Hi this is chapter two of my gaarnaru story. I hope you enjoy. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas I always enjoy hearing them. Please review if you wish for me to continue but no hating please. This story will be an M rating meaning there will be boyxboy, bad language, adult themes (yes that means sex and stuff.), violence and gore at some point. And a character death or two. Please excuse my bad spelling and grammar. Thank you for taking the time to read. Let me know what you think.

Chapter 2. Treasure Or Trash.

*Nothing felt real like he was trudging through fog. His limbs felt heavy and his stomach still hadn't lost that winded feeling. He wished he was just dreaming and he'd wake up any moment and find himself still in his bed with his raven haired lover beside him, just like it used to be a few months ago. Those memories seemed so long ago now. He guessed that's all they were now memories of a happy life that he somehow lost and now it was a new beginning weather he wanted it or not.*

Quietly Naruto opened the door of his friend's apartment. It was a silly citrusy really he knew the pink haired woman would be up and waiting for him. Even if she had done the same 18 hour shift as him and was literally sleeping on her feet. The blond hadn't even shut the door too before a voice behind him said.

"You know he'll want you back by the end of the week."

Naruto turned to give the woman a sad smile. "It's different this time."

Sakura leaned her shoulder against the door to the living room already wearing her PJ's. "How so?"

"Well for one, he's never had feelings for someone else. And two, he's never told me he's board of me and there's no spark anymore." Naruto set his bag on the floor and followed Sakura into the living room.

The blond eyed the bottle of vodka on the coffee table. Along with the full unopened vodka was a bottle of lemonade, a bottle of lime cordial and two glasses. This was why he needed this woman right now.

"You're a saint."

Sakura smirked as she settled herself on the sofa. "And don't you forget it, because one of these days when I've met mister right it's your turn."

With a salute Naruto dropped on the couch. "Are you doing the honours or am I?"

"I am the hostess." The green eyed woman smiled as she reached forward and snatched the vodka bottle up and unscrewed the lid. "A little or a lot?"

Naruto gave her a look that clearly said "What do you think?"

Sakura quickly poured two very strong vodka, lime and lemonades, handed one to her friend then leaned back into the sofa again her glass in hand. "So tell me everything."

Naruto gave a chuckle. Where to begin?

Page Break.

Blue eyes focused blurrily on a table with a number of empty bottles scattered on it. Some were plastic some glass. Slowly he let his eyes roll over the room. He was on Sakura's sofa. The previous nights events flooded threw his pounding head. The blond couldn't be sure if his head hurt so much because of all the emotional stress of last night or the alcohol of last night. As the blond struggled to sit up he concluded it was the alcohol after all. Sakura choose that moment to walking in carrying to steaming mugs. Naruto still after all these years of knowing the woman didn't understand how she could match him drink for drink and not suffer the effects the next day. She looked as fresh as a daisy as the saying goes.

"I'm glad you woke up. I didn't want to have to wake you, but you mentioned going to Tsunade's at 9.30."

Naruto started. "What time is it?"

"Relax you've got time to drink this and shower. I'll drive you down." Sakura smiled before taking a huge gulp from her beverage.

Naruto pouted. "I don't want to go now. I agreed before the shit hit the fan. It's not like I contacted her and said. "Yeah no probs love to help out." Jiraiya's probably not up yet anyway."

The pink haired woman giggled. "But if you don't turn up she'll ring you and force you to work tonight. You are coming tonight right?"

Naruto paused to think. If he went everyone would feel sorry for him and pity him and...buy him lots of drinks. He probably wouldn't have to spend a penny. The blond smiled. "I need my friends right now."

Emerald eyes rolled but the woman still had a smile on her face.

"Kiba said Lee's going to be there." Naruto remarked slyly.

"Yes I know. And?"

Naruto stared into his mug. "He still likes you, ya know."

Sakura sighed as she leant forward to put her cup on the table. "I know. I just don't feel that way. He's nice, charming, kind, considerate and smart. I just don't find him physically attractive."

It was true that Lee wasn't blessed with looks from the gods like some people, but he was far from ugly in the blonde's opinion. "I know you say that but would it hurt to try?"

