A grain of truth

IV

It was an understatement to say that Kiba was excited, in fact he was so excited about making the baby room that he was practically bouncing in every corner while designing the room. The painting of the walls had been done days ago by Sai who was a friend of his in his department when Neji allowed them to, and designed it with light pastel blue as a background for the wall with little orange foxes painted doing different things, stealing a mochi, laughing, crying, sleeping, chasing other foxes and small clouds and rainbows. The curtain was of course white, a small shelf with children’s books inside in the east wall under the window and a small set of table and chairs in the corner. The large crib was put on the west wall, including the mobile and beside it was a cabinet stacked with plushies on the top shelf and clothes underneath.



Shino himself had stuck glow in the dark things on the ceiling, while Shikamaru had taken the pleasure of dozing off on the rubber covered floor with abc’s and shapes designed on them and Shikamaru had put himself to good use when he volunteered to hang the huge orange rectangular board just opposite the crib where little pegs were nailed in it for picture frames. From Neji’s point of view it really looked like a real nursery. And he couldn’t help the feeling of something warm and comforting just looking at the place.



“Kiba looks more excited than you it seems.” Neji smirked, watching Kiba help Hinata arrange the other stuffed toys in the cabinet. He was currently carrying a stash of big sketchbook like notebooks in his arms when he stopped midway of entering the room to watch the veterinarian fuss about inside.



“Well, he’s an only child. He likes kids as much as he adores animals, he takes care of people like no other without asking any in return. Hinata’s lucky, Kiba’s going to be a great husband and father.” Naruto joined Neji in watching them, Shino had hit Kiba again because of some stupid thing he did and Shikamaru was slacking off as always but when Neji turned to look at the blonde beside him, he noticed how those bright blue pools went hard as well as how his voice had sounded strained with the last words.



“Hey about your…” Neji trailed off, not wanting to ask anything too personal to Naruto despite his growing curiosity about the man’s life and how he had become like THAT.



“Hm? What?”



“Nothing. Let’s go.” As the both of them stepped inside the almost finished room he heard something akin to the sound of papers rustling and a small thud behind him.



He looked over his shoulder and immediately bent down to help Naruto pick up some pieces of papers from the floor that had slipped off from in between the notebooks he was carrying, not allowing the blonde to strain himself with how he was having difficulty balancing the weight on his abdomen as he tried to bend down without falling face first.



“You know how to draw?” Neji asked in wonder, eyes concentrating on finished sketches of landscapes and people which he regarded as his models as he straightened up again.



“It’s just a hobby, my parents didn’t approve of turning it to a career so I went and applied for English major in education instead.” Naruto couldn’t help the blush that crept up his face as he fought the urge to snatch the handful of sketches in Neji’s grasp. No one had ever seen his sketches, not even his parents, his friends or even Sasuke. “C-can I have it back? It’s nothing special to look at so-” But Neji continued to gaze at the sketches one by one, admiring the delicately drawn sketches, some hard lines, some light thin ones.



“Nonsense, you have talent Naru, you should think of-” The brightness of those pallid lilac eyes hardened and narrowed suspiciously at a certain paper, the sketch on the paper no doubt a familiar face in his memory but with a very different air, and he felt his hand go stiff.



His eyes weren’t narrowed or lowered like when he was with other people, his forehead wasn’t creased, or his smile fake, in fact the smooth outline of his face down to the very last strand of his eased brows were so finely sketched in near perfect detail. It was a finished work of sketch, the usually tense man in a relaxed sitting position half undressed on the bed. His black hair was tousled from sleep, head and back resting on the wall while his arms were resting on folded knees and a wide, genuine smile graced his face. Neji saw Sasuke truly smile for the first time.



Naruto didn’t know how to react when he peered at the one drawing that seemed to take the long-haired man’s attention so much, tanned hands clenched on his sides, his blood pressure threatening to shoot up to the maximum level.



