Vendetta

Rating: T for heavy language, most likely M later for language.

Chapter 3 – Smoke

I first met Uchiha Sasuke on the first day of seventh grade, and my first day of going to school in Konoha. He was the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre that happened when he had been seven…and I ultimately didn't give a flying cracker about it. All I saw was an egotistical brat who had some talent but was letting it go to waste by seeking revenge—on a person who, at thirteen, murdered an entire clan. That kind of stupidity would get you killed, and I said so to him.

Of course, Sasuke challenged me to a fight…that I am very proud to say I won. How? Because my grandfather is more of a slave driver than Iruka-sensei, and because school in Uzu was so much more competitive than here in Konoha. Getting asked to fight twice a day was pretty much the norm back there. Anyway, the thing is, Uchiha Sasuke was a drama queen back when I first met him. Now…now he is the stupidest seventeen year old I have ever met that should already be a chuunin.

Sasuke left Konoha a year ago. How the hell he managed to transfer to a different village without getting labeled as a missing-nin is beyond me, but the chicken-butt did it and now he's living in Oto, this new village that randomly sprung up a couple years ago in Ta no Kuni (rice field country). So, why exactly does he dare to show up in Konoha? Honestly…I have no idea. Even the old man doesn't tell me what's going on with Sasuke-teme. It doesn't make any sense, to suddenly transfer. Ninja don't transfer. Ever. Unless they go missing.

And right now, this guy was staring at me and the scroll that was unrolled on the ground with a line of glistening red blood running across the kanji. I grinned innocently.

"Mind explaining why you know the Hokage's summon?"

Just like the guy to get straight to the heart of the matter. Have I mentioned that I utterly dislike Uchiha Sasuke? There are things called 'beating around the bush' you know, to give the person you're questioning time to make up a convincing lie, which is actually much harder than people think. 'Course it might be better this way so I won't have to deal with that 'white lie' dilemma. Only Kami knows who messed up that could get.

"Kushina-san and I are related…so I'm occasionally allowed to use Gamakichi for my own personal gains." Dear Kami-sama, please let this hastily thought up lie work, or else someone may figure out that little Namikaze Arashi is alive…and that his name is actually fishcake.

Unsurprisingly, Sasuke didn't buy it. Or if he did, he was raising his eyebrow for a completely different reason. "…And why, exactly, would she allow you to use her husband's summon?"

"Because I'm her only living relative in Konoha, so she feels a special connection to me," I said. Inwardly, I shivered at what I had just said. My mother was not the type of person to do mushy things like that, even if they were a blood relation. "Anyway—where's that friend of yours that you wanted to annoy by using Sakura?"

He rolled his eyes but didn't object to my changing the subject. "He's probably fooling around," Sasuke said shortly.

"I'm sure," I retorted, rolling the scroll back up and stowing it away in my pouch. "You shouldn't have done that…not when you know how she still feels about you."

"She doesn't seem to have a problem with liking others at the same time." Unless I was mistaken, was there a trace of…bitterness in his voice?

"What do you want from her, Sasuke?" I rubbed my eyes wearily. "You pretty much rejected her and belittled her at every chance, Ino too. Then again, Sakura is at fault too, for allowing herself to fall in love with a teme like you."

"Not with me," Sasuke corrected with a smirk, "she fell in love with an image. I wonder… who will pick up the pieces when she realizes that?" He shot a knowing look in my direction.

Snorting, I began to walk towards my apartment with Sasuke following. "Playing the role of matchmaker, Sasuke?" I asked without any real bite to my words. Me and Sasuke…I've always thought we're more like brothers than anything else. But he's hellbent on revenge, so we never got that close with his tendency to go train every minute of every day. "Besides, me and Sakura?" I locked my hands together behind my head, looking up at the cloudy sky. "Y'know, first Shino asked me if I'll ever fall for Hinata, and now you with Sakura. I don't like the girls here, simple as that."

Though he'd never admit it, Sasuke did care for Sakura, even if it was because she had the potential to become a valuable ally in the near future. He was looking out for her—a depressed kunoichi helps no one, trust me—just like Shino and Kiba for Hinata. Funny how they were trying to keep them safe from me, the guy who's shown absolutely no interest in the local girls. It's not that they're ugly or not my type…it just gets ugly if I have a fling with a girl near home.

"I'm starting to wonder if you're the asexual one," Sasuke said dryly. I sniggered; Sasuke's sexual orientation, or lack thereof, had been a greatly discussed topic with many people—hell, there was even a betting pool on it led by Tsunade-baba…though he's probably not gay if her judgment is anything to go by.

