Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Yay! Another chapter! And the sequel for WSBV is out, check it out! Oh, those of you who say Silo's annoying... something's wrong with you! Even though you're entitled to your own opinions. And these chapters are gonna start goin' in a darker direction, so enjoy the happiness to the fullest.
An Itachi and Hidan moment in here. I thought it was very touching and sad...
Itachi leaned against the wall just outside of Hidan and Sasuke's hospital rooms, his eyes closed in thought. He'd been called earlier that morning and was asked if his brother and Naruto could do an interview on a talk show, so of course, he agreed. He couldn't deny the person, mainly because it would raise some questions in the public. No one knew about the filming accident except for those fans that were there. But they were talked to and given money to keep quiet, along with a promise of front row seats at the movie premiere.
The door to the room opened and Sasuke stepped out, the bandages gone from his hair, a halo crowned atop his head, proving he'd washed it continuously the previous night. He was dressed in his normal clothing, nodding to his brother.
"I need to speak with you," Itachi spoke, opening his dark eyes.
Sasuke was hesitant, but he nodded once again and his elder brother glanced down the hall, making sure no one would hear them. He pushed away from the wall and his expression changed from stoic to soft, an understanding smile on his face.
"I want to clear something up," the weasal absorbed Sasuke's confused look. "The accident... it wasn't your fault, so don't blame yourself. I noticed that you were easily angered a few days back and I know you thought that somebody might've lashed out and blamed you at any given moment."
Suddenly, the smaller raven clenched his fists. "How can you say it wasn't my fault?" he hissed. "If I just would've stopped--!"
"But you wouldn't have been able to, even if you had tried. I've learned over the last couple of years that your illusions of 'him' could've been fixed with counseling and such, but I refused to let you, my only otouto, be treated like you were crazy. I let you deal with the loss yourself and it's my fault that it got as bad as it did," Itachi's voice held honesty. "If I would've helped you, then it wouldn't have happened. Don't blame yourself, because it was my fault."
Sasuke remained quiet for a moment, then smiled. Sometimes, he really loved having Itachi as his older brother. "I guess it is... I mean, you were basically my parent and I couldn't go against you if you didn't want me to have counseling," he mumbled, humor laced into his voice.
Itachi smirked and poked Sasuke in the center of his forehead. "Foolish Otouto."
"WEASAL-SAN!" Hidan whined from inside the room. "Send Sasu-chan on his way and get in here! Entertain me, I'm bored!"
Mumbling a thanks to his brother, Sasuke walked down the hall, pulling out his cellphone to call Naruto and tell him to pick him up.
Itachi smiled to himself and went into the hospital room.
xXxXx
Silo hummed a little tune in the back of his father's car, tapping his bony knees with small fingers. He turned and leaned forward, staring out of the foggy window. His bright yellow backpack was next to him, the zipper open, tablets and folders spilling out over the seat. Smiling at his reflection in the glass, he lifted a hand and drew little doodles with his pointer finger.
He was extremely happy today, mainly because his birthday was approaching and he'd be six! Sure, he was at the mental age of eleven, but another birthday meant there'd be a growth spurt... hopefully. He was always on the short side, much like his mother, and hoped he'd be given an extra four inches for his birthday. Naruto told him he wouldn't grow that much until he hit puberty, but Silo had blocked out that little comment.
Finishing his drawing on the window, he pulled his arm back and grinned. He was resembling his father more and more every day. "Chichiue, look! It's you and Uchiha-san!"
"One second, I can't look while I'm driving," the blond replied, then turned into the hospital parking lot, coming to a stop. He finally twisted around in his seat and glanced at the picture. Laughing, he leaned in and ruffled Silo's dark hair. "You're quite the artist, musuko! But how come we're holding hands?"
"..." Silo huffed. He'd hoped Naruto would understand the little hint, but apparently he was too dense. "Because you're good friends," he lied, not wanting to deal with any drama.
"Oh..." there was a knock on the front window and Naruto looked out, seeing the blurry shape of Sasuke. How did he know it was him? Well, by his odd-shaped hair and girly posture, that's how! Even when he was a fuzzy blob he looked like a woman. Unlocking the door, he greeted the raven as he entered and sat down.
