Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Dreams ❯ Chapter 10
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Arigatomina 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 309 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Comedy / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 08.12.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 309 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 10
It took Sasuke three hours to find the red-light district. At least, he assumed that was what the area was. Kakashi had stuck to large cities, most of them as crowded as the one they'd first met in, so he wasn't sure how the stereotypes translated to smaller towns. The area was dirtier than the rest of the town, more suspicious looking people, smaller hotels with stained exteriors, more cars, and a lot less staring. People here were on a mission. They didn't have time or interest in a lone kid who happened to be walking down the same sidewalk as them. For the first time since he'd set out, Sasuke was able to stop walking without attracting the eyes of everyone on the block.
It was disturbing. He was used to being inconspicuous. When he was younger he'd had trouble with cops, sometimes overly concerned adults who felt the need to keep an eye on the little boy walking the streets alone at night. That sort of thing had stopped at least three years ago. And there had always been enough people around for him to get lost in the shuffle. This was different.
It was daytime, for one thing. He'd seen plenty of other teenagers walking around together or alone, particularly near the larger stores in the middle of town. Even then he'd gotten stares, enough so that he'd shied away from the area without getting a very good look at the buildings. There were enough blatant tourists shopping alongside the residents that he didn't understand why he was drawing so much attention when they weren't. The residential areas were a thousand times worse. As far as he could tell, the longterm residents had nothing better to do than to hang around outside and monitor their sidewalks. He'd never seen anything like it.
He was seriously starting to reconsider staying in this place for any period of time. He'd never felt this nervous being out in the open before, this conspicuous. Just the fact that the worst part of the town was the only place he felt safe in proved something was wrong. He was leaning against a faded brick wall and watching the building across the street - the hotel he knew any hireling of Itachi's would end up staying in when they tracked him down - and he still felt more relaxed than he had all day. That wasn't normal.
Kakashi liked to tell him he was paranoid of everyone, but it just wasn't true. Sasuke didn't care about most people. Normal people couldn't touch him. He had nothing to fear from them, so they didn't matter. Even normal mutants didn't bother him. It was only certain mutants, strong ones, crazy ones, dangerous ones, that he felt the need to be on constant guard against. Yet here he was, in the one part of town he was certain that type of mutant would pick, and he didn't even feel the need to keep his observation discreet. The only thing bothering him at the moment was the thought that Iruka's house was all the way on the other side of town and he'd have to walk back through those stares to get there.
A woman approached him finally and he pushed away from the wall. She'd been watching him for a while. He hadn't paid her any attention because she was staring for an obvious reason, not like the people in other parts of town. He'd gotten that a lot in the last few years, about the same time those concerned adults stopped watching him with dismay. Kakashi said they did it because he was better looking than their usual tricks. As far as Sasuke was concerned, that just meant he had even less reason to be interested in them and so they should be looking for desperate old perverts like Kakashi instead.
The woman, who upon closer inspection was obviously twice his age, stopped beside him and went to lay a painted hand on his shoulder. Sasuke slipped past her with a bland expression.
"I have no money," he said, knowing by experience that any less would only be encouragement.
"I didn't ask for money," the woman said quickly, clicking after him in her laced up shoes. "You just looked so lonely I thought you'd like some-"
"I don't," Sasuke said sharply.
He heard a huff as he walked away, and that was all. The fact that she didn't protest or try following him was a point in favor of the town. He did get a few glares from the men sitting on the stoop down the street, but that wasn't anything new. He preferred glares over bored, curious, and interested stares any day.
A half hour later found him on the outskirts of town. Apparently it was entirely circled by those fields. There were estates here, too, many as large as the one Iruka lived in, most a lot more abandoned. A few of them looked like teenage hangouts. The large yards were littered with trash, burn patches in the high grass, trampled areas, and intimate articles of clothing amid broken bottles. One house in particular caught his attention the moment he approached and spotted it through the overgrown trees that obscured the front lawn. He stopped at the edge of the long drive. The yard was circled by a three foot stone wall and he stood on the outside of it, just looked at the house.
None of the windows were broken. And they were black on the inside, garbage bags or paint to prevent so much as a glimpse of the interior. Sasuke didn't have any special senses when it came to being a mutant. He couldn't smell blood from yards away like Kakashi could. He hadn't even been able to read mutant energy signatures until recently. But his stomach clenched when he looked at those black windows, and he knew one way or another he'd end up inside there. It was the way certain deadend alleys would catch his eye and make him sick just looking at them, knowing a body was going to be left there and he wouldn't let it be his.
