Of Poets and Pastries
Summary: Naruto has become orphaned, however, is taken in by his parent's best friends. Their second son, though, seems to be a bit…different.
Warnings: Contains light yaoi, and only a bit of foul language. A bit sad, but otherwise…
Disclaimer: Naruto bu shi wode. (Naruto isn't mine.)
A/N: Well…the idea popped into my head. Not sure if I'll make this into more than a one-shot, but if you want me to…eh, it's up to you. It can stand alone. Anyways. I really hope you like it! Took a good hour or so of pure type, type, type, type. Gah. OCD does stuff to ya, people! I'm working on one other fic right now that should be now relatively soon, and I'm STILL looking for a beta reader! You don't have to be an official beta reader! But…I need one! Please help a poor panda bear!
-Hakai-sama
-0-:Of Poets and Pastries:-0-
Of Poets and Pastries was located towards the south of Konoha, on a secluded street not many ever stumbled across. It was a small, homely place that offered both sweet treats and sweet reads, and many who found themselves there also found themselves never quite in the mood to leave. But, that was what I had intended, of course.
After graduating from Konoha University and receiving my business degree, I set off into the harsh world of enterprise was a simple yet foolproof business plan-get a cheap place, get books, cook some shit, and sell it. I was the only one operating the store, so I was able to get close with the customers, and my service was excellent already. Besides, I was an excellent chef, and no one could turn down my cupcakes, so that also helped. The store was oddly built, with a coffee shop in the front that sold any type of sweet treats available-and I made cakes to order as well. However, if you went through the veiled doorway in the back, you'd enter a three-story room that had a metal staircase spiraling up it in the middle. Through the staircase you could get to the bookshelves on the walls, as well as walk out onto glass platforms that housed even more books. Then, open the secret bookshelf on the third floor, climb up the ladder, and bam! You were in my two-story penthouse apartment. It was a pretty nice way of living. The bookstore was everything to me-I had no living family, and plenty of money from all of their inheritance. I was able to organize community drives for charity, make friends, and I even adopted a pet, a little puffy thing I named Chiri. I was, quite simply, living the dream life.
That was until a certain someone by the name of Minato Namikaze stepped into my life.
He was tall, blonde, handsome, sweet, kind, smart-a simply wonderful person. I fell in love. He was the first "employee" I ever had, although I never paid him a penny. All he asked was complete access to all of the reading material I had in my hands, which I granted with a smile. Six months after we met, we started going out. Three years after that, he proposed. And two years after that, we had a bouncing baby boy by the name of Naruto, who received his name from the main character of a book a close mentor of Minato's had written. Minato's mentor who had written the book, Jiraya, became the boy's godfather. Minato and I were very happy together, and we frequently got together with my best friend from college, Mikoto, and her husband, Fugaku. They already had a son who was about five-six years older than Naruto, Itachi, and a boy barley five months older than Naruto, Sasuke. The three would play together frequently, and Sasuke was always protective of Naruto from Itachi, who would tease the both of them mercilessly about anything. We all had great fun being together, and with my bookstore, our lives were lived out in comfort.
Unfortunately for our family, however, when Sasuke and Naruto were both three, Fugaku's father died and he was called away to become the head of the Uchiha Corporate. I worried that Naruto and Sasuke would never meet again, but Mikoto and I talked of great plans to reunite someday. It gave the both of us hope-she knew I would miss her dearly, and we signed each other on as our boy's guardians in case anything ever happened. The day we parted was one of the saddest I have ever been through, however, I know that someday we'll reunite.
-Kushina Uzumaki, 5/19/03
Standing at the front of the glamorous mansion, I reread my mother's words again. Fighting back the tears I knew were swelling, I plastered a smile onto my face and walked up the steps, and rapped on the door, one, two, three times.
I really, really hope everything turns out okay.
The door creaked open, a harsh sound that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. A woman with bright red hair and headphones stood there, one hand on an ear, jamming her head from side to side as she rocked to the blasting metal. She shot me a glare, scanning me up and down, before saying "I highly doubt you're the prime minister of Egypt's son, so what the hell you want?"
