Wednesday. Hump day. The middle of the week. The beginning of the end of the week. No matter how you put it, it was still just another day you had to go to school. Naruto sighed as he pulled up the second half of his long hair. He really wished he could just cut it. He'd had it all planned out in his head for years now. If his mom ever let him go back to being a boy, he could go out and get his hair cut short, buy a whole bunch of guy clothes, and then transfer to another school. Then he wouldn't have to deal with all the questions and disgusted looks he'd get from his peers. He smiled at the thought of returning to his old self. Maybe his mom wouldn't take it as bad as she had before.

But this thought made him frown. No…she probably would. What he told Tsunade about her getting better wasn't all that true. If anything, it was getting worse. If Naruto even hinted towards it now, she'd have a mini-panic attack until he reassured her that he was really a girl, and that he would never change. He hated it, but he couldn't stand to do that to his mother. And he couldn't just run away either. He knew she didn't want to lose another precious person in her life. He was all she had left, even if she did think he was truly a girl now.

He walked downstairs to the kitchen, smelling the aroma of freshly cooked pancakes. That was a rarity. He wondered what the occasion was. He sat at the table and saw his mother busily washing the pans she'd used to make the fluffy pancakes in. His eyes traveled to the extra plate set out and remembered why it was there.

"Morning mom," he said with a forced cheeriness. She smiled at him, bags under her eyes. She'd probably been having a hard time with tomorrow coming up.

"Good morning Naruko. Hurry up and eat your pancakes," she said. She looked towards the hallway entrance and then said dreamily, "Goodness. Arashi better hurry down here, or his breakfast will get cold."

"You know he's always been a late sleeper mom," Naruto added, hoping to make her feel better by playing along.

"Yes, yes, I know honey," she said. She looked at the dish she was cleaning, glanced at the doorway, and repeated the motion once more before sighing. "I still wish he'd get up sooner. I made his favorite this morning after all."

Naruto only gave his mother a reassuring smile after finishing his breakfast quickly. He grabbed his backpack and headed for the door. "I'm going to school mom!"

"Have a nice day honey," she called back.

Chemistry again. Let's check…nope, still none between the pair. Guess that means they're still a potential hazard to their fellow students. Luckily today was a lecture day, so no more dealing with dangerous chemicals at the moment. Naruko was busy scribbling down notes while Sasuke was off thinking about some non-science related things. With the intensity of her scribbles increasing, Naruko's pencil flew from her hand and hit the raven-haired boy's shoulder. Sapphire orbs moved slowly from Sasuke to where the pencil had landed on the desk, as if waiting for something to happen. Nothing did, so she picked up her pencil and whispered, "Gomen."

His response was nothing more than a sidelong glance and a soft "hn", but it was less than she'd expected. She thought he would throw her an insult or a snide comment in the least. Shrugging it off, she decided not to think about it until later. After class she tapped him on the shoulder before he left.

"What dobe?" he asked, impatient to get to his next class. Hearing the insult she thought she shouldn't have bothered asking and glared at him.

"Nothing. I was gonna ask if you were alright, but since you're still acting like a teme, you probably are," she said, turning on heel to walk out of the room before he could respond. She walked in a huff all the way to her locker and then the roof with her lunch in hand.

"H-hello Naruko-chan," Hinata greeted. In fear of taking all of her ranting out of the poor quiet girl, Naruko opted to simply nod in response, and wait for her chatterbox friends to arrive. Sitting with her legs crossed, she jiggled her leg up and down in impatience. She didn't have to wait very long for them to arrive, but both were preoccupied with their new favorite topic, Sasuke-kun. Exactly the thing she wanted to rant negatively about. Great.

"It's obvious he's more into blondes Sakura," Ino said, tossing her long hair over her shoulder. "He'd never go for your fake-o dye job in a million years. I mean, really. Pink? Come on."

"Fake-o dye job? What the hell Ino?" Sakura said with a glare. "You've known me all your life and you still refuse to accept that this is my natural color?"

"How could I accept that as a truth when it's not even possible for someone to have naturally pink hair?" Ino stated.

"Because it is true. Just because you've never seen anyone with natural pink hair before, doesn't mean it's not possible, you dunce," Sakura shot back. Naruko frowned as she heard this, and her dislike of Sasuke grew as the argument went on. She'd never heard her two friends fight like this in her life. It was kind of…scary. She felt her anger flare up again. How dare that pompous jerk come waltzing in and tear her two best friends apart without even being aware of it.

