Sapphire09: Here you go! Another Chapter ^^

Again, the only warning here is grammar errors and misspelled words :(

Enjoy!

CHAPTER II
Reason

4/7. Tuesday
Gekkoukan High School, 2F homeroom – After School

A boy with a cap walks up to him. "'Sup, dude? How's it goin'?"

"What do you want?" Naruto asked harshly. He's not in the mood to talk suddenly.

The student then has a dejected look on his face. "Oh, come on. Let me introduce myself, at least. I'm Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya," he introduced.

"…And?"

"I transferred here when I was in 8th grade. I know how though it is bein' the new kid, so I wanted to say, 'hey'. See what a nice guy I am!" he said. Yukari then walks to them.

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan! I didn't think we'd be in the same class again," Junpei said cheerily to Yukari when he see her. Sighing, Yukari then said, "At it again, huh? I swear you'll talk to anyone if they'll listen. Did you ever think that you might be bothering someone?"

"What? But I was just bein' friendly." Junpei countered. "If you say so," Yukari said. She then turned to Naruto.

"Anyway, looks like we're in the same homeroom…" Yukari said. "Yeah, I know," Naruto said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Funny, huh?"

"Um, hello? Are you forgetting that I'm in this class too?" Junpei said since he was ignored. "By the way, I heard you two came to school together this morning," he added teasingly.

"What's up with that? C'mon, gimme the dirt!" he continue teasing.

"Wh-What are you talking about? We live in the same dorm. There's nothing going on, okay?" Yukari countered. "Why are people even talking about it? Now you have me worried…" she said. She then put her attention back to Naruto.

"Hey, you didn't say anything to anyone about… you know what, did you?" Yukari asked suspiciously. Naruto only nodded. "Okay, good," she said in relief. "Seriously, don't say anything about last night, alright?" she said again to stress it. Junpei that hear it have shock etched on his face. Obviously he was thinking it in the wrong way. Yukari realize his stare, so she asked, "Wh-What?"

"L-Last night…?"

"W-Wait a minute! Don't get the wrong idea!" she said in defense. Junpei didn't seem to listen, though.

"Listen! I just met him yesterday, and there's absolutely nothing between us! Geez…" she explained.

"I've gotta go. I've got something to take care of for the archery team. But, you better not start any rumors!" Yukari said threateningly to Junpei. She then left the classroom.

"Ah, who cares? No one takes rumors seriously, anyway. She's so paranoid," Junpei said to himself after she was gone. He then turns to Naruto again.

"But, hey! It's your first day here and people already talkin' about you! Believe it or not, she's actually pretty popular. You da man!" he said. He then starts chuckling to himself.

"Heheh, this is gonna be a fun year, I can feel it!" Junpei said energetically.

==//==//==//==//==

Pipipipipipip

His cell phone is ringing. He is at Port Island station now, on his way to the dorm. He picks it up to hear a very familiar male voice. "Hello..?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun. How's your first day?"

He let out a small smile before replying as he lifts his head toward the afternoon sky, "Not so bad. How are things at Tsukimoto High School?"

"Nothing much, actually. The weapon mistress, the Hyuuga senior, Rock Lee, and Maito Gai is here. I still can't really believe that they don't recognize me, especially when I'm their homeroom teacher."

"That's a surprise... Well, it shouldn't be since they never saw your face, anyway. Hinata said the one that is in her school is Sakura, Sasuke, Gaara, and Kakashi," Naruto replied.

"It seems that their next and last target is Gekkoukan. I think they'll be there around June at an exchange program. For Gai's team, expect them around August 3rd, right at the second term."

"Of course. I still have plenty of time. Thanks for the information…"

He smiled as he hung up. "That Iori kid is right. Things will surely be fun…" he muttered.

==//==//==//==//==

Mori Town, Hasakuya School Boys Dorm - Late Night

Sasuke let himself fall on the bed in his dorm room. His eyes look up to the white ceiling above him. He then closes his eyes and then opens it again halfway.

Konohagakure no Sato – 2 years ago

"What did you say?"

"He left. He already resign from ninja duties and leave the village," Tsunade said full of sorrow.

Silence then filled the room, and it's suffocating.

"Why?" Sasuke managed to ask.

"He said he ran out of reasons to stay…" Tsunade said. Sasuke's eyes widened, but he soon regained his composure.

"Reason…?" he repeated it, trying to make sense of it.

"REASON!? That's all!? If a reason he wanted then I'll give him plenty of reason!!" he yelled uncontrollably. Many emotions mixed inside of him.

"If it was that easy, he won't leave just like that. He needs real reason, not some trivial reason, but real and very important. And, he didn't have any reason that fit the category."

"What about us all!? Aren't we their friend? Isn't that enough reason already!?" he yelled again. Tsunade only look at him sadly.

