Quake
Chapter Three
-Play Date-
The two contrasting boys stood side by side, nodding at everything the older man told them. Such as no running in the rooms with heirlooms, and not throwing kunai around the house. "Now…if you want to do the dangerous things, go out into the backyard and knock yourselves out." He said simply, catching his words and shaking his head. "But don't literally knock yourselves out, cause' Sakura would try and murder me…again." He sighed, receiving questioning looks from the boys. "Just go play," he waved them off.
At his dismissal Akito ran to his room, followed by the excited Toshiro. He opened the door and walked in. "Well this is my room." He said gesturing to the space.
It wasn't too large, but it had just enough room to appear spacious. There was a full bed by the wall, along with a desk underneath the window, littered with kunai and notes from the Academy. On the opposite wall was a shelf, full of knick-knacks and pictures of Akito and his dad, and Akito with Minako and Naruto's family. On the opposite side was a display case, with a katana in it. There were a few scrolls on the walls, but the room was mostly bare. Not a thing was out of place.
"Whoa!" Toshiro came in, looking around. It was awesome. "Man my mom doesn't ever let me have kunai in my room." He said, grabbing one of the heavy metal weapons. He rolled his eyes a bit, twirling the thing in his hand, "She thinks I might stab myself, or something stupid like that."
"What's it like? Having a mom I mean." Akito asked, sitting on his bed.
The redhead stopped and looked over at his new friend, a bit of shock on his face. "What do you mean? Don't you have one?" he asked. Though now that he thought about it, he hadn't seen a woman when they arrived at the house. When Sasuke and Akito were out it hadn't seemed odd, because Toshiro went around the village with his father all that time.
Akito looked at the ground. "No. My mother died giving birth to me. She wasn't very strong." He said, sadness in his voice. His father told him it wasn't his fault, but he had always felt that he was partly responsible.
"Oh," was all the other boy could manage out. He tried to imagine it, a life without his mother. He could already feel the sadness, the cold life it would have been without all his mother's love and affection. The mere thought of her being gone created a void in his heart. He walked over to Akito and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, if your mom was still alive, I'm sure things would be the same, because your dad loves you too. Right?"
"Yeah, I guess." The young Uchiha sighed. He wanted to believe what his friend was saying, but, in all honesty, he really didn't know if his father loved him. Deciding that he wanted to change the subject, he looked up at Toshiro. "So, what do you wanna do?" he asked, perking up a bit. It wouldn't do to show emotion, because that wasn't the way of the Uchiha.
Toshiro thought long and hard, but then laughed, "I honestly don't know. I don't know what you can do here in Konoha."
"Just about anything really. When Minako and I hang out we go play pranks on people. But we could do something else instead. I have a practice target in the backyard if you wanna throw kunai and shuriken. We can even make a game out of it." He suggested.
"Sounds like fun! Lead the way!" the redhead exclaimed happily.
Akito opened up his closet and pulled out two containers of weapons. Then he walked out of his room and led the way to the small practice arena behind his house. He set the boxes down about ten feet from the posts. "Ok, you can be the red tipped ones, and I'll be the blue tipped ones. That way we can tell them apart." He said, opening up the boxes.
"Cool, cool. So how do we play? What are the rules?"
"Ok we'll play Horse. Basically, I'll throw a kunai from wherever I choose. Then you go. Whoever hits the center from the spot gets an H. Then, the one who hits the middle moves to another spot, and goes again. Whatever spot the winner picks is the one that the other player has to move to when they eventually hit the center. And we keep playing until one of us spells the word Horse. Any questions?" he asked as he finished taking the weapons out of their cases.
Toshiro bent over and picked up one of the kunai, tossing it in the air and then catching it. "Alright, go for it." He smiled, looking back at the target.
Akito walked over so that he was at a seventy-two degree angle from the post. Turning, he flung his arm out, just barely hitting the center. He let out a sigh of relief. If his father had seen that he would have made him do it again until he got it right. But this wasn't training. This was a game, and he would have fun.
