A/N: Ahoy maties :D Some of you find Sasuke's reaction in the last chapter OOC and awkward (and I don't blame you), and for that I'm sorry. But it's all fixed and explained in this chapter –looks hopeful- Anyway, THANKS AND HUGGLES FOR ALL MY REVIEWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for bringing me even farther than the 200-review mark than I ever thought I could go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! –promptly faints- Oo! Note for this chapter: format change :( 's being weird (hehe) and it's eating up all my poor wittle rows of equal signs I use for dividers in the a/n sections of my story! No biggie...but having inconsistent format is a new pet peeve of mine =]
Disclaimer: I own Naruto. lawyers and law suits jumps author I DON'T OWN IT! -.-"But, I must remind the rabid fangirls who have forgotten, Aoi from Gazette is mine ;) –swoons at his prettiness-Warning: -infomercial music comes on- Are you tired of Yaoi couples? Have nothing but contempt for swearing? Do you find these kinds of fics disgusting and/or disturbing? Then do we have a solution for you! Get out. NOW!
"..." normal speech
'...' thoughts
Dobe = dead last
Baka = idiot
Bolded text – setting
Italics – emphasized thoughts or words; can also be flashbacks
Chapter 14 – So Young and Hopeless
Konoha – Forest, Training Area 17
"Gah!"
There was a hiss of pain, and then a thud that was followed by clouds of uplifted dust. A strangled groan pierced through the air before all was silent except for shuddering gasps. When the air had cleared, there lay the form of Uzumaki Naruto, a light trickle of blood snaking its way across its ground from his agape mouth.
"Sa-Sasuke..." Naruto ground out, barely able to use his voice now. His breath was failing him, despite his heart's unsteady beat. His chest rose and fell, but his body cried in pain at the effort. There was not an inch of him that hadn't been marred by the pale Genin in front of him.
Sasuke didn't seem to hear him. He continued to walk towards the crumpled form of Naruto, who was unable to get up by this time. In his pale and bloodstained hand, Sasuke's fist tightened around the handle of a kunai. The maniac gleam was still in his eye. It hadn't disappeared since they started training again, Naruto noted. The blonde's vision began to blur around the edges, and all sound was muffled or lost. The only thing he could hear was his breathing, which too, was fading away, leaving empty echoes as a last remnant of life.
Sasuke crept closer and closer, his fists were shaking and he felt the adrenaline pulse through every essence of his being. He was going to rid of the lies that had strayed him from his path. Naruto was so close...a breath away, so that it would be easy to dispatch him. Then all the insult that had been endowed upon the great Uchiha would be gone. Sasuke plunged the kunai down.
Cerulean pools widened.
'No...'
The blade's edge stopped, the point grazing the bridge of Naruto's nose. The world stopped, and even nature's call seemed to be stifled. The only sound that sent ripples through the solid surface of silence was the ragged pants of both Genins. Naruto's eyes darted between the blade's tip and Sasuke's expression. 'Is he...'
The Uchiha's face was contorted, and his mouth was still open the way it was when he screamed just before he intended to move in for the kill. He seemed pained, struggling to gain his senses again, although it was proving to be a difficult task. After a while, his fist began to tremble and he took a large gulp of air and lowered the weapon.
Naruto immediately relaxed. Sasuke looked...different a moment ago. Sasuke didn't even seem to know him just then. It was as if he, Naruto, was seen as livestock for the onyx-eyed boy. It sent chills through Naruto's body, racking his trust for Sasuke just slightly. But his heart remained stalwart. He would not recoil, especially not from Sasuke.
But the blonde's body screamed with pain. Naruto rested his head on the ground again, and took deep breaths, the air tasting sweet. But the stench of his own blood hung in the air, and his clothes were soaked with the red substance as well. All over his back, Naruto felt the blood from his wounds soak him to the bone.
They had resumed training right after lunch, and this time, Sasuke decided that Naruto should practise jutsus later. Once they had taken positions for a taijutsu battle, Sasuke had lunged at him without warning. It had kept going until then...all the punches, kicks, cuts...
'Was the bastard trying to kill me!?' Naruto snarled incredulously in his mind as he shut his eyes tighter, trying to stop the spinning in his head. He tried to voice this to Sasuke, but he found it painful to even breathe, much less yell.
Naruto, much to his dismay, was still too inexperienced in hand-to-hand combat. He hadn't learned a single thing about it, in fact. Other than the standard punch or kick, there wasn't anything else Naruto knew about taijutsu. It came as no surprise that Naruto had not even been able to defend himself against the genius Genin of Konoha, who was more than experienced in mêlée.
