Hey everyone, it's been a while. Here's the deal. I wasn't happy with how I ended the last chapter. It just didn't have the flow I had originally intended because I couldn't remember how I wanted to tie it off. Luckily, I found one of my many notes that are scattered around my living space which reminded me what I wanted to write. So, I've gone back and made some adjustments. Nothing story altering so you don't have to go back and read the end. Although I'd done it so long ago that most of you probably read the current version. Haha. I just like it better this updated way. It sits better with me than what I had there originally.
Chapter 1
He needed to get out of the house. He just needed to get away from his father for a little while. It was half way through summer vacation and on this particular day, Itachi had escaped to the mall to hang out with some of his friends.
Kisame Hoshigaki was probably the closest of Itachi's friends. The male was an intimidating character due to his larger build and the fact that he towered over most at 6' 5". His spiked up hair was dyed blue, his favorite color, and his teeth were unnaturally sharp. The senior was 180 pounds of muscle but that hardly made him dim-witted. Of all Itachi's companions, Kisame understood him best and could read him fairly well. They'd meet in grade school. Kisame happened to be wandering the hallways when he spotted Itachi ignoring his usual bullies. Having at one point been bullied for his unusual looks, the larger boy hadn't hesitated to come to the Uchiha's aid. Although the younger had protested and stated he didn't need help, the other ignored the prodigy. It hadn't taken long for Kisame to have the bullies running off. After that, Kisame always had Itachi's back and surprisingly, the two became fast friends.
Deidara Iwa was a junior like Itachi, but much more boisterous. The blonde artist had transferred to Konoha in the middle of seventh grade and had hated the prodigy when he first met him. In the summer before eighth grade, they formed a stable friendship that gained strength over the next few years. However, the old rivalry was still alive within Deidara and it sometimes reared its head in and out of school. It was also well known that the artist rarely went anywhere without his sketch pad. As a matter of fact, he was currently formulating designs for tattoos with it. For whatever reason, the teen wanted one on either palm as well as one on his chest. He was a strange one.
Sasori Akasuna was almost as reserved as the Uchiha. However, Sasori had a short-temper and was rather impatient. Like Deidara, the red head was an artist, but their views on art differed greatly which often led to debates. While Deidara believed art was fleeting, Sasori believed that true art lasted forever. Still, the blonde respected the redhead senior as a fellow artist.
All four of them belonged to a club known as Akatsuki. The job of the group's members was to keep order among the students in Konoha High where teachers failed. They helped incoming freshman get accustom to the school and its rules, written and unwritten. They also made sure things didn't become too boring around Konoha.
They were a force to be reckoned with. While all members were exceptionally gifted in many areas of expertise, each had their own role that suited them best and had the group working at its fullest potential. One would be considered insane to oppose just one of the Akatsuki. Facing the club as a whole would be suicide.
But the four friends weren't at the mall on business. They were there to just be normal teenagers. Or in Itachi's case, to escape his father's hounding. They were sitting around a table with their drinks of choice. Well, Deidara would've preferred a coffee, but the others refused to let him buy something caffeinated. Eventually, the blonde accompanied Itachi to Jamba Juice and now, he was attempting to keep up his grumpy façade despite how pleased he was with his smoothie. Sasori and Kisame, on the other hand, were enjoying their iced coffees from Starbucks.
"Either of you seen House of Terror?" Kisame asked the two artists. "Man, it was horrible! Itachi and I saw it last weekend."
"Isn't that the new horror movie? I thought it was supposed to be extremely gory," Sasori commented. "The kinda stuff you like," he added with a gesture with his head.
The blue haired male nodded. "Tons of blood. Ridiculous amounts of it. That's why it was stupid. No one is stupid enough to do what the main characters did. 'Hey, let's spend the night in a strange house in the middle of nowhere with blood coating almost every inch of the wall. And those eerie voices echoing through the halls are nothing to worry about. Yeah, nothing bad could possibly happen.' They deserved to die."
"Then I'll pick the movie next time," Itachi remarked before taking another sip of his beverage.
Deidara snorted. "You pick a movie? You'd probably be torn between a documentary or something 'intellectually stimulating'. Boring, un!"
