Edit- I huge thank you to my new beta angstkitten for helping me out with this chapter. Three cheers!
Wild guess I m going to say you guys didn't like last chapters closing line course im just basing this on the threats from the reviewers lol. Chillax people its here u can breath easy! But hey nothing shows flattery and affection then threatening to bodily harm me for the slow updates :)
(im beginning to understand why these profiles are anonymous
Oh and I just want to send a special thanks to one of my reviewers:
Phantomhobbitses, I close to crying when u wrote that. Thank you so much you have no idea how much that means to me, it's true what I hate it when people choose to do nothing. I couldn't think of a way to really thank you so I figured the next best thing was to dedicate this chapter to you and hope my words can help other people the way you helped Andrew.
So chapter 10 of Sticks and Stones is dedicated to Phantomhobbitses for standing up and fighting back. Thank you, I wish there were people like you in the world.
New fanart from Emi Sue please check out her art- at deviantart -name: bunnyblu
http://bunnyblu. you know the drill-if u cant link it here look on the bottom of my profile and click the weblink. Other then that? Enjoy!! And don't steal my work please!
Sticks and Stone
Chapter 10-The difference of quantity and quality
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Paranoia strike deep
Into you life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line the man will come and take you away
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The next day, Naruto was not in his first period class.
He was not in second or third period.
He had never come to school.
When lunchtime rolled around Chouji had laughed it off, claming it really didn't bother him that much; in fact, he had predicted this was going to happen. Of course, after he said this, Chouji dumped the sub his father made in the garbage and was silent for the rest of the period.
Shikamaru was also unusually quiet, except for the occasional "troublesome," that slipped from his mouth once in awhile. When he had gotten home yesterday, Shikamaru had looked up some information online. It turned out there was only one official running who would allow same sex marriage in their state, and the election was in six weeks. Even Shikamaru was willing to admit he wanted Naruto there. When he saw Naruto fight back he was shocked, when he saw Naruto yelling at 'Stuart' he was intrigued, and when Naruto cried in his arms he felt guilty. But it was only after seeing what Naruto did for his best friend that he couldn't help but admire the kid for doing that for someone who had tortured him for the last three years. So why was he so surprised that Naruto had skipped out on them?
Last of all, Sasuke sat stiffly in his seat, his eyes narrowed in on the side door to the cafeteria, for the entire period. When the bell finally rang to end lunch, to say Sasuke was pissed off was a bit of an understatement. He let his anger stew inside of him, each moment the minute hand moved the rage grew and grew. To blow them off like that, after he had promised. Promised! Always keep his promises? What a load of bullshit.
By the end of the day, Sasuke was pissed beyond words. When the last bell rang he nearly kicked over the desk to get to the door. Shikamaru and Chouji followed behind their friend without any protest. He roughly pushed off some girls who tried to talk to him, stormed past the school's gate, and blindly rammed his way into the large crowds. It took them less then ten minutes to reach the brick building. Shikamaru and Chouji were the only ones who noticed the neon lights were shut off. Sasuke was too busy throwing the steel door open with enough force for it to slam into the bricks to chip off a large part of the wall.
Yep. Pissed was a bit of an understatement.
"Where's Naruto!" He stormed through the hallway and opened the second doorway, not knowing what he was going to do or what to expect when he did see the orange clad boy. He did not, however, expect to see the blurring image of a man in a green jumpsuit upside down.
Gai was dangling upside down with his feet hooked on a bar above the doorframe, doing rapid sit-ups while shouting at the top of his lungs. "1309…1310…1311…" He stopped momentary when he spied the three boys standing in the doorway. With a blinding grin he gave the boys a thumps up, which looked like a thumps down by the way, and called out to them. "ONLY 689 MORE SIT-UPS AND NARUTO WILL NOT BE SENT AWAY!"
From behind him Kakashi poked his head around to roll his eye and nodded wearily to Gai "Ok Gai, you keep it up." He motioned for the boys to duck under and follow him into the bar area with a light sigh. "Just ignore him, he gets like that when he's nervous."
Upon entering the room, eight adults looked up simultaneously from various parts of the room. People were either sitting slumped over or leaning heavily against a wall. The entire atmosphere gave off the sense of despair and anxiety. No one was drinking or fighting, and no one was smiling. Kakashi abandoned the boys in favor of sitting down next to his best friend, Iruka, and giving him a light kiss on the cheek before pulling him into a hug. Iruka did not respond but sat quietly staring at the blank TV screen.
The boys stood awkwardly off to the side not exactly sure what was going on, until Chouji finally cleared his voice and asked, "Where's Naruto?"
"Upstairs," Asuma answered, but shook his head when they started towards the door that lead to the stairs. "You can't go up there, kid."
"Why not, did he tell you to say that? I'm going to kick that scrawny ass of his! HE PROMISED-" Sasuke was stopped short was a heavy hand fell on his shoulder pulling him away from the door. He looked up to see Ibiki's disapproving eyes watch him.
"He's with a social worker. No one's allowed up there right now."
"Social worker?"
Jiraiya ran a hand through his already messy hair and sighed deeply, closely resembling a lion's growl. "Every so often they evaluate his progress and determine if he's better off here or back at the orphanage."
