KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU!KU! Ponder's Insanity…
A NEW ENDING: Here you go! Everyone was so confused that I decided to post the FULL scene that happens at the end of this chapter (which was supposed to be the beginning of chapter 9)…If you can't figure out the pairing after this…then I have failed…and all is lost!
SIDE NOTE: For all of you who are reading this wondering when somebody's gunna get laid…what can I say? I like foreplay! And I ain't the type to just throw some characters in a room and say "fuck". Plus, this story does deal with children, after all. Remembers when she was that age…evil grin
ON THAT NOTE: Okay, I was forced to make a judgment call. Since the wonderful and honorable Kishimoto San is oh so good at being 'vague' when it comes to the passage of time, I had to decide what to do about the ages of the 'gang' for myself. Based on the characters birthdays, I am going to assume that, Naruto is the oldest of the three (since he's the dunce), Sakura is next, and Sasuke is the youngest (since he is a genius or whatever). Anyway, so I'm going with Naruto and Sakura being thirteen, and Sasuke still being twelve. Does that put us at a reasonable place in time as far as this story's concerned? I just thought I should clarify that in advance.
I've added a better explanation of this to the end of this chapter. It's under the section marked "BIG ASS RANT". Feel free to read it if you like…it's mostly just me babbling, but it may offer a bit of insight to this story. So, yeah…whatever.
DISCLAIMER…or whatever: um, yeah…if I owned Naruto, I would say Screw College and just do nothing but Naruto all day long… (WAS…Loving spring break!)
WARNINGS: Language and violence … OC warning, same as last time…FLUFF! YAY! Um…what else…Torture? ...hehehe… Unresolved Sexual Tension. Maybe some hurt/help…or whatever…Man, I outdid myself this time! What's that other one…WFF…WAFF?...WTF. Who really cares THAT much? OMG! SUISIDE? COULD'T BE! Bla bla… M/F…M/M… (implied)
SPOILERS: Everything damn it! If you're reading this, then I hope you've read everything up to that unfortunate hiatus that Kishimoto San left us Naruto Fans with in like…NOVEMBER?….because if you haven't it's too damn late for me to fix it! So it's spoiled…or not…FABRICATION ABOUNDS! I'm okay…really.
Enough of my idiot babbling…on with the friggin' story!
When we left our heros, recall that Sasuke had just said a very peculiar thing, Obito was laughing his ass off, Sakura was having a nervous breakdown in her head, and Naruto was being choked to death! Have fun guys!
"When They Became Genin…(PART 4!)"
Sakura hadn't seen what was happening. She'd been screaming at herself in her head. She was paying no attention whatsoever to what was going on around her. She looked up, only when she heard Sasuke raise his voice. Surprisingly, it wasn't what Sasuke had said that made her gasp. "Sensei! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?" Sakura got to her feet and rushed over to where Naruto now lay slack in their teacher's grip.
Obito quickly removed his hand. "Oops. Hey! Don't freak out, he'll be fine. See? Look. He's coming around already!" Naruto's eyes blinked a couple of times, and then he slowly got to his feet. "Look! See? It worked!" Obito pointed towards Naruto's stomach.
Sasuke took interest immediately. He brought out his Sharingan and examined the markings that were etched about the other boy's midsection. He looked back up at Naruto's eyes. They were red again…and the pupils were elongated like a cat's. He'd seen those eyes before…a long time ago.
"Hey!" Sasuke approached what he thought was another little boy, in the field just outside the village. The other boy was startled and jumped to his feet. "Whoa! I didn't mean to scare you…I was just trying to say hi! …So…are you all alone too?"
"…I'm always alone…"
"I'm supposed to be with my brother…but he took off and left me." Sasuke huffed and sat down. "He's always so mean to me! He acts like he doesn't want anything to do with me! Hmph! I'm just gunna sit here until my parents ask him where I am! Then he'll get in trouble!"
"Mean?"
"Yeah! He acts like I'm just a burden to him!"
"A burden."
Somewhere in the distance, there was a loud bang. The boy shrank down into the tall grass. The area around him glowed faintly. Sasuke spun around. "Yeah! The fireworks are starting! You can see them perfectly from here!" He turned back to the other boy who was now peeking curiously out from the top of the grass. "You like fireworks? My family makes them! Well not MY family, but my relatives do. We love fireworks! My father says, 'Within an Uchiha, there lays a spirit aflame.' Uchiha are masters of fire! We always have this festival, every summer right before my birthday!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! I'm gunna be seven in a couple weeks. How old are you?"
"Seven…I think…"
"Hey! We are the same age! Almost."
"Sasuke! …Sasuke!" Sasuke turned at the voice of his mother. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" Itachi was following behind her. He looked bored and bothered to be there.
"Itachi ran off and left me!" He pointed an accusing finger at his older brother.
"You were supposed to keep up. I can't help it if you got too curious and wandered off."
"I told you to watch him Itachi! You know he's not as fast as you! You should have stayed closer to him!"
"He probably ran off on purpose to get me in trouble."
"I did not! I was walking back to the gate and I saw a boy and stopped to talk to him!" Sasuke turned to introduce him to his mother and brother, but the boy was gone. "Hey! Where'd he go?"
"Sasuke has an imaginary friend." Itachi smiled to their mother.
"I DO NOT! He was just here! He was blonde! And he looked like a cat!"
"What did you say Sasuke?" His mother sounded concerned. He wondered what had upset her…other than Itachi that is.
"He…had marks on his cheeks like whiskers, and his eyes were like a cat."
"SASUKE! You must never speak to that boy again! Do you understand?" She grabbed him by the arm and hurried in the direction of the city gate. Itachi followed leisurely behind them. "He's not…he's not like other little boys! He's…he…just promise me that you will never speak to him again Sasuke!"
"But, why?"
"Because he dangerous. That's why. Just leave him alone from now on!"
"But he didn't seem dangerous. He seemed really nice!"
"Sasuke, if your father ever found out you talked to him you would be punished! Now promise me."
"All right…I promise."
"Naruto, you stubborn little bastard. Why'd you make me do that to you? You should have just done like I said and showed them! Look, they're not running away screaming." Naruto narrowed his eyes at his teacher. He dashed and tried to hit him, but Obito was too fast and caught the punch. "From now on, keep dreaming of the day when you can actually land it." Obito let go of Naruto's hand and spun him around to face his other two teammates. "The man that put this thing on Naruto was my sensei. He was known as the greatest Jutsu Master in the history of this village. He gave his life to create this seal. Are you two following what I'm telling you?"
"You mean Yondaime Sama put that there?" Sakura was looking down at the spiral seal that was surrounded by ancient, foreign, characters she couldn't exactly read.
"He did," Obito replied.
"So it's true what they say?" The girl didn't exactly sound astonished. It was as if she had known already.
"What do they say?" Obito asked the girl that was now kneeling down to get a closer look at Naruto's mysterious seal.
