Naruto 1. Prologue: Matilda Dickson

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the movie "Darkness Falls"

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Summary: The town of Konoha in the 1800s, when Matilda Dickson was still alive - it's just the backstory, really …

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Pairing: SasuNaru

-x-X-x-

.o.O.o. 

**__**

When Darkness Falls

.o.O.o. 

-x-X-x-

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Prologue: Matilda Dickson

It is said, that over 150 years ago, in the town of Konoha, located on the southwestern coast of Japan, Matilda Dickson was loved by all the children. Unfortunately, like any fishing villiage, there was bound to be accidents. The most tragic took place January 13th, 1836, when the wayward vessel 'Guiding Light' was caught in a horrible storm and was lost at sea. Records indicate that 15 of the townsmen were killed that day. Matilda Dickson's husband, sadly, was one of those men. Once Sunny passed on, she began to give the children a gold coin in exchange for a tooth that they lost; just something small to mark the occasion, and earning her the name, "The Tooth Fairy". Though many of the parents thought the practice a little strange, they knew that Matilda was a good person, and it made the children happy.

But, fate was not kind to Matilda. It was during a cold night in 1840 that a terrible fire raged through her house on Nighthouse Point. By the time the town came to her aid, the fire had already been put out, and Matilda refused to come to the door or seek assistance. The fire left her face horribly scarred. Matilda's burned flesh was so sensitive to light, she could only go out at night Things then changed for Matilda and the town - she no longer went outside during the day, and it was rumored that her face was hidden behind a simple porcelain mask, so that no one could ever look upon it.

The night of September 23rd, 1841 changed everything. It was late one afternoon when two young children told their parents they were paying a visit to the tooth fairy, and that they would be right back. Hours passed and still, the children were gone. Their parents' concern quickly turned to anger as they began to blame the 'crazy old woman' for the children's disappearance. The mob dragged her to a huge tree, and one of the men threw a noose over one of the branches - she put up a fierce struggle, screaming at the men. They pulled her hands from her face, and her porcelain mask fell to the ground as they tightened the noose around her neck and raised her up. And with her dying breath, Matilda lay a curse on the small town of Konoha.

The next morning the two children were found, safe and sound. The town buried their secret along with Matilda's body. Ever since then, there are some who believe that Matilda visits the children of Konoha on the night they loose their last tooth, seeking her vengeance on all who lay eyes upon her face, and fulfilling her curse.

"What I took before in kindness, I will take forever in revenge."

End Prologue.

Yami: Alright, I'd just like to say, that I saw this movie yesterday, and I sat down and sat up all night scheming :3 I would really like about 3 or 4 reviews until I start posting, but, since when I say that, it doesn't seem to get me anywhere, I'll just update every Wednesday or Thursday, and every Sunday or Monday. One of the two, depending on which parent I'm with that weekend XD. So, yeah, look for Chapter 1 either Wednesday or Thursday, okay?


	2. Chapter 1: The Tooth Fairy

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the movie "Darkness Falls"

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Summary: The town of Konoha at present, we join the orphaned teenager Naruto at lunch, mouth full of blood …

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Pairing: SasuNaru

-x-X-x-

.o.O.o. 

**__**

When Darkness Falls

.o.O.o. 

-x-X-x-

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Chapter 1: The Tooth Fairy

Blonde locks fell in front of the seventeen year old's face, though he ignored it as he continued to stare into the bathroom mirror that was in front of him, the yellowish light above the sink flickering back and forth. His brow was furrowed in concentration, blue eyes locked onto his reflection and one tanned finger was stuck between his lips, the tip of it wriggling something therein, a curl of red liquid escaping from his mouth as he worked. Uzumaki Naruto was the most audacious, loud-mouthed, clownish boy in the entire academy - and one of the last in his class to loose all of his baby teeth. Yes - this was finally it; the last one that he had to get rid of before he was no longer a baby. Before maybe _someone _would acknowledge him as _something _other than an annoyance.

He was an orphan, knowing nothing about his family or where he'd come from - he'd shown up on the steps of the orphanage he called home twelve years ago with a note instructing for his care. Of course, many young, teenage women did, and still do, get pregnant and have a child, and then, realized they couldn't handle the responsibility of taking care of them. That was fine with him - he held no bitterness towards his mother, be her dead, alive, or otherwise; in fact, the blonde often thought that it was a good thing that she had done as she did, because they both would have only suffered if she'd not been able or willing to care for him.

But, that was just the kind of optimistic thinker that Naruto was, and he liked it that way as well; you would be hard-pressed to come up with any incidence where the boy had ever been anything less. Depression? It seemed that that word never had a place in the former prankster's vocabulary; he was always doing things to get noticed, and the things he did almost always instilled laughter in the witnesses of the 'crimes' - harmless jokes that never hurt anyone, just pushed a few buttons that only the blonde knew how to push, and that was only from years of practice too.

As it was, the last time he'd been to the doctor, and quite a few trips before that, the man that had stuck his gloved hands in the orphan's mouth had indeed told him it was strange for a boy his age to still have a baby tooth - it had just never come out, and he'd said that it probably never would. He'd even asked if the blue eyed boy wanted the adult tooth removed from his gums and the baby tooth removed so that it could be put in it's place, but he'd said no. It wasn't like the thing was _hurting _Naruto or anything; and, if it's not broke, well, there's no need to fix it, right? So, imagine how elated he'd been when he'd woken up two mornings ago and the right front canine was loose enough for him to prod with his tongue and move without too much difficulty.

At first, he left it alone, not wanting it to fall out and then have a hole there if the adult tooth wasn't going to come in after it, but, a little while ago, he'd discovered something grand indeed; there was the beginnings of a second tooth (presumably the adult one) coming in _behind _the loose one, which told Naruto that he could go ahead and rip that one out, and, that was exactly what he was doing too.

It was something important to the blonde, who was sporting a dull orange t-shirt with a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup logo on it and a pair of faded jeans that had holes in the back pocket and knees. Loosing his final tooth; it seemed like it should be something special - extra special, since it had taken so much longer than normal for most people. Like, it would somehow change things; make him more mature, or make the people around him look at him differently - something like that.

__

Crack. A triumphant smile lit the blonde's features as he spit blood into the sink, holding his prize in his left hand as he cupped his right to rinse his mouth with water. And, there was the last tooth - completely out. Nodding to himself as he rinsed the white object under the cold water, he shook it dry carefully and put it in the pocket of his jeans for safe keeping before he took a paper towel and dried his hands and face, tossing it in the garbage before picking up his navy blue book bag and stepping out of the bathroom, sandaled feet making next to no sound on the tile floors of the school.

It had been his lunch break previously, which was why he had time to do whatever he pleased, having choked down a dry, slightly chewy peanut butter and jelly sandwich and half a carton of milk from the cafeteria. And now there were just a few - _RING!_ Scratch that - the bell hand just rung, which meant it was time to go to class as it was. Adjusting the straps of his book bag absently, he pushed a few locks of his slightly long gold hair out of his face with a hand carefully before he made his way towards his history class, of which the teacher was a man named Iruka…

"Today, we'll be watching a movie on a particularly famous myth that has to do with the history of our town; the origin of the so-called 'tooth fairy'." the brunette said, scratching the tip of his nose slightly before he looked out over the class, smiling slightly at the highschoolers that he saw there. Naruto was sitting closest to the door, in the front of the classroom and, as it was he'd just walked in a moment ago, bag dropped carelessly at his feet, slouched in his chair slightly, looking over at the teacher because he hadn't thought of anything better to do at the moment, though he normally did. He _liked _Iruka and all - he'd known the man for a few years, but, he didn't particularly care for the subject he taught. And his marks showed that.

Eyes now turning to the television that was wheeled into the front of the classroom, the teacher put the tape in the VCR and moved over to switch all of the lights off. Eyes now attempting to adjust to the new, presumably dimmer atmosphere, Naruto realized that it was not much different than when Iruka had the lights on. Eyes now turning towards the far side of the room, he saw why this was - the blinds were still open on the windows, and the sunlight was streaming into the room on the warm May afternoon - it was just as decent as flourecent lightning.

