W00t! A story update. From me. I'm proud of myself XD Boo yah! Yush, I am too proud for something as trivial as this -.- Damn I feel amature-ish now Oo Gah! I'm so happy though --------- All the praise I got for my first story too XD Thankies peoples!

Dedicated too: Watermelon-gal, Ookima, Rima, Ayako, Ish-chan, Souvraya, Kyuubi-chan, Kisu, Jenniyah, Katana-kun, Weaver and Jae XD Thanks guys! You gave me my first couple reviews!

Warning(s): Shounen-ai/Yaoi! SasuNaruSasu pairing And maybe there's going to be some stuff that's not really for a younger audience -.- Enjoy anyways!

Disclaimer: Naruto and co. do not belong to me! They belong to Kishimoto-sama And if I did own them, I'd…I'll stop the rant right here, cause you know, it'd take more words then the story.

Bunraku: A large scale Japanese puppet theatre. The puppets are operated by many people, and about 2/3 life size. The puppeteers are on stage and not hidden during the show

Bunraku

I'm losing my mind and I know there's no remedy
I've become a failure who's living on memories
I've been working so hard
Loneliness can't be cured with no medicine
Look to the stars so they'll straighten my head again
I've been working so hard

-Underneath the Gun, Limp Bizkit.

Green eyes squinted in the mirror, not used to the feeling of contacts at all. Man…These things would take getting used too! The now black-haired boy felt like he'd been staring into a furnace without blinking for a couple hours. Hopefully, he would be able to not tear them out of his eyes and crush them. He'd paid valuable zenny for these!

Thoughtfully, he tugged at the shaggy mane of hair he now had. The dye was only temporary, thankfully. It left his hair feeling all…silky and shiny-like. Not at all like the knotted blonde mess he walked out of the with everyday. He wasn't really used to the green eyes either, or not seeing whisker marks. It had taken a long time for it to not look like he had just smeared skin-colored cake on his face. The stuff was horrible! And it smelled too! Subconsciously, the boy made a note to never insult a girl again. Especially if they wore make-up.

The teen scowled at the clock, the red '12:00' blinking at him as if mocking him. He really needed to set the thing again. It had been how many weeks since the power-out? He scanned the room, noting with a frown that it needed a tidy-up. Funny how you never noticed these things until you were in a hurry. Again, the boy sighed before kneeling down in a pile of nearby clothes. How come he'd never noticed how many clothes he'd had before?! All he usually donned was his orange jumpsuit and he was ready to go! Argh…Pajama's, training clothes, and a jacket was all he thought he needed. Why did he have so many clothes then!? Where had they come from?!

After much inner ranting and raving (and some outer), he'd finally stepped out of his room, fully dressed and rubbing his sore foot. Note to self: Don't kick things that don't move. Like the wall, for instance.

After all the trouble he'd gone through, he'd picked a relatively simple outfit. Black muscle shirt that cling a bit to much (it was why he wore the jumpsuit! It was comfy and none concealing! Six-pack did not work with his childish image!), cargo pants (held up with a belt because they were to big. Who bought pants to big for themselves?), and a string tied around his neck. Really simple, so nobody would guess it was him! Besides, since when was Konoha's number one hyperactive ninja? An orange jumpsuit was not expected attire for a ninja, of all things, after all.

The shinobi yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head and making a face when his shirt rode up. He hated shirt. Jumpsuits and overly large T-shirts were fine with him. Everybody should wear them! They were comfortable, not really stylish, and definitely not convenient, but comfy anyways! He grumbled and scratched the back of his head, heading to the door and tugging on his boots.

A wide grin spread across the boys face as he locked the door behind him, a new bounce in his step. Today was going to be great! He could fool everyone and then reveal who he was at the end of the day! The blonde grinned behind his hand, laughing as he ran down the stairs.

