Chapter three
Painful memories
Naruto was asleep but even if now he was in security, he couldn't help but still dreamt about his past. He was so scared about it. That was the main reason why he had left his last school and was now under Tsunade and Jiraiya's care.
He was hugging his fluffy fox and tears began to fall from his eyes. Naruto woke up crying. He took his fox and went to the wardrobe. He closed the door behind him and stayed there, awoke, all night long. He had wanted to go to Tsunade but he was so scared to leave his bedroom that he gave up the idea. When his phone rang, he left the wardrobe, put his fox on his bed and put on his uniform.
Naruto was tired. His bag seemed so heavy but he couldn't skip his classes. He was in a hurry and skipped breakfast. He went to the classroom to find Hinata and Ino who were already there.
"- Ohayo." He said with a sleepy voice.
"- Ohayo, Naruto-kun." They said together.
"- How is the history Teacher?" H asked rubbing his eyes.
"- Anko-sensei is really strict but she is really nice too. She's like an older sister for many of us. Her lessons are really interesting. I'm sure you will like her." Ino answered.
Naruto smiled a little to thank her. He talked with them during ten minutes before the other students entered the room. Naruto noticed that Hinata had turned red when Kiba had entered. Kiba turned red too when their eyes met. He raised an eyebrow and was called out of his thoughts.
"- You seem sleepy, Naruto. Did you sleep well?" Sasuke asked.
"- Kind of. I'm not really a morning person." Naruto answered.
"- Here." Said Gaara holding out a box of donuts to him.
"- …" Naruto asked with his eyes.
"- You didn't show for breakfast this morning?" Gaara said.
"- Thank you, Gaara-kun." He said while taking the box.
He sat on at his desk ad took a donuts. He ate hungrily. It was really yummy. He quickly finished the box and threw it away in the garbage bean. Neji gave him a hot chocolate and sat at his own desk. Naruto drank the chocolate. It was new for Naruto that someone took care of him like that. When Kakashi-sensei entered the room, silence took place and it was only for the teacher to say that it was a free period due to a meeting between teachers. Naruto looked around him and met eyes with Sakura who was giving him death glares. Naruto shivered. It wasn't the glares he used to receive but they were frightening too. Naruto bowed his head and Tenten put gently her hands on his shoulders.
"- Naruto, want to come with us? We're going to see Lee. We could introduce him to you." She said.
"- I-I will not be a bother?" He asked.
"- Of course not, you're welcome." Chouji answered with a smile.
"- Is Lee-kun not in this class?" Naruto asked while standing.
"- He is but he is a little special. Like he wants to be a gym teacher, the chairman allowed him to skip certain class to go to other. Right now, he must be with Gai-sensei." Explained Ino.
"- Then, will he really want to come with us?" Naruto asked.
"- Sure thing. He's always volunteer to do those sorts of things. He's so troublesome." Said Shikamaru.
Naruto, Hinata, Tenten, Chouji, Shikamaru and Ino left the classroom and went to the gymnasium where they found Lee alone. Gai-sensei was also at the meeting. They introduced the two of them to each other and they became good friends. Naruto was laughing a lot just like a child because of Lee's Youthful Happiness.
When lunchtime came, they all headed toward the cafeteria and sat at a table. Naruto excuse himself and went to the bathroom to take his medicine. He didn't wanted people to worry over those things so he kept them from his new friends. When he left the bathroom, he bumped into the worst person ever: Sakura.
"- Hi, newbie?" She said with a sadist smile.
"- S-Sakura-san ... Can I do something for you?" Naruto asked bowing his head.
"- What did I tell you the first day you come here?" She asked.
"- To stay away from Sasuke-kun." He answered lowly.
"- Exactly, and you didn't listen to me."
"- But I'm not trying to seduce him. He's just a friend."
"- I will be clearer then. I don't want you to be near him. You're a bother for all of the people around you. If you think that they are nice to you, you're wrong. They're only playing with you. You're just an entertainment and when they'll have enough of you, they will leave you. All of them. You'll be alone. All alone."
She smiled at him even if it was more like a grin than a smile. She left and Naruto ran away. He entered the nearly forest, which was all around the school and found a place where he hid. He was on top of a tree on his animal form, a little tiny red fox with nine tails. Naruto began to cry quietly. How he was missing Haku right now. He was his only true friend but two weeks before Tsunade took him away from the orphanage, Zabuza had take Haku away from this horrible place and Naruto had never see him again. How he missed him.
Naruto continued to cry quietly, not ever bothering about the hour. He had totally forgotten that he had made a promise with Tsunade. Hours passed by and he fell asleep on the branch after have cry all he could.
