Disclaimer- I own no characters and I certainly don't own the series…… (Mostly cuz if I drew Naruto, it'd be solely stick figures! ^^)
MILKSHAKES TO: Midnight-Shadow-Wolfling, vivi-vixen, SummerstormDancer, Shadow Kitsune67, Xiashadow, Kingkakashi, Picopicox3, InzanityRulz, KCWolfman, LovelySinner7, kirallie, login, extreme kiwi, Suave Jiraiya, Lioness-of-Tortall-7, Hokage Hinata Hyuga, kutoki, Draikinator, Aachen, Immortal Fallen Angel FOR REVIEWING! (Pick your flavor :P)
AND ICE CREAM TO THOSE WHO FAVORITED OR STORY ALERTED THIS STORY!!! (Quick! Favorite before it melts XP)
As to my Q about who is the villain:
A lot of people said it was mostly the village's fault which was weird cuz I wasn't even thinking of them (sure it is, but I was too busy thinking on a smaller scale of the main characters XD Good job at looking at the bigger picture! : D) Then everybody started dishin out the blame on Tsunade and Team 7 (Specially Sasuke *evil grin* MWHAHAHA, FEEL THE HATRED ^^) But what I really wanted to see was if anyone blamed Naruto. O.o I know, and YES! SOMEONE DID!!! I'd like to donate this chap to Drakinator who wrote:
The bad guy...? That's hard. Not Sasuke. Sasuke honestly does want to help him, even if he's really going about it in a... not so great way, so maybe it's actually Naruto in a way, because he's hurting himself.
Alright, you may think it's strange, but that's who I planned on being the bad guy (O_O moment) But of course, the blame gets shared so mostly the people who said there was no "bad guy" were right ^^ GOOD FOR U GUYS : )
Now, I'll leave everything else for the end (mostly cuz I hate having huge AN at the beginning and delaying the new chap) including Japan, more voting/reader input needed!, and BAD NEWS T-T
Chapter 5: Expected
~*~
Say it ain't so
Your drug is a heartbreaker
Say it ain't so
My love is a life taker
~Say it Ain't So by Weezer
~*~
Thankfully, the trip to Tsunade's office was not as bad as the captive boy had originally expected it would be. One of the ANBU had been kind enough to grab his clothing, seeing as Naruto was too preoccupied by the hard grips on his arms that forced him out the door and into the rain to get them himself. The fellow shinobi were not nice enough, or better, trusting enough, however, that they would take off the chakra cuffs to let the blonde put his shirt on. At least he had pants, and he thought of himself as lucky to at least have them, considering the fact that he would have had to walk through the village in his boxers if he didn't. That bit of optimism, as small as it was, was enough to keep the teen confident enough that he was once again able to take out his mask and set it in place.
But his mask only made his ANBU escorts more uneasy. Not only had the boy given himself up, but he hadn't even gotten angry that they had not allowed him to put his shirt back on. After finding the boy had not been in his apartment, they'd been almost certain that he would fight back when they appeared in the Hyuuga compound, and were prepared to secure him by force. At the very least, they believed they'd have to drag him to Lady Tsunade kicking and screaming once they had arrested him. But no, none of these things seemed to be the case. He came willingly and was very polite through and through. In fact, the teen was smiling at them. Not grimacing or frowning at having been caught, no guilt in his eyes for what he had done; just the same grin the blonde boy had become famous for.
Yes, Naruto was taking his arrest in stride. If it weren't for the bands on his hands, you'd think he'd just pulled another prank of his and that the teen was proud of his success. After all, he seemed fairly content. But, no, he was not happy that the teme had gone running off to tell on him, as the blonde had guessed his friend would do, which was why he'd gone to Hinata's in the first place. They weren't so close friends that she'd be the first house they'd check, but apparently they'd considered her closer to him than he'd originally thought and they found him before he could find a proper hiding place. Naruto mostly blamed the capture on the rain…and the fact that Hinata had him get his clothes off. He hadn't seen that coming at all.
