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The Blessed Realm	By : susanna Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male > Naruto/Sasuke Views: 1746 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Naruto, his friends and the world he lives in don't belong to me but to Masashi Kishimoto. I write this story only for my pleasure and I don't make any money with it.

Chapter List
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Chapter
Forty-Three: A new edition

It
was time to meet Karin. Naruto still felt confused about what he had
heard, and he hoped that he could shake off the images that had
turned up in his mind: He did not intend to have sex with Sasuke,
neither as active nor as passive partner. He knew that gay men
enjoyed it, he had also read the advice he had found in the book in
the store, still he could not imagine it. Well, he wasn't gay, was
he, so it was only natural that he couldn't.

It
was equally difficult to imagine Sasuke having sex. He did not like
to be close to anyone, did he?

There
was another issue that worried him. When on Sunday he had asked Karin
to go shopping with him, babbling something about summer and wanting
to blend in she had looked at him sceptically and asked him why he
needed her advice for this. Naruto had decided to tell her the truth:

“It's
because of Sasuke. Just look at him, sitting opposite Juugo's new
mothers. He's not interested in them, they are not interested in him,
and still, look at how he's sitting. The top two buttons of his shirt
are open, his arms are resting on the bench's back, his foot lying on
the other knee.”

Karin
and he had turned to look at Sasuke, but just then both of his feet
were on the floor, he was sitting upright and his hands were busy
preparing a sandwich.

“Just
wait until we return! Then he'll get back to his previous position
and turn his head left and right so that we can admire him in half
profile. In our dance class it's worse, but he does it even when we
are on our own: Sitting on my bed, his legs wide open to look cool,
leaning back, and then he will mess with his hair: It does not look
better from being messed with all the time, it's just that he knows
that he looks good with his hands in his hair. He's looking at me,
and it's as if I could hear his voice: Am I not the best-looking guy
in this room?”

“Well,
he's pretty, isn't he?”

“Sure
he is. Still it's annoying. I'm no longer ready to let his claim
stand uncontested.”

Karin
had looked rather sceptical. “I don't think you'll be able to
beat Sasuke.”

“Thanks”,
Naruto had replied.

“I
can still go shopping with you and give you some advice. You are
good-looking in your own way, and also, girls don't just fall for the
best-looking guy. Are you competing for someone specific?”

“No.
The only girl he cares about is back in Konoha. We are just
competing.”

Karin
had shrugged. “Well, then. I'll do my best to help you.”

Thinking
back of this conversation now Naruto wondered whether Sasuke's
strange behaviour was not indeed a sign that he was gay. As a child
Sasuke had not been particularly vain, knowing that he looked good
but loathing the attention he got from the girls around him. Since
their arrival in Music Town he had grown more and more concerned with
his appearance until it had taken today's ridiculous forms. It was a
bit what one would expect of a gay man, coming to think of it, but
Naruto had never imagined that Sasuke might be gay. He looked good,
to be sure, but he was also strong, and he made sure to keep a safe
distance from everyone. The latter had changed recently, as Naruto
was only too well aware of. He wished that Sasuke would return to his
previous behaviour and stopped smiling at everyone.

He
also had to take care for himself. He should not appear too concerned
with his appearance, lest people would mistake him for gay. He
actually considered cancelling his shopping appointment with Karin.

They
had agreed to meet in the entrance area of the municipal library.
Naruto had often seen it from outside, a huge building with pillars
and an inscription in golden letters in a language Naruto didn't
know, but he had never been inside. Now he looked up and saw
galleries running around the central hall, and a glass dome on top,
just above his head.

Karin,
when she arrived with a pile of books she had to return, seemed
completely unimpressed by the architecture. She was impressed by the
institution, however, and she told Naruto about it: “Isn't it
amazing? A whole building full of books, free for everyone to borrow,
read, and return. I've never seen anything like it.”

There
had been a small library in Konoha, but as Naruto did not read much
he had never been inside. He could not emphasize with Karin's
fascination, but had to resign himself to registering that people in
Music Town seemed to highly value books.

