(Note:a couple of these first chapters were plain illegible or riddled with typos, so what you're reading right now is a reposting.)
Although reviews are very appreciated since this is my first story ever, I've still decided not to request reviews for it to keep going on (a decision which I'll probably live to regret). I don't mind getting criticism as long as it remains CIVILIZED, INTELLIGENT and CONSTRUCTIVE. Anyway, for those of you whom are familiar with my work ethics, you know the gig: I'll just keep writing at my own pace, in my free time when I have any and whenever the heck I feel like it. The updating's going to be very inconsistent but it's not like it matters anymore.
Expect some OOC from the characters since this mostly centers on Naruto and his friends in their late teens and early adulthood. You know they have plenty of room for growth in that meantime. For better or worse.
This story should be simple enough compared to some super sophisticated plots we find here on the website but I do believe the way a story is told can alter it completely. Keep in mind however that this is an extremely warped alternate universe which doesn't really exist in the Naruto timeline, so I'll have to ask readers to remain broad-minded.
This story isn't rated PG-13 because of profanity but rather because of its political incorrectness and occasionally because of its sheer stupidity. And as far as adult situations go, I am strongly opposed to gratuitous sexuality and aggressive graphical description: if there is to be any of that stuff at all, it'll be subtle or vague so that it actually retains MEANING. There's a distinct difference between writing cheap vintage porn and actually telling a story.
One last thing: I don't DO yaoi nor yuri. Personally, I think it's just creepy. Not the fact that some people are homosexual mind you (which is perfectly fine in our society), but MAKING them homosexual when they're not supposed to be. Seriously people, that's just really. REALLY. WRONG. Retarded jokes however are fine.
Enjoy.
Full Bloom: A Naruto fanfic
Chapter 1. Thorn: Broken memories
"This is such a hassle, meeting in a flower garden...So typical of her. But I've gotta say, this is a really nice spot. Nice view from here."
He looked around at the flowers surrounding him, and peacefully breathed in their sweet perfume. He had never really taken notice of how beautiful the forest situated behind the village was. In fact, he had rarely even entered that forest: this place was known as Konoha's equivalent of an exotic flower garden, and it's not like he had a good reason to visit often. Understanding flowers, using flowers and arranging flowers in particular were activities strictly reserved to the kunoichi of Konoha, while male shinobis in training like himself in his younger days would have spent most of their time at the Academy, doing...uh...basically vegetating, probably. To each gender their own plant lore. Anyway, even though this garden was a peaceful and overall pleasant place to be, it should also be mentioned there was plenty of ways to get poisoned or eaten if one didn't know exactly where he/she was stepping around in the accursed place: these plants were after all also integrated in the kunoichi's field weaponry. You know, like in 'stuff that helps ya kill people'. There was a very good reason why Naruto couldn't get too comfortable right now, and it was because "lethal" in some cases was a complete understatement. Thinking about it, the young ninja corrected his previous statement.
"...Well, it's a decent spot WHEN I'm not in mortal danger. Hmm, that sounded about right. For crap's sake, my jacket's already ruined! This is the last time I EVER set foot in here!"
The poor guy was unnerved enough already: he had barely even entered the forest that he had already almost lost an arm. Naruto actually considered himself lucky to have had good enough reflexes to only have his jacket's sleeve bitten off by the giant carnivorous plant at the entrance. The blond boy winced thinking about what could have happened back then if he hadn't been paying attention: this definitely wasn't the moment to get poisoned or have a limb chewed off. Kunoichi flowers weren't his bag, he knew that, and he wasn't about to take any useless risks. And he risked a lot: in the case he survived an eventual accident, he'd probably get sent back on a stretcher to the medical office. Yet again. And if that old hag Tsunade happened to be there, she'd sigh at his hopelessness. Yet again. And IF the fat old nurse assigned to him was there too, she would stab him with a syringe just for the heck of looking professional. YET AGAIN. Nope, he was better off sticking to what he knew best: ramen. And there was not even a bowl in sight.
