FINALLY! I've managed to update again! Sorry, but my parents banned me from the computer for what seemed like the rest of my life, and now that I have it back I have to write a big chapter to make up for lost time.
Also, school's been a Bitch.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Simple as that. Otherwise I'd never hear the end of it from my brother.
Seeing how this is progressing, expect Yaoi in the next two chapters. One drunken, and one fully conscious. ALL IN A ROW!! 8D
Language warnings! Kenami is a foul-mouth when she can be.
Now, let's get started!
(One last note: I don't own the song "Broken"; Seether does.)
Where was Sasuke? Or Sakura, for that matter? The cherry orchard was empty; not a soul in sight. Naruto wasn't too sad about it, though. Kenami could survive a night on her own. Besides, it's not like her life depended on him bringing Sakura and Sasuke. Maybe she wouldn't be too mad if he came back with no one around. But why was he worried anyway? He barely knew Kenami, had no attachments to her, and didn't even know what the inside of her house looked like. In simpler words, he didn't care.
So, Naruto decided to go home. There was nothing else to do today, and the sun was starting to set. He set off.
At the same time, Sakura was wandering the streets of Konoha aimlessly. Both Naruto and Sasuke were acting more and more strangely in recent times. And the most abnormal thing about it was the fact that the lapses of oddity only happened when the other was mentioned or seen. They became nervous, fidgety, and would often speak too fast for a normal person to hear. She sighed. Now that she reflected back on it, the signs were obvious that they liked each other. She had just been too blinded by her own determination to have one of them as her own that she didn't see. She was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice herself wander into an alley and nearly bump into a wall.
"What the…" She looked up and down the length of the alley. This place was unfamiliar, and she wasn't sure which way was the way she came.
A screen door opened farther down and Kenami stepped out into the open, sweating slightly. "Phew! It's hot in there!"
Sakura jumped. "Excuse me, but who are you?" Kenami looked Sakura directly in the eye. "I'm working," Kenami said, and she promptly turned around and went back into her apartment. Sakura only blinked dazedly before starting, trying to get out of the maze of alleyways she had ambled into.
It didn't take Sakura very long to realize she was hopelessly lost. Every turn she made seemed to take her farther and farther away from where she came. Even when she ran at full speeds, the maze streched on and on. Exhausted, Sakura leaned on a wall to catch her breath. And in the few moments she stopped, a sudden thought came to her. Why not jump to the top of the buildings and navigate from there? She crouched low to the ground, her muscles bunching like a cat, before she propelled herself onto the roof of the nearest building.
The sun was setting already. To Sakura it felt like she had only been in the alleyway system a few minutes but in reality she had been wandering for many hours. The only way she remembered was back to Kenami's apartment, but she wasn't sure she wanted to go back; Kenami hadn't acted very friendly. But it was her only option. Maybe she could find her way out from there. So, in hesitation, she dropped back down onto the ground and retraced her steps, miraculously remembering her way to get back to the door where a disgruntled Kenami had emerged to get fresh air.
At about the same time Sakura jumped down from the tops of the buildings, Sasuke accidentaly entered the maze of alleyways himself unwittingly. He was letting his feet walk without his accord, but his feet were being guided by an unseen source, which was unknown to Sasuke, Sakura, or even Naruto. Kenami had set a sort of system that will lead the three of them to her apartment whether they realize it or not. Even as Sasuke neared Kenami's doorstep, so did Naruto and Sakura.
And Kenami was there, standing on her mini-porch, waiting for the three of them, a smirk on her face.
Naruto was the first to notice. "Waitaminute….What just happened?"
Naruto's voice brought Sasuke back into reality-land. "What the- where am I?"
Sakura wasn't as surprised. "Do you happen to know the way out of this place?"
Kenami shook her head and didn't bother with Sakura. "Naruto, I knew you'd decide to go home, so I placed a tracking metal on you so you and the people you were supposed to bring back would come. Besides, I made ramen."
Naruto seemed to forget what he was and focused immediately on Kenami. "Ramen?!?"
She smiled. "Yes, Naruto. Ramen. Now, all three of you come in. Once I get to know you three, I'll let you go home."
