Warning: Shonen-Ai, breaking and entering, mischievous kids;
Pairing: onesided NaruSasu-ish
Disclaimer:Naruto belongs to the ever wonderful Masashi Kishimoto, therefore it could not possibly be mine... In this universe.
A language is a truly the most wondrous thing a human mind invented. There exist many theories and thesis about what exactly language is, but only one honestly explains its purpose in this world: A tool which connects people.
There are billions, and more, people in this world, and even more words that can try to explain one's state. Try, because sadly, not every word can join two minds, and not every word can connect two hearts.
Now let us focus on the ones that have the pleasure of can; the ones safely kept on papers, snugged inside the covers that is a book.
It is said that the author's greatest friend and enemy are words; enemy, for their precise expressiveness is what troubles them the most. As said, there are too many, beautiful, eloquent, picturesque words that a simple human mind cannot even begin to understand them, differ them, choose one before the other.
Though, in the case of describing the atmosphere that pertains on the Leaf Road, precisely, house number 9, one simple word is enough.
Loud, rambunctious, colorful, excessive… all those word could be translated and located in that single, merry, cheery word: gay.
It is that very gay air that surrounds young Mr. Fox, whilst he is skipping towards his secret base, the faithful 9-Tails comfortably nested upon his blond mop of hair.
He cheekily grins at the Lady Grump, exaggeratedly waves at the singed Mr. Clay, whoops at the mournful look Mr. Snake sports and is much too happy to gleefully climb up the tree house; disregarding the sturdy looking stairs Mr. Flash insisted upon building.
There is not a soul at the base at the moment he arrives, but Mr. Fox is not worried. They will come, he knows it. Just like him, they paused their activities to have a lunch break- at the insistence of their commanding officers.
He sits himself at the old pillow he managed to snatch from his garage, bringing 9-Tails down to his lap and waits.
It might be noted by the others that finding Mr. Fox in a silence was an unusual and eerie sight, but much to everyone's surprise, he was not bothered by the silence at all. Not anymore, at least.
For Mr. Fox, there exists no need to audibly converse with his furry friend; a time before, back when his family still lived in the Whirlpool Peak, silence bothered him greatly. For him, it was not the absence of sound that frightened him, but the lack of words.
But now, now he had his group and his trusty friends and he feared not the loneliness.
A thumping sound breaks his moment, and 9-Tails points his nose towards the wooden doorway, from where they both heard eager footsteps. It is three seconds later that they are faced with the flushed cheeks and that astonishing hair of Mr. Bird.
He grins at the cheerful, but shy smile Mr. Bird gives him, whilst 9-Tails lazily blinks back. He pats the leftover space on the pillow, silently inviting the other boy to join him in his little space. Mr. Bird is much too joyful to comply; he hastily makes his way over the floor and plops down quickly. The pale hands that were fisted in his navy shirt come free, and after a moment of hesitation, they find their way tucked around Mr. Fox's bony one.
"I'm here." Mr. Bird whispers in that soft tone of his, to which Mr. Fox hums, but doesn't say anything. He does shake his hand out of Mr. Bird's grasp, which brought a hurt look in his eyes, before he gently grasps Mr. Bird's left palm, intervening their fingers.
The blush and the shiny eyes tell him he did well; and how could he not? He saw Mr. Flash doing it a thousand times to Mrs. Demon, and she always had that content look on her face.
The boy inches closer to Mr. Fox, bumping softly into his right shoulder and staying like that. Mr. Fox hums again and raises his left hand to pet 9-Tails. He is aware of the eyes that follow his every movement at all times.
The loud sound that signalled another arrival brought a slight shiver to Mr. Bird's frame; Mr. Fox strengthens his grip and turns his head towards the barking form of Akamaru. Fang is right behind him and enters the tree house in a storm of yelling and barks.
Akamaru starts pestering the scornful 9-Tails about playing and Fang is drowning Mr. Bird in questions.
Shadow and Bones arrive silently, but are immediately noticed by the shy newcomer, who is still reserved towards all of them; except Mr. Fox, who is much like an idol to him.
Mr. Fox isn't sure what he did to earn such respect, but he takes a shine to it.
He reminds himself to work on Mr. Bird's fear of socialization. None of the shows he is a fan of taught him that yet, which only meant he would have to find new ones.
He allows Bones to ransack their food supply, Shadow to silently slip onto another pillow and take a short nap, Fang to yell about a new game for a while before he softly yanks Mr. Bird's hand and coughs loudly, calling them all to attention.
It was time for a new mission.
Fang considered this one of the easiest mission they've ever had; all they had to do is grab their bikes and run around with them. Fang the one who dived into his garage first, out of all the members of the Diabolic Tykes; there, secluded in the corner, his Superfly 24 Disc stood proudly, dirtied and in obvious state of usage. Cackling gleefully, he took hold of the steer and strutted out on the street, where Bones shyly stood with his old MT bike. Compared to Fang's bike, his was in a far worse state, due to Bones regularly falling off and having accidents with it. Though, Fang couldn't deny it was more durable than his own.
