Author's Note: Actually, I have an excuse this time. It's in my profile. Basically: school, finals, prom, the official beginning of the skating season, and lots of miscellaneous and seemingly useless graduation shiznit.
I think if I had my way, this chapter is where the story would actually start. The rest of it so far has pretty much just been a prologue of sorts.
Reviewer Responses:
Smoking Panda: Thank you! I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for your review.
Midnight-Sunset: Thank you so much! As for what's happened to our dear Sasu-chan, you're just gonna have to wait and find out. -cackles madly- Thanks for your review!
kawaii kitsune-kun: Yep, he sure is! But shhh, everyone in the fic still has to figure it out, and we don't want them to get a one-up on it. -is mean to them- Haha, thank you for your review!
Tsugath: Yes, we will, and yes, he does, lol. I'm just a torturous authoress that likes to drag it out and stuff. Thanks for your review!
rubie: Here is your friction, lmao. There really isn't as much maturity in this one, but I hope you'll like it anyway. I'm so sorry for not updating! I feel so awful about it. Now that school's out, though, I ought to do better. And if I don't, you can whack me over the head with a frying pan, alright? Thank you for your beautiful reviews, I always enjoy reading them!
hujin: Agh, I hate that server error message! -tries to kill it and fails- Thank you so much, I really try to be original, especially with the dialogue, because I've read too many SasuNaru fics that sound exactly the same in that respect. I'll do my best! Thanks a lot for your review!
Sherlockian Slytherin: Thanks! I hope you like this new chapter. I appreciate your review!
Letta: Oh, thank you so much! I'm happy that I made your day. This one isn't as funny, really (unless you're a sadistic authoress), but I do hope you like it! Many thanks for your review.
Lord Zork: Thanks so much! I'm very sorry for not having updated recently! Thank you for adding me to your favorites/alert/recommendation lists, lol, and for your kind review!
Seamarmot: Your answers have arrived! Well, most of them, lol. Thank you so much for your review, I appreciate it!
melmit: Thank you, I'm glad you like the style, and that you feel the plot is intriguing so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. I appreciate your review!
me: Thank you! I enjoy reading your reviews so much, lol. I'm sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up, I hope it satisfies, yknow? Thanks again for your kind review!
Thank you all for your amazing reviews! I'm just floored by every word of encouragement. You all help keep me going! -hugs you all-
Disclaimer and everything else: See the first two chapters, because I'm not going to bother stating all that stuff again. :P
I take a look around; it's evident the scene has changed.
And there are times when I feel improved upon the past.
Then there are times when I can't seem to understand at all
And yes it seems as though I'm going nowhere...
really fucking fast.
Nowhere Fast
Incubus
Locked Crimsons
Unit Five: Nowhere Fast
"No! It's my party and I can monopolize the bathroom all I want!"
"Come on, Naruto, you've got to come out sooner or later!"
Sakura thundered her fists to the bathroom door as hard as she dared -- yet again. Ever since Shikamaru had arrived saying that he'd seen Sasuke on his way, the blonde coward had taken up seemingly permanent residence inside Iruka's bathroom, refusing to come out until someone sent the "evil, manipulative bastard" home. Shikamaru had replied that he was surprised Naruto knew the definition of a word with as many letters as 'manipulative', and then gone on to remind him that, technically, he did invite Sasuke to the party also.
Even so, by the time Sakura and Shikamaru finally got Naruto out of the bathroom, Sasuke was already in the living room, sitting on the couch stoically and nursing his third cup of soda.
"No one ever said that you had to go over and be cheerful or anything," Sakura brought up, "but for heaven's sake, Naruto, at least say hello! He hasn't even had the chance to piss you off yet! What could you possibly be stalling for?"
Courage, Naruto answered mentally. He'd been perfectly willing and even grateful to talk to the dark-haired boy at the beginning of the party, but somehow, during the course of the 30-minute period that had lapsed between then and now, his attitude had managed to make a 180 degree flip.
"Well, maybe he doesn't want to talk to me," Naruto suggested. "In which case, you didn't have to drag me out, and I would've been doing him a favor."
"It's your party, Naruto. If he didn't want to talk to you or at least see you, he wouldn't have chosen to come."
A vein popped insistently on the blond's forehead. "Shut up, Shikamaru, nobody asked you."
"You're acting like a schoolboy with a crush, picking on the girl you like just so she won't think you're fond of her."
"Sasuke's not a girl! And I never picked on Sakura because I liked her! That's just stupid!"
