A/N: Naruto does not belong to me. If anyone is interested in looking up some of my older fics that got booted off fanfiction because of the high rating (there was a time that even M rated stories were too high, and all NC17 went bye bye), you can find me with the same pen name in adultfanfiction (dot) net. Kindly refrain from going to that sight if you aren't over 17.
The Portrait from the Attic
Chapter 7
Sasuke glanced as his watch and then at the door, wondering how long Naruto was going to wait before returning to the party as himself. Excusing himself from the group of people that were surrounding him, he told them that he was going to check on his wife and then return. He smiled with pride as the Hiashi Hyuuga complimented his pretty "wife". A few others agreed with him and joked that they would probably leave their wives if "Nikki" had arrived alone and available.
Sasuke frowned as he exited the ballroom. On his way out, he had noticed that Neji Hyuuga was not in sight. He couldn't help but have a bad feeling about it, so he hurried up the steps. Just as he got to his bedroom door, he heard a loud thump. Sasuke froze for a second and then pushed the door open. What he saw him baffled his mind and he tried to make out what he was seeing. Naruto was standing, holding the dress he was wearing up with one dress, shoulder's bare, and wig askew. Naruto's back was to him and the blond man had turned to look at Sasuke with fear in his eyes.
Across the room, Neji was scrambling up from the floor, his eyes looking wild in terror. The man was looking all over the room before his eyes landed on him, and then Neji composed himself, still looking frightened but smoothing down his clothes.
"Evening, Uchiha," he said.
"What the fuck is going on in here?" Sasuke asked, confusion giving way to rage. Seeing Naruto half dressed with some other guy in the room opened to door to so many possible situations, and none of them good. But knowing Naruto, he knew that him cheating was like 1% to none. Unless alcohol or drugs were involved. Plus the way Naruto was holding up his clothes... Neji was somehow the instigator, and boss or no boss, Sasuke wanted to kill the man.
"Nothing," Hyuuga responded, glancing around the room one more time. "Just a misunderstanding." Naruto walked past Naruto, nodding his head once to him and saying in a nervous voice, "My apologies. I won't bring it up again."
As he walked past Sasuke, he was stopped by a tight grip on his arm. Neji stared into Sasuke's eyes as the other man glared at him. No words were shared and Neji was let go.
The room was silent for a bit after Neji walked out.
Naruto finally spoke.
"Sasuke?"
"Just what was he doing in here, with you, alone?"
"He followed me... said he wanted to talk about something."
"And were you just going to change in front of him?" Sasuke asked, moving toward Naruto and motioning to his state of undress.
"No, I..."
"What happened." The question sounded more like a demand.
"He... he tried to..." Naruto stumbled over the words, embarrassed beyond belief of what he was trying to say. "He wanted to..."
"Touch you?" Sasuke finished for him.
"Yeah," Naruto whispered, dejectedly.
"You should have kicked him out."
"I didn't know that was what he was planning when he came in!"
"I warned you about being alone with him! Just to never let it happen! Your stupid fault he tried to take advantage over the fact that you were up here by yourself! Although I guess its a good thing you were able to push him away from you or something. Did you kick him?"
"No! It was like someone yanked him away from me!"
"What?!"
The fear that Naruto had felt when he watched Neji hang in the air without anything holding him returned.
"He just hit the wall twice and was hanging there for a couple seconds before being dropped..."
"Are you on drugs?"
"What? No!"
Sasuke stared at Naruto as if he were crazy. "I think you should just stay here. Forget coming back to the party as yourself."
"But... but Sasuke!"
Sasuke turned around and walked out the room.
Naruto stumbled to the door as he heard a click. He tried the handle and realized that Sasuke had locked him in from outside. The thought of being trapped alone in the room with whatever attacked Neji scared the shit out of him. "Don't leave me in here!" Naruto pleaded, hitting the door. After a few minutes of calling out to Sasuke, he realized that the man wasn't going to come back to let him out. Naruto moved away from the door and quickly finished undressing, tears of frustration threatening to fall from his eyes. He put on his lounge pants and looked around the room, making sure the lights in the bathroom, ceiling, floor lamp, and table lamp were all on. He got into the bed and picked up Kushina's diary. Maybe he would be able to distract himself by reading it.
