Title: FOX
Chapter: 10 - Solitude
Author: Flourescized
Summary: Naruto Uzumaki Naruto is the lead singer of one of the most popular bands around. Uchiha Sasuke has just left Akatsuki. When the organization discovers their past together, they will stop at nothing to get revenge on the man who betrayed them…
Pairings: SasukexNaruto
Notes: I changed the summary, cos I just realized how boring it sounds, it doesn't even mention Akatsuki, so I hope the new one is better. I guess I'll find out when I post the chapter tonight, hm? Sorry this chapter is so late, I have a whole load of excuses that just take up too much space and this A/N is already ridiculously long as it is. Here are a few points, to cut down on the mindless rambling that I normally do:
1)New reviewers! I love you all! You make me happy! Keep reviewing!
2)21 reviews for 9 chapters. I'm aiming for 20 by the end of this one and 50 by the end of the fic.
3)Do as you would be done by - I haven't reviewed for you guys, if you want me to review anything just tell me and I'll R&R as soon as I get the message!
4)Special message for htotheizzo – your review is definitely my favourite so far. I totally agree with you, I am amazing aren't I? I have the modesty to go along with it too.
5)I'd like it if you put in some constructive criticism in your reviews so that I have points to improve on. Be as mean as you want as long as you tell me you love me at the end.
Anyway, I'll just shut up now and get on with the chapter. Enjoy, and remember to review!
P.S. This chapter used to be shorter and crappier than it is at the moment, so don't complain and say thanks to Linkin Park for the song I was listening to at the time.
P.P.S. I just checked the stats and now I'm gonna be mean and list the people who favourited/alerted the fic but didn't review, cos I think you should be reviewing: Atrophy, Gaara is the best, Gemstones, KariNeko, Maaka Na Tsuki, Natsu-Shimo, Put the Fun in Dysfunctional, Yuyuxsan, only-getting-darker, x-EliteAssassin-x, zoebeansmommy, Biolightning, Fishstick85. Short note for new readers: if you favourite or alert the fic, I guess that means you like it, so I'd like it if you reviewed for me at least once. Happy authors write faster!!
P.P.P.S. I totally didn't make the A/N even more freakishly long than normal to bring the word count up, why would I ever do that? I just had a lot to say (this whole thing, including disclaimer is 487 words, but it used to be 599 before I cut it down)!
Disclaimer: My new plan is faultless, but I can't tell you what it is cos then K. Masashi will find out all the timings and stuff and it won't work.
Flashback – 8 years ago
It was grey.
That one word was effectively the only way to describe it. Although it was nearing summer, the sun was hidden behind hulking dark clouds, so full of water they almost appeared to be sagging in the middle with the strain. The air was heavy and dull, and the usually vibrant and bright surroundings of the school were muted, with only a brief flash of light every so often to remind you of what it usually looked like. For now however, the grass appeared wilted, and the flowers looked dull and dusty, and this coupled with the depressive mood permeating the atmosphere made it the type of weather that made you feel sad just by looking out of a window. The kind of weather that formed a lump in your throat and tears in your eyes, and made you have to consciously stop yourself from crying.
The long concrete road stretched far into the distance, fading into white as the fog built up. It was lined with fairly modern buildings with the school planted right in the middle of them, shrouded in a misty haze that blurred the edges and removed all of the small cracks in the walls from visibility, making the building appear almost new, as if time had turned back. If only that could happen… At the end of the short path that led to the doors, the low brick wall that had been there just as long as the building had, and that was just as worse for wear, was also engulfed in the dismal cloud.
The area seemed uninhabited, save for a lone figure seated on the wall, on a smooth groove, worn down and moulded into that shape by many generations of students sitting in that same place. The boy's body language gave off wave after wave of distress and loneliness, he was perched on the very edge of the wall, bracing himself with his feet to prevent himself from falling off, his back was stiff and tense but his shoulders were loose and hunched, and he was staring at the ground with blank, unseeing eyes; almost as if there were nothing there.
For a while, nothing changed except for the position of the clouds, and the occasional flash of sunlight illuminating the surroundings until the ominous clouds finally burst. At first, the rain fell slowly from the sky in what could only be called a drizzle, before speeding up and falling harder and harder, faster and faster, quickly soaking everything to the core. The boy's previously loose orange shirt now lung to his back, showing every contour of his slim form. He started to shake slightly, shivers moving his body every so often, but the movement was so slight that you would have to stare to notice it in the first place.
