Title- Story of my Life
Chapter 7- The Gift With a Warning
AN- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! -blows on a whistle, throws confetti in the air, and dances around in a circle- I wish you all the best of luck for 2005! Remember the good times from 2004- from Passion of the Christ to Janet Jackson's boobie to Scott Peterson going to jail to Ashley Simpson not being able to lip sing!
mystik- I'm glad you love it! I'm trying to keep the updates fast.
iamyell0w- HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Smoking Panda- Don't worry, I won't forget...I may be slow, but I'll never forget!
eyes0nme19- I'll do my best! -salutes-
Yaoilover S- Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.
Vicadin-Tea- Okay...my small head is being overloaded with details of UGH, so I'll just erase out everything about it...thank you! I will!
shinjowy- Yeah, I will, but they'll be coming in later in the story.
Nikki- Even I haven't figured that out yet...-sweatdrop- It was just a random idea of mine, and I have no clue as to how to use it...BUT I WILL! OH YES, I WILL, AND VICTORY SHALL BE MINE!!!!!
cat- I'm pleased that you find it so hysterically funny...even if I am fearing for your sanity...
Lil Washu1- YAY! Cookies! -munches- Ooh, they're chocolate chip...I love chocolate...((And I'm a she, thank God. I wouldn't be able to stand being a guy...-shudder))
Iceheart19- Haha, you're not going to believe how Hinata go in...-cracking up herself- I got the idea while watching reruns of Cops, to give you a hint...
Kyuubi-kun- You're the first person to comment on the quotes...I'm glad someone other than myself reads them...
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... "friend" covers degrees of affection ranging from that which emerges from constant (and often mindless) proximity to that which emerges from the deepest consonances of thought and character.
- Mary Cantwell
Do not judge men by mere appearances; for the light laughter that bubbles on the lips often mantles over the depths of sadness...
- E.H. Chapin
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Five Days Later...
Sasuke was once again in his usual position after dinner, leaning against the wall and sketching something in his giant art pad.
His blonde cell mate scratched a diagonal line through four small lines on the wall next to his cot. "HA! Five days!" Naruto crowed triumphantly. "Now I get my gift!" He bounced up and down on his cot excitedly. "I wonder what it is?"
"Probably a teddy bear," Kiba jeered from across the hall. "After all, every baby needs his toy, right?"
"Shut up, dog boy!" Naruto yelled back. "You're just jealous that I'm getting something and you're not! Why did they even let you keep him? Last I heard animals aren't allowed in jail."
Akamaru barked shrilly at Naruto, and Kiba nodded. "That's right, Akamaru! We have a special bond that can't be broken!" He chuckled. "Plus, the women's warden really likes dogs."
Shikamaru groaned. "I swear, I would have rather Ino beat me than us having to visit our warden. He is such a freak!"
Naruto shrugged. "As long as I don't have to see him. My gift, my gift, I get a gift..." he hummed under his breath, forgetting all about the strange wardens. He had been perfectly behaved for five days- of course, it's not like he had a choice. He wasn't allowed outside with the other prisoners, in the guard's fear that he would discover a way to escape yet again, so he spent most of his time going stir-crazy in his cell. But he had also used the "Detention", as the guards called it, to his advantage. He listened carefully all the time, and when the five days were up he knew exactly who did what shifts at what time, by both the sounds of their loud footsteps in the silent hall and by watching them pass by his cell. Kakashi stopped by every now-and-then to talk to Naruto, make sure he was in his cell, and to tell him that at the end of a week he would be able to go outside with the other prisoners. This was just as great a treat to Naruto as the gift, because in this way he could see other prisoners, and not be surrounded by guards like at the mealtimes.
"Eh, Kid, I see that you've made it to the fifth day," a bored voice announced. "Very good."
Naruto jumped up from off his bed and latched his hands onto the bars of the cell door. "The gift, Kakashi, the gift!" he demanded.
Kakashi laughed. "Just one second." He unlocked the cell door and handed Naruto a thick, novel-sized notebook. "Here you go."
Naruto grabbed the notebook and gasped, his eyes going wide. "They...he...how did...THANK YOU!" he cried, and, before Kakashi could shut the cell door, leapt out and gave him a big hug. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!"
"Pretty strange gift, if you ask me," Kiba muttered, and Akamaru barked in agreement. "What's so great about a book?"
"It's not any book," Naruto told him fiercely, before turning and looking back at Kakashi. "Did he give you any-"
"Oh yeah, the pens." Kakashi handed Naruto a pack of strange-looking pens. "Some crazy pens, you have there. Don't know why he wanted to give you those kinds." He smiled, amused, at Naruto. "You're really happy for just getting a notebook, you know that?"
"Oh, I have my reasons," the blonde muttered, before turning and sitting cross legged on his cot, clutching the notebook and pens to his chest. He opened it up and shuffled through the pages, as well as loose papers and torn newspaper clips. "It's all here!" he said gleefully. "Yes, yes, yes! I can't believe they let him give this to me!" Immediately he took out a large article and began to read it.
Kakashi shrugged. "Hey, whatever suits you." He closed the door and locked it. "Have a nice night, Naruto. You too, Sasuke. Don't let anyone molest you, okay?" he joked, before once again taking out his little book and reading it while walking down the hall, giggling slightly at different parts.
"Okay, yeah, nice night, no molesters, got it," Naruto muttered back, waving a hand vaguely in Kakashi's direction without looking up from the article. Suddenly he went pale. "Fuck," he whispered, his eyes widening.
Shikamaru glanced over at the blonde. "Naruto, you okay? What's with that article you're reading?"
