Alright some good and bad news students, the good news a new chapter is out! Yay! The bad news is that they'll be a weekly thing now, so each one will take about a week or longer since I'm going back to school to finish my last term, then 6 weeks holidays! But until then, each chapter will be at a weekly pace or longer, hopefully I can get them out sooner, but we'll just have to see! OK shout outs!My two friends who actually beta my work! They guessed straight away and I was so surprised, because it was like they had Ino's mind reading technique! Alright on with the story!.
As a body lay almost lifeless, with dry tear stains on his pale face, puffy eyes fluttered open and laid still, uncaring where he was, he stayed still on his side, eyes hooded and unblinking, when a familiar smell wafted under his nose, like bread and sweet pastries amongst other scents. He felt his stomach complain for the lack of food and forced himself to sit up, not trying to think where he was, he just let his survival instincts take over and followed the scent over to a counter full of freshly baked bread. In an instant Sasuke grabbed at as much food as possible and stuffed it in his drooling mouth, not caring if he was eating like a wild animal, he continued to fill his face with more and more bread, until there were only parts of half eaten bread scattered across the floor and counter. A figure walked into the room silently and gave a relieved sigh, but Sasuke didn't care as he still ate away hungrily at the bread, the figure tsked and walked over looking at the mess Sasuke had caused.
"Look at the mess ye made here!" The woman said grabbing a sweeping brush beginning to clean around Sasuke, until she tapped at his feet with the broom, he stopped eating and turned his head full of bread and blinked.
"Soma?" Sasuke said, only in a mouth full kind of voice so it sounded more like 'Omaw?' more than Soma, but Soma had understood him perfectly and gave a disapproving look at Sasuke.
"Yea, so move ye feet while I clean up this here mess" Soma instructed, hands on her hips, Sasuke moved back and let her sweep while she mumbled away, Sasuke just watched, face blank and eyes dull, still not really processing anything due to his depression, it would last for days and since it started yesterday night, so at this time he was either void of emotion or a emotional train wreck, there was no in between and anything could set him off. After Soma had cleaned up the floor she smirked to herself proudly, he turned to Sasuke and her face dropped, "Ohh lamb, what's the matter?" Soma asked sympathetically rubbing his shoulder reassuringly, Sasuke remained silent and blank, but it didn't last for long as he looked sadly at Soma.
"I don't understand anything anymore, it's like what I thought I knew isn't real and I've been left out of some kind of loop and I can't take it anymore" Sasuke explained as Soma looked at him empathetically, she looked down at the floor somewhat guiltily, Sasuke didn't notice and continued on, "I find out there is another Uchiha, he somehow knew me, but doesn't know who I am, people are saying they knew me and my mother, memories that I never had before are popping up and are wrecking my friendship with one of the very few friends I have and I-I-I-" Sasuke trailed off as he couldn't say another word without wanting to collapse, Soma was silent before taking in a brave breath and guided Sasuke to the stone seat, she sat opposite of Sasuke and put her hands on the stone large stone table in front of them, Soma forced herself to look up at Sasuke.
"There's something ye need to know and it's going to be very hard to understand, but...please try and not blame anyone, it's not anyone's fault and it's definitely not ye fault at all, please just listen" Soma said shaking slightly, but tried to remain strong, for Sasuke's sake, Sasuke just nodded his head slowly, confused by what she was saying. "Lamb, a long time ago, before ye were born, before Shen came here, ye mother and Shen were very good friends, they knew each other because Shen was Fugaku's younger brother and ye mother was arranged to marry Fugaku." Soma explained, while Sasuke sat in shock, Shen's my uncle?... "I was also on good terms with ye mother, until one day she fell pregnant with ye and she told me a secret that I swore to take to me grave, but ye deserve to know the truth, this is going to be hard to accept but..." Soma took Sasuke's hand and looked him deep in his eyes, Sasuke watched feeling scared for some reason, Soma gulped closing her eyes but opened them again, "Sasuke...Shen is ye father" That's where it stopped, Sasuke sat with his eyes wide, his body now shaking, his breathing was irregular, he removed his hand from Soma and ran one of his hands through his hair, he gulped trying not to be sick since his stomach was doing flips, his heart felt like it had stopped, he felt hot and cold at the same time, he couldn't hear the reassuring words of Soma as everything was blurry and he heard nothing, but mumbles, he slammed his hands against the table and tried to hold himself up as he struggled to breath, S-S-Shen is my...that means I'm his...I-I-I can't be...I...no...no...NO!... Sasuke suddenly sprinted out of the house with Soma calling after him, but he ran and ran until he couldn't anymore, had whole life had been some sort of lie? What other things didn't he know? Did Itachi know? Did Shen know? Did his father know? N-No Fugaku isn't my father anymore...or is he? I-I don't know, I just... Sasuke came out of his thoughts as his body screamed to rest since it was in bad shape already due to last night, in fact all the fast eating, emotional turmoil and running made him feel sick, walking into a empty ally, he went pass a large pile of bins and threw up, he coughed as the stomach acid burned his tastebuds, he spat out the remaining sick and stepped backwards until he was met with the cold and shaded wall, his back hit the wall and he slumped down breathlessly, he sat shaking violently as questions and thoughts whirled through his mind, making him slowly go insane as he wasn't able to process anything right now, he sat there for a time that Sasuke didn't know when suddenly he heard his name being called out, but he didn't response as he just held his knees to his chest protectively.
"Sasuke! I been looking for you everywhere Teme! You never came back to the Inn, I woke up this morning and no one had seen you! Going off by yourself is- Sasuke? Are to you OK?" Naruto asked confused by the way Sasuke was looking, Naruto knelt down on one knee and looked at Sasuke worried, "Sasuke are you-" But Naruto didn't get to finish, since Sasuke had jumped forward and was clinging to Naruto, his face hiding in Naruto's neck, Naruto just fell back slightly and was leaning on his hands to support his and Sasuke's weight, Naruto looked down at Sasuke who was shaking and felt the tears from Sasuke run down his own neck.
"N-Naruto..." Sasuke muffled clinging on to Naruto for dear life, Naruto was shocked to see Sasuke so...vulnerable and even more so to be hugging him, Something bad must have happened... Naruto suddenly felt an anger boil within him, he wasn't angry at Sasuke, it was only because he was concerned and Sasuke wouldn't tell him what was wrong, well that is going to change right now!.
