Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Boiling Point ( Chapter 48 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kat: -ish dead- WOW. I got KILLED for that last chapter. Holy CRAP.

Karene: -sniff- Serves you right! Breaking up Kankuro and Itachi… -sobs- MY BABIES!

Soriko: -rolls eyes- Get a hold of yourself, woman!

Karene: -continues to bawl-

Remi: Oh dear… -hands her tissues-

Kat: Wow. No one knows who's writing on the locker and sending the notes, huh? Odd. I'm surprised no one's figured it out, yet! The clues are all there, people! 8D -sings- Ha, ha… no one knows but Scapegoat, no one knows but Scapegoat…

I'll tell you this. -clears throat- The one person it is NOT is-

Sai: -tackles her- Silence, woman!

Remi: Are you trying to give it all away?

Kat: -cries- I'm sorry! I couldn't help myself!

Some replies to make, but not a lot. I got almost fifty reviews for this chapter! O_o Yeesh! Wow! I feel so… LOVED! :-)

Fantastical Queen Ebony Black: Well, I'm glad you liked it! <3 Yes, Itachi's line was cheesy. But you saw it coming. Admit it…! XD You thought that was some of my best? Wow! Well… then you'd better not read this chapter. T_T

BHS: I know, I haven't e-mailed you yet! I'm sorry! My e-mail is being a whore and a half right now, and is only letting me see some of my e-mail. XX It angers me, but it should only last a little while. I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Junsui Kegasu: I hate to say it, but it sure as hell isn't going to get any better for Gaara for a looong time. -cries- Oh, my poor emo-wangst baby! -huggles-

Stakeh: Uh… a-ha-ha. XD Uh… Good luck to your mom. YOUR MOM. -laughs like an idiot- But not really. The B-flat scale is the only one I really know on my bassoon. The F-scale is the easiest for me, and the hardest for the rest of the concert band. XD It makes me laugh. -reads the last paragraph of your review- … Uh… -cough- … -glances around- … Ahem. Shhhhh.

Kat: Ahm. Everyone else said basically the same thing. “AAAH! LET'S KILL KANKURO!” Or perhaps, “AAAHHH! POOR ITACHI OMG!” Or even, “AAAAHHH! NEJI'S BEING A MEANIE!” There were even a few, “AAHHH!! B-FLAT SCALES!” XD So, yes. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED AND I DIDN'T COMMENT ON.

Bitenshi, I'd give you a reply, but your review was just too cool for one. -dies-

Oh, and one more thing. This is important, so everyone read. The 1000th reviewer gets to request a fic. I will write WHATEVER you want. I mean, WHATEVER. It could be squick, crack, incest, canon, or even… -gulp- HET.

All: -gasp-

Kat: THAT'S RIGHT. So! Be prepared!

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“Gaara! Come on, please open the door!”

“STAY OUT!” Gaara screamed from within his room, causing Kankuro to jump in surprise.

“Gaara, you can't stay in there forever! You need to eat something!” Kankuro protested, pounding on the door in blatant frustration. “Come on!”

“NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Kankuro's eyes widened, and he backed away from the door, his hands up to his mouth. He was breathing hard.

Stay calm, Kankuro, stay calm, he told himself.

“Kankuro.” It was Temari, standing near the stairs. Her backpack was on one shoulder, and she was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans. “Let me try.” She brushed past Kankuro, up to the door, and knocked softly. “Gaara… it's Temari,” she said quietly, her voice low. “Will you please open the door? For me?”

There was a minute of silence. Then the door slowly creaked open, and Gaara's pale face and bloodshot eyes appeared in the space between the frame.

“What?” he snapped, his one visible eye narrowing.

“Good morning, Gaara,” Temari continued, using the same calm tone. “Can I please see your arms?”

Gaara frowned. “Why do you want to see where He feeds?” he asked suspiciously. If this confused Temari at all, she didn't let it show.

“I'd just like to see them. Really quick! I promise,” she said with a small smile. Gaara eyed her cautiously for a moment, then stuck both of his arms out the door.

“There, see?” he said, turning them over. The dim hall light flashed across the scarred, but otherwise unblemished skin. Kankuro felt him lungs empty with relief. Gaara withdrew his arms, bringing them to his chest. “Are you done?”

“Almost,” Temari said, picking up her backpack, and unzipping it. “Here, Gaara. You haven't eaten since yesterday. Why don't you eat this?” She thrust and brown paper bag in through the door. Gaara took it from her hands, and looked inside it.

