Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ "...What's he doing with his tongue...?" ( Chapter 23 )

Kat: What up, all! THE INTERNET'S BACK IN MY ROOM! YESSSS! Uhh… For anyone who cares, I'm rewriting the first chapter of `Game, Set, Match.' It's about twenty percent done, so it should be up eventually. - -

 

Oh… I had something I wanted to say… damn.

 

Thank you, Uragirimono-san and Fantastical Queen Ebony Black for the page-long reviews! You both get more cookies.

 

Oh! You all know the, uh, -cough- SCENE with Orochimaru and Itachi, right? `Filth'? Well, I just heard a song by Otep, `Fillthee'. I think that song really describes the emotion of the scene… it's scary, because I hadn't heard the song before until now, and it's perfect. - - You all have to go listen to it.

 

Another note, Bitenshi, IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU UPDATED, WOMAN! I almost DIED! …Yeah. That's right. I died from fic depravation. I was LUCKY that spork ai updated!

 

 

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“Neji… I'm not so sure about-MMMRRPH!!”

 

That was all Naruto managed to get out before Neji covered his mouth with his own.

 

They were in the broom closet, Neji having dragged him in when no one was looking. Why there was a broom closet built into the stands, Naruto was not sure.

 

`Probably just for convenience,' Naruto thought as Neji started to kiss and bite at his neck. `I mean, the pavement's already a mess and it's only half… WOAH!'

 

Neji had unzipped Naruto's parka and slid his hands under Naruto's shirt. They were freezing cold, causing a shiver to trace its way down Naruto's spine.

 

Neji started to kiss Naruto again. Naruto, meanwhile, was in a state of shock.

 

`WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S HAPPENING? ARE THESE THOSE URGES THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT DURING THE ASSEMBLY? …What's he doing with his tongue…? I like it… GAAAAH!'

 

And so on. Naruto had a tendency to ramble when he was nervous, whether to himself, or anyone who would listen.

 

Neji had slid his own jacket off, and pulled off Naruto's sweatshirt. If the bare bulb swinging overhead had been lit, he would have seen Naruto's tomato-colored blush. The blonde's back was against the wall, and his fingers were tangled in Neji's long, dark hair. His gloves had been pulled off with the sweatshirt.

 

Not stopping for breath, Neji pressed his tongue into Naruto's mouth. Poor Naruto was confused, and unsure of what to do next. Neji was pressed against him, and the air in the closet seemed too thick to breathe. Neji's hands slid down his chest, and slid into his pants.

 

Naruto's eyes widened. Woah… no… wait…

 

“Neji… I… please…” Naruto whimpered. Neji's fingers slipped into his boxers, down to his-

 

“NEJI! PLEASE, STOP! ENOUGH!” Naruto cried, gathering all his strength, and pushing Neji away. Naruto reached up, and pulled on the chain that was connected to the light. Instantly, the closet was filled with a dull, yellow light. Neji was panting, the back of his hand pressed against his mouth in shock. Naruto rubbed his eyes, and tried to let his breathing settle.

 

“Neji…” he said slowly. “I'm… sorry. I'm just… you know… not… ready…” He coughed, and shut his eyes.

 

“No… I'm sorry, Naruto. I went way too fast,” Neji replied, sliding down the wall so he was in a sitting on the paved ground, his feet braced against the opposite wall. He picked up his discarded jacket, rummaged around in the pockets for a moment, then pulled out a carton of cigarettes, and a lighter.

 

“You smoke?” Naruto asked in bewilderment.

 

“Only when I have too,” Neji muttered, lighting a cigarette, and taking a long drag. “Why, you want one?”

 

Naruto slid down the wall, and sat Indian-style. “N-No thanks. I don't smoke.”

 

“Ah.” Neji tapped some ashes next to the crack at the bottom of the door, and sighed. “So… You hate me now, right?”

 

“What? Of course not!” Naruto cried, clenching his fists. Neji raised an eyebrow. “Err…” Naruto cleared his throat. “No. You just… you freaked me out.”

