Author: Rasengan22

Note: Last chapter will be up by Halloween. Not sure if this will be anything more than a "general" fic although it does have implied pairings other than Sasuke/Naruto. My intention is for the story to be focused on them, but I'm just not sure anything will happen. Don't know how long it will be or how it will end. In theory, I should be updating this frequently even though I don't know how many chapters it will have. I'm actually using a plot, too, so, not everything will be explained right away. Kind of like...a real story.

The darkened and ancient basement in the funeral home was musty and dank. Along the old, bricked walls green moss crawled from the cracks. Sasuke was surrounded by unfamiliar relatives, most of which he had never seen before in his life. They were dressed in black, as was he. In front of him were two openings, large enough to fit the shiny wooden caskets set before him. In just a few minutes, they would move along a belt, and the bodies inside would no longer maintain the physical shape of what he, just a few days ago, called his parents.

The muscles in his body felt so stiff, but if he didn’t know better, he would have guessed his shoulders were slumping miserably. It had been raining as they’d entered the funeral home. It had been early-afternoon, and yet, somehow, it felt as it if was in the early hours of morning, hours before dawn. When everything in the outside smelled of wet, and dewdrops lingered on the plants like ship-wrecked passengers clinging to lifeboats in the middle of a rocky sea.

Sniffles and sobs resounded from everywhere around him, but Sasuke could only stare ahead at the caskets as they started to edge forward, the process cruelly taunting in its sluggishness. The conveyor belts groaned and hitched mechanically with the effort as the further ends began disappearing into the holes where the bodies would be cremated. They reminded Sasuke of the empty eye sockets of a skull, and suddenly his parents were being sucked into that unknown darkness, leaving him behind without a word as to when they would see each other again. A hand nestled on his shoulder. He didn’t realize his body was trembling until he felt the pressure of it on his body. He shook and swayed, but sucking in a silent breath, Sasuke stood tall and defiant. His face was deathly pale as a great roaring noise helped surge a fire to life. Hot orange flames licked along the edges, consuming the wood as it bit and crackled. The last he ever saw of his parents was the end of the caskets as they disappeared into the darkness just as the metal, gated doors shut behind them to burn their remains.

It was four o’clock in the afternoon. There was a chill in the air brought on by the earlier rains. The grassy grounds of the nearby fields were littered with the occasional deceptive puddle. One wrong step, and a walker’s boot-clad foot could be sucked into the mud, dirtying knees and hands as they tripped up those who weren’t careful. However, Naruto had been this way many a time since he was really young, at least when he managed to escape from the house he shared with his older sisters. It wasn’t always possible for him to sneak out without them knowing, and if they found him here now by the rail yard, they’d likely give him a beating to remember. All three of them at once was more than any 8-year old could take. His yellow, tattered raincoat was unclasped in the front, and though he didn’t want to wear them, he had on a hand-me down pair of black rainboots that had been bought from a goodwill store. The sides and soles were already covered in wet, brown muck as he tottered over the loose gravel near the tracks.

On one track there were five neglected freight cars. One had a word Naruto was not allowed to say (in front of his sisters) written in spray-painted graffiti. The letters were big and puffy and painted on in orange and black: Halloween colors. As far back as he could remember, Naruto had never much liked Halloween though the girls he lived with seemed to start planning for the next one the day after October 31. There was more to it, but they often kept Naruto away from their planning, and whenever he would walk into a room and they were discussing it, for some reason, the entire room would go quiet. For a long time, Naruto felt as if it was him entering the room that caused them to cease their conversations, but last year he finally realized they didn’t like to speak about it in front of him. So, he remained ignorant of most of their discussions of Halloween and rarely did he go out and trick-or-treat with any of the other children his age. However, there were also circumstances regarding that situation, he could not quite comprehend at only eight. He often stared out the windows of his house, gazing down from the hill it was set upon as costume-clad children skipped from door to door. They always looked so happy, and Naruto had no friends outside of his own little world. He had tried at his grade school to make friends, but was often bullied and beaten up until finally his sisters took him out and home schooled him.

To Naruto, he wasn’t any different than the other children. He laughed, cried, joked, pulled pranks on his sisters. He knew how to open doors for the elderly, even if they scowled or muttered at him. He knew he had a kind heart, but the town just hadn’t recognized him quite yet, but one day… One day he might be able to prove to them that he was worth their time.

