Dissonance: Chapter Nine
Title: Dissonance
Fandom: Naruto
Rated: 15+
Pairings: Itachi/Naruto, mentioned Neji/Shikamaru, Ino/Sakura and Kiba/Hinata
Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any of the song lyrics/videos within this story.
Summary: AU. ItaNaru. Naruto is the new kid at Konoha Academy of the Arts and he's got some pretty dark secrets. And when his past comes back to haunt him, he won't be able to keep them hidden for very long.
Chapter One l Chapter Two l Chapter Three l Chapter Four l Chapter Five l Chapter Six l Chapter Seven l Chapter Eight
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Dissonance
Chapter Nine: First Meetings
Music's the medicine of the mind. (John A. Logan)
He who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once. (Robert Browning)
Music is an outburst of the soul. (Frederick Delius)
There is in souls a sympathy with sounds:
And as the mind is pitch'd the ear is pleased
With melting airs, or martial, brisk or grave;
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies. (William Cowper)
It is not love that is blind, but jealousy. (Lawrence Durrell, Justine, 1957)
Envy is a littleness of soul, which cannot see beyond a certain point, and if it does not occupy the whole space feels itself excluded. (William Hazlitt, Characteristics, 1823)
Hokkaido, Japan
January 29th, 1998
The orphanage was fairly small in Kyuubi Kitsune's opinion. Perhaps it was because he was older and taller since the last time he'd been in one, but it definitely seemed like the building was shrinking in around him. It made him want to get out even more than he already did, which was saying something.
He really wished Shukaku would have had more creative ideas on places to bomb. Kyuubi hated orphanages. But he was the only one vaguely sane enough to enter one and still seem like an okay guy. And they needed a general layout - it was too bad that the orphanage was too small to have blueprints on the internet.
He sighed and leaned against the wall. Currently he was waiting for the director of the orphanage - a woman who went by Shizune, if he wasn't mistaken, to lead him through the brat's housing so he could see if any stood out to him. Kyuubi personally felt like he'd rather swallow knives whole, but he didn't have a choice to back out, goddamnit.
He frowned as he caught the subtle sounds of a piano playing nearby. The music was abruptly cut off, which captured Kyuubi's interest. With a wary look at the door he waited until he could hear notes again and snuck off in the direction the music was coming from. This time it lasted longer, and he realized that whoever was playing was probably either learning a new song or composing. The notes weren't in any actual order, only being played randomly, as if the player was trying to find the right one. Kyuubi's curiosity grew.
He opened the door to the room from which the music was coming from and was surprised to see a little blond boy sitting at the bench instead of the expected orphanage worker on a break. He blinked and then stared. The blond's back was turned to him, but the music score held in front of him was clearly visible. He blinked in surprise at the filled page of notes, wondering where the boy had gotten it from. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw the boy play a couple of notes, nod to himself, and then add them to the end of the sheet music neatly.
He closed the door quietly behind him and watched as the boy continued to add to the composition with narrowed eyes. Kyuubi knew a few people in the music business and he knew how hard it was for some of them to think up the music behind their lyrics. He was surprised that such a little kid could do what full-grown adults couldn't; the blond couldn't be older than eight or nine.
The blond finished the composition with a flourish and then sat, looking over it for several minutes. Then he took a deep breath, placed his hands on the piano keys, and played.
The music was high, legato, and, to Kyuubi's listening ears, strangely sad for music made by a nine-year-old boy. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall and listened. The boy never faltered as he played, never stopped even though it had to be his first time playing the composition all the way through. Kyuubi found himself fascinated.
The music was abruptly cut off, and the sweet sound of sobbing reached Kyuubi's ears. He opened his eyes and found that the blond's shoulders were shaking. A smirk danced across his face and he glided forward.
"What's the matter, little one?" he asked and the blond turned to face him. Kyuubi's breath caught.
Big blue eyes stared out at him from a cherubic face, tears tracks melting against the tanned skin. Kyuubi felt a stirring in his groin and inwardly smirked. The little boy would be beautiful even normally, but with tears on his face and a heartbroken expression in his eyes he was exquisite. Kyuubi absently wondered what he would look like with blood on him.
"N-nothing sir," the blond stuttered and hastily wiped away tears with a chubby face. Kyuubi knelt so that he was eye-level.
"What's your name, kitling?" he asked.
"Uzumaki Naruto, sir," the blond said, his chin rising slightly. "I'm nine," he added, anticipating Kyuubi's next question.
"Would you like to come home with me, Naruto?" Kyuubi asked, the idea just coming into his head. Oh the things he could do to the blond! Kyuubi had always had a specialty with breaking people. Naruto would grow up to be beautiful, Kyuubi could see that, and he would be the perfect bed-partner once he was broken in. Kyuubi inwardly licked his lips while he kept the pleasant smile on his face. Yes, it would be perfect.
Big blue eyes watched his face hesitantly, and Kyuubi almost felt a flash of sympathy for the boy - he remembered his stint in the orphanage system, before he had become what he was today. There was always that stinging want of someone to take you away and the fear that once someone did it would all be a joke and they'd send you back just as quickly as they picked you out. 'But,' Kyuubi thought, his almost-sympathy disappearing, 'that won't be happening this time. Naruto is mine for good.'
As the blond nodded yes to his question, Kyuubi absently thought that maybe orphanages weren't so bad after all.
Red eyes opened with a flicker, and Kyuubi Kitsune arched away from his uncomfortable car chair with a groan. He hated sleeping in cars, but he didn't want to attract notice by checking into a hotel. He blinked as the events in his dream came back to him - he hadn't remembered the day he'd first found Naruto for a while now. He absently wondered if the memories were triggered by stalking the boy as he rubbed feeling back into his legs and arms.
