Clockwork.
By: hachico
Disclaimer: "Naruto" and all characters derived from said series are the creation and thereby intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. No profits are being made from the creation of this work of fan-made fiction.
Three O'Clock
A lantern flared to life in the darkness, casting partial light on a number of hulking, shrouded figures, row upon row of empty shelves, and several discarded tools as the two cloaked figures made their way deeper into the huge abandoned workshop. Among these huge silhouettes only one stood uncovered – a large mechanical fox with many tails, a ferocious toothy grin plastered across its playfully sinister black lips. It was rather impressive even partially obscured in the dark. Shaking his head lightly at the spectacle, the second visitor moved on to where his companion stood, tugging at a door which he probably wouldn't have even noticed if the other man hadn't pointed it out first.
The bespectacled man coughed fitfully as ahead of him his master suddenly cracked open the stubborn wooden door, stirring up thick clouds of dust from the ground in the process. His eyes narrowed in suspicion when he realized that the door itself was relatively dust free compared to the numerous disused artifacts that they had passed up until then.
"Orochimaru-sama," he called, and was immediately greeted with a soft affirmative sound from the one in front of him.
"Yes, Kabuto," the other man voiced up ahead, confirming his thoughts, "It seems others have already been here."
"So this means they are probably in town for the competition as well," his companion deduced immediately, peering around at their surroundings, "We should be cautious."
Once they stepped through, they seemed to be in a study or atelier of some sort, as the room was much smaller than the wide warehouse that they had just passed through, and was populated by several shelves worth of books. Judging by the empty gaps on the shelves, which had been vacant long enough for several years worth of dust to pile on, many of these books had been removed a long time ago.
"It also means that we were right to seek out this place," Orochimaru informed his assistant, reaching to retrieve a tattered tome that had been left face up upon the room's single, large wooden desk. There were some tools there too, which substantiated the fact that the original owner had used this area as a workspace. Carefully, Kabuto poked around at some of the objects that were in plain view. They were simple clock maker's tools really, nothing like the kind of equipment he would have expected from somebody whom Orochimaru deigned to call "rival". And on the edge of the desk sat a small mechanical toad, a windup toy with a rusty brass key jutting unobtrusively out from its back. He lifted up the trinket and inspected it with a small frown as he waited for his master to seek out what he wanted.
Kabuto turned sharply as he discerned a soft rustle from somewhere off to his left. When he peered through the dim lamplight, he realized that the door through which they had entered was slightly more ajar than he remembered. Catching his gaze, Orochimaru smirked slightly and nodded in indication that he should investigate.
Without a word the light haired young man slipped out the way they had entered and back into the larger workshop area, shifting his eyes about cautiously. However, there was no sign that anybody else had been there with them. Frown twisting into a soft sneer, Kabuto turned on his heel to rejoin the other man. When he did, he startled suddenly as Orochimaru gave a loud cackle.
"Hahaha! Oh this is perfect," the amber-eyed machinist laughed, still flipping lightly through the large notebook that he held, "Absolutely perfect."
"I take it you've found what you were looking for then?" Kabuto could not repress a smile as he watched the snake-like man's face light up with a dark sort of glee.
"More than you can imagine. It looks like our friend has left behind a little gift for us." the man replied, absently licking at the corners of his finely painted mouth, "As I predicted. The one who can grant my wish should be right here in Konoha, Kabuto. The rumors seem to be true."
"So where do we find this so called "gift"?"
"Simple," Orochimaru said, shutting the old notebook sharply. A devious glint had risen to his sharp eyes, and he produced a tattered set of blueprints that looked to have been folded up inside the notebook. They showed a diagram and calculations for the construction of a suspiciously familiar vulpine figure.
"We follow the fox."
