Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters and/or ideas. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Warnings: Listings are available in the first chapter.

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Chapter 10

"All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The shimmer from the daylight poured in through the opened window, the gleam mentioned was reasonably irritating a certain redhead as the warmth from the outside blew onto his pale face. Gaara scowled at the sheen in his eyes momentarily before lifting himself into a sitting position on a cushioned bed and bending down to pick up his discarded clothes that had been scattered on the floor of his client's bedroom. Just as he was about to put on his torn shirt, a manicured hand materialized from underneath the rumpled blankets and began caressing his bare back.

"Leaving so soon?" A female voice groggily asked him, the pitch of her voice trying and failing to sound like a seductive purr.

Gaara shrugged indifferently while finishing with his redressing. "I have other engagements," he stated monotonously.

His female customer whined at him childishly, but he decided to ignore her impending tirade. Truthfully, the teen didn't like her nor did he have any ounce of respect for her. The woman was knowingly cheating on her husband and was willing to bring a prostitute into her upscale three-story house while the said man was out of town on business. As far as Gaara was concerned, she was just a means to an end, to earn some extra cash. Sabaku felt justified in not wanting to touch her any more than he already had to.

Without needing to say another word, Gaara stood upward from the bed and ambled in the direction of the doorway; he stopped briefly to collect the yen gathered on top of the table near the hall. The woman continued shouting even as he exited from her residence and walked down the street. If only I could've strangled her or slit her throat, the boy thought murderously.

Trekking parallel to the sidewalk, the red headed male spent the next ten minutes making his way to the bus stop at the edge of the corner. On the end of such an intersection was an olive painted hut with the same colored bench inside and a tall sign that read for the westbound course. Gaara took a seat and waited from the scheduled bus to arrive. He scratched at his arms absently as he lounged, slightly feeling the unease of his body.

And it was no wonder he was reacting this way – he hadn't had any of his drugs in hours, and it was really starting to get to him. Well, that and a lot more, including his disgusting boss and those imbecile cohorts of his. Gatou had been much more demanding with his employees since the previous week, to the point where abuse and violence was becoming the norm in their work environment. Gaara was just glad that his mere presence scared off most people; he would have had no problem disposing of anyone who dared tried to lay their hands on him.

A sudden engine sound bursting from his left pulled the teen from his internal reflections. Gaara raised his head as an approaching bus travelled in his direction and came to stop right in front of him. Gaara didn't waste any time as he sauntered into the large vehicle and rummaged in his deep pockets to bring out change for the bus' fare. Once he was done paying the fee, the aqua eyed teen moved forward and found a vacant seat at the back of the bus, suitably away from all the other people on board.

Leaning his head against the cool glass of a window, Gaara shut his eyes fleetingly and let his body relax as the bus resumed on its route. He was seemingly oblivious to everything and everyone around him, to the passersby getting on or off the bus to the one individual speaking loudly into their low-priced cell phone. The smooth movement of the ride was enough to calm his senses and slowly but surely cease the crazed itching of his limbs.

Within less than a half an hour, Gaara heaved at the wired switch that was above his head to signal for his stop. The bus made a complete halt minutes later and dropped him off near the opening of downtown. Disregarding the driver's quiet 'have a good day' mumble, the Sabaku headed towards the sinister-like building that was all too familiar to him.

Entering the foyer of the marbled structure, Gaara overlooked the hungry gazes or hate filled sneers he received from some of the men that were in the vicinity. The teen instead used the elevator and pressed the needed button in order to reach the last floor. As soon as the elevator doors separated, Gaara came face to face with an innocent looking Haku, the effeminate teen was carelessly slanting against the wall in the corridor.

"Good morning, Gaara-san," Haku greeted routinely.

Giving a wary glance to the bodyguard standing beside the both of them, Gaara stated coolly, "I need to see Gatou."

The long haired boy's abrupt smile was full of condescension and deceit. "Unfortunately, Gatou-sama is unavailable at the moment, but I'll be able to help you. I know exactly what you need."

The redhead glowered sourly at the other teen. "They called you and told you I was coming, didn't they?"

Haku didn't answer his inquiry, his secretive smile still in place. "Follow me," was the only instruction given as the brunette stepped away from the wall and started walking in the opposite direction.

Gaara considered not trailing after the other teen until the clearing of a throat brought him out of his frozen stance. Gaara glared over his shoulder at the taller bodyguard that had somehow snuck up on him from behind. The turban wearing man to his credit didn't look intimidated in the slightest, he just gestured with his hand for the other to follow.

With one more glare at the man, Gaara subsequently strolled down the hallway elegantly with the aforementioned bodyguard in tow. He waltzed into the room he had seen Haku pass through and stopped right in the middle of the squared space, unconsciously crossing his arms over his chest while awaiting the other's boy forthcoming intention.

