Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
I'm taking a Writing for Film class, and I must say, this is definitely one of my favorite classes ever. Our homework is to watch movies so we can have a variety of references. And best of all, my prowess for making up story ideas has been recognized by the majority of my classmates, and by my professor. So whenever there is group work, those in my group kinda automatically make me the leader and let me refer to myself as the captain. Practically all my ideas are greenlit by any group I am in, and my professor has actually told me that he looks forward to the ideas I come up with. So for my final project—creating a story line—I will be using a story that has been flitting in my mind for over two years. I love this class.
Anyways, I shan't waste any more time. Onwards with the chapter!
"I'M GONNA BE A MIGHTY KING, SO ENEMIES BEWARE!" Two voices shouted/sang from the back seat.
"Well, I've never seen a king of beasts, with quite so little hair," Naruto sang along with the song, smiling as he turned in his seat to face the back of the car.
"I'M GONNA BE THE MANE EVENT, LIKE NO KING WAS BEFORE! I'M BRUSHING UP, I'M LOOKING DOWN! I'M WORKIN' ON MY ROOOAR!" The kids in the back seat shouted out in musical tones, grinning back at Naruto.
"Thus far a rather uninspiring thing," Naruto rolled his eyes and did his best to emulate his inner Zazu.
"OH, I JUST CAN'T WAIT TO BE KIIIIIIIIIIING!" the kids shouted out, louder than anything else before.
Naruto smiled to himself as he continued singing the part of Zazu with the kids. It was alright, after all, he totally rocked The Circle of Life.
While the kids sang both Simba's and Nala's parts in the song, Naruto noticed Sakura gripping the steering wheel rather tightly. He was sorry, but totally not sorry. She had looked like she had wanted to talk—in code—about his going back to Suna, no doubt plotting ways to guilt-trip him into staying.
Naruto was going to have none of that, so he had bypassed talking with her to ask the kids if they liked The Lion King. Of course they had said yes—who wouldn't? The Lion King was the GREATEST—so he had 'suggested' to Sakura that they play the soundtrack off of Naruto's iPod. She had no choice but to comply with the children in the back seat eagerly waiting to hear their favorite songs.
Naruto knew that if she had the chance, Sakura would be pulling out all the stops; using all of her old tricks from high school. She would have pouted, and asked please in a sickly-sweet tone. She had some crazy idea in her head that the combination of the two made people putty to her requests. Then she would use her biased logic against Naruto, bringing up how he had originally agreed to help out of he could. When that did not work, then Sakura would start to attempt to guilt trip him. He knew she knew his weak points; examples being their childhood, children in general, and Itachi's death. And as a final tool for manipulation, Sakura would make herself cry.
He took solace in his own knowledge that Sakura still believed his weaknesses to affect him in the same way that they had ten years ago. Back then, he was practically a slave to them. It took years of hindsight to see how easily he had been swayed into doing things for others because they had manipulated his weakest points.
While in Suna, he had made himself build a wall of sorts. Part of it was from the desire to never be hurt in the same way that Sasuke had hurt him, but a large part in creating the wall to begin with was his being homeless for a while there.
He was friendly, yes, but he was not naïve.
While he sang, facing the back seat to better interact with the kids—and ignore Sakura—he saw in his peripheral vision that they were passing the same Starbucks that she had tricked him into entering yesterday.
Good. That meant that they were not too far away from his hotel nearish the airport.
"OH I JUST CAN'T WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT…" the kids took a deep breath before singing/shouting the rest of the song, "TO BE KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"
"I beg your pardon, madam, but, get off!" Naruto recited the lines of Zazu the bird after the sogn had finished. It was not a part of the soundtrack, but it certainly made the children burst out laughing, making Naruto laugh as well.
Kids always had a way of making him smile.
He skipped past Scar's song, though. He absolutely loved it; his favorite part of the song was to sing to finale of it. But the kids asked him to skip it, so he adhered to their request. He understood on some level, though. After all, it took him a couple of years to truly understand the sheer level of awesome Scar was, and his song.
The next song had started, making the kids stop laughing immediately so they could sing along to this one as well.
"—Matata, what a wonderful phrase!" Mako started to sing.
"Hakuna Matata, ain't no passin' craaaaaaaaaaaaze!" Shisui dutifully took the part of Pumba for himself.
Naruto smiled; he was not needed in the song yet. No doubt, the kids would join him in singing Simba's parts anyway. But that was fine. It had been ages since he had had this much fun singing to Disney. The last time was when he and Kiba had started to sing in a fit of drunkenness during the last summer party Naruto had attended before… before he left for Suna.
Suddenly, he felt his shoulder being poked and he jumped a little from it.
He looked to his side and saw that it was indeed Sakura who had poked him. She was still facing the road, but her arm was raised to the side, prepared to poke him again.
Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes to himself. There was going to be no wriggling out of this one.
Her finger moved to poke him again, but he caught it with his own hand and murmured, "I'm listening."
Sakura retreated her hand back to the wheel when Naruto let it go. She squeezed the wheel rather forcefully, and said, very softly, "I'm sorry…"
"Hmm?" Naruto asked, off guard. Maybe the kids were singing too loudly and he misheard her, "I didn't catch that."
She took a breath and repeated, "I'm sorry."
"What? Why?" Naruto asked automatically. He could think of a number of reasons for the woman next to him to apologize, but he did not know which one she was referring to.
