Sorry for the wait. Yes, I will definitely finish this fanfic, no matter how long it takes. I've just been very busy with college. Feel free to IM me on AIM, my sn is drealalcoholic, if you have positive comments.

So here's the next chapter. Now there's one thing I have to say on some of the reviews. One in particular caught my attention. Yes, I'm sorry but this story will be quite blasphemous, I'm an atheist because of certain events that has happened in my life, and I do not plan on changing anytime soon. I will change the rating to R, but I cannot disclose just how controversial this fanfic may be because it might spoil it. If you read it and find it revolting, please just read some other, there are tons of other stories that are just as good.

Disclaimer: I miss writing this, but I got no more insults for lawyers anymore. But I still don't own Naruto. TT

"Blah" – Talking
"Blah" – Talking in Unusual Way
'Blah' – Thinking
"Blah" – Mystery Person A Talking
'Blah' – Mystery Person A Thinking
"Blah" – Mystery Person B Talking
'Blah' – Mystery Person B Thinking


Roads

Sumus defluus...

With the chuunin exam going on, the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village was literally littered with diplomats, tourists, visitors, and its residents. It was a well known belief that even the Hokage did not possess the skill to pass through these streets without bumping into someone.

So it was quite odd for an empty space to appear in the middle of the street to some of the foreigners. None of the villagers would say anything, but from the looks on their faces, the foreigners assumed the same attitude towards the twelve year old boy as the natives, not really understanding the fear they had for this whisker-cheeked young boy.

The doctors had told him that he has been unconscious for two days since his battle. He had been released as soon as he had woken up, but he didn't mind since his room was not well maintained because no nurse wanted to go near it. He was told that Sasuke was resting in the room next to his, so on his way out he took a look inside. As expected, his room was well kept and his flower vase actually had flowers in them. If it had been a week ago, Naruto would have been more than agitated by this, but for some reason, he had expected this too much to care anymore.

On the way out, he could hear the doctors and nurses making whispers behind his back like always. Like little magots without a purpose, they squirm through life through the pain and misery of outcasts like himself.

The streets looks crowded as usual, yet it felt so spacious for him. It took Naruto awhile to discover there was a gap forming around him. It was then that he felt that feeling again. That oppressive air that threatened to engulf from all sides and suffocate him out of existence. The stares had gotten colder, the contempt worsened, the hatred more unfounded, and the fear more revolting.

A dark cloud was brooding in Naruto's mind as he could feel his normally carefree mind boil with hatred for these creatures infested the home he loved so much for so long unconditionally. Just as this familiar hatred begin to corrode his mind once gain…

"Hey there, Naruto."

The sudden, chirpy voice started Naruto. It was not what he was expecting. He thought he would be hearing another one of those loud and dark whispers purposely made for him to bear witness to. Yet instead it was a familiar feminine voice with no trace of resentment or bitterness. To Naruto it was like an angel's voice reaching down from the heaven's to his little pit of hell. He turned around, wondering whether its all nothing more than a figment of his imagination.

Matarashi Anko wanted to spend more time with this boy that has caught her attention so completely, She had noticed the circle of disdain forming around the boy, and she thought she could help cheer him up. But as she saw the sea of pain in his eyes, she gasped in awe at their depth. Never had she seen eyes so innocent, so pure, and so hurt. It was the unquestionably natural combination of the contradiction between beauty and pain.

She had to recover herself as she felt him looking after her long moment of silence.

"Hey, Naruto, its great to see you finally back on your feet once more. So where are you going?"

She regretted her words as soon as they had left her mouth as she saw the look of loneliness on the young boy's face.

"Ohh, Naruto, I have a great news for you. A new ramen shop just opened up, showcasing an unbelievably exotic selection of ramen from places far away. You want to go with me to try some?"

She was confident this would cheer him up more than anything, but she was left dumbfounded when she heard his answer. "Gomen, I'm not feeling that great today, not hungry, maybe some other time."

Just as he was about to walk away, she grabbed onto him with one last try. "Naruto, there's actually something very important I have to tell you." She said with a completely serious face.

This caught his attention, so he turned around and looked at her with worry and anxiety.

She sighed and said, "Orange is not your color, Naruto. Truth be told, when I first saw you, I thought you were gay."

"WHAT?!?"

"Well I saw you arguing with Sasuke all the time, and I thought it was something of a lover's quarrel..."

Naruto's jaw could be heard dropping to the floor. It took him a moment to collect himself enough to actually think of something. "Are your serious?!? Why would you think that?"

Anko couldn't keep her face calm anymore and broke up into a fit of laughter. She didn't know why but she loved teasing the boy; it really made her day. "Ok. Ok. I was just teasing you about the gay thing, but I am serious when I say you need some new cloth, especially of a new style."

Naruto became a little worried at this. "I don't know. I'm not sure I can afford it on a genin's salary."

Anko's face softened at this, thought for a moment, and cheerfully said, "How about this? I'll let you earn that money off of me. I usually work as an examiner for either the Chunnin or Jounin examination, and I need an assistant to help me grade the papers. So what do you say? You get to earn the money to buy some new cloth, maybe to impress that pink haired girl." She added with a smirk. "And you get to spend time with a beautiful woman like me." She finished with a big smile.

This had to Naruto think. He couldn't think of any downsides to this, so he agreed. "Ok, so we start after the Chunnin exam?"

"Sure, but first we need to get you a new pair of cloth. You can earn the money to repay me later on."

The two walked through the streets to the shopping area of the village. The stares and glares they received from the others made Naruto feel really uneasy. Anko realized this but couldn't really do anything except put one of her hands down on Naruto's shoulder as a sign of support. If Naruto didn't have his head down, Anko would have spotted the blush spreading across the boy's face.

