Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Crimson and Clovers	By : TheSirens Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 998 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
Pheme- Happy Valentine Day Everyone!!! Here is the next chapter hope you like, this chapter is kind of like a filler, but it shows you a bit more or Ren�s personality as well as Sasuke and Naruto�s faults. OOOh I don�t want to spoil it so I�ll stop talking. Well I hope you all got some sort of treat today, if not here is my gift with all my love attached. Oh and thanks to:
Anonfood: for catching the mistake
Cheshire666: for the heads up! Sadly the trip was canceled but because it was I now get to go to BrazilYAY!
And to all the lovely reviewers who commented about the story I love reading your thoughts.
�Blah� � Talking
�Blah�- Thinking
�Blah�- Kyuubi or Houkou talking
♪Sairen♪- scene change
♫ Flashback♫- the end or beginning of a flashback
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Chapter VIII: The Rain Will Hide Your Tears
Ebony eyes watched the leaves create their own dance, the wind their only support. The feelings of relaxation were too foreign for his mind to comprehend. Sasuke eyes followed the simple movements of the leaves, their simplicity calming him. He certainly could give this village points, for in some manner no matter what he did, somehow he was always at the point of exhaustion. The ex-Konoha shinobi had trouble remembering a time in the last few years where he been expired in both body and in soul.
But today wasn�t any other regular day.
Taking a deep breathe in, Sasuke closed his eyes again, this time hoping for the relief labeled sleep. In reality, the once respected dark-haired shinobi had done absolutely nothing today, a rarity if anything. Yet his body begged with every fiber of its being to be able to sleep. The old mansion represented everything he strived to forget, the memories that haunted too many of his dreams and the single promise created that day.
Yet things change.
Opening his eyes, Sasuke resumed his gaze on the dancing leaves, particularly watching a single leaf struggle to escape the confines of its branch and finally elope with the teasing wind. Unlike the struggling leaf, he had escaped and fled to the deepest and darkest parts of the world where no one could ever find him.
Or so he thought.
Or so he wished.
Yet maybe deep inside he wanted to be found, and the girl with the moon-colored hair and eyes like icebergs, filled to the brim with warmth, did just that. She found him, and others followed. In his darkest lair hands had captured his body and promptly placed him back onto the tree, knowing Sasuke wouldn�t be able to survive, but the hands and the girl prayed, believed and...
�And I�m thinking too much about this fucking leaf.� Sasuke thought to himself, wondering if he could burn away the irritating leaf and not kill Kakashi or burn down the tree. �Sacrifices have to be made.� Lifting his hands from behind his hands, he brought them to his chest, his chakra already preparing for a technique his body knew all to well.
�SASUKE-TOUSAN!� The shrieking of his name brought all desires of burning the whole tree down and Kakashi with it to a halt. Swiftly turning his head, eyes scanned the few viewable parts of the road between the overgrown hedges.
The glimpse Sasuke caught of Ren was enough to tell him she was all right physically. But as she jumped over an overgrown shrub, Sasuke could only presume years ago had been a rose bush, he realized her shout hadn�t been one out of fear, but one desiring the protection of her father.
♪Sairen♪
Ren ran across the lawn as fast as her little legs could carry her, yet her hunter was not far behind. While the first, what she would forever claim to be an �accidental�, trip had only made Naruto punish her by making her carrying home the shopping bags from the food market, Ren could admit she may have gone a bit too far with: making a tree branch fall on him on the path, snakes down his shirt and pushing him into a river when he blocked her view of a deer.
And, while she could admit it, didn�t necessarily mean that she would. After all it wasn�t entirely her fault that the tree branch just happened to break under the pressure of her leap. Naruto didn�t need to be standing right below it. Nor was it her fault, that the branch she swung down from to see if he was all right just happened to be filled with pissed off snakes. And just because he had received a few nibbles from the snakes, did not mean he had any right to block her view of the cute deer.
�Sasuke-tousan save me!� Lifting her arms as high as she could without being dragged by the weight of the bags, Ren put all her energy in trying to make the last few steps. Maybe she had annoyed Kami sometime in her past-life or maybe Naruto simply happened to be better than he appeared, either way before being able to use her father�s body as a shield, a tanned hand grabbed the neck of her kimono and brought her up into the air, and straight into the sight of one pissed of jinchuuriki.
