Okay, wow, LONGEST chapter I've written for this story...I think I may have written a longer or as long one in the previews RS, but I can't remember...oh well.
Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry for the very long wait for this update, but things have been hectic. I haven't written a single thing for the past five days since I've been working (like real working) on a job for my mom. And lemme just say...I have never been so annoyed at the fact I'm able to draw cartoony characters like I was over this past week. Because that's what I had to do...but it was not enjoyable since the creativity was limited to a certain theme, and each picture was limited to a certain description...Let's just say it wasn't as fun as I'd originally thought it would be.
But ANYHOO! Here he have the next chapter of RS-2! Things are definitely heating up, wouldn't you agree?
Now then...this chapter... *grin* has several little elements in it...I think the yaoi fangirls will get a few giggles...the horror fans will find some interest, and... *trails off looking towards the right*
Kao: *looks up and grins* I do like this chapter indeed.
Kam: *nods* Me too...it took you long enough, M-uh-Sensei... *sniggers*
Juura: *turns back to crowd* Well,..judging by a lot of reviews, a lot of people might enjoy this chapter very much. Now then, no more delays!
Warning: Swearing, Horror, light yaoiness, and...hehehe, you'll see.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...
(forgive grammar and spelling mistakes, but I wanted to get this out quickly since it's been so long. I will go over it again later though so feel free to point out especially horrific errors!)
Reunion in the Dark
'Double, double, toil and trouble! Fire burn and cauldron bubble!'
'Double, double, toil and trouble! Something wicked this way comes!'
The door was pushed open, light from the hall sending the figure standing in the doorway into shadow.
"Boys..." a soft voice spoke, the high pitch easily recognized as that of a woman.
Two heads turned towards her, the song continuing to play in the background. Outside the window, rain beat mercilessly against the glass. Lightning flashed briefly, illuminating a set of murky hazel green eyes.
"It's time for bed." The woman continued stepping into the room. Her hands stretched out, thin wrists twisting until her palms settled upon two sets of fiery red hair. "We're having a busy day tomorrow after all. You'll need all your energy."
The heads nodded slowly.
"So you're coming too?" one asked, the voice sleepy and rough.
"Of course. If I left you two alone you'd destroy the place." A smile curved in the dark.
"I can't argue with that." A third voice said, followed by a round of snickers.
"Now then, into bed. I'm in a good mood so I'll tuck you in tonight." The woman continued.
The two smaller figures quickly scrambled towards the twin beds on the other side of the room and they climbed under the covers.
"You know, we're a bit too old to be tucked in." The one said.
"Nonsense. You never get too old to do anything." The woman said.
"I guess..." the third said softly, scooting back. The woman nodded and worked to make sure they were covered before bending and placing soft kisses on each of their foreheads.
"Goodnight boys." She said, smoothing down their hair before making her way towards the door.
The song was reaching its end, and she paused to sing along softly, hearing the boys softly join in. Their grins were easily heard.
"Something wicked this way comes!" they chorused.
Lightning flashed outside, briefly illuminating three identical grins before the music was gone and the door snapped shut.
Sasuke's breath came out in short gasps, his muscles straining and flexing. His footsteps echoed loudly as he ran through the warehouse. He heard a high pitched whistle from behind him and cursed, diving to the side. The blur of silvery white streaked past and the light overhead crackled before the glass burst and shattered to the floor like rain.
Sasuke sucked in a deep breath and rolled over, looking up. He gritted his teeth and snapped his eyes open, concentrating with all his might.
His eyes burned and itched and soon his vision began to blur red. Suddenly, everything was thrown into sharp relief and he could see floating patches of something that looked like silvery smoke.
Spiritual Residue.
"Okay...okay!" He panted, focusing once more. His eyes darted around, the crimson irises of the Sharingan seeming to gleam in the darkened room. He heard another high pitched whistle and quickly rolled over. Something collided with the floor, the stone cracking and a cloud of dust rising. Sasuke swallowed thickly and continued to look around.
Distantly, he heard his brother's voice calling for him, but he knew he couldn't call out right now. The spirit was attacking blindly and if he made too much noise it would pin point him.
Looking around again, he spotted the hovering figure of the ghost. Its figure was little more than a mangled blob, and Sasuke couldn't stop his face from scrunching in disgust.
'Okay...come on! Work! Work!' he thought, once more concentrating and focusing on his eyes. They began to burn and itch and suddenly he felt as if he was being sucked into a vortex. His line of sight narrowed down until it seemed he was looking through a tube. Flashes of red, white and black erupted in front of him and then he was no longer on the floor of the warehouse, but hovering above. The machines and rooms were new and shining, even if the image before him flickered like an old movie. Swallowing, he studied the image before him, searching for a clue as to what this ghost was.
Then he saw it.
A man was standing near the large paper-cutter. He was so focused on his job he didn't see the person sneaking up behind him. Sasuke covered his mouth in shock when he saw the person shoving the working man forward and holding him down. The Uchiha turned away, not wanting to watch the screaming worker get cut clean in half by the machine.
The image flickered again and then erupted into flashes of light. Sasuke blinked and found himself staring up at the old and worn ceiling of the warehouse again. However, what made him gasp in horror was the ghost staring straight down at him.
"SHIT!" He curled up, covering his head with his arms when the floor around him started to crack and shatter. He rolled to one side, but before he could get very far the tile exploded. Small pieces of stone and concrete shot into the air and Sasuke rolled the other way to avoid his limbs falling prey to the explosive invisible beam, as he guessed it was. But before he got further the other way, the tile exploded again.
He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes only to see the ghost looming closer, twisted smile on its pale, dead face.
"Oh..." he breathed, eyes growing wide.
"Sasuke!"
The ghost let out an inhuman shriek as suddenly it was engulfed in fierce black flames. Sasuke flinched as it slowly broke apart, the white essences becoming encompassed with black before dissolving into the air.
Sasuke let out a slow breath to calm his heart and pushed himself as Itachi walked forwards.
"Are you alright?" Itachi asked slowly, his eyes fading back to their usual dark onyx. Sasuke nodded, looking up.