The prodigy's eyes flicked towards the blonde. "Not every movie needs to have explosions and I hadn't realized that one movie had contained so much dialogue. It's not my fault you were unwilling to listen."
Deidara shrugged as he returned to his sketchbook which he'd pulled from his messenger bag almost immediately after they sat down. Sasori rolled his eyes as the other artist continued his drawing. It seemed the blonde was struck with some inspiration.
Ignoring Deidara's sudden yet common urge to be creative, the group of friends continued to converse only for it to be disturbed about twenty minutes later.
Break away from everybody
Break away from everything
If you can't stand the way this place is
Take yourself to higher places
Digging through his pocket, Itachi retrieved his phone and after briefly checking the caller ID, he discovered it was his mother. He quickly apologized to his friends before taking the call.
"Hello Mother."
"Itachi, are you feeling better?" the woman questioned. Her motherly instincts had made her aware of the growing turmoil within her son as a result of her husband. It raised concern for Mikoto who wanted Itachi to be happy.
"A bit I suppose," came the seventeen year old's response. "What did you need?"
There was a chuckle from the other end. "How is it that you always know when I need you to do something? Some of your father's business associates are in town so your father and I are going to dinner with them. I need you to pick up Sasuke for me at 6. He's over at the Inuzuka's for Kiba's birthday party. I would've asked Shisui but he's working tonight."
Itachi mentally cursed his luck. Since the prodigy adored his little brother, he often looked forward to some bonding time. They would be free to watch movies or play video games late into the night or just sit around talking about nothing in particular. Whatever they felt like. But he'd have to go over to the Inuzuka's and most likely have a confrontation with Hana before he could spend time with his baby brother.
"All right. I'll take care of it. Anything else?"
"Just make sure you both eat. There're leftovers if you don't feel like making anything," Mikoto replied. The young man could practically hear the smile in her voice.
"Hn."
"All right dear. Take care. And don't forget. 6 o'clock!"
"I know. Don't worry. Enjoy your dinner."
With that, he hung up and checked the time on his phone. It was almost 4:30 which meant he had plenty of time to prepare himself before facing the combatant Hana Inuzuka. Perhaps he should bring back-up.
The Uchiha glanced at his friends. Kisame and Deidara were laughing hysterically about something while Sasori's hand tightened dangerously around his cup. They'd probably only make things worse if they came along to pick up Sasuke. Besides, Hana didn't like them anyway. The last think Itachi needed was to piss the young woman off before he opened his mouth. He'd have to leave Kisame in the car since they'd decided to car pool and he'd have no choice but to bring him along.
"What was that about, Itachi?" Kisame asked once he was finally able to suppress his laughter.
"I need to pick up my brother later," the prodigy replied as he pocketed his cell phone.
"I assume that because you aren't in a rush, you have some time," Sasori observed.
The raven nodded. "I did want to stop by the bookstore before leaving though," he stated before taking a sip of his beverage. "You're all welcome to join me if you want."
"Eh, sounds fine with me," Kisame replied after finishing off his coffee. "I've been wanting to look for some books on marine biology anyway."
The senior had been interested in ocean life for as long as Itachi could remember. It was actually his dream to become a marine biologist who's main focus was the sharks, his favorite animal. After his last year at Konoha High, the blue haired man would be off to university to complete his studies. He wanted to get a jump start now however so Itachi wasn't surprised that his friend wanted to accompany him to the nearest bookstore.
"Might as well," Sasori commented with a shrug while Kisame scanned the mall for a nearby garbage bin. "I have nothing better to do. What about you, brat?"
Deidara shot the red head a glare at the term. "I may get some ideas from the covers."
"You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover," Sasori argued.
"I wouldn't be judging! I'd simply be using the cover art to stimulate my own creative juices."
Kisame grinned after successfully throwing his empty cup into a garbage can. "Then let's go," he stated as he stood up.
"Hold on a sec," Deidara murmured as he gathered his sketchbook and pencil. The friends finished off their beverages while they waited for him to slip his belongings into his bag. Itachi and Sasori got up to throw their empty cups away so the blonde quickly chugged the remainder of his down.
"Look out," he declared. The heads-up gave Itachi and Sasori just enough time to move out of the way for Deidara to toss his cup into the garbage.
