The Hypocrite (Chapter Three)
Name: The Lost Curse
Author: healielle
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Uchiha Sasuke X Uzumaki Naruto
Theme: Zeta#20: id
Rating: Older Teens
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto and his affiliates.
Summary: Because everyone had things they wanted, and no one wanted to be truthful to themselves. That meant everyone was lying.
Warnings: AU.
Twelve Years Ago
The weight on his back was pulling him down.
Itachi Uchiha tried to balance himself, his little brother wailing on his back. He hadn’t meant to get lost. Sasuke was sorry that he had caused such a fuss. He didn’t want Itachi to get in trouble because of him. He’d just gone out to find his mother - he was feeling lonely. Ever since Orochimaru had moved in with them he had been lonely. Why did their mother have to leave them? What did she see in that other man? Was it their kid? Was he better than he was? Sasuke wanted to know why she left. He wanted to go and talk to her. He was sure that once he saw her, she would come back. And why not? She was their mother after all.
He grasped the hands holding him tightly, feeling Itachi visibly wince under his grasp. Mother had left, father was always busy… he was sure Itachi was going to leave him too. A part of him was happy really. He had been happy when he had realized that Itachi had come to look for him. He might not have meant to stay out late, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to be found. There was no reason to sit waiting in their secret hide-out otherwise.
“Ne, onii-chan?”
Itachi struggled to move forward, he was beginning to wonder how much further he could carry his brother, “Hmm?”
“Can we stop for ice-cream?”
Itachi sighed, he knew they couldn’t. He hadn’t brought any money with him. But he didn’t want to tell Sasuke that, “No, not now. We have some at home.” He felt Sasuke wriggle slightly. Was he going to start crying again? Itachi wasn’t sure what to do. Maybe he could take Sasuke home and quickly rush out to buy some.
It had been a lie when he’d said that they had ice-cream at home. Orochimaru wasn’t really the type to stock up on those. He much preferred things he liked. Itachi didn’t blame him. He figured the man was new to taking care of children, and that same way - he didn’t blame his father either.
He was always busy working, and he had said that he would be away for six months. He should really be grateful to Orochimaru for agreeing to stay with them. It would have been difficult for his father to work otherwise. As the oldest child, it was the least he could do.
Present Day
Sasuke Uchiha pulled open the door of the refrigerator, one eyebrow cocked at the ice-cream that was stacked in their freezer. Was this Orochimaru’s idea of a joke? Great. What was he supposed to eat now?
He sighed as he closed the door, and moved to shuffle around the kitchen. He was hungry and he needed food. He hated sweet things. Why did Orochimaru keep buying that stuff?
“Sasuke?” a soft voice called him from the other side of the room.
He turned his eyes to look at the figure leaning against the door to the kitchen. Under the warm rays of the sun filtering in through the half-opened blinds of the window, he looked slightly ethereal. “Itachi? What is it?”
“If you’re hungry, you could just go out to eat.”
Sasuke didn’t look too happy with that idea. He didn’t have much money on him anymore. All of it went into the trips he had to take between going back and forth from his University. He blamed Naruto for that. He still wasn’t sure what had made that man decide that it was his responsibility whether Sasuke was studying properly or not.
Sasuke had tried to warn him that it was annoying, but his words had fallen on deaf ears. He didn’t dare go down to the Food District that afternoon. There was no guarantee that Naruto wasn’t sweeping the ground in the front of his shop, as he was often prone to do. What could he do if Naruto saw him and dragged him in for a ‘discount meal’ that Sasuke was sure he was over-charging for?
He sighed and closed the door of the fridge. He really should have learnt how to cook. He eyed the stove and quickly looked away.
“Or you could go next door.”
“No.” Sasuke looked at Itachi, a small frown creasing his brows. This was Orochimaru’s fault. Why did he leave without leaving something to eat behind? He remembered telling the man that he was not going to go to the University that day. He felt his stomach growl.
He looked towards the doorway to find Itachi smirking at him, “I’m not going out.”
“You’re over-charging me. Again.” Sasuke wasn’t very happy with this idea. He should have just gone into another shop, but he had found himself automatically walking into Ichiraku Ramen. Was there some weird sort of faithfulness he felt towards this place? Sasuke really didn’t understand things like that - faith, hope, relationships. He had given up on them a long time ago. Now, all he needed, no - all he wanted was to be by himself. It was safe that way.
