CHAPTER 10: Vacation's End
THIS is the chapter we leave Konoha. Sorry, that was just in bold and I don't have the patience or time to un-bold it. Anyway, this chapter is very confusing for the fact that I switch writing styles (like, suddenly i'm using extra-long sentences and flashy words, etc.) but other than that, we see a kiss, another kiss, and the end of something neither Gaara nor Naruto had ever expected.
Again, I must credit this chapter purely to my readers, including CrimsonNightmare, Ghostninja85, Bakudon, and HikaruOfArrow (i think that's who youare T-T) You motivate me to update faster. Wow! This is only 25 pages when you get it down to 10-point font! (usually I write in 10-point; 12 is way too big and I can't read 9.)
Hey! This is a warning!
WARNING: This chapter has not yet been edited (by moi or any outside source) and therefore may have flaws. However, I would not allow myself to be so lazy with updating anymore. Please read and forgive me!
..oo00oo..
(Hey! HAve you read the warning yet?)
..oo00oo..
"It seems we are at an impass."
Tsunade frowned. "How so?"
"Simple. You refuse to let us stay, and we refuse to leave."
Tsunade pushed a button on her desk and smirked. "Well, you're about to."
Gaara wasn't moved.
Tsunade frowned. Nothing happened. She pressed the button again, and again, and Gaara crossed his arms over his chest again.
Kiba groaned from the floor, muttering, "com'n'cation ... down ..." Tsunade whirled at the boy. "What?! How--" she turned back to Naruto, and Gaara, whose eyes screamed in the darkness, laughing down at her. She boiled with anger but Naruto spoke up first.
"All we want is somewhere to sleep an' stay for a few days. If you can give us that and promise not to tell no one we're here, the people outside can go to sleep with all their limbs." Kakashi grimaced. Sasuke could keep quiet no longer.
"What do you mean?!" Naruto blinked and looked over at Sasuke. "We mean we gotta lotta clones outside, all over the city, an' when we think so, they'll go ahead and kill every person in the village." Tsunade frowned and Sasuke growled.
"That's low," hissed Sasuke as Kakashi spoke up. "How many clones?"
Naruto smiled. "One for every life to take."
Shikamaru's eyes widened. "That's impossible--I mean, you'd need to be sustaining over three hundred clones ..." He looked at Naruto and Gaara with amazement and something like respect, "if you can do that, without straining yourselves ..." Naruto laughed. "Of course we can't yet! Me an' Gaa-chan together can only manage a hun'red an' fifty." His eyes flashed blood-red and Tsunade felt a wave of confusion hit her. The Kyuubi ... the nine-tailed fox. Her judgment of the boy suddenly seemed too heavy. He bore a heavy burden already ...
"You're bluffing." Sasuke had spat, tired of everyone taking pity on some one who'd obviously not considered what it took to make that many bunshin, even if they had defeated Neji and were teamed up with his murderous brother.
Gaara's eyes narrowed. "Can you afford for the new Hokage to call that bluff?"
Tsunade choked and Naruto put an arm around Iruka's shoulder as the tension in the room built.
Sasuke, unable to take the silence after a while, held his arm out and gripped it at the wrist with the other. Gaara held his own hand out, and sand gathered on his palm, forming a small ball. Sasuke's hand formed a fist and the room began to dim as he summoned the chidori to his fingertips. Tsunade felt their power begin to concentrate to one point and she knew that if they collided, one would survive and the other would be the new carpet design.
"Stop!!!"
Sasuke glared. "Hokage-sama ..." Tsunade let out a shout.
"Uchiha Sasuke! Disengage your chidori this instant!!!"
Reluctantly, the electricity in Sasuke's hand died and was quieted. Shikamaru gave him an apologetic look before his shadow merged with Sasuke's and held him in place. Bound by the shadow, Sasuke could no longer attack. The sand around Gaara's fist disappeared and Tsunade turned to both boys on either side of Iruka with a last attempt to refuse them.
"You're not welcome here," she said firmly, "we are still weak as it is, and still recovering from the damage you caused at the last chuunin exams we hosted. You're S-ranked criminals. If we let you stay here and gave you protection and housing and food after what you've done--"
"We're sorry."
For a moment, the pitifully sad blue eyes almost made Tsunade lose her resolve.
"The hell you are."
Sasuke snapped her back to reality. These two had cut off the heads of two men, one old beyond his years and another she didn't know nearly as well. As innocent as they looked, they were--
"Monsters." Tsunade turned to look at Sasuke, who was on the receiving end of every shocked gaze in the room. "You killed our Hokage--you allied with my brother, who killed his OWN FAMILY--"
"Except you," interrupted a voice. Kakashi sighed as the gazes now fell upon him and he put a hand behind his head. "Well, let's ignore what Sasuke-kun said and try to move on. First, the Hokage is right--we have almost no reason to let you stay, save the threat of three-hundred deaths on her decision. And we don't have proof of your clones."
"However, there is a peaceful solution to this. You could let them stay with a trusted chuunin or jounin for a few days, with the agreement that they hide their identities." To this, there was instant protest.
"What?!"
"Kakashi, how could you even think that?"
"You're insane and troublesome."
"I think it's a great idea."
Everyone turned to stare at Iruka. The chuunin smiled at the two boys and for a moment, Kakashi wondered what was so wrong about the smiling teenagers. Tsunade wondered the same. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"You should be dead." Gaara settled his glare on the younger Uchiha and snarled. Tsunade tensed but Naruto glomped the taller boy and his ire was washed away instantly. Sasuke recalled being in the hospital with Neji, and Naruto having the same power over the red head. He wondered what in the world Naruto saw in Gaara to stay with the insane boy. Naruto looked over Gaara's shoulder at Tsunade.
"You should let us stay ..." Tsunade swallowed. "And why is that?" She'd almost given in to their wishes, and now the small boy in Naruto was looking up at her with serious eyes. She prayed in her heart for Naruto to have a stupid, childish reason for wanting to stay, for there not to be some deep, dangerous secret that she didn't want to hear.
"Because this is the week of the full moon." It took Kakashi a moment to comprehend the comment and then he froze. Shikamaru spoke. "Tomorrow night's the full moon--"
No one spoke. The unspoken offer was 'let us stay or we'll let the demons out to play.' She had to concede defeat.
"You can stay."
Sasuke and Shikamaru burst. "WHAT?!!!!?!?!"
Tsunade whirled on the two older gennin. "SHUT UP!!" They fell silent, flinching back at her outburst. Calming herself, Tsunade returned her attention to the two boys next to Iruka. "You can stay. You can't be seen in public, you can't reveal your identity, you must follow all rules of the shinobi and villagers. You can stay for three days--no more." Gaara nodded and Naruto released his neck and shoulders, fingers lingering on muscles along his neck before leaving. "As for your housing, you can't stay with Iruka or Kakashi, even if they trust you two. You'll have to stay with Tenmari-san--she'll be the only person who would accept you into their house."
Gaara looked up at the name. "Tenmari's here?"
Shikamaru nodded. "She lives in the same apartment as me and Chouji ..." The darkness around Gaara seemed to flicker, a smile creeping onto his face for only a moment, and just as soon it was gone. But his gaze softened slightly and he looked at Naruto.
"... I-can we see her?" Naruto nodded.
"Sure--she IS your big sis', after all."
Tsunade felt something tug at the back of her mind and she snorted at their childish joy at the prospect of meeting an older sibling. Bitterly, she waved her hand, "it's not my fault if she won't let you in."
Naruto and Gaara stopped smiling and looked at Tsunade. "You really don't like us, do you, ya old hag?" asked Naruto with some sadness. A vein stood out on Tsunade's head. "No. And I DONOTLIKE being called OLD." Naruto looked to Sasuke, and Kakashi, and Shikamaru, and Kiba, who was unconscious on the floor, and then at Gaara.
"Gaa-chan ..." /Uh-oh./ It was That voice. The voice that Naruto used when he wanted something that usually ended up in either pain or humiliation.
"No."
"But--"
"No."
"Gaa-chaaaan, pleeease?"
"... no."
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest. "You don't even know what I wanna do!"
Gaara shrugged. "I don't have to. Absolutely not, to whatever it is."
Naruto's eyes blinked and tears formed at the edges. Sasuke started at how painfully … adorable the face was. 'Wait--what?' Shikamaru was staring at the face with a light blush, and even Kakashi looked allured. Tsunade was sure that if Naruto asked Sasuke, Shikamaru or Kakashi for something, he'd get it as quick as they could deliver; however, Gaara had spent many, many years building a resistance against The Face.
Of course, in return, Naruto had spent years breaking those walls.
"Fine."
"YAAAHHHHAHH!!!"
