Chapter#7
Chapter#7
"You can't be serious about leaving them behind!" Keiko exclaimed, defiantly leaving her luggage by her feet. The usual airport hustle and bustle remained undisturbed by her outburst.
"You have no idea," Hiei muttered bitterly as he walked passed her towards the row of waiting chairs.
"B-but," Keiko started, looking frantically around, hoping Botan would show up quickly.
"Yeah! Sasuke hasn't even gotten here yet!" Sakura whined sullenly.
"Oh no! Whatever shall we do if Sasuke doesn't show up in time?!" Yusuke jeered at her sarcastically with a roll of his eyes. "Calm down princess, he wouldn't disobey Lord Koenma." With that his eyes shifted towards Koenma, who sat next to Hiei, uncertainly.
"They wouldn't just... Not come... Would they?" Keiko questioned.
"Who gives a shit is a better question," Yusuke added snidely and she glared at him hatefully.
Yusuke walked to the seats where Naruto sat disconsolately. "Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Depends," He replied quicker than Yusuke anticipated, "Are you going to bombard me with stupid questions about Botan? If we've been sleeping together, how long we've been together, if we have a child we gave up for adoption to a couple in Zimbabwe?"
Yusuke raised an eyebrow steadily. "Well I wouldn't want to bother you with questions, especially ones as specific as that… Do you have a kid in Zimbabwe?"
"No!" Naruto snapped though he knew it was a joke.
"Calm down!" Yusuke almost snapped back but managed to keep his voice stern rather than angry. "I just wanted to see if you were feeling ok. Hiei did hit you pretty hard, I'm sure the bruise has settled down.'
"Tell that to my eye," Naruto turned completely to face him and Yusuke winced. The, once, dark and purple contusion now turned into a deep shade of green. "Yusuke, I didn't know what she was doing, she seemed sad..."
"So you kiss her?"
"If you're not going to listen to me then you can fuck off!"
"Ok ok! I'm listening."
The darkened clouds kept the light from shining upon her face; no warmth could reach her at this point. Worn and tired from running so far Botan finally raised her head to take a look at her surroundings. The thick woods had engulfed her and left her without a good sense of direction at all. She was sure the gang had departed for the airport by now... Lord Koenma would have her head for this... Tears passed down her cheek unnoticed as she sank into the ground even more. Even the forest seemed to stay silent to listen to her cry.
"Running from me?" She instantly recognized the voice as she quickly looked up to find nobody.
"I... I wasn't thinking... Somehow... I knew you would be mad," She breathed unsteadily.
"Damn right you weren't thinking," His words bit at her painfully, completely disregarding her second statement. "So do you love him?"
"No... I can't... I thought I did... But he can't return anything to me and I knew that, I don't love him because I can't!" came her answer in a sob.
"Do you have any idea how much you have confused him?"
"No..."
"He's not like you, he can't look too deep into things, he knows what he knows, and that little stunt isn't something he's going to comprehend too well."
"What do you want me to do Sasuke?!" She screamed standing up to face him, knowing he was there.
His red eyes stared into her with an unreadable expression on his face. "Let's go."
"Wait! WAIT FOR US!" The blue-haired girl shoved people effortlessly out of her way and towards the lady at the entrance.
"Ma'am your LAAATE!!" She woman screamed and jumped out of the way as she nearly got elbowed in the face.
"Botan! You made it!" Keiko and Yusuke stood from their seats and greeted her with comforting hugs.
"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed and latched onto him tightly, "I was so worried that you weren't going to make it!"
"I'm here now honey," He said almost inaudibly while gently pulling her away, leaving the others in a bit of a shock; they rarely ever saw him be affectionate to her.
"Oh please," Naruto mumbled to himself with a long roll of his eyes.
"Ok Naruto move, I want to sit with Sasuke," Sakura ordered.
"Do you now?" Naruto asked in a mockingly sweet tone. "Tough." He turned back around and stretched into the seats on either side of him.
"Everyone please take your seats," The stewardess warned with a plastic-like grin as she made her trips down the aisles to pass on the message to the other passengers.
Sakura groaned in exasperation and sat back in her seat with two complete strangers. "Stupid Naruto!"
"Get used to it princess!" Naruto yelled to her general direction.
"Move baka," Sasuke ordered, standing in the aisle impatiently.
Naruto froze, refusing to look up at him for fear of looking timid... "Umm, screw you?"
Sasuke's eyes flashed him an icy glare before grabbing a fistful of Naruto's hair and lifting him off of the aisle seat, pushing him into the middle seat, not looking at him.
"What the hell!?"
"Deal with it."
"Excuse me... I need a seat," came the fearful voice of Botan.
You're kidding, Naruto thought, any kind of words to say to her stopped at his throat.
"Yeah! Sit with your boyfriend!" A voice exclaimed rudely, undoubtedly Hiei's.
Botan flinched visibly as she silently took her seat on the other side of Naruto. Naruto sat stick straight. The hairs on the back of his neck were standing up and he started to feel lightheaded. He was just about to trade places with Sakura when the light switched on to fasten his seatbelt. Shit.
