"Naruto, pull up your pants," Sai had said. Naruto pressed his forehead against the cold glass window of Sai's car and closed his eyes tightly. He imagined himself becoming invisible or melting into the car's back seat. Sasuke sat in the front passenger seat ignoring the blonde's existence, and Naruto wished it could be just as easy for him to do the same. He knew. Sasuke knew.

How could he not know? Sasuke had seen him stripped of clothes, naked for the world to see. It didn't help that a crowd had gathered at the room's door, attracted by the loud crashes and yells, to see him as well, or that most of them were from his very own school. So now they knew too.

Fuck, Naruto thought, biting the inside of his cheek and taking a big breath to calm himself. His eyes burned, but he didn't want to cry anymore. It was stupid of him to have cried that much back there, to Sasuke no less. He was so stupid…

"You should go to the police Naruto," Sai said, breaking the thick silence as they drove into the night. The blonde flinched at the sound of his actual name. Just another reminder of his stupidity.

"Just take me home Sai," he replied. He just wanted to go home and sleep. He wanted to be away from Sasuke and his cold attitude, and to just forget everything that had happened that night. But most of all, he just wanted to sleep.

His thoughts drifted, as Sai didn't reply, back to what had happened. It all seemed to blur together, but he remembered Sai telling him to pull up his pants. Aside from being utterly humiliated and embarrassed to be seen vulnerable and naked, he was mortified and scared because he was naked. And Sasuke was right there in front of him. And being the observant person he was, the Uchiha had immediately seen what was wrong with the picture. He hadn't spoken or so much as looked at the blonde since. Naruto had adamantly refused to look at Sasuke's face when the other had his epiphany. He didn't want to see the disgust and betrayal and anger and hurt that were sure to be flashing through those eyes, or worse his entire face, because Sasuke barely let emotion show on his perfect porcelain face. And if it had covered Sasuke's face, Naruto couldn't stand to know and feel his heart break even more.

"Naruto—" Sai began again. Naruto flinched again.

"Stop," he said, "saying my name. Just take me home."

Sai didn't reply again, and Naruto retreated to his memories again. He'd seen Kanto's face when he'd realized that Naruto was indeed not a girl. It was mostly surprise, shock, and embarrassment that had taken his features. He hadn't run away, for which Naruto was glad in a strange sort of way. He'd never met the boy before in his life, and yet he cared what the other thought of him. Anyway, while Naruto attempted to dress himself, Kanto had attempted to shoo the crowd away. When they didn't leave right away, Sasuke had gotten up. Naruto wasn't sure what he'd done, but whatever it was, it had made the crowd disappear. The blonde was grateful, and had tried to thank Sasuke for getting rid of the onlookers, but Sasuke had merely ignored him and asked Sai what they were going to do. Kanto had wanted to call the police too, but Naruto had refused then as well.

Sai had asked if he wanted a ride home, and Naruto had accepted gratefully. He didn't have any other options, and Sai driving him home was better than walking. He wasn't even sure if he'd really be able to. His legs felt so unsteady for some reason.

Before leaving Kanto had given him his number and asked the blonde to call with that cute blush of his, saying he just wanted to be able to know how he was doing. Naruto had smiled and said he would, although at that point he wasn't really sure if he'd really do it. Then they'd hurried out to the car and driven off, bringing him to the present with Sai silently thinking, Sasuke ignoring everything around him, and Naruto wishing he could just sleep.

He didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt a hand on his leg. Images flashed in his minds eye and he jumped, frightened. He reigned in his emotions as he saw it was just Sai, and cursed himself for the reaction. He hadn't been raped. He shouldn't be scared. He just shouldn't.

"I'm fine," the blonde said with a frown at Sai's concerned eyes. Naruto opened the door with a sigh and thanked the dark haired boy as he began to get out. As an after thought, he paused and looked forward, trying to look through the headrest of the passenger seat up front to Sasuke and mumbled, "Sorry," before getting out the rest of the way. He didn't look back as Sai drove away. He walked to the door of Tsunade's dark house, his home, with purpose, and tears dripped down his cheeks once again. Kuso…

Monday. The worst possible day of the week, and at the moment, of his entire life. Naruto really wasn't ready for the weekend to be over. He was certain the people who'd seen him at the party, and been sober, had spread the gossip by now. He didn't want to face their stares or hear the whispers that were sure to follow him, but he'd have to sooner or later. He'd rather it be sooner than later so he could nip any crazy rumors in the bud if he could, not that his very reasoning wasn't as crazy as any of the ideas people from his school could make up. He sighed once again as the school came into view and shifted nervously in his seat. He glanced at Sai whose grip was rather tight on the steering wheel as they approached the school. The brunette caught his glance and threw him a disarming smile. He parked the car and they sat there for a minute. Sai waited for Naruto to gather his wits.

