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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
- 4
- 5
- 6
A/N
at the end of the chapter

Chapter
Two: Unexpected Guests

Sasuke
did not turn to Naruto, he kept looking straight ahead, not at the
newspaper, as Naruto had first thought, but at some point far away,
apparently unmoved by the encounter.

Naruto's
pride was hurt, and he did his best to appear as calm as Sasuke,
though of course he was surprised and excited beyond words.

“What
are you doing here?” Sasuke asked, and Naruto wished that he
had been the first to ask this question. “Shouldn't you be
training to become Hokage?”

Naruto
straightened. “I am buying a newspaper, as you must have
noticed yourself”, he replied.

“You
travel far to purchase a simple paper, don't you think?”

“You
have to, nowadays, if you are looking for reliable news of Konoha.”

Naruto
shook off Sasuke's hand that was still lying on his shoulders, took
the newspaper out of the rack and went into the shop, leaving Sasuke
staring at his back. Sasuke had not expected this reaction from
Naruto though what he had expected he did not know. He had seen
Naruto walking to the newspaper shop and decided that to form any
plans about how to get at that Danzou and the old advisors he needed
some information, and that he might get this information from Naruto.
Also, though he would not have admitted this to himself, he was
really curious about what Naruto was doing here.

In
the meantime Naruto was, as he had pointed out to Sasuke, buying the
newspaper with the Hokage tower on the title page. I should have
taken him with me into the shop, he thought while he was searching
for change. He may be gone by now. But pride kept him from turning
his head: He would show Sasuke that he could appear just as cool as
him. Only when he had already paid for the newspaper he remembered
that his original intention had been to buy the Morning Messenger,
however the shop-keeper assured him that there was also a festival
programme in the paper he had just bought.

Sasuke
had waited for him – for a second Naruto allowed his relief to
show on his face, then, seeing Sasuke's stern, expressionless face he
hid his own joiy and tried to appear calm.

“Just
for the record”, he said. “I am still planning to become
Hokage.”

Sasuke
smirked. “Are you also still trying to drag me back to Konoha?”
he asked. “Because if you are not, I might invite you for a
drink.”

It
took Naruto several seconds to find an answer: “I am not a
girl. I can pay for myself.”

“You
may pay for the food”, Sasuke replied.

Naruto
hesitated, then he realized that he had not promised anything to
Sasuke and that he simply could not let this opportunity pass.

“Deal”,
he said, and Sasuke answered, his features relaxing for the first
time during their conversation: “My team is sitting over
there.”

Naruto's
heart sank when he heard these words. Kakashi had mentioned to them
that Sasuke had probably founded a team of his own, but he had
repressed this knowledge: Sasuke had found new companions, he
realized, and maybe he now regarded them as his friends... (It did
not occur to him that back in Konoha he had a lot of other friends
too, and that even here he had already found some new acquaintances,
even though he hesitated calling them his friends.)

Wooden
tables and benches had been put up on the market place by now, and
Sasuke's team had found itself some places in the vicinity of one of
the main stages, the second biggest one in fact. They had found
themselves some food too, balls of dough fried in hot fat, covered
with powdered sugar and some liquor that even looked sweet –
the very essence of everything Sasuke found disgusting, and he
thought that his team, too, should eat more healthy food.

“We
would have bought some for you too”, Karin said. “But we
did not think that you would like it.”

“It's
okay”, Sasuke answered. “I have been invited.”

“So
you have managed to persuade your acquaintance from Konoha to join us
and to pay for you food in the bargain”, Suigetsu observed.

“Sure.
He used to follow me over the whole continent - now he had just to
cross the market place.”

Naruto
felt irritated and insecure, as it happens when one joins a
conversation that has begun before one has been present. These people
were not just Sasuke's subordinates he realized – there was
enough trust among them to allow them to make fun of him. Also he
wondered why Sasuke had chosen a child for his team: A boy of some
twelve years, the same age as Konohamaru, the same age he and Sasuke
had been when they had been made genin and forced to work together.

“I
am not his acquaintance, but his friend”, he told the three
strangers, meeting sceptical looks from the two adults, but
astonishment and admiration from the boy.

