Sasuke Says.
September 22nd, 10:42
Itachi wasn't sure whether to be confused or angry when he went to check on Sasuke and found his bed empty. It didn't take a genius to know where he was, and the older Uchiha slammed open the basement door, the laughter below having died instantly at the sound.
"Essyu. Come upstairs."
"It'll take me a minute."
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Upstairs. Now."
"I never said I wasn't coming, I said it would take me a minute," his brother snapped.
Scowling, Itachi started down the stairs and saw Sasuke halfway towards him. He was walking slowly, shuffling his feet almost, and the older Uchiha noticed both a mask and the first aid kit beside the chair his brother usually occupied.
He got a glare from Sasuke when the other passed him and slowly made his way up the stairs. Itachi glanced at Naruto to make sure he was still chained and blindfolded and then followed behind the other.
It was a long, slow process up the stairs, but Itachi didn't say anything. He was an asshole, and he knew it, but he saw no satisfaction in rubbing it in. So he just followed along silently and closed the door at the landing once he was through it.
haven't learned your lesson?" he inquired.
"I didn't tell him anything," Sasuke insisted, gritting his teeth while taking a seat at the table. "You just assumed. I'm not going to stop talking to him just because you're an asshole."
The older Uchiha didn't respond to that. He just turned and opened the cupboard to grab a bowl and some cereal, hearing the other flick his lighter, obviously lighting himself a cigarette.
"How's your back? Do you need help cleaning it?" Itachi asked mostly because he realized a bit too late last night that he needed Sasuke, and having the other in pain like this was actually a bad idea considering they were holding someone hostage. He'd allowed his rage to take over, and now he was a little uncomfortable with the knowledge that his brother wasn't in top form.
"Naruto cleaned it."
That stupid name again. Itachi was getting very tired of hearing it. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto. He knew his brother didn't approve of what they were doing, but he'd felt after the escape attempt, the younger Uchiha would realize they weren't friends. Apparently that was too much to ask for. No wonder he was the genius, his brother was clearly a moron.
"Has he been fed?"
"No."
"Feed him."
"I'm not your hired help," was the snapped reply.
Itachi smirked and turned around, now having filled up a bowl with milk and cereal, holding it in his hand and spooning a bite into his mouth. He slowly surveyed his brother while he chewed, taking his time to answer, and enjoying the way Sasuke shifted his weight uncomfortably while trying to force himself not to look away. He finally did and Itachi's smirk widened before he swallowed.
"I'm not going to feed him. If you don't, I guess he'll just starve."
With those final words, he headed into his bedroom so he could get started on some work, as well as trying to think of the next video, since he would need to have it done sooner rather than later.
September 22nd, 11:47
Naruto bobbed his head slightly from side to side, singing a silent song in his head and holding the walkie-talkie in his free hand, waiting for Essyu to reply. He hadn't realized the other had brought it back over and when Essyu had spoken, he'd leapt almost high enough to hit the ceiling. But then again, he was glad to have it back because it meant entertainment without Essyu having to injure himself walking up and down the stairs.
Though the blond was really needing food sometime soon, considering he'd been up since three in the morning and he still hadn't eaten. He knew that was what Essyu was doing, but his injuries were making him slower than usual. Not that Naruto was complaining, he felt for the guy, he was just also really, really hungry.
"I don't know," the other's voice finally said through the static of the walkie-talkie. "I never really thought about it. My life was dictated for me when I was younger until my parents died. Then I didn't have the luxury of choosing what I wanted to do. Dropped out of high school, remember?"
Naruto pressed his lips together, finger hovering over the talk button before he brought the walkie-talkie to his lips and pressed it. "Well, if nothing else good comes out of all this, I'll at least feel better knowing you're going back to school."
A snort was heard from the other end. "I thought people hated school. Why are you so pro-school?"
"Hey man, don't get me wrong, school sucks," Naruto insisted with a laugh. "But I acknowledge that it's important and it's the only way to get anywhere in life so, it's necessary. Besides, if I have to suffer through it, not fair you don't," he teased with a grin.
He heard the door at the landing open and Essyu snorted down the stairs. "You're only suffering because you're a moron," the other informed him, the stairs creaking while he descended them.
"Yeah, I know. Third in my class. Totally braindead, I am."
"Whatever you say, Yoda," Essyu replied, obviously smirking.
Naruto laughed and shifted on the futon so that he was more comfortable. "I love those movies. You know, Star Wars was probably the single most epic franchise in the history of entertainment."
"I'm surprised you didn't say Harry Potter," Essyu teased, his voice closer and making it seem as though he'd reached the bottom of the stairs. Despite how much pain he claimed to be in, the other was doing well with not showing it. Naruto wondered if he himself knew what real pain even was, at this point.
"Hey, don't diss Harry Potter!" Naruto pointed his finger at Essyu-or in his general direction, anyway-and huffed. "Harry Potter was the most amazing thing to ever happen to our generation!"
