So...I've been sick (enough that my teachers were kind of wary about having me in class this week), not to mention last night's major power outage putting a damper on things (along with the monsoon that we got a taste of). Thankfully, Thanksgiving is this weekend. I'm really looking forward to the long weekend, since it'll give me plenty of time to write. And I should be getting my laptop back in about a week, which is nice. I've been so lost without it, since it's almost impossible to get my stories organized without Scrivener (it's scary how dependent I've become on that program).

Now, the next few chapters are something I'm going to have to get a little creative for, since they're more...some behind the scenes stuff before the final rounds. And I got some inspiration for some kinda traumatic shit, so I'll be throwing in a taste of that during this chapter. And something of an in-story reveal, since it's now appropriate to put it in. It's a bit shorter, but I'm hoping that impact will make up for the length, or lack thereof. It's meant to be on the emotional side.

It's barely been two days since the preliminaries, and I'm feeling rather stumped. I have no idea what I should be working on. After our team had dinner together, it was decided that we would all train separately, since we would be largely missing the point by training together. Especially since Akito and I are guaranteed a fight in the finals.

So with that in mind, I should probably be training to counter whatever Akito can throw at me. Which means that my ninjutsu training would have to focus on my wind element, since he would just douse any fire I threw at him. And unfortunately, I don't have anything that can effectively deal with that water of his. Well, except for maybe cutting it apart with wind blades, but that's a trick he's seen plenty of times before.

And that's not to mention all of the other competitors as well. Because if I focus too heavily on trying to beat Akito, I'll be at a disadvantage when going up against the ones I haven't trained for. Conversely, if I train too much in anticipation of the later fights, I might lose to Akito and not even make it that far. Then there's the matter of the little friend I have living in my stomach, and whether to ask him for help or not. Though I'm leaning towards not, since that might not go over so well in front of what is sure to be a large audience.

I suppose that I could always go and train with Naruto, since not only do we know each other well enough to know basically all of the other's moves and habits, He's also unpredictable enough that even if we do know each other better than anyone else, no one would ever be able to call a fight between us boring. Though really, I just don't like the idea of training alone.

But, looking up at the sky, it's probably not a good idea to start training. Not only is it getting late, but it looks like there's a storm coming in. I guess...I'll go and see Naruto tomorrow? It's not like I'll have anything better to do. And it's no secret to those who know me that it's not good for me to get bored. Bad things happen when I get bored, mostly from indulging, and heavens forbid, participating in Naruto's pranks too much.

Out of the darkness steps a figure, a familiar figure. It's that boy from before, the one with the fair hair, the scar on his face, and the pink eyes.

Yagura, I think.

He turns towards me, and I can see terrible burns all over his body, his skin red, and even charred black in some places. I try to move my hands to my mouth to cover my gasp, but I can't move, not even an inch. 'What's going on?' My voice isn't working either. 'Hello!?' Nothing.

Yagura watches me, at least it seems that way. But his eyes are blank, lifeless, and empty of any and all emotion. It's like he no longer has a soul. There's something so fundamentally wrong with what I'm seeing. He shouldn't be so cold and...

Dead.

I try to reach out for him, to touch him, but I still can't move. It's like my body is frozen in place. Then, the fear in me begins to rise as a huge shadow appears behind him. A giant hill, with spikes all over it, and three giant waving tails.

Tails? Why does that sound familiar?

The shadow grows darker, more solid, and I can almost make out the features of the large gray shape. It's so familiar, but I don't know why. Maybe, if I could touch it, I would be able to figure out why. Maybe...just maybe...I can solve this mystery.

Why do I see this boy in my dreams? Or are they nightmares?

In an instant, I'm released from my immobility, only to double over and collapse to the ground in pain. I've never felt this kind of burning pain before, and it makes me want to scream. But still, I can't hear my own voice. There's nothing but pain and silence, and an overwhelming feeling of loneliness and despair. A deep dark pit, with no way out. No way to escape.

I hate this.

I hate them.

They hate me.

Why do they hate me?

I only wanted to protect them.

I don't want to be like this anymore.

Someone, please...help me!

Help me!

HELP ME!

"Ciara! Ciara, wake up!" There's a shaking feeling, the whole world is shaking. "Ciara! It's a nightmare, wake up! Wake up, dammit!" The shaking continues, growing more intense each second.

