Name: From noon 'till night
Author: Ibilintu/Aryna
Pairing: NaruSasu
Rating: eventually M
Warnings: MxM relationship, some crossdressing
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi, I'm just borrowing and making no profit at all.

A/N: I can't write anything new right now, my both hands are all wrecked up, but I have a couple of chapters for this one ready, so... Yeah. Cowboy stuff yiihaa xD Idk. Hope you enjoy this, although it's quite a slow start.

For Didi

Chapter 1

For a town as new as Soundsville, its reputation was quite a dubious one. Ever since it had been founded by an unknown man, it had been a place where all the outlaws nested. Despite the rather polished exterior, it was a place where half of the men you passed had a bounty offered for them, a town famous for being a place where no-one would ask for your name, and where the sheriff would shut his eyes from your past crimes. It was a home for several old outlaws that had gathered enough wealth to settle down and maybe start a family in a place that wouldn't let them be hunted down. Yet in Soundsville, they weren't old because the town was peaceful enough. They were old because they were quick enough drawing their revolvers.

In Soundsville, when you were not exactly loved by the authorities, you were free to come and go as you pleased; you only had to remember to not ask stupid questions and never sell out your fellow criminals to anyone outside the town. It was a place where everyone was on their own yet you could always feel safe when it came to the law. No sheriff and very rare bounty hunters were daring enough to enter the village that was so full of men that would've gladly seen them dead. The criminals backed up each other as long as it didn't mean any danger to themselves. In the saloons whiskey was not expensive, mood-lifting fist fights broke out around a few times an evening and hookers were young and wild. For the nymphs du prairie, Soundsville was a well-paying place to work; the best outlaws had the most money to spend.

For some young men, Soundsville was a place where they would go to prove their courage and show off to their friends. For some of them, it was the end of their road, and many of the rest ended up on a path of an outlaw, being influenced by the atmosphere in the town.

But had you wandered to the town without knowing a thing about it, you could've easily be fooled and think it was just an ordinary town, like the ones closest to it.

As said, it was rare for a figure of authority to enter such a mouse trap, but Naruto Uzumaki had never thought of himself as one. He rather thought that he was a free soul, roaming across the land with his horse as his only companion, a man that took the chance whenever he encountered one. It was quite an easy profession for someone like him, he was the bright type that no-one would've suspected to be after the highest rewards offered for the outlaws. Yet he was, hiding behind the name Foxface and using all his skills to capture whoever he was after.

Rarely had he been systematically hunting for a certain man, but now he was. It had been long months of no profit for him, most of the most wanted outlaws having been hiding from the hand of law - or him. Now he had finally decided to check the wanted posters for the one man that he had been wanting to capture since he had started this type of life, and that was why his path was now taking him to the direction of the infamous Soundsville.

The reward offered for a man they called Rattlesnake had brought many young and brave men to that town, and none of them had yet to come back. Naruto, on the other hand, had decided to be the exception. He would hunt down Rattlesnake from his cave and drag him out, dead or alive. It would be a dangerous mission, but he was not a man to be afraid of a challenge.

And there he was, approaching the town on his dirty brown horse lovingly named Whirl after the way its fur oddly swirled on its croup, his face carefully hidden under an old stetson hand and a ragged cloth covering his mouth and nose and protecting them from the dust. There was sweat rolling down his temple but other than that he didn't look too tired, the way he sat on the horse was relaxed and confident. The bounty hunter didn't seem to be the slightest bit nervous as he neared the place that was known as a a death trap for men like him. And maybe that was the case for real. He had nothing to lose, but so much to win.

Snake's Lair was quite a weird name for a saloon, but in this town no-one found it questionable. In fact, it was the most popular place to spend your nights with the best whiskey and best women available during the whole night. Maybe it was a bit more expensive than some other places you could visit to get your head full of alcohol, but it was also definitely the most entertaining place in the whole town. With somewhat clean and wealthy-looking exterior, it could almost be mistaken to the truly chaste places somewhere out there. The owner kept his saloon in a shape, and it was bringing him loads of money every night.