"That I'm a demon. That's what they say." He looked down at her, but she didn't see it, she was studying the ancient script strewn about his stomach. A part of him suddenly wanted to blurt out the words 'While you're down there…' but he bit his tongue.
"Is it true what they say then?" Obito questioned Naruto.
"This is a 'Demon Seal' Curse, isn't it?" Naruto didn't sound amused.
"I think it is." Obito agreed
"Naruto's a …demon?" Almost in a daze, Sakura reached out to touch the seal, but when she realized what she was doing, she jerked her hand away, and looked up at him. She looked into his eyes. They were that weird blue again. 'Almost…indigo.' He glanced away from her.
"At least SOME things are starting to make sense." Sasuke stepped back and leaned on the rail again. He didn't seem to care.
"Can you please get your hands off me now?" Naruto pulled away from his teacher. Obito released him. He walked over to where his clothes now lay and scooped them up. He pulled his tee shirt out from inside his jacket and pulled it over his head. "Satisfied?"
Obito looked at the other two children. Sasuke looked as if he wasn't bothered in the slightest and Sakura looked like she was about to cry. "Well, what do you think? Are you scared of him?"
"Heh! I'm not scared of him. I don't care if he is a demon. I'll still kick his ass." Sasuke was grinning over at Naruto.
Naruto huffed and plopped down next to him. He unzipped his jacket and shoved an arm into its sleeve. "So, Yondaime was your teacher." He reached around and stuck his other arm through but left it unzipped. "Is that why old man Hokage is blackmailing you into teaching us?"
"Actually, that's a part of it I guess. I really wasn't trying to strangle you, you know, but I wanted to get that little piece of information out of the way. If I've learned anything in my years as a ninja, it's that secrets cause problems."
"Tell me about it." Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and jerked his head to the side as if something caught his attention somewhere off to his left. He was done playing for right now. For the first time in a while, he felt like he should just sit there and keep his mouth shut.
"Look, I wanted them to know because you kids have to become like siblings. You have to be willing to sacrifice yourselves for each other. This isn't a game. Even on low ranked missions, there is a good possibility that you could die, and I won't let anyone on my team die. Understand?" The three young ninja looked at their instructor and nodded their heads. "Good. I know you guys don't really get along that well, but you are going to have to. This is your team, from now until you die. That's all there is to it. There are reasons that we choose teams for Genin. One of them is your skills. You all have, what the Hokage thinks, is the same potential. You could all very well be the best. But you have to earn that title for yourselves, and you are not going to do that by bitching at each other all the time. Are you prepared for that?" Obito paused, allowing the three to sit and think about his question.
Naruto tried not to think. He was extremely pissed off at his new teacher, but for some reason, the words that Obito spoke to him the first time they met, suddenly hit home for him. "All Leaf Shinobi are comrades. One must never abandon his precious comrades when they are in need…" He looked up at his new teacher. "That's what you said right? That's what you're talking about. Isn't it?"
"Yeah kid. Something like that."
"That's fine with me. I can do that. I can be there for them." Naruto glanced over to his new comrades. "Can't say the same for them though."
"Well it looks like Naruto's game. What about you two?"
Sasuke didn't even have to think about it. He knew what he wanted. "I get it." He looked over at Naruto, remembering what Naruto made him agree to while they were walking to get lunch. "We have to play nice together. I can do that." He leaned forward and glanced at Sakura. She was just sitting there, staring hard at the ground. "Sakura?"
"Yeah. I think I can try to do that…I guess." She didn't know what else to say. Her mind wasn't really focusing on the conversation they were having. She was still freaking out over the fact that Naruto was…
"Then it's agreed! You are all family now. Remember that in the future. You guys need A LOT of work, but I think you'll do just fine. We'll save the group hug for another time. For now though, it's Sasuke's turn to speak to us." Obito sat down across from his students, and got comfortable. He hoped that by forcing Naruto to disclose his rather unique 'secret' that Sasuke would feel more comfortable speaking about himself. He hoped his plan worked. He was thankful that Naruto had been able to get past the boys defenses so easily. That at least, meant that he could be reached. "Well Sasuke? Talk to us. What's your situation?"
There was a long pause as Sasuke pondered what his answer to that question was. He seemed to weigh every possible outcome. Should he tell them? He'd never told anybody about the things that steadily drove him crazy more and more everyday. He felt sick just thinking about the things that Itachi had imbedded in his mind. Then with no kind of warning whatsoever, the dark haired boy spoke calmly.
"Well, my name is Sasuke Uchiha, and if I could equate my life with something, I'm pretty positive that it would be hell. A few years ago, my brother began acting strange, I was worried about him. And one night, when I came home, I found that somebody had slaughtered many of my relatives, right out in the street, so, I ran home to check on my parents. When I got there, I couldn't find them. I looked around the house, but there was no one there, so I went back outside to the dojo. When I reached the door, I heard my mother scream. She yelled for me not to open door, but I did it anyway, just in time to see my brother deliver their death blow. At first, I didn't understand what was happening, but then I realized that he'd just murdered them, and I got angry, so I attacked him. That was when he used Mangekyou Sharingan on me for the first time. He made me see him doing it, over and over again. Killing them I mean. But it wasn't over yet. I tried to run away from him but he followed me. He told me that he'd killed them to 'ascertain MY capacity' and that if I wanted to avenge my family, I would have to live a pitiful existence and care for nothing except strength and the desire to kill him. He said that when I could acquire the Mangekyou Sharingan that I should come for him, and we would have our final battle. Before he left, he used his new technique on me again. But this time he didn't make me see him killing my parents…he made me see him killing the whole clan. I know that night by heart now. I could walk through my old neighborhood and enter each one of those houses, exactly the way my brother did, and I could describe for you, word for word, the exact way that he murdered each and every Uchiha man, woman, and child. I even took a trip through it once. His route I mean, the exact path that he took when he mowed them down."
He paused again, but just briefly. His tone changed slightly. He sounded like the information he was giving them was perfectly normal. "I guess my favorite thing is playing with knives. And as far as my dreams are concerned, really, I don't think that's ever gunna happen now. See, my intent, was to train myself relentlessly, until I thought I might be stronger than my brother, and then I was going to find him and kill him. After I killed him, I was planning on killing myself, because I don't know how long I can keep my shit together and not just start killing people. I've found that certain things are able to calm me down enough for me to get control again, pain being one of them. I was actually paying attention to Iruka sensei when he talked about using 'Kai' to dispell genjutsu. He said that you could also remove your mind from the influence of genjutsu by remaining focused enough to inflict some kind of damage on yourself. Unfortunately for me, I've been finding that I have to do it a lot more than often than before."
He lifted his arm and began to undo the snap to the adjuster on his armband. His armband slid down his arm and rumpled up at his wrist. The skin underneath it was wrapped in bandages. He took out a kunai, and began cutting away at them while he spoke.
