How did he know? How could he possibly have known?

'That's a lie. What's wrong?'

The message had been short and to-the-point, yet it sent the recipient into a state of shock. How in the world could he have known something was wrong? Sasuke was certain he'd done nothing to indicate something was up. Literally, all he'd said was that he was fine! This man had to know who he was. He had to know something about his situation. He had to know what'd happened. He knew of Itachi, of that Sasuke was certain. But how?

'How did you know? How do you know who I am? Who the fuck are you?!'

This person had to be someone who knew him in real life. Suddenly everyone he had ever met became a suspect. Maybe it was Sakura. After all, she had pulled insane stunts in high school to catch his attention. But, that in itself ruled her out. Being so outlandish, Sakura wouldn't have been able to hide her identity from him even over the internet. She wasn't smart enough for that. Also, wasn't she dating that painter who looked suspiciously like him? Maybe it was that Kiba guy Naruto had tried to introduce him to. Could he have been offended enough to have created a whole new personality? No, the brunette wouldn't have known how to attract him, they hadn't really even met. It had to be someone who knew him well. Who could it be? Who'd tricked him? Who had the skills to pull the wool over Sasuke's eyes? Who knew him well enough to even do that? Really only one person fit the profile.

"Naruto."

The betrayal hit him like a bullet train. It hurt so bad he wished for the end a bullet train would've gifted him. It all made sense. Naruto was the one who'd pushed him onto this site. Hell, Naruto was the one who'd found the fucking site. He was the one who'd pressed him to talk to the guy and had even gone so far as to hold him hostage in order to coerce him to respond. Naruto was the one who knew his type, the only one who could've pulled a stunt like this. Naruto was the one who knew him best.

With rational thought no greater than an ant's, Sasuke threw on his shoes and stormed out of his apartment. He needed to get out. He needed answers, and he needed them fucking now.

Fifteen minutes later, he stood pounding on Naruto's apartment door hard enough for the hinges to creak in protest, and as it cracked open, he barreled his way in. Pinning the man unfortunate enough to have answered the door against the wall, he snarled;

"How could you?!"

Confusion fell over a scarred face.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't act innocent with me! I know what you did!"

A pale fist slammed against the wall next to Naruto's face—a warning shot to pry out the truth. Instead, a fiery volcano exploded in the blond's azure eyes, demonstrating his dislike of how he and his home were being disrespected.

"I don't know what you're talking about, asshole!"

Hands that had been previously still clenched, not that it intimidated the angry man. No, it just pissed him off more. Sasuke leaned in closer, putting more of his weight on the other man's collar. With their faces inches apart, red stared into red as their fiery glares burned one another.

"You're him. You are him! You lied to me! You...You asshole!"

Realization sparked in those volcanic eyes and any semblance of confusion walked out the door, leaving pain in its place. The volcanoes, now geological disasters, erupted, turning the ocean eyes into boiling pots. Any souls unfortunate enough to have been caught in those stormy oceans were now dead, and Sasuke was about to join them in the afterlife. Naruto's clenched fists unraveled only to push the raven away.

"No, I'm fucking not!"

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not fucking lying, you bastard! Even if I have to beat it into you, I'll make you believe me!"

Being a man of his word, Naruto charged at him, his tan fist colliding with a pale cheek, and took a hit to the gut in return. Not one to back down, he powered through the pain, and fueled by fury, paid back twofold. Both of them blinded by rage and neither one willing to back down to a challenge, they threw their fists at one another waiting for the other one to make a mistake. At the border of their fight turning into a stalemate, Sasuke's clenched hand missed its intended target and left him open to attack. Naruto caught the fist flying by, grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and twisted his arm throwing him to the floor and pinning him down with no intention of holding back his merciless hits when the door opened to let in a gasp of horror.

"What are you doing?!"

Two heads snapped to meet an incredulous pair of pale eyes staring at them as their bearer stood shocked in the doorway, her keys were forgotten in the lock.

"Get up, both of you! Now!"

All will to fight left the two men as an aura of assured death oozed from the fair toned woman. Naruto stumbled off of Sasuke, scrambling to stand. The man left lying on the floor slowly stood up, knowing any sudden moves would invite the woman to bite his head off. She had grown into quite a strong person since childhood and both men had been witnesses to what that internal strength of hers could do.