Sasuke had flopped down into a sitting position, trying to clear his mind. His iron composure had been shaken slightly. He had nearly blown it just now. Sasuke almost killed the damned kitsune, almost asking for his own ruin. But Sasuke couldn't help it. When he saw Naruto poised and ready to fight, the carnivorous instinct rose within him, and it had taken over his mind and body. Sasuke seemed to black out just then, only his jealousy's amusement to guide his actions. He lusted for revenge, for justice. And so, Sasuke let the feral impulse to have what it wanted most. Never had Sasuke thought that he would lose control so easily, especially over someone as trivial as Uzumaki, but...
He enjoyed every second of it. Every pained expression, every attack that had dealt pain to Naruto, was ecstasy.
But Sasuke couldn't bring ruin to himself, not just yet. If Naruto was found dead and his blood on Sasuke's hands, then there would be no doubt that severe punishment (to put it nicely) would be given. No, not now, not when he had barely been able to hurt Naruto even deeper than the way he had just done now.
The Uchiha was surprised at Naruto's resilience to his hits, though. The less than fair sparring session had lasted longer than Sasuke intended. Even though he was sure that both of them knew that Sasuke's attacks were nothing less than agonizing, Naruto had still been able to stand up and even try going on the offence after being knocked down several times. But it all added up to nothing in the end. Sasuke had knocked Naruto around like he was a simple rag doll, while Sasuke himself remained unscathed, untouched. It was so easy to hurt him, it was absolutely laughable to the Uchiha. In the end, Naruto proved helpless and weak.
Pushing the sardonic thought aside, Sasuke got up and dusted himself off. For now, Sasuke would have to cover this incident (however fun it was) with another excuse he would have to slap together sloppily. Naruto would demand an explanation for being beaten into a bloody pulp.
Said blonde remained in his lying position, still trying to soothe the aches and pains. But to no avail, seeing as Sasuke had managed to hurt every part of him possible. Hell, even his bowels seemed to hurt. He would make sure Sasuke felt more hurt than he did. His lips were cut and bleeding, his voice still hoarse. But he was going to have to wait a while, which Naruto noted dismally.
"Sorry," Sasuke said, the bitter taste of mockery not washed from his words, "thought you would've been able to do more."
Naruto got up, even after his legs failed him a couple times. He wanted to hurt the arrogant asshole in front of him so bad, but his battered body wouldn't allow it. It was burned and marked with scratch marks and his whole form was covered with bruises turning various unidentified shades of colours. Naruto tried making a lunge at Sasuke, but he knees buckled and Naruto resigned to tending to himself first.
'That baka's going to pay for this,' Naruto snarled as he began walking, trying his best to keep a poker face and resist from wincing.
They both walked back to Sasuke's apartment in silence. Naruto had stubbornly walked alone without any help. He kept his steps sure and steady, even though his feet protested with each movement. If he had a shred of dignity left – and he would make sure Sasuke knew he did – then he would reserve it by doing something as simple as walking on his own.
Sasuke walked alongside Naruto, his eyes darting back to the slumped form of Naruto every now and then. His arms remained at his sides, instead of around Naruto's form, assisting him with walking. With a smirk that remained unnoticed by the oblivious idiot beside him, Sasuke revelled in the apparent pain that Naruto was in. Sasuke knew Naruto wasn't going to fight back at this moment. The pitiful weakling didn't even know where to find the inner strength the old Naruto had. This new and unimproved Naruto didn't have the stamina of the original. Sasuke's smirk turned into something similar to a scowl.
He would make sure Naruto learned of the darkest sides of human nature.
'That's right dobe,' Sasuke whispered in his mind with a sinister hiss. 'And this is only the beginning.'
Wind Country – Wilderness
A whoosh brushed past the lush brush of the shrubbery. A flash of red jumped from various locations at an amazing rate, becoming nothing but a smudged blur. It moved with unfathomable grace, fuelled by only one passion, one thought: Uzumaki Naruto.
The sandals that Gaara of the Sand wore were becoming worn and dirty from the abuse. But Gaara wasn't even tired. He had to keep going; he was almost at the border.
It was difficult to disappear unnoticed. The Sand team had encountered a sleepy, dry little town on their way back to the Sand village. Finally snapping from his siblings' constant requests for rest, Baki had decided to stop there. They had all stopped at a run-down inn to take showers or whatnot when Gaara made his exit. Now he had left him in his dust and the grains of the desert behind him.
He had a day and a half's journey back to Konoha, but he would make sure he made it in time. Gaara seemed to have all the time in the world, but his Naruto did not. The longer that blonde stayed in the hands of that accursed Uchiha, the more time Sasuke would have to poison the kitsune's mind. Naruto had unveiled Gaara's lies by now, no doubt. Sasuke would've made sure of that.
Naruto might not even want to come with him, but Gaara would force his hand if he had to. Naruto was his, and he always was. It would remain that way whether Uzumaki or Uchiha liked it or not.
