Konnichi wa!
Sniff… only eight reviews… I am so sad. C'mon – I've had over 359 hits! I should have gotten at least one hundred reviews! And all of THOSE from the FIRST CHAPTER! GAH! You guys are KILLING ME!
PLEASE REVIEW! PLEASE, BEGGING ON HANDS AND KNEES HERE – REVIEW!
Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto! I do own Sasuke and Gaara and Kakashi though – all of them are so stupid if you know what to bribe them with – they completely fell for my trap! And since Masashi is locked far down below the ground in the iciest dungeon I could fine – PS, you didn't hear that – I doubt ANYONE will be coming to their rescue! - insert evil laughter here -
But don't worry! Their stay is pleasant! No mental or physical torture. Only hot and horny torture – CRACK! – anyway, read and review please! Otherwise my muse will shrivel up and die and I'll sue! And Comecatcha will kill you all!
Ahem! Read and Enjoy! …AND REVIEW!
The Eighth Celestial Warrior
Chapter 10 – Enter the Soldiers
Neji emerged in his apartment in the dead of night, tired and looking forward to holding Sasuke in his arms. He pulled off his ANBU arm plates.
"Sasuke, I'm home," he called out of habit.
No answer.
Neji looked up. "Sasuke?"
Silence. That was strange. Usually when Neji's Chakra signature appeared in the house, Sasuke would be in sight instantly – even if he had been asleep. Even if he had been in the shower, when he would emerge with a towel around his waist and his wet hair clinging to his handsome body, a sight that Neji enjoyed immensely. That's why he would often try to come home when the Uchiha WAS taking a shower, taking blind guesses. (But of course, he would never tell Sasuke that - knowing the Uchiha, he'd probably burst out laughing and start walking around in nothing but a towel for a few days after that just to see Neji blush.) Come to think of it, unless Sasuke was on a mission, he would be seen waiting for Neji to the side after he exited the Hokage Tower, one sandwich in his hand while the other being shoved thoughtfully into his mouth.
Neji spread his senses. Sasuke wasn't in the house, and Naruto hadn't told the Hyuuga that the other had a mission. In fact, Sasuke had been give two weeks off.
"Sasuke…" he breathed. "Where are you?"
Neji burst into Naruto's apartment at two o'clock in the morning – four hours after Sasuke had vanished.
"Naruto!" He cried. The blonde was up in an instant.
"Neji? What is it?" Neji was panting hard, having sped through nearly the entire village, searching for the powerful blue flame of Sasuke's Chakra.
"Sasuke's missing!" The azure eyes went wide.
"What?" He took hold of Neji's shoulders.
"He's gone!" Neji was close to shouting now. "I've been looking for him for nearly four hours! His Chakra signature is nowhere!" Naruto pulled on his clothes.
"Okay, we'll cover more ground if we search together! Let's go! You can tell me the details on the way out!"
"This is bad!" Neji gasped seven hours after Sasuke's disappearance, out of breath and damned tired. "Where on earth could he be? We've searched the entire village at least three damn times! Where IS he?"
Shikamaru shook his head, having been woken up to help.
"Well, he could be classified as a missing-nin –"
"NO! I refuse to believe that! He promised he wouldn't leave again! He SWORE!" It wasn't Neji who had shouted, but Naruto, who was riddled with worry.
"Besides, the law is if they're gone for 24 hours – not 7," Neji added, forcing himself to think calmly. Naruto and Shikamaru nodded, and Naruto wiped the sweat from his upper lip.
"Right Neji," he gasped. "The bastard's got 17 hours – if he doesn't show up…" he shook his head. "Then there will be hell to pay."
Sasuke woke up slowly, tired and sore with something soft and padded at his back. His throat was scratched and raw, and his mouth tasted of smoke.
He opened his eyes wearily.
Something like a tent canvas surrounded him, and a plush mat was pressed at his back, soaking in his body heat. Two torches lit the elaborate stretch of blue sheet.
With a grunt, he sat up, every inch sore. Vaguely he realized that he could barely move his fingers - much less lift even his arm. It was like two-ton weights were strapped to every joint in his fingers and wrists. The same with his legs.
Ah…"So you're awake." Sasuke's head spun.
A man with elaborate gold, indigo, and black face painting stood at the door, his hands hidden in the sleeves of a long, dark blue kimono. Long feathers seemed to grow out of the top of his head, and his jet-black hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, stretching down his back. It was nearly as long as Sasuke's hair. Sasuke merely looked at him. That's a guy, right…?
