Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Scratch ( Chapter 14 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kat: Okay, all! I had to get over my Writers' Block, so I forced myself to write this. Sorry if it sucks, but I PROMISE, the next chapter will be MUCH better.

Soriko: Yeah. Sure.

Kat: -glare-

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There were times when Yashamaru hated his life.

Right now was a good example. It was twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and here he was, standing in a freezing cold bus station for three hours, with no one but hobos for company. There was that trucker that had stopped here an hour ago, but he had looked at Yashamaru like he was a piece of meat.

The bus, which was supposed to be there two and a half-hour ago, had yet to arrive. Yashamaru frigidly rubbed his hands together in a desperate attempt for warmth. It was FREEZING, and that wasn't an exaggeration. The sky had grayed over with dark clouds, and the temperature had dropped drastically. He hoped it wouldn't rain. Or snow, for that matter.

At that moment, a roll of thunder echoed through the air.

Yashamaru sighed, and dropped his head down to rest on his suitcase.

`Five more minutes,' he thought to himself, `then I'm hitchhiking.'

Why, oh WHY had his car chosen THIS WEEK of all weeks to break down? And that oh-so-friendly repair man, who had told him, “Your car will be fixed by Saturday at the latest, ma'am.”

Saturday. Today was Saturday, and here he was, freezing his fingers off at a bus station. Well, ha ha ha, isn't that funny.

Another roll of thunder, this time followed by a bright flash of lightening.

Sometimes Yashamaru wondered if he should just cut his hair. Maybe THAT would keep people from mistaking him for a woman. But then again, haircuts were expensive, and Yashamaru could hardly afford this bus trip as it was. As he was so clumsy, he would no doubt cut off his ear if he tried to cut his own hair.

The man stared mournfully down the road for at least another twenty minutes, before a large cloud of smoke alerted him of the bus's belated arrival. Yashamaru stood up from the bench, and walked in through the hissing doors. He pulled out his ticket, and passed it to the bus driver.

“Take a seat, Lady,” the old man said, eyeing him oddly.

“I'm… uhm… never mind,” Yashamaru said, shrugging.

Glancing down the aisle, he realized that there were no empty seats. Except one.

“Uhm… can I, uh, sit here?” he asked, gesturing to the seat. The woman in the other seat nodded.

He shoved his suitcase inside the overhang, and sitting down next to the elderly woman, who smiled at him, and offered him a cigarette.

“N-no, thanks,” he said quietly, slipping off his jacket. At least it was warm in the bus. The woman lit her cigarette, and pulled down the window so she could tap the ashes out the window.

“So where ya headed, Sonny?” she asked, her voice a harsh rasp. Yashamaru was very pleased that she recognized his sex on sight.

“K-Konohaton,” he said. “What about you?”

“I'm headed to Vegas, Baby!” she said with a laugh. “Gonna win me some big bucks on the slots!”

He smiled.

“Sounds like fun. I'm Yashamaru, by the way,” he said.

“Dolores Wimbledon,” she said. She took a long drag off of the cigarette, then tossed it out the window, and rolled it back up. Then she whipped out a large ball of blue yarn, and a pair of knitting needles. She also pulled out a measuring tape, which she wrapped around Yashamaru's head, much to his dismay.

“Hmmm…” she muttered. Then she began knitting with a speed that rivaled lightening. “Goin' to visit family in Konohaton?”

“Yes,” Yashamaru said, slightly confused. “My brother-in-law's kids. I'm… uh… babysitting, I guess.”

At that moment, it started to rain, and a blast of thunder caused the windows to rattle.

“Thunderstorm,” Dolores said. “Bad luck. Baaad luck.”

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Another flash of lightening lit the sky, and Naruto almost jumped out of his skin.

“God,” he shouted, “I HATE THUNDERSTORMS!”

“Calm down you spaz,” Temari snapped. At that moment, the lights flickered, and Naruto grabbed onto Gaara's wrist.

“Ow! OW! Naruto, let go, OW!” Gaara cried in shock, tearing his wrist away.

“S-s-s-sorry,” Naruto said, shaking.

Gaara winced, and gently rubbed his wrist.

“I'll be right back,” he said, standing, and hurriedly leaving the room. Kankuro's eyes followed with a nervous interest.

“Hmmm,” he murmured to himself.

Once inside the bathroom, Gaara closed and locked the door, then slid down in front of it. He swallowed hard, then slowly pushed up the sleeve of his shirt.

“OhGodohGodohGodohGod…” he whispered, his eyes scanning the numerous red lines drawn across his arm. Most of them were months old, and almost completely mended, but there were three that were new. Not even a week old, they were red and accented, and they hurt. It was like his arm was on fire.

Gaara prayed that they weren't infected. He had cleaned the knife himself. It wasn't dirty.

`Oh God please oh please don't let them be infected not again no no no please,' he thought, standing, and running his wrist under cold water. He bit his lip to keep from whimpering. Just then, the lights flickered off, and stayed off for a moment, then jumped back on. Gaara stared at the light on the ceiling for a second and a half, then turned his eyes back to the art on his wrist. These weren't deep cuts… so why were they still hurting so badly?

