Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!
2nd Disclaimer: The songs and lyrics mention in this fic do not belong to me! Nu-uh! The songs in this chapter are: "DARE" by the Gorillaz, "Hands Down" by Dashboard Confessional, and "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's. Lovely song!!!
Sky-eyed Kitsune: Wa! I got more reviews!? –goes into coma from happiness—
Gomi-kun: Finally, a little peace and quiet around here. -.- Wait…--stares at audience—Geez…since she's in a coma I have to give the whole blab speech thing, don't I? –audience nods in unison—Sigh, so troublesome…ok, here goes.
Hey people. It's Gomi-kun here. Uh…yea. What else am I supposed to say again? Um... You know, forget the whole boring blab thing. Just read and review. -- --smacks Sky-eyed Kitsune.
Sky-eyed Kitsune: Wa!?
Gomi-kun: Get up; you have reviews to reply to, idiot.
Reviewer Replies:
To Gemstones: yea, a lot of the characters in this fic are OOC. I luv cool Naruto too! Not a social reject!!! As for his relationship with Neji working out….muahahaha! Evil author no tellie:3 Thanks for your lovely review!
To Arekkusu94: Wa! Thank you soo much! X3
To HeyBabySoSad: 0.o –stares at chainsaw—Eep!!! –runs to laptop—I typin!!! I typin!!! Thanks for the review!!! –gives cookie then resumes typing rapidly—
Chapter 5: Hands Down
"It's coming up."
"It's coming up."
"It's coming up."
"It's coming up."
"It's coming up."
"It's coming up."
"It's DARE."
The Copper Lounge was alive as strobe lights flashed and dappled the walls neon blue and pink. The DJ pumped up the stereo system loud, one hand pressing the side of his headphones to his ear. Waiters passed by the bars, delivering drinks weighed down with strong alcohol to already smashed buyers. Hot bodies grinded up against each other, shocks traveling up spines with every touch and brush.
"You've got to press it on you."
"You just think it."
"That's what you do baby."
"Hold it down, DARE."
Iruka raised an eyebrow as he entered the club, S.T.R.A.Y following close behind him with their instrument cases and what they could carry of Shino's drum set.
"What's up Iruka?" Kiba asked beside him. Iruka shook his head.
"The owner of this club, Jiraiya, told me that this was an eighteen and under club…"
Kiba shrugged. "A gig's a gig!"
Neji nodded in agreement.
Shino pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
Naruto said nothing.
"Ok, let's find Jiraiya," Iruka said, looking left and right.
"HAHA! GOTTA LOVE THE LADIES!!!"
"Found him," Iruka said flatly.
The group followed the boisterous laughter reverberating from the halls of the already loud club, and they came upon a door with two guards on either side.
"Names," the burly one on the left demanded, holding out a clipboard.
"Iruka Umino," Iruka said. "We might also be put under S.T.R.A.Y.
The frightening man checked the clipboard, and permanent frown marring his faces and setting the scars across his skin alight.
"Ok, go ahead in. Call me if you need anything. The name's Ibiki," the man said, and the other on the right with dark sunglasses hiding his eyes akin to Shino's opened the door for the group.
They huddled in the room, and found a private lounge in the back with comfortable couches and a personal bar. The room was obviously for VIP members.
"There he is," Iruka pointed. In the back an older man with long white hair, spiked all the way down from the top, sat laid back in a comfortable and large royal blue loveseat. Red tattoos adorned his face, marking lines down from his eyes to the underside of his chin. He wore a red business shirt, half unbuttoned at the top, with white pants and black dress shoes. In one hand he held a cigarette, and in the other a martini. The slight pink shade over the bridge of his nose indicated that he was close to being drunk. His arms were stretched out, each over the shoulder of two much younger women with way to much make-up on and wearing low-cut dresses that left nothing to the imagination.
"What a perv!" Kiba blurted, and Iruka slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Shh! He owns this club!" Iruka hissed.
"So?" Kiba retorted. Iruka rolled his eyes.
"That's who's going to pay us," Neji answered for Iruka. Kiba pouted as they group approached Jiraiya.
"Mr. Sanin?" Iruka asked the loud man as he took a swig of his disgusting drink caked down with alcohol.
"The one and only!!!" Jiraiya replied, chuckling in his throat like an old frog.
"This is S.T.R.A.Y," Iruka waved a hand in the direction of the four teens.
"Ah, yes! The entertainment!" Jiraiya cried as if remembering the route to a gold mine. "You boys are all right on time! The club is definitely ready to be really shaken up! Right ladies?"
