I now present you with Chapter 2.

Enjoy!

Chapter 2: A Plan and Complications

It took me two weeks, but I found out that no one had any idea who I was talking about when I asked about that pale, dark haired figure.

Every single day, I saw whoever it was sitting by the wall as the buses pulled away. And he didn't show up until after I got on the bus, which made me all the more determined to meet him.

I wasn't sure exactly when the person became a 'he' in my mind, but it seemed right.

"Naruto? You wanted me to pick you up after school today?"

"Yes. Thank you, Iruka." I nodded at my guardian, smiling gratefully.

"May I ask why?"

Should I say why? It's not like there's any reason not to. There isn't anything wrong with wanting to talk to someone…

"Ummm…I keep seeing this boy sitting all by himself at the end of every school day. The only problem is, he shows up after the buses start leaving. I've asked around, but no one knows who I'm talking about. So I'm kind of taking matters into my own hands."

"So you just want to talk to him?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Alright. You're day ends at 1:50. Should I pick you up at 2? Or do you want a little more time?"

"How about 2:30?"

"Do you think you'll need that much time?" Iruka asked with a frown.

"Probably not. But you never know."

And so my perfect plan was set in motion.

All I had to do was go to school, wait for the buses to leave, and then that would be it.

Now, though, putting 'survive the day unharmed' on my agenda would have been nice…

I thought it was going to be one of those boring days. In fact, it was, for the most part.

There were only three things that made it un-boring:

First, I guessed Kakashi's arrival time correctly.

Next, Shikamaru, Hinata, and I were called over to the Pervert Club and invited to sit down. Talking to them, I decided that one of their favorite expressions describes them and what they say well. 'Who needs sanity? Sanity is highly overrated.'

I think it will start to wear off on me. Eventually.

The third happened right after I packed up and had started to leave the building.

As I was walking, I felt my backpack being grabbed, and then I was slammed into a locker. My head spun as I tried to look around. Before I saw anything, I was grabbed and slammed into the lockers again.

And then everything stopped.

I sank to my knees and peered about as images swam before my eyes.

And I realized that while I never would have considered saying this before, I'd say it now.

I'd never been so glad to see a group of happy perverts.

The three talkative members of the club were standing over me. At least six of their other friends were with them.

Alexis and Rhiannon were standing with their arms folded, glaring icy daggers down the hall at a group of peoples quickly retreating backs. When the people disappeared, the two freshmen girls looked at me.

"Sam the Pansy decided he and his goons were going to try to beat you up." A tall guy with blondish hair explained as I got to my feet. "I guess he needed someone new to go for after Rhiannon took away his favorite punching bag." He tilted his head towards a small guy with dark skin and hair. The blonde held out his hand. "Anyway, I'm Zack. I've heard about you."

"Are you going to be alright, big brother?" Rhiannon asked, sounding like she was genuinely concerned.

I was a little surprised, and I faltered in shaking Zack's hand. It took a moment for her whole sentence to sink in.

"Big brother?" I asked in confusion.

"Yeah! How come he gets to be a big brother when I was the hated step cousin twice removed for a year and a half?" A squirrelly looking brown haired boy asked.

"Shut up, Jimmy." Alexis said quite cheerfully.

"Sam is the reason I have a School Family. If I happen to know someone and I need to 'protect' them because he feels the need to beat them up, they are automatically made a sibling." Rhiannon explained. She must have seen the puzzled look on my face, because she shrugged. "Sit with us again tomorrow and I'll explain. And Sam shouldn't bother you anymore. But if he does, say something like…" She trailed off, thinking.

"'Rhiannon's my sister, and if you mess with me, you mess with everyone'?" Zack offered.

The brown haired girl nodded.

"That'll do. He'll think twice before laying another hand on you. After all, it only takes me sicing Zack on him once before he can't walk. Actually, I think it only takes the sicing of any one of us before he can't walk."

"Or have children." Alexis added.

Rhiannon tilted her head, smirking slightly.

"I like that. I'd like to quote Taliesin's famous threat-"

"You kids should get going if you don't want to miss your buses." A man in blue said. One of the kindly old janitors.

"But that'll be for some other time. Let's go."

With that, the group hurried away in a mass that changed its shape with every step.

Slowly, I walked after them, wondering about what had just really happened.

'Sam the Pansy', as Zack called him, tried to beat me up for no apparent reason. And then that group of freshmen came to my rescue…

"Okay." I said aloud, shrugging.

I wouldn't complain. I had escaped unharmed because my friends…

Friends? I have friends!

Childish as it was, I couldn't help grinning as I walked out of the building. There were people out there who cared enough to stand up for me.

And I don't really even know them. I wonder how protective they are of people they know…

As I walked by the side of the building, I watched the road, waiting for the buses to go by.

But they didn't.

I ran to the rest of the way through the faculty parking lot to where the buses parked, only to find…

Emptiness.

The buses were gone, and I was alone. The boy who'd been on my mind for the last two weeks wasn't anywhere in sight.

I can't believe I missed him! Where could he be?

"Is anyone over here?" I called into the empty air.

