Start
Naruto finally managed to have a shield against Sakura. That way, he won't be distracted and finally bring an end to this infinite chase of nothingness. After successfully coaxing Gaara into conjuring sand clones to carry out his task, the redhead brought the Leaf nins to his compound where they will experience the most secured privacy.
The building was grand, elegant and regal. Sand hedges manifested the compound's vast land, possible equalling to the size of a small forest—in Naruto's opinion to which Sakura immediately argued that he was exaggerating, and he really was, though the buildings seemed short and stout, it was a matter of how far it stretched out through the land that made up for it. The interior design though conservative was simply elegant and brought out the accent of Suna.
An immense rug adorned with exotic stitching of red, brown and yellow thread masked the bareness of the granite floor. Mahogany furniture reinforced the serenity the house imbued and the high vaulted ceiling seemed to deny the stout façade in the house's exterior.
Gaara led them to the living room where a beige set of couches formed a crescent moon, surrounding a low coffee table—to which Naruto commented, seemed like a traditional low-dining table, and as the blonde added, "now all we need are futon cushions to sit on!"
A little something, that dared Sakura to punch him, but couldn't, which honestly intrigued Naruto, for he kind of anticipated that.
Somehow, his house seemed bright, and if only Naruto took the time to look around and search windows, he would pressumably figure out the source of said light. Unlike outside, there was a cool air blowing in Gaara's house everynow and then, cancelling out the lethargic effect the lazy afternoon bore down on everyone.
When the Kazekage returned to the living room with a tray of teacups and a teapot, and exchange another small round of small talk, Naruto decided that it was time to get down to business. Sharing the small riddle they received from a dear friend as Naruto insists, Sakura began explaining the supposed meaning.
From a medium's word, you'll have the key
With untouched blood the mortal will see
Beneath golden sand, there hides she
A favor to seek her half from thee
Gaara studied the Leaf nins with searching eyes, slightly interested with the untouched blood part. He lifted the teacup to his mouth and drank in his smirk through closed eyes. Naruto and Sakura nervously did the same, excluding the smirk, which they never really saw.
"So you guys are still virgins?"
Naruto smirked to that, letting his blush prove his innocence. He took it well, admitting it through gracious manners. Sakura, on the other hand, was violently taking in the fact that, yes, she was also one, through a vehement choke from her tea and a nasty scald to her tongue. Her coughing and sputtering echoed distinctively in his house seeing to it that the place was naturally quiet.
When Sakura's animated fit finally ebbed away, she demanded for Gaara to reason out the fact that he brought up such subject.
"Well, the riddle always mentions a she," explained the Kazekage, "from the way I understand it... you two will happen to go in the middle of nowhere in Suna, hide in a small cave and get down and dir—"
"SHUT IT!!" interrupted Sakura, bringing a hand up to halt him.
Before we move on to anything else, a little explanation of the seating arrangement may be necessary. Gaara occupied the largest couch, the middle of three. Sakura took the one on Gaara's left hand side, leaving her to face Naruto, meaning that he was settling on Gaara's right hand side. Now, noticing the exceptional room each couch provided, it was honestly awkward to be scattered about in the living room, when there were only three of them...
Now that's over with, we'll be moving on...
Gaara remained impassive, though his smirk cannot conceal the growing amusement in his eyes. Naruto did just the same, though with a more defined delight tinting in his red cheeks. Both males waiting for her defense.
"What makes you think that?!"
"Well, you just said that the second line to the riddle has something to do with being a virgin. From there on, why would a female hide under the Sand and ask a favor from Naruto to seek her other half?"
Sakura swallowed, finally understanding what he was insinuating
"What would her other half be if it were not for the male who filled in that part?"
With Gaara's innuendo never leaving unnoticed, Sakura had gone a beet red, scorching her cheeks a darker hue that utterly contrasted the color of her long tresses. Smirking in victory, Gaara turned to Naruto, raised his glass for an unnannounced toast, and drank in his tea before pouring in some more.
