Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction ❯ Lovers Can't Be Trusted ❯ Second Impressions ( Chapter 5 )

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

Only one thought came to Naruto's mind as he strolled down the dry dusty sidewalks of Suna. He had just been doped. Out of all the promotion brochures, commercials and galleries his university had been spamming him with, not one seemed to accurately grasp the intensity of Suna's finest quality. Heat, sand and more sand were in wide abundance. It was his foolish assumption that the pictures of his fellow classmates standing in a sandy background were perhaps ocean side off scene. But as he left the overly nurtured campus grounds he quickly came to the realization of just how wrong he had been. Suna was no sunny, beach destination; it was a hellfire of desert and rocks.
"Naruto, are you crying?" Sai broke the silence with his concern.
The blonde took a moment to blink and chuckled out breathlessly. With a long wipe of the brow he sent a few streams of sweat to the ground. The beads of moisture quickly sizzled up sooner than they could splatter. "Not exactly Sai" he chuckled. "How do you stand this heat Gaara?" He threw a wayward glance to the red head teen as he slowly treaded a few feet behind them.
Gaara gave a bitter 'un' in response. He almost went unnoticed, leaving the room behind them but no such luck. To be quite frank he was just leaving to grab some cleaning supplies but Naruto was under the instant impression he was interested in their little gathering and began to lead the way. Rather than be an ass and walk the opposite direction, he went with the flow. His only regret now was seeing the two teens leaving a trail of puddles for him to step over. Couldn't these cozy city kids handle the heat?
"Believe it or not, this is unusually cool weather for this time in Suna Naruto" Sai pointed out matter of fact. "I've done a little research and come the beginning of summer, about ten percent of students get hospitalized for dehydration and sunburns."
Naruto was simply in awe Sai could say so with as calm a smile as he had. "Remind me not toleave you in charge of delivering bad news Sai." He sighed out, brushing his hair back out of his eyes. "Looks like Sasuke got the better deal here. I may be all skin and bones by next year."
"Will that be a problem? I hear zombies are very in right now" Sai remarked.
Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "Okay first order of business when we get back to the room, we are getting you some new reading material." The blonde grinned and eagerly jumped ahead, all the more excited to find them a karaoke bar to hit first. It was only a few feet later that he realized Gaara had already stopped following them. He turned quickly, staring at the red head that halted before two large red doors. "Gaara, what are you doing?" He pouted when he got no response and marched back over. He gave the sketchy looking building a once over before finally noticing the sign. "If you found a karaoke bar you should have at least said so out loud before I ended up walking another block" Naruto complained.
Gaara shrugged. "If you didn't notice I could always head back to the room," he pointed out.
Naruto growled lightly. "Well aren't you the passive-aggressive tag-along. If you didn't want to commit to the outing you could have just said so."
"Well he never said he was going to go in the first place either" Sai clarified with a playful chuckle. "Regardless, we have found a place now. Let's go inside and lull some babes to sleep."
"SaiÉthat's not a good thing."
Before Naruto had a chance to drag his two roommates inside, the front doors when bursting open and a group of rowdy patrons came stumbling out of the bar. Gaara sidestepped just in time before a man projectile vomited. Sai could only laugh joyously at the sight. Apparently it was something he had always wanted to see, as he didn't get out that much.
"Umm how about we go somewhere else," Naruto suggested with a nervous look. He suddenly shuddered as he heard the loud squeaking of the microphone from inside and an eager voice trying to hit notes it obviously couldn't handle.
Excited still, Sai eagerly pulled open the doors and stepped inside. Naruto followed as only to drag him out but had to stop in the doorway as he watched the rather amusing scene taking place on stage.
"I bring the bomb bitches! You can't silence me! Art is an explosion!" A long blond haired male went kicking and jerking the mike as a few staff members tried to drag him off the small stage. Obviously frustrated with their dislike of his taste in presentation, he threw the mike across the stage, impaling one of the bases and causing an awful screech to sound off in the building.
Naruto cringed, feeling his stomach start to drop into his lower bowels. And here he thought Lee was a hard-core enthusiast. Sai on the other hand clapped at the entertainment. Naruto yelped and jerked down the other boy's hands just as he saw the male's eyes turn in their direction.
