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Prologue:

Once upon a time? I don't think so. That is not how this story was meant. No, in fact, it is a rather tragic tale. One that is of great misery and crushed passion. A tale who's story is that of two young boys whose love is devastated, long before it ever had the chance to come to fruition. Come and see what lies before you in this, The Raven's Fox.

Chapter One: Goodnight And Go

A dosage of Risperidone. One inhale of Flovent. A glass of milk and a plate of chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. A full evening of nothing to do, a vast selection of chick flick movies, and a brand new laptop with high speed is what Naruto's Saturday nights were made of. He had never much cared for going out to a club across town, nor did he want to go get wasted in a bar somewhere downtown with a bunch of buddies illegally. The things that most teenagers his age were doing had no placing on his list of to-dos. He was 17, a rather awkward age in his opinion. He wasn't able to go out and buy tobacco, go to adult bookstores, or even sign up for the army. Though, those abilities weren't particularly intriguing to him. Hell, even voting was out of his league. Oh well. It isn't like he felt like being screamed at like a bitch or wanted to be seen as a pervert for buying an "adult" novel. Mouth and lung cancer were not appealing and even if he did want to vote, it sure as hell wouldn't be this year. Nonetheless, he was well set for the night's agenda.

"Hm. Should I watch Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants or…. How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days?" The blond pondered this for a few minutes, scanning over his rather vast DVD library under his T.V. stand. His entertainment system sat within a very average sized living room. A couch, a recliner, and a small coffee table made up the furniture with a small rug for lying on to watch his favorite anime. The walls were washed with calming beige and the carpet was cream. Perfect for not only brightening up your day but also giving a tasteful atmosphere to the room. The theme was persistent throughout the household. A sliding door opened to his back balcony, large enough to fit a grill, a small table and two chairs on it. Not much, but he figured living alone that was plenty for himself. The living room was the main attraction to the home as soon as you entered. From there, you were able to either turn right, into the kitchen where a small table, four chairs (for formal occasions), a fridge, a stovetop, and small counter space were located or left into a narrow hall, leading you towards the bathroom, his bedroom, and spare closet, which was quite large, considering the apartment's actual size. Within the confines of the somewhat tiny bathroom was a shower/tub combination, a toilet, sink, and clothes hamper for dirty towels. That was the first door on your right. The next one was the closet; a walk-in. The last door, which was the very end of the hall, was his bedroom. Very little time was spent in there, unless sleeping or cramming at the last minute for a test. The room consisted of a twin bed decorated with Japanese print bedding, a dresser, and nightstand for his book of the month and his small computer desk for the laptop. All of this was sole property of him. Well, for the most part.

His parents lived in the condo, which was down the way from his tiny abode. They were never home, they laid no claim to him, and they were gone for months and months at a time, never giving a cent to the poor boy. It was convenient in a way, though. No parents around meant he had no issues with bedtimes, curfews, or what he could and couldn't eat, though it was a rather large pain to have to do his own laundry, cook, clean, work, and balance school all at the same time. He seemed to keep his head above water most of the time though, and rarely complained. Another source of relief would always come from his mentor, Iruka Umino. The teaching of how to cook and wash laundry and the fact that if he ever had a rough patch for money, Iruka was there. It was like a father he had never had. Not that he wanted to sound like some cheesy crackpot story.

His job wasn't the best. In fact, it was the lowest possible job a human being could have. A Wal-Mart greeter. Yes, the sad truth was in plain sight. Every day of the week, that goofy, unbridled smile would become a plastered and rather irritating facial deformity. But either way, it was a job. And along with his gateway to hell position would come his nighttime "activities" on Friday and some Saturdays. It was unpleasant, but hey, it made his life affordable.

His slim digits finally wrapped about the case for "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days".

"This shouldn't be too bad, ne? At least you can talk to the movie this time instead of having to grit your teeth around your friends who yell at you every time you say one little thing. Geez, you'd think saying 'don't go in that door' would be anyone's reaction to that guy. I mean you could tell it was coming right from the start! Tells me to never see a scary movie around them again, ttebayo!"

Naruto continued his rant as he put the movie in the DVD player. The main menu came up after about fifteen minutes of previews, playing the oh so sweet love music that always was associated with such genres. His heart skipped a beat, thinking of the romantic air that he was yearning so terribly for. It was autumn, you know? The blonde's mind immediately wondered into his rather bountiful collection of daydreams, one after another playing over and over in his mind. Walking the cobblestone ways of Konoha with a sweetheart, hands embraced, words exchanged of caring love. Yes, it was true. Naruto Uzumaki was a hopeless romantic. So what? It's not like there were no other people in the world like him.