“No I’m not.” Naruto smiled at him and placed his head on his hands. He looked at Sasuke the same way he did every time he came to visit. It was unnerving. That smile looked so obviously fake, even Itachi was better at faking smiles than this guy.
“Hmm.” Sasuke resisted the urge to say ‘whatever’. For some reason, it made him feel childish, it might have been because he and Neji used to abuse that word at one point of time. He brought the gyoza to his mouth and stopped, “Do you have to look at me like that?” He did not like to be stared at while he was eating. It made him feel like a frog sitting in front of a snake, casually gulping down a fly.
“No, I don’t.” Naruto’s smile grew wider.
Sasuke glared at him. This man was so irritating. He sighed and closed his eyes. He was going to eat with his eyes closed if he had to. He could hear Naruto laughing softly from where he sat. One of these days, he was going to make that man suffer.
“Ah. Sasuke-niichan!” He opened his eyes to find Konohamaru and Sakura walking into the shop. She carried two large bags, one in each hand and Konohamaru carefully balanced his half-melted ice-cream in both of his.
Naruto moved to help Sakura with the bags, and Sasuke peered from behind him. Konohamaru had become unusually attached to Sasuke since the first time he slept here. Over the next few weeks, Sasuke had found himself receiving calls from Konohamaru at random points of the day. The boy also had a bad habit of texting almost constantly.
Sasuke blamed Naruto. Who gives a kid such unrestricted phone privileges? He half suspected that Naruto was inciting Konohamaru to make those calls just to annoy him.
“Sasuke-niichan! Tell me a ghost story!”
Sasuke was quickly running out of stories to tell the boy, and his imagination only went so far. There was no way he could come up with ten or fifteen stories in one day.
There were other disadvantages to those phone calls, the primary one being Naruto. He often heard the man inviting him for discount dinners from the background when the young boy called. Sasuke had accepted a few times - but the way Naruto over-priced things annoyed him. He was just a University student. He did not have a job, as classes tended to fill up most of his days. Or they were supposed to at least - he hardly ever went to any of them. Where was he supposed to come up with enough money?
The food at Ichiraku’s was not bad. Rather, Sasuke really enjoyed it. Both Naruto and Sakura were talented cooks. But that was not enough to run this place.
Sasuke often wondered if he should tell Naruto that. But he suspected that if Naruto had enough money to fix up the place, he would have done it. That, and it really had nothing to do with Sasuke. These people were just random strangers he had randomly managed to save. And yes, he still regretted saving Naruto. If he had known the man was such a leech before, he would have pushed him down that bridge himself.
“Sasuke-kun? Are you staying for dinner?” Sakura smiled pleasantly at him. He stared at her. There was another person filled with fake smiles.
“Ah?” He blinked when he realized that she had been talking to him, “No, I’m…” He looked at the food on his plate. He was almost done, “I’ll be leaving soon.”
“That will be 2000 yen.” Naruto quickly turned around, a bright smile adorning his face.
Sasuke suppressed a growl in his throat - and then that idiot man dared to tell him that he wasn’t over-charging.
“Naruto!”
“Oww! Sakura-chan…” Naruto tried to pull Sakura’s hands away from his ears.
“Are you trying to trick Sasuke-kun behind my back again?” She pulled him towards the kitchen. Right before the entered the folds of the curtain separating the two rooms, she stopped briefly. She gave Sasuke a pleasant smile and turned around quickly disappearing into the adjoining room, a struggling Naruto in tow.
Konohamaru was staring after them again, “Naruto-niichan’s in trouble again.” He said finally.
The young boy quickly turned towards Sasuke and walked towards him, the fast melting ice-cream making him stop every few minutes to clear up the mess on his hands, “You didn’t tell me you were coming.” He smiled as he stood in front of Sasuke.
The older boy stared back at him. Was he supposed to have told him? “Sorry.”
He blinked, what had he just apologized for? He turned to glare at the boy but stopped.
Konohamaru was smiling at him, finishing the last of his ice-cream, “Stay for dinner. I want to hear more stories.”
Sasuke felt himself groan deep inside his soul. More stories? “I can’t today.” He found himself telling the boy, “I haven’t told anyone at home I’d be out.”
“Oh?” Konohamaru looked disappointed, “Well, can you stay tomorrow? We can have a sleepover again.”
“Ah…” Sasuke wanted to refuse. He hated sleeping anywhere but that room, but it didn’t look like this boy would give up anytime soon, “I can’t tomorrow either.” He didn’t give an excuse, not that he had one.