And as always, Naruto had chosen to start his chase from the saloon. While stopping briefly at the town closest to Soundsville he had heard storied about a saloon called Snake's Lair, and for all he knew that sounded like a perfect place to start his search for someone called Rattlesnake. The town was nowhere near quiet as he rode down the main road, studying the buildings with interest. The houses were in surprisingly good shape, many of them looked freshly painted and there was just a few bulletholes to be seen and one broken window in a building that looked deserted. All in all, it was not a place he would've thought was the home for so many men with a bounty offered for their heads. He made sure not to look too shady as he eyes the windows and other places where someone could hide to shoot you, and once he even stopped to ask a bunch of kids where he could possibly find the saloon. The oldest of the kids, a boy who couldn't be more than ten, gave a despising look and told him to go down the street. The saloon would be on the right side of the street and there was a bar to tie his horse to and water for the animal as well.

Naruto thanked, not too politely, and soon found out that the kid had been right. The saloon itself was easy to spot, it was in the best place of the town and one of the best-looking buildings around. The paint on the outside was new and he couldn't see even a single scratch on it, and the water trough was filled to the brink, with a couple of horses standing next to it and looking they had been there for a while already. There was large sign over the doors that had the name, Snake's Lair, and a picture of a rattlesnake preparing to strike painted on it. The hint was obvious, and the blonde couldn't help but to appreciate the Rattlesnake's courage. He was obviously feeling safe in this place. As Naruto watched, a loud bark of laughter carried to his ears from the doorway and a sound of a glass bottle breaking immediately followed.

The young bounty hunter took his time as he tied Whirl to the bar and checked his very few belongings. He would either not stay here for long or get a room if this saloon also offered rooms for travelers to stay for the night. Adjusting his hat, Naruto made his way to the doors and slipped inside, being greeted with the most lively saloon he'd probably ever been in.

His eye was immediately caught by a couple of girls dancing on the stage, their skirts rising every time they kicked their legs in the air and flashing sinfully big amount of skin for the cheering men to see. They were laughing as they danced, obviously enjoying the attention, and at the side of the stage there was a small man playing piano, giving the women something to dance to. The melody was playful and wild, just like the dancers, and Naruto could immediately feel himself starting to tap his thigh along the rhythm of the music. His face light with a bright smile when one of the dancers, a pretty blond with rather generous cleavage, winked at him, but he didn't have the time to play with the ladies right now.

After waving at her quickly the bounty hunter ran his gaze over the hall. There was lots of table and most of them were occupied with men drinking, gambling or just watching the dancers or singing along with the song. There was also some women, most of them being there for obvious reasons, sitting on the men's lap and laughing with them, but there was also a couple of ladies that Naruto could tell had been doing lots of illegal stuff during the years. He recognized a certain redheaded girl with long boots and a trashy attitude, she was said to be one of Rattlesnake's subordinates. The blonde felt the corner of his mouth tug as he turned away and headed to the bar counter, the satisfaction for having hit bull's eye spreading through him. If that woman was here, then he could be almost certain that he'd found Rattlesnake's very own lair with the first try.

Some of them were born lucky.

Letting out a delighted laugh, Naruto took a seat in front of the bar counter and ordered the strongest drink this place had to offer, lowering the scarf in front of his face as little as he could. The whisker-like scars on his face would attract too much attention, and he was sure some of the men here had heard about Foxface, and not in a positive way. He did not want any kind of special welcome from these people.

A couple of whiskeys later Naruto had let himself loosen up a little seeing that nobody seemed to pay much attention to him, save for a couple of curious hookers trying to figure out if he had enough money to pay them for a night. No such luck, the man was on the road with very little money it seemed, and after a moment both women wished him good night and headed back to other tables. The way their hips swayed as they walked made Naruto wish he wasn't so careful with his money; he could've easily afforded a night or two or three with those two, but not knowing how long he was going to stay here he didn't dare to put even half a dollar to waste, and that was what women were for the most part.

