Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Slight AU warning.
Don't forget to review when you're finished reading!
Summary: What if Konoha was a destitute, paltry city that bred nothing of worth within its walls? The people of this miserable community barely keep going every day. The shinobi are no different. However, the dreams of two ninja triggers a feeling of rebirth within their hearts and now they strive to reach their own dreams. Will they find themselves on the right road...or lost forever?
Note: Italicized lines often mean thoughts of a character or in some cases dreams. Bolded lines often mean Inner Sakura's dialogue. Bolded italicized lines often mean flashbacks.
The Author Speaks: There will be multiple couplings, but romance is not what is this fic is completely centered around. Despite this, you won't be disappointed come romance time. Look for the teenage ninja angst however! I will warn you, there will be heavy amounts of violence, swearing, blood, substance abuse, molestation, you name it! I don't like flames, but I do like constructive criticism. Also note; money! I have no idea what the equivalent to a dollar is when it comes to ryo, so I'm just doing it simple. 100 ryo equals 1 dollar. I'll trust you're intelligent enough to be able to perform equivalents with that piece of information given. Oh, and NEW WARNING! There will be limes/possible lemons in this fic, mentioned rape and explicit scenes. This is a warning.
Timeline: Being as how it's slightly AU, the time period is the same except most of the characters are fifteen instead of thirteen. Also, Otogakure is the main village of the Land of Fire, the biggest city with the most powerful army. It's located where it is in the series, except the Land of Rice Fields is no more; it's part of the Land of Fire. And yes, you guessed it! The Otokage is Orochimaru. Oh, and Kakashi never lost his other eye. I forgot that detail...
Definitions:
Tokujo – short for Tokubetsu Jounin which are specialized ninja in between Chuunin and Jounin rank
Songs: "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane
"We Are All On Drugs" by Weezer
"Rich Girl" by Gwen Stefani
"In The Ghetto" by Elvis Presley
Show Me a Hero
Chapter 2 – Dependence
Sakura had no job.
Her realization crept up on her slowly while she lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling with tired eyes. The day was cool and rainy, not a fun day to walk around and enjoy the weather.
She should've kept it. She really should have. But how was she supposed to know?
Senseis were supposed to call meetings, right?
The day after their first meeting, Sakura went to her factory job and quit it. She had to fit in team meetings into her schedule and training. She felt herself on the verge of being fired anyway. Her boss never liked her much. As for her job at the flower-shop, that was only part-time and Ino had taken over the register anyway.
When she got home from quitting her job, she felt excited about the days to come. Training with Naruto...and Sasuke.
His name always brought up controversy between herself and her other half. On one hand, he was a sarcastic and teasing depressive guy. And yet, Inner Sakura wouldn't let up about his mysterious and handsome figure.
Her hot-tempered conscience had a point. After I yelled at him, he really toned down. Not a bad person...confused I guess.
However, as the days passed on...she never received a message from Kakashi or her teammates. Actually, she hadn't seen them in a week. She had been sitting around her house doing nothing for a week. A week that could have been filled with work and money.
Frustrated, she stood up and crossed over to her secret money storage. Looking inside it...she had nothing. Her heart sank and butterflies began to form in her tightening stomach. "No..."
She had no money. Absolutely none.
Panic set in early. Her breathing became fast and short and she felt the need to move around as much as possible. She felt her eyes begin to burn and her worst fears begin to set in as she frantically made her way to the kitchen, opening up the faded cabinets to see how much food she had. Not a lot. The fridge didn't hold a lot either.
She had no way to contact her parents. She didn't even know if they were in Oto or not.
Sakura fingers went underneath her pink locks and bunched them up in worry. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she thought of starving to death. "No, Sakura shut up. That's not going to happen."
She crumpled down onto the dusty kitchen floor and began to cry. "I have no job...I can't do this...no money...oh god...what the hell am I going to do now?"
XxXxXx
The Hyuuga household was the nicest house in Konoha. It was all thanks to Neji, who treated the house like a goddess. It was clean, sparkling, and a welcome sight to travelers who were afraid of everything else around them.
Today, the air in Hinata's room was thick with fiery sex from the night preceding. All mornings preceding sex were like this. Sweaty, hot, uncomfortable. At least, that's when it came to Kiba.
The Hyuuga shifted in bed, waking up with watery lavender eyes. Her blurred gaze could decipher two red symbols against tanned skin, and she sighed. Another night with him. She could barely remember any of them. They had no impression on her—only when they got brutal. Her physical appearance showed off his power and his domination.
She wanted to slip quietly away from him and get dressed. His arm was splayed out across her chest, his claws gently pressing against her naked, pale skin. She was afraid to move, not wanting to receive cuts.