"You ready?" Sai asked when the blonde shifted again, determination lining his expression. Naruto grinned at him.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied. "Let's get this over with."

"Right," Sai said with a nod. Both exited the vehicle and walked toward the school. Other students who were also walking to the school paused as they saw the pair. Some began to whisper; others looked away and quickened their pace, while others still stared on with a strange expression on their face. Naruto's step faltered as he noticed the sudden tension in the air, and he resisted the urge to run as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Then Sai's hand bumped into his and he was reminded that he wasn't alone. Strange and annoying as Sai could be, Naruto was very glad and grateful to have the brunette stand by him.

Sai walked him to his first period class, but left him at the door, needing to attend to some art related things. Naruto tried to stall his departure, but was found out. Sai just smiled, a true smile for once, and said he'd find him before lunch. He even promised to show the blonde what he'd been working on and drive him home after school had ended. So Sai left, and Naruto peered into his homeroom nervously. Standing out in the hall wasn't much better, but he'd have to go in some time.

He walked in with as much confidence he could muster and tried to block from his mind the fact that every eye was immediately on him, with the exception of one, as soon as he did. He sat stiffly between Sasuke, the exception, and Hinata, who seemed to be torn between saying something and keeping it to herself. In the end she said nothing. A few whispered conversations started, but none were loud enough for him to hear. He'd buried his face into his arms as soon as he'd gotten to his seat, hiding his burning face and blocking his view of the stares and Sasuke's cold shoulder and Hinata's floundering.

Class started and he was reluctant to raise his head. He doubted Iruka-sensei had heard the gossip, but he couldn't be sure. Still, if everyone else knew, Iruka would learn it sometime too. He wondered how his favorite teacher would react.

"Naruko-san, please don't sleep in my class. It's still only first period," Iruka's voice sounded from the front of the room. The blonde bit his lip, released it, and then lifted his head as asked. His eyes met Iruka's and the brunette didn't look away.

"Sorry Iruka-sensei," he replied. The teacher began to turn, satisfied with the apology, but was stopped as Naruto spoke again, his voice wavering a little even as he tried his best to keep it steady. "And my name is Naruto, not Naruko."

"W-what?" Iruka asked, taken off guard.

Naruto merely met his gaze unwaveringly and repeated, "Please call me Naruto, not Naruko, Iruka-sensei."

The brunette looked bewildered and at a loss for words for the sudden admission, but shook himself out of it quickly, knowing he had a class to teach.

"O-okay. Well…please don't sleep in my class Naruto-san," Iruka said. And with that he went straight on with his intended less, although he seemed a bit distracted. Naruto was certain the teacher would want to ask him about the change of name as soon as class ended, but he already had plans to beat it out of there as soon as the bell rang.

His classes went on like that until lunch. Every time he saw his any of his friends, he'd duck behind whatever he could find until they passed him by. He knew he'd have to face them, but he wanted to put it off until later. In chemistry, he was partnered with Sasuke like always. In the entire class, the Uchiha had said a total of seven words to him. Naruto would know; he'd counted.

Seven's a lucky number,a voice said cheerfully as he got ready to leave the chemistry room and go to lunch. Naruto jumped, nearly knocking his books off the table as he did so. He caught them before they fell and glared down at them briefly before picking them up and walking out of the classroom deciding to ignore the voice and the strange look Anko-sensei had sent him.

Oh don't ignore me. It's been such a long time since we talked. Don't tell me you forgot about me,Kyuubi whined inside his head. Naruto resisted the urge to scowl.

We're only talking because I forgot my damn pills again, he replied.

So cold, Kyuubi said with fake hurt. Naruto arrived at his locker and quickly spun in his combination.

