Replay

lokivsanubis: Well, as you requested, there's a little more about the boys' past in this chapter, though it ended up kinda angst-ish and it's so totally not my style... I almost made Naruto say 'believe it!' just to break the tension :D and Sakura and Sasuke WERE dating, no such things anymore. And I'll get to that later on. Thanks for the review! Here's a daisy for being the first one in this fic.


(thoughts)

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Iruka gaped at the blond who had emptied his bowl of ramen under ten seconds, and was now sitting quietly, staring at him with a silent plea.

The brunet shook his head, getting rid of the shock and ordering another bowl for his new son, telling him that he could eat as much as he wanted, they weren't that expensive.

Gaara just sat there, barely touching his portion.

”Gaara, if you don't like it we can always get you something else to eat, Naruto was just so enthusiastic about coming over here-”

”Don't mind him!” Naruto said, a string of noodles hanging from his mouth that he quickly slurped down. ”He doesn't eat that much, thinks he's fat or something.”

Iruka arched an eyebrow while the red head glared at his friend, snapping his chopsticks in half.

”No seriously, this doctor told one of our foster father's that he was anorectic and needed to be enrolled to some program, can't really remember, but he never got there cos, well, we kinda changed families soon after.”

Iruka quickly leaned over the table, taking hold of Gaara's pale hand, pushing his sleeve up and gasping as he could clearly see the bones under his skin.

”My goodness boy, we really need to do something with this-”

”I'm fine.” Gaara spat out, trying to get his hand back but found it quite difficult as Iruka was holding it with an iron grip. ”No you're not. We're going to see my friend, she's a doctor, the first thing tomorrow morning.”

Gaara growled, glaring at his foster father, making Naruto smile as he knew the attention Gaara was getting would do him good and that he actually enjoyed it, deep deep DEEP inside of him.

”So,” Iruka began, letting go of the pale hand after giving it a comforting squeeze. ”if it's not too painful or anything, then care to tell me why you've been around so much?”

”Well,” Naruto licked his chopsticks clean, dropping them to the third empty bowl. ”we've had six different families.” Seeing the shocked expression on the brunet's face, Naruto quickly added. ”But seventh's the charm, right?”

Gaara hmm'ed, he was sick and tired of having the same conversation, over and over again, the only things changing were the number of families and the people they were talking with.

He did, however, make sure to take a close look at Iruka's reactions, so he would know if he'd have to start gathering sharp objects and other 'materials'.

”What happened with the six before me?”

Naruto let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing his neck. ”Well, the first one wasn't that bad, but he killed his best friend and went to jail.”

Iruka gasped, making the red head roll his eyes. (If he thinks that's shocking, I can't wait till he hears the rest,)

”The second one went to jail too, for sexual abuse...on me.” The brunet's eyes widened more, looking quite devastated.

Naruto ignored his father's reactions, it was just easier going through the list and getting it over and done with. ”Third one didn't really like us cos Gaara cut his wiener off for trying to get into my pants.”

Gaara smirked, rather proud of himself. (Bet he's going to hide the sharp objects now...)

”The fourth one...” Naruto shrugged the cold feeling off, trying to look like it didn't affect him at all. ”Well, we killed him and went to jail for three months,”

Gaara raised his hand to silence the brunet before he could open his mouth.

”but then they re-opened our case and the judge decided it was self-defense and we got out. Though because the first judge knew the man we killed, he sent us to an adult facility so we got to have a little reunion with our second foster father.”

Iruka couldn't remember when was the last time he'd felt this bad, and helpless, not understanding how the blond could still be so positive.

”Okay, then there was the fifth-” Naruto stole a quick glance from Gaara, who was glaring at him, warningly, silently telling the blond that if he chose not to tell everything, he would.

Naruto bit his lip, looking to the side, embarrassed. ”Well, this time we actually had a mother too, and everything was okay-”

”It was the best family we'd ever had.”

Naruto groaned, looking back at the red head. ”Gaara, I know you're still mad at me, but it's not my fault- okay, so it was, but she didn't have to throw us out!”

Iruka seized rubbing his temples, an effort to keep himself calm, staring at them expectadly. ”She threw you out? Why?!”

The blond hesitated, making Gaara huff and cut in. ”That's what women do when a foster son has an affair with their husband.”

Iruka blinked his eyes, shifting his gaze from Gaara to his other son. ”Naruto, is that true?”

Naruto crossed arms over his chest, staring at the table. ”Well, yeah. She walked in on us and threw me and Gaara out, and HE WON'T STOP BLAMING ME FOR IT!”

Gaara turned to death glare the blond, the corner of his eye twitching. ”Because it's your fault, you fucking incompetent piece of shit, I swear I'm going to strangle you in your sleep and-”

”Oh, and he has rage blackouts, though he usually just curses a lot and occasionally tries to stab someone but it's quite rare.”

The brunet watched, partly shocked and partly fascinated, as Naruto slapped Gaara across the face, making the redhead blink and check his surroundings, eyes finally landing on him. ”Uh, sorry.”