His sharp eyes opened at that moment, as if he had been up for several hours. He smirked at her. "Hinata love...good morning..."
She closed her eyes as he began to trail kisses down her neck. "K-Kiba...good morning..."
"Yes, a good morning indeed. You were a fucking dream last night," he said, licking at a bite mark on her collarbone. "And I left my impressions too." He pulled her closer.
Hinata shivered when she felt his length press against her leg. It was limp, but Kiba had extraordinary ways of making it harder than a rock when he wanted to. "K-Kiba, not again...I j-just woke up!" She gasped as he began to suck on her nipple.
He let it go. "But I'm ready for another round!"
"B-But..."
She was saved, though by someone she'd prefer not to hear. "GOD DAMMIT GET UP ALREADY!" yelled an irritated male voice.
Kiba frowned. "Fucking Neji, always ruining the mood."
Hinata sighed happily and slipped out of bed, reaching for undergarments and clothing. Goosebumps formed on her skin, and she knew Kiba was ogling her. Hopefully when she turned around he'd be dressed too.
It was so. They entered the living room together. Neji was sitting on the couch. He didn't bother looking back at them. "Kiba, next time you wanna fuck her do it at your house. I'm tired of having you at the breakfast table," he said bitterly.
Kiba scowled. "Blame your cousin, not me. She never wants to come over."
Hinata looked at the ground. I wouldn't feel safe with you.
"Not my problem." Neji waved towards the door. "There's the door."
Kiba glared at him and left, but not before fervently kissing the short-haired girl for five minutes.
Neji stood up and faced Hinata after he left. Anger was exhibited on his face, his eyes matching Hinata's and his hair brown and long. "You're loud."
Hinata blushed. "It's not me...it's K—"
"I don't care. Put a muzzle on him or something. You kept Hanabi up for an hour. She came into my room asking if there was a burglar in our house because she heard Kiba and banging. And then she heard you gasping and moaning and she thought you were hurt."
"I'm sorry," Hinata whispered, feeling dirty.
"Whatever," Neji said. "Now get out of here. Go do some training or whatever."
In truth, he knew Hinata wasn't training. That's what angered him; to have his sister pretending to perform her duties as a ninja and instead going on dates with Kiba and wasting her time with other shit. He would have killed to have the opportunities that she had, but he couldn't. Why? Because his family had to go up and get themselves killed on a mission. And so he had to drop everything and take care of those two. Hanabi he felt no anger towards. Hinata, however, was only a year under him. She couldn't care of herself, and he had to do it for her.
Hinata complied, and left after grabbing one of Neji's pastries from the kitchen table. The sweet confection was perfect, with just the right amounts of icing and flakiness. It cheered her up a little, and she walked as far away from Kiba's home as possible. What Neji had said before had given her a little idea that would give her a perfect alibi and a reason to not see Kiba.
She passed Sakura on the way to the market. She could immediately sense that the pink-haired girl was not in a good mood, so the Hyuuga purposefully kept away from her.
Sakura stopped when she saw Hinata coming her way. She dried her eyes and tried to make herself look semi-normal. "Hinata-chan!" she called.
She could have sworn Hinata winced, but that thought was quickly pushed aside once the girl made a beeline towards her after hearing her name called. Sakura gazed at the pastry she was eating in an accidental greedy manner. Hinata ripped off a piece and offered some. Sakura declined, but took it after a few more prods from the shy girl.
"Thank you," Sakura said, savoring the flavor. "Have you seen Naruto or Kakashi-sensei anywhere?"
Hinata shook her head and smiled. "I-I'm sorry, I haven't seen either of them. But I know Kakashi-sensei lives by the Hyuuga household."
"Thank you for your help. Also—" Sakura added, thinking her question through, "have you and your team met up with each other this past week? I mean, I know you and Kiba probably hang out all the time, but also Kurenai-sensei and Shino? Have you trained at all?"
Hinata was about to give the negative answer, but she stopped herself. She wanted to spread that she did train, so if Kiba pried she'd have 'witnesses' of a sort to testify to her defense. She smiled. "Yes, it's been difficult. I think we're pulling through somehow." She cocked her head. "How about you?"
Sakura suddenly felt evasive. "Uh...tough, yeah. Kakashi works us hard."
After bidding their goodbyes, Sakura headed for Kakashi's home. A whole week and she hadn't so much as seen a strand of her sensei's silver hair anywhere. After what Hinata had said, she had a feeling that he was neglecting his duties. This surprised her, as he seemed to be a good character.
She located his home and walked up the rotting front porch. "Kakashi-sensei!" she called, rapping on the door. She gave him a moment to get to the door. No answer prompted her to knock again. She growled. "Where is he? On a mission?"
"Oh please. Konoha hasn't received a mission in a while. The last time we did we failed all of them. And it was just a C rank."
