Disclaimer: First chapter. You know, where this whole story began.
Kuroi-chan's Disclaimer: The nickname 'Sagi-chan is copyrighted to Kuroi. Any other who uses it will be mocked, laughed at, and will ultimately suffer at the hands of her vengeful and depressing wrath. That, and she'll nag me into yelling at you.
Saaski-chan's Disclaimer: The nickname Leeni-chan is copyrighted to Saaski. Use it and die.

 

 

AN The plotless wonder story re-emerges out of the darkness and into the light! Once again, there is no point to my writing this. But hey, I just got my wisdom teeth out and in my semi-drugged state; I decided to let my muses run wild. Needless to say they sat and stared at me as though I was completely out of my mind. Which I was, but that's besides the point. Either way, I'm sure this is just slightly odd, so enjoy it.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4

Summer time for a social reject and an icon of terror is actually rather boring. Considering Naruto to be the former and Gaara to be the latter, summer time is more that just boring. The correct title could be "Death Warmed-Over and Then Stabbed Repeatedly with a Rusty and Blunt Spork with Vicious and Repetitive Motions". Quite a title for a summer of boredom, but hey – Naruto prided himself for being able to come up with cool titles.

The two boys did actually attempt to have a bit of "normal fun" over the course of the two scorching hot months without school. They went to the movies, a road trip, other social activities and such. ... Okay, just kidding. Their attempt to go to the movies failed, mostly because they had chosen to watch a horror flick and Gaara had been chuckling in a positively sadistic manner throughout the entire show. Of course, that had emptied the theatre and had the red head banned from the cinema for life. The attempt at a road trip also flopped, but that was only because, one: they didn't have a car, and two: they didn't want to attempt to spend countless hours in a car with no one to talk to but each other.

Hey, they were best friends – but even they had their limits.

Besides, they didn't have anywhere to go.

Any other social activity was shot in the head because people flat out refused to be seen in public with either one of the two boys. Mostly it was Naruto that they didn't want to be seen with – but they just didn't want to be near Gaara because, as earlier stated, he is an icon of fear.

As for "normal summer activities" well... Gaara flat out refused to be caught dead – much less alive – in a bathing suit. He claimed that showing off one's body was a pointless pastime, and besides – no color matched his pale skin and flaming red hair. Naruto assumed that he was just hydrophobic, but didn't offer any complaints – so swimming was out of the picture as well.

What he didn't realize, however, was that Gaara would do pretty much anything that the blond asked of him – and that included going to a very public swimming pool in bright pink shorts.

Although Naruto didn't know of his control over Gaara, he did know that his friend did have a tendency to give into his whims when pleaded with enough. This was a fact that was set in stone – although only Naruto's pleading could bend Gaara's will.

And this is how Gaara found himself at a theme park, his hand being clasped by Naruto's, and being dragged along the path – past all of the idiots in costume. It was only a coincidence that the theme park doubled as a water park. And that Sasuke and crew just happened to be there on that day. And that Naruto had somehow managed to extract a promise to inflict no bodily harm to anybody from Gaara. Meh, who am I kidding? The Powers That Be were plotting something – and it was a something that wasn't necessarily in Gaara's favor.

"Ne, ne!" Naruto said, tugging along his reluctant friend. "Let's go on that really lame train ride, just so that we can mock it!"

Seeing as Gaara really had no choice in the matter, the two boys soon found themselves sitting on said really lame train ride, right next to the Conductor-Slash-Tour-Guide. And to Naruto's amazement [and pride] Gaara only twitched slightly the first time that somebody brushed past him. Not only that, but the green eyed boy managed to keep him homicidal glare relatively subdued as to not frighten small children. The second time that a small child ran into Gaara's leg, the red head forced his blond friend to switch seats with him.

Two minutes later, Sasuke and Neji sat down in front of our two rejects. Why they chose to sit there I have no idea, as Naruto and Sasuke really hate each other, but they did and that's that. So, stick with it. Right after the two pupil-less boys took their seats; a pink haired girl flopped down on Sasuke's lap.