A low voice tumbled from behind Jiraiya and answered the next question before they even considered it. "We're not allowed up there, part of the regulation. He has to be questioned by himself so we can't influence what he says." Tsunade turned and stared longingly at the bar, wishing she could just have a sip to calm her nerves.
"So he promised you?" They turned to see Genma sitting stiffly on the barstool. He moved the needle to the other side of his lips and continued in a gruff voice to keep the emotion out. "That actually makes a lot of sense. Normally he doesn't try to get out of these, but yesterday he kept trying to get them to change the schedule."
"That's his motto, right?" Iruka's voice rose shakily from the sofa, with his head between his hands, massaging it gently. "Never go back on his promises."
To the boys' horror, the older man let out a long wail and started to cry. Kakashi pulled him closer and started to rub his friend's back in a circular motion, trying to sooth him. "Iruka you need to calm down, they've never taken him away before, right?"
"But it's him! He hates Naruto! They live to torture each other."
"Everyone hates Naruto at first." Everyone in the room turned and glared at Anko for her blunt statement, and she answered with her own fierce glare. "What? Don't look at me like that! I'm saying that at first they hate him. He's part of the family now." Her eyes softened slightly, though it was hard to tell before she shook her head. "Besides, you're severely underestimating the kid. We've all experienced firsthand how Naruto can lie, cheat, and blackmail if it means getting what he wants." That brought a few smiles on their faces, except for Iruka.
"Come on, calm down a little. Here, let's watch another video." Iruka nodded mutely and pointed to the next video stacked on the pile. Kakashi turned it over and nodded in approval. "His first birthday with us, it is." He walked over and placed the tape inside and pressed play. The other adults were almost pulled magnetically towards the TV, each finding his or her own place with a good view. Sasuke slowly slid down in the seat next to Iruka and pressed his knees tightly together.
The screen went blank for a minute, and buzzed before picking up to reveal a black screen, with green numbers at the top establishing that the camera was playing, yet nothing could be seen.
Sasuke squinted at the screen waiting for something to happen, after a few seconds he asked, "Is it broken?" which was responded to with a collage of shushes.
The lens was abruptly pulled away revealing a bright blue eye that blinked and then moved closer again until the TV was once again shrouded in darkness. A tiny giggle was heard as the camera was pulled away but this time it traveled down lower to record a grinning mouth with black lines starting at the corners just above the tan dimples. The mouth opened and revealed a tongue that wiggled and waved to its audience, then the camera traveled slowly into the mouth causing the lens to fog up, and another laugh was heard.
Suddenly in a flash the face disappeared, orange and black whirled together as the camera tumbled to the ground and landed with a thump. "I'm sorry Iruka! I'll fix it! I'm really sorry!" Tiny shoes came in view along with a tiny scrap of orange shirt. The shoes vanished as steady hands straitened out the lens giving them a brief view of the room that was filled with streamers and balloons. The camera moved again and for a second they could see the ending of a banner that read, in bright orange lettering, '-thday Naruto!!'
"Don't worry Naruto, it's fine, see? You dropped it on the carpet, no harm done." A kind voice responded, a dark shape flickered over the lens wiping away any smudges. It was then flipped around so that Iruka's face came in view and then he lowered it down.
"Smile." Naruto and Iruka's faces squeezed together to fit on the small screen. Naruto was much younger looking, around ten. He smiled broadly into the camera causing his scars to stretch evenly across his face, his eyes were tightly squeezed closed, and that made his nose wrinkle up. Iruka's head was tucked snuggly into the crook of Naruto's neck, and he too grinned at the camcorder, but more relaxed with his eyes shut lightly.
After some time Iruka nudged Naruto on the side and said, "Let's save the batteries a little, ok?"
"Ok!" Naruto responded immediately; it was hard to miss the admiration and fondness shining in his voice.
The screen was black again.
It buzzed until the darkened screen started to take in a few shapes. If you looked closely, you could just barely make out a table crowded with people. At the head was a tiny figure compared to the rest. Just as the video started to adjust to the dark room it abruptly pulled in a different direction.
"Let me hold it," a voice whispered and the screen moved again.
"No, I got it," a gruff female voice commanded, the other voice grumbled in response.
"You ready Naruto?"
The small figure waved at the video camera and shouted, "Ya-Ya! Bring it on!" The adults chuckled at his hyper active response.
"One. Two. Three." A small amount of light started to filter in casting shadows on the walls. They could dimly make out a young Naruto sitting at the head of the table surrounded by the other adults who then began to sing.
"Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear-"
"MY CAKE'S ON FIRE!"
Everyone in the room froze as Naruto leaped out of his seat and pointed at the birthday cake. He looked around as if he couldn't believe no one had noticed it.
"SOMEONE SET MY CAKE ON FIRE!"
Sasuke nearly choked on his own spit as he looked around and saw the others were also trying to suppress their own laughter. Sasuke grinned and turned back to the TV. On the screen Asuma was the first one to recover. He raised a useless hand and motioned to the cake. "No, wait Naruto, it's suppose-"
Naruto either didn't hear or understand what Asuma was trying to say; he was franticly searching the table for something as the adults sat stunned in their seats. Naruto finally found what he was looking for and held Jiraiya's glass of water tightly in his hand. "WE GOT TO PUT IT OUT!"
