Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Help Me To Remember ❯ Hidden ( Chapter 2 )

I don't own anything

 

Hidden (adj) concealed from knowledge or exposure; kept a secret

 

Everyone cleared the hallway as Naruto and Gaara lugged the huge table out of the dining room, and Kiba and Sai dragged the new bed into the now empty room, pushing it into place by the wall with a groan. The boys had recently turned the empty bedroom into a dining room for their `meetings', and were changing it back to a bedroom for Sasuke.

 

Sasuke felt like a fifth wheel during the entire thing, but no one had allowed him to help, and had even forcibly locked him into Sai's practically bare room until they were done. The next things hauled into his new room had been a dresser, a bedside table, a table and a floor lamp, and a desk.

 

Finally, Sai unlocked his door and let the fuming Uchiha out.

 

“We're all set for you!” Naruto gave him a huge thumbs up, spreading his feet wide into a fighting stance.

 

This boy annoyed Sasuke to no ends. Literally. His flow of energy never stopped, on the other hand, his protector, Gaara was much more dark and distant. Sasuke wondered why the two of them were so close with their polar opposite personalities. Kiba had a similar personality to Naruto. He didn't have as much energy, but his ego easily made up for that. Then there was Sai, who was also distant, and not very loud, though Sasuke had noticed that he like to hang around Naruto.

 

Sasuke stormed by them and yanked up his things, dumping them on the bed.

 

“Now you did it.” Sai smacked Kiba's arm, making him wince. It had been Kiba's idea to lock Sasuke in Sai's room when Sasuke kept insisting on doing something. “He hasn't even been here two hours and already he hates our guts.”

 

Everyone's personality was so distinct. You would never, ever, ever mistake people here if someone was trying to get a hold of someone else by describing them. The one that jumped out the most though, was a certain blue-eyed idiot. He was unbelievably loud, so much so that Sasuke was surprised that his friends had let him keep his voice box intact this long. He soon learned why though.

 

During a `stroll' through the high school grounds, Gaara had ducked off to grab a soda from the school cafeteria and six or seven different dorm had jumped their group the second he was out of sight. Sasuke had also learned why room 372 and 374 were the elite in a school of gang fighting and murdering. Everyone had their own style of fighting, but they were obviously the best.

 

Naruto was loud, energetic and everywhere, Kiba had too big of an ego to loose, so he used whatever means necessary, Lee had used nothing but strength and speed, Shino had some sort of luck and bugs kept flying in his opponents' mouths and eyes and distracting them, Choji was strong, although Sasuke wouldn't have thought so because of the boy's obsession with food, and Neji and Shikamaru were geniuses, enough said.

 

The scariest part of the battle had been Gaara. Gaara had a serious need to make everyone he fought bleed insane amounts, and had been brutal to the ones going after Naruto. Broken arms, cuts and many other kinds of pain were administered before Gaara finally knocked his victim out, since killing was against school rules.

 

After the tour of the school, everyone sat down to dinner in the dorm, since none of them seemed to like the idea of eating in the school cafeteria. Rooms 374 and 206 had come over again, and had all squeezed them selves into the living room again while they ate.

 

Everyone was present save Hinata and Ino, who were busy in the kitchen. Hinata's food was incredible, and Ino seemed to really want to learn how to cook like that as well. She had been eyeing Sasuke earlier, and by the way his eyes had widened that tiny fraction of an inch at just how good Hinata's food was, there was a certain reason to why she had wanted to start learning tonight of all nights. No one else had noticed, but this girl had been staring so intently at him, that he was sure she had seen every cell in his body by now, which creeped him out to no ends.

 

Sasuke shoved himself into the farthest corner, while the rest seemed to migrate towards the center, the elite of the elite being closer to the center. In particular, Naruto for his strength and popularity in the school, Gaara for his power using fear, Neji for his brilliance, Tenten for her fighting skills, Sakura for her leadership over her dorm and her medical skills, and Shikamaru for his ability to find a solution to everything by just thinking, and though Sasuke had been watching them for ten minutes, he still wasn't sure how they all squeezed themselves in around that tiny coffee table.

