Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Duality ❯ Change of Pace ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight: Change of Pace

Sai was still bothered by Sekai’s gloomy mood the next day, so he decided to talk to Sakura. It was just them and Yume sitting in the shade as Naruto and Sasuke were taking a turn assisting Kakashi in Sekai’s training. For once, the three of them were not arguing about something. Sekai teased, but Sasuke was bravely remaining calm, though his jaw tightened more than once.

Sai also wanted to speak to Yume, because she had more insight into Sekai’s character than he did, since she had known him longer. One step at a time though.

“Sakura,” he said, interrupting Sakura’s observation of the boys.

Sakura was giggling at a comment Kakashi made about Naruto’s stamina, and turned to Sai with a bright smile. “Yes, Sai?”

“What do you do when a friend is depressed?” Sai still felt very inadequate as far as emotions were concerned. He was also rather surprised how strongly he felt about Sekai even though they had known each other only a little over a week. Nor was he sure exactly what he was feeling for the blond. Sai just knew for certain that it wasn’t something he could ignore.

A little startled, Sakura did not answer at first so she could properly formulate a response. “Well… You listen to them and find out what they’re upset about. But don’t push for them to talk, just wait until they’re ready.”

“But what if you already know what the person is upset about?” Sai asked.

Sakura bit her lip thoughtfully. “Then, you can do something that will cheer them up.”

“Like what?”

“Well, it depends on what the person likes. I mean, for example, if they like teriyaki yakisoba, then you could fix it for them.”

“Sekai likes cute things,” Yume interjected in her soft-toned voice, surprising them both—they hadn’t known she’d been listening in.

Sai blinked. “Cute things?”

The small girl shrugged her shoulders elegantly. “I know, it’s a wide range and doesn’t really narrow down your options. Just buy him the first cute thing that catches your eye. A stuffed toy would be nice. He always used to stare at them from outside toy shops... He likes bears, cats, and ducks, for your reference. Does that help?”

“And a… stuffed toy would cheer him up, do you think?” Sai asked, just to be sure.

Yume smiled gently, hearing the uncertainty in his voice. “It would. He’s rather simple-minded sometimes. Like a child. It’s why he flirts with everyone and is always trying to piss Sasuke-san off; he doesn’t have much of an internal censor.”

Sai nodded, though he had already known this. It was one of the things he’d learned to like about Sekai—his open cheerfulness in the face of all things, even if one of those things happened to be an angry Uchiha Sasuke.

Yume’s suggestion sounded good enough for him. He just hoped he hadn’t misunderstood their advice, as he often did. These things were so confusing…

Sakura smiled kindly and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t stress over it too much. I’m sure whatever you get him Sekai-kun will love.”

“Oh he will, the flirt,” Yume answered softly, her sightless eyes casting an amused look in the general direction of Sekai. “I’ll keep him busy after training is finished. Sakura can take you to a shop and help you pick something out.”

Sakura grinned, though she felt a little irritated at being brought into it without being asked first. But it wasn’t like Sai could go on his own, and normally Sai took Sekai home after the training was over. This was the best option. Besides, they were all friends now, and Sakura always wanted to help her friends. “Sounds like a plan.”

-

Sekai sneezed.

“’scuze you,” Naruto said.

Sekai smiled and wiped the sweat off his brow. “Thanks.”

Sasuke was frowning at the older Uzumaki, but for once it wasn’t because he was angry at him. Sekai seemed to understand what they were showing him, but for some reason he was just slow to pick it up. It was strange, because in fighting Sekai could focus so well. Especially when he used his talismans. Though that must have been because he was used to them…

“Oi, Deviant, how do your talismans work?”

Sekai blinked at the sudden interest. “They’re made out of a special paper that holds chakra. Only a very small amount of the user’s chakra has to be placed in it and it’s amplified. The symbol on the paper reveals its power. Calling the name on the symbol activates the chakra. It’s not too different from using ninjutsu, just that you’re not just working with your chakra, but the energy that’s stored in the talismans.”

“Like that chakra conversion technique of yours?”

Sekai nodded. “I’m a little empathic, so I’m particularly susceptible to energy currents.”

“Empathic?” asked Naruto, tilting his head in confusion.

“It means I can feel energy through touch,” explained Sekai, and he reached out to brush Naruto’s cheek gently with light fingers. “It’s why I’m always touching people—though I try to restrain myself most of the time unless I know they don’t mind.” Sasuke snorted at this and Sekai just winked at him. “Well, you’re an exception, kitty.”

Sasuke’s eye twitched, but it did not make him as angry as it had the day before. He knew Naruto wanted them to get along, so he would suffer through the idiot’s behavior as much as he could. But if he tried to flirt with him again he’d hit him for sure. “And that’s how you get the talismans to move around at will—by controlling the energy stored inside?”

