As I sat in my bed just staring at the ceiling, I was really listening for my car to come. I would be very unlikely since it was pouring rain but there was a chance. But when I peeked out the curtain, it was there in the drive way. Hmm…I wonder why Deidara-chan – I mean Deidara-san wouldn't have knocked at the door to notify that my car was here. He might as well have stolen it and I would have had no clue. Then it hit me. Why the hell would they want my crappy car? They probably have a car for each one of them. I chuckled at my stupidity.
~* the next day*~
Today was a day I didn't really like. Sakura told Ino that encounter I had with Sasuke-kun the previous day and they both nagged that I was to the point of almost going deaf.
Then, unfortunately, Sakura remember that I had spoken with Sasuke at lunch that previous day as well.
"So what did you guys talk about?" Sakura asked in trig.
"I actually don't know." I answered truthfully. "He never really got to the point."
"You looked sort of mad," Shikamaru added from across from us.
"Did I?" I kept my expression blank. I was surprised that Shikamaru was actually listening to the conversation I was having with Sakura, the ease dropper.
"You know I've never seen him sit with anyone except his family before. Heh, you must be special to him." Shikamaru smirked.
I whimpered because behind me I could feel a dark evil aura developing behind me. (Sakura's seat.)
I was afraid to face her, so instead I just faced forward pretending to pay attention to the lesson, trying to not make any eye contact with Sakura-chan.
The worst part about today is that I knew that he wasn't going to be here. I still hoped though, like a silly fan-girl. When I entered the cafeteria with Chouji and Shikamaru, I could keep myself from looking at his table, where the rest of his gorgeous family sat. I couldn't stop the gloom the engulfed me as I realized I didn't know how long I would have to wait before I saw him again.
At my usual table, everyone was full of our plans for the next day. Kiba animated again, putting a great deal of trust to out local weatherwoman who promised there would be sun tomorrow. I'd have to see that before I believe it. But it was warmer today – almost sixty. Maybe the outing wouldn't be completely miserable after all.
I intercepted a few glances from Ino during lunch, which I didn't understand until we were all walking out of the room together. I was right behind her, just a foot or so from her slick, blond hair, and evidently unaware of that.
"…don't know why Uzumaki-san" – she sneered my name – "doesn't just sit with the Uchihas from now on," I heard her muttering to Kiba.
I never noticed what a bitch she was. Her unpleasant, nasal voice infuriated me. I tried not to let it show but I couldn't help glare at her. I really didn't know her well for her to start disliking me.
"Look he's my friend; he sits with us, got it?" Kiba whispered back loyally, but also a bit territorially. I paused to let Sakura and Hinata pass me. I didn't want to hear anymore.
~* later that night*~
That night Jiraya seemed excited about my trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt excited because I would be out of the house and he could bring his "friend" to come "play" with him. I chuckled "What a perverted old fart." Just because he's a cop he thinks any girl would fuck him. Anyways, just in case, he had the names of everyone who was going.
"It's not like I get worried or anything." He said when I asked.
It seemed he approved of the trip, not like I cared. I would have gone anyways. But still, I wonder if he would approve of me going to Tokyo with Sasuke… Jiraya-san might think it's a date…he still doesn't know I'm bi. I went into a gloomy state.
After dinner I went to bed. I dreamt of what Sasuke said. I jumped into the ocean and couldn't get out…then I saw a light. Unfortunately, that light was what woke me up. It was an unusually bright beam coming through my window. I couldn't believe it. I hurried to the window to check, and sure enough, there was the SUN!!! I was so happy tears almost came out of my eyes. I made a double take, it was in the wrong place in the sky, too low, and it didn't seem to be as close as it should be, but I was still grateful that it was there.
I wondered what I should wear today. I know it was still gonna be cold, but I wanted to "accidently" splash Ino's hair. AND RUIN IT. MUAHAHAHAHA! I smiled.
I decide to wear my orange and black swimming trunks and a white long shirt.
