Disclaimer: Don't own.
Author notes at bottom.
Warnings: Yaoi, possible OOCness, profanity, violence, etcetera. If anything on this list offends you, that's your problem. Find another fic.
For Your Love
Chapter 1: Strange Afflictions
Naruto yawned sleepily, stretching his arms above his head. The night's build-up was released in a series of cracks and creaks. Time to greet the day. The first step in his morning routine was to empty his bladder, and probably the most important. He was about to proceed, when he distinctly felt a presence to his right. Swiveling his head, he turned to look at the intruder, blinking. The teenager rubbed his bleary eyes, but the image did not alter.
"Morning!"
Naruto's mind was suddenly abuzz and he could barely blurt out his question of the day fast enough.
"Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here!"
"I came to tell you that there are no missions for us today, so there's no need for you to show up at the bridge," the jounin answered, eye curved cheerfully.
"That's not quite what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
"I meant..." he began, chewing on his bottom lip before continuing, "What are you doing in my bed?"
The blonde sat up to stare down at the jounin, who had apparently, at some point in time, decided to lay next to him.
"Watching you sleep," Kakashi said, naturally. Though one of them seemed to be unphased, the other felt like they were getting a headache from the absurdly simple answer.
"...This may be a stupid question, but... why?" Naruto asked, more annoyed than he felt he should be for so early in the day. He watched as his sensei seemed to think over his answer, as if weighing his words to reveal a great secret of the universe.
"It seemed like the thing to do."
Naruto was staring. He knew it, Kakashi knew it. All present knew it. He supposed what he had just heard was the dumbest thing to ever grace his ears. In fact, the whole conversation went beyond strange to a newly discovered plane of idiocy. The wise course of action, to Naruto at least, seemed to be to slowly and carefully slip out of the bed, keeping a steady gaze on the jounin, as if daring him to move. It is never wise to move too fast in the presence of the mildly insane. Kakashi watched with muted interest as Naruto backed away from the bed to disappear into a doorway, carefully shutting it after he passed. A moment later, the sound of a pouring shower dimly filtered through the apartment.
"He's awfully subdued today," Kakashi said to himself as he pulled out Icha Icha Paradise. He flipped through the infamous orange book as he hopped off the bed and wound his way through the apartment to the front door. Without a care in the world, he deprived the dwelling of one of its occupants.
Naruto himself, stared blankly ahead of him as the roar of rushing water fell around him. His mind kept starting up only to quit again. Stop, go. Stop, go. Eventually he decided that Hatake Kakashi was a fucking weirdo. Granted, it was the most interesting start to a day that he had experienced in a long time. That didn't make Kakashi any less strange, however.
He wondered if it was some sort of test, with an unclear and dubious meaning... only to be explained later by the great copy ninja. Should I go to the bridge?
However, that question was suddenly overrode by a more pressing question that his freshly woken mind brutally slapped him with.
"HOW THE HELL DOES WATCHING ME SLEEP 'SEEM LIKE THE THING TO DO'!"
Sasuke opened his front door to be greeted cheerily by the famous copy ninja. Few people knocked on his door, and even fewer so early in the morning. Hatake Kakashi was not among those few.
"There won't be any missions today, so feel free to do whatever it is you do in your free time!"
A poof of smoke later and Sasuke was left alone. A free day. He wondered why. There was obviously something up. Usually when there were no missions, they would spend the day sparring or with some creative lesson that Kakashi would cook up.
So he had the entire day to do as he chose. He usually spent his free time training. Just because they weren't assembled as a group didn't mean he couldn't spar. The dobe was always up for a match, and even if he wasn't, a few well-timed insults could easily change that. All he had to do to find the blonde was stake out the Ichiraku. Things would progress as planned from there.
It was then that he realized he had held the door wide open throughout his musings. In a brief moment of annoyed embarrassment, he slammed it shut.
A loud growl from his stomach soon directed him to the kitchen, where he set about throwing together a breakfast. Hell if he was going to have ramen for breakfast.
Half an hour later, he was making his way through the streets of Konoha, ears perked for any tell-tale shouts of the blonde's location. The Uchiha was having no luck, but he wasn't in any particular hurry, either. It wasn't as if the Ichiraku was going to burn down and he would be helpless to find Naruto. Then again, one can never be too certain.
When the aforementioned ramen hut came into sight, Sasuke smirked. It was not in flames. All that was left to do was wait, assuming Naruto wasn't in there already. In fact, when he arrived, the ramen stand was near empty. Most people did not find it natural to eat ramen for breakfast.