That woke up everyone from the daze in horror. They all jumped from their spots and reached out to grab the blond boy before he could leap across the table to douse the cake. "NO NARUTO, DON'T!" The camera was abruptly shoved away causing the screen to become static until it suddenly overcame the entire screen with a low buzz. Genma reached over and turned the TV off
The silence stretched on as everyone continued to stare at the blank screen even though the imagine had long faded away. The three young adolescents sat, a little ruffled, all harboring the same thought. "This is what Naruto should be like all the time. Not the emotionless kid who sits in the back, or gets his head dunked daily in the toilet." Compared to the innocent ten-year-old, the cold, impassive Naruto was pitiful.
A choked sob brought everyone back to reality. Iruka was leaning forward and pressing his hands tightly into his eyes. Kakashi rubbed soothing circles on his back, mumbling comforting words. Sasuke was left useless, sitting on the other side watching a grown man fall apart. In the back of his mind he knew he should say or do something but in the end it's not his problem, right? Getting involved would only cause problems and the matter really was out of his hands.
Funny how a person's mind can change sometimes, because in the end all it took was for Iruka to utter seven words that changed Sasuke's mind. A single sentence that forced Sasuke to jump up from his spot and sprint to the open bar. Shikamaru and Chouji were still seated, they had not heard what Iruka said, as their friend dodged the adults and ducked under the bar to the steel door. They quickly followed before the adults could respond and try to keep up with Sasuke. Iruka made no move to follow them, so everyone else remained in the room with a new worry burdening their hearts. Iruka wiped a tear that escaped from the seal of his eye and leaned closer to Kakashi. He softly repeated the words again.
"I don't want to lose my son."
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Chouji and Shikamaru raced up the stairs taking two at a time, trying to catch up with Sasuke. When the three of them paused to catch their breath from the three flight sprint, they were now standing in front of apartment 11C. They looked nervously at each other, unsure of what to do. Stepping closer Shikamaru placed an ear against the wooden frame and motioned the others to do the same. Within the walls they could hear two muffled voices arguing. Feeling a bit braver, Sasuke let his fingers brush against the cool metal knob, before wrapping his hand tightly around it and giving the door a tiny shove. It slid open without a sound, allowing the muffled voices to become clearer, the boys edged their way in and started walking quietly down the hall, following the voices.
"Get it over with closet pervert, you've already taken up most of my day." Sasuke stopped short at the sound of Naruto's voice, causing Chouji to collide his back. They were in front of Naruto's room.
The second unidentified voice stuttered before speaking with a snotty tone. "You will treat me with respect and call me by my proper name- Ebisu!"
This was followed by an undignified snort. "If it's respect you want, start by respecting me!"
The boys peeked out from their spot on the wall with just enough vision to see Naruto standing strong, with his arms crossed on his chest. The other person moved, giving the boys a view of a tall, gangly man, dressed in all black with a bandana and dark glasses.
The man pushed his dark shades upward with his middle finger so they rested delicately on the bridge of his nose. In his hand he held a clipboard and pen which he used to check something off once in a while. He looked down at the arrogant blond and smirked. "I see your grades are still low." With a grand swoop he checked off something on the clipboard. Naruto made a sound of protest in the back of his throat but the man ignored him and continued to speak. "Clearly you are not adapting to the environment. Also you have not joined any after school activities; this may show that you're not attempting to socialize."
Naruto face grew red and he sputtered, "I'm busy after school! I don't have time for stupid clubs or sports! Besides, the other social workers said that stuff didn't matter as long as I don't fight in school! Check my record, I've never thrown a single punch or started any fights!" Naruto smiled victoriously as if the battle had been won but Ebisu just laughed.
"Yes, well, I'm not like the other social workers. I like to see improvement. And even though I applaud the fact you have not fought in school, with that nasty temper of yours, if there is not enough improvement to prove that this is the right setting for you, then maybe you really are better off back at the agency."
Naruto froze after these words, as did Shikamaru, Chouji, and Sasuke. Sasuke's breath got caught in his throat and he unintentionally gripped the wall tighter, with his eyes still trained on Naruto. It made sense, all those times he could have fought back, but he wouldn't.
Not because he was weak or afraid of getting hurt, but because he had something that could be lost; something he had to protect.
Sasuke felt Chouji tug on his sleeve and knew his friend had just put everything together as well. He glanced back to see Shikamaru watching with narrowed eyes and tight lips.
He turned back to see Naruto shaking like a newborn deer; he was staring at the man with such fear and despair. Seeing Naruto frightened over the threat was like a slap in the face. In the brief time they had known the real Naruto, not once had the boy let them have any power of fear over him. But now, standing in his bedroom with blankets and pillows thrown carelessly on the floor, they saw the weak, self-conscious part of Naruto, too frightened to even speak in fear that he might be sent away from his guardian; something Sasuke never want to see again.
Naruto finally composed himself and took a long shaky breath, then let it out slowly. The man looked like the cat that ate the canary as he leaned down to the frightened boy and pushed his glasses up again with his middle finger. "So, tell me Naruto, how many friends do you have? And I don't mean the adults from downstairs. They hardly qualify as mature as it is."
"I-," Naruto hesitated; he was still a little uneasy from Ebisu's statement but answered back in a confident tone that made Sasuke proud. "I have friends."
The man tilted his head as if he could see right through Naruto's lie and smirked knowingly. "Really? Real friends, that is? You know imaginary ones don't count."