"Sasuke, you are going to tell me what is going on, no excuses" Naruto demanded sternly, giving Sasuke some tough love, Sasuke merely nodded without so much as a whisper, Naruto was shocked since he expected Sasuke to fight back, just a little, Naruto sighed and held Sasuke, pulling him up. "Come on, you don't want anyone to see you like this, get on my back and I'll race through the streets, so no one will see you, OK?" Naruto explained reassuringly, Sasuke nodded and climbed on Naruto's back, he held onto his neck and hid his face in Naruto's head and neck, Naruto propped him up a bit, before running full speed down the street, to everyone he was a blur and had reached the Inn in record time, running pass everyone and into his room, where after he kicked the door open and shut, he panted as he chuckled a bit. "I think, I was faster than lighting a few times there!" Naruto chuckled, but got no response in return so he walked over to the bed and slide Sasuke off his back, Sasuke just moved on his side and stared at the wall, he was lifeless like a corpse and if it wasn't for his body breathing making him slightly move, Naruto would have assumed him to be dead. Naruto just stared at Sasuke, I've never seen him like this... Naruto thought as he didn't know about Sasuke's depression and he certainly had no idea that Sasuke was on the verge of having a full mental breakdown, Naruto didn't know what to do in a situation like this so stood silently trying to think about what to do. A part of Sasuke's raven haired bangs fell in front of his face and when he made no move to put it back in place, Naruto leaned forward and moved the hair from his face, Sasuke said nothing at the gesture and continued to stare forward like a worn out doll, Naruto sighed and was hoping for Sasuke to smack his hand away or for him to insult Naruto, anything that would show that Sasuke was okay in some kind of way. Naruto had enough and carefully manoeuvred his hand around Sasuke neck, lifting him up effortlessly as Sasuke didn't fight against the movement, Naruto tried to stare into Sasuke's eyes, but Sasuke's eyes were blank and unfocused, Naruto felt a pang at his heart to see his friend so empty looking, this just motivated Naruto more to try and help Sasuke. "Sasuke, you have to tell me, you promised you would..."
"..."
"Sasuke?"
"I don't know who I am..." Sasuke mumbled, barely above a whisper, Naruto cringed at how weak Sasuke sounded, not at all like his strong and confident tone, more fragile like thin glass, Naruto processed what he said, but didn't know how to respond so he gave Sasuke a confused look before Sasuke sighed and sat up properly, Naruto removed his hand and watched Sasuke as he waited for an answer. "I was talking to someone who has knew me since I was born, she knew my mother as well..."
"Right..."
"She told me that Fugaku wasn't..." Sasuke trailed off and stiffened a bit as his bottom lip quivered, Naruto was surprised to hear Sasuke refer to Fugaku by his first name, because he was his father after all... Naruto put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder and urged him to continue, Sasuke looked at Naruto and took in a deep breath, "He...wasn't my father..." Sasuke breathed out, Naruto went wide eyed and was unable to speak, No way... Naruto blinked and gulped a bit.
"Do you know who is?" Naruto asked quietly, trying to stay calm as his curiosity was burning, Sasuke nodded his head slightly and Naruto nodded his head with him, "OK, was he..ya know...in the massacre...was he?..." Sasuke shook his head, Naruto was surprised as to find out there was another Uchiha other than Sasuke and Itachi, he sat besides Sasuke and ran a hand through his hair, he sighed before Sasuke let his head rest on Naruto's shoulder, Naruto glanced down at Sasuke before looking forwards again.
"I met him." Sasuke stated in a deadpan voice, causing Naruto to whip his head at Sasuke in shock, he saw Sasuke fiddling with some kind of...tooth? Where did he get a tooth from?... Sasuke didn't look at Naruto and continued "He was the witness I got, before today I knew he was a Uchiha since he told me his name, but he doesn't know who I am, he didn't even know there was a massacre until I told him, but..." Sasuke trailed off while explaining and sighed, sitting up he laid back down on the bed, flat on his back, Naruto watched him as he waited for him to continue, "I don't think he knows either..." Sasuke finished, staring at the ceiling, Naruto was still for a while before joining Sasuke and laid back with him, they both stared up at the ceiling in a comfortable silence, the tense and depressing mood from before had vanished and was filled with just tranquillity and normality.
"Have you asked him?" Naruto questioned, still looking at the ceiling as the shock had worn off by now, Sasuke sighed and shook his head.
"No...and I don't know if I should..." Sasuke replied, biting down on his lip.
"I think you should, and when your ready you should tell him or at least tell him who you are..." Naruto suggested, as they laid there for a bit longer, until Naruto sat up and stretched, "Welp, I'm gonna leave you alone now" Naruto exclaimed standing up, but before he walked out the door he turned around and spoke, "Good luck Teme" And with that, Naruto left, leaving Sasuke to sleep. As Naruto walked away he though over what Sasuke had told him, I can't imagine what that's like... While deep in his thoughts as he walked out he didn't notice Sakura who he ended up bumping into, she gave him an annoyed look but it soon turned back into her previous sad expression, both looked at each other before Sakura spoke.
"Sasuke, huh?"
"Hinata, huh?" Sakura turned red and was slightly caught off guard as she realized that Naruto knew who she liked, she motioned for Naruto to follow her and they sat at the café, Sakura sighed and looked at Naruto.
"You first" Sakura stated, as Naruto leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"I wanna help, can't help and I feel like a sucky friend, OK your turn"
"I like Hinata, she likes you, you like ramen" Sakura replied making Naruto chuckle.
"Yeah...She's a nice girl, but not my type"
"You have a type?"
"Yeah, ramen!" Both spilled out in laughter as they shared they're problems like old friends do, after they calmed down Sakura looked at Naruto curiously.
"Naruto...what is love?" Sakura asked, Naruto looked at her strangely before replying.
"That's not my department, ask me about dattebayo and believing it"
"I'm serious Naruto, recently I can't define it" Naruto shrugged at the request and continued.
"It's hard to define it when I've never felt it"
"You used to love me"
"I had a crush on you, if it was love I wouldn't have given up" Sakura shrugged this time and closed her eyes.
