You are one of God's mistakes

F u t u r e L o v e r s

P a r t I

Naruto forced his eyes to stay open. His back was aching, as always, and the fabric of his jeans was uncomfortably brushing against the marks on his hips and thighs. He pulled one leg up to his chest, resting his chin on the knee.

It was cold, but it didn't matter. Maybe the wind would blow his bruises away? If he stripped down and ran out from his hiding spot under the tree, would the wind take the marks on his body with it?

His eyes snapped open – he didn't even remember closing them – as he heard feet against dry leaves. He looked around, his big, blue eyes searching for someone, or something. He frowned when he saw the beautiful Uchiha boy together with the shaggy brunette Inuzuka Kiba.

He knew that they were friends, Inuzuka and Uchiha, but he had no idea why they were there, in Orochimaru's garden. He was just about to stand up on shaky legs, when Kiba walked up to him and gripped the collar of his sweater. The brunette pulled him up on his legs with one arm, slamming him into the tree.

"You thought you would get away with it, huh?" Kiba growled, showing his sharp teeth. Naruto frowned, not really understanding. His feet were dangling a few centimetres above the yellow-brown grass. "Answer me!"

Naruto gave him a confused look, silently telling that he didn't understand what the brown-haired boy was talking about. He closed his ocean blue, watery eyes as he expected a punch.

"Oh, don't play stupid." Kiba nodded to Sasuke, who had been standing silently behind his friend with a smirk on his face. "You told the Sabaku siblings that I was messing with you at the bus stop!"

Sasuke raised his fist, ready to hit the blonde boy in the face. Naruto choose that moment to open his eyes and stare straight at Sasuke.

Sasuke almost fell backwards, and his raised fist fell to the side. Kiba threw his friend an uncertain look, both impatience and anger boiling in his stomach. But Sasuke couldn't even see Kiba – he was busy staring into the pair of bluest eyes he had ever seen.

UAUAUA

Itachi put the phone down.

Finally over, he thought. It was the first time since they moved there – almost two weeks – that he spoke to Kisame, his friend. It seemed that it had happened a lot in Otogakure those two weeks, since Kisame had blabbered non-stop about everything and nothing.

Itachi sighed through his nose, and then walked past his mother in the living room and up to Sasuke's room. He walked past Sasuke's bed, which was neatly made, and then stopped by his little brother's desk, leaning against it as he looked out through the window.

His stomach clenched at the image before him, taking place in Naruto's garden. By the tree next to the house, Sasuke and his friend, Kiba, were messing with Naruto. Sasuke was holding the thin wrists in his hands, and Kiba was just about to land a punch in Naruto's stomach.

Before Itachi could see if Kiba really punched Naruto or not, he ran out of the room as fast as his long legs could carry him. He ran past his mother in the kitchen, out in the hall to put on a pair of shoes. He took a calming breath when he got outside in the winter cold.

There was no snow, but the ice forced him to take it slow as he walked over the road as fast as he could.

He could see the blonde boy on the ground, holding an arm in front of his stomach as if he had just gotten a punch. Itachi didn't even notice the silver car that drove past him to turn up on the driveway to his left.

He walked straight up to the tree, grabbed a hold of Inuzuka's arm. "And just what," he said in a silky, yet deadly voice, "do you think you are doing?"

Sasuke's dark, narrow eyes widened at the sight of his older brother, and he looked away in shame. Kiba looked up at Itachi, his face grim and his brown eyes rebellious.

"Let go," Kiba snarled and tried to get out of Itachi's hold. Sasuke didn't say a thing; he didn't try to inform his friend that it was impossible to get out of Itachi's hold, once he got a hold on you. Kina yanked his arm one more time, before giving up.

"Could you, please, enlighten me what in Hell possessed you to do this?" Itachi held out an arm, gesturing to Naruto that was sitting on the dry, dead leaves with a pale hand. "Sasuke?"

The younger Uchiha didn't speak; he simply looked down on Naruto and held out his hand to the blonde boy. Naruto looked at the pale hand for a while, and didn't take it. Sasuke looked a little annoyed by the fact that Naruto couldn't understand that this was his way of silently apologizing.

"Excuse me," hissed a voice behind them all. "What are you doing with my son?"

Itachi let go of Kiba's arm and turned around fully. The man was about as tall as him, and Itachi found himself straightening his posture even more. Itachi glanced at his brother and his brunette friend.

