A/N: A special thank you to RvsB for reviewing my story ! Your kind words really inspired me to push on.
I would also like the apologize for the wait. I've been doing last minute school things and they've kept me busy, so I hope this lengthy chapter can make up for it ! Enjoy !


Warnings: Yoai, drug use, language, abuse, mildly graphic images

Chapter Two: A Deal with the Devil

Naruto's POV

As I come to consciousness in pitch black, I question if my eyes are really open. Flexing my limbs, I find myself unbound. I reach out with my senses, probing the darkness with hearing heightened by fear. I catch the faint dripping of water echo throughout the space I occupy. Judging by the thick humid air and the movement of sound, I conclude that I'm in a cave. Reaching my arms out to find a nearby surface, I take small steps forward in the darkness. Groping the empty air, I keep up my blind search for a hard surface to lead me out of this hole in the earth.

Suddenly my fingertips weave into thousands of soft fibers. .

Hair.

My scream rips through the silence of the cave. As the sound reverberates off of the stone walls, I fling myself back with such force I lose my balance and fall to the unforgiving cold rock. My heartbeat is pounding in my throat almost painfully. I feel my stomach tighten to the point of retching as I listen for any signs of movement.

As if the sun itself enters the room, an unknown light source blinds me as it fills the cave with its presence. My hands fly to my eyes, the sudden brightness leaving me stunned. Blinking my vision into focus, my eyes land on the horrifying scene before me.

A man with red hair is on his knees, his head bowed deeply. I immediately recognize him. His wrists are chained to the high cave ceiling behind him, causing his arms to bend backwards uncomfortably over his head. There is a gaping wound in his chest so deep I can see his struggling heart trying to beat, causing blood to pulse out over his frail white figure. Paralyzed in a fear that soaked me to the core, I couldn't emit more than a whimper.

Slowly, he pulls his head up to look me in the eyes. I gasp as his seafoam eyes lock with mine. The sadness reflected in those pupil-less orbs is so deep I feel like I will drown in it. The pure agony written on his face stirred something inside of me. Fear cut through his despair as he struggles to whisper.

"Naruto. . Please. . Help me"

The moment the last syllable leaves his lips, I see an abnormal movement beneath the surface of his skin. The intruder moves upwards inside his exposed body and suddenly a mass of black spiders burst from the wound in his chest. Thousands of arachnid crawl down his slender figure, covered in his blood, moving almost as one being. Pooling around his now limp carcass, their attention redirects towards me.

Fear rooted in every cell of my body, I find that I cannot move. Helplessly, I watch as I'm besieged by the black creatures, my body being devoured like acid.

I wake up writhing in my sheets, rolling off of my bed onto the hard floor in the fray. Breathing heavily, I lie motionless as I try to overcome the deep fear still woven into my every nerve. God I hate spiders, why did it have to be spiders ?

Sighing, I free myself from the mess of fabric I became tangled in. I stand up, throwing a glance to my alarm clock, letting out a breath of relief to see its only 8:30. I start to repeat my motions of the morning in an attempt to clear my head of the sleepy fog. I take the few steps to my dresser and pull out my clothes for the day, not paying much attention as my thoughts are focused on the events from my dream. What does it mean ? This Gaara character is haunting me, and I'm determined to find out what secrets he holds.

Pushing open the doors to my physics class, I make a bee line for the back rows to grab my seat by my friend Shikamaru. I flash him my famous smile. The guy is a genius, he already has the entire curriculum for this course down whereas I still struggle understanding the first chapter. Leaning towards his desk, I poke his elbow.

"Pssst, Shikamaru, can I have your notes from yesterday ?" I whisper to him.

He looks over to me and huffs, probably from the request to exert energy of any form. He is the smartest kid in class, but by far the laziest bastard to walk the earth. He passes me a stack of papers which I hastily took pictures of with my phone. I'll copy those later I told myself, knowing very well that I wouldn't. At least I have them, right ?

