Where the hell have I been? Instead of saying how busy I have been working and how I thought everyday of this story and how I could make it better, I'm gonna shut up and let you read.
Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine yaddi yadda
Of course a thousand thanks to reviewers lizy2000, Angel Hatake, Jemmy, ShugoYuuki123, Dancing-Souls, The Reviewer, Guest (1), perfect. fluke , Guest (2).
Brief recap: After a traumatizing encounter with Gaara and Dosu, she ran to Gachero-Sensei desperate for answers. After conscience diving, she discovered a few things for a cost. She woke the next morning, hustled out of Gachero's home and ran away after bumping into Kiba and Mae.
Enjoy!
Chapter Forty-Four: Blessing or a Curse.
I couldn't have escaped faster from the encounter with Kiba and Mae if there was a flame under my ass. With my current dishevelment, they were the last people I wished to bump into.
The chemistry between the two was unmistakable, magnets of opposite poles. Disappointed parents watching their degenerate child make poor life decisions while they lived happily with the Carmen Miranda of cuisine and their pet dog.
My brain felt like it was stuffed with cotton. Dendrites not making proper connections. Any minute it was going to erupt with enough textile to knit a damn sweater.
ξ
My mind was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in the sense that I was stubborn and pushed for new experiences.
A curse in the sense that, I was stubborn and pushed too far. This was no exception.
My initial destination was my apartment, to lay in my bed until the end of eternity. Instead, my stubborn ass walked past my complex's main entrance. As badly as I wanted to do just that, there was someone I needed to check up on first.
ξ
Now mid-morning and predicting where they would be, I had arrived. Close, but deep enough into the forest to focus on training. Or in this case, distance themselves to mask the screams of frustration.
"Ah! What the heck is the difference between a tadpole and a toad anyway?!" Naruto yelled at his recent summoning, a little chubby toad with a tail.
"Not making any progress, Naruto?" I joked with struggled energy.
"I'm not going to get anywhere if this damn toad doesn't shrink his massive—" he thrashed, stopping mid-sentence. "Woah, what happened to you?" Naruto asked. "You look like shit."
"Naruto, that's no way to speak to a—" Jiraiya interrupted, sticking his head out of the bush for a few precious moments. "Whoa, you do look terrible."
"Your generous concerns are overwhelming." I rubbed the bridge of my nose, questioning why I was so worried about Naruto in the first place.
Jiraiya shrugged. No longer concerned with the half-dead chick, he stuck his head back into his 'research'.
"But seriously," Naruto insisted. "Did something happen to you?" Despite his unnecessary overzealous reaction, he was genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine," I lied. "It was just a bad night."
There it was again. A white lie. Lies that were only to be used to fairy dust a statement; like claiming the Tooth Fairy to be real or telling your friend they looked good in an outfit they clearly didn't. My lies were building up, pure white spoiling to darker shades of grey. I feared I was falling into an endless vortex.
"Nightmares?" Naruto hypothesized.
I nodded. The vortex was awakening.
Naruto gave a questioningly look, debating whether he was looking into my soul or a carnival mirror, warped to all hell. Beads of sweat trickled on my brow.
But, thankfully with this being Naruto, his doubt disappeared.
I coughed. "Hm, well. It seems like you're making some progress. The toad has four limbs now," I complimented, hoping to segue from myself. It worked, Naruto huffed.
"He's been training non-stop and he's still at this level," Jiraiya stated, irritated. "If Naruto continues like this, then it's pointless." Jiraiya was giving up; becoming less focused on his student and more on babe watching.
This revved Naruto. "Hey! Give me a break! I'm trying my best here!"
"Maybe you have, maybe you haven't," Jiraiya shrugged. "If you want to succeed in this jutsu, you have to do so as if your life depended on it."
"What do you think I have been doing? I train everyday as if I'm going to die!" Naruto pointed. "If you have a problem, you can just suck it, Pervy Sage!"
Jiraiya rolled his eyes, clearing losing faith and patience. "Listen up, Naruto. It's time you stare death in the eyes."
Naruto straightened. "Death?"
Jiraiya stood from his hiding spot. "That's right. To fend off death, you must release an enormous amount of chakra. Once you have experienced that, you will know how to release the red chakra. If you don't wish to die, do something about it, now."
"What are you talking about, you senile Per—" Naruto squabbled, but was cut short by Jiraiya pressing his finger to Naruto's forehead protector and flicked. The concentration of strength sent Naruto through the forest, past the line of sight.
