The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

By: ladygizarme
Beta: Houseki
A/N: Thanks once again for the reviews on the last chapter! I hope you guys will review this one, as well!

Chapter Five:

“Soon enough, Sasuke…”

As those words were spoken, Sasuke watched his brother’s bloody-but-softly-smiling face change. It changed; morphed; transformed until it was a different face entirely—though still one he recognized completely.

“Uncle Teyaki…” he heard his voice say, aquiver with tears.

And just like that, he found that he was no longer surrounded by red. He was no longer colored like negatives. He was no longer sitting up in bed, in a puddle of his own vomit. Rather, he was lying in bed, sweat-soaked sheets beneath him, sweat-dampened blanket and sheet twisted around him, pillow damp from the tears still leaking from his eyes. And the name he had just spoken was still dying in his throat.

‘Was it… still a dream?’ he wondered confusedly to himself, harshly swallowing a lump in his throat—now sore from screaming.

Everything had ended so abruptly, and had seemed so real—normal, even, before the strange turn of events—that it was hard to decipher dream from reality for several moments. Especially because of the dream-within-a-dream factor. When he’d regained his bearings somewhat, his eyes finally focused on the face before him. More specifically, the dull black eyes boring holes into his own obsidian gaze from mere inches away.

With a shout, Sasuke jumped instinctively, scrambling backwards and falling out of the bed and onto his ass and lower back. The bed covers slightly twisted around his legs and waist hindered his attempt to get up right away and run. Run from his uncle, who was still staring at him with those dead, somehow accusing eyes.

At Sasuke’s actions, Teyaki Uchiha stood from where he’d been crouched over the bed, paying no mind to the obstacle of the bed as he merely walked through it like it wasn’t even there. His uncle’s approach made Sasuke hurry to untangle himself, his panicked movements making him fumble even more until he finally just stood himself up and stumbled for the door, the sheet stubbornly refusing to loosen itself from around his leg.

He yanked the bedroom door open and tripped as he threw his body into the hallway. One knee banged the hardwood floor painfully, but he managed to catch himself with his arms before hitting his face. He wasted no time in scrambling back up, trying to run and pull the hindering sheet from his leg as he rushed for the stairs. Just as the material finally gave way obediently, he heard that familiar deathrattle sound from his uncle coming up behind him. The sound made his heart plunge into his stomach, and he looked back in terror just as his foot slipped on the now-freed material and missed the top step of the stairs, causing him to fall.

Sasuke tried to catch himself, but he was falling face first and the sheet had somehow been dragged along with him, making gaining purchase on the polished wood steps practically impossible. He fell, hitting his chin painfully against the edge of the step as the rest of his body screamed its own complaints at him, the pain making him curl in on himself in a self-preserving manner as he tumbled down the hardwood steps, missing the opportunity to try catching himself on a bar of the banister once the wall ended. Finally, his descent came to a stop when he reached the small landing at the bottom, his body sprawled awkwardly. His body was in a sort of diagonal position with his head, shoulders, and upper chest slightly turned to the side on the landing, and his lower torso and legs stomach-down on the steps behind him. His arms cradled his head, shielding it from most of the damage he could feel on the rest of his aching body. His ribs, knees, shins, forearms, and elbows in particular were screaming at him—his ribs weren’t even completely healed from their injuries the week before.

“Uuuruuuuuu…” a scratchy voice uttered in an agonizing breath, reminding Sasuke immediately of why he’d fallen in the first place.

His pain-dazzled eyes snapped their gaze up to see his dead uncle staggering down the stairs, one hand clutching his chest, the other reaching out for Sasuke—just as the last time. Sasuke’s breathing was shaky and labored, his vision spotty and tunneling due to fear and lack of proper oxygen. Too frightened to even think about moving, let alone actually do it, he quaked as he awaited his inevitable doom.

“…chhhiiiiii…”

Sasuke’s breath finally caught completely as he realized it was his aunt’s name his uncle was speaking. He was still staggering down the stairs, coming ever closer to where Sasuke still lay. At last, Sasuke’s brain caught up with the situation and fired the signals needed to move. He shifted and twisted quickly, crawling forward on bruised limbs until he could sit upright, backing himself up against the wall and scooting bit by bit towards the last three steps that would take him off the landing and into the foyer. The entire time, he never took his eyes off his uncle.

