Dissonance: Chapter Five
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
-
Dissonance
Chapter Five: Neji and Kyuubi
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman. (Ludwig Van Beethoven)
Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes. (Bill Cosby)
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. (Leopold Stokowski)
In music the passions enjoy themselves. (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 1886)
Straight Americans need... an education of the heart and soul. They must understand - to begin with - how it can feel to spend years denying your own deepest truths, to sit silently through classes, meals, and church services while people you love toss off remarks that brutalize your soul. (Bruce Bawer, The Advocate, 28 April 1998)
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision. (Lynn Lavner)
People who can't think of anything else but whether the person you love is indented or convex should be doomed not to think of anything else but that, and so miss the other ninety-five percent of life. (Robert Towne)
Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality. (James Baldwin)
Sannin Residence, Minneapolis
October 9th, 2007
-Previously on Dissonance-
"What's troubling you, Neji?"
Neji took a deep breath, wondering if he really wanted to do this. To reveal this part of himself. But, looking into Naruto's bright eyes, he couldn't help but feel this was the right thing to do. So he opened his mouth and began.
"My family is very religious," he said, uncomfortably.
"Yeah, that's what Hinata said," Naruto said casually, making Neji throw him a startled look.
"You've talked to Hinata?" he asked, confused.
Naruto's lips thinned. "Yeah. She's been having problems of her own with your family's love of religion. But, never mind that; continue what you were saying." Naruto leaned forward intently.
Neji shifted, uncomfortable once more. "My family . . . follows the scripture as if it was law," he admitted uneasily. "And I've found that . . . I'm not . . . ." he made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He didn't know how to admit this out loud when he was barely even able to think about it in the private realm of his thoughts. 'I just need to say it!' he thought, half-desperate to get this secret off his chest. "I'm gay!"
The room was silent for a moment, Naruto and Neji staring at each other, each with wide eyes. Neji's hand moved to his mouth, almost as if he could take the words back. Naruto blinked back his shock.
"So?" he asked.
Neji blinked. "It's wrong," he said in a low voice, tension radiating from him. "The bible says so. It's unnatural, and I'm sinning every time I think of another man that way."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, a challenging look on his face. (Unknown to Neji, this statement had raised Naruto's inner debator.) "I don't know much about religion or the bible," he told Neji, "but wasn't the bible written thousands of years ago?"
Neji nodded, confused where Naruto was taking this. "Yes, but-"
"So, if it was written that long ago, the culture was probably pretty different, yes? I mean, slaves were used regularly, and women were supposed to be submissive to men, right? And now, it isn't like that - we have laws against slavery, and treating women that badly is frowned upon. Does the bible speak about slavery and women?"
"Yes, it does," Neji said, with a frown. He remembered back when he still went to Sunday School that his teacher had mentioned how people used to quote from the Bible to justify slavery and sometimes even domestic abuse. 'Just like they do for gay people,' he thought with surprise.
"So why can't the Bible be wrong about that too?" Naruto asked. "Does Jesus - not his Apostles, but Jesus himself - say anything against homosexuality specifically?"
Neji wracked his brain, trying to think of any place in the Bible that Jesus was quoted speaking against gay people. "No," he admitted reluctantly. "Not that I can think of."
"And even if the Bible is supposed to be the "Book of God", the Apostles are just as human as we are, and just as capable of prejudices and mistakes," Naruto pointed out sensibly. "Plus, it was written in the Middle East somewhere, wasn't it? The English translations could be wrong, or edited thanks to translators who are prejudiced; they might have thought it meant one thing, when it really didn't."
Neji blinked. He really hadn't thought of that. To him, the Bible just . . . was. It was the book of God; you weren't supposed to question it. It was all-powerful, all-knowing; anyone who suggested otherwise was a disbeliever. But he couldn't help but realize the powerful sensibility in Naruto's words, and doubts started to rise up in him. What if homosexuality wasn't a sin? What if God wouldn't send him to hell for sleeping with another man? And, the all important question, what would it mean if his family was wrong about the basis of their homophobia? What then?
"Neji?" Naruto asked, after the minutes of silence had stretched between them. "You okay?"
Neji looked at him, taking in the blond head to toe. Catching details like the swirls of blue in his eyes, the different shades of blond in his hair, and the red running through his shirt. He nodded slowly, feeling as if the world had been spinning around and around and that it had just stopped, leaving Neji to stand there, sick and dizzy. "I don't know," he said quietly, and now he wasn't sure if it was dizziness he was feeling or exhilaration. "But I might be."
Itachi wasn't sure why he was wandering the school after the final bell had rung, but he had his suspicions that it had to do with a certain blond enigma.
The kid had intrigued him. Never before had he been told that he "wasn't good enough". Everyone loved Itachi, and everyone admired his playing. The blond stood out from the rest of his faceless admirers, and with every passing day, Itachi's thoughts turned more and more to Naruto.