"Fair enough, but I know I'm in love...but I have no idea how to describe it" Sakura said sighing quietly to herself, Naruto looked at her sympathetically and thought for a bit, until an idea came to mind, he rested his arms on the table and looked at Sakura.
"Sakura, I think I can help you" Naruto claimed, making Sakura crack one eye open.
"Oh yeah? How?"
"Close yours eyes" Naruto requested, but received a strange look from Sakura.
"Dude..."
"Not like that! Just do it OK?" Naruto replied, Sakura rolled her eyes, but complied, she closed her eyes and put her face in hand as she waited for further instruction, "OK, think of Hinata" Sakura pulled a half frown, before doing so and her face immediately softened, "Now your with Hinata..." Sakura gave a slight nod of her head, before Naruto continued "Now your holding her in your arms..."
"Naruto..." Sakura mumbled annoyed slightly opening her eyes, but Naruto had a determined look on his face and raised his hand to calm her, she shut her eyes again and waited for him to talk.
"She looks up, smiling lovingly at you..." Naruto said making Sakura lose her breath a bit, "And she tells you she loves you..." At this Sakura gasped lightly, and gulped, "You and her inch forward..." a light blush covered her face as she eagerly waited for the next part, "And kiss..." Sakura made a loud gasp, putting her hand on her chest, she opened her eyes, she shook her head a little before speaking.
"It's warm Naruto, so warm, it makes my heart beat yet it's the most comforting thing I've ever felt, I love her, I do..." Sakura trailed off, breathless as Naruto just took a sip from the drink he ordered, he watched her waiting for her to finish, but to only see her blushing face go sour, "...But she will never love me..." Naruto was silent before answering back.
"Apart from that last part, I think you got your definition of love" Sakura nodded sadly, before Naruto frowned and gave her a kind smile, "And hey, who knows, maybe she'll returns your feelings, but you'll never know until you ask..." Sakura tried to find comfort in the words but failed, she scrunched her face up to create a hate-filled expression.
"You wanna know why I'm afraid of her reaction? It's because of how horrible I treated you when you confessed to me and I can't possibly live through that kind of treatment, it was so unfair on you..."
"..."
"I'm sorry Naruto, I never told you that, did I? Sorry about the disgusting way I treated you and your feelings?" Sakura said with a crumbling voice, Naruto watched her expressionlessly as she continued to whisper sorry over and over again, Sakura looked up at him with tears in her eyes that pleaded atonement, Naruto just shrugged and took a sip from his water.
"Neh, it's fine" Naruto said casually, causing Sakura to whip her head up at Naruto.
"Y-You can't be serious!" Sakura exclaimed, not able to process the fact that someone could be treated to harshly before and have no hard feelings, Naruto nodded and took another sip before speaking.
"Well at that age, I was told that you being mean to me meant that you liked me so I was happy for all I got from you, when I stopped chasing after you I realized that wasn't the case, but since I didn't like you anymore it was fine" Naruto explained, but Sakura was still feeling guilty, Naruto saw the look on her face and tried to reassure her. "Besides I love you too much to be angry at you!" Naruto said playfully, but Sakura looked shocked and was about to start apologizing again when Naruto interrupted her before she got the wrong idea, "Like a friend Sakura, calm down, unless you turn into ramen, I'm not interested! But I still love you, as a dear friend..." Naruto explained, Sakura made a 'Oh' expression before smirking a little bit.
"More than Sasuke?"
"Huh? What?" Naruto asked in a confused manner, but before he had a chance to realize what she meant, Sakura gave a chuckle.
"Nothing! Nothing! Just a inside joke, me and Kakashi have, heh heh, don't worry your pretty little head!" Sakura joked ruffling his head as if he was a pet, Sakura glanced at Naruto before making a 'Huh' sound, Naruto gave her a questioning look, before removing her hand. "You know if I was straight and you didn't have the personality of a five year old, I might actually fall for you..." Sakura stated making Naruto blush a little, he smiled and rubbed the back of his head bashfully.
"Heh Heh, well...WAIT! What do you mean the personality of a five year old?" Naruto asked half serious, half playful, Sakura grinned and giggled a bit.
"You know I'm joking!...Personality of a seven year old!" Sakura laughed while Naruto gave an exaggerated pout, but couldn't help but laugh along with the pink-haired girl.
"Oh ho ho, at least this seven year old can confess my feelings!" Naruto teased, Sakura kicked him under the table lightly and laughed along with him.
"Hey! It's different when it's to someone of the same gender, I mean it's OK to assume someone's straight and confess your feelings only to find out they're gay, but the other way round? That's just embarrassing, since being rejected and coming out to the person you like is just the worst!" Sakura explained, but Naruto shook his head.
"If I liked a dude, I'd tell him!" Naruto claimed while Sakura looked disbelievingly at Naruto.
"I'll hold you against that, ya know" Sakura stated, but only received a strange look from Naruto.
"Sakura, I'm not..."
"I know! I know!...But I have the sneaking suspicion..." Sakura teased, but she wasn't completely joking, she wasn't trying to confuse or force him about this, she was just pushing him in that kind of direction, because she also had a hunch that Sasuke was on that side and even though Naruto and her joked about it, she wouldn't be surprised if Sasuke was in fact gay, in all honestly she would be more surprised if he was straight! She seen the way men groped Sasuke, though he was obviously disgusted by it and he broke their hands, he seemed to enjoy it a little since he bit his lip as he was groped by men, that was what she thought anyway... Naruto on the other hand, had seemed to show interest in the girly boys that approached Naruto, though he probably just saw it as friendliness. Sakura was slightly hoping that they were, since it would mean that she wouldn't be so alone in this...annnnnd also she kind of, maybe, just a bit, almost minuscule would have a massive nosebleed at the sight of those two getting intimate, because for a while she obviously found Sasuke attractive and after Naruto returned at the age of 16 after his year of training with Jiraiya, he certainly caught the eye of many, boys and girls, full grown women in fact, she was certain that Sasuke licked his lips when he returned, but then again she did have a...imaginative mind that once thought that Kiba was making out with a dog, but she was just at that angle, but she was sure Sasuke was drooling!, looking back up at Naruto who had an amused face, shook his head.
