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I'm MEGA happy with all the long reviews! You guys spoil me so much Oh and LalaLand? I love incessant rambling, you kept me so thoroughly entertained I almost go caught checking my email at school ;)
ALSO MANY NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS TO THOSE WHO FAVORITED OR STORY ALERTED THIS STORY!
Howdy there partners!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! (In case you didn't realize it was…)
Soy yo, VampireGaaraCheesepuffs and I have arisen from the dead =D. Ok not really. But I KEPT MY PROMISE :D it's only been…like four months since my last update ^^''' (it doesn't sound as nice when I actually write it out…). Anyway, life has been busy (life? What life?) what with school and such BUT here she is! AN UPDATE. *Sniff* I'm…so happy! Anyway, I figured what better way to start 2011 than with a new chap :) one of my resolutions is to FINISH THIS STORY ALREADY -_-''' I can't put it off =-=!
Well, I hope you ENJOY! THE FINAL CHAPTER BEFORE THE ALTERNATE ENDINGS :D
Chapter 14: Release
My tears run down like razorblades
And no, I'm not the one to blame
It's you ' or is it me?
And all the words we never say
Come out and now we're all ashamed
And there's no sense in playing games
When you've done all you can do
~It's Not Over by SecondHand Serenade
All Sasuke Uchiha wanted to do was swear. He wanted to stop and scream every foul word he knew and perhaps create a few as well. Instead, the teen kept running, kept searching, but all he wanted to do was stop and swear.
The raven haired boy couldn't stop the images from in his mind as if he watched a silent film. As the scenes he had witnessed in that forest clearing earlier played over and over again, he could feel them begin to warp within his skull. Scenes became blurry as if his memory began to decay and his thoughts jumped from moments to moments, eventually skipping minutes' worth of memories. Sasuke forced himself to keep moving; forced himself to focus on the feel of the shingled roof on which he ran, on the faces of every person he passed, but all he could see was the memories.
Everything was too clear now. The blonde's body across the clearing, his shoulders rising and dropping with his sobs. In a flash, the same scene appeared, but this time under a lens so that all Sasuke could see was the red puddle in which the boy sat. Suddenly, the Uchiha had Naruto's wrist in his grasp, but all he could see was pain filled cerulean eyes… and then they eyes went completely blank...
He still couldn't find him, but the teen kept running, kept searching, until finally he stopped upon the hospital roof and swore. Forget the Uchiha way of remaining calm, cool, and collected at every moment of every day, Sasuke paced, swore, and clawed at his head for a full ten minutes before he became exhausted. Below he could see citizens glancing up at his figure in confusion and surprise, though he could tell they neither understood nor recognized him. The shinobi on the other hand…
Eventually Sasuke allowed himself to fall against the water tower and close his eyes. To his surprise, all the sharingan wielder saw was black. No more memories, no more horrific images, just darkness. For a moment, he was about to smile.
"I can't be an empty shell. I can't go through the motions just to get through a day. I can't live without feeling something."
His eyelids snapped open, but no images returned. The Uchiha swore again as he closed his eyes and beat his head against the metal tower. Perhaps Naruto really was right; he was empty, a shell. The teen searched for the painful memories that had haunted him for the last hour or so, but it was gone. Worse yet, so disappeared the fear, the regret, and the ache. The sky had gotten dark by now, the moonlight bright on the horizon. His head felt the chill of the metal on which he leaned, reminding him of the reason for the tower's replacement in the first place. He had been so angry with his best friend because of his own dissatisfaction with himself.
Then he remembered fighting him at the Valley of the End. He remembered seeing Naruto for the first time since their battle in one of Orochimaru's lairs. He remembered feeling awkward standing next to Itachi as team 7 plus Sai walked into Tsunade's office when he first came back, how his heart momentarily stopping when he saw that cut on Naruto's wrist that night at his apartment, and that insurmountable anger towards that drunkard who allowed Naruto to get away. Actually, he still wanted to kill that guy for letting Naruto sneak away.