He took a look at his watch and nodded to himself when he saw that he had about ten minutes until Naruto left for school. 'Internal clocks are very helpful,' he mused as he reached back into the backseat to grab his gear; his wonderful, too expensive camera that Orochimaru had been kind enough to buy for him, a large sketch pad and a case of charcoal pencils. The last two he placed on the passenger seat while he started up his camera, fiddling with it to make sure it would work perfectly when Naruto got up. Satisfied, he got outside of his car and crept closer to the house where his blond lived. He zoomed in (ah cameras, a lovely invention) and grinned when he saw Naruto getting out of his bed, stretching slightly.
Kyuubi's camera followed Naruto whenever possible as he went through his daily routine, and the red-haired man snapped a few pictures here and there. He knew that it would scare Naruto more if he did portraits of him doing something as completely normal as brushing his hair, or brushing his teeth in the small bathroom adjacent to his bedroom.
Kyuubi's smile turned predatory as he watched Naruto change from his pajamas into his school uniform. His blond had grown into a fine specimen - he couldn't wait until he managed to draw Naruto back to him. He was sure that the blond would struggle at first but Kyuubi was confident in his own abilities to . . . persuade Naruto: and if that didn't work, Kyuubi didn't mind it rough.
He moved silently as Naruto moved downstairs, doing his best to keep the blond in sight. Kyuubi growled slightly when he saw Naruto sit down across from Orochimaru's idiotic brother, giving the old man a smile. His fingers tightened on the camera - that white-haired freak didn't deserve a smile from his Naruto. Kyuubi would have to find a way to get rid of him after he got Naruto back. 'Or,' he thought as he obsessively watched Jiraiya place an arm around Naruto's shoulders, 'I could just get rid of him now. No one would miss him.'
He snapped a few pictures of the two of them together, reluctantly, because he wanted to scare Naruto. If he could just get the blond brat frightened enough, Naruto would come and run back to him. It was twisted logic, but Kyuubi was sure that his plan would work. After all, Naruto was nothing if not a protective little brat. If Kyuubi threatened his friends and family, he had no doubt Naruto would rather choose to be with him again then see them harmed. He sneered to himself; yes his blond did have quite the little heart. It was too bad that it would be his downfall.
Of course, Kyuubi could just kill the blond's close ones now, but that would attract notice and Kyuubi didn't feel the need to be in jail again. Plus, this game was so much more fun to play then just grabbing his blond in the middle of the night and running off with him. Every time that he sent a letter or drawing, he knew that he was regressing Naruto bit by bit. And that was what he wanted, for the blond to broken by the time that they were reunited.
Kyuubi cackled softly to himself as he snapped a few pictures of Naruto leaving the house. His plan was perfect - now all he had to do was see it through. 'It's too easy,' he thought and turned to go back to his car. He had pictures to draw.
"Shikamaru!" The lazy genius sighed and turned to see a bright-eyed Naruto running towards him, pulling along another boy behind him. Shikamaru's eyebrow rose slightly; he recognized that boy. Neji Hyuuga, a part of the famous fanatically religious clan Hyuuga. He was also the star piano player of Konoha Orchestra until a few months ago. When he'd heard the news, Shikamaru had absently thought up theories to Neji's abrupt departure, but he'd soon gotten bored by it.
"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath as the pair approached. He would never have guessed that someone like Neji would hang out with Naruto. Naruto was bright and cheerful, once you got to know him well enough. Neji was one of the resident brooders that attended Konoha (among these so called "brooders" were Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara Sabaku, and Itachi Uchiha) and even though the girls whispered that he was a true gentlemen, Shikamaru doubted that Neji ever smiled or laughed or just had fun in general.
"Shika, this is Neji-ko," Naruto said rapidly, beaming at the both of them. Shikamaru felt his lip twitch. He had a very general grasp of Japanese - his father was fluent since he'd lived there for 20 years before he met Shikamaru's mother - but he knew that '-ko' was not something someone would generally attach to Neji Hyuuga's name. And, judging from Neji's half-amused half-frustrated look, he knew exactly what the honorific meant. "Neji-ko, this is Shikamaru. But feel free to call him Shika, Shika-chan, or Maru-Maru," Naruto chirped happily. Shikamaru absently pondered the thought of whether his father would find killing an annoying blond as justifiable homicide. 'Too troublesome,' he thought, dismissing the idea.
"Nice to meet you," Neji said, and then he paused and his lip twitched, "Maru-Maru."
'Never mind,' Shikamaru thought, glaring a bit at Naruto, who was laughing freely. 'It'd be more troublesome to leave him alive.' Even if Shikamaru was a little bit happy to see Naruto so carefree, it didn't mean that he wanted to suffer the loss of his dignity. So, just to be even, he gave a very forced smile to Neji.
"Nice to meet you as well . . . ." he paused significantly, "Neji-ko." Naruto beamed and Neji's eyebrow rose to his hairline.
Neji had heard of Shikamaru as well. It was hard not to hear about the legendary lazy genius, so smart that he could probably graduate at this very moment, but too lazy to do anything but sleep in class. Neji had felt towards Shikamaru the impersonal indifference everyone feels to someone that you know only by name - but he was beginning to change his mind. Shikamaru was intriguing - his eyes would flash every now and again as if he had just solved the most complicated puzzle, but he never shared any of his thoughts. Neji found it frustrating and, truth be told, interesting. He glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and inwardly rolled his eyes when he saw the beam on the blond's face. 'So that's what he's up to,' Neji thought with some amusement and fondness.
