A/N: Okay so I was a bit emo last week with the authors note and couldn't think of what to say, so here we are! I am excited for this chapter, and it's being released on the fourth of July (an American holiday celebrating out independence from the British, for any non-American readers. Funny thing is the declaration was signed on this day but it didn't go into effect until August 2nd, 1776 but I digress.)

With that being said it, sadly, isn't in the fourth of July time zone, that's coming up soon *wink*. Nor is this chapter about independence, really, tis another chapter in the never ending drama filled Naruto high school modern era universe I've built...wonderful, isn't it, how you can build an entire own world based on a world you saw in an anime as a kid and followed through teens and into adulthood. I think it is, at least.

So now I'm melding the disclaimer in with the authors notes, so here it is. I do NOT own Naruto or any of the characters blah blah blah, Asuka is mine blah blah blah, lyrics aren't blah blah blah, they belong to a GREAT local band here in Houston called In Memory Of... and you should look em up on Spotify, the song is called Tribute (hallelujah) and it's amazing, then there's Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and then a teensy little snippet of Red Razor Wrists by Upon A Burning Body (SATX represent).

As always, I love getting PM's and reviews, and follows/favorites are ALWAYS appreciated. And as always...enjoy!

EDIT: I lied. I didn't get to release it on the fourth of July because I was super duper sick. But it's here now, forgive me for the late release, enjoy!

HINATA-POV

June 6th, 3:45 pm.

One con about meth, I hate waking up late and withdrawing. Sure the withdraws aren't that bad considering I haven't quit, but they're just enough to make me wanna stab myself in the heart and rip it out, ending my heartbeat and ceasing my life.

Damn, that got dark. Eh, oh well, I don't care. Huh, I really don't care, considering the first thing on my mind in the morning is usually 'I gotta stop this, it's killing me', but not this morning. I say morning but it's more like the afternoon/early evening. When will my dad get a little suspicious of my sickness? Hopefully never.

I know he will eventually, especially if I keep dropping weight, five pounds isn't much, but when five turns into my goal of thirty-ish so I can hit my goal of one hundred pounds then yeah he might notice and get a bit worried. I also need to at least go out more so it doesn't seem like I'm just holing myself up all day and all night.

Hence why I'm taking Hanabi to the movies at five. As much as I love my sister I can't willingly go to the movies with her and her little boyfriend without a better rhyme or reason, my better rhyme or reason being that I'm trying to hide my 'problems' from father. Surprised he hasn't asked about Naruto or any of the others yet...yet...

That's the keyword, but I'll tackle that situation when I get to it, yeah? Yeah. Also I do kind of wanna see this movie, Eighteenth Street, it's kind of a horror movie so let's not let father know about that, okay Hanabi? It's apparently about these kids who go to some cabin in the rural country area off of, you guessed it, eighteenth street, and find it to not only be haunted, but deadly, with traps in every room and a loose serial killer.

Supposedly there's a ton of sexual scenes in it, but they're fourteen they'll get over it, they need to come to terms with the fact that there's gonna be sex no matter where they go nowadays. Music, movies, books and TV are all victims of the sexualizing bastards. I'm not one to complain, I like sex. Well, I did, now it's more solo.

Oh well, I'll get used to it eventually. I did it before Naruto, and I'll do it after him. Ugh, I hate his name, it burns my mouth everytime I say it and aches my head everytime it comes into it. Let's hop off that subject and get dressed for the day.

Settling on a simple, modest outfit of some tight dark blue jeans that showed off the curves of my ass, a semi-tight tank top that, admittedly, showed a little too much cleavage, and my beat up all black converse with my vibrant pink socks I was ready for the day. A few squirts of perfume and braiding my hair and I was done by four.

Trotting downstairs I spotted the aforementioned young couple on the couch. Movie was at five, so we needed to leave here in the next fifteen minutes. "Oi, you guys are ready right? We're leaving here in the next fifteen minutes." I asked them, getting some half-assed nods and 'okays'.

Laughing a tiny bit at their answers I went to the back porch to smoke a quick cigarette and make sure I had everything I needed in my bag. Wait, did I just laugh? Whatever, it was one time Hinata, it won't happen again. No emotion no pain, amirite?

Setting my purse down on the table I reached in for the pack and pulled one out, lighting it and inhaling the smoke. Time to check everything else, though.

I started digging through it's neatly arranged contents and checking things off. Gum, perfume, lighter, cigarettes, band aids, wallet, some spare change, charger cord, and stowed inside a small wooden box at the bottom of my purse was the pipe, stuff and the razor I had been using. I went to slide the lid off the box, but someone's presence had stopped me short.

"Thank you again for taking them, Hinata, I love your sister and her young gentleman as much as the next person, but a man can only take so much of them and chaperoning them before he loses sanity." True that, father, but don't scare me like that again.

Turning around to him I just flashed him a fake smile and waved. "Don't think anything of it, it's about time me and Hanabi had some sister time, even if its split with her and her boyfriend." He seemed convinced by that reason, just smiling and nodding.