"Now, go sit on the couch and tell me what the hell is going on."

Neither man protested as they headed into the living room. However, still resentful, they sat as far from one another as the couch allowed. It didn't go unnoticed by the woman standing before them with her arms crossed, clearly unimpressed with their childish attitude.

"Naruto, what happened?"

"This bastard stormed in saying he knew I was his mystery man and wouldn't listen to me when I told him I wasn't!"

She gave the man an annoyed look. "So you decided that a fistfight would convince him otherwise?"

"But—"

"Do not 'but' me. Your actions were asinine."

The raven snorted, smirking at the blond being berated for his behavior. Inky hair so rich with black it reflected blue whipped around as she turned to him, her usually friendly pearl gaze was anything but.

"And you! What are you doing accusing your family of tricking you? Does Naruto really seem like the type who would mastermind a plan to find you on a pen pal site and pretend to be someone else?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to defend himself, but stopped once better judgment caught up with him—forty minutes late, but better late than never.

"...No."

The stern woman softened as she knelt down in front of the pale man. She gingerly took his hand into hers.

"I know you are going through something very difficult, and I know I don't have all the details, but you can't let paranoia win and push away the people who love you. How about you apologize for fighting and tell us what caused this."

It was a command, not a request, but Sasuke didn't mind her tone. His heart hurt just looking at her. At that moment she reminded him so much of his mother, he couldn't help the swell in his chest at the sight of her. She might've not known it yet but would one day make an amazing mother, of that he was sure. Hopefully, his friend wouldn't fuck up their relationship in the future, because Sasuke needed her now almost as much as he did Naruto.

Sighing, he explained to both of them how he'd come to believe Naruto might've been his mysterious pen pal. It earned him a light punch in the arm from his blond friend and a tight embrace from Hinata. Peace in the family was restored.

'I do not know you, Just_A_Person, and I'm sorry for asking about something you do not want to talk about. However, in my experience, when someone says they are fine, they are never actually fine.'

That was the message Sasuke had come home to. He felt guilty for having snapped at the stranger.

'I'm sorry for my previous message. I was being paranoid. Truth be told, I am not okay. My brother passed away recently and I haven't been able to deal with it properly. I really can't talk about it since my brother had done something rather publicly horrible, and most everyone is glad he's gone. I can't even visit him without the entire city knowing immediately.'

He couldn't understand how or why he had opened up to this stranger but didn't have long to contemplate, as he received a response almost immediately.

'I'm sorry for your loss. I once, too, lost someone who had done something horrible. While I don't know your exact situation I will say that there is no one way to grieve. And even if everyone else is happy he has passed, it is okay to be upset by his departure. Have you ever heard the story of the demon of the mist and his companion?'

'No, I haven't.'

'There once was a man named Zabuza. He was what most would call a monster. He murdered hundreds in the night, never once being seen, after only a few months he was dubbed the demon of the mist.

One fateful night, Zabuza came across a small child crying in the snow. The child hadn't dressed to be out alone in the cold. Now, Zabuza could have kept walking and let the child die, but caught himself talking to them instead. He gave the child a choice to stay where he was and freeze to death or to follow him and survive. He told the child that the path they would walk should they follow would be one covered in blood and not easy to live through.

The boy, Haku, chose to follow him. Years later, the two are in a battle against powerful people. Just as one of the men was about to land a fatal blow on Zabuza, Haku jumped in the way. He died in Zabuza's arms, telling him he was his precious person. Zabuza died not long after, and clutched Haku's body as he did.'

Sasuke must admit the fable was enthralling but didn't understand how it tied into their conversation.

'Okay. But how does it relate to what I'm dealing with right now?'

'The story shows that even monsters can be loved. So while others might view your brother as such, you can still love him.'

It made sense, and Sasuke felt foolish for not having made the connection. Naruto's obliviousness might have been rubbing off on him. He'd need to start doing some research before his mind would to turn into the same mush as the blond's.

'That's actually really insightful. How old are you? That was too wise for a twenty-something.'

'I assure you I am 24. The story's lesson was just crucial in my upbringing. It's important to know that even monsters can find someone to love them.'

'Woah. That's a little heavy of a story to tell a child.'

'I guess it is.'

'ScaledSands?'

'Yes?'

'Thank you.'

