Chapter 5, because you're all such good readers/reviewers
"Sasuke, we're here." Kakashi said softly when their carriage stopped. Sasuke looked out the window at the large castle they had stopped in front of. The driver opened the door and Kakashi stepped out. "Your parents are waiting, Sasuke." He said when he saw the young raven making no move to get out.
"You'll be there when I meet them, right?" Sasuke asked.
"I'll be right beside you." Kakashi smiled. Sasuke took a deep breath and got out of the carriage. He let Kakashi lead him inside into a large room.
"Kakashi." A woman gasped. Sasuke looked up at her, he looked exactly like her.
"Your highness." Kakashi smiled.
"It can't be. You are Sasuke?" She smiled. Sasuke nodded slowly. The woman's eyes filled with tears as she quickly went to him and hugged him tightly.
"My Sasuke. My baby boy is home." She said softly. Sasuke was frozen for a second.
"Sasuke, this is your mother." Kakashi said softly. Sasuke's eyes filled with realization and he hugged her back.
"Sasuke." The woman smiled.
"Mikoto, what is the commotion in here?" A man asked as he walked into the large room.
"Fugaku, darling, look who's finally returned." Mikoto smiled brightly. The man blinked when he saw Kakashi and Sasuke.
"Sasuke?" He asked softly.
"Your father." Kakashi said. Sasuke nodded.
"Hello." He said softly. Fugaku nodded at him.
"Sasuke, Sasuke. Come with me, I'll give you a tour." Mikoto smiled as she drug Sasuke away.
"Father." Sasuke called.
"Yes?" Fugaku asked.
"Oh, sorry, I meant Kakashi." Sasuke said.
"I'll be there in a minute, Sasuke." Kakashi smiled. Sasuke nodded and left with Mikoto.
"Kakashi." Fugaku smiled slightly relieved.
"Is Orochimaru really gone?" Kakashi asked.
"We're not completely sure, but we want the people to believe that he is." Fugaku answered.
"Forgive me, your Excellency, but Sasuke is my son just as much as he is yours. If Orochimaru isn't gone, then I'd rather go back to Konoha and wait until we are sure." Kakashi sighed.
"There's not enough time. The king and queen of the leaf country want their son to marry as soon as possible. And with the union of our two countries we will have more people able to protect Sasuke." Fugaku explained.
"My only concern is his safety." He said softly.
"He will be fine." Fugaku assured him. Kakashi sighed and nodded.
"I should go find Sasuke." Kakashi said as he bowed and left. He walked through the halls of the large palace.
"Kakashi?" He heard a familiar voice echoing through the corridor. Kakashi smiled.
"Master Itachi." The turned to the prince and bowed.
"If you're back then Sasuke?" Itachi asked.
"He's around somewhere. Your mother is giving him a tour." Kakashi explained. Itachi smiled and nodded.
"I'll join you. I'd like to meet my baby brother." He said. They both continued walking through the hallways in search of Mikoto and Sasuke. Eventually they found them when Mikoto was showing Sasuke his bedroom.
"Fa- Kakashi." Sasuke smiled with relief.
"Sasuke. This is your brother, Prince Itachi." Kakashi introduced. Sasuke looked over at the other man and bowed politely.
"Hello." He said.
"You've grown up nicely." He said. "I have to be on my way, I just wanted to see him for myself." Itachi smiled and bowed before he left.
"That's my brother?" He asked.
"He's very kind. He's just busy at the moment." Mikoto smiled.
"Busy?" Kakashi asked.
"Did you not hear? Duchess Sakura is pregnant." Mikoto smiled.
"Sakura?" Sasuke asked.
"Your sister in law." Kakashi and Mikoto answered. Sasuke nodded.
"I see." He said softly.
"Sasuke seems tired, your majesty. Perhaps he should lie down for a bit." Kakashi said seeing Sasuke's look. Mikoto gasped.
"Yes, yes. This must be a lot to take in at once. Please, rest." She smiled.
"Thank you very much." Sasuke nodded and went into his room.
"I'm going to talk with him for a bit." Kakashi told Mikoto. She smiled and nodded.
"I do hope he'll get use to it soon. Please make sure he's comfortable." She said before walking off. Kakashi entered Sasuke's room and found him sitting on the large bed.
"This bed is a lot softer than my mattress at home." Sasuke said softly.
"It's gonna take a little while to get use to it, but your mother really wants you to be happy here." Kakashi said.
"It's weird." Sasuke sighed.
"I know." Kakashi nodded.
"I'm going to go to sleep." Sasuke sighed.
"Okay. I will come get you when lunch is ready." Kakashi smiled and left.
"Kakashi." A voice shouted down the hallway as soon as Kakashi shut Sasuke's door. Kakashi jumped and looked at a furious raven haired man storming down the hall.
"Obito?" Kakashi said softly.
