Disclaimer: I don't own nor have I contributed to Naruto in any way! Nope! None!

2nd


Sky-eyed Kitsune: Omg! I got lots of reviews!!! –faints—

Gomi-kun: She does that on a daily basis now. -- Oh great, I'm stuck with the announcements again. Uh…--flips through papers—Right, Naruto will be very angsty in this chapter, quiet, and some more details about his past will be revealed apparently. I dunno, I'm just reading off the freaking paper… --smacks author—

Sky-eyed Kitsune: WHA!?

Gomi-kun: Reviewer replies.

Sky-eyed Kitsune: Wa! 0.0

Gomi-kun: …baka.


IMPORTANT CRAP!!!

Muahahaha!!!! Hellloooo my lovely readers and reviewers!!! Ahem, anyways, yes! This fic will end however you want it to, and how I feel about it. Personally I am a sasunaru fan, but I want to hear what the people want!!! Sasunaru is my favorite pairing, but the others suitors all have a shot too! It's up to the readers!

Double muhahhaha! I'm going to create a blood curdling rival with Itachi and Sasuke…kukukuku….

Ahhh! Here's the final score on who you wanted to see first!!!

Sasuke: 3

Gaara: 5

Itachi: 0

Sai: 0

Holy mother of cupcakes, Gaara wins! XD Now remember, this doesn't mean that he will be Naruto's main suitor, so keep rooting for your fav bachelor!

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Reviewer Replies:

To blueserenityx3: Omg! A fellow sasunaru fan! SASUNARU!!!! --squeals and goes into fangirl mode--

To itachisgurl93: Uwah! I'm updating as fast as I can!!! --types until fingers catch on fire—

To Gemstones: Yes, sasunaru yet again! Glad you like my story plan! And Sasuke will be in competition with all of Naruto's suitors, including Neji, but especially with his brother. Muahahaha! –lightning in background—

To HeyBabySoSad: O.o –points at Gaara plushie behind back—What's that? –sees it's Gaara—I luv Gaara!!! But not more than Dei- --remembers Deidara kills Gaara and hides Deidara plushie behind back—Hehehe…thank you for the loverly review!!! X3

To Kawaii-Ningyo: Yes, it will get happier!!! And the last chapter had so little lime! T.T

To Kalainah Nemani Aurae: Omg, I gave someone inspiration!? OMG! –starts running around the room frantically—Thank you sooo much! XD

To Krissy7p: You voted for Gaara and he won the first appearance! Yay! –claps for Gaara—Ooooh yes! It really is hard to choose a good suitor, lol! XD

To Arekkusu94: Thank you! Yays!

To Teng-A-Ling: Muahahaa! Evil author no tellie! The answer will soon be revealed!

Are there any artists in the house? I'd loooove some fanart if you're willing!

Chapter Dedication:

This one goes out to Krissy7p, itachisgurl93, and Kalainah Nemani Aurae! Loverly reviews!!!


Chapter 7: Stay in the Cage

"Flight 722 to Florida is now boarding, passengers please report to gate 27 and prepare to take flight."

Naruto's head jerked up from its low hung position to the loudspeaker

"That's us Naruto," Iruka said sadly, standing up from the row of chairs he and Naruto were sitting in. Naruto nodded solemnly, his eyes glazed over with sorrow.

Neji wasn't there like he had promised…he hadn't come to wish him off. Kiba and Shino had stopped by earlier but Naruto made them leave so that they wouldn't be late for work.

Naruto and Iruka stepped into the line with their small carry on bags, their other meager luggage having long been loaded into the plane along with Evalon and Cyclone's cat carriers. (A lot of their things were destroyed in the fire incident—the apartment they were staying at was temporary, so they don't have much.)

The line moved quickly, and soon Iruka was three people away from handing in their tickets. Naruto at this point was too struck with grief to even think and barely breathe.

"Naruto!"

Naruto stepped forward with Iruka, his brain currently not processing the noise around him.

"Naruto! Wait!!!"

Naruto swore someone was calling his name…no, he must have been imagining things.

"NARUTO!!!"

It was amazing how realistic his imagination made things sound. Suddenly Naruto was tackled from behind as they approached the flight attendant, and Naruto found himself slammed against a wall with Neji's lips pressed firmly on his own.