It was not long before the other contestants started pouring into the secluded waiting area, and when they did, Sasuke could tell right away that they were all just as serious as Naruto about the competition. In addition he realized that most of the entrants were a good deal older than the blonde boy, which he supposed wasn't all that surprising at all. It took most ordinary people years to master the art of crafting functional clockwork, let alone anything that could rival the complexity of what his clan was capable of. For that reason, he had a hard time believing that Naruto was as ignorant and naïve about the true purpose of machinery as he let on. He couldn't be any older than the young Uchiha himself, and yet he commanded a considerable knowledge and mastery of clockwork from what Sasuke had seen so far. It seemed unfathomable that anyone as skilled as the blonde boy could be so…
"Stupid," he growled as he watched the other boy engage in a bragging contest with another participant not too far away. He was about ready to go over and remind the fool that he would not tolerate unnecessarily idiotic behavior from a servant, when something else caught his eye.
Standing in a secluded corner of the waiting room was another boy, who also looked to be around his own age, or perhaps younger. He stood out because unlike many of the others he seemed to be keeping to himself, not going out of his way to talk to or make eye contact with anyone else. His clothes appeared rather foreign – they were heavily layered and seemed unsuitable to the cold weather. The boy did not resemble any of the people Sasuke had observed at the festival. For one thing his hair was a vivid burgundy color, unlike any he had seen thus far in his travels. He also had green eyes, a more bluish celadon shade rather than the soft hazel color that he had seen from time to time, or even the deep emerald of that pink haired girl's irises. However, they seemed to be ringed severely, almost as though outlined in kohl.
He must have come a very long way, which made it a bit odd that he chose not to engage any of the other people there. Surely it would be a good chance for any foreign clock smith to learn a bit more about the local machinery, as techniques tended to vary greatly from place to place. The oddness of the boy's lack of interaction, as well as his grim expression made Sasuke distinctly uneasy, perhaps even a bit annoyed. As he cast suspicious eyes on the other youth, the noble suddenly jumped when out of nowhere a hand was slapped firmly upon his back.
"Why don't you go say 'hi' or something, if you're so interested?" Naruto inquired from beside him, half joking judging by the smart-mouthed little smirk that illuminated his expression.
Sasuke glared acridly back at him, trying to hide the fact that he had truly been startled by the sudden physical contact.
"Are you done with you pissing contest?" he asked bitterly, wrenching away from his now smiling companion, "I thought you were here to prove you're the best? All you've proven so far is that you're a colossal idiot."
"I was having fun!" the blonde boy asserted defensively, poking his detractor roughly in the ribs for emphasis, "Anyway, you're the one who needs to get a grip on life. Don't you realize you're freaking everybody out? You're just as bad as that guy over there."
So saying he jerked his head in the direction of the red head that Sasuke had been keeping tabs on thus far. However, to Sasuke's apprehension, he found that the boy was no longer there. He must have figured out that he was being watched and slipped away when Sasuke had been distracted by Naruto's pestering. The dark haired boy grit his teeth a little and glared daggers at the blonde for having distracted him.
"Why don't you try talking to some people?" Naruto suggested obliviously, "You know, like a normal human being? Maybe you'll learn something."
Fed up with trying to understand the other boy's insistence on him engaging the other clock smiths, the young Uchiha rolled his eyes, and instead decided that perhaps it would be a good time to pick Naruto's brains a little bit more about how he had come to inherit Kakashi's position. He mostly wanted to know when his trusted servant would be back so that he could lose the exasperating blonde. But even more, he couldn't deny that he had a growing desire to find out why Kakashi had chosen him in particular to fill the role. Not to mention how Naruto had come to possess such…considerable skill in their trade.
"Naruto," he began abruptly, earning a soft "hmm?" from the other boy.
"When you said that Kakashi left me with you…did he mention where he was headed?" the boy asked, using the most civil tone he could muster.
The tone that he used carried an unspoken question as well: 'When is he coming back?'
"Um…no, not really," Naruto admitted slowly, realizing that their conversation might suddenly be headed into dangerous territory. He himself had wondered a few times that day just where Kakashi had disappeared to. Surely he didn't mean to leave Naruto with the burdensome young prince indefinitely? He wasn't that cruel was he?