"Nah, not for me"
"Soooo, there's like, nooo chance at all?" Sakura questioned, trying to get something she could feed off, you know what they say...once a fangirl, always a fangirl, even if the preferences do change... Naruto thought about it and gave a small shrug.
"Well, I've never been attracted to any guys, but if I was, I wouldn't think much of it, the heart wants, what the heart wants I guess" Naruto explained casually, as he seen people of different sexual preferences before, so it didn't really effect him, so Naruto was cool with the whole thing, but Sakura on the other hand was trying to wipe away a nosebleed that dripped out, Naruto noticed the blood but before he could be concerned, he realized that it was in fact a nosebleed, he gave a weary expression and sighed, "S-Seriously Sakura, this is worrying, you to be some kind of yaoi fangirl of all things..." Naruto said exasperated, while Sakura wiped the last drops of blood she looked at Naruto with a determined expression.
"It can't be helped! The idea of you dominating another male sends me on a frenzy that I just can't get enough of!" Sakura squealed, kicking her legs about in the air like a excited child, Naruto stared at her, worried for her mental state and wondering if he bumped into her too hard. To be excited by that kind of thing...
"Sakura, you have an overacted imagination that scares me to no end" Naruto stated, but Sakura just pouted before leaning over the table and stared into Naruto's eyes, merely inches from his face.
"You would tell me if you had hot steamy sex with another man right?"
"Y-You say that so seriously..."
"Naruto!"
"Alright alright! Geez, sure whatever you need to satisfy your perverted fetish" Naruto said rolling his eyes, but Sakura had began to daydream and drool a puddle's worth of saliva, Naruto just shook his head slowly and sighed, Ah whatever, let her fantasize... While Naruto waited for Sakura to come out of her daydream, a silver-haired jounin walked down a wooden pier, he stared at the white boat and jumped on board effortlessly, there is saw Shen stroking Sasha and sipping his non-alcoholic beer as usual, he walked over and sat opposite of Shen, Kakashi pulled out his book and began to read, both males were silent for a while until Shen chuckled a bit.
"We haven't changed a bit have we?" Shen voiced finally acknowledging Kakashi's presence, Kakashi put his book away and looked at Shen with his one eye, Shen took in a breath and spoke, "I..er..was told recently about...what happened..." Kakashi sighed and gave a small sigh and rubbed the back of his head.
"I had a feeling you didn't know, but I'm not surprised it took you two months to realize that Minato was the Hokage, you don't pay attention to current events, you never did" Kakashi stated as Shen chuckled bashfully.
"I guess not..." Shen replied, Kakashi suddenly realized that someone would have had to tell him about the massacre, Kakashi knew it could possibly be a stranger, but it just didn't fit since how would it come up in a conversation with a stranger, it could be a friend, but why would they tell them only now? It made no sense, so didn't hesitate to ask.
"Who told you?"
"Hm? Oh this kid that I befriended, call him Skip! Heh, he really reminds me of someone, it's actually pretty crazy" Shen answered gleefully, Kakashi instantly recognised the name as what Shen had called Sasuke when he bumped into him, I really need to talk to Sasuke... "Ya know..." Kakashi pulled himself from his thoughts and waited for Shen to continue, "He has the same smirk as me! Same eyes, hair colour, not to mention the fact that Sasha really likes him! Which is strange, he said he doesn't handle his alcohol well, heh like me! Man he's awesome!, he's funny, pretty handsome...I could go on for a while..."
"Sounds like your falling in love" Kakashi said, but Shen's face seemed unsure, he shook his head and took a sip from his beer.
"No...it's not that, it's different, I just feel like I have a connection with the kid, more protective than than love, but it feels familiar..." Shen trailed off in thought as Kakashi sat there and let his mind fill the blank spaces, Kakashi like a light bulb suddenly worked it out, who Shen was to Sasuke, and Sasuke probably didn't know, I'll have to break it to him slowly... Kakashi didn't want to go over it anymore before Shen figured it out and freaked out, so Kakashi changed the subject.
"So how did you end up with a puma as a pet?" Kakashi asked, Shen came out of his thoughts and smiled sadly at the question, Kakashi wasn't expecting such an expressive reaction, but waited for Shen to answer.
"Remember Sasuke?" Shen asked, with a small yet sad smile, Kakashi's eye went wide, but was confused by the way he phrased it, He said remember like he was... Suddenly it hit Kakashi and he was shocked, Shen thinks Sasuke's dead, because Sasuke wouldn't have told him who he was... Kakashi knew that it wasn't his place to say anything, not until he talked to Sasuke at least, so he just nodded his head towards Shen. "Yeah, little cutie of a kid huh? Always so gentle and kind, I swear the sun shone brighter when he smiled, when he laughed the whole room filled with life...heh..." Kakashi looked at Shen sympathetically, he saw how much Shen loved Sasuke when he was a child, it was clear. Shen gave a sad chuckle before continuing, "That's how I got Sasha...in the pouring rain, Sasuke saw a little black cub, shivering and bleeding from her paw, you should have seen the look on Sasuke's face, he ran straight out to carry her, he was the right little doctor, after he dried Sasha, he tended to her bleeding paw. The next day was a amazingly bright day and me and Mikoto were going to let Sasha go, but they had become attached to each other, when we tried to take her away, he cried so much that I ended keeping Sasha! Hn, he was always so sensitive..." Shen told Kakashi, a few seconds later, Shen wiped his eyes and gave a weak laugh, "Geez, I'm just as sensitive huh?" Kakashi sighed and changed the subject to something more light-hearted. After a few hours of talking, Kakashi bid Shen goodbye and began to walk back to the Inn, he sighed as he dreaded the difficult conversation he was going to have to have with Sasuke, I'm pretty sure I felt his depression aura kick in... That was going to make Sasuke even more prone to freak out. As he walked pass Naruto and Sakura who were at the café, it was slightly weird actually, because Sakura seemed to be in some sort of daydream, while Naruto was just sitting quietly as if waiting for her to finish, Kakashi was used to his students weirdness so thought nothing of it, it was the other student he needed to pay attention to right now.