“Thank you,” he said curtly, before closing the door, and locking it.

Temari breathed again, bringing a hand to her forehead. “Let's go,” she said, shouldering her backpack. “We're already late.”

“You don't have a lunch, though,” Kankuro said.

“I'll live,” Temari said, twirling a loose lock of blond hair around her finger. “I'll just… mooch off of Ten-Ten or something.”

“Okay. Sure.”

“Kankuro?” Temari asked. “Is he… is he going to be oka-“

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“…No.”

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When Naruto got to school on Tuesday morning, he knew something was wrong. It wasn't just the smell of mayonnaise and rice floating from the cafeteria; he was used to that. There was a tense air throughout the school, like someone had dropped a stink bomb in the bathrooms and was trying to keep quiet about it.

Naruto frowned as he dug through his over-full locker, digging for his long-lost math book. He sighed, resigned to the fact that there was no way he could keep up a cheerful disposition in this hellhole today.

He briefly wondered what in God's name had happened to Gaara. He had seen neither hide nor hair of the boy since Friday.

So, in search of Gaara, he went off to find Kankuro. Surely the oddly painted junior would know where his younger brother was, right?

Right. Naruto liked his logic.

So he set off to the one place Kankuro could possibly be this early in the morning; the Band Room.

Kankuro had always referred to what should be the Music Room as the Band Room, Naruto remembered. He always did this, because the choir was, and I quote, “…a bunch of lazy bastards who don't know how to clean up and who screw around on the drum set. Did you know they actually BROKE a drum once? I know! It's terrible!” And so on, and so forth.

Naruto brushed past clumps of people blocking the halls, into the cafeteria, and down the stairs. He finally came to the Band Room, after what seemed like a year of elbows and shoulders. He pushed through the unlocked one of the two doors, and tripped, almost doing a face plant into a stand.

“Woah, easy Tiger,” Ten-Ten said from the front of the room below the whiteboard. She was cross-legged on the gray podium, talking with Tayuya, who was sitting on the floor in front of her. Naruto straightened, brushing himself off.

“Have you guys seen Kankuro?” he asked breathlessly, straightening the bandana wrapped around his forehead.

The girls both shook their heads.

“I don't think he's here yet,” Tayuya said with a frown. “Weird. He's usually early.”

Naruto grimaced.

“Damn,” he hissed. He turned to leave, but Ten-Ten called after him.

“What's wrong?” she asked. Naruto looked back.

“Well, I was wondering where Gaara was, so I thought I'd ask Kankuro, but since he's not here-“

“Gaara's sick,” Ten-Ten quoted with a frown.

“Oh?” Naruto said, raising his eyebrows. “I didn't know that.” His frown deepened. “Uh… Thanks, Ten-Ten.”

“Glad I could be of service,” Ten-Ten said, bowing in her seat.

Naruto left the Band Room feeling even more confused than ever. Usually when Gaara was sick, he would call and tell Naruto to “…bring me my homework or I'll kill you.” Usually. Sometimes he just didn't care. Sometimes.

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets. He was irritated, confused, and he wanted a soda. Not a good combination. But then he saw a certain someone, and all his problems seemed to melt away.

“Neji!” he said, scampering over to the older boy. “Hi! How are you?”

“I'm fine,” Neji said, slamming his locker closed. “Just fine.” Naruto winced, but refused to take the hint.

“You don't sound fine,” Naruto noted, frowning. “Anything I can do?”

“Nope,” Neji said, shouldering past him. Naruto let the blow slide off, ignoring it. He followed closely after Neji, smiling.

“Oh, okay. Just thought I'd check. Do you have anything going on today? I was wondering-“

“I'm busy tonight,” Neji said sharply, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Naruto felt his heart sink.

“Oh… okay. Um…” He bit his lip. “You have any tests today? `Cuz I've got a test in history, and I'm not looking forward to it at all. I didn't-“

“Naruto,” Neji said finally, halting, and turning. Naruto blinked.

“Yeah?”

“I don't want to talk to you right now,” Neji said firmly. “I just want to be left alone.”

“Uh, oh…” Naruto swallowed. “Okay.” The blonde felt his insides coat with lead at the sound of the clear, obvious rejection. “Uh… s-sure. If… If that's what you want…”

Neji turned, and walked off, leaving Naruto in a swirl of puzzlement.

