The Hypocrite (Chapter One)
Name: Cinderella's Slipper
Author: healielle
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Uchiha Sasuke X Uzumaki Naruto
Theme: Zeta#1: chess
Rating: Teens
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and his affiliates.
Summary: When Sasuke accidentally saves Naruto's life, the latter returns the favor by cheating Sasuke out of some money. Sasuke feels slightly irritated with that.
Warnings: AU
“Watch out!”
Uchiha Sasuke stopped walking as a bottle of water came crashing down in front of him. He looked up to see where it had come from, a boy smiled apologetically, “Sorry!”
He picked up the bottle and threw it back at the boy, nodding as the bottle was caught. He touched his headphones, adjusting them. They had slipped off slightly when he’d turned to look up - he hated it when that happened.
“Fast reflexes.” The boy he was walking with grinned at him, “Sort of like you knew what was about to happen.”
Sasuke smirked at him, “Yes, sort of.”
“So how was the exam today? It was so troublesome, to turn up for something stupid like that.” He touched his head, an irritated look on his face.
Sasuke couldn’t agree more. He hated coming to College. Just because he was good at History didn’t mean he enjoyed studying it. The paper had been too easy, especially since he had a general idea of what would come, “Fine.”
The boy looked at him from the corner of his eyes, “Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
“Shikamaru-kun!” The boy stopped walking as a blonde girl called out to him, “There you are. Come on! You’re late for practice.”
Shikamaru gave her a bored look, “I already told you, I’m not participating in some College fest where…” She started walking towards them and he stopped talking, “Tch. See you later Sasuke.” He turned around and started walking away as fast as he could.
“Can you believe that?” The girl reached Sasuke and glared at him, “He’s your friend. Can’t you do something about him?”
Sasuke gave her a blank look, “Okay.”
She sighed and started jogging after Shikamarau, “Hey! Come back here.”
Sasuke stared after both of them. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips but he hid it. Typical. He knew what was going to happen.
It had been five years now.
Sasuke touched the left pocket in his pants - that was where he normally stored the papers. It was a little game he and his old best friend had come up with. A little game to see if they could foretell the future. What had started off as a simple decision maker had quickly turned into a divination device of sorts, and that was where his life had started to fall apart. Not that he complained really, it was helpful to know exactly what was going to happen. By now, he didn’t even need to use the papers. He could tell just by looking. He turned his head to look at a small boy that ran past him, shoelaces untied and a bright red balloon in his hands.
‘That’s going to pop.’
The boy tripped and fell, accidentally releasing his grip on the balloon. He started crying, and a woman came out from a house to console him. Meanwhile, the balloon floated in the air, until it hit the metal edge of the shop Sasuke had just crossed. It popped. Sasuke felt a smile tug at his lips again. He quite enjoyed it really, knowing what was going to happen. But life was boring at the same time. The only future he couldn’t see was his own. It was just too uncertain; there were just too many possibilities. He reacted by completely ignoring any sign of his own future. He would build it based on those of others.
He was walking home. The same street, the same people, the same story. The only thing that separated him from the mundane masses was this little trick. He took out the pieces of paper from his pocket. They were two chits of paper. One read ‘Yes’ and the other ‘No’.
“Uff.” He grunted as he felt someone crashing into him.
“Ah. Sorry.” He looked at the man he had crashed into. He was blonde, and tall. Sasuke noted that he was slightly toned. He looked at his own arms and started to feel annoyed. He was just too skinny.
He looked away from the man and continued walking.
“I’ll buy you a new one. Tell me where you bought it.” The woman smiled, holding the boy’s hand. The boy had stopped crying. Sasuke paused for a moment, watching the two. The boy looked at him and grinned. He raised his eyebrows in response.
‘That woman might die.’
He stopped to consider the possibilities. He couldn’t really see her future, it was slightly blurry. That usually meant that the person was going to die. He surveyed the area around him - he didn’t want to be involved in anything messy. There was a bridge a little distance away from where he stood. The edge of that bridge had long since been considered rickety. Was she going to fall?
He vaguely considered the possibility of helping her. Should he? It was a Rule he had come up with once he had discovered this unique ability of his - he would not alter anyone’s future. He liked to believe it was because he believed in destiny, that even if he saved someone now, they would just die later. But he knew the real reason. He was scared of not knowing what was going to happen. He was just too used to it.
He saw her walk towards the bridge, smiling at the small boy and trying to console him. The boy rubbed his eyes, still visibly sobbing. They were getting closer now. Sasuke felt that he could hear his heart rapidly beating in his chest. If he had to help her, now would be the time. His feet felt like lead, they would not move.
The woman placed a foot on the bridge. Nothing happened.
Sasuke felt as if he couldn’t breathe. Was he wrong? No, it didn’t work that way.
He watched as she touched the railing lining the bridge. At the same time, the boy tripped on his shoelaces, and fell on top of the woman. She leant on the railing for support.
It broke.
“No…” Sasuke felt his feet start to move. He watched as the expression on the woman’s face morphed from laughter, to confusion, and finally into fear. He watched as she screamed and threw the boy away from her, so that he could be safe. Time seemed to move painfully slowly. He had been right, that woman was going to die.
“Sakura-chan!”
Sasuke grunted as he felt someone roughly push him aside. He stumbled on his feet and fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach. He looked at the man from behind. His eyes opened wide, he remembered running into this man just moments ago. All of a sudden, the situation felt clear to him. The woman was not going to die.
He watched as the blonde man ran towards the bridge. People had started to gather around the place. But no one moved to help the woman holding on to the broken edge of the railing. The man rushed in as fast he could. He took hold of her arms, hoisting her up. Sasuke watched as the man held the woman and pulled her on to the bridge.
No, the woman wasn’t going to die. That man was.
Sasuke felt his mind reel and his body move. He didn’t understand what he was doing. He watched as the man stood up, smiling; he watched as the man looked down the bridge. He watched as he visibly paled and stumbled. He watched the man fall.
Why was he getting so much closer? Sasuke could swear he could see the man much more clearly now, like he was just in front of him. The man’s face had turned pale, and his eyes betrayed fear. Sasuke heard screams ring through the air. He felt the man’s hands grab on to his. He felt someone pull him from behind.
“Naruto? Naruto? What happened?”
Uchiha Sasuke blinked. What had just happened? He felt something soft under him. He reached out and touched it. It was a face; and a small one at that.
“Ouch. Geroff me… Oww!” The face was talking to him? Realization hit him as he stood up.
He had been sitting on the boy with the untied shoelaces, “Thank you, yes.” Sasuke eyed him warily.
“What are you thanking me for?”
