Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Illusion and Dream
By : djserani
Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male
Views: 1300 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! I make no money off of this!
Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
With the light of day, they both hoped for a bit more clarity. Breakfast -- which was really lunch -- was a quiet affair, taken at a corner table away from the rest of the guests in the small dining room of the inn. They didn't speak much, hadn't since they got up. Izumo had beaten Kotetsu out of bed and they'd taken their turns in the bathroom, dressed and put the bedroll away in silence.

But they couldn't stay silent forever. Their hand signals, facial expressions and head tilts only went so far. Finally, Kotetsu sighed and looked up at Izumo. "It can't happen again."

Izumo swallowed and shook his head. "No, it can't." They didn't have to specify what, it was the only thing on their minds that morning. He raised his gaze from his soup, then and looked into the slanted eyes. "We have a couple more days here, at least, though." The unspoken message was clear: we're going to have to be very careful.

Kotetsu nodded, answering both the spoken and unspoken. "Yeah. We've got to get inside today and see what we can figure out. May even need to try to slip in tonight."

"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to trying. I'd prefer to get in and out once to just get the damned thing and be done with it," he said, with a sigh.

"Me, too. I want this whole mission done." Kotetsu had his eyes on his soup, so he didn't see the pained expression flash across Izumo's face.

Because Izumo was quite sure that Kotetsu wanted to get home to Genma. Which caused him to wonder why he hadn't automatically thought to get home to Raidou. He frowned down into his own bowl, his breath catching at the realization of what that meant.

Well, he'd answered some of his questions.

And caused a whole mess of new ones. He sighed again, picked up his bowl and finished his soup. Yeah, he wanted to get home, too. Because nothing could be cleared up until they did. "Me, too," he belatedly replied. "Unfortunately, I somehow doubt we'll be that lucky."

"Same here. So, I figure we can go and ask about apartments, maybe see what kind of jobs are available and use those as excuses to look around the compound." Kotetsu upended his teacup and sat back.

Izumo finished his own tea, eyes on the table in thought. "There's one other thing we could ask about, if we can't get far enough in. I took note of the directory yesterday."

"Oh?" Kotetsu asked, sitting back up.

Izumo considered him for a long moment before he set his teacup down. "They allow civil unions here." He didn't understand why his heart was pounding when he mentioned that. It wasn't like he was actually proposing marriage or anything, he was being ridiculous. All he was doing was suggesting another option for investigation.

Kotetsu blinked at him and Izumo watched his friend's face carefully. "Civil unions," Kotetsu repeated and Izumo nodded. Kotetsu looked a little pale and his eyes dropped to the table, but other than that, Izumo couldn't figure out what he was thinking.

"The offices are on the other side of the compound from the rental agency and job office." Izumo's eyes dropped back to the table, unable to keep looking at his friend.

Kotetsu swallowed hard, his mouth having gone dry. He'd never, in a million years, have considered ever getting married. Most shinobi didn't get married when they were straight, much less gay. He didn't even know if Konoha allowed it, though he suspected Tsunade would one way or the other if someone asked.

His eyes, despite his best efforts had dropped to Izumo's hand where it rested on the table, curled around his teacup and his mind put a ring on the other man's finger.

And he could easily see one there.

And he realized he wanted to be the one to put it there. Badly.

He had to force himself to refocus. Izumo wasn't talking about getting married. He was talking about using the excuse to get further into the compound for their search. They were gathering intel, not deciding the rest of their lives.

He took a deep breath to recenter himself a little bit and managed a reasonable nod. "That's a good idea." He forced out, clearing his throat. "We'll go there last, though, see what else we can find out." One more slow breath and he started to feel a little better.

Izumo nodded. "That... sounds good." He glanced at his watch. "Well, they're open now."

Kotetsu shook his head, forcing his questions and thoughts aside. "Right. If you're done, we can go."

Izumo stood up and Kotetsu signed off on the check before standing, as well. They made their way out of the dining room and inn and stopped when they got to the street. Izumo glanced over at Kotetsu and, after they clasped hands, they turned toward the center of town once again.

The job office was in a wing off to one side of the main administration building. It was only a single room and, to their surprise, didn't connect directly to the rest of the building. The only way in or out was the door they'd just walked through.

It was made up of little more than a set of bulletin boards where merchants and others could post want ads, a single, dusty window in the back and a half-dead potted plant by the empty desk. No one was in the office, despite the desk and chair and the two men glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. "I'd rather expected something larger and less..." Kotetsu trailed off, frowning.

"Empty?" Izumo offered.

"Yeah." Kotetsu said as they glanced around once more then stepped back out of the small building. "Not that there was much to see." Kotetsu said, sighing.

"No. And from the looks of the rental office across the way, it's the same type of thing," Izumo pointed to the open doorway on the other side of the courtyard. It was another tiny wing attached to the main building, identical from the outside to the 'job office'.

"Well, then..." Kotetsu turned and looked Izumo over. "Really only one more place we can go here."

"Yeah," Izumo said, his brown eye meeting the slanted ones. He shook his head and Kotetsu had a feeling he was trying to shake off the same ridiculous feeling he had. They weren't actually getting married. He reminded himself again that it was just investigation.