“Naruto I… I haven’t told you this yet but last month when you and I went to that shop, I had been worried with your actions, even after going home you were all silent, even after the weeks after that…” Pallid hands clenched on the set of papers, ears indifferent to the others who were talking about getting lunch in the kitchen as they went out, and he continued silently.



“Was he the reason why… why you were acting like that? Was the man who-” Without meaning to, Naruto had ripped most of the papers in Neji’s hands as he snatched them back, some fluttering down the floor and the others wrinkled in Naruto’s as he clenched them close to his chest, head lowered when the blonde refused to meet thoughtful eyes.



“Naruto you’re not obliged to tell me anything, don’t worry I won’t ask anymore. It would be bad for you and your babies to-”



“I was afraid you know…” Naruto squeaked, shoulders shaking in the process as little balls of moisture dropped on the floor. “All through that time he kept looking at me like I was the one that did something wrong… but he… what was I supposed to do? I told him and he laughed at me what’s the purpose of explaining? A joke… he called me a joke Neji…”



“Naruto…” Naruto nearly recoiled when he felt the palm of Neji’s hand settle on his shoulder, but slowly he relaxed to the touch, finding comfort in each squeeze and words of tenderness coming from the man.



“I knew he was already with someone… I knew that but still I… I really loved him but I didn’t plan on being a husband stealer, I didn’t want to hurt anyone but I became selfish… Deep in my mind I knew I was the one at fault, but I was so angry with her, with Sasuke… I wanted to claim him but what right do I have? What proof will I use, the children? God knows they’ll only treat me like some crazy freak…”



“No, no you’re not selfish at all… you weren’t the one who came onto him right? You were just in love there’s no right or wrong in that… you just accept things because you’re in love.”



“I had planned to explain to him formally but… in the end I backed out, I wasn’t just scared for me but for the kids too… I spent all my life picking up left over affections from my surrogate parents, if Sasuke couldn’t give his self to us then there’s no use in giving at all just because of pity. It would be better that they grow up not knowing him at all that way… that way…” Neji knew full well what Naruto was talking about, the marriage between the Uchihas and the Hyugas are expected, it has been in the past century and will still be in the future. It was a commitment the first head of each clan originating in the Meiji era had created in building the political and social foundations in Japan, their wealth and power nearly transcends that of the government’s head and the one to inherit them all will be the first born son of Uchiha Sasuke and his chosen bride.



Had Sasuke been a woman, it would still happen since the supposed treaty was unbreakable and Sasuke had no choice in the first place in the matter, his whole family including the first born son Itachi who was supposed to marry Sayuri had all died in the Japan Railway bombing when Sasuke was still in grade school resulting in a bloody massacre of many civilians when it crashed to one of the Uchiha’s estate where the annual gathering was being held.



In the Uchiha’s side as long as the woman carries the blood of the Hyuga it doesn’t matter who it will be, since Uchiha men father to gifted children no matter who the mother is as long as she’s a Hyuga because of their genetic compatibility. In Sayuri’s case her having the least characteristics of being a Hyuga was because her mother had married outside the clan but she had the Hyuga blood none the less, besides, she was Sasuke’s first choice after Hinata.



And Neji couldn’t help siding with Naruto when he knew what it was like to have the burden of being the children of the main Uchiha household, to be grown in the tradition of the Spartans.



“Naruto that’s enough, I understand…” Neji didn’t know what to do, he wanted to embrace him but he was afraid of being too close for comfort, he had invaded the blonde’s life more than what he had imagined but when Naruto stepped closer beside him and laid his head against his chest, the hesitation was thrown into the wind.



“Neji don’t tell… don’t tell…”



“Shh… don’t worry I won’t.” Even with the difficulty of having a large bump in between them Naruto still found the embrace between them comfortable, in contrast to what he had believed when they had first met, the Hyuga wasn’t as cold and calculating as he thought, he may be a little stoic but he knew how to express his emotions when needed.



Little by little Naruto learned to trust Neji, his doubts about Neji’s ulterior motives about letting him stay with just a cheap rent and volunteering to buy him necessary things slowly disappearing as he saw the honesty in Neji’s principles and ways of doing things.



