AN: Hey ho, sorry for the wait for this chapter! I've been busy with 'The Love Drug' and various Christmas bumph. Adjusting schedule to once every 2 weeks or so because that seems to be something I can stick to.
Love for everyone that reviewed and/or faved or just read this story and enjoyed.
4: Why Would You Stay?
Jugo puts Naruto down gently on the bed and the idiot mumbles something inaudible as the school nurse Shizune gives him another once over, a more thorough check up than the one Mr Maito gave him. Her eyes follow me curiously as she listens to his heart beat and briefly checks his temperature.
I make sure to look as stand-offish as possible, like I was ordered here rather than volunteering myself to come along.
I really don't know what that was about but whatever. This day's been taxing enough without confusion over my own random acts of charity added into the mix. With a glance at the time, Jugo nods apologetically and hurries off.
Shizune watches the door to the medical room as it snaps shut.
"I'm not sure how long he'll be out," she tells me, giving me a sympathetic look.
I feel like glaring at her but can't pull it off for some reason, my eyes are static as I regard her, my expression numb on my face.
"If he doesn't wake up in the next half an hour, I'll wake the idiot up myself," I say but my voice is lacking conviction. Shizune seems to pick up on this and simply nods before moving away to fill out the necessary paperwork for this little incident.
"I'll be just down the hall if you need anything," she says in a gentle voice before disappearing after Jugo.
Silence reigns down between us.
I stare at the moron's face.
3 years…
He really has been gone for 3 years and yet, with the way things have gone today, it hardly feels like he's been away at all. He's treated me exactly the same as he always has despite not knowing how things might have changed over the time he's been away, like he just expects to fit neatly into the same routine with no awkwardness at all.
I guess that's why he's an idiot.
The sun is just starting to lick beneath the window and the little medical room is bathed in a sea of harsh orange light. Shadows dance across Naruto's face making the bruises beneath his eyes more prominent than ever. His breath is low and heavy as he sleeps.
Perhaps the bruises beneath his eyes are an indication as to how truly nervous he was about coming back today, though he shrugged it off in his usual fashion.
Maybe I should have gone a little easier on him.
There's a shift in the atmosphere and Naruto's breath hitches for a moment. A little furrow pulls at his brows and his head turns slightly so he's facing in my direction. A lock of that obnoxious blonde hair falls over his closed eye and he flinches away from the sensation subconsciously.
On impulse, I reach over to brush the irritation from his face but before the tip of my finger can touch the first strand, I freeze in place.
What the hell am I doing?
For what feels like centuries, I'm frozen in this awkward half leant forward position, my fingers outstretched towards Naruto's face which has become lax once more in the dying light. My mind is suddenly working at a hundred miles per hour, questions about my over-familiar behaviour and this totally aberrant reaction to Naruto's situation collide to create small synaptic explosions until all coherence is lost.
What the hell am I doing? I don't want to get familiar with anyone at this school, let alone this completely spastic idiot. I don't care if this retard fainted because he over-exerted himself, I have my own things to worry about. The only reason I'm even sitting here is because…because…
Because no-one else would.
Naruto's low groan makes me start and my hand snaps back to my side like it's just been burnt, cutting off all further thoughts of discomfort. With every last ounce of dignity I have inside me, I arrange my facial features into an expression of vaguely irked boredom and watch as Naruto's eyes flutter open. When I see his eyes, I can't help but frown.
Although the usual too vivid blue is visible, it's half engulfed by the black of Naruto's dilated pupil and a jolt of anxiety flares to life in my gut.
That's not normal, I should probably call Shizune to check him out but as I start to angle myself towards the doorway, eyes still fixed on Naruto's face, his pupils shrink in the half light to a normal size and his eyebrows rise in surprise as he registers my presence.
"Sasuke…what…" his head turns slightly so he can take in his surroundings and instead of going for Shizune, I lean against the back wall of the medical room, simply observing as he realises what's happened and disperses the disorientation hanging over him. Eventually, the bewildered expression on his face is replaced with an animated look of…regret?