You've been stressed lately. I can feel it. Is it from that Uchiha kid? You know I could always talk to him for you, Kyuubi told him.

No. I'm not letting you out if I can help it. As soon as I go home I'm going to take my pills and we'll never speak again, Naruto said definitely. He dumped his books into the locker and grabbed his lunch. Then he asked as an afterthought, Why did it take you so long to speak up anyway?

Because brat, I couldn't. Those pills really work. It's like waking up from a coma or some really long sleep. And I only really woke up because you're distressed about something. Now tell me what it is or I'll find out myself, Kyuubi replied. Naruto sighed, regretting having not taken his pills. He'd been so nervous last night that he hadn't fallen asleep until three hours before he needed to be up, and then he'd only woken up when Sai came to pick him up. He'd gotten the quickest shower of his life, thrown on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, and tied his long hair up into a ponytail. Luckily they'd still made it on time. Thinking about his hair, he grimaced. He'd really need to cut it now.

You finally got what you wanted. I'm back to being a boy, he told Kyuubi as he began to look around for Sai. He should be arriving soon.

Kyuubi went silent as the blonde searched for his fellow cross-dresser. He spotted the brunette at the end of the hallway and started toward him. He nearly tripped as Kyuubi startled him with an outburst.

I'll kill those guys! Why didn't you kill them? Or get the police? You baka brat!

Naruto continued on as if he wasn't getting yelled at inside his head.

If you aren't going to be helpful, not that you ever are, then shut up and go away Kyuubi, he replied, cutting off the other's rant about how thoughtless he was. Kyuubi paused before grumbling and doing as he was told. Naruto hadn't quite expected that to happen, but he was happy that it had. He smiled as he approached Sai.

"Hey," he said.

"You ready?" Sai asked.

No, Kyuubi answered for him.

"Yes," Naruto replied, ignoring the voice.

"Let's go," Sai said as they headed toward the cafeteria.

Kyuubi? Naruto questioned in his mind.

Yes?

You're not helping.

Damn.

"So do you want to sit with them or not?" Sai asked as they entered the lunchroom.

"Let's see if they'll let me or not first," Naruto said nervously as his eyes found the already filled table. In the back of his mind he wondered how they all got there before him since he was normally one of the first people to arrive to lunch everyday.

They approached the group, attracting the attention of anyone they passed. Just like that morning, Sai's hand reached over and touched his, and Naruto felt better for having someone beside him. The entire group was staring at him again with the exception of Sasuke. Sai immediately took his seat and Naruto hesitated before taking his as well. Sasuke stiffened beside him, but he ignored it and was happy that at least the Uchiha hadn't run off the moment he'd sat down. He looked timidly from face to face. Kiba, oblivious to tension as usual, decided to break the silence.

"Hey, Uzumaki. How about those rumors right? I mean, they came from drunk people, right? So they must have been seeing things. We'll just have to go and tell everyone the truth-"

"Inuzuka," Sai said sharply, cutting the dog-lover off. Kiba glared at him.

"Kiba-san," Naruto started, catching his attention with the change of suffix. The blonde met his gaze, determined not to back down from what he needed to do. "They're telling the truth. So let it go."

"What?" Sakura whispered.

"So you're telling us you're really a guy?" Ino demanded.

"Yes, Ino-san. I am and always have been a boy, and my actual name is Naruto," he replied. He bowed his head and continued, "I'm very sorry that I've lied to you all. I was going to tell you-"

"Save it," Ino said as she stood from her seat.

"If you were going to tell us, you should have done it when we first met," Sakura said, standing as well. Both left quickly. Naruto kept his head down.

"This is just too weird for me," Kiba said. "You can come sit with me if you want Hinata."

Naruto peered up at the shorthaired girl. Her cheeks were on fire as usual as she looked between Kiba and the blonde. Finally she settled her gaze on the brunette boy.

"I-I'm going to stay with…N-Naruto-kun," she replied, surprising the blonde. He'd thought that she would decided to take Kiba up on his offer. She looked over at Naruto. "Th-that is, i-if you want me here."

"Of course I do Hinata-chan," he said. He smiled a little gratefully and she blushed a little more. She really was a sweet girl.

