Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the wait but I had some major writers block on top of midyears and a massive amount of final projects. Also, this chapter took a lot longer to write than the previous chapters because the transition to angst and back was a bit bumpy. I want to know what you think so don't forget to hit the little purple button at the bottom of the page!
Warnings: Some violence, language and hints at yaoi, (boy X boy) don't like, don't read.
Disclaimer: No, I won't do it! They can't make me! phone rings Hello?…yes sir…of course sir…yes, I understand…it won't happen again sir…hangs up
I own nothing, and my belongings consist of a few safety pins, so don't sue…
Naruto watched as the room's sole occupant, save for himself, looked up from his spot on a couch in front of a small table. Blue met black, and Naruto found himself staring at a glare cold enough to put ice to shame. Returning the angry stare with an equally hateful look, Naruto opened his mouth, ready to tell this guy exactly what he thought of him. However, he was interrupted by a rather flustered Shizune, timidly asking if they could please leave, because she needed to close up the lounge. Ignoring Naruto, Sasuke resumed his emotionless expression and swept past Shizune on his way out the door, not bothering to give either so much as a sideways glance. Silently growling at the back of his head and willing the spikes to catch on fire, Naruto scurried after his new roommate.
"Oi! Sasuke! Teme!" Stopping abruptly at the use of the offensive term, Naruto found himself crashing into the stoic boy in front of him. Angrily rubbing his sore nose, he glared angrily at his roommate. "What was that for? Why did you stop?"
"Don't call me teme, dobe," he replied flatly, before continuing to walk down to the last room at the end of the hall.
"I am not a dobe, teme," Naruto cried indignantly, ignoring Sasuke's request. Not getting a response, he crossed his arms resentfully and gave an undignified huff, sulkily following the boy in front of him.
Unknowingly, Naruto's legs picked up their pace in a subtle attempt to beat the raven-haired boy next to him to the door of their shared room. Realizing what he was doing, Naruto began to consciously make an effort to walk ahead of his roommate, instead of the other way around. After all, to walk behind someone was a sign of submission, and there was no was he was going to allow himself to submit to the arrogant ice prince that was now his roommate.
Seeing what the boy next to him was trying to do, Sasuke began to take larger strides. Who did that dobe think he was fooling? He couldn't best Sasuke, so why even try? Determined not to let the blond think he had an upper hand, Sasuke almost automatically quickened his pace, not even thinking about what he was doing.
Turning his head, Naruto found that not only was Sasuke matching his speed, he also seemed determined to beat it. Scowling, Naruto sped up in a slow jog, placing himself marginally closer to the room than the boy next to him, and let a stray smirk flicker across his face.
Before his mind was able to catch up with his feet, Sasuke found himself sprinting to the door at the end of the hall, his legs seemingly set on beating the blue-eyed blond racing next to him. However, a familiar low whistle from behind brought him back to his senses.
"Damn, Sasuke, and here I was thinking that I'd never get to see you break a sweat! Who's that kid you were racing? He really must be something to get you this riled up. Now there's someone I have to meet."
"Shut up, Suigetsu," Sasuke seethed. However, said boy only laughed.
"You should try appearing human more often. It looks good on you," the white-haired boy joked gleefully.
"Ha! Beat you to the door, teme," Naruto announced triumphantly, grasping the silver handle and pushing downward. Meeting resistance, the blond frowned.
"Great, dobe, but next time you might want to think about who has the key," the raven replied, his hand flaunting a small white plastic card.
Cheeks coloring slightly, Naruto pouted and folded his arms across his chest indignantly. "Just open the door, teme. I don't want to wait all day for you to get down here."
"Shut up, Usuratonkachi," Sasuke growled, the two people he was with souring his already dark mood.
"Ouch, so cruel Sasuke. How can you be heartless enough to say no to that face?"
"Go away, Suigetsu," Sasuke said, glowering at him.
"I love you too," he responded, walking away grinning over his shoulder, waving carelessly and laughing.
Watching Suigetsu's retreating back, Sasuke resumed his inexpressive façade and turned back towards the door of his room. Convincing himself that he was walking slowly to make up for his previous running, as opposed to the sheer fact that it pissed Naruto off, Sasuke made his way down the hall. Opening the door, he was almost immediately bowled over by his too-excited roommate. Not really looking at where he was going, Naruto somehow managed to trip over the two bags in the middle of the room, finding himself sprawled out on the floor surrounded by papers, clothes, and other miscellaneous items that he was positive didn't belong to him.
"You baka!"
