Chapter 8: Breaking the Chains

Kyuubi quickly tugged on his sweatshirt, the large hood falling over his head. He glanced back and forth between his brother and the door, wondering how he'd be able to get past him and out of the room. Out of the house and avoid confronting the secret he has been able to hide for two years.

"I thought you were at the bakery." His voice was calm. Inside, his heart pounded heavily against his chest.

Naruto seemed to be frozen in place as he remained by the door, startled by what he had just seen. Kyuubi's bruised torso was no longer visible but the horrible image was now engraved in his mind forever. He looked up at his brother and he could see the painful black eye, the painful busted lip.

"What happened to you?" he rasped out when finally able to speak.

"I got in a fight. It's no big deal," Kyuubi said. He looked down to hide his face when Naruto neared him.

Naruto raised his hand to his brother's chin and was quickly shrugged off when Kyuubi moved away from him. "Who the hell did you get in a fight with?"

"Itachi bought me a car for my birthday. I was driving it around and I knew it was bound to catch some attention. Some guys tried to get at it so I had to fight them off. It's not a big deal."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean it's not a big deal? They fucking hurt you, Kyuubi! They could've killed you."

"Well, they didn't. Can you just drop it?"

"Did you call the police?"

"For what? I took care of it."

"I'm calling them," Naruto said firmly.

Kyuubi swiftly walked over and grabbed the cellphone from Naruto's hand before he could dial the three digits. "I said it's not a big deal!"

"They gave you a black eye. How's that not a fucking big deal?"

"I said drop it!" Kyuubi said, his eyes glaring. "You're being annoying. Mind your fucking business."

Naruto grabbed his phone that was shoved against his chest. He watched Kyuubi move away from him to sit on the bed. He can't comprehend the anger, the defensiveness.

"Why are you protecting these thugs?" He doesn't get a response.

Naruto looked at his brother suspiciously. Something wasn't adding up. He wasn't daft enough to just accept everything he's told without question. All his life, he's known his brother to be a good fighter. They both were. It doesn't make sense that Kyuubi would lose a fight this badly. As Naruto stared at his brother, he couldn't help but carefully reevaluate his suspicion. The thought of it made his stomach turn, but it made sense. Goddamn it, it made so much fucking sense.

"Did Itachi do this to you?"

Kyuubi doesn't glance up at his brother as he sighed deeply. This was it, his big secret was finally out. It was only a matter of time before everything started to explode in his face. He felt his throat closing up as he became emotional.

"Why can't you just let it go?" he whispered.

"No, no. There's no way Itachi did this to you," Naruto said. "Tell me he didn't do this to you."

Kyuubi was silent.

"I swear I'll kill him myself if he did this to you."

Before Kyuubi could get out any words, Naruto was out of the room. Kyuubi rushed after him and caught him by the arm in the living room.

"The hell are you doing?"

Naruto swiftly spun around and freed his arm. "You think I'm joking?"

Kyuubi again seized Naruto by the arm. "What part of it's none of your business, don't you understand?"

"You're my fucking brother!" Naruto scowled as he waited impatiently for his arm to be let go. "It is my fucking business."

Kyuubi stepped back. "I'm your older brother. I don't need you to protect me."

Naruto was seething with rage. "You're just going to let him get away with it?"

"It's not his fault."

"Do you hear yourself right now?"

"You can't tell mom and dad about this."

Naruto looked at his brother and if looks could kill, Kyuubi would be dead beneath his feet. "He's got you fucking brainwashed."

"Please, Naruto, do this one thing for me."

Naruto exhaled and relaxed his shoulders. He grabbed his brother by the arm and led him to the couch where he sat him down.

"How long has he been hitting you?"

Kyuubi hid his face behind his hands. "Since we started dating."

"And for two years you've just been taking it?"

"It wasn't often," Kyuubi explained, avoiding his brother's judgmental glare. "It was just once in a while when he'd blow up over something. I thought it was okay if it was just once in a while."

"What the actual fuck?"

Kyuubi sighed, dropping his hands. "It was a mistake moving in with him. We're not good when we're constantly together. I should've known better."

