I'm so sorry it took me so long, but I went away on vacation! And I totally didn't think about posting BEFORE I left. Forgive me! I'll post sooner to make up for it!!

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The smell of food caused Naruto's senses to awaken and, stomach growling at the discovery, he slowly sat up, hair falling into tired, blue eyes. Those same orbs slowly traced over the foreign room, slowly recognizing where he was again. His heart ached in realization, and he couldn't help but let the tears fall down.

Though, he promised himself this was the last time he'd cry for himself.

After about an hour of releasing his sorrow and composing himself afterwards, the fox threw on a large sleeping shirt that had been placed near the foot of his makeshift bed. Venturing out into the main den, his new room mate was cooking over a portable stove.

At the sound of his footsteps, Ashlee turned and offered a polite, "Good morning."

Naruto nodded, yawning and sitting next to her clothed form. "What's for breakfast..?" he asked quietly.

"Rabbit."

"It smells good..." realizing something, he asked curiously while looking around, "Why are there so many...human things here?"

She paused and gave him a mild look. "Most of it are things left behind in abandoned homes." Tending their meal, she decided to ask a question of her own. "So kid...since we're deciding to have this talk now, why are you out here all by yourself?"

Though he'd rather not think about it, he sadly told her of his story, everything from his foster mom to the hunter he killed, and to the the way he was dropped off so far from home. Surprisingly, he even told her about Sasuke. After recalling it all, he sat quietly, watching her cook the meat with an unsettled look gracing her features.

"How terrible..." was all the she-wolf could muster.

Nodding, he decided to change the subject. "So...have you always...lived in the woods?"

"Yes...wait," she added, looking thoughtful. "When I was eight years old I wandered into a human village near where I lived. A young boy found me and kept me in their farm for about a month...he was a nice human, took care of me and fed me treats...but his parents found me and they kicked me out."

"Oh." He blinked as a plate was set in front of him. She was staring at him, a smile on her features.

"Well Naruto, you're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. I could always use a good room mate anyways."

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And room mates they were. He stayed with her, having no where else to go. She taught him everything she knew about survival in the woods, and he helped do chores and modernize the house to make tasks easier. All in all, they made a good team, and they even became best of friends. Sure, Naruto was reluctant when he first met the angry wolf girl, but he soon found out that she was grumpy when she didn't get any sleep, and was wise not to rouse her unless it was urgent.

One of their favorite things to do was explore the woods. Ashlee never really did so unless to hunt, so they found it quite enjoyable to walk and find new things. Once they even hiked for days on their own mini vacation. It was that time where they found an old abandoned house on a hill where they thought about moving.

"It's nice..." Ashlee complimented, examining the exterior. "It certainly is bigger than the cave. And I'm growing tired of that old dusty hole in the rock.."

Naruto 'hmed', tapping his fingers against the wood. "Are you sure? This place is kinda run down."

She just smiled. "We'll revamp it. Maybe even have indoor plumbing and all that human shit."

It only took about a week to move all of their stuff to the house. Secretly, Naruto loved the thought of living indoors again. And if there ever was a place the fox wanted to move to, it would of definately been here. The area around the house they moved into was rich and luscious with wildlife and vegetation, and they even had a huge lake with a waterfall near by. It was certainly not a bad home, not a bad home indeed. And certainly the company he found in Ashlee helped with the healing of his wounded heart.

"Naruto."

His day dreaming was interrupted as a large sheet was thrown on to his body. "Eh? What is it Ash?"

Rolling her eyes, mostly at the nickname, she scowled. "It's your turn to fold the laundry, that's what."

Grumbling but getting out of his chair, he picked up the sheet and walked over to the clothesline, listening to the footsteps as they led their way into the house...most likely to start cooking dinner.

Sighing, he carefully plucked off each article of clothing and folded it neatly, putting it into the basket he made about a month ago. Staring out into the darkening sky, he smiled.

Life was going to be good from now on.

-----TBC-------

No worries about the short chapter, I'm writing the next one as we speak. R/R!!!