Naruto had made it his personal duty as Neji's new friend to find him, in the blond's words, a "man-lover" (Neji had choked on his own spit when he'd heard that term). Neji had protested, but Naruto couldn't be swayed. He'd been pulled through several halls as Naruto apparently tried to find "the one" (another unsuccessful naming by Naruto Uzumaki) for Neji until Naruto had nearly given up. Then the blond's eyes had brightened and he'd dragged Neji off to meet Shikamaru - obviously Naruto's choice for him.
Neji decided to humor his friend and gave Shikamaru the once over. He wasn't bad looking - without his guilt weighing him down, Neji could easily say that the other boy was very good-looking. And, better than all of that, he had brains. Neji could never be with a simpleton - he needed someone to keep him on his toes. Absently, he wondered if Shikamaru could do that, lethargic as he was.
Naruto, off to the side, was very pleased with himself. Of course, he had no idea if Shikamaru was gay or not, but he knew that even if the teen wasn't, he wouldn't care if Neji tried to "seduce" him. Naruto felt more concerned for Neji's feelings in all of this - if his plan worked and Shikamaru turned out to be straight that might be damaging to Neji's newfound confidence. But Naruto knew that Neji was going to have to do this sometime, so he thought that starting with Shikamaru wouldn't be as bad as starting with a stranger who could make the whole situation a whole lot worse. Naruto got the sudden image of Sasuke in Shikamaru's place and held back a snort of laughter. He doubted Neji and Sasuke would even be able to get along, let alone like each other.
"Well, I have class," Neji said after a few moments of awkward silence. "I'll see you later, Naruto. It was nice to meet you Shikamaru."
Shikamaru just gave a tip of his head, his eyes half-lidded as he watched Neji walk away. Then he turned to Naruto. "You know your little scheme was a bit dangerous, Naruto."
Naruto blinked and then tried on his most innocent look. "What do you mean, Maru-Maru?"
Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched slightly but he kept his indifferent look. "Neji Hyuuga is, apparently, gay or bisexual and you're trying to set us up, troublesome person that you are."
Naruto blushed a little. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.
Shikamaru snorted. "Only if you have an IQ over 200. He was eyeing me up, you were beaming like the sun, and you really had no reason to introduce us without an ulterior motive."
Naruto pouted for a moment before his eyes lit up. "So are you gay? Bisexual? Hetero-flexible?" Shikamaru's eyebrow rose at that last label, but he shrugged.
"Bisexual, actually," Shikamaru said casually. He'd never worried about keeping such things to himself, but no one ever came up to him and asked "are you bi?" so the opportunity to tell people his orientation never came up. Not that Shikamaru really cared. He didn't feel the need to either project or hide anything about himself to the world, least of all his sexuality.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? That's great!" He paused and then said sheepishly, "I mean, you may not think it's so great, 'cause people can dislike you for it, but . . . ."
Shikamaru smirked (an odd expression on a face that was usually so indifferent) and said, "It is a good thing. I couldn't care less if people dislike me or not."
Naruto eyed Shikamaru for a moment and then said quietly, "I know it's asking a lot, but can you . . . consider Neji?" Naruto frowned to himself for a moment - that sounded worse than he'd meant to say it. "I mean, would you think about dating him? Because he's a really great guy and he needs to find someone and you two would be practically perfect together . . . ." And now he was babbling.
Shikamaru sighed. He should've known minutes after meeting Naruto that the blond would be troublesome. But Naruto was his friend. Plus there was a little voice in the back of his head musing on if Neji's hair felt as soft as it looked.
"Fine," he muttered, shoving those thoughts to the back of his brain. "I'll think about it. But it'll be too troublesome to do anything more."
"You and your troublesome," Naruto said affectionately and Shikamaru blinked and then laughed.
The poor students surrounding the two had had watched a very disturbing sequence of events. First, Neji Hyuuga had actually associated with someone other than his various family members. Second, he seemed to be hanging out with the all-time lazy genius and the strange new kid that had managed to be-friend Gaara Sabaku, of all people. And then, even stranger still, Shikamaru Nara, a well-known apathetic procrastinator, had laughed! Laughed! It wasn't as much of a miracle as it would have been had it been one of the Uchiha's or the Hyuugas, but it was still a phenomenon! The students glanced at each other through the corner of their eyes and inwardly thought that Naruto Uzumaki was turning his new school topsy-turvy.
Rhapsody in Blue was, maybe unsurprisingly, one of Itachi Uchiha's favorite songs to play. He didn't often stray from his preferred instrument of the violin, but when he did decide to do something different he usually ended up on the piano, playing this song. He did not like it because of its slightly depressing chords, as some might believe, but because the music was complex and deep and he could lose himself in it in a way he couldn't with most other music.
He closed his eyes and leaned with the music as he approached the middle of the song, feeling his heart rise with the music. His fingers, so slim and pale they nearly blended with the keys, moved smoothly and efficiently, never missing a beat. Itachi knew this song backwards by now - he had no need for sheet music. Even if he hadn't known the song as well - Itachi was what some people considered a musical genius. He only needed to look at or hear a song once and he could play it perfectly. Or, almost perfectly. For while Itachi could copy the notes, he would never be able to copy the emotion behind them. That, he had to summon his own - a much harder task than simply hearing or seeing the notes and playing them himself. But he felt that he was starting to learn how to do just that. Maybe it was because Naruto had come into his life. Itachi's lips curved as he hit a crescendo. He liked that idea.
His fingers were starting to get numb, but Itachi ignored it all in favor of the music. His body shifted with the music, faint emotions making his face much more open than it'd probably ever been in his life. He'd deserted his cold, clinical way of performing and instead had embraced Naruto's way of playing music. He was startled to find, as he reached the end of the song, his fingers starting to loose their feeling, that he liked it better. He rarely found cause to loose himself in the music as he was now - the only real time he'd forgotten himself in music was the time after his family had died in the huge mass fires that had burned down their entire district. He had, he remembered distinctly, played Rhapsody of Blue quite often back then too.