"Um, sir?" he asked, raising his hand and not waiting to be called on as he continued with, "can we close the blinds please? I mean, it's just as if you left the lights on, right?" Iruka turned to face Naruto for a moment before nodding and saying,

"Yes, will someone please shut the blind- I mean, will someone please shut the blinds on _that _window?" He pointed towards the window closest to the front of the classroom, the one in the back purposely left out of that statement. A boy with black hair in a tight ponytail wearing a green and black t-shirt stood to do so, pulling on the chord until the room was dimmed considerably - but there was still a pretty bad glare on the screen from the other window, and it didn't help all that much.

"Um … sir? Can we close _both _sets of blinds - there's a glare on the television screen." Naruto asked for a second; normally, Iruka shut both blinds and made it pretty dark in the room when they watched a movie - the blonde had slept through them more than once, so, he would know. But now, Iruka shook his head, looking back into the corner for a moment before saying,

"No, I think it's fine the way it is." And, turning away from the blonde, who looked about to argue, to end the conversation, the brunette teacher pushed the 'play' button on the VCR, turning up the volume slightly so that it could be heard in the back of the room. Glaring at the sensei's back for a moment, Naruto set his right temple on his right fist, elbow bent on the desk so that he could keep his head propped up, looking in the back corner of the room absently where the window was and blinking; who in the _hell _was that?

There was someone sitting in the exactly opposite corner of the room as him in the light from the window that he'd never seen before. The boy had a ridiculously pale complexion and sharp, dark black hair which fell partially over his face and slightly shaded his black eyes. He was wearing a long sleeved blue turtle neck and a pair of white dress pants, from what Naruto could see, and he had his hands folded, elbows on the desk, backs of his fingers resting just below his nose, staring at the television screen intently. He was sitting in the back row that was normally unoccupied, and he was the only one the light from the window fell directly on, so it was easy to make out his features.

"The quiet town of Konoha is a very famous town indeed. "But, why is it so famous?", some of you might ask. The answer is simple; it is because Konoha is the place where the tooth fairy lived over one-hundred years ago. The tooth fairy, most would say, is simply a myth, told by parents to their children to make them more accepting of removing their baby teeth. This is because the story of the tooth fairy is that she comes at night when you put a baby tooth under your pillow and takes that tooth away - only to replace it with a small amount of money. However, there was an old woman who lived in Konoha over one-hundred years ago - a widow, with no children, her husband having died at a terrible accident at sea. After this accident, whenever one of the children would loose a tooth, the old woman would go to their house and give the child a shiny gold coin - in exchange for that tooth. She would only do so for the children who lived in Konoha because she never left the town. Stories would be taken all over when traveler's passed through and a child happened to loose a baby tooth, the people telling of the generous old woman who would trade such a valuable item for a simple tooth. Parents started to leave money under the pillows of their children, telling them that it was from the tooth fairy." And, about twenty five minutes later, the tape ended, and Iruka pressed 'stop' on the VCR and flicked on the fluorescent lighting.

"Alright now class - time for a debate." the brunette said with an unbridled glee - this was more obviously than not his favorite part of the class; the debate. Walking over to the blinds and absently pulling the chord to open them, he asked, "anyone?" Turning back to face the class; sometimes it took a little while for a student to come forward and add his or her own opinion, but eventually, the came around.

"It was told wrong." the simple statement was quiet, not much more than a mere utterance, but, because of the stillness of the classroom, it was heard loud and clear. Turning around to face the voice, Naruto couldn't decide if it had come from the mysterious black haired teen in the back of the room or not - the boy was looking out the window, head turned away from the classroom, hands still up in front of his mouth.

"Hey - who the hell is that anyway?" he said, the blonde never one to be tactful and just keep his thoughts to himself - he wanted to know who this boy was, and the most painless way he could see of finding out was to ask everyone straight out. Iruka put his fingers to the bridge of his nose.

"_Heck,_ Naruto. That is the new student, Uchiha Sasuke, just transferred to this school. And, if you wouldn't come to my class ten minutes later than everyone else, then you might know that." he said in exasperation before turning back to 'Sasuke' and saying, "and, if that was the wrong way to tell the story, then, I suppose you know the correct way?" the blonde slid down in his seat a few inches, muttering a small 'oh' at Iruka's reprimand - it hadn't been _his _fault he was on the opposite side of the humongous campus when the bell rang …

The brunette in the back of the class said nothing, eyes flicking to look up at Iruka before turning to the blonde. Naruto shivered; the boy had such an intense, almost _hollow _gaze, and there were what looked like shadows under his eyes as well, as if he hadn't been sleeping very decently for a while. Finally, he took his hands from his face, setting them on the desk in front of him, one on top of the other, fingers no longer interlaced.

"Fine." he murmured, voice smooth as his dark eyes stared out over the class before settling on Iruka, which made him a little uncomfortable, or so it seemed, as he moved and sat down at his desk, nodding at Sasuke to continue. And he did, after a moment of prolonged, more than not uncomfortable silence.

"The 'tooth fairy', if you must call her that, lived in this town in the eighteen-hundreds. But, she wasn't called the tooth fairy. Her name was Matilda Dickson; she only came to children at night because her face had been scared from a fire that consumed her home, and she was hideous - she didn't want people to see her face; she even wore a porcelain mask to hide it when she left her home. One night, two children told their parents they were going to see the 'tooth fairy', and that they'd be back shortly. Hours passed, and the children hadn't returned. People thought that she had kidnapped them, killed them, something of the like, and so, a mob was formed, close to dawn, all of the men in the town carrying pitchforks, axes, lanterns … They dragged Matilda from her house, though she fought them, and strung her up in the lighthouse by the neck, waiting until the first light of dawn before they tore her mask from her face, so that everyone could see what she looked like. And then, they hung her. She cursed the town as she died, and she could never go into the light again. Anyone who now looses their last baby tooth in Konoha is visited at night by her; but, if you look, and you see her face, she will kill you."

"Well …" Iruka cleared his throat after the brunette had finished his tale, blinking at Sasuke a moment before continuing with, "that was a slightly more … _morbid _take on the myth …"

"It's only the truth; make of it what you will." was all the black eyed boy said as his fingers clasped loosely again and hung just below his nose, and he went back to staring out the window as the class continued on. Except, Naruto was not with it, still looking back at Sasuke; the way he'd told that story - it had made the blonde believe that it was the truth … the tone of voice he'd used, almost as if bored, but, there was an edge to it - a sharp sound, that told you that you could _never _get bored of this story; because if you did, you wouldn't live to tell it again …

Hours later, it was about ten o'clock in the orphanage where he'd lived all of his life that he could remember, laying on his bed, the same one he'd slept in for 17 years, with the same seven other beds lining the walls along with his, four on each side of the elongated room. He was absently reading a book, as it was, which was strange for the blonde, because he normally never picked one up unless required by school, and even then it was seldom. Naruto was still dressed in his jeans and t-shirt, the ones he'd worn from school, and was pouring over the thick book he held - there were several next to his legs as well, professing that he'd used his library card in the school for the first time that year, and had made quite a large order indeed.

He was looking for something - he wasn't sure exactly what, but … it was something about the way that Sasuke had told that story, he supposed; he just couldn't leave it alone, for some reason, no matter how much he wanted to. It was stuck in his head, and he needed to know the truth. He was looking for accounts of the 'tooth fairy'; looking for anything about a woman named Matilda Dickson, and a hanging that had ended her. But, it was ten o'clock now, and time for lights out - he'd been through seven thick tomes and a few other smaller ones, and had found _nothing_. The blonde snorted to himself as he stood, stretching and changing into his black t-shirt, leaving on his gray boxers and pulling on a night cap; one that he'd had for so long that there were a few holes worn in the thing, though he still refused to get rid of it. Taking his tooth from his jeans pocket as an afterthought, he looked at it under the light of the lamp that was clipped onto the metal frame of his bed and angled towards him. The blonde snorted again lightly before setting it on his nightstand, not expecting to get anything from the 'tooth fairy' or anyone else for it, since he'd never received anything for any of his other teeth, and so, why would this be anything different?

