Heroes of the West

It was early morning in the Wild West and all was quiet as the sunlight lit up a small town. Accompanying the bright rays of sunlight into town, were two figures riding horses. One horse, golden as the early morning sun, had seated upon him a tall rider with hair that seemed to glisten of gold. Riding along side him, was a horse as black as night, and the rider perched upon him had burgundy hair that looked like it was the product of a rich red wine.

As the two young men rode through the main street of the town, the horses kicking up dry dust, rain not having fallen in months, they passed many people as they opened their stores for the day. Being two unfamiliar faces, they drew attention instantly, receiving suspicious glances and hushed whispers.

“Naruto, we’re not staying long. Get a drink, get some food, and then we’re going. I hate people staring.” The burgundy haired young man said.

The other young man turned his head, nodding in understanding, his blonde hair catching the morning sun.

“Sure, whatever, doesn’t look like this town has anything good anyway. Where do you think the saloon is? I’m dying for a beer…and a whiskey…a bit of bourbon would hit the spot too.” Naruto replied.

The other young man shrugged, his dark brown coat rustling slightly. His pale blue eyes scanned up and down the street, not missing the suspicious glares and sneers directed his way.

“Why do they mostly glare at me?” He asked.

Naruto laughed. “It’s because you’re scary-looking Gaara. It’s those panda eyes you’ve got going on, it scares people…plus you never smile.”

Gaara snorted and ruffled his burgundy hair, yawning to emphasise the fact that he didn’t give a rat’s arse that people were scared of him. That’s the image he wanted.

“AH HA!! I see the saloon, its dead ahead. Race you there! Yeeha!” Naruto shouted, riding ahead without waiting for an answer.

Gaara watched his long time friend ride ahead, his mouth twitching at the corners with amusement.

“Idiot…”
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Tying up his horse, Storm, next to Naruto’s, which had been lovingly named Scotch, Gaara sauntered into the saloon, the doors swinging open as he gave a light push. As he stepped within the establishment, eyes scanning over the wooden tables and chairs, he heard the doors swing closed behind him. Standing behind the bar, illuminated by the sunlight filtering through the window, was a tall man with silver messy hair and a necktie covering his nose and mouth. Sitting at one of the barstools was Naruto, who was wriggling in his seat. Gaara sat beside him and the bartender made his way over to the two, wiping clean a tall glass.

“Don’t usually have customers this early, you’re not from around here are you?” The older man said.

Gaara only reached into one of his coat pockets, pulling out a little silver case. Naruto smiled at the bartender.

“Nope, just passing through. We’ve been traveling for so long and we’re so thirsty, and hungry.” He said dramatically, clutching his stomach.

The bartender chuckled and poured two tall glasses of orange liquid.

“What’s this?” Naruto asked curiously, eyeing the drink.

The bartender smiled. “Kakashi’s Breakfast Special…” Naruto took a swig of the drink and spat it back out, face screwed in disgust. “Orange juice.” The bartender concluded with a bright face.

Gaara watched the display with amusement, but only responded with a smirk, before returning to the construction of his luxury…his cigarette. Opening the silver case, it revealed a few sheets of white paper-looking material and an abundance of tobacco. He took out a small sliver of tobacco and rolled it into a stick shape, placing it inside a sheet of the white paper and rolling it into a cigarette. Licking the edge, to make it stick to the rest of the luxury, he took out a match and lit it expertly on the wooden bar counter. Lighting his cigarette, he inhaled deeply.

“This stuff’s disgusting! Where’s the owner, I want to complain!” Naruto whined, slamming a fist on the counter.

“Naruto, calm down, it’s not this guy’s fault you’ve never had orange juice before.” Gaara said, barely paying attention.

“In any case kid, I am the owner. Kakashi’s the name, drinks are my game.” He said, giving them a thumbs’ up.

Both boys sweat dropped as they looked with frowns at the man giving them a thumb up.

“Lame” They thought, neither knowing that that was what the other was thinking.

“It’s too early for any alcohol, plus you hardly look old enough to be able to hold your own after one drink.” Kakashi said.

“Hey, I’m 18 and I can hold my own!” Naruto said, taking another swig of the orange juice defiantly, then giving a disgusted face as he downed the hideous drink.

“Kid, I’ll make you a deal. Come back tonight after dark, and if you can down more than three drinks and still speak straight, the drinks are on me.”