"Wow! Great aim!" Toshiro cheered him on. He tried to focus. He had practiced throwing kunai a little. "Alright." He took his aim and threw the kunai as precisely as he could. He didn't do too bad either, he had gotten pretty close to Akito's, but it was still a miss. "Aw man!"
"That was really close!" Akito said. Then he walked over to Toshiro and grabbed his hand, placing another kunai in it. "Here, if you hold it like this it will go farther and be more precise." He said, forming Toshiro's hand over the kunai.
He nodded, listening and watching intently, just like a good student. "Alright." He aimed again and focused, doing just what Akito had told him. When he tried again he was much closer. A bright smile illuminated his face. "Wow! Not yet but better! Right?" he asked.
"Yeah that was good!" Akito said, and then walked so that he was at a forty-five degree angle. He turned so that his back was facing the post. Taking a deep breath, he turned swiftly and threw his kunai, hitting the post dead center this time. Seeing that he hit his mark, he smiled. He had been working on that angle for months now, and was glad that he had finally hit it, even if his father wasn't there to see.
Toshiro just started laughing again, "Wow! You're really good Akito!" he smiled, his facial features looking more like his mother's now. "How long did it take you to get that? You must train a lot."
"Yeah, my dad makes me train three hours a day doing various drills. I can teach you if you want." He suggested, liking the idea of being able to share what he had learned with someone else.
"I'd really like that." Toshiro said sincerely. "But…my mom would get so mad."
"Well…what if you are backed into a corner in a fight, and you can't use any of your jutsu? Taijutsu can only help you so much. If your enemy has a weapon and knows how to use it, you'll also need to know, so that you can defend yourself. And your mom wouldn't want you to not be able to defend yourself, right? So I'll teach you, and if you get in trouble, just tell her that. It's foolproof." He said with a mischievous smile.
Deciding that made enough sense for his nine year old mind he hurriedly nodded. "Alright teach me! I want to know! I know I probably won't be as good as you," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "But it'd still be cool to be better."
"Don't worry, I will just start you off with the basics. First I need to know what you can do, so show me." He said stepping back and crossing his arms.
Toshiro showed him what he knew, which actually was only the basics. Every once in a while Akito would stop him and show him how to perfect his form, and then ask him to do it again. Once Toshiro got the hang of it, Akito showed him a new way to throw them, adding a bit more force.
They continued to run through a few drills until they noticed that the sun was beginning to go down. Both boys were hungry, so they went inside to have dinner.
The girls went to Minako's house. It was a decent size, and pretty simple. Entering the house, they followed Minako upstairs and to her room, as Hinata and Sakura went to the living room to have tea. She opened the door, and the sight revealed to the twins caused them to gasp in awe.
It was a large room, with a huge bed in the center, a sheer curtain hanging down from it. The walls were a bright blue, matching the curtains hanging from the bed and over the window. There was a chest at the end of her bed. She had a small desk beneath the window, and next to it was a shelf, full of photos of her family and friends. In the corner of her room, right next to her bed, was a mountain of stuffed animals. In the opposite corner there was a lavish doll house.
"Um, here's my room." Minako said pointing her fingers together the way her mother used to do.
"Wow! It's so pretty!" they ran around, even though their room was much bigger they still found it amazing. Satomi looked at all the pictures, smiling at all the happy times Konoha seemed to offer. Natsumi had stopped by the mountain of stuffed animals, they were so much different than her own. "Wow!" she yelled, grabbing a bunny and hugging it tightly. "Minako I love your room!"
"Thanks. My daddy buys me all those stuffed animals, that way I will never be alone when he and mommy are busy." She said, a small smile on her face. Her dad spoiled her rotten, but she wasn't conceited about it. She knew he only did it because he loved her so much. And her mom made sure to teach her to appreciate everything that life had to offer.
This made the twins stop and look at one another. "Our daddy gets them for us because we're 'precious gifts from above'." Natsumi said blandly.
Satomi nodded, "Though now when you say it like that it makes me feel like a brat."