As you can probably imagine, for field missions involving combat, it wasn't very practical to be only well-versed in the deadly arts of ramen: but it might always come in handy someday. You never really knew.
"She's sure taking her time," he mumbled, and settled down comfortably at the base of a tree, after checking it was perfectly safe to do so.
Well, it was partly his own fault for showing up too early, but he just hadn't been able to contain his excitement: you see, it was because Naruto HAD a damn good reason to be here today. And it wasn't just a passing feeling of masochism either. No, he was actually meeting up with someone, and even now the idea was making him feel light and strangely happy: knowing our hyperactive friend, it was a miracle he was even managing to keep his cool. Or not. Rather, the fact that there was a large number of man-eating flowers living in the surroundings probably had something to do with it. It sounded so very lame for a ninja, but it's not like he wasn't aware that acting too jumpy could cost him a limb right now: getting your favorite jacket gruesomely mutilated taught you these kinds of things.
...But all things considered, this was still a great day for him!
"For Sakura-chan to even ask me to wait for her...For a one-on-one talk? Maybe she wants to confess her feelings? She must have finally realized just how godly a ninja I am compared to Sasuke!"
He grinned at the idea. He knew he was just flattering himself yet again, but part of him wanted to believe it wasn't totally false. He wasn't that repulsive, right? After all, he had grown a bit over the last few years. Well, not that much: he was still a pretty short guy. But it was just enough for Sakura-chan to put her head on his shoulder, and so he didn't care to grow much taller than that. And it's not like he was totally unattractive either in his own right, although his traits were still childish and retained that smug kid look he hadn't grown out of yet. Probably another crucial factor was that he bore proudly cheek whiskers for facial hair, something which understandably didn't score too well with the ladies. I mean, geez, a goatee's bad, but whiskers are plain abnormal...But then again, we were talking about a Konoha ninja here, and the freak reserve never ran low in that village's ranks. Eh, it was a crazy world where guys could be born with facial makeup or look like flaming homosexuals and yet have no one look twice. In fact...you know what, scrap that last statement about Naruto being abnormal: in short, positive terms, if anything, he was relatively NORMAL. But that meant he wasn't anything special either, unlike a certain ex-teammate of his.
"All right, fine, Sasuke still owns me in the looks department. I'll get him there...someday...But for now, my Ninjutsu still rules big time!"
Or so he wanted to believe. He was made very aware of just how his Taijutsu needed work every time he sparred with a Taijutsu-oriented Genin/Chuunin and got his 1000 shadowclones'butts kicked one by one. Do the math: that's a lot of ass. As for his non-existant Genjutsu, he had always though that was something left to girls and brushed off that weakness as a detail. You could say it was a convenient excuse, but it was also true that only Kurenai in the whole darned village seemed to specialize in Genjutsu and let's face it: she sucks ASS. Heck, getting caught in your own attack like an amateur...But I'm digressing. So what did Naruto have left anyway to even qualify himself as a ninja? Incomplete self-styled Rasengan, baby. And summoning frogs whenever he ran low on proteins for his ramen.
"Note to myself: must put some spare time aside to learn higher and more effective forms of Taijutsu...And catch up with Sasuke...Aw man, this blows! But I can't give up now: that Hokage title is within my reach! I just have to keep on training steadily ..." he told himself confidently.