Sakura was stunned by the words of Asuma-sensei. She had gone to his home to ask him where she might find Ino, to which he had replied with a laugh and a "How the hell should I know?" After all he was the son of Lord Sarutobi, so it was natural he'd know about the condition of the village.
"He's out. I'll wait for him," Sakura said out loud, plopping down on his porch. She propped her elbows on her thighs and rested her chin on spread hands.
Her eyes were growing heavy. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night because of a crack in her window. Her room was freezing, and she had no heater.
"Yeah...he'll be back soon..."
XxXxXx
The last person Shino wanted to see in the marketplace was Hinata. She was buying a new shirt that she had set her eyes on—but to Shino it was only her exchange of money he could see. His arm twitched and he walked by her, praying she wouldn't notice him.
She might have been a crap ninja, but she still had a heightened sense like all of them. She turned and smiled at him, and he flexed his hand, hasty. "Shino! I didn't t-think I'd see you today."
"...I've been busy." He wanted to get out of there.
"Training?" He felt like she was pushing the conversation for a reason, so he humored her.
"I guess you could say that. With sharp objects." Shino adjusted his sunglasses. People were looking at him oddly. The sun was cowering behind grey clouds, sunglasses seemed foolish.
"I've been busy training too. Very tough business." He knew automatically she wasn't training. She never trained; she had no interest in being a ninja. At the moment, he didn't care. He let her remember that she had somewhere to be and then moved on, feeling like he going to explode.
The alley was still damp from the earlier rain, and the overturned garbage cans were filled with disgusting brown rainwater. The smell would've caused Shino to gag...had he been able to smell anything. His senses had grown lax the past year.
The person he wanted to see was hanging out at the back of the alley. They didn't exchange pleasantries; it was a strict business deal.
"I missed you Aburame. One of my best customers. I was afraid that you turnin' ninja was gonna make you stop comin' here, but I never should've lost doubt," said the figure, wearing a black trench-coat with an unfriendly smile.
Shino held out the ryo he had. "It's all I have. It took me forever to steal it, but dad finally stopped paying attention for a minute."
"Good boy Aburame. I don't wanna lose you," he said. He opened up his coat and pulled out two large bags of white powder.
Shino swiped them from his outstretched hands and he stood, hands shaking, holding the powder at arm's length and admiring it through dark glasses. "Zuro...you've saved my life."
Zuro laughed and closed his coat. "I hope you don't keep on leaving me hanging like this, Aburame. You really should come back more. You won't tell any of your teammates about this will you?"
"I haven't told anyone for the past year. Do you think I'd start running my mouth just because I happen to have a ninja team? We never meet anyway." Shino's voice sounded livid. He had been under the assumption he would get paid accordingly for completed missions. If there were any missions.
Zuro's unfriendly air seemed to darken further at the mention of meet. "So, they're still a bunch of suckers? Some things never change."
Shino left the dealer to meander in the alley. He pocketed his newfound goodies and stepped back into the crowded, busy market where he headed for home. He had his syringe hidden away in a drawer in his bathroom, and his body was yelling at him to get a move on so he could feel good once again.
XxXxXx
Ino stared out her window at the gloomy night with a sigh. It was too cold and rainy for her to work the streets, as she didn't feel the need to wear short-shorts while her legs froze off. The whole hard-nipple effect would probably be a major turn-on, but it was minimal.
Downstairs, her father was closing up shop. Ino sat at her desk and began writing down the list of customers she had serviced in the last week. It was a good way to sort out her information that could be applicable when necessary.
As she wrote, her thoughts drifted to the scenario that had occurred during her lunchtime.
The delicious, sweet taste of the sushi swirled together with the wild rice in her mouth. She pushed her bangs out of her face to prevent grains of rice or sticky sushi to end up in her hair.
The food joint she was dining in was hardly a high-class culinary establishment; tacky decorations and mediocre food. The only thing this particular place, called 'Nori-KoKo', was good at making was sushi—they didn't have to cook for that dish. That's what Ino deduced.
Her table was invaded by another who sat across from her, and her eyes looked up to see Shikamaru sitting cross-legged in the booth, watching her. It annoyed Ino. She hadn't spoken to the Nara boy since their meeting a week ago.
"What?" Ino asked, stirring some soy sauce into the rice to give it a bit more flavor.
"About Asuma-sensei..." Shikamaru began. He didn't seem to know how to word the next part, so she helped him.
"I haven't seen him. Why would you of all people care? It's not like me, you, or Chouji give a shit if we train or not. We're not gonna have to do anything anyway." Ino was grateful, though she still had to use training as an excuse to stand around whoring herself off.
"Yeah, yeah. I was just wondering if you've fucked him yet."
