House Shoes with Headlights

Chapter 2: Identities Revealed

"Oi, Sasuke-teme, who's your companion, introduce me won't cha?"

Those words of doom echoed through Sasuke's head. He did nothing to push them away; instead he allowed them to overrun rational thought. He never even noticed when he stood. His eyes wandered over the blonde girl that was still sitting in the grass. Her hair, he now noticed, was just a shade too dark, cascaded down her shoulders and created a perfect frame for eyes that had too many specks of green. His heart stilled when he turned his head and was blinded by a hideous combination of orange and blue. His mind was starting to function once more when his eyes met orbs of endless blue, ones that always seemed to spark with life. They still did, but now Sasuke saw something else buried there. It made him wonder why the blonde had decided to come to the training area this late in the day. The sun had already set its glow fading away as the crescent moon began to light the sky. Then the blue eyes began to fill with confusion and curiosity, once again making Sasuke realize what he had been doing before Naruto made his appearance. He did not know what to do, so he fell into his old habits. Stepping forward until he was almost chest to chest with the smaller ninja, he let familiar words roll off of his tongue, "Mind your own business, usurotonachi."

With that he simply walked away, leaving two very confused blondes behind. He missed the single tear that trailed down a whiskered cheek.

……………

Naruto stood and watched the retreating back of the person he considered to be his best friend, the same best friend that he had recently developed dangerous feelings for. He frowned as he wiped the stray tear off of his cheek and pushed away the weak feeling that seemed to overtake him after his meetings with Sasuke. It felt as if each of the encounters destroyed another piece of his heart. Stalking away, he ignored the girl that still sat in the grass.

…………….

With a poof of clouds, blonde hair changed back to its natural shade of bubblegum pink and green became the dominate color in the eyes. Sakura was not sure what to do now that her grand plan had failed. She had thought that it would work. Both boys had confided in her about their feelings and she had promised them both that she would covertly help them get together. Yet her machinations had failed. Maybe she should have enlisted the help of Shikamaru in making the plans; his genius might have come in handy.

How wrong she had been when she thought up this idea. She was nothing if not determined, though; and she swore to herself that Sasuke and Naruto would be an item by the end of the month and well on their way to marriage long before Sasuke's birthday.

……………

Naruto stormed into his apartment and slammed the door behind him so hard that the picture hanging next to the frame crashed to the ground. Glass splinters sprayed everywhere, including into his leg. He grimaced in pain before yanking the piece out and threw it onto the ground. Ignoring the blood flowing from his calf he stomped into the bathroom to douse his head in cold water. This had been one bad day.

When he exited the bathroom he finally noticed the person sitting on his couch. The man's presence in the apartment only made Naruto scowl deeper. He had forgotten about the meeting that the Hokage had scheduled. He was actually surprised with himself for forgetting since it was a monthly thing. With a sigh and a muttered curse, he threw himself down next to the dark haired man. As soon as he was seated he finally noticed how tense his companion was. With a quirked brow he trained his questioning eyes on the man.

He was greeted with a familiar scowl and masked gaze. It annoyed him to no end how similar this man was to a certain teammate of his, of course that only made sense. Pushing those thoughts away he sat and waited until the other was ready to speak. There was no need for the useless chatter that was usually associated with the blonde, since they both knew the truth. The chatter was just another layer in a carefully crafted and well cultivated mask that not many knew existed. Not even those that considered themselves close to Naruto. Only the man sitting next to him had seen through it instantly. He too had worn a mask for most of his life. He was trying to lose it now, to reveal the true self that was hidden beneath, but his tumultuous past was making it difficult. That was why he was here, sitting in the apartment that belonged to the village's outcast.

……………..

The man looked around, ignoring the curious gaze of the blonde ninja sitting next to him. This was the third month of this arrangement and yet he was still shocked by the starkness of the small living quarters. The only thing that had made it feel like a home had been the picture hanging by the door, but even that was broken now. Somehow the broken glass sprinkled next to the splintered wood seemed to reflect the owner. He still found it hard to believe that no knew how much of a broken spirit Naruto really was.

Thoughts of the blonde brought his eyes back to his couch companion. He was a little startled by the intensity radiating out of the blue eyes. It was his turn to raise a questioning brow. It was obvious that something had occurred shortly before the blonde's forceful return to the apartment. He had an idea that Sasuke was somehow involved.

His unvoiced question was answered with only another scowl and slightly hurt looking eyes. That look was quickly covered up though and replaced with a look of determination. It seemed that quiet time was over and now he would have to report. It was only a matter of moments before the blonde started with a deceptively simple question.

"How have things been with you, Itachi?"