The Red Light District by arichang (v.arianne@gmail.com)
Genres: Romance, Angst, Tragedy
Pairings: Sasuke/Naruto, Neji/Hinata, mentions of miscellaneous others
Warnings: Shounen-ai, yaoi, incest, adult themes, angst, lemon, language
Disclaimer: Characters and names all belong to their respective owners.
Language Notes
A haori is a hip- or thigh-length kimono coat worn to add formality; originally reserved for men.
A yukata is a casual, summer kimono; it literally means “bath/bathing clothes”.
- - -
CHAPTER TWO – STRANGERS MEET
Naruto breathed in the night air as he took his routine evening walk. Looking up at the sky and noting how beautiful the stars were, he let his mind wander as he usually did—it really took too much effort to focus on any one thing for too long. And, besides, it was a little too depressing thinking about the present. Naruto liked being a happy person—in fact, yes, he considered himself very happy.
As far as he knew, he had grown up pretty much alone. At least, he felt that way. It was all he ever knew, after all. He remembered nearly nothing of his life before Konoha, and the only family he knew of was the one that was there. He knew he was fortunate to have run into Jiraiya, and he knew he owed him a lot—albeit, Naruto would probably rather hang himself before he admitted that. He had friends, important people whom he could trust. And who, in return, trusted him.
And so, even though he was alone… he was very happy.
He stepped on a twig and the cracking sound seemed to resonate through the whole garden. He paused. He was happy. He was fortunate... he had food, a roof over his head. People accepted him, liked him... wanted him. They acknowledged him and his existence. He was happy. That was all he ever really wanted. He was happy. Wasn’t it?
Well then, if he really was happy... why in the hell did it feel as if something was missing?
Naruto sighed. He looked down and bent over to grab an interesting looking stone. After observing it for a while, he threw it into the pond of koi fish on his right. The sounds of the koi fighting over the rock, probably thinking it was a piece of bread or something, drowned out the calming sounds of the trickling waterfall.
Naruto cursed his selfishness. There was something fundamentally wrong with him, wasn’t there? How could he of all people have the right to complain? How could he dare say “something was missing”? If anything, he deserved to be punished. He was a monster. A demon. He knew that... more than anyone else, he knew and understood that. And yet... he insisted to be selfish?
Naruto sat down on the ground, bringing his knees to his chest and continued to watch the koi, some of them finally realizing that food would not be the outcome of the meaningless fight.
He was going to hell, wasn’t he?
He shut his eyes.
She’d cried that day. She was probably trying to hide her sobs, but he’d heard them. He was standing outside the bathroom door, thinking about knocking and asking if she was alright, when he heard them. He’d heard her crying.
She was crying.
And she was crying because of what he did. He’d wanted to embrace her, apologize and ask her if things could go back to the way they were... but he couldn’t. He’d wanted to stay with her, do whatever she wanted so he could somehow make it up to her... but he knew whatever he did, he could never give her back what he took. In the end, he was a coward. He’d left her behind in that cold room. When he closed that door, he’d leaned on it and he heard her start crying again. He had slid down to the ground, tears forming behind his closed eyelids... he’d wanted to cry, too.
He was a monster.
If only he had controlled myself. If only he’d managed to walk away, or if only he’d managed to convince her... to stop her... If only he’d stopped himself from... from... Oh god. If only... if only...
“Naruto-teme, you have a guest,” Konohamaru’s voice interrupted Naruto’s downward spiral. Naruto smiled to himself, thankful for the distraction. He looked up to see the younger boy looking down at him with a less than pleased face. Naruto grinned.
“You need to watch how you address your elders, kid.” Ironically, he was starting to sound like Jiraiya.
Konohamaru eyed him. “Who you callin’ kid?!”
Naruto laughed. Somehow, Konohamaru reminded him of himself only a few years ago. After dusting himself as he got up, he ruffled Konohamaru’s hair, causing the boy to grumble.
“Now, now. Is that anyway to talk to your master?”
Konohamaru growled. “Just wait and see, teme. I’m going to surpass you one day,” he shouted after Naruto. “Soon. Yeah... I’ll be the star! I’ll surpass you!”
Naruto smiled. Yes, he did remind him of what he was like four or five years ago. Konohamaru was loud and obnoxious, but he was a good kid and he had a kind heart which he liked hiding. He was also one of the most ambitious and determined people Naruto knew. In his heart, Naruto hoped that he would never “surpass” him—it was not a fate he wanted Konohamaru having. Sure, it sounded great being number one and “the most sought after”... however, it didn’t feel very good. In more ways than one, really.