The rowdy male made it halfway through the building on the arms of his escorts but convinced them he could make the rest of the journey of his own. He hopped away and stumbled toward the three roommates with a mischievous grin. "Enjoy the show kiddies?" he breathed out heavily.
Naruto gagged and covered his nose as he got a good long whiff of alcohol on the other's breath.
"Very much sir!" Sai exclaimed. "So this must be what they mean when you rock the house."
The blonde looked blankly at Sai for a moment and smiled. "I like this kid. He's a people pleaser." He eagerly offered out his hand to the two of them. "The name's Deidara, the next Da Vinci at your service." Gaara gave a roll of his eyes just as Deidara looked his way. "Hey, have we met before? You look familiar."
"Organic Chem., Western Civilization, hallway, dining hall, dormÉtake your pick" Gaara responded numbly.
Deidara tilted his head, looking the ginger over again. "NopeÉ" A grin suddenly returned to his face. "Sasori! That's right. You're that kid that's always hanging around at Sasori's place" he chuckled.
Gaara sighed. "I'm impressed you can't be bothered to remember our fourth or even fifth introduction."
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as he felt the tension growing thicker. "Small world huh, how about we find somewhere else to go?"
"You leaving? Awe, don't be scared. I've just warmed up the place for you guys! Come on and have a seat!" Deidara slipped both arms around Naruto and Sai and guided them into a booth. "You guys must be new. I'm really good with faces and I definitely haven't seen you guys around."
"We just moved in. We are freshmen at Suna University." Sai replied.
"No way. I'm a Junior there. Guess you can call me senpai now" he chuckled.
Gaara looked severely annoyed as he scooted into the booth next to Naruto. It still amazed the teen that he was still there in the first place. His willingness was obviously limited.
"So you're a Sophomore then Gaara? And you've had classes with Deidara?" Naruto chimed in, trying to incorporate him as much as possible into their little icebreaker. Gaara merely nodded. "How do you know Sasori, Deidara?"
Deidara sighed contently and grinned. "Well let's just say we have a love-hate relationship."
Gaara sneered and crossed his arms. "You are as loud on stage as you are in bed."
Deidara glared viciously and flipped Gaara the finger. "Who asked you to listen?! Most people would be sleeping at three in the morning."
"Most people wouldn't be having angry sex before and after a break up on the same night. Kind of pathetic don't you think?" Gaara countered.
"Screw you raccoon eyes! At first I just felt bad for you when Sasori told me all that shit that went down between you and your uncle but now I see you had it coming. Who wouldn't get pissed seeing your ugly mug every day?" Deidara jumped up from the booth and slid across the tabletop to the other side. "See you around boys when you aren't tagging along with this prick."
Naruto grimaced, sinking further into his seat. How was it everywhere he went he met people with drama? First day of college was turning out to be a real mess. StillÉhe couldn't help but feel a sense of regret and nostalgia when he heard what Deidara said. What happened to Gaara and his uncle? A sickening feeling was telling him Itachi wasn't the only one with serious family problems.
He stared over at the red head, hoping to see some sort of reaction from him but Gaara's stoic behavior only further confirmed how socially and emotionally inept the male was. He parted his lips to say a word but Gaara sooner rose from his spot and started to head for the door.
"G-gaara! Wait!" Naruto rushed up, following after his roommate. "You don't have to leave. Deidara is gone now. It can just be us three." He insisted. He reached for Gaara's wrist, trying to pull him back. But soon as his fingers touched the pale skin, the red head viciously shoved him back and recoiled. Naruto went crashing into the doorway again, taking the chalkboard by the entrance with him. "What the hell!"
Gaara tensed, watching Naruto try to scramble back up for a moment. The second he saw Naruto was okay he went marching across the street. He moved quicker than someone who just realized they left a dish on the stove but Naruto was not about to let him get off the hook that easily. Naruto hurriedly told Sai he was heading back to the room and to come when he was ready, before jolting back down the street after Gaara.
Lucky for Naruto, Gaara was headed in a straight path down the road. However the direction was completely opposite of the school, making Naruto wonder just where was it Gaara was planning to go. What felt like five miles of heated terrain, but was actually only a few blocks down, Naruto found himself slipping into a urban building with the words "Akatsuki Talent Agency" in big red letters on the front. If he recalled correctly this was where Itachi was planning to work. The thought of that man from the elevator made Naruto shudder.