"I got it to activate...and I saw how he died," he said.
Itachi's face softened into an approving smile. "You've made a lot of progress. I'm proud of you."
Sasuke let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah...great..." he breathed. "Are we finished here?"
"Yes."
"Oh good." And Sasuke promptly passed out from exhaustion.
Itachi laughed softly as he bent down to pick his baby brother up. Kakashi came running around the corner, skidding to a stop.
"Sasuke-Oh God is he alright?" he asked frantically.
"He's fine. He activated his Sharingan and he's just exhausted now. I took care of the ghost." Itachi answered calmly, shifting Sasuke in his arms slightly. Kakashi breathed out in relief, looking at the damaged area.
"We've been doing one job after the other lately and Sasuke's been taking more active roles." He noted. "I know you want him to develop his Sharingan to a point he can use it freely, but I think he needs a break."
Itachi raised a perfectly curved eyebrow and smirked knowingly. "You mean you want a break, right?"
Kakashi laughed, his smile seen even through his mask. The two men and unconscious boy headed towards the exit. When they stepped outside, the sun momentarily blinded them. Once their eyes cleared they saw the large white van they'd arrived in. Leaning against the van was Kisame, who looked up when they walked nearer. His eyes landed on Sasuke and he straightened, sending questioning glances to Itachi.
"He's fine, just exhausted. He did a lot of the fighting this time around." Itachi was quick to explain as he saw the growing worry in his friends eyes. Kisame sighed and relaxed.
"That's good...he's becoming a really good ghost hunter. We'll have to buy him an orange jumpsuit soon." He teased, winking at Itachi.
Sasuke grumbled in his sleep, curling up slightly into Itachi's chest. Itachi made an understanding noise, rocking the younger boy slightly.
"I know, little brother. We'll get you one custom made with Naruto-kun's face on the front." He cooed teasingly.
Sasuke smirked in his sleep.
Kakashi burst out laughing and Kisame grinned, pulling open the doors so that Itachi could manoeuvre inside and keep hold of the sleeping raven. Once they'd all climbed inside, he started the engine and they drove away from the warehouse that was now ghost free.
Kakashi yawned loudly as he led the way into the apartment of the headquarters. Itachi followed, Sasuke resting on his back and Kisame brought up the rear, closing the door behind them with a soft click.
They headed into the living room and the older Uchiha carefully placed Sasuke onto the couch. Shikamaru looked up from his spot on the recliner and raised an eyebrow in question before shrugging and closing his eyes.
Ino and Sakura soon walked into the room from the kitchen and their eyes widened.
"Sasuke...? Is he alright?" Ino asked.
"Just tired." Itachi said calmly, taking a seat and placing his brother's feet in his lap. The girls nodded, also taking seats while Kakashi sat in his chair and swirled around in boredom.
"Well, that was another successful job. I'll email the client and we shall be paid." He clapped his hands in triumph and turned to send said email to said client when the door was practically thrown off its hinges.
"EVERYONE! I HAVE YOUTHFUL NEWS!"
Oh dear God...
Sasuke groaned, opening his eye and glaring blurrily up at the figure of his brother.
"Worst...wake up call...ever." he grit out and Itachi nodded sympathetically as Lee strode into the room grinning for all he was worth.
"Lee, you broke the door...again." Ino sighed, pointing. Lee's eyes grew wide and he turned to look at the door. When he turned back an exceptionally guilty expression was adorning his face.
"I am so very sorry about that. I was just so excited to tell you all the news," he said apologetically. Kakashi sighed, waving his hand.
"No problem. When Kiba arrives I'll get him to fix it," he said flippantly.
"Get me to do what?" Kiba asked, walking in at that moment.
"Oh good. Kiba, fix the door." Kakashi ordered the gaping boy.
"What? No! Fix your own damn door!"
"Okay, but then you won't get paid."
Kiba grumbled loudly as he leant down next to the broken door, trying to re-screw the hinges in. Kakashi's smile was prominent even through his mask while the rest of the room snickered at the dog-lover's expense.
"So anyway, Lee what is this news?" Itachi asked, turning his attention to the green-loving boy who immediately perked up.
"Ah yes! There is a carnival coming to town, and it is going to have many youthful shows and displays for the youthful public. I thought it would be absolutely youth-filled if we were to attend! As a sort of youthful vacation!"
Kakashi had a hand over his eyes. "Lee...I'll make a deal with you."
"Yes, my youthful leader?"
"I'll let the entire crew go to this carnival, my treat, if you promise not to utter the word 'youthful' until the carnival is gone, starting right now."
"It is a deal, my young-hearted leader!"
Kakashi's head hit the desk with a solid thump.
Naruto rolled over, eyes darting around to look at his room as he struggled to regain his breath. He'd had another intense dream-or was it a nightmare? He wasn't sure- and had abruptly woken up once more. All he could really remember about the dream was that he had been searching for someone and stumbled into a room filled with roaring flames taking the shape of some kind f animal. Details other than that were scarce and yet he panted for breath as if he'd been on a long chase through rough terrain the entire night.
Turning onto his back, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, listening to the faint sounds of Jiraiya in the kitchen doing...whatever it was old perverts do in the kitchen in the morning. Naruto tilted his head back, stretching on the bed before going limp and yawning.
His fingers scratched at his bare chest before moving to his stomach to tend to a rather annoying itch around his stomach. His nails scraped over the skin around his belly button and he paused, eyes narrowing in confusion. The skin felt slightly different, as if it was raised. As if there was a welt or...marking?
He tilted his head, moving his hand to look. A small gasp escaped him and he blinked before his eyes widened.
His skin was normal.
Sitting up, he ran his fingers over his stomach lightly. He could have sworn he saw something black on his skin a second ago. Feeling the area, he noticed that the strange welt-feeling was also gone. His skin was smooth once more.
Frowning in confusion, he stared down at his stomach in thought. Was it maybe just his imagination? A bit of weirdness after a weird dream? It wouldn't be the first time.