"For…for what I said to you before the kids arrived, "said Sakura, quietly enough to that the kids in the back singing would not hear the adult conversation, "It was unfair of me to keep telling you why you're needed here."
"I'll say," Naruto snorted in agreement. Ten years ago, he would have taken the modest road, and would have assured the girl next to him that she didn't do anything wrong.
But that was then, when he was still in the closet and felt like he needed to cherish his friends and to ignore their faults in fear that they would abandon him. Or at least, that was what Temari and Kankuro told him during one drunk night when he revealed that he was upset that no one had made contact with him after he moved to the city.
This was now, though, where he did not have to put up with the bullshit from those of Konoha. He had real friends in Suna, and they accepted him for who he truly was.
"The…the only reason I acted..." Sakura paused and had a guilty expression on her face, "the reason I was so pushy was because I am truly worried about Sasuke…"
"I can tell," Naruto muttered coldly. He made sure that the volume of his voice was quiet enough that the kids in the back could not hear over their singing, but loud enough so that Sakura could hear what he had said.
Sakura flinched minutely at Naruto's words, but he couldn't make himself give a fuck.
"And… and I am positive that, well," she paused again, "I know that only you have a chance at getting through to Sasuke… he listens to you…"
Naruto was silent.
The song ended, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight started to play. As soon as it did, the kids in the back demanded that Naruto change the song.
What a shame. They would never know the joys of serenading inanimate objects, like a car, with the songs of Disney.
"Alright, guys, I hear ya, I hear ya," said Naruto, grabbing his ipod. He skipped the best love song ever to the next song on his Disney playlist: One Jump Ahead from Aladdin.
There were cheers from the two in the back, and they immediately started to compete with the car speakers to see who could be louder; they were winning.
When he put the iPod down, Sakura spoke again, "Do you…do you mind if I ask something?"
Naruto sighed, and glanced out the window. He could recognize some of the buildings. They were close to his hotel.
"Fine," Naruto mumbled. Soon he would be out of this car and out of this fucking city.
"Um, well," she said on a small voice, "this morning, you were… you were fine with helping Sasuke. But then, when you left the Manor… you didn't want to even look at him…"
Naruto rolled his eyes again and thought, 'Yea, because if I did I would have kicked his nuts again.'
Sakura was silent, glancing at him repeatedly in her peripheral vision.
Naruto kept his eyes looking forwards and muttered, "Wasn't there supposed to be some sort of question in there?"
There was a pause, as both listened to the kids singing along with Aladdin.
Sakura then quietly asked, "What happed after I left you two in Sasuke's study?"
Naruto was silent. He did not want to tell her what Sasuke had said; he didn't even want to repeat it in his head!
Besides…Sasuke was OBVIOUSLY lying when he said…that…to Naruto. After all, Sasuke was the biggest homophobe in all of Konoha! Naruto's cheek accessories were more than enough proof of that.
But he knew that saying 'nothing' to Sakura would only rile her up, so he had to think of something to say.
Dammit, thinking of lies was not his strong suit.
"I told him I'm leaving," Naruto said after some thought.
Sakura bristled a little bit, but she kept silent.
He sighed. He almost wanted her to ask some inane question. While lies were not his thing, he was a beast at redirecting tangents. His mentor had shown him the way while the old man repeatedly smooth talked his way out of explaining why he was in questionable locations.
Naruto continued to say, "So I made him tell me why he made it so I can never get tattoos like Kiba," he saw Sakura glance at his cheeks, "and he gave me a bullshit answer."
"What did he say?" Sakura asked, true curiosity in her voice. It was not her asking for her gain to help the bastard, but rather she simply wanted to know.
She had always been like this; especially in high school. Ino was and forever will be the reigning gossip queen, but Sakura still had the desire to know everything that went around her; especially when it involved people she was close to.
Naruto was not going to tell her what the bastard had said, er, well, did not say to answer the question… Now that he looked back on it, he had answered his own question while the bastard was silent.
But whatever. Sakura would not know what happened after she left. No one needed to know about those confessions to each other…even though one of them was a complete and utter lie to trick Naruto into staying in this fucking city.
He was about to say some noncommittal answer—like maybe that the bastard was on his man-period—but Sakura cut him off.
"Wait, no," she said, "Don't tell me."
Naruto turned to face her; surprised. He had no memory of Sakura ever taking back a question. She rivaled him in stubbornness when it came to wanting answers.
She kept her eyes on the road, and spoke in a quiet voice, "Whatever happened in there is your business. It has nothing to do with me, so I have no right to ask about it…"
Naruto smiled a little. It meant a lot to him that she was agreeing to not ask him about his personal business.
The rest of the car trip—the whole three blocks—was peaceful. Naruto was once again singing with the kids, amazing them with his knowledge of what the lovely ladies were singing when the Genie had popped up in their window in the song Prince Ali.
He did not have to direct Sakura to the parking garage of the hotel, seeing as she had already been there earlier this morning.
They parked, and Sakura wordlessly unlocked the doors the popped the trunk open.
Naruto stepped out of the car and walked around back to pick up his bags that had been left there for the duration of his little…trip back to this hellhole.
As he swung his bags over his shoulder, he saw the kids also getting out of the car. He shut the trunk as Sakura also stepped out.
Eager to leave, he looked up at Sakura and said, "Well, thanks for giving me a ride."
