Okie, you've all been good... and I'm high off of being hit in the face
(archery injury... did you know those damned arrows bite back?) and I got
over 100 reviews!! So I suppose I can post this today...night... and I've
been good as well!!! I've been asked to add more shounen ai. And I'm going
to remind you that I'm up to 18 now in chappie typing... but I'm sure you
should like this one if you want fluff. It's extremely sappy... and there's
a bunch of SasuNaru fluff... so be forewarned.
Title: Jaded
Series: Naruto
Rating: PG-13 (Will go higher later on)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Humour, Horror, Tragedy, Supernatural, Fantasy, etc. (pretty much all)
Summary: Blah, you've heard this a hundred times, do I really need to keep putting it here?
Pairings: SasuNaru...... one sided SakuSasu, and hintings of other couples throughout. Oh, and definite KakaIru... although... I warn you. I'm not exactly nice to them.
Chapter Title: 15. Healing Time
It took Naruto a good two days to recover fully from Orochimaru's brutal treatment, with the help of his fox demon. Over those two days Sasuke kept a vigil watch over his sleeping body and rarely ever left his side, save for bathroom breaks and when people forced him out of the room. One big reason for his protectiveness was that Orochimaru wasn't too happy that his captive had been taken from under his nose and was out for blood. The only thing keeping him out of Sasuke's house was that guests had to have an Uchiha's permission to enter... or they were the current Hokage which was the reason they had gotten in the first time when Sasuke wasn't with them.
On the second day, Sakura peeked in and noticed Sasuke had nodded off again. He was so tired from beating himself up over Naruto's condition, but no one except him and Shikamaru, who had eavesdropped on the whole conversation, knew the truth about what Orochimaru had done to him. Everyone else just assumed he had been beaten up and nothing more. She walked into the room and gently shook Sasuke's shoulder, waking him from his usual light sleep. He looked up at her, wondering why she had awakened him.
"You need to take a break, Sasuke-kun." She offered apologetically. He shook his head stubbornly and stayed put in his chair. "Sasuke." She looked at him pointedly, a warning in her voice.
He remained steadfast in his convictions for about two seconds before he rose from the chair. He didn't have the energy to fight with her, so he just left the bedroom, making sure to cast one final glance at the boy asleep in the bed before going out to his backyard to get some sleep. Even though it was a wonderful sunny day, the weather was perfect for calming his senses enough to get a bit of rest before they attacked Orochimaru. He curled up on his side in the grass and closed his eyes.
***
Naruto opened his eyes to the brilliant blinding light peeking through the curtains 'some idiot' forgot to close, or, in Naruto's mind at least, left them open just to spite him, never mind his headache. He sat up slowly, mindful of every cut and bruise. Most of them had disappeared completely, but there were some that still made their presence known when he moved his muscles in the slightest. He ignored the slight sharp pains and took in his surroundings.
The bed he was in was soft and the comforter was a warm crimson. Around the room were a bunch of pictures turned face down and a small TV which had the screen kicked in. The windows that opened to the balcony had the blinds drawn back revealing one that had tape placed over the cracks where, apparently, someone had slammed into it during training. He looked to his side and found Sakura curled up in a small chair, fast asleep. He smiled at her and pushed back the covers, quietly, so as not to wake her. The last thing he wanted was her yelling at him for leaving Sasuke's room. The only way he could tell whose room it belonged to was the blue familiar-looking shirt tossed over the broken TV, back up, that was covered with blood. He grimaced, knowing instinctively it was his, and opened the balcony doors, intent on finding the boy.
He looked straight down and smirked, finding Sasuke lying on his back in the grass, fast asleep. The wind whipped through his bangs, but the sleeping boy took no notice. With a quick leap, Naruto jumped down, cursing his remaining bruises for stinging upon landing. He walked quietly over to Sasuke and curled up beside him in the grass. He took a big yawn before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep himself. He felt somewhat safer around Sasuke.
Sasuke blinked and looked down to the mess of (now clean) blond hair and smiled. His whole body seemed to freeze in response to Naruto's closeness but he told himself to relax. Bringing a hand up to wrap around Naruto's shoulders, he closed his eyes again and went back to his usual light slumber.
***
Iruka looked out the window and smiled at the sight of the two in the grass. Kakashi peered over his shoulder and mimicked his look of contentment.
