He was alone this afternoon, hoping for a change in his life that wasn't as devastating as what had happened last night. It was heart-breaking. He looked in the clear, unchanging sky that seemed to mock him with its indifference. There were clouds drifting by without a care in the world as he sat and looked at them with a longing to be with his friend. Shikamaru loved to watch the clouds go by. A gust of wind moved his hair and poked his stinging eyes. It reminded him so much of Kiba's free spirit and the currents that played with his feet when he ran from it. The gusts tickling his heels and groping his long legs. Then, with the stream of tears streaking down his plump cheeks, he looked at the sun before drooping his head. Memories of the flamboyant blonde, Naruto, rushed through his mind. The way he smiled always had the warmth and radiance of the sun glowing in his features.

It wasn't fair! He had planned to apply to the same schools as Kiba, Naruto and Shikamaru! All those plans were ruined because of that fucker Kankuro and stupid Sakura! Chouji just wanted to die. His father knew he no punishment in the world could equate for the blow he had given, so he just up and decides he can't go to the same schools as either of his friends? Bullshit! But his father had enough of the trouble he kept getting himself into and he made the decision that a reasonable penalty for fighting in school would be to separate him from the people who participated in the fight along with him. If his friends weren't around him, bad elements wouldn't be around him either.

"Hey!" a girl called.

Chouji didn't want to talk. He didn't want to live. He wanted to spend his future with his friends, and a woman took that away from him. But she had help, you see. Two men were other factors of this depression Chouji was feeling. He stood up with all the strength he could muster and walked away from the bench he was seated on. He walked over to the fence, seeing a silent comfort in the dull metal grating. He came closer, placed his fingers through some of the curved diamonds and leaned his forehead on them. It was cold despite the warm summer days approaching and the sun beaming on his face.

"Uh, dude, hello! Hey, I'm talking to you!" the girl called again.

Chouji opened his eyes, angrily but thought better of it and slowly turned around. His eyes widened a little at the sight. It was a young girl about his age, tapping her foot angrily and folding her arms. The girl was really pretty: long blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin, decent height. She wore a pink halter top and blue denim shorts with yellow steel toe boots. Basically, to Chouji, this chick was hot. The girl furrowed her eyebrows at him, frustrated at his unresponsiveness and gawking at her.

"Yo, dude, I was calling you because you dropped your wallet. Someone could've stolen out of the tacky thing, ya know!" the girl said, pouting. "Boys are so careless I swear!"

"Ino, what are you doing over there? We need help over here!" another girl shouted.

"Would you slow your fucking roll! I'm coming, TenTen! Goddammit..." Ino mumbled, tightening her fists. "Could this day get any fucking stupider?"

"U-u-um, you were saying something about my wallet, Ms. Ino," Chouji whispered, holding out his hand.

"Huh?" Ino questioned, loosening her grip on the wallet. "Oh yeah. Here."

Chouji took the wallet from her then stared at it. Ino pivoted away from him, but was interrupted when Chouji called back to her.

"Wait a minute!"

The girl turned around, ponytail swishing over her shoulder. Good thing she wasn't a model, Chouji might have had a heart attack and obsession over her posters.

"Um, do you need help over there?" he asked.

"Not sure what good you can do, but there's this obnoxious box that we can't load on the flatbed," Ino says, pointing to the truck. "TenTen's over there pushing it on a ramp, and her useless boyfriend, Neji, is helping my dad get more obnoxious boxes to put on the truck. If you can push that box on the stupid flatbed, that'd be a HUGE help."

"If I put it on the truck, um, can I - um, well - "

"Well what?" Ino questioned, scowling. "I don't have all day, dude."

"Get some sweet ice from the shop a few doors down," Chouji grumbled.

"Yeah, doesn't matter to me."

"No, well, I meant with you. Can we get something afterwards together?" Chouji asks, blushing.

"...Sure, sounds great," Ino responds, walking away. "I could use something cold."