Naruto paused in front of the main building, prepping himself for the ordeal he was about to face. He hoped it wasn’t someone too overbearing. He was rather tired and he wasn’t exactly in the mood. He never was at this time, anyway. In fact, he was actually a bit surprised that he had a job. Usually, Jiraiya would let him have this time of day off, if only for an hour or two. Then again, there were affluent guests that Jiraiya could never refuse—especially if they were scantily clad and long-haired.
Naruto slid the door to the main building open and stepped into the noise. He looked up to see Jiraiya writing on the big brown ledger, a tall woman with dark clothing next to him. Naruto stilled, and stared at the woman wide-eyed. It took him a while to realize his mouth was hanging open and he shut them, rather embarrassed. It was her: the beautiful woman he’d seen before. Once again, Naruto felt his heartbeat grow erratic. There was something about this woman that made him feel... different. An instinct told him she was dangerous; that something was not what it seemed to be. That same instinct also told him that this woman was to be his guest for tonight. He didn’t know whether he dreaded it... or was excited by it. What he knew, however, was that he was definitely intrigued.
It didn’t take long for Jiraiya to notice Naruto’s approach and he welcomed him with a broad grin. He introduced Naruto to his guest who simply nodded without saying a word. Naruto didn’t fail to notice that no name was given—just “your esteemed guest tonight”. It wasn’t the first time it happened; there were women he’d catered to before that had reputations and the like to protect... however, for this particular woman, he’d wanted to know her name.
He was walking in front of her now, leading the way to their room. She had yet to say anything since they met—nor had she even touched him. This confused Naruto a little. Nothing of the like had ever happened before. Usually when women came to see him, he couldn’t keep them off him. There he was walking normally, and there she was behind him instead of all over him. It felt just a little peculiar—really only because he was unaccustomed to such civility—as far as Naruto was concerned.
They reached their room, still with no word of conversation having once passed between them. Naruto opened the door and allowed his guest to enter first, bowing. She nodded her appreciation—or at least, that was what Naruto figured it was—and walked straight to the table in the middle of the room. She sat down on one of the cushions and looked around, as if taking in her surroundings.
Naruto couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was a virgin. Maybe this was her first time... or something. Well, as far as he could tell, this was definitely her first time in a brothel. She didn’t act like she knew what she was doing, unlike all the women Naruto knew frequented not only the Konoha. The strange, quiet woman continued looking around and Naruto saw her eyes finally rest on the stove and pot in the corner. Naruto shrugged.
“Would you like some tea?” he asked, more because of habit rather than actual concern for the thirst of his guest. The woman looked at him and nodded, still not saying a single word. It unnerved Naruto just a little bit.
He made his way to the stove and found there was already water in the pot. He started the fire to boil the water and opened the cabinet above the stove to get the tea. He considered asking the woman which kind of tea she wanted but figured he would probably only put her on the spot by asking her a question that couldn’t be answered with a nod. He didn’t feel like making the awkward atmosphere any more so. Besides, he wanted to have some green tea—he couldn’t risk her choosing something else.
He placed two tea cups on the table, eliciting yet another nod of appreciation from his guest. A few minutes later, he came back with the teapot. He sat down and prepared her tea first and then prepared some for himself. He watched as the strange woman looked at the tea, blew on it, and drank it slowly. After a few sips, she lowered the cup. Naruto couldn’t help watching her over the rim of his own cup the whole time. There was something about the woman that intrigued... that interested... him. Something about that woman drew him in—he wanted to know more about her.
She was beautiful. From where he sat, directly opposite her, he could not see her features clearly but he could tell she was beautiful. Well, it was more of a feeling than anything else. She wore what appeared to be a thick haori over her dark kimono—her robes were all more or less black, lined with greys. It was strange to Naruto the way her skin seemed to be completely covered. Most women, when visiting a brothel, did not bother dressing up. They were satisfied with perhaps a simple yukata; something that was much easier to take off. However, all he could really see of her was her hands and her face which was covered with both shadow and her long, thick, raven bangs—in other words, practically nothing. However, he could tell she had flawless, pale skin which probably extended throughout her entire body. But, more than anything, he wished to get a good look at her face. He felt an urge to push those bangs aside but stopped himself. He never made the first move and he wasn’t about to change that right now, regardless of the fact that he yearned to. It was strange… but he actually wanted to touch her; if only to see what it was like.
