I do not own, nor will I ever own Naruto.

Italics indicate thought.

I do not think I am sane. Do you? No, wait, you have no idea what I have in store for this. Let's just say, this is gonna be weird. Very Weird. And Random. .

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Just Ludicrous: Chapter 10

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Sakusen groaned, and scrunched up his eyes in an attempt to ward off the sunlight. Why was it so bright? He rolled over, and immediately sensed that something was very wrong. He lay for a few seconds, racking his brains, then sat bolt upright with a gasp, and murmured "Neji!"

Leaping out of bed, he threw on his kimono and socks so quickly he marveled at the fact that he had done it properly the first try, then ran down the stairs and out into the street, still trying to tie his swords on. Sprinting for the brothel, he dodged through the crowd, panicking. Was he too late? Had she already been sold over?

"Neji!" he cried desperately. He collided with a tall, dark-haired man, but only kept running, calling back "Sorry!" even so, he could feel the mans glare in his back.

Then he was there, outside the brothel house, as Neji was being led inside by the Mama-san.

"Neji!" he wailed. She turned her head, then stopped dead, her eyes welling with tears.

Sakusen hurried toward her, completely intent on hugging her and never letting go. "Neji, I don't want this, I-" he reached out a hand towards her, which she took, but he jerked to a halt mid-step. Realizing that he couldn't move at all, he glanced around desperately as best as he could and, out of the corner of his eye, spotted Ningyo holding him in Shikamaru's shadow jutsu. Staring at her accusingly, he began to shout, sobs catching the words in his throat.

"Why? Why are you doing this? How is this- how is this necessary?"

She stared coolly back, unmoved. "Unless you can pay, this is the only way. There's not too much debt. You know that."

"Sakusen!" the cry brought his thoughts back, and Neji was still holding his hand, but just barely as she gripped it desperately, her fingertips slipping down his hand. Her finders, dangerously close to coming loose, squeezed tighter, and she flailed with her other hand, trying to catch a better grip in Sakusen. The Mama-san and Sasayaki had begun to drag her into the building, and under their combined efforts, they began to break the grasp of the two. Then Ningyo jerked her had back, and Sakusen was forced to do the same.

"No! Sakusen! SAKUSEN!"

"Ne- Neji! I- I- " the three had reached the doorway, and as Sakusen tried to say what he knew, Neji's eyes watched desperately from the shadows of the building, tears spilling down her face unchecked.

"I Love you!" he shouted, and the door slammed shut, and he was alone. Ningyo released him from the jutsu, where upon his legs buckled. He fell to his knees, and knelt there, staring through tears at the closed door. There he stayed, his shoulders hitching with sobs, his hands hanging uselessly by his sides.

-o-o-o-

A large crowd had accumulated during the scene, a good portion of them now dabbing their eyes and shouting at Ningyo. Others were crying outright, watching the pink-haired boy as he knelt and cried. In fact, there were only three people who were not touched: The tall, black-haired man, his even taller blue-skinned companion, and an elder, white-haired man who seemed to be frantically taking notes.

Finally, Sakusen picked himself up and wandered down the main street until he had left the town altogether. He lay down on an abandoned dock and gazed morosely at the white smears of cloud that seemed to sit motionless in the sky. After five minutes, Sasayaki and Ningyo clambered down to the dock and sat. Ningyo began to clap.

"Sakusen, if I didn't know better, I would have thought that that was the real deal. I know the crowd thought so, because I certainly received an earful from some of the villagers, including Tazuna himself."

Sakusen grunted, and rolled over into his side, staring away from Ningyo and towards the sea. This was partially to hide the fact that he was still crying, and also he just couldn't stand the sight of the woman nonchalantly sitting there, speaking as though it had been nothing.

Suddenly a bellow of laughter came from behind the trio. The elder man from before was striding up, his mane of white hair pouring down over his back. His sandals made clacking noises as they hit the planks that were very familiar. Sakusen sat up warily.

"That, boy, was the most brilliant inspiration for a book I've ever had!" he swung his arm over Sakusen's shoulder. "Now, I just need to know a little about you and that blond cutie, Neji's, love life, then I'll be all set for a novel!"

Sakusen choked, but was rescued as a small boy in overalls ran up and kicked Jeraiya in the shin. The man howled in pain as Inari grabbed Sakusen's hand and led him from the dock towards the boy's home.

"I saw the whole thing." explained Tazuna's grandson simply.

"Oh."

"And I wanna give you some advice that a friend gave me."

The teenager turned to look at the kid. From under his hat the boy beamed, a tooth missing from the smile.

"Oh yeah? Who was the friend?"

The boy laughed. "His name's Naruto."

Sakusen laughed. "Naruto, eh? All right then. What did that little hyper-active blond say?"

The boy looked at the teenager. "You know Naruto?"

"Haha, sure do." Then the smile died from his face, and he sighed. "Sure do."

"Well, he told me not to give up, and not to give in just because I'd lost my dad, but to fight for what's right in his memory."

"Really? Sounds pretty profound for Naruto."

Inari laughed. "Yeah, but that's what I wanna tell you. Don't give up just because it looks hopeless. Fight for what's right. For you, you should get your girlfriend back."

"You really think I should do that? But How? I don't have any money, and I'm the last of my clan."

The little boy stared at him seriously. Then asked, "So?"

Sakusen paused here. " . . . so . . . "

Inari continued to look sincerely at him. "Stop making excuses. Just do it. Confront your fears and you will win if you try hard enough. This village did, and it only happened because of Naruto-niisan."

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