A trickle of water ran slowly down his curved cheek, speeding up as it made its way over his cheekbone, and mapping its route over his tanned skin in an uneven line, before reaching his chin and dripping into his lap. The single droplet was quickly joined by another and another, until the cheeks were awash with water, all sliding to the same spot on his chin, where they dropped methodically into the folds of his shorts. To any passer by who happened to look close enough, it would appear as if he was crying, but his body remained motionless, and his breath regular. They would not be wrong that the boy was upset, more than upset, but as sad as he was, he refused to let his emotions show so openly. Gone were the days when his face was an open book, easily readable to anybody who looked, his feelings had been played with, and he wouldn't let it happen any more, never again. But however strong his resolution was, he was fighting a losing battle. For now, the clear liquid running down his cheeks was simply the rain water, but the sensation of cool fluid flowing over his skin caused him to have to bite the inside of his mouth to stop real tears from joining them. I don't want to be hurt this way ever again. Nobody can ever know how I really feel, not ever…
As these thoughts ran through his mind, he dropped his head even lower, the blonde bangs falling into his face and obscuring his features completely, but still the water kept dripping from his chin into the ever growing puddle in his lap, now threatening to spill over his thighs and onto the floor. He closed his eyes, desperately trying to focus himself, trying to control the emotions running amok through his brain. If he couldn't do it now, he would never be able to do it, and he had to be able to. His hands clenched into fists, and his mouth hardened into a thin, tight line with the muscles in his jaw straining as he gritted his teeth, drawing in a hissing breath between them. His breath hitched slightly as he briefly heard footsteps behind him, before they stopped. He ignored the sound completely.
The tall man who had just exited the building paused to lock the door behind him, and to open his large umbrella, the yellow becoming the only bright source of colour, the vibrancy of it similar to that of the sun in the current conditions. He looked around, noticing the blonde, and making his way over, shielding them both from the rain with the yellow canopy. The blonde looked up briefly, listening to the sound of the raindrops drumming on the waterproof surface, before looking down once again. The man placed a reassuring hand on the orange-clad shoulder, before crouching in front of him and speaking softly.
"Hey, Naruto," he paused awkwardly, no longer sure of quite what to say, "Naruto… I know you're sad that Sasuke is gone but we all are." He stopped then, but thinking this wasn't enough due to the lack of reaction from the boy, continued. "I'm sure he'll come back…" the twelve-year-old lifted his head slowly, impassively.
"No." he said the one word before looking quickly down again, as if he didn't want to look at the older man. The young voice had been monotonous, more mature than anybody had ever heard it, and Iruka raised an eyebrow in surprise at the lack of emotion showing on the usually open boy.
"No?" he repeated uncertainly, not quite sure how to react to this 'new Naruto'. A slight frown creased his brow, he had known the two boys were good friends, best friends, but that it would have enough of an effect on him to steal him of his emotions, he must not have had the full picture. He waited patiently for an answer, now uncaring of the world around him, focussing solely on the boy seated in front of him, the boy he cared for.
"No. You don't understand… You can't understand." He paused, "If he was coming back, he would have told me." the blonde tried and failed to keep the tremor out of his voice, showing some of the emotion he was trying to hard to keep hidden, and inwardly cursing himself for it. He sucked a breath between his teeth with the same hissing sound as before, sounding eerily like Darth Vader, trying to calm himself down, to lock down his feelings once again, before continuing. "He's not coming back, Iruka-sensei. I just know it."
The man let out a small sigh, before gently taking hold of one of the still-clenched fists, gently prying the fingers apart, and when he met no resistance, slipping his hand into the other. He stood, tugging gently on the other boy's arm. "Let's get you home and dried up, we can't have you catching a cold now, can we?" he smiled as the blonde slipped off the wall, moving the umbrella so that it covered them both once again, even though it made no difference to the already soaking boy, if he hadn't offered it, he would not have been able to live with himself. He laughed openly at the disapproving glance the boy sent the object, almost as if saying 'how is this supposed to help, when I'm as wet as I am already?', though he stopped abruptly when the azure gaze turned to him, once again devoid of any feeling. It saddened him to see his son's eyes so deadened and other-worldly. Iruka, who had been lost in thought, was awakened abruptly by an insistent pull on his arm, forcing him to take a step forwards, lest he fall over. He looked up and saw the blonde moving on ahead, not looking back, but not letting go either. The man sighed inwardly, as long as I know he's not completely dead…
They carried on walking together in silence, towards the horizon, as they had done so often in the past, the only sound that of the rain hammering down onto the ground, and their footsteps resounding off the concrete pavement, but Naruto had never been the same since then. He had been cut off and distant, his stoic mask growing thicker and thicker by the day, until he completely cut himself off from them.
At that point, they all believed that the Naruto they had known was well and truly lost.