At this pace, the Hokage seat didn't seem too far away. Well, not too much: maybe 30 years more or so to go. Fine, so it was a damn long time. And a lot of hellish training in perspective, too: but by then, according to Naruto's very unrealistic calculations, he would have long surpassed Sasuke and have him eating his dust. He always chuckled at that mental chibi image of himself towering over a defeated swirly-eyed chibi Sasuke, but he knew very well it would be no walk in the park: over the years, Naruto had gained not only respect for his Uchiha teammate, but now also knew Sasuke's level far better than anyone. Thus, Naruto had stumbled upon a shocking realization: although he could still somewhat compete with the Uchiha right now, the difference between them was still there, ever-present, neatly traced and immovable...if not growing. You see, since that morning Sasuke woke up and realized while eating his cereals that it would be a good idea to copy off Naruto's trademark Kage Bushin no jutsu, Naruto had more and more trouble keeping up with the Uchiha prodigy. But that was nothing to be ashamed of, people told him. Sasuke's lineage was almost exclusively composed of geniuses and sexy bitches, after all, and as the latest offspring of the clan he was in no way putting that prestigious history to shame. Besides, for a Uchiha, skill and beauty obligatorily had to go hand in hand: any fault to follow that trend was punishable by castration and banishment from the clan. Look at Itachi, for instance. True, his mad mad ninja skillz had made him Anbu captain at age 13, BUT his sexiness was not up to standard: and that was totally UNACCEPTABLE for the clan's untainted prestige. You can probably guess what happened afterwards, seeing the present Itachi: only a man unsure of his masculinity could shamelessly wear that kind of disturbing flower-printed cloak out in the open. Yuck. Anyway, there were probably several other sick rules going on in Sasuke's clan, but for now let's just say that their overall success was all due to the Sharingan they passed from generation to generation.
THE Sharingan.
"Curse that Sharingan, copying all the jutsus I bust my ass off learning! That's so like Sasuke, using cheap tricks to win fights! Ah, well I'M much better, since I would never have to resort to some lame bloodline of mine to get through life!"
Not that he could, by the way: Naruto didn't HAVE a bloodline. And he wanted a Sharingan, too. Badly. Who didn't? You could brag about it to your family and friends, show it off all day, and when you'd glare at annoying people they'd immediately shut up. Life could be THAT good simply because you had red eyes with freaky little wheels in it: no wonder even Orochimaru wanted one. But the REAL reason why every guy wanted a Sharingan, you see, was that it could transform you into an instant chick magnet. No, really: it could do that. This phenomenon could be explained by the fact that each single Uchiha cornea contained a very healthy dose of the Mr.Smooth gene, more than enough to transform any wimp off the street into a living incarnation of Japanese uber-coolness. For instance, you just KNOW Hatake Kakashi was just a lazy bum before he ever signed up for that eye transplant. And would you just look at him now: he's STILL a lazy bum, but a uber-cool one. It was all in the eye.
"...Oh well, no use moping about what I don't have, I guess." Naruto sighed and got to his feet: the approaching footsteps and familiar voice made him realize his thinking time has just been spent. There she was.
"...areful, however: this bell-shaped flower contains a powerful narcotic pollen. We have a good example here. Here, hold it Mina-chan...be careful! Drop it and we're all screwed, ya hear me! You see, when this flower has fully blossomed, it is perfectly capable of knocking out a tiger for a couple of days. That's enough to kill a full-grown man though, so remember to carefully calculate the amount of pollen you girls use if you ever fall across this flower on future missions. Well, you're free to use the full dosage if you actually wanna kill someone, like your annoying mother-in-law, but that's another story. Actually, don't tell anyone I even said that."
The class gathered around the young pink-haired woman and the little green-haired girl named Mina-chan, who was now holding the said flower. And yes, flashy hair coloring was probably a current fad in Konoha village. Either that, or every color in the visible light spectrum could be considered a natural hair color.
"It's so beautiful..." said one of the little girls.
"A flower is most beautiful just before it's about to die. It's sad, but that's how it goes. It's strange how beauty and death are related, ne?"
The teacher patted Mina-chan on the head.
"Well, this concludes our final lesson. As this is our last class, I'd like to say good luck to all you girls in your Academy exams. Don't disappoint me, okay?"
She smiled sweetly at her students.
"Sakura-sensei, but what if we don't pass? What if we fail to become Genins?" another girl asked.
"Then I'll be seeing you again, Ayane-chan. But don't forget, the important thing is not to succeed at everything..."
