More reviews! I have Monster working overtime to edit all these chapters- poor boy. Responses to your reviews:
ghostninja85: I am actually writing an AU fic for KakaIru(I'm a big fan of them too) I update once every week and then bang my head against the wall for an hour and drink a bottle of cough syrup to get more plots(Secret has been revealed!!!) so don't worry about the updates, they keep cominghere you figure out Redd has no life.
'Yum': Okay, you actually asked a question so I must think(answers come in the order you asked them) Kakashi did not let Sasuke go after Naruto because he didn't want Sasuke trying to ditch the mission; he would have gone after Naruto too if the boy hadn't been running at breakneck speed...(in short, Kakashi was being lazy). Kakashi did not stop Lee because, as afore mentioned in the story, he was sleeping. Kankuro/Ino looks fun.
Dreams raven: That's alright if you don't know some pairings, other fic readers got ya covered .
Can Hersey: Let's see where the story takes us, eh? If I don't think I can handle all the pairings, I'll drop them until it's SasuNaru(though I wont until I'm just kind of really screwing up the story with it). Glad you like the fic! Thanks for the favorite. Wow, I went to look at your page and it seems everything is in Spanish (now I wish I could read more than just a little bit of it).
Thank you for the reviews everyone Remember, Monster and I basically live off of them so please keep up the support. A way to contact us directly is on our info page, so if you want to talk to one of us, hopefully you have YIM or AIM. If not, emails are good to (actually, they're sent to Monster's mailbox, but if you wanna say it's to me, he'll forward it...I hope. To the fic!
Disclaimer (last time this is done): We do NOT own Naruto, but we DO own the idea of this story. Blah...
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"Rejection is Real"Ch3 by closet-monsters
Fire! Fire in the village! Naruto watched it from a bird's eye view, watched a whole family try to escape the inferno, screaming children. Suddenly, a mahogany shape darted in front of him; it looked like a stripped tree. Buildings converted to rubble before it. It was only when it smashed down on afore said family did he distinguish it not as a tree, but a humongous claw. The gnarled form flexed, making a crunching sound that would have made Naruto sick, should have made him puke up his guts. Someone was crying nearby.
'Do you like it?' Came a small hiss nearby him. Naruto tried turning his head, but he couldn't. He felt his stomach twist slightly as he began to move forward. Not on his own, mind you, he'd learned by now he was watching through another's eyes. 'I did. It was so...' The voice lapsed into maniacal laughter.
"Where am I?" Naruto called out. No reply came, only the forward movement. Out of the corners of his view he could see flickers of brown, though he couldn't determine a shape. Fire flickered below with hunger that couldn't be quenched.
'Once upon a time there lived a fox with nine tails. And he was so powerful that whenever he shook those tails, landslides and tsunamis would result' Said the hissing voice. 'Until HE came'
"Kyuubi!" Came a strong voice to Naruto's right. His vision swiveled until it fell on a large hilltop in the distance; the setting sun was in his eyes. Atop the hill stood a man, though his vision magnified slightly to see. A mane of gold fell over determined blue eyes; the man was clad in a coat of fire. "Come!"
'This is your past, boy, this is your future!' Screamed the voice. The man transformed to a black-haired young man with a gaze of crimson and a crackling ball of blue electricity in his hand. Suddenly, that man was gone too and Naruto was staring into the depths of great red-orange eyes, tainted with malice.
Naruto sat bolt upright in his bed, holding his head and shaking violently. The hand holding his head ran itself through his sweaty, blonde locks. "A dream." He whispered, still shaking but not as bad. He tumbled out of the bed and scrambled for the bathroom, looking in the mirror. There was the same Naruto, though a bit pale. Small insane laughter kicked up inside him, making his stomach clench. He ran to the toilet and was sick.
A small knocking came from his apartment door, causing the blonde to snap out of his stupor. The knock came again. "Okay, okay! Let me pick up my guts and swallow them back down, I think I'll need them." Naruto grumbled. He stood, flushed the toilet, and then walked towards the door. After lazily undoing the locks, he opened the door to see the one he was most pissed at.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Sasuke opened his mouth to say some, but didn't get a chance to. Naruto slammed the door in his face and, from where Sasuke was standing, locks were being clicked back into place.
"Naruto!" He barked, pounding on the door. When no answer came, he leaned against the door.
"Go home, you asshole! You dare show your face after what you did? I trusted you!" The blonde screamed, tears welling up in his eyes. He'd never let Sasuke see him like that, but behind closed doors he let them flow.
"Naruto..." Sasuke mumbled. "Please, it's not how you think. Let me explain."