"And at least I'm as smart as he is," Sakura said.

"Oh yeah? What makes you think he's looking for that? What good are smarts when it comes to a man?"

"At least we'd be able to have an intelligent conversation without being held down by trivial things."

"Whatever. You know guys go for the girls with more sex appeal anyway. And look at you, your chest is flat as a board!"

"Well I don't stuff my bras, unlike someone, now do I?"

"Billboard brow!"

"Pig!"

"Ugh! I can't stand you anymore. I'm going to eat somewhere else. Don't even bother trying to talk to me in class," Ino shouted with a last glare.

"Fine!" Sakura responded before adding, "pig!"

"Billboard brow!" Ino screamed back. And with that, their blond friend had slammed the roof door shut. They could hear the faint stomping footsteps getting further and further away. A heavy silence set in among the three females that remained. Sakura took a large bite of her apple and glared angrily at the ground. Naruko and Hinata glanced at each other and continued eating their lunch. Neither knew what to say or if they should ask about it. Silently, they decided to wait until the pair had cooled off some before discussing it with them. Surely a boy couldn't end their friendship forever…right?

"Mom? I'm home," he called out in the dark house. It was always dark when he came home on this day. He removed his shoes and set his bag down. School had been even worse after the fiasco at lunch, and the day wasn't going to be getting any better. Slowly, he entered the living room to see his mother crying over the picture of his father once again. Bracing himself, he called out again. "Mom?"

She turned and looked at him with wide eyes, red from crying. She latched herself onto her 'daughter' and began sobbing more. It was just like every year since that day.

"Oh Naruto…Naruto…" she mumbled between sobs. The only day she ever called him by his real name. "You're back! You're back, you're okay, oh my baby!"

"Yeah mom. I'm back. I'm okay," he told her. She was reliving the past. Every year she broke down and re-lived that day. The day Arashi died saving Naruto from his killer. As if she'd suddenly thought of it, she began to look around frantically.

"Where's your father Naruto?" she asked. She looked at him with desperation. "Where is he? Where's Arashi?!"

"He died mom," Naruto replied painfully. Tears were streaming down his face now as he gripped his mother to return her hug. She always managed to pull him into the past as well. "He got killed."

"No! He's not dead!" she screamed. She tried to run past him, pointing to a specter behind Naruto that only she could ever see. A crazed grin was on her face as she stared at the hallucination. "He's right there. He's not dead Naruto! He's back! He's back, and he's not dead…!"

Naruto didn't say anything as she broke down sobbing once more, mumbling to herself. He only held her tighter and cried along with her.

"He's gone…he's gone…" she mumbled. As her crying fit passed, she stood suddenly. "Gotta keep him safe." She gripped Naruto's wrist tightly. He winced but he didn't complain, as he'd felt worse before. She pulled him to his room and threw him inside.

"Mom? What are you doing?" he asked, confused. She'd never done this before. She slammed the door closed and locked it from the outside. "Mom!"

"You're not leaving me Naruto, I've got to keep you safe!" she said, the grin back on her face. "I won't let anyone take you away from me! Not again!"

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. There was no arguing with her in this state. He heard her receding footsteps and sighed. He didn't know how long he'd be stuck in there. He never thought she'd do this before, but no one could really predict what she'd do on this day. He walked to his bed feeling drained already and lay down on top of the covers. He had nothing else to do, so why not sleep for a while?

He closed his eyes and willed himself to calm down after all that. It took a while, but eventually he drifted off into a comfortable sleep.

He ran as fast as he could through the house. He didn't know where he was or where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get out!

"Naru-chan! I've got something for you!" a voice called. A medley began to play on a piano that was nowhere to be found. It seemed ubiquitous, coming from every hall and doorway he passed. Where could he escape? Where could he find an exit?! He heard footsteps coming toward him. He had to hide!

He found himself in the kitchen, and saw an open cupboard. It looked empty enough to fit him, so he stuffed himself into it, closing the door. The footsteps entered the room and slowed significantly, as though they sensed their prey was near.

"Oh Naru-chaaan!" the eerie voice called again. His breath came in ragged tuffs, and he hugged himself in hopes that it would stop the shaking. His heartbeat sounded like it was being amplified a thousand times louder. Surely the man would hear it and find him. He couldn't hear any more footsteps.

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" the voice said, as the owner wrenched the cupboard door open with a maniacal grin.

