Mitsuki's team was given three days to recuperate and recover from the attack, not that Mitsuki was complaining. It meant he can skip classes without worrying about Iruka-sensei (not that he ever had).
Those three days were coincidentally Gai's vacation period as well. As such, the jounin took the boy with him along in his harsh training regime.
Yeah, he can put up with the training. He could even tune out Gai-sensei's passionate cries of youth most of the time.
What he couldn't excuse Gai-sensei for, however, was this.
"I am not wearing that."
Mitsuki crossed his arms, trying to mimic his brother's I-won't-allow-it stance.
Because there was no way he was going to wear something that obnoxious and hideous. Jashin, who would ever make such a thing?
"Oh, come on, my YOUTHFUL student! Show off that you are in your Springtime of Youth, Mitsuki!" Gai persisted, holding up a green spandex in Mitsuki's size. The boy blanched. Since when did Gai-sensei have the time to buy one? Better yet, how did he know Mitsuki's exact size?
"No. Not even when hell freezes over."
"The Fountain of Youth ever flows inside you, my young student! Why not flaunt it?"
"Because Jashin-sama does not tolerate such ridiculousness."
In the end, both of them compromised.
Mitsuki, in his most humble opinion, thought that the orange leg warmers clashed horribly with his purple hoodie and navy blue pants.
Meanwhile, Gai made a mental note to ask more about this Jashin-sama. After all, whoever he is made Mitsuki so much more youthful.
================================
"Oi, Bastard!"
Mitsuki greeted, tackling his new rival in a hug from behind.
Sasuke grunted, grounding himself as he worked to remove the pest from his person. He was slightly regretting calling him his rival.
Nearby, Naruto snickered at his predicament. With Sasuke declaring Mitsuki as his new other rival, Naruto followed with declaring his best friend as his also new rival.
Mitsuki was not impressed. However, he did nothing to rebut Naruto. As such, they were now in a complicated frenemy triangle, competing against each other while still spending time with one another.
And while he will never admit it out loud, Sasuke was starting to like their company. Theirs and the rest of their friends. Although, he can put up without the fangirling with Ino. His only small consolation was that Sakura didn't seem that interested in him anymore.
"Get off, idiot!" Sasuke, having given up with tearing Mitsuki from his back, resorted to verbal abuse.
Of course, he should have known that Mitsuki, being Mitsuki, didn't care about the tongue lashing he was having.
Now that he thought about it, Mitsuki didn't care for a lot of things. He was just that.........he didn't really know what to call it.
The young jashinist merely rolled his eyes and tightened his grip on Sasuke's shoulders. Like hell he was going to lose his free, albeit unwilling, ride.
A dejected Sasuke finally made his way over to their friends (and since when did he refer to them as his friends as well?), and slumped over beside Kiba. He shared a resigned glance with Shino.
Shino had become a member of their circle of friends when Hinata saved a spider and asked him about it. The rest was history. Or, to be more precise, Shino getting dragged in whatever crazy scheme their crazy friends had thought of.
Like spiking all their teachers' drinks with poison from the red veil spider. Sasuke gained a newfound respect for the Aburame Clan's insects after that.
"So, what do you guys wanna fucking do?" Mitsuki asked from his perch, swinging his legs on Sasuke's shoulders and ignoring the glare aimed at him, just like how everyone else ignored his profane language.
"Tree-walking maybe?" Sakura contributed. She and Ino had also gradually joined their group after the attack; at first, under the guise of thanking Mitsuki and Sasuke for keeping Sakura safe. From there, they had integrated themselves to the tightly-knit group of friends.
The more the merrier, as they say. Besides, it was Sakura's idea to use the spiders' poison (or at least, a watered down version of it) to gain access to their test papers. It would seem that most (but not all, thank Jashin for that) of their teachers graded Naruto unfairly.
He wasn't the deadlast anymore, his friends made sure of that, but his grades seem to say otherwise. Of course, this prompted an impromptu investigation from Mitsuki, which everyone joining in as well. The results of their sleuthing pushed Shino of all people to smuggle the spiders in the Academy. Their poison was used by his clansmen to knock out and silently kill opponents after all.
