The Things That Don't Match

Chapter 14



Naruto was seated on his bed, legs drawn up and arms resting on them. He was still at Kyuubi’s house and had been for the past almost month and a half. One hand had a phone pressed against his ear.



“Yeah, Haku,” he murmured, “He says he wants me and he seems to be pretty consistent about it.”



Naruto listened for a moment longer before responding, “I don’t know what I’m going to be doing about this. Even if he really does like me it’s not like I’m going to be staying here. It’s time to go back, I can’t run away forever.”



Naruto let out a frustrated breath at Haku’s response, “No, I’m not going to prolong this. That would be a waste of my time and his since I’ll have to go back at some point. I have people that are worried for me.”



“I really don’t know how serious this is yet but now is as good a time as any to find out.”



Naruto smirked, “Do I have a plan? Oh, I have a plan alright. I’m taking him to the orphanage. We’ll see how serious he is then.”



“I am giving him a chance. Believe me Haku I want this to work out probably more than you do, but I’m also aware that reality generally doesn’t meet what we want in most cases. I’m going to take him to the orphanage . We’ll move on from there or we won’t.”



“You know I’m taking care of myself, Haku.”



“Yes, as well as everyone else. We’re all fine.”



Naruto sighed, “I’ll talk to you later. And yes, I’ll let you know how everything goes. Goodbye, Haku.”



***



Kimimaro followed Naruto out of the car to the trunk and took the bags of groceries Naruto handed him. He had followed the man when Naruto approached him this morning and asked him to go somewhere with him. He had seemed so serious when he said it that Kimimaro was intrigued. He had went with Naruto to the grocery store where the blonde had spent a lot of money on groceries but for some reason he didn’t think the blonde had bought all that for the guys at the house. He trailed after Naruto to a big house, it seemed as if they had reached their destination. He wondered what the result of this visit would be as he followed Naruto inside. Hopefully however it ended it would be good.



Naruto opened the door with his key and proceeded to go straight to the kitchen before setting his bags of groceries down. He motioned Kimimaro to do the same. He was glad Kimimaro wasn’t asking any questions as this made things a lot easier. What was he supposed to do if the man asked why he was here? Tell him that this would be the test to see if things went any further between them or ended?



Naruto sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he really needed to cut it, he made a note to do so at his earliest convenience. He went down the hall and knocked on a door. Tsuname was usually awake early to dealing with the business end of the orphanage in the mornings. He entered when he was told to do so, Kimimaro close enough behind him that he could feel his body heat.



Tsuname smiled when she saw him, “Naruto, you’re back! How have things been?”



Naruto smiled back at her and shrugged, “Things have been better but they’re getting that way again. How are my monsters? Any of them awake yet?”



Tsuname shot him a concerned glance at his response and sent him a look saying that she’d be there if he wanted to talk, he shook his head slightly- he had his problems under control.



“The kids are good,” she replied before looking at the clock, “It’s only nine though so none of them are awake yet. Rei-kun had a hard night but I managed to get him back to sleep.”



Naruto nodded, “Good. I want to surprise them with breakfast. Is Rei alright? Did something happen that triggered him?”



Tsuname shook her head, “Not that I know of.”



Naruto nodded slowly, contemplative, “Alright, I’ll talk to him some point today to see if anything is bothering him. In the meanwhile I’ll get started on breakfast.”



Naruto was turning to leave when he stopped and gestured to Kimimaro, “Oh, by the way this is Kimimaro, Tsuname. Kimimaro, that’s Tsuname, she’s the director of this orphanage.”



Naruto made his way back to the kitchen and started putting everything else away except for what he needed for breakfast- he was going to make french toast with fruit. After he finished he took down two big bowls to mix things along with two large frying pans.



In the big bowl Naruto whisked together eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and salt until it was well blended. In the other bowl he stirred together some sugar and cinnamon. He opened the first package of bread and started soaking the bread in the egg mixture. While he was doing that he turned on the burners to medium heat beneath both the frying pans and added some butter to each of the pans; he also preheated the oven.



When the frying pans were warm Naruto added a couple of slices of bread to each of them and started turning them often with the spatula till the pieces were brown on both sides. He then put the done pieces of bread in the cinnamon-sugar mixture bowl and tossed them to coat the pieces before slipping them in the oven to keep them warm.