As soon as he burst out the door, Naruto immediately noticed something. Nobody stared. Absolutely no one…The black-haired child blinked in surprised confusion, head whipping around trying to catch any snuck glares or rude stares…Why wasn't anyone staring? The old women who sat in the chair in the balcony above the entrance wasn't sniffing in indignation at his behavior, the flower vendor across the street wasn't throwing a glare at him, and neither was his daughter.

In fact…She was walking towards him now. Immediately, he tensed, ready for some sort of verbal assault, or attack, or whatever. He certainly didn't expect a flower to be shoved in his face!

"Excuse me…You're new around here. What's your name? And welcome to Konoha! I hope you enjoy it here!" He'd known this girl since she was as small as he was, and this was the first time she'd said more then 4 words to him… Green eyes blinked when he realized why. He wasn't Naruto anymore. He was…someone. Someone who didn't have a name.

"Oh! Thank-you very much! I am new. Heh, I'm sure I'll enjoy it here in Konoha!" The boy grinned, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "Thanks again and I'll see you somewhere later!" Naruto ran off, before darting into the nearest alley…She'd never been like that to him…Never. It was like she was a completely different person. He'd always known her to be a rude and overbearing girl, really. She'd never seemed so nice! Then again, this boy he was pretending to be wasn't a demon, was he?

What was his name anyways? His face screwed up in concentration. Uh…what were those things called? Well, he didn't know. It was something where you used the first letters of words to make a new one…Whatever. He didn't care, but he needed a name!

Ok…Let's see…Sasuke, Sakura, Iruka, himself…Were the most important people to him. So he might as well use their names, right? So…S for Sasuke, but what about Sakura? He couldn't have two S's in a row…Hm…Haruno! H for Haruno! Then I for Iruka, and N for himself. What did that spell anyways? Uh…Shin! Cool! His name would be Shin! (1)

The boy grinned brightly to himself, walking out of the alley before quickly making up a last name for himself, just in case anybody asked. Really, it wasn't a common thing to go around without a last name, was it? That brought his wandering mind to another issue, concerning his own last name… Where had he gotten his last name anyways? Uzumaki…He'd never met anyone with that family name…Was it his father's last name…?

He shook his head, before plastering a smile on his face and walking forward, hands behind his head. He could dwell on that later. He'd never really though about it, so he could think about it later, right? He had pranks to pull and people to prank! He could not waste his time over something as useless as mulling!

So with renewed vigor, Naruto set off too down town Konoha. Luckily, he didn't have to go far.

His first three victims.

Sakura, Ino, and Hinata were walking down the street, heads bent close together and giggling (though Hinata did this with a small, breathless giggle, opposed to the girls very high pitched ones). They all had bags on the arms that weren't near each other, and all had different hairstyles and make-up on. Gah! Sleepover, then shopping?! How could girls do those things! They were so troublesome. Going over to spend the night at someone's house just to have your hair tugged and pulled at? He liked being a boy, thanks.

While he was ranting to himself, he hadn't noticed the three very same girls he'd been thinking about walk out to him. Nor did he see the wide eyes and gaping mouths. He only noticed when the shriek erupted from the blonde's mouth.

"You are so cute! Isn't he like the adorable version of Sasuke-kun Sakura, Hinata?!"

Wide green eyes looked at both of them in almost-horror, as the pink-haired shinobi nodded in affirmation, while the black-haired girl just blushed and nodded, hanging in the background.

"I think he might look a little like Naruto-kun…"The Hyuuga girl was looking down at her feet, shuffling, her cheeks turning pinker by the second.

"Ew! No! Naruto's so…so…"

"Not cute?" These were the words supplied to the blonde by Sakura, her green eyes still looking the boy up and down.

"Exactly! He's so annoying too! He's just-"

"What exactly is wrong with this Naruto guy?" His mask was perfect, if he did say so himself. These girls were talking about him to his face, and he didn't even -outwardly- flinch. He cocked his head to the side, green eyes showing interest but otherwise impassive.