Ino broke the chopstick she was holding. Her gaze bore into his, and she replied scathingly, "No, I wasn't planning to."
Shikamaru seemed to think the question was funny and the female had a feeling he had only asked her out of a dare from his overweight friend. "I'm surprised. I bet you'd make it to the team finals easily."
"Team finals?" the words were foreign to Ino. She grabbed another pair of chopsticks from the other table, and began to shovel in sushi.
"You don't know about them? Do I have to explain it? Aww...what a drag." Shikamaru stole a piece of sushi from her, to which her surprised and angry glare made him smirk. "At the end of a three-month period with your team you all perform a final exam scored by a panel of judges that determine whether you can upgrade to the next rank of ninja or even if you can continue being a ninja. The teachers don't even have to send all of their team; those who take the exam are usually there because the teacher decides that they're ready for it. If you aren't chosen to take the test, you are kept at the Genin rank. I don't know about the rest."
He took note of her open-mouthed stare of surprise. He leaned further back in the booth, moving his legs so they were scrunched up against the table.
"Are you ready for them?" Ino asked, trying to sound curious.
Shikamaru didn't buy it. He knew she didn't want to admit she was weaker than him. "Of course not," he said truthfully. "We all suck. Asuma's busy fucking Kurenai-sensei when he should be training us. Personally I don't care, but we're all on our own. As soon as we get outta school, nobody looks after us."
Ino stirred her orange drink. "How is that right? We're still kids."
Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, we gotta get money somehow. Of course, you're all set. Screwing for a living, you'll make millions."
Ino didn't find that funny at all. "If you're just going to start harassing me then you can just fucking leave," she hissed, slapping his hand away from the sushi.
Shikamaru slid out of the booth. "Just stating a fact." He left with his hands in his pockets, shuffling out of the joint listlessly.
Ino heard barking outside. She put down her pencil and gazed down at the dirty streets below. Kakashi was heading home, and the vicious dog across the street wasn't giving him a fun time. She noticed his staggers and she sighed as he picked up a rock and threw it at the dog.
The barking only got louder. Ino crossed over to her bed and grabbed her pair of old headphones. Looked like another few hours of scratchy CDs.
XxXxXx
"Upon t-this pain, I take a-an oath—to know that t-this pain will become my future and I s-should expect it. I will develop into a s-successful and strong ninja."
Sakura stared down at her dripping blood. Her eyes widened in pain..
Naruto smirked at her, his canines growing larger and his eyes turning red. "Is something wrong, Sakura-chan?"
"Naruto, what's happening to you?!" Sakura asked, falling to the ground in fear. Her blood began to burn up the grass it touched.
Sasuke was sitting not too far away, playing with two kunai. Sakura pleaded to him. "Sasuke, help me! Naruto's kyuubi is out of control!"
Sasuke looked at her with dull eyes. "If you want to develop into a strong ninja, then you must fight terrible things. Good luck."
"No, wait don't leave!" Sakura reached towards him and he vanished, being replaced by Kakashi.
"Kakashi, I'm so glad you're here! Naruto's going crazy!" she stood up, and made towards Kakashi, who chuckled.
"I'm not going to help you. You're strong, right?" Kakashi turned and walked away.
"No! Why are you leaving me?" Sakura cried. She tried to run after him, but her legs instead turned to face Naruto.
Naruto's bloodthirsty gaze lingered on her blood. "It's burning with desire. It wants to be set free. I can do that easily." His claws were growing exponentially.
Sakura screamed. "No! Don't, Naruto please! I'm not ready for this yet! Someone help me! WHY ISN'T ANYONE HELPING ME!" she screamed into the silence.
Naruto jumped at her, claws inches from her exposed throat...
Sakura flew up, breathing heavily, a scream caught in her windpipe. She touched her throat, expecting a gaping hole, and was relieved to find it all in one piece.
Her surroundings told her she was in someone's living room on their couch. She rubbed her head, dazed, and called out tiredly. "Kakashi-sensei?"
She heard banging, a cuss, and then her sensei stumbled in. Her senses immediately told her he had been drinking. Her eyes picked up the familiar look of a clock, telling her it was past ten. How long had I been on that porch? Come to think of it, she felt lightheaded.
"Kakashi-sensei," she repeated.
He smiled goofily (at least, she thought he did, his mask took on that shape). "Yes Sakura?"
"Where have you been?" she asked, disregarding his tone that made it seem like they saw each other casually every day.
"Around. I can't remember...somewhere. Training...yeah," he slurred. "I come home and find a beautiful girl sleeping on my porch. It's like being married."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. Yup, he's totally smashed.
"I guess this isn't a good time to talk about Team 7," she began, straightening out her wind-blown hair.
