A/N: I'm back again with another chapter (and I updated uber fast this time)! I want to give a big thanks to all my reviewers, especially Hogo-chan who took the time to write her/his opinions, praises and concerns. I'll stop being a pussy (:looks down at penis, wow, that wasn't valid at all - CA male) and just write 'em from now on. I also won't hold you folks to the 5 reviews per chapter thing. If I was reading and the author said something that self-absorbed, I'd stop and find another fic, haha.
Important: I am going to California this Saturday, the 5th of February and will be gone until the following Friday, the 11th. I might be able to work on this story, but I doubt it. So this will probably be the last chapter for a week until I get back. Enjoy!
Cerulean Change Chapter 8
Sasuke's face looked as if he were trying to mix in many emotions all at once. He wasn't exactly shocked that this woman knew Naruto. But he could not make up a single scenario in his mind where they could be acquainted like she claimed they were. Deciding to let Anko take her time with the subject, he sufficed a small "hn" before shutting up and continuing his meal.
Anko didn't continue the subject, but rather changed it to something totally different to answer some of her more pressing questions. Plopping herself down on the bed next to the boy she looked at him in a certain way so she could analyze his reaction at her next question.
"Please tell me. Why are you here; why were you half alive in a boat just to come to Camnio? Did you escape someone, or did that wound appear on Naruto's shoulder out of thin air?"
Anko had good reason to measure the reaction of the self-conscious teen because as soon as she said the word "escape" Sasuke's facial muscles fell in shame. He knew what they had done and felt horrible about the outcome. He regained his composure as quickly as he could, but it was too late; she already knew.
"Alright then, I won't ask you anymore questions until Naruto wakes up and I can properly interrogated you two heathens." Anko smirked good-naturedly, stood and exited the room to tend to her other guest's wound.
When she reached the bed that held her friend, Anko couldn't help but feel the deepest sadness and joy at seeing his cat-like face once more. It was as if a ghost was looming in her bed instead of this grown boy she once knew only as a child.
'It has been so long, my little Naruto… looking at you now, I can still remember your face when I held you in my arms. You were so innocence and untroubled back then. And now look at you, growing perfectly into a beautiful young man… I don't know why you're here right now, but since you are, I think it's time to tell you the truth…'
Anko gingerly grazed the back of her hand along his soft cheek to wake him from his sleep. As much as he needed to rest, she didn't know what else to do in case the boys were in immediate danger. She had to ask him what to do.
-
A distance blue light flashed rhythmically in cold rotation, hitting a boy's face as it circled back around endlessly. Its piercing glow faded in and out in the dulling grayish fog that loomed all around the him as he stood in nothingness. He couldn't feel, touch, taste or smell… There was only filtered light, in steady motion as it played upon his features as if to mock him. He couldn't even move—He realized he didn't want to. For fear held him tightly with an icy grip and yet he could not shiver; he could not budge. His memory only held images of the dull blue light as he stood in limbo while his goals faded before him as if they had never been established… He was alone. And the only thing telling him otherwise was the brief moment every few seconds when the blue light passed over his glazing, wet eyes. And yet, there seemed to be a tiny ting of hope lingering in this dastardly place. The boy saw ahead of him a speck in the middle of the beam of light; a tiny reminder that life was still necessary; that he did have a choice.
It was too far in front of him to see, but the white blotch on an otherwise empty canvas filled the boy's brain with nothing but hope. He had a goal; he must reach that opening… Willing himself to calm down and relax, the boy ceased restraining his frozen bonds and let himself be still. As soon as he accepted his goal—his truth, the weight was lifted off of his shoulders, and the icy chill of fear was obviated by the comfort of the speck of light.
He knew it was time to move-so he ran; pushing off whatever held him upright, and using whatever he could find within to fuel the energy, the passion burning inside of him to reach his goal. And slowly the speck grew as it passed by. It grew by only centimeters at first… And then after awhile the centimeters enlarged to feet, and the feet enlarged to yards, and the yards enlarged to miles… And finally, with all the burning will still left in him, the boy reached a state of white. A cylinder inside or outside of himself, he couldn't tell, that engulfed his being and fueled the fire into a wave of flames that crashed in and out of him like juts of intensity spreading throughout his soul. The waves crashed together in and out, gaining speed until they circled around each other, faster and faster… The boy could only close his eyes as he felt the sheer velocity of the circular flames wrap around him and empower him to every end at every crevice and curve of his naked body. The flames danced around and through every inch of him as if they were creating a new skin; a new purpose.
