The Lies That Drive Us All
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“Battle not with monsters lest ye become a monster and if you gaze into the abyss the abyss gazes into you.”
--Friedrich Nietzche
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Chapter 1: Weakness
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It was a cold, steely February morning when the snow had turned to slush, leaving a gray mess on the ground in the lands bordering the Snow Country. Dark eyes surveyed the terrain, searching for drier paths, but found none. And so, it was through the numbing wet ice that he trudged, an overheard conversation still playing over and over in his young mind.
“But surely, he must know by now…”
“No, he does not. And I’m going to keep it that way.”
“Orochimaru-sama…it isn’t that I do not agree with your methods, but wouldn’t you say that you owe the boy a bit more honesty?”
A snort. “I’ll be honest with him the moment he realizes that his quest to kill his brother is as futile as trying to split a waterfall with his hand. I will not get myself killed for his vengeance.”
That was all it had taken, really, to send him out on this disgusting day. He ran, just as Itachi had bid him run. But now, he knew not where he was running. On the second day, the slush gave way to harshly frozen ground, hard under his sandals, and he found his feet hurting more and more.
The fifth day, exhausted and hungry, Sasuke looked down at his feet. When had they begun to bleed? He knew not, nor did he care. Closing his eyes, he faced the biting winter wind, letting it hit him full in the face. The sting was welcome. Pain was just another way to let him know that yes, he was still alive, and that he was still Uchiha Sasuke. He plodded on, not even attempting to find rest or shelter. All he really wanted was to go far, far away from the lie he had lived these last two years.
What if he were to starve?
He cared not.
Where was he to go?
He knew not.
What was he to do?
Anything.
Nothing.
Everything, to gain as much power as he could, as quickly as he could. He would push himself to the limits of his body and mind, then beyond. Sanity was completely subjective, and who needed it anyway? Morals, values, emotions…inhibitors. The only thing you really needed in life was one goal. All you need is ambition. Drive. Something to get you going in the morning, and something to dream about as you slept. And for Uchiha Sasuke, that something was revenge. Vengeance. It is a beautifully shaped word, is it not?
Why was his mind wandering so? Shaking his head hard from side to side as if to clear away the mental cobwebs, Sasuke found that he no longer knew much of anything at all. What in Hell was he doing? Questions floated in and out of his consciousness, ones that either had no answer, or those that he was ill disposed to even attempt to examine.
The ground disappeared under his feet, and the rest of the world, barren but for a few scrubby trees, rocked from one side to another as he staggered on. Sleep was for the weak. And Uchiha Sasuke was not weak! Naruto was weak. Sakura was weak. But Sasuke was different. His feet bled, but he did not stop. His lungs burned, but he did not cease to breathe. And though his body was numb, it still moved.
“Am I strong enough now, Itachi?” His voice was lost in the wind, silent even to his own ears. Shirt dangling off of one shoulder and flapping open in the wind, he allowed the cold in, but it chilled him less than his thoughts. Sasuke finally stopped in his tracks. Screaming to be heard over the howling wind in the near-dark of twilight, he said again, “Am I strong enough for you now?! Can I defeat you?! Damn it! Damn you! Answer me!” The only reply was the cry of the wind. In a hoarse whisper, he breathed, “You always were silent. Never answered my questions, but for the one I did not ask.”
The landscape was now thrown into sharp relief. Every bush, stone, tree, and crag jumped out at him as clear as day, though it was the earliest reaches of night. He stumbled on, his delirium rising into the night, and finally, when the moon was high, casting its full glow over the sterile ground, spots danced before his eyes. No. He had to go on. He must go on. Put one foot in front of the other, as long as he lived.
One foot in front of the other, until his right foot tripped on a stone, sending him to the ground with a hard thump. Sasuke did not even realize that he was falling, so complete was his exhaustion. He didn’t even put out his hands in front of him to break his fall. When his body hit the ground, he could feel rocks dig into the delicate skin of his face, and as he lay there, the blood flowed from the small cuts, freezing on the ground. In one last burst of effort, he turned himself over onto his back, and the dark spots began to merge together around the image of the moon, until everything went black, and he knew no more.
