The Burning Mines

VII: A Bartender and His Collection

"You mind tellin' me exactly what's goin' on between you and Naruto?"

Shikamaru didn't answer Kiba right away, choosing instead to stare ahead at the men who lazed about for their break. He took a long drag of his cigarette.

There was no lunch today. Whatever strings Naruto managed to pull the day before he wasn't able to pull today.

"You just gonna sit there and not answer me? The hell is goin' on that I don't know about?"

"Nothin' that won't blow over after a few days." Shikamaru finally answered, spitting in the distance. "Nothin' a good long talk won't fix."

Kiba squinted at his friend and crossed his arms. "Doesn't look to me like Naruto wants to fix nothin'. He's been distant to everybody. Even the workers can tell the difference. Everyone's on edge. No one ever believes me when I say workers feed off the energy of their boss but I'm tellin' ya–"

"I believe you, Kiba." Shikamaru interrupted, waving a hand. "Trust me, I know."

"Well does Naruto know?" Kiba insisted, looking in the distance to where he knew the blonde was, sitting by himself against a large rock.

"He knows." Shikamaru mumbled, looking in the same direction. He took another drag of his cigarette. "He's just goin' through some things right now."

"Just leave it to Sasuke..." Kiba murmured, sitting back and sighing. "To think we'd ever lay eyes on that bastard again."

"To think..." Shikamaru agreed offhandedly, staring at the blonde with narrowed eyes. He'd expected to see the redhead by his side today, but it seemed Naruto was keeping even his new friend at a distance.

Shikamaru knew Naruto drove in with Gaara so it was strange to him that they were not together now.

"You think we should give 'em a few more minutes?" Kiba was saying, nodding at the workers. "About time we got back to work."

Shikamaru thought about it. "Let's wait and see what Naruto will do." He decided, keeping his voice quiet. "I've been thinkin'...given the circumstances... the mayor's death, and Sasuke comin' back...Maybe right now isn't the best time for Naruto to lead the mines. Enough points against him and he'll see it the way I do and step down."

Kiba's hesitation was tangible. "I don't think it's... that bad. He ain't that bad Shika." He insisted. "Just a little off his game."

"A little off his game can cost a lot in this business. And I see things gettin' worse before they get better. Somethin' ain't right. Somethin's gonna go down and I know somehow Naruto's gonna end up in the middle of it all and it's gonna tear the lid off everythin'."

Kiba offered nervous laughter. "You lost me there. What you tryna say?"

"You don't see it?" Shikamaru asked, finally turning to face his friend. "Not much happens down here in Konoha - and I know all of it seems kinda personal – but a mayor dyin', some outlaw bein' allowed to work in the mines, and the past in the name of Sasuke Uchiha rearin' its ugly head?" He looked pleadingly at Kiba. "You don't feel that? You don't feel like somethin's off?"

Kiba blinked, lost and feeling a little inadequate. "Shika...you know I ain't keen on..." He tried to find the words to say. "You know...stuff like this. Intuition or puttin' two and two together. I just do my job. That's all."

Shikamaru sighed and turned away. "And you do it well." He murmured, gratefully. "We need more people doin' their jobs right about now." He was looking at Naruto again, who had yet to call an end to this hour break. He was about to do it himself when the blonde suddenly stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"All right fellas! Times up! Back to your stations!"

Shikamaru exhaled slowly with his eyes on his friend, watching as he pulled away from the rock he sat against and went over to the overseer's boulder.

"See?" Kiba asked, standing. "He ain't totally off his game."

Shikamaru only spit out his cigarette in reply, stepping on it while he was at it.

In the distance he saw the redhead coming forward, leaving whatever secluded area he'd been in and finding his way back to his station. Shikamaru followed him with suspicious eyes, not trusting the lazy way the man walked, not trusting his cool and calm eyes, not trusting anything about the man.

Not one bit.

There was something just off about him. It was more than the fact that he was an outlaw…it was something else…

But Shikamaru couldn't figure out what.

"The hell you waitin' for?"

He shook his head at his friend, disregarding the question and walking ahead. "Let's get back to work."

"I've been doing a lot of thinking, Sasuke."

Kakashi knew that his voice had probably become a long drawl of nonsense words that the brunet was having trouble paying attention to at this point.

Sasuke's life pretty much revolved around him being antsy and unable to let things go. Those emotions were pretty high right now. And he knew that Sasuke knew what to do if he wanted the emotions to go away, but it was obvious now that Sasuke had been neglecting his health.

"Are you even listening to me?" he tried again.

Sasuke abruptly stopped his pacing and snapped his head to face his old mentor. "Of course." He lied.

Kakashi caught on to the wideness of his eyes, the tapping of his foot, and the way his hands twitched. "Sasuke…" the older man murmured. "You…you did come down here prepared, right?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at his mentee. "I'm not so sure the pharmacy still—"

"It's nothing." Sasuke interrupted, glaring at the man. "It's…" he breathed out deeply. "It's nothing." He repeated a little redundantly. He tried to stand still, but he couldn't stop his thumb and middle finger from tapping each other on his left hand.

Kakashi stared at the man for a long time, looking like he wanted to explore the topic more, but he thought better of himself.

"As I was saying," he decided to say instead. "After this little stunt you've pulled, it's been made even clearer to me that you can't live with Naruto, nor should you come into contact with anyone else until the funeral. I think it's best you live with me—"

"No."

Kakashi blinked. "No? Sasuke—"

"No." Sasuke repeated, turning around. "That's not how this works."

There was silence from the grey haired man for a moment, before he shut his eyes. "Sasuke this is hardly for discussion. I'm surprised all your things weren't all over the street this morning. But trust me, you keep pushing and Naruto will kick you out—"

"He can't kick me out." Sasuke interrupted in a harsh whisper. "I'm paying to live there. But I'll tell you who he should kick out." he added, suddenly turning around. "That fucking redheaded cheap fuck he had in his house last night!"