"Aw, I'm sorry, did you cry when you didn't get your Hogwarts acceptance letter?" Essyu was definitely smirking now, the bastard.
"No," the blond insisted. "Kiba almost did, though, when he found out it wasn't real."
"I'm sure that was you and you're trying to make him look bad."
Naruto felt a bowl being pressed into his hands, and beamed at Essyu. "What is it?"
"Ramen."
"Ramen?!" The blond instantly perked up, feeling like someone had just shot him up with happy juice.
"Do you not like ramen?"
Naruto answered by practically inhaling it, pushing the fork-amazingly, it was a fork-into his mouth and slurping up the noodles. His cheeks were puffed out from the volume, and his lips and mouth burned from the heat but he didn't care. Ramen was easily the most amazing food in existence.
"I'll take that as a yes," the kidnapper replied, amused.
The blond would have answered, but he was too busy happily slurping down the noodles. When he was done, he tipped the bowl and drank up the broth before letting out an appreciative sound and licking his lips.
"I don't know how insulted I should be that you ate that so quickly. I spent time and effort making you food."
Naruto laughed. "Hey, don't get me wrong, your food was great, but nothing beats ramen. Though your rice was a close call."
Essyu snorted. "That wasn't even my best rice. That was just one of my many recipes. I'll have to make you my good rice for dinner. I've already had you try two different kinds, but I promise this one will blow ramen out of the water."
"Doubtful," Naruto insisted with a grin.
A part of him wanted to tell Essyu not to bother, because he knew the other was hurting though he wouldn't admit it, and he didn't want him to suffer at his expense. But he also knew enough about Essyu to know his pride would never allow him to stop doing something just because he was injured.
Was it weird Naruto already knew him so well? Considering he didn't even know what the guy looked like, it felt weird.
"You gonna read to me today?" the blond asked, getting comfortable and taking a few sips of the glass of water Essyu handed him in exchange for his bowl.
"I can finish Ice Station if you want. Only about twenty or so pages left," the other replied.
"What?" Naruto was horrified. "You mean after that, that's it?! But... but Scarecrow! He's so epic!"
"How do you know he doesn't die at the end?" Naruto could hear the smirk in Essyu's voice, and he scowled.
"No way, man. No way does Scarecrow die. He's too epic. It would be like... like..." he scowled. "Like killing Luke Skywalker, dude. Ain't gonna happen, ever."
Essyu chuckled. "Doesn't George Lucas have another trilogy locked away? I heard he had originally planned on making nine of them but lost interest afterwards. No guarantee Luke didn't die then."
"No way." Naruto shook his head again. "Luke is the one character in the world who can never die. Scarecrow needs at least five more books before he's allowed to die, too. And even then, I might not authorize his death." The blond grinned.
Essyu barked out a laugh. It was the first time Naruto had heard him actually laugh. "You won't authorize his death? What are you gonna do, go kidnap Matthew Reilly?"
"If need be," Naruto insisted, grinning slightly. "Why not? Means I can have my own personal writer locked away forever in my basement." The blond did his best impression of an evil laugh while rubbing his hands together as best he could with a glass still held in one of them.
He laughed for real afterwards and took a sip of his water, but heard nothing from Essyu. Licking his lips and wiping his hand across his mouth, he frowned. "Essyu?"
"Hn?"
"You got quiet."
"Just wondering how someone who's currently kidnapped can actually make jokes about it."
The smile slowly left Naruto's lips and he sighed, reaching back to scratch at the back of his head, pulling slightly on his hair once he was done. "I keep telling you this isn't so bad. I'm so cool with this that I'm worried I'll be accused of being in on all of this once it's over." He laughed. "That'd be awesome. Get home only to be arrested. At least I'd be used to the cuffs by then." He grinned.
Silence met that statement, and he frowned a little, unsure as to why the other seemed so upset with regard to this entire situation. Maybe Essyu thought he was just trying to make the most of it, or something. Which, he supposed, he kind of was but at the same time, he really didn't mind it there so much. At least Essyu kept him entertained.
"I'll go get Ice Station," the other murmured, and Naruto heard him stand and start slowly towards the stairs.
September 22nd, 15: 37
Kiba shuffled down the corridor, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulder bag hitting his butt with each step he took. Most people moved out of his way when he approached, mostly because they knew he was Naruto's best friend, but a few of them stared openly before whispering. As if he didn't know what they were talking about.
"Hey Kiba."
The brunet turned at the voice, and nodded a hello before starting to continue towards the exit. The other who'd called out to him fell in-step beside him.
"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to come over for a bit today. You've been kind of depressed since Naruto got sick, so I thought maybe you could take a break from that. We can annoy the shit out of Gaara. That's always fun."
Kiba forced a smile. "Thanks, Kank, I appreciate it. Really, I do. But I'm just gonna go home."
