Trouble in Paradise

A/N: *Walking down the street, reading reviews. Reads Tara’s review and bows head in shame, and collides with telephone pole.* Oh my dear dear Tara! I have to say that you got it all wrong! I’m not giving up on “Our most featured Naruto” I’m just taking a bit of a break right now, surely you understand that. And as dramaelf accurately stated, I’m just not happy about where the story had went for me. But I’m not giving up! If only for you then I wont! I pwomise! I just hope you enjoy this story as much as the other since I’m really liking writing this right now.

My head is still spinning that Rasengan22 actually bothered to mention me and my story! Wow I’m seriously high right now… I love you Rasengan! So so so flattered. Huh…life is good. *Gets hit by bus*

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Trouble in Paradise
By:
terranigma11

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Chapter Two: Love and War


After Naruto ran to the pool, Gaara had been minding his business since then, picking up where he left off on his “Interview with a Vampire” novel. His eyes were aching painfully again. It made it hard for him to read the words correctly though he was wearing his glasses. That was the norm for Gaara Sabaku, the boy who didn’t sleep, couldn’t sleep. Recurring nightmares of his mother’s demise at the hands of a demon raccoon battered his fragile psyche every time he drifted off. So as a result, he never slept. Naruto was the only one who understood him as he was; he knew what it was like to lose family, though for him the memories weren’t so brutal.

He barely flinched when the door slammed open with an angry blond growling at the entrance. Gaara winced at the sting in his corneas. He sighed and placed his glasses and book back down, facing the blond as he breathed harshly.

Naruto was sopping from head to foot, Gaara just assumed it was pool water. Though he couldn’t figure out why Naruto would leave his towel and his shirt, though it appeared the blond had other things in his mind. His body was unnaturally pale, yet his face was unnaturally pink, non-existent flames spewing from his flaring nostrils. Gaara’s eyes went wide when he noticed his friend’s shorts. Though they were obviously wet, there was an unmistakably darker patch on the groin area. Just what had Naruto been doing?

“Naruto, what the hell is -”

“Don’t you dare get started with me Gaara!” He pointed at the redhead angrily, slamming the door shut with his other hand.

Gaara’s eyes widened further comically. “Did you just get -”

“I said don’t!” he bellowed, marching to the bathroom and slamming it as well. Gaara could here him noisily brushing his teeth and taking a shower, grumbling through the walls. Naruto was so angry he wanted all of Central America to be aware.

Gaara didn’t dwell on it all that long. He wasn’t a snitch, and he wouldn’t pry if Naruto didn’t want to talk about it. Though he couldn’t help but wonder what Naruto had been doing other than swimming.

The still furious blond was finished minutes later. The redhead didn’t look away when Naruto left the bathroom completely naked. Gaara wasn’t ashamed of his sexuality, though he was sure Naruto didn’t know anything about it. Odds are the blond thought he was completely asexual. Naruto was too wracked up in muttering curses to notice his roommate staring at his package. He didn’t realize what a view he was offering when he bent over to rummage through his pack on the floor. He forcefully unzipped it with the full intention of tearing it off as he retrieved an unsoiled pair of boxers. He still refused to acknowledge the redhead’s presence when he heavily dumped himself on his bed, staring at the wall away from Gaara.

Gaara continued to stare at his bestfriend’s naked back for a while longer before he sighed and patted to the bathroom himself. He was relieving his bladder when he noticed Naruto’s swimming trunks on the sink. He quirked a transparent brow at the soiled apparel, as if asking it a question. His curiosity got the best of him when he tentatively dangled it before his eyes with two fingers, analyzing it. Though he was a homosexual with a gorgeous roommate, he was no pervert who enjoyed sniffing other people’s underwear. He had completely lost the train of thought when he noticed the dark patch on the front. Since there was no other way to get answers, he steeled himself before he leaned his nose in to the soggy cloth, he took a whiff.

He gasped and dropped the shorts back into the sink when the familiar stench filled his senses. Though he had definitely thought as much, why did he even bother making sure? He shut the door behind him and stiffly strode back to his bed, glancing at the naughty blond who was still flat on his side. He grumbled in mild envy, wanting to hurt whoever had brought such a reaction out of his bestfriend, who was obviously offended. He wasn’t in love with the blond, he was just protective of the only friend he had. He tucked himself in, planning to question the blond the first thing in the morning, when Naruto would wake up, since he wasn’t sleeping.

“Gaara?” Naruto called softly, his voice a bit raspy. He didn’t change his position.

“Y-yeah?”

“Could you turn off the light?”

Gaara sighed. He had hoped that Naruto would talk about it voluntarily. He reached for the lampshade between their beds and did as he was told.

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When Naruto awoke, Gaara had complimented him with how nice he looked. Of course he would think so, since the rings under his eyes rivaled the redhead’s. He hadn’t slept a wink, and when he tried he couldn’t stop shifting. He was sure that Gaara was aware, but he was thankful that his friend knew when to hold his tongue, Gaara was patient after all.

