Lost & Found

Chapter #01: The Pariah

Naruto shivered, pulling the zipper of his black and orange jacket up to his neck. It was still early into fall but the nights were already getting colder. It didn't seem to bother Kiba, but this wasn't really a surprise. That man was an animal. Of course, the fur-lined hoodie helped too. Sasuke on the other hand was freezing his ass off. Naruto let a small chuckle escape his lips. That bastard, for whatever reason, always had the need to show off his well defined abs to the world.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke questioned in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, just wondering why you decided it would be a good idea to walk around town without a shirt and do it in this weather." Naruto replied with a teasing voice.

"I have a shirt." was Sasuke's answer.

"You talking about that little white piece of fabric you have draped around your shoulders? That's not a shirt...it's more like a man's version of a shawl."

"Or a crop jacket." Kiba chimed in. Both Naruto and Kiba burst out into a roaring laughter. Sasuke's scowl got even deeper before he replied with a short and blunt "Fuck you."

The three young men fell into a comfortable silence. Their night was winding down, and they would soon all go home for the night. Just hours before, they were partying at someone's house. Naruto didn't know whose house, it was one of those 'friend of a friend of a friend' situations. Like other parties of similar nature, there was a lot of people, a lot of loud music, and a lot of underaged drinking. Not to mention a lot of bad dancing. To say the least, the three of them were pretty much drunk.

Well, perhaps only two of them. Naruto had a good buzz going on, but he wasn't plastered. Which is why he would be the first one to take a good look at his surroundings and realize he had no idea where they were or where they were going. With a slightly hesitant voice, Naruto voiced his concerns "So...one of you knows where we are, right?"

"C'mon Naruto, don't be a pussy." Kiba replied.

"I'm not a pussy!"

"hm. Scaredy cat. Don't worry so much, everything looks different in the dark." Sasuke added.

"Looks different? How can something look different when we've never even seen this area before?!"

"Calm down, will ya? I recognize this place from the drive over here. I know exactly where we are, trust me." Since Kiba sounded so sure, Naruto let the issue slide. He wasn't in a hurry to get home and he liked the idea of exploring unfamiliar parts of the city.

They had been wondering around a quiet residential area, nothing too extravagant. It was quaint, and Naruto happened to like quaint. He was having a good time, chatting and laughing with Kiba and Sasuke about random things. Next thing he knew, he was in the middle of a bleak industrial area. He slowly came to a stop, shocked at how he didn't even notice when this shift in environment had occured. He knew, absolutely knew, they didn't pass anything like this on their way over to the party. "We're lost."

Sasuke and Kiba replied with a long stretch of silence, taking the opportunity to really take a good look at their current location. "What?" Sasuke eventually asked.

"We're lost?! How the fuck did that happen?!" Kiba shouted with over enthusiasm.

"How did this happen?" Sasuke asked, mainly to himself.

"It's Lee's fault!" Kiba declared.

Naruto would agree with him on that one, even if Kiba was completely ignoring his previous 'I know exactly where we are' comment. They had originally gone to the party with Lee, seeing as Lee was the only one that knew how to get there. So they naturally assumed that Lee would give them a ride back. Only, he left about an hour after they arrived at the party. His excuse had something to do with Tenten, but Naruto wasn't really paying much attention at the time. Sometime later, when the three of them were all partied-out, they just started walking around the city. None of them had the presence of mind to care where they were going.

"It's no big deal. We can just get a cab." Naruto offered.

"Right, a cab." Sasuke spoke under his breath, "Do you see one?" Once again, silence ensued. Taxis are usually all over the city, but Naruto couldn't remember the last time they actually saw one. It was a while back, when they were still within the vicinity of the party. But, stupid them, they've made a lot of twists and turns since then.

"We could call one, right?" Kiba asked, his voice laced with mild panic.

"Yeah, sure...if we had phones." Sasuke snidely replied, directing a glare towards Naruto.

"Hey, I didn't force you guys to bet your phones!" Naruto defended himself.

"It was your idea to join the poker game!" Sasuke retorted.

"Bastard."

"Idiot."

With an exaggerated sigh, Naruto attempted to lift the mood, "Let's just keep going. We're bound to come across one. And if we don't, for some totally unrealistic reason, we could always ask someone for directions."

"That...sounds good." Kiba not so convincingly agreed.

"Whatever." was Sasuke's response. The three of them continued on their walk, with Naruto in the middle pretty much keeping Kiba and Sasuke on their feet. Those two weren't exactly graceful when inebriated.

