Notes: (#) are footnotes... not really relevant if you ask me, just some other things I wanted to say. :D

Chapter 4: Sono Koe

Painful. Sasuke woke up to a throbbing sensation in his head. His stomach felt like everything was in the wrong place. He wanted to throw up, but opening his eyes to a dim lighting made him think otherwise. Where is he?

He found himself lying in a sofa, with a blanket covering him. He looked around and the whole place was unfamiliar. He judged, from what it appeared to be, that he was in a small apartment. It wasn't like the apartment he lives in, of course. It was pretty small compared to his. Unlike his too, the room was kept clean. There were neither stains nor cigarette butts in the comfortable sofa. The wooden floor looks like it's recently been waxed. The green walls, though shows age, is pretty much dirt free save from some scotch tape marks.

He could see the dining room from where he was, and it was tidy too. There was a refrigerator and some boxes atop. On the walls were pieces of paper with strange messages – were they reminders or sayings, he couldn't figure them out – taped in no particular order. A cloth was neatly draped over the small table, and a lone chair sat quietly. And to the table's right was a big pot plant that screamed attention as it was certainly out of place.(1)

A second later and Sasuke found himself scratching his nose. He was irritated by the smell of what he guessed was detergent or fabric softener, and something else he couldn't lay his finger on. Was it instant ramen?

Wait. Shiny floors, clean walls, the smell of detergent… was he in a girl's apartment!

Sasuke panicked. Did I just hook up with a girl last night? That can't be. That simply can't be. How in the world would I end up in a girl's apartment?

Sasuke thought hard. I remember drinking. A lot. But… there's just no possible way I'd hook up with a girl!

Sasuke was now sweating. Well maybe… maybe she just picked me up or something… Yeah, maybe I was lying in the street, or something like that. But still, what if something happened? Nah, I wouldn't be… but what if… no… SHE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME.

Sasuke felt his stomach turn upside down again. The idea made him want to throw up. But before he could, he heard the sound of the shower just turned on.

He looked to where the sound was coming from, and past the dining room were two doors. One of which, he guessed, was the bathroom, and the other, the bedroom.(2) Sasuke's false assumptions were soon invalidated when he heard a voice singing in the shower. It was rough, it low, and it certainly belonged to a man.

Where have I heard that voice before?

He closed his eyes. That voice was certainly familiar. It was slightly muffled by the running of the shower, but it had a certain tone to it. It's a rough voice the first time one hears it, but as the song progresses it turns into a warm and sexy quality. And as it goes from high to low, low to high, one can feel himself being swept away with it. It was warm. It was swaying. It was like a trance one couldn't get out of.(3)

Wssht. The singing stopped. The shower was turned off. Sasuke snapped out of his trance and immediately opened his eyes. He could hear footsteps. That singing voice was about to come out of the bathroom.

Sasuke panicked. "Now what!"

A/R (Author's Rant ): I said I'd update every weekend, but it was finals week, you see? Was in a slump too. :D :D :D Sorry 'bout that. This chapter's supposed to be longer… but the effect of Extra Joss is waning. And I have to write two whole papers too. And my diskette failed on me. . Plus, I still don't have my phone line back as of this moment, it's really tiresome going in and out of the net shop. I know, I know there really isn't much story right now… but I promise, as soon as I finish all I gotta finish it's gonna be better. More NaruSasuNaru! More perversion! And more angst. I might even update tomorrow. I love y'all reviewers! And I love Full House! (Connection?) P I just love Rain/Bi and he has no new video recently so I miss him… I wish I had my net connection back… haven't downloaded scanlations for some time now… wasn't even able to finish Hanakimi… ((

(1) The sofa part is something I made up. But the whole dining room is what I saw from the anime and the manga. And oh, the ridiculous plant can't be seen in the anime as the camera shot is closer. (mid long shot, I guess?) A little something I noticed too: Naru-chan's breakfast in the manga is bread, but it's instant ramen in the anime. (don't you wish that there was a congruent sign on your keyboard so that it'd look more naruto-ish than the "" sign? oh well…)

(2) I made this up too. Naruto's apartment is after all patterned after the western style (Is it called "washitsu?" And is the Japanese style room called "yoshitsu?" I'm not really sure 'cause I took this up a year ago, and my brain's all messed up).

(3) So is there really a voice like this, you ask? My basis for this is actually… dan dan dan… Myco! Isn't it obvious from the title? And from the last chapter, too? Taiyou wo sagashite, negi ramen… what does it remind you of? Of course, it's Full Moon wo Sagashite! But no, there ain't no shinigami, nor 12-year olds turning into sixteen-year olds here… there will be a lot of singing though. That's why I entitled it after FMoS. If you haven't watched FMoS, dear me, go get a copy now! Well, it's from the mahou shoujo genre so I'm not sure if you'll like it as I did. But if you're a sucker for romance, and especially unrequited angst, you'll love Meroko. Believe me, I was entirely pro-Mitsuki in the beginning, but the last four episodes sure changed me. Anyway, Myco's a girl, so what about Naruto, eh? Well, the one I think that matches the description as a guy is Bamboo. I know, not all readers of this fic are familiar to the guy since he's Filipino. So if you're interested in what his voice his like try downloading "Masaya" in #mp3manila or #pinoymp3 in undernet. Try searching the channels in for more info. Don't forget to support the artists you like though! Buy their CDs:D