[FIC] Down the Rabbit Hole (2/14+Epilogue)
DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
AUTHOR: fantasylover12001
RATING: R to NC-17
DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Naruto, yadda yadda. I also do not own any plot ideas/scenes from the movie Spirited Away from which this is heavily influenced by.
PAIRINGS: eventual SasuNaruSasu, KakaIru, mentioned LeeSaku and other random pairings
AUTHOR NOTES: Well, like I said...these updates will take awhile as the chapters are somewhat longer then what I’m used to writing (I average about seven to ten pages a chapter these are at least fifteen pages long). But hey, all the more fun right? So once again, do not bug me about when the next update will be because I honestly can’t say.
CHAPTER 2: NOVEMBER
The next week or so began what Naruto soon realized would be a daily routine. First, he would wake up and pull on his clothes. Sasuke would usually be up before him and could be found in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Naruto would sit down at the small round table in the kitchen and Sasuke would silently sit a plate or bowl of whatever the man had decided to make that morning. Whatever it was, the man was a surprisedly good cook. The two would then sit and eat. During this time Naruto would try and engage Sasuke in conversation but it usually ended up with him carrying on a one-sided babble fest. So far his attempts to make Sasuke smile had failed miserably.
After breakfast Sasuke would disappear to do...whatever it was the man did during the day. Naruto wasn’t sure on the details to be honest. As for Naruto himself, he would spend the day either drawing or exploring the large and very tall tower that was his new home for now. He found so much to draw and ideas for art that he was rather afraid he was going to go through the pencils in his bag and the three sketch books he had with him.
Then around midnight (or midday, he was still getting used to the fact that nights were considered days here) he would head down to Iruka’s classroom. He would wait till the man was finished and then the two would have their lesson. This was when Naruto learned about the world around him. He learned about what to do and not do around the spirits that came to visit Konoha frequently. There were so many different ways that one could offend all the different spirits that Naruto decided that it would be in his best interested to just keep his mouth shut. It would be difficult but it was better then either being protected by Sasuke or getting eaten by an angry spirit.
It was during these lessons that Naruto and Iruka became fast friends. True, the man was older but he understood where Naruto was coming from, having been in the same situation himself. The two found humor in their observations of the spirits. Iruka was also happy to hear about what changes had taken place in the human world while he’d been gone. Having lived over a hundred years ago, Iruka found the technology Naruto described to him fascinating.
“It’s almost as if humans can do magic now!” he once said as Naruto tried to explain what the computer and internet were.
While the spirits who were in the tower frequently grew used to his presence, Naruto didn’t dare venture to the village on his own. It wasn’t that he was scared, technically. It was that he couldn’t forget the hostile looks he had gotten on his last trip there and so decided to be cautious around the rest of the villagers until they also grew used to him. It wasn’t as if he needed to leave anyway, everything he needed was in the tower.
Just above the ground floor was a large cafeteria-like place where all the residents or visitors could eat. Above that, was a huge library that took up the next three floors with seemingly any type of book imaginable and in several languages. Plus, it was just downright fascinating to watch the residents themselves.
From what Naruto could tell (and from what he managed to squeeze out of Sasuke and Iruka; well mostly Iruka) the building was like a government office building. Lady Tsunade was evidently in charge of the whole village and dealt with it’s politics and protection. He often saw her in the hallways followed by a woman named Shizune who Naruto learned was her bodyguard.
The other people that lived in the building were the villagers protectors, called Shinobi and this was what Sasuke, Kakashi, and the white haired man Jiraiya did. From what he learned, Jiraiya was head of all the Shinobi in the village. Kakashi was second in command to him, while Sasuke was third. According to Iruka, these three men were some of the hardest working men in the village and Naruto believed it. Often, Sasuke would come back just before the sun rose and he always looked exhausted.
This was what prompted Naruto to get back to the apartment early and make dinner for the two of them. Contrary to what Sakura and Lee had thought, he knew how to make more then just Ramen. Ramen just happened to be his favorite food so he made it the most often. Cooking the dinners made him feel at least a little helpful somehow. He wouldn’t be able to officially start his duties until two or three weeks when he had more lessons and knowledge under his belt. Until then, he was basically laying around and feeling like a mooch.
Sasuke and Iruka were not the only people that Naruto got to know. Kakashi would check up on him in the mornings (he suspected as a request from Sasuke but he never confirmed it) and though the man was slightly perverted, Naruto couldn’t help but like his laid back attitude. Though wondering what was under the mask on his face drew him crazy sometimes. Once every other day, Sasuke would come home with a man named Shikamaru, who always wore a slightly bored expression on his face and had dark brown hair that was pulled into a spiky ponytail and dark brown eyes. It was apparently a ritual for the two of them to sit in the living room and play games of either Shogi or Go. Despite his lazy nature, Shikamaru usually won which surprised Naruto.
Naruto also became friends with Kiba, the man with the giant dog he had met earlier, when the two shared lunch in the cafeteria. This also meant he became friends with Kiba’s friends who also ate with them later on. First was Chouji, a large light brown haired man who constantly ate but was friendly and at times painfully blunt. There was also Shino, a strange man with spiky dark black hair, sunglasses that never came off, and who wore high necked shirts in a similar fashion to Kakashi but talked even less then Sasuke did (which Naruto didn’t think was possible, but there it was). Lastly, was Hinata, a girl with short blue hair and strange white eyes who was painfully shy and stuttered a lot. Naruto couldn’t help but wonder how on earth she managed to get together with Kiba who was even louder then he could be. Still, he liked her. He liked them all actually, even with their strange habits and quirks (how on earth did Shino’s glasses ALWAYS STAY ON, he personally suspected magic). By the time he had been there two weeks, Naruto realized he liked it in this odd world he was thrown in.
SasuNaruSasu
Daily patrols were quite possibly the most boring thing about being a Shinobi, Sasuke thought as he opened the door to his apartment. But they were a necessity, as evidenced by the human currently staying with him. Speaking of whom...Sasuke frowned and looked around the living room warily. Naruto wasn’t there as usual. His futon was out, and a few books lay on them but the person was no where.
He went into the kitchen and frowned further when Naruto wasn’t there either. There was a bowl of pasta ready and waiting to be heated up however. He glanced at it and then opened the door to his small library and found Naruto sitting at his desk, fast asleep with his head buried in his arms on top an open sketchbook.
Sasuke shook his head and then decided to let the blond be for the moment. He went back into the kitchen and after a well placed heating spell, ate his food. After he was done he went back to the library and after a moment’s hesitation, gently picked up the sleeping blond. For a full grown male, the blond was rather light. Then Sasuke smirked; of course the blond was also small for his age as well. Not that any of them mentioned it; they realized after the first few times that Naruto was rather sensitive about his size when he took his anger out on the first unfortunate soul who commented on it. Kiba claimed that he still felt that punch even though it had been more then a week ago.