The man, even paler than Itachi and Sasuke, narrowed his golden brown eyes at the young boys. He walked up to his son, grabbing his wrist and heaving him up on his feet easily.

"I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding," the man said. "I'm Sannin Orochimaru – you must be the new neighbours?"

"Yes, sir," Itachi bowed his head a little. His dark eyes were betraying his calm and polite attitude.

Orochimaru smirked, his pale lips stretching into a fake smile. "Then we'll see more of each other. Now, excuse me, but my son looks a little…" Orochimaru glared at Sasuke and Kiba, who both froze in horror. "…ruffled."

Orochimaru took Naruto's arm and, more or less, pulled him inside.

Itachi looked down at the boys again. His eyes stayed at Sasuke. "I'm telling father about this, dearest baby brother."

Sasuke paled. He was silent for a while, as if he was considering what would be best to say in his own defence. "Well…fuck."

UAUAUA

When Uchiha Fugaku came home, he had expected the usual: a quiet dinner with his family, hearing his snotty sons tell him about their days and then listening to the gossip his wife had gathered during her day.

He entered the kitchen, hung off his coat and sat by the table, watching is oddly quiet wife chopping carrots – in an oddly violent way.

"Mikoto," he tried cautiously. "Is there anything wrong?"

His beautiful wife looked up, bangs covering her dark eyes. She looked furious. "If anything's wrong?" She repeated. "I'll tell you what's wrong–"

"Father."

The calm, cold voice of their oldest son seemed to freeze Mikoto, and she turned to chop vegetables again. Fugaku watched as Itachi sat down in front of his father, the ever serious expression never leaving his face.

Fugaku was proud over Itachi. It was just…he had expected grandchildren sooner, rather than later. But as it was now, he would have to wait for Sasuke to give him grandchildren.

"Hello, Itachi-kun," Fugaku said and turned fully to his oldest son. "Do you know the reason to your mother's odd behaviour?"

"Actually, I do." Itachi said, leaning forward slightly with a slight scowl on his face. "It's about Sasuke."

Fugaku's heart skipped a beat, and he found himself scowling, wrinkles appearing around his eyes. Scenarios with his youngest son appeared in his mind. Sasuke getting a B on the latest test, Sasuke doing drugs, Sasuke getting teased for his scrawny body, Sasuke being gay.

The latest made Fugaku snap back to reality, and he felt desperate to hear that it wasn't the latest. He needed grandchildren!

"Sasuke was in a fight today, with the kid that lives across the street," Itachi informed.

"Is he hurt?" Fugaku leaned closer.

"God, no," Itachi snorted. Fugaku breathed out. "He was beating the Sannin boy–"

"Wait, wait, wait!" Fugaku raised his hands to make Itachi shut up. "You're telling me that Sasuke – my youngest son – was in a fight. And winning?"

"Yes, but that's not the–"

Fugaku stood up. "Where is he?"

Itachi smirked, thinking that his father was going to scold Sasuke. "In my room – by the computer."

Fugaku walked with hurried, long steps to the stairs, and almost ran to Itachi's room. Itachi and Mikoto shared a look, and then heard a door slam and a startled yelp. Mikoto put the knife down and ran to the stairs, Itachi following with long steps.

When they got up the stairs, they saw something they hadn't seen in a very, very long time.

Fugaku was embracing Sasuke in a full-hearted hug. Itachi felt a sting in his heart, and looked away with narrowed eyes. This was not what he had expected. He wasn't jealous over Sasuke getting a hug, no, but it was unfair.

It took Itachi about two seconds to loose his cool.

"Father!" He yelled, startling his family. Fugaku stepped away from Sasuke, looking confused. "How can you possibly approve of this?!"

They stared at him, and Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a fag and join a fight yourself sometime if you want to hug father so fucking badly!"

"Boys!" Mikoto cried out, startled by her youngest son's crude language.

"It wasn't a fight, Sasuke! You and your friend were punching Naruto when he was defenceless!" Itachi felt like hitting his brother in the face.

Mikoto made a strangled sound, and looked at Fugaku, not knowing what to do. Fugaku looked just as confused and angry as she felt.

"You don't know a shit, Itachi!" Sasuke growled. "You don't know him – you're nothing in his life, and he's nothing in yours! You're just the guy who's staring at him from his little brother's bedroom window!"

Itachi took a calming breath, glared at his father and then walked away.

To Be Continued