He finished with a sigh, leaning back and stretching his fingers to get the feeling back into them. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find Sasuke standing in the door across from him, watching him with cool black eyes that were nearly a mirror of his own.
"Otouto," Itachi said, as indifferently as he could after letting his emotions free in the music. He always used the Japanese title for his brother - calling him Sasuke seemed awkwardly personal. Even though he loved his little brother, Itachi had never really been good with people, family or not. He preferred to keep them at an arm's distance. 'You don't do that with Naruto,' a little voice in the back of his head commented, but Itachi ignored it.
"Aniki," Sasuke said, bowing his head. He moved from his leaning position on the doorframe and stalked closer to the piano. Itachi's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he watched his brother's procession with cautious eyes. Sasuke was obviously upset, but why he didn't know. "You played differently today."
Itachi blinked. "Aa," he said.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Is it because of Uzumaki?" he demanded to know. Sasuke had never been a particularly patient person, Itachi thought as he raised his eyebrow at his brother.
"What does Naruto have to do with anything?" he asked calmly. Sasuke's eyes were near slits now and he had a stormy look on his face.
"I saw you two at the bar you like, Akatsuki," Sasuke accused as if he was, in Itachi's opinion, a jealous lover. Starting to get angry at Sasuke's annoying behavior he narrowed his eyes.
"Your point?" he asked.
Sasuke made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and turned around to leave. "Never mind, aniki," he said and then left. Itachi watched the empty doorway with a mixture of bewilderment, anger, and confusion. He didn't know why Sasuke would be so mad at his sudden change in music style or his association with Naruto. 'Maybe he's jealous,' a voice in the back of his head suggested and Itachi's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Sasuke had always been a possessive child. 'But is it you or Naruto he's possessive over, I wonder?' the voice said and Itachi felt a disconcerting stab of anger at the thought that Sasuke might want Naruto all to himself.
"What's got your panties in a twist?" Itachi looked up to see the object of his thoughts standing in the same place his brother had not five minutes ago and blinked. Naruto looked happy today - his eyes were bright and his smile was genuine. Just when Itachi had started to be able to tell the difference between Naruto fake and real expressions wasn't clear to him.
"Hn," Itachi said and Naruto laughed.
"Back to your old Uchiha tactics," he teased as he sauntered into the room and dropped into a nearby chair. "Play something for me?"
Itachi looked into Naruto's eyes and sighed. How anyone could resist that look was beyond him. "Aa," he said and his hands moved back to the keys without his consent. They were still aching, but it was a bearable pain. "What would you like me to play?" Despite Sasuke's odd behavior, Itachi was in a generous mood today.
Naruto bit his lip. "I'm don't have anything particular, but something . . . soul-lifting would be nice," he admitted. "I'm in need for some soothing of the soul, if you know what I mean."
Itachi wondered what had put Naruto in need of that and felt a sudden rush of protectiveness that he usually only associated with family. Slightly uncomfortable with this rush of emotion for a person that he didn't know very well, Itachi cleared his throat and the thought of one of the few modern songs he liked outside of blues and jazz popped into his head. He tilted his head and decided that it was soothing to the soul - certainly, it lifted ones spirit into the song. He nodded to himself and then placed his hands on the keys, taking a deep breath. This song was not very difficult for a musical prodigy who could play Chopin and Beethoven and Gershwin for hours straight without having to look at the music once, but for some reason Itachi wanted it to be perfect. Had he known himself better, he might have realized it was because Naruto was watching him. But, as he didn't, Itachi shrugged the feeling off and started to play and sing:
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
And you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am."
The instrumental break was a bit tricky, full of four-note chords that followed one after another, making it hard for those that didn't have nimble fingers. But Itachi managed it well, bridging the music smoothly. He was aware of Naruto's eyes on him and managed to find the time to wonder why that would make such a strange feeling rise up in him - a combination of happiness and fright - but then his thoughts turned back to the song.
"And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am."
Itachi left the last notes quivering in the air and sighed, turning to Naruto. He was surprised to find the blond watching him with wide blue eyes and a half-smile on his face.
"You're doing it," he said wonderingly and Itachi blinked. "Playing the music," the blond added, seeing Itachi's faintly puzzled expression. "It's a complete difference," he continued, with an amazed look on his face. "Now I can see why everyone calls you a musical genius-" he broke off with a blush that Itachi found, to his horror, endearingly cute.
"I have you to thank for that," Itachi said lowly, knowing this to be true and not ashamed to admit that Naruto had helped him. Had it been anyone else, Itachi never would have admitted such a thing - or allowed any such help to happen in the first place. But with Naruto, for some reason, it was different. Itachi wondered if it was because of the blond's playing or his personality or the sadness in his eyes and face or any other numerous things that made Naruto, Naruto that made it so easy to talk to and emphasize with him. Itachi thought, as he watched Naruto stare at his long, elegant hands with wonder, that it was probably a combination of all of those things and felt a sudden tenderness for this little blond who had so suddenly entered and changed his life. Without realizing it, Naruto Uzumaki had gained the protection of one Uchiha. 'And,' Itachi thought, thinking back to Sasuke's strange behavior with an inward frown, 'he's probably going to need it.' But Itachi wouldn't let anything hurt the little blond, even if it was his precious brother that he was protecting Naruto from.
Songs Played in This Chapter (in chronological order): Rhapsody of Blue (Gershwin) and Iris (The Goo Goo Dolls).
Chapter Ten
Fandom: Naruto
Rated: 15+
Pairings: Itachi/Naruto, mentioned Neji/Shikamaru, Ino/Sakura and Kiba/Hinata
Disclaimer: I don't Naruto or any of the song lyrics/videos within this story.