"Don't peek …" he said in a mocking tone, shaking his head as he slid under the blankets, ignoring any looks he got from the other inhabitants of the room. Naruto turned onto his side after reaching up and clicking off the light that was above his head, closing his bright blue eyes and resolving to fall asleep without a second thought, not answering Tsunade, the one who took care of the eight boys in their room, when she said goodnight to them …

Blue eyes blinked hazily; why was he waking up? It wasn't morning - it was still very dark outside, actually, and so …Yawning slightly, the blonde froze; he could have _sworn _he heard something coming from the other side of the room. Brow furrowing, as he at first assumed it was Konohamaru (the youngest boy in their room) getting up to go to the bathroom or something, he moved to settle back down again … but then, that hadn't sounded like a footstep to him. In fact, Naruto didn't know _what _it was exactly - none of the boys, Kiba, Neji, Lee, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji - even Konohamaru - snored. And, Akamaru, Kiba's puppy, had stopped getting up in the middle of the night after it started sleeping in bed with it's owner, which had taken much persuading of Tsunade by all seven boys (since Konohamaru hadn't been there yet) for a few weeks.

Blinking at the opposite wall when he moved to look, he could have sworn he saw a shadow against the window glass, but, he couldn't have been sure … And then, he remembered his tooth on the nightstand … His _last _baby tooth. _That's just a stupid story that that jerk made up - I'm not afraid of it … _he thought to himself, though he knew that was a lie as his stomach twisted in a knot when he saw the light flicker with movement again. There was definitely someone, or something, there … The blonde's head ducked under the sheets of his bed then, blue eyes tightly shut. _What did he say? If you see her, you're dead, right? Well … I just won't look … _he thought to himself very logically as he curled into a tighter ball, knees against his chest as he laid on his side, pulling the sheets tighter around himself. And then, he heard it again - only the sound was closer this time. It almost sounded like breathing, but not - kind of like, the sound that the old man, Sarutobi, owner of the orphanage, used to make. Something between a groan and a sigh …

The sound an old _person makes …? _his heart pounded a little bit faster before he thought to himself in annoyance, _oh please Naruto; now you're just imagining things …_It was a little too convenient that that was the first thing he thought of after he heard a creeky sound in the middle of the night. On the night he'd lost his final too - _STOP IT! Just stop it alright? You're going to hyperventilate …_he berated himself as he tried to breathe calmly, sitting as still as he could for what seemed like hours, though was really only more like two minutes or so.

Breathing as normally as he could, he blinked a few times in the darkness under the blankets and listened hard. And, after about another minute, heard nothing - surely it would be safe to pull the blankets off now, right? I mean, it was starting to get hard to breathe and everything underneath the blankets, and he was going to suffocate … Rolling onto his other side very slowly, he slid a hand out of his blankets cautiously to his rickety nightstand, fingers curling around the cold metal end of a black flashlight - everyone in the orphanage was given one in case of a black out with fresh batteries in it whenever they were needed, so, he knew it worked. Retracting his hand quickly, still holding the light, he pushed the button that turned it on and shown it at the sheet, which was the only thing he had pulled over him, since it was so hot, the rest of the blankets folded on top of the footlocker at the end of his bed like everyone else in the room.

Looking around, all he could hear was the pounding of his heart in his head, and the sound of his own harsh, erratic breathing. He saw nothing against the white sheets - no shadows moving, no sounds to alert him of another presence. Sighing softly to himself as his breath slowed, he would have laughed at his idiocy, the entire thing looking completely ridiculous to him, (I mean, come on, a teenager, almost an adult, who was _afraid of the tooth fairy_?), except he chose that exact moment to pull the sheet away from his face. Now, Naruto had been known (quite renowned, actually) for his bad timing, but, this incident had to completely take the cake, as far as he was concerned.

The only thing that was heard was a shrill, extremely startled scream as the beam of the flashlight illuminated a stark white mask with two eyes cut out of it, set back into a ragged black traveling cloak that billowed in an unseen wind as whatever it was floated there, just above him. Whatever it was had what appeared to be a limb outstretched towards his nightstand, and wasn't looking at Naruto until the light hit it. And then, it turned to the blonde with a startled cry, it's sickly yellow eyes glaring into the blonde's blue ones. When suddenly, the dark figure lunged at Naruto …


	3. Chapter 2: Golden Advice

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the movie "Darkness Falls"

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Summary: This is what happens when you look at the tooth fairy …

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Pairing: SasuNaru

-x-X-x-

.o.O.o. 

**__**

When Darkness Falls

.o.O.o. 

-x-X-x-

****

Chapter Two: Golden Advice

If the boy had been two seconds later in his actions, he'd have been dead, he was sure of it. As it was, the blonde had suddenly rolled off of his bed with a sharp 'thud' and taken off almost as soon as his body hit the floor, socked feet slipping on the unforgiving hardwood underneath his feet and almost upending him as he sprinted for the door, flashlight waving madly as he went. The disgruntled, confused voices of the other boys in the room, alerted by Naruto's scream, waking them up and causing the seven of them to sit up slowly, looking around, disoriented.

If the blonde had had presence of mind (though at the moment, he had no conscious thought) he'd have said to run, close your eyes … _something._ But he didn't. All he did was run, dragging the door open and bolting down the hallway, having no idea where he was going, but just knowing he had to get there and never look back, because whatever it was was just behind him, he was sure of it, and in the second it took for him to turn around and see it, his life would end.

Chest burning as he made it down the hallway, he practically dove into a room, hand flying towards the light switch and turning it on, more to see what room he'd gone into than anything, slamming said door behind him. The sharp fluorescent lighting refracted off of the slightly dingy white and green tiling that covered the room - it was the bathroom that all the boys on the west side of the orphanage shared. Panting sharply as he fell to the ground, having tripped as he moved in, he crawled over to the nearest thing - a large island in the center of the room that was double backed with sinks - crouching underneath it and pulling his knees to his heaving chest, blue eyes clenched shut as he rocked slowly.

Naruto was completely terrified - it was only then that he heard the startled cries and screams coming from down the hall. Coming from the room that he'd run so quickly from. And then, it registered to him what that meant … Everyone in that room … _They must have woken up when I screamed … and that means … _but, he didn't move to get up from where he was, blue eyes snapping open and wide at the sudden realization … _No …_and suddenly, the sounds all stopped. Blinking a few times after he noticed this, he risked a glance to the door - and immediately wished he had not. For there, in the window that sat on it, was a face - a flawless, porcelain mask, and two old, yellow eyes that resembled a cat's, staring directly at him, just before the door slammed open, rebounding off of the wall and smashing the tiles behind it where it came into contact with them.

Screaming from surprise and the realization that if he didn't do something, he was going to die, the blue eyed boy pressed his face to the tops of his knees, trembling where he sat, not knowing what to do or where to go, and knowing that because of it, he was dead. But, a few seconds later, he blinked - why was he still breathing? Looking up slowly, he glanced around the room, and, hearing a sharp, angry hiss, glanced at the open door out of complete instinct, just because that was where the sound had come from. _Why aren't I …? Wait._ he stopped for a moment. That was it. Naruto looked upwards at the stark white fluorescent lighting that burned at his bright blue eyes. _She cursed the town as she died, and she could never go into the light again …_

The police had arrived in less than half an hour, and before that, someone had turned on the hall lights, coming down to see what was the matter. When they found Naruto, he was still curled up, rocking as he hugged his knees, though he was out in the middle of the room, directly under the nearest fluorescent light bulb that hung from the ceiling. And, he would not be coaxed out from under it by anyone until seven o'clock the next morning - when the sun was bright, and lit up every room in the orphanage, three hours later. By that time, nine bodies had been carried off - the seven other boys from the room, Kiba's pet, Akamaru, and their keeper, Tsunade. All dead, with similar markings on their bodies that simply could not have been coincidence; it had to have been done by the same person. _Or thing,_ Naruto thought bitterly to himself as he walked down the hallway to where there were a few police standing, in front of the room he had called his own for the past seventeen and a half years; his eighteenth birthday was in five months.

