Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Soup's On	By : OfFansAndFlames Category: Naruto AU/AR > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1793 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters mentioned. I make no money on this fiction.

Chapter List
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To say the least, Sasuke had not been looking forward to school today. He had quite a chore in front of him, and somehow, this made him despise the dimly lit halls, the crowded classrooms, and the greasy-smelling cafeteria even more. If only he’d been older, he could have gotten a job. If only he hadn’t lost his possessions in the fire last year, he could have sold them. His options were limited. He had told Itachi that he’d take care of the money, and that was exactly what he was going to do.
When he left for school this morning, Sasuke still hadn’t explained his situation to Naruto, claiming that Itachi had called off work sick today. He supposed that this was a version of the truth, though perhaps mangled beyond all recognition. Hopefully this wouldn’t end up like the last secret he kept from Naruto, yanked out into the light at some horribly inopportune moment.
The night before, Sasuke shoved the majority of his valuable possessions in his backpack while Naruto was sleeping. He found it ironic that his former shoplifting habit would have such a strange way of becoming convenient. Perhaps this was his penance, although he was about to commit a much more egregious sin. He had a choice back then. He did it for exhilaration, for shits and giggles. He wished that things were that simple now.
The very first thing he had stolen was a serpent necklace. It seemed like such a long time ago that he had dropped it down his sleeve, basking in the rush as he passed through those metal detectors. Yet he remembered that day well. The item had been replaced by a twenty dollar bill before third period. He hoped to sell off his only mp3 player for a reasonable price within the next couple days. How he wished that he still owned the Playstation 3, XBox, and digital camera that had been destroyed in the fire.
A frustrated huff of air escaped Sasuke as he approached Kabuto’s classroom, moving quickly so as to intercept him before he reached the cafeteria. He didn’t want the other three hearing this. He wanted to keep it from them as long as possible. The man walked out the door, his backpack slumped lazily over one shoulder. Kabuto was one of the last people he wanted to talk to at the moment, given their most recent interaction. But again, people were relying on him.
“Hey, Kabuto.”
It took considerable effort for Sasuke to keep his tone from sounding as begrudging as he felt.
“Oh, hello Sasuke,” Kabuto smirked.
Sasuke kept his voice low, though not to the point that he appeared suspicious.
“I have something to talk to you about. Have a few minutes?”
Kabuto cocked his head at Sasuke.
“Of course, for you.”
They walked together in silence for several seconds.
“So, you’re talking to me again, hm? It’s nice to see you get past your little hissy fit. I knew you were growing up.”
Despite himself, Sasuke’s fist clenched tightly inside his jacket’s sleeve. What he wouldn’t give to break those damned glasses right across that smug face of his at this very moment. But perhaps this was for the best. If Sasuke could play up his avoidance as a temporary matter of stubbornness and pride, Kabuto might be more willing to cooperate with him. Kabuto didn’t have to know that had Itachi not lost his job, he would have never talked to the senior again if he could help it.
“Just so we’re clear, never pull something like that on me again.”
Kabuto swatted at Sasuke dismissively.
“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about? Hey, if I’d have known it would be such a problem, I never would have done it.”
What a load of shit. He wanted to go off on Kabuto, to give him the verbal lashing of a lifetime. But that would hardly suit his purposes.
“No, actually. I wanted to talk to you about something else.”
Kabuto raised his brows. It was understandable that he’d be surprised. Sasuke could count on one hand the number of times he’d spoken with Kabuto privately, and with good reason. Given the things Kabuto was always trying to drag Sasuke into, he preferred not to be alone with him.
“Well? It’s not like you to beat around the bush, Sasuke.”
This was the worst part. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. He couldn’t believe he’d ever want to play a part in any of this business. Of course, it was dangerous. But even beyond that, it was something that had never even remotely appealed to him. He could walk away from Kabuto right now. He could tell him to forget about it, and that would be that. But he had made a promise to his brother. He forced himself to speak.
“How’s the inventory?”
There was no secret between the two of them as to what that meant. Kabuto grinned back at Sasuke. The pony-tailed senior had been waiting to hear this question from Sasuke all year.
“Overstocked and top quality, as usual. Why do you ask?”
It was more than obvious that Kabuto knew where this was headed. Prior to this, no amount of pressuring, manipulation, or “reasoning” had budged the stubborn Uchiha. Kabuto was just waiting for those precious words, savoring his victory.
“I want in.”
