Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the Naruto characters.
Chapter Two
~When you arrive at a new place and it feels like home, when there's kind people to welcome you in, that's exactly when you know you're not all alone.~
Sasuke was vaguely aware of himself being slightly jostled against something; just enough to wake him up from his nap by some extent.
He shifted his position, burrowing his head farther into whatever was jostling him, attempting to get comfortable so he could sleep some more.
Taking a breath of air in, Sasuke immediately recognized the scent as his older brother, and he also recognized that his older brother was talking to a woman, but this woman was a voice he hadn't heard before.
Letting himself be a small bit noisy, Sasuke faked that he was still asleep by breathing in and out slowly while tuning his ears to listen in on their conversation.
"Yes, it's nice to know they're getting along." The woman said in a warm and friendly voice.
Sasuke could only manage to hear bits and pieces of their conversation, but it was enough to somewhat understand what they were talking about.
Getting along? Who, me and Sakura?
Sasuke felt Itachi nod and then the next sentence the woman spoke he knew exactly that they were talking about him and Sakura.
"Hasn't spoken a word since… Terrible, just absolutely terrible." She spoke, now sadden over something.
"But that's why they still have us," Itachi commented.
"… Always was being bullied," The woman told Itachi softly.
Sasuke let out a low and unexpected growl from his throat when he heard her talking about Sakura getting bullied by the other kids for how she communicated with them and by her appearance being different from theirs.
It's not her fault!
"… Until she beat those bullies up by herself." She finished, and Sasuke immediately stopped his clamor, hoping that Itachi hadn't noticed.
Sasuke grinned to himself, he already knew that Sakura wasn't afraid to make herself know by force, for he had just experienced it himself earlier.
He heard his older brother say, "Sasuke does the same thing."
"Then they'll get along real well, I'm positive of it," He heard her claim.
"Oh my, I need to be on my way now. See you tomorrow?" She asked his older brother, who replied with a nod of his head.
Sasuke heard her leave, thinking that she was probably carrying Sakura in her arms, because his ears didn't detect another set of footsteps leaving.
"Who was that?" Sasuke murmured into his older brother's chest as he started carrying him outside.
"Sakura's aunt. Her name is Mitsu Haruno." Itachi explained as he looked down at Sasuke.
"Nice name," He whispered with a smirk on his face as he fell back asleep.
Weeks passed by as Sasuke and Sakura became close friends, sharing their most precious toys together at the daycare, sleeping beside one another, brightening up each other's day with just one single smile.
Sasuke and Itachi alike grew fond of Sakura's aunt, she was kind to them and she seemed motherly-like, which was something they both hadn't experienced in years, so naturally they both accepted her along with Sakura.
One quiet Friday evening, Sasuke crept down the creaky wooden stairs of their apartment and listened in on Itachi, who was talking on the phone to someone.
He peeked around the corner to find his older brother sitting in one of the two wooden chairs placed at the dining table in the kitchen, a phone was against his ear and he had an upset expression on his face, his free hand was busy angrily drumming the table over and over in a rhythmic pattern.
Sasuke knew that this phone call was probably from his mother's and father's company, which nine time out of ten meant bad news.
What's happening…?
"I can't just leave him," He heard Itachi protest into the phone.
"We'll there is someone in mind…" His older brother mused out loud and then stopped drumming his fingers harshly against the wooden table.
"Yes, yes. I'll manage, you have my word." Itachi hissed into the phone and then hung up.
Itachi took out a small notepad from his shirt pocket, similar to Sakura's, and hastily jotted something down, rose from the table with his phone, then dialed another number as he began pacing slowly across the small kitchen in a back and forth pattern.
Sasuke's muscles tensed up as he began to get nervous, wondering what all of this was about and what his older brother had to do with it.
Sasuke stayed hidden where he was, fearing that it was one of the company's secretaries on the other end of the phone, whom his older brother had spoken so harshly to, for the company to be calling and for his older brother to comply with their wants, it meant something big was about to happen.
He watched Itachi set the phone on the kitchen counter, get a cutting knife and a clean cutting board, and then took some store bought vegetables out of the tiny fridge and then unwrapped them.
