I've gotten another chapter out sooner this time! Better now than three months later right? Well, after exams were over, I wrote like crazy to get this chapter done in time before I left for my winter break. I won't be around until after New Year's so this will my present to you guys.
Thanks to all my faithful reviewers and for being very patient with me!
Happy Holidays!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but any unrecognizable characters are probably mine.
Chapter Six: Inspiration
Naruto sat before a blank canvas with a paintbrush and palette at hand. Beside him was a small table that had tubes of paint in various degrees of colors. Unfortunately, like the canvas, his mind was at a blank on what to do. Most likely the cause of this was what had happened earlier in the evening at the Uchiha manor. A blush made its appearance when he thought about the events that happened.
Flashback
"Are these two your new friends that Itachi mentioned?" Uchiha Mikoto asked with a cheery look on her face. She had been anxious and excited to meet these two since Itachi had talked to her about them during the party. She wondered what kind of friends they were to have her eldest son talking about them rather freely to her.
"Hai okaa-san," Sasuke responded, fidgeting slightly.
"Nice to meet you Uchiha-san. I am Hyourin Haku," Haku greeted formally with an appropriate bow.
"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you," Naruto followed suit of his best friend.
"Oh my, you two are so well mannered, but no need to be so formal with me. Both of you may call me Mikoto," Mikoto insisted as she gestured for them to stand up straight.
"Arigato gozaimasu," they both said at the same time.
"You two are so cute!" Mikoto squealed, hugging the both of them. She couldn't resist the two of them, letting go of her restraint that she had the second she saw them. Initially she thought they were both females, but on closer examination she saw that they were indeed males, albeit effeminate. However, while Haku was pretty and Naruto was cute, both were still irresistible.
"Okaa-san, stop it! You're suffocating them," Sasuke alerted, trying to get the Uchiha matriarch to let go his friends.
"Ah! Gomen!" Mikoto apologized as she let them go. Haku and Naruto took in deep gulps of air and assured her it was all right. She turned toward her youngest son. "Where's Itachi? Will he be coming over?"
"Hai, he needed to get something and said he'd be over a little later," Sasuke relayed to his mother.
"I see. All right then," Mikoto resigned. She then noticed that they were still standing in the foyer. "Oh! Why are we still standing here? Let's go to the main living room." She ushered them toward said room quickly, telling a maid to bring in refreshments on the way. Since Naruto and Haku hadn't been in this area the last time they were there, they took that time to take a glance around. The whole mansion was Western influenced with tad bits of Japanese culture. It was so well decorated that the two different cultures didn't clash but somehow complimented each other.
Naruto showed an obvious fascination to the art decorating the walls. Artists he didn't know did most of them but there were some that he did. He was so absorbed into the art that he hadn't realized that they had reached the main living area. When he looked around this room, he noticed that there was only one piece of artwork and that was a very large family portrait.
He examined it, noticing that it was done quite some years ago because both the sons were much younger than they currently were. In the portrait, Sasuke looked different than he currently did. Of course he was older but there was a significantly different kind of aura the younger version had that rarely appeared in the older version, if at all. There was genuine innocence and a carefree attitude in the younger version while the current Sasuke had nonchalance and a superiority attitude with people outside of their group of friends.
His gaze then shifted over to Sasuke's brother and sapphire blues widened a bit. Itachi had his usual indifferent expression on his face, even at a younger age. However there was something in the older brother's eyes that he could only define as gentleness. The current Itachi did not have that as far as he knew. He wondered what could have happened to make both brothers change over the years as they grew up.
He snapped out of his thoughts when Mikoto began asking questions about them.
"So which classes do you have with Sasuke? Itachi only told me all three of you are in the advanced art class," Mikoto wondered, wanting to know her youngest son's friends. This continued on going from various different topics with Haku and Naruto answering them. It wasn't long until it was almost time for dinner.
"Mikoto-sama, dinner will be served in fifteen minutes," a butler informed with a respectful bow.
"Arigato," Mikoto thanked and dismissed the butler. "Mou, Itachi still isn't here yet. Did he tell you what he needed to get Sasuke?"
"Iie, just said that he'd get it and come over," Sasuke replied, also wondering where his brother was.
"The least he could have done was tell us when he would get here," Mikoto said in a reprimanding tone.