 

“Oh. Well, I'm very sorry. I won't do it again unless you want me to,” Neji said sedately, placing the cigarette between his lips again.

 

“Wait… again?” Naruto squeaked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“So… wait… are we a couple now?”

 

“I suppose so.”

 

“…Oh.” The smell of tobacco was beginning to fill the closet. Naruto licked his lips. “Then I'm setting some ground rules,” he said firmly, nodding.

 

“Oh?” Neji raised his eyebrows.

 

“Yes. First of all… no more smoking!”

 

Neji grinned.

 

“Fine with me. I've been meaning to quit, anyway,” he said, stabbing the cigarette out on the ground.

 

“Good. And, uh…secondly… uh… well…”

 

“Why don't I let you think on it?”

 

“Sure! Yeah! That works,” Naruto said, standing, and brushing himself off. He and Neji redressed, and Neji pushed open the door.

 

“Damn… half time's still going,” he said dully, shutting the door. “We probably shouldn't walk out of a closet together until there's less people out there.”

 

“Sure.” Naruto scuffed at the ground with his shoe, and leaned against the wall. “Neji?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Can I… uh… hold your hand… you know… in public?” the blonde asked, twiddling his fingers in a very Hinata-like way.

 

Neji blinked.

 

“Sure. Why not.”

 

Naruto's flushed face split into a wide grin. “Goody!”

 

Neji raised an eyebrow, then laughed. Naruto blinked.

 

“What?”

 

“N-Nothing,” Neji said softly, waving a hand. He leaned against the wall, and sighed.

 

“You think they could make halftime a little longer?” Naruto said with a grin.

 

“What, you don't like being with me in a closet?”

 

“Frankly? No.”

 

Neji smiled, and looked down at the blonde.

 

“That's hilarious. Yeah.”

 

“WASN'T IT?”

 

Suddenly, there was the sound of a buzzer outside, signaling the start of the second half. Neji sighed.

 

“Shall we?” he said, offering his hand to Naruto, who slid his own into it.

 

“Whatever,” he said with a small laugh.

 

 

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“Hot damn, that's my cue!” Kankuro said, jolting up from his seat, and scampering off down to where the band was meeting for the halftime show. Itachi muffled his laughter with his hand, then glanced over at Haku. The expression on his face was mingled with rage.

 

“You okay?”

 

“Okay? AM I OKAY? I'm positively FANTASIC!” Haku screamed, throwing his hands into the air, and letting them drop to his sides. “How are YOU?”

 

Itachi blinked, then looked over to Sasuke and Gaara. He sighed dreamily.

 

`OOOOH! THEY ARE JUST SOOOO ADORABLE!' he mentally squealed. Yes, Itachi does have a bit of a fangirl in him. Don't we all?

 

Seeing them made him remember that he was currently single.

 

`And why is that?' he though, leaning forward, and balancing his elbows on his knees. `I mean, I must have a million admirers in this school… and that's a fact, not a brag.' He rested his head on a closed fist, his eyes drifting down to where the band was warming up. There was Kankuro, laughing with the other band members, his face pale against the bright lights and the red make-up. Kankuro… was almost always smiling. `Maybe… it's not an admirer I'm looking for…'

 

“Itaaaaaachi?” Haku called out in a singsong voice. “You look like you're stoooooned!”

 

“Eh?”

 

“I think he is stoned!” Haku cried in dismay, pressing a hand to his forehead, and pretending to faint.” What is the world COMING to?”

 

It was at that moment that the band began to play. The song was `Great Balls of Fire', and they sounded, Itachi thought, great as they marched down the track.

 

“Goodness, gracious, GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!” Haku cried, leaping up where he sat, and waving his arms. Itachi pulled him back down.

 

Then the cheerleaders did their halftime… thing. Missy Elliot's `Lose Control' blasted through a large boom box while they did a dance routine to it. Haku found it enlightening; Itachi found it rather bland. He looked over to see if Gaara and Sasuke were enjoying it. They were in a such a state of euphoria, just by leaning on each other, that Itachi didn't want to interrupt with such a frivolous question as `Do you think this is as boring as I do?'