But then my worst fear came true when he took a seat in one of the chairs and motioned for me to sit too, donning a serious look. "We need to talk, though, before you go anywhere." Panic ran rampant in my head as I forced my body to move and take a seat. "You have to be honest with me, what's going on between you and Naruto?" Oh boy.

Calming my thoughts seemed harder than I thought, and collecting them was even harder. "I-I..." I trailed off, trying to think of a reason. "Me and Naruto, we're...just taking a break right now. A lot has happened recently and we thought it would be best to have some time to recollect ourselves." I don't know where that came from.

I'm thankful it came, though, because he bit into hard. "Oh, I see..." He said, putting his hand over his mouth and thinking. "Well, I am sorry to hear that, I wished the best for you two since day one and I hope you two can overcome this." I'm not sure we'll ever overcome this, pops, not like I want to anyways.

Forcing as real of a smile as I could fake I smiled at the man that I call father, capping off the lies. "It's nothing major, and now that I feel better I can collect my thoughts and figure this out." I shouldn't have mentioned that I feel better, but I did, and I'll live with it. Now he'll expect more from me.

He smiled back at me and stood up, signaling the end of the conversation. I stood up as well and wrapped my arms around him, giving him a hug. "Did you lose a weight, Hinata?" I guess he noticed, giving me no choice but to nod. "Oh, well I should've figured, being sick does that." Again, true. "Stay safe, and if you need anything-"

"Call you, of course daddy, you're the first person I would call." I said, smiling again as he just nodded and walked back into the house to do, er, whatever forty year old fathers do, what that is I have no idea, and it's not like I'm dying to know. I'll find out one day.

Granted I make it to the age of forty, only time will tell. I headed back inside and gathered the two kids up, almost having to literally drag them to the car. For wanting to get out and do stuff they really are lazy as fuck. By four fifteen we were on our way to the theatre, arriving just in time to get the tickets and snacks.

I let them get a seat, away from me thankfully, and take their stuff to their seats while I did, well, yano by now what I'm doing. Finding a 'family' restroom I made my way into it and put the diaper changing table down, setting my purse on top of it and digging through it to find the box I was looking for. I slid it open and grabbed the clear pipe and chopped up crystal, loading a bowl.

Nothing big, but not that small, just enough to help me fly through this movie and dinner with the two young teens. Drawing the smoke into my lungs I sighed in relief when the effects coursed through my body. I could never get sick of this, to be honest, it feels so good.

Hastily I stowed away the equipment and stuffed it back into my purse, dropping some visine in my eyes and popping some gum into my mouth. Heading out of the now tainted family restroom I walked down the hallway, finding theatre twenty one and entering it.

Lucky for me I found a row that had no one in it, the movie has been out for a week and a half so I'm not really surprised to see the theatre close to empty.

Konohamaru had found a spot with Hanabi right in the center of the aisle, which was in the center of the room, and he had his arm draped over her shoulder. They did make a cute couple after all. After I giggled at their young antics a little I found a spot at the very top of the screening room, setting my purse on the floor.

I just hope this movie is worth it.

7:45 pm.

"I told you it's never gonna end, Micah, the curse can never be bro-"

That was all that the nineteen year old girl on the screen, Jenny, could get out before her heart got pierced by a spear, with a note hanging on the end of it. It read a simple message, 'you're next'. I saw the two down below me jump when they saw it happen, but I just laughed a little.

It was so obvious, to me at least, that they were gonna leave this one open for a sequel, which will no doubt be called Nineteenth Street or something like that. All in all it was a thrilling movie, even if it went for two hours and fifteen minutes after the thirty minutes of previews and adverts to start the movie, as it usually is at this theatre.

I'm not mad though, I got to see a good movie full of murders and sexual scenes, and even more innuendos. I don't know if Hanabi and Konohamaru liked it, but I guess I'll find out here in a minute when we meet up outside. They wanted to stay for the mid-credits scene, but I wanted to go smoke a cigarette.

When I got outside I made my way over to my Jeep and then it hit me. I left my purse in the theatre sitting on a bench by the restroom when I used it before coming out here. But when I turned around to flee into the building to retrieve it, a man my age stopped me, purse in hand. "Hey, I saw you leave this in there and figured you might need it." No shit, Sherlock.

He reached it out to me and I took it, smiling at him. "Thanks, I don't know what I would've done if it went missing." Twas true, but I thanked the five foot eight inch man, who must weigh about a hundred and sixty pounds. He had lightly tanned skin, green eyes and this dull brown hair that hung over his eyes a little bit.

"No problem, try not to forget it next time though." He spoke in a joking tone, sharing a laugh with me until something caught my eye, something I didn't need right now.

Ino's mom and dad were looking at us with a disappointed look on their face, but I decided to play this up a little bit. I was already caught, might as well. Without a warning I latched onto the purse savior, hugging him into me tightly. He made a protesting noise, prompting me to whisper in his ear. "Go with it right now, please." I begged the man.

Once I saw Inoichi and his wife disappear into the theatre I let him go, letting the man ask his question. "Okay, not that I don't like hugs but what exactly was the reasoning behind that one? And you could've at least learned my name first. I'm Han, and you are?" Han asked, sticking a hand out to me.

