~*~
Bonds of Blood
By: Animeroxsmyworld
Chapter 5: Festival
~*~
Sakura, Ino and Kyoko were all outside talking to each other, none of them in a rush to head home, while other students from the Academy passed them. Classes were done for the day and everyone was heading their own way.
Kyoko didn’t want to go home to face her dog or the amount of chores she would have to do after trying to sell him to an elderly lady who had actually almost accepted this morning. Hari had however came at the last second, apologized to the woman, and gave Kyoko a heap load of chores as punishment.
Ino suddenly blinked before grinning and pushing Kyoko’s head out of the way while nudging Sakura with her other hand. A certain desired Uchiha boy was walking by.
“Hi Sasuke-kun!” They called out as the raven haired Uchiha bobbed past them. Sasuke’s eyes flicked towards them, Sasuke glancing at the source of the greeting before giving a grunt in response. He saw Kyoko swat Ino’s hand away and he paused before switching courses and began walking towards the three.
Ino and Sakura gave almost inaudible squeals as they straightened, but otherwise gave no outward sign that his presence affected them.
Kyoko took her lollipop out and stuck her tongue out cheerfully at the Uchiha who scowled in response. She smiled at the reaction. It had started back when the Academy had just started and all the girls in class had been whispering about how great Sasuke was. Kyoko hadn’t seen anything so special so when Sasuke just happened to catch her eye, she stuck her tongue out at him.
He looked so confused and clueless she almost peed herself laughing. Ever since that day she found it hilarious to stick her tongue out at him. She used to do it to be mean, now she just did it cause it was fun.
“What is it?” She asked as she stuck her lollipop back in her mouth, Sakura openly gaping at the casual tone Kyoko was taking.
“The idiot’s disappeared. I can’t find him. I’ve already checked everywhere around here.” Sasuke explained, Kyoko blinking as her demeanour softened.
“Naruto’s gone?” She asked, placing a hand on her hip. Sasuke nodded and Kyoko frowned. They had been hanging out with the Uzumaki for five weeks now and they had gotten quite used to him.
“I’ll help look for him.” She offered, Sasuke nodding. “See you later guys!” She called to the two frozen girls who scrambled to say good-bye to the two before the Namikaze and the Uchiha departed.
~*~
“Where the hell is that dobe?” Sasuke growled to himself as he poked his head quickly into the opening of another alleyway before quickly retracting it. They had been looking for a long while now and were having no luck.
They had scoured close to the whole village, weaving and bobbing through crowds of people and looking through multiple alleys and dead ends.
“The park maybe?” Kyoko suggested, starting to grow irritated that they couldn’t find the blond. Sasuke grunted as the two took off towards the park. When they arrived they saw, to their disappointment, that the park was empty.
Kyoko huffed angrily.
“GET BACK HERE! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?!”
The two perked up as an angry voice bellowed, the sound echoing through the air.
“Nyahahaha!” A voice laughed obnoxiously before a blur of colour zoomed past them. The blur was followed by an angry looking, rotund woman who was brandishing a wooden spoon rather threateningly. Kyoko and Sasuke watched the blur disappear from sight for a minute before Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, teeth gritting together in annoyance.
“Come on.” Sasuke ordered Kyoko before sprinting after the blur.
“Huh?” She replied as she took off after him, just a few steps behind him.
“That was Naruto.” Sasuke seethed. After all this time, they had finally found him. Kyoko’s head snapped up as the two kids picked up speed. They caught up to one of the two people they were chasing.
“Where did that brat go?!” The fat woman asked loudly, the spoon she brandished flailing in the air as she looked around. Her face was red with anger and sweat and her red hair was falling out of its bun.
Kyoko and Sasuke looked around and being students from the Academy, almost slapped themselves when they saw the poorly placed sheet that blended into the background.
Well…poorly to the trained eye.
The woman huffed angrily before stomping away in a fit. Sasuke almost fell over. Honestly, how stupid was she?
“Naruto! What are you doing?” Kyoko hissed as she walked over to the fence looking sheet and ripped it away to come face to face with surprised blue eyes. The eyes suddenly disappeared into slits as he grinned.