Naruto scrunched up his nose and narrowed his eyes. "They're real!"
"Then what are their names?"
This question clearly took him by surprise as Naruto shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot, trying to buy time. "Names?"
The man sighed irritably but secretly enjoying the boy discomfort. "Yes. You know, names; that by which they are called."
Naruto hesitated for a long moment. He shuffled his feet around and played with his jacket's zipper. He finally looked back at the man's dark rimed glasses and pronounced each name slowly with much consideration. "Chouji, Shikamaru, and Sasuke."
Sasuke's mouth dropped open when he heard his name, and from the look on his friends' faces they were clearly surprised that Naruto had chosen them as well. He could have lied or chosen a random name, why did he pick theirs? Was he being serious, or were those the only names he could come up with at the moment? As Sasuke wondered this, he nearly missed what Ebisu said next.
"And they're real, you say?"
"I already told you!"
"Yes. Three, it seems; not a lot if you think about it." Ebisu clucked his tongue in disapproval trying to word his next question. "Am I to assume they are normal? What do you do when they're around?"
"We hang out after school." Sasuke couldn't help but notice that Naruto didn't mention how during that time spent after school he had beaten the shit out of the three boys. Naruto sucked in his cheek and tried desperately to come up with something else that would please the man. "They slept over one time," Naruto muttered. He missed a flicker of emotion that played across Ebisu's face when he said that and continued on. "We were supposed to eat lunch today." Naruto's voice lowered after that as he sadly stared at the floor before turning accusing eyes on Ebisu and snarled, "It's your fault I had to break my promise; they're probably mad at me now!"
Sasuke knew he should say something now or at least let them know he was there, but he found himself unable to. He was still struck dumb that Naruto acknowledged him as a friend and wanted to eat lunch with them. Turns out he didn't have to say anything, because it was Chouji who stepped out from behind the wall and waved to the shocked man in black and the even more startled Naruto. He smiled and dragged Shikamaru out in the open with him. "Hey, Naruto."
Strangely enough Naruto's face resembled a fish as he stared at the two boys. With a nonchalant attitude Sasuke stepped out from behind the wall as well and nodded at Naruto.
"What the hell!" Ah, it seemed Naruto regained his ability to speak.
"You didn't come to lunch," Sasuke said plainly, as if that answered everything.
A brief emotion flittered across his face before it was replaced with panic, he took a step forward and gently pushed Chouji away from Ebisu. "Listen, you guys need to leave, just wait downstairs or something." He grabbed Shikamaru's elbow and tried to direct him to the door as well, and he looked up at Sasuke unable to force him outside with two occupied hands and gave him a pleading look. Sasuke tried to rule out his choices. Obviously Naruto was afraid they'd blow his cover and was trying to nicely tell them to get the hell out of there but from what Sasuke had seen the boy was clearly frightened of Ebisu and the power he had over Naruto. Even as Naruto's eyes begged him he didn't budge, this caused a soft mocking voice to rise from behind Naruto.
"How interesting."
Naruto's pleading eyes narrowed in disgust as he twisted to see Ebisu's loathing grin. With his hands still holding on to Shikamaru and Chouji he called back over his shoulder. "You say something, closet pervert?" Ok, maybe Naruto wasn't as afraid of the man as Sasuke first thought. That, or he was just plain stupid.
"Stop calling me that, you insolent delinquent!" he sputtered out before composing himself, and smiled coldly enough to cause shivers to run down their backs. "I was just thinking how Iruka's sexual preferences have already been established, but perhaps he's rubbed off on you as well." His smile turned sour as he nodded to Naruto's hands that still held onto Chouji and Shikamaru's sleeves.
"What are you saying?"
"Simply that you seem to prefer the company of boys to girls." Naruto's hands quickly retreated from the boys' arms as he stared in disbelief at Ebisu. He continued on while watching Naruto uncomfortably avoid his so-called friends' eyes. "And besides, a child raised in a same sex marriage will only understand that type of relationship; a gay family can only raise a gay child."
Sasuke watched as Naruto's face contracted in anger, his muscles tensed, but then suddenly relaxed with ease. He mimicked Ebisu's twisted smile and laughed to their amazement. "Oh, sure, because straight families only produce straight kids, right?" With an undignified snort Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, taking a similar stance as he had when facing Coach Buddha. "Asshole, don't you ever try to disrespect Iruka or any of my family like that."
Ebisu's face clouded in anger when his words took no affect on Naruto, time to pull out the big guns. "Listen to me, Naruto." The blond boy looked up in surprise, he had never actually heard Ebisu use his real name before. The man spoke slowly and used no sweet words to shield Naruto from the harsh truth. "They are not your family, they will never be your family. Get that through your mind already."
A look of helplessness flashed across Naruto's face before it was replaced with confidence and certainly. "You're lying! If I can get enough people to vote for same sex marriage then Iruka and Kakashi will adopt me! Everyone else downstairs said they'd sign to be my legal aunts and uncles, too. It's not impossible; I can do it!"
Ebisu shook his head tiredly. "Naruto you know it won't pass, everyone downstairs knows this as well, they just want to spare your feelings." Naruto violently shook his head, as if to ward off the words but Ebisu spoke slowly, making sure every word penetrated the boy. "Naruto, a word to the wise. Here is the truth about the truth: it hurts, so we lie."
