Sorry about the very long wait, I've been incredibly busy! Anywhoo's, here's the next chapter. Let me know what you think XD

Chapter 13. Sasu POV

"Why don't we have it here? That would be a lovely surprise for her, don't you think, dear?" I come down the stairs, after finishing off one of my essays and my science coursework, and hear my mother's conversation with my brother. "You could invite her friends on her course."

"I don't know if she would appreciate a surprise party, Mother." I sit down opposite Itachi, next to my mother. She ruffles my hair and kisses my cheek before focusing on Itachi again.

"But why not? It's a special day."

"What's going on?" She looks towards me, pulling my hand away from my mouth as I try to bite my nails, giving me a disapproving look.

"It's Naruko's twenty-first birthday next week. Mother is determined to throw her a party."

"Is that really a good idea though? She doesn't have that many friends..."

"Sasuke! Don't be rude." My mother scolds me.

"I'm not. I'm just saying, apart from Itachi she has a couple guys at Uni. That ain't enough for a party."

"Hmm I suppose you do have a point. You could invite some of your friends, fill the house a bit." Itachi glares at me.

"Err, I haven't seen them much lately."

"Good."

"Itachi." Hah, his time to get scolded. "What about that Sai boy that came over for your science work last week?"

"He's not exactly a friend, Mother."

"But he's such a sweet little thing." We both stare at her. "What? I thought he was." We both sigh, sharing a look, before focusing on our father who's just walked in.

"Is everything okay? I was told there was something urgent at home." Me and Itachi share another look; father won't be happy if he's came home early because of...

"We need to organise a party for Naruko's twenty-first." ... Yeah, thought so. We watch his face turn sour.

"Mikoto."

"Oh, don't 'Mikoto' me. This is important. She used to be like a daughter to us." I flick a random pen top at Itachi. He scowls but I smirk as he can't resist the urge to flick it back. We continue our pen war for a few minutes as our parents bicker over the party. Eventually, father removes his coat before sitting down with us. I think mom is the only person in the world who is crazy enough to fight back against my dad... and win.

"Is this really a good idea though? Naruko doesn't exactly have that many friends from what I've heard..."

"That's what I said." Mother sends me a look and I focus on flicking the pen top back at Itachi.

"That's not the point. Just a little celebration then. She deserves to have a good birthday after everything she's been through." Before I can open my mouth, Itachi glares at me, as if knowing what I was about to say. I look at him questionly but he just looks at me as if to say 'later'. It's like we can read each other's minds...

"How about just a little tea party then. Just us and her. I'm sure she'd appreciate that more." Mother starts to comment back but dad cuts in. "You know she doesn't like a fuss, dear." She ponders for a few minutes before giving in. I flick the pen top, but it goes in the completely wrong direction. Damn. Itachi smirks at his win; you'd think he was my age, not twenty.

"Sasuke. Pick that up." I mumble 'yes mother' and pick it up. "I suppose we could just do that. Seeing as your home, why don't you help me in the kitchen, honey." Sitting back down, I watch as they walk out the room.

"They don't know." Itachi speaks when they're out of earshot.

"But she just said..." He shakes his head.

"I didn't tell them about the drugs. They just think that she went through a bad time because of their death and living in an orphanage." I bring my knees up into my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs.

"Why?"

"They'd just bombard her with questions. Plus she didn't want them looking down on her." We sit in silence for a while.

"So what exactly happened to her?" He checks his mobile, as if expecting a message.

"It's not my place to tell you, Sasuke." He stands up, as he sends a text message. "Plus, I have a feeling she didn't tell me everything. So I'm probably as much in the dark as you are." He ruffles my hair before leaving. "See you later, little brother." I check my watch, it's 5pm. I'm sure Itachi said something about Naruko not usually working Wednesdays... I send her a quick text asking if she's busy. About 10 minutes later my phone beeps.

'No, at home. Wht's up squid?' I'd been considering it for a while... so might as well ask her.

'I need help with my essay.' One of the essay titles she chose for me was 'Somebody you admire'. Kakashi is never very specific with the questions he sets. He once said that he likes to leave the titles open to interpretation of the students... Personally I like he's just plain lazy.

"Sasuke, what do you want to eat?" Mom pops her head around the corner.

"I'm going out." My phone beeps.

