Paranoia || Naruto Uzumaki ||

Paranoia || Naruto Uzumaki || Chapter 13

          Naruto waited until Melanie’s breathing settled into a soft rhythm. He quietly got out of bed slipping on a hoodie and his running shoes. He set off at a quick jog, the brisk air stinging his exposed legs. He made it to Sasuke’s house in record time, wishing briefly the arrogant Uchiha had been with him to see the feat. He paced outside, impatiently waiting for Sasuke to open the door.

            “Hn.” Sasuke grunted as Naruto shoved his way inside as soon as the door was open. 

Sasuke turned and led Naruto into his living room. Naruto didn’t know what he expected – maybe some kind of high tech setup – but he was momentarily disappointed to only see Itachi’s laptop with the camera plugged in. Naruto acknowledged Itachi with a nod sitting down on the couch next to him. The air was tense as Naruto slid Itachi’s laptop onto his lap. He angled is body away from the Uchiha brothers trying to shield Melanie even though they had already viewed the tapes.

            There was no preparing Naruto for what he saw. Clip after clip filled the screen of Melanie in her bathroom getting ready, changing, heck even going to the bathroom. Worst of all, were the full views of Melanie in the shower. Naruto wanted to look away, to stop himself from invading her privacy at such an intimate moment but he forced himself to watch. He needed to know what as on the camera. He felt sick every time the camera angle changed or zoomed in. Finally, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

            “How much of this did you watch?” Naruto asked, voice taunt.

            “Enough,” Itachi answered. Sasuke’s cheeks darkened slightly

           Too many emotions swirled inside of him; disgust, betrayal, helplessness and anger. Out of all the emotions, anger was the strongest. He bolted from the couch, hands clenching. He couldn’t think straight, couldn’t breath properly.

            “Do we know whose camera this is?”

            “Unfortunately, no. I’d need more time to decipher the signal. Whoever put the camera in there, is smart.”

            Naruto glared at the laptop. “That isn’t good enough!” He anxiously ran this hands through his hair.  

            “Naruto, calm down,” Sasuke said.

            “Calm down? How am I supposed to be calm when some sick psycho is watching Melanie in the shower?”

            He started pacing, looking for a way to release his anxiety, his helplessness. He glanced back to where the laptop had been siting but Itachi had already moved it, as if anticipating his thoughts.  

            “Naruto,” Itachi said calmly, having never moved from his spot.  “I only need a little more time to pinpoint the source.”

            “How much longer?”

            “I need a camera that wasn’t dama-”

            Naruto was out the front door before Itachi could finish his sentence. His breathing was ragged; his movements painfully slow as he ran to Melanie’s house. He rushed up to the flowerpot hiding the spare key, knocking most of the soil out in his haste to unlock the front door.

            “Where should I look?”

Naruto didn’t bother to glance back at Sasuke as he pushed open the door. “Downstairs, I’ll search upstairs.” 

 Naruto started with Melanie’s bedroom. He climbed up on the bed quickly pulling down the light cover. He held the camera with reverence, wanting nothing more than to smash it against the wall. He wondered if the person on the other side of the camera was watching him. If they could see the disgust he felt. He wondered if they even knew their scheme was up.