I took his hand and shook it, introducing myself. "I'm Hinata, Hinata Hyuuga, and why did I hug you? Well, my ex-friends parents were looking at me and I know they're gonna go tell my ex boyfriend, so I decided to play it up a bit. Sorry I used you as a medium, though." I laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.

Looking at me he laughed a little, seeming content with my reason. "Yeah I've done the same before, so I can't blame you. But I must be going, Hinata, I have to go do a bit of shopping. It was nice meeting you, though." He said, waving as he walked off, entering his own car a little down from me and driving off.

Smiling I reached into my purse and grabbed my pack of cigarettes, popping one into my mouth and reached in for my lighter, finding it and a business card next to it. Pulling out the card and lighter I smiled as I read it. "try not to lose it next time, if you need a savior again just call me" is what it read, listing his number too.

Smart man, he is, a smart man indeed. Maybe I will give him a call...

SHIKAMARU-POV

June 6th, 8:00 pm.

I was pulling my hair out right about now. I had just gotten Asa here at two and I'm already losing my shit, I didn't know a baby could cry so much! Temari was helping as much as she could, but she wasn't of much help right now besides helping me calm the little girl down.

Six days old and she's already brought me a mixture of emotions. From sleeplessness to forcing me awake, anger to happiness, sadness to joyfulness, and so many more I can't list. If I were to make a list it would be more like an autobiography, starting with the conception and continuing on until, well, it'll probably never end.

Nevertheless, she's home with me and her amazing mother and my soon to be wife, and that's all that matters to me right about now. It's time to move on and get things settled in here. Just yesterday Kankuro and Gaara helped move most of her clothes and stuff over here to my mom and dads place, visiting Asa in the meantime.

Admittedly I was surprised to see the gentle side of the two, more so Kankuro. I always knew that Gaara had a soft side to him, he just hid it very well. While they visited they both pledged their help whenever we moved into our new place, which was slated for July 29th.

It was a nice place, a small two bedroom house in a good part of town, paid for by my internship mostly, I'll just be paying the mortgage when I start my paid internship with them. When you walk in the front door from the front porch you come down a hallway which dead ends into the living room. To the left is the dining room and kitchen, which is accessible via a door from the garage.

To the right is a doorway, to the immediate front is the guest bathroom, go to the left from the doorway and you hit the master bedroom, and to the right is where we're gonna put Asa's room, which was being fixed up and painted, hence the delay.

There was work to do to it other than that, delaying it more, and the furniture won't be in until a week before the move-in date. Other than that, it was perfect for us right now. I was nervous to start the internship, but it was necessary, my first day being the Monday after the first week of school, August 15th.

Senior year...man how the time has passed. Some of it slowly but also a lot of it moved surprisingly fast, almost too fast, scarily fast at some points. I thought back to the beginning of our junior year and how many things have changed since then.

I have a kid and a woman who I will call my wife soon enough, it's only a matter of time before Sasuke and Sakura get engaged, and I'm sure Ino and Asuka will too.

That brings us to Naruto and Hinata, does the former really think we believe that she's 'sick'? Maybe it's a half lie and she's actually mentally sick and not physically, but I can only imagine what's happened between those two. All I know is that it wasn't Naruto.

How do I know? Well, Hinata has been exhibiting signs of distress and mental illness since the day she joined the family, I've seen it, I see a lot of things that the others don't see because, unlike the others, I pay attention to everything, from the little things to the major things.

Being under mental duress can make you make decisions to bring you back to the 'old days' where you were more comfortable being alone, where no one messed with you and you were free to make your own decisions free of judgement from everyone else, because no one knew you were making those decisions.

This is, after all, only a speculation, and I could be wrong, but then again...when am I ever wrong? It may seem really cool always being right, but sometimes you don't want to be right. For months I knew there was something up with Choji, I just didn't want to be right, and so I never tried to fix anything.

It proved to be a fatal mistake, and it's one I'll live with for the rest of my life, prompting me to do something I've never done before; write a song for him. I picked up and acoustic guitar a few days ago from the local guitar store and quickly grasped the chords and stuff. Playing electric guitar surely helped.

And now I found myself sitting here, about to practice the song in front of my mom, dad and Temari. Asa was being held by Temari, who was keeping the baby calm as I started strumming out the chords and singing the words in a mellow voice.

It's all behind us now, what's done is done, you're gone now, you're gone now.

And I want this world to know, it took you away, far too soon.

And I know you didn't mean to walk away, and never come back to this place.

Now you're living it up, you're in paradise, you've got your eyes locked in.

You're singing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah at the top of your lungs.

You're singing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, amen.

I saw Temari and my mom tear up a little, they were just as shocked as I was that I could sing like this. To be honest I didn't think I had this in me, but I do, so here we are.

I know you told me to always believe in you, even when you are not around.

And it doesn't change a thing at all, even though you're six feet under ground.

And I know you didn't mean to walk away, and never come back to this place.

Now you're living it up, you're in paradise, you've got your eyes locked in.

