I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!

-Dr. Seuss-


The next thing he knows, someone is grabbing his ear and yanking him upwards painfully. His body tenses, and he reaches out to grab his attacker, before Sakura's voice, loud and clear, comes in his wrenched ear.

"What the hell are you doing here, Naruto!" He opens his eyes to see a disheveled Sakura glaring at him, the pre-dawn light casting soft shadows.

His mind immediately flips to lying. "I was just… I wanted to be really early for practice this morning!" He hopes she doesn't notice the cold dew that's collected down his arms and calves.

Her green eyes narrow. "Wearing your sleeping cap?" She yanks on his ear and he lets out a cry of pain. "Naruto, you were asleep a minute ago, and besides, its 5 in the morning! Practice is at 8!" She pulls him very close to her, so close he can see the golden flecks in her irises, and the slight darkness under her eyes.

"Now, Naruto, you are going to tell me the truth or I will detach this ear in such a way it never goes back on."

"Ow, Sakura, fine! Just let go of my ear!" Rather reluctantly, Sakura relinquishes her hold on his ear and Naruto rubs it tentatively. "Some kids broke into my apartment. They trashed it. I needed a place to sleep, so I came here. It's just for one night!" At her look, he continues. "I promise!"

"Why didn't you go to Sasuke's apartment? You know he has room."

Naruto suddenly gets very uncomfortable, something hot spreading across his skin. "I guess… I didn't think of him." He avoids Sakura's gaze.

"You didn't think of your best friend," she deadpans.

"He's mad at me!" Naruto suddenly says, and nervously continues when Sakura shoots him a skeptical look. "I thought he wouldn't let me stay or something, and it'd be weird to stay with anyone else, like Iruka cause he's hitched and you're a girl and Kakashi-sensei is Kakashi-sensei, and Shikamaru and Kiba and everyone's living with their parents; besides they'd never let me live it down and--."

He's abruptly cut off as Sakura grabs him in a chokehold and pulls him down the street. She only lets go when he complains faintly that he can't breathe, changing it to a hard hand around his arm.

"Jeez, Sakura, what's wrong with you this morning? Not get your beauty sleep or something?"

"I'm fine, Naruto. Just had a little trouble."

Naruto suddenly thinks of something. He looks at where they've come from, and says, "You were walking home from some guy's house, weren't you?"

Sakura just turns red.

Naruto doesn't have any time to make fun of her for it, because it's then that he realizes where they're going.

And promptly tries to run away.

But then they're in front of the door and Sakura's pushing the buzzer, chakra pins keeping his arm in place, and he can't run away. Damn that girl's strength.

And then the door opens to a very irritated Sasuke, whose annoyed expression only deepens when his eyes take in who is pushing his buzzer at 5 in the morning. Sakura pushes him towards Sasuke, saying only, "I believe this belongs to you. I found him on the bridge." And then she disappears down the stairs, leaving him to Sasuke's monumental anger.

And microscopic mercy.

Great.


Hello again! Seeing as how my absence was longer than I originally thought it was going to be, I wanted to, um, reward you? Plus, I was on a roll and this chapter sort-of finishes the last one, seeing as how there was very little Sasuke in it. Hey, wait, there's only a little Sasuke in this one too! Gyah! Sorry. Well, next time for sure.

By the way, does anyone else think that whole story-reader-traffic thing is kind of, well, stalker-ish? I mean, it's satisfied every question I've ever had about how many people read my stories, but it's really... weird.