Pyro Eyes

Chapter 2

Soft rays of early morning sun lit up the angelic face of the sleeping youth on the bed, at peace in the world of slumber at four am. Raven hair splayed around his head like a halo on the silken pillow, chest gently rising and falling with every slow breath. His translucent skin glowing with the sluggish light of day, so flawless, it was ethereal. Limbs sprawled beneath the smooth sapphire sheets, naïve trust shown in every feature, almost childlike in visage. Beautiful—like the clearest of sunny days. . .

Itachi watched the sleeping boy with a steady gaze, apprehension obvious in his eyes. In the light of day, his red eyes dimmed to a dark black. His midnight hair fell in long silken pieces from his head, draping nicely over his broad shoulders. It was almost as if the person from the previous night had disappeared, leaving a stoic man in his place. This man had the same features, same coloring, but his presence didn't have the same vicious edge it'd had only a few hours before.

Itachi Mangekyou was a man of few, well placed words. He was swift, precise, harsh, and ruthless. Not to mention a little anti-social. For the most part he kept to himself, but now, he wasn't so sure he could continue down that road. Last night he'd crossed a line he'd never crossed before, which was very bad in his books. Very, very BAD. It wasn't just bad, it was disastrous!

With a deep sigh, Itachi reached forward and slowly stroked the boy's cheek. Sasuke, he'd said his name was. He was mildly concerned the boy would wake up and turn into someone dreadful, but it backfired when he couldn't quite visualize a distasteful personality to go with the innocent person asleep next to him. And really, sleeping with someone didn't exactly require personality.

Debating with himself for a moment, it didn't take him long to decide before he gently leaned down and caressed Sasuke's lips with his own. It was sweet and a little sugary. Not his usual style, but this would work for now. Pulling away, Itachi was relieved to see Sasuke's eyes still firmly closed in sleep. Heaving another sigh, he lifted himself from the bed. It was time to take care of the loose ends.

A gentle wind pushed in from the open window. City sounds, people and the faint twittering of birds drifted up from the morning's sparse traffic on the seldom traveled road below. The room had an open air to it, wide space, with solid wood floors covered with a spacious green and white rug. It was all so peaceful. The morning light spilling into the room lazily, bringing the slumbering body on the bed slowly into wakefulness. It was late April in Fire Country, which meant the mornings were cool, but not cold, and the afternoon would grow to be quite warm and the day just under eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

The teenager on the bed had just opened his onyx eyes blearily at the evil light invading his sight when the alarm clock right next to his head on the night stand reached 6:29 am. When the clock reached 6:30 am the alarm went off like a banshee stuck in a head lock, instantly causing Sasuke Uchiha to sit up stalk straight with his eyes wide. Staring straight ahead for a few moments, he sluggishly reached over and turned off the blaring radio spouting 'Superstar' by Toybox. All the while thinking, now that is one annoying song to have to wake up to….. Yawning, he stared at the space in front of him for a while before getting the distinct impression that he was missing something. When it wasn't coming to his sleep muddled brain he decided to study his room. The lamp's still where I put it three years ago. . . all the books are in their spots. . . the floor's clean. . . all the picture frames are in there places. . . and the door to my room's still closed like usual. Everything was where it was supposed to be, so what was he missing?...

Eyes widening, it came to him. "Shit! I could have sworn I wasn't at home when I fell asleep."

Now where the fuck did I fall asleep?

"Kiba and Gaara took me out to that club yesterday…and…oh," he realized as the memory came cascading into the forefront of his mind.

Now I remember….he thought as a blushed settle across his white face.

Sasuke sighed and looked at the clock. It was 6:42 am. Shoot! He had to get to school by 7:05 or Naruto would murder him. The stupid dobe had made him promise to practice the test passage for band with him. This was so stupid! Just because Naruto couldn't get the fuck'in thing by himself does not mean Sasuke had to spend valuable before school time to go over it with him! Oh, what the HELL! Oh course it did, that's what it ALWAYS meant. Heaving a sigh, Sasuke decided it was time to get up and take a shower. Might as well get there on time, he thought. We can't leave poor Naruto out in the cold, now can we? Because really, that simply would not do.

And getting up from bed, Sasuke's legs promptly gave out, resulting in a sharp yelp as he hit the floor. Landing directly on his ass.

