Chapter 6: Valiant

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto—otherwise I would be swimming in a gigantic pool of money right now. XD But no—it is all Masashi Kishimoto's. =^_^=

Warnings: OOC…and yeah—the child abuse comes back in this chapter... ^^"

Notes from the KIT-chan: Well—chapter 6. :slams hands on table: OBJECT--wait, what the heck? I shouldn't be objecting to this... XD But hey--couldn't help myself. (FTW Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. XDDD) Well, that's all I have to say for the moment… ^^" And yeah--this is early. Why? Because. it is. XD and. I am.

...bored out of my frickin' mind, and damn it my throat still frickin' hurts, I can't speak for my own frickin' self (And you can guess who had to be my personal spokesperson at school today... XD Yup, that's right--the Silver Surfer. XDDDD) and my nose is all frickin' stuffy and--GAH! T_T"...plus, I have to actually study (?) for this stupid "Performance-based Assessment" thingy for bio... O_O"

Ah, well anyways—enjoy! ^w^

.::~*Kitsune*~::.

~o~.

Whistle.

Sasuke groaned and rolled over on his side, while Naruto merely stirred and snuggled closer to the raven next to him.

At that same moment, a breeze of wind blew past the two boys.

Then there was a louder whistle, which was now immediately familiar.

At that moment, both instantly opened their eyes and sat up. Almost immediately, they shrank back after seeing what was first a blur of green and light blue and soon realized that for some reason, they were still lying outside on the grass at the usual spot…

"Shoot," the blonde muttered, looking around. "Sasuke--just how long have we been out here?"

Suddenly, there was another shrill whistle coming from the other side of the shack.

Naruto flinched and quickly stood up, helping Sasuke to his feet as well.

"Never mind that, but it looks like he's back," the raven spoke with a cautious tone. "There's no mistaking that annoying whistle."

The latter whirled around to look in the direction of the shack. "We better get inside now before we get caught." And with that sentence, the two boys sprinted as fast as they could back inside.

Soon, they stood panting in front of the small opening in the wall, and tiptoed into the room, hoping that Kyuubi hadn't gone in yet.

But there was no sign of him yet. Immediately, Sasuke and Naruto rushed across the shack to get into their usual positions before the masked tyrant barged in.

However, they were forced to stop in their tracks when they saw all the children crowded around where the mountain of potatoes usually was.

The blonde nudged a boy's shoulder. "What's going on here?"

Instantly, the rest of the children turned around to look at the two, with either alarmed or irked expressions on their faces.

"Well," Kiba acidly spat out. "Look who finally came back."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for this, Kiba--what the heck's happening? Why is everyone just standing here?"

The brunette scoffed. "Why don't you see for yourself, moron?"

Upon hearing this, the crowd dispersed to let Naruto and Sasuke through.

And almost immediately, their eyes bulged at what they had seen in front of them.

"W-what…" the blue-eyed boy almost gasped.

The raven only stood there, appalled by the unbelievable sight.

At that very moment, they could see that the mountain of potatoes…was no longer a mountain of potatoes. Instead, all they could see was a bunch of spuds scattered all over the shack floor, some bitten…and others half-eaten. It was literally the biggest mess of mashed potatoes one could ever see.

Sasuke stiffened, his eyes widening even more. "Who could have done this?"

Naruto slowly shook his head. "This isn't good. This isn't good at all..."

Suddenly, there was another shrill whistle and the door banged open. Soon, Kyuubi could be seen standing in the threshold, his beady black eyes more malicious than ever.

The children whirled around with terrified countenances.

"Shoot," the blonde muttered.

The Uchiha turned around as well, but only to see the masked man raise an eyebrow at the worried expressions on each and every one of their faces.

He smirked behind his bandanna. "Awake already, now aren't ya? Ooh—and in a uniform grouping, too. Now, isn't this classy?" he drawled sarcastically.

Silence.

He nodded his head accordingly. "Hmm. And quiet, too." Suddenly, his mocking grin had turned into a scowl.

"Now…what are y'all hiding?"

Suddenly, the raven noticed some of the children around him gulp and cringe in fear.

The masked man smirked, his black eyes gleaming, and began to approach the crowd.

Finally, he stopped and stood in front of the large group of children.

"Excuse me," Kyuubi drawled, then laughed and started shoving children out of his way.

At that moment, the children began to move around in different positions, trying as much as they could to prevent the tyrant from getting through and seeing the catastrophe in the back.

But he knew a lot better than they did and merely continued pushing them out of the way.

Until he finally came down to Sasuke and Naruto, who immediately held their ground.

The masked man narrowed his eyes at the two, his mouth curving into a snarl behind his scarlet-red bandanna. "Let. Me. Through."

But they only stared blankly at him and shifted closer to each other.

Kyuubi raised an eyebrow. "Being wise guys again here, are we?" And with that sentence, he grabbed both by the shoulder and shoved them in opposite directions, the two falling into separate stacks of hay.

"No…!" the blonde whispered, his cerulean eyes growing deeper with concern.

The older man merely ignored the comment and turned to face the front.

Almost immediately, his dark, black eyes became filled with rage and disbelief as he saw the most catastrophic mess he could have ever seen.

"What in devil's name—"

He whirled around to face the children. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE!" he roared, eyes shifting in different directions.