"Naruto!" I cried, rushing as fast as capable. To where it leads me, all my time in battle could have never prepared me for. Preceding the first line of trees, out of nowhere, was a deep, dark canyon. I caught myself before I met my demise, skidding to a violent halt. Pebbles fell into the endless hole, disappearing into darkness.
To my horror, I heard Naruto's screams and pinpointed his small body falling dangerously fast.
"Are you out for your fucking mind?!" I screamed at Jiraiya as he emerged from the trees. "Do you want to kill him?!"
I was furious. Both at Jiraiya and my helplessness. There was absolutely nothing I could do to save Naruto.
Jiraiya ignored my turmoil. "We shall see if the strength bestowed on him was a blessing or a curse."
I wanted to destroy Jiraiya. Bury him alive and make him regret ever fathoming the thought of pushing Naruto into an impossible trap. But, all I could do was stand on the edge, stare down at the small orange dot, and pray.
Screams continued to echo as Naruto plummeted. Noticing a blue flame, he concentrated his already exhausted levels of chakra to his hands in an attempt to cling onto one of the numerous stalagmites that jutted perpendicular to the canyon walls. Despite Naruto's attempt, his falling velocity was too great and his fingers slipped.
"It is impossible. The rocks are too slippery and falling at that speed with his limited control of his chakra will never work," Jiraiya explained.
"How could you be standing here?! You have to save him! You're going to kill him, Jiraiya!" I yelled. My rugged voice felt like sandpaper to the throat.
Jiraiya shook his head. "Like I told you before, I'm here for the same reasons you are. Naruto can only depend on the red chakra."
"Why, why this red chakra? What is it, Jiraiya? What aren't you telling me?" I demanded. A strong gust of wind threatened to push me into the canyon, but I held my ground. A leaf on its last strand of stem. It blew my long hair into my face, but I never broke eye contact with Jiraiya.
His eyes locked with mine. His childish character changed, filled with determination. "The chakra of the Nine-Tailed fox will determine his faith. He will either die, consumed by the beast or he will learn to tame it and become a force to be reckoned with."
"Nine-Tailed fox…" His words deflated me. Never have I heard of this fox. Was that who I faced in the Forest of Death? The thought frightened me.
Not comprehending any of this, "Does Naruto know about this?"
Jiraiya shared the same perplexity. "We will have to find out."
My eyes glanced down the pit. Naruto's orange jumpsuit was a beacon in the darkness, but it was fading rapidly.
"You can do it, Naruto!" I screamed, trying to amplify my voice by placing my hands, cone-shaped, around my mouth. I knew it was futile, the wind was too strong and he was far too below sea elevation, but that didn't stop me from trying. "Believe it!"
As I said it, a puff of puissance radiated from the canyon. Naruto crash landed on a dusty red creature. The creature massively spanned the entirety of the pit and stop itself and Naruto from falling to their deaths.
Naruto laid with a thump. With confusion, he crawled to the end of the beast's back. "There's no tail! It's a toad!"
I was ecstatic for Naruto, for obvious reasons. Jiraiya, on the other hand, was more cautious.
"Looks like he released the chakra on his own this time. But, I can't say he's proficient at it. He overdid it with the chakra's power to summon him of all things," Jiraiya said, disgruntled. I didn't know what Jiraiya meant by that.
"I finally pulled it off!" Naruto danced on the toad's head.
"Why you little snot," the toad spoke. The toad spoke?!
Displeased, the verbal force of the monumental toad rumbled Naruto's footing.
The creature manifested distaste, staring crossly at the rowdy blonde. "Whose head do you think you're dancing on?"
Before Naruto could reply. "Why, I'll tell you. I'm the wise and all-power Chief Gamabunta!"
Gamabunta's authoritarian call knocked Naruto off his feet once more and tumbled dangerously close into the canyon. At the last second, Naruto held onto the end of Chief Toad's pipe that jostled in his mouth.
"Hey, Jiriaya," the toad's voice boomed. "Where are you? Show yourself, you buffoon!"
Before I even noticed, Jiraiya was a few steps behind me, trying stealthily to sneak away. "It would be a pain in the neck if he found me out. I mean, why Naruto had to summon Gamabunta. He's a real handful. I can't even control him."
"JIRAIYA!" Chief Toad roared.