Gaara put a hand to his forehead as Naruto jumped up and down, laughing happily. Sasuke looked sort of peeved again, and Shikamaru muttered his word. Kakashi watched with interest as the seventeen-year old Naruto and Gaara disappeared into a thick mist that appeared from nowhere into the room, enveloping them both and, accompanied by a pop, the smoke began to fade away.
"We've halved our power," piped a voice from in the smoke. Tsunade's eyes narrowed. 'Who's that? The voice is too high for either Naruto or Gaara ...' When the smoke cleared, two little boys jumped up out of the clearing mist, leaping at Iruka with similar shouts of laughter. Iruka laughed in surprise as he caught the kid in his arms, the other landing on his shoulder.
"Whoa, there, Naruto! And Gaara-kun's here, too! I thought you'd gone off to the Snow with Itachi! Huh ..." Every eye in the room stared in shock and surprise at the two five-year-old boys who glomped Iruka accordingly, laughing for all they were worth.
The brown-haired chuunin turned to Tsunade, oblivious to the fact that he and the five-year-olds in his possession had become the center of attention, and smiled. "If Naruto and Gaara-kun are here, then Itachi-kun will be along, and watching from somewhere nearby." Everyone tensed at the mention of Itachi. Shikamaru tightened his hold on Sasuke through the shadows as his body fought the dark hold. Sasuke's eyes swirled blood red and screamed at the children with a hatred meant for an older man. Shikamaru rose an eyebrow at Sasuke. "If this is to be a peaceful interaction, Sasuke-kun, then you have to keep your cool." Tsunade nodded. 'Good call,' she thought as she turned back to Iruka. The chuunin was now facing Kakashi. "Hey, I'm gonna go take these two down to Tenmari-kun's place, and you can go say 'hi' to Itachi-kun." Iruka gave him a wink and Kakashi blinked, deciding the best thing to do was to play along. He nodded. "All right, then," said Iruka brightly, hugging the small boys close as a girl would hug her dolls to her chest, he walked straight past the Hokage and the most powerful rookie ninjas in all Konoha. Shikamaru caught Iruka as he went out with a, 'hey, Iruka-sensei.' Iruka nodded at him and smiled back. "Hello, Shikamaru-kun. Don't be late to your next mission. I'm sure your new instructor wouldn't be happy if you were late again." Shikamaru nodded and let him go, looking kind of sad.
The moment the door had locked, Tsunade turned to Shikamaru. "Bind everyone." Without a word or question, it was done. The shadow caught Kakashi and Tsunade as well as Kiba in its grasp, and Sasuke growled. Tsunade looked around the room grimly, and spoke over Sasuke's growl.
"I herby swear each and every one of you to absolute silence. You will never speak of this--Naruto and Gaara are not mentioned by you for any reason until I find a way or reason to safely extract them from the country."
She gave Shikamaru a nod, and they were all released--even Sasuke. Moving behind her desk, she collapsed in her chair, pushing her bangs back with a shaking hand. Her eyes moved to the occupants of the room. "Word can't get out that we're housing the monsters that killed our Sandiame."
Kiba, who'd woken some seconds after Iruka and the two boys had gone, groaned and held his shoulders. Shikamaru knelt down next to him, helping him up. He turned to Sasuke. "Oi, Uchiha, help me take Kiba to the medical ward." The still-glowering boy nodded slowly, the muscles in his neck only loosening to allow the movement, and tensing again as his anger grew. Shikamaru sighed. 'How troublesome.' Once they left, Tsunade turned to Kakashi.
"I'll expect you to be the first to report on Itachi's location, if not Iruka," she said softly. Kakashi didn't answer, and disappeared without her leave. She slid back in her chair and stared out the window into the brilliant blue sky.
..oo00oo..
(Hey! HAve you read the warning yet?)
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"One second!!!"
Tenmari jumped over the railing, landing two stories bellow on the first floor and panting slightly as the doorbell rang again. The kunoichi threw open the door with some irritation. "I'm here, I'm here!"
"That's good," said a small voice at about her knee-level, "so're we." Tenmari blinked and stared at the sight before her. Iruka, the teacher at the academy, was holding hand of a small, blonde boy who reminded her of someone she knew she'd seen before, and also, of that boy she'd fought in the chuunin exams, only three feet shorter, and years younger. What shocked her beyond reason and word was the little figure in Iruka's arms. Bright red hair sat atop a pale face, two jade eyes peering up at her through dark black lines. Iruka smiled as recognition and realization drew across Tenmari's face and she gasped softly, holding out her arms and taking the figure from Iruka with some delicacy.
"... can it be you? Gaara?"
Iruka smiled. "Tenmari-kun, would you be so kind as to watch these two for a few days? I really should be getting back to the classroom, and I need someone we trust to watch these troublemakers." Naruto grinned up at Iruka and Tenmari nodded, and Iruka left her there with two little boys of five, smiling up at her brightly.
She promptly fainted.
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An hour later, she woke to the smell of ramen in her kitchen. Dragging herself into a sitting position, she discovered that she'd somehow been moved onto the couch. Groaning, she held her head and wondered what had happened.
"Ah, you're up!"
Tenmari spun to meet the eyes of a small blonde, who held a cup of water and a bowl of ramen with chopsticks balanced across the brim. He brought the food over and then skipped back to the kitchen. Tenmari looked at the bowl and then threw up her hands. What would it hurt to play along? She silently hoped the bowl would turn around and bite her, just so she could deem the odd experience a dream.
When Naruto and Gaara returned to the room, Tenmari had finished the ramen and was sipping her water. The two wandered over, smiling up at her. "You all better now?" asked Naruto in his high-pitched voice. Tenmari sighed.
"I guess. Who are you two, really?" Naruto and Gaara turned to each other and then back to Tenmari.
"I'm Naruto--"
"--and I'm Gaara."
It was as simple as that, and Tenmari saw no reason for it to be any more complicated.
Deciding that both boys were telling the truth, Tenmari asked a question. "Where are your families?"
"Mine's faraway," mumbled Gaara to himself, "in a desert. I got a big brother and sister. I like them." He looked up at Tenmari. "You're her." Tenmari blinked and nodded. "Yeah ... I guess ... I am ..."
"I don't gotta family," said Naruto, "I got Gaa-chan, and he's all I ever need." Here, the blonde attached himself to the other boy's shoulders and squeezed. Gaara laughed and Naruto grinned and Tenmari felt some smile leak onto her face.
"Tenmari-chan, are you mad at Gaa-chan for runnin' away?" Tenmari blinked, "Wha-oh, ah, I--"
"I'm really sorry, sis," piped the small red head as he and Naruto tumbled over together, falling on the floor and Tenmari shook her head in a daze. "No, I guess I'm not. No. I'm not mad at you." Naruto's eyes widened and he sat up, looking up at the much taller girl with some hope.
"D-D'ya ... D'ya wanna play with us?"
Tenmari nodded, her mind working unconsciously to uncover facts as her training had taught her. "Sure; let's tell stories--Naruto can start because he wanted to play first." Naruto beamed.
"Ok! What kinda story do you want?"
"How about your story?"
"Ok!"
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"… an' now we're here," mumbled Naruto, rubbing his eyes sleepily before leaning on Gaara's shoulder and dropping off to sleep. The other boy blinked at his sister sleepily before laying his head on Naruto's head and following him to dreams. Tenmari smiled softly and took the boys up in her arms, feeling much like a mother. She silently opened the door to the bedroom next to her own and slipped inside, depositing the two boys into a fluffy bed. As they hit the soft material, they separated, but quickly squirmed to huddle together again, and Tenmari couldn't restrain a coo as she watched them shiver and snore silently. Drawing the covers over their heads, she smiled down at her little brother and kissed the tattoo on his forehead. He squirmed in his sleep, and put a hand on her forehead which slid down and landed on the covers. A smile lit her face and she crept away, shutting them in the room.
"Sweet Dreams," she whispered as the door clicked shut.
..oo00oo..
Naruto blinked and sat up, looking around the room. Tenmari had left the door unlocked. He beamed.
'They trust us!'
Turning over, he glomped the five-year old Gaara by the shoulders and jade eyes snapped open. The sand stirred sleepily and both boys scrambled out of the sheets, bumping into each other in the process. They slid their shirts and pants on before running to the door and vaulting off the hand railing they found there, falling to the first floor. Tenmari, awake since six o'clock, gave both boys a smile as they abruptly landed in her arms and were ushered to sit at her table. The two dug into a breakfast of fried rice with bits of egg and various vegetables and drank cool milk as Tenmari set out a cup of green tea for herself.
"So," she began conversationally, "you're that guy from the chuunin exams, then ... huh. So that fox made you this young again?" Naruto nodded through a mouthful of rice. Gaara swallowed his milk and looked to his sister. "You're really taking this well," he said in his small voice, "for someone who ran away for a dozen years." Tenmari looked thoughtful for a moment and then dismissed it.
