Art and Artifice

Art and Artifice
chapter 13

Tuesday night, after Naruto had gotten home from work, he got a call from Itachi. The older boy said that he had been wondering (which Naruto translated to 'worrying') about whether things between the blond and his little brother had gotten more, or maybe less intense.

"Sasuke actually seemed pretty angry about the situation when he found out and I figured that it would probably end up affecting you in some way. Of course he could have either started avoiding you are become even more aggressive." Naruto had answered as honestly as possible.

"Well I guess I don't really know yet. I mean.. he threatened me yesterday," he admitted.

"He threatened you?" Itachi did not sound happy.

"Um, yeah but then he hasn't said or done a thing since. So I can't really say how things will go now."

"What did he say?"

"He... told me to stay away from you, and... he called me an embarrassment."

"You are 'not' an embarrassment. The little brat doesn't know what he's talking about. Don't take any threats from him too seriously. There's nothing much that he can do to you and he knows it. He's bluffing, and if not, I'll handle him accordingly."

When Itachi asked him how things were going at work, Naruto's spirits lifted as he related the interesting events from earlier that day.

"So I asked if he was expecting some kind of prize. You should have seen his face! It was like somebody being even remotely rude to him was such a total shock. And then I completely ignored him the rest of the time. It was so funny."

It 'was' pretty funny and Itachi couldn't help but give little chuckle but at the same time he thought that this probably wouldn't be the end of it. He hadn't been kidding about he and his brother having similar taste and knowing Sasuke, being blown off like that would only make the blond stand out in his mind. His interest would have been engaged now. It was not a thought that Itachi particularly enjoyed. Of course his poor, misguided brother didn't have a hope in hell with Naruto of all people... and it might be fun to tease him about it. Putting it out of his mind for now he continued to talk pleasantly with Naruto for about another hour before they decided to call it a night.

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The next day at work Naruto was just sending a customer off out the door with his usual friendly farewell. He bent his head to do some drawing while he continued to man the front desk but before he could even properly begin, a shadow fell across his paper. He looked up in surprise and blue eyes widened substantially at the unexpected sight of Uchiha Sasuke. There had been no second jingle at the door. He must have slipped in just as that other guy was leaving. The Uchiha smirked at him and the blond's look of surprise was quickly replaced with a wary frown. What was the Bastard doing here?

"Can I help you?" he asked slowly.

"I certainly hope so." The brunets smirk widened. Naruto eyebrows rose.

"Then you've decided to get a tattoo of your own now?"

"No. I find myself much more interested in the artist," Sasuke drawled in a tone that he knew would have made any girl at school swoon for him. Unfortunately for him, the blond just looked like he'd swallowed a bug.

"Oh my...Gawd!" thought Naruto. "Is he 'hitting' on me?!" There was a very long awkward moment. "Ok that... was really lame," he finally responded. Once again Sasuke was taken aback but he recovered quickly. He leaned over the desk on his elbows, resting his chin on his fists, incidentally bringing his face very close to the blond's.

"I just came to talk to you. You're a friendly guy right? Can't we spend some time together, be 'friendly'?" Naruto leaned back as far as he could.

"I am a friendly guy, but I get the feeling 'you're' not."

"What makes you say that?" the Uchiha let a frown slip for a second before smoothing it back over.

"Well, for one thing, you obviously don't really know what to say to me right now."

"I know 'exactly' what I'd like to say to you," he said suggestively.

"See. Eww! Stop that! You know what? You can't loiter here. If your not here for any 'legitimate' reason then I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to leave." Sasuke backed up but his expression never wavered.

"Ok then. I'll come back another time and see if you're in a better mood."

"I'll never be in better mood as long as you're around," Naruto muttered quietly. Sasuke just caught it as he was walking out the door. He paused for a moment but let it go. Once he was outside the shop he let the frown take over his features. So the boy thought he didn't know how to talk to people and be friendly. Well if he thought about, it's not as if he had ever had to try before. His whole reputation had been built on being rude and sarcastic. People usually ate that up though. They all thought he was cool. He'd discovered a long time ago that the more he acted like he didn't actually need or care about anyone, the more they all gathered around. It had the pleasant side effect of automatically putting him in charge as well. He never had to be 'nice' to get someone to like him.

