LOVE WEDGE

Part II ‘In My restless Nights’

The chief office was still occupied by one certain lady. She didn’t light the light on; instead she just used one yellow light that usually accompanied her in her sleep. But tonight she wasn’t sleeping. She just stared at one particular picture; the picture of a man that used to smile all the time. But, in that picture he wasn’t smiling. He put his most serious face. Maybe it was because the obligation he received once he had become the chief. He knew he had to protect his city even for his life. Well he kind of did sacrificed his life, but only for the safety of a baby, and for that Konoha had to lose half of its best people. So there he was, the great Yondaime, the fourth chief. In common sense, what he did was not a mistake – nobody blamed him anyway, they couldn’t to be exact. So, to delivered the hatred they picked the culprit behind his death, the baby himself which now has turned into a fine young man.
“Still reminiscing about the past?” An old man leaned his back to the wall, staring at the same picture.
“You’re always the same, always present yourself without any voice and sign. I think I have gotten use to that already.” Tsunade didn’t even bother to look at the man’s direction. She never left her eyes from the picture. The man let out a long sigh and dragged his gaze to the city light outside the window.
“How’s the brat? Is he doing fine?”
“I suppose so… This is just his first day but he already made some messes. He threw a glass of water to the Uchiha heir face. I don’t what I should do about him…”
A curve was drawn in the old man face, “As expected from our number one…”
“You know what, maybe what we did years ago was wrong,” Tsunade said. The old man still didn’t move his gaze.
Tsunade whom finally tired of staring to the unmoved picture rose from her chair and sat on the couch instead. “We shouldn’t have put him in this condition.”
“Did he complain to you?” The old man asked question that he already knew the answer.
“Of course not! Dammit’ Jiraiya! I don’t think he actually knew that we put him in this position! This is wrong – so wrong!” She held her head in her hands as if she was about to start weeping.
“Maybe, let just fate decides!”
“We’re playing with him… I can’t believe this! I can’t stand to look at him smiling widely to me. He was just so innocent, so pure and sincere.”
“WE didn’t play with him Tsunade! We thought that it was the best to put him here! And when we knew it wasn’t the best, it was already too late. This is the game of fate! It was already become fate’s game since the first time Yondaime decided to sacrifice his life for him. We did what we could! We’re not some Gods from Olympia!”
“Besides,” he continued, “he found his dream here… He wants to be just like Yondaime. And I think he understands more than just what we think he would understand. He is somewhat of a person…”
“I know… that even makes me worrier. He deserves more than just mockery and people to blame him for something he didn’t commit.”
There was a brief of silence as Tsunade didn’t say any more words and Jiraiya didn’t even bother to move from his position. Then, the silence was cut off by Tsunade’s words.
“Sometimes… just sometimes… Back then in the academy, I saw him smiling with deeply sad eyes. Other times, I would saw him looking to the faraway sky with those same eyes. I almost thought that he could cry out that instant or just fell and faint for the pain. But he didn’t, he never did that. He would always smiles, even when everybody was so mean to him.”
“I know that Tsunade, I put my observation too. Besides, I’m the one who taught him everything. If you also notice, sometimes he would come late to class with his fatigue eyes as if he didn’t sleep at all…”
“Maybe he didn’t, or he couldn’t… I wonder what’s in his heart; could it be pain and misery?”
“I don’t know. I surely don’t know…”


It was somewhere around midnight when the crows haunted the black pitch sky with their cries. The sane human beings would be soundly slept playing with their dreams in their warm bed. It was also the time when the good goes to sleep and the bad gets to be awake. For Naruto, it was just another restless nights.

This kind of night, when the cold breeze seeped into his blanket, Naruto lost the peace he never found. The sweat flowed from his temple and perspired his back as if they were tears that never had the courage to flow through his blue eyes. It was his dreams that dragged him to the world where he once lived but never actually left his life.
He was there again, in the dark room, alone and cold. Actually he didn’t even know whether it was a room because it was all black, as if suddenly he went blind. His hands reach out for anything to be grabbed, for him to hold on to, but there was nothing. At first he was pretty sure that he would find something because he believes that there is always something. But a moment that seemed like eternity let out his outmost fear, something that he didn’t want to show even when he was asleep. But now he was oh so frighten, he was so afraid that there would always be nothing, the contrary to all his believes. He was so scared that the next step he made would be on nothing as well, and then he would fall to an endless dark abyss.

