Hey... did you know that FF.N isn't allowing the little stars on top of
your 8 key anymore? So (( won't show up... weird, ne? or maybe it's just
when you put one at a time... laughs did that show?
And as for our little competition, La/=/er's review reached 6kb... you're currently in the lead. I would have waited for AkaNoShika's review, but I had this chapter done early, and I wanted to get it out to you guys. One more chapter and my story breaks 100 000 words.
Chapter Title: 44. Nicknames
Naruto sighed to himself and took a quick peek out his window, frowning when he realised he couldn't see through the red paint. After Sasuke's Betrayal, and the Orochimaru Incident, and more recently the releasing of the fox demon almost a year ago, the villagers seemed to retain a large amount of hatred towards the young boy, however, unlike in the past, there was more of a physical representation of the anger the village felt. They felt it was necessary to shove him in the streets; to give him rotten food at the stores and, Naruto scratched at the stuff on his window, to paint crude messages for him everywhere it would be inconvenient for him. He sighed to himself, realising he would have to clean his windows again for the third time that week. No one cared to reprimand the culprits and he couldn't bring himself to bother his friends who were busy preparing for a war.
Recently the village had been subjected to a number of disastrous raids by enemy villages, mostly just of the genin class, and Tsunade had been forced to resort to setting up guards to work on patrolling the village to protect the people. At the moment Sand had stopped fighting with Konoha and were in the middle of alliance talks, but there were still rumours that some of their ninjas were part of the raids.
Naruto closed his blinds, opting to deal with it after his shift. He slipped into his Chuunin vest before putting on his traditional jacket. Tsunade had asked him to wear it, for protection if nothing else. He still didn't like the idea of being a level higher than his friends, and wondered if Shikamaru had any doubts when he was advanced so early. At least Naruto was able to stay with his genin team for a while until Tsunade decided to advance them as well. It was only a matter of time. Already, half of the remaining seven genin had been advanced. Hinata and Shino were the first ones, followed closely by Ino and Kiba. Even Gai's whole team were pushed up to chuunin status. Naruto had noticed a reluctance to separate team seven, but he pushed it out of his mind as he arrived at the check in spot relatively unscathed.
He signed in with Kakashi and headed out on his now familiar route. Within ten minutes he should pass Sasuke and after fifteen minutes Sakura would cross his path. He had grown used to it and could almost do the whole route blindfolded. He walked through the market, ignoring the heated glances that were thrown his way. By now they just bounced right off him.
"Why did you have to come back, demon?" A voice hissed close to his ear, but when he whirled around nothing looked out of the ordinary, and just the usual people were glaring at him, unmoving.
"You put our prodigy in a jail cell." Another voice sneered at him.
"You don't deserve to lick the dirt from his sandals."
"I don't know who you are, but I have a job I need to do." Naruto called out to the crowd of people.
"And you do it so well."
"How many more have to die before you will leave the village for good?"
Before Naruto could defend himself, he was pulled into the nearest alleyway and thrown violently against a wall. He was only caught off guard because he was taught the enemy villages tended not to drag off their victims, or attack in very crowded places. He caught the glinting of a hitai-ate and realised it was a Konoha ninja. Looking closer, he found he recognised the angry face staring at him from his academy days. It was one of the boys who had graduated, but hadn't passed the test into the final nine genin like Naruto had.
"What do you want?" Naruto hissed, tensing for a battle. "If you didn't realise I'm in the middle of my patrol. Why don't you be a good little genin and play with someone else in the dark alleyways. I'm too busy." He started off and was shoved back again.
"I have a little payback for you, dobe!" The boy shouted. Naruto's attention was caught and he was immediately at the end of his patience.
"You think you have the right to call me that? I don't recall your name being on that list of nine after the academy. If anything, I should be calling you that. How many years did it take for you to get yourself a team?" The boy ignored the question.
"What's wrong with me calling you dobe, dobe. Or is that a name reserved for the people you want to screw senseless."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Is it his little pet name for you, Dobe-chan?"
"What the hell has crawled up your ass this morning?"
"I'm sure you'd love to take a look personally. I'm only doing what everyone else wishes they could do. I'm going to take you down a peg." He raised his hands and Naruto lost track of the seals performed in the half- light. Smoke filled the alley and within seconds the boy had Naruto on his hands and knees coughing.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu." Naruto coughed out, spreading out and surrounding his opponent.