"I'm already here okaa-san."
At that everyone turned toward the direction where the voice came from. There stood the person who they were just talking about. He had his usual look of indifference on his face as he leaned against the doorway. His gaze discreetly moved over his mother, brother, and Haku before landing on the blue eyed blonde. However, his gaze was redirected toward his mother when she came up to him with an angry look on her face.
"Mou Itachi, you still could have called!" Mikoto reprimanded her eldest son with a small glare.
"Gomen okaa-san," Itachi apologized indifferently.
Mikoto continued to give him a glare before it melted into a smile. "As long as you remember to call next time," she said, giving him a hug. "Shall we head off to the dining room? Your father must already be there."
Itachi stiffened the slightest bit at the mention of his father. If Mikoto noticed, she didn't say anything. She proceeded to guide them toward their new destination. However, there was one person who did notice the elder son's very brief show of discomfort. Naruto wondered if there was something going on between Itachi and his father. He shook his head, telling himself that it wasn't his business. He followed the others as they made their way to the dining room.
It didn't take long for them to reach the room and when they did they noticed a single occupant. Judging from the way Sasuke's and even Itachi's posture seemed to become stiff, Naruto and Haku deduced that this person was the head of the household. He had a very stern, no nonsense expression on his face as he sat at the head of the table. The rest of the Uchiha family migrated toward their proper seating arrangement according to the traditional customs. Mikoto sat on the right while Itachi sat on the left with Sasuke next to him.
Haku and Naruto stayed by the entry way, unsure of where to sit. Mikoto, seeing this, quickly gestured toward the two to sit besides her. They quickly complied but before they sat down, the Uchiha matriarch introduced the two guests to her husband. "Anata, these two are Uzumaki Naruto and Hyourin Haku, Sasuke's friends from school. Boys, this is Uchiha Fugaku, head of the Uchiha clan."
"Nice to meet you Uchiha-san," Haku and Naruto greeted together with a proper bow.
"Ah, nice to meet you," Fugaku greeted in return, stern face never wavering. With that both boys took their seats and waited for the meal to begin. Servants filed out from the doorway, each carrying a tray. They placed the trays in front of them and lifted the lid. It was being served in a more Western like way and the dish itself was also some king of western food that he was unfamiliar with.
Naruto looked at the food in appreciation and waited for the sure sign signal to begin eating. However, it was then that he noticed the lavish setting in front of him. There were forks and spoons of various sizes beside his plate that he looked at in confusion. Since his current lifestyle wasn't anywhere near of his friend's, he began to panic slightly in wondering which one to use. His panic raised a notch when the head uttered "Itadakimasu" with everyone else following soon after.
The clueless blonde hesitantly raised his hand and let it hover over the forks, which were on the right side of his plate. He brought his head up when he heard a cough from across the table. There he saw Itachi pick up the fork in the middle and began eating with it. Naruto gave him a small thankful smile and followed suit. Unknown to Naruto, who was busy eating, Itachi let out a tiny smile that didn't go unnoticed by his father.
Dinner was a rather uneventful with no one making any attempt at talk. A few times Naruto fidgeted in his seat because of the silence but Haku gave him a nudge and an assuring smile that calmed him down. It wasn't until dessert and tea was served that the silence was broken.
"Itachi, how have your studies been?" Fugaku asked his eldest son.
"Fine," was Itachi's clipped response.
Fugaku examined his eldest son who had his eyes closed as he ate his dessert. A second later he let out an audible sigh of what seemed to be disappointment. "How long do you intend to stay this way? You are more fit for the business than all this art nonsense."
Naruto flinched the slightest bit at the 'art nonsense' part. That was definitely a painful stab, especially for him since he planned to be an art major in college. He wondered what was the story behind the Uchiha family for the second time that night. Then again it wasn't any of his business. Everyone waited in anticipation of what Itachi would say to that. However, he ended up saying nothing, only taking a sip of his tea.
"Itachi, you'll be taking over the company in three years. You should be preparing for that rather than playing around with this art stuff," Fugaku reprimanded the silent college student.
Itachi narrowed his eyes as he set his cup down. "Otou-san, I don't recall accepting the position of taking over the company."
"Itachi!"