"You see, what he did to me, it wasn't just a one time thing. That shit stayed with me, and I can't get it out of my head. Sometimes I feel it when I'm just out walking around. I see it, like it was happening all over again." The bandages fell away. He didn't bother to undo the bottom snap. He just pushed it down a little further and showed the rest of them, what no one had ever seen before. He stared down at the rows of scars that ran nearly all the way from his elbow to his wrist. "It got to be like a game after a while." He traced his fingers along the marks. "See, like I would either kill myself, or I would live on to get stronger to kill my brother. It just so happens that I'm still here, and he's unfortunately lost his head. So I guess, no, I don't really have any dreams for the future, I'm pretty much just here for entertainment. What else am I gunna do? I'm fucked up in the head. Really, I think the only reason I'm still alive right now to be sitting here, telling you all of this, is the fight that I had with Dead Last yesterday. If he hadn't found me, I probably would have just killed myself when I woke up, and if he wouldn't have taken that kunai through the arm to beat me, I probably would have killed him. If that would have happened, I think I would have just went home and killed myself there…Or maybe not. Maybe I would have just ran around and seen how many people I could kill before someone was able to take me down." He paused again. "Anyway, I guess the reason why I wanna be a ninja 'right now' is, because it's the only thing I'm really good at." There was another long pause.
"That really was an excellent fight yesterday. I was watching it, and it totally played out like you were trying to kill each other. I was very impressed." Obito thought it best not to allow for anyone to over react to what they'd just heard. He himself wasn't really surprised. He owned that jutsu. He knew what it was capable of…and he also knew that Itachi wasn't really playing with a full deck. He hoped he could figure out something he could do for the kid. He seemed like he genuinely wanted help. "It's not everyday that a person gets to see a full on ninja 'one on one' battle with no restrictions. Even if you are just Genin, I have a feeling that you kids are going to do just fine as ninja. But you're gunna have to listen to me, because there are just some things that only experience can tell you, and if you aren't prepared for something, it can be the difference between life and death. Think about that tonight before you go to sleep. When death is closing in on you from all directions, how can you prepare yourself for it? That is the key to understanding what it is to be shinobi. Some people are lucky enough to easily understand this concept, others, spend their life trying to achieve it. That is the essence of The Shinobi Way. The rules of conduct state that one must adhere to a strict set of principles in order to achieve a life befitting the title of Shinobi. I, myself, have found that this task is easier said than done. This is real life, not some ideal laid down on parchment. There are going to be times when you find yourself conflicting with the ways of the ideal shinobi and the path that you've chosen for yourself. I'm here to guide you. I hope that you all will come to trust me enough to let me help you find your path. You also must have faith in each other. You three are the team. You need to be able to rely on each other and trust each other. That's what will keep you among the living. Do you follow what I'm saying?" The three Genin stared at their instructor, they all nodded. "Good then. Lesson learned. I guess we'll break for the day. Tomorrow, I want you guys to meet me at the practice field. The area near the three stumps. You know what I'm talking about?" They nodded again. "There's someone I'd like you all to meet. Be there at dawn. And don't be late…or I'll get pissed off. You don't want that." He got to his feet. "Naruto, I have a task for you to perform for me. Consider it a mission."
Naruto stood and brushed off the dirt from his pants. "What's that, sensei?"
"I want you to walk Sakura home. Make sure she gets there okay. Then wait for me at your apartment. There is something that you and I need to discus in private, but I have something I have to attend to right now. Can you do that?"
"Yeah. Sure. Whatever." His usual perkiness had been expended for the day. He held his hand out to help the girl up. She hesitated, but allowed him to assist her. He promptly let go of her as soon as she'd steadied herself, and started out on his mission. He absently waved over his shoulder for her to follow.
Sakura said nothing. She simply stood for a moment watching Naruto as he strolled on towards his destination. She gave Sasuke and her sensei one last look, and then hurried to catch up to Naruto. She walked next to him, but didn't turn to look at him at all. She kept her head forward and her hands behind her back. She didn't even know what to say. She was still trying to digest everything she'd just heard. She felt a horrible pain in her chest.
Naruto walked casually next to the girl who could hurt him more than anyone else ever could. He wanted to try to make some kind of conversation with her, but for some reason, his loud mouth had escaped him. He snuck glances at her as they walked. She didn't even notice. She was buried in her thoughts. He kept on walking, briefly wondering if she was okay. She didn't really look it to him.
Sakura stopped walking. She couldn't keep it up anymore. She stopped and crouched down by the fence that was on the side of the road and she sobbed. She drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms.
Naruto glanced back over to find that Sakura had gone her own way. He turned and saw her balled up by the side of the road. She was just sitting there shaking. 'Sakura…' He approached her with caution and crouched down in front of her. "Hey…Sakura…What's wrong?" Sakura didn't reply. She just sat there sobbing into her knees. "Look…um…I know you're still mad at me…but you can talk to me…I just wanna help…" He reached out and rested his hands on hers. "Come on now… Talk to me." She lifted her head and looked up at him, tears still pooling in her eyes. Naruto felt a horrible pain in his chest.
"Did you know?" She wiped her eyes and sniffled a little. "Did you know about him Naruto? About those things that he said?" She started crying again.
"What, you mean about Sasuke? Well, not really, but I kind of thought that there might be something…wrong…I…" He took her face in his hands and wiped the fresh tears from her cheeks with his thumbs. He chuckled to himself, "I mean… I always knew he wanted to kill me, but I didn't think he was THAT serious." Sakura's face puckered as if she was about to start crying again. "Aw come on now…I was just trying to make you laugh…don't cry…look…there was no way you could have known any of that stuff…don't be sad…" Sakura leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the closest thing to her and sobbed into his chest.
"I feel so stupid! I always just wanted to be there for him…I had no idea…"
"Hey now…don't feel bad! That guy…he can't deal with stuff like this…he doesn't know how…he probably wanted to tell you, but he didn't want to see you like this…" Naruto stroked the girl's hair trying to comfort her. He just wanted so badly for her to feel better. It was all he could think to do. It was something he would have done for anyone, if they'd let him. The worst part of it was, he never wanted to see her that way either. It hurt like hell. "But he told us…that's good right? He trusts us. That means that he wants things to get better…right? It was him who asked YOU if you would play nice with us, wasn't it? That's like him saying he wants to try to be friends, with YOU!" He pushed her back a little to look at her. "That's good isn't it?" He gave her his best smile.
She smiled weakly up at him. "I guess so…"
"There ya go! That's much better!" He got to his feet, and again held out his hand for her to help her back to her feet. "Come on then. Let's get you home."
Sasuke stood before his instructor. The last of his clan, save himself. He said nothing, only pulled up his armband and readjusted the strap to fit again. He glanced at his new comrades retreating backs. His face showed no kind of clue as to what the boy was feeling after his sudden confession. It was just like it always was, flat and unaffected.
"I figured it was something like that." Obito stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm glad that you got it out of the way with out me having to choke you."
"Do you think you can help me?" Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and looked casually at Obito. "You have it too…you must know how it works."
"I can't promise anything, but I'll do whatever I can. I'll say that much."