“Done!” Naruto said, guzzling the orange juice to make his point.

“We’re not staying that long Naruto.” Gaara said, drinking his own orange juice calmly.

“Gaara…free drinks when I win!” Naruto cried out excitedly, turning to his reserved friend.

Kakashi smirked to himself, he knew he was going to win. He’d being selling drinks since he was 17…now with 10 years experience, he knew how to pick the suckers and make some extra cash. Plus, the entertainment his victims caused always boosted business.

Gaara looked at his friend and his pleading eyes, and he rolled his own.

“Fine, I need more tobacco anyway. Plus Storm needs a rest.”

Naruto cheered and clapped his friend hard on the back. Gaara almost choked on his own cigarette and glared at Naruto.

“Sometimes I think you care for your horse ‘Blacky’ more than me.” Naruto pouted childishly.

“He’s more responsible than you, and his name is STORM” Gaara said firmly.

Naruto gave him his usual boyish grin.

“Nuh uh! Anyway, as a token of my gratitude, I’ll pay for the ‘orange juice’.” Naruto searched his pockets and then looked back up at Gaara, smiling sheepishly. “Umm, I’m a bit short…can you lend me some money.”

Gaara sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes, pulling out a little cash. “I told you Storm was more responsible. That’s the last of our cash, how do you spend all our money?”

“It’s not me…Scotch demands only the finest food.”

Gaara raised an eyebrow, smoke curling around his face. “Carrots and oats?”

Naruto laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, handing the cash to Kakashi, who had begun washing the glasses. Receiving only a little change, Naruto handed it back to Gaara, who eyed it in slight disgust.

“Not even enough for tobacco…” He thought to himself.
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Later that afternoon, outside of town, with the sun setting and casting an orange glow on the town, Naruto stood facing a tree, gun aimed at it, the poor tree was riddled with bullets. Gaara stood away from his friend, practicing a rare kind of self defense found in the West, as it originated from the East. He had removed his dark brown coat and a bead of sweat ran down his face.

As he shifted position, Storm trotted up to him and nuzzled his back, making Gaara lose his balance and concentration. He turned around and softly patted Storm’s head, resting his face against the black coat of his faithful animal. After providing his horse with attention, Gaara began his training again.

“Come on, come on, set already!”

Gaara looked up from his training at Naruto, who had lowered his gun. He was now looking at the setting sun, using his hand to shield his eyes.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gaara called.

“I want the sun to set so I can go and win that bet with the bartender, what’s-his-name.”

“Kakashi…and why don’t you just go now?”

“I don’t want to come across as desperate. He said to come after dark. If I go earlier, I’ll look desperate…when I’m not. Come on, how long does it take for a sun to set?” He shouted, swinging his gun around.

“Hey! Stop that or you’ll end up shooting your feet or something” Gaara said with an annoyed tone.

“Pfft! Who do you think I am!? Some dumb rookie? I have total control over this gu-”

The air was filled with the sound of a gunshot, ringing through the ears of the two boys and their horses.

“Oops”

Gaara’s left eye twitched as he looked at the newly formed hole in his jacket that ‘had’ been hanging off the now fallen tree.

“Naruto” He growled, his voice as cold as ice.

Naruto, now sweating quite profusely, looked at Gaara with a sheepish smile.

“S-Sorry, I can fix that if you wa-”

“Forget it, you’ll only make it worse. Just stop messing around with that gun or I’ll shove it where the sun don’t shine!” Gaara shouted as he pulled on his now punctured dark coat and moved back over to Storm, hopping on his faithful steed, while mumbling something about wasting more money and needing a cigarette.

“Naruto, get on your horse! It’ll take us ten minutes to get back there even on horseback. It’ll be dark by then…so you won’t lose face.”

His lips twitched.

Twirling his gun, then slinging it in its holster, Naruto called Scotch over and effortlessly swung up onto his back. Not even bothering to take the reins, Naruto slightly dug his heels into Scotch’s sides, and the horse began a steady walk towards the town. Gaara followed Naruto’s example by digging his heels into Storm’s sides, and the black stallion was off.
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The doors of the saloon swung open and there stood Naruto, hands on his hips, smiling defiantly. Gaara stood beside him, cigarette in mouth and arms folded across his chest.

“Okay Kakashi, I’m gonna win this thing!”