"We'll see. Now go get changed."

Naruto jumped up and made his way to the bathroom snatching his rucksack up on the way. For once the blond only spent the time needed in the shower instead of just standing under the spray for an hour. Once he was dressed and about to head back into the living room Sakura stepped out of her bedroom with her car keys in hand.

"Let's go shall we?" She asked sweetly.

Naruto responded by groaning. He really could do without this. He knew as soon as he walked through the door Tsunade would know there was something wrong with her grandson. Sometimes it was a curse to wear your heart for all to see.

The ride was fairly quite. Sakura hummed quietly to the radio while Naruto checked his texted, calls, email and face book account. A small frown appeared on the tanned man's face when he saw nothing from the raven.

"Don't do this to yourself. Forget him and do what you need to do today, then tonight drink until you pass out." Sakura sent the blonde a glare.

"I didn't do anything...or say anything." Naruto argued.

"You were checking to see if Sasuke's been in touch." The pink haired woman said as she turned her attention back to the road in front.

Naruto pouted. He couldn't quell the hope that Sasuke would text him and say he made a mistake or that as soon as the door shut he knew he loved the blond, but was too stubborn to call him until now. Sakura watched from the corner of her eye as her friend's whole demeanour slumped. The pink haired woman couldn't believe what that selfish prick had done. After all he'd already put the blond through.

What was harder to believe was that once upon a time she'd been as helplessly in love with the raven as Naruto was now. Though Sasuke had always treated her as an annoyance she was too blind to see it at that time. Sakura had put her naiveté down to her age, didn't all 12-16 year old girls think they were in love at some point. Well Sasuke was her unrequited teenage love. She shuddered at the thought. It wasn't until Naruto and Sasuke started dating did the pink haired woman notice just what a selfish person the raven was. At first she'd been hurt and angry at Naruto for stealing the love of her life. She had felt betrayed, but that soon changed as she noticed the way the raven behaved towards the person he supposedly cared about. It didn't take her long to realise it wasn't just her and Naruto Sasuke treated like something he'd trodden on. It was everyone he had somehow come to the conclusion that they were beneath him. After her comprehension it was almost painfully easy for her feelings for the raven to turn from love to scorn and eventually Sakura just loathed the man. Of course she had never made her feelings known to the love stricken Naruto. He was too blinded to see what her and surprisingly (as she found out) the rest of their close knit group of friends thought of the youngest Uchiha.

Tsunade and Jiraiya's large driveway came into view and Naruto sighed in defeat. He knew as soon as he stepped through the door his grandmother would know there was something wrong with him. Then the questions would start. There was no point in the blond man lying, he'd never been any good at it and he'd b caught out in seconds. He turned pleading azure puppy eyes to his friend. Sakura raised an eyebrow, it had been years since that look had worked on her and they both knew it. With one last groan the blond resound himself to his fate.

"Thanks for the ride. What time does the fun kick off?" The blond mumbled.

"Just come back to mine when you're finished and we'll go down together. You're still staying with me right?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"If I can? I know it's a ball ache to have me around moping."

Sakura gave the man a playful punch on the shoulder, and giggled when the blond winced. "I told you I'm racking up favours for when I need them."

Naruto clambered non to gracefully out of the car. He turned to watch his friend's car disappeared down the street. Quickly running a hand through his golden hair he made his way towards his childhood home.

The door swung open and a severe looking blond woman stood in the solid oak door. Her caramel eyes swept over the young man in front of her and a frown appeared on her face.

"What happened?" She snapped.

Naruto smiled. "It's nice to see you. Sorry I haven't been over but I've been busy working all these extra shifts the old bag I work for keeps giving me."

"I'll give you "old bag" brat." Tsunade spat at her grandson. "I give you all those hours to make your wage up, so that he can't accuse you of not paying your way. Spoilt rich kids always have expensive tastes."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Well you don't have to worry about that, my knew roommates very down to earth."

Tsunade watched the blond. "New roommate? So that means..." Understanding dawned on her face.