Three cups of tea later, and still nothing really happened. Naruto was not one to complain, really, but... it unnerved him. It was fairly right to say that Naruto was not very attracted to a lot of women, therefore the fact that she wasn’t all over him was indeed welcome. However, he still felt as if there was something wrong... if anything, it felt as if she planned on only having tea with him this whole time. That… couldn’t possibly be right.
He watched as she took a relatively long drink from her glass. She had strong-looking hands. They were smooth and pale like the rest of her—or at least, Naruto imagined it so—but they looked strong and... experienced. Naruto idly wondered what it would be like to be touched by those hands.
He paused, half-way through a drink. He’d never wanted to be touched by anyone before… so it startled him to realize what had just gone through his mind. For a strange moment, it almost felt as if he’d wanted her.
Suddenly, the woman rested her cup on the table and stood up. Naruto stood up by instinct and was surprised when she bowed to him and started making her way to the door. Naruto stared for a while, rather speechless.
“Y-You’re... leaving?”
She didn’t turn around, but opened the door and shut it quietly behind her. Naruto stared at the closed door for god only knew how long. He wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened.
- - -
He was holding a body in his arms. It wasn’t moving. Why? Why wasn’t it moving?
It felt like he was watching an old movie where the frames skipped every now and then. Everything was black and white, he couldn’t really see anything, he didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know who that body belonged to. All he was certain of was the beast that was threatening to suffocate him.
His breathing was laboured, he couldn’t move—something was squeezing, strangling his heart. Then, something that closely resembled panic slowly started to surface. He felt beads of sweat slide down his forehead.
He said something. He wasn’t sure what it was, but...
He was scared. Fear was gripping him, choking him.
How in the hell should I know, dobe?! My body moved on its own!
Then, anger.
Pure, white hot rage.
Naruto tore his eyes open and woke in a cold sweat. He gripped his sheets and tried to regulate his breathing once more. It took him a while to finally calm down, and he fell back into the comfort of his warm futon, closing his eyes once more.
He sighed.
This was no way to start another day. He turned to his right to watch the sun rise through his window. It was beautiful today. He could see the pinks of the clouds, and stray beams of light through the rooftops of the rest of Tokyo. He sat up once more and leaned his head out of his window, breathing in the sweet morning air and letting the breeze blow all his nightmares away.
He’d had nightmares every night since he started living here, he was used to them. However, it had been a while since he’d had that particular dream. He closed his eyes as he remembered the feel of unadulterated fury and hate coursing through his veins. He felt his heart start beating quickly and excitedly once again. The anger brought with it some sort of strength—a strength to seek revenge. He shook his head. He had no idea whether these dreams were just that: dreams. Maybe he’d heard too many stories as a child…
Or, perhaps they were memories.
If they were memories, what were they of?
Who were they of?
Naruto sighed once more. He had no time to think about this. He had things to do... and people to see.
Soon, Naruto’s daily duties took precedence and his dreams rested once more, as they always did, at the back of his mind.
- - -
Throughout the day, the strange woman was all he could think about. Had he done something wrong? Was she—god forbid—discontented? He’d never displeased a client before, nor had he ever left anyone unsatisfied. However, what bothered Naruto the most was not the fact that his pride and reputation seemed at stake, but the fact that he himself felt somewhat... unfulfilled. As if there was something he should’ve done, but didn’t. It frustrated him.
Naruto was spacing out, once again letting his thoughts wander off to a place away from the here and the now and was interrupted by the unmistakable voice of Jiraiya. As irritated as Naruto was, he couldn’t help but be surprised to see who it was that followed him.
A few minutes later, he found himself once again sitting in front of the strange, black haori-wearing woman, drinking tea.
This time, Naruto didn’t even bother hiding his confusion and stared pointedly at her, hoping that she would say something. However, an hour passed without anything happening at all. Naruto was ready to pull his hair out in frustration. What exactly was it that this woman wanted? A tea drinking partner?
The woman suddenly looked up from her tea and raised an eyebrow as if asking him why he was staring at her so. Naruto turned away, a bit taken aback by the sudden contact their eyes made. He never did forget those dark eyes—they were deep, as if they saw things no one else did and as if they took in everything around them. Whenever those eyes were on Naruto, he couldn’t help feeling as if someone was looking at him without his clothes on. Something he was used to, of course, but it felt uncomfortable nonetheless. Naruto was mortified to realize he was blushing.
