A/N: Many many apologies. A girl once gave me an advice that I should write for my own self and not for others and I really enjoy writing this fic. So, here I am.

CHAPTER NINE: FREEDOM!

A few days passed without much to do. Naruto had told Ino that he was fine now and wouldn't want her help anymore. Due to that, she visited for a small period of time now. He had nothing to do other than lying around and staring out of the window. Tsunade wouldn't let him out of the hospital, not even for a small walk. Sakura hadn't visited after that night and it was Naruto's self control because of which he was still here and not with Sakura with his arms around her small, fragile figure. He had vowed to himself that he will not worry her anymore by seeing her and making her cry, and he was going to keep that promise no matter if it caused him pain. At least she'd be happy and he'll not regret being the one to be the cause of her hurt.

Naruto was way better then the first time he had opened his eyes in this room. He wasn't feeling any pain in his head even though he became exhausted quickly these days but other than that everything was fine.

It was still dark outside, he noticed. He had never woken up this early before. The whether looked perfect and the sudden urge to take a walk outside just to stretch his body a little over powered him and he stood up from the bed.

He took a shower and changed into a light blue shirt and jeans. He took the pills that were resting on the bed side table indicating that he had to take them after breakfast and placed them in his pocket. He knew that if he walked out of the main gates, someone will see him and stop him from leaving. He looked over at the window and a thought crossed his mind. He was ninja and jumping out of a window from third floor wouldn't hurt much.

He sighed and pulled himself up over the windowsill. He looked down; it wasn't high. He took a deep breathe and closed his eyes. He had jumped from extreme heights and it was nothing compared to this. He opened his eyes and jumped.

Just after a few seconds, he was standing perfectly on the ground. A small smile appeared on his lips, he hadn't even made a sound.

The sun was slowly rising. He looked around and was amazed by the fact that the village looked just like he had left it. A wave of freedom washed over him. Staying in that small room the whole day felt like being captured into a cage like a bird.

Even though the whether was colder than he had expected but he didn't care. His blood was flowing fast and warm inside his body. He would have to visit everyone in the village especially the ramen shop. He'd have his breakfast from there and then he'll visit his house. After that he'd start the visits. He smiled; he had so much to do in such a little time.

He remembered the streets all too well of the village. He made his way on the street that led to the ramen shop taking in every detail of the view and surroundings on his way. The organic glow of the morning sun seemed appealing to his eyes.

Soon, he was standing in front of his favorite shop. Luckily it was open but there was no one hanging around there at this early hour.

He sat down on one of the stools in front of the wooden counter. There was a man on the other side, his back at Naruto. He seemed to be cleaning the bowls with a small cloth. He was singing a song that Naruto had never heard. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts because he didn't hear Naruto's sigh.

After a while when all the bowls were cleaned, he turned around and gasped looking at Naruto who smiled.

"Yo." He said softly to the man who was searching his face, still wide eyed. "How has it…" he wasn't able to complete his sentence as the man grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly.

"Is it really you, Naruto?" He wasn't over the shock. Before he could answer, the old man pulled his face towards his chest in a very uncomfortable hug. "I've missed you so much ma boy." Naruto tried to pull away but his hold was too tight. "Why did you take so long to return?"

"Too tight." Naruto managed to mumble and the man let him go smiling sheepishly.

"It's a relief that you're outta that hospital." The man patted his back.

"Well actually…" He looked down at his hands.

"I'll treat you today." He smiled not letting Naruto complete his sentence, "Extra large bowl coming up." And before Naruto could say anything, the man disappeared into the door on the other side of the counter.

Naruto placed his head on the counter, he was feeling tired all of a sudden. It was like all of his energy has been washed out. He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths but that didn't help much. He patted his pocket to check if the medicines were still there, they were. Maybe after taking them he'd feel a little better.

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The ramen was more delicious than his expectations. After taking the medicines, he was feeling a little better now. He was thankful that he didn't have to spend his money on the ramen all because of the generous old man. He waved his goodbye and started his way towards his house. It wasn't far from the shop. So, after a few minutes of walking he was standing in front of his house. He bends down and took out the key from under the pot where he had left it knowing that he'd lose it if he took it with him.