Tsunade was really worried about him; it wasn't like him to be late but to not show himself at all, something must have happened to him. She had searched all over the school and when it was dinnertime, she met with Jiraiya who was also searching for him.
"- By any chance, did you find him?" She asked with a strong and worried voice.
"- No, I assume you neither." Jiraiya answered.
"- I'm worried and with this storm, if he is outside right now, it's could be dangerous." She said.
"- What if he had entered the woods?" He asked.
"- He couldn't be even worst. If a tree fall on him or something else, he won't be able to move." Tsunade said.
"- We're going to search the wood." Jiraiya said.
"- All right. Then, search for a little tiny red fox with nine tails, that Naruto's animal form." She said and left on her side to fetch Shizune.
On her side, Sakura was laughing quietly. She hadn't think that he was going to believe what she had said to him but he had. She had had all the afternoon to think about her next move if he hadn't understood yet. She had the opportunity to stalk Sasuke like always with the other fans like his best friend and rival Karin.
Naruto had woken at the first thunderclap he had heard. The wind was strong too and he didn't take much time for him to be totally wet. Naruto had tried to come down of the tree and had finally fallen from it. When he had tried to stand and walk, his right paw was painful. He couldn't move very well so he hid inside a trunk and waited for the storm to calm itself but it wasn't. On the contrary, it was more and more powerful. He stayed there without moving. He couldn't return to his human form because he hadn't the strength to do it. He hadn't eaten at lunch neither at dinner since he hadn't come back to the school. He just had to wait for the storm to end to go back to his room. He couldn't even think that Tsunade and Jiraiya were searching for him. After all, Sakura-san had said that they were all playing with him. Only Haku was searching for him when he ran away from the chairman of the orphanage. Naruto closed his eyes and fell asleep.
On their side, Jiraiya, Tsunade and Shizune were all searching for him but weren't in their animal form. They were running slowly to not risk to miss him.
"- Tsunade-sama, what do you think had happened to him that cause him to run away like that?" ask Shizune.
"- I don't know. Yesterday, he was so happy when he was talking about the other, he even asked us if he could go to his father's park with them." She answered.
"- He didn't said anything else? Like someone he was fearing?" Jiraiya asked.
"- He said that Sakura-san was scary." Tsunade answered.
"- It's true, he said that she was giving him death glares when he was near …Sasuke-kun I think he said." Shizune told them.
"- Yes that the name. She is in love with him and all people who had approached him once, had never ever again after. Some even change classes. She had a snakemouth, all she said is made to hurt people" Jiraiya explained.
"- If she had said something to Naruto, he will believe it. In that orphanage, children only learned that they were nothing and not needed by nobody. They were all alone and never allowed to do anything. If she had said to him something, I understand why he had run away." Tsunade said.
"- Will Naruto-kun be all right?" Asked Shizune.
"- I'm worried, he has a weak constitution and like he didn't eat neither lunch or dinner, I'm even more." Tsunade explained.
"- That's why you told us to search for him in his animal form." Jiraiya said.
They resumed their search and stopped, they were in front of trunk with a big hole.
"- Do you think..." Shizune asked.
Tsunade knelt down and looked inside. She saw a little fluffy thing and extended her arms inside. She took carefully the small fox and put him near her chest. It was really a little tiny red fox with nine-tails. He was totally wet and hot. He must have a high fever. He was also shivering like a leaf.
"- We're going back to the school immediately." Tsunade said.
They all agreed and took off toward the school. Tsunade and Jiraiya went back to the school dorm and met with nobody. On their side, at the cafeteria, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Lee and Temari went to Sasuke's table where he was with his brother and friends.
"- Neji-nii-sama, by any chance, did you see Naruto-kun this afternoon?" She asked shyly.
"- No, I didn't after this morning classes. Why's that?" He answered.
"- We were going to eat all together, but he went to the bathroom and never came back." Explained Shikamaru.
"- We searched all over the school but we didn't find him." Tenten continued.
"- Did you look at the nurse's office?" Asked Deidara.
"- Yes, but there was nobody." Answered Chouji.
"- Sasuke-kun! Do you want to have dinner with me?" Sakura asked not bothering to excuse herself.
"- No, I don't want to. God damn, leave me alone, you're so annoying." He said.
"- Sasuke-kun is so mean. But I love that part of you too." She said throwing her arms toward his neck.
It had been a difficult time for Tsunade to treat him. When they had arrived on the first floor of the dorms, Naruto had jumped from Tsunade's arms and ran away strangely to his room. He didn't stop when Tsunade had screamed his name and was always running. He only stopped when he arrived in front of his room when he remembered that he had left his keys in his bag. His ears that were already down, dropped even more while he was shivering.
