Author's Note: Yo! 'Sup guys? I'm sorry for the long wait for a chapter. I was unexpectedly busy battling grouchy sisters, slow anime dowloads, botched romantic affairs, and cold pasta, and so I ended up with a writer's block when I got time to work anyway. This thing just didn't want to be written!
But whatever. We fought, I won. You get a new chapter. Which I want to decicate to Phoe-chan, 'cause she's friggin' awesome.
Speaking of reviewers, I still want to give a large, massive THANKS to all the wonderful people who read and review. Your encouragement is infinitely appreciated! -love-
(ed. 1x)
Warnings: Shounen-ai, violence, cursing, plot holes, blah blah blah, the usual. For this chapter specifically, lots of dust. Get a mask.
Everything else: See first chapter. -laziness-
Ch. 3 : Starlit Dust
"You can really drive one of these things?" Naruto gaped at the gleaming, black motorcycle that stood impassively around the back of the dormitory, glaring harshly at as many passer-bys as it could. The two boys had synonymously decided that they couldn't just walk all the way to the dojo lugging a suitcase, a duffel bag, and a backpack behind them, so Sasuke had generously taken it upon himself to provide transportation.
The dark-haired boy nodded, looking around the makeshift garage (which he and Itachi had assembled shortly after they'd moved into the dorms) for something to secure the suitcases with. Spotting a long spool of rope hanging on the wall, he immediately grabbed and unwound it to its full length. He then went back to the bike, locating and releasing the lever at the rear, which enabled him to raise two small, metal platforms to portruding from the end of the body, one vertically and the other horizontally. Once it was fully arranged, he relocked the stand in place.
"Uzumaki," he called, tonelessly. He watched as the blond's head snapped up from gazing at the bike, and once sure he had his attention, he commanded, "get the suitcase and put it up here, and then hold it there."
Though a bit put off at the idea of being ordered around, especially by a human jerk whom he barely knew yet, Naruto did as he was told, hauling the heavy case up to rest on the table-like appendage, gently, as if afraid that it would break. "Will that thing really hold? It looks too puny to hold up such a huge piece of baggage."
"Oh, it'll hold," Sasuke reassured him, tying the rope to a thick pin beneath the metal ensemble with a firm, unrelenting knot. After winding the rope across and over the case tightly several times, he instructed the still doubtful boy to let go and add the smaller duffel. He then proceeded to fix the bag to the bike in a similar fashion with the remainder of the rope, knotting the butt end of the rope to a middle segment. "I should know, I assembled it myself."
"No way, really?" For a few moments, surprise and amazement were unabashedly displayed across Naruto's face at the skill, delicacy, and sheer amount of time it would've had to take to put together such a perfect and beautiful device. That was, however, before he remembered that he disliked the arrogant bastard who was currently examining the rest of the bike to make sure that everything was in working order. Immediately schooling his face into a scowl, he amended, "Not that it's that great or anything. You just have too much confidence in your own work."
The dark-haired boy just snorted bemusedly. With no comment to be made in reply, he wordlessly swung a leg over the seat of the bike and got himself situated, feet firmly on the ground on either side. After pushing himself forward a bit to get off the kickstand and noting the difference in the weight already, he turned to the blond, saying simply, "Get on."
Naruto's eyes widened for a moment, having forgotten that, oh yeah, he was going to be riding that dark, glistening thing. Taking a step so he was at it's side and in position, he put his hands on the seat behind Sasuke and hoisted himself up clumsily. Pointedly ignoring the awkward position it put the two of them in, of course. "This is the first time I've ever been on a motorcycle, by the way," he informed the Uchiha.
"Obviously."
"Still though, aren't I supposed to get a helmet, too?"
"I don't have another one. Now just shut up and hold on." And without giving the blond time enough to babble in protest or, incidentally, to use his magic to get himself a helmet, Sasuke opened up the throttle and they were off.