Through the night his thoughts consisted of how much he hated the Uchiha, and how much he hated himself for enjoying what the Uchiha did. His mind screamed at himself. That was his first time ever in anything close to a sexual experience, and some ego-centric asshole felt he was superior enough to take that from him! He had become as impure as his dirty shorts, which he had thrown out the porthole when Gaara was fixing the bed. He hoped the dolphins wouldn’t choke on it.

The air in the room had become very tense when both of the boys were in it. He felt obligated to tell Gaara what had happened, but it was just too embarrassing. And Gaara just might injure the Uchiha, though it wasn’t far from what he deserved. Naruto was ashamed of himself for giving in like that, but since no one had ever done that to him before, what was he supposed to do? He had been shocked silly. Still he debated in his blond head what he actually did to make the actor think that he wanted to be molested. They barely said anything to eachother! He practiced calming himself, the horny raven would know the truth soon enough, and then when he delivers the long overdue letter he would be free of him forever.

When he finished scrubbing himself dry and preparing for the day ahead, he found that his roommate was already eating at the small table. “I ordered room service when you were showering. I know you like bagels.” He informed in monotone, sticking a butter knife in a tub of cream cheese.

Naruto just nodded dolefully and sat himself across form the redhead, starting on his plate of bagels. He could see the clouds and the beautiful blue sky through the porthole, looking forward to playing on the deck and maybe visit the captain after his inevitable confrontation with the Uchiha. Sasuke was still his boss, and he couldn’t complain about what had happened, he thought with a sneer. It’s not like he had been raped or physically damaged in any way. And they would take him even less seriously when the setting was as immoral as a porn movie. Jiraiya would probably just pat him on the back and Tsunade would be too drunk to care.

“They’ve already been heated Naruto. They’ll just turn black if you keep staring at them like that.”

Naruto was glaring at his bagels as if they were insulting him. He snapped out of his reverie of bloody murder at Gaara’s voice. Peering at him for a second before realizing what he should do and picked up his own knife.

Gaara shook his head and continued spreading cheese on his bagel, wanting so bad to just accidentally blurt out the question. Maybe he could get it out of the blond indirectly?

Naruto was then analyzing the knife in his hand with obsessed concentration. He wondered if it would melt if he stabbed it into Sasuke’s acid pumping heart. The lack of sleep was really getting to him.

The redhead took a bite before he regarded the mentally preoccupied Naruto and sighed. It was time to ask some questions, by giving answers. “I saw this girl get raped in a cruise ship once.” He wiped his lip with a tissue.

Naruto’s eyes widened towards him, dropping the knife on the table. Gaara didn’t like that reaction. Naruto just shook his head and made a show of busying himself with a pitcher of orange juice. “Oh…really. That’s bad. Where did you hear that?”

Gaara studied him for a bit before he replied. Naruto had responded not all that intensely, so he hadn’t been raped. But it was close. “I…uh…saw it on TV. Last night.” He answered hurriedly, stuffing his mouth with another creamy bite and a sip of juice.

Naruto bent his head to the side, raising an eyebrow incredulously. “I thought we only had Jamaican channels. Captain Asuma admitted the reception on the ship is ass.”

He hoped Naruto didn’t notice him paling. Why did he have to say TV?! “Yes, well, it was on the news.”

Naruto was just an inch from finally biting his bagel. “They’re Jamaican too.”

Gaara gulped. He hated it when he was caught. But the show wasn’t over yet. He sighed, ceasing everything he was doing to watch the blond seriously. Naruto stopped too. “Naruto, there are things you don’t know about me.”

The blond sadly put down his uneaten breakfast. Gaara was demanding his attention for some reason. “Oh really? You gonna tell me?”

The redhead nodded slowly. He was gonna kick himself later, but he couldn’t come up with anything else. “Yes. You see, the truth is, I am very fluent in Caribbeanese. I was ashamed at first, but now I think you deserve to know.” Scratch that, Gaara wanted to bang his head on the table. What the fuck?!

Time had frozen in their one room suite, and Gaara was starting to sweat. Did he buy it? He had lost all hope however when the blond started laughing, why didn’t he believe him? “What the fuck?!” He was clutching his stomach, laughing hysterically. Gaara deadpanned. “Oh God! That was the funniest thing you ever said!” There’s no such is as Caribbeanese you ass! I’m not even sure if you’re being serious.”

“But I am being serious!” He blurted out. He chugged down the entire glass of juice to distract himself.

“No you’re not!” Naruto looked confusedly at the redhead before a realization struck him. He leaned closer to his friend, putting his hands on the table. “Where were you getting at with the whole rape thing? Were you trying to ask me something?” It indeed made sense. Gaara was being too nervous and jittery.

