This story is one I have been working on for ages; I have taken this story apart again and again, with my Literature Mechanics Set (think of ones such as the plastic primary coloured tools you may have played with as a child). I wanted so desperately to get this story right, and I hope I have written an interesting tale to all those who ever found comfort in hoping your toys really were alive…
On a random note, when you reach the part about Mr Nobody - my mum would always use the phrase 'oh so it was Mr Nobody then?' whenever something got broken and nobody owned up, something disappeared without anyone knowing where it was, or if there really was a mystery none of us could solve :P
Enjoy the story xx
A Different Kind of Toy Story
The child bounded around the room, bouncing, waiting impatiently for his family to come and pick him up from his room in the house for a fun holiday away for the week. He was planning on using the new water gun that he got for his birthday the other day. Eventually after many frequent spins in circles and jumping up and down, the child sat down on his bed and stared around his room. The walls were sky blue with wispy white clouds painted across them; various shelves held up the child's belongings with many other things left cramped in wardrobes and drawers. The ceiling was white; the colour the carpet should have been as well, with all the various coloured stains a child always makes in their room. The child looked content with the room, lying on his bed spread with a look of pure excitement that could not be contained.
There was then the sound of shouts from downstairs, and the echoes of every one of the family members leaving the house. The child ran out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
It was now empty.
There was a collective sigh across the child's room - various areas began to deep breathe and others began to giggle as the room burst in to life now the child was gone. Toys all across the room awoke to the silence of the child's room and relished that once again they could break free from the restraints that human life forced them to continue to grasp. On the highest shelf in the room, next to the window, an Action Figure broke free and signalled the okay. The child had entered the vehicle outside which meant that the Toys could socialise with one another without being disturbed for a whole week!
The Action Figure sighed, dusting his army clothes and accidentally shooting the shelf base with his gun.
"Hey watch it Kiba! It's hard enough to stop you doing that when the kid's here, just coz he's gone doesn't give you the excuse to act reckless!" another figure yelled as he walked along towards the naïve soldier.
"Shut up Sasuke! Just coz your head of our squadron doesn't give you the right to boss me about".
"I think it kinda does Kiba", another soldier lying against the wall added.
"Well at least Shikamaru knows the meaning of my status", the figure called Sasuke replied, standing in front of the two men. They were all wearing the same uniform, equipped with the same plastic gadgets, but they were noticeably different when they took their helmets off. Sasuke had black hair that stuck up in a kind of odd way, with pale skin and shiny black marble eyes. Kiba was the unfortunate member of the army that got attacked with the child's colouring pen; he now had two red stripes down his face which oddly matched his scruffy brown hair that was still a little sticky from where the family puppy had attacked him. The Shikamaru figure lying against the wall, making no effort to move, had no helmet since the child lost it; his hair was tied up away from his face with a small elastic band, which wasn't exactly comfortable, and now the child was away, a bored look had spread across the figure's features before a yawn irrupted from its mouth.
"Well we have a few hours to chill before we get started, so what's our mission today? We aren't going to make another attempt towards the Bed are we?" Kiba asked as Sasuke stared off in to the distance. Kiba and Shikamaru looked at each other and proceeded to roll their eyes.
Every day when the child left for any destination, Sasuke gazed in to the direction of the other side of the room. On the Desk, next to the door that escaped to a world beyond, was a collection of Dolls, one of them the prettiest Doll Sasuke ever did see. Blonde, blue-eyed and weirdly a Doll that was a guy, Sasuke had always wished for the opportunity to meet him, just wished to at least know his name.
But he was a Corporal of the army; he had to stay on the Top Shelf, it was his duty. It was suicide to try and drop to the Floor to get even close to the Dolls. And he would not abandon his duty at being assigned to the Top Shelf of the room.
But what he wouldn't give just to be on the same piece of furniture as him for a few minutes.
Sasuke shook his head out of his daydream and ordered the two Privates to gather up the rest of the squad for morning marching. They couldn't do anything anyway, the Sergeant was still not back from his trip to the next door neighbour's house and the squad was beginning to worry - it had been well over a week and they had lost some of their best men there.
The day carried on just like any other. That was, for a day when there was no prospect of the kid returning back any moment.
It was then that suddenly everything changed.
The room began to gently shake for a few seconds before it gradually got worse. The furniture was moving about, Toys falling from various parts of the room and screams sounded as Toy family members fell to the deaths.
Sasuke shouted at the squads to huddle in their groups - something similar to this had happened before, just a few years back. Sasuke had lost his brother that day in the struggle, remembering images one should not have to see having been only so young a Recruit when it happened.
It was an earthquake. And a pretty bad one at that.
The room continued to move around; so much for a fun start to the human family's holiday. Sasuke could just feel something bad was going to happen; his feet began to slide on the shelf and suddenly he realised. The shelf was broken. He turned to look and saw the end of the shelf slipping downwards, creating a slide for all those who sat on it. Sasuke ordered his squad to run up to the top and grab hold on as the slab of wood broke completely free of one of its hinges and hung at a vertical angle. Sasuke, Kiba and Shikamaru were among the many that were still holding on at the top, and they could hear the screams of their fellow soldiers as they fell to the ground, shattering in to pieces on contact. Sasuke dared not look at them.
Breathing hard from the effort of his actions, Sasuke pulled himself up as high as he could and began to formulate a plan. The franticness of the situation made Sasuke feel even more helpless.
Then he had it.
Sasuke used every ounce of strength that he had and pulled himself up until he was sat on the edge of the shelf, what would usually be vertical and was now horizontal.
"Soldiers! Follow me! I have an idea!" Sasuke yelled to his comrades as he threw his legs over the other side and made to stand up.
Now or never.
Sasuke jumped from the shelf and made to grab hold on to the linen curtain that was a few inches in front of him - if he didn't grab the linen, he would die. The moment of flying through the air was an exhilarating experience, one of the reasons why he felt so at home in the army. He managed to grab part of the large material, but felt himself slide immediately downwards as there was nothing for him to grab with his feet. Eventually, he managed to stop himself just before the fabric finished. With quick breaths, he opened his closed eyes and stared downwards to realise that the distance to the floor was survivable if he dropped - he was only going to have a slight injury if that. Plus as a Corporal, he needed to start helping those civilians in the room that were dying on the Floor.
With one deep breath, he dropped on to his hands and feet like a cat and stood up. He quickly rolled out of the way after hearing the yells of the various Privates that had decided to follow him down. Civilians on the ground ran over towards him, taking along their injured family and friends.
The room continued to shake as those that had followed the Corporal dropped down beside him, many falling over and one of the Recruits landing awkwardly, a snap was heard as his leg buckled beneath him. As he was attended to by two Privates, Sasuke surveyed the area.
He looked up.
"MOVE!!! SQUADS MOVE NOW!!!"
Many of the confused soldiers began to yell as they suddenly realised the reason for the Corporal running for his life to shelter beneath the Bed. The Wardrobe from the other side of the room began falling to the floor, right towards the window. Yelling, the Toys ran, one Private picking up their fallen friend. Sasuke rolled undercover of the Bed, knowing that they were going to regret it, had they not brought their weapons. He remained on the edge of the Bed, just undercover, in case he had to help anyone out. When everyone was under cover, he watched the Wardrobe as it hit the Window Sill, splinters of wood smashed, broke and flew in all directions, Sasuke had to yell to his companions to keep cover.
