A/N: Gah, I'm so sorry that it took a while, but now the new chapter is finally here! (grins) Hooray?
But first, thank you so much for those wonderful reviews you've sent! (HUUUGS) This story would've NEVER continued without you. So thank you! (offers some juicy cupcakes)
Awkay, because I bet you'd like to get going already… Let's roll – I truly hope you'll enjoy this chappy! (gulps nervously)
Ni (1) – Into The Pit of Illusions
1854
Naruto's eyes first widened, then became squeezed tightly shut as he stared at the dagger flying directly towards him, preparing himself for absolutely anything.
A second ticked by, then another. But there wasn't that surge of pain he'd been expecting – instead the audience exploded into whistles, shouts and claps.
His eyes flew open, and a tiny breath left him when he found himself face to face with the raven-haired dancer who'd just almost slaughtered him. Pretty soon, however, the first shock became ran over by his temper. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell do you think you're doing, trying to kill clients?!" he all but snarled, earning some amusement from the audience.
The raven snorted, rolling her eyes. "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have hit you if I'd tried to?" She then gestured him to follow. "Now come on – Jiraiya's interested to hear your audition."
He arched an eyebrow, starting to follow without noticing it. "How…?!" How in the world had the word spread this fast?
"This place has ears everywhere", the raven explained without turning towards him. Her tone carried something that chilled him.
He wasn't sure if he wanted to beam or punch his friend when Kiba whispered to his ear. "You know what? I think she likes you."
After an exhausting number of hallways – which were painted with striking colors and decorated by bizarre artworks that made him turn his head embarrassed – they finally stopped behind a surprisingly plain-looking door. He almost held his breath while Sasuke knocked.
"Bring them in", a voice ordered from behind the door.
He just had to blink at what greeted them as they entered. In his regular clothes the owner, Jiraiya, seemed like… a normal, mortal man, completely different from the person who'd been glimmering on the stage. He couldn't believe someone like the older man actually owned a place like this.
"I'm Jiraiya", the man introduced himself, then pointed towards the raven. "And she's Sasuke, my best dancer. I assume she… welcomed you in."
He felt heat sneaking to his cheeks. "She did."
Jiraiya grinned slyly. "Now…" The man rubbed his hands together. "As you were probably told, I want a audition. Sasuke here decides whether you two will get the job or not."
Kiba grunted incoherently. He, on the other hand, swallowed thickly, feeling cold shivers.
So their fate was in Sasuke's hands – and she was going to listen to him play?
Jiraiya quirked an eyebrow at his expression. "Are you fine with this?"
He nodded rapidly, fairly sure his face had fallen pale. "Y-Yeah, yeah, of course." He cleared his throat, glancing towards Kiba. "So… Are we getting started?"
The brunet nodded while pulling out a flute, appearing just as nervous as he did.
He took a deep breath, then started to play. And at that second – although his eyes strayed several times towards Sasuke – all his nervousness and insecurity floated away.
-
Although Sasuke didn't let anything show, something happened to her when Naruto started to play. The first tunes were rather mundane, but then the song came to life. The beautiful, flowing melody took her under its wing, twirled around and inside her, carried her into a whole another world. And as she looked at the musicians, she saw that they loved absolutely every note they played. She'd never seen anyone look as serene and content as Naruto did while playing his violin.
For a couple of forbidden moments her poor heart lost its way, and it took her all not to gasp.
-
As the song ended all eyes were on Sasuke. At first she remained perfectly still, then nodded slowly.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't let it show. "So…" He arched an eyebrow, somewhat cautious. "… Are we in?"
Sasuke seemed to observe him. "Yes."
A huge smirk spread to his face, growing to such magnitude that eventually his face hurt. But he couldn't bring himself to care.
Jiraiya also grinned, appearing pleased with the decision. "Well, in that case… Welcome aboard, you two!"
He and Kiba shared glances of victory.
As his eyes met Sasuke's, he wondered just what he'd gotten himself into.
Naruto and Kiba celebrated their victory with drinking far more than would've probably been sensible. They soon found themselves sitting in the same table with a rather colorful group of Konoha's dancers.
The blonde they'd seen dancing examined them with keen blue eyes. "So… Fresh meat, hmm? I'm Ino." She smirked. "Welcome aboard. I really hope you two know what you're doing."
