Disclaimer: Peeps, if I have to scrounge together a few dollars to buy my lunch every day, do think you think there's a possibility of me owning it...?
Pairing: SasNar
Warnings: Mature language, a character death, and there is going to be some hardcore YAOI, yo! There, you were warned. If you are queasy about same-sex relationships or don't like foul language, there is a back button for a reason. x3
IMPORTANT: I have decided that Arashi and Sasame Fuuma are being deleted from this story. In their place is going to be Mizuki and his fiancé, Tsubaki. So, basically, Mizuki is going to be Naruto's foster father. I went back and made changes to the chapters accordingly.
Chapter 3: Silence
Kiba lived a little farther than normal from school. While it was only about a fifteen minute ride, it was a good hour or so walk. So he rode a car. Shino was active in several clubs so he stayed after school every day for a few hours to devote himself to those. Gaara, currently, had to do a few days' service for starting a fight with someone who was harassing him—not that anyone knew about that last part; they all assumed it was another victim of the red-head's endless rage.
The only person left was Lee. And there was no way Naruto would even consider the mini-green monster a candidate.
So Naruto walked home alone.
It wasn't that big of a deal, really. He had always walked home alone, save for the small while in grade school when he went to the same school as Gaara. He had grown used to walking alone. It used to bug him when he was younger as it would any child, but he no longer thought anything of it.
But it was still nice for company.
"Tch, baka," Naruto mumbled to himself as he walked through the gate.
"I couldn't possibly agree more."
Naruto whirled. "The hell are you doing sneaking up on me!" he snapped, embarrassed at being caught off guard.
Sasuke smirked. "You look lonely—where's Sabaku?"
"None of your business."
"Hn. Did he get in trouble again?"
"Just shut up."
"Tch." The raven threw him a look. "This is… unfortunate."
Naruto met his gaze. "Eh?"
Sasuke's expression changed—Naruto wasn't sure how exactly, as his face didn't move, but it did. It was suddenly even harder to read into what the guy could've been thinking—if that was even possible. "So you'll be going home alone?"
"Yeah…"
"Do you want company?"
The blond gave Sasuke a look, not sure how to take that. "…No… Yeah?"
"Well, which is it, dobe?"
Naruto crossed his arms. "Why would you do something like that? Do you even live near me?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. Why would I waste my time?"
Naruto looked satisfied with that answer for a second before giving him a sharp look. "How the hell would you know where I live?"
"I overheard Sabaku talking."
"Oh… well, okay then." The blond shrugged.
"So…?"
"So what?"
Sasuke swallowed an annoyed sigh and just started off. Naruto blinked in surprise before staring after him for a few seconds, not sure whether or not to follow. He shifted his weight before letting out an impatient sound and jogging to catch up with the raven.
"So you did decide to join me," the dark haired boy commented.
"Oh, shut up, teme," Naruto grumbled in response.
"Hn."
There was a silence that was neither awkward or comfortable that lasted for almost forty-five seconds before Naruto decided he was tired of hearing nothing. "So…" he began before drifting off, not sure at all as to what to say. Dark eyes watched him through peripheral vision.
"Er—so… since we're seniors and all, what do you plan on doing after high school?"
Sasuke didn't answer.
"Oh, okay. That sounds good then."
Silence was his reply.
"Well… then… are you in any extra curriculum activities?"
The raven decided he didn't need to grace the blond with an answer to that, either.
Said blond gave Sasuke a sharp look. "Yes. I agree. That does sound like something fun to join."
A pause.
"So… where do you live, anyway? You said you lived near me, right?"
This time Naruto wasn't at all surprised when his only answer was the twittering of birds.
He tried not to grind his teeth in frustration. "It must be a nice home. Sounds lovely."
It was around this point that Naruto realized he was mostly—completely—talking to himself, looking like a complete idiot, no doubt.
"It's not as wonderful as some may believe."
Naruto yelped, nearly having a heart attack as his head whipped in Sasuke's direction. "Holy shit—you spoke!" At the raven's withering look, Naruto shrunk back. "Alright; alright; I get it. Sorry. Geez… so, anyway, care to elaborate?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Nothin'."
Naruto scowled. "It's not nothing."
The raven didn't reply.
A groan escaped his lips as his blue eyes drifted shut. "Gods, you are such a bastard."
"Hn."
"Yeah, yeah. Hn to you, too." Naruto was simply horrible at mimicking Sasuke.
There was silence again. The only sound that could be heard was the gentle scuffling of their feet as the walked on the concrete. Naruto's brow was furrowed slightly as he thought, for once taking advantage of the peacefulness.
Finally, he spoke, but not used to breaking things like silence, it could not be blamed on him for what he blurted. "What are you?"
"What?" The raven gave him a look.
Almost immediately, Naruto took in a sharp breath and slapped both hands over his mouth, coloring to a light shade of pink.
Sasuke continued to stare at him from the corner of his eye. As the blond's hands fell from his mouth, Sasuke tried again. "What was that?"
Naruto shook his head. "Nothing."
"It's not nothing."
"Oi! You can't go stealing my lines!" he burst in reply, slightly relieved at the excuse to change the topic.
"Hn." Onyx eyes flicked over to him. "Dobe."
Impulsively, Naruto's tongue flicked out in quite an immature gesture. "Teme," he retaliated before huffily turning his attention back to his path. "Oh," he murmured, "my house is right up there."
