DUPLICATE CHAPTER!! Hi there, I just realized that my chapter 31.. is actually a duplicate of chapter 32... now I know it wasn't always like that, I must have been stupid when correcting a mistake of some sort and instead or replacing chapter 31 with corrected chapter 31.. I mixed it up with chapter 32. SO I have fixed it. Chapter 31 is chapter 31. For those of you who read duplicate chapters, I beg you to go back and read 31 because you did miss some important plot moments. (It explains things about Itachi and has a cute SasuxNaru moment!)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto and Concrete Angel... you'd think after this many chapters I wouldn't need to keep saying this...

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Chapter Thirty Nine:

The evening was fast upon him and his mind he was about to lose. For now, he could do nothing but wait. Wait anxiously for something that did not have a specific, set time. This could last for days. The tormenting feeling of awaiting one's dreaded fate. It was like coming to a dead end in your life and having to sit and wait for the door to open for you because you were unable to open it yourself.

For Sasuke, he couldn't go out in find Itachi, he had no way of figuring out where he was or where he would be... if he was even staying in the same place which was doubtful. He had to wait for Itachi to open the door that he'd locked so long ago, only Itachi had the key, and only he could allow Sasuke to access this point in his life.

Strangely enough, Sasuke felt calm at the moment. His fear had been momentarily stilled, so had his nervousness and despair. It was like the calm before the storm, and Sasuke didn't like this feelings. Nothing ever came from this period, it was like being in the eye of that deadly storm on The Day After Tomorrow, the calm was a bad thing because you would die instantly. So despite how calm he felt, Sasuke made himself terribly alert.

He refused to put on any distractions, like the television or radio, because that would block him from hearing every noise around him and his house. Everything was still, even the whether outside was quiet. No wind, rain, nothing at all was making any noise that could distract him.

It was eerie...

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"Do you want food or not!?" Tsunade hollered from downstairs in the direction he would presume was the kitchen.

For several hours, Naruto merely lay on his new temporary bed. Breathing and thinking. That was all he did during those hours, save for the occasions when Tsunade's phone rang, reminding him of Sasuke's home, and was followed by the doctor's loud angry voice yelling at what Naruto assumed was her staff to do their own work and that it was her day off. However, Tsunade's words were much harsher and involved "fuck off" in most sentences. Once he heard a loud crash proceeding that and the blonde could only guess that she threw something at something, though what she could possibly throw was a mystery to Naruto since she didn't really own much to damage.

Perhaps that was why this woman didn't have anything in her house, she was too violent and thus she would destroy everything around her.

Naruto sighed, getting up from his position on the bed and he wandered down the stairs towards the kitchen/dinning room. He couldn't say he was thrilled to be here in this bare wasteland, but he supposed it was better than nothing or Emi's house, which would have been the normal place for him to return, having had nowhere else to begin with.

The kitchen wasn't as empty as the rest of the home, he guessed the woman had to eat occasionally. However, the countertops were bare except for a toaster and a coffee machine, the sink had a few glasses piled up but that was it, he fridge was completely magnet-free, the table had no decorations, the chairs were plain wood and only two of them existed, not to mention the lack of drapes and nothing but a clock on the pale yellow walls. Even the stove looked grim and lonesome between the empty counters, as though it pleading to be used.

Naruto also took the liberty to assume that Tsunade wasn't the cooking type because she sat at the table with a bag of McDonald's and was chowing down on a hamburger of some kind.

"I bought four cheeseburgers, two are yours if you can eat that much." Was her only reply and he looked down to the spot adjacent to the only chair left at the table. There sat two burgers in their wrappers, fries in their box and a beverage with a straw sticking out.

"It's just juice, I don't know what you drink." Naruto was beginning to think he would never have to talk around this woman if she continued picking through his delicate mind.

He didn't respond, not feeling a need to, she probably new everything about his inner most soul by now, and instead he just sat down in the chair and unraveled one of the burgers.

It was a strange looking food item, two smooshed buns, two slim patties, stale looking cheese and a mix of ketchup and mustard bleeding out the sides. He grimaced at the sight, wondering if this could at all be good for his system.

"It ain't gonna bite you. It's good, eat it. If not, starve."

Simple as that. Naruto laughed at himself for being silly. He was being given food, he should appreciate this, not be wary of it. Under normal circumstances, before Sasuke became such a large part of his life, Naruto would be packing this food so far down his throat as fast as his hands could move and his esophagus could swallow.

Immediately he bit into the condensed form of meat and bread and was astonished at how delicious it tasted when it looked utterly revolting mere moments ago. His blue eyes strangely lit up at the taste of the juicy burger and he eagerly finished the rest without pause.

"Might want to slow down, they might not bite but they can have a kick in the system if you scarf them down that quickly." Tsunade warned him, seeming rather hypocritical to the blonde who was currently amazed at the flavour of the fry he had just shoved into his mouth.

