Knitting Fate

Second installment in Canon Patchworking with Uchiha Ren series

Fifth Thread

•••

This chapter has been beta'd for you by hestia8639. Thanks a lot!

Official beta'd version posted 04.08.2017

"There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate."
― Linda Grayson

0

It's Hana who finds her after school, as she walks hand in hand with Sasuke towards the Hokage Estate. She's quite content, as her little cousin has deemed Naruto as 'not hopeless', which gives her hope. For both of them. And if Sasuke asks her about her own friends, well. Before she can answer, three grayish-brown puppies barrel into her legs out of absolutely nowhere and nearly knock her down. Thankfully Sasuke is already stronger than he seems and manages to keep her up, because otherwise she would have definitely kissed the ground.

"Hello to you to, Hana," Ren sighs as she regains her balance, three puppies attacking her pants. The other girl laughs out loud, catching up fast, with a boy even smaller than Sasuke trailing close by, cradling a small white ball in his arms and it's so very obvious that he will one day grow into the very loud Inuzuka Kiba.

"Hey, Ren, you left so fast I had to chase you," Hana smiles, and Kiba puffs his cheeks, hiding behind his sister. It's cute, seeing how unsure he is, while Sasuke stands next to Ren, gripping her robe but still, quite brave.

"Sorry, but Sasuke gets overwhelmed by his fangirls the second they get the chance, so I'm not too keen on lingering around," she sighs, patting her little cousin's head and earning a huff. "Do you need something?"

"Well…" Hana starts, scratching her neck. "I was wondering if you wanted to spend some time together. I know it's not exactly your style and all, but… maybe?"

"Sure," Ren shrugs. "It's not like we have anything better to do, do we, Sasuke?" she asks, and the boy just shrugs.

"Whatever," is his only answer, and Ren smiles.

"That way you can befriend Hana's little brother, too! Because I assume this is Kiba, yes?" she cheers, and Sasuke gawks at her, while little Kiba looks at her as if she's some sort of alien. Hana only clasps her hands together.

"That's a great idea! Kiba is still so shy with the other kids, so that would really help!" she smiles, and Ren can't really portray Kiba as shy no matter how hard she tries. Because that's Kiba, goddammit, and the only ones more exuberant than him are only Naruto, Lee and Guy. So, obviously, that's way beyond her cognitive skills.

"I find it kinda hard to put 'Inuzuka' and 'shy' next to one another in the same sentence, you know," she voices her standing, and Hana just snorts at that, visibly amused, and mini-Kiba just puffs his cheeks, clutching his hands tighter against the ball of fur that Ren thinks can only be a mini-Akamaru.

"He has time to get there yet," Hana winks at her, lacing their arms together as the Haimaru Brothers switch their attention from Ren to Sasuke, who doesn't exactly seem to mind the fact.

"So, how about Yakiniku Q?" Hana asks, and the other girl gives her a toothy grin in answer.

"As long as it's nothing with rice," Sasuke admits. "Nee-san hates rice."

"Whoa," the Inuzuka girl looks at her companion. "Why?"

"Because of the taste, texture, and everything else?" the Uchiha answers. "I honestly hate everything about rice, and can't really change it. Makes me wanna throw up whenever I try eating it. I can't help it."

"That sucks," Hana agrees, "given that most of the food here involves rice. Oh well, meat has always been more appealing to me, too," she grins.

"But I like onigiri," Sasuke puffs his cheeks suddenly, and Ren laughs.

"I'll make you some once I learn how," she says. "As long as I don't have to eat them. You'll be my taste-tester, okay?"

"Should I be afraid?" he asks, cocking his head to the side. Maybe the effect is tripled by the three puppies at his legs, but he really, really looks like a puppy himself in that moment. Sasuke should not be allowed to be cute. Absolutely not.

Ren sighs, and continues walking, arms laced with Hana's and she decides that befriending the Inuzuka can actually benefit her, too. They are known for their loyalty, and Ren can't remember if Renee had even had an actual friend, save for the fact that none of them were made in person. Yet another thing that's bound to change, but she doesn't really mind. Between Hana, walking happily beside her, Sasuke, trying to avoid having his pants ripped, and Kiba, trailing close by with an uncertain expression, it's actually very… how to put it? Soothing, maybe. Fulfilling in a way, too. Having friends – real friends, is something she thinks she would enjoy.

As they pass the playground, Ren spots an orange-and-yellow shape sitting miserably on one of the swings and sighs heavily.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment, I think Sasuke and I need to fetch one more person," she sighs, looking at her cousin. "Don't we?"