“Uuruuuucchhhiiii…” his uncle rasped out once again.

“I-I’m not…Uruchi—” Sasuke tried to insist as he slowly stood, his voice coming out strangled and finally failing him as his throat closed, refusing to release any more sound.

Apparently, his uncle heard him nevertheless. Apparently, it had angered him.

Teyaki’s pale, pale face grew a purplish red as he took a deep, agonizing-sounding “breath” and forced out a loud growl of, “Uuruuuchiiiii!!! ”

With that, Sasuke leapt down the last bit of stairs, almost falling when he landed on the rug that was there and it slid on the polished floor. He managed to catch himself this time with a counterbalance of his weight and ran from the room. He made it through the living room, past the dining room, and into the kitchen before stopping behind the island, turning around quickly to face the rest of the room. He briefly contemplated the block of knives sitting on the counter, but dismissed it almost immediately, knowing it would do him no good. Chances were he would end up only hurting himself in a moment of panic, and that was not something he wanted to do.

Agonizingly endless seconds ticked by excruciatingly slowly as he waited for his uncle to chase him into here. Just as he was starting to think he’d been left alone for now, a nearby rattle made him gasp and flinch. He clutched at his painfully thudding heart as the door to his left swung open, only to reveal the pleasantly surprised face of his mother, Mikoto Uchiha.

“Oh! Sasuke! I didn’t know you were here,” she said as she walked into the house, her arms full of shopping bags. Then, noticing the harried look about Sasuke, she narrowed her eyes in concern. “Are you okay, dear? Is something wrong?”

Moving to quickly dispel his mother’s worries, Sasuke relaxed his tense body and limbs as best as he could. “N-no, mother. Nothing’s wrong.”

He had to consciously fight the urge to glance back to the dining room-side doorway. There was nothing there. He was fine. He didn’t need to look.

“Sasuke, you’re bleeding!” his mother exclaimed then, dropping her numerous bags to the floor and walking to him with a delicate hand upraised.

She lightly touched his chin, wiping away the smear of blood to see the small gash underneath. This alone made Sasuke flinch, hissing between his teeth at the pain.

“Hmm, the cut isn’t big, but it looks like you’re going to have a bruise. What on earth did you do?”

Sasuke closed his eyes and bit his lip, trying to think up a fast excuse.

“Sasuke,” his mother’s reprimanding voice broke through his racing thoughts. He opened his eyes to see her appraising him with that familiar Stern Mother™ look of hers. “Don’t lie to me.”

Sasuke sighed. Why was she still able to read him so well? He wasn’t a child anymore, why did he give himself away so easily?

“I… fell down the stairs,” he finally admitted lamely, his eyes drifting away from her widening ones in embarrassment.

“You fell down the stairs? How did that happen?”

Sasuke bit his lip again. A half-truth should work…

“I was taking a nap, and when I woke I guess I wasn’t awake all the way. I didn’t realize I’d taken the sheet with me and slipped on it and fell down the stairs.”

“Oh, my poor baby! Are you okay? Do you have any other injuries?” she asked in rapid fire, her hands moving over him in a worried manner.

He grabbed her hands to stop their searching, both from pain and annoyance at her coddling. “I’m fine, mother. Really.”

It was obvious from her expression that she was reluctant to just let him be, but she finally conceded, her hands returning lax at her side. Sasuke suppressed a relieved sigh as she turned back to her abandoned packages and started rummaging through them. Just as Sasuke thought he was in the free and clear, his mother spoke up nonchalantly.

“So, was it a bad dream? Or did you have another episode?”

Seeing the look of knowing concern on his mother’s face, Sasuke wondered why he had ever thought he would get out of this so easily.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

Naruto sat where he had been for the last three hours: in his lazyboy, a manuscript in his hands, and a box of more on the floor to his immediate right. He sat relatively quiet, save the grumbles or groans he would emit every few seconds, occasionally accompanied by the faint sound of a pen writing on paper. Suddenly, his pseudo-silence was officially broken as he stood, letting the manuscript and his pen fall unceremoniously to the floor as he exclaimed.

