Author's Note: When I checked to see the stats to see how successful my story was with you guys, you wouldn't believe how happy I was to find SEVEN reviews! Sadly, I was ecstatic enough to call all my friends and bug the hell out of them…but they're used to it since I usually call them for the simple pleasure of getting on their nerves.  They were just happy that it was for a reason (however simple it may be) that I called them this time. Anyways, I shall stop my rant of appreciation and continue with the story! Whoever reviewed, I left replies at the bottom!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Naruto ;;

Recap:

Just as I reached my destination and finished strapping my portable clock on, I felt that all-too-familiar sensation known as dizziness. The only difference this time was that I also had a strong urge to make like a drunk and hurl. Before I had a chance, however, I blacked out.

Chapter 1:

Another Day From Hell

Naruto's POV

The next thing I know, I'm blearily waking up to a face so close to mine, it was unidentifiable. Because of that slightly unpleasant surprise, it caused me to immediately sit bolt upright with a loud squawk, hence scaring the shit out of whom I realized a few seconds later to be Iruka-sensei - my former gym teacher and the current school nurse.

I managed to do a quick scan of the room and found myself on a very uncomfortable hospital bed. Exactly opposite of my bed at the other end of the room was a desk with papers strewn all over the top. Iruka was sitting on one of those fun spinny chairs next to me, holding the general area of where his heart was.

After a pause of silence to recover from our on-the-verge-of-stopping hearts, I was the first to calm down enough to say something:

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING SO CLOSE! WERE YOU WAITING TO KILL ME AFTER I WOKE UP?" Needless to say, being calm enough to say something didn't really need to be considered as calm. Iruka cleared his throat in his regularly composed manner before rationalizing with my temporarily lost mind.

"If you don't lower your vocal volume, Naruto, I will be forced to make you clean the boys' bathroom situated next to the cafeteria."

That shut me up. You don't EVER want to step into that bathroom, never mind clean it. Everyone avoids those stalls unless it's a complete and utter emergency…usually due to the nasty cafeteria food. Ugh, don't even get me started on the cafeteria food.

"Alright. Now we can discuss exactly why you passed out after school let out." Iruka adopted his 'mess-with-me-and-it'll-be-your-last-breath-because-I'll-go-schyzo-on-your-ass' demeanor™ that you learn to never provoke. The number one rule on what to do if this situation ever occurs is to get the hell away from the so-called 'nurse'. The last time I encountered this expression on account of something I did (I had been throwing things at Sasuke after he said some seriously rude comments about my eating habits and I ended up hitting Iruka on the head with a couple of blunt objects after breaking the sick room's window), I barely got out of it alive. As quickly as I possibly could, I flung myself off the bed and ran for the door that was to the left of my bed which led out to the hallway. Unfortunately, I only made it halfway to freedom before he hooked my arms with his own from behind, preventing another escape from another cause of my unhealthy mental state. A couple minutes of helpless struggling and kicking later (Damn! You never notice how strong someone is unless you really, REALLY wanna get away from them!), I gave up and went limp. He let go of me without warning, letting me flop ungracefully to the clean white floor. I protested my indignation by mumbling incoherently while sitting up and massaging my throbbing shoulders; you'd think he would've been a little bit gentler considering his role as a supposedly kind and caring nurse.

"Are you quite done or would you like to try again?" He asked sarcastically/ warningly as he turned to walk back to his chair. I looked at him with a bored expression. "Good choice. Now, tell me the reason you fainted. Have you been working too much overtime again?"

I hunched up my shoulders innocently as a response. We both knew the answer, so I didn't bother saying it. Iruka sighed audibly.

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto…" Iruka started massaging the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm another of his killer migraines yet again caused by my outspoken opinions/debates/sometimes-downright-stupidity. I think its times like these that Iruka really wishes to be in a country without the liberty of having freedom of speech.

"Well, what am I supposed to do? They raised the rent again this month and until I find a cheaper place that isn't infested with diseases and their causes, I'm kind of backed into a corner!" I folded my arms in front of my chest and looked away from him defiantly.

"So why don't you just go and live with Jiraiya again? He is your legal guardian after all."