"Hey, wait!" Naruto panicked for a moment, afraid for his life as their speed steadily increased and he was adamantly ignored. Finally, after what seemed like forever (but was really only a second or two), his brain registered what he'd been told to do and he wound his arms around the other boy's waist, squeezing almost desperately and squinting his eyes shut.
Of course, no one's ribs are made of steel, and an Uchiha is no exception. "You don't have to hold that tight, moron!" the dark-haired boy yelled to his passenger.
Surprised at first that he could even hear anything, Naruto loosened his death-grip slightly and yelled a reply, "Well, you could go a little slower! It's not like we're in a hurry or anything!"
"We're not going that fast!" Even with all the wind, Sasuke's caustic attitude was noticeable.
I wonder if he always acts this pissy, or if it's something he does just for me? "Yeah right, if I were standing in front of this thing, I'd be dead on impact, you crazy bastard!"
"Oh? Then why don't you go ahead and jump out there? I wouldn't object to being rid of you," said crazy bastard suggested in response, and, just to spite him, and because there was no one around so late at night to see, he actually sped up.
The younger boy gasped and swallowed a chunk of air as he felt the additional acceleration, resuming his rib-cracking hold around Sasuke's waist and pressing his shoulders and head against the leather coat. "Gee, thanks, Uchiha, I hate you, too!"
Sasuke just smirked, and when he chuckled, Naruto could feel it against his cheek. He was actually more comfortable being flush against the boy as he was, noting that not only did his back function as a shield from most of the wind, but it was a whole lot warmer, too. After all, it was late October! It was cold enough when there wasn't wind coming at you at 45 mph! In fact, the blond was perfectly content staying right where he was the whole ride, except for when they hit a red light.
There was a car in the lane next to them with a middle-aged couple inside, and when they saw Naruto clinging to Sasuke like a second skin on the back of the shiny, black motorcycle, there'd been a clear What the hell? on both of their faces. The Uzumaki had immediately detached himself (more or less) and waved, grinning sheepishly despite the blush on his whiskered face. The pair hadn't seem moved, but the driver had turned back to the road with confusion still staining his features. And before Naruto knew it, they'd been moving again and he let out a short yelp, winding his arms once again around Sasuke's midsection.
But that was about the extent of the eventfulness of their trip. Within ten minutes they arrived at the dojo — or, what used to be a dojo. It more resembled a series of overgrown shacks, now, they saw once they'd walked through the gate and saw the hulking complex in its entirety.
This is it? Naruto thought. When he'd envisioned it back by the dormitory, he'd been sure it would be in much better shape. As it was, he was almost afraid to go near it for fear of having it randomly up and collapse on him.
The dojo itself was made up of three buildings attached together, all of which seemed to be falling apart. Slabs of stone hung out, dented, in several places. Shingles had fallen off the rooves and broken, lying strewn about the (rather large) yard, and the roof of one of the smaller buildings looked like it had already fallen through in a few places. Weeds had taken over the grass and flora, and dead branches lay scattered from storms that the trees couldn't quite survive. The wooden fences had been completely knocked over in areas, their planks broken in others, and in some places even completely missing. The paint, which had once been fine and stately, was now chipped, scuffed, scratched, and abused in general. And that was just the outside.
The two boys walked through the courtyard in relative silence, the only sounds permeating the tense, evening silence other than a slow-chirping cricket being the soft taps of their shoes on the cracked and moss-flooded stone pathway to the main building and the rustle of fabric as the bags they carried rubbed and bumped against their bodies. A cold breeze disturbed the leaves that liberally coated the ground, but even their gentle swishing seemed muted, with the moon brighter than usual and leaving the earth bathed in a thin, bluish veil of light and corresponding shadows, with inky blackness in the crevices that the moonlight couldn't worm its way into.