“Argh, I’ve had enough! I can’t take it anymore. I need a break!”

The sudden loud words and actions made his housemate flinch in surprise from her position on the couch.

“Naruto! Jeez, you scared the hell out of me!” she reprimanded, resituating the thick medical textbook in her lap and grabbing the highlighter that had jumped from her hands a second before.

The blond man gave her a sheepish, apologetic grin. “Heheh, sorry, Sakura.”

The pinkish haired woman sighed. “Not that I shouldn’t have seen it coming, because you were actually starting to freak me out a little with how quiet you’ve been all morning, but still… Have some consideration for other people around you!”

Rather than apologize again, his sheepish grin merely grew, making his eyes close and smile at her. She sighed. She just couldn’t stay mad at him. Slipping her thin notebook between the pages of her textbook, she closed it and placed it on the coffee table with her pen and highlighter. Perhaps it was time for a break.

She got off the couch and stretched, Naruto watching her quizzically as she did so in a clinically-efficient way so as not to pull or strain anything. She had been sitting in that same position for far too long. Finally, limbs not so stiff and blood flowing properly again, she looked at Naruto.

“How about some lunch?”

Blue eyes—no, more like his entire handsome face –lit up at her words. “Ramen?” he suggested hopefully, following her into the kitchen.

Sakura scowled. “No. You need to eat something better than just ramen, Naruto. How about I make us some chicken salad?” she suggested after opening the fridge and finding nothing of particular interest.

Naruto pouted, “But I like ramen.”

“And you like chicken salad,” she reminded him.

“But not as much as ramen,” he countered.

She groaned, really not in the mood for the same old argument. She still had a lot of studying ahead of her for an exam Monday and she didn’t need to fry her brain on a pointless Real Food vs. Ramen fight. Even though she was right, she could never win against the combination of Naruto’s stubbornness plus his love for ramen.

“Fine,” she conceded in exasperation. “Have ramen. But you should really have something else, you know? Honestly, Naruto, do you know what stuff like that does to your body?”

“What? Gives me this godlike physique?” he asked, only partially teasing as he made a couple muscle-y poses.

Sakura laughed. “Quit that, you dork. You’re not Mr. Universe, so stop doing that pose,” she nearly snorted as Naruto pulled a classic muscle-builder pose. Or attempted to.

He stuck his tongue out at his snickering friend and bypassed her for the ramen in the pantry. Roast beef flavor sounded good today. He grabbed 3 packages, despite the disapproving tongue click he heard from the woman behind him as she grabbed a can of chicken from a nearby shelf.

They each made their respective lunches, Sakura all the while trying to convince Naruto to at least add some vegetables to his ramen, to no avail. They ate together at the kitchen table, Sakura turning on the radio to cover up the annoyingly noisy sound of Naruto slurping noodles and broth.

“So how’s the studying going?” he asked her just as she was about to take a bite of the chicken salad sandwich she’d made.

Sakura closed her mouth from its ready-to-take-a-bite stance and reopened it to speak. “Okay. It’s a lot to remember, but I’m trying not to stress too much. If I follow my usual studying guidelines, I should be fine.”

Naruto nodded his understanding. Sakura had always been a very efficient student, and her grades still continued to show the proof of that, even in Med School.

“And you? How is your work going? Like your new job?”

Naruto grinned, “Yeah, the new job is awesome! I’m even a lead editor for a prospective new author already!”

Sakura blinked, wide eyed. “Already? Wow, it’s only been like two weeks!”

His grin grew. “I know. Ms. Senju really trusts my instincts, though, and decided to put me on this one because I specifically brought it to her attention. No one else was going to give it a chance.”

A defined, pink eyebrow raised in slightly skeptical question. “Why’s that?”

Naruto rolled his eyes before frowning angrily, “Freakin’ stuck up asshole felt he was too good to read it. But I read it, and it’s really good. They’ll see. I’ll help this guy make it big!”