"I'm just worried about you, bro," Kankurou Sabaku insisted, pushing open the exit door and walking alongside Kiba down the stairs. "I know we're not as close as you and Naruto are, but the few classes we have together are always fun. You've been upset for a long time. I think being around other people will help you a little. And Shino's worried, too."
"Shino spoke to you?" Kiba was surprised.
His childhood friend and neighbour, Shino Aburame, never really spoke to anyone who wasn't Kiba or Naruto. He wasn't born rich, his parents became rich, and because of that he'd opted out of this school the previous year because he hadn't felt comfortable being there despite no one really giving him any grief. Kiba understood, and still hung out with him every now and then, though he knew he'd definitely neglected his friend in favour of Naruto, who he'd known longer. Only by four years, but still.
"Yeah," Kankurou said with a slight smile, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and forcing Kiba to stop, too. "Shino was worried enough about you to talk to me. We just wanna make sure you don't self-destruct over this. Naruto's a tough guy, whatever he has, he'll get over it and have his adoring fans screaming so loudly when he returns that you'll wish he was still out sick." He offered Kiba a smile.
The brunet pressed his lips together, then nodded slowly. "Tell you what, I have something I need to do first, so let me do that, and I'll pick up Shino and head to your place, okay? We can hang out or something."
"Cool." Kankurou grinned. "You're a cool guy, Kiba. You and Naruto are just kinda hard to separate. Not that I'm saying it's good he's sick but you need a little bit of diversity." He smacked Kiba's back lightly. "I'll see you in a few then. You know the way?"
"Driver does, yeah," Kiba said with another forced smile before the two of them parted ways and he entered his limousine.
Kakuzu shut the door after him and moved to sit behind the wheel, pulling out soon afterwards.
"Can we go to the Namikaze's first, please?" he asked Kakuzu, staring out the window at nothing in particular. "There's something I want to give his dad."
"You're not going to punch him again, are you?" Kakuzu inquired. "I don't think he appreciated that."
Kiba just snorted, not caring what the fucker of a father appreciated. This was all his fucking fault, after all. Why should Kiba give a shit if Minato was unhappy with him? Kiba cared about Naruto, no one else. Well, Tsunade was cool too, but Naruto was mostly the only person in that house he gave a rat's ass about.
"I just wanna drop something off. No punching. Can you call the Aburames while I'm inside and tell Shino to meet us in front of his place? We're gonna go to Kankurou's."
"I think that's a wise idea. You've been too depressed about Naruto lately, your mother is becoming concerned."
Well, considering I can't fucking talk about anything except when I'm with Tsunade, yeah, it's making it a little hard, the brunet thought with a scowl, feeling grumpier, now.
The rest of the trip was conducted in silence, and by the time they reached Naruto's house, the front door was opening and Tsunade was stepping out, smiling sadly at the car. Kiba kicked his door open and reminded Kakuzu about the call before stepping out and walking over to the woman, giving her a brief hug before continuing into the house.
"Minato might not want to see you," she informed him once she'd shut the doors, following after the brunet who was heading for the man's office. "You did punch him across the face."
"You told me why you were mad at him, I think the action was justified." Kiba stopped outside the door. "Besides, I'm not here to fight. I just want to give him something."
He knocked once before pushing the door open without being prompted in. He didn't care what Minato was doing, though he had an idea of what it was regardless. Ever since he'd found out about the kidnapping the previous day, things had been hard for him. But he was going to at least do something to make himself feel better and, with any luck, whoever had Naruto would find it in their big fat bleeding hearts to at least offer him this one courtesy.
"Kiba," Minato said, startled, pausing the video he'd been watching. It was the same one he'd shown Kiba, and the brunet could only assume he spent his days watching it.
In his defence, the guy looked like shit. His hair was greasy, and it was obvious he hadn't shaved for a few days. He hadn't bothered to change out of his pyjamas, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as well as a nice, shiny new bruise on his left temple.
When the brunet walked further into the office, Minato stood and eyed him, shifting around his desk a little bit. "You're not going to punch me again, are you?"
"Not unless you give me a reason to," the brunet bit out, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes. He tried to calm himself down because he knew that, despite how Minato could sometimes be, the other cared for his son a great deal. He didn't show it as often as he should, but these events just proved-despite how much Kiba hated to admit it-that Minato really did truly care about his son.
"There hasn't been a new video, the drop off isn't until tomorrow," Minato informed him.
"That's not why I'm here." Reaching into his bag, Kiba pulled out a folded sheet of paper, licking his lips and raking one hand through his hair before holding it out to Minato. "That's for Naruto."
"I don't understand," Minato said, taking it from him.
"The kidnappers want the money, right? So it means you give it to them somehow, which means you can put that in the bag." He could see the blond about to argue but he continued. "It doesn't say anything important on it, and I know they're not gonna let him reply or anything, but I figure they'll read it first anyway if they even give it to him at all, and I guess..." He winced and shoved his hands in his pockets. "They took my best friend. The least they can do is deliver a message for me."
