Disclaimer: don't own Naruto, Sasuke, or any of the characters. Please don't sue.
Warnings: Shounen ai, yaoi, ooc-ness, bad grammar, bad writing style, and a little bit of shota.
Ages:
Itachi- 218 years old, looks like about 20-21.
Kakashi- 263 years old, looks like about 25-26.
Sai- 162 years old, which means he's allowed to hunt humans. He looks about 16.
Sasuke- 153 years old, looks about 15.
Naruto- 8 years old.
Iruka- 25 years old.
A/N: Okay, so no one has complained about the little bit of shota from last chapter, which means we're all perverts! Whooo! Sorry to the ones that don't like that kind of stuff 'cause there's gonna be more!
"Talking"
Thinking
The sun had just barely set when Sasuke woke up from his slumber. He was spread on the middle of his bed covered by his satin, blue sheets. His large bedroom was already darkening, now that the night had come. The candles on the two glass chandeliers above his head provided most of the light. Tall windows next to his bed were open wide, moving the white, silk curtains that reached from the ceiling to the beautiful marble floor in a steady motion.
The youngest Uchiha gradually undressed himself from his sleeping attire which only consisted of a silk shirt and loose pants. His servants had already set his new outfit on top of a mahogany table for the night while he was sleeping. A long-sleeved, black shirt, a pair of navy blue pants, a long unbuttoned black coat, and a white necktie were neatly folded and placed for him to dress. His brother had a very expensive and luxurious taste for clothes. Itachi only bought the finest fabrics and materials for him, since money was not a problem for the last members of the Uchiha Clan. After putting on his polished, black boots, he strode over to the wide and long window next to him.
The Uchiha manor was concealed in shadows. The moonlight shone over the place, but instead of bringing out a vacant, harmless ambiance, it appeared haunting and cryptic. Only the garden surrounding the mansion helped the house from looking too inhabitable and frightening. The rose bushes, neatly cut grass, carefully trimmed trees and skillfully sculpted water fountains brought out a more welcoming mood.
Sasuke had unsurprisingly woken up in an anxious mood. This had been happening whenever he woke up before sunset or during the day. He had begun to wonder why he bothered to sleep in the first place. Very time his eyes closed to rest, all he could see were sapphire eyes staring at him ingenuously.
Everywhere he looked and everything he saw reminded him of the boy. The young Uchiha eventually refused to be awake during the day and see the sun which reminded him of sun kissed locks. Hell, even hunting for small animals was a painstaking task. Foxes brought memories of the boy's whisker-like marks on his cheeks. And worst of all, he couldn't even glimpse at the sky without thinking about his eyes.
In other words, he had spent most of his days avoiding daytime, small (and cute) whiskered animals when he hunted, and of course, avoiding Kakashi.
The older vampire probably suspected that Sasuke had broken the rules but if he did, he didn't mention anything. Besides, Kakashi was still happy about meeting his idol, Jiraya, and was too busy reading his new book to notice that his student was avoiding him like a plague. Sasuke did not even meet with him for his ritual tutoring which Kakashi didn't even bring up. He just hoped the perverted vampire would eventually forget about that night.
Sasuke just couldn't take the human boy out of his mind. There was something about him that caught his attention. But the more he thought about him, the more uneasy and apprehensive he became.
A human actually saw a vampire.
A living, breathing, and obviously not blind human saw a vampire. And there was also the fact that it was a human child. The boy probably already told his parents that someone had broken in through the window (well, the window wasn't actually locked) and was watched by some kind of a pervert. His parents will get frightened and call the police. After that, word will probably circulate all over the city.
Sasuke had no choice but to get rid of the source of the problem. Then again, it's been over two weeks since the whole ordeal. Perhaps all the commotion had ceased. But the black-haired vampire still couldn't shake the feeling of guilt for revealing the secrets of his race.
The young Uchiha knew the danger of getting caught was high. If his brother found out that he had gone out of the Uchiha territory, he would be severely punished. Sasuke had a feeling that his brother enjoyed to mentally rape him (not literally) with his Mangekyou Sharingan and will most likely go through 72 hours of torture for sneaking out. Despite the dangers, his mind was made up.
I'll go back, and I will finish what I started.