`What… what just happened?'

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Itachi would have killed to stay home. He really would have. But he knew that that wasn't going to happen, so he dragged himself to school anyway.

Not really dragged, as it were. He drove, with Sasuke sitting moodily in the shotgun seat. Itachi wondered how someone could manage to sit moodily. Somehow Sasuke accomplished it.

Now he was staring up at his miraculously word-free locker, trying to process what was happening.

Why was he so tired? He wasn't just tired… he was exhausted. He had gone to bed so early the night before, and now it felt like he hadn't slept at all. He felt like he was about to collapse.

The bruise he had gotten from Sunday was still there, and still terrible. Itachi had expected he would get a bad bruise, but not a giant purple splash that covered half of his forehead. He winced as he traced a finger across it.

Christ.

He let his hand drop, and angrily dug for his AP Calculus book. Then he noticed something under the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

Another bruise, this one on his forearm. He stared at it for a moment. It was ugly and dark blue, and looked fresh.

`How in the hell did that get there?' he speculated briefly, pushing up the sleeve to get a better view. Wait… there was another one, on the other side of his arm!

“What the hell?” he said in astonishment. After a beat, he pushed up the sleeve on his other arm. Three bruises; one dark green, and the other two a hazy blue dotted his arm. “What in God's name did I do?”

Then a horrible, terrible thought crossed

(unexplained bruising is a sign of)

through his mind, but he shoved it away.

“Hey, Itachi! What's up?”

Itachi looked up sharply, almost dropping his books in the process. Haku flounced up to him, a bright smile on his face.

“Good morning,” he said brightly.

“Hi, Haku,” Itachi said, turning back to his locker. “What's new?”

“Oh, not much, not much,” Haku said, leaning against the lockers, and twirling his long hair around his fingers. “How are you? You don't look so good.”

“Oh, why thank you,” Itachi said cynically, rolling his eyes.

“No, no, I mean you look pale. And too thin. And tired,” Haku noted, giving Itachi a twice over, listing off the symptoms. “Have you been sleeping well?”

“Not really,” Itachi lied. He had been sleeping fine… too much, actually.

“Well, that's it! You need to lay off the coffee, Uchiha! Or… maybe…” Haku smirked. “Is someone nervous about the big game on Wednesday? Huh? Nervous about going against those big, bad Roots?”

“Well…” Itachi laughed, pulling out his AP Chemistry book. “Maybe a little.”

“I knew it! I knew it,” Haku said, smiling triumphantly. He crossed his arms, and nodded sagely. “Doctor Haku is in the house, fool!”

“Never do that again,” Itachi said with much exasperation, closing his locker. Haku laughed breezily, pushing his hair behind one pierced ear. He had gold hoops in today.

Itachi smiled and shook his head, rolling his eyes. Then he glanced down the hall, without realizing what he was doing.

He felt his smile slowly slide from his face as he locked eyes with Kankuro Kaze, who had just stepped out of the stairway. The junior had no paint on his tired face today. His hat was low over his eyes, and he kept Itachi's stare for a moment or two. Then he dropped his gaze, and walked deliberately (or so it seemed) past Itachi and Haku without a word.

Itachi didn't move. He kept his eyes on the spot where Kankuro had been an instant before. He felt his hands start to shake, and he took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

“Itachi?” Haku said softly. “I hate to pry, but… are you and Kankuro… erm…” He frowned. “Are you two having a fight or something?”

Itachi was silent a moment, then brought a hand up to his eyes.

“Kankuro… he and I broke up yesterday,” he said quietly, rubbing his eyes. They were dry, thankfully, but he was so tired… “He dumped me.”

Haku's jaw quite literally hit the floor.

“Are you JOKING?” he demanded, his eyes wide. He closed his mouth modestly, and swallowed. “He… woah, woah, woah. Back up. He dumped you?” Then, with even more shock, “He dumped you? Why?”

Itachi shook his head, and sighed. There was no fucking way he was going to start crying in the crowded hallway now.

“It's kind of private, Haku,” he said, a little sharper than he meant to. Haku slid back.

“Oh… Okay. Sorry,” he said, recognizing hot water when he saw it. “Whatever. Just curious.” He checked his watch. “ Class is starting soon. I'll… I'll see you later.”

He turned, and walked off, seeming much more reserved than he had earlier. Itachi closed his eyes, and leaned against his locker, trying not to scream in frustration.