"Hn."
"Geez, don't overexert yourself."
"Hn."
"That was a joke."
"Hn."
Naruto sent him a sharp look. "You are infuriating."
"Not something I don't already know."
"Ha! Look who actually spoke!"
Pause.
"…Hn."
Naruto gave up there.
Another pause.
And for once, Sasuke broke the silence. "You're a transfer, right?" he started in an unsure—hesitant—tone.
And suddenly the twenty meters between him and his house was suddenly the largest distance Naruto had ever seen.
"Yeah," he replied just as hesitantly, hoping—praying—that was all Sasuke wanted to know.
"Hn." Pause. "Did you move or something?"
Fifteen meters. You can do this, Naruto! he mentally cheered himself on.
"Yeah."
"Well—why? What I mean is, any particular reason?"
Ten meters. And closing.
"Well—yeah. There is." He made sure to not elaborate, hoping the Uchiha would take a hint.
Sasuke did no such thing.
"Hn. Like what?"
Naruto decided he hated the raven. While Sasuke's questions would make anyone believe he actually wanted to know, his tone was completely uncaring and stoic. He couldn't care less what the answer was—he was just poking to pass time. He was, however—unknowingly—poking a sore spot without even caring that he was doing so—or knowing that he was, but Naruto ignored that last fact.
Five meters. Naruto quickened his pace slightly.
"Like… stupid reasons. It's nothing, really."
"Hn. It's not noth—"
Naruto never knew he would've been so happy to see his front door. "Listen, teme," Naruto snapped, cutting Sasuke off. "You need to stop stealing my lines."
Sasuke gave him a look that suggested he had grown some extra appendage. "It's a fairly common expression, baka."
Naruto huffed, crossing his arms. "Are you done yet? If so, I have a lot of homework to work on."
"Hn."
"Oh, goodie. We're back to that." When Sasuke's only reply was a slightly sour look, Naruto rolled his eyes. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Sadly."
"Oi!"
"Later then, dobe."
Naruto relaxed and grinned. "Yep."
They both turned and continued on their way. Sasuke, when he turned the corner, stopped in his tracks and flipped out his cell, hitting a speed-dial button and waiting for someone to pick up.
"Wazzup?"
"Kakashi."
"Ah, Sasuke… wazzup?" he repeated, his original question still not answered.
Sasuke leaned against the building behind him. "I need a ride."
"I'm in the middle of a chapter."
The raven closed his eyes and made sure to keep his temper from snapping. "Put the damn book down and get over here to pick me up!" he ordered sharply.
"Where are you, anyway?"
"Down by the police station."
Kakashi was silent.
Sasuke frowned. "Kakashi?" When no one answered, he growled, "Kakashi? Are you even—"
His was cut off by a giggle. A giggle of all things.
"Put. The damn book. Down."
"Ah, don't worry. I'll send someone over right away. What were you doing anyway?"
"Stuff."
"Mm. Of course. I should have been expecting an answer like that."
"Shut the hell up and get someone over here."
"Will do."
The line went dead.
It was times like these Sasuke wondered what the hell he had been thinking, allowing himself to be raised by the man.
For the first time in a long time, Mizuki was home before Naruto. And for the first time since he was ten, Tsubaki was home before Naruto was fast asleep in REM mode. It had been a long time since all three of them had spent any amount of time together. Hell, it had been years since they were all in the same sentence. Tsubaki had made sure of it. While she didn't hate the blond as much as Mizuki did—in fact, she still had a small, miniscule soft spot for him—she also had to deal with the side effects of his constant expulsions just like her husband. But she had never lost her job because of it like Mizuki did. She had kept the same job that she always adored—being a nurse at the largest hospital in the area. Probably the only reason why she wasn't on such bad terms with Naruto was because they barely ever saw each other.
But tonight, Tsubaki was home several hours too early for it to be on purpose. It was hard enough to get her to leave 'her hospital.' She worked from mid-morning to the early hours of the next morning. Bluntly put, she was escaping her troubles and the war that was waging between Mizuki and Naruto by working twenty-four seven if possible. Not healthy at all, but it had been routine. She had broken the routine by arriving home at almost eight on the dot.
To top things off, Tsubaki was mightily upset.
That meant she was going to be venting at anyone and anything that was in front of her.
That meant that Mizuki would be in an even worse mood than usual.
This all equaled to a miserable Naruto.
The blond closed his eyes and let his forehead fall onto the table of his computer desk as he heard Tsubaki snap about some trivial thing that was bugging her—the crumbs on the counter—and then burst into tears of rage as she started a shouting match that Mizuki was in no way going to join. Instead, he spoke softly to her—reminding Naruto just how much he cared for his precious wife and leaving a hot trail of envy in his chest—and tried to calm her down.
"Stop it!" she shrieked, her voice easily carrying down the hall to Naruto's room. "I am calm, dammit! Leave me alone!" She sobbed. "Gods, just leave me alone."
More soothing words. More screams of frustration—though Naruto couldn't tell what had riled her up since she wasn't saying.
"I can't stand it anymore!" Tsubaki cried shrilly. "I just can't. I… I… I…"
Despite the fact that he didn't want to be around this whole mess, when his foster mother started stammering in a broken tone, he slipped down the hall so he could hear better.
"What's wrong, 'Baki?" he heard Mizuki whisper softly with genuine concern.
