Hello!
I'm not sure if anyone will really read this, I don't even know how active this website is anymore. I want to apologize, again, however meaningless it is, to anyone who enjoys this story and wants to read more, I truly didn't intend to start something YEARs ago, god so many years ago (AM I OLD NOW?!) and leave it up here unfinished. My mind has wandered here as of late, and I thought of this story randomly and felt such a pang of guilt! I had originally intended this post to be an A/N that apologized and explained that I was going to close this story and maybe even outline the rest of what I had planned to do with it, but as I sat down to type it out instead I started typing the next chapter. So I'm posting it, skip ahead if you don't want to read this annoying A/N, it's down there for real, I promise. I didn't want to stop typing because I know as soon as I do it'll be hard to get to it again but I wanted to upload this.
So here is my meager explanation if anyone cares to know why this story has caused me so much trouble, I began writing this story while I was in a very dark place in my life, without going into details I was pretty down (and I think that you can most likely tell that) However I find that whenever I try to write this story if I'm in anything but a dark place it's useless, it has no honesty or quality to it. Therefore I only write or feel I can write it whenever I am in that dark place that I started writing this in-BUT of course there is a thin line where I feel the urge to write, either I don't feel dark enough to write or I feel so dark that all I want to do is lay in bed and feel sorry for myself, as one does. That and the bothersome society that demands I leave my house and educate myself so I can be "useful" demands my presence and my mind a lot more recently.
Anyways, once again no promises on how long this burst of inspiration will last, I really want to finish this story I can tell you that. Either way, enjoy the next chapter of Shattered!
WARNINGS: Deals with drugs, emotional turmoil, and slight gang violence
DISCLAIMER: I don't claim to own any characters or rights or yeah that stuff
Faces floated through the impenetrable darkness.
Faces of the past, schoolmates and old friends, all of them materializing for only a moment before fading away as quickly as they had appeared. A beautiful woman appeared full of love and sadness, her long hair half covering her blue eyes her steady gaze seemed to see right through a person, vacant and ghostly. Iruka's face came a little slower, his face tired and worn from a life of working but it was a kind face, a genuine expression of his soul. Sasuke's face came next, it was the classic Uchiha face stern and serious, and his dark eyes set in pale skin that seemed like glass clear and apathetic. As the face started to fade, however, it shifted and changed expression, his once blank stony look turned into one of devastation. The obsidian eyes filled with hurt and confusion, and finally, before he completely faded, what seemed to be anger.
Another face came slowly through the darkness. It was angry, full of rage; the features of the face were blurred but not unfamiliar. This face didn't fade like the rest, it grew more real. Larger and larger it grew and the expression changed slowly, oh so slowly, to a hideous grin of satisfaction and sick pleasure.
Try as one might the darkness stayed constant, the face of the man only grew more menacing and seemed to take up the darkness with maliciousness and such crippling fear and a feeling of helplessness. The dark world began to shake.
Slowly but surely a new face began to fade through the evil mans, a face that was a stranger. Red hair, unnaturally red hair sat on his face, his skin was pale and smudged with dirt but not unpleasant. His eyes were accented by dark smudges of eyeliner-or was that dirt? His strange eyes seemed amused and the shaking stopped. This face moved, his mouth opened-
"Finally! You're awake. I almost thought you were in a coma or something."
Naruto slowly blinked, realizing he was alive and now awake. His head was foggy, when he tried to move a splitting pain shot through his skull like a knife, spots flashed before his eyes and he quickly gave up on trying to move. Slowly he turned his eyes back towards the red headed boy. Who was this guy and why was he with Naruto? For that matter where was he? His throat was dry and lips were broken and felt like sandpaper. He licked them and tried to look around the room.
It was dark, there was only a small dim light and Naruto couldn't tell where it was coming from. The walls and ceiling were dark grey concrete, with no decorations and no windows in the room he had no idea where he could possibly be.
"Where am I?" Naruto's voice sounded strange to himself a croaking rough sound. Just how long had he been in that darkness?
"You're with me," The red headed boy answered matter of factly. His eyes hadn't moved from Naruto's face, and he was sitting patiently beside where Naruto lay as if he was expecting Naruto to do or say something. Naruto shot him a look after he answered, was this kid serious?
"And where might that be?" Naruto stifled a groan as he moved his head too much and more pain filled his body.
"It doesn't matter, all that matters is that you're with me and you're awake, finally," the red headed boy's face was unreadable.
"Why won't you tell me where I am?" Naruto was angry, annoyed, and a little afraid.