♪Sairen♪
Naruto narrowed his eyes at the girl, her wide smile and kind eyes hardly affecting him. Sasuke pushed himself up from the ground, watching the two to see when one would break. The innocence Ren reflected on her face contrasted nicely with the sour expression on Naruto�s face. His blonde hair caked with mud, making it appear brown-like rather than blonde, puffy red snakebites graced his neck and arms, and his clothes were shredded. The blonde in fact seemed like a terrible monster who had nicely succeeded in capturing his prey. But with one look past the faces, one could tell Naruto meant no real harm, and Ren was rather pleased with the blonds overall look after her so called �accidents�.
�Naruto.� The instant Naruto turned his eyes away from Ren to look at the man calling his name, in such a manner that chills coursed down his back and blood started to pump faster into one particular organ, Ren found her chance to escape.
With her hands already free from dropping, the bags during her captured, Ren nimble fingers furiously untangled the sash. Lifting her arms, Ren easily slip out of the borrowed kimono, landing on the ground in a graceful plop. Like any good kunoichi-in-training, her chest was bound in white cloth, contrasting with her legs tightly packed into black spandex.
Not letting a second be wasted of Naruto�s distracted state; Ren pushed her legs forward, moving rapidly towards the backdoor of the mansion. As realization of his escaping prey bore in, Naruto twisted his body wanting to follow Ren and would have too, if a gloved hand on his chest hadn�t stopped him.
�Naruto, you can�t go in to the house we spent hours cleaning all muddy. You�ll ruin our work.� Kakashi explained evenly, believing his words to be true. Even if only his clones had actually been the ones to clean the house, Naruto didn�t know that.
Looking past the silver haired jounin, Naruto eyed the mansion, little trickles of water leaking from beneath the tightly closed windows. Raising his eyebrow, Naruto suddenly became frightened of what to expect when he entered the mansion.
�Really Kakashi-sensei did you dry too?� Kakashi stared at the blonde, the silence enough of an answer for the jinchuuriki. Stomping his way towards the back door, he could hear the slow steps of Sasuke and Kakashi, each step becoming slower at the approaching door, as if they didn�t know what to expect when they entered, nor wanting too.
Jumping unto the wooden planks making up the patio, he crossed the few feet separating the garden from the door, throwing open the door once reaching it. For a second Naruto thought, he simply had succumbed to whatever poison the blasted snakes injected into his system. Slowly as reality settled in, Naruto�s eyes accepting the view, widening at the ruins of what remained of the house.
�What the fuck did you do?!� Naruto shouted, unable to believe all of this mess had ensued in a matter of a few hours.
�We cleaned,� Kakashi, answered serenely, casting one eye over the back part of the house. In truth, he expected a much larger mess with everything he had seen from the outside, but Kakashi was a hundred percent certain that Naruto did not want to hear that.
�How, with a Water Jutsu?!� Naruto asked, not entirely serious, but still curious as to how the floor seemed to be flooded with around less than an inch of water at the shallowest point, and how even the ceiling was dripping water unto his head, as if it were rain and there was no roof to cover the Uchiha mansion.
�Yes.� A straightforward answer was not what Naruto expected to hear, turning his head towards Sasuke, who simply watched the blonde as if he had done nothing wrong. Noticing the growing anger in the blonde, Kakashi came up with an idea that he would have patted himself in the back for if it wouldn�t have looked odd.
�Well I think we should go and start dinner Sasuke, we wouldn�t want for Naruto and Ren-chan to starve to death.� Kakashi stated in a happy tone, his wide grin hidden beneath his mask, obviously forgetting the pair had already eaten with Iruka. Grabbing Sasuke shoulder, he veered the ex-Konoha shinobi away from the wrath soon to explode.
Watching the pair head towards what Naruto could only assume was the kitchen, he still felt the need to yell about their stupidity. Mixed in with the anger the blonde felt traces of astonishment run through his veins. He never would have believed Sasuke could be capable of making even the tiniest mistake. Yet here now the dark haired shinobi finally revealed his weakness, proving the perfect Sasuke everyone thought him to be, was nothing but an illusion.
In swift movements of his hands, Naruto preformed all the signs he needed to summon his clones. Following the last sign, a puff of smoke billowed around Naruto. Swept away as fast as the smoke had appeared, four clones were revealed, ready and waiting for Naruto�s orders.