Naruto was half way through the second bag of bread when he remembered that Kimimaro was still standing there. He looked up at the white hair man and decided to put him to use.



“Are you any good with knifes?” Naruto asked him.



Kimimaro looked up at Naruto and blinked in puzzlement before nodding.



“Great,” Naruto said, he pulled out a cutting board and handed Kimimaro a chef’s knife, “You can chop up all the fruits. Make sure they’re in relatively small pieces so the kids don’t have any trouble eating it.”



Naruto turned back around and rescued the pieces of toast on the frying pan before they could burn and tossed them in the cinnamon-sugar. He smiled when he heard Kimimaro start chopping.



Naruto was on the third bag of bread when he starting cutting the bread into bite-sized pieces.



“What are you doing?” Kimimaro asked.



“If I don’t make them small the little ones don’t usually like to eat them.”



The two finished up were finishing up breakfast just as Tsuname came into the kitchen at 10 o’clock.



“The kid’s are all awake and seated, all of them are asking about breakfast.”



Naruto grinned, “Then let’s not keep them waiting, hmm?”



Naruto walked into the dining room with a huge platter of french toast with Kimimaro behind him also carrying some and Tsuname holding the bowl of fruits. The kids started screaming with excitement when they saw Naruto and started yelling a bunch of questions, some kids made to get up.



Naruto grinned radiantly, “Now, now you all. Wait until after breakfast to jump on me. Eat first.”



He put down his platter and went back to the kitchen to get the syrup before he started helping Tsuname serve the kids.



***



Everyone had finished breakfast and most of them were in the play room when the first kid climbed up Naruto. As if they were all waiting for someone else to do it first the other kids attacked him at once. Naruto found himself laughing on the floor with at least 8 kids on top of him. He hugged where he could, patting and ruffling the hair of those he couldn’t reach. After a while they let him up and he gave all the kids proper hugs.



“How have my little monsters been?” Naruto asked.



Naruto listened solemnly to all their answers, nodding when appropriate as each child told him how they were doing and what they were up to. When the last child finished and they all looked at Kimimaro curiously Naruto decided introductions were in order. He picked up Maria, the smallest child there- she was quite attached to him- and handed her to Kimimaro.



Kimimaro looked quite startled to suddenly find a kid in his arms. Naruto adjusted his hands so he was holding her properly and smiled at him. Naruto turned to the rest of the children and said, “Guys, this is Kimimaro. He is a very good friend of mine so I wanted him to meet you all. Treat him as you would treat me.”



Naruto watched in amusement as Maria settled in Kimimaro’s arms and went to sleep. One of the bolder kids went up to Kimimaro and tugged on his pant leg, “Piggyback!” the child demanded.



Naruto removed Maria from Kimimaro’s arms and left him to it. He put Maria down in her room and wandered back downstairs. It was just about time to make lunch anyways.



***



It was 11 o’clock when Kimimaro followed Naruto out of the orphanage, the kids didn’t want to go to sleep so Naruto had to promise to come back soon to get some of them down for the night.



Kimimaro was silent as Naruto drove back to Kyuubi’s house. It was only when they were ensconced in the privacy of Naruto’s bedroom did Kimimaro say anything.



“Did I pass?”



Naruto looked at him, “Hmm?”



Kimimaro frowned at him, “Your test, did I pass it?”



Naruto looked at him, face serious, “Yeah, you did.”



Kimimaro crossed his arms, “So what now since you seem to be calling all the shots.”



Naruto shook his head, “I don’t know.”



“So you test me but have no plan of action for what to do if I pass. You basically expected me to fail,” It wasn’t a question and Kimimaro’s voice was flat.



Naruto looked down and bit his lip, “I didn’t really think you would pass but I did want you to.”



Kimimaro was silent as he watched Naruto avoid his gaze. He felt like a weight was pressing down on him.



Blue eyes were bright as they looked at him when he didn’t respond, “What are you thinking, Kimimaro?”



“I’m,” Kimimaro searched for the appropriate word for a moment, “...disappointed.”



Naruto looked guilty. Kimimaro had never really liked guilty people, it meant they had done something wrong, it meant they had regrets. Kimimaro generally didn’t feel guilty and he definitely didn’t have time for regrets- he also didn’t have time for the people who felt them and yet he still liked Naruto. He wondered at that.