He remembered when he was younger in the orphanage. Sometimes he would wake up after a strange or scary dream and would think he was seeing things. It was one of the reasons he'd come to fear ghosts, since he'd always believed they were lurking nearby, waiting to scare him.
It was funny how they managed to do that without even lifting a transparent, ectoplasm-y finger.
His hand absently rubbed at his stomach while he leant back again, thinking about all those times when he was younger and was so scared. It amazed him how much he had changed. He smiled slightly, remember a few of his more amusing adventures back then.
Naruto sat in the tree, his legs swinging in the air while he sucked on the cherry flavoured lollipop Jiraiya had given him and the other kids. Below him in the garden, the other kids were playing happily. His big blue eyes watched in amusement as he saw Sora get tackled to the ground by an eager Kankurou while they played tag. Sora was shouting unhappily at being dragged to the ground while the others laughed, and Naruto smiled around his treat at the boy's complaints.
Suddenly he felt someone tug on his ankle and looked down to see no one was there. Blinking in confusion, the six year old looked around the tree but there was no one else. Deciding he'd imagined it, he continued watching the game below and giggled when he saw Iruka-sensei come running out to separate Sora and Temari, who had started to hit the boy when he poked Kankurou in the eye on purpose.
The tugging feeling came again, and he looked down quickly. But there was no one else there. He frowned, feeling a little concerned and lifted his legs up. He scooted back so that he was sitting against the trunk and held his legs to his chest. He remembered one of the kids telling him the tree had a ghost, but Tsunade-baa-chan had promised him there were no ghosts in the tree. He continued to suck on his treat, now keeping a wary eye open in case another odd tug would occur.
He heard a rustling behind him, and was about to turn around to yell at whoever it was when he heard a ghostly moan. He froze, his eyes growing ten times their size while his mouth fell open; the lollipop falling to the ground.
"Naaaaruuuutoooooo..." the moan came again, sounding like dead leaves. Naruto's eyes almost exploded out of his head as he let out a shriek. He hurried to scramble down the tree, almost falling down the last of the way before he reached the ground. He ran towards Iruka-sensei, almost crying in his fright and clung to the startled man's leg while yelling about haunted tree's, all the while blind to the two kids laughing in the tree.
Naruto huffed at the memory. He hadn't spoken to Kao and Mizuru for weeks after that day, even though the red-head had apologized, somewhat, and the girl had given him a biscuit as her apology.
Iruka-sensei had, of course, been furious with the two for scaring Naruto so badly, considering he'd almost fallen out the tree. Naruto smiled as he remembered Iruka chasing the two children around the house before catching them and putting them in time out for an hour.
His eyes closed slightly and he gave a small sad frown. He sent a prayer to the heavens for Mizuru, hoping that she was in a better place. She may have turned into a rather annoying teenager, but she had still been his friend in the orphanage.
A sudden knock on his door made him jolt up, and Jiraiya entered, holding the phone in his hand.
"Hey kid, you're potential rapist is on the phone." Jiraiya grinned, tossing the device to Naruto.
As he put the phone to his ear, he heard Sasuke's annoyed voice calling.
"-Old man, I'm not a fucking rapist!"
"Nah uh, he said potential rapist, my dear Sasuke." Naruto snickered when Sasuke's grumbles died to low murmurs of annoyance. "What's up, most beloved boyfriend of mine?"
Finally, Sasuke got over his little hissy fit and his voice showed the happy smirk. "Well, most idiotic boyfriend of mine, there is a carnival coming to town and Kakashi is paying for the whole crew to go."
Naruto's eyebrows vanished into his hairline. "Kakashi is paying for everyone? Whatever convinced him to do that?"
Sasuke's laugh was definitely cruel. "He made Lee swear not to say the word 'youthful' until the carnival was over."
Naruto fell back, laughing in earnest. He sighed happily, wiping at his eyes. "Oh that's good. So that's how he's paying? He struck a deal with Lee?"
"Yes, but they had to make an amendment."
"Oh? How come?"
"Lee replaced 'youthful' with 'young-hearted'."
Naruto's laughter took a full two minutes to stop.
"And...and the amendment was?" He gasped at last.
"Kakashi would pay for the entire crew's entrance fee as well as the total of one extra friend for every member who has completed a job over the last week if Lee didn't say anything even related to the word 'youth' for the whole time. So, dobe, you get to come for free."
Naruto grinned before a thought struck him. "Wait, you've done a job over the week?"
"Yes. I did one yesterday actually."
Naruto gaped. He'd had to go home early after school yesterday because he had a doctor's appointment. "Are you okay?"
"Hn. I'm fine."
He sighed with relief. Usually, he accompanied Sasuke back to the headquarters after school, mainly just to keep him company. Although, the grope and make-out sessions in the bathroom, nurse office and storage cupboard were pretty awesome too.
"I'm glad," he said sincerely, "You must be careful Sasuke... I know that most of the jobs you do are busts or have pretty weak ghosts but..." the image of Mizuru's body covered in blood flashed in his mind and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "You have to be careful because you never know what might happen."
"Naruto? Are you alright?" The concern in Sasuke's voice brought a smile to his face, and he leant back.
"Yeah...just thinking about what happened back at the orphanage...with Mizuru..." he trailed off, looking to the side. A picture from the orphanage with all the kids and the care-takers was resting on his side table. Mizuru was standing in the corner, Sora's arm wrapped over her shoulder and a smile on her face.
"Naruto..." Sasuke's voice sounded rather helpless, and Naruto quickly gave a laugh.
"I'm okay teme, really. I'm excited about this carnival! Will there be roller coasters and shit?"
"Hn. Apparently there'll be a lot more than that. Roller coasters, a circus, stands and games, a ferris wheel...hell it's more like a portable amusement park than a simple carnival." Sasuke's voice was back to the usual deep tone.
Naruto's grin grew as he stepped out of bed. "That's awesome! I can't wait! When are we going?"
"Tonight, if you can make it and then the whole of tomorrow. Is that good?"
"Hell yes! I'll be over there before tonight even!" Naruto declared happily, heading into the bathroom. He looked himself over in the mirror, noting the way his hair was extremely mussed and his eyes were still a bit glazed from sleep. He snickered lightly.
