The Kappa
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine.
It was after everyone had left the next day that Sasuke was finally able to relax. Kiba and Neji hadn't asked what was wrong and had given him space like most normal people would. Naruto on the other hand had nagged incessantly until he finally told him the whole story. Despite trying to go along with it, it was obvious that the boy thought he was going nuts.
Sasuke himself was worried. You didn't just hear voices and start hallucinating unless something was seriously wrong. The only reason he was even considering this could be real was because of that memory.
Last night he'd panicked and as a result found out nothing. This time he was going to be clever. Either he was crazy or there really was some weird creature in their garden. If it was a kappa as his brother said, then at least he could try and find out something about it.
As expected the internet was full of random information, most of which was nothing like what he'd seen. A lot of images showed large newt-like things who feasted on children and lost all power if they lost water from a disc on their head. The thing he'd seen had looked too human to be like that but nevertheless, he was going to take some advice from it.
No one else was there this time. His brother was out with Kisame and his parents wouldn't bother him much. When it started to get dark he stole all the cucumbers from the cupboard and laid them down on the ground in front of the pond. It seemed a well known fact that Kappa's loved cucumbers.
After setting the trap Sasuke sat on the grass half hidden behind a bush and watched the water from a safe distance. It was unlikely that this creature would be very friendly and he wasn't in the mood for being eaten or savaged. He even had a few extra cucumbers in a bag next to him just in case it did appear and he needed extra time to escape.
Sasuke was expecting to have to sit there for hours until he eventually got too tired or bored and gave up, but it seemed that the creature in the pond had other plans. He had been distracted for a few seconds when there was a loud splashing noise. The water's surface was rippled and one of the cucumbers had disappeared.
His heart started pounding hard in his chest. This was as clear a sign as any that he wasn't going crazy. There had definitely been three of them before. Not long afterwards the water surged up over the side and what seemed like a hand reached out and gripped another cucumber, dragging it under the water.
...Ok this is getting a little too freaky, I'm gonna leave now. Once it ran out of cucumbers it might move onto him and he didn't want to risk it. As he stood up to leave he heard a loud crunching noise directly behind him. He spun around but as before nothing was there.
He heard a voice chuckling at him and gulped. Whatever this thing was, it clearly enjoyed screwing with his head and the thought made him as angry as he was scared. He was about to go to the pond when he realised there were no more cucumbers.
Maybe it's gone? There was another loud crunch directly behind him and he froze. There's going to be nothing there. It's all in my head.
Of course he expected there to be nothing like every other time. He didn't expect to see a white haired naked boy sitting cross legged on the grass, staring at him and eating a cucumber. He really didn't know what to say about this. The other boy had no problem.
"Yo." He grinned at Sasuke, revealing a row of sharp pointed teeth.
"...Ok, I'm going to leave now. This is clearly some kind of hallucination." That or I fell over and hit my head and now I'm lying unconscious on the floor.
"I thought you wanted to see me?" His voice was the same voice from the night before. Sasuke then noticed the eyes, large and purple, just like the ones he remembered.
"...So it was you."
"Was me what?"
"You pushed me out of the pond."
"Huh? Oh that. Yeah, I was planning on eating you but your brother started shouting from the window and I really didn't wanna have my place drained out because I ate some skinny tasteless kid."
"Drained out?"
"Well that is generally what happens when a kid drowns in any small pool. They drain the place off and then I end up homeless. You didn't look that good back then anyway."
"Well thanks."
"Now on the other hand..." The boy had a glint in his eye that Sasuke knew he didn't like. "Which of your limbs do you like the least?"
"Why...?" The boy advanced until he was only inches away.
"I'm still a little hungry, I could've done with more cucumbers. So arm or leg? Which one do you need more?"
"I need all of my limbs!"
"A guy's gotta eat." He went to grab an arm but Sasuke pulled back.
"What the hell are you?" He should've asked this question from the start but it hadn't occurred to him.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Don't play games with me, I know you can't be that stupid."
"You already know what I am, I heard you all talking."
"So you're a... kappa?" The boy grinned even wider, looking even creepier. But then he reached out to grab his arm again and Sasuke went to punch him in the face. As soon as his fist hit him, the boy's body suddenly turned into water and collapsed onto the floor.