As I slide the notes back over to my friend, I realize he might know something about Gaara and my weird dreams. Being as observant as he is, he must know something. I decide to give it a go.

"Shikamaru, do you know a kid by the name Gaara ?" I ask tentatively.

I see him look at me from the corner of his eye, indicating I have his attention. I continue.

"He has red hair and a kanji tat on his forehead. Ring a bell ?" I question, enthusiasm slipping into my voice.

Shikamaru's eyes close and he tilts his head up in thought. After a few moments he nods and turns to me.

"He's the one people claim to be a satanist right ?" He asks, already bored of me.

I get a little steamed that Shikamaru referred to him as that, giving him a pouty glare. Wait, why do I care what people call him ? I don't even know the guy. Shaking off my internal dispute, I get to the point of my asking.

"Yeah that's the one. I've been having these weird dreams about him, and I feel like maybe they mean something" I start, a little embarrassed at how that might be interpreted. I go into detail about the gruesome visions, hoping Shikamaru might have some insight on these strange happenings. He listens carefully, his fingers twine together over his desk, thinking over what I say. After a few moments, he answers nonchalantly.

"You know, maybe you're just gay for the kid" he says flatly, although slight sarcasm shines through.

"WHAT ?! COME ON SHIKAMARU THIS IS SERIOUS !" I shout suddenly, my arms flailing wildly over my head. "Me, gay ?! Come on there's no way in hell I would-"

I stop mid sentence as I notice I have drawn the attention of the whole class with my outburst, causing the professor to look at me with annoyance. I scratch the back of my head lightly, an embarrassed grin on my face "Ah, sorry professor Kakashi" I say before he returns to the lecture I tuned out long ago.

I glare at the now smirking Shikamaru. "Alright, you had your fun, now do you know anything about him or not ?" I ask a little annoyed, but more curious than anything.

"He's an art student, you'll probably find him in Deidara's class if he's a sophomore like us." He informs me helpfully. "As for your dreams, I really don't know what they could mean, I never really was into psychology. Be careful around Gaara though, I've heard he has. . Issues." Shikamaru says cautiously.

I nod, feeling a new drive to find out about the lone wolf. "Thanks Shikamaru !" I smile widely once again.

Gaara's POV

Finally being free from that confining box of a room considered a peaceful environment, I start to walk down the hallway to my usual location amidst the trees.

I already have a headache from my shortage of weed and I need to get away before I snap. I hate class with every molecule of my being. The teacher, Deidara, was all too excited to draw attention to myself and my art. It takes every ounce of strength not to beat the life out of him every time he speaks to me or about me.

My classmates resent me for my talent, fueling the unexplained loathing I receive from them. Not that it is bothersome, however, as I prefer it that way. The less people try to talk to me, the better off I am. Art is one of the only things in life I could say I "enjoy," if that's possible, but being locked in a room with others who watch my every movement with disgust takes any appeal I have for the activity away. Not that their looks of disapproval phase me, I just hate the attention.

I push open the front doors of the building to see the courtyard close by. Before I can enjoy the feeling of finally being free of school and socialization for the day, I hear a much too cheery voice penetrate my eardrums.

"Hey Gaara ! Wait up !"

I don't bother to "wait up" or even see who called and continue making my way to my destination, which seems farther and farther away as the voice's owner catches up to me.

"Hey hey ! What's up ?" I hear the boy say behind me, his smile evident in each word, to my dismay.

I don't answer and continue walking, only a little distance between the trees and I now.

But then. . I feel his hand on my shoulder.

"Hold on, I have something important to ask you !" He pleads.

I stop in my tracks.

In one swift movement I take him by the wrist and yank him over my shoulder, bringing him to the ground on his back in one fowl swoop, implementing more force than intended.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me." I seethe through clenched teeth before stepping over him to leave as quickly as I could.