'Now is the time...'
The edge of a forest loomed ahead of the sand-nin. He would claim what was his again, and if it meant spilling the blood of Naruto or (more preferably) Sasuke, then so be it. Naruto will be his once again. Like it was always meant to be.
Konoha – Market
At least the pain had dulled a bit by now, even though the pain was still immense and still caused Naruto to wince at a particularly painful pang at he continued to walk. The streets were alive with flashing lights and laughter. The nightlife of Konoha was really something to marvel at.
He and Sasuke had not said a word to each other on their slow trek back to the apartment. It seemed inappropriate to say anything about the matter that had happened before. Thus it left Naruto alone to tread across the thick murmurs and glares the villagers as they walked home. It seemed to make his physical pain intensify tenfold. They all kept their distance from the pair – or at least, Naruto – as if they were the plague.
A sweet smell ensnared Naruto like a moth to a bright light. Naruto sidetracked in his direction, and watched as two small children, led by their smiling mother's hands, left a candy store, their arms full of sweets.
Even though it hurt to do so, Naruto's lips curled up into a large grin. He turned to Sasuke, flashed him his trademark grin before dashing inside the store.
The Uchiha felt annoyance well up inside him, but then again, this could be another chance to redeem himself from his previous mistake. He continued to stand still in the middle of the street contemplating the matter. Finally, with his thirst for Naruto's blood still unquenched, Sasuke strode reluctantly inside as well.
The sight of Naruto was easy to catch, and the blonde had already made his selection of candy among the countless variety. The kitsune was already at the cashier with a bag stuffed full of candy when Sasuke joined his side. The storeowner's back was turned, so Naruto uttered a small and happy, "Oi!" to catch his attention.
The clerk turned around, his face carrying the face of a young adult, but was beginning to show signs of aging. The man was smiling at first, but when his eyes drank in the sight of Naruto, the grin immediately mutated into a scowl of purest loathing.
"I'd like to buy this, please," Naruto said, his own smile still pasted on his face. Naruto had not forgotten the village's hostility towards him. But after he met the ramen cook, the blonde became determined to find the few citizens who didn't judge him by the Kyuubi's presence. Maybe this aging man, who enjoyed bringing joy into children with delectable sweets, was kind to all, even Naruto. But Naruto was wrong.
The scowling man looked at Naruto, then at Sasuke, who glared coolly back. The clerk hesitated for a second, before he answered quietly and gruffly, "We're closed."
Naruto was struck speechless for a second, then his expression turned into confusion. He looked around the small store and saw several customers shopping happily, minding their own business. The blonde turned back to the clerk who was still glaring at him.
"But there's still people around–"
"We don't serve animals," the clerk interrupted, his voice gaining an icier edge to it. The insult was left hanging in the air, and even made the ever-emotionless Uchiha stunned for a second. The clerk even seemed shocked at his own words, but didn't take them back. Instead, he continued on with relentless malice, "Now get out. We're closed."
The sounds that surrounded them suddenly came to a crashing, discordant halt, a few voices hanging on after it like broken strings before the world tumbled around Naruto. Sasuke looked at Naruto's expression, which bore a pain far beyond the physical pain that he had felt before. He didn't feel any pity or anger at his supposed partner's emotional stress. No...he was actually kind of happy that Naruto had been hurt so. 'Deserved it dobe,' Sasuke thought with an inward smirk of triumph. 'And you deserve more.' He didn't know what reason the clerk had to even act rudely to Naruto in the first place, but as long as Uzumaki felt pain, it was fine by him. It was one giant step closer to the undoing of the fraud standing beside him.
Sasuke's face carried a hint of shock, but the laughter echoing inside his head issued forth just the same. He wanted to revel in the joy of seeing Naruto vulnerable, but with almost an appreciative sneer breaking the surface of his cold visage, Sasuke nudged Naruto and gave him a small push out the door.
The walk home seemed to go by a lot faster for Sasuke, who was practically shaking with suppressed glee at the insult thrown at Naruto, who in turn took it in full-force. The weakling didn't even bother to fight back. Not even a word of defiance. But the new Naruto was like that. Weak with no backbone or ability to help himself. This fraud was so far from the one Sasuke used to know, it was on the verge of being comical. The old Naruto would've made sure the store clerk wouldn't utter another word of offence to him again. But that's why Sasuke had found the old Naruto different and unique. Naruto's headstrong attitude, his ability to uncover forgotten emotions that Sasuke had buried away long ago...but that old Naruto would never come back. Instead, this sloppy replacement will take his place.
'At least the old baka offered a good fight,' a voice noted bitterly beneath the reminiscing thoughts of Sasuke.
