A Darker World

The days leading up to his birthday were fun for Konohamaru. The five days fell into the simple pattern of train and then play. Hide and seek became a popular game, especially when Naruto and he would transform. Of the three of them, Inari was probably the best at spotting their transformation. He had a knack for it that he couldn't really explain which sort of annoyed Konohamaru.

When the actual day of his birthday rolled around, Jiraiya gave them the day off from training and the three of them spent the morning playing hide and seek in the woods. By lunchtime the sky had turned an ominous dark gray color, completely blocking out the sun and Tsunami insisted they play inside for the rest of the day.

The three of them went upstairs to play. They had a couple of hallway races and played a game called Stop which had been a favorite at the House. One of them would be it and stand at one end of the hallway and turn around so he was facing the wall. The other two of them would either walk or run towards the third. The person who was it would turn around and the other two would have to stop. If either of them moved so much as a muscle when the person who was it was looking at them, they would have to go back to the other end of the hallway.

That was how they passed the time until they heard thunder and ran to Inari's room to watch the storm. Rain started to fall as they climbed up onto the desk to get a better view. He and Inari sat directly on the desk while Naruto leaned against the desk behind them. For a while, they watched the rain slash at the waves that were increasing in size and becoming choppier. After a few minutes Konohamaru started to feel a little uneasy.

“Hey, Inari is your house safe? I mean it's built over the water.”

“Yeah it's safe.” Inari said shrugging, “The pylons are embedded in the bed rock.”

“Um, what does that mean?”

“Oh right.”Inari smiled sheepishly as he held up his hand horizontally. “This is the mud underwater over my house.” Using his other hand he put a finger between his other fingers. “The pylons are the poles that suspend my house over the water. They're driven into the mud until they hit the rock under the mud and are drilled into that. It makes my house more stable than the ones on shore.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah,” Naruto spoke up from behind them “you're smart Inari.”

Inari’s cheeks reddened at the compliment. “I'm just saying what my grandpa told me.” Then he added in a rush, “We don't have to worry about storm surges either because of all the islands behind us and the fact that the mainland is so close. The storm would have to come in at a really weird angle for that to happen.”

Konohamaru smiled, thinking he could tease the other boy a little more. “And what is storm surge?”

This time, the question caused Inari to hide his face in his hands which caused Konohamaru to laugh. When Inari looked back up his face was completely red. “Sometimes if the wind keeps blowing in the same direction it makes the water pile up on shore like a really high tide.”

There was a flash of lightning that drew their attention back to the scene outside and Konohamaru heard himself say, “Awesome! I've never seen a storm like this.”

“We get these all the time. It's a little early in the season, but it looks pretty typical to me.”

He nodded at the other boy's words and watched the waves. They were kind of hypnotic and after a few minutes he muttered, “I'm kind of thirsty.”

“Yeah, me too.” Inari said to no one in particular.

“I'll go ask Tsunami if we can have something.” Naruto offered before turning and leaving the room.

As they could hear Naruto going down the hallway a thought occurred to Konohamaru and he voiced it with a sigh. “I guess we won't be camping outside tonight.”

“Yeah, there's no way my mom would let me camp out in this.” Inari finished quietly.

Konohamaru shrugged. “I've camped out in storms before, but it's really no fun…” he trailed off with the last word realizing they wouldn't be able to mess around like they did last time. He had hoped Naruto and he could do something special for his special day too. Actually, he was hoping to do something with just Naruto for a while. The two of them hadn't had much alone time unless they were training. Maybe tomorrow he could talk Naruto into ducking out on some of their training before Inari showed up.

“Are we friends?”

Inari's question had broken into his thoughts and was so unexpected that he looked over at the other boy in surprise. “Yeah, at least I think so. I've never had many friends so I really don't know.”

“Then why did you want Naruto to hurt me!”

The other boy had raised his voice with the last two words which caused him to shrink away. “I didn't do that.” Konohamaru's voice was weak and confused.

“Yes you did.”

“When?” Konohamaru demanded, recovering and getting angry about being falsely accused.

“When we were camping,” Inari answered looking back out of the window.

It took Konohamaru a moment to realize what the other boy was talking about and when he did he felt a little awkward. “I'm sorry,” he said quietly feeling a little guilty as he thought back about his own first time.

He had still been at the House at the time and he had been feeling confused. Everyone around him had been having sex so, in a way, he felt like he was sort of an outsider. There was a small part of him that wanted to be like the others, but at the same time he was scared. Most of the time there wasn’t a problem with the clients, but sometimes there was a problem. Some of the stories he had heard scared him and he really didn't want to do that sort of thing. The looks he received when he passed some clients in the hallway or when he was doing his time as a waiter made him feel uneasy. It wasn't like he couldn't imagine what they were thinking. Lewd comments and people who simply couldn't wait to get to a room had provided him with ample examples.

