning nods from the group who spoke in low tones to agree on what to play. "Yahiko I want you to keep eye contact with her, so I know you can connect with the audience" Kakuzu instructed the orange haired young man before motioning for the next song to begin.
From the moment Deidara began the drums, followed by Itachi and Konan's strumming, Natsumi knew the song they were playing. Her brown eyes lit up in excitement as they traveled to each perspective member, waiting for her theory to be confirmed. And once Yahiko began to sing the first line, the girl smiled as she was right. It was Damned If I Do Ya Damned If I Don't by All Time Low. She watched as Deidara played but every so often he would look up and shoot her a wide smile, next Sasori who kept his eyes downcast, not moving an inch, then Konan who much like Sasori was completely still aside from the times she would allow her eyes to gaze into the direction of Yahiko. Natsumi's eyes continued to light up as the song progressed, but she couldn't help and let them wonder in the direction of Itachi. He seemed as focused as ever while he played and something about how he would lose himself in the music, left Natsumi captivated.
Unfortunately this did not go unnoticed as Yahiko was doing his best to maintain eye contact with the young girl, but whenever her line of sight drifted to the side, the orange haired boy found himself awkwardly leaning to the side to stay in her line of sight. At one point, Yahiko was leaning so far to the side it seemed like the smallest push could cause him to fall over as he stood on one foot and tired his best to catch Natsumi's attention. Kakuzu shook his head at the antics of the lead singer, face palming before walking away.
When the song drew to a close Yahiko released an exhausted sigh while Natsumi clapped.
"You need a lot more practice with an audience" Kakuzu said with his arms folded over his chest. "Deidara your focus is off and Yahiko ... ugh" the man said making the blonde release an annoyed sigh while the orange haired young man dropped his head in disappointment as he held onto the mic stand.
Natsumi gave the two sympathetic looks before Konan spoke and caught the attention of the room.
"Kakuzu how'd the rest of us do?" she asked curiously.
"Fine but these two ..." he began before he simply scoffed as shook his head dismissively.
The blue haired female simply nodded in reply while Sasori turned to smirk at Deidara, who then opened his mouth to yell at the young man before being interrupted.
"What did you think Natsumi?" Yahiko asked lifting his head as the room turned their attention to the dark haired girl.
"Oh" she said nervously looking at the many eyes trained on her as her heart beat quickened under pressure. "I think you guys did really well" she replied nervously before running a hand through her hair.
"Really?" Yahiko asked.
"Yeah" Natsumi replied, earning an excited reaction from Deidara.
"But not good enough!" Kakuzu interjected. "How do you all expect to play next Friday with playing as sloppy as that?" he asked rhetorically as the band gave heavy sighs.
"Can we take a break un?" Deidara asked catching the man's attention and earning a head hard stare as a no.
"You just took a break" Kakuzu said in a criticizing tone. "It's not my problem that you didn't spend it more wisely" he went on making the blonde sigh as he dropped his head in defeat. "Besides you guys have a lot more to work on" he stated. "Natsumi" he said catching the girl's attention as her head turned to the man. "You liked it but not being fully honest with them is going to hurt them more than it will help them" he stated making the girl stiffen as she slowly turned back to face the group with a guilty look on her face.
"You guys did do really well" she said looking down to her lap.
"Tell them" Kakuzu ordered, making the teen girl release a breath before looking up to the group.
"You're a little stiff" she stated wearily as the eyes of the group landed on her, waiting for her to continue. "Just because Yahiko is front and center, it doesn't mean the rest of you can't move" she began to explain.
"Be more specific" Kakuzu stated in a commanding tone. "They can take it" he went on as Natsumi nodded in response.
"Konan you should try to loosen up a little" Natsumi stated as the blue haired girl nodded in reply. "And Sasori, you need to do the same because you seem almost like a puppet with the few movements you do" she said wearily, earning a narrow gaze from the red head as Deidara failed at stifling a laugh.
"She got you!" the blonde said through his laughter, as the red head glared at him.
"Deidara you need to stop jumping around so much, you should focus that on your playing since you're still off. You either get to far ahead or too far behind and it throws off the tempo" Natsumi said making the blonde go silent as it was now Sasori's turn to give the young man a smug look.
"Now Itachi" Kakuzu instructed, making Natsumi's brows rise in alarm as she turned to look at Kakuzu, before she slowly glanced over to see the Uchiha giving her an expectant look.
"Oh ... well ..." Natsumi began wearily as she clutched onto the bottle he gave her, that was now empty. "Itachi, you are so focused on playing but you don't really look up" Natsumi said nervously as the Uchiha gave no response aside from his usual stoic expression.
"She's right about all of it" Kakuzu stated placing his hands on his hips as he looked over the band. "But that last thing isn't just for Itachi but all of you. Just because Yahiko is front and center for the audience's eyes, it doesn't mean they'll only look at him. You're not robots or puppets ..." he said looking at Sasori specifically before looking at the group as a whole again. "You're people who the audience needs to connect with through more than your playing so you need to get out of your shells now. I need you all to guarantee a good show whether you're playing for an audience of one" he said pointing to Natsumi for a moment. "... or an audience of one hundred. Work on your eye contact with your audience, someone up front, in the middle, and at the back. It'll help keep it natural, help with making sure you don't get overwhelmed with a crowd, and help with making sure we don't end up losing money because you act like your band should be called The Awkward instead of The Akatsuki" he said with his tone becoming harsher towards the end.