Naruto stood stone still for a few moments, suffering from massive shell-shock, until he realized that he wasn't hallucinating and his eyes became glassy with tears of joy. Neji pulled back from the surprise kiss, looking at Naruto who now had silent tears falling down his cheeks.

Neji lifted his hands to cup Naruto's face and brush away his tears with his thumbs gently.

"N-Neji!" Naruto finally cried, and flung his arms around Neji's neck to reinitiate the kiss, turning it immediately into pure passion as the duo's lips moved quickly against each other's.

Iruka stepped out of line and smiled at his adopted son sadly. Naruto would be leaving behind more than friends…

Naruto continued to let his tears fall freely through the fervent kiss, Neji pressing his hands against Naruto's neck to give the kiss pressure and Naruto tangling his fingers in Neji's silken locks. They were oblivious to everyone around them until a shrill metallic voice broke through to them and brought them back to reality.

"Last call for 722 to Florida; flight 722."

Neji and Naruto's kiss began to slow and they finally parted, both a bit red at the face.

"Naruto…" Neji said. He released Naruto from his grip and fished a black velvet box out of his pocket, handing it to the golden-haired teen.

Naruto took the box carefully as if it would break at the touch, and after a nod from Neji, he opened it and his eyes lit up.

Against the black velvet was the red swirled necklace he had seen, upon closer examination being a crimson nine-tailed fox with its tail wrapped protectively around it in a circle, and eyes made of rubies.

Neji took the box from Naruto's slightly imp hands and removed the necklace. He reached over and slid it around Naruto's neck, clicking the clasp shut in the back. Neji smiled. The necklace was perfect, glistening against Naruto's sun-kissed skin and stopping level with his collar bone.

Neji pulled the now yet again silently crying Naruto into a tight hug.

"Don't forget about me, Naruto…" Neji whispered softly into his ear. Naruto smiled through his tears and returned Neji's hug.

"I promise I won't, Neji," Naruto said, and with one last kiss, he moved into line with Iruka and bid Neji a tearful farewell.

As Neji watched Naruto's plane take off, he let a single tear fall from his crystal eyes and sink into the navy blue carpet below.


Naruto watched as the clouds outside turned a murky grey, corresponding with his sorrowful mood perfectly. He stroked Cyclone's jet black fur as he slept curled up in his lap, purring contentedly. The flight had been about five hours and they had arrived sometime around 10am, and were now driving to their new home.

Iruka had never seen Naruto so withdrawn as was now, besides right after the accident with his parents.

Naruto hadn't felt so much inner turmoil for so long. What was causing this? The loss of his friends? No, that wasn't the root. The move? Still not the answer. Could his parents deaths be coming back to haunt him? Then it hit Naruto. He had let himself get too attached to the people around him, even if they were a very select few. It had just ended up hurting him in the end. Naruto gripped the fox necklace around his collar tightly.

"No more," he swore to himself. "I won't let myself become so attached to anyone ever again. I won't let myself hurt like this for a third time if I can help it. I'll keep my emotions in a cage." Naruto's eyes grew lifeless and colder that day.

"Here we are!" Iruka said, trying to sound cheerful for both himself and Naruto as he pulled into a driveway. Naruto stood up with Cyclone in his arms as Iruka grabbed his own bags from the car and Evalon's cat carrier. Naruto was staying in a dorm room at the academy, so he found no reason to bring his luggage from the car. Iruka unlocked the door to the cozy little bungalow, and sighed contentedly when he got in.

The furniture was already there, as Iruka had called to have it delivered and set up, and now all the house needed was some occupants. Iruka opened Evalon's cat carrier and she proceeded to examine the house with an air of elegance. Cyclone was reluctant to be in a new home, and so Naruto held his close and stroked his fur comfortingly.

Iruka glanced at his watch.

"Whoa, we better get you to the academy!" he said. "I promised we'd get you there by 11am!" Naruto nodded and proceeded back to the car.

"Naruto, I won't be home a lot, and you know that Evalon doesn't really care, but will Cyclone be ok?" Iruka asked.