Then, a noise surprised him. He turned his head once more to face his guest, a look of complete shock plastered on his face. Had she just... snorted? Yes, it was unmistakable. His guest was smiling. It was a small, somewhat hidden smile—and one that resembled a smirk more than anything else—but it was there. Naruto’s eyes grew wide.
As if realizing what she was doing, his guest started sipping her tea cup once more, perhaps to hide her smirk.
“Wh-What’s so funny?”
Nothing.
Naruto sighed. “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do here, lady.” Forget the training Jiraiya gave him, and forget politeness and courtesy. The woman was lucky Naruto hadn’t jumped her in his frustration yet.
Wait. Jump her? Why would he want to do that?
“But, honestly, at least, say something to me.”
Nothing.
“Well, you know, if you don’t start talking, I will.”
She brought her cup out as if to ask for more tea. Naruto obliged, watching her carefully for any sign of change. Nothing, absolutely nothing. Naruto scratched his head.
“Seriously, lady, you’re the weirdest customer I’ve ever had.”
Jiraiya would’ve been appalled to hear Naruto call her “customer” in her face.
She looked up and tilted her head, smirking and eyebrow raised, as if to challenge him. Naruto stared at her. Still, her face was shrouded by her dark locks, but the curve on her lips was unmistakable. Perhaps Naruto was only imagining her eyebrow being raised… but she was definitely mocking him. He could feel it.
Finally, he smirked back.
They watched each other for a while. Naruto didn’t know why he couldn’t look away... it felt as if she wouldn’t let him.
Then, all too suddenly, she rested her cup on the table, and stood up as she had the day before.
Naruto found himself staring at the back of a closed door once again. This time, however, his heart beat was irregular.
- - -
The days and weeks that followed were strange to Naruto. He never really knew when she would show up—sometimes in the morning, oftentimes in the evening—but she always did. Every day, he’d sit with her in that same room, doing nothing but drink tea. Eventually, Naruto had gotten bored of the situation and started the conversations himself. He got used to the fact fairly quickly that it was purely one-sided and that his guest, more than anything, seemed like she was mute. His client didn’t seem to mind listening to him rant about his day. And, well, truth be told, Naruto rather enjoyed it.
“And so, yeah, that shougi player I told you about before, Shikamaru, told Ino-buta that he’d found (and fallen in love with, apparently) another woman who was willing to marry him—I think it was some dancer, something Temari or whatever—and now she’s been acting all depressed and crying on Sakura-chan’s shoulder.”
Naruto took a final swig from his tea cup, temporarily forgetting and neglecting all sense of decorum that Jiraiya had bombarded and plastered to his brain as a child.
“You’d think Ino-buta actually cared or something. This whole time she was being indecisive and all. I’m really not all that surprised that Shikamaru person finally decided to drop his proposal.”
Naruto paused.
“But then again, I guess... Ino-buta might really be upset, yeah?”
He sat quietly for a while, lost in his thoughts.
This was how they spent their three hours together, every day. Naruto talked about his day and his friends, while his guest sat down opposite him, drinking tea, and nodding whenever Naruto looked at her, as if giving him permission to continue… as if telling him that she was listening. Needless to say, it took Naruto a while to get used to the idea that someone paid—quite a lot of money, actually—to listen to him rant... but since she never complained nor said anything at all when they got into the room, he didn’t mind.
In fact, unconsciously, Naruto grew to look forward to meeting his strange guest. It was really only with her, in that dimly lit room, that he could unwind and really be... himself, he supposed would be what he should call it. It had been so long since he last sat down, legs crossed and drank tea without worrying what his guest would say. It had been so long since he last just talked about what he felt and thought and actually be listened to. It’d been so long that, in fact, he could not quite remember when the last time was. No matter how he thought about it, it felt as if she was the first and only person to ever have listened to him like this.
Hinata-chan and the others were excellent companions. However, he didn’t feel as if he could confide in them. They had problems of their own, after all. And he still felt much too ashamed to approach Hinata-chan and have a heart to heart conversation with her. Perhaps it was because this odd woman was a complete stranger. He knew, though he was unsure how, that she wouldn’t share anything he talked about to the one person that could get him into trouble—Jiraiya. He was also certain that nothing spoken of in this room would ever leave it. Yes, perhaps it was because she was completely unrelated to him and his world that he felt comfortable talking to her…
However, that was a lie.
If he were completely honest, he would have to admit that something about her and this whole situation seemed familiar. Rather than a complete “stranger”… she felt like someone he’d met before. Something about their meetings felt nostalgic. He couldn’t quite put a finger on it... but it definitely felt like he’d done this sort of thing before. Somewhere... and with someone.