'Then again, if I had to put up with this guy 24-7, I'd probably be itching to dump him off on the first schmuck that came along too,' the blonde haired youth thought to himself, grimacing a little at his own naivety.
"I mean, I guess he went off to find you a cure, don't you think?" the young clock smith hazarded cautiously. It wasn't until he saw the sudden change in Sasuke's expression that he came to regret his words. Maybe the whole "doll" thing wasn't the best subject to touch on just yet. Especially since the arrogant young noble didn't seem to be fully aware yets of his strange condition.
At that thought Naruto felt a bit irritated. It seemed unbelievable that Sasuke could be so intelligent and yet so ignorant at the same time. He almost rolled his eyes at the thought before reminding himself that this was a serious matter that required his full attention. But still…
'Stupid Sasuke,' he thought, unable to withhold his scowl.
"Did he mention what kind of cure exactly?" the dark haired boy asked, gauging his words carefully. When Naruto merely shook his head, Sasuke decided that perhaps he had better explain properly if he was ever going to get some answers. Naruto didn't seem like the type to draw inferences very easily after all.
"I'm sure Kakashi has mentioned to you that I have a certain illness," he explained, his voice becoming noticeably quieter, bordering on a whisper as he leaned in a little too closely for Naruto's comfort. His warm breath ghosted across the blonde's whiskers tickling his face as he explained, "It's plagued me since childhood to be honest. But I've never found it to be any particular burden before," Sasuke admitted.
"That is until the night that Kakashi brought me here. It's true that feel unwell from time to time, but on that particular night it was very serious…I even lost consciousness. The next thing I knew, I was awakening on the floor of your little toy shop."
Naruto growled a little bit at the last comment, but still managed to hold his tongue until the other boy was finished. He was actually finding a sort of morbid interest in Sasuke's story now, both dreading and anticipating the moment when the other boy realized what was really happening to him.
"I find it strange enough that Kakashi would leave me in an unfamiliar place like this. But before… you called me 'doll'. Then when you sang that song something strange happened to my body," he grimaced a little bit in memory of just what had happened to him back then, "It defies reason, much like my vassal's disappearance. It's all too strange.
"That's why I'm asking you…Naruto," he said, hesitating as he finally called the other boy by his proper name, "What the hell is going on? What do you know about all this? What is…happening to me? I demand some answers."
Naruto frowned deeply at the other boy as for one unguarded moment Sasuke's expression took on a look of true confusion, even fear. Genuinely at a loss, all he could do was shake his head helplessly. Should he say anything about the story Kakashi had told him the night before? And even if he did, would Sasuke believe him? How would he react if he did believe it?
All of a sudden Naruto realized just what kind of pressure Kakashi had asked him to undertake when he had left Sasuke at the shop so cryptically last night. He had said to try and "fix" him, if he could. But as far as Naruto could see, fixing Sasuke would take a lot more than some tools and a little elbow grease. He was pretty sure by now that whatever was plaguing the boy was more than a mere clockwork heart. It had to be an enchantment of some sort, and he definitely wasn't qualified to handle those!
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately for the struggling blonde it was right at that moment that a loud voice broke through the steady buzz of chatter in the small waiting area.
"Uzumaki Naruto?" called a smallish, mousy haired man with half-moon glasses that sat on the very tip of his nose. He carried a long sheet of paper from which he seemed to be calling names for the competition, and wore a very official looking golden badge pinned to his chest. It must have been one of the contest officials, the blonde realized suddenly.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" he cried again, raising his voice so that he could be heard above the din of the crowd.
"Yes! " Naruto shouted right away, raising his hand, "That's me! I'm over here!"
"Where? Ahh, yes. Master Jiraiya's pupil, correct?" the man affirmed, peering over the frames of his rather thick little spectacles for a clear view of the boy in question. He frowned disapprovingly at the assembled contestants as a fair amount of surprised noises and barely hushed murmurs circulated at the mention of the well-known master clock smith's name. The small but stately seeming man cleared his throat loudly to call for silence.
