So… tired. Man, this chapter was so bad before I redid it. It's probably still bad, but… meh.

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Naruto moaned as the light peaked through his closed eyelids. He could feel the warmth of the sun lick at his pale skin.

Come to think of it, Naruto hadn't been outside except for school and the hospital occasionally.

Feeling the sun on his skin now felt like sweet ecstasy. It crept through the fresh clothes he was wearing. After he'd waken up in the shower yesterday, he'd put on new clothes and went to sleep. Kyuu had called him weird for it.

Kyuu.

They had talked for a while last night… well, she did. Naruto knew the truth now.

Naruto knew his parents had been nice people. Minato, his dad, had given Kyuu a second chance. And his mother, Kushina… he could almost see her bold, red hair and green eyes behind his eyelids.

Though he still wished they were alive and with him, he felt a lot better knowing his parents were such kind people… and loved him. Kyuu had to go through a lot to tell him all of that. He was so grateful.

And she had saved Naruto.

He might have died if she hadn't…

He looked down at his wrists again. The cuts were tender, but they had stopped bleeding. Naruto planned to wrap them in something later, along with the wound on his chest.

He knew Kyuu was a truly nice person, no matter what other people said. She probably wouldn't even hurt a fly… just cuss it out until her lips ran dry…

Naruto chuckled at his own little joke. He could see Kyuu, in her little black dress, waving wildly, threatening to kick the bug's ass if it didn't fly somewhere else. Kyuu could have smashed the bug in a heartbeat, but she'd rather have another reason to cuss at something.

"I could so see her doing that!"

'I'm still here you know.'

Naruto nearly jumped through the roof when Kyuu's rough voice vibrated through his mind. He'd forgotten that she could hear his thoughts.

"O-oh, did you hear that? Um… I was talking about…" Naruto thought of any possibilities that could change the meaning of his words. "Okay, I got nothing…"

'You might want to keep it a reminder that when you talk out loud like that, other people can hear you.'

Her voice rumbled deeply with laughter.

'And for your information, I would not be threatening it! I would make you come in here and squash it. Then, I'd cuss at you for getting bug juice on my furniture.'

Naruto laughed. As he rose from the bed, his laughter rang through the thin apartment walls. He knew she was trying to help cheer him up. He tried not to stare at the covers he'd tossed on the floor before going to sleep.

He made a mental note to burn them later.

The clock beeped next to Naruto, telling him snooze time was over. It was already 7:30. School was the last place he wanted to go right now, but he couldn't miss anymore days. Besides, it was a Friday. What could go wrong?

He groaned, "I'm going to have to run to school today."

Naruto waited for one of Kyuu's cynical comments, but nothing came.

Steady breathing could be heard in the place of her usual scratchy tone. She had finally fallen asleep from exhaustion. She'd stayed up the whole time Naruto had been asleep watching over him. But even before Itachi had visited, Kyuu had done that. She stayed awake during the night and slept during the day.

"Itachi…" Naruto murmured before taking a deep breath.

He knew the infinite fears and questions would suffocate him if he didn't take it slowly.

He walked over to his closet. Picking out clothes was easy enough for a start.

Though there wasn't much in there… just hoodies, a bunch of t-shirts and jeans. He couldn't afford much more than that.

Next to the hanging clothes, there was a small dresser, the paint chipped and dirty, with underclothes and anything Naruto felt like throwing in there.

He opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of boxers and an undershirt. Next, he grabbed a pair of torn black jeans from a hanger, sliding them on.

As he reached for a shirt, Naruto smiled. The one in his hand was a birthday present. It was the first time he'd received one, too. Iruka gave it to him.

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"Hey."

"Good morning, Naruto! Hmm… Someone looks tired. You get enough sleep last night?"

"…yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Naruto sighed. Iruka would think he was pathetic if he asked.

"So… anything special coming up?"

Iruka was trying to change the subject for him. Too bad it was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

"…Not really."

"Actually, I think you're mistaken. Today is a very special day. Do you know why?"

"Uh….No," Naruto said.

There was no way Iruka knew what today was for him. It was probably just a coincidence.

"Well, that's a shame. I guess it must my birthday then. Guess I'll just open my present."

Naruto looked up.

"How'd you know it was-"

"I kind of… maybe… accidentally saw it on your records when I was writing down your new height last week.

Naruto smiled. Leave it to Iruka to brighten his day.

"But… since you said it's not a special day, I guess this present I bought really is for me."

Iruka reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a bright red package. He slid it over to Naruto.

"Open it! Open it!" he said, nearly bouncing out of his chair.

Naruto didn't need to be told twice. He ripped open the present and a black lump fell onto his lap. It was a T-shirt. It was simple and black. The v-shaped collar drooped down low.

"Do you like it?"

Naruto nodded. He could feel the stupid grin on his face. He'd never received a gift before. It was nice.

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Naruto felt the smile tug at his lips even now. Iruka was so kind.

"Maybe there are more people like him out there. Maybe my dad was right."

Naruto reached down and tied his shoes just as his alarm clock rang again, warning him he would be late if he didn't leave now. He had to run fast if he was going to make it on time.

"…today might not be so horrible."

The door shut quietly behind him as he jogged out of the room.

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Lol. I read my old A/N before redoing this. Man… it was stupid, but it made me smile. Next redone chapter coming up!

Just so all of you know… Naruto has been declared a boxer's man. No tight whiteys…. Just so ya' know. =)