So, Sasuke took a seat, ordered a glass of water, and waited.
Hyuga Neji found it odd to be given the day off. He found it even more odd that all the other teams had the day off as well. The excuse was that there were no missions for the day, so there would be no meetings of groups. Normally an absence of missions did not mean the cancellations of groups. The jounin team leaders were highly suspect to him. He wondered what they were up to, and more importantly, if it would affect him.
However, that left him with little to do for the day, and the last thing he wanted was to be near the main house. If nothing else, he could find Lee, who always proved entertaining in one way or another.
As he was leaving, however, Hinata stopped him. Effectively blocking his way to the outside world. He hadn't a clue where she had come from, or why she was there, but he thought it best not to show his confusion.
"Can I come with you?" she asked, eyes glued to the floor, face flushed an embarrassed red.
"No."
"Please? I-I don't want to stay at home the entire day."
Neji glared at his cousin before coldly pointing out, "You don't even know where I'm going."
"That doesn't ma-matter. I won't get in yo-you're way. Promise."
Neji gave her a hard look before pushing past her to open the door. If he was being honest with himself, he really didn't mind Hinata. She was virtually invisible most of the time, rarely ever noticed. She was polite and nice to everyone, shy as could be, and most importantly, hardly said a word. If there was one member of the main house he could tolerate, it would probably have to be Hinata. Though 'tolerate' might be stretching it. This inclination, if it could be called that -it was more like indifference, was never to leave the safety of his own mind.
"Whatever," he said, leaving the door open for her to close as she followed him through. He didn't have to look to know she was nervously smiling in relief. It was a personal fancy of his to imagine that Hinata didn't much care for the main house, either. He suspected that she held a seed of resentment towards them. However he had no actual proof of this and had never even seen a hint to support the theory. Still, he liked the idea of people hating the main house. Especially main house members.
They were walking through the streets, Hinata respectfully following two paces behind him when she suddenly stopped. Annoyed, Neji halted too, and turned around to see what was the matter. The younger Hyuga was intently looking at a scene down a side street to the one they were on.
Curious, he followed her gaze to have his eyes rest on his day's entertainment. Forget Lee. Call it fate. On one edge of a street opening to a city square, nestled comfortably among the other buildings, a ramen stand innocently rested. However, outside of it, one very loud-mouthed ninja and dark Uchiha tossed insults back and forth.
Without a word, Neji began heading in that direction, Hinata quickly following, even running up alongside him as her eyes were glued to the view before them. Before they had even gone half the distance, the two teenaged teammates had broken into an exchange of fists. Not willing to disturb the scene of interest, Neji stopped at the edge of the impromptu battlefield, holding out an arm in front of Hinata, forcing her to halt her forward motion as well.
Naruto had left his shower in a slightly better mood than when he had entered it. Still, he felt unusually somber after the earlier events and decided the best remedy would be ramen. Since he was in a particularly low-energy state and he had no time constraints, cup ramen would not do justice. At least, not when his options were extended to include the finest ramen in Konoha.
Who was he to not to heed the call of the Ichiraku?
With a lightened heart, he set out for the stand of the holiest of noodles. His feet knew the path through the twisted streets so well that he judged he could make the trip in his sleep, and half wondered if he hadn't before. He could smell the ramen from two streets over and it heightened his mood so much he had forgotten the strange wake up he had received that morning.
However, the blissful mood he had been bathing in was shattered when he saw a familiar brooding figure seated at the counter of the blonde's personal sanctuary. He knew he was staring, he knew he held a look of disbelief on his face. Someone had entered his territory! Not that he would've cared so much if it had just been a coincidence that Sasuke was here.
Except that the Uchiha had a look on his face like he had just caught a fish with a baited hook.
Deep down, in the pit of his stomach, Naruto knew he'd have to wait for his meal.
He was angry enough to swear. So he did. Profusely and under his breath.
It had all gone downhill from there. Before the blonde could save himself, he was caught in a tirade of foul language and vulgar insults that had led them outside the ramen stand to face each other in the street. Then they were engaged in a sparring match, and he couldn't say who had thrown the first punch. Though, if he had to guess, he would be the one to take proper credit. That went almost without saying.
Even as they fought, they would exchange coarse words. Not that he minded fighting Sasuke. Not at all... except for when he was on an empty stomach and could be eating ramen instead! Which was now. So he minded, thankyouverymuch.