The exasperated boy just sighed and shook his head. "Fine, Naruto. Do whatever you want, go back and hide in the bathroom for all I care." Taking Sakura aside as well, he then whispered, "Go off and chat with Ino or something. Leave Naruto to face his own stupid problems."
Sakura nodded and allowed her feet to drag her off toward the back porch where she'd last seen the blonde-haired girl, abandoning Naruto in the living room with just Sasuke for company. Well, actually, there were four or five other people in the room besides the two, but for all that Naruto was focused on, it may as well have been only them.
Just think naturally. He can smell your fear, he thought to himself, casually making his way over to the refreshments table against the wall. Just pour yourself some punch and act like you don't even notice him.
And that Naruto did. The punch was very interesting, too. It seemed to contain some sort of carbonated beverage, as well as firm traces of multi-flavored sherbet ice cream. He distractedly played with the ladle, not realizing that his cup was nearly overflowing with liquid until the deep, familiar voice that he'd been unconsciously waiting for and dreading echoed softly in his ear.
"I only came here for one reason," it hesitated, "and that's to talk to you."
Naruto took a deep swig of his punch, trying vainly to calm himself. "I thought you made it pretty clear before that you had nothing to say to me, U-"
"Don't call me that! You're the one not making any sense!"
"Uchiha is your name! Uchiha Sasuke!"
"...Sasuke-bastard."
The taller boy rolled his eyes. "You may have to refresh my memory of that statement, as I was... incapacitated half the time you were there."
"You were not!" Naruto barked, his voice radiating dangerously now. "Maybe you were just too busy pinning me to the ground and going nuts to think about what you were saying!"
Neji paused in his quiet conversation with Hinata to glance over at the arguing pair of shinobi. The loudmouth noticed this embarrassedly and threw an apologetic smile in the others' direction before turning back to his former rival. After a quick assessment of his surroundings, Naruto turned and began walking away.
"We're not talking about this here, asshole. Follow me."
Sasuke clenched his teeth and fists in resentment of being ordered around, but obeyed nevertheless.
Iruka's house was only one floor high, but if one knew where to look, one could find a small attic off a door in the laundry room. The door was small and the steps were narrow, but the room above could fit perhaps three people comfortably -- as long as they didn't breathe too much. Naruto weaved haphazardly through his small crowd of guests with Sasuke practically on his heels, and, after a roundabout journey, they arrived in this cozy little loft.
Naruto made no ceremony of sitting himself down onto the dusty, poorly lit floorboards among cardboard boxes labeled "spare shuriken," "extra school supplies," and "mom and dad's stuff," but Sasuke apparently preferred to stand for a few moments and examine the makeshift storage area. Here, the only people that would be able to find them easily were the Hyuugas, who seemed too involved in their own conversation to really care (it probably concerned either the future of the clan or Neji's curse seal; Naruto hoped to whatever god there was that Neji was opening up to the young woman).
"You can go ahead and sit, you know," Naruto suggested in a bored tone of voice.
"What happened?" Sasuke chose to disregard Naruto's statement, in favor of getting directly to the point. "What happened after I blacked out?"
"How would I know? You sure didn't black out while I was around... You were still alive and kicking when I left." He added as an afterthought, "And I bet I still have the bruises on my shoulders to prove it."
Sasuke shuddered involuntarily. "That's impossible. The last thing I remember is... you pinning me to the floor and asking what was the matter with me or something."
"Well maybe it's slipped your mind, but I remember it quite clearly, thank you." Naruto paused and looked his guest straight in the eye. "It was right around the time you claim to have blacked out that you started screetching at me for calling you by your own name and told me to get out of your house."
"What...?" The shinobi's dark eyes quirked into an awkward shape as he fought to recall whatever it was that the blond was talking about, but to no avail. "Why would I do that?"
Said blond let out a bark of laughter. "That's exactly what you said then, when I told you you'd let me in yourself!" It was almost funny, how the entire situation should've been such a simple, straight line, but was somehow turning into a straggly kind of circle. "I told you that you didn't make sense and you bashed my head into your kitchen floor."
Highly skeptical, Sasuke made to cross his arms over his chest, but tanned fingers reached out and grasped one before it reached its destination, pulling and pitching him toward the body to which they were attached. The hand that was entrapped within Naruto's was brought candidly to the back of the sitting boy's head. Upon first contact, all it felt was the softness of clean, spiky hair, but it quickly stumbled upon a spot that made the face beneath the blonde mane tense up. And there was the evidence.
"See? The bump is still there, even with my accelerated healing," Naruto pointed out.
