Author's Note: Yet but another dreary chapter for you guys to sup on. Hopefully, you'll find it delectable. (*_~)
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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The // is equivalent to three consecutive periods. In other words, a pause or an interruption.
To Sakura's and Back
They arrived at Naruto's house just as the moon appeared from behind the clouds, enriching the white pallor of Sasuke's skin, while accentuating the golden hue of Naruto's. The two boys stared awkwardly at the door before Naruto finally turned to face Sasuke.
"I don't have the key," he ruefully admitted. All his valuable possessions had been left at the hospital, one of them being his house key.
"Don't you have a spare, Dobe?" Sasuke asked in annoyance.
Immediately Naruto's eyes lightened up and he crouched down, slapping at Sasuke's shin sharply.
"Lift up a bit, asshole," he said. "I should have another set under the welcome mat."
Sasuke did as he was told, watching from the side as Naruto lifted the corner of the rug and felt beneath it. After several seconds of fruitless groping, Naruto tossed the rug aside. Just as he'd feared an empty space where his spare key used to be greeted him. Slapping his forehead angrily, Naruto slowly rose to his feet. The key at the hospital must have been his spare one after all.
"Not there, Dobe?" Sasuke's voice taunted.
"Obviously not, creep. Argh! What am I going to do? Maybe I should head back to the hospital."
"You forget, you're already discharged," Sasuke ruthlessly pointed out.
"Well, maybe I can readmit myself!" Naruto retorted. Then a smile broke across his face.
"I could always stay at Iruka's, or even Kakashi-sensei's hou //"
"Don't even think about it," Sasuke quickly interjected.
"Why not?"
"For one thing, Iruka still doesn't know about your predicament and as for Kakashi // he's probably not even home yet," Sasuke offered weakly.
Naruto frowned, evidently not missing the weakness in that argument either.
"Then what do you suggest I do? Camp out here the entire night?"
"Sakura," Sasuke simply stated before he leapt off the steps and landed soundlessly on the ground.
"Are you coming?" he asked.
Naruto nodded eagerly and sprinted off in the same manner, except the cumbersome hospital gown tangled about his legs causing him to slip. Losing his balance, Naruto fell forward. He quickly closed his eyes, preparing for a painful crash // only his body never made contact with the ground. Much to his discomfort, Naruto found himself cradled in Sasuke's arms. Shifting his eyes to better see his savior's face, Naruto smiled apologetically. (The typical 'Falling-into-your-Love's-arms-scene had to be inserted)
"Sorry, Sa //" he started to say, except a moan from Sasuke's lips stopped him.
The impact of Naruto's body slamming into him had caused Sasuke to stagger backwards and sprain his ankle. Forgetting about the heavy bundle still in his arms, he dropped to his knees, bringing Naruto down with him. Scooting off to one side, Naruto reached out to touch Sasuke's swelling ankle, but the angry shinobi merely pushed him away.
"Damn you, Dobe," he growled between quiet groans. "Why can't you ever take care of yourself?"
Naruto's rising concern quickly plummeted, replaced now by an angry refusal to admit he was wrong. He never asked the jerk to catch him. Therefore it wasn't his fault the creep got hurt. The asshole didn't deserve his sympathy he reasoned.
But even with such fine rationality running its full course, Naruto could not help but feel a tad bit sorry for the arrogant bastard as he struggled to stand up. Despite convincing himself that Sasuke deserved his misery, he couldn't help but worry as the older boy swayed slightly on his feet. And he definitely couldn't help reaching out once again to help him, this time refusing to let Sasuke push him away.
Linking his arm under Sasuke's shoulder he told the dark-haired gennin to lean against him, recalling to mind how Sasuke had supported him in the same manner at the hospital. Strange how life reversed our roles like this.
"It's useless, baka," Sasuke mocked. "You're not tall enough // "
Yup, life was definitely taunting them now. Very strange, indeed.
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Naru-Chan
Sakura opened the door to find Sasuke there and was ecstatic, until she saw the smaller boy struggling to support him standing by his side. Her eyes roamed from the raven-haired boy down to the blonde and back again, until the situation became clear to her. It didn't exactly take an inquisitive mind to see that Sasuke was hurt.
Helping the two into her house she led them to the kitchen. This wasn't the best of ideas, as her mother came in shortly after. Needless to say Ms. Haruno wasn't exactly pleased to find two complete strangers in her house. Well, at the very least, one complete stranger. Sasuke she recognized, but the blonde-haired girl with the large, blue eyes was an enigma, despite resembling a particular blonde-haired brat.
Seeing her mother's fuming face, Sakura quickly proceeded to introduce the two boys, ending cautiously at Naruto, who she took the liberty of calling Naru. For once her loud-mouthed teammate did not object, apparently realizing the gravity of the situation.
"Why are they here?" Ms. Haruno questioned softly, as if the two she spoke of were not even sitting in the same room.
"Well // " Sakura began and scratched her head. Turning nervous eyes to the two suddenly submissive boys she asked: "So, why exactly are you guys here?"
Naruto nudged Sasuke sharply and he sighed. Taking a breath he began to explain as simply and realistically as possible Naru's predicament, explicitly leaving out certain details involving a witch, a potion and a demon fox.
"So you see, Ms. Haruno, we were wondering if Naru could spend the night here. She's really obedient and won't be a bother to anyone."
Why won't you add that I'm house broken and don't mind being put on a leash as well, you asshole Naruto thought angrily to himself, although outwardly he smiled kindly at Sakura's mother, acting his role perfectly down to the letter. Ms. Haruno stared questioningly from one pleading face to the next and finally nodded her approval.
"Only for tonight," she finally complied. Then turning to Sakura she said: "Keep her inside and don't let her break anything, Sakura." Having said this, she left the kitchen and returned to her bedroom.