Minato held the letter close to himself, as if he wished he'd thought of it first. Kiba felt he probably was thinking that, but he'd hurt the older man enough for the moment, so he didn't comment on it. It probably hadn't really occurred to him.
"So... yeah, that's all I wanted to give you. If you don't send it, that's fine, but I really don't think they'll object so it'd be nice if you did send it for me." He nodded. "Yeah. So, I'll go."
He turned and headed out of the room, waving to Tsunade who was outside the office door, looking very much like Minato. As if she felt she should have thought of the letter idea a while ago herself. He hoped neither of them beat themselves up over it. Kiba was literally just taking a shot in the dark because he needed to at least believe Naruto was getting something.
One thing was for sure, though. Once the next video came, he wanted to see it.
September 22nd, 18:53
"I can't believe you didn't bring the other books!" Naruto blurted out, having a mini tantrum on his futon. "I mean, how could you just bring Ice Station without thinking that you'd finish it and would therefore need the next book?!"
Sasuke chuckled, shaking his head and shifting in his chair, trying to alleviate some of the pain he could feel in his lower back from leaning forward to avoid resting against the chair-back. Considering his injuries, he wasn't going to be leaning back for a while.
He'd grabbed another book of his from his room, except this one wasn't by Matthew Reilly, so obviously, Naruto was unhappy with him. It appeared he'd converted another Reilly fan, which pleased him. The man was a God, after all.
"When you get out, just buy it," Sasuke insisted, smirking slightly. "The next Scarecrow one is called Area Seven. You can find it anywhere."
"I will!" The blond pointed his finger in Sasuke's general direction. "Fuck Britannia!"
Sasuke snorted. "Why is that your favourite part? Seriously?"
"I don't know." Naruto shrugged and grinned, shifting on the futon and obviously getting himself more comfortable. "I just thought it was really lame of the British guy to always say 'rule Britannia' before killing them and having Scarecrow just scream that back at him was cool." Naruto's fists thrust into the air. "Fuck Britannia."
Sasuke shushed him, glancing at the stairs since the blond had screamed that pretty loudly. When Itachi didn't come bite their heads off, the two of them laughed a bit, Sasuke shaking his head and closing the current book he was reading, one written by Stephen King. He didn't think Naruto would get over Matthew Reilly for a while.
Just when he was about to start talking about the second book in the Scarecrow series, since that was clearly what Naruto wanted, the door for the basement opened and Itachi called him upstairs. Letting out a soft sigh, Sasuke stood with a wince and set the book down on the chair.
"How's your back?" Naruto asked while Sasuke headed for the stairs.
"I've taken some painkillers, so it hurts a bit less." He paused at the base of them. "But thanks for asking."
"Sure." Naruto grinned. "Hope you come back down. If not, well..." He waved his walkie-talkie and Sasuke smirked.
Beginning to climb the stairs, he paused as he so often did whenever he was hanging out with Naruto. "Hey."
"Hm?"
"Rule Britannia, Scarecrow," he said with a smirk.
"Fuck Britannia," Naruto shot back, positively beaming at him.
Sasuke chuckled and started up the stairs, going faster than before, but definitely slower than usual.
"Hey, Essyu, how come I'm Scarecrow?"
"I'm your kidnapper," he insisted, continuing up the stairs. "Kind of makes me the villain of our story, doesn't it? Seems fitting to me."
The raven heard Naruto mumble something, but before he could make it out, he shut the basement door, unsure that he really wanted to know what had been said.
September 22nd, 22:47
Naruto expected Ayuu to be the one to come downstairs before the night was through. He may have been chained up in a basement, but he knew how to count, and if memory served him, it would be time for a new video tonight. He would want it done earlier rather than later to ensure he could edit it. Not to mention Naruto was pretty sure he worked too much during the day to really have time to do the things he wanted to do, namely make Naruto's life hell.
That was only proved by the fact that he'd actually left him and Essyu alone. Which he was grateful for, even if Essyu had complained that the distraction meant he couldn't make his special rice for dinner. Naruto hadn't minded another bowl of ramen, though it did make him a lot more dehydrated, which had led to Essyu giving him a water bottle, which had led to Naruto really needing to pee. A lot.
Which worked out fine, considering the other had been downstairs with him for a majority of the day. But alas, he knew his time without Ayuu would be brief since the other was so good at making his life hell. If Essyu had been his only kidnapper, Naruto would've happily hung around.
The door at the top of the stairs opened and the blond turned his head in its general direction, listening to the two sets of footsteps descending them. He shifted slightly to get more comfortable, clearly showing Ayuu he wasn't afraid of him because, well, he wasn't.