In the course of two months he learned things about Neji even Hinata didn’t know. For example, he has a sweet tooth, or that he had no idea the difference of a ladle and a spatula except that they’re both used in the kitchen, and that he’s a graduate in fine arts but owns the largest law firm in Tokyo and that he has two birthdays…



*It happens sometimes that you have two birthdays, it’s got something to do with late registration or something, my uncle have those and I’m actually thankful he has, twice the celebration twice the food!



“Eherm!” Suddenly the two let go of each other with Naruto gasping in surprise at the sound and Neji losing his grace a little as he nearly stumbled on the stash of notebooks he had put down earlier when he stepped back to his own space.



“So…” Kiba arched a bushy brow, scrutinizing eyes switching from Neji to Naruto who was blushing a deep scarlet and was concentrating on figuring the abc’s on the floor ash e balanced himself on the frame of the door with folded arms. “Hinata’s already finished cooking, table’s all set let’s eat.”



“O-okay.” Naruto sped outside the room, refusing to meet Kiba’s eyes who fixed his gaze on the blonde’s retreating back until he sensed Neji attempting to do the same but halted when he had blocked his exit with his own body.



“Hey listen Neji, I respect you and all being Hinata’s ‘brother’…” Kiba started out simply, earning a raised brow from the Hyuga but then continued with a menacing glare with the rest of his sentence. “But you know, Naruto’s gone through enough shit as it is, and I don’t want him getting hurt. He deserves better.”



“I know.” Neji answered back in a level voice, his own understanding eyes meeting Kiba’s glare, wanting his soon to be ‘brother-in-law’ to understand that he’s not like Sasuke. He perfectly knew now that what he wanted out of Naruto wasn’t just his company or friendship, or his body, it had been a shock to him when he realized that he was in love he couldn’t believe it at first.



Every night he would stay up late and listen perfectly to any sound downstairs, waiting in anticipation and worry for the blonde to arrive home. Every morning he would secretly follow him to his work until the blonde was safely inside the cafe, call him every now and then asking if Naruto wanted him to buy anything for him on the way back home, when he would stop by the cafe Naruto was working as a cashier with the excuse of it being near the law firm, the way his heart would jump at the nearness of his body, how he would fight the urge to close his eyes whenever Naruto would be near enough for him to smell his baby cologne… he was actually shocked when he realized how he gave a new meaning to the word stalker… it was stupid.



Kiba stared at him for a while, eyes searching for the truth in those words until he closed his eyes with a sigh as if in resignation. “You’re serious.”



“I am.”



“Good.” At that Kiba put on his brightest smile, patting the flustered dark-haired man across him. “Hinata loves you and I don’t doubt the people she cares about. Then I’ll leave my best friend to you. Ahh… this actually feels like giving away my daughter for marriage or something. Now I know how you felt about me and Hinata.”



The two men stopped dead, staring at each other before they burst out laughing, patting each other on the shoulders and shaking heads at their similarities.



“Oi how long are you going to stand there? Come on before Naruto finishes the whole thing up.” Amidst Shino’s reminder from the door of the kitchen, Neji and Kiba heard Naruto’s embarrassed ‘hey’ in the background and they continued to chuckle their way to the kitchen, finding new understanding between the two of them and eventually sharing the same feeling of being the last to eat with only two small servings of katsu-don on each of their plates, the rest having gone down Naruto’s throat.



“I thought you’re on a diet!” Kiba hollered, sinking heavily on his seat and ears deafening from the sound of his growling stomach.



“I am but it’s just so yummy I couldn’t help it and it’s bad to suppress a pregnant guy’s cravings!!!” Naruto pouted, staring hard on the glass of tomato juice in his hands, six months and still he’s on it, was he getting addicted already?



“Please forgive him Kiba, he’s compensating for food instead.” Shikamaru stretched in his seat like a kitten basking in the sunlight.



“Hey!”