“Hi Kyoko.” He greeted enthusiastically. Sasuke hit him over top the head and Naruto yelped.
“What was that for?” Naruto cried as he held his head, glaring at the slightly taller boy. Sasuke was always hitting him! It was mean!
“We were looking for you ever since the Academy let out.” Kyoko answered haughtily, arms crossed over her chest. Irritation must’ve shown on both of them because Naruto’s face faltered for a second.
“Oh…sorry about that.” He apologized. He still wasn’t used to actually having friends so he didn’t know that it worried people when he just randomly disappeared out of the blue.
“What did you do to that woman?” Sasuke asked, Naruto’s smile returning ten fold.
“I painted her prize winning cat green.” He admitted triumphantly.
“Why would you do that?” Kyoko asked, eyebrows shooting up into her bangs. They sounded like parents interrogating their misbehaving child.
“She’s one of my neighbours and she’s always being mean to me. All she cares about is that stupid cat and it drives me up the wall!” Naruto explained, grin still in place. He threw his head back and laughed loudly.
“The look on her face was priceless!” He laughed as he doubled over, hands holding his stomach as he remembered the horrified look on the woman’s face. Kyoko slapped her forehead as Sasuke muttered something under his breath.
The two continued to scold the boy before Naruto decided that he got bored of listening to them and invited them over to his apartment to play. It didn’t even occur to the two kids that they hadn’t told their parents that they weren’t returning straight home from school that day either.
~*~
“I’m home!” Kyoko called out as she shut the front door behind her, slipping off her shoes as she walked into the Namikaze estate. Barking ensued and Kyoko paled as she remembered Fuji. He rounded the corner and she bolted into the kitchen with Fuji hot on her heels.
Luckily Hari was there.
“Fuji sit.” He commanded with that stern voice he always seemed to held. The dog froze instantly in his pursuit and seated himself on the floor, tail wagging. Without looking, Hari took a piece of meat he had been cutting for tonight’s dinner and threw it towards the puppy who ate it happily before walking out of the room, content with itself.
“Where were you?” He asked, turning to look at the breathless blond.
The sun was beginning to set, orange and yellow light seeping in through all the windows of the house. Kyoko was never home this late on a school day. At least, never without telling him before hand.
“I was helping Sasuke look for Naruto, and then we played at Naruto’s place.” Kyoko explained nervously, watching Hari’s every move. Hari’s face turned calculating before his face turned to one of frightened realization.
“Naruto? Uzumaki Naruto?” Hari asked, his body going tense.
Kyoko eyes the knife in his hand uneasily at the tone in his voice. He wouldn’t get violent would he?
“Yeah…my friend.” Kyoko clarified in confusion as Hari’s teeth grit together. He put the knife down and strode forward, grabbing Kyoko’s shoulders and making her look at him, her blue eyes widening in surprise.
What was going on?
“Listen to me Kyoko.” Hari started, his voice lowering sharply. The edge in it made the hair on the back of her neck rise. “Don’t hang out with that Naruto kid. He’s a dangerous kid and I don’t want you around him.” Hari warned, his grip tightening on her shoulders.
She opened her mouth to say something…anything…to protest, but she couldn’t make a sound. Not under Hari’s intense gaze. Something about the way he was acting was…scary. Different.
He was serious. Really serious.
She managed a strangled noise and Hari let his hands fall from her shoulders. By law he wasn’t allowed to tell her the truth about Naruto. The hideous, despicable truth. Yet every time Hari saw that boy in the streets he couldn’t help the growl that escaped him.
It was because of that boy that Hari’s family was gone. That so many ninjas had lost their lives. Hari held a burning hatred towards the Uzumaki that flared whenever he saw him.
In Naruto’s eyes, Hari was one of the many villagers who made his life a nightmare.
“Now help me with supper.” He instructed, Kyoko nodding meekly before following him to the counter.
~*~
“Sasuke, you’re late.” Fugaku said as Sasuke walked through the dinning room doorway.
“Yes, sorry Otou-san.” Sasuke apologized as he gave a curt bow towards his family who were already situated at the table, eating supper.