“May
I introduce?” Sasuke said. “Juugo, Karin, Suigetsu –
this is Naruto, my friend from Konoha.” He turned to Naruto:
“Let's get some food and drinks for ourselves.”

He
headed straight away to the next food stand, but Naruto suggested to
have a look around before they bought anything, much to his relief,
as the food they sold at that stand was foreign and unknown to him,
and it smelled of fat. He followed Naruto to the next stand, and then
to the next and the next, stopping not only at the food stands but
also at stands where people sold wooden toys, or soap made from
herbs, cheap jewellery and old records. There were also more stands
run by clubs and initiatives but Naruto took care to keep Sasuke away
from the one where they sold condoms spread over fruits.

Sasuke
had soon lost his sense of direction in the maze of narrow streets,
between colourful stands, confused by a variety of smells, by the
music that was now being played on all stages and that had merged
into an assonant cacophony once it reached his ears, but most of all
by the crowds around him which at some points were so thick that it
was almost impossible to pass through without touching anyone. He
wondered why other people did not mind it – Naruto did not seem
to have any problems with it either.

“What
do you want for a drink?” he asked him in a vain attempt of at
least appearing the one who was in charge, but Naruto refused to
answer: “First choose your food”, he replied. “They
sell the same drinks everywhere.”

Sasuke
had to admit that this was true, yet he found it difficult to decide
– there were all kinds of food, traditional, modern and
foreign, but whatever it was, it was sold in some oily, fatty version
that made him sick. Only when they had returned to the market place
from the other side and when Sasuke was on the point of asking Naruto
to simply go to a shop and buy some food there, they found a stand
run by an initiative of single fathers where they sold some home-made
salads.

“Now
you choose your drink”, he told Naruto.

Naruto
decided for a drink with a strange outlandish name, which, as he
explained, consisted of a mixture of lemonade and beer.

“We
are not legal yet”, Sasuke reminded him.

“Normally
on these festivals I sell beer”, Naruto replied. “There
is not much alcohol in the mix, and it's refreshing and not too
sweet.”

Sasuke
gave in. He felt a bit stupid at the side of Naruto who seemed to
know everything about this town and the festivals they held here, and
who moved comfortably in the middle of crowds of strangers that to
him, Sasuke, were scary after so many years spent in the company of
only a few people. He gave Naruto the money he needed to pay for the
drinks and left it to him to order food and drinks (and pronounce the
foreign names.) He was glad when they returned to his team –
surrounded by people he knew he felt more confident.

Careful
not to be noticed he looked at Naruto, who was sitting next to him.
Well at ease, as it seemed, effortlessly connecting to strangers and
now making smalltalk with Suigetsu and Karin – Sasuke just
hoped that they watched their mouths, not as when he had arrived with
Naruto, when Suigetsu had spoken as if there had been anything
remarkable about Naruto following him to their table.

“So
have you seen the parade?” Naruto asked. “How did you
like it?”

“We
only got to see the last carts”, Karin answered. “We did
not expect it, and we first did not know what to make of it, but then
it was quite interesting.”

“You
did not come for the parade? But it's famous! It attracts a lot of
tourists from neighbouring towns and even from other countries. At
least you will get to see the festival now – it lasts until
ten, otherwise the neighbours will complain. Not me, though I also
live here.”

“Where?”
Karin asked curiously.

“In
one of the side streets... The Shoemakers' Lane, just around the
corner at that jewellery shop... Where are you staying, by the way?”

“We
don't know yet”, Suigetsu answered. “Our captain tends to
forget about mundane matters as this.”

“But
you should. On a festival weekend as this it's almost impossible to
find anything. The whole town is full of tourists.”

“We
don't plan to stay overnight”, Sasuke said. “We will buy
new provisions, and then leave.”

Naruto
saw the change of expression on the faces of Sasuke's companions:
Annoyance on Karin's, anger on Suigetsu's, open disappointment and
sadness on that of the young boy's whose name he had forgotten.

“You
can stay at my place”, he offered.

Sasuke
froze, but Suigetsu looked triumphant.

“That's
a very generous offer”, Karin said. “It's very kind of
you to invite us even though you hardly know us.”