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Observation. Analysis. Look at all the angles. That was what he had been taught, ever since he was a boy. Now, as he approached the body on the frozen ground, his eyes narrowed. Was the boy dead, as he appeared to be?
His dress was suspiciously familiar, reminding him of some nins he’d run into almost a week earlier, closer to the Snow Country border. Though no insignia was apparent, the loose-fitting gray open-necked shirt the boy wore exposed much of his chest, which was very pale, much like the rest of him, making it seem as if he’d been dead for days. Black pants were tucked into the tops of the boy’s sandals, and there was an odd kind of cloth that was secured around his waist by a thick purple cord. All of his clothing was tattered, even the protective guards he wore at his wrists. His face was deathly white, and dark hair clung to dried blood on his left cheek.
Warily, Daisuke sidled closer to the body. The boy did not appear to be breathing. What was he doing out this far? There was not a village for more than a hundred kilometers in any direction, and the other nins he’d seen were looking for something. Could this boy be their objective? Whatever the case, if the kid was still alive, he needed to get him some place warm, and quickly. Removing one of his gloves, he placed slender fingers over the jugular vein on the right side of the boy’s neck. A pulse, faint and slow, moved against the pads of his fingertips. Breathing a sigh of relief, Daisuke removed his pack, and took off the long coat he wore. As he picked the boy up from the ground, he wrapped him in the dark blue woolen folds, tying the sleeves together in front to secure it.
Once this was done, he held the boy’s dead weight against his chest, and performed one of the more advanced jutsu that he knew. The world faded around him, melting into the blackness of the night, and he concentrated his chakra around his body, and that of the bundle in his arms. Soon, the wind blew against his skin once again, and flung his dark blue hair into his face. After shaking it away, he stood from his kneeling position, and entered the tree line that was now before him.
When he was deep enough into the wood that he felt no one would follow, he propped the boy against a tree, and set about gathering dried brush and wood for a small fire. Finally, as the orange glow of the flames rose in the small pit he’d dug, he pulled the boy closer to the fire. Every now and again, he added a few small branches he’d taken from saplings nearby. Water from a nearby stream which had not yet frozen gave him something to make tea with, and he sipped at his small cup and watched the pale youth across the fire.
He was very delicate-looking. Daisuke felt a little guilty for it, now that he realized he had done nothing for the wounds his guest had suffered. The water was still warm, so he drew near to the boy and soaked a cloth in the remaining hot water as he unfastened sandals. With feet bared before him, he saw that they were, like the side of the boy’s face, encrusted with blood. “You’re pretty beat up, kid. Where did you come from?” He said to no one in particular as he dabbed at the cracked skin of the boy’s feet.
He found a particularly deep cut, and squeezed water into it, trying to flush out the dirt. There were small pebbles embedded in the skin, and he tried to pick them out with his fingernails. After the fifth time of blowing his bangs from his eyes, he hooked them behind his ears. Soon after he did this, however, they were grasped tightly in a grip that would have done a steel trap justice. Blinking rapidly as he was yanked forward and twisted bodily, Daisuke found his back pressed against a heaving chest, with a kunai at his neck. “S-slow down, there, kid. I’m trying to help you. Can you let—“
“Shut up,” a low voice hissed in his ear, the point of the weapon pressed even tighter to his throat. “Who are you? Who sent you?” The amount of hatred and suspicion in the voice was staggering. As the shock ebbed away, he relaxed, allowing himself to breathe more naturally. When he was calm enough that his voice would not crack, he answered.
“My name is Fayne. My mother called me Daisuke. No one sent me.” Using the analytical mind that he inherited from his father, Daisuke reasoned that the grip he was in was one fueled by desperation and fading adrenaline. When he gripped the boy’s padded wrist and pulled, the kunai was easily removed from his neck. Sitting up straight and turning, he sighed as he pulled the boy’s weapon away. “You must be hungry, and thirsty. Come, we’ll have supper together, and if you like, you can tell me your name.”
