I don't own Naruto or Loveless.
"N-Naruto?" Itachi asked in disbelief.
Really, if one was being suffocated, that usually meant that the person doing the suffocation was a tangible one, and not imaginary, but Itachi still couldn't believe that it was her. Sure, he'd seen her family, and he'd noted that she may be in his brother's class, but he hadn't expected to run into her (literally) until much later.
But she was real – one hundred percent real. Her hair still smelled the same way it had the last time he'd seen her. Thick and comforting; god, he'd missed it. He hadn't noticed before, maybe because of the way things had played out, but now… He tightened his own arms around her and after some moments, he let her down.
He let out a soft chuckle at the annoyed expression on her face before he was sent flying into the wall. Itachi cradled his jaw with one hand; he should have expected that. Naruto was probably a black belt by now, and she'd got one hell of a temper. That and relation of Kyuubi's was bound to have violent tendencies.
"That was for being an imbecile" Naruto informed him, turning back to the stew.
"That's the second punch I've received in one day" he mumbled, quietly complaining to himself.
Naruto turned, snickering lightly.
"Yeah well, you aren't very popular at the moment; Sasuke isn't the only one who has a bone to pick with you…"
The silence that followed was not awkward until skin contact was made once again; he had been helping her with the stew, chopping the last of the vegetables to be added, when their fingers brushed over the bubbling concoction. He noted the worry in her eyes then, the nervousness, the unspoken questions. He didn't have any answers for her, he would like some, but he really didn't know. They hadn't talked in her two year absence, and even before that theirs had not been a relationship built on many words.
He knew everything about her - that had been his job after all - but at the same time he knew nothing. All he remembered was his own tendency to keep things hidden. That and her own tendency to hide behind bluntness and more words than she required -usually the wrong ones.
"Look, Itachi, I didn't come here just make you and Sasuke an edible meal for once," she said, turning from the cooker and resting back against the counter top, avoiding his gaze.
"I figured as much, but I don't know what you want me to say" he replied, focusing his own gaze on the simmering contets of the pan.
She looked at him once, then turned back to the pan.
"I can't stand this Itachi - Its been driving me up the wall since... I know I'm digging up a can of worms, but... God forbid I have no idea why, but I want to try and have an actual relationship with you this time, or friends. Just something thats actually there this time, not created. I guess I don't really know, but since when was that a new thing?"
The last part was mumbled, probably to herself, but he heard her all the same. It was a low blow, albeit unintended. He had never meant to lie to her, never meant to hide everything, hide the things. That being said, he had done it all the same, and he still didn't have an answer for her.
"One of my friends is having a party - huge thing - and I'm inviting you. It's this Friday. Whatever you think, I'm not expecting any answers. If you show up, and you have any, then great, but I'm not giving you an ultimatum. I know this is probably a surprise and all" she hurriedly pushed him out of her way to stir the stew.
His first thought was that it wasn't long enough - he hadn't seen her for two years and she wanted an answer in a week? Then he remembered she was not the most patient of beings. He internally applauded her restraint. He also felt that it probably wouldn't take him all that long to think of something.
"What time is it?" he asked as quiet as ever, pulling some bowls from one of the cupboards.
Naruto smiled at him directly.
"Seven, but no-one will show up at seven. Be there for half eight?"
"All right,"
Naruto grinned at him before heading out of the room.
Sasuke didn't know what he had been expecting, but he was sure it ad not been what had not been what unfolded in front of him; he hadn't imagined Naruto would be so happy to see his brother - she had seemed more nervous than excited earlier.
He hadn't expected that hug any more than he had expected for his brother to return it; it shouldn't have surprised him at all. It had to be a special type of person to drag up Itachi's emotions, and Itachi wasn't the type to forget or move on so easily. He knew that very well; he had come from the same mould after all.
Itachi clearly still thought the world of her; he'd never seen Itachi so open with someone before, not since those years before Itachi got into the wrong crowd, with that gang. He didn't even try to resist when Naruto sent him flying into the wall, and that spoke a lot to Sasuke.
One thing he definitely hadn't been expecting though was Naruto's reactions; he had been expecting anger, shouting, maybe hushed - but still anger. Or some sort of final goodbye – not rekindling the flames. It didn't sound like they had any sort of functioning relationship from what he had overheard, so why was she so eager to get reacquainted with his brother again?
It didn't really sound like Naruto was referring to their old... relationship when she said she said not knowing wasn't a new thing, but their current and future one; maybe it was to do with how they met? How they broke up? Sasuke wondered if he should have ignored his brother for the past few years; he didn't know anything about his brother or even Naruto any more.
Naruto had said the reason she broke things off with his brother was because of the gang he was mixed up in, but this didn't sound like a normal gang – he'd assumed it had been a plain old group of yankis, but the way Naruto spoke made him think Itachi rebellious days had been not so much rebellious and more illegal than he had originally thought.