"Because, unless things work out you can't know where this is," the boy's voice was flat, "not if you want to live."
"That's slightly unnerving," Naruto muttered. He wasn't sure if the boy was being dramatic for effect or if he was being serious. "Can you at least tell me what happened to me? Why does my head feel like it's been somebody's punching bag for a few months?"
"You hit it when you fell," Naruto could swear the red headed boy smiled. "You were running like a lunatic down the sidewalk, in snow, and you fell and hit your head. You were knocked out so I brought you here. You've been out for a few hours."
A few hours…Naruto thought he had been floating in the darkness for days, weeks even.
"I saved you, you were lying in the snow in the middle of the street. Probably would've been dead by now if I hadn't grabbed you. You started screaming a little bit ago so I came in here and tried to wake you up. What's your name, blondie?"
Naruto was still groping in the darkness trying to fit the pieces together, where he was what had happened…slowly he remembered Iruna and her husband, what he had done and why he had run. Swallowing he turned back to his supposed savior.
"I'm Naruto, who are you…reddy?"
"My name isn't important, I don't really have one anymore. You can call me Gaara, it's seems to be what everyone else is calling me nowadays."
"Okay…Gaara. If that's not your name, why do people call you that?"
Gaara shrugged his shoulders and looked completely bored of the conversation already. "You'd have to ask them."
"Who are them? Where am I and why did you bring me here?" Naruto demanded. He was exasperated with this Gaara, and he wanted to leave. The nasty voice in his head knew better, to where will you run now, Naruto? You're in this huge city with no money and no friends.
"The rest of the gang," Gaara leaned forward from where he was sitting and looked straight into Naruto's eyes. Naruto flinched but Gaara didn't even blink. "They are my brothers, and you're in the headquarters of the gang known as the Snakes or as we call it the Venom Brothers. I brought you here because I like the look of you, and you run very fast. It'd be a shame if you died out there."
Naruto couldn't help his audible gasp. He tried to sit up to quickly and the roaring pain almost sent him back into the terrible darkness. He gripped the thing cot he was lying on and fought the darkness away, he remembered the faces that loomed there and he had no desire to see those again anytime soon.
"You brought me into the headquarters of Snakes?!" Naruto fought the panic that he felt rising in his throat like bile.
Naruto hadn't lived in the city for very long but he had stayed around long enough to know the Snakes or the Venom Brothers were the worst and most dangerous gang there was. The nightmare and hellish stories never ceased about the gang and their activities, why on Earth would this red headed boy bring him here? Naruto had no idea what they wanted with him but he knew it would be nothing good.
"Yes. I did bring you here."
"WHY?!" Naruto couldn't help himself from basically screaming the question. Every nerve in his body was on fire he wanted to bolt but he knew that if he so much as tried to stand up at the moment he would simply pass out.
"Because, I think you would be a good brother." Gaara leaned back and became thoughtful his eyes focused on the wall behind Naruto above his head, lost in thought. Naruto sat in stunned silence. Gaara wanted him to be a gang member? Apart of the Snakes?
"Why…why would I be a good brother? I didn't ask for this, I don't want…I can't…"
"You're fast," if Gaara was annoyed or upset with Naruto he didn't show it. "Cobra is looking for new runners, we're running low on them and the need for them is rising. Not only are you fast but you're running from something. This is the safest place you'll find to hide."
Naruto's mind raced but his thoughts seemed scrambled. He couldn't grip on to them and it was hard to focus and think but one thought seemed to surface quickly, safer to hide in a pit of snakes?
"What would happen if I said no," Naruto's voice was almost gone now; he guessed he had been screaming pretty loudly when he was out of it.
"Then you would go back to where you came from, lying cold and knocked out on the street." Gaara's eyes returned to Naruto's, but Naruto found that holding the gaze between them was difficult to do. "If you're lucky. Cobra might feel a little differently and make sure you couldn't talk. We can't risk our operation to be comprised because you're scared."
Naruto was scared, he was horrified. His life kept taking turns for the worse, he noticed, every time he did anything it only ended with pain and suffering. Making the decision to be a part of the most notorious gang would seem to be another decision that could only end badly. However…refusing an offer like this could easily get him killed a lot faster. Or worse things, Naruto mused, there were much worse things than death that the Snakes could do to him. Shivering Naruto looked back at Gaara.
"What do I have to do?"
Gaara's face broke into the tiniest of smiles, or was it a smirk? He stood and handed Naruto a pill with a small plastic cup of what Naruto hoped was only water.