"Whatever," Kiba said and walked away. The only people left were Gaara, Neji, Hinata, Sai, and Sasuke. For a moment he held hope that Sasuke wasn't really mad at him, despite his cold attitude. But then Sasuke stood abruptly, still stiff and refusing to look at the blonde. He gathered his things and was about to walk away when Sai grabbed his arm. The Uchiha glared at his friend.

"Let go Sai," he commanded.

"Don't be childish Sasuke," Sai retorted, glaring right back. Naruto's eyes flickered between the two. Sasuke glanced at the blonde before tearing his arm from the other's grasp and walking away. An awkward silence fell on the remaining people and Naruto began fiddling with the ends of his sleeves, trying to push back the pain that had erupted in his chest with the Uchiha's departure.

"You two aren't going to leave?" Sai asked the two who had yet to speak. Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow.

"Why?" he replied.

"He's apologized. I see no reason to begrudge him," Neji continued for the red head. Sai nodded and Naruto smiled at them.

"Thanks, really," the blonde said, looking at each of them. "It means a lot that you've stayed."

"It's no problem," Gaara replied. "Just don't start crying like a girl. You never did when you pretended to be one, so there should be no reason to start now."

Naruto giggled. "Don't worry, I won't Gaara-kun."

"Yes. Naruto-kun is man now and men don't cry!" Sai exclaimed. Naruto punched him lightly in the air.

"What do you mean 'now'. I've always been a man. Why do you think you were always trying to cop a feel, you pervert?" he retorted.

"Y-you knew?" Hinata asked quietly, surprise lining her voice. There was no resentment, just curiosity, and it made the two boys pause.

"Uh, yeah. He knew," Naruto replied sheepishly.

"He didn't tell me. I just figured it out. I am a cross-dresser myself, after all. And I kept it a secret because Naru-chan is just too cute," Sai said, reaching over and pinching the blonde's cheek. Naruto slapped his hand away with a glare and a blush.

"Jerk," he muttered. Hinata giggled at the exchange.

"I'm curious. Why would you hide something like your gender for as long as you have?" Neji asked with interest. Naruto could tell both Hinata and Gaara were listening intently as well, and he sighed. He gave them a suddenly weary smile.

"Honestly, that's something I'd rather not talk about right now. But this whole charade has gone on so long because I just got used to being a girl, and, after the first couple of years at the same school, it would have just been weird to walk in one day and say, 'Hey everybody, it's me, Naruko. Oh, by the way, I'm actually a boy and my name is really Naruto. Just thought you should know.' So I just never thought about saying anything otherwise," he told them.

"You said you were going to tell us though. When was that going to happen?" Gaara asked. Again, Naruto heard no hatred or anger. It was strange. He was expecting everyone to hate him once they found out, but instead he'd kept four people beside him.

"I don't know. Soon, maybe. Before this baka pervert came," he gestured to Sai, "I was planning to just never say anything. We would have graduated and gone off to different colleges. We wouldn't see each other anymore. I would have changed back then, I guess, but now you all know."

"I see," Neji said thoughtfully. Sai toyed with the blonde's hair a little and frowned at it.

"Your hair is nice and all, but since everyone knows now, it would be a good idea to get it cut soon," he suggested.

"Yeah," Naruto replied with a grin. He took a long strand of his hair and looked down at it. "It's gonna feel really weird to have short hair again."

"Don't worry, you'll be just as cute with short hair as you are with long," Sai said, smiling sweetly. Naruto stuck out his tongue at the brunette even as a faint blush came to his cheeks. Still, even as Sai teased him and he talked and joked with his friends, Naruto wished in the back of his mind that one person hadn't left and taken his heart with him.

Sai had driven him home after showing him his work in progress. The painting was large. Layers of blues and grays were covering the entire canvas, but in the middle were two tan blobs. They were in the shape of two people, one a girl and the other a boy from what detail there was. A distinct black outline surrounded each of their front sides as they stood back to back, but there was no line to separate the two bodies where they touched, as if they were one, blending together. There were more outlines and other spots of color on them to indicate eyes and other facial features, or the edges and wrinkles of their clothing. When he looked closer, he could see in the blues and grays of the background that there were darker shades hinting at the outlines and shadows of other people moving about. It wasn't finished, and Sai had told him he didn't want to show it again until it was. Naruto had complimented him and replied that he was excited to see it finished.

