Part 1: Chapter 6
I lay the shakuhachi in its case and closed it with a soft click. Leaving it on his desk, I turned to the man lying on his side, curling into the mattress as if he wanted to disappear, facing the wall as he silently cried. A quick debate in my mind told me I should stay, so I sat on the edge of the bed and lay a hand on his quivering arm. He instantly turned to me and wrapped his arms tight around my waist, squeezing hard. He buried his face into my hip and gave a shuddering half-sob, half-sigh.
"Why does everyone have to die?" he murmured. I figured it was a rhetorical question, so I stayed silent and merely stroked the blond hair back as he cried against me. "Why is there pain? Why is there envy and hate? Why did someone so innocent have to die?" I shushed him gently, my hand still moving through his sweaty locks and along the curve of his face, trying my best to soothe him. "It's not fair," he moaned.
"Go to sleep, Naruto," I whispered to him, my fingers never stopping their caress.
"I don't want to sleep!" he cried, throwing his head back to look me in the eyes. He steals my breath with that look of such pain and sorrow and emptiness. "I want Akamaru to be okay! I want Hinata to smile! I want Kiba to make fun of me!" Under other circumstances I would have laughed at his words, but now was definitely not the time. I merely shushed him again and shifted, lying him back on the bed. He instantly clasped my hand and stared at me with wide, scared eyes. "Don't leave me, Sasuke," his voice trembled just above a whisper. "Please don't leave me alone. I-I'll go crazy…"
I shook my head, leaning down and laying my forehead against his. What. The hell. Am I doing? "I'll never leave you, Naruto." And through his misery, he smiled at me. The real smile. My heart thumped audibly, "Go to sleep now."
"I can't…" he whimpered, his face drawing into a frown. "I… I'll…have a nightmare."
"A nightmare?" I asked softly.
"Every time I see someone or something die, no matter how close or how insignificant, I have the same horrible nightmare—a huge, fire demon with nine burning tails destroying everything… Everything," he looked up into my eyes and I shivered. "I don't want to keep seeing the Kyuubi. I don't…"
Kyuubi? Demon Fox? "I promise, you won't see Kyuubi tonight," I said as if I were talking to a small child. Which Naruto was acting like, and it was unsettling to see. "I'll stay right here all night."
"All night?" he sniffled.
"All night," I confirmed with a nod. "You wouldn't believe how good my attendance record is. I'm sure one day out of two years won't bring my entire GPA down." At this he gave a very weak grin and I returned it ever-so slightly. There we are. Closer and closer. Stay with me, Naruto. "Now sleep." He looked at me uncertainly. "Naruto, I swear that you will not see Kyuubi tonight."
"…how do you know?" he licked his lips nervously, as if just hearing the name would cause the nightmare to commence.
I sighed softly and pushed him gently against the pillows. "Just trust me. Sleep." He looked me over with his tear-filled, red-rimmed eyes before turning slightly onto his side and closing them hesitantly. I began to run my hand through his hair once more, looking at the way the moonlight caressed his face. And before I knew what I was doing, my lips parted, my hand stopped, and my mind recalled the new words scrawled on the fresh page in my notebook. "Your eyes... That's what I think Heaven looks like. Pure, endless… Untouched blue." He was tossing slightly, his hands coming together and tucking themselves beneath his chin. "Every time I look, I fall deeper; I take one step closer..." My eyes were closing of their own accord. I didn't want to sleep yet, though—I wanted to keep watching him. "It's a long road to Heaven from Hell. There's an Angel guiding me…with eyes the blue of Heaven…hair the gold of Paradise…and a smile, white as the clouds..." I was lying down beside him. His warmth poured off of his body in waves and I nearly purred in pleasure. "The Angel's hand is extended to me…I'm afraid to take it, In fear that it will burn…Or I might make the Angel fall." I wrote this for him. I've never written anything for anyone else before, ever. But… "His eyes assure me… Those pure, endless blue orbs… Like crystals, sparkling; Full of beauty and mirth." If I woke up beside him in the morning, would he think I was weird? "I beg the Angel to take me to Heaven…" And I decide that I don't care, as he shifts on the bed and turns to me, his forehead pressing gently against my chest. "I want to go there with him; I want to be with him… I don't care if I don't belong in Heaven… As long as I'm with my Angel." I promised him I would stay up all night. I have to keep my word, especially to him. "My Angel… The smile brightens; The golden hair… Like a Halo… And as I whisper one more time…" Without thinking, my lips brush his forehead;his skin is unimaginably soft. "'My Angel'…" I inhale his scent; it's maddening. And I realize something with a sinking feeling in my stomach as I sing the last line of what I've called 'Naruto's Song'. "The Gates of Heaven open to me." I'm truly, madly, deeply in love with Uzumaki Naruto.