"You are up first, my boy. You are to exit and wait on stage until your machinery arrives," he stated a little pompously, "Please prepare yourself, as your entry is in the process of being brought in from the holding facility and will arrive shortly."
"Yes sir!" Naruto confirmed with a sharp little nod. Sasuke noted that his hands seemed to be trembling slightly, but whether it was from general nervousness or excitement about the contest the raven haired youth could not be sure.
What he did know was that as Naruto turned to regard him with apologetic blue eyes, he caught sight of the solitary red haired boy from the corner again, standing against the far wall behind the blonde. He shifted his eyes toward the blue-eyed clocksmith, his green irises alight with considerable interest. Sasuke frowned and found himself immediately shooting a warning glare toward the boy in question as he accepted Naruto's hasty apology.
"Sorry Sasuke," the excited boy was saying earnestly, "Can we talk about this later?"
"Do as you please," he conceded with a slight huff, "For now."
When the other boy shot him a genuinely grateful smile and whirled to follow the waiting official outside, the young noble felt first a tinge of warmth, then a strange chill run through him. Unbidden a sense of foreboding washed over Sasuke, causing him to shudder involuntarily, and as he watched Naruto's increasingly familiar blonde mane disappear out into the cold, he couldn't help the words that suddenly slipped past his lips unwarranted.
"Be careful."
----------
Stepping out onto the frigid festival ground, the blonde boy realized that it was much colder out than he remembered. No wonder Sasuke had fallen ill so suddenly. He couldn't imagine being out right now without a coat!
"Be careful," he echoed softly.
Naruto shuddered as the dark haired boy's parting words reverberated through his memory. He blinked a few times to clear the flurries from his eyelashes before he caught sight of the pompous little official waving him over from the judging area.
Be careful? Why would he say something like that? Shouldn't it be something more like "Good luck", or "Break a leg", or even "Don't trip"?
'What's wrong with that bastard? Is he trying to make me paranoid?!' Naruto fumed internally as he took the stage.
There was already a substantial crowd gathered below the extremely wide, raised platform, and he could see steam curling up from several hot drinks clutched protectively in spectators' hands. Seeing them, Naruto couldn't help but feel amazed at the idea that so many had turned out in this cold weather mainly to watch the contest. In his mind it was a testament to the marvel of clockwork that people were so enthralled with it as to come from far and wise to see the best that clockwork had to offer. He was suddenly glad that he had worked as hard as he could on his fox. And a small part of him was even more relieved that he'd had somebody as skilled as the young prince, regardless of how annoying he was, to help him perfect it. Now he could show everyone, especially the friends who had supported him in his endeavors, just how awesome clockwork could be.
With that thought the clockmaker boy's blue eyes widened in sudden awareness.
"Sakura-chan!!" he gasped, startling the man in front of him.
"What was that?" the official inquired, glancing back over his shoulder.
"Oh, nothing!" he denied right away, though inside he felt very sheepish. He had forgotten all about Sakura-chan! How would she know that Sasuke was safe and sound? For all Naruto knew, she could still be searching around in the cold by herself. He frowned deeply as he contemplated his situation. If she had a bad time tonight it would most definitely be his fault. First allowing a friend to be exposed to that asshole of a prince, and then failing to inform her that said asshole had been found. He almost hung his head in dejection, but gazing out at the crowd he remembered that he had to maintain his composure until his entry arrived and his showing was over.
That's when an idea hit him. The crowd and most of the fair grounds were all easily visible from his current stance…so why not ham it up and take advantage of his current vantage point at the same time?
Suddenly the blonde infused his features with pride that wasn't entirely feigned and grinned out at the assembled spectators. Among the crowd he recognized many folks whom he saw on an almost daily basis in his little town, and made sure to wave to each and every one. He was rewarded with many knowing smiles, waves, and even cheers of encouragement, but not with the visage that he most hoped to encounter. He strained his ears for anything that might cue him as to his friend's location, but to no avail. Off to the side, along the edge of the stage there was a large band assembled, which had been performing assorted festive pieces and local tunes throughout the festival. It was meant to be a pleasant background to the festivities, but right now he found it mildly distracting as he scanned the crowd for signs of his friend.