'It was nothing. Once again, I'm sorry for your loss, Just_A_Person. I can't imagine losing one of my siblings.'

'How many do you have?'

'Two.'

'What are they like?'

'Well, they are both older. My sister is the eldest and as children, she really stepped up to try to be my mother, as well as my sibling. However, she usually is just loud and overbearing. People describe my brother as charismatic and likable, but with us, he's just a pervert. Most people seem to enjoy my siblings' company.'

'You say it like they don't enjoy yours.'

'They don't.'

'Why?'

'My past is riddled with misgivings about me, and I did some things that most people around here would like me hanged for.'

'Wait, you aren't in prison, right?'

'No, I'm not. I told you I am a reptile care specialist.'

'Right. Yeah, you never explained what that is. For all, I know that could be a job you can do in prison.'

'I take care of reptiles for zoos when they need help. Usually, when they are sick or pregnant and need special attention. I also run two breeding programs; one for endangered species and one for domesticated species. Along with my sister, we educate potential adopters on care and handling, then go through a process of homing our domestic reptiles.'

'Wow. What kind of schooling did you have to go through to get into that field? How does one even get into a career like that?'

'I have a Ph.D. in herpetology. Also, if it hadn't been for my sister getting her bachelor's in business management and my brother getting his in marketing, we wouldn't have been able to open our facility. In the beginning, it was just rehoming and running my one breeding program with pet species out of our childhood home. It took a few years, but we were able to grow and expand into our current facility. About two years ago my brother and sister were able to get the right connections for us to become part of the breeding network for zoos.'

A Ph.D.? That was impressive. Sasuke himself didn't mind school, but to get a Ph.D—well, that would've been a lot of schooling even for him. Wait, that math of a twenty-four-year-old getting his Ph.D. and the facility opening a few years after didn't add up to the pale man.

'Wait how have you gotten your Ph.D, your own facility, and are part of what I assume is a prestigious program? If you really are just twenty-four.'

'You seem rather suspicious of my age. I, again, assure you I'm 24. If you'd like to see my ID, I'll show you.

Once again my siblings are both older so as they began the university days, I decided what I wanted to do. It just so happened that once I knew what I wanted to do I accelerated through school to where I graduated with my Ph.D. right after I turned 21. However, I had been running our original breeding program since I was 17.'

This guy was smart, incredibly smart, assuming he wasn't lying through his teeth. It was the internet after all. Sasuke, however, felt that the man was indeed telling the truth. And truth be told a man that intelligent was a major turn-on for the raven.

'That's amazing. So what's your favorite animal you have?'

'That would be my personal pet.'

'Which is?'

'A carpet python named Haku.'

'How big does a carpet python get? Also nice name.'

'The largest recorded was thirteen feet long. Mine is only seven feet.'

'Only seven feet?! Is only really the word you want to put there? Seven feet is a lot of snake. Why is it your favorite?'

'She is my favorite because she's the friendliest and most docile animal I have ever seen.'

'What led you to like snakes and other reptiles?'

'They are so misunderstood. Most people look at them and fear them. However, they are not evil creatures.'

'You really like to talk about things seen as evil by most.'

'It's how I've been viewed my entire life.'

'Oh…'

Sasuke didn't know what to say. The other man seemed to have lived a rather rough life. He wanted to know all about it, but as they'd only just started talking, he didn't want to push him. The man must've read his mind.

'It's fine though. Those who are important know the truth.'

The clock on the computer screen caught the attention of onyx eyes. Holy fuck. 3:47 AM. They had been talking for five hours. If he didn't go to bed right away, he'd be an ogre at work tomorrow.

'Hey, ScaledSands, I'm really sorry to leave in the middle of a conversation but I need to go to bed. If I don't, I'll strangle my coworkers tomorrow.'

'It's alright, Just_A_Person. Sleep well.'

'You too. Thank you for talking with me, it really helped.'

With that, Sasuke logged off and closed his laptop. He smiled, just a little. This ScaledSands was surprisingly pleasant to talk to. Reminded of what he'd been told, a weight rolled off of his shoulders. It wasn't all that burdened him, but it was something. It was nice to hear someone who didn't know Itachi personally say it was okay to love him. The stranger not knowing who Itachi was or what he'd done didn't matter. Them recognizing it was fine to care for him regardless, that did. Maybe, just maybe, this site wasn't such a horrible place after all.