They found him. Sasuke was going to get sent back to his father and he was going to be so pissed that his father would beat him to within an inch of his life. Not even within an inch. His father was going to beat him the whole way to death's door. Panic was bubbling inside Sasuke's body and he could hear a beeping noise getting faster and faster in his ear. Sasuke felt his body start to tremble and when he tried to suppress it that annoying beeping just rang in his ear, faster and louder than a second before.
The man named Kakashi stood up and looked at the monitor besides Sasuke's bed. At the same time, a nurse rushed in and shoved him aside so she could look at it too. Sasuke didn't know what was going on, but he wanted to leave and when he tried to get up, the nurse held him down. She looked over worked and tired but her eyes were still alert.
"No, no. Stay down, honey. What's wrong? Why are you upset?" The nurse looked at Sasuke's face. Her honey eyes were big and doe-like with concern filled up to the brim. It took a while for Sasuke to understand it.
The machine was hooked up to his heart rate. He couldn't get nervous or paranoid without anyone wondering why his heart rate was shooting to the roof. Sasuke didn't dare tell them anything about why he was upset. If they knew, they'd send him back but maybe there was a chance that they didn't know who he was and where he was from. He felt better with that thought and his heart calmed down.
"Sorry, the hospital surprised me," he told the nurse, who still had a hand on his shoulder to keep him down. She broke out in a smile and chuckled lightly.
"It's okay, honey. We'll take good care of you here," the nurse told him. Sasuke, who had managed to calm his heart down so the machine wouldn't go off, was still tense no matter what the nurse said. "Now that you're awake, I'll go call the doctor so we can get things moving along."
The nurse exited quickly and shut the door only slightly. Sasuke turned back to study Kakashi and was surprised to find that Kakashi was studying him from his seat beside the bed. His gaze was narrowed and Sasuke gulped. He may be able to fool the nurse, but Sasuke had a feeling that fooling the man sitting before him wasn't going to be so easy.
"Well, now that we've settled that, how about you tell me who you are?" Kakashi said. His gaze was boring into Sasuke and he was being to feel uncomfortable with the scrutiny. Sasuke hesitated, wondering how much to tell him.
"Do you not remember who you are?" Kakashi suggested. Quickly, he made a decision.
"My name's Sasuke. Sasuke Aoshi," he made up on the spot. There was no way he was giving this guy his full name so he could track Sasuke's family and give him back to his dad. Kakashi seemed to accept it easily enough, but it looked liked he wanted to know more. He was cut off, however, when a short, balding man with a long white coat shrugged in the room. His middle was round and he reminded Sasuke of a doctor-style Santa Clause.
"Well, hello, young man," the doctor boomed. His voice was a deep echo in the room. Sasuke was taken slightly aback when the doctor spoke to him directly.
"Hi," he told the doctor, uncertainly. The doctor gave a big, huge grin and walked up beside where Kakashi was sitting and stuck out his hand. Sasuke didn't know whether to stare at it or look at the doctor like he was a fool.
"Oh, sorry, I'm guessing your arm probably hurts you, huh?" the doctor asked when Sasuke didn't take his hand. He looked down to see a needle stuck on the back of his hand. The needle was attached to a tube which was attached to a bag of liquid.
"Kinda," Sasuke told the doctor. His hand didn't really hurt much, he just didn't want to touch the doctor's hand.
"Well, you should be glad that you only have minor injuries. A few torso bruises and a cut on your hand is pretty good for being out in the woods for however long you were out there," the doctor told him. The doctor sat on his bed and looked him in the eye.
"That hand of your's needed a few stitches, how'd you cut it?" he asked. Sasuke looked down at his right hand. Indeed, there were stitches in his hand. He didn't think that he had cut himself that deep.
"I fell. On broken glass," Sasuke fabricated. He looked back up at the doctor.
"Is he going to be alright, doc?" Kakashi asked, breaking the quiet silence that followed Sasuke's statement. The doctor eased off the bed and addressed Kakashi.
"Yes, indeed. He can leave right now if his parents were here. Do you want us to contact your parents, son?" the doctor asked. Sasuke swallowed hard.
"My parents aren't alive. They died a few years ago. I've been alone ever since," Sasuke fibbed. He was wracking up little white lies. One here and there, he'd never lied this much in his entire life.
"Well, that poses a problem," the doctor said quietly. He meant for it to be to himself, Sasuke was sure.
"How about you give us a few minutes and we'll come up with a solution?" Kakashi said to the doctor. The doctor nodded his head and gracefully left the room. Sasuke felt the silence like a crushing weight on his chest when he was alone with Kakashi.