“You seem pretty confident. Though, it is you, so I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” Sakura commented.

Naruto blinked at her.

“You’ve always had more confidence than any normal human. Sometimes I think it’s too much,” Sakura explained, a bit of fondness in her voice. “I trust your instincts as well, though, so if you say it’ll happen… well, I believe you. That guy is lucky to have you as his editor.”

Naruto’s expression positively burst with a prideful grin at her words.

“No wonder Jiraiya didn’t stick around when he heard the news you were quitting,” she added, her voice a bit lower.

Naruto frowned. Well. Way to make him feel guilty!

“He said he was going on another research trip,” Naruto insisted through his pang of guilt, trying to convince Sakura as much as himself that he hadn’t actually hurt the old man’s feelings.

Sakura nodded, not entirely convinced but not wanting to upset Naruto when he was happy. A sad Naruto was a nearly unbearable thing, and she knew this firsthand. The last time he had really been upset, she had literally gotten sick from it. Thinking that his Godfather had left just because Naruto had “abandoned” him would surely bring on a similar bout of depression as that time.

“I’m sure he’ll be back in no time, demanding that you read his latest masterpiece,” she assured, making her tone lighthearted.

At this, Naruto scowled. “That perverted old man… He can edit his own porn from now on!” Naruto insisted with flames of indignation in his eyes and a shaking fist.

And just like that, Naruto was back to normal. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

After they finished their meal, Naruto stood up and stretched, heaving a satisfied sigh as he patted his now-full belly.

“Mm, that was good.” He cast a forlorn look back at the box of manuscripts that awaited him in the living room, still not quite ready to return to them. “Hmm, maybe I should take a little more of a break. After all, I wouldn’t want my brain to burn out or something…”

“Hmm,” Sakura intoned doubtfully. In her opinion, procrastination never led to any good. Naruto worked differently than her, though.

“Ah! I know,” he said, apparently ignoring his housemate’s disapproval.

He got his keys and left the house for a few moments, presumably going out to his car if the sounds she could hear were any indication, and returned soon with a bag from Borders.

“I never did get to finish that manga the other day…” he dug through the bag, pulling out three graphic novels and two magazines.

Sakura peered appreciatively at the half-clothed, muscled figure on the front of one of the mags before noticing what else Naruto had bought. “Oh, so you started reading Death Note?”

“Yep! You and Ino kept going on and on about it, so I finally decided I had to read it for myself! It’s really good so far,” he answered with a grin, before his brows lowered in confusion. “That’s strange…”

“What is?”

“I’m missing Volume 3… Oh, no! Sakura! I must have dropped it while I was in that café at Borders! Freakin’ Temari calling me back for no good reason,” he grumbled.

“Why don’t you just call and see if an employee found it?” Sakura suggested.

“You think they’d keep it for me? That bastard that works there probably tossed it out… stupid, annoying, manga-mocking bastard…”

More grumbling. Sakura rolled her eyes. “It wouldn’t hurt to find out, at least.”

“Yeah… you’re right. I guess I’ll call now. Damn, I really wanted to finish reading that now!”

Sakura shrugged sympathetically, returning to her studies when Naruto got the phone and called the number from his receipt. As the line started ringing, he left the room so Sakura could study in peace. A few minutes later, he was back, sighing loudly. Sakura looked up, distracted by his irritation.

“They haven’t seen it. I know I must have dropped it there, though. I haven’t even messed with this bag since that day. That damn bastard… he probably took it!”

“Did you ask him?” Sakura wondered.

Naruto scowled. “He wasn’t there, and they wouldn’t tell me when he works next. They only let me leave my name and number.”

“You could always just go buy another one. It’s only ten bucks, after all.”

“That’s not the point, Sakura! That bastard stole my manga and he’s gonna give it back or pay for it!” The blond’s strong jaw was set in determination, his eyes burning brightly.

Sakura just sighed, rolling her eyes and shaking her head as she went back to her studying.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

Sasuke came in for his shift Saturday afternoon, only to be pulled aside by the manager before he could even get his apron tied.