"I better high tail it out of here while I still can," Jiraiya said.
"Hey, you. Wait a minute—" but my voice fell on deaf ears as Jiraiya was already gone. Damn coward.
"Where's Jiraiya hiding, you little snot," Gamabunta demanded.
"Huh, who's this Jiraiya?" Naruto asked, flustered. "I don't know any—"
"Don't play dumb! I'm talking about that chode who calls himself the Toad Sage. Look, I'm giving you an order. If you hurry up and answer, I would consider making you my henchmen. Now where is he?!" the toad threatened.
"Okay, okay. If you're talking about the pervert, he's up on the cliff, Chief Toad," Naruto explained, overly sweet.
"Up there," Gamabunta peered up. Being able to visualize his face for the first time, Gamabunta had golden, slit-pupiled eyes. A white scar ran down his left eye. One of a warrior's.
"Um, can I ask you one question, sir toad sir?" Naruto questioned, timidly.
"What is it?" Gamabunta snapped.
"What business do you have with that Pervy Sage, anyway?"
"That's the very same question I want to ask that pervert," Gamabunta grumbled. "I mean, what does that fool want with me in a dank place like this?"
"Oh, um," Naruto stumbled.
"What now?" Gamabunta asked, annoyed.
"Well, the funny thing is, I'm the one who summoned you. You see, I fell off the cliff and I thought maybe you could rescue me and you did, so um, thanks boss," Naruto saluted.
Gamabunta laughed so hard, I thought he was going to lose his grip on the stalagmites. "Give me a break. How would a puny kid like you have the power to summon a being like me?"
"No, no. It's true, it's true. I really, truly, summoned you," Naruto exclaimed.
The toad ignored his comment while continuing to laugh. This became a game changer for Naruto.
"Knock it off, you toad jerk." Naruto kicked the toad's snout. "You have been talking down to me and saying whatever you want. But, I'm the one who summoned you. You need to start respecting me and doing what you're told. You got that, toad?"
I knew that look, Naruto's fire. This wasn't going to end well.
"You got some nerve," Gamabunta spat. "Who do you think you're talking to? A meaningless little squirt barely old enough to stand and yet you dare to say to Lord Gamabunta, Chief Toad, that you're his master?"
Naruto snorted in confirmation. He wasn't going to back down.
"That's it." Gamabunta long amphibious tongue, studded with piercings, wrapped around Naruto. The Chief's God-given muscular legs contract and both toad and boy soared out of the canyon.
If someone told me there was going to be a planet-sized toad causing a solar eclipse today, I would have told them to lay off the shrooms. I stared up with amazement, which quickly segued into fear with the realization I was close to its landing strip, too close.
"Fuck," I choked, performing a jump and tug-and-roll to avoid being crushed by a 100 ton toad. The turbine aftershock from Gamabunta blew me far out of mushing reach.
Both a screaming Naruto and confident toad landed as if Zeus himself struck down from Mt. Olympus. Naruto's grip ripped off Gamabunta's happi vest that displayed the kanji ebi, and he rolled down the toad's back to the ground.
"Wow, that was awesome," Naruto smiled, mind boggled.
Gamabunta laughed, not in entertainment, but rather mockery. "I hate to tell you this, little snot, but even if I was willing to believe you were the one who summoned me and trust me kid, that is a big if. If you're the kind of guy who could fall off my back that easily, then there's no way I could ever accept you as my master. Got it?"
"Since being back in the world after such a long time, if Jiraiya doesn't need me then I'm going for a walk."
"No, wait!" Naruto cried.
"Listen, why don't you just get out of here and go home. You are incapable of serving as my henchmen," Gamabunta laughed.
Even from here, I could see steam blow from Naruto's ears.
A battle cry raged through the young shinobi as he charged the journey up the toad's back.
"What do you think you're doing?" Gamabunta asked, like a mother who was scolding their child.
"If gaining your respect depends on me staying on your back, well then, I'll just make sure I don't get off your back for the rest of the day no matter what. Believe it!"
That was Naruto, always ready to prove others wrong.
"What?" The Chief Toad never heard such defiance. He doesn't know what he's up against with Naruto, despite being 1000 times his size.
"That's right!" Naruto continued. "And when I do, you will have no choice but to recognize me as you undisputed master!"
"You really are a snot," Gamabunta barked. "Fine, if that's what you want, but don't think I'm going to go easy on you!"