The boy looked at him like he was a hero, “You’re humble, big brother. For saving Naruto-niichan!”
For saving Naru- who? Sasuke felt his mouth open in dismay as he noticed the blonde man sitting on the bridge, next to him, with a dazed look on his face. The woman looked worried. She turned to him momentarily, “Thank you, thank you so much! I don’t know what happened…” She looked back at the man, “Naruto? Naruto!”
“I’m fi-fine Sakura-chan.” The man had snapped out of his daze. He looked at Sasuke and smiled, “Thank you.”
Sasuke felt himself mumble a ‘no problem’.
What had he done? He was such a fool! He stumbled to his feet, grabbed his bag from where it had fallen on the bridge and ran.
What he didn’t notice before leaving was that in all that confusion, his Student ID card had fallen out of his bag. It laid there on the bridge even after all the people left. It lay there as if it was waiting for someone to come and pick it up.
Later that night, the card got its wish.
The man looked at the card carefully, “Uchiha… Sasuke? Konoha University.” That wasn’t far from here. He would go and thank the boy personally tomorrow. He wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for him, after all.
Sasuke came inside his room, taking off his headphones.
That stupid man had ruined everything. He’d been working to maintain his perfect future for five years, and now he had to do it all over again. Maybe he was wrong?
He took out the pieces of paper; he would stay up all night and work on this if he had to.
“Sasuke?”
Sasuke turned his head back, “Itachi.”
The older man stood there, an eyebrow cocked to one side. Sasuke waited for the man to speak, but he just stood there with an inquiring look on his face.
Sasuke sighed, “I saved someone.”
Itachi’s expression changed to a frown, “You what?”
“It was an accident.” Sasuke started, “Did I do something irreparable?”
“Maybe.” Itachi smirked, looking slightly amused.
“Itachi?” Sasuke politely asked.
“Yes?”
“Go away.” The older man smiled pleasantly as he closed the door.
Sasuke inhaled deeply, this had just been a bad day.
The door opened, “Oh, and Sasuke?”
Sasuke suppressed his desire to growl, “Yes, Itachi?”
“Good night.”
“Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Itachi sounded disappointed. Sasuke smirked; maybe the day hadn’t been a complete waste.
Sasuke felt as if he couldn’t take his head off the table. That had been a good nap. He looked to his left. Shikamaru was still sleeping. Well, at least classes were over for the day.
“Ah… Sasuke-kun?” A small, faint voice drew his attention. He looked in front of him. It was Hyuuga Hinata.
“Yes?” He tried to be polite. He just did not like the Hyuuga family, especially not after what Neji had done to him.
“About the fest…” He poked her fingers together and looked away from him, “… Will you be playing with us?”
“No.” He tugged at his bag; he was going to leave now. Besides, he hadn’t picked up his bass in over two years. He got up to leave and sat down again. The bag wouldn’t budge. He trailed the end of the bag to under Shikmaru’s head, ‘He needs two bags to make a pillow?’
“Shikamaru-ku…” He heard Hinata call out to the boy, probably in an attempt to help him. Anger rose as he yanked at his bag, wincing in pain as Shikamaru’s head came crashing on to his.
The boy sat in his seat, rubbing at his head, “Sasuke? Have you finally gone crazy?”
“I’m leaving.” Sasuke grabbed his bag and moved from his desk, giving Hinata one last nasty look before he left.
Sasuke looked at his iPod and turned the volume up.
“Hey! Hey. Wait!” Shikamaru should catch up with him in about five… four… three. Two…, “Sasuke.” Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. So he wasn’t wrong. That meant he should be able to foretell most of the other things as well. He could definitely tell that girl was going to come and irritate him at any rate. Though seeing as she did it everyday, he didn’t really need to have weird abilities to foretell that.
“Hmm?” He stuck his hands in his pocket, feeling for the chits. Just feeling them there made him feel a lot better.
“I can hear your music from here, I’m going to talk to you, you know.” Shikamaru yawned, a hand covering his mouth.
Sasuke nodded, he could just read Shikamaru’s lips.
They were walking towards the University gates, ready to go home. Neither of them liked staying back in College after classes. In fact, them doing classes was a rarity in itself. Fear of being kept back a year was all that dragged them to the campus.
“Do you have a problem with her?” Shikamaru cautiously inquired, “Hinata I mean?”
Sasuke’s eyes turned into slits at the mention of her name, “No, not her. Someone she’s related to.”
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, “Either way…” His eyes turned to a group of girls who were huddling near the gates and giggling amongst themselves, “… What are they pointing at?”
Sasuke followed their gaze and stopped, his mind reeling. Was this what they called Murphy’s Law? There, at the gates of Konoha University, stood the man he had saved the day before. He stood next to a shiny orange bike, a helmet tucked under his left arm.
“What is that?” Shikamaru asked. He looked at Sasuke, “Do you know him?”
Sasuke looked very disturbed. His face had contorted into a fierce scowl and his voice sounded strained, “No.” He quickly turned around and started walking back into the University.
“I thought we were leaving.” Shikamaru sounded confused.
“I’ll leave later.” Sasuke started to walk faster, not looking back. He just prayed the man hadn’t seen him. Maybe the man hadn’t come to see him? He shook his head, what were the chances of that?
“Sasuke.” Great. Shikamaru was following him. He slowed down so that his friend could catch up. Wait. Those footsteps… There were more than just Shikamaru’s… How? The campus was mostly empty this early. Shikamaru… Sasuke’s eyes widened. He hadn’t.
Sasuke turned around and came face to face with the one person he was sure he never wanted to see again, “Yes?”
“Are you doing the other classes? How troublesome.” Shikamaru massaged his neck, stretching slightly.
But Sasuke didn’t answer him. He couldn’t take his eyes off the man he’d saved; or his bright orange jacket, or his faded yellow helmet. This man should be dead.
The man cleared his throat, “About yesterday…” He started, handing Sasuke an ID card. That was his? His eyes widened, he must have dropped it in all the confusion. He stared at the man, had he come all this way just to give this to him?
“You saved my life. Thank you.” Naruto smiled pleasantly.
Sasuke nodded. The sooner this man left, the better for Sasuke. He still had his Art classes to get to, and Kakashi always made the students who had come in late work extra hard.
“I’m Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto” The man continued. It was nothing Sasuke didn’t already know. He nodded again.
Naruto looked at him, smiling. Sasuke looked back, a frown slowly forming on his face. What did this man want?
Shikamaru sighed, “Ahem”.
Sasuke looked at his friend. What was he was supposed to do, introduce himself to a guy who already knew who he was? Naruto certainly seemed to think so, if the patient grin on his face was anything to go by, “Uchiha… Sasuke.” He said, lowering his head.