He grinned rather carelessly, taking a long sip of his drink. "Trust me, this is far from the worst place we've worked in." He then looked towards the others. "So… Who are you guys?"
A pale-haired, rather sharp teethed young man was the first one to speak. "Suigetsu, one of this place's two male dancers." The male winked, although the gesture held something almost cold. "I was watching Sasuke's performance today. You two gave us quite a show."
He coughed, nearly choking on his drink. His eyes then moved to a red-haired young man who seemed to be studying him with folded arms. "Who are you, then?"
The other male didn't speak, only looked away and took a sip of his sharp drink.
"That merry fellow is Gaara." Ino rolled her eyes. "He shines on the dance floor, but is next to nothing when it comes to social affairs." She shrugged. "Never mind about him – I doubt he's ever spoken more than one word."
The redhead gave her a glare that said it all, making most of the rest of them laugh.
It was around then Naruto couldn't hold himself back any longer. He frowned when looking around. "Where's Sasuke, anyway?"
Suigetsu's face gained an expression he didn't recognize. "She never shows up around here. Don't look so down – you'll get to play to her soon enough."
He was fairly sure he blushed faintly and would've wanted to ask more, but decided that the time wasn't right and instead started drowning himself to his drink.
Ino made a strange sound. "Okay, before the mood gets any more solemn…" She lifted her glass. "To the new arrivals!"
The rest of them joined in gladly, and loudly. For the time being all worries were forgotten.
By the time Naruto and Kiba made it to their room, they were wobbling slightly.
"This…", Kiba declared with a lifted fist. "This, was a good day. We actually got a job – soon we'll be able to pay back to Gatô." A somewhat dreamy look appeared to the boy's face. "And then… Then we'll go back home, and I'll tell Hinata how I feel. I'll sweep her off her feet."
He grinned, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "I'm going to remind you of that pledge when you're sober." He groaned after searching through the room. "So there really is no alcohol in here?"
Kiba emitted something he couldn't comprehend.
Just then a sensation of unease settled underneath his skin, making him frown and shiver. It was… almost like a tingle of some sort. Had they forgotten a window open?
Kiba gave him a weird look. "What are you fidgeting about?"
And just then he knew. "There's… something I need to do." All of a sudden he was perfectly sober, and his heart was pounding furiously. Without much of a further explanation he made his way towards the door. "I'll be back in a bit."
He missed seeing Kiba roll his eyes while muttering something about a hopeless case.
He didn't really know what was pulling him, but he found himself climbing to the building's roof although he'd never exactly liked heights. He wasn't entirely sure why he wasn't surprised at all when realizing that despite the late hour he wasn't alone.
There was a thoughtful, faraway look on Sasuke's face while she stood quite close to the edge, her arms folded and gaze directed to the mostly sleeping village spreading down below.
After a couple of stilled seconds he found himself moving. "Hey." Meeting her gaze, he went on. "You… didn't show up to the bar today."
She looked away as he stood beside her. "Hn. I'm sure I wasn't the only one missing."
He fought against blushing, and couldn't look towards her anymore. Damn it, he felt like a five-year-old!
For several moments they remained in silence while he also glanced downwards, the breathtaking fall almost making him feel dizzy. He took a step backwards, gulping thickly. "Crap…"
Sasuke gave him a weird look. "You're afraid of heights, aren't you?" When he wasn't able to respond, she went on. "Then why did you come up here?"
He grinned sheepishly. "I… don't know." He shrugged. "I guess it just felt like something had been calling me, I guess."
For a long while Sasuke looked at him with a strange expression that almost gave away something he couldn't read, then faced away once more a little too abruptly.
He frowned, observing the raven with his gaze. "Sasuke?"
She gave a 'Hn', looking back towards the village. "I was just… remembering something, that's all", she all but murmured, her voice much softer than usual.
He nodded with some confusion, not daring to pry any further.
Without him really noticing it at first, his hand moved until it was so close to hers that he could feel the warmth. Their fingers twitched as they fought against something neither managed to name. And quite soon the temptation became too much. Before a breath was emitted his fingers had tangled with the raven's, making the young woman's hand shudder with surprise and something else.
