Chapter 9: Someone Else

Did I space out one day while Sasuke was talking and not hear him confess that he was gay? Since when was he gay?

I don't really know what to think. I keep looking over to my phone, thinking maybe I should call that teme and ask him about what happened, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Every time I think about what he did, I get more and more confused.

It's as if his ears were full of cotton, but he could have sworn he heard Naruto whimper as he softly and hesitantly pressed their lips together.

As Sasuke pulled at the base of Naruto's neck to pull the blonde closer, Naruto gave out a loud whimper when he felt his mouth suddenly be crushed hard against Sasuke's.

He pushed hard at the brunette's chest instantly, almost sending him tumbling to the ground. Sasuke stood, panting and angry at being torn from Naruto. The blonde looked on, silent and confused with a slight blush to his cheeks, but then decided to turn and bolt for the door. Sasuke could swear he heard something about not needing another favor as he ran after his friend.

But Sasuke did not make it down the stairs fast enough, and stopped just in time so the front door that Naruto slammed could barely miss his face.

He hasn't called me at all, and I guess I didn't expect him to try and apologize or anything. But still, he could have at least explained something to me before... violating my personal space like that! Seriously, I think maybe it's my turn to start writing in a journal before I get as fucked up as Sasuke is.

I've known Sasuke for so many years, since we were together in Team Seven. And all this time, with all the fangirls he has, I would never think he'd actually swing that way. I mean, who takes so long to come out of the closet? Sasuke had just celebrated his 21st birthday! That's nine whole years to decide whether you like women or not. Well, I guess everybody is different...

"Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at his Sasuke-obsessed teammate before entering her home. Sakura held the door open for her friend with a scowl as he failed to just tell her why he came, instead of indicating that he actually intended to spend some time there.

He plopped down on her couch and characteristically put his hands behind his head, slouching down and staring blankly up at the ceiling. Sakura placed her hands on her slender hips and stared at him, only moving to stand in front of Naruto after a good thirty seconds of realizing that he wasn't going to leave any time soon. She was just surprised he hadn't showed up with imaginary pink hearts over his head.

"Okay, Naruto, I give up. Why are you here?"

The blonde scowled. "Can't a guy feel like hanging out with his friends once in a while?"

Sakura frowned in response, not feeling like 'hanging out'. She was still upset over what Sasuke had done, and male company wasn't what she wanted for the next millennia. She sighed, trying to figure out a way to get back to her alone time complete with brooding.

"Seriously. What's wrong?"

Naruto looked at her with sorrowful eyes, eyes that haven't been bluer since the day he was born. Sakura noticed that. She noticed that whenever the blonde felt sad, or was emotional, his eyes would take on this ethereal deep blue, and it was just amazing.

He let out a deep, heartfelt sigh, sinking his head deep into the couch cushions.

Sakura tugged hard at Naruto's wrist, dragging him upwards and back towards the door.

"Naruto, I can tell by your voice that something is bothering you. I'm not really good with guy problems, okay? Why don't you go talk to Kakashi-sensei?"

Naruto stuttered and gave Sakura the saddest, puppy-dog look he could muster, but she would have none of it. She desperately needed her alone time now, it took a lot of guts to keep from calling Sasuke, and she needed to do it by herself. Sakura didn't do well when she had people (like Ino) badgering her all the time.

She quickly pushed him out the door, hearing him stutter all the way, and went back to drinking the rest of her chardonnay and eating Ben and Jerry's.

Naruto lowered his hand after knocking a few times on his teacher's door, trying to think of a reason as to why he was actually here. He shivered a little bit when he heard footsteps leisurely approaching the other side of the oak door, realizing at that moment that Kakashi will probably make a crude joke to anything he had to say. Naruto was contemplating leaving to find a different source for advice when the entrance in front of him slid open sloppily.

To reveal an equally sloppy-clothed sensei.

Kakashi took his hand away from the door to return it to his pocket, his soft gaze unwavering from Naruto's face. The one eye that Naruto could see blinked at him, and Kakashi gently cleared his throat. My, he was patient.

"Hey, sensei. Do you have a second?" Naruto finally spoke up, and after taking a few seconds to register what his student had asked, Kakashi nodded slightly and stepped to the side, allowing the boy to enter.

After slipping off his shoes, Naruto took the time to take in Kakashi's dwelling. He had never actually been inside his teacher's house; he had only seen the outside of it when they would walk home together, as their houses are in the same direction from the training grounds. But now that he was seeing it, he was a bit surprised. Kakashi always struck him as the disorganized type, but his home was adroitly decorated, perhaps with a woman's touch. It was a traditional Japanese home, with a gentle and welcoming feel, and colors that reminded Naruto of a pastel autumn. He delighted at the calm setting sun hitting his face from the rice paper windows, closing his eyes and listening to what sounded like a soft trickling fountain somewhere nearby. In reality, it was quite comforting. He placed a tender finger on the rim of a painting of an oriental landscape, forgetting for a short while the reason he came to this modest household.

He turned to the silver-haired man, who was still standing patiently in the doorway, looking in Naruto's general direction. Naruto gave a small smirk at the fact that he seemed to be studying his own house along with him.

"I guess just because you look like a wreck all the time doesn't mean you're house has to be." He said sarcastically, taking a step back towards Kakashi, whose eye had traveled back to his student upon hearing him talk.

"A ninja must always see underneath the underneath!" Kakashi said with cheer, raising his finger matter-of-factly. As a small chuckle escaped his throat, he gave a strong pat on Naruto's back, sending him off-balance.

"So, what brings you here?"

After sliding his door closed, Kakashi walked into his living room and took a seat on a small chair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his thighs. He waited for Naruto to join him, and listened expectantly for an answer to his question when his student finally sat down on the couch across from him.