"I must admit, I never expected it to be a CHILD, much less a GIRL." You could see the two invisible arrows stabbing Sasuke in the head as he stared at the other, twitching.
"EXCUSE ME!" He exclaimed. "I wouldn't be talkin – a girl? What's with the fuckin' OUTFIT?" The other twitched.
"Watch your mouth child! You know nothing about my clothing!"
"I know that you can't possibly be straight!" Neither am I, but STILL! The other stiffened.
"You insolent little child! How dare –"
"You didn't tell me our friend was awake, Tomo." A cool voice flooded through the tent, cutting Tomo off. He turned and bowed.
"My apologies, Nakago," he murmured. Sasuke wished he could stand up as the second man appeared.
Gold hair was the first thing Sasuke saw. After that the lean, armored body, the sword at his side, the cape draping over one shoulder, hiding the arm… And then the cold blue eyes that radiated false warmth. Something clicked inside Sasuke's head as the torchlight flashed. Gold hair…
"YOU!" He exclaimed. "You're the one who was in my apartment!" Nakago did a mocking half-bow.
"My apologies. My name is Nakago. The man you met is Tomo." He nodded to the other before looking back to Sasuke. "We are celestial warriors of Sieryu." Sasuke blinked.
"What the fuck is a celestial warrior?" He asked.
"Celestial warriors are the reincarnated stars that the beast-gods protect," replied a female voice. A woman in armor similar to Nakago's with slanted eyes entered the tent. "There are four beast-gods – Sieryu, Suzaku, Byakkou, and Genbu. They guard over seven constellations – in total, 28."
"Very good Soi," Nakago said. She nodded to him. Sasuke blinked. Tomo glared at him.
"Are you sure it's a man, Nakago?" He asked. "It looks absurdly like a girl."
Sasuke got stabbed again.
"Look who's talkin! You bedamned cross-dresser!" He snapped. Thank God I don't dress like that! At least I'M not so obvious! (Crack - or so he THINKS!) Tomo twitched.
"You little –"
"Yes, Tomo, I'm sure he's a male – Soi made certain of that." Sasuke's eyes widened. What the fuck does THAT mean? Nakago walked over to him, and Sasuke wished his limbs weren't seemingly made out of lead. He hissed in frustration. It's like all the energy was sucked outta me…
Before he knew it, blue eyes were staring into his black ones, surveying him intently. Sasuke kept his emotions under control, keeping his eyes blank.
"Well, well, well, isn't your hair long?" Nakago asked him. "Longer than Soi's, I believe – and that's extremely hard to do." Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously, but he stayed silent. Nakago asked him another question after a moment.
"Now, what's your name?" Sasuke turned his head slightly, glaring at Nakago and fighting down the Sharingan.
"What makes you think I'll tell you?" He snapped. Nakago chuckled, an icy sound that reminded Sasuke all too much of Orochimaru, making him hate the blonde even more.
"Very well then, don't tell us your name – we'll find out eventually." Sasuke didn't like the fact he couldn't move from the spot on the floor on his knees. Slowly, Nakago reached up to touch Sasuke's neck - or choke it, Sasuke had no idea.
Sasuke forced his arm to react and gripped Nakago's wrist, trying with all his might to crush the bones beneath the skin.
But even if the movements were there, the strength wasn't, and Nakago broke the hold easily. He stood, staring down at Sasuke, who glared defiantly back.
"So you can STILL move…" he mused quietly.
Swiftly, he whirled and went to the tent's door, vanishing from sight. Soi and Tomo did the same, leaving Sasuke immobile and sitting on numb legs. Looking up, he thought of Neji.
Ah – Neji, I'm sorry…
End of Chapter 10 – Enter the Soldiers
Okay, maybe I answered a few questions regarding Miaka and her story with the Celestial Warriors in this chapter… I hope.
Heehee – Tomo is a bastard – I swear! And yes, he IS gay, but only because Watase made him that way! (The writer of Fishigi Yugi). He likes Nakago! – crack! – but, ah, I guess I can understand. Nakago is fuckin' cute! But not as cute as Sasuke. At least Sasuke – in the Anime – is in my age group. I love them all.
Sorry it's so short. But deal with it, 'm kay? There are longer chapters to make up for this one.
Questions, comments, praises, anything you want – except flamers – you may send – PLEASE SEND! Let my review numbers SOAR!
I hope you liked it!
Until next time!
Ja ne!
DancingDragonBlaze
AKA
DDB