The women next to Jiraiya put on sickly sweet smiles and giggled, and Jiraiya boomed with hearty laughter.
"Here ya go, give a good show!" Jiraiya said, handing an envelope to Iruka from his inside shirt pocket.
Iruka took the envelope with a nod and opened it, pulling out a check. Iruka's eyes grew twice their size as he stared at the paper.
"M-Mr. Sanin-!"
"Haha! Call me Jiraiya!"
"J-Jiraiya! There's almost double the amount we agreed on in here!"
"There is, eh? Get yourself a nice haircut then! Haha!"
The four teens peered over Iruka's shoulder at the check.
"Wow! Not bad for only one gig!" Kiba said proudly, and the band agreed.
Iruka walked up on stage wearing his black jacket and jeans, and tapped the microphone timidly.
"H-Hello?" he said, and the DJ stopped the music, currently the song DARE by the Gorillaz. The crowd turned their attention on Iruka.
"What's up hot stuff!" someone from the crowd shouted, and Iruka turned tomato red. He swallowed down his embarassment.
"Please welcome your onstage entertainment for the night, the band of LA soon to be featured at the famous Hyp'::e!, S.T.R.A.Y!"
The audience clapped wildly as Iruka ran off stage and the black curtain behind him lifted to reveal Naruto and the band. They all were in their band attire, each one wearing what suited them.
Shino wore a black jacket that snuck up at the collar and covered his mouth, his normal black sunglasses, and a pair of dark blue jeans.
Kiba sported a black tee-shirt with the image of a gray wolf over it, a maroon dog-like collar, heavy eyeliner, ripped blue jeans with chains dangling off of them left and right, and red painted triangles under each of his eyes.
Neji wore a black long-sleeved tee-shirt under a short-sleeved russet jacket, bringing out his dark honey locks, with a pair of auburn jeans.
They all looked utterly gorgeous and even mysterious, but Naruto was the one that made the stage glow more than the strobe lights ever could have.
He sported a black tee-shirt with the image of a grinning crimson fox on the front, its teeth sharp daggers. He wore black jeans, loose but not baggy with chains hanging off the left side, a black choker, small line of eyeliner that brought out the whisker-like scars on his cheeks and clashed beautifully with his sun-kissed skin. His blonde hair seemed even more spiked than usual even though he used no gel, and to top it off, he wore bright red contact lenses that made almost an evil aura appear around him. His band mates called this his "killer fox mode". Naruto always seemed so much more determined than his shy self, and his grin was nothing short of a fox-like one.
Neji had to contain himself from dragging Naruto back stage.
Naruto approached the microphone, his black and orange guitar slung around his shoulder, and ten of his fangirls that had snuck in squealed with delight.
"What's up everybody!" Naruto said enthusiastically into the mike. His fangirls swooned and the crowd cheered.
"Welcome to the Copper Lounge, owned by Jiraiya! Can we get a spotlight on him over there?"
The lights moved from the band over to the private lounge door Jiraiya now stood in front of. He grinned and bowed.
"Ok ladies, there he is! Remember what this guy looks like…"
Jiraiya posed and winked at the spotlight.
"Because he's the biggest perv you'll ever meet!"
Jiraiya's giddy grin dropped as the whole club busted out in laughter, including the band. Well, they had the money, so what did it matter if Naruto cracked a joke. The crowd turned this attention back to Naruto and his band as Kiba plucked the first few strings of their first song on his back-up electric guitar.
"Let's make some noise!!!" Naruto shouted into the microphone, and the crowd screamed back at him as they began.
"Thanks you!" Naruto gasped after their fifth song.
"We'll be right back after a quick break to finish up! We'll hand it over to the DJ for now!"
The crowd awwwed disappointedly as the curtains closed and the band went backstage to the dressing rooms.
"Just two more songs left and then we go out with a big bang!" Kiba said enthusiastically, grinning like a maniac. How could he still be so riled up?
The stage lights had been murder, obvious by the beads of sweat dripping down the faces of the band members.
S.T.R.A.Y parted to their separate dressing rooms to take their brief ten minute break.
Naruto closed the door to his dressing room, hot and sweaty, and his throat soar from screaming lyrics and bellowing melodies to the ears of the wild club. He took a swig of the water in his hand and sighed, his mouth finally receiving its desired incentive.