"Hey Sasuke..." he almost purred.
"...Hn?"
"I just got out of bed...and I look like I've just been laid." Naruto snickered at the slight choking sound he heard through the phone. His grin was reaching epic proportions as he examined his face in the mirror, wiping at some sleep.
"Is that so?" Sasuke's voice was definitely a tad deeper than it had been a moment ago.
"Why yes it is. And look at this!" Naruto said in mock surprise. He turned on the tap, letting Sasuke hear the water running. "I need to wash my face..." he said, splashing a bit of water on his skin and letting the droplets slide down. "But there's no towels... it look like I'm going be a bit wet for a while."
Sasuke was most definitely breathing a tad heavier.
Naruto knew he was being rather mean but he just couldn't help it. He had the perfect opportunity to tease his boyfriend! How could he possibly resist?
"Dobe...you'd better be careful or else I won't be responsible for my actions." Sasuke's growled into the phone. Naruto grinned at the slightly breathless quality the raven's voice had taken.
"Now you see, Sasuke," he purred the syllables, "...that is exactly why my dad calls you a potential rapist."
"Dobe!"
Naruto laughed, calling a quick goodbye followed by a "Don't rape me when you see me later!" before he hung up on his yelling raven.
The sounds of crowds laughing, cheering, chattering and otherwise being noisy was very audible even though the crew were still a block or two away from the carnival. It had been set up near the beach docks, spreading out onto the docks and then out some towards the nearby forest bordering one side of the city limits. From the distance, the crew could make out the tip of a roller coaster, and the briefly saw a car tipping over the edge before distant screams of joy and excitement-and pure fear- were heard.
"This is going to be so fun!" Kiba yelled happily, pumping his fist into the air while the other hand held firmly onto Hinata's fingers. The shy girl nodded, walking a bit faster than normal in her own excitement to reach the carnival.
Lee was jogging up ahead with Akamaru and Deidara, who was almost as excited as the green-track suit wearing boy. Sakura and Ino were working together to drag a protesting Shikamaru and mournful looking Chouji faster.
"Troublesome! I'll get there when I get there!" Shikamaru grumbled as Ino tugged on his arm. Chouji wanted to go back to the office to grab a bag of chips and was trying to persuade Sakura to withdraw the deathgrip she had on his arm.
"But Chouji, just think of all the carnival food stands!" Sakura said.
The others were left to stare in shock as Sakura was almost dragged-her feet worked double time to prevent this- by the large boy as he bolted towards the carnival.
"Hey! They're going to beat us! Come on you lazy ass run!" Ino shouted, not willing to let Sakura reach the carnival before her. With strength fuelled by determination, Ino pulled Shikamaru along until the two were sprinting after the others. They distinctly heard Shikamaru's uncharacteristically loud shout of-
"You're both troublesome twits!"
Kakashi sighed, walking along while he stared at the contents of his wallet. Contents which were soon going to disappear completely in a matter of seconds.
"My poor baby...I'm so sorry." He mumbled sadly, picking up a note and pressing it to his mask. "Oh God I'm going to miss the smell of money." He breathed. When he placed the bill back and looked up, he was met with several pairs of very worried eyes. "What?" he asked innocently.
Sasori shook his head, walking ahead. "Freak." He murmured.
"At least I've got enough balls to admit I like someone!" Kakashi called back. He was rewarded with a pebble smacking against his forehead from a nearby flower bed.
Kisame and Itachi was having a soft conversation between themselves, Kisame often grinning and Itachi smirking. Tenten and Shino were walking side by side, pointing out different things they saw.
Sasuke was walking ahead of Kakashi, his arm wrapped firmly around the waist of his blond boyfriend. Naruto had wanted to run ahead with the girls and Lee, but Sasuke had other plans. He still hadn't entirely forgiven the blond for the teasing earlier and was currently gaining revenge even as he walked.
"S-Sasuke..." Naruto breathed. It was extremely difficult to walk upright when the pale bastard's hand was down the front of his pants, touching him lightly and the action was so wonderfully hidden by the darkness of the evening and his long orange hoodie to boot. "S-stop!"
"Hn, no. Payback, Na-ru-to." Sasuke smirked, leaning close to the blond and blowing into his ear. Naruto squirmed, but it only served to make Sasuke's fingers brush him again and he groaned aloud, the sound born from a mix of frustration and feeling.
"Dammit teme, I said I was sorry!" Naruto whined. As good as it felt, he couldn't walk around the entire carnival with a hard-on! There were innocent-possibly-children running around there and he couldn't even begin to imagine what horrifying reactions the adults would have upon seeing him that way!
As they neared the entrance, Naruto resorted to whining pitifully until finally, finally, Sasuke relented and removed his hand. Naruto sighed, turning to call his bastard boyfriend exactly that when he saw Sasuke licking his fingers. His stomach heated and he had to bite his lip to stop any noises escape, especially when Sasuke turned his smouldering eyes to him, smirking.
"Hn."
Naruto asked himself why he was dating such a bastard. 'Seriously! He's sadistic and just plain mean!' he thought frantically as Sasuke pulled him towards the entrance where Kakashi was sobbing as he forked over the money.
They group entered the carnival at last and very soon everyone was talking about what to do first. It didn't take long for the group to start splitting up. Deidara wasted no time grabbing a flustered Sasori's hand and dragging him away towards some game or another, laughing excitedly.
Chouji attached himself to the food stands, and Shikamaru followed him along to escape Ino and Sakura's clutches lest they drag him around anymore. Ino and Sakura, for their part, decided to go to the fortune teller stand and get their palms read. Undoubtedly they would be searching for their true love or whatever it was that ran through their minds. Shino vanished amongst a stand holding many different and creepy looking insects in cages and everyone let him go, knowing the boy wouldn't be happier anywhere else.
Kakashi, Itachi and Kisame eventually found a nice looking coffee shop where they sat down to talk, and rest before doing whatever they wished, keeping Akamaru with them on a leash all the while. That left Tenten, Sasuke, Naruto, Lee, Kiba and Hinata to wander around looking for something to do.
