"I told you not to tell him!"
"I'm sorry!"
"Sorry ain't gonna cut it!"
"I couldn't help it! I cracked!"
"You're in the fucking Yakuza! Yakuza don't crack under pressure!"
"But this is Boss we're talkin' 'bout! He can be freakin' scary!!"
"I don't care! You dumbass! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"Ack! I'm sorry! I swear I am! Please spare m—Oh God not that! ANYTHING but that."
"Kukuku… Prepare to suffer!"
Censored due to extreme violence, torture and cursing.
#02: The Runaway
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"I am Haruno Sakura! Pleased to meet you all!"
Naruto's life was over. Strangled gurgles came from his body (that was currently twitching on the classroom ground). Whispers traveled amongst the students as they eyed the blond with worried incredulity.
"Is he having a seizure?"
"Maybe he's choking on something…"
"What a weird guy…"
The teacher's brow twitched as he glared irritably at his student's antics. Making a scene in front of the class like that, honestly… He cleared his throat and turned to Sakura and Sasuke. "Please take the two empty seats over there." He then turned his back to the class in order to write something on the board. "And Uzumaki, it'll be in your best interest to get off the floor and get back to your seat this instant."
"Eh?" Naruto blinked. He snapped out of the daze he was in (or rather… panic attack) and clambered back into his seat, blushing furiously to the roots of his hair. He kept his gaze glued firmly to his desk and gnawed away at his thumb nail, desperately fighting away the temptation to look over in the direction of the new students. He could feel one of their gazes practically boring into the side of his head with… was that murderous intent? Eek.
Don't look. Don't look.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
No matter what, don't look.
He twitched.
Don't look. Don't look. Don't look.
The glare intensified to an overwhelming point.
Don'tlookdon'tlookdon'tlook – Damn it I looked!
He felt fear like no other paralyze him from head to toe; a fear he knew quite well; a fear that reached deep, deep into his soul… and such fear came from the frightening glare the new pink-haired student was sending him. He could feel the waves of murderous intent rolling off of the emerald-eyed girl, and he had to admit, it reminded him of sitting in the water at the beach while wave after wave rolled and pushed against his body.
But imagine those gentle waves as something larger…bigger…fiercer…deadlier.
Like a tsunami.
Naruto looked away rigidly and slumped deeper into his seat, trying to hide himself away from the world (particularly from them—Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura). He only had one thing in mind:
Did Papa send them?
As soon as class was over, Naruto darted out ahead of everyone and maneuvered hectically through the corridors of crowded bodies. He would not give them a chance to approach him. He most definitely would not. His best (and only) option was avoiding Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura at all costs. Naruto headed over to his locker and hastily fiddled with the lock, getting the combination wrong several times in his haste. He cursed until he finally got it to open and, shoving his books in his locker, slammed the door shut and turned to hurry down the hall again. He froze when spotting Sasuke and Sakura heading in his direction.
Squawking, Naruto turned on his heels and hurried in the opposite direction.
It was lunchtime and he was starving. He didn't appreciate the fact that he had to make a detour to the cafeteria. But if he thought about it, he figured he didn't have much of an appetite anymore, what-with the two new students being new in his school and all. Yes, he knew them – that much was obvious – as to how he knew them and why he was running away from them… Thinking about it made his stomach churn and not want to eat at all.
…But food was food, thus the key to Naruto's heart, and he hurried determinedly around the school. He decided to retrace his steps when it seemed as if Sasuke and Sakura took a detour as well because he saw the new students coming from his right, down another corridor. The blond slid into an empty classroom and ducked beneath the small window just in case they peeked in. He pressed his ear to the door and heard murmuring coming from the other side. When he was sure he waited long enough for them to walk by, Naruto cautiously opened the door and squinted through the crack. He stuck his head outside and cocked his head left and right. There were no signs of any pink-haired or raven-haired students.
Letting out a sigh of relief, he stepped out of the class and made his way to the cafeteria, that is, until he felt a hand fall on his shoulder.
Naruto screamed bloody murder.
"Geez Uzumaki. Calm down."
When he realized the voice didn't belong to either of the new students, Naruto held a hand over his racing heart, willing himself to calm down before he gave himself a heart attack. He made sure his pulse rate was back to normal before whipping around and pointing an accusing finger at his senior (by a year).
"Sempai! Don't scare me like that!"
Said sempai merely rolled his eyes. "You're the one acting all paranoid ducking into classrooms! Better watch yourself Uzumaki or you'll make people believe there's someone after you!"
