LIMERENCE

(n.) The state of being infatuated with another person.

Slowly with the edge of his brush, Naruto glided the red paint over the blue, blending it out with ease, shades of red and blue were evident, slowly transitioning into a deep violet.

At this point, Naruto didn't really know exactly what he was painting, he just worked on a empty canvases to practice colour technique.

All he really wanted out of this session was to ponder over the somewhat daunting and unusual opportunity he had at the moment.

As a painter, this opportunity was a dream most artists would jump on the chance to represent one of the top art organizations in their country, yet Naruto found himself hesitating.

At this point of time, Naruto couldn't afford to be so picky with his options for the purpose of finding solid work so he'd have the chance to meet again with a childhood friend of his despite of the fact that he had nearly forgotten his friend's name and appearance since the coma incident, it just seemed to have fogged his memories.

After careful consideration, Naruto glanced at the business card Sasuke had left on the small table of paint, made up his mind to accept the chance he was given.

Winning was a whole other plan though. In spite of that fact, when Sasuke had arrived in his apartment, the dark eyed man was evidently impressed by the focused observations of Naruto's art that was carefully decorating the walls, so it seemed Naruto still had a good chance.

Got this far… Can't turn back now. Naruto reminded himself with thick determination as he collected some yellow after dipping the brush in red to carefully shape a flower on the canvas.

Soon his mind and body focused into his art activity before his mind wandered to thoughts of his father Iruka, childhood friends, and birthdays.

Naruto truly did come a long way since then. In light of the fact that Naruto no doubt lead a hard beginning, he turned out fine if not amazing due to the fact he had been lucky to have Iruka as a good parent.

A smile snuck on his face when he began to recall the best out of plentiful good memories he had with Iruka. Birthdays were always great with cake, presents, and the feeling of a community. Although Naruto was rough and incredibly clumsy with things, the set of Gutsy Ninja Shippuden, frog wallet, and old pajama hat―he didn't wear it anymore but it was too important to throw away―they were the things that slowly made Naruto who he was.

The Gutsy Ninja Series enabled the belief Naruto could achieve any goal by never losing focus of his dream or friends.

The ending however left him feeling muddled a little. The main character had ended up with the shy, pretty girl. It wasn't bad, Naruto had thoroughly enjoyed the entire series, only the ending felt a little… dissatisfying. The main character chased after a friend who was consumed by fierce grief and anger for three years, just drowning in sorrow and darkness, losing himself to it.

Regardless of how many times he was told it wasn't worth it he never stopped pursuing his friend, desiring to save him from himself; eventually after many losses and pain, the main character had reached the ultimate battle to a potential death with his best friend, in the end both survived, but the suffering friend was at peace, the main character had gotten through his heart and fixed their bond. Only to end with a brief reclining of friendship, but had soon parted ways again, an epilogue followed and revealed that the two close friends had grown apart as adults with wives who had lost their character development.

To be honest, Naruto would have preferred if they had both died together.

The man consumed with darkness could only be saved by the bright, heroic main character because the protagonist never gave up on his unbeatable faith that his best friend could be a good person no matter what. Heroic and sincere, the hero was more than prepared to die with his suffering friend. Both were willing to throw away their dreams and aspirations for each other. The dark character knew this, and found his heart accepting the idea of dying along the hero who was his best friend, the only one who could ever stand in his way of rebuilding the world by destroying it.

Of course if the finale had been death, Naruto would without a doubt have cried from the long novel series, but the idea didn't bother him, he would have approved of the way things ended, it would have been their legacy.

He continued his painting until his arm began to ache from overuse, washing his brush in water and setting it down on towel paper. Wiping his hands on his old jeans of the water left on his hands, Naruto got to his feet, hearing his knees crack from the sudden transition from sitting to standing.

Time to shower… The mirror offered Naruto a clear view of different shades of blue, and orange dried on the tips of his bangs and cheeks.

Stripping away the dirty clothes, Naruto noticed how dark it was out from his window, it must have been pretty late by the lack of people gliding down the grayed streets with their loud footsteps and chatter.

Naruto didn't need to worry though, because he had the day off tomorrow, and would need to make a call to Shikamaru for a proper explanation for what had happened in the café earlier, and who was the new stranger exactly.

Something about the stranger passed Naruto off beyond comprehension, which was a quaint reaction, the blonde could barely remember a time when he lost his cool so quickly with someone he had the displeasure to meet.

One of the pet peeves Naruto had was running water. He absolutely hated and despised the idea of leaving running water because of environmental issues, on the odd side, he found cold water triggering of old shards of the past when he nearly died in the icy river as a child, but he refused to forget of such memories―They were the last moments he had spoken with his best friend.

Stepping under the showerheads, Naruto twisted the knob to the heat and pulled, cold water punching his skin.

