AN: The next chapter will be up soon, hopefully within the day. I have most of it written, so you won't have to wait long on this cliffhanger. :)

Thank you all so much again for your returning reviews and your new reviews! There's a lot now, so I can't quite mention them all here, but it is such a pleasure to read them. :)

To Shining-Dreamer: Thanks for the concern. :) Don't worry. I decided before making this fic that I wouldn't be pressured into anything. There are parts people might like and parts they won't. The last two chapters had been pre-written a few days before they were posted, and I had just been tweaking them before putting them up. The following few chapters were pre-written months ago and, again had to be tweaked. The story has evolved differently to what I expected, and has taken a lot longer to fill in the blanks than I expected. I had meant to make it much simpler and faster, but I'm a bit of a blabber, so I guess that's why everything has taken so long to set in motion. That's a weakness I'll have to work on. ;)


Cloud Cover

Chapter 27: Confrontation

"That strong mother doesn't tell her cub, Son, stay weak so the wolves can get you. She says, Toughen up, this is reality we are living in."

~Lauryn Hill


It was the last day of school. Spring break started tomorrow, and today was a wonderful half-day. The school buzzed with the excitement of the holidays, and even the teachers weren't bothering to keep the classes under control, allowing the students to chat excitedly throughout the lesson. The homework was always piled on at the end though and met with a sea of groans.

Everyone was feeling the promise of Spring, everyone except Naruto who was sunk glumly in his seat. As Iruka's class ended, the last of the day, some of the students threw their papers in the air and cheered. They grabbed their bags and made a beeline for the cafeteria. Most had to stay for lunch and one free period, which was supposed to be for researching their new assignments, planning and forming study groups, but always ended up as lazy teens hanging out, making Spring Break party plans, which, of course, was far more important than homework.

Naruto got reluctantly out of his seat. A free period just meant longer with Orochimaru, and he was trying to will time to go slower, but it insensitively marched on, closer and closer to that time. Mr. Iruka stopped him as he was leaving the classroom.

"Naruto, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Naruto frowned and nodded, watching as the other students all filed noisily out of the room and onto their carefree lunches.

Iruka smiled at him, but the smile faded as he received none in return. "Naruto, I'm a little concerned about your behaviour recently. Is everything all right with you? You seem…down."

Naruto immediately felt his defences go on high alert. He swallowed.

"Everything's fine."

Iruka did not look convinced. "Are you sure? You're very distracted in class. Is everything…all right at home?"

Naruto finally willed a smile onto his face. "Everything is fine at home."

Just not here, he added silently.

"Well…you know that if you ever need to talk about anything-"

Naruto interrupted him. "Thank you, Mr. Iruka. That's really nice of you. I'd, uh, I'd better get to lunch."

Iruka nodded. "Of course. Don't let me keep you, but…you know the offer always stands, ok?"

For a moment, Naruto just looked at him, imagining for a moment a life where he told Iruka, where Orochimaru got arrested and everyone was unharmed. A life where he was free.

He shook himself from the daze. "Thank you. I'll be sure to do that." He said before making a hasty exit and heading to the cafeteria.

Iruka sighed as the boy left the classroom.


Everyone was in high spirits at their table, everyone except Sasuke and Neji of course, who were always the picture of calm and composure. Naruto tried to show his interest when Sakura and Ino chatted about all their Spring break plans. He had a feeling he would just be delivering more drugs. Business didn't stop just because school did.

"W-what are you doing for Spring break, Naruto?" asked Hinata shyly.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. Relax, I guess. I'm going to become the ultimate slob."

Sakura screwed up her nose. "Ugh, that's nasty."

Ino grinned. "I can just imagine you draped over the sofa with a wife beater, surrounded by tubs of takeaway. I'm so not coming over to your house."

Naruto pretended to be affronted. "Hey, I'll have you know they're very decorative tubs of takeaway."

Yeah, like he would ever have any of them over at his house. Ino had pretty much described Shunsuke's daily life to a T.

Naruto took the last bites of his lunch, and stood up. "Well, I gotta go get an assignment from a teacher. I'll see you guys after free period."

"What're you doing for free period? We should hang out." Said Kiba.

"Ah, sorry, I kind of have some homework to hand in before the end of the day. I didn't get the deadline on time."

"What project?" asked Sasuke. There was something odd about his tone.

"The scientific report due for physics." Lied Naruto smoothly. "I didn't hand mine in yet."

Fuck he was glad he'd thought about this lie ahead of time. He quickly excused himself before anyone got the chance to ask more, and dumped his tray before going straight to the boy's bathroom.


The bathroom was silent, only the drip of water from a leaky tap echoed off the sterile, white tiles. Naruto slammed open all the cubicle doors and checked inside. You never could be too careful.

Approaching the sink, he turned on a tap and cupped his hands under the water, taking a few sips. It felt refreshing, but as usual, it didn't satisfy the hunger that was gradually building up in him. It wouldn't go away. He swallowed some more and gargled, rinsing out his mouth. Still there and Naruto began to feel that familiar desperate feeling. He wished it would stop. He wished all of this would stop, and knowing what he was going out there to face down those long school corridors and in that quiet classroom with the buzzing incandescent lights…just made the urges stronger.