Just as he was about to squeeze, Sasuke pulled herself free all of a sudden. He'd never seen the kind of an expression that was on her face when their gazes met. "I've seen your kind here before. They never last long." The onyx eyes looking directly to his were hard, but not with anger. "If you really want to work here, let's make some things clear. This place is not one for romantic stories – all love stories only last until sunrise. Becoming too attached is pointless, because nothing but illusions and shows exist here." She examined him for a moment. "And somehow… I doubt those would ever be enough for you. None of us can give you what you're looking for."
His blue eyes flashed with determination while his heart gained a rhythm it'd never had before. "Is that really how you feel?" Without any warning he leaned forward and, with courage alcohol had given him, pulled her into deep kiss that most likely gave away everything swirling inside him. When he pulled away after a couple of seconds he looked directly to her flaming eyes. "Maybe this place can't give you what you're looking for, either." With those words he left with shaky, unsteady steps, hoping from the bottom of his heart that in some miraculous way that simple gesture had managed to change Sasuke's stubborn mind.
-
As soon as she was left alone Sasuke groaned loudly, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
She should've known that blond would only cause mess.
"Sasuke?" Turning her gaze towards the somewhat uncertain sound, she found Ino stood by the door that led to the roof. "Jiraiya wants to see you."
She nodded sharply, finally managing to pull herself back together again. She'd have to be able to take care of her duties, musicians along or not. "I'll be there soon."
Her steps had never been as heavy as they were when she left the roof, trying with all her determination to forget Naruto's taste lingering in her mouth.
Naruto had hard time finding his way into his room, and he found it even more challenging to realize just what he'd done.
He'd been with barely a single girl, and now…
What was this place doing to him?!
Kiba's voice startled him so badly that he jumped high up. "Now where have you been?"
He all but glared at the brunet. "Are you trying to kill me or something?"
Kiba arched an eyebrow, obviously on to something. "Now aren't you jumpy."
Before he could stop it, a goofy grin that most likely revealed too much appeared to his lips. "Heh, I guess I am." With that he all but dashed to his bed, hiding himself carefully into the covers. "G'night."
"'Night. And for your information, we'll be talking about this in the morning."
He barely heard.
(He didn't sleep much that night, and when his light slumber ended in the morning the taste of Sasuke still lingered in his mouth.)
-
Watching his best friend, Kiba shook his head and bit back a chuckle.
He's a goner, he declared to himself.
About an hour after she'd met Naruto, Sasuke's head hurt while she marched towards a room she'd visited thrice a day for the past eight years. She fought to keep her expression even when Sakura emerged from the room and saw her. The other, however, seemed to see through her bluff. "What did Jiraiya want?" the pinkette inquired.
She groaned, not really wanting to respond. "Apparently there's a new, important investor on the move. We're hoping to nail him with a new show." She then forced herself to focus on other matters, and frowned. "Where's Tsunade – wasn't she supposed to check up on him?"
Sakura snorted. "It's Friday. Where do you think she is?"
Not surprised, she glanced towards the closed door, suddenly feeling cold. "How is he?"
The pinkette smiled faintly. "The usual. He doesn't have fever anymore, and he's calm. I helped him wash his lower body, but I guess you want to take care of the rest."
She nodded. "Thanks."
Just before she was in Sakura spoke once more. "Sasuke?" Their gazes met. "Are you sure you're alright?"
She gave the pinkette a loudly speaking look. Do I have any other choice? With that she entered the room, although she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to.
The sight inside still felt like a fist right hitting her face, and she actually froze for several seconds.
On a rather worn bed sat a being who'd once been her older brother, his long black hair a tangled mess and his eyes obviously blind. The room was almost unbearably cold, especially seeing as his upper body was still bared, and he was shivering visibly. He seemed almost scared when hearing the sound of her entering and closing the door. And suddenly it was painfully obvious that he didn't recognize her presence.
/ "Of course I'll be there. Isn't that what big brothers do?" /
She steeled herself with a deep breath, then spoke. "Itachi, right? I'm here to help you wash up", she stated while starting to fill a bowl with warm water. "We're going to need some more water."
"What's wrong?" Itachi's voice caught her so badly by surprise that she shivered. The young man didn't quite manage to look towards her. "Your voice… sounds strange."
"I'm fine." It was surprising, really, how convincing she managed to sound. She allowed her motions to be uncharacteristically soft while she handed him a washing-cloth, then started combing his hair and helping him wash his upper body. "Now let's get you cleaned up before the water gets cold, alright?"