"They're becoming closer as friends, ne?" He whispered. The chuunin looked up and nodded.
"What about us? Can't we become closer?" Kakashi looked down, surprise evident in his visible eye. He wasn't used to Iruka's bluntness. He took a step back and shook his head.
"We're at war. Making such ties could end up being dangerous in the future. I'd rather keep things between us strictly professional first and friendly second. There is no room for anything else." He turned away from the window and went back to the table where the other adults had been discussing plans. Iruka frowned at Kakashi giving him the cold shoulder and looked back outside.
"You make it sound as if you and me are at war as well, Kakashi-san." He muttered to himself. The silver-haired jounin turned around, knowing that wasn't meant for his ears and frowned. He really didn't like pushing Iruka away. For him it was quite the opposite but there were certain things Kakashi had promised himself never to do. Being with Iruka was one of them.
***
A couple of hours later Naruto woke up. He was groggy and for some reason his legs were tangled in the sheets again. He tried to untangle himself, but the sheets seemed to have a mind of their own and instead of letting him go like good sheets were supposed to do, they pulled him closer. Shaking his head roughly Naruto opened his eyes to see that the sheets he thought were attacking him was actually Sasuke and their limbs were completely wrapped around each other. It took him one second to process the information before he jumped back kicking and screaming.
"HENTAI!!!" He yelled, trying to push Sasuke off of him. This woke Sasuke instantly and, in an effort to shut the blond up, placed his hand over his loud mouth and held him until he stopped trying to kill him. He gasped when he saw the panicked look in Naruto's blue eyes and remembered what had just happened to Naruto. He lifted his hand and mumbled an apology.
"I've only just turned 16, dobe. Do you really think I'd try anything like that?" He growled, letting go of Naruto completely, rolling his eyes at Naruto's reflexes. His rival sat up and threw his arms across his chest huffing loud and dramatically, but made no move to defend his rude outburst.
"Why did you follow me outside?" Sasuke asked after a couple of seconds.
"I don't know. I felt safer with you beside me. More comfortable, you know?" The dark-haired genin nodded in understanding and turned to Naruto, opening his arms. He looked at Sasuke like he was crazy before frowning in contemplation. At first he thought Sasuke was joking and then he started to wonder about the implications of being in the other boy's arms, but in the end he really didn't care about all the questions, only that he enjoyed the hugging and it made him feel protected, a good thing considering what had just happened. He looked back up to Sasuke and nodded, hugging him and lying back down in the grass.
"This doesn't mean we're anything more than rivals, ne?" Naruto exclaimed warningly. Sasuke nodded, resting his head on top of Naruto's. He knew the blond would say something like that.
"Of course." They went back to sleep.
***
When they finally came back into the house, Sakura was in a frenzy. Not only had she lost track of Sasuke, but Naruto as well. She thought Orochimaru had caught them and not even all the shinobi in the Uchiha house could calm her down or convince her otherwise. So when Sasuke and Naruto walked into the house, Naruto with his hands in his pockets and Sasuke with his hands carelessly thrown behind his head, both looking like it was just another day, she had to be held back else she tore their heads off.
"Where the hell have you two been?!" She yelled. "You two could have been killed and we'd never have known!" Naruto scoffed playfully.
"Together, me and Sasuke can't be caught by a stupid idiot like Orochimaru." He grinned.
"Actually, he's a lot smarter than you may think, Naruto-kun." Tsunade butted in. He gave her a weak glare.
"We can't hide from Orochimaru forever." Jiraiya spoke up, interrupting the childish glaring match between the Hokage and the young genin. "We need to deal with him now or else the village will give up hope in Hokage-sama. We need as much help from the outside as you can get. Round up teachers and shinobi." He nodded to the adults who disappeared then looked at Naruto. "You six need to stay here, your lives are still in danger. Orochimaru remembers faces and if he sees any one of you he won't hesitate to strike." Choji and Kiba looked pale but Neji and Shikamaru nodded solemnly. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"I could have told you that." He muttered and couldn't help but notice that everyone turned their gaze guiltily to their shoes. He knew they must have felt bad about what happened to him.
***
When the others returned they had over two dozen shinobi willing to help Sasuke out, but who refused to lift a finger to help Naruto.