"Naruto! How was school today?" Yumi asked cheerfully from the kitchen when he walked in, calling out that he was home. He could smell the aroma of baking cookies and smiled. He set his things down and entered the kitchen area to see his mother pulling off a pair of oven mitts and wearing an apron with some flour and batter sprinkled on it in places. He smiled even more at her appearance, feeling better than he had before.

She looks well, Kyuubi said, breaking the blonde's good mood. Kyuubi had stayed quiet throughout the rest of the school day. He'd nearly forgotten about the voice until it finally got tired of staying quiet for so long.

Shut it, I don't need this right now, Naruto growled in his head tiredly as he greeted his mother.

"Hey 'kaa-san," he said and sat down at the table with a bit of a heavy sigh. Yumi passed him the bowl of left over cookie batter along with a spoon.

"Bad day?" she asked with a sympathetic smile.

"Kind of. A lot of my friends are mad at me right now and I wish they weren't," he told her. He looked up and felt so grateful that she was still here and that their relationship was better now. He guessed Kyuubi was partly responsible for it, but he never wanted to admit it.

You're welcome, Kyuubi said proudly. Naruto ignored him and continued with what he was saying.

"Still, I know that they have every right to be mad at me. All of them should be mad at me right now actually, but some of them aren't."

"What happened?" she asked, concern painted on her face. She grabbed a spoon, and then sat down and began eating the left over batter with him.

"I lied to all of them. Right to their faces too. About something big too-"

The doorbell rang.

Naruto smiled at his mother and stood, waving for her to stay put.

"I'll get it," he said.

You're such a good little boy, Kyuubi said.

And you're such an annoying leech, Naruto replied as he arrived at the door. He opened it and came face to face with his favorite teacher.

"Iruka-sensei," the blonde said, a bit surprised. He knew Tsunade had asked the man to check in on them, but she was coming back that night. He shouldn't have needed to come, but Naruto reasoned that he should have expected it. He hadn't talked to the man after class and avoided him the rest of the day as well, after all. Of course Iruka would come for answers.

"Naruko-san, I mean…Naruto-san," the teacher greeted with an incline of his head. The stood quietly for a minute before Yumi called out, "Who is it Naruto?"

"It's Iruka-sensei. I forgot I was supposed to meet him for something. I'll be right back, okay 'kaa-san?" the blonde replied from the doorway.

"Alright. The cookies should be done soon, so Iruka-sensei is welcome to stay if he wants to when you get back," she called back from the kitchen. Naruto slipped on his shoes and coat, said goodbye, and shut the door behind him. He looked up at his teacher and smiled weakly.

"Hey Iruka-sensei," he said. "Can we walk and talk?"

"Ah…sure," the man consented. Naruto lead the way down the driveway to the sidewalk. They walked in silence until Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He didn't look at the other, afraid of what he'd see, and not strong enough to without Sai there beside him again.

"Please don't be mad that I've lied to you too," he said. There was a pause before Iruka replied.

"I'm not mad," he said. "I'm a little sad and hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me, though. That's all."

"But you're not mad at me? You're not mad that I've lied to you? That I'm not who I've always said I was?" Naruto insisted, looking up at his teacher.

"Why would I be mad at you for any of that?" Iruka asked, a bit surprised at his student's insistence that he should be mad at the other.

"Because it's disgusting, it's wrong. I've been pretending to be a girl this whole time. I didn't even want to be a girl, but I did it anyway. It was stupid and I just kept lying to everybody and that's just the worst thing I could have done to my friends and…and—"

"Naruto-san," Iruka said firmly, yet softly. Naruto could feel tears burning behind his eyes once again, but he refused to let anymore fall. He hated being so weak. And at the moment he hated himself like all the others in his life should hate him now, despite the fact that some of them didn't. He felt hands rest on his shoulders.

"Naruto-san," Iruka said again in the same tone. "Look at me."

The blonde looked up as he was told and resisted the urge to look away again. Iruka was always so accepting, so nice. Naruto felt so unworthy of it.

Listen to him brat, Kyuubi said quietly. And for once, Naruto wasn't mad at him for speaking up.