"But we don't ever have to worry about being lonely." Natsumi explained to Minako. "Whenever daddy is at work or mommy is at the hospital we have each other and Toshiro."
"Yeah, and usually Aunt Ino or Uncle Kiba watch us or take us to the flower shop." Satomi continued. Both saddened instantly.
"Does that make us terrible people?!" they cried out in unison.
"No! I think you guys are great!" Minako said, trying to make them feel better. "I'm not always alone. Sometimes Uncle Sasuke watches me and I get to stay with them. So Akito-kun and I play together. Well, we train mostly, but it's still fun! And Tsunade-baa-san watches me every once in a while. Or I go over to my grandfather's house or Uncle Neji's home in the Hyuuga District."
The younger pink haired twin perked up and looked over at Minako. "Hey Mina-chan…do you have any thread?"
Satomi looked at her sister and blinked. "What do you need thread for?"
"Nothing!" Natsumi retorted, a small blush adorning her cheeks.
"So why do you want it then?"
"Because I just do. Jeez. What? I can't find simple entertainment from string? I don't tell you how to live your life Satomi!" she stuck her tongue out at her sister then.
Minako walked over to the chest at the end of her bed and opened it. She dug around for a while, but then, finding what she was after, pulled out a small box. She opened it up, revealing an assortment of colors.
"Here Natsumi-chan, you can use whatever you want." Minako said, placing the box on the floor.
"Thank you," she smiled, bringing the box closer to her and pulling out different shades of pink string. She began working diligently, focused on her task.
Satomi gave Minako a poke in the arm and smiled. "We should ask your mommy if we can play dress up."
"Oh we don't have to. I have a whole closet of stuff we can use!" Minako exclaimed, running over to her closet. She opened the doors, and dragged out two huge bins of clothes.
"These are full of stuff that we can dress up in. As long as we pick up before you guys leave, she won't be upset." Minako said, throwing the lids off.
Satomi opened one and her eyes widened with delight. "So pretty!" she smiled pulling out a feathered hat and setting it on her head. She found a matching feathery fan and whipped it out, covering her face and batting her eye lashes at the Uzumaki girl.
Minako giggled at her friend. She reached into the other box and pulled out a top hat, placing it on her head. She made a serious face, similar to the one Akito always wore. She crossed her arms. "Hn." She said, trying to keep her face serious.
Satomi laughed, putting on oversized sunglasses and fanning her new friend. "So what's the deal with that Akito boy?" she asked.
Minako's face turned to one of confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.
She shrugged, stealing a hidden glance at her sister. "Just that he's a bit weird…he's mean at first and then he goes after Natsumi when she's mad. Not to mention he held her hand…" she trailed off, doing her best not to seem peeved.
"Oh. Well that's just how Akito-kun is. He wants people to think that he's mean, but he's actually really nice. He went after Natsumi-chan because he doesn't like it when girls cry and it's his fault. But don't tell him I told you that, cause' he'll just get mad at me." Minako said.
Natsumi looked up, hearing their conversation. "Why are you guys talking about Akito?"
"No reason." Satomi waved her sister off. "He's just a boy after all," she said, rolling her eyes and placing lots of necklaces around Minako's neck. Followed by a crown on her head, "Oh Princess Minako." The young girl exasperated, bowing extremely low.
The young girl made a haughty face. "Bow before me my subject. Bow!" she said, changing her voice to that of an aristocrat.
The older twin laughed, pulling out a wooden sword. "Overthrow the Queen!" she yelled, chasing Minako around the room. Both girls were laughing hysterically.
"How dare you show such disrespect!" Minako yelled, laughter evident in her voice. "You will be punished my unfaithful subject!" she announced, grabbing a pillow off her bed and hitting an unsuspecting Satomi in the face.
Satomi fell from the hit, still laughing to show there was no harm done. "I will rebel!" she yelled, grabbing another pillow and hitting Minako. "Mwahahaha!" and so the onslaught of fluff began.
"Girls!" Sakura yelled from down stairs a while later. "It's time to go!"