X
Sasuke was smiling politely as he made his way back to the ballroom. He danced with a few ladies, all married and just wanting to dance, and chatted with his colleagues and supervisors. He even managed to politely speak with both Hyuugas at the same time, Neji still looking somewhat pale but composed. Despite the calm exterior, Sasuke was slowly boiling over. He wanted to tear the man apart for laying his hands on what belonged to him. And at the same time he wanted to go upstairs and claim Naruto. But he knew if he did that, he would probably hurt the blonde to the point of screaming and draw attention. So he tried to calm himself down and wait till after the party. And then he would go in stages were he didn't even want to touch Naruto, thinking about how Naruto's body was almost defiled and the thought of someone else touching his body disgusted Sasuke. Maybe he would just make sure Naruto took several showers before touching him again.
When he glanced at the doorway that led out of the ballroom, he was somewhat startled to see what looked like Naruto in the dress standing by the door. But then it was gone and Sasuke decided that he wasn't going to actually drink anymore alcoholic beverages for the rest of the night.
X
Dear Diary,
I feel both happy and sad. Each time we make love, its always so gentle. But my love for Sai is so grand that it just makes me want to be so wickedly wild with him. But he always forces me to submit to his pace, pleasure so great that it's almost torture. And the way he holds me... I can't help but feel his grand affection. But why isn't it enough? He is so sweet. But I can only suppose that it is an animalistic passion I crave. I know that loving my husband's body is my duty as a wife, and that carnal pleasures by itself is a sin... but is it a sin to lust after my husband's body so? That is the only way I can describe this burning sensation in the bottom of my body and soul... a desire so abnormally large that I can't help but wonder if it is a sin worthy of hell.
And I find myself becoming jealous of Rey. While Sai gives me gentle smiles, the look he gives my brother makes it seem as if he has a closer connection. I get so mad that I find myself hating the sound of Rey's name falling from Sai's lips. Even though Rey is unaware, I can see some of the moments he and Sai share. Rey has very little tolerance for Sai, and that angers me more. My beloved wastes his time paying attention to someone like Rey. If only he spent more time paying attention to me, then I'm sure I would be happier.
But cursed heart, I feel so guilty thinking that way, too. Rey is my only family, and he is my life as well. Without him, I would not exist. Sai's love would not be enough. He is my only family that shares my blood.
I can only hope that my heart will soon be soothed.
Naruto closed the book, perplexed. Kushina was slowly turning into a lunatic, and he was somewhat saddened, knowing that this wasn't a fictional piece of work but an autobiography in the most truest form. Her entries had all been entertainingly borderline smutty, and then the last few entries were somewhat melancholy.
He did, however, feel somewhat connected to her. They were the same yet completely different. Both felt trapped, her by her love and lust for Sai, him from Sasuke's utter emotional dependence. She craved Sai's touches, Naruto craved Sasuke's respect. They both felt lonely, her from not spending enough time with Sai, his from not having anyone else but Sasuke.
Naruto glanced at the phone by his bedside and wondered once more why Kakashi Hatake hadn't tried contacting him. Maybe the emergency that sent him out was really bad.
Naruto set the diary down, seeing that he was a little more than halfway through. He hoped that Kakashi was at least getting a lot more information from Rey. If anything, other than her love of Sai, Kushina was a rather private person, even with her own journal. She talked a little bit about her feelings, and only events that made her feel loved. She only spoke of Rey and never mentioned her family or of her past. It was as if she only lived for the day, for that hour, or that moment.
The sound of the music from downstairs had already faded, and Naruto could only assume that Sasuke was waiting on people as they left. He decided to take a quick shower to get ready for bed. When he stepped into the running water, he did his best to clear his thoughts and let them run with the warm water. Just as the thoughts of Kushina's written passages, and the memory of Neji being thrown, were fading away, Naruto thought he felt something cold run up his back instead of down.
Naruto's eyes snapped open as he turned around.
There was nothing with him and he could feel the water sliding down his body. Feeling slightly shaky, Naruto stepped back under the running water and tried to finish rinsing himself off. His heart was pounding as he mentally told himself that it was just in his imagination, that whatever had pulled Neji off of him was gone and wasn't going to hurt him.