'Sakura-chan…where are you?' he wondered, struggling to keep the lines of worry from showing in his face, 'Please don't tell me she left the fair grounds...'
Just then Naruto caught sight of something a little bit unsettling. As he peered out along the rows, hoping that perhaps he might spot the familiar head of pink among the spectators, he noticed two hooded figures. He paused not because of their strange attire however, but because of the strange feeling of intensity he felt from one of the two. And as Naruto stared on, he could have sworn he caught a flash of red from beneath one of those hoods.
He squinted just a little and was rewarded with the briefest glimpse of familiar raven colored hair against pale skin and the barest hint of a stern countenance. Naruto blinked.
'No way!'
But when he looked again, the two figures had disappeared as though they had never been there to begin with. The blonde boy swallowed deeply and returned to scanning the crowd. That couldn't have been right. He must have been psyching himself out by thinking about that stupid noble and how much disruption he had caused already.
And yet…
'Be careful.' Those words would not leave him, and with them Naruto felt his sense of urgency increase. He needed to find Sakura, and soon.
----------
Unbeknownst to the two shrouded figures that finally emerged from the large abandoned building, a third form watched them intently. Tightening his scarf about his neck and face, the man descended from his observatory perch above the door of the warehouse with the swiftness and stealth of a large bird of prey and took off after them, curious as to their goal. Rounding a corner, he narrowly avoided a large group of carts dawn by several men, presumably headed to collect the huge pieces of machinery that had been stored in the warehouse.
Kakashi frowned distastefully under his muffler as he pondered just what those two devious machinists could be up to in a place like Konoha. He had been scouring the nearest town for information when he had come across the two of them early that morning, and since then had trailed them directly back to his hometown. Fearing that their inquiries might somehow lead them to his young master, the silver haired man had put off his information-gathering search in favor of keeping an eye on Kabuto and his master, Orochimaru. However, thus far the pair had made no move that indicated any desire to find Sasuke again. It had been a surprise to find that the two had headed for the warehouse straight away upon reaching the town, but that did nothing to assuage his suspicions, for he knew well of the snake-man's treachery. Even if their target was not the young prince this time, they could be up to something much more dangerous. It would not do to let them run around unattended.
He slowed up as his targets suddenly rounded a corner, bringing them behind a large and inconspicuous looking building, a stable by the look and smell of it. Kakashi strained his ears, listening until he heard their footsteps echo far down the empty street, indicating that it was safe for him to follow again.
No sooner had he entered the alleyway than his ears were accosted with a low and subersive masculine tone.
"Ah, how pleasant that we should meet again so soon," came a familiar silky hiss from behind.
"So, you've been expecting me all along?" Kakashi replied just as smoothly, not bothering to turn around. He would rather the amber-eyed man not see how his face was tightened, even ever so slightly, in thinly suppressed anger.
"Oh don't worry. I'm not after you today, Kakashi," the man assured him suggestively, "It seems you are as skillful as ever at slipping out of harm's way however. Luckily for you and your little prince, I have more important matters to attend to for now."
"Then what do you want in Konoha?" he inquired sharply, "There is little to interest a man of your tastes in this place."
"So rude," Orochimaru chided, sadistic amustement evident in his tone, "Even though I've deigned to stop in and provide you with some helpful information..."
Kakashi gave the slightest noise of disbelief, and stood a little bit straighter as though to remind Orochimaru that physically he would always have the advantage.
"You are still searching for the other Uchiha heir are you not?" the snake-man inquired unexpectedly, actually managing to take him by surprise, "If so, you might do well to attend this year's festival. I hear the competition is quite…formidable, this year."
"Festival? What could he possibly want with—" but as Kakashi finally turned to face the source of his anger and confusion, he found that the other man had already disappeared again.