He then grabbed the towel from the rack in the bathroom linked to the side of the room, and rinsed it with water under the sink. He rubbed it over his face, removing his eyeliner and cooling his hot and sticky skin. Naruto threw it by the sink, and grabbed another towel, wetting it as well. This one he plopped on his head, and rubbed it gently against his blonde locks, removing the ones plastered to his skin with sweat.
Naruto threw the towel around his shoulders, the water cool against his blazing and perspiring neck. He turned to the mirror in the full length mirror in the bathroom, adjusted his shirt, and reapplied his eyeliner, looking as delectable as ever.
There was a knock at his door.
"Yea," Naruto replied, his voice cracking. He ran a hand along his neck as if to caress his windpipe and hope it healed by the simple motion. He turned around and saw Neji sit down on the neon green couch in the room.
"That was great, Naruto," he said, smiling genuinely. Naruto couldn't help but smile back.
"Thanks," Naruto said, removing the towel from his shoulders and laying it on the coffee table in front of the couch as he plopped down next to Neji.
"How's your voice?" Neji asked. "Is it sore?"
Naruto nodded and Neji shook his head sadly.
"It's a gift and a curse, isn't it?" he said, looking at Naruto. "Being able to sing with the best of the angels, but losing your voice afterwards, ne?"
Naruto gave Neji a small smile and nodded.
"Does it hurt?" Neji asked, and Naruto confirmed again with the subtle forward bobbing of his head.
"Naruto, Iruka tells you to drink a lot of water…but I might know a different way to help your throat."
Naruto looked at questioning eyes at Neji.
"Close your eyes," Neji said, and Naruto did so. He trusted Neji more than anyone he knew. (With the exception of Iruka)
-------------------------------------------------T-16 PEOPLE---------------------------------------------------
Suddenly Naruto felt a soft pressure on his lips and his eyes flew open. Neji was kissing him, barely applying pressure. It was so soft that Naruto wasn't even sure if Neji really was kissing him. Naruto's eyes moved to half-mast as Neji placed a hand behind his neck and tilted his head forward, giving the kiss more pressure so as to make itself apparent. Neji was definitely kissing him now.
Neji rubbed the thumb of his free hand against the scars on Naruto's left cheek soothingly, and Naruto thought he would melt.
Naruto gripped the front of Neji's shirt lightly, steadying himself so as not to fall back onto the couch…but unfortunately he failed and that's just what happened.
Naruto let out a small gasp as he fell on his back on the couch. Neji chuckled.
"You ok?" he asked, and Naruto nodded. Neji grinned and moved so that he was over top Naruto with a leg on each side of him. He dipped his head down, his silken chestnut locks falling like russet curtains around his face. He brushed his lips against Naruto's teasingly.
"Good," he said, and captured Naruto's lips.
Gods Naruto looked so hott with his hair tousled and wet, strands of golden locks falling to brush against his shoulders. His eyeliner, his outfit….it all just fit together like a puzzle, shaping a walking sex god.
This time Neji didn't hesitate. He was hot and sweaty and didn't give a damn. He broke away from Naruto, who whimpered a bit as he flung off his jacket and shirt. Naruto would have done the same if he could, but he was half pinned down by a certain brunette. Outside the walls the DJ's song could be heard echoing.
"Breathe in for luck, breathe in so deep. This air is blessed, you share with me."
"Nejiii," Naruto whined the best he could with his broken voice.
Neji leaned back down to Naruto seized his lips quickly but softly. Naruto griped through the kiss again, letting out a small whimper. Neji pulled back and looked at Naruto quizzically.
"N-Neji…shirt…" Naruto managed with his voice. Realization hitting him like a ton of bricks, Neji eased a bit off of Naruto, and reaching his fingers up sun-kissed skin, he helped Naruto out of his shirt, throwing it to the ground before plunging back into recesses of his mouth.
"This night is wild, so calm and dull. These hearts they race from self control."
Neji anxiously asked Naruto for entrance to his mouth, brushing his tongue along the surface of his golden angel's soft rosy lips. He was surprised when Naruto parted his lips so quickly, but nonetheless indulged in his flavor and relished his additively sweet taste. Neji rubbed his left leg up against Naruto's right, receiving a small groan as a reward.
"You're legs are smooth as they graze mine. We're doing nothing. We're doing nothing at alllll…"
Neji wrapped his arms around Naruto's middle, pulling him closer to his chest and elevated a bit up from the couch. Naruto felt Neji's heart beat echo through his own chest as they pulsed together side by side and Neji's took up the rhythm of his own. Naruto ran his fingers up Neji's back, tracing his spine and setting the route his hands took aflame.
"My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me. So won't you kill me? So I die happy."