"How was that my fault? Your bag shouldn't have been opened!" Naruto yelled, picking his bag off the floor and scrambling out of the way of the now infuriated boy. Backing up enough so that he wasn't the closest thing to his dangerously angry roommate, Naruto watched Sasuke pick his things off the floor, unceremoniously throwing them back into his open bag. Seeing him reach under the bed for the remainder of his stuff, Naruto watched curiously from his spot at the end of what was turning out to be Sasuke's bed, judging from the increasing amount of his stuff being thrown onto it. However, a sudden change in the raven's demeanor caused Naruto to lean over a little further to see what it was that had caught Sasuke's attention. Solemnly, almost reverently, Sasuke picked up a piece of paper with the date 'June 9th' written in black pen on what seemed to be the back. Watching as Sasuke flipped it over, Naruto realized that the piece of paper was actually a photo. In it, a long-haired teenager that looked remarkably like Sasuke was carrying a younger boy on his back that must have been his brother. Seeing the change in his roommate's attitude, Naruto went to speak.
"Hey, Sasuke…" Hearing the hesitation in Naruto's voice, Sasuke looked over his shoulder, indicating that the blond continue. "What happened on June 9th?"
Whirling around and grabbing the blonde's arms, Sasuke threw the powerless boy into the nearest wall and pinned him to it by the shoulders. Forced to look at the boy in front of him dead on, due to their close proximity, Naruto could have sworn that his roommate's black eyes had flashed red. However, upon closer inspection, Naruto attributed the color change to a trick of the light. The raven's eyes were still the same dark hue and seemed to be boring holes into Naruto's own cerulean orbs. Still, Naruto couldn't force himself to look away, as much as he wanted to. Somewhere behind the scorching and enveloping anger, Naruto was shocked to find a look he had seen too often when he faced his own reflection in the mirror. Seeing it on someone other than himself made him recognize it for what it was, a look of torture and pure mental anguish.
Squinting in what he hoped looked like fury instead of an attempt to hide unbidden tears, Sasuke tightened the grip he had on the boy's orange sleeves. Under normal circumstances, he would have wondered what it was that had possessed the blond to wear such an outrageous color, but now the thought didn't even cross his mind. Watching him wince as Sasuke's nails dug into Naruto's shoulders, the boy didn't even try to suppress the satisfied snarl that found its way onto his lips. Looking back to the blue eyes widened in a mix of fear and another indistinguishable emotion, Sasuke's already sinister mood darkened. How dare this boy have such innocent eyes! How dare his eyes show every fleeting emotion that went through his head!
Bringing his face even closer to that of the boy so helplessly pinned against the wall, Sasuke parted his lips next to a tanned ear and spoke in a low growl. "Don't you dare mention that date in my presence ever again!" Pulling away from the blond so that he could again look at his face, Sasuke snarled at the boy's closed eyelids. "Open your eyes, dobe," he demanded icily. At the sound of Sasuke's voice, Naruto clenched his eyes together even more firmly, determined not to look at the expression he knew was on Sasuke's face. Once he noticed the tormented undertone to those furious eyes, he found himself unable to look at the raven without shuddering at the similarities between his captor and his reflection. "I said, open them, dobe," Sasuke said harshly, tightening his grasp on the boy's shoulders, the nails of his hands threatening to break through the skin at Naruto's collarbone.
Realizing what was about to happen, Naruto's lids flew open, his hands frantically clawing at Sasuke's own, trying to remove them from his shoulders. "Sasuke! Sasuke, stop! You don't want me to- I can't bleed! Sasuke, let go!" Noticing that Naruto was doing all he could to escape from his grasp while doing the best he could not to look at him dead on, Sasuke removed his right hand from the blonde's shoulder and roughly grabbed his chin, forcing their eyes to meet.
"Look at me! I won't let you ignore me again, Itachi!" The name slip went by summarily unnoticed by both parties as eyes locked. Unable to look away once their eyes met, Naruto desperately tried to free his body while maintaining eye contact with the two black orbs in front of him. In a distracted attempt to escape Sasuke's grasp and gaze, Naruto jerked his right shoulder forward. Wincing at the pain of a nail breaking the skin, Naruto started, and pushed Sasuke away frantically with a sudden, unexpected burst of strength before falling to his knees. Not realizing what had happened until he noticed blood dripping down his arm, Sasuke stared intriguingly at the hysterical blond in front of him. Taking a step towards his roommate, Sasuke was met with two wildly frightened blue eyes.
"Sasuke, you teme! What are you doing? Run!" Looking around, Naruto's eyes focused on one of the two doors in their room, this one leading to the bathroom. "Sasuke, get out of here! Lock yourself in the bathroom and don't come out," the boy pleaded in an oddly strangled voice. Sasuke looked at the bathroom door and froze. He couldn't go in there, not until he was sure- "Please, Sasuke! Plea-"
Naruto's pleas for help were harshly cut off as Naruto clutched his head and let out a purely animalistic sound, sending shivers down the spine of the room's only other resident. Glued to the spot, Sasuke could only watch as the tormented boy shuddered on the floor, trying to ward off whatever it was that was the cause of his sudden reaction. However, as quickly as it had come, Naruto soon lay on the floor motionless. Still unable to move, Sasuke watched the inactive body for several seconds, simply observing the rise and fall of the blonde's chest. Beginning to get used to the tense atmosphere, Sasuke readied himself to take down his guard. However, a twitch out of the corner of his eye caused him to spin around and look back at the orange lump on the floor.