Naruto simply opened his passenger door and hopped in with the black kitten. No way was he going to let the little thing stay home alone with Evalon.

"Do they allow pets in school?" Iruka asked, jumping into the driver's seat. Naruto shrugged. Frankly he didn't give a damn.

By now it was pouring rain.


"Will you be ok walking in the rain?" Iruka asked as he pulled up as close to the academy as he could. Naruto nodded, placing Cyclone in his comfy little cat carrier.

"If you run you might be able to get there without getting soaked through."

Another nod.

"Ok, I have to leave for work. Call me if anything comes up and tell me about your day when you get back to your dorm if you're not too tired, alright?"

A third nod, and with that Naruto exited the car with Cyclone's carrier and his meager luggage, and waved goodbye impassively as he watched the dark blue Toyota celica drive off. Naruto looked up at the sky as the water drenched him. He really didn't care if he caught a cold or what; the sound of the rain soothed his aching soul. But not wanting to upset Iruka, he walked off slowly for the school's huge entrance, marked by stark white pillars.


If Naruto were any less emotionless he would have gaped. The entrance hall was HUGE with a capital H. Elegant portraits lines the walls, chairs and couches sat against the royal blue walls, and exotic potted flowers manned the corners. Naruto went up to the front desk where a woman with short black hair and kind brown eyes sat typing on a computer.

"Hello, are you the new exchanged student?" she asked him nicely, and he nodded. She gave him a quick once over before returning to her vigilant typing.

"Get caught in the rain?" she asked, but received no answer. "Ah, here we are, Naruto Uzumaki." She pulled out a filing cabinet and whisked out a manila folder.

"Here you go! This has your class schedule, rulebook, and school calendar in it. You're guide should be down here any minute. He'll walk you through the building and show you each classroom. Of course there are no classes on Sundays, so you won't be disturbing anyone, though most of our students are still sleeping!" She laughed a little at this.

"My name is Shizune. Please ask me any questions you may have throughout the year!"

Naruto nodded. He decided he liked this woman- her eyes reminded him of Iruka's.

He stepped back from the desk with the folder, waiting for his "guide". Naruto took on the appearance of a drenched fox, his spiky blond hair falling limp to his shoulders. The water on his black and orange tee-shirt and jeans with the chain on one side dripped down to the floor, forming a small puddle beneath him. A few stray rain drops clung to his sun-kissed skin and dripped down the sides of his scarred cheeks, but he didn't bother to brush them away.


Eleven in the morning. Freaking eleven in the morning. He had to get up 11am to escort some dorky newbie around the school because he didn't know crap. Having in insomnia wasn't bad enough, nooooo. When the one day came when he finally COULD fall asleep, he had to wake up one hour later.

The red-head stomped through the halls furiously, his hands clenched at his sides, ready to swing out at the next unfortunate soul to piss him off. His crimson bangs swept over the tattoo of the red Japanese kanji for love on his forehead, and the chains one each side of his black jeans clinked in rhythm with his pace. He let out an angry sigh.

Damn the new kid.


Naruto had been waiting for a good fifteen minutes now. Shizune had politely offered him a towel, but Naruto had shaken his head no. What difference would being dry make?

Naruto currently stood in front of the entrance to the central hallway, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head down so that his golden bangs covered his ocean eyes. Suddenly he heard loud and fast footsteps, but he didn't bother to lift his head. It was probably just a teacher. Suddenly there was a skidding noise and Naruto was tackled to the hard tiled floor. He closed his eyes and winced a bit, but didn't make much of the fall, ignoring the pounding in his head. He opened his eyes to see what had knocked him over, as it was now hovering overtop of him.


The red-haired teen raced into the entrance hall, ignoring the speed limit of the angry steps he took, and suddenly went skidding across the polished tile floor as his feet slipped on a puddle of water. He let out a short "oof!" as he crashed into something.

He and this something hit the floor hard, and he was glad to have landed on top of that something instead of hitting the ground. Wait…what was this something?

The teen opened his eyes which he had closed during impact, and was met with the deepest blue from the very heart of the ocean. The young man with crimson hair eased himself up a bit, a hand on either side of this object's…head? Yes, this something had a head. Why? Because it was a person. And not just any person- this had to be the most beautiful creature the teen had ever laid eyes on.