He wanted to burn it down, the entire property, everything inside that chipped little stone wall. The first time he was chased anywhere near the place, he'd do just that. The thought had no sooner surfaced than fat drops of rain splattered on the sidewalk. As if someone up there were mocking him. Sasuke sniffed and leaned against the wall, tilting his head back so the rain washed over his face. It wasn't as if anything shy of a hurricane could put out a blaze he'd started, anyway.
He'd just decided to head back, to circle the outskirts of town this time, when Naruto showed up. He heard him coming long before he came into sight, the sound of running footsteps muffled with heavy rain but loud in the absence of so much as a car splashing by. Sasuke blinked and turned when he realized who it was. His eyes were immediately drawn to Naruto's feet and the fact that he was running so fast without slipping at all on the sopping sidewalk. Then the boy skidded to a halt ten feet away with a peculiar expression on his face, half hidden by his big green umbrella.
Sasuke frowned back at him. Had Iruka sent Naruto to find him? He shouldn't have. He wasn't late. When he'd said he would be back before dark, he'd meant nightfall, not cloudy rain-caused darkness.
He waited for a few minutes until it became obvious that Naruto wasn't going to come any closer. Sasuke's frown darkened and he pushed away from the wall, going over himself. "Were you looking for me?"
Naruto blinked, looked around suddenly, and then went right back to frowning at Sasuke. "Yeah..."
"Why?" asked Sasuke. The question came out more sharply than he meant it to, but Naruto didn't seem to notice.
"Oh," Naruto grimaced suddenly and looked embarrassed. "I was supposed to find you before it started raining and bring you an umbrella. It's kinda pointless now. Sorry. I didn't know you'd be all the way across town or I'd have left sooner."
Sasuke sighed, dropping his eyes to glower at the drenched sidewalk. He should have known. Maybe if he explained to Iruka that he'd spent as many winters outside as he had in, the man wouldn't be so quick to worry about a little rain.
"Here," said Naruto, pressing a dark blue umbrella at Sasuke. "It's too late now, but, whatever." Sasuke took it with the same sullen distaste he'd given Iruka's coat yesterday. Naruto shook his head with a wry smile. "I bet you don't want it, eh? You were just standing there like you didn't even notice it was pouring. You like getting wet?"
Sasuke shot a look at the umbrella but didn't bother doing anything with it. He was already soaked, so it wouldn't make any difference. "I like the rain," he frowned. "It's clean."
"Yeah," Naruto said, "but it's cold. You know, if you get sick Iruka-sensei will make you stay in bed for days. You'll hate that, seriously. He can get rid of some of the symptoms, but he still makes you stay in bed forever and you can't eat anything but soup."
Sasuke shrugged and pushed the hair out of his eyes. That was the only thing he disliked about looking down in the rain, the way his hair stuck to his face like matted fur. He shot a look at Naruto. "Does he expect me to come back because it's raining?"
"Probably," Naruto muttered. A frustrated and angry expression started over his face. "Assuming he's not too busy with the pervert to even notice. Did he dump you earlier? He told me he was going to show you guys around - and then I got home and he's locked himself in his office with the pervert and you're out here by yourself. He's not usually like that, honest."
"I wanted to look around alone," Sasuke said pointedly. He must not have been pointed enough, because Naruto didn't take the hint.
"Oh, that's okay, then," Naruto nodded. "He still usually worries a lot more than that, you know, not just about rain, but all sorts of stuff. Like, if he found out you were hanging around here by yourself, he'd have a fit."
He shot a look a the house, a little smile pulling at his face. "You found one of the only places I'm not allowed to go near," he said. "And I bet you had to go through the slum to get here, too, right? Lots of druggies and old women with too much makeup?"
Sasuke nodded with more interest than he'd shown before. "Is there a story behind this place?"
"Oh, sure," Naruto said, sending another look at the house as if he couldn't believe he was this close to it. He shook his head and frowned at Sasuke. "Everyone says something different about it. The usual stuff, that it's haunted, that the guy who lived there killed his family and they rotted for months before anyone noticed, that it's a gang hideout and anyone who goes into the yard gets followed home and their entire family is wiped out - stupid stuff, mostly. Really it's just blood and sex and drugs. And that was a long time ago. You can barely even smell it now."
"You can smell it?" Sasuke blinked.
Naruto flinched and fidgeted, a blatantly fake grin pulling across his face. "It's just a saying, you know. Like saying you know a ghost walked by because the hairs on your arms stand up, that's all."
Sasuke gave him an unamused stare, making him fidget even worse. "Kakashi can smell blood from a long distance. His is more a survival trait than a mutant talent. It's nothing worth lying about."