He felt a tug on his pants and he looked down. It was Shisui, looking down at his feet while one hand was attached to Naruto's jeans. Mako was standing behind his friend.
"…Yes?" Naruto asked after it became apparent that Shisui was not going to say the first word.
Shisui did not answer, but rather, his grip on Naruto's pants tightened.
"Hey," Naruto said in a gentle voice. He pried Shisui's hand off of his pants and held it in his hand as he knelt down to the kids' level. "What's the matter, buddy?" he asked in the same tone of voice.
The kid's expression was attempting to maintain the stoic Uchiha mask, but it was failing.
Naruto smiled widely, "I know that face. Your father and your uncle used to have staring contests during family dinners. But neither could hold it for too long because your grandmother and I used to make silly faces at each other."
Shisui looked up, his expression astonished, "Whoa, really?" he asked in a small voice, though filled with some awe.
Naruto nodded, "Yep. And whenever that wouldn't work, your grandmother and I would resort to tickling them!"
Shisui's eyes grew wide. He was probably trying to imagine his ever stoic father and uncle being tickled, but was failing at it.
"Soooooo," Naruto started to say, repositioning his hand to be holding onto Shisui's wrist, "Whenever I see that face…I have an uncontrollable urge to tickle whoever was making it!"
Immediately, his other hand was near Shisui's belly. He poked him repeatedly, and occasionally wriggled them around to tickle the kid.
Shisui shrieked with laughter, and tried to get out of Naruto's grip, but failed to do so because Naruto had a stronger grip on the little wrist.
"Mako!" Shisui called between bursts of laughter, "Help me!"
"Oh no you don't!" Naruto said loudly, "Sakura! Cover me!"
"What do I do?" Sakura asked back, caught completely off guard with the invitation to join in the horseplay.
"Hold them down!" Naruto ordered with his best impersonation of a drill sergeant, "I'll take care of the rest!"
She did as she was told. When Mako tried to reach for Naruto, Sakura—gently but firmly—grabbed his shoulder. She then did the same with Shisui.
"Ah-HA!" Naruto cheered, "Now you can't escape!"
The kids chorused a round of dramatic 'NOOOOOOO's as Naruto took advantage of his longer arms and tickled the both of their tummies. Despite their struggles to escape Sakura's grip and worm out of Naruto's reach, he got in some good pokes. Sakura was smiling widely as well.
When the kids were out of breath, Naruto nodded to Sakura as a signal to let them go.
She let them go, and they retreated to the side together to stay out of the adults' reach.
"Well, this has been fun, lads, but I need to go home now and get back to work," Naruto told them, standing up again.
Instantly, Shisui's expression fell and he went back to Naruto's leg. "But I don't want you to go," he said.
"Yea!" Mako chimed in, "You're a lot of fun!"
Naruto smiled gently, and placed a hand on top of Shisui's head and said, "Sorry, guys, but I'm afraid my people need me. I have to go back."
"People?" Mako asked, confused.
"You know," Naruto waved his free hand to convey vagueness, "my people at work. They wither away and turn into witches and zombies if I'm not there.
"But…" Shisui paused, "But you're family…right?"
Damn.
This kid had a future of guilt tripping people.
All should fear his potential.
"Yes, I'm family," Naruto said slowly, trying to figure a way out of this politely and without hurting anyone's feelings, "But I also have family back at my home." In a way, he wasn't lying. Gaara and his siblings had unofficially adopted him into their family when they took him off the streets.
Shisui was silent, his head hanging down again.
Needing to take drastic action, he quickly reached down and picked the kid up, who let loose a startled exclamation.
When the kid was in his arms, Naruto said, "But we can write letters to each other all the time, and I can give you my phone number."
"R-really?" Shisui asked. It was easy to tell from his now mask-less expression that the kid would have rather Naruto stay in Konoha, but letters was better than nothing.
"Yep!" Naruto smiled widely so his scars stretched a little and he was squinting. "But," he whispered to the kid, "I can't give you my number now. I'm going to need your help prank-calling your uncle, but it won't work if he knows that you have my number."
A smile crept onto Shisui's face, reminding Naruto of the grin Itachi would get when he had something devious in mind.
Screw the guilt tripping! People should be terrified that there was going to be another Itachi in the world!
"Okay!" Shisui said, with his eerie grin.
Naruto smiled back. The true reason that he did not want to give his number out now was because then Sakura would hear it, and would be able to call him on whim for more 'help'. Or worse, she would give his number to the bastard.
He did not want either of those outcomes, so the safest thing was to give his number out later, in secrecy. And if this kid was anything like his father, then Naruto did not need to worry about Sasuke getting his number at the promise of tricking him.
Naruto put Shisui down, and said to both kids, "Aw man! I think I left my iPod in the car!"
"We'll get it!" the kids chimed together.
Naruto watched them hurry back to the car. His iPod was really in his pocket, but he needed to speak to Sakura alone.
Luckily, she knew what Naruto was up to, so she started to talk immediately. "I'm not going to force you to stay here if you don't want…" she said.
In his mind, Naruto thought to himself, 'I'd like to see you try.'
"But I am going to ask you to stay one more time. But not just because I'm worried for Sasuke," she looked him in the eyes, "but because I'm worried about you."
"Me?" Naruto asked in an incredulous voice.
"Yes, you," said Sakura.
"I'm fine," Naruto automatically answered, "And I'll be even better once I'm back home."