He stepped into the room slowly, looking around, as the officers were distracted at the moment, and didn't notice him walk by. Naruto didn't notice that he was shaking slightly as he looked around, seeing chalk outlines on the floor drawn over the hardwood and bloodstains, the sheets mussed and unmade as they were when each person who laid in them woke in confusion … Blue eyes closed and his fists clenched tight, teeth grit so hard you would think any more stress would make them crack. _It's all my fault … _he thought miserably to himself as he moved towards his bed, the one on the left, all the way at the end. There was no bloodstain near this bed; no chalk outline where there should have been one. _If I had … If I had only stayed where I was a second longer … then … _he moved to look away, but something caught his attention in the early morning light. Something glinting brightly on his nightstand. Blinking, the blonde moved towards the small, slightly unstable table, and looked at the object that was there, breath catching in his throat. It was a gold coin. Slowly reaching out, he picked it up; the metal was cool, heavy to his fingers, which had never touched something such as this before. It was twice as thick as a quarter, and a little bit bigger around as well, etched with some strange carving that he couldn't make out as he looked down at it.

"Hey you! You can't be in there; this is a crime scene!" one of the officers had evidently noticed Naruto was there, and he jumped at the sudden yell, clenching the coin in his hand loosely to hide it before moving his hand to his pocket to hide it there …

The blonde was taken to the police station to be formally questioned, but there were already protesters in the street when they got there; he couldn't be held legally, because he was a minor; Konoha respected the justice system, but a lot of the time, the townspeople stepped in when they didn't like something that was going on. It took a good minute, minute and a half, to get through the crowd with police flanking him on either side, and the boy went willingly as well, dressed now in a black t-shirt that had a gold spiral with a point on either end that represented the village on the back, 'Konoha' written in green on the front where a pocket would have gone. There was a pair of slightly loose blue jeans on him as well, the construction boots he'd taken from the closet of another orphan staying there as well as the rest of the clothes he had donned because everything in his room had to stay where it was, being potential 'evidence'.

When they stepped through the doors, Naruto was looking down, and so, he didn't notice at first. It took a moment for him to look up, and when he did, his eyes landed on the brunette that was new to their school - Uchiha Sasuke. The boy was standing with his back to Naruto in the office section of the place, on the other side of the glass, leaning on the wall that had the glass in it, gaze down. He was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt and a pair of black pants, sandals equally dark in color on his feet, though Naruto couldn't see those. There was however, a bandage, wrapped around the hand that the blonde could see, as Sasuke's arms were crossed over his chest, disappeared under the sleeve, which was a new addition to the boy's attire, or so it seemed.

It was another moment, and Naruto was walking down the hallway; and, just as he moved to pass Sasuke, the other's voice rang out sharply in the stillness of the room, rivaled only by the sound of the footsteps being taken as they moved in front of the door that Sasuke stood next to, which was open.

"Kakashi says that he's to come with me, because it's illegal to hold him here." was all the boy said as he pushed off the wall he leaned against and walked two steps to stand in the doorway, looking darkly at the two officers, who looked as if they wanted to argue, but then, thought better of it, nodding and moving away from the blonde who stood between them.

"Come on." was all he said as he moved past Naruto towards the back of the station, and the blonde noticed for the first time that he was carrying the book bag he'd had the day previous, it slung over one shoulder absently as he moved. Only doing as he was told because it seemed like it was better than the consequences if he didn't, Naruto followed, jogging slightly to catch up to Sasuke, who was already halfway down the rest of the hall.

"Ne, ne, ne … Sasuke - where are we going?" he asked as he fell into stride with the brunette, matching the Uchiha's pace. The brunette didn't say anything as he pushed on the door in front of him, blinking his coal tinted eyes at the sharp light that suddenly hit them both before he said,

"Do you really need to know, Usurukontachi?" Naruto blinked bright blue eyes at Sasuke a few times before he realized what he'd been called, jogging to catch up to the brunette again, as the Uchiha had continued to walk while the blonde stood there gaping at him.

"Oi - bastard! _Yes _I want to know!" he yelled as he followed, glaring sharply at the brunette, though it didn't seem to be doing too much, as Sasuke wasn't paying too much attention to the other anyway. Black locks swayed slightly as the boy shook his head slightly, saying,

"I didn't ask if you 'wanted' to know - I asked if you needed to." He continued to walk, not changing his pace as he moved to the sidewalk, not needing to dodge around people as it was still relatively early out, and so, there was really no one out.

"Well, _excuse _me," the blonde muttered in uber-annoyance as he crossed his arms, following the brunette and trailing a few steps behind as he glared at the boy, almost looking as if he were pouting in some way, shape, or form. Eventually, the brunette lead him to the park that laid just on the edge of the town, where he used to go and play on the playground when Tsunade would bring the boys outside for a bit of fresh air. _Don't think about them … _he warned himself, blue eyes closed for just a moment before he moved to catch up with Sasuke, walking in stride with the other, hands in his pockets, the same as the brunette's were. And then, he sat down on a swing, watching the empty grounds as if there was nothing better to do with his time - which, Naruto supposed, was more likely than not true, since it was a Sunday, and they had no school or anything. Following suit, he sat in the swing next to the brunette's, feet dragging on the ground as he moved back and forth slowly, just a few inches each way.

"I didn't kill anyone," he blurted out suddenly, about fifteen minutes later. He didn't know why he said it - it had just come out of his mouth. Looking down at the sand that was underneath the swing set, his shadow caught his attention for a moment, and he suddenly saw that figure again, arms outstretched towards him, demanding, hating yellow eyes glaring straight into his head … Shivering suddenly as he jumped out of the 'daydream', a small gasp left his lips as he looked upwards, blue eyes staring across the vacant field that stood behind the playground. Sasuke didn't answer for a long, _long_ time - Naruto thought he wasn't going to at all, and so, when his voice came, the blonde jolted slightly.

"She won't come into the light." The sentence was simple, and the blonde fought the urge to swallow thickly, turning to face the brunette who he was with. Blinking few times, he asked,

"Who?" the brunette said nothing for another long moment, before his black eyes flicked upwards to the other's blue ones, staring intently at the blonde next to him before he said,

"You know who." Voice still barely above a whisper, but Naruto could pick it out as if Sasuke had been screaming at him …

"No … I don't know who." Naruto eventually said; he still didn't want to believe what had happened - perhaps if he didn't admit it out loud to anyone, then it wouldn't be true … But, it appeared that Sasuke would have none of that.

"Yes you do - you've seen her too." he said, still quiet, not raising his voice any - but the heavy, stark truth was imprinted in those words; it was a truth that the blonde couldn't ignore, and he couldn't ague with, _because _it was the truth. And that only made him feel trapped - and when Naruto felt trapped, there were three things he did. One, he made a joke about it, two, he changed the subject, or three, he got angry about what was being said.

"Why would you say something like that?" the orphan snapped at the brunette that swung next to him, glaring sharply at Sasuke, who was swinging back and forth slowly on his swing, backpack still on one shoulder carelessly, eyes cast downwards and unmoving, hair swaying in the soft breeze that cooled the otherwise very warm morning.

"Because it's the truth." was the simple answer that Naruto got before he moved for the first time since sitting down. He pulled his book bag in front of him and opened the zipper on one side about eight inches, retracting something from it and standing as he did so. Re-closing the bag, he shouldered it again and dropped something in Naruto's lap, which the boy scrambled to catch, barely hearing Sasuke as he said,

"Keep it with you always - it will save your life more than once." Before he simply walked away from the blonde. Blue eyes blinked a few times at the retreating back before he looked down at what he had in his hands; it was a large, heavy black flashlight …

Glossary:


	4. Chapter 3: Roommate and Nightfall

****

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the movie "Darkness Falls"

****

Summary: And noooowww …. Naruto needs to be held by the police for what happened, and, what better way to do it than to have him room with the police chief's son …?

