Modern hearts

Chapter one - society futuristica

Summary - Being one of few humans left with blue eyes and blond hair, Naruto leads a safe but sheltered life. When he is swept away by a rich and mean stranger, he knows it can only mean trouble, but sometimes, fighting it is futile. But how much is he willing to risk for the sake of his irrational heart?

Narusasunaru (See, I made you a sammich!)

Mature content - Cursing, violence, man-on-man sexytime and everything else we're in it for. (NB! No good times in this chappie though. You have been warned, so don't hate.)

Alternate universe, with a dash of sci-fi

Extremely long but necessary author's notes - This is the story of two men, living in a modern world, with very modern lives, struggling through ageless problems. My pet name for this is Futuristica, because it sounds awesome, but that isn't a very good title, so instead you have the one I just explained. I've been very caught up with writing this lately, which is good, because I've been going through an absolutely horrible writer's block. Ugh. I am extremely sorry about Nightly Encounters, but I've just been stuck, and I want to continue it properly, not just half assed. So instead I give you this. It's everything I eventually want my sci-fi novel to be, except that it's less extensively planned out, which is wonderfully relaxing. Because of this, I understand that some of the futuristic aspects of it might be hard to get. I tried to make it as unobtrusive as possible, as to not let my world of tomorrow get in the way of your delicious Sasunaru (or is it Narusasu this time around? I'm not sure), but if there is anything that needs more explaining, just ask and I'll tell, and I'll try to do better next time. The reason I posted this story was because I want your feedback. I can't decide whether this is meant to be a oneshot (with an over-the-top backstory), or a multichapter story. Because I so desperately need your opinions, there might be a few mistakes in this. I thought deciding where this was going was more important. So let me know how you feel about it! I'll appreciate it immensely. (End of extremely long (but for once necessary!) rant. Short version = tell me if you think this is a oneshot or multichapter!)

"I see your health stats are perfect, as usual." The warden threw him a quick grin, as if Naruto's unnaturally good health was some inside joke they shared. "The values on your nourishment chart is a nightmare, of course, we have talked about all that junk food being bad for you, you know. Watch out or I'll have to put you on a diet. Everything else looking good..." She scrolled down the screen in front of her absently, mentally checking off each line as she skimmed through the text. "Let's see... Ah, just what I was looking for. It says here that you've been showing symptoms of lethargy lately. Let's talk about that." She turned to him with the expectant air of someone who would accept no nonsense.

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "I don't know, old lady. I haven't been particularly off or anything, just tired I guess."

"And why are you feeling tired? It says here you've been sleeping quite regularly. No demanding physical labour either, apart from your recreational activities and fitness program."

"Just, you know, worn down I guess. Mentally. There's no problem, really."

"You've never had any problem whatsoever with mental sickness or erratic behaviour before, so I am a bit reluctant to put you down for a psych consult." She looked up at him, chewing at her lip thoughtfully.

"Oh please don't. There's really nothing wrong! I'm just bored, I guess." Naruto said with a pained look, folding his hands on the desk in front of her in a begging fashion.

"Well, I think for now, maybe well just sign you up for some additional recreational time? But if anything is wrong you must come see me immediately. We are here to help you with your problems after all. If something is amiss, we'll work it out together." She underlined her last sentence by putting a hand on top of Naruto's folded ones, squeezing lightly. Naruto very nearly pulled away from her touch. She was a nice warden and all, and he was pretty certain she genuinely cared about and believed in her work, but there was just something about the official choice in words that revolted him deeply.

"Now, you may leave, but when things get rough, I just want you to remember that you, young man, are supporting the continued diversity of the human gene pool. I hope you are aware of that fact. You may be proud of yourself and the work you are doing for your community."

Naruto smiled to the woman as he left her office, but sighed inwardly. Empty words spoken too many times. Work? Pride? He was only worth the color of his eyes and hair. No doubt, the authorities in charge of the cultivation and procreation of the human breed, as they so nicely put it - considered him a lucky find with the rare genes and the added bonus of excellent physicality, not to mention that he was actually fertile, which meant breeding of genes, and not just preservation. Of course, he would have been worth even more as a woman. Sterility was a common problem with both genders, but you really only noticed it very much when it came to the women. The fertile ones wore it almost like a badge of honour. Status, wealth and social standing could all be bought for the price of one fertile body. He never could get used to the coldness of it though. As if they were some sort of product, handled with care when needed, but bought and sold at convenience all the same.