Gaara had lost it. He did the only thing he could think of that would get answers and would make the blond shut up all at the same time. He dipped his knife fully into the tub of cream cheese and stuffed it into his mouth, keeping his eyes locked on Naruto. The shocked expression on Naruto’s face told him that he had completely forgotten what he had been asking. Gaara gave the knife a long lick, rolling cheese on his tongue before sucking on the utensil.

Naruto’s eyes twitched involuntarily, sliding his chair back, farther and farther from the table. “W-what the fuck are you doing?” Naruto demanded shakily, preparing to stand.

Gaara stopped, regarding him briefly before sucking on more cheese. “Didn’t you know that I love cream cheese? It would be disgusting if I just lick it off the bagel or even worse, the tub itself. And besides, if you want something, you should get it.” He groaned internally, he was so out of character. He held the handle with both hands, sucking more fiercely.

Naruto had never seen a weirder sight. Though it brought back memories of the night before, the cream and the utensil…and the hardness. That wasn’t as disturbing however as watching the broodiest and most nonchalant boy he had ever met give a blowjob to an inanimate object right in front of him! He didn’t know what to think anymore. Does everyone turn horny in his presence?!

He jumped off his chair so hard that it actually fell back. “Oh Gaara! What do you know! Look at the time! I promised the Uchiha that I would see him first thing in the morning!” Naruto rushed out of the door as Gaara waved him off, still massaging the knife with his gums almost lovingly.

When the door screamed shut, he immediately spit the knife out as if it was the vilest substance on Earth. He wiped frustratedly at his cheese stained lips and breathed. That was one hell of a performance, and would be damaging to his reputation. But it was okay, he got what he wanted.

He thought as he cleaned the table, not really hungry anymore. He was definitely sure that Naruto had bee molested in some way, whether by blowjob or not, but the prior seemed likely. He couldn’t have ran out that fast if it was any other reason. Now that he had figured out the “why” and the “what”, and was still deciding on the “how”.

It was time to find the “who”.

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That was just weird, Naruto kept replaying in his mind as he once again found himself heading to the Uchiha’s room. The staff was far more visible in the daytime than at night, he noticed, but they still weren’t enough for such a large ship.

He debated on what he should do once he meets the black haired pervert. Should he punch him? Or maybe kick him in the nuts? It were those vegetables that gave him so many problems in the first place, he’d be doing the Uchiha a favor if he took those out for him. Maybe he should only attack of he tries it again, which Naruto was sure he was bound to do. Sasuke didn’t seem the type to not finish what he started, and he figured that he had just got an appetizer, he scowled darkly.

Why did the Uchiha affect him so much? It wasn’t really such a big deal was it? All they did was rub on eachother until they came in their pants, it was nothing serious…so why couldn’t he stop thinking about him?! He couldn’t stop picturing the boy’s evil tongue entering his mouth, or the fire in his groin wherever they touched, or how it was the best first kiss he had ever received…

Naruto stiffened in the empty hallway. He squeaked when he found the obvious lump on his pants. He covered the area with both of his hands, thinking about random turn-offs to will his erection down to normal size. He cursed himself; he wasn’t supposed to LIKE what the Uchiha did to him, no matter how good it felt! He wasn’t supposed to dammit!

He sighed loudly when his cock went limp like it was supposed to. He continued on his way, no longer angry, just gloomy. If he knew he was going to be so miserable, he would have never agreed to the job, obligation or not. No one had ever done that to him before, which was why it hurt when it was practically meaningless. Sasuke didn’t do that because he liked him, he didn’t even know him! Sasuke was just some sex-crazed nympho who’d never bother with him if he didn’t look the way he did. No one ever did anything without getting something in return.

Before he knew it, he was standing at the end of a lavish corridor in front of Sasuke’s room. He was about to knock, but he held back his fist. He thought about just leaving altogether. Maybe there was a speedboat he could steal, like what ships had for emergencies, and then he would go back home. Everything just didn’t seem worth it anymore. Sasuke was no longer the kid he used to be, and from what he had discovered of his character, he didn’t deserve whatever he had for him. Naruto had made his decision and was about to head for Jiraiya’s cabin to talk about quitting when the door abruptly creaked behind him.

“Where are you going dobe? You just got here.”

He clammed up at the husky voice, making him turn reluctantly, damning himself for not running. He rolled his eyes and groaned when he found that the Uchiha was STILL shirtless. He was flashing him with the same exact pose as Sakura, though it looked extremely gay on Sasuke. But he was under the distinct impression that he was quite aware of that fact.

“You coming in or do I have to drag you?” He smirked, eyeing Naruto’s groin suggestively.

Naruto wasn’t amused. Somehow he didn’t have the energy to make some snappish retort. He had only known Sasuke for barely a day and already he was tired of his personality. No doubt he was someone who always got what he wanted, but not this time. He shook his head wearily and shoved passed the surprised brunette. “Just shut up and get out of my way.” He muttered.