The image of Sasuke standing in the clearing as Naruto walked off, blood dripped down his arms popped into his mind and he swore again. No, he could feel all right. The guilt and self-loathing had only given him a moment of relief. How could he have let the blonde go? How could he have just stood there! How could he have been so stupid? It took the teen all of five minutes to realize that Naruto was not going to live very long if he wasn't found. Tsunade had been about to rip off his head when he told her that he had just let him go. Luckily, Naruto's safety was much more important than his own demise. Not that he would care if she tortured him for what he did. If Naruto was never found or dead because of his inanityˡ he would probably do the same himself…
"I can walk. I can wa-lk. I can WALK idiots!"
Sasuke pushed himself off the water tower and sprang towards the hospital's edge. Sure enough, the one and only blonde dobe himself stood below, only feet away from the hospital door. Like the Uzumaki, the Uchiha used to know, the blue eyed shinobi was struggling with his ANBU guards. They had the teen surrounded, but he didn't seem to care. Apparently, they had half carried him most of the way and now that they were close, Naruto was adamant on entering without escorts. Despite the situation, the whole scene almost made Sasuke smile. Almost. Quickly, the dark haired teen made his way to the staircase so he could meet his friend face to face…and this time he wouldn't back out.
*/* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~` */* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~` */* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~` */* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~`*/* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~` */* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~` */* : ) ( ; :^)- -(^: +=+ %] ~_~`
After many, many failed attempts including getting yelled out of several rooms and walking in on awkward moments (including a sponge bath of a 70 year old man), Sasuke finally found the right room. By now, Naruto's wounds had been wrapped and he was currently strapped to the bed with large leather belts.² Not being able to look at the blonde, he turned to study Tsunade who had been yelling since before he entered the room. The woman was absolutely livid. Several long strands of her pure blonde hair had fallen out of her low ponytail and hung about her face. Her face was blushed from too much alcohol, but she looked as if she were bolted to the floor. Across the room, he spotted Shizune, looking worse for wear, with her faithful Ton-Ton in hand. She too noticed his presence and a flash of surprise entered her eyes, but she quickly put a finger to her lips. He got the message.
"—how many men we had to send out looking for you? If the village was attacked by a ferret we probably couldn't have defeated it with the lack of defense we had!"
"I'm sorry I'm such a burden to you." The captured boy whispered.
Somewhat begrudgingly, Sasuke turned back to the blonde and he almost gagged. He couldn't tell from the roof how terrible Naruto really was, but now he could see everything. The sickly paleness of Naruto's skin, his hair was disheveled and full of leaves. A large purple and blue bruise was creeping up the side of his neck that the Uchiha knew hadn't been there when he last saw him. The bandages on his arms, though obviously new, still had a couple spots of red. Slowly, onyx eyes made their way to azure eyes and, thankfully, the latter did not stare back because Sasuke doubted he could stand seeing that pain staring at him again.
"You know that's not what I meant." Tsunade snapped, but it sound as if her anger had given away to guilt. "I sent all those men because we all care about you. We needed to know that you were alive and ok."
"But I'm not." Everyone in the room save Naruto stiffened. "If you were kind you'd just kill me."
"Don't say that!"
"Why not!" Everyone jumped at his suddenly loud voice. "And don't tell me it's because you care, if you cared you'd let me do what I wanted."
"Please Naruto," Tsunade's voice was now the soft one. "This is only temporary, you'll get better and regret wanting—"
"I've wanted to die for years, almost as long as I can remember, so I don't think it's quite 'temporary'." Tsunade's mouth snapped shut.
"But Naruto-kun!" Shizune argued.
"But what? It's true. I used to dream of never waking up and then be disappointed when I did. When I cut I always imagined just stabbing myself all over my body, but never had the courage." Naruto's voice became a whisper as he let his chin fall to his chest. "I was never afraid of the pain either. Or of what people would think of me."