The man nodded, he seemed happy, “My friend wanted to apologize to. She didn’t realize…”
Sasuke nodded, “I understand.”
Naruto turned to Shikamaru and nodded, acknowledging him. The boy nodded back.
Both Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at Naruto with indecipherable expressions on their faces. It made the man slightly uncomfortable, “Ah…” He grinned and placed a hand on his head, “Well, I have work now. See you Sasuke.” He gave a small salute and turned to leave.
‘See you?’ Sasuke could feel his left eye twitch. All he wanted to do was forget about yesterday. The thought of a future different from the one he had woken up to the day before made him feel miserable. They both watched as the man walked out of the campus, climbed on his bike, gave them a cheery wave and was off
“You coming tomorrow?” Shikamaru was the first to break the silence.
“Don’t know. If I can get up.”
Shikamaru grinned, “Me too. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
With any luck, he wouldn’t run into those people anymore.
Sasuke traced his hands over the screen on his iPod, absentmindedly thinking of all that had happened. He was almost at the place the near-accident had happened yesterday. He slowed down his pace and looked at all the people on the street. If there were any signs of those people, he would just turn around and run.
“I was hoping to find you here.” Sasuke inwardly sighed. Yes, this was definitely Murphy’s Law.
He turned and came face to face with the woman from the day before. ‘Sakura’, he remembered the man had called her that.
“Umm… me and my friend… We wanted to thank you properly for yesterday, we work nearby. Do you want to come?” She pointed down the road. This was the famous ‘Food District’ of Konoha. It was lined with restaurants on both sides of the road. Sasuke had already eaten in most of the places here. So these people worked here? That may have been where he’d seen this woman before. She somehow had seemed familiar to him, even the day before.
“No.”
Sakura looked slightly shocked, “Oh! You don’t have to pay, the meal’s on the house.” She smiled at him.
He gave her a blank look.
She looked slightly disappointed, “Please?”
He continued to stare at her. Couldn’t she understand him?
Her eyes started to glisten as she looked at him, “Please? We really want to thank you.”
Sasuke felt a small part of him feel guilty. But he really didn’t have the time to go. He had to go back and have lunch, he was sure Itachi had something ready for him. Then he’d have to run to Art class, he really didn’t have the time.
Sakura gave him a look of utter misery.
“Okay.”
The tears disappeared and she was suddenly all smiles, “Good. This way please.” She pointed towards a small, dilapidated house with a broken sign in front of it. He scrunched his eyes. This was a restaurant? He suddenly felt very wary of the situation.
He read the broken sign, “‘Ichiraku Ramen’?”
“Yes. My friend owns the place now. It used to belong to someone he knew.” Sakura smiled at him as she beckoned him to come inside. So that man works here?
Sasuke felt weird. Not knowing the future was strange.
“Sasuke!” The boy automatically turned to the person who had called out his name.
Naruto stood behind the counter. He was dressed in the same garments he’d worn earlier that day when he’d gone to Konoha University to see Sasuke. The apron and the chef’s hat did make him look slightly different though, “You came. Grab a seat!” The man disappeared behind a door, a spatula in hand.
Sasuke looked uncomfortable. The man was getting too friendly far too quickly for his tastes.
“He’s always like that.” Sakura laughed, “But we’re really happy you came. Please take a seat.” She pointed at the empty row of chairs dominating the place. Did no one ever come here? How did these people survive? Sasuke carefully surveyed the place, “Well then, I’ll be back soon.” And with that, Sakura disappeared behind the kitchen door.
It was dark, the smell of the food from the kitchen was overpowering. The paint on the walls had started to peel and the room was unusually stuffy. Sasuke had spent a considerable part of his life exploring the Food District, but this was the first time he’d even seen this place.
He placed his bag on the large counter in front of him and sat down. With this he’d have just enough time to make it to Art class. He just hoped it was one of those days that Kakashi decided to be late. But if that other boy from his department turned up unusually early, like he sometimes did, he might be in trouble.
The sound of approaching footsteps attracted Sasuke’s attention towards the kitchen door. The curtains moved and Naruto came through it. In his hands, were two gigantic bowls of Ramen. He placed one of the bowls in front of Sasuke, and the other in front of himself. He reached out for the stand with the chopsticks, opened one and grinned madly at Sasuke, “Dig in.”
Sasuke eyed the food cautiously. It looked normal. He slowly reached out for a pair of chopsticks and poked at the bowl. He removed the seaweed and mixed the noodles in the broth. Slowly, he brought it closer to his mouth. He clenched his eyes shut and put the food inside his mouth. One of his eyes automatically opened, this wasn’t half bad.
“Well… how do you like it?”
Sasuke nearly jumped in his seat, “Ah…” He looked blankly around the room, the absence of customers became that more conspicuous.
Naruto sighed, “I know. We try you know. But people just won’t come!” He folded his arms before his chest, “It’s not like we’re serving rat poison!”
‘I don’t think that’s the problem here.’ Sasuke looked at the crowd outside, he had walked past this shop everyday, but he hadn’t noticed that it existed before. He’d thought it was a house located in an unusual spot; it was just too plain. Especially in this street filled with specialty restaurants. What did these people expect?
He turned his head to be greeted by two bulbous eyes peering curiously at him, “You don’t talk much do you?”
Naruto leant back in his stool and grinned, “So, tell me about yourself. You from Konoha U? Sakura-chan goes there too!”
Sasuke felt his eyes twitch; he wanted to leave so badly. He really didn’t like talking to people.
“Did he like it?” Sakura poked his head out from the kitchen, a stick of dango in her hands.
Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up sign. She giggled and came to join them.
Sasuke groaned inwardly. Just great. This was getting even better.
Sasuke placed his bag on the bed and allowed himself to fall on top of it. He turned to his side and reached out to switch on his computer. Kakashi had made him work extra hard that day. Nor did he like the other boy from his class who attended the course with him. The boy had turned up extra early making Sasuke seem even more late than he actually was.
A small creaking noise drew his attention, “You didn’t come home this….”
“Don’t ask. The people from yesterday dragged me off with them.”
Itachi smiled, “Had fun?”
“No.” Sasuke closed his eyes. He reached for his pocket and felt for the pieces of paper. He needed to find out what was going to happen now. There was no way he was going to play the part of a pawn in the world’s chessboard. He preferred to stay off it. He was an observer, not a participant. And he wouldn’t let those weird people from the shop drag him into the game. Itachi gave him a whimsical smile before closing the door.
Sasuke waited until he was sure Itachi was out of earshot, “Is Naruto Uzumaki supposed to be dead?” He felt for the papers, and mumbled some words under his breath. The papers began to feel strange in his hands. He pressed each of them individually into his left palm, searching for the one that felt like it had a stronger charge.
