1Chapter Seven is significantly shorter than the others. About half the size, in fact, because I'm still mainly working on a Naruto/Ino fanfiction right now.
Crazy Mishka: You spurred me on again, Crazy Mishka! Yeah, Naruto's fanclub will grow and grow and grow and oh god I feel like I'm on crack and my hands are shaking so I can't type! Anyway, I will eventually get more inspiration. Right now I'm working on a het fic and a Shino/Naruto that might one day be posted as soon as my account stops being stupid...
Merkitten: I've re-written this response three times...okey dokee. I haven't decided whether Gaara-kun will show yet, because in my plans, he doesn't really fit, yanno? But hell, with me, plans always end up smoldering in some random corner of hell. So I wouldn't count on seeing him, but he might have a cameo or a starring part! Discombobulate is an actual word, too. Glad you like my fic! And...NAP TIME! No school means no waking up at five thirty in the morning! Boo-yah! I can work on reading, writing, drawing manga, watching anime...oh, the endless possibilities!
Disclaimer: One day I will definitely be the creator of a famous manga. But it won't be Naruto, because that's plagiarism.
Chapter Seven: The Teaser
I didn't really feel like writing this. Actually, I forgot what happened in this even though I wrote it. So lucky you, I'll write a not-twenty-page chapter. I'm limiting myself to between seven and twelve.
It's a beautiful day, to let it get away, Naruto, but you won't, you know that, don't you?
You can't let anyone know. You can't tell.
No one. NO ONE CAN FIND OUT ABOUT US, DO YOU HEAR?
No? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Good. Listen up, Naruto.
You're not good enough. Never enough, never will be.
They'll all be mean to you. Meaner than I'll ever be. Choose the lesser of two evils, please?
Do it. Just do it.
I know you want to.
-
Naruto woke up, gasping. Gasping loud. He looked around frantically. If one of the other boys had heard...well, he just didn't want them to get the wrong idea. That would be ...awkward. Pretty freakin' weird.
Two boys that stalked him constantly, and that his grade depended on...he didn't want them thinking that he got wet dreams all the time. Like he was a pervert or something. Even though he was, in soooo many ways, but he still didn't want them to know about it.
He didn't want them to know how sick he was.
Everyone at his old schools did.
That was why they hated, loathed, despised him. Morbid curiosity, how could one person be so wrong?
Good, they were still asleep.
Clatter. Clunk.
Naruto tensed. What was that? He felt horribly vulnerable sitting there in his soiled pants and sleeping bag. Without his contacts. What could possibly be such a bastard-ish thing as to ruin his dream-time?
You know what it is. Don't you, Naruto.
No, no I don't.
"Oh, you're awake, Umino-san." Hatake Kakashi (Sasuke's caretaker) stuck his head in through the kitchen door. Entrance. There wasn't a door in the doorway. "Pancakes?"
"Ermm..." Naruto squirmed imperceptibly at the sight of an adult wearing a tie tied around his forehead. And at being stared at in such an embarrassing situation. It made him feel...so un-god-like.
"Unless, of course, you would prefer washing up first." Oh, that bastard was grinning underneath his juvenile mask. Who the hell wore masks, anyway? "I won't tell if you don't."
"Ahm, thanks." Naruto opted to wash up. He stood and slipped out of his (Sasuke's!) sleeping bag and hobbled over to the bathroom.
"You can use the one in my room. Feel free to use the stuff in there, too." Maybe Naruto wasn't so upset at the gray haired man. No, not gray; mouse-brown. He wouldn't insult the most-kind Hatake-san by calling him gray haired. He changed direction and entered the room that had had a light shining out from under the door all night long.
Kakashi hummed merrily under his breath and continued flipping flapjacks. Kids these days; so full of youth.
Wait. Ick.
-
Sasuke was just easing his eyes open when he heard the creaking of pipes and the spray of water through the walls. Wasn't it a little early for...?
Wait. Something wasn't adding up. There were clearly noises coming from the kitchen, yet the dull pounding of water from the showerhead sounded in his ears.
And two boys had spent the night in his home that night.
"Sasuke, catch!" And Sasuke did. Purely by luck, of course, he caught the steaming pancake in his mouth.
"Kakashi?" He asked, after swallowing a mouthful and dropping the rest of his pancake onto his sleeping bag.
"Yo!" Flip, catch. Another flapjack done.
"If you're out here...who's in the shower?" Sasuke asked, completely baffled.
"Your friend Naruto. I told him he could since he said he absolutely couldn't stand missing his morning shower."
"Oh." Sasuke picked up the remains of the pancake and resumed eating it. Five-second rule.
Well, he continued eating the pancake until suspicion had that annoying way of dawning on him.
"Why is he in your shower!" Sasuke demanded, accusing. One never knew what perverted lengths Kakashi would go to.
"He's in my shower?" Kakashi asked curiously.