Under the frigid running water, Naruto tightly shut his eyes, recalling the dark sky of that night. Snow fell gently like cotton balls, calmly soothing him when he passed out during that winter night.

Opening them slowly, the momentary memory had faded quicker than last time as the temperature transitioned to a warm spray of water.

Frustration built up, Naruto sighed a little in disappointment, and acceptance of his dilemma.

No use tonight… At night, Naruto would attempt to recall the memories of his near death incident; memories were clear and realistic though little by little each time, the details blurred, faces and voices disappeared. The crumbling memories were alarming to Naruto, because it wasn't just memories that were slowly dissipating, it centered around his best friend.

Moving on with his life would have been a simple process Naruto could accept, it was a contrary situation if he was forgetting his memories with his first friend. Naruto believed―understood that his determination resulted of being saved from years of isolation and pain, to forget the reason for his brighter future was unacceptable.

Naruto would find his friend one more time. To say his gratefulness, and if his friend truly refused to be friends, then at least he'd be able to properly say a farewell this time and end things with a clean conclusion.

Couple of days passed by, close to a week. Not much turbulence or adventure occurred in Naruto's typical but refreshing days in the city.

Work at the café from the morning till 4 in the somewhat late afternoon. The next two hours were dedicated to giving art lessons to young adolescents in a program he had been hired in due to Shikamaru's suggestion, which was an extreme help since extra money increased the availability to buy healthier foods. Don't get Naruto wrong, he loved Ramen almost as much as he loved sex, but he knew it was vital to maintain a balanced diet with indulgences.

Then the rest of the evening was up to Naruto's mood. Sometimes of he was frisky, he'd spend the night at a club for a night of sexual endeavours. When calm, he'd pick a book of The Gutsy Ninja: Ramen edition which was always good for a heartfelt grin or a grieving moment of tears.

On lucky nights, he'd feel inspired to impulsively slap on wet paint on anything he felt suitable.

Tonight was one of the rare ones, only he was interrupted as he began stippling dots on the canvas by the bring cell phone ring. A clean finger slid horizontally to receive the call as the phone found itself pressed near his mouth and ear.

"Hello?" he automatically asked, drained and a little on the cranky side from the earlier day, filled with chaos and panic.

"You know that the last day if auditioning is tomorrow." Arrogance and shades of irritation had been laced around the smooth tone.

"I know that." He snapped, gliding his hand into his locks of gold, accidentally smudging the thick oily paint into his hair out of habit.

"Why haven't you contact me earlier? Do you even have a prepared resume?" Sasuke nagged with clear irritation, the muffle against the speaker told Naruto that Sasuke had the phone pressed against his face.

"Maybe I forgot." Naruto confessed with mild embarrassment, he never did keep well with schedules.

"Then you better make a note to thank Shikamaru."

"What? Why?" Naruto dropping his hand, placing it on his hip, tilting his head to the right a little.

"Due to his ability to predict your screw ups, he faxed me your resume along with other notable experiences."

"What 'other' experiences?"

"We can discuss the details if you can come out at the top of everyone else participating. Though with your sloppiness, I highly doubt you'd make top fifty. You must be at the scheduled address at 11 am sharp, arrive late and you're disqualified. Bring whatever you need to properly display your skill." There was a 'clink' after his warning, notifying Naruto he hung up.

"Slick bastard thinks he's so fucking classy with his suit and hair. What a fucking joke." The blonde growled under his breath, tossing his blue phone on the coach softly, only for it land oddly and slide to the ground with barely any sound on the carpet floor.

Sighing a little, Naruto approached the phone and his fingers began to pick it up from the side.

Under the couch, Naruto's forefinger had brushed up against something wooden. Curious, Naruto switched from crouching to going on his stomach, his head turned to see what he might have dropped. By sliding his arm in to scoop out the hidden objects, Naruto had found two wolf spiders―which he grudgingly admitted he screamed since they carried babies on their bodies― a rotting piece cheese, some strands of yarn, and a decrepit wooden brush with a messy symbol painted over the fading one.

Staring at the brush, Naruto beamed, his heart relieved that he hadn't lost it. As a genius of losing things, Naruto never lost the hairbrush he was been given for his birthday as an orphan. It wasn't given by Orochimaru or Iruka; it had been his old friend from the original pace he had been brought up in.

Staring at the chipped relic, Naruto found his mind wandering. Promised had been made to keep pushing forward, to find a lost friend of a lonely memory. Naruto just wanted a friend as a kid, just one. But he wasn't allowed the luxury of companionship because of a stained life.

Then when his friend came, everything changed, he finally had meaning to keep living, pursuing a future that seemed brighter than before.

But separated now, Naruto didn't feel satisfied with just this. Yes, he was happy like his dream had been, but what about his friend? Was he doing alright? Or was he suffering too like Naruto had?

