" " speaking; ' ' thinking; lots of italics flashback
((DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any of it's characters.))
- Kakashi's Response -
"Naruto-kun, you wanted to speak to me?" Kakashi asked, eyeing his student curiously. Naruto nodded once, but kept his head down and said nothing.
"Well, go ahead then," Kakashi continued. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Kakashi-sensei... You know how I have to share a room with Sasuke-kun?" Naruto said, choosing his words carefully.
"Ah, yes. I'm quite sorry, but for right now, we need Cell 7 to stay together. The only place we could find only had three rooms. As soon as we can find better accommodations..."
"That's not the problem, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto stammered nervously, making sure Kakashi didn't get the wrong idea. This peaked Kakashi's curiousity.
"Oh really? Well then, what is the problem, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto's face burned red; although he wasn't sure why he was blushing, it felt like an appropriate reaction.
"Kakashi-sensei, I... I think that Sasuke-kun... cuts himself..." he finally admitted. Kakashi's eyebrow rose in surprise. For a moment, he wasn't sure what to say.
"What... what makes you think that, Naruto-kun?"
"Last night, I thought he was hiding something from me, so I stayed awake to look through his things. He stayed awake too though, and when he thought I was asleep, he got out a kunai, and..."
Naruto didn't continue, and Kakashi didn't expect him to. Thinking of what he could say next, Kakashi massaged his temple gently.
"You know know why he does it?"
Naruto looked away. The memory of the night before rushed back to him...
Naruto heard Sasuke let out three of these pained breaths before he actually heard Sasuke speak.
"Naruto-chan... Naruto-chan, I'll die for you... I'll do anything for you... Naruto-chan, I love you... Why can't you love me too...?" Then, he wept.
' Why does he have to be a cutter, and why does he have to love me? Why couldn't he just have a weird porn addiction like Kakashi-sensei?' All these thoughts ran through Naruto's mind as he listened to Sasuke's crying, and then he tried to find sleep. It was the only way he could escape his guilt...
"I'm not sure, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto lied. "But I want him to stop."
"Well, Naruto-kun, it seems you'd have to find out why he does it if you want to make him stop. Maybe you should talk to him about it. You seem very worried about him. I'm sure you'll be able to find the right things to say..."
"Are you sure, sensei?" Kakashi nodded, and Naruto nodded once as well. "Alright. I'll talk to him today... Before training, okay?"
"That's fine, Naruto-kun. And remember, you can talk to me about anything."
Naruto looked up and met Kakashi's eyes for the first time since they'd begun talking. It startled Kakashi how much concern Naruto's eyes held for his teammate.
Naruto thanked his teacher and then left for the ramen shop. He needed a bowl of ramen before he talked to Sasuke. He knew what he had to do to make Sasuke stop hurting himself.
Even if it meant he had to lie through his teeth...
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Woah. Such a deep chapter. Kakashi: I make him into such a fatherly guy, but he'll always be a pervert. Poor guy. I'm putting on this chapter and chapter three on in the same night. Is that updating fast enough for you? Well, chapter five is the one to anticipate. I already have it written; not typed, mind you. It'll be up... eventually. I think you'll all like it. Well, hope you enjoyed. Where are my reviews, darn it? Haha! X3