Despite his better judgment, he wouldn't call quits on his investigation. Naruto barged in after the fiery male, using the attention Gaara was drawing as further distraction. Apparently this wasn't the first time the red head went storming into their building as the people just threw themselves out of his way, and gave him disappointed looks. Naruto rushed for the stairwell when Gaara took the elevator up to the top floor. And just as he saw Gaara coming into a final office room in the back, he went hiding by the plants on the other side. He was rather impressed with himself over his chase. Perhaps he was a ninja in his pass life.
Gaara came storming into Sasori's office, letting the intensity of his stare speak the volumes he wasn't as boisterous to say. Sasori gave an irritated sigh and set down the paperwork he had in hand.
"What is it now? I can't be bothered by your simple fits of fury every time something doesn't go your way" Sasori remarked.
Gaara growled under breath and crossed his arms. Just for a moment his hands turned red as he squeezed them between his arms and dug his nails into his skin. "What did you tell him?"
"Excuse me?"
"Your boy toy. You told him. About Yashamaru" Gaara gritted. "How much? What did you say?" He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself and put his hands back down at his side. Small beads of blood trickled up to the nail marks he left there.
"Oh that. Don't flatter yourself Gaara. You are hardly an interesting topic of conversation in the fits of passion." Sasori explained.
"Not good enough. What did you tell him?" Gaara asked again, his voice growing shakier and his eyes starting to twitch.
Sasori grimaced and leaned over to the side drawer of his desk. Gaara's eyes widened instantly and he jerked forward, snatching a pen from Sasori's side and jabbing it into the table.
"Tell me damn it!" he yelled out.
Sasori scooted back from the drawer, a small syringe now in hand. "Gaara, settle down. No one has been talking about you" he insisted.
"Liar! You've been laughing behind my back!" Gaara jerked the pen back out and rushed for Sasori's side of the desk. The older male jumped up from his seat, narrowly missing the attempted stabbing. He eagerly grabbed Gaara, twisting his arm behind him and held him at the waist.
"Believe me if I was laughing, it would be straight to your face. Now calm down," Sasori hissed back, restraining the teen. He maneuvered Gaara over onto the desk, leaning him forward and quickly uncapped his syringe.
Naruto gulped deeply as he watched Sasori inject Gaara. What the hell was wrong with this family? He was a minute away from bursting in there and stopping Gaara himself but it certainly seemed like Sasori had all of this planned down to the T.
Gaara was shivering as he dropped the pen and stared wide eyed at the floor. "Don'tÉlaugh" Gaara whimpered back. He went limp finally and slid down to the floor at Sasori's feet. With a few ragged breaths, he managed a calmed expression as he looked back up to Sasori.
"Better?" Sasori questioned, kneeling down to the boy. Gaara nodded. "IÉmay have said something to Deidara but it wasn't anything I thought he would find worth remembering. I'll shut him up next time I see him." Sasori pointed out. "Are you coming home tonight or do you want a ride back to the dorm?"
Gaara dropped his head and tightened his fist again. "Take me back."
Naruto sighed lightly and moved back from behind the plant. He didn't know how anyone else in the building could stand the intensity of those two but it was certainly lucky Sasori was the only one in the office up here. He snuck his way back toward the stairs and made a way down. An unexpected vibration made Naruto yelp out. He dug into his pocket, quickly pulling out his cell phone. "Sasuke?" He picked up hurriedly. "Why are you calling me so early? Shouldn't you be on the plane for Kiri by now?"
"Well nice hearing from you too. I'm about to board and I just wanted to tell you I got to the airport safely. What's wrong? You sound stressed."
Naruto sighed. Sasuke really did know him too well. "Not actually stressed, more like scaredÉ"
"Scared? Of what?"
"Not what, who."
To Be ContinuedÉ
A/N: Oh my goodness, it has been so long. Forgive me! I got really caught up in life lately. My time in China was well spent though very stressful. Loved the country, loved the people, loved the food, did not love the amount of work I had to do. Anyway, I should be updating weekly for the summer. So please leave reviews so I know I haven't lost all you lovely readers^_- bows profusely
Story Notes: Sorry if anyone seems OOC. Deidara is not always going to be this bitchy. I just imagined what he would be like if he was drunk and yeahÉ also Gaara being slightly bipolar. But hopefully everything isn't too unbearable for you all.