Naruto shifted and Sasuke paused in his walk to the door, but the blond only moved his head so it was tucked under Sasuke’s chin, which caused him to tense. He couldn’t remember the last time a person was physically this close to him. Not that people didn’t try, he just generally avoided being touched. Unlike the rest of the spirit world he did not indulge in sex freely. His kind generally stuck with one mate throughout their afterlife and he had yet to find someone he would even consider mating with.
Besides, right now with his duties and a certain person to kill, a mate would be (in Shikamaru’s words) troublesome. Having someone to worry about and protect would just invite more hassle. It was bad enough that Tsunade had stuck him with this human to take care of; Sasuke frowned down at the bundle in his arms as he thought that.
With a bit of maneuvering, he managed to get Naruto onto the futon. Naruto had slept through the entire process. In fact he had started to snore by the time they reached the living room. Sasuke rolled his eyes at that and went back his desk because he was somewhat curious on what Naruto had been working on. The blond was forever scribbling pictures in his sketch books and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was the blond drew. So he picked up the book on his desk and went to the start and stared at the first picture. It was a realistic sketch of a man and woman that Sasuke had never seen before. The man wasn’t the most attractive person in the world with round dark eyes and a odd bowl cut but he had a mega watt grin on as he held a small woman in his arms with short hair. Below the picture in the blond’s messy writing was the message: ‘Lee and Sakura. They just told me they’re having a baby! I’m going to be a godfather!’
‘So these are the friends he keeps mentioning’ he thought. Then he couldn’t help but be puzzled over why the blond was so afraid of a small woman and then shrugged. The next few pages were several small rough sketches of what looked to be random people in a city. Then there were a few people sitting on what looked to be a transport of some kind. He believed the humans called them buses.
Then came the sketches from Konoha. There was the sketch of the dragon guardian, several rough doodles of the buildings on the main road. Then came the ones of the villagers themselves which included messy messages as well. There was one of Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and even Tsunade looking annoyed as Shizune lectured her in the halls. The notes Naruto wrote were interesting because they seemed to include Naruto’s thoughts on the event or person taking place. For instance next to the sketches of Shino was the question “How do his glasses always stay on?” By Kakashi’s portrait in bold letters was the message: “Find out what is hidden behind his mask!” Sasuke snorted at that. He had known Kakashi for almost two hundred years now and had yet to see what the rest of his face looked like.
Then came other random villagers and moments as well as sketches of...himself. There were quite a lot of sketches of himself actually. Naruto didn’t have many messages by his sketches aside from one by the first portrait which said ‘How come Sasuke never smiles?’ He frowned at that and closed the sketchbook. For a few minutes he looked down at the sleeping Naruto and then just left the sketchbook by his bed.
SasuNaruSasu
The days continued normally until the end of Naruto’s second week when in the morning he got a message from Tsunade to come up to her office. Wondering if he had done something that he was not aware of, Naruto rode the elevator up to her office. When he got there, both she and Shizune were there and looked at him when he entered. “Come in, Naruto. Would you like some tea?”
“Sure,” Naruto said as he sat in one of the red plush armchairs. He was normally more of a Ramune kind of guy but he wasn’t about to refuse a woman who just yesterday punched Jiraiya through a wall in front of everyone. According to Iruka this was a normal occurrence, the two always argued, but it was still a pretty vivid image and only reaffirmed his opinion that he should not piss this woman off.
So he took the cup of tea that Shizune offered him and sipped at it, eyeing the woman in front of him warily. “So...you asked me up here for something?”
“No need to look so nervous, Naruto. You’re not in trouble,” Tsunade said with a smirk. Naruto realized that she knew how uncomfortable he was around her. “I have a small task for you. Technically, you are supposed to be working for Sasuke but he won’t mind this I’m sure, as he’s out of the village for today. I need you to pick up a delivery for me.”
“A delivery?” Naruto asked in surprise.
“Hmm..I had a set of knives ordered from the Weapon’s Yard in South District. But they don’t deliver so normally I have one of the Shinobi’s pick up my order or I do it. Unfortunately, the whole lot of them claim they are busy and Shizune is holding me hostage here in my office until I finish signing all these damn papers.” She gestured to the large stack of papers on her desk. Shizune sighed at the woman’s over dramatization and rolled her eyes at Naruto behind her back, causing the blond to involuntarily grin.
“Sure, I guess I could pick it up for you.”
“Wonderful! Here’s a map of where you need to go. When you get there just tell them you’re there for the Hokage’s order and TenTen will know what to give you if the others don’t.”
Naruto took the slip of paper and finished his tea. After giving a polite bow he headed down towards the village entrance. At first, as he headed down the main road, nothing was amiss. There were villagers wandering up and down the road shopping. It wasn’t until he reached the central marketplace in the square that he noticed all the stares and whispers he was getting. Naruto felt a bit of amusement at it in between feeling annoyed about it. ‘I feel like I’m back in high school instead of among a town of hundred year plus spirits’ he thought. It was eerily similar to when he first came out in high school and everyone found out his preference. Back then though, he had Sakura and Lee to back him up. Now he was on his own. Still, he could hear Sakura’s voice in his ear saying the same thing she did back then. ‘Just ignore them, Naruto. Eventually they’ll get bored and move onto much jucier news then the resident gay guy.’ The situation was slightly different but the advice was still sound here. ‘They’ll get used to having a human around,’ he thought firmly and then walked forward more confidently.
Eventually, he got to South District and entered it. As he made his way down the main road he smelled a familiar smell and let a big whoop, startling several villagers in the process. “RAMEN!”
He made a beeline in the smell’s direction and sure enough, there was a small ramen stand. ‘Thank God! I was beginning to wonder if they had any ramen in this world!’ The blond dug around in his pockets for the money Sasuke had given him earlier that week. The money he had was no good in this world so the man gave him a weekly allowance to buy things like food in the cafeteria which had to be bought. Naruto quickly counted the odd gold coins and glanced at the menu. He had more then enough for at least two bowls.
‘I’m sure Tsunade will understand if I pause for a few minutes to get some lunch’ he thought as he eagerly ordered two bowls of miso from the man behind the counter. ‘It’s even more delicious then I remember!’ he thought giddily as he slurped down the noodles in record speed, causing the people in the stand to stare at him in disbelief.
“That was great stuff, Mister,” he complimented the man who served him.
“Uh...thank you,” the man said, staring at the small man who just went through two bowls of ramen in two minutes.
“Well, I’m off. But I’ll definitely be back!” He waved and then headed off to find the store.
After a few twists and turns (he realized a bit later that he had the map upside down) Naruto finally found Weapon’s Yard which was a large building in the center of the district with surrounding fields that were fenced off. Glancing over the fence, the blond spotted several shooting ranges and what looked to be a martial arts practice area.
