General Warning: Yaoi, Possible Adult scenarios, Violence, AU, Unbetad
Chapter Warning: Dead People, A tiny bit of blood.
Pairings: NarutoxSasuke, Others later.
Songs While Written: Wake the Dead by A Perfect Circle
Disclaimer:Anything in this story that appears to be from the show Naruto, probably means it is and I certainly am not Masashi Kishimoto. If you don't recognize a character thenthey most likely belong to me or a friend of mine.
A/N: Alright, here's chapter three, sorry for the wait. I get easily distracted. Enjoy, and please remember. Don't throw things at the Author Until you've read the whole chapter, kay?
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A twinge of guilt skittered across the young man's face as he jogged down the street toward the closest bus stop. He really hated having the image of his new friends disappointment burned into his eye lids. It wasn't like it was his fault that his boss was a slimy creep. A yell of annoyance was enough to distract the poor blonde (not like he wasn't already distracted), and send him tripping over his own feet to land in a heap on the cool cement.
Naruto slowly sat up rubbing at his forehead ruefully a small groan leaving his lips. Turning his head he shook his fist at the man who'd yelled at him, but was completely ignored. Really, none of this was his fault. He couldn't help that his boss had called him to pick up an extra shift that night so he'd had to cancel attending Sakura's party. It wasn't even his fault that he'd nearly run into that guy, was it? He didn't think so; then again he really hadn't been paying enough attention to notice either way.
So here he sat in the middle of the sidewalk, the mostly deserted sidewalk, about half a block from the bus stop. His bag was a foot in front of him, the contents partially spilling out the opened flap. Crawling forward on his hands and knees the blonde reached out and tucked the books, sheets of paper, and other miscellaneous objects back inside before refastening the bag's flap with a little huff.
Standing up the blonde slung his bag up over his head so that the strap pressed diagonally across his chest and the bag itself thumped against one hip. Maybe this way the blasted thing wouldn't get dislodged so easily. Leaning forward Naruto dusted off the front of his jeans, wincing slightly as he noted a few specs of blood about the knees. Great, scuffed knee courtesy of the sidewalk.
Groaning and sputtering curses to himself under his breath Naruto straightened, a frown flickering over his face as a well known sound entered his ears. It seemed to take a good minute or two for the meaning of that sound to click, and when it did Naruto shouted out a curse word and ran forward. It was a bit to late though, the bus had already come to a stop. Passengers streamed off, and then new went on. Just as he made it the blasted thing started moving and there he was, stuck.
Watching the bus roll away down the street the blonde allowed his lower lip to poke out his face forming a pout, "I really feel like crying right about now…" he whined to himself.
The blonde continued over and plopped down on the bench with a haggard sigh. Reaching up he slowly dragged his hand through his already gravity defying hair. So there he sat contemplating the different crack patterns in the concrete of the street where it met the curb wallowing in his own little pull of misery. Frankly, Naruto didn't think it could get any worse, but of course he was contending with everyone's best friend wasn't he?
Naruto… Meet Murphy.
So there he was, sound in the ideal that nothing else could go wrong. Tilting his head back Naruto gazed at the sky momentarily before allowing his bright blue eyes to close, and attempting to ignore the slight throbbing pain in his knee caps from having jarred them against the cement. It was about this time that a person Naruto was rather familiar with noticed him sitting there, and strolled up behind the bench to lean over him; staring down into his blank face.
"Hey there…" Proclaimed a low smooth voice interrupting the mental ranting Naruto was currently enjoying, and startling the blonde near to death.
With a yelp the blonde jerked his head upward, soundly connecting it with that of the person who was leaning over him. Another pained yell left Naruto's lips and he leaned forward clutching at his head with both hands, further rumpling his spiky blonde hair. A slew of curses could be heard expelling in a muffled tone from behind his hands, and after a good few seconds of whining he whipped his head around and pointed at his 'assailant' letting out a yell fit to burst ear drums, "Where do you get off---!" However, Naruto's tirade was cut short as he found himself facing a familiar head of red-hair.
"You have one hard head, Uzumaki." came the slightly muffled, but clear enough retort from behind the pale hand currently plastered across Gaara's nose and mouth. He'd apparently suffered a bloody nose as a few scarlet drops seeped between his fingers to roll across his knuckles, and finally hang precariously off his hand for a few milliseconds before dropping to stain the dirty pavement of the sidewalk.