“What the hell?!”
Naruto groaned as he lost his sixth game in a row. He couldn’t help but twitch an eyebrow at the very apparent smirk his guest had. Perhaps playing poker with a poker-face like her hadn’t exactly been the best of ideas after all. But, Naruto had felt lucky that morning—had being the operative word, apparently. He had brought a deck of cards with him, hoping to break that quiet wall his guest placed around herself. She hadn’t complained when he suggested playing a round or two—and now he knew why. If they’d been playing real money, Naruto would owe her two weeks’ worth of his services. And, really, that was a lot of money.
Naruto gulped, hoping she didn’t think that they were playing real money. He would never be able to explain it to Jiraiya.
“Okay, okay,” he said, gathering the cards together. “I give up. You’re the winner. Besides, I’m broke.”
He sighed as he reshuffled them. “But next time, I’ll win. I promise you that.”
In response, his guest took a sip from her cup. As Naruto watched her, he couldn’t help feeling as if she was laughing at him. A part of him wished he could hear that laughter. Really, why? Why did she not say anything? He knew for a fact that she wasn’t mute; he’d heard her snort that one time. That meant she wasn’t mute, right? And besides, she was able to communicate with Jiraiya to tell him she wanted to see him.
That was another thing. She kept coming back to him—that meant she enjoyed her time with Naruto, right? He wasn’t the only one having fun... right?
He almost chuckled. He was having fun.
That alone was rather amusing.
Naruto continued watching her and once again couldn’t help but think how simply beautiful she seemed. Still, he couldn’t see her as clearly as he wished... but he knew—or rather, felt—she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever catered to. Just thinking about it, his heart started beating erratically once again. He held his chest. What was happening to him? He was changing. For the first time in his life, he wanted to touch someone… and not the other way around. For the first time in his life, he wanted to be touched. But it wasn’t just by anyone… but, by her.
He couldn’t do anything though. No matter how he felt, she was a client—he couldn’t do things that she didn’t want to.
He stilled.
No matter how he felt? What was that?
He looked at her. What exactly was it he was feeling, anyway?
She looked at him questioningly, over the rim of her cup. He suddenly realized he’d been staring at her for quite some time. He needed to stop doing that, seriously. Then, as she always did, she rested her cup on the table and got up.
“Leaving already?” Naruto piped up before he could think.
She bowed to him silently and made her way to the door.
“W-Wait!”
She stopped, but didn’t turn around. Naruto stood up from where he sat and stared at her back. What was he doing?
After a while, it seemed as if she got bored of waiting for whatever it was he wanted to say. She reached for the door, but before she could open it, Naruto was holding her elbow.
“You won six times today,” he said, trying to keep his cool. For the first time, he actually felt... nervous talking to a woman. That was wrong. He was Uzumaki Naruto for crying out loud! He never got nervous. This was ridiculous.
She turned towards him, but did not look him in the eye.
“I think you deserve a prize.”
His hand moved to her chin. It was a strong chin, he could feel it—and the skin was smooth, like he’d imagined it to be. He wanted to stroke her cheek and push those obstructive bangs aside; he wanted to lift her chin up to get a better look at her face… but before he could, she’d grabbed his wrist and pushed him against the wall.
It was a while before his mind slowly comprehended what had happened…
Was he just pushed?
He looked down and was startled to find how close they were to each other. Their proximity, for reasons he did not quite understand, was intoxicating. Then all of a sudden, a cool palm covered his eyes, rendering him blind.
Naruto’s mouth slacked open in surprise, and she took advantage of that by closing the distance between them and bringing their mouths together. The sudden contact surprised him. Furthermore, he couldn’t move—she’d pinned him to the wall... and he could not move. She was surprisingly very, very strong.
But soon, all thoughts blurred. She was kissing him open-mouthed, and he couldn’t do anything but open his mouth for her. Her tongue slid and danced in his mouth—over his tongue, under it, across his teeth and along his palate. She was exploring him, discovering him... and he couldn’t do anything but let her.
His lungs started burning. He didn’t know how long they’d been kissing, but it felt like it’d been an eternity—a blessed eternity of her overpowering him. He needed to breathe, but he didn’t want to let go—partially because of pride, and partially because of the fact that she tasted so good. His blindness only caused him to concentrate on the electricity her tongue was causing to climb up his spine.