****

Pairing: SasuNaru

-x-X-x-

.o.O.o. 

**__**

When Darkness Falls

.o.O.o. 

-x-X-x-

****

Chapter 3: Roommate and Nightfall

By the time Naruto had thought to go after Sasuke, he'd already turned the corner and was gone from sight; no luck there. Looking down at the flashlight in his hands, he absently opened it and checked for a battery, which he unsurprisingly found there, heavy as the thing was. The blonde stayed at the swing he was in for a long time, blue eyes looking downwards as he continued to move slowly back and forth, the light clasped in his hand so that it wouldn't fall as he simply thought. And, Naruto thinking was never a positive thing, in all respects of the word.

Survivor's guilt, it was called; if Naruto had only stayed where he was a second longer instead of running like a coward - it would have only been one death instead of nine. They had been his best friends for such a long time - and, Konohamaru had looked up to him like an older brother. _So why? Why was _I_ spared when so many other's were slaughtered - it's not fair; they didn't do anything wrong …_

"They were just looking for me!" he yelled, angrily throwing the flashlight in his hand at the ground, as it was what he happened to be holding at the moment. And then, the blonde fell from the swing, landing on his knees, fists pounding the sand, head bowed and his blue eyes clenched shut, welling with tears. "Why did they have to die, and I had to live? WHY?" his voice was a harsh whisper now, fists clenching so tight he might have drawn blood if suddenly, a cloud hadn't floated past the sun, which made him instinctively grab the light and turn it on, hands shaking and causing the beam of light to flick back and forth unsteadily, blue eyes darting around to see in short, disjointed movements, looking for any signs of _her._ But there was nothing, and the cloud soon passed, after which, the blonde clicked it off, sighing to himself as he slid down the metal pole that held the swings up, laughing. The sound was sharp and bitter - it held none of it's usual mirth and carefree tones; he was laughing at himself, for being such a complete fool.

Eventually, the blonde dragged himself from the ground, the light still grasped firmly in his hand, and he didn't bother to dust off his blue jeans as he walked, wishing he had grabbed a sweater as the wind started to pick up a little bit, he moved to the sidewalk that ran through the center of the park, left hand in his pocket, right hand swinging at his side, still gripping the flash light that Sasuke had left him. He had only taken perhaps a dozen and a half steps, staring down at the yellow-gold boots that were on his feet, before he looked up and saw someone standing, leaning on a tree up ahead. The man wore a long sleeved navy, almost black shirt, and pants that were the same color, baggy like sweatpants and tucked into black combat boots. He had something pulled up over the bottom half of his face, and silver hair crowned his head almost wildly, though he looked far from being old. He seemed to be watching Naruto intently, though the blonde couldn't seem to bring himself to care as he continued to walk; it was now around one in the afternoon, and he just realized he was pretty hungry, actually, which was much more concerning to him than some strange man that was staring at him.

"Interesting marks on your cheeks," a voice commented just as he got to where the man was standing, and Naruto stopped walking; a lot of people commented on the thin black lines he drew on his cheeks with sharpie to represent whiskers. Usually, he didn't look twice when they did, as he was used to it, but, something about this man's demeanor told him he needed to pay attention to him.

"I'm the police chief, and you're in my custody until we have evidence to convict you, or we find a place for you to stay." the silver haired one stood from where he was leaning against a tree in the shade and took a few steps closer to the other, stopping as he came to the edge of the sidewalk, continuing, "you can call me Kakashi."

Nodding, Naruto said nothing as he looked up at this one - he didn't seem so bad; and, hadn't Sasuke mentioned that Kakashi had told the blonde to go with the brunette hours ago? Kakashi stepped to stand next to the blonde, who moved over a half step to allow room for the man, who simply started walking, and Naruto started following. He didn't have any proof that this man was who he said he was, but, he went with him anyway - Naruto just didn't seem to care anymore, and he was having a real hard time trying to make himself too …

"This is the apartment," he said absently - he had lead Naruto through the city and to an apartment building, and had promptly gotten into the elevator and taken the blonde up to the third floor, stopping there and getting off, the former prankster still clinging to the flashlight, as if it were his only true link to reality. And, maybe, it was … They had stopped in front of 3C, and Kakashi had taken a key out and unlocked the door for Naruto, motioning him inside. The blonde blinked, shielding his eyes for a moment when he stepped through the threshold. There was such a glare, he thought he would go blind from it. When his eyes finally adjusted to it from the dim hallway lighting, they grew wide and disbelieving. There were Christmas lights lining every inch of the white walls (though they were the only things lit at present), twenty dome lights hanging from the ceiling, table lamps without shades on all tables, desk lamps clipped to the edges of the counters, flashlights lining a table that was against a wall and just under a window. Everything in the room was white - the furniture, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, all the light bulbs. _Everything_. It was what appeared to be a one bedroom apartment with a bathroom off to one side, and he was sure that if he went into the other two room, they would be just as bright, and just as sharply white. And, sitting in the middle of it all on a white bed with white sheets and a white comforter, was none other than Uchiha Sasuke, and it looked like he was reading a book. Obviously the harsh glare of the lights was something normal for him, because he acted as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on. There was a kitchenette to the left with white tile on the floor, white countertops, and white cabinets, and there was a table with a few chairs sitting to the right. The apartment was roughly "L" shaped, the letter sitting backwards from where Naruto was standing at the door. Two white doorways marked the other two rooms, and, if one was a bathroom, Naruto didn't know what the other one was, because the bed was obviously out in the middle of the living room. Apparently, it was used as something else.

"You'll be staying with Sasuke until this case is sorted out, or a more suitable home is obtained for you." though Kakashi's tone said don't count on that last one, because Naruto was a seventeen year old and didn't need anything more than a 'babysitter'; and, they probably wouldn't find a place for him anyway … The brunette closed his book, setting it on the white nightstand that was next to the bed before turning to look at the two that stood in the doorway. Well, actually, now that Naruto thought about it, it was only him; Kakashi was suddenly gone …

"Tell me if you want to sleep - you can take the bed …" the brunette said simply before he sat up, sliding into a seated position, legs hanging off of the side of the bed towards Naruto. Thinking that that was a strange thing to say, the blonde absently closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he looked at Sasuke, holding the flash lightly loosely behind him, between his back and the door.

Taking a few steps forwards, the blonde set his flash light on the counter next to the rows of them that were already there, blue eyes lingering on it before he turned back to Sasuke for a moment, looking at the brunette; almost as if searching for something in his black eyes. But, those eyes … they seemed so tired, so empty, so _hollow_ … he couldn't see anything but darkness in them.

"Let me see it." was all he said as he looked at the blonde intently, unblinking where he sat. Naruto blinked a few times at Sasuke, unsure of what the brunette was asking for, and so, he murmured,

"What?" His expression said that he had heard Sasuke, but his tone said he wanted to know more, and so, the brunette explained a little bit more clearly, voice still quiet as it always was.

"What she gave you. Let me see it." And immediately, the blonde's hand flew to his pocket on reflex, feeling the small bump that the gold coin made against the jeans he wore. He of course still had it with him - he still wasn't sure why he'd taken it from the nightstand, but he was still holding onto it. He just felt like he needed to keep it, for some reason or another.

"Why?" Naruto didn't say anything about having it, not having it, or otherwise; but, it seemed that there was one thing that was now clear - he wasn't trying to deny that something had happened the night previous. Sasuke stood at this, striding towards the blonde slowly and reaching in his pocket uninvited, withdrawing the gold coin held therein.

