…Once upon a Modern Tale…
Pairing: Naruto x Sasuke
Warning: Shounen ai, Kakashi x Iruka (if you squint real hard!)
Inspired by: Robin Hood, Love among the Walnuts, and always by my wacko imagination
Summary: AU (NaruSasu) Once upon a time, there lived an extremely handsome and exceedingly rich young man. But, he didn't care for any of it, and so he locked himself up in his large manor, never coming out. Then, one day, he met the most amazing person; a beautiful boy with cerulean blue eyes. This is where our Modern Tale begins, with a Modern Robin Hood, and a Modern love story.
Please forgive my bad usages of Japanese terms; I don't speak the language so I have almost no idea how to use them.
Disclaimer: Naruto and anything related does not belong to me. Don't sue.
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Sixth
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Poor dears; the suspense must be killing you! Well, you're not alone! Something is definitely killing Sasuke, but it is not suspense. It just might be an emotion he had long ago – when his parents and brother were still alive. It was a bittersweet feeling. He now knew the truth behind Uzumaki Nauto.
The boy sat in his living room the following morn - anxious and tired. He had been unable to sleep the night prior, and so he sat with a steaming cup of coffee; hoping that it will wake him up. Pretzel sticks, he felt so burned out.
His eyes scanned the old newspaper articles again and again. There must have been something he missed! Something – anything – to prove that it was all wrong. He set the papers down.
'Darn, Naruto, why'd you have to go and get so entangled in this giant mess?'
He had been up ever earlier than usual, trying to find these papers. He had to drive to five different libraries just to borrow these clippings! Who knew that Robin Hood had become a popular research topic for elementary kids?
Kakashi was still fast asleep, since it was still not yet noon, and so he ordered himself some breakfast. However, he had lost his appetite long before the meal came. He left the take-out in the living room next door, hoping to draw Kakashi out of hibernation. He really needed someone to talk to, not that Kakashi would be much help….
Sure enough, the silver-haired man came slouching into the hall. Sasuke saw him duck into the other room and then walk towards him afterwards with a take-out carton in his hands. He sat down on a single couch near the door, and ate without saying a word. Sasuke had long ago stopped trying to sneak a look at Kakashi's face, even when he was eating. How in the world did he manage to eat without pulling down his mask, anyway? Sadly neither the Uchiha, nor you and I will ever know the truth. What a strange character this Kakashi is.
"Do you think these are all true?" Sasuke gestured to the newspaper clippings spread out in front of him on the marble table.
The butler waited a while before answering, "I do …believe that there isn't anyone who would do this without a good reason."
Sasuke ignored the fact that he didn't answer the question at all. "What's the right thing to do, right now?" The Uchiha knew better than to ask what Kakashi would do, since it was always something weird.
"Hm," the butler was thoughtful for once, "I…don't know." Then he resumed eating. (Okay, so maybe he wasn't thinking at all. Maybe he was pretending to think about the problem.)
"You're not being very helpful."
"Oh? I didn't know it was my job to be helpful."
Sasuke hissed in anger, "Of course it's your job! You're a butler and butlers are supposed to help their employers!"
"You don't say…" Sasuke gave Kakashi his famous 'drop-dead' Uchiha glare. "It wasn't in the job description the last time I checked."
"I never gave you a job description!" Sasuke rolled his eyes – angrily, mind you.
"I guess I'd tell the truth." Apparently Kakashi was trying to change the topic away from his job description. I mean, if Sasuke did give him one, then wouldn't he have to clean, and cook, and sew, and take care of stuff like all the other butlers around here? Boy, did that thought scare him!
The Uchiha stared. "The truth?"
Kakashi nodded, "sometimes it's the easiest path."
Sasuke nodded, trying to understand….why was Kakashi being so helpful?! "Just follow what your heart says, Sasuke." The ebony-haired boy nodded again.
"You do realize you're helping me, right?" Sasuke smirked, although a bit of sadness was tinged into it.
"Does this mean you'll let me go in the kitchen again?" Kakashi's voice was hopeful.
"No…"
"I'll get a raise?" The voice was even more hopeful.
"Not in a million years." The Uchiha smiled genuinely, and turned his head away to hide it. Kakashi's visible eye curved into a smile. Sasuke could sense a 'bonding' moment coming on, and he hated to be the one who broke the friendly feeling in the air, but…he had a plan.
He stood, and said as formally as he could, "Hatake-san, please meet me in my office as soon as you are done with your breakfast."
Kakashi's eye curved into a smile again, and this time his mask twitched too. No matter how much of a good-for-nothing lazy bum this man was, he was still a genius. He knew what was coming.
"Hai."
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And so it was done - with a single sentence our noble had put his plan into action. "You're fired, Hatake-san."
"Please remove your belongings from my house as soon as possible." Sasuke sat behind a large black business table, his hands folded, and resting on the surface. "Here is your month's pay, and I have felt the need to include a tip for your loyalty throughout these years. (Even though you never did help any around the house, Sasuke silently added, feeling grimly humored by this) If you require a letter of recommendation, please don't hesitate to call on me." Sasuke pushed an envelope across the black surface, and nodded to his ex-butler. "Good-bye Hatake-san….and." Sasuke stopped.
He was unsure of what he would say.' Good luck?' 'Take care?' 'I'll miss you?' The latter didn't seem to fit at all. I guess, dear listeners of this tale, you could say Sasuke felt a connection with the silver-haired man – kind of like uncle and nephew He had, after all, been the only one of the servants who had stayed after his family's death. Everyone else was too afraid that a child couldn't make enough money to pay them. Kakashi was different.