--
The raven-haired walked leisurely through the familiar hallways. The Uchiha manor was full of staircases, endless hallways, dark rooms, secret passages, fake doors, and moving walls just to protect and hide the masters of the mansion from a surprise attack. This was particularly useful for him to sneak out without being seen. The less suspicious he looked to the servants, the less gossip and rumors shall reach his brother's ears.
When he arrived at the foyer, he promptly hid his surprise when he saw two guards next to the mansion's main entrance and exit.
He let out a hiss of breath.
Why of all times had his brother decided to put guards on the entrance? Itachi only placed two guards outside the mansion whenever Orochimaru, from Sound, would announce that he will be coming over to 'talk' to the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke would then spend most of his time trying to hide from the pale, older vampire. He involuntary shivered. He could still remember the odd-looking vampire's long tongue.
He slowed his pace, coming to a complete stop in front of Sai, one of the current guards.
"Are we having visitors?" he asked, making sure nothing but indifference showed in his voice. Not that it would make a difference. Sai was a strange vampire for two reasons. One, he can accurately tell the future of people and vampires, he would draw their future instead of simply telling them. The second reason he is strange is because Sai had a bad habit of smiling no matter the circumstance. In fact, he was giving a fake smile to Sasuke right now.
"Hmn? Oh, Itachi-sama will be having a reunion with the Akatsuki. He wanted to make sure they were properly greeted and escorted to the meeting room," he responded politely despite the fact that he and Sasuke knew each other since childhood.
Sasuke groaned. He had always detested his brother's choice of 'friends', if you call vampires who look like a shark and one like a woman, friends.
Sai smiled again. "If you like, I'll tell Itachi-sama that you went out and won't be back in time to greet his guests, although he will be very disappointed with you Sasuke-sama."
The young Uchiha sighed and looked away from the emotionless eyes of his friend. "Tell him I'll be out hunting bears and later will be training alone nearby." He lied, not caring if Sai believed him or not. Sai has always been his partner-in-crime and never let him down when it came to things like these.
The smiling vampire quietly watched him with slitted eyes before smiling broadly even more. "Ah well, good luck. Remember to always be patient or you won't get your prey."
Sasuke glared and stepped away from the other before leaving the mansion. That guy rivaled Kakashi with his weird, puzzling comments.
Alright, now that he was out, he needed to be even more careful to not get caught by his brother. Flying was not an option, it was too risky. Running nonstop until he arrived at the gates of the village sounded a lot better. The distance was longer on foot, but it was more preferable than getting caught.
Running at top speed, he occasionally jumped over to the braches of some trees to hide momentarily and avoid being seen by vampires patrolling the area. He avoided stepping on the leaf-covered ground to attract less attention. Finally, the forest began to clear, and came face-to-face with the village's walls.
Sasuke allowed himself to stop to rest while inspecting the tall wooden gates with the Konoha Leaf village sign on it. This wall was probably a lot taller than 20 feet. It was well designed to keep intruders outside and protect the civilians inside. Impressed but not discouraged, Sasuke easily jumped over it and landed nimbly on the other side.
Almost immediately, the welcoming feeling that he had last experienced on his first visit engulfed him. There was just something about this place that made him feel comfortable, almost as if he was meant to be here. The sounds of music, laughter, talking, and many others things relaxed his tense body.
The wonderful feeling of belonging almost made him forget about the reason he was there in the first place. The raven-haired regained his posture and walked quickly through the city, hopping he would find the scent of the child the he had regrettably left alive almost two weeks ago.
He scowled. He was going to pay for his transgression later; right now he had to find the scent!
He passed the beautiful lights, the luxurious stores, the restaurants, and the people that would stare not so subtly and secretly at him. He walked past every building, store, and human until he was in the suburbs.
Except for a few dogs barking in the distance, the neighborhood was quiet. Inhaling deeply, he finally found it, the addictive scent that enticed him a while back. The Uchiha wasted no time and began to follow it, just like he did a few days ago.
Sasuke by now could remember the path to the boy's home. He channeled more chakra to put an extra burst of speed.
Following the same procedures as last time, Sasuke jumped on the veranda's balcony adjacent to the child's room.