"This is your home, Naruto," Sakura said quietly.
He glared at her and said in a steely voice, "No. Suna is my home."
Sakura raised her arms in a gesture of peace, and said, "Naruto…this is why I'm worried."
Naruto continued to glare at her. She wasn't making any sense. All he said was the honest, undeniable truth. It wasn't his fault that she was so thick-headed to not be able to see that.
She bit her lip, and hugged herself, "I know… I know that the fight you and Sasuke had was terrible…and that I have no right to ask about it…but," she took a deep breath and looked at him in the eyes, "but there are still people here who love you."
He remained silent. If they loved him so much, then they would have tried to make contact with him during his DECADE in Suna.
"And I can see that you are hurting inside, and are covering it up with a mask," Sakura told him.
Naruto's eyes widened a little, but he soon returned it to his glare at her.
She smiled a small, sad grin, "You aren't the only one who can still read their friends after ten years."
Naruto turned his head, and glared to the side. He could see in his peripheral vision that the kids were still trying to find his iPod.
"I'm no psychiatrist, but Ino's dad is, and he told us that the only way to get past such negative feelings is to confront the source and to make amends," Sakura told him.
Naruto snorted. He tried that, and the source of his 'negative feelings' only served to make him even more pissed off than ever before.
"So…so I'm asking you to stay," said Sakura, hugging herself tighter, "Because you two need each other. He needs you to get past Itachi's death, and you need him to make amends…"
"What I need," Naruto said in a tense voice, curling his hands into fists by his side, "is to LEAVE and to never come back."
Sakura's eyes welled up, and she looked to the side as well.
They stood in silence, each looking to the side. But soon enough, they heard the car door shut.
"We looked, but we couldn't find it!" exclaimed Mako, Shisui by his side.
"Hmmmm," said Naruto, bringing a finger to his chin as he made a thoughtful expression, "Maaayyyyybee, that's because I have my iPod right HERE!" he reached into his pocket and took it out to show to the boys.
"HEY!" Shisui exclaimed, pointing a finger at Naruto, "YOU CHEATED!"
"It wasn't me!" Naruto crossed his arms in mock-defiance, "it was the iPod, I swear! It maaaade me lie!"
"Nuh-UH!" Mako shook his head.
"It's true!" Naruto exclaimed in mock-sincerity, "You can't trust technology these days. They are aliiiiiive!"
The kids stuck their tongues out at Naruto, who returned the favor.
"Now!" Naruto grinned widely, "Come and give your Funcle a hug goodbye!"
Their tongues retreated back to their mouths, and they solemnly walked over to Naruto.
Undeterred, Naruto walked forwards and grabbed Mako.
He picked the kid up and swung him around a few times, enjoying how the kid was laughing with joy.
After five spins, he set Mako down. "My turn! My turn!" Shisui exclaimed, running up to Naruto.
"You got it!" Naruto answered, picking him up for the second time. He spun Shisui around five times as well, in the opposite direction to keep himself from getting too dizzy. Shisui was laughing the whole time, like Mako did.
Naruto set the kid down, both of them smiling widely. Then he said in his best deep, commanding voice, "I must be off, now. But remember, men, to DANCE!" he struck a ballerina pose.
The kids laughed at him, and tried to imitate him.
Naruto smiled back. Then he walked over to Sakura. She looked up at him with mostly dry eyes.
Giving her a gentle smile, he pulled her into a one-armed hug. "Bye," he said softly. Bitch or not, Sakura was still one of his oldest friends, and it was always sad to leave old friends behind.
She returned the hug, squeezing him tightly. "Promise," she squeezed harder, "promise me that you'll take care of yourself over there…and…and that you be happy wherever you are."
He let loose a small huff and rested his head on hers, "You're too much for me sometimes, Haruno."
She gave a watery laugh and said, "That's because you know you love me, Uzumaki."
Blue eyes widened at her saying his last name. They softened, even though she could not see it. So he squeezed her a little bit and said, "You got me," he sighed, "I have no intention of returning here. But…but I wouldn't mind it if you brought the kid over to visit sometime."
She nodded into his shoulder.
"And I guess…" Naruto paused, not believing what he was about to say, "…I guess I can give you some pointers on how to deal with the bastard."
Sakura froze in his arm, and then said, "Don't call him that."
Naruto smiled. He understood that she had just said 'thank you'.
"But understand that I'm only doing this for YOU, and not for HIM," Naruto told her; his 'you're welcome'.
After one last squeeze, they let go of each other. Naruto turned around and blocked Sakura from the kids' view so she could discreetly wipe her eyes.
"Alright: one last high five before I'm off!" Naruto made himself smile widely as he lifted his hand for them.
They high fived him, and each time Naruto pretended that they had broken his hand, causing them to giggle. Then, Sakura told them to get back into the car. Naruto grabbed his bags and walked over to the sidewalk in front of the hotel.
As the car drove by, Naruto smiled and waved. The kids were waving back at him.
When it was out of sight, Naruto fished out his phone and called Gaara with urgency.
His roommate thankfully picked up his phone after the second ring. "What?" he asked curtly. Naruto was tempted to smile; Gaara was a man of few words and few emotions, but he was always there for him.
"I need you to book me another hotel room under your name," Naruto told him in a tone of voice that let the other know that he was not kidding.
There was a pause, letting Naruto know that his roommate was confused and would later ask why. "Fine. Anything else?" Gaara asked over the phone.
