A/N: Waaah! -has a heart attack- Thank you so much for your reviews guys! I never thought I would get so many! Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you so much! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint you! Oh, and of course I haven't forgotten the responses to your absolutely confuddling, wonderful reviews =] they're at the end of this chapter =] Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not mine :(
Warning: Yaoi and swearing. Yaoi means boy and boy relations okies? You've been warned :/
"..." normal speech
'...' thoughts
Dobe = dead last
Baka = idiot
Bolded text – setting
Italics – emphasized thoughts
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Chapter 2 – Peek-a-boo, I see you
Konoha – Forest
He was gone.
Sasuke collapsed onto his knees, tired and frustrated. Where could he be?
Crawling slowly, Sasuke's hesitant hand touched the crimson fluid that was slowly sinking into the ground. It couldn't be...blood. It was still warm.
"Naruto!"
Sasuke stood up once more, tearing apart bushes, and looking up into trees for any sign of the blond boy. He couldn't have gone far. His blood was still warm, that means he had to be somewhere nearby...
Then, it hit him. Sasuke smirked.
"Come out dobe! I know you're there!" Sasuke called out, mock and spite dripping from his words. But when no response came, Sasuke's temper began to rise.
"If you think this is clever of you dobe, think again!" he said as a last attempt to get Naruto to reveal himself, wherever he was hiding.
But still, no sound came. Sasuke looked around once more, and only then did he realize that his beloved Naruto was really gone.
'You know what that means?'
Sasuke bolted into the forest, unaware of where he was going. He had to find Naruto.
In his haste, Sasuke had tripped on a tree root, and was sent unceremoniously into a training area, where Lee, Tenten and Neji were training.
"Sasuke?" Tenten said, apparently bewildered at Sasuke's grand entrance.
"What are you-" Lee began, but his concern for Sasuke's well being was cut short.
"Naruto! Have you seen Naruto!?" Sasuke screamed as he grabbed onto Lee's shoulders and began shaking him.
"No I haven't Sasuke, I thought you were-"
But Sasuke had already disappeared into the green thrush of the forest, leaving only idle leaves hanging in the air behind him.
"What's with him today?" Tenten said to no one in particular.
Unbeknownst to the group, a girl with pale violet eyes and midnight-blue hair had heard everything while she was walking nearby. Hinata's tiny frame trembled uncontrollably.
'Please come back safe Naruto-kun...'
Konoha – Apartment
The sound of a door snapping shut brought Temari sprinting in the hallway.
"Gaara! Where have you-"
The sight of the kitsune painted in red brought Temari's words to a halt. Kankuro's steps sounded behind her.
"Why did you bring him here?" Kankuro said quietly, his eyes narrow and his hands ready to summon Karasu if need be.
"None of your business," Gaara's raspy voice sounded quietly in the tense atmosphere. Without a second glance at his siblings, Gaara made his way silently to his room. Only when the sound of Gaara's door sliding shut did Temari and Kankuro let out the breaths they were holding.
"What is he doing here? We can't let him stay here!" Kankuro whispered menacingly to Temari.
"I know that! But we have to help Naruto. Do you know what Konoha will do to us if they find out Gaara's injured a leaf shinobi?" she answered, as she made her way into the kitchen.
Konoha – Market
"Naruto! Has anybody seen Naruto!?" Sasuke yelled as he ran through the streets of the market, which was currently buzzing with activity. Many did not even turn their heads at the Uchiha's uncharacteristic call, but some however, did.
"Sasuke-kun! What's wrong?" a girl with pale pink hair called, who was standing beside Ino.
Sasuke's head instantly snapped towards the direction of Sakura's voice.
"Where is he!? Where is Naruto?" he said, glaring at Sakura once he had made his way to her.
"I don't know where he is, Sasuke-kun. But you don't look so good." Sakura hesitantly answered. It wasn't like Sasuke to be this intense and agitated.
Sasuke ignored her question and pushed Sakura and Ino aside with an annoyed growl.
"I already do enough dobe! And if I'm not good enough for you, then you can just go ahead and call it all off!"
That was the last thing he ever said to Naruto before he sent him flying towards his doom. Maybe he didn't deserve Naruto after all. Even when it was Naruto's birthday, all Sasuke had done was buy him a large meal of ramen. He didn't even give the hyperactive and surprisingly affectionate blond a true smile.
Sasuke let out all his frustration in one loud yell and punched the wall of the building next to him, leaving a large crater. His relationship with Naruto would change after he got him back again. He vowed that he would treat him better.
Sasuke knew then who he had to go to for help. He had to find Kakashi.
'Hang on dobe...don't die yet. I'm coming.'
Konoha – Apartment, Gaara's room
Gaara tried to lay the blond down on his futon as gently as he could, but the blonde's limp body was proving to be a heavy burden.
Gaara stared at the blonde's face, noting that his mouth was curved into a faint scowl of pain and hatred. But what caught his attention more was the sight of the blonde's blood. Most of it had begun to dry up, but the wound was still bleeding ever so slowly.
Shukaku's appetite was starting to stir. It wouldn't be so bad to get a little taste would it? Just a little taste...
A thin trail of sand began to wrap around the unconscious boy's body, and soon enough, Naruto was completely buried within a tight cocoon.
'Just a little taste...'
A rap on the door momentarily shook Gaara from his kill.
"Gaara?"
It was Temari. He didn't need any of her distractions right now. But her knocking continued incessantly, each knock getting louder and more frantic each time.