"WHAT? No way! Like I'd go back to living with THAT perverted hermit! He always brings a new girl home every night…well…except for that one time where it turned out to be a guy…heh…that was pretty great." I took a moment to remember his face when he came screaming down the hallway, colourful language careening out of his mouth. Needless to say, he wouldn't let me get to bed before telling me his 'scarring story', though. "But, anyway; I'm not going back. It was enough to live with the guy, but I drew the line when he said we were gonna move…" I looked at Iruka directly in the eye, knowing that he understood. A stressed, yet comforting silence ensued for a few moments before he spoke up.

"Do you promise that you're looking for a new place? And that you'll take it easier once you do?" I quirked the corners of my mouth into a small smile before replying.

"Believe it."

Iruka hesitated before huffing, resignedly. "Alright, but at least try to take it easy as much as possible whenever you get the chance. When you feel well enough, you can go home."

"Heh, you should know me enough by now that I shouldn't have to tell you that a little dizzy spell can't stop me!" I exclaimed while hopping up. "I think I proved that when I attempted my escape just now."

"Dizzy spell!", Iruka repeated exasperatedly. He stood up abruptly (making me flinch towards the direction of the door) and dragged his chair over to where his desk was situated on the other side of the room. "You'd better leave before I forget that I'm a nurse again." He sat down heavily, leaning his elbows in front of him on the desk and rubbing his temples in rhythmic circles.

I let a big smile spread across my face. "Heh. Don't worry; I'm three steps ahead of ya!" I stated, jogging lazily to the door. Just as I was about to close the door behind me, I thought of something that didn't add up. I turned back to face my favourite teacher and asked, "Erm…Iruka-sensei…how did you know I had blacked out?" I watched curiously as he stiffened. After a few seconds, he slapped his forehead with an expression of realization plastered on his tan face.

"Oh no! Naruto! I forgot to tell you, but Sasuke brought you in explaining what happened and I…err…asked him to walk you home today." This time, it was my turn to freeze.

I swear, if I had juice in my mouth right then, it would've flown all the way to Ethiopia. My life as I knew it had ended. I turned my more-than-likely disk-shaped eyes to Iruka. He knew what was coming to him when I snapped out of my shocked state. He gave me his 'calm down and think logically' hand motions as I adopted my homicidal aura. Not only had Iruka - the closest thing to a dad that I ever known - betray me, he also had to leave me in the care of…of…HIM! Why was Sasuke even there when it happened? Didn't he go home! I felt like smoke was going to start billowing out of my ears.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but I wasn't going to let you walk home alone after what had just occurred! You know it's-"

Maybe Iruka's head would look best mounted on my wall? Or perhaps as a decoration for my knocker on the door…

"-plus, he's been waiting patiently for you for an hour now!"

He finally realized this wasn't helping his case, so he started pushing me hurriedly out of the room. "Umm...well, uh…have a good weekend, Naruto! I hope everything goes well for you! I'd like to talk more but I have lots of work to do and…umm, yeah. BYE!" He closed the door hurriedly as he saw me lunging forward, earning myself a very sore nose. I made sure he would hear every curse I knew as I stomped out of the building.

When I got outside of the school, I saw none other than my arch nemesis standing before me; and from the smirk that's plastered on his smug face, I could tell he knew what kind of a mood I was in (maybe he heard my swearing?). I glared at him, warning him he couldn't push me without getting brutally pushed back.

"Go home." I gritted my teeth as I fought not to strangle the asshole.

"Can't; nurse said to take you home, so I will." His smirk never faltered for a second. I fought to keep my hands at my sides.

"He's not a nurse! He's a sadist for leaving me with you! A SADIST!" I started flailing my arms in order to express my obvious discontent. I turned to him and started to jab my index finger in front of his face repeatedly. "You! GO HOME!"

He crossed his arms in front of him, standing in his normal bored pose and staring at me defiantly. It looked like he wasn't planning on leaving. I huffed, frustrated, but started walking. Sasuke waited until I was halfway down the entrance steps before following after me. It didn't take him long to fall into step beside me.