"Orochimaru should just take him now!" One man exclaimed. Sasuke frowned and turned his back on them all.
"Then leave now." He said. "If you will not help a fellow Konoha shinobi then I should not expect you to help a fellow Konoha shinobi. You all can just screw yourselves as far as I'm concerned." They all look to one another and apologize. Sasuke cut them off. "Iie, you've had your chance."
"NO!" The man from before spoke up. "Gomen, Naruto, I want to protect Konohagakure from scum like Orochimaru and that includes all villagers." The others nodded in agreement. Naruto smiled, surprised by their change of heart. He did notice, though, that they were only doing it because of Sasuke. Apparently they only wanted to keep the Uchiha blood in Konoha, but he was willing to take what he could, regardless of the meaning behind it. Sasuke turned around and nodded.
"Then I think we can figure something out."
~~~~~~~
Chapter Title: 16. Practicing With Distractions
Growling slightly, he continued to fight, hoping that Naruto would come to his senses and stop showing off for Hinata but he was sadly mistaken. He dealt a quick blow to the boy's chest, flipping him over his shoulder before turning around and kicking him swiftly in the side. Naruto winced in pain before staggering back to his feet.
"What the hell was that for, bastard?" He asked angrily, clutching his side. Sasuke smirked inwardly, noticing his partner's focus was fully on him again.
"You were too busy looking good for your audience to notice that you left yourself open." He snapped back. "If you act like this when a girl watches you then you'll end up slicing off your own head when the real thing comes." He glared spitefully at the blond before turning to Hinata.
"Don't you have anything better to do other than distracting my sparring partner?" He yelled. The shy girl jumped up and ran back into the house mumbling her apologies.
***Okay, so I've got one vote for a ShikaIno... I was considering it... of course I was considering every option. As of right now, I don't like Ino that much (even though I'm supposed to be cosplaying her at AN2004 with a whole bunch of my friends... who are doing the rest of the cast) because of what she said to Choji about going on a diet. I liked what Shikamaru said afterwards.
I need someone who can read chapter 17 for me. I know I'm a half-decent writer and I know when things are awry. I hate how I do 17 so I'm looking for someone who'll help me re-write it. If anyone would like to help, leave your e-mail address where I can contact you... (hopefully it's hotmail cause then I can IM you... I've found that's a lot easier) THANKS A BUNCH!!!
Title: Jaded
Series: Naruto
Rating: PG-13 (Will go higher later on)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance, Humour, Horror, Tragedy, Supernatural, Fantasy, etc. (pretty much all)
Summary: Blah, you've heard this a hundred times, do I really need to keep putting it here?
Pairings: SasuNaru...... one sided SakuSasu, and hintings of other couples throughout. Oh, and definite KakaIru... although... I warn you. I'm not exactly nice to them.
Chapter Title: 15. Healing Time
It took Naruto a good two days to recover fully from Orochimaru's brutal treatment, with the help of his fox demon. Over those two days Sasuke kept a vigil watch over his sleeping body and rarely ever left his side, save for bathroom breaks and when people forced him out of the room. One big reason for his protectiveness was that Orochimaru wasn't too happy that his captive had been taken from under his nose and was out for blood. The only thing keeping him out of Sasuke's house was that guests had to have an Uchiha's permission to enter... or they were the current Hokage which was the reason they had gotten in the first time when Sasuke wasn't with them.
On the second day, Sakura peeked in and noticed Sasuke had nodded off again. He was so tired from beating himself up over Naruto's condition, but no one except him and Shikamaru, who had eavesdropped on the whole conversation, knew the truth about what Orochimaru had done to him. Everyone else just assumed he had been beaten up and nothing more. She walked into the room and gently shook Sasuke's shoulder, waking him from his usual light sleep. He looked up at her, wondering why she had awakened him.
"You need to take a break, Sasuke-kun." She offered apologetically. He shook his head stubbornly and stayed put in his chair. "Sasuke." She looked at him pointedly, a warning in her voice.
He remained steadfast in his convictions for about two seconds before he rose from the chair. He didn't have the energy to fight with her, so he just left the bedroom, making sure to cast one final glance at the boy asleep in the bed before going out to his backyard to get some sleep. Even though it was a wonderful sunny day, the weather was perfect for calming his senses enough to get a bit of rest before they attacked Orochimaru. He curled up on his side in the grass and closed his eyes.