Naruto furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's that, Sakura-chan?"
"I've read about it in a book before. It's a training method for chakra control. They usually teach it in our last year or when we're genin, but I see no harm in trying it out now." Sakura explained.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's try it!" Kiba exclaimed, already rising to his feet, Naruto right behind. Their friends followed at a more sedate pace.
"But where are we supposed to practice?" Ino wondered aloud.
"Outside." Mitsuki said simply, already heading over to the gates. With only a moment's hesitation and a muttered "Troublesome" from Shikamaru, they followed.
It wasn't as if getting out of the Academy during their breaks were not allowed, right? Even if it was, they can all just blame Mitsuki.
A few minutes later, after Sakura explained the gist of what they were supposed to do (namely just focusing their chakra to the soles of their feet), all ten of them were competing against each other on who would be the first to get it down.
Unsurprisingly, after less than ten tries, Sakura was the first to get it right, with Hinata as a close second. They were known for their excellent chakra control after all.
Mitsuki and Ino tied for third place. Mitsuki cursed his pitiful chakra reserves. He made a mental note to build it up before graduation. No use getting chakra drained in the middle of a battle.
It was taking the rest of them more time to master it, with the aforementioned four watching them with varying degrees of amusement. Or, in Hinata's case, actually helping them out.
Mitsuki, meanwhile, was staring at Naruto. He was a natural sensor, he knew. Unlike most sensors, he was able to sense most people's chakra and their affinities without even needing to mould his chakra to do it. And more importantly, he was born with a high sensitivity to chakra. As such, while his range was a bit limited (about a hundred meters or so), he can easily sense the chakra nature, reserve, and heck, even identify the family or clan of a person without even trying.
That didn't mean he would stop at that. No, he had been training himself to increase his sensory range and add a few more "sensory detections". Now, he could even sense one's emotions when he tries hard enough. He was hoping that, with training, he could sense whether or not someone has a kekkei genkai. To this day, he could never shake off the feeling of searing heat just standing beside the aftermath of a Lava Style jutsu brings.
But now that he was intently focusing on Naruto, since the blonde had the worst chakra control in their class, he honed in on his chakra signature, trying to see if Naruto was coating his feet with the right amount of chakra. That was when he saw it.
Red. Angry, red chakra was inside Naruto. Or more specifically, swirling around his stomach. Where Naruto's chakra was bright and warm and giddy, this chakra was cold and dark and......cold.
Just what the fuck? Squinting, Mitsuki really looked at his best friend's chakra. The malicious chakra is still there. How the fuck did he not notice that before? Better yet, how does Naruto have two goddamn chakra signatures?!
"Onii-san! Someone's near us!"
"What do they feel like?"
"I.....I don't really know."
"Hmmm?"
"They seem to have.....two chakra signatures? I don't know. But......one of them feels very........bad?"
"Bad?"
"Yeah, it's red too! That's so cool! He has red chakra!"
"........Fuck. Mitsuki, we need to fucking go. Now."
(That was the only time he remembered his brother scared.)
"Nii-san, why did we run? I know you could've beaten them!"
"Not now, otouto. Whoever that was is a fucking jinchuuriki. You could have died."
"Jinchu-what?"
"Jinchuuriki. They're people with a shitty tailed beast inside them."
"A tailed beast?"
"There are nine of them scattered around the nations, each with massive chakra reserves. Even larger than an entire stupid great village combined."
"Wow! But, how are they inside people?"
"They're sealed into them. Don't fucking know how they do that. But promise me this, otouto. Don't fight someone with bad chakra, all right?"
"Yep, I promise, nii-san!"
Mitsuki's eyes widened as he recalled that particular encounter, when he and nii-san was roaming around the Land of Lightning.
That red "bad" chakra. He was feeling it again, but this time, it was inside Naruto.
Sickening realization overwhelmed him.
Naruto is a jinchuuriki.
Naruto is a fucking jinchuuriki.