Sasuke looked away again, not sure whether he should ask his next question. "So, did you make him suffer? I know you don't have any love for our clan, but…"
Obito chuckled and slapped his hand on the boys shoulder. "Hegh hegh… I'll put it this way…He didn't go down easily. I'm sure he was in a lot of pain at the end. If that's worth anything..."
Sasuke nodded blankly to him. "I guess it has to be. That's all there is."
"Hokage Sama told me that he spoke to you already…about our new arrangement."
"He did."
"How do you feel about that?"
"Don't say it that way…"
"Hmm?"
"There's this woman, they make me talk to her sometimes…she always says that to me. I fucking hate it."
"Sorry."
"Anyway, I guess I don't mind having to stay with you. It's probably better that way. If something happens…at least now I know that you'll be there…" He turned to Obito with a smirk on his face. "…to take care of me."
Obito recognized the sarcasm in the boy's voice. It made him smile. "I meant what I said. I don't ever want to see it happen, but I won't let you endanger anyone in this village. You're going to become an excellent ninja. I can already tell. But I won't suffer a traitor to live. Get it?"
"Yeah." A small smile played at the corner of his lips, then faded. "I want to…I don't ever want to cause the kind of pain that my brother did…ever."
"You've dealt with enough. Time to start moving on. Come on, show me your place."
"The place I stay, or the place I'm supposed to live?"
"The place you took Naruto yesterday." He gave Sasuke a questioning look.
"The place I stay."
"Yeah," he chuckled, "I guess."
"It's a loft. Only room for one."
"I didn't say I was moving in. I just wanna see how you're living."
"Right."
Naruto and Sakura continued their walk in silence again. Sakura looked like she felt a lot better, but she looked far from great. She walked with her head down, as if she was examining each step she placed, carefully.
"You know what's funny?" Naruto glanced at Sakura, not even expecting her to respond. He continued as if she wasn't even listening to him. "Iruka sensei says that I'm supposed to be separate from it." He folded his arms behind his head and continued walking, not even glancing over to see if she was paying attention or not. He kept talking. "I think that's kind of bull shit though. I mean, yeah, I'm Naruto. Not some demon right? But that's just it. I don't really think that Naruto is separate from that thing." He laughed lightheartedly at his own words. It was kind of nice that she knew. He'd never been able to say those kinds of things casually before. Actually, he couldn't recall a time that he'd ever spoken about it at all. But he always knew about it though. That bothered him. "I think Naruto is a demon."
He laughed again. But it wasn't his usual cheerful giggling that she was so used to hearing. It sounded like it was genuine and honest. Sakura thought that must be the way that he laughed to himself…when he was alone. She looked over at him. There was a small smile on his lips. It made the 'whiskers' on his cheeks bunch up. His gaze was narrow. He looked so different to her now, but he hadn't changed at all. It was just that she'd never seen him like this. She glanced up and noticed that they were quickly approaching her house. "This is far enough." She stopped walking. Naruto paused and looked at her. "If my parents see me with you…"
"Heh! Don't worry about it." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "This is my street anyway." He turned and gave her a wave over his shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Sakura."
Sakura stood and watched him go. She didn't know that he lived near her. She saw him slip off his jacket and sling it over his shoulder. Her eyes focused on the large red spiral that was on the back of his tee shirt. It looked like it was painted on by hand. She squinted to see it more clearly. It wasn't a single spiral. It was nine separate lines that pin wheeled out from a circular center. 'Nine…Tails…' She hurried into her house and headed directly to her bedroom. She fell on the bed and lay there staring at the ceiling. She was glad her parents weren't home. They'd have a million questions for her. She did NOT want to have to answer them. She was a mess. She felt horrible! She couldn't stop thinking about all those things she'd always said to him! She'd called him a monster and a beast and just about every other nasty thing she could think of. She did it without even realizing what she was saying! That's just how people always talked about him! That's what she'd been taught. Why was he always so nice to her? She WAS a horrible bitch!
Naruto pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his door. "Home again! Wow…" He looked around at the cluttered 'one room' apartment. "It feels like about a million years since I left…weird." He entered and kicked off his sandals, not because it was what one was supposed to do before entering, but because he really just didn't like to have the damn things on his feet. After tossing his bloodstained jacket in the pile with the rest of them, he strode over to the heap of cushions and blankets that were his makeshift 'couch' and plopped down on them. After stretching out, and getting comfortable, he let his mind wander for a while. Today had been an interesting day. 'Lunch was good. Filling.' He smiled. 'I wonder if there's anything that's not rotten in the fridge.' He laughed when he remembered the nasty milk he drank that morning. 'Guess I'll have to go' out' for dinner. Hegh hegh…' For some reason he felt really tired. His eyes slid closed and he snuggled his head deeper into his fluffy heap of pillows. He thought about Sakura. He told her he was sorry…about what he did to her. He grinned faintly. He wasn't sorry at all. The only thing he was sorry about was that he had to hear another guy's voice saying her name. That sucked. 'Sakura…'
Sakura lay on her bed and sobbed. She buried her face in her pillow and tried not to think about the two boys that she couldn't seem to get out of her head. Why did this shit have to happen? Sasuke was all fucked up in the head, and the only boy she'd ever truly hated, was starting to become something entirely different… 'AND HE'S A FUCKING DEMON!' She started to remember what she'd done with him earlier that day…on that bench.
'That girl is going to end up giving me some serious problems. Why does she have to be so cute? It's like she's a naïve child…wait…what? That was weird. Damn her for making me get like this! I hate it! Why do I put up with this shit?'
'DAMN IT ALL! I HATE THEM BOTH! FUCKING BASTARDS! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE PUT ON A TEAM WITH THEM? This is the worst day of my life!'
Naruto rolled onto his back and rested his 'good' arm behind his head. He brought his bandaged left arm up to his stomach and reached it under his shirt. He slid the fabric up to get it out of the way and scratched a little at the area near the waistband of his pants. He yawned.
"I see. So this is where you keep your weapons. Nice. Tasteful." Obito was examining the rather large room that he'd just entered. The first thing he noticed was the mass of kunai that was hanging from the wall, then he noticed that what little the room had for furniture, could easily be pushed aside, opening up the whole mass of the room. "You practice here?"
"Sometimes. Mostly I just don't like to be bothered. No one comes around here, so they don't know I stay here. Why were you following me yesterday?" Sasuke shut the door and crossed the room to sit down. He stretched out and folded his arms across his chest, observing Obito carefully.
"Well, it wasn't you I was following so much, as it was Naruto."
"Because I stuck him."
"No, because I was hoping I could have a chance to talk to him before word got around about the fact that I'm his guardian." He narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "I was supposed to do that yesterday, but I never got the chance. Thanks to you. And you had to go and blab it to him! Thanks. I really want to deal with THAT now."
"That makes you the dick for abandoning him. Don't get mad at me. You know, I met him a long time ago, when I was a kid. He told me that he was always alone. I get it now. You left him here. If it was me, I'd be pissed. He didn't seem mad though. He acted like he didn't even know what that meant. You aren't his 'daddy' or anything are you?"