Naruto laughed nervously. The guy didn't know how right he was…
"But seriously, are there people after you?" The brunette asked as he lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Are there people trying to beat you up?!"
"Hahahahaha…" Naruto scratched his cheek uncertainly. He could say that… "Aaah, no, no one's trying to beat me up, sempai! So what's up?"
He fell in step next to his hazel-eyed companion and the two boys headed to the cafeteria.
"Not much. I was just seeing if you wanted to hang out after school… And wondering why you were acting like there were people after you!"
"There aren't people after me!"
The two chattering boys failed to notice the hawk-eyed stares of the female students that watched their every single move. Ears were strained to listen in on their conversation and all attention (from the girls anyway) were focused on the blond and brunette.
"Of course there aren't, Naruto," the brunette amended, although there was a teasing playfulness in his gaze as he stared at the smaller boy from the corner of his eye. "But I'm on to you!"
Naruto stuck his tongue out.
The elder smirked. "Watch that tongue or I'll bite it."
Naruto flushed, stuttering. "Y-you're such a pervert, Val!"
Valentino De Luca (1) was a transfer student from Italy. For someone from a completely different country, he spoke very fluent Japanese, and the guy was friendly and easy to get along with. Apparently it was his first year at the school as well, and the two chanced meeting when Naruto tripped down a flight of stairs and landed rather ungraciously next to where Val was standing. The foreigner had the nerve to look amused at Naruto's expense, but after Naruto got over it, the two seemed to click right off the bat and met up whenever they could.
Not to mention the girls at the school seemed to have an insane notion that Val was 'gay for Naruto' and Naruto was 'gay for Val albeit still in the Denial Stage of it.' Hence, the Val-Naru Fangirl Club was formed.
That would explain the many stares of the females as they watched with heightened anticipation for Val to make a move.
It was a normal occurrence for Val to be hitting on Naruto since he found the boy's reactions both entertaining and adorable (so it was only natural the girls came to the conclusion of which way he swung and who he swung for, thus forming the VNF Club).
"Oh crap!" Naruto froze up when spotting Sasuke and Sakura heading their way. He grabbed Val and tugged them both into the closet, leaving Val in a flurry of confusion and the girls in a state of (squealing) excitement. Who would have thought Naruto would initiate things first?! He was sure quick to get through the Denial Stage and to Third Base!
"Well, geez, if you wanted to have me that badly…" Val said through the dimness of the broom closet. He rubbed the back of his head and grinned. "Just didn't know you want our first time to be in a closet…"
"Shh!" Naruto hushed, not listening to what his companion was saying. He pressed his ear to the door and heard a feminine voice mutter:
"I swear he was just here a second ago…"
"This is becoming troublesome," a male voice glowered. "When I find him… I swear I'm going to hurt him so bad…"
Naruto gulped. He pulled away from the door because the voices had already faded. He knew he was only stalling the inevitable by running from them, but he would stall for as long as possible…
"So why are we hiding?"
Naruto almost screamed. Almost. He had completely forgotten Val was there, but his voice was way to close by the sound of it. Naruto slowly turned around to see Val staring at him innocently, their faces too close for comfort.
"You really have to stop scaring me like that," Naruto breathed, holding a hand over his racing heart.
"Do you make a habit of dragging cute guys into closets?" Val asked teasingly.
Naruto blushed. "No!! It was just – I was – Er… Never mind. Let's just get out of here…"
"There you are," were the most foreboding words Naruto ever heard when they came out of the closet.
"Oh shit—" he turned around nervously, hesitantly looking up to find the two new students standing in front of him, both very much pissed off. For some reason whenever he encountered an enraged Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, he always became a stuttering idiot. "H-h-h-e-he-hey… S-S-S-S-Sak-Sakura-ch-chan… t-t-teme…"
The pink haired female growled and grabbed the collar of his shirt, tugging him forward so their foreheads practically clunked together. "Do you think acting like Hinata will get you out of the trouble you are in?!"
"N-n-n-no…"
"Then talk normally you idiot!" Sakura snapped.
"I c-c-can't!" Naruto cried, tears streaming down his face.
The female student body looked ready to pounce on the pink haired girl. Who the hell did she think she was treating Naruto-kun in such a dreadful way! What a bi— (2)!
"Now, now… I don't think strangling Naruto like that will make him speak properly," Val tried to pacify. At some point Sakura's hand had wrapped around Naruto's neck. The blond was gasping and turning purple.
"…Tch." Sakura released Naruto and crossed her arms, glaring down at him. "You… You have no idea what kind of trouble you have caused!"
