Chapter 8: Tomato Red
Sasuke skulked into the classroom like a criminal even though he was on time. He didn't want to attract extra attention by being late; things were going to be bad enough after two weeks of unexplained truancy. He could only hope Naruto and that Sakura girl would be absent today. Yeah, that's likely.
Mr. Umino noticed him immediately, of course. He said nothing, though he flashed Sasuke a very deliberate look that clearly said, "You. Me. After class."
Sasuke started making contingency plans. Itachi merely said he had to go to school, not that he had to stay there, right?... Maybe if he jetted after lunch he could avoid both the teacher and Narut - oh. Damn. There went his second pointed stare of the day, from the blonde who just burst dramatically into the room (tardy, of course). It promised retribution later. Sasuke felt queasy.
No. Sasuke refused to be sick. He was tired of running away from his problems. Continuing to delay the inevitable never made things any better; his two weeks of absence only made today that much harder. Today or tomorrow, either way he was going to have to face everyone eventually. Besides, what would Kakashi think? Kakashi, who had bothered to wish him good luck today...Sasuke didn't want to disappoint Kakashi or himself again. He could try. He would try. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"So."
Sasuke's spine straightened at the sound of the voice behind him. This was it. His hands clenched his sandwich tightly.
"You're back."
Sasuke exhaled and reluctantly spun to face the blonde. "Yeah."
Naruto scrutinized him with narrowed eyes, sizing him up. He exchanged a glance with Sakura. "We kinda thought you were gone for good."
"Well," Sasuke said carefully, still waiting for the proverbial bomb to drop. "Here I am."
"Hn. So you are," Naruto said, sucking in his cheek in contemplation. His normally boisterous temperament was unusually stormy. The silence stretched on painfully long as Naruto just stared at Sasuke, the cogs in his head turning almost audibly. Sasuke waited, his heart in his throat. Finally, Naruto spoke.
"Well. Since you're here and all..." he began, pausing to glance once more at Sakura, who nodded. She continued in his stead, "Since you're here...eating lunch anyway...why don't you sit with us this time?" She offered him a tentative smile.
Sasuke blinked at the unexpected request. He had definitely expected some consequences for his antisocial behavior, maybe some shunning, public shaming, name calling...tarring and feathering, sure...but an invitation to lunch? What?
Sasuke suddenly remembered to breathe again.
"Um. Okay," he gasped out, not quite believing his luck.
"GREAT!" Naruto exclaimed with a huge grin, all animosity suddenly forgotten. He grabbed Sasuke by the elbow without preamble and dragged him towards a large group of kids seated around a picnic table near the back of the courtyard. They were eating and laughing and talking, sometimes all three at once. Naruto pulled up to an abrupt halt at the head of the table with Sasuke in tow, Sakura flanking his other side. The group's chatter died down as they noticed the newcomers.
"So!" Naruto said, plopping an arm casually around Sasuke's shoulders like they were already that familiar and getting straight to business. "This is Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji," he began to go round the circle, pointing at faces and reciting names with dizzying speed. "Kiba-Hinata-Shino-Neiji-TenTen aaaaaand, Fuzzy Brows!"
The one dubbed "Fuzzy Brows" gave Sasuke a thumbs up with a Very Serious Look on his face. The blonde girl's jaw dropped to her knees as she stared at him in obvious appreciation. The round boy beside her wiped a little drool off her chin resignedly. Next to them, the boy with the short, spiky ponytail let out a lazy, "Yo." Sasuke felt the tips of his ears turn red under their scrutiny.
"And of course you know Sakura and me," Naruto continued cheerfully, clearly believing he needed no introduction. And perhaps he didn't. "Everyone, this is..." Naruto stopped short and turned to Sasuke incredulously. "Hey, uh, what's your name anyway?"
"S-sasuke," he breathed, choking on his words a bit but trying not to show it. "I'm - Sasuke. Uh, hi."