He sits up slowly, shaking his head and closing first one eye and then the other. This odd manoeuvre has clearly been very well practiced and the frown on my face deepens as I try to work it out. Is he testing his own depth perception? Does this happen often?
I wait until he feels the need to acknowledge my presence once more, his eyes icy, defensive, like he's just waiting for me to make some crude comment about his weakness or something.
Tch, like I'd give him the satisfaction.
"Why are you here?" he demands and his voice is more hostile than it has been through the rest of the day. Even during the heated moments in the locker room, I've not felt this level of aggression from this retard.
He's really wound up about this.
"Mr Maito needed someone to stay with you and I volunteered because no-one else would," I explain, unremorseful at the reminder of how much people hate him in this school.
Of course, being Naruto, he misinterprets this admission entirely and as his eyes soften, the blue of his irises deepening, I have to fight off the almost uncontrollable urge to strangle him.
"You…volunteered?" he asks and his voice is too vulnerable, too…hopeful.
I don't like this.
I don't like this at all.
It's not like I can suddenly change tack and be his friend here, I really can't.
And it's not like I want to be friends with such a loser anyway. Of all the people that I could choose to form an attachment to, I certainly wouldn't pick someone so tactless, so loud, so much of a liability.
I don't like that he expects anything from me.
My face twists as the rage bubbles inside me, the sting of spite lingers on my tongue as I open my mouth determined to set him straight.
"Yes, I volunteered but that was only because no-one else would, weren't you listening idiot?"
For the briefest of instances, distinct hurt flashes across Naruto's sharp features and I feel a pang of misplaced guilt hit me in the gut like one of his punches. But as quickly as it's there, it's gone again and he's fixing me with that same fire-fuelled gaze, his teeth bared slightly in an open challenge.
"Just admit it jerk, you were worried about me," he states and while the inflection in his tone of voice is smug, I can see that his eyes have dulled.
That brief hope that someone might actually give a damn about him has been snuffed out and we're back to our usual exchanges.
"What was that all about anyway?" I ask, expecting that he'll be able to read the subtext of my abrupt change in conversational direction.
Silly Sasuke.
"What was all what about?" he asks me blankly, swinging his legs over the bed and testing his feet gingerly against the floor.
I cringe outwardly. Trying to have a conversation with this dunce is like trying to coax a response from a brick wall.
"Why did you pass out before I managed to land that last hit?" I sound out slowly, glaring at Naruto as he looks up with a guarded expression on his face.
The guarded expression more than genuine curiosity holds me in place as he stares me down, refusing to give me an answer. It's not like I really care that he passed out like that but if he's got some weird medical condition or something and we're gonna fight in future, then I don't particularly want to be held responsible every time he passes out.
I need answers.
Naruto's eyes are defiant when he realises I'm not going to back down here.
"Low blood pressure," he offers in a dark tone.
It's a blatant lie.
And a message for me to back off.
All at once, I realise that I've delved into something deep here whether voluntary or not and suddenly, I honestly couldn't care less about the whole thing. I'm not interested in getting under anyone's skin, no interest in digging up their issues when I've got my own to be getting on with. I know all about how it feels to have someone get into your personal problems when they're uninvited and if I go nosing around Naruto's, Naruto very well might want to come nosing around my own.
I will not have him interfere.
I make a point of fixing him with a pointedly ruthless gaze, making sure that he understands that I know he's lying before rolling my eyes in an exaggerated display and crossing my arms across my chest.
"Whatever," I mutter dismissively.
He throws a full on scowl at me, the wild fire in his eyes cooling until the blue pigment in his iris is lighter than usual, giving an ice-like effect, like the world has suddenly frozen over.
I try my best not to betray anything with my expression, making a point of looking almost bored as he stands, wobbling slightly on legs that obviously don't want to support him yet. I take a breath in to comment on this pathetic display but Naruto seems to catch on to his own condition and shifts himself so his feet are a little wider apart, anchoring himself in a more stable stance.
