A/N: Oh, I forgot to mention- I don't own Naruto, the person or the anime. Ok, drabble! I met a dude named Shinobu yesterday- at a hobby store, working the cash register. Cool, huh?


Chapter 2

There was a calm bustle In the hall, which was lined with numerous, numbered doors on either side. 102, 104, 106... I ran my hand over the left side of the hallway, which had the even numbered doors. I took it all in. The texture of the wall, the mood of the attendants, heck, even the length of the shadows that the doors were casting down onto the ground. White was the favored color. It wasn't appealing. White walls, white ceiling, white doors... Every now and then, I would catch a glimpse of a bit of off-cream. Or in other words, White-but-not-quite. D-ra-b! God, I swear that I will never be able to rest easily in a hospital thingy mabob again. Why? It's the lack of color in a poorly constructed building with absolutely no... well, I don't know exactly what it was that it lacked, but it was something that gave me shivers every time I thought about it.

Maein and Yotaka led me through the halls, with our favorite hyper active girl leading our way. Yotaka's gleeful stride was light and bouncy, making her yellow-blonde ponytail swing in time to the pace she kept. Maein was more calm and collected, but I DEFINITELY wouldn't say that she was shy. She had shorter brown hair which she let hang down. They had a mature air about them both- Maein and Yotaka were probably both about 25 or 30. And then there was me- a young, teenage-looking misfit. My hair was a few inches above my shoulder, and was a odd color of blue, almost like dry ice and blue food coloring mixed together and forcefully thrust onto my head. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the state that my hair was in looked like I was asleep for 3 months, while tossing and turning from a dastardly nightmare? Well, technically I had, but I don't know how long I was asleep, and didn't know if I really had a nightmare. That and the fact that there were bits of leaves in my hair. They couldn't have been there unless I sleepwalked, which was highly unlikely. Well, you get my point. Life was kind of giving me a semi-cold shoulder right now. I was really getting sick of this 'white' color, and the temperature was nothing to be fond of. Well, in that case, I guess life was giving me a lukewarm shoulder instead of an actual cold one.

As we walked down the hallway, I noticed that all of the doors were closed... Except for one. It was probably perfectly normal, but I was abnormally curious. I stole a quick peek around the frame of the white- as always- door.

"No! I'm fine, I'm not hurt..."

"oh? what do you call that?"

"Ow! watch it!"

"aw, your so cute when you try to be tough!"

"B-be quiet!"

A small boy around the age of five or six sat upright on the hospital bed, with his short legs dangling off the side. A nurse in a white uniform was kneeling in front of the boy with a bottle of cleaning fluid and a pad of white gauze in her hand, cleaning a scrape on his knee that looked a couple days old, at the most. The six-year-old was... glaring at her? It would have looked funny, if it didn't seem like he was absolutely serious- He seemed... old for his age.

"Oi! Ice head!" I turn around, hearing Yotaka's exceptionally loud voice- it's hard to miss. I walk away from the door frame not risking being discovered by the rooms' occupants. "

Yeah?"

"let's get going, slowpoke!"

"Right. I must not keep 'Yotaka the Great' waiting."

"that's right! Now feel my wrath!"

conk!

"Ow! What the heck was that for!" "

I dunno. It makes me feel powerful... and influence like!"

I stared at the back of her head in bewilderment, as she skipped swiftly past me. And I trusted her why?


"are you sure? You don't even know how we found you, and why you were in that state in the first place. Your identity and background are also a mystery."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I respect your concern, but I believe it is better for me to leave."

"what motivates you in this way?"

"I feel my background so close, but I already know that Konoha is not for me. I have a feeling, deep down, that I was not originally part of this system. I want to find my own path, and seek my identity alone."

"I see. I do not know the situation, but I believe that you should conceal yourself, just in case."

I regretted to cover my true self up, but I agreed- It would be for my own good. I had no idea what was after me, or why.

Hokage Sarutobi reached in and pulled something out of his desk.

"Here, catch!"

I cradled the thing softly as it landed in my hands. I opened up my cupped fingers to reveal a village headband. But the funny thing was, it was blank.

"when you find your true Identity, carve it into the metal on the band. That way, you can always remember."

He smiled at me- I saw that an identical headband was dangling between his fingers, but it had his name scratched into it.

"Thank you, sir. I will always remember your hospitality."

"And I will as well. You are free to leave."

That small dismissal was all that I needed. Gathering up the small pack that the Hokage had prepared, I changed into some versatile clothing that had also been given to me. Not bothering to say goodbye to my two escorts, who by now doubled as friends, I darted through the gates, making my way to only God-knows-where.

Konoha would never see me the way I was again.