From her position, on the stairs Ren could hear Naruto�s mumbling about lazy shinobi reading porn and broody men who thought they were obviously too good to do simple cleaning. Drowning out the blondes rant, Ren took in the second floor. Water dripped from every nook and cranny, just as it had done downstairs. Old pictures hung by the skin of their teeth to the walls.
She had been foolish to believe Sasuke could be capable of actually cleaning the house. Ren had been the only one to really see the amount of layers the house possessed, and even to her the idea of cleaning such a massive house seem incomprehensible. If anything, her father was lucky that the house wasn�t made from paper doors and tatami mats, for the cleaning style the two had used would have easily destroyed the house beyond repair.
Opening the door of the closest room, she walked carefully, trying not to slip on the lake covering the wooden floor. Surveying the room, iceberg eyes caught sight of the perfect cleaning instrument. For a second she considered finding at least a shirt to wear while she cleaned, but dismissed the idea since she didn�t want to dirty it while cleaning. Instead, she reached into her weapons holster, glad that Sakura had attached it before she left the hospital, and pulled out a black cord, which with quick hands soon kept her hair out of her face.
Sliding to the bed, Ren stripped it of its sheets, throwing all the dust she could into the air. Little holes were scattered throughout the surface of the blanket, most likely due to hungry moths that lived her for the period of Sasuke�s disappearance. Caring less about the state of the blanket, Ren quickly bundled it up, as tightly as possible, before following Naruto�s decision and cleaning up the room.
♪Sairen♪
Ren stretched her arms as far as possible, a cracking sound resonating through the hall, before she stopped. Pacing a small hand over her mouth, she covered a yawn, her body tired after the amount of cleaning she just finished. She had had no idea cleaning five bedrooms and three bathrooms would have been so bad, but each of the rooms were so huge, Ren became positive that one would try to swallow her.
Padding down the stairs, she looked around the rooms pleased with the sight of cleanliness instead of dirtiness that old house one possessed. She was impressed with Naruto�s way of cleaning; from her position in the stairs, Ren could tell he had not missed one spot.
Moving away from the stairs, Ren spied Naruto around the corner of Sasuke�s house slowly making his way around the living room. Ignoring him, Ren continued walking around the large house until she heard the murmurs of the one-eyed man and her father. Following the noises the pair made, she came to the kitchen door, her eyes widening with fear. Ren knew Sasuke was incapable of preparing even a simple sandwich without burning it to a crisp somehow, thought he never revealed why or how. Ren�s fear of Sasuke�s cooking, which he performed whenever the cook for Orochimaru�s lair took days off, forced Ren to learn how to cook as fast as she could.
Besides her fear, there was another purpose to Ren�s desperate need to be able to cook, and that involved her father. The basic fear of Sasuke�s cooking, was just that, a basic fear, but deep inside Ren�s heart she truly feared that one day Sasuke would become so troubled by her, and her inability to take care of herself that he would just leave her, forever. The fear of being left alone soon became a constant theme in her nightmares.
Gathering up her courage, Ren opened the door, prying into the room that seemed surprisingly clean.
�Watcha doing Sasuke-tousan?� At the sound of her innocent, voice both men turned, surprise written on their faces, even if it was trying to be suppressed. In fact the two men looked just like children who just been caught trying to steal cookies before supper. As if they had read each other�s mind, both older men immediately moved to cover their attempt. Yet Ren had seen it even before she had spoken. The large pot boiled angrily, with carrot sticks, un-skinned potatoes and celery, all sticking out of it. If anything had been cooked, it would have simply been the bottom of the vegetables.
�Sasuke-tousan you promised you would never cook again!� Ren complained, her eyes tearing up more from the foul odor the pot emancipated, then actually being upset. Kakashi sent a smirking smile to Sasuke, finding it hilariously funny that an eight-year-old girl would be reprimanding one of the strongest shinobi Konoha once had to offer, not to mention the heir of the Uchiha�s.
�And you, mister scarecrow man, why did you let him?� Ren asked Kakashi, her glare now focused on him. Scratching his check with one finger, Kakashi tried to remember how they had come to this point.
�Told Naruto we would cook�I can�t cook�Sasuke can�t cook�we just placed whatever shit we could find into the pot and watched the water boil.� Pleased with his deductive skills, he opened his mouth to respond to Ren�s question, but the glare Ren obviously learned from Sasuke stopped him. Looking to Sasuke, a similar smirk was pasted on the Uchiha�s features, and the look in the dark eyes seemed to be bragging about victory and screaming �Told you so�s.