“Was I the only one that felt something for you? Was I the only one that liked you? Because if I was then all you had to do was let me know. There was no need for these games if you were trying to get rid of me; I would have left myself.”



“No, that wasn’t what I was trying to do. I had a decision to make and this was how I did it. If the kids liked you we would continue this, if they didn’t it would end and I would still leave so there wouldn’t be any problems.”



Kimimaro resisted the urge to scowl, “And I’ve passed so now what?”



Naruto sighed and sat heavily on his bed, “Now, whatever you want. I’ve already messed this up so you decide. It wasn’t my intention to hurt you, I guess I wasn’t really thinking.”



Kimimaro’s poisonous green gaze pierced him, “No, you weren’t.”



Naruto slumped, “Decide what happens then.”



Kimimaro sat down beside him and tilted his face up so they could look each other in the eye. When he was silent for too long Naruto started to squirm, “We do this right then. We’re going to start over but without the games. If you’re not going to take this seriously tell me now.”



“I will.”



Kimimaro leaned down and kissed him, it was hard but chaste, “Good. I need to make arrangements with Kyuubi about moving down to where you are. If you’re willing to stay here for a few more days then I can get an apartment near you.”



Naruto nodded, “I am.”



***



The duo made their way to Kyuubi’s office and entered.



“So you’ve decided to go with him, Kimimaro?” Kyuubi asked.



Kimimaro nodded and Naruto tried to keep the surprise off his face, “You knew!” he burst out.



Kyuubi smirked at Naruto, “Of course I knew. Do you think I’m stupid? You don’t get to keep him to yourself though, he’s one of my top assassins since you refuse to join me so he’s moving between both our houses.”



Naruto blinked at him, “You don’t care that we’re in a relationship?”



Kyuubi shook his head, “It’s not that I don’t care but when have I ever gotten in the way of your relations? Besides, Kimi here is better than most people and he’s definitely better than Sasuke, you could certainly do worse.”



Naruto huffed, “Well thanks for your faith in who I choose to get involved with.”



Kyuubi smiled and it was positively angelic, “You’re welcome.”



Naruto snorted and strode out of the office, hiding the smile on his face.



Kimimaro tilted his head to the side as he watched Naruto go, hair sliding over his face, “Must you really goad him so?”



Kyuubi smirked, “He enjoys it,” his expression hardened as regarded Kimimaro, “We really don’t need another Sasuke event occurring. And I don’t think I need to warn you not to break him since you’re not stupid but should he come back here worse off than he is now… I won’t kill you since you are one of my top assassins and good ones are so hard to find but you’ll find yourself missing a few body parts. Are we understood?”



“Yes, sir.”



Kyuubi nodded, “Good. Also it would be better not to mention this little conversation to Naruto.”



“Yes, sir.”



“Excellent. I’ll take care of all the details of your move and call you should I need you. Dismissed.”



A/N: Wow. Longest chapter to date, seven pages- it was going to be even longer so I cut out some of it. Yes, so you see a hint of the future. Naruto should be going back next chapter- unless he decides to rebel- so you guys should be happy with that. You'll see the next chapter in another 3 days so you have that long to wonder about how Shikamaru and Kimimaro will react to each other. Now on to the reviews!



Prism0467: LOL. I really do seem to pull these things out of nowhere, don't I? I think they're hot too, you definitely don't see enough of them. Yeah, I imagine Kimi could have done without the threat of evisceration/castration.



AngelTalion: Planning on stealing my thunder? Feel free, there certainly isn't enough of that couple. Your welcome, I hope this update was worth it for you.



Anon: Your welcome. I thought that little fight scene was a nice touch too. Hope you liked this chapter too then.



Anon: You flatter me. Your review made me laugh, what and who I have Naruto doing. I'm happy it pleases you and hope it continues to do so. Thank you. I'll tell you a secret: I actually kind of hate Sasuke/Naruto as a pairing though sometime I'll read it if Naruto is seme. Yeah, I like Naruto with most people I don't get to see him with- with a few exceptions. You're welcome, thank *you* for reviewing- I definitely don't mind long winded so feel free to make your reviews as long as you want. I hope you liked this chapter.