"Holy shit, that actually makes a fucking whole lot of sense." Mitsuki thought.
The massive reserves, the spontaneous healing, the village's hatred for him.
All because he was a jinchuuriki.
Which was bullshit, as far as Mitsuki was concerned. Why hate and bully someone who had the power to kill all of them in a heartbeat? Damn, and he thought he had issues.
And while he was on the topic, what kind of Kage allows his own subjects to scorn a goddamn child who possibly didn't know why they did what they did. That's poor leadership in Mitsuki's honest opinion.
Mitsuki was starting to question the old man's capability to lead a fucking village. He's a damn Kage! He had the power to tell the villagers to straighten up. Why the fuck isn't he doing that? Who the hell is stopping him?
He was now starting to understand his brother's annoyance on Yuga's village council. This was utter stupidity at its finest.
"Hey, Mitsuki! You coming?" Naruto called out. Looking up, Mitsuki saw that they were already leaving, Sasuke and Shikamaru looking at him with an unreadable expression and Naruto waving his arm at him to get up.
He did just that. The walk back to the Academy was pretty noisy, Naruto and Sasuke arguing, Ino shouting at Shikamaru who was lagging behind to move it, and Kiba, Shino, and Hinata talking about everything and nothing.
Mitsuki took that time to puzzle over what he just learned today.
Naruto is a jinchuuriki. Mitsuki could safely say he has the Kyuubi. Mitsuki knew nothing else about bijuu and jinchuuriki aside from what little his nii-san told him.
The Yondaime Hokage was said to have killed the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or at least, that was what everyone was telling him. Ha. He probably sealed it personally inside Naruto. Can bijuu even die?
The old man, the current HOKAGE, didn't stop the villagers from beating up Naruto. Mitsuki did not want to remember that day (he was the only one to go down and help. Were the Anbu in strict orders not to interfere? If so, fuck you old man). What the fuck is wrong with Konoha's leaders?
It would seem as if a visit to the library is in order.
================================
Thankfully, it was a weekend the next day and he was able to wake up earlier than Gai-sensei. Leaving his guardian a note about his whereabouts on the table, he eagerly went out, but not before swiping his own camera, a gift from Gai-sensei when he overheard Mitsuki raging about not having a picture to prove that Naruto slept like a hog.
He did not expect to bump into Sasuke Uchiha on the way to the library.
Before he could even state his surprise, Sasuke beat him to it.
"Talk."
A confused blink.
"What?"
Sasuke 'tch'ed and reluctantly explained further.
"You were acting strangely yesterday. You were looking at Naruto as if you were seeing him for the first time. What's wrong?" Sasuke asked, trying his hardest not to sound concerned. Because he was not. Nu-uh. He was not concerned.
The boy stayed silent for a while. Can he trust Sasuke? Will the Uchiha hate Naruto as well once he learns the truth?
Personally, Mitsuki didn't give a damn. Which wasn't that surprising. Naruto could have been the illegitimate half-human child of a demon hell-bent on destroying the Elemental Nations and he wouldn't give a flying fuck.
His brother thought he was just very, very flexible. Mitsuki agreed.
But he didn't know about Sasuke. And Shikamaru too, because that guy was probably suspicious as well. Damn that guy's genius brain.
"I'll tell you later, once I get everything straight." He finally conceded.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the blunt dismissal but nodded.
"The others are in Training Ground Ten. Join us later then."
Mitsuki nodded, watching the Uchiha as he rounded the corner, making sure he really did leave before quickly making his way to the library.
He had a village secret to uncover.
================================
Anbu operative Hyena wasn't really sure why the subject suddenly wanted to go to the library.
He knew the boy liked to read, but not so much that he can be called a bookworm.
But his conversation with the last Uchiha coupled with this sudden interest in the library was worrying. For the two years that he had been assigned to watch over him, he had come to the conclusion that the boy is an enigma. He was an amazing sensor so blatantly brilliant it's unnatural. Add on the fact that lying and switching from one persona to another comes naturally for him and Hyena can safely say that he was an incredible spy in the making. It was a good thing the boy seemed to show hints of the infamous Will of Fire after all these years. He'd rather not have the boy as an enemy (and no, it was not because he was getting fond of the brat after all these years watching over him).