Kakashi was stood outside of Sasuke's room, he sighed and knocked on the door, usually he would just come in, but he needed Sasuke to be in the best mood at the moment and pissing him off by not respecting his privacy wasn't something he needed, he heard a sense of movement inside before he heard any response.
"Um...Come in?..." Sasuke answered in an unsure voice, since he wasn't used to people knocking, he was used to people just barging in on their own accord, this was Naruto's room too, so he wouldn't knock, Kakashi had no concept of manners, Sakura does whatever she likes because she was kind of kick-ass, so Sasuke couldn't think of anyone else. That was until Kakashi opened the door and Sasuke was sitting on the bed surprised at his Sensei's unusual behaviour, Sasuke for a moment thought that an alien had came down, kidnapped Kakashi, took his form and came to check if Sasuke was OK, What? It it could happen!. Sasuke shook his head from his thoughts and waited for Kakashi to talk, Kakashi ran a hand through his hair and composed himself in a more serious posture.
"I'll answer your questions, if you answer mine, we'll take it in turns" Kakashi stated, Sasuke was surprised, but quickly composed himself and thought about the questions he was going to ask, one was the most important though.
"Did you know there was another Uchiha here in Gecia?"
"Yes" Kakashi answered, Sasuke felt an anger build in him, he wanted to shout and scream and attack the jounin for not telling him about Shen, but he kept calm to find the answers to the questions he wanted, but gave the jounin a harsh glare, Kakashi took the glare since he knew he somewhat deserved it. "How did you meet Shen?"
"I bumped into him twice, then he ended up being my witness" Sasuke replied, Kakashi gave a small nod of his head understanding, That explains how we got such good details from Sasuke's witness... Kakashi readied himself for the next question that he dreaded on answering, "Why was I never told?" Sasuke grinded out, he anger showing.
"During the massacre, Shen had gone completely off the grid and we couldn't find him here or anywhere, so we assumed he was killed as well, that was until we saw him here" Kakashi explained, Sasuke's anger calmed down, since he couldn't really blame anyone, they had tried to find him and it was only recently that him and Kakashi had discovered Shen was here, he calmed himself down waited for Kakashi's next question, "Does he know who you are?" Kakashi already knew the answer to this question, but wanted to hear to from Sasuke, Sasuke bit his lip before answering.
"No...I...I haven't told him yet..." Sasuke looked down and was silent, Kakashi already knew this, but felt a anger but only because he cared for his old friend and his student, he felt angry because he knew what pain Shen was going through thinking that Sasuke was dead, when he didn't need to go through that kind of pain.
"He thinks your dead" Kakashi said sternly in a harsh voice, making Sasuke flinch a bit, "He loved you more than anyone else and your being selfish" Kakashi snapped angrily, but instantly regretted it as he saw the sad and guilty look on Sasuke's face, Kakashi never talked to his students like that before, he was just concerned for Shen and Sasuke, he wasn't really angry, it's like when your child has gone missing and you panic, only to find out that they're fine, you shout and scream at that child, but it was only because you was scared and are happy that they're OK, Kakashi sighed and felt a bit of guilt of his own, "Sorry...I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just because-"
"No, I am being selfish, you don't have to apologize" Sasuke interrupted while standing up, Kakashi was surprised by the statement and only snapped out of his shock when Sasuke was about to walk pass him completely, he grabbed Sasuke by the wrist, stopping him in his tracks, Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Kakashi before speaking, "Alright here's another question, if I never met Shen, but you knew he was here would you have told me?" Sasuke asked in a snide voice, Kakashi just continued to look at Sasuke, unaffected by the tone of voice used.
"That's why I'm here, there's something you won't know and you going to want to" Kakashi replied, Sasuke's glare let up and gave a small nod to show that he was going to listen, Kakashi let go of his wrist and waited for Sasuke to walk back into the room completely, this time Sasuke didn't sit, he stood with his arms folded, Kakashi took in a deep breath before sighing, "Sasuke, Shen isn't just any Uchiha, he's closer to you than you think, you may think that certain similarities between you and him are just coincidences, but it's more complex than that-"
"Shen's my dad"
"-and you need to understand-Wait what?" Kakashi said blinking at Sasuke, this had definitely caught him off guard as Sasuke stood, uncaring and seemingly bored, Kakashi knew that Shen didn't know, Shen didn't even know he had a son, Shen talked to Kakashi about what great a nephew Sasuke was. So how did Sasuke know?. "Either you caught on very quick and are responding to this unbelievably well or you knew about this" Sasuke glanced down before looking back up.
"I was told today..."
"By who?"
"One of my mother's old friends, she seemed to have a few here in Gecia and they all recognised me" Sasuke explained, Kakashi processed the information and realized that he came in here expecting to be the bearer of surprising news when he was the one to be surprised, Kakashi let up his stern Sensei position and leaned on the door frame in a more lazy sense.
"So what are you going to do now?" Kakashi asked, Sasuke glanced at Kakashi before turning to the side and looking at the floor.
"I don't know...but I don't think he needs me in his life..."
"Sasuke-"
"I know he may have loved me as a child, but I've changed since then, I can't be the person he wants me to be, so I won't bother him" Sasuke stated quietly, they were both silent for a few moments before Kakashi sighed and spoke up.
"I'd advise against that, Sasuke" Kakashi responded, Sasuke suddenly looked worried and snapped his head up to Kakashi.
"You can't tell him"
"Sasuke-"
"Please..." Sasuke begged in a desperate voice, his eyes pleading for Kakashi to do as he wished, he didn't think he was gonna tell him but...If anyone is going to tell him, it should be me...Sasuke thought as Kakashi was silent for a while before sighing and nodding.