�Seems this is my cue to leave.� With a wave and a wink, Kakashi teleported away, leaving only in his place a large puff of smoke.
Ignoring the disappearance of the shinobi, Ren left the kitchen, coming back only a few seconds later dragging a chair from the dining room. Plunking the chair beside the boiling pot, she sprang unto the counter. Taking a dishcloth, she grabbed the handles of the pot, and slowly walked to the sink, being extra careful not to let the pot touch her skin. Coming to the sink, Ren dumped the boiling water and vegetables, watching the steam rise rapidly when it encountered the cool sink.
�The Uchiha symbol suites you Ren.� Shocked iceberg eyes met ebony ones at the compliment. The shirt she had found in the final room she cleaned acted like a dress on her body and she chosen it for the simple fact that it was clothing. But, realizing she wore the crest of the Uchiha clan between her petit shoulders, somehow made Ren feel closer to Sasuke. The simple compliment�.his approval�.made her almost feel like his real daughter.
�Thank you.� Ren finally said, her mind still hazing with the idea that Sasuke might think of her as his real daughter, instead of a child he�d been forced to take care of. Noticing the solemn look lacing Ren�s visage, he did something Itachi would have called as weak, and probably making several of the Uchiha roll around in their graves.
The touch of warm lips on her forehead surprised Ren, and seconds later, the feeling was gone, but Ren swore she could still feel his symbol of love on her forehead. Patting the top of her head, and sending a small smile, to her expression, Sasuke pivoted away, walking out of the kitchen.
Letting go of one of the handles, of the already cooled pot, she brought her hand to her forehead, her fingertips hovering over the spot he kissed. A broad smile spread across her cheeks, until she remembered the mess she had to fix.
Looking at the semi-cooked food, Ren tried to find anything that was remotely salvageable. Whether she should have been thankful, or troubled at the fact that most of the vegetables Kakashi and Sasuke had attempted to use, could still be used, she wasn�t entirely sure. But there was one thing she was sure about.
�Guess I�m winging it tonight.� Releasing a sigh, Ren placed the pot back unto the stove, before climbing down her chair to find the rest of the ingredients.
♪Sairen♪
Splayed out across the wooden planks of the patio, Naruto tried to remember the last time he had cleaned so much.
Yet nothing could even compare to the Uchiha, both his old apartment and the new one he shared with Sakura were small, and even during his prankster days the largest clean up punishment had been the getting rid of the graffiti on the Hokage Monument, courtesy of himself.
Taking a deep breathe, the blond shinobi stood up, attempting to prepare himself for the upstairs rooms, but the aroma of a familiar dish erased all ideas of continuing his cleaning spree.
Sniffing the air, Naruto followed the aroma to the place he figured Sasuke and Kakashi had disappeared too. One of the two had to be responsible for the heavenly aroma and he planned on finding out which one, but the second blue eyes peered into the room, he was surprised to see neither Kakashi nor Sasuke, but instead Ren, preparing the meal he had been drooling over.
Naruto watched Ren move from one side of the room to the other, either by walking across the counter, or moving the chair from one place to the other. But at the moment her silly dance was not the center of his attention, the crest on the back of her shirt was.
The Uchiha fan. The fan he had seen for most of his life. The same fan that he had ran after for the last few years, always dieing to catch another glimpse of it, even for just a nanosecond.
And now, after all those years, the fan danced across the kitchen across the small shoulder of a demon child, like himself, with no knowledge about the genocide that had occurred involving the very same people who had worn the symbol barely ten years ago.
�The food isn�t ready yet.� Ren simply said, not even turning around to look Naruto in the eye. With his cover blown, Naruto entered the kitchen, finally taken in a huge whiff of whatever the young girl was cooking.
�It smells good Ren.� At the compliment, Ren turned around trying to hide her shocked expression. No one had ever told her that, the cook at Orochimaru�s said it wouldn�t kill anyone, and everyone ate it without complaint. Even Orochimaru had eaten her cooking, up till the point where she had laced laxatives into his meal, that is.
