A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I would like to thank those that took the time to comment on my writing style and how I can improve. So, huge thank you to Marshmellowtime and Hyuga09! And I also thank the rest of you for your support too!

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-Part 10-

Locked in Memories

The sun meandered high in the sky, unhindered by clouds, giving its full light to the day. However, in one girl's room, it was dark. The shades were drawn, the curtains tightly pulled, and the door locked. Only a small amount of light burned around the cracks to allow visibility. She was kneeling in the shadows, a chest set in her lap. Her hand lingered at the clasp as if pondering whether it should be opened or not.

I couldn't save you from the start, but could you forgive me for trying again?

She flipped up the metal clasping and lifted the lid. Inside laid the treasures of her childhood. It wasn't much and to another person the items would be deemed worthless, but to her they were priceless. She reached in, carefully pulling out a little yellow whistle on a green string. The translucent plastic was as shiny as the day she put it in the box. It was the same whistle that was taken from her by that group of scornful kids. They insulted her friend, beat her up when she tried to defend him, and ripped it away. Little did they know, as they blew a mocking tune on her toy, that they were calling him. He came running, rescuing her and teaching them a lesson they'd never forget. She still remembered the moment he placed the little whistle back over her neck.

The next treasure was pulled from the chest, a navy blue fan with gold trimming. She slid it open with great care, marveling at the flowers painted across its width like it was the first time she was seeing it. He gave it to her as a birthday present. He looked so happy when she thanked him, enthusiastic as she was. Her hazelnut eyes scanned over the other things. They landed on a tiny glass vial filled with blue sand. That was the day the two companions went crazy with the food coloring they found. Denim still wondered why his pancakes were green that morning. Along their colorful way, he let her mix the blue dye into his sand. With wistfulness, she reached back into the chest. She picked up a book, causing two pressed plants to fall out. One was a red leaf of autumn and another was a light blue morning glory. She had preserved them because they reminded her of how everything was...

When he was with me, everything became more beautiful and every hour we spent together will live in my memory forever.

Her face twisted in a sad smile as she lifted the hard cover of the book. Resting within were pictures. She had secretly 'borrowed' her mother's camera one day and took a massive amount of snapshots of him, herself, and the various things they interacted with. Though most were random and poorly sited, some came out looking rather decent. Especially the one photograph her mother took after she found them with the camera. Thankfully she wasn't mad, she actually saw it as being rather funny and offered to take a 'decent' picture of them together. That one wasn't in the book, but in a frame of its own.

The sad smile fell from her lips as she put the photo album aside and picked up the framed picture. They stood side by side, his arm around her waist and her arms around his shoulders. Their expressions were the embodiment of happy. His smile was blissful and content; hers was cheerful and eager. The beautiful fields of clover spanned out behind them.

When he was sad, I was there to dry his tears and when he was happy so was I. And when he was lonely, I was there to comfort him.

Her lips trembled as she lowered the framed photo. It was amazing how much things had changed. Back then, they couldn't bear to be apart. Back then, she was his world and he was her world. He protected her, she held him, and they kept each other's loneliness away.

I knew that he loved me... back when he loved me...

But now, that time was no more. The friend she knew was gone. She wanted to take his pain, she was willing, but she could not. The shinobi that looked like her companion, with the same red tresses and sea-foam eyes, was anything but. Unlike the friend she once knew, he couldn't care less what happened to her. He tried to kill her with no trace of hesitation. Would he have turned out differently if she had been there when he needed her most? Her eyes snapped shut, holding back the tears threatening to fall.

If only I had been there for you...

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The tenacious shouts of Anna missiled up through the household. Leaving her treasure box in a secure place, Katherine exited her dim room and descended the steps to the first floor. She shuffled awkwardly into the kitchen to see what all the commotion was about.

Anna paced back and forth, vehemently waving her arms as she raved. Mae sat at the table, unbothered, quietly drawing a sketch.

"Where is that closet pervert?" The rubyhead ranted, "He's supposed to be training us! Ya think Ebisu would want us to pass to, ya know, show he's a decent teacher. But no, he's got other students to worry about apparently."

"I'll try an' find him," Katy offered. It would do her good to get her mind off Gaara. Who knows, it might be fun trying to find their peculiar sensei. Like a game of hide and seek.

Katy winced, walking out the door and down the path. Her side still ached now and then, but it was getting better. Now where would Ebisu be? Hide 'n' Seek. She used to play that with... Katy sighed. Between her injury and memories, it was going to be hard to get him out of her head. She walked around the village, her thoughts going to and fro and all over the place. But no matter what, her train of thought kept going back to her Geliebt, who he used to be and who he was now.

It wasn't until much later that she realized she wasn't looking for anyone more than she was aimlessly wandering through Konoha and her thoughts. She stopped somewhere at the edge of the forest, placing her hands on her hips. She was not going to find Ebisu like this. She didn't want to enlist the phantom's help either. Calypso had been very quiet since that night, when it spoke of her Geliebt's metaphorical death. She wouldn't disturb it for something like this, to locate someone she really didn't care to find. She only made the offer for Anna and, knowing the violent girl, she'd find her sensei herself. When she did, Katy knew she'd give the man grief for leaving her hanging. In fact, he'd probably get an unpleasant surprise from her. Katy wouldn't be shocked if Anna somehow glued his hand to his rear. She'd find a prank to make it happen.