"Sasuke, you fucking..." Naruto stopped short as he caught something out of the corner of his eye.
"Can't even think of a proper insult?" Sasuke sneered, aiming a kick at his opponent's stomach.
"It's Neji and Hinata," Naruto said, pointing indiscreetly at the two Hyugas watching them. Sighing in annoyance, the dark one dropped his attack, knowing their little match would be put on hold if Naruto couldn't be bothered to pay enough attention to put up a decent fight.
"So, they've been there for awhile now."
Sasuke scowled as the other ninja ignored him, opting to wave the two spectators over, instead. Reluctantly, it seemed at first, they heeded the invitation and made their way over. The Uchiha did not like this at all. He and Naruto had been having a nice little spat when two freaks from Freakville interrupted and stole the blonde's attention away. Blood would spill.
Hinata smiled shyly at them until she caught sight of Sasuke's death glare, and discreetly hid behind her cousin.
"Uh... hi Naruto-kun," she said, blushing a deep red as she offered a small smile.
"Hi!" Naruto returned energetically. "What are you two up to?"
Hinata flushed a deeper scarlet as she turned her face to the ground, too nervous to speak. Her cousin said nothing and merely cast his eyes onto the blonde.
"..."
"Neji...?" Naruto ventured, when no answer came.
"..."
"You're staring at me."
"Shouldn't I be?" Neji replied, without really thinking about his answer. He hadn't meant to stare, and the fact that the blonde noticed it had snapped him out of it.
"Why? Is there something on my face?" Naruto asked, hands flying up to rub away any imperfections.
While Naruto scrubbed furiously at his face, Sasuke stalked up to the elder Hyuga, and held his gaze.
"Go away," the Uchiha growled.
"I have as much right to be here as you do," Neji replied, menace lacing his voice like arsenic. Normally he had no particularly major issues with the sole heir to the Uchiha clan. Although that was not to say he liked him. He actually held some measured respect for him, but today, within the Hyuga, a deep frustrated anger began to rise to direct itself at Sasuke.
"You're interrupting my spar."
"Is that what you call it? I thought you were having muscle spasms."
Naruto had rubbed his face raw when he noticed that Neji and Sasuke were verbally butting heads. Slowly, he let his eyes slide to the corner, the noodle bar barely in his peripheral vision. Carefully, moving hesitantly with all his ninja grace and stealth, he allowed himself to blend into the background as he made his way to breakfast.
Behind him, the two boys erupted into a fist fight.
Naruto was on his second bowl when the seat next to him was suddenly occupied. Half expecting an incensed Sasuke, he looked over to see the blushing Hyuga. Hinata of the main house.
"Hey! You here for ramen too?" the blonde shinobi asked cheerfully as he stacked his second bowl on his first and reached for a third that had just been set before him.
She was a deep crimson, her heart pounding wildly as she struggled to answer in a timely fashion. "Y-yes."
"I love ramen!" he said, rather unnecessarily as he took on his third bowl. Hinata smiled, and debated on whether or not she should order a bowl herself when Naruto stood up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Flashing her a grin, he slapped his money on the counter.
"Thanks for eating with me, Hinata!" he said, oblivious to the fact that she had yet to eat anything. With a wave, he turned and left the stand. Hinata Hyuga was left in the afterglow of his wake, her heart beating wildly in her chest as she stared at where the devilishly handsome Naruto Uzumaki had delivered his farewell.
The blonde ninja, meanwhile, was making his way out to one of the many wooded areas of Konoha to find a secluded spot to do some training.
"Hey Naruto!"
Turning at the sound of his name, he saw familiar pink hair bobbing as its owner ran towards him. "Hey Sakura-chan! What's up?"
"Have you seen Sasuke?" she asked, out of breath.
Typical.
"Yeah, I just saw him at the Ichiraku."
"Thanks!" Sakura said, turning around to run into Uchiha Sasuke. He was sporting coloring bruises and his clothes were mussed and torn, splotches of dirt showing up randomly. Apparently his run-in with Neji had gotten a bit out of hand. He was still bleeding from a cut on his lower lip.
There was a muffled 'oomf!' from the pink haired ninja as she looked up, ready to begin a tirade against whoever had decided to suddenly appear right behind her. Upon recognition of the dark haired heartthrob, she giggled nervously as she began to greet the new arrival.
"Naruto, you left early."
"It was taking you too long with Neji."
"But I wasn't done with you yet."