Naruto's troubled expression only deepened as he grabbed onto the sides of his seat; now he was really dizzy. Movement came from under him and he jumped, worsening the faintness. He started to wonder if it was obvious how troubled he was. Just when he was about to tear out of his seat a cold hand was placed atop his tightly clenched fist.
"Breathe baka," Sasuke whispered sternly, looking straight ahead.
Naruto finally gasped and gulped in as much air as he could. He really stopped breathing.
"Are you ok Naruto?" Botan asked gently. He looked down at his knees, he could tell by the sound of her voice that she had been fighting the decision on whether to even ask him that or not.
He nodded stiffly before closing his eyes and jerking his hand away from Sasuke before anyone could notice. Sasuke looked at him for the first time in confusion, unaware that he had placed his hand there. Before he could conjure an explanation his gaze froze instantly with a sudden surge of rage.
"Who did that to you?"
"What?" Naruto questioned, looking up at Sasuke for the first time since he arrived.
"Who. Did that to you?" Sasuke asked again, his teeth gritted together.
Naruto sunk into his seat with a hand over his face. "Step off asshole."
"Baka, tell me."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Tell me."
"Like it matters to you!" Naruto yelled, unaware that the plane was already in the air.
"And what if it does?" Sasuke hissed dangerously to him and it made him flinch inwardly. Looking at both Naruto's and Botan's shocked expressions he realized what he just said.
"Guys, what's going on?" Botan asked, feeling a bit braver to even ask about this unknown tension between them.
"He can't care," Naruto croaked, sounding like he was having some sort of difficulty. "He's not allowed."
"I didn't mean that," Sasuke snapped bitterly, sounding much colder than usual. Rage and detestation filled his eyes as he forced himself to look forward, clenching his fists tightly.
"I didn't think so," Naruto whispered in a pant, feeling out of breath.
"Naruto?"
"Botan what's going on over there?" Yusuke's voice called out from 2 rows away.
"I- I don't know," Botan stated loudly, observing Naruto's actions worriedly. "Yusuke..."
The sound of a belt being snapped and scrambling feet were heard as Naruto started to pant, louder. Sasuke brought himself to look at him again, his expression suddenly becoming indecipherable.
"Naruto! Hey! Can you hear me?!"
"Sleep little fox."
"Whose there?" Naruto wheezed, grabbing at his throat, feeling like there was a hand there, suffocating him.
"Sleep little fox."
Sasuke turned to him, worry clearly evident in his eyes. "Whose where?!"
"I said sleep."
Naruto's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he fell back onto Botan. "Naruto! He's not breathing!"
"Sasuke?" Sakura now joined them, concerned.
"Sakura please help him," He implored with slight plea in his voice. She looked down at the incapacitated Naruto and made a face. "Please."
Sasuke stood up and let Sakura through. "Leave us. We can't afford to make a scene right now," Her voice was cold and hurt her expression blank. With that she gathered Naruto in her arms, covering him in a blanket so she could work her magic.
"Hey! Yusuke put him down I think he's coming to!"
"Naruto?"
Naruto narrowly opened his eyes to a familiar setting of an airport, wondering if he just dreamed everything. "Yusuke?"
"I'm here buddy."
He suddenly felt himself being placed onto a bench and he struggled to regain focus. "Did I fall asleep?"
"Naruto what happened on the plane? What got you so riled up?" Yusuke suddenly started asking questions when it was still too soon to register his thoughts properly.
"What plane? Where are we?" Naruto yawned lazily.
"Egypt sweetie," Keiko answered him cautiously.
"WHAT?!" Naruto shot up from his seat realizing how different the people looked and the sun that shone relentlessly through the glass windows. "I slept through it all?"
"Not exactly," Botan chimed in timidly, "You got upset, and then you passed out..."
Naruto searched his mind for the memory but nothing was sounding familiar about a plane ride at all. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," Sasuke's voice answered before anyone else to pitch in their own recollection of the events.
Naruto froze, looking at him slightly puzzled, but more so annoyed. "I'm telling you guys right now before you ask me anything else, I don't remember anything about a plane ride. What matters is that we're here now I guess." He laughed nervously running his left hand through his hair and flinched as he grazed his eye. Sasuke's muscle's tensed and he picked up his things and headed for the exit, influencing everyone else to do the same.
Yusuke stuck close by to Naruto, feeling too wary about the situation. "You know what we're here for right?"
"Yeah yeah, some dead guy is wearing his favorite robes and we're gonna take it from him right?" Naruto yawned once again, seeming more like himself.
Yusuke chuckled lightly, "Yeah that's right. Hopefully no dead zombies come after us like in the movies right?"
"Shit, I don't see any reason for him to be so pissy. He's dead! It's not like he's gonna miss them. How do we know that the robes even survived this long?"
"Do the words ancient magical artifacts mean anything to you?"
"No," Naruto replied pointedly with a smug look, proud that he never paid attention to detail.