And a small voice suddenly stops my heart and slams it into my throat but at the same time makes me shiver in pleasure all over again.
"You're our singer, hands down," Naruto speaks and I can hear the light smile flittering on his lips.
"If I'd have known you'd still be coherent by the end of it, I wouldn't have started," I mumbled against his hair, which is silky and glitters as it shifts with my breath, which is still not normal.
"I stayed up just to hear it all," the smile has asserted itself on his face.
"What do you think?"
"I think you like my eyes."
"What else do you think?"
"I think you think I'm cute."
"…what else do you think?"
"I think I'm falling in love with you, Uchiha Sasuke."
"That's the answer I wanted to hear."
Neither of us are talking anymore. His lips have suddenly found mine; I'm not breathing again. As a matter of fact, I think I've just died. How interesting would that be? To write lyrics as a dead person? Wait, why am I thinking about this? Isn't Naruto kissing me? Yes, yes he is, I confirm as I wrap my arms around his shoulders and reposition myself atop him. His hands grip my shoulders lightly as his warm tongue darts past my lips and knocks me for another loop. (He is a great kisser… And, truth be told, that's a huge turn-on.) I kiss back; my tongue slips against his and strokes the line of his mouth gently. I hear him moan, feel him moan into me and I shiver harder than ever. His hands come up to my neck, tracing the taunt line of muscle beneath the flesh gently, making the small hairs on my arms stand on end. Oh my god… His fingers rush through my hair and for the moment, I really don't care if it's a mess, just as long as he keeps doing that. My mouth pushes harder against his, craving his taste even more. I want to become him, I want him to linger within every part of myself long after this night is over. I didn't care about the past or tomorrow, all I had on my mind right nowwas Naruto.
On my body as well. How he had urged me out of my shirt without breaking our kiss, I'd ask him another day. His fingers stroked up along my sides and my hips thrust downward as a reaction. That was not planned! He pulls his lips from mine to gasp but I want them back and I seize them again with my own, my tongue overpowering his and my arms coming to rest on either side of his head, trapping him beneath me. His hands slip to my lower back and he runs his fingers up my spine. He purrs in his throat. The vibrations hit my mouth. I tear my lips away from his and throw back my head with a loud moan. I'm shifting; he's leaning forward and pressing his lips to my abdomen, dragging his mouth up along the muscles to my chest and I. Stop. Moving. I stop breathing again. I'm shaking so hard I can't regain my composure long enough to push him away, to pin him back down. The flat of his tongue runs up against my nipple. That's IT!
He's back down on the bed. Somewhere in this mess, his shirt has come off as well. I link my fingers in his and hold his hands down against the mattress. I'm panting and so is he, but he's looking nowhere near ready to stop. To speak honestly, neither am I, but…
"Naruto…" I swallow hard. "Are you sure?"
"I'll never want anything as much ever again," he lifts an eyebrow up at me.
"Not even me again?" I fake-pout.
He opens his mouth to respond, then face-faults and gives me a bemused look. "You know what I mean, Uchiha!"