Soon, it occurred to Sasuke that this situation was much more difficult than they had first assumed, as he heard growls reach his ears coming from the depths of darkness under the Bed.
- - - - -
Dust rose around on top of the Desk, making the Dolls cough awfully for several minutes. The single male Doll was still lying flat on his back after darting out of the way of several wood splinters after the fall of the Wardrobe. He sniffed slightly as he thought of all the Toys that were injured or even killed - no help to reach any of them until the family were back.
The family did not even know that something bad had happened to them. But then again, they were only Toys - the fact that they lived and breathed was unknown to them.
He picked himself up and sighed. He looked around to check the conditions of all the other Dolls. He rushed to help up his good friend Sakura and darted around helping all the other Dolls around the desk, also fixing the pencil pots and pushing ornaments back in to their places. When he knew everyone was okay, he rounded them up.
"Okay, we have not suffered any fatal casualties; good".
As he was the only male Doll, he had to take charge of all the female Dolls. They meant a lot to him; after all, they were his family now.
"So what do we do now Naruto?" The pink-haired doll Sakura, who he had helped to her feet earlier, asked.
"I think you guys should stay together and camp out as per usual. I want to make sure if there is anything I can do to help down below. I'm not sure if they have enough help down there", Naruto replied.
"No Naruto! Don't go! You'll get hurt!" one Doll shouted.
"Yeah its way too dangerous!" another added.
"Stay here".
"Let the husky army guys do their job Naruto".
The blonde male Doll sighed.
"Maybe its because of the dust and chaos around here that you haven't seen but look", he pointed to the shelf where the army base was situated and the Dolls saw that it had been destroyed; the shelf that it once was on was now vertical and there weren't any of the army members in sight.
"Right, here's what we do. I'll go check out the surrounding areas, and I'll bring any injured Toys back so you guys can help heal them. Okay? We don't want to be remembered as the ignorant and selfish Dolls in incidents to come do we?"
"I suppose your right Naruto", Sakura answered thoughtfully.
"Exactly - trust the only male Doll", he added, grinning.
Sakura lined up their Toy family - she was much more of a bossy person than he was - and Naruto made his way to the edge of the Desk.
Toys, primarily because they couldn't blow their cover, never left the areas in which their kind were placed. The Army during the last time the family were away, attempted to cover ground but found that scaling the room was much more difficult than they had originally thought and eventually pulled back - just in time for the family to arrive home again. Naruto was one of the only Toys that had moved around to various other areas of the room and was proud to admit it.
As he scaled down the Desk, taking care not to fall, he returned to his dream to be allowed to meet the Army. He had grown up with women almost all his Toy life and wanted to be in the company of the strong men that had occupied his dreams. He didn't contemplate too much on that the thought was quite strange for Sakura when he had told her, but there was one particular Army member that intrigued him more so than the others.
If only he got to learn his name. Naruto prayed he was still alive.
- - - - -
Sasuke beat another Dust Bunny over the head as it attempted to bite his arm off. He had run out of ammunition earlier than he would have liked, and was now using all the strength he possessed to stop the Dust Bunnies from attacking the wounded and his own men.
Dust Bunnies weren't the cute, adorable animals that frolicked in the wild or were kept as pets by the humans - the Dust Bunnies were a ravenous, violent and evil race of creature. Unknown by the human race because of their ingenious ability to disguise, they were a deadly adversary of Toys of all kinds as they enjoyed killing them for sport. They were grey, beady-eyed and dangerous, in all shapes and sizes. They were born killers.
The Corporal knew of the dangers that lurked underneath the Bed and was inclined to wish that he could have found a safer place to house those that had followed him down to the Floor. But under the circumstances, with their base destroyed and the Wardrobe blocking most of the barren wasteland that was the Floor, he had little choice. He was going to continue to fight until he was dead - that was the way of the soldier.
Shikamaru was tending to the wounded, trying to lead those unable to defend themselves out from under the Bed to safety. The Wardrobe had fallen and though the scattered remains were hazardous, they were easier to brave than protecting the innocent with the limited number of soldiers in their arsenal. Shikamaru was always one for strategies. He began to contemplate how to handle the situation; the Wardrobe was at an angle now that it was resting on the Window-Sill but it was still too dangerous, in case it fell through and reached the Floor. The doors had swung open and many of the clothes of the child had fallen out, creating barriers to the other side of the room. He didn't like the lack of options that they had but he knew that everyone was going to be counting on him.
Kiba on the other hand was enjoying himself immensely at the thought of beating up the Dust Bunnies. They were a vicious bunch and had already claimed the lives of those unfortunate to fall under the Bed. Toy parts were littered everywhere. It was lucky that there were no spiders amongst the Bunnies attacking them at that point, as they were deadly adversaries to tackle as well - especially when allying with those whose domain that they invaded.
When Sasuke had realised that only the Army were still hidden in the depths, he yelled for the order to pull back. He had already learned that two had perished from the battle and he was unwilling to let anymore die, even if it was in the honour of duty.
He punched the Bunny one last time and was satisfied to learn that it had fallen to the Floor. He took the opportunity to run towards the light, where the Bunnies dared not venture too close to. Sasuke looked at those that were around and when he accepted that all were present that could be, he pulled the silver key from the grenades on his belt and threw them under the Bed.
The squeals from Bunnies and the sounds of explosions were heard by the crowd and Sasuke relaxed his breathing slightly, but not completely, at the sound of the Bunnies' demise. He wasn't going to take the chance in case some survived.
Following Sasuke, Kiba looked up and around to survey the surroundings. They were still on dangerous turf, needing to find higher ground - the closest being the Bed or the Desk of the Dolls. Still, they needed a way to scale to heights of the room.
As Corporal it was the Uchiha's duty to make sure that the lives of the men and the civilians were protected and he was the one in charge of them all, making all the risky decisions. He was thankful to have one of the better brains with him, Shikamaru, and also the lesser intelligent but the brawn of the group Kiba with him as well. The three of them made an effective team, and together they were going to prevail. They were also his best friends, and was happy that they were with him.
"Okay, gather around everyone. How are the injured?"
"In good condition for the time being Corporal but we will need to find assistance for them as soon as possible, sir", one of the Privates answered with a salute.
"Well, that's as good a news we could hope for, for now", Sasuke answered. "Right Private Shikamaru, I would like to hear your opinion on how we can proceed up from here. We don't know when the Bunnies will regroup and strike us back.
"Well, if only we managed to gain some help from someone up top, I think then we could possibly work from there. But we need to alert the attention of the Dolls somehow".
"Dolls you say?" an unknown voice from nearby asked.
A Doll was stood on top of the Wardrobe, looking slightly worn out - a stitch was coming undone on his side - and smiling to them.
Sasuke instantly recognised him as the Doll of his affections. He pushed all feelings aside for the moment - this was the key to help they needed.
"Yes, sir. We need to make sure these civilians get out of harms way: the Dust Bunnies are on the rampage and we have just survived their attack for now".
The Doll's smile faltered at the mention of the Bunnies.