I stepped back, shocked by her brutality. "I-I need to speak to-" I glanced at the business card in my right hand. "-um, Ms. Mikoto?"
She quirked her eyebrows, before leading me inside the palace. "Don't know why you'd think she'd talk to you. Hold on, I'll ask her."
"Um, can you tell her that…uh…my name is Naruto Uzumaki? Kushina sent me."
The maid lazily nodded, returning to her music as she strolled up the stairs of the grand estate. Wow. The place was insanely huge.
In the foyer, there was a grand marble staircase with wooden banisters that were releasing such a nostalgic smell of cedar, the same wood my parents had used in their closet. The floor looked opal-ish, and glistened like the moon, so much so that I could see my reflection. Around the room were various alcoves, each of which held a state of some sort. Most of them appeared to be expensive, but you never know with rich people-they could be fakes.
"When July became December,
Their affection fought the cold.
But they couldn't quite remember
What inspired them to go.
And it was beautifully depressing,
Like a streetcar named desire.
They were fighting for their love
That started growing tired."
A low but sweet voice sang, and its owner appeared from a doorway to the east.
He was tall, with black hair that stuck up in a duck's butt in the back. He had on tight black skinny jeans with a variety of belts hanging from his waist. His sweatshirt wasn't zipped up, but its hood was up on his head, and the rest of it bagged around the white wife-beater he wore. On his feet were black and white converse with sharpie 3-D designs stenciled everywhere. He had in the signature Apple headphones in an iPhone or iTouch, I couldn't tell. He looked rich, so probably the iPhone. He bothered to look up, noticing me, causing a bit of color to be shocked into his onyx eyes. He stared at me for a few seconds before finally speaking.
"Who the hell are you?"
Oh, I hate him already.
"I'm Naruto, I'm here to see-" and a glance at the card again, "-Ms. Mikoto?"
He gave me an odd look, a single eyebrow raised. "Mom?" Shaking his head, he turned to exit the room. "Tell her that if you're from any weird community shit she signed up for, I refuse to be involved." And with that, he was gone. Great. Looks like this is gonna be absolutely wonderful.
After a period of a minute of mindless staring or so, the maid from earlier appeared at the top of the staircase, resting her head in the palm of her hand. "Come on up, she's ready to see you, 'Naru-kun'." She tossed her head back in snobby laughter, a rude bitch after all, it seems.
As I climbed the stairs, I felt like I was rising through the clouds to heaven-it was strange. Maybe I could go to heaven and see mom and dad. That'd be nice. I don't think suicide is too too hard.
Walking into the room the maid lazily pointed to, I meekly said a "Hello? Ms. Mikoto?"
However, the room I entered was not even close to anything I was prepared for. It was identical to the bookstore at home! Winding staircase, glass platforms, probably a few secret passages…it was incredible!
"Naruto!"
A woman with long black hair ran down the steps, arms out as she ran to me. She grabbed me around the shoulders, clutching onto me like no tomorrow. "I'm so sorry! I couldn't believe the news when I heard, I was so sad! I have nothing except the most wonderful memories of both Kushina and Minato. Ah, but what am I saying? You're welcome here, why, Fugaku and I always viewed you as our other son, just as Kushina and Minato viewed Itachi, Sasuke, and had they ever met her, I'm sure Honoka the same!"
"Um…thanks?"
She released me, stepping back. "Oh, sorry Naruto. I just still remember you as the little boy who always was…well…ah, I guess it doesn't matter now, does it? So, how are you feeling?"
"Better. I got to see Uncle Jiraya a bit ago, so that was nice."
"I'm so sorry we couldn't attend the funeral. By the time we had heard word of it, it was too late to do anything. Did the flowers arrive safely?"
"Yes. Thank you very much."