Katy perked, hearing the wonderful sound of flowing water. She went towards it, pushing tree limbs and bushes aside. Free of the shrubbery, she stepped out onto a riverbank filled with smooth round stones. The peaceful river was pristine and gave off a pleasant glitter in the sun's glow. Katy took in the sight with a serene sigh. This might make a nice place to train. But, it seemed someone had already claimed the spot for that.

She calmed, seeing it was not a stranger. He stood a little ways down from her at the water's edge, holding a hand sigh and concentrating on his chakra. She watched him curiously, mouth dropping in amazement when he walked out onto the surface of the water like he was walking on solid ground. But as he moved carefully about, one of his feet slipped under the surface and he wobbled before going under with it. His head burst up from the river and he sputtered curses. Astonished, she rushed over and gave her hand to help him out of the water. The blonde boy smiled and she received a quick word of thanks from him.

"What – what were you doing? How?" she asked him, crouching down to where he sat.

"It's part of my training," Naruto replied. "That Pervy Sage went off and left me! He told me to work on this and said he'd be right back!" He crossed his arms and pouted. "He's probably spying on pretty girls again."

"Oh." Katy blinked. "Um, our sensei ditched us too. I was su'posed to be looking for him, but..." She shrugged. "He's nowhere."

"Just our luck, gettin' sensei that don't care." He nodded at her. "So, who's your sensei?"

"Ebisu."

"That closet pervert?" he shouted in surprise. "I bet he's spying on women with Pervy Sage!"

Kat snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. "Ann – Uh, Oreo called him that, I didn't know he was perverted."

"Yup." Naruto grinned knowingly. "I got him with my Harem Jutsu once."

Her eyebrows popped up. "Um, what?"

His blue eyes went wide as he waved his hands in front of him defensively. "Never mind! Forget I said that!"

The brunette stifled her laughter. "It's okay. I won't smack you." I'm not like Sakura. "But try not to be...crude, please."

"Hey, I'm not that bad," he defended as he slumped in relief. He snapped right back up with enthusiasm. "So, are you here to train too?"

She shrugged again. "I guess so."

"Oh, well," He scratched the back of his neck. "Since we're both without a sensei... Why don't we train together? I mean, if you want to."

She didn't notice the color gathering in his face, focusing only on his offer. However, she did detect that she wasn't feeling quite as shy as she usually would. Unfortunately, as soon as she realized that, an uncomfortable timid-ness began creeping back into her heart. "Um, s – sure."

"Great!" Naruto shot up excitedly. "You have awesome ice techniques, right?"

"H – hold on." She stood calmly, stretching above him with her full height. It served to make her feel more awkward. She swallowed, trying to steady her nerves and voice. "Tell me what that was first. How were you walking on the water?"

"It's like the wall climbing jutsu, but harder. Ya got to get the right amount of chakra at your feet or you'll fall through."

"I see." She didn't really. First ninjas could walk up trees and now they could walk across water. Great, that made the water less protective. "Well, how would you like to train?"

His response was to grin and produce rows of shadow clones with one swift hand sign. Quickly, Katy pulled water from the river. It circled her in a ring. All at once, the group of Naruto charged. Her eyes bulged.

Oh, dear...

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Evening flourished, gracing the land with a warm golden gleam. He figured he'd better go check to see how the kid was doing. The sage smirked to himself upon returning to the river.

He hadn't expected to find him with another. He stayed hidden. Well, well. Looks like you found a training buddy, Naruto.

She lashed out with the water, causing the last couple of clones to disappear in a poof of white smoke. She was huffing and puffing but Naruto was still raring to go. He was totally wearing her out. She was a good sport, though, and stuck it out a few more rounds. But finally she plopped down on her bottom, exhausted.

Naruto grinned. "That all you got?"

Katy scowled before smiling mischievously, an idea sparking. "You're too much."

Naruto didn't have time to react before a blob of mud smacked into his torso. He was shocked a first, maybe even a little offended, but once Kat started laughing that smile of his found its way back onto his face. "All right, you asked for it."

Stooping down, he scooped up two handfuls of wet earth. Her laugh cut off as a pensive look crossed her. The blonde bolted forward and her snorts and giggles resounded out once more as he chased her. When he caught up to her, he smeared the mud all over the back of her shirt. They exchanged mudballs, darting around and dodging each other's throws.

Very briefly, the scene changed. The boy in an orange jumpsuit became a boy in a black coat, the mudballs became snowballs, and their laughter became like that of a small child's. A memory unveiled itself in Katy's head. Though the black hood framing his crimson hair and pale face gave him sort of a devilish appearance, it did not stop Katy from comparing him to an angel. Yes, he was the angel. She was just... just a mere girl, nothing special. But with him she was more. She never would have thought that an angel like him would need an unimportant little girl like her. And no one had ever needed her like he did; he treated her like she was his only source of water in the desert of life. She still remembered. That day they all played in the snow, she, him, her cousins, her brother, and her young niece. They all worked together to build that snow slide and the big snowball battle afterwards had been a blast of fun. And he insisted he be on her team, he was always on her side. Always.