He makes a face, then puffs his cheeks, but eventually nods, and Hana looks at her with an unreadable expression on her face. However, it's Kiba who speaks.

"No one likes Naruto," the boy says, looking at Ren.

"And why is that?" the Uchiha asks, un-lacing her arms with Hana's and kneeling in front of the boy.

"Uh…" he starts. "Because the adults say he's a demon or something. So we don't play with him."

"Which adults?" she asks, trying her best to not sound scary.

"The civilians," the boy admits solemnly, and Ren lets out an exasperated sigh, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen here, pup," she starts, and his eyes widen ridiculously at the sound of the nickname. "Before you believe adults, see for yourself and decide if you really want to believe them. Does Naruto look like a demon? Does he act like one?"

"No, but the adults–"

"Listen to me now, pup," she cuts him off. "If there's one thing adults love doing, it's lying. They absolutely love lying, especially civilian adults. They love doing it, and they do it constantly. Never believe an adult before looking at the matter yourself, okay?"

"Uhm… okay," he nods. "I don't like liars."

"Good, neither do I," she says, standing up, and Hana offers her a small smile. It's quite obvious she herself has been skeptical about all the murmurs going around about demons and Naruto, as they never actually come from shinobi families. Shinobi families just don't care, believing their kids to be smarter than the civilian kids. Which they, in fact, aren't.

"Well, let us go, then," Hana laces her arms with Ren's again, leading her toward the swings, and the two boys can only follow.

"Idiot," Sasuke greets the blonde the second he's within earshot, and Naruto shoots to his feet, happy but alert.

"What do you want, bastard?" he calls back, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"If I may say something," Ren cuts in, "Sasuke is very much a legitimate child, so why on earth are you calling him 'bastard'?"

That catches Naruto off guard as he gapes at the older girl in front of him, before he bristles visibly.

"And who are you?" he asks, pointing his finger at her.

"I'm Ren, and this is Hana," Ren answers, and Sasuke rolls his eyes.

"Hey, idiot, you wanna go to Yakiniku Q with us?" he asks, and this time Naruto looks at him as if he had literally fallen from the sky, green-skin and all. Although given the universe, Ren wouldn't write it off as completely impossible. "It was her idea," Sasuke corrects himself quickly, pointing at the older Uchiha with his thumb.

"You're in the same class as Kiba and Sasuke, aren't you?" Hana smiles. "It's important to be friends with your classmates, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity!"

"I, uh…" Naruto starts, and he's obviously at a loss for words.

"Idiot, yes or no?" Sasuke asks, cocking his eyebrow, and Ren thinks that for the moment there might be tears glistening in Naruto's eyes.

"Yes!" the blonde says. "Free food!"

"Hm, maybe we can go eat ramen some other day?" Ren asks Hana and pretends not to notice how Naruto's eyes light up. "I've heard there's a very nice place somewhere around…"

"It's Ichiraku, dattebayo!" Naruto shoots. "It's really, really, really good!"

"Well, since you apparently go there," Hana starts. "Then we have to take you with us, since you know what's good in there."

"Sure do!"

There are people who glare at Naruto, of course. Many, many people including the guy behind the counter, and the waitress. Ren makes sure to glare right back at them, which makes them scurry around without looking back, to try again in a while. Too bad for them, Hana picks up the motion, and having two pairs of glaring, angry, black eyes – one soulless, one feral – proves to be enough to scare them into behaving like people for longer periods of time.

Which, in turn, leads to Naruto relaxing and having a good time, and Ren even has to ask Hana again if she had mentioned something about Kiba being shy, because around the blonde hellion he is anything but. The Inuzuka girl just shrugs and smiles at the fact, which earns her an eyeroll from Ren.

"I see you're enjoying it?" Hana asks with a smile, as Ren works her way through her second serving of well-cooked meat, because fuck dieting, she needs the calories to build up her muscle mass now and forever more. It's a method she herself had tested: feeding herself lots and lots of protein and then working it all off.

"I'm a carnivore," Ren answers after a while. "Meat is my favorite type of candy."

"But meat isn't candy!" Naruto argues from above his plate.

"It's a saying, moron," Sasuke interrupts. "It means nee-san likes meat the most."

"Ohhhh! Just like I like ramen!" the blonde cheers.

"Everyone knows you like ramen," Kiba huffs, letting Mini-Akamaru lick the fat from his fingers. The dog is apparently still too young to have meat in his diet, but the boy appears to have deemed him old enough to taste it.

"I also like vegetables," Ren nods, and Hana snorts loudly at the faces all three boys make all at once. Like cats thrown into cold water, almost.

