Hi everyone! I haven't written in the Naruto Section for a while. Got inspired all of a sudden, and decided to do a Modern Fantasy take on team seven's adventures. Tell me what you think, and enjoy!

leishe

Dream Country

Dawn was something that none of the children ever wanted to chase away. When the muted grey and yellow light illuminated the jagged tops of the stone and glass skyscrapers lining the horizon, it was the only time that they could see the string fairies dancing and floating gracefully in the air, while the city they called "mother" began to slowly lurch awake. It was the only time the sunlight was pure, because for the rest of the day, it was oil streaked and blackened. The grey mist began to settle everywhere once more, and then mother awakened, growling at the brightness which had dimmed down to a timid whimper. And then everything was dark once more.

But such was the fate of the city, and its children.

I.

The young man was throttled awake by the small, scrawny girl. Her thin fingers were grappling at his throat and pressing his adam's apple down, making him choke. Two blue eyes flew open.

"Finally!" said a shrill voice, "You're so damn lazy, Naruto…it's almost morning!"

…morning? The words struck the boy, but then bounced off of him. It was morning already. Somehow, morning called to him as if it was only an echo.

"Meow."

He felt something furry and warm rub itself against his sprawled legs, licking the parts where his skin was bare, and then, before he could see it properly, scamper off without a sound. Naruto yawned and stretched, realizing only now that his arms were aching, his back hurting, and that there was a thin, malnourished little girl standing in front of him, glaring down with her eyes afire.

"Stupid Naruto," she spat, rolling a cigarette butt on the ground with the heel of her bare foot. "Come on. We'll be late for breakfast."

The boy blinked, rubbing at his tired eyes, and running the tip of his tongue over his cracked lips. There was something wrong with his throat today, like someone had rolled up a piece of sandpaper and shoved it down his throat. But that didn't matter. A new day meant a new start, didn't it? Perhaps he would feel better after a hot meal, and maybe, a bath.

He smiled, sniffing the air. It still reeked of smoke, canals, and beggars. Breakfast sounded wonderful.

Naruto got up from his sleeping place- a corner of a deserted factory- which he shared with the other homeless people. The girl stamped her foot impatiently.

"Naruto…!"

He laughed, but his stomach cried inside of him. "Okay Hanabi-chan," he heard himself say, "I'm coming." And then, as an afterthought, "…I hope that old crone cooked something decent for us to eat today."

II.

Inside the colossal mazes of the city lay a small corner of paradise, as some put it, called the Rhombus Garden. It was a place that was mostly untouched by the growling dank blackness of the city, where the grass was unbelievably green, and the sky bluish-grey instead of brown. This urban paradise was dominated by the rich elite—a handful of powerful clans that consisted of the socialites, the businessmen, and of course, the political leaders.

The houses in Rhombus Garden were, to put it simply, colossal. The theme was mostly Mediterranean, with tiled roofs and patios and tall trees dancing in the wind that the weather generator made. The Elite dined in clubhouses, took dips in their blue, blue swimming pools and strolls in the massive and luxurious gardens that their little haven of pleasure was known for.

For the people living in the city, it was the life. The best of the best of the best. Anyone who had set foot in the garden of heaven, as some said, was an extremely lucky person.

III.

The young man watched placidly as his mother wandered about in the swimming pool, treading water with light, graceful movements. Her white arms seemed to glow in the bright blue chlorine. She was smiling at something when his father came along, a mango shake in hand, and a red cherry hanging on to the lip of the tall glass.

Splash.

Sunlight was streaming down from the incredibly translucent dome that encircled the Garden, and it sparkled off the chlorinated waters, causing dots of light to appear before the boy's eyes. He rubbed at them and blinked rapidly.

"Sasuke!" his mother called, beaming at him. "Come and join me!"

His father stood by at the poolside, sipping his cold drink, and nodding. "Come on, son. You can't stay in the shade forever, you know!" and then he chuckled, and his wife laughed along with him.

The young man let a shallow sigh escape his chest, and then hit the stop button on the slim device that was currently attached to his left ear; a music player. Extremely light, high-quality, and expensive. He detached the device from his ear and tossed it lightly onto the table. Sasuke felt eyes on him as he walked to the pool, and descended into the water.

"Morning swims are just marvelous, aren't they?" His mother asked, swimming up to him.

"Mm," he said, agreeing only partially. His family enjoyed spending time at the swimming pool when it was morning, and his parents would have the servants take the food down to the poolside tables so that they could eat while sitting in the shade of the big umbrellas.