I'm going to stop the story for a minute and explain something about Chouji's crush, Ino Yamanaka. You see, some details about this blonde babe aren't gonna come up until way later, but it's best if you knew something right now. Ino Yamanaka had a dream. She wanted to be noticed by more than school boys. She wanted to be beautiful, to feel beautiful, to have someone who knew she was beautiful. Chouji was that guy who would've given anything to let her know she was more than a beauty queen. To him, she was a goddess - a flower - and one to be envied.

Tch! Yeah, whatever. Ino's dream did come to life through us, but it wasn't at all what she had expected. Of course, she had a happy ending after much humiliation but that took time to develop. I'd say a few years' time.

Now, about TenTen and Neji, they were...the talk of the town, so to speak. Everyone saw them as the perfect couple. Not me. No, my friends, I saw a different side to their story. I saw how Neji got the game all kinds of fucked up, but that's getting too far ahead of myself. I'm on Chouji right now. Neji can wait...

"Hey, dad, I'm going to the store! Are you sure you gave me all the lists?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, now will you hurry up?" Iruka huffed, pushing Naruto out of the door. "Make sure you don't go fooling around. I don't want you getting lost...or in trouble! You're in enough of that until you graduate from high school."

"Okay, okay, don't rub it in! It burns!" Naruto complains, pouting.

With that, he ran downstairs and got his bike. He dislodged the orange vehicle from its gate then rode off to the store. Realizing a missing item, he backed up and grabbed his guitar then rode off again. Iruka had to report to work at the Nursing Home, which took away his time to go grocery shopping, so he sent Naruto off to run errands - one of the many levels of punishment he's receiving since he hates it. As Naruto rode along his bike, he took the opportunity to sing to himself. Remembering a CD his mentor, Itachi, had listened to before going to bed at his house, he hummed the tune by Orochimaru - the same long-haired male who was on television and the artist of the CD.

"I envy...people who can live regularly. Sometimes I wonder if they're ever aware of the troubles I face - of the lies I speak - of the tests I take - of the sins I create. Have you ever woken up to a sun that burns red, waiting on you to come to it when you're long dead? Have you ever truly known what the serpent of Hell sounds like? It never has the voice of a monster, but a person you might see at night. Does your mind go blank when Death knocks at your door? Do you hold your breath until someone counts to four?"

"Nice voice..." someone calls, stopping Naruto.

He gently presses the brakes on his bike, sticks his foot out and stops pedaling. He scans the area for any suspicious movement but sees nothing. "Uh, hey, who said that?" Naruto questions, looking around.

"Why? So you can rub your narcissism in my face?" the voice asked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes then rode off. He grumbled some swears then rode faster. As he passed down the road, he heard a set of wheels rolling on the side of him but there were walls blocking the person. Naruto let out an exasperated sigh then decided to take a shortcut through one of the safe alleyways. He rode through and heard silence. Smirking, he rode on and started singing Orochimaru's song over.

"Does your mind go blank when Death knocks at your door? Do you hold your breath until someone counts to four? Drop dead motherfucker, I want you no more. You can bury yourself six feet under while I explore your still body and simultaneously sip my Bacardi. I'll be sure to fuck you up so your soul feels the pain. Until there's nothing more to gain... Enjoy this insane."

"Ever been to his concert?" the voice called again, stopping Naruto once more.

He stopped pedaling and cruised his way to the first shop on the list. Naruto pulled out Iruka's list, checked the name of the shop, and got a match. He got off his bike, rolled it on the side of the shop then tied it down thoroughly. The shop owner greeted him, smiling and sweeping the floor. Naruto returned the courtesy then walked inside. The old man had the wooden floors spotless and glistening in the sun's rays. There were shelves of every kind of produce you could find: one for apples, another for oranges, bananas were there too! Naruto took the list back out, turned it over then grabbed a basket. He walked in the back for some strawberries and was about to sing the song again until the voice roused again.

"You never answered my question, blondie."

"And I'm not going to, stalker!" Naruto snapped.

"Don't raise your voice at me," the voice commanded.

"I'll do as I please!" Naruto snapped, placing a carton of strawberries in the basket.

"Like ignoring my question?" the voice scoffed.

"You know, there are better ways to get my number. Sneaking around and following me won't help you," Naruto responds, throwing another carton in the basket.