Tenten eventually darted into a tent where several performers were playing with many sharp things and Tenten watched in great fascination.
"Alright! Let's head to the biggest roller coaster!" Naruto yelled excitedly, and both Lee and Naruto copied his movement towards the large contraption eagerly. Hinata and Sasuke shared looks of 'they're completely nuts be we like them anyway' before following after.
The line was surprisingly short, and they managed to get into a car very soon. Naruto and Sasuke sat in the front while Kiba and Hinata sat behind. Lee was placed behind them and next to a small girl wearing dark glasses and a baseball cap. It was rather odd attire for the evening, but you found all sorts of people at places like this so no one commented.
When the ride began, Naruto clutched the bar eagerly. "This is going to rock!" he hissed excitedly, leaning forward to watch as they moved. Sasuke grabbed his hoodie, yanking him back to his seat.
"Dobe, don't you dare fall out and splatter on the ground. The cleaning staff will never forgive you," he smirked while Naruto pouted at him but it was undermined by the laughter in his blue eyes. The ride clanked forward until it was going up the hill, rising alongside the inhabitants excitement.
"I-I'm a bit n-nervous..." Hinata mumbled, looking at how high they were. Kiba leaned over to peck her on the cheek.
"Don't worry about it! It'll be scary at first but before you know it you'll be screaming with joy because it's so fun!" He reassured, and Hinata smiled happily, nodding.
Sasuke smirked, leaning over towards Naruto. "I personally can't wait to hear what you sound like when you scream." He whispered.
Naruto's face could have melted an iceberg with how heated it became. He smacked Sasuke up the back of the head while the raven chuckled but before any banter could ensue, they reached the top of the ride.
"Holy—"
The rest of Naruto's sentence was turned into a loud scream, followed by several other voices as the ride plummeted downwards. Naruto's hands were in the air as they sped downwards and then spiralled. Sasuke was trying very hard to keep his hands down, but eventually his inner kid won and he was following Naruto's movements as he yelled out. Hinata was shrieking at every turn, but very soon those shrieks were accompanied by her laughter while Kiba cheered. Lee was cheering too, and even the strange girl next to him was making some noise as they twisted and turned.
"THIS! IS! AWESOME!" Naruto roared, drawing out the last word as they entered a spiral. His hand was caught in the air and he felt Sasuke's fingers entwine with his own and smiled. They continued to spiral; the end of the track was coming up soon, and Naruto grinned the whole while.
Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It was as if something dropped, leaving him with a very empty, very bad feeling that made him open his eyes wide. He felt something move around him, encircle him and time seemed to slow.
His face paled when he saw what looked like a large white snake glaring down at him, hissing fiercely. A shout was tearing out of his throat, but it blended with the screams of joy from the other passengers. He knew that the ride was still moving, knew that this couldn't be happening in more than a few seconds, but it all seemed so slow to him.
And he suddenly became aware of Sasuke's fingers jerking harshly in his own. His heard turned only to see Sasuke doubled over, mouth open in a pained shout and his eyes scrunched closed before once more he turned forward. The white snake was looming closer and Naruto's heart seemed to still.
And then a growl sounded, and Naruto realized it had come from him. But it didn't sound like him at all. It was too...beastly. But suddenly the snake was gone in a flash and they were spiralling towards the end of the track, the car slowing down slightly while the people laughed and cheered.
Sasuke straightened up, eyes wide and panting as he turned to look at Naruto, who met his gaze.
Their hands held onto each other tightly as the ride came to a stop and they climbed out. Tearing away from the other three, who called out to them in confusion, the two ran towards the nearest bench. It was sheltered under a large willow and they were out of the way and out of sight for the most part.
Sasuke collapsed onto the bench, dragging Naruto down with him. They held onto each other, trying to regain their breath and their wits as the recent event washed over them with terrifying vividness.
"...W-what was that...?" Naruto breathed, trembling. Sasuke shook his head, his mouth pressing against the skin of Naruto's neck as he breathed in the scent of the blond.
He didn't understand what had just happened and it scared him that Naruto had experienced it too. He had just been enjoying the ride, holding Naruto's hand and laughing along with him when suddenly pain had erupted from his head and his shoulders. The intensity had left him crippled and he'd struggled to breathe. And the hissing...Dear God the hissing of snakes had been thunderous, as if he was standing in an ocean of angry snakes with the sound amplified. He hadn't been able to hear anything but that dreadful hissing and feel that unbearable pain. He had been on the verge of passing out when suddenly, Naruto's hand had squeezed his with crushing force and the hissing had died along with the pain.
Sasuke pulled Naruto closer, the blond pressing against him in response. They knew they needed to go to Kakashi and Itachi and tell them what had just transpired. Whether it had been something from them, or something from the ride itself, it was supernatural and needed to be dealt with.
'But first things first.' Sasuke thought and grabbed Naruto's face, pulling him in for a brutal kiss. Naruto responded immediately, opening his mouth to Sasuke's silent plea and joining him in a war of tongues. Sasuke pressed forward so hard Naruto ended up on his back on the bench, his arms wrapped around Sasuke's neck as he returned the frantic kisses with equal intensity.
They would have continued had it not been for the sudden shadow falling across them.
Out of an instinct unknown to him, Naruto rolled both Sasuke and himself off the bench and turned to glare at the attackers. He froze when he saw who it was, and his jaw hit the floor.
"No way..." he breathed as Sasuke copied his look of surprise.
Kiba scratched his chin thoughtfully as he and Hinata wandered through the crowds in search of their two friends. Lee had gone off to tell Kakashi and Itachi about Naruto and Sasuke's odd behaviour. It hadn't been difficult for the three of them to see the looks of pure horror and fright on their friend's faces once they'd gotten off the ride. And all of them knew it had nothing to do with the ride being scary.
Kiba frowned, ruffling his hair in annoyance as he tried to think where they were. Next to him, Hinata had her head down, her hair falling over her face so that she could use her Byakugan to search for the boys without letting anyone see. But there were so many people with so many different spiritual energy signatures, it was near impossible to separate them enough to find Sasuke and Naruto's.