Naruto dropped his eyes with an uncertain expression. Sasuke didn't bother pressing the issue. It wasn't as if he wanted to talk to the boy, anyway. Kakashi was the one who enjoyed making people uncomfortable just because he was bored.
"I'll go back if he wants me to," said Sasuke. "I won't go past that house if you aren't allowed near it."
He turned and crossed the street. A moment later he heard Naruto trotting after him.
"I can smell it," Naruto admitted once he'd caught up. He glared stubbornly at Sasuke, just waiting for him to say something mocking. The glare wilted a little when he didn't get more than a blank glance. "It's old, but it's still there. Stuff like that never goes away. I don't avoid it just because I'm not supposed to go near it, either. It's a bad place and if you can't smell it, just take my word for it and stay away from there. Especially when you're by yourself. Don't ever go in there."
"I don't plan to."
"Okay, then," Naruto said, nodding as if they'd just settled an argument in his favor.
They walked in silence for a while. Sasuke was looking around at everything as he walked, as if he'd forgotten Naruto was even there. Naruto started looking around, too. He'd already seen just about everything there was to see in the town - including the slum, which he'd never mention to Iruka. But looking around some more kept his eyes from latching onto Sasuke and staring till the boy remembered he was there.
It was difficult. The fact that Sasuke was holding the wrapped umbrella near the tip like he'd never touched one before just made it harder not to stare. He had to be freezing. Naruto was sure his teeth would be chattering by now if he'd been the one soaking wet and dressed like that. Aside from the way Sasuke kept brushing his hair out of his eyes, he didn't seem to even notice the rain.
Naruto stepped over a puddle and grimaced at the way his feet squelched in his shoes. His toes were starting to hurt from being cold and wet. He immediately glanced over and felt his expression tighten. Sasuke was wearing sandals. Naruto had a pair, himself, since technically it was almost summer now, but he sure as hell wouldn't wear them in the rain. Once more he had to bite down on the urge to grab Sasuke's wrist, drag him to shelter somewhere, and force him to take his jacket and use the damn umbrella the rest of the way home.
'I'm getting as bad as Iruka-sensei,' Naruto grimaced.
'Oh,' Kyuubi responded sullenly. 'So now you're talking to me again?'
'No,' Naruto snapped, tensing and scowling straight ahead. 'Forget I said anything. Go back to sleep.'
'Make me,' Kyuubi growled.
'Asshole,' Naruto growled back.
'Blame me all you want,' said Kyuubi. 'It's not my fault you aren't as pure and innocent as you like to think you are. Hypocrite.'
Naruto refused to dignify that with a response. He glared and made absolutely sure his eyes didn't go anywhere near the boy walking beside him.
He'd made one comment, just one, and Kyuubi had blown everything after that all out of proportion. The first time he'd seen Sasuke brush his hair back he'd thought about kissing him. Okay, yeah, that was sort of sexual. But it really wasn't about that. Not like that. It was just the way he'd looked earlier standing all alone in the rain with his back to that house - which was nearly as bad as stripping down naked in front of a pervert as far as Naruto was concerned. It was too vulnerable. And he'd looked lonely and cold and sad and Naruto had wanted to hug him, just warm him up a little. Because he didn't see how anyone could really enjoy being cold and alone. He'd just thought that if it were him, he'd want someone to hug him and take him somewhere warm.
Even the kiss thing wasn't perverted, not like Kyuubi was making it out to be. It was just that Sasuke was so cold even his lips were pale now and when he'd touched his face Naruto couldn't help but notice and-
'Your first thought was to warm them up with your mouth,' Kyuubi put in. 'You wanted to stick your tongue down his throat out of sympathy. It had nothing to do with the fact that he's so wet you can see every curve through those skimpy clothes of his, from that pert little ass to that slender waist that's just begging you to sink your teeth into-'
'Damnit!' Naruto exploded, flinching and stopping dead in his tracks. 'That's you, not me! Yeah, I checked him out, I'm not blind, okay? But that's not why I wanted to hug him, that has nothing to do with it. I just felt like that could have been me and I'd hate that if it were me. If I think something perverted, fine, call me on it, but stop trying to make everything into something sexual. Sympathy's not about screwing people. I know you have trouble with emotions like that, but just try to understand that it's not the same. Not like that. And I sure as hell didn't think about biting his waist - where did you even get that? All this time you've been talking about people you wanted to bite, I thought you meant somewhere like-'
'Right there,' Kyuubi said calmly.