'Give me an hr. Here?' I quickly text back, saying yes.

"Where are you going?"Itachi walks back in, in different clothes, still texting. "And why have you changed your clothes, Itachi?"

"I'm going out."

"Oh. Where?" He puts his mobile away eventually, and looks up at mother.

"Just out with Dei and some others."

"Sasuke?" I look over at Itachi. Even though he and Naruko had made up, things were a bit weird between them. I'm not sure exactly, but whenever I see them together it's just... strange.

"I'm going to Naruko's." They both look at me for a few moments. "She's going to help me with an essay."

"Should you really be spending so much time at her place, Sasuke? People might get the wrong idea. I know she's a friend of the family, but she's also a teacher at your school." I ignore the look Itachi's giving me.

"Placement student, mom. She's not a teacher."

"When are you going?"

"In about an hour." She smiles at me from the doorway.

"I'll make you two a little something. That girl doesn't eat right..." She disappears back into the kitchen.

"Sasuke." I look up at my brother.

"What? I need her help to do my essay."

"Why her? You could ask me, you know." I stand up and head towards the door.

"I know. But, no offence 'tachi, you can't help me with this one." Before I leave, I turn back to look at him. "How come you're spending so much time with this Deidara guy anyway? Didn't you used to spend all your time with Naruko?" He narrows his eyes at me before checking his mobile again. Just as I'm heading upstairs I hear him say 'it's none of your business'...

Naruko POV

"Come in, come in." I close the door behind him as he goes to sit at the table, placing a bag on it. "Itachi not with you?" I kick a few magazines under the couch before putting the kettle on.

"He's gone out with Deidara."

"Oh." I make him a cup of coffee, placing on the table, before grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge. "So what do you need?"

"He seems to be spending more time with Deidara than he does you now..." I sit down opposite him and sigh while I turn my laptop on.

"I'm not his only friend you know. What do you need help with?" I take a sip of my water.

"English. Don't you think it's a bit weird how he's always with him now?" I look up at him, glaring slightly.

"It's none of my business who he spends his time with. Now if we're not actually going to do any of your work, get out. I've got my own stuff to do." He lowers his head slightly.

"Sorry." I wave my hand at him.

"Don't worry 'bout it. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I'm just not having a good day. So is this one of your English essays you're stuck with?" He shakes his head, so I give him a puzzled look before logging into my emails.

"It's not that I'm stuck with it. I just need your help." I raise an eyebrow at him before deleting a few junk emails.

"Which one?"

"'Somebody you admire'." I smile slightly.

"So you want to write about your brother, yeah? Heh, even you can be sweet after all." I watch him fidget slightly as I close my laptop.

"It's not my brother." I look at him blankly. "I wanna write about you." His cheeks blush slightly, as I feel mine do the same.

"Err... okay. I umm... why?" He looks down at his hands.

"Because I admire you..." I can't help but smile at him. Nobody's ever said that to me... that's because they've never had a reason to. My smile fades, but not before he's seen it.

"Why?" I let out, sounding more like a whisper.

"Because... just look at you. After everything that's happened and look at where you are now. You're just... amazing, I guess." We look at each other for a few moments before he smiles sheepishly at me. I can't help but return the smile... he looks so cute. I continue smiling but I nip my thigh. I shouldn't be thinking that kind of thing.

"How are you going to do it then?" He takes a notebook and pen out of the bag. I look at the bag, I'd forgotten he brought it in.

"I'm not sure yet. I was hoping you'd give me something to start with." He draws a line at the top of the page, as if testing his pen.

"So, you mean just tell you stuff, yeah?" He nods. "What's in the bag?" Now that I'm looking at it, it obviously wasn't just to hold his notebook. He reaches in it and takes out a couple of small boxes. Opening them, he places them between us.

"Mom made me bring sandwiches." I grin as I take a triangle, quickly eating it. I've had nothing to eat since yesterday morning; I've not had much time, or money, to make sure the cupboards are full or anything. I grab another, eating it slower this time.

"So what kind of stuff do you want to know?" I rest my right elbow on the table, letting my cheek sit in the palm of my hand. I eat another triangle. I used to love Mikoto making food for me...

"Everything. Anything that you feel comfortable with."

