Hell-oh again people!
Bet you weren't expecting an update so soon, huh? Well, that's mainly thanks to all of our wonderful readers who took some time to support us with their reviews and made our comeback more than glorious!
So, before we begin, I'd like to thank phoenixyfriend, blackcatgirl, AKATSUKILOVER73, guest, Kiyomi-Chan7, Crow's Gamble and jashinistefangirls (and anyone who's reviewed in the past) for their invaluable support.
Special thanks and a virtual high five to KibaHinaLUV, redfox-akatsuki, Shizuka Taiyou, Devil's Blade and NightMare ReVisited for their constant support. Special thanks also for Alita 'n' Emily and FlyPandaBear, whom we haven't been able to contact but hope they're ok and will come back soon.
A reminder for Ms. Bride of Chucky (to whom our last chapter was dedicated), you haven't told us what you think about it!
And last but not least, a great, thunderous clap for our dear MahoShoujo, who has claimed to be our number one fan! *Sniff* Thank you Maho-Chan, *Sniff* we love you too!
That said let's skip to today's chapter! (Which for personal reasons is not recommended to be read alone at 1 am…) Please take two seconds to review when you're done, it would be very much appreciated.
Chapter Thirteen
xX Reality Xx
Dark… everything was so dark…
'Naruto… Naruto…'
He could hear someone calling his name on the distance, but his lids were too heavy with exhaustion and his whole body throbbed in pain.
'What's he doing?'
'He won't wake up. I think we've lost him!'
Wait… lose him? What did those voices mean by that? Had he… no, it couldn't be!
He couldn't have really lost a round now, could he? He clearly remembered going through all of them… unless…
'Naruto, get up!'
He tried to open his eyes, but his heart sank with despair as he found himself unable to do even such an easy task.
He couldn't wake up and he never would. He was dead now.
"Naruto!" Someone bellowed at the same time that something cold splashed against his face.
"Whaaaa!" He sat straight up, his heart hammering against his chest.
"What are you doing?"
Naruto lift his head to find Sasuke staring down at him in his usual 'You're stupid and I'm more handsome than you' way. Behind him, a hundred multi-colored lights danced around a darkened room.
That place… he knew it! He had been there before!
His eyes wandered from Sasuke to the other 10 familiar faces staring down at him. Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Neji… Ino!
"Ino!" Ignoring the pain and weariness he's been feeling just a second before, Naruto jumped to his feet and all but charged at her with a delighted squeal. She had barely enough time to yelp in surprise before he wrapped her in a bear hug.
"You're alive!" He cried out while trying to hold back his tears.
"What are you talking about?" Ino frowned. "Of course I'm…"
But he was no longer listening. He was too busy scanning the room in search of someone else.
"Where… where… where… Tenten!"
"What?" She squawked while trying to back up against a wall, but he was faster than her.
He held her tightly for a few seconds, then took a step back and ran his hands down her face.
"Look at you!" He smiled through his tears, which were now running freely. "You're so… complete!"
"I'm what?!" She blushed a deep red.
"Obviously…" Neji growled as he slapped Naruto's hands away (he'd started running his hands down her neck while muttering how beautiful she was). "He hit his head harder than we thought."
"He's probably just drunk." Sakura's eyebrow twitched. She had to hold Naruto back to prevent him from tackling Ino again.
"What's wrong with you?" Sasuke sneered.
"How did this happen?" He turned his head frantically around. "How did we escape?"
"Escape what?"
"The game!" He cried out. "The "Fear Game" or whatever the hell it was called!" Everyone stared at him as though he were sprouting an extra pair of arms. "We were all there, in this creepy sort of hallway and… and the traps and… notes on the walls!"
"Ok…" Kiba snickered. He probably thought it was all a joke.
"Ah… Akatsuki too!" Ignoring Kiba's mocking, Naruto turned to Sasuke. "You brother was there, so was shark-face! There were others with them and a blond guy got caught in the walls!"
"Ok, stop right there!" Said an obviously pissed Sasuke.
Naruto didn't listen.
"Tenten… Tenten, you died in the first round. Ino was the next one. She fell in a pit and-"
"Enough!" Sasuke barked. "You're scaring them!" He point to the two girls he'd mentioned. "You're scaring all of us!"
"Yeah, none of that happened!" Kiba guffawed, for some reason finding everything extremely amusing.
"But… But I… The G-Game Master…"
"You wanna know what DID happen? You were dancing over here like an idiot when you slipped and bounced your head against the table!" Sasuke was swelling with anger. "You've been unconscious for the last 5 minutes!"
"Oh…" He tried to say something, but couldn't find any words, so he was glad when Kiba broke the tension by laughing his eyes out.
"F-Fear Game?!" He managed to choke out. "Wha-What the hell! Fwahahahaha! I m-mean-hahah-dude!"
"Heh…" Naruto replied simply. "So… it didn't… happen?"
Still not completely convinced, he managed to force his face into a stupid smile. They all said he'd just imagined it but, to him, all the fear and pain had been too real.
How could seeing his friends being butchered one by one be something that his mind had simply made up? How could the smothering heat of the oven be nothing but a product of his hyperactive imagination?