"Team 7? That some sort of drink? Sounds like it," Kakashi said, laughing and sauntering into the kitchen, crashing into the open door.
Sakura chose to follow him. "No, Team 7's your ninja team. The one I'm on. The one you never see?"
Kakashi stared at her with glazed eyes for what seemed like a minute. "Uh...yeah, I remember now. What about it?"
"Well, why haven't we seen each other? It's been a week. We need training," Sakura pressed.
Kakashi opened his fridge. "I don't gotta train you for nothing. You guys can do it yourself."
Sakura was appalled. "Excuse me? I can't do anything but train with what I know, and build those skills up. I can't learn anything new unless someone teaches me!"
He pulled out another beer. "I'm not training you guys. I don't have to, so I won't. You guys're fine. I guess..." he pulled down his mask and opened up the can, taking a large swig.
What kind of adult is he?! Sakura thought angrily. "I want to learn more!"
"Then go find someone else. Or read somethin'. Don't go crying to me." Kakashi drank more, beer rolling down his lips and staining his mask.
"Crying? I'm asking you for help! There's gotta be an excuse you don't want to train us!" Sakura cried.
"I don't want you guys to get killed. Chuunin ninja go on dangerous missions and you'll all die. That's the last thing I need." Kakashi crumpled up the beer can and reached into his fridge for another.
Sakura crossed over to him and grabbed his arm. "Hey, would you stop for a minute! We won't die if you train us!"
Kakashi's hand twitched. His hand flew up and he grabbed her by the hair, and threw her into the fridge. Sakura cried out in pain and hit the shelves. She slid down and felt the cold prickle her skin. She gazed up at Kakashi in fear. W-What's his problem?
"Not dying's a lot easier than training so you won't die. I'm not doin' that to you." Kakashi said in an angry, bitter voice.
Sakura stood up, slowly moving past Kakashi while facing him. "Okay...fine. If you want to pretend we aren't your responsibility, then that's great with me. But come three months, I swear that I'll have grown. If I can't get help from you, then I don't care. Excuse me for coming to you, my teacher, for help. Go on, drink your beer—that'll make it better right? I hope I didn't bruise any cans when you threw me," Sakura said icily, her figure moving out of the kitchen.
"And thanks for not leaving me out in the rain!" the kunoichi yelled from the front door, slamming it behind her so hard that the wood split in the middle.
Sakura's eyes filled with tears as she stomped back home, the rain pouring hard. She arrived home and retreated into her bedroom, her eyes on her weapon pouches lying, unused, on the table. Sakura picked up the leg strapped-pouch and took out a kunai, tracing the weapon with her fingertips. She held it defensively in front of her and then lashed out, slashing at an imaginary target. The pinkette stared at her weak hands. They were gentle and soft. Too soft. They had no calluses, and her muscles were minute.
"Damnit," Sakura said softly as the handle of the kunai pressed into her cut, sending a painful sting up her arm. She set the weapon back on the table and looked out at the rain. Right now, there were countless ninja all over the province risking their lives to perform a civic duty, and she was shut in her room with a weapons pouch and the rain pouring outside.
XxXxXx
The next afternoon was bright and warm, which heightened Sakura's mood slightly. She was sitting at an outdoor picnic table with Ino, who was chattering incessantly while they shared a root beer float.
That morning Sakura had gone to the only public library to check out a few books on developing jutsu skills. However, the receptionist wouldn't let her check any out, and she was eventually thrown out of the library for making a scene. "Too many have been stolen so we only lend them out to non-ninjas," the lady had said. Sakura found the whole thing stupid.
"So, I was thinking like, crap I can't make any money today! This whole ninja thing hasn't helped me one bit. Some of my customers are even afraid to buy me cuz they think it's 'weird'. How stupid is that? I was like, 'what the hell'? I can't wait until the Chuunin exams," she said while taking a sip of root beer.
Sakura's attention shifted back to her blond friend. "Why? Are you ready for them?"
"Uh, hell no! Asuma-sensei's not gonna recommend me anyway, and if he does I'll just fail the exam or something. This would be a lot easier for Lord Sarutobi if he proctored the exams himself, but a group of representatives from Oto have to be judges too. Plus, the written test forms are distributed to both Konoha and Oto so they're gonna be hard, and the practicals aren't gonna be a piece of cake either. So, the sensei aren't gonna bother throwing us into the fray. Most of the people who take the exams are from Oto anyway."
Sakura sighed. "This is going to be difficult; Kakashi's would never recommend me."
"Why? You're someone who's actually into all this stuff," Ino stated.
"I went to Kakashi's house yesterday," Sakura confessed quietly.
Ino nearly dropped her ice cream spoon. "I saw him walking home at like, six! When did you leave? I was at my window for an hour and I didn't see you."