"You found me again, and I have my baby brother back. That's what matters. Besides, something tells me it's all right--something in here." She put a hand to her chest. Both boys looked at each other in something between joy and shock and suddenly Tenmari was tackled by the two and they tumbled to the ground, laughing and hugging, and after a few minutes of trying to catch their breaths, Tenmari suggested they go explore the place they'd met.
"It'll be fun," she promised as she dusted herself off, watching Gaara and Naruto help themselves to their feet again, "and I'll make you two lunch or dinner. Be back at 11:30 or 4:30, sharp." Tenmari had ushered them to the front of the apartment in her excitement. The two nodded, and she smiled, pushing them out the door. "Have fun!"
As the door to Tenmari's apartment shut behind them, the door to Konoha's streets opened before them.
..oo00oo..
With a smirk, Gaara tagged Naruto's shoulder and shot up the side of a building. Dazed for only a moment at his usually shy playmate's actions, Naruto took off with a similar burst of speed, shooting after the red head to the roof of a building and flying at the started boy with a yell of childish glee. Tumbling onto the next roof, Gaara watched their reflections pass underneath and his eyes widened as a whiskered reflection laughed back at him from the broken shards of glass bellow--
'His whiskers--' Just as plain as the tattoo on his forehead, the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks would give them away instantly. Gaara froze and ordered Naruto to stop with a thought. The blonde stopped short in front of Gaara's face, blinking inches from his nose. Gaara gave the other boy a shove and made an irritated noise.
"Naruto, your face!"
"What about my face?"
"Your whiskers!"
"My whiskers? What whiskers?"
"These," Gaara pressed a hand to either side of Naruto's face and his eyes widened in horror.
/Kit, how could you forget about me?!/
/Whaaa, I didn't mean to!!!/
'You ain't the only one--that tattoo on your head makes you just as suspicious.'
'I forgot.'
/Easy to forget these things, when they're marred in your skin./
'Well, get them covered up, quick!'
"Hai!" Both boys quickly pulled out their disguises--Naruto slapped two large bandages on his cheeks, and Gaara tugged a triangular elf-hat on over his forehead so only up to his eyes showed. Naruto pulled out a similar hat and pulled down over his loud, spiky, blonde hair.
Both boys looked at each other and laughed.
"You look ridiculous!!!"
"Same to you."
"Well, now that we're ready, let's go play!"
"You're still it!"
Together they leapt, over the roof and fell through the sky till they found the street. Landing softly, they jumped over people's heads and laughed as they tumbled into other children, making instant friends because of their silly looks and Naruto's bright disposition. Rushing around, they passed a black-haired teenager walking around with another boy his age. The first boy's eyes followed the blonde until he was out of sight and the hand on his arm clenched.
"Sasuke? What is it?"
"... Nothing, Neji. Let's go, Hinata said she'd have it at the shop ..."
..oo00oo..
Ino sighed. "I don't get it," she muttered as Hinata blushed, taking the proffered bouquet from the small boy in front of the counter and placing it with the other bunches she'd received that day, "why are you suddenly so popular among the kids?"
Hinata flushed. "W-well, I-I kind of h-helped Shikamaru-kun y-yesterday ... h-he was assigned to p-pass out th-the kids' work and ..." While she was telling Ino about her encounter with some colorful water-paints and glitter, the door opened to the flower shop. Ino looked up and tossed a wadded-up apron at the girl who caught it and slid it on over her red shirt.
"Hey, Ino. You look pissed," greeted the pink-haired kunoichi cheerfully. Ino scowled and grunted at her. "Whatever. You take over the register; I'm gonna go see about some lunch." Hinata looked up from her bouquets. "I think there's some udon left in the back fridge, but it's a little hidden--"
"Ohh, that'll be fine," said Ino hurriedly, pushing the pink-haired girl to the counter, "I'm sure forehead-girl can handle the counter for a moment. Come show me where you hid it!" Sakura watched Ino usher Hinata to the back room, leaving her totally alone in the shop. Sighing, she took out a book and a pencil and started scribbling down the late orders Ino had left for her on the counter. She didn't look up as a customer walked through the door, holding a large bouquet of flowers. Sakura continued to take numbers and names until the old lady asked for her help minutes later. Putting the pen down to assist the elderly woman, Sakura's mind wandered to other things.
Since the death of the third Hokage, Ino and Sakura had gotten further and further away from being friends. She didn't know if it was the new rules instated by the fifth Hokage, or if it was the fact that all gennin were being suspended from missions while their jounin instructors took on more important tasks assigned by the Hokage. Without missions, life was more than boring--it was like reading a canned food label, everything was the same and everyone had a boring, normal job to do. Hinata, Sakura, Tenten, and Ino were all working part-time at the flower shop. Their other jobs consisted of delivering mail, being waitresses at various diners, and whatever else their parents could think of to keep them occupied. Sakura wished she knew what kind of missions the jounins were being sent on.
"So, is this a tiger lilly?" Sakura jumped and looked down at the bright yellow blossom in the old woman's hands. "Ah, no, that's a yellow carnation." The woman smiled up at her. "Well, I want you to have it, dear. You look like you could use a little sunshine in your day." Sakura blushed and protested but the older woman wouldn't hear of it, tucking the blossom into Sakura's hair with the elegant hand of a grandmother.
"I-I'm sure that I don't deserve--and I wasn't even paying attention to you ..."
The old woman laughed and waved it off. "Ah, who cares? My dear, when you get to be my age, you learn that the smallest smiles in life can mean more than the most expensive gifts of all. I'd like two of these," she continued, pulling out several purple flowers, "for my grandson. He's got the cutest friend he'd like to give them to ..." Sakura nodded, taking the violets from her dazedly and ringing them up. When the old woman had finally left, Sakura went back to her listing. She wrote down a name when the door opened, the bell attached to the front clinging and she looked up. "Welcome," she said, putting the pen and paper aside again, "what can I help ..." She stopped, looking at the two boys who'd entered and smiled.
"Oh, I just remembered--I saw an order with your name on it a minute ago! I'll be just a second." She rushed off before either boy could greet her, and they shrugged, taking two of the four chairs vacant at the small table on the left of the door. As they sat down, the door opened again to reveal three little boys sporting a small bouquet. They ran up to the counter, ignoring the two teenagers sitting at the table and rang the bell they found there. Hinata rushed out to the counter and blushed as the flowers were pushed up over the counter.
"We're sorry, Hinata-chan!" the three boys chorused, and Hinata might have died from blushing had they not rushed out of the store, beet-red themselves. Hinata noticed the two boys at the chairs and jumped.
"Ah--Neji-kun, Sasuke-kun, h-how n-nice of y-y-you to come here!!!" Seeing how flustered she was, both boys simply nodded and smirked to themselves as she tried to hide the bunches of flowers she'd received that day. Ino came out, swallowing the last of a cup of water, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder and looking around the shop. "Hinata, you haven't helped these two--OH!" As her gaze landed on Sasuke, she flushed and bounced over the counter to attack him. Neji swallowed and felt Ino rushing towards them. Sasuke watched him tense and then flinched as Ino glomped him. Sakura rushed out at the sound of Sasuke's name and then blushed when she saw Ino hugging Sasuke.
"Ino-pig! Stop harassing the customers!!" Ino pouted and put her head on Sasuke's shoulder. "But Sasuke-kun doesn't shop for flowers! And I'm not harassing him, forehead-girl!" Sakura crossed her arms hotly.
"Shows what you know, girlfriend! I just happen to have Sasuke-kun's order right here." She thrust a large vase of white roses out in front of Ino's face and the blonde jumped up to see.
"Oooh, Sasuke-kun, how nice of you to buy flowers for me!" Sakura growled in embarrassment. How dare Ino assume that Sasuke would buy flowers for just her? She wasn't even on his team!
"They're not for you, Ino-pig! They're for Sasuke-kun!"
"No they're not," said Hinata, "Sasuke-kun said he was ordering them for someone el--oh!"
She flushed and Sasuke sent her a terrified look. Sakura and Ino jumped over the counter (after Sakura had set the flowers down, of course) and leered at Hinata with eerie smiles. "Hinata-chaaaaan ..." Hinata blushed. "I-I-I ... I couldn't t-tell! It--it's the customer's right t-to privacy!" Sasuke sighed in relief. He stood to retrieve the flowers from the counter--the sooner he and Neji left, the sooner he could talk to the dark-haired boy alone. Sakura and Ino stopped him, turning from Hinata to the black-haired Uchiha as he approached the flowers.
"Sasuke-kun, who're they for?"
"Sasuke-kun, tell forehead girl that you bought those for me!"
"I-Ino-chan, Sa-Sakura-chan, p-please!"
"Hinata, we have a right to know!"
"For once, forehead girl is right! Who're they for, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke put a hand to his ear. "They're not for either of you," he said shortly, taking the vase in his hands as the door jingled. All motion stopped as the two walked through the door.