"Teh… teh-heh…" Tenten began nervously. But Kiba's laughter, which rang higher than the head drumming music, was too contagious and it quickly spread to all the others.
Shrugging and wiping tears away from his eyes, Naruto joined the chorus of snorting and laughter.
So what if it had all been too real? He was out now! Besides, there was no way something like that could actually happen.
Not to them.
Not without a reason.
Out of the twelve persons (and one dog) gathered in that room, he was the one who laughed the hardest.
He laughed like an idiot, for an idiot he was, to have believed in something that was clearly impossible.
Laughed out of relief, because he'd finally beaten the "Game of Fear".
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Ten.- I know what you think, this isn't the best way to end a story, but it had to end somehow, you know? We really had no choice.
What? You don't like it?!
It's cheap, you say?!
But they're all alive! Shouldn't that make you happy?!
Ha-ha. No shit! Of course I'm joking!
Go ahead and keep on reading.
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"You forgot!" Sasuke began, his eyes twinkling. "The part about my ankle. That was funny!"
"Yeah… I guess… wait…" Naruto stared at Sasuke's exaggerated smile, a chill running down his back. "I haven't mentioned that part."
"Who cares?" His grin was so wide that even in the darkened room, Naruto could clearly make out the vampire fangs glued over his own teeth, except that he was missing one. "It was funny!"
He began laughing harder, almost violently. The others did the same and soon even the music was drowned under their hysterical fits.
"No…" Naruto backed away from him, the hairs at the back of his neck standing up on ends. "It's not funny. How do you even know that?"
Sasuke didn't answer. Instead he sank down, still laughing, as though it were all too much to take.
His left foot was purple and horribly swollen.
"Stop that!" Naruto croaked.
It wasn't funny anymore.
He tried to back away, to get out of that place, but until then he hadn't noticed that his friends had moved to form a circle around him.
"How did I die Naruto?" Ino grinned wickedly at him, a thin streak of blood running out of a corner of her mouth. "Please tell me more about it."
Naruto tried to speak, to tell her to stop, but he appeared to have lost that ability. His mouth hanging open in a silent scream, he could only observe, as though petrified, as Ino's laughter turned into gurgling chuckles while more blood oozed out of it.
What was happening? What was this?
Another round? It couldn't be that. He didn't remember starting a round!
"Oh, don't listen to her!" Tenten's eyes were tearing from laughing so much. Her thick, crimson tears smudged her cheeks on their way down. "Tell them about how I died."
Again, his mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out of it.
"Bet they'd love to know all about it." There was something wrong with her skin, it seemed to be getting all bumpy as though she were about to grow feathers. "They'd love to know how I got these."
At the mention of them, dozens of the same needles that had killed her began poking out from her skin as though she were growing them. Blood dripped silently out of her wounds, which for some illogical reason sent the others doubling up into another fit of hysterical laughter.
Holding her stomach, Sakura fell to her knees. She was laughing strangely, gagging and spluttering as though she were choking.
"Look at that!" Sasuke point in Sakura's direction.
There were charred body pieces coming out of her outstretched mouth.
"S… Stop…" He finally managed to choke out. "Stop it… everyone… sto-stop it already!"
"Come on, Naruto! This is fun, don't you see it?"
He looked around at the eleven wide grins, his own terrified face reflected on their glaring eyes.
"Enough!"
"But it's so fun, isn't it?"
"Don't you see it Naruto?"
"Come on, Naruto!"
"Naruto!"
"Naruto!"
"Stop it, just stop!" He shut his eyes and covered his ears. "STOP!"
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"Naruto… Naruto…"
He woke up with a start, eyes moving wildly around as he gasped for breath. In a second he took in the metal walls, the dimly lit ceiling and the battered up people around him.
He was back. Back into the Game of Fear that he so much longed to escape.
"You okay?" Sasuke asked, struggling to his feet. "I couldn't wake you up."
"Uh… yeah…" He lied, though his skin was still crawling. There was no point in telling him when it was now clear which of his realities had been a nightmare. "Just tired."
Now that he was awake, he could remember everything clearly. He had fallen asleep out of exhaustion while they took a break to treat their wounds. Well, that is if scrapping lip balm out of the girl's pockets and using pieces of Lee's mummy costume could be considered as "treating".
"Come on, then. We've got to keep moving." His ankle was now heavily bandaged, allowing him to at least limp forward. Still, if it wasn't properly treated soon, it might never actually heal.
Staggering to his feet, Naruto extended his arm to Sakura, whose head had been bandaged as well.
Both of Lee's arms were now bare.
"I'm sorry." She apologized for whatever reason as she held on to his arm for support.
"Don't worry Sakura-Chan." He offered her a forced gesture that attempted to be a smile. "We'll get out of here soon."
He was glad it had all just been a dream… too bad his reality wasn't any better.
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Ten.- So there you have it. Kinda sucky, but please review if you liked it, that'd be awesome! Also, as a special treat, we have added a new poll in our profile. It contains 4 names chosen at random for you to decide who will be our next victim, so you might want to check it out.
Thanks!
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