...Ok, there is no sane way to explain this. Sasuke decided now was the time to get the hell out of here before his head imploded. He pulled the remaining cucumbers out of his bag and threw them into the newly formed kappa puddle and half ran back to the house.
It was only when he got back to his house that he realised what he had just seen and all the strength left his legs and he practically collapsed on the floor.
There's a kappa in my garden... A flesh eating mythical creature... A naked flesh eating mythical creature... Why the hell was he naked? Stupid kappa. Sasuke scowled at this thought before crawling over to the window and pulling the curtains shut. At least it wouldn't be able to see him.
-Page Break-
"Hi Sas-Gay! How are you this fine- Woah! What happened to you? You look terrible!" Sasuke gave Naruto the most hateful look he could muster, which was probably more effective than usual due to the massive bags under his eyes.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"But you look ill! What happened?"
"I didn't get much sleep last night ok?" Sitting up all night and staring at the window whilst clutching a baseball bat was probably not the best idea but he hadn't really been thinking straight. And now he was sleep deprived and facing a long day of socialising.
"So... anything else on the kappa thing?"
"No." It was probably a hallucination anyway.
"Are we gonna have another late night stake-out?"
"...You know what; I think I'll just leave it."
"Eh? I thought you really wanted to find out though?"
"It doesn't matter that much. We're a little old to be chasing mythical creatures anyway."
"It was pretty fun but I see your point. So was that stuff you said the other night about the thing behind you a joke?"
"Yeah... I just fell over on some water."
"I thought you were actually going nuts so thank god for that." Naruto started laughing and despite the chill he could feel going down his back Sasuke managed one of his trademark smirks.
"If you actually believed me you must be even stupider than I originally thought."
"Hey! Screw you Sas-Gay!"
"You're the one who gets screwed in this relationship." The blonde blushed.
"Don't say that kind of thing in public!"
"I'm pretty sure everyone knows about us. And no one could be stupid enough to believe you could top me."
"Arrogant Uchiha bastard."
"Love you too idiot. Now move or we'll be late."
"I'm guessing we're gonna make a stop at that cupboard again?"
"Of course."
-Page Break-
By the time Sasuke got home that night he felt refreshed and generally good about life despite being absolutely exhausted. Fondling your adorable boyfriend for a good hour tended to do that to you. Even looking out the window to the back garden failed to bring about his usual uneasiness.
"Sasuke?" He almost hadn't noticed his mother digging around in the vegetables behind him.
"Need something?"
"Do you know what happened to the cucumbers? I had a whole bag of them in here yesterday."
"No idea... Perhaps Itachi knows?" If in doubt, blame your sibling.
"He said he didn't know either. He's had most of the tomatoes though so I wouldn't be surprised. You boys are such gluttons."
"Hmm..." Definitely not going to mention I had most of those tomatoes. He couldn't really help himself, it was an addiction. Sasuke decided to retreat from his inquisitive mother to the safety of his room so he wouldn't be faced with more awkward questions.
Tonight he simply pushed the kappa issue to the back of his mind and distracted himself with rearranging everything in his room. Even when it was starting to get dark and he could spy the gloomily lit garden out of the corner of his eye, he still kept all thoughts of creepy white haired boys out of his mind.
This only lasted up until just as he was going to bed. He'd switched the light off and laid down when he heard a chuckle. Sasuke sat up fast. Although he couldn't see anything, there was still an odd feeling that he was being watched. There was a scuffling noise over by the window before silence once more resumed.
Sasuke hesitated a minute before making his way to the other side of the room and yanking the curtains open. Resting just outside the window was a single half-eaten cucumber. He could feel his eyebrow twitching and rather than being scared, he wanted to punch the irritating little prick.
If he thinks he can screw with me, he has another think coming. Before he was able to rethink things, Sasuke pulled the window open, grabbed the cucumber and threw it across the garden.
"Stop bothering me you stupid ass!" He couldn't exactly shout but the kappa could probably still hear. He slammed the window down and returned to bed. Of course he didn't sleep at all that night.