Sasuke stared after the blond as he paced into his suite. He rubbed his arm from where Naruto had shoved him forcefully. There was a tiny pang of guilt in his stomach at seeing the pained expression on the blond, but it was gone before he even felt it. He closed the door behind them, leaving the boys alone in his suite. Outsiders swore they could here a loud and sinister laugh within the room.

Naruto turned to face him, clasping his hands together as he waited for something. “So, you said you had things for me to do? Well?” He asked as patiently as he could, though he just wanted whatever torture out of the way so he could leave and see the sun.

Sasuke crossed his arms over his bare chest, smirk becoming malevolent. The glint in his eyes warned him that whatever he had in store for Naruto would be harsh and demanding. Sasuke licked his lips, Naruto bit his. He wasn’t going to enjoy what was going to happen, the Uchiha assured him that.

“Oh Naruto. Don’t look so scared. I promise to be gentle.” He moved closer, towering over Naruto. “And I always keep my promises.”

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Naruto groaned when his knee scraped something hard yet again, not knowing how much more he could take of Sasuke’s punishment.

“And when you’re done with this room you can do the kitchen. I think beige would be nice.”

Naruto winced when Sasuke shouted over his headphones, which was blaring even from where he was standing. The Uchiha just laid on his bed, fully clothed with hands behind his head and leg crossed over the other, bobbing his head at whatever music was playing. To Naruto, it sounded like very hard rock.

The blond grumbled loudly, not that his idiot master could here him. Sasuke had demanded that he paint his bedroom a hideous shade of purple, the entire room! And since Sasuke’s bedroom was bigger than even the room that he and Gaara shared, it was downright exhausting, and pointless. The fact that it was pointless was what angered him the most.

For some reason the ship did not have any roll-on paint brushes, so Sasuke insisted he used the typical brushes, the ones that were very short. He had to construct a pulley system in order to suspend the can of paint high enough where he could reach it as he stood on a step ladder. The ladder was also so rusted and jagged that it would scrape on his legs when he would reach for the wall. To make matters worse, the walls were high, very high! Which made the pulley system all that essential, except when he would have to move it in order to do the next patch of wall.

He felt like crying as he painted, stealing evil glances at the Uchiha as he lazed on his Queen sized bed, smiling like mad. He considered that it was from his music, but he knew he was just laughing inside. With a heavy foot he took a step higher, pulling on the rope that made the paint go higher as well. It was so humiliating! This wasn’t what assistants were supposed to do! He would have actually chosen the meaningless sex over this which was what he thought Sasuke had wanted in the first place! How could he look so seductive when demanding to have his room painted? He swore there was an innuendo there somewhere, but he just couldn’t find it.

The dirty thoughts in Sasuke’s head made him smile. He daydreamed of screwing blond, sucking blond, riding blond, thrusting blond, fucking blond… He could feel the tent rising in his pants, but he didn’t care who saw it, that was the closest thing to a warning he was gonna give to his little helper.

He peeked one eye open at his assistant, who was scrubbing the wall furiously while trying to keep his balance on the ladder. Sasuke smirked at the sight, taking his headphones off. He usually wasn’t so sadistic, but the blond was just so interesting, different. Naruto definitely wasn’t throwing himself at his feet like the others did. He surprised himself with how much he wanted a repeat of the night before, and if Naruto wasn’t going to offer himself, he was just gonna take matters into his own hands.

Naruto nearly toppled over when he pushed the brush instead of swipe. Purple paint covered his hands for the unnecessarily cruel Uchiha gave him no time to look for gloves. There were also countless stains on his t-shirt and his shorts. The bastard was gonna pay somehow, he didn’t know how yet, but he was. He had actually decided to forget that the Uchiha had ever touched him and just let it slide. But that was before the son of a bitch made him paint his suite for no apparent reason, or when Sasuke pinched him in the bottom when he was climbing up the ladder, causing him to unceremoniously lose his grip and collide with the newspapers he had laid out. Sasuke would have broken his fall if he didn’t sidestep like the asshole he was. It had become personal, far too personal. But he still couldn’t figure out what to do to make the Uchiha suffer big time.

“Dammit! Who the fuck uses purple?! Shit!” He cursed when the can of paint hit him on the shoulder as it swung.

“I happen to think violet is very dignified dobe.” Naruto nearly fell over again when the Uchiha suddenly spoke. He glared at the brunette, noticing he was no longer listening to his music but was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching him. Sasuke shrugged in condescension. “Even if. If I suddenly don’t find that violet suits my taste, then you can always paint it again. Maybe indigo hm?” The raven inquired with a raised brow, daring the blond to retaliate.

Naruto’s face had become about as colorful as the paintbrush, which was enduring a lot of pressure from his clenched fist. He growled in his throat.