Naruto's arms, that had been crossed confidently across his chest, squeezed tighter around his form, until it appeared to be the only thing holding him together. He shut his eyes and breathed in slowly, until his body relaxed in an unusual way. When he finally opened his eyes he was no longer staring at Ebisu or any of them, instead he seemed to be much farther away. Sasuke felt a deep chill run down his spine, this was the Naruto that he was sickly familiar with. The same emotionless, unresponsive boy that he would shove into lockers and give swirlies to.
He looked up to see Ebisu even more pissed off than when Naruto called him names or made some snippy remark. The angry man stepped forward and tightly grabbed Naruto's arms and forced him to look straight into his eyes; still nothing. "I see how it's going to be. You're just going to put on that act like every time you don't want to hear the truth."
When Naruto gave no response, Ebisu growled darkly and started shaking the boy like a rag doll. "You spoiled, ungrateful, brat! Always breaking rules and letting emotions rule over you; you're pathetic to watch." He finally let go and Naruto stared at him impassively as if his words meant nothing at all. "Oh, but why should I be the only one to enjoy your little Gandhi act!" Ebisu snapped and turned to the three boys and let them in on one of his favorite blackmail materials on the young blond. "He can hear everything you say, so you just need to push the right buttons."
The boys said nothing but stood next to the silent boy and watched the ongoing war between Naruto and Ebisu commence. Sasuke seriously doubted the man could break through. After three years of unrelenting torture, what could this man possibly say to get a reaction out of the dulled-eyed boy?
With a snarl, Ebisu turned back to Naruto and tried to think of something that would get a rise out of the boy; something personal that caused self-doubt. The first step in action was to strike the boy's pride. "Naruto, what's the point in all your effort? No one listens, anyway. It's time to wake up. Dreams are flimsy little wishes you make until you grow up and realize the world gets in the way of your little fantasy."
Naruto's face remained carefully blank and betrayed nothing. Ebisu inwardly cursed himself, he should have known the boy would never admit his doubts out loud. Maybe it was time to use something Naruto feared worse then losing his guardians. He inched closer searching for any type of reaction as he asked in a sly voice, "So Naruto, tell me, have you received anymore letters from your father?"
There! Naruto's fingers curled in to a fist but his eyes remained blank. But it wasn't enough, not enough to push the boy over the edge. Ebisu glanced around and his eyes landed on the pile of blankets and pillows Naruto used as a makeshift bed. "Ah, I see you still sleep on the floor, just as you did as a child. Just like a little fox."
The light suddenly filtered back in Naruto's eyes, he shoved Ebisu away from him and screamed, "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
"And there it is." Ebisu smiled coyly as the three boys stared in shock at the fuming blond. They felt it before Naruto made a move, with a six sense Chouji and Shikamaru each grabbed a hold of Naruto's arms as the boy nearly leaped across the room to tear Ebisu's eyes out. It wasn't enough. Naruto clawed and scratched his dull fingernails against their raw skin trying to escape. It took all their strength just to hold onto him, and even that wasn't enough to keep Naruto from dragging them, slowly, inch by inch, closer to Ebisu. Sasuke quickly set to work by wrapping his arms around Naruto's waist to keep him anchored, he slammed Naruto's struggling body against his own, and held on tightly. The thrashing boy didn't even notice the added weight. He was still cursing and screaming at Ebisu, who had wisely put some distance between them.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I HATE YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"
Ebisu was obviously not disturbed by the outburst, in fact, he chuckled and sauntered over to the struggling boy to flick him on his forehead, causing Naruto to halt in his yelling but he still struggled to escape their grip. "Ah, such aggression, not much has changed, has it, Naruto? You're still the same child who wouldn't sleep on top of his bed, only hide underneath. Do you remember when you told me why you did that? You told me monsters are supposed to sleep under the bed, not on top of it."
All Naruto's thrashing and biting came to a screeching halt. The boys were so surprised they almost fell over. Naruto didn't notice, he was still staring at Ebisu with an unreadable look in his eyes. He finally looked away and stared wordlessly at the ground.
They could feel Naruto trembling, Chouji and Shikamaru could feel the vibration of his arms through their grip. Sasuke had his front plastered against Naruto's back and could feel the boy curl into himself in a final act of desperation. Naruto slumped down, making it hard for Sasuke to hold him, but he clamped his hands tighter trying to keep him stable. Naruto's lips were moving but no words were coming out. Sasuke twisted his head and rested his head on Naruto's back so he could hear Naruto's soft unspoken words.
"Stop it. Just leave me alone. Please just leave me alone."
Ebisu smiled wickedly and leaned forward. "What's that, Naruto? I can't quite hear you, you must speak up or no one will know what you want."
He was shoved away not by Naruto but by Chouji, who forcibly put distance between the man and the overwhelmed boy. Using his weight as an advantage, Chouji tried to block Naruto from sight and glared at the bewildered man who had apparently forgotten they were there. "Leave him alone."
Shikamaru also released Naruto's arm and stepped in front of him as if to block any verbal attack the man might try. "Don't talk to him that way."
Naruto had sunken lower in Sasuke's grip so he was able to nudge his head so it rested comfortably on the smaller boy's shoulder joint. When he talked he could feel Naruto relax in his embrace but still made no move to speak, so Sasuke spoke for him. "You're the one who's sick. You're a social worker. You're supposed to help kids like Naruto, not treat them like animals."