"- Naruto …" Tsunade had follow him and she wasn't alone. " We were worried, you know." She added taking him in his arms.
Naruto didn't look at her and only looked at the ground. Jiraiya opened the door of Naruto's room and Tsunade entered with him in his arms. Jiraiya and Shizune followed them inside. Naruto squirmed in her arms and fell on the floor. He limped to his bed, took his fluffy fox and hid under his bed with it near him. He hid behind it and let his tears fell again.
"- Naruto … you hurt yourself, don't you? Let me take a look at your right paw." Tsunade asked lovingly.
He didn't answer and didn't move at all. She stood and lifted the big bed easily. Jiraiya took this chance and caught Naruto who bit him as strongly as he could. Jiraiya didn't say anything and hold him still for Tsunade. She looked at his paw and Naruto slapped her with one of his tail.
"- Naruto, I won't harm you but if you really want to go to your father's park this week-end, let me treat you." Tsunade said with a severe voice.
Naruto froze a moment and finally stopped to bit Jiraiya and hid his head in his tails. Tsunade took care of his paw, bandaged it and went to the bathroom to take a towel. She sat on Naruto's bed near the big fluffy fox, that Shizune had retrieved, took Naruto on his lap and began to dry him as gently as possibly.
During this time, Jiraiya had gone to the cafeteria to tell the other a little story he had just made. He was hoping that they were going to believe it and that they weren't going to hate him.
X Flash back X
Sasuke was giving Sakura a death glare when the chairman entered the cafeteria. He searched a short time and when he finally so them, he went toward them. He put his smile on.
"- You're all Naruto's classmate, aren't you?" He asked.
"- Yes, do you know where he is?" Asked Hinata.
"- He's in his room with Tsunade-sensei." He answered.
"- Is he ill?" asked Sasuke.
"- Yes, he had a high fever and he hurt his right wrist but he will be all right the day after tomorrow." Jiraiya explained.
"- How that happened?" Asked Deidara who had stand from his lover's lap.
"- Naruto went in the woods with Tsunade-sensei and because of the storm that took them by surprise, he fell from the hill in the waterfall. Tsunade-sensei came here right after that but like he has a really weak constitution, he's ill now. So could any of you take notes and homework tomorrow for him?" Jiraiya explained.
"- Sure, but can we saw him? Even just a little?" asked Ino.
"- Yes but, like you must know, he didn't eat lunch and dinner so he's in his animal form." He said.
"- He could have told us before have left like a thief at lunchtime." Shikamaru said a little upset.
"- Naruto is someone who always kept his promises and he had made one with Tsunade-sensei. He must have forgot about your lunch together when he saw the woods by a window. Like he told you, he hadn't parents anymore and Tsunade-sensei is like a grandmother for him. She is his guardian now and he thought that if he doesn't kept his promises, she will send him back to the orphanage." Jiraiya explained.
"- But, Tsunade-sensei is not like that!" Yielded Lee.
"- You know, he doesn't. Naruto hadn't have a real family since his parents passed away so he wants to keep his new one." Jiraiya said.
They all said nothing. Sakura wasn't giving a damn about his health. She was angry with him. They all stayed quiet for a moment. Tsunade was still with Naruto who was asleep now. He had awoken but after had taken some medicines, he had fallen asleep again.
X Flash back end X.
Now, he was heading to Naruto's room with all of them minus Sakura who hadn't been invited. Jiraiya knocked lowly at the door and entered the room. When they all entered, Naruto was indeed asleep because of the medicine. He had his head on his big fluffy version and was rolled up under a blanket with some of his tails showing.
"- Don't stay too long, he need to sleep if you want him to be healthy for the week-end." Tsunade said with a smile.
"- We won't be long." Said lowly Deidara.
"- What is Naruto's animal form exactly?" asked Itachi.
"- He's a little nine-tailed red fox." Jiraiya answered.
"- He's so cute!" Said Temari, Ino and Tenten together.
"- We're leaving now, don't be too long or if you want to stay, don't be loud." Shizune said.
Tsunade caressed gently Naruto's head and took off with Jiraiya and Shizune. When they had left, Deidara took his phone and took numerous pictures of Naruto asleep. He wasn't alone, Ino, Temari, Tenten and even Hinata took some. Sasuke took a few discretely. In fact, all of them took pictures of him and were going to exchange them between each other. Naruto moved in his sleep like he was trying to run away from something. They could even see some tears falling from his closed eyes.