 

Instead, he sat back against the wall, and set his feet up on the bleacher in front of him. He put his arms behind his head, and hummed.

 

The two teams were taking their positions down on the field. Haku stood up, and screamed at the top of his lungs, “YEAH! GO GET `EM, ZABI, YOU HUNK!”

 

Meanwhile, down on the field, one of the Sunaga players looked at Zabuza, and said, “Do you KNOW that guy?”

 

“Know WHAT guy?” Zabuza grumbled, attempting to ignore Haku's shouts.

 

Itachi stopped humming long enough to restrain Haku.

 

“For God's sake, woman, conTROL yourself!” he hissed. “You're going to throw his concentration!”

 

Haku's eyes widened.

 

“Oh my goodness, you're right! Don't worry, Itachi, I'll be as silent as a mouse! You won't hear another peep from me!”

 

“Somehow I doubt that…”

 

“Hey, dudes! What's up?” Kankuro said, putting up his pinkies and thumbs in a `Surf's up' position. “How'd we sound?”

 

“Terrible, awful, atrocious.”

 

“Oh, I love you too, Itachi,” Kankuro said, laughing, and taking his seat. He looked over at Sasuke and Gaara. “Get a room, why don't ya?”

 

Sasuke made a rather rude gesture with his hand.

 

The buzzer sounded abruptly, and the game started again.

 

“Hey, what happened to Neji and Naruto?” Kankuro asked, pulling off his hat, and running a hand through his hair.

 

“Beats me. I haven't seen them since before halftime.”

 

“…Whaddaya wanna bet they're making out?”

 

“…” Itachi absentmindedly scratched his cheek, and looked anxiously out at the field.

 

“…What?”

 

“…I think you're right.”

 

“Oh, come on! … Really?”

 

Suddenly, who should walk over and take a seat on the bench but Neji and Naruto.

 

“…Speak of the devils.”

 

“Where you guys been?” Itachi asked, looking past Gaara and Sasuke.

 

“Getting some air,” Neji said coolly, shrugging. He was still holding Naruto's hand.

 

“…Uh-huh. Was it… GOOD air?”

 

“Why, yes it was.”

 

Itachi muffled a laugh, then went back to leaning against the wall. Naruto blinked in confusion, but shrugged it off.

 

“Why am I the only one not holding someone's hand?” Itachi grumbled. A pause. “I mean, besides you two.” He looked over at Haku and Kankuro.

 

Kankuro's eye twitched.

 

“You want to hold someone's hand so badly? Fine! Be that way!” Then, without warning, Kankuro grabbed Itachi's hand, and didn't let go.

 

“Eh…? EH?” Itachi squeaked, but didn't pull away. Kankuro was slightly red in the face, whether it be a blush, or a tinge from the cold. Itachi couldn't tell. But it was okay… at least now he wasn't left out.

 

Itachi giggled, and leaned his head on Kankuro's arm.

 

“Wake me up when we start winning,” he said dreamily, closing his eyes.

 

It was at that moment that Zabuza got a touchdown.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAH-HAAAAAAAAA! WOOOOOOO!” Haku screamed, leaping into the air. Kankuro jolted up and screamed his cheers. Both Sasuke and Gaara jumped up and yelled out. Naruto bounded up and stood on his seat, screaming. Neji stood up and clapped. Itachi felt a little disappointed and his loss of headrest, but stood up and howled with the crowd just the same.

 

Down at the track, the Konohaton cheerleaders were going crazy, jumping and screaming. Lee, in his fox costume, did a front handspring, and began to disco dance.

 

The score was 13 to 70. If they got the field goal, then it would be 14 to 70!

 

The crowd with deathly silent as the Konohaton player prepared to kick the ball. Haku grabbed Kankuro's arm in a vice grip, who was holding Itachi's wrist. Naruto wrapped his arms around Neji, and sucked in a breath. Gaara grabbed Sasuke's hands, ignoring his initial hesitation.