Naruto popped her head around his bedroom door and grinned at him.
"Hey, if you want food, get your arse downstairs!" she informed him before disappearing again.
Setting down the book he had been pretending to be reading he headed for the door; Naruto's friend had mentioned a party earlier, and he was certain that Naruto wouldn't be able to stand not avoiding her old friends to it. He'd hazard a guess that she has already told Itachi about it. He'd also guess that Itachi would go; it was the perfect opportunity to interrogate the both of them, or find something out.
The thought in mind, he felt a little more confident as he descended the stairs.
The karate club was not one of the best clubs in the school – Sasuke was good, and there were a few others who weren't half bad, but most of the kids in it had taken it up simply for the benefit of college applications, or just for the sake of saying they 'knew' the sport.
Sasuke had been the vice-captain the year before, and even he wasn't the speediest when it came to changing into the white uniform. It had turned into an almost dreary thing every time he turned up for practice, and that had been very normal; when Sasuke entered the changing rooms, he was completely stunned by the frenzy of activity.
People were moving; people didn't move very fast in the changing rooms, despite his numerous attempts – he had long since discovered he was not cut out for actually leading the bunch of monkeys, but he had tried. Where had all the signs of life come from?
As he pulled his own uniform from the locker, he listened to the conversation that buzzed around him, he discovered the reason for all the sudden activity; Naruto had been in school three days now, and word had spread that the new girl was the new captain of the club.
"A Yudansha? Come on, that takes years! There's no way that blonde could be that good! Just because she's a black belt doesn't mean she has a Dan ranking!"
"Idiot; she's from Sarutobi's! They wouldn't have sent her if she wasn't good, and Sarutobi's level of good is three times ours! She's captaining Judo! She's Vice in Kendo too! If thats any indication, I frankly can't wait to see her up against the browns!"
Sasuke was interested in having a match against her himself – he still didn't know how high a grade Naruto had achieved yet, but she had been a green belt two years ago, and most of that had been from her own practice since their middle school teacher had been spread amongst his student pretty thinly. Sarutobi's was much more specialised, so she had to have at leased earned One-Dan ranking.
"I don't care how good she is – I just hope she's single. Have you seen her legs yet?"
Sasuke rammed his shirt and the rest of his school uniform into the locker with a force that caught himself as well as those around him completely by surprise – for some reason that last remark had brought a snarl of anger up, and he almost snapped the draw-string on his white trousers as he pulled them on.
"Sasuke, did you get a tattoo?"
Sasuke looked up at a boy he had seemed to have forgotten the name of in confusion; he followed his his gaze to...
He blinked in surprise at the thin coil of lettering that ran around his neck in a coil over his left deltoid, almost like an old-fashioned tribal style tattoo; it was a slightly darker shade than the rest of his skin. It almost looked like handwriting; despite close inspection he couldn't make it out, and he pulled the white wrap-round gi that completed the uniform, tying it in place with a brown obi.
"Hurry up and get changed!" he snapped at the staring students, heading into the training room itself before a single utterance could be made.
Naruto was waiting with Kakashi when the rest of the club gathered in the hall, joking in a rather relaxed manner amongst themselves, and Sasuke felt actual pity for them when he caught the warning wrinkle of her nose, for a few moments anyway – it quickly dissipated. Kakashi introduced her, and, after a brief greeting and a few words with the teacher, then she got down to the business of pulling the rug from under their feet.
The warm-up lasted thirty minuets; It didn't bother him (nor a few of the others) but for most of the club, it was like being dunked in ice cold water – they were used to ten minuets, and after the extra twenty were over, most of them were completely knackered. Naruto didn't have a single hair out of place, and waited for about two minuets before starting another rug-pull.
"All right, you, come stand over here"
She beckoned a third year girl forward, indicating the practice mat she was standing on; Naruto's uniform was still as odd as ever, cut down to shorts and a short-sleeved jacket instead of the usual longer variety – he had called it weird when he first started karate, but now his own uniform had shrunk a little in arm and leg length – it was much easier to move in.
The girl seemed to perk up at the selection and immediately moved forward onto the mat; Naruto gave the colour of her belt a quick glance (blue), before falling into a kumite stance. The girl looked a little bit more alarmed, but followed the action. After a signal from Kakashi – the long-suffering teacher – Naruto immediately descended on the girl in what looked like a blur of strikes and kicks.
Oddly, it wasn't enough to actually topple the girl to the ground, and she kept up for some time, then as the strength, speed, and variety of Naruto's attacks increased she began to falter, struggling to block in the right place, missing deliberate invitation for a strike of her own from Naruto. It wasnt long from the start of the spar till she was flat on the floor mat, wheezing for breath.
Naruto instructed her to go sit on one side of the room, before calling on another student, a petrified looking second year boy with an orange belt; Naruto repeated the process, but spent a great deal more time with him as she increased her speed than in comparison to her first opponent, and he was sent to a different side of the room.