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

“Gaara? Hey, Gaara?” It was Kankuro. “Are you okay?”

“Whadaya mean, `Am I okay?'” Gaara snapped, pulling down a towel. “Can't a guy get a minute alone in the BATHROOM, for Christ's sake? Jesus…” He nervously patted the excess water off of his arm, and hoped that Kankuro would leave.

“Okay, okay, no need to get testy. Hurry it up in there, I gotta go.”

“Clever as always,” Gaara said wryly, rolling his sleeve down again. He unlocked to door, and shoved it open. “All yours,” he said, gesturing sarcastically.

“Thank you,” Kankuro said, disappearing into the bathroom. Gaara returned to the living room, and sat down on the couch, ignoring the squirrelly looks Naruto was giving the lights.

It was at that moment that a torrential rain began pounding at the windows, and the lights went out for good.

“What the fuck?” Kankuro yelled from the bathroom.

“Dammit, what the hell?” Temari snapped. “I was on the PHONE!”

Gaara stared at the ceiling, and sighed.

“Th-the power's out!” Naruto half-shrieked, gripping the arm of the couch.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“Will someone get a Goddamn flashlight?”

“…Did you wash your hands?”

“No.”

“That's sick, Kankuro.”

“I was being SARCASTIC, WOMAN!”

Click.

Gaara held the illuminating beam of the flashlight that he had found up in his siblings' faces, and said, “Will you two continue your little love affair later?”

Kankuro sniggered, and Temari glared at the red head.

“Freak,” she snapped, before storming out of the room.

Gaara sighed, his face falling. Kankuro rolled his eyes, and took the flashlight.

“I'm gonna go mess around with the fuse box,” he said, “and see if I can get the power back. You two… stay here and have fun.”

“Bite me, Kankuro.”

“BUT IT'S THUNDERING OUTSIDE!”

“Calm down, Blondie.”

“Right. Right. I am a MAN. It is only THUNDER. I FEAR YOU NOT, THUNDER!”

BOOM-BOOM!!

“EEEEEEEEEEEKKKK!!”

“…Naruto, you're a wuss.”

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Kankuro pulled open the small black box, stuck the flashlight between his teeth, and began poking and prodding the random knobs and buttons. This went of for five whole minutes, before Kankuro realized he had no idea what he was doing.

“Mmmm…” he sighed, slamming the box closed again. He took the flashlight from his teeth, and shined it around the garage. It was creepy in here in the dark, but at least it wasn't as bad as the basement. Too many bad memories in the basement.

He shuddered, and hurried out of the garage.

“Hey, guys?” he called, slamming the door shut. “I can't fix the power. Wanna go over to the Uchihas' and bother them?”

Naruto's disgusted face stood out through the gloom.

“Hell no!” he snapped, crossing his arms.

Gaara gave him an odd look.

“I'll go,” he said, shrugging. “But I'm only staying if they have power. Naruto,” he said, looking at the blonde. “You can stay here alone. In the DARK.”

BOOM-BOOM!!

“Fine! I'll go over to Sasuke-bastard's house!” Naruto squeaked, standing. “But… yeah… I'm only going for light…. I mean, TV!”

Kankuro rolled his eyes, then groped his way over to the wall. He slid into the hallway, then over to the stairs.

“TEMARI!” he screamed up the stairs.

A minute later, “What?”

“We're going over to Uchiha's place. Wanna come?”

“No.”

“Okay. Listen for Yashamaru, okay?”

“Whatever.”

Kankuro shrugged.

“All righty, then,” he muttered. “Let's go, gentlemen. I'm driving.”

“Hang on a minute,” Gaara said. He brushed past Kankuro, and up the stairs.

“Yeah… I need to… uh… put on… pants,” Naruto said, glancing down at his boxers, and dashing up the stairs. Then, Kankuro realized that he, too, was still in pajamas, and went upstairs to change.

Gaara went into the upstairs bathroom, leaving the door open so the dim light to trickle in. He pulled open the medicine cabinet, and dug around until he found his eyeliner.

Naruto went into Gaara's room, and burrowed under the blankets that were strewn around on the floor, until he found his jeans. He pulled them on over his ramen cup covered boxers, and ran his hands through his unruly hair to attempt to flatten it. When all attempts fail, he shrugged, and continued to burrow until he found his shoes.

Kankuro walked into the Mess that was his bedroom, and upended the dirt clothes basket, searching for something clean enough to wear.

“Maybe Yashamaru can do laundry for us,” he mumbled. He finally found a presentable pair of jeans and a tee shirt, then pulled his zipper jacket on, and shoved on his kitty ear hat. He remembered that he hadn't applied the kabuki make-up, but he didn't really mind. Itachi tended not to care about the make-up.

“You guys ready, yet?” he called, leaving his bedroom.

“Yep,” Naruto said, pulling his orange parka on over his shirt.