Well, there it was. Kabuto would never let him forget it now, so he might as well resign himself to it. To make matters worse, the older of the two merely laughed.
“Finally! I was wondering when you’d just cut all that pussy shit and dip a toe in the big leagues.”
Sasuke sighed.
“I’m going to be transparent with you. This is only temporary. I’m raising cash for a medical procedure, and once I do, I’m done. I don’t want to ever be involved with this again.”
Kabuto smiled back at Sasuke.
“Of course. You can quit whenever you want to. I’m not going to force you or anything.”
Sasuke knew that Kabuto didn’t believe him. “It’s only temporary.” Kabuto had heard that many times before, and maybe he’d even said it a few times himself. But Sasuke really did mean it. If only he’d been a year older, he would have raised the money legitimately. But he couldn’t afford to wait.
Sasuke didn’t trust Kabuto in the least. He only hoped he could get out of this situation before he either got caught and ended up in juvie, or Kabuto crossed him. Sasuke wasn’t a dealer, no. He wasn’t making a career of it; with help from his brother, a couple months should be enough. Maybe when he was an adult, he’d look back on all of this with a shake of the head, wondering how such a time could have been a part of his otherwise clean and well-behaved existence. Everyone had a time like this in their lives, Sasuke reasoned.
Fortunately, the hallways were loud, themed music playing over the PA system for one of their handful of school spirit days.
“I just want to stick to pills and weed. Nothing hard.”
Kabuto shook his head.
“Sasuke. Like I said, I’m not going to force you into anything, okay?”
Maybe he wouldn’t know exactly what Kabuto was scheming, but if he stayed alert, he could likely evade him. He had been stupid to trust Kabuto enough to accept an open container of alcohol from him. He didn’t want to make such a mistake again. Sasuke only nodded at Kabuto curtly.
“I’ll talk to Deidara and see if I can put you in touch with some buyers. I’ve got to hurry home today, so I’ll hand the stuff over to you after school gets out. You should be able to make at least a couple sales today. These kids will pay almost anything, so the money’s good.”
...Today? He had needed the money quickly, yes, but he hadn’t expected to be peddling drugs just hours after this conversation. He had spoken before abstractly. Suddenly, it felt so real to him. His breath came shallow. He couldn’t believe he was in this situation. He hid all of this well. If anything, the Uchiha had a remarkable poker face.
“I need to borrow your scale for today then.”
Kabuto nodded reassuringly.
“Of course. Don’t worry, I’ll tell you everything you need to know. You can take all of the cash just for today, to get you started”
This was, perhaps, an incentive to keep Sasuke from getting cold feet. Still, he appreciated it.
“Thanks...”
Kabuto read Sasuke’s hesitation now.
“I think you’ll be good at this, Sasuke. You may not know much about your product, but I can help you with that easily. You have the brains for business and enough social influence to make some big waves, and that’s what counts.”
Flattery, though from Kabuto’s expression, it did not seem to be fully self-serving. Perhaps Kabuto remembered being in Sasuke’s situation...or perhaps he was just a better actor than Sasuke.
They reached the cafeteria and took a seat with their usual group. Juugo smiled warmly upon seeing Sasuke, giving him an exuberant pat on the back. Karin waved flirty, and Suigetsu offered a high five, which Sasuke reluctantly accepted. They all told Sasuke how glad they were to see him again, and how lame the lunch periods had been without him. He had told himself that he didn’t care about any of these people, except for maybe Juugo. Still, he couldn’t deny that it felt a little nice to be missed so much.
It wasn’t that the other three had played a big part in that night. Juugo really had been too intoxicated to drive, and Karin and Suigetsu weren’t even conscious. Though a little frustrated that they had such little sense as to stay at a party after being drugged, Sasuke wasn’t exactly angry with them either. All the same, they weren’t the best company.
If Naruto knew what he was doing right now... God, he didn’t even want to think about that. He had told the blond that he would never associate himself with these people again, but that was before he knew about Itachi’s situation. Extenuating circumstances, right? Still, it made him a little sick.
Throughout his lunch period, Sasuke responded to conversation with both distance and disinterest, but his typically acerbic wit was lacking. He was preyed upon by guilt, nervousness, and maybe even a tinge of excitement. Kabuto would occasionally smile or wink at Sasuke reassuringly when no one was looking. Despite the fact that he considered Kabuto a duplicitous snake, it did help him relax.