Kakashi's eyes widened for a moment before he scoffed. "Sasuke how can you be like this? I swear you're ten times worse than you were before you left here. I have no idea who you're talking about, first of all. Second of all how could that even be your business? You do remember our deal, right?" he asked, getting angry. "You do remember what I did for you, and what the consequences were don't you? Tell me you haven't forgotten."

Sasuke stared at his mentor, twitching once. "Forg…" he shook his head. "We didn't make rules that couldn't be bent." He breathed. "All I asked was for you to help me get away without him knowing. We didn't talk about whether I'd ever be able to come back."

"I thought it would be obvious!" Kakashi shouted, finally raising his voice. "I…" he put a hand to head, trying to calm down. "It's true…we didn't talk about you coming back here – and who's to say that it would have even been a problem once we passed the awkward reunions? It matters now because you've been screwing up, Sasuke." He hissed, seemingly unable to keep his anger in. "You were supposed to go through this town like a breeze, introduce yourself and heal a few wounds if possible – not make an absolute mess of everything—"

"Was that what parading me around this town was for?" Sasuke asked, narrowing his eyes. "So you could have a little piece of mind for what you helped me do—"

"You know that's not the reason why." Kakashi countered, standing up. "If you want to call it parading around – fine. And if it was a "piece of mind" I was looking for, it wasn't for me but for you. I know you're not as heartless as you want everyone to see you as—"

"Maybe I am fucking heartless—" Sasuke tried to interrupt.

"Whatever cold front you're trying to pull off is not the real you!" the man shouted, swiping his hand in he air. "You don't think I've noticed? The little twitches, the stupid mood swings – you aren't yourself because you haven't been taking your—"

"Don't." Sasuke growled at him.

"Then take care of it." Kakashi hissed at him. "If I find out you came here without—"

"I'm not the same damned teenager you helped smuggle out of this damned country, Kakashi!"

"Then act like it." Kakashi growled. "And take care of it. Meanwhile you're getting out of that house."

"I'm not—"

"You're getting out of that damned house, Sasuke. No buts. Don't forget what kind of person I am." He threatened. "And don't underestimate what Naruto has become." He added, stepping back. "He's not the same young man you left behind. There's only so much of your shit he can take.'

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something before he seemed to swallow his words and step back. He stood there, in Kakashi's living room, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"My son…" he said after a long time. "He's…not like me. You know. Like this."

Kakashi stared at his mentee, wondering absently why the brunet changed the subject. Finally he breathed heavily out through his nose. "That's good Sasuke."

"Huh." Sasuke seemed a little at a loss then, staring at the ground and no longer twitching.

"Take care of it, Sasuke." Kakashi repeated after a while, walking away from the living room and into his kitchen. "I think it's best that I get your things from Naruto's house. I'll go now so I don't have to see him." He said from there. There was a sound of the water running for a moment, followed by slow gulps of water. "Staying low shouldn't be so difficult. I'm sure Sakura has been relaying the work that needs to be don—"

Kkchukk-chooo!

Kakashi started, running out of the kitchen and into the living to find Sasuke not there and the front door wide open. He growled, running outside. "God damn it, Sasuke!' he yelled after the truck that was driving away. Sasuke was hauling ass on the damn thing, not even waiting for the truck to warm up and letting dirt skimmy up the road with the sudden traction.

Kakashi banged the side his door and swore, running back into his house.

He had to make a few calls.

"There really isn't anything else we can do about that at this point." Naruto was saying, one hand on his hip and eyeing the mass of fallen rocks sullenly. Someone had struck a large chunk of earth the wrong way, and had caused an avalanche of small and medium sized rocks to fall on what was most likely the first sign of summer oil.

"I'm sorry sir." The man was saying. He couldn't be older than twenty-five. "I-it's been a long time since I mined you see—" he was talking really fast, "I-I shoulda known to call you first but I just got too ax-happy when I saw the black streaks and sir if I'd known I wouldn't have hit it so hard and—"

"Calm down, calm down." Naruto sighed, waving his hand. "It's all right. Worse things have happened. This just sets us back a few, that's all."

"A few what, sir?" asked another man. "Cuz I knew we were close. Could damn near smell the oil by then. We've been workin' hard and if this fledglin' set us back I swear Imma—"

"You gon' what?" Naruto asked, narrowing his eyes at the man. "I suggest you keep your threats to yourself. And mistakes like this happen all the time." he called out, doing a once over at the crowd that had formed around them.

Naruto sighed again at the mess. It was a lot, but much worse had happened previous years, and he knew he could expect more hiccups to come. Hell, his first year working at the mines he'd completely destroyed a well that had taken a week to build by just fooling around.

But these rocks were knocked all over the midway path of the open cave the miners needed to dig through. It was only one section, but it still needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

"Considering the damage," started Shikamaru, speaking for the first time, "It'll only set back a day. Less if we start on it right now." He never took his eyes off Naruto, but the blonde ignored the look graciously.

"Start on what?" asked someone.

"Movin' the rocks, dumbass." answered someone else.

"I think the best thing to do right now is have people return to their stations and the ones involved in this section to clean up this mess—" Naruto suggested.

"But it was him who done this!" someone shouted, pointing at the culprit. "Why everyone of us gotta clean this shit when he's the one who-"

"'Cuz if we let him do it by himself he'll be at it for the rest of the summer." Naruto growled. "Now this ain't really up for discussion so get to it." he snapped. He looked around at the others. "Does everyone else understand? Ya'll only got a few hours before we're done for the day anyway – and I don't plan on keepin' you longer than usual—"

"It would probably be for the best, though." Interrupted Shikamaru, stepping up. This time Naruto couldn't ignore the man without looking foolish so he gave in and stared his friend down.

"What would be?"