"Well, I'm sure I can help some others out - I've already saved several other Toys, I'm a bit tired but I'll do my best", his smile returning. It was a genuinely glorious smile indeed, and it touched the Corporal's heart, though it did not show on his face.
"Right", he turned to Shikamaru.
"Well, Corporal, sir, if we threw him our rope, he can knot together a long one and using some of the larger pieces of wood from this broken piece of furniture, we could make a pulley lift of some kind. I guess one person at a time as its just him, but we can then add more as soon as others get on top as well. It works with the diagonal angle of the Wardrobe".
"Good. Throw him up your rope then. Privates and Recruits, throw your rope up to the Doll up there", Sasuke ordered. He turned his attention again to the blonde, male Toy. "Did you hear our plan up there?" he yelled.
"Yes", was the reply.
"Right then. Come on Privates". Sasuke unhooked his own length of rope and was anxious on whether or not to throw it up. He had an uneasy feeling being on the Floor, looking towards the darkness of underneath the Bed once again.
Naruto knotted several pieces together until he felt satisfied with the strength of the longer rope he had created; he kept the spare pieces with him and tied the rope to one of the holes through the Wardrobe, letting it drop to the Floor. He then began to find a broken piece of wood that they could use to create a lift with.
Sasuke placed several of the Privates on look out, the ones with ammunition, led by Kiba, whilst he watched Shikamaru climb the rope up to the top. He watched as the brunette shook hands with the blonde and began to make another long rope as the male Doll began to make the pulley lift.
It wasn't long before the combined effort of the two on the Wardrobe had finished making the lift and the civilians were on their way up to safety. Soon, there were only the Army members left. Sasuke had decided to go last as he was the Corporal in charge. Kiba scrambled on to the board with another Private and winked at Sasuke, who was left on the Floor by himself. With his gun ready, he pointed around to make sure things were clear and then that's when it happened.
"Damn", he muttered as he hit the Dust Bunny at the front that was after him.
"SASUKE!" Kiba yelled.
The Corporal had good reactions, but even he could not hope to stand a chance against all the Dust Bunnies that had attacked him; five or six of them.
"Kiba! Don't do it, Sasuke knew the risks of staying down there", the Private next to him shouted.
"Lie down Private and steady the lift. I'm going down". Kiba jumped down, landing and squashing one of the Dust Bunnies straight off, popping a bullet in to the back of its skull. He then realised that some more of them were approaching from the depths of the darkness.
"Sasuke!" Kiba yelled. He ran as fast as he could to the Corporal, shooting Bunnies and hitting them with his gun. Sasuke was fine, he noticed, but they needed him up to lead the others. He would be fine. He was going to take a risk.
Kiba picked up the Corporal with one arm, still shooting the Bunnies and ran to where the ropes were. He noticed that the pulley was coming back down for the both of them, but with the current events, it would mean that the Dust Bunnies would also have access to up above. He placed the Corporal down and yelled at him to get on the rope.
"Kiba! No! I am the one who needs to stay down here".
"Sasuke, freaking well listen to me. They need you as their leader and their guidance - I don't possess those kinds of skills to deal with the people. I am much more suited to dealing with this problem". Kiba took out his knife and threw it, which cut one of the pulley ropes, causing the wood to become unbalanced, break and fall, hitting the Bunnies that were attacking them. "Go now. I'll follow in a minute".
Sasuke nodded, taking orders not because it made sense, but because it was his friend. Sasuke kicked the nearest Bunny and used the leverage to jump on the rope, climbing up it as well. He cut the other ropes so that the Bunnies could not use them and then climbed to the top. He could see that the Bunnies were becoming too much for Kiba to handle.
"KIBA COME NOW!" Sasuke yelled.
"Cut the rope, Sasuke, leave me down here!" Kiba yelled back, shooting at a Bunny attempting to climb the rope. Kiba was becoming smothered by the Bunnies, Sasuke could barely see him anymore.
"NO! I can't do that!"
"CUT THE ROPE SASUKE!"
Sasuke found himself dealing with the hardest decision to make in his life, until he saw the eyes of his friend. The determination was there; he wanted it this way. Shikamaru saw the look in Sasuke's eyes also.
"Sasuke! Don't do it, he can still make it!" Shikamaru ran to stop him but Sasuke had already whipped out his knife once again and cut the rope. Kiba smiled from down below and began his furious counter assault.
"I'll see you guys later!" he yelled, breaking free and running back under the Bed, out of sight.
- - - - -
Shikamaru sat by himself a little away from the rest of the group. They had managed to get up to the Bed and were now sat having a rest before they journeyed to get to the nearest Toy inhabited area to rest and heal the wounded. But he was distraught at having to lose one of his best friends, especially at the hands of his superior officer and also other best friend. He couldn't look at him at all, the entire time since Kiba's departure, he just couldn't seem to understand how he made the decision to let him go.
Sasuke continued to look down to the Floor where Kiba had yelled at them to abandon him, until he felt the swift fist of Shikamaru against his cheek.
"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT?!" Shikamaru yelled in his face, "How could you leave our friend to die down there?" he stared at Sasuke for some time, before the raven-haired Corporal finally gave a response.
"Shikamaru, you should know that all Kiba wanted to do was to die honourably, beating the living crap in to the Dust Bunnies after they took the life of his father. I could not deny him when I saw the look in his eyes. And if you are still questioning this, then you have not learned a single thing serving as a Private in the Army". His voice was barely above a whisper. "Now let's not let Kiba's sacrifice be in vain. We must save the lives of the civilians".
Sasuke pushed past Shikamaru and towards the blonde Doll that looked solemn, stood away from the rest.
"Can you take us somewhere safe?" he asked the blonde.
He turned around and nodded.
"I'm Corporal Sasuke", he handed out his hand to shake it.
"I'm Naruto, only male Doll living on the Desk", he smiled.
"Pleased to meet you. When you are ready, please lead the way".
The blonde turned on his heel and beckoned the others to follow him. The Desk was at the end of the Bed and Naruto realised that the Wardrobe was the easiest way to reach the Bed. As soon as they reached the place that would require the least amount of effort to jump to the Bed, Naruto pointed everyone in the direction, helping those with plastic feet not to slip.
It wasn't long before they were safely on the Bed, many of them enjoying how bouncy it was. Sasuke ordered the Army squad to take a break. They spent some time enjoying the atmosphere, the wounded were checked upon and deemed fine for the moment, yet the lingering feeling of sadness of how Kiba had sacrificed himself for all those that were seated on the Bed, played on everyone's minds.
It had been a very long day. And it wasn't even over yet.
Sasuke glanced over to Shikamaru who was sat on his own some paces away from the rest of the group. He breathed deeply and then walked over, knowing that the conversation was not going to be as easy as it once was.
Sasuke sat down next to Shikamaru who remained where he was, not moving an inch despite the harsh words they had exchanged over their comrade less than a few hours ago.
"I just can't believe that he would do that", Shikamaru said after several minutes silence.
"Kiba knew the ways of the Army more than anyone gave him credit for. He wanted to die fighting; that's how he intended it. His spirit was not one that was easily broken. And I believed in him; he will never be forgotten for what he did. I could not deny him what he wanted when he looked at me with those eyes; both he and I knew that with the lack of ammunition, there was a chance that a lot of people were going to die if he hadn't done something. I was willing to stay down myself but he would not let that happen. And not only am I sad at the loss of a comrade, I am sad at the loss of a friend".