Naruto, noticing the redhead's gesture let out a nervous laugh and drank down his tea, ignoring that fact that the drink burned his mouth and forced tears to spring out his eyes.
The rest of the afternoon seemed awkward after that, but Gaara remained smirking to himself, rather happy for Naruto for what his future lies. With that, enough to entertain him for the day and deciding that they should dwell under his roof during their stay in Suna, it was time he'd resume back to work and embrace the stability of the paperwork's monotonous process.
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Naruto dove into his mattress of soft sheets and cushions, burying his head beneath downy pillows on top of a smooth blanket. He sighed. At last, a room for his own. He breathed into the lilac scented pillowcases until they suffocated him, lazily rolling unto his back; he clasped his hands behind his head and sighed once more. He no longer had to share a room with that crazy woman; he was glad Gaara lived in some kind of a mansion, he really was.
After relishing the thought of set boundaries, he decided to go for a long bath in the guest's toilet, which was just down the hall, a room to his left. Quickly getting a clean set of clothes and a towel he sealed away, he walked down the hall with his clothes still on and entered the said room. The toilet was unexpectedly spacious and rather elegant, matching the rest of the house. A showertub on the left side of the wall, the loo and the sink on the opposing side and right across him was the jacuzzi Gaara had mentioned.
Naruto grinned, wondering if he could relax in the jacuzzi... in the nude. Then shoved that thought out of his mind before walking over to the showertub to get the tap running at a warm temperature. Cascading water that hurriedly filled the tub stridently echoed throughout the toilet, Naruto winced at that, somehow conscious if the noise was stretching out into the far corners of Gaara's peaceful home.
Segregating his clean clothes away from his new set, he wrapped his towel around his waist, sitting on the edge of the tub as he watched the water level rise crawl towards the rim. The moment the tub was full; he slid out of his towel and sank in with a pleased sigh. Water spilled when he reached for the soap and hissed out his curse when he realized that he left his toiletry in his room where his jacket lay.
Grabbing his towel and dirty clothes he reentered his room, sealing dirty clothes in the appropriate scroll in his jacket and summoned forth his toiletries with a poof of smoke...
"Ramen?" repeated Naruto with disappointment before sealing it away, he resumed his attempt and got, "Oh! I brought my sleeping bag!"
But it wasn't what he was looking for, laying his jacket out on the floor, he repeated once more, "a brush..." growing slightly aggravated, Naruto began sealing and unsealing every tag and scroll he found until he nearly tipped the scales of insanity, bellowing "WHERE IS IT?!"
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Sakura sank beneath the silky sheets and downy cushions of her queensized bed, the room Gaara lent to her, was located right in front of Naruto's door. She stretched her limbs far and reached out for the edges but couldn't. Then she tossed and turned, giggling at the newfound space.
She sighed, grabbing a fluffy pillow and sniffing the detergent's scent: lilac. She grinned widely; at least now, she didn't have to smell the drool-stenched pillows Naruto drowned into. She shuddered at the thought, suddenly feeling the revolting effect take a toll on her skin before deciding that she'd better take a bath.
She grabbed a guest's towel and a robe from the cabinet in her room before marching down the nearby guest toilet clad in nothing but a white robe. The moment she entered a cloud of mist settled into her sight, the warmth layering her face with a growing mixture of water and sweat. Using faint chakra to clear the toilet, she strode over to the tub and slightly nodded to see it full.
She entered the tub after removing her robe and hung it on the built-in coatrack on the door, along with her towel. It had been a quite while since she had a bath. Unlike the inn's sordid and dilapidated toilet, Gaara's toilets were hygenic and elegant, the enough characteristics to allow herself to bathe like so. She sighed, deciding to scrub herself clean later and just enjoyed the feel of warm water smothering her worn body; she tilted her head back on to one edge of the tub and closed her eyes. The moment sleep drifted into her, her chakra had faded, allowing a blanket of mist to cloak the toilet.