And if Sasuke's attempt at a smile looked awkward (or a bit pained, even), there was not one person at that table who really minded.
"So how did it go?" Kakashi inspected another tomato before tossing it into the rucksack.
Sasuke wiped sweat off his brow and smiled. "Surprisingly well," he said, a hint of pride creeping into his tone. "They didn't seem to care about my problems very much. They just wanted to talk and eat and stuff. Even Mr. Umino didn't chew me out too badly."
Kakashi smiled, not looking surprised in the least. "They sound like nice kids. I'm glad."
"Yeah. They invited me to come with them to play paintball this weekend. Or rather, the group invited me...Naruto just threatened me. Said he'd kick my ass if I chickened out...but he also said he'd kick my ass if I showed up. Presumably with a paintball gun." Sasuke yanked a creeping weed out along his way to the next plant.
"I wouldn't be so confident if I were him," Kakashi said with an amused look. "Something tells me you'll be pretty competent at a game like that."
"You think so?" Sasuke asked with a poorly-hidden smirk. He was kind of looking forward to the weekend. It wouldn't be much longer now (Thursday already? Time flies when you don't spend it all alone),and if he and Kakashi got all the harvesting for New Holly 29 done today, how could Itachi possibly say no? Hand passing over a still-green tomato, Sasuke stilled abruptly, a sudden thought occurring to him. "Hey...do you think my brother will give me money to go? Is paintball expensive?"
"I really think he'd be willing to pay the price in this case, Sasuke. When was the last time you asked him for money so you could go out with friends?" Kakashi pointed out.
"Er...I can't remember," Sasuke admitted, somewhat abashed.
"I'm surprised you're even worried about something that, to be honest. Is your relationship really that bad?" Kakashi inquired lightly, shifting the bag of tools to his other side.
"Kind of," Sasuke said, eyes downcast. When Kakashi's silence grew almost accusingly heavy, he continued with a sigh. "Yeah, actually, it is. Ever since our parents died. We were alright before then."
Kakashi said nothing for a while, letting the silence languish as he plucked and bagged a few more tomatoes. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"No, it's okay," Sasuke replied hesitantly. "I don't mind talking about some of this stuff if it's with you. And it's probably good for me, right?"
"Naturally I'm good for you Sasuke. My shining personality is quite therapeutic. And the mere sight of my face has been known to cure cripples," Kakashi remarked seriously.
"Sure, at the cost of their eyesight maybe," Sasuke snapped, suppressing a chuckle.
"You're just jealous because you can't feed the hungry with the sound of your voice alone. But please, do continue."
Sasuke frowned thoughtfully. "I was six so I don't remember it too well. I definitely remember the police station afterwards. I left my jacket in the car, and it was so cold, we had to sit on these benches and wait around a lot, and there were these strangers in suits...and of course policemen everywhere asking Itachi all kinds of questions. I don't really remember them, but I know they were mostly about mom. I was scared and wanted to hold Itachi's hand, but he wouldn't touch me...that was the first time he ever acted like that towards me. Colder than the stupid room. The police wanted to question me too, but Itachi wouldn't let them. He said I was in shock, I think...he asked for a lawyer."
"What happened?" Kakashi asked, voice quiet.
Sasuke stared absently at the bright red tomato in his hand. "Itachi told them...he told them my mom had a psychotic episode, became paranoid and violent, and killed my dad, then herself..." Sasuke trailed off uncertainly, unseeing eyes gazing past the scarecrow's empty post into the distance.
Kakashi exhaled. "That's unspeakably horrible, Sasuke. You didn't...witness it?"
"I'm not sure. I remember Itachi told the police I didn't see anything, but I always kind of wondered if that was really true...I mean, why do I remember playing in the backyard that day? Why do I remember...?" Sasuke trailed off, gazing at the plump tomato clutched in his fist with glazed eyes.