“That’s Hinata’s cooking to you, Kiba. It works miracles.” Neji just chuckled, making plans in his head to open up a can of instant food on his loft upstairs later while wondering what Naruto was compensating for and blushing after realizing what that meant. After all if what Hanabi was saying was true, not that he was really paying attention, then Naruto must be feeling really deprived right now.



‘don’t worry Naruto you won’t be compensating for anything pretty much longer…’



+++



“What!?” The two of them alone, Kiba’s voice sounded enormous in the four cornered nursery room to Neji’s ears and he winced at the disbelief in its tone as he put the boxed infant shoes on the drawer.



“I’m looking for the right time…”



“You still haven’t done anything yet? I can’t believe this… and I thought you were already having some understanding when I caught you one time, was that just some ‘shoulder to cry on friend drama’ you were pulling?”



“No!” Was Neji’s quick reply, he never thought that confessing would be that hard. After all, how hard could saying three words be, he thought that but when he was already in front of Naruto, he actually stammered, his hand nearly had the coffee spill on the coffee table they were taking a break at and the words just won’t come out, well with his heart threatening to shoot up to hypertension who would be able to talk a coherent conversation? The result? He just acted like an idiot in front of him and embarrassed himself in front of Naruto’s four to ten co-workers staring at them with gooey heart shaped eyes.



“’Ya know, I think Naruto likes you somehow, he talks a lot about you almost e-v-e-r-y time and he’s got this big bright smile plastered on his face every time he does it’s getting annoying… so the probability that you’d get dump is pretty low.”



“Yes but... I’m afraid that he would go out with me because he was feeling obliged, because I’ve helped him but that wasn’t really my intention I GENUINELY wanted to help him.”



“Break a leg dude, you won’t know until you try. Although I did get the impression of you having that motive when you offered him this loft. You got the look you know?”



“You mean the look I see on you every time you see Hinata?” Neji just scoffed at Kiba, after fretting over having to hand Hinata to a dog breath like him he never imagined that Kiba of all people would be his LOVE consultant, well the parents are already gone, so he had to suck up to the guard dog best friend instead.



“Yeah… THAT look.” Kiba snickered, going back to arranging some of Naruto’s miscellaneous items which dates back to the blonde’s grade school years, while he was putting them in the cabinet one by one a little black leather box resting on the floor caught Neji’s attention, leaving the company of baby shoes and socks he walked over to Kiba’s corner and curiously held it. It was the size of a custom made stainless lighter’s box and when he pulled the lid open he stared at the lean silver cross that looked like two thin rods glued together with small inscriptions on the back which looked like Latin buried in the red silk cushion of the box.



His pale hand moved to lift it by the chain, eyes widening when the pendant fell to the ground with a soft thud because of the rubber flooring and realizing that the chain had been broken as well as the circle at the top of the cross to hold the pendant and the chain together.



“Hey watch out. That’s Naruto’s heirloom.” Neji shot a quizzical gaze towards Kiba’s soft brown orbs, a sad smile curling on his lips.



“I… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”



“It’s fine, he’s just keeping it for now since he hasn’t found time to take it to a repair shop.”



“Oh…” From squatting Kiba relaxed himself to sitting butt flat on the floor, sighing as the memories flooded his mind.



“That once belonged to his real father, he’d been wearing that since I can remember, every time he was sad I’d find him holding onto that. Naruto’s not the type to confide in anyone, he doesn’t like to show his weakness since he didn’t find himself worthy of people’s worry for him.”



Staring down at the silver cross, Neji gently picked it up and savored the calming feeling at the smoothness of the pendant on his palm. “He’s a Christian right?”



“Yeah, his entire family. Since their ancestors were Spanish missionary people who got executed here in Japan some many hundred years ago.”



“I can see that. Did you know he taught me ‘Our father’?”



“Oh that? Pretty soon you’ll get acquainted with Hail Mary and the Apostle’s creed too. Even though it looks like his surrogate parents pushed him into that religion, I think he really believes in Him, and it’s a good thing. Without his prayers to hold on to he might have broken a long time ago, they’re like glue to his soul. It keeps him together.”