But then, morning swims also meant that Sasuke would have to socialize with the other people at the pool, namely, Those Three Horrible Girls. They were best friends, and two were cousins. One thing they had in common was shrill and annoying laughs. Another thing was that they all had crushes on Sasuke.

"Hi!"

Contact was unavoidable. He stiffened and nodded once. She went away, and he continued, muttering something. How he wished that evil brother of his was still around. It would make things a lot easier had Itachi still been living with them.

IV.

The alarm clock rang once, and the figure that was buried under loads and loads of thick soft cloth suddenly kicked to life. A hand reached out to grab the alarm clock and deactivate it, white the other struggled to peel the heavy blankets off the rest of its body. Two strained, tired eyes peeked out from the bed.

"Six…fifty four…"

"SAKURA! I'm leaving, OKAY? Breakfast is in the MICROWAVE!"

"…Yes mom…"

Her voice was still weak—creaky, from the drugged sleep that she had fallen into the night before. The girl sighed and settled once more into her warm haven of cloth and listened to the door of the apartment slam shut. Her mother was gone, off to work at the bland little accounting office in the city. She stretched, opening her mouth wide to let out a yawn, and hopped out of bed.

Ping! went the microwave, and she took out the plastic bowl of synthetic oatmeal, and set it on the table. The small apartment was empty now. It had one medium-sized window, where the dim grey light filtered in, catching onto the smudged glass. Sakura sighed and rubbed her left upper arm, dipping the metal spoon into the lukewarm oatmeal and opening her mouth to eat it.

She grimaced. It was lumpy. Her mother never did believe in the practicality of freeze-dried food. Always insisted on something "healthy" for breakfast. Sakura pushed the bowl away from her and got up to rummage for something better in the refrigerator.

The door opened. And something crawled out.

Sakura jumped back in shock and screamed. Her eyes went wide as she saw the monstrous grey creature crawl slowly out of the refrigerator, covered in grey sewage and dripping it all over the kitchen floor.

Its eyes were like those of a dead fish, and its body was long and lumpy and scaly. The thing had a mouth, wide and grinning in a frightening way, with hundreds of long, jagged teeth inside.

She screamed again, at her wit's end, and ran to her mother's room. Hurriedly, Sakura fumbled with the lock on the door, and it clicked. The girl collapsed on the bed, heart racing. She took short, jagged breaths, and her eyes flicked around, wondering what to do.

They fell on her mother's old handgun, lying on one of the cabinets. Shaking, Sakura got up and took the black piece of metal in her hands, hesitantly. She checked it. It was loaded with two shots. The girl shuddered, wondering if she really had the strength to do this.

V.

The man with white hair got out of his car, which was parked in an empty parking lot. There was a small diner in front of him, painted white and blue. The man grinned, knowing that there were people inside—specifically, female people. He cast a backward glance at the flat, brown horizon, and saw a small, but nevertheless hideous silhouette of towering black in the distance. He looked at it warily, wearily.

"I'm free…" he sighed, and then he turned around to enter the diner, because he was hungry.

VI.

Naruto lined up with Hanabi at the long line of hungry, haggard-looking people that lined up by the gasoline station every morning. The line led up to a large, square grey machine, which spat out a gob of brown stuff and a piece of bread on a tray.

The boy grinned as he listened to his stomach rumble. He patted it, knowing that delicious food was coming soon. He was next to the machine, now, and Hanabi already had her tray. She grimaced at it, as if she didn't eat this kind of food every morning.

Naruto took his tray and followed the thin girl back to the factory.

VII.

A phone rang, somewhere in the large, beautifully-arranged house. He picked it up, not really knowing who to expect.

"Uchiha."

"It's me," the voice on the other line answered.

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to dad."

Sasuke blinked. "…why?"

The voice chuckled and in his mind's eye, the boy saw his brother smile briefly.

"I'm getting married."

Sasuke dropped the phone.

VIII.

She was shaking horribly, almost kneeling on the ground. The ugly monster was dead, and its carcass lay a few feet away from her, with its large tail still hanging into the edge of the open refrigerator. The neighbors had heard the gunshot, she assumed, and Sakura just sat there, in her pajamas, shivering.

Its blood was a deep, deep crimson, almost maroon, and was splattered all over the floor. Some had gotten on her shirt, and it smelled horrible. The gun also lay a few feet away, with no shots left. It had taken only two to the head to kill the sewer creature.

Sakura wondered, for a moment, if anyone would come.