“Hn.” The boy said, his eyes resting on the fire. He scooted closer to it, wincing as the cuts on his feet gathered fresh dirt in them.
“Come on, now. I just cleaned those!” Daisuke whined, and grabbed at the boy’s ankles to pull him closer to the fire. In a slightly irritated tone, he said, “I’m only going to do this one more time. Then, you can clean them yourself.” He then squeezed a small amount of warm water onto the new dirt, washing it away. Having done that, Daisuke pulled out a clean handkerchief, drying the water. The last thing he did before bandaging the boy’s feet was to dab a bit of iodine onto the largest of the gashes there.
Yanking his foot away, the boy growled, “Watch it, bastard,” before making a swipe at Daisuke’s head with his other foot. When Daisuke caught his foot and set it gently back down—though scowling the whole time—he frowned right back and crossed his arms over his chest.
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Daisuke was wrapping his right foot when Sasuke’s stomach made a desperate growl. One slim blue eyebrow rose, and strangely colored eyes looked up amusedly at Sasuke. He hadn’t gotten a good look at those eyes before. They were strange…green around the outer iris faded into a deep crimson and that to a golden hue. The overall effect was that of seeing a double alien sunset. And in the firelight, they seemed to glow. Looking quickly away, Sasuke blushed slightly in embarrassment over his stomach’s outburst. It seemed that he was showing all kinds of weaknesses.
Once his feet were adequately bandaged, he pulled his sandals on again, adjusting them to fit the extra girth of the cotton stripping. By the time he had done this, Daisuke’s slender hand was extended, holding out a small earthen cup. Taking it gingerly, he sipped at the contents, and watched the movements of the other boy around the small camp. He was taller, and broader than Sasuke was, and had a kind of stark grace that Sasuke found to be rather efficient. Neither of them spoke, with Daisuke opting to go through the motions of making food, and Sasuke sipping his tea.
The wind tossed the tops of the trees, but left them relatively un-bothered, and Sasuke was glad for it. He had spent…how many days had he been out in the elements? They called him a genius back in Konoha. That made him snort around the rim of his cup. Would a genius go out in the cold without even a light jacket to keep them warm? Let it never be said that he couldn’t be stupid as Naruto when he wanted to…but Sasuke wouldn’t think of his best friend. He didn’t want to. That only brought back memories he didn’t want.
So he just watched Daisuke through the screen of his hair, thinking that he might be a few years older than he was himself. The taller boy would shake his hair from his face every now and again, or scratch an itch on his shoulder, or make some other small movement that would keep Sasuke entertained by its economy and grace. Sasuke still wore the coat he’d awakened to find himself wrapped in, and Daisuke stuck close to the fire to keep warm while he cooked a bit of stew. His shirt clung to the wiry muscles of his back and chest, the blood-colored fabric stretching as he moved. He pushed slightly wide sleeves up his arms when he reached for the small pot that dangled over the fire.
When a small bowl was handed to him, Sasuke mumbled thanks, sniffing at its contents for a moment before deciding that it was, at least, edible. Daisuke sat down, adjusting his black and blue pants, and eyed him for a moment before saying, “I apologize for the food. I’m not usually one to cook.” That made Sasuke stop, his spoon nearly to his lips. Cocking his head to one side in an inquisitive manner, he waited for the older boy to elaborate. Fiddling with a bandage over his right hand, Daisuke gnawed at his lips. “I have two sisters. They take turns…cooking.” Now, Sasuke found himself on the receiving end of a gaze that was as penetrating as his own, if not more so.
Those eyes unnerved him. He was not used to feeling any nervousness at all. So he did the only thing he knew how to do in such a situation. “What?” he snapped, putting quite a large amount of venom into that one word.
Daisuke’s sunset eyes narrowed considerably as frustration seeped into his voice. “You know what? I don’t know why I even bothered saving your life.” He picked up his bowl, stirring the stew within and staring at the lumpy stuff before shoving a couple of spoonfuls into his mouth. Wincing—presumably at the taste—he swallowed hard, and then put the bowl down again. When he looked at Sasuke, his shoulders were full of tension. His voice grated out, “You could show some gratitude…or tell me your damned name, at least!”
