A/N: HELLO ALL! I'm just so happy right now! Over 100 reviews!? HOLY CRAP! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it!!!!!!!!! This is just amazing! Well, I'm gonna keep this short and sweet, but o.O! I'm just REALLY surprised right now! :D!!!!!!!!!! –does the happy dance-
Disclaimer: Naruto will be mine soon...MUAHAHHA!! –strokes white, furry cat on her lap like all other evil masterminds do-
Warning: Yaoi and swearing! Don't like, don't read =]
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"..." normal speech
'...' thoughts
Dobe = dead last
Baka = idiot
Futon = Japanese bed made of straw
Ohayo = Good Morning (said before 10 AM)
Nani = What
Gomen nasai = I'm sorry
Sensei = Teacher
Bolded text – setting
Italics – emphasized thoughts or words, can also be flashbacks
Italics: underlined – emphasized thoughts or words underlined for added emphasis
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Chapter 9 – My World Emblazon
Konoha – Hospital, Waiting room
The click of heels striking the floor in a steady rhythm echoed down the darkened hallway. Kakashi looked up and expected to see Tsunade, but saw Shizune emerge from the shadows instead.
"How is he?" Kakashi asked quietly, despite his faint surprise. He had decided to accompany Tsunade to the hospital; for fear that he had injured his student when he knocked him out.
"Tsunade-sama is at the office right now but she says he's going to be fine," Shizune answered with a smile, "But...he has amnesia."
Kakashi's brow creased in ever-growing worry. His body grew tense as he felt shame bubble up inside him.
"But he's back with us now," Shizune explained gently, "We'll help him regain his memory, you don't need to worry."
Kakashi nodded darkly, although Shizune's words lifted the weight on his heart a little.
"Tsunade-sama thinks he should stay one more day here before we let him go, though," she continued. Shizune was starting to get uncomfortable around the quiet Jounin.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow in question.
"Checkups, that's all," Shizune answered hastily seeing the Jounin's worry, "He's not hurt or anything...and we also have to figure out where he's going to stay, seeing as he can't live by himself for a little while."
Kakashi nodded and they both fell in silence. The silver-haired Jounin gazed at the ground before raising his head, "He could stay with me."
The woman looked surprised, but then smiled again and answered, "That's very generous of you Kakashi, but I don't think it would work. You have missions and work to do everyday at the office. Naruto would be left alone for too long."
Kakashi deflated slightly in disappointment. He owed it to his hyperactive student. To allow something like this to happen to Naruto...he wasn't sure how, but he felt like some of the blame should be his to carry.
'Maybe I hit him a bit too hard...'
Shizune seemed to read Kakashi's thoughts through the look on his face when she hesitantly said, "There isn't any way that this could be your fault, you know. Naruto is going to be fine. Until then, I think he should stay with Sasuke. What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"
The distressed silver-haired Jounin looked up from his gloomy reverie, pondering about the idea. Then, the frown that Shizune assumed he had on turned into a grin.
"Sure," Kakashi answered with a trace of a smile under his mask.
Konoha – Hospital, room
"So that's how it was," Naruto said as he looked at his hand. Sasuke said nothing in reply.
After a pause, Naruto looked up and wondered aloud, "I wonder when I'm going to relearn all my jutsus...and become a ninja again."
"That's probably not going to happen for a long time, Naruto," Sasuke answered in a matter-of-fact tone.
Surprised and somewhat thwarted, Naruto asked stubbornly, "Why not?"
"You still need rest. You should stay in bed for a while before you start training again," Sasuke explained, still possessing that blunt tone. Naruto, knowing full well that the onyx-eyed boy was voicing his concern, couldn't help but get slightly agitated at his answer.
"But I'm not weak," Naruto stated firmly, his eyes narrowed into slits with his arms crossed.
Something in Sasuke's mind clicked. The Uchiha, seeing this as an opportunity, narrowed his eyes in return and said in a mocking tone, "Yes you are, dobe. You'll take ages to learn them again anyway, just like before."
The blonde's curious expression was stripped away at Sasuke's biting remark. Before Sasuke could apologize however, the blonde's barren expression filled with suddenly determination.
"Oh yea!? I bet I can learn them faster than you did, baka!" he shouted as he pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. The Uchiha felt his worry lift before pasting a small derisive smirk on his face.
"Not likely, dobe," Sasuke answered coolly, although his tone had an angry edge to it now.
"Ha! You just wait, Sasuke!" Naruto sneered as he donned his trademark vulpine grin, "When I'm done kicking your ass, then we'll see who's the dobe! I'll show you! I'll show everyone!"
"In a million years, baka!" Sasuke shot back, his anger raising the volume of his voice.