The inside of Kenami's apartment was hazy and dim; the only light source she had was from a dim yellow bulb over the sitting area. The air smelled almost like cigarette smoke.
Sasuke was the first to notice. "Whatever-your-name-is, it smells like cigarette smoke in here. Do you smoke?" He put his hand over his face to block the hazy smoke.
Kenami shot a glance at him. "For your information, my name is Kenami Yutetsu, and that's my neighbor's smoke. He smokes frequently. But, anyway, enough blabbering. You guys go sit over there and I'll get the ramen."
Naruto hesitantly sat on the beat-up maroon sofa. Sasuke immedietaly claimed the easy chair, ignoring the holes in the thin black leather. Sakura, feeling unsure where to sit, reclined on the loveseat.
There was a long pause. Naruto flicked at a flake of unknown composition idly, Sasuke picked an open hole on the arm of the recliner, and Sakura lay sideways, uncomfortable and not sure what to do. Bowls and chopsticks clattered against each other and Kenami sung quietly. The words of the verse were faint, but when the chorus came around, the words became clearer:
'Cause I'm broken when I'm open
And I don't feel like I am strong enough
'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away
The song descended back into hushed tune and gentle melody, and the bowl racket slowed and halted. Naruto straightened, as did Sasuke and Sakura.
Moments later Kenami emerged with three bowls of ramen and chopsticks. "Here you go, you guys. Enjoy," She went back into the kitchen, humming under her breath again.
Naruto opened his mouth to ask Kenami why she wasn't having any ramen, but when she reentered with a bottle of Sake, his words came out differently: "SAKE?!? ARE YOU SOME SORT OF UNDERAGE DRINKER OR SOMETHING?!?"
Kenami didn't even flinch. "Actually, I'm 25," She popped the cap off the Sake and took a large gulp.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "You're kidding, right?"
Kenami put the Sake on the coffee table and looked Sasuke straight in the eye. "Do I look like I'm kidding?"
Sakura, tired of being silent, spoke up. "If you're 25, then why do you look our age?"
Kenami levelled her icy gaze at Sakura. "It's a medical condition," She said, her voice flat and emotionless. "It's similar to dwarfism, except it doesn't deform one's bones, muscles, or ligaments. And as for my appearance, I just have a really good makeup artist." (A/N: Fourth wall has officially been broken.)
Sasuke raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Does it effect your physical abilities?"
Kenami nodded solemnly. "I can only run for short periods of time, and even then not at very high speeds. I also have weak ankles, so running for any period of time hurts like shit," She grabbed the Sake and downed it in a few swallows. "And to top it all off, my back is fucked up beyond all reason. My neck, upper back, and lower back are severly lardosic, and my spine and pelvis are off-center. In other words, every waking moment for me is a hell of pain. The only reason I became a shinobi is because my body compensated for my problems by slightly higher chakra levels. Doesn't do a flying shit, though," She addded bitterly and tossed the Sake bottle to the floor, where it rolled and came to a stop in a dusty corner.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura remained silent. It was harder to say what was more shocking: Kenami's problems or how quickly she had lost her sobriety; she was obviously drunk now. Despite the hardness of her voice, there was an undertone of slurring.
Kenami herself broke the silence. "So, you guys want some Sake?" And without waiting for their answers, she went back into the kitchen and carried out three more Sake bottles, setting them in front of Team Seven, pulled up a wooden chair, sat, and looked expectantly at them. "You gonna have some?"
The three of them stared at the Sake bottles, and then looked at each other. Hesitantly and with confusion, each of them picked up the bottles and drank. Naruto disliked the bitter taste of the liquor at first, but after a second gulp, it tasted better, and beter, and better…
Sasuke, however, immediately drank half the bottle. He had put up the façade of hesitance because he didn't want Sakura or Naruto to know that he, like Kenami, drank in his spare time. For him, drinking was the only thing that kept him from cutting himself. As he put it one drunken night to himself: "As common sense dissolves, so does depression."
Sakura was disgusted by it. It tastes like piss in a bottle, She thought, retching. How could any of them like it?
While the three of them contemplated the alcohol entrering their system, Kenami pulled out a deck of cards from a side table. "Hey, you guys know how to play 5-card poker?"
