Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Just an Illusion ❯ Running Away From Memories ( Chapter 1 )

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

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, this is purely fanmade and I do not make any money from these writings.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC…

----------------

Note: This was originally going to be a one-shot in celebration of the uploading of chapter 10 of ANV...but, I went so overboard. Like always. This doesn't look like it's going to be a oneshot after all.

Note2: This fic is dedicated to SyciaraLynx, BloodRedMoon, and xstargirlx! I hope this serves as a distraction to busy and stressful days!


-----------------



Chapter 1: Running From Memories


-----------------


He found himself standing in a restricted area of the top of the Humanities building of his campus. Nothing but a sign could be seen on the balcony to ward students away when the workers were present to repair a cracked area of the roof. None of the workers were present at the time. Sasuke's eyes became half-lidded when several long gusts of wind pushed at him. The sun felt warm everywhere it touched his skin, it didn't sting harshly like it usually did. Feeling the wind blowing back the strands of his hair, brushing over his eyelashes, and feeling the sun on one of its kinder days did nothing to ease the voidness he felt in his chest...in the area above his heart. He clenched his jaw for a moment as his gaze fell from the horizon to the grass and the pavement below. He took another step forward. He wasn't the kind of person that would feel dizzy from looking down from such a high place. He didn't even lose his balance at the thought that it was such a distant drop. He spread his arms straight out, leaning his head back as more gusts of wind pushed at him, making his clothes cling to him and his collar and the cuffs of his shirt flap around him. His eyes closed as he tucked in his dry lips for a moment, running his tongue over them once before unrolling them again. He was thirsty, but for what, he couldn't quite figure out.

"What's it telling you?"

The voice was so soft that Sasuke was surprised he managed to hear it. The wind carried the voice to him and he frowned, thinking that he had fallen asleep and that it was a dream. He opened his eyes very slowly, his arms dropping to his side. Over there. He turned his body towards the owner of the voice and he felt his heart painfully stop for a few beats. In fact, his body seemed to have recognized the other person while his mind was trying to catch up...this one was one of his past classmates, no, one of his past friends? No, one of his...

The blonde was perched on a thick tree limb towards his right, several feet above him. Sasuke tensed when he finally fully recognized the boy. He hadn't traded words with him for three years, and yet with a few words, he had managed to pull Sasuke roughly back to reality. He expressed his displeasure to this person by sending him a glare. The glare wasn't searing or filled with loathing as it once was years before. The glare was light, but it was emptier than he realized. He had left the blonde in the past. He was hoping to have buried him there as well. Just what did he want from him?

"What did it tell you?" The blonde asked him softly before looking ahead of him again, his profile still visible to Sasuke. "The wind."

The other boy's body language gave no hint of what he was thinking. Sasuke ran his hands through his hair on either side, his fingers clutching at the back of his hair and tugging at the clumps almost painfully. He took a deep breath, his full attention on the blonde, and it was as if his world had harshly re-awakened. He felt tired mentally and physically, but as his eyes took in the sight of his unusually serene and tranquil old classmate, he felt a strange electric energy take the place of the empty void above his heart. An unquiet, nervous, and anxious energy that he wanted to get rid of at all costs.

"It mentioned in passing that I'm going to be late for class if I don't make a mad dash for it starting now," Sasuke replied, rushing towards the balcony and grabbing his abandoned backpack. He mentally slapped himself as the words fell from his mouth without the permission of his brain.

Sasuke really did make a mad dash. He fled from the other boy as if he had demons at his heels. He felt like a child. To be more precise, he felt like he did the last time he was in the presence of that blonde boy. The more stairs he rapidly descended in his rush to get to class and to get away from past memories, the more the memories seemed to hover after him. He had a feeling that if he stopped moving altogether, all of his memories would crash into him and he was afraid. He was afraid to look back. He shoved open one of the double doors at the bottom of the stairs and hastened his steps in the hopes that he wasn't being followed. When he reached the building of his next class, he looked over his shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief when he didn't see the blonde anywhere. He ran up another set of stairs, taking a sharp turn and walking down the hallway.

His heart leapt to his throat when he felt someone grab his elbow without warning, pulling him off to the side. When his shaky vision settled, he recognized the face of the person responsible for startling him.

"The hell, Itachi!" he barked, his heartbeat trying to slow back down to a normal pace.

"Take good notes today so I can copy them later," Itachi requested in a demanding way. "Why are you so jumpy today?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in annoyance. He shared his next class with his older brother. The class was a requirement, but it was an easy one. Nonetheless, his brother wanted him to pay more attention than he usually did. "Where are you going?"