You're singing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah at the top of your lungs.

You're singing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, amen.

Asa started cooing and smiling a little at me, which brought a little tear to my eye but I just shrugged it off, moving through the last verse of the song. Arguably this was the hardest one to get just right, but I managed to do it.

Rest in peace while I die out here, and my heart is getting colder, but my face is warm with tears.

I believe that you will hear me if I sing loud enough, so I'll scream to the heavens with everything I'm made of.

And we're screaming hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah at the top of our lungs.

We're screaming hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, amen.

Amen.

And we're singing hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah at the top of our lungs.

Amen.

My heart felt lighter finally singing that song for Choji, getting small claps from everyone in the room. Temari even put Asa's hands together and clapped them for me, putting a smile on my face and making me laugh a little bit.

Maybe things will be right after all...just maybe...

NARUTO-POV

June 6th, 11:45 pm.

Wracking my brain for these past two nights have driven along the process of writing this song, with a few bouts of frustration, anger, sadness and questioning thoughts of why I'm doing this, is she worth it, and what if, after all of this, she still doesn't change a damn thing?

Those are just some of the many thoughts I've had run through my head. Dad agrees that it's a good idea, mom thinks it may work but knowing women like Hinata, like me, has given even her some doubts about it's possible results. She could love it and love me again, or hate it and continue on, or hate it while loving the notion of the song.

Honestly I'm facing reality and that is that there's a fifty percent chance of me falling face down. On the flipside, there's also a fifty percent chance that this could work at the same time. As you can imagine I'm aiming for the chance that this works, but only time will tell. As much as it hurts to do this, I'm gonna have to wait a little.

I was shooting for the annual Fourth of July festival, where I can get on the acoustic stage and try to catch her attention. Will it work? I have no idea, but me, Sasuke and Shikamaru have decided to try and collaborate and make some music, we meet tomorrow to get this hammered down.

But for now, all I have is this song that I'm about to play. Guitar tuned to the right tuning, pick at the ready, let's do this.

When I see your smile, tears roll down my face, I can't replace.

And now that I'm strong I have figured out, how this world grows colder and it breaks through my soul and I know.

I'll find deep inside me, I can be the one.

I will never let you fall, I'll stand up with you forever.

I'll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven.

And I wasn't lying, right about now I'd do anything to get Hinata to come back to reality, even if it did send me to heaven. She doesn't deserve half of this shit she's going through, and neither do I to be honest, but like usual I'm more worried about her than me at this point.

It's okay, it's okay, it's okay-ay-a-a-ay.

Seasons are changing and waves are crashing and stars are falling all for us.

Days grow longer and nights grow shorter, I can show I'll be the one.

I will never let you fall, I'll stand up with you forever.

I'll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven.

Oh how I want to be there right now and just whisper those words into her ear, but even if I was there it wouldn't change anything, we saw how well that worked out for me last time, she ended up laughing in my face and slapping me, something I never thought she'd ever do, she was always anti violence.

'Cause you're my, you're my, my, my true love, my whole heart, please don't throw that away.

'Cause I'm here, for you, please don't walk away and please tell me you'll stay, yeah!

Oh, oh, oh, oh-oh, stay-ay-ay-ay-ay, oh, oh-oh, oh, oh, oh-oh.

Use me as you will, pull my strings just for a thrill.

And I know I'll be okay, though my skies are turning grey.

I will never let you fall, I'll stand up with you forever.

I'll be there for you through it all, even if saving you sends me to heaven.

I let the chord ring out before burying my face in my hands, trying to blink off a few tears of frustration. I was doing all I could not to find myself back in that hole again, the same dark and dreary place that my now-former lavender lover is in. It's hard enough digging her out of a hole and offering my hand to her, I don't think I can handle having to do the same with myself at the same time.

It's like she's gone and done this on purpose, maybe she just wanted to see if I would stick around long enough to try and save her, maybe it's all just a big test...

Unfortunately I know it's not, and it's not gonna change anytime soon if I keep moping around like this instead of getting off my ass and busting said posterior to get the love of my life back. A promise was made, and it's one I plan on keeping.

A knock on my door surprised me, prompting me to jump up and make sure I was fully dressed and my room was at least decently straight before I answered the door for whomever the nighttime intruder is. "Who is it?" I asked through the door, my interest peaking right about now.

Whoever it was audibly sighed and, from what I could tell, thumped their head against the door. "Baka, just open the door, we have to talk." Ino? What could she be doing here at this time of the night? Surely Asuka was with her too.

Swinging the door open I was greeted by the grim and slightly annoyed looking faces of Ino and Asuka, who just made their way into my room and took a seat right on my bed. "Oi, is there any reason you two are here at almost midnight?" I asked, unsure if I wanted the answer to that question.

As usual, when it comes to bad things I'm usually right, as the answer that the two women gave me wasn't the one I ever wanted. "This." Ino said, turning her phone around and showing me a picture, one that instantly stewed up a storm of emotions inside of me, going through anger, sadness, rage, malice and complete brokenness.