Aside from threatening to kill him all the time-which Naruto was fairly certain he wouldn't do since it would mean no more money-the guy wasn't all that scary. And considering he hadn't been the one to try and kiss him, the guy really didn't bother him all that much aside from the fact that he was an asshole.
"How's it going, Ayuu? Enjoying your evening? Have a good dinner?"
He felt the barrel of a gun press against his temple and winced, mostly because it was touching a previous bruise present there from his last encounter with the other.
"Skipping the pleasantries, huh?" he asked with a half-grin.
"Don't get cocky, Namikaze."
"For fuck's sake, are you dense, or just trying to be aggravating?" Naruto snapped. "My name is Uzumaki! Get it right! Aren't you meant to be a genius?"
He let out a startled grunt when the mask was ripped off his face, blue eyes clenching shut at the brightness of the room. He always forgot how bright it was until the mask came off. Truthfully, it was pretty annoying.
"Essyu, start the recording."
Naruto barely had time to register the beep before he felt something connect with the side of his face. Blood exploded in his mouth and he fell over sideways, hands flying out to stop his fall, though since he was already sitting down, it didn't really make much of an effect.
Spitting out blood, he let out a grunt when his hair was pulled and he was wrenched back into a sitting position. He felt Ayuu's covered lips against his ear.
"Do not irritate me further, Uzumaki," Ayuu hissed in his ear, Naruto positive that it was too low for the video to hear. "I was planning on letting you go after this kidnapping. Don't make me change my mind."
The blond's head was pushed forward roughly and Naruto coughed, wiping the back of his hand across his lips, smearing blood. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that the thing that had connected with his face had been the butt of the other's gun. Probably didn't want to get his hands dirty.
"Now what?" Naruto snapped, glaring at Ayuu.
The other just stared back dispassionately before aiming his gun. Naruto's eyes had just enough time to widen before he let out a shout, Ayuu's gun going off. Essyu jerked to his feet behind the camera.
A shaky breath escaped Naruto's lips, eyes locked on the smoking hole right between his legs, mere inches from the crotch of the sweatpants he was wearing. It was hard to inhale, but he forced himself to, eyes slowly lifting to regard the other man. Ayuu was still aiming at his crotch and Naruto licked his lips and averted his gaze.
He hated this game. He was defiant by nature, but absolutely nothing would make him continue with the threat of getting his nuts blown off.
Ayuu snapped his fingers, making Naruto glance back at him, and gave his eyes gave him a clear "do you get it now?" look.
Licking his lips again, Naruto let out a snort and averted his gaze. "I get it. You're the boss, boss." He looked back up at the kidnapper and grinned. "But I'd love to see how you'd fare one on one with me."
Naruto still hadn't quite learned how to keep his mouth shut, and by the time Ayuu was in front of him, Essyu was right beside his brother, trying to pull the gun out of Naruto's mouth, since Ayuu's finger looked ready to pull the trigger.
"We need him," Essyu insisted, tugging on his brother's arm. "Ayuu, we need him!"
Ayuu's eyes narrowed, Naruto staring right back at him defiantly, and the older man growled and pulled away, the blond's tongue feeling weird since the gun had still been a little bit too warm to get shoved against skin. He was lucky it hadn't burned.
Stalking across the basement, Ayuu wrenched the camera off the stand, Naruto hearing a beep to indicate he'd stopped the recording, and then disappeared up the stairs. Essyu stayed tense until the door at the top of the landing slammed shut.
Letting out a sigh, Essyu punched Naruto hard in the arm.
"Ow!" The blond rubbed at it, scowling. "What the hell was that for?"
"Why do you have to do that?" Essyu demanded, clearly annoyed. "Do you want him to shoot you?"
"It's in my nature, I can't help it." He turned to scowl towards the stairs. "He's a dick."
"Trust me, I know. I'm the one who grew up with him." Essyu reached around him to grab the mask and motioned Naruto forward so he could put it back on.
Sighing, the blond complied, the darkness returning once more when the mask was secured. Once it was locked, he leaned back against the wall and puffed out his cheeks while exhaling. "I pity blind people."
"I'll bet," Essyu said with a chuckle. "You'll appreciate your sight more once you're home."
"Provided Ayuu doesn't kill me."
"Provided you stop antagonizing him. You're only making things worse. Which, in turn, makes my life difficult."
"Eh, I make life more exciting for you," Naruto insisted with a grin.
He received a snort in reply, and heard Essyu shuffling around for a bit before he sat down in his usual chair and Naruto heard him yawn.
"Tired?"
"Yeah. We've been awake a long time. Aren't you?"
"Not really. I've enjoyed our chats." He grinned.
Another snort, then a brief silence.
Naruto let out a thoughtful sound, cocking his head to the side. There was one thing he wanted to talk to Essyu about, concerning something they'd discussed only once, and then had never touched again.
"Essyu."
"What?"
"Have you ever kissed anyone before me?"