“We all have our own beliefs. And I respect his, we’re planning on going to church this coming Sunday. It’s his day off.”



“Well good for you oh mighty atheist. You might as well look the opportunity up to confess. It’s a good setting.”



Watching Neji hold on to Naruto’s cross and the broken chain in his other palm Kiba’s heart tightened at the memory on how it got broken, and why it was being kept inside a dark box and not dangling on the blonde’s neck instead.



+++



“Ingrata! You ungrateful whore!” Naruto’s face stung as he fought to stop his neck from twisting at the strength of the back hand slap his father had given him, tears involuntarily squeezing through his tightly shut eyes as Kiba’s arms went to wrap protectively around him, the hard cold floor cruel to his knees.



“We have never ran out of reminders for you! We taught you as best as we can, molded you to be the man that you are now! And you come here and tell me THIS!?” His father was enraged, throwing a piece of crumpled paper at his trembling son cowering at his feet, his arms refused to be held by his nearly crying wife.



“My God what have I done to deserve this!? You have destroyed the future we have set before you! You destroyed everything!”



“Honey calm down I’m sure it wasn’t like-”



“Calm down!? Maria how can I CALM down!? He’s pregnant and he’s a man! A man for heaven’s sake Maria! Well at least he looks like one!” From his wife the white-haired man once again put his smoldering gaze towards Naruto and the man holding him for support.



“And you! Not only did you break your promise of practicing celibacy before marriage, you got into an illicit affair with a fellow man! So sickening! Do you realize what our relatives will think of the moment they start to see your stomach grow!? They’ll think we let you be like that! Just like your father!”



“Carl! Stop it already look at the poor child why don’t we hear him out first!?”



But the man was indifferent to his wife’s pleading, the pounding of blood had already deafened his ears. “Yes right, your father! Did you know who he was? WHAT he was!? He was a priest! A soldier of God! But he was the personification of the seven deadly sins!!! But father turned a blind eye and didn’t let him leave despite him having thrown out of the order! He let the child of Satan grow in his belly, all through that time he was growing a monster inside his body!”



“Uncle stop! It wasn’t his fault! Just like Uncle Arashi was innocent! You know the truth! It wasn’t like he seduced those fuckers to come and rape him!” Kiba barked out, his already bruised face showing a deep purple color with the lip cut already reddening from rage and his attempt to not kill Carl right then and there.



“Yes it was his fault! It was his fault for living in the first place! Hermaphrodite or what, whatever words you grace and cover for that monstrosity you cannot help the fact that he’s abnormal! Him allowing himself to live was sin itself!”



“Stop your blabbering old man! You’re envious weren’t you!? Of uncle Arashi because gramps favored your brother more than you! You call yourself servant of God, you’re all fucked up, things you speak of the bible and the things you do are completely different! From what you are acting now aren’t you acting more of a monster than him!? Even worse!”



“Leave your hide out of this Inuzuka! You pagan believers I know are the reason for this! It’s because he hangs around you people that he was tempted in the first place!”



“It wasn’t his fault!!! Why are you people so close minded!? He just loved, is there something wrong in that!?”



“Loved!? You’re mistaking the pleasures of the flesh for love! You are no longer a part of this household Nathaniel! The same as you don’t deserve to wear THIS!” At that the man squirmed free of Maria’s grasp and marched towards the crying blonde and snatched the silver cross Naruto was wearing on his neck with sheer force that the chain had broken, bruising the delicate skin of his nape and threw it outside the window of the western living room.



“Carl, dear… please he’s still our son-”



“Son? I do not even know what to call him. Him? Her? Son? Daughter? IT’S a monster, that’s what it is.” Carl stormed out of the living room in a huff, growling in his low voice to his wife, “Throw out all that monster’s things out of this house, I do not want a single trace of that thing’s existence you hear me Maria?” Deep black pools trembled as they followed the back of the retreating blonde man, tears that were welling up now freely streaming down her immaculate heart shaped face.