She sighed, about to deactivate her eyes when suddenly she caught sight of a very familiar signature. She gasped, looking up as he eyes shut off.
"What? Did you find them?" Kiba asked, by her side in an instant. She shook her head and pointed through the crowd.
"N-No but look!"
Kiba followed her finger and his eyes widened to match his large grin.
Not too far away in the crowd, they could see Neji walking. Beside him was...
"No way! Is that Gaara?" Kiba asked gleefully. Hinata nodded, a smile on her face as she watched Neji hesitantly take Gaara's hand into his own. "Come on! Let's go say hi!" Kiba declared and darted off, leaving Hinata to follow.
"HEY NEJI!" Kiba cried as he neared the brunet. Neji looked around, spotting him and scowling. He tried to pull his hand away from Gaara, but the red head only squeezed hard enough to make Neji yelp.
"Ouch! Gaara!"
"What?" Gaara asked in his monotone voice, raising a shaved eyebrow. "They know anyway."
Neji frowned but had no choice but to turn and face Kiba and his cousin. "Hello Hinata." He greeted and gave a short nod to Kiba.
"Aw how cold! We hardly see you these days and now here you are at a carnival, on a date no less!" Kiba's grin was feral as he looked between them. "I always thought you two hit it off nicely. But Gaara, we haven't heard from you since the orphanage! How are you?"
"I'm well."
"Still at the orphanage?"
"No, we got adopted."
"Seriously?" Kiba gaped and then grinned. "That's awesome! Do you like them?"
"They're actually very, very old family friends. Our father's best friend, Baki. He left overseas when we were born but came back recently and adopted us when he found us." Gaara shrugged. "Temari had managed to contact him before we even left the old orphanage so we didn't actually stay in the newer one for more than a few days."
Hinata smiled. "T-that's wonderful. A-are your siblings well?"
Gaara nodded.
...Yeah, he nodded, that's all.
"So will we be seeing more of the two of you now?" Kiba asked, looking between Neji and Gaara. Neji sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Well Uncle has given me some time off of training. Apparently I was over working myself," he rolled his eyes at the absurdity of the comment, "So I suppose I'll be seeing you. And Gaara has moved closer to Konoha city, so you'll probably see him around too."
Kiba nodded happily before he finally remembered what they'd been doing. "Oh shit!"
When the others turned to him, he faced Neji. "Neji we could really use your help! We need to find Sasuke and Naruto!"
Gaara's other would-be-eyebrow rose. "Naruto's here?"
"Yeah, he got adopted by Jiraiya and is going to Sasuke's school. They're here on a date thing. But just now we were on a roller coaster and at the end when they got off..." he trailed off, his face turning worried as he recalled the looks on their faces.
Hinata picked up his story. "T-they looked terrified...and n-not because of the ride or anything, since they were laughing before. S-something happened to t-them and scared them. They j-just ran off as soon as t-they were off the ride."
Gaara and Neji exchanged looks showing slight concern and curiosity before they nodded and joined the others as they searched. Hinata and Neji had their Byakugan activated, searching desperately while Gaara and Kiba used their average eyes to search.
Suddenly, Neji stopped and pointed towards a large willow. "Over there!"
Without stopping, the four quickly pushed through the crowd to the tree and were met with a rather interesting sight.
"Well..." Kiba said slowly, looking at the scene. "...That's interesting."
Naruto didn't waste any time in tackling the grinning idiot standing behind the bench. Whether or not the tackle was done out of anger or joy was still unclear.
"Holy crap it's been ages since I saw you guys!" Naruto called. His hug was returned before he pulled back to grin at the boy before him. "How've you been you psycho?"
Kao grinned, his green eyes gleaming in the light of a nearby lantern. "I've been plotting world domination, scaring small children and eating hamburgers. So," he shrugged, "Nothing out of the ordinary."
Naruto laughed before the clearing of a throat made him look to the right. His grin returned and he jumped over the bench to grab the other boy in a tight hug.
"Kamurou!"
Kamurou smiled, patting Naruto on the head as he was hugged. "Hi Naruto. How are you?" he asked.
Naruto stepped back. "I'm great! Ero-sennin adopted me and we moved here! I'm going to Konoha High School too! Oh! And look!" He reached back and grabbed Sasuke, who had been watching the exchange quietly and pulled him forward. "Sasuke's here!"
Kao and Kamurou's grin's were identical in both glee and wickedness. "Oh, lover-boy is still in the picture?" Kao asked, circling Sasuke like a hawk. "Very interesting."
Kamurou laughed lightly, his turquoise eyes sparkling. "Excuse my brother, he didn't take his medication this morning."
Naruto laughed while Kao simply shrugged. "Guilty as charged," the crimson said smirking.
Sasuke took in the twin's appearances. They hadn't changed dramatically since the last time he saw them, but there were a few. Kao seemed to have grown slightly taller and Kamurou had filled out a bit, his shoulders broader than before. Kao's hair was longer too, the pony tail no longer short and stubbed but rather several long spikes flowing out the back of his head. Kamurou's hair had grown too, the spikes at the back drooping a bit more while his fringe brushed his eyes.
"Hn. I suppose it's good to see you," he greeted, smirking when Kao visibly bristled.
"Hey! You should be jumping for joy at seeing our greatness again!" The older twin declared, puffing out his chest. Kamurou simply rolled his eyes, uncaring.
"Hn. Dogs who bark the loudest are the weakest ones, they say." Sasuke chuckled evilly when Kao's eyes widened before they narrowed to slits.
"So Princess wants some silence does he?" he asked, stepping closer.
Sasuke did not like the new nickname, and his eyes burned with a glare as he too stepped forward. Naruto sighed, stepping back to stand next to Kamurou, who had crossed his arms and was watching with bored interest.
"Three bucks says Kao hits first." Kamurou said softly, and Naruto grinned.
"You're on." He said, thinking of Sasuke's short temper.