The faint sound of music drifted up the hallway, and Itachi absently drifted after it. The melody was a pretty piano piece, accompanied by a soft voice. Itachi had never been one to like "modern music"; classical spoke to him much more sharply, but he could see the appeal in pieces such as this. Other music, such as the stuff full of screaming and banging drums, Itachi thought was just an excuse to pawn money off of mindless teenagers.
"There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him
Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me
He said, 'Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see.'"
The blond sitting in front of the piano should have surprised him. Instead, Itachi found himself surprisingly un-shocked. He'd known the blond was strange the minute he'd told him that his music was good, but not good enough. Was it any surprise that his choice in music would differ from the teenagers that Itachi had met?
"Then he said, "Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I..."
Picked up my kid from school today
Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me
He said, "Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me
And Hey Dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I."
Itachi eyed Naruto, who hadn't yet noticed his presence, playing as passionately as he was. Itachi was able to recognize beauty, no matter in what gender, and Naruto had it in spades. It wasn't just in his coloring - blond and blue-eyed wasn't unusual in America, especially in the Mid-West - but the way his hands made graceful motions on the piano, how his face creased with emotion as he played. There was beauty in his playing, and Itachi recognized that this was what was missing from his music, this out-pouring of emotion that Naruto brought up so easily. Where Naruto's face was full of emotion, Itachi's was stoic. Where Naruto's body bended with the music, Itachi's was still and lifeless. It was a startling contradiction, and Itachi could see why Naruto didn't like the difference; he found himself preferring the blond's playing to his own.
I said, "Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?"
There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see
He said... You looking for a clue I Love You free...
The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is hiding
Over me, something comes over me
I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you free
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I."
Itachi couldn't resist. "That was good," he said, mimicking the blond's first words to him. The kid's reaction, however, was not what he was expecting.
Naruto whirled around, nearly falling off the piano bench and only managing to catch himself at the last moment. His eyes were huge in his face, and his face had paled to a deadly degree. Itachi found himself taking a few steps forward and holding his hands up reassuringly before he could catch himself.
"Hey," he said, in a voice so unlike himself that a voice in the back of his head absently wondered if he'd been taken over by a stranger. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Naruto eyed him distrustfully for a second before relaxing. Itachi let out a silent sigh and carefully pulled himself back behind his mask of stoicism. Naruto Uzumaki was dangerous; he had a unique gift of pulling Itachi so off-guard that he disregarded his need for The Uchiha Mask™.
"What are you doing here, Itachi?" Naruto asked.
Itachi eyed the blond's back for a moment, almost taken-aback at how defeated Naruto sounded. Even after meeting him only twice, Itachi had found that he'd expected a very bright and open individual. But this boy . . . this boy was broken.
"Hn," Itachi said, pulling up a chair. He sank into it primly, back straight against the hard metal.
Naruto glanced at him, and Itachi was surprised at the relief he felt seeing a mischievous spark in those blue eyes. He barely knew the boy, and yet the rise in his spirit caused Itachi an enormous relief that was, shockingly, followed by pride that he'd been the one to lift the blond's spirits. Itachi quickly stifled the emotions, annoyed with himself. He didn't even know the blond!
"Typical Uchiha answer," Naruto told him straight-forwardly, and Itachi wasn't sure whether he was surprised or amused that the blond spoke to him like that. "Your little brother is the exact same way. Hn this, and Hn that." Yes, definitely amused. "I think Mr. Uchiha is the only one of you that actually talks, and that's probably because he's a teacher!"
Itachi smirked and said, deliberately this time, "Hn."
Naruto let out a bright, clear laugh and Itachi watched the cheerfulness dance across his face. Yes, there was definitely beauty in that face. Whether Naruto could see it or not, that was another question.
"But really, Itachi, you don't seem like the type to seek others out," Naruto said cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"
Itachi considered saying 'Hn' again, just to avoid this question. He didn't know what he was doing there, to be honest. A part of him had just wanted to see the blond. But his Uchiha Pride™ wouldn't let him admit it.
"I heard your music," he murmured, willing to grasp any excuse he could.
Naruto nodded. "I do have a tendency to play pretty loud," he said sheepishly. "You aren't the first person that's snuck up on me like that."
Itachi smirked. "Isn't that what you wanted me to do, Naruto-kun? Play passionately?"
Naruto blushed a little. "I didn't mean for it to come out so snootily," he told Itachi frankly, "but yeah, that is the basics of it. And, hey, are you Japanese?" he asked, just registering the honorific Itachi had called him by.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yes," he confirmed. "My entire family is." 'Or what's left of it,' he added, almost bitterly, to himself.
"Wow!" Naruto said, a smile sliding across his face. "I am too! Well, I mean, not a lot, but a quarter Japanese. I grew up there, actually. In Hokkaido, to be more exact."