They were clearly tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, and celery, Itachi washed them, then placed the first vegetable on the cutting board and he started to cut up the tomato into small slices, angrily putting his force into the knife as it sliced through the delectable ripeness of it.
Itachi must've pressed the speaker button before chopping up the first tomato because Sasuke could hear the long rings coming from it and then he heard a slight clicking sound, indicating that someone had picked up his older brother's call.
"Oh, why hello Itachi!" Mitsu's cheerful voice rang throughout the small kitchen and Sasuke relaxed at the sound of her voice, it was just what he needed at a time like this to calm down.
"Hello, I have a favor to ask of you Mitsu," Itachi spoke as he scraped the now diced tomato into a nearby pot and then returned for the next victim, the lettuce.
"And what would that be?" She asked.
Sasuke leaned forward, now more interested than ever to hear what his older brother was about to say.
Itachi stopped dicing the lettuce and spoke, "I need you to watch Sasuke for me, because I have to leave for personal matters for a while and don't know when I'll be back."
"Why of course I can, I know that Sakura would be quite happy to have a friend over and we have a spare bedroom that he can use." Mitsu agreed wholeheartedly.
I get to spend more time with Sakura; this isn't so bad after all!
Itachi continued slicing apart the lettuce and replied, "Thank you. I'll drop him off tomorrow morning at 10 and I'll make sure he has all his necessities packed."
"You're welcome. I'll go and let Sakura know; oh she'll be so happy. We'll see you tomorrow then." And with that the line went dead.
By now Sasuke couldn't contain his excitement, a smile spread widely across his small face and he ran across the room from his hiding spot and hugged his brother without any warning.
"Hey, be careful now, I'm trying to make dinner." The older Uchiha huffed at his younger brother's sudden embrace.
Hearing those words, Sasuke let go of his older brother and happily expressed, "Thank you, I can't wait, I'll go pack my things right now!"
He then began dashing back up the wooden stairs loudly making creaking noises with each step his took, but halfway up the stairs he stopped and turned around slowly.
"You little sneak of an Uchiha." Itachi accused him and Sasuke nodded vigorously, knowing he was caught, but didn't have a care in the world about that at the moment.
"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke called out from the stairs.
Seeing his older brother nod, he proceeded to ask him, "Why do you have to leave? Was that the company on the other line?"
Itachi instantly stopped slicing the vegetable he had been decapitating and slowly placed the cutting knife down on the counter next to him and the pot, and then turned to face his younger brother.
"It's none of you concern at the moment little brother. Now hurry up and gather your things, dinner will be done shortly," Itachi told him curtly, obviously not wanting to speak any further about the matter that he had just been asked about.
Sasuke gulped and nodded running back up the stairs and began to pack for what would soon be his exciting and fun stay at Sakura's.
As he stuffed some of his shirts into his medium sized black suitcase, he pondered sadly about what his brother had to leave and take care of.
Itachi always, always tells me everything, there's nothing he's ever kept a secret form me as far as I know… So why won't he tell me what's going on now?
The next morning at exactly 10:00 am, true to his spoken word, Itachi turned into Sakura's aunt's driveway and Sasuke eagerly looked out the window at the house he would be staying at for however long his older brother would be gone.
He saw a green grass-filled front year and then looked upward at the house beyond the green healthy grass.
It was large, with three windows visible from the front side, the roof was painted an auburn red color, and overall it looked very welcoming, just like how Mitsu always was.
It seemed to fit her quite well to be honest.
His eyes then darted to a small sidewalk leading up to the front steps, beyond that an auburn door with a glass pane in the middle of it as he caught a glimpse of his excited friend.
Sasuke smirked when his eyes came upon Sakura, she was the one looking for them to arrive and she had a large smile across his pale face as her pink hair only enhanced the breathtaking color of her beautiful eyes.
She always looked so pretty, like an innocent doll.
He unbuckled himself and started to put a hand on the door handle, about to get out and rush over to greet Sakura, but he stopped when Itachi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hang on Sasuke I have something to give you remember?" His older brother asked, sounding amused by watching Sasuke's reaction to the house.