"Sixteen years, you asshole. You've been gone sixteen years and you never once wrote." Obito growled angrily.
"You know I couldn't." Kakashi sighed, trying to ignore the tears in Obito's eyes.
"Fugaku sent you letters, I know you could have smuggled something back." Obito frowned. Kakashi smiled softly.
"I'm sorry." He said gently as he reached out to wipe the tears from Obito's cheeks.
"You bastard." Obito huffed as he pulled Kakashi in for a kiss. "I missed you so much." He sighed into the kiss. Kakashi smirked and wrapped his arms around Obito.
"I'm gonna have to make up for 16 years, huh?" He asked.
"You better." He sighed.
"Um." Sasuke said softly. Kakashi and Obito jumped away from each other.
"Sasuke." Kakashi said softly.
"I heard people shouting in the hallway and when I came out I saw you two." Sasuke said looking between Kakashi and Obito.
"This is your cousin Obito." Kakashi introduced.
"And your lover?" Sasuke asked.
"Shhh." The two men hissed at him.
"Oh, it's a secret?" He asked.
"Please don't tell the king or queen." Obito gasped.
"Don't worry." Sasuke smiled softly. "Your secret is safe with me."
"Thank you so much, Sasuke." Obito smiled. Sasuke nodded.
"You go lay down. We'll be quiet." Kakashi told him.
"Thanks." Sasuke smiled and went back into his room.
"Kakashi." Obito purred as he wrapped his arms around Kakashi again.
"Let's go to your bedroom." Kakashi smirked as he kissed Obito. Obito laughed and quickly dragged Kakashi away. Inside Sasuke's room, Sasuke was very confused. His father was gay? He had never known that. Kakashi had never even hinted that he had a lover before, much less that said lover was a man. Was that why Kakashi never thought it was weird that he was in love with Naruto? Not that it really mattered anymore considering Naruto was engaged as was he. Sasuke's chest tightened a bit, he really missed Naruto.
"This sucks." He said softly as he pulled the blankets off the bed and wrapped them around himself. He didn't really like this castle, he just wanted to be back in Konoha. He wanted to see Naruto again. He'd never once wished he was a girl until now, if he was a girl then he could have run away with Naruto and been happy.
"Sasuke." Kakashi called as he came into Sasuke's bedroom. Sasuke blinked, he hadn't realized he had fallen asleep.
"What time is it?" He yawned.
"Time for lunch." Kakashi told him.
"Okay." Sasuke nodded as he got out of the bed. "What is for lunch?" He asked as they headed to the dining room.
"I don't know. We don't eat the same thing as you." He said.
"We?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah, I'm just a servant here." Kakashi smiled softly.
"That's not fair. You're my father." Sasuke said.
"It's okay, Sasuke. You go enjoy your meal." Kakashi smiled as he pushed Sasuke into the dining room.
"Sasuke." Mikoto smiled.
"Hello." Sasuke said softly.
"Come, sit with us." She smiled as she got up and moved Sasuke to sit down next to her.
"Um, why can't Kakashi eat with us?" He asked softly.
"A servant?" Fugaku laughed. Sasuke sighed.
"Yeah. I guess I forgot." He said softly.
"For dinner, would you like Kakashi to eat with us?" Mikoto asked.
"Mikoto." Fugaku snapped.
"Please Fugaku, just for a few meals so Sasuke will feel comfortable. You know this must be hard on him." Mikoto sighed. Fugaku scoffed.
"Very well." He sighed.
"Thank you, darling." Mikoto smiled.
"Thank you." Sasuke said softly.
"Sasuke, Kakashi told us some of your favorite foods so that's what our chef made for you today." Mikoto told him as the butlers brought in their food. Sasuke nodded. The food was good, but wasn't the same as when Kakashi made it. "How is it, Sasuke?"
"It's fine." He answered softly before taking another bite of food. The meal was quiet after that. Sasuke quickly ate what he was given. "May I be excused?" He asked.
"You sure ate that quickly. Wouldn't you like some more?" Mikoto asked. Sasuke shook his head.
"No thank you, I'm full." He said.
"Very well, you may leave." She smiled and nodded. Sasuke left the dining room and wandered around the castle. It felt strange being there, Fugaku didn't really seem to care very much about him while Mikoto cared a little too much about him. Itachi wasn't even at lunch, neither was Obito. The family didn't seem very close, which either meant it would be very easy for Sasuke to integrate himself into the family or make it all the more awkward for him. He continued walking until he found two large stained glass doors leading into a bright room. He quickly glanced down the hall to see if anyone was there before opening the doors. He gasped and couldn't help the smile that came to his face. Behind the beautiful doors was the biggest library Sasuke had ever seen. There had to be millions of books waiting for him to read them. Sasuke went inside and looked up at the five levels of bookshelves. He decided to start at the top and work his way down. He first climbed the stairs to the fifth level then the 10 foot ladder to reach the top shelf. He grabbed a book, sat down on the floor and began reading. He went through about three books before the doors opened.