"That they stayed a little extra." The man clarified. "You all know what you guys signed up for." He continued, looking at the crowd of miners. "Like it or not you're all a team, and if one person makes a mistake, you all gotta pitch in to fix it—"

"So we gotta stay extra 'cause this fool fucked up?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. And I think your boss would agree." Shikamaru said, turning to face the blonde again, putting him on the spot.

Naruto hesitated, eyes looking between the workers and Shikamaru for a moment before he just settled on glaring at his friend. "No."

Shikamaru blinked. "No?"

"Yeah. No. We go with my plan." He turned back to the miners. "Everyone get back to their own stations, and you," he pointed to the man who started the problem in the first place. "You caused this mess, so you're gonna lead this section into fixin' it. Ten men dig and ten men barrel the rocks out of here – you pick who."

"Now why should he get to pick who gets—"

"He made the mess, he fixes the mess." Naruto countered, not even bothering to look at who interrupted him. "You ain't mindless slaves – everyone here got a head on their shoulders and a responsibility to the rest of the team. Work together and watch each others backs and shit like this won't happen no more…Now I'll be where I usually am, watchin' the whole thing so if I see somethin' amiss I'll help out. But it ain't that hard moving a few rocks out of the way, is it?" he asked them.

He got a few mumbles in return.

"Well, is it?" he asked again.

There was a low chorus of "No sir."

Naruto smiled, but it was a weak one. "Right. So then everyone get to work. Work efficiently, get as much done as you can today, and you'll leave at the same time you always do. Tomorrow we can start up again. Now, if you'll excuse me…" he finished, turning around and going back to his own station.

He heard the rustle of the miners getting back to their stations behind them, but not even after a few yards did he feel a hand catch onto his arm.

The blonde sighed before he turned around. "Yes?"

He wasn't surprised to see Shikamaru there, eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. "What the hell was that back there?" he hissed at him, keeping his voice low. "I know I'm the last person you wanna deal with today but we gotta keep a united front at all times, Naruto. If not then these workers are gonna get a mind of their own and all hella break loose—"

Naruto had previously looked prepared to argue with Shikamaru but what his friend said caught him off-guard. "A united front?" the blonde whispered back incredulously. "You wasn't showin' much of a united anythin' when you suggested they stayed overtime. You tried to make me look stupid like my idea was a bad one or somethin'—"

"Because it ain't a good idea, Naruto." His friend insisted. "I didn't say it in a mean way. These guys are only gonna see two bosses havin' an amicable conversation about our next move-"

"There wasn't nothin' nice about the way you shut me down, Shika—"

"And how about the way you overruled me right after—"

"Only because you fuckin' did it first!" Naruto whisper-screamed. "And not just 'cause that either. I don't need these men workin' longer than they have to or they're gonna do a shit job tomorrow – you know that. What you don't seem know," he added, looking at a loss, "what you seem to be forgettin' every single fuckin' day is that I'm the damn boss here, damn it. I get the final word, and I ain't crazy, and I ain't out to sabotage this whole thing, so why don't you just fuckin' trust me?" He hissed. He was breathing harshly then and glaring at his friend with all his might. "Now if you'll excuse me," He tried to walk away again, but Shikamaru caught his arm.

"Wait, wait." The man began, looking apologetic. "Look. I know you…feelin' some type of way after last night—"

"Some type of way?" Naruto asked incredulously. "How about betrayed? How about fuckin' hurt, after what you did, after what you said to fuckin' Sasuke, Sasuke of all people – like – why?" Naruto whisper-screamed. "I trusted you—"

"I know, I know!" Shikamaru shouted, obviously not caring if they would be heard anymore. "I made a mistake. I wasn't thinkin'. I wanted to hurt him, not you. I wanted him to feel bad for what he did."

Naruto took a step back. There were no tears in his eyes, but the anger was there, alive and ready. "Well you miscalculated, Shika. You know the whole fuckin' reason he made that scene last night was 'cause you told him somethin' you had no business tellin' him." he accused, pointing a finger at his friend. "Sasuke had no right embaressin' me like that but he wouldn't have had the chance if you just kept your mouth shut."

Shikamaru finally had the good sense to look away in shame. "Naruto," he began softly.

"Enough." Naruto raised his hands and shook his head. "I ain't sayin' that I'm severin' our friendship or whatever the hell you wanna be worried about right now. I'm just sayin' I can't even look at you without wantin' to spit, and I don't know when I'll be able to again."

Shikamaru opened his mouth suddenly, like he was going to argue, but then his body seemed to deflate and nodded instead. "I understand…but Naruto, I'm always gonna be on your side." He added, stepping forwards. "Believe me when I say I'm not tryna hurt you. I just…jump the gun sometimes."

Naruto's brows furrowed, and he looked sympathetic for a second before he looked down and away. "Yeah, well." Was the only thing he could offer before he turned around and tried to make his way back to his spot—

"Naruto!"

The blonde sighed, stopping in his tracks. Was he ever going to get a break? "What is it, Kiba?" he called out to his friend, who was running over.

Kiba looked at Shikamaru for a quick second before turning to the blonde. "Apparently Kakashi's been ringin' the hell outta the phone for hours." he gasped out when he reached the blonde.

"What? Why?"

The brunet looked around for a moment before he stepped in to speak in the blonde's ear. "It's Sasuke. He high-tailed out of Kakashi's house about an hour ago. Stole his car. The old man was sure he was gonna make an appearance here in the mines but I told him Sasuke ain't step foot here all day."

Naruto pulled back from his friend, narrowing his eyes. He looked around the fields then, looking for anything amiss. More specifically a head of spiky dark hair. "Well he ain't here." He said finally, licking his lips. "And if he ain't here that means he ain't our problem."

Kiba nodded at the blonde. 'What do we do if he does show up here?"

"…I..." Naruto blinked, drawing a blank. He shrugged and laughed apologetically. "I really don't wanna have to deal with him." he admitted, sounding surprised. "The thought of him showin' up here…" he looked away.