He entered through the double doors of the shop and found himself surrounded by every weapon imaginable. There was a whole wall displaying swords and daggers, a wall displaying bows and arrows and axes, and one that held various items such as throwing stars or smoke bombs. In the middle of the shop were barrels that held odds and ends. Naruto was inspecting a spool of thread and wondering how on earth that could be used as a weapon when a female’s voice said sharply, “Can I help you?”
Naruto spun around and found himself looking at a woman who (seemingly) looked to be around his age with black hair pulled back into two buns and black eyes. She was slim and athletic looking and wore simple black pants and flats with a white Chinese style t-shirt.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki. I’m supposed to pick up a delivery for the Hokage.”
“Oh, right. Her kunai knives. Excuse me.”
She went back behind a counter that showcased several of the said weapon. He was admiring the scroll work on one set’s handle when she emerged with a small box. “Here we are. The set is already paid for. I’m TenTen, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” Naruto bowed.
“You too,” she returned the bow. “Is there anything I can get you? We’re having a sale on those.” She gestured to the knife he had been looking at.
Naruto shook his head. “That’s okay. I’d have no idea how to use it. I just studied martial arts in high school, not knife fighting.”
“Well, we offer lessons, so if you’re interested in learning feel free to join.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, as he took the box.
“Come again!” She called as he left.
SasuNaru
Sasuke couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction as he and Shikamaru entered Konoha with Kabuto. The white haired man was in Chakra binds which probably wouldn’t hold him for long, but they could get stronger binds when they got to the headquarters. To be honest, he was surprised that Kabuto was still in Rice Village when they arrived. Rice was a civilian village with no Shinobi in it. How on earth Kabuto managed to get himself caught there, Sasuke didn’t know, but he was grateful for it. Maybe now they could finally get some information on Orochimaru, and in turn his brother. Kabuto was the man’s faithful servant after all.
“So I hear you have a human here now,” Kabuto said conversationally. As if he wasn’t a bound prisoner at all and they were all actually friends.
“That’s none of your business,” Sasuke said through gritted teeth. Kabuto had always grated his nerves whenever they met in battle. Something do with that know-it-all smirk he tended wear.
Such as the one he was wearing now. “Oh, staying with you is he, Uchiha?”
“You seem awfully interested in a mere human, Kabuto,” Shikamaru said, shooting Sasuke a warning look.
“We haven’t had one in this world in a while. Can you blame me?”
Sasuke didn’t buy it for a second. Judging from the frown on his face, Shikamaru didn’t either. He glanced ahead in thought and tensed when he saw a familiar head of blond hair up appear in the entrance to South District. ‘What the hell is Naruto doing here?’ he thought. Normally he wouldn’t have cared what Naruto did on his wanderings but at this moment his instincts were telling him that he should keep the blond far away from Kabuto as possible.
‘Just turn around and head for the tower’ he silently willed the blond. No such luck. Naruto paused and happened to glance their way and saw him. ‘Damn it’ he thought as the man grinned and started to wave at him.
“Hey, Sasuke! Shikamaru!”
‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’ he mentally thought as Naruto started to walk towards them. Then suddenly Kabuto broke the chains on his wrist and darted forward and grabbed the blond. By then, the villagers had all recognized the threat of a dangerous shinobi and emptied the streets so now it was just those two and Sasuke and Shikamaru facing off.
“What the hell,” Naruto said as Kabuto grabbed him and wrapped an arm dangerously around his neck. He promptly fell silent.
“Let him go, Kabuto,” Sasuke firmly, drawing out his sword. He felt Shikamaru behind him leave to get help.
“He’s the human isn’t he, Uchiha?” Kabuto said triumphantly.
Sasuke gripped his sword and remained silent. Kabuto smirked, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Then Naruto scowled and stomped on Kabuto’s foot causing the man to grunt in surprise, then the blond gave him a hard elbow jab in the gut, causing him to let go of Naruto’s neck and he took that moment to scramble away.
Sasuke looked on in surprise as Naruto quickly made his way to the side, put the box down, and got into a defensive stance.
Kabuto glared at him. “Lousy brat.”
Naruto just glared back.
“Naruto, get out of here,” Sasuke said firmly. The blond looked at him in surprise.
Kabuto started to chuckle. “Oh, I see. Tsunade put the little human under your protection, didn’t she?”
“Who are you calling little?!” Naruto glared at him, but before he could move to punch the guy, Sasuke moved in front of him. “Hey!”
“Naruto, I mean it; go now.”
“Who the hell died and made you my boss?” Naruto demanded.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and the blond remembered that technically Sasuke was his boss. “Well, STILL.”
Kabuto smirked at the pair. “He certainly is a loud one, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea,” Sasuke muttered. “Naruto, GO.”
Something in his voice must have registered with the blond and he hesitated.
“How far do you think I’ll let the little human get?” Kabuto smirked.
“What makes you think I’ll even let you get to him?” Sasuke replied getting into a defensive stance in front of the blond.
“What makes you think you’ll even be able to move, Kabuto?” Shikamaru’s voice came and they all looked up to see themselves surrounded by Shinobi. Sasuke smirked at Kabuto who now realized he was outnumbered.
“Ah well. Another time, human,” Kabuto said with a shrug and then pulled a kunai from his boot and stabbed himself, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
“What the,” Naruto started behind him and Sasuke frowned. He felt like that was too easy.
“Clone,” Shikamaru muttered.
Kiba jumped to where Kabuto had stood and kicked at the sand. “Lousy bastard. Probably switched his body before he even got into the village. I’ve mentioned I can’t stand that guy, right?”
“Yes, Kiba. Several times,” Shino said blandly beside him.
“Just checking.”
“Everyone search the village,” Sasuke said. “Kiba’s probably right, but you never know. He may still be here.”
“I’m sorry, Uchiha. Did you just say I was right about something?” Kiba said in surprise. Sasuke glared at him and he shut his mouth. “Bye.”
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Naruto demanded as the others took off. Shikamaru and Sasuke looked at him. “Well?”
“He’s your servant, Uchiha.” Shikamaru said and quickly left.
‘Don’t remind me’ he thought as Naruto glared at him, as if daring him to not explain.
“Come on,” he said and Naruto started to say something. “I’ll tell you when we get home. It’s a long story anyway.”
Looking satisfied, Naruto nodded and after picking up the box, followed him to the tower.
SasuNaru
After dropping off Tsunade’s knives, Naruto and Sasuke went back into the apartment where Naruto sat down on the couch and looked at expentantly. “Well?” Sasuke looked at him for a few moments and then sat down next to him and started to talk.
“The man that you just met is Kabuto Yakushi. He is a servant of Lord Orochimaru, who is an enemy of not only this world, but your world as well.”
Naruto frowned. “My world? I’ve never heard of the guy.”
“You wouldn’t. Humans have no idea of the threat he poses to them. Just as they have no idea this world exists.”
“So how is he a threat to us?”
Sasuke looked at him. “How much has Iruka told you about what this world’s purpose is?”