The action has me frowning again because widening our feet to secure our balance is something we've learnt in self defence. It confirms my suspicions that he's had some formal training, not that I should have doubted this assumption after facing off against him today in P.E. Generally people don't hold their own against me unless they've got some sort of idea how to tackle my pronounced movements.
It also confirms that he's trying to hide the fact that he's struggling after just waking up. Perhaps his comment about low blood pressure wasn't so far off the mark but…
…something's not adding up here.
Hn, it's not my place to care.
The comment that I was about to make changes into a purposeful grunt as I push myself off of the wall and turn to the door. I don't have time to engage him in another exhausting verbal sparring match.
"Huh? Where are you going?" Naruto asks in real curiosity and as I glance back at him, I can't help noticing that the ice in his eyes has completely thawed, the deep blue once again reminding me of the ocean. His body language has changed as well, no longer reflecting any defensiveness. Instead of keeping his arms in front of him and his body angled slightly away from me, he's leaning forward with his arms back, pushing his face out as though he's trying to see something in my expression, like he's going to be able to figure out where I'm going from just looking at my face.
Yeah, good luck there idiot, I've had plenty of practice at appearing blank.
"I'm going to inform Mr Maito that you've woken up and then I'm going home," I tell him punctually, opening the door and stepping over the threshold, not waiting for his response though I can hear him blustering uselessly at my abrupt departure.
And that's it, it's done, I am no longer responsible in any way for the moron's wellbeing. I shouldn't have been burdened with this sense of responsibility anyway as this wasn't particularly my fault but still, I suppose you can't help connecting briefly to someone that has literally crumpled in front of you. It's not something I'm used to and it's unnerved me significantly so as I turn on my heel to start moving, I'm glad to shed this odd connection and return to my usual detached façade.
…Or at least I would be if Naruto doesn't go ahead and ruin it at the last second.
Idiot.
Just as the door is about to click shut, I hear a tiny whispered comment travel through the air between us, re-kindling the unusual emotions that have surfaced over the last half an hour or so following Naruto's initial collapse and I almost double take to make sure I understand what I'm hearing.
"Thank you Sasuke."
As per the routine, Karin has already set aside a green tea on the little coffee table that sits in her office as I walk in; dropping my school bag at the foot of the armchair I sink down into. She's sitting with her legs crossed on the huge leather swivel chair she likes to pull out from her desk, a note pad already in her hand as she settles down to begin the session. She has the usually disarming smile on her face and her eyes are warm as she watches me pick up the cup and blow gently on the curling steam of the tea. Her eyes seem just a little too big for her slim face through the thick set glasses she wears and I can just pick out the magnification of her mascara through the lenses.
"Good afternoon Sasuke," she says in a low voice as I take my first sip of tea and I nod in acknowledgement of her greeting.
"I take it you had a good weekend," she begins carefully writing down a few things in her note pad. Considering I haven't said anything yet, I have no idea what she could possibly have to write down but then I suppose a psychiatrist's job is to read into more than just what is said. I try not to fall into the trap of thinking about my body posture and what my facial expression is signalling to this trained professional.
Karin has been my shrink since my parents were murdered, something Kakashi was told was a necessity if his guardianship was to be approved. I've been coming here for so long that this office is like a second home but in all the time I've come here, Karin has yet to unearth something that will break me out of my fixation with my brother and what I've sworn to accomplish because of him.
Just like with everything else in my life at the moment, I've made no progress. We simply put on this show for the benefit of the legal system and I go home feeling exactly the same as when I came.
"It was average," I say by the way of a response that's more than just a single word long. In this space, if I resort to my more natural monosyllabic answers, it reflects badly on my record, so I make a point of trying to add detail, even when I can't really.
Karin nods absently, her eyes lingering a little too long on my arm to be comfortable and I chance a glance at it, noticing that the fabric of my shirt is sitting a little weirdly over my bicep. I shift unconsciously and Karin blinks, clearing her throat.
