Hola! Kimi here. I'm actually very happy with my idea for this story, so I will continue to update quickly (for me anyway), though I do have a couple of questions to ask you. Do you prefer…
1) Possessive Sasuke / Possessive Naruto
2) Jealous Sasuke / Jealous Naruto
3) Sasuke as a Hero / Naruto as a Hero
4) Embarassed Sasuke / Embarassed Naruto
5) More of Sasuke POV / More of Naruto POV
And that will be all. If you answer, I thank you very much as it will help me futher into the story. Enjoy my second (corrected version) chapter for A Lighthouse's Tale. Oh, and I know I said that chapter 3 would be up, but… ne. This is good enough, right?
SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU SASUNARU
A Lighthouse's Tale
Naruto's POV
A sliver of sunlight peeked in through Naruto's draps, gently carressing the boys childish features. Even when he was asleep he looked like an angel… though, a slitghtly less-than-graceful angel. His arms and legs were spread wide, taking up the entire bed and his feet lay limply off the side. One arm hung down off the mattress, dangling above the ground. Naruto's covers were thrown into a bunch near the middle of his back where he had kicked them unconciously during his slumber. A spot of drool was visible on the white pillow, right underneath Naruto's half-open mouth. It was quite a funny sight actually. This 16 year old boy still sleeping on a small, twin-sized bed. But Naruto didn't care. It was, afterall, a bed, a place to sleep. What did he have to complain about?
Sasuke's POVSasuke, on the other hand, wasn't so optimistic about his new sleeping quarters. If you're ever wondering how comfortable a creaky, splintering wood floor is for sleeping on, Sasuke is your man because he did, afterall, sleep there at night. If one night was enough to give him a crick in his back and cause his muscles to spasm every once in a while, he didn't even want to think about what a whole year would be like on it. He could just imagine it now; being carried unconcious to the hospital on a stretcher due to infections from where splinters had dug in and been uncared for. And that was if he didn't drown first. Sleeping underneath (AN/ haha, dirty pictures, dirty pictures!!!) Naruto was probably not the most brilliant idea he'd ever experienced, considering the blond baka drooled enough to fill a pool and swim in it. There was a small puddle lying right next to Sasuke's pillow from a time in the night when Naruto's head had drooped off the side. Sasuke cursed gravity for pulling the idiot's spit down to land next to him. And that wasn't all the blond did in his sleep. He must have a fetish for ramen or something because every now and then, Sasuke could be awoken by a grumbling stomach and aformentioned boy moaning the word 'ramen… ramen…' over and over. Sasuke didn't know if he could handle living like this everyday. He'd for sure have a talk with his new boss. He seemed nice enough, anyway. Stupid fool. Niceties are for people you love, weaknesses. Niceties are unnecessary for survival. Why would you bother? It was just more troublesome for yourself (AN/ since when has HE been hanging out with Shikamaru? Jk) Slowly, the raven haired boy pushed himself up to sit and lean back against the wall, glancing over at the clock beside the little blond's bed. It read 5:12 a.m. Wonderful, he thought sarcastically. A whopping 3 full hours of sleep. Great way to start off the day. Without bothering to awaken the peacefully sleeping little boy, he trudged out of the room, a change of clothes tucked underneath his arms, heading routinely towards the bathroom. He grabbed the handle sloppily, still a little hazy from sleep. Swinging it open, he found that it was not, in fact, the bathroom but a closet… Damn, he thought, glaring at the piles of stuff as if it were their fault that he'd walked into the wrong room.
Garbage. That's what Sasuke thought this closet was full of. There was old, worn-out t-shirts with holes underneath the armpits and along the hemline and jeans with a rip or tear across the knee. Paint was spattered over every single piece of clothing, marring the surfaces with white and black blotches. In one corner there was a pile of old soccer stuff; shin pads, cleats, socks (ew…), deflated soccer ball, etc. Now that he thought about it, he had noticed that soccer ball sitting outside on the deck from when he had first arrived here. Hmm, wonder if the blond baka (his newly appointed name for Naruto) plays soccer? He thought to himself. In the other corner, however, was something Sasuke became curious at. There was a large white box with the word Nike printed on the side. Naturally, Sasuke assumed that it was just an empty box from the purchase of soccer cleats, but then he noticed something writen in bold, messy writing on the top.
