Hey everyone, sorry for such a late update but my life has honestly just been super crazy. After tomorrow I should have a few days to myself to crank out as many chapters as I can so at least you can look forward to that.

Anyways, with out further ado, here' the next chapter of Muted Love!

Sasuke opened the door to a room that was dimly lit. Naruto tentatively followed after him. He gazed at the artwork that was displayed and let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding.

"This isn't so bad. They're just portraits." Naruto noted that the paintings displayed were of Itachi and what he could only assume were the other members of Akatsuki based on the paintings of the two faces he met earlier and Sasuke. "What's so bad about it?"

Sasuke turned the light's brightness and Naruto's eyes narrowed in concentration. 'Do you see it?'

Naruto shook his head.

'Follow me.' Sasuke walked over to the door that led to Itachi's studio. The door was locked and Sasuke typed in a code on the door panel and was granted access.

Naruto stepped into the dark room after Sasuke and instantly covered his nose. "What the hell is that smell?!"

There was no answer and soon the room was flooded in light.

It was pretty much empty but the table was stained a dark red, as well as a corner of the room where an easel sat.

Naruto's eyes widened at the realization. "Is, was all that, blood?"

Sasuke nodded and carefully watched Naruto.

Naruto walked further into the room and looked around, carefully examining everything. "How did he do it?"

'Depended on the person.' Sasuke said with a shrug. 'Most people wanted it to be made with their own blood but he kept a jar of it and froze it in case someone didn't want to be cut.'

"Damn. That's hardcore." Naruto remarked.

'Yeah. Most of the time, people had to come in sessions so they wouldn't get too dizzy from the blood loss.'

"So he just cut them, just like that?" Naruto asked, still curious about the process.

Sasuke tapped his chin in thought. 'It's kind of like how you get your blood drawn. He sticks a needle in you and attaches a vial to the tube. And like I said, all extra he froze in a jar and thawed for those who didn't want to.'

Naruto raised an eyebrow at him. "So you let him do that to you?"

Sasuke shrugged. 'Why not? I trusted my brother enough not to kill me.'

Naruto shook his head. "He's a good artist but damn is he hardcore." He gave a look to Sasuke. "What do you think he'd say if I brought it up?"

'Just be mad that I showed you a side of him that he wants hidden.' Sasuke walked back towards the door, pushing it open. 'Ready for Konan's?'

Naruto quickly followed after him. "Who's Konan?"

Sasuke smirked as he turned down the light to Itachi's gallery. 'Itachi's ex.'

"No fucking way!" Naruto grinned back at him. "I can't wait to see the type of girls Itachi dates."

Sasuke led them a little further down the hall and walked into the room, holding the door open for Naruto.

The sound of fluttering filled the room and Naruto stood in awe as a swirling mass of colored paper butterflies flew in the middle of the room. He went to the circular metal railing and watched closely.

"This is beautiful." Naruto commented as Sasuke leaned against the railing next to him.

'She's excellent at moving origami. The butterflies are a permanent part of her gallery but she switches everything else out.' Sasuke slowly pointed to a large origami person that was slowly swaying.

Naruto's eyes widened. "How did she get paper that big?!"

Sasuke smirked. 'She used more than one sheet of paper. She folds them into each other, so I guess it's not true origami.'

Naruto started to walk around the room, admiring the different pieces of work that moved due to the currents of air placed throughout the room. "This is all so amazing."

'Ready to meet her?' Sasuke asked, standing next to the door that led to her studio.

Naruto nodded, suddenly becoming nervous.

Sasuke led the way into the studio. Soft music filled the room.

Naruto watched again in awe as a beautiful woman stood, swaying to the music, eyes closed. Her hair was dyed a light blue and she had several facial piercings that seemed to add to her beauty. She was wearing a black tank top and white form fitting shorts. When the door closed, an eye opened revealing dark iris', almost black in color. She stopped suddenly, giving Sasuke a glare. "What are you doing here?"

'I'm showing my date around.' Sasuke replied with a cool look.

She turned her glare to Naruto who stared at her, half shocked, half scared. Her gaze softened. "The name's Konan."

"Naruto." He replied, he glanced over at Sasuke who stood looking bored. "I, uh, I really love your art."

She studied him carefully before giving him a bright smile. "At least you know good art when you see it. Do you want to contribute to the butterfly display?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused. "Contribute?"

She nodded her head. "Follow me." She walked to the back of the room where there was a ;large filing cabinet. She pulled out a drawer and inside was multiple shades of colored paper. "I like all my guests to fold their own butterfly and throw it into the display. You can personalize it too."

Naruto's eyes widened. "So you're telling me that all those butterflies are other people's work? There's thousands!"

She giggled behind her hand. "You're so cute."

'Back off, Konan.' Sasuke signed angrily.

She rolled her eyes before allowing Naruto to pick a sheet of paper. "Calm down, I'm not gonna do anything. I, am faithful unlike some others I know."

"Itachi's a cheater too!?" Naruto looked at Sasuke. "And you think you'd know someone."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. 'He's not a cheater. He was just doing a friend a favor and it turned south.'

Konan pouted. "Listen, baby Uchiha, I'm gonna show your little boyfriend how true art is made then I want you out of my studio." She looked down at Naruto, a smile on her face. "You can come back anytime you want." She tapped him on the nose and giggled.

