Yo, peoples! :D

Yes, yes, I'm well aware of the fact that I haven't uploaded for AGES and you all probably think I'm dead. I know, I know. And I'm very, very sorry.

Allow me to explain? Or do you even care?

Well, as always, rping has got me addicted. I'm working on a MASSIVE rp in gaiaonline, so if you guys want to friend me and take part in it when it finally opens, my username is LovetoCauseMayhem. I hope to hear from you all. :D

And school has just been hectic. Between my Honors classes and Gaia and the theater I don't have the ability to get myself off my butt (or on. O.o) and post something for you guys. I really am a bad authoress. :hits self:

So, I am directing a play for the school I'm in – a piece that I wrote that I am very happy with. There are three student directors, and I am the only Junior. The other two are Seniors. I also have more people in my cast then they do, and a more complex set with more light cues. Opening night is January 29th, and I am so effing excited! XD

Yes, life is a little busy, but I feel I owe it to you guys to at least wish you all a belated Thanksgiving, and a Merry Christmas. :) My apologies – again – for neglecting all of you. Please know that, though I'm not here nearly as often as you'd like me to be or as often as I should be, I really appreciate all of you for keeping faith and checking your emails every day. Thank you so much.

Oh, and by the way, in case you all haven't realized it yet, I'M NOT DEAD!!!!!! XD

Well, that's it in a nutshell. I hope you all like this next chapter. :3

Promises Not Made are Promises Never Kept

Chapter Five – The Chunnin Exams Begin

"All right, maggots!" Ibiki barked. "Enough fighting over there in the back! Such violence is strictly forbidden in this part of the exam!"

Sasuke inwardly scoffed.

"Che. Way to ruin our fun…" he breathed, smirking.

Ibiki continued, giving them instructions to go up to the front and take numbers, and to sit in the designated spots. Sasuke was up at the front next to Naruto and Hinata, Inaré was to the far left, near the middle, and Haku was at the far back on the right. Sasuke was in the middle of the group, and Sai was a little up towards the right.

Then Ibiki gave the instructions, and the test began.

There was dead silence.

Sasuke and his teammates seemed to have no trouble with the exam, quickly deciphering the code in the first problem and moving onto the next one. They were the only ones – besides possibly Sakura – who could even come close to understanding the problems.

Which meant cheating was inevitable.

Little by little, teams were eliminated and sent out during the duration of the testing hour.

The Hidden Mist Team – Sasuke and the other two – had finished in the first twenty minutes. But anyone could've been fooled. They were all still writing, their pets lounging with them, but their sharp eyes keen.

Naruto – flipping a bitch over the test and how he couldn't even hope to answer a single problem without cheating – chanced a glance at Sasuke's paper.

Then he realized why Sasuke was still busy.

He was writing back and forth between his teammates.

Ink in another person's handwriting would appear on the back of his paper as if by magic, followed by another. After reading both responses, Sasuke would write back. When the paper filled up, the top would wipe clean to provide more room. It must've been some sort of jutsu.

Noticing that Naruto was watching, Sasuke wrote a short message to his teammates saying that he'd talk to them later and – with a hand infused lightly with Chakra – wiped his paper completely clean.

Thinking he had intruded impolitely, Naruto turned his eyes to his own paper, swallowing.

Suddenly ink leaked through to the front and Naruto, blinking, turned his paper over curiously.

There was writing on the other side.

"You all right? You seem stressed."

Sasuke's writing.

Naruto swallowed, his heartbeat picking up for an unknown reason as he began to shakily write back.

"A little… hey, sorry for jumping on you like that when we first met. I just…" He swallowed again. "Confused you with someone else…"

A question mark appeared on his paper a few moments later.

"? Someone else? Like who?"

Naruto gave a small, wry smile.

"Someone that I lost… four years ago."

Sasuke's eyes widened as he stared at the words.

Four years ago.

NARUTO!

He forced himself to write calmly, fighting against his fingers' twitching.

"Someone… four years ago? Someone… that you lost? Who?"

Naruto sighed.

"You didn't hear? Sasuke Uchiha. He was… killed during a mission near your village four years ago. He was… a teammate of mine, and very dear to me."

Sasuke bit the inside of his mouth to keep from letting out a senseless exclamation and pouncing on the blonde, begging for the other to forgive him.

Control, Terranova, control-

Fuck. He didn't even call himself by his true last name anymore.

God-fucking-dammit…

"Oh, really? My deepest condolences. I didn't know. Now I understand why you reacted the way you did – I have the same first name he did. Gah, I hate the fact that it was because of my village that he died. Do you know who did it?"

Thank God it was so much easier to lie on paper.

Naruto gave a mental shrug as he responded, forcing himself not to let his physical appearance portray the grief and rage he felt inside.

"Yeah. Some ex-Hidden-Mist assassin by the name of Zabuza Momochi. And some kid in a mask around our age. I never got to see his face, or his name. And if I had, I would've remembered it forever."

But that didn't mean Sasuke couldn't sense that pain.

Thank God. He doesn't know about Haku.

Of course he doesn't, you idiot. If he did he would've flipped a bitch when he heard Haku's name, Goddammit…

"Naruto, I'm… sorry." He sighed. "You know, if it means anything, I've lost someone dear to me too."

Naruto blinked. He knew that it might not've been a good idea, but his curiosity was suddenly afire.

"Really? Who?"

Sasuke smiled sadly.

"He was… a very dear friend of mine. We were the best of friends, I like to think. But I lost him. I was a coward and I was weak, so I lost him. I didn't deserve him. I'm beginning to think I never did."

Naruto blinked in confusion this time.

"Wait, what? So he's dead?"

Sasuke gazed at the paper in deep thought before writing his answer.

"No, not necessarily, I don't think. I don't think he is." He smiled. "Actually, I know he's not. He's alive and well, in some ways more than others. On some levels, I just can't reach him the way I once did. But I'm sure he's alive." He paused for a moment. "Just like your friend is, Naruto."

Naruto looked down at the paper in shock.

"What do you mean?! He's dead! How can he be still alive?"

Sasuke smiled.

"He's alive because you remember him, Naruto. He's alive because he lives in your memory. To your memory, he is a living, breathing person. Not merely a dead body, right? So…" His smile widened ever so slightly. "He is still alive. Inside you."

Because he's dead on the outside.

"So don't ever forget that, okay? He wouldn't want you to. And…" He sighed softly. "I'm sure your friend would be proud of you, Naruto."

I am.

I always will be.

Naruto…

End Chapter Five – The Chunnin Exams Begin

I believe what Sasuke told Naruto. Perhaps, Sasuke can help Naruto… without being really Sasuke. This was such a sweet chapter to write.

So there is the new chapter. I sincerely hope you aren't all mad and out for my blood right now, but real life – and gaia, sadly enough, -.- – seem to take precedence in my mind.

Dammit.

And I also have a myspace now. (.com/xkissofshadowsx) Look me up and send me an add, if you like. :3

So, thank you all for reading and – though I probably don't deserve it – reviewing. I love you all so much.

I'm going to go tackle my inbox now.

With so much love, ja ne!

DDB: Alive and Well.

For those who still care.