When Sasuke Met Naruto (SasuNaru)

- Chapter 11 -

Kakashi Hatake sat on the red sofa in his apartment, casually flipping through the pages of his favorite hentai novel by lamplight. It was a cozy little apartment – messy, but not glaringly so. The beige carpeting was clear, with various pieces of furniture – chairs and end tables, mostly – arranged around the average-sized television. Old magazines and completed novels were strewn carelessly across the coffee table, and the fluorescent light in the kitchenette flickered intermittently behind him as he read.

He glanced momentarily at the clock beside his lamp, making sure he actually had enough time to finish his current chapter before getting around to grading papers for the next day. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to grade them, because he really did care about his students and wished to monitor their success, but at the same time he had to see which twin Susanne would marry in the latest Make Out Paradise novel. So, seeing that it was only 6:30, Kakashi flicked the page over and commenced his reading, only to hear a dramatic pounding on his door moments later.

Now, who could that be?

Clamping his book shut, the eccentric teacher rose and moseyed over to the door, which he casually pulled open, watching as the misty rain blew into the apartment. There, standing in his doorway, was a certain raven-haired teen who stood rubbing his bare arms vigorously as he glared up at the man.

"Ah, Sasuke," Kakashi said, stepping to the side, "please, come in."

Sasuke stomped inside and shook some of the excess water from his borrowed shorts as he kicked off his shoes. No longer sopping wet, the Uchiha started for the bathroom, only to be stopped by Kakashi after a few steps.

"So, how did things go with Naruto this afternoon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke said, brushing the teacher's hand from his shoulder.

"Oh, I see. When did you start liking orange, then?" Kakashi asked, indicating the Uchiha's glaring shorts.

Sasuke glanced at his clothes for a moment and, realizing that lying would be useless, heaved a conceding sigh. "It was a disaster, all right?"

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?" the silver-haired man asked as he took a seat on the couch.

"Like you don't know," Sasuke snapped as he started once more towards the bathroom. "You planned for all of this, didn't you?"

"You're still going on about that, huh?" Kakashi muttered, taking a seat on the sofa.

It was true, of course. He had hoped that Sasuke would be paired with Naruto after seeing the connection between the two. But he certainly hadn't set them up; it was just a lucky coincidence. Kakashi knew that he would have a tough time convincing Sasuke of this, though, so instead he decided to continue feigning ignorance. Things were just easier that way.

"Now, are you going to tell me what happened, or do you just plan to sulk for the rest of the night?" Kakashi said, prying open his book once more.

Sasuke froze in his tracks and glared at the teacher over his shoulder. "You want to know what happened? You suddenly care about my feelings, now that you've already forced Naruto on me? Now you want me to feel like I'm in control, just so you can learn how your plan's going? Well, fine! I'll tell you! I told him all about Itachi and my parents! I opened up to him, let him know every little detail about my tortured past! Are you happy?!"

"Yes," Kakashi murmured, turning the page of his book absent-mindedly. "Now we're getting somewhere. So, if you were telling Naruto all about your past, why did you decide to come over here? It doesn't sound like things were going bad to me."