"I—I…" Tsubaki stuttered, her voice slightly muffled. Most likely Mizuki had pulled her to him to console her with his touch.
There was a pause in which the only thing Naruto could hear was his foster mother's erratic breathing. Finally, she whispered so softly that Naruto had to lean forward to hear: "He died…"
Was Tsubaki getting upset because a patient lost their fight and passed on?
"He died, Mizuki-chan… I couldn't do anything." Her voice was barely a whisper.
Apparently she was; though this was unusual. Patients died everyday. That's why doctors and nurses were told not to make strong bonds with patients whose chances were slim. That's why their golden rule was to keep a strictly business-like relationship between themselves and patients. Naruto knew that because when he was little, Tsubaki used to tell him how she hated that rule because under it she wasn't able to properly take care of her patients.
"Who died?" Mizuki asked gently.
"I mean I—I never liked his brother because—because he was such a trouble maker… but he was such a good kid. He was in college… he—he had a future."
Mizuki didn't say anything as Tsubaki sobbed.
"And—And his brother was never a good influence on Naruto. I knew that. That's why I tried to—to cut off their communication with each other. I felt bad about that when I found out it was his k- kid brother. I did… and now he died because I couldn't do anything. I just stood there as his heart starting giving out on him staring. I just stared at him, Mizuki-chan! He was dying and I stood there for at least three minutes gaping like a fish! I couldn't remember my training at all." She was just rambling at this point. Naruto twitched at hearing his name. Who was she talking about that died?
"That's not like you…" he murmured to her. "What happened?"
She sucked in a strangled sob. "M- Mizuki-chan…"
"Hm?"
"M- Mizuki—I—uh…"
"What?"
Tsubaki let out a shaky laugh. "Looks like the gods did listen to our p- prayers about having children."
There was a pause as Mizuki most likely just stared at her. Even Naruto was slightly confused. "What do you mean by that?" Mizuki finally asked.
"I am able to get pregnant."
"Are you—are you saying that—?"
"I'm pregnant," Tsubaki clarified softly.
Naruto's mind went upside down then.
"Then—then—we don't need the boy!" Never had the blond heard his foster father sound so happy.
"What are you talking about?" Tsubaki snapped. "Of course we need Naruto—he's family!"
"That boy is no more family than—"
"She's dead," she hissed suddenly.
"What?"
"She—she's dead…"
"What are you talking about?" Mizuki's tone was once again soothing and gentle.
"The- The baby… She's dead…"
Silence enveloped the room, heavy and foreboding.
"The baby's dead, too, Mizuki-chan… I'm going in tomorrow for surgery to remove the dead fetus. I- I lost both my child and an innocent young man… I wonder what his family will do… He doesn't have parents… That Gaara boy will be so upset…"
She broke down into sobs.
And Naruto backpedaled to his room as something sank in. He slammed the door shut and leaned against it as his legs gave out. He didn't hear Mizuki's yells of misery or Tsubaki's sobs.
All he knew was that a boy who was the brother of one of Naruto's friends had died. And before today, Naruto only had one friend. Gaara. Sasame had even mentioned him through her babble. And it just so happened that Gaara had a brother.
And now Kankurou Sabaku was dead. Gaara's small family had just shrunk yet again. Gaara's parents had died just a few years ago, and the wound that had left on the Sabaku family was still open and oozing. The parent's fortune had been given to Kankurou and Temari to invest and use. Kankurou had never been the healthiest of the bunch, constantly getting colds and stomach bugs, but… Naruto didn't know that he had been in the hospital. He swallowed as realization sank in.
Sometime tonight Gaara and his sister would receive the dreaded phone call from the hospital. They might have already been informed. Naruto's eyes fluttered shut as he mentally comforted the red-head as though he were right there.
Something shattering broke him from his thoughts. His foster mother said she was going out for some air. Mizuki told her to come back safely. The front door opened and then shut. A silence formed again. Naruto felt bad for Tsubaki. The reason why the couple had decided to adopt a child at all was because supposedly it was nearly impossible for Tsubaki's weak womb to conceive.
Supposedly.
Suddenly, the door that had been supporting Naruto was ripped from behind him and he landed sprawled on the floor.
"Bwah—?"
"You," Mizuki hissed, glaring down at the boy, hands tightly fisted at his sides.
Naruto blinked. "Me," he repeated dumbly.
The older man bent down so that his face was closer to the blond's. Naruto could very-much-so see the fire burning in those darkened eyes. "You're the one who gave Tsubaki such stress."
He blinked. "Eh?"
Mizuki sneered. "It's hard for Tsubaki to get pregnant. It was a miracle that she conceived at all. But her body rejected the fetus because her nerves were so racked with stress; stress that you caused." His voice was deathly quiet and calm.
Naruto's eyebrows furrowed for a second before shooting up as he gaped. "You think I'm responsible for the kid's death?"
"I don't think anything—that's exactly how she explained it."
Naruto flinched before giving a shaky glare. "Liar," he weakly replied, not in the mood for a fight.
Mizuki's eyes held no emotion but pure agony. "Why?" he asked softly, his voice almost cracking. "Did I do something…? Is that why you're trying to ruin my life? You just destroyed my chance at having my own child…" Mizuki shook his head, struck by the realization as though it was something purely foreign. It was the first time in years that Naruto had seen the man so exposed and he had to avert his gaze and swallow the burning lump in his throat.