"I know," I grin back. "So, is it official? Are you crazy about me?"
He grins too and flashes me the middle finger. "Is this called flipping you off?"
"Is that a no?" I ask innocently and he growls, trying to wrestle out from beneath me.
"You're not cute!" he sticks out his tongue. I lean down and lick at it slowly, then pull back as he lifts his head to start a kiss.
"I am so cute," I stick my tongue out as well and begin to laugh.
"Argh!" he rolls his eyes and laughs too.
"Where were you today, Naruto?" Sakura puts her tray down and sits across from the blond, who blushes and slurps his melted ice cream rather loudly.
"Erm, with Sasuke," he looks at me with pleading eyes and I hide the huge smirk behind my glass of root beer.
"So then, where were the both of you?" Ino joins the table, followed by Shino, Shikamaru, and Haku.
"You didn't come back—" Haku starts to speak but I know Naruto kicked him in the shin because he winced and sat down abruptly beside the blond, pressing his lips together. That and he told me about it later.
"We were working on some new lyrics," I forked up some spaghetti and shoved it into my mouth, chewing calmly. They all watched me as I swallowed and spun some more onto my fork. "And we were trying to plan our first band rehearsal, but with Akamaru…" I could stop at that point, and the awkwardness of a moment ago was forgotten. I have that affect on people for some odd reason. With a clatter of dishes and silverware, Kiba literally dropped into a free chair and let his head fall to the table with a loud ka-THUMP! I winced, but Naruto and I were the only ones. Everyone else gave him a sympathetic look.
"What's up, Kiba?" Naruto touched the top of the fur-lined hood.
"Rar-ar rar rar rargh," he mumbled into the tablecloth. Naruto and I turned to the others for assistance.
"Neji got special permission from the dean," Shikamaru explained, " and now he can leave his classes early to take Hinata to her own before the rush starts."
"Without Akamaru, they had to accommodate somehow," Sakura frowned, whispering. I wanted to tell her that whispering didn't matter and Kiba heard every word they were saying, but I spotted Garra walking in and leading Hinata by the arm.
"Hey Kiba," I ate some more spaghetti. "Naruto's doing the chicken dance naked in the middle of the cafeteria and I have a camera here for you to take blackmail pictures." Everyone at the table looked at me (except the one I was addressing). "Oh, and Hinata just walked in."
"Hinata!" he leapt out of his chair and turned toward the front. I snorted into my glass and Naruto threw a balled-up napkin at me as the others at the table cracked up.
"I'd never do that!" he cried, the stuck out his tongue at me. "For free," he added and I winked at him. Then we all craned our necks to watch Kiba rush up to the blind woman and embrace her tightly. She blushed and hugged him back, speaking a couple of words. He shook his head, looking grim, and did not let her go. She smiled gently and ran a hand lightly under his hood, pushing it back to stroke the spiky black hair it always hid.
"Aww!" Sakura squeaked, her food all but forgotten. Shikamaru was eyeing it half-heartedly because he had been too lazy to go and wait in line for dinner.
"Are they going out?" Ino wondered aloud.
"Not yet," I shook my head.
"Oh, look at them; it's bound to happen soon," Naruto grinned.
They watched Kiba release Hinata and turn to Garra. The red-head looked up into his band mate's face quietly. The taller raised a hand. They shook, breaking out into smiles—Kiba's a toothy grin and Garra's a slight curve of his lips. Then the three of them headed back to the table.
"I love love," Haku beamed at them, waving.
"You're so weird," I rolled my eyes.
"Hey Hinata," Shino waved and Shikamaru nodded at her.
"Glad you didn't forget who your real friends are," he said to her. She blushed and took a seat between Garra and Kiba, placing a hand on the latter's arm.
"Never. Sharingan forever," she giggled.
"Here, here!" Naruto lifted his ice cream bowl. We laughed and raised our glasses. "First rehearsal, this Saturday!" Clink!