Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ When Darkness Falls ❯ Chapter 5: Sasuke's Reasons ( Chapter 6 )

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

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto or the movie “Darkness Falls”
Summary: So, why exactly does Sasuke have a coin if Matilda didn't give it to him ...?
Pairing: SasuNaru
Chapter 5: Sasuke's Reasons ...

Blue eyes blinked … once … twice … three times as Sasuke continued moving in a moment, opening up the refrigerator and pulling out what seemed to be a bottle of water from it, unscrewing the top and taking a sip. As if he’d just said nothing at all. Nothing … Blonde spikes swayed as the teenager stalked over to the brunette, saying,

“Oi – you’d better explain yourself, teme; what’s that supposed to mean?” A fine black eyebrow quirked as the pale boy turned around to face his roommate, and black eyes blinked once … twice … almost as if gauging whether Naruto was serious or not. As if finally deciding that the boy was actually asking the question, he shrugged a shoulder and said,

“It means exactly what it sounds like; she killed my entire family sixteen years ago.” And then, he shouldered past the other easily enough, walking towards the bed that was across the room, as his book seemed to have been left on the nightstand he had been leaning on the night previous; he picked up said reading material.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, looking over at the other; he knew that Sasuke had no intention of telling him anything else about it – which annoyed the boy to no end. There he goes with his “I’m better than you” attitude again … You could practically see the smoke rising from the boy’s ears as he glared over at the other.

“Well fine then – I’m leaving,” he said sharply, turning on his heel and stalking towards the door, though he did take a flashlight off of the counter as he passed it, no matter how much he hated himself for it in the end, opening the door, and closing it with a ‘bang’.

Unbeknownst to the flustered blonde however, black eyes that were presumably focused on the pages of the book, were fixed on the retreating back of the teen …


“Man, who does he think he is!? I mean, if we’re stuck together, he could at least try to get along with me, right?” the blonde brooded; his hands were behind his head, and he was walking down the street in more than mild annoyance at Sasuke’s attitude earlier that day. It was about noon now, and the blonde was getting hungry, but he didn’t have any money left; he was going to have to go back to the brunette’s place if he wanted to eat. And … since his schedule almost revolved around his stomach, that seemed like a very likely occurrence as he looked around a few times, trying to ignore his stomachs' angry growlings. He had left his newspaper copies in the apartment, so that really wasn't going to quell his bordem at the moment; they had all been on the 'legend' of the tooth fairy. Naruto just kept walking.

He wasn't used to being hungry, the thought absently running through his head as he moved aimlessly around people and down the streets. The orphanage always kept him well fed and warmly clothed; he had never been lonely before, always having his friends and Tsunade to hang out with. Naruto shoved his hands deeper into his pockets, eyes cast down and shadowed in the high noon-time sun as his bangs swayed in front of them. They had always been together - all seven of the boys and Tsunade-baba, as Naruto had liked to call her; and they had easily welcomed Konohamaru into their group when he had come, a new member of their room only two weeks previous. He had latched onto 'Naruto-niisan', as he'd insisted on calling him, because he had told the blue eyed boy once that he had never had an older brother before, even thoug he'd always wanted one.

Naruto sighed as he continued to look down at the sidewalk below his feet, the construction boots that covereed them still moving of their own accord, taking him wherever they deemed it necessary. Some older brother I turned out to be, hm? Naruto mentally berated himself, his foot coming down a little bit harder than it might have as he kicked at a loose stone on the sidewalk. I run like a little bitch and leave him to get killed ... with all of the rest of them ... Naruto bit his lip as he continued walking; he was really good at the whole 'beating yourself up' thing, even if someone tried to console him about it later. A sigh left his lips and a shiver curled slowly down his spine, the wind picking up for just a moment and brushing his hair away from his face softly.

Eventually, he made it to the bridge in one of the parks that were in the town; it was springtime, so the Sakura blossoms were falling from the trees like snowflakes; it would have been very pretty if Naruto had stopped to appreciate it. Crossing his arms though, he leaned over the side of the bridge slightly, propping his elbows on the small wooden railing and looking down at the slim river. He remembered coming here when he was small with Neiji, Shikamaru, and the others to catch creyfish in the summer time; one year, he had taken one up to show Tsunade, and she had screamed and waved her hands, sending it flying and onto Akamaru's back, sending the puppy flying as it grabbed his tail.