A pale hand reached out to slide the glass door open, totally expecting, and secretly hoping, it to be locked. It wasn't. In fact it was partially open, almost as it was waiting for him to arrive. The door moved with a soft hiss as it slid open.
Did the child even tell his parents that someone broke into his room?
This could all be a trap. The door was probably open so if the 'pervert' who came over to watch the boy comes again, his parents will pop out wherever they were hiding and beat him with golf clubs and baseball bats. That thought almost made him hesitate before going inside. But, it didn't matter if the boy's parents were indeed waiting for him to step inside. He'll just have to quickly get rid of them all at once.
Peering inside before stepping instead the room, he noticed that the child was sleeping and no angry parents were hiding behind the orange curtains.
Charcoal eyes peered at the mop of blond hair covered mostly by the dark blue bed sheets. He let out a small sigh of relief; this might be easier than he thought. As long as the boy didn't look at him with those innocent clear blue eyes again, it would be easy to kill him when he's this vulnerable.
Relaxing enough to let his guard down, Sasuke took a look around the room that he had visited just a few days ago. It had somewhat changed. It was still messy, but the floor wasn't cluttered with clothes and toys like last time. It seemed like the child, or maybe his mother, cleaned up a little.
The few bits of furniture had been dusted and the boy's belongings on the nightstand next to the bed were organized, except for a broken wooden toy on top of the nightstand.
He vaguely remembered two weeks ago, when he was caught, he accidentally stepped on and crushed something.
I must have broken it.
At a whim, he gathered chakra to his fingers and grabbed the toy along with its broken body parts. With just a tiny flash of blue light, the now fixed toy took the shape of an animal. It was a fox actually, with nine tails. Sasuke slightly wondered where humans had heard the tale of the mystique fox demon.
This child is proving to be more interesting, he thought while carefully setting the fixed toy back on the nightstand with a soft clank.
Shuffling noises coming from the bed filled Sasuke with dread and nervousness. Staying still, he tried to listen for the human boy's slow and even breaths. Instead, he heard an overactive heartbeat and the sound of the covers moving.
Shit!
"You're back!" an excited yet tired whisper came from the rumpled covers.
Startled, Sasuke visibly tensed and whirled around to stare at drowsy blue eyes filled with joy and curiosity.
Those same eyes stared from the tensed, surprised vampire to the fixed toy-fox on the counter, he sat up excitedly. "And you fixed Kyuubi!" he blurted out.
Stop wasting time and kill him!
He pushed back the few bits of hesitation to the back of his head. He had already made up his mind, he couldn't, and he wouldn't back down now, he needed to get this done.
The child stared behind Sasuke before frowning. "Where did your wings go?"
Kill him!
At a blink of an eye, Sasuke took hold of the still drowsy blue-eyed boy. One hand pressed on the boy's mouth to muffle his voice, while the other gripped soft streaks of golden hair. The small boy didn't even resist when Sasuke tilted his head to give the vampire access to the bronze skin of his neck. Sasuke nuzzled his face into the soft skin, inhaling deeply the small boy's sweet scent. Remembering what he came here to do, he softly licked the warm skin and allowed his fangs to emerge. Euphoria and ecstasy filled him at the delicious taste. He wasn't sure he was even supposed to feel like this, but he definitely liked it.
Warmth filled his chest and ran through his body. The small charges of electricity he felt in his heart made him forget where he was, but not what he needed to do. He hadn't bit the boy yet.
"You looked prettier with your wings." A small voice sounded off next to his ear, the warm puffs of air tickling Sasuke's ear and neck.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open.
P-Prettier!
The vampire froze. Panting softly, Sasuke slowly extracted himself from the boy, but couldn't when he noticed that small arms had been wrapped around his torso the entire time, clutching the black material of Sasuke's coat.
After a few seconds, the child must have noticed how tense and uptight Sasuke was feeling, since he let go quietly.
Regaining his posture, the vampire straightened up and backed away a few steps.
The human boy moved to kneel on the mattress, a small, cute blush adorning his whiskered cheeks. "Ano sa! Ano sa! You didn't answer my last question! Are you an angel?"
After what seemed like hours, Sasuke finally found his voice. "You…" he swallowed the knot in his throat. "…were not supposed to know I was here," he whispered.