"I'm not mad at you. I'm not disgusted either. Yes I'm a little hurt, but it doesn't matter. If I were mad, I wouldn't have come," Iruka said. "So you've been pretending to be a girl. I don't know your reasons for doing so, or why you chose now for everyone to know the truth, but at least you've told the truth. Besides, all you've been hiding is your gender. You haven't been lying about who you are. You're you, and that won't change whether you're a boy or a girl. And I'm sure your friends feel the same way as I do."

Naruto shook his head.

"Not all of them," he said quietly, looking down again. Iruka pulled him into a hug, which the blonde returned gratefully.

"I'm sure they'll come around. True friends will accept each other the way they are, but for some, sudden changes take a little getting used to," Iruka told him.

"I know," Naruto said into the man's shoulder. "I know. But that doesn't stop it from hurting when they leave."

Ding!

"Cookies are done!" Yumi sang happily. She pulled on her oven mitts and pulled out the tray of freshly baked confections. She'd wanted to do something special for when her friend returned from her trip. So she had dug out a recipe and tried her luck at making homemade chocolate chip cookies from scratch. They smelled delicious, and she hoped that they tasted just as good. Suddenly the doorbell rang. She wasn't sure when Naruto would be coming back, but she guessed that it wasn't her son, seeing as he would have simply walked in instead of ringing the doorbell.

"Coming!" she exclaimed as she pulled off the mittens and apron. Then she made her way over to the front door and opened it. Before her stood a tall man with silver hair drawn up into a ponytail and glasses balanced delicately on his nose. He wore black coat over a dark blue button up shirt and tan slacks. Although he looked handsome, his features seemed a little stretched, like they'd been pulled back tighter against his face than they should be. She dismissed the thought in favor of greeting the stranger.

"Konichiwa. And who might you be?" Yumi asked with a smile. The man smiled back.

"I'm not sure if you remember me, but my name is Kabuto. I used to baby sit Naruto-kun, your son, when he was younger," he replied.

"I see. My memory isn't the best at the moment, so I'm afraid I don't remember much at all. But if you used to baby sit Naru-chan, then it's very nice to see you again, Kabuto-san," she said with a slight bow. He bowed in return.

"It's good to see you as well. Would you mind if I came in for a little?" he asked.

"Not at all. Please, make yourself at home," she told him, moving aside to let him in.

"Arigatou," he said as he entered.

"This way please," Yumi said, leading him to the living room. "Naruto isn't here right now, but he should be home soon. I'm sure he'd love to catch up with you. Would you like anything to eat or drink while you wait?"

"No thank you. I'll be fine just waiting," Kabuto responded. He sat on the recliner and Yumi took her place on the large couch.

"Alright. Just ask if you need anything then," she told him. She leaned forward a little. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you decide to drop in?"

"Well, I'm here visiting an old friend right now. Naruto and I were quite close back then, but after Arashi's death you all moved away so quickly. It's just been so long, and I remembered that you had moved here, so I just wanted to see how you two were doing," Kabuto explained.

"Ah, I see. We're both doing quite well actually. Naruto's been doing well in school and I've been looking after the house while Tsunade-chan is gone. She's coming home later tonight if you'd like to stay and meet her. Or have you met her before? I can't remember," Yumi rambled, a frown appearing. The door opened suddenly and she smiled again.

"That must be him now," she said, hopping up to greet her son. Kabuto remained where he was, preferring to wait.

"Welcome back," Yumi said to the two in the doorway.

"Hello Uzumaki-san," Iruka said with a smile. "I'm afraid I can't stay for long."

"He's got a date with Kakashi-sensei later on," Naruto added with a smirk. Iruka blew up in red.

"I-It's not a date! We're just having dinner together!" he exclaimed.

"Sure, sure, Iruka-sensei. Having a private, romantic dinner together with the man of your dreams isn't a date," Naruto replied flippantly. Iruka sputtered and Yumi giggled.

"I see. Well then, we should send you on your way so you won't be late, shouldn't we?" she said.

"It's not a date," Iruka repeated tiredly.

"Are you going to come in?" Naruto asked. The brunette shook his head.

"I really do have to go, but not to get ready because it's a date. I just have some errands I need to run before I meet him tonight," he replied.

"Oh, wait a moment," Yumi said as an idea came to her. She rushed to the kitchen and back after a few minutes with a small bag full of cookies in her hand. She handed them to Iruka with a smile. "For you and your friend."