Eventually, he managed to move his own tongue and slide it against hers, but still then she took control. She played with his tongue as both of theirs stroked and tasted each other, suspended between their open mouths. Naruto felt saliva sliding down his chin; he felt his heartbeat getting faster and faster. He felt his stomach tighten and he moaned as his lungs continued to burn.
He felt hot—he was burning.
Her tongue was enticingly erotic.
He was losing control… and she was the one making it so.
He—
She let go.
Naruto gulped for air as if he’d been drowning the whole time. In fact, he was drowning—he was drowning in her scent, her smell... her feel. Her everything. It came to him that this was the first time they’d actually touched. He couldn’t think about much anything else: he was too busy panting and gasping for breath.
In the meanwhile, her palm was still over his eyes. He wished more than anything to push them aside and really see her… but he couldn’t move. He just couldn’t move.
She gave him a chaste kiss, and using her tongue to part his lips she reached for his tongue and sucked on it for a while. Naruto wanted to moan for the feeling that simple action gave him was almost unbearable… but he couldn’t. He was too breathless. Then, all too soon, she let go of him again. The darkness disappeared and the door was closed with a quiet click.
He stared at the door, like he always did, still panting and still breathless. His eyes took their time adjusting to the sudden light, though the room was rather dark. His hand went to his chest where he felt his heart beating like he’d just run for his life. Beads of sweat slithered down his head, in his hair... and along his chest. He took another laboured breath and slid down the wall, ending up in a heap on the floor.
His hands touched his swollen lips and shuddered as his mind forced him to recall what had just happened.
Wait. What had just happened?
“Shit,” Naruto whispered to no one in particular.
He wasn’t even given the opportunity to properly kiss her back. He leaned his head against the wall.
It was almost funny, really.
Uzumaki Naruto, the number one and most sought after gigolo in all of Tokyo, had just been kissed breathless and left a puddle of mush… by a woman. It would make the headlines if anyone found out. If he only had his breath in him, he would’ve laughed. Maybe.
- - -
Naruto shuddered as Gaara hissed into his neck.
“You’ve been looking rather happy the past few days, Uzumaki. Is there something you’re keeping from me?”
Naruto pushed him aside. “Of course, I am, aho. What are you? My mother?”
Gaara chuckled and returned to his place behind the desk, reluctantly letting go of Naruto’s waist.
Naruto shuddered yet again. He hated dealing with the guy. True, in more ways than one, he understood him; they were both orphans, after all—of the strange redhead, he knew at least that much. What he didn’t know was why Gaara felt some sort of special companionship toward him. Admittedly, he felt the same… it felt as if there was something the both of them shared; he just didn’t know what.
“So,” Gaara said, looking up from the big, brown ledger of names, “why are you so curious to find out who your recent client is?”
Naruto looked away, trying to hide an inexplicable blush Gaara, of course, did not fail to notice.
“Come now,” he said, raising an eyebrow that wasn’t really there, “she has been returning to you—and only you, might I add—for the past four weeks, every day. Am I to believe you still do not know her name?”
Naruto continued to give the west wall more attention than it really deserved.
“Amazing,” Gaara chuckled. “Maybe women find it a fetish or something. You fuck her, but scream out a different name. Very exciting.”
Naruto stared icily at him.
“Well, anyway,” he said, closing the book, “what you are looking for is not here. But, I will let you know when I do find out something about your mystery woman.”
“Thanks, Gaara,” Naruto said, starting to turn away. “I owe you one.”
“Yes, you do.” Gaara stopped him, right hand latching onto his wrist. Naruto shuddered, and did not even bother to hide the fact that he did. Gaara merely smiled.
“You know,” he continued, “you could always pay me back now, Uzumaki.”
Naruto chuckled.
“Gaara,” he said slowly and clearly, “I’d love to, but... you and I both know that whatever you do, you’ll never be able to afford even ten minutes alone with me.”
Gaara’s grip loosened.
“Dream on.”
Gaara laughed under his breath. He was probably damning Naruto’s arrogance right about now.
Naruto got himself free and waved good bye to Gaara.
“Uzumaki,” he called. Naruto sighed. He wished the guy would just give up. “I know of all people, I do not need to remind you of this, but...” Naruto paused and turned around, eyebrow raised.
“We are not allowed to fall in love, Uzumaki.”
Naruto blinked. Of course he knew that. He laughed. “Don’t worry about me, Gaara.”
He walked away and Gaara watched his back disappear slowly into the garden.
To his right, Gaara spied a light yukata disappearing into a room, dark locks trailing behind it. The redhead sighed.
“It’s not you I’m worried about, aho.”