Konohamaru was frowning, “Then I’ll come sleep over at your house today.” He finally finished. Pleased with himself for coming up with such a good idea, he smiled brightly.
Sasuke on the other hand nearly jumped in his seat at the thought of introducing Konohamaru to Orochimaru, “I’ll stay today!”
“Eh? I thought you hadn’t told anyone back home?” Konohamaru eyed him suspiciously.
“I’ll call them.” Sasuke took out his cell phone. Anything was better than introducing this boy to Orochimaru. He dreaded to think how that conversation might go.
“Okay then! I’ll go get my blanket.” Konohamaru rushed off before Sasuke could stop him. Now? Sasuke looked at his watch, it barely read five PM. He wasn’t really sleepy yet. Sounds of muffled squealing came from the kitchen and he found himself smirking. He wanted to take a peek, but he had to call Orochimaru first.
The evening hadn’t been altogether unpleasant, but Sasuke hadn’t really enjoyed himself either. He never liked talking to people, he preferred his computer to most things. He liked to sit there, behind his computer screen. The lights would be turned off, and the only light in the room would come from the computer screen. He liked it that way.
“Sorry about today Sasuke.” Naruto smiled as he cleared up the plates.
Sakura had taken Konohamaru upstairs. It was late, and he needed to go to bed.
“It’s fine.” Sasuke said as he looked at the table in front of him. He was beginning to feel guilty. If he was ever really truthful to himself, he would tell himself that he had enjoyed himself. When he had called, Orochimaru had said that he would be home late that night, and that he did not care if Sasuke was bac or not.
If Sasuke was truthful to himself, he would tell himself that he liked this small restaurant. It was always so lively, and someone or the other was always there, paying him attention. He felt as if he was among friends. And that was a feeling not even his classmates back at the University managed to provide for him. Back there, it was all a matter of necessity. He talked to everyone he needed to, and never said a word more than was necessary. Sasuke Uchiha had a reputation to maintain, but that desire did not extend to Ichiraku. Here, he was treated like a friend. Naruto wanted him to go to University and Sakura nagged him about his grades. Konohamaru was like a brother to him, and the smell of food constantly wafting in from the kitchen made the atmosphere seem homely.
But he wasn’t truthful to himself, and there was no way he would admit to enjoying the company of the people he liked to think of as ‘weird’.
“Ne, Sasuke? Why do you always look like that?”
“Huh?” Sasuke found himself blinking. Had he been staring at the table? He looked up towards Naruto - he was standing just a little too close. What was he doing?
“Your frown.” Naruto moved in closer, till he was just an inch away from Sasuke’s face. He poked at the boy’s forehead, “How come you’re always frowning?”
“That isn’t any of your -“ Sasuke stopped talking, “Get away from me.”
Naruto was standing too close to him and he didn’t like it. The man cocked a brow, but did as he was told. He looked like he wanted to ask Sasuke something, but he stopped himself.
“I’m going home.” Said Sasuke as he stood up.
Naruto looked at him, a slightly annoyed expression on his face. He did not say anything, and made no attempt to stop the boy.
Sasuke looked back towards him, his hand on the door handle. Wasn’t Naruto going to stop him? The man didn’t budge. He simply sat there, a bored look on his face. He waved at Sasuke.
The boy slammed the door and left.
“Was that really necessary?” Sakura asked, pushing aside the curtains and coming to sit next to Naruto.
“No, I don’t think it was.” He didn’t look guilty, he didn’t look like he even cared. Sasuke was being a brat and he deserved to be teased a little now and then.
“He might not come back you know.” Sakura’s voice was soft, she was worried.
Naruto looked at her and smiled, “I know he will.”
“Hmph! You were still being rude.” She folded her arms on the table and placed her head on top of it, “I worry about him sometimes.”
“I do too.” Said Naruto, moving to stretch, “But he’s slightly…”
Sakura smiled, “I’m not saying he’s not. But you really shouldn’t take your temper out on him. I know you’ve been thinking about her again today.”
Naruto froze where he stood. He had been thinking about her. He still couldn’t accept that she’d left him, that she’d called him needy and too dependant. They had been together for three years, and it had taken her that long to realize that their relationship wouldn’t work out? Naruto couldn’t believe it. Everything had been so perfect!
The moment he’d gotten the opportunity to come back to Konoha, he had rushed as fast as he could. He didn’t want to stay in that city anymore. He had gone there for her, and there was no reason for him to stay once they had broken up. But Konoha, this place didn’t suit him either. Memories of that woman filled every familiar corner, every dream at night and every conversation with old friends day in and day out. He was getting tired of it. Sasuke had just come in at the wrong time.