The group then made their way through the mall to the bookstore. The friends entered and while Itachi and Kisame split off to better achieve their own goals, the two artists stuck together as they wandered aimlessly through the store.
Fifteen minutes later after he'd already made his selection, Kisame found the Uchiha still staring at the bookshelves.
"Why don't you get the Harry Potter series or something? That should keep you busy for a while," the senior suggested.
"Already read it," Itachi responded as his dark eyes continued their scan of the books. "I figured I'd get more classic works this time anyway. It's been a while since I bought any of those."
"Okay, then do you wanna use this time to talk about your dad then? I know he's the reason you've been off today."
Finally, Itachi's eyes shift from the bookshelves to his friend. He quirked a brow in question.
"You don't normally invite us to accompany you to a bookstore," the taller male explained. "It's your place where you're free to be you. No one will judge your choice of reading material. Now, you've got Deidara here to comment about any book you decide to pick up."
Itachi shrugged as he moved further down the aisle to look at some other books. "It doesn't matter and I'd rather not discuss my father. You know I work as his assistant during the weekdays so the weekends are my time off. I prefer not to make that time about him when it's the only time I'm free from him."
Kisame flinched. "Do you really hate him that much?"
Itachi's hand came up to pull one of the paperbacks from the others. He studied it as he spoke. "I don't hate him. I just spend way too much time with him. I love and respect my father, but he's the type of man who needs to have complete control. He even tries to control my life which makes it difficult to have a good relationship with him. I want to be my own person, not his puppet. That's nothing new."
Kisame followed Itachi as he continued to look around and eventually, the raven was holding four books and was contemplating a fifth.
"Just get it," the blue haired male commented. "It's not like you can't afford it."
"My parents can afford it. I'm not here to spend money that is not my own. My money consists of only my paycheck and allowance," Itachi argued as he returned the book to the shelf.
Having made his selection, the raven made his way towards the check-out counter with Kisame. Just as the two finished paying, they heard Deidara nagging the redheaded artist.
"Please? I could really use the ride," the blonde begged.
"For the last time, we live in opposite directions," Sasori replied, obviously annoyed. "Ask Itachi since you'll be going the same way."
The prodigy sighed as Kisame patted his shoulder sympathetically. The two artists reached their friends and Deidara immediately directed the question to the Uchiha.
"Itachi, can you give me a ride home?"
The raven took a quick look at the clock on his phone before determining he wouldn't have time to drop of Deidara before getting Sasuke.
"If I recall correctly, you and my brother can't stand to be breathing the same air," Itachi began. "And I simply don't have time to get you home beforehand."
The blonde deflated, but Kisame came to his rescue. Placing a hand on the younger male's shoulder, the senior declared that he'd make sure Deidara behaved around Itachi's little brother. Too tired to argue with the two, Itachi reluctantly conceded and the four made their way to the parking lot. After bidding Sasori a brief good-bye, the remaining three piled into Itachi's black Hyundai Sonata. Kisame took the passenger's seat while Deidara sat in back.
Once the Uchiha had pull out of the parking spot and began to drive off, Deidara leaned forward between the two seats.
"So where we headed?"
"To get my brother," Itachi replied blankly.
"You know that's not what I meant," Deidara grumbled. The raven could practically hear his friend's frown.
Understanding that he wouldn't receive an answer from the prodigy, Deidara chatted idly with Kisame for the duration of the ride. However as they pulled into a drive way, the two took notice of a red SUV.
"Ah," Kisame observed with a grin. "Isn't that Inuzuka's car?"
"Don't even think about it," Itachi stated. His tone was authoritative. "Kisame, you need to move to the back seat so Sasuke can sit up front. Other than that, neither of you are to get out of this vehicle."
"All right," Deidara sighed dejectedly.
Itachi and Kisame climbed out of the car, but Itachi didn't move towards the front door until his friend took a seat beside Deidara. He stared at his two friends for a while before finally walking up the rest of the driveway to the door. Ringing the doorbell, he silently hoped Hana wasn't the one who would open the door. He would've preferred if she wasn't even home, but it was clear that she was since her vehicle was parked outside. He was pleased when it turned out being her mother who greeted him.