They walked for a long time. Gradually, the streets got darker and the buildings more neglected. The metallic, stale air of the industrial area turned into the smell of something pungent and sickening. "Shit, we must be in the slums." Sasuke remarked.

"You think?!" Kiba responded. "This is just great, just fucking great."

"We can still just ask someone for directions." Naruto remarked.

"Are you crazy? This is the ghetto!" Sasuke screeched, while trying to keep his voice down.

Naruto took in a slow, deep breath. He wasn't in the mood for a bitch fest. He knew Sasuke and Kiba had probably never seen an environment like this. Both of them came from wealthy backgrounds - Sasuke's brother was the CEO of Uchiha Corp and Kiba's family owns a successful veterinary clinic.

"Sasuke's right. We'll just get shot at before we even get a word out." Kiba stated.

"No one's gonna shoot us." Naruto said flatly. Although he wasn't as ignorant as his two friends, Naruto knew it was probably not a good idea to hang around this area - especially at night.

"Hey, you three want some company?" A woman spoke beside the trio, quickly startling Naruto from his inner musings. She was probably in her early 20's. Based on her revealing outfit, body language, and insinuations, it was obvious she was a prostitute. Before he could open his mouth, Kiba had already replied, "That's sick, lady. Not in a million years, who knows what diseases you're carrying?!".

Naruto jabbed Kiba in the side of his ribs and quickly replied, "Sorry. What my friend here means is 'thank you for the offer, but we're going to have to politely decline'." Naruto finished his sentence with a large grin and then quickly urged his two friends on.

"What the fuck was that?" Kiba demanded, after they had walked a considerable distance away.

"Yeah, how could you be so polite to that thing?" Sasuke added.

"That thing is a person. A person caught up in an unfortunate situation." Naruto replied.

"So you want us to feel pity. Nobody's forcing her to do that." Sasuke replied.

Naruto let out a sigh. Although he lived a very comfortable lifestyle now, this wasn't always the case - he knew a little bit about the streets. It's surprising how one city could be so segregated. And unlike Sasuke and Kiba, Naruto knew the realities of human trafficking. He also knew that hookers were usually being watched by someone. They were, after all, considered property. What's more, whoever has ownership of this 'commodity' usually does business in other related criminal activities. All in all, not guys you want to mess around with. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Let's just keep going. Maybe we could turn around?" Naruto suggested.

"Yeah, doubling back sounds like a good idea. We'll still be lost but at least we'll get out of this shithole." Kiba replied.

"Hn." was Sasuke's reply. "But let's avoid the walking STD while we're at it."

"Alright" Naruto frustratedly sighed out. As was requested, Naruto attempted a detour. It soon became apparent they had become even more lost. The buildings were even more run-down than before and littered with graffiti that proudly displayed gang insignias. Every so often, there was the shady silhouettes of two people on a street corner exchanging suspicious looking items. Finally, after passing a homeless campground, Sasuke finally decided to speak up, "What the fuck Naruto? I thought you were getting us out of here?!"

"You guys bitch a lot when you drink." Naruto observed, but didn't otherwise comment.

"But seriously, you know where we're going right?" Kiba asked.

With his millionth sigh of the night, Naruto stopped walking. He looked around, but wasn't able to see much due to the lack of light. However, a small shock of red caught Naruto's attention. Upon closer inspection, he was able to spot the figure of a male silhouette peeking into a large dumpster. Based on the approximated height and build of the guy, Naruto guessed he was about their age. The figure didn't seem dangerous or menacing - probably because it was so small compared to Naruto himself. Finally admitting defeat to himself and fed up with their current situation, Naruto marched over to the other male. Sasuke seemed to know what he was thinking and quickly grabbed Naruto's arm. "Idiot, you're going to get us robbed. Or killed." Sasuke seethed.

Naruto shook himself free and proceeded to walk up to the redhead. "Hey, would you mind helping us out?" The young male turned around and faced Naruto, a blank expression on his face.

Naruto took that as a good sign and continued. "My friends and I are a little lost. Could you tell us how to get to the north side of town?" The redhead continued to respond with a blank stare. Naruto cocked his head to the side and let out a low "hmmm," before stating "Of course, I'd be happy to buy you dinner or something. My treat for helping us out."

A small glimmer of emotion briefly crossed the redhead's face, before his features settled back into disinterest. He slowly moved his eyes to take a look over at Sasuke and Kiba. Naruto followed his gaze and then turned back around to face the smaller boy. He let a gentle smile grace his lips. "Don't mind them. They're harmless." he promised. Without a word, the redhead started walking away. Naruto's smile slowly formed into a rejected frown. Shortly after, the redhead paused briefly before turning around and giving Naruto an annoyed glare.

