SYNOPSIS—
Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka are now at the Hyuga's and Naruto is more than doubtful of what Kiba's scheming. After several drinks and mishaps, Uzumaki eventually encounters Hyuga, a woman harder to read than most, but beauty admired by all.
DISCLAIMER—
Though I do dearly wish, I do not own NARUTO.
CHAPTER NOTE—
Drinking is not cool, kids.
"Humanity is good.
Some people are terrible and broken, but humanity is good.
I believe that.„
—Hank Green
I Quote, "I Love You"
Chapter 2
Naruto stood at the edge of the living room alone, his shoulders lazily scrunched up against an unoccupied wall. He stares blankly through the crowd. Every light in the house dimmed a translucent yellow like spotlights hitting center stage, expect the case here ranged from the finger foods that lie on the marble counter tops to the carpeted dance floor. Girls shimmy and boys ogled; nothing too out of the ordinary occurred. The spiral staircase situates beautifully across from him, which only gave him more reason to believe that the house was just too nice of a place to be trashed by a bunch of beer-guzzling, risqué teenagers. From the looks of it, Naruto too felt himself getting a bit tipsy, his feet pleasantly squeezing the overly soft, luxuriant Nylon fibers between his toes.
When Naruto imagined a party, he sought a Gatsby party. He'd see it in black and white: voluptuous women in cocktail dresses and finely dressed gentlemen swing dancing to the booming sounds of a live orchestra—roaring saxophones, enthusiastic trumpets, captivating violins—underneath the stars, champagne shot into the air as the cool liquor trickled down the bodies of the drunken guests. It was a shame, Naruto thought, for a party (or, at the very least, Fitzgerald's adaptation of one) as such to die off when it did and what society now has resorted to: an increased rate of abandoned abstinence, insistent peer pressure, making other people's opinions of you a higher priority than your own, and, well...this.
Women signaled flirtatious winks in his direction more than obviously trying to gain his attention. In response, he just smiled sheepishly back and stayed station much like a seed firmly planted in its pot. Others simply observed him silently from a distance. Naruto was jaw-dropping to say the least, yet friendly enough to approach. People of all social cliques had heard a thing or two about him because he was friends with the Sasuke Uchiha. Mysterious, fierce, and dominant Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto's God-blessed features didn't make others feel inferior and he genuinely made sure of it. With sapphire eyes leveled perfectly above his cheekbones, both lined thrice, they were absolutely charming, putting a new definition to the term: foxy.
'What a lovely chandelier,' Naruto mused in admiration as he stared straight up at the ceiling, 'Oh, and the carpet feels so good; I could just touch it all day. It's such a beautiful color, too. Like the fur on a Golden Retriever. Actually, I should consider getting a pet—maybe then the apartment won't seem so quiet. Aren't pets expensive though? Shh, don't interrupt me rational thoughts. Anyway, I'll just a get a Tamagotchi then. Shit, what was I even talking about? Oh, wait! I like this song. As long as I got my suit and tie, Imma leave it all on the floor tonight and you something something—ugh, all this internal singing is leaving me ridiculously parched...'
He looks absent-mindedly into his Red Solo cup.
'Aw, man. I'm out of Heineken,' Naruto realizes after tipping the cup upside down, shaking it for even a single droplet or two. 'No beer for me now.' He pouts at this. After contemplating whether or not to get a second cup or make conversation with Sir Wall III again, he tosses the cup into a nearby trash can and settles for a bottle this round. When Naruto duly makes his way to one of the coolers, he bumps right into his designated driver.
"Kiba!" Naruto hiccups cutely, "I! No, you! You are just so amazing; I love you! I don't think I tell you that enough. I mean, it's perfectly fine for two super manly men to share some brotherly love, right? Yeah, of course it's totally fine! Who needs validation? Psh, totally not us. I could just shout it to the world." Naruto struggles to cup his hands around his mouth, "HEY, EVERYONE! I, NARUTO FREAKING UZUMAKI, LOVE KIBA INUZUKA! HE'S MY BROTHA' FROM ANOTHER MOTHA'! HEAR THAT? MOST IMPORTANTLY, HE IS THE MAN!"