They stopped in front of a small store. Naruto didn't really understand why she had picked this particular one, and the confusion showed on his face.

Anko noticed this and replied softly, "I have been to this store before; it holds a special memory for me. They have some great stuff here." Naruto, even as dense as he may be sometimes, was able to notice the tone in her voice but decided to leave it alone for now.

They went inside and started browsing. Well, Anko did anyways; Naruto didn't quite know what to do. He just stood there and looked around, afraid to really touch anything.

On the far side of the store, he could see a mother and son picking out cloth for a new semester at the academy. The boy apparently didn't like shopping and was begging his mom to finish quickly so he could go and play with his friends.

The sight was so comical to Naruto that he could almost laugh in self pity. There was nothing in this scene that he could relate to. If it weren't for the fact that he lived in it every single moment of his life and simply adapted to it out of an instinct for survival, he would have broken down completely at the sight.

Anko was busy looking through the cloth for the one she had in mind. 'That boy looks so much like him, I think dark colors would do wonders for him, especially his sun tanned skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes. Let's see…he needs a new pair of pants and maybe a new jacket.' She thought excitedly. 'Its been a long time since I've bought anyone anything, its just as fun as it was back then.'

She stopped her reminiscing when she spotted the articles of clothing she had in mind, and turned her head trying to find Naruto. She saw him standing there looking at something across the store. Curiosity got the best of her as she sneaked behind him and looked at what he was staring at.

She could feel her heart cringe a little for the boy. She was never really good with kids, so she tried a creative approach to cheer him up. ''Well, it worked before.' She leaned toward the side of his and blew in his ear and said in a seductive voice, "What were you looking at?"

The look on Naruto's face was priceless. With his golden hair, his head looked like a new species of tomato. But most important of all, she was glad Naruto seemed to have forgotten about the depressing sight.

"Naruto, you really space out too much; it's not a good trait for a ninja. Here, try this on."

It was a pair of black khakis pants, a pair of black jeans, a pair of leather pants, combined with some dark shirts.

Naruto was so excited at the prospect of trying clothes that someone else actually took the effort of picking out for him that he even forgot to even say thank you, but the look of pure glee on his face was enough to satisfy Anko.

He walked toward the changing room, but then remembered something and came back. "Here, can you hold onto this for me? It's suppose to be a family heirloom." Anko just nodded, and Naruto went back.

Two minute went by, then five minutes, still no response from Naruto. Anko was getting frustrated by how she had to wait for the kid. She then felt the necklace in her right hand and brought it out in front of her. On a closer look, it was really more of a choker than a necklace.

It was a really exquisite piece of craftsmanship. It was a blue silver cross held together by two loops of links resembling two chains that goes tightly around the neck..

On the cross was not a figure of Jesus Christ but that of an angel.

It was then that Anko figured out where she had seen it before. 'It had been so long since I've seen it last. So fate decided to show it to me again, huh?' Anko smirked sadly, but then it came to her. 'How did Naruto get this? He didn't have any child, did he? Yet Naruto looks just like him...'

Naruto meanwhile had been examining the scar on his back by using the wall to wall mirrors in the dressing room. Though it did not physically hurt when he touched it, he felt a wave of sadness wipe over his mind when his finger lingered across it. But he decided to brush it all aside for now and finish trying on his new cloth. He then came out of the dressing room and noticed Anko staring at the heirloom he gave her.

When he got next to her and was about to say something, she got to it first.

"Where did you get it?"

Naruto really had no answer for this, so he simply told her what the Hokage told him. "Well, according to the Hokage-sama, this is one of the heirlooms my parents left for me before they died. You can have it if you want, it really hopes no meaning to me."

'Except a life of empty promises and broken dreams.' Naruto added silently.

"Ohh," Anko didn't really know what to say, but she decided she must ask the Hokage about this later, as she, of all people, deserved to know. "It's a very nice jewelry. You should have it on, maybe it'll help protect you."

Though Naruto was doubtful and didn't really want to carry a reminder of the what-ifs, he relented and put it on. At first it seemed to be a little bigger than Naruto's neck to really be a choker for him, as he got it around his neck and down, it mysteriously fitted itself perfectly on his neck.

Just as Naruto was able to ask her about why she was curious about his heirloom, Anko took notice of Naruto's new look. A simple back long sleeve shirt that hugged his skin and black jeans. It was a definite improvement over his old attire. He can no longer be mistaken for a color blind ninja kid with no fashion taste now. Anko was so happy over this new look that she decided to buy all those new clothes that Naruto tried on, as they all looked just as good, if not better, on him.

Just as she was able to ask him whether he wanted to go and try out the new ramen place now. A chunnin appeared before them.

"The Hokage-sama requests your presence immediately."

"Ok, I'll be there in…"

"The Hokage said explicitly said immediately." He repeated in a deadly tone.

Anko decided it must be quite serious for the Hokage to emphasis it that much, so she gave up on her plans. She turned to Naruto, who had his normal curious and confused face. "Sorry kid, I gotta go now." Then when she saw the look on his face, she added. "We can hang out more later."

Then satisfied that he calmed down, she disappeared with the chunnin in a puff of smoke.

Naruto, alone once more, decided to go and seek out his teammates. He had a lot of things to talk about with them. He begin walking, but this time, no one seem to recognize him anymore with his new cloth on. He has been blessed temporarily by the ignorance of others. What many others take for granted of a life of blending in with everyone else, he would enjoy for only a brief moment.


Translation:

'Sumus defluus…' – 'We are lost…'