"What the hell are you doing?" was the suddenly surprised exclamation from Naruto as he made a swipe at Sasuke's hands to try and pull back the coin. But, it didn't work - the brunette already had his back turned to the blonde, and he was digging in his own pocket, for something or another. Drawing something out, he seemed to be looking at the coin Naruto had been given and whatever he had pulled out of his pocket, turning and sitting down on the edge of the bed. The blonde saw that what Sasuke had taken from his pocket was an identical gold coin, the same size and shape as his, sporting the same strange markings on it.

"Did … Have you … seen her too?" Naruto barely recognized his own voice, such a harsh, hesitant whisper it was; so unlike the normal loud, sure tone that he used every other time he had ever spoken. But, it seemed that Sasuke either didn't hear him or wasn't paying attention to him, black eyes affixed on the two coins he held, one in each hand for a long time. The orphan was about to yell at the other that it was rude to ignore someone when they asked a question when …

"Darkness is the Demon's breath. Light will spell her doom and death. Brightest flame engulfed her whole. Setting free her wicked soul…" the rhyme was uttered quietly, half as loud as Sasuke's normal tone, almost as if transfixed and unseeing, not realizing he was speaking aloud as he did so, dark eyes simply watching the objects for a few more moments before he stood, holding one back out to Naruto, who held out his hand and allowed said coin to drop into his hand, he turned as Sasuke pocketed his own and walked past the blonde, as if nothing had happened.

"Hey - Sasuke-teme! Don't just spout some stupid little nursery rhyme at me, and then walk away as if nothing happened - answer my damned question, you jerk." he said angrily - if there was one thing that Naruto hated more than anything else, it was to be ignored, and that was precisely what Sasuke was doing to him at the moment, and he didn't like it at _all_. Still no reply.

"Damn you," he growled, grabbing the other's collar and turning him around, shoving Sasuke up against the wall by it, though leaving the brunette's feet against the ground, as the other was a tiny bit taller than him, and it would have been awkward to do it.

"Answer me! Why did she leave me! Why did she leave you? Did you even see her? ANSWER MY QUESTIONS YOU ASSHOLE!" he was starting to get very, very angry - something he really never did at all, and so, this was a pretty important event. The brunette just … got under his skin, somehow …

"Why do you think?" the brunette snapped at the blonde, black eyes turning to a cold hard glare at Naruto. "You had a _flashlight _with you. She _can't _go into the light, and so, you were safe! And then, you went into a room that was completely lit up - what did you think was going to happen? They turned on the hall lights, and she left because there was too much there for her! Put two and two together before you ask obvious questions, dumbass - light is your answer, plain and simple!" Sasuke's voice was hard, and slightly condescending - something that was starting to make Naruto's blood boil. Fingers curling more tightly in the brunette's shirt, the former prankster's teeth clenched tightly as he bit back his growl.

"Fine," he said, letting go of Sasuke and backing up a step. "If you think all of my questions are pointless, then I'll just go somewhere _else_ to get them answered!" And then, he moved towards the door, hand on the handle and making to open it and storm out. However, just before he got that knob turned, something was shoved into his pocket, and Sasuke's voice hissed,

"Keep it with you. _Always_." Before the brunette walked past him again. Half yelling half groaning, the blonde opened the door and slammed it behind him - man, that guy was completely _annoying_ - he just wanted to choke him. _And I gotta put up with him until 'more evidence comes up' … _he thought angrily as he shoved his hands in his pockets, still hungry for lunch, but only just now realizing it as he stomped down the street, blue eyes focused on the ground below his feet. He knew where he was going - it was somewhere he'd only ever been once or twice before, but it was enough for him to remember how to get there. The Public Library.

It was a good two hours later that the blonde finally walked over to the counter with all of the books he wanted - it wasn't very many either; only three books, and a few print-out copies of old newspapers were all he had as he used his library card for the fourth time that he could recall (not counting the school library - he had used that for the first time the day before). Walking outside after sticking his wallet back into his pocket, arm wrapped around his books - he had exactly three dollars in his wallet, and don't ask him where it came from, because he had absolutely no idea, but he was elated; that meant he could have a bowl of ramen at the Ichiraku (his favorite ramen place) before he went back to deal with Sasuke.

He supposed, as he entered the Ichiraku and sat down, that he didn't need to go back to Sasuke's apartment, but … if that thing was still after him (and for some reason, Naruto didn't doubt that it was), that seemed to be the safest place for him - Sasuke seemed to know a lot about it, even if he didn't seem too willing to share that information with the blonde. And, it was stuff that the blue eyed boy couldn't find _anywhere_ either - he had scoured that library for everything and anything the library had on file about a 'Matilda Dickson' and 'the tooth fairy'. All he could find were a few interesting newspaper articles and a book or two about it - but nothing had anything that was too extensive; it was as if people wanted to cover it up or something, and they had done a real bang-up job about it too.

Ordering a bowl of Miso Ramen from the kind shop owner, who had apparently not heard that Naruto was the resident murderer of the town, because the old man was still as congenial as ever, he paid a dollar fifty for his bowl and began to slurp it down happily - it had been a long time coming, and even though it had been in the opposite direction of Sasuke's apartment to go there, he hadn't minded it at all; the extra walk would be well worth it, he decided.

After his second and third bowls (the last one being on the house), Naruto sighed in contentment - that had filled him up for both lunch and dinner. Now, a 45 minute walk to the bastard's apartment, and he would be fine. _Wait a second … 45 minutes …_Naruto looked outside the restaurant at the sun as he exited and visibly blanched. Judging by the orangeish color of the sky as of now, and the position of the huge yellow star, it would be night in about twenty minutes, half an hour if he was lucky. _Ohhh shit … _the blonde took off down the street, suddenly glad that the brunette had forced a flash light on him - he would surely need it …

He was almost home-free when he clicked on the flashlight - the streets on this side of town cleared more quickly than he was used to, and so, in the dead of night, he found himself completely alone on the street. Naruto didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse … At least, if she came around, no one _else _would be hurt, right? … Right.

The blonde stopped dead under a streetlight in the yellowish cone of illumination that it supplied. He'd heard a sound. A sound very much like the one he'd heard the night before, when he'd seen the shadow on his wall … Gripping his flashlight tightly, he looked around, starting to shake slightly without meaning to - he was only about half a block from Sasuke's apartment; he could see the building from where he was standing. There were five streetlights from where he was standing and his destination, and about four feet of space between each cone of light.

The blonde almost jumped out of his skin when a cat ran by him, running into the light post behind him and just barely biting back his scream, hitting his head on the metal and rubbing it as he saw it was only an alley cat. Blinking a few times and laughing slightly at himself, he turned around to face where he wanted to go again and froze. There was the shadow, lingering not three inches from the light he was in, yellowed eyes staring at him almost menacingly from behind the white porcelain mask.

"HOLY SHIT!" He yelled as he jumped back, grabbing the lamppost that he was standing next to to avoid falling over, breath coming in sharp pants as wide blue eyes stared at her. And then, as suddenly as she was there, she vanished again. Bending down to pick up the books he had dropped, he looked around cautiously, eyes drifting back to the steps of Sasuke's apartment complex, which were very brightly lit, as if to say, 'come on - right here!'. Looking around cautiously again, he walked as close to the next post down as he could without coming out of the light at all - and he felt something brush against his hair before sharply retracting, causing him to yelp and jump backwards a half a foot and land on his butt.