"Just not around me, or within the same country, for that matter."

The boy relieved a sigh of disappointment, suddenly feeling much more in the mood for the Internet than a movie. It didn't matter either way. He would end up fat doing either activity. He grabbed the laptop and moved to the kitchen to make some hot cocoa and get started with his Myspace browsing. The computer booted up, the Vista operating system whirring with the excitement of being used. It was still near brand new since Naruto had only used it twice since it was obtained. He grabbed for his packet of instant mix and step-by-step followed the instructions, making his warm beverage. Plopping down in his chair, Naruto started up Firefox, blowing on his drink carefully. It took but a moment for his Myspace homepage to load. He typed in his email and password, quickly logging in.

"Come on, something new, anything new…"

Nothing new. That would have been surprising had he not just logged in earlier that day, at least 5 times. It had really become an addiction to him. There was nothing else to do anyway. His friends were almost always busy and he wasn't very extroverted so he never got up the balls to meet someone new around town.

"Time to change, Naruto. You have to meet someone new. If you keep up this same roster of friends and same old routine, you'll never get anywhere in life except lots of therapy sessions and a solemn life, ttebayo."

He moved the cursor towards the "Browse" section, looking at his mailing code area for a new face, maybe some other guy he could chill with that night or a girl looking for a good time. At first, no one seemed to appeal to him. No similarities in personality, no similar hobbies, nothing. Naruto stopped on a random page, though, somewhat perplexed.

"Hey, wait. Don't I know him from school? Yeah, I do. I didn't know that he had a Myspace."

The he that Naruto spoke of was that of Sasuke Uchiha. He was the wealthiest, most charming and most handsome kid of the entire high school. Not to mention the most popular. And Konoha High had a lot of kids in it. His brow arched in a rather curious manner.

"I thought I heard him say something about hating social conformity? Hm. Maybe I should look into this."

His pointer clicked the mouse, commanding the viewing of the raven-haired boy's profile.

"Wow. 75,000 views? What is that, this month or just today?"

The boy jested with himself, somewhat chuckling and waiting for the rather advanced layout to load. After a moment, a background image of a large and majestic mountain range appeared, the dark stormy clouds raging with lightning and rain pouring upon the peaks of each royal point. The song "What's Up, People?" beginning to play in the background.

"That's weird. I didn't expect that Teme to have that kind of song on his profile. Course, nor did I expect the layout image."

He began to scroll down the page, reading different information on the other. Word after word began to interest the blonde more and more, continuing on down the page.

"He's into the same music, movies, and hobbies as me?!"

Naruto exclaimed to an empty house. The sudden realization of how similar they were almost creeped the boy out. He couldn't believe that such polar opposite upbringings could be so close in personality, or at least category. He suddenly paused on the Interests section, scanning over the words he had just read very carefully.

" 'I'm interested in a certain idiotic boy at my school, not that that's any of your business.' !? No way! Sasuke's gay?!"

The boy sat back in utter shock and a bit of awe. Who could that possibly be? There were a lot of idiots at their school. To say that was like saying 'I like a boy that has a dick". There were tons of them. Naruto looked back to the page.

" 'Have any questions? IM me at TheScarletRaven.' Huh? Alright, Mr. Uchiha, get ready for me, cause here I come, ttebayo!"

Naruto swiftly signed onto AIM, impatiently tapping his feet on the linoleum floor for it to finish loading. After a brief moment, the window showed his contacts. The blonde quickly dashed to the ADD CONTACT option, typing in the name nervously. After another moment, the name appeared in his contacts. He brought up the IM window and typed.

Theravensfox: "Hey, what's up, Teme? I wanted to ask you something."

There was a pause, then the notice he was typing.

TheScarletRaven: "Alright, go for it, Baka."

Naruto's heart began to pound.

Theravensfox: "Ok. Who's the boy you like at your school?"

There was another long pause, and then he began to type.

TheScarletRaven: "……His name.. is Naruto. Why? What's it to you?"

His jaw dropped. He was the 'idiotic boy'?

TheScarletRaven: "By the way, who is this?"

The boy's heart stopped. Now what was he supposed to do? It clicked after a second. Naruto signed off quickly, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Whew. Almost got caught."

He chuckled to himself; almost in disbelief he had just done that. He froze suddenly.

"Wait, what if he asks somebody about my screen name? He'll find out who that was!"

Naruto quickly tried signing back on to explain some made up story about his identity but it was too late. TheScarletRaven had signed off.

"Great. Now what do I do now, ttebayo?"

The blonde quietly and rather panicked tried to think of some way to solve his now large predicament, still completely stunned by what had just taken place.