Summary: AU. ItaNaru. Naruto is the new kid at Konoha Academy of the Arts and he's got some pretty dark secrets. And when his past comes back to haunt him, he won't be able to keep them hidden for very long.
Chapter One l Chapter Two l Chapter Three l Chapter Four l Chapter Five l Chapter Six l Chapter Seven l Chapter Eight
-
Dissonance
Chapter Nine: First Meetings
Music's the medicine of the mind. (John A. Logan)
He who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once. (Robert Browning)
Music is an outburst of the soul. (Frederick Delius)
There is in souls a sympathy with sounds:
And as the mind is pitch'd the ear is pleased
With melting airs, or martial, brisk or grave;
Some chord in unison with what we hear
Is touch'd within us, and the heart replies. (William Cowper)
It is not love that is blind, but jealousy. (Lawrence Durrell, Justine, 1957)
Envy is a littleness of soul, which cannot see beyond a certain point, and if it does not occupy the whole space feels itself excluded. (William Hazlitt, Characteristics, 1823)
Hokkaido, Japan
January 29th, 1998
The orphanage was fairly small in Kyuubi Kitsune's opinion. Perhaps it was because he was older and taller since the last time he'd been in one, but it definitely seemed like the building was shrinking in around him. It made him want to get out even more than he already did, which was saying something.
He really wished Shukaku would have had more creative ideas on places to bomb. Kyuubi hated orphanages. But he was the only one vaguely sane enough to enter one and still seem like an okay guy. And they needed a general layout - it was too bad that the orphanage was too small to have blueprints on the internet.
He sighed and leaned against the wall. Currently he was waiting for the director of the orphanage - a woman who went by Shizune, if he wasn't mistaken, to lead him through the brat's housing so he could see if any stood out to him. Kyuubi personally felt like he'd rather swallow knives whole, but he didn't have a choice to back out, goddamnit.
He frowned as he caught the subtle sounds of a piano playing nearby. The music was abruptly cut off, which captured Kyuubi's interest. With a wary look at the door he waited until he could hear notes again and snuck off in the direction the music was coming from. This time it lasted longer, and he realized that whoever was playing was probably either learning a new song or composing. The notes weren't in any actual order, only being played randomly, as if the player was trying to find the right one. Kyuubi's curiosity grew.
He opened the door to the room from which the music was coming from and was surprised to see a little blond boy sitting at the bench instead of the expected orphanage worker on a break. He blinked and then stared. The blond's back was turned to him, but the music score held in front of him was clearly visible. He blinked in surprise at the filled page of notes, wondering where the boy had gotten it from. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw the boy play a couple of notes, nod to himself, and then add them to the end of the sheet music neatly.
He closed the door quietly behind him and watched as the boy continued to add to the composition with narrowed eyes. Kyuubi knew a few people in the music business and he knew how hard it was for some of them to think up the music behind their lyrics. He was surprised that such a little kid could do what full-grown adults couldn't; the blond couldn't be older than eight or nine.
The blond finished the composition with a flourish and then sat, looking over it for several minutes. Then he took a deep breath, placed his hands on the piano keys, and played.
The music was high, legato, and, to Kyuubi's listening ears, strangely sad for music made by a nine-year-old boy. He closed his eyes as he leaned against the wall and listened. The boy never faltered as he played, never stopped even though it had to be his first time playing the composition all the way through. Kyuubi found himself fascinated.
The music was abruptly cut off, and the sweet sound of sobbing reached Kyuubi's ears. He opened his eyes and found that the blond's shoulders were shaking. A smirk danced across his face and he glided forward.
"What's the matter, little one?" he asked and the blond turned to face him. Kyuubi's breath caught.
Big blue eyes stared out at him from a cherubic face, tears tracks melting against the tanned skin. Kyuubi felt a stirring in his groin and inwardly smirked. The little boy would be beautiful even normally, but with tears on his face and a heartbroken expression in his eyes he was exquisite. Kyuubi absently wondered what he would look like with blood on him.
"N-nothing sir," the blond stuttered and hastily wiped away tears with a chubby face. Kyuubi knelt so that he was eye-level.
"What's your name, kitling?" he asked.
"Uzumaki Naruto, sir," the blond said, his chin rising slightly. "I'm nine," he added, anticipating Kyuubi's next question.
"Would you like to come home with me, Naruto?" Kyuubi asked, the idea just coming into his head. Oh the things he could do to the blond! Kyuubi had always had a specialty with breaking people. Naruto would grow up to be beautiful, Kyuubi could see that, and he would be the perfect bed-partner once he was broken in. Kyuubi inwardly licked his lips while he kept the pleasant smile on his face. Yes, it would be perfect.
Big blue eyes watched his face hesitantly, and Kyuubi almost felt a flash of sympathy for the boy - he remembered his stint in the orphanage system, before he had become what he was today. There was always that stinging want of someone to take you away and the fear that once someone did it would all be a joke and they'd send you back just as quickly as they picked you out. 'But,' Kyuubi thought, his almost-sympathy disappearing, 'that won't be happening this time. Naruto is mine for good.'
As the blond nodded yes to his question, Kyuubi absently thought that maybe orphanages weren't so bad after all.
Red eyes opened with a flicker, and Kyuubi Kitsune arched away from his uncomfortable car chair with a groan. He hated sleeping in cars, but he didn't want to attract notice by checking into a hotel. He blinked as the events in his dream came back to him - he hadn't remembered the day he'd first found Naruto for a while now. He absently wondered if the memories were triggered by stalking the boy as he rubbed feeling back into his legs and arms.