"Why are your clones wearing a chuunin vest?" He heard muttered under the boy's breath. He just barely caught the rhetorical question.
"Three guesses." Naruto grinned and unzipped his own jacket to show off the real thing. The smoke cleared and Naruto closed his jacket again. "Now, if you don't leave this alley in two seconds, I'm going to show you just what that vest means." He raised his hands and began swirling his Rasengan chakra ball dangerously. It took exactly two seconds for the threat to register in the boy's head and he took off running. Naruto dropped the clones and coughed again.
"You can come out, Sasuke." He said. Sasuke jumped down from the roof where he'd been watching the entire exchange. "How much did you hear? What did you see?"
"Have something to hide?" Sasuke retorted smugly. Naruto crossed his arms dramatically and huffed. "I saw most of it until the smoke filled the back street. What vest were you talking about?"
"It's nothing important!" Naruto exclaimed, feigning cheerfulness and brushed past his friend, out of the alley. Both of them froze as their shoulders brushed one another, still needy of even the slightest touch from the other. Neither questioned it, and neither spoke of it. It was an unwritten love/hate rule between them. Naruto's fingers found Sasuke's and they became tangled in the digits of his rival's before he started back out on his route as thought nothing had happened.
"I'm okay." Naruto exclaimed as he left. Sasuke smiled to himself and nodded.
"I know."
(Star)(Star)(Star)
Sasuke was walking along his route when a familiar face caught his eye. The same guy who had been harassing Naruto in the alley was buying a couple of apples for his girlfriend along his streets. He smirked to himself and walked up to the couple.
"Mimura!" He shouted out. The boy turned around at his name.
"Uchiha-kun!" He smiled and waved his hand. The girl on his arm seemed really impressed with the sudden conversation, but remained quiet. "I'm glad to hear you're out of that damned cell. Tough luck about the eyes though." Sasuke narrowed said eyes dangerously.
"Yeah, I'm glad to be free again. If Naruto hadn't come back, I might have stayed in that cell for a very long time."
"Naruto?" The girl spoke up, a look of disgust passing over her face. "He's the reason you were sent there in the first place, ne?" Mimura leaned closer to Sasuke to tell him something in a quieter voice.
"I heard he was actually into you. You know, sexually." He grinned maliciously. "One of the guys told me the big pansy just wanted to lay the great Uchiha for his already lacking reputation. Of course, I told them you wouldn't go near that pile of crap with a ten-foot pole. After all, you're only friendly to him cause you're stuck on his team, ne? Bad luck for you." Sasuke nodded his head, staying quiet for a few moments.
"I heard what you did to him a little while ago."
"Yeah!" Mimura beamed proudly. "I felt it my duty to show him his place. Why should we let some demon little pansy ruin your life. I cold almost swear he sees that name you always call him as some form of endearment. Either he's been dropped on his head one too many times and enjoys being insulted, or he thinks you like him. I couldn't let him go around ruining your reputation. I had to show the dobe that no one messes with Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke nodded again and growled. In a flash he had Mimura's arm twisted around behind his back, painfully, with his face pressed mercilessly into the ground. The girl gasped, startled, and jumped back. "What the fuck?!" Mimura yelled.
"Did you think you were doing me a favour?" He only got a whimper in response, and so continued. "It just so happens that Uzumaki, say the name, asshole. You don't even deserve to say that much, but say it. Say the name." He pressed harder on Mimura's head, earning a wonderful yelp of pain.
"Uzumaki."
"I didn't hear you, say it louder."
"Uzumaki!"
"That's better. As I was saying, Uzumaki is my best friend, and you are going to treat him like the power he is. He isn't lying when he says he will become Hokage. Do you really want someone like that angry with you because you thought you'd be tough and bully him while he was working?" The boy remained silent, but quivering in fear.
"Uchiha-san, please stop!" The boy's girlfriend spoke up, pleadingly. "You're hurting him." Sasuke looked up and his red eyes flashed for a moment.
"Good." He said, looking back down at the guy. "Now I only have one more thing to tell you before I decide to be nice and let you go. What is it that you call our little friend?"
"Uzumaki."
"Good, you're a quick learner. Shame you took so long to make it to the genin level. What is it that you do NOT call him?"