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Several minutes later...
"Aha!" exclaimed Naruto, victoriously. To lazy to clean up after his mess, he opted to do that after his bath. Readjusting the towel around his waist, he headed into the bathroom. A cloud of mist poured out of the toilet, greeting him as he fanned his face in front of him. He carefully strode over to the tub and began pouring bubble soap on it.
He sank in on the opposite edge, sitting with his knees near his chest. He drew out a loofa and began scrubbing his body. Then he moved on to his legs, lifting one then setting it down, stretching it before moving to the—
He jerked his leg back.
Naruto blinked, wondering what it was that his foot felt. It seemed... slippery. Carefully, he stretched his leg out again... and this time felt some sort of thread tangling his toes. He drew back carefully...
He swallowed. The bathroom was heavy with water vapor making it difficult to see, he began regretting the day he refused to learn the mist-dispelling technique Jiraiya tried to teach him, but it was his loss now. Relying on his sense of touch, he decided to gather all the information he had. What was slippery and had thread...? And why would it be under the tub?
He slightly tilted his head to the side and stretched his leg... farther this time. He felt it again, slippery... he lowered his foot, toes felt those thread slightly tangle in between them. He wiggled his toes slighty and felt some sort of bump within it before his heel felt slippery walls close in on his foot. He drew back and cowered to the edge of the tub, back harshly pressed on its walls
Swallowing, he dared to investigate what was with him in the bathtub. As he drew closer a knoll of frothy bubbles stood, he drew in a careful breath and blew on it... until he saw something pink... and facial features—
"Sakura?!" gasped Naruto, the information greeted him like a donkey-kick to the head and it froze his body. His mind blanked-out.
Upon hearing her name, Sakura lazily lifted her eyelids catching side of a yellow blur before they drooped close...
The kunoichi's lids slowly lifted to show hazy green eyes, then lower... it wasn't long before it shot wide open and her cheeks scorched red. She froze.
Naruto blinked and swallowed carefully, with the tension in the air this thick, the chances of a gargantuan bloodbath was possible. He never backed away, she didn't move an inch. Green eyes upon blue was what worried Naruto, for once, those emotional gaze had turned into something he couldn't fathom—he feared that.
He wanted to say something, something that could get him out of this safely if possible, but when he did, words did not function in his brain, thus failed to form in his mouth. Instead, it fell slightly ajar, lips parting and closing again... especially when she raised a hand.
He shut his eyes and just braced himself...
He waited...
!!
For the blow...?
Since when were blows gentle? Since when were they soft... more importantly... since when where they focused on his lips?
Prying his eyes wide open, there was a... erm... pink blur, some of it close enough to tickle his cheeks, he looked around and saw... dark lashes of pink... what? His eyes failed to ameliorate the situation; so instead, he relied on his touch and reached his hands out.
His hands blindly found a brae of flesh and his ears picked the sound of a soft mewl, which vibrated on his lips. A foreign shudder ran through his veins when he felt something slick trace his bottom lip, letting reflex take over, his lips parted and something warm and moist began roaming in his orifice.
Naruto had an idea what was happening... but couldn't believe it... at all. It was... like... like a dream come true... and this... tongue on tongue exploit pervaded a dubious belief towards the present situation, scattering his mind into the far corners of his body—then elicited a moan from his very throat at the feel of Sakura's silken skin on top of his; a sudden rush to his manhood came next when her fleshy brae nestled on top of his chest... and it was all too much for him to handle.
The gentle sensation focused on his orificed relentlessly coaxed him to let his body take over and shut down his mind, the innocent touches nestling on top of his body prevented Naruto from thinking straight. But the very idea that it was Sakura doing this to him kept his mind intact; he was still trying to absorb the current situation. Whatever happened to her usual reaction, the usual outcome, and all the other things that resulted to their monotonous, yet untiring antics that kept their chemistry going?