He then felt the cold feeling run up his inner thigh.
Naruto stared down between his legs. Despite the warm water, his left leg had goosebumps on his thigh. But once again, there was nothing there. Then he felt that cold feeling again. His eyes widened as he felt the feeling go back up his other leg, much more slower than before. The water rolled down and flowed around the area of his leg that felt like it was being touched.
Naruto shut the valve and stumbled back, shaking. He watched in horror as the shower curtain began to raise up as if a wind were blowing from inside the room. The air felt heavy and Naruto felt as if he couldn't breath. The shower curtain grazed his body. Naruto let out a cry and pushed the curtain aside, scrambling to get out of the tub. The curtain seemed to meld around his lower body, tripping him up. Naruto crashed to the floor and the oppressive feeling was gone, leaving him gasping for air as he lay on the cold floor.
Naruto pushed himself up off the floor, yanked the towel from the hook, wrapped it around his body and ran out of the bathroom. He stopped and turned to look back, panting and shivering.
Naruto let out a yelp as the bedroom door swung open.
Sasuke stood there with a key in his hand, giving him a weird look.
"Now what are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked as he closed the door.
"The bathroom! Something grabbed me!" Naruto stated, pointing at the room.
Sasuke looked towards the bathroom. He looked back at Naruto, an eyebrow raised. "All I see is a mess. Maybe you're just flashbacking to whatever it is that Neji did to you. Don't leave yourself open like that again, you stupid idiot. I'm going to take a shower. Dry up. I don't want your wet hair on my pillows."
Naruto stood there flabbergasted as Sasuke went into the bathroom without any hesitation.
Could he have been over reacting? But the curtain moved towards him! Then again, there was a vent in the bathroom. Could the air have just kicked in strong enough to make the curtain rise like that? But what about the feeling of something going up his legs and back? He really couldn't think of any explanation for that one.
Shivering, Naruto dried himself off and put on his pajamas. He crawled back into the bed and waited for Sasuke to get out.
Several minutes later, Sasuke also got out of the shower, toweling off his hair. Naruto looked away, slightly embarrassed at seeing Sasuke completely nude and bathed in all lights of the room. Sasuke turned off the bathroom light and made his way to the dresser. Sasuke but on just a simple set of boxer and made his way around the room, turning off the lights. He left the one on his bedside on for last, getting into the bed without a word.
Naruto couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Sasuke?"
"Go to sleep, Naruto," came Sasuke's annoyed voice, as he turned to his side, back towards Naruto.
"But Sasuke?" Naruto whispered.
"Dobe, I'm tired. If you want to stay here, shut the fuck up. Or I'm locking you out of this room."
The thought of being completely alone again terrified Naruto to the core.
"Goodnight," he whispered, and lay there with his eyes open, staring up into the ceiling.
Soon he could hear Sasuke's even breathing, signifying that he had fallen asleep. Naruto couldn't help but feel lonely once more. He closed his eyes and tried to will himself to sleep. But then he began to feel a heavy pressure against his body again. Eyes opening, he panicked when he saw what looked like a black mass above him. It wasn't solid, it was almost as if it was thick smoke. But he couldn't move. His hands and legs felt like they were pinned to the bed, and he couldn't work his jaw to call out to Sasuke. He felt something slowly sliding up his legs. Naruto could only gasp softly as he felt that something brush past his crotch, and the pressure seemed to intensify and just stay there. He felt what seemed like someone's hands run up and down his side and across his chest.
Tears poured out of Naruto's eyes. He felt like there was someone on top of him. It was almost as if it were Sasuke during the times he was treated gently. He could feel the pressure inching across his chest and throat areas. And it felt like his nipples were being tugged and pinched. And then, for a few moments, he couldn't breathe as that pressure made it's way over his mouth. Then it was gone.
Naruto cried out and sat up, flinging the covers off of him and jumping out of the bed.
Sasuke woke up as well, turning on the light and turning around to look at Naruto.
"What the fuck are you doing?" he called out, groggily and angrily.
"Something was touching me!" Naruto cried out. "I couldn't move and it was all over me!"
"God, dammit!" Sasuke cursed. "You were probably having some waking nightmare from what Neji probably tried to do to you. Just how far did that bastard get anyway?"