It took a long moment before Sasuke was able to stop staring. A sort of shadow had passed over the older boy’s serene face, and he was suddenly reminded of Naruto. Not that Naruto was ever serene. But there was a kind of strange similarity between this Daisuke and Naruto. It was as if the way he behaved was only an act. Like he hid himself away beneath a calm exterior. When he was finally able to rip his gaze from Daisuke’s, he closed his eyes, breathing deeply. Gratitude…that usually meant saying ‘thank you’ and really meaning it, right?
“I can’t be grateful to you.” His eyes opened to find a very confused face blinking strange eyes at him.
“What do you—” Daisuke began, but was silenced by Sasuke raising a hand in a commanding gesture.
“I cannot be grateful, Daisuke-san, because I am already dead.” Sasuke’s voice held a tone of finality, and a leaden quality that spoke more than his words did. The taller boy scrubbed his fingers through his hair for a moment, then looked at Sasuke as if he had grown a couple of extra heads. He wasn’t about to tell this guy about his past. So, he just said, “My…my life is a lie. How can I be thankful for having that lie prolonged?”
As expected, Daisuke did not answer. There was a protracted silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves overhead and the popping of wood in the fire. Sasuke watched Daisuke’s extraordinary eyes close, and his head drop forward. Then, he heard the older boy’s voice. “Even a lie is worth living. If you can see your way around it, and step out of the lie to the truth, then it’s worth dealing with the lie. If you’re running from something, you should be running for the right reasons. Now, if you’re running to something, that’s a bit different. All you need to know if whether or not your goal is worth it.”
Without hesitation, Sasuke said, “It is.”
“You sound very sure of yourself.” Daisuke lifted his head only a fraction, peering at Sasuke through a sheet of deep blue. “If your life is a lie, then how can you be so certain of anything?”
Sasuke blinked. He hated double-talk, and for some reason, this boy seemed to do nothing but that. Of course he was sure about his goal. He had to kill his brother, plain and simple. Cut and dry. Black and white. There was no in between for him, and there never had been. The closest he had come was his with the friendship with Naruto. They hated each other, then they respected each other. Then, there was a strange kind of grudging admiration he had shared with the loud-mouthed boy. It was difficult not to admire the amount of effort and determination Naruto put into everything. He was so sure of himself, and what he was doing with his life that he could say something and mean it down to the very core of his being.
Was there anything that Sasuke was that certain about?
As he thought, he began to eat. He didn’t really taste anything, though from the face Daisuke had made earlier, he thought he should feel grateful for that. Another cup of tea made him sleepy, and he lay down, wrapped up in Daisuke’s coat as the other boy cleaned up the remnants of their meal and unrolled his sleeping bag.
“Are you warm enough in that coat?” Came the question from across the fire.
“Yes.”
Sasuke closed his eyes, feeling the bliss of sleep creeping in on him. “Hey, kid…you asleep?”
“Not yet…”
The voice behind the flames spoke one last time before Sasuke fell into unconsciousness. “What should I call you?”
A little yawn, followed by a strangely contented sigh escaped his lips as he snuggled deeper into the coat. Then, he let out a muffled, “Uchiha….Uchiha…Sasuke.”
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Dawn broke cold and gray for Daisuke. The fire had gone out somewhere in the night, and at this early hour, when the frost gilded the leaves above, his teeth chattered when he crawled out of his sleeping bag. Sighing heavily, he held his hands in a seal that he had learned by watching an old nin from Sunagakure. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,” he breathed, and two duplicates of him appeared, shivering just as violently as he was. Quietly, he said, “Go and get firewood.” The two nodded, one making a face that said they would have done so anyway. Shaking his head, he reached for his pack. Before he stuffed his sleeping bag back inside it, Daisuke pulled out the cloak he usually only reserved for blizzards.
