Inbred

I made this chapter short to prevent it from becoming another long chapter. I also had a much better chapter title but I didn't write it down so I forgot. No NC-17 stuff here, no summary either.

-------------
Chapter 9

For the whole week Sasuke had to avoid putting Naruto and Neji in the same room together. He wanted them to get along since they were the only people he really cared about but he guessed what they said was true: 'Your best friend's friend will be your worst enemy'.

It was his fault anyway, he never should have forced Neji to wear that choker again. He didn't think it would be a big deal, he kept his ring on a longer chain so most of the time it was hidden beneath his clothing and he and Neji were hardly ever seen in public together so it's not like anyone would notice. But Naruto did. Sometimes, he wondered if the dumb blond feigned ignorance just to make people underestimate him. He had also been right about the collar comment. Sasuke had originally bought two rings for them and engraved a sort of a 'code-word' into each ring. But Sasuke wasn't the ring-wearing type so he put his on a chain, that was when he got the brilliant idea to put Neji's own on a choker.

The boy was against it at first but he had conceded after the other man gave him a mind-blowing orgasm. Neji knew the significance of the chocker, it was as Uzumaki said, he was now Sasuke's bitch and it was humiliating, at first, but no one seemed to notice so he continued to wear it. It was only after he suddenly broke off his relationship with Sasuke that he stopped wearing it, and after all these months of being shut out of Neji's life Sasuke was determined to give the boy a reminder that he was still demanding to play an integral part in his life.

He had wanted to get back at the blond for ribbing Hyuga that night and he finally got his chance one morning when he received a phonecall while the boys were lounging in the front room.

"Uchiha," he answered, cradling the receiver between his head and his shoulder. "Yeah, Sasuke, that's me...Yeah, there's a 'Naruto' here." The blond looked up from his place on the floor when Sasuke mentioned his name, curious as to who would be calling Sasuke's line to speak to him. "May I ask who's calling?...Tsunade!"

Naruto jumped up and shook his head, mouthing the word 'No' and criss-crossing his hands in front of his chest. He had forgotten to call her and he knew that she was probably pissed.

Sasuke grinned at the boy in amusement. "Oh, hi! How are you?... Yeah I'm fine...Yeah he's here, he's watching TV," he had to stifle the laughter that was building up in his chest when he saw Naruto's expression. The boy got on his knees now and was pleading silently with Sasuke. His fantasy of Naruto on his knees before him begging was finally fulfilled. He'd have to get Tsunade to call more often. "Yeah, I'll get him, hold on. Dobe, phone's for you."

Naruto scoffed and got to his feet, snatching the receiver from Sasuke's hand. "Thanks, asshole," he mumbled.

"Anytime," came the reply.

Naruto took a deep breath, dreading the conversation that was ahead. Putting a smile on his face he decided to lay on the charm thick. "Auntie! Hi-"

"Don't fucking, 'Auntie, Hi' me," she screeched and Naruto cringed as if she had physically hit him. "It's been over a week, over one whole fucking week. You don't call, you don't write you didn't even let us know you arrived in Japan, for all we knew your ass was lying dead in some alley with dogs pissing on your corpse."

"Umm, I'm fine Auntie, I'm a big boy now, don't worry so much about me."

"Oh, I'm not worried now, you know why? Because the second your ass gets back here I'm gonna break your shitty little neck. How could you do this to Jiraiya and me, Naruto. We were worried SICK!"

He suddenly felt guilty. After his parents had died Naruto had been to many different orphanages, apparently he was a problem child and the care-takers didn't have the patience to deal with him so they just had him sent to another orphanage to be someone else's problem. And that's what he grew up to be, a problem to everyone else. He never stayed at a home long enough to make real friends so his social skills were lacking, he found that playing tricks on the 'wardens' or whoever was in charge would get him noticed by the other kids, it was a formula that worked and he'd stuck with it through most of his life.

Eventually he got tired of playing 'Orphanage Hop-scotch' and took matters into his own hands. He ran away from the children's home. He regretted the decision after having to spend two nights on the streets but was rescued by the kindly Tsunade who didn't have any kids of her own (and couldn't qualify to adopt because of her gambling problem). She raised him as if he was her own son and he thought of her as his mother.

"I'm sorry, Auntie," he apologized sincerely. "I was caught up with so many things and I really wanted to call you guys but it kept slipping my mind."

That seemed to placate her somewhat and after Naruto promised he wouldn't forget again she made him tell her everything that had happened to him during his stay so far and he did, obviously omitting the part that he almost got raped. They talked for the better part of two hours before she put Jiraiya on the phone. The old man didn't have much to say but all he asked Naruto about were girls and begged him to send pictures, pictures, pictures.

He heard Tsunade berate the old lecher for encouraging the boy in filth before she took the phone again to say her good-byes.

"Bye Auntie, I love you."

"I love you too Naruto, take care."

He hung up and smiled and for the first time he actually felt home-sick.

"She's loud," Sasuke said to no one in particular his eyes still affixed to the TV. He was watching the weather report.

"You could hear her from there?"

"Our downstairs neighbours could hear her from here," he said flatly before changing the television station with the remote. Soap-operas.

"Yeah," he said it almost like an apology. "She's pretty...vocal sometimes but she's actually very sweet." 'When she's not so abusive,' he thought to himself.

Sasuke turned to look at him then, "That's the one with the tits, right?" He had met her one evening when he gave Naruto a drop home. Sasuke didn't think it was possible for a woman's breasts to get so big and he wondered how she didn't have back problems, especially at her age.

Naruto nodded.

"She still with that old pervert?"

"Nah! They're still on hiatus," he moved over and sat next to the brunette on the couch.

"Pity, they make an...interesting couple. But then again, they never see eye to eye, I wonder how they ended up together in the first place."

Naruto didn't skip a beat, he knew the answer to that well. "It may be hard to believe but they loved each other alot, actually they still do. They may have their differences and they may not always be on the best of terms but they really care about each other, when they were raising me they waited until I was old enough to understand before they broke up, they didn't want to hurt me, but even then they still hung around each other. They weren't official or anything but it still felt like we were a family." Naruto looked over at his friend who was now giving him a funny look. "Heh, I know it sounds corny but it's hard to explain, I guess...it's one of things you have to experience than to have someone tell you about it."

"I see," he said in that flat tone of his and Naruto had a hard time reading his expression. Sasuke was convinced that beneath all that layer of fat Naruto had a brain in there somewhere because sometimes, in his naivete he managed to impart some wisdom or say something uncontrived that contained a much deeper meaning. "Get dressed, dobe," he got up from his place on the couch and moved to go into his bedroom.

"Oi, we're leaving already?" He asked the man's retreating back. Neither he nor Sasuke had any classes today and they had made arrangements to go sight-seeing, since Naruto wanted to take pictures to e-mail back home. "I thought we planned for midday." A conveniently located clock told Naruto it was only ten thirty-five.

"Change in plans, we're bringing along a third party," he shouted from his room.

"Who?" he asked with avid curiosity as he rose from his seat to make his way to his own room.

"Neji."