“But
we certainly won't decline your offer, as it saves us from a great
inconvenience and allows us to spend the day at the festival and
enjoy it to its end.”

The
young boy was beaming.

Naruto
glanced at Sasuke, who was looking down at his food, certainly
burning with anger, and desperate about his impotence. His companions
did not seem to care about him.

“Do
you know more about this festival?” Karin asked. “What's
going on everywhere?”

“Oh,
sure I know”, Naruto answered and produced the newspaper from
his backpack, Sasuke's eyes following him as a hungry dog's eye may
follow the movements of his owner's hands when he is eating a
sandwich with some meat on it. Naruto opened the paper in the middle,
looking for the festival programme. Soon he had found it.

“Here
it is all listed”, he told Sasuke's team, and Sasuke too, if he
had been listening. “Music until ten, dancing, theatre, clowns,
jugglers, pantomimes, whatever your heart desires.”

“What
kind of music?” Suigetsu asked.

“Oh,
everything. On the stage over there it's rock, at the front of the
town hall celtic folklore, then there is a stage where they play the
greatest hits of the last decades, one with punk music, in the
subterrain of the town hall it's jazz, and in the corner between the
main temple and the town hall, where it is a bit more quiet than
elsewhere, it's traditional music.”

He
looked at Sasuke, wondering whether this last point would get him
interested, but Sasuke remained as unmoved as ever.

“Is
there a list of bands that are playing?” Suigetsu went on.

“You
won't know them”; Naruto answered, passing him the newspaper.
“Most of them are locals, just starting their career. In the
evening some of those who have managed to become famous beyond this
town are going to perform.”

Suigetsu
read the programme with interest, at least he managed to give himself
the appearance of reading it with interest, as if the names of the
bands meant something to him. Sasuke wondered how contrary to himself
Suigetsu had managed to learn something about music at Orochimaru's
place. Or he had heard a lot of music before he had been imprisoned.

“What's
going on here?” Karin asked, pointing to the stage next to
them, in his and Naruto's back.

“Oh,
here there will some dancing”, Naruto answered. “They are
already putting up the floor.”

Sasuke
had thought that it was a carpet being rolled out, but it was not
dark red and soft and woolly. It was smooth, a light brown, and the
pattern imitated that of parquet.

“Let's
stay here”, Karin said. “It may be fun.”

A/N:
I know that not much is happening in this chapter, so I have decided
to post it today (well, it is a holiday), and to post the next
chapter on Sunday, and then to return to my usual rhythm...

msuzumaki:
Thanks for your comment! I hope
this chapter answers your question...

Sneakyfox:
Thanks for your compliments!
It's been great fun for me to describe that metropolitan setting that
is familiar to me, but strange to our boys – and for Sasuke
it's worse than for Naruto... And yes, better not trust Sasuke...

Midnight
Essence: Thanks
for trusting me... You made me look up the Snowflake Method by Randy
Ingermanson and begin to use it for the story to see whether I really
know where the story is going. I have a lot of notes, and a lot of
ideas in my head, but they are not very systematic. Now I have done
the first two steps of the Snowflake Method, and I think that I know
where the story is going, but I will use the Easter holidays to do
the other steps of the Snowflake too, to get some clearer lines into
my story...

ItaNarulover:
Thanks again for your compliments! Being no native speaker myself, I
simply cannot use any really complicated words. Sometimes I fall in
love with this or that fancy words, and use it more often than it is
advisable, but most of the time it takes me some effort to think of
the best word, the one that expresses exactly what I want to tell,
and then I often settle for the second best one.

Well,
yes, this chapter has answered what Sasuke is doing there...

As
I explained, Sasuke's real plans concerning Konoha are still a
mystery to me. But what I am even more worried about is the fate of
Jay; if Sasuke has killed him for good, he has crossed the line to
being evil imo. But learning that Killerbee is still alive gave me
hope that Jay is not dead either.

Concerning
Itachi, I don't approve of what he did, and I think that Sasuke has
the right – and the duty! - to form his own opinion on
political matters (even when I disagree with him) and not just do
what Itachi wanted him to do. He is sixteen now, older than Itachi
when he murdered the clan.

Well,
and yes, I wrote The
Canalized River :Blush:
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