Naruto blushed furiously when he realized he'd automatically looked at the spot where Sasuke's pale neck disappeared into his shirt. He blushed worse when he realized he'd not only stopped walking, but Sasuke had stopped as well and was now staring at him with a confused frown.
'Oh, man, I hate you,' Naruto whimpered.
'How is this my fault?' demanded Kyuubi. 'You're the one in control of the body, remember? That includes the eyes and the feet.'
'Shut up,' Naruto hissed frantically. 'He's staring at me!'
'I would be, too,' Kyuubi shrugged, completely unsympathetic. 'At least you weren't talking out loud.'
"What's wrong with you?" asked Sasuke.
Naruto jumped a little and made the fish pantomime. Mouth open, close, open, close. He knew the blush was very dark on his face because even his ears felt hot. "Erm, uh..."
'Do something!' Naruto screeched at his fox.
'I can't feel your toes,' Kyuubi smirked.
Naruto's face twisted up, 'How the hell does that help me!'
'I think they're starting to freeze,' explained Kyuubi.
Naruto blinked and sighed in relief, silently promising to torture that cryptic fox the second Sasuke stopped staring at him like that. He pulled his umbrella closer to his head and grimaced at Sasuke.
"I'm freezing," Naruto blurted, as if admitting that was embarrassing and that was why he'd hesitated. "Let's stop somewhere, okay? Just for a few minutes?"
"You don't have to walk me back," Sasuke shrugged. "Do what you want."
Sasuke turned away and Naruto jolted after him, catching his wrist. "No!" he said quickly. "I meant-"
Naruto froze. The second he touched him, Sasuke's entire body tensed up. Kyuubi coiled inside, vivid and alert, all joking aside, as if he expected they'd have to defend themselves. Naruto didn't know what was worse, the absolutely blank eyes Sasuke slowly turned on him, or how cold his wrist felt.
"Sorry," Naruto murmured, blinking slowly. "Um, I meant we should both stop somewhere. Iruka-sensei's probably still in his office, so there's no point going back right away, anyway and-"
'Let him go,' Kyuubi said quietly.
Naruto blinked and let go, his free hand automatically rising to scratch sheepishly at the back of his neck.
"So, yeah," Naruto continued, talking a little faster. "We could swing by the rental place. It's not far. We have an account there, so we could pick something up. I bet you don't like the same kind of movies I do, anyway. And it'd be kinda nice to not go there by myself for once. But if you really want to just go straight back, then I don't-"
"It's fine," interrupted Sasuke. He turned away and waved a hand at the sidewalk. "Lead the way."
"Really?" Naruto asked, relief mixing with his confusion at whatever he'd just done that was bad enough to make both Sasuke and Kyuubi get all tense on him. "Okay, then. It's really not far. They have a pretty nice selection, too..."
"Fine," Sasuke said again.
Sasuke turned his attention back to their surroundings until Naruto stopped shooting worried looks at him. For the first time since the rain had started, he felt cold. Kakashi was right. Even with someone he'd decided wasn't a threat, he still reacted on instinct. Naruto might have had some mutant talent that made him stronger than most people, but that didn't mean he couldn't have hurt him. Badly. And if he reacted like that with someone he knew - as well as he knew anyone - he was bound to be much worse with random strangers. He'd have to break that habit. Quickly.
This was one more reason why staying here was a bad idea. But the more he thought about it, the more he was sure Itachi would want him to leave. Itachi would feel as uncomfortable in this place as he did. Because that was the point. He was sure the face he'd worn just now was Itachi's face, terrifyingly empty, and all the more deadly because of that. It made him wonder how Kakashi managed to be so calm around him all the time. Maybe it was because Kakashi didn't know what would happen if Sasuke ever snapped the way Itachi had...
"Naruto," Sasuke said sharply, stepping forward so he was walking beside the boy instead of behind him. Wary blue eyes turned on him and he looked away. Had he scared him that much? It shouldn't matter whether he had or not. He frowned and offered the umbrella he was still carrying. "Show me how to work this."
"Seriously?" Naruto gaped. His eyes widened for a moment before he caught himself and closed his mouth. He'd thought Sasuke held it like he'd never touched one, but he hadn't actually believed it. He stepped over and handed his own umbrella to Sasuke. "Hold this for a second. Okay. There's a catch you push it up on. And whatever you do, don't ever open it in the house. That's bad luck."
Sasuke looked at him as if he'd said something incredibly stupid. "That's stupid," he said, to reinforce the look.
"Maybe, but it's still back luck," Naruto glowered back at him. "So don't do it. Iruka-sensei will have a fit." Kyuubi was superstitious enough to have a fit, too, but Naruto didn't bother to mention that.