'S-E-C-R-E-T' it spelled out. Sasuke nearly scoffed. Oh, yeah, very inconspicuous. Obviously this thing was pretty old as the writing looked like chicken scratch and the box was worn a tattered, and on top of if all it was of no importance to Sasuke. Still…
Sasuke crouched down on the balls of his feet, leaning forward slightly to grab the box. He flopped backwards on his butt to sit more comfortably as he removed the top. First, there was a layer of paper, as if whoever had created it hadn't wanted anyone to see what was underneath (AN/ well, duh. What do you expect out of a box that literally has 'secret' printed on it?!). Without a second thought, he removed the papers from the top of the box, uncovering whatever was underneath. The first thing that caught Sasuke's eye was a handmade picture of what Sasuke assumed was a boy and a man, holding hands while a sun shown brightly in the top right corner. The color was sloppily put on, often goint outside of the lines… If Sasuke had ever gone out of the lines when he was little, he'd have gotten punished for it. And it's a wonder why Sasuke never liked drawing…
Studying the picture closer, he noticed that the boy, with his messily drawn spiky hair, looked a lot like Naruto… and naturally, at first glance he'd thought that the other man was Iruka, but considering the matching bright blond hair and mirror-image starry blue eyes of the younger boy, it looked nothing like the other older brown-haired man. In fact, it looked exactly like an older version of the little Naruto. Maybe it was his dad… but then, what was he doing living with this Iruka guy? Could he have possibly run away from home too? Maybe his parents had mistreated him also… Sasuke stared silently at the picture, not really looking at it… just… thinking. Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, he began to scold himself for even considering asking Naruto about this. Talking to him meant being nice and being nice to the annoying blond was not on Sasuke's top things to do. Why? Because Naruto seemed like the type of boy where, if you ever gave them any reason to hope for friendship, he'd latch on to it as if it were a life perserver and he was drowning. And Sasuke didn't want that… ever. It would just require the same tedious procedure as when he was at home and others had tried to befriend him. First he would have to convince them that he did not, in fact, want to be their friend, avoid them until they either forgot about him or just plain gave up, and then finally things would slowly go back to normal… where he was alone and unbothered by these other unworthy people. That's just the way he liked it, and he wasn't going to change.
Taking one last look at the colorful picture, he placed it gently back into the box, not knowing why he even bothered as it shouldn't matter what happened to someone else's stuff. He was just about to put the lid back on when something small caught his eye. It was a small pocket of some sort that must have been hand-made into the side of the box. Silently, he dropped the lid back by his side, lifting everything else in the box to the side so he could get a better look. Sure enough, a strip of cloth had been used as a make-shift material for the pocket which was somehow sown into the cardboard with yarn. With one hand keeping the other things in the box out of his way, he began digging around inside the pocket with his other hand. His fingers hit something and curiosity got the better of him. With one swift tug, the thing was free of its binding and clutched tightly by Sasuke's hand. Turning it over in curiosuty, Sasuke found it to be nothing more than a few folded pieces of parchment. How odd, he thought, slowly unfolding the papers. The top paper was a photograph of couple, their arms linked together as they smiled warmly for the camera, not giving off the usual sense of fake happiness. The woman was about a good foot or so shorter than the male, her sleek black hair running down to her waist. (1) Her electric blue eyes pierced the camera lense, filled with so much light and fullness. The man had bright blond, spiky hair that was messily arranged with a headband that was tied around his forehead. His eyes were a deep sea blue. Sasuke felt like he was looking down into the ocean when he saw those eyes… so deep and understanding and… loving.
Finally, he flipped the paper over, putting in the back of the small pile in his palm. The next paper was a certificate… A death certificate. The words sent chills down the cold raven's spine and for some reason he couldn't look away. Death certificate…? Of who?…
Celest Uzumaki. Died at age: 27. Reason for death: Water in the lungs, Fractured skull, Broken neck.
Oh… Sasuke inhaled deeply, sliding the certificate behind the picture of what Sasuke assumed were Naruto's parents. So his mother drowned… How… That must have…
Sasuke couldn't form the right word, his heart beating triple speed at the new information he'd just discovered. Something was wrong. His mind wasn't working correctly and his mouth couldn't form a coherent sentence if he tried… Trying to get rid of this foreign feeling, Sasuke began studying the other sheet of paper that had been folded into the secret compartment.
It looked like a newspaper article. The black print had a type-writer appearance and the edges were choppy, like some one had just ripped it out instead of taking the time to cut it. Sasuke scanned the article, looking for something of importance, when his eyes fell on a familiar blond, smiling face. It was a picture of Naruto's dad. In the newspaper? But… why? Sasuke didn't think he wanted to know, but he read ahead anyway.