 

Then the player (no one was really sure who it was at the moment) ran at the ball, and kicked it. It sailed up, up, up… then spiraled perfectly through the goalposts.

 

There was no sound for a heartbeat, two… then…

 

The sound rivaling a small explosion rippled through the stadium. Haku, Kankuro, and Itachi were jumping up and down, Naruto screamed even girlier than Haku, and Gaara made more noise than he had in his entire life.

 

The crowd from Sunaga seemed very confused as to why Konohaton was so excited over a measly fourteen points. It was quite unnerving.

 

The game went on in a similar fashion. Sunaga continued to score again and again, while Konohaton put up a feeble defense.

 

While this was going on, Sasuke had slid an arm around Gaara's shoulder. Naruto leaned on Neji's collar, his face resembling that of a very content cat, the birthmarks on his face beginning to seem even more like whiskers than usual. Haku continued leaping up and screaming whenever Konohaton came close to scoring.

 

Kankuro didn't hold Itachi's hand again during the game. More than anything, Itachi wished he had.

 

 

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In the end, it wasn't even close. Sunaga won 105 to 14. By the time the game was over, Haku's high was still in full swing.

 

“THIS IS BULL! THEY TOTALLY CHEATED!” he howled, pulling at his bangs. Itachi held in a laugh, trying to preserve whatever integrity his friend possibly had left. He adjusted his gloves, and followed Kankuro down the stairs.

 

“I'm going to go say hi to my cousin,” Kankuro said, pausing. “You wanna come, Gaara?”

 

“Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, sure,” Gaara said, reluctantly releasing Sasuke's hand, and following Kankuro over to the field. They threaded past the cheerleaders, and most of the football players.

 

“Sasori… HEY! Sasori!” Kankuro cried, almost being knocked over by one of the Sunaga players. “Ouch! Watch where you're going, dammit!” he snapped, picking up his fallen hat.

 

“…Kankuro? GAARA?” a new voice said. Kankuro twisted around, and spied the familiar silvery-blonde hair he had only seen in pictures.

 

“Hey! Sasori! What's up, cuz'?” he said, walking over to the fence. Sasori was on the other side of the track. He had already pulled off his football gear, and was holding it at his side with one hand. He had on a plain black tee shirt, revealing that he was much thinner than the other players were. He reminded Gaara of a zombie, with the zoned-out look, matted hair, and the ashen skin.

 

“Not much… your team sucks,” Sasori said, his pallid mouth twisting into a grin.

 

“Hey, blame them, not me. You still into the puppets?”

 

“Only religiously.”

 

“What a coincidence! Me too!”

 

Gaara scratched his head awkwardly as Sasori and Kankuro chatted about puppets for five full minutes. Gaara didn't know anything about puppets, and he was still reeling from Sasuke's hand… and arm… Oooohhh…

 

He couldn't believe Sasuke had actually held his hand. Gaara dropped one hand down into his pocket, and felt cube, which he no longer left home without. Must be good luck.

 

“Sasori…” he said finally. “You're a senior this year, right?”

 

“Yeah,” Sasori said, turning his lifeless gaze from Kankuro down to Gaara. “You're a freshmen, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Well, that's good…”

 

“KAZE!” a gruff voice shouted suddenly. “LET'S GO! ON THE BUS! WE DON'T GOT ALL NIGHT!”

 

“Yeah!” Sasori called over his shoulder. He turned to Kankuro. “All right, I gotta go… call or write or sometime, huh?”

 

“Sure! See ya later,” Kankuro said, waving as Sasori disappeared onto the bus. “Well, that was fun.”

 

“Hm.”

 

They walked off the field, Kankuro jamming his hands in his pockets and whistling.

 

“Wow, what time is it?” he asked the air, pulling his left hand from his pocket and glancing at his watch. “JESUS! It's almost ten o'clock! How did the game drag on for so long?”

 

“I dunno.”