He finally made up his mind and reached for it, cautiously opening it. This would determine a lot of things. ‘Yes.’
Shit.
Sasuke yawned, tears gathering around his eyes. He’d spent the entire night asking the same question in a billion different ways. At one point, he’d sat down with an online dictionary and asked the question in a few dozen languages. No matter how he looked at it, Uzumaki Naruto was not supposed to be alive. What had he done?
Things like this normally didn’t come without a price. He stared at the papers. Maybe he should ask again? But his hands felt numb. And if he mentioned this in front of Itachi, he was sure he would be in trouble! His brother did not approve of Sasuke’s obsession with knowing the future. He really didn’t understand Itachi at times. It had been him, Sasuke and Neji who had come up with the game in the first place. Why reject it now?
”Sasuke. Oy Sasuke!”
He glared at Shikamaru, “What?” The boy pointed towards the door. The woman named Sakura was standing there. He groaned. How did they know which department he was in? Wait… His Student ID? That Naruto had looked at his department name? Then he was asking all those questions yesterday just for the heck of it? Sasuke didn’t remember telling him what he was studying.
He got up from his seat, and inhaled deeply. He noticed Shikamaru giving him a weird look; he returned it with a blank stare. What did this woman want?
He quickly crossed across the classroom, quickly noting that his classmates were giving him strange glances. It wasn’t usual to see people not from the department entering this building. The building had an elitist feel about it.
He grabbed her hands and beckoned her to come outside the class. She looked confused but obliged.
“Sasuke-kun!” She smiled at him.
He looked at her silently, waiting for her to continue. Most girls at this point would feel intimidated, but she didn’t look particularly fazed. She looked at him and waited. He looked at her. She looked at him.
He looked at her. She looked at him.
His frown deepened. Her smile widened.
Finally, Sasuke coughed, “Hello.”
“Hello! You’ll be going home after class right? Naruto told me that’s what you usually do? Could you pass on a message on for me? Tell him I can’t make it today. I have to take a remedial class.”
“You failed?” Sasuke asked automatically.
Sakura smiled at him, “No, I teach. I’m in the faculty at the Medical Department”
“Oh” That’s why she had seemed familiar; he had seen her in the University Grounds before. The Medical Department wasn’t very far from the History Department.
“Oh.” Said Shikamaru, who was standing next to him, “Hello.”
Sasuke flipped his head around, “What are you doing here?”
“I was curious.” Shikamaru looked bored. He turned to Sakura, eyeing her carefully.
“Hello. I’m Haruno Sakura from the Medical Department.” It was all Sasuke could do to not run away. He would hurt Shikamaru later.
Sasuke stood in front of Ichiraku Ramen. He had been considering all future possibilities that day. This man had completely destroyed the future he had worked so hard to make perfect. Maybe if he killed him? Would that change anything though?
He eyed the forks placed in a glass on the counter. Would sticking a fork through his eyes kill him? Probably not?
“Sasuke? You came to visit us again today?” Naruto walked out, holding a crate of oranges. He didn’t really seem surprised to see the boy; he placed the crate on the ground. Sasuke noticed that it was mostly rotten.
“Yeah… I didn’t have any use for it. No customers.” He was smiling, but Sasuke vaguely wondered what Naruto really thought.
The man grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and tried to lead him inside the shop, “Welcome, welcome.” He stopped for a while and frowned at him, “But no free food for you today.”
Sasuke glared at him, “I only came to pass on a message.”
Naruto looked disappointed, “Oh. Not for me?”
“Eh?” Sasuke looked at him like he was crazy.
“And here I thought I’d finally made a friend. I’m really very lonely you know…” He poked his thumbs together.
What was he doing? Sasuke felt flushed and confused. Was this man trying to tease him?
“No one comes here. We’re going bankrupt.” Naruto looked at the ground, and a single tear slid down his left cheek, “I’ll be out of a job soon. My apartment, my bike, my brother… We’ll all have to live in the streets.”
Was this some kind of new advertising gimmick?
Sasuke quickly felt around his pockets, ‘Anything to get him to shut up.’
Naruto saw him reaching for his wallet, “Oh? So you’ll have something then.” He was suddenly all smiles, his tears had vanished and he was pointing his hands like a waiter beckoning a guest inside. “Come in, come in.”
“Wait.” Sasuke stopped before entering, “The message.”
“Sakura-chan can’t come today? Yes, I know. She told me.” Naruto’s smile grew wider.
“Huh?” Naruto pointed to his cell phone, “She called me about an hour ago. She also told me that you’d be coming by.”
Uchiha Sasuke was sure he would murder this man. Fork, chopstick, heck even a paper napkin would do.
“You didn’t go to Art class today?” Itachi didn’t really sound worried.
“No, a fool was telling me his life story.”
“What were you doing with this ‘fool’?” Itachi sounded slightly cautious.
“Waiting for him to take my bill.” Itachi wasn’t sure, but at this point he thought he saw a fearsome glint in Sasuke’s eyes.
There was a long pause. Itachi had stopped talking. Sasuke wasn’t really making any sense, and he didn’t look like he was in any mood to talk.
“Is it alright if I kill someone?”
Itachi stopped, “Kill who?”
Sasuke liked that fact that Itachi was more interested in who he wanted to kill than the act itself, “That man I saved.”
“Are you really that worried about the future?” He looked at the pieces of paper wedged in Sasuke’s hands, “I thought I told you not to use those anymore.”
Sasuke looked unfazed, “I need to know what will happen. Don’t lecture me.”
He felt Itachi start to move away and leave the room, “I really will kill him you know.”
Itachi stopped, “Why?”
“I don’t like him.”
Itachi sighed, sometimes he really wondered about his brother.
Meanwhile, at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto sneezed.
“Are you alright?” Sakura asked while eyeing the dishes in the sink warily, “We actually had a customer?”
Naruto looked guilty, “Well… Sort of.”
Sakura looked alarmed, “Naruto! You didn’t!”
He leant back, and defensively held out his hands in front of him, “Now, now Sakura-chan, we need all the cash we can get…”
“You can’t cheat defenseless College students out of cash!” She went to the cash counter and opened it, looking at the money. It was the first she’d seen in a while, “Should I ask him to come again tomorrow?”
Naruto laughed, “That might be asking for a little too much.” He moved away from the counter, held his nose in his hands and sneezed. Was he coming down with a cold?
Uchiha Sasuke sat in front of his computer, “No… Arsenic is traceable.” His brows furrowed. This was troublesome.
Maybe he really should poke him with a fork.