Naruto chuckled. "This is all starting to sound like a fucking joke. Wait till dad hears about this."

Kyuubi abruptly stood up. "You said you wouldn't tell them."

"I didn't say shit!" Naruto countered. "I thought maybe we could figure something out. But I can see just how much he's fucked with your mind."

"You know I'm trying really hard to be calm right now," Kyuubi said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not the one you should be fucking angry at," Naruto contested.

"No, you're the right fucking person," Kyuubi said as a matter of fact. "The only reason why I have these bruises in the first place is because you decided to drag your fucking uninvited boyfriend to my party. What the fuck are you doing dating my boyfriend's brother in the first place? Of all the guys in the fucking world, why him?"

Naruto scoffed. "I'm not going to apologize for something your piece of shit boyfriend did out of his own will. It's not my fault and it's definitely not Sasuke's."

Kyuubi sighed, bored of the conversation and overall tired of the matter. "I'm going to sleep. Do whatever the fuck you want, Naruto. Tell mom and dad, I don't care."

"You should care. Where's your self-respect?"

"Yeah, well, I lost that a long time ago." He trudged up the small staircase. "Leave me the fuck alone."

"Hold on, I'm not done talking." Naruto waited for Kyuubi to face him. "I won't involve mom and dad. But first, answer me this question."

"What?"

"That night, when that blonde guy brought you home all beat up and he said you were involved in some accident, was that Itachi's doing?"

Kyuubi stayed silent for a while. "You already know the answer to that."

Naruto looked absolutely disgusted. "How could you go back to someone who did that to you?"

Kyuubi said nothing as he quietly walked away.

Naruto sighed and decided to leave the situation alone for now. If he found out, it was only a matter of time until the truth was revealed to everyone and Itachi would be exposed for who he really was.

—

The bakery was a small intimate spot. The lunch hour brought in the afternoon rush of customers. Kushina was at the front attending the customers while Minato attended the pastries in the back.

"Thank you for coming. Enjoy!" Kushina quickly moved onto the next customer.

Minato walked out the double doors with a tray of freshly baked cookies. Some space away from his wife, he worked on replacing the nearly empty tray of chocolate chip cookies with the full tray in his hands. When he's done, he looked around at the long line of customers.

"Kyuubi's still not here yet?" he asked.

Preoccupied, Kushina simply let out a frustrated sigh before returning back to a costumer with a packaged muffin and a small drink.

"Thanks love, enjoy your day," she said with a smile. She turned to her husband. "If that boy is not here in the next minute, I'm going to lose my mind."

"I'll get Naruto to come out and help you," Minato offered. "I can handle the kitchen alone for now."

Just then, Kyuubi walked through the bakery, grumbling to himself as he squeezed through the customers and rounded the corner behind the counter. He attempted to quietly slip past his mother but stopped when he was loudly addressed.

"Where have you been?" Kushina shouted. Beside her, her husband attended to the waiting customers.

"I'm here now. Calm down." Kyuubi went to move past her and was again stopped.

"Hold on." Kushina pulled him back to look at him properly. "What's with the sunglasses?"

Kyuubi frowned. "I have an infection. It's pretty bad, I don't want people staring at it."

"They'll be staring at you with those glasses on, " Kushina said. "Take it off and get to work."

"I'm not taking them off," Kyuubi muttered as he moved away from his mother. "Get off my case."

"Excuse me?" Kushina shouted.

"Kushina, just calm down." Minato quietly soothed her. "Not in front of the customers."

Kushina sighed. "You spoil those boys. You let them get away with too much stuff."

In the back, Kyuubi was just about done putting his stuff away in the lockers when he saw Naruto walking towards him. He rolled his eyes behind the pair of dark shades.

Naruto leaned against the locker beside his brother. "It's just a matter of time until they find out."

Kyuubi loudly slammed the locker shut. "Do me a favor and shut the fuck up."

Naruto said nothing as Kyuubi brushed past him. He returned back to his duties in the kitchen.

With Kyuubi's arrival, the lunch rush had cleared out quickly. A few customers sat in the bakery and some were seated outdoors. Finished with his task of wiping down the counter, Kyuubi stood behind the cash register with his chin in his palm and his mind far away.