.-.
TBC
It took Sasuke three hours to find the red-light district. At least, he assumed that was what the area was. Kakashi had stuck to large cities, most of them as crowded as the one they'd first met in, so he wasn't sure how the stereotypes translated to smaller towns. The area was dirtier than the rest of the town, more suspicious looking people, smaller hotels with stained exteriors, more cars, and a lot less staring. People here were on a mission. They didn't have time or interest in a lone kid who happened to be walking down the same sidewalk as them. For the first time since he'd set out, Sasuke was able to stop walking without attracting the eyes of everyone on the block.
It was disturbing. He was used to being inconspicuous. When he was younger he'd had trouble with cops, sometimes overly concerned adults who felt the need to keep an eye on the little boy walking the streets alone at night. That sort of thing had stopped at least three years ago. And there had always been enough people around for him to get lost in the shuffle. This was different.
It was daytime, for one thing. He'd seen plenty of other teenagers walking around together or alone, particularly near the larger stores in the middle of town. Even then he'd gotten stares, enough so that he'd shied away from the area without getting a very good look at the buildings. There were enough blatant tourists shopping alongside the residents that he didn't understand why he was drawing so much attention when they weren't. The residential areas were a thousand times worse. As far as he could tell, the longterm residents had nothing better to do than to hang around outside and monitor their sidewalks. He'd never seen anything like it.
He was seriously starting to reconsider staying in this place for any period of time. He'd never felt this nervous being out in the open before, this conspicuous. Just the fact that the worst part of the town was the only place he felt safe in proved something was wrong. He was leaning against a faded brick wall and watching the building across the street - the hotel he knew any hireling of Itachi's would end up staying in when they tracked him down - and he still felt more relaxed than he had all day. That wasn't normal.
Kakashi liked to tell him he was paranoid of everyone, but it just wasn't true. Sasuke didn't care about most people. Normal people couldn't touch him. He had nothing to fear from them, so they didn't matter. Even normal mutants didn't bother him. It was only certain mutants, strong ones, crazy ones, dangerous ones, that he felt the need to be on constant guard against. Yet here he was, in the one part of town he was certain that type of mutant would pick, and he didn't even feel the need to keep his observation discreet. The only thing bothering him at the moment was the thought that Iruka's house was all the way on the other side of town and he'd have to walk back through those stares to get there.
A woman approached him finally and he pushed away from the wall. She'd been watching him for a while. He hadn't paid her any attention because she was staring for an obvious reason, not like the people in other parts of town. He'd gotten that a lot in the last few years, about the same time those concerned adults stopped watching him with dismay. Kakashi said they did it because he was better looking than their usual tricks. As far as Sasuke was concerned, that just meant he had even less reason to be interested in them and so they should be looking for desperate old perverts like Kakashi instead.
The woman, who upon closer inspection was obviously twice his age, stopped beside him and went to lay a painted hand on his shoulder. Sasuke slipped past her with a bland expression.
"I have no money," he said, knowing by experience that any less would only be encouragement.
"I didn't ask for money," the woman said quickly, clicking after him in her laced up shoes. "You just looked so lonely I thought you'd like some-"
"I don't," Sasuke said sharply.
He heard a huff as he walked away, and that was all. The fact that she didn't protest or try following him was a point in favor of the town. He did get a few glares from the men sitting on the stoop down the street, but that wasn't anything new. He preferred glares over bored, curious, and interested stares any day.
A half hour later found him on the outskirts of town. Apparently it was entirely circled by those fields. There were estates here, too, many as large as the one Iruka lived in, most a lot more abandoned. A few of them looked like teenage hangouts. The large yards were littered with trash, burn patches in the high grass, trampled areas, and intimate articles of clothing amid broken bottles. One house in particular caught his attention the moment he approached and spotted it through the overgrown trees that obscured the front lawn. He stopped at the edge of the long drive. The yard was circled by a three foot stone wall and he stood on the outside of it, just looked at the house.
None of the windows were broken. And they were black on the inside, garbage bags or paint to prevent so much as a glimpse of the interior. Sasuke didn't have any special senses when it came to being a mutant. He couldn't smell blood from yards away like Kakashi could. He hadn't even been able to read mutant energy signatures until recently. But his stomach clenched when he looked at those black windows, and he knew one way or another he'd end up inside there. It was the way certain deadend alleys would catch his eye and make him sick just looking at them, knowing a body was going to be left there and he wouldn't let it be his.