With a deep breath, they followed the signs that led them down a path around to the back of the building. There was a long line of Sakura trees along one side of the path and as they rounded a curve to the back of the building, they saw that one of the streams that branched off the city's river flowed right through a large metal grate in the wall and into the compound in the back. There were small bridges over it and flowers and more Sakura trees everywhere.

The door they were looking for was set in the main building itself behind a large gazebo of some sort that was surrounded by even more Sakura trees and butted against the stream. The door was closed, but the sign in the window assured them that they should, "Come in! We're open!"

After another glance at each other, Kotetsu turned the knob and pushed the door open to see a simple traditional room with polished wooden floors and rice paper walls. Several low tables dotted the room with cushions on the floor around them. Along one wall was a large desk, also low to the floor with a very small woman sitting in front of it, her back to the room, long pale hair flowing down her spine to pool on the floor. Across from the door and through an archway was what could be nothing but an alter for weddings.

And there, set in the wall behind the alter was another door, leading into the rest of the building.

Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged glances as they stepped through the entrance and the woman by the desk turned around. She was young, maybe only a few years older than they were. She smiled over at them, her eyes dropping to their hands and back up to their faces. As she did so, her smile widened into a grin. She couldn't have topped five feet when she stood up. She had a small, heart-shaped face and her bright green eyes reminded them of Tsunade's apprentice at home.

The smiles in that city were starting to feel just a little creepy. Everyone seemed just a little too happy. Or maybe they were just that wound up. Kotetsu suspected it was very likely the latter. "Good afternoon!" She greeted them brightly. "What can I do for you?"

Kotetsu realized they hadn't talked about what to say to the woman, so he squeezed Izumo's hand and took a half step forward, but stopped because Zumo didn't seem to want to let go. He glanced at his friend again with a raised eyebrow and finally Izumo dropped his hand. "Um, we're new to the city," he said, turning back to the woman and hoped the smile he gave didn't look as weak as it felt. Why the hell was he so nervous?

"Welcome! It's always nice to see new people. My name is Karai. Oh! Let me guess... you heard that we allow civil unions and you came here to get married, right?" She clapped her hands together and nearly bounced on her feet. Her enthusiasm was rather contagious and both of the guys found themselves smiling back.

"We've come to ask about it, yes," Kotetsu said.

"Oh that's so wonderful! How did you meet? Oh, wait, let me guess... I love trying to figure it out.. you've been friends for years. Yes, yes, all your lives?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in inquiry.

"Uh, yes, actually," Izumo answered, raising an eyebrow at the woman.

She clapped again. "Ooo! I knew it! And you've been in love a long time, but you didn't know for a while! Yes, that's it, I can tell! And now you just can't wait anymore!" She giggled, then turned serious. "But wait, something's... hmmm. You have no family here. You left your village to come here. Right?"

Kotetsu was starting to get a little weirded out. It was way too close to the truth and way too close to their cover story for his liking. "Um, yes..." he said and opened his mouth to say that they just needed the basic information.

"Oh! That's so sad! It's not right for a family to do that!" She stomped one dainty foot in agitation and both men couldn't resist the smile at her outrage. Kotetsu opened his mouth again to speak but once more, she interrupted him. "Well, I think they're just terrible!" She paused to sigh, then picked up the stream of words again, "So, all you have to do is fill out this form," she said, flying over to her desk to pull it out of a cubbyhole along the back. She snatched up a pen and shoved it at Kotetsu before he could manage to stutter out anything. "Do you have rings?" She asked, eyebrows up again, looking from one to the other.

Really, the woman was like a Suna sand storm, with how fast she talked and just how much of a whirlwind she was. They were perfectly justified in standing there with their mouths hanging open in stunned silence. Kotetsu managed to close his first. "Um, no, we..." he started, but she waved a hand.

"Oh that's alright we have some here. Do you like silver or gold?" She asked, then paused briefly to tap her first finger on her lips and continued before either could protest that they didn't need them because they weren't getting married right then. "No, no, you're silver, definitely silver." She nodded and they glanced at each other again.

Kotetsu tried once more to speak and was afraid they were going to have to simply run away from the office at the rate things were going, if she didn't let them go. "Well, we just..."

"Do you have a preference for vows? Have you given it thought? No, I didn't think so. I'd bet simple Western ones for you two, yes," she nodded vigorously, then made a waving motion toward them. "Go on, fill it out! You can't get married without the form!"

"Uh, but..." Kotetsu started and she sighed.

"It's okay, really, there's no reason to be nervous. It's obvious you two love each other." She shook her head, took both of them by the arms and steered them toward a table, then pointed down. For reasons beyond both of them, they sat. "Really, it's nothing to be nervous of. You're in love, you get married. Now, let me see your hands," she said, grabbing at their left hands. "Mmm. Yes. Okay, fill it out," she said, pointing to the form and turned on her heel, disappearing through the door behind the alter.