"Demon?"
"That's one, there's a couple more."
"Pansy?"
"I'm listening."
"Monster?"
"Oh, come on, even you can't be that stupid."
"... D-dobe?" He asked, unsure of himself.
"I knew you'd figure it out." Sasuke laughed, but there was absolutely no humour in the sound, it only brought chills to both boy and girl, as well as the small crowd that had gathered around the two. "Nobody but me has the right to call him that. And if I hear anyone calling him that, or any other sort of insult, I will personally break their neck. Is that clear?" The boy nodded his head slightly. "Now, I don't want you to be forgetting what I've told you, Mimura. That nickname is mine. You use it and you die. Clear?"
"Crystal." He replied, doing his best not to get dirt in his mouth.
"Glad we could come to an understanding." Sasuke stood up and continued patrolling as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, leaving the crowd to whisper amongst themselves. Mimura stood up and rubbed his sore neck, ashamed of being humiliated so thoroughly.
(Star)(Star)(Star)
"Naruto!" Sakura called out to him. The blonde looked over his shoulder and waited for his friend. "Kakashi and the other senseis want to meet with us for extra training."
"More?" He groaned.
"Yes, more." Sakura slapped his shoulder playfully. "You do realise that we're the only team who has all of its members still at the genin level. It's slightly embarrassing. We need all the training we can get."
"Fine, then. When are we supposed to meet?"
"Kakashi wanted us right after the end of your shift, so don't you dare be late."
"But you know Kakashi-sensei won't be there on time. Why do I have to be there on time?" She shot him a glare.
"How much longer do you have on your shift?" She asked, scanning the streets, which seemed to be clearing out for the day. Naruto followed her eyes.
"About an hour and a half or so." He exclaimed. "I just have to check out the meat vendor at the end of the next road and I'm pretty much done."
She nodded and continued on her route, leaving Naruto to finish up with his own. After a couple minutes of strolling towards his last street, he saw Sasuke again.
"Oi, matte, Sasuke-kun!" He called out, running towards his friend. "Did you hear about the training?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.
"You're always the last person to find out anything, dobe." He exclaimed, knowing Naruto didn't have any inkling of what had happened earlier between him and Mimura. Naruto smiled at the nickname he'd grown to tolerate. "I bet you won't even show up!" He smirked smugly, knowing Naruto could never turn down an opportunity to show up his rival.
"Of course I'll show up!"
"Then are you willing to bet on it?" Sasuke asked. "How about this, the loser has to pay for my birthday dinner." Naruto grinned at the idea of a free meal. Sasuke's 18th birthday was coming up in the next couple of weeks.
"Meaning you'll treat yourself and your guests?"
"Only if you win. You'll be my only guest, though. How much money do you think I have?"
"Deal!!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Sasuke's hand to shake on it. "Free ramen!" He cheered. Sasuke chuckled softly to himself. If anything could motivate the blonde it would be free food. "See you at the check out station!" He yelled and ran off to his last stop. Sasuke shook his head, bemusedly and continued on his way.
(Star)(Star)(Star)
When Naruto reached the vendor's large shop he cursed the old man for putting his store so far from the rest of the town, but realised that everyone else would puke at the smell of freshly cut animals every single day. The light was left on at the front counter, even though he was supposed to have shut down earlier that day. Frowning, Naruto took a peek into the shop, nearly jumping from shock when he heard clattering in the back rooms.
"Jii-san?" He asked softly, going in closer, searching for the old man who ran the place. A shuriken shattered through the glass of the back door, barely missing his head and landing in the wall behind him. He sighed to himself.
"It just had to be a riot in the last few seconds of my shift, ne?" He muttered foully under his breath. "This better be quick." He pushed open the door and headed towards the noises to see if he could get rid of the genin rioters quickly.
He took a quick look around the darkened room and noticed more blood than there was supposed to be.
"Oh, great." He muttered. "Just what I needed... more blood." He heaved a great sigh and began pushing his way through the maze of hanging meat to the back of the storage area where most of the noise was coming from.
"Here goes nothing."
(End of chapter)
Okay, that was 2574 words, depending on who you ask. I'll see what I can do to make the next one even longer. It should be, because there are a lot of things to cover, but who knows.