She was yanked back into the present by the force of a mudball colliding with the side of her face. She stumbled before tumbling over. Woozily, she sat up, wiping the slug from her cheek.

"Katy!" Naruto rushed to her. "Are you okay? I thought you'd dodge that one. What happened?"

"Uh," She blinked repeatedly at the blonde boy. Blonde, not red. "I, uh... sorry."

He bent down to her level. "Here," he said as he reached and wiped off the rest of the grime with his sleeve.

"Th – thank you," she whispered, feeling a lump developing in her throat. "I'm sorry."

"Whaddya sorry for? I'm the one who should be saying that." Naruto leaned back, sitting cross-legged in front of her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just –" Her right hand roughly gripped her left. "You remind me of a friend I had."

His blue eyes opened in curiosity. "I do? Who is it, who do I remind you of? Someone I know?"

"A friend I had when I was little." She gulped down the tears that were trying to rise up. Her voice went very quiet. "He's gone now..."

Naruto' expression hardened, his tone serious. "What happened, Katy?"

She turned her face away. "I can't say. Anyway... I wasn't paying attention so it's not your fault."

He spoke her name, the sincerity in his voice made her reconnect eye contact. She froze, a deer caught in headlights so bright she could hardly think. The emotion in his eyes, sadness mixed with pleading, was so similar to how Gaara had looked at her all those years ago.

"You can tell me," he said honestly.

No, she thought, I can't. You don't understand and I can't explain it... I don't think I understand it myself.

Realizing she wasn't going to speak, the Uzumaki went on. "After you pulled me from the rapids, when you said I was loved..." He paused, and he seemed to be thinking over something very important. Katy waited on bated breath. "Were you really saying that to me...or to this friend?"

She didn't know why that stung her – maybe because it was true. Naruto was a lot sharper than people gave him credit for.

"I mean, it was kinda weird. People don't usually say stuff like that to someone they just met, right?" He laughed, but his smile steadily slipped off his mouth. "But it meant a lot, you know, even if it was weird and you meant it for your friend. It was something I really needed to hear. I was feeling down on myself that day and I felt like no matter what I did it wouldn't be enough. I felt like I wasn't worth much and when you said that I was able to pick myself back up." His smile returned. "So, thanks."

She was at loss for words. You are loved. Did that one sentence really have that much influence on him? He was like her Geliebt; so different and yet so alike at the same time. Was Naruto treated just as badly as Gaara? She didn't know. She hoped not, she hoped no one else had to go through what her friend did.

"You..." She inhaled deeply, recomposing herself. "I admit, I... You have the same look in your eyes that he did. That... that loneliness. I..." She snapped her eyes shut, locking in her tears. Her face stayed stern, but her voice betrayed and revealed her emotion. "I wanted him to know he wasn't alone, never alone. I loved my friend; I never wanted him to be alone. I wanted him to know he was loved and needed and I," she paused, struggling to keep her voice from breaking, "I wanted to steal all his pain away."

"But," she persisted frantically, "I don't want you to be alone like that either. So I meant what I said, okay? You are loved; I've seen it. From your teammates, your friends. You are. Okay?"

Naruto stared at her like he was in a trance, his eyes wide and jaw slack. Neither of them moved. But soon, that grin of his resurfaced. He was about to say something when he was interrupted by a man's approach. His concentration immediately zoned in on this new person.

Naruto jumped up, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Where have you been you old coot? You're supposed to be training me!"

Katy turned, taking in the appearance of the tall white-haired man. "Hey, is that any way to talk to your teacher? I'll have you know I was doing some very important research."

Naruto wasn't buying it. "Yeah, right! You were just spyin' on women again!"

"Research! It's called research!"

The teacher and student began bickering back and forth. Katy stood slowly, trying not to draw any unwanted attention. "Um, I should be going now. Thanks for the practice, Naruto."

He didn't seem to hear her over the thunderous shouts of the tall man. He went on arguing fiercely with "Pervy Sage" and intermittently accused him of being a lousy teacher. Katy snickered at them and left quietly.

Walking, she thought about what was said, now feeling awkward for being so open with the orange-clad boy. She sighed. Oh well, it was true. She'd have to deal with awkwardness later. Anna was going to kill her when she saw no sign of their sensei. Katy would be lucky if she didn't get chased down with a frying pan. But that wasn't all she was going to have to handle. It was going to be a long night, and she'd probably be lying awake through most of it, trapped in memories she couldn't escape.

She scrunched her fingers into fists. Even if she sought to, even if she tried, she would not be able to forget him. It would be particularly bad at night when she was alone, when it was just she and her thoughts. Locked in her mind, she couldn't escape the memories.

Two steps I take, getting closer and closer to leaving it behind,

Yet one more breath I take... sends me further back.

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A/N: What do you think of Katy at this point in time? Are things getting too melodramatic? Is Naruto in character?

Please feel free to deposit your answers in a review. It will be very much appreciated. In the next chapter things will start rolling again!

Thanks for reading!