"Don't bother. They were Kushina's favorite-I remember that she'd always pick some and burst into our dorm room happy as a butterfly, until she realized that we had no vases! Ah, that girl was a riot! A wonderful person indeed, very, very wonderful."
I smiled as she spoke about my mom with such joy in her eyes. Not many people were all that close with my mom, so for her to have someone like this…it's wonderful.
"Well, Naruto, your room is upstairs. Shall I have Karin show you there?"
"Um, well, I don't mean to intrude, but…do you mind if I look around in here?"
Ms. Mikoto smiled brightly, saying "Oh, I don't mind at all, dear! Why, if you open up the passage that would lead to your apartment at home, there's a suite there built for your family that your room is attached to! Actually, it should look fairly identical to your one at home, other than the lack of a coffee shop. Otherwise, feel free! Our home is yours!"
"Thank you so much, Ms. Mikoto."
"Oh, drop the 'ms.', Naruto. You may not remember, but we are close, after all."
"What should I call you then?"
"Mikoto is just fine, Naruto dear. Now, go on! Feel free to explore!"
And thus, she left the room in an elegant way that almost made her appear princess-like. I walked further into the library before letting a smile break out on my face. I sprinted up the stairs like I always did at home, racing to the third level. One, two, five, ten, twenty, twenty-three bookcases to the right, on the third shelf from the top, "The Fantastical Mysteries of Family". Pulling on the bookmark hang outside of it, the wall swung open to a glassy, open area I immediately recognized as home. The kitchen was as I remembered it, sleek and metal, fun of glassware and pizza in the fridge. Off to the left was the stainless steel fireplace with a black sofa sitting in front of it, a comforting place where some of the most important conversations I've lived through had taken place. Running up the slim spiral staircase that ran through the center of the apartment, I entered my room-black and orange, it was empty of my usual décor, but my most prized possessions were all in the suitcase, I could put them away later. Going down a bit then hopping over the rail like always, I ran out the apartment and back into the library, ready to relax with books. Reading always calmed me down, and was exactly what I needed to get out of the nervous-hyper-anxious phase.
So, descending to the second level, I plopped down into a chair that was squishy and soft, perfect for reading. Thumbing through the books in the case next to it, I noted that I had, indeed, read all of these, so I stood to grab one I had yet to experience. As I fingered through the books, though, the boy from earlier greeted me with a solid "Hey there."
I looked towards him, nodded, and resumed my search.
"So…you're going to be staying here?"
"Guess so."
"Huh. Neji's gonna flip, he never predicted this."
"What?"
"Oh, never mind. Just some guy at school. Speaking of which, do you know which school you're going to?"
"No."
"Okay then."
Silence hung in the air for awhile longer, and I looked through the different worlds of ink and paper, the simplest ingredients of magic. The silence continued for another bit longer, until I spoke up.
"So…what are you doing here?"
"Nuthin'. Just figured I'd be polite to my future boyfriend."
…
My face turned redder than a tomato.
"W-w-wh-what did you just say?"
"That you were going to be my future boyfriend."
Nope, not just a tomato. A freakin' sun burnt tomato! This guy's crazy!
"I'm not gonna be your boyfriend or anything, just so you know! I'm not gay or anything!"
He smirked, a silent, rebellious sound that echoed through the empty room.
Then, a warm-yet-cold hand found it's way under my chin, and, grasping it gently, pulled my face towards the boy's, bringing our lips together solidly. His lips fluttered against mine softly, like he was saying something, but I couldn't make it out over the buzz of the kiss. It resounded throughout my body, echoing in my heart and making it go tha-dump, tha-dump, so loudly I thought it would break out of my chest. There was no sound, yet, there was, and the world seemed to freeze, and time trickled down, a few measly seconds.
Then, we separated.
"Well, we'll just have to see about that."
Then he turned away, waving a quick good-bye.
"Ja'ne, Naruto."
And he was gone.
-0-:The End!:-0-
-0-:Bye-Bye for now! Unless you want another chapter!:-0-
-0-:Review Please!:-0-