Author: healielle
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Uchiha Sasuke X Uzumaki Naruto
Theme: Zeta#1: chess
Rating: Teens
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and his affiliates.
Summary: When Sasuke accidentally saves Naruto's life, the latter returns the favor by cheating Sasuke out of some money. Sasuke feels slightly irritated with that.
Warnings: AU
“Watch out!”
Uchiha Sasuke stopped walking as a bottle of water came crashing down in front of him. He looked up to see where it had come from, a boy smiled apologetically, “Sorry!”
He picked up the bottle and threw it back at the boy, nodding as the bottle was caught. He touched his headphones, adjusting them. They had slipped off slightly when he’d turned to look up - he hated it when that happened.
“Fast reflexes.” The boy he was walking with grinned at him, “Sort of like you knew what was about to happen.”
Sasuke smirked at him, “Yes, sort of.”
“So how was the exam today? It was so troublesome, to turn up for something stupid like that.” He touched his head, an irritated look on his face.
Sasuke couldn’t agree more. He hated coming to College. Just because he was good at History didn’t mean he enjoyed studying it. The paper had been too easy, especially since he had a general idea of what would come, “Fine.”
The boy looked at him from the corner of his eyes, “Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Maybe.”
“Shikamaru-kun!” The boy stopped walking as a blonde girl called out to him, “There you are. Come on! You’re late for practice.”
Shikamaru gave her a bored look, “I already told you, I’m not participating in some College fest where…” She started walking towards them and he stopped talking, “Tch. See you later Sasuke.” He turned around and started walking away as fast as he could.
“Can you believe that?” The girl reached Sasuke and glared at him, “He’s your friend. Can’t you do something about him?”
Sasuke gave her a blank look, “Okay.”
She sighed and started jogging after Shikamarau, “Hey! Come back here.”
Sasuke stared after both of them. He felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips but he hid it. Typical. He knew what was going to happen.
It had been five years now.
Sasuke touched the left pocket in his pants - that was where he normally stored the papers. It was a little game he and his old best friend had come up with. A little game to see if they could foretell the future. What had started off as a simple decision maker had quickly turned into a divination device of sorts, and that was where his life had started to fall apart. Not that he complained really, it was helpful to know exactly what was going to happen. By now, he didn’t even need to use the papers. He could tell just by looking. He turned his head to look at a small boy that ran past him, shoelaces untied and a bright red balloon in his hands.
‘That’s going to pop.’
The boy tripped and fell, accidentally releasing his grip on the balloon. He started crying, and a woman came out from a house to console him. Meanwhile, the balloon floated in the air, until it hit the metal edge of the shop Sasuke had just crossed. It popped. Sasuke felt a smile tug at his lips again. He quite enjoyed it really, knowing what was going to happen. But life was boring at the same time. The only future he couldn’t see was his own. It was just too uncertain; there were just too many possibilities. He reacted by completely ignoring any sign of his own future. He would build it based on those of others.
He was walking home. The same street, the same people, the same story. The only thing that separated him from the mundane masses was this little trick. He took out the pieces of paper from his pocket. They were two chits of paper. One read ‘Yes’ and the other ‘No’.
“Uff.” He grunted as he felt someone crashing into him.
“Ah. Sorry.” He looked at the man he had crashed into. He was blonde, and tall. Sasuke noted that he was slightly toned. He looked at his own arms and started to feel annoyed. He was just too skinny.
He looked away from the man and continued walking.
“I’ll buy you a new one. Tell me where you bought it.” The woman smiled, holding the boy’s hand. The boy had stopped crying. Sasuke paused for a moment, watching the two. The boy looked at him and grinned. He raised his eyebrows in response.
‘That woman might die.’
He stopped to consider the possibilities. He couldn’t really see her future, it was slightly blurry. That usually meant that the person was going to die. He surveyed the area around him - he didn’t want to be involved in anything messy. There was a bridge a little distance away from where he stood. The edge of that bridge had long since been considered rickety. Was she going to fall?
He vaguely considered the possibility of helping her. Should he? It was a Rule he had come up with once he had discovered this unique ability of his - he would not alter anyone’s future. He liked to believe it was because he believed in destiny, that even if he saved someone now, they would just die later. But he knew the real reason. He was scared of not knowing what was going to happen. He was just too used to it.
He saw her walk towards the bridge, smiling at the small boy and trying to console him. The boy rubbed his eyes, still visibly sobbing. They were getting closer now. Sasuke felt that he could hear his heart rapidly beating in his chest. If he had to help her, now would be the time. His feet felt like lead, they would not move.
The woman placed a foot on the bridge. Nothing happened.
Sasuke felt as if he couldn’t breathe. Was he wrong? No, it didn’t work that way.
He watched as she touched the railing lining the bridge. At the same time, the boy tripped on his shoelaces, and fell on top of the woman. She leant on the railing for support.
It broke.
“No…” Sasuke felt his feet start to move. He watched as the expression on the woman’s face morphed from laughter, to confusion, and finally into fear. He watched as she screamed and threw the boy away from her, so that he could be safe. Time seemed to move painfully slowly. He had been right, that woman was going to die.
“Sakura-chan!”
Sasuke grunted as he felt someone roughly push him aside. He stumbled on his feet and fell to the ground, clutching at his stomach. He looked at the man from behind. His eyes opened wide, he remembered running into this man just moments ago. All of a sudden, the situation felt clear to him. The woman was not going to die.
He watched as the blonde man ran towards the bridge. People had started to gather around the place. But no one moved to help the woman holding on to the broken edge of the railing. The man rushed in as fast he could. He took hold of her arms, hoisting her up. Sasuke watched as the man held the woman and pulled her on to the bridge.
No, the woman wasn’t going to die. That man was.
Sasuke felt his mind reel and his body move. He didn’t understand what he was doing. He watched as the man stood up, smiling; he watched as the man looked down the bridge. He watched as he visibly paled and stumbled. He watched the man fall.
Why was he getting so much closer? Sasuke could swear he could see the man much more clearly now, like he was just in front of him. The man’s face had turned pale, and his eyes betrayed fear. Sasuke heard screams ring through the air. He felt the man’s hands grab on to his. He felt someone pull him from behind.
“Naruto? Naruto? What happened?”
Uchiha Sasuke blinked. What had just happened? He felt something soft under him. He reached out and touched it. It was a face; and a small one at that.
“Ouch. Geroff me… Oww!” The face was talking to him? Realization hit him as he stood up.
He had been sitting on the boy with the untied shoelaces, “Thank you, yes.” Sasuke eyed him warily.
“What are you thanking me for?”
The boy looked at him like he was a hero, “You’re humble, big brother. For saving Naruto-niichan!”