Sasuke would undoubtedly still be weakened, so he needed the overcoat more than Daisuke did, but that didn’t mean that the older boy wanted to freeze. Lips turning upward in a slight smirk, he continued his work after fastening the rust-red cloak over his shoulders. A few moments later, the clones came back, bearing a small armload of twigs each. Having dumped them next to the defunct fire, they made little mocking salutes before dispelling themselves. Daisuke rolled his eyes. His clones did seem to have their own personalities, didn’t they?
Using one of the twigs, he poked at the ashes until he found the glowing coals that lay beneath. Blowing on these lightly, he added little bits of wood, and fanned flames back to life. It always amazed him, how fire could hide like that, and he smiled a little at that thought. People were the same way. You could think that you know someone, and then be completely surprised by them one day, out of the blue. Glancing at the lump inside his coat that lay across the way, he wondered. Was…was Sasuke what he seemed to be? Or did he hide? This, as well as other thoughts passed through his mind as he took his small pot to the stream to gather water for tea. Upon his return, he hung the thing over the merry little blaze, and waited for it to boil, all the while enjoying the silence, and the warmth of the fire.
A low groan sounded a few moments after he dropped the tea leaves into the pot, and he watched Sasuke as he woke. Hands emerged from under the collar of his coat, then grasped the edge of the fabric, pushing it down to his chin. Smoky gray eyes peered over at him, still hazy with sleep. Absently, Daisuke thought he liked the boy better when he was like this. In the short moment before Sasuke was completely awake, he thought he saw something behind the sleepy film over his eyes. It wasn’t something that he could readily identify, but he knew that he’d seen it. A kind of vulnerable light shone out through him, but was smothered quickly as that habitually suspicious gaze slipped into place.
“Good morning, Sunshine.” Daisuke said as Sasuke wiped sleep from his eyes. “Tea, then we leave.” The boy sat up, threading his arms into the sleeves of Daisuke’s coat, which hung on his shoulders, and nearly hid his hands. After the dark-haired youth took the cup offered, Daisuke said, “I can take you to the nearest village, and then you can go on your way, or you could tag along with my sisters and me. What’ll it be?”
“Hn.” It was obvious that this pale excuse for a boy would prefer to be alone, but he was thinking hard on it. This made Daisuke almost certain that the strange shinobi he had encountered before were searching for Sasuke.
“It will be easier to avoid any pursuit if you’re with a group. They assume you’d be alone, no?” Sasuke blinked at him in surprise. Daisuke nodded a little. “I’m not stupid, Sasuke. It isn’t that hard to tell that you’re running away from someone. A certain group of rogue nins, perhaps a search party?”
“How did—“
“As I say, I’m not stupid. My sisters and I skirted a band of strange nins about six days ago now, rather close to the border of Snow Country.” He took a short sip from his cup, and scratched at the side of his leg. “They were looking for something. Then, not twenty kilometers off from where I saw them, I find you. Alone, without any cold-weather gear, and half frozen. Unless I’m wrong, you need to get as far away from Snow Country as you can, right?” Sasuke sipped his tea silently, but nodded. Smiling brightly, Daisuke said, “Good, then! Finish your tea, kiddo. We’re out of here.” With that, he formed six seals, and the fire sank into the earth, being covered in a matter of seconds. After he packed all of his things, he watched Sasuke stand.
The boy winced at the feeling of his injuries. Daisuke put on his pack, and beckoned to Sasuke. One arm snaked around the shorter boy, and he got an indignant squawk for his trouble. “Sasuke,” he said as he rolled his eyes, “you better hold on. Otherwise, this is going to pass a little rough for you.” Charging his hands with chakra, Daisuke concentrated on his body, and imagined it, knowing every inch of it in his head, and then adding the extra body that now clung to him. Four seals later, the world melted away, leaving them in darkness so complete that it seemed that not even they existed here.
After the familiar feeling of dizziness, Daisuke found himself staring at the edge of a small mining town. And he could feel Sasuke clinging tightly to him, breathing fast. “You can let go now, kid.” He was released quickly, and when he began to walk toward the town, footsteps and the flapping of cloth followed.
“What is this place?” Sasuke asked quietly as they approached.