"Fine, but you should tell him, you may have changed, but he will always love you, even if you destroyed the world, he would still love you, because that's how he is, stubborn in protecting his precious people, kind of like Naruto" At that last remark, Sasuke gave Kakashi a look saying 'Don't even go there', Kakashi shrugged lightly and turned around, "Just remember that even though me, Naruto and Sakura are a family that are there for you, Shen can provide something we can't" And with that, Kakashi left Sasuke to his thoughts, Sasuke stared at the door for a while as if he was still there talking to him, but Sasuke tore his eyes away from the door, before realizing that he should probably shut it, he went over and closed the door making him flinch at how hard he slammed it, Sasuke sighed and ran a hand through his hair, This is getting to me, I need to calm down... Sasuke knew that he couldn't just walk out of Shen's life, Sasuke probably wouldn't be able to handle it, since knowing he had family out there and never seeing them would kill him. Sasuke sat on the bed and leaned over, his hands fisted in his hair as he tried to figure out what to do, all he knew was that he probably wasn't going to tell him, but he had to see him, yes he was being selfish, he knew that, but he couldn't bring himself to tell Shen. Was he being a coward? Yes. Was he being selfish? Yes. Did he know what to do next? Not a fucking clue, but he did know that often when not thinking about the problem, the solution came to mind like a strike of genius, it was just one of those things, so all he had to do was find some kind of mindless distraction that wouldn't require all of his intellectual strength yet would entertain him enough to keep him on his toes (you can see where this is going) he sat up a bit so his elbow was on his thigh and his face in hand, he huffed before thinking, Where am I going to find something like that?... Sasuke thought for a bit, before he slowly let his head look down, until his head snapped back up with a pink face, I'm not resorting to THAT... Sasuke was about to give up when Naruto came bursting through the door like usual, Sasuke looked at him annoyed before realizing that the mindless entertainment just hopped in and though Naruto was hardly first class company it was better than the other option, he must be really desperate if he was going to even consider that. Sasuke sighed and knew that his pride would never allow to openly ask Naruto to hang out, but if he could somehow manipulate Naruto into asking him, it would be fine, Naruto saw Sasuke staring at him intently and feared for his life for a moment, Sasuke looked away faking a sad yet approachable look, he may be a bad liar, but he could act so good without saying anything that it would put professional actor to shame, Naruto saw the look and immediately responded by walking over and pouting slightly.
"Sasuke?"
"What?" Sasuke said a little bit too harshly, Sasuke cursed himself for his habit to always be mean to Naruto, because it was not him helping right now.
"Hmm, you know what, your probably just gonna get annoyed by me right now, so I'll leave, I need to check if Sakura's still having a nosebleed from her yaoi daydream anyway" Naruto stated, Sasuke was very confused by the comment, mostly about the whole Sakura thing, why would she be having a nosebleed? Is she hurt or something? And the hell is yaoi? While Sasuke pondered on these things, Naruto had turned around to leave, Sasuke knew he had to act fast so he gave a fake sigh.
"Do whatever you want, Dobe..." Sasuke said nonchalantly, causing Naruto to stop in his tracks, because for him it was like Sasuke giving Naruto some kind of permission to see, talk and even maybe hangout with Sasuke, Naruto turned around trying to keep his excitement under wraps, just in case Sasuke changed his mind about letting Naruto do whatever he wanted, Naruto thought about what he was going to say, not wanting to mess this up.
"Ha ha! Even hang out?" Naruto joked, but Sasuke smirked on the inside, knowing he got what he was looking for, but played it cool as to not seem like he wanted to, so he gave another sigh.
"Your probably just gonna drag me out anyway if your constant begging doesn't work" Sasuke replied, causing Naruto to be surprised by the response.
"Oh well...Let's go then!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically, happy that Sasuke wanted to hang out with him, Alright maybe doesn't want to, but this is still good!... Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist and began to pull him out of the room without even closing the room, Sasuke allowed himself to be dragged as he didn't really have the motivation to scold Naruto for tugging him along since this was technically what Sasuke had wanted. After Naruto had realized that he was pulling Sasuke along rather forcefully he let go and grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, Sasuke rolled his eyes and continued walking beside Naruto who had his mind set on ramen and nothing else, Seriously, for the dobe to take me to a ramen place of of things...Sasuke sighed and shook his head, at least this would be pretty uneventful, letting his mind quietly work away to try and sort things out, he didn't notice the figure which had a happy aura surrounding itself, the figure turned around, widening their eyes before smiling.
"Yo, Skip!" Shen called over waving his arm in the air, Sasuke blinked at the sight and instantly realized he wasn't alone and glanced over at Naruto who just seemed to be curious and didn't say anything, Sasuke turned his attention back to Shen who had walked over and was smiling gleefully, hands on hips, Sasuke was silent before being nudged slightly by Naruto, who brought him out of his thoughts, Sasuke stared at Shen before replying.
"Oh, um...hi..." Sasuke greeted shyly, seeing Shen differently from the last time he saw him, since ya know, discovering that someone you met a few days ago turned out to be your father could be a bit unsettling to you, at the shy reply, Naruto looked at Sasuke a bit strangely, but Sasuke didn't notice the strange look and he was too concentrated on Shen, who smiled warmly at the greeting, Shen noticed Naruto and gave him a giant smile as well, and since Shen was a very attractive person, Naruto tinged a slight pink at the smile.
"Hey there! What's your name partner?" Shen asked kindly, Naruto registered the question and finally smiled back at the nice attitude before answering.
"Hi! I'm Naruto, your a friend of Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, Shen just nodded and looked over at Sasuke who seemed to be at a loss for words, since he didn't really know what to say.
"You could say that, yeah, how bout it Skip?" Shen asked teasingly, Naruto glanced at Sasuke who blinked at the statement with a slightly pink face, Sasuke averted his gaze before replying.
"U-Um, I guess..." Sasuke mumbled quietly, Naruto gave another strange look towards Sasuke before at Shen, then back at Sasuke as if his brain was working something out, Shen didn't notice the look and just chuckled before pulling a small strip of paper out of his back pocket and handing it to Sasuke, Sasuke took the piece of paper and looked at Shen confused.
"I presume you finished your mission, so before you go, come over and get a hero's feast! You should come too Naruto!" Shen explained enthusiastically, smiling at both the boys, Naruto seemed pretty excited about the offer, but Sasuke looked at the piece of paper and realized it was an address, he looked back up and Shen nervously before gulping slightly.
"U-Um..." But before Sasuke could continue to stutter even more, Shen landed a hand on his head and ruffled his raven locks playfully, causing Naruto to watch in amazement, Sasuke acting so weird, this guy couldn't be... Naruto's eyes widened in realization and bit the inside of his cheek from grinning widely as he saw Sasuke blush from the contact.