"Well, I guess what first needs to happen is tell me why you were out in the woods," Kakashi directed at him. Sasuke looked over and, tired of laying down, sat up. Kakashi didn't try to stop him. He succeeded with a little effort. The time gave him an excuse to hurry up and think of a quick lie.
"I was just wandering. Like I've done for a while. I just guess I over did it," he lied. Since when was he such a great liar? Sasuke was surprising himself with how true it sounded, even to his own ears.
"That's a mild way of putting it. When I found you, I thought that you were dead," Kakashi revealed. Sasuke wiped his head over to stare at Kakashi. He felt his mouth hang slightly open.
"You found me in the woods?" Sasuke sounded shocked. And he was shocked. But now that he slowed down and thought about it, it didn't sound that shocking. Why else would a strange man be sitting at his bedside?
"Yes, I did. You gave me quite a scare. When I got you to the hospital, I was glad to find that it was just exhaustion and mild dehydration you were suffering from," he said. Kakashi never broke eye contact. And Sasuke found that he couldn't look away from his savior's single eye.
"I didn't know I was that tired," Sasuke said, just for something to say.
"What are you going to do now?" Kakashi wondered out loud. Sasuke didn't understand what Kakashi meant.
"Huh?"
"You have no family to take you back home," Kakashi pointed out. Ah, yes, that's right. Sasuke understood. To be honest, everything at the hospital had happened so fast that he hadn't even given what to do next a thought.
"You're right," Sasuke said quietly, breaking off eye contact and placing his gaze on the blanket.
"I live alone, you could come and live with me," Kakashi said. Sasuke looked up again, not believing what he was hearing.
"I don't know you," was Sasuke's automatic response. Immediately he felt ashamed. This man had saved him and was now offering him a place to stay and he was shooting it down. What was wrong with him?
"I can see why you would say that, but I would rather not have a seven year old kid out on the streets," Kakashi reasoned.
"I'm eight," he corrected. Sasuke looked at him. Really looked at him. Kakashi's hair was in disarray, his clothes were rumpled and had odd creases in them, there was a bag under Kakashi's only visible eye and his posture was drooping in the chair as time passed. Kakashi was tired, maybe he had even stayed with him all night.
"I stand corrected then," Kakashi conceded. Sasuke guts told him that this guy was nothing like this father. This man had not only saved him, but had stayed with him all night at the hospital to make sure he was okay. So he made a split decision.
"I'll do it," Sasuke told him, leaning forward slightly. Kakashi was taken aback by the determination in his tone and hesitated for a second.
"Do what?"
"Live with you," Sasuke clarified. He was taking a risk, but his instinct told him that this risk would be worth it.
Kakashi breathed a sigh. Sasuke couldn't tell if it was a relieved sigh or a tired sigh. Maybe it was both. "Alright, I'll go get the paperwork filled out. Sit tight," he told the younger boy. Sasuke didn't need to be told. He watched Kakashi exit, wondering what he was going to do after the situation was all said and done.
---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---
Kakashi Hatake didn't have a house but it was a decent sized apartment. Well, it would have been if you could have seen the floor through the mess. The twosome stepped into the living room that was full of old newspapers, letters, random papers, a few coffee mugs, and an out dated TV. A dark colored carpet could be seen through the junk and the walls were a chestnut brown. Sasuke looked up and stared at his knew roommate.
Kakashi chuckled. "I didn't have time to clean everything up. The decision was really spilt second," he excused. He still chuckled as Sasuke continued to stare at him. It wasn't that he didn't like the mess, he just wasn't used to it. At his father's house the maid had cleaned everything and to Sasuke this mess was wonderful. It made him so far away from father that he could have jumped for joy. Everything was so different that it was almost like Sasuke had entered a different universe.
"Don't worry, it's fine," he told the older man, not really comfortable showing his excitement. Kakashi nodded his head and walked further into the apartment. He disappeared when he turned to the right. As he looked around, Sasuke didn't know whether to follow him or stand there. He figured standing there would make him look like an idiot, so he followed Kakashi to see where he went.
Sasuke found Kakashi in the kitchen/dining room rummaging around under the counter top in the bottom cabinets. He came up with a pan in his hand and filled it half full with water. He quietly set the pan on the stove and lit the burner. Turning, Kakashi noticed Sasuke standing there, looking slightly bored by the expression on his face.