Naruto was oblivious to all this as he threw himself over the back of the bench and tackled the red-head into a hug along side a yelled greeting of, "Gaara!" A slight tic appeared near the red-heads temple as he waited for his release, not without quite a bit of squirming though. Finally letting Gaara he peered at him, and quirked an eyebrow, "Hey, are you ok?" he queried.
Slowly withdrawing his hand from his nose Gaara stared at the blood on his palm, wrinkling his nose slightly, "Fine." He answered the blonde shortly before pulling out a convenient tissue, and doing his best to clean the blood off his palm.
Naruto allowed a hand to rise up and scratch at the back of his head in a sheepish maneuver alongside the equally guilty smile that had plastered itself on his face, "Sorry…" he mumbled shifting his weight from one foot to the other in an apologetic manner.
"Fine." Gaara restated, "Its fine. I shouldn't have snuck up on you."
The blonde nodded his head amiably before eyeing the other up and down for a long moment. Pursing his lips Naruto quirked a brow upward toward his hairline, "Eh, Gaara… What are you doing in this neighborhood anyway? You live on the other side of town!"
Gaara canted his head to the left, and nodded toward Naruto in agreement, "I was visiting Temari." He stated simply. "We ate at this Café…" here the red-head nodded toward the building just a bit down the street from the bus stop, "and as we were leaving I spotted you. Figured I'd say hello."
Naruto beamed at that, "Awesome! I haven't seen you in forever." A short pause as realization sunk in, "Temari lives around here!"
Amused, Gaara gave a little nod though he didn't really respond to the questioning look the blonde was giving him. Though Naruto was his friend he wouldn't sick the dolt on his sister, yet it could also be that he wouldn't do that because Naruto was his friend and Temari could have a nasty temper… In either case Gaara watched Naruto quietly for a few moments before making an inquiry of his own, "What are you doing sitting out here anyway, Naruto?"
As Gaara's words sunk in the red-head watched a visible change come over the blonde. Naruto let out a heavy sigh, slumping his shoulders before walking back around to plop down on the bench again, "I got called in to pick up an extra shift tonight, but I missed the bus." Naruto mumbled.
Gaara blinked a couple times then leaned his elbows on the back of the bench beside Naruto's shoulders, staring at the side of the blonde's head as he sulked, "I could… give you a ride, Uzumaki." The red-head offered blandly.
Immediately his head jerked up and Naruto looked at Gaara gleefully, "Really!" at Gaara's nod Naruto let out a whoop, and leapt up off the bench again clutching his bag; his eyes wide and hopeful.
A smirk appeared on Gaara's lips as he shook his head in amusement, "Sure thing. Come on." Without a further word Gaara turned and started back toward the café and his car, Naruto following behind him.
"You're the best, Gaara." Naruto chirped happily.
"It's not like I wasn't already going that way…" the red-head responded as he unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver's side, and Naruto quickly tumbled into the passenger's seat.
The purr of the engine and the soft light of the darkening city eased the two into a comfortable silence of well known friends. Naruto peered out the window in a listless manner indulging in the dull thump of music from the speakers, and the steady hiss of the tires over the pavement. Buildings flashed pass casting an eerie glow from some of the lit neon signs presented flashily over the threads of people meandering about.
The blonde slowly blind himself from the mild stupor he had descended into and cast a sideways glance at his red headed companion. Naruto pursed his lips for a moment, appearing to ponder something. "Sooo," he drew out the word to make sure he had Gaara's attention, and received a grunt of acknowledgment for his pains. "How are you and Kankuro doing, Gaara?" the blonde inquired.
The red head blinked in slight surprise at the question but answered anyway, "Kankuro got fired from his old job."
Naruto winced at that, and slowly shook his head. Looking more fully at his companion he arched a brow in interest, "He still living with you then?"
The red head gave out a disgruntled snort, but Naruto grinned not fooled in the least. Gaara may have acted like he despised his siblings most of the time, yet that was far from the truth of the matter. Flicking his eyes toward the blonde, Gaara remained quiet for a moment longer before he finally spoke up, "Well, obviously." He grunted. "He did manage to land himself another job already though." Here a mischievous smirk danced across Gaara's lips, and frankly Naruto wouldn't have believed it could happen if he hadn't seen it himself.