Neji kissed Naruto passionately, Naruto throwing back his head to allow Neji more entrance into his mouth as he raced his sun-kissed hands up Neji's back.
"My heart is yours to fill or burst; to break or bury, to wear as jewelry. Whichever you prefer."
Neji arched his back as it blazed under Naruto's touch. He released his grip over Naruto's middle, letting him fall back a bit onto the couch. Neji attacked Naruto's temptingly tanned neck, kissing, nuzzling and nibbling it affectionately. Naruto groaned, spurring Neji on in his devouring of Naruto's neck.
"N-Neji…" Naruto gasped.
"Naruto…" Neji purred into Naruto's neck. Neji let his hands travel down the blonde's bare chest, accompanied with more groans from the golden-hair teen beneath him.
"Hands down, this is the best day I can ever remember; always remember the sound of the stereo, the dim of the soft lights…"
Every touch, every brush, every kiss was felt; sending sparks through skin and flames up spines. Naruto suddenly sat up, in turn pushing Neji up and off him.
"Naru-"
Neji's question was stopped dead and answered when Naruto attached his lips to Neji's and kissed him fervently, running his slender fingers up and down the ashen skin of Neji's chest. Naruto steadily moved down Neji's jaw, planting cloud nine kisses with each meeting of Neji's skin and his lips, until he reached Neji's neck and bit down on it; first gently, then hard.
Neji let out an ecstatic groan, and Naruto worked on Neji's neck for a moment until he was pushed back down onto the couch, Neji following, and kissed Naruto so senseless that Naruto almost forgot where the hell he was. Naruto pulled Neji's neck down, begging for more of the ocean, more of the beach, more of his taste and touch. Neji ran his hands up from Naruto's waist, up his bare sides, to his neck, and then back down again to rest on his waist, sending Naruto into oblivion.
"…and you stood at your door with your hands on my waist, and you kissed me like you meant it. And I knew that you meant it. That you meant it…"
Neji kissed Naruto feverishly but lovingly, Naruto making soft noise of pleasure through the kisses. Neji bit down lightly on Naruto's lip, and Naruto jumped from surprise. Neji softly caressed his blonde angel's lips to soothe him, and Naruto could have turned to mush at that point. Neji kissed up Naruto's jaw line and over his ear, then moved back down near his neck.
"A-ah!" Naruto suddenly gasped as Neji kissed the underside of his chin where his jaw and neck met. Neji couldn't help but chuckle a little. He had found Naruto's soft spot.
"That you meant it…"
Neji slowly kissed that spot, delicately as if a single brush with his lips would break Naruto, then started to apply some pressure.
"Neeeehhhh," Naruto groaned. "Neeeji….Neeeejiiiii…"
This was not doubt the best day of Neji's life.
Neji bit down on the spot hard.
"NEJI!"
Kiba's ears perked up and he dropped his shirt as he heard Naruto cry out Neji's name from his dressing room. He flung open the door and zipped down the hall, stopping in front of Naruto's door only to meet Shino there.
"You heard that?" Kiba asked anxiously, and Shino nodded.
"Naruto!" Kiba called, rapping on Naruto's door loudly.
"Oh the hell with it!" Kiba cried, and kicked open the door, stumbling in with Shino on his tail.
The duo froze at the sight of their two red-faced and panting band mates sprawled half naked out on the couch in the dressing room. Their faces wore that of surprise at first, then Neji's molded into nothing short of a pissed off glare.
"See! How come we don't do that!?" Kiba suddenly shouted at Shino, whipping around to face him.
"We did this morning," Shino sighed.
"That was this morning Shinnoooooooo!" Kiba whined, putting on a puppy dog face.
Shino shook his head and lead Kiba out of the room, shutting the door behind the two of them.
Naruto and Neji were frozen in place, their heated make-out session thoroughly interrupted.
Naruto let out the breath he had been holding and Neji looked down at him, panting.
"I-I'm tired Neji," Naruto said as he caught his breath as well. Neji frowned a bit.
"Dammit Kiba…" he grumbled.
"No! I-it's no them. I'm just tired now."
"Hey…" Neji began to smile. "Your voice is back."
"It…it is!" Naruto said happily, and he reached up to hug Neji.
"Thank-you, Neji," he said. Neji smiled and sat up, placing Naruto in his lap.
"No, thank-you Naruto," Neji said quietly, burying his face into Naruto's beautiful sunbathed locks.
"For what?" Naruto asked.
"For everything…for existing…for being you…but mostly…"
Naruto's eyes were beginning to tear up from the sheer love and kindness of those words.