We were quiet on the way to my apartment. It was in the upper-scale district of Konoha, meaning that a lot of single merchants or merchants with their families lived either above me or below. The worst part though? The merchants with families owned entire floors…so I had to deal with dozens of baby feet pattering on every square inch of my ceiling. Still, I loved my little apartment; it offered some solace from school, and my dad's former genin team nagging me all the time, though it was mostly Rin-senpai and Obito-nii.

Those two are the most adamant about me telling everyone of my lineage. They're less forceful about it, but Rin-senpai does remind me about it, sometimes so subtly that I don't realize it until I'm lying in bed. It's annoying, even worse than what Sasuke felt when Ino and Sakura stalked him.

"Welcome to my humble abode," I muttered sarcastically, entering the apartment complex. My room was on the sixth floor, one away from the top. Sasuke's been here a couple times before he left, so it didn't surprise me much when he pressed '6' on the elevator button panel. So many shiny buttons…my landlord actually threatened to evict me once when I pressed all the buttons in all the elevators. Ah, good times, good times.

I held back a smile and walked out of the elevator doors once they 'dinged', leading the way to my room, number 72. I've always found it amusing that if the two numbers were added together, it would equal 9. Coincidental much?

"So," I began, opening the door and entering my rather messy room, "why exactly did you come today? I'm pretty sure it's not a day off wherever you go now."

Once he had taken a seat on my unimportant tan couch and I had sat in my favorite chair—it vibrates—Sasuke spoke slowly, his eyes focusing on a knot in my mahogany table. "I'm not coming back to Konoha after this."

…Honestly, I'm more shocked he actually wasted his time to say the damn thing. "Okay…you're not coming back…why are you telling me this?"

"To tell everyone else," Sasuke answered, apparently unfazed by my blunt disregard of him leaving forever. "I'm to leave Konoha permanently in the hour; you're the first one I found…next to Sakura."

"Did you do that just to make her happy?" I asked with a smirk growing on my face. "Aw Sasuke-chan, you do care!"

He snarled and threw one of the couch's pillows at my head. I ducked, though winced when the sound of something breaking reached my ears. "Idiot," Sasuke hissed, "that was done to annoy my companion, you know that dobe."

"Then why'd you react so harshly?" I muttered, looking over my shoulder to check on the smashed vase. Shrugging, I turned back; it wasn't like I had flowers around anyway.

"It doesn't concern you," he answered swiftly, standing. "I'll get my companion…"

I didn't bother getting up from my chair as Sasuke left, locking the door on his way out. We were guys, it's that simple. Drawn out goodbyes just weren't our thing; there's no need for tears when you'll have plenty of time during the night to sob your heart out. It's like I haven't done it when I was younger, wondering why the hell everyone had parents and all I had was a grandfather.

Sure, Sakura and Ino would be coming to school with puffy red eyes tomorrow, but honestly, this would have happened sooner or later. Sasuke's like my brother, I know that, and I was closer to him than any of his fangirls or anyone in the 'it' crowd, so I knew that eventually, he would throw everything away for revenge, and to tell the truth for once, I didn't have a problem with it. Friends come and go, it's true, so I never let myself grow that close to Sasuke either.

Still, it stung a bit, knowing that one of your closest friends would now be just another foreign ninja. I sighed, a slow bittersweet smile coming across my face. Stupid Sasuke and his ambitions…he wasn't the only one who had been hurt before by his own blood. Brushing my hand against the seal that contained the monstrous fox, I let my head fall back to rest on the dark brown leather chair. Why was being a teenager so fucking hard? It's supposed to be getting drunk every weekend, banging a hot girl without getting her pregnant, skipping class and having a fun time. Not watching your supposed best friend leave indefinitely.

Ah, the life of a seventeen year old ninja-in-training. Such a pain in the ass. I laughed to myself and went to the kitchen to rummage around in the drawers. Kakashi had given them to me on my fourteenth birthday, saying that the fox would keep me from dying slowly like other people. I smirked and held up the rectangular package, along with a lone lighter. With a flick, the box was opened for the third time in my life, and a single white cigarette came out. Another flick and the end was lit. Breathing out heavily, I watched as a large cloud of white smoke appeared from the cigarette butt.

Smoking wasn't a healthy habit. That's why I rarely ever smoke unless it's for a good reason. For example: realizing that your childhood best friend from Uzu was now dead. That's a good reason. Or hearing another close friend say that she had miscarried a child she didn't even know she had—the kid of the other best friend who was now dead. Those are good reasons—to me—to just get some relief. Sasuke leaving? Also a good reason.

Another way to get release? Well, to use Kiba's logic, get laid. That one I don't do that often…sex just because you can? Doesn't sound like a good idea when the girl could get pregnant, but in situations like this, I could relent from my rules. Hell, after Naoya's funeral about two years back, I didn't go back to my grandfather's house for the rest of night or the next morning. Though I'd have to make sure the girl was pretty drunk; like I said, I don't like flings near home.