The entire room fell silent as Ebisu turned his narrowed eyes to the three boys. Shikamaru broke the tension by sighing and shoving his hands deep into his pockets, he stepped closer to Naruto and leaned on him. "What a drag. Hey, adult, if he's doing bad in school I'll start helping him with his studies; he'll improve."
Feeling courageous after his friend's offered to volunteer, Chouji voiced his own opinions. "As for an after school activity, he's involved in politics. That should count as some sort of activity."
Ebisu face grew red with rage as he pushed his dark glasses closer and sputtered out. "True, but the side he has chosen is certainly not proper nor appropriate!"
Chouji pictured Naruto standing in the middle of that crowd handing out flyers with a smile and singing to get their attention. With that image, Chouji felt more confident as he leaned over and let his hand rest on Naruto's elbow when he spoke. "Does the side really matter? Do you have the right to decide if what he believes is right or wrong?"
Ebisu had nothing to say to that, his lips twisted with disgust but no words came out, there was nothing he could respond with that wouldn't bind him to legal terms.
"We'll be Naruto's friends." Sasuke shifted his arms to get a better hold on Naruto, who was still trying to suppress any tears from coming out. "It doesn't matter if there is only three of us, it's not about quantity it's about quality. It's better to have a few real friends then a million fake ones." Sasuke's sharp eyes locked onto Ebisu, and for a moment the man seemed to shrink under the piercing gaze. "Don't you agree?"
Ebisu said nothing, and with an unreadable expression, he pushed past the four boys and headed towards the door, the evaluation complete. Still, he was unable to stop himself from turning around once more and watching as Sasuke hugged Naruto tightly to him, while Shikamaru was gently talking to him, and Chouji shaking him a little to get his attention. Ebisu pushed his glasses to cover his eyes and mumbled to himself, "Maybe I was wrong about you, Naruto Uzumaki."
With that, he closed the door and made his way to the stairs, mentally preparing himself for the dreaded speech he would have to give the adults downstairs.
Back inside the room, the boys were still trying to snap Naruto out of his traumatized state. As horrible as it sounded, Sasuke wished he could just slap Naruto. It was killing him to see the boy in such a weak state but he knew from past experience physical violence was not the way to go. Instead he tried to calm the boy down with soothing words.
"Naruto, look, he's gone. It's alright now."
Naruto was sucking in as much air as possible in tiny gasps, trying desperately to suppress the lump caught in the depths of his throat. He scrunched up his eyes and was able to squeeze out the one thought that was processing through his head in a shaky breath.
"Why does he always have to bring up that son of a bitch?"
The boys said nothing, just watched in silence as Naruto bit his lips and tried to calm himself down by breathing in through his nose. He reopened his eyes and stared at his carpet, his words laced with venom. "He's not my father! Iruka is my father! Kakashi is my father! Jiraiya is my father! Ibiki is my father! Asuma is my father! Hayate is my father! Genma is my father! Gai is my father! Anko is my father! Tsunade is my father!" Sasuke was sure Naruto was just ranting now, he probably wasn't even aware of who he was talking, to as long as he could talk.
"They should be my family, not him! They were the first ones to care, they took away that thought, that feeling that I am not needed by anyone in this world. I don't want to go back! They want me here, they told me they wanted me. So why can't I stay? Iruka promised he'd adopt me! He promised he'd be my dad." Naruto seemed to run out of breath, he limply bowed in Sasuke's embrace and stared at the carpet yet not really seeing it. He unconsciously raised his hands and touched his bangs before tugging his roots sharply and painfully. Chouji felt a little worried and tried to gently unhook Naruto's fingers from his tangled hair, but Naruto shook his head, tugging his hand as well as Chouji's out of his hair. He seemed to have regained his speech as well as anger.
"But not him! Never him! That man, he's not my father! Fathers don't do that to their sons. Fathers don't do this." Naruto's hand slid down and clenched his stomach and bowed down to protect it. Without hesitation, Sasuke reached down and placed his own hand on top of Naruto's to stop him from hurting himself. Naruto twisted his head in surprise, as if he just realized who else was in the room. He stared into Sasuke's eyes, there noses brushing lightly against one another.
He asked Sasuke an honest question. "It's not something fathers do when they love you, right?"
Sasuke was unsure of what Naruto was saying but he could see the boy was depending on his words, he suspected at this moment if he truly wanted to, he could crush the boy with a few short words. Naruto's eyes pleaded with him, begging for some sort of response, he looked so sad, slumped over, his hand still painfully clutching his stomach. Sasuke finally answered the question. "Just because your not related to everyone downstairs doesn't stop them from being you family."
Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment before nodding slowly with a tiny sigh, and looked away from the raven boy. He stared at the floor with a tired smile and whispered, "I need to sit down."
"Ya sure, let me just-" Too late, Naruto was already sinking to his knees unwillingly dragging Sasuke down with him. They landed with an awkward 'thump' with Naruto sitting on top of Sasuke's crossed legs and the boy's arm still wrapped around Naruto's hand and stomach. From above Shikamaru and Chouji both chuckled as the boys tried to detach themselves without much success, both of their faces were red in embarrassment.