The look didn't suit the proud man.
"You're an omen." The words were spoken with no emotion. The agonized tone was gone. The broken eyes were sealed away to be replaced with a trace of intense anger. "You—"
He didn't finish his sentence but instead whipped his fist down and delivered a fierce blow to the side of Naruto's face. The blond numbly noted that it was the first time in a long time that his foster father had hit him. He then realized that many things had happened for the first time in a long time that night.
"Why?" Mizuki hissed, giving him another blow to his other cheek, making his head whip to the other side with the velocity of the blow. "Why?" Another vicious hit. It soon became a pattern:
Why; punch; why; punch; why; punch; why; punch; why; punch.
Soon Naruto's face was a tingly numb and Mizuki's knuckles were swollen from the effort. The older man's breath was labored and he was bent over slightly from the exertion. The fact that Naruto was lying peacefully on the ground with absolutely no expression in his face or posture fueled Mizuki's wrath. He wanted to see what the boy would look like if he felt pain, mentally and physically—but his eyes were safely hidden from prying eyes by his golden locks.
Frustration welled in him as he looked down at the boy—the brat who wasn't showing any hint of hurting; wasn't allowing Mizuki the thrill of knowing he had done damage.
That made him feel stupid; and weak; and—and ashamed. Ashamed for many things. Ashamed for dropping college; ashamed for running away from his family; ashamed for eloping; ashamed for not being able to help the thing that was now dead that could have been his child; ashamed for failing his wife.
His mind snapped. His fists trembled as he dug his teeth into his lip. He stood like that for a few seconds before doing something he would never regret, though he would probably never think about again.
His trembling, clenched fist made contact with a smooth stomach and he felt the skin under the shirt buckle in under his knuckles, digging into internal organs. The blow—surprisingly—made no noise. Naruto didn't let out a pained sound. He didn't lose his breath. He didn't do anything to stop the older man. The only movement that came from him was a twitching of his fingers.
Silence hung heavy around them as another blow was given. Then another. Then another followed by another and another. Nothing could have been more agonizing than the silence. It meant that no one was going to save him—it also meant that no one would. There was nothing around to help Naruto; nothing but Mizuki and himself.
The door opened and immediately dark eyes snapped to the door.
"Uzumaki," the teacher hissed. "You're late."
The blond didn't reply but just walked over to his seat and plopped down.
"Acknowledge me when I talk to you, boy!"
"Mm," he hummed, his gaze shifted over to one empty desk in particular.
"I'm pinning a detention on you for this afternoon. You'll clean the school," the teacher told Naruto, a smirk in place. "And there's no way for you to back out of this one—that guard dog of your's isn't here today."
Naruto's face was impossible to read. "Leave Gaara outta anything having to do with me."
"Tch." But the older man said no more on the red-head.
Naruto's cerulean eyes traveled to the desk next to him where Gaara usually sat. It was empty. While Naruto would usually have merely guessed that his friend was just late, he himself had made sure to be extra late today—twenty-five minutes late, to be precise. If Gaara was going to show, he would have already been there.
But he wasn't.
Naruto sighed and let his forehead fall to his desk, the cool wood working wonders on his sore skin. He was grateful that no one had taken notice of his slightly purple cheeks. He had to admit, though, there wasn't that many people who would take the time to notice something like that. Thank the gods for that.
The bell rang and Naruto knew another day of hell had officially started when he tripped over the leg of his desk.
Naruto was not at all pleased. He was desperately trying to hide his limp and made sure nothing even came near his stomach. Not even the wind was allowed to touch the tender skin. Hell, he had been thinking of going shirtless until he remembered he wouldn't be allowed in school without one. Also, it kinda hurt to talk. Actually, it hurt to move any part of his face, period. Naruto wanted to curse the gods for that last part. As fate would have it, he was constantly laughing and smiling on a daily basis and he knew he would be kicking himself later for that.
Gods, how he wanted to just stay in bed today. But the principal would call his home and ask why he wasn't there and then the Touji couple would find out and then they would get upset with him for skipping and then—chaos, bluntly put.
Just to make his day worse, Gaara wasn't there. That meant that he had been told of his brother's death… Naruto's brow crinkled as he wondered idly if the red-head would snap. Gaara most likely wasn't taking too kindly to the death of part of the small family he had left. He might not be able to take it and go into 'psycho mode.' That wouldn't be good. Maybe Naruto would take a little trip to Gaara's after school to make sure everything was okay.
Now he just had to make it through the day alive. That was going to be the hard part. Naruto tromped from first period to second glumly. He hadn't much felt like dealing with math so he had just skipped… Though the thought of dealing with Genma was even less appealing. But he couldn't skip every period, much as he would've like to, since it would just get the principal on his case.
So Naruto steeled himself before pushing the classroom door open. He went over to his desk and sat down glumly. He really wanted to just have this day be over and done with.
"Yo, man—hey, 'sup with your face?"
But apparently some higher up power wanted this day to be a torture and last forever.
Almost idly, his fingers rose to hover right above his cheek. "Hey yourself, Kiba. I just have sensitive skin, is all. Just a brush and it goes purple." He had to thank the fact that the marks weren't too noticeable which meant people were likely to buy the excuse.
"Oh…" The brunet blinked as it sank it. "Well what did you do?"
Naruto shrugged dismissively. "I'm not sure. As I said, one tap and I bruise. So I'm not positive what I did."