'He's one hell of a manager' Natsumi thought looking at the man in alarm of the way he spoke to the group, before taking notice to how they all simply stayed quiet and agreed. 'But I guess it's a good thing they take his critism so well' she continued in thought before Kakuzu turned to her.
"Could you stay for one more song?" the man asked sternly as the groups' eyes fell to her again and made a nervous pit form in her stomach.
"I really shouldn't I was just grabbing a drink when I saw the door open and then I heard the music-" the dark haired teen began to explain before being cut off.
"So this is what kept you" Sasuke's voice suddenly cut through the room making the young girl stiffen before turning to see the young Uchiha leaning against the wall at the bottom of the staircase with an annoyed look on his face as he had his arms crossed over his chest.
It was evident that Sasuke was upset and made to be even more obvious from his tone to the look he wore, but Natsumi also knew it had to do with the fact that he was dressed differently. Sasuke's hair seemed damp, he wore a dark grey V-neck t-shirt with a pair of light grey sweat pants, which told Natsumi that with all the time she spent with The Akatsuki, he had most likely finished his homework, taken a shower, grown annoyed with Naruto, and came down only to find her with the company of the brother he despised and his friends.
'He's pissed' Natsumi thought looking at Sasuke with wide eyes as she waited for him to act.
"Sasuke" Itachi said in greeting only to be ignored as the teen made his way over to the sofa, taking hold of Natsumi by the wrist and pulling her to her feet.
"Sasuke" Natsumi said as the boy now began to pull her to the stairs, before he finally came to a halt and turned to look at his brother with narrowed eyes.
"You know the door is meant to remain closed, you're lucky it was Natsumi who heard it and came down instead of father" the young Uchiha said snidely, as he narrowed his eyes at Itachi.
"Sasuke" Itachi began again, before Sasuke cut him off again.
"I don't care if you guys need to practice for Homecoming, just don't let it affect me or MY friends" Sasuke said dismissively before taking his leave.
'Sasuke really doesn't like them' Natsumi noted mentally as Sasuke led her up the basement stairs. 'But even if Sasuke dislikes the Akatsuki, there's no denying we'll be seeing more of them' the girl continued on in thought as she and Sasuke made their way back up to his room.
When the pair had finally made their way into the boy's room, Sasuke released his hold on her wrist as they entered. Noticing the arrival of the two dark haired teens, Naruto shot up into a sitting position from where he laid on the floor.
"You guys are back!" Naruto exclaimed happily before he took notice to the tense silence being emitted from Natsumi and Sasuke. "Everything alright?" Naruto asked wearily as he nervously glanced between the two.
Natsumi gave an annoyed huff while crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at the black haired boy. Her brown eyes bored holes into him as she stared at him, yet the Uchiha gave no indication of letting this affect him as he simply ignored her gaze, and angrily made his way over to his bed.
"You know that was rude right?" Natsumi asked in an annoyed tone.
"I'll take that as a no" Naruto said as the blonde looked down awkwardly. "So where'd you go Natsumi?" Naruto asked looking back up to catch the attention of the dark haired girl.
Natsumi's hard glare immediately softened when her eye's shifted in the direction of the blonde. The girl released a deep breath to steady her temper, yet before she could even open her mouth to reply, Sasuke spoke.
"She got sidetracked" the Uchiha stated in an annoyed tone that made Natsumi roll her eyes.
"Oh I'm sorry I didn't realize Naruto was asking you!" she shot back at the Uchiha in a sarcastic tone that made the boy scoff.
"I didn't realize you had another answer!" Sasuke retorted making Natsumi uncross her arms as she clenched her fists at her side.
"Well maybe if you would just take a moment to close that smug mouth of yours, you would notice that people have their own thoughts and can speak for themselves!" Natsumi yelled back.
Naruto awkwardly looked between the two, unsure of how or if he should even try to intervene in their argument.
"Oh in that case, would you care to enlighten me on those thoughts you had when you went down there?!" Sasuke asked rhetorically.
"That depends if on if you're actually going to take the time to listen or just let your huge ego be an excuse for how ignorant you are!" Natsumi shot back as she pointed at the young man and placed a hand onto her hip.
"That's not an answer Natsumi!" Sasuke yelled back angrily.
"Because you didn't ask Sasuke, Naruto did!" Natsumi yelled back motioning to the blonde who now sweat dropped as both black haired teens turned to look at him.
"Well Naruto didn't get an answer from you!" Sasuke retorted motioning to the blonde as he stood from his bed.
"That's because Naruto didn't get the chance since you had to open your big mouth and answer for me!" Natsumi replied angrily.
"That's because Naruto deserved an answer!" Sasuke yelled.
"Come on guys don't put me in the middle of this" Naruto said wearily as he tried to hold both hands up to calm the two teens.