"I think I left around ten," Sakura recalled.
"Holy shit! Are you his girlfriend?" Ino asked; which was a polite way of asking "are you fucking him?"
"No! How could you think that?" Sakura chastised. "I was just there to ask him to train me. But I wake up on his couch at like, ten at night, and he's drunk. He declines my request for him to train me, saying all this stuff about how he doesn't want me hurt or dead and making up these crappy excuses. He just didn't want to be bothered," Sakura surmised bitterly.
"Well you can't ask my dad, he'd be brutal not to mention he doesn't know how to teach. Did you try the library?" Ino tried to be helpful—she supported her friend with everything.
"Yeah, they don't give out ninja books to ninja. How lame is that?" Sakura smiled when Ino choked on her root beer, laughing.
"How stupid is that? Oh my god...that's hilarious! Ironic...oh my god...choking...dying. Ok, I'm alright," Ino said, composing herself.
Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I know."
"So, try to find someone else. I think I know the perfect person," Ino said with a wink.
"Who?" Sakura was oblivious.
"Gods, talk about slow. I mean Sasuke." Ino smirked when she saw the horrified, embarrassed look on her friend's face.
"I didn't even think of it. I guess he could help me. The Uchihas' did have a lot of resources, and he had to have gotten his training from somewhere. I haven't seen him around either; or Naruto. Oh crap! What if he got to Sasuke first?" Sakura asked, suddenly realizing that Naruto had been MIA for the past week.
"Having hot foxy sex!" Ino sighed dreamily.
Sakura sighed. "In your dreams. Foxy, yes. More like demon foxy."
"Well, you should go see him when you got the time. Dad thinks I'm at the training grounds. You're lucky; you don't have parents to confront every day." Ino eyed a man who was walking with his girlfriend down the street. She was clinging onto his arm and chewing wads of gum. "No wonder he's screwing me...she looks annoying," Ino said once they walked past.
"What? You take people in relationships? Are you asking to get hurt?" Sakura asked, astonished.
"I'm careful. Believe me, they aren't about to tell," Ino said, shrugging.
"If that's what you say." Sakura didn't sound convinced.
Ino pushed the float towards her. "I swear. I'm gonna be fine. You can trust me! Now finish this and go see Sasuke."
XxXxXx
Just a little longer...I hope...or maybe another week?
Naruto's eyes were closed, his vision black. He felt his arms grow even heavier and tired. He had officially lost the use of his fingers. First it had been his legs, toes, then head, mouth, and eyes in that order, and now fingers.
The bed was wet underneath him. He felt another bladder release coming on now. After all, he couldn't control it.
Why can't I just be asleep when this all happens?
Kyuubi had gotten tired of just gaining energy from the boy's food. So, every few months, he would eat away Naruto's chakra which caused an almost-complete shutdown of his body. It was a gruesome process that lasted for a week at the most, and although Naruto was used to it, he didn't hate it any less than he had five years ago.
He felt his sheets grow wetter. Yup, I did it again. Son of a bitch...
The cleanup process was even worse than the actual process itself. Naruto hated cleaning his sheets after his deprivation. Not to mention how hungry and weak he would be.
Naruto would smile if he could. The garbage I forgot to take out will be hell...the dishes will have crusted over by now. I shouldn't have bought milk. And my roach problem is just going to get worse. Not to mention I haven't trained at all. I hope the roaches don't pick at my cuts like they did last time...that's gonna be a bitch.
He wanted to sigh. Well, just gotta wait for a while...hopefully when I wake up I can at least use my legs.
XxXxXx
"I swear. I'm gonna be fine. You can trust me! Now finish this and go see Sasuke."
Sakura sighed. If only it were that easy Ino, she thought.
The roseate-haired girl stood outside Sasuke's house. When the Uchihas died, all of their houses were given away for free. It was like the Uchihas never lived in Konoha at all. All Sasuke had was his home and the old 'Uchiha Sweet Rice Crackers' shop, which was now owned by an elderly couple and called 'Sweets Rice Crackers'.
Still, he had spacious lawns that separated his house from the others. He probably owned the most acreage in Konoha. The Uchihas lived in the plains of Konoha, which were abounding with short, pale-green grass and scarce trees. To Sakura, it seemed one of few areas that were peaceful.
She knocked on the door to the two-story house, tense. Her muscles always seized whenever she sensed an uncomfortable situation was going to happen. Sasuke answered the door not a second before she was about to knock again.
She wasn't sure if he was happy to see her, as his expression was unreadable. "What?" he asked.
"Um, Sasuke. It's been a while. A week, in fact." Sakura sounded so lame in her own ears. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I was just wondering how you've been. What have you been doing?"