No, the Uzumaki guessed he was on some kind of artificial high, or perhaps his mind hadn't caught up with him yet. Or maybe both, he didn't really care what it was that allowed him not to stress. All the boy knew was that he much preferred the blank slate of mind he now had, rather than the usual headache and fears that filled his mind. Now that he was caught, he had nothing to worry about…or at least for the moment he didn't. As soon as he sat down in Tsunade's office, however, the game of cat and mouse that ruled his life would just start anew. She'd begin pressuring him for information, he'd have no answers, she'd insist he did, he wouldn't give any even if that was true, ect., ect.
The thought of fighting with his baa-chan put a damper on his mood, but not enough so that it affected his appearance to his guards in any way. It took quite a bit to break his mask. But good things never seemed to last long for Naruto. They'd almost made it to the Hokage's tower when he heard it. The whispering.
If there was one thing Naruto knew about whispering, it is never good. Whether the person was speaking to you or to someone else, whispers meant scandals, whispers meant rumors, and most of all; whispers meant secrets that wouldn't stay secret for long. And by the way people started running through connecting alleyways, despite the time, only to whisper something and run off again, he knew it had to be about him. The glances and cheers from those left on the street and through open windows helped too.
Naruto sighed. He'd known they'd had some sort of reaction to his arrest, but he'd had some small hope that his little convoy would make it inside before too many people knew what was going on. But of course, gossip travels fast when it's juicy, and the news of the arrest of a demon might as well have been some super virus with the way it spread. Despite himself, the blonde chuckled at how happy they all were. If they knew that he was being arrested for hurting himself…he could hardly believe they'd be joyful then. Maybe he should tell them so they'd join his side against Tsunade. Certainly the council would be by his side, as well as three fourths of the village. But the teen shook the idea from his head. Uzumakies¹ didn't play that dirty.
They'd all but made it through the door to the tower when the group heard a loud, "SMACK!" The ANBU spun around, ready for an attack, but all they saw was a large rock on the ground. Their ward seemed perfectly fine, however, and grinned at them.
"Missed me!" Naruto said, giving them two thumbs up. They probably would have believed him too, had they not seen specks of blood on the ground just behind him and on the rock itself. The trained cold-hearted killers shared a look amongst each other, and then turned to nod at the boy slowly. Even through their masks, Naruto could tell they pitied him, and as soon as they turned around he growled under his breath.
He didn't need pity. Where was their stupid pity back when he was just a helpless little kid that was getting beat up? Nobody gave him a second glance when he was being pummeled then. Naruto brought his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture, but in truth it was to feel the growing patch of warmth on the back of his head. Sure enough, he felt a little blood, but it was nothing to worry about, so he didn't worry about it. Kyuubi would heal it before it even became noticeable. Besides, the blonde grinned. He was in the lion's den now, and it was time battle the beast.
B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P B-) ;-P: O
Had Naruto not known he was in serious trouble he would have laughed at the situation he was introduced to when he arrived. Tsunade was up and about pacing and taking swings of sake like a fretting mother hen, closely followed by Shizune who attempted to grab the sake from her hand in vain. Ton-Ton sat on the desk watching the situation and even seemed to give a sigh at the women's antics. What surprised the blonde was the fact that Sasuke wasn't there. Certainly the little snitch would have been here to see his scolding. Naruto highly doubted the teme would miss out on that. Besides, he was sure to have several questions for him, and Uchihas were NOT a patient bunch. The two that were in the room did pause, though, when the group made their way to the center of the room.