He opened the door slowly and walked inside.

A wave of nostalgia washed over him. The usual smell of his house was still there as it was when he was here two years ago. Those were some good old days. There was nothing to worry about. There was only he, Sakura and Sasuke. He almost missed having to fight with him.

His room was still the same too. It was all cleaned up. Sakura had cleaned it for him before he left. Everything was just like he remembered it to be. It was all untouched. The photo of all three of them with Kakashi was placed on his bed side table. He sat down on the bed making the dust particles to rise but he didn't care. He took the frame in his hand and slowly ran his hand over all of the small faces. That was all he had ever dreamed of, a family.

His best friend, Sasuke, had left him alone in the village. It was still hard for Naruto to believe that he had made this decision for himself. How could Sasuke choose the wrong path? He had always been the sensible type.

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Naruto was soon out of the house knowing that he'd waste his time by spending the whole day in his house.

He was standing on the street thinking about who he want to visit first. Visiting Shikamaru felt like a good option so he made his way towards his house only to be stopped by a gang of three kids.

"Naruto!" one of the kids smiled widely at Naruto before pulling him in an embrace.

"Konohamru?" Naruto asked surprised. "You've changed a lot. You are almost as tall as me!" (A/N: I don't really know the spellings of Konohamaru.)

The boy gave a small laugh and let Naruto go, "But I can never be as good as you."

"You will be." Naruto smiled at him. He then looked at the other two, "You too guys. You've all changed. I can't believe it."

"We're glad that you're back boss." Konohamaru gave a small salute and the other two followed him.

"Yeah me too." Naruto smiled. "There is no need to call me your boss guys. I'm retired." He joked. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"We have a massage to deliver to your girlfriend." Konohamaru answered rolling his eyes. They used to call Sakura Naruto's girlfriend before he had left the village with Jiraya. He didn't mind then but a strange wave of anger washed over him when he thought about Sakura. The anger wasn't at her but was at his own self.

"Look kono… let's not call her my… uh…" Naruto struggled to say the words but he couldn't even though it was a single, simple word.

"Why? Did you breakup-" Konohamaru didn't get to complete his sentence as a girl's voice cut him off.

"Kono?"

Naruto's body stiffened at the sound of the voice.

"I've been looking all over fo…" She stopped as her eyes met his and a small 'oh' escaped her mouth before she looked away and adjusted her gaze at the boy. Her voice was lower than before, "Meet me after you're done."

Without another word, the green eyed girl turned around and left. Naruto's head was feeling dizzy as he stared at the disappearing back of Sakura. He knew that he should start breathing but he couldn't bring himself to.

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A/N: uh… yeah… so… maybe you guys want to kill me now because of the… uh… umm… Abandoning the fic for a little while… I mean, it wasn't really abandoning but uh… Look. I'm sorry guys. Can't you just forgive me?? And I mean ALL of you… including Disgruntled reader AND HelpingHook. I know that I kindda over reacted a bit.

Yeah so… I made my mistakes and I'm really sorry about that. But just remember that I DON'T think that I'm a perfect person or that I know EVERYTHING. I don't want EVERYONE to like/love my story. And I can take criticism and also I love it when some one describes what they observed but it's the WAY you describe it. I don't really mind if someone reviews that he hates my story, no. But if you call me immature and stuff… that really gets on my nerves. Sorry guys. And for those who think that I was being sarcastic in the last A/N… well, I wasn't. I was JOKING not MOCKING. I wasn't insulting anyone. Believe it or not… that's the truth. Come on, don't you guys ever joke around with your friends??!

Anyways, many thanks to Disgruntled reader for correcting my mistakes. (I'm not being sarcastic here.) But no thanks for being successful in making me look like a fool. Anyways, I don't know about you but I think that it's about time that you sign up on this site and become my beta. (Still not being sarcastic, I mean it.) And if you don't want to... that's okay. But you being my beta could prove to be a very fascinating experience and I promise to behave myself. ^___^

AND IF YOU GIVE ME A CHANCE… BELIEVE THAT I CAN CHANGE.