"So who gave who the boot this time?" The older woman asked as she walked back inside expecting Naruto to follow, which he did.

Naruto decided to just answer all her questions she wouldn't leave him alone until he did. Why prolong the pain?

"He wanted some space to sort through some things." He replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"What kind of things?"

Naruto grunted in annoyance. "Us, me, or relationship. Some woman he works with that he has feelings for."

"I see." Was all Tsunade said but Naruto didn't miss the way her back stiffened ever so slightly.

Naruto prized himself on his ability to read people's body language. In his opinion it was his only natural talent, of course his friends argued that. She wasn't happy.

He couldn't deny even in her late 50's the woman was still beautiful. Long light blond hair fell mid-way down her back, her pale skin was still wrinkle free and she still retained her ample full breast. She wasn't his maternal grandmother; his dad's mother had died when he was 15. Naruto's grandfather Jiraiya had married Tsunade 10 years ago. The woman was hard and abrasive, but at the same time Naruto knew the woman loved him more like a son then a grandson. Tsunade had never had children of her own she and Jiraiya had gone to school together, but lost touch through the years. Jiraiya had married, had a son (Manito), become a famous author and became a widower before they came into contact again. Naruto owed the woman a lot, it was her that pulled Jiraiya out of his depression when his wife died and helped him pick up the pieces to be strong for his son, who was 17 at the time. And then again not 12 years later when Manito and his wife died in car crash. Then as if the woman hadn't done enough she brought a distort 6 year old into her house and made it his home. At the time Jiraiya and Tsunade were just friends and he was living on his own, but she had deemed him unfit to look after his grandson. Jiraiya had been furious and disappeared for nearly a year before returning. When he did come home he'd managed to pull himself together somewhat and started to rebuild his life, even going as far as to admit that he couldn't have cared for Naruto in the state he was in and probably still couldn't. Tsunade hadn't even battered an eyelid; she merely stated that Naruto would have a home here anytime he needed it. She stayed by Jiraiya's side counselling him and coaxing him through every hurdle.

For Naruto she attended every play, activity and parent's event at school. She paied for everything he needed, every item of clothing, every book and every trip. He never went without in that respect, but those weren't the things that made Naruto love this woman like a mother, mentor and friend. It was the other things she had done. It was the nights she sat up holding a crying child because the others kids picked on him or he missed his parents. It was the way Tsunade challenged the mothers that looked down on Naruto. The way she would reassure him that Jiraiya would come back for him. The way she never held anything but respect in her voice for his real grandmother and his parents when the curious boy asked about them. The notes left when she had to work late. The words she said, though they were never sloppy or mushy because she wasn't that kind of person you had to read between the lines. It wasn't the "I love you's" that let you know what Tsunade felt for someone it was the "You look like shit's" which translated meant. "You don't look well." and "You're stupid if you walk home at that time of night." Really meant "Be careful. I'm worried"

It had taken Naruto years to decipher these hidden meanings but when he did he smiled to himself every time she said one of her cryptic phrases. Tsunade had always been there, a constant presents in his life. The one solid unmovable pillar that he could lean on. Though there had been times the blond male had hated the woman. As much as she did for Naruto she had been strict and pushed Naruto further than he ever thought he could possibly go. Looking back now Naruto wouldn't change a thing but at the time he really, really had hated the woman a lot of the time during his teens.

Naruto smiled to himself as he wondered how the dirty old pervert had managed to sway the unbreakable woman into marrying him. Naruto chuckled to himself one day he'd have to ask Jiraiya his secret. Tsunade raised an eyebrow at his chuckling before saying.

"Your grandfather is already up in the shit tip. Make sure he actually throws some of the crap out."

Page break.

Naruto found his grandfather in the attic as Tsunade had said. He was surrounded by boxes that had been opened and half the contents scattered around. The ageing man looked up when he heard the blond approaching.

"Shit I thought it was her coming. I know I still look like I'm in my 20's but still don't give me a heart attack just yet." The grey haired man whined and Naruto had to suppress a smile knowing he used the same tone .