Itachi was intrigued. Naruto spoke English so well, he hadn't even imagined he was from another country. "For how long?" he asked softly. Naruto stiffened slightly, and Itachi filed that reaction away.
"Eight years," he said lightly. "Then I had to move. I came to America a year after that, though."
"You lived with your parents?" Itachi asked, unsure why he was doing so. The blond drew him in; he wanted to know more. It was a rare feeling, and Itachi wasn't sure if he should stifle it or revel in it.
"My mother," Naruto said quietly. "I never knew my father." He eyed Itachi for a moment before whirling around, placing his hands on the keys. "How about another song, hm?"
Itachi recognized a diversionary tactic when he saw one, but he let it slide. Obviously, it wasn't something the blond wanted to talk about, and Itachi wasn't one to pry. He frowned when the opening notes hit his ears; he felt like he'd heard this music before . . . .
"As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you cant follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be."
Itachi was once again entranced by the vision that was Naruto playing music. He knew that even with his years of training, he wouldn't be able to play like that; that wasn't something that was learned, it was something that you were either gifted with or you weren't. Itachi could, maybe, mimic the effect, but he would never be as good at playing with that sort of passion as Naruto was. In a way, this made Itachi happy. Finally, there was something he wasn't good at without trying. Finally, there was something he had to work for. And he had Naruto to thank for showing him that.
"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you cant really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me."
The lyrics were hard and angry, and Itachi was surprised that Naruto was able to handle them so well. The blond seemed happy and cheerful, and this seemed like the kind of song that Naruto would normally stumble over when he attempted to fit in the emotions.
"It was one of my mother's favorite songs," Naruto spoke up abruptly, and Itachi noticed that his hands, once still, had moved to the edge of the piano and gripped it tightly enough to make his knuckles turn white. A faint furrow made its way between Itachi's brow and he looked Naruto over for any more signs of anxiety. The blond was trembling slightly, and his shoulders were stiff under the pristine dark jacket of the school's uniform. "She played it for me once, and I told that I didn't like it, that it was too sad." Naruto laughed, a little bitterly. "Now I just wish I could hear it from her again."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. 'So his mother has died,' he thought. Naruto Uzumaki just kept getting more and more interesting.
Kyuubi never figured that being a wanted man would be so much work. He sighed as he snuck through darkened allies, avoiding blaring sirens that decided to come his way all the while. It was a good thing that Naruto was such a wonderful toy - otherwise, he would never had bothered. Kyuubi didn't like being forced into corners.
He sidled through another alley and then made his way down a darkened street, keeping a sharp eye out for approaching cars. He was relieved when he finally made it to his destination; a darkened house at the edge of the road, that looked abandoned. Kyuubi knew from experience that it wasn't.
He carefully made his way to the front door and knocked, twice, before rapping in three rapid movements. There was a heavy stillness behind the door before the sound of light footsteps reached Kyuubi's ears. He frowned; he didn't recognize those footsteps.
The door opened to reveal a young man with prematurely silver hair and thick, round glasses hanging off the tip of his nose. Kyuubi sneered as he thought, 'Orochimaru must have gotten himself a new toy.'
"Who are you, and what do you want?" the man said, eyes stoic. Kyuubi was almost impressed; not many could remain so calm after seeing his face.
"I'm here to see Orochimaru," he said gruffly. "Tell him it's Kyuubi, and he'll see me. Better make it fast though - I find I'm mightily impatient." He added a maniacal grin for good measure that grew more genuine when the young man flinched.
"I will go talk to Orochimaru-sama," he said quietly, before closing the door. Kyuubi eyed the wood thoughtfully. 'So he got the brat to call him Lord already, huh? Maybe I can get my brat to do that . . . .' Distracted as he was with thoughts of Naruto calling out 'Kyuubi-sama', he didn't notice, at first, when the door swung open. Only the voice of his old friend drew him from his thoughts.
"Kyuubi, my dear friend," Orochimaru purred out, eyes sweeping over Kyuubi's form. The escapee snorted to himself; Orochimaru fucked anything twenty years younger than him, and had always had a particular eye for Kyuubi.
"Orochimaru," he said. "I have a deal for you."
Orochimaru allowed him to step inside, and Kyuubi made his way to a very familiar living room, the snake-like man following in his footsteps.
"Oh?" he said, sounding genuinely interested. "And what deal is this?"
Kyuubi smirked. "It has to do with a certain blond toy of mine . . . ." he said, batting his eyelashes coyly. Orochimaru raised a thin black eyebrow.
"Uzumaki? The brat that turned you in? What does this have to do with him?"
"He's mine," Kyuubi snarled possessively. "He doesn't belong with your freak of a brother; he doesn't belong in that school. He exists only to please me. I want him back."