Naruto smiled at that memory. They had all laughed and been happy at that point in time. There had been no Matilda Dickson, no loose tooth, no gold coin ... None of this. They were still alive ... ... But thanks to me ... the blonde felt his eyes tearing slightly, and he scrubbed angrily at them with the back of his arm; he wouldn't cry - that would only bring more dishonor to their memories, he knew. All of them had always said that crying was weak, and that if and when they died, they didn't want to be remembered by weak people.

I won't be weak ... for all of your sakes ... ... I will stay strong ... And I will survive this - I will figure out a way to beat her ... for all of you ... he vowed silently to that nearly still river. It was almost as if he could see their reflections in the surface of the water, smiling back at him, as if they were pleased with what he had said... ...




He didn't stay out for too long, having most definately learned his lesson the night previous, instead returning back to the apartment around four in the afternoon or so. He turned the handle of the door quietly, pushing it open as he went after he unlocked it with the key he had been given by Kakashi. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen; which was odd - for the past two days it seemed that the brunette hadn't left the apartment at all, let alone when it was only a few hours until sunset. The blonde shrugged his shoulders - in about two hours, he'd start to get worried. Instead, he moved over to the refridgerator, pulling the door open and blinking. Hmm. Bottled water. ... ... bottled water .... ... bottled water ... bottled water .... Christ, there were like, four cases of it in there. And what looked to be ... a package of ... Strawberry Onigiri .... ? Naurto closed the door and opened the freezer ... Ice ... ... Ice Cream ... ... And a box of something frozen, but he wasn't exactly sure what that was, and he didn't want to test it ...

Moving to the cupboards, he continued his search for sustinence, and was eventually rewarded with a can of tomato soup, as well as bread in the microwave and, under a second inspection, both butter and cheese in the refridgerator, on the door. So, at least he could live off of soup and grilled cheese, right? ... Right.

After he'd eaten, Naruto laid down on the bed again; Sasuke wasn't back, and it was nearly 5:30. But, the blonde had already told himself that he wasn't going to worry for another half an hour ... ... He was just trying to tell his mind that, as it kept flickering back to the self-same question over and over again; where was Sasuke?

Telling himself to cut it out, the blonde retrieved those newspaper clippings that he had found and started to skim them; there was an old one, a very old one, by the yellowed quality of the copy, that only had a small headline about the toothfairy ... ... He skimmed that slowly, though his eyes began to feel heavy as he bit back a yawn, attempting to focus on the words that were written out on the photocopy.

Blue eyes blinked as the door opened, a yawn pulling itself from his lips as he sat up part way, propping himself up on one arm and glancing at the clock. 5:59. Looking back up at the door, he identified the shape as Sasuke. Looks like I don't need to worry about him afterall ... The blonde thought to himself as he sat up a little straighter. Something was ... ... Different. He couldn't place exacxtly what it was, but it was there, unmistakeably.

"Do you want to know?" the voice came quietly as Sasuke set his bag on the floor next to the door, dark eyes cast down at the floor; it almost looked as if a raincloud was hovering over the other's head, dampening the entire room and sapping all the energy in the atmosphere away. God he's acting emo ... the blue eyed blonde thought before he realized he had absolutely no idea what the other was talking about.

"Do I want to know what, teme?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the other and moving to sit cross-legged on top of the bed in his socked feet. Sasuke's long, dark sleeves fell over his hands almost completely, the tips of his long, pale fingers just barely visible under the fabric as he absently curled them around his elbows, leaning against the wall in such a fashion that his eyes still couldn't be seen, covered by a stark shadow.

"Why I have this coin if Matilda didn't give it to me, why I know what I do about her, why I've survived for fourteen miserable years ..." the blue eyed male blinked; he didn't know what had brought around this change of heart, but he wasn't at the moment going to argue with it; he wasn't sure why he wanted so desperately to know, but he did - perhaps it was beacause it was the coin that somehow linked the two of them together. Made them common victims. Or maybe it was the knowledge that Sasuke seemed to present that might somehow aid him in his quest; he had meant what he'd vowed to the nine tha that had been killed. He would destroy her, or he would die trying.