That didn't stop his from boasting about having the best bike on the Road (which he did, until Mr. Fox flew down the Leaf Road with his Farley 24 that took everyone's, even Fang's, breath away).
Shadow came slowly on his REP, green and just as dull as he is (at least Fang though he was dull, the guy only slept all day long). He sees Mr. Bird (for which Fang is still sour about, he has been friends with Mr. Fox longer than that guy and he still hasn't been given a title like that!) pedalling silently behind Mr. Fox, his bike smaller than Fang's, dark blue and has the look of a kid's bike more than any of theirs. But the shininess and the silent pedals tell him it's brand new. Either Mr. Bird has never ridden a bike before or he has become a true master of the pedals.
Fang is reluctant to agree with the latter. So he doesn't; he simply mounts his bike and cycles over to Mr. Fox, not managing to not notice the brand new orange basket on the steering wheel where 9-Tails snoozes off peacefully.
"Aww boy, I want one for Akamaru!" He shouts, congratulating himself once more for waking Shadow from his daydream and scaring Mr. Bird.
Mr. Fox grins that special, evil grin of his.
"Are you sure there is a basket large enough for him?"
Fang doesn't get angry, Mr. Fox is right, after all. Akamaru has grown far too large to even fit in Fang's jacket, nonetheless have a basket of his own. But he doesn't say it, instead he says:
"He's a dog anyways, he likes running with the bikes more."
Akamaru yelps in agreement.
Bones and Shadow join their little circle, the first one unsteadily and the second one turning the pedals with minimal effort.
"So, what's it gonna be?" Shadow asks, yawning in his hand right after he managed to say it. Fang notices with the corner of his eyes the displeased pout on Mr. Bird's face.
Mr. Fox's face brightness up even more and he points towards the house number 40, right on the corner of the park.
"I think it's time we pay Mr. Cyclops a visit, right?"
There are identical grins on Fang's and Mr. Foxes faces, and even 9-Tails yip is sounding more like Akamaru's bark.
"Yeah, I need to pay him back for that thing last week."
Bones tilts his head to the side:
"That time when his dogs chased you out of the park?"
Fang wisely stays silent. Mr. Fox takes the matter in his hand by glossing over that particular subject:
"I have received reports of Mrs. Demon disapprovals concerning his choice of literal enjoyment. Our mission consists of leading both him and his army out of the house, locating the objects and taking custody over them."
Fang has no idea what all that is, but the curious look on Shadow's face tells him it'll be worthwhile to watch.
"Ah yes, Mrs. Naggy was complaining about them too."
Bones looks between the two of them, before giving Fang a confused look, letting it go in the process.
Mr. Bird's bike is as close as it can get to Mr. Fox's and his hands are already reaching out to tug at the orange uniform. It doesn't take a genius to notice that his blue uniform has been decorated by the same calligraphy style Mr. Fox's is.
Fang is a bit jealous, he admits… to himself. He suspects Shadow sees it already.
"Shadow and Bones, you two will take the backside of the house, where Urushi, Shiba, Akino and Guruko are." reaches towards his backpack, taking out two packs of beef jerky and giving it to the boys. There is a dangerous glint in Bones eyes.
"Use this to lure them to the park."
Shadow takes the packs, deciding correctly not to give Bones his own until they are faced with the dogs.
"Why bikes then?" Fang asks.
Mr. Fox has an answer to that already prepared… as he does always.
"Because, as you said it, dogs love running after them. You should know that better than I."
Fang blushes a bit, ducking his head from the blue eyes of his teammate. He can't help but notice the way Mr. Bird's eye narrow into slits.
He bares his teeth at him, but contrary to his character, Mr. Bird doesn't stop glaring at him.
"Fang, you shall enter from the south side," He guesses that means from his side of the Road "I expect Pakkun to be in his house, but nevertheless, you should prepare to be faced with him, Uhei and Bull." Oh great, the tree that hated him most!
Akamaru barks twice and nudges Fang's foot with his snout. Akamaru will help him, then.
He grins and salutes Mr. Fox.
"Aye aye, sir!... Then, what about Mr. Bird and you?" He asks, reaching towards his pack of beef goods.
"Mr. Bird and I will be the ones to intrude upon the danger zone, locate the objects, and lead them out."
There is a scared look in Mr. Bird's eyes, and only now does the Fang realize how dangerous of the task Mr. Fox has given to them.
"Are you sure?"
Mr. Fox raises his nose tauntingly, giving them a condensing look.
"Of course! Who do you think I am?"
The minute of silence drops upon them like a veil, before Fang breaks it with a loud laugh.
"Yeah, right! See ya!"
And he goes off, down the road, towards his destination and mission.
The mission was a success, Mr. Bird notes. Fang was the first one to lead the dogs outside of the yard, who seemed all too eager to chase after him; especially after being spurred on by Akamaru and jerky.