Suddenly, Naruto looked up, straight at Sasuke, his eyes shining with pain and confusion so that he looked like a child. Beside him, Sasuke could sense Tsunade become startled by his presence once she'd followed Naruto's stare but Sasuke could care less.
"While we were still in the Academy, before I knew the Kyuubi existed, I finally decided I deserved it." Naruto choked on the words, as if they burned his throat, and the other three members could feel the pain attached to each word.
"If everyone hated me I had to deserve it, right? Soon I began to hate myself. I loathed myself. Every beating I got, I silently cheered for them. Every robbery, I would tell myself, 'You had too many nice things.' I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror because I knew I was nothing but a two-faced liar day in and day out. Some days it felt impossible to act so happy, so I'd skip class and play pranks. I figured I ought to create ways for people to hate me because at least then I knew why…."
"When I did learn about the Kyuubi, I felt a bit better about myself…for a little while. The thoughts never go away though. They're always right beneath the surface slowly picking away at you, bit by bit, day after day. After all, I was a loud-mouth, a failure, a dobe." Naruto grinned disturbingly, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's.
"And every night I'd come home and tell myself, 'it's all an act' or 'they hate the Kyuubi not you' but you can only hear things so many times. Soon your words are the ones that sound fake and surreal. Then, right about the time it became really hard to believe anything I said, I lost you." Sasuke stiffened and Naruto's deranged grin grew.
"I was the last person in your way, I had promised to bring you back, and I failed. Things became impossible by then. Now I really should hate myself. I really did deserve all the hatred because I had failed big time by losing you and I never could get you back. I got stronger and stronger, and you came back on your own leaving me with a hole I could never fill."
"I cut because I'd failed." Naruto whispered, changing in an instant. The smile fell away and he tilted his eyes to the ground. "I found lots of other things I liked about it later; the control, the adrenaline rush, even the pain, but I started and only did it when I realized I needed to be punished. Most of the time I didn't know for what exactly, but I knew deserved to be punished…." Then the twisted smile began to return and the blue eyes locked on Sasuke's onyx ones once more.
"So tell me, Sasuke-kun, since you took away my punishment. Do I not deserve this pain? Do I not deserve the hatred, the beatings, the robberies, the name calling, and being walked all over day and night as I live a lie so I can be who all of you wanted, to please everyone else even though I suffer non-stop because of it, do I not deserve that?" Sasuke couldn't speak. "Well!"
"No."
"What was that?"
"NO! You don't! You never did!"
And just like that the smile fell away again. There was no more confusion. There was no mocking tone to his voice when he spoke again. There was only pain, pure pain as he shakily asked, "Then why do I have to live?"
Sasuke was lost. It was if he was running through a maze, searching for the one route that would lead him to Naruto, to save Naruto…but all he found were dead ends.
"What about your dream? What about becoming Hokage?" The onyx eyed teen asked pitifully. The blonde answered back with a weak smile.
"You said so yourself. Everyone would rather watch the village burn then let me rule." Sasuke winced.
"That's not true Naruto, I was just mad—"
"Right, you were mad. That makes it ok to constantly make me feel inferior. And Sakura gets annoyed so that makes it ok to hit me and just ignore whatever I've just said. And everyone else assumes I'm an idiot so it's alright to just come and go from my life as they see fit."
"That's not—"
"Oh it's not is it? Bet you never noticed before, did you? No one really notices much in my case. But don't worry, I rarely blame you. Only on those rare moments when I feel good about myself, but that's not often at all." Naruto chuckled for a moment and averted his eyes to start at the bandage on his wrist.
"I spent all of my life trying to get someone to care about me. Someone I could come to when I couldn't stand myself who would say I'm great. Actually, they didn't need to say anything just be there. Every day I waited for someone to look at me and say, 'What's wrong?' And when I'd say I'm great, they would call me a liar. Every day I did everything I could for everyone else. I made you smile, made you laugh, let you rant, let you vent. Every day I gave whatever I could whether I had the strength to give it to you guys or not."