"N-no, this isn't right..." I stuttered and trailed off, my hands closing tightly into fists as I shook, the emotions showing vibrantly as Asuka and Ino gave me a sad nod, confirming that what I was seeing was indeed true. "But h-how, and when?" Is this another question I don't want the answer to?

Asuka answered this time, explaining the origins of this candid. "Well, we were at the movies when we noticed Hinata was there, and she seemed to be alone until Inoichi said he saw her in the parking lot with some boy and he secretly snapped the image while she stared him down, pretty much daring him to say something." The picture, one of her hugging some guy, spoke more than anything she's said recently.

Immediately I tried to make sense of things. Had I worked and wracked my brain doing research just for this to happen? "No...this isn't real..." I muttered out, running my hands into my hair and gripping it tightly, so close to pulling it straight out of my head.

One of them tried putting a hand on my shoulder, but I shrugged it off quickly. "Hey, calm down Naruto, it'll be okay dude." Now I know it was Ino, the cause of this...

"Don't." My harsh and cold voice froze the two women in my room with me. "Leave." I continued in my cold voice, getting a look from them. Sighing I answered the looks they gave me. "If it wasn't for you," I pointed at Ino, "I would've went through with my plan, but no, you had to but in and put your nose in things!" My voice raised a little.

The temper I was showing made the blonde girl stand up quickly, making me stand up too and issue a gaze that overpowered hers, making her submit to me. "You know what, fine, let's go Asuka, let the little baby handle this on his own." She said, dragging the red head out of my room and trudging downstairs.

When they left I cursed myself and slammed my hand against my nightstand, cursing even more at the pain but ignoring it. I needed to hit something, and I knew just the place to go right about now.

I just hope that when I get there, he isn't there.

June 7th, 1:30 am.

I'm a god damn monster, ugh!

With another thrust I pounded my fist into the punching bag, expelling a breath with each and every time I dug my fist into the victim of my wrath. Normally I'd imagine the person I was pissed at, but I can't bring myself to think about hitting Ino, so I'm just thinking about hitting the guy she hugged.

Sure, we're technically 'separated' right now, and I'm sure she told him some lie about me to make him think it's okay to just go hugging on her, but that doesn't make me not pissed the fuck off right now. He's lucky I don't even know his name or I'd find him.

Rotary Powerhouse gym and dojo was the place to be right now, since the man I'm avoiding right now is never here this late..."Oi, blonde headed idiot, you have to focus your breathing more if you want to more effective in a real fight." ...spoke too soon, it seems.

I spun around and begrudgingly bowed to the silver haired man in front of me. "What the hell do you want, pervy sage?" Pervy sage being the nickname I gave to my sensei and former training partner. Jiraiya, a Sannin he may be, still doesn't excuse him from his, er, less than desirable antics and habits, mainly being a major pervert and a lazy ass sensei.

Seriously, in the four months he taught me I learned diddly squat while in one month with Guy-sensei I learned a whole helluva lot more, and it was more effective. "Ma, can a former sensei come see what's bothering his former protégé?" Nope, not really, hence the word former, dumbass.

Letting out a grunt of annoyance I bowed to the punching bag before stepping off the dojo mat and sliding my sandals on. "No, that's why you're my former sensei, get it? I can't deal with you too right now, or I'll really lose my shit and go hurt somebody." I made my way to the door, preparing to leave, but Jiraiya was in tow the entire time.

"Oi...oi! You think I'm gonna let you leave after you said something like that? Former sensei or not I can't just let you potentially ruin your life!" He yelled after me, following me all the way until we got to my car, where I turned around and gave him a glare that could freeze even the hottest of fires.

Admittedly I surprised myself when I gave him a low snarl, but I didn't care right now. "Look, pervy sage, I could care less what you think right now. I can't ruin anything if I don't have much of anything to ruin, so who gives a flying fuck, just leave me the hell alone!" I yelled, making an attempt to enter my truck, only to be stopped by his hand.

He grasped my wrist, prompting me to do something I never thought of doing. I struck at him. But he showed his true skill, dodging the left hook by ducking under it. Before I knew it he had locked my arm in a drag takedown, launching me onto the asphalt concrete where he buried a knee into my back, still holding my left arm.

Letting out a growl of pain I hissed at him, which only made him dig in deeper, bending my arm back farther than it should go. "Calm the hell down, ass hat, and listen to yourself would you? You're so lost in anger that you don't even know what you're doing! You tried to hit me, knowing that I am twenty times more skilled and experienced, that's how dumb you act while you're mad, son." Fair point, I'll give you that one perv.

Making an attempt at hitting the old man wasn't my brightest idea, I don't know what was going through my head, all I know is this shit hurts. "Okay-okay! I admit it, I'm not acting right, but this hurts so can you let me go now?" I asked him hurriedly, wanting relief from the hold.

Obviously I hadn't learned enough, 'cause he held on for another second. "Hmm, how do I know you've learned, gaki?" I growled out more angrily than I ever had before, surprising both me and him. "Okay, I got you kid, I'll let you go now, just don't try to hit me again, okay?" I nodded, relief flooding me when he released the hold.