"Why you...!" Naruto said as he stood up and pointed a finger at Sasuke, while his free hand formed a fist. Before Naruto could begin pummelling the glaring Uchiha sitting below him however, the sound of the door being opened stopped him.
The dusk's waning lights reflected off an untidy mop of silver hair and washed over a familiar masked face.
The man blinked before saying, "I don't think Tsunade-sama would allow fighting in the hospital."
His students only blinked in reply, still frozen in their previous positions. Examining the sight before him, Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed in exasperation, "What are you fighting about this time?"
None of them answered, but after a short pause, Naruto let out an angry and explosive "You!"
Kakashi gave a friendly smile, but a hint of sadness leaked into his grin.
"There's nothing to worry about, Naruto. I'm Kakashi, your sensei," he continued happily nevertheless.
Naruto frowned at the Jounin's words.
"What kind of sensei hits their student?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity, one of his hands rubbing his neck subconsciously.
The Jounin felt the shame weigh down on him like never before. Despite the heavy burden he shouldered now, his heart raced in disgrace for his actions. His eyes shifted to the side before saying, "I'm sorry, Naruto."
Naruto was struck by the man's sudden turn of emotions. The blonde looked around the room nervously, hastily trying to think of a way to cheer his supposed sensei up.
'I didn't mean to hurt him...' Naruto thought nervously in his mind.
Sasuke examined his teacher's stricken face silently. He had witnessed his sensei's protectiveness of his students once before, but he had never seen it in such a vulnerable state. Sasuke, surprised at even himself, felt his respect for the Jounin rise ever so slightly.
"Hey, it's okay," Naruto said lightly when he couldn't find anything else to say. When the Jounin's contrite expression did not waver, a sudden compromise struck the blonde's head.
"You can make up for it by helping me beat Sasuke!" Naruto erupted loudly with great enthusiasm.
Kakashi looked at Naruto, still standing on his bed, but with a scheming glint in his ocean-blue eyes.
"Yea, yea! You can teach me all my jutsus again!" the blonde continued, "And then you can teach me some new ones!"
The silver-haired man looked shocked before he grinned widely at Naruto's reckoning.
'He really hasn't changed at all.'
"Ha! Now you really don't stand a chance, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled loudly as he shot a sardonic grin to the Uchiha, whose smirk only grew wider in response.
Everything suddenly seemed lighter and more colourful from that moment. Kakashi gazed at Naruto, now talking about his future plans so fast he could barely catch a word.
'Even if the old Naruto is forgotten, he's not lost...' Kakashi mused, suddenly feeling oddly mature.
The Jounin smiled for the first time in what seemed like years. The mere absence of the blonde's yells and claims seemed to make everything dull and empty. But Naruto returned and was starting to repaint the black-and-white canvas with a palette of countless colours with his enthusiasm. Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, gazing at Naruto with a reminiscent smirk, and knew the normally stoic Genin was thinking along the very same lines.
"Yea," Naruto sighed happily as he flopped back down on his bed, making it creak dangerously, "I'll be even better than my old self when I remember everything."
Naruto gazed at the sun's rays outside. The world was tinted with the Sun's red rays that were desperately clinging to the last pieces of the world before it fell to the will of the night.
The red radiance reminded Naruto faintly of the deep red of Gaara's tattoo and hair. The boy had filled his mind and heart with empty lies, and he was content where he was, but Naruto couldn't help but wonder about the Sand- nin's whereabouts.
'Maybe I'll see you again one day...' Naruto mused quietly, 'or maybe... I'll search for you myself.'
Konoha – Hokage's Office
The incoming torrent of Sand was blown away and sent back to Gaara, who staggered back a few steps at the force. He had almost lost his footing. Annoyance pulsed through his veins, and Gaara could almost hear Shukaku's incensed growls in his mind.
"Gaara," Baki's voice sounded sharply. Gaara ignored his sensei's curt warning.
As the sand in the air fell to the floor in a thin veil, the sand-nins could see the silhouette of Tsunade, apparently unfazed by Gaara's fatal attack.
Her form was tense and seemed to be etched into the background. As the sand fell away, they could see her head was lowered, hiding her expression. Gaara remained slightly crouched, the sand immobile at everyone's feet in long tendrils.
Tsunade raised her head slowly, and finally revealed her piercing glare. Her eyes were narrowed tensely and seemed only contain the contagious essence of animosity.
"If you want to leave this village alive," she hissed quietly, "I suggest you get back and start packing."
Baki shot a warning look to Gaara, but to Baki's dismay, he didn't move a muscle.