 

“Oh, did someone forget their happy pills?”

 

“Huh? Did you say something?” Gaara asked, looking up, and blinking in the bright light.

 

Kankuro sighed.

 

“Nope. Nothing.”

 

“Oh.”

 

They met up with Haku, Sasuke, Itachi, Neji, Naruto, and Zabuza in the parking lot. Haku was still ranting about how the other team had OBVIOUSLY been cheating, and MUST have had the refs on payroll. Zabuza was stonily silent, his shoulder pads lying dejectedly on the ground. Itachi was nodding and agreeing with the sophomore, rather than face his sugar fueled wrath. Gaara went over to stand next to Sasuke, who eagerly reset his arm. Neji was standing behind Naruto, his arms around the blonde's shoulders.

 

“All right, guys, it's almost ten thirty,” Kankuro said after a half-hour of Haku's rantings. “Yashamaru's probably going to have us for breakfast tomorrow if we don't move it.”

 

“Yeah, all right.”

 

“Sure.”

 

“WARG!”

 

“…Haku, are you okay?”

 

Haku had collapsed against Zabuza's shoulder, his eyes half-lidded.

 

“What… happened?” he moaned, rubbing his eyes.

 

Itachi sighed, and shook his head.

 

“All right, I'm outta here. Come on, Sasuke,” he said, pulling the keys out of his pocket. “Later, all.”

 

“Toodles!” Kankuro cried, waving as Itachi and Sasuke pulled out of the parking lot. “Okay, we'd better head, too. Neji, you need a ride?”

 

“I guess so. My uncle was supposed to pick me up…” He sighed, and looked around the almost empty parking lot. “No sign of him. Guess he… forgot.” He face fell considerably.

 

“Oh, poor Neji! We won't forget about you,” Kankuro said, clasping Neji on the shoulder, then steering him towards his car. “Let's go, gentlemen!”

 

“Naruto, is he talking to us?” Gaara asked, frowning.

 

“I think so.”

 

“Oy ve…”

 

Gaara and Naruto followed Kankuro over to the car. Naruto and Neji sat in the back, and Gaara sat with Kankuro in the front. Kankuro rolled down the windows, airing out the strangely stuffy car. He backed out of the parking lot, avoiding the few cars left dotting the pavement, and sped out into the night air.

 

“Aaah… That was fun, wasn't it?”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Uh.”

 

“Woah, talkative as ever, eh, gentlemen? So, Naruto, Neji… you two a little somethin'-somethin', now?”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Uh.”

 

“And GAARA! I think Sasuke likes you!”

 

“Hm.”

 

“You two are a cute couple, you know? Adorable, really.” He sighed. “I can't believe I'm still single! I mean, REALLY! I'm hot, right? Anyone would KILL for ME!”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Hm.”

 

“Uh.”

 

“Wow, I can't believe that game wore on for so long! I thought it would never end… okay, Neji, we're here.”

 

“We're queer!” Naruto interjected, thrusting a closed fist into the air. Kankuro and Neji laughed, and Gaara grinned amiably.

 

“Okay, see you guys later,” Neji said, pausing for a moment to place a kiss on Naruto's lips. Gaara and Kankuro catcalled, and Neji and Naruto made the same rude hand signal that Sasuke had earlier. Neji broke away from Naruto, and climbed out of the car. He pushed open the gate, and disappeared into the darkness, up the stairs, and through the doors of the mansion.

 

“Wish I had a house like that…”

 

“Who knows, Naruto? Maybe you WILL.”

 

“Oh, shut up, Kankuro.”

 

“…”

 

The sound you didn't hear was Kankuro and Gaara muffling their laughter.

 

 

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Yashamaru was firmly clamped onto Iruka's arm, his eyes wide as he stared at the television. Iruka's initial reaction when Yashamaru had said that he had never seen `The Grudge' was shock. Naruto and Gaara watched it EVERY TIME they were at Iruka's apartment, so Iruka knew the entire thing backwards and forwards. But that didn't stop it from freaking him out every time he watched it.