Orochimaru chuckled. "You're still as obsessed with him as you were a year and a half ago," he told the red-head. "But, I will indulge your taste for him. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Kyuubi's eyes gleamed. "I already have plans of my own on how to bring him back to me," he told Orochimaru. "I just want you to keep an eye on him at that school - make sure that he doesn't join anything public. Make sure he still remembers . . . everything. I wouldn't want him to be forgetting our little lessons, after all." Kyuubi smiled manically. "Make sure that he's as frightened as he was when I left him, and I'll give you anything you want."
Orochimaru paused, a hungry look entering his eyes. "Anything?"
Kyuubi smirked. "Anything."
Naruto had never thought that he was the type to avoid - usually he preferred confrontation. But when it came to revealing his past to a surprisingly persistent Hyuuga, Naruto thought that avoidance was the key to survival.
After their little talk, Neji had asked about Naruto's life. Naruto had refused to talk about it, and Neji had been offended - after all, he'd offered up the parts of his soul he'd rather no one see, and now Naruto was holding out on him? Naruto sighed as he remembered the way Neji had stormed out of the house and then stalked for the last two days, determined to hear Naruto's story.
He liked Neji, and he sympathized with his plight about his family. But Naruto didn't reveal himself that easily. He always fit much easier in the skin of the listener, the one who solved the problems instead of revealing their own. He didn't know how to bare his soul like that to a person unless he trusted them, like he did with Jiraiya. And even then, it had taken months for the older man to wrangle the story from him.
Naruto sighed, and stared down at his feet. Eventually, he knew, Neji would find him and they'd talk it out. Whether he would reveal something about his past or not, Naruto wasn't sure. Neji could, perhaps, sympathize, but Naruto was pretty sure that he wasn't the type to offer that sympathy. Maybe it was side-affect of growing up with his strict family, but Neji didn't seem all that emotional. Being so drawn into his thoughts, Naruto failed to notice the person standing in front of him until he barreled into a warm body, sending both of them sprawling on the ground.
"Ow . . . ." he mumbled, before realizing that he'd fallen on someone. "Oh geez, are you okay?" he said, scrambling off the person below him. He blinked when he saw exactly who he'd fallen on.
The boy pulled himself off the ground stoically, bright red hair falling into his kohl-lined lime green eyes. His features were sharp and pale, and his face was without emotion. Naruto caught a bright red tattoo on his forehead, which he thought was some sort of kanji character, but he couldn't make out what it was thanks to the boy's messy bangs.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Jeez, I'm so sorry! I mean, usually I'm looking where I'm going, but obviously this time I wasn't, and then I ran into you, and I'm really, really sorry . . . ." he trailed off nervously, trying to stop himself from babbling. Something about this boy had him on edge. He caught sight of several papers scattered on the ground out of the corner of his eye, and quickly bent to pick them up.
"My name's Naruto," he explained as he scooped the papers into his arms. "I just got here a week or two ago. What's your name? Not that you have to answer anything, but it'd be nice to know so I could apologize properly . . . ." He finally caught sight of what was on the papers that he was picking up, and his eyes widened. He held up the first sheet and stared down at it, awestruck.
A giant fox stood starkly in the middle of the sheet, nine tails swirling around it like a heavy cloak. Some of these tails were being slammed into the ground below the fox, creating heavy craters. The fox was colored a deep, burning red, and its eyes were a shade lighter, veering from red to an almost orange tint. The background differed from the dusty color of the un-cracked ground to the deep blue where water pooled up from the craters. The sky above the fox's head was a deep, stark black.
"Wow," Naruto said, staring at the picture. "You are an amazing artist."
He looked up to see the boy watching him intensely and swallowed. "I mean, this is awesome! Man, you must be at the top of your class or something . . . ."
"Gaara," the boy spoke for the first time. Naruto looked at him in confusion. "My name," he added, to clarify. "It is Gaara. And, thank you." He carefully took the drawings from Naruto and walked away without another word.
Before he could disappear down the hall, Naruto shouted, "See you around, Gaara!"
Whether the boy heard him or not was hard to say, but Naruto decided it didn't matter much. He shook his head and turned on his heel to continue his route. There were so many confusing and interesting people at Konoha. Naruto sighed and walked down the hall, unaware of the probing golden eyes trained on his turned back.