"Ah, Itachi! You must be here for Sasuke, right?"
The seventeen year-old smiled politely and nodded. The woman stepped aside to let him in and he was immediately swarmed by the family's pack of dogs. They sniffed at him enthusiastically causing Tsume to laugh at him. Even Hana's dogs seemed to like him. It must just be Hana who hated him then.
"The kids are out back," Tsume stated once she'd ushered the dogs away. "You'll find Sasuke out there."
"Thank you," he replied before heading to the back door. Sliding it open, he called for his brother.
"Sa-"
Or at least he tried too.
Itachi stepped into the backyard and froze. His voice got caught in his throat at the sight before him. Most of Kiba's friends were gone. That must have been why Hana was comfortable enough to wear only a bikini as she worked on her tan. Just a black bikini as she floated lazily in the family's pool on an inflatable lounge chair. She was in the yard in clear view of the neighbors. At the tail end of her little brother's birthday pool party no less. Yet, Itachi felt as if he'd intruded on something personal. Hana wasn't typically what one would call a private person, but the situation made the prodigy feel awkward. Maybe even a little guilty.
It was a ridiculous notion, Itachi knew that. But it was one nonetheless.
"Big brother!"
The sound of his little brother's voice had Itachi directing his gaze away from Hana before she caught him staring. Instead, he focused his attention on the boy with a duck-like hairstyle who was jogging toward him.
"What are you doing here, Itachi?" Sasuke asked once he'd arrived at his brother's side.
"Mother and Father have dinner plans so I was asked to pick you up," the raven explained as he placed a hand on Sasuke's head and ruffled his soft hair. He had to smile at the boy's displeased expression due to the gesture.
"Sasuke!" called one of his friends. It was a loud blonde with odd whisker-like marks on his cheeks. Itachi recognized him as his brother's best friend, Naruto. "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah," Sasuke yelled back. "I'll see you guys later."
Although they'd all most likely be at Sasuke's birthday party in a couple weeks, Itachi knew they'd get together at some point before that. Even if it meant Sasuke begging him for a ride.
Kiba offered to show them out and they'd been about to enter the house again when Sasuke suddenly turned around.
"Bye Hana," he'd said with a smile.
That gave the brunette no choice but to acknowledge Itachi because now there was no way she could claim she hadn't seen him.
"Bye Sasuke," she responded kindly from the pool before looking at Itachi. Her expression was remarkably cold considering it was July. The raven chose to ignore it. "Uchiha," she practically growled.
"Hana," he replied with a polite nod.
And with that, their exchange was over. Itachi and Sasuke entered the house behind Kiba. After briefly thanking the Inuzuka for having Sasuke over, the two said good-bye and left. As they walked towards the car, the younger of the brothers took notice of the two people already inside.
"Why are they here?" Sasuke asked gruffly.
"I need to drive them home," Itachi explained. "It won't take long."
The two got into the car and after buckling his seatbelt, Sasuke grumpily crossed his arms over chest.
"What's wrong, brat?" Deidara asked from the backseat. "Didn't you have fun?"
Sasuke shot the blonde a glare while Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.
'God must hate me,' he thought to himself as he put the car in reverse and backed out of the driveway.
Itachi's muscles were tense as he waited for Deidara and Sasuke to starting fighting. It was hardly noticeable, but his back was stiff and his hands were gripping the wheel tightly. He knew Deidara was full of smartass comments and while his brother was nowhere near as vocal as the blonde, he could hold his own against the artist.
It seemed Sasuke took notice of his older brother's stress.
"Itachi? Is something wrong?"
"Other than the pole up his ass," Deidara snickered under his breath.
The remark earned an elbow to the ribs from Kisame and a sharp glare from the young raven in the passenger's seat. Itachi simply ignored them in favor of focusing on driving.
"Everything's fine," he stated reflexively, making his brother frown. Knowing his brother, he'd probably ask again once the two in the back seat were gone.
Sure enough, once Deidara and Kisame had been dropped off at their respective homes and the two Uchiha were heading home, Sasuke looked over at his brother.
"I don't understand why you have a problem with the Inuzuka," the twelve year old stated. "They're good people."
Itachi sighed. "I have nothing against the Inuzuka family."