Cairo wasn't too impressive and the heat just made the city uninviting altogether. It offered many grand hotels that offered excellent views of the desert outside the city. Finally deciding on the Pyramisa the group tried to settle into their wing of the hotel.
Hiei tried to pass through the congestion they had created in the hallways trying to find their exact rooms. Annoyed with the gaggle they made Hiei thrust his shoulder into Sasuke and proceeded to his room.
"That was not a smart move," Sasuke whispered malevolently.
Sakura pulled onto his arm in fear, "Sasuke, no."
Hiei stopped, particularly irritated. "I don't think I like your tone Uchiha."
Sasuke brushed Sakura aside, catching everyone's attention. "And what of it?"
Hiei dropped his bags on the spot and turned slowly to face him. "What's this about Sasuke? You mad because I gave your boyfriend over there a boo-boo?"
Naruto became instantly enraged as he poked his head through the entrance of his room, "You can go to hell!" And a slam of the door ensued.
"Please don't start this," Sakura pleaded ineffectively as she tugged on Sasuke's arm once again.
"Maybe I just don't like you at all."
Hiei spat at his feet with a sadistic smile suddenly playing on his thin lips. Not even a mere second later Sasuke lunged at him, tackling him into the far corner of the hall, knocking a painting from its place on the wall.
Hiei's laughter rang through the hallway as they both clawed and punched at each other viciously, sending shivers down the others spines; Sasuke was pushing him...
"Sasuke! Stop it!" Sakura screeched pleadingly as she ran towards them.
"Sakura no!" Yusuke reached out to stop her but barely missed her shoulder as she darted out of the way.
"What the hell is going on?!" Naruto finally reentered the hallway, stopping upon sighting the scene the two were making.
Sasuke finally grasped Hiei's throat in his hands, applying all the lethal pressure he could muster as Hiei thrashed dangerously beneath him, breaking his grip. "You picked the WRONG guy Uchiha!" Without another second Hiei kneed Sasuke in the throat, knocking him back into Sakura's arms unexpectedly.
"Sasuke please stop this! PLEASE!"
"Shut the hell up!" He shouted as he threw her mercilessly into the wall, resuming his struggle with Hiei.
Keiko was the first to reach her as Yusuke's temper instantly flared. "What the fuck is your guys' problem?!" With that he joined them both, trying to beat them both into submission, becoming part of the chaos.
"Botan get in!" Naruto ordered her angrily, shoving her into his room and slamming the door, noticing that Koenma was remaining still as a statue in the farthest room away from them.
"Sakura are you ok?" Keiko asked quickly, wiping away the traces of blood that escaped her lips.
Without any kind of warning Sakura shoved Keiko back to the other side of the hallway with the help of her telekinesis. "Leave me." Her voice seemed to echo in their heads rather than having to be said. She stood rapidly trying to exit the corridor before Naruto, of all people, stood in her way.
"Sakura are you ok?" Naruto didn't have to feign concern at this point, ignoring the cracks in the walls the others were making.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way." She seethed dangerously, her hair starting to float gently about her despite her wrath about to be unleashed.
"What is this all about? Why are they so worked up?" Naruto flinched as he witnessed Sasuke get slammed face first into a door before Yusuke could pull Hiei away.
She looked up at him finally, more vulnerable than he has expected her to be. Tears filled her eyes to the brim, threatening to spill over. "Do you really think Sasuke would start this over nothing? How stupid are you?!" She screamed at him before throwing him out of the way to make her exit.
"No..." He breathed looking at all of them once again. "Stop it!"
Yusuke finally was thrown by the both of them to Koenma's feet were he remained, unconscious.
"Knock it off!" He yelled once more, vainly hoping they would cease.
"End this Naruto," Koenma finally uttered his first words since he got here before entering his room with irritation clearly written on his face.
Naruto looked to the unconscious Keiko, then to Yusuke... Why was nothing ever right anymore?
"Stop it!"
He finally gathered the courage to step in between them before they exchanged any more threatening blows.
"You are the LAST person to be telling me what to do kid!" Hiei scowled before digging his nails into Naruto's throat and hurling him into a side table and a precious-looking vase. Broken glass dug into his face as he smashed into the wall, breaking the fragile objects with ease.
"Wrong move!" Sasuke grunted as slammed his body into Hiei's, knocking them both into the ground once again.
Both were unaware of Naruto's condition as he stood stiffly from the ground, cracking any resisting fractures even further. Every muscle tensed in order to ease the transformation he knew was coming. The two remained oblivious to the impending danger.
"Naruto?" Botan's head poked out cautiously from his room and she froze. "NARUTO NO!"
Too late.
Naruto charged at them with unrecognizable speed, seizing the both of them in great astonishment by the throat. His claws dug deep into their sensitive nerves, rendering them paralyzed and at his mercy.
"LORD KOENMA!" Botan screamed as she ran to drag Keiko into the room with her and out of harm's way.
Before Lord Koenma could react to her words Naruto leapt into the air with the two in his grip before chucking them both into the ground, landing on both of their spines, hearing a satisfying crack before leaping off of them and down the corridor.
"Naruto no!"