I register that it was the boy I saw fall yesterday. What the hell does he want ? The physical exertion causes my headache to worsen, a steady pounding now racking my brain.

"Hey, don't you walk away from me !" He growls defiantly as he grabs my ankle.

I look over my shoulder at him in disbelief, but I don't let it show on my face. Narrowing my eyes slightly, I spit my venom soaked words at him.

"Are you here to make a spectacle of yourself again ?"

If my head didn't feel like it would split in two, I would crush his bones beneath my feet right here.

The boy stands up promptly and grins, regardless of the fact that I just slammed him on the ground. He is standing a little too close for comfort, allowing me to clearly see the details of his face.

He eyes are a strikingly deep blue, reminding me of sapphires. They hold nothing but patience and happiness. It stuns me to see that someone can portray such energy and cheerfulness, even when I have shown him nothing but malice in the few interactions we've had. He has strange markings on his face I hadn't seen yesterday, making me wonder if he drew them on a childish impulse. Why do I care ? I just want to get this over with.

"What do you want ?" I say more than ask, my tone devoid of emotion.

The boy seems to perk up even more at my asking, making me wish I didn't.

"Uh well, I'm not too familiar with all those fancy art terms, but I was wondering if you could do a piece for me ?" He asks slowly, his cheeks letting through the slightest bit of pink.

I scoff at his request. "A commission ? Why would I do that for you ?" I ask with ice frosting my words. I don't do charity work.

"I-I can pay you for it ?" He smiles shyly at the suggestion before giving a more confident grin.

I glare at him while I turn over the idea in my head. I hate doing art for others, those who have the courage to ask always demand things I deem too stupid for my time. No one understands my style and the meaning behind the stories I lace into each picture. Although I want to refuse, the aching in my lobes reminds me how badly I need the money.

"Fine" is all I give him. I turn away and close the distance between myself and the trees, not caring if he follows me or not.

As I dreadfully expect, he is on my heels again and his cheerful voice rings in my ears.

"So I was thinking that I would let you have most of the say in the drawing, as long as I'm in it !" He explains as he grins again.

Does this kid ever stop smiling ? I can practically feel the sickly positivity roll off his body. It's making my head hurt worse. I just want to get this over with so I can take his money and go.

"Oh by the way, I know your name so I guess it's only fair if you know mine ! I'm Naruto Uzumaki !" He exclaimed with pride.

"I don't care who you are. Now go sit over there and shut up" I gesture vaguely to the tree roots that model for me often as I pull out my sketch pad and variations of drawing pencils.

The boy obliges to the first command but continues to talk, to my displeasure. I do my best to tune him out but his barrage of questions and comments in that annoying voice proves hard to ignore.

"What are you going to draw ?"

"What kind of stuff do you normally draw ?"

"How long have you drawn for ?"

"Are you normally so quiet ?"

"Can I see yet ?"

It takes a mothers patience for me not to snap my pencil in half and throw my sketchbook at him. I fill in the details as quickly as I can, praying to anything that someone would come along and shoot me in the head.

I pull out my phone to see its 2pm. It took me 4 hours to complete the drawing, and its a miracle I survived. Somehow, the blond idiot managed to talk for the whole length of time. About what, I couldn't care less. I put down the book and start to pack my pencils in their carrying case, indicating I'm finished.

As the still energetic boy notices my actions, he quickly rises from his position and stretches his limbs before walking over.

"Finally, I can see it !" He chirps both happy and slightly disgruntled.

I mimic his actions and hold the sketchbook out for him to examine. He takes it from me and immediately his eyes widen, shocked at either the death or the talent. I honestly dont care which, I just want to get the money I was promised.

"This. . This is amazing, Gaara !" He shouts with awe, looking between the drawing and I in disbelief.

Inwardly, my pride flares at the praise, but I say nothing and only half shrug instead.

"Oh yeah, your money ! Uh, how much do you want for it ? I don't have a hundred dollars, but this thing sure is worth it !" The boy asks with a genuine smile.