The additional recreational time slips was a bright side to things though. They didn't really monitor what you spent them on as long as you logged some sort of activity. A very easy system to cheat. And every opportunity to leave the academy for a little while was something to be relished. The other people her found him strange because he was always trying to get away, but many of them had grown up here, or in equally boring middle class household. Naruto's body longed for the streets, just as much as he had longed to get off them all those years ago.

He quickly ran to his room to grab his jacket before sprinting down the stairs and out through the main hall. The arcade he was going to was located in one of the more or less dodgy parts of town, and required a short train ride. Like many times before, he wished he had a car or a cycle, but the chances of him ever affording something like that were slim. Anyway, it didn't really matter. The authorities would probably log the fact that he was heading out of the acceptable areas when he beeped his wristband for the train fee, but write it down as homesickness or something like that. That was the excuse he always gave, at least. He highly doubted they cared much as long as he kept within the rules.

Upon entering the dimly lit arcade, he blipped his wristband to pay the small entrance fee, making sure it went on his private account, not the government issued one. He had burned himself on that one before and always made sure to put whatever money he could get his hands on in the private account, so they couldn't keep track of it as easily. The he strode towards the cages with a determined fire in his eyes. He had gone to the arcades for years now, drawn in by the powerful computers and awesome games his weak stationary couldn't even dream of competing with. After a few years though, he had found his one true love. The cages were a bit different from the other arcade machines, because of the demanding physical nature of the game, and also because it required such close interaction with another player. He had once been told it resembled the sport once known as boxing or wrestling, were two people would actually get into the cage and fight each other in front of an audience. It seemed exciting, but foolish and painful all the same. Of course, in the cages, there was no actual interaction. Instead, each player was enclosed in their own cages, while their virtual avatars fought in the bigger middle cage, and an audience watched from the sidelines. The players actual movements were registered by censors, before being replayed by the avatars, with a suitable level of exaggeration, of course. Naruto loved the thrill of it, the feeling of actually fighting with his whole body, and the deeply competitive satisfaction of actually facing a real opponent. He even loved watching other people's fights, betting on who would win with the rest of the audience. Not to mention that he was pretty great at it, and Naruto was no enemy of getting applauded for being awesome. This particular arcade, while grubby and slightly dodgy, was one of the best places for the cages, and Naruto had even won quite a bit of money here over the years. If he hadn't been picked up by the genetics program, he would probably have made a career out of it. Using his body to fight like this was his passion. It just seemed to answer to some primitive call deep within him

"Coming to fight, I hope?" Naruto was interrupted in his thoughts as the manager walked up to him with a huge smirk across his face. The blonde terror was a very unpredictable fighter, and had become quite popular. If he was fighting, he might draw in some audience on an otherwise slow day.

"Need to vent some steam! You know how it is." Naruto answered with a grin. "You got any free cages for me?"

"Yup. Actually, you're in luck. The one the far right is being occupied by a single player right now."

Naruto headed in the right direction, ducking into the small cage before tapping the button that signaled to the other player that he would like to initiate two-player. It took several minutes for his opponent to answer, and Naruto was just about to leave when he was finally accepted into the game.

"Took you long enough, didn't it?" He couldn't help but grunt as he inserted his player card, and initiated the game.

"I had a game to finish. Any idiot should see that." The voice that answered him was both coolly detached and cocky, a mixture so wildly arrogant it immediately set Naruto's teeth on edge.

"Well, I'm sorry I interrupted your private me-time. I hope you can handle a real opponent as well." Naruto replied. This was so on!

All he got in reply was some kind of affirmative snorting sound. The amount of superiority his opponent managed to put in a simple sound was staggering, and made Naruto very glad that he would be allowed to punch this person very soon.