Thinking about this, Naruto kicked at a rock, sending it against the rusted brown rail of the track. It skittered over the other white-colored stones. He walked to one of the freight cars, tiny finger tracing along more graffiti until he heard a strange noise. He looked up, pulling down the bright hood of his coat in order to see more properly. A drop of rain fell from the top and landed just above his eye. It trickled over his eyebrow and down his cheek. The noise came again, and it sounded like the cry of wounded animal. Naruto glanced to either side of him, but seeing that no angry sister was about to pop out at him and drag him away, he reached for the metal ladder connected to the side of the car and tugged himself up with all the strength he had in his arms. He gripped tightly to the rails as he peeked over the top to see a child sitting on the edge of the car, his knees pulled to his chest. He was dressed all in black. He wore no coat and his black hair drooped and stuck to the sides of his pale face.

Naruto climbed the rest of the way until he was standing atop the freight car, on level with the other boy. Again, Naruto glanced around, staring at the ground below. On one side of the railroad lay an entire field of overgrown grass, on its way to turning brown in the early oncoming chills of autumn. On the other side, where the other little boy was staring, there were rows of trees that were like an overgrown green fence that went on for miles and miles. Naruto stood still, conflicted on if he should move forward or speak. He didn’t want to frighten the other child away by startling him. Naruto took a tentative step forward, his boot audibly scraping against the chipped surface.

The black-haired boy’s head perked, but he didn’t quite turn around to face Naruto. Instead, he let go of the knees he’d been hugging and they dropped over the side, kicking against the metal with the heels of his shoes.

“Uh, are you okay?” Naruto asked, reaching out a hand toward the boy’s back but quickly retracting it as he thought better of it.

“Go away.”

Naruto tilted his head to the side in questioning. “But you’re all alone.”

The other boy grunted at him derisively. “Not anymore thanks to you.”

Naruto took another step forward, surprised. “Are you saying you want to be alone?”

The boy began to stand, his posture stiff with annoyance at having been disturbed, but Naruto didn’t seem to notice this as worry had taken over his otherwise emotional perceptiveness. Usually he could read people like a book, he always had, and yet, with this particular boy, he found it hard. As the kid turned around, Naruto locked eyes with him. They were rimmed red, an eerie contrast to the actual dark color of his eyes. They were almost as black as a moonless night sky and as equally severe and haunting.

“You look familiar,” the boy said. He rubbed at his cheek with curled fingers before shoving both hands into the pockets of his black pants. Mud stuck to the bottoms of his pant legs, his shoes were entirely covered in the sludge. He looked cold and tired.

Naruto began sliding his raincoat off. “I don’t think so,” he answered, not recalling a time when they could have met. He stepped forward, offering the coat as a source of warmth.

For a brief second, the boy’s eyes widened, but they quickly turned hard and angry. “I don’t need that.”

“But you’re cold aren’t you?” Naruto pouted, completely confused as to why the other boy would reject a perfectly warm coat when he was obviously freezing. It made no sense. The coat hung limply between them as Naruto gripped it with his chubby fingers. It was close enough to him that the other boy could snatch and take it if he wanted to, but, instead, he slinked passed, shoving against Naruto's shoulder rather roughly. Naruto stumbled back about a foot with the force, feeling nothing but shock and sadness. As he regained his footing, the other boy was already climbing down the ladder, the tips of his dark hair disappearing before Naruto’s eyes.

Naruto cautiously crept to the side and stared down in innocent wonder. When the child reached the ground, he suddenly stood very still, gripping tightly onto the rail. He hung his head as if staring at his muddy shoes. Slowly, the boy looked up at Naruto, whose tiny forehead was furrowed deeply in great concentration as if trying to work out an impossible puzzle. A warm, tingly feeling ignited in Naruto’s hands and feet and along his spine. So quick did it come and then go, it felt like receiving an unexpected shock from a doorknob after walking on thick, fuzzy carpet. In the split second the sensation had hit him, the strange boy had disappeared. Panicked, Naruto spun around in a circle and found himself staring out at the field, where a lone figure crept through the wheat and grass as lonely and solitary as Death.

