Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Dream Hunters ❯ Proposals ( Chapter 2 )

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

A/N: I’m not sure how good this chapter is, exactly. It’s mostly a filler and to introduce all of the main characters and get some stuff out of the way, basically. I promise you that as soon as the story gets going, it should be a lot better and will hopefully keep your interest. So, until I start getting to the good stuff, I’ll probably be posting every other day, if I’m able to. So far I would like to thank my one reviewer. Unfortunately, they were anonymous, BUT, you should know who you are. So, I thank you. I was a bit disheartened though. 24 visits and only 1 review. Oh well, I was happy getting at least one. Now, read on, dear readers, read on. Please? I’ll give you Naruto plushies of your choice…
A green eyed redhead walked through the door. Almost immediately, he was bombarded by a happy-go-lucky, blue-eyed blonde.

“Gaara!” Naruto hugged the redhead tightly, not noticing the routinely hushed silence.

Gaara stiffened. “Naruto. Get off.”

The cheery boy held on a few moments longer, letting Gaara know his threat was going unheeded. Finally, Naruto released him only to snatch his hand and drag the redhead to the back.

Upon reaching the storage area, Gaara managed to yank his hand away, straightening his appearance. Glancing up, he noticed Naruto’s grin. “What?”

“Did you get them?”

He raised his eyebrow. He had no idea what the blonde was talking about. “Get what?”

Naruto scrunched his face. “ ‘Get what’? The permits, of course!”

Gaara grabbed his disgusting blue vest from the hanger, shrugging it on. “No.” He winced at the volume of the reply.

“What do you mean ‘no’?! We need those permits if we’re gonna do this expedition!”

The redhead moved past Naruto, scrounging in the room before picking up a box of new releases. “I know that, Naruto, but that idiot Kakashi was too absorbed in our good employer’s newest novel to even give me the time of day.”

They exited the back room and made their way to an empty shelf in the front. Naruto picked up a few books and began stacking them neatly.

“Well, why didn’t you go psycho-killer on him?”

Gaara again raised his eyebrow, stopping his work to stare at the blonde. “Psycho-killer?”

“Yeah, you know, threaten to torture him in slow, painfully sadistic ways until he cracks or croaks.”

Gaara rolled his eyes. “Naruto, you’ve been watching too many horror films.” He finished that box and went to get another, Naruto trailing behind, only to stop.

“Hey, Gaara?”

The other stopped, turning. “What is it?”

“Has anything weird happened to you? You know, since we found that engraved plate thing? Anything at all?”

There was a moment of silence, then, “No.”

Naruto slumped a bit. “Oh, ok.”

“Why do you ask?”

Naruto shifted a bit. “Well, I’ve been having these weird dreams. They’re not bad, though. They’re actually pretty good… Really good, in fact… But they didn’t start till after we found that thing, at least, they weren’t as vivid as this.”

Gaara turned fully. “What kind of dreams?”

“Well–“

Suddenly the door banged open, a white haired man bellowing in. “Hey, you two, get back to work. This ain’t happy hour; I don’t pay you to stand around yappin’.”

Naruto bristled. “You hardly pay us at all, you old man.”

“Watch it, kid, or I’ll whoop your bum into next week.”

The blonde scoffed, grabbing more books and pushing past his boss. “Oh, why don’t you go and work on your research, you pervert.”

Gaara followed him out and the door shut on the ranting old man.

Two female voices could be heard up front, one quietly trying to calm down the whiney, much louder voice.

“I don’t care if his shift’s not over; I need him to give me a ride!”

“I-I’m sorry, miss, b-but–“

“I don’t wanna hear you’re sorry, I want Naruto!”

Naruto balked, cringing. “Oh, no. I completely forgot.”

Gaara gave him a look before pressing forward.

“Get Naruto! Now!” A platinum blonde was yelling at the poor cashier. Gaara’s eye twitched.

“Girl. Be quiet.”

She stopped mid-riot, much to the brunette’s relief. But when Naruto stepped out, she was once again yelling. “Naruto! Did you forget you were supposed to take me to meet Shikamaru?”

“Nice to see you too, ‘Cuz.” He set the box down.

“Don’t give me that. Because of you, I’m almost an hour late! Now let’s go!” Without giving him a chance, she grabbed the blonde’s hand and drug him out the door.

The brunette and Gaara watched in stunned and annoyed silence.

“W-wow…”

“Hn.”

Naruto turned onto 6th Street, stopping at a red light. “Jeez, Ino, you didn’t have to be so rude to Hinata, you know.”

She huffed. “I wasn’t being rude. The kid wouldn’t go and get you like I wanted, I was getting annoyed.”

The light turned green and Naruto drove on, turning left two blocks down, heading toward Nara’s Jeeps. “That’s no reason to yell at her like you did.”

Ino crossed her arms. “Yea, I guess, I’m sorry. So, how’re things going for you for that searching thing?”

He sighed. “Archaeology expedition.”