"Oh," Kiba murmured, like the concept of something so simple was new. "Yeah, that makes sense."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ya think?"
The brunet shot him a sharp look. "Don't you start something with me," he growled.
Naruto looked at him and blinked in innocence before laughing at the look he received from the peeved Dog Boy, ignoring the pain that shot through his face.
It was then that the blond realized that he had missed feeling so close to someone. Sure, he had Gaara, and Gaara was the most important person to Naruto, but Gaara wasn't someone who Naruto could joke around with like he was with Kiba—Gaara's sense of humor could put a Catholic nun to shame, no offense to the red-head.
Naruto also realized that Kiba was amazing at cheering him up.
"Naruto-chaaaan!" Genma sang as he jovially skipped—by the gods, he was skipping—over to them.
"Stay the hell away," Kiba automatically ordered, stepping in front of the blond slightly.
Genma gave that grin of his that Naruto was starting to believe was stolen right from the Cheshire cat himself. "Aw, Inuzuka-chan, why are you ruining my fun?"
Kiba snorted.
"What have I done to make you doubt me?"
"You don't call me by my first name," Kiba immediately answered dryly.
"Jealous?" Genma seriously asked cheekily.
Kiba snorted again.
"Geez, Keebs (1), with all those guttural sounds, it's no wonder no one stalks you."
"I said nothing about stalking," the brunet pointed out not so very patiently.
The older man snuck a glance to his left and right before whispering, "You'll keep that a secret, right?"
"Get. Away. From us."
"You're no fun." Genma pouted.
"Genma-sensei—" Naruto began.
Said man turned to face Naruto and closed to space between them, grabbing his chin and pointing it up so their eyes were locked. "I told you that if you called me sensei, I would show you a whole new meaning of the word," Genma purred.
"HOLY FUCK! GET AWAY!" Kiba leapt at the teacher and landed a punch on the older man's shoulder.
Naruto, caught completely off-guard, yelped and impulsively swung his leg out. It made contact with his teacher's knees. Genma let out a startled noise as his bottom made contact with the floor.
There was a three second silence between the three as Kiba blinked down at Genma, wondering how he got down there when the punch he gave the man wasn't enough to force him to lose his balance; Genma was looking up at Naruto with unreadable, slightly wide eyes, his mouth slightly agape and his toothpick on the verge on slipping from between his lips; Naruto was shocked at himself for attacking a teacher—kinda—and was staring down at the man, hoping to any higher powers that this was not going to get him expelled—but the man started it, so he could defend himself!
Finally, after the pause seemed to be unbearable to take, Genma broke down into uncontrollable laughter. "Oh, gods, you are a feisty one, aren't you?" Naruto wasn't sure when he stood up, but he was back on his feet and looking at the blond with humor in his dark eyes. "I really like you, Naruto-chan."
Naruto blinked at him, not sure how else to react. "Eh?"
Kiba snarled, trying to pry the man off of his friend all the while screaming, "Pedophile! Pedophile! He's a pedophile!"
Naruto glanced over at the spazzing brunet before shifting his gaze back to the teacher. "Genma," he finally sighed, suddenly feeling weary. "I'm not in a mood for this crap, so just start class, okay? Besides, I think the bell is about to ring soon, anyway."
The teacher pouted. "You're no fun, Naruto-chan."
The blond smiled semi-apologetically, semi-sheepishly and nervously scratched at the back of his head. The 'moment' was broken when the door opened slightly forcefully. Genma turned and gave another grin, though it wasn't nearly as large as it usually was. "Uchiha-san, glad you could join us." The bell rang and Genma's brows rose in amusement. "You're just on time."
The raven merely gave a "hn" of acknowledgment before taking his seat in the back.
"I guess I do have to start class," the older man murmured regretfully before playing with the toothpick between his lips. "We'll have to continue this conversation later, ne?"
Kiba growled before dragging Naruto away from Genma over to their seats. "No, you will not," he muttered darkly.
The blond thwacked the back of the head. "I can take care of myself."
Kiba snorted before flopping down in his seat. "Sure you can."
"Aw, shut up."
"Anything for you, Naruto-chan."
Naruto sent the brunet a disapproving look. "Great maturity you got there, Keebs."
"I know," Kiba smugly replied.
"Salvete, discipuli," Genma called to the back of the room pointedly to the two bickering boys.
"Salve, magister," Kiba answered with a roll of his eyes.
"Er—sul-way?" Naruto guessed.
Genma smirked before taking his attention off the duo.
"Tch. Good save, dobe."
The blond's head snapped in the direction of the voice and he bristled. "I didn't ask for your opinion, teme," he pointed out snippily.
"Hn." Obsidian orbs locked onto azure. Naruto stared—rather, glared—back, not willing to look away and make himself look weak. The frustration that had been eating at him all morning wasn't hidden in the least and his eyes burned in to Sasuke's intensely with it.
That was how most of the period was spent.
Naruto cursed as he stomped to fourth period. His mood was souring since a certain bastard was doing everything in his power to make the blond miserable. It had merely remained a glaring match for most of Genma's class, but when they got to Gai's, Sasuke had made the ultimate mistake of mentioning to the rabid green monster that Naruto was interested in doing the daily three hundred laps at lunch with Lee and Gai. Gai had been ecstatic while Naruto had given the raven a look that promised a slow and painful doom while trying to explain to the excited teacher that he was busy during lunch, study halls, homeroom, after school, or any other time that Gai had free for laps.