"To ride around aimlessly with some friends that are also cutting their last couple of classes," Itachi answered with a smirk. "We might stop by the beach or a park and hang around there for a while. And if we just happen to come across a party afterwards, we'll hang around there for a while..."

Sasuke sighed, knowing what Itachi was going to say after that. His mouth mimicked his brother's following words flawlessly.

"...and if we just happen to pass by a few clubs afterwards, we'll hang around there for a while."

"Fine," Sasuke gave in.

"Just remember I'd do the same for you if our positions were reversed," Itachi told him with a wink. "I have faith that one day you'll need to cash in some of these favors."


Sasuke glared at his brother. He doubted he ever would "cash in" those aforementioned favors, but it was the least of his worries. His gaze fell past his brother's shoulder and focused on an orange shirt. Shit. That...that blonde was still outhere. Pegging his brother with his most potent unarguable stare, he demanded in a raspy voice. "I take it back. Take me with you."

To say that Itachi was surprised would have been an understatement. His younger brother hadn't joined him in spontaneous festivities in years. He knew better than to question such a thing. At least, not at the moment. "Forget the notes then. Let's cut class together." He let loose a pleased smirk unto his face. Sasuke used to be somewhat less uptight. Maybe something like this was exactly what that boy needed.

"Let's go," Sasuke urged before taking hold of Itachi's wrist and maneuvering him quickly through the crowded hall and out through another exit. Any exit away from the blonde that he knew was following him.

Though Sasuke's voice betrayed nothing, Itachi felt the younger boy's shaking through the grip that he had on his wrist. He was more curious than ever to find out what had thoroughly rattled his little brother. In fact, he was even a tad worried. Sasuke hadn't lost his cool like this in years.

Sasuke's grip on Itachi's wrist loosened when they reached the parking lot. He had never been happier to see Itachi's usual group of friends gathered around his brother's car. The artists Deidara and Sasori...and Kisame.

"Don't tell me the outing's off," Kisame whined. He was pale, tall, with midnight blue eyes, and spiky blue hair in the shape of a rain drop. He was argued to be Itachi's best friend, but Sasuke knew that there was a love triangle somewhere down the line. That explained the absence of Kyubi.

"On the contrary," Itachi replied smugly. "Sasuke wants to come with us."

Sasuke was too busy looking over his shoulder for any sign of the blonde from before to pay any attention to the stares that were now focused on him. "Yeah, sometime today would be nice," he complained without even looking on them. Naturally, he was surprised when he was hauled into the back seat of the car. Not a moment later, Itachi had pulled out of his parking spot and made his way out of the parking lot. When they passed by the front of the campus, Sasuke paled and almost gave in to the urge duck his head when his eyes met disappointed blue ones. He wasn't too surprised that the blonde had nearly caught up with him after that trek through the campus. He felt a strange emotion tug at his heart when the blonde looked on as the distance between them grew larger and larger.

Itachi glanced at his brother through his rear view mirror. "So, am I ever going to find out what's been eating you today?"

Sasuke ran his hands through the sides of his head, his fingers curling and tugging at his hair. He would have rested his elbows on his knees, but his seatbelt didn't give way for that kind of movement. He took a deep breath and straightened back, dropping his arms back down to his sides. When he spoke, each word carried a weight...as if the words caused him a physical as well as an emotional pain. "I ran into Naruto."

--------

Hanging out with Itachi and his friends weren't as distracting as Sasuke had first thought. His brother let him keep to himself whenever he wanted to and he was grateful for it. His brother knew about the history he had with the blonde and he also knew that he could do nothing to ease the flow of memories that were making his mind a wreck.

Sensing his brother's distress, Itachi's last stop of the day was at a club that they used to frequent since they were eighteen. Itachi and his friends passed on through since they were well-known regulars. The guys at the front were surprised to see Sasuke with them after so long. They offered him a nod as a greeting as they checked his ID. Sasuke remembered a time when he used to have to be stamped on the hand or needed a wristband to signal that he was underage. The best thing about being twenty-one and not having to drive was the fact that he could drink without fear. And he really needed a drink at the moment. When he reached the counter, he came across a familiar face. "Suigetsu?"

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu turned surprised eyes on his friend. "I'm surprised. It's been ages since you've shown your face around here."

Sasuke ordered himself a vodka tonic and sat on the stool next to Suigetsu. "I needed a distraction badly." He paid the bartender when the drink was placed before him. He chugged the drink down and winced, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Not to mention, I needed a drink." His black eyes scanned the dance floor, wondering how rusty his dancing was after such a long time of withdrawal.