Once I was ready, I had a small breakfast. Then I ascended to Kiba's sister's store. I'd seen the store but never stopped there before. It was a pet shop. In the parking lot I recognized Kiba's Sentra and Shikamaru's Suburban. As I pulled up next to their, vehicles, I could see the group standing around in front of the Suburban. Even Gaara was here with another guy and a girl. I believe that they're his siblings, Kankuro and Temari.
Sakura was there with Hinata and Ino. There were three other girls. I don't remember their name but one of them I hit with a dodge ball in the face accidently. I laughed though. She was texting in class, she deserved it. I smirked.
As I got out of my car, Ino and the three other girls gave me a dirty look. Like I give a shit about them, I was here to have a good time and surf.
Kiba and Hinata came up to me. "Wow you came!" he said. "I told you it was going to be sunny didn't I?"
"I told you I was coming." I reminded him.
"We're just waiting for Lee and TenTen………..unless you invited someone else," Shikamaru added, smirking.
"Nope, no one. Who would I invite anyway?" I lightly lied.
"Uchiha…" all of them answered.
I was dumbfounded. My face got beet red. "W-Why would I do that? I'm hanging out with you guys…why would I need a jerk face like him to come?" I pouted.
Kiba seemed satisfied, but Sakura looked disappointed.
"So whose van would you be riding in? Mine or Lee's mini-van?" Shikamaru asked.
"Sure I'll go in yours. I call shot gun!" I jumped into the seat. I felt sort of awkward. I could feel someone staring at me the whole ride to La Push beach. Well, it was only fifteen miles but it felt like a long ass time to me. When I finally looked back, I intercepted Hinata's stare. She looked away with a blush. I felt sort of at ease. At least not all the girls hate me.
We rolled down the windows of the Suburban, it was feeling a bit claustrophobic in there with nine people in it – I tried to absorb as much sunlight as possible.
I'd been to the beaches around La Push many times when I visited Sochi with the family. Ahh sweet memories. It was still breathtaking. The water was dark gray, even in the sunlight, white-capped and heaving to the gray rocky shore. Islands rose out of the steel harbor waters with sheer cliff sides, reaching uneven summits, and crowned with austere, soaring firs. The beach had only a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge, after which it grew into gray from a distance, but up close were every shade a stone could be. The waves got bigger by the hour, which made them perfect for surfing. Fortunately it wasn't as crowded like normal beaches with tourists and all.
The clouds circled the sky, threatening to invade at any moment, but for now the sun shone bravely in its halo of blue sky.
We all picked our way down to the beach, with Kiba leading the way to a ring of driftwood logs that had obviously been used for parties like ours before. There was a fire circle already in place.
"Have you ever seen driftwood fire?" Kiba asked me. I was sitting on one of the bone-colored benches.
Kiba kneeled and started the fire with a lighter his sister lent him.
"No," I said as he placed the blazing twig carefully against the teepee.
"You'll like this then – watch the colors." He lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first. The flames started to lick quickly against the dry wood.
"WOW, it turned blue." I stayed there shocked. Why does this wood turn different color? It's defying logic!!
I just sat there thinking about how childish I'm acting. Damn my ADD!!!
"The salt makes it change color." Shikamaru explained.
Oh so that's what witchcraft is going on here…magical salt. I better get some of that.
After half an hour, all the guys went surfing. Chouji went boogie boarding, since the surf board couldn't hold his weight. After that, my attention went to the tide pools. Man I love tide pools. They had fascinated me since I was a child. I remember this one time I got a starfish and freaked out and dropped it…poor thing…I wrote Pinky, which was the name I chose to give it, on a rock and buried it. Then to my surprise my mother informed me that it wasn't dead. WOOPS!
We all headed for the tide pools. Once we got there Ino slipped and fell into one. I tried so hard to suppress my laughter. Of course, struck by cupid, Shikamaru got here out and offered to carry her back to the site. As they were leaving, Shika-kun's face was all red.
After and hour gone by everyone got hungry and ascended back to the site. I fell a few times and have some scrapes on my palms but I'm alive.
When we got back, the group we left behind multiplied. As we got closer it was Sochi and her friends. Very…muscular…one had black hair and his skin was copper toned. The other had long white hair and his skin was the same tone as mine. I still couldn't believe she didn't have a boyfriend with such handsome looking friends. I scowled.