�Thank you Naruto-san.� Saying the blondes name sounded odd in her ears, but she ignored the feelings as she stepped off her chair, moving it to the side where the pot steadily boiled its water. Blue eyes looked to where Ren had been seconds before. Somehow, Ren had found a cutting board, and while most of the vegetables had been cut, there still remained a few to finish.
�I can cut these for you.� Turning her head to see what Naruto referred to, Ren gave nod, the only sign Naruto needed before a knife was in his hand, and the sound of chopping filled the room.
Watching out of the corner of her eye, Ren felt a sense of uneasiness. Maybe it came from the fact that she knew this safety and freedom wouldn�t last forever, or maybe it came from the fact that she slowly was starting to look to others to depend on, besides her father. Months ago, she would have laughed at the idea, but in a matter of a few days, Ren had changed from a girl who tried to be as independent as possible, to one who was starting to need people. But it wasn�t possible for her to change� was it?
Tossing a few specks of pepper into the broth, Ren jumped down from her chair, ready and able to forget her confusing feelings and take over Naruto�s job. She didn�t need anyone to help her. She was the daughter of Sasuke Uchiha, and even related only by name, Uchiha�s never required any type of assistance.
�These in here, right?� Looking up, the tall figure stood at her side, one hand holding the cutting board with sliced up carrots and onions. With another nod, iceberg eyes watched the slices slowly fall into the boiling broth.
�Why are you so different?� The sudden question perplexed Naruto, forcing him to take a few small steps backwards to fully take in the petite child who had just asked such a serious question.
The pitter-patter sound of rain hitting the kitchen window, allowed him to stall a few moments. Blue eyes turned to the window, the new rainfall starting unexpectedly, each raindrop slowly make its decent from the darkened heaven to the dehydrated earth, slowly up each drop as if its life depended on it.
�Different how?� The question he wanted to have so much power behind it ended up coming out in a nervous tone. Ren stayed silent for a moment, her iceberg eyes gazing at the same drops of rain as the man beside her.
�You seem like a person who would do anything if asked. You�you aren�t selfish. Why?� Naruto though about her words for a moment, trying to think of a time that would easily prove Ren wrong. The more he thought about it the more he was convinced she was wrong. He was selfish. In fact, he probably was the most selfish person in the village. He had used Sakura�s promise that he would bring back Sasuke, so that he could have his friend back. Naruto hadn�t really cared all those years ago what Sasuke�s goal had been, that day on the waterfall all he had wanted was to bring the dark haired shinobi, the last of the Uchiha home, whether Sasuke liked it or not.
�I am selfish Ren. I�m selfish and weak. I�ve always wanted to prove myself, to be respected, to be stronger than the rest. If I could become Hokage, it would prove that I wasn�t weak, that I wanted to protect the village. But there are days I want to destroy this place, days that I would wish I had left the village a long time ago.� Naruto stopped, his voice cracking with anger and regret. He wasn�t even sure if Ren would understand, even as smart as she seemed to be.
�Do you still want to become Hokage?� Opening his mouth to give his automatic answer, Naruto forced himself to stay silent, unsure of the answer to the question he had answered millions of times.
�What was your mother like Ren?� The question had been to divert the attention on his lack of answer, but as seconds passed by Naruto�s curiosity grew. Shifting her eyes for the windowpane to the boiling pot, Ren brought back the memories of her mother; the ones stored away deep in her mind.
�She�she was beautiful. She always had to look her best, but she never could walk a few feet before somehow tripping. She laughed a lot, and she was always singing something. Every single night she would sing me to sleep. I didn�t know about the experiment till we were taken away from the house and thrown into a cell. My friends were all dead by then. But my mother, no matter what, stayed braved and she even sacrificed herself so that I could live.� Her voice spiked with the few words, tears blurring up her vision. Using the back of her hands Ren tried to hide the tears, but her attempt was ineffective as the tears finally streaked down her cheeks.
Looking around for any type of cloth, Naruto found one on the counter next to him. Pressing it to Ren�s hands, he waited patiently, debating whether or not he should stroke her head or pat her back�or something! Even after years of dealing with crying women, he still felt weak around their tears. Seeing the pain laced in with every teardrop had Naruto wishing Orochimaru would make his appearance right at this moment so he could kill the lunatic.
Once Ren could control her tears, iceberg eyes returned to the windowpane, the streaking rain a copy of what had occurred on her face moments ago.
�Wanna know something?� Curious blue eyes observed the young shinobi in front of him, glad that for the moment she was happy, even if her voice sounded strained.
