disclaimer : We do not own Naruto. *sniffs* One day, though.... Maybe. If
we get sued, all they'll get is a few copies of our fiction. Probably not
even those.
A/N : Rin: We're getting so many reviews!! It's so kewl! X3 I'M LOVIN' THIIIIIIS!!!! XDDDDD
Yami Rin: 9_9 Of course we're getting reviews!!! People LIKE what we write! Err... type! Yeah that's it... l:D Anyways, now, to answer our reviews for chapter 1!
Rin: Sugoi-no.... ^___^ Twah!!
Yami Rin: I don't know HOW you can be so perky so early in the morning...... See, our room's getting renovated, and we're letting her father do it, and he likes to fool around with stuff to do with carpentry, so now we don't have a floor! There's just a big hole in the floor about the size of the room. So, we were forced to sleep in the living room on an air mattress, and it gets light very early, and there's a big ass window and it woke us up at, like, 7:00 this morning!! I could have killed him...... _:) Heh heh heh.....
To Gelfling: Rin: Thank you SO much (again) for cheering us up about the flame! We (or I, anyway) would have taken a long time to get my mood out of the gutter and back up to the cheery status that it's in now. THANK YOOOOUUUU~~!!!!!
To Gelfling: Yami Rin: Tee hee!! I think I love you too. You helped my Rin- kun out!!! WAHHH!!!!!!!!! *hugs Gelfling* I LOVE YA!!!!!!
To The Firey: Rin: Thank you ever so much! *giggles* I really liked doing Gaara's chappie!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Rin: Anyway! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!
Yami Rin: o.O;; Okay, THAT was weird...
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Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)
3) {blah blah} = author's notes
4) "blah blah" = speech
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!
Warning2: this chapter's probably gonna have some fluff in it, so ya better watch out. ^___^
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Even the Cold Burns by rin lockheart and Yami Rin
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Chapter Two
[Sasuke's POV]
The Mist Continent had changed a lot of things for me. For example, the way I see Naruto. I used to see him as an immature, loud, obnoxious brat. That was before I thrown myself in front of him to block him from Haku's supposed "deadly" attack. Oh well. Neither of us knew that it wasn't lethal.
Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and I had just gotten home from the mission to the Mist Continent. I had noticed that Naruto kept throwing these odd glances at me from time to time. I guessed it was from the fight with Zabuza and Haku....
I hadn't really thought about as to why I had saved Naruto until the walk home. Well, I couldn't before that, really, for I was unconscious. I guess it was because I thought of him as a rival, someone worthy to spar with me. For a long time, I didn't even think of him as that. All I saw him as was.... dumb. I hate to say it, but that's what I thought.
But when I think about it, I didn't really think of him as a rival that much anymore, but more as a friend. Because he understood what true loneliness was. Sure, we still have the competitiveness, but it's not like it was before. Before, we would always throw spiteful glares at each other, and now we just glace spitefully. Such a change, ne? And I really don't like it all that much.....
You see, the thing is, my mind has been feeding me all these different fantasies. About Naruto. Once, I saw Naruto. And a bed. So you see my dilemma? It only started after Haku, but it came with such a force that I almost couldn't control myself around the fox boy. Heh. I even thought up a nickname for him.
I find that he always looks like a fox somehow; it's the way he smiles, added to the whisker-like lines on both sides of his face I guess. He looks kind of cute...
Yes, I admit, I think I might like him, a little bit. No, I can't even like him that much. I am an Avenger, and I have to kill my brother for taking away all that was important in my life. I don't have time for such rampant emotions such as that. But my emotion came up very clearly the night we got back.
I had just gotten home and proceeded to take a nice, hot shower. After that, I planned to go to bed and rest, as we had to do something for the Chunin exams in the morning. Now out of the shower, I pulled on a pair of navy pajama pants and started to climb into the cool sheets that awaited me. That is, until a rapid knocking came to my front door. I got up and went to answer it, grumbling as I went. The knocking didn't seece; whoever it was wanted my attention, and fast. I threw open the door and was immediately knocked over by an orange and blonde blur.
To say I was surprised would have been the biggest understatement made by the lips of man.