She then saw me. "Naruto-kun!!!!" she ran and glomped me.
"It's nice to see you too." I smiled.
We both got up and introduced me to her friends. The taller one was called Koga. The other one was called Inuyasha. Weird name I thought. (Author: Yes there is another minor crossover)
Sakura started passing out the food and the boys hurried to claim a share as we each entered the drift wood circle. Sochi, Hinata, and I were the last ones to get out food.
It was relaxing to sit around them; they were kind people to be around and they didn't feel the need to fill every silence with nonstop annoying chatter. They left me free to think undisturbed while we ate. And I was thinking about how disjointedly time seemed to flow here in Konoha, passing in a blur at times, with single images standing out more clearly than others. And then, at other times, every second is significant, etched in my mind. I knew exactly what caused the difference, and it disturbed me.
During lunch the clouds started to advance, slinking across the blue sky, darting in front of the sun momentarily, casting long shadows on the beach, and blackening the waves. As they finished eating, people started to drift away in twos and threes. Some walked down to the edge of the waves, trying to skip rocks across the ragged surface. Others were gathering a second expedition to the tide pools. Kiba, with Hinata following him, headed up to one shop in the village. Some of the local kids went with them; others went along on the hike. By the time they all had scattered, I was sitting alone on my driftwood log, with Ino and Shikamaru occupying themselves by the iPod someone had brought and unfortunately forgotten on their log, and the other three, Koga, Inuyasha, and my favorite, Sochi.
"So how's the house Naru-kun?" she asked.
"Oh I put all my stuff in it and it looks tight. But when Jiraya moved in, it became sort of messy. He never cleans after himself, that old fart." I complained
She giggled. "Don't forget, you used to be like that."
"Psshaw, don't compare me to him. I'm not that much of a perv." I snorted.
"You know Naruto, Tanaka-chan?" Ino asked – in what I imagined was an insolent tone – across the fire.
"Uh yeah, we've sort of known each other since I was born," she laughed and smiled at me.
"How…nice." She didn't sound like it was nice at all, her pale, fishy eyes narrowed.
"Naruto," she called again, watching my face carefully, "I was just saying to Shikamaru-san that it was too bad that none of the Uchihas could come out today. Didn't think anyone think to invite them?" Her expression of concern was sooooo bullshit.
"You mean Dr. Pein Uchiha's family?" asked the tall, older boy, Koga before I could respond, much to Ino's irritation. He was a really closer to a man than a boy, and his voice was very deep.
"Yes, do you know them?" she asked condescendingly, turning halfway toward him.
"The Uchihas don't come here," he said in a tone closed the subject, ignoring her question.
Shikamaru, trying to win back her attention, asked Ino's opinion of the songs in the iPod he held. She was distracted.
I stared at the deep-voiced boy, taken aback, but he was looking away toward the dark forest behind us. He'd said that the Uchihas didn't come here, but his tone implied something more – that they weren't allowed here. His manner left a strange impression on me, and I tried to ignore it without success.
Sochi pouted and smacked the back of Koga's head. "Stop acting so serious!!! Geez you're scaring everybody."
"You didn't have to hit me." He muttered.
"Haha you got punished by a girl," Laughed the silver haired boy named Inuyasha.
Sochi just glared at him and he backed down. Koga just snorted.
"So Naru-kun, is Konoha driving you crazy yet?" she asked.
"Oh that's an understatement." I grimaced. She grinned understandingly.
I was still analyzing the comment that the Uchihas weren't allowed here, and I had a sudden inspiration. I hoped that young Sochi was as yet inexperienced around boys, so he wouldn't se through my sure-to-be-pitiful attempts at flirting.
"Do you want to take a walk with me down the beach?" I asked, trying to affect her like the way Sasuke did to every girl at our school. It couldn't have nearly had the same effect, I was sure, but Sochi jumped up willingly enough.