"Besides, this Kyuubi almost seemed to have some kind of grudge against me right off the bat. What the hell is up with that?" he thought to himself. "I haven't done anything to 'really' offend him. Oh well. Maybe he really is in a bad mood... and I suppose I couldn't fault him for having high standards. He's just going to take a little more convincing than the average person."

This decided, Sasuke mentally bolstered himself for the upcoming struggle. Having finally found someone who wasn't average was rather a refreshing prospect. Sasuke could admit that he had been in a rut for awhile now. Kyuubi was the most interesting thing to have come along in a very long time, and the game was on.

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Throughout the rest of the week Naruto continued to receive visits from a persistent Sasuke. It seemed that nothing could fully discourage the boy. One almost had to admire that kind of determination. On the other hand though, it was kind of creepy. Now Naruto knew why Sasuke himself was so annoyed with all the people who followed him around. After 'years' of this kind of thing, most people would probably be more than ready to simply disregard the feelings of their stalkers. He would have thought that this experience would discourage the Uchiha from behaving the same way but perhaps instead, it just made it seem like the natural thing to do.

"It could have been worse though," Naruto contemplated. "At least he's restricted it to this place and time of day." Indeed it could have been much worse. This was Naruto's comfort zone. He felt more secure and in control in this shop than anywhere else and it gave him the confidence to say and do as he pleased. He had no problem insulting the Uchiha or simply ejecting him from the building if he said anything stupid, knowing that here, he was basically untouchable. He hadn't come out and told his coworkers exactly what was going on of course. There was no way that Kotetsu and Izumo could have resisted taking some kind of ridiculous action against the Bastard. He wasn't about to confirm any suspicions they might have. He was pretty sure Raidou had figured things out though. The man had mentioned once how much that boy who kept coming in looked like Itachi but he seemed mostly content, for now, to let Naruto handle it as he saw fit. Naruto just felt better knowing that they were there for him. He was the one with reinforcements that could called upon at a moment's notice. It was empowering and made the encounters almost sort of fun in a way, while still somewhat disturbing.

"Ah well, he's only been doing this for just under a week. It's nothing to worry about yet. There's a good chance he'll get bored and give up soon." This thought gave Naruto a weird sense of deja vue. "...Aww crap! That's exactly what I thought when he first started harassing me at school!" This did not bode well.

You would think that the proud Uchiha Sasuke would have been irritated by his lack of success, and you would have been right. It 'was' irritating, but along side of that irritation there was also a certain strange kind of amusement. He was starting to get used to the blond's behavior. On some level, the insulting banter was actually enjoyable. It was so different from the norm that it seemed to add a certain spice to his day that he found himself looking forward to. On Friday afternoon he was at it again.

"What are you doing here... again?" sighed the blond.

"You know you enjoy my visits. I bet you stand behind that counter and quiver in anticipation until I get here," he answered jokingly. By this time, he knew better.

"Quiver? Over you? Not a chance in hell."

"I know you like me. What's not to like?"

"Consult a proctologist."

"Huh? Oh right, I've got something up my ass. Very funny."

"Not just anything. It's got to be something big. I'm surprised you can walk straight," Naruto correct seriously.

"You wound me you know. How would you feel if I never recovered?"

"I'm sure I'd get over it," the blond responded wryly. "In the meantime if you ever manage to get that broomstick out of your ass, you can use it to sweep up the shards of your broken heart."

Sasuke was slightly worried that he might be becoming a bit of a masochist, but he was 'liking' this. Only a few moments later, he was being quietly thrown out again but he was far from giving up.

Conversely, the Uchiha had gone back to his old tricks at school. It seemed his preoccupation with 'Kyuubi' had pushed the issue of his brother and 'Naruto' to the back of his mind. His attitude of extreme prejudice had simmered down but he had stopped avoiding the hooded boy as well. Thankfully all of this trouble with Sasuke was offset with frequent calls from Itachi. After talking to the older boy for awhile Naruto always went off to bed with a lighter heart.


A/N; Ok, it's basically another linking chapter (sigh) but you need them sometimes.

Bookworm51485 thanks for the tip. It had not in fact, occurred to me that I wasn't allowing anonymous reviews. PS Your description of yourself in high school gave me the cutest mental image. Aaaww! I was a big dork in high school too. Best years of your life my ass! lol

And a big shout out to all my reviewers, especially the regulars. I love you guys!