Ｐａｒａｄｉｓｅ

XIII

"Yeah, there's your instinct." Naruto laughed, "Oh, he definetley did something." He poked Sasuke's cheek, irritating the taller boy.

"This is not what I meant, you idiot." Still, Sasuke couldn't help but to smile as the blond grabbed another bottle of what Sai called the diner's specialty. "Hey, stop that, you're drinking too much." He tried to snatch the bottle away, but the blond was quick to move, gulping down as much as he could before Sasuke could actually get it from him.

"Leave me alone, damn it. I've never drunk before, my dad would kill me if he knew." Naruto slurred, raising his bottle to the woman across from him. There was a sadness to his voice that Sasuke couldn't ignore. Deciding to let the boy contiue drinking, Sasuke too, grabbed another bottle from the box Sai offered them.

"Enjoying yourselves?" Speaking of Sai, he sat down next to Sasuke, hoping the boy would talk to him in hopes of building at least a little bit of trust.

"It's nice," Sasuke answered, taking a gulp from his bottle. "Not bad, you do this all the time?"

Sai nodded. "My older brother used to welcome the very few hotel guests we got with a little get together to make them feel more welcome. He used to make many friends that way."

"Is your brother here?" Naruto asked, leaning on Sasuke's shoulder as he eyed the fire in the middle.

Sai shook his head. "No, I'm... afraid his time here was cut short."

"That's unfortunate. Don't worry, he'll come back someday." Naruto slurred.

"Naruto," Sasuke lifted his shoulder to provoke the blond to sit up. "He meant not here anymore, as in... you know..."

"Dead." Sai finished. Naruto immediatley understood now and was about to mutter an apology when Sai interrupted as he lifted his hand to prevent him from speaking. "It's fine. I'm not completely saddened by it. Not anymore, I don't think."

"And why would you be sad when you're the one that killed him!" A tall girl about the same height as Naruto shouted, grabbing the attention of the many happy people conversing around the fire. She'd been sitting in silence for the most part, apart from the trio but close enough to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Ino, please don't start this again." The girl sitting next to her attempted to shush her.

"No, Sakura! Shin is dead and he's still alive!" Ino shouted, tears threatening to fall in her eyes as she pointed to Sai. Murmurs around them began. Embarrased and yet concerned for her friend, the girl, Sakura, helped Ino to stand from her seat and guide her away from the group.

Sai sighed, at first embarrassed before directly sending a weak smile over to both Sasuke and Naruto. "Perhaps... maybe I should turn in for the night."

"Wait, Sai." Sasuke stood up after him, Naruto already out of it and sleeping in his seat. "Let...me walk you back."

Sai smiled and nodded, both walking away from the group.

"So," Sasuke let out a deep breath. "When you said you and the authorities have issues, you meant..."

The pale boy nodded slowly. "Yes, in a way. However, it's not as she says. I killed no one." They walked into the station Sai worked at, taking a seat at one of the many empty tables. The lights were off, the only light was from the old lamp post outside. "Shin and I were close. We weren't exactly related, but I could call him my brother. The girl, Ino, she used to be my girlfriend." He paused, rubbing the back of his neck as he recalled memories. "But really though, the only reason she ever got close to me was becasue Shin never really let anybody else near him except me. He never let anyone in and Ino would have stopped at nothing to get him." Sai tapped his fingers on the table. He stayed quiet for a bit, eyes focusing on a random spot as his fingertips gently tapped the table. He scoffed, and Sasuke listened as he continued talking. "She blamed me for his death."

Sasuke hated the silence that followed after, so he occupied himself with observing the way Sai seemed to be nervous, almost fidgety as he spoke.

"I don't blame her, either. I was there when it happened."

Sasuke perked up, finally facing the boy sitting across from him. "What exactly... happened?"

Sai looked down at the floor, his eyes lost in another memory. "We entered the hotel and went to our room, we live there, you see. Everything was fine. Shin had been going on about his day and we were getting ready to eat. I walked out for a moment- just for a moment," He emphasized, voice wavering just a bit. "Shin stayed behind, and when I walked in again..."

Sasuke grabbed a napkin from the napkin dispenser and handed it over to the boy.

"Nobody knows how it happened, why it happened. He seemed well." He added. "It couldn't have be- it couldn't have been murder... he had wounds all over him and- and nobody was seen entering the room after I left, the security cameras prove that, so- so it only meant he- he killed hims..." There was an awkward, overwhelming silence amongst the two as Sai composed himself. "Anyways... Ino walked in. I had come back to the room. I found him there. He was already dead when I walked in and she- I had left the door open and she came in and saw me hugging his body. She thinks I killed him. She believes I killed him."

"You didn't," Sasuke assured. "Sai, I'm sorry."

"It's nothing. The reason I say I have problems with the police is because her dad is part of the police department around here. It's more a personal bias, really, but he doesn't seem to like me either. It's been closed off as a suicide but... really that means nothing around here when they think I'm the main reason for his death."

"Sai, how long ago was this?" Sasuke asked.

Thinking, Sai tilted his head a little. "About a few months ago, maybe four."

Sasuke nodded, and the two sat in silence. Neither of them were good enough to know what else to do.

"I should be heading back." Sasuke nodded, watching Sai awkwardly stand from his seat. "Good night, Uchiha. You should head back for Naruto. You kinda left him back there."

Sasuke nodded, "Sure. Take care."

Sai smiled, nodded, and silently left. Sasuke sat alone for a while, feeling bad about having judged Sai way too early.

---

"Hey, you awake?" Sasuke's voice echoed in Naruto's head. While at first the blond thought that Sasuke was talking to him, it sounded more like a distant conversation. "Hello? Itachi- no, not yet. We had a little complication on..." Naruto rubbed his temples, trying to rub away the terrible headache.

"What happened?" He asked, his throat feeling a little bit dry and raspy.

"I'll call you back." Sasuke hung up his phone and turned towards the blond. "Rise and shine." He laughed as he opened the blinds to let in the afternoon sun.

"Sasuke!" Naruto groaned. "Don't do this to me."

The dark haired boy laughed, "Nope, too bad. Come on, get up. Sai's waiting for us outside and if you don't hurry, I'll drag your ass outside wether you're fully clothed or not." Sasuke threatened.

"Did I hear right?" Naruto asked, slowly getting up. "Sai's waiting for us outside and you're planning on going?" Sasuke nodded, "What happened to the whole 'I don't trust him' thing?"

"Just hurry up, Naruto. We finally got a ride out of here."