They paused in their pillow fight, eyes wide. They had been so engrossed in their game that the pillows had busted, causing the feathers to go flying. Minako giggled. "Oops, I guess we got carried away."
Satomi laughed, "Sorry. I'll help you clean up." She said, gathering the pillows from the floor and the bed. Natsumi closed the box and stuffed her work in her pocket.
"I'll help too," she grabbed the box and put it back where Minako had taken it from, then joined the other two in cleaning the room.
Once they had all the feathers back in the pillow cases, Minako took them to the room at the end of the hall. She quickly ran out of the room with two new pillows and placed them on her bed. Then the girls ran downstairs.
"Thank you for letting Natsumi-chan and Satomi-chan come play Aunty Sakura!" Minako said.
"You're welcome sweetie." Sakura said, smiling at the young girl. Then she turned to her daughters. "Ready to go get your brother?" she asked.
"Does that mean we have to go see Sasuke?" Satomi grimaced.
"And Akito too!" Natsumi put in, excited to see her new friend again. She did after all love friends. With a final goodbye, both twins hugged Minako and went off with their mother into the lit streets of Konoha. Each girl grabbed one of their mother's hands, since they didn't know their way around this place.
Sakura led them to Sasuke's house, which was located where the old Uchiha District was. It had been destroyed with Pein's attack, but the land still belonged to him. When they arrived at the house, Sakura rang the doorbell.
Sasuke answered the door, eyes widening slightly at seeing Sakura. He stepped aside, gesturing for them to enter. "Come in." he said politely. After everything that had happened between them, he wanted to try and be friends with her again. She was one of the few people he could stand.
He walked towards the kitchen. Stopping in the doorway, he said, "Akito, it's time for Toshiro to leave. His mom is here." He said simply.
"Yes father. Come on Toshiro!" Akito said exiting the kitchen and coming towards the door, the redhead in tow.
"Did you boys have fun?" Sakura asked, a little apprehensive of the answer.
"Oh yes mom, it was lots of fun. Akito taught me so many things!" Toshiro smiled, not telling her what exactly his friend had taught him. Toshiro faced Sasuke and bowed respectfully, "Thank you Sasuke-sama for letting me come over."
"It was no problem. You can come over whenever you want." Sasuke said. He might as well let his son and the redhead become friends. He knew how important it was to have that one male friend who was always there for you, and he wanted his son to have that.
"Hi Akito!" Natsumi called from her mother's side, waving excitedly.
Akito gave her a small smile. "Hey squirt."
Satomi almost burst into laughter, but quickly stopped herself so she wouldn't face her sister's wrath. Natsumi huffed, her face red with anger and embarrassment, "I said not to call me that!" she demanded, though when she tried to stand up to him…well, he was taller.
"That doesn't mean I have to stop." He said, smirking down at her. "You're not the boss of me."
Her lip trembled and her eyes began to water. "But…" she said softly, now sniffing and trying to press back her tears.
His smirk immediately left his face to be replaced by a pained look. "Please…don't cry." He said softly. He was embarrassed that his dad was seeing this weak side of him, but it was too late. After what had happened earlier that afternoon, he had sworn to himself that he wouldn't make her cry either. It made his heart hurt.
She sniffed once more, trying to clear her eyes. Toshiro came beside her and flicked the side of her head. "Ow!" she growled, glaring over at her brother now.
"Why are you so weird Natsumi? Come on already, me and Akito had a long day. So I'm tired, let's gooooo!" he cheered, giving his mom a hug. Natsumi looked back at Akito, a bit embarrassed now from the scene she caused in front of everyone.
"See you tomorrow Akito?" she asked, a small smile coming back to her face.
Now he was confused. A minute ago she looked like she was about to start the waterworks, and all Toshiro had to do was flick her on the forehead and make fun of her and she stopped. Maybe it was a sibling thing.
"Yeah. Toshiro and I still have to spar remember? You can come watch your brother get his butt kicked." He said jokingly, smiling at his new friend.
