Precious Broken Things
folder
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,288
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
5
Views:
1,288
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 3
Chapter 3:
Shinobu shivered, face still heavy with the makeup she had worn on stage. She had slumped onto a stool once Mayu had cleared the bar for the night. The blonde had thrown her a worried glance on the way by, but other than that she'd kept a respectful distance, they all had. None of the girls knew why Shinobu was so nervous, but they knew it must be bad, to have punched through that wall, to have let so much out. Shikamura kept tossing her looks of his own while he wiped down the bar and that made her even more nervous, because he knew why she was upset, he knew who had been there to upset her. She shivered.
It could very well be a coincidence, the tall boy in the back of the room who looked so much like someone she used to know. Shinobu couldn't quite place the face really, didn't know where it was from, but she knew to fear him, to stay away. She shivered at the thought of whatever it was that man would do to her once he found her. She had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty. She managed a weak smile for the boy behind the bar though, and that seemed to satisfy him enough to send him back to tending bar.
She looked around the room deliberately then, trying to send Shika the signal that she didn't want his pity, she was fine, even if she wasn't sure that would be the case in a little bit. She sighed, it didn't look like there was much of anything left to do at this point, not that she expected it. The rest of the girls were doing dishes and collecting candles and such, but Shinobu was on stage, so she wasn't on any of those jobs. It made her squirm slightly, and suddenly she realized just how tired she really felt. She pushed herself to her feet then, stretching her spine and cracking her shoulders from the position she'd been hunched in there.
"Is there anything else that needs doing, Shika?" The boy just shook his head.
"Everything is already being taken care of. You can head home if you want, Yori isn't here and I don't give a crap if you head out. You've had a hell of an evening, you deserve it." She smiled weakly, and Shika's brows knit slightly in concern. "Unless you wanna wait around until I finish, and I can walk you home." She shook him off politely, shrugging her coat on over her street clothes.
"Don't worry so much, Shika, I'll be fine." He shrugged, not wanting to push it really.
"Well if you ever do, or want help with anything don't hesitate to call, okay. You have my number right?" He didn't even stop to listen to the answer before he had already scribbled it onto a matchbook that was sitting on the bar-top, sliding it over to Shinobu who picked it up quickly, shoving it into her pocket. and shot him another kind look, trying to be reassuring now, before calling goodnight to the other girls out back. Shika smiled as she pulled the door shut behind her.
X
The stairwell leading down from the bar was long, and by this time of night it was dark, the ancient florescent bulbs flickering weakly at the ceiling. It was a little creepy, and some of the girls were still scared to walk down it alone at the end of the day. Shinobu was not one of those girls. She tucked her dark hair behind her ear once more, the only nervous tic she displayed on the outside, but it wasn't the walk down that was bugging her. He had been there tonight, this figure that loomed somewhere in the background of her memory. She didn't quite know who he was, but she'd felt his eyes when she was singing up there. She hadn't been able to see him, not with that spotlight in her face, but she knew he wouldn't sit up front, not now, he didn't need to. He knew she could sense his presence, this was a warning. She'd been found and there wouldn't be another chance for failure.
She wasn't quite sure what he wanted, or why he was here, but she knew that at this point there wasn't much she could do to go against him, not now. She'd been given her chance to get away, and she had gotten lazy, she'd stopped here, and now she was caught. Her shoulders slumped a little as her foot hit the concrete of the floor finally, and she stepped forwards towards the metal door, black with age and grime and graffiti, an archeology of chipped paint showing around the edges, the tempered glass of the small window scratched to opacity, showing just a hint of the street lamp across the way, a ghost of the already dim light.
The girl sighed as she set her shoulder to the door, pushing her way out into the night, the feeling of nervous energy still bubbling in her stomach. She forced it from her face though, breathed the night air deeply and forced her hands to relax in the pockets of the long black coat she wore, counting the steps and pushing the paranoia from her mind like she was taught to do when she was little, before everything, before she became who she was now. She breathed.
It was two blocks to the subway stop from the bar, but the night was warm and the streets were well lit, as always, so she concentrated on slowing her steps, on pushing her heart-rate back down, on ignoring the sudden prickling on the back of her neck, the feeling of being watched, of being followed. She put it down as paranoia and pushed forwards, trying to keep as calm as possible.
In her first months here, she had been like this all the time, always looking over her shoulder for those eyes, for those lips pressed into their tight line, for the pale skin and the clipped voice, but it never came. It had taken her a very long time, but slowly she had begun to relax into this new world, into her new life. Now it seemed that all that was needed to pull her back to that state of obsessive vigilance was one single feeling, one shiver, one glance she could convince herself was all imagined.
She breathed deeply, allowing herself one glance over her shoulder, quick and darting, fear still wiggling like a small furry animal in her chest. There was someone there, her heart-rate jumped, skipping like a record left out in the sun. She held her breath briefly, counted her steps, focused in front of her. She could see the sign for the subway now.
It was close, but she could feel someone watching her from behind and it made the distance seem so much longer. Her feet felt like lead now, and she wanted to quicken her steps but she couldn't. She longed to take a quick glance over her shoulder for reassurance but she was genuinely frightened of what she would find. The subway was right there though, and that meant people, and people meant a small degree of safety.
It wasn't until she was on the stairs that she allowed herself to look back. Her heart stopped dead and suddenly the mechanics of walking, which she still understood in the abstract, were beyond her. She couldn't even move her hand, which was clutching the railing so hard she thought it might crack. He was there, eyes glinting red in the low light, hair billowing slightly in the light wind, standing so still she wasn't sure whether he was alive or something hewn of stone, watching her intently, not breathing not blinking.
Then he moved and she panicked, she was so sure he was coming for her but she still couldn't force her body into motion. She closed her eyes and flinched, waiting for the hand on her shoulder and the smooth voice. It never came.
By the time she forced her eyes open again he was gone.
X
Shinobu had held herself together until she opened the door to her apartment, but once it was closed behind her she felt the strain. She dropped everything right there, her coat, her bag, her shoes all fell in a pile next to the door and it took everything she had left to stagger over to the small couch in the corner before she fell utterly apart. Everything was over now, everything she'd worked so hard to build these past years would soon be in pieces because He was back and when He wanted something He wouldn't give up until He had it.
She had hoped against hope that she had hid herself well enough to be beyond His reach, but she knew how long that was and she cursed herself for not being more careful, for not listening to Shika when he warned her. That boy was a genius and he had told her that He'd be back, that He'd find her. Shinobu hadn't listened though, she'd thought everything would be okay, He wouldn't go that far. But He had, just like Shika had told her. He didn't give up.
X
Shikamura had been packing the last of the day's proceeds into the little black bag he would be taking to the bank on his way home when the phone rang. He sighed heavily, he hated answering the phone it was so troublesome. Usually one of the girls would answer the phone, but eh was the only on here right now, he'd been about to lock up. He entertained the idea of not answering it, it was after hours after all and so they were technically closed. He sighed again and grabbed it from the cradle.
"He-" was all he got out before the panicked voice from the other end started in. He froze, it was Shishi.
"I saw Him Shika, I saw Itachi. He's here, He's really really here." Shika's heart stopped for a moment then. It was true. His brain raced through every possible option to get her away but he knew it was useless. If Itachi was really here then the game was basically over, and there wasn't anything they could do that would stop him. He wasn't about to tell her that though, it would probably be too much right now. He sighed heavily again.
"I'm on my way out Shishi, I'll be there in less than an hour."
Shinobu shivered, face still heavy with the makeup she had worn on stage. She had slumped onto a stool once Mayu had cleared the bar for the night. The blonde had thrown her a worried glance on the way by, but other than that she'd kept a respectful distance, they all had. None of the girls knew why Shinobu was so nervous, but they knew it must be bad, to have punched through that wall, to have let so much out. Shikamura kept tossing her looks of his own while he wiped down the bar and that made her even more nervous, because he knew why she was upset, he knew who had been there to upset her. She shivered.
It could very well be a coincidence, the tall boy in the back of the room who looked so much like someone she used to know. Shinobu couldn't quite place the face really, didn't know where it was from, but she knew to fear him, to stay away. She shivered at the thought of whatever it was that man would do to her once he found her. She had a feeling it wouldn't be pretty. She managed a weak smile for the boy behind the bar though, and that seemed to satisfy him enough to send him back to tending bar.
She looked around the room deliberately then, trying to send Shika the signal that she didn't want his pity, she was fine, even if she wasn't sure that would be the case in a little bit. She sighed, it didn't look like there was much of anything left to do at this point, not that she expected it. The rest of the girls were doing dishes and collecting candles and such, but Shinobu was on stage, so she wasn't on any of those jobs. It made her squirm slightly, and suddenly she realized just how tired she really felt. She pushed herself to her feet then, stretching her spine and cracking her shoulders from the position she'd been hunched in there.
"Is there anything else that needs doing, Shika?" The boy just shook his head.
"Everything is already being taken care of. You can head home if you want, Yori isn't here and I don't give a crap if you head out. You've had a hell of an evening, you deserve it." She smiled weakly, and Shika's brows knit slightly in concern. "Unless you wanna wait around until I finish, and I can walk you home." She shook him off politely, shrugging her coat on over her street clothes.
"Don't worry so much, Shika, I'll be fine." He shrugged, not wanting to push it really.
"Well if you ever do, or want help with anything don't hesitate to call, okay. You have my number right?" He didn't even stop to listen to the answer before he had already scribbled it onto a matchbook that was sitting on the bar-top, sliding it over to Shinobu who picked it up quickly, shoving it into her pocket. and shot him another kind look, trying to be reassuring now, before calling goodnight to the other girls out back. Shika smiled as she pulled the door shut behind her.
X
The stairwell leading down from the bar was long, and by this time of night it was dark, the ancient florescent bulbs flickering weakly at the ceiling. It was a little creepy, and some of the girls were still scared to walk down it alone at the end of the day. Shinobu was not one of those girls. She tucked her dark hair behind her ear once more, the only nervous tic she displayed on the outside, but it wasn't the walk down that was bugging her. He had been there tonight, this figure that loomed somewhere in the background of her memory. She didn't quite know who he was, but she'd felt his eyes when she was singing up there. She hadn't been able to see him, not with that spotlight in her face, but she knew he wouldn't sit up front, not now, he didn't need to. He knew she could sense his presence, this was a warning. She'd been found and there wouldn't be another chance for failure.
She wasn't quite sure what he wanted, or why he was here, but she knew that at this point there wasn't much she could do to go against him, not now. She'd been given her chance to get away, and she had gotten lazy, she'd stopped here, and now she was caught. Her shoulders slumped a little as her foot hit the concrete of the floor finally, and she stepped forwards towards the metal door, black with age and grime and graffiti, an archeology of chipped paint showing around the edges, the tempered glass of the small window scratched to opacity, showing just a hint of the street lamp across the way, a ghost of the already dim light.
The girl sighed as she set her shoulder to the door, pushing her way out into the night, the feeling of nervous energy still bubbling in her stomach. She forced it from her face though, breathed the night air deeply and forced her hands to relax in the pockets of the long black coat she wore, counting the steps and pushing the paranoia from her mind like she was taught to do when she was little, before everything, before she became who she was now. She breathed.
It was two blocks to the subway stop from the bar, but the night was warm and the streets were well lit, as always, so she concentrated on slowing her steps, on pushing her heart-rate back down, on ignoring the sudden prickling on the back of her neck, the feeling of being watched, of being followed. She put it down as paranoia and pushed forwards, trying to keep as calm as possible.
In her first months here, she had been like this all the time, always looking over her shoulder for those eyes, for those lips pressed into their tight line, for the pale skin and the clipped voice, but it never came. It had taken her a very long time, but slowly she had begun to relax into this new world, into her new life. Now it seemed that all that was needed to pull her back to that state of obsessive vigilance was one single feeling, one shiver, one glance she could convince herself was all imagined.
She breathed deeply, allowing herself one glance over her shoulder, quick and darting, fear still wiggling like a small furry animal in her chest. There was someone there, her heart-rate jumped, skipping like a record left out in the sun. She held her breath briefly, counted her steps, focused in front of her. She could see the sign for the subway now.
It was close, but she could feel someone watching her from behind and it made the distance seem so much longer. Her feet felt like lead now, and she wanted to quicken her steps but she couldn't. She longed to take a quick glance over her shoulder for reassurance but she was genuinely frightened of what she would find. The subway was right there though, and that meant people, and people meant a small degree of safety.
It wasn't until she was on the stairs that she allowed herself to look back. Her heart stopped dead and suddenly the mechanics of walking, which she still understood in the abstract, were beyond her. She couldn't even move her hand, which was clutching the railing so hard she thought it might crack. He was there, eyes glinting red in the low light, hair billowing slightly in the light wind, standing so still she wasn't sure whether he was alive or something hewn of stone, watching her intently, not breathing not blinking.
Then he moved and she panicked, she was so sure he was coming for her but she still couldn't force her body into motion. She closed her eyes and flinched, waiting for the hand on her shoulder and the smooth voice. It never came.
By the time she forced her eyes open again he was gone.
X
Shinobu had held herself together until she opened the door to her apartment, but once it was closed behind her she felt the strain. She dropped everything right there, her coat, her bag, her shoes all fell in a pile next to the door and it took everything she had left to stagger over to the small couch in the corner before she fell utterly apart. Everything was over now, everything she'd worked so hard to build these past years would soon be in pieces because He was back and when He wanted something He wouldn't give up until He had it.
She had hoped against hope that she had hid herself well enough to be beyond His reach, but she knew how long that was and she cursed herself for not being more careful, for not listening to Shika when he warned her. That boy was a genius and he had told her that He'd be back, that He'd find her. Shinobu hadn't listened though, she'd thought everything would be okay, He wouldn't go that far. But He had, just like Shika had told her. He didn't give up.
X
Shikamura had been packing the last of the day's proceeds into the little black bag he would be taking to the bank on his way home when the phone rang. He sighed heavily, he hated answering the phone it was so troublesome. Usually one of the girls would answer the phone, but eh was the only on here right now, he'd been about to lock up. He entertained the idea of not answering it, it was after hours after all and so they were technically closed. He sighed again and grabbed it from the cradle.
"He-" was all he got out before the panicked voice from the other end started in. He froze, it was Shishi.
"I saw Him Shika, I saw Itachi. He's here, He's really really here." Shika's heart stopped for a moment then. It was true. His brain raced through every possible option to get her away but he knew it was useless. If Itachi was really here then the game was basically over, and there wasn't anything they could do that would stop him. He wasn't about to tell her that though, it would probably be too much right now. He sighed heavily again.
"I'm on my way out Shishi, I'll be there in less than an hour."