Perhaps... perhaps this was the answer to that equation... perhaps, this was the fruit of their labor. Was he supposed to give in? There didn't seem to be an opening to throw in another prank at Sakura, and if he ever did that, he wouldn't be the only one getting hurt, but Sakura, too, and it didn't necessarily have to mean physical, but the deep, irreparable gash to her heart.
He couldn't possibly give in now... though he entirely wished it so, thus began forming countless reasons as to why he can't, which he retaliated to in succession, there was essentially no consequences to the outcome of their actions, no reason to hold back. He let her kiss him and he remained unscathed, perhaps this was what she had been searching for in him and him, from her.
If he ever gave in to this promising invitation their bonds will strengthen, since it was both going to be their first time... and handing over their virginity to the other will—
With untouched blood the mortal will see
"So you guys are still virgins?"
With Gaara's voice echoing in his head, he sighed. And just like that, Naruto begrudgingly tore away from Sakura's enchanting kisses, inwardly berating himself when she whimpered in protest. She carried on to leaving butterfly kisses on his neck, then chest and began suckling them, he bit his lip and forced himself to sit upright, gathering all of his self control to push her gently away from him.
"No..." she gasped, holding his hands and kissing him there, such reaction boggled Naruto's mind... it seemed as if she was willing to give in to Naruto. But what of Sasuke?
"Why..." she half-whispered, half-whined, arousing Naruto with the very tone and the very fact that she was leading his hands to cup her breasts... oh dear... oh deary, dear dear...
Swallowing hard and averting his eyes, he recited, "With untouched blood the mortal will see. We have to remain virgins until then Sakura. Virgins... until we finish this damned thing"
Sakura paused and gaped at him, though he wasn't looking at her, he felt the weight of her eyes on him, and it made him uncomfortable. She can punch him if she wants, after all, he seemed to be acting like a jerk if he should say so himself. He wanted it so badly, but couldn't for that kamiforsaken heritage he had to strive for.
With the sound of water sloshing to Sakura's shrug, he had to gulp at her endeavors. She threw her arms around his neck, tracing his earlobe with her tongue before suckling it, making him grow hard. She breathed into his ear before whispering, "yeah... until we finish this damned thing..."
"Sakura" said Naruto, voice surprisingly stern for his liking—which actually made him proud, "you have to understand what my priorities are, and if you do, I truly wish that you respect them. I'd love to do this with you if there weren't any reasons not to, but unfortunately we have a reason why we can't"
Sakura stopped her ministrations and gently lowered her head on the crook of his neck. She did straddle him, her womanhood just facing his manhood... she can just sit on him and ride him hysterically from here on out... but Naruto... that fucking Naruto did have a great fucking point... and no matter how much... she really, really wanted this... had to tear away.
They stayed like that for a while, until she felt something jab rudely on her stomach. She sighed, playfully licked a sensitive area on his neck—heard him gasp— then tore away from him, walking over to collect her robe and head for her room, all done without looking back. She feared that if she did, she would never had exited that bathroom alone, thus upsetting Naruto in the aftermath.
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Sakura left him alone in the tub, wanting more and left unsatisfied... it took him another minute to realize that, and another to trick himself into believing that nothing happened a while ago. That it was just all another sick dream of his about her... but it wasn't, since his dreams were accompanied by release and pleasure, both of which failed to occur.
He had to hold on to the fact that he should remain like that for the time being... he sighed, tilting his head back with eyes closed. He must stay like that and remain untouched...
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The first thing Naruto did when he finished his bath, was to summon forth the items Yoburo gave him. His painting, the brown parcel and—with countless minutes of mustering courage or lying to himself that it was just black powder—the urn, he sat down in a clean corner of his room, clad in the bathrobe and a turban-towel on his head. Placing the said object in front of him, he summoned forth the scroll and studied them.
