11. Usuratonkachi
When Naruto walked in, his parents were both home worried.
Sasuke had told them he didn't find Naruto home when he came back and they thought someone had got him, or worse Naruto could have sleepwalked somewhere.
"What's going on?"
"Where were you? You know you're grounded"
"I know...I was at the cemetery, I'm not grounded over that too am I?" He wondered. Whenever he was grounded, he could still visit his parents and grandmother. Kakashi and Iruka were more lenient when it came to punishments.
"You could have left a note" Iruka crossed his arms. "You know the rules"
"I did" he argued back, but his memory's ambivalence quickly took over "didn't I?" He asked less certain. "No...I-I did, I always do, Kaasan" he said, sure whenever he was home first and went out he'd leave a note. But still disappearing without permission wasn't exactly out of his character. "I left it in the usual place"
"We didn't find a note, Naruto" Kakashi sighed. "Not in the usual place and not anywhere else. You didn't leave one. You get a free pass today and only today. If it happens again, you're losing your visiting privileges. Understood?" Kakashi looked at the teen who was obviously not liking the confrontation.
"Hai, Tou-san" Naruto kept his head down. Hearing them use those tones broke his heart. He never wanted to ever make them disappointed and it sounded like they were.
He climbed the stairs to the upper floor and went to his bedroom.
Sasuke had overheard everything, his curiosity was starting to get the best of him. Did the empty room belong to a dead person? Was this Kurama Naruto's sibling by blood or just adopted with him? Or was he perhaps the biological son of one of the two men?
The house was pretty much silent after that. Sasuke was thankful his brother came visiting him. Because it meant he could take his mind off of all the theories his imagination could muster.
"How was work?" The teen asked as he shifted his attention back to his homework.
"Standard." Itachi's reply was always the same. "I'm going to be away for a few days...possibly a week"
"What?" Sasuke looked at him "why?"
"There are people who need help but can't come to us so we're going to them instead." He smiled. Itachi loved his job but he knew he won't be able to go on such travels when Sasuke is under his care. "Is goldilocks home?"
"Just be careful, Aniki" Sasuke wasn't fond of it because last time he remembers Itachi going on one of these trips, his brother came back with an injury. "Yeah, Naruto is back"
"Oh...I'll go see him." He kissed his brother's forehead and got out to the door across. Soft knocks sounded in the hallway and a moment later the door was opened. "I didn't mean to wake you"
"It's okay, Itachi-san. What can I do for you?" Naruto rubbed his eyes sleepily. His hand instinctively moving to his neck where he consciously stopped himself from rubbing it.
"I wanted to thank you for bringing Sasuke home safe." He bowed to Naruto.
"There's no need for thanks, Dattebayo?" He scratched his head nervously. His blue eyes found the obsidian ones of Sasuke's. He smiled at the raven but the latter simply looked away not acknowledging him.
"It was really stupid of my brother to go with a stranger" Itachi glared back at his brother.
"For the last time Aniki, I didn't just go with him on a whim. Shikamaru forcefully kissed me."
"Teme, do you even realize where you were?" Naruto raised an eyebrow questionably. He was evidently angry. "You were in the infamous Pedo Park. Shikamaru saw someone come near you and did what he had to drive them away. And then you went and threw yourself in the arms of a more dangerous predator."
"You're one to talk. You got yourself kidnapped too. And I don't know why he's thanking you. If it weren't for me, you'd still be there. The way I see it we're-..."
"Sasuke, that's enough!" his brother sternly interrupted him.
"If you'll excuse me, Itachi-san" Naruto moved away and went downstairs.
He could ever so faintly hear Sasuke argue still. He was disgusted at himself for being in love with someone who had their head so far up their own arse.
Itachi raised his two fingers and hit Sasuke on the head to get him to stop talking. "You're an idiot, little brother."