School is a strange thing, once everyone had gone, I decided. It became too quiet. The fact that I knew no clubs or sports were meeting today only served to increase this feeling of everything being too quiet.

As I stood there, contemplating quiet, a small motion caught my eye. There, around the corner, a head of dark hair had briefly appeared.

I smiled, slowly approaching the place I had seen movement at. When I got to the other side, I froze, staring at the person before me.

Tousled raven hair against almost unnaturally pale skin made the most beautiful combination I'd ever seen.

I leaned forward ever so slightly to try and see his eyes…and I felt as though I was drowning.

Deep, dark, endless…

But they were marred by something.

Pain, sorrow…and something familiar. The loneliness I'd seen in my own eyes.

He can't be any older than eight. How can he look that sad and defeated?

I was about to begin speaking when someone called out my name.

"Naruto?"

I turned to the voice.

It was Kakashi. He was walking toward me, waving.

"What are you doing out here, all by yourself? Did you miss your bus?" Kakashi stopped next to me, completely ignoring the boy beside me.

"Ummm…" I glanced at the boy, to find him staring at me, judging me. I looked back to Kakashi, who raised one eyebrow in a silent question.

"Uh…no. Iruka is picking me up at 2:30. He's my, ummm…"

"I see. Was he meeting you here?"

"No. At the normal pickup area at the front of the building. I was just walking a bit."

"Well, I could walk with you back over there, if you want. I was going to my car when I saw you over here. I wanted to make sure you could get home."

Without waiting for me to answer, my teacher started to walk to the front of the school.

Why did Kakashi ignore…I turned to the raven haired child, only to find that he had gone. I turned completely around, trying to catch a glimpse of him. He wasn't anywhere in sight.

Darn Kakashi, I thought. He must have scared him away. And why did he just not notice him like that? A second later, my thoughts reversed. Not 'darn Kakashi'. I think I love the guy as much as I love Iruka. But I really wanted to talk to that kid!

I turned back around and hurried after the adult who hadn't stopped walking. When we arrived at the front of the building, we were the only people around. Kakashi stuck around for a while talking idly about things. He gave me a few tips on how to get a better grade in some of my other teachers' classes, but other than that, we didn't really talk about school things.

Finally, my teacher looked at his watch.

"I'm going to be late!"

It took a moment for this statement to sink in.

"Ummm…you're always late. I'm kind of surprised your watch works."

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, I have an important appointment." He said, as though it explained all.

"If you don't mind me asking, what kind of important appointment is it? I mean, you're a teacher. I would expect that getting to class on time would be important, but…"

The silver haired man grinned at me. I couldn't actually see him grinning, but I knew he was none the less.

"I have a date I need to keep." He winked at me before turning away from me and walking away, towards the faculty parking.

All I could do was stare at his retreating form.

I honestly had no idea if it was good or bad to know my teacher was gay while everyone else didn't.

A small sound, like someone clearing their throat, but trying not to be noticed, made me frown. I looked around, but couldn't find where it had come from. My frown deepened and I returned to my thoughts. A small motion that I just barely caught out of the corner of my eye made me turn my head.

There, from in the shadow of a tall pillar, someone was moving. I squinted, trying to see who it was.

Small. Pale skinned. Dark hair. It was…

I smiled broadly, approaching the small figure.

"Hello." I said.

The boy nervously looked over his shoulder, like he thought someone was standing behind him.

"Did you follow me over here?" I asked.

The boy looked at me, surprise on his face.

"You-you can see me?" He whispered, voice disbelieving.

I froze, tilting my head in confusion.

"What?"

"You can see me."

"Of course I can. Why wouldn't I be able to?"

The pale child raised an arm to place against the pillar he was next to, as though seeking support. He'd raised his arm halfway before he let it drop to his side, giving the limb an expression close to disgust.

"I…"

I studied him. His otherwise sweet face was twisted in nervousness and slight fear. His eyes still held that pain and sorrow. The closer it was, the more emotion I saw in those eyes. I had this strange feeling that something terrible had happened to this child. I just had no idea what it was.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked, trying to change whatever subject it seemed we were on.

The hurt in the small raven's eyes increased, and I wished I could take my words back.

"No one is waiting for me." He looked down, his bangs hiding his face.

I tried approaching him once more, but I stopped when he fell back a step, fear flashing briefly across his face as he lifted it. He once again lowered his eyes when he saw that I wasn't moving toward him.

"What's your name?" I asked. Then I winced. I could have asked nicer.

The boy didn't answer me, so I tried again.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki." I held out my hand. "What's your name, sweetie?"

Slowly, he raised his eyes, looking at my outstretched hand. He made no move to take it, so I let it drop.

"My name is…Sasuke Uchiha."

I smiled at him.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Sasuke Uchiha. I've been seeing you for two weeks, and I've wanted to speak with you ever since I first laid my eyes on you."

"You…wanted to speak with me?"

"You were so alone. Someone had to talk to you."

"No one else can see me." He said in a small voice. "That's why I was alone."

"No one can see you? I asked in doubt. "Why's that?"

"Because I'm not really here."

"Not really the-"

I choked.

Sasuke had just disappeared.

I would like to once again say that updates will be sporadic, but hang in there.

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