Daisuke pointed to a wooden signpost. “Amarna. They mine salt here.” Passing several store-fronts, they came to a cozy-looking inn. Daisuke ducked inside, the warmth of the common room settling over him like an old familiar blanket, and he sighed. His relief only lasted so long, however. A blur of bright blue flashed from a corner, bowling him over onto his back, and he landed painfully on his pack. The sound of crockery breaking filled his ears, and he winced. He would have to buy new cups, now.
All thoughts of broken cups left his mind when he saw the girl who now sat on his chest glaring down at him. She crossed her arms under her slight bosom, and said haughtily, “Dai-chan, where have you been? Suiru’s been worried sick about you!” before burying her knee in his gut. He coughed, sputtered, and used his hips to throw the girl off.
Groaning, he said, “I missed you too, Atty…” Daisuke pushed his hair from his eyes again, and stood just in time to plant his hand in the middle of the young girl’s forehead and hold her at arm’s length while she swung away at him, not coming within five inches of the chest she aimed for. An amused snort at his right alerted him to Sasuke’s presence. Turning to his guest, he pulled the girl forward by her short, spiky brown hair. “Behave yourself, Atsuki. We have a guest.” Shoving her forward, he said in a voice that belied his amusement, “Atsuki Lee, my little sister, meet Uchiha Sasuke, what the cat drug in.”
A dangerous look flashed through Sasuke’s dark eyes at that, but Daisuke only smiled at him over Atsuki’s head. The twelve-year-old girl smirked up at Sasuke. “You look like crap, man.”
“Atsuki Lee! What have I told you about your language?!” Came a shrill cry from across the room, which was followed by its source, a girl who was a few years older than Atsuki, with dark brown hair that hung to her waist, and clad in a pair of wide green pants and a black haori atop a mesh shirt. Pulling something from her sleeve, the girl used it to smack a startled Atsuki on the crown of her head. Daisuke shook his head. He had hoped to introduce them under more…dignified circumstances, but then again, that wouldn’t really have been true to their nature, would it?
When she saw that there was someone else present, her eyes widened to a nearly painful extent, and she bowed humbly. “Gomen nasai, sir. My sister has a problem with her language. She can be a bit cheeky.”
“And you, sister, are forgetting something.” Daisuke said, pointing to the young man next to him.
Throwing her hands up in the air in a very agitated manner, she said worriedly, “Oh…now I’ve gone and been more rude than Atsuki! My name is Suiru Lee.” Again, she bowed.
When Sasuke simply looked at her for a moment, Daisuke elbowed him in the ribs. Suiru was going out of her way to be polite, and Sasuke was just staring at her as if she were some new species of cockroach. At least, that’s what the look on his face said. After a short death-glare sent Daisuke’s way, he said, “Uchiha Sasuke.” Suiru nodded, and then turned to Atsuki.
“Now, you apologize, right now.”
Atsuki gnawed at her lip while toying with the hem of her electric blue sweater. “But I wasn’t lying, Suiru…he really does look bad. Lookit him!” A thin hand jabbed a finger at Sasuke’s face. Honestly, Atsuki was telling the truth. Sasuke looked like death warmed over. Suiru’s appraising glance moved over Sasuke in a professional manner before she poked him in the ribs. The small jolt set him slightly off balance, and he took a step back, wincing as his foot came down.
After looking at him for a moment longer, she nodded slowly. Turning to Daisuke, she asked, “Hypothermia?”
“Astute as always, Suiru. I found him last night in the middle of nowhere. He was nearly dead, but all he really needed was to get warm and eat something. Got some ugly cuts on his feet, though.” Suiru pursed her lips, taking in the information. She waited only a moment before grabbing Sasuke by the arm and pulling him toward the stairs. The boy’s eyes widened, and he looked as if he were about to try shaking her off. “Sasuke, Suiru is an apothecary. She’ll put something on your wounds, and if you need stitches, she’ll help out with that, as well.” Sagging, Sasuke followed.