And then a hand touched him, grabbed his arm. He was thrilled for finally found something. And then there was light, a light that made him felt no safer than the vampires. For that light made him saw what he wished to forget. He saw the people that stared back to him with hatred and accusing eyes. He saw their mouth curved in disgust. He saw the hand that led him to this light was ready to throw him backward. And it did. He fell to the black ground and the light was slowly turning to black pitch night. But it was different from before, he still could those people. Their eyes were shining, red like devil and dangerous like evil. But he soon realized that it was not their eyes, it was simply the reflection of him in their eyes. He, of all people, was the devil and the evil.

Then they started the occasion, the occasion to let out all the hatred. No they didn’t punch him nor did they say anything. But that was the outmost torture. They would stand there, and cried. They cried for their love ones that had been taken from them forcefully. They cried tears of blood from endless pain and misery. Naruto was demolished. He wanted to voice that he couldn’t do anything. He wanted them to know that if he could do anything, he would. He would trade his soul to get back those people. But there was nothing called contract with the devil, wasn’t there? He wanted to say that he wanted to erase their pain but he didn’t know how.

Yet his voice never came out and the people kept on crying tears of blood. And then they walked out one by one, leaving him. He wanted to stop those people; he didn’t want them to leave him alone. But he couldn’t do anything. And he was there again, in the dark and all he could see is himself. He wanted so much to cry but he couldn’t. And then, he felt it – part of his body was dead. He saw it with his own eyes, how he was erased – literally. Slowly but surely, he was starting to blend with the night - he was transparent, he was gone. It was his outmost torture… his deepest fear – to be erased from people’s life. And he finally could scream….

Naruto struggled with the blanket that was twisted with him on his bed, still in his sleep state. Bitter sweat was covering his whole body, making his clothes and hair damped by it. His breathing was savage and hoarse, and there were wrinkles of fear and worry in his face. And he finally screamed, sitting up in his bed with his eyes wide open.

He was stunned for a moment, maybe not even realizing that he was already wide awake. Then, he grabbed his chest, feeling the angry pulse in it and finally came to a conclusion that it was only his dream – the dream that he always had ever since he realized what a demon he was, and will always be. It’s been years that the dream haunted him – but he never talked to anyone about it. It was just not right for him to brag about it even though it scared him like hell. He always thought that the dream was his punishment – the punishment for being alive when he was suppose to be dead, the punishment for taking away one precious life and the punishment for being the culprit for the death of hundreds other life.

He closed his eyes tightly, fighting the urge of tears in his eyes. When he succeed, he opened it again, and started to even his breathing. He looked at his damp clothes and sighed. Then, he swept the sweat on his forehead and locks. Feeling very frustrated, he finally untangled the blanket on his body and stood from the bed. The blond walked toward the bathroom, deciding that he desperately needed a shower to clean his mind and his body – and probably cleaned his sin, even though he knew it was futile.