I feel my gut clench to see such happiness. It is something I refuse to believe exists, but standing before me is someone who can smile without a care in the world. I dont know how that makes me feel.

"Twenty five is fine," I mumble, not meeting his shining eyes.

"You got a deal !" He shouts, turning towards the dorm buildings after returning my sketchbook. "Come with me so I can get my money."

I grab my bag and follow him at my own pace.

As we enter the dorm halls, I follow the blond to his room not too far from the entrance. He opens the door and offers for me to come inside, but I just shake my head. I'm not interested in entering his life in any way, shape or form.

He disappears in haste only to reappear soon after with a few bills in his hands. I rip the drawing from its perforated page and we trade our papers. After stuffing the money in my pocket I turn to leave, not bothering for farewells.

"Bye Gaara, see you later !" The blond calls after me.

I sure hope not.

It's 11pm now and I'm standing on the street corner by my house, waiting for my dealer to show up. The night is dark, the sidewalk illuminated by evenly spaced street lamps. I texted him thirty minutes ago and he still hasn't showed. I'm really impatient by now, already having to wait until my family went to sleep before being able to sneak out the door to meet him.

Finally, I catch his SUV in my vision. As he pulls up beside me in the street, I free my recently acquired cash from its temporary home in my pocket. He rolls his driver side window down, a wicked smile playing on his thin lips.

"Hello again, Gaaaara" he chuckles to himself, dragging my name out to annoy me. I saw Kabuto in the passenger seat, the dim street light reflecting off his round glasses.

"You've kept me waiting long enough Orochimaru, now give me what you came here for," I demand, holding my folded cash out between my first two fingers.

He took it with pleasure, dropping the bag of contraband into my waiting hand while giving Kabuto the cash. I took a moment to admire it before nodding to the snake eyed man and his companion.

"See you lateerrrr" he purrs before rolling his window up, taking off without another word.

I stuff the green in my pocket and make the quick walk to my house.

Once inside, I swiftly and silently climb the stairs to my room in the darkness to assure I disturb no one. Once my door closes, I lock it for good measure. No one dares to enter my room even while I'm not home, but avoiding a scene with my family is my priority.

I switch the light on and retrieve the spoon bowl and lighter from my night table drawer before sitting in the middle of my bed. I care nothing about fancy appearances and "high quality glass." If it does the job that is all I care for.

I pluck the 5 grams of weed from my jean pocket, it's stench filling my room. I have been buying from Orochimaru loyally for years now, and over time he's given me a deal and sells to me for half the price.

Pressing the open baggie to my nose, I deeply inhale the strong odor of the plant. Involuntarily my mouth begins to water in need of the TCH inducing high.

Without wasting any time, I pack the deep bowl with the leaves and bring the glass to my lips. Lighting it with an experienced hand, I fill my lungs with the hot smoke. I close my eyes, letting the familiar sensation burn my lungs and throat until I'm close to choking. I exhale, watching the lazy smoke trail from my mouth into my room. I repeat this until the the once green leaves were white ash, dumping them onto an ash tray I brought out from the night stand.

By now, the high has already set in. With shaky hands, I set down my paraphernalia safely on the wood to my side. My vision blurs and bends all around me, my eyes burning. I feel as though I am watching my world move more than controlling it as I slide off of my bed slowly and walk towards my bathroom.

As I stand in the doorway to the small space near my room, I almost forget why I have come. Shaking myself mentally, I shut the door behind me and start up the shower. Being high fries my short term memory for the length of the buzz, causing tasks to take longer to complete properly.

I strip of my clothing and step into the hot water, letting out a soft moan as the powerful stream massages my scalp, the feeling intensified tenfold by the weed. Being in the shower allows the high to increase in magnitude, making it a must after finishing off a bowl.