�Hmmm� Taking his Sasuke-like response as a yes, Ren tried to word the saying correctly, not wanting to mess up such an important piece.
�I always remember my mother saying one thing, �when it rains a change is coming. Whether it is good or bad, it�s a change and you have to accept it.� She was right, you know. On the day I was born and the day Sasuke-tousan took me in as his daughter, the sky poured. Both of those days are my happiest memories.� A smile graced Ren�s once sorrow filled expression, and Naruto couldn�t help but smile with her.
Standing behind the wall, Sasuke stayed silent, unsure of how to respond to such a declaration. This was worse than anytime when a village or shinobi girl would approach him, eagerly confessing their hearts expecting him to reciprocate immediately. But Ren wasn�t just another one of those annoying girls, she was his daughter.
�So what does your dad look like with out clothes on?� The question that Sasuke knew only Naruto would ask, in doing so also ruining an important moment between the last of the Uchiha�s and his daughter, had Sasuke crashing into the kitchen his face beet red.
�Why in the fuck would you ask that?� Blue eyes stayed wide open, shocked at the abrupt appearance of the dark haired man. With all his heart, Naruto tried not to laugh, but the response to the question had been much better than what he had accepted. �And who said the King of Pranks was dead?�
�You�re really acting out of character, you okay teme?� The fake concern easily seen through, with the blonde�s teasing tone and tense lips, trying to keep in as much of the laughter as possible. Naruto tried to look as serious as possible, but his attempt easily defeated because of his bug-eyed expression, and puffed out cheeks that easily told the story of his defiance to laughter. The blonde had even dared to use a term he had only heard a few times in the last few days, and even though Sasuke would never admit it, he had yearned for this connection between their insulting names for months.
Ren looked from one shinobi to the other; unsure to what was happening around her. �Maybe it�s that male rutting thing Akamaru told me about.� Cocking her head, Ren thought about it, before unconsciously adding oil to an already boiling flame.
�He�s naked.� With her answer given, she turned away from the shocked looks and reclaimed her chair. Lifting a spoon, she poured a small amount of the soup into the tasting dish.
Peals of laughter sprang from the blonde�s mouth. Naruto gripped the counter as tight as he could, trying to keep himself upright, even with even if his uncontrollable laughter hardly helping the situation. Sasuke, not finding the particular situation funny, continued on the path of turning his face as red as a tomato, maybe even a strawberry. Whether his new condition was from anger or embarrassment all he knew was that he would somehow have to kill the blonde.
�Dobe.�
The single word paused Naruto�s laughter, opening his blue eyes laced with tears, he stared at the dark haired shinobi in front of him, and not even the infamous Sasuke glare could stop Naruto�s laughter from returning, as seconds later the giggles were once more pouring out from the jinchuuriki lips.
�Dinner is ready Sasuke-tousan.� Ren announced, trying to be heard over Naruto�s roaring laughter. As if the off switch had been pressed, the laughter instantly stopped at the mention of food, and ravenous hunger kicked in.
�It�s soup.� Naruto commented, surprised a winter meal had been made during the summer.
�Soup is a nice treat on a rainy day, and if you are going to complain you can�t have any.� Ren proclaimed lowering herself and the pot to the ground before waddling to what she presumed was the dining room.
�I wonder if she will be able to reach it?� Naruto wondered. If the kitchen counter had caused some difficulties for Ren, Naruto knew, from cleaning the dining room, that she would have the same amount of problems with the table. The moment Ren called out to her father, Naruto knew she had discovered her obstacle.
♪Sairen♪
Naruto lay in his new bed in such an unfamiliar room that the Sandman refused to come any where near him. To say he been happy when Ren proclaimed the upstairs clean was an understatement. He had worried so much about when he would have the time to clean it before the would all go to bed, that he had wanted to hug Ren as tight as possible even with her indifferent attitude.
What had been a bigger shock to Naruto came when Sasuke stated he had taken care of placing new linens on all the bed, placing towels in the bathrooms, and placing everything dirty outside so tomorrow they could be cleaned. After the disaster of attempting to clean the old house, Naruto doubted Sasuke could be capable of doing anything in the residence, but like always when dealing with the heir of the Uchiha�s, he been wrong.
After the tense dinner, were the conversation stayed stiff, and each answer consisted of a single word, all three separated to their chosen room.