"Welcome to my car, Teme!" Naruto quickly drove off, almost hitting an old man that was crossing the parking lot with a walker. His pants were up to his chest, his white dress shirt tucked in. His white hair was a mess and Naruto laughed at that, especially when the elder started yelling curse words.
"Damn kids and their blasted contraptions of the future!" he shook his walker at the car and scurried along, being helped inside the building by a pretty young nurse.
Sasuke smirked and put on his seatbelt, crossing his arms.
"Uchiha-san, how are you feeling?" Silo asked, genuinely worried. He hoped he still wasn't hurt.
"I'm fine. My head still hurts, but the doctors said that was normal... How about you?"
"Hm?" the crow blinked.
"Naruto told me your birthday was coming up, how do you feel about that? Excited?"
Silo smiled brightly and shoved himself forward in his seat, despite the constricting seatbelt. He loved when Sasuke paid attention to him, it was like he had another parent. And if his own father wasn't so dense and, well, stupid, then he might have Sasuke as his new mother! But he also knew that he couldn't just turn his chichiue gay...
"Yeah! When I blow out my candles, I'm going to wish for a growth spurt!"
Or for Chichiue to like Uchiha-san, he added mentally.
"He thinks he's too short. I told him he's perfectly fine for his age," Naruto explained to Sasuke while speeding around a slow car. He put the blinker on and went into the other lane, getting closer to Kakashi's apartment complex. Don't think that Naruto always dropped Silo off there to get rid of him or anything, it was just that the boy enjoyed being around Haruka and Majik (the boy popped into the Hatake household on random occasions) and didn't see them enough in school. Also, Naruto had been sleeping away, the acting business tiring him out.
What was the point in hanging with your dad if he was always tired? So Silo spent most of his time with his friends on days like those.
"He is a bit short."
"I told you, Chichiue!"
"No, you're not! Sasuke, shut the futz up!" the blond pulled into the apartment parking lot and pointed to Haruka and Majik who were outside playing in the local playground. Sure, Kakashi was rich, but he was a simple man with a simple life. "Ooooh, that slide looks like fun! Do you think someone will say something if I play on it?" he grinned and parked his car, immediately getting out and running to the mulch playground.
"Dobe," Sasuke snorted and let himself out, helping Silo, as well. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, scowling. He still a headache and didn't feel like dealing with Naruto's loud voice. Yeah, he sort of had a thing for the idiot, but that didn't mean he had to tolerate him, right?
Being pushed on the swing by Haruka, Majik glanced over his knees as he flew into the air, seeing Naruto running through the grass, as well as Silo, being followed by a tired looking Sasuke. A grin spread across his face, a fresh bandage over one of his cheeks stretching as his eyes twinkled.
"Little Miss!" he shouted happily, throwing himself off of the swing that was in mid-air. He landed with a wince, but quickly started running through the rich brown mulch, his dirty sneakers lighting up with a red glow with each heavy step. He didn't even notice that Haruka was hit with the empty swing, causing the older boy to fall back.
Naruto, for the first time, met Majik. He'd heard stories of him from his son, but never saw him in person. And by what Silo had exclaimed about the other tyke's sense of fashion, he thought he'd be looking at a midget clown. Instead, what stood in front of him was a cute little boy wearing khaki shorts, striped stockings, old Nike sneakers, a cotton candy blue hoodie, a rainbow beanie, and skeleton gloves with the fingers poorly cut off.
"You must be Majik," he held out his hand and grinned foxily, loving children.
The black and white-haired child took the hand, but then started doing what Naruto assumed to be a "gangsta style handshake". Naruto may have been young, but he was a parent, and all parents lose their coolness once their kid hits elementary school. The strange shake was then followed by a Nazi salute and a gang sign.
"Ya seemed lost," the boy commented airily. "I thought ya Americans shook hands like that...?"
Naruto laughed nervously. "I'm not an American. I was born in Kyushu."
There was a pause, then Majik tilted his head. "Ya'd make a spankin' good Nazi, Little Miss's papa."
"...What?"
"Haruka-kun, are you ok?.!" Silo shrieked worriedly, running to his friend who was still lying on the ground after being hit by the rogue swing. "Majik, you killed him!"