Usually cheerful, Naruto found himself overwhelmed with a great sense of sadness and fear. The unwelcome emotion clogged his lungs and, startled by the abrupt feeling of suffocation, he gasped, his tiny hands clawing at his throat where he thought maybe the strings of his sweatshirt had been pulled too tightly. When he could no longer see the other child after he reached the part of the field that dipped down into a small hill, the odd sensation disappeared and Naruto was left with such an anxiousness and sense of foreboding that he didn’t loiter there for much longer.

As he trudged in the direction of his own home, briefly wondering where the other boy lived or where he came from or why he’d looked so gloomy, all Naruto could think was: I really wish I could be friends with that boy and make him feel happy.

Ten years later

Shikamaru leaned over the glass counter, looking tired and bored. Behind him, legions of gory masks hung like decapitated and gruesome heads on the wall. Werewolves, zombies, demented clowns, and blood-soaked faces made of latex somehow managed to glare without any of them actually having eyes. At his side, on a tall barstool sat his friend Chouji, who currently had his hand lodged into a plastic bag filled with candy corn. They both watched as Naruto moved back and forth between Halloween displays, tidying up and fixing things as a nametag attached by an orange string around his neck swung from side to side in front of his black t-shirt.

“Naruto, you’re making me dizzy just watching you,” Shikamaru sighed as he traced a lazy circle on the glass of the counter with the tip of his pinky.

“Well someone has to work around here,” Naruto responded as he re-stacked the fog machines in a more orderly manner. Satisfied, he went toward the display counter and pressed his arm against it, staring over the vast array of masks, the corner of his mouth turned up into an oddly pleased smile.

“So,” Naruto said while scrutinizing an empty peg near the very top of the wall. “I guess we’re ready to open?”

Shikamaru nudged Chouji. “Chouji, go unlock the doors and switch the sign over.”

Chouji munched on the broad yellow tip of a piece of candy corn. “Why don’t you do it, Shikamaru?”

Naruto rolled his eyes and picked up the clipboard on the counter that listed all the masks they carried, the numbers associated with the pieces of paper stuck to the ones on the wall, and their prices. Naruto studied it, comparing it to that of the number on the missing peg.

“Well, why you guys are deciding who opens up the shop, I’m gonna run down into the basement and find Eye-Popping Bug Man.”

As Shikamaru was shrugging and Chouji was getting up from his stool, Naruto headed toward the door marked “Employee’s Only.” As he marched down the stairs and into the basement, he heard the jingling of bells signaling Saturday’s first customers as well as the boomingly jolly voice of Chouji as he greeted whoever it was. But all else went unheard as Naruto reached the basement floor, eyes scouting over the cardboard boxes littering a sea of shelves filled with Halloween costumes and paraphernalia. He passed by the first section, which was devoted to children’s costumes: Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, all possible super heroes, vampires and ghouls. He turned a corner, featuring the more, well, sluttier costumes for the college-aged girls. Oh how he cursed and yet loved the Leg Avenue brand.

Naruto turned another corner, the basement seemingly going on forever as it wound around the length of the building. In each nook there could be found some kind of Halloween-themed product. As he squeaked through a narrow path by some carnival games available for rent, he found the mountain of boxes containing the masks. Though he was one of the few employees who tried to keep it organized, masks lay on the floor, mixed up with the fake plastic limbs the store sold. He searched through the numbers written in black marker for the right one. He pulled out the box containing the Jason masks, the Chucky masks, and other Slipknot masks, and behind them all, he found #133.

Naruto smiled, tugging at the edge of the box and being greeted with a hideous green mask with bulging black eyes, one of them dangling loosely out of the sockets by a bloody muscle oozing some kind of yellow pus. Naruto pulled it out of the box slowly, combing out its black, stringy hair with his fingers. He pushed all the boxes he’d dislodged back into place, poking a few of the ghastly heads into their proper spots when they appeared to be trying to make a break for it by falling out the front and sides. Holding the mask by the tag, Naruto made his way through the basement maze, which was eerily silent and perhaps just a little creepy. It was ill-lit and reminded him of the kind of basement a homicidal maniac might use to hide away unlucky corpses. He took to the stairs two at a time, pausing in the holding area where costumes had been stored in plastic bags, awaiting to be picked up and paid for by customers. He stared down at the mask and suddenly grinned as he began pulling it on, smoothing back the hair.