"Great! I'll see you guys later at 7, OK? Bye Naruto, Bye Dattebayo-san!" Shen smiled before waving his hand and walking off happily, Sasuke watched him leave and felt his hair fall back into place, Sasuke turned his head back to Naruto who was grinning in a somewhat sinister manner, Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the smug look before folding his arms.
"What?" Sasuke asked sharply, glaring a little, but then it dawned on him, Oh god no... Fear filled Sasuke's eyes and Naruto saw it and chuckled evilly.
"Dattebayo-san?" Naruto said with a smirk, folding his arms triumphantly as Sasuke let his arms drop to his side and tried to think, but his mind was currently on break from overload, so when he had a light pink, dust across his face, he tried to come up with some sort of explanation.
"I told you, he doesn't know who I am!"
"So you went for Dattebayo?" Naruto replied teasingly, causing Sasuke to turn even more pink.
"Hey! I had just fainted, he just told me who he was and I was completely disorientated!"
"So you thought of Dattebayo?"
"Shut up! Oh and if you tell anyone I swear I'll break your spine!" Sasuke hissed at Naruto, who did nothing but smirked mockingly at the threat, Sasuke felt slightly nervous at the lack of fear on Naruto's behalf and waited for Naruto to realize that he was serious and freak out, but it never came, instead Naruto stood his ground still with that mocking smirk.
"You are in no position to threaten me, Dattebayo-san" Naruto replied evilly, causing Sasuke to give a death glare, but knew he was right, Sasuke sighed and knew that Naruto would never let him live this down, Naruto let up his mocking smirk and looked at where Shen had walked off, "So that's your dad?" Naruto said in more of a statement than a question, Sasuke was silent before giving a small nods of his head.
"Apparently"
"But he's so..."
"Yeah"
"..and your very..."
"I know"
"Huh" Naruto voiced leaving both boys silent in the semi busy street, Sasuke didn't really know what to do and Naruto didn't know what to say, so both felt awkward with the unfamiliar territory they were in since both boys had been alone since a very young age, though Naruto had found comfort in people like Iruka, Jiraiya, Kakashi and Tsunade, not to mention his friends, but Sasuke had a family once and it was cruelly taken away from him and he didn't let people in so he really did have no one, Kakashi was a good teacher, but that was were it ended for Sasuke, Sakura was OK, but didn't really catch the interest of Sasuke, even when she stopped being an annoying fangirl and an alright friend, Naruto was...well it's complicated. Sasuke sighed and chewed on his lip, he really needed to kick that habit, when he thought, he often bit his lip and it annoyed Sasuke, he shouldn't be one to have such habits, thought that didn't matter right now as he tried to think of something to do or even say since the air around them was getting more tense with each passing moment, but Naruto had beaten him to the punch though as Naruto turned to Sasuke and spoke. "At least we get some free food, huh?" Naruto said lightly, but Sasuke snapped his head at Naruto and gave him a glare, Naruto was surprised by the look, but then was even more surprised as when he realized why Sasuke reacted in such a way, "Are you not going?" Sasuke let up his glare and turned his head to the side.
"I probably shouldn't..." Sasuke stated quietly, avoiding Naruto's gaze, which was filled with worry, Naruto racked his brain for something to say that would convince Sasuke to go see his dad, it wasn't just because of the free food he wanted to go, but because he knew that Sasuke was somewhat scared, Naruto had to reassure him that he would be there for him.
"I think you should go, I mean apart from the obvious, being free food..." Naruto joked, causing Sasuke to give him a unimpressed, yet slightly playful look, "You should also go because I know you want to" Naruto finished, Sasuke looked at Naruto slightly surprised, How did he know that?... Sasuke bit his lip, before looking down at the ground, Naruto knew that he only needed one more push before he was convinced, "And I'll be right there" At those words, Sasuke visibly relaxed a little, but his pride would never allow Naruto to think that he needed him.
"Dobe, like I need you..." Sasuke mumbled quietly, averting his eyes, Naruto knew Sasuke kind of did, but kept quiet, Sasuke had a superiority complex, so admitting any kind of weakness, caused Sasuke to obsess over it until it drove him crazy and he melted down, which lead to several days of depression in bed, Sasuke kept his depression to himself so Naruto and Sakura were completely unaware, but Kakashi had worked it out from his moods and also Kakashi had a way of knowing things you don't want people to know, like seriously, the man could blackmail the entire village, though Kakashi wasn't that kind of person, so it was fine that Kakashi sensed it, it was also fine since Kakashi never brought it up, so Sasuke didn't exactly know that Kakashi knew, but had a feeling he did anyway. Sasuke looked at Naruto as he thought for a moment, "So...you'll be right there?" Sasuke mumbled, trying to sound as if he didn't care whether Naruto came with him or not, but Naruto was good for moral support, even if he did annoy Sasuke, Naruto smiled and nodded.
