Hero
Sasuke tapped his fingers impatiently against his steering wheel. The radio was playing quietly, though he wasn't listening to it. He checked his watch again, then the street signs, then the card that Naru had given him the night before.
Sasuke had come to the place they were suppose to meet early. He liked punctuality and often came places early as assurance that he wouldn't be late. The corner of Seventh Avenue and Main, Naru had said.
He had come only to see a warehouse, an old bank and some cafe on the corners. Nowhere where one would live. Which made it obvious that Naru didn't want Sasuke to know where he lived.
If Naru was so keen on moving, why wasn't he here yet? Sasuke would give him ten minutes before he left.
It wasn't that he cared that he was skipping school. It was just that he hated to be kept waiting.
Naru opened his eyes slowly, raising his arm to block the thin streams of light that penetrated through his curtained window. He looked at his bedside clock. 12:20. He closed his eyes again, rolling over and curling up.
His eyes shot open, and he looked at the clock again. He jumped out of bed and flicked on his light hurridly.
"Konahamaru!" he called out, tearing his shirt off as quickly as he could.
"What is it, Naruto-niichan?" a young boy asked, opening Naru's door and poking his head inside.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" Naru asked, his annoyance obvious in his voice.
"You said you weren't going to school today," Konahamaru said, looking at Naru like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I figured you wouldn't want to be woken up."
"I said 'I'm not going to school tomorrow, so you don't have to wake me up at six. But I've got other plans so wake me up before noon," Naru growled, now only in his boxers and digging around in the piles of clothes to find some that were moderately clean. "And why didn't anyone clean my clothes on Sunday?"
"You didn't give then to anyone and grandpa told everyone that you told him not to let anyone in your room," Konahamaru said, as though scolding a young child, even though he was obviously the younger one.
"I didn't mean that they couldn't come in for laundry. Listen, why don't you run down to the caf�? There'll be some guy waiting in a truck probably. Tell him that I slept in and I'll be there in a moment."
Konahamaru glared. "I'm not your servant, Naruto-niichan."
"Yes, yes, I know you aren't. Do this and I'll get you ice cream or something later."
"There are lots of guys who drive trucks, Naruto-niichan," Konahamaru pouted, though he had visually perked up at the mention of ice cream.
"You can't miss him. He's got a face like this," and Naru made one of the most idiotic faces that Konahamaru had ever seen. It made him giggle.
Sasuke was getting ready to leave when he saw a young boy running towards the truck, waving frantically.
The boy ran up to the truck and grabbed it, catching his breath. "Naruto-niichan sent me to tell you that he slept in and that he'll be a little late, but to wait a little longer," he said, gasping for breath a little.
"Naruto-niichan? You mean Naru? Is he your brother?" Sasuke asked, looking at the younger boy. Naru and he didn't look too similar, though he did see Naru's sense of style in him.
The boy shrugged. "We all call him Naruto. I suppose you could call him my brother. I've known him for as long as I can remember," he said off-handedly. He then looked at Sasuke. "So you'll wait for him, right?"
"It would be a lot quicker if you just showed me where he lived," Sasuke mumbled, turning away for a moment to fiddle with his radio.
When he looked back out the window, the boy was gone. The car door on the opposite side opened, and the boy jumped in. "My name's Konahamaru. Naruto-niichan's never brought home any friends. The other's will be glad to meet some of them."
Sasuke didn't ask who 'the others' were. He also didn't bother to tell Konahamaru that Naru and he weren't friends. No point in starting up a conversation when he didn't have to.
Naru plopped down in front of his bed with a screwdriver, and began to take it apart.
From outside his room he heard a girl gasp and a couple of other people mutter quietly.
Soon his door opened. "So, Konahamaru. Did you find him?" Naru asked, not bothering to turn around, knowing that Konahamaru was the only one who came into his room without knocking.
"Yeah. He found me."
Naru froze.
Part six |
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