__

This is getting me nowhere …he thought to himself in mild annoyance - it was a little mechanism he had at times; when he got a little scared, he tended to get annoyed. He wasn't yet too afraid to move, and so, he had the presence of mind to become annoyed at himself. Taking a breath to slowly his quickly beating heart, Naruto looked at the distance between him and the next light - 4 feet … Four whole feet. Normally, it would seem like nothing for him to just keep walking, but - this definitely was a situation that did not count as normal. And, even though he couldn't see her, he knew that she was there, watching him, waiting for him to make a move before she made hers …

Steeling himself one last time, he made a split second decision - he couldn't walk because it was too slow, and he couldn't jump, because she could easily pluck him out of the air before he landed - and suddenly pushed off of his feet and rolled across the space between the two light cones. As soon as he moved, he felt something make a grab for his shirt, but because of his angle, the fabric had stuck to the concrete ground and slid with him. An infuriated hiss met his ears as he landed next to the pole in the center of the cone. _One down, four to go …_he thought to himself as he continued to shake lightly, looking around for the creature and not seeing it anywhere - but, he could hear it. That sound was echoing almost quietly through the silent street - he couldn't tell where it was coming from, but he knew that she was out there somewhere; and that next time, she wasn't going to miss him …

__

Shit shit shit … What do I do, what do I do, what do I do …he was completely lost for a way to get away. And, just as he was considering staying where he was … the street light next to him; the one that he'd just come from … flickered out. Wide blue eyes turned towards it, and he blinked at it a few times in disbelief, as if doing so would make it light up again. The truth was that it did not and would not …

"That's definitely not good …" he uttered, turning towards Sasuke's apartment complex, whishing there was some way that he could run that distance and not get caught - however, he suspected that he most certainly could not and come out in once piece. _Well, only one way to find out I guess … _he thought to himself as he clicked his flash light on and off a few times before leaving it on and standing up straighter, walking as far as he could in the second cone of light to the edge. And … … just as it started to flicker, he bolted, flashlight waving almost madly as he sprinted, almost running into the light post, breath panting hard when he stopped, though it wasn't because of the exercise, that much was for sure. Now, he had 2 lights to go, and both of the lights behind him were out.

And then … suddenly - his luck seemed to have run out. The light that stood closest to the apartments suddenly flickered out and into darkness. Wide blue eyes watched as it did so, mind screaming that he was screwed - it was hard enough running four feet, but from the next lamppost and over, it was almost fifteen - much too far to go, as he was pushing it with four.

__

Shit - what do I dooo …? he looked around frantically, though stopped as he noticed that the closest street light was … … also flickering … … "You have _got_ to be kidding me!" he half moaned as that one went out as well - now it was a whapping 10 yards to his destination - there was no possible way he could make it … And then, suddenly, that face was back, as close as it could get to the light, looking at the blonde, almost _daring _him to try his luck and see what happened. But, Naruto wasn't budging - he was trying to come up with something, _anything _that could help him.

And then, the light above him started flickering, and the blonde sank to his knees, sitting down against the light post and drawing his knees up to his chest, shaking. He knew he was a goner, there was no possible way that he could get anywhere, and a flashlight would only do him so much good - it couldn't cover all of his sides at once, and whatever one wasn't lit up, she could get him at. The blonde set his forehead to his knees. _Think … THINK you idiot - what can you do …? _But, the answer was nothing … there was nothing he could do. The streetlight above him was starting to flicker more violently now - it would only be a few seconds and it would go out completely.

__

Maybe I should just get up and go out into the dark and let her have me ……he thought to himself wryly, blue eyes closed as a short, bitter laugh erupted from his throat. What a way to go - torn apart by some fucking fairy tale thing that wasn't even supposed to exist. She was a damned tall tale gone wrong, and the blonde was at the brunt of the joke. Sighing softly to himself, in the next second, the streetlight went completely off…

TBC …

Glossary:

Dobe - Dead last

Usurukontachi - Dumbass

Since I can't talk to my reviewers at all or else I'm in danger of getting banned, I'll just see you in the next chapter I guess … v.v;;


	5. Chapter 4: The First Night

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or the movie "Darkness Falls"

Summary: Some interesting things learned about Sasuke now …

Pairing: SasuNaru

-x-X-x-

.o.O.o.

****

When Darkness Falls

.o.O.o.

-x-X-x-

Chapter 4: The First Night

And as soon as it did, a sharp blue light suddenly hit Naruto, the boy able to see it from behind his closed eye lids. Blinking and looking up, he was suddenly dragged to his feet, a voice saying,

"Hurry up, or I'll start calling you 'Dobe'." The tone was urgent, almost frightened as Naruto was pulled along quickly, a bright light waving around his head and whoever was tugging at him, making him run towards the apartment complex. And then, he was allowed to completely collapse under the lighting of the roof for a moment, the other person doubling over for moment and breathing before he said,

"Come on … we're not out of the woods yet …" Looking up, Naruto was more than obviously surprised to see Sasuke standing there, holding what looked like a large searchlight, which he shone out into the darkness every few seconds, back and forth, to keep the thing at bay. Struggling to his feet, Naruto pulled open the door, flashlight in hand, saying,

"Go." and holding it for Sasuke, who backed in before he followed suit, keeping the light outside at all times because the lobby to their backs was lit. Moving towards the elevators, the brunette pulled on his arm and said,

"No - the stairs," motioning towards the door for them. Following Sasuke, the brunette kept his light facing upwards, and Naruto had his facing downwards and through the grating - together, they were completely covered. Both of them jumped every time a shadow passed by - Naruto didn't know if it was her or not, but he didn't want to chance anything, and he hit everything that moved with his light, constantly keeping it moving to keep them covered, the brunette with his back to the orphan's doing the same thing. They made it to the third floor after what seemed like an eternity.

Kicking open the door, they continued walking back to back, one covering the other, and halfway down the hall, Sasuke switched lights with Naruto since the larger searchlight covered more, and they stopped at 3C, the brunette unlocking the door because it automatically did so when it closed before opening it and pulling Naruto inside, pushing a button on the remote control he kept on his person at all times and lighting every single light that was in that apartment, kicking the door shut in the process.

And then, for the most part, they just laid where they were, just panting. Sasuke was completely spread-eagled on the floor, and Naruto was on top of him, pretty much pinning him down, his flashlight still on, a few inches from the brunette's left hand, and the larger searchlight about 10 inches from Naruto's left hand.

"Jesus … Ch-Christ, Dobe - what were you _doing_?" Sasuke asked, breath still panting slightly, more from anxiety than anything, as was the same for Naruto. The blonde didn't say anything, blue eyes closed as he started to shake again slightly, the magnitude of how close he had just come to _dying _hitting him full force all of a sudden …

Naruto didn't say anything, blue eyes closed as he just focused on breathing for a moment, biting his lip. And then, he opened his mouth to answer Sasuke's question when something slammed into the door, making the blonde jump. Said orphan rolled slightly as the resident brunette sat up, quickly locking the dead bolt as well as the chain before he turned and slid down the door wearily, body vibrating with the force of the thuds as they came. The blonde sat across from Sasuke, back against the counter that held the rows and rows of flashlights.

"What does it_ want?_ What did I do?" he half moaned out, fists clenching as he tried to control his breathing - he was going to hyperventilate if he didn't. The brunette didn't say anything until after the pounding stopped for a good five minutes. When his voice did come, it was slightly shaken, and very, very tired …

"_She _wants to kill you, Dobe. And you saw her face." it was a simple enough answer, and Naruto supposed that he had known it as well, but …His fists clenched again, tighter this time, cutting small crescents into his palms with his blunt nails, shaking slightly from how tense his muscles were. Looking up at the other, he stared at Sasuke for a long time, before he finally attempted the question he'd asked previously and had been unable to get an answer for.

"That means that _you_ had to have seen her face as well, right?" the blonde opened his fists slowly, crossing his legs and setting one hand on each knee. To that question, he got a nod in response. Well, at least it hadn't been some stupid, confusion rhyme…

"When? Was it when you lost your last - oh wait; of course it was, you have a coin …" he answered his own question at that point. Sasuke didn't say anything, black eyes cast to the floor, arms loosely set on top of his knees, which were bent upwards and towards his chest.

"No - she didn't give me a coin for my last tooth." he said after a moment before pulling himself into a standing position, black eyes looking straight ahead as he walked around Naruto and towards the back of the room. Standing, Naruto started to ask,

"But then, how did you -." Sasuke was moving towards the door that hadn't been open last time Naruto had been there - now it stood, outwardly swinging, ajar, and the brunette reached in and closed it before the blonde had enough time to look inside. As he did this, he cut the blue eyed boy off with,

"It doesn't matter." The sharp 'click' of the door shutting almost as if it were closing off the conversation as well as the room that lay behind it. There was a 'bump' at the window, and both of them jumped, turning to look at the glass before Sasuke let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sigh to Naruto, though he seemed the type that if questioned about it, would deny it being as such. "Just a bat …" he murmured as he turned away from the glass - though, the blonde could have sworn he saw something white against the window; he didn't argue, however, because he didn't want it to be true anyway.