He wanted to burn it down, the entire property, everything inside that chipped little stone wall. The first time he was chased anywhere near the place, he'd do just that. The thought had no sooner surfaced than fat drops of rain splattered on the sidewalk. As if someone up there were mocking him. Sasuke sniffed and leaned against the wall, tilting his head back so the rain washed over his face. It wasn't as if anything shy of a hurricane could put out a blaze he'd started, anyway.
He'd just decided to head back, to circle the outskirts of town this time, when Naruto showed up. He heard him coming long before he came into sight, the sound of running footsteps muffled with heavy rain but loud in the absence of so much as a car splashing by. Sasuke blinked and turned when he realized who it was. His eyes were immediately drawn to Naruto's feet and the fact that he was running so fast without slipping at all on the sopping sidewalk. Then the boy skidded to a halt ten feet away with a peculiar expression on his face, half hidden by his big green umbrella.
Sasuke frowned back at him. Had Iruka sent Naruto to find him? He shouldn't have. He wasn't late. When he'd said he would be back before dark, he'd meant nightfall, not cloudy rain-caused darkness.
He waited for a few minutes until it became obvious that Naruto wasn't going to come any closer. Sasuke's frown darkened and he pushed away from the wall, going over himself. "Were you looking for me?"
Naruto blinked, looked around suddenly, and then went right back to frowning at Sasuke. "Yeah..."
"Why?" asked Sasuke. The question came out more sharply than he meant it to, but Naruto didn't seem to notice.
"Oh," Naruto grimaced suddenly and looked embarrassed. "I was supposed to find you before it started raining and bring you an umbrella. It's kinda pointless now. Sorry. I didn't know you'd be all the way across town or I'd have left sooner."
Sasuke sighed, dropping his eyes to glower at the drenched sidewalk. He should have known. Maybe if he explained to Iruka that he'd spent as many winters outside as he had in, the man wouldn't be so quick to worry about a little rain.
"Here," said Naruto, pressing a dark blue umbrella at Sasuke. "It's too late now, but, whatever." Sasuke took it with the same sullen distaste he'd given Iruka's coat yesterday. Naruto shook his head with a wry smile. "I bet you don't want it, eh? You were just standing there like you didn't even notice it was pouring. You like getting wet?"
Sasuke shot a look at the umbrella but didn't bother doing anything with it. He was already soaked, so it wouldn't make any difference. "I like the rain," he frowned. "It's clean."
"Yeah," Naruto said, "but it's cold. You know, if you get sick Iruka-sensei will make you stay in bed for days. You'll hate that, seriously. He can get rid of some of the symptoms, but he still makes you stay in bed forever and you can't eat anything but soup."
Sasuke shrugged and pushed the hair out of his eyes. That was the only thing he disliked about looking down in the rain, the way his hair stuck to his face like matted fur. He shot a look at Naruto. "Does he expect me to come back because it's raining?"
"Probably," Naruto muttered. A frustrated and angry expression started over his face. "Assuming he's not too busy with the pervert to even notice. Did he dump you earlier? He told me he was going to show you guys around - and then I got home and he's locked himself in his office with the pervert and you're out here by yourself. He's not usually like that, honest."
"I wanted to look around alone," Sasuke said pointedly. He must not have been pointed enough, because Naruto didn't take the hint.
"Oh, that's okay, then," Naruto nodded. "He still usually worries a lot more than that, you know, not just about rain, but all sorts of stuff. Like, if he found out you were hanging around here by yourself, he'd have a fit."
He shot a look a the house, a little smile pulling at his face. "You found one of the only places I'm not allowed to go near," he said. "And I bet you had to go through the slum to get here, too, right? Lots of druggies and old women with too much makeup?"
Sasuke nodded with more interest than he'd shown before. "Is there a story behind this place?"
"Oh, sure," Naruto said, sending another look at the house as if he couldn't believe he was this close to it. He shook his head and frowned at Sasuke. "Everyone says something different about it. The usual stuff, that it's haunted, that the guy who lived there killed his family and they rotted for months before anyone noticed, that it's a gang hideout and anyone who goes into the yard gets followed home and their entire family is wiped out - stupid stuff, mostly. Really it's just blood and sex and drugs. And that was a long time ago. You can barely even smell it now."
"You can smell it?" Sasuke blinked.
Naruto flinched and fidgeted, a blatantly fake grin pulling across his face. "It's just a saying, you know. Like saying you know a ghost walked by because the hairs on your arms stand up, that's all."
Sasuke gave him an unamused stare, making him fidget even worse. "Kakashi can smell blood from a long distance. His is more a survival trait than a mutant talent. It's nothing worth lying about."