'Naruto? Since when am I not 'dobe'?' Naruto thought to himself. 'And a 'please' too? Oh, Kami, he's lost his mind, hasn't he? Oh, all right...' Curiosity got the better of him.
"This better be good," Naruto growled, making sure he was loud enough for the Uchiha to hear. Wiping the tears away, he undid the locks once more and opened the door. "Explain."
"Can we not do this in the open?" Sasuke mumbled, shuffling his feet. Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Why should I save you any embarrassment, asshole? You should have been on your knees just for me to open the door for you." His blue eyes twinkled; obviously, the fox was enjoying this. He took in the moment, savoring it, before moving aside. "Enter the mess."
How like Naruto, to have ramen cups scattered about the floor like miniature complexes for mold-monsters and dust bunnies. Wait; did he just see that pile of clothes move? While Sasuke was musing to himself, Naruto had made himself comfortable on the back of a broken-down couch.
"Alright, we're out, now explain."
Sasuke inhaled and then prepared himself to embark on the truth of the whole Sakura ordeal.
--
A sweaty, tired Lee grinned over his shoulder at Sakura. "All done. Shall we be off?"
'Oh jeez, he actually got it done!' Inner Sakura moaned. "Hey Lee, aren't you not supposed to be walking around since the Chuunin exam incident? Aren't you supposed to be having surgery?" Sakura asked, actually a little worried.
"Peh! I can fend for myself! I'm getting the surgery, but that doesn't mean I'll stay bed ridden!" He said, leaning a bit against the wall.
"They don't know you're out, do they?" Sakura arched a brow.
"Now I didn't"
"Lee...."
"No, I kind of snuck out," Lee admitted sheepishly. Sakura nodded.
"Mmm hmm. I think it's time we get you to bed." She said sternly, though Inner Sakura was throwing confetti about at the fact they'd wiggled out of another date with Lee.
"B-but what about-" Lee began, though he was silenced by two fingers against his lips.
"We're taking you to the hospital."
"Oh...okay..."Lee mumbled. 'Darn it, I lost the chance to walk Sakura home all because I'm cripple at the moment. As soon as I get better, it's one thousand pull-ups for me, one-handed!'
---
" So you see, Sakura was the one who kissed me and friggin' held me there!" Sasuke was explaining. "I didn't want her to kiss me."
"Uh huh," Naruto mumbled, eyes narrowed in disbelieve. "Yeah, like you didn't like a hot girl kissing you. I can't believe you kissed her right in front of me and gave me a lecture yesterday! You're a hypocrite, Uchiha."
Sasuke twitched. He had just told the truth and still the blonde didn't believe him. "Kami, Naruto! Are you so dense? I don't like Sakura because I like you!" He growled, just wanting to throw something at the other.
"Yeah, whatever Sasuke... What?" Naruto did a double take, blinking those big baby blue eyes.
"You really are dense! Okay, I'm gay Naruto. Sasuke is to gay as Naruto is to ramen-obsessed!" He gestured to the scattered ramen cups. "I like you, Naruto, okay? Dobe."
Naruto's face screwed up, like the fighting emotional responses were squishing his face. Kyuubi was cackling; he was so fed up with that fox. "Get out!" He screamed, clamping his hands over his head as he began screaming at the demon.
Sasuke winced, running for the door. He thought the blonde was yelling at him, though what was he expecting, for it to end up like a make-out scene from a book? Stupid, stupid!
He ran outside and blindly down the steps to the street, not minding the black hair in his face. He just had to get home, had to sit somewhere and think of this. He chose a tree by his house. The sun was setting.
----
Gentle shaking brought Kakashi from his slumber. Through hazy vision he saw a young brunette man staring down at him; looking closer he identified a small scar across the man's nose.
"Oh, they've sent an angel to wake me up." Kakashi mumbled through a yawn. Umino Iruka flushed red at this comment, even if it was cheesy. "What do you need, gorgeous?" He continued, patting the other's hand.
"Stop that," Iruka blushed, slapping his hand off. "I'm not letting you off the hook that easy. Sleeping on the job?"
"Shouldn't you be grading papers now?" Kakashi asked, sitting up and making sure his mask and makeshift eye patch were still in place.
"I finished those hours ago. It's ten o'clock, Kakashi." The brunette replied, crossing his arms. "And you were late for dinner, as usual."
"Oh, I was looking forward to it all day!" Kakashi put on a fake moan. "I was late because-"
"Save the excuses, Kakashi, I caught you." Iruka mumbled, sighing. The silver-haired Jhounin reached out and wrapped his arm around the Chuunin's waist.
"I'm sorry, Iruka, really." He said, nuzzling the other's neck. Iruka shoved him away.
"Are you nuts? Not in the open." The teacher scolded, looking around for any signs of spectators. "You're lucky no one saw us."
