Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A New Vessel ❯ Together ( Chapter 7 )

[ 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.


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Chapter 7: Together

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Sasuke was being, more or less, welcomed by the group of Naruto's friends. He was accepted into the group, albeit reluctantly by some, and they continued their marathon as if nothing had interrupted it. Sasuke was even more pleased when Naruto decided to sit right next to him on his left as if it was the most natural thing in the world. A good few feet away on his right, however, he received two different kinds of glares. The first glare was from Gaara. Gaara's glare was protective and promised a world of hurt if Sasuke ever hurt his friend. The second glare was from Neji. Neji's glare was full of jealousy and Sasuke recognized it immediately. Naturally, he put his arm around Naruto's shoulder and pulled him closer, sending Neji a don't-you-wish-you-were-me smirk.

Naruto, unaware of the interaction towards his right, blushed at the sudden contact, but he certainly didn't complain. When he looked up, Sasuke decided to give him a heartattack by kissing him softly on the lips...in front of all his friends! Naruto broke the kiss, covering his ears with his hands, as the girls started squealing and Kiba whistled loudly. The marathon was put on pause once again.

"What the hell?" Naruto chided, shoving Sasuke's shoulder after seeing the other's smug face. "Are you trying to embarrass me to death!?" A streak of pink adorned Naruto's nose and cheeks. The blonde was having trouble looking directly in Sasuke's eyes.

"That wasn't my intention, but it's certainly amusing," Sasuke stated, vowing silently to embarrass Naruto again sometime.

"You're such a bastard!" Naruto declared. The words were half-hearted and everyone could tell, because a moment later, the living room was filled with laughter.


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The angel Naruto was getting sick of lies. Out of the faces he saw everyday, the one person that he was expected not to keep any secrets from was hiding something big. He could tell. None of the people around him could console him or distract him. He couldn't pretend that everything was all right. He'd rather know what was going through his partner's mind, even if it meant that he might make everything worse. Sasuke had managed to avoid him and his questions and Naruto was tiring of it.

"Why don't you request to be reassigned to another partner?" Neji suggested. He was one of the many friends that hated to see Naruto fretting so much. Seeing Naruto restless and serious for so long just wasn't normal. The group of friends took it upon themselves to keep an eye on him occasionally. This time, it was Neji's turn.

"No," Naruto replied immediately. He didn't WANT another partner, he just wanted to figure out what his CURRENT partner was up to. He just couldn't understand how, after they had grown so close, Sasuke was putting so much distance between them. He just couldn't stand it anymore. And when he caught sight of silvery white wings and long black hair in the sky above, Naruto took advantage of it.

Sasuke was flying over to see Kakashi, lost in his thoughts. He was taken by surprise when a blur of yellow shot up several feet in front of him. He looked up, to his mistake, and really wished that he hadn't. An instant later, his partner had nose dived unto him, both of them flopping unto a cloud. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and closed them again quickly, his left eye nearly being put out by a clump of Naruto's blonde hair. As far as he could tell, they were neither injured nor twisted uncomfortably. He could feel the protective aura that Naruto had apparently placed upon them before they crashed. Sasuke took a deep breath as Naruto moved on top of him. Whatever the blonde had to say better distract him and fast. The fact that he was shifting on top of him was enough to drive him crazy.

Naruto carefully moved onto his elbows, narrowing his eyes at the angel he had pinned beneath him. That's right, Naruto had some guts to catch someone like Sasuke off guard, and doing such a thing willingly meant that he was serious. His golden hair had come loose in wisps from the low braid he usually had it in, albeit framing his face just so. The hair was a mess, the angel was a mess, and he was sure as hell going to get to the bottom of THIS mess.

"Why are you intentionally keeping me in the dark?" Naruto hissed. "Tell me what's going on, and don't you dare lie to me anymore!"

Sasuke tried to lift his shoulders, but Naruto had him sufficiently pinned. He could probably escape if he wanted it badly enough, but the desperation in his friend's voice weighed heavily in his heart. "Yainehm is dying. The spirit needs to choose another anchor soon before we all perish along WITH her. But, Naruto...there isn't a single anchor here that can sustain her anymore. Anyone who tries will surely die."

Naruto's expression changed from one of shock to one of worry once again. "The next anchor will die?" The words sounded incredulous and his mind couldn't quite wrap around them. But, Sasuke was telling him the truth. If things were really this bad, then they would all be in grave danger. "What are we going to do?"


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Naruto wasn't surprised when the "posse" decided to sleep over. They didn't get together very often, so when they did, they took well advantage of it. He grinned at the sleeping bodies scattered everywhere with sleeping bags and air mattresses. Usually the only person to stay awake was the insomniac Gaara, but this time Neji seemed to keep him company. Neji probably wanted to question the existence of Sasuke, and Naruto didn't want to get into that yet. He dragged Sasuke with him outside to talk, waiting until they were seated at the stairs and well away from the front door before he spoke.

"I'm his boyfriend?" Naruto tried not to grin as he repeated Sasuke's phrase, but was failing. "I guess it's better than 'I'm the long lost best friend of the alien angel spirit that resides inside him,' huh?"

"Significantly better, I think," Sasuke replied.