Calling out for the guy behind the counter and telling him to bring the blond a new whiskey, Naruto turned to look at the stage again, four girls on it now. A couple of them were rather nice to look at, but his favorite was still the blond from the time he'd arrived. Letting out a little sigh Naruto grabbed his glass and tugged his scarf down to chug down the alcohol, feeling nicely relaxed thanks to it. He was not being reckless, he knew perfectly fine where his limits were, but he could still down a whiskey or two without blacking out. And that was exactly what he was going to do, he had already asked for a room to stay and gotten one, so now he only had his research to do, and people would find him less suspicious if he downed some firewater before that.

"If you think they're good, you'll be dropping your eyes later today."

Naruto almost choked on his whiskey, coughing helplessly for a moment before turning to look at the man that had just spoken to him. He quickly studied the guy's appearance, taking in the long-ish white hair and wrinkles face, and came to a conclusion that this wasn't one of the men he should worry about while staying here. Relaxing visibly Naruto pulled his hand away from his revolver and glanced at the man, flicking up the rim of his hat after pulling up the scarf to hide his scars again.
"What do you mean, old man?" he asked casually, smiling through the scarf.

"Oh, I'm sure you will understand soon enough... Although, lad, I have to say, you chose a good day to arrive. She performs only three times every week, and this happens to be one of those days. See, this place is packed already?"

And as Naruto glanced around he saw that the man was right. There were no unoccupied chairs around yet unlike in many other saloons he'd visited during his life, no-one here was trying to fight for a seat. The men were just standing next to the walls and watching the stage where the dance girls had just ended their performance, receiving more or less excited clapping as a reward. After that the lights were dimmed on the stage for a moment, but the attention of at least half of the crowd was still drawn there.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, not even realizing that he had lowered his voice. The atmosphere in the saloon had changed dramatically, as if everyone was expecting something to happen, and Naruto had to admit that it was catching him as well.

The old man chuckled and shook his head at the younger male's spirit, glancing down at his own glass of whiskey. The glass was almost empty and he let out a sad sigh before bothering to answer Naruto's question.
"I already told you, just wait. You'll see soon enough."

Naruto squirmed, immediately trying to figure out the best ways to drag some sort of hint out of the man, but it appeared that it wasn't necessary. Before his own whiskey glass was empty, a single spotlight type of thing went on on the stage and the crowd broke cheering, the noise dying the second a single foot slid to the view.

The foot was soon followed with an entire leg, and one hell of a leg that was. Long and lean, covered with slim leather boots all the way up to the knee where they ended, revealing a piece of pale skin covered with fishnet tights. The other leg was exactly the same and way too soon after the boots the lean thighs were hidden under black fabric. The hem had two layers, one of them black and the other on top red, the colors serving as a striking contrast to the cream-colored skin.

Naruto watched in fascination as the woman stepped under the light and then let his eyes eat up all of her. She had a beautiful body, the black corset holding her waist in a perfect curve with the red laces, and there was a black-and-red frill in the upper part of the dress. It left her shoulders and collarbones bare but hardly revealed anything of her cleavage, yet somehow Naruto didn't even need it. The way her moved was enough to prove him that she had to be most womanly woman he had ever seen. She kept her face hidden in the shadows, but Naruto could make out delicate features and bright red lips, as well as a flash of onyx black eyes. Her hair fell to her back like a dark waterfall, being long enough to almost reach her waist even when it had been gathered up to his neck with a red feather accessory there to emphasize the hairdo.

Had she not been so pale Naruto would've sworn he had to have Indian blood in her veins. But regardless of that, he could easily tell that this woman was more beautiful than any creature he had ever seen before.

Just as captivated as every other man in the room, Naruto followed with his eyes as the woman walked over to the piano, the sound of her boots clacking against the floor of the stage being the only sound in the room. She sat down, and the countless pairs of eyes gratefully took the flash of her slim thigh before she adjusted her dress. She didn't stretch, didn't prepare, but just placed her hand on the keys and began playing.