And then it stopped.
With a sudden kick off, all the flames shot out in separate directions, creating a circular disk of orange-red light to fill the world around with its light… And then it was black.
The boy felt the immense power leave him, but he didn't feel empty… The void and darkness that once consumed his being had been filled in by an intangible source of light… Blue light. That familiar blue wasn't dull anymore though, as it filled every corner with sharp shades and tones. It didn't hit the boy straight on, but rather filled him up from within.
The boy opened his eyes as if to question his new sense of wholeness; but as soon as he did, the blue light blinded him into shutting his eyes again. He felt confused by the lack of vision outside of himself. The light was so intense out there, as if to make concrete that the change was within him as well as outside of himself... It was as if there was no outside to speak of, and that his unconscious and conscious were connected; the same…
The boy understood this new feeling of belonging, and understood that he didn't need to open his eyes to see what he had become. For all it took was one glance inward and the boy saw the magical light living in its simplest most pristine form… The sapphire crystal…
-
"Wake up, little one, wake up."
Naruto's eyelids flutter naturally as he raised his gaze to the world outside his dreams. However, this world proved to be even more confusing to him than his dreams could ever be. Sitting at his side was the one person he never expected to see.
Naruto's cerulean orbs grew ten times their normal size as the boy rubbed them to make sure he was actually awake and not still sleeping. Thinking of nothing better to do to test his theory, he pinched himself—welcomed by the sharp pain in his arm telling him that he was, in fact, awake.
Anko chuckled at the drowsy boy's antics before reassuring him.
"Not who you expected, huh?" Naruto couldn't have said it better himself.
"A…Anko! What are you doing here! Wait, what am I doing here—wherever here is? Where am I? Where's Sasuke? God, I can't believe it's you!" Anko smiled broadly. Yes, this was the same motor-mouth she remembered from long ago.
"Don't worry yourself, Naruto! Gosh, you'll have a heart attack if you ask any more questions. This is my home now, little one… And your friend is in the other room." Anko thought for a moment about Naruto's sentence. "Wait a sec! He said his name was Kino! What's goin' on here!"
Now it was Naruto's turn to laugh… These last few days had been the most random he had ever remembered experiencing. There was so much to chew on and digest, and he simply didn't have time to lwt it all settle.
"Oops. Err—yeah, we gotta talk." Anko frowned.
"I'll say we do... Come on, if you can walk, let's go to my living room and have a "conversation"." Naruto warily looked at his shoulder for the first time before nodding.
Inside the living room sat Sasuke, patiently waiting for Naruto and Anko to join him. When Naruto saw his love sitting there he let out a huge inward sigh. At least they were alive and safe... He rushed over to the other unsuspecting boy and locked him up in a bear hug that nearly knocked the wind out of them both. Sasuke smirked at the boy holding him, breathing in the familiar wonderful scent. He hugged back until he heard Naruto wince in pain. The wound on his shoulder was obviously still tender. Looking up at the boy straddling his lap, Sasuke's concerned frown at hurting his love melted into a small blush as he felt the heat of their bodies meld together passionately. He wanted so badly to kiss the blonde beauty on top of him, but worried about the other person in the room and how it would look. So he sufficed to push Naruto off and next to him on the couch, leaving the other boy slightly dejected.
"Alright you two horn-dogs, tell me what's up…"
Both teenagers finally recognized with their eyes the presence of Anko in the room and blushed a deep crimson. Naruto looked at Sasuke as if to say "it's ok, we can tell her everything." Sasuke nodded and let Naruto begin the long tale without any further ado. Anko sat quietly with her head propped on her elbow so she could listen more intently to the boys' tale.
