Colors

Hello. Now before all of you go, "Where the fuck have you been?!" Well, let’s see, work, house flood, work problems, suicidal, work. Yeah. That pretty much sums up the state I’ve been in these past months. No, it’s not because I had no story to tell. I do. I just had some problems to solve before I continued writing. Thanks to those who have waited patiently for this and I’m really sorry for the delay but some things in life you just can’t help. Especially if you have lots of fuck-ups in it.

Cheers … Oh, don’t forget the reviews yah?

EDIT : Copied and pasted the older version. This should be right.

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Chapter 20

Naruto stood in awe as he basked in the glory of Jane Doe’s magnificent work. But being awe struck wasn’t all that he felt for the 3 paintings. His forehead creased into a frown as he pondered on them. Perhaps it was purely coincidence, he thought. But he doubted it for the message in them was too clear and though it would mean almost nothing to the average viewer, it meant the world to him.

“Boss?...Wha..” Yukino looked at her blond superior unsure.

“Yukino,” Naruto interrupted. “Tell me what you think about these?” he asked his assistant in an attempt to test his theories. He folded his arms as he waited anxiously for her views.

“You want me to share my critique?” The young woman was surprised by the order as her boss had never once asked for her opinion on any of the pieces that had graced the gallery. Was he testing her, she wondered.

“I want you to just tell me whatever the paintings are telling you.” Naruto’s tone was irritable, signaling Yukino to hurry with a reply even though she was relunctant.

“Well, the 1st painting shows a depiction of a happy family… the two taller figures resembling a mother and father. Two smaller shadows on either side seem to represent the children, I think. These, which look like their hands seem to be entwined.” The bright young woman deducted as she pointed to the 4 humanized forms painted in jet black on the first painting. She paused to check for any reactions from her boss but there were none. So she continued, “Multishades of blue on the top with a contrast of mixed greens at the bottom and bright red and orange square objects in the distance could mean that the setting for this scene was a park. The picture would’ve given me an overall happy feel except for this grey patch extending from this child over here and covering the ground upon which the remaining family members are standing on.” She added and briefly eyed her boss once again for any signs of disagreement. She swallowed, unable to decipher Naruto’s thoughts from his lack of expression.

Observing how his assistant had paused, Naruto cleared his throat impatiently.

“Right, well… The second painting bears a closer resemblance to Jane Doe’s earlier creations. This figure, which is in the shape of a praying man seems to be worshipping a deity… well, what looks more like a satanic idol to me given the devilish blood red of this painting’s background color and the shape of the deity’s wings, which… I find rather sinister.” Yukino paused to think whilst a hand stroked her delicate chin. “What I can’t really understand is the use of white to paint the praying man’s collar and the leash attached. I find it rather misplaced having white on such a sinful picture.

“Carry on….” Naruto bit onto his bottom lip as he waited for his assistant to complete her analysis on the final picture.

“As for the last painting, Jane seems to have merged the first two into it with the top half mirroring the second painting of the devil and his captive, which now seems to be standing on a rickety bridge over a midnight blue river, his leash still held by the evil creature. The second half I would have expected to see the same people in the first painting but it seems Jane has chosen to paint an angel. I’m pretty sure it is one judging by the use of yellow and golden shades for this human form’s head. The bright green and patches of little blue and pink dots at the bottom half of the painting also shows that this person is on the happy side of things or perhaps an area where the sun reaches.”

With that, Yukino turned round to look at her boss, her hands clasped behind her.

“Yukino, so what do you think the message is then? Kabuto said there was one.” Naruto’s voice was low. He was trying his best to mask the anxiety.

“Well, I’m really not sure, erm… maybe she’s trying to say there’s good times and bad times in life? Really boss, I really can’t tell. That’s the closest conclusion I can come to. Its funny she didn’t leave some form of explanation with the paintings.”

Naruto sighed.

“Boss, is anything the matter?” Yukino gave Naruto a worrisome look.

He turned to look at Yukino and then shook his head in a small smile. “Nah, don’t worry about it.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m pretty sure.”

“But.. bos…” The doorbell tinkered to signal another’s presence in the gallery.

“The guest first,” Naruto gestured towards the foyer.

“Well… and… yeah, sure.” Yukino broke into a small run towards the reception.

As his assistant headed out and the air around him shifted slightly, Naruto’s body shuddered as he closed his eyes. Was Jane’s paintings really telling him something? If they were, who had done this? What was the person’s intention? Who is Jane Doe really? Or was this all purely coincidence?

“Boss, Sasuke Uchiha is here along with his brother, Itachi and oh, they’re simply dreamy.” Yukino chirped excitedly.