"Stay out of it Naruto" Sasuke said in a warning tone before shooting a glare at Natsumi. "Do you see what you're doing?" he asked rhetorically making the girl scoff.
"What do you mean by that? Last time I checked you're just as guilty as me!" Natsumi shot back.
"So this is what it's like to be in the middle of an argument, I never thought I'd get to experience this since I don't have my parents but thanks guys" Naruto said awkwardly trying to break the ice with dark humor.
For a moment both teens grew silent, before turning to look at Naruto with alarm filled eyes.
"Naruto not now" Sasuke and Natsumi said in unison as they gave sighs as they face palmed before turning back to one another and glaring at each other.
"Oh come on guys, we're all friends here" Naruto tried to calm the pair again only to be ignored.
"I just don't get what you were doing down there" Sasuke said motioning to Natsumi in disbelief.
"Then shut up and let me tell you" Natsumi said in an annoyed tone that made the Uchiha scoff.
"You were just supposed to get a drink. Go down stairs and come back. You should have been right back" Sasuke said in an annoyed tone.
"Yeah my parents said they'd be right back before they got into that accident" Naruto once again interjected, making the room grow silent.
"Naruto ..." Natsumi began as she gave the blonde a sympathetic look, before hearing the Uchiha scoff and returning her glare to meet his onyx eyes. "You are such a jerk Sasuke!" Natsumi stated.
"And you're annoying" he shot back defensively.
Naruto sweat dropped as he hung his head in defeat as he was unable to stop the two from fighting.
"You are so full of yourself!" Natsumi retorted.
"And you're a know-it-all!" Sasuke replied.
"Like you're any better?" Natsumi asked rhetorically.
"Guys stop!" Naruto finally yelled as he jumped to his feet and once again caught the attention of the two. "You're friends and here you are yelling at each other like a couple of kids! I know you're both upset right now but don't let that get in the way of how much you really care about each other." Naruto said walking in the middle between the two. "Natsumi, I know you worried about Sasuke after he stormed out at Ichiraku that day, you don't spend the better part of an evening looking for someone you don't consider a friend" he said looking at the girl who looked down guiltily as she let Naruto's words sink in. "And Sasuke, you were the one who was worried about Natsumi having too much on her plate this week so that's why you got all the last minute signs ups for volunteering and had your dad make that donation" he said turning to Sasuke, who immediately stiffened.
Natsumi immediately lifted her gaze from the floor as she stared at Sasuke in shock as Naruto's words registered in her mind.
'Sasuke had his dad make the donation so I wouldn't have to collect it afterschool with the council and if it weren't for him I'm positive I'd be at the school now still working with Kakashi-sensei and the other council members' she thought as she watched Sasuke scoff and fold his arms over his chest as he tried his best to avoid Natsumi's gaze.
"Naruto's right" Natsumi said, surprising the dark haired young man as he looked at her in alarm. "We're friends and no matter how mad we get, we worry about each other" she stated as she awkwardly took hold of her arm. "So I'm sorry Sasuke, I shouldn't be fighting with you, especially after you had your father make that donation and what you did with all those girl's for me" she said releasing a heavy sigh.
Sasuke looked at Natsumi in disbelief as he knew she wasn't one to so easily concede victory. Much like him, the girl would stubbornly argue until the end, so it was odd that she so easily listened to Naruto of all people and took him as the voice of reason.
"Natsumi you're apologizing?" Sasuke asked raising a brow in confusion.
"If it weren't for you I'd still be stuck at the school" she admitted as she shrugged her shoulders then ran a hand through her dark locks.
"Well it wasn't all Sasuke" Naruto said interjected as he casually brought his hands to rest behind his head. "You see his did cover half of the donation and I called the old perv to cover the other half. And another thing is if I hadn't told all those girls that they might get the chance to go to the dance with Sasuke, I'm sure not as many would've signed up" he said as he closed his eyes.
Sasuke immediately rolled his eyes at the blonde's actions as Natsumi gave a light laugh before surprising both males as she then bowed.
"Thank you" she said appreciatively before rising with a genuine smile on her face. "I'm glad I have friends like you guys" she said earning a bright smile from Naruto and a light smirk from Sasuke as the boys nodded in agreement.
"So group hug?" Naruto asked as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"No" both Natsumi and Sasuke replied in unison before the teens released light laughs.
"Alright well could we at least watch a movie or something?" Naruto asked looking between the two, yet before either could respond, their attention was immediately taken away as Sasuke's door suddenly opened to reveal Mikoto.
"Dinner will be ready in a bit" she said with a cheery smile. "Do you kids think you could start coming down to help me set the table?" she asked earning nods of agreement from the group before they began to follow her out of the room and down the stairs.
A/N: The Akatsuki have been introduced! I'm sorry that this chapter is a little shorter than usual and I'm not updating at consistent times of Sundays. Alas there is more to come next time since Natsumi has yet to meet all of the Akatsuki and there of course needs to be more Natsumi and Itachi scenes. I hope you all enjoy the story so far and will continue to support it. Please remember to read and review because I love reading the input and if you would like let a friend know about this fanfic if they enjoy Naruto stories. Until next time xoxo