"Gaara? What's going on in there? Open the door, Gaara!"
Gaara's hand was ready to close and perform the desert coffin, but his mind kept reverting back to the desperate knocks of his sister.
The door slid open.
"Gaara! What are you doing!?"
With an angry growl, Gaara sent his sand flying towards Temari, where she promptly dropped a towel and a bowl of water to shield herself against the attack. Her scream as she hit the wall behind her with incredible force sent Kankuro speeding towards the room, Karasu in hand.
But Kankuro stopped at the sight in front of him. Gaara stood over a bloody Naruto, who was still partially covered in sand, whereas the rest made a trail towards Temari in a crumpled bundle on the floor.
Kankuro stared at his monster of a brother. Gaara stared back. The sound of Temari stirring made both boys break their staring contest and look towards her.
Temari looked at both boys with a confused expression for a moment, before registering what was going to happen.
"Kankuro...put Karasu down. I'm alright." Temari said quietly. When Kankuro refused to lower his defences, Temari put a firm grip on his hands and forced him to do so.
"I'm alright," she said firmly.
"But he was...you were..." Kankuro's words failed him. Sighing, he decided it was best to leave.
Temari began to pick up the things she dropped as the looked up hesitantly at Gaara.
"Gaara, let me help you. Naruto's hurt and his cuts need to be cleaned."
Gaara made no sign of answering, but he glared at her quietly instead. The sand began to slowly retreat back into his gourd in a dark corner.
Taking this as a sign of acceptance, Temari quickly went back to the kitchen and retrieved more water. After a few moments, she had managed to clean up Naruto as best as she could and put a tight bandage around his head. A red spot on the white gauze where Naruto's head was still bleeding slowly appeared, however.
Temari then succumbed to every instinct that told her to run from her unstable brother once she was done. She was gone before Gaara could give her another glare that day.
Gaara remained sitting the whole time, and when Temari left, Gaara continued to stare at the blonde in the darkness.
He turned around momentarily to look out the window, where a faint echo of a frustrated scream sounded. He got up and shut the window, slightly agitated at the world's distractions. When Gaara looked back to the sleeping blonde however, one of Naruto's eyes had opened up and was staring back at him with a dazed expression.
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A/N: Wah, boring chapter that was! And it was a little long wasn't it? I'm really sorry if this was disappointing! I'll try harder on the next chapters, but I'm slowly moving towards a writer's block, even though there's still a lot I could write about (I just don't know them yet :P). Anywhos, I'll update as soon as I can! Here are the review responses, and I thank every reviewer and reader once again for taking the time to read my story! A big THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! from me!
Review Reponses:
Chelsea: Heheheh, I love cliff hangers! I've wanted to do one for sooo long :P Evil authors and their cliff hangers :] now I finally get my revenge! -evil cackle- Hopefully this update didn't disappoint you!
Jenniyah: I thought the idea was a little crazy meself! But I guess it's a nice twist at the end, ne? Hopefully I won't be running out of surprises!
kiowen: I don't feel all that bad for Sasuke either o.O But in my mind, I think this is how Sasuke and Naruto's relationship would be at first. I don't think Sasuke really deserved Naruto either :P I'm not much of a Sasuke fan (Don't tell anyone! O.O) Someone in my state of mind cannot be held responsible for her actions, which is a little bit of Sasuke bashing :P -Waves Gaara flag around-
Iceheart19: I'm really glad you liked it! -gives you a cookie- That means a lot to me :D I was thinking of maybe taking this story down, but your review made me change my mind Hope this update didn't disappoint you :D
tracy-kin: Yep, Chidori on poor Naruto :( I felt kinda sorry for doing that, but Sasuke's the human ice cube =] But it seems Gaara wanted blood again ;/ I like Gaara's homicidal side :P At this point, I really don't have a clue who Naruto's going to choose! I'll figure it out later :P -throws sand around and tries to be Gaara-
LittleDarkOne: Thanks so much for liking my story! It's really nice to know someone likes your fic =] Yay for Sasuke-thwapping!
SasuNaru123: Yay for sauke-hating :P I'm secretly trying to convert everyone to Sasuke-hating :D I hope this update wasn't disappointing!
xXFissshBonesssXx: Hmm...maybe it's a good idea to kill him off :] but we'll just have to see, being the lazy lazy author I am o.O Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring for you :D
Anime Lass: Aww thanks for saying that! I'm really glad that this fic got someone's attention quick :D I hope this update's gonna hold your interest!
Ria Sakazaki: I hope I can find enough ideas to keep this story going :P I'm so glad you liked my story! -Gives you a cookie- I hope this chapter wasn't too boring :S
GeNo C. iDe1: Your review surprised me! I thought no one would be even reviewing anymore when your review popped up! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing :D Hope this new chapter doesn't disappoint :D
Conspiratorial Omen: I'm talking to you on msn right now :P So I'll just give you a smiley: o'---'o enjoy :P
Little Leila: Wah another surprising review! :P Just when I thought i was gonna get no more, yours came! thank you so much!!! Right now, I'm not sure who's gonna get Naruto in the end, with his little amnesia thing an' all :P But I'm starting to think that maybe Gaara should have him, but we'll have to see won't we? =]
Once again, I give every single reader and reviewer a big THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for taking the time to look over my story! Every review means so much to me!!!!! It really makes my day! And so many reviews too! (At least for me it's a lot) I got wayyy more than I ever expected! THANK YOU ALL MY WONDERFUL REVIEWERS AND READERS!!!!!!
Tsuki