Silence met that question, and Naruto could only assume the other didn't know what to say. Which was understandable since he'd kind of just tossed that out there for him without really having led up to it with anything else.
"I just wondered because of what happened. I don't know..." He shrugged.
"I have in the past, yes," Essyu finally said. "In high school, before I dropped out. Kissed a few girls." Another silence, this one shorter. "And you?"
"Nah." Naruto shifted his legs so they were in front of him, his previous position making them fall asleep. "I've never liked anyone enough to warrant kissing them. I'd probably suck at it."
More silence. This one so long, Naruto wondered if Essyu had left.
"Essyu?"
"What?"
"Nothing, just making sure you were still there."
"I don't know what to say," the other admitted. "I feel like I cheated you."
"What, because your lips barely brushed mine?" Naruto grinned. "Give me a break, that wasn't even a real kiss."
A pause, then, "That almost sounded like a challenge, Uzumaki."
"Take it how you wanna." Naruto grinned. "I'm the helpless captive." His grin widened.
"Are you... you're acting like you want to be taken advantage of. Besides, aren't you straight?"
"What?" Naruto snorted. "Where did you hear that? I don't discriminate. If I love someone, I love them, no matter their age or gender." He shrugged. "It's not the outside that matters, right? I mean, I've off and on fallen for Kiba, and mostly talk myself out of it because we're like brothers. Still, I've entertained the idea, just because I know it'd be easy with him, but he likes girls so, I'm shit outta luck."
He laughed, shaking his head and raking his hand through his hair. "I don't know. I was just thinking... I don't even know." He laughed again, louder. He honestly just felt like he'd never get another opportunity like this. To have someone he clicked with so well that he could just... practice kissing with, he supposed. Sure, it was weird because he didn't even know what the guy looked like, but he hadn't felt this connected to any one person since having met Kiba, which was sad considering he'd known the brunet for pretty much his entire conscious life.
"Naruto."
"Yeah?" he asked, cocking his head to the side.
"Do you want me to kiss you?"
The blond couldn't help but snort at that. "Dude, that sounded so fucking gay, I can't believe you asked me that. Besides, wouldn't it be hotter for you to just come and take it whether I agreed or not? I mean, not that I'm into that, but just be-"
Naruto could only assume his words had drowned out the sound of the other standing, because before he could even finish his sentence, there was a hand in his hair and his head was wrenched back harshly, a grunt escaping his parted lips. He could feel Essyu exhaling against his skin, and he grinned.
"What's wrong? You got this far." He tried to tilt his head up more so their lips would brush, but the other pulled back. "Chickening out?"
"This is a bad idea." He could hear the scowl in the other's voice. "You don't even know me. It's only been eight days."
"Well, sure, but for one thing, we're guys." He grinned at that statement. "So you know, we're kind of hormone driven. Besides, it might have been eight days, but if you consider how people get to know each other, it's usually an hour or two here or there over a couple of days, right? We're been talking for almost twelve to thirteen hours a day for eight days. In normal people time, we're on date, like, eleven or something. Maybe twelve."
He heard Essyu snort softly.
"Come on, you know I'm right." He grinned. "Just do it." He brought one hand up and buried it in the other's hair, unable to help wonder what colour it was. All he knew was that it was dark, but that could mean black, dark brown, dark red, who knew? "Unless you're a chickenshit."
Apparently, Essyu didn't like being labelled a chickenshit because Naruto felt his lips press against his own, moving for a few seconds before pulling away.
"You call that a kiss?" The blond snorted. "Come on, Mr. Kidnapper. Impress me."
"This is a bad idea."
"You said already. Come on, no harm, right? We can fuck around a little, no one has to get hurt. We're both adults." He leaned forward more. "Come on, just do it. Don't make me call you a chickenshit again."
Essyu hesitated, though for what reason, Naruto had no idea, but then finally the guy pulled back harder on his hair and slammed their lips together, his tongue demanding entry. Naruto, sadly, wasn't experienced enough to fight back for dominance, so he merely allowed Essyu entrance and tried his best to mimic the other's actions with his own tongue.
After a few seconds of that, the other pulled away, breathing hard, and kissed Naruto again lightly, trapping the blond's bottom lip between his own.
Naruto grinned. "Impressed."
Essyu snorted and pulled away, Naruto hearing him beginning to gather up whatever needed to go back upstairs. "You're playing a dangerous game."
"Why?" Naruto snorted. "I'm a pain in the ass, it's not like you're gonna want to keep me."
The other didn't say anything while he continued gathering whatever it was he was grabbing. He started for the stairs, but stopped before ascending them, as usual.
"You have your walkie-talkie?"
Naruto explored the covers with his hands until he found the item and held it up.
"I'll read to you some more upstairs for a bit. I know it's not Matthew Reilly, but it's better than nothing. Do you need to use the bathroom?"
"I'm good, but if I need you," the blond wiggled the walkie-talkie, "I'll let you know."