The song started off quiet and serene, the simple yet beautiful melody flowing out of the piano as the slender fingers effortlessly flew over the keys. The woman looked like she was completely lost in the music right from the first note, her head was bowed and Naruto knew her eyes were shut even if he couldn't see them. As he listened, the melody started to grow and get more strength, the blonde leaning forward on his seat. He felt like something was going to happen, the atmosphere became more tense and excited, it was like waiting for an explosion. He didn't dare to look around in fears of missing the climax, the moment that was drawing closer. It was a wild, wild song, he had never heard if before but he could tell it was a story about freedom, he could almost feel the wind of the plains on his face, and what an intoxicating feeling that was. The music was still getting faster and Naruto didn't even realize he was holding his breath until it was suddenly over.

She had stopped, her head hanging like she had just finished a long run and her fingers rested on the keys, silence filling the room. Nothing happened in a few seconds, everyone was still waiting, holding their breath, and as they watched the woman lifted her head and took a deep breath, sliding her fingers on the keys. She pressed one down, the soft note fading quickly, but she didn't give any more room to the silence. Another note followed, and then another, and another, until a new song was being played. Or maybe it wasn't new, just continuation to the previous one. The melody was similar but overall the song was different, very sad and somehow tragic. It was a melody that stuck to you and made you think of a trapped animal, a bird in a cage.

Naruto slouched a little, still on the edge of his stool, and waited for something to happen. Why wasn't the melody turning happier, why was the song still so sad? His eyes studied the slim frame of the young woman, trying to figure out if she was playing for someone special or just about her own feelings. He couldn't see anything, she looked just like before, and slowly the music faded out, leaving Naruto a bit uncomfortable. That was why he didn't like music like that, it always left him feeling uneasy and restless. Maybe she would play another happy song, to let go of the odd atmosphere in the room.

But she didn't. As they watched she slid up from her chair and offered her audience a small curtsy before moving to the center of the stage, under the bright light. Still she kept her head low, to hide her face it seemed, and her gaze was directed at the floor. From behind the stage a small man appeared to the sight and walked over to the piano, taking a seat and starting to play after a moment given to the audience to adjust.

She moved like she played, gracefully and lightly as a wild deer, and with every kick in the air her skirt offered them a little bit more of her legs. It was the same kind of dance that went on in most of the saloons in almost every night, but somehow it looked different when she did it. Naruto licked his dry lips, not even trying to look anywhere else, he knew he would've failed that anyway. Her dancing was holding his gaze like she was a charmed her, and even the men who had obviously lived here for long and had been watching her for so many times didn't make a sound. She was too beautiful to be interrupted.

It was only after her performance had ended and she'd left the stage when then audience broke into cheering and whistling, some cheeky comments being shouted after her. Naruto found himself joining the cheering, and his breath caught when he saw someone moving in the back of the stage, hidden in the shadows. He was having hopes of the woman coming back and doing something, if only to thank them for the applause, but he wasn't lucky enough. The person that appeared to the stage was the same piano player. He went to take his seat and soon enough the saloon was filled with music just like before, the gambling and drinking having started again like they had never stopped, and some of the guests slipped out of the door, probably returning home to their wives.

"I warned you."

Naruto was startled as the smug voice broke into his consciousness and then turned around to look at the old man. He was holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand and there was an amused grin on his face as he studied Naruto's face.

"She's one of a kind, yeah", the blond-haired bounty hunter finally admitted, rubbing his neck. Seeing that woman play had left him feel somehow itchy and he wondered if he'd have to buy a hooker for the night to get rid of the feeling. Hopefully they had some pretty brunettes around here, suddenly he didn't feel like fucking a blond at all anymore. His fingers toyed with the collar of his shirt and he frowned, a sudden thought invading his mind.
"How much does she charge for a night?" She had to be pretty damn expensive, for looks like that.

Much to Naruto's surprise the man broke laughing, making him immediately feel stupid. Had he said something idiotic or had he accidentally drooled all over himself while watching the woman or something?

"Oh oh, sorry", the old man mumbled, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He poured the rest of his firewater into his throat and slammed the empty bottle to the counter before turning his attention back to Naruto.
"That was just... How much..." He let out a drunken giggle again, obviously not noticing the blonde's discomfort.
"No, seriously, I forgot that you haven't been here before. She doesn't do that stuff. At all."