The crimson-haired Sand-nin knew that he would not be able to defeat her. The Leaf would not be foolish enough to pick a weak Hokage unable to defend their weakened village. But Shukaku was hell-bent on revenge, and his intoxicating murderous intent melded with Gaara's own anger.
"Gaara, please," Temari pleaded quietly, but was promptly ignored.
He was just about to launch another attack, but the image of a smiling blonde illuminated the shade of his mind. He stopped in his tracks. Shukaku's thirst for blood was still noticeably present, and it was so strong it hurt...in a way. Gaara knew that the demon wouldn't wait much longer to quench his thirst. His hand clutched his head, trying to comprehend why he had stopped his attack.
'Uzumaki Naruto...'
Gaara abruptly turned around, the sand already flowing back into the gourd on his back. Everyone in the room, except for Tsunade, let out the breaths they were holding.
Baki gave a short, curt bow before following the sanguinary Genin.
Tsunade kept her glare fixed on Gaara's back all the way.
'That kid...' she thought darkly to herself as their footsteps died away.
Meanwhile, as the Sand team walked down the hallway, Baki glimpsed at Gaara's expression before wondering what had stopped him from continuing his vicious massacre.
But unbeknownst to his siblings and his sensei, Gaara had already formed a rough sketch of a plan in his mind.
'I will get you back, Uzumaki Naruto...'
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A/N: Very sorry for the badly written angst :P I know there's not very much right now, but I like to distribute it over several chapters, rather than stuffing it all in one XP Less work that way –smiles sheepishly- And I think I should apologize to everyone for the review response that took up half the page last chapter :P So, um...sorry :D
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Review Responses:
tracy-kin: As cool as Gaara's attacks are, it's a pity Tsunade would be able to take 'em! :( I'd like to see her get hit for once :P She seems too almighty ;/ Gaara's supposed to be the invincible one! She's stealing Gaara's role! :[ Grr...anywhos, I don't worry too much about the flamer :P It's obvious he didn't really have a good reason to flame me anyway :D But thanks for yer support! –smiles- Don't worry about reviewing! Continuing to read my ficcy is more than enough to make me happy! But thanks for bringing my review count up and over 100! I hope you had fun in Vietnam :D I wish I could've went ;---; The thing that scares me the most is the plane ride though XP –is very impatient- Anywhos, here's yer update! Hope you enjoyed it :D
Unfortunately Freckled: Hee, cute name :D Welcome to Naruto! It's greatest anime ever XP Anywhos, it's great you can get the manga books! I wish I could, but the stores around me don't have it :( I follow the anime instead =] But I'll try to explain everything without spoiling you too much :P Orochimaru (the ultimate bad guy so far) kills the 3rd Hokage (the old guy) when he tries to destroy the Leaf village. So the village asks Tsunade to be their new Hokage. So there she is :D yayy XP That's all the main points I guess...I don't want to spoil you too much! But if you really want to know, in the Naruto vs. Gaara scene, they tied :P I was kinda surprised meself! :D But don't worry, you're not pitiful =] I was a Naruto n00b at some point too =] Fankies for liking my story!
Kamikakushi: Wah! A fan! I have a fan! –does the happy dance and throws confetti everywhere- Yay! :D I'm very sorry there wasn't enough angst! I'll try harder! But I'm hoping to stick in some angst somewhere in later chapters =] I got an angst-scene I really wanna take a shot at :D But I can promise you that Sasuke's gonna be heartbroken and all that other stuffs! It would be nice to torture him again, after having him find Naruto –evil cackle- His happiness will be short-lived, I guarantee it! Sasuke doesn't deserve to be happy :] Alas, I did get a flame :P But I'm not too bothered by it! Can't expect to write a fic without expecting a flame, can ya? But I don't think that flamer has ever heard of much anyway. But I got all my fans! Wonderful, superfuntastical, extrafantastical reviewers! –smiles broadly- But I have gotten my computer back (yay!) and here's the next chapter! Hope you like :D –wishes Christmas would come sooner-
Little Leila: Tsunade can take on Gaara no problem! Super woman she is :( But Gaara's supposed to be unbeatable! Grr XP Glad you liked the fast update! Glad it wasn't too rushed :D Hope you have fun on your vacation! But I just had to say something to Super (Sarcastic) Squirrel :P His flame was so narrow-minded that it just boggles me! Someone has to slap some sense into him sooner or later! I'll be sure to put him through therapy when I take over ;) But I really should've said something short and simple :P But GAH! He was just so st00pid XP And I'll make sure everyone becomes a Yaoi-fan :D I'll add that to my list of "things to do when I take over the world", along with destroying my boss :] But I guess I could shed some sympathy for our poor sarcastic furball :( Poor thing doesn't know what it's talking about! Aww :(
Dark Mimiru-Chan: Yaa! Go Naruto! I couldn't resist from bringing back his ol' hyperactive self! XD
izumi: HAHA! Yea! I would love to faint and wake up to have 2 hot guys after me too! Who wouldn't!? At least when one of those guys isn't Sasuke XP I would have to kill Sasuke and replace him with someone else then :P
Cat: Nothing better than Gaara going crazy! Too bad Tsunade could take him though :( Oh well...just wait 'til he gets older! Super-evil panda Gaara! Rawr!! Tsunade=panda food :] But like Naruto said, maybe he and Gaara will meet again :D –zips lips- I know nothing XP
RuByMoOn17: I'll keep trying! All this angst gets hard to write XP But –looks around nervously- I think I'm hitting a writer's block! –hides behind pot lid-
Fallen Dragon: Ah, don't worry! There's going to be some GaaNaru in later chapters! But Sasuke needs Naruto for a while too =] Keep him quiet for a while XP But I agree with you when you say there's too many SasuNaru ficcies! Maybe it's my obsession with GaaNaru? Who knows!