"Eeew!" Naruto calls. "Vegetables are awful!"

"I second that!" Kiba calls. "Gross!"

"But I like tomatoes," Sasuke mutters, uncertain whether he should side with them or stand by his own preference.

"Well, tomatoes are actually fruits," Ren says smartly, earning her wide-eyes looks. "So are cucumbers and peppers," she continues, and this time even Hana gives her a disbelieving look of shock.

"No way," the Inuzuka girl snorts. "You're kidding, aren't you?"

"Nope. They develop from the plant's ovaries and contain seeds, so they're fruits. Scientifically speaking, that is," Ren explains. "Chefs may disagree, though, since they're used in savory dishes, unlike other fruits."

"The things you learn," Hana sighs bemused. "All the wonders of the world. But then, you Uchihas are always smartasses."

"Tell me something I don't know," Ren snorts in return.

"But what about actual vegetables?" Sasuke asks. "Some of them are actually… not so tasty."

"Because they're prepared by idiots, duh," Ren rolls her eyes.

"So, I take it, you know the secret to tasty vegetables?" Hana asks, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Other than 'close your eyes, plug your nose, and gobble it up'? Yeah, I do, actually," she answers with a smile. "However… it'll remain my sweet, sweet secret for now."

It's already pretty late into the afternoon when they say their goodbyes – Hana, Kiba and their dogs turn towards the Inuzuka compound, which had been in the complete opposite direction all along, and all Ren can do is just shake her head and smile, because dog people. Meanwhile Awai, previously tucked safely away in the pocket on the inner side of her haori, now resurfaces, placing himself on her shoulder instead. Naruto is still walking with them since he (Surprise, surprise) lives quite close to the Hokage's Estate.

The blonde and her little cousin walk side by side and are actually talking. Or, more like, Naruto is talking, accompanied by a variety of reactions from Sasuke. The boy actually snickers at one point at something the blonde says, but Ren doesn't pay attention to the conversation. Instead, she just smiles, because it's Naruto, and it's obvious he'd get on Sasuke's good side quickly. Like, in a we-just-met-and-we're-friends-now kind of way.

Well, maybe not entirely, Sasuke still mostly scoffs at the blonde, but they will be attending the same school in the same class for something like five years, and the actual storyline doesn't start until they graduate. So, yes, they have time. A lot of it. Ren suspects (hopes?) the two will be attached at their hip by the time their third year rolls around. In all honesty, she doesn't even mind Sasuke picking up pranking from Naruto, as long as it's not directed at her.

"So, I live here," Naruto says, as they stop in front of a tall, obscure, and visibly cheap apartment. The very same one that had featured in the first episode of the show.

"Just please don't tell me you live on the top floor," Ren whines, but she knows the answer just fine.

"I do live on the top floor!" the boy cheers, and the girl groans.

"How the fuck are we supposed to visit you when you live thousands of fucking stairs away?" she bemoans, and both boys make a face.

"Nee-san, bad language," Sasuke notes, and she just rolls her eyes. The fact that she manages to act like a well-mannered person at school and with Hana doesn't mean she's going to keep up the façade any longer.

"Bite me, squirt," she answers. "Trust me, I'll become a legend in the shinobi world known as 'The Cursing Shinobi'. I tell you!"

Sasuke snorts, and Naruto actually laughs, very loudly.

"And I'm gonna become Hokage, dattebayo!" the blonde answers, jumping up so high that for a moment she faces his feet at her eye-level and this is not something she had seen in her old world. Really, not.

"And I'm going to avenge our clan," Sasuke says emotionlessly, crossing his arms on his chest, which makes Ren snort, as she places her hand on his head.

"For that, my cute little cousin, you need to stand in line," she snorts, ruffling his hair. "Don't even think about it, squirt. Go make friends, be a kid. Become strong through friendship, not through the hate he wants you to use. Because hatred is a fragile thing, and it will just leave you one day. It's uncertain, and toxic."

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Sasuke yells, and Ren glances at a flabbergasted Naruto, before grinning widely.

"First, you make friends," she says, still looking at Naruto. "And then, you're gonna become the exact opposite of what he wants you to become. Be strong in your own way."

Sasuke puffs his cheeks, glances at Naruto, then back at Ren, and sighs.

"Come on, nee-san. We have, as you put it, 'thousands of fucking stairs' to go, don't we?" he says then, a smug smile crossing his face.

"Hey, squirt, watch your mouth!" Ren nearly shrieks, smacking Sasuke in the back of the head, but the boy just laughs – an actual, sincere laugh – and races Naruto to the top of the building.

And Ren… Ren hates stairs.