Let's see…today's Thursday, and as much as I know Kakashi-nii's gonna be late tomorrow morning, there's always a chance he'll be on time just to spite me, so staying out late tonight is a no. Staying at home all day and exhausting my one and only pack of cigarettes, also a no because I really don't want rotten yellow teeth—though Kyuubi will prevent that from happening, but still, I don't want a girl complaining about my bad breath. Maybe I'll just go out for a while, take a long walk through the market, clear my head a bit. I nodded to myself and threw the cigarette away, stowing its pack back in the last drawer—the one that no one ever looks in.

Once I had rinsed out my mouth with tap water from the sink, I quickly changed from the formal black pants to a pair of faded blue jeans and left my room. I bypassed the elevator and ran down the stairs instead, scowling when I saw the lobby was full. Stupid people wanting to get in a high-class complex. Hell, I wouldn't be here myself if my mom hadn't insisted on it when I left.

Now, to walk around aimlessly until ten o'clock rolls by so then I can hopefully sleep dreamlessly and deal with everything tomorrow. Yeah, the chances of that happening are about less than zero on a good day. I rolled my eyes and yawned, bringing up a hand to cover my mouth. What to do, what to do….Things were so boring in Konoha. You'd think after five years here, I'd get used to it, but no, I'm still wailing about Uzu and—

"Sorry, Hinata," I muttered, hauling the dark haired girl to her feet. Expectedly, she was blushing and bringing her two index fingers together as usual. Obito-nii…I don't think I'll ever be able to go on a date with this girl…there would be absolutely no conversation. None. Nada. Zip.

"I-it's alright, Naruto-kun." Wow. Only one stutter and she's talking directly to me. A new record, I think. "I think I should be going now, so excuse me . . ."

My eye twitched and I cursed Obito with every profanity in my vocabulary—which is a lot. A lot. "Hinata, are you busy right now?"

She blushed. Heavily. I wondered if she would pass out from all the blood rushing to her head.

"U-uh, no, Naruto-kun, why?"

"I wanted to talk to you, how about over ramen?" I asked, internally wincing when her face turned even redder. Geez, exactly how much blood can go up there?

It took her a few minutes to answer. "I'd like that a lot, Naruto-kun," she said shyly.

"Great." Hopefully she didn't notice the sarcasm literally dripping off the word. "Ichiraku's is just down the street from here." I led the way to the small ramen stand that I had frequented often during my early teens. 'Course, I kinda avoided the place like the black plague once I realized that ramen stunts your growth. It doesn't really matter now though; I'm pretty much done growing, though I did hope that one day I'd be able to match Shino with his 6'3" height. I'm just a measly 5'11". It's not that short, but I'm only an inch away from six feet! Or more like half an inch!

"Naruto, is that you?" Ayame, Teuchi's daughter asked from behind the bar. She smiled easily at me. "It's been a while. Is this your girlfriend?"

…I didn't know that you could hear a person blushing. "No, just a friend, Ayame-chan." I also could hear that blush fade away to be replaced by a frown. "Could I get a miso ramen, and a …" I looked to Hinata for her order.

"Just a small shrimp," she murmured, getting on a stool.

Taking the one next to her, I sighed softly. This wasn't in my plans for the rest of the day, but at least tomorrow will be a bit better if this gets done now. "Listen, Hinata," I started while we waited for our orders, quite aware of Ayame listening in, "I know that you like me. As in like." Well, I guess Sasuke has rubbed off on me a bit; I sure as hell didn't beat around the bush with that statement.

"O-oh!" Her face flooded with red, contrasting heavily with her pale eyes. Damn…is her face turning brown with blood?

"Before you pass out, I really need to tell you something, so hang of for a bit, would you?" Waiting until she nodded, I continued while staring blankly at the wall ahead, "I've known about your feelings for a while now, and I'm sorry that I haven't said anything about them; I was afraid of what Kiba and Shino would do to me." I heard her gasp as she started to piece together the clues. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but right now, I'm not looking for a girlfriend, mostly because there aren't a lot of girls that are my type around."

Shockingly, she didn't bolt as I had first thought. Once our ramen had arrived by a glaring Ayame—I had shrugged helplessly at her—Hinata spoke again, her voice just above a whisper. "A-and what is your type, Naruto-kun?"

My type…girls that are killer in bed. But that wouldn't exactly work for Hinata. "I guess…" Well, might as well use some truth…and some lies. "Tall girls, girls who speak their mind, preferably redheads or brunette, though I do take the occasional blonde, and I guess girls that aren't as…conservative." That last one…what, I'm a teenager with teenager hormones, and I like girls that are a bit provocative.