The child frowned; he had long stopped the eager bouncing he started as soon as he saw that the other was about to respond. But what he said wasn't something he had anticipated.
"Why not? You were the one who came here first!" the child slipped out of his covers and climbed out of his bed to approach a stunned Sasuke. "It's a secret then? I can keep a secret! I didn't tell Iruka you were here last time you came! That counts as a secret right?"
Sasuke's response was only a quirked eyebrow. How can someone so small have so much energy so early in the morning?
"If we keep a secret together…" he paused, smiling shyly. "I guess that makes us friends, right?" Sasuke eyes widened as the child leaned closer and pointed to himself with his thumb.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm a third grader at Konoha Elementary Academy and I'm eight years old!" he puffed out his chest to vainly look tough. Blue eyes were closed in happy slits. It didn't matter that he had to tilt his head to look at Sasuke properly, or that he only came up to Sasuke's stomach.
Sasuke closed his eyes in annoyance at both the ridiculously cheerful human child and for being stupid enough for not killing him when he had the chance, twice!
The vampire felt a migraine coming on. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke and no, I am not an angel, far from it actually." He scoffed.
The blonde stared at him quizzically. "But you had wings! And I saw you fly out of my window! You must be an angel!" the eight year-old circled Sasuke immediately, looking for his wings.
Of course when the little one did not find the wings on his companion, he frowned deeply. However, his face lightened quickly after a few seconds.
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter whether you are an angel or not, what matters is that my wish came true and you are here! We can do a lot of things together! I'll show you around my room, even though there is not much to look at. Or better yet! I'll show around this town! I like this place better than other places I've been to, but I don't really like the people here. But don't worry; I'll protect you from ugly, mean people!" The small boy didn't even seem to be out of breath by the time he was done babbling, much too happy to notice that the taller male was glaring at him deeply.
Then suddenly, Naruto approached the other and touched his right hand.
Sasuke was not prepared for this and visibly flinched by the skin contact and pulled away. The child did one of the most forbidden offenses in vampire standard principles. A human initiated physical contact with a vampire without permission. Physical contact was not allowed between vampires unless they were mates or hunting for human prey.
Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean to." The child took a step back away from the stunned Sasuke.
It was probably at that moment that Sasuke realized that there was no way he could actually kill this child. His scent, his face, and his naïve personality was just one of the most incredibly perfect things he was ever encountered. It would be waste to destroy the little one. It would probably be best if he just disappeared and never come back to see this child again.
"I think I better get going." Sasuke turned towards the window, fully prepared to go home and forget about all the stupid things he had done in just one day. First, he allowed a human to see him, then had a small conversation with him and had physical contact. And now he was letting him live. His brother was right like always, he was really too much of a weak coward to accomplish anything.
He almost made it to the window when he heard a soft sniff behind him.
"But why? Can you stay a little longer? Please? Please? Please?! We can play some games! I don't have many toys 'cause they're kinda expensive, so Iruka makes me most of them."
Feet softly padded towards the closet across the bed where probably most of the child's toys were.
"I also have cards, board games, a soccer ball, and I even have a kite!" the blonde began to jump up and down with excitement as he began to dug around the clotted closet looking for something that both of them knew how to play. It wouldn't be any good if Uchiha-san didn't know how to play, right?
Sasuke turned away from the energetic boy. If he wasn't going to kill the child, he might as well leave; this was a waste of his time.
"Come on Uchiha-san, please! Stay a little bit longer! Play with me please!"
Sasuke groaned.
"Eh, Uchiha-san? Uchiha-san?" Thinking that maybe the older boy couldn't hear him, the child closed the distance between them again. "Hello?! Uchiha-san!" The small blonde whispered loudly, tugging at the other's long coat.
Sasuke whirled around and showed his fangs. "What is it you idiot?!" he hissed, infuriated. Livid eyes tinted red with the Sharingan as he glowered down at the boy.