Kyuubi growled, stepping forward. "Who is responsible for this…this SHIT!"

The children cringed in fear. Even Sasuke himself couldn't help but shudder at the sound of the older man's irate voice.

He looked around, eyes darting this way and that. "No answer, huh!"

Naruto gulped.

Then he abruptly grabbed one of the children and dragged him out of the crowd by the collar of his shirt.

The raven squinted to see that it was a chubby, brown-haired boy, who was dressed in green and had a red swirl painted on each of his plump cheeks.

"Choji," the Uchiha heard the blonde whisper.

Suddenly, there was a whimper.

Sasuke turned to see the masked tyrant, viciously shaking the poor latter and holding him tightly by the shoulders.

"It was you, now wasn't it!" Kyuubi snarled. "You ate my frickin' potatoes!"

Choji shrank back, his hands trembling. "N-no, sir—I didn't eat any of them. I haven't eaten in weeks. I—"

Slap.

The raven's eyes widened as the chubby boy, who now had a swollen black eye, fell to the ground.

The masked man growled. "What makes you think I can believe that, you FAT FUCK!" he roared, advancing on the latter to grab him by his shirt collar.

Choji winced.

He cackled evilly. "Now you're gonna pay the ultimate price for chowing down on my crops, fatso!" Kyuubi laughed villainously, and began shoving random children out of his way, dragging the poor kid towards the door.

The latter immediately froze upon hearing the comment and began kicking and screaming. "Please don't, Mr. Kyuubi! It wasn't me, honest!"

The masked man abruptly stopped in his tracks to narrow his eyes at Choji. "Shut up!" he growled, and devilishly raised his fist to punch him in the gut, when Naruto suddenly stood up.

"Stop it!" the blonde shouted, his blue eyes deep with intent.

The rest of the children shrank back, taken aback by the outburst.

The masked man turned to face Naruto. "What'd you say, you little shit?"

The blonde glared at Kyuubi. "You heard what I said! Now let Choji go, you monster!" he growled.

Sasuke's eyes widened. This was the first time he'd seen the blue-eyed boy act like this. So stupid and yet so...valiant. "Naruto…" he spoke softly.

But all the tyrant did was laugh mockingly. "Hahaha…trying to be a smartass here, too, aren't ya?"

The raven looked at the latter, but all he could notice was his blue eyes growing fiercer every minute.

He closed his eyes, recalling the an unforgettable comment that now ringed through his ears.

"I want to change the world and all the unfairness you said was in it. I want to be the one to make sure the Sun shines--for everyone. ...one heart at a time."

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes to look at the blonde. He really is taking his dream seriously...

Then the masked man stopped laughing just as soon as he'd started, and gave the blonde a menacing look.

"You don't know what the hell you're doing, brat." He narrowed his eyes. "Right now, I'm just about pissed at you all, so you better shut your mouth before I get really angry."

But Naruto didn't listen. "And what if I don't? I'm sick of you always coming in here and harassing us all!"

This really ticked Kyuubi off. "I'm warning you, kid. You're asking for it, and you don't want to push me to that limit. Now mind your own damn business…" He raised his arm to point at the latter's cheek. "…unless you want a cut on the other one, too."

The blonde clenched his fists and his teeth, ignoring the threat. "Like heck I will!"

Immediately, the tyrant roared and grabbed Naruto.

Suddenly, the raven felt himself get up. "Wait!"

Kyuubi shifted his eyes towards the Uchiha. "We all wanna be smartasses around here, now don't we! Eh, Uchiha!" he snarled at Sasuke.

But the raven held his ground. "Hn. That idiot is my partner in peeling your stupid potatoes in the first place," he spoke unwaveringly with an impassive expression on his face. "So don't even think about laying a finger on him." He intensified his gaze. "If you're gonna involve him in this mess…" Sasuke looked at the ground. "…it only makes sense that you put the blame on me, too."

The blonde's eyes widened, surprised by the comment.

But the masked man merely laughed. "No. I don't think I will."

The raven looked up at the tyrant, who now had a smirk on his face. "Stop wasting my time, runt." And with that sentence, he dragged Naruto and Choji out the door. "And don't just stand there—get back to work already!" he ordered with a scowl. "All of you! You're on harvest duty now, so get outside, Uchiha!"

Before he slammed the door, Sasuke caught a glance at the blue-eyed boy, who now had a fearful look on his face.

As the door closed, the Uchiha softened his gaze, feeling remorse once again at the bottom of his heart.

~o~

At first, it was like deja vu, what with the dead silence in the shack--until everyone finally got around to working, afraid that Kyuubi might make another appearance.

But the raven stayed in his place, looking solemnly at the shack door, hoping that it would open again to release his friend, but it remained closed.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see it was Sai.

"Come on," he spoke dully. "…we don't want to get in any more trouble."

After a few minutes, Sasuke got up and followed the other raven outside.

~o~

Notes from the KIT-chan: …poor Naru…and poor Choji… :sighs: Sorry—I had to make Kyuubi a real asshole in this chapter. = / And you'll all find that out later in the story—what happened in here just so happens to be a key event in the plot. ^^"

Stay tuned for the next chapter to see what happens to Sasuke! ^~^

.::~*Kitsune*~::.