"HAHAHA! I was barely older than you are when he was born! Do I look that old? What's more, does he LOOK Uchiha to you?"
"Hn. Still, you never know. My brother did say that he was hunting a demon. Naruto is a demon. Two and two, you know?"
Obito didn't even realize that Sasuke would know about that…he forgot he'd shown him. 'Oops. Oh well. Guess it doesn't really matter now anyway.' The kid was clever at any rate. "Itachi did say that, didn't he?"
"Yeah I remember that now. It's been added to my memory. Now do you get why I'm so fucked up? Itachi fucking poisoned me with his memories. They fucking swirl around in my head as if they really happened to me. He murdered a couple hundred people that night! INCLUDING MY PARENTS!" Sasuke laughed to himself for a minute. When he calmed down, he rubbed his eyes and continued. "…and not only did he make me witness it personally, he showed me everything he saw as he was planning and doing it. I saw what he did to get Mangekyou Sharingan. He drowned the man he 'loved like a brother' in the Nakano River. That guy, he even came and talked to me right before my brother killed him…" Sasuke paused as he forced himself to shove down the memory of 'Itachi' 'murdering' Shisui. "He pretty much told me why Itachi was going to do it, and I didn't even know it. My brother planned it that way." He paused. "That's why I wanted to kill him. And that's why I wanted to kill myself."
"Do you still want to kill yourself?"
"Not really. I had fun yesterday. I think I'll stick around and see how things go with the Dead Last."
"Why do you call him that?" Obito chuckled at the name.
"Because that was his place. Last. So one day I just started calling him that. I thought it was funny. That name has a whole new meaning now. Now it's because he's the last one standing, so he's Dead--Last. Get it?"
Obito paused, thinking about it. "Whatever little kid. I was under the impression that you didn't really get along with him. That's why I'm here talking to you right now."
"I never said I had a problem with him, other than the fact that he's become quite loud and obnoxious. Actually, I never really paid much attention to him at all until yesterday." Sasuke pulled a kunai from his pouch. He reached over the edge of the futon and picked up a rag and a bottle of oil. He began polishing it while he spoke. "I was told he was dangerous. It's true. I don't even think he knows. It would seem that he only acts like an idiot when he's trying to get people to pay attention to him, but when he's trying NOT to be noticed, that's when you get to see Naruto." He smirked up at 'his guardian'. "He's a predator." Sasuke held the blade up to examine its 'shininess'. "Look what he did to Sakura. If I wouldn't have show up there,"
"I would have shown up."
"What, you wouldn't have let him drag her in the bushes and fuck her senseless…As me?"
"Such a mouth for a little kid!"
"What can I say, I grew up wrong. Why didn't you show yourself to me when you saw him pass out yesterday? You could have saved me a lot of trouble and a lost night of sleep. I was tired after that fight."
"I wondered how you would react to having to tend to him."
"Why?"
"If you would have left him there, I would have killed you."
"Understandable, since you care for him so. I'm sure I wouldn't have minded." Sasuke sat up and looked Obito in the eyes. "Can I ask you something?"
"Does it have to do with torture?"
"Actually, yes." He chuckled to himself. "Have you ever had it used on you? Have you ever been inside the Kaleidoscope?"
"Honestly?"
"Of course."
"Yeah. I have."
"That's interesting."
"Let's leave that for another time. I've someplace I really have to be."
"Fine. I'm tired anyway. I don't feel like entertaining anymore guests today."
"Stay here. I'll come get you when I'm done. I'll show where 'home' is going to be."
"Fine." Sasuke stretched back out on the futon, and rolled over to his side. He slid his freshly polished kunai under his pillow. "No need to lock it on your way out. Like I said, no one comes here."
"Oh yeah, since we're 'bonding', I plan on extending my hospitality to Naruto as well. Is that going to be a problem for you?"
"As long as I get to train with him every day, I don't care. I'll be going to sleep now."
"Sleep well." Obito made for the door. When he reached it, he turned back to his unfortunate relative. "It's really kind of funny kid. That you pick this place to 'stay' I mean. …I used to live here." Obito shut the door behind him and headed through the empty streets back towards the living part of the village. "Now to have a little chat with Naruto… This should be interesting."
Naruto lay relaxed and comfortable on his heap of pillows and blankets. His damaged arm had begun to feel better already. The horrible throbbing had stopped at least. He gently let his fingertip trace the spiral shape in the center of his seal. It tickled…but not too much. He continued repeating the action. A luminescent red mist leaked out of the seal and spiraled its way up his arm to the area of the gash. Obito had managed to heal it enough to stop the bleeding and re-grow the scab, but the damage was still there. It would take forever to heal all by itself, and he didn't really feel like just walking around with that kind of weakness.
Naruto closed his eyes and waited patiently for the chakra to do its work. His thoughts drifted back to when his sensei tried to heal him. 'What the heck happened back there?' He hadn't even noticed he was bleeding that badly. Obito's chakra…felt weird. He didn't like it at all. He recalled the sensation. 'Blaaaa!' But right before that, right as he was waking up… 'It was warm…It felt…safe…and warm…'
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he shot up with a start. 'What the hell was that?' He looked down at his arm again. It felt…better! He yanked at the bandages and tangled them about himself, trying to check his wound as quickly as possible. When he saw it, he just stared. There was nothing there. It was gone. He sat there, loosely tied in his bandage roll, examining the newly grown flesh. He traced his fingers over the area where it had been. It was pristine. Like nothing had even happened. "Sweet."
There was a knock at the door. He jumped up, untangled himself from the bandage, and looked around quickly to see if anything incriminating was left just lying around. Ramen cups, books, scrolls, bloody clothing…empty cans of spray paint. 'Shit!' He gathered the cans and stuffed them behind the cushions of his 'couch', where they would be out of sight. 'Okay, anything else? Hmm…Nah. It's just Obito sensei.' He opened the door. "Sakura?"
Sakura jumped at the sudden opening of the door. She was terribly nervous to begin with, it didn't help that Naruto seemed full of energy again and he'd just shouted her name. "Umm…Hey…"
Naruto stepped outside with her but kept the door open. "Wwwwhaaat are you doing here?" Something dawned on him. "How'd you know where I live?"
"I followed the graffiti." She replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. Naruto just gawked at her. "Ummm…"
"Did you want to come in or something?" He pushed open the door a little further incase she decided to take him up on his offer. Maybe he should give her a little more 'incentive'. "I don't bite." He lied. He could remember biting a couple of people…but he'd never 'bite' Sakura! 'Unless she wanted me to... !.'
"I…guess." She HAD agreed to 'play nice' hadn't she? She ducked down and stepped under the arm that was leaning on the doorframe. Naruto stepped aside to let her pass. She looked around briefly then headed to the only place that looked safe to sit on and sat down. Naruto quickly shut the door and followed her. For some reason she took note of the fact that he didn't lock it. She relaxed a little.
"Soooo…Why are you here?" Naruto sat next to her, but kept his distance. The last thing he wanted was to be punched in the face.