And so the two continued on home, one who was walking with a renewed energy and the other who was dragging his feet across the ground and stumbling, wondering if there was a place for him in this tiny world at all.
But little did the despair-ridden Naruto know, the saviour his heart was crying for at the moment was inching closer and closer to him as he continued to stagger back to Sasuke's apartment.
Konoha – Sasuke's Apartment, bedroom
The pillow was starting to get uncomfortable. It had been soaked with so many salty tears that the fabric had started itching his cheek as it lay against it. But the glistening rivers would not stop its flow. The stretching shadows wrapped him in a tight embrace, but brought him no comfort.
Naruto lay there, sobbing as quietly as he could, while he watched the steady rise of Sasuke's chest. The Uchiha was sleeping on the floor again, and despite the uncomfortable setting he had to rest, Sasuke had fallen asleep without any trouble. It wasn't as if thoughts of vengeance were plaguing the Uchiha's mind this night. In fact, the joy of seeing Naruto mutilated emotionally and physically had rocked Sasuke swiftly into a deep, contented slumber. The only regret Sasuke had before his eyes closed was that he wasn't the one who tormented Naruto so.
The blonde's heart had been ripped up into tiny pieces before, but that feeling paled in comparison at the stinging paroxysm he felt now. He begged and pleaded for sleep, the only known route to bliss now, but it wouldn't come.
Naruto closed his eyes tightly, feeling the black bulge of shame rising in his mind. His former state-of-mind was right after all. There was no place for him here...and yet, here he was. The only thing Naruto will ever be is a burden on everyone's backs, weak and useless. They had taken him again, gulled him again, and made him the butt of a cruel joke again. The horror of it should have been monotonous, but it was not; they had lured him back outside, and sent another stab at his heart, leaving one more scar to add to his generous supply...only this time, his executioner had uttered something too awful and cold to be contemplated.
No one had helped him, not even Sasuke. Naruto knew he shouldn't be surprised, yet his heart told him otherwise. Naruto was a burden after all, and Sasuke shouldn't have to trouble himself with a weakling's turmoil.
'I'm a demon,' Naruto thought to himself miserably, 'and I guess deserve to be treated like one.'
It was true he had resolved to that conclusion a long time ago, ever since he had gotten a first taste of what the village thought of him. In a whirl of thoughts, sneaking little hands dug up a memory Naruto had hoped was buried away forever...
Naruto saw that woman again in his mind, with her crying son standing in front of her. She had the same glare that never seemed to waver, she was only one of the countless others who hated him. The villagers in the market all stopped their business and turned to look at them. "Stay away from my son," the woman spat. "We don't need your help."
Normally, the wretched memory should have ended there, but this time, it kept on going. Naruto closed his eyes and begged with all that he had that this hadn't happened. If he opened his eyes and it was true, what then?
Someone began to laugh, a solitary, bold, affrighted hyena sound, and he did open his eyes, opened them to see who it was and it was true. They had drenched him in the very sacredness of embarrassment, and their laughter was the final nightmare, the final attack before death. His thought as well as vision was coloured a ghastly purple with his revulsion and shame.
A second voice joined the first, which was followed by a third – a woman's soprano giggle – a fourth, a fifth, a sixth, all of them, all laughing and pointing. The eruptions just kept cascading on top of each other, until it grew so large that it seemed to crush Naruto and suffocate him underneath its unimaginable weight. But, that wasn't what sent Naruto spiralling to his emotional atrophy. Indigo orbs shifted to the side and saw Sasuke's laughing face. Naruto could see him, laughing like there was no tomorrow. The one person who was supposed to Naruto's pinnacle, his greatest reason to live.
That day had started out happy and simple enough. Naruto had just gotten out of the hospital and was set free again, with two people he now held close to his heart walking alongside him. But now, the fairy tale had been corrupted and was festering with masochism which fairy tales were never meant to be exposed to. In this fairy tale, Naruto would bite a poison apple, be attacked by trolls, be abandoned in a palace in a barren palace in eternal slumber.
They were hurting him again.
Suddenly, it broke. He could feel it. His sanity's tiny crack grew and grew, until other spidery fissures formed with it, all of them taking over his psyche. The odious realization of how badly he had been cheated came over him, and a horrible, soundless cry – 'they're LAUGHING at me...' – tried to snake its way through him.
He stifled it, and it was like swallowing bile, but he forced it down until it remained burning and smouldering somewhere deep in his being. His closed his eyes to shut out the added mockery of seeing the sight before him and staggered down the street; past all the guffawing faces, leaving the one he was supposed to trust the most – 'Sasuke...' – behind. Naruto's only thought was to run into the shadows of the forest, to get out of the light where everyone could see him, to let the darkness have him and hide him.