"It's to always try our hardest." The class completed for her.
"Yes. Make me proud and pass, girls. Or I'll KILL you myself. All right, you're dismissed."
No matter how many times he saw Sakura-chan teach a class, Naruto would smile to himself: it almost gave her a motherly look whenever she was surrounded by her loving students. It made her give off an aura of importance and maturity, something which he didn't quite yet acquire himself. Well, it was probably the Chuunin vest she wore. Yup, that goddamn Chuunin vest. He'd get everything along with his own Chuunin vest too...when he would finally get his hands on it! Unconsciously, in frustration,Naruto had tightened his hand into a fist. For years now, he had been failing the Chuunin exam because he was considered too "reckless" to lead a team. Either that, or it was simply considered too cheap to knock out a male opponent by massive blood loss with his Sexy no Jutsu. But Naruto did things his way, and had always thought the judging was too picky anyway. As far as he was concerned, whatever worked was fine, blood could come out from the nose just as it could from any wound he could inflict and finally, the Harem no Jutsu was totally, unquestionably INVINCIBLE. No kidding: when used at full potential, it could kill by anemia. It was something to be both feared and used responsibly.
Sakura's class was spreading out by now, the students walking away chatting with each other. Only a little girl remained with Sakura-chan, but that didn't bother the ever-confident Naruto too much, considering how much of a hit with women he was. Wow, you could almost see the sarcasm dripping out from that last sentence. Not that it mattered. Adjusting his forehead protector one last time, Naruto took a step towards his long-time friend.
"Oh, there you are Naruto! You've been there for long?" Sakura said, beaming at his sight.
Considering she was only good at theory, she probably still sucked at detecting people's presence in any radius, great or small.
"I've been there a while. Not much fun, though: I was mostly trying not to get eaten by the infamous carnivorous flowers you find in this garden." Naruto stated as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
Remember he only had one sleeve left by now, but Sakura barely noticed. In Japan, the one-sleeved look either meant you got into a fight or you were trying to make a fashion statement. Sadly enough, it was usually the latter.
"Oh, I see. You really have to watch out for those. We usually lose a kid or two during these classes when I'm not paying attention, but heck, I never got any complaints from parents. So, did you enjoy the class?"
"I'll never get used to it. You've matured so much over the last few years that it's scary."
"Eh, don't start talking like I'm becoming an old woman or something!"
They laughed. A word of caution to you guys: if your girlfriend's a kunoichi and that she answers your bad joke with something like this, start running FAST. You have much to fear.
"Well, Mina-chan, this asshole here is Uzumaki Naruto. He used to be my teammate during my Genin days. Say hello to him, Mina-chan. I'm sorry Naruto, she's a bit shy. A bit traumatized, actually: she doesn't talk much anymore ever since she witnessed her twin sister getting gruesomely digested alive by the said plants a week ago."
"Oh, I see." Said Naruto, completely unfazed. And they were still smiling while saying all this.
Living in a ninja village, you heard that kind of stuff a lot. Usually from the teachers whom sent out youngsters into the forest of Doom for ultra-hardcore survival training amidst wild animals: considering the poor kids were only armed with a single butter knife per group of five, it wasn't that surprising that only about half of the class usually made it back alive. Or you'd simply hear of casualties from those teachers whom taught shuriken-catching classes: did you know that a lot of people, when given a shuriken to throw at another student, instinctively aimed for the head? All in all, infant mortality was like a good joke in Konoha Village, the kind of thing you could talk about over coffee in the Jounin lounge.
Mina-chan just nodded bashfully to the older man, and whispered into Sakura's ear.
"But why isn't he wearing a Chuunin vest too?"
Naruto and Sakura were now taking a stroll in the garden. Mina-chan's parents had previously come to pick their snotty little brat up, and they were now alone. What else to do than take a walk? And the best part was that Sakura knew her way around, so there was a certain degree of safety.