"Baki," Haku addressed the aloof bodyguard, "please shut the door and make sure no one tries to disturb us." The one known as Baki nodded his head curtly before doing as he was told. The teen then focused his attention on the expressionless red haired male when the two of them were finally alone. "So tell me, Gaara, how have you been?"

"I didn't come here to chat with you."

"Very well," Haku responded, a flash of righteous anger heating his brown irises before his superficial mask reemerged. With gradual footing, Haku strode over to a wood dyed filing cabinet situated against the far wall. He opened the top drawer and delved in prior to bringing out a plastic bag full of an unknown import. He tossed the bag to Gaara and watched in amusement as the redhead's black tinted eyes lit into revival. "I'll let our boss know you stopped by," the dark haired teen offered as a farewell.

Gaara protectively clutched at the plastic bag before turning on his heel and stalking away, opening the door harshly as he departed.

The first thing he recognized as he tried to fight off the drug induced haze he had readily cast over himself was that the strong smell hitting his nostrils was very unpleasant. The drenched odor coming from the warehouse was a cross between a wet dog and an upset stomach. Gaara wrinkled his nose in disdain, but refused to move from his spot next to a shipment of large crates.

There were others like him in the steeled building, lying around in a confused stupor on the ground. He wasn't concerned about them, though. The only care he had right then was that he had never felt so empowered. Whether he had had that type of feeling before, he wasn't sure. All he knew was at that exact moment in time he didn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

An echo of footsteps unexpectedly registered in his ringing ears, yet he paid no heed as the noise grew louder and louder. A distorted silhouette came into his line of vision; only when the figure stooped down to his eye level did Gaara attempt to clear his sight.

"What the fuck is this, Gaara?" A familiar voice snapped in anger. Naruto was bent down on one knee right in front of the other, his golden tresses in a feral-like halo. Through his blurry image, Sabaku could perceive that the blonde male was furious, downright pissed even. "How could you keep something like this from me, huh?"

Naruto could feel the white hot anger circulating in his veins and wanting to explode throughout his body. The day before, Naruto had been cautious and a bit paranoid; he knew it was a bad idea for him to remain in any one place for too long otherwise the authorities would find him. He eventually made the decision to leave the slums and head a couple of cities away by means of a train. Nevertheless, the whiskered teen hadn't planned on leaving until he had said goodbye to his friends. Gaara had been the only one he hadn't been able to locate; so assuming that the older boy wouldn't show up any time soon, Naruto had walked to the warehouse to collect the rest of his belongings.

If anyone would have told him that one day he would encounter a druggie version of Gaara, he would have laughed in their faces. Sure, he had had his suspicions, but he had just chalked it up to being one of the exaggerations that were his so-called mind. But now, as he witnessed the usually prideful redhead leaning against a stack of huge boxes, his clothes dirtied and ripped, a clear bag on his chest, and his bottom lip crusted with what looked like a white powder, Naruto felt that same paranoia seeping into his conscious.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself and knowing that nothing good would come out of yelling at a person who was faded, Naruto said more gently, "How long have you been here anyway?" Gaara appeared to be thinking the question over, but then shook his head lethargically. "Kuso," the blonde cursed to himself. "You goddamn bastard..."

Gaara blinked his eyes a couple of times before he murmured in a hiss, "I wanted to feel good."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better or something? Yeah, you think you feel good now, but what if you were to do this again and you never came out of it?"

Gaara positioned his head to the side as he whispered, "I...never meant for you to see me like this." Naruto sighed as he heard these words, staring at his friend sadly. The blonde then attempted to haul Gaara by slipping his hands underneath the other's arms. Gaara twisted his body and leaned in more into the boxes. "No," he nearly croaked. "Leave me."

"But I need to wash you off and get you sober–"

"I said leave me."

Uzumaki's face morphed into a frown. "I'm not just going to leave you here, Gaara."

The older teen didn't respond to Naruto's declaration; he continued to lie on the lower part of his back, outwardly detached. Naruto felt helpless as he gazed. He wasn't sure what he could do. Shifting his body so that he could sit on the other side of Gaara, Naruto peered at the other contemplatively. Leisurely, a proposal began forming in his thoughts, one that might rectify the current situation.

With a last solution in mind, Naruto began again, "Listen, I can't stay here. I need to leave before the police start looking for me again. I was thinking...maybe...you'd like to come with me?"

Gaara was silent for awhile, but when he did answer it was with a derisive snort. "S-Stop trying to be the hero, Uzumaki. You can't save everyone. You...you couldn't even save your own father."