 

“The four have been a pain in the ass lately.” Shikamaru sighed noisily. “Seriously troublesome.”

 

“No kidding.” Sakura agreed. “They jumped us the other day while you weren't around.”

 

“The four are a small group made up from dorm room 329. Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Tayuya.” Sai explained to Sasuke, leaning in so he could talk quieter. He was sitting by the Uchiha to translate things that Sasuke wouldn't know about so the conversation wouldn't have to get stopped every few sentences. “They really don't like us, a lot more so than the other dorms. They're always trying to prove their strength. They're also lead by Kabuto Yakushi.”

 

“I thought you said they were four,” Sasuke pointed out, “you named five.”

 

“Sakon and Ukon are twins, they have that weird identical twin telepathy and are always classifying themselves as one. Their second leader, Kimimaru is also in that dorm. I don't know why Tsunade put seven of them in there, Neji said something about hearing that their guardians wanted them to stay together during high school.” Sai shrugged.

 

“Should we jump them next?” Naruto offered, reading everyone's faces as he did.

 

A few looked supportive, but the others looked at each other with wary glances.

 

“We don't want to stoop to that level, it'll give them another reason to try and get rid of us.” Neji shook his head, his opal, pupil-less eyes staring straight ahead as he thought. It hadn't been hard to figure out that he and Hinata were related, the eyes made it too obvious to try to hide it. They had said something about being able to see what most people couldn't, but didn't continue the subject any further and Sasuke hadn't asked.

 

On Monday, things had gotten…interesting. For first period, Sasuke had English with Kakashi, and the entire class was mostly spent on codes and signals while Kakashi read some perverted book that was meant for horny fifty-year-old men who couldn't even land whores. For math he had Iruka, a man who had basically adopted Naruto as his son (another thing Sasuke planed to find out about later, maybe at dinner), and had been learning about the best directions and wind speeds for throwing knives. For PE, he had Gai, who was without a doubt the weirdest teacher on the planet, and had spent the entire class flashing his teeth and telling them about how youth was wonderful while they were practicing different fighting techniques. And then came lunch.

 

“Sasuke! Over here!”

 

Sasuke groaned, but he couldn't ignore the loud obnoxious blonde who was about to take his arm off he was waving so fast, and was forced to trek over to their table to eat. Some of the people he didn't mind so much. Neji, for example, was very much like him in the quiet and noticing sense, and his cousin Hinata was much the same, though she seemed to be unable to keep her natural facial color if Naruto was anywhere within her line of vision. While Shikamaru was a lazy pain in the ass who often skipped class because he dubbed it `too troublesome', he was a genius, and was able to relate to Sasuke through that.

 

History, his last class of the day had been the weirdest. It was empty. There were six other kids in the class besides him, and none of them even seemed to know the basics about gang history. Sasuke groaned mentally, his head in his hands as the teacher explained something for a fifth time because one student still hadn't gotten it on the fourth.

 

If I have to stay in this class, it's going to be a really long year.

 

Dinner

 

“How'd classes go?” Sai asked him, though he really didn't seem to care in the least about how Sasuke's classes had gone.

 

“What'd you think about PE with Gai?” Kiba raised his eyebrows, everyone around the table groaned. Sasuke almost joined in. Almost. Uchihas don't groan.

 

“Well, Lee certainly takes after him.” Naruto laughed, skipping cutting his meat all together and shoving the entire steak in his mouth.

 

“Why are there only six other people in my history class?” Sasuke asked finally, looking up to read faces. Immediately, everyone spared a glance to someone else. Naruto to Gaara and back, Sai to Kiba, and Neji even glanced to Sasuke to read his face, looking away quickly when he realized the Uchiha was watching them all.