"Mou, Sasuke! Why don't you ever wait for me? I am your girlfriend after all!" Sakura continued her rant / complaint, while flipping her hair into Gaara's face. Gaara twitched but, as he promised Naruto, didn't give into the urge to maim the girl.

Sasuke blinked. This blink, to Neji, said: "I like Neji more than I like you so bug off you little [censored] mutter, mutter, mutter".

However, Sakura interpreted this blink to mean: "I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan, my lovely wide-foreheaded girlfriend! How can I ever make it up to you!? Please, allow me to grovel at your feet in a blatantly out of character manner!".

Naruto snorted in disbelief, somehow knowing exactly what both Neji and Sakura were thinking. Gaara remained motionless, doing his very best to control his homicidal urges. Naruto would hate you forever, he reminded himself. He hates people who break promises! I won't sink that low! Sakura holds no power over my homicidal urges! ... Meh, who am I kidding here anyway? That [censored] might have something to do with those urges, but I'll never get Naruto to like me in that way if I break this promise!!!

And thus, Gaara remained both motionless and oblivious to the fact that he was now clutching Naruto's hand in a very possessive death-grip. Nobody was taking my Naruto-chan away from me! NOBODY!!!

At this point, the crickets would like to announce their presence.

Chirp. Chirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp.

While Gaara continued his internal tirade, Naruto began squealing in excitement for the really lame train ride was about to begin. He did not notice that Gaara was clutching his hand and coming dangerously close to breaking quite a few bones; he also didn't notice that Sakura had just been thrown from her seat on Sasuke's lab by a suddenly very possessive Neji. The only thing that Naruto cared about was the train ride, how lame it was going to be, and how much fun it was going to be to mock it.

[Twenty minutes later]

Gaara continued staring straight ahead and clutching his friends hand. He hadn't spoken at all, much less moved or even twitched, in the last twenty minutes.

"And if you'll look towards your left," the train Conductor-Slash-Tour-Guide said in a monotone voice, "you'll notice the camp site of this parks vicious, killer, oversized family of badgers!"

"Ohhh… ahh…" The other passengers responded just as tonelessly.

"BWAHAHAHA!" Naruto yelled loudly, pointing with his free hand. "Badgers live in holes in the ground, and they can't build campfires!"

Small children began crying.

The Conductor-Slash-Tour-Guide sent yet another glare at the blond teenager before pointing out the next "landmark". "And to your right, you'll see a tree. This is called the Larry, The Flightless Tree, for you see, Larry cannot fly."

Naruto made yet another wisecrack about this stupid landmark.

In front of him, Neji and Sakura were engaged in a twenty minute long glaring contest. Sakura had one arm wrapped around one of Sasuke's legs, while Neji's hand was clenched around Sasuke's bicep. Sasuke himself seemed very engrossed on the train ride, oblivious to both his girlfriend and his best friend. He seemed especially fascinated with the vicious, killer, oversized family of badgers, and actually changed his facial expression when they passed them by.

And another twenty minutes was wasted while Naruto made wisecracks and pretty much did his best to annoy the general public. After the really lame train ride ended, Naruto, his hand still clenched in Gaara's, somehow managed to drag his friend down to one of the "Really Fast Rides That Spins Really Fast!".

This might not be the best moment to mention this, but Gaara has a fear of things that he cannot control. That includes all roller-coasters, water rides, spinning rides and pretty much everything you can find in a theme-park-slash-water-park. Unless, of course, you counted the people dressed in really stupid animal costumes that danced in the middle of the path – because Gaara could control them with naught but a glare. But that was beside the point. The point is that any ride, save the really lame train ride, that Naruto drags Gaara onto is going to terrify his poor friend. And that terror would result in the red head latching to his friend and refusing to let go. Oh, wait... he's already done that, hasn't he? Let's have a few references to prove this fear, shall we?

Gaara, on the previously mentioned spinning ride:

"Naruto, I really don't think that this is a good idea..."

"Don't be silly Gaara! This will be fun!!! Itai... Gaara, you're squishing my hand..."

Gaara: on a roller coaster.