-
Music Used in This Chapter: The Riddle (Five for Fighting) and Working Class Hero (John Lennon)
Chapter Six
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
-
Dissonance
Chapter Five: Neji and Kyuubi
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman. (Ludwig Van Beethoven)
Nothing separates the generations more than music. By the time a child is eight or nine, he has developed a passion for his own music that is even stronger than his passions for procrastination and weird clothes. (Bill Cosby)
A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. (Leopold Stokowski)
In music the passions enjoy themselves. (Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, 1886)
Straight Americans need... an education of the heart and soul. They must understand - to begin with - how it can feel to spend years denying your own deepest truths, to sit silently through classes, meals, and church services while people you love toss off remarks that brutalize your soul. (Bruce Bawer, The Advocate, 28 April 1998)
The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision. (Lynn Lavner)
People who can't think of anything else but whether the person you love is indented or convex should be doomed not to think of anything else but that, and so miss the other ninety-five percent of life. (Robert Towne)
Everybody's journey is individual. If you fall in love with a boy, you fall in love with a boy. The fact that many Americans consider it a disease says more about them than it does about homosexuality. (James Baldwin)
Sannin Residence, Minneapolis
October 9th, 2007
-Previously on Dissonance-
"What's troubling you, Neji?"
Neji took a deep breath, wondering if he really wanted to do this. To reveal this part of himself. But, looking into Naruto's bright eyes, he couldn't help but feel this was the right thing to do. So he opened his mouth and began.
"My family is very religious," he said, uncomfortably.
"Yeah, that's what Hinata said," Naruto said casually, making Neji throw him a startled look.
"You've talked to Hinata?" he asked, confused.
Naruto's lips thinned. "Yeah. She's been having problems of her own with your family's love of religion. But, never mind that; continue what you were saying." Naruto leaned forward intently.
Neji shifted, uncomfortable once more. "My family . . . follows the scripture as if it was law," he admitted uneasily. "And I've found that . . . I'm not . . . ." he made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He didn't know how to admit this out loud when he was barely even able to think about it in the private realm of his thoughts. 'I just need to say it!' he thought, half-desperate to get this secret off his chest. "I'm gay!"
The room was silent for a moment, Naruto and Neji staring at each other, each with wide eyes. Neji's hand moved to his mouth, almost as if he could take the words back. Naruto blinked back his shock.
"So?" he asked.
Neji blinked. "It's wrong," he said in a low voice, tension radiating from him. "The bible says so. It's unnatural, and I'm sinning every time I think of another man that way."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, a challenging look on his face. (Unknown to Neji, this statement had raised Naruto's inner debator.) "I don't know much about religion or the bible," he told Neji, "but wasn't the bible written thousands of years ago?"
Neji nodded, confused where Naruto was taking this. "Yes, but-"
"So, if it was written that long ago, the culture was probably pretty different, yes? I mean, slaves were used regularly, and women were supposed to be submissive to men, right? And now, it isn't like that - we have laws against slavery, and treating women that badly is frowned upon. Does the bible speak about slavery and women?"
"Yes, it does," Neji said, with a frown. He remembered back when he still went to Sunday School that his teacher had mentioned how people used to quote from the Bible to justify slavery and sometimes even domestic abuse. 'Just like they do for gay people,' he thought with surprise.
"So why can't the Bible be wrong about that too?" Naruto asked. "Does Jesus - not his Apostles, but Jesus himself - say anything against homosexuality specifically?"
Neji wracked his brain, trying to think of any place in the Bible that Jesus was quoted speaking against gay people. "No," he admitted reluctantly. "Not that I can think of."
"And even if the Bible is supposed to be the "Book of God", the Apostles are just as human as we are, and just as capable of prejudices and mistakes," Naruto pointed out sensibly. "Plus, it was written in the Middle East somewhere, wasn't it? The English translations could be wrong, or edited thanks to translators who are prejudiced; they might have thought it meant one thing, when it really didn't."
Neji blinked. He really hadn't thought of that. To him, the Bible just . . . was. It was the book of God; you weren't supposed to question it. It was all-powerful, all-knowing; anyone who suggested otherwise was a disbeliever. But he couldn't help but realize the powerful sensibility in Naruto's words, and doubts started to rise up in him. What if homosexuality wasn't a sin? What if God wouldn't send him to hell for sleeping with another man? And, the all important question, what would it mean if his family was wrong about the basis of their homophobia? What then?
"Neji?" Naruto asked, after the minutes of silence had stretched between them. "You okay?"
Neji looked at him, taking in the blond head to toe. Catching details like the swirls of blue in his eyes, the different shades of blond in his hair, and the red running through his shirt. He nodded slowly, feeling as if the world had been spinning around and around and that it had just stopped, leaving Neji to stand there, sick and dizzy. "I don't know," he said quietly, and now he wasn't sure if it was dizziness he was feeling or exhilaration. "But I might be."
Itachi wasn't sure why he was wandering the school after the final bell had rung, but he had his suspicions that it had to do with a certain blond enigma.
The kid had intrigued him. Never before had he been told that he "wasn't good enough". Everyone loved Itachi, and everyone admired his playing. The blond stood out from the rest of his faceless admirers, and with every passing day, Itachi's thoughts turned more and more to Naruto.