The silver haired vassal uttered a soft, but very sincere curse as he left the alley himself and returned to the main street, glimpsing around briefly for further signs of the enemy. Was Orochimaru telling the truth? If so the entire town could be in severe danger. However, he had no idea why said danger would make its way to such a sleepy little town. What he did know was that if he was going to prevent the people of Konoha from ending up like the Uchiha, he was going to need some assistance.
With that thought in mind, he turned his steps toward the fair grounds.
----------
"Hey, Sakura!!" The kitchen girl turned sharply as she heard her name called out across the snowy fairgrounds, her eyes bright with expectation. Her smile faltered however, when she realized it was not who she thought it was.
"Over here! Oi! What are you looking like that for?!" the boy who had issued the call demanded brusquely, swiftly making his way toward her through the crowd when he realized that she had seen him, "You disappointed to see us or something?"
Before her stood a slightly ruddy faced young man of about her same age, with dark brown hair and sharp, almost feral seeming brown eyes that peeked out from under the fur trimmed hood of his heavy leather coat. Just a short way behind him stood two girls, one with dark hair cut short so that it hung about her ears, and the other sporting two neat, chocolate brown knots that sat on opposite sides of her head. The two were accompanied by a slightly scruffy looking canine with a faintly reddish hue.
"Oh, sorry Kiba," she said apologetically, a small frown still threatening the corners of her mouth, "TenTen! Hinata! You guys came to see the contest too?"
"Of course!" TenTen assured her, leering slightly in her darker haired companion's direction, "You know Hinata wouldn't want to miss Naruto-kun's big day."
"T-T..TenTen!" Hinata cried in surprise, her cheeks flaring to a healthy pink that was highly visible considering her normally pale skin tone. "You ...you know I a-a-almost always come to see the p-pageant!"
Kiba merely rolled his eyes at the display and stuck out his tongue distastefully.
"No idea what you'd see in that boor. All he wants to do is mess around with his stupid machinery all day," the boy said, scrunching his nose up slightly as though offended by the very thought, "What kind of doofus spends his days stuck indoors playing with stupid metal toys?"
"B-but you were the one who.. who came and asked us to go with you to the contest first, w-weren't you Kiba?" Hinata reminded him pointedly.
"That's because there're all kinds of good food stands out!!" he barked indignantly, cheeks flushing a little bit, "I'm not interested in that stupid clockwork stuff!"
At this his furry companion gave a sharp yip as though to voice his own opinion, which Kiba did not seem to appreciate.
"Akamaru, not you too!?" he griped, smacking his own forehead dramatically, "What does everybody see in that guy?"
Laughing softly, Sakura merely shook her head, already cheered by her friends' antics. She had been increasingly worried about Naruto when she found signs of neither him nor Sasuke among the crowd, and had been beginning to give up hope. Now, however, she was reminded that Naruto had plenty of other friends at the fair. One of them had probably run into him at the festival and would be able to tell her of his whereabouts if she asked.
Expression lightening up a little, Sakura turned to TenTen in question. "Are Shikamaru and the others out here too then?" the pink haired girl asked.
"Mm-hm!" the older girl told her with a sharp nod, "Kiba came and picked me and Hinata up at the shop, and then we were supposed to meet up with everyone else over at the stables a little while ago. But then Hinata saw you wandering around by yourself so we took a detour to come get you."
"Yeah, we were late anyway because that asshole Neji had to go off by himself without telling anybody," Kiba growled immediately in explanation, "We spent twenty minutes waiting on his ass! Then the old lady from next door comes out and tells us she saw him heading over to the fairgrounds like thirty minutes ago! Ain't that about a bitch?"
"K-Kiba..." Hinata said in a conciliatory tone, "Maybe Neji j-just didn't get the message this morning. I'm sure he wouldn't do that on purpose."
"Whatever!" the boy snarled, tossing up his hands, "You know I hate that guy anyway!"
With a barely suppressed smile Sakura raised her hands in a placating manner. "Well in any case," she told them, "I was just wondering if any of you had seen Naruto around?"
