Okay, so if I told you my evil teacher who is actually a pig faced evil madman held me hostage for a bag of cookies would any of you believe me? No? Ok so then I'll settle for the truth, kitsunegirl2 and I are guilty of laziness, writer's block, lack of motivation, and an EVIL teacher who despises my guts held that me hostage. Still don't believe? Yes? No? Okay I'll shut up now.....
Disclaimer: If I really owned Naruto do you think I'd be sitting here writing about it?
Chapter 14: Shemales, and The Joys of Being Lost in a Forest
Naruto P.O.V.
OH MY GOD...WHAT THE FUCK?! How can someone who so girly be a guy? Woah, this is definitely going on the 'weirdest things ever' list. I mean really, who would have thought the she would be a he; it's like a major twist in life. Now that's just crazy.... well I suppose it's not the first time it has happened. Shaking my head I looked up at the sky to see if that could give any clue to the time now. "Huh... It's dark out sooo... It must be nighttime!" I declared – wow, I hadn't even realized how much time had passed while I was helping Haku, the shemale. I snickered softly, shemales.... hey, with that long hair of his... maybe Neji's a shemale too! I exploded into laughter as I began walking, and then stopped. "Oh, shit... which way did I come from again?" I stared out at the trees hoping one of them might tell me; unfortunately the trees seemed to be as cold and un-talkative as Neji. Giving a sigh I gave a gloomy look to the trees and took a random path, hoping that by some amazing stroke of luck I would make it out of here. Or at least find a bowl of ramen.
**Sakura's P.O.V***
Where was that idiot? Naruto had been gone a lot longer than I expected – I figured that he would be back by nighttime, but here I was, waiting outside for him. It was dark, and in the forest it would be even darker.... that idiot was probably hopelessly lost. "Kakashi-sensei, are you sure that I can't go look for him?" I called again, hoping that maybe this time Kakashi would change his mind. "For the last time, Sakura. No. Now seriously, stop asking. And I bet he's fine – Naruto is a shinobi, he can take care of himself. Now come inside." Thinking very mean thoughts about Kakashi, I picked myself up and headed inside.
**Naruto P.O.V**
Okay. Shit. I have to face it...I'm lost. I groaned and put my head in my hands, hoping by some miracle that when I opened my eyes again, I would know which way to go. Okay, let's try it... Damn. I'm still lost. I swore out loud, punching a tree in frustration. But that only made my hand hurt. And I probably hurt the tree too. With an angry sigh, I slid down against the tree. I would probably be sleeping out here tonight. No blankets, no soft bed, no ramen...almost as if it had been planned, my stomach gurgled. I closed my eyes and hoped that sleep would come quickly...thankfully, it did.
**Next morning**
Ugh...why is it so bright? It's never been this bright in my room before...did I forget to close the shades? Yeah, probably. Or maybe Sasuke-bastard opened them when he got up. Stupid moron. I rubbed my eyes and groggily opened them to see bright sunlight streaming down into the forest. Oh yeah, that's right...I never made it back, did I?
**Sakura's P.O.V.**
"I DON'T FUCKING CARE WHAT YOU THINK, KAKASHI! I'M GOING TO LOOK FOR HIM, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!" I stormed out the back door, slamming it extra hard as I went out. Stupid, stupid sensei! Why couldn't he see that Naruto was an idiot, and he wasn't going to make it back on his own? He needed me! And I had been worrying about his seal – the kid had been a little unstable lately... I stormed out into the forest, still fuming. Okay, Sakura, just calm down. You're never going to find him unless you calm down enough to look for his chakra. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe deeply, sending out small waves of my chakra to look for Naruto's. Shit. Nothing. I moved on, being careful to watch the ground for any signs of trampled plants or torn roots.
Once I had moved on a while yet, I stopped and sent out my chakra again. There! It was faint, but there was a trace of his chakra up ahead. I took off sprinting, following the trail through the forest. As I kept going, the trace got stronger and stronger. I burst out into a clearing, full sunlight streaming down on me. "NARUTO!" I screamed as I launched myself at the blond on the ground; I landed on top of him, and he let out a startled yelp. Naruto blinked and looked up at me. I was beaming. Oh thank Kami, I found him, I found him! "You found me," He said happily, but then he groaned. "Okay, can you get off? Don't take this the wrong way, but you're heavy." I quickly slid off of him to lie on the ground next to him.