They
headed for the biographer's place and were invited to sit in the
living-room and have tea, which was fine. What was not so fine was
that the biographer tried to interview Naruto on Jiraiya's love
affairs, while Naruto tried to tell her about Jiraiya's life as a
ninja and his dreams of peace. Karin tried to act as mediator.

“Jiraiya
saw that hatred was spreading in the ninja world”, Naruto said.
“He hoped that people would learn to understand each other
through his books, and that true peace would become possible.”

“Sure,
we all long for peace”, the woman answered. “But, tell
me, do you know about any woman who meant more to Jiraiya than all
his countless love affairs?”

Naruto
shook his head as he did not want to tell her about Tsunade.

They
parted after half an hour, and Naruto felt more worn out than after
one of his major fights, more worn out even than after working twelve
hours in a row at the restaurant. He had not even had the courage to
tell the woman that he did not want her to write Jiraiya's official
biography, nor the necessary clarity of mind. There had been moments
during their conversation when he had had difficulties to restrain
the kyuubi from lashing out at her: She was sullying Jiraiya's memory
by making him appear interested in nothing but sex.

Karin
sensed that he needed some rest and invited him to one of the street
cafes.

“This
was truly a weird woman”, she said. “I thought she wanted
to hear your perspective on Jiraiya, but instead she just tried to
make you confirm her idea of Jiraiya as a womanizer.”

Naruto
felt relieved, and while he drank his coke he told Karin what he
should have told the biographer: How Jiraiya had trained him for
three years, how they had connected over their pain over Sasuke
respectively Orochimaru, how Jiraiya had talked to him about peace
and his hope that his books would lead to more understanding.

“I
promised to take up the baton and to complete what he could not
accomplish. And now I am sitting in Music Town, wasting my time
learning to dance. I'm doing Sasuke a favour, which is fine, and keep
him distracted from his revenge, but he's not everything. I should be
saving Konoha and the whole world.”

“Don't
worry”, Karin said. “Take your time. You need a plan to
take down Danzou, and you need a good plan to save the world. If you
rush it, you'll only mess up. Let's go and tell the publishing house
that you want a biography of Jiraiya as he really was, with Icha-Icha
only as a tiny part of his personality.”

He
nodded, and after Karin had paid they left the cafe.

When
they were sitting in the chief editor's office Karin did most of the
talking.

“Fans
don't want another volume of Icha-Icha”, she said. “Well,
they'd like one, but they understand that this is no longer possible.
They don't want a substitute, however, and least of all a substitute
disguised as a biography of Jiraiya. If anything, they want the real
biography of the real Jiraiya.”

“Sex
sells”, the editor replied.

“Sure,
but not if it feels fake. It would be just some made-up love stories
and romances. Jiraiya's heart was always in Konoha.”

Not
only with the village, but also with Tsunade, Naruto thought.

“Jiraiya
was one of the Sannin”, he said. “If you really want a
biography of him you have to talk to the last surviving Sannin. She
could tell you about Jiraiya as a child or a young man. She has known
him for decades, while I have only known him for a few years.”

“The
Fifth Hokage? You may know that she's still suffering from the after
effects of her fight against that Pain, and that she's also under
house arrest, not allowed to talk to anyone but a few select people
who care for her and do her shopping. We cannot simply send someone
to Konoha to interview her on Jiraiya. Not with Danzou in office.”

“Then
it's impossible to write a meaningful biography of Jiraiya while
Danzou is in power.”

“We
can still have a meaningless one, and a meaningful one when Danzou's
no longer Hokage. It's important to keep the fans' interest in
Jiraiya alive as long as possible. Fans won't mind if it's not
Jiraiya's whole personality, or if it's not one hundred percent
accurate. They will mind however when there's no new stuff to read.
We have to keep them from turning to another author, and we have to
make money. They are not so much interested in reality anyway, or
even real life politics, but they will always appreciate a good
story.”

Naruto
did not know what to answer. He was in shock.