"Your mom used to make my packed lunch for me when I was younger, you know." I smile at the memory. "Itachi would always come in to school with two lunch boxes. The other boys used to take the piss." I grin, before taking a drink. "That is until I beat them up of course."

"So you were a violent child?" I scoff and kick him.

"I was not violent. I just didn't let bullies mess anyone around." I watch as he scribbles something down. "Hmm, well I lived here until I was what, ten/eleven? Something like that."

"Tell me about before you moved away." I smirk at him.

"I feel like you're giving me a counselling session." I think for a couple moments. "What is there to tell? I spent most of my time at your place, half of the time because I wanted to and the other half because my parents were out. By pushing me onto your family, where there was always maids around to look after you, I guess it was just convenient for my parents. Dad was always working, and mom liked to go out with her friends a lot."

"So they neglected you?" I shook my head and smiled sadly.

"No. I don't think they neglected me. They did the best they could, especially my dad. He would spend the night times with me when mom went to sleep. They were both so young when they had me, so it must have been hard on them I guess. So yeah, they did the best they could."

"Didn't you feel neglected though?" I watch as he's focusing on his writing. Hmm he should be a journalist or something.

"I don't think so. I don't really remember. Most of what I remember is from being with you guys. I used to play with you for hours while Itachi did his homework."

"Didn't you do your homework with him?" I laugh slightly.

"Nah. I did it with my dad on a night time. I preferred to play with you while Itachi was a nerd." He blushes as I grab a few more triangle sandwiches, munching on them.

"And he's why you moved away, wasn't he? I'm sure Itachi said something..." I nod, washing the food down with my water.

"He applied for a job which was less hours but more money. He wanted to spend more time with me. And so did my mom." A faint smile shows on my face as I think about her. "As she got a bit older, I guess she realised that she wasn't being a proper mother to me. But..." He stops writing and just looks at me. I look past him, thinking of how to say it. "I was lonely. I didn't have any real friends when I moved away. I missed you and Itachi. I didn't realise my parents did this for me until it was too late... I never got the chance to thank them." I feel my eyes well up, but I concentrate on not letting the tears fall. "I hated them. I acted like a little brat. I refused to do my homework with my dad. I would shout at my mom. I fell into the wrong crowd and I was always getting into fights. The only subject I actually did well in was phys. ed." I clear the boxes up and put them in the sink. We don't speak for a while as I wash the boxes out. I dry my hands and lean back against the kitchen bench.

"I..." I butt in, feeling like I needed to tell him this.

"I think that's why I wanted to help you so much, you know, when you told me you were failing. You just reminded me so much of myself that I didn't want to see that happen. I didn't want you to become the person I did..." I give up as the tears roll down my cheeks. When I first moved back to Konoha, I was still in a bad way and Itachi helped me through it. I've not spoke about any of this stuff since then. I didn't think it would be this hard...

Sasu POV

I sit in silence as she stands behind me. I can hear her sniffling but I don't turn around, she probably doesn't want me to watch her crying. I write a few more things down as I wait for her to fix herself. As she walks back around to her side of the table, she ruffles my hair. Just like when I was a kid. I still don't remember her much, but as I spend time with her the more I'm slowly remembering little bits. She sits down with a new water bottle.

"Do you want me to go?" I ask, not sure whether I want her to say yes or no...

"Nah, it's fine. I just ain't spoke about this in a while." I nod and watch her, she looks as if she's deep in thought. "So. What's next?"

"How did you get the scars on your cheeks?" A sad smile crosses her face.

"You really don't remember, do you?" She whispers and I shake my head. I asked Itachi what was up with the six whisker-like marks on her cheeks not long ago, but he just changed the subject. "It was not long before I left. I think it's maybe why my mom suddenly remembered she had a daughter. Anyway," she waved her hand slightly as if indicating that bit wasn't important, "you wanted to go to the park one day, but Itachi wouldn't take you and there were no maids around that day because your dad had spontaneously given them the day off."

"Like he does every few months." She nods.

"Like I said, Itachi refused to take you. You were so upset so I offered. I rang your father first of course, just to make sure it was okay to take you out the house. Whenever we would go out, there'd always be a maid with us. But he let us go as long as we were only out half an hour. And the park wasn't too far away, only a couple minutes walk or so." I write down most of what she's saying, so that I remember it fully for when I start the proper essay. Occasionally I look up at her but she's looking at the other side of the room. As if lost in her own thoughts...