“Whatever. How’s it going?”

“Not so good. Gaara tried to get our government permits, but that pervert Kakashi wouldn’t give them to him.” He stopped, turning off the car. Both stepped out.

“Well, why not?”

He shrugged, locking it. “Who knows?”

Ino grinned. “Well, maybe I can help.” She struck a pose, her hip jutting and a hand to her hair. She pursed her lips and batted her eyes.

Naruto faltered. “Uh, I don’t think that’d work, Ino.”

She glowered. “And why not? I’m pretty, smart, have a body to die for–“

Naruto waved his hands before his cousin could go into another rant. “No, no, it’s not that. Kakashi just… doesn’t swing up front…”

She blinked. “What do you mean ‘he doesn’t swing up front’?”

“Well…”

“You mean he likes fat girls?”

“No.”

“Ugly girls?”

“No…” His eye twitched slightly.

“Foreign girls?”

“No!”

“Well, then, what?”

“He’s gay.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you serious? But he reads all that smut!”

Naruto sighed. “I said he’s gay, I didn’t say he wasn’t a pervert.”

“Who’s gay?”

Both turned, Ino breaking into a wide smile, running up to the newcomer. “Shika, Kakashi’s gay!”

He looked at her hanging on his arm. “I know.”

She looked shocked. “You know? How can you know already when I just found out?”

He sighed, closing his eyes and shifting his feet. “It’s not exactly a secret, Ino.”

Naruto grinned. “Yeah, you’re just a slow on the uptake.”

She clenched her fist. “What was that? You say you have a death wish?”

Naruto gave a nervous laugh and backed up a step, his hands in front of him placatingly. “Eh… Nothing. It’s just a slight misunderstanding is all, honest.”

She calmed almost instantly. “So, who else is gay?”

Shikamaru and Naruto choked, going into coughing fits.

The blonde recovered first. “W-what?”

“Well, obviously my ‘gay-dar’ is nil, especially if I didn’t catch onto even Kakashi, so I wanna know who’s off-limits to flirt with.”

Naruto and Shikamaru scowled. “You’re dating Shikamaru; you shouldn’t be flirting with anyone!”

It was Ino’s turn to glower. “I meant if we ever broke up, knuckle head.”

“You shouldn’t even be thinking about that! And don’t call me knuckle head!”

“Well, why can’t I?! There’s always that possibility! And I’ll call you whatever I want! Knuckle head!”

Shikamaru sighed as a fight broke out between the cousins. “How troublesome.”

Sasuke lounged on the pillows and blankets in his “room”, if you could call it that. It was a rounded room, no windows, and only one door. It was almost completely white, save for the few dark blue cloths hanging from the ceiling and the many matching pillows and blankets adorning the floor. He sat there, curled slightly, his features blank yet his mind rolling. Why is it so difficult for me to get that kid out of my head? Why do I still want him?

A smooth voice interrupted. “Something bothering you?”

Sasuke turned his emotionless black eyes to equally emotionless white. “Neji. What do you want?”

The brunette sat, his white hakamas and robe rustling, seemingly floating down before settling around him. “Nothing in particular. I’m merely curious as to why a Dream God of your stature would be so deep in thought. It’s difficult to obtain that amount of bother without the complexity of emotions.” His eyes had been wandering the room, but now they rested on the raven-boy. “And I know you haven’t fed recently enough to retain what emotions you’ve captured.” Neji’s voice was smooth, probing, yet hard and devoid of any real feeling.

Sasuke looked away. “My thoughts are my own and no business of yours.”

The other leaned forward. “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with that delicious little blonde you visit each night, would it?”

Sasuke’s eyes flashed, much to Neji’s surprise and pleasure. “That’s none of your concern, Hyuuga”

“Apparently it is. After all, you’re still carrying remnants of his emotions, which indicates you’ve seen him far too many times. What do you think would happen to you and the rest of us if this ever got out to the higher gods?” His voice, unknowingly, grew smug and hard, a mistake Sasuke quickly picked up on.

“And what of you, Neji? How fares your dear human?”

The brunette stiffened slightly. The darker boy smirked and continued. “It seems you’re in the same state I am. If this does get to higher ears, then you’ll bare the full brunt of the punishment by my side.”

“So, what do you propose we do, Uchiha?”

Sasuke thought for a moment before a small grin split his full lips. “We visit Orochimaru.”
A/N: There you have it, a boring chapter, ha ha. Well, I hope that at least some of you liked it. I don’t want to disappoint. Like I said, I’m going to be posting as often as I can for as long as I can, so expect another chapter within a few days or so. Although, I might eventually get to the point where I greatly desire reviews and won’t post until I get a certain amount, usually 5, ha ha. I know, I’m cruel. But that might not happen for a while, depending on how you guys like it. Which reminds me, I can’t very well improve if you guys don’t tell me WHAT I need to improve ON. So, get with the critiques! Lol. I’m a big girl, I can take it.