"OooooooowwW! Ow! Ow! oW! Owowowowowowowow! SHIT! That fucking HURTS!" Sasuke screamed into the empty room. Maybe he was going to have to ditch on Naruto after all. Being able to walk was kind of important in his scheme of getting to school. But NO! Uchiha's never ditched. It was part of the code. Uchiha's never did a lot of things…..like….cook! Sasuke couldn't cook for shit so automatically, Uchiha's never cook! See how this works? Sasuke thought this was rather ingenious of himself. He could spout off random shit like that and people would believe it! People were stupid, but what did he care. He was the one getting away with all sorts of crap due to their stupidity. They shouldn't stop on his account. REALLY, don't stop.

In any case, Sasuke still had this itsy bitsy problem. How the FUCK was he going to get to the shower? He would be the first to admit that sex was great. Really, really nice. However. If THIS was the byproduct of it he wasn't sure want to do it again! EVER! Because crawling to the shower was demeaning, not to mention STUPID as HELL! Oh, Kiba and Gaara were going to hear about this when he got to them. There were going to pay. [Insert evil smile here]. Now then….shower….shit…..He was going to have to crawl. Crap. And so….Sasuke crawled to the bathroom…..cursing heavily while doing so. Good thing he didn't live with anyone, huh?

Twenty minutes later.

Once over his 'Uchiha's do not crawl' rule, Sasuke got dressed with minimal fuss. AND in his brilliance, he had figured out how to get to school! He was…..he was…he was going to use crutches….

Sad? …yes.

Necessary? …..Yes.

Negotiable? …Not really.

"This is so stupid!" he griped as he crutched his way to the car.

Kiba and Gaara were definitely going to PAY….

Driving to school wasn't so bad, just a bit uncomfortable. That's all. He sighed. It was 7:04. He was going to be late. Rule #47: UCHIHA'S ARE NEVER LATE would have to be ignored today. Chances were he'd be late to every class today. Shit.

Finally, hobbling into the band room at 7:12—it was 7:12! And his arms huuuuurrrrrtt…

Never mind Kiba and Gaara. ITACHI was going to PAAAAAYYYYYYY! He was going to rip that man to bloody SHREDS! SHREDS! You hear that? Shreds. [Cue evil laughter].

"Sasuke! Where have you been?" yelled Naruto. "I've been waiting for like—" he checks the clock—"SIX whole minutes!"

Sasuke just stared blankly at Naruto. Obviously he was spoiling the blond with his continuous punctuality.

"Where does it look like I've been, moron?" he growls, crutching up to the band lockers to retrieve his trumpet. This is so stupid, Sasuke grumbles in his head.

The outlook for his day wasn't looking so sunny at the moment. The entire day couldn't be a complete waste, right? Right?

Wrong. Oh so Fucking WRONG!

It was nearing the end of fourth period and he could swear that his arms were going to fall off. Crutching across the entire school to get to Math second period had made his arms hurt. Crutching again to the other side of school for Civics made them throb and then numb. And now, NOW, after crutching all the way upstairs for Physics his arms lay uselessly as his sides as he watched the sensei write the answers to problems they had already done on the board. Usually this was his least favorite class because the sensei did all their work for them, but now he was grateful, yes! Grateful that he didn't have to move his arms anymore... If he had to go across campus… One. More. Time. He may have actually broken down and cried.

But oh! There was salvation! Physics was his last class of the day. After this he had lunch and then he could go home. Oh, he didn't think he'd ever heard a sweeter word. Home. Home, home, home. Oh god it was beautiful.

Thirty seconds until lunch. Twenty five. Twenty one. Seventeen. Twelve. Six. Three. One!

Well shit, now I have to get up. Maybe I can stand on my own now? – tries—NOPE! No, no, no. Not yet. Sigh. Alright crutches, it's just you and me now. To the lunch room!

Ooooooowwwww….

Crutch LEFT. Crutch RIGHT.

Crutch LEFT. Crutch RIGHT.

LEFT….RIGHT….

LEFT….RIGHT…..

When did I earn such torture? Did I do something heinous in a past life? WHAT?

Five unfortunate minutes later.

I love you lunch table! YES I DO! I love your chairs the most, I love your flat woodiness, I love your coldness too—oh god my hands are killing me—I love you very much!