For saving Naru- who? Sasuke felt his mouth open in dismay as he noticed the blonde man sitting on the bridge, next to him, with a dazed look on his face. The woman looked worried. She turned to him momentarily, “Thank you, thank you so much! I don’t know what happened…” She looked back at the man, “Naruto? Naruto!”
“I’m fi-fine Sakura-chan.” The man had snapped out of his daze. He looked at Sasuke and smiled, “Thank you.”
Sasuke felt himself mumble a ‘no problem’.
What had he done? He was such a fool! He stumbled to his feet, grabbed his bag from where it had fallen on the bridge and ran.
What he didn’t notice before leaving was that in all that confusion, his Student ID card had fallen out of his bag. It laid there on the bridge even after all the people left. It lay there as if it was waiting for someone to come and pick it up.
Later that night, the card got its wish.
The man looked at the card carefully, “Uchiha… Sasuke? Konoha University.” That wasn’t far from here. He would go and thank the boy personally tomorrow. He wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for him, after all.
Sasuke came inside his room, taking off his headphones.
That stupid man had ruined everything. He’d been working to maintain his perfect future for five years, and now he had to do it all over again. Maybe he was wrong?
He took out the pieces of paper; he would stay up all night and work on this if he had to.
“Sasuke?”
Sasuke turned his head back, “Itachi.”
The older man stood there, an eyebrow cocked to one side. Sasuke waited for the man to speak, but he just stood there with an inquiring look on his face.
Sasuke sighed, “I saved someone.”
Itachi’s expression changed to a frown, “You what?”
“It was an accident.” Sasuke started, “Did I do something irreparable?”
“Maybe.” Itachi smirked, looking slightly amused.
“Itachi?” Sasuke politely asked.
“Yes?”
“Go away.” The older man smiled pleasantly as he closed the door.
Sasuke inhaled deeply, this had just been a bad day.
The door opened, “Oh, and Sasuke?”
Sasuke suppressed his desire to growl, “Yes, Itachi?”
“Good night.”
“Good night. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes.” Itachi sounded disappointed. Sasuke smirked; maybe the day hadn’t been a complete waste.
Sasuke felt as if he couldn’t take his head off the table. That had been a good nap. He looked to his left. Shikamaru was still sleeping. Well, at least classes were over for the day.
“Ah… Sasuke-kun?” A small, faint voice drew his attention. He looked in front of him. It was Hyuuga Hinata.
“Yes?” He tried to be polite. He just did not like the Hyuuga family, especially not after what Neji had done to him.
“About the fest…” He poked her fingers together and looked away from him, “… Will you be playing with us?”
“No.” He tugged at his bag; he was going to leave now. Besides, he hadn’t picked up his bass in over two years. He got up to leave and sat down again. The bag wouldn’t budge. He trailed the end of the bag to under Shikmaru’s head, ‘He needs two bags to make a pillow?’
“Shikamaru-ku…” He heard Hinata call out to the boy, probably in an attempt to help him. Anger rose as he yanked at his bag, wincing in pain as Shikamaru’s head came crashing on to his.
The boy sat in his seat, rubbing at his head, “Sasuke? Have you finally gone crazy?”
“I’m leaving.” Sasuke grabbed his bag and moved from his desk, giving Hinata one last nasty look before he left.
Sasuke looked at his iPod and turned the volume up.
“Hey! Hey. Wait!” Shikamaru should catch up with him in about five… four… three. Two…, “Sasuke.” Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. So he wasn’t wrong. That meant he should be able to foretell most of the other things as well. He could definitely tell that girl was going to come and irritate him at any rate. Though seeing as she did it everyday, he didn’t really need to have weird abilities to foretell that.
“Hmm?” He stuck his hands in his pocket, feeling for the chits. Just feeling them there made him feel a lot better.
“I can hear your music from here, I’m going to talk to you, you know.” Shikamaru yawned, a hand covering his mouth.
Sasuke nodded, he could just read Shikamaru’s lips.
They were walking towards the University gates, ready to go home. Neither of them liked staying back in College after classes. In fact, them doing classes was a rarity in itself. Fear of being kept back a year was all that dragged them to the campus.
“Do you have a problem with her?” Shikamaru cautiously inquired, “Hinata I mean?”
Sasuke’s eyes turned into slits at the mention of her name, “No, not her. Someone she’s related to.”
Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, “Either way…” His eyes turned to a group of girls who were huddling near the gates and giggling amongst themselves, “… What are they pointing at?”
Sasuke followed their gaze and stopped, his mind reeling. Was this what they called Murphy’s Law? There, at the gates of Konoha University, stood the man he had saved the day before. He stood next to a shiny orange bike, a helmet tucked under his left arm.
“What is that?” Shikamaru asked. He looked at Sasuke, “Do you know him?”
Sasuke looked very disturbed. His face had contorted into a fierce scowl and his voice sounded strained, “No.” He quickly turned around and started walking back into the University.
“I thought we were leaving.” Shikamaru sounded confused.
“I’ll leave later.” Sasuke started to walk faster, not looking back. He just prayed the man hadn’t seen him. Maybe the man hadn’t come to see him? He shook his head, what were the chances of that?
“Sasuke.” Great. Shikamaru was following him. He slowed down so that his friend could catch up. Wait. Those footsteps… There were more than just Shikamaru’s… How? The campus was mostly empty this early. Shikamaru… Sasuke’s eyes widened. He hadn’t.
Sasuke turned around and came face to face with the one person he was sure he never wanted to see again, “Yes?”
“Are you doing the other classes? How troublesome.” Shikamaru massaged his neck, stretching slightly.
But Sasuke didn’t answer him. He couldn’t take his eyes off the man he’d saved; or his bright orange jacket, or his faded yellow helmet. This man should be dead.
The man cleared his throat, “About yesterday…” He started, handing Sasuke an ID card. That was his? His eyes widened, he must have dropped it in all the confusion. He stared at the man, had he come all this way just to give this to him?
“You saved my life. Thank you.” Naruto smiled pleasantly.
Sasuke nodded. The sooner this man left, the better for Sasuke. He still had his Art classes to get to, and Kakashi always made the students who had come in late work extra hard.
“I’m Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto” The man continued. It was nothing Sasuke didn’t already know. He nodded again.
Naruto looked at him, smiling. Sasuke looked back, a frown slowly forming on his face. What did this man want?
Shikamaru sighed, “Ahem”.
Sasuke looked at his friend. What was he was supposed to do, introduce himself to a guy who already knew who he was? Naruto certainly seemed to think so, if the patient grin on his face was anything to go by, “Uchiha… Sasuke.” He said, lowering his head.