"You don't have to worry then." Kiba put a hand on his shoulder. "You point him out when he – if he comes – and Shika and I'll take care of it."

"Hmm." was Naruto's reply, nodding his head.

Kiba gave him another hard pat, before he walked away.

Naruto stood there for a few sullen moments before finally finding it in himself to go back to his station.

"Something I can git for ya?"

Sasuke blinked hard. He didn't really know where he was. He'd driven a few hours before he'd had no choice but to stop for gas in this small run down little town. Kakashi's old beaten up truck had not attracted much attention, and his haphazardly thrown on clothes he'd borrowed from Kakashi allowed him to blend in with the rest of the townspeople. No one really looked at him twice.

There'd been an incident at the gas station where another truck full of a few men and their respective ladies stared him down. The men had blatantly glared at him as he filled up his truck with gas, while the women giggled and gave him googly eyes. After that Sasuke had found a cap in the glove compartment of Kakashi's car and shoved it on his head. Those girls eyed him like that because of his looks and the men with them had gotten jealous. He didn't want anymore incidents like that.

He'd left his truck in parked in front of the gas station in the meantime and headed towards the first bar he could find. There weren't many people, and just as he'd hoped they kept to themselves and ignored him since he blended in with his attire.

"I asked if there was somethin' I could git for ya, son. If you ain't gonna buy nothin' at the bar you can sit in a chair outsid—"

"No." Sasuke interrupted softly, looking up. He'd had his head down and his movements were sluggish. "Whiskey. I'll have whiskey." he murmured. The bar he was in was small and dark. The wooden floor creaked as people walked around and a quiet old tune played from a little radio at the end of the bar table.

My man…got a heart…like a rock cast into the sea…

The bartender before him, an enormous burly man with soft eyes hummed and went away for a moment. He came back with a small shiny glass filled with dark liquid, sloshing a bit as he set it down softly in front of Sasuke. The brunet laughed at the irony. He'd shouted detestable things to Naruto for doing the same thing he was now. Drinking whiskey at…what time was it? The sun said four in the afternoon.

Behind the bartender was a wall filled to the brim of wanted posters. From top to bottom, every shape and size, some with photographs, some without, with various sums of money on the bottom of each poster. Sasuke squinted at the impressive collection before he downed the drink in one go, hissing as he did and slamming the glass after.

The man in front of him chuckled, standing behind the bar with his arms crossed. "Rough day?"

Sasuke glanced at him once before he shut his eyes. "Rough life." He muttered rather irritably. He didn't particularly want to start a conversation with the older man, but the brunet thought it would serve to his benefit if he was polite to the people of a town he knew nothing about. He'd gotten beaten up more than once for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Would that be so bad right now though? He asked himself. The pain and rush of it all would distract him from…other things.

"Mind if I ask where ya came from?" The bartender asked, coming closer. He took Sasuke's glass and washed it once before he refilled it with something clear. He handed the glass back to Sasuke. "Here. On the house."

The businessman eyed the glass warily before he sniffed it. He reared back and coughed.

"You gonna need somethin' stronger' an whiskey to cure a rough life." was the man's explanation.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him before he stared at the glass for a moment. He downed the contents in the next moment, careful to loosen his throat so as not to choke. He barely made it, having to bite his lips to keep from coughing up a storm. He pushed the glass away from him and held his head downcast as the liquid sizzled down his insides and boiled every organ in its path. In a way it was a glorious feeling. Sasuke felt his ears grow hot.

"Ain't gonna find anythin' like that anywhere else." The bartender chuckled. "The wife calls it Wormwood Shinin'. Don't ask me why she gave it that name, I just drink the stuff."

"Hn." Sasuke replied lamely, still trying to stop the world from spinning.

"You never answered ma question. Where ya from. Knows you ain't from 'round here."

Sasuke swallowed once with some difficulty before he looked up again. He was feeling better but the shot of whatever the hell that was fuzzed-up his brain a little. It almost felt like his eyeballs were trying to fall out of his sockets. Was he drunk already? No. Just tipsy.

"Konoha County." he answered finally, blinking hard at the man.

"Konoha County…" the bartender whispered. He chuckled once before he took Sasuke's glass and washed it. This time he didn't hand the glass back refilled. "Last county standin', they say." He murmured, looking back up. "Ya'll still got the minin' goin' for ya up there I take it? Sons went there 'bout a week ago. Haven't seen 'em since. Expectin' a letter soon."

Sasuke shrugged, not really knowing what to say. "Yeah."

"Why you here then?"

"…Funeral."

The man visibly stiffened. "Someone die? Who the hell passed and how the hell I ain't know about it?!" he demanded, raising his voice.

Sasuke squinted at the bartender for a moment before he shook his head. "Not here. In Konoha. Someone died in Konoha."

The bartender relaxed dramatically, the immediate lack of concern deflating his posture. "Ah. Well." He shrugged. "Why you here and ain't there then?"

"…I'm not wanted there."

The bartender hmphed knowingly, and still didn't drop that infuriating little smile. "…You got a name, son?"

"…Sasuke."

"People here like to call me B. Don't ask me why. So you gonna tell me what you did that kicked you out of a whole county?"

Sasuke said nothing. B? What a stupid name.

"Ha. Least you can do is talk to the man who done gave you a free drink." B continued, the small grin still on his face. But as amicable as he looked…Sasuke knew this man could destroy him if he wanted. The way his the man's muscles flexed every now and then spoke for themselves.

"Because I have a big mouth." the businessman muttered, looking away. He was feeling his Downs. This morning and last night it was Ups, but now with the long drive the ample time to think, he was feelings his Downs. "And because I always say the wrong thing." He finished softly.

"It one of them things you can't help?" the bartender asked with one eyebrow raised as he cleaned a glass with a cloth. "My wife be like that sometimes. She say things she know hurt me. Stuff 'bout my dead ma and ma desertin' pa. She ain't mean nothin' by it though."