"I see." After that, we ate our ramen in silence. I wasn't surprised; except for the tall comment, I had basically listed the opposite of Hinata, especially with the provocative mention. "Naruto-kun…do you like traditional girls?"

"Maybe." I shrugged, placing the now empty ramen bowl down. "Depends if they're stuck up and arrogant or not." Sighing, I turned to the Hyuuga heiress. "Hinata, I don't mind you as a person, but there are people that you know you'll never fall in love with, understand? Hell, I don't even know the difference between like love and lust. But let me ask you this," my lips twitched upwards in a smirk, "why do you like me?"

She obviously wasn't expecting that question if her reaction was anything to go by—nearly making her elbow slip into her almost empty ramen bowl. However, she did answer, and her reply was pretty much what I had expected.

"I-I think you're smart, and strong, a-and," I had to lean in to catch the next one, "handsome, and you are very nice, Naruto-kun." She finished by blushing again and wringing her hands together.

"Well…if I'm so smart, Hinata, then why am I in regular classes? If I'm strong, why am I still in the academy? I won't deny that I'm handsome," I smirked here, "but I'm not a nice guy. Truth is, you don't know much about me." Placing enough money on the counter to cover both our meals, I left but not before whispering in Hinata's ear, "And one more thing about girls I like: foreign accents win me over pretty quickly. Later Hinata!"

The second I was outside, I laughed softly to myself. It's not that I liked turning Hinata down—she is quite well-endowed after all—but she's too shy for me. Thinking back on it, most of what I said my type is actually true, especially the foreign accents. That Suna chick had me after her first sentence…and it could have done with the fact that she beat my ass into the ground with that huge fan of hers.

Ah, good times, good times.

"…Naruto?"

I started at the voice and took cover in the nearest trees, immediately leaping to the branches and speeding away from any forms of civilization. Easily keeping up with me was the owner of the voice. I made a frantic gesture with my hand and stopped about fifty feet above ground, leaning against the tree trunk in what I hoped was nonchalance.

Across me, the dark figure stopped as well and came into what little light there was. I breathed a sigh of relief when the familiar face popped up.

"I swear to God Haku, you gave me a heart attack. I thought it was the old devil for a second," I muttered, plopping down on my butt. It was Haku—the guy I thought as more of a brother than Sasuke—which, admittedly, wasn't that hard if you compared him to Naoya, but still.

Haku nodded, his long hair falling into his feminine face. The first time I met Haku—and I can remember every single detail—I am sorry to say that I mistook him for a girl. A lot of people do that, but the guy hardly makes it easy for anyone by wearing a kimono and having his hair that long!

"What brings you this far west?" I asked, holding back a yawn.

"I have news for you," he answered in that demure way of his. Reaching into one of his many pouches—being a Kiri hunter does have its advantages, I suppose—he pulled out a scroll with a dark blue lining. I stared at it. …Now why was that so familiar?

"It's Hitan," Haku said in response to my unasked question and tossed my the scroll.

I caught in awkwardly—it was much lighter than I'd thought—and stared at it curiously. Hitan was the dude informed on everything—BINGO book updates, the latest decapitations, new cults being formed, and, most importantly for people like me: the Akatsuki.

"You going now?" I murmured, opening the scroll slowly. My eyes drank up the dark kanji written in such a way that only those who had either signed the blood scroll owned by Hitan or those who had been trained to read it were allowed to do so. My brow furrowed at the words and after a few moments I burned it with a simple Katon jutsu.

"Yes." Haku nodded again. "I was only meant to come to send you that; I'm on mission as well."

Ah. That explained why he was being unusually cold.

"M'k," I said, waving a bit. "I'll see you…?"

"In a few weeks time. Zabuza will be there as well," Haku said with a faint smile appearing on his face.

I rolled my eyes and grumbled, "Go, do your mission, kill the dude and make your googly-eyes at someone else."

Haku only smiled serenely and vanished a moment later.

Now then… Glancing at the remains of the scroll, I got up and stretched, yawning loudly as I craned my neck up to see the now moon-filled sky. I guessed it was probably a little past ten, if that.

"Apparently I'm not going to school tomorrow," I said, grinning. "Good thing too; I didn't do my homework."

AN : Sorry—super, super sorry! My little sister has my account password since my folks won't let her get her own and the little brat posted up the third chapter—a draft of it. I had been planning on posting it, which was why the AN (the very angry AN, sorry about that) was there, but I was held up with some stuff at school. And then, my little devil of a sister decided to be 'nice' and posted it for me. Before my friend told me that the OC really, really needed to go.

So—anyone who received review replies from me, those were actually from the brat—again, shared account since that is a fanfic-only email. Sorry, andI changed the password so it won't happen again.