Naruto then spent most of the period trying to beam a mental message to the teme: You will pay if you don't stop.
The raven hadn't taken heed of the warning and had continued to do things merely to annoy Naruto.
Needless to say, Naruto was starting to wonder in how many painful ways he could castrate the raven.
He sat down at his desk in Psychology and let his eyes wander briefly over to Sasuke before flicking back to Kiba as the brunet took his seat next to the blond.
"Gods, this class is too easy to be taken seriously."
"Well, I'm glad you think so," a voice quipped.
Kiba yelped before snapping his head in the direction of the voice. "Raidou! Way to give me a heart attack!"
The scarred man rolled his eyes. "If you had a heart attack, you'd be on the ground gasping for breath as your heart started to explode after a clot or nerve spasm caused it to stop."
There was a pause before the brunet gave the teacher a weird look. "Er—thanks for the health recap, but it was a figure of speech—you know, an expression?"
"I know what it was," the older man replied casually, shrugging. "I just think that kids these days take death way too lightly."
Kiba gave Raidou another look. "You are a weird man."
Raidou smirked before leaning against his desk. "I aim to please."
"No. You are a weird man," Kiba repeated like the emphasized word made all the difference.
The older man's eyebrows shot up. "You mean queer? Yes. Yes, I am.
"No, weird," Naruto repeated in agreement with Kiba.
Raidou turned to look at the blond. "You're talking about my gayness, correct?"
"No!" Kiba exclaimed. "Not everything is because you're gay, dammit!"
Raidou looked like he was pouting. "It could be if we think hard enough."
Kiba gave him a sharp look. "Start the lesson. Now."
Sasuke, who was sitting a few desks down, looked at the teacher, silently agreeing before saying,: "The bell's going to ring soon, anyway."
After some more whines and retorts from the teacher and the Kiba, Raidou conceded and started class. He was going on about "nifty ways to trick people into giving you their wallet and/or credit cards" or tricking the human brain to temporarily mistake blank paper for money when Naruto's good mood slowly diminished and was replaced by pure panic. His mind kept slipping to Gaara and he continually received images of the red-head doing something stupid over the loss of his brother…
Making up his mind, he turned to Kiba. "Yo, man, you bring your cell?"
The brunet shook his head. "Nah, it's in my locker."
Naruto's brows shot up to his hairline. "You leave something like that in our crappy lockers?"
"I have a lock," he defended.
The blond rolled his eyes and looked back to Raidou who was announcing homework. After much debating, Naruto decided his concern for his friend was too much to ignore—he rarely got a feeling like this and when he did, there was usually something actually wrong. So he decided to go to his last resort.
"Hey, Sasuke!" he whispered loud enough for the raven to hear. "You got a phone on ya?"
Sasuke looked over at him with a glare. "What are you talking about?"
Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "What do you think? I need a phone."
"Phones aren't allowed in class. It'd be confiscated if you were caught."
The blond grinned cheekily. "You don't trust me to not get caught? I'm not that loud, you know."
The look he received said that the raven begged to differ.
"C'mon, please?" Naruto asked—he refused to call it begging.
Sasuke just stared at him, though he looked a little torn.
"Pwease?"
Dark eyes rolled to the ceiling in annoyance. "Just be quick," he hissed, tossing the phone to the blond.
"Sweet. Thanks, man." Naruto grinned to show his appreciation before looking down at the phone in his hands. He nearly choked on dry air. Ho. Ly. Shit. This is an iPhone Yes, Naruto knew everyone in the school was rich, but it was still a little bit of a surprise when he saw such expensive stuff. Never in his life had he owned anything that was worth half as much as the phone he currently held. Hell, if Naruto were to sell everything he owned he still wouldn't have enough to buy something that nice.
Treating it like it was made of glass, Naruto delicately punched in the numbers that he knew like he knew two plus two and put it up to his ear gingerly, making sure his grip wasn't too tight. The last thing he wanted was to break something like a frickin' iPhone and be expected to replace it.
"Yo! This is Temari speaking."
Naruto noted that she sounded stressed and incredibly tense. "Hey," he murmured softly. "I can't talk too long cuz I'm in class, but… is everything okay with you?"
"Oh, Naruto," Temari sighed, sounding incredibly relieved. "It's good to hear from you again. How've you been?"
"You didn't answer my question, 'Mar."
Temari hesitated before replying. "Everything's good… for the most part."
"I know that's a lie… I'm sorry to hear about Kankurou."
"Yeah," she agreed, her voice cracking slightly. "It's… a little tough now, I suppose."
"I thought everything was okay?" Naruto teased lightly.
Temari gave a humorless laugh. "Never better," she bitterly mumbled.
"But… uh, seriously, anything going down over there? I got a bad feeling and figured it couldn't hurt to call."
Temari hesitated again and immediately Naruto knew something was up.
"What is it?" he coaxed, anxiousness settling in his chest.
"Gaara," Temari said after a pause. "He's…"
"Not taking it well?" Naruto guessed before wincing.
"Gone," she finished.
It took a second for that to sink in before he nearly shouted, "What do you mean 'gone'?!"
Raidou whirled and Naruto barely had enough time to rip the phone from his ear and shoved it under the desk before turning to Kiba who was also looking at him oddly.