They had stopped putting him in surveillance a year ago, but after Kumo's bold attack against him and the last Uchiha, Hokage-sama had assigned him once more to observe the boy. Hyena hadn't questioned it, but he had wondered why the Sandaime had personally chose him to be the boy's guard dog. Surely there were better choices than him, Anbu who had a better chance of defending the kid when the need arises?
Other than those observations however, Hyena had also noticed that the boy was a constant companion to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, even going so far as to shield him from the villagers' stares and caring for him even if he wouldn't admit it out loud.
Hyena couldn't even count the number of times he, and the other Anbu in rotation with him back then, had mixed with the other Anbu guarding the Uzumaki. He could remember, however, the first time their target arrived in the jinchuuriki's apartment. He could actually see the utter disbelief and rage that flashed through the boy's eyes before he schooled his expression.
Of course, he then proceeded to clean up and make the apartment more habitable, despite his friend's protests. He even gave himself the task of filling up the poor blonde's fridge, grimacing as he did so. The results weren't bad for an eight-year-old. Hyena briefly wondered if the boy was used to living independently, without an adult in his life.
After that and with much gossiping in their ranks, the rest of the Anbu, or at least those who didn't hate the Uzumaki, began sneaking their target their own gifts, addressed to either one of the kids or both of them. Hyena wasn't ashamed to admit that he had thought it cute when he found both boys wearing matching shirts (the blonde a dull orange one, and the silverhead a dark purple with Konoha's insignia on both shirts) that he bought for them, along with their own matching pairs of goggles.
Hyena noted that the boy was fiercely protective of his things, always looking as if they were going to get ripped out of his hands if he wasn't careful, which was worrying. Did the boy ever have something stolen from him?
Hyena was quite sure their target knew it was them leaving the presents in his room, but he didn't seem to mind. More importantly, he didn't tell anyone. No need to make it look as if the Anbu were getting soft. It wouldn't do any good for their image.
Anyway, for the subject to act like what he was doing now was suspicious, even more so when he began rummaging over the fuuinjutsu and history sections of the library.
He couldn't have known about that, right? It wasn't like there was any law preventing the boy from investigating on his own accord, but still.
Hokage-sama's orders forbid him from going down there and interacting with the boy, which he never hated this much until today.
Hyena watched with interest as the subject systematically went through the texts, humming lightly as he did so. Sometimes, he would get up and add another book to his already sizable pile. Books were spread haphazardly around the table he claimed as his own. The boy skimmed through every page of every book without getting bored. It was an admirable feat, even for a seasoned shinobi. Not a lot of people had the patience to look through all those texts in one sitting. Fewer still could match the pace the boy was reading. It was inhuman.
Finally, after over an hour or so, he paused, staring at one of the scrolls with a steely glint in his eyes. Fortunately, the boy was situated right behind a window. From his perch outside, Hyena could barely make out what was written on it. Nearby, a book was flipped to a page where the Yondaime Hokage's photo was pasted on.
The first thing that registered in Hyena's mind was that the boy knew. He probably knows everything about the subject now.
The second thing was that how the fuck did a ten-year-old Academy student, who wasn't even a local of Konoha, uncover everything? And not even from books accessible to higher ranking shinobi no less.
The third thing that went to mind was what should he tell Hokage-sama? Should he even tell him?
The last thing was that the boy would make an excellent addition to the Anbu black ops. His sensory skills and dōjutsu (Shinegan, that's what the subject calls it) were already something the Hokage himself was interested in. Add information gathering to the boy's already admirable skills for one so young and he could be a valuable asset to their ranks.
Hyena stilled and actually considered it. Anbu didn't really have an age requirement. Hell, they can even scout children upon graduating from the Academy.