"Right. Talk to you in a second."
"I'll be waiting," the blond replied with a grin.
September 23rd, 09:12
No matter how hard Sasuke tried, he couldn't stop thinking about the previous night. It had been a bad idea. He'd known it the second Naruto had challenged him. Kissing him had been a mistake because he knew, now. He knew that no matter what, he wouldn't be able to let him go, and that concerned him.
Were his brother not a complete asshole, he'd have asked him for some kind of advice on the matter, but considering who Itachi was, he knew that wasn't an option, so he just lay in bed in his room, listening to Naruto breathe through the walkie-talkie.
That had actually been what had woken him up. The blond had probably rolled over onto it or something, so the button was pressed down, and now all Sasuke could hear was the slow and steady breathing of the other male. And, quite frankly, it was turning him on a little bit.
Which, again, was a concern. He'd found Naruto attractive even before they'd kidnapped him, but just talking to him all the time and finding out about his life, what kind of person he was, things about his family and friends... Even though Sasuke himself couldn't offer up as much information, he still felt like there was something there between them. The trust Naruto had shown him, for no particular reason... It unsettled him.
In his mind, he was suddenly important to the blond, and he knew that wasn't right. He knew that once this was over, it was over. He would never see Naruto again, and no amount of talking with Itachi was going to change that. Naruto would be lost to him. Something he had once had and could never have again.
"Fuck," he hissed, burying his face in his pillow and growling angrily. Itachi had been right, and that pissed him off. He was already attached before, but now it was even worse. What if he started obsessing? What if, once Naruto was gone, he couldn't let him go and just started stalking him? Or just went off the deep end and fucking kidnapped him all over again?!
That was a bad idea," he whispered to himself, feeling stupid. This entire plan was a bad idea, but now he was just doubly screwed.
"You know," a voice said, making Sasuke jump and lift his head to see Itachi in his doorway, eating cereal again, "this is your own fault."
"Do you mind?" Sasuke drawled, his back twinging from his startled jump. "This is a private conversation."
"With yourself? Is the blond suddenly boring?" Itachi spooned more cereal into his mouth.
Sasuke buried his face into his pillow again, hating the knowing look he was getting. Of course Itachi would fucking know what the problem was. He'd known from the beginning that Sasuke was getting attached.
"I don't like it," Itachi continued. "How close you two are, but at least his desire to keep you happy keeps him tolerable. So as long as you don't divulge anything else about us, I approve of your conversations and-other activities."
When Sasuke's head lifted, his eyes shooting in his brother's direction, he saw the knowing smirk, and wondered if he'd heard their conversation, or if he'd actually been sitting on the stairs, watching. His brother was quiet enough to be able to pull that off.
"I won't be able to let him go when this is over."
"Don't worry about that," Itachi insisted, taking another bite. "I'll make sure you let go. Don't you worry about that."
September 23rd, 11:47
Naruto was almost tempted to start singing "the wheels on the bus" again, mostly because for some reason, he couldn't remember the words to any other songs at the moment, which was very unfortunate for him, considering Essyu was currently unavailable.
He'd woken up needing to use the bathroom and had walkie-talkie'd Essyu to ask him if he could please be released so he could take a leak. He'd received no reply, and Ayuu had appeared a few seconds later, pushing him roughly towards the bathroom. When Naruto had asked where Essyu was, Ayuu had told him he was in the shower.
Honestly, he hadn't expected a reply, so it was a nice change. He figured Ayuu was in a good mood or something. So, he'd done his business and been chained back up and Ayuu had promptly left, as per usual. Which was fine with Naruto except now he was bored.
The blond reached up to touch the side of his face, lightly poking at the bruise he knew was present on his cheekbone. It hurt to the touch and, like his back earlier in the week, he was trying to see how long he could put pressure on it before it became unbearable. He was lasting a lot longer with the bruise than he had with the lashes on his back. Which was understandable, in his opinion.
He was glad they didn't hurt as much anymore though. He was sure Essyu's still did, considering it had happened only two days ago. It was weird to think of it as having happened only two days ago. It was even weirder to have been told it had only been eight days. It seriously felt like so much longer than that. He felt closer to Essyu than he did with Kiba, and considering he knew barely anything personal about the kidnapper, that was talent.
And thinking about Essyu just made him remember the previous night. He frowned behind his mask, wondering what he should be feeling. It was weird, but when he'd been taunting Essyu, he'd really been hoping he would take the bait. He didn't know it at the time, but once the other had gone upstairs and Naruto had been left alone to think while the kidnapper got himself ready for bed before grabbing his walkie-talkie, the blond had realized that he really had wanted the other to kiss him.
Was that weird? Of course it's weird,Naruto thought with an eye roll. How could it not be weird? He was falling for his kidnapper. That was fucking retarded, wasn't it? He didn't even know what he looked like, or anything about him barring his parents dying in a car crash and who his favourite author was.