All of a sudden, as she moved, Itachi tensed up completely. Her heart clenched painfully when desperate hope took a hold of it. "What is it?"
Itachi remained absolutely still for a moment, then shook his head. Yet again a heartbreaking look of sadness and disappointment appeared to his face, only to disappear in a flash. "I just… thought I remembered something."
She grit her teeth, trying hard to steel herself.
It'd been eight years and he hadn't remembered. Why was she expecting him to do so now?
Once again her bitter thoughts were cut by her brother. He almost managed to look towards her face. "I'm sorry, but… I don't think we've met before. What's your name?"
"Sasuke", she replied as casually as she could, focusing firmly on a knot in his hair. She'd done this a million times before, every time they met – this occasion was no different. "My name is Sasuke."
The next couple of days passed by in a blur of some sort, with Naruto and Sasuke avoiding each other. But then came the inevitable day when things had to be sorted out.
It was time for a new show's first rehearsal, and they were supposed to work together like professionals. Naruto figured that even playing on flaming carbons would've been easier.
While Jiraiya announced the roles and gave some instructions, he was so fidgety that he barely stayed on the stool he'd taken. But when the time to play arrived, everything became crystal clear once more. He started playing the violin and Sasuke danced, as though they'd been following a manuscript that wasn't written on paper.
They barely even noticed it, but they kept looking at each other as the music and dance proceeded, transporting them into a whole another world.
Naruto worked his hardest to ignore Suigetsu's hands on Sasuke's skin, fought to forget that in this dance – in this show – he wouldn't be allowed to touch her. And she managed to forget to whom she'd soon perform.
As she twirled around time after time, moved around Suigetsu like a moth, he became entranced. He, of course, couldn't possibly know that his music did the same trick to her.
And then, with the final notes from his violin, it was over. The dancers stilled. The magic vanished, leaving him blinking.
"Excellent work, everyone!" Jiraiya complimented with clearly apparent excitement. "This is going to be a fantastic show."
While most of the group cheered, Naruto glanced towards Sasuke. He felt a flare he recognized far too well when noticing how Suigetsu's hand rested on the raven far longer than would've been necessary. And at that moment he decided that it was time to move.
Apparently he wasn't fast enough, because Kiba gave him a push. "Just go to her, will you?"
He sent something close to a pout towards his friend. "I'm trying, okay?" With that he took a deep breath and – gathering together all his determination – walked up to her. "We have to talk."
Sasuke's eyes flashed like those of a trapped animal's when the raven looked towards him. "There's nothing to be talked about." She paused for a second, taking a deep, slightly wheezing breath. "Do I really need to tell you again? This…" She gestured around. "… is all business, understood? Never anything else. Everyone in here knows it and respects it, so why can't you?"
He frowned while looking at her face. She seemed… fazed, almost, all of a sudden. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
She opened her mouth, but before she could ever answer she slumped forward, straight to his arms. His heart skipped a beat – out of worry and something else – and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make a sound.
And then, just as suddenly as she'd collapsed, Sasuke was moving again. She moaned, blinking thrice.
"Sasuke?" He wished his tone hadn't shuddered the way it did. His arms wrapped even tighter without him noticing it. "What the heck happened?"
She opened her eyes halfway and coughed once, glaring heatedly at her outfit. "The corset", she groaned with apparent annoyance, forgetting to fight her way out of his hold. Was she shivering, or was it just him? "I already told Jiraiya it's too damn tight."
He grinned lightly with relief, not managing to let go of her.
The others, on the other hand, looked on with some worry-mixed curiosity, seeing much too clearly what was inevitably stirring to life between those two.
To Naruto, that day was the start of a long battle he was determined not to lose. He was in love – of that he was sure – and he was going to do whatever it took to make sure Sasuke knew it as well.
No matter how hard Sasuke struggled back he kept trying, never giving up. And during the following two months her resistance started to crumble, piece by piece.
Neither of them, however, knew that the game would soon have other players along…
TBC, no?
1) 'Two' in Japanese.
A/N: So… What do you guys think – is this worth another chapter, or should I let this one die away?
PLEASE, do leave a review so I'll know what you think!
In the next one, Naruto's past would start to uncover as new people would appear to play…
I've gotta start tuning out now, folks, so… Until next time – with whichever fic that may be!
Be good!