"Shutthedoor, shutthedoor!!!!!" the blur hollered. I obliged instantly, recognizing the voice. He had latched himself onto my hip and refused to let go. He sighed shakily. I glared at the back of his head.
I looked down at Naruto's face and my gaze softened. He was looking up at me with his big blue eyes that I couldn't resist. I'll be damned if he ever finds this out. The blonde boy trembled so much that he sent tremors throughout my body. I held him by the shoulders and spoke to him.
"Naruto," I said, "What's the matter? You're trembling..." He looked up at me with wearily, terrified eyes.
I saw him glance down at the rest of me, pausing for a moment at my chest. I inwardly smirked; if only poor Naruto could see this, he'd slap himself. He finally looked back up to my face when I called out his name.
He went straight into gibberish mode.
"I-it-was-this-really-weird-lookin'-guy!!!" he said. "He-cornered-me-in-an- alleyway-and-pushed-me-up-against-a-wall-" He took a breath. "-and-then-I- ran-back-home,-but-he-was-there-too-so-I-ran-here-and-he-was-chasing-me-all- the-way-here-and--and..." I saw his eyes start to well with tears and he look down, obviously ashamed. I put two fingers underneath his chin and forced him to look at me. The tears were running freely down his face now.
"It's alright now," I cooed to him. "You can spend the night here if you want." I gazed at him for a moment longer before he nodded and stuttered out an, "A-alright..."
I stood up and he stood with me, still attached to my hip. I walked over to the couch by the far wall and folded it out, making a bed. He let go of me by this time and sat on the bed as I went to get a pillow and a blanket from the closet. When I got back, he was still sitting in the exact same position as when I left. He seemed to be lost in thought; his eyes were glazed over and half-lidded. The blonde boy didn't even seem to notice that I had returned.
"Hey, dobe," I called out. He instantly turned his head my way and glared. "Catch." I smirked and threw the blanket and pillow at him. Both things landed on his head, even though he held out his arms to catch them. What a klutz....
"Heh..." I said. He looked up from trying to arrange the pillow. "Do you want a pair of pajamas? 'Cause I mean, I really don't think that you have any." He huffed at me.
"I'm just fine, thank you very much!" He folded his arms over his chest.
I smirked again. "Whatever." I turned towards my room to leave, but I faced his way again for a second. "Dobe," I added. He angrily puffed his cheeks out, like he did before the mission to the Mist Continent. I chuckled and headed into my room, not without flicking off the light on him on the way. I closed the door, the only source of light that was left to him, and a loud thump was heard followed by random curses on my name. I shook my head and crawled into bed.
I did a bit of thinking before drifting off, because only now I really thought about what Naruto said when he first came here. Someone was chasing him? Who? And why? A sudden possessiveness coursed through me like wildfire; who would dare try and go after my Naruto?! Wait a second, mine?!? Since when did I consider Naruto mine? Okay, maybe I'm a little protective of him, but I don't like him like that!
Drowsiness caught hold of me suddenly and my eyes started to droop, my last thought being, 'I don't like him...'
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I was awoken suddenly by someone latching themselves onto my arm. Using my free arm, I reached over and grabbed the kunai I kept on the side table, sitting up, grabbing the person, and holding the blade to their throat. I couldn't see the person, as it was still dark in the room, but I could tell that they were slighter then I was. A familiar scent assaulted my nose and let go of the slightly coughing person.
"Naruto?!" I exclaimed through the darkness. I could just make out his silhouette against the window. "What the hell are you doing?!" He latched himself onto my arm again.
"I-I heard t-these noises a-and I thought that G-Gaara was coming after me again...." I could tell that he was looking at me with his big baby blue eyes. But wait a minute, Gaara? He was the one after Naruto?!
"Gaara?" I asked. "Are you sure that's what his name was?" I felt him nod against my arm, his hair tickling slightly. "Do you mean Gaara of the Sand?" He didn't answer. I forced him to release my arm and I sat him directly across from me, our knees touching. I put my hands on his shoulders and held him at arms length. "Naruto, was it Gaara of the Sand?"
He looked around for a moment, as if struggling to find the words. "I-I don't know.... I know that he had this symbol on his forehead... 'Love' I think it was. And that he has this big gourd on his back... Oh yeah..! He had this weird crimson color hair... and no eyebrows!"