The faint sound of music drifted up the hallway, and Itachi absently drifted after it. The melody was a pretty piano piece, accompanied by a soft voice. Itachi had never been one to like "modern music"; classical spoke to him much more sharply, but he could see the appeal in pieces such as this. Other music, such as the stuff full of screaming and banging drums, Itachi thought was just an excuse to pawn money off of mindless teenagers.
"There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him
Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me
He said, 'Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see... You will see.'"
The blond sitting in front of the piano should have surprised him. Instead, Itachi found himself surprisingly un-shocked. He'd known the blond was strange the minute he'd told him that his music was good, but not good enough. Was it any surprise that his choice in music would differ from the teenagers that Itachi had met?
"Then he said, "Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I..."
Picked up my kid from school today
Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me
He said, "Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me
And Hey Dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I."
Itachi eyed Naruto, who hadn't yet noticed his presence, playing as passionately as he was. Itachi was able to recognize beauty, no matter in what gender, and Naruto had it in spades. It wasn't just in his coloring - blond and blue-eyed wasn't unusual in America, especially in the Mid-West - but the way his hands made graceful motions on the piano, how his face creased with emotion as he played. There was beauty in his playing, and Itachi recognized that this was what was missing from his music, this out-pouring of emotion that Naruto brought up so easily. Where Naruto's face was full of emotion, Itachi's was stoic. Where Naruto's body bended with the music, Itachi's was still and lifeless. It was a startling contradiction, and Itachi could see why Naruto didn't like the difference; he found himself preferring the blond's playing to his own.
I said, "Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?"
There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see
He said... You looking for a clue I Love You free...
The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is hiding
Over me, something comes over me
I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you free
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I."
Itachi couldn't resist. "That was good," he said, mimicking the blond's first words to him. The kid's reaction, however, was not what he was expecting.
Naruto whirled around, nearly falling off the piano bench and only managing to catch himself at the last moment. His eyes were huge in his face, and his face had paled to a deadly degree. Itachi found himself taking a few steps forward and holding his hands up reassuringly before he could catch himself.
"Hey," he said, in a voice so unlike himself that a voice in the back of his head absently wondered if he'd been taken over by a stranger. "I'm not going to hurt you."
Naruto eyed him distrustfully for a second before relaxing. Itachi let out a silent sigh and carefully pulled himself back behind his mask of stoicism. Naruto Uzumaki was dangerous; he had a unique gift of pulling Itachi so off-guard that he disregarded his need for The Uchiha Mask™.
"What are you doing here, Itachi?" Naruto asked.
Itachi eyed the blond's back for a moment, almost taken-aback at how defeated Naruto sounded. Even after meeting him only twice, Itachi had found that he'd expected a very bright and open individual. But this boy . . . this boy was broken.
"Hn," Itachi said, pulling up a chair. He sank into it primly, back straight against the hard metal.
Naruto glanced at him, and Itachi was surprised at the relief he felt seeing a mischievous spark in those blue eyes. He barely knew the boy, and yet the rise in his spirit caused Itachi an enormous relief that was, shockingly, followed by pride that he'd been the one to lift the blond's spirits. Itachi quickly stifled the emotions, annoyed with himself. He didn't even know the blond!
"Typical Uchiha answer," Naruto told him straight-forwardly, and Itachi wasn't sure whether he was surprised or amused that the blond spoke to him like that. "Your little brother is the exact same way. Hn this, and Hn that." Yes, definitely amused. "I think Mr. Uchiha is the only one of you that actually talks, and that's probably because he's a teacher!"
Itachi smirked and said, deliberately this time, "Hn."
Naruto let out a bright, clear laugh and Itachi watched the cheerfulness dance across his face. Yes, there was definitely beauty in that face. Whether Naruto could see it or not, that was another question.
"But really, Itachi, you don't seem like the type to seek others out," Naruto said cheerfully. "What are you doing here?"
Itachi considered saying 'Hn' again, just to avoid this question. He didn't know what he was doing there, to be honest. A part of him had just wanted to see the blond. But his Uchiha Pride™ wouldn't let him admit it.
"I heard your music," he murmured, willing to grasp any excuse he could.
Naruto nodded. "I do have a tendency to play pretty loud," he said sheepishly. "You aren't the first person that's snuck up on me like that."
Itachi smirked. "Isn't that what you wanted me to do, Naruto-kun? Play passionately?"
Naruto blushed a little. "I didn't mean for it to come out so snootily," he told Itachi frankly, "but yeah, that is the basics of it. And, hey, are you Japanese?" he asked, just registering the honorific Itachi had called him by.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yes," he confirmed. "My entire family is." 'Or what's left of it,' he added, almost bitterly, to himself.
"Wow!" Naruto said, a smile sliding across his face. "I am too! Well, I mean, not a lot, but a quarter Japanese. I grew up there, actually. In Hokkaido, to be more exact."