Sasuke turned back and nodded, holding out his hand for the two items that Itachi always gave him whenever he had to leave for business so they could keep in touch.
Itachi would always call once every two nights exactly at 8 pm and the two would talk with each other, so far his older brother never failed to not call, no matter what was going on.
It was a habit the two brothers had because they were so close to each other.
Itachi handed him a spare shiny black cell phone and it's charger to go with it.
Sasuke tucked the cell phone in his front left jeans pocket and then put the charger in his right jeans pocket, making sure that both of them were secure.
"Have fun, I'll talk to Monday night. Be sure to mind your manners, and don't forget to charge it." His older brother told him as Sasuke leaned over his seat and hugged Itachi.
"Yes Itachi." Sasuke answered as he pulled back, opened the door, and then jumped out of Itachi's black Volvo, slamming the door behind him.
He dashed up to where Sakura had now opened the door and was waiting to greet him with open arms.
A light shade of pink spread across Sasuke's cheeks, for he was still embarrassed about hugging her because it wasn't something they had started to do until recently, and they had only hugged twice before.
She stepped out, wearing a pink tee-shirt with a smiley face on it that said, "Be happy!" and white kakis as Sasuke accepted her hug and wrapped his arms around her while whispering in her ear, "Looks like someone's happy to see me."
He chuckled when he received a nod from her and then broke apart their embrace.
"Hey! You need your bag!" Itachi called out from where he still was seated in the driver's seat of his car.
Sasuke groaned and felt like kicking himself for being so naïve.
How could he have forgotten something so important like that in front of Sakura?
"I'll be right back," He sheepishly told her and then ran back over to where Itachi was holding his suitcase outside the window for him.
He grabbed it and muttered, "Thanks."
"You're welcome." His older brother replied as he stifled a laugh.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and said to his older brother, "I love you, be safe."
Itachi nodded and regained his composure as he responded, "Right back at you. I love you too, little brother."
They both smiled at each other, and then Sasuke hurriedly went inside with Sakura leading him.
As soon as he stepped inside her aunt's house he noticed that there was a coat rack to the left of him, a shoe rack where Sakura's and her aunt's shoes lay at, and then there was a hallway father down.
Sasuke took off his dark blue running shoes, but kept his white socks on as he followed Sakura father down.
Beneath his feet there was a white rug that went all the way down the hallway and the walls were white with various pictures of ancient Greek paintings.
Sakura led him into what looked to be the living room of the house, for there was a large plasma screen TV placed upon the white walls, a glass table in front of two auburn couches, and a fireplace in the far right of the room that was currently not in use.
Behind the couches were two large identical dark brown bookshelves filled with all different kinds of books, Sasuke was really starting to like this place already.
Sasuke allowed Sakura to take his bag from him and he watched her as she put it down on one of the couches closest to them and then he followed her back through as she continued on her way.
"Is this your idea of a tour?" He asked, while looking at a painting as they passed by it.
She turned back to him and nodded with a smile on her face.
"Hn. I see," Sasuke murmured as he smirked, for he actually liked being shown around by Sakura.
She then turned left and they found themselves in what appeared to be the kitchen, there was that same oak wood flooring and the cabinets were made of oak wood also, the countertops were spotless and brilliantly white.
There was a large gray fridge next to the silver empty sink, across from the fridge lay another three oak cabinets, but these ones were much bigger and had a handle on each one, Sasuke guess that they might be used for storing snacks or canned foods.
A medium sized oak table was placed in the middle of the kitchen with four chairs placed around it, a bowl of various fruits lay in the middle of the table and on the other side of the kitchen Sasuke noticed a gray closed dishwasher.
Sasuke's jaw dropped after examining all of this, for he had never seen such luxuries since his real parents had passed, and to think that this was only the living room and the kitchen!
Wow… I wonder how Mitsu can afford all of this. Either way, it's still completely amazing here.
Sakura tugged on his shirt slightly and he looked at her and she began the tour again, but this time they went upstairs.
Past the living room and the kitchen further down to the right were white-carpeted stairs, but Sasuke saw that there was a white door before they began their way up the stairs and he thought that door must lead to Mitsu's room.