After taking a much needed breath, he graces Kiba a silly grin and slowly removes his hands, "Ah, that felt good. Didn't that feel good? Hell yes, that felt great! Golly gosh. You were so right. I've been so miserable. Wasting all this time contemplating, over-analyzing, deliberating—and what good have I gained?" Hiccup. "All I've gained is a decade's worth of wrinkles, that's what! And probably ten pounds in Doritos." Hiccup. Hiccup. "I'm sure that balanced out with the water weight I've shed from all that crying. Like, I'm so fed up with the sexist idea that crying decreases the value of a man's strength and worth. You know how many painful smiles I've forced? Well, neither do I. I'm shit at math. You know what I do know though? You know what we do when we're born? We cry. We scream! So, I don't what to be given crap or told I'm weak for loving someone." Hic–cup. "Now, I'm alive. I'm breathing. Naruto Uzumaki is back! And you know what Naruto wants? Naruto wants Al-Co-Hol. Please!"
Kiba stares blankly at Naruto, utterly dumbfounded. "You, my friend, are the worst possible drunk on this stinkin' planet. No more beer for you, hear me?"
A pouting Naruto appears once more, bypassing girls squealing with every sneaked glimpse at those adorable, pink-puffed lips. This leads to a face-palming Kiba. 'How could I forget how much of a lightweight he was? Fuck, he's about to piss in the fruit punch bowl—shitshitshit!' The frantic teen whips his head around, quickly reeling in his drunkard of a best friend. "NEJI!" Kiba shouts into the crowd. In time, the long-haired fellow squeezed his way towards him, the same silly grin plastered on his face just as Naruto had—well, has. His rosy cheeks burned crimson in contrast to his pale-complected skin, his even whiter eyes half-open and unmistakably hazy. 'You've got to be kidding me.'
"Whas' the matter, Kiba-dear?" Neji slurred, full and super clear enunciation on the last, humiliating syllable.
"Disgusting. And I'm taking him upstairs," Kiba pulls up Naruto's rather heavy and dangling arm up, indicating who he was talking about before finishing his sentence, "okay?"
"I didn't know you sh'wing that way! You, frisky little dog, you!" Neji barks, his pale balled hands now rubbing against his wine-tinted cheeks, "Woof, woof! I can sh'ee you being into doggy style. Yeah, you'd definitely be a to—!"
Kiba immediately clamps his palm over Neji's mouth, impatience and irritation swirling in his eyes, "Naruto—my male, platonic best friend here—is drunk off his ass and I need him to sober up a bit before I play Wingman."
"Then, you guys are going to play Doctor, ri–ght?"
Pulling up his middle finger, Kiba unsubtly gave Neji the Bird all while dragging Naruto lazily up the stairs. The blond drunkard would mumble a few words here and there like "ramen!" or "fuck 'da po–lice", which Kiba, as pissed as he was, did manage get a slight kick out of. Unfortunately, the constant swirling of the staircase was making Naruto queasy, and the one sober guy at the party could already start to hear his companion regurgitating.
"J-Just hold it in a bit longer, Naruto!" Kiba stammered in panic before throwing his lifeless friend's body into the first room he saw. The surroundings were unexpectedly feminine. Lilac, vintage wallpaper plastered all four sides of the space. An elegant, white, queen-sized bed situates along the mid of a wall just below an expensive looking arched window. A linear sequence of alternating dream-catchers and origami cranes hang from the ceiling and walls, floral paintings and oil pastels scattered everywhere. Nail polish, hair accessories, facial products are all over the room well-organized and in their desired locations. "Neji never mentioned a girl living in his house, did he?"
Kiba quickly shakes the voiced thought away and looks for anything that could hold Naruto's spew like a plastic bag or trash can or a plastic bag inside a trash can. In the midst of his search, he notices two doors half-opened. One led to a closet, Kiba presumed, and the other had a toilet. Bingo!