"Naruto, why didn't you come back?" I asked softly, reaching out to play with his hair. He looked at me funny. "I got lost," He said flatly. His look said 'you-think-I-didn't-come-back-on-purpose?' "Ah, right, sorry." I muttered, embarrassed. "Well, anyways, you're here now, so I'm not lost anymore. Um, you do know how to get back...right?" I laughed and hugged him. "Yes, I know which way I came from. But really, it wasn't that hard to find this place...how come you couldn't make it back on your own?" Naruto fidgeted. "Well, this was where I fell asleep, but then after a while I moved around. I only made it back to the clearing by chance, I think." I listened carefully and then something occurred to me. "Hey, what were you doing out here anyways? I mean, even you can't sleep for as long as you were gone." He seemed very uncomfortable with the question. "Nothing, nothing. Just messing around, exploring a bit..." I looked carefully at him. I could tell that he wasn't being completely honest...he was hiding something. But I decided to let it drop for now. "We should probably head back now," I sighed, and then I groaned.
"Oh god, Kakashi-sensei is gonna kill me." I despaired for a moment before standing up and stretching. "Why?" Naruto asked as he stood up as well. I started out into the forest, back along the path that I had come from. I could still trace my chakra right back to Tazuna's house. "He didn't want me to look for you. Said that 'you were a shinobi – you could take care of yourself'," I quoted sourly, reaching back to take Naruto's hand so that he wouldn't get lost again. I heard Naruto's annoyed grunt from behind.
"Stupid scarecrow," He muttered.
We finally made it out of the forest, and I towed Naruto along to the house. I opened the door and called loudly, "I'm back! And guess who I found, LOST in the forest! Naruto!" I swore I could feel Sasuke's glare through the wall. We headed into the living room area, where said raven-haired bastard looked up, annoyance written in his eyes. "You could have just left him out there, you know. I wouldn't have cared." I aimed a kick at his head – which he easily dodged. "No one asked your opinion, dumbass." Then Kakashi strolled into the room, giving me a hard look. I gulped. "Uh, hi, Kakashi-sensei," I said nervously. "Guess who I found?" His eyes flickered once to Naruto. "As if I couldn't hear the first time. Sakura, I told you not to look for him!" Naruto interrupted. "Yeah, exactly! Why didn't you want her to look for me? I could have been lost forever! I could have died!" He growled. "Okay, that's a bit dramatic," I muttered quietly, but then Kakashi spoke. "Because you are a ninja, and you shouldn't have gotten lost in the first place. You dug yourself into that hole, and I expected you to dig yourself out. In fact, I'm rather disappointed that Sakura had to go get you." Naruto started angrily at the insult. "Well, I'm disappointed that all you can do is sit around on your ass and read porn!" He whirled and stalked out of the room, leaving me to my doom.
**Naruto's P.O.V.**
Stupid fucking teacher! Yeah, I realize that I should have been able to find my way out of the forest. And I realize that I should have never fallen asleep, because that left myself open for anyone. I had only lucked out that Haku hadn't been an enemy. I had made a mistake, yes. But Kakashi didn't have to insult me in front of everyone. Stupid bastard. I headed back outside, whipping out a kunai and flinging it at a tree with as much power as I could. It lodged itself halfway into the trunk, and then stuck there, quivering slightly. I walked towards the kunai and then ripped it out of the tree, leaving a large wound in the trunk. "Yo! Fox-kun!" Sakura was jogging towards me with a somewhat worried expression on her face.
"What?" I growled, twirling the kunai around my finger. She pulled to a stop in front of me. "Look, Kakashi is never gonna do it, so I'm apologizing for him. That was rude of him. Even I wouldn't have ever done something like that, even to someone like Sasuke. So...yeah. Don't take what he said too hard, okay?" Her eyes were pleading me to let go of the anger. I looked away, unable to meet her eyes. Abruptly, I turned away and headed towards the street. "Where are you going?" She asked, jogging after me. "Out," I said flatly. "And I'm going alone." Sakura stopped, frustration and annoyance crossing her face. "Really, come on. Just let it go already about Kakashi. You can come back in with me – stay in my room tonight or something. Ignore it when anyone talks to you. Just don't go again, please?" I stopped and sighed, passing a hand over my face. "Fine. Fine, you win. Okay? Happy? We're going back in. I'm going to get some food and then I'm gong to your room and not coming out. Got it?" She nodded and reached for my hand, taking it in hers. Even though we were the same age and height, I was always fascinated by how small her hands were.