My hands close tightly, and my eyes flash open, ready to go on the attack. But instead of seeing danger, the shaking stops, and my eyes fall on a mop of messy blond hair and a pair of bright blue eyes. I know those eyes well. "N-Naru..to?" I'm shaking, but this time, it's me, and not something else shaking me.

A hand comes down on my head, and an arm circles around my waist, pulling me into his lap. "I heard you screaming, ya know? You kept sayin' 'help me'." He tucks me against him, letting me bury my face against his shirt. "I've never heard you that scared...so I came in, sorry."

I shake my head, clutching his shirt tighter in my fists. "I...saw someone...he was in pain...so much pain..." Tears drip down my cheeks and soak into the dark green fabric of his pajama shirt. Tears produced by the feeling of having my heart torn out of my chest. Torn out...for someone I don't even know.

It's times like this that I can appreciate Naruto having an emotional intelligence, rather than a more book-oriented one. Feelings are what he's always been good at, even if he pretends not to be, he knows his stuff when it really counts. He rocks us back and forth, not saying a word, which is rather unlike his usual boisterous personality. I don't need to talk right now, I just need something to ground me to reality. And right now, Naruto is what's keeping me grounded, keeping me sane.

A few minutes later, after I've cried out all of the tears I can manage, reduced to nothing more than dry sobbing and quiet sniffling, he loosens his grip on me and allows me to slide back down onto the mattress of my bed. He stares at me, his big blue eyes full of worry. "...what happened to you this time?" He reminds me that this isn't the first time he's run into my apartment to calm me down after a nightmare.

It's funny, actually. The first time he burst into my house when I was having a nightmare, he came in through the window. We were about eight at the time, and it was shortly after I joined the academy. I nearly had a heart attack upon finding out that someone had gotten into my apartment, and I nearly killed him with a frying pan. After that incident, though, we traded each other our spare keys, just in case something happened. And each time either of us has an incident, it only reinforces our decision to trust each other with our safety.

And more than once, those keys have been used in the event of a nightmare, and not always my own. Though I suppose that both of us have more than enough trauma in our pasts to provide plenty of fuel for nightmares. Sometimes, I want to curse the world for the unfairness of it all, but I know well enough that cursing the world will do nothing to solve the problem. So, I latch onto Naruto, and him onto me, and we weather the storm, no matter how rough.

So, I take a deep breath, and get ready to start off yet another uncomfortable conversation with Naruto. Then again, it's not really all that uncomfortable, since we've gotten more than a little used to this over the years. "I saw a boy..." I gulp slightly at the thought of his pale face. "I've had a dream about him before. But this time...there was so much pain. And there was a dark shadow behind him, something huge, something powerful... But he was in so much pain...and he was so lonely..." I feel like bursting into tears again. Then, another memory comes to mind. "And...there was so much fear. Just like...after my match. That guy..." I grit my teeth and remember the look of fear and hatred on his face. "He called me a monster...a demon."

"He what!?" Of course Naruto would be outraged at hearing something like that. He's protective of his friends, to say the least. "Where the hell does he get off calling you that!?"

"Because...I am." I drop my eyes to my hands and close them, taking a deep breath. I guess, it's now or never. I open my eyes once more, a burning heat flowing through me. "Naruto...I know what's inside of you."

He stares into my eyes, his own growing wider. "You...what!?"

"The fox...I know about him." I look down to his stomach, where I'm pretty sure the seal would be showing if he were to start infusing chakra. "I know that you're the container for the Nine-Tailed Fox."

As I look back up to his eyes, he looks guilty, even afraid. "You...you know? But...how long?"

"Longer than you think." I smile gently at him. "I think...the first time I put it all together was when we were...ten? But I've known about the fox demon having a container since I was really little, barely able to walk." I think about my father fondly. "...Dad used to tell me that in the village, there was a little boy with a demon sealed away inside of him. He said that he was holding the demon back, so that it wouldn't destroy the village."

"Yeah..." Naruto's hands drift down towards his stomach, his face falling drastically.

