Author's Note: Hello again! I trust you've enjoyed our little story up 'till now? Good! Here is the second chapter of Sakuryu! Oh, and you might recognize a line in here from the movie 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'. We couldn't resist throwing it in.
Thank you so much to Satski, for encouraging us to keep going! Thanks!
Chapter 2: Sound of Wings
"Naruto!"
"Yes, uncle?"
"Do you want to be locked in that basement for another week?" Kabuto threatened- for the fifth time that morning.
"No…"
"Then get the damn mail!"
Naruto swore colorfully in his mind, shuffling out down the front hall. No matter how timid he appeared on the outside, he was still the headstrong, fiery young boy he'd always been. Nothing, not even Kabuto, could change that.
Grumble, grumble, grumble- that was all Kabuto ever did! Naruto scowled. He was angry with his uncle, angry with himself, with the world for seeming to turn its back on him.
No, wait. The blond paused for a second, thinking over that last thought. There were some people out there, the crazy weird ones, who seemed to know and understand him. Yeah, like the really fat lady dressed in orange who'd given him a birthday card; and the totally mysterious, black-haired man in red who'd slipped him a piece of homework that he'd lost; and a young boy who'd simply stopped and given him a thumbs up.
Naruto grinned, reaching down to grasp the mail. Yeah, he liked those people.
He glanced at the names as he sifted through the pile. Kabuto… Kabuto… current resident… Kabuto… As usual, none of it was for him. Still, he continued through the envelopes. Kabuto… Naruto… Kabuto…
Wait… Naruto?
The blond checked the address again. Sure enough, it was to him, Naruto Uzumaki. But who would be writing to him?
His thoughts were interrupted by his uncle, yelling from the kitchen, "Naruto! Mail, now!"
Reminded of what he was supposed to be doing, he ran back to his uncle and handed him the pile of mail. He kept the one addressed to himself.
Turning it over, Naruto found a wax seal with an 'S' on the back. Very curious at this point, he turned towards his basement, intending to open it there.
"Give me the mail, Naruto."
The blond stopped and faced his uncle. "Huh?"
The silver-haired man sighed. "You still have a letter, kid. Hand it over."
"It's mine! It's addressed to me!" Naruto retaliated.
Kabuto's eyes glowed dangerously. "Give me the letter now, Naruto."
"No, it's-" Naruto was silenced as a hand was brought down onto his head. The letter was snatched out of his hands.
Kabuto turned turned the letter over to look at the seal. "I thought as much." Grabbing the back of Naruto's shirt, he shoved his nephew into the basement. Without another word, he locked the door and stormed off, most likely to burn the letter.
Naruto sat there on the floor, absolutely stunned. What the heck was that all about? And what did Kabuto mean, 'I thought as much'? Darn, he hated to be left out of the loop!
He stayed there a few seconds longer, shooting confused and angry looks at the door, before a sly smile flickered across his face. Kabuto may have kept him successfully locked up before, but no longer.
The blond had discovered something about the basement door during his week of imprisonment; when you hit the spot directly below the lock, it would open. Placing his ear against the door, Naruto made sure his uncle wasn't nearby before hitting said spot. The door opened a crack and the boy peered through. No Kabuto in sight, but he did see his letter sitting on the kitchen table.
Naruto was cautiously making his way towards the letter when footsteps rang out on the floor above him. He paused for a moment, wary, before continuing on his stealthy way. He needed to read that letter.
Finally, he was close enough to read the word at the top. 'Sakuryu'. But what was tha-
"Is someone down there? Naruto?! Are you out of the basement?!"
With a speed he didn't know he possessed, the blond ran back to his basement room before his uncle had made it downstairs. A ray of light shone into the basement as his uncle came to check up on him. As if Kabuto's loud stomping hadn't been enough!
"Have you been here the whole time?" he snarled, glaring down at his nephew.
"Y-yes," the blond managed to stutter.
"You're not lying, are you? 'Cause you know how I hate it when you lie."
"I swear! I've been here! Honest!"
Kabuto's face twisted with scorn as he shoved Naruto away in disgust, stalking back upstairs.
The blond had to resist the childish urge to stick out his tongue at his uncle's retreating back. It wouldn't do anything to soothe his temper.
Over the next few days, more letters to Naruto kept flowing through the mail slot. Finally, Kabuto had had enough. He went out one morning, and came back with a new door- one without a mail slot.
This greatly disheartened Naruto, which, in turn, brought Kabuto's spirits up. Sometimes, it seemed as though the entire purpose of the silver-haired man's life was to make his nephew miserable.
But whoever was writing those letters just wouldn't give up. Somehow, they kept managing to infiltrate the house; Kabuto found them hidden under the kitchen rug, stashed among the leftovers in the fridge, taped to the living room wall. There was even one letter found propped up on the toilet seat. In short, they were driving Kabuto insane.
And Naruto was absolutely loving it. Of course, an angry Kabuto wasn't great for the blonde's health, but he couldn't help feeling immensely satisfied when his uncle found more and more letters all over the place. There had been nothing to laugh about in most of the ten years he'd spent with Kabuto, and now, finally, he had something to giggle about down in his basement.
One morning, though, when Naruto wearily climbed up to the living room, Kabuto was sitting smugly in his favorite armchair. Naruto's spirits plummeted instantly. A happy Kabuto was never a good sign.
"Come on, kid, go make breakfast," the silver-haired man drawled. "I'm in the mood for waffles, so be quick about it."
Still wiping sleep from his eyes, Naruto stumbled into the kitchen. He fished around for the waffle mix, yawning.
"Guess what today is, Naruto?" Kabuto called from the other room.
Naruto frowned, surprised. "Um… Sunday?"
"Exactly!" cackled his uncle. "And guess what else?"
"What?"
"There's no post on Sundays!" Kabuto burst out laughing, obviously overjoyed.
It was right then, however, that something soft collided with the back of Naruto's head. "Huh?" He turned around, only to be met with another one bouncing off his nose. Now officially confused, he glanced down at the floor.
Oh. My. God.
They were letters.
Naruto could barely contain a squeal of excitement as he bent down to pick one up. Another letter bounced off his back. So he glanced back up, searching for wherever they were coming from. His gaze met with the metal tile on the ceiling.
A joyful, amused smile illuminated his face. They were coming through the vent.
"What the- NARUTO!"
The smile disappeared as fast as it had come, as Kabuto charged into the kitchen. The bond clutched a letter to his chest, daring his uncle to try to take it from him.
Kabuto dared. A full-fledged fight erupted, complete with screams of fury, banging pots, and airborne letters. It lasted for several long minutes, until suddenly-
"Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?"