When I felt his knee leave my back more relief came, allowing me to stand up and stretch my arm out. "Yikes, where was this part of you when we trained together?" It was a good question, he very, very seldom showed any sort of skill like this.

The elderly man just laughed a little, brushing his pants off. "Well, I just didn't think you were ready. You couldn't even pass the emotion test so I didn't think you'd be able to handle the stress of dealing with my full move set. Now, you mind telling me what this is all about?" Might as well, it's not like it matters anymore anyways.

I started going through the story, starting from the beginning and going through to the end, as he soaked in all the info while quietly observing, testing me for any lies. "So that's basically it, it's all a big shit storm for me and her, more so for her." Jiraiya hummed a bit, mulling over the info I just fed him.

Once he seemed content with the answer he had he laid it on me. "Have you thought about spending some time alone and thinking this over solo?" Huh? Solo?

You mean after all these years of telling me that friendship was more important than I thought you want me to actually go this alone? "I...I don't know, pervy sage, I think it would be a good idea, I'm just not sure if I'm ready to handle something like this by myself." Who knows, I may just end up like the one I wanna save.

His last words of advice rung through my head, though, spoken as he walked off. "Well, I gotta go get some sleep, but listen Naruto, if you never try you'll never know. Your friends will always be there for you, but even they know sometimes things need to do be done alone. Ja ne, gaki!" Thanks for leaving me so early, teme.

But he wasn't exactly wrong, I'll never know if I'm ready to do this until I actually do it.

There's only one way to find out. I'm sorry guys, but this is something I need to take care of by myself.

Wish me luck.

SHINO-POV

June 7th, 3:30 am.

It's inconceivable that the medication the doctor has prescribed me would wear off so quickly, effectively hurling me back into the state I was in before. I must have a talk with my doctor before the unthinkable happens, and if the unthinkable happens, well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it.

Who would've thought that the quiet, 'nerdy' kid would harbor some of the biggest and darkest secrets? In all honesty it makes a lot of sense to me, at least. They have to imagine there's a big reason I keep to myself, and the reasoning is quite simple; I'm bordering mentally insane harboring these murderous thoughts.

No, I don't have voices speaking to me, and that's what makes it even worse. These thoughts are my own, fabricated by the worst parts of my brain which are slowly but surely taking over the still somewhat sane parts of my brain, and I say somewhat sane very lightly, as those harbor some demons.

And so I sit here, locked away in my basement bedroom, a place I've learned to call my home, somewhere I can be alone with my own thoughts and not let them affect the people that I call my family, who live on the surface. The only ones who know about my condition are my parents, who decided it'd be best to leave my sister and the other family in the dark.

No doubt it's because, like a lot of parents, they don't want to face the fact that their little baby boy is a borderline murderer. Have I ever attempted to kill someone? No, not yet, but that doesn't mean the chances are low. If my calculations are correct, then there's a fifty-fifty chance of it happening in the next year.

That's one thing that everyone doesn't realize about always being right, sometimes you really, really don't want to be right, and lord knows that I don't want to be right. My mental counselor asked how it felt to not have any control over my thoughts, and I couldn't answer her, only staring into her eyes through my sunglasses.

'Four eyes' is just one of the many insults I face on the daily, and it doesn't bother me, because if they could see my eyes, the insult previously mentioned would turn into something more along the lines of 'psycho', 'freak' or 'crazy'. I personally don't mind it, they're almost true.

My 'family' wouldn't care if they knew the truth, so why does it matter? I'll just continue to wage a war against myself, in a losing effort usually.

I moved my hand towards the pill bottle and was about to turn the lid off when a soft, silky hand grasped my wrist. "Oh come one, darling, I already told you that you really shouldn't trust those things, they'll never work." Her voice was equally as soft as her hand, coaxing me to drop the bottle.

Turning I faced the woman and frowned, lowering my head a little bit. "And I thought I told you not to come around here anymore, remember what almost happened the last time I almost listened to you?" How could she forget? Lord knows that I couldn't, and still can't...

Her giggles filled my head as she walked around me and plopped down into a chair next to mine at the desk. "You think I forgot? I could never forget the day you almost ended that bitch of a mom you have. How dare she tell me that I look like a common whore?" Because it's almost true?

She was five foot, two inches tall, a whole five inches shorter than my five foot, seven inch frame. Her weight, sitting at around a hundred pounds, fit her loose frame, and the clothing choices she made were, er, risqué, to say the least. She commonly adorned the shortest of short shorts that hugged her 'perfectly toned ass', and the tops she wore showed off her d-cup cleavage a little too well.

"That's my mom, Uwa, my mother, she raised me, and I almost brought her life to an end. How do you expect me to be proud of that fact? And the fact that she doesn't even know what her son, whom she raised from infancy, almost ended her, it makes it worse." I said, running hands through my hair.

Uwa dangled her legs off the chair like a child, twirling a lock of her dark purple hair around. "Well, I get that, but it doesn't change the fact that I know exactly how to control you, Shino-kun." Don't remind me, not like I wanted or needed something or someone else to control me.