From her standing position she saw her tall and proud Nathaniel shrink slowly in Kiba’s arms, curled up like a prawn as he trembled that the sight was enough to tear her heart apart. She had treated him like her own son, showered him with her love just like she would to her real children that she had accepted the fact of who he was the moment her father-in-law gave the once little bundle of joy in her arms. Indeed she had been prepared for whatever could happen, and it didn’t surprise her the least.



“Nathan…” She retracted her pale hand a little, noticing how Naruto had badly reacted to her gentle voice, but she continued anyway, slowly kneeling in front of him she gently cupped both of his cheeks and tenderly she moved them to look her in the eye. He was broken that it hurt just seeing him.



“Ma… ma…” The blonde quietly hiccupped, trembling hands loosely clutching at the material on her lap as she tried to smile.



“I’m sorry honey I couldn’t help you… I love you dear you know that right?” The blonde nodded, the sight a pain to look at for Kiba whose painful wounds seemed much bearable than to have to watch Naruto lose a piece of himself one at a time.



“Just remember I’ll always pray for your safety, I’m always here for you in your heart. We may never see each other again but… I love you Nathan.”



“Mama I’m not a monster right?”



“No… no you’re not, your father’s just really angry. He didn’t mean what he said…”



“You don’t hate me?”



“Of course not you’re my baby… You always will be… and pretty soon you’ll have a baby of your own right?”



“Mama if I don’t have the baby will father forgive me? If I kill the monster-”



“No don’t even think about that! Your baby’s not a monster, and you’re definitely not! This is a gift from God! And you are too!” The crying woman moved to cup on the still flat abdomen, her heart sinking at the thought that she wouldn’t be able to see her grandchild.



“Just remember when you are in trouble just pray, God always listens he never sleeps… he will not give you trials that he knows you can’t handle… there’s a reason for everything Nathan…” With a tight embrace where the two of them seem to not want to let go, Maria reluctantly loosened from the hug, smiling at Kiba and Naruto encouragingly.



“Listen, the insurance in the house in the Kobe prefecture had long since been paid. You can live there, that property is your father’s. You can still continue studying, the educational plan’s fully paid too so you don’t have to worry. Kiba, please take care of Nathan will you?”



Kiba could only nod, and the rest they spent in silence while slowly removing the blonde’s things from inside the house despite the burning pain in his ribs and face.



In Naruto’s childhood he had been called hurtful names a lot, he had grown weary of the song ‘sticks and stones may break the bones but words will never hurt me’, heard plenty of times from his mother’s mouth in attempt to cheer him up but they didn’t just hurt, it cut through deep and infected his soul.



But again and again they left him stronger, he may cry and he may fall but those tears would soon disappear and a pair of brave eyes would soon emerge, bloody and painful his knees may be but he would still stand no matter how many times, because that’s just how wonderful a person Naruto was. Kiba couldn’t remember how many times Naruto’s determination had saved him from giving up in his own goals, hell he wouldn’t have Hinata now if not for Naruto’s encouragement even though getting the rich Hyuga nurse to submit was no cake.



And so he wanted the best for Naruto, and the way the things were progressing he’d recognize no other man fit for his best friend’s affection but his girl friend’s over protective cousin, well look who’s talking, wasn’t he the guard dog of the Naruto protection squad?



+++



“Hey what’re you doing with that?” Kiba went back to doing the finishing touches of the nursery but paused when he saw Neji putting the necklace inside his pocket and the box on one of the shelves.



“It’s fine, it’d be back before he notices it.”



“Psh, whatever floats your boat.” The brunette then shrugged.



*Isn’t Naruto’s surrogate father a Bitch? And that’s with a capital B I tell you. I still can’t decide. Neji, Sasuke, Neji, Sasuke, well Neji seems to be on the better end, oh that’s right! I’ll choose Kiba! -Shudders- just kidding! But I don’t have anything against Kiba/Naru mind you.