Finally, Naruto lifted his head once more and stared at Sasuke, though it looked like it took all the effort he could muster.
"I never did get what I wanted. No one called me on my bluff. I let everyone be selfish, please let me be." Sasuke didn't react, but his best friend could still see what his answer was and choked on his next word. "Why?"
"Because things will be better." Sasuke said slowly. Naruto laughed without humor and Sasuke could see tears welling up in his eyes.
"Things never get better!"
"I'll be better." Naruto blinked. "I did notice Naruto. There were days where I could tell something was wrong, but you're right. I was selfish. I figured you'd deal with your own problems and that mine were far more important." The blue-eyed boy looked wounded at his words, so he continued hastily.
"But I'll change Naruto; I'll do better by you. Tsunade will be better, Team 7 will be better; anyone who knows you would be willing to be better. We've used you, abused you, and taken advantage of you, but we'd all be more than willing to pay back the favor. We're all here for you Naruto."
"But why?" It took all the effort Sasuke had, but he somehow managed to give his signature smirk.
"What about us caring for you don't you understand dobe?"
Everyone in the room stared at Naruto for a second, the last wrong hanging in the air as if a piano hung on a rope above them, threatening to crash down and kill them all. For a second, it seemed that perhaps the blonde hadn't heard him and as the seconds passed on, Sasuke began to wish that were the case. It was a big gamble to call him that, but he had hoped….
"Teme."
The Uchiha almost fell over in relief, but he did something even stranger. He genuinely smiled for the first time in a very, very long time.
"Oi! What are you smiling for!
O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-' O.O 8O o.o P.P D-D B0 -_-'
In order to survive in the Hyuuga household where a young heiress faces large amounts of pressure and expectations as well as limitations and the punishments that often follow the breaking of such limitations, Hinata had adapting a peculiar habit at an extremely young age; shutting down. A handful of occasions have caused the girl to completely shut down and in turn faint due to the overwhelming stimuli that put her in crisis (more often than not due to one Uzumaki Naruto, as it seemed the majority Hinata's most emphasizing moments occurred because of the very same). However, commonly the term "shutting down" meant that the girl merely subconsciously removed herself from the situation at hand and she would become lost in her own thoughts. Simply put; she zoned out and no one could bring her back to reality. On one such occasion her cousin, Neji, actually needed to flick the girl's temporal region³ in order to successfully bring her to attention in order for him to finish doling out her father's commands.
After hearing her love's final words and the unspoken significance behind them, her mind became far too addictive to receive any additional information from the outside world. So as her first and only love restrained and led not very kindly out of the clearing, she became less and less aware of her surroundings until all she could register was the oppressing and nauseating sound of her own heartbeat in resonating in her ear due to her heart's location in her throat. Soon enough though, something more sinister began to take over the Hyuuga.
"I'm not worth getting in trouble over." She heard the blonde whisper or perhaps say from a distance.
"I'm not WORTH anything more. Well, guess what, forget what I'm worth!" She wanted to reply, but she had no say in her own mind.
"I'm sick of people asking me that! I'm sick of them giving me that look!" His voice was growing louder, and if she shut her eyes, she could picture him completely standing in front of her.
"If everyone else can be selfish, then I want to be too!"
Then could feel a hand on her shoulder, pressing down on her. She could feel him lean in closer to her ear. She could practically in vision him doing so though her eyes remained clothes, and as he opened his lips to whisper, she could feel his breath.
"And what I want is to kill myself."
NO!
Now despite the emotionally turmoil the young Hyuuga currently experienced, in reality, she had not moved any part of her body expect to close her eyes. After the Kyuubi container had been restrained, one of the ANBU who had appeared walked over to the teen to question her about her own physical well-being. When she neither replied nor reacted, he then put his hand on her shoulder and asked once more. Suddenly, the girl's blank eyes shot open, startling the man despite his training, but, to his surprise, still did not seem to recognize his presence. The man, sensing that she was not in her right mind, picked Hinata up off the ground in a bridal like hold. Then he too left the clearing, following the trail of his comrades that had left just minutes before towards the hospital. Yet she still never reacted….