"K- Kiba, I swear to the gods my notebook was right there a second ago… Where the hell is it now?" he asked the brunet, his tone unsure and his eyes giving the Dog Boy a clear message: play along.
Kiba snorted. "Hell if I know." He gave Naruto a look in reply: what the hell is going on?
The blond snuck a look to Raidou and winced at the expression on his face. He could hear a soft murmur from the phone on his lap and knew Temari was most likely calling his name.
"Oh, er… never mind then. Guess I dropped it or something. No biggie."
"Good to know," Raidou dryly commented. "Now are you ready to continue class?"
Naruto mutely nodded and Raidou turned away. He waited a few seconds before bringing the phone back to his ear, casting Kiba an apologetic look. "Sorry, 'Mar," he murmured, interrupting the frantic girl's cry of his name. "Now what do you mean he's gone? Like… mentally?"
"No," Temari said slowly. "Gone as in… gone. Vamoose."
"Do… you need my help?" he ventured.
"No," Temari immediately replied. He could almost see the other blond shake her head. "Finish up with your classes. I don't want you getting in trouble because…" She let off and Naruto could've sworn she was trying to keep from sobbing in terror at the thought of her brother missing. Her only brother, Naruto numbly added, the thought feeling a little foreign.
"Seriously. You know my rep, so it wouldn't much hurt me. I could be over in a blink." He didn't receive an answer and knew that Temari was swaying in her answer. "Please?" he added. "He's important to me, too, 'Mar… I don't want to see him hurt and you know he's likely to get hurt when he's by himself after something like this."
There was a pause before he got an answer from her. "Naruto… I want to say yes, but… How about you call in, like, an hour, and if I still haven't heard from him, then you can come."
The blond didn't like the answer but grudgingly agreed before hanging up and tossing the phone back to a slightly peeved Sasuke.
"I thought you said you weren't going to get caught," he groused.
"I didn't get caught," Naruto pointed out before rolling his eyes. "Teme."
"Well then I suppose Raidou stopped class just 'cause the weather was so nice?"
Naruto shot him a look. "I didn't get caught, though, did I?"
"Hn." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
Naruto sighed before turning his attention to Kiba. "Sorry for putting so much pressure on ya, man. Thanks for going with it, though."
Kiba snorted. "Yeah, yeah. The things I do for love. But who were you talking to anyway?"
"That's a very good question," Sasuke quipped. "Over whom did I almost lose my iPhone for?"
The blond gave him a dark look before turning his attention back to Kiba. "I don't think you know her…"
"I don't care if I know her," Kiba not-so-patiently said. "I want to know who it was. You were screaming there for a second."
Naruto huffed indignantly. "Temari."
"I'm sorry, who?"
"Kiba!" the blond whined. "I already told you that you didn't know her!"
"But seriously, who?" Kiba repeated.
Naruto sighed, giving in. "Sabaku Temari."
Both Sasuke and Kiba gave him a funny look.
"Um… in relation to Gaara, by any chance?"
Naruto nodded. "Yep. That's her."
"Ah… I see… And you had to call her in the middle of class because…?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but the Sabaku family is going through a tough time right now and Gaara's missing."
Kiba thought about that for a second and Sasuke just gave a 'tch.'
"So… you called cuz Gaara wasn't in school?" the brunet asked curiously.
Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'm not that paranoid. When I say he's gone, I mean no one can find him."
"This is a bad thing?" Surprisingly enough, it was Sasuke who had asked that.
Naruto glared at him. "Yes, it is. Especially now." Kiba opened his mouth to ask another question so he continued, "Look, it isn't my place to say anything, okay? Just… leave it be. It doesn't affect you."
Lunch rolled through and there had been no positive updates from Temari.
"Kay, guys, I'm off."
Kiba and Shino both turned to face the blond.
"What are you talking about?" Kiba asked.
"I've got something to do," Naruto replied with a shrug.
"And it can't wait until after school?"
Naruto sighed. "No, it can't. I might be back later. Bye."
"Naruto, wait."
The blond stopped and turned to look at Shino. "…Yeah?"
"Ebisu stalks the hallways near the exits all hours of the day. He also has several employees watching throughout the cafeteria for anyone who may try to leave during free periods or lunch."
Naruto grinned. "Thanks for the warning, but I'm not concerned."
He was about to leave when Kiba called to him. "Wait, man."
He looked over to the brunet. "Yeah?"
Kiba looked like he was torn between a tough decision. Finally, he sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a dark red flip phone. He stared at it a second before hesitantly holding it out. "I want to know if you'll be needing any help at all."
Naruto blinked at the electronic device before giving a grin. "I'll be fine, honest, Kiba, so—"
"That stupid phone is the most important thing to him, after Akamaru, so if he's giving it to you, it means he cares for you. Since he's actually loaning it to you on his own will, it also means he won't take no for an answer," Shino informed Naruto in his low voice.
The blond felt a little tug in his chest as he slowly reached out and pulled the phone from Kiba's grip into his own. "Thanks a bunch, dude."
The brunet cracked a cocky smirk. "No prob, and I expect you to call if you need any sort of help in the least and I want an update when you find him. Shino's number is in the phone book. Call him. And don't be afraid about it being during school hours. If you run into trouble, call. I don't care if I'm in the middle of a test or detention, I'll come."