We headed back inside, and I went for the kitchen, like I had promised. Where was the instant ramen? Ah, there. I grabbed a cup, not paying attention to the flavor, and poured water into it and then set it on the stove. Just then Kakashi stepped into the kitchen. I froze, and he stopped awkwardly. "Um, just bring that in when it's done," I muttered to Sakura, slipping around him and into the hallway, and from there into Sakura's room. Oh, shit. I forgot that it was Sakura and Tenten's room. She was perched on one of the beds, an insanely large pile of weapons spread out around her. I cleared my throat, feeling uncomfortable. She whirled around, eyes narrowing, but relaxed when she saw it was me. "Oh, Naruto...hi," she said lamely, and I nodded and slid onto Sakura's bed. My stomach gurgled loudly, and I heard Tenten stifle a giggle with a cough. "Sorry." She said stiffly, trying to mask a small smile. I waved a hand dismissively. "S'okay," I muttered, eyelids feeling heavy. It was possible that I would fall asleep before Sakura came back with my ramen... Thank Kami that she came back right then, chopsticks in one hand and the cup of ramen in the other. I reached out for them and began shoveling ramen faster into my mouth than I thought possible.
I hadn't ever remembered being this hungry before, except for maybe as a little kid. But I really didn't remember that much. Sakura gave me a look. "Slow down," She chided, "You're going to make yourself sick, eating too fast with an empty stomach." I ignored her and finished my ramen, leaning back with a contented sigh. "Hey, Tenten," I said drowsily. "Would you mind if I stayed in here for the night?" She looked as if she was going to object, but then she shrugged and shook her head. "Nah. I actually don't care," She said, smiling. "I trust you. You won't do anything...right?" Her smile faltered for a moment and I laughed. "Trust me. I won't be leaving this bed, let alone be awake," I told her, rolling over so that I was facing the wall. As I lay, the previous days events finally seemed to set in; I managed to mumble "G'night, Sakura," before my eyes closed and I was asleep.
***Next Day***
Had I neglected to mention that Sakura's room lacked any shades? No? I never mentioned it? Apparently, Sakura hadn't bothered to tell me about them, either. A beam of sunlight hit my eyes, and I stirred, still half-asleep. Somehow I had managed to roll over and almost off the bed, which was odd, considering I almost never moved around while sleeping. I opened my eyes, and then shut them again when the sun blinded me. I groaned, and felt Sakura stir besides me, and then her hand was in my hair. "Hey, sunshine, get up," She mumbled, making my already-messy hair even worse. "Why must you always insist on calling me sunshine?" I grumbled, sliding into a sitting position. "Well, today particularly because the sun is on your hair, and it is really golden," she commented, sitting up besides me. I yawned.
"Well, what's for breakfast?" Sakura shrugged. "Whatever you're making me," She said coyly, and I shot her a murderous look before sliding out of bed. I noted that Tenten was already gone, her bed neatly made. I sighed. "Can't I just hide in here until Kakashi is gone?" I asked, and Sakura scowled. "No. You're going to suck it up and be a big boy and go out there," She said as if speaking to a child, earning a glare in return. I grumbled as I slipped into my clothes, and then opened the door and stepped out. "Hurry up and get dressed. Don't abandon me to them alone," I pleaded, and then shut the door behind me as I headed to the kitchen.
As I walked in, all conversation suddenly died as Sasuke and Kakashi noted my entrance to the room. All except for good old Lee. The kid was a god-sent. "Good morning, Naruto-san!" He said, blissfully unaware of the previous night's argument. "Morning, Lee," I mumbled as I went for a cup of instant ramen. I began to heat the water and then waited in an uncomfortable silence. "You know, eating that stuff for every meal can't be healthy or good for your brain. And you of all people should be worrying about your brain," Sasuke said snidely from his place at the table. "Shut up, teme," I said, giving him the finger and retrieving my ramen from the microwave. Sakura strolled into the kitchen then, giving me a look when she noticed my ramen. I shrugged and started for the bedroom again, but she gave me a hard look and glanced very pointedly towards the table. I gave her a look that said 'I'll-kill-you-for-this-later' and slid in next to Kakashi, doing my best to not see him. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh, Naruto, about last night...I, uh, shouldn't have said what I did in front of everyone, and so...I hope that we can just forget that?" My mouth practically hit the floor. Kakashi was actually....apologizing?! "...Hell must have frozen over last night," I declared. And that was that.