Naruto's brows lifted upward nearly disappearing under the drape of his shaggy blonde fringe, "Oh?" he questioned, his voice filling with curiosity anything that amused the stoic red head was indeed a cause to be highly intersted, and the blonde wasn't about to miss this opportunity.
Another thing that few ever happened to bare witness to occurred just then, and Naruto was hard put to keep from gaping as Gaara chuckled to himself, "Yes indeed. He's working at the local Toys R Us now. I don't know whether its so he can scare the kids, or to play with the dolls though."
Gaara grinned almost maniacally at the sounds of sputtering, and a heavy coughing fit off to his side from his blonde haired companion. Naruto leaned forward grasping at his throat as he laughed so hard his lungs couldn't keep up and left his in need of a very vital part of living; that is, oxygen. The red head sympathetically reached over and thumped the blonde on the back while still managing to keep both eyes on the road, "Y-you're kidding me, right?" the blonde rasped out while wiping at watering eyes.
Gaara's grin widened and he shot his friend a side long look, "Oops, did I let that slip?" he drawled out listening with mild interest to the blonde's laughing fit.
"He doesn't really play with dolls, does he Gaara?" Naruto asked at last, appearing to have gotten some amount of his self control back. Not that he had ever had very much of it in the first place.
The red headed man rolled his eyes skyward at the question and shrugged one shoulder, "Marionettes, dolls, its all the same to me though the idiot continues to profess the difference like a lovesick fool."
Snickering Naruto shook his head at his friend and tilted his head, "Gaara, you don't treat your patients like this do you?" he inquired.
Gaara lifted a brow at the blonde and grinned in a way that could have been malicious if you didn't know him, "And what if I do, Uzumaki?" he drawled out imperiously.
Rolling his eyes Naruto fell silent; in Gaara-speak that basically meant that he did, and he didn't. Gaara, believe it or not, was a Psychologist, and Naruto supposed that part of his success was from his rather blunt nature. The red head had a temper, sure, but he was also fairly patient, and the fact that he barely spoke made him good at listening to other people problems. On the other hand, had things turned out how they had seemed they would when both were young, Naruto was quite sure Gaara would be the one in therapy not the therapist; if he wasn't in a mental institute, that is.
Naruto sat there contemplating the past as the world rolled speedily by only being jolted out of his trance when the car's pulled over to the curb and came to a halt. From where he sat he could just see the clinical glow that spilled from the glass doors that provided entrance to the rather squat and gloomy building. A sign five feet in front of the building and about the same measurement from where he sat proclaimed the place to be the 'East Konoha City Morgue.' After all, Konoha was a big city so there was apparently more than one morgue scattered throughout the streets, at least Naruto figured there was. Why name it the East morgue if there wasn't?
All thoughts on the name of his work place drained away as he opened the door and tumbled out onto the pavement. Turning around Naruto leaned down and cast Gaara a grateful smile, "Thanks again, buddy." He said, his tone carrying sincerity and relief at what the other had done for him. Gaara gave him a nod in response and he slammed the door shut. Turning he trudged toward the gleaming glasses doors pausing to turn and offer a wave as Gaara pulled off before he shoved them open and stepped into the buildings main lobby.
The girl sitting behind the front desk had her eyes trained on the tiny screen of a miniature black and white TV, and without even looking away she lifted a hand in greeting. Finally, as the sound of some man trying to sell something perforated the atmosphere she tore her eyes away and leaned forward on the counter giving him a grin, "Hey there, Naruto. Why are you here so early?" she asked tilting her head in such a way as to present an inquisitive nature.
Nature grinned at her and waved his hand in a gesture of brushing the whole thing aside, though he did indeed answer, "Oh… That slimy bastard Orochimaru called me in early." The blonde replied with a long suffering sigh.
The girl nodded as though this answered everything, "That would answer why that creep Kabuto is already here." She drawled out, turning her head to observe her finger nails in a display of agitated disinterest. Like his creepy mentor/boss Kabuto wasn't particularly well liked.
Blinking Naruto tilted his head in a mirror image of how the girl had done prior, "Why else would he be here?" he asked, pursing his lips in perplexity.
Snorting slightly, the girl rolled her eyes, "Just to stick close to His Sliminess, no doubt." She drawled, and then plopped down into her chair closing the discussion.