Sasuke didn't respond for some time. This man would never understand what he was talking about. The woman he was talking about was just being spiteful because of anger. Women did that. Sasuke's reasons were completely different.

"Tell you what, son. First thing you do when you done somethin' to make somebody angry is ask yourself if you's truly sorry for what you did. You sorry, son?"

The brunet blinked at the man once and looked away. "Define sorry."

The large man before him chuckled. "Right then. You ain't sorry."

Sasuke hesitated. Then he leaned over, eyes pleading. "He – she. She's moving on. Without me. Why should I feel sorry?"

"Ah, I knew it." The bartender flipped the recently cleaned cup in the air slammed it down on the bar table. "This about a girl. Always about a girl I tell ya. And what, this one chick mad at ya, and it feel like the whole town mad at ya?"

"They are." Sasuke insisted. "They're all on hi – her side."

"They usually are. Bet you this is a mighty fine lady too. Got all the men pinnin' after her all the damn time? You do one thing wrong and she up and decide you ain't worth her time. Hell, she decide to get pregnant by the goddamn mechanic 'cause you made one little mistake!"

Sasuke leaned back for a moment and raised an eyebrow. This man was slowly but surely straying from his problem and moving towards something completely different. "She…isn't pregnant."

The bartender blinked himself out of a trance and laughed. "Haha! Sorry son. You know how old folk get caught up in the past sometimes. Now tell me more about your gal. You say she mad at you and she got the town mad at ya. What you did?"

"…It was…a lot of things."

"Hmm." The man suddenly turned serious. "Ah. I see. You cheat on her didn't you? Now son, that's where I take my services away. I ain't got any sympathy for a fella who cheat on his woman—"

"I cheated on no one." Sasuke glared at the man, sitting up straight. "Never." He hissed. "He-she was the only who deserved me in that Godforsaken town she loved so much. The only one. As if I'd give anyone else the time of day."

The man raised an eyebrow. "Then what did you do, son? You ain't makin' this any less confusin'."

"I…I left hi – her."

The bartender blinked. "You left her." he repeated flatly.

"…Yes."

"…For another woman?"

"No!" Sasuke shouted, catching the attention of more than one person at the bar.

The bartender narrowed dark eyes at him. "Why you leave your girl then? I'm tellin' ya, you ain't makin' much sense."

"I left because—!" Sasuke sighed out heavily so as to calm himself down. There was no reason to shout. Why the hell was he shouting? "I went…up north. To Sound."

"Now why would you wanna go up there? Ain't nothin' but money-hungry sinners up there. Nothin' but Godless sons of bitches suckin' the life out of little towns like us."

"I wanted to…be something more." Sasuke continued quietly. "I wanted to…prove myself…and find the truth. Find a man."

"Find who, son?"

"…My…" Sasuke closed his eyes and put his face in his hands. "My brother."

There was a very long pause on the bartender's end. There was the sound of liquid running from a tap, and when it stopped he heard the familiar sound of a throat steadily gulping liquid contents. There was a small refreshed gasp. "Let me get this straight…" B began finally. "You left your girl…to find your brother?" he sounded genuinely flabbergasted. "You mean to tell me you left one of God's great gifts to this young earth to find some kin? Now son that don't—"

"He's the only family I have left." Sasuke whispered distantly. "I left my fiancé for the only family I have left. And it's not just that, damn it!" He added quickly and angrily. "There's so much that no one fucking understands. Even if I told you now...you wouldn't get that I had to leave. I had to leave."

"I'm pretty damned sure I wouldn't understand." the man agreed easily and almost angrily. "You done left your fiancée for another man, boy. Your brother no less. Why you ain't just call em' up and tell him to come down? Hell, just invite the bastard to the damn wedding!"

"He…doesn't work like that. And there was never going to be a wedding." The brunet muttered. He didn't even know why he was telling the bartender all of this. It was probably the alcohol. "In sound I…" he continued despite it all. "Went to school…got a job…met a woman…married her. We have a son now. But we are getting divorced."

The look on the bartender's face was almost comical. He sputtered a bit, trying to take all the information in. "…And you say you didn't cheat on your girl?"

Sasuke sucked his teeth. "We weren't together when I left. I ended it in a letter and—"

"In a goddamned letter boy?!"

Sasuke shut his eyes tight and put his head down.

"You makin' textbook mistakes, son." the man moaned, sounding genuinely saddened. "And your...brother?"

Sasuke only shut his eyes tighter. "...it's...complicated."

"Son, the only thing that's complicated around here is what the hell was goin' through your head when you made all these crazy decisions." the bartender chastised, shaking his head looking at Sasuke disbelievingly. "And you're upset your girl upset with you? Beginning to think you some psychopathic son of a bitch-"

"I can't help it!" Sasuke couldn't control the fist that banged against the table. "I see him fucking around with some other man and I don't. Like it! No matter what I did, no matter how much I deserve not to have him – I don't like it, all right? And it's someone so fucking cheesy too, I can't fucking stand it. Fucking tall as fuck and built like someone who's worked his whole life - It's obvious he only likes him for his fucking looks! What the dobe and I had is something bigger than whatever he thinks he can have with that fucking candy-haired degenerate!"

...

...

The bar was completely silent now. The only sound was of the door creaking open and close now and then – not because of new customers but because of the dry, sand filled wind – and the steady, heavy breathing of a certain heated foreign brunet.

It was the bartender who finally cleared his throat. His eyes had acquired a serious quality, and he absentmindedly wiped the rims of a new glass with a white cloth. "…You sure got a…odd way of mixin' up your pronouns, son."

Sasuke blinked, clenching his fists and realizing his mistake. He swallowed once. "I…didn't get the best education in Konoha." He lied carefully. "I still get mixed up sometimes. Especially when I'm angry."