Iruka waved his hand dismissively, he was starting to learn to get over there things quicker. ”So, what about the sixth?”

Naruto let out an empty chuckle, scratching his head absently. ”They got rid of us right after they heard the things you just did.”

”The woman was probably worried about her husband.” Gaara murmured, poking at the forgotten bowl of ramen.

Iruka shook his head, sighing heavily. ”Well, you sure do have some things that are bound to give me a headache from time to time, but!” He shifted his stare between the two boys. ”I like a challenge.”

Gaara and Naruto simultaneously arched their eyebrows, not sure what to think about their new guardian.

”Oh, and just you know, I'll be putting you to therapy, and expect you to voluntarily go there.”

The boys slowly nodded, waiting till the brunet had gotten out of his seat and walked over to pay for their meals, before turning to stare at each other, exchanging perplexed looks.

Gaara knit his nonexistent brows together. ”I don't know why,”

”but I kinda like him.” Naruto finished, giving his friend a dazzling smile.

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Sasuke groaned, slowly opening his eyes and focusing his gaze at the alarm clock right in front of him on the bedtime table. ”3 am. Nice.”

He reluctantly sat up, dropping his feet over the side to the cold floor and pushing himself off the bed, swaying a bit before regaining his balance.

The raven trudged to the door, unlocking and leaning on it with his forehead to make it slowly swing open.

He was greeted by shouts and screaming, making him arch his eyebrow as it was thursday night, his parents didn't usually even come home during the weekdays.

Sasuke sighed and started walking to the opposite direction, heading for their medicine cabinet, but then somehow he caught his name said and before he knew it, the pale feet were leading him to the dining room.

He glared at the appendixes under him. (Bloody traitors.)

When he reached the hall outside the room his parents were in, Sasuke pressed his body to the wall, sneaking closer until he could make out the words.

”...the one to talk, it's not like your business is doing any better!”

Sasuke sighed, starting to walk away, as they were just arguing about work, nothing new under the sun, but then froze.

”I might as well divorce you, you hag!”

The boy's heart sunk, he knew they didn't get along, but it still felt bad.

”Well go ahead! Just remember that I get half of EVERYTHING here!”

”Fine! Just take that son of yours with you!”

”Hah! Well NOW he's my son, but before-”

Sasuke quickly covered his ears, running away from the door, not stopping until he was back inside his room and the door was firmly locked.

He was breathing heavily, sliding to the floor, his muscles screaming at the sudden exercise. Sasuke desperately scrambled away from the door, wanting more distance between his parents and him.

The raven collapsed next to his bed, cursing aloud when he realized he'd forgotten to get his medication.

(Tomorrow's going to be one shitty day.)

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Naruto was pouncing on his feet, his head almost spinning around on his shoulders, trying to take in as much as he could of the new surroundings. ”Gaara Gaara Gaara, doesn't it look cool!?”

Gaara hmm'ed, concentrated on the book Tsunade-sama, Iruka's doctor friend, had given him, telling him that if he didn't want to go to a facility, he would have to work hard on getting healthy.

”And I thought Shizune was really nice, and I think I like this whole therapy thing, you can talk and talk and talk and all she says is 'really, tell me more' or something like that, it's great!”

Gaara nodded, turning a page. ”I figured you'd like it.”

Naruto blinked. ”Really? How?”

Gaara shrugged, smirking. ”Just a hunch.”

The blond was about to continue speaking, his favorite hobby, but then noticed a man jogging towards them. ”Sorry I'm late, had some things to take care of!”

Gaara hmm'ed again and Naruto grinned at the silver haired man, grabbing his hand and shaking it. ”Hello! I'm Uzumaki Naruto! This is Gaara, just Gaara, doesn't really have any other name, but he sometimes uses mine when people start questioning, which is pretty funny cos Uzumaki Gaara just sounds weird doesn't it, but this one time he said-”

Kakashi arched an eyebrow, slowly shifting his gaze to Gaara. ”Is he always like this?”

Gaara shut the book, putting it into his bag and returning the gaze. ”Only when he's over-stimulated, it's a defense system of sorts.”

Kakashi nodded, sticking out his left hand as Naruto was still holding on to his right one, which Gaara shook. ”I'm Hatake Kakashi, I'll give you a crash course about the school and how things run around here, and I'm also your P.E. teacher.”

The redhead nodded, letting go of the hand. ”Gaara.”

Kakashi snickered. ”Just Gaara, eh? No Uzumaki there?”

Gaara glared at the man under his brow, shaking his head slowly. ”No. Just Gaara.”

Naruto seemed to finally stop talking, letting go of the nearly numb arm and taking a deep breath, holding it while counting to ten with his eyes closed.

”And what's he doing now?” Kakashi asked, scratching his chin.

”He's trying to calm down, just give him a second.”

True enough, soon Naruto exhaled, grinning up to his teacher. ”Well, Kakashi-sensei, where's our tour?”

Kakashi rolled his eyes, walking past the two boys and motioning them to follow.