Shikamaru felt that much worse for yelling at Sasuke then.
"Come on, we need to get back to the rest of the squad and make way for the Desk; Naruto said that there were Dolls there who would willingly help out".
"So how do you feel?" Shikamaru asked.
"Hmm?"
"You finally know his name".
Sasuke smiled. "Yes I do. And now all I want is to know more. But there is a time and place for that and my duty comes first. Duty always comes first".
Sasuke stood up and left Shikamaru, knowing that the Private was steadily getting up to follow him. The sooner they reached civilised area, the sooner he could begin properly mourning his friend.
- - - - -
Sakura sighed at the arrival of another asylum seeking Toy for the night; the Desk had been unaffected by the chaos of the earthquake but it was slowly becoming over-populated as more Toys needed space and nurture from the horrific natural disaster. She was glad to move away from them all, sitting on the edge over-looking the room. She assessed the damage of all the different areas of the room. The Blue Box in the corner was fine; the worst affected was the Army Base, with no Toys left on the now vertical shelf.
The pink-haired Doll was getting nervous; Naruto had been gone an awful long time. She was wondering where he would have gone; he certainly wasn't going to get up the way he went down. The collapsed Wardrobe blocked the entrance.
The Bed.
She got up and walked over to where she could see it, passed the boxes and other inanimate objects that were situated around the Desk. She meandered around all the Toys and obstacles until she reached the edge of the Desk looking out over the Bed.
She could see Naruto; and with a whole bunch of Toys. She waved to them, relief for her friend being okay but new anxiety bubbled in her stomach with the amount of new visitors that needed to be housed. She turned around to yell for help and soon she and two other of the Dolls approached the group, tending to the wounded. Sakura went straight to Naruto and the Army clad figure he was talking to.
"Hey, glad your back. It's a nightmare there. We're sheltering as many as we can but there are so many casualties now, its getting tough. Hi, I'm Sakura", she said, turning her attention to Sasuke, "Damn, is this all that's left of you?"
Sasuke nodded. "We don't actually know the locations of many of our troops".
"Well…" Sakura shifted uncomfortable on the spot she was stood in, "If you want to, you can get a good view as to why that is". She pointed up to where Sasuke had first started his day, and felt pain stab at his stomach. It looked so much different from a new angle, and it looked horrifying as all the Army remembered how close to death they were themselves at that point.
They moved in to the area that was the Desk and Sasuke and the Army were interested at being in such an unfamiliar location. Littered with other objects unrelated to their race, the Desk was several storeys, with cubby holes placed everywhere. At that moment though, there were all sorts of Toys racing everywhere, attempts to get it orderly were failing. Sakura began shouting and soon, those that couldn't walk were being chaperoned to new areas to get treated. Sasuke had never seen so many different Toys; all varieties of size, shape and material. It was a very remarkable moment.
Naruto began to beckon the Army to follow him; they were in the way of the Dolls as they were not trained in the field of medical assistance. Naruto was to take them somewhere that they could rest and keep out of trouble. He walked to the other side and jumped up to the very top, the point where there was no point in taking any injured people as it required some effort to get up to it. The Army could rest without bother.
The Army all relaxed for some time in silence before the question that was on everyone's minds was asked by the newest Recruit to the Army.
"Corporal, sir, what are we supposed to do now that we are here? What will happen when the family come back? We are stuck here with nothing to do now, except get in the way of the Dolls". All of the squad looked at Sasuke as he took in a deep breath and sighed.
"Even I'm unsure what to do from now. We may have to leave earlier, perhaps camp on the Bed. We need not stay here as none of us sat here are greatly injured and the Dolls can use their resources better. But for today, you need not worry about these sorts of troubles. Leave it to me". Sasuke took a sip of the drink that he was given by the Dolls that was supposed to renew his energy. The silence returned, if possible, even more silent than before.
- - - - -
Sasuke sat overlooking the Bed by himself; he moved away from the rest of the squad earlier on so they could talk amongst themselves without their superior there. He could see the sun setting from the window on to the Bed, basking the room in an array of warm colours that made him forget everything bad that had happened that day and just concentrate on the good things.
He had finally learned Naruto's name.
It was strange; he wanted to speak to the blonde so bad, but the circumstances as to how they finally spoke to each other were less than perfect. It was nothing like he wanted it to happen.
But then again, he had never thought that they would ever get the chance to speak. And now they were in each other's company and he had no idea what to say to him at all. He was less than pleased about his inability to communicate with the Doll - he felt like an idiot.
He sighed. What was he to do?
"Can I join you?" a voice behind him uttered. He recognised the voice well even though he had only heard it for the first time that day.
Sasuke nodded. It was weird that his throat wouldn't work.
"Well, I understand its been an eventful day. If you don't want to talk that's fine, but when I'm nervous, I can't stop talking instead of the other way around".
Sasuke's ears alerted to an interesting point; why was this blonde nervous?
"You know, I might as well come out and say that for as long as I have been here, you've always intrigued me. You know from afar".
Sasuke did a double take and stared at the blonde who wasn't looking at him. What? He didn't stop him from talking, but continued to listen to him as he spoke, staring out of the window.
"I'm the only male Doll on the Desk, and even then I was only here by accident. And so I've adventured around this room, much more than any other Toy that lives here coz I haven't felt connected to anything. But the most fascinating place in here was the Army base, where I saw you. And its strange coz I felt connected to you more than anywhere else in the room, to anyone - even the Dolls. And today, when I saw the collapse of that shelf, I prayed to let you survive. And I went searching for you, in the guise of searching for survivors and then I meet you. I then see you order your men around as you try to save lives, see you get attacked and see you lose your friend. And I realised that the Army is where I should have belonged - it seemed so natural to me, every decision you made. I apologise if I have offended you at all in saying this, but you are the one person in my life that I feel I can talk to - and I only know your name".
Naruto continued to look ahead, not wanting to have to see whatever horrified expression that was going to be on the Corporal's face. He had just released the pent-up emotion that he had carried with him for so long to the one person he did not want to have burden. He eventually had to turn towards Sasuke and then surprisingly he saw an almost serene look on the Corporal's face.
"Its funny that I sat on that shelf everyday and watched from afar, to see how you were doing that day. You were an enigma to me, a mystery I wanted to solve. I wanted to meet you, I wanted to speak to you and I wanted to know your name. And in listening to you say these things to me makes me feel that this journey I embarked on at the start of this day was actually worth it. I finally learnt what I wanted to know. And I want to know more about you - and I have. I'm glad you shared this with me".
Sasuke turned towards Naruto, who looked at him and they stared at each other for a while.
"Well, that was uncomfortable".
"Yup".
They then both laughed and continued the conversation in to the direction that they both wanted.
- - - - -
It was the next morning when Sasuke rose from his slumber and felt Kiba's absence finally hit him. He couldn't stop the tears no matter how hard he tried and he thanked the Material Gods that he was alone and no one could see him. Naruto had managed to find him a secure area of the Desk where there was no one else. The Dolls had the ingenious idea of moving the injured to the Bed as it was more spacious and comfy. So Sasuke had slept alone, and comfortably without being disturbed.
Except by the thoughts of being responsible for Kiba's death.