The Norwegian child's face fell and his bottom lip wobbled. "I killed 'im?"
Haruka slowly blinked his crimson eyes, then sat up, brushing little pieces of mulch from his hair. He looked up to where he hard Silo's voice and reached a hand out, expecting the crow to help him up. When the other boy did indeed lifted him off the ground, he turned and scowled, searching for Majik with his blind eyes.
"I'm going to beat you into a pulp, Majik!" he growled, so different from his usual calm self.
You see, there's one thing you should know about young Majik (last name unknown). Not only did he have ADD and a serious case of what Silo called "retardism", he also had an aura around him that drew you in... then swallowed you up like a venus fly trap. Once you were dragged in, there was no way of escaping. It was like... no matter where you were, he'd show up, wearing his strange clothes and covered in bandages and gauze wrappings, that stupid lopsided smile on his face that made you think he'd had a severe stroke a few minutes beforehand. Also, he had a tendancy to drive everyone around him insane or to their untimely deaths.
Poor Haruka, it seemed he was one of the ones who were going to go insane. He'd already been torn from his mature shell (thanks to Majik), tossed into a world of insanity (thanks to Majik), and was stuck in a mental stage of anger and violence (also thanks to Majik).
To make it simple, Hatake Haruka was no longer the sweet, calm little boy that was raised by Kakashi. He was now a fleshy lump of anger that seemed like more of an attack dog than a seven-year old child.
"Ya should've moved!" Majik chirped and skipped away from Naruto, who was now joined by a confused Sasuke.
"I didn't see it coming! I'm blind, remember?.!" the silver-haired boy growled, baring his pearly whites. Silo tried to calm him down with his soft, comforting voice. He accomplished the deed after a few moments, then smiled and beckoned him to come over and play on the slides with him.
"Ya goin' to ignore me now...?" Majik waved his arms around.
"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, having missed everything up until the point where Majik had ran away from Naruto. He unconsciously buried his hands deeper into the pockets of his pants to keep his fingers warm. It was definitely a chilly afternoon.
"I don't really know... but I think we should go and play on the slides with them! I got dibs on the dragon one! Look Sasuke, you climb into its mouth and slide down its body!" he laughed and ran across the large playground, knowing the raven would follow behind him.
Sasuke rolled his eyes and stalked forward.
xXxXx
Hidan watched the television above his hospital bed with uninterested eyes. He didn't want to watch a show about women deprived of sex, especially when they were damn hot! Well, as hot as any woman could be to a gay man. He huffed and lifted up the remote that was beside his hip with his good hand, the broken one in a sling. The doctors had said he was doing pretty good for a man who had almost all of his bones broken.
He had a fracture in his skull, a broken arm, two broken legs, shattered kneecaps, six broken ribs, a fractured collarbone, and a severely bruised back, stomach, and chest. When he was told about all of the injuries, he'd just laughed and thanked Buddha that his penis was okay.
Flipping through the very few channels, he came upon the news station and sighed. He supposed he'd just have to deal with that, since everything else was either too corny or in Spanish. He wasn't even in frickin' Spain... stupid foreign countries taking over his homeland's television channels.
"A woman was found murdered in her apartment this evening in the Minami-Aoyama district of western Tokyo. The policemen found enough evidence in her home to suggest that she was a part of an underground drug society and was killed by one her clients... Wait, I'm being told some new information. The woman, Obata Chiyome, was not the one who sold drugs, it was her boyfriend. The apartment was his and there was a note in one of the bedroom drawers that stated that if Obata didn't sell the drugs to one of his clients, he would break up with her--"
Hidan turned the television off, not wanting to hear the rest of it. He stared at the white wall across from his bed where he was propped up, thinking about the case. He rolled over all of the words in his head and smiled, a grim stretch of his lips. He realized how he could so easily be put in that situation.
Being in the drug business, loving someone so much you'd dirty yourself with cocaine, heroin, and morphine, and then the knowledge that the someone your doing that for could abandon you at any moment... It makes you want to keep selling drugs so they'll keep you by their side. You just want to keep murdering, keep whoring yourself, keep taking hallucinogens so you don't drive yourself crazy with your guilt and mutated form of love...