"Dobe, get off!"
"Shut up, bastard! My legs are caught!"
Chouji and Shikamaru offered no help, both felt slightly relived as they watched the two boys struggle and curse each other out. Their fun was abruptly ended when the front door was nearly knocked off its hinges and the adults from downstairs started pushing their way in. With a grand swoop Naruto was lifted off the stunned Sasuke and put into a headlock by Jiraiya.
"You sneaky little brat! How the hell did you pull that off?"
Naruto mumbled something, but it was lost due to the fact that Jiraiya's side was blocking his mouth and nose He was knocked loose by Iruka, who wrapped his arms around Naruto and lifted him from the ground. "Naruto, you did it! I can't believe you did it!"
Naruto's world spun round as faces turned blurry, he blinked and tried to concentrate solely on Iruka's overjoyed smile. "What?"
"He gave permission for you to stay another year." Iruka furrowed his brows together and asked, "Didn't he tell you?"
Anko tugged Naruto away from Iruka who fondly bopped him on the head with a wide smile. "Who cares, Naruto gets to stay! This calls for a party!"
"YES WE MUST CELEBRATE OUR YOUTH THOUGH MUSIC AND DRINKS!"
Everyone turned to the shouting man and gave him a look, and Kakashi narrowed his eye. "Ok, no alcohol for Gai."
"Agreed," everyone, even the three forgotten boys, said simultaneously.
Kakashi cocked his head and stared at Naruto. "Seriously though, I thought you two hated each other. How'd you convince him?"
Everyone turned to look curiously at Naruto who opened and closed his mouth before smiling and scratching the back of his head absentmindedly. "Well, you know, just offered to give him Jiraiya's new book before it hits the shelf."
Jiraiya took on a perverted gleam, he gleefully started to rub his hands together and a tiny amount of drool rolled down his lips. "If that's the case, I should be crunching in some more 'research' time."
Tsunade smacked him over the head and started shouting. "You perverted oaf! Any excuse to spy on women!"
"Hey, don't be so harsh! Anything to ensure Naruto's future, right?"
Everyone started filing out, chatting and generally roughhousing to get out the door first, but Kakashi waited behind a little. He reached over and ruffled Naruto's untidy hair, before shoving his hand back in his pocket and closing his eye in happy smile. "I'm proud of you, son." With that he followed the line out the door and draped a loose hand around Iruka's shoulder.
Naruto stared at the closed door with a bewildered face before breaking out into a huge grin and touching the top of his head where Kakashi's warm hand had been moments before. The boys watched Naruto's smile and felt certain uneasiness. Sasuke cleared his throat to catch the distracted boy's attention. "We should get going."
The smile vanished from Naruto's face and was replaced with a confused and baffled expression. "You're leaving?"
Shikamaru nodded and buttoned up the three buttons that had come undone during the commotion. "Ya, got to go home and eat, or else Mom will be pissed."
Chouji offered a smile at the lost boy. "See you at school, ok? This time you better come to lunch." Naruto nodded slightly and watched as they walked down the hallway to the front door.
"Wait!" They stopped and turned to see Naruto with a dismayed expression. He quickly caught up with them and started talking extremely loud and fast. "Um, everyone usually brings what they can and, um, we always have lots of leftovers. So I thought, since I didn't have lunch this doesn't count as dinner it counts as lunch and, um, I said I would eat with you guys." Naruto glanced up but then quickly looked back towards the ground and shuffled his feet around before a light blush coated his cheeks. "But, I mean, if you want to leave that's alright too, I just thought you might be hungry."
The boys said nothing, and stared at Naruto as he fidgeted under their gaze. As the seconds ticked by, Naruto started to feel more and more like an idiot for asking such a stupid question. Just because they got him out of a tight situation doesn't mean they liked him or actually wanted to be his friend. Naruto's chest tightened as he wondered how much of Ebisu's conversation they had heard. After a moment, Naruto finally looked back up to take back his offer, but Chouji beat him to it.
"Good, I'm starving!" Sasuke nodded along with Shikamaru and watched as Naruto stared wide eyed at them before turning around and marching off to the kitchen and called back, "I've got to bring my share down."
As Naruto turned the corner, Sasuke could just barely make out the upturned corners of Naruto's mouth pulled back in a smile. They followed dutifully after him and watched as Naruto open a shelf to reveal an entire cabinet stuffed with instant ramen.
Shikamaru openly stared at the cases as they tumbled out and landed in a pile. He scooped up one that fell on the floor and checked the nutrition value. "So this is your idea of a healthy food balance?"
Naruto snatched the case out of Shikamaru's hand and cradled it protectively to his chest. "Hey, don't diss ramen! Besides, that's not the only food I have; it's just my favorite, see?" With that, Naruto pulled open his refrigerator door that was packed with an assortment of brightly colored food. When Sasuke reached past Naruto and pulled out the milk to check the expiration date, Naruto seized it from his hands and placed it back in its proper spot. He turned back to them and raised a single eyebrow. "Happy?"
Chouji frowned, feeling very much like a parent scolding his kid, and asked in a stern voice. "What about last time, with all the eggs?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulder, turned back to the piles of ramen on the counter, and started to stack them one on top of another. "I was short on cash that month. I spent a lot of money on those posters and pamphlets." With balance and grace, Naruto placed the twelfth ramen on the very top of his pile and tucked it under his chin, and used his hips to nudge the refrigerator door shut. Without warning, Shikamaru took eight packets from under Naruto's chin, despite the boy's protest, and handed his friends three each.