"He's coming here. Oh, shit," Naruto swore again. "Shit, shit, shit! No fuckin' way! How the hell did he get caught? And Kanku- oh my fuckin' God, not him to!" He began to shake, and his eyes were wide open and fearful. Sasuke looked up and over at him briefly, wondering what his cellmate's problem was. "All of them...the whole damn fuckin' gang!" Naruto yelled, before shoving his goggles over his eyes, standing up, and kicking his cot. "They did this on purpose, those bastards!" He kicked the cot over and over, before swinging around and punching the wall, hard.
"Woah, woah, calm down!" Kiba said, alarmed. "What's your problem?" 'Damn, that Sasuke's cold,' Kiba thought. 'He hasn't even said a word.'
Naruto clutched his head in his hands, staggered around for a moment, before collapsing on the cot. "They're coming. To prison, they're all coming!"
"Who's coming?" Sasuke suddenly said, his voice icy. "Stop repeating yourself and talk normally."
"Kamikazes." Sasuke lifted his head, a bit startled. Naruto had just spoken in a voice so stripped of emotion, so empty, so...dead- so unlike the loud teenager. "Our- the Demon's enemy gang. They all got caught in a fight, and they're being sent here. Iruka put this in here to tell me, to warn me...not like it's gonna do me any good." Naruto laughed harshly.
Shikamaru, Kiba, and Sasuke remained silent. Apparently something was going on in their fellow inmate's mind that did not want to be spoken, even if it was stretching their curiosity about this strange boy.
Later that night
Long after lights out, Sasuke woke up. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw an extremely dim, but visible beam of light. Opening his eyes even more, he saw Naruto lying on his stomach, scribbling furiously in his notebook. Unable to see where the light was coming from, Sasuke continued to watch his cell mate, silently. Sasuke's dark, artist eyes could make out the graceful curves of Naruto's cheekbones, his slender chin, the gentle slope of his forehead, the Egyptian-like curve of his eyes. He could also see the worry etched into those same blue eyes, and how Naruto's normally golden hued skin was pale in the dull glow cast by the unknown light.
'What is it that's troubling his so much?' Sasuke wondered. 'What is he afraid of, and why is he afraid?' He searched his memory for anything that had to do with the Kamikazes. 'What can I remember...they've been involved in lots of drug deals...killed people...they have lots of gang rivalries...they've harassed and raped people...apparently the Kid was in some gang. Mabye that's it.
'Wait, why am I even thinking about that idiot? He probably messed around with the wrong people, and now he's afraid they're gonna pay him back for whatever thing he did.' Sasuke turned over, so that he was facing the wall. 'I gotta get back to sleep.' Just then, he heard Naruto singing something, very softly, under his breath.
"I walk a lonely road/ The only one that I have ever known/ Don't know where it goes/ But it's home to me, and I walk alone.
I walk this empty street/ on the boulevard of broken dreams/ Where the city sleeps/ And I'm the only one, and I walk alone.
I walk alone, I walk alone/ I walk alone, and I walk alone.
My shadow's the only one that walks beside me/ My shallow heart's the only thing that's beating/ Sometimes I wish someone out there would find me/ Too late, I walk alone..." His clear, crystalline voice trailed off, and he once more became silent. Sasuke heard the scribbling stop for a moment, and Naruto sniffed. Turning around again, Sasuke watched in slight alarm as Naruto wiped his eyes. Whimpering, Naruto closed his notebook with a shaky hand (now that Sasuke noticed it, his entire body was shaking), shoved it under his cot, then turned towards the wall. He curled up, putting his knees to his chest, and Sasuke heard him muttering, "God damned it, they're gonna do it again. Haku'll try to stop them, but they're gonna do it again. They said they would. They never go back on their word. Fuck what the judge said, fuck what Iruka said. I'm getting out of here before they get here. They're gonna do it again..."
Sasuke found himself standing up, walking over to the other side of the cell, then sitting down on Naruto's cot. The blonde stiffened, then hastily wiped at his eyes again. Sasuke tried to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, but the blonde flinched. He hesitated, then put his hand on his cell mate's shoulder, this time more firmly. "Idiot," he said softly. "No one can do anything while I'm in the same cell as you. So shut up and get some sleep."
Naruto stopped shaking. The dark-eyed man felt Naruto relax a little, but he was still very tense. Ignoring the flitting thought that he might regret it later, Sasuke reached over, grabbed Naruto's chin, and forced Naruto to look at him. Surprised, pain-filled cerulean blue eyes ringed with red from crying stared into deep onyx ones that held some unrecognizable emotion. "Listen to me. No one will hurt you when I'm around, okay?" Sasuke told him in a harsh whisper. "So relax already."
Naruto nodded slightly, still staring at Sasuke's eyes. 'What is that?' he thought distantly. 'That emotion...the first I've seen from him. It's not anger, or hate, or pity...I like the way it looks. It's a good emotion, whatever it is.' Then Naruto suddenly realized, 'He said that no one will hurt me. He'll protect me from them.' At this thought the blonde smiled widely; not a grin of happiness or joy, but a sweet smile that seemed to light up his face even in the dark, make his eyes sparkle like they usually would.
'He looks like an angel,' thought Sasuke. He had not expected Naruto to smile at him. Hit him, maybe, yes, but smile? Suddenly he was well aware of the short distance between him and the angelic Naruto. Blushing and thanking God for the darkness, he quickly let go of Naruto's chin and stood up. "Just...get some sleep," he murmured, before lying down on his cot and facing the wall. A few minutes later he turned to glance at Naruto. The blonde was lying peacefully stretched out on the cot, facing Sasuke. The gentle smile was still on his face, and he looked even more like a heavenly being while sleeping. He turned around all the way and watched Naruto for awhile, before slowly drifting off into sleep.
Sasuke never noticed that a small smile had crept its way onto his own face.