***
Naruto opened his eyes to the brilliant blinding light peeking through the curtains 'some idiot' forgot to close, or, in Naruto's mind at least, left them open just to spite him, never mind his headache. He sat up slowly, mindful of every cut and bruise. Most of them had disappeared completely, but there were some that still made their presence known when he moved his muscles in the slightest. He ignored the slight sharp pains and took in his surroundings.
The bed he was in was soft and the comforter was a warm crimson. Around the room were a bunch of pictures turned face down and a small TV which had the screen kicked in. The windows that opened to the balcony had the blinds drawn back revealing one that had tape placed over the cracks where, apparently, someone had slammed into it during training. He looked to his side and found Sakura curled up in a small chair, fast asleep. He smiled at her and pushed back the covers, quietly, so as not to wake her. The last thing he wanted was her yelling at him for leaving Sasuke's room. The only way he could tell whose room it belonged to was the blue familiar-looking shirt tossed over the broken TV, back up, that was covered with blood. He grimaced, knowing instinctively it was his, and opened the balcony doors, intent on finding the boy.
He looked straight down and smirked, finding Sasuke lying on his back in the grass, fast asleep. The wind whipped through his bangs, but the sleeping boy took no notice. With a quick leap, Naruto jumped down, cursing his remaining bruises for stinging upon landing. He walked quietly over to Sasuke and curled up beside him in the grass. He took a big yawn before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep himself. He felt somewhat safer around Sasuke.
Sasuke blinked and looked down to the mess of (now clean) blond hair and smiled. His whole body seemed to freeze in response to Naruto's closeness but he told himself to relax. Bringing a hand up to wrap around Naruto's shoulders, he closed his eyes again and went back to his usual light slumber.
***
Iruka looked out the window and smiled at the sight of the two in the grass. Kakashi peered over his shoulder and mimicked his look of contentment.
"They're becoming closer as friends, ne?" He whispered. The chuunin looked up and nodded.
"What about us? Can't we become closer?" Kakashi looked down, surprise evident in his visible eye. He wasn't used to Iruka's bluntness. He took a step back and shook his head.
"We're at war. Making such ties could end up being dangerous in the future. I'd rather keep things between us strictly professional first and friendly second. There is no room for anything else." He turned away from the window and went back to the table where the other adults had been discussing plans. Iruka frowned at Kakashi giving him the cold shoulder and looked back outside.
"You make it sound as if you and me are at war as well, Kakashi-san." He muttered to himself. The silver-haired jounin turned around, knowing that wasn't meant for his ears and frowned. He really didn't like pushing Iruka away. For him it was quite the opposite but there were certain things Kakashi had promised himself never to do. Being with Iruka was one of them.
***
A couple of hours later Naruto woke up. He was groggy and for some reason his legs were tangled in the sheets again. He tried to untangle himself, but the sheets seemed to have a mind of their own and instead of letting him go like good sheets were supposed to do, they pulled him closer. Shaking his head roughly Naruto opened his eyes to see that the sheets he thought were attacking him was actually Sasuke and their limbs were completely wrapped around each other. It took him one second to process the information before he jumped back kicking and screaming.
"HENTAI!!!" He yelled, trying to push Sasuke off of him. This woke Sasuke instantly and, in an effort to shut the blond up, placed his hand over his loud mouth and held him until he stopped trying to kill him. He gasped when he saw the panicked look in Naruto's blue eyes and remembered what had just happened to Naruto. He lifted his hand and mumbled an apology.
"I've only just turned 16, dobe. Do you really think I'd try anything like that?" He growled, letting go of Naruto completely, rolling his eyes at Naruto's reflexes. His rival sat up and threw his arms across his chest huffing loud and dramatically, but made no move to defend his rude outburst.
"Why did you follow me outside?" Sasuke asked after a couple of seconds.
"I don't know. I felt safer with you beside me. More comfortable, you know?" The dark-haired genin nodded in understanding and turned to Naruto, opening his arms. He looked at Sasuke like he was crazy before frowning in contemplation. At first he thought Sasuke was joking and then he started to wonder about the implications of being in the other boy's arms, but in the end he really didn't care about all the questions, only that he enjoyed the hugging and it made him feel protected, a good thing considering what had just happened. He looked back up to Sasuke and nodded, hugging him and lying back down in the grass.