"I thought I would find you in here." Kakashi smiled up at him.
"Fa-Kakashi." Sasuke smiled.
"Come down, it's time for dinner." Kakashi waved him down.
"Are you going to eat with me today?" Sasuke asked hesitantly.
"Of course." Kakashi nodded. Sasuke nodded and marked his page in his book before setting it down and going down to Kakashi. "Your mother was worried, you know."
"Sorry." Sasuke said.
"I'll tell her that you will most likely be spending your time in the library from now on." Kakashi smiled. Sasuke nodded. They walked into the dining room where they were greeted by Mikoto and Fugaku.
"Sasuke, Where have you been? I was worried about you." Mikoto sighed with relief when she saw Sasuke.
"He was in the library." Kakashi answered for him.
"You like books?" Fugaku asked.
"Very much." Sasuke nodded.
"Well good. I have exactly 1,236,491 books in that library and the only good they've been so far is to collect dust. I hope you enjoy them." Fugaku said.
"Thank you very much." Sasuke smiled.
"Where are Itachi and Sakura? They said they would join us tonight." Mikoto huffed impatiently.
"Obito said he would come as well." Fugaku told her.
"They know dinner is at 6:00." She snapped.
"Calm down, Mother. Obito was helping me help Sakura down the stairs." Itachi sighed as he, Sakura and Obito all came in.
"Kakashi." Sakura smiled when she saw the silver haired man.
"Good evening, Lady Sakura." Kakashi bowed politely.
"I hear you were joining us for dinner tonight." She said.
"Yes, ma'am I will be." He nodded. Sakura smiled brightly and then looked at Sasuke.
"You must be Sasuke." She smiled.
"Um, yes." Sasuke nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sakura, your sister in law." She smiled. Sasuke just nodded.
"Well, everyone please sit down so that we can have dinner." Mikoto said while ushering everyone to the table. Once everyone was seated the butlers brought out their food. They were having one of Sasuke's favorite meals again. Sasuke noticed his plate looked a little different from everyone else's. After his first bite he smiled slightly, Kakashi had made his meal while the chef had made everyone else's. Sasuke looked over at Kakashi, Kakashi smiled and winked at him. Everyone ate quietly, sometimes someone would try to start a conversation but they could only keep it going for a minute or so. Once Sasuke was finished he excused himself and went back to the library. A few hours later the library doors opened and Itachi came in.
"Kakashi said I'd find you here." He said coolly as he looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke didn't answer him. "You know, Father doesn't know this, but I've read every book in this library."
"Did you?" Sasuke asked. Itachi nodded.
"It took me quite a few years. Funny thing, though, is that I started in the exact same spot as you." He said. Sasuke smiled slightly.
"Which one was your favorite?" He asked. Itachi chuckled as he climbed up to the third level and went to the spot where his favorite book was and pointed at it. Sasuke climbed down to see which book Itachi was pointing at. Sasuke blinked when he saw the book. It had been read so much that the binding had worn down and cracked so badly that you couldn't even see the title on the spine any more. Sasuke noticed that the carpet on the floor where Itachi was standing was also fairly worn down. Itachi had obviously spent a lot of time sitting and reading that book.
"At the rate you're going you might reach this book in a few months." Itachi told him.
"What book is that?" Sasuke asked.
"It wouldn't be fun if I told you, would it?" Itachi smirked. Sasuke laughed softly and nodded.
"I guess you're right." He said. Itachi pat Sasuke's back.
"I have to go now, I just wanted to check and make sure you were doing okay." He said before walking away.
"Thank you." Sasuke said just before Itachi left. He heard Itachi chuckle softly as the doors shut behind him. Sasuke was tempted to look at Itachi's favorite book, but he went back up to the book he was reading instead. He finished four more before Kakashi came in.
"Hey, everyone's going to sleep." He said.
"Okay, I'll be down in a second." Sasuke nodded as he bookmarked his page and set the book on the floor.
"So, is it horrible here?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm glad I found the library." Sasuke answered. Kakashi laughed softly.
"I understand how you feel. Your family really is glad you're back, they just aren't all that close." Kakashi explained.
"I'll get use to it, I guess." Sasuke sighed. Kakashi wrapped his arm around Sasuke and kissed his head.
"I'll always be here if you need me, you know." He said. Sasuke nodded.
"I know." He smiled. "I'm going to go to bed, you probably have important things to do with Obito." He laughed as he headed towards his bedroom. Kakashi laughed as well. Once Sasuke was in his room he sighed heavily. He didn't hate it here, he just didn't like it. He decided not to think about it and laid down, easily falling asleep.
it was probably really boring, huh? sorry that I got you all excited for nothing.
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