To C. M. Aeris Queen of Insanity: I guess this is where I get to explain the whole idea behind this. Like Kakashi, his eyes are permanently in Sharingan. No turning back. But that doesn't mean the wheel is constantly spinning. As well, the ability to sustain the Sharingan the way it is right now shows a boost in his power levels. He's seventeen, and an Uchiha, you'd assume that the prodigy would be able to handle it. He should be able to handle this much. Also, Kakashi might not use his on a daily basis, but he can if he needs to. He just chooses to keep it hidden.
To Lightdragon1987: wow, don't I feel stupid. Naruto's Room of the Dead won't come into play for a couple of chapters, but when it does, I'm sure you'll know.
To The La/=/er: I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I'm surprised at the competition, but I'm also VERY flattered. I love reading your long reviews, mostly because you're not just filling space, you're actually reflecting. It helps me with how/what I say in the next chapters. I couldn't really see any other solution to the whole Kyuubi thing, and I couldn't sit right with the Kyuubi just letting Naruto take over without realising he has no choice. Tsunade is pretty strong... how else would she have been named one of the Legendary Three and Hokage, but she (like everyone) has her limits and flaws. About the whole SasuNaru thing... I think that Sasuke has a small idea of what he's feeling for Naruto (otherwise he is just going with the flow, and leaving the questions for later), but Naruto is too busy to even think of that. Oh, and Sasuke was being held in something of an underground jail cell, used for lunatics, and other people they don't want to execute immediately. The whole cliché thing with 'knowing in his heart it was Naruto' didn't even cross my mind. Course, this chapter ends with enough of a cliché to keep me wincing for a long while. It couldn't be helped. I don't remember Kakashi mumbling... if he did then I apologize. I don't see him as the mumbling type either. And I don't mind demands coming from you. I think you and AkaNoShika have earned it. . Oh... and because I'm not sure how many reviewers will read this, I think it will be safe to say that your guess on the 'room' was the closest out of everything. You actually scared the crap out of me with how close you were.
To Poison Death Tree: GLOMPS I'm glad there's someone out there who isn't obsessed with knowing what it is. I think there's too much hype about it... it's not as dramatic and exciting as people make it out to be. It's actually a really sad secret of Naruto's.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter
And as for our little competition, La/=/er's review reached 6kb... you're currently in the lead. I would have waited for AkaNoShika's review, but I had this chapter done early, and I wanted to get it out to you guys. One more chapter and my story breaks 100 000 words.
Chapter Title: 44. Nicknames
Naruto sighed to himself and took a quick peek out his window, frowning when he realised he couldn't see through the red paint. After Sasuke's Betrayal, and the Orochimaru Incident, and more recently the releasing of the fox demon almost a year ago, the villagers seemed to retain a large amount of hatred towards the young boy, however, unlike in the past, there was more of a physical representation of the anger the village felt. They felt it was necessary to shove him in the streets; to give him rotten food at the stores and, Naruto scratched at the stuff on his window, to paint crude messages for him everywhere it would be inconvenient for him. He sighed to himself, realising he would have to clean his windows again for the third time that week. No one cared to reprimand the culprits and he couldn't bring himself to bother his friends who were busy preparing for a war.
Recently the village had been subjected to a number of disastrous raids by enemy villages, mostly just of the genin class, and Tsunade had been forced to resort to setting up guards to work on patrolling the village to protect the people. At the moment Sand had stopped fighting with Konoha and were in the middle of alliance talks, but there were still rumours that some of their ninjas were part of the raids.
Naruto closed his blinds, opting to deal with it after his shift. He slipped into his Chuunin vest before putting on his traditional jacket. Tsunade had asked him to wear it, for protection if nothing else. He still didn't like the idea of being a level higher than his friends, and wondered if Shikamaru had any doubts when he was advanced so early. At least Naruto was able to stay with his genin team for a while until Tsunade decided to advance them as well. It was only a matter of time. Already, half of the remaining seven genin had been advanced. Hinata and Shino were the first ones, followed closely by Ino and Kiba. Even Gai's whole team were pushed up to chuunin status. Naruto had noticed a reluctance to separate team seven, but he pushed it out of his mind as he arrived at the check in spot relatively unscathed.