He didn't exactly know what to expect from these four objects, but from Yoburo, he knew that he was on a mission to search for some legendary weapon that his father kept track of... or something like that. He racked his brains and forced it to override information, hoping that within a split second an equation will form in his head to solve his problem.
"Mind you, that parcel is for you to open when you get back to your inn..."
With Yoburo's voice echoing in his head out of nowhere, he suddenly remembered and reached out for the parcel. It was the object the old man expected him to open back in the Earth Country, but forgot in the end. Well, it was better late than never, right?
With careful fingers, he untied the rope and found a beige sleeveless trenchcoat that pressumably reached halfway down his shins. There was a black, sleeveless turtle necked shirt, and then some sort of black baggy pants that proved itself highly comfortable when he tried them on. He examined himself and smirked at his guise, slightly frowning when he realized a pale patch of skin on his upperarm, near the shoulders.
With a sigh, he removed the trenchcoat and began transferring all his summoning tags into places he deemed convenient. It was a long process, seeing to it that he also had to seal away the things he summoned out and thus, resorted to summoning clones to help him with the sorting.
Just as he was on the last bit of sealing away his dirty clothes and dismissing his clones, he found a folded piece of paper in one of its hidden pockets and unravelled it. It was a symbol, identical to the one on his navel. Archaic characters the scroll contained could also be found on that small piece of paper. When he squinted his eyes, he read miniscule writings bordering the edges of the paper that said;
Hide beneath the bloody moon,
Get lost in the desert
Where you will find the boon
Dream is where you will assert
Naruto had to frown again when he read another riddle. But all the more was thankful for it, assuming that it would help him in his search for... whatever he was expected to be searching for. Three abrupt knocks on the door was all it took for Naruto to awaken into the realities of the world.
"Come in" called Naruto, "oh, Gaara, what is it?"
The redhead merely arched his brow in response as he glanced at Naruto's apparels. Naruto, on the otherhand, mistook that scrutiny for something else and timidly hid behind his door. Gaara gave him a stern look eye and muttered
"I'm a heterosexual, you idiot. I was just mildly surprised at your new taste in clothing. Where's the orange?"
Naruto relieved a nervous laugh, shamefully scratching the back of his head as he stepped out of his room, "this was a gift from a friend... anyways, what is it?"
"Dinner's ready" muttered Gaara, "you eating or what?"
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Dinner was delicious, but Naruto was too distracted to realize that. Instead focus on what the riddle could possibly mean. Obviously, the term bloody moon had been too cliché for him and immediately understood that it had something to do with an eclipse. But the idea of getting lost in the desert would be quite threatening to him, he'd actually had to give up on vigilant awareness on his surrounding to do that. He hadn't done that, and assumed that he'd be hesitating when he is expected to do so.
Next, he'd find the boon, now what would that mean? Was he finally going to get his inheritance? But the last bit... dream is where you will assert? What the hell did that mean? To Naruto, it didn't even make any grammatical sense. Assert mean to state somethings as to being true, or insist on rights, or to exercise one's power, influence and prerogatives in an obvious way... the word had meant many meanings, and the harder he thought of it, the greater the magnitude of his headache grew.
He set down his chopsticks to hold his head in his hands. Instantly all eyes were on him, he didn't want the attention, ironically enough, but it was inevitable. Sakura, who sat next to him placed a comforting hand on his arm, but the pain was rising an excruciating rate for him to notice. He screwed his eyes shut, slightly watering, why can't things just be handed easily enough, sign some papers, recite some vows and get his inheritance. Why did his father make him suffer through all this?
"Sorry if Gaara's food—"
"No, that's not it," muttered Naruto, interrupting Kankuro's insinuation
"Sakura, what are you doing? You're a medic-nin aren't you? Heal him, whatever's wrong with him" Temari's suggestion felt more of like a demand than what it was supposed to be, and immediately, Sakura complied, standing behind him andplacing gentle fingers on his temples.