(now haku hates you too)

No. No. No. He wasn't going to start thinking that. Haku didn't hate. If there was anything Itachi could trust about the world, it was that. Haku did not hate. He wasn't capable of it. He didn't even hate Shisui, for God's sake. Even Itachi disliked Shisui.

He hadn't forever, though. Back when they were in junior high, Shisui and Itachi had been… “Best Friends.” Itachi smiled nostalgically at the thought.

Shisui hadn't started acting like an asshole until high school. He used to be nice, Itachi mused, as he walked down the hall to his classroom. He used to be downright kind, damn it. Itachi wondered fleetingly what had happened to cause his cousin to flip such a one-eighty.

Then he realized that he had gone from thinking about Haku to thinking about Shisui in all of three seconds.

He rubbed his eyes, opening the door to AP Calculus.

It was going to be a long day.

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Tayuya sat with her legs pulled up to her chest, and her back against the podium.

“So… do you have any idea what you're going to do?” Ten-Ten asked discreetly, still unsure if it was okay to ask.

Tayuya shrugged.

“I really don't know. I doubt I'll get an abortion,” she murmured. “I can't afford it, and Mama would die before she paid for one.”

“That's as good a reason as any,” Ten-Ten said, who was as Pro-Choice as one could get, but wasn't sure what else to say.

“But… I can't give it up.” She bit her lip. “I don't want to. I… I can't.” She sighed heavily. “I know she's probably going to `destroy my future' and all that crap, but…” She smiled. “Well, it's kind of hard to explain. I mean, I'm willing to get an abortion, but not give her up for adoption? Weird, right?”

“Her?”

“Well… I don't know.” Tayuya almost blushed. “It might be a her… or it might be a him.”

Ten-Ten nodded. “Well…” she said, unsure of how to continue. “I would recommend you give her up for adoption, but… if you want to keep her, I'll support you every step of the way.”

Tayuya looked up, her eyes shining with gratitude. “Thank you so much, Ten-Ten. But… I still don't know.” She sighed. “So… I told my mom, you know, everything,” she continued, pulling her skullcap all the way down over her eyes. “She was a little more understanding than she was a few days ago.”

Ten-Ten nodded again, smiling.

“That's good.” She sighed, and leaned back against the wall. “I'm glad you two are getting along again.”

“Pffft. Hardly,” Tayuya spat angrily, pressing her forehead down to her knees. “She just knows if she screams at me again I'll leave for good. I am almost seventeen… I can apply for emancipation. Or I could just leave.” She said this tentatively, as though she was testing cold water. Ten-Ten looked up.

“Would you really do that?” she asked, frowning.

“I don't know,” Tayuya admitted, shaking her head. “I don't know… I don't want to think about it.”

Ten-Ten scooted down the podium, and slid down to the floor, so that she was next to Tayuya. She wrapped an arm around the older girl's shoulders, and said, “I love you, you know that?”

“Yeah. I know,” the redhead said quietly, smiling. Her hat was still covering her eyes. Ten-Ten grinned, then leaned over and pressed her lips to Tayuya's cheek. Tayuya moved her hat up from her eyes, and looked over at Ten-Ten, not surprised, but happy.

“I… know…” she said, her voice a whisper.

Ten-Ten found herself leaning in slowly, and realized that Tayuya was doing the same. Their lips were a centimeter apart. Ten-Ten was about to close the distance between them, when-

BAM!

“Shit!” Tayuya squeaked, jerking up, and searching for the source of the noise.

“Goddammit,” Ten-Ten hissed under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Kankuro Kaze allowed the doors to slam closed behind him as he stalked into the room. He sent Ten-Ten and Tayuya a dark looked, and then walked right out of the room again.

Tayuya shook her head. “Goddamn drum majors. Such fucking moody bas-“

Ten-Ten took the opportunity to kiss her. And she found, happily, that Tayuya didn't try to pull away.

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When Kankuro saw Ten-Ten and Tayuya sitting so close together, so content, he found himself so disgustingly jealous that he wanted to throw up.

He quickly left the band room, and hurried to the bathroom behind the library. No one ever went there. He would be safe. He went all the way down to the end stall, and locked the door. He sat down on the closed lid, and dropped his head into his hands.

He desperately tried to calm his breathing. He was hyperventilating, and he knew why.

Gaara was so sick. He was so sick, and he needed his medication now, goddammit. Not next Friday, not Wednesday, he needed it now. Itachi hated him. Itachi hated him so much, and had every right to do so. Why, why, why had he blown up like that? Why did he always have to get so fucking angry? Why did he let his anger take everything good away?