"You okay, son?" Kushina softly asked as she placed a gentle hand on Kyuubi's shoulder.

Kyuubi welcomed his mother's warm touch. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Kushina stared at him for a while. "Why won't you take off those glasses?"

Kyuubi sighed. "I already told you."

"Yeah, I know what you told me. How about you tell me the truth now?"

"Why's everyone on my fucking case?" Kyuubi frowned when the side of his head was pushed aggressively.

"Watch your mouth!" Kushina scolded, raising a finger at her son. "I'm just worried about you."

Kyuubi glanced down. "I'm sorry."

Kushina returned to the kitchen to assist her husband.

—

By the time Deidara arrived, it was nearly three in the afternoon. Kyuubi had expected him to come alone but he's pleasantly surprised when the cheerful man entered the bakery with another red head beside him. The man was Deidara's height with handsome rugged features. He had the most gentle eyes Kyuubi's ever seen. Kyuubi also found himself in awe by his strong physique, the bulging muscles that could be seen through the army green uniform covering his body.

Kyuubi greeted Deidara with a smile. "Hey, Dei."

"How's it going, Kyuubi?"

Kyuubi shrugged. "Just waiting for you to finally get here."

"Right. Sorry about that." Deidara said, grinning sheepishly. "This guy over here decided to surprise me and didn't tell me he was coming home. I had to go pick him up from the airport. I called you. But, obviously you're working so you couldn't pick up."

"No, don't worry about it, it's alright." Kyuubi gestured to the food. "What can I get you two?"

Deidara glanced quickly at the menu. "We'll just have two of the specialty sandwiches."

Deidara and Sasori were seated and talking casually when Kyuubi served them. Deidara asked him to pull a seat beside them and Kyuubi obeyed. Kyuubi watched as both men took a large bite out of their sandwiches.

"Sasori, you finally get to meet the infamous Kyuubi," Deidara said. "Kyuubi, my boyfriend, Sasori."

Kyuubi shyly stretched out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sasori."

Sasori shook Kyuubi's hand in a firm hold. "He talks about you. A lot."

"All good things I hope?" Kyuubi smiled. "How long have you two been together?"

Sasori answered. "Since high school. I think, what was it, sophomore year?"

"Mm." Deidara agreed with a mouthful of food.

"Wow, that's a long time," Kyuubi said. "What made you decide to join the military? With moving and being away for so long, don't you miss your boyfriend? Your family?"

"I come from a long line of family in the army," Sasori explained. "When I turned eighteen it was almost like a right of passage. I serve alongside my father and older brother."

"It takes a lot of courage to do what you and your family do," Kyuubi complimented.

Sasori nodded his head in agreement. "For me, the hardest part is being away from this guy. But, knowing he's here waiting for me keeps me going. Gives me all the strength and courage I need."

"You can be a real sap when you want to," Deidara teased him.

"Only when it comes to you."

Kyuubi watched them with a smile. Even though he's smiling, he can't help but feel jealous. He desperately wanted what they had, the love that seemed so genuine, so natural.

"Kyuubi, I spoke with Kagami on my way here," Deidara said.

Kyuubi cleared his throat awkwardly. "I can imagine he didn't have much good things to say about me."

"Actually, all he did was sing your praises." Deidara told him matter of factly.

Kyuubi gave him an odd look. "What?"

"It seems there was a misunderstanding. Kagami did in fact speak a bit harshly to Itachi but it was, well, I guess you can call it tough love."

"I wouldn't call what he did tough love," Kyuubi said firmly.

"Like I said, even Kagami admitted to coming off too harsh."

"And he thinks that's the best way to help his brother?" Kyuubi asked him, his tone a little on edge. "Hurting Itachi to stop him from hurting Sasuke. How will that play out at the end?"

Deidara licked over his lips, a smile on his face. "He's been trying to help Itachi all his life, Kyuubi. Longer than you."

"Well, he's sure not doing a good job at it."

"And you are?" Deidara asked and Kyuubi turned away from him. "It's not such an easy task, is it?"