"Wow ... look at all the pretty flowers!"
Sasuke's eyes widened. Neji turned, sensing Sasuke tense at the counter, and activated his Byakugan. If it was someone Sasuke was afraid of, it was worth activating the Byakugan for. Sakura and Ino blinked down at the two cute figures that walked into the room. One was blonde with two large white square bandages over his cheeks, though his smile portrayed no pain. The other held his hand, a childish gesture of friendship as he was pulled into the middle of the store by the blonde, who wore a large red hat (santa hat.). The small red head looked around at the flowers, tugging his own, similar hat down further in an adorable movement that suggested he was slightly embarrassed. With the little pointed red caps, the two looked like tiny elves.
"... do you wanna get some?"
"Yeah!!!"
Sasuke's grip on the vase faltered and it slipped from his hands. The two boys jumped and dove under it with incredible speed for boys of their size, each catching one side of the vase in perfect unison. They stood up, pushing the flowers towards Sasuke.
"Here ya go, mister!"
"... be more careful with glass."
Sasuke backed up into the counter, staring down into the white roses that were being offered to him from the small, smiling boys whose faces portrayed no more evil than the flowers they held out. Cautiously, he took the vase from them and walked over to Neji, who stood up. "Sasuke, what is it?" The black-eyed boy threw a glance at the two small boys and shook his head, moving to the door.
"Come on, let's go--we have what we came for ..." Neji turned to the two boys, the blonde jumping around and picking out flowers by the handful, and the red head who was watching in something like warm contempt, and frowned. He looked up at Sasuke, and gave him a smile of his own.
"Let's stay," he said, surprising the black-haired Uchiha, "I like the way it smells in here, and besides, I have to guess who you're giving those roses to." Sasuke colored only briefly but sat down, keeping his eyes on the red head in the middle of the room.
"Oh, how kawaii!" Sakura walked over to the small boy (Gaara, if you haven't figured it out by now) and knelt down to his eye-level. "Hi, there, cutie-pie! What's your name?" Gaara blinked in surprise, tearing his gaze form the blonde, who was laughing and carrying a huge armful of assorted blossoms to the counter. "... my name ..."
'Name, name, name--'
/You're Gaara-chan./
/You tell them that--/
'--and you might as well take off your hat and bandages and go back to your own ages.'
/Ah--ok, new name for Gaa-chan .../
"Shuu-chan!"
Naruto bounced on his feet, jumping up to the counter and depositing all the flowers at once before turning back around to face Gaara and Sakura, who'd turned around. "Hm?"
"Suki want flowers." Shuu-chan/Gaara nodded and looked at Sakura. "How much're all those?" he asked, gesturing to the small field on the countertop. Sakura jumped up and Hinata volunteered to help her ring the flowers up. Ino looked over at Sasuke. "Heeeeyy, Sasuke-ku--" she stopped, noticing the dark scowl directed at the blonde boy, who was happily laughing as Shuu pulled out a small bag of coins and bills. "... Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke continued to stare intently at the blonde. Neji frowned. "Sasuke?"
Words didn't seem to reach him. Neji shut his eyes. 'Stupid ...' He put his chin on his palm, his elbow resting on the table and he called out in a monotone, "Oi, Sasuke, Itachi wants to know my phone number."
"WHAT?!" 'That worked.'
Neji waved a hand. "Well, finally. Welcome back to reality, sir 'I-need-to-stare-at-innocent-little-boys-that-I-don't-even-know.' What's got you so uptight?" Sasuke caught himself as his mouth opened to say the blonde's real name. He'd been sworn to secrecy by and with the Hokage. As much as he disliked her, he couldn't even think about going against her and telling even Neji, who he was sure wouldn't tell a soul. Shutting his mouth again, he leaned back in his chair.
"Nothing. I'm just not fond of blondes ..."
Neji frowned and then smiled at the little boys. "Well, I think you're being stubborn. They're both cute, and you have no right to glare at them. They're just kids, Sasuke ..." Sasuke shook his head as Shuu and Suki gathered the large bags of flowers in their arms, heading towards the door. Suki stopped and turned to face Sasuke, staring him down with bright blue orbs.
"Wanna come play with us?"
Neji frowned. Somehow, that statement--and those bright blue eyes--were unnervingly familiar. Sasuke froze under the gaze, and for some reason he found himself unable to tear away. A voice registered in the back of his mind but blue shifted to purple and blood poured over the orbs, mocking his own blood-red eyes as they blinked up at him from the innocent body of a child.
"... asuke ..."
That voice ... so familiar, and so far away, now seemed so close--why was he remembering the voice now?
"... sasuke, wait up ..."
The small, insistent voice that had become his own when the blonde had disappeared from his life, when Itachi had become his mentor--
"Sasuke? Sasuke, what's wrong with you?"
He jerked away from the touch, the red head catching the vase as it fell from Sasuke's grasp once again. "You gotta be careful with glass," said Shuu in a slightly irritated voice, "you don't wanna get cut." 'You don't want to cut Naruto. It'll be the last thing you do.' Sasuke nodded, taking the vase from the small boy again, backing up into Neji. The white-eyed boy frowned. He'd never seen Sasuke so jumpy before--and suddenly, Sasuke was dragging him out of the store, and they were three blocks gone before Neji jerked away from Sasuke's iron-grip. "Sasuke! What's wrong with you--you're overreacting--they're just kids--"
"They're not kids--" Sasuke froze as Neji's eyes widened. Neither boy moved. It might have been an odd sight, the dark-haired Hyuuga with wide, white eyes, a burning circle in the center of his eyes, and the last Uchiha holding a large vase of white roses in one hand, the other clenched in a fist.
"Sasuke?"
"... at your house."
Both boys walked along the street towards the Hyuuga estate, a stiff tension drifting between them.
Back at the flower shop, Hinata and Ino had found the two boys so adorable that they couldn't bear to let them attempt to carry such huge bags of flowers all by themselves. After obtaining their destination, Ino pronounced that she and Hinata would help them carry the flowers. With Sakura left to guard the store, they set off to Tenmari's house. Ino and Hinata talked, carrying three of five bags as they accompanied the two boys down the street. They were two blocks away when Hinata spotted a small dog darting out of an alley, yipping excitedly. She blushed as Kiba followed, along with Shikamaru and Shino.
"Heeeey, Hinata-cha--"
Kiba and Shikamaru froze upon seeing the two boys carrying bags of flowers. Ino and Hinata blinked as Shino's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Shikamaru laughed, trying to shake off the fear that had suddenly welled up in him at the sight of the two demons. "H-Hi, Ino." She frowned and crossed her arms. "Honestly, Nara, is that the best greeting a girl can expect? It's no wonder Chouji-kun hangs out with you so much, with the kind of greetings you give." Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets, and Kiba picked Akamaru up off the ground. They nervously kept silent for a while before Shino spoke up. "Who're your friends?" Hinata smiled brightly.
"T-This is Shuu-kun, and Suki-kun. They're visiting for a while. T-They'll be s-staying at Tenmari-san's place." Shino nodded. Shikamaru and Kiba threw glances at each other. "Well, it looks like these two could use a hand--we'll carry some of that for you." Shikamaru grabbed a bag from Ino and Kiba from Hinata, both girls blushing and turning to glance in turn at the other girl before giggling and blushing as the two boys slung the bags of plants over their shoulders.
"You guys are so sweet! But really, Kiba, Shika, we can carry this stuff." Ino tried to take the bag back from Shikamaru, but the older boy simply dodged her hand and poked her forehead, looking lazily into her eyes.
"We'll take you to Tenmari's. We don't have much else to do, anyway."
Shino nodded, relieving Suki and Shuu of their loads. The two little boys were ecstatic, Suki jumping onto Shuu's shoulders and the red headed boy balancing the shorter as he walked forwards, carrying both of their weight gracefully.
Ino and Hinata giggled and swooned over the two little boys, overlooking Shikamaru and Kiba, who kept their eyes trained on the boys with a more cautious gaze. Suki jumped off Shuu's shoulders, emitting a little blast of chakara in the process, and Shuu smacked him on the head for using his chakara, and insisted on giving the other boy a piggy-back-ride the rest of the way.
Shino said nothing but quietly noticed everything.
When they arrived at the house, Tenmari quickly caught onto the new names Naruto and Gaara had taken to and kept their cover. Shikamaru and Kiba stood next to Shino, trying to look as normal as possible with an unhealthy amount of fear sitting in their guts. How could one not be afraid, standing casually next to a boy a quarter of your height and a hundred times your strength?