The person below him looked to be about his age, his structure lithe and firm, and the red-haired teen guessed him to be about the same height as himself if not just a bit shorter. His currently wet and golden hair fell around his shoulders and framed his face fabulously, setting off his sun-kissed skin in an ethereal glow. His eyes were of the deepest ocean blue, the waves churning and swirling within them. This divine being looked at the teen with the love tattoo with an emotionless face, though his eyes retained sadness and sorrow that the red-haired young man knew all too well of. The divinity's light pink lips were shut gently, showing no love, and the tattooed teen had the sudden urge to kiss those lips and purge this angel of all troubles held in is sapphire gaze.

"Garra! Uzumaki! Are you alright?" Shizune asked, leaning over her desk a bit. The crimson haired teen named Gaara shook his head, snapping back into reality, and stood up off of the silent teen below him.

"Yea," Gaara said. He offered a hand to the Uzumaki fellow who took it and nodded a thanks.

"Gaara, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He just moved here from Las Angeles," Shinzune said happily, and Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. Uzumaki Naruto? Wasn't that the name of the leader of that band to be featured at that famous club in LA? Well he was from Las Angeles, so it made sense. And one of his bags was a guitar case. Gaara had seen the band interviewed on TV, but he had never imagined the lead singer to be this gorgeous!

"Gaara, will you please take Uzumaki around the school and give him the grand tour?" Shizune asked, and Gaara nodded.

Naruto, still drenched, picked up his suitcase and Cyclone's cat carrier and followed Gaara down the hall.


"This is the junior and senior seminar building," Garra said monotonously as Naruto followed him down the elegant hallway. "Classes are held in this part of the building." Sure enough they passed by several open lecture halls and science labs.

"Let me see your schedule," Gaara asked, holding out his hand, and Naruto gave him the tan folder. Gaara flipped it open and saw the schedule paper clipped to the side.

"You have the same classes as me, so I won't bother to point them out. Just follow me when lessons begin," he said as he handed the folder back to Naruto, who nodded.

As they continued walking Gaara noted the pet carrier Naruto held and small blue eyes peeking out of it. There were no pets allowed in the school, but he didn't feel the need to say anything since many seniors smuggled their pets in anyhow.

They left the building from the right side where a side walk connected, covered overhead by a small horizontal strip of roof. The rain poured around them, noisily falling on the tin roof and spilling down its sides. The sidewalk led into another building, in which the inside didn't seem a rigid, but a bit more relaxed. Posters were up on the walls advertising school clubs, comfy couches sat in the corners, and a soda machine and coffee table were laid out against the wall.

"This is the junior and senior dorm building," Gaara said. "You'll be sharing a dorm with one person, either another junior or a senior."

He held out his hand again, and Naruto wordlessly handed him the manila folder. Garra flipped it open again and looked at the top of his schedule.

"According to this you'll be rooming with…"

For some reason Gaara wanted it to be him so badly! Wait…why did he care? Sure this Naruto guy was a walking god, but there were plenty of great looking guys at their school. Actually, the majority was, but after one day they turned into stuck up preps and jocks. But would this Naruto guy be the same? Gaara hoped not…

Suddenly Gaara's breath caught in his throat as he let out what sounded like a growl to Naruto.

Gaara removed a card from the folder before shutting it and giving it back to Naruto. He tried to look as calm as possible, but the killing intent in his eyes was unmistakable.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, speaking for the first time from when he had reached the school.

Gaara felt a chill run up his spine and a warm feeling spread inside his chest as he heard Naruto utter those three words and flip them over his tongue. Gods, he even sounded like an angel! Was everything about this guy so freaking perfect!?

"Nothing," Gaara said, regaining his composure. "You just have a bastard of a roommate.

Naruto snorted.

"Big surprise," he mumbled, and Gaara smirked.

"Your room is down here," Gaara said, leading Naruto through the hall that split to the right. The dorms were reasonably well spaced with elegant curved numbers framed in gold on each. Above each door handle was a small slot for a card key.

Gaara stopped in front of room 232 and took out the card he had gotten from Naruto's folder and swiped it through the silver slot. A small light on it beeped and flashed green, and Gaara opened the now unlocked door.