With the intention of storming the mask counter and scaring the shit out of, at least, Chouji, Naruto swung open the door, startled as he nearly collided into a customer. Apparently, the other person was also startled and paused. Naruto peered out through the mask’s eyes, his own eyes shifting back and forth quickly. He rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck and then realized he was still wearing the mask. He got it off quickly and was greeted by a pair of very dark, very unforgiving eyes. The guy looked at him morosely, almost pityingly as Naruto fussed with his hair where it’d been matted down by the mask he now held in his right hand.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you--”

“You didn't,” the boy interrupted quickly, his mouth set very thin and his overall expression rather unfriendly.

“Oh, okay, good. Oh wait, really?” Naruto cocked his head to the side and pulled the mask up to view it and then held it out again at the customer. “This doesn’t do anything for you?” He frowned, feeling somehow insulted.

“No, not really,” the man said and began walking away.

“Wait,” Naruto said and jogged up after him. “Can I help you find anything at all?”

“No.”

Naruto stopped and let the customer walk away. He scowled at the guy’s back and the stupid spiky haircut he wore as he joined his group of three friends--a long haired, snooty looking guy; a long-haired girl who could have passed as that guy’s sister; and a brown-haired boy helping himself to the red demo Snazaroo face paints on the counter. He shrugged at being blown off. Every day there was always going to be a rude customer, so it was no big deal. Remembering what he’d gone down to the basement for, he unlocked the rope that led to the space behind the mask counter. Chouji had wandered off, but Shikamaru was still there. Naruto maneuvered behind him, tripping over boxes of masks lying haphazardly on the floor as he grabbed for the tall metal ladder. He set it in place and began climbing it. He tugged the mask over the white, foam dummy head and stuck it in place, then climbed down and put the ladder away before anyone could walk under it.

Oh, and why did he just have that thought about walking under ladders? Naruto shook his head as a sudden list of superstitions he’d learned from this book he’d found in the attic assaulted him. Shikamaru gave him a funny look as he turned on his stool.

“Hey, did you see that guy that walked in?” Shikamaru asked, still raising an eyebrow at Naruto's stupor.

“Oh, what, that one jerk with the stupid black hair?”

“Yeah.” Shikamaru pulled a knee up, one foot planted the stool's lower peg while his other remained rooted to the floor. “You know who that is, right?”

Naruto grumbled, searching through the boxes under the counter. Not finding what he was looking for he looked up. “Have you seen the nude-colored hairnets? We don’t have any more by the wigs, and you know when Ino gets here at noon, she’s gonna be pissed if she has to go searching for them.”

“Why would they be back by masks?” Shikamaru said, ignoring the fact Naruto hadn’t answered his question.

“I don’t know, because everything here is freaking disorganized,” Naruto responded, running a hand through the blond spikes on the top of his head.

“You’re so anal about this place, and you don’t even like Halloween.”

Naruto waved a dismissive hand as he leaned against the counter, eyes traveling to the group still hanging around the make-up counter, and falling specifically on the customer who had been rude to him earlier. One of the female employees was already behind the counter, helping them with something. The girl that was with them as well as the brown-haired boy peered over the counter with interest. She was probably showing them how to do a gash with the make-up as she applied it on her arm. Naruto returned his attention to Shikamaru after feeling satisfied even they were being looked after. As assistant manager, there was really nothing Naruto could do but make sure everyone who came in was satisfied. Well, for his own personal pride as well as the fear he had when it came to his thick-headed and stubborn boss. As it was a Saturday, she probably wouldn’t be rolling into her office for a few more hours as more than likely she’d been out all night drinking and doing whatever it was middle-aged women did in a town as small as this.

“It’s not that I don’t like Halloween,” Naruto argued thoughtfully, finally remembering Shikamaru’s earlier comment, “It’s just… I dunno how to explain it. But in my house, there’s just this weird feeling I get when it’s talked about.”

“Weird feeling?” Shikamaru slid his elbow onto the counter and observationally studied Naruto’s face.