Unwanted memories filtered in Naruto's head, making the boy clench his fists in fury. Without thinking and seeking to hurt, he retorted. "You got a lot of nerve mentioning anyone's father. My dad was sick, I'll admit, but at least he wasn't a cold-blooded coward who hired his own brother-in-law to kill his child." A sort of quiet overwhelmed the two boys as Naruto's words fully sunk in. It wasn't until Gaara opened his mouth did Naruto regret his words.

"Get away from me."

"Gaara, man, I didn't mean–"

Naruto narrowly missed the fist aimed for his face as he tilted to the side and avoided the intended punch. He jumped to his feet when Gaara tried swiping at him for a second time; the disoriented boy's movements were so sluggish that he literally fell on his face. The golden teen took a step forward, meaning to help the other boy, but when a heated glare was pointed at him, Naruto stopped in his tracks.

Figuring an apology was pointless at the time, Naruto gave one more glance at his friend before twirling himself around and heading to one of the crates on the other side of the building. I am such an asshole, was the mantra clicking in his head as he instinctively opened the top of the said crate and fumbled inside to pack his clothes and other necessities.

The overhead streetlights flickered on as the ginger lit sky darkened into a dim blue steadily. Gripping his cotton hoodie closer to his torso, Naruto stood underneath the lamps' brightness for warmth and for comfort. It had been hours since he had last seen Gaara and he was immensely worried about the red headed boy.

Earlier, after he had packed his belongings, Naruto had checked on Gaara one more time to make sure he was at least still alive. He then had left the warehouse with the intention of coming back and made a call to Temari at the pay phone one mile away, evading the information about her youngest brother's drug activities. He just told her that Gaara was at the warehouse and that she should come to see him. The blonde haired girl had had him on the phone longer than he had anticipated, asking him questions suspiciously. By the time Naruto returned back to the building, Gaara wasn't there anymore.

He and Temari afterwards had searched all around the neighborhood, asking friends and acquaintances if they had seen the pallid teen. All the leads provided to them led to either more searching or dead ends. Both blondes had exhausted their efforts as soon as the sun began to set. Temari had had to coax the stubborn Naruto in ceasing with the searching, explaining to him that Gaara was more her responsibility than his.

Still, the tanned teen couldn't help but feel he could have done more for the older boy. He had been callous and confrontational with the drug influenced male; and with that, Naruto had dealt with him wrong. He wished he could take back all the mean things he had said. He should have just stayed with him, no matter how livid he might have been.

Distractedly, Naruto started to stalk en route for the train station; the L-shaped construction was in the center of downtown, fifteen minutes ahead on foot. The blonde reasoned that he ought to pay for his ticket and leave the city while the cops and social workers were subdued for the night. Once he was settled in, he would get in touch with Temari again and ensure that Gaara was doing alright. Hopefully, everything will work out...

Naruto was so lost in his musings that he didn't notice a black limousine coming his way; the stretched vehicle had begun to ride alongside him. Naruto's head snapped up when the resonance of a window rolling down reached his hearing. A black headed figure stuck his head out, a sardonic smirk reaching the person's lips and Naruto suffered the sensation of goose bumps appearing on his skin.

"Hello, Naruto-kun."

His godfather's business associate, Orochimaru, was the one who called out to him; the snake resembled man was sitting casually on the passenger's side of the vehicle. His yellow, serpent eyes were staring at Naruto as though the boy was nothing more than a peasant. Naruto hurried his steps, silently praying that the man would lose interest in him and drive away.

Orochimaru continued talking despite the blonde's silence, "Isn't it a little dangerous for a boy your age to be walking around at this time of night?"

Naruto gritted his teeth at the oily man's mocking tone. "I have to be at some place important," he feigned as civilly as he could.

"How about a ride then? You would get to wherever you need to be much faster."

"No, thanks."

"Oh, but I insist. I would feel quite awful if anything bad were to happen to you."

Sighting a road divider in his peripheral vision, Naruto took the opportunity to say, "Look, I know you don't give a damn about my wellbeing. So, why don't you just go your way and I'll go mine," before running on the other side of the highway, plainly grateful that there weren't that many cars in the area. Orochimaru studied the boy with his pupils until the wild headed teen had disappeared into the darkness.

A spiteful chuckle to his left brought back his own smirk. "My, my, that boy is certainly a firecracker." A gray haired, twenty-something youth by the name of Kabuto gave another laugh as he turned the steering wheel slightly to change lanes.

"Indeed," the dark haired businessman commented considerably. "Such spirit, and yet so uncontrolled. If only that fool Jiraiya had handed him over to me. I would've been able to discipline him better. I always knew that boy would be that idiot's downfall."

Kabuto used his right hand to push his prescribed glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Yes, very unfortunate."

Tenth chapter complete.