The possibility of this bothered Naruto.

Holding the brush firmly in his fingers, he contemplated with slight wonder what his lost friend might have been up to. Talking with friends, working, or maybe he was looking for Naruto too?

Naruto cynically chuckled to himself. Not possible.

Soon after a moment, the brush was placed gently on the drawer in his room. Settling himself into bed, Naruto dosed off, dreaming of foggy whispers of the past.

Slowly, his eyelids fluttered open, vaguely remembering his dream's words. Something about irony and a road of mild displeasure. Feeling the strands of grogginess unwind from his limbs, he sat up, glancing at the digital alarm clock.

9:28 am The clock expressed. Falling back into his plush bed, Naruto puzzled his pillow on his stomach. As an excitable adult, Naruto took ten minutes after waking up to lie in his covers as his brain woke up which helped him get out of bed with bouncing energy for the day.

However, Naruto found it challenging to escape his bed when he bore in mind that he had to face Sasuke and have his art mocked. But then maybe he was wrong, Shikamaru didn't seem to have a problem with Sasuke, so contrary to Naruto's initial impression, Naruto would give Sasuke the benefit of doubt.

After the fatigue from sleeping wore off, Naruto shot out of bed and vacated the soft yellow bed to approach his bright orange bathroom.

Shortly after he cleaned up, brushed his teeth, and ate, Naruto got right to choosing the right colors to bring when he got to―Naruto took the business card and glanced at the address― Jackson Street 19.

Art was a tricky thing for Naruto, it depended on his mood and inspiration that created his artwork. Naruto debated whether he bring oil paint just to piss Sasuke off with the constant waiting for it to dry, stretching it for weeks until he was done.

Laughing at the idea of it, Naruto shook his head 'no' to himself and settled with acrylic paint; the place where he started and found relatively easy and comfortable.

He took the primary, secondary, black, and white paints with him.

By the time he had his paints packed and ready, it was already 10:30.

"Shit…" he cursed to nobody in the room. Throwing on his old shirt and jeans, Naruto reached for his green jacket he had received as a gift from his eccentric friend Rock Lee—whom has an obsession with rich green.

Luckily for Naruto, it had seemed because of the damp weather, not many people were out, so his taxi led a smooth drive across town, the only lively creatures in the roads were children and teenagers bearing neon colours.

A boy with a spiky bunch of blond dreadlocks—half shaved off—was bursting into song and dance, right beside what looked to be his friend. She had dark eyes and red hair tied into a bun. Her expression spoke loudly of embarrassment and irritation with the way her hand was covering the side of her face from his view, and her quickened pace.

Heh, I almost feel bad for what I put Kiba through when we walked to the bus stop…

Finding laughter escape from his throat, bursts of light spread in his chest by the pleasant flashback of his teen years. Those years were the blossoming years of Naruto's confidence.

Meeting friends. Making enemies. Making friends out of enemies. Occasionally making Enemies out of friends.

Just being around that many people at his age was amazing.

Reminiscing in his past found him already at his stop.

Here to

The taxi driver with a sore throat grunted "Yer stop kid."

"I'm not a kid." He corrected, handing the twenty dollar bill(with an extra 5 dollars as a tip).

Snorting, the taxi driver shoved the money in his pocket. "Sure ye are. You're still young and kicking," the wrinkles in the grey eyed man thickened as he scowled, pulling the muscles like cardboard.

"Take care old man." Naruto replied, giving a smile and a encouraging pat on his shoulder before throwing on his backpack and began to lunge at the large company skyscraper.

"Stupid kids these days." Was the last thing Naruto heard from the elderly man before his focus was on the tall building.

Pushing through the glass door, Naruto was ready to ask the receptionist for directions since he arrived early and didn't want to take the chance of getting lost (He was shitty at directions). Instead he was attacked by complete strangers.

A women with wavy hair tied into a sock bun scowled at Naruto as she grabbed his left arm. "What are you doing here so late? The whole documentation started twelve minutes ago!"

"Sorry… I thought I was in ti- Wait, 'documentation'?" Naruto paused "I think there's some misunde-"

"Doesn't matter now, just hurry into the elevator and you can begin stripping." The pushy bald man said, with his circle sunglasses, grabbing his other arm, working with the tall lady to drag him to the elevator.

"What?! Listen baldy, I am not here for whatever you think I am here for!" fumed Naruto, jerking his arms when they began to tug off his shirt.

Both chose to ignore his pleas and when Naruto looked up to witness the horrifying gleam in their eyes, he nearly gave up resisting.

"Listen lady, I am not some enthralling nudist or dancer, or stripper, or whatever you think I am. I'm here for the artist audition!" he hollered, finding long awaited relief when their grip loosened, circulation returning in his limbs as realization dawned on their faces.