He thought back to all of his previous lessons. “Well, from what I gather, the spirits are practically a part of my world. You aren’t spirits of the dead but of life. You help create most of the living things of Earth such as trees, plants, animals, rivers, even weather to some extent. Is that right?” He looked at Sasuke hopefully.
“More or less. Though weather creates itself mostly like your scientists think, we just sort of help it along.”
“Right. So what does that have to do with this Orochimaru guy?”
“Orochimaru is one of the few spirits who think that it shouldn’t be like that.”
Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t get it.”
“He feels that this system we have: us creating things and humans using the things we create, is unfair. There are those that agree with him but unlike him, most of them see the consequences of destroying the way things are.”
“What are the consequences?”
“Say that we all suddenly stop growing things in your world. Water would eventually stop coming from the sky and you would have worldwide droughts. Animals would stop procreating and therefore meat sources would grow scarce. Plants would stop growing and therefore you wouldn’t have those to eat either. Eventually the planet would become a barren wasteland and humans themselves would even die out. This would, in turn, cause US to disappear because if the spirit’s purpose is to create. If we do not create, we disappear. So this world would also disappear and Earth would become as dead as the moon.”
Naruto stared at him. “You’re exaggerating.”
Sasuke looked at him firmly. “No, I’m not. The human world and the spirit world are interconnected. One cannot exist without the other.”
“Like Yin and Yang?”
“I suppose you could put it that way.”
“Wow,” Naruto said, feeling floored.
“This is a major reason we have a barrier between our worlds. It’s to prevent spirits such as Orochimaru from having access to your world. If they did, who knows what havoc they would wreak.”
“So I guess you guys need to catch this Orochimaru guy bad, huh?”
“Yes. He’s planning something. Gathering followers and starting something that we think will effect the human world. Tsunade suspects that he had something to do with you being here.”
Naruto blinked in surprise. “Me? What would he want with me?”
Sasuke frowned. “That’s a very good question.”
SasuNaruSasu
The next day, Naruto headed down to meet Iruka like usual who looked up at him worriedly. “Are you all right? Kakashi told me that you were grabbed by Kabuto yesterday.”
Naruto smiled. “I’m fine! I didn’t take defense lessons in high school for nothing, you know. Besides, Sasuke and a whole bunch of other Shinobi were there too.”
Iruka smiled. “Yes, and Sasuke wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah,” Naruto said without thinking and then registered what Iruka said. “Uh, I mean, I guess.”
“He wouldn’t,” Iruka said. “I’ve known him since I’ve been here. The man is too proud to let someone on his watch be harmed while he’s around. That’s probably part of why Tsunade put you under his care.”
“I wish everyone would stop saying it like that,” Naruto muttered. “You all are acting like he’s my baby-sitter or something.”
Iruka just shrugged. Naruto then eyed him curiously. “Hey, Iruka-Sensei, I just thought of something.”
“Yes?”
“What type of spirit are you? I mean, what is you create in my world? I never asked.”
“Oh. I’m a tree spirit.”
“So you create trees?”
“Basically.”
“Hm...what’s Kakashi?”
Iruka smiled wistfully. “A wolf spirit.”
“Oh...I wonder what type of spirit, Sasuke is?”
“That’s something you’ll have to ask him.”
Naruto blinked. “You don’t know?”
“No, I do. But he’s a private man and might not appreciate me telling you without his permission.”
Naruto pouted. “So I’ll have to ask him?”
“Is that a problem?”
The blond shrugged. “I get the feeling he doesn’t like telling me stuff. I’m not sure he’ll tell me if I ask. Yesterday, when he told me about Orochimaru, I got the feeling he left a lot of stuff out.”
“He probably did. Orochimaru is a touchy subject around here.”
“Yeah, I gathered,” Naruto muttered. “Shikamaru and the others won’t talk to me about him either.”
“There’s no need to take it personally.”
“Well how else am I supposed to take it?” Naruto finally burst out. “The fact that I had to learn about this guy only after some wierdo grabs me, says to me that you all don’t trust me, and I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s because I’m a human.”
Iruka sighed. “Naruto, you have to understand. This is a Shinobi village.”
“So?”
“So, secrets are a way of life for Shinobi. Even I’m not fully trusted still and I’ve been here over a hundred years but I’ve realized something. Keeping things from you is part of their way of protecting you.”
Naruto stared at him in disbelief. “Protecting me?”
Iruka smiled sadly. “I know it’s hard to believe but honestly, it’s the truth. Shinobi tend to be a protective bunch, especially when it comes to people they care for and they care immensely for the people in this village. I also think they are starting to care about you.”
Naruto frowned. “It’s still annoying not being told the whole truth.”
“I know. But you get used to it.”
“Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Quite often. But then I remember that in their own way, it’s how they show they care.”
Naruto eyed him doubtfully but decided to change the subject. It was getting depressing.
SasuNaruSasu
Naruto never did get around to asking Sasuke what type of spirit he was. For some reason the idea that Sasuke might avoid the topic or not trust him with the information made him feel sadder then his friends avoiding the Orochimaru topic and, he now realized, anything else that had to do with their jobs as Shinobi. Then before he knew it, the end of November approached and on the beginning of the last night he was woken by Sasuke walking into the living room before the sun sat. Naruto pretended to still be asleep as he watched the man go through the drawers of weapons. He was dressed all in black: black sandals, black pants, and a black skintight shirt and his katana was strapped to his back. The blond was confused about the attire but couldn’t help but admire the look. ‘Damn, the bastard looks good in black.’ Ignoring his attraction as usual, Naruto sat up as Sasuke turned from gathering his weapons together. Sasuke froze when he saw the blond was up.
“I was trying not to wake you,” he said quietly.
“Are you going somewhere?” Naruto asked quietly.
“Mission. It will probably take a few days. I left a note.”
“Oh.”
Sasuke headed to the door and then Naruto said, “Hey.”
He looked at the blond over his shoulder and Naruto felt himself blush.
“Um...good luck, you know. With...whatever,” he finished lamely.
Sasuke just looked at him for a few seconds and then his lips quirked up in a sort of half smile. He nodded and then left leaving Naruto staring after him. Okay, so that hadn’t been a full smile, but it hadn’t been his usual smirk either. Whatever it was left butterflies in his stomach though and made his heart beat speed up. This was just a reaction from a half smile too.
“Oh shit,” Naruto muttered to himself.
TO BE CONTINUED...
AUTHOR NOTES: Before anyone hits the review button I want to remind you of something: this is a FANTASY fic. Therefore you have no need to have your religious/scientific/whatever views on creation offended. I’m pretty sure no one will be offended, but you never know so I’m just saying this now before anyone tries to start some sort of debate with me which is not what I feel like doing. So please, NO FLAMES. But all other reviews are more then welcome.
