1
Aleu's plans of enjoying herself while the other's were off suffering at the hands of Tsunade were foiled by the most insufferable headache.
A large, white square of gauze was taped to her forehead, covering the scrape.
She was planted on the window sill, which had quickly become a favorite perch of hers. Sasuke sat beside her, gauze tied around his knees.
Sakura and Tenten were playing a board game, both sprawled out on the carpet.
Neji was trying to beat Shikamaru at Go.
Naruto was playing old school Nintendo.
Hinata was reading.
Sasuki entered, making a bee line for her brother.
"I'm fine," Sasuke mumbled, not even looking at her. This was the seventh time she had come out to check on him.
"Sorry I care," Sasuki huffed, hurt, turning back around and exiting the room.
Aleu pressed her forehead against the glass, which, on the reverse side, had rain lashing against it, attempting to cool off her throbbing head. The gauze soaked up the cold, and refused to share with her.
She started muttering fiercely, something about fucking cars, fucking old men, fucking etc.
"Don't cuss," Sasuke said, watching her.
Aleu glared at him. "Fuck you,"
Sasuke smirked. Aleu frowned, wondering what in the hell was so pleasing to the boy.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE TOUMOKU!" Sasuki shouted, sticking her head into the room.
"She's not bothering me," Sasuke said defensively, narrowing his eyes at his sister.
Sasuki blushed and retreated, wishing Sasuke would let her fuss about him just a little.
Sasuke then gave Aleu a meek smile, as though apologizing for his sibling. It quickly diminished, leaving behind a gloomy overcast to linger on his features. He too pressed his head against the window.
Sasuki leaned against the counter, a frown fixed on her faced. Since they moved in with Aleu and the others, Sasuke had been rebelling against her more than normal. Well, what was it? Was he embarrassed by her, or something? She held her hand against her forehead.
"I'm hungry," Naruto said.
"Oh my gosh," Aleu took her head off of the glass to fix him with a glare. "Is that all you people fucking say?"
"But, Aleu, I'm really, really hungry!" Naruto whined.
"Go eat," Aleu muttered, dropping her head against the glass.
"Okay!" Naruto turned around and commenced skipping into the kitchen, but stopped.
"What?" Aleu growled, taking great notice of his abrupt halt.
"Sasuki looks scary," The boy whimpered, retreating slowly.
Sasuki, hearing his approach, had looked at him with great loathing.
"She always fucking does," Aleu slid off the sill and marched up the stairs, becoming too volatile due to the headache, and went to bed.
Sasuke frowned at her sudden absence.
Naruto, eventually, made his way into the kitchen, maneuvering as though he was on a battlefield, taking unnecessary and exaggerated steps to get to the fridge.
Everyone went to bed early. Really, they didn't see much to do. There was nothing on tv, and conversations kept ending up falling flat on their faces. The only thing eventful that evening was Hinata agreeing to change rooms with Sasuke, leaving the pairings at Naruto and Hinata, and Sasuke and Sasuki.
"Akamaru," Kiba called, after dumping kibble into the dog's dish.
The pup was already scrambling towards him, his nose way ahead of his master.
Aleu wrinkled her nose at the smell of the formula and turned to the mirror, pulling out her clip and hair tie and sweeping a white lock behind her ear. Damn, she was exhausted. Her headache wasn't helping, and she knew it would keep her up like it had last night. She sighed, and crawled into bed.
Kiba, once Akamaru had vacuumed up the food, did the same, Akamaru wriggling his way under the covers to snuggle with his master, and pulled the blanket over his head.
Aleu scowled. What the fuck. He hadn't even bothered to turn the light off. She flung off the blankets and swung her legs around, taking a few seconds to blink the sleep that had already set in away, then walked across the room and flipped off the switch.
Wait.
Was that Sasuke's voice? Pretty damn loud, too, though muffled. She frowned and glanced at Kiba, to see if he'd heard. Of course not. The kid slept like he was dead. She opened the door and looked around, surprised to see no else out of their rooms, looking and wondering what was going on themselves.
Sasuki's voice was now responding, angrily. Aleu blinked. Was everyone asleep? She stepped out of her room, softly closing the door behind her. She shivered, mentally damning the bare, wooden floor of the hallway and her lack of footwear. Cautiously she crept out of her wing of the hall, turning into the corridor that lead to the Uchiha's. The words were becoming more clear with every step the girl took.
"Well fuck, Sasuke, fine," Sasuki barked. "Good night,"
"Good night," Sasuke muttered, audible to Aleu only because the boy was right next to the door, flipping off the lights.
Damn. She'd missed it. What were they fighting about? Aleu suddenly became very annoyed, wishing she would've been able to hear more. Bet they wished now that they hadn't switched rooms. She took a step away from the room and froze, the wind caused by the opening of the Uchihas' door sending shivers down her spine.
Aleu looked over her shoulder to see Sasuke, looking pissed, narrowed eyes scanning her over.
Then, as abruptly as he'd opened it, he closed the door.
Aleu hastened to make it back to her room, cheeks flushed. She hadn't wanted an Uchiha to know she'd eavesdropped on him, and wondered how long Sasuke thought she'd been there. And that glare he'd given her, especially how it grew more fierce as he identified her, gave her chills.
Hours later
Aleu was sprawled out on top of her sheets, the room stuffy as hell. And of course, both this factor and the headache were keeping her up. She rolled on her side and blinked. The window. How could she not have thought to open it sooner? Aleu stomped over to the window and shoved it open. A cool breeze swept over her, bringing a smile to her face. Then, on a sudden impulse, she grabbed a sheet and pillow from her bed and climbed out the window. Using chakra, she made her way to the roof, and settled down in a makeshift bed. Miraculously, the headache eased up, and she found herself comfortable beyond belief. The gates of heaven must be made out of shingles and cool summer breezes. She was asleep within minutes.