Sasuke pouted rubbing his head. "I'm not"
"He used himself as bait to find you because the police search was unfruitful. He didn't tell anyone apart from Shikamaru. They meant to use the phone's GPS but the signal went haywire." Itachi informed "you lost your first kiss but god knows what he lost in there"
Sasuke took a minute to wrap his head around that harsh truth. After that, he pretty much labeled Naruto Usuratonkachi. It wasn't that he thought the blond was stupid but too selfless to the point of doing things that would put his life in danger.
He thought about it all night. He thought about what Naruto could have possibly endured just to find him. Why would anyone go to such lengths?
"Sasuke-kun, get ready and get downstairs. Breakfast is ready" Iruka said as he peered through. But seeing the unusual sluggish movements of Sasuke made him go inside. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Yeah...just had a bad night" he sat up but his eyes closed heavily wanting to catch on the sleep he missed on at night.
Iruka took the teen's temperature finding it normal but Sasuke had already fallen back to sleep in a sitting position.
He carefully eased him back, covered him before leaving the room.
He knocked on his son's room seeing light on. "You're not going to-..." He stopped seeing his son in his suit "do you have something to tell me?" The man crossed his arms.
"Ha...I forgot to say yesterday. There's an important meeting. I promise I'll be home as soon as it's done." Naruto flashed him an apologetic smile.
Iruka simply sighed. "I'll talk to Raiku"
"Haaai" Naruto small smiled and finished getting ready.
When Raiku arrived, she was talked to by her boss's mother. She nodded although she was already aware of everything.
She kept a friendly simper on her face as always.
When Naruto was down he had received his new prescription glasses and wore them immediately. Already, he could notice his vision was better which reduced the strain that caused his uncomfortableness.
He went on with the meeting and came back soon after just as promised. Naruto didn't want his visiting privileges to be taken away.
When he entered the house he heard Sasuke calling for Iruka.
He knew his mother had keen ears so the fact that he didn't reply meant he wasn't home. He rushed upstairs to the teen's bedroom and walked in.
"What is it?" He asked looking at the bed except Sasuke wasn't on it anymore.
The voice was coming from the bathroom. Naruto would have knocked but he didn't want to waste any time if Sasuke was hurt. So he walked in, finding him naked on his knees.
The boy was desperately leaning on the wall, the earth violently lurched underneath him. Closing his eyes didn't help subdue his dizziness.
He never liked asking for help, not even from his own brother. But he couldn't take a step without feeling like he was on a boat with violent waves.
Naruto grabbed the bathrobe and put it around the wet body of the Uchiha. It seemed Sasuke didn't even realize who was in front of him as he just apologized to Iruka.
The blond took his classmate to bed and laid him on bed.
Naruto handed him a bottle of water which took Sasuke a few attempts to correctly reach for as his vision was messed up from the dizziness seeing twenty blurred bottles.
He took a couple of sips and laid down fully closing his eyes and hoping this would pass.
It hurt seeing him that way. It hurt not being able to take that pain away.
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Iruka was back in fifteen minutes from his errand but felt guilty when Naruto told him what had happened in his absence.
He stayed with the raven after Naruto had told him to not let Sasuke know he was the one who helped him.
Naruto remained in his room and left his bedroom door open just out of worry. But he was asleep the rest of the day.
He only woke up at night with an urge to drink. He reached for the bottle by his bedside finding it empty. He didn't realize he had drank it.
Dangling his legs off the bed, he ushered himself only to find that the dizziness was still awaiting him. He staggered to find his balance but the floor was adamant to greet him.
He felt arms around him just in the nick of time
"You had no problem waking me up before for water." Naruto teased as he helped him on bed. "You should have called" he handed him a new bottle of water.
"Iruka-san has been looking after me all day." He argued.
"I meant me, Teme." Naruto opened the bottle for him. Sasuke knew he meant him. But it was easier to argue against calling Iruka. His only argument against asking Naruto for help would be that he was worried about the blond. And he will not tell that to his supposed housemate.
"Haven't you done enough for me already?" He muttered
"Mhm?" Naruto raised an eyebrow as he hadn't heard what the raven said.