"He's beyond fucking saving," Kyuubi said underneath his breath.

Deidara noticed the disdain in his voice but decided to ignore it.

"Just know Kagami has Itachi's good interest at heart. Try to remember you don't know the full story. All of this is new to you. Try to cut him some slack."

Kyuubi ran his hand down his face. "I'll go along with whatever you say."

Deidara couldn't help but smile. "Good to know you value my judgement so much."

"Shut up." Kyuubi chuckled. He looked up at Deidara and suddenly noticed the odd look on his face. "What's wrong?"

"This has been on my mind since I got here and I hope you don't mind me asking," Deidara said. "What's with the glasses?"

Kyuubi evaded Deidara's scrutinizing stare. "Uh... just some bad allergies."

Deidara turned his body fully to him. "Take it off. Let me take a look."

"Um, no, it's not that serious."

"It must be if you're hiding it. Let me see."

Kyuubi licked over his bruised lip. Slowly, he removed the glasses from face. "It looks worse than it feels."

Deidara clenched his jaw, a deep frown on his face. "It's almost swollen shut."

"It was my fault. I said some things I shouldn't have said."

"That always seems to be the case."

"I thought Kagami didn't know about our relationship. I just jumped to conclusions and said some harsh things. I deserved it."

For a moment, there's an uncomfortable silence that settled. Kyuubi understood Deidara wasn't the judging type but from the man's inability to look him in the face, he imagined Deidara was judging him quite hard right now. Kyuubi imagined he sounded and looked absolutely pitiful.

"Dating that bastard fucks with your mind," Sasori said, for the first time intervening in the topic. "He's manipulative. The kind of guy that makes black look like white. I don't know how you do it."

"Be nice," Deidara said.

"This is me being nice," Sasori said. "You know I can't stand that guy."

Deidara looked at Kyuubi. "So, where do you two go from here?"

Kyuubi glanced down at his fingers. "I think a break would do us some good."

"I would prefer it if it was a permanent one."

Kyuubi chuckled, then said barely above whisper. "You know that can't happen."

Deidara understood what he meant without Kyuubi having to state it plainly. Even if Kyuubi wanted to leave the relationship, it wouldn't be so easy. It'd be chaotic just as their last break up had been. He can understand why Kyuubi didm't want to go through it again. But, he also won't sit aside and allow Kyuubi to be Itachi's permanent play thing.

Kyuubi glanced up behind his shades just as his mother came out to stand beside him. He frowned when she again nudged his head.

"Hey slacker, are you working or having a grand time with the customers?"

Kyuubi stood up and his company did the same. Deidara respectfully extended his hand to Kushina.

"It's very nice to see you again."

Kushina accepted Deidara's hand with a smile. "Deidara, was ir?"

"Yes, ma'am." Deidara turned to Sasori. "Uh, this is my partner, Sasori."

Kushina extended her hand to Sasori. "You serve in the military?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Wow. Thank you for your service. What rank are you in?"

"Sargent in the Marine Corp."

Kushina looked at him in awe. "A sergeant? So young, you look about my son's age."

"I'm just a few years older. I've served in the military for eight years. Right out of high school, I've had the experience and qualifications and was recently promoted to the title."

"Wow, your parents must be quite proud of you."

Sasori nodded his head. "They are, very much."

Kushina then turned to Deidara. "What about you? Are you in the military too?"

"Mom," Kyuubi scolded.

"What? I'm just asking a question." Kushina defended herself. She turned back to Deidara. "Go on."

Deidara chuckled nervously. "No, I'm actually in my first year residency in Konoha Medicine Group."

"Really. Wow, that's one of the top hospitals in the country, isn't if?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well clearly, you fellas are doing good for yourselves."

The couple entertained her with a laugh as they glanced shyly at each other. The only person not laughing was Kyuubi and this didn't go unnoticed by Kushina. She wrapped an arm around her son and brought him down to her side.

"You know, Kyuubi here goes to one of the best universities we have." Kushina's genuinely hurt when Kyuubi roughly pulled away from her.

"Will you stop already?" Kyuubi snapped defensively.