Sasuke ignored him easily with a smirk and returned to lazing on his bed. “I’m taking a nap. Wake me up in at four, I have a meeting with the production staff. You better be done when I wake up.” He closed his eyes and drifting off to slumber, leaving the blond to stare at him angrily.

Naruto was about ready to explode. He wasn’t even a quarter ways done with the room! Naruto had convinced himself that he wouldn’t complain about the treatment he was getting. If the Uchiha wanted a war, then he was damn well gonna give him one!

He was ready to paint just one last patch of wall before he would devise his plan. Grumbling all the way, he took a step higher, his stomach already over the top of the ladder. He pulled the rope to raise the paint and stopped. He stared at the brush in his other hand and dropped it on the newspapers littering the marble floor. He briefly glanced at the pulley loosely attached to the ceiling, and rubbed the rope in both of his hands. An evil grin marred his scarred cheeks, looking quickly at the Uchiha if he suspecting anything. He laughed low, keeping his voice down.

No one makes a slave out of Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it.

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Sasuke groaned when the most annoying sound reeled him in like a fish from his ocean of dreams. He had been assaulted with the most fantastic images of screwing the blond senseless the minute his eyes had closed. But he couldn’t hear Naruto’s moans of submission when there was that racket drowning them out! He pressed his palms to his ears and turned to the side which only made the ringing louder. Ringing?

Obsidian eyes snapped open to gaze over one side of his bedroom. His vision focused to the initial source of the sounds, a box with blinking red numbers. He scooted to the nightstand beside his bed, kicking the covers off his legs as he held the clock closer to his face. He blinked several times as his vision was still fuzzy.

It was 4:15.

He fell off the bed with a thud in a tangle of blankets when his muddled mind registered what time it was, clock still in hand and sill ringing. He banged the thing with a fist, bringing quiet to the room once again, though his brain was screaming bloody murder. Naruto had fucking
screwed him!

Oh great! And he was still hard too.

He threw the sheets off his body furiously and dashed across his room. He was already late! The Uchiha didn’t mind keeping people waiting, but he hated being late. Which was the same as hating getting grades below an A, or the crust on his sandwiches, or the slight tilt of a picture on a wall, it was just how he was brought up. And he especially HATED being dooped by someone! Nobody dares mess with an Uchiha!

There was a lot of scrambling and flying objects as Sasuke rummaged for a decent shirt for the one he was currently wearing was just too indecent for him. He hopped on one leg and he put on a pair of jeans over his boxers and dashed to his mirror to fix his restless mane. He noticed the vain throbbing on his forehead and the frown on his lips. He’d be damned if he let the dumb blond mess with him like that! He was his master after all! And he didn’t even finish his work, the dobe! For only one side the room was purple.

He momentarily ignored all that and didn’t even bother to put on a pair of shoes as he headed for the door. He didn’t notice the string wound around the knob till it was too late. For the moment he did he heard a sort of clanking sound above him which made him look up to a river of bluish colored liquid splashing into his surprised face and going down his clothes.

He froze up on that spot for a little over a minute before he could think of a reaction. He was lucky that he had had his eyes closed, saving them from turning blue. Too bad his nose wasn’t so lucky. He coughed and wheezed when the paint had gone up his nostrils.

By then he was shaking, fists clenched at his sides and eyes turning blood red as the paint was still dripping from his bangs. He had just noticed that there was a peace of paper dangling on a string that was attached to the bucket connected to the pulley that Naruto seemed to have moved to above his door. He didn’t need to tear the paper off the string to read it, for they were glaring at eachother face to face.

‘You said you weren’t sure if you wanted indigo, so I thought you should give it a spin before you decide.

Your humble servant, the dobe.’

A spectator would have thought the Uchiha mad if they witnessed one side of Sasuke’s lips turn up in an amused smirk in that state of humiliation. No one had ever given the Uchiha an incentive to actually TRY to debase someone. For no one had ever succeeded in getting under his skin that much in so short a time. He was a bit disappointed though, if the blond really wanted to battle, he should have added a bucket of feathers along with the paint.

At least now he would have something to do before they would arrive at the island. He might not be able to molest the blond anymore without it amounting to rape, but at least he was gonna have fun. Oh yes, he was getting even. And he knew Naruto would be expecting it.

The gentle knocking at his door disturbed him from his scheming. Now that he was back to reality, he remembered he still had a meeting to attend to. He tore off the string from the doorknob with sopping hands and forced the door open. “What?!”

A young woman in a maid’s uniform cowered from his voice but gasped from his appearance. The gorgeous actor was covered head to shin in indigo paint. There were still droplets going down the bangs at the sides of his stained face, and running down his arms to his fingertips. He was breathing hard and he didn’t look happy. The maid took a step back; it probably wasn’t a good time.

“Well? What the fuck do you want?!” Sasuke demanded from the quivering girl.