"I'm sorry about Mina-chan, she..."
"No, it's fine. It's true, I'm not a Chuunin yet, although you and I graduated from the Academy at the same time. She has the right to be surprised."
They walked some more in silence.
"But you do know it's just a technicality, don't you? You're one of the most prominent Genins...Why, if you had been just a tad less reckless during the last Chuunin exam, then..."
Obviously, she didn't witness all the Sexy no Jutsus he had pulled off during the exam or she wouldn't be saying that, now wouldn't she? All right, we'll cut down a bit on the stupid remarks here to build up the dramatic atmosphere: there's supposed to be DRAMA in this.
"Yeah, I know. But don't worry about me, Sakura-chan, I'll pass for sure next time!"
He gave her a typical Naruto thumbs up complete with foxy grin, which earned him a soft smile.
"I hope so. It doesn't feel right being a Chuunin without you, Naruto. After we've been in Team 7 for so long together, it just feels really...Well, off!"
"I bet it does, ne?"
They smiled: they had grown very close to each other during the former days of team 7, whereas before that Sakura openly disliked Naruto and wouldn't even acknowledge his existence. Now was that some radical improvement or what? It was moments like these Naruto felt his efforts had been all worth their while: so what if he wasn't a Chuunin? As long as Sakura-chan cheered for him, he would never feel bad. He would live strongly and without any regrets...
We all know how Naruto felt about Haruno Sakura: he loved her. He loved her as a friend, and of that mad and feverish love only a young boy could have for a young girl. After all, he was in that phase where impulses could take over reason, and where youth and adulthood collided together into an unorganized mess: in simple terms, Naruto was now an adolescent. It was a time of life just as punctuated by numerous bursts of joy as it was by extended periods of spleen, where depth and morbidity could live symbiotically together or repel each other in eternal conflict. An adolescent was unstable, and could be a pack of nerves just as he/she could be a totem of serenity. An adolescent could be on fire like your mom's overcooked meat loaf or dull like a televised chess match with a turn interval of 10 minutes. Adolescence was an age where you learned to really laugh and to really cry, and an age where you placed into use those Sesame Street lessons about moving on and never giving up. Because being an adolescent meant being able to live both the summum of passion and numbness, and...simply learning to be strong.
But said like this, it sounds more like a fatal disease than anything, wouldn't you agree? Man, I suck at descriptions. Now where was I? Ah. Yes.
The silence had fallen between the two of them: Naruto didn't usually get this much time alone with Sakura-chan and now that he did, he was at a loss for words. He wondered if she was feeling uncomfortable, too? He had to break off this awkwardness, somehow...He looked around for something to talk about. But you know what? In cases like this, having a knack at stating the obvious wasn't helpful.
"There sure are a lot of flowers here."
"...Uuuh...Yes. This IS a flower garden."
Naruto somehow managed to hold back the echoing "D'oh!" lingering in his throat and tried to develop his blunder into something else. Anything.
"So...It just occurred to me, but I never asked you this. What's your favorite flower, Sakura-chan?"
"Oh, me? Well, it's probably a bit cliché...but I like roses."
Well, the REALLY cliché answer would have actually been cherry blossoms since that's her name, but come on, we're beyond that. Really.
"Roses? Those things full of thorns? Uh...how about orchids?"
Couldn't she just like orchids or something less tricky to get, he caught himself thinking and sighed. Sakura shook her head.
"Orchids are pretty, but they're very common: the rose is a more elegant flower. I especially like the red variety that's grown here in Konoha Garden...Why, like those over there for instance. Wow, and they've fully matured, too...You've heard what I said in class about flowers in full bloom, right?"
"Yeah, they're most beautiful just before they die, aren't they?"
In a swift and well-calculated motion of his trusty kunai, Naruto had cut down a red rose on their way and offered it to her.
"What is that for?" She asked, almost puzzled.
"For being you. I don't need a reason, right?"