Both stared in shock at the boy they'd order the arrest warrant of, or more specifically that Tsunade had ordered to be brought. The Hokage's assistant gasped at the sight of the blonde boy in a similar way that Hinata had earlier that evening, and went to grab her pet pig just to have something to hold. Tsunade merely sighed while pulling back her chair so she could sit down. She'd spent the last half hour thinking of the worst possible outcomes of the situation. That he'd have left the village, that he'd put up a great fight and injure himself in the process, that he'd commit… She hadn't expected this. Here he was, Naruto Uzumaki, the boy that might as well have been her own flesh and blood, smiling happily despite the fact that he looked like he might just break if she said the wrong thing. The boy in front of her was nothing like the one she'd seen earlier today. Physically, he was fairly the same. His cheeks were perhaps slightly more hallow, his stomach leaner showing a loss of some weight, and of course the bloody bandage wrapped around his wrist was to be expected (though that didn't stop the Godaime from wincing as her glance fell on it). Put the boy in front of her seemed to be nothing but the empty husk of the boy that had screamed at her earlier. Naruto's cerulean eyes were glazy, his body was somewhat slumped…overall, the other blonde just looked tired.
"Ne, Tsunade baa-chan, are you just gonna stare at me all day or did you have something you wanted to talk to me about?" The younger blonde asked with a smirk, stressing his use of the nickname she hated. The teen didn't receive that much of a reaction though, as his baa-chan merely sighed again and slid into the chair she'd pulled out earlier. Not allowing the lack of response undermine his confidence, Naruto too took one of the chairs in front of her desk, though he sat sideways with his legs dangling from one of the arms of the chair. Tsunade still said nothing to the boy, instead directing her question to the ANBU behind him.
"Mission report." The group nodded as one with a monkey's mask stepped forward.
"Hai, Tsunade-sama. Uzumaki-san was not in his apartment by the time of our arrival. I stayed behind to inform Uchiha-san of his disappearance as the rest of my team spread out to search his friends' houses. After having informed Uchiha-san and after confirming he too did not know where Uzumaki-san had gone, I joined my group in searching as well. I first followed the Uchiha to make sure the boy hadn't gone to hide there, and then made my way to the Hyuuga compound. On my way, I saw footprints heading toward one of the side walls, and mud on the wall itself." The ANBU stopped momentarily as Naruto started muttering something along the lines of "stupid rain making stupid mud that got me caught." Once the boy stopped muttering, the ANBU continued. "By the size of the foot I gathered there was a good chance it was Uzumaki-san's and radioed for my comrades to join me. I stationed one man outside the older Hyuuga male's room and one at the younger heiress's room while my remaining member and I went to the front door to ask for entrance. Hiashi-san was furious at the accusation of housing the blonde, and it took a minute or so to get him to grant us access. Seeing as Neji-san was currently away on a mission, we decided to first check Hinata-san's room where we found Uzumaki-san in his undergarments readying himself to jump out the window. He was, of course, stopped by the guard stationed outside and he allowed himself to be cuffed willingly."
Tsunade stared at the teen in shock at the fact that he'd come willingly, but then smirked at the earlier comment.
"Only in your boxers, huh? Maybe Jiraiya rubbed off on you more than I originally thought…" Despite himself, Naruto's cheeks turned almost as red as Hinata's had.
"My clothes were soaking wet, and she didn't want me catching a cold, and I didn't want to get anything wet, but it wasn't anything like that, I'm not a perv!" Naruto rambled quickly, only making the present Hokage's smirk grow.
"Hmmm. I guess that things went smoothly from there?"
"For the most part, yes. Unfortunately, there was a small incident as we were arriving to the tower." Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
"What kind of incident?"
"It was nothing baa-chan." Naruto said before the ANBU could answer, sending the higher ranked shinobi a warning glare to not continue. The man paid the teen no mind, however, and continued to answer.
"Uzumaki-san was hit with a rock thrown by one of the villagers in the back of the head." Naruto shot the monkey faced shinobi a look of pure hatred, but it was child's play compared to Tsunade's.
Pure murderous intent burned in the Hokage's hazel eyes. Though all were highly aware that the killer intent was not directed at them, the ANBU team all took one step back to put space between them and the crazed woman. Naruto, however, didn't even flinch, despite the fact that her eyes lying on him.
"Ne, baa-chan. It's no big deal—"
"NO BIG DEAL? HOW IS IT 'NO BIG DEAL'?" The blue eyed boy put his hands palm up and shrugged, but it seemed that was the worse possible choice of action he could take as Tsunade's eyes once again fell onto the bandaged wrist. Gritting her teeth, Konoha's leader sat back in her chair in a sad attempt to calm down. "FINE. Let's get down to what you're here for."