Naruto sighed at the relief when she alleviated the pain. Then chuckled shamefully, apologizing for the fit he threw in.
"It can't be avoided," remarked Gaara after the silence, "what's wrong with you?"
Naruto shook his head, "it doesn't matter now. Say, when will the next eclipse be on?"
"Tomorrow actually, how'd you know about that?" asked Gaara
"Tomorrow?" repeated Naruto, mind settling in to thousands of things that he needed to prepare, enough food to satisfy their hunger, enough water supply to quench their thirst, some sunscreen when they can't rely on their chakra to do the protection and several others they needed. But he and Sakura will need to make haste if they wanted to get lost in the desert in time for the eclipse.
"Sakura" said Naruto, "I need you to get ready and meet me at the gates by midnight. Gaara, I really appreciate your hospitality, but we have to move quickly now"
"Understood, may you fare well in your journey" said Gaara before popping in some of his dinner into his mouth
"Yeah, well we haven't really hung out much Naruto, but it was great having you over" said Kankuro
"Same here with Sakura" smiled Temari.
"When will you be heading out?" asked Gaara, after swallowing his bite, watching Naruto rapidly consume his meal. Through a mouthfull, Naruto mumbled "after dinner"
Sakura blinked and hurried with her meal as well, no longer caring if all eyes were focused on her vigorous appetite. If Naruto was in a hurry, so should she. She won't be a burden to him, and promised to help him, not slow him down.
With that being done, they bid their farewells once more and Sakura... Sakura actually didn't have to pack anything, her things were sealed away in Naruto's—new trenchcoat! So that was why he looks deliciously different that evening, shaking that thought away, she decided to purchase two boxes full of soldier pills and some aftereffect medicine. The type of medicine used to sober up the body after going through the soldier pills.
With that ready, she brisk walked towards the gates and found Naruto standing there, unlike her, without luggage. The evening was a complete contrast than it was in the morning; the breeze was cold enough to forge a layer of goosebumps on exposed skin and chafe her cheeks pink from the cold.
"Here, let me take that" breathed Naruto, pocketing it before marching away. Sakura jogged behind him, cool sand shoving into her sandals in the process, "what's the hurry?"
Wordlessly handing a piece of paper to Sakura, she read them through before looking back at Naruto, "does this mean you know where to find... it?"
"Yeah" replied Naruto, taking the paper from her hands, denying her the second glanceover to decode it
"H-how do we find it?" asked Sakura, her sandals crunching in the sand, and the breeze blowing her hair to her face
Looking at Sakura from the corner of his eye, he smirked at her and answered, "by getting lost"
To Be Continued...
A/N: Thank you once again to those who read and reviewed! Alerteer and Favoritees, I'm still waiting for those reviews!! I've got somemore artwork posted up in my deviantart account! Check my profile page and click its link if you feel like checking them out! Til then, ciao!
Dictionary:
Ameliorate:To make something better, or become better
Exploit: Take advantage of something, use something to benefit
Pervade: Spread throughout something
Dubious: unsure outcome, of uncertain quality
Elicit: Draw out something hidden, provoking a reaction
Okay listen up, there will be LEMONS on the 12th Chapter, and I will be strict with reviews,
To get to the 11th chapter I'll be waiting for the NEXT 10 REVIEWS from REVIEW NUMBER 55
Why? Since Reviews don't come in that quickly, so will the story, that way I have time to think up of a LEMON
Depending on your enthusiastic reviews, I will be inspired and write quicker to publish the story sooner than expected, but that would mean the NEXT 15 REVIEWS AFTER REVIEW NUMER 65.
It MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IT WON'T BE IF EACH READER REVIEWED. May your Reviewing powers kick in and review away... I mean you can if you want to, but I'm just saying that you should, but I'm not forcing you or anything, just telling.