Sekai nodded, though he wasn’t sure where Sasuke was going with all this. “Yeah. Do you want to see it again?”

“No. I’m trying to make a point—what we’re trying to explain to you, it’s the same thing as that. Only you’re focusing on your own chakra currents instead of everything else’s.”

“I see…” Sekai took a deep breath and concentrated. It was strange but nothing he couldn’t get used to with practice.

“Try that genjutsu,” Sasuke ordered. It was something he was familiar with, and if Sekai could just get his energy flow under control then it wouldn’t be so obvious that it was only an illusion.

“Haruko? Sure.” Sekai, still concentrating on his own energy, performed the technique. His dark-skinned feminine counterpart stood in his place.

At the same time, Sasuke activated his Sharingan so he could see his progress more clearly. “A little bit less chakra. Remember, you don’t want your body to be shouting about the genjutsu. Think subtlety—if that isn’t too hard for you.”

Sekai made a rude gesture with his finger before doing as bidden.

Eventually, Sasuke managed to get him down to a level that pleased him. Kakashi and Naruto watched close by, not interfering since Sasuke had gotten his idea. Naruto gave Sekai a big hug when he was done (and back to normal).

“You did it!” he cheered happily, pleased at what Sekai had done and that he and Sasuke were getting along so well.

Sekai giggled and hugged him back. “Your support saw me through.”

Sasuke let the Sharingan deactivate, and was surprised at how blurry his vision became, as if he had just woken up from deep slumber. He blinked a few times before the blurriness was gone.

Naruto noticed the blinking and the confused expression on Sasuke’s face. “Sasuke, you okay?” At the question, his brother looked up as well, a concerned frown across his lips.

“I’m fine,” Sasuke answered immediately. Reminded of something Kakashi had told him, he glanced at his teacher and saw the grey-haired Jounin watching him closely.

Kakashi said Itachi was losing his sight, Sasuke thought with sudden dread. But I haven’t been able to perform Mangekyou Sharingan yet. Kakashi had yet to show him his new version, though he had explained it in detail during Sasuke’s house arrest upon first returning to Konoha. I do use the Sharingan a lot though… Fuck, are we all going to go blind?

His father hadn’t had poor eyesight though. Or had he? He hadn’t been the type of man to admit weakness—very few in the Uchiha clan had been.

It’s probably just eyestrain, Sasuke assured himself frantically, hoping he wasn’t deluding himself and that it was true. I haven’t slept very well lately because Sai’s in the room. He hadn’t had a moment alone since Yume’s rescue. Sai slept on the floor in his bedroom. He wasn’t used to sharing his living space with other people. It was irritating, but he would endure.

He couldn’t help wondering, if he did “sleepover” at Naruto’s, if he would have the same reaction.

-

Later, Sekai ended up carrying Yume around on his back. This wasn’t too unusual; they had done this a lot growing up and Sekai was rather used to it. (This was, of course, one of the reasons why Sekai had told the ninja that Yume could take care of herself. Yume had the uncanny ability to get people to carry her around. Sekai figured it was because she was small and cute.) He was also a little tired from his training, but Yume was very light and he didn’t struggle carrying her.

They got the occasional stares, but most people in the village were becoming used to seeing a cross-dressing boy running around. He supposed most people still did not know his relationship with his brother, but either way it didn’t bother Sekai.

His mind was mostly on Sai. Why had he wanted to spend time with Sakura? It had seemed innocent enough, but it left him curious. (And there was the fact that Sakura thought Sai looked like Sasuke to consider. Though Sekai didn’t see it—Sai didn’t look at all like an evil kitty. Even so, he was a little worried at what this could mean.)

“It’s been a while since we’ve done this,” Yume commented brightly, keeping her arms wrapped around the boy’s neck. They had been friends most of their lives and had been through so much together, good and bad alike. It was a warmth that would last between them the rest of their lives.

“It has,” Sekai agreed, smiling fondly with memories. Then he felt guilty. It had always been the two of them, but since Yume had been rescued, he’d more or less left her in Sakura’s care. “Er, sorry I haven’t been around lately.”

Yume rubbed his thick hair affectionately. “Don’t worry. I’ve had you all to myself for years. It’s the least I can do to share you with Naruto—and Sai.”

Sekai blushed at her knowing tone and ducked his head self-consciously, even though she couldn’t see his expression anyway. “Well, as long as you’re not mad.”

“Why would I be?” she asked mildly. “It’s good to see you making friends. So, what’s going on between you and Sai?”

“Does anything have to be going on?” asked Sekai nervously.

“No, but the way you two go on, it’s really cute. I just thought there was something more to it.”