Refusing to step anywhere near his old room, Sasuke made a decision to take over his parents room, after all, his nightmare only came around whenever Itachi stopped by for a visit. With Sasuke�s old room abandoned, Ren became the prime candidate for its usage, and closed the door even before a goodnight.
This left Naruto to choose one of the three remaining rooms.
The blonde ended up picking the room closest to Sasuke�s bedroom due to his mission to stay as close as possible to the Uchiha before it crossed personal space issues. But deep down, Naruto prayed the room he chose had not once been Itachi�s. What Naruto did not know was, thankfully as a child Itachi slept in the room the furthest away from everyone, as newborns always needed to be close to their mothers.
And now, in the strange room painted a creamy light blue completely the opposite of his obnoxious and loud orange room, Naruto kept tossing and turning in his bed. The roaring of thunder warned Naruto of what was soon to come.
He cursed himself for not being able to fall asleep earlier, leaving little chance of avoiding his irrefutable fate. Naruto knew there would be no way to avoid it, the chance of him finding sleep in the next few seconds ran close to zero percent.
The seconds passed by all too soon and finally the lightning flashed casting shadows all over the walls. Naruto sent out a wish to whatever Kami wanted to hear his plea. His plea of wanting this light to stay forever and never leave, but he knew the impossibility. The second the light from the lightning disappeared, complete darkness took over the room, causing Naruto to bolt from his bed, throwing his sheets into the air in dismay.
His feet pounded down the stairs quickly trying to escape the darkness cast over the entire house. The glimpse of light caught Naruto�s attention, forcing him to turn his sights onto the kitchen, running towards it as if being chased by bulls.
Compete darkness happened to be one of his worst fears, rooted to his childhood, and one he had never overcome. Tonight, incidentally was the first time in many years that he had to face the utter darkness. Usually, the streetlights provided Naruto light during the dark parts of the storms, and even if the power went out, he always had a candle ready and waiting. But today, had been the first time where nothing could drive away the darkness. The everlasting darkness, where not even light could penetrate, a deep abyss were demons stayed trapped, with no hope for salvation.
Bursting into the kitchen, Naruto�s chest moved rapidly, his blue eyes wild with fear. �Did you see a ghost?�
The voice appearing out of thin air became the final straw for all of Naruto�s nerves. The release of his scream could have easily deafened anyone in a five-foot radius. And the moment Naruto returned to his senses he searched the room franticly trying to find the owner of the voice, praying that it really wasn�t a ghost. After the entire day, last thing Naruto needed was to live with a ghost.
Clad in a shirt obviously two sizes to big, Ren sat at the table Naruto was positive hadn�t been there before. Sipping the steaming tea from the teacup she had discovered when had snuck down here earlier; she turned to Naruto, his breathing laborious with the amount of screaming and running he had just done. Opening her mouth to ask why he had screamed, the words didn�t even reach the air, before Sasuke sauntered into the kitchen, a deathly glare being sent to the other occupants of the room.
�Who screamed?� The question held an air of authority, Sasuke wanted answers, the quicker the answers came the quicker he could go back to sleeping.
�Naruto saw a ghost.� Ren stated, finding the situation rather amusing now. Sasuke turned his head towards the blonde, who was still working on catching his breathe.
�A ghost?� Sasuke asked, trying to hide his disbelief and mirth behind a disinterested mask and a raised eyebrow.
�It�.wasn�t�a ghost�� Naruto gasped out, breathing in large quantities of air slowly bringing his breathing level back to control. �It was�something else�a bad dream.� The excuse was weak, and all the occupants in the room could tell.
Sasuke gazed into Naruto�s eyes, finding the fear the blonde tried to hide from his face. It was the same fear Ren had noticed on Naruto's face the moment he exploded into the room. Something frightened the blonde to the point he had snapped at her question. And even thought Ren knew she shouldn�t, deep down she felt worried for the blonde. For the first time he seemed breakable, the same way Sasuke looked like whenever Orochimaru would mention the name �Itachi�.
�Dobe�� Sasuke began, stopping as he realized he had no idea what to do. With Ren, it was easy, all he had to do was hold her in his arms until she stopped crying about Uta, or the continuous dream of the ruby red moon, but Sasuke wouldn�t dare try to offer the same comfort to Naruto.