Sasuke watched in perverse fascination as a blood-soaked hand made its way from the boy's tanned neck to his mouth, tongue flicking out and licking each of the fingers clean, right down to the sharp pointed fingernails. Still not having caught sight of Sasuke, the boy carefully examined his sharpened nails, giving a feral grin that suggested satisfaction with their condition. Slowly looking up, the bloodied individual caught sight of the unfamiliar surroundings before fixing his gaze on the transfixed and still unable to move Sasuke. Grinning wickedly, the blood-soaked blond pulled himself to his feet and made his way to the raven. Grabbing the boy's left wrist, the blond fingered the blood on Sasuke's arm, perfectly sharpened nails lightly pressing into the pale skin.
"I'll suppose this is the reason that I'm bleeding then?"
Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, a chill running down his spine. That voice, what had happened to Naruto's voice? Just moments ago the boy was speaking in a frightened tone, but now the voice being articulated from his roommate's mouth was deeper and laced with malicious amusement.
"What are you waiting for, boy? You should have high-tailed it out of here if you knew what was good for you. You should have listened to the kit when he warned you. He did warn you didn't he?" A cruel snicker escaped those sneering lips. "Of course he did, he always does." The boy's lips curled up into a mocking grin, an expression so out of place on Naruto's gentle face. "You know why that is, boy? Because the kit thinks you're the victim!" The boy laughed coldheartedly, obviously finding this statement quite the amusing fact. Inwardly, Sasuke shuddered. Could he even call the individual in front of him a boy? At the moment, creature seemed the better word. Still laughing, the…creature put a finger on Sasuke's chin, somehow forcing the taller boy to look up at him. "What's your name, boy?"
Finding his voice, he stuttered out a "S-Sasuke, Uch-"
"Hm, Sasuke, you say…" Did he ever stop laughing? "Well, isn't that funny, Sasuke? The poor kit has his priorities all mixed up! Don't you see? He doesn't know that the one that bleeds first is always the victim! He seems to think that it's you!"
Serial killer: that was the description Sasuke had been searching for. That was the only thing that seemed to accurately describe the chilling laugh echoing through the room, the too-wide smile cruelly etched onto the tanned face, the fiery demon eyes staring back at him from behind a veil of blue. The figure in front of him couldn't be anything else. But how could he be a serial killer? He was so different. He didn't have a laugh, there was no smile. Instead, he controlled silence, his lips did nothing but mock, berate. And his eyes, when he killed there was no remorse, nor was there a sadistic glimmer. There was only a blank slate: cold, detached, and devoid of any emotions that could define him as human.
"Well, kid? Why aren't you running? Not that I'm suggesting it of course; I hardly want to go through the trouble of catching you. But kid, please, at least make this a little interesting for me." Gradually coming back to his senses, Sasuke realized the position that he was in. Mentally evaluating his options, Sasuke swallowed and tentatively went to speak.
"N-Naruto…?" At the sound of Naruto's name, the crazed blond in front of laughed. How many times had he heard that laugh? Sasuke desperately wanted to put his hands over his ears and block out the chilling voice. He wanted to forget that he had ever heard such an agonizing sound. Sasuke knew that it was going to be added to the long list of things in his mind that he would never be able to forget; that face, laughing, always laughing.
"You mean to tell me that you think I'm that gaki? You really are amusing, Sasuke! I think I kind of like you! Too bad I'm going to have to slit that pretty little throat of yours." He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers and looking lovingly at his nails. "Well, I guess you do deserve to know…" he pondered, more for himself than for Sasuke's benefit, and took a step forward. "Although I think I could have some fun with you…" He took another step. "Yes, I probably could." One more step and Sasuke found himself backed up against a wall; he had unknowingly been retreating each time the blond in front of him had taken a step forward. Looking at Sasuke, the boy in front of him spoke again. "You're a fighter aren't you? You look like you would be. So, how about I make a deal with you?" His hand was raised to Sasuke's throat, suggesting Sasuke would concur, whether he liked it or not. "I'll tell you my name, you fight me and make it worth my while, and I won't kill you right away, how does that sound?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Damn straight he wasn't going down without a fight. "I don't think you really want to fight me," he replied, careful not to reveal any insecurity by keeping his voice confident and level.
"Is that so? In that case, I think I'm going to enjoy myself here, Sasuke. My name's Kyuubi, nice to meet ya," he said, lunging for Sasuke's throat.
Ohh… a cliffie! I want to know about any pairings suggestions you have. They could be yaoi, yuri, or het, whichever you prefer. Oh and reviews much appreciated! hands out cookies Its not bribery, what are you talking about?