They sat at the table, staring at each other for a full minute in stunned silence, feeling like they'd just been through a hurricane. "You're not filling out the form!" She called from through the doorway.

They both jumped. "Uh, do we run?" Izumo whispered.

Kotetsu glanced at the door, "I'm a little afraid she's going to chase us down."

Izumo snorted. "I know. What do we do?" He paused and frowned. "If we've got to come back here to look around more, it's going to look awfully strange if we just run, anyway."

"You're right." Kotetsu glanced down at the form and opened his mouth to say something else but paused.

"Maybe..." Izumo started, glancing at the doorway, noting the long hallway on the other side, lined with doors. He could see it T at what was probably the center of the building, another door set in the wall opposite the hallway. He looked back at Kotetsu. "Maybe..." he tried again, but he was having trouble spitting it out. He just could not manage to suggest they get married, even if it was fake and for their cover.

He wouldn't admit it was because he found himself wondering what it would be like to marry his best friend. He shook the thought off and frowned over at Kotetsu, trying to find a way for them to get out of there without raising any more suspicion.

Kotetsu took a deep breath. "What if... what if we gave fake names and just... you know... pretended..."

Izumo blinked at him, a little surprised his friend had been thinking basically the same thing and opened his mouth to reply, but they were interrupted once again. "Really, guys, it's not that crazy." She said, coming back to the table then paused and glanced from one to the other, sighing again.

But this time it was Kotetsu who interrupted, determined to get control of the situation again. "We really appreciate all of this, but we're not quite ready to do this yet." Izumo shot him a grateful look and they stood up. "We just wanted some information about it.

"Oh, well, okay." She looked so disappointed, Kotetsu almost told her they'd go through with it. Then she brightened, "Well, we're here every day! If you decide you want to, come back tomorrow!" She beamed another smile at them. "Here, let me write a few things down," she said, pulling form back. She scribbled a few numbers along the top. "There. That's how much it costs for the basic stuff." She pointed to the first number. "If you want involved vows or the gazebo or whatever, that's this number and the last one is for the rings." She leaned forward, then and added in a stage whisper, "but you can get cheaper ones in the markets that are probably better."

The two men smirked at each other, and Kotetsu took the form she practically pushed into his hand. "Please come back." She said and they raised their eyebrows at the expectant look on her face.

"Uh, we... very probably will," Izumo said and they started backing toward the door.

"Okay! Thank you!" She beamed at them and waved.

When they were outside, they got around the building and back onto the street before they stopped. Then they paused to look at each other. "That was..." Kotetsu started.

"Close," Izumo finished. "We... uh... we almost got married."

Kotetsu swallowed then chuckled. "Yeah, well, it wouldn't have been real, anyway..." And the smile faded a little. He wasn't ready to get married, right? Right?

And why didn't he think about marrying Genma?

"No, that's true," Izumo shook his head and Kotetsu wondered about the look on his friends face. If he didn't know better, he would have thought there was a bit of disappointment there, too. He shook it off as they turned back to the street. "Well, we learned a bit more about the grounds and the building. The marriage office might be a way to get in."

"I was thinking that. There's a long hallway through that door, and more offices than I'd counted on." He sighed, "I think we're just going to have to try to get in tonight and look around."

Izumo frowned. "When I saw the hall, I was afraid of that. Well, then. What do we do in the mean time?"

"Want to see a movie?" Kotetsu asked.

Izumo chuckled. "Are you asking me on a date?"

"I don't have to date you, we're already lovers," Kotetsu answered and they both laughed.

Izumo bumped his shoulder into his friend as they took each others hand and started back toward the theater. "Ha, being my lover doesn't get you out of dates."

Kotetsu gave an exaggerated sigh. "Maybe you should be the one taking me out."

Izumo raised an eyebrow. "But you asked me," he pointed out.

Kotetsu grinned. "Fiiiine. I did." They laughed again and both were struck by the idea that they seemed quite a bit more comfortable and much closer to being the old friends they used to be than they were when they'd awakened.

But then the reminder hit Kotetsu that they weren't really lovers. Yet again, this was a cover, just a story they told to carry out a mission. He glanced to the side at his friend and found himself, once more, wishing that it was real. And on the heels of that, wishing that the mission was over, already so that he could maybe, just possibly, finally figure everything out and settle it once and for all.

Whether he ended up with Genma or Izumo, he was tired of not being sure, tired of things up in the air. When he thought about it, he knew that he and Gen could be happy. He knew that they could have a lot of years together -- always assuming they survived their missions.

He glanced once more at Izumo. Could he let go of his friend?

Maybe it was time to find a way to do so. Yes, Zumo wanted him, but there was nothing to say that his friend loved him and he'd done the sex without love thing. And though he was a little surprised at himself to realize it, he knew he didn't want it anymore.

Genma did love him, did want him and they were good together. He just hoped that Gen could let go of his own best friend.

Then Izumo's hand tightened in his and Kotetsu was left wondering if he really could manage to let go of his feelings for his friend, in the end.

He wasn't so sure.
- 14
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- 16
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Illusion and Dream	By : djserani Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1300 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto! I make no money off of this!

Illusion and Dream