The boy had already proven himself adept in taijutsu, and had shown that he can handle himself just fine against a full-pledged shinobi, while simultaneously protecting his teammates. He did have a missing-nin brother, but that wasn't their basis of recruitment. No, all the Anbu were after was talent and potential. All other information about the recruit was not important.
He was a prodigy Konoha was lucky enough to lay their hands on. A damn prodigy who was now looking up at him with a smirk and a knowing look, his goggles catching the sunlight.
Hyena returned it with a flat look. Okay, so the boy obviously can't see it, but he was quite sure he can sense it from Hyena's chakra. From the way the boy's smirk got wider, he probably did. And dammit, Hyena was beginning to find that smirk endearing.
Was it a good thing if the boy sincerely wants to join the Anbu? Was it a bad thing for Hyena to wish he did?
================================
To tell or not to tell. That was the million ryo question.
Mitsuki hummed, arms crossed behind his head as he leisurely walked towards Training Ground Ten, aka the "Lucky Nine Plus One Hangout Place". The fact that he came up with it right on the spot was not important.
What was important was figuring out whether or not he was going to share his discoveries to his friends. Given that the Anbu watching over him, Hyena, didn't make him swear to secrecy, it was probably up to him to decide what he would do with his newly required information.
He passed by Gai-sensei's home and didn't feel his chakra. Must be out challenging his eternal rival then. Mitsuki briefly wondered if the jounin saw his note, then remembered that this was Gai-sensei and he probably didn't. Oh well. He tried.
He could feel the others' chakra fluctuating on different intervals; no doubt they were practicing tree walking. He could also feel the three Anbu guarding Naruto spread around the field, chakra flickering curiously. His own Anbu guard, Hyena, also seemed interested. He was the only one of the Anbu he saw in person after that disastrous prank involving ninja wire and paint. From what he remembered, Hyena seemed more amused than annoyed about it, unlike Iruka-sensei.
Out of all the Anbu he had met (or had enough time and exposure to differentiate their chakra signatures), Hyena was the best, mainly because he was his most reliable source of pranking and sabotaging supplies. Even if the Anbu would deny it, Mitsuki knew it was him from the way his chakra would flicker in happiness and smugness of all things whenever he'll find said supplies on his bed or desk.
Mitsuki paused at the entrance of the grounds, hesitating. What the fuck was he supposed to tell Sasuke?
That their shared rival has a bijuu sealed inside his stomach, who was also the cause of an impressive number of casualties on October 10 ten years ago?
Holy shit, no wonder the civilians were extra nasty to him during his birthdays. And also why there were more Anbu watching over him during those times.
Wow, now that he thought about it, why the fuck did the old man not interfere? Mitsuki was pretty sure he received the reports about the attempted beatings. Why didn't he do something about it?
Mitsuki's respect for the old man was going down the drain. Next time he'll see him, he'll rip him a fucking new one. See how he'll like getting verbally abused.
The first to notice him was Shino, who inclined his head as a greeting. He was panting heavily, leaning on Kiba as the other boy looked ready to collapse. Beside them was Hinata, who smiled at him. Across from them, Naruto, Sasuke, and Chouji were attempting tree climbing, Ino and Sakura telling them pointers. Shikamaru was sprawled in the middle of the field, having landed there after exerting too much chakra on his feet.
He sat up when Mitsuki approached, eyeing him suspiciously. Mitsuki sighed. He probably knew something was up.
"What do you know about the Kyuubi attack?"
Shikamaru straightened, narrowing his eyes at the boy beside him, who stared right back, a terrifyingly blank expression on his face. But he pondered the question carefully. What did he know?
"The Yondaime Hokage was said to have sacrificed his life to defeat the Kyuubi ten years ago. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know what Fuuinjutsu is?" Mitsuki asked instead of answering. Shikamaru furrowed his brows in confusion. Whatever Mitsuki had learned, it must have been pretty big if he would beat around the bush. Most of the time, his friend was brutally blunt and straightforward.
"Fuuinjutsu?"
Ah, so they know nothing about it. Not that he can blame them. He only knew because he wanted to make his own explosive tags and his brother was all too happy to assist him.