Without a warning she leaned in and removed my glasses and stared straight into my eyes, not flinching even once. "Please, not tonight Uwa, le-" I was cut off by her lips diving onto my own, intoxicating me and drawing a growl from my throat.

I felt her hand grasp my inner thigh as she moaned into my mouth. "Hmm, why not tonight? It doesn't have to be your mom, you know, there is one person that tried to put his hands on me." When she said that I went rigid, and my eyes instantly started seeing red. She had me right where she wanted me.

The war raged inside my head to quell the thoughts, but I was quickly overwhelmed by a murderous rage. "Who?" I grunted out, standing up from my chair quickly.

And in that moment, she knew she had won. "Come, Shino-kun, I'll take you to him." Her words moved me to the back door, which led to an alley, where we quietly snuck off into her car, an all black coupe. Where were we going? I don't think I can answer that right now.

We made our way to a dark and quiet part of town, parking in a pitch black alleyway, startling a few cats away. They didn't need to see this side of me, the uncontrollable demon that Uwa had control of.

She ushered me out of the car, motioning for me to follow her to the alley adjacent to ours. "Uwa-chan, who tried to hurt you?" I asked in a flat and dead monotonous voice, malice dripping from it. She smiled and pointed at a house across from us, all the lights out except the porch light.

Before I could make my way towards the house, I felt her hand grab my wrist, her other one brandishing a dagger. "Don't forget the knife, baby." She thrusted the black steel dagger into my hand, a handguard extending one and a half inches out on each side, the handle wrapped in dark brown chord.

It was the same one she tried to get me to plunge into my mothers heart. I froze, but her gaze coaxed me back into place, making me grip the handle and nod, moving towards the house now. I quickly cut the wiring to the porch light, plunging the entrance in darkness.

Quickly I was working on the lock, taking a paperclip and expertly picking the lock in under thirty seconds. The lock clicked, letting me know I was clear to twist the knob and enter the residence of the man who tried to hurt my lover. I twisted the doorknob slowly, letting the door swing open quietly, before taking a few steps into the house, closing the door quietly behind me.

My steps were quiet as I went down the hallway, spotting three doors, one dead ahead and two to either side of me. I cleared the one on the left, finding the office of the man who was surely about to become my first victim. And to the right was the restroom. So that meant one thing.

Dead ahead was my target. I moved my feet, silently creeping up to the bedroom door. The man inside was snoring, giving me the greenlight to open the door. When I did, I saw a man, who had to have been in his late twenties, sleeping soundly in his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants, his body uncovered by the blanket on the floor.

A tattoo covered his heart, which was two arrows, a black one and a gold one, crossing each other to form an 'X', with a wreath enclosing it. He was a Blaster, a gang known for drugs, pedophilia and sex trafficking. Makes sense why he targeted Uwa now.

No more wasting time. In a few short seconds my body was hovering over his, dagger raised in the air. As I was about to plunge it down, I felt a twinge in my head, the good parts of me were fighting back as hard as they could. But they were no match for the murderous intent I had, and without another second thought the dagger plunged.

I flinched when it burst through his skin, his eyes and mouth shooting open. He let out a silent scream from the perfectly placed stab, and within a few seconds his breathing rattle to a null, effectively ending his life. My hands shook as reality set in. I had finally done it.

It took everything I had not to throw up, instead I removed the dagger from his heart and stowed it in my pocket, exiting the house quicker than I had came in, locking the door on the way out. I caught Uwa's shining, rare yellow eyes in the dark alley, as she rushed over to me.

Nothing needed to be said, as she saw the blood on my hands and the little bit of the red life juice that dirtied my white coat. "Shino...I'm so proud of you..." She muttered.

Taking my hand in hers she hurriedly led me to the car, ushering me into the passengers seat as we rushed away from the scene. Within five minutes we were back at my house, somewhere I didn't want to be right now, but I was safe here. We went back inside, cleaned the dagger off and stored it under my bed in it's black box, which was marked with gold ornate designs.

As much as I wanted to scream right now, I kept quiet, the images of the mans gaping mouth and dead eyes, the images that will surely haunt me for the rest of my life, something that I never wanted to happen, but it did.

All Uwa said to me for the rest of the night was how she was proud of me, and how she loved me, pledging to never let me be alone anymore. We made love that night.

Is it worth not being alone? Is murdering someone worth having nights like these?

Maybe.

SASUKE-POV

June 7th, 2:00pm.

You know, I wasn't worried about my knuckleheaded best friend, until he started blatantly ignoring my calls and texts when we were supposed to go to the movies at four, instead texting me backing saying he was 'sick'. Boy, did he really think that I was gonna fall for that shtick?

But when I drove by his house, no one was there, not even his truck. I'm sure his mom and dad are working, but him? Nah, he hasn't had a job in his life. I can't talk much 'cause neither have me, Sakura, Temari, Shika, Ino or Asuka. So what do we do now?

We have a missing friend who just recently lost the one he cared about 'cause she's a crazy, drug addicted witch, and that's not a good combination. Hell, for all I know he could be bagging a stripper in the red light district right now, something he doesn't want, I don't want, and no one really wants.