Sakura leaned back on the cushions and felt something poke her in the back. She reached for it, and pulled it out. It was an empty can of spray paint. Naruto chuckled nervously and held out his hand to receive it. He placed it on the crate that doubled as a 'table' and turned back to her. "I was um…wondering…about something…"
"So ask me." Naruto didn't really know how to act. It was a strange occurrence. He felt a little…confused.
"Well, Obito sensei…told me that you were at Sasuke's house yesterday…"
"Yeah? What are you going to yell at me for 'getting him dirty'?" He didn't mean for it to come out sounding so harsh, but Sakura flinched like he'd hurt her.
"I wanted to know…where he lived."
"Sakura! There is no way I'm telling you that! I know you like him Sakura, but I do NOT think you need to go there! I'm not just trying to keep you away from him either…well I AM, but not the way you're thinking! If he flipped out and hurt you, I'd kill him!"
"I need to talk to him Naruto. Please tell me."
"No. Not a chance." He turned from her to avoid looking at her pouty eyes.
"Pleeeeaaase Naruto." She reached out and grabbed his arm. "You owe it to me… for earlier." Her hand gripped the skin of his left arm. She looked down at it. Her eyes widened when she realized that it was no longer bandaged, and it was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar. 'Obito sensei didn't do that…'
Naruto looked down at Sakura's hand. He knew she'd noticed. 'Shit.' "I'll take you there."
"I need to talk to him alone. Please… Do this one thing for me."
"Why are you doing this to me Sakura? Stop acting all nice!" He yanked his arm away. "Ask me anything else in the world, and I'll do it for you. I swear. But not that. I won't. Why don't you just wait here and ask Obito sensei. I'm sure he knows. He's probably with him right now. You know Sasuke has to live with him now don't you?"
"No. I don't know anything about him, remember? I didn't even know about his brother! I don't know him at all!"
"Damn it Sakura! I don't wanna do this with you right now! I don't want to argue! Obito sensei is coming over here pretty soon, probably to yell at me for what I did to you earlier, and if he finds you here he'll just yell at me more. I'm not telling you were he lives. It ain't my business. You're going to see Sasuke tomorrow anyway. Talk to him there." Naruto pulled off his hitai-ate and ran his fingers though his messy hair.
"Why did you do it?" Sakura was glaring at Naruto.
"What?"
"Don't act stupid. You know what!"
"I was just trying to talk to you Sakura. I never planned on any of that happening. Well, except for the part where you said that you hate me. I pretty much already figured that. You know, I don't get you. Why would you even think that I would want anything but good things for you?"
"W-what?"
"You said if I had my way, you'd never find love or happiness. Why would you even think that?"
Sakura didn't know what to say. She just stared at the floor. After a moment, her expression changed. She looked furious. "Because… DAMN IT! I'M STILL PISSED AT YOU! Stop trying to turn things around on me! You're the one who MOLESTED me on that bench you perverted asshole!"
"You threw yourself at me!"
"I threw myself at Sasuke! Idiot! You are SOOO lucky that Obito sensei told me earlier that you were at Sasuke's house because he did that to your arm. I figured you planned it. I guess since you didn't, that means I don't have to kill you in your sleep."
"You were actually thinking about doing that?"
"YES! TO BOTH OF YOU! You'd think that once, after all these years, he would have thought to tell me that he was insane, and YOU! YOU'RE A FUCKING DEMON! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE TO BE PUT ON A TEAM WITH YOU TWO? WHY ME DAMN IT?"
"CHE! Just this morning you were jumping for joy that you were going to be on a team with Sasuke! NOW you're pissed? Just be glad that he isn't dead right now okay?"
Sakura stopped bitching. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, we all have to get along now. Why not make the best of it? We're ninja now. Technically, we could die at any time. I think what Obito sensei is telling us, is that we need to enjoy the time we have together, because one day it's all well and good, but the next day it's gone… and you never get it back. The Way of the Shinobi is one without feelings. That's what Sasuke wants. He doesn't want to feel anything anymore. I think that's why Obito sensei spoke to us about all that stuff earlier. He wanted him to tell us about his feelings. He didn't want Sasuke to know."
"Naruto…you…"
"What…"
"…"
"I what?"
"I don't know…"
"Why do you do this to me Sakura?"
"Do what?"
"I don't know."
Obito made his way up the street that he'd not been on in more than ten years. He'd had no reason to come there. It stung to see that not much had changed since then.
"Well, looks like this my stop. Now you just gotta lug that shit up a couple flights of stares and you're done. How bout that. I bet you got paid A LOT for this gig."
"I probably won't even get paid actually. See, I'm being punished. My sensei got mad because I came back two days late from a mission, and I lost the one I was supposed to have lined up, and the guy that took it, failed the mission. My sensei is pissed that I made him look bad. So here I am, lugging around all this shit for you, instead of taking a mission that would have paid fairly well."
"Hahaha. I get it. He's your sensei. That explains a lot. Heh heh. Well look, it's been fun kid. Just drop the shit inside and be off then. I can take it from here."
"Sure thing lady. I'll just be getting back to my wonderful adventurous life now. See you around."
"Hey kid!"
"Yeah?"
"Come back here."
"Why?"
"Let's have us a little chat."
"About what?"
"About whatever. You got something better to do? Don't you ever just get the urge to sit and talk to someone sometimes?"
"You know him better than I do."
"What?" Naruto looked at his guest. She suddenly looked like she'd just figured out something very important.
"You…all those things you just said…about Sasuke…I thought you hated him."
"Nah…not really…it's just the fact that he's so fucking perfect. It pisses me off. Things come so easily to him, and he acts like none of that even matters. It just bothered me, that's all. I don't really blame him though. Not anymore. If I were in his situation, I'd wanna be that way too."
"…"
Obito climbed the familiar stare case, dreading the heap of shit that he was going to have to hear from Naruto. He hated getting bitched at. He had managed to avoid being bitched at for a long time now, and he had been hoping to avoid it for as long as possible. Just before he got there, he realized something important. 'DAMN IT! I FORGOT IT! What the hell!' Obito quickly formed the seals to his teleportation jutsu and vanished in a puff of smoke. Normally, Obito preferred to walk to his destinations. It took longer to get there. He made an exception this time because he wanted to get this particular little heap of shit over with, and he was not about to go racing back to the other end of town to get the unfortunately forgotten item.
"…Naruto…"
"Yeah?"
"Um…"
"What is it?"
"…Can I…"
"Can you…?"
"…Can I see it again?"
"See what?"
"…"
"Sakura?"
"Your seal… I want to see it again… Will you show it to me?"
"What a pain in the ass. Where the hell did I take it off at?" Obito searched frantically for the item he'd forgotten. He knew he had it last night!
Naruto stood, gazing calmly at his guest. "Why?"
"What?" Sakura looked surprised at the question.
"Why do you want to see it? What's so special about my seal today? Everyone wants me to show it off. It's weird. I've never even talked about it with anyone except for Iruka sensei, and that was just last week! I'm kind of not really mentally prepared for all this, all of a sudden."
