Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Heart no Kuni no Naruto ❯ Chapter 9

Heart no Kuni no Naruto by Sakura (aka L-sama no Miko)   Chapter 9               A lone figure smirked as he stalked amongst the outer edges of Heart Castle’s hedge maze. The crafty teen dropped to all fours then pounced gracefully up onto the very top of the highest bush. ‘Good,’ he thought to himself, ‘I’m in.’ He was about to leapt down into the maze itself when a familiar scent caught his attention. ‘That smell...’ He sniffed the air, much like the cat he was, ‘It’s…’ Looking around he spotted the source of the scent.             A blond boy sat on his knees in the middle of a group of what appeared to be corpses; a rather distressed expression was on his usually cheer-filled face. The cat boy leapt down from the hedge silently. “Naruto?” he asked cautiously as he approached the shaken boy.   *************************************************************** **   Meanwhile elsewhere…          &nb sp;  Sasori didn’t bother looking from his work as a superior sounding knock was heard from his workshop door. “Sorry for interrupting,” the Hatter yakuza head said as he barged in. Itachi was never one to waste time on unnecessary niceties.             ; “You don’t usually come here for business, Uchiha,” quipped the redhead, ignoring the brunet as he continued to work. “What do you want?”           &n bsp; “Hn. You’re busy as ever I see.”           &nb sp; “Again, what do you want, Itachi Uchiha?” the Mortician snarled.             “Glaring is so unbecoming,” the Hatter sneered as he removed his hat and placed it on the small table where Sasori usually had his coffee with Naruto. “You should have known, this was bound to happen,” he continued, “I would rather drink laundry water than coming here.” He smirked as he brought his cane up and purposely knocked it against a box of repaired clocks. The box slid off the chair it had been occupying and crashed to the floor, breaking quite a few of the delicate timepieces. The redhead let out a shocked gasp. “I do apologize,” Itachi said in mock apology as he sat in the now empty seat, “but I did need the chair.” “Y-You bastard!” “I know you love your precious clocks so, but I can’t bear to look at such filthy things, even if they are mandatory for our continued existence. However, I do admire you, Sasori. Yours is a dirty and thankless job, yet someone has to do it. I couldn’t imagine doing what you do, performing a duty that’s soaked in sin. I pity you for being condemned to be in such a tiny cell like this.” “Are you done with the preaching?” snapped Sasori, removing his glasses and standing up, glaring at the Hatter, “What makes you think I care about what you or anyone else thinks? I’m a busy man so just get to the point and tell me what the hell it is you came here for!” “Suit yourself,” the raven haired man replied, “I’ll make it short and simple. I want Naruto-kun. I’m here to take him back to where he belongs, in my mansion.” Sasori stood shocked for a few moments then let out a laugh. “To think that one such as you would fall for a child like that.” Itachi raised one elegant eyebrow. “Oh, and I suppose you were expecting to allow him to stay here with you. You’re not exactly known to be the friendliest of people,” he retorted, “Though it does make some sense since outsiders have always been loved by those of us in this world, especially since they have that certain something that makes us want to love them. If that is true, then it’d be safe to say that we’re both attracted to the boy, am I correct?” Sasori said nothing. Instead he continued to glare at the yakuza head. “You of all people should know,” Itachi continued, “how dangerous it is for Naruto-kun to stay here with you. You’re the one who’s closest to the ‘truth’ after all. That’s even more dangerous than him staying with a criminal like myself. Naruto-kun would be safest at my mansion, don’t you think, Mortician?” “As much as it irks me that I agree with you,” replied the redhead, “I refuse to hand him over. It’s up to Naruto to decide where he wants to stay. I may eventually hurt him, but if it’s Naruto’s choice to stay here, I will abide by it.” It was the Hatter’s turn to be shocked. He stared at the clock fixer for several moments before sneering once more. “Well, well,” he drawled, “it looks like someone’s fallen for Naruto-kun pretty hard. You’ve changed Sasori, now I’ve become even more intrigued by that boy. I just hope he’s worth going through all this trouble.” Itachi clutched his cane and stood up. The walking stick glowed and morphed into a machine gun. “I’m sure Naruto-kun wouldn’t mind leaving once he sees your lifeless corpse.” The Mortician growled and reached for a pair of pliers. The tool glowed and morphed into a revolver. Itachi fired a few warning shots off to the redhead’s side. “I thought you hated wasting time, Sasori,” he quipped aiming his weapon at the shorter teen’s chest, “You know there’s only one way to end this.” “Tch!” Sasori