"Naruto – shi-ne!!!"

"Gaara! That's my hand!! OWOWOWOW!!!

And the water rapid ride...

"If those [censored] [censored] blast us with the [censored] water there's going to be some serious [censored] massacring going on... mutter, mutter, mutter."

[Insert the screaming of masses]

[Insert small children crying]

"I... can't feel my hand anymore... Iruka-sensei is going to be really suspicious about this you know."

"..."

Suffice to say, that letting the two social rejects run loose in a theme park probably wasn't the best idea that Iruka-sensei had had in his life time. It might also be wise to mention at this point that Gaara has been clutching Naruto's hand for the entire day, and that the red head's hand was very comfortable in said hold.

And about the time that the two were ready to leave the theme-park-slash-water-park, they once again ran into, you guessed it, Sasuke and crew.

"Well, that's an interesting development," Sasuke said, uttering his very first words on this fanfiction. He was staring at the clasped hands of Naruto and Gaara, a very strange look in his eyes.

The crickets, who had just barely managed to not being trampled on by a couple of slightly malicious three years olds, hopped up next to Naruto and began their now infamous chirping.

Chirp. Chirrrrrrp.

Shukaku, the raccoon that had been waddling drunkenly after Gaara the entire day made it's way over to Sakura's ankles and said: "MUNCH!" before biting down. This resulted in the girl once again screaming and flailing, though it wasn't quite as funny as it had been the first time. That must be getting old already.

Shukaku wandered off, feeling rather dejected that his part in this chapter is already almost over.

Neji, whose gaze was also focused on the hands of Naruto and Gaara, was thinking that fear was about to strike in the hearts of many. He was, of course, also thinking that it was kind of funny. People at school would probably have a day set aside to mock the blond if they knew... He then remembered that Naruto had some dirt on him as well, so wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Hey, Sasuke," Naruto said with a rather crude look. He paused, as though gathering his wits together in order to properly insult his arch-foe. This is probably going to be the most dramatic part of this chapter! Gaara looked over at his friend, the expression of surprise that had first drawn Naruto to him already painted on his features. Was Naruto really going to say what he thought he was going to say? Was he finally going to reveal the dirt that he had on Sasuke and Neji!? Or was he going to-

"...Chubby Bunny."

Boom!

-Just be Naruto and miss his chance.

After the group picked themselves off the floor from their well choreographed anime fall, they all decided that they had had enough of each other for the summer and decided to stay away from each other as much as possible.

"Kankuro's here," Gaara muttered, dragging his idiotic friend over to the car his idiotic brother was waiting in the nearby parking lot. Kankuro, Gaara's older brother who spent all his time locked up in his room attempting to become the best puppeteer the world has ever seen, was actually a really lame character that [most likely] will only be present in this chapter. Because he wears face paint. And is kind of stupid.

"You're late!" The boy snapped, pulling his hooded sweatshirt a little lower over his head. "I've been waiting here for-"

"Can it and drive." Gaara sneered, still not relinquishing his grip on Naruto's hand. Kankuro, who was as terrified of his little brother as was everybody else in the town, did as ordered and played chauffer for the two boys in silence.

Naruto, who for some reason didn't really care that Gaara was still holding his hand, alternated between smiling at his friend and smiling out the window. This made Gaara slightly uncomfortable but also very uncharacteristically happy.

The crickets chirped, though it wasn't a show of breaking the uncomfortable silence. It was simply because they're crickets and they get bored when Naruto and Gaara were alone together. Because no silence between the two boys is really uncomfortable, as previously noted, those silences are just silent.

And behind the car, Shukaku waddled as fast as drunkenly possible, trying to get back to the only two that could see him. May it be noted that Shukaku was failing miserably at this task. At least, until Kankuro hit the downtown area, where his really, really bad luck came into play and he hit every single red light possible.

What a dunce.

AN By the way... why didn't people mention that I kept misspelling people's names in the first chapter?! Feh, not that it really matters. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, remember that I was drugged during this chapter.

Review plea: just like pain-medication, reviews can make me happy.