Naruto nodded. “Yeah, like, well, you know people say I live in a Haunted House or whatever and my sisters are weirdos.”

“I would never say that in front of Ino,” Shikamaru muttered.

“Bah, Ino’s not even the worst one. You should see Temari when she gets pissed, but anyway… people in this town, up until Tsunade gave me a job here, they always treated us like we were the plague or something.”

“Hm,” Shikamaru murmured, his eyebrows knitting in thought, but he didn’t say anything more, and Naruto was uncomfortable talking about it, even with as good a friend as Shikamaru.

Naruto gave the counter a pat before giving a wave to Shikamaru as he came went out from behind the counter to make sure someone was behind the register counter in case the phone rang. Again, his eyes were roved to the make-up counter as he walked by it. He gave a second glance at the girl, stopping in his steps and then realizing it was rather unprofessional to be checking a customer out. But she was thin and yet not stick thin, completely curvy. She had long dark hair and she had creamy-colored skin and was smiling shyly and nodding to the girl behind the counter. The brown-haired boy next to her suddenly looked over at Naruto and narrowed his eyes. Naruto stared back for a moment, but then continued on his way, in search of any more customers who might have come in through the other doors. He went into the room that housed the adult costumes and waved to the women behind the costume rental counter. Not seeing anyone amidst the aisles, Naruto trudged back to the Magic section, where he found the two boys who had wandered away from their other friends at the make-up counter. They were talking in hushed voices but stopped as Naruto entered the area, something he was rather accustomed to, but for the most part, this store always felt like a second home, so it didn’t bother him as much as it used to when he was little.

“Can I help you with something?” Naruto asked as pleasantly as he could manage while unfastening the red velvet rope that led the actual space where the magic kits were sold.

“Magic, huh?” The longer-haired of the two asked. “Isn’t that a little juvenile?” He followed Naruto and stood in front of his counter. The other teen Naruto had exchanged words with earlier stood behind, watching them both closely for a few seconds before his eyes slid along the walls where all the props were.

Naruto bit his tongue, wanting to say something nasty and vindictive, but he got a hold of himself thankfully. “Lots of famous people were known for their magic tricks,” Naruto returned, “Houdini, for example. One of the greatest magicians ever known to man.”

“It seems foolish,” the boy said curtly as he swung a handful of hair behind his shoulder. “To risk your life for such a silly cause.”

“One man’s silly cause is another’s life’s crusade,” Naruto returned brusquely.

“Neji,” the other boy standing behind him said, his tone sounding like a sort of warning.

Neji kept his eyes locked with Naruto’s before he slowly turned around and walked away. On his way out of the room, Naruto unmistakably heard him mutter the word “trash.”

Naruto stood there for a moment. No matter how many times he was insulted to his face, it never ceased to hurt, stinging in all the tiniest places and crevices, those which seemed almost impossible to find by anything other than the effects of mean and spiteful words. The other, shorter-haired boy was still watching him and so Naruto clamped his teeth together, trying to act as if the words didn’t bother him when really they did. He walked toward the counter, eyeing Naruto in a way that made him feel odd. His expression was neutral and unreadable, and yet there was nothing cruel about his features. Rather, he seemed preoccupied by his thoughts.

“You look familiar,” he intoned gruffly, sounding rude without it seeming as if that was his intention, like he didn’t know how to speak to people very well.

Naruto frowned, wondering if this was the beginning of a joke or prank he was being set up for. A weird jolt suddenly hit him like a shock of electricity, and Naruto wasn’t sure if seconds or hours had elapsed when he finally regained his senses. It seemed his tongue answered for him with him not even having to think about his reply first.

“I don’t think so,” he said earnestly. Weird. It totally felt like his tongue had a mind of its own.

“Are you sure?” The other boy stepped back, studying Naruto’s face as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets.

“You seem familiar, too, but I’m not sure where we could’ve met,” Naruto replied, and again, he didn’t even have to think before replying. He gripped the edge of the counter and bit his lip, feeling an odd sensation in his chest and stomach and a general haze settling inside his brain. It was like having a cold and getting stuck with a ridiculous fever, but he’d felt fine this morning.

The other man nodded slowly as if unsure how to pursue the matter further. His gaze flickered to the walls behind Naruto. It held all the magic wands, card tricks, balls for juggling, and some basic kits for kids interested in simple magic.