 

“Sometimes the classes get too full.” Neji said, placing another piece of steak in his mouth.

 

“There are five other history classes of our year, they can't squeeze one or two more in per class?” Sasuke asked doubtfully, he wasn't even trying to hide his skepticism; he knew that Neji would notice it anyway, no matter how much he masked it. Neji saw everything.

 

“We don't make the class lists, we wouldn't really know.” Sai added in when no one else spoke up.

 

“But in every other class, all the dorms are kept together.” Sasuke said calmly, letting everyone know that he wasn't buying it.

 

“You did just join this school two days ago, maybe they want you in a class that's made for newbies, to make sure that your caught up.” Naruto shrugged. “A lot of us have been going here for even elementary school, but maybe they have different classes for the people who have just joined the school.”

 

No one spoke.

 

He does have a brain. Even Sasuke was a bit awed, though he would never show it, even if his life depended on it. And by the wide eyes of everyone else around the table, Naruto's brilliance didn't occur often. It was one hell of a distraction.

 

Distraction? Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he realized that they had been avoiding his actual question, because it was obvious they knew the real answer, and only Neji was hiding that really well. Sasuke also knew for a fact that two of the students in his class were not new to the school.

 

“Well, I'm done!” Naruto bounded up and dumped his plates in the sink before jumping off to his room. Gaara rose slowly after him, setting his plates soundlessly by the side of the sink before following the blonde, even though he hadn't even eaten half of his food.

 

“Gaara's always been protective of Naruto, they've been friends forever. I think Naruto was Gaara's first actual friend.” Neji explained. Sasuke clenched his teeth and snapped his head back in front of him as he realized he'd been staring after the two.

 

“Him and Naruto both had similar backgrounds, abusive fathers, mothers that died early…”

 

“About Iruka…” Sasuke said slowly, picking up on the father-son relationship being shared between the two during math.

 

“Is Naruto's legal guardian, after their father died.” Kiba finished for him. “Gaara's brother Shukaku is technically the Sabaku kids' guardian, and then his brother Kankuro and sister Temari, but Gaara prefers to think that he's an only child---from what I've picked up, anyway.” Kiba shoved the rest of his food down his throat and dumped his plates by the sink, stretching hugely before turning for his room. “Well, I'm going to turn in.” he called over his shoulder brightly, striding off to his room.

 

One by one, everyone left, and Sasuke was soon snapped out of his thoughts by the realization that he was alone, and jumped up, dumping his plates in the pile by the sink before using the saying: `when in Rome' and heading off to his room.

 

Morning

 

Sasuke was not a morning person. He never had been, and he never would be. He flattened villages with his rage when someone crossed him in the morning, and he didn't give a shit who it was, at least at the time. Not that he ever really regretted it later, but…

 

Unfortunately, because Sasuke had slept through his alarm, and was going to be late if someone didn't wake him, Naruto found out just how disagreeable Sasuke could be in the morning the hard way.

 

That and the fact that he didn't really want to wake up from his dream. He had so many questions…

 

“Finally.”

 

The boy was familiar, too familiar. His hair reached his shoulders… but the color…

 

The girl smiled. “I know.” She caressed her growing stomach. “And we don't have to hide him anymore.”

 

He smiled, leaning down to press his lips gently to hers, his arms snaking from her waist to overlap the hands on her stomach. “Him?” he repeated.

 

“I have a feeling…” She looked up at the full moon, the long meadow grasses sweeping around the skirts of her dress.

 

“I'm glad your father agreed.” He smiled.

 

She frowned; she couldn't get a good view of his face. He was important, the most important person in the world to her, but she couldn't see who it was. It was… buried too deep. The crease in her brow grew more prominent, she really wanted to know who he was, and it was driving her insane.

 

“What's wrong?” he hugged her tighter, pulling her as close as possible without hurting her.

 

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

 

Knock, knock.

 

“Sasuke?”