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Shikamaru yawned, taking a look at the empty paper in front of him and sighing, not really feeling like doing any math.

Another one avoiding doing his work was Sasuke, sitting right beside him, staring blankly at the space in front of his table.

”Sasu, you okay?”

Sasuke absently nodded, eyes staying unfocused until an eraser made contact with his head, effectively snapping his mind back to now.

”What was that for?”

Shika raised his eyebrows, the raven was seriously confused. ”Oh god, you didn't take your medication, did you.”

Sasuke shook his head, getting back to staring at nothing, distant voices going through his head.

Shikamaru hn'ed, scratching the side of his head. ”Well, it's not the first time so I guess you'll be fine.” He then snorted, more to himself, realizing that the raven hadn't listened to a word he just said.

”Just don't listen to the voice telling to kill everyone, mmkay?”

Sasuke nodded again, none of the words really making it through.

He didn't even register the fact that there was a knock on the door and that their P.E. teacher came in with a young blond boy.

”Asuma, I got that new student here, his name's-”

”Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!”

Asuma sighed, taking the chalk to his left hand and shaking the outstretched hand with the right one. ”Sarutobi Asuma.” He waved at the general direction of the classroom behind him. ”Just choose a seat and start taking notes.”

Naruto nodded and, after waiving goodbye to Kakashi, walked to the back of the class, looking around and grinning at anybody who he caught staring at him.

He was about to sit down when his eyes landed on one boy, dark hair, pale skin and an empty stare. Naruto grinned, changing his direction and moving over to the other side of the class, pulling a desk next to the boy's and sitting down.

Sasuke blinked when there was a tap on his shoulder and turned his head to the side, arching his eyebrow at the unknown blond threath.

Naruto chuckled when the raven, nameless at the moment, tilted his head, leaning closer to the desk while eyes still on him, and mirrored his movements.

The Uchiha squinted his eyes, pressing his ear to the desk and glaring at the mimicing blond suspiciously. He motioned for the blond to come closer until their noses were almost touching.

”Are you real?” Sasuke whispered, careful not to let anyone else hear, in case it was just his imagination.

Naruto chuckled quietly, answering in the same manner. ”Are you?”

The raven seemed to think about it, the hand between their faces tapping a finger on the desk. ”Not sure.”

”Are you high or something?” The blond was finding the boy entertaining.

Sasuke stared at the mesmerizing blue eyes, taking his time to answer. ”Didn't take my medication, they were fighting, wanted to get rid of me...”

Naruto's grin faltered and, as a moment's impulse, he put his hand over the pale one between them. ”Then they're stupid, don't think about it, ne?”

The raven blinked, getting this strange urge to... grin... Instead he sat up straight and turned his head to the other side, staring at Shika who had been looking at them with great interest. Well, as interested as Shikamaru could be.

Before the raven could open his mouth, he cut in. ”He's real. It's Naruto, he's a new student.”

Sasuke nodded, turning back to the blond, who had sat up straight too and was now staring at him with a smile.

”Why didn't you just say you were real?”

Naruto shrugged. ”Why did you think I wasn't?”

”You're blond.”

”Correct.”

”And pretty.”

Naruto snorted, rubbing his eye absently. ”Well, that's nice to hear.”

They were oh so rudely interrupted by the bell, and before Naruto could ask for the raven's name, he was being dragged off by a pink haired girl, followed closely by two brunets.

The blond sighed, picking his bag up and walking towards the door, determined to find his redheaded friend.

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Gaara was panicking.

You couldn't see it from the outside, but inside he was trying his best to keep all the anxiety at bay.

(Dammit Naruto, where the hell are you-)

”Gaara!”

Gaara casually closed the book and turned towards Naruto, who was skipping. ”Had a nice first class?”

The blond nodded enthusiasticly and then frowned, sensing the nervous aura around his friend and grabbed him to a hug.

Gaara sighed, rolling his eyes even when it actually helped to have his friend close, it made the strange stares he'd been getting less important.

”Don't mind them, it's just your hair.”

The red haired boy snorted, adjusting his bag when Naruto finally let go of him. ”I know, idiot.”

”You're welcome. Anyway, last lesson was GREAT! I had so much fun, and I met this guy, whose name I don't.... know...”

Gaara sighed again, putting the book away and concentrating on glaring back at people. ”You already have a crush, what was that, fifteen minutes?”

”It's not a crush!” Naruto crossed arms over his chest, letting out an indignified huff.

”Well, what was the subject then?”

The blond froze, his mind drawing a blank. ”Dunno, but the guy was a barrel of laughs.”

Gaara nodded, grimacing as the bell rang again. ”We have the same class, move it.”

Naruto grinned even wider, taking a hold of one pale arm and pulling him towards the gym. ”P.E., I can't wait to see you duke it out with Kakashi-sensei.”

There was an incoherent mumbling from Gaara's end, but the blond ignored him.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Review if you want to and don't worry, this won't be an angst fic, there will be some drama cos I just LOVE drama, but I also have a kinda crack-head personality, so... yeah... anyway, review if you feel like it, I appreciate it greatly!