***Sakura's P.O.V.***
Kakashi's eye narrowed at Naruto's statement. "So I just took a major self-esteem blow by apologizing to a 16-year-old, and all I get back is the statement that hell froze over?" He said sourly, as Naruto exited the room. "Kakashi," I sighed, exasperated. "You just said it. He's a 16-year-old boy. He's hormonally, unbalanced, aggressive and that other crap. You've got to expect some sarcasm here." He sighed, but I knew that he now felt better about the situation. "So, what are we doing today?" I asked, trying to change the subject.
He shrugged, and I sighed and mentally said some bad things about his teaching skills. Mainly the fact that they sucked. "Okay, really?" I asked, trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. Kakashi answered after a moment. "We're going out to supervise the bridge building. As you might have noticed, Tazuna has been gone for the past few days, back at work. It's about time that we got working again as well, no? We're leaving as soon as you finish breakfast, so hurry up," He instructed, and I shoveled down a few bites of cereal before dumping my bowl in the sink. "Naruto! We're going!" I called, and a few moments later he stepped back into the kitchen. He nodded a little stiffly to Kakashi, and I knew that he had let the matter go. Sort of. "I assume that you were listening?" I asked, and he nodded. "Alright then. Let's go." We all headed out the door with Sasuke pulling up the back.
***At the bridge***
Sheesh, was it hot! Being on the bridge with no shade was boiling. I wondered how the crewman managed to stand the heat. Just then we all heard a scratchy, familiar voice. "Hello," Tazuna called, waving once. I followed Kakashi and Sasuke over to where our favorite bridge builder was, Naruto tagging along behind me. "It seems that things are going well," Kakashi commented, gesturing out towards the work being done. "Yes it is, thanks to my being here. And for you getting me here, I suppose," He added as an afterthought, and I sighed mentally.
'Pffft, stupid...what, we just helped him get here? Without us, he wouldn't have made here alive! Talk about ungrateful.' Inner chimed inside my head, and I realized that she had been quiet lately. 'Yeah, I've been quiet because you're still refusing to forgive our Neji-kun! I mean really. If Naruto can forgive Kakashi, then you can manage to forgive Neji.' I sighed. 'Well yeah, but Kakashi told Naruto that he was sorry first, and then Naruto forgave him. Neji hasn't said he's sorry, and I told him that I wouldn't speak a word to him until he said he was sorry! So there – you loose! Now be quiet. I'm probably missing something important.' Inner subsided into a sulky silence, and I blinked as I shifted back into the real world.
"What did I miss?" I whispered quietly to Naruto. "Nothing much. Just Tazuna explaining about how wonderful his bridge building skills are," He replied quietly, sarcasm dripping in his voice, and then fell back into silence. I half-listened as Tazuna went on explaining about the bridge building process, and how well it was going. Suddenly it seemed as if the sun had disappeared or at least someone had put a shade on it. The light dimmed to a sort of hazy grey, and then a chilling mist drifted in. I shivered, looking around for the source of the suddenly strange weather. I glanced over at Kakashi, looking for guidance, and he looked wary, distrust written across his face. "Kakashi-sensei," I began, but he held up a hand to silence me. "heh nice to see you again, Kakashi," I froze, every muscle tensing at the deep, cruel voice. "Zabuza.." Sensei said. And before anyone else could say a word we launched ourselves into battle.
We are SO VERY SORRY FOR THE LACK OF UPDATING!!!! T.T school decided it wanted to take over our lives so that just sorta happened. Anyhow REVIEW!!! OR KITSUNEGIRL1 WILL SEND DEMONS FROM THE DEEPEST PITS OF HELL TO DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!! Anyone who does review will get a cookie! ^.^