"Like riding a bike," Suigetsu commented, as if reading the other's thoughts. "You'll be a little stiff at first, but I have no doubt in your dancing abilities." He added with a wink.

Sasuke nodded before he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. He made his way to the middle of the dance floor. The vibrations of the ground and the loudness of the speakers accompanied with the lights of the glowstick stirrers and a few drinks...it was all zoned out as the beat of the song course through him. By the time the raspy voice of the singer blazed through the speakers, Sasuke's body had already fallen into a rhythm. He closed his eyes, letting his legs move as they pleased. The further he abandoned his body to the music, his dancing became more fluid as well as complicated, more relaxed as well as seductive.

Before he knew it, the people around him gave him enough room to move around. Though they tried to focus on their own dancing and their partners, their eyes couldn't be helped but drawn to the dark-haired boy. Sasuke opened his eyes by a sliver and he unconsciously shivered as the gazes he felt on him became lustful. He knew that it was only a matter of time until some brave soul attempted to invade his dancing space. Luckily, he saw Suigetsu cutting through the crowd towards him to fend any hopefuls away.

Sasuke shut his eyes again, losing himself in the beat once more after realizing that Suigetsu had his back. He felt a body near him and, assuming Suigetsu had finally reached him, he continued to dance. He smiled as he felt the person behind him follow his movements almost perfectly. Not bad, Sui. When he felt a pair of hands fall on his hips and a weight on his shoulder, however, Sasuke's eyes flew open. His traitorous body continued moving once it realized who it was. Fuck. Once again, his body realized things before his mind could catch up with it. His breath hitched when the hands on his hips him pulled him closer.

"You must really enjoy running away from me," a voice whispered in Sasuke's ear. "You seem to enjoy running away from a lot of things."

Sasuke bit his lip as one of the hands slipped under his shirt and ran up the skin there. "I didn't run away," he hissed, even as he felt heat gathering to many places just from the other person's touch. "I left to follow my goals in life."

"I would have followed you to the ends of the world. The deities know I'm still trying," was the response. "How conveniently you forget and push away what really matters."

And, just like that, the person stepped back and let go of Sasuke. The dark haired boy turned around to look at the depths of the most emotive blue eyes he had ever seen. They were dark now, a mixture of desire, anger, and disappointment sifting back and forth through them along with something else that Sasuke couldn't quite decipher. The thumps and vibrations of the floor seemed to echo the erratic beating of his heart at the sight of those eyes. He hated feeling the hot paths of blood boiling in his veins. He simply hated it. Just like he hated the boy before him.

"Then maybe the deities should fill you in on the fact that it was a hopeless endeavor right from the get-go," Sasuke growled. He had thought he had seen the last of the blonde when he walked away from him somewhere in the park of their old neighborhood. He had gone his separate way since then...which was what he had planned to do from the beginning. How had this idiot missed the memo?

"You're wrong," Naruto countered. "You don't even know what you really want." In an instant, the blonde closed the distance between them. His hand circled around the other boy's waist and slid up the small of his back. He pulled him so close that he could feel the hardness of Sasuke's chest and the awakening erection on his leg. "Do you?"

Sasuke's eyes were locked on to Naruto's slitted ones. His body was dizzy with a desire that surprised him. What was wrong with him? He should be breaking away from the blonde. He should be kicking the idiot's face in. But, his body refused to go along with what his mind wanted. On the contrary, it was begging for Naruto's touch. Begging for the kiss that was sure to come.

As if on cue, Naruto moved his mouth towards Sasuke's. He stopped when he was about an inch away, however, allowing Sasuke the option of escape. He wasn't disappointed when Sasuke pressed his lips against his. Damn, had he missed this. The sensation was causing havoc from his stomach down, but the only thing he focused on was Sasuke's kiss.

Sasuke's head was screaming at him to stop. His body was too absorbed into the kiss to care. His tongue subconsciously sought entrance into the blonde's mouth and even his mind had to admit that it felt so good after such a withdrawal. When he explored the blonde's cavern and the other's tongue began to move against his as well, the electric energy around his heart gave a spasm and Sasuke felt a little weak in the knees. No. This was not happening, his mind chastised. This needed to stop...but, he found himself wrapping his arms around Naruto's neck as the other grinded against him slowly. And then, all hell broke lose in Sasuke's mind...or, rather, Sasuke's memories...

----
TBC
----