Author's Note:

unedited version due to editor being unavailable.

➵

"Excuse me!"

Rin knocked on the door. He glanced behind him, where Sam stood. His arms were crossed, but Rin noticed his index finger subtly tapping his arm.

"When is someone going to answer the door?" Sam asked.

The way he acted made Rin anxious. The very second Sam lost his cool, Rin followed after without thinking rationally. They were idiots in that sense, considering the time they fell for the cannibalism prank. Sometimes Rin had nightmares of that day.

"I'll try knocking again," he said, hoping that would calm Sam down even just a tiny bit.

"Wait, no, on second thought what if--"

Before Rin's knuckles could make contact with the door, he noticed the handle moving. The door opened, and rather than the typical 'hello', they heard yelling from an unpleasant voice. A shiver ran down Rin's spine.

"Yeah, mom, I'm getting the door!" He shouted, "Who the-- oh. You."

Rin looked away, but Sam held his ground. He stepped in front of Rin and crossed his arms.

"What do you want or whatever." The boy towered over them, taller even without standing straight and much bulkier than them. His features were uncanny to Danny's, down to his blue hair and tan skin.

However, simultaneously, he looked nothing like Danny. Rin and Sam could never see them as the same.

"Nothing from you," Sam said. His harsh glaring eyes reached every inch of his face; from his forehead to his nose to his mouth, bearing his gritted teeth.

"Well, then you should scram, 'cause I got nothing to say to you--" He focuses his attention on them, finished scratching his head.

Those eyes, Sam almost backed away. He took another subtle step in front of Rin, but it didn't stop those cursed eyes from peering behind him.

Sam and Rin watched him closely in silent anticipation, but he only scoffed. A contemptuous smile creeped onto his face, which caused Rin to stare at the ground. "Oh, the wimp's here too," he said as his smile disappeared and his nose scrunched up, accompanied with wrinkles. "You're a sight for sore eyes, as always."

Sam snorted, "You said something very different in the past."

"Zip it - a past I regret. If I'd known he was a--"

Sam dropped his smug smile and took a daring step forward. "What? A guy? It still doesn't justify you being a perverted creep and it definitely doesn't justify the way you treat your own brother."

"Aren't you being brave today, huh? So what if I beat him a bit, huh? Ya' gonna fight me?" He leaned down to look Samuel eye to eye. This time, an ugly smirk plastered that face so identical to their friends. "You've been too scared to help Dan. That monster kid budded in, yet you didn't have the guts then or now--"

"Who said that you--" Sam's fist raised before he could rethink his actions. His fears on top of more fears brought about an indifference, a realization. What held him back before? He couldn't remember.

"Sam!" His fist stopped, inches away from the taller boy's jaw and Sam's widened eyes fixated on his face. Surprise looked good on the boy; Sam noted.

"Agito," Rin said.

Sam lowered his arm, watching Rin's next step down to his expression. What is he doing? Sam wondered, bewilderment replacing his rage.

Rin walked forward until he stood between the two. Sam saw his back, but he wasn't sure he wanted to see his face. There was a first for everything, especially when relating contradictory beings like humans. He witnessed this second, first-hand, how people could change.

A loud clap sounded. Sam blinked once, then twice; once he processed, his mouth hung open, and his eyebrows raised. "Rin!?"

"Where is he?" Rin's voice was harsh, words short and no-nonsense precise.

"Who--"

"Danny, where is he?"

"Why should I answer--"

"I'm asking again," an unnerving impatience layered his voice and over that, Sam heard pure anger, "is he here, Agito?"

Agito backed away until his back touched the door's handle. Sam deemed his puzzled, sweating, face priceless, but he remained stuck in place - not a finger had raised. His curiosity vanished when he heard Rin's voice. He didn't dare to peek at his face or to calm him down.

How do I even calm him? He's the mediator, not me.

"I," Agito stuttered, "I don't know."

Rin was a mere centimeter away from him at this point. "You don't know."

Agito's face paled; sweat dropped down his forehead and his lips pursed. Rin leaned forward, which caused the older boy's back to press against the doorknob . The pressure appeared out of thin air; he thought as his eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.

He had no clue what overcame Agito to falter the way he was doing. Was it Rin's uncharacteristically sharp, widened, pale yellow eyes staring into his soul? Or was it the silent rage he saw in his face?

"But! But he - he - left somewhere last night!" He confessed, "It was his turn to buy the groceries. Came back with extra and some clothes that weren't his size, and said he had to go meet his friend or something! Probably the freak's house."

"I didn't ask for commentary," Rin said through gritted teeth. He turned away but not before shoving Agito against the door and tearing his glaring eyes away from him. Rin took heavy steps down the stairs and didn't stop walking even as they passed house after house.

An angry Rin can be unreasonable. Samuel noted, chasing after the said blond. But at least we know where Danny was last.

He sped his pace to catch up with Rin but kept a safe distance from his friend.

"Rin? Where are you going?" He questioned, before swallowing and using all his courage to step in front of Rin. "And what was that just now?"

The taller of the two stopped his aimless stomping and once their eyes met, he let out a deep breathe. "Sorry," he finally said, "lost my cool in the heat of the moment. I just, didn't want things to get out if hand."

Samuel laughed, something that caused Rin to stare at him with raised eyebrows. He couldn't blame him, Sam rarely laughed so genuinely, and it surely wasn't the time to be laughing either.

"Well, in a way, it didn't. You're just really scary when you're angry."