He took a look at his watch and nodded to himself when he saw that he had about ten minutes until Naruto left for school. 'Internal clocks are very helpful,' he mused as he reached back into the backseat to grab his gear; his wonderful, too expensive camera that Orochimaru had been kind enough to buy for him, a large sketch pad and a case of charcoal pencils. The last two he placed on the passenger seat while he started up his camera, fiddling with it to make sure it would work perfectly when Naruto got up. Satisfied, he got outside of his car and crept closer to the house where his blond lived. He zoomed in (ah cameras, a lovely invention) and grinned when he saw Naruto getting out of his bed, stretching slightly.
Kyuubi's camera followed Naruto whenever possible as he went through his daily routine, and the red-haired man snapped a few pictures here and there. He knew that it would scare Naruto more if he did portraits of him doing something as completely normal as brushing his hair, or brushing his teeth in the small bathroom adjacent to his bedroom.
Kyuubi's smile turned predatory as he watched Naruto change from his pajamas into his school uniform. His blond had grown into a fine specimen - he couldn't wait until he managed to draw Naruto back to him. He was sure that the blond would struggle at first but Kyuubi was confident in his own abilities to . . . persuade Naruto: and if that didn't work, Kyuubi didn't mind it rough.
He moved silently as Naruto moved downstairs, doing his best to keep the blond in sight. Kyuubi growled slightly when he saw Naruto sit down across from Orochimaru's idiotic brother, giving the old man a smile. His fingers tightened on the camera - that white-haired freak didn't deserve a smile from his Naruto. Kyuubi would have to find a way to get rid of him after he got Naruto back. 'Or,' he thought as he obsessively watched Jiraiya place an arm around Naruto's shoulders, 'I could just get rid of him now. No one would miss him.'
He snapped a few pictures of the two of them together, reluctantly, because he wanted to scare Naruto. If he could just get the blond brat frightened enough, Naruto would come and run back to him. It was twisted logic, but Kyuubi was sure that his plan would work. After all, Naruto was nothing if not a protective little brat. If Kyuubi threatened his friends and family, he had no doubt Naruto would rather choose to be with him again then see them harmed. He sneered to himself; yes his blond did have quite the little heart. It was too bad that it would be his downfall.
Of course, Kyuubi could just kill the blond's close ones now, but that would attract notice and Kyuubi didn't feel the need to be in jail again. Plus, this game was so much more fun to play then just grabbing his blond in the middle of the night and running off with him. Every time that he sent a letter or drawing, he knew that he was regressing Naruto bit by bit. And that was what he wanted, for the blond to broken by the time that they were reunited.
Kyuubi cackled softly to himself as he snapped a few pictures of Naruto leaving the house. His plan was perfect - now all he had to do was see it through. 'It's too easy,' he thought and turned to go back to his car. He had pictures to draw.
"Shikamaru!" The lazy genius sighed and turned to see a bright-eyed Naruto running towards him, pulling along another boy behind him. Shikamaru's eyebrow rose slightly; he recognized that boy. Neji Hyuuga, a part of the famous fanatically religious clan Hyuuga. He was also the star piano player of Konoha Orchestra until a few months ago. When he'd heard the news, Shikamaru had absently thought up theories to Neji's abrupt departure, but he'd soon gotten bored by it.
"Troublesome," he muttered under his breath as the pair approached. He would never have guessed that someone like Neji would hang out with Naruto. Naruto was bright and cheerful, once you got to know him well enough. Neji was one of the resident brooders that attended Konoha (among these so called "brooders" were Sasuke Uchiha, Gaara Sabaku, and Itachi Uchiha) and even though the girls whispered that he was a true gentlemen, Shikamaru doubted that Neji ever smiled or laughed or just had fun in general.
"Shika, this is Neji-ko," Naruto said rapidly, beaming at the both of them. Shikamaru felt his lip twitch. He had a very general grasp of Japanese - his father was fluent since he'd lived there for 20 years before he met Shikamaru's mother - but he knew that '-ko' was not something someone would generally attach to Neji Hyuuga's name. And, judging from Neji's half-amused half-frustrated look, he knew exactly what the honorific meant. "Neji-ko, this is Shikamaru. But feel free to call him Shika, Shika-chan, or Maru-Maru," Naruto chirped happily. Shikamaru absently pondered the thought of whether his father would find killing an annoying blond as justifiable homicide. 'Too troublesome,' he thought, dismissing the idea.
"Nice to meet you," Neji said, and then he paused and his lip twitched, "Maru-Maru."
'Never mind,' Shikamaru thought, glaring a bit at Naruto, who was laughing freely. 'It'd be more troublesome to leave him alive.' Even if Shikamaru was a little bit happy to see Naruto so carefree, it didn't mean that he wanted to suffer the loss of his dignity. So, just to be even, he gave a very forced smile to Neji.
"Nice to meet you as well . . . ." he paused significantly, "Neji-ko." Naruto beamed and Neji's eyebrow rose to his hairline.
Neji had heard of Shikamaru as well. It was hard not to hear about the legendary lazy genius, so smart that he could probably graduate at this very moment, but too lazy to do anything but sleep in class. Neji had felt towards Shikamaru the impersonal indifference everyone feels to someone that you know only by name - but he was beginning to change his mind. Shikamaru was intriguing - his eyes would flash every now and again as if he had just solved the most complicated puzzle, but he never shared any of his thoughts. Neji found it frustrating and, truth be told, interesting. He glanced at Naruto out of the corner of his eye and inwardly rolled his eyes when he saw the beam on the blond's face. 'So that's what he's up to,' Neji thought with some amusement and fondness.
Naruto had made it his personal duty as Neji's new friend to find him, in the blond's words, a "man-lover" (Neji had choked on his own spit when he'd heard that term). Neji had protested, but Naruto couldn't be swayed. He'd been pulled through several halls as Naruto apparently tried to find "the one" (another unsuccessful naming by Naruto Uzumaki) for Neji until Naruto had nearly given up. Then the blond's eyes had brightened and he'd dragged Neji off to meet Shikamaru - obviously Naruto's choice for him.