The maid gulped and stuttered. “I-I am v-very s-sorry Uchiha-san! B-but I w-was s-sent here by Jiraiya-sama! Y-you a-are late for your meeting!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, drops of paint falling off his lashes. ‘No duh!’ He screamed mentally. “Tell them I’m gonna be a little later.” He muttered before closing the door, leaving the girl still gaping in the hallway. She had a lot to tell the other fangirls on the ship.

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Sakura had her cheek on her palm on what she liked to call the “Royal Table”, as it was the biggest table in the ship’s dining hall. And it was where the celebrities ate together when they felt they could tolerate eachother. It was forty-five after four, the general meeting had long since ended, but they still needed to brief Sasuke who was majorly late. She sighed at the empty seat next to her. She ignored the blond girl chatting animatedly with the movie’s producer on the other side of the seat, for if Sakura held one of Sasuke’s arms, you’d be willing to bet that Ino would be attached to his other arm. Unlike Ino however, Sakura was no longer obsessed with the brunette, but it didn’t stop her from keeping him as far away from the yellow haired pig as possible.

A fist connected with the table, silencing them. “Where the hell is that brat?! If you’d let me go I’d drag him here myself!” Anko, the somewhat eccentric director, made to stand but struggled when Ibiki, the arms specialist and all around bodyguard, kept her down.

“Be quiet, you’re making a scene.” Ibiki stated indifferently, taking a sip of water.

Anko rounded on him angrily. “A scene! Why would I be making a scene? We’re the only ones here!” She waved her arms like a madwoman. Though her point was well taken when her loud voice echoed in the massive ballroom.

“Don’t you start with me Anko. I’ve just taken my morphine.” The scarred army veteran didn’t even look at her between sips.

“Yes, do settle down Anko. Your voice is getting in the way of Jiraiya’s flirting.” Across from Sakura was a man who was even more bored than Ibiki, turning a page in his favorite Icha Icha book to keep him sane. Kakashi was Sasuke’s and Sakura’s manager.

Jiraiya and Ino ceased their banter to look at Kakashi inquiringly. “Did you say something Kakashi or do you want me to stop writing yaoi?” The old man grinned, though it held the threat.

Kakashi held the book to fully cover his face, he wasn’t gonna talk anymore.

Ino brightened up at the suggestion of a new topic. She was sitting on her legs like a little kid, facing Jiraiya beside her. “Oh my God! I love your yaoi collection! Can you base the next movie on one of those please? It better be Cum Cum Paradise no. 69 cause that one is just so-” She begged with puppy dog eyes.

Jiraiya took the same position as her, clasping both her hands with his own. “Not only that but I’ll even make you director! You like that?” They bounced around on their seats excitedly.

Tsunade was gripping her glass hard enough to brake, scowling and glaring and her husband’s back. Without looking away, she snapped her fingers and a waitress materialized out of nowhere with a bottle of bourbon. She filled her glass which Tsunade only put down to chug on the bottle itself.

A few seats from Sakura, a bigger version of Lee placed one leg on his chair, a fire burning in his eyes. “I am so touched to see a man such as Jiraiya-sama flaunting his right to express such precious youth despite the eternal and constricting bonds of marria-”

The elder blond shot him a look so foul that Gai toppled on himself, falling back to his chair like he had been spanked.

Gai was Hyuuga Neji’s manager, and Kakashi’s self-appointed rival. The Hyuuga sat next to him, eye twitching with his hairdresser Tenten rubbing his back comfortingly. Hyuuga Hinata sat on Gai’s other side, seemingly out of place.

Sakura sank into her seat; the group was getting embarrassing again. She was grateful that there were no spectators. She paled when a heavy weight fell on her shoulder. Lee had fallen asleep and was drooling on her arm. She cringed and tried to pry her assistant off her side.

“God dammit Lee wake up! Get the hell off!” She writhed and yelled to the dead tired boy with the bowl cut, who was trying to embrace her in his sleep, muttering her name. She jumped to her feet when the boy clamped to her waist.

“Sakura since you’re up would you mind getting Sasuke?”

The rosette sought out the voice as Kakashi’s, still engrossed with his Cum Cum Paradise.

“That won’t be necessary.”

“Sasuke!” Sakura practically wailed, causing Lee to mumble when he finally awoke, wondering where he was.

Ino turned from her conversation to find the Uchiha approaching. “Sasuke-kun!” Ino propelled herself to the boy’s arms which he threw to the floor the moment they made contact. He sat down his seat without a word or apology.

“It’s about fucking time brat!” Anko hollered, holding Tsunade’s liquor which she had borrowed.

Sakura stared incredulously at the boy beside her. “Sasuke, what the hell happened to you?” She asked, talking about that his hair was streaked with blue and his face was smudged.

Sasuke didn’t respond, ignoring everybody. He slipped deep into thought.