The dorm room was actually pretty big, opening up into a small sitting room with a TV, coffee table and several book shelves. To the left was a swinging door to a small kitchen and to the right was a larger hallway with two doors on either side. Gaara strode into the dorm and walked down this hallway. He opened the door on the left of the wall and it opened into a room with two beds, two dressers, and two desks. The bed to the left along with the desk looked like it was already occupied by Naruto's roommate, a laptop resting on said desk and the bed neatly made with royal blue covers instead of the standard black ones that came on each bed.

It looked like his roomie had already gotten up.

Naruto walked to the right, his new side of the room, and rested his suitcase and guitar case at the foot of his bed. He rested the cat carrier on the covers and unlocked cage. Gaara raised an eyebrow when no animal came out. Naruto sighed a bit and reached inside to pull out a jet black kitten with big blue eyes. It looked around the room fearfully as Naruto put it on the bed.

"Might want to keep your kitten hidden," Gaara said. "Pets aren't allowed, but no one really cares but the teachers."

Naruto nodded and placed the cat carrier beside his suitcase on the floor as the tiny black kitten grew brave and ventured out beyond the bed, jumping on the wooden floor. It padded up to Gaara and sat in front of him. It let out a mew and nudged Gaara's leg with a little pink paw.

Gaara leaned down and stroked the kitten, and it rubbed its velvet black fur against Gaara's hand affectionately, purring.

"Cute kitten," Gaara said, and was amazed at the fluffy but true words that had come out of his mouth. He shook his shock off.

"What's its name?"

"Cyclone," Naruto replied, and smiled a bit. "He likes you."

Gaara moved his light emerald eyes up to catch Naruto's small smile, and Gaara couldn't help but grin a bit too. Wait…Gaara grinned? Had all of hell frozen over!? No one, not even Gaara's siblings could make him crack a small smile, and here was this Naruto Uzumaki who he had only known for scarcely twenty minutes, causing him to grin? Gaara reasoned that there must have been seriously wrong with him today.

Naruto's smiled suddenly faded as he reprimanded his emotions mentally.

"Stay in the cage, stay in the cage!" he told himself, but he couldn't help but like Gaara already.

Naruto reached down and picked up Cyclone, then placed him on his new bed's pillow. Cyclone yawned, displaying immature petite teeth, before curling up on the cushion and closing his eyes.

Naruto turned back to look at Gaara, and Gaara noticed that Naruto was still wet.

"C'mon," Gaara said. "The tour's not over."


"That's the dining hall. You can buy food and stuff there, but it's easier to just cook in your dorm," Gaara said as he pointed to two large oak doors in the entrance room to the building where the dorm hallways broke off.

Gaara moved down the hall opposite from Naruto's dorm, and he followed obediently, his hands in his pockets.

"My dorm is right there," Gaara said, pointing to a door labeled 437. "You can come see me whenever…I don't really sleep a lot, so it's ok at night too."

Naruto nodded, and the duo proceeded down the hall until they came upon a wide door with no number.

"This is the laundry room," Gaara said as they entered. It was a spacey room with several washers, dryers, a large closet, and an ironing board or two folded up.

Gaara walked over to the closet and grabbed a towel. He went back to Naruto and held it out to him.

"Here," he said. Naruto shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said. Gaara sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No you're not. You're going to catch a major cold like that; you're soaked through." Gaara unraveled the towel, wrapping it around Naruto's shoulders and rubbing down his soaked arms exposed by his tee-shirt.

"What the hell am I doing!?" Gaara thought. "This is crazy! I never get so close to someone so quickly! Actually, I practically NEVER get this close to anyone! What's with this guy?"

Naruto stood still as Gaara moved the towel up to rub across his neck and flick away the persistent raindrops clinging to his skin.

"Naruto Uzumaki…"

Gaara gently swiped away the water from Naruto's sun-kissed cheeks, pausing momentarily over the scars on the left side of his face before continuing.

"You seem different somehow, Uzumaki. What's swirling in those eyes…?"