"And I need the first ticket out of here back home," answered Naruto.
Fine," Gaara repeated, "But I expect a full explanation."
"As soon as I get another room," Naruto promised. He then gave Gaara the hotel information that the red head would need to get another room.
When he was finished, he chirped a—forced—cheerful 'Bye bye!"
His roommate said nothing when he hung up.
Naruto nodded to himself, and stuck his reliable chunky phone back into his pocket. Then he picked up his bags and walked inside the lobby.
While he waited, his thoughts were preoccupied with a certain bastard who refused to let the blonde think about anything else.
He heaved a huge sigh and slumped further into the chair. Sasuke was infuriating, even in Naruto's head! He could feel his blood figuratively boil with anger when he recalled what the bastard had said.
That his uncle was gay for his best friend!
I'm in love with you, Naruto.
This isn't a lie!
That was a lie. It had to be a lie.
Naruto remembered back in high school, before he confessed to Sasuke. He had thought that it was safe to tell Sasuke, because he listed to his inner optimist who had thought that Naruto was reading signs that Sasuke also had feelings for him. The way Sasuke would smile, just for him. How Sasuke would make sure to tutor Naruto to keep his abysmal grades up to passing level. How Sasuke would drop some plans just to hang out with the blonde. How he and Sasuke would always pair up with each other for projects. How he and Sasuke would map out their plans for the future; always with the other in the picture. How…
NO.
Naruto glared a hole into the floor.
He should have listened to his inner pessimist back then; the part of him that KNEW that he was looking far too much into these small, insignificant things.
Sasuke had no feelings for him then…and he certainly did not have any feelings for Naruto now!
Naruto's cheeks were proof enough for that.
He had no idea what game Sasuke was playing at, but Naruto refused to be pulled into it.
That was why Naruto was having Gaara get him another room in the hotel. Sasuke was an Uchiha, and Uchihas always get what they wanted. And right now, for some dark, twisted, and cruel reason, Sasuke Uchiha wanted Naruto to stay in Konoha.
Naruto was NOT going to let that happen.
Sasuke could easily get the room Naruto was staying in from Sakura and show up at the door while Naruto was waiting for his plane back home.
HOME. In Suna.
There was also a chance that Sasuke could do some cop show shit and use Naruto's credit cards to see what plane ticket he was buying, and somehow cancel it. It seemed far-fetched, but Naruto knew all too well that he should never underestimate an Uchiha.
It was safer for Gaara to take care of things…
He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Grinning to himself, he fished his phone out again and saw the text, 'Done'.
Smiling wider, feeling free from the Uchiha already, Naruto happily put his phone back in his pocket and walked up to the front desk.
"Hi!" he chirped, happy as could be, "Uzumaki checking out."
The receptionist nodded and began typing away at her keyboard. "Alright, sir, is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked in a professional tone.
"Actually, yes. I'd like to check in," he answered.
The receptionist looked up, confused. She was obviously not expecting that answer, and probably assumed that he would politely decline any help.
"Uh…" she said, unsure of what to do.
Naruto smiled cheerily and said, "I'm sorry about this. Someone stole my credit card, so I had to deactivate it before they could spend any of my money. So I asked a friend to book me a room while we are making sure my identity isn't being stolen."
Her eyes widened with understanding, "Oh! Gosh, that's a shame!"
"And a real hassle," Naruto made his expression dreary, "I was looking forward to a nap after coming to this city of yours to help an ex make arrangements for the funeral."
"Oh no!" the receptionist gasped.
Naruto nodded wearily, "Yea, seeing them was tough after they ripped my heart into pieces, but what's a guy to do?" he sighed as he slumped his shoulders. "Then my credit card was stolen."
The receptionist put her hand on Naruto's and said, "I'm so sorry to hear that."
Naruto looked down, closed his eyes, squeezed her hand slightly and whispered, "Thank you." Then he looked up again and said with a weary smile, "All I really want is that nap before I can catch the next plane out of here."
The receptionist squeezed his hand sympathetically and said, "Of course." She then looked back at her screen and said, "And what name will the room be under?"
"Sabaku" Naruto answered, making sure his tone sounded exhausted.
She typed for another moment, and then pulled out a key and said, "Here you are, Mr. Sabaku, your new room. Will there be anything else?" she asked with sincerity.
Naruto scrunched up his face to look like he was thinking, and then said, "I'm not sure if it is possible—"
"Anything," the receptionist cut in, taking his hand once more.
"Well, if anyone calls for me or for the new room, can it not be let through? After today, I need to sleep for a couple of hours," he said with a slight grimace.
The receptionist nodded and said, "I understand."
Naruto smiled, and kissed her hand before walking away, calling over his shoulder, "You're a real angel, I hope you know!"
"Please have a good rest, sir!" the receptionist called after him.
Naruto turned around, and smiled at her while he gave a thumbs up. She smiled back and then Naruto turned around the corner to get onto the elevator.
After he pressed the button, he checked his new hotel room key while he waited. His new room was on the floor above his old room from last night. He was wearing the clothes he had been wearing last night before drunkenly stripping them off to go to bed, and he hadn't brought anything else into the room that was not on his person, so he had not needed to go back in there.
While he waited, he let loose a harsh sigh.
Naruto felt bad about lying to the receptionist. There was no real need to tell such an elaborate tale, but the blonde was growing paranoid.