The man nodded, he seemed happy, “My friend wanted to apologize to. She didn’t realize…”
Sasuke nodded, “I understand.”
Naruto turned to Shikamaru and nodded, acknowledging him. The boy nodded back.
Both Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at Naruto with indecipherable expressions on their faces. It made the man slightly uncomfortable, “Ah…” He grinned and placed a hand on his head, “Well, I have work now. See you Sasuke.” He gave a small salute and turned to leave.
‘See you?’ Sasuke could feel his left eye twitch. All he wanted to do was forget about yesterday. The thought of a future different from the one he had woken up to the day before made him feel miserable. They both watched as the man walked out of the campus, climbed on his bike, gave them a cheery wave and was off
“You coming tomorrow?” Shikamaru was the first to break the silence.
“Don’t know. If I can get up.”
Shikamaru grinned, “Me too. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”
With any luck, he wouldn’t run into those people anymore.
Sasuke traced his hands over the screen on his iPod, absentmindedly thinking of all that had happened. He was almost at the place the near-accident had happened yesterday. He slowed down his pace and looked at all the people on the street. If there were any signs of those people, he would just turn around and run.
“I was hoping to find you here.” Sasuke inwardly sighed. Yes, this was definitely Murphy’s Law.
He turned and came face to face with the woman from the day before. ‘Sakura’, he remembered the man had called her that.
“Umm… me and my friend… We wanted to thank you properly for yesterday, we work nearby. Do you want to come?” She pointed down the road. This was the famous ‘Food District’ of Konoha. It was lined with restaurants on both sides of the road. Sasuke had already eaten in most of the places here. So these people worked here? That may have been where he’d seen this woman before. She somehow had seemed familiar to him, even the day before.
“No.”
Sakura looked slightly shocked, “Oh! You don’t have to pay, the meal’s on the house.” She smiled at him.
He gave her a blank look.
She looked slightly disappointed, “Please?”
He continued to stare at her. Couldn’t she understand him?
Her eyes started to glisten as she looked at him, “Please? We really want to thank you.”
Sasuke felt a small part of him feel guilty. But he really didn’t have the time to go. He had to go back and have lunch, he was sure Itachi had something ready for him. Then he’d have to run to Art class, he really didn’t have the time.
Sakura gave him a look of utter misery.
“Okay.”
The tears disappeared and she was suddenly all smiles, “Good. This way please.” She pointed towards a small, dilapidated house with a broken sign in front of it. He scrunched his eyes. This was a restaurant? He suddenly felt very wary of the situation.
He read the broken sign, “‘Ichiraku Ramen’?”
“Yes. My friend owns the place now. It used to belong to someone he knew.” Sakura smiled at him as she beckoned him to come inside. So that man works here?
Sasuke felt weird. Not knowing the future was strange.
“Sasuke!” The boy automatically turned to the person who had called out his name.
Naruto stood behind the counter. He was dressed in the same garments he’d worn earlier that day when he’d gone to Konoha University to see Sasuke. The apron and the chef’s hat did make him look slightly different though, “You came. Grab a seat!” The man disappeared behind a door, a spatula in hand.
Sasuke looked uncomfortable. The man was getting too friendly far too quickly for his tastes.
“He’s always like that.” Sakura laughed, “But we’re really happy you came. Please take a seat.” She pointed at the empty row of chairs dominating the place. Did no one ever come here? How did these people survive? Sasuke carefully surveyed the place, “Well then, I’ll be back soon.” And with that, Sakura disappeared behind the kitchen door.
It was dark, the smell of the food from the kitchen was overpowering. The paint on the walls had started to peel and the room was unusually stuffy. Sasuke had spent a considerable part of his life exploring the Food District, but this was the first time he’d even seen this place.
He placed his bag on the large counter in front of him and sat down. With this he’d have just enough time to make it to Art class. He just hoped it was one of those days that Kakashi decided to be late. But if that other boy from his department turned up unusually early, like he sometimes did, he might be in trouble.
The sound of approaching footsteps attracted Sasuke’s attention towards the kitchen door. The curtains moved and Naruto came through it. In his hands, were two gigantic bowls of Ramen. He placed one of the bowls in front of Sasuke, and the other in front of himself. He reached out for the stand with the chopsticks, opened one and grinned madly at Sasuke, “Dig in.”
Sasuke eyed the food cautiously. It looked normal. He slowly reached out for a pair of chopsticks and poked at the bowl. He removed the seaweed and mixed the noodles in the broth. Slowly, he brought it closer to his mouth. He clenched his eyes shut and put the food inside his mouth. One of his eyes automatically opened, this wasn’t half bad.
“Well… how do you like it?”
Sasuke nearly jumped in his seat, “Ah…” He looked blankly around the room, the absence of customers became that more conspicuous.
Naruto sighed, “I know. We try you know. But people just won’t come!” He folded his arms before his chest, “It’s not like we’re serving rat poison!”
‘I don’t think that’s the problem here.’ Sasuke looked at the crowd outside, he had walked past this shop everyday, but he hadn’t noticed that it existed before. He’d thought it was a house located in an unusual spot; it was just too plain. Especially in this street filled with specialty restaurants. What did these people expect?
He turned his head to be greeted by two bulbous eyes peering curiously at him, “You don’t talk much do you?”
Naruto leant back in his stool and grinned, “So, tell me about yourself. You from Konoha U? Sakura-chan goes there too!”
Sasuke felt his eyes twitch; he wanted to leave so badly. He really didn’t like talking to people.
“Did he like it?” Sakura poked his head out from the kitchen, a stick of dango in her hands.
Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up sign. She giggled and came to join them.
Sasuke groaned inwardly. Just great. This was getting even better.
Sasuke placed his bag on the bed and allowed himself to fall on top of it. He turned to his side and reached out to switch on his computer. Kakashi had made him work extra hard that day. Nor did he like the other boy from his class who attended the course with him. The boy had turned up extra early making Sasuke seem even more late than he actually was.
A small creaking noise drew his attention, “You didn’t come home this….”
“Don’t ask. The people from yesterday dragged me off with them.”
Itachi smiled, “Had fun?”
“No.” Sasuke closed his eyes. He reached for his pocket and felt for the pieces of paper. He needed to find out what was going to happen now. There was no way he was going to play the part of a pawn in the world’s chessboard. He preferred to stay off it. He was an observer, not a participant. And he wouldn’t let those weird people from the shop drag him into the game. Itachi gave him a whimsical smile before closing the door.
Sasuke waited until he was sure Itachi was out of earshot, “Is Naruto Uzumaki supposed to be dead?” He felt for the papers, and mumbled some words under his breath. The papers began to feel strange in his hands. He pressed each of them individually into his left palm, searching for the one that felt like it had a stronger charge.