By now, Kao was putting a whole new meaning to the term 'personal bubble breach' as he had practically plastered himself to Sasuke, glaring straight into the onyx orbs that glared right back. Had it been anyone else pressing up against the raven, Naruto would probably have had a problem, but as it was he knew Kao had no interest in Sasuke other than the small wish to maybe disembowel him. How did he know this?
It was easy.
Kao only ever put girlish nicknames to the people who grated on his nerves in a bad way. He had called Sora, back in the day, 'Cuddles'. It was mainly inspired by the fact he'd caught Sora cuddling a teddy when they were six. The teddy had belonged to Kamurou, who had told his twin it was missing. Being the ever faithful big brother-15 seconds count, okay?- Kao had searched the entire orphanage to find it and find it he did. Right in the arms of a sleeping Sora with one ear being sucked in the ashen boy's mouth.
Naruto still got shivers remembering the uproar that had happened then. He knew that Kao wasn't the sanest person around, but seriously...there really had been no need for him to hit Sora with a hockey stick until the boy relinquished his hold on the bear.
Naruto tensed slightly, suddenly feeling unhappy for a whole different reason. While he knew Sasuke could take care of himself, he also knew Sasuke had only physically fought against relatively sane people. Kao was unpredictable sometimes, and he hoped to God the crimson wouldn't pull any psychotic moves that would result in an ambulance being called.
That would just be such a downer.
"Back off, Shit-face."
Score to Sasuke.
"Make me, Chicken Shit."
Kao counters back!
"Last warning, Dick-head."
Sasuke resorts to the classics! The battle grows tense!
"Bring it on, Cheese-dick."
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
Sasuke shoved, growling when Kao grabbed his arms and pulled him along. The two began shoving each other and dragging each other, trying to get the other to fall over. Kamurou nudged Naruto's side and the two headed towards the bench. They sat down, legs crossed and watched the match before them, making a few comments every now and again.
Eventually Sasuke slid behind Kao, wrapping an arm around the boy's neck to restrain him. The green eyed boy growled loudly, grabbing the arm and trying to pry it off. His eyes flashed and Sasuke grunted when he felt an elbow lodge into his stomach. His grip weakened and the next second he was spinning through the air. His legs shot out to catch himself and he found himself suspended, his feet on the floor while his hands gripped the arm wrapped in his jacket, holding his upper body up. Kao was grinning down at him, the look only being described as sadistic.
"Oh dear, I have me a damsel in distress!" he teased, and Naruto stood up, knowing the boy was going to attack for real. Kamurou was also on his feet, moving towards his twin.
Sasuke braced himself for the oncoming hit, his eyes narrowing. He saw the fist heading towards him but before it made contact another voice called out.
"There you are!"
"Whoa holy cheese fuck!" Kao cried out, his fist swerving as he lost his balance at the sudden interruption. Sasuke grunted as he fell to the floor and Kao landed next to him, his green eyes wide as they looked up at the person standing at the entrance.
Naruto noticed Kamurou had also stiffened, eyes widening slightly and he turned, blinking at the newcomer.
A woman stood with her arms folded across her chest, hazel green eyes taking in the two boys on the floor with a kind of detached interest. Her hair was a pale blonde with long bangs in the front and cut short in the back. But the thing that caught Naruto's attention the most was the orange sweater she was wearing with a large number stitched in dark purple on the front. He squinted, trying to make out the number and saw it was '99'.
Kamurou stepped forwards, smiling sheepishly. "He he...Hi mom." He greeted, waving lightly.
Naruto gaped at him, turning to look between him and the newcomer. His hand raised, finger pointing at the woman. "...She's your mom?...You guys have a mom?" he asked stupidly.
Kamurou nodded, smiling. "She kind of adopted us."
"Kind of?"
"Foster care."
"Oh..." Naruto trailed off, looking at the woman. "...Yet you call her mom?"
"Her request."
This caused two blonde eyebrows to rise, one in confusion, the other in embarrassed annoyance.
"I swear, I turn my back on you boys for a second and you're off causing mayhem somewhere." The woman said, stepping forward towards Kao. He grinned up at her, sheepishly, from his spot on the floor. She rolled her eyes and reached down, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugging him up. Sasuke felt a tug on his own jacket and realized she was urging him to his feet too.
He climbed up slowly, and stood stock still as she started to brush the dust off his jacket while doing the same to Kao.
Naruto stood by, watching the interaction with curiosity. He noticed how Sasuke had stiffened immensely under the 'motherly' action and hoped the raven was alright.
The blonde woman finished dusting them off, muttering all the while about 'annoying boys' as she worked. When she stepped back, one hand was still firmly clenched on Kao's shoulder as if to keep him from running away. She flicked her wrist in Naruto's direction, leaving the blond boy to wonder if she had a twitch. However he soon realized it was a signal consider the fact that Kamurou practically jumped over to her, standing next to her while she gripped his shoulder.
"I'm sorry for any rough housing my 'sons' have undoubtedly instigated," her hands squeezed and Naruto saw the twins twitch, their grin's becoming a bit more forceful. "But, I'm afraid we must be going now."
Sasuke moved to stand next to Naruto, his hand reaching out to clasp its tan counterpart. He noticed the woman's eyes flicker to their joined limbs and felt apprehensive when her eyes seemed to gleam.
Kao looked up at her. "But Ma, we haven't seen Naruto in ages!"
"Naruto?" She looked towards the blond boy, nodding. "You're Uzumaki Naruto, from the orphanage?"
"Yes miss." Naruto answered, unsure how to act. He'd never seen the twins' so...docile. It was weird to see them sit tight like two puppies on a leash. However, now that he thought about it, he'd never seen them looking quite so happy. He guessed it must be because they now had a 'mother'. A smile worked its way onto his face before he could stop it, and he was surprised when the lady returned it with one of her own.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Naruto-kun." Her eyes drifted down to the twins' and she squeezed their shoulders again before letting go. "I'll give you boys a few minutes to say a proper and," she glared down at Kao, "non-violent goodbye to your friends."
She stepped back, crossing her arms and waiting patiently. Kamurou stepped forward, holding his fist up.