Sakura knew where his room had been, as shown by her pummeling the door early this morning. Even though the chance was slim that Sasuke would ask her for Naruto's location, the blonde was taking zero chances.
He was fairly confident that no one here would expect him to take such measures; because he was also certain that most still considered him the same idiot they knew in high school. The expectation would be for him to stay in the same hotel room and book a ticket back to Suna. Clean and simple.
Not many would expect him to change rooms, and even less would think that he would ask his roommate to book these things for him. Besides, he never mentioned any names.
He was safe for now, and soon he would be going home.
But until then, he would not let his guard down; hence his lie to the receptionist.
He knew how the bastard operated; concise and calculated. If Sasuke was going to search for him in person, he would make sure he knew exactly where Naruto was before taking action. He'd most likely call the hotel and ask for Naruto's room number.
But because Naruto had spun such an elaborate web for the receptionist, he was fairly confident that she would not let that happen. After all, what heartless person would break a promise and disturb the much needed nap of someone who had just attended a funeral with their ex and then had his identity stolen?
Naruto was a people person, and knew that only a certain bastard would expect others to be as heartless as he for his own gains.
Finally, the elevator dinged and opened its doors. People got out, and then Naruto picked up his bags and entered it by himself.
He pressed the button for his floor and respectfully went to the back of the elevator. His floor was near the top, and no doubt others would also go in and out before Naruto needed to move.
It took a long while, with Naruto's prediction of people entering and exiting becoming true, he reached his floor.
The new room was near the end of the hall. Ah, well, he was not expecting much else. It was a last-minute booking for only a couple of hours after all.
Naruto opened the door and immediately went to the desk by the window so he could set up his laptop. He did so not out of the need to be productive, though he knew his editor would have loved him to get to work as soon as he could.
While he waited for his laptop to boot up, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket. He flicked it open and called Gaara.
It rang once, and before it could ring for a second time, Gaara picked up with a terse, "What?"
Naruto smiled, and chuckled as he said, "Well hel-lo to you too."
Gaara grunted, making Naruto smiled even wider. Even though his red-headed roommate barely said anything, Naruto felt the warmth of friendship through the phone. After all, normally Gaara would remain silent unless directly asked a question, and even then it was iffy if he would say anything or not. But he always made an effort for Naruto.
Gaara was a true friend.
"…Are you going to tell me why I needed to book you a new room now?" said Gaara; a statement rather than a question. His roommate was demanding answers.
Naruto's smile faded, and he said, "In a minute, 'kay? Did you get me a ticket?"
"Yes," Gaara answered in the same terse, monotonic voice, "Your flight leaves at nine tonight. You'll be in first class."
"First class? But I don't have enough funds for that!" Naruto spluttered, then thought aloud, "Wait, do I? Damn, I'll havta ask Matsuri to check my bank statements for me…"
Gaara did not let him continue rambling and said, "I paid for your ticket. Speaking of your assistant, you need to do something about—"
"YOU paid for my ticket?" Naruto interrupted Gaara loudly. He hoped that no one in either room besides him were getting their freaky on because he had just become one major cockblock.
Gaara answered, "Yes," in a terse tone. Naruto could practically hear his roommate's frown; Gaara did not like being interrupted. But at the moment, Naruto did not care.
"Why did you pay for my ticket?" Naruto demanded to know.
"Because you told me to," Gaara replied.
Naruto groaned, closing his eyes in a brief moment of irritation, "When I told you to buy a ticket, I meant from my funds. You know how much I hate it when you pay for this kind of shit! I can pull my own weight, you know."
"I know," Gaara's answered, "but you sounded stressed."
"…" Naruto could not refute that.
But that did not mean that he had to like it.
"You still should not have paid for the ticket. I'll pay you back, mind you!" Naruto heatedly told the other. He really didn't like it when Gaara—or his siblings—paid for Naruto. They had already done more than enough when they took him into their home and off the streets.
"As I was saying," his roommate brought him out of his daydreaming, "you need to do something about that assistant of yours."
Naruto smiled cheekily, "Really? What did she do this time?" While he did so, he opened his e-mail account and saw that Gaara had indeed purchased a ticket for him on a plane leaving at nine. His roommate was not lying when he said that he had sprung for a first class ticket.
"She wants you to do your work," Gaara told him, more of a command than an answer, really.
"Oh, she does, does she?" Naruto teased the other. He had a distinct feeling that his work was not the reason Gaara had brought his assistant up in conversation.
"She came by here this morning to relay a message from your editor about the deadline," Gaara told him, a hint of irritation in his monotone.
Naruto grinned to himself. He knew that the 'message' was fake. He had never missed a deadline, except for with his second book due to his taking on part-time jobs to help pay for rent. Plus, he had made sure to tell Matsuri about his travel plans before he left, so she knew that he was not going to be in the apartment.
She knew that Gaara was going to be home all alone.
"Ah, is that all?" Naruto asked in a light tone. He knew that wasn't everything, but wanted to hear it from Gaara himself. That was way more fun than hearing it from his assistant.
Gaara huffed and said, "She then stayed and asked me about my work."
"Can ya blame her?" Naruto asked; his smile widening as he pictured the two of them on the couch. Gaara would be on his side, glaring at the world, and Matsuri would be sitting too close for it to be waved off as an accident. He should have warned Temari—ooh, or KANKURO—because they would have found a way to take pictures.