(-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (I love making new smilies) (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[ (-)_(-) *o* U-U %- S[
When the girl woke up, for nurses had given put her under when they assumed she was under a self-induced catatonic state, she nearly fell from the uncomfortable hospital bed in shock. While she did not fall, she did tangle herself within the flimsy sheets in her confusion, which only served to create fear, as she believed she had been restrained. Slowly yet surely, she allowed herself to calm down enough for her to realize that she had not been kidnapped, but brought to the hospital. The girl laughed at her overreaction, but still gave a little squeak and jumped when the door suddenly opened.
The woman at the door smiled slightly, though any real emotion and Hinata blushed violently. Of all the residents of Konoha to squeak in front of, the young Hyuuga had squeaked in front of her village's leader. Hinata could count on a single hand the number of interactions she had had with Tsunade outside of the Hokage's tower, which meant that every occasion they did meet outside of her workplace was extremely important, as she needed to make a good impression. Squeaking? Not particularly a good impression, not at all.
"Ah, it's good that you've woken up. I probably should have knocked before I entered so I wouldn't have startled you, but I thought you would still be asleep for a few more minutes."
Hinata blushed and shook her head, though she was unaware as to why. Perhaps to convey that her superior could never do wrong when in the presence of one of her followers or perhaps just to shake some sense back into her still slightly groggy, drug ridden brain. Then again, Hinata usually had a way of reacting a certain way without the slightest idea as to why. Heiress training had a way of making a person act politely even under the influence. As the younger girl thought to herself, she watched as the Fifth walked toward the end of her bed, grabbed her chart, nod thoughtfully, and then slap it shut.
"I won't lie Hinata, I did not come here to check up on you," Tsunade said, then hastily added, "Though I am glad you are alright."
Others may have taken offense to this, but Hinata took no mind. Tsunade had never paid a visit to her while she was in the hospital before and saw no reason why she should expect such pleasantries now.
"I came to talk about Naruto." Promptly, the Hyuuga sat slightly straighter and her ears figuratively perked up at her love's name. "Don't worry, he's here and stable."
Just as instantaneously, the girl relaxed slightly though her white eyes never left Tsunade's hazel ones. Under normal circumstances, the dark haired girl would never look any superior, let alone the Hokage, directly in the eyes, but these were no normal circumstances indeed. Her true love was involved and in this time of uncertainty, she searched the other woman's eyes for any hints as to his mental and emotional condition.
"Does he…?"
"We believe he's emotionally stable as well…" The blonde hesitated. "For now."
"For now?" Hinata repeated and Tsunade took a seat on the edge of the young shinobi's bed.
"By some miracle we got him to agree to check himself into the psychiatric ward here at the hospital. However, he made some demands first." She paused.
"First, he asked for unlimited amounts of ramen." Both women smiled.
"Second, for Itachi to remain his psychiatrist."
Tsunade stole a glance at Hinata to see if she was surprised in anyway, but, honestly, the girl was not. After seeing the two men's reaction on the rooftop the day she snuck away to see Naruto, she knew the boy was in good hands. In fact, she had never seen the blonde haired teen be so open with anyone in her life. Despite herself, she had become slightly jealous of this stranger, but if it helped her love, she truly had no right to retain any ill feelings towards him. After noting that Hinata had no visible reaction to this second request, Tsunade nodded and hesitated a moment longer.
"His last request was…that you visit him regularly while he was here."
It was here that Hinata's eyes widened in surprise and only years' worth of etiquette training kept her mouth from hanging open like a bass. Surely, he didn't want to see her again, not after he had yelled at her in the clearing. He had seemed so upset with her, though perhaps it was a general anger pointed more towards the world; she still assumed he would want to cut all ties he had with her. Yet, here she sat hearing the exact opposite.