Naruto shook his head feverently. "No, it wasn't a nightmare. I haven't fallen asleep yet!"
"Listen, you crazy bastard, I want to sleep and if you're gonna keep waking me up, get the hell out of the room."
"But Sasuke!"
Sasuke got out of the bed and marched his way around towards Naruto.
Naruto looked up at him in fear as Sasuke grabbed one of his arms and began to haul him around and towards the door.
"What are you doing?!"
"Getting you out of my room."
"No! Sasuke, please! I don't want to be alone!"
"Tough shit. I'm still angry at you for letting Neji have a shot at you! And now you're just keeping me awake?" Sasuke continued to drag Naruto out of the room and down the hall, towards Naruto's old room.
Naruto knew he was about to pull a dirty underhanded trick but he really didn't want to go into another room by himself.
"Sasuke, don't you dare kick me out or I swear I'll leave, tonight if I have to!"
Sasuke whirled around and grabbed Naruto from the back of his neck, pulling him forward and mashed their lips together. Naruto slightly struggled, caught completely off guard at the possessive kiss that Sasuke was forcing upon him. Sasuke pulled back and glared at Naruto. "No, you won't," he said, and proceeded to push Naruto into the room.
Naruto stumbled down to the ground, stunned. He snapped out of it when he heard the door shut, followed by a click.
"Sasuke, no!" Naruto quickly got to his feet and rushed to the door. The bastard had locked him in again! Naruto banged on the door, terrified. "Sasuke, please! Let me out! I'll be quiet, just please! Don't leave me the fuck alone! You hear me? Sasuke? Sasuke!!" Naruto called out pleadingly for almost ten minutes before he gave up. Being alone with no one to watch him, Naruto allowed himself to break down in tears.
"Fuck you, Sasuke," he said softly. "Why are you always doing shit like this to me?" Naruto went to the bed and pulled off the blankets. He wrapped them around himself and made his way to the small recliner that was in the corner of the room. He sat in it and huddled up into a little ball. He trembled and silently prayed to any deity that could help him that he be left alone while asking himself why he stayed with the Uchiha.
The man was hot one minute and cold the next. Naruto just wasn't sure how long he could keep trying to keep Sasuke happy.
It was almost dawn when Naruto finally fell asleep.
X
Sasuke glanced upstairs as he finished making breakfast. He had unlocked the door to Naruto's room earlier in the morning, and was a bit disturbed to see that Naruto had fallen asleep in the chair instead of the bed. And while he did feel a bit bad for locking him in the room a second time that night, Sasuke wasn't regretting that he was able to sleep well without Naruto around to throw a fit. He thought back to the night before and frowned.
He had assumed that Naruto had thrown off Neji, judging by the state that the long haired pansy was in. But Naruto had claimed that something had pulled Neji off of him. And then he claimed that he was touched, once in the bathroom, and then while in bed. If he took Naruto's words seriously, it would imply that maybe something mystical or supernatural was going on. But shit like that always had an explanation and Sasuke refused to believe in ghosts. However, that meant that Naruto was losing his grip on reality, and that scared Sasuke more.
If Naruto were to become crazy, Sasuke would have to do some serious thinking. Naruto would be unable to play the role of Nikki, and Sasuke was not mentally equipped to take care of someone full time. He would have to hire outside help. But that also meant trusting some stranger to take care of Naruto. That would be strangers who would be left alone with Naruto and completely free to take advantage of him while Sasuke was out of the house.
Sasuke shook his head at the thought. No, he would manage somehow. He turned off the stove and put the food on a tray. Carefully balancing it, he made his way upstairs and into Naruto's room.
Naruto was just opening his eyes as Sasuke set the tray on the side table.
"Morning," Sasuke muttered, gently pulling the blankets away from Naruto.
Blue eyes filled with confusion looked up at him.
"Brought you breakfast," Sasuke said, as a peace offering.
Naruto stretched out and rubbed his eyes. "Why?" he asked, groggily.
"Partially to apologize. Mostly because I felt you needed to stay in bed for a bit. You did have some weird nervous breakdown last night, remember?"
Naruto froze as the memories slammed into him. He wanted to argue that what he saw and felt weren't some hallucination due to a nervous breakdown, but what if it was? If he were going crazy, what would Sasuke do to him.
