Lily: ugh, i dunno. maybe i'm crazy. check my online diary for any info. R&R
Phantom: *_O i feel really out of it. this story might be sorta weird because of that.
Fly-Girl: lily doesn't use me much for art anymore, so i figure i can help with the stories.

Beast: Ki Tsu Ne
Chapter Three
Treasure

Treasure
-3. psych.: a. the treasure in the cave: the Mystic Centre (Life) within man (with the Cave as a mother-image), the Self emerging (as the opposite of the mere Ego), being reborn, having conquered the dragon of introversion, repression, regression, etc. of the stranded libido;


The next morning Sasuke forgot where he was for a moment. This wasn't his room... memories from yesterday came pouring back. Sasuke was not, as he felt he should be, devastated and upset over being torn away from his brother and being sent to live in this place for, quite possibly, the rest of his life. Wasn't it Itachi that had been so happy to get him out of the house? Wasn't it Itachi who had told the doctors to pull the plug when their parents had been in a coma?

Sasuke blinked.

That memory had come unbidden, but it was still true. Itachi had helped their parents to their graves.

Sasuke sighed and rolled out of bed. He walked over to the chest of drawers that was standing by the wall. He pulled opened the drawers, not really surprised to see that they were filled with his favorite kinds of clothes. Sasuke tugged on a a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips, letting the tops of his boxers show. Sasuke smirked, well, lookie there, his favorite t-shirt. He pulled the long sleeved, black shirt over his head. It was a regular shirt with a picture of Tetsuo from Akira on the chest. Tetsuo's head was tilted back, his tongue stuck out and a red-and-white pill on his tongue. The speech bubble read, See? They're just like candy.

Sasuke ran a comb through his sleek black hair and, deciding that he was fit for the day, headed off to try and find the library. It wasn't too hard to find the library. Sasuke had to go into the dining room and through one of the other doors. Sasuke could hardly keep himself from drooling when he saw the library.

The walls had to be nearly twenty feet high, covered in books. A small balcony like thing ran across the middle of the shelves, so that you could get to some of the higher up books. Rolling ladders were on both levels. In one shadowed corner there was a small coffee table, a squishy armchair and an equally squishy couch.

It was perfect.

The first thing that Sasuke did was climb up to the balcony and slide around on the ladder for a bit. After exhausting that possibility and himself, he got down to the real work of looking through the books. They were classified by genre and author's last name, tiny labels proclaiming where in the vast alphabet Sasuke was. Sasuke was slightly surprised, but very glad, to find that there was even a collection of graphic novels and comic books. Sasuke scoured the shelves, picking up any book that struck his eye. Fantasy, Biography, Poetry, Science, Sasuke loved them all. Sasuke loved their smell. Lipstick, dust and leather. It was hard to believe that something as seemingly mundane as a book could have such a wild smell, but that was just part of their mystery. Books were Sasuke's passion, his love, his treasure. Books could take you to new worlds, teach you new things and yet it was so hard for people to understand why Sasuke preferred books to people.

Sasuke sat in the armchair, feet curled under him, going through book after book.

It was around ten in the morning when Sasuke heard something. A thump, followed by a grunt. Sasuke got up from the chair, looking up at the balcony. A boy near his age, maybe younger, was sitting on the ground, his legs splayed out and his hands resting on the ground, a book lay near him, having fallen half open. The boy appeared to have just fallen off the ladder.

Are you ok? said Sasuke.
The boy growled and hopped up. He glared at Sasuke with his eyes closed. Is that possible? thought Sasuke.
m fine, said the boy with his nose in the air.
Well, ok. Um...
Hey, it's ten thirty. Have you had breakfast yet?
Ah? No, no I haven't,
Well, come with me. I can get you some breakfast.
Thank you...?
Naruto. You must be Sasuke.

Well, c'mon.

Naruto climbed down from the balcony and Sasuke followed him out of the library. They headed back into the dining room and out the fourth door, the one Sasuke had yet to go through. It lead to a large but simple kitchen. Naruto walked over to an enormous refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of milk. He set down two bowls, poured some Lucky Charms into them and poured the milk over the cereal. He handed a bowl and a spoon to Sasuke.

The boy dug into the cereal happily, slurping the milk up. Sasuke took this time to study Naruto. His sun-bright hair was unruly, wild locks shadowing his eyes. Eyes. Naruto's eyes were an impossible blue, the hottest day of the summer, no clouds, looking up from where you're floating in the pool. His skin was pale, with a bluish tinge to the shadows, like skimmed milk. He had three little stripes on either cheek, like tiny whiskers. Naruto's smile was rather manic, flashing all his oddly sharp teeth and scrunching his eyes shut.

Whatcha starin' at? said Naruto with out looking up from his cereal.
Staring? I'm not staring at anything.
Yeah right. You were staring at me. Naruto glared at Sasuke through his bangs.
If I were staring at you, how would you know?
I just do, stupid. I can feel it. Naruto pushed out his lower lip in a pout. Hey, thought Sasuke, he's cute when he does that. Ahh! Sasuke! You barely even know him! Stop it.
Never mind, this isn't going anywhere. So, why are you here, at Ki Tsu Ne's house?
Same reason you are.
A tithe?

Who'd you pay for? It was my brother who sent me here. Sasuke let his normal blank expression be replaced with a scowl.
I'm not paying for anyone, cept myself. Naruto bent his spoon back and flicked some milk at Sasuke. Sasuke wiped the milk off his cheek.
Oh, just so you know, said Naruto, after nine p.m. I won't be around.
What? Why not?
None of your business.

The two sat for awhile without talking. Naruto, it seemed, couldn't stand silence for very long.
So, Sasuke, what sorta stuff do you like?
I like books, music and, um... action movies. You know, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hong Kong action. Ninja and samurai.
Really? Me, too. That's good because Ki Tsu Ne has a TV and he's got some pretty good movies, to boot.
Cool, what's he got?
Legend of Drunken Master, Master of The Flying Guillotine, Perfect Blue, Lum Urusei Yatsura and Ghost In The Shell. Some others, but I can't remember.
Cool. You want to watch something?

What's your favorite?
Ghost In The Shell!
Let's watch it.
Naruto lead Sasuke back to the library and went to one of the shelves. Sasuke helped Naruto set up a table and the TV The put the DVD in a nd curled up on the couch together.

Sasuke stopped for a moment, slightly surprised. Naruto was sitting right next to him, leaning towards him, even. Their shoulders and hips were touching, Naruto's elbow squeezed in between Sasuke and himself. Sasuke gave a tiny shiver, Naruto's skin was cold. He half expected his own skin to burn Naruto.

After the movie they sat together, talking.
The Puppet Master was right, said Sasuke, what qualifies us as an individual? How can we know that there isn't anyone out there just like us? Plus, a lot of your personality is determined by how you're brought up. What if someone was brought up exactly the way you were? Would they be the same?
said Naruto, I think everyone's different, even when they're just babies.
But then there's always a clear cut line between individuality and duality.'
Naruto's voice was quiet and far away sounding, that line blurs easy.
Sasuke looked at Naruto oddly. There was something tired and old sounding in his voice, something that hadn't been there a moment before.

gasped Naruto, It's almost nine! I have to go. See you tomorrow, Sasuke.
Naruto hurried out of the library.

That night, as Sasuke ate an already prepared dinner, Ki Tsu Ne watched him, silent. Sasuke found himself wishing that Naruto was there, loud and annoying.


Lily: ooh. that was long.
Phantom: took a few days to do.
Fly-Girl: need to work on our html skills for the diary too.