This is beyond creepy, Naruto couldn't help but think as they reached the wooden steps that led up to the sliding doors. The doors... yet again something that's bent, punctured, and deformed... I'm surprised they were never boarded up or anything. Ha, the local authorities were probably too creeped out to come near the place. But he wasn't, oh no. He boldly applied his sneaker to the first step, finding delightedly that it didn't crumble beneath him. One step at a time, Uzumaki... He made it two more stairs before encountering a slight glitch in his plan: the next step had fallen through, and the one after that wasn't looking too stable, either. After a moment of contemplation, he decided to take his chances on the unstable step, and lifted a foot to it carefully. He found, however, that even the slightest amount of pressure on it produced a very disturbing creak. And yet we have no other choice but to stay here (me and my big mouth), because mister bad-ass over there is socially challenged and can't — or won't — make friends.
Sasuke, meanwhile, hadn't even begun to attempt the stairs. He'd recognized almost immediately that any effort to climb them would be futile, as a one-by-one approach like Naruto was trying would just get him stuck on the third step, and a jump from there to the railed, wooden walkway that lined the perimeter of the building would be useless as well since the walkway looked like it would give way upon impact if the step they jumped off of didn't first. So he was looking around for another way up when the hushed voice of his companion drew his eyes back.
"Maybe you should go first?" Naruto murmured, though even he didn't understand why he was being so quiet. Ordinarily, he'd use his boisterous personality to break and dispel the nervous silence, but here, it somehow felt like by being loud, or really even making a sound at all, he was desecrating someone's grave. And that analogy was so creepy that... did he just shudder? Oh boy.
Sasuke smirked, having just spotted a part of the railing a little ways past the blond where the wood had been broken through, splintered fragments lying haplessly on the earth below. "Why, when you're already up there?" But that didn't mean it wouldn't be amusing to see the annoyingly orange-clad boy make a total fool out of himself over something as trivial as a creaky stair. "Don't tell me you're afraid."
Naruto suddenly puffed out his chest, predictably. "I'm not a coward!" he exclaimed, though still far short of his usual decible level. Taking a deep, quick breath, he put his foot once again on the unstable step, applying pressure slowly until he dared no more, which was still quite far from his whole body weight. "It's just that... there could be blood-sucking spiders and giant, mutated cockroaches under there and I wouldn't want to... disturb their habitat by falling through, now would I?" Damnit! This'll give that bastard lisence to make fun of me for the rest of my life!
His smirk growing slightly, the Uchiha let a low chuckle escape his throat, sounding more mocking than amused though really it was both. "Sure, Uzumaki. Come on, then, away from the scary bugs."
And with that, Sasuke began making his way over to the opening in the rail. As he passed the blond on the stairs, however, a number of things happened in quick succession. First, Naruto, in trying to get to the ground quickly, managed to shift his weight in exactly the right way to make the shaky step collapse beneath his foot. Second, and consequent to the first, the clumsy deity's balance was lost and he was sent falling into the hole where the two steps should've been. And third, Sasuke caught the two former events out of the corner of his eye and, with speed of that would make even other martial artists gape, covered the distance between himself and the other boy and grabbed the nearest flailing arm firmly. He then tugged none-too-gently on the said arm, rescuing the Uzumaki boy from certain death-by-cockroach.
A high-pitched yelp resounded through the dojo grounds as Naruto's weight was pulled backward, gravity not allowing enough time for him to catch his balance before falling toward the dark-haired boy. Sasuke, braced himself for the impact, and, when it came, had only to step one foot back to keep standing. Thus, when the blond regained his bearings, he found himself against Sasuke's chest, nearly nose-to-nose if he hadn't been so short, with two hands firmly grasping his upper arms. If those hands wound themselves around his waist, Naruto realized, it could've been called an embrace.
"Idiot."
Yeah right. The only person who'd ever embraced him was Umino Iruka, and that fact probably wasn't going to change any time soon. Hell, if it was Uchiha Sasuke, he wasn't sure he wanted it to change.