"I can hear it! It's definitely your shower!"
"Oh. Well I guess I did tell him to go in there." Kakashi said thoughtfully. "I thought you or Nara-san might want to use the hall bathroom, so I sent Naruto to my room so he could wash without you or your other friend trying to knock the doors down."
"Oh," Sasuke said guiltily. His other friend, which reminded him.
That lazy slug. He hadn't woken up through all of that bickering. What a moron.
-
Naruto was still in the shower. He was facing the faucet with his head bent down, so the water pounded down oh the back of his head and neck. It was relaxing in a way, reminiscent of being pounded into the ground.
After a few minutes of allowing his neck to be massaged, Naruto decided that he shouldn't press his luck. After all, Hatake-san was being kind already, allowing him to use his own shower. And Naruto didn't want Hatake-san to get the wrong idea. (Hatake-san seemed kind of perverted, too.)
Pervert uses nice hair products, ne?
Sure does. Same as me.
For super strong, super soft hair.
Just remember, I'll kill you. For embarrassing me.
Oh, chibi will eat me? Please please please do.
Unless you have a crush on Hatake-san. Then I'll eat YOU because YOU belong to ME.
Naruto grasped the shampoo in his hand and squeezed a not-too-liberal amount into his palm. It was pearly white with iridescent swirls and lathered familiarly into his blonde hair. He decided that he hated being away from home, like he hated using the public bathrooms. He had no control over his surroundings, no way to tell exactly where everyone was in this unfamiliar environment.
To keep the shampoo from running in his eyes, Naruto turned around as he usually did, and finished washing up.
When he stepped out of the shower, the mirror over the sink fogged up with steam and the humidity flooded out into the main area of the bathroom.
It was, Naruto decided, just the way he liked it.
-
10 o'clock in the morning. It's not too early to call, is it? Sarutobi asked himself. Of course not. Nothing I do is ever wrong. Without hesitating, he picked up the phone that hung on the wall of the kitchen and dialed a series of numbers.
/Hello, this is the Umino residence./ A tinny voice answered the phone.
"Hello, Iruka-san. How are you today?" Sarutobi asked in his gravelly voice. He didn't get a response for several moments.
/Ah...ano...I am well. And you/ Iruka replied formally.
"I'm am well as well. I mean, also." Hell, he was old, he was allowed to correct himself. Besides, he was nervous.
/Is there any particular reason you called, Sarutobi-san? I wasn't expecting to hear from you for at least two years. Though I had been hoping for five./ Iruka's voice sounded frostily through the earpiece. Sarutobi flinched.
"Now, see here, Iruka–"
/What/
Sarutobi gulped. Iruka was angry, as expected. "I want to be involved in Naruto's life. You can't deny an old man his right to a sound mind."
More silence. /I told you that you were too late for that. Naruto's grown up now, and we don't need you reopening old wounds./
"Iruka, you know that's not my intention! I just want to see my friend's son! I mean no harm! I'm not asking all that much, but I am as much his family as you are, so you can't cut us off!" Sarutobi yelled angrily, in frustration. He relaxed moments later.
/Whatever./
Click.
-
Shikamaru laid on the floor of Sasuke's living room with his eyes still closed, feigning sleep. His face twisted only the tiniest bit when a foot prodded his side.
"Come on now, everyone's awake except for you, Nara-san," a mature voice drifted down to him.
"Urrnmph." Shikamaru grumbled. Naruto walked out of Kakashi's bedroom, drying his hair with a towel.
"Naruto?" his eyes widened. "What were you doing in there?"
As he attracted Naruto's attention, he got a reply from the sunny boy.
"Hatake-san said I could use his shower so I wouldn't be in the bathroom where your's and Sasu's stuff is. It was supposed to make things go faster, but I guess it was pretty useless since you're still in be-err, sleeping bag." Naruto grinned. He had changed into his civilian (not student) clothes, tight black pants and a loose orange t-shirt that hung low around his hips.
"Umino-san, do you want some breakfast? I made waffles and pancakes," Kakashi offered.
"Sounds great! And 'cause I like you, call me Naruto! Umino-san confuses me, I keep on thinking Iruka-nii's here."
"Sure. Same. Waffles or pancakes, waffles or pancakes!"
"Both! You'll need a lot, I eat and eat and eat, Kakashi!"
Shikamaru was left in a whirlwind of confusion. But he did know, that he definitely didn't like when his golden boy decided to get familiar with other people.
Sasuke came out of the kitchen and threw a pancake. Bull's eye, right on the Nara's lazy-ass face.
To be Continued.
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE, THIS IS STILL ON HIATUS! It's just a semi-hiatus. I might update this once or twice more because the holidays are coming up, but yeah, even though I like this one a lot, (the plot, not writing it) it's not my priority right now. And it writes slower. And be on the lookout for shorter chapters, because they will be.
Review, and the odds of another update will be greatly increased.