A 'thank you' was on the tip of Naruto's tongue but he stopped himself before he could actually say it. If he said thank you to this he would also be obliged to say thanks for stopping me from hitting Ebisu, thank you for not taking advantage of a weak moment, thank you for not asking any questions. Just a lot of 'thank you's he was not ready to say or acknowledge, so instead he just gave a sharp nod.
A shrill beeping that started to go off, but was muffled by the walls, broke the moment. "The fire alarm is going off." Shikamaru stated obviously causing Naruto to smirk despite himself.
Naruto sniffed the air and smiled. "Heh, Gai must be cooking. That's kind of our dinner bell, it mean it's time to eat."
He left the kitchen and could feel the boys following behind him, but didn't turn back, even when Sasuke sped up and started walking down the stairs side by side with him.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Naruto wrenched open the sticky door with his free hand and a wave of mixed scents rode over them. When they walked further into the room, the first thing the boys noticed was that instead of eating at a table, like any normal family would do, everyone was gathered around the center cage. People were climbing inside, carefully balancing whatever meal they had scraped together in the last fifteen minutes.
Naruto lifted his head up, breathed in the wonderful aroma, and with ease he ran over and slipped between the ropes to crawl into the center of the cage. With much hesitation the three remaining boys climbed inside, not quite as graceful as Naruto had done, and tried to find a spot that was not already covered with food or a seated person. Shikamaru and Chouji quickly found a seat next to Asuma, who had a game board in front of him. Sasuke was left standing awkwardly off to the side trying not to get squashed by the incoming traffic.
"Watch out."
"Coming though!"
"Out of the way! HOT HOT HOT!"
All the commotion and chatter pushed Sasuke unwillingly closer and closer to the middle of the cage. He tried to sidestep in order to avoid a steaming hot plate of steaks placed almost directly on his feet. As a result his feet got tangled up, he tripped and fell onto his knees jarring someone who was already sitting cross-legged and eating. He used the person to steady himself before looking up and recognizing the blond hair and blazing orange jacket. Naruto turned and looked at the pale hand on his shoulder before glancing up into the boy's dark eyes.
Sasuke expected to receive a glare but was taken back when Naruto's eyes showed genuine curiosity as to why Sasuke was pushed so close to him. He slurped the noodles hanging from his lips and swallowed before asking, "What? You want some?"
The normally angry blue eyes watched him with neither malice nor hatred. Just calm, curious intentions that Sasuke could not help but be struck dumb by.
Thinking that Sasuke couldn't decide between the wide spread of foods, Naruto leaned closer and whispered in the boy's ear. "I don't recommend eating pasta Tsunade made, it usually ends up with some kind of nasty alcohol in it, but Anko usually makes good dangos, and of course there is always the best food ever to be chemically packaged and outlive the human race- ramen!" Sasuke barely understood the words he was too intent on the tiny patches of breath warming his ear. A light blush dusted his cheeks as he nodded to whatever Naruto was saying, apparently this was the right course of action because Naruto gave him a wide smile before plopping a bowl of soup in his hands.
Tsunade grinned and motioned to Jiraiya with a flicker of the eyes. She smirked and mouthed the word, "Winning," followed by wagging her eyebrows suggestively at him, causing his face to grow red with fury. Kakashi noticed their little dispute and put in his own two cents. "Not gay, straight as an arrow." Tsunade frowned while Jiraiya almost cried out in joy, at least someone was on his side. Of course, that was before Kakashi asked, in a sly voice, "So, about your new book."
Jiraiya growled and turned his back on Kakashi and started shoveling as much food as possible in his mouth to stop himself from screaming. Kakashi leaned over Jiraiya's back and sent Tsunade a wink, or it could have just been a blink, it's hard to tell with the mask. Nonetheless, Tsunade lit up in joy as she turned back to watch the two boys interact with each other. When Sasuke glanced at Naruto and then turned away blushing, Tsunade couldn't stop the evil cackle from escaping her lips and thought to herself, "I'm so going to win."
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I wanted to die when I wrote a certain line 'You told me monsters are suppose to sleep under the bed not on top of it.'
i nearly cried! That's such a horrible thing to say, then of course i realized i wrote it…..
So I hope this clears up a couple of questions. I m glad I made Ebisu a bitch even though I hate him I needed Naruto to go into his 'retreat'. Now at least Naruto is making progress with Shikamaru Chouji and Sasuke. He called them his friends!! AWW come on u know uve been waiting for it
OMFG I finally wrote why Naruto wont fight back! I kept changing it around to fit. At one point my idea was that he didn't fight cuz he was waiting for someone to stand up for him, I tried explaining it to someone and when I wrote it down I realized it sounded better in my head AKA-stupid. (Besides I like this reason more it fits his personality)
By the way sorry ive been slow with updates, just been a long month and honestly im tired. Im not saying im going to stop writing or put this on hold but I just gatta take my time and gets some rest.
But ya got to wonder…after insulting his family, threating to take him back to the orphanage and bring up the 'father'…why was the one thing Naruto reacted to was being called a fox?
See ya next chapter XP
Peace
sam