"Take this; it'll help your pain. Then we'll go to Cobra and see what he says." Gaara walked away and started rummaging around in the corner and Naruto looked down at the pill. It was white and had no indications of what it might be on it. The water was dirty but didn't smell. Naruto guessed if they were going to drug him or poison him at least they were getting it over now.
He gulped down the pill and the water, and tried to turn around in the cot to rest his feet on the floor. He managed to place his feet down and put a small amount of pressure on them. The hard part would be the standing. Gaara turned to face him, a bag was now slung over his shoulder and he was standing in front of a door that Naruto hadn't seen while lying down.
"Give it a minute, blondie," Gaara's eyes always seemed to be full of a mischievous and sarcastic humor. He looked to be enjoying Naruto's struggle to stand. Naruto glared up at him but waited to stand.
Suddenly the pain in his head began to reside and melt away like it was never there. Naruto blinked in surprise, he had never had pain disappear that quickly. Gaara must of seen his surprise and gave a short laugh. Naruto wasn't sure he liked the sound of Gaara's laugh.
"I drugged you," Gaara gave him another smirk, "That's the antidote, a mild poison to make sure you didn't do anything stupid before I found out what you were going to do when you woke up." Naruto glared at him, but he wasn't surprised. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what Gaara truly would've done if Naruto had refused him.
Gaara opened the door and beckoned him forward. Naruto stood up, still wary of his head, but the pain was mostly gone and he didn't feel in danger of slipping into the darkness again anytime soon.
Gaara led him through what seemed to be a concrete bunker, the walls were close and there multiple doors on both sides that led to what Naruto assumed to be other chambers like the one he had woken up in. The rooms finally emptied out into a larger room filled with tables, Naruto held his breath as he saw at least fifty other people were in the room, it was dining hall and they all sat at the tables with food and drink. The sound was almost deafening to him as they all were laughing, arguing, yelling and pounding at the same time. They were definitely a rough group, but Naruto thought they all looked happy and friendly with each other.
"All these people, " Gaara was in his ear and Naruto tensed at how close the red head was. "We were all running from something, blondie. We don't care what we ran from now, we only care about each other. That's the beauty of the Snakes. If you're a part of the nest, there's no need to fear our venom."
Naruto swallowed hard but didn't answer. He had hoped to be able to find a way out of the Snake's Nest but as Gaara led him on and on he realized the headquarters was like a labyrinth of passageways and stairs that led both down and up. He had no idea where this could be related to the outside world it didn't make sense. Gaara continued to lead him on until they reached to large double doors. He motioned Naruto a little closer before he pounded on the doors.
It took a moment but the doors swung open. Gaara stepped smoothly through and walked inside, Naruto hurried to follow him not knowing what would happen to him if he left the red head's side for even a moment. The large man who opened the door stepped aside and closed the doors firmly behind them. The room was large, a huge bed stood at the back wall, a large desk on the right whilea sofa and chairs were located on the left.
A huge man stood in front of the bed, he was clad in complete black, Naruto noticed. He was tall and thick muscles rippled on his arms and chest, his face was unforgiving and stern, his head was shaved completely and a scar reached from his forehead to his ear. Two black eyes set in dark skin took them in, Naruto didn't think anything would ever escape those eyes.
"Gaara," the man's voice was low but powerful dripping with venom like a real snake's would Naruto thought suppressing a shiver. "You should've left by now."
Gaara had grown stiff, Naruto noticed glancing to the boy who stood beside him, and Naruto could detect a wave of fear emanating from him.
"I got the new one awake," Gaara bowed his head slightly in a show of submission and motioned to Naruto, "I told him that he could be a runner for the Brothers or go back out on the streets to die. He chose the Brothers."
Naruto suppressed the urge to chew on his lip and shifted his weight to his other foot instead. Ironically, no matter what he did to try to escape danger Naruto always seemed to end up in even more dangerous situations no matter what he did. Maybe it was his destiny, Naruto thought, but then again if destiny was what was guiding his life then destiny could go fuck itself.
"I'm sure he did," the man, Naruto assumed was Cobra, gave a sharp unpleasant bark of a laugh. Suddenly Cobra turned on him. "But that doesn't mean the Venom brothers want him. We Snakes have no reason or need for useless slugs. Gaara says you're fast, he thinks you would do well here. Gaara is too kind, for I think you are nothing but trouble," Cobra sneered at him and spat, "Useless."
Naruto said nothing and couldn't meet Cobra's gaze. Useless was a word Naruto had often used to describe himself.
