-Oh, wow, I can't believe all if the favs. I got for this story. I am extremely happy for all the people that have read this. I almost decided against not putting this up here but I'm glad I did. Thanks again. R+F-

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.

Sasuke collapsed on his bed. His arms felt like jello from all of the lifting and his legs felt like they could barley keep him standing. His eyes were watery and heavy. All he wanted to do was just fall asleep, but the congestion in his sinuses wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon. Sasuke laid still on the bed for what felt like an hour, his mind blank and foggy. He started to think about Naruto again, and what Kiba had told him. There was no way that that kid story was related to Naruto, it just couldn't be…and if it was, why hadn't he heard about it? "They, they, they…" Sasuke mumbled to himself. "Who are they?" He let the thought linger in his mind for a moment before turning on his side very slowly and carefully, the mark on his back teasing him with pain. He winced slightly, trying to get some kind of relief from the pain, only to be disappointed. This mark was driving him crazy. There would be sometimes when he wouldn't feel it at all and then other times when the pain would be so unbearable, he'd let out small screams every now and then. Right now, he oddly felt the need to cry.

Sasuke brought his knees as close as he could to his chest without disturbing his wound. Sitting in the dark all by himself suddenly felt so depressing. He bit his lip thinking back into his past. He hardly ever allowed himself to think back into his deep memories, but here he was, feeling his eyes burn from thinking about his parents. His mom first and mainly, thinking about how calm and sweet she was. She had always made sure to keep the four of them happy-his dad, brother, him and her that is. It was hard to lose her, especially at such a young age. His father, he had never quite liked to start off with. Nothing he did ever impressed him and gave Sasuke a feeling of low self confidence in the things he did for almost his entire childhood. Sasuke never hated him though, he couldn't, not at such a young. Hate was a word he wasn't capable of back then, his father's death was what had stopped it from sprouting.

Then there was his brother, Itachi. Sasuke felt his throat tighten up as he remembered his sweet older brother. There were so many things Sasuke regretted so much before his brother disappeared, like the fight they had gotten into the day before. Then not speaking to him on the day of his disappearance. It was hard enough for Sasuke to deal with Itachi missing, but then his parents being murdered within the next week. It wasn't long before Sasuke could feel the tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. If he could change one thing about what happened, it would have to be ending on bad terms with his brother at the least. His mind used to be constantly consumed with the thought of what had happened to him, but he was never met with an answer.

Sasuke wiped his eyes and took in a deep breath. Why in the hell was he so depressed all of a sudden? He looked over at the other side of the room, knowing he should get up and take at least some pain relievers but he just didn't feel like moving. He just wanted to lay there and eventually fall asleep.

Sasuke let out a yawn and stretched. He laid back down, feeling dizzy and having a small headache. He was still sick.

He rubbed his eyes, looking over at his alarm clock and groaned. He slept in three hours past his alarm and hadn't called in. Hopefully, he wouldn't get in trouble for this. Sasuke pulled out his cell phone and dialed his work.

The phone was answered before the first ring had even finished, and his boss was the one who answered. "Labor Work Fo-" He started.

"It's me, Sasuke." Sasuke said, cutting him off so he didn't have to go through the entire phone speech.

"Sasuke, where the hell are ya'!? You have any clue how busy we are today!?" His boss pulled away from the phone to shout at some worker. "Get your ass down here!"

"But-" Sasuke didn't have time to speak, his boss hung up on him before he could. He let out a sigh and kicked off his sheets. Today was going to be a loooong day. Sasuke forced his body to get up and move. It took him a lot longer than normal for him to get into his clothes, skipping a shower since he was late as is.

He didn't bother with breakfast of lunch and walked out the door.

Sasuke walked over to the punch out board and gratefully pulled his name out. The day was terrible and long. Why they were so busy, he had no clue, but they picked the wrong day to be. He worked his normal hours, starting off slow, but picking up his pace little by little. Sasuke was also thankful for the help of Kiba whom, without he would've most likely not survived the work day.

Kiba noticed him struggling about an hour into the day and doubled his load by helping out Sasuke with his, and accomplishing his own work at the same time. Sasuke thanked him at least a million times and promised to give him some kind of pay out of his check, but Kiba wouldn't accept it.

When Kiba had become such a respectful person, Sasuke had no clue. He just knew he was more than glad they worked together today.

Sasuke replaced his card and began walking towards the exit when he saw Kiba out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and waited for him, feeling the need to. Kiba noticed and rushed himself a bit then walked over to him.

"Hey," Kiba greeted.

"You know you really didn't have to help me out."