"Also, we have guests present so it would be best not to discuss this further," Itachi continued as if not affected by his father's reprimand.
As if suddenly remembering there were others present besides the immediate family, he looked towards where Naruto and Haku were seated. He regained his stiff posture and didn't say any more. Silence reigned in the room once more as they finished up, but the tension was still suffocating.
"Anou, may I be excused to use the restroom?" Naruto asked quietly toward Mikoto who was right next to him. He needed to get out of the stuffy atmosphere that the room had.
"O-of course Naruto-kun!" Mikoto approved with a smile to ease up the tension a bit. "Sasuke, how about you –"
"I'll show him the way, okaa-san," Itachi intervened, volunteering to show Naruto the way to the restroom. He stood up from his seat and gestured for Naruto to follow him. Naruto did without any hesitation, both of them leaving the others in the dining room.
The blonde high school student followed the college student at a steady pace, not really paying attention to where they were going. He let out a tiny sigh, relieved to be out of the tense atmosphere. His attention was brought to the older male when Itachi spoke. "I apologize about my father. What he said was out of line."
"Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions. Your father is no different," Naruto stated simply, though there was a flash of hurt in his sapphire blue eyes at what the Uchiha head had said.
"Still, it was inconsiderate of him to say what he said. Especially when he knew you and Haku were serious art students," Itachi said with a shake of his head. He didn't approve of how his father looked down on everything that doesn't involve the family company. Itachi glanced over to his blonde haired companion and noticed that he was a lot more relaxed than when he was in the dining room. "You didn't really need to go to the restroom, did you?"
Naruto gave a small sheepish smile at the accusation. "You caught me. Honestly? I felt like I couldn't breath in there. I had to get away."
"I'll say this then: I was looking for an excuse to get away too," Itachi admitted. After a minute of companionable silence, Itachi broke it. "I want to show you something."
"What is it?" Naruto asked, curiosity getting the best of him.
"The reason why I took so long to get here." With that, Itachi led the way once more toward his own art room. Once reaching the room, he let Naruto enter first, following right after and turning on the light. The sight that greeted them took Naruto's breath away.
About half a dozen new pieces were added to his already large collection, all of them on easels as if on display just for him to see. Naruto immediately gravitated toward them, taken in by the beauty they presented. Sapphire blue eyes gazed at them with genuine appreciation as he examined each one. All of them were different in their own right, the only similarity being the signature that they all bore. It was almost hard to believe a single person, so different were the styles and techniques used for each one, did them. Naruto wondered where Itachi got the inspiration to do these breath-taking pieces.
"I've recently acquired a muse that's given be sudden bouts of inspiration," Itachi said, unknowingly answering Naruto's silent question. "A day hasn't gone by that I haven't worked on something new because of my muse."
"What is it then? Your muse?" Naruto asked curiously as he looked at the paintings. He nearly jumped when he felt the other's presence behind him. For reasons unknown to him, his heartbeat sped up just a bit faster when Itachi leaned down, placing his head level with his.
"My muse is a person," Itachi corrected, voice as soft as a whisper.
"Who is your muse?" Naruto asked once more with slight difficultly. The atmosphere was becoming suffocating once more. The exception this time was that Naruto didn't want to get away. He wanted to stay and hear who Itachi's muse was.
"You."
End Flashback
Naruto's blush returned full force when he remembered the ebony haired male's answer. He didn't understand how he had become Itachi's muse since he hardly knew the guy. The only time they ever talked was during class and that was rare since the older Uchiha rarely talked. He wondered how someone comes about getting such inspiration from a single source.
Arashi peeked in on his son and let out a confused expression. Naruto was just sitting there staring blankly at his surprisingly empty canvas. Deciding to see if something was the matter with his son, he entered the small art studio and approached his spaced out son.
"Naruto, something wrong?" Arashi questioned, snapping the younger blonde out of his thoughts.
"Otou-san," Naruto greeted calmly.
"There's a blank canvas in front of you. That's rare," Arashi teased lightly. He pulled up a stool to sit next to his son. "What's on you mind?"
"Otou-san, where do you get your inspiration from?" Naruto asked timidly, twiddling with a paintbrush.