YES! I! FUCKING! DO!

"Hey Gaara, have you ever seen Sasuke do that to the lunch table before?" came Kiba's unneeded question.

"No Kiba, Sasuke's just having a heart to heart with the table. I heard from Sakura in English that he's been walking with crutches all day. I do believe that he is tired. Doesn't it appear so?" Came Gaara's clinical voice.

"Yeah, just a little. It still looks like he's hugg'n the table though."

"Yes. I see it too."

"Would you two shut up? I blame you for this!" Sasuke growled, his body still laying tiredly on the table.

"What'd we do?" Kiba demanded, "You came to school like this all on your own!"

"I blame you because you're the ones who forced me to go to club Blood last night. Despite my protests!" He bit out.

Kiba and Gaara both gave him confused looks.

"What are you referring to, Sasuke? Neither Kiba nor I attended a club last night. Are you sure?" Gaara asked, looking at him as if he believed the crutches had knocked a screw loose or something.

Kiba's stare very clearly said, 'ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?' Raised eyebrow included.

Sasuke sighed. "Please tell me you're not just pulling leg."

"We're not." Kiba said.

"Really?"

"Really."

"Really, really?"

"Really, really."

"Reaallyyyy? Are you sure?"

"REALLY FUCKING REALLY, SASUKE. Now knock it off, we didn't go to no stink'in club last night!" Kiba barked.

"OKAY! I get it." Sasuke backed off, a little disbelieving. Did they really not remember last night? And if they did, how was that possible. It wasn't, right? But Kiba really looked like he was about to punch him a second ago. Sasuke sighed. I don't get it.

Watching them eat lunch now, they really didn't remember. If they'd just been joking, Kiba at least would have already come out and admitted it by now. But they hadn't. They didn't remember. They had no idea what he'd been talking about….but it definitely happened. Looking down at his crutches, he grimaced. Oh, it'd definitely happened, alright. He'd finally gotten laid and he couldn't tell anyone. Gaara especially would get all monotone and explain to him how the whole thing had been an elaborate fantasy dreamt up by his subconscious. Now wouldn't that just bite! Well, maybe it was just a dream. REALLY. It was possible. NO! NO! it happened, it really did. His ass still hurt like SHIT! But in a week's time it wouldn't hurt anymore and then what? He'd start convincing himself it never happened! Maybe he should document it! Pictures you know…..no, no, no…bad idea. Well FUCK! Now what? The whole thing made him REALLY nervous. There was something seriously wrong with this! This was BAD! Bad KARMA! BAD, BAD, BAD! And he swore this would all come back to bite him in the ass someday! (Figuratively of course).

Sasuke sighed again and banged his head on the table for good measure. Maybe it'd help with the bad karma.

"Are you okay, Sasuke?" Gaara asked, at least sounding concerned. Sasuke couldn't see him past his bangs as his head rested on the table.

"Yeah….I'll be okay. Life sucks, Gaara. Did you know that?" Sasuke groaned.

"Yes. I have been telling you this for years now. Life sucks. And then you die."

"Oh yeah…" Fucking ray of sunshine he is….

"Hey guys?" He asked, head still firmly on the table.

"Yeah?" Kiba asks.

"I'm going home, okay. I don't feel good today."

He knew he sounded pathetic, and you know what? He FELT pathetic!

"Sure Sasuke, go home. You really don't look so good. Maybe you should stay home tomorrow." Kiba said, now obviously very concerned.

"Yeah," he said, "I think I will." And with that, despite the pain in his arms, he got up and hobbled out to the parking lot and drove home.

He was convinced. Life was shit.

And then you wallow in it.

By the time he'd driven home it was nearly 12:30 pm. It was noon, but he was so tired. Tired, and really confused, and, and just, just really tired. Not even bothering to take off his shoes, he dropped the crutches at the foot of his bed and fell onto the mattress like a beached whale. His arms felt like lead weights and he honestly believed at that one moment that he weighed a million tons. Sasuke was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.

Itachi's eye developed a twitch for the millionth time that day and it was only 12:30! After Itachi dropped Sasuke off at home, made sure Sasuke's friends wouldn't remember a thing, and delivered them home, he'd gone off to do his job. You wouldn't think that being a criminal was too terribly difficult. Well, it was.