At the same time, though, he was curious. Sex had seemed to be fun too. Some of the others had paired off and sometimes a group would even play a game like he had with Inari and Naruto. However, his fear and inexperienced automatically had banned him from joining in those games. Even now he could remember being curled up in his bunk, hearing a game going on in the game room and knowing he wouldn't be welcomed. It hurt to be excluded.

Konohamaru couldn't really pinpoint when he had decided to do something about it, but the idea that it would have been anyone else besides Naruto for his first time was inconceivable. Even before they had started to have sex he had always enjoyed being around the blonde. It wasn't simply because Naruto was keeping him away from the clients, he had always just liked being around the other boy. It was weird how he could be having a completely miserable day and then Naruto would be there and he would be happy. Perhaps stranger was when Naruto was having a bad day he seemed to be able to cheer him up. The blonde always seemed to be happy on the outside, but he had a six sense for telling when the other boy was upset and somehow he could make him always feel better.

Setting up the actual situation for his first time had been simple. He had kept his internal debate to himself, but once he had set his mind to it, it wasn't hard to set up. Konohamaru had waited until he had clean up duty. It was a simple job that basically involved cleaning up a room after the clients left. Changing sheets and taking dishes away was the bulk of the work.

Towards the end of the shift, he had convinced his partner that he could finish the rest of the rooms by himself. They had happily agreed. Quickly dashing through the remaining rooms, he ended up waiting outside the room he knew Naruto was in. When a pair of clients left the room he had pretended as if he was cleaning the hallway, and after a few minutes had gone in.

That was when his plan had hit its first and only snag. Naruto hadn't been as willing as he thought he would be. At first, he got angry and then he tried to talk him out of it. He even tried to complain he was too tired to do it now, but Konohamaru knew him too well and Naruto never tired. He had insisted and argued and finally he had sworn him to secrecy.

His first and their first real kiss had been something. He had pecked the older boy on the cheek a few times, but when their lips had met it was nothing like that. He had been left tingling all over and at that moment he would have done anything Naruto had suggested. They had gone slowly and all the way. It was an experience that Konohamaru couldn't forget. In the days leading up to the moment he had played out different scenarios in his mind and his fantasies had fallen far short of reality.

It wasn't perfect, his inexperience saw to that, but Naruto had been perfect. Once he got past his initial reluctance, the older boy had been gentle and kind. Naruto had explained as they had gone along, both with his words and his actions. When the other boy had been inside of him for the first time it was a little weird, but at the same time it felt so right. After all of that, though, they had simply lied there together for a long time. They had talked and sometime during that conversation one of them had said that they loved the other. Konohamaru couldn't remember who had said it first and that was the only detail he couldn't remember, but he did remember that it hadn't been so much as a realization as simply putting his feelings into words.

As he thought back on his own first time, a fresh wave of guilt washed over him. Shifting uncomfortably, he was quiet for a minute before adding, “I guess I got carried away. I forgot that I was really scared to do it for a long time too.” Then he perked up and said in his defense. “Still, Naruto is really good at it and it feels great. I just wanted to share that with you.”

Inari looked over at him and said stunned, “You’ve actually done that?”

“Well yeah.” He felt a grin spreading across his face. “It's really nice. Well, it's really nice when Naruto does it at least. I've only ever done it with him. It feels so good he ask me to do it to him sometimes, which I don't like all that much, but it makes him happy.”

The other boy slowly turned to face him, his head cocked to one side. “You're serious. Doesn't it hurt?”

Konohamaru had to think about that for a moment. “Well, it's never hurt me when I do it with Naruto, but I know other people say it does.” As he thought about it, the only time he had ever heard someone complain was when they did it with a client, but he couldn't say for sure.

“Really? What does it feel like?” Inari asked shifting nervously on the desk.

“Wonderful,” was the first and only word out of his mouth. He wanted to say more, but he didn't know where to start. The physical feelings were so odd and unique he didn't know how to describe them. Perhaps even stranger were the other feelings he felt that he didn't know how to describe. When he was joined with Naruto like that he felt safe and complete, but he didn't know how to tell that to Inari.

Thinking back on that night, he said apologetically, “I thought you were having fun.”

This time it was Inari's turn to be uncomfortable. “I was having fun. It was weird, but it was fun. I was a little embarrassed to be naked at first, but after a while it was exciting. I felt like I was getting away with something and then, well, I just thought that you wanted to pick on me, but Naruto didn't seem to like the idea, so I was confused.”

This time Konohamaru blushed. Naruto had always protected him and he had let himself get carried away. Still, it wasn't like Naruto was a client or anything. Needing to say something to stop his thoughts, he asked, “What did you like the most?”

Inari looked away, clearly embarrassed and that only made Konohamaru want to know more. He nudged the other boy who said in a strained tone, “Well, at first I thought it was disgusting, but I kind of liked when we kissed. Just the beginning and not when you pushed me over.”

He chuckled, “Yeah, I like kissing too.” Then a thought occurred to him and he asked, “You want to try doing it again?”

Inari’s laugh was nervous, but he said, “Sure.”