No matter what he told Shikamaru, he knew he was, at the very least, partly responsible.
It was hard to know what was going to happen over the next few days, especially with their base destroyed and the civilians being treated by the more capable. They were going to have to leave soon. But Sasuke didn't want to leave Naruto.
Their conversation had lasted hours and hours, in to the dead of night - when even the other Toys had gone to sleep. They talked about everything that was relevant to them, from hobbies to adventures to the very beginning of their life in the room of the small child. Naruto was a second hand Doll so he had adventures before even arriving in to this blue and white painted child's room.
Sasuke decided to wash his face, get up and address his squad. They needed to converse with the Dolls to see how long they were allowed to stay. But what were they supposed to do when the humans arrived home? And who knows when they were going to be back when news reached them of the earthquake?
Sasuke reached Sakura first out of the Dolls.
"Hey, listen umm, could you do me a huge favour?" she said, holding several things in her arms and looking unbalanced.
"Here let me carry a few of those things for you first", he said.
"Thanks", she said, dumping the entire load in to his arms. "Can you stick around here? Its nice for Naruto to have company and if I want to be honest and slightly vindictive - you don't have anywhere else to go". She paused, giving him time to react to her comment. When Sasuke didn't say anything, she continued.
"Anyway… some of the other Toys sent word that the humans are coming home early coz of the happenings and stuff, don't ask me how they knew coz I don't, and it would be nice for you guys to relax at least before you leave back to the shelf". Sakura placed her hands in a praying gesture. Sasuke nodded.
"Good", she smiled, "Now, can you help me take these to the Bed?"
"What are all these things?" he asked in response, interestedly.
"Just what every Doll needs to help another".
Sorry I asked, Sasuke thought.
Sasuke felt quite strange that he was asked to stay and relax whilst on the Desk; he was used to continual service in the Army, where they were taught to remain constantly vigilant to attack, no matter what the circumstances.
It was also interesting to find that Sakura wanted him to stay for Naruto's sake. Was there more going on then he realised? He did find that his feelings were possibly deeper than he originally thought; he was attracted to the blonde Doll. But there was no way he was ever going to admit it to anyone. The only person he would admit it to was no longer with them. As much as he cared for Shikamaru - Kiba was his true best friend.
After helping Sakura take her supplies to the Bed, Sasuke embarked on scaling the Desk to the very top, so he could get a better view on the damage on the Floor. If it was possible, it would be easier to go find their troops, even if it was to lay their bodies to rest. After all, how else were they going to explain how they suddenly moved to the other side of the room without human assistance?
He was lost in thought so much that he didn't hear the soldiers arrive and try to get his attention. It was only when Shikamaru poked Sasuke with his baton that he noticed anyone was there.
"Huh?"
Shikamaru sighed at him, whilst other soldiers whispered to each other about the uncharacteristic way the Corporal was acting. Sasuke eventually stood up and yelled at them to get in line. They all followed the orders immediately.
"Now. I'm sure everyone has been wondering about what we will be doing now that we are here, we have safely transported the civilians and now we have haven here. But, I think that we will be leaving this place soon".
There was silence to this response, though Sasuke could read the small changes in some people's face. Why would they have to leave?
"You are probably wondering why we have to leave when we are safe here and are being provided for but I have heard that the humans are coming home to sort out the problems in the house due to the natural disaster. And as we have to protect the secret of our nature to the humans, we have to move to the Floor below the shelf so we do not give away our secrets. Plus, there is also the collection of the bodies of our fellow soldiers that deserve our respect before the humans arrive and take them away. So soldiers, make the preparations to leave. We will be vacating the premises just after lunch time where we will thank the Dolls and then leave to set camp down there". Sasuke pointed and everyone followed his finger.
He dismissed them all and he was left alone again. Until a friendly face came along.
"Your leaving?" Naruto said, sadness tinting the words.
"The humans are coming back, we need not to give them anymore reason to suspect us for being what we are".
"But you're leaving today".
"Yeah".
"I'm coming with you".
"You can't - your not in the Army".
"Can I not be?"
"You're a Doll. Dolls aren't in the Army".
"But I am capable enough, I am qualified. I told you of some of my experiences - I can fight much better than your soldiers can imagine".
"Don't insult my men please Naruto".
"But you won't even acknowledge that you insult my feelings! Because I am a Doll, I can't be in the Army? Must I forever be looked down upon because I am a male Doll?"
"I'm not looking down upon you. I admire you for what you are. But it's the rules of the Army - Dolls have never been allowed to join".
"Well aren't you in charge now? You can change the rules!"
Sasuke said nothing.
"I see". Naruto understood. "Well, I'll just get out of your way. Don't bother saying goodbye or anything, just… just don't come near me". The blonde Doll looked the Corporal in the eyes once more, the beginnings of tears visible, and then turned around and walked away.
Sasuke felt truly horrible.
- - - - -
Sasuke turned around and looked at the Desk one more time, and sighed to himself. He had left on such bad terms - he had hurt the feelings of the Toy he had admired for so long. The soldiers were walking ahead of him, Shikamaru was looking at him in an inquisitive way. Sasuke turned away from the Desk and continued to press on along the Bed. The plan was to get to the end of the Bed until they reached the Window-Sill and use the fabric of the curtains once again to get down to the Floor. Then they could venture and help their once proud comrades to be honoured as the heroes they were.
The squad continued for several hours as they carefully marched away; they moved as far away from the Bed as they could to get down the fabric. They weren't in a rush this time so the operation went slower and smoother.
Upon reaching the Floor, Sasuke marvelled on the vastness of the Wardrobe that towered over them. A few of the Recruits walked up to the open broken doors to peer inside at the mess of fabric inside that were the child's clothes, where they found many other members of their troops who had hidden there for protection from the Bunnies that were apparently periodically moving around. Sasuke was relieved to find more of their squad. Soon, after careful walking around and orienteering from the Privates and Recruits who had remained stationed inside the Wardrobe, they found the 'Drop Site' and the bodies of their fellow squad members. Many of them were Recruits, a few Privates and the only other Corporal, lay dead on the floor.
The humans always wondered what happened to Toys every now and again that had gone missing, even though they knew they were in the house where they left them. A Mr Nobody had run off with things again, a phrase commonly used by the human mother.
Toy Burial was when the Toys were placed in an unknown location to the humans, and in the case of the child's room, there was a graveyard under the floorboards. Sasuke had visited many times when on missions close to the area, to see his brother who had died in the last natural disaster, in similar circumstances to the ones they were experiencing currently.
Sasuke asked the squad to collect their fallen comrades as he moved over to one of the many entrances to the hidden Toy Graveyard. At the edge of the rooms, the skirting boards were broke in several easy to reach places, with pieces of shaped wood covering them up. These were easy to move and behind them was a tunnel made to move Toys to their final resting place, which was also used by mice if they ever managed to find a way in to the house.
Sasuke opened the entrance and stood at attention, hand saluted as bodies passed him by. When they were all in, Sasuke closed the covering for the time being and used his light to lead the way. After walking down some makeshift stairs, they reached the graveyard.
Bodies weren't buried here, but covered in a layer of dust so thick that it was hard to distinguish Toys easily, so families usually made plaques which they stuck to the floor. There weren't as many bodies in the graveyard as Sasuke thought might be in more antique houses - the house was only built a few years ago - but there was still a few around.
