Disclaimer: I believe we've established that Naruto doesn't belong to me. I also don't own (in order): Build God, Then We'll Talk by Panic! At the Disco, Señor, Señora, Señorita by Miyavi, Neo Ark by Phantasmagoria, Unknown Zero Distance by Phantasmagoria, Kyomu no Naka de Yuugi by Malice Mizer or The Fight Song by Marylin Manson.

It's these substandard motels on the on the corner of 4th and Freemont Street. Appealing , only because they are just that un-appealing. Any practiced catholic would cross themselves upon entering. The rooms have a hint of asbestos and maybe a just dash of formaldehyde, and the habit of "decomposing right before your very eyes… along with the people inside..." Naruto's voice graced the morning air as he stood, singing along to the song still playing. Colored pencils rolled off his lap and hit the floor with soft clinks.

He stretched, the hem of his shirt brushing across his stomach and tickling the tip of his naval. He kicked the covers from around his feet and shuffled to his bathroom, sticking his toothbrush in his mouth as he got out the toothpaste. Soon his teeth were coated in frothy foam, giving him the appearance of a rabid animal. He rinsed his mouth and chuckled at his bed-head, stripping down and stepping into the shower. Life seemed so simple.

When he was finished, his hair smelled of strawberries. After running a brush through his hair a few times, he nodded and went to get dressed, pausing for a moment in the hallway to shake his ass a little bit. Walking past his stereo, he turned the volume knob until Miyavi blared, the bass shaking his bedroom walls.

(1) Nani wo kakusou senyor-ita, watashi koso ga - 1, 2, step, step by step - ikichi mo shitataru ii otoko…

He put on a polo shirt and took it off not even three seconds later, gagging as he tossed it at his door. The next shirt to go on was a simple black tee, which he paired with jeans and sighed, taking both off and leaving him in his tangerine boxers.

(2) Onozomi to araba hone no zui to made – 1, 2, step, step by step - gojiman no kiba wo meshiagare…

Next his tried out a red tank top over a long-sleeved fishnet shirt, complete with a leather cuff and a studded bracelet. He wore black pants with checkered patches and black boots. He looked at himself in his mirror before stripping down to the blank canvas known as his skin.

(3) Aa... tsuki ni terasare aojiroku hikaru kubisuji ni sotto shikai no KISU wo…

Next to go on was a purple knit sweater, complete with khaki shorts and brown dress shoes. He laughed, but quickly undressed. After a brief lapse in judgment he found himself wearing his boxers and cowboy boots. He topped the outfit off with a cowboy hat and burst out laughing.

(4) Demo naze darou, mune no oku dokoka konna ni mo itamu no wa…

Naruto soon found himself gazing at a very effeminate version of himself, swaying his hips back and forth and watching the sundress dance at his knees. He shed the feminine clothing and placed it back in his closet, finally settling on a black tank top covered by a hunting orange hoodie, olive green pants and a pair of black converse on the lower half of his body. A black belt kept the loose article at his waist, and deep pockets housed his money, house and car keys.

He shut off his music and locked his door, skipping to his car with a muffin in one hand. A blueberry muffin, to be exact. He slipped another CD into his cars player and cranked that music, rolling down his windows just to add to the obnoxiousness of Phantasmagoria's Neo Ark. He knew his neighbors hated him, his choice of music and how loud he decided to play it, and he thrived on that.

He pulled into the driveway at Sasuke's house and switched off the music, knowing Sasukes brother hated it that loud. He didn't even bother getting out of his car, as soon his raven-haired friend sat in the passengers seat. "So Naruto," Sasuke began through a mouthful of Fruit Loops, only to have Naruto flick his forehead as he backed out of the driveway.

"No talking with food in your mouth." He said, then took a bite of his muffin. "Now continue."

"As I had been saying, are you ready to meet Haruno-chan?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I let you do this…"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Too bad." and Naruto cranked his music again, the tail end of Neo Ark startling Sasuke to the bone.

After about a half hour of driving and really crappy directions on Sasuke's part, Naruto finally maneuvered his car into the driveway of a yellow painted house. Sasuke got out of the car as Naruto switched his beloved Visual Kei off. Shortly after that Sasuke was leading a pink haired girl to his car.

"Haruno-chan, meet Naruto. Naruto, this is Haruno-chan."

"Sakura is fine, Naruto-kun." The girl spoke, her pink dress bouncing at her knees. Sasuke directed her to the back of the car, resuming his place next to Naruto. "Where to?"

"I was thinking of first finding food, then taking you to your choice of several places I have picked out, ending with a simple movie. But first, I've gotta drop Sasuke here off at McDonalds."

"Why McDonalds? Can't Sasuke-kun come with us?" She looked a little dejected when Naruto spared her a glance via the rearview window.

"He has to work, otherwise I'd be making him accompany us." Naruto replied as he turned onto a secluded road, attempting to weave his way out of the forest Sakura conveniently lived on the other side of.

"He works at McDonalds?" There were nods. "What do you do Naruto-kun?"

Naruto beamed at her, looking briefly over his shoulder. "I'm an artist. I've been told I can draw really well, so I draw things for money. Friends are either free or really cheap, where some companies have paid me big bucks for some things. I love to draw, so it's an awesome career!"

Sakura smiled softly, directing her attention out the window as Naruto finally cleared the trees. "So Sakura-chan, what do you do?" She turned her head back when Naruto asked her a return question.