He finally made up his mind and reached for it, cautiously opening it. This would determine a lot of things. ‘Yes.’
Shit.
Sasuke yawned, tears gathering around his eyes. He’d spent the entire night asking the same question in a billion different ways. At one point, he’d sat down with an online dictionary and asked the question in a few dozen languages. No matter how he looked at it, Uzumaki Naruto was not supposed to be alive. What had he done?
Things like this normally didn’t come without a price. He stared at the papers. Maybe he should ask again? But his hands felt numb. And if he mentioned this in front of Itachi, he was sure he would be in trouble! His brother did not approve of Sasuke’s obsession with knowing the future. He really didn’t understand Itachi at times. It had been him, Sasuke and Neji who had come up with the game in the first place. Why reject it now?
”Sasuke. Oy Sasuke!”
He glared at Shikamaru, “What?” The boy pointed towards the door. The woman named Sakura was standing there. He groaned. How did they know which department he was in? Wait… His Student ID? That Naruto had looked at his department name? Then he was asking all those questions yesterday just for the heck of it? Sasuke didn’t remember telling him what he was studying.
He got up from his seat, and inhaled deeply. He noticed Shikamaru giving him a weird look; he returned it with a blank stare. What did this woman want?
He quickly crossed across the classroom, quickly noting that his classmates were giving him strange glances. It wasn’t usual to see people not from the department entering this building. The building had an elitist feel about it.
He grabbed her hands and beckoned her to come outside the class. She looked confused but obliged.
“Sasuke-kun!” She smiled at him.
He looked at her silently, waiting for her to continue. Most girls at this point would feel intimidated, but she didn’t look particularly fazed. She looked at him and waited. He looked at her. She looked at him.
He looked at her. She looked at him.
His frown deepened. Her smile widened.
Finally, Sasuke coughed, “Hello.”
“Hello! You’ll be going home after class right? Naruto told me that’s what you usually do? Could you pass on a message on for me? Tell him I can’t make it today. I have to take a remedial class.”
“You failed?” Sasuke asked automatically.
Sakura smiled at him, “No, I teach. I’m in the faculty at the Medical Department”
“Oh” That’s why she had seemed familiar; he had seen her in the University Grounds before. The Medical Department wasn’t very far from the History Department.
“Oh.” Said Shikamaru, who was standing next to him, “Hello.”
Sasuke flipped his head around, “What are you doing here?”
“I was curious.” Shikamaru looked bored. He turned to Sakura, eyeing her carefully.
“Hello. I’m Haruno Sakura from the Medical Department.” It was all Sasuke could do to not run away. He would hurt Shikamaru later.
Sasuke stood in front of Ichiraku Ramen. He had been considering all future possibilities that day. This man had completely destroyed the future he had worked so hard to make perfect. Maybe if he killed him? Would that change anything though?
He eyed the forks placed in a glass on the counter. Would sticking a fork through his eyes kill him? Probably not?
“Sasuke? You came to visit us again today?” Naruto walked out, holding a crate of oranges. He didn’t really seem surprised to see the boy; he placed the crate on the ground. Sasuke noticed that it was mostly rotten.
“Yeah… I didn’t have any use for it. No customers.” He was smiling, but Sasuke vaguely wondered what Naruto really thought.
The man grabbed Sasuke by the shoulders and tried to lead him inside the shop, “Welcome, welcome.” He stopped for a while and frowned at him, “But no free food for you today.”
Sasuke glared at him, “I only came to pass on a message.”
Naruto looked disappointed, “Oh. Not for me?”
“Eh?” Sasuke looked at him like he was crazy.
“And here I thought I’d finally made a friend. I’m really very lonely you know…” He poked his thumbs together.
What was he doing? Sasuke felt flushed and confused. Was this man trying to tease him?
“No one comes here. We’re going bankrupt.” Naruto looked at the ground, and a single tear slid down his left cheek, “I’ll be out of a job soon. My apartment, my bike, my brother… We’ll all have to live in the streets.”
Was this some kind of new advertising gimmick?
Sasuke quickly felt around his pockets, ‘Anything to get him to shut up.’
Naruto saw him reaching for his wallet, “Oh? So you’ll have something then.” He was suddenly all smiles, his tears had vanished and he was pointing his hands like a waiter beckoning a guest inside. “Come in, come in.”
“Wait.” Sasuke stopped before entering, “The message.”
“Sakura-chan can’t come today? Yes, I know. She told me.” Naruto’s smile grew wider.
“Huh?” Naruto pointed to his cell phone, “She called me about an hour ago. She also told me that you’d be coming by.”
Uchiha Sasuke was sure he would murder this man. Fork, chopstick, heck even a paper napkin would do.
“You didn’t go to Art class today?” Itachi didn’t really sound worried.
“No, a fool was telling me his life story.”
“What were you doing with this ‘fool’?” Itachi sounded slightly cautious.
“Waiting for him to take my bill.” Itachi wasn’t sure, but at this point he thought he saw a fearsome glint in Sasuke’s eyes.
There was a long pause. Itachi had stopped talking. Sasuke wasn’t really making any sense, and he didn’t look like he was in any mood to talk.
“Is it alright if I kill someone?”
Itachi stopped, “Kill who?”
Sasuke liked that fact that Itachi was more interested in who he wanted to kill than the act itself, “That man I saved.”
“Are you really that worried about the future?” He looked at the pieces of paper wedged in Sasuke’s hands, “I thought I told you not to use those anymore.”
Sasuke looked unfazed, “I need to know what will happen. Don’t lecture me.”
He felt Itachi start to move away and leave the room, “I really will kill him you know.”
Itachi stopped, “Why?”
“I don’t like him.”
Itachi sighed, sometimes he really wondered about his brother.
Meanwhile, at Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto sneezed.
“Are you alright?” Sakura asked while eyeing the dishes in the sink warily, “We actually had a customer?”
Naruto looked guilty, “Well… Sort of.”
Sakura looked alarmed, “Naruto! You didn’t!”
He leant back, and defensively held out his hands in front of him, “Now, now Sakura-chan, we need all the cash we can get…”
“You can’t cheat defenseless College students out of cash!” She went to the cash counter and opened it, looking at the money. It was the first she’d seen in a while, “Should I ask him to come again tomorrow?”
Naruto laughed, “That might be asking for a little too much.” He moved away from the counter, held his nose in his hands and sneezed. Was he coming down with a cold?
Uchiha Sasuke sat in front of his computer, “No… Arsenic is traceable.” His brows furrowed. This was troublesome.
Maybe he really should poke him with a fork.