But it was like trying to run through quicksand. Naruto's traitorous mind had slowed time to a pitiful, slow crawl, so that the laughter had deepened into a sinister bass rumble.
His feet tangled with each other, and he was sent falling face first into the dirt, where – as far as the villagers were concerned – he belonged. The laughter swelled louder like an infection and they began to crowd around him. Naruto lay there limp and still, letting the growing noise wash over him like surf, only that it was a myriad times more painful than a day at the beach. He was in a ring of laughing murderers, pointing with a devious light shining upon their faces.
Naruto wanted not to see, but he did see. The lights were too bright that it illuminated all their faces so that the blonde could make out every caricature etched on their faces. A noise – not laughter – joined the fray, and then Naruto realized he was moaning deep in his throat, like an animal in a trap.
He could see Iruka running towards him, his face filled with lying compassion. Then, just as Naruto was about to put his doubts about the Chuunin aside, the Machiavellian light shined on Iruka as well. Now Naruto could see beyond the façade and look at where the real Iruka was, standing there giggling, chuckling, and pointing at him just like the rest.
Iruka's mouth opened and his voice issued forth, slow, deep and deceitful, "Let me help you, Naruto, I'm so sor - "
But Naruto struck out at him, just like he had when Iruka had him cornered back at Gaara's apartment. Iruka took several steps back at Naruto's angry swipe, even though the blonde was still lying on the ground. But the kitsune got up and began running again. He pushed a few villagers aside, leaving a hole in the wall of relentlessly sneering villagers, and ran. The last things he saw before Naruto flung himself into oblivion were the laughing faces, particularly Sasuke, who was laughing the most out of all of them. Oh, how beautiful they all looked, swathed in the shining, seraphic robes of Acceptance.
Konoha – Sasuke's Apartment
Naruto woke up, his whole body shaking and his face was wet with tears. Whether they were from the time he was awake or they had come during the time of his nightmare, he did not know. But the realization that his nightmare had only been a bad memory that had been twisted into something different brought little comfort to his raging heart.
The deep night skies that were on the other side of the window indicated it was still well into the night, although the sun would peek above the mountain of Hokages soon.
He slid off the bed, his bare feet making slapping noises on the floor, and tiptoed out of the room. Feeling slightly chilly, Naruto donned his jumpsuit that was discarded carelessly on the floor when he had walked in. Naruto walked with trembling legs that threatened to give away into the living room and looked out the window. It was a comforting sight, and it revealed an asleep town of Konoha, all of whom were drowned in equanimity. To think that such a peaceful and vulnerable town like this could wield the torturous hands of cruelty.
Even in sleep, cruel fate would not give him bliss. Naruto could see his reflection in the darkened glass, lips parted, face torn and pale before the condensation of his breath obscured it into a foggy mess. He rested his forehead on the glass, letting the coolness temper his burning thoughts.
As he gazed out at the town, the laughter that had infested his dreams flapped around him like sinful blackbirds. But Naruto stayed latent, breathing raggedly, his hot face feeling the slight brush of the window's cool touch. The tears of shame began to flow, as hot and as thick as the first trickle of blood that had flowed when Sasuke sent a particularly painful punch to his face during their training.
Naruto knew he was foolish and weak for crying over a nightmare, a memory that didn't happen, but deep inside, his inward voice told him that it might as well be so. The only difference between the incident in his dream and reality was that the hostility was given to him differently. In reality, the villagers give him the same cruelty behind the bars of the law, which the Hokage had set up in hopes of silencing the citizen's malcontent. But the killing intent seeped through the gaps all the same. In his nightmare, they were all able to express themselves freely, and even the ones that Naruto thought he could trust revealed themselves.
And so, the deteriorating kitsune remained standing in the deadly quiet of Sasuke's living room, staring out at the world, hopelessly wondering if he was a mistake, a flaw in society's unblemished face.
Naruto's rapid breathing slowed, slowed, caught suddenly as if on a thorn –
And suddenly recoiled in a short, shuttering gasp. A pair of feet, shrouded in shadow, had appeared on the other side of the window. Naruto's eyes slowly inched up: knees, torso, chest, neck, and finally, the face. Crouching on the other side of the glass, looking for all the world like a knight in shining armour with the moon's waning light, was Sabaku no Gaara.