Naruto didn't say a word; just stayed intently quiet as he waited for Sasuke to continue.

"I wasn't exactly a baby; I was about three or so ..." he started with a breath, still reclined against that wall as if he was holding it up, one jean-clad leg crossed over the other as he still looked straight down at the hard wood floor. "I don't really remember too much ... just that I woke up when I heard someone scream ... and footsteps ... running footsteps ..." The story was slow in its coming, but Naruto remained silent the brunette spoke; he had the feeling that if he dared to breathe wrong, Sasuke would stop telling him the only useful information he might get from anyone - he somehow doubted there was anyone else in the city, or even the world for that matter, with more information on Matilda Dickson than Uchiha Sasuke.

"My older brother, Itachi, was about nine or ten at the time, and he suddenly came slamming into my room so that I jumped up, closing the door behind him with a bang. He had a flashlight with him, one of the big ones, and he shoved it into my hands. I ... ... I could barely hold it, and it was heavy. ... He ... pushed the coin into my other hand just as the door banged open behind him, and he turned around quickly ... I don't know if he couldn't get to his own flashlight in time, or if it wouldn't turn on ... or what .... ... But I ... ... I can still hear that strange, almost gurgling sound as he ... tried to breathe ... tried to tell me something ... ... I don't know what ... ... And then, that white mask ... ... and that rasping, croaking breathing as she came for me, because I had seen her. That, and the sound of rain that I almost didn't notice in the background ... But ... ... that light ... it saved me ... ... I was alive in the morning when she screamed and darted off ... ... Almost like a promise that she would come back ... " Sasuke still hadn't moved from the wall, and the blonde still hadn't said a word - he wanted to, but he knew that the brunette would only answer if unprovoked, the unasked question he'd already comitted himself to answering. Why did he know what he knew ...?

"I ... I got up, after I was sure she was gone, looking over the edge of the bed and climbing down ... ... ... I remember ... slipping ..... ... ... ... and I'm sure now it was in Itachi's blood ... ... But, his eyes ... I couldn't pay attention to the blood because I saw his eyes ... ... ... Open wide, in fear ... ... His chest had been torn up by strange marks ... ... I ran. Got up and ran away from my room, and down the hallway to my parents room. It was cold ... ... the morning air against the cold blood that was coating one of my legs stinging at my skin ... ... ... " One of Sasuke's hands moved upwards, to rest over his mouth loosely, the elbow still supported by the other hand, never looking up.

"But ... there was no one left ... I was all alone ... ... ... ... My parents were in their room ... I think he went there first, and I only found out years later that there had been a power outage that night due to a thunderstorm. No one could turn on any lights. I ... ... remember stumbling out into the main road of the compound, slipping in the mud when I saw all of the bodies. ... ... My aunts ... cousins ... uncles .... ... my friends ... ... everyone was dead. All with those strange marks on them. ... It was almost seven hours before the police found me, sitting on the ground and just staring at them all, partially covered in blood and mud - it had all run together in the rain and wetness that covered the ground ... " The hand that was on Sasuke's face moved, though to do what, Naruto wasn't sure, but he had no time to ponder this as Sasuke continued,

"My brother - he had always been fascinated with the story of Matilda Dickson. He had a book about her, actually. I don't know what happened to Itachi's, but I was never able to find another copy of that book. That's where I found out everything I know. It was one of the things that came with me to the orphanage, but when Kakashi took me in 'temporarily' a few years ago, I lost it ..."

Naruto just stared ...

TBC ...

AoS: Sorry this took so long ... I finally had an hour or two that I could write up this chapter without interruptions ...
Naruto: Yeah ... half a year later .... .... >_>
Sasuke: -.-
AoS: ... ... ^^'' Ah, gomen, gomen ... ... But, it's better late than never, right? ... ... Ahe he ... .. ^^''
Naruto: ... ... ...
AoS: ^^'' Just ... hope you liked it ... ... ...


Glossary:

Teme - bastard
baba - old lady
niisan - older brother
Onigiri: kind of like a rice ball with sweet or meat filling; can be a dessert or it can be main course (in this case, it's a dessert)