 

The boy lifted her hand gingerly up and stroked the gold band on her ring finger, kissing her lightly on the ear.

 

Knock, knock.

 

“Sasuke.”

 

“I love you.” He whispered; she twisted her head up to press her lips to his.

 

Blam! Blam!

 

“Oi! Uchiha! You're going to be late if you don't get your ass out here!”

 

The girl want to open her eyes and see who it was, because the curiosity was practically poking her, but she didn't care. She completely turned herself to wrap her hand around his neck.

 

Naruto growled back to the groan coming from inside the door, and squared his shoulders, gripping the handle.

 

“If he wants to sleep, then let him.” Gaara snarled quietly, rubbing the insides of his eyes. The insomnia caused by his endless nightmares was most prominent in the morning after he'd been lying awake in bed almost the entire night. He was also not someone to be crossed in the morning, not that he was really a good person to cross at any time, but…

 

“It's his third day, he'll be mad if he sleeps through it.” Naruto huffed and pushed the door open.

 

He tiptoed up to the bed and took a deep breath; the rest of the dorm covered their ears.

 

“I love you.” He whispered again.

 

She pressed her forehead to his. “I do too, ---”

 

Naruto leaned forward at the last second and bellowed right in Sasuke's ear: “WAKE UP!!!!!!!”

 

Sasuke's eyes popped as he threw the covers from him, wound his fist, and decked whoever dared disturb him as hard as he possibly could, sending the intruder in his room literally back into the hallway.

 

“OW! What the hell?!” Naruto clutched at his bleeding nose, tipping it forward so the blood dripped on the floor and not on his school uniform. He had made Iruka by him too many extras as it was.

 

Sasuke wrenched himself from his bed and stalked towards Naruto, towering over him with a glint in his eye that would send serial killers running for the hills with their tails between their legs. He fist drew back again and launched it, when something caught it from behind, and squeezed until it was painful. Sasuke whirled to attack the new disturbance, but stopped instantly when his eyes locked with Gaara's.

 

Gaara continued to tighten his grip on Sasuke's wrist and twisted it painfully slowly, making Sasuke bend back with him as he did. It was when he heard the first pop from his joints, and a smile that would've made serial killers chop of their own heads not to see spread on Gaara's face, that Sasuke realized that the youngest Sabaku actually meant to break his arm.

 

“Gaara, stop!” Naruto yelled, his fist and bag of ice that Sai had brought him was pinched around his nose, and a towel was being held by Kiba beneath his head to catch the freely flowing blood.

 

“I shouldn't have been so loud.” Naruto continued. Gaara's grip didn't loosen, and Sasuke's back was really starting to hurt from the way he was bending to keep his hand attached to his body.

 

“Gaara.” Naruto said again and Gaara huffed, flicking Sasuke's wrist away from him in disgust. He knelt down to check Naruto's nose, and deeming it fine, dragged the blonde out the door by the sleeve. No one but Naruto missed the death threat Gaara shot Sasuke in the form of a glare before he pulled the door shut.

 

“Jesus, did you have to slug him that hard?” Kiba barked, eyeing the large buddle of blood by Sasuke's feet. “And didn't we tell you just last night that Gaara is really protective of Naruto?” he said the last three words obnoxiously slowly, pronouncing every syllable like Sasuke wouldn't be able to understand it otherwise.

 

“I thought he was going to take your arm off.” Sai mused, a smirk aimed at the door where Gaara and Naruto had left. Sasuke shot him a glare that Sai easily ignored, and stomped back into his room to get dressed. He would skip the shower today, he would be late as it was.

 

Later

 

Sasuke fought the incredible urge to kick Ino and that pink haired idiot blabbering away in front of him in the teeth, maybe it would keep them from smiling so much if they were keeping their mouths closed to hide their missing front teeth. What the hell was her NAME anyway?! Ah, it didn't matter, he didn't care either way.

 

He knew he should go make sure that Naruto was all right, but he was so damn frustrated!