"Naruto?" TenTen echoed inquisitively, "Nope. I would've thought he'd be hanging out with you since you're here Sakura, or at least he'd probably be off ogling all the foreign machinery. What are you doing at the festival anyway? Anko let you have the night off too?"
The pink haired girl shook her head sharply. "No, just a few free hours," she told her friend and co-worker, "What about you? I know you and Ino are getting the night off but…aren't you tired from yesterday?"
"Yeah!" TenTen beamed back, "But after all the work we put in the past couple of nights, it would be a shame not to have some fun at the pageant don't you think? It's only once a year!"
She smiled back at the pleased young woman, knowing very well that what TenTen had said was true -- she and Ino had done more of their fair share of work entertaining customers over the past few days, meaning that their break was much deserved. Knowing this, she almost felt sorry for asking them to help her seek out her missing friend, as well as the young noble whom she had recently lost.
"Sorry to bug you guys like this," Sakura began, deciding that plunging right ahead before she lost her nerve might be the best course of action," But I'm loo--"
"Yo," came another masculine voice from behind, interrupting Sakura's request, "What are you guys doing way over here?"
When she turned to face the source of the new voice, Sakura's eyes fell upon yet another familiar figure -- Nara Shikamaru, the town apothecary's son.
"Hey, Sakura. Didn't know you'd be here," he greeted in passing, "You guys coming or what? The judging is about to start. Naruto's up first!" insisted the uncharacteristically impatient seeming young man, agitatedly adjusting his heavy winter jacket so that the fur lined hood fit snug around his face. He was jumping from foot to foot in the cold, and the whine in his tone demonstrated that viewing the pageant wasn't the only reason that Shikamaru was interested in quickly joining the large gathering of people that had already assembled around the stage – it would be nice to be surrounded by the warmth of the crowd.
"Where's everybody else," Kiba asked, glancing back toward the stage.
"Already over there. Sent me out to collect you guys. Damned troublesome-!"Shikamaru started, but was quickly cut off by Sakura's excited inquiry.
"So Naruto's up there already?" she demanded at once, rubbing her hands together to generate some warmth – she too was starting to feel the heavy chill that set in as night descended.
"Eh? Of course," he said with a nod, raising fine dark eyebrows at her, "Hamming it up as usual."
This elicited a soft laugh from Hinata and a rare smile.
"Th-that's so like him," she chuckled fondly, regarding them all with a smile that lit her face pleasantly, "L-let's hurry and go ch-cheer Naruto-kun on!"
And so, following the bashful dark haired girl's lead, the four teens hurried off to see the show.
Deep grey clouds swirled in the skies above, sending down more flurries of snow as they obscured the last of the setting sun's pale violet rays. Sakura's gaze wandered skyward once or twice as she and her four friends united with the other half of their group in the crowd. As expected, Naruto was already up on stage, flashing wide grins and peace signs wherever he turned in an impressive display of confidence and showmanship.
She snorted a little derisively at his antics. Same old Naruto.
But what of the young lordling whose presence she had been graced with earlier that afternoon. She had yet to tell her companions of the sudden appearance of the noble youth who claimed to be an acquaintance of Naruto's.
'Naruto. That dunce!' she thought. Leave it to the clockwork-obsessed blonde to regale her daily with practically everything he knew about machinery, ad nauseum, and yet neglect to mention that he had ties to royalty. She could hardly believe that somebody with such noble bearing as Sasuke was in any way related to her admittedly boorish friend.
Not for the first time since she had met Naruto, did Sakura find herself wondering about his origins. She had only known him since he showed up at Anko's inn alongside the man he now called mentor one morning several years ago. At the time Sakura was just beginning her career at the establishment, and being about nine years old she had been relegated, like all beginners, to mopping floors and scrubbing dishes. Nearly seven years had passed since the chance encounter that had led to her and Naruto's friendship, and in that time she had scarcely heard him speak of where he had come from and what he had done before master Jiraiya had brought him to their sleepy town to begin his apprenticeship.