Naruto frowned under the shadow casted by his hat and quickly spared a glance to the stage where a group of girls were dancing again.
"Why not?" he asked, the short explanation having sparked his curiosity. Who was that woman if she didn't do any night work at all?

"Because Raven is the top girl of the house. She's the pet of the Old Snake as we call him, the owner of this saloon. He took her in years and years ago when she was still a kid, they say, and since then she's been here. Now she plays and dances a few times every week and as far as I'm concerned, the Old Snake pays everything for her. Although..." He lowered his voice and Naruto had to lean closer to hear clearly enough.

"Some say that the reason she doesn't work in the bedroom is that the Snake is keeping her all to himself." The old man let out a chuckle and shrugged after keeping a theatrical pause, waving at the bartender to bring him more to drink.
"Who knows, that rumor might or might not be true. But it's certain that she is the star of this saloon and I bet she knows it. She never even speaks to anyone."

He started to grumble something to himself and Naruto stopped paying attention, having already received so much interesting information. An orphan girl, huh? That sounded quite perfect. And through the years she'd been trained to be the best of them all, to bring lots of money to her master. Sounded just like the usual story, but somehow this was different. There was something more to that, and Naruto's curiosity was being poked repeatedly all the time he spent thinking about the mysterious woman. Too bad she didn't sell nights, otherwise he would've happily spared even his last pennies and bought her, just for one night. Apparently many men in the room were thinking the same, but they didn't let it show that clearly. Only the longing looks thrown at the stage were telling Naruto that they craved for her return just like flowers yearned for water. They all knew she wouldn't come yet still they were hoping for a miracle.

That night, Naruto slipped up to the second floor to his room late at night, his head buzzing due to all the alcohol he had drank. He hadn't gotten a single glimpse of the siren of his night no matter how hard he had tried to look, and none of the free hookers had hard dark enough. In his drunken state, Naruto only wanted Raven, and when he couldn't have her he figured that it was time to go to bed. Easier said that done, though, because climbing up the stairs had felt like he was climbing to a mountain, but finally he got himself into the room. There the blonde just dropped to the bed face down and started snoring without bothering to kick even his boots off. Tomorrow would be a new day.

The sun came up and went down so fast Naruto didn't even notice until it was dark outside and the saloon was filling with people again. He had spent the day doing some very careful research about the owner of the saloon, warning bells having started to ring in his head last night. The old man he had spoken with had made it clear that the 'Old Snake' definitely wasn't the man selling them their drinks and it was pretty obvious that the man had not appeared last night at all. Judging by the way he had heard some of the customers speak about the man, he seemed to be quite a frightening person.

Naruto had even gone as far as inviting himself to a game of poker and nonchalantly he had asked if any of the players knew where he could find the Old Snake. When they had asked why, he had explained that there was something in his room he needed to discuss about with the owner. Not surprisingly at all one of the men had told him that if he had anything to say about the room, he could tell it to the bartender. The Old Snake never took interest in such matters as problems with room or such. In fact, he never seemed to take interest with anything. Even the regulars had seen him only once or twice, and he had always been with Raven.

That had made Naruto's thoughts fly as he immediately started planning. At this point he was almost sure that the owner of the saloon was indeed the notorious Rattlesnake, and what he'd just been told had to mean that the easiest way to drag out the snake would be catching his little songbird, and he could definitely find a subtle way of doing it. What would be enough? Trying to shoot her, probably, but he didn't want to do it. After that his cover would be blown and he'd have to leave the town, and coming back would be too difficult if he didn't manage to catch Rattlesnake all at once. There was also the risk of harming the woman, and Naruto didn't want to get too confident. He had a good aim but you could never know. Maybe she was the self-sacrificing type and she'd throw herself in front of the bullet or something. Just the possibility made Naruto's throat tighten.

The truth was, that after last night he'd spent at least half as long thinking of Raven as of Rattlesnake. It was like someone had glued her image to Naruto's mind, although the face was rather hazy in his memory, and it refused to go away. Every time someone took the stage he silently hoped that it would be Raven, and every time he was bound to be disappointed as someone else went to show off their dancing skills. Sure, he knew that she didn't perform every night but that didn't stop him from hoping.