And with that in mind, he pulled himself from the warmth of the other boy and crossed his arms. "Well who asked you to play the hero? I definitely don't need you."
Dark eyes glinted smugly. "Fine, then I guess you can find your own way into the dojo." Sasuke then calmly resumed his path toward the opening, leaving a sputtering Naruto in his wake.
"You mean you've known a way in this whole time!"
"Not the whole time. Just most of it."
Naruto silently seethed for a moment, muttering 'bastard' under his breath a few times before coaxing his temper to subside to a functional level, and then taking steps to follow the said bastard. He watched as the agitating boy climbed onto the wooden ledge nimbly. He moves so... gracefully, like he's really sure of himself. Like he does this stuff every day. Smug bastard.
Copying his companion's movements, the blond hauled himself up onto the walkway, then followed Sasuke to the front doors. Well, what used to be the front doors. Of the two, one was bent and had two of its panels punctured completely, and the other was bent in a way that made it look like an over-sized accordion, the wooden borders snapped everywhere. Neither one would slide anymore. Thankfully, the accordion-style bending of the one left plenty of room to squeeze in through the entrance, as Sasuke so deftly demonstrated (Naruto a little less deftly because of the large bag on his back).
Once inside, the Uchiha dropped his luggage onto one of the worn mats. If he'd thought the outside was a mess, the inside was a disaster. And he was sure he wasn't even seeing the full extent of the damage because of the darkness, which the moonlight could not penetrate.
The once-white walls were covered in the brown and gray of years of dust and water damage. The water had also caused some of the wooden wall planks to rot, giving the place a dank, heavy smell — the smell of death. The wooden ceiling had suffered much the same fate, though it should've been protected by what remained of the roof tilings and rafters. The sliding doors of the back entrance were also in shambles, though they seemed more or less in tact enough to function. Most of the tatami was torn and dirty or dislocated altogether. One mat even appeared to have been thrown against the far wall opposite where Sasuke stood. What looked like it had been a wooden sword rack had fallen to the floor and broken. The swords themselves were nowhere in sight, probably stolen by some audacious thief who was brave enough to loot the place.
Sasuke contemplated briefly whether or not it may have been a thief who'd reduced the dojo to such shambles, but decided quickly that no mere thief would be capable of inflicting such damage, even if he had been desperate enough for goods to tear the place apart.
The two boys were suddenly startled as a quiet drip came from what seemed like everywhere as it echoed off the abused walls. A few moments later, another drip resounded. There was no movement as an invisible bleakness engulfed and smothered the two teens. Sasuke wanted to cough.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity among the dank dripping and suffocating dust which seemed to digest the room, a flash of orange erupted from behind him. He watched, mildly surprised, as Naruto darted for the back doors, nearly tripping on one of the dislocated mats in the process. The boy struggled with the latch for a moment, and then violently threw the doors open, allowing moonlight to pierce the dark silence. The heaviness and dank smell immediately began to dissipate, and Sasuke could feel his breath return.
Silently thanking the blond, he cast his dark eyes around the room again, now that it was bathed in the dimly comforting light of the moon. It looked even more ghastly and run-down than before.
A spot to the left of the main entrance which had been too dark to see previously was now visible. Easily the most decimated place in the whole room, it seemed to have been a sort of shrine. Have been. Most of the wood and paper ornaments that had hung before it were now torn or gone. The wooden altar was broken in half, and the mantle-piece lay on the floor among shards of glass and wood from picture frames, ornaments from on and above the shrine, shattered pieces of a porcelain vase, and the long dead flowers that had once lived in it. A tattered wall scroll hung, ripped disgracefully, with the ends curling and coated with a thick layer of dust, so that what the scroll displayed wasn't even visible.
"Whoa," Naruto's voice shook as it permeated Sasuke's thoughts. He almost hadn't even noticed the blue-eyed boy sidle up next to him. He was standing close, a sign that he was nervous. The deity chuckled, but it didn't convince either of them. "I didn't think it'd be this bad."