“Sasuke,” the woman addressed him once they were in the privacy of her small office in the back. “Do you know anything about a book being left behind by a customer a couple days ago?”

Sasuke was instantly on deer-in-headlights mode at this question. “Um… yes?” How did she know about that?!

She nodded at him. “What was it? And do you remember what the customer looked like?”

Sasuke took a deep breath, reminding himself to keep his breathing regulated rather than hyperventilating like his body wanted to after exhaling. “D-death Note,” he finally answered reluctantly. “A b-blond man that ordered hot chocolate left it…” Sasuke tried not to think about what had happened after he’d found it.

Another nod from his boss. “Do you, perhaps, know what happened with the book after you found it? The customer called today looking for it.”

Sasuke’s breath caught and his heart skipped a couple beats at this bit of news. The customer had called? But… what… but… he was dead!

…wasn’t he?

“I… think I might have… taken it home… accidentally…”

Sasuke really didn’t know why he had. Something had compelled him to do so—he’d thought it was a message for him, after all.

The manager pursed her lips at him. “I see…”

He could hear the slight disappointment in her voice. Great, that single act had managed to weaken her confidence in him. Just perfect. As if there wasn’t enough going wrong in his life lately—including his mother’s recently-renewed worries about his mental state and her insistence that he make an emergency appointment with his psychiatrist—now he had to throw in troubles at work. Sasuke suppressed a sigh.

“Well, I’ll have to call Mr. Uzumaki and let him know. You need to bring it in with you tomorrow, Sasuke.”

He nodded his understanding, still stunned at this turn of events, and left her office to start his shift.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

“Sakura!” Naruto called out as he barged into his housemate’s room.

“Naruto! How many times do I have to tell you? Knock first! I could have still been undressed,” the pink haired woman exclaimed as she finished putting her socks on and pulled on her first shoe.

Naruto shrugged. “It’s not like I haven’t seen it all before,” he reminded her.

The red that bloomed in her cheeks at that statement was only a quarter embarrassment, the rest was anger and irritation. “Argh, that’s not the point!” she said, throwing her other shoe at him.

Naruto narrowly avoided the solid white projectile, picking it up after it hit the wall behind him and fell to the floor, and eyeing Sakura warily when she held her hand out for him to bring it to her.

“Come on, Naruto, give me my shoe already. I can’t be late for my shift!” She was a registered nurse and worked shifts at the nearby hospital to help pay for her medical school.

“Okay, okay,” he acquiesced, reluctantly handing it back to her and darting away in case she had any lingering ideas about smacking him for his earlier statements. When he saw her arm fly out with just that intention, he was glad he’d moved so quickly and she only managed to swat at his T-shirt.

Sticking his tongue out at her cheekily, Naruto told her, “Anyway! I came in here to tell you about the call I just got!”

She glanced at him before returning to her task of putting on her shoe, giving him the signal to talk.

“The manager from the café called and told me that guy that was working Thursday has my book. She said I can come in tomorrow night and pick it up!”

“Good for you. See, aren’t you glad you listened to me? Now, I really have to go or I’ll be late,” Sakura said, grabbing her jacket as she passed him, heading for the front door.

“Okay, have a good night, Sakura!” he called after her.

“I’ll try!” she replied before he heard the front door close.

So happy from the news that he would still be able to get his manga back, Naruto ambled to the kitchen to figure out something for dinner. After deciding to forego the ramen for the rest of Sakura’s chicken salad (she wouldn’t be there to gloat about it, so it was safe), he settled at the table with his plate of two sandwiches and some chips, and read one of the magazines he’d bought the other day—Instinct.

After eating, and all the procrastinating he’d done today, he couldn’t put it off any more… he had to get back to the box of manuscripts waiting impatiently for him in the living room. With a sigh, he walked to the living room and sat in his favorite chair before picking up the story he’d abandoned earlier. He couldn’t wait for tomorrow. Not only was he getting his manga back, but tomorrow was the day he would meet Shikamaru Nara for the first time. He was sure the experience would provide some relief from the boredom of reading most of this drek.