"Sorry pervy, but aren't you supposed to be throwing this stuff in the trash?" The blond asked eyeing the various ornaments, knick knacks and knock off's scattered around.

Jiraiya shook his head in disappointment. "No these are treasures from all over the world. I know where I got every single one of them."

3hours later...

Naruto's stomach was rumbling and he was close to exhausted but they weren't even halfway through all the boxes. Naruto reached for a still sealed box of the top of the pile and set it down. Quickly slicing through the tape holding the box shut Naruto peered inside. Naruto scoffed as he pulled out a dusty old lamp. A real lamp like the ones genies came out of. He turned to Jiraiya who was watching him.

"A magic lamp? Really?" He asked in astonishment.

"Hn, I'll have you know that lamp inspired one of my best books."

Naruto pursed his lips. "Please tell me it wasn't the one titled "Rub me up." Or the one called "Rub me gently."?" The blond asked sceptically.

Jiraiya laughed out loud and boisterous. "I forgot there was two."

Naruto found himself laughing as well. "Is there a genie inside?" He asked holding the little brass lamp up and peeking inside it.

The grey haired author wiggled his eye brows. "Give it a try and find out."

The blond sniggered but held the lamp in one hand and rubbed it gently with the other. "Here genie, genie." He sang as Jiraiya laughed some more.

As expected nothing happened. "What did you buy it for?"

The older man stood up and stepped over to his grandson. "If I remember correctly it wasn't this I wanted, but it came as a job lot with some jewellery. Tsunade's got a couple of the rings and a chain I think. The rest she didn't like for whatever reason."

Jiraiya bent over the boxes and began to rummage around in it. When he straightened he had a handful of chains, bracelets and rings in his palm. "Most of it was trash but there were a couple of pieces that caught my eye. Like this one."

He held up a silver ring. Naruto found himself drifted towards it and reached out his hand. When it dropped onto Naruto's palm it felt warm, almost like it had been sat in the sun for a long time and a tingle ran through Naruto's body. It was strangely heavy. He stared at the object. It was breath taking, Naruto had never seen anything like it. It was a simple silver band with thinner bands wrapped around the larger one, making a knot like design. What Naruto assumed were precious stone set into the metal. A large turquoise crystal cut in a asscher style was sat sparkling in the centre of the largest band. Eight or nine small pear cut gems were scattered in the silver leading away from the large crystal all the way around the ring. They were either a deep almost red/orange, bright orange or almost a dark black/green type colour. The ring was too thick to be a woman's ring, but something about it felt almost famine.

Naruto looked up at Jiraiya gently jiggling the metal in his hand. "It's heavy."

" Not really. Eye catching though isn't it? Tsunade liked it but said it felt weird on her hand. Overly heavy she said, weird you think its heavy too." Jiraiya shrugged.

Naruto turned the ring in his hand and noticed writing on the inside of the band. "What's this? A silver mark?"

Jiraiya joined his side. "Not unless they marked precious metals in hieroglyphs."

The blond shot that man a glance. "What?"

The man nodded back at the ring. "I'm no expert but that looks like those pictures you see on the walls of pyramids."

"That's the weirdest thing I've ever seen. Hieroglyphs on the inside of a ring. Have you ever heard of anything like it?" Naruto asked.

"To be honest this is the first time I've noticed those marks." The grey haired man replied.

"Hey can I let Hinata take a look at it. She works at the museum." Naruto asked.

The blond didn't want to put the ring down but for the life of him he couldn't work out why.

Jiraiya laughed. "Naruto if you like the ring you can have it...I'm supposed to be getting rid of this stuff." He added in a lower voice as he looked at the two piles of objects they'd managed to sort through. The pile of things ready to be thrown being significantly smaller than the one of things to be re-packed and stored.

Naruto grinned at his grandfather. "Thanks. I can't explain why but I feel drawn to it."

The blond slipped the small silver band on his little finger. Naruto's blue eyes travelled over the surface of the ring before he snapped himself out of his daze. Standing up and clapping his hands together with a new burst of energy. Naruto turned back to the large pile of unopened boxes.

"Let's get this done."