His opponent had chosen a very simple avatar, with straight-laced features and black hair, wearing some kind of traditional oriental garb. The moment their match had loaded, Naruto sprang into action, jump-kicking the smug bastard's avatar right across the cage. He pumped his fist in victory, expecting the finishing blows to be a piece of cake after such a strong opening. He was quickly distracted though, when his character got knocked of his feet by a swift succession of combos. Naruto, enraged by the unsuspected counterattack, sprang to his feet and delivered several consecutive blows to his enemy's jaw, before quickly diving back into a protective stance.

"You gonna hide behind a defensive stance? Pathetic." His opponent taunted, and Naruto found himself drawn in despite knowing better. The moment he lost his cool, the other player's avatar was on him again, punching him deep into the ground. His life bar was very nearly depleted by then, and Naruto figured he would only survive about one last offensive. Keeping low to avoid getting swept of his feet again, Naruto grabbed his opponent in a wrestling grip, throwing him high into the air. With a few handmovements, Naruto activated his special attack, and sprang up to clash with his opponent midair.

"Rasengan!" His character shouted, as their avatars disappeared in an explosion of blue light.

Panting with the effort, Naruto realised with a start that he had won. "Fuck yes! I am the motherfucking champ! Who's the best?"

He was interrupted in his victory dance by a dry voice in his ear. "Let me know when you're finished embarrassing yourself, idiot."

"Gee, I don't know, maybe when you'll stop being such a sore loser?" He replied teasingly, clearly hearing the dissatisfied tone in his opponent's voice.

"I wasn't aware we were going to pull out the big guns. I usually hold back on the special moves, - don't want to make the competition too easy." The voice sauntered on lightly.

"Uhu, and you just lost to be polite too? We didn't have any rules against special attacks. You're just being an asshole about losing. I was clearly the superior player here."

"Want to prove that with a rematch, loser? All bets off this time?"

"You're on! Best of three."

Eighteen matches later, - and an equal number of victories to each - found Naruto panting and sweating profusely, but grinning like a wild man.

"You still there?"

"Hn. Tired yet?" It was hard to decipher because of the scarcity of words, but his opponent sounded pretty exhausted.

"Pfft. You?" Naruto answered noncommittally, dead tired, but willing to go on if it meant he didn't have to admit it.

"Bored, more like it."

"Hah, I find that hard to believe. Let's call it quits though, I'm all out of tokens." This was probably as close as they would get to a truce, and Naruto was honestly quite curious to meet this mystery opponent. It was probably some obscure nerd, like most of the pros, but they usually went with the busty female avatars.

He quickly ducked out of the small gamers booth, and could see a group of people sighing in disappointment because the match was over. The next time he would have to place a bet or something, to earn back those tokens.

When he walked around the rather large computer system, he found the other booth deserted. He cursed beneath his breath. Typical gamer bastard, not sociable at all. He ran for the entrance, just as another figure was leaving the establishment.

"Hey," he shouted to slow the other person down as they reached the street. He couldn't know if this was the guy, but it was worth a shot.

The person who turned around was tall and thin, but very clearly a grown man. His clothes were all black, but the only garment he could really make out was the clean cut slightly long jacket on top. It looked fancy, but Naruto was horrible when it came to style and fashion, so he really couldn't tell. As with the rest of the figure, he had black hair, ruffled in the back but slightly longer and straight in the front, giving it a more conservative look. He looked to be very pale, making his sharp features stand out starkly, especially the contrasting black eyes and brows. He was clearly very young, but his expression was dark and disdainful beyond his years. Naruto registered all of this in a matter of seconds, but the only thing that really stood out in his mind was the fact that this man was truly, very pretty. Not feminine like the male prostitutes walking the streets at night in this part of town, but like a movie star, or a character from one of the pieces of art they were always shown in reference to the past centuries.

"You're the guy from the game, aren't you? You look like your character." It explained the conservatively boring look of his avatar, even though it hardly did this person justice.

"Why are you talking to me?" The condescending voice from the game spoke in low tones, but his voice carried all the same. It was different in real life, with more depth to it. A charismatic voice, used to giving orders.

"I just wanted to size up my competition. It's only polite after all those hours in the cages." Naruto walked forward warily, slightly nervous, but not put out by the offensive tone of the other. He was used to rude people, he had dealt with them all the time in his childhood. He wanted to fight this guy again, and he wouldn't leave before he secured a promise. As he walked from the dim inventory of the arcade into the relatively bright lights of the street, he could see the stranger's eyes light up slightly in curiousity. He usually received some sort of reaction to his looks, be it skepticism or admiration. In any case, it sparked interest.