That night he didn't dare to sniff around any more. Naruto didn't want to arouse any suspicions amongst the locals and asking around too much would've done just that. He had a few drinks, gambled a little and lost quite a lot of money and then went to bed, the image of Raven being the last thing in his head.

The next day was pretty much the same. He visited a local store and bought nothing, but the owner of the shop was so talkative that his visit had definitely not been for nothing. Naruto got to hear a story about how the Old Snake had come here just some ten years ago and then founded the town. It had grown fast at first but now the growth had slowed down as the reputation of the town spread further. Then something like ten years ago the man had disappeared for some time and then returned with the little black-haired girl now known as the pride of the Snake's Lair.
"Have you seen her yet?" the sales clerk had asked and Naruto had nodded, a knot tightening in his stomach as he thought about her. It was so weird, why he felt so strongly towards her already when he hadn't even seen her face, but he hoped he'd get a chance to talk to her when Rattlesnake had been taken care of.

He had left the store satisfied and even more curious, all his senses tingling. Naruto knew that he was close, his instincts had brought him to the right place with the first shot and now he was just waiting, waiting for something to happen. He could stay here still for some days without appearing shady, and then he should come up with some kind of explanation for this little trip to the town. Right now everyone probably though he was yet another petty criminal hiding from the hand of law. That night he barely slept at all, his head so full of plans to catch the Snake.

But it was his fourth night in the town when he finally saw Raven again.

It was as if the locals knew she was going to appear. Since the beginning of the night the saloon had started to pack up, more customers pouring in in a steady flow until the place was just as full as it had been the night Naruto had arrived. The bounty hunter himself had taken a seat around the same spot he'd had that night, and to his surprise the old man was there again, drunk enough to pass out soon.

"Hello, lad. I see you're here for her again", the man greeted him and chuckled, lifting the bottle in his hand and taking another sip, the strong alcohol making him hiccup. His nose was reddish and his eyes didn't focus on anywhere when he turned to look at Naruto, a drunken smile on his lips.
"I saw it in you immediately, you'd fall for her just like everyone else..."

A frown crossed Naruto's face and he adjusted his hat, pushing it to the back of his head. He wasn't going to drink any more and there was the scarf on his face covering the scars on his cheeks. No need to be too careful.
"What do you mean?" he asked with carefree tone, but inwardly he was seething. He was not like everybody else, he had not just fallen for the show girl like the other men. It wasn't like that, he'd just thought the woman was beautiful.

"Oh, many young men have come here to be charmed by her performance, and most of them have stupid dreams about how they will be the first guys to convince her to give them a night. After that she'd of course magically fall for them and leave the Old Snake for them. That's what they've told me, at least,all drunk and talky-talky. Oh, and one even dreamed of killing the Snake and then taking her with him." The man sounded amused as he spoke, now staring at the bottom of his bottle. Looked empty to him.

Naruto couldn't help feeling stupid at the last comment, hearing his own plans from the other's mouth. Fine, maybe that had been stupid, but it was just normal to dream about things like that. What kind of young man wouldn't want such a beauty to their bed, after all? He cleared his throat and turned to the man, opening his mouth to say something, but a sharp wave of hand cut him off.

"Silence. She's starting."

Naruto whipped around, his eyes immediately catching the woman as she gracefully stepped to the stage, her hair now framing her face. The dress she wore was the same and she walked over to the piano just like before, with every man in the room watching her like she was a piece of meat thrown in front of a hungry wolf pack. She didn't seem to even notice the audience as she sat down and started playing, her fingers moving effortlessly on the keys of the instrument.

But despite of the similar performance, Naruto couldn't shake off the feeling that something wasn't right. The woman looked exactly the same as before, there was no doubt that she indeed was Raven, but when she'd walked to the stage Naruto had caught a glimpse of something... He couldn't quite catch it. Perhaps her head was hanging a little lower than the last time or maybe something had changed in the way she played, but everything just wasn't there. His suspicions were confirmed when someone suddenly broke singing as she played, catching the melody and adding words to it. Another woman, a busty redhead, walked to the piano and stood next to it as she sang. It was a song about the prairie and the animals that roamed there, the winds and the rain and the freedom. It wasn't the song from Raven's last performance, this one had been made for singing.

