I was the lead singer that Itachi liked that was mentioned ever so briefly. I wrote the stuff that appeared in the story, so I deserve one semi-dream aspiration.
No, it is not over yet. 28 chapters total. I no own.
They stayed in Los Angeles that night. When everyone was sober, awake, and all the rum was really gone, Neji wished they had followed the religious scripture. Naruto made a note that if they ever went on another road trip, they would most definitely stick to that scripture. It was a good scripture. So they stayed In LA and Neji was Angry at Those Who did not Enforce the Rules.
After their brief stop over in Los Angeles, they were going home. The last day of life on the road before they resumed their everyday lives and moved on, leaving the best road trip and greatest near-month of their short lives so far.
Neji would go back and face his family. He would probably end up staying with Gaara, Kankuro and Temari for a while. He bit his lip nervously, staring out the window as he rocked slowly back and forth with the rhythm of the van. He was going to his new home.
Gaara would go back as a man and not a boy. He was changed, not the sociopath he once was, not obsessed only with objects and the memory of sandcastles long ago washed away. He would go back and see his brother again, try to change the world for the better. He was going to his old home.
Temari would go back as a woman. She discovered her roots, love, tolerance. She found a way to love without sacrificing her own individuality. She had found her future with the man she loved, the one she would spend the rest of her life with. She was moving on. She had sworn off her drinking habits ("Last time, really!" she had said). She was going to her new future.
Shikamaru would go back and stop. He had been living on for years, years of going on day after day without ever getting anywhere. Now he could stop and not get anywhere without having to plug on. He had Temari for that now. Ever since he was a little boy, he had tried just to keep moving forward. He could stop. He could rest. He was going to his past.
Naruto would go back and face what his demons. For too long he had been tormented and tortured by the man the courts had put him in the care of. It wasn't like Sasuke: no physical pain was endured. It was just the emotional build-up of day after day, just trying to get by without making anyone too angry. He was going to his fight.
Sasuke would go back and run from his demons. For too long he had just taken beatings and worse. He was done. He couldn't fight back when he returned. He could run though, fight later. He could survive like this. He had what he needed, the blond boy that, reflecting back on it, he realized had kept him sane for so long. He was going to flee.
It was Temari's idea to see the movie. It was part of her massive 'let's pretend for one more minute that our lives can stay like this'. The theatre in the heart of Camarillo was quite normal. They paid for tickets and snaked into the pitch-black theatre. They found seats in the completely empty hall.
The movie was a blur. Temari remembered hugging Shikamaru's arm frantically during 'the scary parts' and Shikamaru remembered holding her in return. Neji remembered being groped through half the film until he eventually gave in to kissing Gaara, who remembered liking that. Sasuke remembered falling asleep halfway through, his head resting on Naruto's shoulder as the younger boy tucked strands of dark hair behind his ear. No one remembered what they saw or what it was about. Actually, not true, Kiba remembered, but he figured he should keep it to himself, so as not to completely boggle his friends.
The seven of them decided to spend the last night before they all returned home at Gaara and Temari's. Temari, Gaara and Kankuro were well off to say the least. Temari apparently had quite a few scholarships to live off, and made quite a little profit off rapping on the side. Kankuro managed to have a fairly high paying job that everyone had very in-depth conversations about and yet never cared to ask what it was ("It's not male prostitution, I can tell you that much!")
Kiba was wowed. "It's like, a freaking mini-mall in here!" he cried. Kankuro rounded a corner just as Kiba ran for the corner. They collided. "Watch where you're go-- Kankuro!"
"Kiba? Kiba! Hey! You look older and slightly more mature!"
"Your sister is responsible for that," Kiba said flatly. Kankuro raised an eyebrow and glanced at Temari. Kiba blinked, then caught on. "I learned how to tolerate punk and her hatred of Fifty Cent."
Kankuro's face returned to normal. Or, at least as normal as one with his make-up can look. "Oh. Yeah. She's been like that for a really long time with the hatred of Fifty Cent. Eminem too. Two years ago? Three years ago maybe, she went to a rally, and when she came back, she wouldn't stop coughing for a week."
"So that was where my Eminem CD went-- Temari, that cost money!" Kiba turned back to Kankuro. "Kankuro, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship."
"Good!" Temari cried from the living room. "Maybe you'll take up rock instead of that--" she was cut off by mumbling from beside her. "Gaara, show Neji where the bathroom is. Kankuro, go show Gaara your sixties psychedelic rock collection. Kiba, please try and learn to love Hendrix. Please."
Temari bustled off into the kitchen and paused by the phone. "Hey, take-out? I'll get ramen!" There was a squeal of approval from Naruto in the next room "Okay, I'll call from the Oriental place down the block. It's good. Really good." She picked up the phone and dialed. "Hey, this is Temari…yeah, I want an order of orange chicken, an order of miso soup, ditto fried prawns, ditto chow mien, some spicy, beef with broccoli, three orders of rice and ten bowls of ramen…yes, I did say ten…yeah, Naruto is here again. I'll swing by to pick it up in half an hour." She hung up the phone. "I need to tip that waitress. She remembers Naruto's name. Nowhere but Ichiraku does that."
Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto watched television. Well, Shikamaru watched television and Sasuke and Naruto tried really hard to watch television. Of course, after a while, Shikamaru saved them from themselves.
"Why don't you guys stop watching TV and go talk or whatever. This is rotting your brains. You got enough of that already." The lazy boy turned a hair to face the television better and soon became engrossed in the flicker images of the discovery channel, which no one knew they got.
Sasuke and Naruto made their way up to the guest bedroom. It was at the top of Gaara and Temari's ramshackle house, tacked on with nails, boards, and the sheer willpower of an anthropology major in the summer.
"So today is the last day," Sasuke said emotionlessly. The two boy sat facing each other on the floor. "Then the dream ends."
"The bubble pops."
"It's all over."
"We should really make the best of it, shouldn't we?" Naruto said with a wry smile.
"I couldn't agree more," Sasuke agreed, pushing Naruto backwards to the floor. He pushed the younger boy's shirt off, clamping his mouth on the other's collarbone.
Naruto tried to remember if they had locked the door. Of course, trying became wistful hoping, and eventually, the only thought in the two teenager's heads was each other. And of course, how they were going to smuggle the sheets into the wash. 'That could be a problem.'
When Sasuke and Naruto's disappearance came to attention, everyone reacted differently. Temari demanded money from Kiba. Kiba and Kankuro just locked the door and turned up the Grateful Dead louder. Neji and Gaara were already preoccupied with their own whatever. Shikamaru just smirked. He decided he liked the Discovery Channel.
Naruto didn't come down for ramen until it was cold. Of course, he was hot enough to heat it up himself (but the microwave helped a little).
That day Sasuke and Naruto learned tow very important lessons:
1. Do not throw sheets out window. Especially not when there are people around. White and sticky does not go with the décor of the lawn. The Tibetan Sand Sculptures don't go with the lawn either, but try telling that to Temari and Gaara. Better yet: don't.
2. Do not keep secrets from Temari. Important to keep in mind that she is in charge of the décor of the lawn. Keeping secrets from Temari is bad. Especially when she has money riding on it. Especially when she is in control of the ramen.
Naruto remembered just why the Nondenominational Road Trip Religious Scripture was so important.
Due to the T rating and Chas's fear of writing lemons, you are going to have to use your imagination with that part. You never know though, there is a sequel (2 more chapters to write!) and the language might make it M. Why waste a perfectly good M rating on a couple of nasty words:smirk:.