As we walked north across the multicolored stones toward the driftwood seawall, the clouds finally closed ranks across the sky, causing the sea to darken and the temperature to drop. I started to shiver but it was that cold. I'm a man, I can take it. But I looked at Sochi, envious of her dark blue puffy jacket.
"So why does Koga seem older than all of us?" I purposely fully lumped myself in with the youngsters, trying to make it clear that I preferred Sochi.
"Oh Koga, he's nineteen," she informed me.
"What was that he was saying about the doctor's family?" I asked innocently.
"The Uchihas? Oh, they're not supposed to come onto the reservation." She looked away, as she confirmed what I'd thought I'd heard in Koga's voice.
She glanced back at me, biting her lip. "Oops. I'm not supposed to say anything about that."
"Oh, I won't tell anyone, I'm just curious." I tried to make my smile alluring, wondering if I was laying it on too thick.
She smiled back, though, looking allured. Then she lifted one eyebrow and her voice sound much more innocent than before.
"Do you like scary stories?" she asked ominously.
"I love them!" I enthused, making an effort to smolder at her.
Sochi strolled to a nearby driftwood tree that had its roots sticking out like the attenuated legs of a huge, pale spider. She perched lightly on one of the twisted roots while I sat behind her on the body of the tree. She stared down at the rocks; a smile came upon her
"Do you know any of out old stories, about where we came from – the Quileutes, (A/N: I'm too lazy to change the name lol.) I mean?" she began.
"Not really," I admitted.
"Well, there are a lot of legends; some of them claiming back to the Flood – supposedly, the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tallest trees on the mountain to survive like Noah and the ark." She smiled to show little stock she put in the histories.
"Another legend claims that we descended from…wolves" she growled playfully. "—and that the wolves are out brothers still. It's against the tribal law to kill them."
She paused to add dramatic effect.
"The there are the legend of the cold ones." Her voiced dropped a little lower.
"The cold ones?" I asked, not faking my intrigue now.
"Yeah, the cold ones are as old as the wolf legends. My own great-grandfather made contact with them. He is the one who made a treaty that they would keep off our land." She rolled her eyes.
"Wow, that's so cool." I encouraged.
"He was a tribal elder, like my father. You see the cold ones and wolves are natural enemies – well, not the wolf, really, more like men that turn into wolves, werewolves."
I was so into the story at this point. "Wow, I never knew werewolves had enemies." Obviously I've never seen Underworld.
"Yep, but apparently these cold ones seemed to be civilized. They didn't hunt the way others of there kind did. They weren't dangerous. But just for the safety of our tribe we made a treaty to keep them off, and they agreed."
"But, how do the Uchihas fit in your story? Are they like the ones your great-grandfather met?"
"No." She paused dramatically. "They are the same ones."
She was pleased, because the expression on my face was fear inspired by the story.
"Now they added a new female and male, but the rest are the same. In my great-grandfather's time, they already knew of the leader, Pein. He'd been here and gone before your people had even arrived." She was fighting a smile.
"So in simple words, what are the cold ones?" I finally asked.
She smiled darkly.
"Blood drinkers," she replied in a chilling voice. "Your people call them…Vampires."
I stared out at the rough surf after she answered, not sure what my face exposing.
"You have goose bumps." She giggled.
"Heh, 'cause you're a good story teller."
"Pretty crazy stuff though, isn't it? No wonder my dad doesn't want us to talk about it to anyone."
"Don't worry your secret is safe with me."
She sighed in relief. "Thanks."
We weren't that far from the others. Kiba saw us and ran toward us.
"Hey we have to leave Naruto, it's going to rain soon." He told me, he looked at Sochi and winked. Hah what a flirt. She didn't even blush, she looked away. I tried hard to suppress my laugh.
"See ya!" I yelled to Sochi as I ran to the car.
She waved. "Bye Naru-kun."
We all got into the Suburban right before it started pouring. I saw the expression Sochi had when she got all wet. She and the other ran home.
Overall today wasn't as miserable as I thought it would be. I've gathered more information for my theories. But this one, I am not going to tell Sasuke.
Sochi(author): awww no Sasuke this chapter...oh well next chapter is NIGHT MARES! Hope you guys will stick around to read it 3