Without a proper cue, Gamabunta took off. He shook his head and bucked wildly. Naruto was riding an untamed stead.
"Listen carefully, Chief Toad. My name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'm going to become Hokage one day. Don't forget it!"
"I don't care!" Gamabunta snapped and abruptly took off high in the air. His Zeus jump hovered overhead and into a lake a ways off. The water was deep enough to fully submerge even the largest of toads such as Gamabunta.
"He's trying to drown him," I gasped when neither of them resurfaced right away. "Just so Naruto can get off his back? What's his problem?"
"It is a bit overboard. I do have to agree with you," called a voice I instantly recognized.
Searching, I pinpointed the source coming from up the hills a little way, at the highest elevation in the nearby surrounding area.
I trudged my way up and sat next to Jiraiya. "I thought you ran off," I stated, bitterly.
"I only said I needed to high tail it out of there," Jiraiya pointed. I responded with a disgruntled stare.
Gamabunta finally emerged from the watery depths with a very soaked, very stubborn Naruto still clinging on as he coughed up water. I sighed with relief.
"Yeah, well. You're high-tailing out of there is the reason why Naruto is on a giant toad who is trying to drown him," I replied distastefully.
"Let's be real here. If I did stay, Gamabunta would be trying to kill all of us. And Naruto would still be on his back trying to prove himself," Jiraiya countered.
I rolled my eyes at the comment, but I knew he had a point. "Curse you, Naruto. You can't prove to the world that you're going to become Hokage if you're dead."
Jiraiya agreed, a first for the both of us.
"Better get comfortable," Jiraiya patted the grass besides him. "It's going to be a long day."
I sighed because this was Naruto we are talking about. "Fuck," I said and surrendered next to Jiraiya.
ξ
When Jiraiya said it was going to be a long day, he wasn't exaggerating. The Colosseum battle drew on until the sky expressed vibrant reds and pinks. The knot in my stomach gnarled and twisted with every passing minute. My mind endlessly running, escaping with nowhere to go.
"Jiraiya?" I spoke, cotton mouthed.
"Hmm?" Jiraiya's brow rose.
I needed to get this feeling off my chest, release this water snake's constriction around my vital organs, suffocating me.
"The Nine-Tails… fox," I began, hesitant. "What is it?"
Jiraiya's brows rose higher and his face twisted. "You're truly not from around here, are you?"
I shook my head. Even though I have been living in Konoha for some time, I was an outsider again, thrown back to day one.
Jiraiya was about to speak, but something tugged on him to do otherwise. For whatever reason, he was cautious. As if this was a secret buried from an ancient tribe that threatened to destroy the world if even the thought was conjured. A secret so poisonous, that in the wrong hands, could led to destruction.
"Please," I begged. "I can't go on any longer not knowing. I just want to be there for him." Naruto.
The Toad Sage's eyes widened before succumbing to my request. He knew he could trust me. "Alright." He took a deep breath. "Many years ago, there was a war. A Great Shinobi War that is." He paused briefly, assessing his future word choices. "And there was an attack on Konoha by this Nine-Tails fox, Kurama is its name." Another pause. "The village was about to be annihilated; destroyed of all its buildings and villagers, flattened into a dust bowl…"
"And what happened?" I asked, wide-eyed.
With the most seriousness I have seen from him, "And the Hokage at the time, the Fourth, saved the village by sealing Nine-Tails into an infant."
They did what?!
Electric currents ran to my feet and I jumped on instinct.
"Wait a fucking minute. You're telling me they sealed a demon inside of Naruto?" I shook. I shook with fury. I shook with sadness, pain.
"Yes," Jiraiya confirmed, calmly.
His calm demeanor angered me even more. "How could they do that? How can the Fourth do that? To a newborn!"
"It was that or the village got destroyed," Jiraiya said straight-faced.
I didn't believe that, I couldn't. "There could've been another way. They didn't even try other options! To use a child makes me sick," I spat.
"Shinobi are tools for fighting. We do what needs to be done for the good of the people," Jiraiya's voice rose.
"Bullshit," I snapped. "The village and the Fourth did what was most convenient. There could have been another way!"
"And just let thousands of villagers parish as the Fourth casually thought of another solution!" Jiraiya roared. His threatening tone took me back. His eyes were flames and I didn't want to get burned.
I shamefully took a step back, but held my glare.
"Yeah, but…" I couldn't muster the rest as I crotched into a ball.