"Cause he's annoying! He's always vying for attention and he's always bugging our Sasuke-kun!"

"Is that the only reason you don't like him?" He squinted in confusion. Is that the reason the kids hated him? Cause he was annoying? Only the adults knew about the Kyuubi…"It sounds like a bad reason. Is that what started you hating him?"

"Er…Well…" Sakura and Ino looked at each other, lips pursed.

"Truth is, we've just hated him ever since we could remember. Nobody really likes him. The only people that do are Konohamaru and Iruka. Sasuke-kun never said anything…" They looked at each other for a moment, before shrugging. Ino brightened up immediately.

"Enough about that idiot! Are you new in tow-"

"Excuse me girls…I have to go…meet someone." The blonde was abruptly cut off as Naruto bolted, diving into the nearest alley breathing heavily. He felt like puking…So Sakura hated him too? He'd always thought the girl only called him 'annoying' and 'idiot' affectionately…He'd never thought she'd meant it. Apparently she did.

People glanced as the black-haired boy bounced out of the alley, a grin on his face. He looked slightly rumpled, but nothing else was wrong. What could a boy be doing in an alley? On closer inspection, they could see slightly red eyes, as if they'd be rubbed to much. They shrugged, going back to their own activities. They couldn't be bothered with a mere boys problems.

Naruto grinned and practically sprinted toward the school, now fully composed. It had hurt, hell yes! Hearing one of your few friends cutting you down wasn't something that tickled. He'd been dealing with it all his life though, so he could hardly be mad at Sakura-chan! She was just like all the other villagers. The ones that hated him, remember? He couldn't prank her or the other two. He could barely look them in the face probably!

So off to the school to 'ask' Iruka about possibly enrolling into the school. Maybe sabotaging a few things while he was at it…Pranks that had long term effects were very, very cool If you asked him.

He entered the school quietly, making sure not to get caught by any of the other sensei's. He was only here to see Iruka anyways. If he saw Ebisu, though, he'd be sure to whip up a quick Harem No Jutsu. He snickered quietly at the idea, still thinking about the last time he'd performed his unique skill on the unsuspecting soul…Keh keh keh.

Realizing just now he'd arrived at his favorite teachers door, 'Shin' raised his hand to knock, stopping in mid air as he heard voices on the other side. Might as well eavesdrop, right? Heh, maybe he was listening in on some kind of top secret Jutsu-revealing skill! Maybe he could beat Sasuke! (He already had, a million times, but he could beat him again!)

"Nn…Ah! I have to go meet…Naruto!" That was definitely Iruka. And he'd had a meeting with his old sensei? Oops…He hadn't known that! Since when…Oh yeah. Iruka had said that he and Naruto would meet at Icharuka later for some Ramen…What was more important?!!? Gah! Ramen or Pranks?! Ramen or pranks…

The young teens inner turmoil was interrupted when he heard another voice…A familiar but indistinguishable voice…Who the heck was that?!

"Hm…Brat can wait, can't he?" The voice chuckled, sounding deeply amused. How dare the man call him a brat! He would go in there and kick his ass!

"Nngh…Not a brat…" Go Iruka-sensei! You tell that bastard!…Why did he sound so breathless? Had he just run a mile or something? He sounded really needy for air. Not just needy, REALLY needy.

"Be fashionably late! Nobody ever said that was a sin, did they?" The man sounded indignant, like he didn't want Iruka to leave. He had a responsibility to meet Naruto! He had to upkeep it! Never mind the fact that he wouldn't be there, considering he'd finally decided (albeit grudgingly) that pranks were more important…for today.

"Nngh…Please-" The name of the person was muffled, as if someone had just placed a cloth over Iruka's mouth, "-I have to go meet Naruto!"

"You never have time for anything else besides him! Doesn't the brat get tiresome?" The voice inquired this, though holding a complaining tone to it.

"Nn…" A gasp," Yes! No! Maybe!"