Despite all the warning bells and the more rational side screaming that he must not have thought out his requests fully, she could nearly literally feel her soul disconnect from her body, float through the ceiling, and do flips, loop-de-loops, and spin its way to cloud nine. Eventually, her rational side got annoyed with yelling, however, and it pulled the young girl back down to earth with a problematic obstacle.
"Bu—but my father!" And for the first time since the Hokage had entered the room, she smiled genuinely.
"I believe your talent with herbal medicines is simply incredible and I insist that you volunteer here at the hospital so that we can further you education to cover all fields of medicine so that you can become a medical ninja." Tsunade winked. "Say, at least several times a week?"
Hinata did not react for a great deal of time. In fact, Tsunade began to worry about the girl, as she seemed to freeze mid breath. Then, due to an uncontrollable urge, Hinata launched herself at Tsunade, capturing her in a hug. However, as soon as she realized that she had basically attacked the leader of Konoha she released the woman as if she had burned herself, turned bright read and fainted on the spot.
As there is an equal and opposite reaction to every action, Tsunade moved very slowly after Hinata's response. She blinked, once, twice, and then stood up, carefully as to not disturb the unconscious girl, tiptoed from the room, but stopped at the door. She took a moment in considering whether she should do anything for the girl, but after a second or so merely shook her head and walked out the door. She still had to deal with Hiashi after all, and she needed all the energy she could spare.
:D BD :P XD x) (X *w* (VAMPIRE!) :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w* :D BD :P XD x) (X *w*
As Naruto wasn't a lying man…anymore…most of the time…unless he had to be…or wanted to be…well, as he was honest at the moment, he wouldn't say life in the physc ward was great or that he got better right away. Actually, he was stuck in the maddening place for a galling six months. He couldn't say that he didn't still have issues with sharp and pointing objects or that he didn't still have days where he needed some kind of fix. In fact, he might even admit he probably could have healed just as well in the Uchiha household…but only if one Uchiha in particular had no chance of finding such facts out. Because, as fate would have it, Sasuke had wanted Uzumaki to return but the blonde refused.
Despite how he hated hospitals, the idea of him being scheduled every moment of the day, and watched twenty-four seven, Naruto somehow knew he had to stay. Sure enough, he woke up every morning with the scent of antiseptics from other floors. Every day he did the same tasks with little variation throughout the week. In addition, in the night, he practically twitched himself to sleep because his shinobi training simply refused to let him ignore the fact that someone was watching him.
However, the antiseptics served as an instant reminder of where he was when he awoke from night terrors in the middle of the dark room and when his mind was still caught in the nightmare. The everyday routine left little time for him to dwell on his situation, memories, or any "bad" thoughts in general. Eventually, he didn't even mind having eyes on him at all times because it never gave him the opportunity to do something stupid. Plus…it felt good not being alone for once.
Besides, he considered himself lucky. Though he was still part of the physc ward and had to participate in all the normal activities, he actually had a private room and, more importantly, a private bathroom. He could choose to eat in his room (though he rarely did because then he would receive no silverware for…safety purposes). He had a television as he did in his old room (however, it was enclosed in a clear plastic case). The only thing he really hated was having to wear chakra inhibitors constantly. Still no training allowed.
Nonetheless, he had his relapses. Once or twice, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night and all he'd be able to think about was his failures, his faults, and how he wasting people's time, resources, and energy by being alive. So yes, he was all but tackled once when they realized he had broken a tile in the bathroom and used it to cut himself while pretending to take a quick shower to help him sleep. (He began to shower in his boxers after that….) The second time the boy got away with cutting for almost three days when he realized there was a sharp patch of exposed metal on the left side of his bed just above his ankle.