Kaito Uzumaki, a father of one, recently lost his wife to a tragic accident at Rock's Edge when her ship was caught in a wretched storm. Apparently, the pressure was too much for him, and his death had been declared as suicide…
Sasuke's stomach lurched. Suicide… as in… Naruto's father had actually tried to kill himself. Sasuke suddenly felt very sick.
"Isn't it a bit early on in the job to go snooping around?" Sasuke froze, jerking his head around to face the smirking Iruka. He cursed himself for his unawareness, for not being able to hear his new boss approach.
"Hn…" he replied, stuffing everything back into the box… First went the cirtificate, than the article… Sasuke stared hard at the picture of Naruto's parents, suddenly finding it hard to return it to its previous place in the pocket. Silently, he slipped the picture into his sleeve before closing the lid on the box and stuffing it back into the bottom of the closet. It didn't seem like Iruka had seen his semi-act of theivery as he kept quiet about it, and for that, Sasuke was grateful, because he wouldn't be able to explain himself to the carmel-eyed man… In fact, he didn't even think he himself knew.
Oh well, he thought. He'd done it and there was no going back. Why dwell on something so trivial anyway? Standing up, he scooped his clothes up into his arms, looking Iruka dead in the eyes.
"Which way's the bathroom?"
Naruto's POVNaruto had been right in the middle of a dream about feasting on his favorite food, ramen, when he had been so rudely awakened by that stupid, annoying beeping sound of his alarm clock. I mean, this thing was the devil. It had no 'snooze button' and it was all the way on the other side of the room because that's where the only plug-in for Naruto's room was. This meant he had to drag himself out of bed just to turn the thing off.
"Nyyyaaaaaaa…" Naruto groaned sleepily, stretching his arms above his head and working out the muscles in his legs. With a yawn, the bright haired, sleepy-eyed boy flung the blankets off of him, swinging his legs off the side of his bed. Standing up, he began to pad over towards the never-ceasing beeping machine when his foot got twisted up in something, sending him flying helplessly to the floor. With a sound 'crash', he landed face first. He was now completely awake. Growling, he silently cursed whatever had tripped him. Pushing himself off the ground, he rubbed his face tenderly, babying himself as he sat back on his butt. He grabbed the blanket that had gotten wrapped around his ankle and glared heatedly at it, as if punishing it for its crime.
Wait… who's blanket it this? It wasn't Naruto's for sure. Naruto didn't own anything that was completely black… plus, all of his were hand made by Iruka, and therefore didn't have the quality and design this one had.
That's when something registered in Naruto's head… this blanket… that wasn't his… must mean…
SASUKE!!! With sudden, new-found energy, the blond shot up in the air, practically flying over to the alarm clock and slamming his fist down on it hard enough to break before bounding noisily out the door. Oh, ho ho! It was going to be a GREAT DAY!!! Afterall, he was going to have a FRIEND to work with! What could be better than that. Quietly humming to himself, he skipped towards the bathroom, smiling back at his reflection in the mirror. He turned the faucet on to cold, dipping his hands underneath the water before splashing it on his face. Brrrr. It was cold alright. But still, nothing better to wake you up. Quickly, he turned the faucet off, whipping the towel from it's rack. As he buried his face into the warm cloth, his mind strayed to all of the wonderful, exciting things he could do with this new boy. He could go swimming, running, biking… but best of all, he would have someone to TALK to! Naruto smiled, wiping the last bit of water off of his chin before hanging the towel back onto the rack. He began stripping off his clothes, throwing them into a small pile in the corner, before turning the shower on. Hejumped in, sliding the curtains back across and shivered as the unheated water shot down at him. He ran throught the usual procedures, shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. and then jumped out as quickly as he could. Adrenaline spurred him on this morning, making everything he normally did seem so much more tedious. He wrapped a towel around his waist before walking back into his room, his feet leaving water marks the entire way.
Once he was dressed (orange shirt, old, worn-out blue jeans, and brown boots which clashed horribly) he found he was ready to go and greet his new, soon-to-be best friend!
Now… where was the mysterious other boy? He couldn't possibly be working already could he? No, not even Naruto was that enthusiastic about working. He began swinging open random doors, calling out for the raven-haired new kid.
"Sasuke?… Nope," he said, slamming the closet door behind him. Why had he even bothered to check in the closet? (AN/ come on people. This is Naruto we're talking about here…) "SASUKE!!!" Flinging open the door to Iruka's bedroom, he found the bed to be already neatly made-up and dirty clothes placed in the basket in the corner of the room, his sleeping clothes lying on top. How long had he been asleep? Normally, he was always up before Iruka. In fact, Iruka considered Naruto to be his alarm clock, claiming that he wouldn't ever need one as long as Naruto was living with him. So… what time was it anyway?