Naruto’s eyes on the other hand had widened to the point of popping out of their sockets. *Oh God, what the fuck?*

“Erm, yeah. Coming. Yukino, lock this gallery up please.” Yukino obeyed whilst Naruto strode towards the gallery entrance with his heart thumping harder than a jack hammer. His mind was a blur as he tried hard to piece all his scattered thoughts together – from Sasuke being there to Itachi his torturer, to whether if they’ve been discovered and never seeing Sasuke again. But if they had been discovered why in the world would Itachi stroll into his gallery? A fight perhaps or just purely a tease? He couldn’t understand it and before he had time to ponder on more there they both were before him. Naruto was about to pay Itachi a trained greeting when his eyes caught Sasuke’s appearance. Wearing a black, long-sleeved polo neck shirt, his toned contour had been mapped by the smooth clingy material leaving Naruto breathless. It was Itachi’s greeting that jolted Naruto out of his enchantment.

“Good day. Uzumaki Naruto was it?” Itachi had on a smile but this time Naruto couldn’t detect any signs of deviousness.

“Yes it is. Good day, Itachi-san.”

“You must forgive my brother’s stunning appearance. He tends to attract unneeded attention naturally.” Naruto was taken aback by the comment and he quickly interjected.

“No, Itachi-san. I was just wondering about the painting I had sold him earlier.” Naruto scratched the back of his head, acting ignorant and hoping that his indulgent stare hadn’t put him or Sasuke into too much trouble.

“I-see.” Itachi replied and started walking towards the inner display area. “Care to show me around? I might find something I like, or, not.” From his tone, Naruto could tell something was amiss. It was then that the familiar scent of Itachi’s invisible danger brushed his senses.

“This way please,” Naruto gestured for them to follow and noticed Sasuke’s forlorn expression. *Is it just me or is he refusing to look at me?*

For the next 45 minutes Naruto spent guiding Itachi through his gallery, the various sections and artwork. All the while, Itachi only followed quietly without a single comment. The only communication was in the form of nods for Naruto to carry on and the blond recited his tour calmly like he did for all visiting patrons. But the scene was anything but ordinary and Naruto felt like he was watching himself provide the explanations rather than actually being the person speaking. His mind was blank and like a programmed android he seemed to be acting based on some form of automated reflex. When he was finally done, he posed the usual question and flashed a fake smile. “Seen anything you like?”

“Hmm… No, actually. Except for that fox we passed by. How much is that going for?”

“Oh, erm, that’s… not for sale.” Naruto stuttered unsure if telling Itachi that he couldn’t have something he wanted would be the wisest thing to do. He was afterall awfully possessive and dreadfully forceful.

“Awe, that’s too bad. Who painted that one?” Itachi folded his hands as he waited for the blond’s reply.

Naruto swallowed and eyed Sasuke briefly, hoping the answer would be there. But to his dismay, Sasuke looked away bored and uninterested.

“I…I did.”

Itachi’s eyebrow’s lifted. “Oh, you did? That’s some pretty nice work. It’s a shame I can’t get my hands on that one.”

“My apologies but it has some sentimental value.”

“Sentimental value eh?” Itachi stroked his chin in thought.

*What is this ass-hole thinking?!*

“I’ve got it. Why don’t you paint something for me? Something precious? Perhaps then I’d have a painting of my own with ‘sentimental value’.”

Caught off guard, Naruto’s voice cracked, “Wh-at?!”

“Hahaha, don’t be so alarmed. It won’t be something difficult. I’d like you to paint my dear brother.”

For the first time, Sasuke lifted his head to look at the blonde’s blue eyes. Then he immediately shifted his gaze to glare at his brother. “Itachi, you know I hate my picture being taken and you want me to pose for a portrait?”

“Awe Sasuke, don’t make it sound as if I’m torturing you.” The older Uchiha placed a hand underneath Sasuke’s chin to tilt his face slightly. “Afterall, what’s wrong with me wanting a picture of my beloved little brother? You think he’d make for a good portrait too, won’t you? Naruto?”

Naruto didn’t know if he was in a nightmare or hell. All he could see in his head was anger, jealousy and fear merged into a burning hot white. But he forced himself to calm down. It was obvious now that Itachi was toying with the both of them but he had to keep his cool, for his sake and most importantly, for Sasuke’s. Suddenly, a thought emerged.

“Itachi-san, if I paint, would you happen to know a studio I could use? I’ve sort of sold most of my equipment since I stopped painting.”

Itachi tapped a finger on his chin. “Why yes. I have a friend who might just be able to help. So you’ll do it then?”

“Only if I get what I need in the studio and a fee of course.”

“Why certainly. Anything you wish. Here’s my email. Drop me a list of what you need and I’ll reply with the location details as well.”

“I look forward to the session.” Naruto smiled with a little more confidence but was careful not to let his expression give his plan away.