Overall, the Kyuubi container thought he had made significant progress during his stay. Itachi visited with him daily. Apparently, living a double life had led to much of his self-loathing and low self-worth. Had something to do with his two separate life styles being so overwhelming, the line between who he believed himself to be and who he pretended to be became blurred, but because he had always rejected who he pretended to be, he began to believe that he as a whole was worthless. Or something like that. It was hard to understand Itachi's notes and he only got to steal his stupid manila folder every once in a while. For not being an actual psychiatrist, he sure knew a lot of mumbo jumbo.
Plus, Naruto wasn't nearly as alone here as he was at the Uchiha compound. Ironically, he saw a lot more of Sasuke now that he was here. Before, he'd only seen the raven haired teen unless the blonde went to watch the other boy train. Now his teammate came over nearly every day and they spent an hour doing whatever came to mind. Sometimes the two shinobis' time together was passed playing some of the stupid games they had in the group area of the ward; other days they spent the entire time talking.
As per his request, Hinata came over several times a week as well. She usually had to practice some medical stuff, but he was the perfect test dummy…except the blonde had a tendency to pretend she did something to cause him great pain just to see her freak out. (She never did catch on that he was just messing with her….) It was really nice having someone to rant to…who didn't write down everything he said. Naruto found that he could tell Hinata a lot more than he told Sasuke. But, then again, Sasuke was a still stoic teme in general, so that wasn't too surprising.
To his surprise, other people came to visit him as well on a regular basis. Kakashi, Sakura, even Sai came often. Iruka visited at least twice a week, Tsunade and Shizune at least once. The rookie nine plus team Guy visited in random intervals throughout the month, sometimes in small groups, others by themselves. Soon he began to believe that maybe they did care.
Although the cerulean eyed boy never noticed consciously, he eventually realized that he thought about dying less and less. Soon, his hands stopped itching for something to cut himself. In just over 6 months, he actually considered himself…content, maybe even happy.
Even so, when Tsunade told him his release date was scheduled for his birthday, he quickly objected. The citizens of Konoha had always been…less than kind on that day. Well, even less than usual. They became more daring, and thus their hatred became much more pronounce. Sure, Naruto wanted to leave, but he didn't want his first day back to be marked by their hatred. He didn't want that to be his life…again.
However, his protests fell on deaf ears. Tsunade insisted that it would be the perfect birthday gift! Great. Still, the fifth Hokage wasn't completely oblivious and suggested that he stay with Sasuke the first day back. They'd fixed his apartment while he was gone, but it might be better for him not to be alone right off the bat. Normally, Naruto would reject the offer instantly, but he hesitated. Reluctantly, the teen agreed and the women seemed to brighten considerably.
The day of his discharge came too soon. Everything, which wasn't much at all, was packed. His room was completely clean. Now, he just gave the stripped room that he'd called home for half a year a good once over. Finally, it hit him that he'd spent over 6 months in the single bedroom. Naruto remembered how he had planned just to quit cutting on his own and wondered if that was even possible, but shook his head. He'd done a lot more than stop cutting.
"Dobe, stop day dreaming and let's go already." Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke's impatience. He hadn't lived here for so long, he didn't understand. With a sigh, the blonde boy turned on his heel and left the miserable hospital room.
:D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~ :D b^^d *U* `_' C: ~^v^~
Sasuke was taking the strangest route to his house that Naruto could imagine. They literally went all the way to Konoha's limits before making their way around the city to their destination. The blonde boy was going to point out how ridiculous the scenic route was, but it occurred to him that maybe his teammate did know his situation and that they were avoiding all the villagers.
…Nah.
Well, for whatever reason they took such a route, Naruto was just extremely glad to see the Uchiha compound. After not leaving the hospital for 6 months, the exercise was somewhat strenuous. He definitely needed to work out and train if he wanted to return to active duty. Finally, they reached the main house and all the blonde wanted to do was just sit on the nearest couch and take a nice, long, quite nap….
"SURPRISE!" The Kyuubi Container jumped at least a foot in the air, nearly hitting his head on the top of the door panel. Instinctively, the shinobi fell into a taijutsu stance, but as his eyes darted back and forth, he saw that all his friends were in the room. Quickly, he dropped his arms and with him fell his mouth.
