Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A New Vessel ❯ Echoes ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Title: A New Vessel

Author: Dragon Dung

Beta: Riki

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke/Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC…

Disclaimer: See first Chapter.

ML: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theflushingtoilet

Fanart by MichiTheThird of DeviantArt: http://michithethird.deviantart.com/art/A-New-Vessel-55353031

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Chapter 2: Echoes

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A pain, unlike any that Naruto ever felt before, shot through his stomach. The pain was so immense that he found himself curling forward and bracing himself on the nearest structure he could find, which happened to be the side of the stairwell. Seconds later, the pain was gone,almost as if the pain had never been there to begin with. Naruto righted himself, straightening his back and loosening his jaw. He hadn't realized that he was clenching his teeth until that moment. Who was that man for Naruto to have gotten such a reaction from him? A hallucination? A dream come to life? A nightmare? He didn't care as long as he could stop feeling such a whirlwind inside. He carefully lifted his gaze back towards the man he had in his sight before, his blue eyes peering out from the shadows, and found himself looking into the eyes of Uchiha, Sasuke.

Sasuke knew that there was someone just outside his gallery. He wanted to take one last look at his work before it was mounted, trying to decide if he should actually go through with the exhibit. As he neared a covered sculpture in the front corner of the gallery, he sensed a strange feeling in the back of his head. The feeling was of being watched. He looked over his right shoulder and ended up locking gazes with startled blue eyes. That was the same blue that Sasuke could never quite replicate in his paintings. Such an intense blue, that color was…a blue that changed with the light or dark of the sky. But, to whom did those eyes belong to? Sasuke took two steps backwards before turning around and heading towards the gallery door.

His movement must have frightened the person on the other side, because even before he turned the handle on the door, he saw the figure dash out of the building through the glass doors. Sasuke sighed, removing his hand from the door knob. He wanted to see who that person was. There was something in those eyes that reminded him of his own troubling feelings. The feeling was of being worn thin, as if something inside of him could come out at any moment and he was helpless to it. Almost as if he was angry with himself, Sasuke nearly stomped towards the sculpture in the corner and peeled off the sheet that it was covered with. Was it possible to feel superfluous and hollow at the same time?

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As Naruto slipped into his car, he felt increasingly stupid. Just what was he doing, sneaking around a gallery without thinking that someone might be there setting up? And it had to be the artist himself, no less! To anyone else, it wouldn't have mattered, but it irked Naruto that he had possibly interrupted something that he shouldn't have and that he was almost caught in the act. He rested his chin over an arm that was on top of the steering wheel, a sullen, child-like expression on his face. He was twenty-one years old, he wasn't supposed to embarrass himself so suddenly. He was about to turn the car on when he saw someone coming out of the corner of his eye. As soon as he saw who it was, Naruto automatically slid low into his seat, peering out the window. For crying out loud, did that Uchiha have to park in the same lot, as well? Feeling oddly cornered, though several cars separated them, Naruto watched as Sasuke got into his silver Mercury Cougar. Naruto's car was starting to feel very crappy. Not wanting to make the same mistake twice, Naruto waited until Sasuke's car pulled out of the parking lot and was completely out of sight before he started up his car and drove home.

The first thing that Naruto did when he got back to his apartment was to trudge into his bathroom and jump in the shower. The warm water soothed him, even as his mind wandered. The image of Sasuke looking over his shoulder at him was engraved into his mind. Those were the darkest eyes he had ever seen and, to Naruto's surprise, he found Sasuke to be most alluring.

"Argh!" Naruto exclaimed while side-punching the wall beside him. "What is wrong with me?"

When he was a kid, Naruto had always been an attention hog. In his teens, he drew attention to himself by his mere presence and without meaning to. He went on his share of dates and genuinely liked girls. So, there he was at twenty-one, almost drooling over a glance. From a guy, no less! And yet, his being a guy wasn't what bothered him. What bothered Naruto the most was the reactions he had whenever he was around. Annoyed with himself, Naruto shut off the water and dried himself before putting on his pajamas and going straight to bed. He'd sort out the rest later.

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"He's not strong enough to be my partner! I don't accept it!" fumed an angel about the size of a human twelve-year-old. He had long, black hair and piercing coal-colored eyes. He was currently pacing back and forth in front of a much taller angel with long, silvery white hair tied back. The 'adult' angel had one blue eye and one red eye which both kept the smaller angel in his sight wearily.

"Just give him a chance, Sasuke," sighed Kakashi, not worried in the slightest bit.

"He'll weigh down my chances on becoming the anchor!" Sasuke complained. "He'll slow me down!"

"Your becoming the anchor of the planet is almost inevitable," Kakashi explained. "He'll do nothing of the sort. If he were a Derelfin, you still wouldn't be held back in the least."

That seemed to pacify Sasuke for the moment. "Just where is he, anyway- ?"

"BOO!" another young angel yelled from somewhere behind Sasuke. He had long, blond hair pulled back into a low braid and the most luminous blue eyes.

"YOU!" Sasuke winced slightly after sensing the blonde's presence, turning his head to look at him over his shoulder. "You're late."

"I can explain-" Naruto began, but was cut off by Sasuke.

"Don't ever be late again," Sasuke pressed, slightly glaring at Naruto. Naruto only gave him a sheepish grin. "Come on!"

"All right already! Sheesh," Naruto replied, flying after his partner.

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Two young angels taking off into the sky was the theme of Sasuke's gallery. Paintings, pastels, sculptures, and collages were full of them in various backgrounds and colors and feelings. Naruto thought that he was dreaming again as he hid behind his friend and co-worker in order to sneak in without being noticed by the raven-haired artist talking to his old professor. His unusual behavior was driving his pink-haired friend to the wall.

"These are all so gorgeous- Naruto, just what do you think you're doing!?" cried Sakura.

"Shh!" Naruto motioned frantically. "Not so loud! He'll notice us!"

"Who are you hiding from?" Sakura questioned. "Have you been borrowing money from strangers again?"

"No!" Naruto countered, but lowered his voice when he realized that he nearly yelled. "No, it's just that I don't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself. Crap! Too late!" That being said, Naruto quickly turned around, pretending to be engaged in the strokes of a painting. He didn't need to pretend for too long, because once he saw the scene before him, he was rooted in place. That very scene was what he saw in one of his last dreams. Nothing made sense to him then. Was the whole world playing a big joke on him?

"My name is Uchiha, Sasuke," Sasuke began. "I'm the artist. If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask. This is my first exhibit and I hope that you enjoy looking at my work…" Sasuke trailed off the moment he saw the gaping blonde. He side-stepped Sakura and moved over to the man that was staring so intently at one of his paintings. "The death of an angel…"

Naruto nearly jumped at the sound of Sasuke's voice, but he tried to recover with a cough. "Almost seems…real." Great, Naruto thought. Now he sounded like a lame fan.

"Yes, doesn't it?" Sasuke asked in a soft voice. He found himself leaning forward to take a good look at Naruto's eyes.

Naruto tensed as Sasuke moved closer. He relaxed a bit when Sasuke took a step back, but tensed again when Sasuke's eyes slowly raked his body over once. Naruto felt his mouth drop open at the look in Sasuke's dark eyes. His eyes seemed to say 'I'm going to eat you whole,' though the rest of Sasuke's stance said otherwise.

" Uzumaki Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto nodded once, shocked that he even knew his name. "If it's not too much trouble, I would like for you to be my model."

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TBC


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