Hello again! And I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, my computer crashed and I never thought I'd get the past New Love files back! Gomen nasai, and I hope you all forgive me[.bows.
Please, please, enjoy chapter 3!
Until next time, namaste!
Chapter 3: Dreams and Reality
Naruto awoke in the darkness. His azure eyes searched it through, his only assurance he wasn't blind was that he could see his body. He felt a chill run up his spine, noticing the darkness was unbearably cold.
Suddenly, voices began to wash over him. The voices provoked him, whispering terrible things in his ear,. 'You failure!', or 'You'll never succeed in anything, you worthless child!' Naruto lifted his hands to his ears, closing his eyes tightly, screaming and shouting at them to leave him be.
Naruto fell to his knees, shielding himself from the verbal assault. Naruto waited long after that, finally he dared to open his ears to the noise, only to be disappointed that they all still lurked around him. Just as he was about to release his ears, a voice rose above the others.
"Such a loser." The words sounded familiar, but the voice seemed foreign. Only one person called him those three words, but never with such a sympathetic, gentle tone. A bright light, which seemed so far away, appeared. A dark silhouette appeared against it, seeming to fold its arms across its chest. Naruto stared at the dark figure, a pained look stretched across Naruto's face as he felt hands pulling him back. Panic set in.
"Please, help me! Whoever you are, save me, please!" Naruto pleaded, gasping as he was only pulled back further. The silhouette walked forward, seeming to get closer to Naruto than anyone ever could have. The figure was still to dark to identify.
A lone hand reached out to help him, Naruto felt himself slipping away, he reached to grab the hand…
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"SASUKE!" Naruto's sudden shout startled the nurse, Ms. Shizune, as he found himself in the clinic. Beads of sweat rolled down his face.
"You are so strange." Sasuke's cold, harsh tone struck Naruto like a bullet.
"Sasuke? What…what're you doing here, jerk?" Naruto questioned, quickly hiding his nervous expression.
"You are a terrible actor." Sasuke said, his voice flat, uninterested. And with that, he dropped the subject, completely ignoring the fact that it was his name shouted into the silence.
"Cut it out you two. And Mr. Uzumaki, you should thank Uchiha here. He brought you to me when you collapsed," she paused, shooting a brief glance at Sasuke before returning her bright brown eyes to Naruto. "I see that you live up to your medical records from your last school…" she trailed off, her gaze fading from appreciation to disappointment. Naruto chuckled nervously, a wide smile spread upon his face. Shizune couldn't help but smile as well. Sasuke sighed in disgust at the happy faces.
"Now, it's school policy that if a student collapses, vomits, or faints, they must be sent home immediately." The moment Shizune uttered that sentence, Naruto froze. He sat there for a moment, in a suspended state of fear.
'I don't… I don't want to go home…' His voice rang inside his head with fear. He was interrupted by cold fingers gripping around his elbow, sending the same familiar chills from his dream racing up his spine. He looked up to see Sasuke holding him, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise.
"Naruto, Didn't you hear me just now? Uchiha is escorting you home, as it seems he isn't willing to go back to class." Shizune hissed, shooting another glare at the unresponsive Sasuke, who could care less, before flickering her gaze toward her paperwork.
"It's not like class has anything to offer me." He murmured, pulling Naruto up off the cot and shoving his body towards the door.
"You're bound to get a detention that way, Uchiha… Now, be on your way before you actually get one. And don't be so rough with Uzumaki-kun!" Shizune called, but they'd already fled out of the clinic, and the office as well.
Sasuke had dragged Naruto to his locker, and then to his own, before they left the school. Sasuke walked several good feet ahead of Naruto, holding Naruto's hand to make sure he kept up with Sasuke's long strides. Naruto winced as he had to keep jogging to follow.
"…Where do you live?" Sasuke asked, his voice penetrating the silence.
Naruto stopped, struggling to keep Sasuke from walking. "Right here, actually." Naruto answered cheerfully, his same wide grin on his face. But Naruto didn't fool Sasuke, as he could see Naruto was dreading something, and he had a feeling it was home.
They were gazing upon a white, large, tattered old building, four box-shaped indents on every few sides, only proving it was an apartment complex. Sasuke had an unappealing look on his face, he wasn't too fond of small spaces.
"Despite the fact it's in a popular area, most of the apartments are pretty vacant… so even if we make a lot of noise… no one hears us." Naruto spoke, his voice cracked a little, pain in his bright, azure eyes as Naruto struggled to smile.
Sasuke looked at him, his expression blank, but a small spark of astonishment streaked across his onyx eyes. It quickly faded, he pushed Naruto forward, motioning that he had better things to do with his time. Naruto nodded, getting the message, he walked slowly forward.
Naruto felt every step he made, he felt so slow, and he soon felt his feet begin to drag as they made their way onto the third floor. They turned, Naruto walked down the hall, Sasuke following at his heel. Soon, Naruto felt his feet make a shuddering stop in front of the last door on the left.
"Thanks… for dropping me off…" Naruto said, in a surprisingly sad voice. Sasuke blinked, curious. He nodded.
"No problem. Try to take care of yourself, loser." Sasuke remarked, turning on his heel to head for the stairs once more. Sasuke heard the door to the apartment slam.
Only moments later, while Sasuke made his way down the second floor steps, crashes and screeches that could only be perceived as screams came from above. Sasuke's eyes widened, he stopped dead in his tracks at the second floor steps. He struggled, biting his lip as his hair shifted in front of his face.
"I will not help them… I refuse to help that idiot… I… I don't know why I even care. It isn't my business." Sasuke whispered to himself, straining his voice to keep calm.
And so, Sasuke fled the apartments, while Naruto's pained screams echoed through the skies.
Okay, so I managed to finish chapter three. Which was exceptionally long, bye the way. [.nervous laugh.
I realize that in this chapter, Sasuke learns a lot about Naruto and his feelings. I also realize… I like to use the word 'azure.' .
Disclaimer: All characters used in this story do NOT belong to me, all character rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto-sama.
Anyway, this ends chapter 3, reviews are loved!