Blond hair was very normal among the more eye catching fashion styles on the streets. It was considered slightly delinquent, but not at all unusual. Naruto's particular warm honeyed tone was less common though. The naturalistic hue had gone out of fashion as the natural hair color disappeared. If everyone knew it was fake anyway, why bother being boring about it. Platina was the far more popular choice. Blue eyes was very nearly extinct, but once again, reproduced frequently, either through lenses or eyedye. They had never really managed to reproduce the tone of Naruto's eyes though. That waterlike, almost transparent bright blue color was hard to achieve when the natural color was darker. That was one of the things they were using his genes for, Naruto knew. Genetic adjustment surgery. They could do it on fetuses, but cosmetic genetics was still a far from perfect art. When you matched both these rare traits with Naruto's dark skin, you got a pretty spectacular results. It was really only labour outside the city limits that gave you suntanned skin, but Naruto could never help it, his skin just seemed to be permanently dark. The effect was easily achievable with cosmetics, but had gone out of fashion a long time ago. No one wanted it to look like they had a less desirable profession, after all. Add the scars that covered his face to everything else, looking for all the world like some statement tattoo, and he was often mistaken for some low moral slummy delinquent by strangers. Others seemed to sense that it was natural instinctively, which often resulted in rather awkward prepositions. The whole deal made walking around in bad parts of town pretty uncomfortable. Naruto always seemed to come back though. He had grown up in the seedy parts of town, and never got very comfortable with the stark cleanliness of upper city.

When it became clear the other man was not going to answer him, Naruto cleared his throat. "I was hoping that I would get to meet you again. I haven't seen you here before, but I would really like to play against you again sometime." The fact that the other man had not walked away made him bolder. If he really wasn't interested in talking, he would have left long ago.

"I don't know if I'll be returning." Was the curt reply he finally received.

Naruto could feel his shoulders slump "Oh. I really enjoyed fighting you though." He was a bit confused as to why he was this disappointed, but he hadn't fought his equal in a long time, so it would be kind of boring not to meet this guy again.

"You were an interesting challenge." Was the calm response he received after a moment. After giving him one last look, the dark stranger turned away again. "I'll be leaving now."

The dark man walked over to a sleek black, large and beautiful enginecycle, parked at the curb. It had a rather bulky retro design, reminiscent of former times, but with all the aerodynamic of a modern vehicle. It must have cost an absolute fortune, and it was so gorgeous. Naruto couldn't help himself, these kind of bikes was a rare sight even in the good parts of town and here was one he might be allowed to touch! Before he knew it, he had raced past the other man and practically found himself drooling on the steely piece of art

"This is so not yours." He breathed.

"It is. My first one. A vintage design Hebi." The other gamer answered in a neutral voice, with a slightly alarmed undertone.

Naruto could feel the tears pressing at his eyes. He let his hands hover just above the fantastical, shiny black metal. "Your first? There's more? Fucking amazing." He worked hard to make it not come out as a moan.

"Careful. It has an electric field protective system." He pushed Naruto's hands away deftly, before activating the lock with his wristband. Before any of them could say anything more, they were interrupted by a stranger pushing between them forcefully.

"Just what we were waiting for, right guys? Thank you for locking her up for us." Naruto gave the intruder a confused glare. He stank, had a lot of facial hair, and lurched slightly, as if he was under the influence of something. He leaned forward to get a glimpse of his companion's face to see if this was someone he knew.

"Get away from my vehicle." That cold voice had not changed, but the warning in it was clear.

"Yeah, I think you'll find it's mine now. Move it, hot stuff." He waved his hands in their faces with a shooing motion, as several other men walked towards them with threatening attitudes. Naruto looked around quickly, noting how deserted the street was quickly becoming. There was a reason you didn't see good vehicles in these parts of the city. This guy had to be very arrogant or very stupid for leaving it on the curb like this.

"You do not want to do this." The dark haired man replied, completely ignoring his would-be robber.