"He's fast," Gaara said stubbornly. "I saw him. The cops are only getting smarter so we need to get faster, the orders are too much and we can't keep up with them. We might have plenty of Sand but it doesn't matter when we can't get it delivered in time."
Cobra backed away and rubbed his chin, this was obviously not news to him, Naruto guessed, but Gaara was reminding them of their desperate need. Naruto suddenly realized his desperate need for Cobra to accept him. It dawned on him that the man who opened the door had a companion and both of them were armed. If Cobra denied him membership to the Snakes, Naruto was as good as dead.
"I can run," Naruto said quickly, and both men turned to stare at him. "I'm fast and I'm quiet, I won't be useless I can do whatever you need me to do." Gaara seemed satisfied and pleased but Cobra wasn't convinced.
"Says the boy who tripped while running and would be dead if it wasn't for Gaara," Cobra stalked over to Gaara and rubbed his hand softly down the red head's face. "Sweet Gaara, has such an open heart. I should've known he'd bring home a stray snake." Gaara didn't react but he could no longer keep up eye contact, he was gazing at his shoes.
Suddenly without warning the larger man whirled on Naruto, grabbing him by his shirt he yanked upwards. Naruto gasped with surprise was he was lifted off his feet and slammed into the concrete wall. Naruto's eyes flashed and the room seemed to spin. Cobra's face was very close to his face and Naruto was sure that some demon had been the man's father. His face was even more grotesque up close and ever feature seemed to be crafted by some evil hand.
"You might be fast but you're not fast enough," Cobra whispered harshly his eyes boring holes in Naruto's skull. "You try to run and you'll be flat on your face again, but this time with a bullet in your head."
Naruto nodded, his whole body shaking uncontrollably. Cobra laughed his evil cackle again and got even closer to Naruto's face, he hissed. Naruto saw his tongue was split cut like a snakes. Cobra dropped him suddenly and violently and Naruto slammed to the floor.
Cobra walked away and towards his desk.
"Take him on your run, Gaara, show him the ropes. If he doesn't have what it takes…" Cobra let his words trail off and he leaned down at his desk, his attention obviously else where the two boys were dismissed. Naruto scrambled to get up from the floor and disgustedly noticed how his knees and legs were still shaking, why was he always so afraid?
Gaara jerked his head in the direction of the door, turned on his heel and swiftly walked away. Naruto hurried to follow, rubbing the back of his head to check for injuries. Once the doors were securely shut behind them, Naruto noticed he had been holding his breath. He took a deep shuddering breath and turned to face Gaara.
"He's not always like that," Gaara seemed to read his mind before Naruto was able to speak, "being the head of a gang is difficult. We all have had rough lives here and Cobra keeps everyone in line. It's not easy governing a pit of snakes." Gaara chuckled obviously amused at himself. "Come on, we gotta ways to go before we get to the drop off point."
Gaara lead him through many more twists and turns until they finally reached a small room with backpacks and hooks all against the wall, a ladder stood in the very middle. Gaara reached into the bag around his shoulder and withdrew two black garments. They were the same as what Gaara and the rest of the Snakes had all been wearing, black pants and a blank sleeveless shirt with embossed snakes on the shoulder.
"You're not a snake yet," Gaara handed them over to Naruto, "but if I have some random street urchin following me around it'll draw attention. Put these on and stay quiet once we're up top."
Naruto took the clothes slowly and looked down at them dumbly. He stood there for a while looking at the black clothes before he looked back up at Gaara. For the first time since he met the boy Naruto saw a flash of annoyance in his usually unreadable eyes.
"Are you going to change or do I have to do it myself?" Gaara demanded, "I'm already late on this run and I'm getting later every second we waste standing here, hurry up!"
Naruto's eyes flickered around for anywhere he could go for some privacy, but there was nothing. Naruto couldn't quiet place his crippling fear of changing in front of Gaara, why it was so nerve wracking and the very idea of it made his heart beat. It wasn't as if Gaara was going to jump him like…
Naruto pushed the thought away, if the Snakes were going to accept him he didn't want Gaara using something as stupid as changing in front of somebody as the reason he was denied and most likely killed. Naruto tried to make himself feel numb and uncaring as he fumbled with his shirt, or tattered remains of what once was his shirt. He really missed his red mirror; it always made him feel numb.
Pulling the rags up over his head Naruto yanked the black shirt over his head as fast as he could, he felt Gaara's eyes raking over him, watching, studying. The pants came next; Naruto bit his lip, hard. He turned his back to Gaara and ripped down the ripped and ruined jeans to the floor, feeling a rush of cold air. Of course, Naruto thought bitterly, the underwear would go down with the pants, that's just great.