He signed in with Kakashi and headed out on his now familiar route. Within ten minutes he should pass Sasuke and after fifteen minutes Sakura would cross his path. He had grown used to it and could almost do the whole route blindfolded. He walked through the market, ignoring the heated glances that were thrown his way. By now they just bounced right off him.
"Why did you have to come back, demon?" A voice hissed close to his ear, but when he whirled around nothing looked out of the ordinary, and just the usual people were glaring at him, unmoving.
"You put our prodigy in a jail cell." Another voice sneered at him.
"You don't deserve to lick the dirt from his sandals."
"I don't know who you are, but I have a job I need to do." Naruto called out to the crowd of people.
"And you do it so well."
"How many more have to die before you will leave the village for good?"
Before Naruto could defend himself, he was pulled into the nearest alleyway and thrown violently against a wall. He was only caught off guard because he was taught the enemy villages tended not to drag off their victims, or attack in very crowded places. He caught the glinting of a hitai-ate and realised it was a Konoha ninja. Looking closer, he found he recognised the angry face staring at him from his academy days. It was one of the boys who had graduated, but hadn't passed the test into the final nine genin like Naruto had.
"What do you want?" Naruto hissed, tensing for a battle. "If you didn't realise I'm in the middle of my patrol. Why don't you be a good little genin and play with someone else in the dark alleyways. I'm too busy." He started off and was shoved back again.
"I have a little payback for you, dobe!" The boy shouted. Naruto's attention was caught and he was immediately at the end of his patience.
"You think you have the right to call me that? I don't recall your name being on that list of nine after the academy. If anything, I should be calling you that. How many years did it take for you to get yourself a team?" The boy ignored the question.
"What's wrong with me calling you dobe, dobe. Or is that a name reserved for the people you want to screw senseless."
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Is it his little pet name for you, Dobe-chan?"
"What the hell has crawled up your ass this morning?"
"I'm sure you'd love to take a look personally. I'm only doing what everyone else wishes they could do. I'm going to take you down a peg." He raised his hands and Naruto lost track of the seals performed in the half- light. Smoke filled the alley and within seconds the boy had Naruto on his hands and knees coughing.
"Kage bunshin no jutsu." Naruto coughed out, spreading out and surrounding his opponent.
"Why are your clones wearing a chuunin vest?" He heard muttered under the boy's breath. He just barely caught the rhetorical question.
"Three guesses." Naruto grinned and unzipped his own jacket to show off the real thing. The smoke cleared and Naruto closed his jacket again. "Now, if you don't leave this alley in two seconds, I'm going to show you just what that vest means." He raised his hands and began swirling his Rasengan chakra ball dangerously. It took exactly two seconds for the threat to register in the boy's head and he took off running. Naruto dropped the clones and coughed again.
"You can come out, Sasuke." He said. Sasuke jumped down from the roof where he'd been watching the entire exchange. "How much did you hear? What did you see?"
"Have something to hide?" Sasuke retorted smugly. Naruto crossed his arms dramatically and huffed. "I saw most of it until the smoke filled the back street. What vest were you talking about?"
"It's nothing important!" Naruto exclaimed, feigning cheerfulness and brushed past his friend, out of the alley. Both of them froze as their shoulders brushed one another, still needy of even the slightest touch from the other. Neither questioned it, and neither spoke of it. It was an unwritten love/hate rule between them. Naruto's fingers found Sasuke's and they became tangled in the digits of his rival's before he started back out on his route as thought nothing had happened.
"I'm okay." Naruto exclaimed as he left. Sasuke smiled to himself and nodded.
"I know."
(Star)(Star)(Star)
Sasuke was walking along his route when a familiar face caught his eye. The same guy who had been harassing Naruto in the alley was buying a couple of apples for his girlfriend along his streets. He smirked to himself and walked up to the couple.
"Mimura!" He shouted out. The boy turned around at his name.
"Uchiha-kun!" He smiled and waved his hand. The girl on his arm seemed really impressed with the sudden conversation, but remained quiet. "I'm glad to hear you're out of that damned cell. Tough luck about the eyes though." Sasuke narrowed said eyes dangerously.
"Yeah, I'm glad to be free again. If Naruto hadn't come back, I might have stayed in that cell for a very long time."
"Naruto?" The girl spoke up, a look of disgust passing over her face. "He's the reason you were sent there in the first place, ne?" Mimura leaned closer to Sasuke to tell him something in a quieter voice.