Jiraiya sighed, letting his anger leave with it. "Listen, I get it. You're young, you feel like your world is your oyster, but there will be times in your life where you will have to make a difficult decision; one that will affect others whichever way. One day you will understand this."
I understood what he meant, but that didn't mean I was willing to accept it. "Naruto didn't know what was going on. He didn't have a choice," I concluded, sadly, into the palm of my hands.
"It was a hard choice for the Fourth. He had his reasons," he spoke. There it was, sadness. Jiraiya did have a heart.
"Reasons, my ass," I huffed. "Whenever I meet him, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind."
"The Fourth Hokage sacrificed his life sealing the Nine-Tails," Jiraiya replied.
"Ooo…" I should've known. My eyes zipped away, embarrassed by my naïve thoughts. Jiraiya stared into space in deep, pensive thought. What was his reason?
Silence filled the open space. I was afraid to ask, but I wanted to know. I needed to, no matter how scared I was to hear the answer. Even if this ancient secret could destroy the world.
"Is this thing, this Nine-Tails… is it going to kill Naruto?"
Whether he was still heart struck from our last topic or was resisting to give me a straight answer, he didn't respond.
"Jiraiya, please," I begged. "I need to be prepared for what might happen in the future."
Jiraiya kept silence. I could tell something was corroding his titanium sealed mind.
"It's the only way I can help him," I concluded.
"It shouldn't," he sighed. "Not if Naruto can control it, but…"
"But, what?" I snapped, too anxious to control myself. My heart beat violently against my ribcage.
"That doesn't mean it won't try to take over Naruto's body and cause a rampage," Jiraiya concluded.
"Take over his body…" I repeated, haunted by the syllables.
"Even if Naruto harvests the power of the Nine-Tails, he will have a never-ending battle-"
"With control of his own body." I wanted to cry, but my tears ran dry. I pitied myself for so long, not knowing my past, but at least I was never endangered into becoming something I wasn't.
"Poor, Naruto," I concluded, somber.
Jiraiya didn't say anything, but I could tell he felt the same. From the distant look in his brown eyes; however, there was something he wasn't saying.
"So what's your deal?" Jiraiya asked.
I was thrown off by the sudden shift in topic. "What do you mean?"
"Inside you."
I looked at him like he was absurd. "Inside me? What are you talking about?"
Jiraiya gave me a look, one I couldn't decipher. I didn't know what he was getting at.
He studied me until he replied, "Never mind."
I was about to press on, but Naruto's yells caught my attention.
"It's almost over! Once that sun sets, you have no choice but to call me your master," Naruto laughed manically.
"I never said I agreed to your deal, now did I?" Gamabunta gestured while bucking Naruto wildly.
"I don't care," Naruto snapped. "I'll never give up. No matter what!"
Gamabunta laughed. "Well then, I hope you don't take it personally when you die."
Before Naruto could reply, Gamabunta rocketed into the evening sky. Higher, and higher. To dangerous heights.
"Naruto!" I yelled, knowing it was futile.
Even Jiraiya looked concerned. "Shit…"
When the toad crash landed back on Earth, I thought the world was going to shatter. The unnatural disaster was plenty to knock me off my feet. The aftershock waves blew dirt and debris violently into my eyes.
Jiraiya and I coughed. My eyes watered regardless of my empty tear reservoir.
Before the dust storm cleared, I was on my feet. Leaping off the cliff side and sliding down to meet the toad and Naruto. Running half-blind.
The clouds soon disappeared and I could see Naruto was intact. He was twirling on the toad's back, dangerously close to falling off.
"No, no way. I'm not giving up," Naruto spoke, whirl winded. He threw his hands into signs I knew all too familiarly. His last action before losing his footing on the toad's back.
On command, clone after clone held onto Naruto, anchoring him in a monkey in a barrel formation.
Incredible, despite the condition, he was able to release more chakra.
The clones dragged Naruto back up, high-fiving one another as they vanished and just in time, too. The sun had officially gone down, ending the day, and ending the deal with Gamabunta. He stayed on the Great Toad's back.
"You did it, Naruto!" I cheered.
Naruto cackled with victory. "Take that Chief Toad! I stayed on your back! What now—
Before Naruto could brag some more, his body had reached it limit, far beyond any other's. He fainted and toppled off the toad. I ran towards the falling blonde. If I didn't get to him in time, he wasn't going to survive the high drop. I ran and pushed faster, but I wasn't close enough. I wouldn't be able to get to him in time!