"Tch! You're too noisy. The only thing I want from you is an answer," the voice said.

"Fine!" Naruto sighed, resignedly. "No, I haven't gone to Orochihoohah's concert! So leave - "

"Shh!" a woman hisses, holding a finger to her lips. Naruto blushes at his rudeness, mouths an apology then walks to another section of the store for cherries.

"His name's not Orochihoohah. It's Orochimaru. He's an independent producer and musician. His company SnakeBite is growing to international fame," the voice informs. "A voice like yours would be considered 'star' quality."

Naruto dropped a carton of cherries then rushed to pick it up again and place it in the basket. This mysterious voice flattered him in a creepy way but gave him hope all the same. It sounded like he was supporting him, like he was his enlightenment.

"Did I surprise you, blondie?" the voice called.

"U-u-uh, n-no...not at all," Naruto whispered, standing still. "Thank you."

The voice was silent...but spoke again, "For what?"

"For your compliment," Naruto replied, turning to the general direction of the voice, "Reason. Hope you like your new nickname, Voice of Reason!"

The voice chuckled. It was a warm, beautiful sound. "Thank you."

"Well, I gotta go. I guess I'll be hearing from you occassionally, ne?" Naruto asked, walking to the register.

Naruto left after paying for his groceries. A boy came from behind one of the shelves by the wall covered with assorted bread and buns, smirking and walking to the door. The shop owner turned to the boy, waving at him gently as he placed a polishing rag on the counter.

"Goodbye, Master Hyuuga," the man called.

"You don't have to use formalities, Kaien-sensei," the Hyuuga chuckled.

"Well, if I did, Naruto would overhear," Kaien said, nodding to the blonde leaning in the doorway.

The Hyuuga looked at the door and was godsmacked. There stood the blonde in orange plaid pants and black Chuck Taylor's (a/n: old name for Converse sneakers), folding his arms.

"So you're my Voice of Reason, Hyuuga-sama?" Naruto questioned, raising an eyebrow.

The Hyuuga smirked, angry at the trap yet impressed by how easily he let himself get caught, and responded with a small chuckle. He placed his hands in his khaki jacket and nodded. His hair cascaded down his back and some hung over his chest, but it framed his face so elegantly. His eyes were most striking to Naruto; they were like a strange pearl color hinted with a touch of periwinkle. He could only describe them as being ethereal. He was taller, his legs and back being much longer than his own, yet somehow slimmer. He looked like he weighed a few pounds less than Naruto, who was well over 115 - last he heard from the nurse at school. Naruto nodded in return, slung his grocery bag over his shoulder and walked out of the door to his bike.

"You're not going to yell at me?" the Hyuuga asked, curiously.

"Nope," Naruto responded, bluntly. Taking note that his Voice of Reason was fairly swift on his feet.

"Are you angry?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Are you afraid of me?"

"Should I be?" Naruto asked, looking at the Hyuuga as he slowly boards his bike. "You haven't sexually harassed me yet; unless, you were going to do so later on."

Naruto's Voice of Reason stepped back, tilting his head and observed Naruto leaning form on his bike. The Hyuuga looked at the blonde from his shoes, up his angled legs, traced the outline of ass and lower torso then up to his enticing lips and compassionate blue eyes. He stared into them until Naruto gave an inelegant harrumph and started riding away before the Hyuuga stopped him.

"I was kidding!" the Voice of Reason chuckled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, I don't like being observed. I'm not your subject!" Naruto argued.

"What's your name?" the Voice of Reason asked, looking Naruto in the eyes.

"You think I want you callin' me?" Naruto responded, leaning on his bike.

"I don't get my phone back until school starts."

"Well, you're a dead giveaway. Besides, I don't talk to strangers," Naruto said, arching both eyebrows and smirking. "Later, skater boy."

Naruto winks at the Hyuuga and rides off to his next destination. The Hyuuga's phone rings moments later. He takes it out, flips it open and answers.

"What?"

'Neji, where are you? I need your help at the shop!'

"On my way, TenTen," Neji says, sighing and hanging up.