“Where's Gaara?”

“I'm right here,” Gaara said, tapping Kankuro on the shoulder from behind. Kankuro whipped around.

“How the hell did you do that?” he squeaked, his eyes wide. Gaara fixed him with an odd look.

“I walked. How do you think?” Gaara shrugged, his over-sized sweatshirt hanging down past his hands, and walked down the stairs. “Are we going, or what?”

“Wow,” Naruto breathed. “I've never seen you THIS enthusiastic before, Gaara!”

“Shut up, Naruto.”

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During the drive to the Uchiha house, the rain slowed from torrential to a drizzle, pattering lightly on the roof of the car and against the windshield. The town always seemed quieter when it rained. There were never as many cars on the road, never as many people in the streets, and the smell of smoke and exhaust that usually clung to the air was almost completely gone. Everything seemed cleaner, somehow. Calmer. Quieter.

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

Well…almost everything.

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“…How `bout now?”

“Ask me one more time, Naruto, and I swear, I will throw you out of this car.”

“Fine, fine, no need to get antsy.”

Kankuro made a face at the blonde in the mirror.

“…Are we there yet?”

“NO.”

“Are we there yet?”

“FOR THE LAST TIME, N- …Oh, wait, yes, we are.” Kankuro pulled the car into the driveway, and turned off the ignition. “Come on, boys! Let's go bug the Uchihas!”

“HELL YES!” Naruto cried, leaping from the car. Gaara followed him at a slower pace. Kankuro walked onto the porch, and began ringing the doorbell. Over and over and over.

“Helloooooo? Itaaaaaaaaachi? Saaaaaasuke? Anyone hooooooooome?” Kankuro called, still ringing the doorbell. Then, the door opened, and a very confused looking Itachi was standing in its place.

“Hi, Kankuro!” he said, his face brightening. “So good to see you again!”

“You too, friend! How long's it been, twelve hours?”

“At least!”

Kankuro, Gaara, and Naruto walked into the house, and Naruto pulled off his jacket, and dropped it on the floor. Kankuro pulled off his shoes, and followed Itachi into the den, and Gaara and Naruto hurriedly did the same.

“Our power's out,” Kankuro said, plopping down on the sofa next to Itachi, “and since you guys are all rich and stuff, we figured you had a back-up generator or something.”

“That we do!” Itachi said brightly.

At that moment, Sasuke entered the room, still in his pajamas.

“Itachi, what the Hell's going on… Oh my God…” He pressed his hands to his mouth, and ran out of the room.

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Sasuke had just finished his pizza when the power started flickering. He stared at the TV from his waterbed, and made a face. Then the power completely died.

“Three… two… one,” he counted under his breath.

BUZZ!

The power was on again. Sasuke smirked at his cleverness, and continued watching the ever-so-interesting Saturday morning cartoons.

About a half-hour later, the doorbell started to ring. A lot.

“ITACHI, WILL YOU GET THE GODDAMN DOOR, ALREADY?” he shouted, rolling his eyes. When the ringing didn't stop, he sighed angrily, and stood from his bed. He was still wearing the gray sweatpants and dark blue tee shirt that he had slept in, but he didn't really care. Odds were it was one of Itachi's groupies come to beg for a date, which, strangely enough, Itachi would decline, with an oh-so-charming smile that would cause the girl to melt into her hundred dollar shoes.

The ringing had stopped, but Sasuke doubted Itachi had gotten the door. He stormed down the stairs, and into the den.

“Itachi, what the Hell's going on…” Standing in his living room was none other than Gaara Kaze. Gaara. Oh dear sweet lord. Sasuke realized he was still in his pajamas. “Oh my God…” he said, pressing his hands to his mouth, suddenly very embarrassed. He turned, and quickly left the room.

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`Did he leave just because he saw me?' Gaara thought miserably, rubbing his mouth. `Oh, no… I didn't want to make him leave!'

“Is he all right?” Naruto asked, collapsing down on a loveseat, and putting his feet on the

(I told you never put your feet on the fucking coffee table you little piece of trash do I have to beat some sense into you)

coffee table.

Gaara shut his eyes for a moment, the lights suddenly feeling too bright, then opened them again.

“Why don't you go check on his, Gaara?” Itachi said, standing. “If I do, he'll probably bite me, or something. Soda, anyone?”

“Please!” Kankuro said.

“Sure, why not?” Naruto said, leaning back in the loveseat, which suddenly reclined with him. “Ooooh, this thing ROCKS!” he cried, laughing. Itachi smiled, and left the room. Gaara shrugged, and followed Sasuke.

“If you don't come back,” Naruto called after him, “can I have your Play Station?”

Gaara glared at him, then followed Sasuke up the stairs.

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Kat: Bah! This chapter didn't turn out quite like I planned it, but, oh well. I'm feeling like yaoi, so next chapter shall have some GaaSasu lovin'. Sorta. Yum yum yum!

Naruto: OO What the HELL?

Kat: La la! Please review!