Before Natsumi could even say anything, Toshiro pushed her aside, giving Akito a playful glare. "You think you're gonna kick my butt?" he laughed, crossing his arms and smirking. "You may have won today my friend, but tomorrow I will be victorious!"
The young girl glared at her brother, why was he hogging Akito all to himself? Satomi sighed, "Please Akito kick his butt and bring him back down to earth."
Akito smiled. "We'll see. Besides, it's not like tomorrow is the only time I'll spar you. We can even play Horse every time you guys visit." He said, giving Toshiro a meaningful look. He hoped his friend was smart enough to catch on that he was talking about teaching him more about kunai throwing.
Then Akito looked over at Natsumi. "So, who do you want to win?" he asked, since Satomi had already made her choice obvious.
The girl went wide eyed; who did she want to win? She loved her brother and knew how strong he was, since he was the prodigy of Suna. But Akito was an Uchiha and she had heard many things about them. And he was her new friend. "Um…" her face went dark red as her brother and Akito loomed over her.
"Now, now boys." Sakura clapped her hands, grabbing Natsumi from the frenzy and pulling her back to her side. "Toshiro lets go, your dad is probably waiting up for us." Without a fuss Satomi and Toshiro followed their mother out.
"See you Akito!" Toshiro waved, Natsumi glanced back as well mimicking her brother's actions.
"Bye….Natsumi." Akito replied softly.
Once they were all back at the door, Sakura gave Sasuke a friendly smile. "Thanks for having him Sasuke, we'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice night."
"As I said it was no problem. I'll see you in the morning." Sasuke replied, seeing them out.
After saying their final farewells, the four headed back into the streets, following their mother towards their hotel.
Sakura let out a sigh of relief when she saw the hotel. She and Hinata had just chatted while the girls played, catching up on things, but she was bone tired after the long journey. All she wanted to do right now was put the kids to bed and fall asleep in her husband's arms.
When she opened the door to their room she found Gaara sitting at a small desk, looking over some paperwork. Typical.
"Daddy!" the twins yelled, running up to their father and gripping him in a fierce hug.
"We had so much fun today daddy!" Natsumi said.
"Yeah! Mina-chan has the coolest room!" Satomi added, both girls clearly excited over having a new friend, and in another village no doubt.
"Is that so?" Gaara smiled, giving them both a tight hug. "Alright girls, how about you go get ready for bed and I'll be in there to read you a story in just a minute."
"Yay!" the two cheered, detaching themselves from their father and running into one of the adjoining rooms to the suite.
The older redhead looked over to his son and got up, "So how was playing with…um, what's his name? Akito?"
"Yeah, Akito. It was great dad, we played games and he even taught me a whole bunch of stuff. I'm so excited to get to spar with him tomorrow!" Toshiro jumped happily. He loved Konoha, and it had so many cool people.
"Alright, alight." Gaara laughed, patting his son's head. "Off to bed, you need your strength for tomorrow." Toshiro nodded and gave Sakura a hug goodnight before disappearing behind another door.
Jade eyes locked on emerald, "And how was your day my dear?"
Sakura sighed contently, walking towards her husband and snuggling into his inviting arms. "Good," she purred, nuzzling into his neck. "I missed you." She smiled, getting a confident grin in reply.
"Is that so? How did the children do though?" he arched his brow. Their spawn could sometimes be pretty destructive.
"They did just fine. They got a bit noisy, but nothing broke so I guess everything went well." She said. "How was your day with Naruto?" she asked, pulling away slightly to look at his face.
"Boring. But things that needed to be handled were handled so that's good," he nodded, pulling her back against him and kissing her neck. "Now, I think a nice gift from my beautiful wife would be for her to go slip into something a little more provocative as her amazing husband reads their twin tyrants a story." He smiled, trailing his kisses down her throat now.
She smiled at his train of thought. It wasn't much different than her own. "I have just the thing, you haven't even seen it yet."
"Well I can't wait." He smirked, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. He pulled away from her then, disappearing into the twin's room to read them a story. Sakura giggled and went to her and Gaara's room. She'd sleep well after a nice releasing workout.