"I'm sorry," Naruto wheezed.
"No you aren't!"
"Oh God you have no idea how sorry I am," Naruto said, rubbing his sore and aching neck. He was sorry that he was in such a predicament now. Somehow he needed to get on their good sides – particularly Sakura's. She was mighty frightening when provoked enough.
But then again, so was Sasuke.
He gulped and looked over at the raven who had yet to speak. Naruto felt himself shrink when meeting smoldering onyx orbs that Naruto swore reflected the dark flames of Hell.
"Dobe," the Uchiha drawled icily. Naruto winced. "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"
"What's wrong with where I've been staying?!" the blond snapped defensively.
Sasuke's brow twitched. Did Idiot really not realize just where exactly they were at?
Sakura beat him to the punch. "Everything! We're taking you home, Naruto."
Naruto opened his mouth to say something but he looked around and noticed the whole student body, including Val, were staring at them curiously. He pushed himself on to his feet and dragged Sasuke and Sakura into the closet, slamming the door behind him. Countless pairs of eyes stared curiously at the door where they could hear muffled voices going back and forth from one person and to the next.
"I'm not going home!"
"Yes you are!"
"I ain't goin' back, Sakura-chan!"
"Naruto, stop being so difficult!"
"You guys are being difficult!"
"Uzumaki Naruto, you're coming back home with us so help me – I'll break all the bones in your body and drag you back!"
"…I-I can't go back!"
"Why not?!"
"I just can't! I ran away for a reason!"
"And what is your excuse?"
"I… I umm… I got lost on my way home and decided to stay here?"
"…Invalid response." Punch.
"Ow! Sakura-chan! Was that necessary?"
Punch.
"Goddamnit, bastard! What the hell?!"
"You deserved it."
Val knocked on the door.
"What?" Two voices snapped as the door swung open (the two voices belonging to Naruto and Sakura). Sasuke merely glared.
Val simply smiled. "Just wondering if you realize you're in a broom closet… And we can still hear you, you know."
"…Oh." Sakura blushed in embarrassment while she trailed out of the closet with her two male friends.
"So you know them, eh, Naruto?" Val asked conversationally. "Aren't they the new students? Are they from your hometown as well? Are you guys related?"
"You ask too many questions," Sasuke interrupted dryly. He was staring at Val like he was an annoying piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
Naruto shot Sasuke a look before returning Val's smile. "Yeah, I know them. Yeah, they're the new students. Yeah, they're from my hometown. And no, we're not related."
"Aa," Val nodded knowingly. "So you're all roomies."
"Something like that."
"And they're forcing you to go home?"
"Yeah," Naruto glared at Sakura and Sasuke.
"Coming from a third party, it really doesn't seem like Naruto wants to go home. It wouldn't be civil to force him, now would it?" Val asked the new students pleasantly.
The pink haired female eyed him while Sasuke continued to gaze at Val coolly, retorting: "Mind your own business."
"Naruto's a friend of mine. I cannot 'mind my own business' when he's being threatened," the brunette went on. There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that Naruto never saw before. He was starting to feel nervous with the suffocating tension rising between Val and Sasuke. Sasuke looked ready to pulverize the other.
"I suggest you start," Sasuke said.
"Guys…" Naruto intervened warningly. "This isn't necessary. And don't worry about me, Val. I'll be okay."
"Hmm." Val smiled at the blond. "If you say so, Naruto." He draped an arm around Naruto's shoulder, saying to the smaller one while locking gazes with Sasuke, a smirk on his lips, "I'd just hate to see you abused in any way. You're too cute."
Naruto huffed, his cheeks tinged red. "Don't say that about me!"
"What? That you're cute?"
"Yeah!"
Sakura looked from Val to Sasuke. Regardless of the Uchiha male's calm exterior, she knew that deep down he was ready to obliterate anything and everything – particularly the brunette who had an arm possessively around Naruto. Possessively. It was obvious he was doing it to tell Sasuke: Back off. He's mine. If not that then the smirk on his lips clearly said it. Sakura glared around at all of the girls swooning over Val's possessive display. Didn't these girls know anything? Didn't they know Naruto's meant to be with Sasuke, not some random character that the authoress decided to make up just for the Hell of it?
And so, as if to redeem herself, the authoress had Sasuke grab Naruto and tug him viciously away from Val's evil clutches.
"Don't touch him," Sasuke snarled venomously. His tone was low and dangerous, and very, very threatening. It made Naruto nervous. What got into Bastard all of a sudden?