"Thank you..." He cleared his throat "for always helping me out...and for putting your life in danger for me-.."
"I was worried about you, dattebayo?" Naruto interrupted. His soft hand landed on Sasuke's lovingly caressing the raven's dorsal hand with his thumb. "You shouldn't have done what you had. Shikamaru's a good guy"
"Not according to him. He said you two did a number of illegal things..." He cleared his throat in embarrassment as Naruto laughed.
But his eyes were still somewhat fixated on how Naruto was touching his hand. It brought back that pain he felt that stormy night. It was a good kind of pain, if such a thing even existed.
His touch was all he could focus on.
How long could he deny having feelings for the blond?
More importantly, did Usuratonkachi even like him back that way?
"Sasuke?" Naruto called when he realized he was talking to himself.
"What?" He pulled his hand away from Naruto, immediately regretting so as he wished the warmth of Sunshine's touch lingered more than it had.
"I said I'm sorry he stole your first kiss."
"H-he meant well...so it-it-it's fine" He stuttered not wanting to think about it. It was just a peck on the lips... A really long peck but still no tongue. So Sasuke could somewhat convince himself it wasn't a real kiss.
It was a kiss but not a lover's kiss.
"N-Na-Naruto...what happened there?"
The blond withdrew immediately, his face went blank and he stood up. "Nothing happened, dattebayo? Do you need anything else?" His annoyance was evident in his tone. The wound was too fresh. He was pretending to be okay for the sake of everyone, but for some reason it was harder to put that mask around Sasuke.
Naruto knew no one would understand why he cared about someone like Orochimaru. He couldn't explain it either. He just cared. He cared about him like he did about everyone else around him. He wished him well like he did everyone else.
But everyone else do not feel that way about bad people. They believed that whatever bad thing happened to a criminal was well deserved.
Naruto saw more than just the surface of actions. He made effort to understand, he didn't pass judgements.
Sasuke was the opposite of him. He of all people wouldn't get it most. He didn't ask to understand. He asked to know just what exactly had he gotten his secret crush in.
"Naruto..." Seeing the blond break down in silent tears made him even more curious.
"Goodnight, Sasuke" Naruto went to his own bedroom and closed the door. He slid down against the door and held his legs to his chest as he wept.
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That morning, Shikamaru had come over to stay with Naruto over the weekend. Before barely stepping in the household, he could feel the tensity as it electrified the atmosphere.
Naruto was rarely in this foul mood, so much so, Shikamaru could pretty much recount the three separate incidents in which he had seen his best friend like this.
"Troublesome" he muttered under his breath as he walked upstairs.
Naruto had two moods, one of his had only one setting. His usual optimistic, friendly, over-the-top mood which was his default. It had varying degrees of optimism, friendliness and kindness. His second mood however was purely nihilistic.
Shikamaru walked into his friend's room finding him under the covers. If there was any doubt he was in a bad mood, it was gone. Naruto hated staying in bed even when he was sick.
"Hey, why the bad mood?"
"Does it matter?"
"Oh boy" Shikamaru muttered under his breath. "I don't like your life is pointless mood."
"Then leave" Naruto shot back not even bothering with getting out from under his covers.
"That's the thing, my best friend's in a bad mood so I can't just leave him. Come on talk to me"
"You won't get it,"
"I can try" he sat on the bed. "Something happened with Sasuke?"
"No..." Naruto replied. "I really don't want to talk, Shikamaru."
"Yeah okay...okay no problem." He reassured him "you want me to stay or go?"
"Doesn't make a difference." The blond closed his eyes.
Everything just was meaningless at the time. If he fails to save just one person everything loses meaning.
He didn't hear the door close so he figured Shikamaru stayed.
The Nara genius was reading a book when knocks on the door interrupted his thought.
"Naruto...I'm sorry if I said anything that upset you yesterday." The voice apologized.
Sasuke didn't receive a reply and just looked at the glass of milk and the cookies he took time to make for Naruto.