�Sasuke-tousan I�m tired now.� Remembering Ren still sat in the room Sasuke turned back to her the moment her small pink mouth released a yawn.
�Would you like me to tuck you in then Ren?� The question was a standard one, always varying in answers, most of them being �yes�s�, but this time was different. Ren shook her head at his question, a plan slowly weaving itself into her mind.
Raising an eyebrow at the moon colored hair girl, Sasuke waited for an explanation. But Ren ignored his curiosity and instead grabbed each of the two�s hands, pulling them away from the kitchen only allowing Sasuke enough time to flip the switch, turning off the lights.
With the light gone, Naruto�s hand instinctively tightened around Ren�s, giving her a possible idea of what was going on, but if she really knew she stayed silent. The rain created a rhythmical tune as the trio walked up the stairs and were dragged straight into the room Sasuke had claimed, the only one Ren knew contained a large bed.
�I couldn�t go to sleep because of the rain.� Ren said, as if this was her answer for the final question asked in the kitchen. Pulling the two men to one side of the bed, she dropped their hands and slipped into the bed with ease, her mouth releasing a series of yawns, proving her need for sleep. Glancing at the two, a small smile was sent their way before she closed her eyes, easily eased into asleep.
�I should go.� Naruto whispered, wanting to be part of the family relationship that had sprouted between Ren and Sasuke, but already feeling like a foreigners just by merely observing the connection the two shared.
Turning around, Naruto made a move for the door, but the pull of his shirt stopped him. Cunning little Ren had tightened her fist around his pants once she had dropped his hands, almost as if knowing such an event would occur.
�She wants you to stay.� Sasuke whispered back, slipping into his bed, in the same graceful manner as Ren had. Looking between the clenching fist and the door, a sigh escaped his lips. Being with the two wouldn�t be any different than being alone. His fear still hung in the air, slowly closing in on him, and it would be long before he would break down again.
But damn it to hell! There was no way he was he going to allow Sasuke to see his fear, he could see the smug smirk that probably was on Sasuke�s face right now. Naruto knew Sasuke would make some sort of comment if he tried to leave, or if he stayed. One way or another he knew the Uchiha would find humor in it� if the bastard had a funny bone in his body that is.
Laughing at his own joke, Naruto climbed into the bed, taking the other spot next to Ren. �You�re daughter sure is something, teme.� Naruto muttered, have decided he would wait till Sasuke had become a victim of sleep before sneaking back to the kitchen, finding a candle, and returning to his chosen room to wait out the entire night, all the while trying no to suffocate on the overwhelming darkness.
�Just go to sleep dobe.� Sasuke said, his eyes dropping slowly.
�Night teme.� Naruto answered, unsure why he suddenly felt so sleepy. In a matter of moments the blonde had become the second victim of the Sandman.
Turning to face the other two sleeping in his bed, the sudden flash of lightning revealed the peaceful sleeping face of the two people Sasuke seemed to have the strongest connection to.
�Goodnight Naruto.� Sasuke said, his mind temporally leaving all thoughts about the next few months, Orochimaru, and even his brother far behind. For just tonight Sasuke would dream of the life he could have had.
Both men finally fell victims to sleep. Neither noticing when a pair of small warm hands wrapping themselves around one tanned hand, and a pale one. The lightning flashed again, as if to provide proof of the small smile gracing Ren�s lips.
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Pheme: I hoped you all liked it, I�m soo starting to love Ren, though I don�t believe it is possible to hate a character. So because of the long weekend to come, I�ll have a lot of time to workon the next chapter (since I�ve already started, so look for the new one by around a week or less from now. Thanks a lot to my BETA Ebony, I�d so be lost with out her. And if anyone is waiting to see Itachi or Kisami sometime soon expected them in one of the next two chapters. Now remember to REVIEW! (Yes I do know it is no longer Valentine's Day, but humor me ^ ^)
And Now a little chat added in by EbonyWolf:
Naruto- just wondering when you�ll be able to slip ina lovely lemon with me and my dark-haired mystery man??? Hmmm!
Sasuke- Baka! Don�t sound so excited! She�ll get there eventually.
Naruto- huffs- I was just wondering
Sasuke- oh yeah and dobe? Call me you dark haired mystery man one more time and I will have to kill you: D (evil smile)
Naruto: Hehe
Godda love those two, now review as your gift to me for valentine day!
- 7
- 8
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Crimson and Clovers