"I heard he was actually into you. You know, sexually." He grinned maliciously. "One of the guys told me the big pansy just wanted to lay the great Uchiha for his already lacking reputation. Of course, I told them you wouldn't go near that pile of crap with a ten-foot pole. After all, you're only friendly to him cause you're stuck on his team, ne? Bad luck for you." Sasuke nodded his head, staying quiet for a few moments.
"I heard what you did to him a little while ago."
"Yeah!" Mimura beamed proudly. "I felt it my duty to show him his place. Why should we let some demon little pansy ruin your life. I cold almost swear he sees that name you always call him as some form of endearment. Either he's been dropped on his head one too many times and enjoys being insulted, or he thinks you like him. I couldn't let him go around ruining your reputation. I had to show the dobe that no one messes with Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke nodded again and growled. In a flash he had Mimura's arm twisted around behind his back, painfully, with his face pressed mercilessly into the ground. The girl gasped, startled, and jumped back. "What the fuck?!" Mimura yelled.
"Did you think you were doing me a favour?" He only got a whimper in response, and so continued. "It just so happens that Uzumaki, say the name, asshole. You don't even deserve to say that much, but say it. Say the name." He pressed harder on Mimura's head, earning a wonderful yelp of pain.
"Uzumaki."
"I didn't hear you, say it louder."
"Uzumaki!"
"That's better. As I was saying, Uzumaki is my best friend, and you are going to treat him like the power he is. He isn't lying when he says he will become Hokage. Do you really want someone like that angry with you because you thought you'd be tough and bully him while he was working?" The boy remained silent, but quivering in fear.
"Uchiha-san, please stop!" The boy's girlfriend spoke up, pleadingly. "You're hurting him." Sasuke looked up and his red eyes flashed for a moment.
"Good." He said, looking back down at the guy. "Now I only have one more thing to tell you before I decide to be nice and let you go. What is it that you call our little friend?"
"Uzumaki."
"Good, you're a quick learner. Shame you took so long to make it to the genin level. What is it that you do NOT call him?"
"Demon?"
"That's one, there's a couple more."
"Pansy?"
"I'm listening."
"Monster?"
"Oh, come on, even you can't be that stupid."
"... D-dobe?" He asked, unsure of himself.
"I knew you'd figure it out." Sasuke laughed, but there was absolutely no humour in the sound, it only brought chills to both boy and girl, as well as the small crowd that had gathered around the two. "Nobody but me has the right to call him that. And if I hear anyone calling him that, or any other sort of insult, I will personally break their neck. Is that clear?" The boy nodded his head slightly. "Now, I don't want you to be forgetting what I've told you, Mimura. That nickname is mine. You use it and you die. Clear?"
"Crystal." He replied, doing his best not to get dirt in his mouth.
"Glad we could come to an understanding." Sasuke stood up and continued patrolling as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, leaving the crowd to whisper amongst themselves. Mimura stood up and rubbed his sore neck, ashamed of being humiliated so thoroughly.
(Star)(Star)(Star)
"Naruto!" Sakura called out to him. The blonde looked over his shoulder and waited for his friend. "Kakashi and the other senseis want to meet with us for extra training."
"More?" He groaned.
"Yes, more." Sakura slapped his shoulder playfully. "You do realise that we're the only team who has all of its members still at the genin level. It's slightly embarrassing. We need all the training we can get."
"Fine, then. When are we supposed to meet?"
"Kakashi wanted us right after the end of your shift, so don't you dare be late."
"But you know Kakashi-sensei won't be there on time. Why do I have to be there on time?" She shot him a glare.
"How much longer do you have on your shift?" She asked, scanning the streets, which seemed to be clearing out for the day. Naruto followed her eyes.
"About an hour and a half or so." He exclaimed. "I just have to check out the meat vendor at the end of the next road and I'm pretty much done."
She nodded and continued on her route, leaving Naruto to finish up with his own. After a couple minutes of strolling towards his last street, he saw Sasuke again.
"Oi, matte, Sasuke-kun!" He called out, running towards his friend. "Did you hear about the training?" He asked. Sasuke nodded.