AUTHOR: fantasylover12001
RATING: R to NC-17
DISCLAIMER: I don’t own Naruto, yadda yadda. I also do not own any plot ideas/scenes from the movie Spirited Away from which this is heavily influenced by.
PAIRINGS: eventual SasuNaruSasu, KakaIru, mentioned LeeSaku and other random pairings
AUTHOR NOTES: Well, like I said...these updates will take awhile as the chapters are somewhat longer then what I’m used to writing (I average about seven to ten pages a chapter these are at least fifteen pages long). But hey, all the more fun right? So once again, do not bug me about when the next update will be because I honestly can’t say.
CHAPTER 2: NOVEMBER
The next week or so began what Naruto soon realized would be a daily routine. First, he would wake up and pull on his clothes. Sasuke would usually be up before him and could be found in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Naruto would sit down at the small round table in the kitchen and Sasuke would silently sit a plate or bowl of whatever the man had decided to make that morning. Whatever it was, the man was a surprisedly good cook. The two would then sit and eat. During this time Naruto would try and engage Sasuke in conversation but it usually ended up with him carrying on a one-sided babble fest. So far his attempts to make Sasuke smile had failed miserably.
After breakfast Sasuke would disappear to do...whatever it was the man did during the day. Naruto wasn’t sure on the details to be honest. As for Naruto himself, he would spend the day either drawing or exploring the large and very tall tower that was his new home for now. He found so much to draw and ideas for art that he was rather afraid he was going to go through the pencils in his bag and the three sketch books he had with him.
Then around midnight (or midday, he was still getting used to the fact that nights were considered days here) he would head down to Iruka’s classroom. He would wait till the man was finished and then the two would have their lesson. This was when Naruto learned about the world around him. He learned about what to do and not do around the spirits that came to visit Konoha frequently. There were so many different ways that one could offend all the different spirits that Naruto decided that it would be in his best interested to just keep his mouth shut. It would be difficult but it was better then either being protected by Sasuke or getting eaten by an angry spirit.
It was during these lessons that Naruto and Iruka became fast friends. True, the man was older but he understood where Naruto was coming from, having been in the same situation himself. The two found humor in their observations of the spirits. Iruka was also happy to hear about what changes had taken place in the human world while he’d been gone. Having lived over a hundred years ago, Iruka found the technology Naruto described to him fascinating.
“It’s almost as if humans can do magic now!” he once said as Naruto tried to explain what the computer and internet were.
While the spirits who were in the tower frequently grew used to his presence, Naruto didn’t dare venture to the village on his own. It wasn’t that he was scared, technically. It was that he couldn’t forget the hostile looks he had gotten on his last trip there and so decided to be cautious around the rest of the villagers until they also grew used to him. It wasn’t as if he needed to leave anyway, everything he needed was in the tower.
Just above the ground floor was a large cafeteria-like place where all the residents or visitors could eat. Above that, was a huge library that took up the next three floors with seemingly any type of book imaginable and in several languages. Plus, it was just downright fascinating to watch the residents themselves.
From what Naruto could tell (and from what he managed to squeeze out of Sasuke and Iruka; well mostly Iruka) the building was like a government office building. Lady Tsunade was evidently in charge of the whole village and dealt with it’s politics and protection. He often saw her in the hallways followed by a woman named Shizune who Naruto learned was her bodyguard.
The other people that lived in the building were the villagers protectors, called Shinobi and this was what Sasuke, Kakashi, and the white haired man Jiraiya did. From what he learned, Jiraiya was head of all the Shinobi in the village. Kakashi was second in command to him, while Sasuke was third. According to Iruka, these three men were some of the hardest working men in the village and Naruto believed it. Often, Sasuke would come back just before the sun rose and he always looked exhausted.
This was what prompted Naruto to get back to the apartment early and make dinner for the two of them. Contrary to what Sakura and Lee had thought, he knew how to make more then just Ramen. Ramen just happened to be his favorite food so he made it the most often. Cooking the dinners made him feel at least a little helpful somehow. He wouldn’t be able to officially start his duties until two or three weeks when he had more lessons and knowledge under his belt. Until then, he was basically laying around and feeling like a mooch.
Sasuke and Iruka were not the only people that Naruto got to know. Kakashi would check up on him in the mornings (he suspected as a request from Sasuke but he never confirmed it) and though the man was slightly perverted, Naruto couldn’t help but like his laid back attitude. Though wondering what was under the mask on his face drew him crazy sometimes. Once every other day, Sasuke would come home with a man named Shikamaru, who always wore a slightly bored expression on his face and had dark brown hair that was pulled into a spiky ponytail and dark brown eyes. It was apparently a ritual for the two of them to sit in the living room and play games of either Shogi or Go. Despite his lazy nature, Shikamaru usually won which surprised Naruto.
Naruto also became friends with Kiba, the man with the giant dog he had met earlier, when the two shared lunch in the cafeteria. This also meant he became friends with Kiba’s friends who also ate with them later on. First was Chouji, a large light brown haired man who constantly ate but was friendly and at times painfully blunt. There was also Shino, a strange man with spiky dark black hair, sunglasses that never came off, and who wore high necked shirts in a similar fashion to Kakashi but talked even less then Sasuke did (which Naruto didn’t think was possible, but there it was). Lastly, was Hinata, a girl with short blue hair and strange white eyes who was painfully shy and stuttered a lot. Naruto couldn’t help but wonder how on earth she managed to get together with Kiba who was even louder then he could be. Still, he liked her. He liked them all actually, even with their strange habits and quirks (how on earth did Shino’s glasses ALWAYS STAY ON, he personally suspected magic). By the time he had been there two weeks, Naruto realized he liked it in this odd world he was thrown in.
SasuNaruSasu
Daily patrols were quite possibly the most boring thing about being a Shinobi, Sasuke thought as he opened the door to his apartment. But they were a necessity, as evidenced by the human currently staying with him. Speaking of whom...Sasuke frowned and looked around the living room warily. Naruto wasn’t there as usual. His futon was out, and a few books lay on them but the person was no where.
He went into the kitchen and frowned further when Naruto wasn’t there either. There was a bowl of pasta ready and waiting to be heated up however. He glanced at it and then opened the door to his small library and found Naruto sitting at his desk, fast asleep with his head buried in his arms on top an open sketchbook.
Sasuke shook his head and then decided to let the blond be for the moment. He went back into the kitchen and after a well placed heating spell, ate his food. After he was done he went back to the library and after a moment’s hesitation, gently picked up the sleeping blond. For a full grown male, the blond was rather light. Then Sasuke smirked; of course the blond was also small for his age as well. Not that any of them mentioned it; they realized after the first few times that Naruto was rather sensitive about his size when he took his anger out on the first unfortunate soul who commented on it. Kiba claimed that he still felt that punch even though it had been more then a week ago.