B raised an eyebrow. "You said you went to college in Sound."

"…Old habits die hard."

The bartender stared at Sasuke for a long time before he shrugged his shoulders. "Now your story is some complicated shit I ain't hardly got the answer to." He continued, letting Sasuke of the hook. "Ya'll young folk got this thing 'bout bein' together but not really bein' together. Back in my day – which really ain't that long ago to be honest – you was either with someone or you wasn't. There wasn't no in-between. If ya'll wasn't together then ya'll could do whatever ya wanted. But when you tell me you left your fiancée with a letter for some kin up north I just have nothin' to say, son."

"I don't expect you to say anything." Sasuke muttered. He looked at his wrist before remembering he didn't bring his watch with him. It didn't matter. He couldn't have been here for more than twenty minutes. It couldn't be past five in the afternoon yet.

"I just wanna get somethin' clear." The man said before Sasuke could fully stand up. "You left your fiancée, that right? You left her…went up north to find…your brother? Okay. You start a family up north, ha." The man actually ducked his head to chuckle. "You go back to Konoha…and you's mad your girl – well she ain't really your girl no more – found somebody else? I gotta say, son, that's a little irrational."

"Yeah, well what does an angry hillbilly like me know about rationality, huh?" Sasuke countered, looking away angrily.

"Ho, ho! Ain't that the truth! Ain't that the truth…" he trailed off, shaking his head with shoulders that shuddered with his laughter. "Ain't nothin' more irrational than angry hillbillies like us, I'll tell ya…" he agreed with a fondness that made his voice soft. "Now, I see ya already situatin' yourself to leave." The bartender murmured with a smile as his laughter trailed off. "I can't blame ya. I don't remember the last time I couldn't help somebody with a lady problem. But you fucked up beyond belief I gotta say."

"Thanks…" Sasuke replied sarcastically, standing up from his stool.

"Can I just say one thing?" B began, nodding at the businessman. "Somethin' I don't think you know yet."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"You's sorry, son." The man revealed somberly. "I haven't seen a more sorry look in a man's eyes in a long time. Not since old man Tennison got shot by his mistress, ha! Now I don't know your story…I don't know why you thought it was a good idea to leave ya woman for some kin up north…but what I do know is that you's holding what you really feel inside. You got anger in ya, boy." B wagged a chastising finger at Sasuke, who was staring at the man with unimpressed eyes. "Ain't no use havin' that much anger, trust me. Just be straight with the woman. Be straight with the people you love. Now I ain't sayin' it's gonna fix nothin', I'm just saying it's a good step in the right direction. You go to church, son?"

Sasuke blinked. "Uhm…"

"Ah, you kids these days. Back in my day – and I's tellin' ya it wasn't even that long ago – all somebody gotta do to help a man understand his problems was to look at a passage in the lord's book. Now you look like the type who's always in a hurry, but there's always time to hear the Word."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to protest—

"Now the book of Corinthians says it plainly: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud…"

Sasuke felt himself deflate a little. Contrary to the bartender's beliefs the businessman knew the passage well. His mother used to take him to church. And when she passed his father did. And when he passed Naruto did. Yes. He knew this passage well.

"…it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love rejoices with the truth." He ended with a hand slamming at the bar table. "You hear that son? The Book never lies, and it says it in there, plain for all the world to see. It's solvin' your problem for ya, ya see?" the man was getting emotional. "You just gotta let go of all that anger you got for yourself and just tell the damn truth, son."

Sasuke only stared at the man. He couldn't say anything really. The truth? No...that was impossible. No one would understand. Hell, it would probably make everything worse. He took off his hat temporarily and wiped a trembling hand through his dark hair. He blinked once. Twice. When he lifted his head to look back up at the bartender, his eyes missed and went to the plethora of wanted posters on the wall instead.

He took a sharp breath.

"…Son?"

The businessman opened his mouth to speak, but wordless noises came from his mouth. He'd been so stuck in his thoughts before but now his mind was preoccupied with a particular poster at the very top of the wall with a corner that flapped on top because it wasn't glued tightly enough. Now and again a small wind would cause the corner of paper to flip upwards and reveal the picture it hid, and for a moment Sasuke could swear that it was a picture of…

He squinted.

"Son, you all right?"

"Yeah…" Sasuke muttered, not looking away from the poster. He squinted more and leaned forwards so he could really stare at the photograph that revealed itself every now and again when the corner of the paper would flip backwards onto the wall again.

"I see you've taken to my collection." B commented, nodding at Sasuke. He turned around and tried to see what Sasuke was seeing. "It's taken years for me to pile it up this high. I know absolutely everythin' about every single one of those bastards up there. Every month or so the sheriff'll come with a pile of em' that he's been rackin' up in his office. You know how people don't pay much mind to them no more? Well a long time ago we had one of those wanted scumbags livin' in this town, and no one even knew it. Murdered one of our own. Ever since then I've been collecting the posters. Remindin' people to look at em' every now and then just so that don't ever happen again.

"That fella there is Constable Jon-Jon." He pointed at one of the posters. "Forty-three years old, born and raised in Stone county, drove over three women down in Water county and fed on them in a drunken rage. And over there is that professor – you remember him? – Fifty-eight years old, born in Water county, raped the Remi twins right in their own homes. Oh, and Tiki-Miki, twenty-eight, born in Sound. Fine lookin' gal but the shit she done to the men who cheated on her…" he chuckled a little despite it all.

When Sasuke didn't laugh with him he paused, raising an eyebrow. "Who lookin' at, son?"

Sasuke hesitated for one moment, trying his best to make out the photograph on his own before giving up. He pointed to the poster on the very top of the wall. "That one. Way up there, hidden."

The bartender turned around and tsked when he saw that one corner of the poster wasn't glued properly against the wall. "Imma have to start buyin' damn staples for this shit." He muttered. He surprised Sasuke by literally jumping up and ripping the poster clean off the wall. There was a horrible tearing sound, and B slammed the thing on the table and took a look at it.