All heads turned towards their direction, but the two ignored them, walking over to the bar. Kakashi stood behind the counter, smirking underneath his necktie.

“Idiot…” He thought.

Naruto and Gaara swung themselves onto two seats at the bar. Everyone else present turned back to their own affairs and forgot about the loud mouthed blonde and his scowling friend. Kakashi placed a drink in front of Naruto.

“What is it?” Naruto asked.

“Not orange juice.”

Naruto downed it in one swig and beamed at Kakashi. “That’s one…”
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Not 15 minutes later, Naruto was completely drunk, slamming his glass on the bar table and shouting for another drink.

“We can’t afford it…we’re leaving.” Gaara said, pulling Naruto easily out of his seat.

As Gaara’s statement revealed, Naruto had lost the bet, so he had to pay the full tab of what he’d drank. He’d become completely drunk off two and a half glasses of Kakashi’s strongest drink.

“You can’t leave, you haven’t paid!” Kakashi shouted over the noise the regulars were making.

The ruckus being made by the regulars was what apparently happened every Friday night. A cry of ‘Yosh!’ and ‘How troublesome’ could be heard over the generally loud crowd gathered within the saloon.

Gaara scowled. “Well, we’re obviously not leaving tonight. This drunken idiot probably couldn’t even sit on his horse! We’ll pay you back tomorrow.”

Without another word, Gaara hauled Naruto towards the doors, though went unwillingly. Outside in the street, Naruto was stumbling down the road, as Gaara undid the reins holding Storm and Scotch to the post, and they faithfully followed their riders down the street.

“I’m not drunk, let’s go back! I can still win this thing! Believe it!” Naruto said, trying to head back to the saloon.

Gaara growled as he pulled his drunk friend away by the collar of his light brown coat. Naruto was struggling and thrashing about, trying to get free, but his friend held firm.

“I’m not letting you go back, you’ll only make a fool of yourself and cost us ‘more’ money that we ‘don’t’ have.”

“I am not a fool!” He slurred.

Before the red head could answer, Naruto had swung a hand, and it collided with his face, knocking his grip free. Naruto tackled Gaara to the ground, but Gaara, being of sound mind and strength, was able to reverse the position and get up off the ground. Naruto also leapt to his feet and ran at his friend.

“You stupid drunk!” Gaara snarled as he grabbed him by the collar of his coat and his belt, and flung him away as hard as he could.

Naruto stumbled back a few metres, but being as drunk as he was, he kept tripping. He finally hit the wall of a building, coming to a stop.

“Have you calmed down?” Gaara asked in a dead-panned voice.

“I could have won dammit! I can still win, believe it!”

In his alcohol induced anger, Naruto began slamming his fist against the nearest hard surface…which happened to be the window of the building he was leaning against. Naruto, being a fairly strong young man, was able to break the window, glass shattering and raining down on the inside of the building. The sound of the destruction, and the pain in his fist seemed to sober him up slightly.

“Oops…”

“What the hell is going on?”

The two young men turned their head and saw an older man with a scar running across his face, storm out of the building. Gaara looked up at the sign. ‘Iruka’s Inn’.

“You’d better be able to pay for that!” The older man scowled as he stalked over to the two friends.

“Nope, we’re flat broke!” Naruto smirked.

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest, there was no way this guy was going to push him around.

“You wrecked my hotel, you have to pay for it!”

“So you’re ‘Iruka’?” Gaara asked.

The man nodded and hauled Naruto away from the wall of the hotel, holding him by the scruff of the collar.

“We can’t pay, we have no money at all…in fact, we’re in debt to Kakashi, courtesy of my drunk friend.” Gaara explained, indicating Naruto.

“I’m NOT…” Hiccup. “Drunk!” Naruto shouted while helplessly trying to loosen Iruka’s grip.

Iruka’s eyes widened. “Kakashi got your friend too? He’s sly that Kakashi…alright, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll let you stay at the hotel, but you have to work for me, to pay off your debt to me and Kakashi…fair?”

“Do you have beds?” Naruto asked.

Iruka didn’t bother answering. Gaara, not really being a bad guy, knew it was the right thing to do to work off the debt.

“Fine, you’ve got yourself a deal.” He said.

He grabbed Naruto out of Iruka’s grasp and hauled him through the front door of the hotel. Iruka followed, shaking his head in amusement.

“Weird boys…”