A/N: Wah, I spent god-knows-how-long on this long-winded chapter, and it was pure hell trying to get the words and descriptions just right. And I also tried a new 'style' of writing. Hope nothing was too confusing or anything. Anywhos, I also hope the confusion over Sasuke's reaction that some of you had has been fixed and/or explained :) Apologies from a devastated authoress ;--;
Review Responses:
Jenniyah: Heh :P I guess Sasuke don't like Naruto anymore =] I love torturing characters, it's just too fun to be true :D So now Sasuke=crazy, which the anime really needs to clarify! Anywhos, maybe someone will come to Sasuke's rescue, seeing as I'm a huge SasuNaru fan meself :D But for now, you can try slapping Sasuke upside the head to try knocking some sense into him XD
ayame0: Ah, don't worry 'bout it! The fact that you reviewed in the past is enough to give me a heart burn :D I understand taking a break from fanfiction =] There's a lot of stories out there I enjoy myself, but sometimes, staring at the computer screen for hours is bad for the eyes . And I never check my e-mails meself (except for review alerts), but that's only when my hotmail hasn't messed up somehow –kicks computer- its all HIS fault –kicks computer again- If I had a dream about living in the Naruto world, then I'd rather continue dreaming :3 Hehe, this update wasn't the fastest, but I'm glad you're still reading this story! More Sasuke-bashing (I can't help it) coming :D Or at least I hope...haven't thought that far yet :3 –throws Naruto into Gaara- that's where he belongs XD...-sneaks a couple of packs of sugar into your coffee-
Kamikakushi: -jumps and hits head on ceiling at sudden outburst- Maybe it's just your morbid instincts (which surpass mine by a great deal) kicking in :P But Sasuke going crazy was always something I wanted to see =] The last chapter was atrocious in my humble opinion, but at least it was funny :D Is that good or bad? :P Aw shucks I ain't that great (especially to my brother –hisses as he passes by-) –sighs happily as pocky and plushies fall- And you get updating on all your fics! Can't wait to see how a real genius writes fanfics XD I took ballet once...quit right after a couple of classes where we did splits in classes :P And I don't have any more Sasuke-torture-methods left (Can you believe it!? O.o) from this point on :P But the wallow-in-self-pity-role is being played by Naru-chan, who is hopefully doing it wonderfully :P I can only imagine what that doujinshi is o.O Must...not...leave...evil...thoughts...in...mind! Heh, this chapter wasn't all that much, but hope you liked anyway :D –does the happy dance too-
Little Leila: -evil cackle- Sasuke has officially gone insane! And a morbid, twisted person like me couldn't ask for more! And we'll see if Gaara has succeeded...we'll see...-pats fluffy white cat on lap like all evil villains do- Hehe, tell Sasuke he's an idiot after you're done telling Naruto he belongs wif Gaara-chan! Which he does =] –hides behind pot lid- Err...sorry for kinda hurting Naruto o.O Spare me!
Crystal-Chan2: Heheheh, I really need to see a cool picture of Gaara covered with blood :P But too lazy to draw it meself (stick people are NOT juvenile and easy to draw :[) But make sure you don't encounter the evil shrinkses...EVIL they are...they hurtses us and the precious...At this point, SasuNaru seems impossible, but I'm gonna twist it horribly somehow so it still has a chance! All hail SasuNaru! Even though Sasuke is now officially a crazy nutcase –smiles- hehe...Gaara as Naruto's security blanket...such a kawaii thought –giggles like an insane fangirl- I must agree with you that manipulating characters is fun :D –ducks for cover from Gaara's sand too-
lalala: -smacks Sasuke- He deserves it doesn't he? –evil grin- But we'll have to see if Naruto is gonna run away or not =] But for now...-runs away with Naruto plushie-
Kyuubi-chan: -smacks Sasuke happily- You show him Kyuubi-chan! –evil cackle- But I must say, Sasuke going crazy is a fun thing to write about =] Hah, poor Sasuke...all the pain he must be feeling right now :D He must've gotten smacked a million times already (and counting)! He deserves every one of them ;) Shikamaru scares me o.O All of that IQ...he makes me feel n00bish :P But that could just me weird, ol' me :D I can't really decide between NaruSasu and GaaNaru either! Gaara is just so adorable! –glomps him and runs away before he kills me- And Sasuke, as much as I do curse his very existence, is also made for Naru-chan! I say we torture Sasuke first, and then (if he survives) we'll make them play a game of bloody-knuckles, and whoever wins gets Naruto's love!!!!!! –stops babbling about devious, unfeasible schemes-
Polka Dot: -evil cackle- Stupid Sasuke has finally cracked and I can't be any happier at the news =] Have no fear, super-Gaara is here :D –waves GaaNaru flag around-
tracy-kin: I share your desire to murder Sasuke too :D that's why I use this! –holds up Sasuke voodoo doll- If you want, you can stick a few needles into him to try and bring some sense into that overblown head of his XD Oh how I love poking fun at the idiot :) It was all his fault in the first place –huggles Naru-chan- But what can ya do...Sasuke's a dumbass and always will be –evil grin- And trust me, this story really isn't all that great! I loved yours to death! All the angst is written so much better than the angst I've written XP If there was any angst to begin with o.O Hehe, I've always figured Gaara looked like a cute panda =] Except at first, I thought he looked more along the lines of a Goth XP So he's a goth panda...now there's an idea =] Muhahaha! We would be partners in crime and then we shall take over the world with our super-duper-fic!!!! I'll make sure to read your fic right after I finish this chapter =] Lets just hope the review works :[ Cuz it better –shakes fist threateningly at