Realization dawned on the blonde and his mood once again lifted. He quickly turned to his friends and happily shouted, "Hey guys! He's gonna help us out, we just gotta follow him."

Naruto's enthusiasm dropped a little after noticing the look on Sasuke's face. He looked like he wanted to gouge Naruto's eyes out. As for Kiba, he looked very apprehensive. As the two boys made their way over to Naruto, Sasuke declared "I'm not following that low life anywhere." Naruto flinched a little bit, very aware that Sasuke's words were within the redhead's hearing range.

The blonde liked to think of himself as a composed, easygoing person - a forgiving person - and not one to hold onto grudges. In fact, he prides himself in giving people second chances - even third, fourth, and fifth chances. But he could feel himself losing the last ounces of patience he had for his two friends. "Look, I don't care what you do. I'm going to follow...uh, Red here, to the northern part of town. If you two think you can find your way home all on your own, then by all means, do it." And with that, Naruto shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and tailed after the redhead. Sasuke and Kiba reluctantly followed him, just as Naruto knew they would.

It took about one and a half to two hours to get to the north side of Konoha City. The walk was silent...very, very, silent. Naruto could tell that Sasuke and Kiba were talking to each other, probably talking shit about the redhead. Now, finally, they were in an area that Naruto recognized. Even better, Naruto spotted a taxi coming down the street. He hailed down the cab, and turned to Sasuke and Kiba. "Well, here's your ride. Hop on in."

"Yo, aren't you coming with us?" Kiba asked, a little confused.

"No, I have to fulfill my promise first."

"You're really going to chose to stay in that freak's company. How can you handle standing so close to something that smells like week old sewage? If he wants something to eat so bad, then he should get a fucking job like everybody else. Fuckin' slob."" Sasuke sneered, while climbing into the backseat of the taxi.

Kiba joined the raven-haired male in the cab, adding "Dude, you know you're going to end up dead in ditch somewhere, right?"

Naruto's smile faulted, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he handed the taxi driver some cash with a short "keep the change" followed by two addresses. He may have lost his phone in the first round of poker, but he had actually won a fair amount of cash in the second and third rounds. He felt a little sour about having to spend it so fast. The blonde watched the yellow car drive out of sight, before turning to face the younger man.

"Hey, sorry about that. They were being complete assholes. They were drunk so..." Naruto let his sentence hang before changing the subject. "I was thinking we could go to the burger joint across the street, that okay? I think it's the only thing open this time of night." he asked. The stoic male gave a short nod, so Naruto started to move towards the fast food restaurant. The redhead trailed behind the blonde, intentionally keeping a five foot distance.

Naruto was overjoyed to enter the heated building. He quickly rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them faster. He noticed that people began to stare at the redhead when he'd entered. Naruto turned to the other male and asked, "You see anything you like on the menu?". The redhead looked up at said menu, then lowered his head back down and looked towards Naruto. "...I can't read."

It was the first time Naruto had heard him speak. His voice was low and monotone; Naruto thought it suited him. He was a little shocked at the redhead's admittance and tried not to show any signs of pity. He knew from personal experience that when you're living that type of life - the street life - pity is the last thing you want to see on another person's face. More than anything, this made Naruto even more interested in the redhead. Usually street kids were runaways who left home in their early teens. In this day and age, being illiterate was practically unheard of - especially for someone the redhead's age. Naruto found himself pondering how it was possible. He couldn't image a little child living and growing up on the streets. It could be possible he came from a very poor family. But still, all education up until the college level was paid for by the government - and mandatory.

With increased interest, Naruto looked over the smaller male. Now that they were in an area with decent light, Naruto took the time to get a good look at the redhead. He was pale, almost sickly pale, and too thin for Naruto's liking. The black and deep purple bags under his eyes were an obvious hint that he didn't get much sleep. And his clothes were in pretty bad shape. He had a thin black hoodie littered with holes and tears. The shirt he had underneath was in even worse shape and didn't even have sleeves. His pants were baggy and about two sizes too big. He also had what looked like cardboard duct taped to the bottoms of his feet. All in all, he was pretty much exposed to the elements.

But not everything about the redhead was depressing. He also had the most amazing sea-foam colored eyes and his hair was a much more vibrant shade of red than the blonde had originally thought. The 'ai' tattoo on his forehead was even more vivid. Aware that his staring was close to giving off the 'creeper' vibe, Naruto finally spoke up. "That's okay. If you want, you can choose someplace to sit down and I'll order the food."