I sighed and dropped my hands from his shoulders. "That's Gaara of the Sand, all right. But what's he doing here so early? The Chunin exams don't start for another few weeks yet..." I let my head loll backwards, as far as it would go. "Hmmm...."
This was when Naruto spoke up. "Why? Who's Gaara of the Sand, anyway? Is he important or something??" My head snapped up and I looked at him hard. He flinched.
"Gaara is a ninja from the Sand Continent," I started. "He's been well known for a while now because of what he does best. And what he does best... is kill." Naruto froze on the spot. I looked away and gazed out of the window. "It's said that the gourd on his back is made from sand and the blood of all the people he's ever killed. He can use the sand to his advantage, because he uses it in all of his jutsus. If he comes after you again, get away from him as fast as you can."
I looked back to Naruto through the darkness and saw that he was shaking again. I know what I said was a bit much to handle, but I've never known Naruto to tremble. A sudden thought occurred to me; was Naruto not telling me something? I was about to ask him, but he spoke up first.
"Sasuke..." he said quietly. I had to strain my ears to hear him. "W-what if Gaara isn't trying to kill me..?" I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He looked down. "Naruto?"
"............."
He started swaying back and forth, like he usually did when he was bored or couldn't find the right thing to say. The silence rung in my ears as I stared at the top of his head, waiting for him to continue.
"Sasuke...." he mumbled. I nodded to show that I'd heard him, but I don't think he saw it. He continued regardless. "I think he... think he might... might.. like me....." He looked up at me to see my reaction.
My eyes widened in shock. At first I didn't believe him, but then I thought about it; Gaara could have easily killed Naruto if he had the mind to. But he didn't. And that didn't seem like the kind of thing Gaara would do. He was known for killing at random, for no apparent reason other than he could. I looked up Naruto to see that he was crying again. Silently, for I don't think he was about to give up his pride in front of me right yet. He spoke up suddenly.
"Why did he have to like me..?" he cried softly. "W-what did I do to deserve this...?" He sniffed. Then he hiccupped. And then he grabbed one of my pillows and buried his face in it. He laid down on his stomach and continued to try and smother himself. I kneeled beside him and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto, it's not your fault," I said. I must admit, I'm not very good at comforting people. Probably because I've never been comforted by anyone before. He refused to remove his face from my pillow. "Naruto, look at me, would you?" Hesitatingly, he replied, bringing his whole body up and sitting in front of me again. Only this time it was him sitting and me on my knees, instead of both on our knees. The dried tearstains on his face were blotched because of the pillow. Oh Naruto, my poor, poor Naruto. You shouldn't have to bear this pain. If I could take it from you I would.
I suddenly reached my arms out and pulled his slight body towards mine. He froze, but eventually relaxed again by the time he was comfortably sitting in my lap. Each of his legs were on either side of my waist, straddling me slightly. My arms were around his shoulders in an embrace and, this took a moment though, he laid his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my middle. We sat there for a minute or two before I disrupted the blissful silence.
"Naruto, you can always look to me for someone to lean on," I whispered. I felt him shiver from my warm breath on his ear. "And I'll always be here to listen, dobe." I smirked. "Just don't get all touchy feely out in public. I have a reputation to protect, you know." I listened to him as he chuckled. The rumbling in his chest sent shivers down my spine.
When we pulled apart, I noticed that he wasn't wearing anything related to a shirt. All he had on was his orange pants. I could feel my face heating up, but luckily, I don't think he could see it through the semi-darkness. I was expecting him to get up and leave for his own bed, but he seemed reluctant to get up off of my bed.
He turned to face me, and I swore I could see his cheeks go a shade darker. "S-Sasuke..?" he asked, shyly almost.
"Hmm?" was my reply.
He seemed to go an even darker shade. "Could I, uh.... sleep with you?" He looked at me hopefully.
I nearly choked when I thought he meant something else. I mentally slapped myself when I realized his true meaning; he simply wanted to sleep in the same bed as I did. Man, if I keep going on like this, I'm gonna end up like Kakashi-sensei. "Sure," I said. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks..." he murmured, before pulling back the covers and getting under them. He snuggled down contently before closing his eyes and attempting to go to sleep. I took one last glance at his passive face and got under the covers myself, lying on my back.