Itachi was intrigued. Naruto spoke English so well, he hadn't even imagined he was from another country. "For how long?" he asked softly. Naruto stiffened slightly, and Itachi filed that reaction away.
"Eight years," he said lightly. "Then I had to move. I came to America a year after that, though."
"You lived with your parents?" Itachi asked, unsure why he was doing so. The blond drew him in; he wanted to know more. It was a rare feeling, and Itachi wasn't sure if he should stifle it or revel in it.
"My mother," Naruto said quietly. "I never knew my father." He eyed Itachi for a moment before whirling around, placing his hands on the keys. "How about another song, hm?"
Itachi recognized a diversionary tactic when he saw one, but he let it slide. Obviously, it wasn't something the blond wanted to talk about, and Itachi wasn't one to pry. He frowned when the opening notes hit his ears; he felt like he'd heard this music before . . . .
"As soon as you're born they make you feel small
By giving you no time instead of it all
Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
Till you're so fucking crazy you cant follow their rules
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be."
Itachi was once again entranced by the vision that was Naruto playing music. He knew that even with his years of training, he wouldn't be able to play like that; that wasn't something that was learned, it was something that you were either gifted with or you weren't. Itachi could, maybe, mimic the effect, but he would never be as good at playing with that sort of passion as Naruto was. In a way, this made Itachi happy. Finally, there was something he wasn't good at without trying. Finally, there was something he had to work for. And he had Naruto to thank for showing him that.
"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
Then they expect you to pick a career
When you cant really function you're so full of fear
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
There's room at the top they are telling you still
But first you must learn how to smile as you kill
If you want to be like the folks on the hill
A working class hero is something to be
A working class hero is something to be
If you want to be a hero well just follow me
If you want to be a hero well just follow me."
The lyrics were hard and angry, and Itachi was surprised that Naruto was able to handle them so well. The blond seemed happy and cheerful, and this seemed like the kind of song that Naruto would normally stumble over when he attempted to fit in the emotions.
"It was one of my mother's favorite songs," Naruto spoke up abruptly, and Itachi noticed that his hands, once still, had moved to the edge of the piano and gripped it tightly enough to make his knuckles turn white. A faint furrow made its way between Itachi's brow and he looked Naruto over for any more signs of anxiety. The blond was trembling slightly, and his shoulders were stiff under the pristine dark jacket of the school's uniform. "She played it for me once, and I told that I didn't like it, that it was too sad." Naruto laughed, a little bitterly. "Now I just wish I could hear it from her again."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. 'So his mother has died,' he thought. Naruto Uzumaki just kept getting more and more interesting.
Kyuubi never figured that being a wanted man would be so much work. He sighed as he snuck through darkened allies, avoiding blaring sirens that decided to come his way all the while. It was a good thing that Naruto was such a wonderful toy - otherwise, he would never had bothered. Kyuubi didn't like being forced into corners.
He sidled through another alley and then made his way down a darkened street, keeping a sharp eye out for approaching cars. He was relieved when he finally made it to his destination; a darkened house at the edge of the road, that looked abandoned. Kyuubi knew from experience that it wasn't.
He carefully made his way to the front door and knocked, twice, before rapping in three rapid movements. There was a heavy stillness behind the door before the sound of light footsteps reached Kyuubi's ears. He frowned; he didn't recognize those footsteps.
The door opened to reveal a young man with prematurely silver hair and thick, round glasses hanging off the tip of his nose. Kyuubi sneered as he thought, 'Orochimaru must have gotten himself a new toy.'
"Who are you, and what do you want?" the man said, eyes stoic. Kyuubi was almost impressed; not many could remain so calm after seeing his face.
"I'm here to see Orochimaru," he said gruffly. "Tell him it's Kyuubi, and he'll see me. Better make it fast though - I find I'm mightily impatient." He added a maniacal grin for good measure that grew more genuine when the young man flinched.
"I will go talk to Orochimaru-sama," he said quietly, before closing the door. Kyuubi eyed the wood thoughtfully. 'So he got the brat to call him Lord already, huh? Maybe I can get my brat to do that . . . .' Distracted as he was with thoughts of Naruto calling out 'Kyuubi-sama', he didn't notice, at first, when the door swung open. Only the voice of his old friend drew him from his thoughts.
"Kyuubi, my dear friend," Orochimaru purred out, eyes sweeping over Kyuubi's form. The escapee snorted to himself; Orochimaru fucked anything twenty years younger than him, and had always had a particular eye for Kyuubi.
"Orochimaru," he said. "I have a deal for you."
Orochimaru allowed him to step inside, and Kyuubi made his way to a very familiar living room, the snake-like man following in his footsteps.
"Oh?" he said, sounding genuinely interested. "And what deal is this?"