"The new school year started today, right? Are you excited about being in 6th form?"
It's hard to quell the urge to stare at her condescendingly but I manage somehow. What I don't manage is an answer to such an asinine question, why does she insist on trying to engage in small talk? I take another sip of my tea to disperse the awkwardness of the silence hanging over us.
She seems a little flustered as she checks her records, squinting as she has to read something over once or twice, a frown pulling her eyebrows together.
"You have Kakashi as your teacher this year?"
Oh God, she's not honestly going to read into that is she?
"Are you alright with that?"
"I have no problem with him being my home teacher," I tell her, hoping to squash this line of psychological analysis before it goes anywhere irritating. "He's the least of my problems as far as I'm concerned."
"Oh?" Karin utters, gnawing on the conversational bone I've thrown her like a rabid mutt.
"Something troubling you already?"
I briefly entertain myself with the notion of what she would do if I told her about Professor Orochimaru's confession at the end of Chemistry today before brushing this impossible occurrence aside and allowing my expression to darken in mild irritation.
"Not something, someone," I correct idly, comfortable when talking about my disdain for the blonde idiot. "We had the pleasure of receiving Naruto back into our class this year. I told you about him some years ago, the moron who decided that he was my rival, remember?"
Karin's expression is oddly calculating as she thumbs back through my past records in the frighteningly over-stuffed manila folder containing the details of my life. Eventually, she seems to find something, her eyes skimming quickly over some notes she's obviously made.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" She asks, her eyes widening as I nod the affirmative.
The ever so slight presence of fear in her poorly masked expression isn't lost on me and I wonder if her reaction to his name was the same the first time around when I initially mentioned it amongst my peer group at the beginning of high school. I don't particularly recall anything out of the ordinary but then I was younger, less observant back then.
As previously mentioned, Naruto has something of a reputation for being hated. This isn't limited to the confines of Konoha High, somehow the hatred seems to have spread out all over the city and honestly, I haven't really ever been interested in finding out why. I just assumed that it was Naruto's ever-irritating personality and the fact that he's so stupid that made him a target for people's hostility but seeing Karin react like that, I'm wondering for the first time if there's more to it than that.
Where the hell has that moron been for the last 3 years?
"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto," I confirm, unable to keep the edge of suspicion out of my voice as I watch her laboured reconstruction of the professional mask, hiding her fear of that name from me.
"He decided to come back to school after 3 years of doing who the hell cares what and he seems to have made it a mission to insure my day was particularly hard," I say, watching Karin's pen working furiously now over her note pad.
"He annoys you more than the others in your class?" Karin asks carefully, gauging my response.
Gods this pisses me off.
"Without question," I respond curtly, privately pleased with myself that although this is a snappish answer, it's still not particularly monosyllabic.
When Karin raises her eyebrows, urging me to elaborate, I have to run my fingers over my temples to stop myself from getting frustrated. I've already lived through the idiot's distractions today, why would reliving them now help me in any way?
"He's louder than the others at school and he can't take a hint," I say. "He gets heated up about the most ridiculous little things, not particularly caring to avoid conflict for a more peaceful existence if someone insults him even a little bit."
"Hm, that I can believe," Karin comments with an undertone of grim sincerity as she continues to write in her note pad and my eyes narrow at her. Without knowing anything more about Naruto than what I've told her, she's already treating him exactly the same way as my classmates, like some sort of rabid animal, something dangerous and at the same time disgusting.
I think I might have to admit that this has piqued my curiosity even if it isn't exactly my business - it's like some sort of Naruto hating conspiracy.
"We had a confrontation in the locker room before P.E today," I tell her, remembering the way he stood before me in nothing but those obnoxiously coloured boxers with an expression that boasted a mixture of triumph and disgust as he called me out on putting my P.E stuff down next to his.