"Training, what do you think?" Sasuke replied, as if she had asked him the most obvious question in the world.
"Ah. Um, well, about that," Sakura shifted, not being able to find good words, "I was just thinking...perhaps...well, seeing as how...uh...don't you think we should be seeing each other?"
Sasuke stared at her in confusion.
"Well, what I mean is that we're a team. You, me, and Naruto—we're Team 7. We can't spend these three months without seeing each other once. I mean, there's no point in even being called a team if none of us train together and the sensei is a stupid drunken moron who refuses to...er..." Sakura had accidentally let that last bit about Kakashi slip.
Sasuke's expression went from confusion to surprise in a flash. "He was drunk?"
Well, the cat's out of the bag already, so... "Yeah. I went to him yesterday asking for training, and he refused! And he's called a sensei...how is that even right?"
Sasuke's string of low-tone profanities startled Sakura. He looked her up and down with those black eyes of his that made her shiver. "Did he hurt you?"
Sakura's arm surged in pain as he said that. She quelled the pain with a smile. "No, of course not!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "...What other reason are you here?"
Sakura knew he suspected something. "Well...because Kakashi-sensei can't train me, can you?"
"What?"
"Are you training Naruto already? Because I haven't seen him since day one," Sakura said, not liking his tone.
"No. And I can't train you." Sasuke was horrified. No one had ever asked him to train them before.
"Why not? You're strong, and you have access to all these materials!" Sakura pressed.
"I...I can't handle the responsibility of being your sensei, and..." Sasuke couldn't think of a good excuse.
"Please? I really need you to train me. I have no way of developing my skills with the resources I have now. And besides, you and I are on a team! We are committed to helping one another, and this is how you can do your part!"
"We're ninja, Sakura; no one can hold our hands for us in battle," Sasuke said.
"Don't get me started on that, Sasuke! I've heard it hundreds of times before, and guess what? It's false. I know how to take care of myself in everyday life, because I've had my parents, and now I'm old enough to learn without their help. And right now, I'm like a baby in ninja clothing—I know so little and if people keep on telling me I have to do it myself, I'll take what little I know to battle and die. Once I hit Tokujo or even Jounin rank, then I can take care of myself, but even as a Chuunin I'm still going to need guidance! I'm an adult in the real world, but not in the real world of shinobi. Why doesn't anyone understand that?"
Sasuke's eyes wandered. The problem is she's right. But still...
"Or maybe you don't think I can handle it." Sakura spoke in a determined voice.
Sasuke chortled. "I'm not stupid enough to take a bet I'll win easily. I like challenges."
"As do I, Sasuke."
"I don't care. You can find some other way to sharpen yourself; but I'm not doing it."
Sakura's too-gentle hands formed into fists. "...If you don't train me," she said in a defiant voice, "then I'm not leaving here."
Sasuke's brow arched. The last thing he needed was a girl starving to death at his front door. "I'm not training you."
"I'm not leaving until you say yes." And to accentuate her point, she stood straight up and down and planted her feet on the ground.
Sasuke groaned. "Do you really want me to make you leave?"
It was clear by Sakura's expression that she wasn't going anywhere. Sasuke shook his head, and then smirked with such wickedness dancing on his face that it caused the kunoichi to draw in more breath than usual. She blinked, and Sasuke was in front of her, grabbing her arm and throwing her up in the air.
Sakura barely had time to react when the ground grew far away. Sasuke jumped up to meet her and she tried to punch him. Her fragile arms were easily blocked by his muscular ones. He grabbed her wrist, twisted her arm, and threw her behind him. Sakura had no time to think of what to do when Sasuke came up in front of her and placed his hand on her stomach and sent out bursts of chakra to propel him in the opposite direction, pushing her into the ground.
All breath was knocked out of her at the impact, when his hand pressed so far down into her stomach she was afraid he would tear through her skin. He flew away from her and went into a fighting stance. All she could do was lay there and try to catch her breath. She didn't have time to stand up before he was going at it again, kicking her in the side and back up into the air. She anticipated this and threw her legs out to catch her fall. She crumpled onto her knees and ducked just in time to avoid his punch. She shot her hands up and grabbed his arm, sending chakra into her arms to try and bind him to her temporarily while her fist went to his stomach.
Her fist was blocked by his leg, which he kicked up, catching her arm in a painful kick. He did a complete vertical three-sixty and kicked her chin up, sending her up into the air once air. Dazed by the attack, she blindly punched at him.
She's so basic, Sasuke thought while he avoided her punches. I can tell she's trying so hard to win, but she's screwing up badly. She's only doing clumsy guesswork and doesn't calculate beyond one move, she's attacking without thought, and she hasn't used one jutsu or weapon. But there's still potential.