"Oh, are you sure you don't want to stay for lunch?" Ino smiled and shook her head as she grabbed Hinata and Kiba by the arms and dragged them towards the front of the house. "Nah, but thanks, Tenmari-chan! Shika-kun here owes us all a good hot meal!" Shikamaru frowned and put his hand behind his head. "Since when?" Ino pulled him over and put her lips against his ear, "since you really don't like being around those little kids. You think me and Hinata-chan can't feel the tension you and Kiba were giving off?" Shikamaru swallowed and nodded, a little stunned that the kunoichi could read him so easily. He had also frozen when her lips had touched his skin. Unwanted contact had frozen him in his thoughts. Shikamaru shoved Ino off his shoulder and said good bye to Tenmari, Hinata and Ino taking Shino, not looking back into the house. Once they were far enough away, he stopped and insisted they invite Chouji along as well. Kiba teased that he'd be out of house and home for the offer, however, it was a price Shikamaru would be willing to pay if only the other boy were there for him.
Tenmari turned to the two boys. "Well, you sure brought home the show. Why'd you get all the flowers?" Gaara took out a few roses, sand coating the thorns and stripping them from the stem, and the blossom was offered to the taller girl. "Because they're pretty--and we wanna have a garden." Tenmari blinked in contemplation, and then smiled.
"All right! We can start transferring them to the back yard after lunch. Since you two are such great celebrities, you should go out again. I've never had that many people come to my house at once! It'd be nice to have company like that again, even if only to chat and drop you two off ..." She trailed off and then looked down at the two boys.
"Well? Want to go eat out?" Gaara looked at Naruto, then back at Tenmari.
"Where's the nearest ramen stand?"
..oo00oo..
Inside two very similar minds, the demon of sand and the nine-tailed fox stirred restlessly.
/It's coming./
'Of course.' The badger turned its gaze, through his container's eyes, onto the other demon. '... we will tell them.'
'You were the one who wanted to make sure they knew, were you not?' growled the badger suddenly, 'you were the one who insisted that there was no way to avoid this?! You will not fail yourself now.'
The Kyuubi, a little surprised by Shukaku's mental fierceness, looked up at him mildly. The ferocity of the other demon was probably born of the same fear that had consumed it before, and that fear had finally leaked itself into the Kyuubi itself. It had begun to doubt itself and its decision to tell its container about the Dawn and the other things, however, it was becoming increasingly evident that they would have to reveal their secrets soon enough--they were nearly of age, and there couldn't be a time more ripe than the present day, and in the children's present mindset. With this in mind, Kyuubi rose a lazy eye at the nervous demon and sent an agreement along their private link.
Their hosts would know of their fate before the new day made itself present, and also, the things that would be gained and those, for better or for worse, which would be lost forever.
..oo00oo..
Jun was cleaning the counter with a rag, scrubbing away at the mess one unsatisfied customer had left, when two heads poked up over the same counter with innocent interest. "Hey," piped the blonde, "can we have some ramen please?" Jun found some familiarity in the voice and the hair that he could see poking out from under the funny red santa hat that sat atop the head, but he brushed it off and nodded, smiling for his customer. "Sure boys; what kind can I get you?" The red head spoke up first, softly, tugging his own hat down over his hair as if he was embarrassed by its loud, red color.
"I want miso."
"I want chicken and shrimp!" Jun grinned and looked at the two over the counter as the blonde grinned back at him.
"Ho ho--that's a lot of ramen for one little boy," teased Jun even as he turned from the counter to get the two orders started, "I doubt you'll be able to eat it all."
Suki just nodded with a huge grin, and Jun sighed, turning back to the ramen that had begun to boil. He waited a few more minutes and then fished up the boys' orders and slid them across the counter. Their eyes lit up, even the quiet, red-haired boy, and the chopsticks in their hands dove in, despite Jun's warning that it was still boiling hot. Suki inhaled the noodles like air, and Shuu neatly slurped all his soup away, and then proceeded to follow his friend's example. To Jun's surprise, both boys finished almost instantly after that, and, standing on their stools to visibly bow and say 'thanks!' at the same time, they turned and bounded down the street, laughing as Jun jumped and shouted after them. "Hey!!!" He moved around the counter to chase after the two thieves but stopped when he noticed the small pile of silver coins that had been deposited on each stool. His eyes widened and he forgot about chasing the two as his eyes calculated the amount they'd paid. Enough for themselves ... and enough for the last customer, who hadn't paid. A girl ran out from the deeper part of the ramen shop, holding a large stack of bowls. "Hey, dad, what do you want me to ... dad?" The blue-eyed girl peered at her father who was chuckling to himself on the ground, holding a small fortune in 1000 ¥ pieces. She gasped. "Dad! Where'd you get all that money?!" Jun smiled up at his daughter with something back in his smile that she hadn't seen since the days of her childhood.
"From an old customer. Let's get those unloaded ..."
..oo00oo..
Kakashi looked over his shoulder at the door. He put down his chopsticks and got up. If it had been an urgent message, it'd have been delivered by ANBU, who never knocked, or a bird. It was probably either Iruka or Gai, and judging on the fact that there was another moment of silence before another knock, Kakashi leaned towards the former--Gai would have been singing oaths of beating him by now. Sighing, he took the door handle and turned the handle, smiling at the person on the other side of the door.
"Hey, I haven't seen you in a while ..."
"Can I come in?"
"Sure."
The shorter man looked slightly confused. "Are you drunk?"
Kakashi shook his head brightly. "Haven't been drunk for twenty years."
Black eyes held some amusement, as well as sorrow. "Which means you've been sober for some time."
Kakashi actually opened his eye, and smiled. "You're not an illusion, are you?"
Itachi nodded. "Bite me; I bleed."
Kakashi shut the door behind him and walked back over to his food. Clearly, he was used to hallucinating, and thought the man he was seeing now was simply another hallucination. Itachi couldn't let him have the luxury of that ignorance--it hurt too much, after all this time, to simply be ignored.
He slid silently over to the table and incinerated Kakashi's bowl of rice.
With a start, Kakashi was flipped over onto his own table, Itachi leaning over him, pinning his arms at his side and running a hand over Kakashi's cheek. The silver-haired man froze and stared up into Itachi's dark black eyes with disbelief.
"You ..." Itachi ran a hand over one of the pinned arms, tracing the scar of his name that he found there.
"Does this change anything?" Kakashi looked up into the other boy's eyes. "Wha ..."
Itachi rose an eyebrow. "You haven't gotten yourself horribly drunk, or run off with someone else, have you?" Kakashi almost laughed. However, a tall, dark, sexy Uchiha hovering over his chest holding him down to his table sort of ruined the effect it would have on the mood, and Kakashi settled instead for finishing his question. "What do you mean?" Itachi looked into Kakashi's eyes.
"Is anything really different between us?"
"... I don't know." The black eyes, so well-trained in concealing every bit of Itachi's emotion, flickered. Itachi's grip faltered and he slowly slid away. The pale fingers traced along his skin, just as he had before he disappeared from the silver-haired man's life. Kakashi, caught by a horrible wrenching feeling in his chest, was over come by the idea that he'd said the wrong thing, and jumped to grab Itachi's wrists at the last moment. Surprised, the Uchiha stared down at the older man.
"I wasn't done with that rice ..."
"... so?"
Kakashi looked up at him before grinning and making a lame suggestion.
"... you could stay for a while and make me more?"
Itachi made a face. "I don't cook. If you want a girlfriend so bad, go see Iruka--"
Kakashi laughed and the older Uchiha frowned, for a moment resembling Sasuke in his confusion. The confusion cleared as a gloved hand tugged the mask away, and was replaced with something unreadable as the older man leaned in to close the space between their lips. Itachi let Kakashi kiss him, familiar lips claiming his own once again, a feeling he was sure that he'd only ever experience again in rare and distant dreams. The same gloved hand moved up to brush long, black bangs away from their faces and smooth, pale fingers curled around the glove, stopping its progress and pulling it away from their faces and towards his hips.
With a gentle tug, Itachi got Kakashi's arms around him once again and he pulled out of the kiss, leaning his head on the other man's shoulder. Kakashi's arms tightened around him and for a moment, Itachi felt younger. Free to feel emotions, even if only for a while, he reveled in the experience, letting the older man clutch their bodies together desperately. Now fully standing, Kakashi was considerably tall, and Itachi's head only reached his cheek, however this didn't matter to either man as, together, they reveled in the other's presence. Something ... felt right again.
Itachi felt something hot slide down his cheek, and Kakashi's surprised jump as the droplet splashed onto the bare skin of his neck. Itachi started when a warm tongue slid up the tiny trail on his cheek, ending with a warm pair of lips that fell upon the eye which was still watery.
And Itachi looked up at Kakashi, feeling sixteen again, and smiled.
..oo00oo..
"Haa!!!" One.
It wasn't fair. She was just as good as her sister--she was better than her sister. And still, she was second in line for the Hyuuga estate.
"Hiiiiyaaa!!!" Two.