“Are you going after him?” Sakura called out.
Naruto nodded and smiled, “I don’t want to lose our only customer.”
Naruto stopped to catch his breath. He leaned down and balanced himself on his legs. His feet were numb from running so much, “That Sasuke runs fast.”
By the time Naruto had left Ichiraku, Sasuke was nowhere in sight. He had started walking, trying to remember the path they had taken when Hinata was guiding them. But Naruto had eventually realized that he was lost. He fumbled, and brought his phone to his ear, “Ne, Sakura-chan… Do you remember where Sasuke lives?”
There was a small pause at the other end of the line, “I’ll call you after I find out. Give me a few minutes.”
Naruto had been surprised at that comment. Did Sakura have some secret network showing her where everyone lived? The thought made him smile, and he kept running. He vaguely remembered the place he was in right then, and he didn’t want to stand around waiting for Sakura to call.
Roughly fifteen minutes later, Sakura called, “Naruto. Where are you right now?”
Her directions were surprisingly clear, and Naruto had no problems in locating Sasuke’s apartment building thanks to that.
“Eh? How did you know?” Naruto was curious, there had been a point of time when Sakura had been even worse than him when it came to directions.
Nervous giggling came from the other end of the line before Sakura made an excuse, “We have a customer!” She screamed from the other end of the line.
“Ne, Sakura-chan?” Naruto’s eyes had slanted into small slits, “You could come up with a better excuse you know?”
Sakura laughed from the other end, “Good luck with Sasuke-kun, Naruto.”
Naruto stared at the phone, what had that been about?
Sakura sighed as she flipped her phone shut. Hinata had made her promise that she wouldn’t tell anyone that the two of them were talking in private, and Sakura didn’t want to breach that. She was unsure how the girl would react if she found out that Naruto knew.
As far as everyone was concerned, Hinata had stopped being a part of their lives after leading them to Sasuke a few weeks before. But that was not the case.
Sakura had been intrigued. She wanted to know more about Sasuke, she wanted to know more about Neji. And most importantly, she wanted to know what had happened to Hinata to turn her into what she had become. Talking to Hinata again was easy. All she had to do was go to Sasuke’s class and look for her.
She was glad that Sasuke hadn’t come to class that day, and she later learnt that he was prone to doing that. Hinata was different from what Sakura had imagined her to be. She was much quieter, almost too quiet. She spoke rarely, choosing rather to listen to what Sakura had to say. But she listened attentively, occasionally smiling and nodding. Sometimes, she spoke about herself.
Sakura learnt that she had an older cousin brother called Neji. He lived with them for a while following his father’s death and that he had been very close to Sasuke. Throughout their school lives Neji and Sasuke had been inseparable. They were always hanging out together, missing school together, going on ‘adventures’ together. The only other person who was allowed to hang out with them was Sasuke’s older brother Itachi. Sometimes Hinata would join them, but for the better part of the time she preferred to stay alone by herself. She had always felt that Neji didn’t like her, that he was uncomfortable around her - and this dislike often saw reflection through Sasuke. Itachi had often told her that she was just imagining things, that Neji saw her as a younger sister. But she wasn’t quite sure of that. Then that had happened and he had died.
Hinata refused to speak beyond that, and Sakura thought it was prudent to proceed slowly. She already knew that what had happened had scarred Hinata mentally, and she didn’t want to upset her.
That day, when Naruto had called - it had been Hinata she had turned to for directions. The younger girl was surprised, but she had sounded happy that Naruto was going to see Sasuke.
“He’s back though.” Hinata had warned.
“Orochimaru?” Sakura knew a little about him, Hinata spoke of him often. He sounded like a man who was rather a little too self-absorbed. Hinata never spoke kindly of him, it was almost as if she blamed him for something, and Sakura was curious about what that was.
She looked at her watch and sighed. She hoped that Naruto would come home soon, she had to wait until he did. And she had work tomorrow.
Naruto walked up the dark staircase leading to Sasuke’s floor.
The place oozed sadness and melancholy, and Naruto did not like it one bit. He wasn’t entirely sure why anyone would want to live in a place like this, but then again people did have different tastes.