I let my exposed body sway lightly under the overwhelming pleasure the water causes my skin. As my thoughts roam freely, they stop on the events that occurred between the blond and I earlier that day. His face appears in my minds eye, his big blue eyes staring deeply into my soul. I can't help but want to reach out and touch those strange markings on his face. .

I shake my head violently, forcing the image out of my head, causing me to lose my balance for a moment. I steady myself on the shower wall, leaning against it. What the fuck was that ? Disgusted with myself, I stop the water abruptly and step out. Gathering my clothing, I don't bother to cover myself as I retreat to my room. I free a pair of black boxers from my dresser and clothe myself, throwing the dirty articles to a growing pile in the corner before switching the light off and laying down.

I've found that sometimes the high lets down my defenses and sets my emotions free. Angered, I yank on my sopping hair to force the memories of the blond from my mind. I refuse to waste brain cells on the yellow headed annoyance. Why did I think such a thought about him ? He is nothing but a pest, obstructing me from finding peace in my daily life and now even my high. I push the thoughts aside, focusing on the tingling in my limbs instead.

As the high settles back over my mind and body, I feel it tug at the corners of my consciousness until I fall into the realm of sleep.

Naruto's POV

I sit on my bedside looking down at the drawing in my hands that was made only a few hours ago. It was beautiful in the most horrifying way.

The drawings center piece is yours truly, I am sitting cross legged towards the left side of the paper. Inhabiting the right half are twisted roots and branches coming together to form a sickly hand as it touches my shoulder lightly. The half of my body closest to the wooden appendage was decaying and rotting, as if death were killing me slowly. My skin has fallen away in many places, exposing muscle and bone. My face holds no emotion, looking into the eyes of the viewer with an intensity that is not my own.

Looking into the eyes of the drawing, my thoughts shift to the creator of the piece. Gaara resembled nothing of the man in my dreams. The man who has been visiting me in my sleep is scared, reaching out to me in need. Gaara is. . Empty. He is the shell of a once living person, devoid of any emotion but hatred. What fuels this ? What happened to Gaara that caused him to become who he has ? Maybe, underneath all of the hate and anger he lets shield him, is the helpless boy I see in my dreams.

I won't give up. I won't let him fall through my fingers. I will break down those walls he has built so high and show him there is something to live for.

A new determination settles over my body, I can feel it as if it is a blanket I could wrap around myself. Looking down again at the drawing resting above my palms, I jump up and retrieve a box of thumbtacks from my dresser top and carefully pin the drawing to the wall where it can clearly be seen from all points in the room.

I shoot a look at my clock to see its still early in the evening, only 5. A smile lighting up my face, I reach into my dresser to retrieve my wallet and kick on some shoes. I decide to take Kiba up on that offer.

Taking a seat next to Kiba at the bar, he flags down the bartender and orders us a round of beers. We aren't alcoholics, but college keeps us busy and a guys gotta have a night out, right ? Kiba claps me on the shoulder, his signature dark smile on his face.

"Thanks for coming out with me tonight, Naruto !" He beams after that.

I return the smile tenfold.

"No problem Kiba ! It's been a while, studies are keeping me up way too late to be healthy" I complain, although the smile never leaves my face.

The bartender returns with our beers and pops the caps off simultaneously in one graceful movement. Kiba and I both turn to each other, beer in hand, almost reading the others mind.

"On three ?" I grin, a glint of challenge in my eyes.

"One. . Two. . Three !" Kiba counts down confidently.

We both start chugging, not stopping to breathe until the last drops are drained. I slam my bottle on the table, claiming my victory only seconds before Kiba. Being the sore loser that he is, he roars.

"Oh no you don't !" He begins waving at the bartender again "we need another round over here !"

His smirk is cocky, ready to show me up on round two. The bartender quickly replaces our bottles, replicating his motions used on the first beers.

I count down this time, overconfident from my recent win. That confidence gets to my head as Kiba gets a head start on me and wins by a fraction of a second.