“We were starting to get worried dear. Where were you?” Mikoto asked, concern lacing her voice as Sasuke sat down at his seat at the table, some food placed for him as if they were expecting his return.
“I was just with my friends.” Sasuke answered aloofly as he began eating. Mikoto frowned as she watched her youngest son continue to eat. Since making his friends he was hanging around the house less and becoming a little…detached.
Not as noticeable as Itachi was though.
“Itachi, how was your day?” Mikoto asked as she focused her attention on the other sibling.
“Normal.” He answered, his tone polite as always, but a subtle clipped tone to it suggesting that was all he had to say. Mikoto nodded as silence filled the room, the only noise the sound of chopsticks hitting the edges of the bowls as they picked up their food.
“Oh! There’s a festival going on over the weekend. Itachi, why don’t you take Sasuke tomorrow?” Mikoto asked, perking up at the tidbit of information she remembered.
Sasuke looked up, eyes flickering between his mom and Itachi. She inwardly smirked as she saw a well remembered look in Sasuke’s eyes. He still loved spending time with his older brother.
Itachi glanced at Sasuke who caught his gaze and quickly diverted his eyes to his food.
“I guess I could do that.” Itachi agreed, Mikoto smiling. Fugaku however, made a noise of protest in his throat and Mikoto’s brow furrowed.
“You can have your night of fun Itachi, but don’t forget you have a mission the day after.” Fugaku reminded, waving his chopsticks in Itachi’s direction. Itachi merely closed his eyes.
“I won’t forget.” He spoke calmly, no emotion in his voice, as he continued to eat.
~*~
“Kyoko?”
The blond girl turned at the sound of her name, Hari looking over as well from his position next to her. She smiled widely and waved as she ran towards the two, her hair bouncing after her.
“Hi Sasuke. Hi Itachi-san!” She greeted, more enthusiasm going into Itachi’s greeting as she came to a stop before the Uchiha males. Her hair was, for once, let down to fall straight to the middle of her back and she was dressed in a light blue and white kimono, hints of pink decorating it.
“Hn.” Sasuke greeted back with a nod. His outfit was red and black with hints of white here and there. Anyone would recognize it as the Uchiha colours.
“Hello Kyoko.” Itachi greeted politely, his outfit just a simple black and white pattern. Looking past her, Itachi nodded to Hari in greeting who returned it.
“Sasuke, it’s amazing! They have stuffies here as big as you!” Kyoko exclaimed, stretching her hands out to estimate the size. Kyoko started pointing random stuff out to Sasuke excitedly, Sasuke just looking wary at the girl’s obvious energy as she dragged him to a couple of nearby stands.
Hari walked over to Itachi, a stick of cotton candy in one hand.
“She wouldn’t shut up about coming here. Some girls from the Academy told her about it and got her all riled up. I would rather be at home preparing for my mission tomorrow.” Hari confessed to Itachi who was watching the two with mild amusement.
“Well if it doesn’t bother you I could watch her for the evening.” Itachi offered, yet his voice seemed emotionless and unchanging.
Hari paused before looking the 13-year-old over, his gaze calculating.
“Your Uchiha Itachi right?” Hari asked, tone flat and serious. Itachi nodded as Hari’s brow furrowed, contemplating, before Hari nodded. Itachi was an ANBU which meant he had a smart head on his shoulders, and was good in combat.
Kyoko wouldn’t be able to get into trouble.
“Bring her home at 8 o’clock.” Hari instructed before handing the cotton candy to Itachi who hesitantly took the items.
“Kyoko!” Hari called out, Kyoko freezing before turning her head to look back at her guardian. She blinked at him and he continued. “Itachi’s looking after you the rest of the night so I’m going home. Listen to what he says.” Hari commanded, like an officer commanding troops.
She nodded mutely and Hari departed.
Itachi walked towards the kids and handed Kyoko the cotton candy that Hari had left him. Kyoko’s face lit up as she took it excitedly, wasting no time in stuffing her face with the candy fluffiness.