"Oh... yeah," he responded instead, and accepted the food offering.
Sasuke picked up the tray and placed it on Naruto's lap, sitting on the side table. He had served a lot of food on the plate, expecting to help Naruto finish it off. As Naruto ate, he remained silent. Sasuke couldn't help but observe the blond man, doing his best not to pounce the guy. Naruto looked so fuckable, sitting there looking lost and confused. No one to turn to except for him, Sasuke made up his mind to find a way to accommodate Naruto if he was going mental on him. He could pad up one of the rooms and add bars and safety glass to the windows. He could find a way to turn one of his other rooms into an office and set up a networking system so that he could do his work at home instead of the company office.
Naruto picked at his food, eating a little bit nut not nearly as much as Sasuke did. When he set the fork down, Sasuke picked up the tray and stood up.
"Get dressed," he said softly.
Sasuke left the room and headed downstairs to put away the tray and clean up the dishes he used. As he walked up the stairs to check on Naruto, he could hear the kitchen phone ringing. Sasuke frowned and looked around. He was pretty sure there was a phone both in the hallway where the stair case started up just upstairs where the staircase ended. Yet he couldn't hear either phone ringing. He made his way to the upper phone, annoyed. Chances were that the main base was disconnected again. When he got to the top he peered under the table. Sure enough, the phone chord was unplugged. Sometimes these cordless phones and their base sets were more of an inconvenience than anything. He reached under and plugged it in. The phone rang once and then fell silent.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered, seeing that the number didn't register. He turned back to go to Naruto's room. When he got there, he paused. Naruto wasn't in the room anymore. A soft sound coming out of his room caught his attention and he journeyed down the hall. Stepping into his room, he stopped short.
Naruto was wearing one of the dresses Sasuke had ordered to wear out to town should they ever need to head out together. How he had found it, he wasn't sure. Naruto was also wearing a wig, the same color as the one last night but a different style. More simple.
"Sweetheart?" Naruto called out to him, softly. "Can we go into town today? It's so quiet here. And I want to show off the new dress you bought me."
"Uh..." Sasuke lost the ability to put a coherent sentence together. While Naruto did look stunning in his costume the previous night, his mannerisms were drastically different than what he was seeing now. Naruto's eyes looked blank, but he was smiling and moving like a shy person. Almost like those annoying women at the bars when they were trying to get his attention.
The smile on Naruto's face faded as he slowly pulled off the wig. Then, almost robotically, he took off the dress and walked to the dresser that had some of his clothes and began to change.
This alone was strange to Sasuke. Even though they had been together for so long, Naruto always partially hid himself while changing. In fact, he preferred the room to be dark when they had sex. It embarrassed him to no end to be naked in front of Sasuke in broad daylight or in a room that was brightly lit.
Naruto finished changing and proceeded to walk past Sasuke.
Sasuke reached out and placed a hand on Naruto's arm.
Naruto violently withdrew, his eyes snapping onto Sasuke in terror. He huddled against the wall.
"Naruto?"
"Please, sir... this isn't right," Naruto stated, a tremor in his voice.
"Naruto, what is it?" Sasuke felt his own heart beating fast, even thought his face didn't show his alarm.
Naruto shook his head and slid out of the room, walking fast towards the stairs.
He stopped at the very first stop and turned to look at Sasuke.
This time his face was full of confusion.
"Is the phone ringing?" he asked, pointing down the stairs. The faint sound of the kitchen phone ringing could be heard.
"What?" Baffled by the sudden change in behavior and tone in Naruto's voice, Sasuke could only react in a semi normal behavior. He glanced at the main base at the side of the stairs and saw that once again the wire was not connected.
X
Kakashi sighed as he hung up the phone in the hotel's waiting room. He moved aside and allowed the person behind him to use the phone.
His grandfather had taken a turn for the worse. It seemed the blood transfusions that the family had participated in was not enough. The three weeks that the doctors had estimated would be an ideal recovery time now became an unknown timeline of impending death.
But he was a bit concerned about what was going on back home. He had read most of Rey's journal, and he was also concerned about the articles that he had read. His grandfather, knowing of Kakashi's insatiable thirst for historic knowledge, told him where to find some articles that revealed a shameful secret of the Hatake's past.