"We didn't come back after half an hour. I can imagine your dad going crazy when he got back and found out we weren't there. I think Itachi must have rang him when we didn't come back, I don't really remember." She smiles softly.

"What happened?" She turns to look at me, and I can't help but feel for her seeing the sadness in her eyes.

"I'm not surprised you don't remember. I guess it must have been too traumatic for you; you were only about six, I think. You must have blocked it out." We look at each other for a while, my pen unmoving, and she just looks so sad. "Not long before we left the park a group of teenage boys came in." I watch as her finger trails along one of the scars and I get a sudden urge to touch one... "I don't remember what they said, but they wanted to start a fight. They must have found it fun to torture two kids, the sick fuckers." I flinch slightly at the venom in her voice. "Sorry." Her face softens slightly; she must have seen me shudder.

"It's okay." I write a few things down as she doesn't speak for a while. I frown slightly at not being able to remember what she's talking about because it feels like it's something important...

"They had me up against a wall; I remember he said something about wanting to play a game." She closes her eyes. "I fought back, and he didn't like it. So he cut me. I would have fought back harder but... one of them had a hold of you." She opens them again, looking straight at me. "You looked so scared. You couldn't stop staring at the blood on my face. I managed to get away from the guy who cut me and attacked the one who had you. I only hit him, just enough to distract him so I could grab you." I hear her door open but don't pay attention to it, and neither does she. "I covered you in my coat and held onto you against the wall so that they couldn't touch you."

"All while they kicked the shit out of you." We both look up to see Itachi standing there with Deidara behind him. She smiles slightly, but as I look at her I can tell it's fake.

"I couldn't exactly let them hurt him could I?" I look at my brother, his face is cold.

"You were in hospital for a long time weren't you?" It comes out more as a whisper; as her face covered in blood flashes through my mind. I hold my head as I feel a headache coming on and my breathing quickens slightly.

"Yes." She looks at me, pain evident in her eyes. "And when I came out... you didn't want anything to do with me." I look at her shocked. Why would I? If she protected me...

"This is why I wouldn't tell you." I look at my brother. I don't understand... "Go wait in the car, it's late." I look at the clock on the wall. I hadn't realised how long we'd been talking.

"But..."

"Now, Sasuke." I put everything in the bag. I glance at Naruko but she refuses to look at me. I head out but instead of going to the car I stand there listening. Luckily her window is open...

Naru POV.

"I told you not to say anything to him." I look over at him and frown, realising Deidara is still here.

"What was I meant to tell him?" I get up to refill my water bottles before placing them in the fridge.

"Refuse to talk about it. Lie. Anything. You remember how upset and terrified he was back then. I was trying to save him from remembering all that." I glare at him, growling slightly.

"What? You expect me to lie to him? He asked me how I got them. He deserves to know the reason why he forgot about me." He walks over, leaning his hand on my fridge.

"No he doesn't. He forgot because it was too painful for him. You should have left it alone." I move back slightly, upset and angry at the fact that he's almost shouting at me.

"Itachi..." He looks back at his friend.

"Stay out of this Dei." He turns back to me and I can't help but feel hurt at the soft way he spoke to Deidara even though he's angry...

"I couldn't just lie to him, 'tachi..." My voice quivers as I try to fight back the tears.

"Why not? You used to be so good at it when you were drugged up and selling yourself." I look up at him and my eyes widen. How could he say that... I feel my cheeks get wet for the second time that night. I watch as his face softens, realising what he said. "Naruko. I didn't mean..."

"Get out." I clench my fists, trying to resist the urge to hit him.

"Naru..." I settle for pushing him out the way. I walk past him and grab my coat, slipping into my trainers. "Naru, where are you going?" I glare at him, narrowing my eyes.

"Away from you. You know, in case I lie to you or try to sell myself to you." I hiss at him, before yanking the door open. I stop, still holding on to the door handle. I look at his shocked face. I know I implied sleeping with that man to get my mother's fox back, but I bet he never thought it would be more than just him...

"Naruko..." I push past him and run down the street. I can't believe he would bring that up, especially in front of Deidara. And Sasuke. I hear someone shout my name but I ignore them and just keep running. That's right, do what you do best. Run away...