The fangirls perked up. What was this? A show of possessiveness from another competitor for Naruto's love?
HOT DIGGITY.
The Val x Naru fans officially split in half – one half supporters of VN, the other supporters of SN – Sasu x Naru.
The foreigner's expression darkened. There was something almost sinister about his smirk and stare as he looked at the raven, both boring challenging gazes. "Naruto, if they are harassing you, I can exterminate them for you."
The blond gaped. Exterminate? Wasn't that a bit… extreme? "Er, no. That's okay, Val." He waved his hands. "They're my friends."
Val met his gaze. "Are you sure?"
Naruto nodded, sweating. Was it him or did Val seem really serious about his offer to exterminate Sasuke and Sakura? "I'm sure."
"Well now that that's settled, come on, Naruto, we're taking you home," Sakura said in a no-nonsense tone. She grabbed the blond's ear and proceeded to drag him off.
"Ow, ow, Sakura-chan! Leggo! It feels like you're gonna rip my ear off!"
"Then keep up, idiot!"
"You're walking too fast!"
"And you're walking too slow!"
"Gah – Owowowow, Saakura-chaaaan!" Naruto whined, tears streaming from his eyes in torrents.
Sasuke lingered back in order to resume his glaring contest with Val. The brunette smirked coyly as he tilted his head to stare at the raven.
"Shouldn't you go follow them?" Val asked, smiling, his eyes squinted closed in what would appear a friendly manner if it wasn't for the waves of hostility rolling off of either males like a tsunami.
"Tch." Sasuke sent him one final glare before turning around and stalking after Sakura and Naruto. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and brusquely brushed past other students who were staring at them in awe and curiosity. Hazel eyes lingered on the Uchiha's back before wandering over to Naruto who was still verbally protesting Sakura's abuse. Val smiled pleasantly to himself.
This wouldn't be the last time he saw Naruto.
Naruto was still struggling even as he was brought outside of the school and into the student parking lot. Sakura had switched ears and now the boy's other ear was as red and throbbing as the other one. How in all the world was he supposed to get out of this one? While Sasuke unlocked the doors of a black BMW, Sakura was getting ready to toss Naruto into the backseat when the blond was suddenly hit with an idea.
"Oh my god! Sasuke, look, is that your brother?!"
"Itachi --?" Sasuke's eyes bled red as he whipped around, snarling with murderous intent
"Where?!" Sakura snapped into attention as well and looked around.
Naruto grinned and chose the moment to slip away. He made a run for it.
He was half way across the parking lot when he heard an enraged:
"NA-RU-TO!"
And this time it wasn't Sakura who sounded pissed. Naruto chanced a glance over his shoulder and squawked when seeing Sasuke running after him, and Naruto had the sneaky suspicion that all Sasuke saw was red. It was scary how much of a bull he resembled at that moment… He was almost to the stairs of the school's front entrance when he was suddenly tackled from behind.
Naruto saw stars.
And little Sasukes with bull horns.
Sasuke got him and slung the dazed Naruto over his shoulder, caveman style. He walked over to the car where Sakura was waiting, looking just as irritated as Sasuke for believing Naruto's little prank. Sasuke dumped Naruto unceremoniously into the backseat before slamming the door. He himself got into the driver's seat while Sakura took the front passenger's seat.
"Do you think you might've tackled him too hard?" Sakura asked as she glanced over her shoulder at Naruto.
"Tch. No."
She gave him an odd look but turned her gaze forward, still feeling rather uncertain and a tad bit worried about Naruto.
It wasn't until they heard snoring and Sakura looked over to see Naruto drooling that her worries were put aside, only to be replaced by incredulity and annoyance.
He actually fell asleep!
Naruto you idiot.
Ramblings: I really didn't want to cut the chapter off here, but feh. What must be done must be done, or else this chapter would have gone on forever… although that wouldn't be so bad, I guess. Well, for me it would. Anyway.
(1) I've refused to make up my own chars for Naruto fanfics, but in this case, it couldn't be helped. I already have roles for everyone else, and it seemed more fitting to make up an original character. Sorry. I try to avoid doing that as much as possible, but couldn't avoid it for the sake of this fanfic. xD
(2) And yes I like Sakura, so those of you who were nodding your heads in agreement… Ah well. xD It was written in good humor, no ill intentions, I assure you.
And yeah. Thanks everyone for the enthusiastic feedback for this fic so far! I appreciate it all! And I'm tired working sucks so I must go crash into bed now. xD Don't forget to leave reviews, yeah?