Karin's pen stops scratching along the paper and her grip tightens on the plastic, making it creak under the pressure. When she looks up at me over the rim of her glasses, her eyes are far too alert and shimmering with fright. It takes me a moment to adjust to this display and figure out why exactly she's looking at me like that. Will a fight like that put a black mark on my psychological record? Will they take it as a sign that I'm slipping when both Naruto and I just got caught up in rubbing each other the wrong way?
"Are…you alright?" Karin asks carefully, her voice laced with a barely perceptible tremble.
If I had the capability to express surprise like normal people, my eyes would be as round as saucers.
She's dropped the professional air completely, something she's only ever done a handful of times, in favour of reacting with personal concern for my wellbeing.
As if someone like Naruto could do anything to me!
Bitter rage bubbles up inside me like the heated liquid of a geyser so even through the usual indomitable mask, I'm baring my teeth and clenching them tightly together in an unmistakable show of antipathy.
"I'm fine," I grind out, emphasising the 'I'm' so that it's clear Naruto was the one that got off worse, even if it didn't exactly have anything to do with me.
This subtlety isn't missed by Karin who leans forward in her chair, uncrossing her leg as she goes.
"You managed to beat him in this fight?" she asks, like it's some sort of achievement.
The rage is so strong it almost stings as I bite out a response.
"He passed out on me, probably from the stress of the whole thing. Now I have a question for you," I continue, not waiting for her to comment on this revelation regarding the idiot's stamina. It's not important, not when I've noticed something interesting.
" What exactly do you know about Naruto? It's obvious that he isn't just a name I've mentioned before to you."
Karin winces slightly as she drags up the professional air once more. I know that doctor/patient confidentiality will limit what she's allowed to tell me but she can't exactly deny my accusation. It's plain as day that she knows Naruto. Does he come here too? Is it because of how the guys at school treat him?
"Yes, I know of him," she concedes, eyeing me warily. "He comes here to see one of my colleagues and the two of us have compared notes on the matter."
I'm not entirely sure which part of that admission makes my eyes narrow in revulsion, the fact that Naruto has more or less the same life schedule as I do, the fact that he's being discussed by various shrinks without his knowledge or the disconcerting idea that if Naruto's being discussed then my information has probably been shared out as well.
I make it a personal mission to be outraged about the latter.
"Have you ever asked for advice on my case?" I ask in a dangerous tone, trying to suss her reaction as I watch her.
She blinks quickly and sighs, a line of irritation forming over her brow.
"Sasuke, I'm only one person. I can't exactly sort through the delicate web of your psychology without some additional input so yes, you've been discussed. I'm only trying to he-
"Don't say it," I bark at her as I stand up, slamming the green tea down on the coffee table. Ever since my parents were killed, that's all anyone ever says to me, it's all anyone ever means to do when they inadvertently end up hurting me, betraying me.
It's all good intentions and broken trust.
"I'm done for today," I tell Karin, grabbing my satchel and walking briskly towards the door to her office. "I'll see you on Friday."
She blusters fruitlessly behind me but I've had enough. Nothing good will come of sticking around now so I'm being sensible and have chosen to extract myself until I've calmed down. I storm along the corridors, the proverbial thunder cloud hanging over my head, digging through my bag until I've found my headphones and crank up the volume on my MP3 player.
By the time I've made it outside and walked the 10 minutes to the bus stop, I can feel myself returning to rational thought and take a deep, frustrated breath to help the last of the fury disperse. As the bus pulls up, I step up to pay for my ticket, my thoughts gradually turning away from the small betrayal in Karin's office to the fact that the idiot has made an appearance in the same place.
I can feel my brows knit together as I take my seat and mull on what I've learnt.
He's been somewhat formally trained in combat as evidenced by the display he put on against me in P.E, he has a record at the shrink's office and even Karin, an authority figure, seems to be afraid of him. He collapsed during P.E and then hardly acted panicked when he came to, just ashamed and resigned.
Something is going on with that dead last loser, something that doesn't seem so trivial now and if I'm really going to make it into law enforcement, I should be able to find the truth on the matter.
Even if I don't particularly care…
Chapters are good for you and reviews are good for me (nods)