Fuck, I thought Stockholm Syndrome was a myth or something, do people actually fall for their kidnappers? That's so fucked up! Not that he could exactly talk, considering his current predicament. In a way, though, he felt it made sense. He was being taken care of, pretty much waited on and his life depended on Essyu. And Ayuu, he supposed, but if it were up to the older man, Naruto'd have died a while ago, so he liked to think Essyu was the one holding his life in the palm of his hand and, really, he liked that better.
Essyu was taking care of him, and in addition, they were talking a lot. They were almost friends. Naruto really liked that. Sometimes, it really was possible to imagine he was sitting here pretending to be a prisoner with a friend. Like playing cops and robbers and stuff like that. Still, he didn't like that he was starting to like Essyu.
He didn't like that he'd asked him to kiss him, challenged him. Because what if once he was let go, he couldn't... well, let go? What if he just insisted he wanted to stay with them? As much as he didn't want to go home, that wasn't fair to Tsunade or Kiba. Why punish them because of his father, right?
Still... the whole thing worried him. And worse still, he couldn't even ask anyone for advice.
One day at a time, he decided, letting out a slow breath. It's not even close to your birthday, and Essyu confirmed you'd still be here, so just take it one day at a time.
He heard the door open and his head shot up. His heart rate increased ever so slightly, and he scowled at that, because he didn't think Essyu warranted his heart to pick up its pace just by opening the fucking door. And he didn't even know for sure it was Essyu, anyway!
Except he did know. Somehow, he always knew.
"I'll be down in a second with some food," Essyu called down to him. "Sorry, I was in the shower. I'll get some clothes on and be right there."
Somehow, the thought of Essyu without clothes really wasn't helping.
"Oh it's gonna be a long kidnapping," Naruto muttered to himself.
September 23rd, 14:28
Was it so ridiculous that Minato really couldn't find the right words to use in his letter to his son? He'd written and re-written the letter he was going to send with the money over a dozen times, but nothing felt good enough. This would be his first communication with Naruto-provided the teen even got it-since his kidnapping, and Minato wanted it to be perfect. He wanted him to know that he loved him and was cooperating and doing everything he could to ensure everything worked out.
Hell, he'd even added double the amount requested in this drop off just to see if maybe it would mean a quicker release. Just in case it made the kidnappers decide that, since he was being so good about it, they could ask for the remainder of the money they wanted and send Naruto home. It was a long shot, but it might work.
After having deleted yet another attempted letter, Minato let out a frustrated sigh and turned to his door when he heard a knock.
Tsunade poked her head in and smiled at him. "I brought you some coffee."
"Thank you," he said, pulling off his reading glasses and setting them down on his desk. He hadn't had to wear them for a long time, but he supposed the stress-and old age-were making his eyes strain a little.
Tsunade placed his cup on the edge of the desk, and then pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket. She stared down at it as if it were the most precious possession she had, and when she handed it to Minato, he understood why.
know I have no right, but I just thought... If you agree to Kiba's, maybe you could offer me the same courtesy?"
Minato took it from her, staring down at it. "This is for Naruto?"
"If they'll give it to him, yes."
He nodded. "I've been trying to write one for him, myself. I was going to give it a try, because Kiba asked." He looked up and smiled slightly at the older woman. "The worst they can do is not give them to him. I haven't broken any rules, and like Kiba said, it's not like we're expecting replies."
Tsunade smiled and leaned forward slightly. "How's yours coming?"
Minato turned back to the blank screen. "I haven't found the right thing to say."
"It's all right." She placed her hand gently atop his and smiled at him. "You'll find them. Just... speak from the heart. Everyone knows you love your son, Minato. He's the only one who doesn't know it yet. Just say what you need to say, and he'll understand. All Naruto ever wanted was for you to be around, and I know now that when he gets back, you'll be there for him."
Minato laughed slightly, but he could feel a sob working its way up his throat. He forced it back down. "Once I get him back, I don't think I'll be able to let him out of my sight."
"I think he'd appreciate that," Tsunade said with a smile, patting his hand. "Don't worry, you have time. Just work on it until you've said all you need to say. There are no wrong words here."
Minato nodded a thanks to her and she left the room. He rubbed his face, took a sip of his coffee, and turned back to his computer, letting out a slow breath before beginning to type once more.
He would find the right words eventually. He just hoped he could before midnight.
-x-
I apoligize to everyone for this being so late, its so tough to edit this honestly and I didn't think it would take this long. AGAIN IM SORRY. OH and this story doesnt belong to me, I saw some comments saying how awesome of a writer I am and such, need I remind you guys that this story does NOT belong to me. Im merely sharing it to you guys and archiving the story with permission from the amazing FastForward~ but I'm sure she'd be happy to know you guys are enjoying this story c:
-Liz
P.s If you see any mistakes dont hesitate to point them out, I will happily fix them.