"…for tasting so good." With that Neji nibbled on Naruto's soft spot again.
"Ne-Neji!!!" Naruto cried in surprise and pleasure.
-----------------------------------------------------END T-16---------------------------------------------------
Where were they? The song ended freaking four minutes ago! Now the audience was just chatting loudly, waiting for the band to givetheir grand finale. Where the hell were they!?
Iruka began pacing back and forth on stage, biting the nail on his right index finger nervously. Shino and Kiba were on the stage, positioned with their instruments, but where were Neji and Naruto!? They couldn't finish the performance without the lead singer and guitar and the bass player!
"What could they be doing!?" Iruka suddenly said, throwing up his hands.
Kiba snickered a bit at Iruka. He knew exactly what they were doing.
Shino rolled his eyes at boyfriend and flipped his drum sticks around in his hands absent-mindedly.
Suddenly Neji and Naruto went speeding past a dumbstruck Iruka and grabbed their instruments.
"Sorry about that!" Naruto said into the microphone, and Iruka was surprised that his voice wasn't weak or cracking. The crowd screamed wildly as the band started their finale.
"You had me worried there, Naruto," Iruka said, patting his adopted son on the back as the band walked back out to a large black van.
Naruto grinned and gave his guardian a thumbs-up.
"I wouldn't leave you hanging like that!" he said.
Neji smiled as he walked beside Naruto, then his expression became somber. All he had left was tomorrow…just one more day to see that smile, to hear that laugh, to feel those golden locks. And then he was gone.
S.T.R.A.Y and their manager hopped into the van after packing up their instruments into the back.
Iruka yawned at the wheel. They had already driven one hour and had about five minutes to go before the he and the band reached home. It was about midnight.
He glanced in his rearview mirror and couldn't help but giggle a bit.
The band was sound asleep.
Kiba hand his hand interlaced with Shino, his head resting on his shoulder as he snored softly. Naruto was curled up against Neji, his head below his chin and resting against his chest. Neji's arms were wrapped protectively around Naruto, holding him close and creating a safe haven against nightmares, and his head resting on his blond locks.
Iruka smiled and turned up the radio a bit as a soft song came on.
"Hey there Delilah what's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away but girl tonight you look so pretty, yes you do. Time Square can't shine as bright as you. I swear it's true."
Naruto shivered a bit and gripped Neji's shirt, snuggling his head into his firm chest. Neji cradled Naruto closer, the warmth of their hearts beating against each other spreading through their bodies like a blanket.
"Oh, it's what you do to me. Oh, it's what you do to me. What you do to me."
Iruka turned left a bit sharply due to the sudden curve in the road, but no one stirred.
"Hey there Delilah I've got so much left to say if every simple song I wrote to you would take your breath away, I'd write it all. Even more in love with me you'd fall, we'd have it all."
Iruka turned onto Ocean Avenue as carefully as possible so as not to disturb the teens.
"A thousand miles seems pretty far but they've got planes and trains and cars. I'd walk to you if I had no other way. Our friends would all make fun of us and we'll just laugh along because we know that none of them have felt this way. Delilah I can promise you that by the time that we get through the world will never ever be the same. And you're to blame…"
Iruka turned into his and Naruto's drive way, their house being the closest out of the band.
"Oh, woooahh, ohh…"
Iruka turned around to the back and gave Neji a small nudge on his arm.
"Neji," Iruka said quietly so as not to wake the others. Neji mumbled something incoherently and gripped Naruto tighter.
"Neji," Iruka said a bit louder, and this time shook his arm.
Neji opened his eyes groggily.
"We're back. Do you want to take Naruto inside before you come back and drop you off back home?" Iruka asked, and Neji smiled and nodded.
Neji carried Naruto into his room bridal-style, Naruto snuggling his head close to Neji's chest.
Neji reluctantly placed the sleeping blonde in his bed and pulled up the covers over him.
Neji brushed back a few stray locks of Naruto's golden hair that fell into his eyes, and moved his hand to caress his sun bathed cheek. Neji smiled when the snoozing Naruto pressed his cheek into the warmth of Neji's hand.
"One more day left, Naruto…" Neji thought. He leaned down and gave Naruto a brief but soft kiss on the lips.
"…and I'll make sure it's one to never forget."
Yay! Guess what? After the next chappie, which is gonna be short, new characters will finally be introduced! YAY!!! Comment and tell me who you want to see first!!! X3
Sky-eyed Kitsune and Gomi-kun