Naruto shifted and Sasuke paused in his walk to the door, but the blond only moved his head so it was tucked under Sasuke’s chin, which caused him to tense. He couldn’t remember the last time a person was physically this close to him. Not that people didn’t try, he just generally avoided being touched. Unlike the rest of the spirit world he did not indulge in sex freely. His kind generally stuck with one mate throughout their afterlife and he had yet to find someone he would even consider mating with.
Besides, right now with his duties and a certain person to kill, a mate would be (in Shikamaru’s words) troublesome. Having someone to worry about and protect would just invite more hassle. It was bad enough that Tsunade had stuck him with this human to take care of; Sasuke frowned down at the bundle in his arms as he thought that.
With a bit of maneuvering, he managed to get Naruto onto the futon. Naruto had slept through the entire process. In fact he had started to snore by the time they reached the living room. Sasuke rolled his eyes at that and went back his desk because he was somewhat curious on what Naruto had been working on. The blond was forever scribbling pictures in his sketch books and he couldn’t help but wonder what it was the blond drew. So he picked up the book on his desk and went to the start and stared at the first picture. It was a realistic sketch of a man and woman that Sasuke had never seen before. The man wasn’t the most attractive person in the world with round dark eyes and a odd bowl cut but he had a mega watt grin on as he held a small woman in his arms with short hair. Below the picture in the blond’s messy writing was the message: ‘Lee and Sakura. They just told me they’re having a baby! I’m going to be a godfather!’
‘So these are the friends he keeps mentioning’ he thought. Then he couldn’t help but be puzzled over why the blond was so afraid of a small woman and then shrugged. The next few pages were several small rough sketches of what looked to be random people in a city. Then there were a few people sitting on what looked to be a transport of some kind. He believed the humans called them buses.
Then came the sketches from Konoha. There was the sketch of the dragon guardian, several rough doodles of the buildings on the main road. Then came the ones of the villagers themselves which included messy messages as well. There was one of Kiba, Hinata, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and even Tsunade looking annoyed as Shizune lectured her in the halls. The notes Naruto wrote were interesting because they seemed to include Naruto’s thoughts on the event or person taking place. For instance next to the sketches of Shino was the question “How do his glasses always stay on?” By Kakashi’s portrait in bold letters was the message: “Find out what is hidden behind his mask!” Sasuke snorted at that. He had known Kakashi for almost two hundred years now and had yet to see what the rest of his face looked like.
Then came other random villagers and moments as well as sketches of...himself. There were quite a lot of sketches of himself actually. Naruto didn’t have many messages by his sketches aside from one by the first portrait which said ‘How come Sasuke never smiles?’ He frowned at that and closed the sketchbook. For a few minutes he looked down at the sleeping Naruto and then just left the sketchbook by his bed.
SasuNaruSasu
The days continued normally until the end of Naruto’s second week when in the morning he got a message from Tsunade to come up to her office. Wondering if he had done something that he was not aware of, Naruto rode the elevator up to her office. When he got there, both she and Shizune were there and looked at him when he entered. “Come in, Naruto. Would you like some tea?”
“Sure,” Naruto said as he sat in one of the red plush armchairs. He was normally more of a Ramune kind of guy but he wasn’t about to refuse a woman who just yesterday punched Jiraiya through a wall in front of everyone. According to Iruka this was a normal occurrence, the two always argued, but it was still a pretty vivid image and only reaffirmed his opinion that he should not piss this woman off.
So he took the cup of tea that Shizune offered him and sipped at it, eyeing the woman in front of him warily. “So...you asked me up here for something?”
“No need to look so nervous, Naruto. You’re not in trouble,” Tsunade said with a smirk. Naruto realized that she knew how uncomfortable he was around her. “I have a small task for you. Technically, you are supposed to be working for Sasuke but he won’t mind this I’m sure, as he’s out of the village for today. I need you to pick up a delivery for me.”
“A delivery?” Naruto asked in surprise.
“Hmm..I had a set of knives ordered from the Weapon’s Yard in South District. But they don’t deliver so normally I have one of the Shinobi’s pick up my order or I do it. Unfortunately, the whole lot of them claim they are busy and Shizune is holding me hostage here in my office until I finish signing all these damn papers.” She gestured to the large stack of papers on her desk. Shizune sighed at the woman’s over dramatization and rolled her eyes at Naruto behind her back, causing the blond to involuntarily grin.
“Sure, I guess I could pick it up for you.”
“Wonderful! Here’s a map of where you need to go. When you get there just tell them you’re there for the Hokage’s order and TenTen will know what to give you if the others don’t.”
Naruto took the slip of paper and finished his tea. After giving a polite bow he headed down towards the village entrance. At first, as he headed down the main road, nothing was amiss. There were villagers wandering up and down the road shopping. It wasn’t until he reached the central marketplace in the square that he noticed all the stares and whispers he was getting. Naruto felt a bit of amusement at it in between feeling annoyed about it. ‘I feel like I’m back in high school instead of among a town of hundred year plus spirits’ he thought. It was eerily similar to when he first came out in high school and everyone found out his preference. Back then though, he had Sakura and Lee to back him up. Now he was on his own. Still, he could hear Sakura’s voice in his ear saying the same thing she did back then. ‘Just ignore them, Naruto. Eventually they’ll get bored and move onto much jucier news then the resident gay guy.’ The situation was slightly different but the advice was still sound here. ‘They’ll get used to having a human around,’ he thought firmly and then walked forward more confidently.
Eventually, he got to South District and entered it. As he made his way down the main road he smelled a familiar smell and let a big whoop, startling several villagers in the process. “RAMEN!”
He made a beeline in the smell’s direction and sure enough, there was a small ramen stand. ‘Thank God! I was beginning to wonder if they had any ramen in this world!’ The blond dug around in his pockets for the money Sasuke had given him earlier that week. The money he had was no good in this world so the man gave him a weekly allowance to buy things like food in the cafeteria which had to be bought. Naruto quickly counted the odd gold coins and glanced at the menu. He had more then enough for at least two bowls.
‘I’m sure Tsunade will understand if I pause for a few minutes to get some lunch’ he thought as he eagerly ordered two bowls of miso from the man behind the counter. ‘It’s even more delicious then I remember!’ he thought giddily as he slurped down the noodles in record speed, causing the people in the stand to stare at him in disbelief.
“That was great stuff, Mister,” he complimented the man who served him.
“Uh...thank you,” the man said, staring at the small man who just went through two bowls of ramen in two minutes.
“Well, I’m off. But I’ll definitely be back!” He waved and then headed off to find the store.
After a few twists and turns (he realized a bit later that he had the map upside down) Naruto finally found Weapon’s Yard which was a large building in the center of the district with surrounding fields that were fenced off. Glancing over the fence, the blond spotted several shooting ranges and what looked to be a martial arts practice area.
He entered through the double doors of the shop and found himself surrounded by every weapon imaginable. There was a whole wall displaying swords and daggers, a wall displaying bows and arrows and axes, and one that held various items such as throwing stars or smoke bombs. In the middle of the shop were barrels that held odds and ends. Naruto was inspecting a spool of thread and wondering how on earth that could be used as a weapon when a female’s voice said sharply, “Can I help you?”