No-one else seemed to care, they just kept staring at her, but Naruto's senses were getting alert. She still played beautifully, not caring about the world, and when the song ended she nodded as a thanks and moved to dance.

Again, something was off. As beautiful as she was with her moves, there was something below the surface. Almost like a kettle that hid boiling water inside, the steam threatening to burst out at any moment. Naruto's eyes narrowed as he studied her, making sure to remember every curve of her body while trying to understand the sudden change, and then, all of a sudden, she raised her gaze and the blue eyes met a pair of midnight black ones. The moment lasted only for a brief second, but to Naruto it felt a lot longer.

She let go and finished her dance, gliding off the stage afterwards, looking like the dance hadn't affected her at all.

But Naruto, he was more determined than ever before to find her. He had to speak to her. He had watched her during two dances and she had never looked directly at anyone, not like that. Without really knowing what he was doing, the blonde turned to the old man, just to find him passed out on the counter, and then hopped off his stool. Making himself look as unnoticeable as he could, Naruto strode through the saloon towards the stairs that would take him to his room. There was another hallway that passed the stairs and Naruto had been strictly told to never go there. And that was exactly where he was headed.

No-one paid attention to a lone man strolling through the room towards the doorway that led to the stairs. Well, no-one that mattered, a couple of young women tried to attach themselves to his sides, asking if he wanted company in bed. Naruto had politely shrugged them off, winking and telling them that tomorrow night he was probably going to feel really lonely. One of them rolled her eyes but the other giggled and flashed him a smile before following her friend of a kind, back to the occupied tables. Naruto watched them go, appreciating the fluid swing of hips before he remembered what he had been doing, his legs taking him to the staircase.

The hallway that slithered to the inner parts of the building was dimly lit, just one lamp chasing off the shadows. It was not very effective, but the light from the saloon hall illuminated it enough to make it possible to walk through it without bumping into anything. Not that the chances of doing so were high anyway, there was only a couple of chairs and nothing more. Naruto glanced around quickly and slipped to the corridor, glad that it was a 'Raven night' again. There was enough hustle and bustle in the saloon to keep everyone's attention away from him.

Walking as close to the wall as he reasonably could, Naruto moved forward, keeping as little noise as possible. He thanked some higher powers that he had been sharp enough to take off the spurs from his boors before coming down to the bar; the metal implements would've made much more noise in the almost silent corridor. The man subconsciously slid his hand to his gun as he turned around the corner, almost sure that there would be someone there, ready to shoot an intruder like him. It wouldn't have surprised him, it was Rattlesnake's hideout after all.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Naruto's temple and he tried to ignore the unnerving feeling. The atmosphere back here was somehow eerie, making him feel like he was tiptoeing around in a haunted house. Hair was standing in his neck and he scratched the back of his hand, trying to calm down his nerves. Seriously, nothing bad was going to happen. And almost immediately after that he heard a loud bang from behind a door he was just passing. The blonde jumped from surprise and pressed himself flat against the wall, his heart thumping as he waited for something else to happen. Seconds ticked by and he heard nothing, and slowly the blonde dared to move closer and press his ear against the door.

Immediately he felt stupid. Through the door he could clearly hear someone playing the piano there, and the bang had been someone hitting the keys quite too hard. Feeling like an idiot Naruto rubbed his neck and continued down the corridor, listening for a moment at every door. Somewhere here had to be Raven's room, and he was determined to find it, even if he'd get caught doing it. He could always pass as a crazed fan and get away with it. Or so he hoped.

Naruto walked past three more doors, hearing nothing but silence from the rooms they guarded. One of the doors had been open and it had showed him some kind of kitchen; he could only guess that it had to be Rattlesnake's private kitchen or something like that. The next door in front of him was open as well, not all the way but enough that he could get a glimpse of the insides if he so wanted, and Naruto grinned at himself, knowing that there had to be something to find soon. He had the feeling that he was getting closer to the more forbidden parts of the building, the Snake's personal rooms.