The child gasped and flinched before becoming quiet. Small fists rubbed his eyes before, of all things, pouting and glaring at the other. "Fine! Leave you jerk! I just wanted to be your friend 'cause you look lonely and sad, and you have the same look that I have when I'm at school. And I can't believe I thought you were sent to be my friend." Anger was quickly replaced with sadness and something a lot like betrayal, but before Sasuke could decipher what it was, the kid, Naruto - he said his name was Naruto- turned back to his bed and pulled the covers over his head, turning on his side so his back faced Sasuke.
Silence filled the room.
Cicadas cheerfully sang, their melodies only growing louder now that the two occupants of the room were still and quiet. Sasuke faced the glass door to scrutinize the sky; it was starting to lighten up. Midnight black turned into a combination of dark blues and light oranges. They were so different and opposite, yet they complemented each other and soon they would work together to create a beautiful sunrise. It won't be long before the sun is out and Itachi wonders why he has not come back from his hunt. He had a few minutes before people bustled into the morning markets and roamed through the streets to go to work. If he was flying back to the mansion, he had to do it now before anyone sees him.
He rubbed his temples and cursed his impatience for not waiting until he became the right age to hunt humans. Why did he had to follow his instincts and be stuck trying to comfort a stupid looking human kid? Well, he wasn't exactly stupid-looking, in fact for some reason; his small complexion and childish, cute appearance somehow excited him, both physically and mentally. That has never really happened before. And he didn't know why but the words the child said struck something deep in him.
We have the same look, huh?
Sasuke cursed softly again for what he was about to do. If Kakashi -or worse Itachi- found out, he would be prohibited from leaving the mansion and Itachi will put him under the Tsukoyomi. And after Sasuke recuperates from it, Itachi will put him under the Tsukoyomi again and again until he goes insane and kills himself.
Turning back to the human chil- to Naruto, he took a deep breath and move towards him knowing very well that the boy was not sleeping; since he could still hear him sob quietly thanks to his heighten senses. He has never witnessed or cheered up a crying infant in his life, but he could very well picture his blue eyes glazed with tears.
Sasuke whispered softly, "I'll come back again sometime and…" he paused when he Naruto tensed on his bed, not expecting the raven-haired to still be there, "…we can be friends, I suppose. We can also play a game, if you like." He turned back to the glass door, very uncomfortable with the stillness coming from the paralyzed child on the bed. A few seconds passed in silence.
I guess he changed his mind.
Sasuke ignored the strange small pang of disappointment that bounced in his chest and instead put a masked of indifference. Conjuring his black wings, he was about to step out into the balcony when he heard a timid, soft voice behind him, "S-see you tonight, then?"
Sasuke paused before smirking. "Hn, maybe." He fully stepped out of the child's room and took off into the sky, heart no longer heavy with guilt from revealing the existence of his race and killing an innocent –and very annoying- child.
Back in the room, a smiling blue-eyed blond child never did once turn to look at Sasuke fly out of his house, or when he asked him to come back tonight. He was more content than he has been in a while. Maybe his wish will come true, maybe he will finally have the close companionship he had always wanted and envied others for.
Never in his life has he ever met someone who wanted his company, much less wanting to be his friend. He was never invited to play with the rest of his classmates during breaks, or he was never included in group projects, since usually no one would want to work with him. His energetic, mischievous, and foolish personality frequently annoyed his classmates. Girls ignored him and avoided him, while boys his age would publicly embarrass and humiliate him with pranks and fights.
This time it looked like it will be different. His wish came true and now he has Sasuke-san as a friend! And even though he was a big jerk and doesn't talk much, he still offered to come back and see him.
His thoughts were short lived as he yawned widely. Groggily, he looked up to his wall-clock. He gasped. Who wakes up at 5:14 in the morning?! He let out a soft whine; he barely had time to sleep! And he had school in less than two hours!
A/N: I know what you're all thinking:
"This chapter was boring!"
"We waited so long for this crap!"
"There are not enough hints of SasuNaru!"
"They were too ooc!"
If you are indeed thinking all that, then we're sorry. This fic was meant to take their relationship at a slow pace. It's not about them making out in the first chapters; after all, Naruto has yet to grow up. And as much as we all enjoy age gaps, having them make out now would be too much for the most of you (not us, we're that perverted).
Anyways, thanks to all the reviews! Hopefully there will be reviews for this chapter as well.
- Iemitsu-Sachi