Hidan felt an emptyness all throughout his body... but then a dull ache began to pound in his chest and his fingers twitched at his side. He took a deep breath and looked at the door, hoping Itachi would walk through it, holding a paper bag that held his sweet escape from reality.
This was a side of him he wanted no one to see, only trusted Itachi and the rest of the Akatsuki to witness...
His painful withdrawl.
Groaning in agony, he swallowed, his mouth producing no saliva to coat his sore throat. He gripped the bed sheets, nails scraping against stiff material. He tightly closed his eyes and begged his mind and body to stop craving the drugs. God, he'd never wanted to stop so bad in his entire life!
The hospital door suddenly opened and his eyes snapped open, their violet depths reflecting Itachi's handsome face as he stepped toward the bed. He smiled a bit, trying to stay normal for his Weasal-san.
"I brought you some fruit and yogurt from the cafeteria. The line was so long," the elder Uchiha scoffed. "But once I told them who I was, I was able to go straight to the front."
"Thanks, Weasal-san," Hidan said, his voice wavering. He was a strange case. He hadn't had any drugs within two months, had almost given them up completely. But then the thought of what his job was, what he did for a living, what he did just so he could protect his beloved Itachi and stay by his side forever... it brought forth a withdrawl he'd resisted for months.
Itachi gave him a questioning look. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just a little tired!" the other man answered with as much of a cheery tone as possible. He took an offered banana, but as he began peeling, he thought of the news program and came to a slow stop, lying the fruit on his covered lap.
"Hidan?"
"Itachi..." his tone was low and the raven closed his mouth. His best friend never said his name unless something bad was going to happen or unless he had something extremely important to say. "You know that I would do anything to keep you safe from Orochimaru, right? That I'd sell as many drugs as the society had in stock, that I'd give my body to as many men as there were in the yakuza, that I'd--"
"What are you talking about?" Itachi growled, no understanding what was going on. Hidan never became this serious, never rambled on about their jobs.
"What if..." Hidan trailed off and his body shook, but he didn't know if it was because of the withdrawl or of his approaching confession. "What if I died someday soon? What if I was about to sell some heroin to one of your customers because you somehow couldn't... and was killed by a man who had truly meant to kill you?" his thoughts were spilling out. The thoughts that swam around in his mind while he'd watched the news.
Itachi remained silent, stunned by the questions and raw emotion in Hidan's voice.
"If that ever happens to me, don't feel angry because... because you should know that I would be extremely happy to die at that moment."
"What are you--"
"Because I died in your place, I protected you, Itachi," Hidan gave him a shaky smile. "Even though it was in a worthless way... I died protecting you. The whole reason why I gave up my normal life and became what I am today was to keep you safe..."
Itachi was, for the first time in his life, utterly speechless. He'd never heard such emotional words from Hidan and had never dreamed he ever would. This new side was beginning to unease him and he didn't want to know why this one-sided conversation was even going on.
"So if I died that way, died protecting you... I'd be happy," the silver-haired Akatsuki member looked so weak in the hospital bed, but his next words were so strong. "Because I love you."
The raven wasn't so quiet anymore.
"No, you don't."
Hidan laughed painfully. "I knew you would say that... you stupid fucker...!" his eyes were closed tightly, his face lowered, tears threatening to spill out through silver lashes. He always knew he'd be rejected and had prepared himself billions of times, but he always thought it'd hurt a lot less than it actually did at the moment. "You can fuck me and break me and control me--! But... but you can't love me?" his voice was broken.
Itachi kept his strong expression. He wouldn't crumble. If he crumbled because of this beautiful man's tears, then he would shatter the strength that kept him as the Akatsuki's 2nd strongest man. He wouldn't become weak and be the cause of every Akatsuki's members' death. He especially wouldn't endanger Sasuke... even if it meant hurting his best friend, his most precious person.
Maybe if they'd both gone down a different path... they could've been together.
But there would be no "what if" scenerios, because they wouldn't change anything.
Not their lives.
Not their priorities.
Not their dirty pasts.
"Why can't you... love me? Am I really that filthy...? Do I disgust you that much?"
"I'm sorry."
Nothing.