I simply lay there with my eyes half open, listening to the boy beside me breath. Pretty soon his breathing became longer and more steadily, so I could tell that he was finally asleep. I turned my head and glanced over at him to see that he was smiling, a small smile that was nothing like the fox smile he's accustomed to wearing, but a little, gentle one. He looks so serene when he's asleep; I've noticed that from the few times that I've seen him sleeping while we were supposed to be doing a mission.
My body suddenly developed a mind of its own. I shifted over and wrapped my arms around Naruto's waist, pulling him closer to me. I buried my face into his hair and prayed to every god that I knew the name of that he wouldn't wake up. His breath tickled the skin on my neck with every breath he took.
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A/N: Rin: I so don't think we did Sasuke IC...... -----...----- Really, I don't. And I TOLD you Naruto would be acting like a little girl in this fic!! And don't worry all you KakaIru fans, there's gonna be at least a mentioning of them in the next chapter!! ^_~
Yami Rin: I think we did a pretty good job. You did a good job on the fluffy parts! And.... there weren't many angsty parts so.... I didn't really do all that much this chapter. Oh well, there's always next chapter!! X3 Oh yeah! Anyway people, REVIEW!!!! This time, flames will be used to roast marshmallows and keep us warms at night (it gets very cold up here in Canada. Where we live, anyway....).
Rin: Would some people be able to tell me if they think that Sasuke was IC or OOC? Pwease?? :3 I'll be very happy if you do! And just as a note, SHAMAN KING EPISODES ARE GONNA BE ON FOX IN THE FALL!!!! I CAN'T WAAAAAIIIIITTT!!!!!! XDDDDDDD
A/N : Rin: We're getting so many reviews!! It's so kewl! X3 I'M LOVIN' THIIIIIIS!!!! XDDDDD
Yami Rin: 9_9 Of course we're getting reviews!!! People LIKE what we write! Err... type! Yeah that's it... l:D Anyways, now, to answer our reviews for chapter 1!
Rin: Sugoi-no.... ^___^ Twah!!
Yami Rin: I don't know HOW you can be so perky so early in the morning...... See, our room's getting renovated, and we're letting her father do it, and he likes to fool around with stuff to do with carpentry, so now we don't have a floor! There's just a big hole in the floor about the size of the room. So, we were forced to sleep in the living room on an air mattress, and it gets light very early, and there's a big ass window and it woke us up at, like, 7:00 this morning!! I could have killed him...... _:) Heh heh heh.....
To Gelfling: Rin: Thank you SO much (again) for cheering us up about the flame! We (or I, anyway) would have taken a long time to get my mood out of the gutter and back up to the cheery status that it's in now. THANK YOOOOUUUU~~!!!!!
To Gelfling: Yami Rin: Tee hee!! I think I love you too. You helped my Rin- kun out!!! WAHHH!!!!!!!!! *hugs Gelfling* I LOVE YA!!!!!!
To The Firey: Rin: Thank you ever so much! *giggles* I really liked doing Gaara's chappie!
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Rin: Anyway! I LOVE REVIEWS!!!!
Yami Rin: o.O;; Okay, THAT was weird...
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Summary: Naruto is harassed by Gaara one day. Over the course of the following week, the panda-eyed boy doesn't let up, and is scaring Naruto just a little. Naruto goes to Sasuke, for an UNKNOWN (***!!!HINT!!!HINT!!!***) reason.
Things to know: 1) The authoresses are crazy
2) Naruto will be acting like a little girl in this fic (maybe)
3) {blah blah} = author's notes
4) "blah blah" = speech
5) A lot of, /////'s = change of scene, or end of chapters
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
WARNING!!!!!!!!!: THIS FIC WILL CONTAIN SHONEN AI IN LATER CHAPTERS!!! FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT'S 'BOY LOVE'!!!!!!! SASUNARU AND ONE SIDED GAARA/NARUTO!!!!!!!!! WILL ALSO CONTAIN KAKAIRU!!!! MAYBE SOME GRAPHIC STUUF, TOO!!!!!!!!