He didn’t know why he even bothered trying to concentrate through his classes before school got out. He’d write down maybe a page of notes before his mind would determine to wander. If only there were some other way to earn this money. He would try, of course. Even if he had to mow lawns, every dollar earned meant less time doing what he was doing now. Even if he sold every piece of jewelry or expensive clothing he owned, he couldn’t imagine the total breaching a couple hundred.
The school bell sounded more like a judge’s gavel than a declaration of freedom. He met up with Kabuto, who drove down a nearby side street with his Camry. He laid out two baggies of weed and two pill bottles.
Kabuto explained what each drug did, how to most reliably judge weed quality without smoking it (apparently an imperfect art), how to zero and balance a scale, how to price and negotiate, who to target, dealer etiquette, and how to set up transactions.
Sasuke was silent, attempting to commit all of these prices and techniques to memory. He learned quickly, though these were things he could’ve lived without knowing. The numbers and procedures jumbled in his brain, and coupled with his uneasiness, it was quite a task to retain the information. However, Sasuke was a quick learner, and Kabuto was a patient teacher. It made Sasuke wonder how Kabuto could possibly know so much.
“Kabuto, how long have you been doing this for?”
Kabuto smirked, taking the question as a compliment.
“Five years now. I was just past your age when I started.”
Kabuto took a drag off of his cigarette. Sasuke gestured a request to have one for himself, and Kabuto held the carton towards him. Sasuke slid out his cigarette and lit it with Kabuto’s lighter. God, he felt so tense. He needed this, inhaling deeply and holding the nicotine in his lungs.
“It makes good money. After shit hit the fan, I wanted to live on my own. I was able to live comfortably enough.”
Sasuke believed he knew what Kabuto was referring to. It had been one of their better moments. The first time Sasuke came to school after his parents’ death, people stared, chattering and quickly averting their eyes when they noticed that the sullen Uchiha was in earshot. It was juicy gossip, after all. Some freshman’s parents were just burned alive last week.
His friends tried to comfort him, though he didn’t need it. He refused to show vulnerability in front of all of these people. Given that Juugo had been with Sasuke just hours before the tragedy occurred, they only needed eye contact and Juugo’s gentle smiles to communicate. Karin hugged him tearfully and Suigetsu just kept shaking his head and saying “That’s so fucked up, I’m sorry.” Kabuto was silent. The situation was awkward, and at Sasuke’s request, the subject was quickly changed.
After all the fuss had died down, Kabuto walked behind Sasuke and placed his hand on his shoulder. Puzzled, Sasuke turned around and glanced up at Kabuto’s face. Kabuto wore an expression which Sasuke found difficult to describe. For once, he didn’t appear flippant, snide, or scheming. He looked unusually serious, but more than that, he seemed...sad. This was something people never saw from Kabuto. It was the damndest thing.
“I’ve been there. Keep your head up, Uchiha.”
And with that, he was gone. Despite all of Kabuto’s schemes, mysteries, and tricks of the tongue, in some regards, he was a very simple man. He was in life for his own gain and amusement. He would labor, manipulate, and withhold truth as suited him best. However, this single incident was an exception that Sasuke always remembered. Maybe no one was as simple as they appeared.
From that, he had pieced together that something must have happened to either one or both of Kabuto’s guardians. Considering what he had just said now, that must have been why he started selling drugs. He thought it would be an easy way to support himself, and from what he knew of Kabuto, he had never been as well-behaved of a kid as Sasuke. Though Kabuto likely had many options at his disposal, Sasuke doubted that there had been much of a debate in his mind.
Kabuto and Sasuke finished promptly. Though Sasuke felt that he now had a much better grip on the specifics of his new “hobby,” he still felt like he was in over his head. He’d never bought any substances for himself; it had always been provided for him. He’d never even used the pills, and he’d smoked weed only twice. There were so many different words to describe the qualities and strains of marijuana that it made his head spin. Could he really pull this off?
As he reunited with his classmates, several close friends of Deidara’s, he knew he could only do his best. It wasn’t difficult to find interested participants. He knew these kids personally. They frequently bought from Kabuto and had never snitched on him, so he hoped that they were trustworthy enough. And as Kabuto said, the kids here were willing to pay about any price. Deidara and his friends were loaded.
Sasuke left the streets around his school about an hour later with almost four hundred bucks in his pockets. He had sold everything Kabuto had given him, and he’d also sold off a handful of possessions. Sasuke had fared far better than he had expected, so why wasn’t he happy? He was in business. He could raise Itachi’s money even more quickly than he had thought.