His face instantly turned hard. "Mmhmph." his voice was deep even as he hummed. "This guy..." he began with a low mutter. He turned the poster around so Sasuke could see it upright.

And Sasuke had to clench his fists tightly as his eyes went wide.

There was no mistaking it.

"Born under Satan's shadow, that man."

Sasuke could barely hear the bartender's voice. His hand shook as he traced the photograph in the middle. His eyes blinked at the bounty on the bottom of the page.

One hundred seventy four thousand dollars.

His breath hitched.

The hair. The eyes.

There was no mistaking it.

"Thirty four years old. Born in Suna…." And that was B's voice, sounding somber but muffled in the background as Sasuke tried to control his breathing. B coughed and pointed at the body count at the bottom of the page. Sasuke had been staring at the number for a while. "Pieces of the people he's killed are still bein' found to this day…" the man murmured. He fiddled with something, and when Sasuke heard the familiar click of a lighter he knew the man had taken out a cigarette. "He dismembers all his victims..." he murmured around the drag of his cigarette. "…then he takes out their eyes and tongues and fills every goddamn hole on those poor bastard's faces with sand. Then he hides 'em. Each body part haphazardly hidden a different place. But the head," the man wagged his cigarette. "…the heads are always buried deep. Real deep."

Sasuke didn't even wipe the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. He couldn't move.

"We found one of em...A head...right here in this town. Was a couple of years ago. Poor fella who found it ain't been right in the head ever since." B continued, voice solemn. "The sand...preserves the flesh somehow - did you know that? Body was...what did they say?...probably dead for three years when it turned up 'round here. But...the skin..." B narrowed his eyes into the distance. "...it still looked like the woman he butchered. Heh." his laughed was bitter. "Still had blush on her damn cheeks..."

Sasuke couldn't help but imagine it. A head without the body, slowly decomposing with sand in its hollow eye sockets and open mouth. It didn't make sense for the sand on the inside to have any effect, but buried deeply enough underneath the hot moistureless earth...It would have the same effect as mummifying a pharaoh, preserving the skin and flesh until time slowly but inevitably wore it away.

"He's been spotted in just about every county down south. Some in the north. Surprisingly he never made his way in your Konoha. He likes...smaller towns I think. Not to mention Konoha's mayor is pretty tight on crime up there...ain't that right? Probably knows every criminal there's to know…Now wait." The man thought about it. "Nah, wait a minute, didn't ya'll mayor die? Less than a month ago? Hmm. Sorry about that son. He was a good one." He shrugged solemnly before nodding at the poster Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes away from. "He killed the mayor of his own county, you know." he added, voice gruff and disgusted as if the news surprised him until this day. "Shot him clean through the face. Not saying that man was the best mayor but still...And he was related to the guy too. Don't remember in what way. Probably an uncle or somethin'. Also...he got siblings, I think...but no body's heard from em' since the mayor was shot…" he trailed off and stroked his chin, thinking.

"That's probably the worst of it...Other than the fact that he's a thief. He don't leave a town without at least fifty thousand. It usually all comes from one place. The bank or the sheriff's and mayor's office. But...when body parts start shown' up all over the town...the last thing on people's minds is the money he end up leavin' with..."

Sasuke swallowed with difficulty, and found himself caught in the eyes of the man in the poster.

Large. They were so large. And they stared at the camera lens directly, passive, with no emotion. Dead.

Where did they find this picture?

"You said…he's from Suna?" he managed to get out.

"Yup. Three day drive from here, but still too close to my liking. Suna got one of the harshest most secure punishment facilities in the whole south and he still managed to escape – twice. They finally got him this time though. He's been rottin' in a jail in Suna for the past…What's the date on that poster, son?" he asked, leaning forwards.

Sasuke told him. It was dated about five years ago.

"Ah. Then he's been in jail for about three years now. But I'm worried Suna ain't gon' hold up for long. The economy is rottin' that county away…And Suna prison got the worst of the worst locked up in there, that man worst of them all. If somethin' happen and they can't fund that prison no more…All they'll have to do is shoot all them bastards straight clean through the head. That's what Suna does when it don't got money to take care of em'. Best believe they're working that murderer to the bone, though. If the labor doesn't kill him, the bullet will."

"Why...didn't they give him the death penalty in the first place?"

The bartender waved a disregarding hand. "They need them, that's why." He muttered. "Suna needs all the free labor it can get, 'cause lord knows they don't have enough to pay their own people wages." He shrugged. "I haven't heard much from Suna lately…news from over there stopped comin' entirely…"

"…They say Suna's dead."

B looked surprised. It was gradually replaced by an in-genuine sadness. "Oh. That's a shame…" he muttered. "But," he slapped the table. "If Suna's dead, then that man is dead." he said, smearing his cigarette butt right in the center of the wanted poster. "Trust me, son. No one gets out of that county's prison alive."

Sasuke finally fully tore his eyes away from the poster to stare at the man. "How can you be sure." he asked flatly. The man hadn't even known that Suna was a dead county.

B shrugged. "News of someone like him on the run would travel quick." he responded easily. "Even to a small town like this."

Sasuke continued to stare at the man for long disbelieving moments.

Not quickly enough.

"I…I-I have to go back to Konoha." The businessman haphazardly pushed himself backwards from bar completely, but he hesitated when he was a few feet away.

"You all right, son?"

"Let me have that poster." he demanded, his voice shaking. "Just that one. I…" he didn't know what excuse to give. He couldn't even believe he was still in this bar, waiting, staring, conversing with a bartender, when that man, when that fucking murderer—

"Course you can." B said carefully, handing the thing over. Sasuke grabbed it, careful not to crumple it. He nodded once, tipped his hat to the bartender that had been so hospitable to him this whole time, and turned around to stalk towards the exit.

"Don't get yourself into trouble, son!"