That was all the blonde needed to hear before he dashed to the side of the school. He wanted to puke, he wanted to be sick, he wanted to cry.

Maybe he would. Maybe he should just leave.

Maybe, if he had stayed, he would have heard Iruka claim he was an equivalent of a brother. Maybe, if he'd stayed, he would have heard the mysterious man agree, and heard the warm smile in his voice. Maybe, if he'd stayed, he would have heard Iruka scrambling around to get his things, in a rush to meet the blonde boy.

But he hadn't stayed. And he never regretted it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto's stomach growled dangerously as he neared his favorite ramen stand, though he paid no heed to it. Who could eat when they felt like everything they had worked so hard to gain was in shambles? Naruto could, slowly, feel his resolve breaking, the glass shards gaining spider web cracks in them.

He was no longer strong.

But he'd done the same thing all his life, right? He could stand up to this! He was the great Uzumaki Naruto, the one-day soon to be hokage! He could stand up to any emotional problems, anytime, anywhere!

Even if they hurt.

So what if Sakura hated him? So what if Iruka found him to be not worth the effort? He still had Sasuke!

…That sounded pathetic, even to his own ears.

And speak of the devil, there were three of his favorite people in the entire whole world! Standing in the middle of the marketplace, chatting it up!…Ok, So Ino and Sakura were chatting it up while Sasuke stood there and looked bored. Sasuke never was a chatty person after all. More like a Don't-talk-to-me-or-you'll-meet-my-'have-to-kill-the-man-who-betrayed-me'-face. What a bitch that boy could be.

And speaking of which, here came his other favorite person, skidding to a stop in front of the other three! Oh Joy! What the hell had he done to deserve this!?!?

Naruto decided to shift closer, hiding behind a cart of apples much to the owners chagrin. He'd forgotten that he was 'disguised' oh-so perfectly, though, he supposed, it was for the better because his make-up was coming off. You could just make out the whisker marks, and if anybody saw him that would not be a good thing.

The half-demon listened carefully, hearing the snatches of conversation. Green eyes were focused intently on the face of each speaker. How come he could hear better now?

"Have any of you seen Naruto, by the way?" That was Iruka…Except he didn't particularly hear these words being said. He could just…feel them. The blonde shrugged it off, way too absorbed in the conversation to notice.

"No, Iruka-sensei, we haven't. Maybe you should check his place? He might have slept in!" Sakura's sweetly sugared voice, as if she would be appalled at the very though of ever speaking behind Naruto's back.

"Oh…Thank-you Sakura. I'll see you kids' later then!" And with a wave, Iruka jogged off, his destination very obviously in the direction of Naruto's apartment.

"As if anybody would care if that idiot disappeared, ne, Sasuke-kun?" Ah, Ino was eloquent and polite as always. But this wasn't what he was focused on. He was listening for Sasuke's answer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The blonde burst into his apartment, breathe ragged and erratic and eyes wide with pain. He wanted to scream and tear his hair out and wreck everything in sight. Everything could be torn like his heart was, everything shattered like his will was.

But everything gave the illusion of calm happiness, like his mask did.

But his mask was broken now, so the house should be too, right?

So he tore, and shattered, and broke the illusion. And once he was done, he sat in the middle of it, chest heaving and face eerily calm. He never did cry once, not even over Sasuke's answer.

And Sasuke's answer had been no answer at all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Is this what running away feels like?' This was the thought that entered the blonde boys mind. Wasn't it supposed to be hard? Wasn't he supposed to have tears streaming down his face as he sobbed, only to gain true happiness when someone came looking for him, proclaiming their love?

That was the way it happened in the movies anyways. But sadly, or not so sadly, it wasn't happening that way in Naruto's life. Nu uh, not the fox demon! Nothing good could happen to it of all things!