Snickering to himself Naruto proceeded back through the hallways to the small staff room where he found the aforementioned glasses wearing man. Grinning cheerily while he grimaced within the blonde offered a cheery greeting, "Hey there, Kabuto!" he chirped.
Lips pressed into a thin line Kabuto looked up from the papers he was examining. Naruto himself went over and peered into the office that Orochimaru normally inhabited. Blinking at the slippery man's absence Naruto turned to Kabuto. Before the blonde could even ask Kabuto smirked infuriatingly at the blonde, "Orochimaru-sama is on the other side of town. There is a body of peculiar interest there that he was called to investigate." The man said in his precise tones.
Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and frowned deeply, "And that's why I was called in early?" he asked, his voice sounding petulant even to himself.
Kabuto's smirk widened as he tucked his papers beneath one arm and used his free hand to press his round glasses further up his nose, "But of course, Naruto-kun. Now then… we recently got a body that needs to be prepared. So why don't you go get ready, and get to that? I have some reports that Orochimaru-sama needs me to go over…"
A scowl settled itself firmly into place on the blonde's face, but he made no protest. Instead Naruto turned to do as he was told. Truly, he doubted he'd have stayed with this job if it wasn't for his bosses boss, as weird as that sounded. He'd gotten the job thanks to her, really. Tsunade was the County Medical Examiner, and Orochimaru worked directly under her. They were both close friends with his God-guardian (did that even exist?). He supposed it was something like a having a god father, since his own father was an adoptive one, and Jiraiya was a friend of the mans. So, all in all Naruto had a long list of people to thank for getting him the job, even if it was working as a Morgue attendant.
Dressed in a smock, rubber gloves, and the whole shebang Naruto marched into one of the sterile rooms in the buildings basement. In this particular room there was a number of waist high metal tables. The floor was a stark relief of dull gray tiles slopping gently to a drain set in the floor. On one wall a spigot was located to make it easier to clean the floor when needed. Another wall was lined, floor to ceiling, with a number of man-sized drawers, each refrigerated to keep any bodies within from decaying to fast.
The table near the center of the room was occupied by a figure covered by a pale blue cloth of sorts. Beside the examination table on which the covered body was placed a cart of similar metal sat innocently displaying an array of tools with which to cut into the corpse. Pacing over Naruto grimly stared down at his new friend rolling his eyes monetarily at his own grim humor. Reaching out he took hold of the cloth near the top of the table and began to draw it down to reveal the figure's head, neck, and shoulders. Taking a moment the blonde observed the person, lips set in a grim line as his eyes took in black hair and pale features.
Their lips further accentuated by the blue tone they'd taken on, and parts of the person's body flushed where blood had settled postmortem. Flicking his gaze down the length of the corpse he clucked his tongue, he really was uncomfortable with the whole thing. It wasn't exactly that death bothered him a whole lot, he just felt like he was disgracing the person. After all he did have to see them nude to do his job, and that fact just made him downright uncomfortable.
By the slope of the person's chest, it was obviously a she. Heaving out a sigh he removed the cloth all together and picked up the first of his cutting tools, "Well, girl, sucks to be you." He mumbled, graveyard humor getting the better of him.
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It was some time after three AM, and Naruto finally found himself standing before the apartment building where his home was now located. The night was quiet, though a few thumping strains of loud music reverberated down the empty streets from some club or bar. Standing there Naruto lifted his arms above his head and stretched his back arching, and he relished in the sound of his spine popping.
The slow throb of the 'silently' sleeping city night was suddenly shattered like a frail window, the remnants cascading to the ground in a crystal shower as sirens blared somewhere in the distance. The palely glowing skyline, probably accented by light as it was by some power plant or other, had the distinct smudge of smoke upon it that spoke of a fire. Briefly the blonde wondered what was occurring, and the fact that it wasn't really that far off made it all the more intriguing. In the end though, Naruto simply lifted a shoulder in a tired shrug and trudged inside the building, intent on bed.
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A/N: Sooo, how many of you hate me now? Heehee, you'll have to wait just a bit longer to find out what happened to poor Sasuke. Did I give anyone a heart attack with the dead person? Think I killed poor Sasuke off? Yes, I am an evil person. You can throw things at me now, and don't forget to leave a review! Until next time! Hehe!