Without realizing what he had done, his fist flew out, and slammed against the stone wall that the stall was attached to, sending a jolt of pain skittering up his arm. He was breathing so hard… he felt like he had run a mile.

Why did he always get so motherfucking FURIOUS?

Again, his fist hit the wall.

He had been an inch away from hitting Itachi the day before. He was so close to doing it, it made him sick to think about. The only thing that had stopped him was the thought that

(you're just like him just like him just like him)

that was exactly what his father would have done.

Again, again, again, his fist hit the wall. The skin on his knuckles split, and blood began to slide down his hand. He didn't even notice, until he saw the red stains on the wall. He pulled his hand back against his chest, and held his breath for a moment.

“Calm down. Calm down,” he said to himself, letting the breath out, and taking in another one. He cradled his injured hand to his chest. “Calm down…” Tears slid down his face now, but he ignored them. The pain in his hand was stifling, and his knuckles were bleeding badly. He pulled some toilet paper off of the roll, and held it to his hand.

He was composed now. He could breath easier. He was fine. Fine.

He took another deep breath, and looked down at his hand.

Perfect. Now he needed to get a bandage from the nurse. That would be an interesting conversation… “Hi, Nurse! It's Kankuro again. Listen, I just slammed my fist into the bathroom wall in a totally uncontrollable fit of rage! Could I maybe get a Band-Aid?”

It was going to be a very, very bad day.

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Sasuke had resigned himself to hiding in the library. Sakura and her friends were on the prowl for man-blood. It may have been because of the upcoming basketball game against Roots… Sasuke wasn't sure.

One thing he was sure about, however, was that there was no way in hell he was leaving this room until the bell rang. The library was the one place the cheerleaders feared to tread.

He sat hunched over last night's biology homework, trying desperately to concentrate despite the pounding in his ears. He still hadn't gotten ahold of Gaara. And after Sunday, he almost wasn't sure he wanted to.

He sighed, sitting back in his chair. Yes, of course he wanted to. He was just… confused? Bewildered, maybe? He didn't know.

At that moment, he heard the sound of the library door opening.

“God damn it,” he grumbled, sliding down in his chair.

“Ah, Sasuke-love! There you are!” Sakura, in all her pink-haired glory, appeared from behind one of the shelves.

How did she find him? HOW?

“I just wanted to tell you,” she continued, smiling brightly. “There's a party up at the Mitoko's place on Friday, to celebrate the start of the basketball season! It would have been up at my place, but… well, you know,” she said, laughing uneasily at the mention of the disaster at the beginning of the year. “Uh…” She cleared her throat. “I was wondering… if maybe you'd like to go with me?”

Sasuke sighed.

“I'm sorry, Sakura, but I'm busy most of Friday,” he lied, staring at his pencil.

“Oh… all right!” Sakura said discerningly, not missing a beat. After all… he hadn't really said no, had he? “Well… maybe I'll see you there?”

“Maybe.”

Sakura grinned. “All right! Bye, Sasuke-love!” Then she left the library, her hands clasped behind her back.

Sasuke watched her leave, and rubbed his eyes.

He needed to focus. Now.

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Kat: AAARRRGHH!! WHY… WON'T… THIS… THING… SOUND… GOOD? -destroycrushmaims computer-

Sai: Penis.

Karene: …Why do you keep doing that?

Sai: Doing what?

Karene: … Never mind. -hugs him- You can come home with me!

Remi: Back off, BITCH, he's MINE!

Naruto: Oh no you don't, ho-bags!

-Major Bitch Fight ensues-

Soren: … Remi? You… TRAITOR! -cries-

Soriko: -watches with popcorn- Fun for the whole family, man.

Kat: …-shakes head- Why is it that I had to get the failures from the Muse School…? Why couldn't I get Junsui's muses? Or Ebony's muses? Or Stakeh's muses, they're good! Nooo… I got Penis Man, Fox Boy, Miss Perfect, Crybaby, Popcorn Boy and… Karene…

Muses: -momentarily cease their fighting to kill Kat-

The Authoress: -shakes head in embarrassment- Well! Please ignore that little display. And remember, readers! Reviewer Number One-Zero-Zero-Zero gets a request-fic!

I hope everyone knows that this fic will be ending within the next two chapters... be ready…