Kiba shrugged. "If I didn't who would've?"

Sasuke looked down. "Well, thanks…again."

"Enough with that, it's starting to get annoying…" Kiba said shaking his head. "You can't say that you would've been able to do all that by yourself."

"I could've…" Sasuke mumbled, deep down knowing he wouldn't have.

"Right," Kiba said. He wiped sweat away from his forehead. "So, how's your back?"

"Oh…" Sasuke bit his lip being reminded of the embarrassing drops he almost had. [Kiba being the one that had saved them from dropping.] Earlier, when the two were lifting a load, his back exploded with pain, instantly dropping onto the ground and screaming. Kiba and a few other workers stood by him, trying to help him, but when they reached out, Sasuke instantly reacted by kicking at them. In that strange moment, Sasuke didn't seem to recognize anyone of them. He felt like they were there to try and hurt him. Kiba apparently held him down until he had eventually calmed and returned to his senses. He had no idea what had just happened to him and in a way, he was afraid. "I-it's doing good…" Sasuke replied. In honesty, his back was burning right now.

Kiba raised an eyebrow like he didn't believe him. "You sure…?" Sasuke nodded in response. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you hurt your back?"

Sasuke stopped. He had not been prepared for someone to ask him this question. He looked over at Kiba, seeing the worry in his expression. He felt the need that he should tell him the truth about it. "Well…" He bit his lip and then looked over at the restrooms. "Come on." Sasuke walked over towards the bathroom, Kiba following him with a confused look on his face. They stepped into it, Sasuke double checking that no one was in there before locking the door and turning towards Kiba. Kiba was staring at him a bit uncomfortably before Sasuke pulled off his shirt and turned and showed him the mark.

"Holy-" Kiba's eyes widened seeing the mark. "How in the hell did that happen!?"

Sasuke turned around to face him and pulled his shirt back over his head. "That's the weird part; I don't know how it got there."

"What do you mean you don't know? How do you get hurt like that without knowing!?"

"Well, I have an idea but…" Sasuke looked up at him unsure if he should say it. Kiba waited for a response. Sasuke opened his mouth and then shut it. "I've got to show you something first."

"Alright, a cabin." Kiba blinked, turning to Sasuke. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just wait." Sasuke stepped towards the front door and pounded on the door. He knew Naruto had to be inside. "Hey! Open up!"

Kiba scrunched his eyebrows together. "Does someone live here or something?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, returning to his knocking. "NARUTO!!"

"Naruto…? Who in the hell is that?" Kiba asked looking into one of the windows.

Sasuke waited a minute before turning the door knob. The door was opened. He stepped in without hesitation, but stopped looking at the house.

"H-hey! You shouldn't just walk into someone's house like that!" Kiba said but followed him, completely contradicting himself. He blinked. "Umm…?"

Sasuke shook his head seeing that there wasn't a piece of furniture in the place. It looked completely empty, other than paper that was scattered everywhere and some thick sheets. He looked over at the left side of the room and saw baskets with bread in it. Sasuke swallowed before stepping into the house fully. "…Naruto…?"

Kiba examined the place. "You sure someone lives here…?"

Sasuke nodded then walked down the hallway, opening the first door he saw. He was relieved to find that Naruto at least lived with a bathroom, but disappointed not to find Naruto himself. He walked down to the next room and turned the knob, only to find it locked. He let out a sigh. "Naruto…?" There was a long silence before Sasuke spoke again. "Naruto, I know you're in there."

He looked down at the creek of light that escaped through the bottom of the door. He could see a shadow moving around, one that seemed to be pacing back and fourth. "Come on, open up! I want to talk to you!"

"H-hey, Sasuke?" Kiba called from the living room. "Does this Naruto guy have blonde hair?"

Sasuke snapped his head down the hall. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, he's walking down towards that lake."

Sasuke looked down again at the shadow and blinked. Then who…? His eyes widened a bit. Was it maybe 'they'? Sasuke let out a breath realizing just how bad this was. Naruto was outside, and 'they' were waiting in his bedroom. Not to mention, Sasuke had just given away the fact that they two had conversed by calling his name. He quickly rushed out of the hallway and pulled Kiba out of the house along with him. His eyes snapped down to the lake to find Naruto standing there, staring out at it like he always had.

"Naruto!" Sasuke called, Naruto's head snapping towards him and Kiba. He blinked when his eyes met Kiba's tan and tall figure. The two rushed down towards him, Kiba still extremely confused by the whole ordeal.

"S-Sasuke." He blinked. "What on earth are you doing here?"

-Short Chapter, sorry for that. : ) R+F