"Wha-?"
"Happy Birthday Naruto!" The words took a second to register, but as soon as they did, a big smile erupted on the blonde's face and he began to laugh.
"I almost killed you guys!"
"Like you could." Kiba yelled out to his left, and Naruto leapt at his friend with the intent to tackle him. Everyone either rolled their eyes or laughed and the party started up in full swing.
It wasn't long before everyone was settled in. All the girls had formed a little group off to one side that often could be heard giggling at one gossip or another. Shikamaru seemed half-asleep in a chair next to the snack table, where Choji spent nearly the entire night eating and talking to Kiba. The most reclusive party goers like Shino, Neji, and Sasuke were settled on the couches, flipping through the television channels. The adults had brought some sake and other alcohol and spent much of the evening getting drunk in the kitchen. While Naruto, the guest of honor, went from group to group chatting to anyone who would turn his way (which was now everyone) like the star of the party should. Per Naruto's request, the group played ridiculous party games like charades and scotch tape.* Someone ended up spiking the punch, and soon everyone was at least a little buzzed, whether they'd admit it or not.
Late into the night, everyone was exhausted and contemplating whether to go home. Naruto himself was worn out, but it didn't really show because he kept flitting around the groups. Eventually though, the blonde took a seat and sighed. As soon as he did however, he heard a soft voice behind him.
"Um, Naruto-kun?" The teen twisted his head and saw Hinata.
"Oh, hey. What's up Hinata-chan? I mean, other than your head. You know, since it's above mine? Uh, never mind. Did you want to say something?"
"I wanted to know if—if you'd—you'd take a walk with me quickly?" The dark haired girl turned completely red making the blonde boy smile.
"Of course."
The male pushed himself up and out of the chair before motioning for her to lead the way. The Hyuuga blushed again and turned her head down as if afraid of others watching them. Naruto didn't notice anyone else though, instead keeping his attention on the girl who asked for it. When they stepped outside, a small wind blew at them, and they both shivered at the chill.
"You cold?" Hinata shook her head and so they began to walk.
Neither spoke as they left the Uchiha compound. It wasn't until they were near the forest that Naruto said anything.
"So…am I taking you home?" She shook her head.
"So…we're just walking?" Hinata was about to nod, but then shook her head. Naruto stopped.
"Do you have something you wanna talk about?" The girl, who hadn't stopped walking when the blonde had, now stopped about five feet away from him. After a moment, she finally turned to face him and she seemed to be shaking. Naruto moved towards her and began to open his mouth to speak when she finally blurted out,
"Naruto-kun, I—I love you!"
ˡ Nope not insanity. Oh how I love thesauri…that's the plural of a thesaurus isn't it o.O?
² Ha Ha I wish he had a strait-jacket, they look so fun! But I don't think they would put one on Naruto because it might irritate his wounds :( Too bad…
³ I'm taking Anatomy this year, I can't help but be technical ''' In case you don't know where this is, it's actually the sides of your skull as in your temples, but it extends all the way over to above your ears when talking about the skull.
* In case you've never played, scotch tape is when everyone but the caller is blindfolded and they must find other people and get into groups of whatever the caller calls. …It's really funny when someone tries to hug a tree or runs into a wall and stuff XD
THERE WE HAVE IT! ' GoodNESS that took forever XD. Well three days. Still, it's 3 am on New Years and I'm EXHAUSTED. Lol. But now the regular part of the story is DONE! :D :D :D All that's left are the multiple endings ;)
I hoped you really liked the chapter. As I said, it was the climax. I like to think Naruto's climax was in the first part and Hinata's confession was for hers and you know I think Sasuke's still hasn't occurred, but a story can't have multiple climaxes so close together…can it? O.o lol XD the problem with multiple characters :)
Anyway, thank you all my loyal fans! As this story's so close to its close, I can't thank you for all your support and reviews enough ^^
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