Naruto dropped his eyes with an uncertain expression. Sasuke didn't bother pressing the issue. It wasn't as if he wanted to talk to the boy, anyway. Kakashi was the one who enjoyed making people uncomfortable just because he was bored.
"I'll go back if he wants me to," said Sasuke. "I won't go past that house if you aren't allowed near it."
He turned and crossed the street. A moment later he heard Naruto trotting after him.
"I can smell it," Naruto admitted once he'd caught up. He glared stubbornly at Sasuke, just waiting for him to say something mocking. The glare wilted a little when he didn't get more than a blank glance. "It's old, but it's still there. Stuff like that never goes away. I don't avoid it just because I'm not supposed to go near it, either. It's a bad place and if you can't smell it, just take my word for it and stay away from there. Especially when you're by yourself. Don't ever go in there."
"I don't plan to."
"Okay, then," Naruto said, nodding as if they'd just settled an argument in his favor.
They walked in silence for a while. Sasuke was looking around at everything as he walked, as if he'd forgotten Naruto was even there. Naruto started looking around, too. He'd already seen just about everything there was to see in the town - including the slum, which he'd never mention to Iruka. But looking around some more kept his eyes from latching onto Sasuke and staring till the boy remembered he was there.
It was difficult. The fact that Sasuke was holding the wrapped umbrella near the tip like he'd never touched one before just made it harder not to stare. He had to be freezing. Naruto was sure his teeth would be chattering by now if he'd been the one soaking wet and dressed like that. Aside from the way Sasuke kept brushing his hair out of his eyes, he didn't seem to even notice the rain.
Naruto stepped over a puddle and grimaced at the way his feet squelched in his shoes. His toes were starting to hurt from being cold and wet. He immediately glanced over and felt his expression tighten. Sasuke was wearing sandals. Naruto had a pair, himself, since technically it was almost summer now, but he sure as hell wouldn't wear them in the rain. Once more he had to bite down on the urge to grab Sasuke's wrist, drag him to shelter somewhere, and force him to take his jacket and use the damn umbrella the rest of the way home.
'I'm getting as bad as Iruka-sensei,' Naruto grimaced.
'Oh,' Kyuubi responded sullenly. 'So now you're talking to me again?'
'No,' Naruto snapped, tensing and scowling straight ahead. 'Forget I said anything. Go back to sleep.'
'Make me,' Kyuubi growled.
'Asshole,' Naruto growled back.
'Blame me all you want,' said Kyuubi. 'It's not my fault you aren't as pure and innocent as you like to think you are. Hypocrite.'
Naruto refused to dignify that with a response. He glared and made absolutely sure his eyes didn't go anywhere near the boy walking beside him.
He'd made one comment, just one, and Kyuubi had blown everything after that all out of proportion. The first time he'd seen Sasuke brush his hair back he'd thought about kissing him. Okay, yeah, that was sort of sexual. But it really wasn't about that. Not like that. It was just the way he'd looked earlier standing all alone in the rain with his back to that house - which was nearly as bad as stripping down naked in front of a pervert as far as Naruto was concerned. It was too vulnerable. And he'd looked lonely and cold and sad and Naruto had wanted to hug him, just warm him up a little. Because he didn't see how anyone could really enjoy being cold and alone. He'd just thought that if it were him, he'd want someone to hug him and take him somewhere warm.
Even the kiss thing wasn't perverted, not like Kyuubi was making it out to be. It was just that Sasuke was so cold even his lips were pale now and when he'd touched his face Naruto couldn't help but notice and-
'Your first thought was to warm them up with your mouth,' Kyuubi put in. 'You wanted to stick your tongue down his throat out of sympathy. It had nothing to do with the fact that he's so wet you can see every curve through those skimpy clothes of his, from that pert little ass to that slender waist that's just begging you to sink your teeth into-'
'Damnit!' Naruto exploded, flinching and stopping dead in his tracks. 'That's you, not me! Yeah, I checked him out, I'm not blind, okay? But that's not why I wanted to hug him, that has nothing to do with it. I just felt like that could have been me and I'd hate that if it were me. If I think something perverted, fine, call me on it, but stop trying to make everything into something sexual. Sympathy's not about screwing people. I know you have trouble with emotions like that, but just try to understand that it's not the same. Not like that. And I sure as hell didn't think about biting his waist - where did you even get that? All this time you've been talking about people you wanted to bite, I thought you meant somewhere like-'
'Right there,' Kyuubi said calmly.
Naruto blushed furiously when he realized he'd automatically looked at the spot where Sasuke's pale neck disappeared into his shirt. He blushed worse when he realized he'd not only stopped walking, but Sasuke had stopped as well and was now staring at him with a confused frown.