Sekai laughed uneasily. “No way, Yume-chan. You know I only go for older men.”

Yume snorted, not believing him for a minute. “So you don’t like Sai?”

“Of course I do. As a—”

“The truth, Sekai.”

The blond abruptly stopped walking. They had reached a long pathway that led upward toward the higher places of the village. Sekai let the girl off his back and sat beside her on the steps.

“I don’t know,” he answered softly after a moment, dejectedly staring down at the pavement. “I just met him and all. But he’s really sweet, and we get along really well—it’s hard not to feel something I guess. Except—you know as well as I do the trouble he has with emotions. He’s come a long way since Naruto and Sakura first met him, but… I don’t want to force anything on him. I really care about him. I’ve never had other friends besides you before, Yume-chan, and I don’t want to ruin that.”

Yume smiled. She had a feeling Sekai was worrying for nothing, but she wouldn’t tell him that, for the same reason Sekai wouldn’t tell Naruto and Sasuke anything—it was something that needed to be figured out themselves. Hopefully because of her help today that wouldn’t take too much longer.

At that moment their conversation was interrupted as three ninja teens (and one large white dog) walked passed. Kiba stopped when he caught sight of them and smiled.

“Hey, you two! What’re you doing?”

Yume smiled when she recognized the voice of the boy who’d carried her to the village. “We’re just out for a walk, Kiba-san. Are those your teammates with you?”

“Yeah. Hinata, Shino—this is the girl I told you about; and that’s Naruto’s brother Sekai.”

Sekai had already recognized the two with Kiba from Yume’s descriptions and he grinned at them. “It’s good to finally meet you both.” He withheld further conversation with them though, because he was getting a sneaking suspicion about something.

“So… how do you like Konoha?” Kiba asked after a moment, his eyes very clearly on Yume.

Yume seemed able to tell because she answered. “Very well. Sekai-kun and I have been looking forward to coming here for a long time. We haven’t been disappointed.”

Sekai grinned like a fox and said nothing as the two exchanged more awkward pleasantries. Only when the team had finally left did he speak.

“So…”

“Don’t start,” Yume cut him off calmly.

“What, you can prod at my love life—or lack thereof—but I can’t ask about yours?” Sekai asked archly, amused. “Even you can tell Kiba’s getting a crush on you—which is super cute by the way—and you seem to like him too. You can’t keep taking care of me for the rest of your life, you know. We’re here, so we should focus on trying to build lives here, right?”

Yume nodded. “That’s true, I suppose. It’s good to see that you’re optimistic about our staying here.”

“I’ve made up my mind,” Sekai announced in a firm voice. “Naruto and Sasuke need someone to look after them—and I’ll do that. Kain knows that separating them would hurt me more than anything, which means he’ll target them, so I’ll protect them.” He smiled up at the waning sky, turning violet as the sun sank in the horizon. “This is where we belong, from yesterday on.”

Yume smiled gently and leaned against her best friend’s shoulder, happy to hear him sound so encouraging. “Yes.” Naruto’s changed you a lot, Sekai. Maybe one day you’ll see just how much stronger you already are. “I’m thirsty. Let’s go have some tea.”

Sekai sighed and stooped down in front of her so she could climb onto his back again. “As you command, my lady.”

Yume snorted, amused, and pulled on a lock of his hair.

“Ow! Yume-chan!”

They were in a teashop a few moments later, which was where Sai and Sakura found them.

“Did you two have fun?” Sakura asked brightly. “I was worried you hadn’t been spending much time together,” which was only partially a lie, “so I decided to give you some time alone together.”

“We had a lot of fun,” Yume told her, smiling, “so much so that I’m tired. Let’s head home.”

“Alright. Good night, boys.” Sakura gave Sai’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze before taking Yume’s hand and directing her toward the exit.

Sekai stared after them, confused. “Why do I get the feeling I’ve missed something?”

“Well, we weren’t being very subtle,” Sai admitted, not bothering with the pretense of secrecy now that they were alone. He hadn’t seen much need for it in the first place.

Sekai grinned. “I suppose I’ll find out what this was about then, right?”

Sai nodded. “I should be taking you home though, before Naruto worries.”

“Sure.”

-

There was an unspoken agreement between everyone to let Naruto and Sasuke spend their afternoons together since the day before, and undisturbed. There had been fewer arguments between them because of it, so it had to be doing some good.

They were already in the apartment, so after landing on the roof, Sekai leaned over the edge and peaked through the coverless window. Inside, he saw Sasuke sitting on the bed and Naruto in the kitchen, probably fixing dinner. He faintly heard his brother speaking animatedly about something.