The impossibly strong lady turned to the bald man and began arguing about who was at fault for their current dilemma of a missing nude model.

Grabbing his jacket and bag, Naruto sprinted down the hall out of desperate need to escape the crazy pair of workers.

After a couple of seconds of successfully getting away, Naruto found himself grinning out of the absurd situation he was in, chuckling to himself again.

Crazy maniacs…

As a man of business, Sasuke was punctual and organized when it came to work and meetings.

The current time was 11:02 am. Naruto was late.

Does he even realize time is liquid gold? He was useless after all.

"Are you sure we are having someone come in today? It seems they're not here yet." Neji Hyuuga questioned with his distant lilac eyes and frigid tone.

"Apparently no." Sasuke grudgingly answered, irritated that Neji—his business partner—was attempting to place the blame of the situation on him. "…Pass me the resume." Neji abruptly requested with an empty tone, surprising Sasuke that he hadn't left. Just like Sasuke, Neji was a man of pride and ambition, only not as insensitive as Sasuke.

Both classy men had attended the same schools, creating an unspoken agreement that they'd stick together to benefit one another.

Curious to see the reason behind the request, Sasuke slid the resume in front of Neji.

Elegant fingers slid over the folder with "Naruto Uzumaki" written at the front.

For a second, the solid block of lilac had melted into something warm and welcoming when his fingers flipped the files open, bringing out a mild smile from Neji—which was rare.

"Something amusing?" Sasuke questioned with a slight quirk of his eyebrow and a mild frown of disapproval in Neji's taste.

Almost immediately, the pools of pale violet froze solid once again when they met Sasukle's dark gaze. "Perhaps. Why?" the tight jaw and tilt of the head dared Sasuke to push further and ask.

"…Nothing, I was simply curious." It wasn't Sasuke's business, besides, he didn't like getting involved in personal matters. No matter how strong his curiosity was, if he involved himself he'd end up getting close with Neji would result in complications in the future.

"Sasuke!" A voice called out, echoing slightly as the back door finally reveal a rather messy looking blond.

Wrinkled clothing, messed hair, and a slightly worn bag presented itself at the front.

"Naruto what the hell are you wearing?" Sasuke growled, feeling infuriated and embarrassed. Shikamaru had approved of Naruto, which Sasuke stupidly accepted without much proper thought which led him looking like the idiot of the situation. Convincing Neji to come an extra day was a mistake, Sasuke had wanted to show off the 'amazing' new artist he had found to Neji, but instead found himself humiliated.

"What a nice way of asking what happened." Naruto sarcastically greeted with a faint glare, grinning at Neji with his friendly smile. Already close to being done with the situation, Sasuke rubbed his temple with his right hand that was propped up by the table and gave in "What happened?" He groaned.

Taking a deep breath Naruto dropped his bag and began to take out some paints "Well since you asked so nicely, I'll explain. First when I arrived, your workers began stripping me."

Sasuke had his cup of green tea to his lips and passing down his throat before he choked on it, some escaping into his nostrils. Disgusted with himself for not having better control over himself, Sasuke grabbed for the tissues to blow his burning nose.

"Then you're coworkers began to argue when they realized their mistake and I ran over here, which I got lost for about…" Naruto glanced at his wrist for a moment, the silver piece of metal around his wrist was a watch.

"…fifteen-ish minutes. So that's why I'm late… So um…" Naruto shuffled his feet awkwardly, fiddling with the edge of his shirt with nimble fingers.

"What do you exactly want me to do?"

"Paint." Sasuke deadpanned.

"Where?" Blue eyes were swirling in confusion.

"On the floor."

"You're kidding me."

"Just do it."

Glaring, Naruto found his fingers digging into his damp bag for the paints and palette board, along with some paintbrushes he had already packed prior.

"Do you know him?" Sasuke asked in an accusing whisper at Neji since the way Neji carried his eyes and body when it came to Naruto seemed almost too eager and affectionate towards the blond. Last time Sasuke checked, Neji wasn't fond of blonds or anyone that wasn't high class.

If Neji had some kind of affection to Naruto, he would immediately be informed. Sasuke was determined to not lose his chance of coming at on top during the actual competition, Neji wouldn't be allowed to have equal say if he favored Naruto out of the rest.

"Yes." Neji answered softly, his eyes softly stroking Naruto's figure, as if afraid he'd disappear.

"Where?"

"High school."

"What school?"

"FireBridge."

Getting irritated with the one word replies, Sasuke began to take his demanding tone up a notch.

"Neji." He gave a cold glare, his tone a stream of ice, becoming irritated with the avoidance of his question.

Liliac eyes tore themselves from Naruto to return the cold gaze. For the brief moment, Neji examined Sasuke's wrinkle expression of displeasure.

"He's the man I've been searching for the past years."