It will change nothing.
xXxXx
It'd been two hours since their arrival at the playground and Kakashi had finally decided to grace everyone with his presence. He approached them in a black sweater, a cup of steaming coffee in his left hand. Scratching the back of his head absently, he peaked around the ladder that led up to the crossing bridge and spotted everyone lying in the sand pit just beside the teeter totter.
"My, two grown men sleeping with three little boys. You don't see that every day," he commented with an airy chuckle.
Naruto cracked open an eye, then grinned. "Yo, Kakashi! I was thinking about stealing Haruka away since you're a horrible father and left him down here all by himself."
"I was watching from my kitchen window... but then a black cat crossed the sill and I could no longer sit there or I'd be cursed."
"That's a lie!" the blond hollered.
Silo slowly opened his eyes. "Chichiue...?"
Sasuke sat up as well, having never been asleep in the first place. He was just relaxing and basking in the fact that Naruto was actually quiet for once.
"It's getting late, Silo, we should head home. Hey, Teme, you should stay the night since it's the weekend. We can stay up all night and play video games!"
"Oh, joy. Violence and horrible 3-D graphics, I can't wait," the raven stood up and brushed his back off.
Silo bent down and poked at both Haruka and Majik, waking them up. Haruka awoke with a startled jerk, but calmed when he recognized the feeling of Silo's small hand. But Majik immediately snapped to attention and began yelling in German, even though he wasn't fluent in the language...
"I have to go home," Silo leaned forward and tugged them both into a tight hug. "I'll see you soon, probably tomorrow, ok? Oh! I forgot to tell you! My birthday's coming up soon, in one week! I hope you'll come to my party?" he smiled and pecked them both on the cheek before jumping up and running to his dad and the well-rested Uchiha.
Both Haruka and Majik faced each other each other, then glared.
Only one thing was on their minds.
I'm going to give him the best present!
xXxXx
Sasuke sat down on the comfortable sofa in Naruto's living room, dressed in a pair of baggy red pajamas he'd borrowed from said blond. After a few seconds of just sitting there, waiting for the two Uzumaki's to come downstairs, he noticed that a distinct scent was all over him. That's when he realized that yes, he was indeed wearing his current infatuation's bright red (and slightly ugly) pajamas!
He told himself he wasn't a pervert, then slowly took a wiff of the long sleeves, loving the thought of falling asleep wrapped up in what would be the closest thing to Naruto's strong arms. He held back a blush and coughed, lowering his arms to his lap, tapping his knees.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Uchiha-san!" Silo apologized as he ran down the stairs with the speed of a rabbit. In his hands were multiple video games. Naruto followed soon after and held up an even larger selection of games, a shit-eating grin on his handsome face.
Sasuke groaned.
Naruto and Silo cheered.
-- Four Hours Later--
Naruto was lying on the couch, breathing heavily through his nose as he slept. Across his legs was Silo, the little boy sleeping in an akward position, a game controller in his grasp, fingers ghosting over the buttons, even in his state of unconsciousness. In the background, there was the sound of enemies firing their machine guns and rifles.
Sasuke turned off the Playstation 3, then shut off the television, quickly flicking out the living room lights. He stretched, bones popping loudly, muscles becoming less stiff and painful. He was exhausted and felt like he'd collapse at any moment. But one sight stopped him from tumbling over.
Naruto's sleeping face and extremely soft looking pink lips.
The young Uchiha was never one to give into temptation, but his mind was hazy with exhaustion and he couldn't think properly. His weakened state was taken advantage of and he silently cursed Naruto for having such a well-defined face and velvety pink lips.
Falling to his knees beside the couch, he hovered over the sleeping male and breathed in the scent that he loved. The one smell he'd never forget. Uzumaki Naruto.
He swooped down, and in state of exhaustion, placed a soft kiss on those lips that always called him "teme". He closed his own eyes and wished he'd be kissed back, but that thought quickly vanished as slumber finally won control and he swayed, his head falling onto a firm chest. And that's where he fell asleep, on top of Naruto.
Below them, at the end of the couch, Silo watched silently.
Next Chapter: Sorting through feelings, Sasuke reveals his past, Majik finds himself in a bad predicament, the ties of two brothers, everyone's invited to a super celebration!, and Sai...you got served! (That was my stupidity right there XD)