"Then what is it? Do you have hots for Kiba's sister or something?"
That had Itachi looking away from the road. "Excuse me?" he asked his sibling. By the boy's choice of words, it seemed his blonde best friend was rubbing off on him.
"Well, you were staring at her back at the house," Sasuke explained.
"I wasn't staring," the elder replied calmly as he changed lanes. "Hana hates me. I was simply locating her so I could put as much distance between us as possible. Better to avoid her than start a war."
Sasuke shrugged at that. "So what's the plan for tonight?"
"Well," Itachi began as he turned a corner. "Shisui is working so he won't be home until later and I'm sure Mother and Father won't be back until around 2 or 3 in the morning since it's a business dinner. We've got leftovers in the fridge and a stack of movies in your room."
"Excellent," Sasuke answered, rubbing his hands together. Suddenly, a thought struck the boy. "Hey big brother? Why didn't you go to dinner? You work for Father after all. Shouldn't you need to be present?"
"I am free from those duties on weekends. I'm not obligated to attend and therefore, I choose not to. That was the agreement Father and I made. Besides, the last thing I want to do right now is get all dressed up in a tight suit that makes it difficult to breathe, much less move, just to attend a formal dinner in one of the private rooms at a high class restaurant while Father makes nice with some business associates."
"But you hold an important position in the company," Sasuke persisted.
The prodigy remained silent while he mentally sighed. 'To be perfectly honest Sasuke, I don't care,' he thought to himself.
The younger Uchiha seemed to notice that his brother's eyes were completely void and the topic was finally dropped. Luckily, they were pulling into the driveway of their house.
Sasuke barely waited for Itachi to park the car before hopping out of the car and announcing "I'm picking the movie!"
The elder chuckled as he watched his brother run to the door. After grabbing his newly bought books, Itachi followed behind at slower pace. Coming up beside Sasuke, he ruffled the younger's hair affectionately before unlocking the door and entering the house.
"I'll heat up the pasta," Itachi stated as he slipped off his shoes. "Unless of course, you'd rather order pizza."
"I ate not too long ago, but if we order now, I'll be hungry by the time it gets here," Sasuke answered.
"Then I'll call while you pick out some movies."
Satisfied with that decision, Sasuke took off up the stairs to go to his room. When he came back down, he found Itachi in the kitchen hanging up his phone. There are two drinks on the counter which the raven must have poured while he was on the phone. Hearing footsteps behind him, the prodigy glanced over his shoulder. The younger of the brothers held up two DVDs.
"Which do you want to watch first: Fight Club or Big Lebowski?"
Chuckling, Itachi replied "What would Mother think if she knew I let you watch those?"
"Well, she's not gonna find out because you're a wonderful big brother."
Smiling, Itachi picked up the glasses and walked to the living room. His sibling followed close behind and while Itachi walked around the couch to set down the drinks, Sasuke decided to just hop over the back. The twelve year old held the movies up again for Itachi to take. Not having a preference for which they watched first, Itachi picked one at random and walked over to the DVD player.
As the seventeen year old set everything up, Sasuke got himself settled on the couch. Itachi joined him not long after and they began the movie. As the movie played, the two chatted. Their conversations usually stemmed from thoughts triggered by the movie.
When the doorbell rang, Itachi got up and paid for the pizza. He returned to the couch and set the box on the table in front of them before handing Sasuke a plate to serve himself. Sometime after the second movie had started, Shisui came home. After changing his clothes, the eldest joined them on the couch and stole a slice of pizza from Itachi.
"How was work?" Itachi asked his cousin.
Shisui gave a shrug. "Another day, another dime. I have the early shift tomorrow. I'm hoping for a promotion or at least a raise soon. It'd really help me out when it comes time to look for an apartment. It'd be nice to pay your parents back too."
"You know there's absolutely no chance my Mother will accept any money from you," Itachi replied.
Again, Shisui shrugged. "I don't like debts going unpaid. Even if I am family."
"You can worry about it later. For now, just watch the movie and enjoy the summer."
Itachi's ringtone is Break by Three Days Grace. It seemed to suit him. Then again, there are quite a few songs that I listen to that do. No guarantees for when I'll be able to update again and I apologize for that. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with this story or any of my others.