Sasuke, feeling someone there, looked over his shoulder at the blond hanging upside down outside. His hair hung down above his head by gravity’s pull.

‘Whenever you’re ready,’ Sekai mouthed with a grin, since Sasuke didn’t look all that prepared to leave.

Sasuke glared but nodded.

Sekai eased himself back up. “They haven’t blown anything up,” he told Sai, “so that’s gotta be good.”

Sai smiled. “Yes, I agree. It’s good to see them getting along finally.”

Sekai nodded. “It is. We’ll get them married yet.”

Sai blinked, frowning curiously. “Married?”

“It’s not legal for two men to marry here?”

“Actually… I do not know.”

Sekai giggled. “Neither do I. I’ll look into it later.” Kakashi might know. “So, are you gonna tell me what you’ve been up to, or do I have to pout?” He pouted anyway, just to tease him.

Sai did not understand he was being teased, but the pout made him a little nervous, and he was unsure about this whole idea again. “I was worried about you, because of yesterday,” he began.

“Oh, Sai…” Sekai smiled gently and stepped closer, taking the taller boy’s hand. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to worry you. Really. I’m okay, so please, don’t worry.” He was touched, but at the same time, he felt unworthy of his friend’s concern.

Sai frowned again. “But isn’t it normal to worry about a friend?”

Sekai smiled and looked down. “Yes, it is. It’s also normal to not want your friends to worry about you.”

“So you pretend nothing is wrong,” Sai noted.

Sekai flushed. “Mmm. Yeah.” He couldn’t deny that was how he was. He just hadn’t known that Sai had caught onto it so quickly.

Sai hesitantly squeezed Sekai’s hand in return. “It is one of the things I admire about you, Sekai-kun. You have suffered, yet you try to find things to be happy about. But yesterday, when I saw you try to hide your sadness and smile—it hurt here.” He pointed to his chest with his free hand.

“Sai…” Sekai breathed, his own heart skipping a beat at those words. He wasn’t sure what to say to that, or how to ease Sai’s worries.

“I asked Sakura and Yume for advice, which is what led me to buying this.” Sai pulled out a small brown bear from his pocket. It had a red bow tied around its neck. Awkwardly, he held it out for Sekai to take.

Sekai reached for it shyly, biting his lip. He was surprised how soft the toy’s fur felt and it made him smile. Yume must have told him to buy me something cute to cheer me up. It was the least he could do to act a little happy about it, even if he felt he didn’t deserve it. “Oh, Sai,” he murmured, holding the bear close to his chest. “I love it. Thank you.”

Sai swallowed thickly when Sekai let go of his hand only to wrap that arm around his waist. His breath quickened when Sekai pressed close to him in a hug. Then he noticed it—Sekai had just said his name three times in a row without an honorific. “No ‘Sai-kun’ anymore?” he asked quietly.

Sekai smiled and laughed softly against Sai’s shoulder. “I think I’m allowed to speak informally to the man who buys me gifts.”

He didn’t pull away immediately, so Sai gradually became used to the touch, though this was only their second hug. He hugged the blond back uncomfortably. “Do you really like it… Sekai?” he asked, shyly dropping the honorific as well.

“I do,” Sekai assured, pulling back enough to look at the dark-haired boy’s face. He smiled at the unsure look there. “It’s adorable. Though,” he added softly, quickly dropping a kiss on Sai’s smooth, pale cheek, “not as much as you are.” Inwardly, Sekai flinched at his words, but he couldn’t help it—he was a natural flirt and it was habit.

Sai took a startled, quiet breath at the light touch of lips on his skin. He stared at Sekai in wonder, a nameless emotion rising in his chest, blooming into something new and slightly frightening. He couldn’t describe it in words.

Mentally kicking himself, Sekai stepped away, holding the bear with both arms. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Done what?”

Sekai blushed. “Kiss you. I shouldn’t have kissed you. Friends don’t do things like that,” he added, trying to convince himself, not Sai. Idiot, he’s being really kind and then you go and do something really stupid and spoil the whole fucking thing! “I’m sorry,” he repeated, panic climbing up his throat.

Sai watched him back away. Sekai’s shoulders hunched as his head bowed, a classic pose of someone afraid they were about to be hit. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

Sekai blinked and looked back up in surprise. “What? No, you didn’t do anything. I did.”

Sai shook his head. “I don’t understand. You didn’t do anything either.” Was Sekai worried about the kiss? Sai didn’t understand. The kiss had not bothered him. At least, not in a way that Sekai should apologize for.

Those words made Sekai relax a little. “You… didn’t mind?” he asked slowly.

After a moment of thinking, Sai shook his head again. “No.” Though Sai had the distinct feeling he was going to have to ask Sakura’s advice about something else now.

TBC. Will work for reviews!