The funeral for the latest additions to the Toy Graveyard was a swift ceremony carried out by the Corporal. It would usually be held by the Sergeant or even a Captain if there was one visiting, but as Sasuke was the last leading figure left in the Army with little experience in funeral affairs, he did his best - which was recognised by his comrades. As the Recruits and Privates began to make decorative plaques, Sasuke took a quick trip to visit his brother, who was laid to rest near by in the Armed Forces section of the graveyard.
"Hey Itachi, how you doing?" Sasuke asked. Talking aloud to his brother always felt a little strange; even more so with more people present near him. Obviously not expecting a response, but giving ample time as if he would, Sasuke pressed on.
"I don't know what to do with myself Itachi. You always told me to follow my instincts and my gut feelings were always to be trusted over anything else, but it seems my heart has been interfering too much recently. How do I fix this?"
Silence.
"I think I understand older brother. As long as I follow in your footsteps, I will die with pride and honour as a member of the best armed force there has been for years. Thanks. And I hope you are doing well where you are".
He saluted the grave, sighed a little to himself, before deciding to make his way back to the rest of the squad. He turned around to see Shikamaru stood almost directly behind him. Sasuke flinched in surprise.
"You made me jump Shika!"
"I noticed".
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly.
"So do you always talk aloud to your brother then?"
Silence.
"Well, we've basically finished the preparations, so what do we do now?"
"We are going to camp out under the shelf and wait for the humans to return. It shouldn't be too long since its been some time since they left their current destination to return".
"Noted, sir". Shikamaru saluted albeit a little wearily.
"Don't worry, soon we will be back on the fixed Top Shelf and life will return to normal, as it always has".
"Granted. Except that it won't without Kiba being there".
Sasuke looked at the ground sadly. The two friends said nothing for what seemed like a very long time. Soon, shouts were heard by the rest of the group, trying to get their attention.
"We're leaving soldiers!"
- - - - -
Back in fresh air, with the entrance resealed, Sasuke relaxed at the 'Drop Site' with the rest of the soldiers, making a small meal to replenish their stamina before the humans returned.
Sasuke dwelled on how this week was supposed to be a fun vacation for all the Toys in the room, but it had taken such a turn for the worst for so many different Toy races. What would it have been like if things had gone the way they were supposed to?
His best friend would still be with them, along with several other soldiers he knew and trusted.
He would never have been able to meet Naruto - the only male Doll in the room who captured his attention for so long. And then he upset him so much.
He didn't want to think it, but it would probably have been better if this whole thing never happened. He knew how important it was for him to meet Naruto, but losing his best friend had affected everything about him. He had just screwed everything else up.
Shikamaru looked over towards him and decided leaving him to his thoughts was perhaps not the best idea. As he approached, he heard some strange noises coming over from the way of the Bed that was close to their camp.
BANG!
Shikamaru shot a bullet straight past Sasuke's face.
"What the hell?"
"Corporal, they are back".
Sasuke turned around to see quite a big group of Dust Bunnies emerging from underneath the Bed.
"Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Dammit!" Sasuke picked up his gun, they had managed to acquire more bullets when they visited the Desk, and he called for the rest of the squad to move out and secure positions. As the remaining soldiers gathered for round two against some of their sworn enemies, Sasuke noticed some rather large bodies appearing behind them.
Spiders.
"Can this get any worse?" Sasuke heard Shikamaru mutter.
"Sir", a Recruit approached Sasuke from behind, "The case of ammunition that we took with us has gone missing, I swear it was here earlier, but its just vanished".
"DAMN!"
Sasuke shot the Dust Bunny at the front of the pack and watched it keel over. And this was the starting point of an all out war against them.
The enemy charged towards them, spiders taking the offensive first as they were faster, using their webs and trapping several soldiers to Sasuke's right. Shikamaru had managed to avoid them and was now trying to cut them out of the webs. The soldiers on the left began their offence, bullets flew in all directions and several of the Bunnies fell. Sasuke began charging to one of the sides, shooting and physically attacking the enemy.
Until the spider came.
Throughout his training as an armed officer he knew that taking on a spider alone was suicide. He looked around to see every other soldier too busy to assist him and gritted his teeth.
"Fine you bastard, we'll see who comes out of this victorious".
Sasuke dodged to the left and then again as the spider shot out webs to try and capture him. Shooting straight, Sasuke managed to cut off one of the spider's spindly legs. Howling a noise Sasuke had never heard before and could not describe in anyway, he felt himself fly through the air and straight in to a cabinet. He felt pain shoot all down his left shoulder to his elbow and began to swear violently under his breath.
He fell to the floor and began panting, on his knees. The spider approached him again, Sasuke barely having enough time to dodge. Sasuke cocked his gun and began to shoot aimlessly in the spider's direction, managing to hit it a few times, but not in fatal places. Another swing of the spider's leg made Sasuke fly and hit another soldier.
"Run", he whispered.
The Recruit nodded and began running to help out another fellow soldier in beating the Dust Bunnies. Sasuke smiled. If he was to meet his end, he wanted to take down the spider with him. He tried to find the grenades in his pocket, but realised that they were back from where he was last hit.
His eyes followed the line to see one of the soldiers pick them up.
Who was that?
He saw the soldier run towards him, pick him up and then throw the grenades at the spider so fast, the spider had no time to react. He stood and watched as the impact blew the spider in to parts, liquids from within the spider splattered the floor.
Sasuke looked up at the soldier who smiled at him. He had cuts on his face, and seemed to be favouring his leg a little bit but with the wild hair, determined eyes and red lines on his face, it was no other then Kiba Inuzuka.
"Kiba?"
"The one and only. Did you miss me?"
Sasuke looked up at him with a mixture of awe and happiness, before wiping the look of his face as quickly as it came with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "As if".
"Well, at least you did what I asked of you. Seems everyone is still alive. For this moment anyway".
"What happened to you?"
"Do you really think this is the time to ask me about this?" Kiba dropped him on the floor, and wrapped his arm in a makeshift sling from some of the fabric of his jacket. He handed him his gun. "Good job you didn't hurt your good arm".
Sasuke laughed.
"Let's go then, we'll back each other up seeing as we have both injured different limbs".
Sasuke nodded and then the two advanced together, back to back fighting off the hordes of the Bunnies that tried to approach them. Shikamaru approached, giving Kiba a slap on the back and calling him something rude, before running to help a group of Recruits as they tried to finish off the last spider.
Everything was going fine, they were beating back the Bunnies to their caverns under the Bed. They had no fatal casualties so far, though a fair few injuries.
Which was when it happened.
"Damn! They have reserves!" Sasuke shouted. "Everyone be on your guard! Don't take any unnecessary risks!"
The soldiers attempted to reform the formation best suited to the situation but were given no time before the enemy once again pounced on them.
Sasuke began to wonder about the outcome, and just how many of them would survive. His arm was in so much pain, and he was receiving more injuries than he ever had before because he was just too exhausted to block. The past few days were a rollercoaster of emotions and experiences. They had travelled so much, lost their home, lost their men and now it looked like the loss of the Army as well. Sasuke could hear the screams of many soldiers as they lost their lives and it spurred Sasuke on to not let any more of them die. They were beginning to be hopelessly outnumbered.