Like everyone suspected, Bones had already finished his jerky the minute Shadow handed it to him, but once faced with scary dogs, his amazing pedal work intrigued them enough to follow after him eagerly. Last he saw Shadow, he was slowly following the four dogs and a speeding Bones.
Just like Mr. Fox predicted, Pakkun, the brown furred miniature pug, was sprawled out on the couch inside the home of one Hatake Kakashi, with his owner merrily dancing around in the kitchen. The two boys crawled their way from the door to the couch, just barely managing not to be seen by the silver haired man. Once there, Mr. Fox released the previously tightly held 9-Tails.
Mr. Bird was certain that the two shared one mind; just like Mr. Fox had his way with goading people to do his bidding, so did 9-Tails. The fox let out some soft whines and nudged the dog twice, before them both got lost somewhere in the house, without making any extra noise in the process. Mr. Fox flushed him a satisfied grin, to which he responded with a small smile.
He had to learn how he does that.
(And no, he wasn't thinking about Mr. Fox's natural ability to make his tummy do back flips- he was thinking about the training Mr. Fox and 9-Tails went through.)
With the dog preoccupied and Mr. Cyclops blissfully oblivious to the break in Diabolic Tykes just conducted, the two boys continued their way towards the wooden bookcase, perched next to the window.
It took a lot of effort not to sneeze because of all the dust in the air and to avoid all the papers on the floor, but they somehow managed it. Mr. Bird guesses it must have been even harder for Mr. Fox, seeing as how, every now and then, Mr. Bird would grab hold of some part of his body to steady, and reassure, himself.
Mr. Fox never complained though, so Mr. Bird continued with his needy, he knows it is so, actions.
He can't help himself, Mr. Fox was the first real friend he ever had! He let him become a part of his awesome group, gave him a code name, and took him on adventures every day! His brother constantly teased him about it, whenever their family had dinner and Mr. Bird was chattering on and on about the amazing Mr. Fox.
He wonders if Mr. Fox gushes about him in the same way. He doubts it, but he still hopes.
The boys reached the bookshelf and Mr. Fox turned around and pointed towards the hallway; giving Mr. Bird a silent sign to watch out for Mr. Cyclops. He nods and turns around, still crouching on the floor.
He hears soft rustling, a happy whistle tune, the sound of ceramic mugs scraping against the surface, and his heart is beating way too loudly in his chest. He is scared, terrified of being found- he doesn't know why, after all, from the way others said it, Mr. Cyclops wasn't scary at all.
Still, the unexplainable fear that grips his chest washes over him, and somehow Mr. Bird knows it's wrong.
Mr. Fox grabs a hold of his hand in his and pushes him towards the window. He sees the filled rucksack of Mr. Fox's and he sees a small patch of grass beneath the window, amidst the flowers, and he jumps.
Mr. Fox is quick to follow him and again they are crawling, this time towards their parked bikes in front of the gates of the house number 40.
It is only when he is on his bike, pedalling furiously to the park with Mr. Fox by his side laughing out loud happily that the fear leaves him and his chest is overwhelmed with joy.
He joins in on Mr. Fox's triumphant cackle.
The five boys rejoin each other inside their fort.
"Whew! What does he feed those dogs?!" Bones is the first one to complain, his whole body sweating and his breathing hard. Shadow handed him a bag of chips with a tired look on his face.
"You did well."
Fang was cuddling with Akamaru and checking him over to see if there are any injuries.
"I saw pork meat, cooked, in their plates, along with granules."
No one except understood what that meant, but going by his tone, he feed them quite dutifully and well.
"I heard Mom say they are sports dogs. That greyhound is a number one racing dog in town, and most of them won gold in bikejoring competitions and agility courses over the years."
Again, no one understood what he was talking about quite good… except Mr. Fox, who was smiling.
"But we outsmarted them, using their natural instincts."
Fang giggled:
"True, no dog will refuse food when you offer some."
When the time for dinner came around, the tykes parted their ways, and Mr. Fox brought seized goods before Mrs. Demon, who then proceeded with teaching him what a Bonfire of Vanities is. Mr. Flash only sighed and ate his fill of the stew, making a note to go and properly apologize to his student for the trouble his son and his friends went through to satisfy Kushina.
A/N: If you do not know what Bikejoring and Bonfire of Vanities are, you can google them. Or read further, your pick!
Bikejoring is a sport competition where a dog, or a group of dogs attached to towline, have to pull and run ahead of the cyclist. Any type of dog can be to do the pulling, though Huskies, Samoyeds and Pitbulls are the most popular.
Bonfire of Vanities is an old tradition which consists of burning any object that is regarded as sinful or/and immoral, as if the bonfire itself will burn down the evils that degrade the society. There were far too many of those is the history of Earth and many prized works were lost, and lives damaged, because someone decided something is sinful. (no books were harmed during the writing of this story) It can also refer to censorship or/and ban, as a metaphor, which is a lighter side of this story. No, not really, in my mind Kushina really burned them.