"This doesn't mean we're anything more than rivals, ne?" Naruto exclaimed warningly. Sasuke nodded, resting his head on top of Naruto's. He knew the blond would say something like that.
"Of course." They went back to sleep.
***
When they finally came back into the house, Sakura was in a frenzy. Not only had she lost track of Sasuke, but Naruto as well. She thought Orochimaru had caught them and not even all the shinobi in the Uchiha house could calm her down or convince her otherwise. So when Sasuke and Naruto walked into the house, Naruto with his hands in his pockets and Sasuke with his hands carelessly thrown behind his head, both looking like it was just another day, she had to be held back else she tore their heads off.
"Where the hell have you two been?!" She yelled. "You two could have been killed and we'd never have known!" Naruto scoffed playfully.
"Together, me and Sasuke can't be caught by a stupid idiot like Orochimaru." He grinned.
"Actually, he's a lot smarter than you may think, Naruto-kun." Tsunade butted in. He gave her a weak glare.
"We can't hide from Orochimaru forever." Jiraiya spoke up, interrupting the childish glaring match between the Hokage and the young genin. "We need to deal with him now or else the village will give up hope in Hokage-sama. We need as much help from the outside as you can get. Round up teachers and shinobi." He nodded to the adults who disappeared then looked at Naruto. "You six need to stay here, your lives are still in danger. Orochimaru remembers faces and if he sees any one of you he won't hesitate to strike." Choji and Kiba looked pale but Neji and Shikamaru nodded solemnly. Naruto rolled his eyes.
"I could have told you that." He muttered and couldn't help but notice that everyone turned their gaze guiltily to their shoes. He knew they must have felt bad about what happened to him.
***
When the others returned they had over two dozen shinobi willing to help Sasuke out, but who refused to lift a finger to help Naruto.
"Orochimaru should just take him now!" One man exclaimed. Sasuke frowned and turned his back on them all.
"Then leave now." He said. "If you will not help a fellow Konoha shinobi then I should not expect you to help a fellow Konoha shinobi. You all can just screw yourselves as far as I'm concerned." They all look to one another and apologize. Sasuke cut them off. "Iie, you've had your chance."
"NO!" The man from before spoke up. "Gomen, Naruto, I want to protect Konohagakure from scum like Orochimaru and that includes all villagers." The others nodded in agreement. Naruto smiled, surprised by their change of heart. He did notice, though, that they were only doing it because of Sasuke. Apparently they only wanted to keep the Uchiha blood in Konoha, but he was willing to take what he could, regardless of the meaning behind it. Sasuke turned around and nodded.
"Then I think we can figure something out."
~~~~~~~
Chapter Title: 16. Practicing With Distractions
Growling slightly, he continued to fight, hoping that Naruto would come to his senses and stop showing off for Hinata but he was sadly mistaken. He dealt a quick blow to the boy's chest, flipping him over his shoulder before turning around and kicking him swiftly in the side. Naruto winced in pain before staggering back to his feet.
"What the hell was that for, bastard?" He asked angrily, clutching his side. Sasuke smirked inwardly, noticing his partner's focus was fully on him again.
"You were too busy looking good for your audience to notice that you left yourself open." He snapped back. "If you act like this when a girl watches you then you'll end up slicing off your own head when the real thing comes." He glared spitefully at the blond before turning to Hinata.
"Don't you have anything better to do other than distracting my sparring partner?" He yelled. The shy girl jumped up and ran back into the house mumbling her apologies.
***Okay, so I've got one vote for a ShikaIno... I was considering it... of course I was considering every option. As of right now, I don't like Ino that much (even though I'm supposed to be cosplaying her at AN2004 with a whole bunch of my friends... who are doing the rest of the cast) because of what she said to Choji about going on a diet. I liked what Shikamaru said afterwards.
I need someone who can read chapter 17 for me. I know I'm a half-decent writer and I know when things are awry. I hate how I do 17 so I'm looking for someone who'll help me re-write it. If anyone would like to help, leave your e-mail address where I can contact you... (hopefully it's hotmail cause then I can IM you... I've found that's a lot easier) THANKS A BUNCH!!!