"Sasuke, I'm not going to wait around all day for you," Naruto said as he turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke demanded, brushing past a babbling and fussing Sakura to follow the loud-mouthed ninja.
"I figured I'd do a little bit of training, maybe take a nap, swim... something like that."
Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, a strange look crossing his features that Naruto couldn't possibly begin to identify.
"Swimming... without clothes?"
"Yes, I believe that how it's done," Naruto shot, furrowing his brow as he looked at Sasuke critically.
"Naruto, don't be a jerk to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura shouted. Smiling, the blonde waved at the pink-haired girl before disappearing in a puff of smoke. He reappeared at the edge of a treeline and jumped when the Uchiha suddenly landed next to him.
"I'm coming with you."
Naruto blinked at him before grinning, beginning his trek forward as he called over his shoulder. "Fine by me."
Sasuke waited a moment, looking after the blonde, "Yes... fine."
It was when Naruto burst into his personal favorite clearing to find Neji there, meditating, that he begun to wonder why everyone was following him. Neji's hair was no longer neat, his clothes were in much the same state as Sasuke's and his skin, too, was left marked from his morning scuffle.
Feeling a disturbing sense of déjà vu, he blurted out, "Ne... Neji! What are you doing here!"
"Oh, Naruto, it's about time you got here." There was a brief pause when Sasuke came through the underbrush after Naruto. "Uchiha." It was a cold statement that held a dangerous note of warning and the blonde was at a loss as to why. However, he decided it was not his problem, so he ignored it entirely.
"Hyuga," Sasuke sneered, eyes glaring with unfathomable anger. He crouched down into a fighting stance, ready to attack at any moment.
Neji took the hint and readied himself for battle as well, after all, they were fighting for a most valuable prize, even if neither would say it out loud. "You're wasting your time, Uchiha. It is my destiny to win."
"Let me tell you a little something about destiny, it hates freaks like you."
Naruto, for the second time that day, slid away from the two as they began to exchange blows. He wondered briefly if he should tell anyone about the bloodlust that had taken over his peers.
As he trekked through the woods, Naruto decided that training, for the moment, was out. He doubted he could nap easily, knowing that his freshly demented comrades were sharing the forest, so that meant he should swim.
Naruto splashed around in the water happily. He felt much more relaxed and refreshed. He loved water. He also decided he loved trees... and grass... and sky. Cheerfully, he took in a deep breath and dove under, legs kicking him forward as he propelled through the water.
Light from above the surface reached down to his depth and he opened his eyes, ignoring the slight burn as he looked around. Seaweed and sand. He had scared away all the fish a long time ago. When his lungs began to ache, pleading for air, he swam upwards, breaking the surface with a delighted cry.
His blonde hair was plastered to his head. Water streamed down his face and he was forced to close his eyes. Vainly, he used his wet arm to wipe his face dry. So he shook his head, freeing it of offensive water droplets, spraying everywhere.
Pushing his bangs out of the way, he floated on his back, letting his arms and legs dangle as his natural buoyancy kept him afloat. It was from this unique vantage point that he could look up and see through the leaves of the trees.
But there was something disturbing in Konoha.
Something was wrong with one tree in particular.
Green leaves... green eyes...
Red hair.
"Gaara... Why are you here?" he asked, his tone indicating that he was witnessing the chaotic elements of the universe crash together in a primordial rampage and that he should proceed with caution.
Gaara leapt down from his perch to the ground below, and Naruto had to flip off his back to tread water, just to look at him.
"Watching you swim."
Naruto stopped treading and allowed himself to sink.
A/N: To be honest, I wasn't sure if I should stop there or not. In regards to any sweet Naruto lovin', I didn't really make anything too apparent, as I wanted to introduce who all's vying for our favorite blonde's affection. Of course, I could never leave Gaara out, because I love him so. Even I'm not sure who I want the winner to be.
I named this fic after a song I had stuck in my head. I think it's by the Beatles, but I'm not sure. This bit also has nothing to do with anything.
This is my first Naruto fanfic, and I've been wanting to write one for some time. Mostly because of all the different series of manga and anime that I've read, on the whole, Naruto seems to have one of the highest quality of fanfiction. It just seems to have a higher percentage of well-written, quality fanfics. Am I the only one who thinks this?
Oh, and if anyone would be so kind as to beta for me... since I very rarely can bring myself to edit my own stories, I'd be much obliged. Feel free to e-mail me.
Now that I'm through babbling, I am going to humbly beg for your reviews. Or threaten, whichever comes easiest.