"My inspiration? Why the sudden interest?" Arashi inquired with a questioning look. He raised an eyebrow when he saw a blush flourish on his son's face. After a few seconds of hesitation, Naruto recounted what had happened earlier at the Uchiha manor. By the end of the story, Arashi had a grin on his face while Naruto continued to sport the endearing red hue on his cheeks. 'This is certainly interesting,' Arashi thought to himself in amusement.
"What I don't understand is how I can become his inspiration for the amazing pieces he did," Naruto confessed, confusion clearly written on his face.
"Son, anything can be used for inspiration. Whatever gives you the sudden urge to pick up a paintbrush or whatever utensil available and make something can be considered inspiration," Arashi explained to the best of his abilities. "Whether it's an object or a person doesn't matter. If someone has the urge when they see something then that becomes their muse for however long it will last."
"How long does it last?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Depends on the person. Could be for one piece or for all of their works until their dying breath," Arashi replied with a shrug. "I'll say this though: I suggest that if you find a good muse that brings out the best in you, then don't get rid of it or lose it."
"Well, I have to find inspiration first thought, right?" Naruto stated with smile.
"Don't go searching for it. Let it find you," Arashi advised before leaving the younger blonde to his thoughts. He began to wonder if there was a double meaning to Naruto being a muse to Itachi but figured time would reveal everything on its own.
Naruto thought about his father's departing words. He decided to just clear his mind and go with the flow. Subconsciously he picked out various colors of paint tubes and squeezed out some of certain colors onto his palette. However, no matter how much he tried to keep a clear mind while painting, an image of a certain ebony haired male kept flashing through his thoughts.
Time flew by in a flash for Naruto who seemed to look like to be a trance. When he blinked his eyes, sapphire blues widened in surprise at the finished product. The back of a person in the profile view was the only part of the person showing. However the main focus was the pair of tattered, broken wings that dominated the entire canvas. To him, it meant that whoever this person was, couldn't get away from whatever was binding them down. With their wings crushed, they wouldn't be able to fly away and be free.
Naruto stared at the painting and wondered who this person could be. A quick flash in his memories from an earlier conversation briefly surfaced in his mind. He wondered if Itachi was trying to get away from his father's grasp. He then came to a sudden bout of inspiration. He had the urge to draw something else. The teenager began to wonder if he found his own muse in the very person who had declared just a few hours ago that he was his. Naruto decided to ponder on that later should Itachi continue to give him inspiration. For now he had an image to sketch out.
"Seems like dinner with the family didn't go too well," Shisui commented as he watched Itachi work on another piece. He could tell by the way his cousin was using dark colors and quick strokes on the canvas for his new piece. However when Itachi took out some of the lighter colors, he was curious to what happened to make the dinner not so bad.
He watched as Itachi mixed a dot of orange into white so as to give the bright color softness to it. He then saw his cousin apply the freshly made mixture to upper right hand corner, signifying a shining light appearing within the darkness that was the rest of the painting. Shisui wondered why Itachi added orange to the white when he remembered that, in addition to Itachi, the invitation was extended to Sasuke's two new friends. If Itachi was associating the two boys with colors, then he figured out his cousin's little ray of light.
"So is this ray of light your muse as well?" Shisui inquired. He wasn't expecting an answer but was surprised when he did receive one.
"And if he was?"
"Is there a certain reason why Uzumaki Naruto suddenly became such a great inspiration to you?" Shisui inquired further out of curiosity. He wanted to know why someone Itachi hardly knew became the inspiration his artistic cousin needed to go into a painting frenzy.
"He is someone I could never be," Itachi responded quietly, continuing on with his painting.
Within that single sentence, Shisui understood that Naruto represented what Itachi wanted to be. "You never know until you try," he said as he left the artist to work.
"'Never know until I try' huh?" Itachi questioned to himself. He began to wonder how he would be able to get away from his father's clutches and be free to do what he wanted. If there was a way, he would definitely find it and finally breakaway. For now he had to bide his time until it presented itself, the prime opportunity to stretch his wings and fly.
So how was it? A lot of you wanted some more ItaNaru and I did my best to put it in here. They were probably out of character but what story doesn't have them out of character once in a while?
You're welcome to leave a review to tell me what you think. All reviews are greatly appreciated and hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter out when I come back from my break. Thanks for reading!
- Kurai hoshi