 

“Oh my God, I can't watch this…!” Yashamaru squeaked, pulling his legs up to his chest, trying to obscure his vision.

 

“Oh, it's not that bad…” Iruka said, with a small laugh. Yashamaru stared up at him with wide eyes.

 

“This isn't scaring you?”

 

“Not really.”

 

“…PROTECT ME!” Yashamaru squeaked, wrapping his arms around Iruka's chest, still watching the screen. Iruka decided that he would have to raise Naruto's allowance.

 

On the screen, the ghost was advancing down the stairs. `Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…'

 

Iruka was slightly anxious, now. This part of the movie always creeped him out… the sound the ghost made just made him shiver.

 

Suddenly, two pairs of hands grabbed Iruka and Yashamaru by the shoulders.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE!” Yashamaru screamed, falling off the couch. Iruka flipped around.

 

“BWAHAHAHA!”

 

“OH MY GOD! THAT WAS SO EASY! AHAHAHA!”

 

Iruka placed a hand on his chest, feeling his erratic heartbeat.

 

“KANKURO? NARUTO? IS THAT YOU?” he yelled, reaching over to the wall, and flipping on the light switch. It was! Kankuro and Naruto held onto each other as they laughed, and Gaara stood behind them and shook his head, grinning.

 

“We're s-s-s-so sorry. It was just too easy!” Kankuro gasped between bouts of hysterics. Naruto collapsed to the floor, his eyes streaming.

 

Iruka sighed with relief, and rubbed his eyes. He looked down at Yashamaru, who was still on the floor, breathing heavily.

 

“Yashamaru? Are you okay?”

 

“Hrrrrruuuuhhhhmmmnnnngggg…”

 

Iruka sighed, and shook his head.

 

“Hey, is that `The Grudge'?” Kankuro asked, coming around, and sitting on the recliner. “Man, rewind it so I can watch!”

 

“OOH! Me too!” Naruto said. Gaara shrugged, and they both came around and sat on the couch perpendicular to where Iruka and Yashamaru were. “Waitaminute…” Naruto said suddenly, his eyes widening. “Iruka, why are you here?”

 

“Well…”

 

“They're on a date,” Gaara said simply, crossing his arms.

 

Iruka stared at Gaara in shock.

 

“What? It's pretty obvious.”

 

“… COOL! It's about time you got back out there, Iruka!” Naruto cried, causing Iruka to turn slightly pink. “HEY! YASHAMARU! AWESOME! THAT MEANS WHEN YOU TWO GET MARRIED I'LL BE RELATED TO GAARA!”

 

Yashamaru, who had just sat up, lay back down again. “Oh my…”

 

“Wait… Oh! You two probably want to make out in private, right?” Naruto said, standing. “We won't stay, we can go!” Naruto grabbed Gaara, who glared daggers at the blonde, and hauled him out of the room. “There's a TV in here, too, Gaara!”

 

Iruka and Yashamaru looked at Kankuro, who stood up. “Fine, fine, I'm gone.” He left the room, his hands in his pockets.

 

Yashamaru stood shakily, and sat back down on the couch. “Rewind?”

 

“Rewind.”

 

 

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I've been working on this chapter for three days. Usually I write chapters all at once, so, sorry if this was a little scattered.

 

Woah! Neji! Easy, trigger! Heh heh… Closet. Sasuke and Gaara are FINALLY getting closer. (!!!112six) Itachi and Kankuro… love? Maybe? Maybe not? Come on you two, MAKE OUT already! Sasori really DOES look like a zombie! A good looking zombie. Puppets. Yay, puppets! Iruka plus Yashamaru equals HEART!

 

Kat: Okay. Sorry about the shortness. I'm trying to get at least four thousand words per chapter from now on, and this was just over 3,500. - - Grrrr. Okay. Please review, and THANK YOU to all the people who HAVE reviewed! I can't be bothered to write out personal thank yous. So sorry. Don't think poorly of me, I'm just lazy. -grin-

 

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