Suspecting nothing Itachi bid his farewells and guided Sasuke out. Just as the young dark angel was stepping out of the gallery, he lifted his head once more to give Naruto a longing look and though the moment was short it was all Naruto needed to reaffirm his resolution to be with him.

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“Get in.” Itachi’s order was sharp and Sasuke could easily guess what awaited him at his next destination. Since his fate had already been determined for the day, he decided to probe Itachi’s intentions further.

“What was that all about Itachi? You couldn’t care less about art and now you want a painting of me?”

“I thought you rather enjoyed that little outing we had. I promised you that I’d take you out somewhere you’d like to be. You do like art don’t you so why not get a portrait of yourself painted?” The older Uchiha was sarcastic.

“In any case, how are you going to convince him to loan you his studio? You know he has issues with that.”

“Please, he wouldn’t refuse, not with a debt to repay. On the other hand, you seem to be getting more difficult these days.”

They halted at a red light and Itachi turned to look at his brother, licking his lips at the thought of creamy skin underneath that thin flimsy material. His thoughts quickly flowed towards his groin and Itachi’s cock hardened slowly.

“What?” Sasuke grew uncomfortable under his brother’s gaze.

Itachi sped off at the green light, but to Sasuke’s surprise he turned into a nearby parking basement.

“Where are you going?”

Itachi grabbed the ticket from the machine and drove his car as fast as he could towards the lower basement levels. His tires screeched as he spun the wheel hard and drove into a parking lot.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Sasuke shouted in alarm.

“Just needed a little relief and you’re going to give me that right now.”

“What?!”

Itachi turned to face Sasuke and before he could defend himself, Itachi had grabbed a fistful of Sasuke’s midnight blue hair and yanked him downwards towards his fully erected cock. The next thing Sasuke felt was Itachi reaching out to unlock his glove compartment where he kept a small swiss army pen-knife and Sasuke filled with dread as heard the flick of the blade.

“Now, we can either play nice, or play rough. I really should punch some discipline into you but of course I’d rather not see your beautiful body bruised.” Itachi’s voice was thick with need and he could feel his pants start to moisten with the leaking precum.

Sasuke knew that there was no defying his sick brother whenever he reached sadistic mode and the best that he could do was obey. Sasuke closed his eyes and relaxed his limbs in submission. Slowly he reached out to unzip Itachi’s pants. As he did so, Itachi shifted to remove his lower garments, freeing his erect member and allowing Sasuke to grab onto its hardened almost purple flesh. Like an addictive drug, Sasuke kept Naruto in his mind as he licked the shaft from base to tip. Itachi let out a small hiss at the gesture and Sasuke lapped his toungue in one swift stroke across the head. Itachi groaned and Sasuke felt his hips shift. He felt Itachi push his head downwards signaling for Sasuke to take him in. However, against his brother’s desires and along with his imagination, Sasuke shifted his attention to lick and nibble on Itachi’s scrotum, his mouth sucked and teased Itachi’s balls while his fist began pumping his brother’s member.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt his brother’s grip tighted, “Fuck Sasuke just suck me already and if you let anything drip onto these seats I’ll make you pay dearly.” Itachi had intended to sound threatening but failed to counter the need laced between the heavy breaths in his tone. But Sasuke wanted the session to end faster now that his imagination had been interrupted. He let his brother’s member plunge into his mouth and throat, causing him to gag much to his brother’s delight. Sasuke bobbed his head up and down rhythmically but soon found that he was no longer in control of his actions. Instead Itachi was lifting his hips and pushing Sasuke’s head down onto his member.

“I’m going .. to cum.. and you… had better take it in…oh fuck!” Sasuke felt the warmth spill into his mouth. He fought the gag reflex and frothy bitter taste, swallowing the mess as quickly as he could. Grabbing onto some tissues he wiped up anything that could’ve spilled over and stained the leather interior. He then cleaned his own mouth and started wishing for something to wash the taste out with. *A bottle of detergent would be good* he thought briefly.

Itachi started shifting to pull his pants and underwear back on.

“See brother, you can do a good job if you want to. If only you didn’t give me such a hard time persuading you to.”

Sasuke felt dirty and disgusted with himself. The visit this afternoon had made him seem like some sort of pollutant in Naruto’s gallery and it was more than he could bear. He had only just decided to stay away from Naruto for fear of dragging him into deeper waters and after analyzing all avenues before, Sasuke had finally come to accept the conclusion that only he could fight Itachi at his own game. But if the older Uchiha was determined to wreak havoc in the blond’s life, all Sasuke could do for now was play along with the game, until he was sure Itachi hadn’t picked up on their trail. If his brother had indeed discovered the truth, then Naruto’s life was at stake and if it was, he would have to quickly come up with a counter. Unfortunately for now, all Sasuke could look forward to was more torture and perhaps, on the brighter side, that much needed glass of clean water to drown the taste afterwards.

TBC