Naruto woke up screaming, his eyes wide with fear and his body drenched in a sheen cold sweat. He squeezed his eyes shut and slowed his breath until his heartbeat was at a normal pace again. That damn dream…

He hated having it, because no matter how far it got, it never finished. He would always wake up frightened and then remember every fucking detail after it. Each time it was so clear. The feelings, the adrenaline, the pain.

That man, that…monster…had kidnapped him as a way to get to his father. Arashi had been a one of the best in the police force and was able to catch almost any criminal. He'd gotten too close to catching the serial killer Snake, and Naruto had been kidnapped to lead the man into a trap. And it had worked…

After he'd been found in the cupboard, the killer had tied him to a chair. That was only the first day Naruto was there, and each day it took for his father to crack the code given and find his son, the killer would cut his cheek. It had taken six days to find him, and he'd suffered more than just those six cuts in that span of time.

When Arashi had finally arrived, Snake had been waiting with a loaded gun and shot the man six times. Three times in the chest, once in the leg, and twice in the head. His aunt Tsunade and Jiraiya, a family friend, who were also part of the police force, had been there as well, throwing Snake's plans off and resulting in a fight between all of them. Naruto didn't quite know what happened, but the killer had been set on fire, and disappeared. It was assumed that he died, but no one really knew. They never found his body. Snake had disappeared from the face of the earth without a trace to be found.

Naruto had been taken to the hospital and put in therapy sessions in hopes to put the traumatic incident behind him. It had worked for the most part, though his mother pulled him out of them. She had wanted him around her more now that she finally had him back. But even though he was able to block most of his memories, he could still remember that song.

The voice in his head had appeared then as well. There were parts of his kidnapping that he couldn't remember no matter what, where he'd just blacked out from nothing. But when he'd been in the killer's clutches, it'd kept him company and soothed his fears. It didn't do that anymore though. That was why he needed the medication for it.

He looked at the clock and saw it was almost eleven. He got up and found that the door was still locked. Looking over, he saw that his mother had left him dinner on a tray. He smiled a little. At least she wasn't forgetting about him. He took the tray and ate the food without much thought, and then placed it back where he'd found it. He sighed as he tried to rid his mind of any more memories trying to poke their way to the surface. He'd have to find something to do to keep him mind off the subject. There was no way he'd be able to sleep again tonight.

Sasuke grunted as he was hit in the stomach again, flying backwards and tumbling to the ground. His sparring partner was Itachi at the moment. They both needed a little stress relief, and if beating each other up would do it, then they'd go for it. He stood up again and readied himself before charging in again.

He was getting frustrated with his brother's attitude nowadays. He'd seen Deidara, and felt bad for the man. He knew the blonde would come back and apologize, even if he didn't need to just because Itachi wouldn't. And Itachi had been completely ignoring Sasuke as well. Sure he may have work to do, but he could make time for his brother, couldn't he?

Glancing at his brother's face, he saw only a distracted, uncaring expression. Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. His brother wouldn't even take him seriously in a fight! He was losing when Itachi wasn't even paying attention! He shouldn't be this weak. He had to get stronger. He wanted revenge. And if he was going to get revenge, he needed to be strong and join the police force along with his brother.

"Don't go easy on me Itachi," he growled. The man's eyes locked with his, cold and emotionless, as they were every fight. Suddenly, he found himself flying across the room again. He looked up to see Itachi in front of him.

"Don't ask for what you can't handle little brother. Give up on trying to be in the police force. You'd never be able to make it," he said. Sasuke glared at his backside as he left without another word. He always said that at the end of every match.

Why would he say it though? He knew what that monster had done to their family! Sasuke had seen their dead bodies with his own eyes! And he was still out there, out of reach of the police in a place where he wouldn't be detected. Sasuke wanted revenge on that monster. He wanted revenge against Snake…the man that had taken everything from him.

A/N: So another chapter's done. Not too long after the last either! That makes me happy. But I must say, I got a bit stuck. I'm finding it really hard to write Sasuke's part. He needs to be mad at the world, but social enough to compete with Naruto. I'm sorry if his character's coming out a bit weirdly. I'll try to make it better as this goes along though. It feels so rushed too...poo. It's like the first chapter. I don't really like it, but I can't think of how to change it. But anyway, thank you so much for the reviews guys! I'm very happy that people really like this story. I hope you continue to enjoy it and tell me what you think! I love constructive criticism and just plain old reviews. Don't care if you flame, for they will be used to burn homework and possible make s'mores… Please and thank you!