I gasped as a monstrous, studded tongue cut me off and wrapped itself around Naruto.
"Not bad, little snot," Gamabunta spoke intrigued. I collapsed with relief.
He lowered Naruto to solid ground and I wrapped myself around him, not caring I was touching a literal tongue.
Jiraiya, who followed suit, whipped out a scroll and it unwound. It was the same scroll Naruto signed in blood. A pact with the toads.
"I'm fully aware he was the one who summoned me," Gamabunta declared. "First time since the Fourth Hokage to climb on my back."
"The Fourth Hokage?!" I couldn't control my shock. Jiraiya nodded in agreeance.
"He is a strong one," Jiraiya agreed.
I stared down at the collapsed boy in my arms. His blonde hair cascading over his peaceful face. Even though he gave me such anxiety over the course of the day, I had to agree.
"He certainly is," I concluded. even with the Nine-Tails wreaking havoc, he was incredible.
"I don't mind giving him of my power in the future," Gamabunta agreed. "But I feel giving him to a place of healing is for the best right now."
ξ
An earthquake shatter and a nurse's scream later and we were at the hospital. I gave Gamabunta my thanks and he vanished.
The nurses shook off the initial shock and quickly rolled the fainted boy into a room. After a quick assessment, the nurse confirmed that all Naruto was suffering from was dehydration and exhaustion. Time and rest was his aliment.
With Jiraiya already gone and the nurse working diligently, I gave Naruto one final glance, silently wished him a quick recovery and left the room.
Closing the door behind me, I released a heavy exhale. Today has been hectic — between waking up at Gachero-Sensei's, bumping into Kiba and Mae, and enduring a day-long battle between a blonde Knuckhead and a toad, I was wiped.
"I think that's enough excitement for today," I joked to myself.
"Was it now?"
The sudden interruption leapt me out of my skin.
Looking at the culprit. "Holy Bejesus, you scared the crap out of me, Shikamaru."
Standing startling close without my knowledge was Shikamaru; arms crossed and bored expression.
"Tough day, huh?" His skinny brow rose with question.
He had no idea. "Something like that," I grunted.
"What happened to him?" Shikamaru gestured to the closed door where Naruto was deep in toad lullaby land.
"He rode a mountain-sized toad to exhaustion," I answered.
Shikamaru gave me a look like I just told him I committed a mass genocide to the world's supply of chinchillas. "I'm sorry I asked. How bothersome."
Shikamaru was intuitive. Unlike Naruto, he could read right through me. Whatever thoughts he conjured, he kept them to himself.
"So what you doing here this late?" I changed the subject.
Shikamaru shrugged like he didn't know. "Was going to check up on Lee."
"Oh." Being so engulfed in my other fiascos, I haven't thought about how Lee was holding up. I was winning a ton of best friend awards these days.
The quilt and shame must have been seeping out of my pores because Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Would you care to join me?" he asked, sarcastically.
I agreed and we journeyed to Lee's room.
"So Sakura informed me that you are battling Temari of the Sand Village in the final rounds," I conversed.
Shikamaru sighed. "Yeah, what a drag. To be paired against her."
"Are you nervous?" I asked, curious.
"Hardly, I just don't want to be bothered with it. And by her. She's a loud-mouth." He let out another sigh.
That was Shikamaru's personality. To be annoyed about anything that involved any form of energy, but it left me feeling sour. People fought and died to be in his position and he took it like a nuisance.
His intuitions kicked in again, "Don't worry," he pushed. "You did great at the Preliminaries and you'll have another chance next time it's held."
We stood in front of Lee's room. I didn't want to think or talk about it anymore. For right now, I just wanted to be a good friend— for once.
"Maybe," I mumbled and processed to step inside.
Inside, Lee was deep in REM, resting peacefully with each day being one closer to recovery. Hovering over him was a sand serpent wrapping around his body and positioning a strike to kill. He stood manically, red hair swaying, smile deeming with close success.
"Gaara?"
Hopes this makes up my long absence. If you have made it this far, you are beyond awesome. I have already started the next chapter so the wait won't be as long, promise!
Preview to Chapter forty-five:
"Do you want to know what your so called friends have been avoiding to tell you since the end of the Preliminaries? Do you want to know what you did before you blacked out?"
XO x1000