If the idiot really wants to get herpes then so be it. But I heard a car rumbling up from my spot in my car, which was parked out front. It was his moms silver SUV, a sight I wanted to see since she surely has the answers I'm looking for. She pulled into the driveway and got out, but before she made it inside she was greeted by me.

"Oi, momma 'Shina, do you know where the idiot is?" I yelled after her, jogging up to her and meeting her warm smile. She simply shook her head and went to unlock the door to the house. Is she crazy too? She knows I won't take that answer. "Ne, with all due respect, don't play dumb, the idiot already is and I'm not falling for it." She turned around and dropped the smile, just sighing.

Swinging the door open she ushered me into the house where I followed her to the living room. "Sit, Sasuke, and just remember that you're lucky I'm about to tell you this at all." Lucky? What could be so sensitive that my friend, who never kept secrets besides one, wants to keep one now, and his mom is playing along with it too!

What she told me, though, was definitely interesting. "Wait, Naruto moved?" I asked, shocked at what she told me, getting a nod as an answer. "So, he moved to be alone, so he can 'process' this by himself?" I should stop asking questions if she's just gonna nod. "But why? He knows we all wanna help him." He's just overreacting, I bet.

Kushina shook her head and took a sip of her tea, setting it on the coffee table. "For once I agree with him, Sasuke." Okay, now I think she really is crazy. She caught my questioning look and sighed. "Look, sometimes there are things that need to be handled for themselves, and this is one of those things." That still leaves a few questions.

I rubbed my eyes a little, gathering my thoughts before speaking. "So he just left without a word, knowing we'd be worried?" Another nod and I'm done asking questions. "I just don't understand, we would've left him alone and-" I was cut off by Kushina's laughter, which bellowed lightly.

Shaking her head she wiped a few tears from her eyes and sighed happily. "Be honest with yourself, you wouldn't have left it alone. He promised he'd text and call you guys, but if he's not texting right now it's because he's on the road." On the road, okay, and to where exactly is the idiot going? "It's in Fire country, I can't say where though."

Of course she can't, then I'd go track him down and beat his ass for doing this. I sighed deeply and ran my fingers through my hair, accepting defeat. "When is he supposed to be back, knowing the idiot he already has plans brewing in his head so you can at least tell me that, right?" I swear this woman nods a lot.

"July fourth is all he said, and he said to be ready. For what, I don't know exactly. Look at the bright side of things though, Sasuke, you can have some time alone with your girlfriend, Ino and Asuka are gonna be busy working since they just got jobs, we have a chance to wind down for a little and start back up anew." She has a point, for once...

We talked for a little while longer before I bowed out, eager to take my information to Sakura back home. I'm surprised she hasn't called me because it shouldn't have taken this long to get Naruto up and ready, if he were here. But he's not, so therein lies the problem. On the drive I mulled it over and little more and came to terms with it. Naruto, for once, has a really good idea.

That and it's hard to argue with a Sannin, let alone Jiraiya. His experience and immense knowledge can't be matched by all of our group put together, and he can kick some major ass, so there's also that.

I just hope the dobe knows what he's doing when it comes to this, I know he has it in him to come up with a plan to fix this hellacious situation he's in. Either that or he's gonna crumble under the pressure and give up, ya never know when it comes to him. Let's hope it's the former and not the latter.

3:00 pm.

"Ne, the idiot did what now?"

That's pretty much the response I was expecting from her, to be honest, followed by the slew of questions that are coming up next. Surely enough they did, and I gave her the same answers that I, myself, got from the woman who knows more than I do right about now.

Sighing I decided to exercise my control over the pink haired woman I call my lover. "Sakura, that's enough." I said sternly, grabbing her face and forcing her to look at me, her eyes meeting mine. She tried to squeak out a protest, but I pressed my lips against hers forcefully, making her mumble her protest into my mouth.

I released the kiss, getting a gasp for air from Sakura. "Idiot, you didn't have to kiss me like that to get me to shut up." She said, replenishing the missing air from her lungs and glaring holes into me, getting a few shirt laughs from me.

My laughter trailed off, only getting more heat from the fiery stare I was receiving. "Look, what's done is done, his logic isn't exactly the most sound but I can't completely argue with it right now. You know me, I was pissed at first, but just look at the facts and the reasoning he gave us, and I'm sure he'll give us more details when he gets to, well, wherever he's going." Her glare slowly went away as she made sense of things finally.

Her head lowered a bit, concealing her eyes from me, making it hard for me to notice the pair of tears roll down her face. Before I got the chance to ask her what was wrong she turned to me and just gave me a sad smile. "What's wrong with us, Sasuke-kun? Everything was so fine, and then it just...I don't know." Neither do I, love, neither do I.

I wrapped her in my arms, comforting her as the question she asked swirled in my head, making even me wonder the same thing.

What the hell was wrong with us?

A/N: Another one bites the dust, no? Next chapter will be up on the fourth of July as I said, I've been dreambigwh11 as always, have a great week or weekend, ja ne!