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

Shikamaru finished putting up his hair and went to find his jacket; it was a bit windy out today. He’d decided on something semi-casual: a black turtleneck and dark grey jeans. After slipping on his jacket, Shikamaru gathered up his keys and a large envelope he’d prepared the night before.

“You’re going out?” a voice asked from behind him.

Oh, the ghost was back. Shikamaru briefly wondered where he’d gone, but felt it was too troublesome to ask. The ghost had yet to answer that question any other time.

“Got a call from a publisher Friday. I’m meeting my editor today,” Shikamaru answered simply.

“Wow, an editor already? I definitely picked the right guy to haunt,” the ghost joked amiably. “So I suppose you’re taking him the completed version of the story you sent in?”

Shikamaru nodded. “And a few other works of mine for him to peruse.”

“Are you taking… my story?” the ghost asked hopefully, a bit of that recently-familiar desperation coming into his expressive blue eyes.

Shikamaru wanted to sigh, or say ‘troublesome’, but he refrained. The ghost had been becoming ever more restless when it came to Shikamaru writing his story—how and when it would be done. “Not yet,” he answered almost apologetically. “It’s not ready, not even as a first draft.”

The ghost nodded his blond head, a little despondently.

“Well, anyway, I’m leaving now. I’ll be back later. Do you want me to leave the TV on for you, or something?”

“…sure,” the ghost answered.

Shikamaru turned on the TV. It was playing a documentary on the Civil War on The History Channel.

“Do you want me to change it?”

“No, no, this is… fine,” the ghost tried a smile. It was almost entirely false, but showed Shikamaru promise that he was at least attempting to be less depressive.

Not wanting to call attention to the ghost’s down mood and possibly make it worse, Shikamaru simply nodded, putting the remote back on the coffee table. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*

A short bus ride, quick bus transfer, and slightly longer bus ride later, Shikamaru found himself half a block from the agreed-upon meeting place: Kurenai’s Dinette. It was a quaint little classic diner, with a partial-brick façade and lots of big windows. Inside, there were booths lining the walls, a wrap-around counter in the center, and a couple tables against a wall at the back. It was a little busy, being a popular place for the after-church and Sunday luncheon crowd in this area. Seeing how busy it was, and that there was only one table and a couple seats at the counter available, Shikamaru suddenly remembered something.

He hadn’t asked the editor how to recognize him, and neither had the editor asked as much of him. How was he supposed to find this Naruto Uzumaki person without that information?

He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, fully realizing the likelihood of anyone picking up at the number Uzumaki had called from was slim to none. Still, it was worth a shot—at least so he could make sure. However, he realized right away that his assumption had been correct when his call was answered with a generic, automated away message.

“Troublesome,” he groaned under his breath as he tucked his phone away.

Walking up to the counter, he decided he might as well try asking the proprietor, who he realized both from her nametag and her attire was working the counter. This place, after all, looked like the kind of hometown hangout that knew all its regulars by name. Overhearing the friendly conversation between the woman and the middle-aged man she was pouring coffee for—with both of them using first names to address each other—Shikamaru was glad to have his theory proven correct so quickly. It seemed to him that Naruto Uzumaki must be something of a regular here, as well, otherwise why would he have chosen this place specifically? It was a bit far from the hustle and bustle of the city proper, and not exactly a place Shikamaru would associate with meeting someone to talk about literature. It was just a hypothesis, of course, but it was better than nothing.

After the dark, curly-haired woman finished her short conversation with the man, she turned to Shikamaru who had just stepped up to the counter.

“Oh, a new customer! Hello, I’m Kurenai, what can I get for you today?”

Score another point in favor of Shikamaru’s theory, as if it hadn’t already proven itself.

“Actually, I was hoping you could answer a question for me. I’m supposed to be meeting someone here, but have absolutely no idea—”

The woman cut him off with a sudden exclamation, “Oh, you must be the author Naruto told me about!”

Apparently, she’d finally taken into account the thick portfolio he held in his arm. Shikamaru nodded mutely, only slightly stunned (though, really, that was enough) that his entire theory had evidently been correct.