With a laugh and one last wave, Naruto promised he would return, and headed for the main exit out of the room. Thanks to Shino's update about security, he wasn't surprised when two teachers and the janitor all approached him, looking like a pack of wolves.
"Where ya going?" one—a woman with purple shaded glasses—asked.
"I have business to attend to," Naruto dismissively replied, moving to sidestep the trio.
Another—a slightly bulky man—grabbed his shoulder. "Feel free to go when you tell us where you're off to and give us a pass."
The blond stared up coolly at the man. "It's lunch, which counts as a free period. And in case you couldn't read between the lines, that means I'm not giving you jack shit."
"Hey, you," the janitor growled. "I don't know who you think you are—" He stopped before giving the blond a once-over. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Uzumaki Naruto," was the clipped response.
The three seemed to stop for a second to think whether or not the name was anything to be feared—getting fired for pissing off the son of powerful people just wasn't the brightest side of anyone's day—and upon realizing it wasn't, they all seemed to grin somewhat maliciously.
"Well, Mr. Uzumaki, just where do you think you were going?" Mr. Bulk asked.
"I know very well where I'm going, thank you very much." Really, why did adults get a kick out of torturing him?
The cafeteria quieted when they made the connection of the bicker as a possibility of gossip and the room watched in fascination, making sure to pick up any dialogue spoken for rumors later.
Purple glasses smirked. "I think you need to take this up with the principal."
"And I think I just need to hurry to tend to my appointment," the blond replied nonchalantly.
"And what would this 'appointment' be, hmm?" the janitor asked, leaning on his broom.
"It's personal, thank you very much. I appreciate your concern, but I assure you, there's nothing—"
"Personal on what level?" Bulky cut in.
"On the level of my not being able to tell you."
"Aw, well that's too bad, sweets, cuz you're not allowed to leave until we receive a legitimate answer." It was the woman who spoke.
Rolling his eyes, Naruto spewed out the first lie that popped into his head. "The guidance counselor wants to talk to me about being new and how to adjust more easily. There, happy?" He went to step around them again, but once again, a thick, firm hand latched onto his shoulder painfully.
"Then we can just go to the counselor together seeing as you have no pass or excuse note."
Naruto was mightily wishing that maybe a meteor would crash through the roof and burn the man alive. "I will allow you to do no such thing," he grit out. "I don't see why you can't trust me enough to walk maybe fifty meters to—"
"What's going on here?" a new voice asked shrilly.
Naruto and the trio looked over to the new figure and mentally groaned.
"Ah, Ebisu-sensei. This little thing here was thinking—"
The ebony-haired man pushed the dark spectacles up his nose before looking at Naruto. Immediately, the dark frames slipped down his nose again and he sharply cut into Mr. Bulk's sentence, sounding slightly panicked. "Release him immediately! Let go of him—Let go of him, I said!"
The bulky teacher looked a little surprised at the outburst, but released his hold on the blond, who stepped away with a glower. He was about to try leaving again when Ebisu spoke again. "Where do you think you're going, Uzumaki?"
Naruto sent him a reproachful look. He didn't at all like anything about the Ebisu guy. "I have things to do."
"And that would be?"
"Things."
"Uzumaki, if you do not answer me, I'll be making a call to your father."
Naruto rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "Ugh, that sounds like a threat a babysitter would make to an incompetent three year old. Really, is that the best you have?"
"There was no joke in that threat, Uzumaki."
The blond sighed. "Gods, I don't care," he snapped back, managing to make it sound like he wasn't lying. "Call him for all I care." Please don't call him! he mentally begged, but swallowed it.
Seeing that he wasn't getting anywhere, Ebisu changed tactics. "Where are you going off to, anyway?"
"Said the counselor wanted to see him," the janitor responded.
"Right… And why would that be? Because you're new? If you tell me that's the reason, I'll call you a liar. There's no need for us to waste our time on someone like you with something as trivial as that."
Naruto, having had enough, decided to tell them the truth. "I don't much feel like having blood on my hands." Cryptic, but part of the truth nonetheless.
Ebisu, however, took it differently. "Are you threatening us, Uzumaki? Rest assured that if you are, I can and will expel you immediately. I don't care who you are or what you think you can do, I will not allow you to walk all over other people."
Naruto resisted the urge to give an exasperated sigh, settling with a roll of his cerulean eyes instead. Really, what was wrong with adults?
Deciding he didn't feel like sticking around anymore, he just turned and started off again. Mr. Bulk went to grab him again, but Ebisu sharply snapped, "Don't touch him! You heard him, he's willing to hurt teachers!" His voice grew louder as he then called, "Uzumaki, be sure to know that if you leave this cafeteria, not only will I do everything in my power to have you expelled, your father—"
The slamming of the door as it closed behind the blond drowned out anything else the man might have said.
(1) A nickname for Kiba. I call him that on occasion… xP
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Yep… boring chapter… Nothing happened. Well, not really. Oh, and look. It was also long. But no worries! SasNar comes out near the middle of the next chapter. In fact, it's the main point of la next chappy! I'm now going to concentrate fully on their relationship:)
And if anyone mentions anything along the lines of: "Where did Mizuki come in???" I will SCREAM with the realization that you did not read the pretty, bolded note at the top that is clearly labeled as IMPORTANT.
Now, back to my life of being a nerd. I need to finish The Stand (by Stephen King). T.T
Please review…! I'm desperate to know how I can improve! (And I'm a rabid review monster—rawr!)