"I really think I do." The scruffy man was larger than them, and surrounded by friends. The only advantage they had right now was the fact that the leader, if you could call him that, was very obviously confused by his prey's behaviour.

"If you do this, there will be people coming after you. The bike will be taken and returned to me, and then you will be disposed of. If there is any damage to the bike, you will suffer each scratch and bump yourself, and then you will be disposed of. If you so much as touch me, you will be hunted down and disposed of. As will your family, your friends, and your... Colleagues." He gestured to the people around him lightly, as if he was just making polite conversation.

As the robber's eyes widened in confusion and disbelief, Naruto almost wanted to applaud him for the convincing speech. He really hoped he wasn't bluffing though, because this could turn ugly very quickly.

"You talk big at least, I'll give you that, runt. I'm guessing you're some big shot, or at least the son of some big shot. Which means, you just talked yourself into becoming a very valuable hostage." And with those words, he pulled out a knife.

Naruto stopped thinking, and sprang into action instead. With a high kick, he knocked the weapon out of the attacker's hand. Before he could do anything else, Sasuke had swiped his wristband against the bike again, and knocked the foul smelling man into it. The electric current that went through him made his whole body shake, and Naruto turned away quickly to face their other opponents.

Fighting felt almost disturbingly natural, as if he was just playing another game. Everything hurt like hell, of course, and none of his hits had any of the impact he expected. Instead of the dramatic sound effects he was used to, there was the smacking of skin, and the sickeningly crunching of bones. But the adrenaline fueled him on, and he was pretty much too focused on surviving to notice any of it. They took down some of their opponents, and suddenly, the owner of the arcade they had just been in burst out the door, demanding to know what was going on. The ones who could still walk scattered quickly then.

"Are you all right boys?" He asked in genuine concern. "You're bleeding."

"Fine, thank you for interrupting." Naruto assured, out of breath but still riding high on the adrenaline wave.

"You sure? Should I call for medical assistance?"

"You should get back to your establishment before the commotion attracts any more attention. You do not want to get dragged in." The cool voice of Naruto's new friend replied. He was leaning on his knees, breathing deeply as well, with blood spattered across his knuckles. The arcade owner seemed to realise the trouble he could find himself in instantly, and with a wave he rushed back to his shop.

Naruto stared hard at the man whom he had just fought for his life with. Black orbs returned his gaze steadily.

"Why did you attack them?"

The question surprised him. You would think this guy would be grateful, at least! "Because they would most likely have killed us if we didn't do something."

"They would have killed me. Why didn't you run? Everyone else had the sense to do so." He said as calmly as if they were discussing the weather.

"What do you expect me to answer to that? I was right there. Of course I couldn't just stand by and watch you get robbed or killed." Naruto answered, very annoyed.

There was a small pause as the dark haired man seemed to contemplate what he had said. "Did you enjoy it? The violence."

Naruto was surprised by the sudden change of subject and the inappropriate question, but found the answer came without thought. "More than anything." It was disgusting, but Naruto knew that it was completely true.

A moment passed, then the dark haired man replied - "me too."

Something passed between them, like an electric current, or a rapidly burning flame.

"Well, I guess this is it, then. There's only a matter of time before someone walks by and misunderstands. Someone will contact the authorities." Naruto spoke the words hesitantly, as if it wasn't really the words he wanted to say. The other man had made it clear he wanted no further contact though.

"You could come with me." Naruto looked up in confusion to meet the stranger's dark eyes.

"Why?"

Naruto knew the dangers of going away with a stranger. Hell, he had been in that kind of danger more than his fair share of times. Growing up in the lower city with an unusual appearance did that. But there was a touch of magic over this whole experience. It felt like an adventure, and Naruto lived for the thrills.

The stranger lifted his hand in a silent challenge, never breaking eye contact.

"I don't even know your name..."

"Its Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." The last name rang a bell somewhere in his mind, but the association was not unpleasant, and he thought little of it.

Without thinking, Naruto grasped the outstretched hand with his own. "I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto, and you better not forget it."

AN - I have a lemon for you. But it didn't fit with the story, so I'm saving it. If this becomes a multichappy, I will fix my awesome, awkward lemon to match the story. If not, I'll probably be nice and post it anyway, so don't go hating because I'm a tease!