"Ha ! Serves you right you cocky bastard !" He punches my shoulder lightly before dropping from his stool. "Beer makes me gotta piss !" He explains as he struts off towards the men's room hastily.

Our little stunt gathered a small audience of gushing college girls. The leader of the clique sashays her way over to me, getting right in my personal space.

"Why hello there, I see you can handle your alcohol" she flirts, pressing her breasts up against my arm in a seductive manner.

"Uh, I-I, yeah I guess so" I stutter out, incredibly embarrassed.

The thing was, I wasn't embarrassed because she was "hot" or because a girl was pressing her boobs on me. I was choking up because she made me really uncomfortable. . Nothing about her was appealing.

"Excuse me !" I shout quickly before pushing her aside as I rise from my seat to dash after Kiba. I didn't bother to look back at her shocked expression.

When I burst into the bathroom I found Kiba at the sinks, about to leave. As he looks over to me notices something is up.

"Alcohol got you huh buddy ?" He sneers playfully.

"Nah, just some weirdo girl putting her boobs all over me ! Sheesh, can't find a decent person anywhere !" I shiver, exasperated at the awkward situation she put me in.

Kiba's mouth drops.

"A GIRL WILLINGLY THREW HERSELF ALL OVER YOU AND YOU RAN AWAY ?!" He grips my shoulder suddenly, shaking me violently as he went mad "ARE YOU GAY OR SOMETHING NARUTO ?!" He screams way too loud for the small bathroom space.

"What are you crazy !" I wail, drowning in my embarrassment. I imagine I look as though my face had been submerged in boiling water.

Straightening up, I knock Kiba's hands off of me.

"Listen Kiba ! I wanted to talk to you about something tonight and we won't get anywhere with you yelling about girls !" I press, trying to bring him back to reality.

He regains his head and nods before moving to the door.

"Let's get one more round while we're at it then, huh ?" He said warmly, his smile returning.

I was grateful to have such a friend like Kiba. Even though he could be a nut job, he knew when to be serious. After we return to our seats, thankfully seeing no signs of the girls, we are restocked with alcohol.

"So, I had another dream about Gaara last night" I start, deciding to explain things in order.

"Oh not this guy again !" Kiba moans with impatience as he takes a swig of his beer.

"Kiba this is important okay ! Hear me out, will you ?" I beg.

He crosses his arms in a half pout but nods.

I go into detail about the dream and what I thought it could mean about Gaara. Kiba seems pretty skeptical about the idea of even getting near him.

With a huff, I decide to spill.

"I hung out with him today" I let out quickly to get it over with, wincing already from the reaction I know will come.

"WHAT ? Naruto come on man, that guy is bad business ! You have no means hanging around the likes of him" Kiba argues, obviously distraught with my actions.

"I just needed to see him for myself ! And I did. I payed him to draw me a picture and I learned a lot about him. He's nothing like the boy in my dreams, but I think the deeper I go, I'll find that boy in Gaara, somewhere." I trail off, letting out a lot of personal feelings I didn't meant to, no thanks to the alcohol.

Kiba only gaped at my confession before shaking his head, a frown appearing across his features.

"I don't like it Naruto, but I can't stop you, I guess. Just don't come crying to me when shit hits the fan, cause I'll tell you I told you so" he points at me angrily as he makes his threatening promise.

It hurt to see my best friend angry at me. I didn't think what I was trying to do would be something to get upset about. Unfortunately, not everyone can see eye to eye, so I would have to let things run its course from here.

Paying for our drinks, we tipsily walk back to the campus only a few blocks away in silence.

A/N: This chapter really was all about exposing feelings and setting the stage. My usual pre-readers were all busy so this chapter went unbetaed ! Because of this I'm asking for all you silent readers to PLEASE leave opinions or constructive criticism if needed ! Even if you don't, thank you so much for reading ! Every time the view count goes up my self esteem rises. I have a solid plot line established so the next update shouldn't be too far away, all I need to do is fill in the details. Until then~