Sasuke nodded, and Naruto shrugged. Sakura had seen it on TV before, and she figured it out after a few minutes. Sasuke explained the subtler rules of poker to Sakura and Naruto as Kenami got out some poker chips. "You guys take this seriously, 'kay? These poker chips are aactually worth some money,' She commenced doling out the chips.
Naruto waved his hand in a stopping motion. "Wait, wait, wait. Are we actually playing for money?"
Kenami looked at him sarcastically. "No, we're playing for fish guts. What do you think we're playing with?" She waved a chip in his face, and through her drunken movements, he saw a label of genuine poker chips.
This was going to be a time-consuming night.
The game went long into the night. The neighbors of Kenami would call their landlord and complain, but the knowledgeable man knew that it wouldn't last. Triumphant shouts, depressed groans, and yells of anger lasted all through the night, and the sake bottles were being forever passed around.
"I'll raise you five," Naruto challenged Kenami.
She grinned. "Match your five and raise you three."
"Raise four," Naruto thought his four of a kind could beat whatever Kenami had.
"Call," Kenami said, placing the chips in the huge pot.
Naruto laid down his hand. "Four eights," He said triumphantly, his voice slurred by the Sake.
Kenami looked him straight in the eye. "Flush," She gloated.
Naruto's eyes went wide. "What?! How is that possible?! You stacked the cards!! I'm getting out of here!!" Naruto scooped up what little chips he had left and lurched for the front door.
Kenmai yawned. "Well then, You guys better leave before we drink all the Sake. Goodnight, all."
Sasuke stumbled out, twice as drunk as Naruto and feeling very "friendly". Sakura, who had drank very little, managed to keep up her coordination as she carried the chips. Kenami waved to them from her door, disappearing when Sakura finally rounded the last corner. There was no doubt in her mind that Sasuke and Naruto would see each other again before the night ended, and that the morning for them would bring a lot of unexpected surprises. She knew Naruto liked Sasuke and that Sasuke liked Naruto. After all, someone as hot as Sasuke could never be straight. That's the way it always was. And Naruto…So obviously gay it was painful. Oh well, She thought to herself. They're going to have some fun tonight.
Naruto staggered up and down the streets of Konoha searching for his house. He had this feeling that he had passed it several times before, but none of the buildings around him looked familiar. Smacking into a wall, he realized he was lost, and searched for a familiar face to guide him home.
In all the confusion, Sasuke wandered out an opposing alley. Naruto, even smashed, could tell Sasuke was just as drunk as he was. "Hey Sasuke," He slurred. "Do you know the way to my house? I'm a teensy bit lost…"
Sasuke looked up at Naruto. "Dobe," He mumbled. "I don't even have a clue where my house is…How would I know where yours is? I've never even been in your house…"
Those last words struck Naruto as odd, and he regained enough of his sobriety to say to Sasuke, "I guess you're right…Let's just wander until we find one of our houses," The two of them, the dynamic drunken duo, then commenced running around, scaring random bystanders shitless. In a drunken haze, Naruto proclaimed love to Sasuke, earning frightened stares from anybody who passed by. Sasuke laughed at first, then Said to Naruto he suddenly remembered the location of the Uchiha compound and his house. The two of them changed course and made a beeline for the compound.
The empty houses and deserted roads lookeds to them like a welcome party for royalty, and the both of them sang and danced like old lovers. Prying eyes were kept out by the sounds of them, mostly because the singing from a distance sounded like a chorus of hell. Finally, the both of them found Sasuke's house, and they wandered in, collapsing on top of one another.
Naruto, only half sober, pulled closer to Sasuke's body and arched against him, trying to keep warm. Sasuke, still fully smashed, felt Naruto's efforts and felt "friendly". Immedietaly, the room got "hotter", and Sasuke tried to find an excuse to take off his shirt.
Incoming hotness!! I'm sorry I had to cut off there, but cliffhangers are an authors' best friend. So sue me. :B
Please review! And don't flame. If you want to complain about something, send a PM.
All you yaoi fans out there, be patient. It's coming up in the next chapter, as you can guess. :D