She's talking about me as if I'm really some stray dog Sakura found on the streets. Who does she think she is? I can't believe she's Sakura mother! How can anyone be so blatantly rude and inconsiderate?
"Naru, you can stop smiling now. She's gone," Sasuke joked lightly, catching the murderous glint in Naruto's eyes, although the blonde had never stopped smiling.
As if the magic had worn off, Naruto's face quickly collapsed into a scowl and he pouted miserably. Massaging his cheeks for dramatic effect he slouched down onto his chair.
Sakura sighed and went to retrieve her first aid kit, so as to treat Sasuke's sprained ankle. The silence that followed after her departure was oddly peaceful.
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Sasuke collapsed onto his bed with a heave. Raising his knee he bent down and began to rub lightly at his sore ankle. He had just returned home after leaving a rather annoyed Naruto, or should he say Naru staring out the window after him.
Sasuke chuckled softly remembering the angelic face Naruto had plastered on every time Sakura's mother had come back to check on them, which happened to be quite often. Sasuke counted a total of three direct check-ups and five questioning stares from behind the kitchen walls. Perhaps a part of her had warned Ms. Haruno of Naruto's true identity. Perhaps a part of her had recognized the imminent danger he was posing on her property.
That wasn't exactly such a far-fetched assumption either Sasuke realized with a laugh. After her fourth spying attempt, Naruto had really looked as if he would, indeed, rig havoc on her pristine, little kitchen. Of course only his clenched fists under the dinning room table had given this away. His face, however, had never faltered in its innocent expression. He'd smiled angelically at Ms. Haruno and even batted his long lashes, as if Sakura's mother was a testosterone-driven male, easily subdued by such flirtation. Surprisingly it had worked.
Ms. Haruno had frowned slightly, but apparently her doubts were set aside and by the time Sasuke was ready to leave it had been a record-breaking twenty minutes of 'no Ms. Haruno'.
Well, well, it seemed that on top of his obnoxiousness, Naruto was capable of other things as well. He would be a damn good actor one of these days if he should ever pursue such a career choice. For the third time that evening, Sasuke found himself laughing softly. Perhaps he should really start calling Naruto, Naru. The name suited him perfectly. Thinking so, Sasuke fell asleep.
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Human Cage
Sakura tossed a scowling Naruto one of her old pajamas before pulling out some extra bedding from her closet. These she quickly unrolled and spread out on the ground next to her bed. Throwing a quick glance at Naruto, she saw that he still hasn't changed.
"Naruto, you're not going to sleep in that hospital gown, are you? Change and go to bed. We have training early tomorrow and I'm dead tired."
Once again, Naruto only stared back silently, Sakura's pajama still clutched in his hands and not on him.
"Shy, Naru-chan?" Sakura teased, causing a deep blush to form on Naruto's face.
"I've never changed in front of a girl before," he admitted shyly.
"If you feel so squeamish about it, I'll go outside," Sakura offered as she continued smoothing out the bedroll and laying down a pillow.
"Umm // " Naruto prompted. Sakura turned to face him and saw that he was blushing once again.
"You actually want me to leave?" she asked a little amused at how shy Naruto could be, considering that they were now both girls.
"You did offer // " Naruto pointed out quietly, his head lowered.
Sakura sighed and walked out the room, ensuring that the door was closed completely behind her. She didn't want little Naru-chan to think that she was peeking
***************
Once alone, Naruto quickly slipped out of his gown, letting it fall into a pool of fabric at his feet. He was just about to tug on Sakura's pajama when a sudden movement from the side of the room caught his attention. Out of the corners of his eyes he could just make out the slightest outline of a figure staring earnestly back at him.
Gasping aloud, he held the pajama pants close to his chest and crouched down into a defensive stance. The form quickly imitated him, bending low in exactly the same manner. Naruto gave a menacing growl. The form did the same, although not a sound came from its opened mouth. Naruto's growl deepened. Was the jerk mocking him
Now on all four, Naruto crawled towards the figure. It, too, slithered towards him. Naruto ducked behind Sakura's bed. The figure also ducked behind another frilly, pink-laced bed. Wait a minute // when did Sakura have two beds in her room? Naruto slowly stuck his head out from behind its coverage. He saw the figure do the same.
He frowned and furrowed his brows. The opposing person mimicked his expression. Naruto stared at it dumbly for several seconds before realization finally dawned on him and he let loose a nervous laugh, amused at his own stupidity. He had been looking at a reflection of himself in a full-length mirror all along!
A rueful smile spread across his face and Naruto straightened, making his way to the mirror. Stepping before it, he struck a pose. I still can't believe I almost attacked myself he thought bemusedly. Naruto began to laugh once more, only to stop midway. Slowly one tan arm reached out and tapped lightly at his two-dimensional image.
He had never realized just how beautiful he was. The sight both amazed and displeased him. No wonder Sakura had laughed at his shyness. What a fool he was. What a terrible fool! Sakura would never blush at the sight of his naked body. What girl would look at this and blush? No one. No one. He was a freak! Who could possibly love him as a boy inside this dreaded form?!
"You're not me," he whispered harshly at his reflection. "You're a stranger. I // I don't know you. So leave, leave and give me back my body. I don't want you. I don't want you!"
He was yelling now, not certain where all the hatred was coming from, or to whom it was directed. He just knew that it hurt too much to keep silent. It was too painful to believe that he was or could ever be happy. Too painful to play pretend to himself and others. Sobs racked his entire body and Naruto sunk to the ground, curling up into a tight ball of tense muscles and shaking nerves.
Make it go away. Make it go away. I don't want you. I don't. Go away. Go away. PLEASE, GO AWAY!
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No comments from the author this time. I'm sure many of you are relieved. (~_*)