Karin
was also not amused. “That's a sweeping generalization of the
fans of Jiraiya you are making”, she said, “and actually
quite offensive. Not all of us are fourteen-year-old girls who are
still excited about reading their first explicit sex scene, thinking
they are doing something dirty and forbidden. We are grown-up women
and also some men, with highly demanding jobs, intelligent and taking
an interest in matters of the world as anyone else. We just happen to
occasionally like to take some time off from the real world to enjoy
a good love story with a happy ending.”

The
editor looked impressed.

“We
like to think that our favourite author was more than some kind of
Don Juan, consuming women as if he was picking flowers and only
interested in sex. We like to think that he also took an interest in
politics and was a wise, thoughtful man.”

Naruto
was really glad that he had taken her with him: He could not have
spoken like this, mainly because he was not a fan of Icha-Icha but
found the whole series rather boring. He took the Gutsy Ninja out of
his pocket.

“As
it's not possible yet to write a meaningful biography of Jiraiya, and
as I won't give my consent to a meaningless one, you may consider a
new edition of this book. I've heard it's out of print. It may keep
the fans interested.”

The
editor took it and had a look at it.

“Jiraiya's
first novel”, he said. “I haven't thought about it for a
long time. I'm rather sceptical however. Jiraiya's readers expect
erotic romances, not adventure stories.”

“But
it's a love story too”, Karin said.

“Well,
yes, I remember the love scene in the end of the book, making it
almost unsellable. It was definitely not what twelve-year-old boys
should read, while the adventure story itself was too childish for
grown-ups. And then there was all the talk about peace and
forgiveness, turning up at the least appropriate moments, slowing
down the story when it would have needed some pacing up.”

Naruto
felt hurt. For him the conversations on peace and forgiveness had
been the best parts of the book.

“I
still remember how my predecessor discussed it with Jiraiya. He did
not really like it, but he enjoyed the love scene in the end and
thought that it showed Jiraiya's true talent. He wanted to keep him
as an author and offered him two options: Either rewrite the book and
focus on the romance and cut down the parts on peace and forgiveness,
or get the Gutsy Ninja published as it was and write a new book that
was only about romance. Jiraiya chose the second option, and a few
thousand copies of the Gutsy Ninja were printed and about half of
them were sold. He then wrote the first volume of Icha-Icha, and
sales numbers soon climed to the five digits and six digits.”

“Jiraiya
loved the book”, Naruto said. “I love it too.”

“All
fans will love it”, Karin said.

The
editor considered their words. “Maybe it's indeed a good time
to release a new edition. We still have the old printing plates
somewhere, so it would be quick and cheap. Also, just now Jiraiya has
a large fanbase of hardcore fans who will buy everything written by
him.”

He
looked at Naruto, who was waiting anxiously for the final decision.

“You
may write an afterword, or an introduction. Include some biographical
notes on Jiraiya. Be a bit sentimental about your personal loss, and
don't forget to mention that you are named after the Gutsy Ninja –
people love cheesy details.”

Naruto
felt hurt again. He did not want to share his feelings for Jiraiya
with the fanbase of Icha-Icha.

“Some
ten thousand copies”, the editor said. “If they sell
there'll be more.”

A/N:

Sneakyfox:
Thanks again! Yes, Naruto has spent such a long time dreaming of
Sasuke returning to Konoha and marrying Sakura that he has forgotten
to dream for himself. Now he has to restart!

Nami:
Yes, Naruto's behaviour is all understandible – but I wanted
the man react as a person reacts who does not know of these
complications and suggests to Naruto what would seem most natural and
rational to him. He's also rather pragmatic about love, and does not
understand Naruto's idealism. Thanks for the compliments!

Rahvin68:
thanks for your review! Yes, 45 chapters is quite a lot, and I guess
I would be more proud if I had been able to wrap up the story in
fewer chapters. I guess that's my foolish ambition to write about the
whole world instead of choosing.

Ladygizarme:
Thanks for your review! Yes, I wanted Naruto to be in that weird
state when you begin to give up your preconceptions but are not yet
ready to do it completely. The scene where Sasuke comments on the
items Naruto has purchased is already written.
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The Blessed Realm