"Hypotheticaly, if I had a demon inside me that killed your clansmen, would you hate me for it?"
What.
Shikamaru gave him a look of confusion. Just what the hell was Mitsuki spouting about, now?
He was about to voice that question aloud, but one look at Mitsuki's curious eyes made him close his mouth. The silverhead was silently pleading at him to answer truthfully, as if his answer would hold all the secrets of the universe.
"No." Shikamaru answered finally after a few beats of silence. "No, I won't hate you. It would be too troublesome to, anyway. Whoever this hypothetical demon is, he's not you."
Mitsuki heaved a sigh of relief. Okay, that was good. Now, to tell the truth.
"You have a demon inside you?"
"What?! No!! It's not me!" Mitsuki spluttered. He can feel the Anbu's amusement, fueling his embarrassment further. It wasn't everyday they'd find him flustered.
"Then who?" Shikamaru asked pointedly. He did not miss the fact that Mitsuki only denied that he was the one with a demon inside him. And if his earlier questions were connected, it was probably the Kyuubi.
Mitsuki stilled. Well, here goes nothing.
"Please don't hate him, okay? Promise me." He requested. Shikamaru raised a brow but nodded all the same. So it really was the Kyuubi then. From what he remembered hearing, a little under a third of his clansmen had died during the Kyuubi attack. No wonder Mitsuki was so worried. It must have been the first time he was as well.
"I won't." He promised. Because he really won't. Besides, he already had an idea on who Mitsuki was referring to. He'd be blind if he didn't see how most of Konoha's citizens treated him.
Mitsuki took a deep breath before opening his mouth.
"It'sNarutoanddon'thatehimokay?It'snothisfaulttheKyuubiissealedinsidehimbyhisownfatherwhenhewasborn!" He blurted out in a rush. And dammit, he really needed to cool down. He never fucking acted like this before. No wait. He remembered acting like this once, when he thought nii-san was going to die.
Shikamaru took a few moments to understand what he just heard, but when he did, understanding dawned on him.
Because it made sense. Not that he really liked how it made sense. He had a lot of questions for his father when he goes home later this evening. Although, it was intriguing that his parents didn't discourage his friendship with the noisy blonde.
Shikamaru turned to his companion, who was looking at him carefully, like he was a ticking time bomb about to explode.
".....Ah."
Mitsuki raised a brow. "Just 'Ah'?"
The lazy genius shrugged. He already told him he wasn't going to hold this against whoever Mitsuki was referring to. It was too troublesome telling him that all over again. Besides, if his father was okay with him being friends with Naruto, he couldn't be that dangerous, right?
He plopped down on the grass, content to just cloud gaze. Their other friends' frustrated shouts over their current exercise washed over him. He barely reacted when Mitsuki laid down beside him.
"Thanks for understanding." Mitsuki's voice quietly broke the silence that passed through the both of them. Shikamaru snorted.
"What are you thanking me for? Naruto's not the Kyuubi. He'd be more troublesome if he is."
Mitsuki laughed, and a new bout of comfortable silence swept through them. The sensor could feel the relief coming off of the present Anbu. Good. So they weren't any of those bastards who didn't hate Naruto for what was sealed inside him. He and Shikamaru basked in their companionable silence. That was, until Mitsuki broke it again.
"You should be practicing as well, you know."
"....Troublesome."
================================
"Ya know, if you were going to ask me out, why didn't you just say so?"
Sasuke twitched, sending a glare at the younger boy behind him as they entered the Uchiha compound.
"Or do you want love advice for when you're gonna ask out Sakura?"
Mitsuki smirked in amusement when Sasuke growled under his breath. It was way too easy to tease the Uchiha, more so when they were alone and Sasuke was more emotional. He had started to, after hanging out with their gang.
Yes, Mitsuki finally named their "gang", and none of them were opposed to it. Lucky Nine Plus One was a mouthful though, so they just stuck with Lucky Nine. When asked about why he used nine instead of ten, Mitsuki merely shrugged and said that "it sounded better". And maybe the fact that it was a rather superstitious number.