"Fine. But NO TALKING." I stated, turning to give him another warning look. It was then that I noticed how tall he was. The top of my head only reached the height of the tip of his ear. Why'd he have to so tall! In response to my statement, the only answer he gave in reply was a small shrug, his expression once again blank. I returned my gaze to the path in font of me just as we were leaving the school parking lot and walking towards the bus stop.

How can someone have such a blank expression? I don't really see it that often since he usually has a smirk on his face whenever we make eye contact, but it's still kind of…disconcerting. I mean…I can't keep my face blank even if I tried! I might be able to mask my emotions, but never in that way.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at our destination - and if it wasn't only a two minute walk, I wouldn't have believed it. I walked over to where they posted the bus schedule, looking for when the next one was due to come by. I looked down at my watch. 4:18 pm. Joy. About twenty minutes before the next one would arrive; and they're usually always late to top it off. Like it didn't take long enough to get home since I live on the outskirts of the city near the downtown area. I groaned as I sat on the bench Sasuke was standing next to…

Aha! This could be a good thing after all!

"Damn! The next bus doesn't come for another twenty-five minutes – plus the other forty that it takes for me to get off at my stop, added onto the fifteen minutes it takes to get to my house. Since this arrangement is probably inconvenient for the both of us, how about you leave and save us both the trouble?" I turned to face the pale figure, trying to send him vibes that said 'GO HOME' to emphasize my hopefully obvious hints.

I watched warily as Sasuke got up from leaning against the bus sign, which he had migrated to while I was stating my reasoning. He started walking opposite the direction of the school, not giving away any sign of coming back. As soon as he turned the corner, I let myself slump against the back of the bench, letting out a sigh of relief. Just as I was inwardly celebrating on my achieved victory, that stupid SOB came strolling back around the corner, a newspaper in hand. When he reached the stop, he casually sat down next to me, opened up the newspaper and adjusted himself into a comfortable position. As I continued to glare sideways at him, I managed to see a tiny smirk form on his lips before he concealed his face behind the mask of gray paper.

I was so I angry I was speechless. He had done it on purpose! Before I could stop myself, I had let out the first words that had come to my mind-

"You suck!"

…

…

…Oh shit. Out of all the biting comments I could've lashed at him, I just had to say the dumbest comeback ever known to existence.

Not two seconds after my witty little exclamation, I saw Sasuke's body momentarily puff up a bit before letting out an audible snort as he continued to hold the paper to cover his face. I felt my face grow hot as I spluttered, trying desperately to regain my composure. It didn't work.

This was going to be one loooong ride home.

Author's Note: Alright! Second chapter is finished! Okay, I'm more than a little disappointed ay how the beginning turned out, but I think it got better as it went on. Again, if you like the story or have some suggestions to make it better, feel free to R&R. :P Warning to you all who's reading, it's going to take me a bit longer to update the next chapter since the next few months are going to be pretty hectic for me. Sorry for the inconvenience! ;

tea- Thanks for your comment! I'm trying my best, so I'm glad that it caught some interest.

InfynitiStar- I'm glad you like it! And yeah, I'm going as an exchange student. I'm really excited about it, although it probably won't hit me that I'm actually going until I start packing :P Thanks for the tips on the water and shampoo, I'll keep them in mind! nodnod

Peregrinate- I'm happy you didn't find my story to be disappointing, lol. I don't think your beginnings are bad at all! I'm not good with tragedy stories though; bad experiences with awful endings. ; But I read the first bit and it was really interesting; I would've never thought of doing that for a beginning! (this is a good thing :P)

clueless- I'm glad you're intrigued

SpottedShadow2947- Thanks for the review! I hope you found Sasuke to your liking in this chapter, too:P

KyokoKat- I appreciate your suggestion! I actually wasn't sure if I was going to put Sasuke in this chapter until you made it. I guess it would've been a bit slow if we didn't get some sasuxnaru going pretty soon. You also help solidify my decision in putting in the scene with Nurse Iruka XD.

Failing Mentality- The last sentence form Sasuke's POV was supposed to heighten the suspense, lol. The last question has been answered in this chapter, though! I hope you liked it!

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate all of them and I hope you liked this chapter as well! Next chapter is coming, just maybe not right away! ;