"I thought you'd be hungry. Come on, I'll show you to the spare bed room," Kakashi told him, laying a hand on Sasuke's back to guide him. Sasuke tried not to flinch but he failed. And what was worse was that Kakashi noticed. Sasuke could feel his stare at the top of his head even though Kakashi was no longer touching him.
Kakashi lead Sasuke through a hallway that was in the back of the kitchen. There were lamps on the walls but they were too high up for Sasuke to adjust. In the hallway there was a dim glow of soft light and then Kakashi reached up and turned the lamp on a brighter setting. The hallway was short and Sasuke could see that at the end of the hallway was the living room. Kakashi walked down the hall past a door on the left.
"That's my room," he said, pointing to the door. Then they passed a room on the right. "This is the bathroom." Kakashi walked on and stopped at a door on the left again nearest the living room entrance to the hall. "And this is your room."
Kakashi pushed open a worn, white door. The hinges creaked a little but not much. The room was plain. There was a full size bed in the middle of the room, a night stand beside the bed, a dresser on the wall to the right, a window above the bed that showed where what was in the back of the apartment buildings, and a desk on the left wall. Every item was normal, standard, and ordinary. There was nothing to boast of a person living there. The emptiness hit Sasuke in the face and all of a sudden he was uncomfortable.
Kakashi stepped back and let Sasuke enter the room. He did and the nagging feeling of emptiness still clung in the air as he looked around the room. Sasuke set down the little nap sack that he had had when he ran away. Kakashi stepped in after him and looked around. With Kakashi there, it didn't feel so empty.
"It's not much but I think it should do," Kakashi said, hands in his pockets.
"No, it's fine," Sasuke said. He looked back at Kakashi. He wasn't expecting anything but the silence did seem strained. Sasuke wasn't used to not liking the silence but he wished that he had something more to say, like Thank you. As he opened his mouth to say it, Kakashi spoke, breaking the silence.
"The water is probably boiling, put your stuff away and make yourself at home. When you're done come into the kitchen for supper," Kakashi said, then walked out the door leaving Sasuke in the room. Sasuke looked around the room one more time. And again, he wondering what he had gotten himself into.
---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---
It didn't take him long to put his few changes of clothes in the dresser. He put the nap sack inside the closet in the back. When he was done, he walked out of the room, not bothering to shut the door, and went right to go to the kitchen. Once out of the hallway, Sasuke could smell some kind of flavoring and looked to the stove.
Kakashi was there adding flavoring to ramen that was to be their dinner that night. He noticed Sasuke in the doorway and motioned him forward. Sasuke obeyed. Kakashi had two steaming bowls with forks and walked to the table. The table was as messy as the living room had been and Kakashi just shoved aside some papers with his forearm. He set one bowl in front of himself then one on the other side of the small in front of an empty seat. Sasuke sat in the empty seat, all of a sudden very tired.
They ate in silence for the most part until Sasuke noticed the papers they were eating beside. The papers were marked in red crossing out numbers and equations. Sasuke had never seen math like that. He stared at it, trying to figure out what kind of math it was. Kakashi broke his concentration, making him jump in surprise.
"You won't be able to figure out those problems," Kakashi said. When Sasuke jumped, he apologized.
"You're a math teacher?" Sasuke asked, staring at his masked face.
"Yes, I am. At the high school. And you won't be able to figure out those high school problems," Kakashi told him. He didn't take the paper away, just let Sasuke stare at it until he finally gave up.
"What kind of math do you teach?" Sasuke wondered. He couldn't figured out the pattern to that problem that the person who took the test got wrong too.
"Algebra. Though, this year I also have a geometry class, too," Kakashi replied. Sasuke realized that Kakashi had finished his ramen and he had barely touched it. All at once, his hunger hit him and Sasuke devoured the rest of his ramen, not really tasting it. From the one eye that he could see, Sasuke saw Kakashi's elevated eyebrow. Sasuke didn't say anything, he had no idea what to say, as Kakashi took the bowls to the sink, washed them out, and put them in the dishwasher.
Kakashi came back and sat down. This time Sasuke didn't let silence reign.
"Why do you wear an eye patch and a mask?" Sasuke asked. He swung his feet from where he sat because his feet didn't quite reach the floor just yet.
"I was injured," Kakashi said shortly as he took a paper and a red pen and started going through the paper.
"I can tell, I meant how," Sasuke slightly sneered. Why couldn't he just get a straight answer from this guy?
"Ah, well, ask the question to get that answer. But anyway, I got it on an assignment when I was a sniper for the army," Kakashi explained. He didn't looked up. He said it like that was completely. It was like he was talking about the weather outside. Sasuke, however, was stunned.