A low hissing sound caught the bounty hunter's ears and he stopped mid step, frozen to the spot. Slowly he turned his head, listening carefully as the noise continued and soon he realized that it was someone speaking. Excitement flooded through his veins as he came into the conclusion that it couldn't be anyone else but his main target, the feared outlaw he was hunting, and as slowly as he could he tiptoed closer to the door, taking a careful peek inside.

What he saw made him gulp.

A tall man with silky black hair stood in the middle of an ordinary bedroom, his back to the door preventing Naruto from seeing his face. He was wearing odd light brown robe-like clothing, and it was clear he was the one talking. Naruto would've of course recognized him without the voice, Rattlesnake had had that long hair as long as he could remember, and when the man flicked his hair off his face with a quick jerk of head, Naruto caught a quick glimpse of his profile.

But the thing that shocked him was that right in front of the outlaw stood the same dancer woman he'd been dying to see, with her head held up proudly and a scowl on her face. Her hand was up in the air, close to the Snake's head, and the man was holding her wrist tightly. It was clear that she'd just tried to hit the man.

Slowly the pale fingers unwrapped themselves around the slim wrist and the woman snagged her hand to herself, glaring daggers at the man. A low hissing chuckle emitted from the lips of Rattlesnake, the sound making a nervous shiver run down Naruto's spine. There was something in this man's presence, something very threatening and unnerving he couldn't quite catch. He'd never met anyone who'd affected him so strongly this way, but the blonde shook his head, knowing that they wouldn't have offered such a high reward for anyone less intimidating.

As he watched, the Snake reached forward to cup Raven's cheek, stroking the fair skin lovingly with his thumb. The woman shuddered at the touch but didn't move away, even the look on her face didn't change the slightest bit. The man chuckled again, his hand moving over to stroke her long shiny hair, the long fingers threading through it in an almost affectionate gesture.

"You danced well today, my precious..."

Rattlesnake had to had the most repulsive voice Naruto had ever heard. He hissed like a snake and he was sure his tongue had to peek out through his lips at times. The Snake was obviously speaking with low voice but still it sounded almost unnaturally high to Naruto, making him want to squirm.

"So well... They still love you. You see the look on their faces when they watch you, those mindless fools, they love you and wish you were theirs..." Rattlesnake stepped closer, running his fingers over the painted lips.

Raven's head jerked a little, away from the intimate touch, but a strong hand immediately grabbed the back of her neck, holding her still. The man leaned closer and Raven suddenly said something, the voice not reaching Naruto's ears. The blonde was, however, rather sure that she'd told the man to let go. He was staring at them almost as if he was hypnotized, not able to draw his gaze away from the twisted scene of possession and beauty in front of him. She was still so pretty, so amazing, and to think that this man, Rattlesnake, owned her... It was making Naruto's blood boil. He knew he could've grabbed his pistol and shot a bullet through the dark-haired head of the outlaw, but it was like the same hypnosis was keeping his hands glued to the wall in front of him. He didn't dare to move an inch, afraid to make noise or otherwise make his presence known.

"How ungrateful... You'd think I didn't raise you well, my beautiful... What would your admirers think if they saw you like this? No matter how long they dream, they'll never get to touch you... Only I have the right to do that." The man leaned still closer, close enough to brush his lips against the painted ones.

She snapped something at him again, and this time it seemed to anger the Snake. His hold of the slender neck tightened and she gasped in unexpected pain, starting to squirm. She grabbed the pale wrist, trying to yank it off of her, only managing to annoy her owner more. He gripped both of her hands and yanked them down behind her back, stopping for a moment to glare at her before latching his lips on her neck.

Raven's breath caught again but she held still, a look of utter disgust crossing her face. She kept her eyes at the ceiling as he continued to lick her neck, trailing little bites down it to her collarbones and even lower. Her brows were furrowed in an angry frown yet even while looking throughly disgusted and ashamed, she managed to hold such beauty that it took Naruto's breath away.

And that was when her dark eyes turned to look straight at the man peeking at them through the gap of the slightly open door.

TBC