"Hey, Naruto! Wake up. Get yourself together! There's a bathroom right there," His words come out dragged and slow, hoping that the red-cheeked boy would actually take the information in. He gives the barely conscious lad a few light slaps on the cheeks, points out the room, and continues to speak, "I'll be downstairs and up in 10 minutes—" Kiba then holds up all ten of his fingers, "—to check up on you. Then, I'll introduce you to some nice girls, m'kay?"
Naruto furrows his brows, pushing Kiba away lightly in annoyance, "I don't want to talk to other girls. I want Sakura!"
"For Christ's sake," Kiba sighs, massaging his temples distressfully. "I'll be back in ten; fix yourself up."
With that, Kiba leaves Naruto to himself, slouched against the foot of a bed and drunk out off his mind. The boy finally takes note of his surroundings and grabs one of the stuffed animals from off the bed, hugging it tightly against his chest. "So soft." Naruto mumbles to himself. The goofy smile on his face never seemed to waver as he gently placed the bear off to the side and sprawled his body over the floor only to unsuccessfully make carpet angels.
Moments like this made Naruto irrevocably in love with living. To just not care and move about with a clear conscience; it was absolute bliss for him. He presumed it would be bliss for anyone! 'I took being a child for granted,' He mentally pouted, swinging his arms up and down in semicircles. He spent so much of his childhood pulling pranks, using his own bizarre methods to be acknowledged by adults and other children his age. 'Now I'm just an even bigger kid with more stupid responsibilities and I have to start worrying about my slowing metabolism and acne and fucking girls. Man, girls are stupid. Shit, I'm not supposed to be caring about stuff right now. Come on, Naruto. Namaste!'
The harsh opening of a door tears Naruto away from his trance as he comes face to face with who he convinced himself to be a navy-haired goddess. Her curled tresses sit ably against her hips. The black, floral-patterned dress she wore is just a bit longer than that, precisely mid-thigh length. The sleeveless outfit reveals her slender, porcelain arms; they're so pure that Naruto felt unshakable fear of staining her, hurting her. The pearls of her necklace laid perfectly above her succulent breasts, and with consideration of Naruto's age and maturity level in mind, he couldn't pull his eyes away from them.
Sakura Haruno was indeed a physically attractive woman, but there was always one thing she did lack: curves. Of course, this was one thing that this Enchanace was definitely not lacking in.
His eyes trailed up passed her prominent collarbone, delicate neck, rose-petal lips, that irresistible button-nose, and paused at her luminescent eyes. Again, that pure, unattainable white. God, they were entrancing. To be so scared of tarnishing something absolutely, unconditionally beautiful; this was a first for Naruto Uzumaki. Still, he never once tore his gaze away.
Her orbs resembled Neji's, but there was a different essence to them.
Neji's were strong, determined, and so full of willpower. He held the future in his eyes and he never backed down from his word. 'But these,' Naruto mused, 'They're so sad, so haunting.' He analyzes further, 'No pupils; it's a blank canvas. They could be tainted at any moment. On the other hand, it can become something so much more. Not that she isn't already something else.'
Naruto riveted at the combination of effortless length and volume that was her lashes, the way the end of her eyes extended down just a tad bit, emphasizing that distinct look of vulnerability. He adored the way her ears poked out behind lovely strands of blue, the way she made the loveliest of flowers look like withered weeds; the way she could make the richest man alive penniless with her worth; and he studied the make-up brushed lightly over her lids and was well-aware she was gorgeous without it. 'Just who was she?' He couldn't help, but wonder.
Did she go to his school?
Did she even know his name?
And why the hell didn't he know hers?
Naruto had always been so fixated on Sakura, he never really did pay mind to the other women around him. How could he be oblivious? Maybe she was just some sort of celestial being or a figment of his imagination he whipped up after all these years of pent-up sexual frustration!
But all those thoughts vanished and frankly lost value when his so-called, 'hallucination' bent down and planted an ever so soft kiss on his stunned and unprepared lips.