But Naruto was humming. He felt good, though he didn't know why. He felt free, more so then he'd felt before. On the road, or being killed on the road, held no expectations or prejudices of who he was and who he was going to be. He could deal with no expectations. It was so different from what he'd been doing all his life!

He stopped in front of the Uchiha mansion, baby blue eyes seeking out the window which he knew was the only one occupied in the entire 'house'. This brought back rather unfond memories, ones he did not want to sully with the afternoons events.

Man had this April Fools sucked.

The Kyuubi had agreed whole-heartedly on the matter, saying that he needed a change of environment, wasn't Konoha getting boring after all the years of living there? He had even offered to help Naruto kill the gate guard if they wouldn't let them pass. There had been no need to take those drastic actions, Naruto saw, when he heard the snoring of the guard protecting this particular area.

Idiot! He'd never had done that if he had taken a shine to that job! But he wanted to be hokage, and that was damn near impossible with what he was about to do. So he smiled and walked out of the gates, leaving his old life and not once looking back.

The new Naruto Uzumaki did not look back, after all.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yay! Done! And this chappie was more angst then funny Gah, I love angst though ;; I like fluffiness even more! XD Kukukuku.

And now for the review replies!

Weaver: Thankies for reading! XD I'm blushing O.O I love complements and you just gave a real good one XD Thanks and hope you liked this chapter as much as the last!

Katana-kun: Yush! Thanks XD I was aiming for somewhat interesting but, interesting better! And in the beginning, the ItaNaru relationship is going to be evil, but it will turn nice XD For such a short relationship anyways. Thanks!

Jenniyah: Kukuku XD ItaNaru is very good, isn't it? And now you know what he did with that make-up Though it turned out to be a crappy April Fools day, didn't it? Thanks for reading!

Kisu: Woooow . One of my favorite reviews so far. Thanks =-= And there is going to be no ItaSasu Just the normal Sasuke wanting to kill Itachi and stuff Thanks for reading XD

Kyuubi-chan: Maybe Koukou's person did XD Maybe he didn't. It will be revealed in the last chappie! Muhahahaha -cough- Blargh, had something in my throat for a sec there. Thanks for reading -----

Kreyana: Already? Wai I'm really touched! Gah, somebody loves my story ;; That's more then I ask for XD Thank you so much! hands a Sasu plushie Just cause XD One of my fav's. Thanks!

Tracy-kin: Ha XD -is imagining the possibilities- XD Kukuku, Itachi and Girly! Naru. Now that could be awesome XD And the Kyuubi being nice IS new, as far as I know ---;;; But it's not all that it cracks up to be XD That's all I say. And Naru is such a silly, silly boy. He doesn't even realize falling for Sasuke is Kishimoto-sama's master plan!…Right. And I ownz the universe. -.-;;; Thankies for reading XD

Iceheart19: Thankies I love being…writing interesting things XD I did not update soon, but I swear I will update sooner!…Or later. Whichever comes first. -.- Thanks for reading thus far!

Alicia McClellan: I will never get the hang of spelling that -.- I find Tsunade's finger awesome XD How she can poke a nearly fatal wound. Mwahaha. And Shika has a secret (That I don't even know -shifty eyes- ), so maybe we'll find out later XD And gomen for this chapter not being as funny as the last Thanks for reading XD

KizuPl: Thankies I find it unnaturally horrible how I do this to poor Naru, but what can cha do? XD And I doubt I updated soon ;; Procrastination had me doing other things

IMPORTANT: To all my Aff.Net reviewers, Gomen for not replying to you guys! You rock! But since Aff.Net's down, I'll make sure to reply in the next chappie, k? Gomen gomen gomen! I do not deserve your wonderful reviews -.-

Anybody notice how I tend to repeat things? XD Whee, Don't I rock? -.- Sarcastic-ness rules all. And if anybodies wondering, these are my reviews from both Ff.net and AdultF.net I will never get this many reviews on one thing So…Yeah.

Push the button. The button wants to be pushed. You know you waaaaaaaaant it!