Rin's cheeks were rosier than usual, but different from the red he was in the face when he was confronting Agito. His hand instinctively reached for his long sleeves and began pulling on it and twisting the edges.

"Anyway, I was heading for Uzumaki's apartment first. You, uh, asked just now." Let's never talk about this again, is what his face suggested.

Oh.

So, it wasn't aimless stomping.

➵

Sakura's body ached. She exhausted her Chakra and her stomach was empty, so she desperately needed something warm to eat and a hot refreshing beverage to go with it. Usually, she craved cold drinks after her recent training and her whole trek back to the village - the part that actually had houses instead of overgrown rocks.

Gosh she hated those rocks.

She lifted her right arm and winced when she saw the open scratches on each of her knuckles.

She really hated those rocks.

Sakura clicked her tongue, but reminded herself that everything will be worth it. She, instead, decided to look for a place to eat since she was out anyway. And lore and behold, in her line of vision was a certain duo of brooders.

"Hey," she called, entering the ramen shop. The lights were almost blinding, but her eyesight adjusted.

They both turned, recognizing her, but they didn't bother to greet her a way a normal human being would greet another.

"Haruno."

And Sasuke nodded.

Promoted to Haruno and a nod, I see. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes but settled with an amused smile. "What brought the both of you here so late at night?" She took a seat next to Naruto and kindly ordered something. Once she finished, she turned back to them.

"We did not meet up willingly, if that is what you are asking." Naruto glanced at Sasuke. "We met by coincidence in the training grounds, and he begrudgingly agreed to share a meal together."

Naruto mumbled the last bit, "His stomach did all the work for him. Very loud."

Sakura snorted, but quickly slapped a hand onto her mouth. Later, tomorrow perhaps, she would laugh at her own expense, but at the moment her emotions weighed heavy with embarrassment. She just laughed at Sasuke - not with him but at him and Naruto looked to be enjoying every minute of it. Look at him, with his mirthful smile she knew he was hiding under that poker face!

Sasuke, in question, shot glares at both of them; filled with annoyance rather than anger. She cleared her throat. "Sorry."

Teuchi's daughter placed down Sakura's bowl for her and smiled down at her (Teuchi had a weird smile on his face, as if a proud father who saw his loner child hang out with friends). She thanked them, grateful for the small distraction and for the long-awaited food she needed in her system.

"Anyway, it's nice that we get to hang out with each other." Ever since the Zabuza incident, everyone tensed when they saw each other. The atmosphere wasn't too bad, but something uneasy lingered in the air. Something beyond Sakura avoiding Sasuke, or the fact that one of their teammates murdered someone.

No, there was something she missed. But right now, the lingering tension only existed. Naruto and Sasuke, she'd hoped, talked through things or at the very least, called a truce.

"I suppose," Naruto said.

Sasuke continued to eat the last bits of his ramen, which told her they had been here for quite some time. Sasuke took his time when he ate - minus when he became competitive. The two empty bowls beside Naruto solidified her theory.

They talked, then, about whatever was troubling them.

They ate without speaking a word after their small exchange. Sakura discovered that she gained an immunity to these weirdo's silent game, finding the silence comfortable.

Ever since the day they came back, she'd been distant from them for different reasons, yet she also felt like she knew them better. Who knows what she thought of them before, but she had to say, through her eyes, she saw two boys.

Humans.

Not a troublesome orphan and not a perfect pretty crush that met her every expectation.

No, they were and are humans - even if they thought otherwise.

➵

Ichiraku closed up, team seven being the last customers of the day. They greeted each other in their own ways: Sakura waved, while she said goodbye, and Sasuke crossed his arms. He waited for the pleasantries to end, so he could be on his way. Naruto nodded, saying he'd see them tomorrow, and that signaled them to go their own ways.

Except, Naruto's breathe hitched as he watched them barely turn and take a step away. He recalled the knife and the cold silence when he stood in his apartment - contemplating, remembering and, regretting.

He'd forgotten how to breathe, and when he remembered again, he's mouth moved on its own.

"Wait," he said.

Sasuke and Sakura did just that and sent him their own version of confused expressions. For the briefest pause, they didn't say anything.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Right after he heard that question and that voice she used, he'd known he made a mistake - a grave one. He let his guard down and left a whole open for them to see through his broken glass mask.

Naruto's eyes went wide and the air in his lungs became scarce. How did he breathe again? It took him a minute to realize that those quick wheezy breathes and gasps came from him.

"Naruto?" Sakura took the lead, testing the waters.

Sasuke stood close behind her, following her footsteps. She called him again, but he only grabbed onto his chest. His fingers clutched tightly onto the fabric of his shirt.

A part of her, the one she hated, told her to hide. She pictured that savage animal like eyes, blood red - redder than the stains that were on his clothes. The smell was sickening.

"What's wrong with him?"

"It's happening again," Sasuke said.

She glanced at him. "Again!?"

Naruto dropped to his knees. Sakura gasped, all the worries from before vanished and she rushed to his side. She put a hand on his back and whispered calming words. "It's okay. Calm down, calm down." She repeated and paraphrased the same things over and over. While she did so, she looked up at Sasuke. She nudged her head towards the crowd around them.

Sasuke nodded, quickly getting to work. He hushed the onlookers away and assured them that everything was under control.

"Take deeps breathes, you can do it."

Sakura breathed in and out, coaching Naruto to do the same. He complied, thank goodness, Sakura thought. She'd been patting his back, while Sasuke hesitantly sat next to Naruto too.

All three of them sat on the ground, in the middle of the street.

Gentle drizzling wetted them, but they remained by his side.