Naruto spun around and found himself looking at a woman who (seemingly) looked to be around his age with black hair pulled back into two buns and black eyes. She was slim and athletic looking and wore simple black pants and flats with a white Chinese style t-shirt.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Naruto Uzumaki. I’m supposed to pick up a delivery for the Hokage.”
“Oh, right. Her kunai knives. Excuse me.”
She went back behind a counter that showcased several of the said weapon. He was admiring the scroll work on one set’s handle when she emerged with a small box. “Here we are. The set is already paid for. I’m TenTen, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you,” Naruto bowed.
“You too,” she returned the bow. “Is there anything I can get you? We’re having a sale on those.” She gestured to the knife he had been looking at.
Naruto shook his head. “That’s okay. I’d have no idea how to use it. I just studied martial arts in high school, not knife fighting.”
“Well, we offer lessons, so if you’re interested in learning feel free to join.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He said, as he took the box.
“Come again!” She called as he left.
SasuNaru
Sasuke couldn’t help but feel a bit of satisfaction as he and Shikamaru entered Konoha with Kabuto. The white haired man was in Chakra binds which probably wouldn’t hold him for long, but they could get stronger binds when they got to the headquarters. To be honest, he was surprised that Kabuto was still in Rice Village when they arrived. Rice was a civilian village with no Shinobi in it. How on earth Kabuto managed to get himself caught there, Sasuke didn’t know, but he was grateful for it. Maybe now they could finally get some information on Orochimaru, and in turn his brother. Kabuto was the man’s faithful servant after all.
“So I hear you have a human here now,” Kabuto said conversationally. As if he wasn’t a bound prisoner at all and they were all actually friends.
“That’s none of your business,” Sasuke said through gritted teeth. Kabuto had always grated his nerves whenever they met in battle. Something do with that know-it-all smirk he tended wear.
Such as the one he was wearing now. “Oh, staying with you is he, Uchiha?”
“You seem awfully interested in a mere human, Kabuto,” Shikamaru said, shooting Sasuke a warning look.
“We haven’t had one in this world in a while. Can you blame me?”
Sasuke didn’t buy it for a second. Judging from the frown on his face, Shikamaru didn’t either. He glanced ahead in thought and tensed when he saw a familiar head of blond hair up appear in the entrance to South District. ‘What the hell is Naruto doing here?’ he thought. Normally he wouldn’t have cared what Naruto did on his wanderings but at this moment his instincts were telling him that he should keep the blond far away from Kabuto as possible.
‘Just turn around and head for the tower’ he silently willed the blond. No such luck. Naruto paused and happened to glance their way and saw him. ‘Damn it’ he thought as the man grinned and started to wave at him.
“Hey, Sasuke! Shikamaru!”
‘Damn it, damn it, damn it!’ he mentally thought as Naruto started to walk towards them. Then suddenly Kabuto broke the chains on his wrist and darted forward and grabbed the blond. By then, the villagers had all recognized the threat of a dangerous shinobi and emptied the streets so now it was just those two and Sasuke and Shikamaru facing off.
“What the hell,” Naruto said as Kabuto grabbed him and wrapped an arm dangerously around his neck. He promptly fell silent.
“Let him go, Kabuto,” Sasuke firmly, drawing out his sword. He felt Shikamaru behind him leave to get help.
“He’s the human isn’t he, Uchiha?” Kabuto said triumphantly.
Sasuke gripped his sword and remained silent. Kabuto smirked, “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Then Naruto scowled and stomped on Kabuto’s foot causing the man to grunt in surprise, then the blond gave him a hard elbow jab in the gut, causing him to let go of Naruto’s neck and he took that moment to scramble away.
Sasuke looked on in surprise as Naruto quickly made his way to the side, put the box down, and got into a defensive stance.
Kabuto glared at him. “Lousy brat.”
Naruto just glared back.
“Naruto, get out of here,” Sasuke said firmly. The blond looked at him in surprise.
Kabuto started to chuckle. “Oh, I see. Tsunade put the little human under your protection, didn’t she?”
“Who are you calling little?!” Naruto glared at him, but before he could move to punch the guy, Sasuke moved in front of him. “Hey!”
“Naruto, I mean it; go now.”
“Who the hell died and made you my boss?” Naruto demanded.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him and the blond remembered that technically Sasuke was his boss. “Well, STILL.”
Kabuto smirked at the pair. “He certainly is a loud one, isn’t he?”
“You have no idea,” Sasuke muttered. “Naruto, GO.”
Something in his voice must have registered with the blond and he hesitated.
“How far do you think I’ll let the little human get?” Kabuto smirked.
“What makes you think I’ll even let you get to him?” Sasuke replied getting into a defensive stance in front of the blond.
“What makes you think you’ll even be able to move, Kabuto?” Shikamaru’s voice came and they all looked up to see themselves surrounded by Shinobi. Sasuke smirked at Kabuto who now realized he was outnumbered.
“Ah well. Another time, human,” Kabuto said with a shrug and then pulled a kunai from his boot and stabbed himself, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
“What the,” Naruto started behind him and Sasuke frowned. He felt like that was too easy.
“Clone,” Shikamaru muttered.
Kiba jumped to where Kabuto had stood and kicked at the sand. “Lousy bastard. Probably switched his body before he even got into the village. I’ve mentioned I can’t stand that guy, right?”
“Yes, Kiba. Several times,” Shino said blandly beside him.
“Just checking.”
“Everyone search the village,” Sasuke said. “Kiba’s probably right, but you never know. He may still be here.”
“I’m sorry, Uchiha. Did you just say I was right about something?” Kiba said in surprise. Sasuke glared at him and he shut his mouth. “Bye.”
“Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Naruto demanded as the others took off. Shikamaru and Sasuke looked at him. “Well?”
“He’s your servant, Uchiha.” Shikamaru said and quickly left.
‘Don’t remind me’ he thought as Naruto glared at him, as if daring him to not explain.
“Come on,” he said and Naruto started to say something. “I’ll tell you when we get home. It’s a long story anyway.”
Looking satisfied, Naruto nodded and after picking up the box, followed him to the tower.
SasuNaru
After dropping off Tsunade’s knives, Naruto and Sasuke went back into the apartment where Naruto sat down on the couch and looked at expentantly. “Well?” Sasuke looked at him for a few moments and then sat down next to him and started to talk.
“The man that you just met is Kabuto Yakushi. He is a servant of Lord Orochimaru, who is an enemy of not only this world, but your world as well.”
Naruto frowned. “My world? I’ve never heard of the guy.”
“You wouldn’t. Humans have no idea of the threat he poses to them. Just as they have no idea this world exists.”
“So how is he a threat to us?”
Sasuke looked at him. “How much has Iruka told you about what this world’s purpose is?”