“Hey brat! Where the hell have you been?”
The blond looked toward the owner of the sound, he sighed then he forced a smile.
“Sorry sir! I’m late. Last night wasn’t my best sleep…” He nodded for apologize.
“You hear me boy! I don’t even give a slightest care of what kind of sleep you had last night! One thing I do care about is that you come on time and start working on those piles of files that you’ve to rearrange! Do you understand me?” The man fixed his eyes with Naruto’s. “Yes sir!”
“Now, is that a real ‘yes’ or is it just something that your stupid mind could only digest?”
“It’s a real yes sir! I do understand you!” Naruto hated when he had to go through this again and again but he knew he had to. This is how he would always be treated – and he lived to just except that – as long as he wasn’t erased, as long as people would still acknowledge his existence – no matter how hard it was.
“Well if you do understand me, then you will be coming here on time tomorrow and those piles of files will be finished today.”
“I’ll do that sir!”
“Listen to me you demon! I’m not here to make your life easy on you. I’m not here to make your dream of being a detective flow nice on you. I’m here to be your nightmare! I’m going to screw your life as hard as you screw other people’s life even when you’re just a baby. So, I’m going to make you live boy, live just to experience the bitter of this life. You heard me?”
“Yes, loud and clear…”
“Good! Now go to your work!” The man walked past him and went back to his usual character, Mr. nice and funny. Naruto let out a deep sigh and looked at his desk – somehow he felt a bit glad that now he had a desk of his own that he hadn’t come used yesterday. But, the piles kind of unnerve him. Either way, he had to work on those nasty piles. So, he dragged back the chair, opened his mantel, and sat down. He began working the first file on the piles. It was about the death of woman in an alley almost thirty years ago. The case was unfinished. The police never found the killer because there were no clues at all. There were no fingerprints, no traces, no witness, and no nothing!
‘Shit! How am I supposed to rearrange these piles of files? There are maybe hundreds of them and I have to read them one by one to be able to rearrange them again! Man, that bastard surely wants to give a really fucking hard time in here.’
“Shit!” Naruto spat out.
“It wouldn’t help if you keep cursing like that!” Naruto looked back to find Neji who was holding two cups of coffee in his hands. “Here!” Neji handed over one of the cup to Naruto. “Seemed like you really need a coffee!” Neji half sat on Naruto’s desk, seeping his coffee, and then looked back to Naruto. “What?” Naruto said confusedly, still holding the coffee in his hand.
“Have you looked into the mirror this morning when you wake up? Or were you late and didn’t even have time to look into the mirror before you left?” Neji asked casually.
“I was late – didn’t have time to tidy myself up. Do I really look that messed up?” Naruto asked while he opened his coffee cup and let the hot fog out. “Literally, you’re just fine. I guess that hair of yours would always be like that no matter how much effort you put on it. But you should see your eyes!”
“What? Is there dirt on them? Shit! I must have looked like a stupid child who forgot to clean my eyes!” Naruto rubbed his eyes. Neji peeped at the desk behind him and found a small mirror. “Here, use this!” He handed the mirror to Naruto.
Naruto took the mirror and looked at his own reflection in it. He pulled it closer and examined his eyes. His eye-lid was black and seemed to carry a bag underneath it – the sign that he didn’t sleep much, not at all to be exact. “I look like a damn zombie!”
“Didn’t have much sleep last night?” Neji asked.
“Let’s just say that last night wasn’t the best.” Naruto tried to avoid the conversation.
“Well, things would be much worse this noon.” Neji stood, leaving the desk to take a few steps back away from Naruto. “What?” Naruto stupidly asked.
“Don’t forget your appointment with that Uchiha guy after lunch in his office – remember, you have to say sorry Naruto not punch his face!” Neji turned his back on Naruto and walked by.
“Neji! Do I really have to? Please….” Naruto begged while Neji just held up his cup in the air to show that he didn’t have a better solution.
“Shit!” Naruto spat again. “Today is going to be as hell as yesterday! Thanks to that damned Uchiha bastard!”


The sun has rise up in the air… People in Konoha police station were starting to burst outside, having their way to the lunch. Naruto was about to stand from his chair when the phone in his desk rang.
“Uzumaki!” He picked it up, wondering who would be calling him on the other line.
“14 hundred, my penthouse, be sharp.”
“What? Who is this?” Naruto asked but the man on the other line had hung up on him already. “Shit!” Naruto spat for the fourth time today.
“Something wrong?” Neji asked. “Want to go for a doughnut?” Neji offered.
“Dunno! A weird fucking bastard called me and just say ’14 hundred, my penthouse, be sharp!’ I have enough of shit today without people calling me for the wrong number.” Naruto stood and took his mantel behind him. “I hate this mantel… Make me look old!”
“Naruto, hate to say this, but – maybe that weird fucking bastard that called just now is that weird fucking Uchiha. And, you can just change to your jumper if you hate that mantel! No big deal!”
“Yeah you’re right! I’ll go change first – What?” Naruto’s mouth slammed the floor.
“You’re so slow!”
“It was that damned arrogant bastard! Shit! His penthouse? Where the hell it is? How am I supposed to know?” Naruto seemed very confuse.
“Naruto, just in case you forgot, we are police officer…”
“Oh yeah – you’re right!” Naruto put his mantel on.
“Want me to give you a lift to your house?”
“Please do! And that doughnut seems interesting.”
“We’ll stop by there after your house then I give you a lift to the Uchiha but you have to walk yourself back to the office.”
“Ay ay sir!”