Instantaneously Naruto stiffened. As the realization that the game had begun ran through his head, he frowned. But as quickly as his masked had slipped, he had it back up again.
"So, what's up baa-chan?" The teen asked with an innocent tone and a happy grin. The older blonde wasn't fooled. She saw the frown, and she knew the gaki was far from innocent.
"You know exactly what you're here for Naruto, and it's your turn to explain." The boy smirked as she forced the words out between her grit teeth exactly as he had earlier that day.
"I'm a little busy." The teen repeated her earlier excuse. Tsunade dug her nails into her desk in frustration, succeeding in creating a large indentation when they touched.
"Everybody out!"
The ANBU didn't need to be told twice, and they swiftly exited the room as if running from the death god himself. Shizune, however, was a little more hesitant in her departure. The quiet, but present, stubborn side of her felt she had a right to hear what Naruto had to say just as much as Tsunade did. But after a second glance at the legendary sucker, she too high tailed it out of the room, Ton-Ton in tow. Once the door shut behind her assistant, she let her eyes fall back on the source of her frustrations.
"Explain, NOW."
"I don't really see what there is to explain."
"The cut-ting." She stressed the word into two distinct syllables, but the boy still seemed to not understand.
"Again, I don't see what there is to—"
"WOULD YOU JUST STOP! STOP ALL THIS NONSENSE AND TELL ME WHY YOU'D EVEN THINK ABOUT HURTING YOURSELF!"
The room fell quiet after her screaming. She waited patiently for the teen's reply, her eyes never leaving his. …But there was none. What's more, she saw that he hadn't reacted to her yelling in any kind of way. His eyes weren't surprised, they weren't guilty, they weren't even angry. They just…looked at her. They watched her as if none of this really mattered, as if he was just watching a drama unfold. The busty blonde's grip on the desk tighten and she could feel that it groan beneath the pressure. And then for one second, his look softened. It wasn't necessarily guilty or sad, just…deflated. It didn't last very long, and the boy's eyes were blank again, but it gave her some hope.
"Please Naruto, please just tell me why."
Naruto didn't really know how to respond. He'd been prepared for the yelling, for some begging, and even for some crying but man. Tsunade, the strongest shinobi in the village by default of her position, had never seemed so needy. She might as well have been on her knees begging him to stop. Again, he felt a little guilty seeing her own guilt and hurt. But what could he tell her? What did she want him to say?
Out of nowhere, Naruto flipped his legs back onto the ground so that he was sitting properly in the chair and facing Tsunade. With pouting lips and a puppy dog stare, the poor boy clasped his hands together in a begging stance.
"Oh please forgive me Tsunade-baa-chan! I'm sorry I was hurting myself! This was all just an elaborate cry for attention like my pranks. But, you don't have to worry! I've quit for good! Stone cold turkey baby!" The blue eyed boy said in a genuine tone of voice, even ending the speech with a good guy pose.
Tsunade was not pleased.
"THAT'S IT YOU LITTLE BRAT!!! What do you think this is? Some kind of JOKE? Huh! This is your life we're talking about! Stop fooling around and acting like an idiot and let us help you!"
"What do you know about my life? For all you know, everything I just said could've been true!"
"Was it?"
"See! You don't know! Just because I say things in a happy voice doesn't mean it means anything less, I would've thought that you'd know me well enough to know that. Just because I act like an idiot doesn't mean I am one."
"If you don't want to be treated like an idiot, than just stop acting like one!" Naruto laughed bitterly.
"PLEASE. If I'm even myself for a minute people start worrying, do you know how many—" Mid sentence, the teen stopped as if it had just occurred to him what he had been saying.
"'Problems it'd cause'? Was that what you were going to say next?" The spiky headed boy averted his gaze and stared intently on the wall. "Naruto…you're right."
Naruto's head snapped to face her and he stared at her suspiciously.