Regardless, he couldn’t shake the pungent, greasy feeling of guilt sludging around in his gut. The simple truth of the matter was that he was dealing drugs, and he was only fifteen. This was something he would’ve never expected or wanted for himself. When he had begun to shoplift, there had been an excitement to it that pulled him in. He wasn’t excited now. He just wanted to get this over with as quickly as he could and put it behind him.
He bused by the mall on the way home. It had been a long time since he had been there. Ever since he decided to quit shoplifting, Sasuke had avoided temptation by staying away from stores. He disciplined himself today, heading directly towards the sales desk of every store in the mall and inquiring for work. The only store that would “consider” hiring anyone under sixteen was already overstaffed.
It was getting dark as Sasuke rode the bus home. This would be enough for today. Tomorrow, he would sell more, and he’d see if there were any odd jobs he could take. The sooner he could wash his hands of the situation, the better.
He was entirely split on how he felt about coming home to Naruto. On one hand, he didn’t know if he could look his exuberant lover in the eyes. On the other hand, Naruto knew nothing of what he had done today. Naruto seemed so innocent, so untainted to Sasuke... It was contagious. Sometimes just being around Naruto, being held by him and loved by him, made him feel purer. Naruto would wash all of the dirt and sludge off of him, and he’d feel clean.
When he entered his home, Itachi was lying on the couch. He rested on a pillow as he highlighted his textbook on negligence torts. It was definitely strange to see Itachi home at such an hour. Itachi smiled at Sasuke as he entered the door.
“You’re back awfully late. How was school?”
Sasuke forced a smile.
“Not too bad. I found a job for myself.”
Itachi paused.
“Seriously?”
“Mhm. I stopped by St. Magdalene’s on the way home, and they said they needed some help cleaning the grounds. Most the people there already know me, so it was easy.”
Yes, he was indeed telling his brother that he was working for a church of all places. He almost wondered if he should run out of the house should any lightning bolts crash down to smite him. Two house fires in one year was just getting ridiculous.
Itachi smiled brightly.
“That’s wonderful! Sasuke, I’m so proud of you!”
Proud... Yeah. Sasuke did his best to look pleased by the comment as guilt gnawed at his innards.
“It’s not like you to be so modest.”
Sasuke snickered, attempting to act as he normally did.
“Well, I’m already bringing home some cash. Here.”
He handed sixty dollars over to Itachi. There was no way Itachi would believe that he earned four hundred bucks by cleaning church grounds one night. He would keep the money separate, giving it to Itachi as quickly as he could without raising suspicion.
Itachi was glowing.
“I know it’s not much, but they only gave me a few hours today. I’m going to see if I can get any jobs mowing lawns, or doing newspaper routes or whatever. And... Stop staring at me like that.”
Itachi snapped out of his daze, shaking his head.
“I’m sorry, it’s just... I’ve never seen you be so...responsible. You’re really into this, aren’t you?”
Responsible. How could that describe his current actions? His bones felt hollow.
“Yes, I’m pretty much amazing.”
Itachi laughed.
With a more serious tone, Sasuke added, “When I said I was going to take care of you, I meant it.”
Itachi smiled at Sasuke, at a loss for words.
“Thank you...so much. But don’t think that you have to raise all this money yourself. I’m sure I could find some people to tutor again at my school. I got paid pretty decently last time.”
Sasuke nodded, very relieved to hear this. He might get out of this in as short as a month if he was lucky. Itachi had no idea how much money Sasuke was making. Itachi already looked so happy... Sasuke wished he could just throw all four hundred bucks into Itachi’s hand, just to see the smile on his face.
“So together, it won’t be so bad.”
Itachi shook his head.
“We can get through it together. I’m lucky to have a brother like you, Sasuke."
Sasuke paused, a smile soon after ghosting his lips. Was that a fact? The compliment seemed tainted. Everything Sasuke did, he did for Itachi. Still, the brother Itachi was supposedly so lucky to have around was selling drugs.
“No. It’s about time I pitched in.”
Itachi seemed to light up at the comment. Sasuke appreciated Itachi’s efforts more than Itachi could possibly know, thus why the words were so meaningful to Itachi.
Despite the guilt, the nervousness, and the feeling of just being tainted, this exchange had lifted his mood. After seeing Itachi so depressed the night he was fired, seeing him this ecstatic was medicine to his wounds. Maybe he had made the right decision after all.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Would love to see the reactions!
Next chapter, next Sunday. =)
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