The redhead remained still for a few seconds before walking towards the back of the building, choosing the most secluded area he could find. Naruto approached the young female cashier, ready to order. Before he could get a word in, a middle aged woman with the 'manager' name tag immediately scolded Naruto. "Listen, we can't have homeless people thinking they can loiter around here. It'll be bad for business."

With a deepening frown, Naruto responded "I have money."

"You have money. The other one doesn't. Don't start bringing them in here." the woman sternly spoke.

Trying to keep his calm, Naruto replied in a severe and sarcastic tone "I'm sure your boss would like to hear about how you're turning away paying customers. And I'll bet he'll love to hear the reasons behind why you're responsible for a discrimination lawsuit against this place. Hell, maybe I'll take a walk down to the campus tomorrow and get a bunch of grassroots activists to picket the hell out of this place. I'm sure that'll even get the attention of the local news. And -"

Naruto's rant was cut off by the manager, "Fine. But just for today." The women, now obviously pissed off, left to do who knows what in a back office. Once she was out of sight, some of her employees gave Naruto a thumbs up. A short awkward moment occurred between Naruto and the young cashier, before the girl spoke up "Uh...hello. Welcome to Burger Nation, may I take your order."

About ten minutes later, Naruto was carrying a couple of trays to the table where the redhead was seated. It was a two person booth next to a window, near the back exit. After taking the seat opposite of the smaller male, Naruto grabbed a double bacon cheeseburger. "This is mine, and so are these fries. But everything else is for you. I also got us a couple of bottled waters. Oh, and I got you this milk." Naruto informed. He had gotten the redhead a bit of everything, trying to pick the healthiest options available. So he ended up ordering a chef salad, a grilled chicken BLT, a fish sandwich, a couple of grilled pineapple spears, a yogurt,, and some apple slices with caramel dip.

The redhead began with the closest item, the pineapple spears. After a couple of minutes of silent eating, Naruto questioned "So, what's your name?"

The redhead stopped chewing and slowly raised his eyes to look at Naruto. "...Gaara."

"Gaara? That's a cool name. I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara went back to eating, choosing not to say anything or even acknowledge that Naruto had spoken. The blonde wasn't the type of person to sit around in silence for long, so he decided he would make conversation - even if it was only one-sided. "Were you born in Konoha? I was. But I didn't stay here. I moved around a lot. I spent some time in Suna and Kiri, and even lived for a while in Iwa. But I missed Konoha. Not that I really had any memories of it, but my parents lived here and I was born here. I like this city the most. I moved a lot because I went to a lot of different foster homes. I'm an orphan. But eventually I got adopted." Naruto spoke, never dropping his trademark smile.

"Suna."

"Suna? You've been there?"

"...I was born there..."

"Oh, really. So we have that in common! Well, I wasn't born there. But I did live there. And I guess I already told you that. Do you miss it?" Gaara didn't answer Naruto's question, which was okay with the blonde. Naruto got the impression that the redhead was the quiet type. "I liked it. I miss the smells and the atmosphere of the marketplace the most. But I don't miss the weather. It got sooo hot! But that's not surprising, since it's in the middle of the desert and all. I mean, who decided it would be a good idea to build a huge city in the one of the hottest places on earth?!"

Seconds after Naruto finished his rant, Gaara began a short series of not-so-healthy coughing. Naruto furrowed his brows. It didn't look like Gaara had choked on anything or swallowed wrong. It sounded more like he was getting sick. Or maybe he was already sick. The redhead did look quite pale and exhausted. Naruto felt a pang of guilt. He took advantage of the redhead and his situation. When he first saw Gaara peeking into that dumpster, he assumed that the redhead was looking for something to eat. He knew that, more likely than not, Gaara would agree to help him out if he offered him some food in return. While walking a few miles wasn't a big deal for Naruto, it must have taken a toll on Gaara. And Gaara would have to walk that same distance just to get back 'home'.

Not only that, it was a cold night and it'll only be getting colder. Now, because of Naruto, Gaara would have to walk miles in freezing cold weather, spending what little amounts of energy he had just so he could get back to a section of street he felt most comfortable and safest sleeping on.

A few months from now it will be snowing. Naruto wondered if Gaara had a warm place to stay for the winter. Probably not. Gaara wasn't the only person in this predicament and Naruto knows he can't help everybody. But in this moment, Gaara is right in front of him. He could do something for Gaara. He had to take some responsibility for what he did.

"Hey, Gaara...did you wanna spend the night over at my place? It's pretty cold outside..."