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto bounced down the stairs wondering if he should give Konohamaru his present now or wait. He decided he would wait and headed for the kitchen where Tsunami was staring at the kitchen window. She didn't seem to notice that he was there so he coughed which did draw her attention.

“Naruto,” she said his name with a smile “can I help you?”

He smiled back, wondering why he always liked when she smiled at him. “Could we have something to drink? We are kind of all thirsty.”

“Of course,” she said heading towards the fridge. A minute later she handed him a plate with three glasses of iced tea on it. “Can you carry it up by yourself or do you want help?”

“I got it.” As he took the plate he moved the glasses closer together into the center and held it up with one hand balancing it. “It's just like busing tables,” he said flashing a grin and turning around to go back upstairs.

Naruto hummed to himself absentmindedly as he climbed the stairs. He was happy. Actually, he was happier than he could remember being in a long time. His training was going well and Konohamaru and he had found a friend. It was fun playing with Inari even if it was cutting into his and Konohamaru’s alone time. Briefly, he wondered if they could cut out early on their training for a little so they could have some special alone time.

The morning after they had camped out he had worried that Inari would be upset with Konohamaru, but both boys seemed to put the incident behind them and he quickly followed suit. Even though he didn't want to remember, his first time remained vivid in his memory. It was something he had tried to protect Konohamaru from, and for the most part he had succeeded. He had made sure that Konohamaru didn't do those sorts of things with the clients and it kind of stung that his friend had allowed himself to get carried away like that. Still, no harm had been done.

When Naruto had left Inari’s room, he hadn't bothered to close the door so when he walked into the doorway he saw the two kissing and froze. He watched for a second, stunned. The two were going at it enthusiastically, and unlike last time Konohamaru wasn't dominating Inari. This time it didn't seem like a dare or a joke.

The two boys continued to kiss for a few more seconds, which felt like minutes to Naruto. Then they broke apart, Inari gasping for air and Konohamaru smiling. He noticed Naruto standing in the doorway and smiled, “What did she give you?”

It took Naruto a second to remember that he was holding their drinks and he muttered, “Iced tea.” He wanted to ask what exactly they had just been doing, but it was obvious what they had been doing, he just didn't know why.

As he opened his mouth to say something he heard Jiraiya shout from downstairs. “Boys come down here.”

The three of them glanced at each other. None of them had ever heard that tone before. Then the spell was broken and the three of them raced downstairs. Jiraiya was standing in the kitchen along with Tazuna, who were both soaked to the bone. Then an unfamiliar smell reached his nose and it took him a second to find Monkiibijinesu standing off to the side, his fur soaked.

“Everyone listen up. He's coming,” Jiraiya spoke in the same voice he used before and Naruto found himself stiffening in response to the tone, if not the message. “Naruto turn on all the lights and everyone else go into the room where I've been sleeping and wait, I'm going to intercept him.” He waited for a heartbeat and then shouted, “Move!”

It took Naruto a second to understand that he had been given a task to do and then he burst into action, running upstairs and flipping on any light switch he came across. When he went back downstairs, he saw that Monkiibijinesu was standing guard in front of the doorway to the room. The monkey stepped into the hallway to let him pass. Lightning flashed and for a second the lights dimmed in the room before brightening again.

Konohamaru ran towards him as soon as he entered the room and hugged him tightly. Naruto squeezed him back, finding comfort in the gesture. He looked around the room to see Tsunami hugging her son tightly as they both crouched on the floor with Tazuna leaning over both of them protectively. For a moment, he found himself staring at them. In an unusual moment of clarity, he understood they were trying to protect what was important to them as best as they could. Mother protected son, father protected daughter. So who would protect them… Jiraiya? Maybe, he still wasn't sure if he trusted him or not. Well, Konohamaru had at least one other person that would protect him.

Naruto tried to push the other boy away, but he held fast. “Konohamaru, let go.” His voice was calm and maybe that was why Konohamaru loosened his embrace as he looked up at him. He led him over to the wall, pushing him against it. Putting his hands on the smaller shoulders, he pushed down as he knelt with them. Leaning forward, he kissed his friend’s forehead and said, “Stay here.”

The boy looked up at him confused, scared and speechless. Naruto had to smile at that rare sight as he stood back up. Turning around, he headed for the doorway, stepping past Monkiibijinesu as he took a position in front of the monkey.

“Hey, I can't protect you if you're standing in front of me.”

“I'm protecting Konohamaru.” Naruto stated in a flat tone.

Monkiibijinesu chuffed and then stepped in front of him. Naruto watched as he plucked a hair from his arm, and with a small puff of smoke transformed it into a kunai. He spun it around his fingers so the blade was in his palm and held it out to him, “Here, it's the only weapon you're familiar with right?”

“Yeah.” He took it, his fingers wrapping around the handle and he could feel its almost familiar weight. He didn't really know what he was doing or even how he was feeling right now, but he would continue to protect Konohamaru. Even if the boy didn't feel the same as he did, he loved him.