"You can sleep - I'll wake you up." the brunette said quietly as he sat down on the floor black eyes cast downwards as he sat one hand on the side of his face, crosslegged, the book from earlier on his lap. It was apparent that the Uchiha didn't intend on sleeping any time soon, that was for sure. The blonde was still shaking - maybe some sleep would do him some good. But then, what if something happened and …

"The lights won't go out; I promise. If something happens, I'll wake you up." Sasuke said, not looking up from his book at all - and, for the first time, Naruto noticed there was a large fluorescent light underneath the bed as well, so that was illuminated - any space that had shadow was completely lit up in that apartment - every single light strategically placed to light and doubly light every inch. Nodding slowly, the blonde decided he could trust the Uchiha; Sasuke had just saved his life a few minutes ago, didn't he?

"Thanks … Sasuke-teme." he murmured quietly as he slid his boots off along with his jeans, assuming that the brunette didn't care that he slept in his boxers and t-shirt. Crawling between the white sheets, blue eyes staring at the opposite wall for a long time, and he knew that he wasn't going to sleep any time soon … …

Eventually, the blonde did nod off, or so it seemed, because he suddenly found himself blinking awake and looking around. The first thing that Naruto saw was the white Christmas lights that always seemed to be on in the apartment on the opposite wall. Yawning slightly and moving to turn over, he absently noted a white alarm clock on the nightstand with glaring red numbers that read, "9:03". After sunrise. That was the first thing that registered to Naruto; he was safe for nine hours. Sliding out of bed quietly and pulling his baggy jeans back on, he noticed that the door next to the bathroom door was ajar again, the white Christmas lights extending inside it. Bare feet padded quietly towards it, and he thought to look inside the room. Though, it didn't seem that Sasuke had wanted him to do so the day before. That only made him want to look more … _Curiosity killed the cat,_ the blonde thought as he moved another step, putting a hand on the doorframe._ But satisfaction brought him back …_blue eyes smirked at the addition to the rhyme before he turned to look inside, and just blinked.

The Christmas lights stopped at the doorway, and did not enter, though they appeared to. Instead, there were five dome lights hanging from the ceiling that cast enough of a glow that there was no danger there, though at the same time … The yellow luminescence that was cast over the room just gave it an .. Erie look. There were rows and rows of canvas that were stacked against the walls, which were painted with huge murals in only five shades - tan, black, white, gold, and red. There was a table against the far wall that held sculptures made of what looked to be porcelain, unglazed, their natural white color.

And every work of art was of Matilda Dickson; the tooth fairy. The murals on the walls were of a huge white mask with yellow eyes staring out, blood seeming to fall from the ceiling, which was spiraled with black and red in an almost hypnotic twist; Naruto had to drag his eyes away. Every canvas was black with a white mask, some pictures with eyes, others without, and that was just the first painting in each of the 5 rows of canvas - the blonde was sure they _all _held her likeness. The statues made of porcelain were of figures with billowing robes and smoothe faces; there was a coin sitting on the table, as well as a mask that was almost exactly the same as the one that he had seen her wearing, tools thrown almost carelessly on the tabletop along with the works, smudged with white clay.

In the center of the room was a large easel, and sitting in front of said furniture on a stool with a pallet in his left hand and a brush in his right, was Sasuke, four huge strobe lights sitting around him, lit and pointing upwards, illuminating the brunette starkly. He didn't seem to have noticed the blue eyed teenager as of yet, still adding brushstrokes to the canvas that was sitting in front of him. Approaching, the light from a window that was painted over barely touched the blonde's skin, easily illuminated by the lights that hung above. He looked over Sasuke's shoulder, and this one as well had a large black mass that was to the center left of the painting - it was her, facing in the other direction, the white of the mask turning and just visible, as if looking at the viewer. She was partially in front of something - it was as of yet unfinished; Sasuke was still painting her glowing golden eyes.

"Oi …" that one small, whispered word was enough to make the brunette drop the paintbrush with a loud clatter against the floor as he turned around to face the blonde, flashlight suddenly in his hand and aimed straight at Naruto's face. However, as soon as he realized that it was the blonde and no other threat besides him, the sharp beam of light was clicked off, and the light was set in the brunette's lap, Sasuke raising an eyebrow questioningly at the other, obviously wanting to know what Naruto wanted.

"Did you … _do _all this …?" he murmured after a second, looking around the room, heart jumping into his throat every time he saw the stark white of a mask against the black and tan. Sasuke nodded mutely before he bent down, switching off the lights around his feet that seemed to be bolted to the floor so that they couldn't be knocked over.

"All of them." he murmured in agreement, watching the blonde as he slowly moved over to the table that was full of clay figures - some looked like thy had been smashed - there were large ones, small ones, different shapes. But, all the same color - a stark, sharp, unfeeling white, just like everything else in the apartment was except this room. Looking next to the table, he noticed for the first time a large crate of what appeared to be sketchpads, some spiraled, some bound, spines all facing upwards. And it looked like they were all well used. He didn't need to look to see what was in them; he already knew. Moving to the row of canvases that lined the back wall, he noticed two portfolios tail to tip against the wall, as full as they could possibly get, behind the racks. There were five rows of racks, with seven slots for canvases in each rack, though each one was double, some even triple stuffed. Canvasses lined between the racks and on the ends - there must have been over two hundred altogether. They were stacked _everywhere_. But, in the back of the rows … the last three pictures in each row looked … different. Naruto's brow furrowed slightly as he moved to pull up one of the ones in the back row, but Sasuke's voice made him freeze.

"Don't touch those." The command was sharp and harsh, and the blonde turned to look at the brunette as it was given, looking at Sasuke for a moment before complete rounding to face the boy, saying,

"Where do you get all this stuff from?" It didn't make too much sense to him - it didn't seem that the boy had any parents, and, he hadn't mentioned having a part time job, which is the only thing the Uchiha could have had, since he went to school. Speaking of which, didn't they have scho - oh. No; wait - it was some holiday or something. Naruto remembered that he and Choji, Kiba, Neji and Shikamaru were going t- the thought stopped dead as he realized he'd never be able to do anything with those four again.

"Kakashi gives me a weekly allowance." the brunette said quietly, adding a stroke to the painting in front of him, seemingly not paying attention to Naruto, though his black eyes did flick to the other's form on occasion.

"He's your _father_? I never would have guessed; you two don't look anything alike …" the blonde said, blinking at the other; that was wild - the two looked about as similar as day and night …

"I didn't say he was, Dobe." the brunette murmured as he gathered up some more paint of a different color after rinsing his brush in a cup that was on a small stool about three inches from the one he was sitting on.

"Then why …?" Naruto turned to face the brunette, raising an eyebrow at Sasuke; why would Kakashi give the boy an 'allowance' if he wasn't the brunette's father? Unless … "He is a _guy _under that mask, right …?" A paintbrush whacked Naruto in the side of the head.

"_Yes _Kakashi is a man - he's my foster parent." Sasuke said with a slightly annoyed glare as he put the pallet he was holding on the stool next to the glass of water and stood where he was, moving towards the door, leaving the lights on as he entered the main room.

"Foster parent? Why do _you _have one?" Naruto assumed the other probably knew that he was from an orphanage, and so, he didn't need to explain himself to the boy or anything; but, he knew next to _nothing _about Sasuke, and this was news to the blonde.

"Because when I was a baby, my entire family was killed." the brunette said simply as if commenting on the weather, stopping where he stood in the middle of the kitchen, back facing Naruto.

TBC …

Glossary:

Dobe - dead last ... ;;


End file.