"I certainly don't know as much about you as I thought I did." The boy snorted at the understatement. "Perhaps I didn't know anything at all. But we both know how I'm going to learn about you, don't we?" Tsunade couldn't help but smirk at how pale the boy's face got. Sure she was being cruel, but the brat deserved it for acting so arrogant earlier.
"Right," he said quietly. "About that…"
"Sorry Naruto, but you've given me no choice. For now we'll put you under a 24 hour suicide watch and make sure you don't have so much as a chopstick to hurt yourself with. You will be taken off of active duty until I receive reports that your mind is indeed stable enough to handle the stress of combat. And though your housing situation after the suicide watch is over is still under discussion, you will be seeing some psychiatric counselor at least three times a week." Naruto groaned.
"I am not suicidal! And there is no way on earth you're making me see a person who gets paid a hundred dollars an hour to ask 'and how does that make you feel?'!"
"Well, that isn't up to you now is it? Perhaps if you had talked to me I could have been more lenient, however…" The younger blonde groaned again.
"PLEASE baa-chan! Have some kind of mercy! I'm crazy, remember?"
"That's why you're seeing the shrink." But after seeing the boy's puppy dog eyes, Tsunade sighed. "We'll see. I'll be getting reports one way or another, but maybe if you're good…"
Once again, Naruto shot her a good guy pose and smiled. In response, the fifth merely shook her head and waved him off. As soon as the boy left the room, she took another long swing of sake. That boy was way more trouble than he was worth.
Outside the room, said boy sighed in relief, despite the sight of two ANBU whom he assumed were to guide him to the psychiatric ward and his makeshift prison. He knew he'd gotten off easy, way easier than expected. Actually…The boy shifted his weight from one foot to another before allowing his ANBU guards to take him away. That was too easy, and Naruto was afraid of what that woman had in store for him.
OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' OO ^^' *_*''' : D
Being on suicide watch was hardly as bad as he thought it was going to be. Or maybe he was just being optimistic again or on another superficial high. Either way, somehow he'd expected he'd slowly go insane if he was locked inside a small room. Instead he found out it was exactly like his hospital visits. Only this time, they skipped the part where he snuck out of the room when he wasn't suppose to and jumped right to the part where they locked the doors and windows (though he had none in this room) and stationed guards to watch him. Besides, this was nothing compared to the time where they strapped him down after one escape.
Still, the boy was bored. Not just, 'I've-got-way-too-much-energy-and-ADHD' kind of bored either, but the 'I've-actually-done-everything-that-there-is-avaliable-for-me-to-do-and-now-I'm-at-a-complete-loss' bored. The room was as bare as most hospital rooms, but his seemed even scarier bare. The blonde had spent the first fifteen minutes of his time trying to figure out all the things they'd taken out and why they took them out. He noticed there were no books, papers, or even napkins in the room. (They probably figured he'd intentionally give himself a papercut.) The shower curtain, bed sheets, and pillow case were all gone as well. (All could probably used for strangulation, but Naruto wasn't into that stuff anyway.) The funniest thing he noticed were missing were the slippers. Just what was he suppose to do with them? Hit himself with them until he was knocked out? He could do that with his fists if he really felt like it.
After occupying some time with that, he eventually grew bored and turned on the TV. He was surprised they even gave him that. They weren't in normal rooms after all (or at least no room he'd stayed in) and the teen had figured out at least ten different ways he could use it to kill himself if he really wanted to (but of course he didn't). He suspected it was a special treat from Tsunade. Maybe she knew he'd go completely crazy if there was not something stupid to occupy his mind.
But after watching a marathon of some insanely unrealistic yet addicting drama, Naruto finally turned the television off. Now what? He'd never been this bored in his life. Okay, so he may have been exaggerating, but there was no clock in his room and that somehow made his 24 hour containment seem even longer because he had no idea how many hours had gone by. The boy sighed staring at the black television screen. It was probably around midnight right now, guessing late he'd been brought in in the first place. But even that may have been pushing it. Still, now was as good of a time as any to fall asleep.