Sasuke fell to the floor as another blow struck him in the stomach. He looked up at the ceiling and saw the whiteness was beginning to be so inviting. Giving up seemed so easy but he knew that his family would be so disappointed in him if he did. He had to lead the Army, or who else would see these men through the rest of their training, give them the same amazing experiences he had experienced or show them just how fun the missions they were given were.
And about himself. He would never be able to apologise to Naruto.
In his loss of self, Sasuke felt the paws of a Dust stepping on his throat. The pain…white hot pain…he couldn't breathe…he couldn't breathe…there was no one there to help…this was the end…
Soon the Bunny flew off him and the air poured in to his lungs. He coughed violently, and sat up. It was then that he saw a blonde, not in uniform, made of an entirely different material to him stand with his back facing him. The blonde turned and Sasuke was taken aback by the look of pure rage in his eyes. Sasuke saw his grip tighten on the weird weapon he was holding. What was that?
"You alright?" Naruto asked, no trace of his anger in his voice, but no trace of emotion either. Sasuke nodded in response. "Good. Watch and learn how things are done in other places Corporal".
Naruto walked up to the biggest group of Bunnies and gripped the wooden handles of his weapon. He stood and waited for them all to gather around him.
Sasuke had never seen them before, but he remembered hearing about these weapons from the Sergeant a while ago.
The Sergeant was a well-travelled individual, who always covered up his face, leaving only his eye showing. Made him look rather intimidating but when you got to know him, he was a perverted yet enlightened individual. He told Sasuke all about his travels, and was good friends with his brother when he was alive.
"Sasuke, guns aren't always the best weapons to use in some situations".
"Really?"
"Yes".
"But you can use them at any distance and you don't have to feel the being whose life you have to take. I think guns are the best weapon".
The Sergeant paused as he took in Sasuke's theory.
"That's a rather…interesting…way of interpreting the use of a gun. But let me tell you something Sasuke, some valuable advice on different ways of fighting. I have seen many different weapons wielded before me, levels of skill which I could never hope to obtain. And you should never judge one to be better than the other, nor should you judge people by appearances either. I met a group of Dolls once in a room a little away from here, nicest Toys I have ever met, and they wielded the strangest weapon. Two pieces of wood attached by a chain, I forget what they called it, and I once saw three Dolls take on an army of Spiders - must have been at least a hundred - and these three didn't get hit once and killed them all".
"Wow", Sasuke was in awe.
"Indeed. I was gob-smacked just looking at it. I then attempted to learn from the eldest of the three and I just could not grasp it. I wasn't built for that kind of weaponry. But Sasuke, never forget this information as one day it could save your life".
Sasuke looked at the weapon again.
"Troops! Fall back! FALL BACK NOW!"
They turned around confused, but walked over to Sasuke, who had shuffled as far back as he could. This was something he wanted to see with his own eyes, this was something they all had to see.
And by what the Sergeant said, something to stay as far away from as possible.
For some reason, all the Bunnies had abandoned the soldiers and focused their attention on the blonde Doll, who remained stood in the middle of the circle untouched.
He turned to look at Sasuke, gave him a small smirk and began circling the weapon, changing hands at a lightening speed, before readying his position. Then he began to fight. Circling the weapon he hit three Bunnies before Sasuke could even register what had happened, breaking their necks from the looks of it, Dust-blood spurting out on to the floor. All the Bunnies jumped on him at the same time, but Naruto dodged each attack and responded with his own, the look in his eyes, Sasuke could see, held nothing but his expression was of sheer concentration.
After a few seconds, Naruto closed his eyes and they remained closed as he attacked, kicking, back, jumping over, hitting them with his weapon. He rolled over to the side, and jumped feet first in to a Bunny, bouncing off to throw his weapon in to the face of another. He caught it in mid air rebound and then landed like a cat on the floor and continued with a flurry of attacks. Feet, fists and the wood of the weapon contacted with all the Bunnies and within minutes they were all dead: Naruto stood back in the middle of the circle where he had started. His hand still gripped to the weapon began to loosen slightly, before he turned to look at the soldiers behind them. He walked over and stood towering in front of Sasuke.
He then smiled.
"Glad I could help out", he said. He pocketed the strange weapon and then began to walk off towards the caverns in the Bed.
"W-where are you going?" one of the soldiers shouted after him.
Naruto turned back around to face them.
"I was going to go after the one that ran away. Oh and get back the ammunition that they stole from you earlier".
"Wait, you've been here the entire time?" Sasuke said.
"I followed you from when you left. I knew something was going to happen, I wasn't going to let you all die".
"How did you know something was going to happen?"
"Kiba told me". And with that, Naruto continued towards the darkness of under the Bed until he was swallowed by it.
- - - - -
The soldiers were calmly treating each other's wounds, moving the dead towards the camp and waiting for Kiba to tell the story of what happened after he left them.
"Well, what can I say? That Doll saved my life", Kiba shrugged.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked, as Shikamaru did his best to fit a better sling to his arm.
"He came back for me later on after he had lead everyone else to the safety of the Desk - he really understands the ways of the Army in that sense, saving the citizens first. Using those weird sticks of his, I think he called them nun-chucks or something like that, he managed to sneak through the caverns under the Bed to find me. And he saved me from a real tight spot. I had already gotten in to a fight with a spider, managed to tangle him up in his own web. I had managed to get away from the Bunnies that were tailing me when I left you guys. But I was tired, I was injured and I desperately needed something to drink. He managed to find me, stop me from being eaten by something and told me everything that had happened, and gave me a drink. It was darker than usual, he came back when everyone else was sleeping".
Kiba took a drink from one of the lesser-injured Recruits who was handing them around. He took a sip and continued.
"He said he was taught to fight from two Dolls somewhere not too far away from here. But the requirements for the Army here meant he wasn't allowed to join even if he wanted to. So he stayed with the Dolls up there and helped them out instead. He wanted to take me back with him then but I wanted to do some reconnaissance because I knew those Bunnies would be out for revenge. I was surprised, I thought you guys would have known I was alive".
Sasuke looked to the floor. Kiba looked at him puzzled.
"I didn't give him the chance to explain before I insulted him. Said he couldn't come with us because he was a Doll. I was only trying to follow my orders but I forgot the words of the Sergeant. If I wasn't such an idiot, I could have saved more lives than lost".
There was a silence for a few seconds before Kiba continued his story once again.
"Well, I was late as well, so some of the blame rests with me. Found out of the attack but because I was in such an awkward position, I thought it best not to do anything until they actually moved their forces out from under the Bed. So either way, I was a fool for not realising it further".
Silence again.
"Look everyone here, stop blaming yourselves - and I mean everyone. It is not our fault this happened, we just did the best we could within the circumstances. Who could have known of this natural disaster? Who could have known the Bunnies would use this day to attack us? We just have to be glad that we are still alive and we can still help out other people here", Shikamaru shouted to them all.
"Well said Shikamaru", a voice called.
Naruto was approaching them again, bringing along a box of ammunition. He threw it on the ground and turned to leave again.
"Wait Naruto", Sasuke said.
The blonde stopped.
"Stay with us".