Could it be that Sasuke was someone whom Naruto had met in his early travels? Was it possible that the mysterious young noble was some friend from early childhood who knew things about Naruto that she had failed to glean from their seven years of friendship?
Sakura frowned hard as she realized that as much as she felt she knew Naruto, in reality there was so much she didn't know about her friend -- like where he was born, who his parents were, why he had come to their town all those years ago with little more than the clothes on his back and a strange affinity for clockwork machinery. With this in mind, Sakura directed her gaze up at the stage where Naruto continued to wave and smile. Abruptly, as though sensing her intense train of thought, his gaze landed on her. The blonde boy's eyes widened significantly in what she took as a look of relief, and he made a somewhat frantic gesture with his hands as thought trying to tell her something.
Sakura smiled back widely and waved in turn as she realized what he was probably trying to tell her.
'Does this mean Naruto's found him?' she mused, a bit surprised. She herself had had absolutely no luck in trying to locate either of the two boys in the crowd. But then again, Naruto did have a tiny height advantage over her, and perhaps that had made all the difference. Setting her gaze on her friend again as he returned to his posturing for the crowd, Sakura resolved that as soon as she got the chance she would take some time to ask the clock smith's apprentice some of the pressing questions that populated her mind at the moment, starting with what exactly his relationship was with Sasuke.
A hush fell over the crowd then as a low rumble was heard in the distance. It was the sound of something heavy and wheeled making its way slowly toward the stage. Cutting her eyes over to where the sound had originated from, Sakura saw what looked like a procession of low, heavily laden carts approaching the judging area from the northern part of the fairgrounds. They were drawn by a combination of manpower and a few smallish beasts of burden, appearing to originate from the general direction of the clock tower and the large abandoned warehouse, which were the only places of note on the northern side of town. As the last waning light from the sun was extinguished under the clouds and the oncoming dusk, several torches and other lights flared to life around the square in the near darkness, tossing the entire area into a somewhat whimsical alternate world made up of lamplight and the intricate play of shadows across the familiar structures of their town square.
Sakura's eyes were likewise alight with wonder, taking in the incredible transformation of the town that she had known all her life – it was as though the scene was being set for some fantastic play, to take place before her very eyes in the small town of Konoha that very night. And as a light fog rolled in, accompanied by the mild yet unrelenting falling of the snow, at last the general din of the crowd and the band was drowned out as huge clock tower tolled, deep and slow, announcing the arrival of night and the true beginning of the festivities.
Author's note: Phew. Finally, "Clockwork" gets the update it deserves. Not sure why I took so long to come out with this one -- it's certainly nothing special! Not a whole lot of action going on in these early chapters, for which I apologize. :-( As with many of my fics it takes a while to set the scene and develop the surroundings. It's good and bad I suppose. Still, I got so many lovely reviews despite my total lack of updates!! XD STOP SPOILING ME. (but really, DON'T stop!)
I also thought I'd take a moment to adress some questions I've gotten so far. So, for those who asked:
-No, the chapter titles (twelve o' clock, one o' clock, etc.) have almost nothing to do with the plot. Any connection is purely coincidental, sorry.
-No, Sasuke hasn't figured out that he's a doll, but he is pretty well freaked out. Seems annoying, but to be fair, I don't think "OMG I'm a living doll" is the first conclusion I'd come to if I were in his position, either...;;;
-Yes, Sasuke's body does work better when it's Naruto that sings the song. Also, he is affected by cold. Kudos to those who noticed.
-Yes, there are more characters waiting in the wings, who will play an important part in how this story unfolds. Hopefully how they fit in will be a surprise.
-As with the actual manga/anime that this story is based on, all of the characters are secretly...overtly... gay. Even the straight ones.
I seem to have gotten lots of questions about Sasuke's condition, etc. What surprised me even more though is that few people asked about Naruto's background in this story -- where he came from, etc. He's obviously got no parents, and he has a lot of aptitude for clockwork, but why? I'll be getting into his origins more some time soon. XD
Until then! -- hachico, September 2007