"I'm only praising you." She smiled as she turned back to Deidara. "Funny enough, I wanted him to study medicine too."

Deidara raised his brows at this. "Really?"

"Yes, I figured he would've had the brains for it. You can make a lot of money from that job."

"Why didn't you?" Deidara asked Kyuubi. "You would've made a great doctor."

Kyuubi scoffed. "I doubt that."

"You definitely have the heart for it."

Kushina watched her son shake his head. She frowned seeing the dark shades still on his face. "Son, take off those damn glasses." She reached for it, nearly removing it until Kyuubi hurriedly pulled away.

"Mom, you're making me angry."

Kushina and Kyuubi looked heatedly at one another. Deidara cleared his throat awkwardly and the two finally teared their eyes from another.

"Thank you for the delicious meal but we need to be heading off now," Deidara said softly.

Kushina almost skipped away. "Oh, hold on. I'll go package some cookies for you both. On the house."

Kyuubi sighed. "I'm sorry about her. She's just..."

"A mother?" Deidara finished for him.

"Yeah."

"She's very kind," Deidara said. "Reminds me a lot of Mikoto."

Kyuubi shuffled his hands inside his pockets. "Are you going to see him today?"

"Yeah, I'll swing by his place tonight. Make sure he's okay," Deidara assured him. "In the meantime, try to take care of yourself."

After receiving their cookies and expressing their gratitude, Deidara and Sasori finally took their leave. Kyuubi returned behind the register, switching places with his brother. After taking Some orders later, the mid evening rush finally died down.

Kyuubi remained by the register snacking on a muffin when his brother emerged from the kitchen with a solemn expression.

"What's the matter with you?" Kyuubi asked him.

"Sorry, I guess I'm not good at pretending everything's all sunshine and rainbows."

"Hey." Kyuubi grabbed Naruto's arm. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"What?"

"How about we do something tomorrow?" Kyuubi suggested. "It's been a long time since we did something together just the two of us."

Naruto thought on it, frowning when he realized what tomorrow was. "Sasuke and I were supposed to catch a movie."

"Good," Kyuubi said. "Invite him to come with us. It'll give me a chance to properly get to know him."

Naruto's not too keen on the idea. "You think that's a good idea with what's going on with you and Itachi?"

"It'll be fine."

Naruto, still a little unsure, decided to go along with it. If anything were to happen, he'll be there to simmer it down before it could escalate.

"So, what's with that guy?" Naruto asked out of no where.

"What guy?"

"The blonde guy."

"His name's Deidara."

Naruto folded his arms as he leaned against the counter. "How do you know him?"

"He's Itachi's best friend. They're practically brothers," Kyuubi explained. "Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "Why's he so chummy with you? Wasn't that guy with him his boyfriend?"

Kyuubi narrowed his eyes as he gave his brother a warning glare. "What are you getting at?"

"Nothing."

Silence settled between them.

Kyuubi nervously spoke up. "About the party, I never really got a chance to apologize and explain what happened."

"You mean the scene you're psycho boyfriend caused and then you turned around and blamed me for."

"Can you just be fucking mature for one second. Please."

Naruto looked away. "You don't have to explain anything. Sasuke already did."

Kyuubi's taken aback by this. "What did he say?"

"He said he did something to piss off Itachi the night before and apparently it's so bad that he won't even tell me. That's not how I wanted our first meeting to go but I shouldn't have brought him to your party. I should be the one apologizing, not you."

"It's okay, it's not your fault," Kyuubi said, then asked as an afterthought. "How long have you guys been dating?"

"Just a few months," Naruto pushed himself off the counter when a customer walked through the door. "I'll take over out here. You help dad and mom clean up."

Kyuubi observed his brother for a while longer before he walked through the double doors to the kitchen where his father had already started on the dishes. He did his duties, helping to close down. As much as he hated it, he couldn't help but think of Itachi and he felt his fingers itching to reach for his phone and call him, make sure he was okay. He forced himself not to.

He needed a break from Itachi. He needed sone time to rediscover himself.

—

As always, thank you for reading. Leave reviews and comments.