winced, knowing he’d been backed into a corner. However, he wasn’t about to give up without a fight. He aimed the revolver and glared at the Hatter, daring the yakuza boss to make the first move. Itachi grinned as he squeezed the trigger just the slightest bit, wanting to enjoy making the clock fixer suffer. He later regretted not pulling the trigger instantly, for he suddenly found himself face to face with the point of a sword. Before him stood a figure in a tattered cloak and mask. The Hatter snarled and shoved the sword away with his machine gun. The barrel of the weapon hit the newcomer’s mask and it was thrown off the person’s face before connecting with his skull. “You always seem to get in my way, Knight of Hearts,” the taller brunet spat, “You’ve become quite the thorn.” “That’s not very nice, Itachi-san,” Sai said smiling as he touched the side of his head. He winced slightly at the pain and feel of something wet and sticky. “This is a no killing zone after all.” “I should have known it was you who’s been giving Deidara such a hard time lately,” Itachi said, noticing the currently forgotten mask lying on the floor. “I know when I’m outmatched.” He grabbed his hat and returned it to his head while the machine gun glowed and returned to being a simple walking stick. “It’d be a serious shame if I were to destroy even one of your clocks. However, it’d be interesting to see how you’d punish me for that.” With that, Itachi Uchiha, head of the Hatter yakuza syndicate strode out of the workshop, slamming the door as he went. Sai watched expressionlessly as the redhead went about gathering up the now broken clocks. Light brown eyes glanced up at the other teen, a tiny bit of concern showing in them. “Don’t worry,” he said, placing the box on his desk and returning to his current project, “they’re not badly damaged. They just need minor repairs. Tch what an annoying person.” “The Hatter’s always been a bit unstable,” Sai said, the fake cheesy smile returning to his face, “Though, I don’t ever remember him being so stupid as to come here just to break clocks and point a gun at your face.” “He wanted Naruto,” the redhead replied, not looking up from his work. “Naru-kun?” Sai parroted, a dark look coming to his face. “Yes. He’s made it quite clear that he’d take the boy even if Naruto refused to go with him. He has to be warned.” “Naru-kun has to learn to be more careful, doesn’t he? Since we all love our dear, Naru-kun, ne Sasori-san?”   ************************************************* ***********************   Back at Heart Castle…              Gaara’s teal eyes narrowed in concern at the motionless blond. “Naruto?” he called again, but got no response. The Cheshire Cat was at a loss as what to do. Outsiders were so different from the inhabitants of Wonderland and he had so little experience dealing with them. He didn’t know what would be the proper course of action for such a situation as this.             Meanwhile, the knight’s words kept running through the blond’s mind. “I thought what I told Sai was common sense,” Naruto thought, “But I’m always forgetting this place isn’t like back home.”          &nbs p;  “Naruto?” Gaara tried yet again, this time shaking the boy gently.             Naruto slowly blinked, coming out of his musings. “Gaara?” he asked, shocked to see the cat boy holding onto his shoulders.           &nbs p; “You okay?” the Cheshire Cat asked, still concerned by the corpses surrounding them. “They didn’t hurt you did they? If you need help…”          & nbsp;  “It’s ok, Gaara,” Naruto replied, giving him a forced smile. The redhead wanted to press on, but decided against it; thinking that it’d be better if the blond told him when he was ready. “I’m not hurt.”           &n bsp; “Good. I was worried when I found you here dazed with all these bodies. For a moment I thought…”         &nbs p;   “Wait a sec, why are you here Gaara? You sneakin’ into the castle again?”           & nbsp; “N-No!” the slightly taller teen replied hastily, blushing. “Well… maybe,” he admitted sheepishly. “But I’m making sure I don’t get hurt this time.”           &n bsp; “Hmph. You’d better,” scolded Naruto.             “Yes sir! I mean, well duh. I really want to see you again, and if I get really hurt I can’t right?”           & nbsp; “What could I expect from Sai?” Naruto thought, spacing out again, “I mean, it took all this time just to get Gaara to realize that him getting killed would upset me. Just what was I thinking… trying to talk some sense into these people?!”          & nbsp;  “Naruto?” Gaara called, waving a hand in front of the boy’s face.             “Oh sorry, Gaara I was thinking for a sec.”           &nb sp; “I just wanted to know if you’d like to come play with me at the amusement park. I know Lee gave you a free pass.”           &n bsp; Naruto sat there for a bit, considering the cat boy’s offer. “Yeah he did, but it’s back at Sasori’s.”         &nbs p;   “Oh. But maybe they’ll let you in if we explain. Besides, we all know you.”           &nb sp; “Um… I think I should go back and…”          &n bsp;  “Don’t worry so much,” Gaara said, giving him a mischievous grin, “I’m sure there’d be no problem in letting you in.” Teal eyes narrowed in disgust as a bunch of shadowy after images appeared off in the distance. He needed to get the poor traumatized boy out of there and quick. “You’re coming,” he said with a tone that left no room for objection. “You need to get your mind off of these guys,” he said gesturing at the corpses.             Naruto nodded and let the Cheshire Cat help him up. The two then headed back out the hedge maze, Gaara’s arm around the blond’s shoulders.   *********************************************   &nbs p;           “Okaeri, Gaara-sama!” greeted the green spandex clad faceless girl as the cat boy and Naruto approached the amusement park entrance.             ; “And welcome, Naruto-dono,” her male counterpart added, “we have been informed that Naruto-dono has an unlimited pass, if you’d please follow us.”           &nbs p; “See? Told you so,” Gaara whispered to the blond as they were led into the park. “You think too much.”           &n bsp; “Yeah, I seem to be told that a lot these days.”           &n bsp; “You’re here to have fun,” chided the redhead, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards one of the many rides, “so stop thinking so much.”   ***********************************************               Naruto and Gaara were sitting at one of the park’s quaint bistro tables sipping cold drinks after a hard days’ riding almost every single ride Lee’s amusement park had to offer.             “My friends!” the spandex clad owner called, bounding over to them exuberantly. “This time I have come up with the most excellent ride! It’ll knock your socks off!!”           &n bsp; “That’s great Lee!” Naruto said.             “Indeed my youthful friend! It embodies the very fires of youth! I call it the Jet Coaster Coffee Cup!”           &nb sp; “Lee…” Gaara said, glaring at the bushy browed teen, “Don’t tell me… it’s some monstrous combination of the tea cup ride and a coaster.”            ;  “That’s it exactly my feline friend. It’s guaranteed to make your heart beat most youthfully! The cups spin until you can’t see straight while racing on the tracks! Our customers will scream with the most youthful passion ever!”           &n bsp; “That doesn’t sound fun at all!” was the joined thoughts of the cat boy and blond.             “Uh… sounds really awesome, Lee,” Naruto said laughing nervously. “too bad we can’t ride it now.” “There’s no way I’d ride anything like that!!! I’d rather keep my lunch! Believe it!!”            ;  “Yes,” Lee agreed, frowning ruefully, “It is a great shame the ride isn’t ready yet with you so excited, Naruto.”              “Heh, heh… well ya know what they say, safety first and all that.”           &n bsp; “I wouldn’t tease him like that, Naruto,” the redhead whispered, “He’d think you actually mean it.”           &nbs p; The green spandex clad park owner snapped his fingers and one of the countless faceless attendants came bringing a bright green hard hat. “Oh that’s not a problem, my youthful friend. We can do the safety testing ourselves!” he said, putting on the helmet.             The other two paled as he once again snapped his fingers and an enormous horde of attendants came rushing over.             Before he knew what was happening, Naruto and Gaara were being dragged and shoved all through the park until all three were seated in a tea cup that had been attached to a set of roller coaster tracks.             “W-W-We’re really gonna do this?!” Naruto stammered in apprehension, “How come you’re the only one with a helmet?!”            ;  “Oh, this is just for show,” Lee said, clueless to the bond’s major discomfort, “There are rules here that require helmets while doing test runs. Rest assured, my youthful friend, we’ve haven’t had that many accidents in the past.”           &n bsp; “W-W-Wait a sec, Lee! What do you mean by ‘that many’?!!!” ‘I don’t wanna be a guinea pig!!! “Lemme off!!”           &n bsp; The poor boy let out a rather girlish scream as the cup began to spin at an unholy pace and then dropped down the tracks at an even faster speed.   *****************************************                “…to?” The blond’s eyes fluttered heavily, but refused to open. “Naruto?” the voice called again, but the boy still would not open his eyes. “Naruto!” The boy’s eyes shot open, and he gasped and sat straight up, knocking the damp washcloth off his forehead and into his lap. “Where am I... I don’t feel so good,” he croaked, his throat hoarse from all the screaming he did.             “You’re in the first aid room,” Gaara replied, wiping the blond’s forehead with the cool cloth and helping him to sit up more comfortably.           &n bsp; “I am truly sorry for earlier,” Lee said mournfully.           &nb sp; “Seriously, Lee…” Gaara hissed, “You’re so rough mannered, no matter it’s so hard to believe you’re a duke.”           &n bsp; Naruto let out a shocked snort. “Whoa!! Wait a sec!! Bushy Brows here is a Duchess?!”          &nbs p;  “Duke actually,” Gaara said smirking at the blond’s slip – Lee did have a very feminine name after all. “To tell the truth, that’s the only impressive thing about him.”           &nb sp; “Gaara-kun!!!” whined Lee, “Being the owner of a successful business that embodies the very flames of youth themselves is impressive too!! I really must apologize, Naruto. I misread your excitement. I’m more used to happy youthful screams. You came with Gaara-kun… I just wanted to make your youthful date more enjoyable.”          &nb sp;  “D-D-Date?!!!!” both teens stuttered, blushing profusely.           &nbs p; “They are a rather cute couple,” a female attendant piped, grinning, “walking through the park like lovers in the springtime of youth!”           & nbsp; “I must congratulate you my feline friend!” Lee crowed, rubbing the cat boy’s head between the ears. “Our melancholy kitty’s feeling the heat of the fires of passion at last! I should have seen sooner that he came here the first time because of you.”           &nb sp; “Y-You have it all wrong Lee!” Gaara stuttered, “I only brought Naruto here because he was depressed.” The Cheshire Cat looked away from the still blushing blond, not wanting them to see him blush any longer. “I just… I just wanted to cheer him up.”           &nbs p; “Gaara…” Naruto said, surprised. “That’s… really nice of ya,” he said smiling shyly. “Just like that time… the time he told me that stupid pun. Gaara’s really a kind guy. He makes me feel more relaxed with him around, too.” “thanks Gaara. You did cheer me up.”           &nbs p; The slightly taller teen blushed before giving the blond a shy grin.             “Ahh the passion of youthful love!!” squealed the bushy browed boy. “Naruto! Allow me to give you some platinum passes in apology for what happened. He then shoved two shiny silver plastic cards into the blond’s hands. “They will let you on  any ride without having to wait in line. You can use them now if you’re feeling better, or perhaps you’d like to come back with Gaara-kun…”         &n bsp;   A rather devious plan popped into the sun haired boy’s head. “Hey Gaara…” he started, “What’s the stupidest ride ya’ve got?”           &nb sp; “I’ve got the perfect one,” the Cheshire Cat replied, grinning devilishly, catching on. “Almost no one ever wants to ride the Merry-Go-Round.”         &nbs p;   Lee flinched at the obvious jab to his true name. Oh how he loathed that name!!!   ****************************************************  & nbsp;          Meanwhile, elsewhere…          &nb sp;  “If Naruto chooses to live with someone else,” Neji said as he hovered in front of Sasori, “what will you do about it? Do enlighten me, Sasori.”              “It’s his choice to make,” replied the clock fixer stoically, “I won’t do anything.”          &nbs p;  “Hmph. Really? Even if our dear Naruto wishes to remain with the Hatter?”              “Naruto is smarter than any of you give him credit for,” the redhead huffed, “He knows just how dangerous that man is.”           &nbs p; “Is that what you think?” the dream demon asked, smirking smugly. “I guess he hasn’t told you, has he?” he continued, appearing just behind the taller teen to whisper in his ear. “Itachi Uchiha is the splitting image of Naru-dear’s former love. A rather odd coincidence wouldn’t you think?”           & nbsp; Sasori’s brown eyes widened at that little revelation before narrowing in sheer dislike. “What do you think you’re trying to do?! You filthy…”           ;   “Trying to do?” parroted Neji, still smirking. “I’m doing what we all are trying to do. And that is make Naru-dear happy.”           & nbsp; “I should have known you’d be in league with that annoying Hatake,” snarled the clock fixer.             “Again, is that what you think?”           & nbsp; “Listen Neji,” Sasori said, the tone of his voice making the temperature take a sudden drop, “If Naruto truly does wish to live at the Hatter’s mansion, I will not stop him from leaving. That would be the wrong thing to do.”   *****************************************    &n bsp;          “I’ve brought Naruto back,” Gaara announced as he walked into Sasori’s workshop. “I must admit, I wanted to spend more time with him, but Naruto insisted that you were worried.”            ;  “Not really,” the older redhead replied icily, not bothering to look up from his work.             The cat boy raised a non existent eyebrow. “Whatever. Stop hiding and come in already Naruto.”              “I-I’m home,” came a nervous greeting from the blond as he cautiously made his way into the workshop. Sasori’s eyes bugged out at the sight before him. Naruto had a pair of reddish orange fox ears on the top of his head and matching paw gloves on his hands, which one was holding onto a bunch of balloons. A big fluffy white tipped tail of the same reddish orange color was strapped around his waist.             & nbsp; ~TBC~