Special Agent Sasuke knew exactly where the enemy spies kept their weapons stash: in a top secret safe at the bottom of the walk-in closet in the master bedroom. That was enemy territory, he wasn't allowed in there. Ninja Master Itachi was doing homework in his room across the hall with the door open; this would be a tricky mission. He could easily be seen at any time. And if he got caught, there would surely be no hope left for the princess...the enemy would make her marry the evil king of the North, and all hope would be lost for the realm...unless Sasuke managed to rescue her. Maybe the Queen would promote him to Chief Royal Spy, and even give him her daughter's hand in marriage! He had to reach the enemy's weapons undetected at all costs to save the princess and the country.
Sasuke crawled along the carpet in the hallway, approaching slowly and silently. He paused just in front of Ninja Master Itachi's room to listen. He heard the quiet scratching of pen on paper - he was probably writing a secret communication to his overlord at that very moment! Sasuke needed to hurry, the fate of so many rested on his shoulders. He held his breath and somersaulted stealthily into the master bedroom, quickly scooting around the corner out of sight of the door. He froze, waiting with bated breath, but no one followed him in. His infiltration was a success!
Sasuke made a beeline for the closet. He immediately located the shoe box with the picture of the shiny black size 9's. He used his special Spy knowledge to disable the alarm and opened the lid. The weapon! Sasuke grabbed it and hurried back to the doorway. He peeked around the corner, glancing across the hall into Itachi's territory. He saw him hunched over his desk, still absorbed in writing his secret messages. Fat lot of good that would do! All Sasuke had to do was get to the rendezvous point, protect the princess, intercept any enemy spies, and the kingdom would be saved!
Itachi suddenly sighed and stretched his arms over his head, working out a cramp. Sasuke ducked back behind the corner, heart racing. He waited...waited...was that the sound of pen scribbling on paper again? Sasuke could wait no longer, he seized his only opportunity and dashed out the door, sprinting down the hallway at top speed. He was almost home free!
In the kitchen, Sasuke was nearly finished decoding the super high tech lock on the back door when he heard a gasp from behind.
"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?!"
Oh no! The enemy was onto him! Just another second...he was almost there...
"You'll never take me alive, Northern scum!" he shouted, scrambling through the door and slamming it shut. He flew down the path through the backyard, gravel flying beneath his sneakers, hearing the door opening again behind him.
"FUGAKU! Come out here NOW!"
Oh no! She was calling for reinforcements! Sasuke skittered behind a tree, aiming for the rendezvous point along the backyard fence.
"What? What is it? I was - SASUKE! PUT THAT DOWN THIS INSTANT! THAT'S NOT A TOY!"
"Never!" Sasuke bellowed, adrenaline pumping through his veins. This was it. The final battle. Do or die. "I will protect the princess with my life!" He skidded to a stop in the tomato patch of the garden just as they caught up to him.
"BAM!" Sasuke shouted, firing, the ferocious volume of his own voice startling him. "BAM!"
"Sasu..."
The enemy spy stared at him as she sank to the ground in slow motion, like in the movies. The other didn't speak at all. He took one wobbling step toward Sasuke before collapsing on top of his cohort in a heap.
"Wooo!" Sasuke cheered, spinning in a victory circle. "The Northern spies are vanquished! Special Agent Sasuke wins again!" Mom and Dad were always so easy to beat. Sometimes he even wondered if they weren't just humoring him. His smile faded somewhat when he saw the bright splashes of crimson blossoming across his parents' clothes and hair. Red and shining, the color seeped into the dirt like paint. He probably should have stayed out of the tomatoes...the tomatoes his mother had planted...
"Uh oh...will that stain? Am I in trouble?" Sasuke asked sheepishly, the high from the exciting battle finally wearing off. His parents didn't answer.
A lone black crow landed on the fence behind them. It canted its head to the side inquisitively and observed him with mild interest.
"What have you done, Sasuke?" it asked.
But Sasuke couldn't speak.