Naruto smiled happily at her before sticking his tongue out at Sasuke. "Ha, she likes me!"

Sasuke again rolled his eyes at Naruto's childish response.

Konan walked Naruto through the ropes of folding paper. He personalized his orange paper and followed her directions, making a butterfly. He looked at it in awe.

"Come on, let's go put it out." She led the blonde back out into her gallery. The currents of air picked back up as soon as the door opened, the paper coming back to life. She stopped in front of butterflies and turned to face Naruto. "Now, before you throw it in, you have to make a wish. The higher it goes, the more likely it is to come true."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He thought his wish as loud as he could in his mind before opening his eyes and throwing the butterfly into the fates of the currents.

The three of them watched the butterfly soar until it was almost at the top of the currents.

"Look at that! Your wish is definitely going to come true!" Konan clapped her hands.

Naruto smiled and turned to look at Sasuke who was still staring up at the butterflies. "I hope so too."

Sasuke looked back down at the smiling blonde. 'Ready for the next one?'

Naruto nodded. "Bye Konan, thank you!"

"Bye Naruto! Come back any time you like! Not you, Sasuke!"

Naruto laughed as they exited her gallery. "She hates you and Itachi so much."

Sasuke shrugged. 'She's just being overdramatic. She still loves us both.'

"What even happened anyways?"

'That's a story I think Itachi would be better at telling. All I can say is she brought a lot of drama.' Sasuke shook his head and stopped in front of another door. 'Let's go.'

They walked in, and Naruto instantly took in a deep breath. The smell was amazing, he felt like he got transported deep into a forest.

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

Naruto looked to see two guys, one pale the other dark-skinned. They looked almost similar in appearance. They both had short, almost shaved, dark hair. Their eyes were a golden color that Naruto assumed must be contacts. They both were wearing a white T-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. "Uh, hello."

"I'm Zetsu!" The paler one bowed.

"And I'm Zetsu!" The darker one also bowed.

"Oh, um, okay?" Naruto turned to Sasuke, looking at him confused.

'You can identify them by calling them White Zetsu and Black Zetsu.'

Naruto's eyes widened and he turned back to the two Zetsu's. "So what kind of art do you guys do?"

The two stood up and looked at each other before grinning wildly at Naruto. "Plant art!"

"Plant, art?"

"Just look around you." The pale Zetsu held his arm out and gestured towards the gallery.

Naruto finally took notice of his surroundings. The terrain was a dirt floor, a clear path made between pieces of art. There were all different types of plants, shrubs trimmed into blizzard shapes, flowers that grew in weird patterns or bizzare colors, and even trees that were split in the middle to hold more pieces of art. "Wow, this is all so, beautiful."

"Isn't it?" The darker Zetsu placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Want to see the magic?" The pale Zetsu snuck up next to Naruto, whispering in his ear.

"Uh, sure?" He looked to Sasuke for confirmation only to see Sasuke walking towards the studio.

The Zetsu pair led Naruto behind Sasuke and into their studio. The room was fairly large. The whole room was covered in dirt, a small stone path led throughout different areas. Towards the back was a garden where multiple plants were growing and towards the front was a table and a chainsaw.

"So here's where the magic starts." The pale Zetsu led them to the back. "I plant and grow all of our plants. We have shrubs here, and flowers over here." He pointed to the designated areas. "Trees we usually import from tree farms which is why we don't really have many pieces of."

Naruto looked at the flowers and stared at one in particular. "How do you get these crazy colors?"

"In the ground, we dye the water with food coloring and place the flowers in the jar. In a matter of time, the petals are dyed."

"That's so cool." Naruto replied.

"Once the flowers are finished growing, then comes my job." The darker Zetsu gestured with his head towards the table.

The three of them followed him.

"So this table is where I arrange the flowers into the beautiful pieces you see out there."

"What about the chainsaw?" Naruto questioned, staring at the object.

"Trees and shrubs. Can't really work on it with my hands."

"That's so cool. We want a demonstration, right Sasuke?!" He looked over to the raven who raised an eyebrow.

'You and chainsaws? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.'

Naruto glared at him but didn't respond.

"I can shape a shrub of you two." Zetsu said with a shrug.

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Really?"

He nodded. "I just gotta capture a picture cause we don't have any shrubs big enough yet." He pulled out his phone from his pocket. "Get together and kiss. Real quick."

Naruto looked at Sasuke who in turn shrugged before walking over to him and pulling him close. "Sas-" he waa cut off by Sasuke's lips on his own. He slowly closed his eyes.

The two of them sank into their own world as Sasuke put more pressure into the kiss, Naruto returning it. Sasuke slowly prodded his tongue to Naruto's lips.

The blonde reluctantly opened his mouth, allowing the raven to map his mouth causing him to moan into the kiss.

Soon they parted for air, their lips bruised and breathing hard.

"Damn, that was pretty intense."

"I'll say."

The two blushed and stepped apart, trying to catch their breaths.

"This is going to be one sexy shrub." The darker Zetsu said, causing the paler one to laugh.

So how did you guys like it? To be honest, I didn't really like how I ended it but I wanted to spilt the date into three parts so it wouldn't be so much at once. So that's how it turned out!

As always, if you liked it, please favorite and review!

~tachiequillsluv