"Or maybe you're finally out of the closet and want advice from a fellow gay person?"
Sasuke fully turned to the smirking boy, red colouring his cheeks. Mitsuki thought he looked quite cute with the blush.
"I'm not gay, you idiot!" He seethed. Then he paused, thinking through the rest of the question. "Wait. You're gay?"
Mitsuki snorted. "Nah. I'm very asexual. And unless you count dango as my love interest, an aromantic through and through."
Sasuke blinked, before glowering at his friend/rival. "Then why identify as gay?"
Mitsuki shrugged. "'Cause I love messing with people. Besides, you do need gay advice."
"I'm. Not. Gay."
"Right, whatever." The taller of the two dismissed (Sasuke was still miffed about the two inches Mitsuki had over him). He then tilted his head in thought. "What did you want to talk about? Is it about the library?"
Sasuke nodded, unlocking the door to his childhood home and kicking off his sandals. Mitsuki followed suit, albeit he did have enough respect in him to actually place his sandals properly. Hyena and the Anbu watching over Sasuke stayed outside. The old man was probably paranoid about losing the last Uchiha and, with him the Sharingan, to Kumo. And if it hadn't been for the fact that it was Hyena that was currently staying with him, Mitsuki would have gone straight to the Hokage Tower and complain that he did not need any protecting.
Besides, they were probably only worried over losing his Shinegan to another village, despite not knowing much about it.
Entering the kitchen, the Uchiha rummaged around for his store of dango, which haven't been there a few months ago. Sasuke can't help but compare the state of his home now with those times before befriending the rest of Lucky Nine.
While most things stayed the same, the last two and a half months yielded some interesting results. For starters, there were assigned seats in the dining area, most of them addressed to people not bearing the Uchiha name. There were extra futons stored away for sudden sleepovers, which Sasuke himself chose and bought with Chouji's father. Clothes were left all around the house, some of which were definitely not something Sasuke would wear, especially those bright orange ones that were too much of an eyesore Sasuke had considered practicing his katon on them once or twice.
But the most important thing for him was that, the house felt less lonely now.
"So, if I were a demon, would we still be friends?" Mitsuki started, having the courtesy to at least finish chewing before talking. Sasuke showed no outward emotion, but Mitsuki could feel his confusion.
"Demon? You already are."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Mitsuki smirked as he reached over for his third stick of dango. The Uchiha had never known how Mitsuki could eat that fast when it comes to sweets.
"But seriously, would you hate me?" He asked, twirling his stick of dango.
"No, I suppose not." Sasuke replied, watching his friend stuff two out of three dango inside his mouth at once. It was equal parts fascinating and disgusting.
"If I was only called a demon but wasn't really, would you still want me to be your rival?"
Okay, this conversation was getting weird. Sasuke stated his thoughts aloud. Mitsuki shrugged helplessly, eyeing the empty plate in despair.
"I just want to make sure you won't back down from your rivalry with Naruto."
Sasuke scoffed. "The dobe? What's up with him?"
"He has the Kyuubi sealed inside him."
"..."
"So?"
Sasuke glared, noting the extra cheerfulness he could hear in Mitsuki's voice. Almost as if he was nervous. Which was wrong, because Mitsuki was never nervous.
"He has the Kyuubi."
"Yep~"
"Sealed inside him."
"By his own father as well!"
Sasuke blinked before clarity hit him like a slap to the face. Mitsuki continued speaking, sounding so cheerful, it was scary.
"The Yondaime was said to sacrifice his life to kill the Kyuubi during the Attack, right? Well, you can't kill a bijuu. You can only seal them. Guess what? The Kyuubi is sealed inside Naruto! The Kyuubi Attack was ten years ago, coincidentally, on the day Naruto was born! I'm sure you can connect the dots, right?
"While we're on the topic, ever heard of Kushina Uzumaki, aka the Red-Hot Habanero? I find it odd that she shares the same name as Naruto, so of course I tried to get to the bottom of it. Guess what? The Uzumaki is a Clan! Albeit an extinct one, but still a clan! And you know what's more exciting?"