 

It was that dream again, the same one he'd been having since he'd enrolled in the school, and every time the girl in the dream was about to say the boy's name… some idiot had to go and barge in! He shot a glare at Naruto. He was mad, it was fine to blame it on someone, well it wasn't, but that's what he was doing. Deal.

 

It was a fucked up dream. Really, really fucked up.

 

The girl… her, black long hair in a braid down her back… it was so unbelievably familiar. She had been pregnant, about five months from the look of it, and married. Actually, to a spouse, married, with vows, and rings and kisses (and apparently sex) and everything else, even though they had both only looked to be as old as Sasuke was now, only sixteen.

 

The girl was almost too familiar, just like the boy. Her dark eyes and hair… his mother? Maybe he'd created the dream after seeing a picture of her when she was younger, but he ever even thought about his parents, and there were absolutely no memories of him looking at any pictures, let alone his mother's from who knows how many years ago. His parents never liked photos, and they weren't kept around the house, and Sasuke wasn't let out of the Uchiha estate without at least ten bodyguards because of safety reasons. The number of guards scared everybody, no one would be showing him pictures of their dogs in the streets.

 

The worst part was… he felt like he was the one in… in… love with the boy, almost along side the girl.

 

Yeah, it was seriously fucked up.

 

Sasuke growled. He was asexual, dammit! He'd come to the conclusion when he was about three, and hadn't looked back since, though it wasn't that hard not to look back. Girls had never turned him on. Ever. He'd even had a girl from his middle school strip her top in front of him to try to get him to go out with her. Needless to say, she'd been really flustered when he hadn't even blinked, and had just looked at her like she belonged in an asylum before walking away.

 

There was no way in hell he was gay. Who gave a shit what sexuality Itachi was? Sasuke had always been extremely different from his older brother in almost everything, so gender preference definitely fell under that category.

 

Sasuke growled as his eyes traced the form of the bubblegum-haired dumb ass in front of him, she was strong, and smart and obviously interested in him, maybe her…? It was going to happen one day. Itachi never planned on having any kids, seeing as how he and Deidara were both male, and were in no way going to ask another girl to carry one of their children so they could have kids, Sasuke was going to have to take over that role, now that the rest of their family was dead.

 

Itachi had whacked Sasuke upside the head when he'd suggested that two girls could carry his and Deidara's children, and Deidara looked as though he was about to hurl. Sasuke had left the room quickly after that.

 

Orochimaru. The name felt like acid on his tongue. The man who had killed his family out of jealousy.

 

Orochimaru had started to chase after Itachi when they worked together in the same gang, and after Itachi had forcibly turned him down for the eighth time and chosen Deidara, Orochimaru had attacked the Uchiha clan. No one knew that aside from Sasuke, his older brother, and his brother's lover.

 

That memory was like a shard of ice stabbed through Sasuke's heart that would stab just a little bit further every time something reminded him of it. Namely: other peoples' parents.

 

Flashback

 

Sasuke ran down the hallway, a huge grin spread across his face. He was so happy, he felt like he would fly if Itachi's agreement to play hide and seek with him wasn't keeping him grounded. His brother was home, and safe, and wouldn't be leaving again for another week. He had an entire week to spend with his brother.

 

He laughed and skidded to a halt, pushing open the door to his father's study and crawling under the desk and curling his knees up to his chest in an effort to stay as hidden as possible.

 

Footsteps. Sasuke pressed his hand over his mouth to smother his giggle. Itachi always found him quickly, but the chase afterwards was worth it. Sasuke was so small, he could fit into so many places where Itachi couldn't, like dumbwaiters, and servants' passages.

 

The door creaked open, and legs could be seen in the shadows from outside the door. Sasuke fought not to giggle again.

 

The sound of metal being drawn across wood broke through the silent air. Sasuke frowned, why was his brother carrying around his sword? Maybe he was going to show Sasuke some new moves?