Leader had paired him with bloody Deidara this morning and the flow of words spewing forth from the blonde's mouth hadn't stopped since.

It was giving him a headache.

"—And then! You wouldn't believe what he said, un. Do you know what he said? He said that orange was his favorite color but that couldn't possibly be true, un. Why? Why, because orange is a hideous color, everyone knows that, un! I told him it was awful and that he was the blindest person on earth if he really thought orange was such a great color and you wouldn't believe what he yelled at me! I'm not sure I want to tell you! Oh, I'll tell you anyway, un! He said—"

…and it just wouldn't stop….

Usually his job wasn't too bad, but it was days like this that made his life hell. Itachi was pretty sure Deidara was Leader's punishment for his bad decision last night. And it really was a bad decision; he knew that, he even regretted it a little. Okay, he didn't, but he wished he'd regretted it sooner! Like before he'd done the stupid thing. Unfortunately, he'd still done the deed and Deidara was still TALKING! God damn it!

Fortunately for Deidara the only outward sign that Itachi was annoyed was the steadily increasing twitch in his left eye. But his fingers were itching, just itching to strangle Deidara and silence him once and for all! It would be a service to the human race; he might even get a medal for his dashing heroics! Ridding the world of the infuriating Deidara would be like cloud 9. He could see it, feel it, hear it, fantasize about it, and yet, he wasn't allowed to kill him. It was things like that which made the world so unfair.

Repeat after me: Life's not fair.

Got it? Good.

In any case, tracking down their informant was harder than it should have been on this particular day. Itachi was seriously considering that it may be Deidara's fault, but that didn't make it any less important for them to find her. Anko had not been where she was scheduled to be so chances were that she was either drinking or gambling or both. In which case they were halfway through Choji's Sake House looking for the drunken brunette. She wasn't here either.

"Hey, Itachi? Itachi, Itachi? This is the nineteenth place we've been to, un. Why don't you just call her, un. We do have her number, right?" Deidara babbled out.

He let out a sigh. "Yes, we do. If you wish to you are welcome to call her."

"NO WAY! I AIN'T CALL'IN HER! Do you know what she's like on the phone? The last time I called her she ended up singing me happy birthday in French, un! You call her." Deidara insisted, childishly.

"No."

"But Itachi! She likes you. You know she does, un!"

Oh, he knew. The last time he'd attempted to call her she had tried serenading him with 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua. She was drunk and he could never willingly listen to that song again. She was always drunk, and a drunken Anko was nonsensical which often meant one piece of information duct taped to another. This really meant they couldn't trust her information worth shit. Anko was a pretty useless informant, and yet, they were still out looking for her.

Itachi let out a long belated sigh, this is so impractical. We should just put a beeper on her, that way every time we go looking for her, we would FIND her.

It was a wonder what the Leader was thinking when he made decisions like this. Anko was one hell of a wild card for their organization. It made him seriously wonder about the Leader's problem solving skills. Never the less, he should probably thank his lucky stars that the Leader was so tolerant. Otherwise Sasuke would probably be dead right now and he couldn't have that. At least not yet. Now that he'd gone and included the teenager in his curse, the boy was rather important. And speaking of the curse, Sasuke was probably having difficulties already.

Itachi smirked.

Oh, it almost made him want to have been there when the boy woke up. Hah, that would have been worth a laugh. A subtle smile found itself on Itachi's previously blank face. He had a whole year to get to know the boy. Who knew what could happen between now and then? Sasuke had been pretty good last night. Very sweet. Fiery. Itachi was looking forward to all their altercations in the near future. Better yet, he couldn't wait for him to figure out what Itachi'd done to him last night. Just thinking about it made his smile widen.

Perhaps he'd visit Sasuke tomorrow…

Hello Everyone.

I'm back and i'm hoping to actually update more often! Sounds good, right? So this is the second chapter of Pyro Eyes. So to amend the summary, chapter one actually happened on a wednessday night (I think) which gives them school the following day. In the next chapter Itachi gives Sasuke a visit and won't that be lovely! I'm sorry if everyone expected a morning after scene at the beginning. It wasn't working so it didn't happen XD.

Be a dear and let me know what you think.

Love & Kisses,

Kael.