"I...brought something as a-...peace offering...I guess" he mumbled audibly enough. "I-I'll leave it by your door."
He put the tray down and went to his own bedroom.
Sasuke oddly preferred seeing the happy go lucky Naruto, even if he was a bit too optimistic and easy going.
He waited to hear the door open but he gave up after a couple of hours. Sasuke didn't like himself for even making the effort to uplift the blond's mood. It was unlike him to care about anyone.
But Naruto wasn't anyone. Naruto was his Usuratonkachi.
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Shikamaru had managed to sneak in the tray without making a sound but Naruto had caught wind of it after not hearing the pages turn from his friend's reading.
"It's not Sasuke." He clarified "he didn't say anything wrong."
"Okay"
"He didn't" the teen stressed.
"And I believe you" Shikamaru sat back down holding his book and turning the page. "But he thinks he's the cause. Made you cookies even-..."
"Don't play that game with me" Naruto sighed but kicked the covers off after five minutes as the guilt started washing over. "I hate you"
Shikamaru smirked as he was getting to him. "So-..."
"I still don't want to talk" he glared at his best friend and got the plate of cookies. He munched on the warm crunchy cookies with the gooey goodness.
Then the river of tears unexpectedly flowed.
Shikamaru closed his book and sat next to the teen whose trembling shoulders indicated he was silently crying.
"Let it out" he rubbed Naruto's back in gentle circles to comfort him.
The blond did break down that evening and against his better judgement told his troubles to his best friend.
The latter, indeed did not understand why one should worry themselves about the lowest of humans but he knew his friend was unlike anyone else.
"You can't save everyone. It's impossible to adhere to such standards."
"I know"
"And it's not fair to you either"
"How's it not fair to me?" Naruto huffed sarcastically.
"You're kind towards everyone but yourself. Everything you are to others you are not to yourself. You need some of that niceness too. It's counterintuitive for you to do this."
"I'm being an idiot, aren't I?" Naruto retorted.
"Yeah the biggest of idiots. That's nothing new though" Shikamaru closed his eyes. "I don't get it. I don't think I ever will. But I don't think you're wrong to want to help even people like him. I just think you're wrong to hold yourself accountable for people's own decisions."
"I got it" Naruto rolled his eyes.
"I'm driving my point home Mr. EverythingIsMeaningless" Shikamaru hit his friend's arm playfully.
The blond looked at the warm plate of cookies and he munched on the one still in his hand. It warmed his heart to have his crush make him something. The cookies themselves were nothing special, just one of those premade variety.
But there was something else that made them taste entirely different. He figured he had to talk with Sasuke to explain he wasn't angry with him.
The raven heard movements in the room across and he rushed to open the bedroom door. He wanted to catch Naruto so he'd confront him.
But when he opened the door he saw his usual smiling friend, not the somber blond he met on breakfast that morning.
"Thanks for the cookies, Sasuke, but you know...I wasn't angry with you dattebayo?"
"Then who?" He asked the obvious question.
"Myself... It's complicated." His eyes softened landing on the plate of cookies. "Thanks again, Sasuke"
The raven was about to say something when a voice came from Naruto's room.
"Hey babe" the Nara called out, the hint of sarcasm flew over Sasuke's head as the raven tensed.
Naruto's face matched the colour of his favourite colour: red.
Shikamaru was flashing him the phone meaning that the 'hey babe' weren't his own words.
"Is it him?" He wondered not wanting to go inside and leave Sasuke.
"Yupe" his grin grew wider "I'm saying yes on your behalf."
"No!! No you cannot-..."
"Done" Shikamaru chucked the phone on the bed. Naruto was very unhappy with this.
Judging by how livid Naruto was, Sasuke easily misread his housemate's reaction. What was he going to tell Naruto anyway?
...
Right!
That he liked him...
Sort of.
But the newly nicknamed Usuratonkachi didn't like him back, at least Sasuke couldn't really see it.