What was so special about that stupid, shy, weak girl? She wasn't even pretty--she kept her stupid purple hair cut short to the length it could get in her eyes. What foolishness!!!
"Haa!!" One, two.
She didn't train every day, she didn't spend five hours reading the scripts, she didn't pay her respects to the elders and ancestors every morning, noon, and eve. Heck, she probably didn't even know where the tombs of their elders were!!!
"Hiiiiyaaa!!!" One.
It wasn't fair. She deserved to be first in line. She worked hard. She was just a few years younger. She was just as good, possibly better. Probably better. Totally better. It just ... infuriated her to the last cell of her body.
"Haa!!!" Two.
The wood shuddered and she pulled her fist back, ignoring the red knuckles and tears that weren't supposed to be running down her cheeks. It didn't matter. All she could do was train.
"Hiiiyaaa!!!" One, two, three--BAM!!!
Hanabi Hyuuga gasped as the tree she'd been training with snapped, falling straight for her. She prepared to escape sideways when her pant leg tore and became tangled in a branch. Pulling a kunai from her weapons pouch, she sliced through the material, and she jerked her head up to stare the giant wooden figure now inches from her head. She bit back a scream and made a desperate dive to the left, crashing into something soft and warm. She froze, and frowned. These were legs. They were boy's legs. Her legs--her pant leg--snagged on a branch--the tree--but ... there had been no crash. Looking up, she saw the boy staring down at her while effortlessly holding the giant wooden trunk over them both.
Her mouth fell open slightly and the boy tossed the trunk to the side, smiling and jumping off the ground before it hit, shaking the forest floor for a moment and then he jumped away from her, bright eyes searching for another figure perched in the branches of a nearby tree. The other figure was another boy, and Hanabi jumped up in fury. WHY? Why were boys always stronger than girls? And these were tiny boys--toddlers!
"Hey! It's not good manners to leave a girl alone in the forest!" The two boys turned back to Hanabi and frowned. "Ok. Wanna come with us?"
Hanabi growled and dropped into a fighting stance. "What's you're names?"
"I'm Suki and this is Shuu-chan. We're just lookin' around." Hanabi frowned. "This is private property! Get lost!" Without giving them a chance to comply, Hanabi lunged at the two boys. Suki(Naruto) jumped out of the way and Shuu caught her arm, stuck out his leg, and let her fall onto the grass. She gasped as she slammed into the ground on her back and gritted her teeth. "Wh-what the ... b-boys y-your age are ... supposed to be weak!" Suki frowned. "So you're gonna be mean and beat up little cute, defenseless boys?"
Shuu gave him a disbelieving glance that Hanabi missed as she helped herself to her feet and dropped back into her fighting stance.
"So? You're still boys, and if I can beat you, I'll prove that girls can be better than boys." She shot at Suki again, not waiting for his response and was once again on her back. Groaning, she rolled over and flung two kunai at Shuu, who caught them with a frown.
"Kunai aren't for throwing," he said with some disappointment, "they're for stabbing and severing. Use shuriken--they fast and smaller."
Hanabi flushed. "I don't need help from a BOY!"
Suki caught her wrist as she tried to punch his face and Shuu caught the other wrist, and they calmly dragged her through the forest until they reached the Hyuuga manor. There they let her go with some giggles as they looked around the huge manor. Hanabi was furious. Never before had any boy dared to do what they'd done. Wiping the tears and dirt from her face, she thrust a finger at Shuu and Suki. "I challenge you two to a fight! Two on one, I'll take ya both! Come on!" Shuu shook his head. Suki smiled. "Oh, Shuu-chan, she's funny! Kaa-san says we should go back home now." The red head nodded. "All right." Hanabi stepped in front of the two boys. "If you wanna go home, you'll have to go through me!" Shuu's eye twitched. This girl was getting annoying. He rose a pale hand and waved it at her and she was tossed to the side by the wind. Amazed and embarrassed at being moved by just the wind, she flung herself at the red head. The blonde grinned and clapped once and she was thrown away from the small boys and landed against the wooden floor of the house that ran along the outside, skidding into the wall and yelping as her other pant leg was shredded off by the contact against the wood. There was some scrambling from inside as Hanabi threw herself back at the two boys and the door slid open just as she lunged at Suki's much smaller body.
"Hanabi!"
The commanding voice that shot through her ears shattered Hanabi's rage and she stopped feet in front of the two, whirling around and bowing deeply to the displeased face of her father.
"Honored father ..."
(A/N: I am SO not dealing with family issues anymore--Hiashi is for all purposes the father of Hanabi, Hinata, and Neji will address him as such. End of discussion. Do not argue. I will not be swayed. Tis too troublesome. to even bother with -)
Hiashi's arms crossed over his chest.
"Hanabi, I don't recall you inviting these two boys into the house. No, don't speak," he commanded as he walked out of the house and up to the place the three children stood, "I will hear first from the two little ones. Who are you?" The blonde rose his hand.
"I'm Suki, and this is Shuu-chan!" Hiashi narrowed his eyes. It was probably just his imagination, but the 'Shuu-chan' reminded him of someone ... Shaking his head, Hiashi addressed the boys again, though with some humor in his tone. "What are you two doing on this estate? It's not often that Hanabi finds intruders your age." Suki giggled.
"Well, she--" pointed to Hanabi, who flushed, "--was knocking down a tree and got stuck. I stopped it from fallin' on her, and then she tried to hit us. We were just lookin' around 'cauz this place has real good places to play hide-an'-seek!" Hiashi frowned. The forest was laden with death traps and many illusions. It was designed to destroy anything, even animals, coming towards the house. He made a note to himself to have all the traps checked--obviously, if these two boys could get through, they weren't functioning correctly.
There was a soft padding of feet behind him and he turned to glance at the approaching boys as Neji and Sasuke skidded to a halt just before the wood floor stopped. Sasuke's eyes widened and Neji smiled at the small boys before his younger cousin. 'It's those two again--Suki and Shuu--'
"Shit ..." Neji could feel Sasuke tense beside him and the blank-eyed boy mechanically grabbed Sasuke's arm and held him back, eyes casting their empty stare upon the invisible ground. Hiashi sent the two a curious glance and Neji felt the man's gaze upon him, and looked up.
"Father--we were just coming because we heard a disturbance ... we didn't know that Shuu-kun and Suki-kun had been invited over ..." Hiashi crossed his arms over his chest again, a questioning gaze landing on Neji. "I heard that they weren't invited in--how is it that you know their names?" The black-haied Uchiha bit his lip. Sasuke wouldn't unglue his mouth; he knew that if he even answered a small question like this, he'd let something slip. Neji answered for him. "We met them just a while ago--they were buying flowers from Ino-san's store. Sasuke-kun took me away before we could discover any of their other businesses." Hiashi nodded, seeming to accept that answer as a truthful one, and turned back to Hanabi.
"So, Hanabi, what is this I'm hearing about you knocking down trees?" The girl flinched and lowered her eyes to the floor, trying to hide her embarrassment; Hiashi would not let her wallow in such emotions for too long-- "Hanabi, you will tell me what you were doing this instant." Hanabi allowed herself to look up and retell the account exactly as it had happened--the tree falling, her trying and failing to escape its projected path, Suki's saving her, Shuu's appearance, and how the two boys ultimately came with her to the house. Hiashi seemed pleased with the explanation and gave her a stern look. "You will meet with me later."
Hanabi bowed; she would take the appropriate punishment, and then double her training schedule. Her scowl increased and then disappeared as she faced her father again.
"Yes, sir."
She was dismissed, and disappeared into the house. Hiashi turned back to the two boys, who had lost interest in the taller man, and had sat on the ground, contentedly making tiny bracelets and necklaces of simple grass blades and twigs. As impressed as Hiashi was with their craft, he interrupted their fun with the clearing of his throat, demanding their attention. The two boys looked up as Neji and Sasuke let go of each other, each trusting the other wouldn't do anything rash while unrestrained. Hiashi, deciding that he could at least invite the two inside to show off the Hyuuga hospitality, sighed and smiled at the two.
"You two are welcome to clean up inside. You must be a little tired from walking around in the forest." Sasuke's eyes widened. Neji smiled. Suki and Shuu argued mentally for a moment before yawning and smiling up at Hiashi thankfully. "Ok," Suki mumbled, jumping to his feet and staggering towards Hiashi who smiled and held out a hand to assist the smaller boy. He turned to Sasuke and Neji with the small blonde in his arms. "Neji, Sasuke-kun, help our other guest to a room and get him cleaned up. I'll see you inside."