"Oh. I work at a gas station. A little odd, isn't it?" She giggled softly and Sasuke cringed. He hated that laugh.

After much more conversation on Naruto and Sakuras part, they finally pulled up in front of a McDonalds, and Sasuke didn't dawdle in the car any longer than he needed to. Sakura migrated to the front seat, and they were off again. "Where to?" Naruto knew where he'd love to go, but he was treating Sakura to a date, be it his idea or not. He was the type to adhere to manners.

"Is a sushi and sashimi bar alright? I've been craving it for a while…" Sakura asked, looking at him.

He nodded. "Sure. Then, for reference as to which shop to go to, what would you like to do afterwards?" He softly turned on his music, letting more Phantasmagoria gently tumble through the car.

She thought for a few minutes, listening to Unknown Zero Distance with a slightly bitter expression before sighing. "I don't know. I have a few errands to run, so we could just turn that into a date. Like, I have to get some clothes, and a few groceries…"

Naruto beamed. "Perfect! I need to pick up some things, and I can always entertain myself at clothes outlets... Okay! Then it's a movie, I pick Sasuke up from work and then we take you home…"

"Sounds like a plan." She was silent for a couple of seconds before clearing her throat. "Can we turn this music off? It's bothering me…"

"Eh? Oh, sure." Naruto reluctantly turned it off, and the rest of the ride passed in silence.

Their meal was not much better, most of the time spent eating rather than socializing. When they did speak, it was either to pass the wasabi or soy sauce. It wasn't that they were annoyed with each other, just that the two were concentrating a bit too closely on their food. Fresh air would probably aid their tied tongues.

Naruto had parked his car nearby, knowing that their second destination was within walking distance and that the fresh air would do them good. "So, what sort of clothing do you need exactly..?" Naruto asked her as they walked down the sidewalk, holding hands simply. He probably should've asked before, but it was too late now.

"Shirts, skirts and maybe a dress or two." She told him. "Sorry I'll be at a girls store. You can wait and then we can go find something you want…" She tried to be nice.

Naruto smiled brightly and was about to answer when his cell phone rang. Kyomu no Naka de Yuugi began to play and he sighed, answering his phone. "Ino?" Sakura's expression darkened. "Hold on, slow down… What happened? Oh! Alright, I'll be right there. No, tell Kiba to stay put and not to touch anything. Put ice on his leg or something. Well, if he refuses to let you, tell him I say that I'll brain him when I get there. And next time, don't let Kiba touch it, okay? Alright. See you in a bit, I have to inform Sasuke and take Sakura home… Oh, you've told him already? Okay. Be there in no more than a half an hour."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I can get home myself. I still have to get my things, and then I can take the bus home. Sorry about your friend, Naruto-kun. Hope he's okay."

"Sakura-chan, I don't-" He started, but she had already left. "Oh well." His drive to Ino's house was hasty, and he raced in her front door, only to be tackled back out of it by Kiba.

"Naruto!" He cried, whimpering as his jaggedly limp leg collided with the pavement when he landed on Naruto. There were shouts from inside, including a nice dose of profanity from Ino. "I was hoping you'd get here soon! Ino's been manhandling my poor, innocent leg!"

Naruto sighed. "It's your own fault for messing around with the exercise equipment. While it improves everyone else's fitness, it's bad for your health." He carefully stood and pulled Kiba up, working on helping him back into the house without hurting his leg much more.

"I'm innocent. I was looking at it, and it started, sending me flying backwards off of it."

"You were standing on it..?" Kiba nodded, earning himself a smack to the head. "You really are an idiot."

Kiba whined. "You jerk. You don't strike an injured man, it's in the law!"

Naruto rolled his eyes, setting Kiba on the couch and lifting the bag of ice off the coffee table. "Keep this on your leg or I'll kill you." He threatened, going into the kitchen to get a cup of water.

Returning, he sat on one of the plush cushions near Kiba and began to lecture him on safety. Kiba looked discarded and sighed, reaching over and popping a piece of candy from the dish on Ino's coffee table in his mouth. After he managed to ignore the majority of Naruto's speech, he was free to do as he wished as long as he stayed put.

Naruto left shortly after to grab some groceries and pick Sasuke up, taking his friend home while spilling not only the contents of the blind date but the reasons why he would never let Sasuke do that again. Ever. They talked and laughed, and Sasuke purposely cranked Naruto's music when he got home, just to piss Itachi off.

The blond collapsed on his bed without taking anything but his shoes off and lay there for a moment before practically repeating his routine that morning, only in reverse. He stripped to his boxers and dove into his bed, laughing softly and turning on his stereo, lowering his volume until it was a dull throb against his headboard.

"Nothing suffocates you more than the passing of everyday human events. And isolation is the oxygen mask you make your children breath it to survive…" I'm not a slave to a God that doesn't exist. I'm not a slave to a world that doesn't give a shit. And when we were good, You just closed your eyes, So when we are bad, We'll scar your minds…

Owari
Be sure to leave a review. Seriously.

AN: You'll notice the occupations are different. This story is different than the last one, believe me. Some things will still happen, but don't count on a lot of it being here. Just read and you'll understand.

(1)You seem to be hiding Señorita, I'm just a good guy dripping with blood…
(2) If you wish I shall feast on you with my great fangs to the marrow of your bones…
(3) Aa... A soft kiss to vow to your pale neck gleaming in the moonlight…
(4) But why, this pain somewhere within my chest…