You can forget this. You can forget all of this, said that quiet, nagging voice.

Naruto stared at himself in the mirror. He looked tired.

Just one then. It was a special circumstance after all. Maybe he could try taking less during Spring break, but right now, this day was something he needed to forget. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he grabbed his bag and started rifling through it. Where were they?

He threw his wallet aside. The sound of the bathroom door opening went unheard. He began pulling out his books and discarding them to the floor.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up. Sasuke. He was watching him with a dark, unreadable expression.

"I, uh, I-" Naruto wasn't sure what to say. His mind felt slow. "I was looking for something."

Sasuke stepped closer. "What were you looking for?"

Naruto's hand was still inside the bag. He didn't dare continue searching, but his stomach was gnawing at him like a wild animal clawing up his insides. He needed those pills, had to get rid of Sasuke.

"Just uh...my homework."

Sasuke stared at him flatly.

"Isn't that your homework on the floor?" He motioned to the books and papers strewn about.

"Oh. Y-yeah, thanks. Must've thrown it out without noticing."

He bent down quickly to gather up the papers. If Sasuke wasn't going to leave, he'd get the hell out of there. He would find a quiet corridor, grab a couple pills and -

"Is this what you were looking for?"

Naruto froze. Sasuke was holding his bag and in his other hand, the jar of pills.

He looked at Sasuke, his eyes flicking from his face to the jar in his hands and back.

"That's -" he began.

"I knew it." interrupted Sasuke, his voice like scalding water. "Shikamaru was right. You're on drugs."

"No." said Naruto abruptly, and then the lie followed. "That was medicine for when I had stomach flu."

Sasuke raised a brow.

"Oh really. That was weeks ago wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but it - it comes back sometimes."

Great, that sounded lame even to him.

Sasuke looked at the small jar in his hands and opened the lid.

"I'm sure you can get more from the doctor then. You won't mind if I pour these out."

"No!" Naruto scrambled to his feet, tackling Sasuke as he walked over to a cubicle. The pill bottle went flying and the red tablets scattered onto the floor. Naruto knelt quickly, trying to save as many as he could from the damp toilet floor. Sasuke stood back and watched him.

"Pathetic." he said. And Naruto looked up. Sasuke's eyes were filled with disgust.

"To think I actually thought you were better than this kind of shit."

The blonde boy got up angrily, shoving the pills in his pocket.

"Fuck you, bastard. You don't know shit about my life."

Sasuke sneered. "Aw, pulling the poor orphan card? Big fucking deal. So your life is tough, doesn't mean you roll over and give in."

"And what about you, huh?" replied Naruto. His voice was low, deadly. "You think you're strong, Sasuke? You don't let anyone in, too scared to make real friends, too scared to even really live. All you care about is revenge. You're not even alive, so don't lecture me about how I fucking deal with shit!"

Sasuke didn't even flinch. "Maybe I don't always make the right choices." He glared at Naruto. "But people don't rely on me. Everyone's noticed how you're acting. You think it doesn't hurt them? How long's it going to be till you overdose, Naruto, or till you fuck your life up so much there's nothing left?"

Naruto looked at the ground, unable to meet Sasuke's eyes. "My life's already fucked up."

"Don't give me that shit. Weren't you the one always saying, 'never give up' and all that crap?" He shook his head. "I thought I'd actually met someone who stuck to his word. I thought you were the type who was stronger than drugs." He gave a harsh laugh. "Guess I was wrong. You're just like all the other pathetic weaklings out there who talk high and live low."

The dark-haired teen left, slamming the door behind him, and leaving Naruto standing in the middle of the bathroom. He didn't move for a moment, then -

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" he yelled, grabbing at his hair and pulling. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" He caught sight of his face in the mirror and slammed his fist into the glass. It shattered, shards cutting into his skin and falling into the sink.

The young boy stared at his fist for a moment, watching the blood run off it and then looked at the pills on the floor.

What was he doing? Why was he taking this shit?

Sasuke was right. He'd been hurting people. Ino, Hinata, Sasuke...Gaara. He bit his lip. That kid had finally found someone he could rely on, and Naruto was failing him, just like everyone else had in his life.

"Fuck." he said, clenching his bloody hand.

No. He was stronger than this. For the first time in a long time Naruto could hear the whisper of that old voice in his head, the fire that always used to drive him. I am stronger than this.

He picked up the rest of the pills, pulled out the ones in his pocket and stood in front of the toilet, his hands held over the pan.

"You can do this." he whispered. "You can do this." His hands were shaking. He could take one right now, just to tide him over, to help him start anew and get off the drugs. Naruto bit his lip.

"I'm better than this." he said, and he opened his hands. The red pills poured like sand between his fingers, splashing into the pan below.

Naruto pressed the handle down and watched the tablets swirl away into oblivion. He had to use every ounce of his willpower to stop himself from shoving his hand into the toilet water and pulling them out.

"Fuck Orochimaru." he said. Then he took a deep, shaky breath. The gnawing animal inside him felt like it was growing. "Fuck, I'm going to need help."