He took Suki away into the house before Sasuke followed him, leaving Neji alone with Shuu, who looked up at Neji with a sort of sad smile. Neji, of course, didn't see it, but cautiously activated his Byakugan. The little boy in front of him appeared a normal blur of green and Neji smiled with more confidence as he held out his arms. Suddenly, the blob of green leapt at him and jumped into his arms, surprising Neji as his neck was encircled by the smaller boy's arms. "... Shuu-kun?" The little boy made a sound that was sort of a laugh and sort of not, and then asked to be taken inside. Curiously, Neji obeyed and took the smaller boy into the house. Shuu demanded to be taken to a certain door, and suddenly Neji found himself outside on the roof of the house. "Shuu, be careful and hold my hand. I shouldn't be up here without ..." Suddenly, the little boy leapt from his arms and Neji gasped and was shoved over the edge of the house as his Byakugan deactivated from lack of chakara. He shouted and fell through the air as a door slid open and a figure rushed outside, and with a great thud, he landed smack on a certain black-haired Uchiha.
'Alright--that's enough fun for today. Find Naruto and let's go back to that girl's house.' Gaara nearly jumped at the sound of the demon speaking in the back of his mind. For some reason, that had been happening less and less lately, and a small smile spread from the corner of Gaara's lips.
'That girl's my sister.'
Shuu disappeared from the roof as Neji shook his head and got off Sasuke's chest.
"Ohh ..." The boy beneath Neji groaned and put a hand behind his head. "I think you broke my neck."
Neji laughed nervously, sitting up and poking Sasuke's face. "Well, it's your fault for being underneath me." Sasuke frowned, and Neji smiled softly. "But thanks for being there."
Neji smiled at him, and Sasuke frowned, but then something struck him. He wasn't sure what, but something between the other boy suddenly became clear. He felt something over come him, his senses completely indifferent to anything other than the one rush of emotion that swelled in him now, and as Sasuke looked up at Neji, for a moment, he saw the smile that was directed at him, the smile that Neji showed only him. He realized that the funny feeling in his gut was his subconscious trying to tell him that he wanted that smile by his side--that he wanted Neji by his side, giving him that apologetic, calm, bright smile, forever--screw whatever other things were going on. The demons in town, the chuunin exams that would have to wait another few years, even with the knowledge that his brother was in town ... everything became secondary to the realization that what he was about to do felt totally natural and right.
And it was with this in mind that Sasuke leaned up to Neji's smile and caught the surprised lips in a gentle kiss.
..oo00oo..
Neji froze. The warm pair of lips against his slowly drew away, and a voice called out to him. "Neji ..." A hand rose up to his face, and Neji suddenly stopped it with his own, catching the other boy's wrist with a steady hand. Black eyes flashed white and the dark ring re-appeared in the center of Neji's eyes, an eerie vibe jolting down Sasuke's spine. And he looked into the white eyes, and read.
Confusion. Fear. Wonder. So many things ran through those white eyes, emotions that Sasuke had never caused before, and something in him trembled as the once steady grip around his hand began to tremble with the same uncertainty.
"Neji--" The black haired Hyuuga shook his head. Sasuke bit his tongue, and Neji, still stradling Sasuke's waist, slowly moved off the other boy's body. "Sasuke, I-I--" He broke off, looking at the ground with some terrible discision to make. "I don't know ..." Sasuke shook his head.
"Neji--"
"No!"
The Uchiha blinked in surprise at the outburst, and Neji fiercly held his gaze to the ground. "No... I mean, no, I don't--I don't want to hear anything right now ... I ... I have to think ..." Shaking, Neji got to his feet, and staggered towards the house.
"Neji ..."
The voice that called him wasn't pleading, or begging, or stern, or sad. It was just Sasuke's voice. Neji stopped and turned to face the teenager who still sat on the ground, hands on his knees and gaze cast on the other boy's figure; an unreadable expression on his face.
"I'll be waiting."
Neji turned away and walked to the door, turning back to face Sasuke one more time.
"I know."
The door shut, and Sasuke looked up at the sky. It was raining.
..oo00oo..
Hours later, Suki and Shuu found Tenmari already asleep at her apartment. They slid past her room and into their own. There, they proceeded to turn to each other for a very serious conversation. Naruto looked over at his best friend in the whole world and instantly knew there was something bugging him. His usually dark eyes were troubled and shaded because he was trying to hide it from the blonde--however, years of practice had taught not only Sasuke to read eyes but also Naruto, and the small boy to his friend with an exercised amount of concern.
"What's wrong?"
"It's ..." Naruto looked over at the red head and rolled over on his stomach. "I won't laugh. Promise." Gaara felt grateful for a moment and then looked over at Naruto. "I'm not worried about that ..."
"... but why did we come here?"
Naruto paused. He didn't know. Why had they chosen this place to come back to, of all the places to go? Konoha was by no means beautiful, but it was also by no means an ugly place, either. Naruto looked at the ceiling, and then turned to Gaara.
"I guess ... I guess it's cauz' I wanted to see them. I wanted to see the people here like I see the people in Snow and Mist and Sand ... I just wanted to see everyone." Then he added, as an after thought, "and Iruka. He was nice." Gaara looked over at him.
"... will we go back?"
"With Itachi-nii."
"Where is he?"
"... I think he's with the pervert-guy Iruka talked about." Gaara nodded knowingly, not a clue who he meant. Naruto saw through Gaara's attempt to make it look like he knew what Naruto was talking about, and he sent Gaara a mental image. If Gaara had hackles, they would have stood on end. "I. Don't. Like. Him." the boy ground out through grit teeth, and Naruto nodded. "Ok. But I think Itachi-nii does." Gaara's anger swayed a little, but Naruto moved off the topic.
"We'll go back to those Akatsuki people ... for Haku-chan."
Gaara's eyes narrowed as Naruto dove into a temporary depression and he growled, "We'll make them sorry." He slid an arm around the blonde comfortingly and Naruto nodded into his chest.
"O-ok."
"I'll never let them do that to you."
For a moment, they didn't say anything, the unspoken thank you drifted between them as the physical contact told each other all they needed to know.
"How?"
"Training. This will be the last vacation we can take," replied the blue-eyed boy with some regret in his voice, "I don't think the people here like us, anyway. Sasuke didn't." There was a hint of disappointment in Naruto's voice. Gaara frowned.
"Hn. That man didn't like me either--he talked nice, but his eyes were mean ..."
/You reminded him of yourself,/ suggested Kyuubi from Naruto's mind.
Gaara frowned. 'Why are you being so quiet lately? All you two do is give us suggestions and never talk anymore.' Kyuubi growled to itself for seeming so obviously suspicious, and it heard Shukaku doing the same. Getting to its paws, Kyuubi addressed the two boys directly.
/Listen up, kit, brat. I have something to say. Me and madame sand-for-tails over there might not be around long./
Naruto's jaw dropped. Gaara felt the thought of loss go through him like a cold blade.
'Wha ... what do you mean?' The Kyuubi sighed, preparing itself for what could be the most it'd ever told either boy ever before.
/You will both live to an age that surpasses those you know now. In fact, you may live as long as I have already. However, there are things that can derail you from life, like fights and poison, and other forms of premature death. But what I want to tell you skips all that./
/Because of the damn seal on you, we can't stop it. On the midnight stroke of your eighteenth birthdays, you and I will merge, just as Shukaku and Gaara will./
Naruto fell to his knees on the bed. Gaara couldn't move, his eyes frozen wide with shock. What was this? They had never been told that they were going to be MERGED with the two demons!! /You weren't ready to hear until now./
'Would you have really believed us if we'd told you any earlier?' Both boys shook their heads numbly, and the Kyuubi rustled its fur. /Sorry to dump this on you two right now, but seeing as you're both almost of age, we'd thought we'd tell you now, since you bring it up, instead of three days before./ Gaara snorted, and then his eyes twitched, and a tear spilled out over his cheek.
It was surprising--startling--how their thoughts progressed. First, of fear for losing the two who'd been with them so long. Then, of getting over their own shock. Third, how to utilize the time left with the demons wisely.
"W-we ... we're gonna be demons for real, Gaa-chan," whispered Naruto. Gaara just looked across the bed helplessly at his friend as Naruto pulled his knees to his chest and shook. The Kyuubi grinned. /Sorry kit. Should'a told you sooner./ The fox felt a pang of regret, for the first time in a while, for the boy, and was somewhat surprised when Naruto looked up at Gaara with a smile. "That's ok. I was just... scared. I don't wanna lose our 'kaa-san." Gaara blinked away the tear and made a noise of assessment and the Kyuubi barked a laugh. /It's not going to be that way. We won't actually disappear, like you'd think./ Naruto sniffed, looking up at the ceiling.
"What do you mean?"
'We'd still be part of your subconscious, only we won't be able to speak with you except through dreams. The merging will push our powers together, and it will be extremely painful; afterwards there won't be anything you can't accomplish.' Gaara looked at Naruto.
"I'm ... I'm ok with that."