"Of course! Free food!" Naruto replied enthusiastically, Sasuke was about to give Naruto an annoyed look before he realized that Naruto had said that for his sake, letting Sasuke keep hold of his precious pride, Naruto allowed himself to be portrayed as an naïve idiot so Sasuke would feel more comfortable, Sasuke was surprised by the act and began to think deeper into the act of kindness, How many times has he done that without me noticing? Does he always do that? Does he know what I'm really thinking and feeling? Is he still an idiot like when he was a child or is he just pretending?... It would explain a lot, Naruto's sudden sprouts of genius and times of seriousness that seemed to come naturally to Naruto, it actually suited him when he was calm and spoke in a certain way, the mature look really looked good on Naruto, and that thought alone was shocking. Naruto Uzumaki? Not acting like a child? What demons have twisted the world for that to be a possibility? Maybe he was so used to acting such a way, it would be easier than just being having to deal with everyone's constant questioning about his calm and mature personality...Nah! He's just an idiot, always have been, always will be... Sasuke concluded that Naruto really did just want free food, because why would Naruto care about him? Naruto hated him and Sasuke was fine with that, Sasuke hated Naruto and Naruto was fine with that too, well that's what Sasuke thought the extent of their relationship was anyway. Sasuke would never admit that he didn't exactly hate Naruto, he just...I don't know, it just seems like they couldn't talk without it turning into an insult battle or a physical fight, they just clashed, and honestly, sometimes Sasuke didn't want to fight over every little thing, when he was younger it came naturally to fight Naruto, it was second nature and didn't even have to think about it, but now?...Sasuke was getting tired of it, Naruto was one the very very few people that have gotten close to Sasuke and sometimes, in the dark of the night, wallowing in his spike of temporary depression, he would very rarely think, 'I wonder what Naruto's doing?' or 'Is Naruto busy right now?' and if he felt really effected then sometimes 'I want to talk to Naruto'. When Naruto, for a split second, stop arguing with Sasuke, it was almost a peaceful feeling, the relief of not stressing over whose best or whose worst was a massive weight lifted off of Sasuke's shoulders, but like he said, it lasted for a split second, then it was back to normal of the fighting, it just got boring after a while, maybe Sasuke was getting bored of Naruto, maybe he just didn't get his attention like before, maybe Sasuke just realized that Naruto was the same child he met long ago and the arguing and conversations were just getting repeated, Sasuke had no idea what Naruto felt about it, probably doesn't even realize, because he's too busy being a idiot who lives in the past, Sasuke came to this conclusion though he was unaware that Naruto may have came to a conclusion of his own, but he wouldn't learn about that till later. Sasuke sighed and decided that this was just too complicated to think about, Naruto and his relationship was complicated and even though Naruto said they were best friends, he did say that they were different and though Naruto had a mini speech about their friendship he still didn't understand were they stood, Sasuke looked up at Naruto who seemed to be in a bit of a world of his own and sighed.
"I'm...gonna get back to the Inn, you go eat ramen without me" Sasuke stated emotionlessly, Naruto turned round to him to protest, opening his mouth he saw Sasuke's emotionally drained face and quickly shut it, he didn't like seeing his friend like this, it tore him apart to think he couldn't really help, because the one thing Naruto had, that could help comfort Sasuke was his ability to relate to Sasuke, since they both always had similar problems, though under different contexts, they both grew up alone, so Naruto was able to say words that made sense to Sasuke's situation, but not this time, since Naruto had no idea what Sasuke could be going through right now so had no words of wisdom or comfort, so had to suffer in silence as his friend seemed to be hopeless and lost and once again.
Alone.
Naruto tried to think of something to say, but before he could even come close to a helpful thought, Sasuke turned around and began to slowly walk back to the Inn, Naruto watched him helplessly walk away and instantly felt an angry guilt, he couldn't think of anything to say! What a great help I turned out to be... Naruto wanted to punch a wall to relieve stress, he wanted to spar, to train, Gah! Anything that would elevate his anger, he hated the idea that Sasuke was going to go sinking back into loneliness and the friendship they had build would come crumbling down and Naruto didn't know if he could build that back up again. It took Naruto some time, but he managed to break some of Sasuke's walls down, Naruto got some broken ribs in return, but he still got closer to Sasuke! He would never admit it, but growing up he looked up to Sasuke, not as a role model as some teachers said he was, not as someone cool as the fangirls remarked him as, not even one of the best ninjas of his age as the boys called him, Sasuke was a rival, someone he had to catch up to and beat, no matter what, that was what Sasuke was for Naruto, well when they were younger anyway... Naruto thought about it and without being arrogant, could say he definitely caught up with Sasuke some time ago, in fact, because of his training with Jiraiya for a year, he became stronger and as surprising as it sounds, smarter, the only reason Naruto acts the way that he does was because he was happy with acting immature and childish, it was fun and had it's perks, so not many people looked to you for the answers and that was an added bonus, since that kind of pressure made Naruto uncomfortable, also Jiraiya told Naruto that not showing how smart you really are, means people never actually know what your thinking, it means you can quietly work away in the shadows without being disturbed. When training with Jiraiya, Naruto found out that Jiraiya wasn't just some powerful pervert, he had an amazing logic and frankly, after talking to Jiraiya for a while realized that he was probably smarter than Shikamaru! The man was actually calmer and even less perverted, when they were alone and Jiraiya told Naruto he would be honest in everything he did when training him, Jiraiya seemed different, he didn't go off on one of his 'Research journeys' or experiments in the bathhouse, Naruto swore that Jiraiya never even looked at a women, never mind chase after them, it was incredible as well as training Jiraiya did him other favours, something you will learn later about, Naruto had... let's say contacts with certain people because of certain things and it was all thanks to Jiraiya, but like I said, you'll learn that later... Naruto wasn't exactly sure about what Sasuke thought of him, he meant honestly, what Sasuke honestly thought of him, but wishing for it was hopeless, since the boy was like a closed book, all he really got was the title and the blurb, pretty much what everyone else knew, though he grew up with Sasuke so you would think that Naruto knew everything about Sasuke, well that wasn't exactly false, he did know personal things about Sasuke, but nothing major, people thought that Naruto knew everything about Sasuke, but Naruto just knew how to act around Sasuke, they were different things, he knew what pushed his buttons and what would make him happy, he got into arguments on purpose, because that was the closest they could have to a civil conversation, that fact alone was sad, but Naruto took what he could get when it came to Sasuke, since Sasuke probably hated him, Naruto sometimes, when really bored and all alone, he would think 'I wonder if the teme is doing anything?' or sometimes 'Is Sasuke too busy to spar right now?' and if he was really feeling open 'I want to talk to Sasuke', but that would never happen, so he was stuck with arguments over petty things for the rest of his life, Naruto sighed and suddenly didn't feel like eating or going back to the Inn, so he decided to walk along the beach, to clear his head, since the sudden departure of Sasuke put a damper on his mood, sighing again he began to walk, sometimes thinking.
'Is Sasuke OK?'
Wow guys, this freaking chapter took me loooong, it was longer than I thought it was gonna be, but hopefully that makes up for the fact that I haven't posted a chapter in a while, but I've been sick! Damn you weak immune system, you have cursed me once again! But like I said the chapters will be coming out on a slower pace, but enough of that! Next chapter will show what happens at dinner with Shen! (Which involves a scene I've wanted to do since I started this fanfic!) Sakura finds courage in Naruto's words annnnd I'll somehow add in a little surprise for Shen, but I only have a loose idea of what going to happen, so if you wanna put in an idea, I will be all up in that, OK my loyal students! Moshi Mosh!