"But..." I place my hands over his and smile sadly. "He also told me that the little boy who was its container would be a hero one day, that it was his destiny. And he said that the village didn't think so, that they hated the boy, even though they had no right to, which was why no one was allowed to talk about it." It makes me smirk to think that my family really didn't play by the rules. "And he said that the most important thing..." I raise my hands and wrap them around Naruto's shoulders. "Is that even the boy who carries a terrifying demon inside of him...deserves to be loved. That someone like that is who deserves it...who needs it the most."

Naruto looks back up at me, his eyes shining with unshed tears. I know his rule, that he won't allow himself to cry if he can help it. "But...then what about you? Why did he call you a demon?"

My smile fades a little. "Naruto...I love you. So, so much. My family is gone, and I'll never get them back. Everyone I've ever loved has left me behind, and I can't lose you too. You're my best friend, and the closest thing I've ever had to an annoying and protective big brother. Which is why...I'm finally going to tell you my biggest secret." Heat floods my eyes, and I know that they've changed color. "Like you, I carry a power inside of me that would terrify people if they knew about it. It's part of the reason I've protected you so passionately. And while I can say that he's probably a lot more friendly than your little friend, he's just as capable of leveling this village in a matter of minutes."

I lift up the hem of my nightgown, not at all affected by the fact that he can see my underwear. Honestly, we've seen each other in our underwear so many times that it's no longer an issue. And there, branded onto my skin is a whirling seal with a million little symbols spreading around it. And there are five distinctive tongues lashing out in all directions, each of them a different color.

His eyes drop to my stomach, and his hand reaches out to touch my skin. I resist the urge to giggle at the ticklish sensation as his fingers run over my skin. "This...doesn't look like my seal..."

I shake my head. "Probably because it's a different kind of seal. But it does the same thing that yours does. It keeps a demon inside my body, its power locked there, not meant to come out." As his fingers fall away, I lower my nightgown. "But he wasn't sealed there to protect the village...he was sealed there to save my life."

"Save your life?" Naruto frowns. "What happened?"

I sigh and shake my head. "That's a story for another time...but one night, I nearly died. And so, Suzaku was sealed into me to keep me alive."

"Suzaku?" He frowns slightly. "Is...that his name?"

I nod slightly. "Yes. And according to him...he is a bird of fire...with ten tails."

"Ten tails?" Naruto's frown deepens, but it's a thinking frown, not an angry frown. "Like the Nine-Tails?"

"I think so..." I'm not entirely sure, since he hasn't actually told me that. But his silence about it was suspicious enough to make me think otherwise. "I mean, I don't know for sure. I just know that...I'm like you, and that's one of the reasons I know that I can trust you with this." Now, the guilt starts welling up inside of me. "But...if you want me to tell people...then I can take some of the heat off you. It'll be easier for you if the villager hate the both of-"

"No!" He shouts, and I wonder if he's accidentally woken the neighbors yet. "I'm not letting you tell anyone! Not yet..." He smiles bravely, a mask that I know very well. "They already hate me...and I don't want them to hate you too."

I'm not sure if I should feel guilty or relieved. Though even considering feeling relieved just makes me feel even more guilty. "But..."

"It's alright!" Naruto grins even more brightly. "You watch my back, and I'll watch yours, right? There's no reason to tell anybody something that isn't their business! Believe it!"

His enthusiasm makes me smile weakly. "Yeah...believe it." I can't believe that all of this started with a nightmare. And now, Naruto and I are sitting here making what sounds like a promise for the ages.

Then, he turns on a dime, his enthusiasm only growing. "Oh yeah, it's almost time for breakfast! Let's eat together, and later, I'll introduce you to this cool new teacher I found! He's a real old pervert, but that's okay, he really knows what he's doing!"

"A...wait, he's a what!?" Already, I'm not liking the sound of this. And it wouldn't be the first time that Naruto dragged me headfirst into trouble. "Naruto, are you sure about this?" I ask that like I trust him to be sure and informed about everything. Really, I should know better by now.

"Yeah, it'll be fine!" He hops off my bed and heads straight for the door. "You coming, or what!? I'll make us some ramen!" He says that like it's the most normal thing to do after a nightmare and an unexpected slew of sleepover traditions.

I stifle a laugh as I get up off my bed. Well, not much point in going back to sleep now. And this way, I don't have to go and track Naruto down later. This should work to relieve my boredom. Though I get the feeling that this is going to turn into utter chaos before the day is over.

For now...I might as well sit with Naruto as we stuff our faces with instant ramen.