He thought back to all of his previous lessons. “Well, from what I gather, the spirits are practically a part of my world. You aren’t spirits of the dead but of life. You help create most of the living things of Earth such as trees, plants, animals, rivers, even weather to some extent. Is that right?” He looked at Sasuke hopefully.
“More or less. Though weather creates itself mostly like your scientists think, we just sort of help it along.”
“Right. So what does that have to do with this Orochimaru guy?”
“Orochimaru is one of the few spirits who think that it shouldn’t be like that.”
Naruto tilted his head in confusion. “I don’t get it.”
“He feels that this system we have: us creating things and humans using the things we create, is unfair. There are those that agree with him but unlike him, most of them see the consequences of destroying the way things are.”
“What are the consequences?”
“Say that we all suddenly stop growing things in your world. Water would eventually stop coming from the sky and you would have worldwide droughts. Animals would stop procreating and therefore meat sources would grow scarce. Plants would stop growing and therefore you wouldn’t have those to eat either. Eventually the planet would become a barren wasteland and humans themselves would even die out. This would, in turn, cause US to disappear because if the spirit’s purpose is to create. If we do not create, we disappear. So this world would also disappear and Earth would become as dead as the moon.”
Naruto stared at him. “You’re exaggerating.”
Sasuke looked at him firmly. “No, I’m not. The human world and the spirit world are interconnected. One cannot exist without the other.”
“Like Yin and Yang?”
“I suppose you could put it that way.”
“Wow,” Naruto said, feeling floored.
“This is a major reason we have a barrier between our worlds. It’s to prevent spirits such as Orochimaru from having access to your world. If they did, who knows what havoc they would wreak.”
“So I guess you guys need to catch this Orochimaru guy bad, huh?”
“Yes. He’s planning something. Gathering followers and starting something that we think will effect the human world. Tsunade suspects that he had something to do with you being here.”
Naruto blinked in surprise. “Me? What would he want with me?”
Sasuke frowned. “That’s a very good question.”
SasuNaruSasu
The next day, Naruto headed down to meet Iruka like usual who looked up at him worriedly. “Are you all right? Kakashi told me that you were grabbed by Kabuto yesterday.”
Naruto smiled. “I’m fine! I didn’t take defense lessons in high school for nothing, you know. Besides, Sasuke and a whole bunch of other Shinobi were there too.”
Iruka smiled. “Yes, and Sasuke wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
“Yeah,” Naruto said without thinking and then registered what Iruka said. “Uh, I mean, I guess.”
“He wouldn’t,” Iruka said. “I’ve known him since I’ve been here. The man is too proud to let someone on his watch be harmed while he’s around. That’s probably part of why Tsunade put you under his care.”
“I wish everyone would stop saying it like that,” Naruto muttered. “You all are acting like he’s my baby-sitter or something.”
Iruka just shrugged. Naruto then eyed him curiously. “Hey, Iruka-Sensei, I just thought of something.”
“Yes?”
“What type of spirit are you? I mean, what is you create in my world? I never asked.”
“Oh. I’m a tree spirit.”
“So you create trees?”
“Basically.”
“Hm...what’s Kakashi?”
Iruka smiled wistfully. “A wolf spirit.”
“Oh...I wonder what type of spirit, Sasuke is?”
“That’s something you’ll have to ask him.”
Naruto blinked. “You don’t know?”
“No, I do. But he’s a private man and might not appreciate me telling you without his permission.”
Naruto pouted. “So I’ll have to ask him?”
“Is that a problem?”
The blond shrugged. “I get the feeling he doesn’t like telling me stuff. I’m not sure he’ll tell me if I ask. Yesterday, when he told me about Orochimaru, I got the feeling he left a lot of stuff out.”
“He probably did. Orochimaru is a touchy subject around here.”
“Yeah, I gathered,” Naruto muttered. “Shikamaru and the others won’t talk to me about him either.”
“There’s no need to take it personally.”
“Well how else am I supposed to take it?” Naruto finally burst out. “The fact that I had to learn about this guy only after some wierdo grabs me, says to me that you all don’t trust me, and I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s because I’m a human.”
Iruka sighed. “Naruto, you have to understand. This is a Shinobi village.”
“So?”
“So, secrets are a way of life for Shinobi. Even I’m not fully trusted still and I’ve been here over a hundred years but I’ve realized something. Keeping things from you is part of their way of protecting you.”
Naruto stared at him in disbelief. “Protecting me?”
Iruka smiled sadly. “I know it’s hard to believe but honestly, it’s the truth. Shinobi tend to be a protective bunch, especially when it comes to people they care for and they care immensely for the people in this village. I also think they are starting to care about you.”
Naruto frowned. “It’s still annoying not being told the whole truth.”
“I know. But you get used to it.”
“Don’t you get tired of it?”
“Quite often. But then I remember that in their own way, it’s how they show they care.”
Naruto eyed him doubtfully but decided to change the subject. It was getting depressing.
SasuNaruSasu
Naruto never did get around to asking Sasuke what type of spirit he was. For some reason the idea that Sasuke might avoid the topic or not trust him with the information made him feel sadder then his friends avoiding the Orochimaru topic and, he now realized, anything else that had to do with their jobs as Shinobi. Then before he knew it, the end of November approached and on the beginning of the last night he was woken by Sasuke walking into the living room before the sun sat. Naruto pretended to still be asleep as he watched the man go through the drawers of weapons. He was dressed all in black: black sandals, black pants, and a black skintight shirt and his katana was strapped to his back. The blond was confused about the attire but couldn’t help but admire the look. ‘Damn, the bastard looks good in black.’ Ignoring his attraction as usual, Naruto sat up as Sasuke turned from gathering his weapons together. Sasuke froze when he saw the blond was up.
“I was trying not to wake you,” he said quietly.
“Are you going somewhere?” Naruto asked quietly.
“Mission. It will probably take a few days. I left a note.”
“Oh.”
Sasuke headed to the door and then Naruto said, “Hey.”
He looked at the blond over his shoulder and Naruto felt himself blush.
“Um...good luck, you know. With...whatever,” he finished lamely.
Sasuke just looked at him for a few seconds and then his lips quirked up in a sort of half smile. He nodded and then left leaving Naruto staring after him. Okay, so that hadn’t been a full smile, but it hadn’t been his usual smirk either. Whatever it was left butterflies in his stomach though and made his heart beat speed up. This was just a reaction from a half smile too.
“Oh shit,” Naruto muttered to himself.
TO BE CONTINUED...
AUTHOR NOTES: Before anyone hits the review button I want to remind you of something: this is a FANTASY fic. Therefore you have no need to have your religious/scientific/whatever views on creation offended. I’m pretty sure no one will be offended, but you never know so I’m just saying this now before anyone tries to start some sort of debate with me which is not what I feel like doing. So please, NO FLAMES. But all other reviews are more then welcome.