"Well we'll see you guys around!" he said, and Naruto stepped forward to bump fists with the boy. He turned to Sasuke and smirked before holding out his hand for a good old fashioned handshake. Sasuke returned the smirk and the gesture.
"Hn."
"My, you're so articulate." Kao drawled, stepping forward. However the anger was gone from his face and replaced with humour. He held his arms up towards Naruto, waving his hands inwards for a hug. "Come on Blondie, you know you want to!"
Naruto laughed, stepping forward for a brief, manly hug.
Yeah, Kao giggled.
"And you too Princess! See you around!" Kao stepped forward and grabbed Sasuke into a crushing hug before the raven could protest.
There came a surprised hum from somewhere to the left.
"Well...this is interesting."
Sasuke groaned as his head hit his pillow. The entire evening had been chaotic from the roller coaster an onwards. After Gaara and Neji showed up, Naruto and the twins had almost given birth to a cow in their sudden excitement. He was surprised Gaara hadn't suffocated under the hugs Naruto and that psycho bastard Kao were bestowing upon him.
Huffing, he rolled over onto his back and stared at the dark ceiling presented to him. It had been a blur of hugs and hello's and goodbye's and chatter he could hardly make out one conversation from the next. However, he could vividly recall-with sadistic glee- the moment when the twin's new 'mother' had punished and made Kao apologise for a very rude comment towards Sasuke.
The woman had heard the words, taken a breath and the next thing anyone knew, Kao was holding his ass, a look of pain on his face as he gasped out an 'I'm sorry, Uchiha-kun! Sorry Ma!'
Honestly, he hadn't even seen her hand move but the result was most enjoyed.
After a few more conversations, the twins and their mother, who had insisted people just call her 'J' for some odd reason, had left. Neji and Gaara had headed out to finish their date while Sasuke, Naruto, Kiba and Hinata had returned to the others. Both Kiba and Hinata had inquired about their sudden departure from the roller coaster, and it brought back the memories of what had happened.
Sasuke shivered, sitting up in the darkness of his room. He'd told Kiba to drop it, which had taken a few minutes to happen. Naruto had been so pale when they brought it up, and Sasuke knew that just the memory had freaked him out.
Whatever had happened had been bad, yet Sasuke wasn't sure how he knew that. Of course pain was never a good thing, but from what he knew Naruto hadn't experienced pain, and he wasn't a wimp. But instinctively he knew that it had been something to be feared, and it seemed Naruto knew it too.
Sasuke pushed himself off the bed, his bare feet hardly making any sound as he trudged out of his room. The apartment was quiet around him and he hugged his arms as he padded through the hall.
Reaching the door, he hesitated. He didn't want to admit it to himself, and definitely didn't want to admit it to his older brother.
But there was no way he could deny it.
He was scared.
He could almost feel something bad was going to happen and it was making him nervous beyond belief. He worried for his brother, for Naruto, for all his friends. What was coming? How could he protect them? Who was he trying to protect them from?
So many questions swirled in his mind with no answers, and it terrified him to feel this oncoming storm and have no way to prepare for it.
Finally, the darkness around him became too much, and he opened the door and slipped inside his brother's room. With quick steps he darted to the bed and climbed in. There was a sleepy snort from Itachi before the older raven turned over, rubbing his eyes.
"Sasuke? What's-..." Itachi's voice caught in his throat when he caught sight of his baby brother's face. Immediately he was pulling the younger boy towards him, wrapping him in a blanket and a hug and making hushing sounds to soothe him. "It's alright, Sasuke, I'm here." He cooed softly.
Itachi felt the trembles of the boy in his arms and had to bite his lip to stop any questions. He hadn't seen Sasuke like this in ages. The look on the boy's face had been one of pure terror and it hurt to see that look.
Itachi felt useless as he held his shivering brother and he could only pray that whatever Sasuke was suffering from would be mercilessly destroyed and quickly.
Jiraiya yawned widely as he jotted down a note in his notebook. It was nearing one in the morning and he was contemplating going to bed really. He'd had a rather boring day of working, cleaning, and getting slapped across the face by the busty cashier in the grocery store. Snickering lightly at the memory of his comment that had ear him the slap- "Can I see your melons? I like mine organic."- He stretched and was about to stand up when he caught the sound of shuffling steps. Pausing, he looked towards the hallway entrance and blinked at seeing Naruto standing half in shadow.
"Naruto?"
The blond seemed to withdraw at the sound of his voice before peeking forward again. Jiraiya narrowed his eyes slightly at the behaviour. He'd seen it in the blond before when he was a tiny little boy, and the reason was never a good one. Donning a soft expression, he leant back in his seat .
"Hey champ, what's wrong?" he asked softly.
Naruto shuffled forward again, and Jiraiya's eyes widened at the look in those normally cheerful blue eyes.
Within moments his arms were spread out in welcome and Naruto was climbing onto his lap, burying his face in Jiriaya's chest as the man hugged him and patted his head gently.
"Ssshhh...It's alright, kid, it's okay." Jiraiya hushed and tightened his hold when Naruto began shivering. He had noticed when Naruto came home that something had been off, but he had assumed that it was just Naruto being sad after saying goodbye to Sasuke.
But this was definitely caused by something more.
Naruto had looked terrified and lost, and his eyes were glassy with fear and unshed tears.
Jiraiya had only seen that level of fear on Naruto's face once, and that had been when he'd pulled the frightened two year old from the bloody arms of his dead parents.
"It's going to be okay, Naru."
Jiraiya prayed to God that it was true.
...
So it begins... *ominous organ music in the background*
XD How did you like it? Hope the 'surprise' was satsifactory...GAARA returns along with THE TWINS! And on that note I have an important question...ahem...
Would you like to see more of the Twins or not? (I know some people really dislike having O.c's constantly popping up in stories while others enjoy their added bonuses...so I'll let majority vote choose.) Just let me know in a review! (Oh yeah...)
Not sure when I'll have the next chapter ready, but just know that the Carnival isn't over yet! There's still some things left for me to play with in that setting. Muahahha...
Hope everyone is well!
Review please!