His body didn't seem to be cooperating, however, and the blonde felt in no way ready to fall asleep. True, his body was exhausted, but his mind was running wild. What were his friends going to say when they found out? How much trouble did he get Hinata in? Which slow and painful way was he going to kill the teme once he got out? Would he be able to convince someone to bring him ramen while he was locked up? More importantly, how long was he going to be locked up for?!
Despite the number of questions in his mind, his body eventually won over, and the trouble teen drifted away from reality into yet another nightmare.
~^^~ ~^^~ ~-_-~ ~*-*~ ~^^~ ~^^~ ~-_-~ ~*-*~ Was gonna end it here, but it felt weird without another POV! ~^^~ ~^^~ ~-_-~ ~*-*~ ~T-T~
Sasuke couldn't wait to get out of this god-forsaken rain. He was already soaked from running in it earlier, and then he had to humor the ANBU by using his sharingan to search for other chakra systems in the compound even though he was almost certain Naruto wouldn't be here. If he was, he was probably here to beat him up or something. There was no way he didn't know where Sasuke had run off to, and he couldn't be happy with him. Considering that the Uchiha wasn't very please with his teammate either, he considered them even.
But he didn't want to think of the blonde right now. Sasuke could worry about him later. Right now, all he wanted was a hot cup of tea² in his hands and a dry change of clothes. Finally, he reached his home and after opening the door, he let it slide shut behind him. Not caring whether or not he was making a mess, Sasuke kicked off his shoes and strode into the kitchen, dripping clothing and all. Again, his brother was there waiting for him.
Itachi looked his brother over, taking in his soaking wet clothes and scowling face, but then took another sip of his tea.
"Kettle's on the stove." Instead of thanking him, the younger Uchiha growled.
Half stomping, half dragging his feet, Sasuke made his way to the tea kettle and poured himself a hot cup. He hesitated before sitting down across from his brother who didn't seem at all bothered by his sour mood. Without checking the temperature, the teen took a large drink of the tea only to severely burn his tongue. Hissing, he slammed the cup down onto the table resulting in splashing some of the scalding hot liquid onto his hand. Sasuke swore harshly and cradled the hand in question.
"Language, Otouto."
The younger male growled and muttered, "Don't tell me what to do", even though it sounded childish. Slowly, he took another sip of tea, this time enjoying the way the hot liquid burned his throat and warmed him up.
"Perhaps you should change?" Sasuke just shook his head, not really paying attention to his sibling. Itachi paused, studying him. "What happened?"
Despite himself, Sasuke could feel a lump get caught in his throat, though he made sure he acted like nothing was wrong. He was getting far too worked up over this, but he had reason too. How could Naruto, his dobe, be cutting? The guy never even acted like he was depressed before, save for today. Maybe today was his first time? The Uchiha shook his head again knowing that that was just wishful thinking. What if the baka was suicidal? What if he was off killing himself as he just sat here drinking tea? The raven haired teen hadn't even asked the ANBU to inform him once they'd found Naruto, he hadn't even though that far ahead. All he'd cared about was getting out of the rain.
Itachi sighed, somewhat gaining Sasuke's attention, though he was still thinking about his teammate.
"Uchihas may not be ones for sharing their thoughts and feelings Sasuke, but I would have thought that after what happened between you and me you'd be a little more willing to share." After seeing his younger brother's confused look, Itachi continued. "I didn't tell you why I killed our clan because I didn't trust you, and that was my mistake. If I had, perhaps you wouldn't have had to be alone for ten years. Since I've returned, I've tried to speak to and start a conversation with you, thinking that perhaps I could right my wrong, but it seems it's now you who doesn't trust me."
Standing, Itachi put his cup into the sink, aware that a pair of onyx eyes followed his every step. Despite the fact that this was the most he'd probably had said since he'd been reunited with his brother, the older Uchiha continued.
"You don't need to tell me anything you don't wish to, but perhaps in due time. I guess it was just a foolish hope, but I had wished that we'd go back to how it used to be. Back to when you'd constantly bothered me and wanted my help, but now I'd have the time to be there." With that, the inactive Shinobi headed towards his room.