Neji decided to humor his friend and gave Shikamaru the once over. He wasn't bad looking - without his guilt weighing him down, Neji could easily say that the other boy was very good-looking. And, better than all of that, he had brains. Neji could never be with a simpleton - he needed someone to keep him on his toes. Absently, he wondered if Shikamaru could do that, lethargic as he was.
Naruto, off to the side, was very pleased with himself. Of course, he had no idea if Shikamaru was gay or not, but he knew that even if the teen wasn't, he wouldn't care if Neji tried to "seduce" him. Naruto felt more concerned for Neji's feelings in all of this - if his plan worked and Shikamaru turned out to be straight that might be damaging to Neji's newfound confidence. But Naruto knew that Neji was going to have to do this sometime, so he thought that starting with Shikamaru wouldn't be as bad as starting with a stranger who could make the whole situation a whole lot worse. Naruto got the sudden image of Sasuke in Shikamaru's place and held back a snort of laughter. He doubted Neji and Sasuke would even be able to get along, let alone like each other.
"Well, I have class," Neji said after a few moments of awkward silence. "I'll see you later, Naruto. It was nice to meet you Shikamaru."
Shikamaru just gave a tip of his head, his eyes half-lidded as he watched Neji walk away. Then he turned to Naruto. "You know your little scheme was a bit dangerous, Naruto."
Naruto blinked and then tried on his most innocent look. "What do you mean, Maru-Maru?"
Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched slightly but he kept his indifferent look. "Neji Hyuuga is, apparently, gay or bisexual and you're trying to set us up, troublesome person that you are."
Naruto blushed a little. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.
Shikamaru snorted. "Only if you have an IQ over 200. He was eyeing me up, you were beaming like the sun, and you really had no reason to introduce us without an ulterior motive."
Naruto pouted for a moment before his eyes lit up. "So are you gay? Bisexual? Hetero-flexible?" Shikamaru's eyebrow rose at that last label, but he shrugged.
"Bisexual, actually," Shikamaru said casually. He'd never worried about keeping such things to himself, but no one ever came up to him and asked "are you bi?" so the opportunity to tell people his orientation never came up. Not that Shikamaru really cared. He didn't feel the need to either project or hide anything about himself to the world, least of all his sexuality.
Naruto's eyes widened. "Really? That's great!" He paused and then said sheepishly, "I mean, you may not think it's so great, 'cause people can dislike you for it, but . . . ."
Shikamaru smirked (an odd expression on a face that was usually so indifferent) and said, "It is a good thing. I couldn't care less if people dislike me or not."
Naruto eyed Shikamaru for a moment and then said quietly, "I know it's asking a lot, but can you . . . consider Neji?" Naruto frowned to himself for a moment - that sounded worse than he'd meant to say it. "I mean, would you think about dating him? Because he's a really great guy and he needs to find someone and you two would be practically perfect together . . . ." And now he was babbling.
Shikamaru sighed. He should've known minutes after meeting Naruto that the blond would be troublesome. But Naruto was his friend. Plus there was a little voice in the back of his head musing on if Neji's hair felt as soft as it looked.
"Fine," he muttered, shoving those thoughts to the back of his brain. "I'll think about it. But it'll be too troublesome to do anything more."
"You and your troublesome," Naruto said affectionately and Shikamaru blinked and then laughed.
The poor students surrounding the two had had watched a very disturbing sequence of events. First, Neji Hyuuga had actually associated with someone other than his various family members. Second, he seemed to be hanging out with the all-time lazy genius and the strange new kid that had managed to be-friend Gaara Sabaku, of all people. And then, even stranger still, Shikamaru Nara, a well-known apathetic procrastinator, had laughed! Laughed! It wasn't as much of a miracle as it would have been had it been one of the Uchiha's or the Hyuugas, but it was still a phenomenon! The students glanced at each other through the corner of their eyes and inwardly thought that Naruto Uzumaki was turning his new school topsy-turvy.
Rhapsody in Blue was, maybe unsurprisingly, one of Itachi Uchiha's favorite songs to play. He didn't often stray from his preferred instrument of the violin, but when he did decide to do something different he usually ended up on the piano, playing this song. He did not like it because of its slightly depressing chords, as some might believe, but because the music was complex and deep and he could lose himself in it in a way he couldn't with most other music.
He closed his eyes and leaned with the music as he approached the middle of the song, feeling his heart rise with the music. His fingers, so slim and pale they nearly blended with the keys, moved smoothly and efficiently, never missing a beat. Itachi knew this song backwards by now - he had no need for sheet music. Even if he hadn't known the song as well - Itachi was what some people considered a musical genius. He only needed to look at or hear a song once and he could play it perfectly. Or, almost perfectly. For while Itachi could copy the notes, he would never be able to copy the emotion behind them. That, he had to summon his own - a much harder task than simply hearing or seeing the notes and playing them himself. But he felt that he was starting to learn how to do just that. Maybe it was because Naruto had come into his life. Itachi's lips curved as he hit a crescendo. He liked that idea.
His fingers were starting to get numb, but Itachi ignored it all in favor of the music. His body shifted with the music, faint emotions making his face much more open than it'd probably ever been in his life. He'd deserted his cold, clinical way of performing and instead had embraced Naruto's way of playing music. He was startled to find, as he reached the end of the song, his fingers starting to loose their feeling, that he liked it better. He rarely found cause to loose himself in the music as he was now - the only real time he'd forgotten himself in music was the time after his family had died in the huge mass fires that had burned down their entire district. He had, he remembered distinctly, played Rhapsody of Blue quite often back then too.