He held his breath in front of Sasuke’s apartment. He had tried calling the boy a few times, but he refused to pick up. He had even messaged Sasuke that he was coming over, so he supposed that the boy was aware. If he wasn’t lying on his bed drunk again. Naruto was still angry over what he had discovered in Sasuke’s room the first time he had been there, but he had decided not to talk to Sasuke about it yet. There was no point riling him up even more than he already was. He had completely stopped walking past Ichiraku for a week after that, and it was only when Naruto feigned complete ignorance of everything that had happened did Sasuke even agree to see them again.
Naruto wasn’t really sure what he was doing there right then. It was true that he was angry and had snapped at Sasuke, but he hadn’t really shown that on his face. He was sure Sasuke himself didn’t think much of it - that he would forget about it soon enough. He had been thinking about his old girlfriend all day that day, and the brief time Sasuke had spent with them had helped him to forget about her. Naruto enjoyed teasing the boy a little too much for his own good, but the distraction helped him. Had he come here just to apologize to the boy for being rude? He wasn’t so sure of it himself.
He knew that a part of him was worried. What if something happened to Sasuke again? And this time, would it be his fault because the boy had left because of him? He steeled his nerves and rang the bell. He waited for someone to come and open the door.
Naruto quickly stepped back as the door flew open and an angry Sasuke rushed out towards him, “Dobe! Are you an idiot? What do you think you’re doing here?”
Naruto could hear someone coughing from inside the apartment, “Sasuke? Who is that?” The voice slurred. It made Naruto think of snakes, he simply did not find that voice pleasant.
“I…” Naruto stared at Sasuke, looking him over to make sure he didn’t have any bruises, “You’re alright?” Naruto sounded surprised.
Sasuke cocked one brow at him, “Why wouldn’t I be?”
The boy stood in the doorway like an intimidating figure. Naruto was sure that Sasuke didn’t want him to go inside. But Naruto had already made up his mind. He was going to meet this Orochimaru today.
“Sasuke, move.” Naruto’s voice was cold and demanding, but not enough to intimidate his opponent, “Go home Naruto.”
“Move.” Naruto moved forward and tried to move Sasuke from where he stood blocking his path.
“What’s wrong with you?” Sasuke spoke through clenched teeth. If they made too much noise, Orochimaru would come out to check what was happening. Sasuke did not want that to happen, “Did you come all this way just to create a fuss?”
“What?” Naruto stopped struggling and stared at Sasuke, “Do you have any idea what you’re saying? I just want to protect you!” he snapped.
“Protect me from what?”
“Yourself I think.” A tall willowy figure had appeared behind Sasuke. The man was pale, and wore a white robe. He had long silky hair and watery eyes that convinced Naruto he was ill, “Can I help you?” The man asked politely.
“You’re Orochimaru?” Naruto found himself asking.
The man nodded, confusion shrouding his eyes, “Do your friends usually make such late house calls Sasuke?” The man looked at Sasuke, and Naruto felt his blood boil.
“No they don’t. They would if he had any friends, not that you’d be aware.”
The man smirked, “He’s not a child. The company he chooses to keep is for him to decide, now I don’t remember you introducing yourself.”
“Uzumaki Naruto.” The man clenched his hands into a fist, just looking at Orochimaru’s face made him want to punch the man.
“Nice to meet you Uzumaki…”
“Just Naruto’s fine.” Sasuke interjected, “And he isn’t picking a fight.”
Sasuke grabbed Naruto’s hand and pulled him inside, “We’re having a sleepover.”
Naruto blinked, “Wait. What?”
Orochimaru mirrored Naruto’s expression, “I wasn’t told.”
“You just weren’t paying attention.” Sasuke pulled Naruto towards his room. The man had a surprised look on his face and looked like he was being dragged towards the room.
Just before he disappeared around the corner, he thought he saw Orochimaru smile.
Sasuke pushed the man onto his bed and sat down on the floor. He folded his legs and placed his head on them. Eventually he spoke, “You’re an idiot.”
Naruto smiled, “A sleepover?” He turned to his side and picked up Sasuke’s pillow, “Sure. I’m game.”
Sasuke glared at him, “This is the first and the last time.”
Naruto smiled in reply. He reached for his cell phone, Sakura wasn’t going to be too happy with this arrangement.
That night, Naruto was sure that he heard Sasuke talking to someone. Was he on the phone?
He sounded so happy, that Naruto didn’t want him to realize that he was awake. Who was Sasuke talking to?
He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, but by the time he woke up, it was morning. Sasuke was curled up on the floor in a futon. He looked peaceful. Whoever it was that he had been talking to the night before, Naruto was sure that Sasuke cared for them deeply.