Kyuubi smirked. "It has to do with a certain blond toy of mine . . . ." he said, batting his eyelashes coyly. Orochimaru raised a thin black eyebrow.
"Uzumaki? The brat that turned you in? What does this have to do with him?"
"He's mine," Kyuubi snarled possessively. "He doesn't belong with your freak of a brother; he doesn't belong in that school. He exists only to please me. I want him back."
Orochimaru chuckled. "You're still as obsessed with him as you were a year and a half ago," he told the red-head. "But, I will indulge your taste for him. What exactly did you have in mind?"
Kyuubi's eyes gleamed. "I already have plans of my own on how to bring him back to me," he told Orochimaru. "I just want you to keep an eye on him at that school - make sure that he doesn't join anything public. Make sure he still remembers . . . everything. I wouldn't want him to be forgetting our little lessons, after all." Kyuubi smiled manically. "Make sure that he's as frightened as he was when I left him, and I'll give you anything you want."
Orochimaru paused, a hungry look entering his eyes. "Anything?"
Kyuubi smirked. "Anything."
Naruto had never thought that he was the type to avoid - usually he preferred confrontation. But when it came to revealing his past to a surprisingly persistent Hyuuga, Naruto thought that avoidance was the key to survival.
After their little talk, Neji had asked about Naruto's life. Naruto had refused to talk about it, and Neji had been offended - after all, he'd offered up the parts of his soul he'd rather no one see, and now Naruto was holding out on him? Naruto sighed as he remembered the way Neji had stormed out of the house and then stalked for the last two days, determined to hear Naruto's story.
He liked Neji, and he sympathized with his plight about his family. But Naruto didn't reveal himself that easily. He always fit much easier in the skin of the listener, the one who solved the problems instead of revealing their own. He didn't know how to bare his soul like that to a person unless he trusted them, like he did with Jiraiya. And even then, it had taken months for the older man to wrangle the story from him.
Naruto sighed, and stared down at his feet. Eventually, he knew, Neji would find him and they'd talk it out. Whether he would reveal something about his past or not, Naruto wasn't sure. Neji could, perhaps, sympathize, but Naruto was pretty sure that he wasn't the type to offer that sympathy. Maybe it was side-affect of growing up with his strict family, but Neji didn't seem all that emotional. Being so drawn into his thoughts, Naruto failed to notice the person standing in front of him until he barreled into a warm body, sending both of them sprawling on the ground.
"Ow . . . ." he mumbled, before realizing that he'd fallen on someone. "Oh geez, are you okay?" he said, scrambling off the person below him. He blinked when he saw exactly who he'd fallen on.
The boy pulled himself off the ground stoically, bright red hair falling into his kohl-lined lime green eyes. His features were sharp and pale, and his face was without emotion. Naruto caught a bright red tattoo on his forehead, which he thought was some sort of kanji character, but he couldn't make out what it was thanks to the boy's messy bangs.
"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Jeez, I'm so sorry! I mean, usually I'm looking where I'm going, but obviously this time I wasn't, and then I ran into you, and I'm really, really sorry . . . ." he trailed off nervously, trying to stop himself from babbling. Something about this boy had him on edge. He caught sight of several papers scattered on the ground out of the corner of his eye, and quickly bent to pick them up.
"My name's Naruto," he explained as he scooped the papers into his arms. "I just got here a week or two ago. What's your name? Not that you have to answer anything, but it'd be nice to know so I could apologize properly . . . ." He finally caught sight of what was on the papers that he was picking up, and his eyes widened. He held up the first sheet and stared down at it, awestruck.
A giant fox stood starkly in the middle of the sheet, nine tails swirling around it like a heavy cloak. Some of these tails were being slammed into the ground below the fox, creating heavy craters. The fox was colored a deep, burning red, and its eyes were a shade lighter, veering from red to an almost orange tint. The background differed from the dusty color of the un-cracked ground to the deep blue where water pooled up from the craters. The sky above the fox's head was a deep, stark black.
"Wow," Naruto said, staring at the picture. "You are an amazing artist."
He looked up to see the boy watching him intensely and swallowed. "I mean, this is awesome! Man, you must be at the top of your class or something . . . ."
"Gaara," the boy spoke for the first time. Naruto looked at him in confusion. "My name," he added, to clarify. "It is Gaara. And, thank you." He carefully took the drawings from Naruto and walked away without another word.
Before he could disappear down the hall, Naruto shouted, "See you around, Gaara!"
Whether the boy heard him or not was hard to say, but Naruto decided it didn't matter much. He shook his head and turned on his heel to continue his route. There were so many confusing and interesting people at Konoha. Naruto sighed and walked down the hall, unaware of the probing golden eyes trained on his turned back.
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Music Used in This Chapter: The Riddle (Five for Fighting) and Working Class Hero (John Lennon)
Chapter Six