GenrouChan: Bah, forget S.S.S! He didn't know what he was talking about anyway! But you're right! It's just fanfiction! People these days...XP I'm bad at writing angst, but at least I hit something else! I think drama is the right word for what I'm writing! But I guess Gaara's continuous crazy eruptions do get kinda funny after a while :P But a confused Naruto is a good Naruto in my book =] Hope you liked this chappy!
kashisenshey: Wah, so what day is it? Or are you already done your bet? :P –Salutes you- You have skills to stay awake for that long! But make way for some SasuNaru! :D Hope you like this chappie :D There's gonna be some SasuNaru for some time =]
ayame0: :D! Fankies! I'm glad I wrote the angst somewhat angsty! But poor Naruto indeed =] At least he's getting happy again, ne? Sorry for the long wait! I hope this update was worth the wait :P
Iceheart19: I couldn't keep the hyper Naruto away for long! But I'm thinking that maybe he got his old personality back a bit too quick :P I'll make sure to fix that in later chappies :P But hyper Naruto really needs the spotlight! XP But we'll see how Naruto really thinks of Gaara when they meet up again =] Sorry for the long wait!
Tipsy-Dragon: -sighs in relief- I have been shown mercy!! Haha XP You got a cool muse Tipsy :P –holds up teddy- This stupid thing doesn't say or do anyfing XP But don't worry, you're still tough in your own special way :D Well, there was a slight delay on this update, but I hope it came soon enough :P –waves as you get dragged away- Saved from your wrath again XP
Ramen-sama: Yay! My story's got originality! –does the victory dance- Fankies so much! I know my characterization was a little off on this chapter, but I promise you it has a purpose in the later chapters! I can't believe you check everyday for an update! Is my fic really worth that kind of attention!? –tears of happiness- THANK YOUUU! I hope you liked this chapter!
TheTrueSilver: Tsunade and her all-knowing abilities XP Bah, wish I was that smart :P But I'm stuck wif my empty head :3 Hope this update came soon enough :D
sasuke addict: To be honest, Kanye West's song was the inspiration for the title! I just thought it sounded pretty =] I know the story has nothing to do with the title or the song :P But it sounded pretty, so meh! :D FANKIES for all your compliments! Is my story really read-over-able? I try keeping it exciting with events happening in each chapter :P I'm glad it's working! SasuNaru is one of my favourite pairings too! Even though I'm not as big of a Sasuke fan as you are XP But I have to admit they do look so cute together! They're practically made for each other :D THANK YOU!!!!! you think my writing's good! AH! –dies from happiness- I can't believe it! I still gots much to learn though :D I hope you like this chapter! There's gonna be lots of SasuNaru for a few chapters!
Ria Sakazaki: Yay! I'm really happy you're liking it so far! It's getting a bit slow, but that's to make way for some SasuNaru development! Hope you like! :D
Anime Ambreen and Poke' Manic: Bahh, very sorry for OOCness! Naruto's a bit OOC cuz he forgot everything, so I'm assuming that maybe you would forget a part of your personality too when you get amnesia! But for the other characters I really don't have an excuse to save me! XP Very sorry! But I can't believe you added me to your favourites nonetheless! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!! my fic isn't really that great izzit!? Wah, but thankies anyway!!!!!!
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A/N: I'm still in total shock right now at the review count!!!!! I can't believe this! It's unreal I tells ya! THANK YOU ALL MY READERS AND REVIEWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE ALL AMAZING!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! –cries like the celebrities do at oscar awards- XP
Tsuki (IS GOING INTO CARDIAC ARREST FROM HAPPINESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)