Warning2: this chapter's probably gonna have some fluff in it, so ya better watch out. ^___^
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Even the Cold Burns by rin lockheart and Yami Rin
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Chapter Two
[Sasuke's POV]
The Mist Continent had changed a lot of things for me. For example, the way I see Naruto. I used to see him as an immature, loud, obnoxious brat. That was before I thrown myself in front of him to block him from Haku's supposed "deadly" attack. Oh well. Neither of us knew that it wasn't lethal.
Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and I had just gotten home from the mission to the Mist Continent. I had noticed that Naruto kept throwing these odd glances at me from time to time. I guessed it was from the fight with Zabuza and Haku....
I hadn't really thought about as to why I had saved Naruto until the walk home. Well, I couldn't before that, really, for I was unconscious. I guess it was because I thought of him as a rival, someone worthy to spar with me. For a long time, I didn't even think of him as that. All I saw him as was.... dumb. I hate to say it, but that's what I thought.
But when I think about it, I didn't really think of him as a rival that much anymore, but more as a friend. Because he understood what true loneliness was. Sure, we still have the competitiveness, but it's not like it was before. Before, we would always throw spiteful glares at each other, and now we just glace spitefully. Such a change, ne? And I really don't like it all that much.....
You see, the thing is, my mind has been feeding me all these different fantasies. About Naruto. Once, I saw Naruto. And a bed. So you see my dilemma? It only started after Haku, but it came with such a force that I almost couldn't control myself around the fox boy. Heh. I even thought up a nickname for him.
I find that he always looks like a fox somehow; it's the way he smiles, added to the whisker-like lines on both sides of his face I guess. He looks kind of cute...
Yes, I admit, I think I might like him, a little bit. No, I can't even like him that much. I am an Avenger, and I have to kill my brother for taking away all that was important in my life. I don't have time for such rampant emotions such as that. But my emotion came up very clearly the night we got back.
I had just gotten home and proceeded to take a nice, hot shower. After that, I planned to go to bed and rest, as we had to do something for the Chunin exams in the morning. Now out of the shower, I pulled on a pair of navy pajama pants and started to climb into the cool sheets that awaited me. That is, until a rapid knocking came to my front door. I got up and went to answer it, grumbling as I went. The knocking didn't seece; whoever it was wanted my attention, and fast. I threw open the door and was immediately knocked over by an orange and blonde blur.
To say I was surprised would have been the biggest understatement made by the lips of man.
"Shutthedoor, shutthedoor!!!!!" the blur hollered. I obliged instantly, recognizing the voice. He had latched himself onto my hip and refused to let go. He sighed shakily. I glared at the back of his head.
I looked down at Naruto's face and my gaze softened. He was looking up at me with his big blue eyes that I couldn't resist. I'll be damned if he ever finds this out. The blonde boy trembled so much that he sent tremors throughout my body. I held him by the shoulders and spoke to him.
"Naruto," I said, "What's the matter? You're trembling..." He looked up at me with wearily, terrified eyes.
I saw him glance down at the rest of me, pausing for a moment at my chest. I inwardly smirked; if only poor Naruto could see this, he'd slap himself. He finally looked back up to my face when I called out his name.
He went straight into gibberish mode.
"I-it-was-this-really-weird-lookin'-guy!!!" he said. "He-cornered-me-in-an- alleyway-and-pushed-me-up-against-a-wall-" He took a breath. "-and-then-I- ran-back-home,-but-he-was-there-too-so-I-ran-here-and-he-was-chasing-me-all- the-way-here-and--and..." I saw his eyes start to well with tears and he look down, obviously ashamed. I put two fingers underneath his chin and forced him to look at me. The tears were running freely down his face now.
"It's alright now," I cooed to him. "You can spend the night here if you want." I gazed at him for a moment longer before he nodded and stuttered out an, "A-alright..."
I stood up and he stood with me, still attached to my hip. I walked over to the couch by the far wall and folded it out, making a bed. He let go of me by this time and sat on the bed as I went to get a pillow and a blanket from the closet. When I got back, he was still sitting in the exact same position as when I left. He seemed to be lost in thought; his eyes were glazed over and half-lidded. The blonde boy didn't even seem to notice that I had returned.
"Hey, dobe," I called out. He instantly turned his head my way and glared. "Catch." I smirked and threw the blanket and pillow at him. Both things landed on his head, even though he held out his arms to catch them. What a klutz....
"Heh..." I said. He looked up from trying to arrange the pillow. "Do you want a pair of pajamas? 'Cause I mean, I really don't think that you have any." He huffed at me.
"I'm just fine, thank you very much!" He folded his arms over his chest.
I smirked again. "Whatever." I turned towards my room to leave, but I faced his way again for a second. "Dobe," I added. He angrily puffed his cheeks out, like he did before the mission to the Mist Continent. I chuckled and headed into my room, not without flicking off the light on him on the way. I closed the door, the only source of light that was left to him, and a loud thump was heard followed by random curses on my name. I shook my head and crawled into bed.
I did a bit of thinking before drifting off, because only now I really thought about what Naruto said when he first came here. Someone was chasing him? Who? And why? A sudden possessiveness coursed through me like wildfire; who would dare try and go after my Naruto?! Wait a second, mine?!? Since when did I consider Naruto mine? Okay, maybe I'm a little protective of him, but I don't like him like that!
Drowsiness caught hold of me suddenly and my eyes started to droop, my last thought being, 'I don't like him...'
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I was awoken suddenly by someone latching themselves onto my arm. Using my free arm, I reached over and grabbed the kunai I kept on the side table, sitting up, grabbing the person, and holding the blade to their throat. I couldn't see the person, as it was still dark in the room, but I could tell that they were slighter then I was. A familiar scent assaulted my nose and let go of the slightly coughing person.
"Naruto?!" I exclaimed through the darkness. I could just make out his silhouette against the window. "What the hell are you doing?!" He latched himself onto my arm again.
"I-I heard t-these noises a-and I thought that G-Gaara was coming after me again...." I could tell that he was looking at me with his big baby blue eyes. But wait a minute, Gaara? He was the one after Naruto?!
"Gaara?" I asked. "Are you sure that's what his name was?" I felt him nod against my arm, his hair tickling slightly. "Do you mean Gaara of the Sand?" He didn't answer. I forced him to release my arm and I sat him directly across from me, our knees touching. I put my hands on his shoulders and held him at arms length. "Naruto, was it Gaara of the Sand?"
He looked around for a moment, as if struggling to find the words. "I-I don't know.... I know that he had this symbol on his forehead... 'Love' I think it was. And that he has this big gourd on his back... Oh yeah..! He had this weird crimson color hair... and no eyebrows!"
I sighed and dropped my hands from his shoulders. "That's Gaara of the Sand, all right. But what's he doing here so early? The Chunin exams don't start for another few weeks yet..." I let my head loll backwards, as far as it would go. "Hmmm...."
This was when Naruto spoke up. "Why? Who's Gaara of the Sand, anyway? Is he important or something??" My head snapped up and I looked at him hard. He flinched.
"Gaara is a ninja from the Sand Continent," I started. "He's been well known for a while now because of what he does best. And what he does best... is kill." Naruto froze on the spot. I looked away and gazed out of the window. "It's said that the gourd on his back is made from sand and the blood of all the people he's ever killed. He can use the sand to his advantage, because he uses it in all of his jutsus. If he comes after you again, get away from him as fast as you can."
I looked back to Naruto through the darkness and saw that he was shaking again. I know what I said was a bit much to handle, but I've never known Naruto to tremble. A sudden thought occurred to me; was Naruto not telling me something? I was about to ask him, but he spoke up first.
"Sasuke..." he said quietly. I had to strain my ears to hear him. "W-what if Gaara isn't trying to kill me..?" I raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" He looked down. "Naruto?"
"............."
He started swaying back and forth, like he usually did when he was bored or couldn't find the right thing to say. The silence rung in my ears as I stared at the top of his head, waiting for him to continue.
"Sasuke...." he mumbled. I nodded to show that I'd heard him, but I don't think he saw it. He continued regardless. "I think he... think he might... might.. like me....." He looked up at me to see my reaction.