He finished with a sigh, leaning back and stretching his fingers to get the feeling back into them. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find Sasuke standing in the door across from him, watching him with cool black eyes that were nearly a mirror of his own.
"Otouto," Itachi said, as indifferently as he could after letting his emotions free in the music. He always used the Japanese title for his brother - calling him Sasuke seemed awkwardly personal. Even though he loved his little brother, Itachi had never really been good with people, family or not. He preferred to keep them at an arm's distance. 'You don't do that with Naruto,' a little voice in the back of his head commented, but Itachi ignored it.
"Aniki," Sasuke said, bowing his head. He moved from his leaning position on the doorframe and stalked closer to the piano. Itachi's eyebrows furrowed slightly and he watched his brother's procession with cautious eyes. Sasuke was obviously upset, but why he didn't know. "You played differently today."
Itachi blinked. "Aa," he said.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Is it because of Uzumaki?" he demanded to know. Sasuke had never been a particularly patient person, Itachi thought as he raised his eyebrow at his brother.
"What does Naruto have to do with anything?" he asked calmly. Sasuke's eyes were near slits now and he had a stormy look on his face.
"I saw you two at the bar you like, Akatsuki," Sasuke accused as if he was, in Itachi's opinion, a jealous lover. Starting to get angry at Sasuke's annoying behavior he narrowed his eyes.
"Your point?" he asked.
Sasuke made a frustrated sound in the back of his throat and turned around to leave. "Never mind, aniki," he said and then left. Itachi watched the empty doorway with a mixture of bewilderment, anger, and confusion. He didn't know why Sasuke would be so mad at his sudden change in music style or his association with Naruto. 'Maybe he's jealous,' a voice in the back of his head suggested and Itachi's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Sasuke had always been a possessive child. 'But is it you or Naruto he's possessive over, I wonder?' the voice said and Itachi felt a disconcerting stab of anger at the thought that Sasuke might want Naruto all to himself.
"What's got your panties in a twist?" Itachi looked up to see the object of his thoughts standing in the same place his brother had not five minutes ago and blinked. Naruto looked happy today - his eyes were bright and his smile was genuine. Just when Itachi had started to be able to tell the difference between Naruto fake and real expressions wasn't clear to him.
"Hn," Itachi said and Naruto laughed.
"Back to your old Uchiha tactics," he teased as he sauntered into the room and dropped into a nearby chair. "Play something for me?"
Itachi looked into Naruto's eyes and sighed. How anyone could resist that look was beyond him. "Aa," he said and his hands moved back to the keys without his consent. They were still aching, but it was a bearable pain. "What would you like me to play?" Despite Sasuke's odd behavior, Itachi was in a generous mood today.
Naruto bit his lip. "I'm don't have anything particular, but something . . . soul-lifting would be nice," he admitted. "I'm in need for some soothing of the soul, if you know what I mean."
Itachi wondered what had put Naruto in need of that and felt a sudden rush of protectiveness that he usually only associated with family. Slightly uncomfortable with this rush of emotion for a person that he didn't know very well, Itachi cleared his throat and the thought of one of the few modern songs he liked outside of blues and jazz popped into his head. He tilted his head and decided that it was soothing to the soul - certainly, it lifted ones spirit into the song. He nodded to himself and then placed his hands on the keys, taking a deep breath. This song was not very difficult for a musical prodigy who could play Chopin and Beethoven and Gershwin for hours straight without having to look at the music once, but for some reason Itachi wanted it to be perfect. Had he known himself better, he might have realized it was because Naruto was watching him. But, as he didn't, Itachi shrugged the feeling off and started to play and sing:
"And I'd give up forever to touch you
'Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
'Cause sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And you can't fight the tears that ain't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
And you bleed just to know you're alive
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am."
The instrumental break was a bit tricky, full of four-note chords that followed one after another, making it hard for those that didn't have nimble fingers. But Itachi managed it well, bridging the music smoothly. He was aware of Naruto's eyes on him and managed to find the time to wonder why that would make such a strange feeling rise up in him - a combination of happiness and fright - but then his thoughts turned back to the song.
"And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
And I don't want the world to see me
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am
I just want you to know who I am."
Itachi left the last notes quivering in the air and sighed, turning to Naruto. He was surprised to find the blond watching him with wide blue eyes and a half-smile on his face.
"You're doing it," he said wonderingly and Itachi blinked. "Playing the music," the blond added, seeing Itachi's faintly puzzled expression. "It's a complete difference," he continued, with an amazed look on his face. "Now I can see why everyone calls you a musical genius-" he broke off with a blush that Itachi found, to his horror, endearingly cute.
"I have you to thank for that," Itachi said lowly, knowing this to be true and not ashamed to admit that Naruto had helped him. Had it been anyone else, Itachi never would have admitted such a thing - or allowed any such help to happen in the first place. But with Naruto, for some reason, it was different. Itachi wondered if it was because of the blond's playing or his personality or the sadness in his eyes and face or any other numerous things that made Naruto, Naruto that made it so easy to talk to and emphasize with him. Itachi thought, as he watched Naruto stare at his long, elegant hands with wonder, that it was probably a combination of all of those things and felt a sudden tenderness for this little blond who had so suddenly entered and changed his life. Without realizing it, Naruto Uzumaki had gained the protection of one Uchiha. 'And,' Itachi thought, thinking back to Sasuke's strange behavior with an inward frown, 'he's probably going to need it.' But Itachi wouldn't let anything hurt the little blond, even if it was his precious brother that he was protecting Naruto from.
Songs Played in This Chapter (in chronological order): Rhapsody of Blue (Gershwin) and Iris (The Goo Goo Dolls).
Chapter Ten