"Yeah, me too ... it's just a little surprising ... I suppose we shoulda expected--expected somethin' like this to happen," mumbled Naruto through the last of his tears as he wiped his nose and offered the other boy a smile. "At least we still got a year."
There was a silence where both boys gathered their thoughts.
"Should we leave in the morning?"
"Before sunrise."
Both boys looked at each other. That meant leaving as soon as possible--it was nearly an hour to midnight now. "I wanna say bye to Tenmari-chan," said Naruto as Gaara pushed the covers off and slid his clothes on, and taking out a piece of parchment and a pen.
"Let's write her a letter."
Both boys leaned over the paper and wrote onto the other side, and they folded it up, looking around to make sure they had the rest of their things; mainly themselves and their clothes and the few flowers that Tenmari hadn't gotten around to planting during the day. They crept past Tenmari's room, sliding the note underneath the door and Naruto paused briefly to lay a hand on the door with a smile that lit the dark hall. "Good bye," he whispered as Gaara did the same, and then both boys were gone from the apartment.
They appeared, within the same instant, on top of Tsunade's office. They sat on the roof, sighing and staring out onto the darkness that would soon reveal a new Konoha, refreshed and ready for another day.
However, it would be a demon-free day.
Naruto and Gaara were leaving now, and as soon as they said their good-byes to the Hokage, they would find Itachi and leave to train. They had little less than a year till their next birthdays, and in that time they had certain expectations to meet and exceed--for example, the demon's strength required their physical bodies to be a little more advanced than they were now, and it took Gaara's careful planning to piece together a training schedule that would totally prepare them for the shock of merging with their demons. But this wasn't the time or place to be discussing such things--the two boys were more worried about themselves on an emotional level.
What kind of impression did they want to leave? One of peace, understanding, or one that foreshadowed their future course of action ...
Silently, they battled, wit against idea, pure intent against the darkness that it was slowly becoming more and more aware of. In the end, nothing or no one prevailed, and Naruto looked across the roof at the other boy, who was having a similar struggle.
"Gaara."
The name seemed to be a sweep towards the boy's internal victory, and Gaara looked up with a somewhat tired gaze.
"Naruto."
For another moment, both boys simply reveled in the peace of the night, in the silence that they could keep each other's company, and in the feelings they knew only they would ever be able to share and understand. And then their eyes shut, and they stepped into the office.
..oo00oo..
Tsunade nearly choked on her tea.
Currently, however, it wasn't so much the fact that two people had appeared without any swirl of leaves or puff of smoke or any other normal accompaniment that usually came with a sudden appearance, or even the two people that had arrived, at their correct ages and physical bodies, but the malicious intent behind their eyes which shocked her out of her reserve. (-- what a long sentence ...) Quickly regaining her posture, she brushed back her bangs and looked up at the two men before her with a new and slightly flustered visage.
"N-Naruto, Gaara, what a pleasant and unexpected surprise--I mean, how nice of you to visit me! I was sort of getting lonely, I mean, I suppose I didn't expect to see either of you ... quite so ... soon ..."
She slowed down, having began her speech talking a mile a minute; however, as she progressed in her thoughts, she noticed the lazy posture that Gaara and Naruto had assumed, the former crossing his arms over his chest and the latter folding his arms over the single chair that sat before her, and she realized that they weren't here for a purely pleasurable visit--in fact, their eyes hinted towards a situation far opposite of that. She looked Naruto in the eyes, fear forming in the back of her mind while she kept her cool visibly.
"... you're not here just for tea and cookies, then, are you?"
Naruto nodded. Tsunade felt a shudder run down her spine. There was a terrible presence over Naruto's face, and it reminded her of the demon that was sleeping somewhere deep within the boy's conscious.
"Gomen, ne. We just decided we're going."
Tsunade's eyes widened--in relief and surprise--and she nodded.
"You know, you were so insistent that we weren't welcome that, after today, it would be rude to abuse our welcome here."
The sarcasm in his voice wasn't blunt and rough, but hidden and almost amused, and for a moment, Tsunade seriously doubted that Naruto was the one in control as she stared up seriously into the dark purple orbs.
"We had a serious discussion with two of our closest friends," said Gaara softly, a hint of amusement in his own voice, "and decided that it would be best to leave Konoha." Naruto's grin grew as Tsunade sighed in relief and slumped back in her chair.
"Well," he said, taking the still body of the boy and chucking it at her lap, "at least not when we're wanted criminals."
The building erupted in flame.
The few ANBU in the hallway directly in front of the Hokage's office were unlucky enough to be in the fire's direct path. The flesh and muscle burned right off their bones, and then their bones melted away. Tsunade couldn't move. The grin on Naruto's face only grew as the fire flared and licked hungrily at the walls, the once so strong cement and wood screaming and crumbling under the fire's flickering tongue. Gaara's sand formed two small orbs at his side and he concentrated for only a moment; and two miniature creatures formed, a gray badger with two tails and a dark brown dragon with black paws and two sets of hind legs. The badger's eyes were a bright neon green/yellow, and its barred fangs resembled jagged shark's teeth. The dragon's dark brown scales reflected the firelight as it flickered. Its back was lined with extruding white spikes which contrasted with its dark black paws. The two cackled and leapt forward, Tsunade barely registering the bright yellow star on their backs as they leapt to meet the few remaining staff and tore them to shreds with claws, fangs, and then fed upon them with an unending thirst for blood. Gaara and Naruto stood, impassive, watching the flames crackle around them, and listening impassionately to the occasional scream from the left and right as an arm was torn from a chuunin or jounin and drained of the pure, red fluids that dribbled from the limb. With a purely amused smile, Naruto turned and waved at Tsunade. He then disappeared, Gaara gone with him. And Tsunade felt a pair of arms grab her, tugging her into the air as dark smoke began to pour out of the hallway from where the fire still roared, sounding much like a fox as it thrashed its way deeper into the building. The white-haired man yelled when the entire top floor collapsed, shooting debris across the town. He grunted and pulled her higher into the air, and landed on a frog's head. The large amphibian took a giant leap and landed just outside the village so that they wouldn't land on a house, and where Jiraiya could examine Tsunade's wounds. Surprised, he found none; only a small child clutched in her hands. Her words made his eyes widen.
"K-Konoha ... K-konoha-ha ... Konoha-hama-maru ..."
Jiraiya lowered his eyes to the boy's silent body. The chest was still and the eyes were glazed. There was no other movement than Tsunade's shaking.
"... Konohamaru ..."
Blood smeared her shirt and pants. It was starting to stain her fingers. Jiraiya attempted to take the boy from her but she held it fast to her chest, clutching the lifeless boy silently.
"Tsunade-sama," Jiraiya said softly, still trying to take the body of the boy, "Hokage-sama ... he's-he's dead now ..."
"... no ..."
"Tsunade ..." The white-haired man sighed and waited for the shaking to stop. It really looked as if she was shaken by the death of this boy--the Sandiame's grandson. The village would feel the loss heavily in the morning, and many of his friends would be very sad. Jiraiya patted Tsunade's back, and she mumbled something to herself. Jiraiya frowned and sat down next to her. "Tsunade, we should go back to the village now."
"...---ty ..."
"Tsunade ... please, let's go--"
"Fifty." Jiraiya started.
"Tsunade?" The blonde head rose, looking shakily into the forest. "Fifty," she repeated to herself, "It'll be fifty." The old man just stared at her. "Tsunade? What do you mean?"
She cradled the silent body in her arms, much like a girl who'd gotten a new doll and was naming it, and smiled eerily, her eyes dilated and wide as her head tilted slightly to the side as she stared past Jiraiya at the still-burning tower.
"It'll be how much they're worth--alive."
..oo00oo..
end chapter ...
-- another chapter done ... whew--I can't keep writing these fast enough for anyone. Sorry about this chapter bein' so long. I'll try to explain a few things bellow after the chapter preview! :)
..oo00oo..
there will be a chapter preview here in a few days. Let me get to work on it first ...
..oo00oo..
since there isn't a preview right now, here's a few explanations before you ask:
1) merging-- will be explained in chapter 12. :) I know it seemed like they didn't care about it much, but kids have short attention spans. :p
2) pairings-- yes, this is kaka/ita. don't like, don't read. others will be gaa/naru, sasu/neji, and a few others later ... those are the main for right now. please let me know if you wanna see others.
3) actions-- there will be times when people are close, y'know, hugging and doing stuff together like ino and shikamaru, but there is no ino/shika in this. :( that was it, right there, above. (somewhere...) it's just friendly. besides, ino's too hardcore for shika--I'll think of something else ...
4) updating-- will always be slow b/c of lack of 'net. --;; gomen, but that's how it is.
5) reviewing-- will always make me update faster.
Thanx!
--xxfissshbonesssxx
(aka; blue 1/2, DJ, Sarah, Monica, gimme-the-remote, do-your-homework, and random fangirl# 672)