“We’re here!” Neji stopped the car in front of a five-starred hotel. He looked at his partner frustrated face. “Oh come on! It wouldn’t be that hard – just apologize and go! That’s all!” He encouraged Naruto.
“I know. I just hate to see that prick face! That smirk of him, urgh! I really want to hit his face!” Naruto rested his hands on his chest, acting like a child that did not want to go to school.
“Save it later when we have proven that he’s our guy!”
“Okay!”
“Well get out then! He’s in the highest floor!”

Naruto opened the car. He took a deep breath then he crossed the street to the hotel.

He walked in to the awesome building. The interior was furnished with expensive furniture that Naruto couldn’t imagine of buying them, even if he saved his money for his entire life. All the people there wore suits or blazers and many other used gowns. He felt like an outsider in that huge lobby. Moreover, there were some people that kept on looking at him as if he was some sort of a thief or a beggar that tried to sneak in. but then again, he couldn’t even distinguish which person worked in that hotel and which other actually stayed as a guest (they looked all the same), except for the people behind the desk and the bell boy. So, without further due, he dashed forward to the lift – half trying to not expand the curiosity and half wanting to make everything simply done faster.

Once he was in the lift, he took off a very frustrating breath until he forgot to press the number.
“I’m sorry sir…” The lift guard disrupted his moment of relieve.
“Ha? What?” Naruto stupidly asked and found out that there was nobody in that lift.
“Are you staying here?” The guard inquisitively asked, still the same accusation as the people at the lobby – did he really came for somebody or did he just an outsider who tried to sneak in to steal something.
Again, he inhaled in frustration – he wondered why everybody looked down on him…
“Do I have ‘thief’ or ‘Beware! Bad person!’ on my forehead?” He started to loose himself. “Ergh, no sir!” The guard hesitantly answered.
“Well then just take me to the highest floor where that damned arrogant bastard named Uchiha lived. Is that too much to ask?” He inserted his hands in his black-orange jumper.
“No sir!”
Naruto was about to be relieved once again just before that guard asked another question.
“I’m very sorry sir, but I think I may need your identification!”
Feeling very frustrated, Naruto let out his frog-like wallet and gave away his last defense to the guard.
The guard, once he figured out the thing that Naruto gave, looking very pale as if he was about to be sentenced to death. “I’m very sorry officer! I didn’t mean to – it is just that you don’t look – and this hotel –”
“Cut it! Just take me up there!” Naruto really hate to know that people would start to act like this once they knew that he was a cop. Oops, correction – only the people who didn’t know his past would act like that…
“Sir, we’re here!”
“What?”
“I said we’re here – on the highest floor – the Uchiha penthouse.”
“Oh – okay! Thank you!” Naruto stepped outside, feeling kind of unnerve. There was definitely something wrong with the Uchiha bastard. He never felt like this over someone. It was as if his instinct told him to stay as far as possible from that Uchiha pricked – he hated to be around that guy!

But, he was already standing in front of the huge door and all he had to do is just rang the bell or probably knocked if he liked some old fashioned way. Still he just stood there, taking as many as good air as possible – the air around Uchiha wouldn’t be as good as this. He convinced himself then lifted his right hand upward. But just before his hand reached the doorknob, he preferred the old-fashioned way, the door was opened and the creature of darkness was unleashed… (He just thought of hell behind that door).

And there he saw it – well, it was more to ‘him’ than ‘it’. The arrogant bastard of Uchiha Sasuke was standing there, opening the door for Naruto – looking no different with the one he saw in the restaurant.
“Come in!” Sasuke said without even looking at Naruto’s face and he instantly walked himself in without taking further notice on his guest.
Naruto still looked stupid from his shocked remained still on the door minutes later. He only moved once the Uchiha fucking bastard yelled at him to come in. So, he finally able to produced a step to walk in the penthouse. And there, he was amazed by the huge penthouse of the Uchiha, stupidly standing still after only some steps he gained.
“Are you a dimwit or what? People don’t stare that much! Don’t pretend like you never saw something like this before!” Sasuke sat on one of the sofas on his living room, staring at the stupid but charming – on his own way – Naruto. His legs was crossed, his right hand was on his lap while his other hand was lying on top of the sofa. He sat so casually yet confidently.