"Why would he do it?" The ex-Akatsuki member turned to look at his brother, his turn to be confused. The other male wasn't looking at him though, instead staring deep into his tea cup with his bangs covering his eyes. "How could be so stupid?"
"Maybe you ought to be asking him." With that, Itachi left without bothering to look at his brother again knowing there was nothing left that he could say or do.
Sasuke finished his tea in silence before following his brother's example and heading to his room. As he walked he shrugged his shirt off, and when he reached his room he tossed it off to the side³. In reply, he heard an angry meow. Blinking he turned to his shirt which was now wildly thrashing this way and that.
"Right, cat." Walking over to the bundle, the teen carefully picked up the shirt from one of its edges to insure the cat would scratch him again. As soon as the shirt was lift, Nato made a made dash across the room until it hit the far wall, where it turned to hiss at him.
"Stupid cat, not my fault you couldn't find your way out from a shirt." Again, the raven haired teen dropped the shirt, and then proceeded to search for a towel to dry himself with. When he found one, however, he was again distracted by an angry meow. Turning around he saw that the cat was tangled inside the shirt, this time with his head poking out for one end.
"Do you want to get stuck? You're just as dumb as do—" Sasuke stopped mid thought and he continued to stare at the struggling cat. With a sigh, he walked over to free the small creature for its trap for a second time. "Guess I've got to help you too… Fine, I'll go see him tomorrow. I know the dobe wouldn't be dumb enough to have killed himself, so they must have found him by now." In response the cat licked his hand.
Despite the fact that he was probably crazy for talking aloud to a cat who probably didn't understand a single thing he had just said and had only licked him because he was freeing him from the wet shirt, Sasuke was sure he was making the right decision. Even if Naruto hated him and wanted to kill him, he needed to try. Consider it as returning the favor.
¹ - What is the plural of Uzumaki?! Jeez, I sat here for ten minutes trying all the ways, so I just picked this one!
² - I wanted to say coffee, but do they drink coffee in the Naruto world? Oh well, whatever.
³ - PLEASE no fangirls! XD
Yo! Did ya miss me? ^^ So, yup! I'm back from Japan, and I've gotta say it was AMAZING!!! You HAVE to go there at least once in your life!!! (I wanna go back :P) My fav thing was the shikansen and train system (call me nerdy like that) but I also loved all the temples and stuff. Only thing I had probs with was the food (I'm picky…but hey! I lost some weight ^^)
But here's why you're going to hate me:
I'M GOING TO MEXICO ^^''' Yup, tomorrow to be precise. So, no updates….AGAIN -_-' I'll be back about the 17th, and then I'll probably force myself to get another chap in before……
I'll tell u about that later ^^'
But now, I NEED YOUR HELP:
IMPORTANT:
Who should be Naruto's therapist?
A) Hinata (That way she'll be easily accessible for the story)
B) Itachi (In case you haven't noticed, he's like my Simon—you know for Lord of the Flies, my fav character and only thing good in the whole book )
C) Just some OC therapist ^^
D) If you have someone else you REALLY want, you can give your vote to them, but it's unlikely that I'll pick them cuz it might be hard to force em into the storyline
SEMI-IMPORTANT: (Spoiler)
Is Jiraiya alive? O.o (It hadn't really occurred to me until now. Technically, I guess he should be, but…up to u)
A) Yes
B) No
OTHER:
Would anyone like to be my beta? ^^'
I was reading through the other chaps and I realized there are quite a bit of mistakes, so I could REALLY use some help. If you've got some spare time and would like to help a girl out, just PM me : D (And if u're a procrastinator, just think: I won't be back for a couple weeks ;P)
Hope you liked the chapter! (heh, heh, yes Itachi was OC, but he was from the beginning…unless he's normally a mother hen O.o)
REVIEW, or better yet, DON'T REVIEW! (Reverse psychology!)
……No! Wait, come back! Please review T-T