Jiraiya arranged himself to sit properly; he cleared his throat and smirked. He pretended not to notice his wife’s still malevolent gaze. “Well, well Uchiha. If you were feeling a little blue, you shouldn’t have come at all.” The old man laughed heartily.

Once Ino had recovered from her mild concussion, she sat herself down and clung to Sasuke’s arm like a second skin, frowning slightly that someone had insulted HER Sasuke-kun.

Neji had glowered darkly when he heard that Sasuke had come. He hated the Uchiha with all his soul, still unable to forget what the dark-eyed boy had done to him in the not so distant past. Tenten squeezed his shoulder and told him to look. He did, and he smiled when he took in the brunette’s bluish appearance. Served him right, whoever did that to him deserved a hug from Hyuuga Neji.

Sasuke ignored the laughter and the puzzled looks he received. He had spent nearly an hour scrubbing his face to the bone while getting the stuff out of his hair. He had noticed a long time later that a can of paint thinner was inconspicuously placed outside his bathroom, no doubt Naruto was merciful. Pride aside, it didn’t completely remove the paint from his hair. He avoided getting the thinner on his face, he had no idea what that would do to his complexion.

Another cough caught their attention, except Sasuke’s of course. “Now that our lead actor has arrived…”

“Finally!” The now tipsy director shouted. Ibiki pulled her back down by her trench coat.

“…we can continue with our discussion.” Jiraiya plowed on undeterred.

Another hour went by on a surprisingly casual and professional fashion. Technical issues were addressed, such as the rights for the actors when they arrive at the island, and matters on insurance. Hinata spoke for the first time as the representative of the Hyuuga family who were sponsors of the production. Ibiki mentioned things about safety and security and some legal jargon that most of them didn’t catch. Jiraiya went on to talk about the movie itself and how it would be presented with some interruption from the drunk director. Sasuke was deaf to it all, wondering why he was there. His mind was filled with thoughts of Naruto, and his imminent revenge.

When all was done, Jiraiya clapped his hands and took a breath. “Now that that’s been dealt with, we can go now. And Kakashi, I still have a score to settle with you in bowling.” Jiraiya winked.

Kakashi just nodded, he was of course, still reading his book.

“I will also come with you! For me and my youthful son Lee share the joyful youth of sport as the foundation of the body and the soul!” Gai declared with a pose.

Lee had his hands in a clasp, staring adoringly at his father with big teary eyes. “That was beautiful Father-sensei!”

The majority of the table cringed.

Anko stood on her chair with pride. “And so will I! I suck when I’m sober! You coming Ibiki?” She yelled at the man standing on the floor beside her as if he was across the room.

He shrugged. “Might as well. Wouldn’t want you falling off the ship.” He said all that while taking another dose of pills followed by a glass of water.

Jiraiya turned to Ino mischievously, reaching for her hand. “And how about you little lady? I’d understand if you’re busy but it would mean a lot to this old man if you…OWW!!”

Ino paled when Tsunade towered beside Jiraiya, wringing him by the ear. Though she had cleared five full bottles of the ship’s finest liquor, she was as composed as ever. “I’ve had all that I can stand of you’re shit Jiraiya. Now I’m gonna drag you to our room and you’re gonna fuck me like you mean it and then you’re going to tell me to my face if that slut’s got anything on me.” She said all that relatively calm. It was unnerving.

Everyone sweatdropped, including Gai. Ibiki took another roll of medication while Anko hiccupped in fear, Gai and Lee embraced, protecting eachother from the appalling display of un-youth. Everyone else had paled.

Tsunade stormed out of the ballroom dragging a thrashing and terrified Jiraiya completely by the ear. “Honey wait! What the hell?! Ouch! That really hurts you know!”

Jiraiya’s screams echoed till they had closed the door in their suite. Sasuke wondered if they would ever see him again.

Sasuke was about to stand and leave himself when someone coughed for their attention.

Kakashi closed the tiny book and stuffed it in his pocket before he spoke. “Sasuke, Neji, Sakura, and Ino. The prop designer would like a word with all the actors. I don’t know why but he asks for a bit of your time. He’s waiting outside the dining hall. That is all.”

Sasuke grumbled at his luck. All he wanted to do was go back to his room and come up with something. He would not see the blond until he came up with a worthy revenge.

“Oh and Sasuke.”

The raven turned around to face his manager, whose one little eye was smiling.

“I like the new look.” The silver haired man left for the other exit, which was closer to the bowling alley.

Sasuke muttered curses with Ino too close by his side and Neji at a considerable distance. Sakura caught up with him when she was able to convince Lee that his presence wasn’t necessary. “Okay I can see you don’t want to talk about it but I just can’t let it go!” Sakura shook her head for effect. “What the heck happened to you? I can understand if you wanted to dye you’re hair, but how did it get it to your face?”