Gaara didn't make a noise though, as Naruto hurriedly pulled the black pants over his bare skin, trying to pull the underwear back on was a waste of precious seconds he decided and threw them along with the rest of his ruined clothes at Gaara, trying to make his expression seem nonchalant but Naruto could feel blazes of heat coming from his face and he prayed that his cheeks weren't red. Gaara grabbed the clothes and tossed them in a box that rested against the wall.
"Ready?" Gaara asked his eyes with just a glint of mocking. Naruto didn't trust his voice he was still shaken by the fact that changing in front of Gaara had caused him such pain and trouble, how many times had he changed in the locker room at college? I'll never be able to do anything normal again, Naruto thought.
Gaara gripped the ladder and quickly climbed, the top of the ladder seemed to just be the ceiling, Naruto saw, it was just as concrete and dull as the rest of the labyrinth. Gaara put both hands on the ceiling and pushed, without so much as a creek or scrape the ceiling lifted up and sunlight blazed down into the room. Nartuo blinked and had to look away.
Gaara continued climbing and disappeared. Naruto walked to the base of the ladder and looked up. What happened next? He stood there for a moment before Gaara's head reappeared, the annoyed look was back as he poked his head over the newly exposed hole.
"Are you waiting for someone to carry you up?" he snapped. " Let's go, blondie."
Naruto grabbed the ladder and scrambled up, pulling himself out of the hole the concrete made he pulled himself on the ground until he was clear, Gaara was behind him and he quickly pushed the concrete back into the hole. Naruto looked amazed at the spot they had left behind, there wasn't so much of a line or crack in the concrete where the hole was, he would never have seen it.
Naruto looked around, the sounds of the city filled his ears and he realized he was back in civilization. Naruto shivered and looked around the snow. He was just thinking of how stupid the sleeveless shirts were when a black blur hit him straight in the face. Naruto freaked out slightly and yanked it down, it was a black hoodie he saw, Gaara was already wearing his.
"Look I know you hit your head," Gaara sighed and stared at Naruto, "but you're acting stupid, get off the ground, stand up and stop looking like someone who's never seen a city before in his life. We need to be unnoticed and fast."
Naruto stood up slipping the hoodie on over his clothes he zipped it closed and pulled the hood over his head like Gaara had.
"If you want to be unnoticed wearing black in the snow isn't a good idea," Naruto muttered rubbing his hands together to keep them warm. Gaara ignored the comment and motioned for him to follow. They were in an alleyway, Naruto noticed some sort of intersection between multiple back roads, old and out of repair buildings rose on either side of them as Gaara made his way through the alleys with deft and obviously practiced ease.
Gaara put a finger to his lips to signal Naruto to be quiet before they stepped out of the alleys and back onto the main street. Naruto forced himself to ignore the busy goings on that were surrounding him, and focused only on Gaara as he weaved his way through the people with a steady and intense purpose.
Naruto followed a million questions in his mind. He stumbled only once when a man stepped out in front of him, when he looked up Gaara was gone. A wave of hot panic washed over him, where had he gone? It had only been two seconds how could he possibly have disappeared. Then a second thought came to him, wouldn't now be the perfect time to escape? Gaara had left him he hadn't run…the thought was tossed out quickly, it didn't matter Cobra had meant what he had said. Besides where would Naruto run? There was no way in hell he would return to Iruna's house, and the rest of the world was a stranger to him. He would have to find Gaara, that was all.
Naruto started forward in the same direction Gaara had been going before he disappeared. He hadn't taken more than four steps before hands reached out and grabbed him. Naruto didn't even have a chance to struggle, he was pulled to the side and into the shadows. Whirling around Naruto saw with a mix of annoyance and relief it was Gaara who had grabbed him.
"Pay attention," Gaara growled, "pay attention to everything and everyone around you. Believe me you don't want to get caught off guard."
"Why? Who would mess with the Snakes? And why did you just veer off like that?! I had no idea where you had gone," Naruto refused to take the blame. Gaara refused, however, to be goaded. He turned and continued down the alleyway he had pulled Naruto into, and Naruto hadn't even seen the opening before Gaara yanked him in there.
"Besides the cops there are multiple rival gangs against us, the Snakes have no friends except the snakes," Gaara explained calmly, "and even that's not a sure thing. Going up against the others is bad, but what's worse is getting caught. The Brothers won't stand a chance of you talking whether you plan to or not, it's too risky. So if you want to live…don't get caught."