The blonde turned around. But before could even begin his reply, the door of the room opened and everyone turned back to the unmoving state the humans believed them to be.
- - - - -
"Well this place is a mess. I mean the wardrobe is on the floor, and your toys are everywhere Masashi. We are going to have to do some cleaning in here. Thank God the house isn't as badly damaged as other people's though".
"Yeah I know Mum".
"Oh the shelf is broken as well. Okay, pick up those toys on the floor over there and place them on your Desk. I'll get your father to pick the wardrobe up and then we will get something to eat okay?"
"Yes Mum".
The child walked over and grabbed all the toys in his arms, a puzzled expression grew on his face.
"Mum, this doll is over here instead of on the desk. How did that happen?"
The mother walked over towards her son.
"I have no idea. The impact of the earthquake must have done it. Anyway, don't think about such things, just tidy up as best as you can and then we will get a take-out of some kind. We need to eat as we've been stuck in that car for so long. We'll leave for our holiday tomorrow morning".
"Sure".
The mother left the room and the child remained, picking up toys and putting them back in the places they should have been. He looked around to make sure everything was as orderly as it could have been and walked to the door. Before leaving the room he whispered to himself.
"Something weird is going on in here".
The door banged shut.
- - - - -
Sasuke awoke after the child left the room to immense pain in his left arm. One of the soldiers was lying on it. They got up straight away and profusely apologised. Sasuke shook his head and smiled, he knew it wasn't the Recruit's fault. He remained lying down and heard gasps and small sirens as the Dolls got ready to treat the fresh wave of injured Army members from the Battle with the Bunnies.
"That looks painful", Naruto said to Sasuke as he sat next to him.
"Really? It feels it".
"I mean, your arm is so bent out of shape. Its good to be a flexible Doll".
Sasuke laughed aloud, it was good to hear the Doll poking fun at him at this point. He stopped laughing and with a smile, apologised. "Naruto, I'm sorry".
Naruto grinned back. "Its fine, I mean, I know you were conflicted. Personal feelings aren't supposed to interfere with the work of an armed officer. Your fellow soldiers told me that".
Sasuke was a little surprised at those words but smiled once again.
"Damn, I feel sleepy".
"Its because I injected you with some pain medication".
"Good, I could use something like that…"
Naruto tried not to laugh at the response. Sakura approached him and smiled at the pair. "Can you carry him over here Naruto?"
"Sure". Naruto picked up Sasuke and carried him to the operating table Sakura had prepared.
From across the way, Kiba watched from afar and turned to Shikamaru who was sat next to him.
"Well, well".
"Yeah I was wondering what was going to happen to the two of them as well".
"Its quite obvious don't you think?"
"You should never assume anything Kiba, that's one of the first points they teach you in basic training".
"For once in your life Shika, don't think of everything using an Army perspective".
"I like using Army perspective".
Kiba sighed.
"But it would be nice for the two of them if everything could work out".
Kiba turned to his friend and nodded.
- - - - -
"Well, now the wardrobe is back up, the room looks so much better. I can't do anything about the shelf until next week so I think you should keep your army soldiers on the desk for now. There isn't a lot of them left so we'll get you some new cadets to train, how about that Masashi?"
"Sounds good Dad".
"I honestly don't know how you manage to lose so many of them. Well, we have an early start tomorrow. It'll be a day shorter, but we'll make up for that day with lots of fun stuff on this holiday okay?"
"Okay".
"Well night, night".
"Good night Dad".
The door closed and before the child settled to go to sleep, he sat up and looked around the room.
"Okay toys, I'm not as stupid as the adults so if you are really alive, you can tell me. I can keep a secret. I saw the movie Toy Story, and I'm not like that mean kid in it who tortures toys".
Silence.
"Well, even if you don't want to tell me, I'll believe it anyway. And hopefully one day, you can tell me all about yourselves".
The child smiled and turned over and was soon in a deep sleep. The toys all around the room all smiled a little at the words of the child but remained silent as they too fell asleep.
- - - - -
"It feels a lot better now thanks", Sasuke said to Sakura. He was topless and flexed his shoulder and elbow to test how they felt.
"You're welcome", she replied. She readied herself a needle and flicked it. Sasuke began to edge away from her.
"You're not coming near me with that thing".
"Oh you are scared of needles? I thought Army members weren't afraid of anything", she smirked.
Sasuke said nothing and tried to stare her out.
"Okay I'll have to ready myself some assistance". Sakura whistled and then began to giggle.
Sasuke got up from the seat and began to slowly back away until he was far enough to run. He managed to get around the corner before he was caught.
"Oi you, don't try to run away, she's trying to help", Naruto grabbed his arms.
"Yeah, you say that when its you who is about to get stabbed with that".
"I have been stabbed with that! So many times! You don't know how violent the girl can be!"
Shikamaru, Kiba and some of the other Privates began laughing as they saw their superior officer half naked and being held up by one Doll as he tried to escape from the threat of a needle.
"After everything we've been through these past few days, he kicks up the most fuss when there is a needle - the least threatening thing we have encountered", Kiba laughs.
It had been two days since the humans had once again left the house towards the destination of their holiday, and all the Toys in the room had tried to get the best out of the remainder of the holiday, whilst remembering those they had lost. Many lives from the various different Toy inhabited areas had been lost from the disaster. But with news of more Toys approaching, the various different races were beginning to get excited about the newcomers. After all, Toy life is different to human life, so they view death differently.
As much as Sasuke had been through an upheaval of emotions the past few days, he was happier than he had ever been before. Thinking he had lost his best friend, getting so badly wounded, hurting someone's feelings that he cared about, and burying people that he had trained with and were friends with. But the happier things he had experienced; he had met the person of his affections, travelled around the Room, he had met lots of new Toys and he was alive. He had never felt more alive.
Eventually when Sasuke had recovered from Sakura stabbing him with the needle in frustration, he found himself sat on top of the Desk, overlooking the rest of the room. The sun was setting and the rest of the Toys were getting ready to go to sleep. He had said his goodnights to Kiba and Shikamaru, and as the crimsons, oranges and yellows shone over the room, he thanked the Material Gods that they were still with him.
It was interesting just how one event can change your entire perspective on life.
"You've gotten quite used to sitting up here to think haven't you?" Naruto said, as he finished climbing to the top to sit by him. "How you going to feel once you leave the Desk?"
"I've decided not to think about it, and have a holiday for the first time in my life".
"You've never had a holiday?"
"Armed officers don't get holidays".
"Wow".
"I was wondering what it would be like if I ever left the Army and came to live here for the rest of my life".
"You won't do that".
Sasuke turned to look at the blonde. "Why?"
"Because that is just who you are. Me? I don't want to be violent. I wanted to be in the Army to be closer to you. If I can do something to help I will. But what can I do?"
"You could be our reconnaissance expert. You seemed to find Kiba easily enough and you can fight when you have to. We can use someone like you. And also…I want you to be there with me as well".
Sasuke put his hand on top of Naruto's and then looked at him.
Naruto looked at Sasuke.
Then they both turned away and stared at the setting sun. And with that moment a new relationship was born, one that was as meaningful and loving as any other.
- - - - -
I hope everyone enjoyed the story. Reviews would be very much loved and honoured by Captain Beezelneff, leader of the Yaoi Appreciation Army :D xx