Naruto told her everything, starting of course with when he ran into Darco in Samnoria. He spoke in detail about all the events leading up to and about their escape, including how he felt about everything that had happened. And he told of the arrow wound that narrowly missed his vital organs… Many of the views and emotions Naruto expressed were new to Sasuke, so he also listened intently, putting in his two cents when needed.
Finally, Naruto told her what he knew Sasuke wouldn't.
"I guess this whole thing was a complete disaster, except for one thing… It has all been worth it! Not many people get the chance to show their prince what life is really like… And beyond that, I love him." Sasuke blushed at the comment.
He had stayed quiet most of the conversation, not knowing how Anko would react to knowing he was the prince of Samnoria. However, she stayed quiet and unjudgemental throughout the whole explanation, and it seemed that Naruto trusted her whole-heartedly … So he would too.
Finally, Naruto stopped, and the silence that followed was anything but awkward. It felt good to Naruto to get all of it out of his system and to see the events unfold once more in his mind. Anko seemed to share his sentiments as her face only held a warm glow.
"So then. Lemme paraphrase. You guys met by luck and escaped Samnoria barely; you're in love, and you don't know what the hell to do next as long as you don't go home or get caught?" Both boys nodded. "Ok then… I'll have to process all that a little more, but I think I owe you both an explanation since you were nice enough to tell me your story..."
Anko took in a deep breath and began.
"First off, I found you two in the shallows for a stupid reason… I work at a local pub and when I got off work in my usual late night depression I decided randomly to go to the beach. It was a huge and lucky fluke that we found each other, but maybe not considering what you just said... I took you back here to keep you alive Naruto, and to give you a place to rest Sasuke—and by the way, don't lie to me ever again. I can let this one go because you didn't know whether you could trust me with your true identity or not, and that was smart. But it doesn't pay to lie to me, trust me." Sasuke nodded. "Ok. And now I need to explain something to both of you about how I know Naruto… There is a very good reason why I know him attached to a very poor reason why I haven't seen him in years. You see-"
Anko's train of thought was interrupted mid-sentence by a sharp knock at the door. Rolling her eyes, Anko excused herself to get it, with the intention of killing whoever it was who disturbed the deep conversation she was having.
When she opened the door she was met with the grinning face of her friend as he stood languorously in the mid-morning light. He noticed her intense expression and his smile quickly faded into a quizzical stare.
"Hey. Why are you looking at me like that, Anko? You knew I was coming over today to hang out, don't even deny it!" Anko's serious expression faded and she smiled at her friend.
"Hey, Iruka… Yeah, I forgot about that. And—err, I have some guests over right now, that's the reason why I forgot actually. Mind if I just stop by later today, maybe before work?" Iruka looked take-aback.
"You have… Guests? I'll do you a favor and I'm not going to even ask... And yes, you can come over anytime tonight." Anko waved him off.
"Oh shut up. They're old friends, and we were trying to catch up when a certain someone interrupted…" Iruka laughed and rubbed the back of his head.
"So I'll see you tonight, Anko?"
"Yep. See you then."
Iruka turned around and retreated casually from her home. While he left she couldn't help but look at his ass as he walked away. Hey, she wasn't getting any younger… And she'd have to remind herself to kill those two boys for ruining her date. That would come later.
Making her way stealthily back into the house, she peeked around the corner of the living room to see what her "guests" were up to. And just as she suspected, they took advantage of the time alone to ravage each other's mouths, frantically kissing and touching whatever body part they cold find. Anko chuckled to herself.
'That is so cute! I guess I can forgive the little bastards… I'll just wait until later to give them a boring history lesson. When the mood is right and when both their brains have a chance to relax I'll get into it again…
Luckily for Sasuke, it isn't illegal to marry a prince…'
-
Gotta love cliffies! … This is your second treat for waiting so long, and plus the whole Claifornia trip delaying my typing and blah blah blah. I hope you like where the story is going and are interested enough to not fall asleep, lol . I have it all worked out:snicker: the plot bunnies from hell cannot invade me when I have THIS:holds up story outline: … Take that writers block! hisa! … ahem, please review and all that… I'm getting addicted to checking my email because of your lovely reviews! Fuel my addiction!
More to come soon
Love
CA