"I couldn't," Iruka said, trying to give them back.

"Please," she insisted. "I made too many anyway."

"Thank you, Uzumaki-san," he said with a smile. He turned to leave before pausing. "Is Tsunade-san home by any chance? There's another car here, but I'm not sure if it's hers or not."

"Oh, no, that's not hers. She won't be back until later. It's an old friend apparently, Kabuto-san. He said he used to baby sit Naruto so I let him in," Yumi explained.

"Kabuto's here?" Naruto asked with surprise.

"He's in the living room. Go on and say hi to him," she told him. Naruto grinned. He hadn't seen the other in years. He had always liked Kabuto. He was nice and usually let him do what he wanted when the silver haired man was looking after him. He went to the living room, leaving Yumi and Iruka in the hallway. She smiled at the brunette.

"Have fun with your friend," she said with a slight bow. He returned the gesture with a bow and smile of his own.

"Thank you again, Uzumaki-san. Sayonara," he said. He closed the door behind him and Yumi went into the kitchen to collect the rest of the cookies she had into a bowl. She then carried the bowl to the living room.

"The cookies are finished if you want any…Naruto…?" she said, trailing off as confusion came over her features when she walked into the room. Kabuto was standing over her son who was now lying on the floor, unconscious and face down. "Wha…?"

Kabuto looked up at her suddenly with a malicious glint in his eye that she hadn't seen before. It was as though he were a completely different person now. Her grip on the bowl tightened as a cold chill rolled down her spine.

"What have you done to my son?" she demanded with a quivering voice. He grinned at her.

"Does it really matter?" he asked. And then she was falling. In the background she could hear the shattering of the bowl as it hit the floor. Her ears rang from the gunshot and pain exploded in her chest as it registered in her mind that she'd just been hit with a bullet. Tears sprang forth in torrents. She could feel the blood leaking from her wound and soaking her clothes, making her weaker with each passing second. And then came the sound of shoes tapping across the floor toward her, echoing in her ears until they were so loud she was certain they were right next to her. Kabuto crouched down next to her.

"Shh, shh, don't cry. It'll be all right. You'll be with Arashi soon. And when I'm done with Naru-chan here, you'll see him too. Then you be one big happy family. Okay?" he whispered in a soft, comforting voice even as a dark smirk was formed on his lips.

"No…don't hurt him, please. K-Kabuto-san…no, you're not…" she choked out brokenly as thing began flashing back to her. After all that time since that accident, she hadn't remembered a thing, other than what she'd been told. But now she was remembering, she understood why this was happening and who this really was. She sobbed harder as he brushed his hand across her forehead, moving some of her hair to the side. She didn't want him taken away from her again.

"P-please…don't…Naruto," she cried. "Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…I'm…sorry…so…sorry…"

"Shh, that's right. Pour your heart out with your last breaths. No need to keep it in any more," he breathed. She didn't notice as he picked up her hand, being too focused now on her son unconscious only a foot or two away from her.

"Naruto…" she called out, wishing he could hear her, but knowing he couldn't. "I don't want…to lose you…too…Naruto…"

The silver haired man returned her hand to where it had been, now with a slip of paper in it, folded meticulously into a small square. Yumi's eyes dulled as she muttered a few more things, tears still running down her face, until nothing was left and her lips stilled. She was motionless as the man stood above her looking satisfied. Then he turned to the unconscious blonde with a smirk.

"Time to play Naru-chan."

A/N: Oheemgee, sorry this took a while. Seriously I worked on this a lot one day and then I just kinda stopped for about two weeks for some reason…okay, mostly because I'm lazy and like to procrastinate. But I've finished it. Can't say I really like how it turned out, but it's getting intense. There was actually supposed to be a chapter or two before something like this was supposed to happen, but when I went to write this chapter it said I'm going to be written like this and this is what's going to happen. End of story. So yeah. Unresolved crap and more intenseness. I love it. And I love you all who have read up until this point. It makes me so happy to have such loyal readers and reviewers. New people are always welcomed and my love extends to them as well. Hopefully I will have the next chapter up soon. In the mean time, please help to boost my ego and self-esteem by reviewing. Please and thank you!

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it, so please don't sue. The most you will get out of me will probably be ten cents...