There was a feeling of relief rising in Daisuke’s chest. Why, he surely did not know. Maybe he was just glad to be out of Sasuke’s presence for a little while. Once he’d unpinned his cloak, he threw it over the back of a chair, his pack lying next to it, and flopped into the soft upholstery with one leg over the left arm. Crooking a finger at Atsuki, he said, “Come here, Atty.” Though she despised being called anything other than her given name, the girl squealed in delight, knowing what he wanted. She slid into the chair with him, snuggled into his chest.
“I missed you, Dai-chan…” the girl mumbled into his shirt. When she looked up at him, she said, “You were gone for so long…where were you?”
Kissing the top of her head, Daisuke settled his chin into her hair. “Promise not to tell Suiru, Atsuki…I don’t want her worrying.” The girl shifted against him for a moment, then grunted in the affirmative. She wouldn’t tell. “I went to the Snow Country. It’s beautiful there. You would like it. Sometimes, when the sun comes up over the ice cliffs, it makes this rainbow of colors in the ice. It reminded me a lot of you, Atty.”
Tilting her head back so she could look at him, she giggled. “You think I’m like rainbow ice?”
Smiling warmly at her, he gave her a little squeeze. “In a way, yes. You’re always trying to act all tough and cold, aren’t you? But I’ve seen you when you’ve cried because of a scrape or a bruise, and when you laugh at nothing at all, Atty…you’re a beautiful person. Just you don’t show it a lot of the time…” His voice was far away now, as was his mind. He couldn’t help but think that maybe, just maybe…was Sasuke like that too? A good person under that gruff exterior? That remained to be seen, because Sasuke had certainly not shown any real cracks in the wall of ice he put up, other than when he was half asleep.
A hard pinch to his nose pulled him out of his thoughts. “You getting all serious on me again, nii-chan?” Atsuki’s mischievous grin flashed up at him, lightening his mood, and his heart.
Blinking rapidly an affecting a very serious and solemn tone, he held her close. “Oh, Atsuki, dear…what would I do without you?”
Giggling uncontrollably, she pushed away from him and jabbed him in the ribs repeatedly, tickling him without mercy. “If I wasn’t around, you’d die of being a total drag, Daisuke! You need me around to keep you interesting.”
“Oh, really?” he asked, eyes narrowing. He grabbed at her head and rubbed his knuckles into her tousled hair, putting pressure on her scalp.
“Argh! No noogies!!!” Atsuki gave a jump and fell out of the chair, legs splayed in front of her and glaring up at Daisuke, who was chuckling merrily at her expense.
“What are you two doing now?” Suiru’s voice sounded at the foot of the stairs before she walked over. “He’s resting. I’ve given him some herbs to help him heal faster, so he should be fine. You can see him any time.” Atsuki looked up from the floor at Daisuke, her eyes narrowed to little slits. There was such a devious look in her eyes that he was slightly scared of whatever it was that she was going to do.
Deciding to ignore her, he stood and tossed a small leather bag to Suiru. “Could you go and buy him some new clothes? He’ll be with us for a while, and I don’t want him wearing my coat all of the time.” The girl nodded, her long hair swaying as she did.
As he got to the edge of the stairs, Atsuki said, “Give the pretty-boy a kiss for me, Dai-chan!” He blinked in confusion at her statement. Sighing, Daisuke mounted the stairs. Sometimes, he wondered why she said the things she did. Perhaps she got that from her real parents? Shaking it off, he continued to climb, to the third floor, where at the end of the hall, there was the room he would be sharing with a very pale and tight-lipped Sasuke.
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Chapter notes: As part of my trade with Daisukekun, I've finished this first chapter. As mentioned in the summary, Sasuke runs away from Orochimaru. His thinking at the beginning of the chapter is rather fragmentary, and may not make sense to some people. That's because he's suffering from hypothermia and exposure.
Oh, and this is un-beta'd, because I couldn't wait to get it up on the site. ^_^
Warnings:
A--Angst
FL--Foul Language
Legal Stuffiness: I do not own Naruto, or any of the characters therein. The characters Daisuke Fayne, Suiru Lee, and Atsuki Lee belong to Daisukekun, and are used with permission.