"You were in the army?" he asked, only he couldn't keep the astonishment from his voice. Kakashi glanced up.
"Yes, after I graduated high school. I was injured a little over a year ago. When I came back, I got a job as a high school teacher. I'm more used to teenagers than kids," Kakashi said lightly. Sasuke recognized it for what it was: an apology. He wasn't used to younger children and had no experience handling them, so if he messed up, he was sorry because he didn't know how to act with a younger kid.
"Did it hurt?" Sasuke wondered, glad for the apology up front.
"Yes, it did. A knife cut down from my eyebrow to my chin. You can see part of the scar," Kakashi told him. Sasuke looked closer and saw pink line from the bottom of his eye patch to the top of his mask. He was shocked. Something that bad had happened to him. Kakashi had scars like Sasuke did.
"Is that why you wear the mask?" Sasuke asked, not taking his eyes away from the scar.
"The bottom part had become infected and by the time it healed, it was very distracting. So I wear the mask instead," Kakashi recounted clearly. Kakashi put the paper down and stared at Sasuke. "It's my turn for Q and A."
Sasuke gulped. Was he really not safe? Had he not convinced Kakashi that he was alone in this world? Maybe he suspected the truth!
"Where you running from something?" he asked. Sasuke felt his heart in his throat. He swallowed so he was able to speak.
"Just wandering. I lost track of time," Sasuke managed to say. Lie better, Uchiha. "After my parents died, I never thought much about myself. I just didn't care anymore."
So much better.
"What were your parents' names?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke felt grateful that he was quick with answers.
"Mitashi and Aya Aoshi. They were dentists," Sasuke lied through his teeth. He felt so bad for lying. Kakashi was taking care of him but he couldn't have Kakashi find out who his father was. He might be sent back to him and Sasuke would rather die than be put in that hell hole again.
"Dentists? So I'm guessing they made you brush your teeth twice a day," Kakashi amused the idea. He found it funny and Sasuke could see the grin through his mask.
"Yeah, they did," he said quietly. Actually, the maid had made him brush and floss when she worked in the morning or at night.
"How did they die?" Kakashi asked, his serious face boring into Sasuke.
"They were on their way to a dentist convention. But it was snowing in the mountains that day and they wrecked," Sasuke spun. Each lie was building on top of each other. Sasuke didn't know how much he more he could lie to this man.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he said. Sasuke, who had been looking at the table, looked up. Sympathy was written like a book in Kakashi's visible eye. It was guilt that made him look down again and scoot back his chair.
"I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed," Sasuke told him. He scooted the chair back into place. Kakashi got up too.
"Okay. Goodnight, Sasuke," Kakashi said. Guilt was eating him up, making him almost unable to speak.
"Night."
With that, Sasuke left to go down the hallway. Once he disappeared, Kakashi sat down and started to think over everything that Sasuke had told him.
---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---
Sasuke sighed again as the noisy neighbors fought again. Recently, two people had moved into the apartment next to him and Kakashi. An older man and a younger boy. Though, unlike him and Kakashi, the neighbors fought about everything. Waking up once again to the fight for the younger boy, Naruto, to wake up Sasuke sighed in his bed.
He looked up at the same ceiling he had looked at for the past four years. He knew Kakashi had already left for the high school even though he'd probably be late for his class no matter how early he left the apartment. Sasuke decided not to lounge around and get up. He quickly got ready for school and grabbed an apple on his way out. He closed the apartment door and locked it, then shoved the key in his pocket.
At the same time, a blond boy stumbled out of the apartment next to him. He was wearing bright orange, for some unknown reason. Sasuke looked over that boy, who was the same age as him, and glared. Naruto glared right back. Since they had moved into the apartment, Sasuke hadn't liked the annoying, loud blond. In return, Naruto didn't like Sasuke. So after their usual glare at each other, Sasuke ignored him and walked down the street.
He got to school in a few minutes of walking. Naruto came just after him, since they took the same route but never talked to each other. Sasuke ignored the Dobe and went about the day as usual. He danced through all his classes, every one of them being to easy for him and during lunch hour, hung out with Shikamaru and Choji. Shino and Kiba joined them after they entered the cafeteria. However, during lunch, Naruto had almost gotten into a fight with Neji.
Sasuke, who had found the fight mildly amusing, was disappointed to see it broken up by a teacher. Lunch had been the highlight of his day and he was bored by the end of the school day. Bored enough to back mouth a teacher and earned himself a little detention after school that day. Sasuke figured he had nothing better to do, so he served it and wasn't able to leave school until five o'clock that evening.