Sasuke suddenly jerked his hand away, as if his skin had been seared by the sudden possibility that he'd been the inflictor of such a thing. (He didn't even want to imagine what that lump would be like on a normal person.) His lips formed themselves into a firm line, and he nearly took a reflexive step back.
There was no way that whatever event Naruto was alluding to actually happened. He most definitely would have remembered any fight that they'd had where he injured the blond so badly.
Of course he would've. ...Wouldn't he?
Which left only one conclusion:
"You're lying."
It took Naruto's brain a moment to process this reaction, as he took it apart and analyzed each word to make sure there was no mistake in his interpretation and counterreaction. In the end, he decided a good "What!" was fitting.
"You heard me," Sasuke replied. "I don't know what possessed you to fabricate such a stupid story, but I'm not falling for it. I'd remember if we got into a fight like that. Or maybe you just hit your head so hard that you've forgotten what actually happened and decided to blame it on whatever's most convenient."
Stop, rewind. He asks me what happened and then calls me a liar! Naruto's whiskered face flushed abruptly in anger, and he realized unsurprisedly that every time he encountered his former rival, he ended up having to calm himself down for some reason or another. "I did no such thing," he growled, keeping his temper under control with practiced patience. "I told you honestly and exactly what you wanted to know. I've even given you proof! Just because it's not what you wanted to hear, don't take your stupid denial out on me, got it?"
As impressed as Sasuke became with the icy glare that he was then accosted with, he had no intention of admiring it submissively, especially when he was still staring down at Naruto from a height difference of around three feet. Rather, he glared back as intensely as he was sure he could without elevating their little misunderstanding to a physical level.
He scoffed. "Don't mess with me, idiot. I shouldn't have counted on you as a reliable source of information, anyway." And with that, the stubborn boy turned and made his way back down the stairs.
Naruto, meanwhile, had finally decided not to take the abuse sitting down (so to speak). Practically jumping to his feet, he just short of yelled, "I'm your only source of information, bastard!"
Sasuke paid no heed to the statement, though he knew it to be true. Unless whatever really happened was of life-altering importance, he figured, he could live in the dark. Hell, maybe someday he'd find out. For now, though, his first priority was getting out of the stupid house and the stupid party hosted by that stupid, blonde, lying dimwit.
Just when he neared the threshold of the front door, a human weight rammed into him from the behind, pressing from the side to pin him to the doorframe with an iron grip on the front of his shirt collar. "Don't you ignore me, Uchiha!"
Something stirred within Sasuke as the sound of that last word tumbled off Naruto's lips and into his ears, and damn, whatever that Something was, it was so strong that it threatened to overwhelm him as he tried to maintain his inner balance. It was screaming to be let out, screaming and insulting and fighting to find its way out, but he fought against it by concentrating his too-jumbled-to-be-useful senses on anything he could, and everything around him was Naruto and he lowered his chin to his collarbone in an effort to hide his eyes lest he actually look weak and if this were a battle with an enemy of any calibur whatsoever, he'd be so dead right now-
"-and if you want to fool yourself into believing Look at me when I'm talking to you, ass-hole!"
But he just couldn't look at that face, with those fierce eyes and furrowed brows and expression that was all sharp teeth and rushing blood. Fuck, he needed something else to-
"What the hell is going on in here?"
concentrate on.
"...Shikamaru." It was his own voice, and he was suddenly aware of the fact that the Something was gone. The blond's grip on his shirt loosened, and he felt himself consciously relax against the doorframe, though Naruto was still well into his personal space.
The new presence was immediately followed by others: Chouji and Kiba, and Neji and Hinata soon after. Naruto freed Sasuke entirely and took an almost nervous step backward. It felt like the very consistency of the air around them wavered.
"Now, don't do that," Shikamaru drawled in a dissapointed tone as he leaned against the wall casually, hands in pockets.
"And why not?" Naruto asked uncertainly, watching as the ninja let a lazy smirk cross his features.
Shikamaru's eyes flickered upward for a split second, and Kiba suddenly started to snicker before disguising it jaggedly with a cough. Hinata looked away, and one of Neji's eyebrows quirked in what Naruto concluded to be amusement. He let his eyes travel back to Sasuke, only to find that the boy had let his own eyes follow Shikamaru's and had turned a shade or two paler than usual.
Officially confused, he too directed his gaze upward, to the space between himself and Sasuke. "Oh hell."
Hanging precariously, just about half a foot out of arms reach, was an offensive assortment of deep green leaves and tiny, white berries.
tbc!
Now I know we're all waiting for the next chapter, even me, lmao.
