The Distance in Your Eyes
Author: Silvergurl423
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Author notes: Not too sure how this will end up, regarding pairings. I've never written yaoi before, but if I could I'd make it SasuNaru. For now, I'll just see where the plot takes me. I'd love comments and crit if you have any. Feel free to tell me what you think of my story, the plot, etc., but please no flaming. Like I said, it's my first try. ^^
Prologue: Dawn
The summons came early in the morning, when the sky wasn't even remotely bright. The messenger bird landed gracefully on the windowsill of an apartment in the middle of town, immediately tapping its beak against the glass. No one got up to open the window. The blind were down, and it couldn't see inside. It shuffled its wings, waited a while, and tapped again.
Still no reply.
Unable to delay delivering the Hokage's urgent message any longer, it flapped up to the small, covered hole above the window, developed – weirdly enough – for that very reason. The bird squeezed through the flap, hearing the click as it resealed behind it. It emerged into a small, messy bedroom and hovered just below the ceiling, searching for the ninja to whom it was supposed to deliver.
A body lay motionless on the bed, so entangled with sheets that nothing was visible but a lock of startling blonde hair and a leg hanging off the mattress. The bird dove downward, landing with a light thump approximately where the body's back would be underneath all the blankets. Had it not been for the muffled snore from under the pillow, the sleeping man would have appeared dead. Well used to the routine by now, and knowing it was the only way to wake him up, the bird fluttered forward and took a small chunk out of the ninja's ear.
The sudden screech of pain and surprise and then pain again as the man subsequently leapt out of bed, tripped on the sheets still wrapped around his legs, and fell flat on his face caused the bird's feather to puff up in fright. It recovered quickly, perching on the ninja's half-raised hand. The blonde, holding his bruised nose with his other hand, glanced resentfully at the bird and grumbled, "Oi! What'd ya do that for? A simple "get up" would've done too!" But the complaint was half-hearted. He, like the bird, was well used to it.
Yawning, the man untied the tiny scroll on the bird's back and unrolled it, rubbing tiredly at his cerulean blue eyes as he did. His gaze swept the paper and he was suddenly wide-awake. He stiffened a few seconds later, body going tense, his brow furrowed as he fought to make out the words in the dim moonlight coming through the covered window. All traces of weariness were gone.
Abruptly, the ninja grabbed the pre-packed bag resting near the foot of his bed, gathered his weapons pouch, snatched the orange and white ANBU mask from the drawer of his nightstand, and – in a poof of chakra-laced smoke – disappeared from the apartment.
The bird fell halfway to the floor as its perch vanished out from underneath it before gathering its wings. With one last indignant chirp, it left the way it came.
Two minutes later, Uzumaki Naruto knocked briskly on the double doors leading into the Hokage's private office.
The gash on his ear was already fully healed; only the dried blood around it to hint he'd ever been cut at all.
.::xxXxx::.
A/N: I know prologue is short, but I it's supposed to be like this. This was just to get the story rolling. The chapters are longer, I promise. ;)