"I've been to that house a couple times," his grandfather had whispered to him during one of his visit. "When you told me the tenant had died somewhat peacefully, I was glad. But now there are two young men and a girl living there? Are you certain? History can repeat itself. Help them if you can."
Kakashi wasn't too sure what the old man was talking about, until he read the articles. But even then, just what did his grandfather expect him to help the young couple and brother-in-law with? Or could it be that they were living the same secret life as Utamaki and Hatake?
He glanced at the journal in his hand.
He flipped through the book, rereading specific dates that he had come to memorize.
July 21
I have arrived at the Utamaki estate and have met Mr. Sai Utamaki. My family has sent me here to become his apprentice and learn his trade. To be quite honest, the thought of becoming a lawyer bores me, but it is for my family and I must do what I must do, especially since I'm the eldest son. But I fear for my sanity as Sai is a dreadfully cold person. If he sees no point in conversing with me outside of business talk, I will go mad from the silence. Wretched, wretched man! I pity the foolish woman that agrees to become his wife.
September 9
Mr. Utamaki is an actor, a dreadfully good actor. While he stares at me with his cold eyes, offering few compliments but plenty of criticism, he treats clients with respect and amicable behavior. But having lived with Mr. Sai, I can now see the most tiny of nuances of his fake feelings. He may have a charming smile that makes men loosen their lips and women swoon, but I now know that inwardly he probably despises them all. The eyes are but a window to one's soul and I see no trace of humanity in Mr. Sai, even when he is smiling.
October 1
I am most confused. Sai, as he claims he would like me to address him as, has been treating me differently as of late. I gave no thought of it until today, as I was left feeling almost dirty. It started with a few pats to my head and shoulder, but recently Sai has began rubbing my back when he leans over me to study my work. While I have no problem with proximity to my closest of friends, Sai is not one. He is my mentor and, although I loathe to say it, my master. His cold eyes seem more piercing than ever, and I feel like I am being scrutinized. I imagine the feeling I have is what a poor insect must feel when a child looms over it with a magnifying glass. I want to go home, back to my family. But I am not allowed. My family has paid for two years of this torture. And it has only been three months! God, please keep an eye on me. I need all the strength to survive this and Sai's odd behavior.
November 15
He cornered me again as I was coming down the stairs. The foul and vile man. He laughed at how uncomfortable I was and had the gall to state that as my master it was his right to do as he pleased. Then he genuinely smiled at me. It shocked me to the core. I thought he was incapable of such a feeling. 'You make me a better person,' he told me. And I was left feeling confused again at the time. How can one hate a person when he himself feels that you make him better? Oh, but if he would only stop moving in so close to me. I feel like a wingless bird trying to walk past a playful cat, purring away but with deadly claws ready to be unsheathed.
December 6
I was kissed.
December 7
Sai's touches are dangerous. I am scared. It is wrong and even though I shudder at the thought of the man holding me and treating me like some girl, once I am within his grasp I cannot help but give in to his kisses. He claims that my masculine beauty is something that should be cherished. But I know it is a sin! Is this my punishment for not being firm and demanding that he allow me to visit the church every Sunday as I did prior to becoming his apprentice?
January 1
May my soul be spared from hell. I have participated in a grave sin and I do not know what to do. I am alone, with no one but him, and the painful and filthy evidence of what has transpired during last evening.
Rey's own words were startling and alarming enough by this point, and Kakashi could only feel a deep sorrow for his distant relative as he thought of the later entries.
Kakashi told himself that he would try calling Naruto again. It frustrated him that he never seemed to get through. The phone would either ring without being answered, or it would ring busy. It was almost as if something was keeping him from contacting Naruto.
The person got off the phone and Kakashi moved to it to try calling Naruto's house again.
Right before he dialed, his cousin Rin came running in. "He's suffering a heart failure!" she wailed, gaining the attention of the Hatake family.
Concern and grief overrode Kakashi's mind as he hung up the phone and hurried to join his family.
Four days later, Kakashi was told he was chosen to get his grandfather's remaining affairs in order; final bills that the insurance money will cover, funeral arrangements, and when life support was to be shut off. The journal, the news articles, and Naruto, were temporarily forgotten.