"I mean, my job is essentially to sit down and write shit. But YOU get to meet new people every day, talk about important stuff, and dazzle everyone with your professionalism! That's interesting shit right there!" Naruto said in defense of his assistant. He was rooting for her, he honestly was, but sometimes it was just way too fun to mess with Gaara's unsociable ass.
Gaara grunted again. Naruto could practically hear the glare again, and it made him chuckle to himself.
"More to the point," Gaara said, and Naruto stopped laughing to pay attention; that was Gaara's professional way to change the subject. "Why did I need to book you a new room and buy your ticket on the first plane out of Konoha?"
That immediately wiped the smile off of Naruto's face.
He fell silent.
He did not know what to say… He didn't know how he could say it…
Hell, Naruto was still having trouble saying it to himself.
Maybe he shouldn't tell Gaara… He should make up some lie. That receptionist believed him, maybe he could use the same story?
Dammit, Naruto had almost forgotten that Gaara knew why he was in this hellhole in the first place…and he would also know if Naruto was in the midst of getting his identity stolen…so that was a no-go. Damn, that was a good story, too.
But he had made that up on the spot… Lying to strangers and lying to friends weren't completely different…. Theoretically it was possible to lie to Gaara.
He needed to come up with something quick!
How hard could it be? It was over the phone, after all, so Gaara couldn't see Naruto's expression that could give himself away…
Gaara's eyes always reminded Naruto of a raccoon…so maybe the lie should incorporate something about that!
Maybe he could say that while throwing something away, a talking raccoon foretold danger in Naruto's future! That made sense, right? No one would ignore the fortune telling of a magic raccoon!
It was perfect! Absolutely brilliant!
Who ever said that Naruto Uzumaki couldn't lie to his friends? Well, they were certainly wrong, whoever they were!
"Naruto," Gaara's voice snapped at him from over the phone.
But it was okay; Naruto had a solid story to tell.
"Well," Naruto said, "I was throwing something away and—"
"There is no such thing as a talking raccoon," Gaara cut him off.
Damn.
Naruto forgot that he had already tried to use that one on Gaara…several times.
Maybe if it was a talking fox…
"And there are also no such things as talking foxes," Gaara deadpanned over the phone.
"Fuck me sideways, you must be some sort of psychic…" Naruto murmured into the phone. His free hand covered his eyes as he held back a groan. He remembered why he was always told that he could not lie to his friends.
"That, and I have known you long enough," Gaara told him.
Naruto sighed. There was no getting out of this, was there?
"No, you can't get out of this."
Naruto yelped. It was very manly, though, full of testosterone, beards, mustaches, beer, football, rugby, and liking boobs. Yep…manly.
"Shit, man! So not only are you psychic, BUT YOU CAN READ MINDS, TOO?" Naruto hissed into the phone. So many things would suck if his roommate could red his mind! Temari and Kankuro had better start making reservations for funeral caskets if their little brother learned about even half of the things they had shared with Naruto over the years! Not to mention Naruto, who was worried that there would not even be enough of his remains to bury if his roommate knew about some pictures Naruto had taken of the red head after they—Naruto and Gaara's siblings—had discovered the wonders of sneaking special brownies into Gaara's weekly desert day…
Gaara sighed, and then said, "I can't read minds. Now I am telling you that you are going to tell me the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."
Stupid lawyer shit. That roommate of Naruto's really spent too much time hanging around the courthouse. Sure, it was a part of his job, but did that mean that he had to pick up the lingo?
This time, it was Naruto who sighed, "The truth, right?"
Gaara grunted from over the phone. Such a shame, Naruto was hoping that he would repeated that bit about the truth, seeing as it had only been mentioned four times between them. Five was a cooler number than four.
Naruto walked over closer to the window. He knew that he would need the room to pace as he explained things to his roommate. If he was forced to sit down, then he would most likely need to pay the hotel an expensive fee for property damage.
He was silent.
He couldn't think of the words to say.
Everything was so messed up and confusing. He should have never come back.
Gaara's voice brought Naruto back to reality as he clipped, "Naruto."
"I know, I know," he assured his roommate, "I'm getting to it. It's just…hard to explain…"
His roommate was mercifully silent. For that, Naruto was grateful. This was hard enough as it was without needing to think of other answers…
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "You know that…friend…who I was supposed to help?"
"That guy who you fought with before leaving Konoha?" Gaara clarified.
Naruto winced. He couldn't help it; hearing Sasuke being described like that was all very true, but it brought that fight to the forefront of his mind.
His free hand absentmindedly rubbed the scars on his cheeks.
Recalling the fight made them sting.
"…Yeah," Naruto breathed out, "That's the one…"
"What about him?" Gaara pressed. He could probably tell from the lack of elaboration that Naruto was having a hard time talking about this.
It was always like this whenever Temari and/or Kankuro would ask Naruto to talk about Konoha… They would need to ask specific questions else Naruto would not know what to say or how to say it. Any detail about his life here would need to be prodded out of him.
In the same low voice, Naruto muttered, "He told me…" a stagnant pause, the blonde needed to breathe. "He told me that he…loves…me…"
Silence.
Naruto was heaving, probably very loudly. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest; feel its quickening pace. He could feel all this, but he could not hear it.
All he could hear was Sasuke's words echoing in his mind.
I'm in love with you, Naruto.
This isn't a lie!