Kakashi made no move to take the money. He reached out instead and ruffled Sasuke's ebony hair. "I'm proud of you, Sasuke. Take care of yourself." Then, the ex-butler left.
Now it is time for our noble hero to start the second phase of his daring- if not stupid- plan.
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Sasuke drove himself to Naruto's house. He got lost twice on the way, but finally found the same old worn door on the same, poor neighbourhood again. He sat in the car for a few moments, still completely shocked that he is actually planning to do this. He groaned, and ran his fingers through his hair. Then, he pulled out a small, square box out of his pocket. It had taken him forever to find the right ring, and to pick out just the right tux. He knew this could all be so nerve-wracking, but he certainly didn't know it would be so confusing too. With a stony heart, he opened the door, got out and walked calmly to the door.
Even if he had known Naruto for a short time, he felt an urge to protect the blonde. He cursed his Uchiha loyalty.
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It had taken three knocks until the door finally opened. It was Umino-san who had answered the door. A sweet smell came drifting from inside the house. "Oh, hello Hayato-san. Please, come in." The chestnut-haired man smiled and stepped aside to open the door for the Uchiha. Sasuke stepped in, and felt a ping of guilt. Maybe he should tell the older man his real name. If all went as planned, then it could be troublesome (1) if Iruka found out that Hayato Ryu wasn't his real name. Didn't they say that you can never get along with relatives-in-law?
"Is Naruto home?"
The brown-haired man looked somewhat surprised. "Well, yes…." He fidgeted with the wooden spoon he was carrying in his hand. Sasuke wondered if the older man would whack him with that thing once he 'popped the question' to Naruto. It looked like a harmless thing, but when properly used…it could do some lethal damage.
"He's doesn't want to see me?" Sasuke nodded at the small silence, and turned to leave. "I understand."
Iruka put out a hand to stop him, "No, it's not that. But…" Sasuke waited patiently.
"A lot of police officers came looking for him this morning. Thank goodness he wasn't home, but they searched his room and the whole house too…"
Sasuke stiffened. Was he too late? "They didn't find anything though, but they promised they would be back later." Iruka looked distressed, but his face relaxed a little as he added, "oh, and your butler came here a few hours before. He asked me to make sure Naruto stayed in the house for the rest of the night." Iruka smiled, "and he gave me a rose."
Sasuke snorted in his mind. He supposed Kakashi was quite the romancer, judging by his own amount of adoring fanwomen. Then a thought crossed his mind, and he shuddered. (I'll give you a clue: it had to do with him being forced to call Kakashi, "Father"…or worse yet, "Daddy". Holy pretzel on a stick!)
"Hayato-san, I think that…something has happened. Naruto's been so sad when he came back yesterday," Sasuke saw the worry flood Iruka's eyes again. With another deflated sigh, the brown-haired man said, "I'll go up and tell him you're here." He nodded his head at the Uchiha and left the room. The stairs creaking as he climbed up.
After a few minutes – which seemed like eternity to Sasuke – Naruto finally emerged. Sasuke noted immediately that something seemed off – the same lonely feeling when he saw Naruto seated upon the swing in the broken playground radiated off the blonde. But, he had to act now. The police are getting too close to the truth.
"Sasuke?" Naruto gave another sad smirk. "What, missed me already?"
Sasuke fingered the square box in his suit pocket. "I was going to visit you tomorrow, teme. Hey, what's with the get-up? Going on a date?" Naruto laughed lightly.
"No…" Sasuke knelt on one knee in front of the blonde, and tilted his head to stare directly into Naruto's beautiful cerulean-blue eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto, will you…marry me?"
Our Robin Hood, needless to say, was more than surprised. I mean, he had a plan too, and this certainly wasn't a part of it. At least, not in this phase anyway. But, life is full of surprises, as they say.
Naruto stared at the gorgeous ring sitting peacefully upon the velvet cushion. It was gold, with a pure blue sapphire in the middle. The jewel was surrounded by a mist of sparkling diamonds. It was the most beautiful ring he had ever been offered. (And this is saying something, since he had been offered a lot before).
Naruto gently took the ring, and with practiced fake happiness, smiled. He expertly brought tears into his eyes and threw his arms around Sasuke's neck. He felt Sasuke's arms wrap around him, and he settled into the hug.
He couldn't help but feel the darned pricking feeling again as the Uchiha held him close. But he pushed that feeling forcefully off, and thought sadly, 'I finally caught you, Uchiha Sasuke.'
The foxes on the curtains – all clad in orange - danced slowly around against the darkness of the world. A cold breeze blew in from the window and carried all traces of the sweet smell out of the room.
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(1) Yes, I love that line! The one Shikamaru always says: "this is so troublesome". –heheh-
I also love Kakashi x Iruka pairings! (Iruka x Kakashi is good too, but doesn't poor Iruka seem more like an uke?) I thought the mood was so depressing, so I had to sneak them in there. –laughs-
Oh, and in my story, Itachi didn't murder his family. Therefore, when I said 'Uchiha Loyalty', I meant it in a noble way. This is, after all, a fairy tale. And murders have no place here. –smile-
Yes, I'm a bit sad that I'm not writing the narrator parts as much in my story now. I just don't know how to fit it in anymore, but if you have any suggestions, it's always welcomed!
Forever thanks to Kagerou-chan; Best Beta! Faithful Friend! (-heh- Can you spot the pattern?)
Chiao! Tichaonana and G'day mates!
-Horologii