Gaara put the towel over Naruto's head, rubbing it against Naruto's golden locks softly. Gaara looked at Naruto's eyes and ocean blue and light emerald green locked. Gaara removed the towel from Naruto's head, his hair now sticking up in blonde spikes, framing around his face and reaching halfway down to his shoulders. Before he could stop himself, Gaara ran a hand through Naruto's golden mane, letting the yellow silk slip through his fingers slowly.

Naruto found that he suddenly couldn't move. Gaara hand felt so soothing running through his hair, and that's what he needed the most right now; someone to calm his aching heart.

"Who are you, Uzumaki Naruto?"

Suddenly Naruto's cheeks felt warm liquid drip down them, and Gaara's eyes widened as he reached his hand back from Naruto's sunbathed locks.

"No, don't leave!" Naruto's heart urged Gaara's hand. "I need to feel something…anything…anything to comfort me..."

Naruto was…crying? Why on earth was he crying?

Gaara mentally slapped himself.

Duh! The poor guy had probably moved against his will and left behind so many friends and memories…and maybe even something painful to remember?

Naruto suddenly felt something warm wrap around him and reassuring arms engulfed him.

Gaara hugged Naruto tightly, his hand moving back to stroke Naruto's hair soothingly. Naruto's breath caught in his throat. No! This is what he was trying to prevent! But he just couldn't help it…he needed someone to tell him that it would be ok…that he could let it out and just cry.

Naruto closed his eyes and melted into Gaara's hug, reaching his arms up a bit and winding them around Gaara's neck, burying his face in the crook of Gaara's neck as he let his tears fall silently.

Naruto suddenly felt like he was in a forest as he breathed in and Gaara's scent overwhelmed him. He smelled like the leaves, the trees, the earth, the forest…one of the few places that Naruto felt he could just loose himself and let his thoughts run free.

Gaara also caught Naruto's scent of the rain, the quiet rain, and it wasn't because he was wet. Gaara had never been one to enjoy hugging at all, but embracing this young man just felt so…right.

Gaara suddenly felt Naruto's grip loosen around his neck a bit, and he moved his head back a bit to look at Naruto. He was leaning against Gaara, sleeping peacefully. Gaara sighed. It must have been a rough and draining trip for Naruto to fall asleep standing.

Gaara held Naruto by his shoulders, steadying him as he pulled away, and he scooped him up in his arms bridal style. Naruto was his height if not a bit shorter, and yet he was so light! What the hell did he do, not eat? Gaara looked down at the sleeping form in his arms and shook his head silently. No, Naruto looked pretty well built and slightly muscular even if he was shorter than average and thin.


Gaara eased Naruto gently out of his arms and onto his bed in the dorm room, Cyclone moving out of the way to make room for his "mommy". How Gaara had gotten into Naruto's dorm room while still managing to hold him steady enough so as to not disturb him, he would never know.

As Gaara lowered Naruto, Naruto gripped Gaara's shirt lightly, feeling the warmth next to him disappear. Gaara smiled again. Wow, twice in one day! A new record!

Gaara truthfully for some reason wanted to keep this gold angel in his arms, but nonetheless laid him down gently on his black comforter.

Cyclone mewed at Gaara and padded up to him. Gaara rubbed his fur softly and Cyclone purred happily. Then he sidled over to his mommy and curled up on the pillow beside his head. Gaara swiped away a few stray golden locks falling over Naruto's eyes.

How was it that this boy had made him feel so…warm? Gaara had never felt warm before, and yet here he was with a warm fuzzy feeling stretching through his body and making him giddy with happiness. Happiness. Yet another emotion Gaara had yet to know for so long. What was it about Naruto that was different that made him feel this way? In fact, what was this feeling altogether?

Gaara stood up and made his way to leave the room and the dorm, when he took one last glace back at Naruto.

"I will find out who you are, Naruto."

The door clicked shut softly.


Sky-eyed Kitsune: Omg! What is this that Gaara is feeling? Could it be friendship, or maybe more? Will Naruto let his emotions out, or will they stay locked in the cage he created??? Wa! Next chapter will be up soon!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IMPORTANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who is Naruto's bastard of a roommate that Gaara hates so much? Is it Sasuke? Or Sai? Or even Itachi!? It's up to you!! Vote for your favorite suitor to be Naruto's roommate! XD