He leaned closer to Sasuke, who recoiled. Mitsuki didn't seem to care that it was an invasion of personal space. He grinned, showing off teeth as he shoved his camera to Sasuke's hands, a photocopied picture of a book page accompanying it.
All Sasuke can do is stare dumbly at the two photos, one showing a sleeping Naruto with drool all over him, and the photocopy showing a blonde man with frightening similarity with their shared rival, as Mitsuki continued.
"The Yondaime, who looks a lot like Naruto by the way, is married to one Kushina Uzumaki."
"Hn."
Mitsuki stared incredulously. "Seriously? That's all you have to say, bastard? I spent nearly two fucking hours of my life trying to piece all of these together, and all you say is 'hn'?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. What did he expect him to say? "Thank you for telling me all these"? Mitsuki snorted at his expression as he sat back down.
"So, you gonna do anything I should be worried about?" He asked carefully, rolling his shoulders to ease the tension in them.
"I'm killing you." Mitsuki nodded sagely, as if taking the threat seriously, before lighting up a bit.
"Does that mean you're not gonna pull a Konoha civilian to Naruto?'
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the question but nodded all the same. He can't really hate Naruto after learning all about his deceased parents now, can he?
"Great!" Mitsuki clapped his hands before walking off to Sasuke's living room and taking out one of the spare futons stored in the cabinets there.
"You don't mind if I go ahead and sleep here, right? Sure you don't!" He answered his own question, already setting up his sleeping place. He can feel Hyena's exasperation at his actions, along with resignation and grudging...fondness?; the other Anbu merely oozed confusion.
It was weird that the old man had never stopped sending Anbu to watch over him, but he wasn't about to complain. He at least had someone to talk to when his bouts of sleeplessness, although not as recurrent as a few years before, overcame him. They were one-sided conversations, but that didn't deter him in the slightest. That he can sense their emotions was a contributor to that. For him, chakra was more expressive and informative than words can ever be.
What he did not know was that the Sandaime had stopped sending Anbu to observe him when he was nine years old and only started again after Kumo's bold attack.
Mitsuki hid a smirk when he heard Sasuke give out a groan from inside the kitchen. Remembering to tell Gai-sensei about his impromptu sleepover, he watched as his water clone slip out into the night. A few seconds later, Sasuke appeared in the doorway, sighing when he saw that Mitsuki was already burrowed inside his blanket, undoubtedly feigning sleep.
A part of him wanted to use Mitsuki's precious camera against him.
A larger part wanted to just go there and lay beside his friend and call it a day.
Another smaller part called his attention to Mitsuki's features. The younger did have a reasonably attractive face, his pale purple eyes and silver hair garnering him more stares than necessary.
He ignored that part of him, opting to switch off the lights and just sit down beside his friend. He was not gay. He was merely observing.
"Like what you see?" Sasuke's head snapped sharply to the side he was half-sure he got whiplash, his onyx eyes meeting the amused purple ones of Mitsuki. He huffed, finally laying down beside him.
"Ahh, Sasuke-kun, you didn't answer my question." Mitsuki whined, and for Kami's sake, he sounded like a girl.
"Shut up."
"Not until you accept you're gayness."
"Never."
Mitsuki placed his weight on his elbows, giving him a foxy grin before leaning in beside Sasuke's ear.
"Don't worry, love. I'll make you accept yourself."
Sasuke flipped and punched him in the face, face twisted in disgruntlement.
Mitsuki recoiled with a hiss, delicately touching his bruised cheek as he stuck his tongue out. That was as unexpected as it was satisfying. It had been a while since he felt true pain.
After deducing that the bruise in his cheek wasn't that serious and would probably be gone in the morning, Mitsuki cracked his neck. That was the only clue Sasuke got before the other tackled him to the ground.
Of course Mitsuki would choose this time to initiate a damn wrestling match right before sleeping.
Trust Mitsuki to always add some spice to life's dull flavours.