Kurenai smiled at him. “He should be here any time now. Why don’t you take that last booth in the back and I’ll let him know you’re here when he comes in?”

“Thanks,” Shikamaru said with a nod.

“Would you like to order anything while you’re waiting?”

Not wanting to be rude by taking up space at a table and not even ordering anything, Shikamaru answered, “Sure, an iced tea?”

“Sweetened or unsweetened?”

“Sweetened,” he replied.

“Okay, hon. Let me go refill my pitcher and I’ll bring it out to the table for you in just a sec.”

“Thanks again,” Shikamaru told her before turning to do just as she had suggested, sitting in the last available booth at the back by the restrooms.

Because of the diner’s layout, he couldn’t clearly see the door even though he was sitting in the seat that had him facing the rest of the restaurant. He was a little early because of the schedule the buses ran on, but he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait too long. Minutes passed slowly after Kurenai brought him his iced tea, and Shikamaru quickly grew bored. He didn’t think it would look very good to have his soon-to-be editor find him hunched over the table asleep when he finally came, so he settled for leaning his elbow on the table and propping his head up with his hand.

If he had been near the window, maybe he could have entertained himself by watching the clouds move across the sky. Even though they were rather grey today, he didn’t mind as long as they were discernible from the sky. Alas, he was not near the window, so he had to settle for simply waiting, occasionally sipping at his drink to keep himself awake and slightly occupied. Finally, Shikamaru caught movement out of the corner of his eye and, thinking the editor had shown up at last, he looked up only to frown at what he saw.

The blond that had basically been his houseguest for the past few weeks was walking towards him with a sheepish grin on his face. The man held a hand up in greeting and Shikamaru rolled his eyes minutely. Honestly, what was he thinking, approaching him in public? He knew the ghost had been becoming ever more melancholy lately, possibly feeling a bit neglected since Shikamaru really preferred to write in peace rather than having to keep up inane chitchat or in-depth conversation, but really. This was ridiculous.

“Troublesome,” Shikamaru muttered under his breath, watching the blond man’s blue eyes search his out, opening his mouth to greet Shikamaru as he finally sidled up to the side of the table. Shikamaru looked up at him boredly for an instant before quickly returning his lazy gaze to his nearly-gone tea. His head still cradled on his hand, Shikamaru said in an annoyed tone just low enough so no one else overheard, but so that the ghost easily could, “Go back home. You know I can’t talk to you freely here.”

The blond blinked at him. “Uh… what?” he asked intelligently, looking around him as if to make sure Shikamaru was actually talking to him and not someone else. Finding no one else that could be the obvious target for Shikamaru’s words, he gave him a vaguely blank stare for a moment before asking uncertainly, “You are Shikamaru Nara… aren’t you?”

Shikamaru gave an audible, long-suffering sigh. “As if you don’t already know…”

“Um… I’m not sure how we got off on the wrong foot already. I didn’t think I was that late…” he took a cell phone out of his pocket and looked at the time on the screen, despite the brown leather watch he always wore being visible on his wrist. “It’s only 1:03… I am sorry I made you wait, though. I really don’t think it calls for dismissing me just like that, though…” the blond grumbled.

Now Shikamaru was the one confused. He sat up attentively at once and inquired, “What are you talking about?”

The blond seemed to consider him for a moment before grinning. “Let’s start over, okay?” With this statement, he stuck out his hand and gave Shikamaru one of the few shocks of his life.

“Hi! Nice to meet you, Mr. Nara. I’m Naruto Uzumaki, your new editor from Loose Leaf Publishing!”

TBC
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A/N: Hmhmmhmmm… what is going on, eh? Some of you may be getting a better idea by now… but maybe not? Heeheehee, well, some answers will be coming soon… hopefully I can keep the suspense up, though. I don’t want things to fall flat once some mysteries are unraveled!

Thanks for reading this latest installment. Please let me know your thoughts in a review, and don’t forget the rating button! And, as always, if you want to be put on the mailing list for updates, just let me know.

&hearts

~ lg