The Uchiha continued to look impassive, eyes on the exit. “You know what? You’re right. I don’t want to talk about it. So drop it.” He walked more briskly.

Sakura matched his pace. “Does this have something to do with Naruto?”

Sakura collided lightly with his back when Sasuke suddenly stopped, though he recovered and walked on again, his expression even more blank.

“I’m guessing by your reaction that’s a yes.” It wasn’t a question.

“So you call him by his first name eh?” He inquired, eyes hardening and voice sounding reproachful. “What are you, chums?”

His bestfriend was surprised at the sudden accusation, and his tone. Was that jealousy she sensed? “Um, no. What am I supposed to call him? Uzumaki-san? You know he’s too cute for that.” She chortled, bumping into his side.

Sasuke grunted.

Neji had been listening to the conversation from a safe distance, greatly intrigued at whoever this Naruto person was. He obviously had the bastard’s chicken feathers all ruffled. He was definitely going to congratulate him when he saw him, which shouldn’t be too hard if he asked around.

Sakura had been carefully tabulating Sasuke’s behavior and his responses. Being close to someone as bottled up as Sasuke, she really had to develop a sixth sense in order to figure him out without asking him which he would rarely ever open up to anyway. A startling conclusion hit her on her pink head when she finally understood, causing her to stop walking. Her hands came to her mouth. “Oh my God! Sasuke did you-”

“You must be the actors.”

A deep voice interrupted her exclamation. They were already in the hallway that led outside to the deck when a man with half of his face covered by his collar and wearing a pair of circular shades greeted them passively. The man reeked an aura of mystery that raised an eyebrow from most of them.

“So you’re the prop designer?” Ino inquired with a hand on her hip

“Yes, my name is Aburame Shino, the prop designer as well as an environmentalist for this production. I only need a fraction of your time so if you please follow me, we’ll get this accomplished sooner.” Sakura wasn’t sure if he was speaking through his mouth or not, since she couldn’t see. They did as they were told when he led them to a stairwell going down to the storage area, which was dark and bleak.

Sakura decided to keep her mouth shut for the moment, not wanting to bring attention towards Sasuke, which he wouldn’t appreciate. But she was definitely going to get it out of him later. She admitted that she was worried about the blond, he practically smelled virgin! Sasuke wasn’t exactly gentle or subtle with his targets, but from how the raven looked at the moment, could it have actually backfired?

After three minutes of quiet walking, save for Ino’s fruitless attempts to strike a conversation with Sasuke and Neji, Shino took out a ring full of keys and unlocked a dirty door to reveal the musty room inside.

The environmentalist turned on the lights and motioned for them to come inside. It was a small room that from the looks of it was assigned solely to store the props. There were little plastic beds and fake palm trees and all kinds of things that were painted and tied together. They were led to the back of the room, with Ino coughing from the dust and Neji wrinkling his nose. They were amazed to fined that lined neatly against the wall were very lifelike replicas…of themselves.

Sakura bent down to stroke her dummies hair, while Ino inspected hers. Neji wasn’t all that enthralled. “Is this why you brought us here?” Sasuke asked with his hands in his pockets.

“Yes. I’ve only had your pictures to go on so I would like for you to check if there’s anything I have missed before filming starts.”

Sasuke grunted. He had sincerely thought once they had entered the room that the so called prop designer would knock them out and sell them for ransom. After seeing the almost real duplicates of them, it had asserted his suspicion that the man was indeed a freak in some way. He only gave his doll a singe glance. “There’s no tattoo.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said it’s missing my tattoo. I have one if you want to see.” He bent his neck and pointed, drawing Shino’s attention to the three black commas aligned in a circle near his shoulder.

Shino inspected it with rapt attention. He had to admit, it was a cool tattoo.

Ino rudely pushed Shino out of the way to see the symbol herself. “Wow! I never knew you had a tattoo Sasuke-kun!” She yelled with delight.

Sasuke winced from how close she was to his ear. He gave her a cold look before facing the mysterious prop designer. “You got that?”

Shino adjusted his glasses. “Yes. I will add that detail right away.”

It seemed the others had also noticed something off with their doubles as well; the girls vied for Shino’s attention, complaining that their dummy wasn’t prettier than the other’s. Neji had apparently left, though no one noticed his departure.

Sasuke stared down at the plastic Uchiha, deep in thought again. He looked over the dummy once and a thought hit him. He grinned under his bangs when an idea came to light, thanking the lord’s for awarding him with such sweet revenge.

‘It’s time you get to know a little something about me Uzumaki Naruto. I only attack the mind.’

Uzumaki Naruto laid on his bed, laughing his ass off to his roommate’s utter confusion. Unbeknownst to him however;

Someone was going to die.

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Please REVIEW people cause I actually like this story I wanna be motivated to the fullest! I like it cause it actually has the potential for angst, and it WILL have angst. In droves. Aplenty. A truck full. Etc…