Momentarily forgetting his current task, he clambered down to the kitchen, checking the clock on the wall on his way in. 7:15, it read. DAMMIT! He was late! No wonder nobody was here. Grabbing a piece of bread and shoving it into his mouth to hold until he could use his hands, he hurriedly ran towards the front door, slipping on his shoes clumsily. Leaning against the wall, he tapped his toe against the ground to help the heel pop out before shooting out the doorway.
"Gotta run! Gotta run!!!"Naruto flew around the corner, taking bites of his slice of bread, not catching a glimpse of the poor soul who he was going to barrel into.
BAM
Iruka groaned, trying to lift his head off the ground before letting it flop back down as he blacked out, unconcious from the powerful blow to the back of his head. Naruto tried to regain his breath as he lay on his back next to Iruka. Holy crap… what was that? He'd just knocked the air out of himself and was currently finding it hard to breath or think correctly. After regaining his sense of mind, he scrambled up on his knees as he surveyed the damage. Nothing on him, just momentary breath lost… but Iruka. Naruto began panicing as he saw the unmoving body of his only fatherly figure he'd ever known. He just stared at the peaceful looking man, eyes wide in horror. Memories were starting to come back.
"Iruka…?" no answer. "Iruka…" he tried, a bit louder this time. Still no answer. "DAMMIT! Iruka!! Wake up! This isn't funny!!!" still no answer. "No, no! Iruka! Don't die!!! PLEASE!!!" He placed his hands over the unconcious man's heart pumping up and down at a choppy pace. Was this what he was supposed to do? NO! this was for people who had drowned. Oh god, um, um… CPR?! No!!! SAME THING AS BEFORE!!! Oh shit, oh no. Naruto gripped his hair as he raked through his mind for SOMETHING to do. "Oh my god! I KILLED Iruka-senpai! SOMEBODY!!! HELP!!!"
He bent back over Iruka, studying his face for any signs of life. He couldn't be dead! No, he just COULDN'T! Oh, god… Thoughts and memories flew through the blond's head as he paniced, burying his head in his hands. Iruka couldn't die! He was all he had left!!! Naruto peeked through his fingers and stared helplessly at his loving father. It was all coming back to him now. The accident… the suicide… what would everyone think if they knew it was his fault? Just like now, he'd been the cause of his mother and father's death. He remembered the details clearly. He had been the one who wanted 'mommy' to come back home early, not waiting for the storm to end. HE had been the one who had asked her to sail through such a horrible storm. Why? Because he missed her. He had been so selfish! Why couldn't he have waited one more day, just one more day? Instead, he had to have her come RIGHT AWAY! He couldn't possibly wait for the storm to end, oh, no!
And his father had been sure to remind him of this fact everyday. Every morning, he would wake up to the sound of choked sobs coming from his parents'… no, his father's… bedroom. He had walked silently to the door, opening it hesitantly before looking up at his dad with such regret and pain in his eyes. His father had just glared at him, his face losing all traces of sadness, before screaming, 'YOU! It was YOU! YOU put her through this! YOU were the one who made her travel through that storm! YOU were the one who RUINED my LIFE!' Then, with one final sob, his father had pointed to the door, burying his crumbling face into his vacant hand before whispering, 'Leave… just… leave.." Naruto stared helplessly at his father, his mouth wavering as he tried not to cry, all the while berrating himself for being such a stupid, greedy, selfish little boy. 'Papa…" his voice crackled with emotion. 'Papa… I'm s… sowwy… I'm so… so… sowwy!' he could feel his body shaking as he waited for his father's comfort, waited for the sign from his father that they could share their pain together and heal that pain together. But no sign came. Instead, his father just stood, looking down coldly at the shivering little Naruto momentarily before stumbling out the doorway, slamming it closed behind him.
With one more look at Iruka, Naruto knew he couldn't deal with another death. Not ANOTHER death…Oh… please, no.