"Come on! Just show it to me."
"You didn't answer my question. Why do you want to see it?"
"…I just do…please?"
"Please don't start that again Sakura… You remember what happened last time you used that trick on me." He remembered the way she'd whined at him when she was begging him to kiss her earlier… 'So what if she thought it was Sasuke! He wouldn't have done her like THAT! I gave her my all!' Naruto smirked smugly in his head. '…or would he?'
"Yeah. You didn't do what I wanted. You said you'd do anything but THAT. ReMEMber? Do THIS then." Sakura folded her arms smugly across her chest. She smirked at him.
He hated that look. "Fine." Not allowing himself to be defeated by the likes of her, he stood up and removed his tee shirt. He tossed it aside and approached her defiantly. He stood directly in front of her. He made sure that he was close enough for her to get a good look at it this time.
Sakura, not believing that he would give in so easily, was taken off guard. She found herself gazing directly at his midsection. She was surprised at how surprised she was! "Naruto is packed!" His body was small, but well muscled. It looked liked he didn't have an ounce of fat on him. He wasn't muscular though. He was lean and toned. "What are you waiting for?" She looked up at him, a hint of annoyance played on her face.
"Give me a minute." Naruto had his eyes closed. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slow and steady. He brought his hands together and formed the channeling seal. He continued his breathing exercise.
Sakura's eyes widened when she saw the 'Demon Seal' bleed out from under his skin. The ancient script almost seemed to dance around on his flesh before settling into its final resting place. She gasped. It was…beautiful. She gazed at it, as if it held her by some kind of mysterious force. She leaned in closer.
Naruto tried his best to keep it up. It was hard for him to channel that much chakra to force the seal out. He knew he needed to stay completely relaxed or he'd just end up exhausting himself. He thought it would be rude if he just passed out on the floor and left Sakura stuck there with him unconscious, until Obito arrived.
Sasuke lay awake on his 'couch'. He knew he was probably lying when he told Obito that he was going to go to sleep. All the talk about old times was taking its toll on him. He gripped at the kunai under his pillow. Sweat poured from his brow and his breathing was hitched. He wrestled mentally with the images that were invading the backs of his eyelids.
Sasuke felt the sensation of another's hands on him. They tangled in his hair. They tugged at it in a way that was slightly unpleasant, but it felt good. He gasped as he felt the others lips on his neck. They sucked at his flesh, just a tiny bit too hard. He grit his teeth. A moist tongue slid its way up to his mouth. Teeth lightly pinched his bottom lip. Sasuke tightened his grip on the person in front of him and forced his own tongue in the other's mouth. He heard the person moan. It excited him. He dug his nails into the other's back. He smiled to himself. He moved forward, pushing the other's back against the wall. He pressed himself against them. The hands untangled themselves from his hair and slipped down his arms. Warm fingers tangled with his own. His hands were cold. It felt very good. He squeezed them briefly, then drew his hands away and gripped the other's wrists firmly. He drew the other's arms up and slammed them against the wall. The other chuckled slightly. Sasuke grinned and took the other into another passionate kiss. He ground his hips against the body in front of him. He moaned at the tension he found there. He couldn't wait to feel it.
The words, "We have an audience," were breathed into his ear.
He pulled away and paused. The sound of heavy breathing filled his ears. He stepped back, separating himself from the other person completely, but didn't turn from them. Sasuke heard what sounded like a twisted version of his own voice…
"Go back to sleep…Sasuke." Sasuke heard a gasp, followed by hurried footsteps retreating down the hall. "Don't go anywhere." He told the person that had informed him of their little… 'voyeur'. 'Stop…please just fucking stop!' Sasuke turned to follow the intruder down the hall.
The other answered him. "I wouldn't dare." 'Please…'
Sasuke quietly made his way down the hall and slid open the door of 'his brother's' room. He approached the little boy who was now pretending to be asleep.
"Sasuke…" he sighed. "You're such a curious child…" He sat on the boy's bed.
"Listen, you mustn't ever speak of what you saw me doing just now. Promise me…" He waited for a response. Nothing. "So innocent..." He reached out his hand and ran it through the spiky bristles that were the boy's hair. His little brother turned to face him.
"Aniki…" '…move...'
"Sasuke, why were you watching us?"
"…I heard a noise…"
"You should have been asleep. You have school in the morning."
"I know…I couldn't sleep."
"Sasuke, promise me you won't tell anyone what you saw, alright?"
"Why? …Is it…wrong?" 'Move…'
"Some people seem to think so…" Sasuke paused, considering his words carefully. "You're too young to worry about those things Sasuke. Listen, if you do as I ask, I promise I'll take you out to practice with shuriken after my next mission. All right?"
"Really? You promise?"
"Of course…Little brother."
"Yeah!"
"Shhhh…you have to be quieter. Our parents are sleeping." Sasuke told his little brother in a hushed voice. "This has to be our little secret. I'm supposed to be busy with ANBU missions right now, so it's hard to find the time to play with you."
"It's not playing, it's training! I want to get stronger than you someday!"
"Hmhmhmhm." Sasuke laughed as he patted his little brother on the head. "Do you really want to BE like me Sasuke?" 'MOVE!'
"Yeah. Everyone looks up to you because you are the strongest. I want to be strong like you!"
"And you want me to help you?"
"Of course! That's what brother's are supposed to do, isn't it?"
"I can't help you every step of the way Sasuke. Some things you just have to experience for yourself." 'MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!'
Sasuke gasped and shot upright. He quickly jammed his kunai into his leg. "FUCK!" That hurt. The vision was more intense this time. 'Damn it!' Things didn't seem to be getting any better. He wanted so badly to be able to sleep. He was just so tired, but he couldn't even think about sleeping right then though, he had a kunai sticking out of his leg, and it was bleeding profusely. He gritted his teeth and yanked it out. "AAAGH! Damn it!" He tossed the bloodied knife on the glass table and observed the fresh wound as it stained his white shorts red. "Why is this happening to me?" He pleaded to the empty room. "Why can't I make it stop?"
Sasuke didn't want to have to cut himself any more. He wanted it to end. What could possibly be worth this? He pondered just letting it bleed. Maybe he'd be lucky enough to bleed to death. He wouldn't really be killing himself then…he'd just be letting himself die…granting himself mercy. That was justifiable. Fuck being a ninja. Fuck training relentlessly. Fuck being alone. What the fuck did he have to look forward to? Rebuilding his clan? Right. Let that Obito fucker do it. He didn't want any part of it. Just the THOUGHT of having sex made him want to vomit. It reminded him of that time he got to fuck Shisui right before he drowned him. Oh yeah, then there was the whole bunch of murder that he did not long after that. He was surprised that he hadn't had balls to rape his own mother and make his father watch. Oh wait, that wasn't even him! That's right, Itachi did that. FUCK ITACHI! Fuck Mangekyou Sharingan! And fuck the fucked up visions Itachi gave him! Fuck trying to make them stop! His family had their justice didn't they? If there was a hell, Itachi was rotting in it now! There was no need for him to even exist anymore. 'FUCK IT ALL!'