“Let’s go to that one.” Sasuke said calmly as he pointed to another stall, the fact that he was actually having a good time only noticeable by the way the corner of his mouth was turned upwards.
The three headed towards the next stand where Kyoko fretted about how to catch fish. Sasuke caught one in five tries. Kyoko tried a good ten more times before she huffed and threw her net down as she straightened up.
“I don’t like this game anymore!” She declared childishly, taking a rather angry bite out of her cotton candy. Before she could say anything more, Itachi bent down and expertly scooped a fish up in one try.
“There.” He said, Kyoko’s cheeks flushing when the fish was bagged and Itachi handed the creature to her.
“T-Thanks.” She replied as she held onto the bag. They continued on their way, going from stall to stall, Sasuke getting some yakitori, Kyoko finishing her cotton candy before she starred up at the sky. It was starting to get dark, stars coming out, and the paper lanterns around them becoming lit up.
“Ah Sasuke! Itachi! What a surprise to see you here!” A voice called out, the trio stopping and turning to look around.
“Ah, Saori-san.” Itachi replied as he recognized one of their many relatives. The woman was impressively tall with an angled face and cropped black hair. “Good evening.” Itachi continued.
“My, my, and here I thought you would be too busy to come to the festival.” Saori stated as she placed a hand on her hip, lips pulling back in an almost mocking smile. “I heard Fugaku was giving missions left and right, and you are his prized son after all.” She added in. Itachi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed his cousin.
“I have a mission tomorrow.” He informed, his voice that regular emotionless, flat tone.
Kyoko found the conversation boring as the two older Uchihas continued to converse. She tugged on Sasuke’s sleeve and pointed down the walkway. Sasuke glanced back at his brother who seemed not to notice them before giving a single nod.
With that they disappeared from Itachi’s side without a sound.
They passed through crowds of people, the festival taking up quite a few streets of Konoha. They passed a stack of huge wooden crates that were stacked by the opening of an alley.
“Psst!”
Kyoko jumped back with a yelp, knocking into Sasuke and winding the poor boy.
“Psst! Kyoko! Is the coast clear?” A voice asked, Kyoko looking around wildly while Sasuke rubbed his stomach, slowly regaining his breath.
“Clear of what?” She asked uncertainly, head looking in every direction. Sasuke cracked open one eye, found the source of the voice, and grabbed Kyoko’s head and pointed it in the same direction so she didn’t look like an idiot.
“A group of three guys.” The stacks of wooden crates replied vaguely. “One guy looks like a huge gorilla.”
“Naruto, get out of the boxes.” Sasuke commanded as he fully regained his breathing. At Sasuke’s command, a familiar face poked out of the pile, a pout on his face.
“How’d you know it was me?” Naruto pouted as he clambered out of the crates.
“You’re voice.” Sasuke said in a ‘no duh’ tone as he rolled his eyes.
“Why were you hiding in there?” Kyoko asked, gesturing towards the pile. Hari’s warning of staying away from Naruto blown clear from her mind.
“Well I…uh…’borrowed’ some money from those guys so I could play some games at the festival but they caught me.” Naruto confessed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.
“You stole money!” Sasuke hissed, the 8-year-old having the mind like a whip. Then again, he was the top student in their class.
“What? No Sasuke, Naruto borrowed the money.” Kyoko explained with a wave of her hand while Naruto laughed weakly.
“Kyoko, don’t be stupid. Naruto stole the money.” Sasuke retorted.
“Oi! There’s the brat who stole our money!” A voice bellowed, Naruto’s head snapping upright as shadows fell over the three kids. Kyoko and Sasuke slowly turned around to face the three men, and one lumbering man in the back looking very much like a gorilla.
“Oh crap.” Naruto whimpered.
~*~
[Reviews - 35]Chapter or Story
Table of Contents
- Text Size +
Chapter notes: Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Authoress Note: Ok in case there are any people reading my story who are paying extra close attention and are wondering why Kyoko is afraid of dogs in the last chapter but it was because she wanted to pet a dog that she ended up meeting Itachi, so what’s with that kind of thing.
Well it’s because after she got attacked by the big dog, she got afraid of dogs after that. Just so your not confused.