"I didn't either," Sasuke confessed. In the ray of moonlight, all the dust they'd swept up into the air was clearly visible, like an ethereal wave of stardust. That was unnerving even to him.
"It's weird," Naruto continued, "The walls of this place seem like they're... crying out. I can feel it. Saying that they've seen horror." The god felt a shudder rip through him at the desperation that had gripped him as soon as he'd begun to reach out and feel for the spirit of the edifice. "It looks like this place went through a war or something. Do you think all this was really caused by natural deterioration?"
Sasuke left Naruto's side and made his way over to the ruins of the shrine. The younger boy didn't follow him, but he felt those nervous blue eyes on him nonetheless. In fact, he felt like he was being watched all around, from every direction. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, and he was pretty sure he was getting goosebumps. Annoying old spirits... he though exasperatedly as he began to examine the remains of the altar.
It was just out of curiosity, really. But he couldn't shake the feeling that the damage, at least the damage done to this area, was done purposely, just as Naruto was probably suspsecting, too. He bent down on one knee, looking at the shattered glass of a picture frame, from which the picture was apparently gone. The glass was scattered widely and unevenly, confirming his suspicions. This wasn't gravity. The only way to make it break like that would've been to throw it to the ground, and with exceptional force.
Then another thing caught his eye — the mantle piece that lay on the floor. The end that had been severed seemed to have been cut almost smoothly. As if... "This was done with a katana. And the slice is far too clean to be accidental." He got to his feet, knowing his companion was listening. "That picture frame was also broken purposely. And here," he gestured to the main altar, "the way this is smashed... it's like someone struck it with a metal bat, or got thrown into it."
He heard the echo of tennis shoes on the wooden floor again, as they stopped a little ways from him. "So what you're saying is that this shrine was destroyed purposely? But why?"
"How should I know?" Sasuke replied, a little irked that he'd be expected to have the answers to everything. Moving closer to the wall to the left of the altar, he tried to take a better look at the wall scroll. Maybe it would help if we knew who it was a shrine to, he thought, figuring that perhaps the wall scroll would have a name or picture of the person or deity that was being honored on it. From what he could see of the scroll, it was white (or was at one time). He caught a glimpse of red hidden beneath the curled bottom edge. Touching it lightly, he frowned as his fingertips came away coated in a thin layer of silt. He placed his fingers on it more firmly and began to roll the end down, all out grimacing as he felt the dust stick and slide against his skin. As it unraveled, he found that the edge was smoothly diagonal, and lined up with a deep gash in the wood behind it. The scroll was also sliced with a katana.
"Your war theory might be more realistic than you think," the Uchiha stated quietly. "Some kind of battle definitely took place here."
On the scroll, a circular fan with a red upper half and white lower half was displayed, with its bottom partially sliced off. The symbol of the Uchiha clan, the mark of Sasuke's family.
tbc...
Preview:
Sasuke was on the last nail when he felt the first droplet of water hit his back. The one drop quickly turned into a few more, and a few more, and before he had finished a soft drizzle was already falling. He knew immediately that the rain would complicate things, namely his getting down. He was pretty far up on the roof, away from the ladder, and it was hard enough not to slip on the shingles when they weren't being rained on. He'd need to be even more careful, if that was possible.
Knowing he'd need both hands, he left the flashlight nestled in its little crook and concentrated on using the shingles as handholds without pulling them out. It was difficult with them overlapping downward, since it meant his feet had nothing to hold on to. It made his hands the most important part of his body.
Of course, when the first really heavy drop landed on the back of his head, the jolt dislodged the flashlight. And his first reflex was to catch it before it fell. With his hands.
Oh no! Klutzy Sasuke! Will Naruto run to his rescue or will he be eaten alive by giant dust amoebas first? Review and tune in next time to find out!