"…He… didn't think us as his friends?" he said. It hurts when he said it. He hoped that that's not it.

"It's more like that you didn't think of him as a friend, or you never act like one. He's a human, not a God that knows it all. Your actions made him confused and so he decided not to get his hopes high. Especially what you did to him two years ago…" Sasuke widened his eyes, before he bows his head down, letting his bangs hides his face. The silence that fills the room is suffocating

"Do the others knew about this?" he asked without lifting his face.

"No, not yet. We think that it's best that his teammates are the one that knows for now. But since Sakura and Kakashi are not available, you're the only one that knew besides Jiraiya and Shizune. I'm planning to tell team 8 too, since Hinata also defected."

"What..?"

Sasuke can't believe what he heard. Naruto left? Never, even in his wildest imagination, Naruto would leave the village that he swore to protect. Moreover, he was very surprised that Hinata also leaves. She was a timid, shy girl. He may do not know much about her, but he was sure that she would be the last person besides Naruto that will leave Konoha.

"There may be a chance we can find them, but I don't know if we can bring them back. All we can do is hope, that they won't be too stubborn when we find them… if we ever find them, that is…"

Just then, he felt a sudden loneliness flowing through his veins. Now he understands how Naruto felt when he left Konoha…

Sasuke lift his arm and put it on his face, guarding his half-lidded eyes from view. The dark room of his dorm room feels even darker to him.

"Dammit, Dobe… where the hell are you…"

==//==//==//==//==

4/8. Wednesday
Iwatodai Dorm, Main Lobby – Evening

"Oh, he's back," Yukari said as he came in.

"So, this is our new guest," a man that looks like a sophisticated gentleman said as he saw him. He then stands up from his seat and walk to him.

"Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I'm the Chairman of the Board for your school," he introduce himself. "Ikutsuki…" he then chuckled a bit. "Hard to say, isn't it? That's why I don't like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes," he said.

"Please, have a seat," he offered. Shuji then go back to the chair he was sitting, also with Yukari. Naruto then takes a vacant place on Yukari's right.

"I apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations. However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment. Is there anything you'd like to ask?" he asked at last.

There is some things he wanted to ask, like why is the Chairman here, who live in this dorm besides him, Yukari, and Mitsuru, and what did he saw the other night, the coffins that lined up on the street. Most of all, he wanted to know about the contract that he signed the other night. But, he decides to keep silent. He had a guess that they wouldn't answer it honestly.

"No, I'm good," he said at last.

"Are you sure?" Chairman Ikutsuki asked back mysteriously that makes him gulped a bit.

"Then, I hope you have a successful school year. Now, if you'll excuse me," he then stand up from his seat. "You must be tired from all the excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, 'The early bird catches the bookworm!' …Please forgive the pun," he then chuckled at his own lame joke. He then walks away.

"Sorry about that. You'll get used to his lame jokes," Yukari said when Shuji left. Naruto then decided to go to his room.

At his room, he removes his contact lenses silently and decided to sleep in his disguise. He had a hunch he will be watched tonight. And his intuition is usually right.

==//==//==//==//==

Iwatodai Dorm, Command Room – Late Night

"Working hard?"

Shuji said to Mitsuru and Yukari that are sitting on the chairs in front of a screen. "So, how's he doing?" he asked. Mitsuru and Yukari then stand up from their seats.

"He went to bed a little while ago. He's asleep now. Mr. Chairman, do you think he's-?,"

"Well, let's wait and see for now. The Dark Hour is approaching."

==//==//==//==//==

Dark Hour

Naruto that lay asleep on his bed feels something unfamiliar runs through his spine. He did an excellent job in hiding it, so for outsiders, he seems asleep soundly. He then saw a checkered path, and suddenly he arrived in a room that looks like an elevator that keeps going up, decorated in velvet color.

"Welcome to the velvet room, my dear young man," a long-nosed man said from across him as he turned to see the man.

==//==//==//==//==

"Hmm ... He's still sleeping."

Shuji said as he observes him though the screen. "He didn't Transmogrified either."

"Then, he must be..." Yukari exclaimed partly.

"Yes, he might be. He's asleep, but he's definitely experiencing the Dark Hour. The only question that remains is whether or not he has the potential. Although, he must... If he didn't, they would've preyed on him by now," Shuji said.

"Scary..."

"In any case, we should continue to monitor him for a few more days," Shuji said. Mitsuru then nodded.

"I feel kinda bad, though, spying on him like this..." Yukari said. There's a tint of guilt in her voice.

Sapphire09: ...Aaanndd, done!

By the way, Hasakuya and Tsukimoto High School are places that I created for the sake of some of the chapters, but I won't go to detailed information on them, except for uniform ^^

So, whaddaya think? Please tell me!! ^^

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