Sasuke and Sakura both held on to the banister as they walked up the stairs excitedly together.
Once they both had reached the top of the stairs there was a white closet which has a washer and dryer inside it, to the left of the closet there was a door which led to a small and clean bathroom, and to the left of that led to Sakura's room.
Sakura pushed her door open and Sasuke followed her into her room, noticing a light switch near the door as he entered.
As everything else in the house, her carpeting was white, there was a white fan that was currently turned off on the ceiling in the middle of the room, the walls were white, but they had various Japanese Kanji signs on them.
Sasuke scanned one of the walls over and read the signs, "Love, peace, hope, dreams, laughter, music, Sakura."
He smiled to himself as he noticed a small bookshelf by her white door, directly down the room from the door was a glass window with blossom shaded pink curtains fluttering in the warm spring wind.
Taking another step farther in her room, he noticed that her bed was up against the far east wall laid out horizontally with different colored pink blankets and pillows neatly placed on it.
On the far west corner, directly from where Sakura's bed was there was a oak wooden desk with a matching chair and papers sprawled out across it along with a white lamp.
Past the desk Sasuke saw a full-sized circular mirror placed up on the wall.
Sakura sat down on her bed and motioned Sasuke to do the same, so he sat down next to her.
He admired how unbelievably soft and cushiony her bed was, it was completely the opposite of his hard and lumpy mattress that he slept on while his older brother always slept on the couch.
Taking another look around he saw a white closed closet to the west side of the room as he was sitting on her comfy bed and a nightstand placed at the upper west end, near where the pillows were at.
Looking down at his lap he saw a small notepad, it was the same one that she always brought to the daycare, he read what she had written and then looked over to see her holding a pen in her hand.
"You like it?" The notepad asked with a big smiley face after the question mark.
Still smiling Sasuke exclaimed, "Of course I do! This place is awesome!"
He earned a fist pump in the air from Sakura, and he guessed that meant something along the lines of "All right!" or "Oh yeah!"
Either way, he had only been here a short time and was already completely happy just exploring the house with Sakura.
She took the notepad back and put it in her kakis front pocket with the pen, got up from the bed, and motioned with her hand for Sasuke to follow her.
"I'm coming," He assured her and got off her bed and then followed her back out into the hallway.
There was a white door he hadn't noticed when he first came up here with Sakura, it was closed, but they walked over to it and she opened it as they both walked inside.
The walls and carpeting was white, there was a light switch next to the door that led to the three lights up on the wall above the white medium sized bed lying in the middle of the room.
He noticed a white nightstand next to the bed, a closet to the right of it, and a empty shelf on the east wall.
Sakura grinned as she handed Sasuke her notepad after writing something down while he was looking the white room over.
"This will be your room." The notepad said and Sasuke nodded.
"I'm back! Come down here you two!" They both turned in the direction leading out to the hallway as they heard Mitsu's voice call out to them.
Sakura wrote down something then handed it to Sasuke as they began their descent to go and see her.
"She went to the store." The notepad explained.
"I see." Sasuke told Sakura as he handed her notepad back and they walked into the kitchen where Mitsu was standing by the counter unloading groceries from grocery bags.
"We're so happy to have you Sasuke!" Mitsu joyfully told him as she saw him enter, which made him smile even more as he thanked her politely.
Sasuke looked over at Sakura who was writing another thing down; he could see that she was writing about how she showed him around the house already.
Sakura handed her notepad to Mitsu and she read it, nodding with a smile and then asked, "Well since you've done that then I'm sure you two wouldn't mind helping me put some of the groceries away?"
Sasuke mentally groaned, but helped without verbally complaining as Sakura cheerfully helped with him.
Shortly after completing that task together, Sakura and Sasuke played together in the backyard, which was more than enough room to play in.
Outside, there was a swing set, a tree that held a rope with a tire tired around it, a sandbox, a teeter-totter, and other fun toys that they could play with together during his stay here.
Later in the afternoon when they were still outside, Sasuke was on one end of the teeter-totter and Sakura was on the other up in the air, they both had their hands on the handlebars of the teeter-totter.