"You're always the last person to find out anything, dobe." He exclaimed, knowing Naruto didn't have any inkling of what had happened earlier between him and Mimura. Naruto smiled at the nickname he'd grown to tolerate. "I bet you won't even show up!" He smirked smugly, knowing Naruto could never turn down an opportunity to show up his rival.
"Of course I'll show up!"
"Then are you willing to bet on it?" Sasuke asked. "How about this, the loser has to pay for my birthday dinner." Naruto grinned at the idea of a free meal. Sasuke's 18th birthday was coming up in the next couple of weeks.
"Meaning you'll treat yourself and your guests?"
"Only if you win. You'll be my only guest, though. How much money do you think I have?"
"Deal!!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing Sasuke's hand to shake on it. "Free ramen!" He cheered. Sasuke chuckled softly to himself. If anything could motivate the blonde it would be free food. "See you at the check out station!" He yelled and ran off to his last stop. Sasuke shook his head, bemusedly and continued on his way.
(Star)(Star)(Star)
When Naruto reached the vendor's large shop he cursed the old man for putting his store so far from the rest of the town, but realised that everyone else would puke at the smell of freshly cut animals every single day. The light was left on at the front counter, even though he was supposed to have shut down earlier that day. Frowning, Naruto took a peek into the shop, nearly jumping from shock when he heard clattering in the back rooms.
"Jii-san?" He asked softly, going in closer, searching for the old man who ran the place. A shuriken shattered through the glass of the back door, barely missing his head and landing in the wall behind him. He sighed to himself.
"It just had to be a riot in the last few seconds of my shift, ne?" He muttered foully under his breath. "This better be quick." He pushed open the door and headed towards the noises to see if he could get rid of the genin rioters quickly.
He took a quick look around the darkened room and noticed more blood than there was supposed to be.
"Oh, great." He muttered. "Just what I needed... more blood." He heaved a great sigh and began pushing his way through the maze of hanging meat to the back of the storage area where most of the noise was coming from.
"Here goes nothing."
(End of chapter)
Okay, that was 2574 words, depending on who you ask. I'll see what I can do to make the next one even longer. It should be, because there are a lot of things to cover, but who knows.
To C. M. Aeris Queen of Insanity: I guess this is where I get to explain the whole idea behind this. Like Kakashi, his eyes are permanently in Sharingan. No turning back. But that doesn't mean the wheel is constantly spinning. As well, the ability to sustain the Sharingan the way it is right now shows a boost in his power levels. He's seventeen, and an Uchiha, you'd assume that the prodigy would be able to handle it. He should be able to handle this much. Also, Kakashi might not use his on a daily basis, but he can if he needs to. He just chooses to keep it hidden.
To Lightdragon1987: wow, don't I feel stupid. Naruto's Room of the Dead won't come into play for a couple of chapters, but when it does, I'm sure you'll know.
To The La/=/er: I'm glad you enjoyed this one. I'm surprised at the competition, but I'm also VERY flattered. I love reading your long reviews, mostly because you're not just filling space, you're actually reflecting. It helps me with how/what I say in the next chapters. I couldn't really see any other solution to the whole Kyuubi thing, and I couldn't sit right with the Kyuubi just letting Naruto take over without realising he has no choice. Tsunade is pretty strong... how else would she have been named one of the Legendary Three and Hokage, but she (like everyone) has her limits and flaws. About the whole SasuNaru thing... I think that Sasuke has a small idea of what he's feeling for Naruto (otherwise he is just going with the flow, and leaving the questions for later), but Naruto is too busy to even think of that. Oh, and Sasuke was being held in something of an underground jail cell, used for lunatics, and other people they don't want to execute immediately. The whole cliché thing with 'knowing in his heart it was Naruto' didn't even cross my mind. Course, this chapter ends with enough of a cliché to keep me wincing for a long while. It couldn't be helped. I don't remember Kakashi mumbling... if he did then I apologize. I don't see him as the mumbling type either. And I don't mind demands coming from you. I think you and AkaNoShika have earned it. . Oh... and because I'm not sure how many reviewers will read this, I think it will be safe to say that your guess on the 'room' was the closest out of everything. You actually scared the crap out of me with how close you were.
To Poison Death Tree: GLOMPS I'm glad there's someone out there who isn't obsessed with knowing what it is. I think there's too much hype about it... it's not as dramatic and exciting as people make it out to be. It's actually a really sad secret of Naruto's.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter