CHAPTER 6
After the encounter with Sakura two men went bowling. There Naruto observed Neji closely, noticing that half an hour into the game, the pale man relaxed and started enjoying the process. For some reason it pleased the blond. Which, in turn, confused him. Sure, he had to admit that the darker and more violent side of the gorgeous brunette that was revealed in front of Sakura appealed to Naruto, since he was no saint himself. Plus, he didn't believe that a well-mannered, submissive and selfless person could be interesting in any way. Everyone had had to have a flaw or two and some darker side in addition. Otherwise it would be plain boring: no excitement, nothing. An ordinary guy was not something Naruto wanted in his life. Even in a friendly way.
Everyone he knew, had something special in them: Ino was an energetic person with a lot of quirks, but at the same time attentive and loyal to her loved ones; Kiba was just crazy, his temper almost matching Naruto's - both of them liked to team up and do some weird stuff; Chouji was an excellent cook with a good sense of humor; everyone knew Shikamaru was a lazy ass but with an incredibly high IQ, who got himself a job in the police Intelligent Department. Then there was Hatake Kakashi, a perverted, with capital 'P', police officer with an unhealthy obsession to provoke people and inborn tardiness. All of them were included in a small group of people Naruto cared immensely about.
Even his fucked up relationship with Sasuke couldn't break these bonds. And it needed to be said that the Uchiha was stubbornly against Naruto being in contact with them, calling all of them simple-minded trash. This claim caused the biggest fights between the two males. The blond was fierce when it came to protecting his friends. The Uzumaki never understood why the asshole was so aggressive towards his gang and the said asshole never cared to elaborate, when he was asked to. That always pissed Naruto off even more. The blond sighed, it was hard to leave the Uchiha and all those years spent together behind. He knew it should be done, but the bastard's presence was a constant in his life for so long, that it seemed almost impossible.
Neji diverted the blond's attention from tormenting thoughts. Now, both of them, tired after a number of rounds, sat at the table outside the bowling building, relaxing and taking in the sigh of night Konoha.
"Naruto."
"Mm?"
"What are your plans for the future? Do you plan on staying at Ino's cafe?"
The Uzumaki turned towards the successful businessman, blue eyes boring into pale ones. After a minute silence, the bond sighed and redirected his orbs on the dark sky above them.
"It's nice working with Ino and all, but I always wanted to be an actor. I even took courses. It always amazed me how one person could bring to life different characters. In just a few seconds one should be able to switch personalities. It's interesting to see how people can change like that, bringing out some hidden sides of them. I even went to the damn auditions, but never got any feedback. I wonder why. Surely, I couldn't be
that bad. After all, I finished the bloody courses with highest grades. It should count for
something, right?"
Neji thought for a second.
"You know, I can contact one of the film studios we're sponsoring."
Naruto glared at the pale man. How dare he?
"Hyuuga, I don't need your connections and pity to get into the fucking showbusiness. If I'm really bad, then I'll just continue to work myself and try until I reach my damn goal. I won't kiss anyone's ass or jump into bed just for this. I'd better work my whole life as a waiter than resorting to this shit."
The brunette shook his head in amusement.
"You got me wrong, Naruto. I'm not going to help you with getting what you want. You said you never received any feedback. I only want to introduce you to a person that can point out flaws in your acting and give advice on how to proceed further. Getting some criticism will be good for the development of your skills. Nothing more, nothing less."
"That is actually a very good idea, Neji. It'd be fucking nice to have someone give some damn pointers."
The Hyuuga smiled at his beloved. Things between them were getting better and they were able to know each other to some degree. For a strange reason it only heated up his own temper more, when the blond cussed. And he did that A LOT. In the brunette's eyes it improved Naruto's image: beautiful, passionate, untamable and wild. It gave off an feeling of playing with fire. What's more, Neji's passionate and impulsive sides started surfacing too. To be honest, the man had no idea that they even existed! With that, the control that he had over his actions, words, feelings and overall facade was steadily crumbling down. He found himself opposing to his uncle's, Hiashi's, decisions and acting upon his own interpretation of situations. And it really felt good. For once in his life he felt himself a man, not a puppet in Hyuugas' hands. The satisfaction he got from the recent changes was incredible. His own personality that was pushed in a deep corner of him mind since childhood was rearing its head with glee. Neji grinned to himself: freedom felt nice.
...
It was already thursday and almost the end of the working day. Naruto was dead tired. Ino's interrogation about Sakura and the bowling trip did nothing to lift his spirit.
"Really, Naruto, I've never seen Neji being so protective and intimidating. I nearly peed in my pants...errr..skirt..haha. What magic did you use on him?"
"GAH! Ino! Shut it! I told you a million times already that I did
nothing! Get that through your thick skull! Seriously, you've been asking the same question since tuesday. That makes 3 days in a row! I can't take it anymore..."
"Mou, I wouldn't have done that if you would only tell your darling Auntie Ino the truth. How inconsiderate of you, young man."
"Please, oh my one and only beloved adopted sister, stop it."
Naruto noticed a strange gleam in the pale blue eyes. It was the one he knew all too well and hated with passion when it was directed at him. He groaned inwardly.
"Soooo...have you, by any chance...confessed to him?"
"OH, FOR FUCK'S SAKE! THERE IS NOTHING, YOU HEAR ME -
NOTHING, TO CONFESS!"
"Suuure, nothing at all. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. Nothing."
"Exactly!"
"Did you kiss then?"
"DAMN IT, WOMAN, NO! What in the world is wrong with you? I have honestly no idea how Shika lasted so long with you...you've got a loose screw in your head. I so want to strangle you right now..."
"Oh don't be so angry, baby. You know you love me...and Neji too!"
"That's it!"
Ino watched grinning as Naruto violently punched numbers on his cell and waited for an answer. Surely he would call either Shikamaru or, perhaps, Neji to complain.
"Kakashi, help me! There is a woman harassing me in the "Blooming Shuriken"! I can't get rid of her: she's either insane or on drugs!"
The imitation of a fish on the Yamanaka's face was performed perfectly. She knew that the Uzumaki was number one at surprising people, but this knowledge never helped when he actually did something of the kind. The young woman hastily picked up her coat and was out the door in a second, trusting the blond man to close the cafe.
The Uzumaki on the other hand, laughed his ass off at his friend's expense.
"Ahaha, thanks, Kakashi. I thought Ino would never stop harassing me. It's been 3 bloody days already with the same questions."
"Well, you could have just told her what she wanted to hear." "Oh nononono! It would only make things shittier. You remember the last time we met? There was a guy with long hair with me? The damn woman is trying to pair us up."
"Well, I don't know him personally, but perhaps that's not a bad idea. You'll feel better if you get laid." "Oh crap, not you too. I already heard enough of it from Ino! I don't need your perverted ass siding with her."
"But just think of it: a wild, passionate sex with a-" "I need to go, bye."
Naruto hastily ended the call. Seriously, were they all ganging up on him? No doubt, Ino would tell Kiba and then there would be no peace for him. And he called them friends. Friends didn't do such things! Thankfully Chouji didn't care much about those matters and always let Naruto do what he himself considered good for him. But Shika...the man would try to talk to him on Ino's behalf, that was for sure. The Yamanaka would deny him sex for a week or more if he wouldn't. Naruto wasn't even sure that his pity for the lazy man would be enough not to escape the conversation. Usually he agreed to listen to the genius for his sake. But now the blond was inclined to ignore his friend's sad predicament.
Naruto was so deep in his thoughts that when his cell started ringing he almost jumped out of his skin. One look at the display was enough to calm him down: Hyuuga.
"Hoi."
"Hello, Naruto. Are you busy now?" "Nah, the cafe is almost empty. You want something?"
"I called the studio. Maybe you heard of it - Sannin Pictures." "Yeah, I've heard. There aren't many who hadn't."
"Originally, the organization was established by three people: Tsunade, Jiraya and Orochimaru. About five years ago, Orochimaru took his leave and formed the Hebi studios. Does it sound familiar?" "Yeah, I've never got any feedback from them."
"I talked to Jiraya and he told me that the Hebi and many other studios are sponsored by the Uchiha." Naruto's lungs stopped functioning for a moment. He had an inkling where this conversation was going.
"Since those three are contacting each other from time to time, Orochimaru told something to Tsunade and Jiraya. The man actually like your performance, but all the studios that are under the Uchiha were given instructions to decline any of your requests without any further explanation, while others were threatened or bribed. It seems that he wants to hold you back." Naruto felt torn: on one hand - he wanted to bawl and cry his eyes out; on the other hand - the blond wanted to storm into the Mangekyo Inc. building and rip the bastard's head off. The latter option looked much more appealing in the Uzumaki's head. In the end anger prevailed, letting free a low growl from the constricting throat.
"That son of a bitch! One day he'll pay for this, that poor excuse of a human being! I'll murder that dick while laughing long and hard!"
The angry rant went on for a considerable amount of time, with Neji keeping silent and taking in the explosion that was Naruto's speech. The brunette smirked: now the Uchiha had no chances to get the blond back if he ever planned to. Finally, Naruto fell silent, but still fuming inwardly.
"Naruto, are you finished?" "Yeah."
"Good. This saturday morning I'm taking you to the Sannin Pictures. They agreed to take a look at your skills and help you with advice." "Really?"
"You know, I wouldn't lie to you."
"Hm, I wouldn't be so sure, 'coz I don't know you that good."
"Now you know that I wouldn't. Not to you." "I'll remember. Thanks for help."
"My pleasure. See you on saturday then, I'll call you with more details tomorrow." "Great. You're my saviour. Bye."
"Good night." Naruto slumped in the barstool. He only had to survive friday and then he'd finally get some professional opinion. It was still hard to believe it. Then he thought about what he said to the Hyuuga - '
You're my saviour'. Now that he looked back at those weeks after the break up, they were filled with Neji or conversations about him with Ino. It gave him almost no time to think about the bastard Uchiha or drown in pain and grief. It struck him suddenly, that he was actually happy for the first time in years.
Now, Naruto needed a plan how to escape Ino and ignore Shika's pleadingly-suffering look. He had a gut feeling that he'd see the gang the next day. They were not the ones to drag things out. At least not Ino and Kiba. Those two were like slave drivers. Their methods always worked on Shika. And Chouji always followed the lazy bum when they were together - the two were best friends after all. A light bulb lit above the messy blond head. He took his cell out again.
"Kakashi, do you have a free couch for me tomorrow night?"
After all, he had better chances in dealing with only Hatake, than with two maniacs and a sex-deprived genius.