"I'm not really sure, actually."

"Hm?"

"Well... something strange happened to me yesterday." Naruto shifted uneasily on the couch. He didn't really want to have this conversation with his sensei, and he figured he would say something like 'you're 21 years old, figure it out for yourself!'

"Does it have anything to do with Sasuke, by any chance?"

Kakashi smirked underneath his mask at the way Naruto's eyes widened, knowing that Sasuke wouldn't dare tell his teammate about the conversation they had had on the phone a few days ago. It was just an inkling, but somehow the man knew if Sasuke had just come out of the closet and now all of a sudden the object of said boy's affection had a 'problem' – there had to be some sort of connection.

"Uh... yeah, I guess you could say that. Yeah."

"Let me guess. He lost all self control and gave you a big ol' smacker, didn't he?"

The 'ball of sunshine' lost all his sunshine and nearly jumped out of his seat. "W-what?! How the fuck did you know?!"

"So I was right, then?" Kakashi moved one hand to rest his chin in his palm.

Naruto grabbed one of the soft pillows from the couch and clutched it, burying his face in the supple foam before peeking over at his sensei. His voice was barely a whisper as he answered.

"I don't know what to do."

"Well, did you tell him you weren't interested?"

"No... I just kind of, ran out on him after it happened."

"Naruto, you don't know what to do. Why? Is it because you don't know how to let him down gently? Or because you're afraid of what you might be feeling?"

The boy quickly got angry at what the man across from him had been insinuating. "Hey, I don't even know what Sasuke feels, okay? That was just a one-time thing; he never said anything about it or even why he did it in the first place! Besides, it's SASUKE! We've been rivals for all our lives."

"That's not answering the question, Naruto."

The boy quickly face-vaulted, and began stuttering.

"Do you like him, or not?"

"I'm not gay, sensei."

"How do you know?"

He felt the anger growing within the depths of his belly. Naruto quickly stood, glaring daggers at Kakashi, and heading for the door. He was simply furious at the fact that he could possibly assume something like that about his own student. As he muttered a sarcastic 'thanks' and bent over to put his shoes on, he heard one more thing.

"Just out of curiosity, are you still after Sakura?"

"No!"

Naruto slammed the door after the exit, nearly sliding the door right into his fingers. A certain silver-haired man snickered to himself, knowing that his student was now old enough to realize that he had just proved his sensei right, once again.

"You two are more alike than you think, Naruto-kun..."

The sunshine boy stalked lividly over to the Uchiha's house, wanting to get this straightened out once and for all. If nobody around him was going to give him any help, than he was just going to have to figure this one out for himself! As Sasuke's house came into view, his pace quickened a little bit, and soon enough he was a couple of feet away from the doorsteps.

But a timid, sweet voice caused him to stop and turn around.

"H-hi, Naruto-kun."

As he spun on his heel, he spotted the source of the sugary voice. He brought a hand back to scratch at his head and sighed.

"Hey, Hinata. What are you up to?"

Her fingers twiddled together naturally. "Well, I just was walking around, and I saw you, and... well.. and..."

Naruto watched as the Hyuuga's face turned redder than a tomato, chuckling lightly to himself, which made Hinata grow even more embarrassed. As he saw the young woman in front of him stuttering, he thought of what Kakashi had said about him and Sakura. He looked at Hinata's timid eyes, and wondered to himself why he never loved her. Or even tried to, considering he knew Hinata was infatuated with him.

But after Sakura, he just sort of gave up...

"Hinata, I kind of have something I need to take care of right now. Can I talk to you another time?"

Hinata shifted uncomfortably and stuttered some words that Naruto couldn't quite understand. He took the opportunity to let his eyes appreciate the girl's womanly figure, but he still just wasn't attracted to her. Never was, unfortunately. He put a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but that only made her feel even more awkward.

Naruto closed his eyes and suddenly became determined, determined to get everything he was feeling and everything that was going on sorted out. He looked at Hinata, and knew how she felt about him, and thought that Sasuke might feel the same exact thing for him.

He pulled Hinata into a hug, stroking her dark hair carefully. He could feel her face grow hotter and meekly return the hug, unsure of herself in every way. Naruto leaned in close to her ear and gave out a whisper.

"Thank you."

A little bewildered, but without having any choice as Naruto let go, she gave a light nod and turned to make her leave. Naruto heaved a heavy sigh and watched the girl go, thinking maybe one day he'll actually go on a date with her. But he also didn't want to lead her on in any way, especially since he already knew what kind of feelings she had.

He slowly turned back to the Uchiha's house, still keeping his eyes on Hinata's back as long as she was in view.

Naruto rubbed at his sore knuckles, he had knocked on enough houses for today. He was kind of upset that it took this many people to even be close to getting any answers. I guess this is what he gets for not going straight to the source from the start.

Suddenly he felt really alone, standing there as night arrived, patiently waiting for the one person that took him Kakashi, Sakura, and Hinata to try and figure out.

Author's Note:

1. Spell check changed 'more blue' to 'bluer' (in regarding to Naruto's eyes). I didn't even know bluer was a word. o.0
2. I originally had Sasuke's age set to 18 in Naruto's paragraph, but then I remembered I had him drinking Merlot in chapter 5 so I'd better make him drinking age. xD Naruto and Sakura are the same age, so that would make Kakashi 35. (To be true to the anime).
3. Thanks to Obscure Omen for bringing a couple things to my attention that made my story better!
4. How is my description of Kakashi-sensei's house? It took me forever to write! I tried to stray away from the 'messy apartment with porn everywhere' stereotype he always seems to fall in. Don't judge a book by its cover! (unless its got naked people on it, of course xD) Adroitly - with care, capably

So, how is it? I'm never sure of how good my writing is. ;; Am I going too fast?