Naruto thought giving Sakura-chan a flower might get her into a more romantic mood. Eh, he picked off that tip from Ino and she's a girl, so it's gotta mean something. But then again, the Yamanaka clan DID run a business selling flowers, now didn't they? D'OH!
"That's sweet of you...Well the truth is, do you know whom roses remind me of?"
An alarm went off in Naruto's head for some reason: that bad gut feeling had already given him the answer he didn't want to hear.
"Sasuke?" He tried half-heartedly.
Let's not even discuss his odds about getting the wrong answer, here.
"Yup! Just like Sasuke-kun, a rose eclipses any plainer flowers by its sheer beauty. And you see this red color? In some cultures it represents pride, nobility, majesty: it stands tall amongst others and with these thorns as its defense mechanism it keeps the undesirables at bay, so it's hard to approach. But if you know how, then...you can pick the flower and enjoy its beauty up close."
She giggled and looked at the rose lovingly. Naruto thought he saw her blush a bit. This was NOT going smoothly. He had known she probably still had that childish crush on Sasuke, but he had gambled on whether she had given up on it or not. But one thing was for sure: the wind wasn't right yet, but he knew very well that if he didn't set sail right now and change the subject, everything would drown in a sea of Sasukes.
"So, Sakura-chan, you wanted to talk about something important? You didn't call me out here just because you wanted to flower talk with silly old Naruto, now didn't you?"
"What makes you say that?" She gave him an amused look.
"Well, you did ask me to wait for you after your class. And since the chance of being eavesdropped in this place are pretty low, I just figured out that much. Always look underneath the underneath, as Kakashi-sensei used to say. That's the only important thing I learned from him, though: we probably all improved infinitely more in the subtle arts of bullshit."
Sakura almost wanted to laugh remembering their teacher's frequent tardiness and following excuses: but this was no good, she wanted Naruto to take her seriously on what she was about to tell him. Then again, setting up a serious mood was always quite difficult when she was talking with someone like him: Naruto was someone whose presence was a thing of joy and wonder.
"Well, no use hiding it then...You see...I wanted you to know...You know I...Well, it's kinda embarrassing to tell you this."
"Surprise me."
But he didn't really want to be surprised: there was 3 words he specifically wanted to hear.
"You see...Well, I..."
"Like me? Like talking with me? Like spending time with me? Like hitting on me?...Wait, hitting me?"
"Heeheehee, oh, Naruto! It's not like that...Look, you're not liste..."
"Figures." He chuckled, though a bit sourly. "You've had a crush on Sasuke forever now. As if that was ever going to change."
"Naruto, that's not the point...You see, I'm...pregnant."
There was a sudden silence. Naruto's eyes shot into hers, desperately scanning for any trace of amusement. She was joking, right? He tried to regulate his breathing. The hilarity of the moment had died instantly as if all the clowns in the world had vanished. But then again, no one liked clowns. I make no sense.
"Oh God...How did that happen? Did someone take advantage of you while you were drunk or something? I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'm gonna..."
"Don't be silly. It's Sasuke-kun."
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, incredulous.
The stern-faced Uchiha was probably the person he less expected that from. Did Sasuke even care for girls to start with? Naruto after all had heard about some weird going-ons in the Uchiha clan: something about 'preserving prestige' or the like...
"But I thought...?"
"Sasuke-kun may look cold to most people...But actually, he's a very kind man...Compassionate...No, passionate...He craves human companionship just as anyone would. You know what? He even proposed to me after he found out about my condition..."
She blushed again, but by then, Naruto was too shocked to even care. He was now dealing with inner shards, and that was no jutsu.
He had felt his heart shatter and crumble into pieces.
"...Is that why you called me out here? You wanted to tell me that? I don't see the relevance in doing so, nor why I should care. Now if you're done wasting my time, I must be going."
His legs began to carry him away: he had heard enough. He didn't want to hear any more. Right now, he didn't want to hear anything. He didn't even bother to turn his face back when she took hold of his wrist from behind.