RuByMoOn17: Wee! –dances and prances around- I'm happy that last chapter wasn't too bad :D Maybe this one was a bit better, ne? –looks hopeful-
kashisenshey: -gives kashisenshey a baseball bat- Hit him to your heart's content! He deserves it :D Hee, glad you liked that last chapter, even though it was horrible –shudders-
Luna: Gaara and Naruto are perfect for each other! –turns fangirly- And they're just so cute together XD Does Gaara coming to Naruto's rescue in this chapter count as a way to stick em together? :P Gaara and Naruto are made for each other like...err...rabbits and carrots? :P –smacks Sasuke and runs off-
aNiMePeRfEcT: Wah! It isn't really that great is it? I can't really decide between Sasuke and Gaara either! They both look so cute with Naruto-chan! Making them all happy might be impossible at this point :D Evil, evil Sasuke :] –smacks him- He'll be alright :P I really should make him suffer more! But what can ya do =] GaaNaru and SasuNaru...decisions...decisions...But right now, I really don't know who's gonna be the one to win Naru-chan's heart! Too lazy to decide right now you see =]
chaos911: Holy crap! –flies off chair- That's a long time to be reading a humble little fic like mine isn't it? :P Don't count on me updating XD I'm lazy and my mind refuses to work ;/ I think Fefe Dobson music broke my brain or something...Anywhos, I can't get enough of homicidal Gaara myself! He's just so cute when he's killing people o.O But that will come soon...or at least I think it will...I haven't planned that far yet :P Thanks for your compliments! But that last chapter...-shudders- Let us never speak of it again :P There's so many mistakes in my chapters :P –thanks and praises whoever invented spell/grammar check- I hope you liked this update (even though it wasn't the fastest)! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!! for your compliments! –prances around like an oompa loompa while wearing a 'I love Gaara' shirt-
sakurastar-63: Hehe, why thank you! It took me a million years to finally get to writing this :P
Anime Ambreen and Poke' Manic: Hehe –looks sheepish- I just had to make Sasuke into a crazy nutcase :P Couldn't help it! Seemed weird didn't it? The OOC bunnies have gotten to my fic –shoots them with a shotgun- But hopefully it's fixed in this chapter! Chocolate cake forever!!! –hails- Well, recently did some update where they now support italics and bold text on several programs, so if you use Microsoft Word, WordPad, OpenOffice, and some other writing programs, then they should show up when you upload them. Unfortunately, they don't show up if you typed up your story in Word Perfect or in .txt format (chapters saved in programs like Notepad) ;/ I think there's some more information on that stuff in the updates on the front page of , but not too sure :P If your document's italics and bolds don't show up because it's in .txt format or whatever, then you should click the Quickedit/Preview button (or link, whatever it's called :P) after you uploaded a chapter in the Document Manager, and then make words italic and bold manually. Sucks, I know :/ I to do it before...took me such a long time ;---; Tell me if you gots any problems! I'm horrible when it comes to explaining things :P
Iceheart: Heh, I'm not much of a darkfic writer :P I'm feeling kinda sorry for Naruto too! Stupid Sasuke! –kicks him- But Gaara can continue to be his oh-so-cute homicidal self =] Naruto is way better than Sasuke! Kyuubified Naruto Sasuke :D I can't see him getting beaten by Sasuke either...maybe he does in the manga, but I wouldn't know :P The anime really needs to make Sasuke more darker than he is right now! Maybe that's only cuz it's my morbid mind, but a little evil never hurt Sasuke...okay, it has but still :P Wah! –flies off chair- My fic? Genius material? THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that really meant a lot to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But my writing isn't really that great –hangs head- But I try :D –glomps Iceheart and runs off before she can get sued-
Saiera: -cackles evilly and smacks Sasuke too- So fun smacking Sasuke :P He's so stupid and stuff XD Alas, there is no happiness left for Naruto...OR IS THERE!? –DUN DUN DUN- :P Don't mind me :D –waves Gaara flag around-
Nebula: Wah! Thank you :D It was pretty hard trying to keep them in character! But I'm so happy it worked! THANK YOU!!!!!!!! :D Hope you liked this chapter :D Hopefully the OOC bunnies didn't attack it o.O
Saria19: Heh –looks sheepish- Naw, there's just so many mistakes in my chapters :P But I'm just way too lazy to fix 'em :P But thank you for liking my story! –gives you a flower- Bleh :P And Gaara has come to Naruto's rescue! Yayyy!!! They're made for each other XD
The BirdFox Hybrid Productions: o.O Wow, that's confuddling :P Naw, I'm just slow in the mind! But I get how it works now :D It's a cool pen name you got there though XD Heh, you better get working on sleepovers! I need a good laugh nowadays :D And I'll make sure to check out both of those stories soon! I haven't been checking on any fics lately :P I'll make sure to read The Missing Nins! No more corridors of spooky doomness :P Instead, there's going to be a Candyland full of bunnies, rainbows, lollipops and other happy stuff like that :P
Ria Sakazaki: Heh, thank you :D Last chapter wasn't a TOTAL failure, I see :D Hope you liked this (slow) update!