“You do magic?” The boy asked with some hesitancy, eyes still roving over overcrowded shelves and an entire section of trick handcuffs.

“Yes.” Naruto responded quickly and moved to clap a hand over his mouth. The noise of him muffling his mouth with his hand caused the other boy to glance at him.

“Something wrong?” he asked Naruto, tone reflecting his growing impatience.

Naruto’s tongue tried to push of its own accord through his lips; it licked at the roof of his mouth and along his teeth, trying to force its way out. Naruto covered his mouth with his other hand in an effort to keep his words at bay. The other boy narrowed his eyes at Naruto, let out a disgusted grunt and began to turn around.

“Wait!” Naruto’s eyes widened as the word slipped through his mouth urgently. He looked at the other boy in surprise. “Sorry! I don’t know what’s wrong with me!”

The customer stopped, turning his head slowly over his shoulder. “Are you making fun of me?” he asked Naruto coldly.

“No, no!” Naruto waved his hands frantically. “It’s not like that, just for some reason, I can’t control what I say at the moment! Anyway, you want to see a trick, right? Let me show you.”

“I don’t believe in magic,” the boy said icily, pushing his bangs to the side of his face.

The statement made Naruto feel sad. “Really? Not at all?”

The other boy didn’t respond, turned his head and began walking out the room again. Naruto stared at his back, somehow feeling a hole in his stomach as he watched him go and wondering what the hell had just come over him. He sighed, the room empty again. He picked up one of the small rubber balls that were set in a plastic bin on the counter. He held it in his palm, watching it closely as it began floating higher and higher above his palm until it was in mid-air in front of his face. It began spinning in circles, slow and then faster and faster.

“Oh shit, what the hell is that? Is that some kind of magic trick?”

The ball dropped to the counter with a loud bounce and then fell onto the burgundy-colored carpeting. The brown-haired boy from earlier was staring at him intently, looking rather excited as Naruto swallowed a lump of uneasiness and guilt.

“Uh, er… Yeah. It was a magic trick, but, uh, I’m still perfecting it?” Naruto answered as the other boy picked up the ball from off the floor and held it in his own palm as if he could repeat the trick Naruto had just been doing.

“Huh. What’s the trick? It’s not working.” The other boy looked up from the ball, and then down at Naruto’s nametag, eyes widening perceptibly. “Your name is Naruto?”

“Um. Yeah,” Naruto answered as he took the ball from the other boy’s hand and put it back in the bin.

“Aren’t you like… uh…I mean…” The boy scratched at the side of his neck while the other hand tapped its fingers on top of the plastic countertop. Naruto narrowed his eyes. “Nevermind,” the guy said, dropping the subject, his dark brown eyes flitting to a large-scale movie prop of a man in a straight jacket hanging from the ceiling. “This must be a cool place to work?”

“Yeah,” Naruto said, finally feeling himself relax. “It’s pretty cool.”

The other boy nodded. “Alright, well, if you figure that trick out, maybe you can show me how to do it sometime.”

“Sure,” Naruto said, his tongue feeling thick in his mouth as the word rolled off of it. He watched the boy exit the room, and sighed to himself. That had been way too close for comfort. He knew better than to do stuff like that, but that boy from earlier, who caused his tongue to go all traitor on him had him all frazzled and weirded out.

Forgetting why he’d even gone back there in the first place, Naruto also left the room, re-clasping the rope back to the metal eye hook. Dazedly, he passed by the costumes and back into the front room, where the brown-haired boy and attractive girl were at the register. The longer-haired boy was nowhere in sight, but the guy who made Naruto say stupid shit he couldn’t control was over at the mask counter, talking to Shikamaru. When Naruto entered the room, suddenly the boy’s eyes were drawn to him, and once more Naruto felt that oddly prickly, electric feeling tingling along his hands and feet and spine. His instinct was to turn around and walk away, but he didn’t know why. The other boy’s eyes finally slid away from him. He said something to Shikamaru before walking away from the counter and moving toward the exit at an oddly hurried pace.