"No, wait! I told you because...I know, Naruto. You wouldn't have taken care of me all these years if you didn't feel the way you did. But I can't...offer you anything more than my friendship. I'm sorry."
The rose he offered her was slowly placed back into his hand.
"What I wanted was to apologize to you. I'm sorry."
She turned back and walked away...
Then, about an hour passed before Naruto came back to his senses. AND realized he was screwed since he didn't know his way out of the forest. Yells of pain and anguish would be heard for the rest of the day...
It was a cool night, as Naruto sat alone on top of the Fourth Hokage's head of stone. He always came to this place when he needed to be alone: after all, his dream ultimately was to become Konoha's Hokage and also have his face too one day sculpted into the mountain range. This was also the place he came back to meditate after Iruka-Sensei had first given him his forehead protector...or not. Actually, thinking back, at the time he was too ecstatic a brat to even sit still and meditate, so he must have ran around yelling until it annoyed someone enough to beat the crap out of him to shut him up. But still, this was a place of beginning and hopefully of ending for Uzumaki Naruto: sealed from birth by the hands of a Hokage, he wished he could one day die a Hokage himself.
"Shidaime, Nidaime, Sandaime, Yondaime-sama...And that old hag...You've always been my goal, the bright dream that enlightened the end of the tunnel...Up till now, I've worked so hard so that maybe, one day, I too, I could bathe into that light...But why is it that now, even as I sit here for guidance, I can see nothing but darkness and hear nothing but silence?...Why won't you tell me what to do? Why won't you show me...the way anymore...?"
Notice that people often complain about not seeing the light in desperate situations. Like when the TV satellite loses its signal and that the screen goes black in the middle of a great movie. Yup, that's my kind of life crisis. By the way, sorry about all those side comments: they really killed the mood. But heck, I'm not good at melodrama. I'm better at the Macarena. Picture me dancing right now as I dodge your barrage of rotten fruits.
Maybe this wasn't the best moment to be alone. A small voice in Naruto's head told him that maybe he should go give Iruka-sensei a hand while he corrected homework and keep himself from thinking too much. Or maybe even talk with some friends: Konoha village's spirit of belonging was shared by all, and no matter if he was the demon fox child, he probably could find kindness and acceptance around him if he only reached for it. For instance, Kiba was a good listener as long as he did the talking. Shikamaru never made any mean comments, since he slept when you talked to him anyway. And Chouji would listen to you as long as you provided the food for the time it would last: also working by tradeoff was Neiji, whom would listen as long as you agreed to become his human punching bag the next day. And the Hyuuga punched hard as HELL when he tried out new moves.
Hyuuga? Naruto's mind jumped: Hinata-chan, maybe? She was a nice girl, and she always listened in those rare moments when he lost confidence. For free. For a moment, he considered looking for the little raven-haired girl...
But his bubbling blood didn't want a kind ear to appease it right now. It needed flesh and bones.
For a second maybe, a towering, deep and commanding voice also suggested to Naruto that he should just go downtown and start a brawl in a bar or something, just so he could slaughter someone. His fists tightened: more than ever, he was sharing the Kyubi's thirst for blood. Rip someone apart, he told himself. Kill, and maybe kill some more to make all this pain go away. But in the end, his tear-stained hands were the loudest when they told him that he didn't want anyone but the elder Hokages of stone to see him like this. At least to them it didn't matter. In fact, he didn't know what mattered anymore: he felt he was beyond caring.
"What was it all for...?"
His right hand started bleeding as he madly tightened his squeeze around the rose he had brought with him. His left hand was too busy clutching at his own throbbing chest. He was in so much pain right now, and yet he didn't know which thorn was hurting more.
Author's note: So, what do you think? Let me hear any comments you may have.
Also, since I tend to shift between humor and drama interchangeably, you might want to read a couple of chapters more before making up your mind about this story.
The Streets - Dry Your Eyes