Naruto had nothing to say to this, the Brothers were not very pleasant that much was clear and it seemed all the rumors about how ruthless they were was well founded. Gaara seemed to be decent, he supposed, but whether he was showing small kindness for Naruto's benefit or his own was still to be determined.
Gaara stopped suddenly by a door, causing Naruto to almost run into him. Gaara knocked lightly twice and twisted the doorknob, not enough to open it but enough to be noticed. Naruto was about to ask but Gaara held up his finger again signaling absolute quiet. The door opened slightly and Gaara stuck a bag through the opening. Dirty greedy hands grasped the bag and slammed the door shut. Naruto blinked in surprise.
A small scratching and shuffling noise came next and Gaara knelt to the ground, as Naruto watched several dollar bills were pushed through the bottom of the door, Naruto didn't get a good count before Gaara snatched it up but he noticed several hundred dollar bills were in the pile Gaara carefully placed in one of the pockets in his bag. Gaara didn't stop but continued on without a word.
As they went on Gaara got continually faster, each stop would slow them down a bit but Gaara would increase his foot speed each time til they were practically running. After they finished the sixteenth drop off Gaara led Naruto up a fire escape. Leaping up he gripped the rooftop above the last platform and pulled himself up. Naruto followed his example and, with less grace and ease, was able to clamber up the roof edge and made his way to where Gaara was sitting, overlooking the rest of the city. More like a dump.
Before Naruto could ask any questions Gaara held up one of the bags he had been passing off to people. It was a plastic bag full of what looked like grains of sand.
"This is Venom Sand," Gaara said shaking the bag.
"What is it?" Naruto tried to get a closer look but Gaara pulled the bag away suspiciously. He raised his eyebrows.
"You don't even know what it is? It's the highest demanded drug around here right now. It's pretty crazy," Gaara gazed down at the bag in his hand and Naruto thought he almost sensed a longing in his voice. "It's the newest sensation, bringing all the joy and high you could never get before. The Brothers are the first and only ones to have this drug; it's actually how we got the name. The gangs hate us for it, the cops hunt us for it, and we get rich and powerful because of it. This is why we need you, runners get hunted down and caught by gangs who want the sand and cops who want the sand, and we've lost a lot of runners recently. I'm one of the only ones left and this thing has gotten big, so big we don't have enough man power to get this out to the people who order it."
"So I'm carrying the world's most dangerous and wanted drug around and handing it off to addicts who are probably crazy, in withdraws, and might think that they could get more of their money worth if they shoot me and take my bag," Naruto said frankly thinking of how stupid he was. How did he always get caught up in messes like this?
"Cobra has instilled enough fear in our clients that wouldn't try something like that, and if they do…well that's why you need to run fast," Gaara gave him a wickedly sly grin and dangled his legs off the side leaning back to look at the sky. "We need to run to get away but also to deliver as much and as quickly as we can, Cobra doesn't take this lightly. Sand is how we get our money, its how we keep control and protect ourselves. You can't mess it up. Cobra will make sure you don't do it again, ever. If you go fast, Gaara reached his hand out and grabbed Naruto's hand. Naruto flinched and went to pull it away but Gaara turned the hand over and slapped something into Naruto's palm.
Naruto looked down to see a wad of money, more money then he thought he had ever held in his life at one time. He carefully counted it, five…six…seven hundred dollars in his hand right then just…sitting there.
"If we're fast the clients give us tips," Gaara explained, "and if you're fast enough you can get quiet a large amount of tips, especially if you add a little extra Sand in their bags. That's the tips for today. You can have them, I usually get more. This is just a taste of what you get with the Snakes, blondie. Whatda think?"
Naruto gazed down at the money. Running and being a delivery boy gets him this much? The Snakes provide protection, a place to hide, a place to stay safe (ish) and…some kind of purpose for him, something to do. But that something is drugs, bad drugs, in a GANG, that nasty voice whispered. Wasn't that fitting, Naruto thought, he had once heard someone say that people's one desire was to find their place in this world…after all that had happened maybe this is where he belonged, this was the kind place he was to take in the world. He pushed the nasty voice aside and gripped the money. Looking up he met Gaara's eyes.
"I think I'm ready to be a Snake."
There you have it, hopefully my urge and desire to finish this story will once again rise up and I will conquer Shattered and feel at ease with it being completed.
Or I might just go eat some pizza or something.
Either way thanks for reading!