"What did you say?" Gaara's voice asked through the phone.
"Don't make me say it again, you prick. You heard what I said." Naruto whispered back.
Gaara replied, "I heard it, but I don't understand it."
Naruto chuckled a weak, hallow laugh, "That makes two of us."
The two were silent once more, though his roommate most likely did not speak for Naruto's benefit as he was gathering his thoughts and whatnot.
Then his roommate asked in a brusque tone, "Why is this such a big deal to you?"
Caught off guard, Naruto almost tripped over his feet as he paced and spluttered, "What?"
"People have declared their love for you before," Gaara did not pause in his reply, nor was his tone sympathetic. What a douche.
"No they haven't!" Naruto shot back.
"Yes they have," Gaara challenged him.
Naruto did not reply. This was different than whatever Gaara was talking about. His roommate went off the deep end, that's all.
"Throughout your ten years in Suna, I have never seen you react like this to a declaration of love," Gaara said in his monotone voice.
"…You can't see me, we're talking over the phone," Naruto argued back weakly. He knew that wasn't the point, but he did not like where the conversation was leading.
Gaara ignored what Naruto had just said and continued, "When you first enrolled in community college, you could hardly get a full night to yourself because of the amount of women asking to study with you."
"Naruto groaned with annoyance at the memory, "I know they say that study groups are essential in college, but they shouldn't have needed that much help."
"They didn't want help," Gaara deadpanned, "They wanted to be closer to you."
"Wh-what?" Naruto stuttered. His roommate was talking crazy talk.
"Those women had crushes on you, and hoped to get you to return their feelings," annoyance was somehow laced in Gaara's monotone.
"Well…I'm gay, so that shouldn't count," Naruto mumbled, trying to remember if Gaara was telling the truth about those days in college. Now that he thought about it, there was an extraordinary amount of cleavage involved in those study sessions and a distinct lack of textbooks…
There were also quite a few of them that had told him that they were in love with him, but he had always assumed that they meant platonically since they would say it after he brought them their favorite snacks, drinks, or whatever during their study sessions…
"Then do you remember all those pizza deliveries you had to make for those two carpenters?" Gaara pressed on.
"Of course, how could I forget my best tippers? Especially since they were practically half my salary," Naruto recalled. Thanks to them, he was able to drop one of his part-time jobs at a small antique chop across town. Good thing, too, because he was pretty annoyed with the customers acting all hoity-toity around him.
Gaara continued, "They would only order pizzas on nights you were working."
"That's some crazy luck for me, then," Naruto nodded his head to himself as he paced.
"They only ordered from you because they too had crushes on you," Gaara sounded annoyed.
"…Whoa, for really?" Naruto mumbled. He remembered that they too had declared love, but he had assumed they meant he as a pizza delivery man rather than an individual since they said it when they were both drunk and craving pizza.
Instead of answering the question, Gaara continued to say, "And how about those one-night-stands who kept offering to meet up later for coffee?"
"…" Naruto didn't know what to say. He had always assumed those coffee offers were a thanks for the great sex. But he did not want to voice that out loud…too embarrassing.
"And that guy you dated after your second book was published?"
"…Sora?" Naruto mumbled, with a small amount of guilt in his voice.
"You broke up with him after only a month," said Gaara.
"…" Naruto had broken up with the guy. It was only supposed to be a fling; dating with no strings attached and no plans for the future. Everything was going great, until Sora started to make things serious…
He had told Naruto that he was falling in love with him, so Naruto needed to end things with him.
"…What's your point?" Naruto asked wearily, sitting on the bed.
"My point is that people have told you that they were in love with you many times, but this is the FIRST time you have ever reacted like this," Gaara broke his monotone near the end.
That, more than anything, made Naruto realize that his roommate was right.
All those other times, Naruto had never let the L-word get to him because he assumed there was little to no meaning behind them. They were just words.
THIS time should not have been any different. Sasuke's words were lies; every damn syllable was seeped with dishonesty.
They were just words.
It should not have affected him this much because it was supposed to be meaningless, like those other times. It was supposed to be no different…
Naruto buried his head in his free hand and heaved a great sigh.
The problem was not that the words were any different, but rather what lay behind it.
He took a deep, calming breath.
After that, he let his free hand fall onto his lap.
Gaara must have sensed that something had changed because he asked in his version of a worried tone, "Naruto?"
"Gaara," the blonde replied, "I think it's time I told you everything about why I left this hellhole."
And that was the chapter.
My roommate loves the food on weekend brunches, so she'll go to the cafeteria whilst I drink my life-giving caffeine in bed. One day she had been gone for over two hours after leaving for brunch, so I asked a mutual friend if she was hanging with him. He said no, and I told him that I lost my roommate, and maybe I should do something more than nothing to find her. So he suggested making fliers to hang around campus. I asked if I should use an actual picture, a wanted poster, a realistic drawing, or a vague stick figure. He said to use cat ears to make it realistic. I asked if I should add in a moustache, because she has one, right? He said I should label it the bra-less wonder, because she considers them a waste of effort and prefers to wear mens' shirts anyhow. I asked if she has a beard or not. He said it had been too long for him to recall. I shouted that we had forgotten what she looks like, so we should make many variations of vague stick figures! She walked in on us coloring in much facial hair and various 'grafitti' on her stick figure face.
Anyhoo, thanks you to those who favorite/alert this story! And an extra thanks to those who review!