Sasuke leisurely strolled home from detention. The sun was started to set as the fall weather was turning even colder. He passed the park, as always, but noted something different today. There were a few people in the park. They were near the shade and it was hard to make out who it was. Sasuke approached, slowly at first.
Getting a closer look, Sasuke saw Neji. He was standing over someone with a smug look on his face. The few people around him were clapping him on the back and he said something that Sasuke couldn't hear. But he heard the grunt from the person on the ground. As Neji turned to walk away, Sasuke saw Naruto get up.
"This isn't over, Neji!" he shouted. Sasuke was startled with surprise. Naruto was still standing, but only just. Neji turned back, said something quietly, then proceeded to raise his fist. Determined, Sasuke ran to the fight and gripped Neji's raised fist just in time. Naruto, while standing, couldn't have taken another hit. Everyone was so shocked they didn't say anything.
What the hell have you done, Uchiha?
Sasuke didn't know, he just acted. His body had moved before his mind understood what it was doing. "That's enough, Hyuuga." It came out, almost, as a growl.
Neji glared at him. "Stay out of this, Aoshi," Neji demanded. Then tired a right hook. Sasuke took the arm he was holding and turned, making it go behind Neji's back. He heard Naruto collapse on the ground behind him. He tightened his hold on the arm. Tightened it so much that Neji went on his knees.
"That is enough. You have won," a voice said. Sasuke looked up from seeing a forced Neji on his knees to glare at one of Neji's friends. Rock Lee. Sasuke tightened his arm, just for a warning, and heard Neji cry out. Then Sasuke let go. Lee rushed to Neji and then the last person there, Tenten, looked over Neji too. She glared at Sasuke. He glared right back and then watched Lee and Tenten help Neji out of the park.*
Sasuke turned around. Naruto was half conscious as he lay on the ground. Relief hit Sasuke like a freight train. He bent over and took one of Naruto's arms and put it over his shoulders. He was supporting most of Naruto's weight. Sasuke started to get them out of the park. He was breathing heavy as he dragged Naruto down the street. Why save the Dobe? Sasuke poured over the question as he dragged Naruto. No answer came to him as he grunted under Naruto's weight.
"Lose some pounds, you Dobe," Sasuke mumbled to himself. He was surprised when Naruto answered him.
"Shut your mouth, Teme," he said weakly. Sasuke smirked. Naruto was going to be fine. Before he knew it, Sasuke was standing in front of Naruto's door. He arranged Naruto and knocked loudly on the door. He waited a little bit, then knocked again.
"Sasuke?" Kakashi's voice broke the silence. Then Naruto's door opened. The man Naruto lived with was tall, wide, muscular, with long white hair, but didn't appear to look that old. His eyes widened as he saw Naruto and Sasuke heard Kakashi's footsteps stopping just behind him.
"What happened?" Jiraiya asked, surprised and relieved to see Naruto.
"Fight," was the only thing Sasuke could grunt out. Naruto seemed to be getting heavier the longer he held on to him. Jiraiya took Naruto from Sasuke and it was the first time he could see Naruto's injuries. A busted lip, already blackened eye, a few bruises, and a lump on his head were all the injuries Sasuke could see.
"Thank you, Sasuke," Jiraiya said. Sasuke was still looking at Naruto, glad that he had intervened when he did. Then shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, thanks, Teme," was a low expression of gratitude that came from Naruto. Sasuke nodded, feeling a warm feeling in his chest, and then walked left to his apartment door and went in. Kakashi apologized for Sasuke's anti-social behavior.
"I'll get the details out of him soon, so we can do something about this," Kakashi assured. Jiraiya nodded.
"Thanks, Kakashi," Jiraiya said.
"Just worry about Naruto," was his only response. Jiraiya nodded and as the door shut, Kakashi heard Jiraiya say, "I just don't understand twelve year olds."
Kakashi smiled and went into his apartment to go interrogate Sasuke. Sasuke was at the table Kakashi found, after looking for him in his room. The table was where they always had most of their serious conversations. It had become a sort of tradition after their first conversation on the first day Sasuke had been here. Kakashi sat down across from Sasuke, who was looking at the table with a confused expression. Maybe after this Naruto and Sasuke would be friends, instead of fighting all the time. He could only hope as he posed his first question.
* I got the idea of the fight between Neji and Naruto from a YouTube Doushiji that I watched and is not my idea.
So the second chapter is done, next chapter will have a time skip as wel. Review if you got this far.