“Hey, Sasuke, where you goin’?” The brown-haired teen jumped away from the register counter, waving toward the boy as he opened the door, who was about ready to step out. The boy glanced at his loud friend first and then he stared at Naruto one last time before shutting the door behind him, the bells above it jingling with his exit.

“What’s his deal?” The obnoxious boy at the counter muttered to his female companion as she was handed her two silver bags of purchases, one of which the boy absently grabbed to carry for her.

Naruto watched the door for a long time, several thoughts fighting to be heard at once, but it was only coming out as a cacophony of unanswerable, rhetorical questions in his head. He strolled toward Shikamaru, picking up a piece of feather from some blue boa in the costume area to throw away into the trash.

“Who is that?” Were the first words out of Naruto’s mouth.

Shikamaru looked at him for a moment like he was an idiot. “Sasuke Uchiha,” he said, sitting up on his stool and looking more alert than usual.

Naruto reached a hand into a bowl containing plastic vampire fangs. “Is that a name I should know?” he inquired casually.

“Probably,” Shikamaru said calmly, without elaborating.

Naruto wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, he was still too busy collecting his thoughts. “Where’s Chouji?” he asked offhandedly.

“Lunch break.”

“At ten thirty?” Naruto exclaimed incredulously, dropping the fangs back into their bowl. “Nevermind. That’s not really a surprise.”

Shikamaru nodded and slumped again across the counter, crossing his arms together and leaning his head down on them.

“So, what were you two talking about?” Naruto tried to make like he didn’t care, studying the facial hair hanging from a rack.

“You.”

Naruto’s head swung quickly away from the self-adhesive beards and raised an eyebrow. “Me?”

“Yeah,” Shikamaru spoke into the crook of his elbow. “He wanted to know who you were.”

“Well what did you tell him?” Naruto asked impatiently, his body flush against the front of the counter.

“I didn’t say much. He acted like he knew you or something or had heard of you.” Shikamaru rubbed his forehead against his forearm like he was itching a scratch. “I just figured it had to do with the rumors or whatever, so I jokingly told him about them.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” Naruto screeched at him and Shikamaru groaned at the noise.

“What’s the big deal?” He asked as he raised his eyes from behind his arm. “That’s why they’re called rumors after all.” He gave Naruto an oddly knowing look and raised his head off his arms as he spoke. “Right?”

Naruto swallowed and looked away, his fingers rubbing together anxiously. With his other hand, he pushed away from the counter, wandering off in a fog of confused thoughts, completely distracted until an hour and a half later, when a blur of pale blonde found him while he was sorting through balloon orders. The girl giggled, hugged him tightly from behind and kissed his cheek quickly before letting him go.

“Hey Ino,” he greeted without looking up.

“Is that any way to greet your sister? Especially when your birthday is coming up so soon?” She asked through a pout, her hands placed on her hips as he slowly turned to her with a genuine smile.

“I just saw you two and a half hours ago when we had cereal together.”

“I know, I know, but you could still act glad to see me.” She threw her ponytail over her shoulder auspiciously and glanced around the floor room. “Wigs today?” she asked, although she probably knew the answer to that.

“Yep,” Naruto replied, turning his attention back to his paperwork.

“Okay.” She leaned against the register counter. “Anything good happen today?”

Naruto stiffened. “No?”

“Hmm,” Ino said suspiciously. “Something good did happen today!”

“Have you clocked in yet?” Naruto asked, rereading this order for the fourth time.

“Just did,” Ino replied.

“Then get to work,” Naruto said, sounding as gruff and authoritative as he could manage.

Ino stuck her tongue out at him but otherwise left him alone. Of course, she headed first to Shikamaru's counter rather than going to the wigs where she was supposed to work, but at least for now, Naruto could busy himself with other things and hopefully completely avoid her at all costs before she asked him too many questions.

The phone rang, and Naruto answered, reciting the store’s name and his name and a “Can I help you?”

“Naruto,” came the cracked voice of something that resembled a dying mummy who’d fallen into a pit of acid and was slowly being dissolved.

“Yes boss?” He asked, smirking.

“I’m going to be late.”

“Okay.”

“Naruto?”

“Yes, Tsunade?” He said, trying to hide the amusement from his voice.

“Put on some coffee.” She hung up without saying when she’d be in.

Naruto chuckled to himself. What a weird, fucking day.

TBC