Sierra-Falls: Heh, Sasuke did seem weird in the last chapter, I admit :P But I couldn't help it! I needed a crazy idiot in there somewhere! And I tried to do something different with Sasuke's sanity :P Hopefully it wasn't too bad or anything :D –looks hopeful- Maybe this chapter cleaned up some that weirdness :P
Kutsu: o.O Hello there –waves- Thanks for reviewing!
Nejidragon: Hehe :P The author has finally gotten off her lazy ass and written a chapter! Yay! :D I feel so special =]
Momochi Zabuza: Hah, sorry if Sasuke seemed kinda weirded in the last chapter :D But Sasuke going all crazy-evil-like was so irresistible that I can't be held responsible for my actions! :P Hope this chapter fixed that though XP
KDK: Yes! Hate Sasuke! Hate him! Raaaawr!!! –kicks Sasuke- You are welcome to use any of my guns to shoot him if you like :P Gaara has come to Naruto's rescue!!!! –fangirly screams in the background- Naruto does need some love :( Poor thing –hugs Naruto plushie- Hehe :D
Ramen-sama: No worries about not reviewing! The fact that you've reviewed more than once in the past is enough to send me into a seizure =] Bah, that last chapter was just so bad :P I dunno, to me, it seemed kinda...forced? But I'm glad all the characters remained in-character :D Took me a long time to actually figure out a reaction for Sasuke, other than the simple 'GRR I R SASUKE AND I R ANGRYYY RAWR KILL KILL KILL!!!!!!!'...well, I guess he's like that right now, but you get what I mean...right!? -looks desperate- I'm happy the parts with Gaara weren't too boring either o.O I was starting to think that maybe it was starting to drag :D Naw, don't worry, you're not being weird! –glomps- I don't think I can really relate to the characters, but I try to put myself in their position...most of the time...when I'm not feeling lazy...anyway, I'm glad this story is going wonderfully for you! And this plot took me a year to think of :P Brain broke you see ;/ I'm still mourning for it ;--; THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! for you compliments and support!!!!!!! –does the chicken dance in celebration-
juu: I must agree with you =] I'm a total sucker for GaaNaruSasu triangles :P My fic is incorrect-grammar-free!? O.o Thank god for grammar/spell check :D Don't tell anyone my secret!!! –looks around nervously- I always thought Sasuke was always scary...or maybe just stupid :P I'm a Sasuke-hater at heart :D anywhos, hope you liked this update!! More semi-scary Sasuke XD
danna-chan: A Sasuke-hater! Yay!!! Sasuke'll get his...maybe...haven't thought that far yet, but for now...-kicks Sasuke-
Tipsy-Dragon: Hehe, don't worry about late reviews :D Very sorry for the late update :P I must say I enjoy seeing an EVIL Sasuke too! And what's even better, you don't think he's OOC! –glomps Tipsy-Dragon- Everyone should be a Sasuke-hater :D –pushes Naruto and Gaara together- So cute XD Ooo, I really must have a look at those happy pills o.O I could use some myself :D Goood Seto –pats his head-
theiviousracoonness: -chokes on coke at threat made to Sasuke- Hahaahahaha! That's the greatest threat ever given to a character! Hehe, I think it's about time I got off my lazy ass and wrote a chapter too :P But the computer is just so FAR and typing is just so...tiring :P But here it is! Hope you liked :D Now I need a new can of coke ;--;
Kyona Kopper: Hehe, sorry for bad chapter XP It was horrible –burns it- I won't do too much to Naruto, he's just so cute!! –smacks Sasuke's head- Maybe that'll make him remember Naruto has a good reason to miss Gaara :D If not, I still got a metal bat just waiting to land on Sasuke's head :] Hope you liked this chapter :D
A/N: WOAH! That was a lot of reviews!!! Can't believe it XD I can't believe how great you guys are!!! THANK YOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, that's all for today folkses! Now if you'll excuse me, there's a spring roll downstairs that has my name written all over it X3 –runs downstairs before anyone can eat it-
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