Naruto instantly blushed at Sasuke’s comment but he also didn’t know what to do. He had figures in his mind that he would walked in confidently, said that he’s sorry then walked back to the office –it was supposed to be as simple as that. But why the hell he had to be shocked then amazed at whatever he saw. ‘Shit! What a day it is!’ He spat again.

“Are you going to stand there all week?” Sasuke cynically said with only moving slightly his head to his side. But Naruto, either confusedly or probably he really didn’t want to sit in the sofa with Sasuke, just stood there. The only difference that he made was that he’s no longer amazed. Sasuke looked back, feeling interested. ‘He’s so amusing. I wonder what he would do next.’ Sasuke thought.
“So… I believe you have something to say, don’t you Uzumaki san? Are you going to say it while you stand or maybe you have something else in your mind?” Sasuke intrigued him.
“What do you mean?” Naruto could finally produce words from his mouth.
“Ah, so you finally speak! Well – I was wondering, maybe you would offer something for my forgiveness. Aren’t you tired of standing? The sofa won’t kill you!”
“I’m here to apologize though I don’t really think that the fault is mine only! But that’s okay; let’s just allow the sane to take the blame.”
“So, your point is I have to apologize too to you! What mistake have I done to you – officer?” He calmly said to Naruto with his usual mocking tone, which Naruto hate very much.
“I don’t know any other things in this police business that I’m in. I don’t even care what color of money bad police earned! But I do know one thing Uchiha Sasuke, I become a police officer not for that scum reasons! I have my own way of life, and you dare to mess with that! But just safe your sorry ass later on when I found out who murdered your brother!” Naruto turned to his back and was about to mark his leave when Sasuke spoke.
“Are you sure? I thought you just want to be a police officer to be forgiven!” Naruto’s eyes were wide opened. “You know – something like redeeming your sins! Maybe to save other because you’ve indirectly kill so many others.” Naruto frowned.
“I think you’re a masochist Uzumaki kun! The police station was your hell, am I right? Your hater fans club gathers at that place… Do you think by being a cop they’ll forgive you? They’ll cope with you? The answer is ‘no they won’t!’ am I right?”
Naruto looked back at Sasuke again whom now standing with a glass of vodka in his right hand. Naruto – far from his own and Sasuke’s expectation – laughed. He laughed so hard that it was starting to hurt his chest. He laughed so hard that Sasuke’s face was turning weird.

After seconds that felt like minutes, he finally stopped and gained back his breath. “Heh… Never thought you would say those things you prick bastard!” he said casually with smile still on his face and without a single hate. “I guess I don’t need to say anything! Well – actually I do need to say something, that’s why I’m here!” Naruto then walked toward Sasuke and when he got a foot away from Sasuke, he bowed his head.

“Uchiha Sasuke, my deepest apology for the incident on the other day! May I curse whatever devil that’s got into me that day!” then he stood back, smiling.

“That’s better, but it’s not enough!” Sasuke said with a smirk on his face and his left hand in his pocket. “No? What about this?” Naruto walked seductively closer to Sasuke. Sasuke was alarmed at first but then decided to watch Naruto’s next action. Naruto seduced Sasuke with the smile and the look on his face. When he got inch close, he leaned to Sasuke and whispered to his ear. “What about some of this?”

Beyond Sasuke’s knowledge, he got a punch on his face – a hard one – that made him fell on the floor.

“Is that good enough bastard?! And, I won’t be saying sorry for that one! You wanna know why? I simply don’t care if Tsunade suspended me because it felt so good to hit you on your face!” Naruto dashed like a mad man out, leaving a certain Sasuke on the floor.
Sasuke licked the blood on his lips, feeling happier than ever. “See? He is very intoxicating right? Who the hell who would have thought of what he could do next!”

“Hmm… A very good choice he is! I can see why you’re obsessed!” Kakashi came out from one of the room and leaned on the wall like he usually did.

“Oh my brother, poor thing you weren’t here to witness my little prey!” He laughed so hard, harder than Naruto. A laugh that made Kakashi chilled, and he also felt a bit sorry for the fate of the blond boy because he was already marked as a prey of Uchiha Sasuke.


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nai : So, how is it???? R&R if you have time okay?!