The process continued for thirty minuets, and soon here were two groups of people standing with the boy and girl, the number with the girl significantly outweighing those with the boy. Sasuke noted that he and a few others close to or the same as his own rank had not been called forth. Once she was finished, Naruto stared disapprovingly at the large er group, then turned on Kakashi.
"Who tested them?" she asked, gesturing to both the groups.
"It was one of the old instructors; I'm usually in charge of judo, but when the old teacher who was responsible left, they had me fill in since I've done some karate before, but... I don't teach karate, so I can't grade them; I can only give them pointers." he replied over the top of a green book.
Naruto, pondered it, then gave the book a disgusted look; she yanked it out of his hand as she turned back to the two groups, her suddenly metallic gaze levelled at both of them.
"For the next eight weeks, all of you are going to be going over your strikes, stances, kicks before a ranking session – not a single one of you are at the level you're supposed to be at."
she turned to the larger group.
"Unless you lot smarten up in that time, you should be prepared to be digging your old belts out; I started every one of you out at the same beginner level before building up to you own rank, and you all started blundering before I even reached it – some of you didn't even know what style you were trying to use, never mind how to block mine" she informed them pointedly, then turned to the other group ignoring the crestfallen faces.
Most of them were closer to the darker end of the colour spectrum, unlike the other group, who were mostly reds yellows and green in belt colour – there was even a few rank beginners that had been stuck at the bottom since there was no official teacher to test them.
"You though, lasted quite a bit longer, so if you work hard, be prepared to shell out for a new belt instead" she grinned.
For some reason, Sasuke felt his guts churn in panic when Naruto turned her direction towards himself and the others who had not participated. He was going to get the shit for this – he just knew it. He had known that the club had been a complete shambles for a while, but he wasn't responsible for grading! How was he supposed to know it was so bad?
"You – Bleach Boy – you're up" Naruto barked at one of his companions.
Suigetsu was a purple belt, supposedly only one Kyu grade below Sasuke in the club rankings, and had been one of the few to give him a decent fight. He seemed to have picked up on the dangerous layer in Naruto's voice as he took place on the mat, and his shoulders were a little tenser than usual. The fight was much longer than the previous ones, but Suigetsu still ended up flat on his back, and sent towards the smaller group.
Karin, a brown like Sasuke, was finished off much sooner, and sent to the larger group despite her protests. Juugo, a huge third year purple, was visibly shaking as he stared at Suigetsu (who was nursing several bruises), and his short canine ears and tail were drooping as he approached the mat.
In the end, he lasted lasted a full fifteen minuets before being sent off to join Suigetsu. Then it was his turn, and he could feel his own cat ears twitching in nervousness (and anticipation) as he took up a stance in front of Naruto – it didn't really help that every club member was watching the match between Captain and Vice with baited breath.
The first strike came without warning and he almost missed it, but his hand shot up in time to keep Naruto's hand from crashing into his neck. He hadn't been prepared for the speed of her blows, or the drastic increase in precision, or the sheer strength of her blows at all. She didn't fight like she had before at all.
Whoever her teacher had been at Sarutobi's, they must have been a complete master; there wasn't a single amount of hesitation in her attacks, and it was almost as if she had practised them so much that it had become a basic instinct. Not a single one of her movements were wasted... Specialised schooling or not, there was no way she could have gotten this good with just after school practices!
He had been to a few private sessions to keep his own skills up, but they were expensive – unless her parent had been very free with their money, there was no way she could have been to any for then length of time her increase in skill indicated. He wasn't criticising it – he just wondered how she had gotten this good so quickly.
Even if it had been two years, Naruto had clearly gained experience in fighting from somewhere other than the genius school. Naruto had been close to brown before she had left, as had he, and he had practised as hard as she had, but the gap that had been there before seemed to have doubled. He could put that down to lack of decent training on his part, but not by much.
He lasted for almost thirty minuets before falling onto his own back yet again; a strike towards his right side, and a sweep of one leg had his feet knocked out from under him.
"You improved – go sit with bleach boy and carrot head; you should have gone to one of those session and tried out for a black belt months ago Sasuke" she grinned.
Her congratulations some how managed to still sound reprimanding, even as she helped him up fro the floor; as she pulled on his arm, she tugged the sleeve of his gi, revealing the strange new mark on his left shoulder. It could have been a trick of the light, but he doubted it – the moment Naruto's eyes caught sight of it, he saw fear flicker across her face.
I debated a lot on if I was going to include the battle elements of loveless in this, since I really wanted to keep it away from action, but I figured that I'll need some of it for plot development. Anyone who's read loveless, feel free to guess what Sasuke's name is gonna be, if not, well, I suppose wait and see, but I recommend reading loveless instead. Loveless is awesome, but the slow updates are a constant misery.
I've noticed some grammar and errors of wording in previous chapters, and they will be corrected soon.