My eyes widened in shock. At first I didn't believe him, but then I thought about it; Gaara could have easily killed Naruto if he had the mind to. But he didn't. And that didn't seem like the kind of thing Gaara would do. He was known for killing at random, for no apparent reason other than he could. I looked up Naruto to see that he was crying again. Silently, for I don't think he was about to give up his pride in front of me right yet. He spoke up suddenly.
"Why did he have to like me..?" he cried softly. "W-what did I do to deserve this...?" He sniffed. Then he hiccupped. And then he grabbed one of my pillows and buried his face in it. He laid down on his stomach and continued to try and smother himself. I kneeled beside him and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto, it's not your fault," I said. I must admit, I'm not very good at comforting people. Probably because I've never been comforted by anyone before. He refused to remove his face from my pillow. "Naruto, look at me, would you?" Hesitatingly, he replied, bringing his whole body up and sitting in front of me again. Only this time it was him sitting and me on my knees, instead of both on our knees. The dried tearstains on his face were blotched because of the pillow. Oh Naruto, my poor, poor Naruto. You shouldn't have to bear this pain. If I could take it from you I would.
I suddenly reached my arms out and pulled his slight body towards mine. He froze, but eventually relaxed again by the time he was comfortably sitting in my lap. Each of his legs were on either side of my waist, straddling me slightly. My arms were around his shoulders in an embrace and, this took a moment though, he laid his head on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my middle. We sat there for a minute or two before I disrupted the blissful silence.
"Naruto, you can always look to me for someone to lean on," I whispered. I felt him shiver from my warm breath on his ear. "And I'll always be here to listen, dobe." I smirked. "Just don't get all touchy feely out in public. I have a reputation to protect, you know." I listened to him as he chuckled. The rumbling in his chest sent shivers down my spine.
When we pulled apart, I noticed that he wasn't wearing anything related to a shirt. All he had on was his orange pants. I could feel my face heating up, but luckily, I don't think he could see it through the semi-darkness. I was expecting him to get up and leave for his own bed, but he seemed reluctant to get up off of my bed.
He turned to face me, and I swore I could see his cheeks go a shade darker. "S-Sasuke..?" he asked, shyly almost.
"Hmm?" was my reply.
He seemed to go an even darker shade. "Could I, uh.... sleep with you?" He looked at me hopefully.
I nearly choked when I thought he meant something else. I mentally slapped myself when I realized his true meaning; he simply wanted to sleep in the same bed as I did. Man, if I keep going on like this, I'm gonna end up like Kakashi-sensei. "Sure," I said. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks..." he murmured, before pulling back the covers and getting under them. He snuggled down contently before closing his eyes and attempting to go to sleep. I took one last glance at his passive face and got under the covers myself, lying on my back.
I simply lay there with my eyes half open, listening to the boy beside me breath. Pretty soon his breathing became longer and more steadily, so I could tell that he was finally asleep. I turned my head and glanced over at him to see that he was smiling, a small smile that was nothing like the fox smile he's accustomed to wearing, but a little, gentle one. He looks so serene when he's asleep; I've noticed that from the few times that I've seen him sleeping while we were supposed to be doing a mission.
My body suddenly developed a mind of its own. I shifted over and wrapped my arms around Naruto's waist, pulling him closer to me. I buried my face into his hair and prayed to every god that I knew the name of that he wouldn't wake up. His breath tickled the skin on my neck with every breath he took.
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A/N: Rin: I so don't think we did Sasuke IC...... -----...----- Really, I don't. And I TOLD you Naruto would be acting like a little girl in this fic!! And don't worry all you KakaIru fans, there's gonna be at least a mentioning of them in the next chapter!! ^_~
Yami Rin: I think we did a pretty good job. You did a good job on the fluffy parts! And.... there weren't many angsty parts so.... I didn't really do all that much this chapter. Oh well, there's always next chapter!! X3 Oh yeah! Anyway people, REVIEW!!!! This time, flames will be used to roast marshmallows and keep us warms at night (it gets very cold up here in Canada. Where we live, anyway....).
Rin: Would some people be able to tell me if they think that Sasuke was IC or OOC? Pwease?? :3 I'll be very happy if you do! And just as a note, SHAMAN KING EPISODES ARE GONNA BE ON FOX IN THE FALL!!!! I CAN'T WAAAAAIIIIITTT!!!!!! XDDDDDDD