"Stupid idiot…" A cold voice said, shaking Naruto out of his panic attack. The black-haired boy kneeled beside Naruto, gently laying his hands over the unconcious man's heart. Complete silence. Naruto stared in confusion at the quiet older boy, studying the way he was treating the situation. He was so calm, completely opposite of Naruto. In fact, Naruto's hands were sweating he was so scared. The other boy's pale face was uncreased at he sat, staring fixedly at Iruka's face, watching to see if he was breathing. His skin was pale, like porcelain… no… not porcelain… like the moon. Yes, like the moon, exactly like the moon. It practically glowed, contrasting sharply with his dark, midnight colored hair which hung loosely in his face as he bent over the lighthouse owner. But… some thing was off about this guy. Naruto could sense it. Some thing was just… not right. Tilting his head to the side, he looked the older boy over more crucially. What could be so off about this guy? He was basically the image of perfection…
Then it hit Naruto. Image. Sasuke's cold exterior was an image. How could he have not noticed this before? Of course no one could be as cool and collected as him… and yet… Naruto couldn't help but wonder the reason the dark boy had created this… mask. Had something happened to him when he was little? Was it the same reason that made him leave his home, his friends, to move out to some out-of-the-way abandoned lighthouse? Naruto unconciously sighed in thought, alerting the other boy of his study. Sasuke turned cooly towards Naruto, his cold, hollow black eyes meeting Naruto's warm, full blue ones.
"He's not dead… you must have simply knocked him unconcious. Just carry him to his room." His voice held a tone of annoyance, like he really didn't want to be there.
Naruto's mind was still stuck on his previous thoughts though. Why? Why had he moved out here? Why had he abanonded his family? His friends? His life? To what? Come out to this crappy, old abandoned lighthouse? What had been his reasoning behind his decisions? Why had he done all of that?
So many questions… Naruto's head hurt.
"What's up with you?" Though the question itself may have been considered to be one of care, his tone of voice defied this theory.
Naruto looked up at the stuck-up older boy furiously. Still, no matter what had actually happened, how could he be so cruel? "I'd like to ask the same question, bastard." Sasuke let a look of mild surprise pass over his features at the insult. No one had ever done that before, at least, not to him. "What's up with you that makes you so cold and mean? I mean, you seemed nice enough, but now that I think about it, I don't think I've seen you smile once here! So, why don't you tell me?! Tell me what the HELL could have caused you to turn out like this? And what the hell gave you reason to move out here to RUIN everything for us?!" Naruto breathed heavily, his heart suddenly filling with regret. He shouldn't have done that. It wasn't his place to ask such questions. He had barely even started to remember the boy's name. Naruto had definitely crossed a line.
Sasuke sat silently, staring at the blond cooly, like he was unaffected by these insulting questions. "You wouldn't understand such a thing." He said it so simply, so coldly. And yet, Naruto saw the glazed look on his face, one that told him differently. So maybe somoething painful had happened to him… Just like something painful had happened to Naruto, so the blond boy knew not to push for anything so soon. It seemed like the boy still hadn't learned that while humans have the abbility to hurt, they also have the aibility to heal that hurt (1). And Naruto saw it fit that he would be the one to teach him that. Deciding to clear the air, Naruto turned back towards the other boy, keeping his voice as cheerful and normal as possible.
"So," Naruto began, standing up finally and brushing the dirt off is pants. "You gunna help me carry him in? Or are you just gunna stand there like a lazy bastard, bastard?" Sasuke stared quizically at the now smiling blond. He had changed emotions so quickly. Something was up… he could feel it. But, something stopped him from coming up with a retort to swing back at the smaller boy. Something untangeble had stopped him from following through with his normal asshole mask he always wore. But… what?
Naruto nudged the silent boy with his foot, receiving a death glare for his efforts.
"Don't give me that look! I'm just waiting for your lazy ass to help me carry Iruka in."
"I never said I would.." Sasuke said icily.
"Technically, you didn't say it. But you did agree to it by saying you would do whatever Iruka-senpai wanted."
"Yes, I did agree to that… with Umino-san. Not you, idiot."
"Ah-ah-ah!" Naruto said mockingly, waving his finger in the older boy's scowling face. "But you seem to forget, that if Iruka is ever unable to do his job, like being unconcious, for example, the duties fall to me… which make me your boss. Now, do as I say, slave, and help me carry Iruka-senpai to his bedroom!"
Growling, Sasuke stood up, grabbing onto Iruka's ankles. "I'll do your bidding, I'll try my hardest not to insult you, but don't you EVER call me slave… ever… ever… again."
"Or what? You'll kill me?" Naruto laughed.
"Worse…"
Naruto didn't doubt it.
Line from 'Land of the Blindfolded. Vol. 1'
Okay, well, that chapter's done with, and now I can start writing well again. I guess you could say this was a filler chapter, but it was crucial, so don't complain too soon. You shall see what I mean… next chapter. Mwahahahaha…. Okay, nvm. Hope you enjoy the second chapter to… A Lighthouse's Tale.
Kimi