"Aniki…maybe I'll see you there…" He leaned his head on the back of the futon, brought his hands up to his face, and rubbed away the moisture. He pulled off his sweat soaked Hitai-ate and tossed it onto the bare floor. The clatter it made as the metal part hit the wooden floorboards rang in his ears. His arms fell to his sides. 'Guess I'll just wait and see…'
TA DA! There you go! There it is! The WHOLE scene! It's been driving me crazy! I finally decided to add it to THIS chapter, because what I have right now for chapter 9 is over 14,000 words long! I needed to cut it down! And since I promised an ending, (sort of,) at the end of the next chapter, it worked out better for me to just tack on the extra pages to this chapter. Sorry for all the confusion. I just have a sick and weird brain that sometimes gets the better of me.
I've been working on some other stuff on the side too…some future stuff…but first I must make it to "With Bells On". You probably all can guess that it will deal heavily with Obito (((AND KAKASHI? AND…AND…OMG! AHHHH!))). Damn it! I really, REALLY, want to get that part done with so I can get to the Wave mission! (((I LOVE YOU HAKU!)))
FINAL THOUGHT: As always, your feedback is GREATLY appreciated! For all you people who took time out of your lives to review and/or compliment me (or tell me I suck), I offer a giant ball of fuzzy, tear filled 'THANKS!' I hope I can keep on delivering the goods to your liking! Stay tuned for chapter 9…sorry for the delay, but school is on now and I have actual work that I must complete before I can fulfill my sick fantasies…evil grin …and that chapter is fucking LONG! SHEESH!
OKAY! REVIEWER STUFF AND SOME QUICK LAUGHS:
GHONCHI---I just have one thing to say…I just love Freudian slips! Really, everyone, go check for yourselves! In chapter 7, I actually wrote this!
'Damn it all! Naruto's stupidness is rubbing off (insert word here: the word is "ON") Sasuke now!'
ON! I MEANT "ON"! (((I told you that YOU were the pervert! PERVERT!))) I should shut up and go to sleep now. (((DAMN RIGHT!))) d(-)b Right on! (((pst! Did anyone notice the other one I slipped in there? Here's a hint: The word is supposed to be "ripped" NOT RIBBED! WTF?))) OMG…that was just too much! …and that whole MEAT thing…sigh ...(smacks forehead)
HAHAHAHHAHAHA! (((LMAO!))) No matter how many times I check for mistakes I can never EVER find them all! Thank you very much for pointing that out GHONCHI! I haven't laughed this hard….since…the last time I did that! (((LMAO))) So, I wonder if I should change it or leave it there…I'm so embarrassed.
Pixiequeen….your email address is awesome! I know, it's a silly thing to compliment but, it really is…I just felt I had to say that….
Gravidy…I LOVE YOU! snuggle (don't worry I'm not stalking you…heeheehee…)
Ghostninja…You and your fic are making me foam at the mouth! Is your hand better yet? Glomp
Lauren…Orochimaru…AAHHH! I wanna get to it sooo bad! And Kakashi is coming! Sometime…in the future…when I get there…sigh
DAMN IT! I NEED TO POST THIS LIKE NOW! OKAY! HERE I GO!
BIG ASS RANT: And random babbling. Feel free to skip this if you want…
There is one thing I feel I must mention because a lot of people have commented on it. I know how old the manga says the people are….but I've decided to assume, for the purposes of this story, that 1) Naruto is the oldest (October 10, Year of the Ninja insert number here)…I will not be dissuaded from this. Sakura is next (March 28, Year of the Ninja the next year after Naruto is born) and Sasuke is last, (July 23, Year of the Ninja the same year as Sakura) Naruto is oldest (in this story) because he is a dunce and failed his exit exam three times (though he passed after the third try, of course), next is Sakura, making both Naruto and Sakura 13 at the time of their graduation, and Sasuke is the youngest because he is an Uchiha genius ninja. 2) The gang graduated the academy…oh, I'm thinking May-ish (if anyone knows exactly when this actually occurred, please inform me and I will adjust), that being said, I thought it would be weird if Sasuke was the oldest, since he is a genius, and Naruto is a failure.
Well, all that and it works best with the way I'm laying out my story.
Obito is, at the time of my story (I'm going to say), 27 years old. (if anyone knows his birthday, or how old he really was during that part of the manga, please let me know where I can find that information. It would be very valuable to me!) In my story, Obito was older than Kakashi (Who is now dead, but would have been 26, had he been alive) when he killed him. ((((Hey! Stop giving stuff away!)))) Shut up.
If Itachi is supposed to 17/18 when the he appears in the manga for the first time, that would put him at about 14 or 15 when he murdered his clan. It was my guess that it had been a couple of years since the massacre , putting Sasuke at about 9/10-ish when I mention it in this story.
I know I'm being anal (((snicker…anal…))) about this but it is one of the factors that I considered as I was laying out this storyline, without it, there would be chaos.
Really, if you think about it…it makes what I'm saying when I talk about the massacre and what Itachi did to Sasuke with Mangekyou (in my story of course) all the more fucked up. Imagine you are like nine or ten years old and all that shit happened to you…that's where I get my inspiration on the characters personalities. I'm just borrowing certain personality traits and plot points from Kishimoto San to create, hopefully, something unique. Whew! Sorry, I had to get that out of my system. I hope I didn't piss anyone off by adding this, I think I just wanted to say that for clarification purposes.
And also, I about had a fucking seizure when I saw ep 130 and Sasuke said all that shit to Naruto about being able to see which is the real one out of his Kage Bunshin! NO! DAMN IT! THAT WASN'T IN THE MANGA! WAS IT? (((I'm sure it wasn't because we checked that whole part like twice!))) I know! Kakashi can't even tell a shadow clone from the real one! That's fucking bullshit! I only care because it totally fuck's up "…That Day…" WTF? (((They are totally rearranging that fight!))) Sigh… and also: in the inane translation of the manga in chapter 222, Itachi tells the MP corps, "That is a pity…I see…I hadn't seen him lately but…I loved him like a real brother." when they notify him of Shisui's "suicide/drowning". That is the line that I used in my story. Not the shit they said in the friggin' cheatin' ass anime! (((You still love it though.))) Yeah, I know, it just pisses me off. The extra scenes were a nice tie-in though, not much talking, so they don't have to alter the story…but how many times can one sit through Sasuke shouting "Katon! Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" without wanting to absolutely smash and break him for being a total DICK in the present? I'm just loving torturing his little bitch ass right now. (((((Revenge for Naruto! YAY! No revenge for punk ass Sasuke! OBITO SAMA!)))) Being a manipulative bitch has its perks sometimes. d(-)b
Don't even get me started with Episode 131. WHERE THE FUCK WAS ALL THE MASSICRING? DAMNED STUPID CENSORSHIP!