Last bit of Chapter 16:
Adrenaline, nerves, compulsion, excitement and fear filled Naruto. All of it together and indistinguishable. All he could do was act on the entire jumble of emotions.
It was a very interesting night for the two of them – full of new and exciting and above all, surprising experiences.
So this is what Iruka meant by de-flowering . .
xXx
Chapter 17:
Naruto stretched. He grinned. Comfily. He frowned, no, the word was comfortably, wasn't it? Anyway – the world was good. The grin returned.
Then his face froze. Where was the familiar warmth he was always attached to? (1)
The blond boy rolled over sleepily. He sat up. He stared at the bed. He stared around the room.
Then, frozen in disbelief, he realised he was alone.
On the bed, where Sasuke had lain, there was a note. Naruto picked it up with a strangely shaking hand.
xXx
Two hours earlier –
Sasuke was lying on his side, black hair splashed out over the pillows. Although his smile was small, it hadn't gone away – in a long while.
He'd been trying to pin-point what felt so different and eventually he realised he was utterly relaxed. It was a new feeling, an entirely welcome feeling.
Naruto lay on his stomach just next to Sasuke, against Sasuke. His blond hair fell slightly across his smiling, sleeping face. Sasuke moved it back – running his fingers through – just doing it again and again because he could and it was nice.
Exhausted, he decided it was time for sleep. He relaxed one arm across Naruto's back and nestled into the blond hair.
When he was still, the sounds from above drifted through the broken window. He heard hammers fall and shouts: men were beginning repairs, they must have come into port.
The crew spoke loudly, various conversations were audible. His ears picked up one. Soon they were all talking about that one thing.
Sasuke could not move for an instant, not believing his ears. Then he sat bolt upright in the bed. He listened and placed his one hand over the chain around his other wrist . . .
-Frashoo – backoo-
Two weeks ago – (2)
Concentration. Meditation.
Sasuke glanced round disdainfully, very bored. He had done this, his entire life!
Kakashi set even more store by it than the bloody palace trainers.
Urgh.
He and Naruto sat back to back. On this particular training day, he concentrated on his centre of magic.
He was distracted by anything.
Today it was the chain: a source of frustration and the reason for his proximity to a certain blond boy.
Sasuke glared at it. His glare faded. So that's how . . .
It was actually quite simple, Kakashi's work. Could it really be that easy?
Unable to resist, the Uchiha pressed magic into a certain part of the chain, and click.
He stared at it in barely masked disbelief.
Now that the chain was open, Sasuke discovered that he had mixed feelings toward it.
He hadn't yet, but he could take it off. He saw blond hair out of the corner of his eye and heard Kiba's yelling and frantic footfalls from Kurenai's close-flying ship.
'Put your dagger down, Hinata! I know it wasn't funny. I'll never do it again!'
And with a click that was barely audible even to Sasuke's own ears, the chain was once again, firmly in place.
-end of frashoo – backoo-
Sasuke frowned and unlocked the chain silently. He crawled out of the bed, pulled on he boxers and shirt and ran to his cabin for clothes.
When he'd gotten to the galley, he put the radio on very quietly and held his ear against it. His blood ran cold at what he heard. It couldn't be true.
And yet everything confirmed it.
He swore. He knew what he had to do.
Back in the cabin, he grabbed a scrap of paper and a quill. He placed the note on the bed next to . . . next to Naruto.
Sasuke stood above him for a while, just looking, smiling sadly.
He murmured, 'So this is goodbye, baka.'
xXx
Naruto's hand didn't stop shaking as he read Sasuke's precise and flowing scrawl;
'I'm sorry to do this now, but I have no choice. I have heard terrible news which means my situation has changed, and my place is no longer here. Do not look for me, I have to do this alone -
-Uchiha Sasuke'
Naruto looked at the chain around his wrist and down its length to the other, open, end.
-frashoo – backoo-
This meditation thing was new to Naruto. Uncomfortably new.
What the fuck are you supposed to do?
Concentration he'd at least heard of before – many people over the course of his life had said he lacked it entirely.
He sighed.
He was fiddling with the chain, as usual – twisting, pulling, trying lock-picking techniques with the piece of wire he always had handy.
Wait –
Had that been a click? (3)
He looked down. It was so simple! It was open!
The question was, what should he do now?
Naruto was distracted by the sight of Kiba running along Kurenai's deck, Hinata at his heels, gripping a flashing blade. What had the dog-boy done now?
Naruto felt the familiar warmth against his back – he and Sasuke were sitting back to back.
'Put your dagger down, Hinata! I know it wasn't funny. I'll never do it again!'
Before Kiba's yells faded away completely, Naruto removed his piece of wire. He kept the chain on, and clicked it closed.
-end of frashoo – backoo-
The blond boy wondered when Sasuke had figured it out. He wouldn't know now would he?
He sat up straight.
No, he would find out. He'd find the stupid teme and beat some sense into him.
A good whack over the head, that's what Sasuke needed.
Alone, my arse! He gripped the note in his hand, he would find him.
Naruto sprung up, threw the door open and ran into the corridor.
A few steps later, even through his shock and anger, he realised everything was far too breezy. So he went back for his boxers and proceeded to charge to his cabin for clothes: Sasuke's were already gone. He'd known they would be, but he swore nonetheless.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! Teme!
Where are you?
xXx
(1) limpet boy:D
(2) back in time . . . to the past, man . . .
(3) -snort- Little Pirate apologises, every time she writes the click, she reads 'dick' :P fanfiction has done things to her mind . . . an over-active imagination is one of them. It is a bit disconcerting at times, but sometimes it most amusing :)
So - Naruto's retrieval attempts were cut short due to breeziness (snigger snigger) - poor boy. But, he's never one to give up, or even to let running through kakashi's ship in his birthday suit, delay him for very long . . . Go Naruto! Fetch! Bring back the Uchiha and knock some sense into him!
Sorry about the wait, everyone :( But the chapter is here!
Hope you enjoyed!
Again - excuses: little pirate was in namibia - on a river. and big pirate was in england - on a canal . . .
sigh - distance!
but hopefully a few moments of amusement were worth the wait . . . enjoy!