But he barely heard B before he practically ran out of the bar to Kakashi's truck.

All he could see was that man.

Perusing in Gracetown.

Working in the mines

Walking around his house.

The wanted man's face swam behind the brunet's eyes even as he started the car – he could still remember the self righteously condescending look he'd given Sasuke when—

I don't understand…what he saw in you...

Sasuke clenched the stirring wheel, the name gritting out of his mouth like sandpaper-

"Gaara?"

Gaara had his back to him, and Naruto paused a few feet away from him when he saw the steady stream of familiar yellow liquid pouring not into the lake, but the ground by the lake. A few more seconds later the blonde heard his companion zip up his pants and watched as he covered the piss with dirt with his foot and leaned down to wash his hands down in the lake.

A hygienic man.

Gaara turned around to face him with the usual passiveness in his eyes, save for a small spot of red in his cheeks. Was he embarrassed?

They'd just finished work for the day. Everyone who lived in Gracetown was packing it in and getting on the buses down the road. Naruto knew Gaara wouldn't be getting on one of the buses.

"Uhm…so," the blonde began, scratching the back of his neck and still not looking the man in the eye. "I'm sorry if I've been…pretty distant all day. Saw you look at me during break time but I was kinda…" he looked for the word. "…in a mood." He laughed weakly and couldn't gel the apologetic look he gave his companion.

Gaara only shrugged. "Was…seein' if you was all right after... this mornin'..." the worker confessed quietly. "But I know when someone oughta be left alone."

Naruto smiled at the redhead and laughed softly through his nose. "Mm'sorry anyways. And I thank you…for understandin' that I... needed some space."

Another shrug. Bashful. It was as if the man didn't feel like he deserved the compliment.

"That's...what I like about you." Naruto confessed, taking the leap and putting both hands roughly in his pocket. He felt like a teenager. "You do good things...like give me company when I'm drunk as hell...and drive slow when I don't got my seatbelt on...And you act like those actions ain't nothin' at all...as if you bein' nice ain't no big deal..."

Gaara's face changed somehow, but his eyes looked away before Naruto could pinpoint the shift. "…ain't as...nice as you think I am."

Naruto grinned wide then, and ducked his head to hide. "That's your favorite line, ain't it? But it don't mean nothin' to me. I go by what I see….and you…seem pretty nice to me." The nervous laugh that followed was but a breath and the blonde scratched his face nervously, looking away.

Gaara said nothing, only stared at the ground for a bit, and fiddled with a string that hung from his pocket.

Naruto couldn't help but gush a little on the inside. The man was shy.

"Well…I don't wanna seem to forward or nothin'," Naruto inhaled deeply, ready to take the plunge, "but I really enjoyed your company last night and I was wonderin' if you wanted to come over again?" he said the last bit rather quickly but he hoped the redhead would understand. He looked at him with eyes that he hoped didn't look too desperate. "We could have a couple of drinks…get to talkin'…you can even sleep over again – or I could drive you back to your place afterwards if...that's what you want…?"

Gaara blinked once. Twice. "I…" he hesitated. Then it was him scratching the back of his neck and holding his head downcast. "Last night…" he murmured. "…I…enjoyed it too." His words were barely audible.

Naruto bit his bottom lip. The man was so shy.

"I guess I...wouldn't mind…doin' it again." The worker got out finally, keeping his eyes on the ground.

Naruto grinned wide enough for the world to see. "I was...hopin' you'd say that!" He walked backwards a bit and pointed to his truck behind him with a thumb. It wasn't too far. "Now come on, before Shika decides I got more work to do." He joked, before finally turning around and making his way to the large vehicle. He looked back every now and then to make sure that Gaara was still following him.

And when he saw the man…wind caressing his wild red hair, sweat making his white T-shirt transparent, revealing defined muscles on his torso, the long fingers that would come up every now and then to put that hair behind his ear…

All of that...matched with how helplessly sweet the redhead was...

Hot damn.

Naruto smiled at the ground.

He could get used to having a guy like Gaara around.

End of Chapter

Word Count: 10,000

Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait, guys, =/ I hope you guys still remember this story. But Summer's here so I'm back! I'm sorry I'm such a slow updater - it must have really frustrated a lot of you guys =/

Story Notes:

O0o0o0oh snap.

I guess we know what Gaara means by not being as nice as Naruto thinks he is ._. He did seem a little too good to be true didn't he? Then again what do we know, right?

See I told you the story wasn't as two-dimensional as it seemed! I hope your heads are reeling – but don't relax yet because there's a lot more twists and turns to come. The Theme of This Story is Nothing is As it Seems. As I'm sure you've realized in this chapter, and will realize in the chapters to come :D

Questions! (you don't have to answer all of them, haha. I just want you guys stimulated on the key points of the story and your answers help me a lot with the following chapter)

1. What do you think Kakashi meant when he told Sasuke to "take care of it?"

2. Do you think Sasuke shedding a little light into the real reason for going to Sound makes his actions any less forgivable?

3. How do you think Naruto will take this news about Gaara, coming from Sasuke?

4. Does this new discovery put you more on Shikamaru's side regarding Naruto's "softness" towards his workers?

5. Do you think B makes a good religious/ accepting/ comical bartender? I was going to use an OC but then I remembered B and I figured it's better when readers have a clear visual of the character and can relate to them because of the manga...plus now i can bring him up again and people won't be weirded out that I'm relying so heavily on an OC...Idk.

6. Did you...enjoy the chapter? haha.

Anyway thanks for reading. Please review, favorite, alert, whatever. And be prepared for drama in the next chapter! I'm off to try and update LFFB and Danse Macabre.

Speaking of the next chapter: Expect A Blowout Bigger Than The One At Gracetown Bar! Sasuke will officially meet Gaara - Words will be said! Accusations will be made! Fists will be thrown! Tears (might) be shed!

Until next time.