"It isn't true, is it?" Naruto asked softly, unsure. "The excuse you used to cover for me back there?"

"It is if we want it to be," Sasuke stated firmly. They locked gazes for a moment, as if trying to read each other's minds.

"Don't you think we're in a complicated situation as it is?" Naruto wondered aloud, a little fearful, and yet still blushing. "I personally didn't like losing control of my body back there."

"All the more reason for us to figure all this out," Sasuke decided. "Together."

"You're right about that," Naruto smiled. "And I guess I CAN grow to like you..."

Sasuke, caught off guard, let out a slight chuckle at the teasing statement. "That could go vice versa, don't you think?" He stood up, giving Naruto a hand. When Naruto was fully standing, he threw an arm over his shoulder.

"Right," Naruto said sarcastically, trying to ignore what he felt when Sasuke laughed, and yet already getting used to close contact with the artist. "And how do I know that's not your angel spirit talking."

"You don't. Though, I wouldn't count on help to make sure you're on time for anything. Now that you're officially my boyfriend, I won't be able to resist making sure that you arrive 'dead last' to everything." Sasuke barely ducked away from Naruto's grasp in time. He noiselessly ran back into the apartment, rapidly locking Naruto outside. The only person that was still awake by that time was Gaara, who lifted his head at the stunt, but chose to just observe from his spot at the kitchen.

"I can't believe you locked me out of my own apartment!" Naruto hissed, tugging at the door knob. "Let me in! Now!"

"Not until you promise to not attempt to throttle me," Sasuke answered, struggling with the grin that threatened to appear on his face. For a reason that had nothing to do with his angel counterpart, Sasuke found that he rather enjoyed teasing Naruto. Childish as it was, he just couldn't seem to help it.

"Damn," Naruto cursed. "You had to demand the one thing I can't guarantee."

Sasuke slowly opened the door a crack to peer at Naruto's miffed expression. His arms were folded and he was tapping his foot as if to say 'oh, come on!' Sasuke opened the door the rest of the way, leaning on the frame as if he did nothing wrong. Naruto gave him a puzzled look before moving forward, but Sasuke blocked his way. Naruto moved to the other side, but Sasuke wouldn't let him.

What an annoying, cocky bastard, Naruto thought. How the hell did he like this guy? He knew that artists marched to their own beat, but Sasuke was something else. Naruto thought of a way to end their little game and decided to use the element of surprise. He tugged Sasuke forward by the collar and kissed him on the mouth, effectively distracting the man, and allowing him enough room to sneak back inside his apartment. The first thing he saw the minute he walked inside was Gaara's amused expression watching them from the kitchen. For the umpteenth time that day, Naruto wanted to die of embarrassment.


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Naruto woke up late the following morning. He maneuvered his way around the 'dead bodies' everywhere while getting ready. Some of his friends were miraculously still sleeping soundly while others were rousing thanks to the sound of Sakura's angry voice. They were both going to be late for work and Sakura was enraged. Naruto made his way to the pantry to grab a few snacks, but the sight he saw before him made him freeze in his tracks.

"Good...morning..." Naruto hesitantly greeted. Sasuke gave him a nod and Gaara raised his coffee mug in response. What was going on? Naruto's gaze jumped from his redheaded friend to Sasuke and back again. They were both in the kitchen, with no murderous vibes coming from Gaara, and in comfortable silence. Comfortable silence! This was the first time Naruto had ever seen Gaara get along with a stranger so quickly.

"Naruto, hurry up!" Sakura chastised from somewhere around his left.

The mystery of the mutual acceptance between Gaara and Sasuke had to wait. Naruto and Sakura were going to get a very strange lecture from their boss and they both wanted to get it over with as soon as humanly possible. Still somewhat wary about Gaara, Naruto prodded Lee on the side with a toe. "Wake up! Sakura and I gotta go and SOMEONE has to ensure Sasuke stays in one piece..." Lee woke up with a start, his body obeying his new mission, but his mind not quite catching up. He ended up sitting upright, but falling back asleep in that position.

Sakura, not wanting to waste another minute, pulled Naruto towards the door. Just before he walked through it, Naruto stopped and remembered something mildly important. He turned towards Sasuke, feeling guilty. "Oh wait, that's right...you didn't bring your car with you."

Sakura gaped from the doorway. "Great, you mean we have to drop him off first and THEN get to work?"

"I can take him back." All heads turned towards the source of the voice, each of them surprised that it came from Neji.

"You sure it's ok?" Naruto asked. He glanced at Sasuke, trying to decipher his stance. "What do you have to say about it, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shrugged, not wanting to delay Naruto and Sakura any longer. Out of all of Naruto's friends, Neji would have been his last choice to get dropped off by, but Sasuke didn't seem to have that choice. Sasuke was comforted, however, when Naruto gave him a hug before leaving. He watched Naruto pull out of the driveway from the window before resigning to his fate.

"We better get going as well," Neji stated, leaving no room to argue.


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TBC


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Note: These next two chapters should DEFINITELY be enough to cover the week I'll be gone. Be sure to thank my beta/muse/friend Riki! These chapters wouldn't be updated, and in all their beta'd glory, without her!

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