Sasuke pushed his feet off the ground and yelled in pure delight with a smile as he felt himself go up in the air and watched the grinning Sakura place her feet on the ground once she got near it.
"This is so much fun with you Sakura!" Sasuke shouted out to the world loudly.
And in truth it was, for Sasuke had never grown up with these kinds of outdoor play toys, so this was his first time experiencing them.
And as Sasuke started to descend he caught a glimpse of something he hadn't noticed before.
There, just outside of where the room he would be staying in during his time here appeared to be a balcony.
Sasuke could clearly make out that it was enclosed by a white railing surrounding it, but he also saw something that was black and it glistened off of the sunlight reflecting against it.
As he pushed his feet upward off of the ground he squinted his eyes, attempting to figure out what the black thing was, but he still couldn't decipher what it was.
What could that be? I have to find out…
When he was up fully in the air he dangled his legs back and forth and then huffed at the black object, for he was frustrated that he couldn't see what it was.
Curiosity got the best of him and he looked at Sakura.
She had a puzzled look on her face, for she was probably wondering what he had been so intently focused on while he was up in the air and as Sasuke braced his legs to meet the solid ground he decided to answer her expression with a question.
"Hey Sakura?" He asked.
She blinked and looked down at him with a smile on her pale face.
"What's up there?" Sasuke curiously questioned as he pointed to the balcony that had the black shiny thing on it.
Sakura looked in the direction that Sasuke was pointing and then turned back with a knowing look on her face as she went downward while Sasuke was going up in the air now.
She held a finger up to him and then placed her feet on the ground and didn't push off again.
Instead she took out her notebook and pen, wrote something, and then tossed it up to Sasuke.
He caught it and read what she had written to him.
"You'll find out later!" The notepad said with a smiley face after the exclamation point.
Sasuke let out a groan of protest, for he hated waiting to find out what something was.
Sakura immediately shot him an warning look, which made him stop and then he placed her notebook on the teeter-totter and let go of it slowly.
It made its way down the teeter-totter to Sakura's waiting hand as she grasped it and put it back in her pocket with a smirk back on her face.
She got up from the teeter-totter, which caused the end that Sasuke was sitting on to hastily come slamming down to the ground.
He hit the ground with a sickening thud and then let go of the handlebars, falling backward with another groan, but this time it was a groan of pain.
Sasuke closed his eyes and then opened them as the pain began to fade away from his lower torso area, he saw Sakura leaning over him holding out her hand for him to take it.
He reached up and grasped her hand, she pulled him back on his feet with some effort, for he did weigh more than her, but she still managed to keep him steady on his feet once he was upright to the ground.
"Thanks," Sasuke told Sakura as he let go of her hand and then followed her back into the front of the house.
He noticed that it was much later in the afternoon now as they bounded up the steps and went in through the front door.
"It's time for dinner you two!" They both heard Mitsu call out to them from within the kitchen as a mouthwatering aroma filled their nostrils.
Sasuke licked his lips eagerly and then they both took off their shoes and washed their hands before sitting down to the home-cooked dinner that Mitsu had made for the three of them.
Later that night when everyone was in bed, Sasuke lay beneath the warm white covers in the guest room as he looked at the door that he hadn't noticed before when Sakura had shown him the room.
He considered taking a quick sneak peek, just for a mere moment, but vanquished that thought because he knew that Sakura would show him what was in there out on the balcony soon enough.
It's so amazing here, they have so many things that I've never even had before. Mitsu's nice like she usually is and Sakura's well… She's practically my closest friend already. Sure she has her quirks, but I have my bad side, too. Wait. She's my only friend. Either way, I wouldn't have it any other way because for the first time since living without Itachi for a bit… This place and the people in it really and truly are starting to feel like family.
Well there's the second chapter of Muted Melody! Hope you all liked it and thanks to everyone that took the time to review! I apologize if there are any errors; I didn't have the time to proof-read it because earlier today my mother got in a car accident and my mind has been shot ever since going to see her at the hospital. Nonetheless, there will be much more to come in the next chapter!