"It's ten o'clock," Kakashi replied, grinning beneath his mask. He kind of liked seeing Iruka mad; it was cute. "Naruto ran off from the mission today."
"What? Why?" The brunette was all over him now, shaking him by the shoulders as if that'd help the information pour out faster.
"Oh, girl troubles." Team 7's teacher waved the issue off dismissively. "Sasuke tried to run after him, but I stopped them. Couldn't have both of them gone and have Sakura do all the work; it would have taken forever."
"Lazy... Sasuke?"
"Even though they fight a lot, those boys are closer to each other than anyone else here... Accept maybe you, Iruka; you get Naruto free food."
"That's not what it was all about!"
"Hn. Perhaps not; Naruto will get over whatever he's upset about, he always has." Kakashi replied. "Now, may I escort you home?"
"Only if you give me a kiss goodnight." Iruka replied, a bit deviously. Kakashi looked surprised, which gave the other all the more pleasure.
"You read my mind." The scarecrow grinned, though the dolphin knew better.
---
"Ugh, how stupid." Sasuke mumbled, raking a hand through his raven black locks. "Why would I expect any different treatment?"
'Maybe you thought because of all the girls that flocked to you, the kitsune might do the same,' chuckled an inner voice. Sasuke itched at the curse seal branded on his neck irritably. Naruto had his fox and Sasuke had his snake. 'It seems rejection is real, even for an Uchiha. He doesn't want you, come to me. I want you.'
"Leave me alone," Sasuke mumbled, trying to block the hissing voice of Orochimaru. He thought of Sakura and Naruto bitterly, then scowled when the image of his older brother flickered across his mind. A sound woke him from his thoughts, making him glance upwards at the night sky. He was just in time to spot four shapes against the moon before they fell onto the tree he perched on.
"Who the hell are you?" Sasuke mumbled, looking at each one. One of them was huge enough to rival Chouji's gut; this one was practically bald with a few tufts of orange hair. One of the freaks had six arms and the other to appeared to be girls.
"The four sounds. East Gate's Kidoumaru," The six-armed freak spoke first. The tubby one spoke up next.
"The same. The South Gate's Jiroubou."
"The same. West Gate's Sakon." Spoke one of whom Sasuke thought to be a girl.
'Sakon is a boy's name. I must have been mistaken... Is that me or does he have another head?' Sasuke thought to himself.
"The same. North Gate's Tayuya." Spoke the last, the real girl of the group. Then they were gone, but Sasuke was on his feet and prepared now. He dodged blows from the spider-freak's many fists and leaped over him, kicking the two-headed guy in the chest. As soon as the fat Jiroubou made his move, he tossed both him and Kidoumaru into the two others trapped in front of the trunk of the tree. They all hit each other, but in a puff of smoke they returned to their true forms; logs.
'Shit,' Sasuke thought to himself, turning his head to the side to see the team right behind him. He was getting mad now. "You caught me at a bad time," He growled calmly, "If you want more, I won't hold back."
"Heh, stop yapping like a wimpy dog," Sakon smirked," Come on, I'll make a nice melody out of your broken bones. Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do." And he lunged forward at Sasuke, calling back to his comrades, "I'll handle this."
Sasuke smirked; he had a plan. His hand tightened slightly on the good length of strong wire in his hand.
--
Sasuke had left because he thought Naruto was yelling at him, and now Naruto regretted it. Sure, he wasn't really comfortable with the fact Sasuke liked him, but he'd have liked to talk about it sensibly with his friend. His thoughts lingered towards another day when Sakura had confronted him and actually took him on a date.
"I need to tell you something about Sasuke." She'd said. Over their date on a bench she explained to him the curse seal Sasuke bore on his neck and Naruto had felt disgusted and told Sakura he'd met Orichamaru up close. She'd frowned, what he'd said made her mood worse.
"Don't worry, Sasuke wouldn't give into a freak like Orichimaru." He'd replied with that big, Cheshire-cat grin of his. It made her happier. And like that, Naruto forgave Sakura of all her conniving because, he believed, where there were all her bad qualities there was also some good. But the truth was he didn't know what Sasuke would do, but he was hoping for the best. Fuck what Kyuubi said.
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That's the end of that. Almost didn't make my own deadline in typing everything up. Reviews please! I know I'm nowhere close to it, but when I get to the 100 review mark, I hope that person will have a messenger or email of some sort, as a free fan fic from me would be in line, no matter what genre it is. Hope I'm not disappointing too many people o.o BTW, the KakaIru in this fic might not be kept, I was kind of just doing it for the fangirl out there wave to ghostninja But if the masses vote to keep that pairing in, it shall be done ;