Sakura landed on the ground and moved her hands in front of her as a shield from Sasuke's straight-kick. Instead of being deflected, Sasuke walked on her shield and flipped behind her. Her eyes widened, and in a split second, Sasuke had located and squeezed her pressure point, and she blacked out.
Sasuke watched her faint. She was sweating heavily, and her breathing was labored. She's working too hard for such simple moves...Maybe, just maybe...
XxXxXx
"Naruto!"
Is that you, Iruka-sensei? Iruka-sensei, I'm in here. Keep walking, please...
"Naruto, your house is filthy again? How many times do we have to clean it before you understand that you can actually keep it clean?"
Iruka...please...
Iruka Umino was holding a shopping bag full of different instant ramen that dropped to the floor as he stepped into Naruto's room. He should have known what had happened when he noticed the roaches crawling all over the dishes that were growing fungi and the rotting garbage cans.
Naruto was lying on his bed, the sheets soaked with three things Iruka nearly vomited from. The stench was unbearable. Roaches were crawling all over the poor boy, who appeared dead to the untrained eye.
Iruka put all things aside after his well-being and rushed over to Naruto. "Naruto! Can you hear me?" he asked.
Iruka...I can...I want to "talk..."
Iruka gazed at him in surprise. Naruto's mouth was moving, though his voice sounded dry and weak. About a minute later, his eyes opened, and after days of blindness the light and Iruka's face with his nose scar was a nice sight.
"It was the kyuubi's feeding week! Why didn't you tell me as soon as you felt symptoms? How long have you been like this?" Iruka asked, picking Naruto up and moving him to the clean floor.
"When was...the graduation?" Naruto asked, finding it hard to move his eyes around.
"Over a week ago," Iruka answered, beginning to strip him of his disgustingly dirty clothes.
"...The day after the first team meeting. Heh, hope I haven't missed much..." Naruto said frailly.
"You should have told me, you can always come to me. You know that," Iruka stated affectionately.
"...Was stupid...hah...good thing Sakura and Sasuke don't know where I live...that way they don't have to know." Naruto stared up at the ceiling. A roach skittered past him.
"I'm going to need to clean up your house. You come first however." Iruka was having a particularly tough time getting Naruto's clothes around his seized muscles. He sighed. He was going to have to do it the hard way. "This is going to hurt like a bitch."
He took Naruto's arms and bent them with a quick jerk. An excruciating scream ripped through his body as Iruka bent all of his limbs, a painful but necessary process to prevent muscle damage.
The last thing Naruto wanted to do was cry in front of his former sensei, the one who had taught him morals, something the blond had never appreciated. Even with that in mind, Iruka treated him like a son. Weakly, he stood up, his legs shaking.
"There you go. Here, give me the rest of your clothes; go to the bathroom and take a shower. A nice, long, hot one, okay?" Iruka noted Naruto's try-to-be-tough demeanor as he shrugged off the rest of his clothing.
"I can't afford long, hot showers. The plumbing company has us pay more cuz we live farther than it usually takes." Naruto was holding onto his wall for support.
Iruka shook his head. "I'll pay for it. Just...do it."
Naruto complied and slowly made his way towards the bathroom. Iruka watched him leave and turned to look at his bed. The sheets were horribly dirty. The brunette knew he'd have to get new sheets. I'm going to stay with him and help clean up his house, again. This time, we need to keep it clean.
Naruto felt so much better as the hot liquid washed away all the repulsive matters that had collected on his skin. He wanted to tell Iruka everything. About his first meeting with his team, about Sakura and Sasuke, about his blood oath, about his goals and dreams, and about training. Naruto wanted to see Kakashi as soon as possible concerning training.
Every few months, there's a week where I can't even wipe my own ass...but...hell, if I can't do it I gotta have someone do it for me, and if that person's gonna do that then they have the right to say and do whatever they want to me.
Naruto would probably be dead without Iruka. What hurt him the most was that Iruka was so fragile.
About a half-hour later, Naruto came out with dripping-wet hair and a fresh body. Naruto looked his room over and saw Iruka piling things into cleaning piles. He smiled widely. "This is gonna be exciting."
XxXxXx
Whew, done! Now that was a long chapter for me. Quite fun though. I know that Sakura's story has a larger spotlight than the others, but her story (and Naruto's) are meant to be the biggest, so they'll naturally span over several chapters easily, whereas the other character's stories (Hinata, Ino) are smaller and therefore need less page numbers. That was my first fighting scene in the chapter. I was originally going to have Sakura leave but I thought it'd be cooler if she stayed. So, poor Naruto. Yes, I really feel bad for the guy. At least he has Iruka to make him feel better! And, about his whole happy self, he's not the character who depresses easily. Sure, he's miserable when it happens, but he's optimistic.