'Oh, man, I hate you,' Naruto whimpered.
'How is this my fault?' demanded Kyuubi. 'You're the one in control of the body, remember? That includes the eyes and the feet.'
'Shut up,' Naruto hissed frantically. 'He's staring at me!'
'I would be, too,' Kyuubi shrugged, completely unsympathetic. 'At least you weren't talking out loud.'
"What's wrong with you?" asked Sasuke.
Naruto jumped a little and made the fish pantomime. Mouth open, close, open, close. He knew the blush was very dark on his face because even his ears felt hot. "Erm, uh..."
'Do something!' Naruto screeched at his fox.
'I can't feel your toes,' Kyuubi smirked.
Naruto's face twisted up, 'How the hell does that help me!'
'I think they're starting to freeze,' explained Kyuubi.
Naruto blinked and sighed in relief, silently promising to torture that cryptic fox the second Sasuke stopped staring at him like that. He pulled his umbrella closer to his head and grimaced at Sasuke.
"I'm freezing," Naruto blurted, as if admitting that was embarrassing and that was why he'd hesitated. "Let's stop somewhere, okay? Just for a few minutes?"
"You don't have to walk me back," Sasuke shrugged. "Do what you want."
Sasuke turned away and Naruto jolted after him, catching his wrist. "No!" he said quickly. "I meant-"
Naruto froze. The second he touched him, Sasuke's entire body tensed up. Kyuubi coiled inside, vivid and alert, all joking aside, as if he expected they'd have to defend themselves. Naruto didn't know what was worse, the absolutely blank eyes Sasuke slowly turned on him, or how cold his wrist felt.
"Sorry," Naruto murmured, blinking slowly. "Um, I meant we should both stop somewhere. Iruka-sensei's probably still in his office, so there's no point going back right away, anyway and-"
'Let him go,' Kyuubi said quietly.
Naruto blinked and let go, his free hand automatically rising to scratch sheepishly at the back of his neck.
"So, yeah," Naruto continued, talking a little faster. "We could swing by the rental place. It's not far. We have an account there, so we could pick something up. I bet you don't like the same kind of movies I do, anyway. And it'd be kinda nice to not go there by myself for once. But if you really want to just go straight back, then I don't-"
"It's fine," interrupted Sasuke. He turned away and waved a hand at the sidewalk. "Lead the way."
"Really?" Naruto asked, relief mixing with his confusion at whatever he'd just done that was bad enough to make both Sasuke and Kyuubi get all tense on him. "Okay, then. It's really not far. They have a pretty nice selection, too..."
"Fine," Sasuke said again.
Sasuke turned his attention back to their surroundings until Naruto stopped shooting worried looks at him. For the first time since the rain had started, he felt cold. Kakashi was right. Even with someone he'd decided wasn't a threat, he still reacted on instinct. Naruto might have had some mutant talent that made him stronger than most people, but that didn't mean he couldn't have hurt him. Badly. And if he reacted like that with someone he knew - as well as he knew anyone - he was bound to be much worse with random strangers. He'd have to break that habit. Quickly.
This was one more reason why staying here was a bad idea. But the more he thought about it, the more he was sure Itachi would want him to leave. Itachi would feel as uncomfortable in this place as he did. Because that was the point. He was sure the face he'd worn just now was Itachi's face, terrifyingly empty, and all the more deadly because of that. It made him wonder how Kakashi managed to be so calm around him all the time. Maybe it was because Kakashi didn't know what would happen if Sasuke ever snapped the way Itachi had...
"Naruto," Sasuke said sharply, stepping forward so he was walking beside the boy instead of behind him. Wary blue eyes turned on him and he looked away. Had he scared him that much? It shouldn't matter whether he had or not. He frowned and offered the umbrella he was still carrying. "Show me how to work this."
"Seriously?" Naruto gaped. His eyes widened for a moment before he caught himself and closed his mouth. He'd thought Sasuke held it like he'd never touched one, but he hadn't actually believed it. He stepped over and handed his own umbrella to Sasuke. "Hold this for a second. Okay. There's a catch you push it up on. And whatever you do, don't ever open it in the house. That's bad luck."
Sasuke looked at him as if he'd said something incredibly stupid. "That's stupid," he said, to reinforce the look.
"Maybe, but it's still back luck," Naruto glowered back at him. "So don't do it. Iruka-sensei will have a fit." Kyuubi was superstitious enough to have a fit, too, but Naruto didn't bother to mention that.
.-.
TBC