 

A foot was braced against the desk as Sasuke frowned, and then the desk shattered above his head. Sasuke's hands shot up to shield his head as he yelped, his eyes flying up and widening when they locked with the snake eyes of one of his brother's band. Orochimaru.

 

A feral smile spread on the sickly green skin of the man, and though Sasuke had had many different occasions to be with this man, the grin sent shivers skittering up his back, and he was suddenly terrified. Terrified for his life.

 

A scream, and Orochimaru's grin widened, if possible.

 

“Mother!” Sasuke popped up from his crouched position, yelling out to where the scream had echoed from.

 

“And so it ends.” Orochimaru whispered, drawing his sword back over his shoulder.

 

Sasuke staggered back. “What are you doing?!” he shouted fiercely, though he felt anything but that, especially as his back hit the wall and he realized that he was completely cornered. He knew this move well, he had seen his brother's gang fight numerous times to protect the Uchihas. One clean sweep, that was all it took to severe the victim's head from his body.

 

“Sasuke!”

 

Sasuke couldn't answer his brother's frantic yell, as much as he desperately wanted to. His throat had long since frozen with fear.

 

Itachi. He felt the water pool in his eyes, and the metal gleamed, slashing down.

 

A smash, and Sasuke's eyes flew opened, coming face to face with blonde hair and the traditional Akatsuki robes. Deidara was crouched in front of him, grappling swords with Orochimaru.

 

“You wont touch him.” Deidara growled menacingly.

 

“Sasuke!” the door smashed, flying off its hinges in a million splinters as Itachi ran into the room. It only took him one second to understand what had happened before his sword was out and he was attacking the traitor.

 

Sasuke panicked as the metal flashed around him faster than he could see and bolted for the door, running smack into Kabuto, who gripped his shoulders tightly, laughing.

 

Time stopped. Sasuke had a dagger at his throat, and Orochimaru was laughing.

 

“Come now Itachi. Let's be reasonable.” Orochimaru jumped away, landing lightly by Kabuto and griping the front of Sasuke's shirt, lifting him off the ground and pressing his own sword to the boy's throat. Sasuke swallowed.

 

“You're family is already dead, and unless you want the brat to follow them to the afterlife, I suggest you rethink your answer.”

 

Itachi straightened, and closed his eyes.

 

No! Sasuke panicked, struggling against his hold. “Don't Itachi!” he yelled. “Run, just leave me!”

 

“Enough Sasuke.” Deidara said calmly. His sword was lying on the ground, his eyes on Itachi, waiting for something.

 

“But---!”

 

“Sasuke.”

 

Sasuke's head whipped in his brother's direction. Itachi's eyes were still closed, but he seemed anything but relaxed, like the way he did before performing a complex sword move, and then his eyes opened.

 

The rest was blurry. A flash of metal, blood, a purple tongue, Deidara grabbing him and shielding him, smoke that burned his eyes, black fire, and red eyes with black markings in them.

 

End Flashback

 

“Sasuke! The Christmas Even Dance is coming up!” Sakura wedged herself obnoxiously close to him, proceeding only to push his buttons more by wrapping her arms around his neck. “Want to go with me?” she practically sang.

 

“Hn.” He growled, trying not to hit her. What the hell is her name?!

 

“Sakura, you big-foreheaded idiot! Get off him, he wants to go with me!” Ino clung to his other side.

 

Oh yeah, her name's Sakura. “No I don't, get off me now.” He snarled, standing up and dumping them both on the floor.

 

“Sasuke!” Naruto barked from across the room, jabbing a finger in his direction. “You can't talk to Sakura like that!”

 

“Shut up Naruto! Don't talk to Sasuke like that!” Sakura shot up to shake her fist at him. Sasuke took the opportunity to leave.

 

Christmas Eve, the time for love, what a fucking joke. Sasuke scowled, heading for the dorm. He would try to fall asleep and see if he could finish the dream while everyone else was busy.