"You ate your burger pretty fast." He retorted, gesturing to the fact that she was now well into her second cheeseburger.

"True enough," She agreed with him, surprising Naruto, "but I've had these babies and much worse time and time again for years. For you, this is probably your first fast food experience, and Micky D's isn't the best of them, especially for starters."

"Then why did you buy it?" Naruto asked, some what puzzled at her actions. If she knew that it wasn't going to be good for him...

"It's the only fast food joint on my way back from the hospital. Plus, it's tastier than the other joints. Not to mention the fries aren't covered in grease."

Not the answer he was expecting, but he was sastisfied with it. He didn't for a moment suspect that she was lying to cover up the fact that she hated him. In fact, Naruto didn't was starting to feel as though this woman didn't have any ill notions of him. If she had, he could probably safely assume she would bluntly tell him. She didn't seem to be a woman to keep her opinions to herself. She was very blunt and didn't care. Which is why his fry box was empty.

"I'd tell you not to develop a liking for this shit but you'll be eating it a lot since I live off nothing but."

Naruto's eyebrow rose, he had assumed right. "What about other fast foods like," he paused to try and remember a name of one of these restaurants, "Wendy's?"

"Yeah that's good too, I just mean fast food in general. You'll get a wide enough variety, don't worry."

Naruto just nodded, but he couldn't help thinking that Sasuke would greatly disapprove of this woman's eating habits and what would soon be his own.

Once Naruto was finished eating, he started to play with the straw in his drink. Tsunade was taking a considerably slow time eating her fries, quite the contrast to the way she devoured her burgers. He wanted to talk to her, ask her all the questions that were running through his head, but he didn't know how to start. Maybe if he pondered long enough Tsunade would -

"Ask all you want, I have no answers to provide you with," She said this off handedly as she continued to munch on her salted french fries.

Naruto's eyes immediately narrowed on her. How could she be so stubborn and withhold information that keenly involved him and his life. Not to mention his boyfriend's life, which he was, in a way, taken away from.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" He snapped, his tone serious and cold. Naruto was not happy. She was being a secretive, manipulative person as far as he was concerned and he wanted to know what she had to do with him.

"If I'm going to stay here, which I legally do not have to, I want answers."

Tsunade paused in pulling the fry she was holding out of the box and rose her eyebrow to the blonde's harsh words. She seemed astonished that he would be so blunt and straight forward like this. And then she merely sighed and shoved her fry into her mouth. "Ya know, kid, I really liked you better when you were a socially awkward, quiet, accepting little boy who was too afraid to talk back."

This made Naruto's eyes widen. Was this woman for real? Did she honestly mean that? As far as he was concerned, no one should ever be like how he used to be. But what surprised him the most, was that he used to be like this and wasn't like this anymore. He had changed so much because of Sasuke and he rarely had a chance to notice it.

"But I suppose I should thank the Uchiha for bringing out the real you and allowing you to be a real person," She said somewhat bitterly, but Naruto could swear that there was a tiny hint of happiness in her voice.

Instead of commenting on this, which he really didn't think he was capable of doing that the moment. It shocked him earnestly that she was considering him a real human being that had been oppressed and prevented from living a normal life... People never thought of him this way, which made Tsunade even more curious to him. So he waited this time, for her to continue speaking.

"Your father, what a man he was..." Her voice altered to that of a dream, one that was deeply submerged in romanticizing the past. "He was so lively, never sat still that boy did... great fun, a mischief maker, too, playing pranks, that boys sense of humor would always get him into trouble." She laughed at this recollection, "But he was strong, loyal and courageous as well, we all knew that he'd become a great man. He never stopped smiling and could make all of us laugh." She sighed and it was as though Naruto could see a short film of his father flashing past her eyes, but since he was on the other side of the screen, he wasn't able to see them.

"You two look so much a like, though he wasn't as pale as you. He was never inside, always running about in the sun, wild and free. Each day you grow I see more similarities in you... your hair, your face, you're even like him in personality when you come out of your shell."

Naruto sat dazed. He had never heard anything about his father before in his life, other than the fact that he was a great legend who saved the village. Now he was getting a full run through of what he was like, and even being told he looked like him... tears formed in his eyes without him even knowing it.

"As he grew, he became a great, handsome man. Strong, determined, so much will-power and a lot of luck, all that got him into the academy and on the force. He even got smarter, as though that boy needed wits to combine with his humor..." Again she giggled, rolling her eyes affectionately. Unexpectedly, her expression turned sad and her eyes lowered to the table. She looked so broken, as though she'd lost someone very dear to her. "He was such nuisance... always getting into trouble... talking to me as though he was at all equal to me... just because my brother was his mentor he find it appropriate to call me 'Auntie'..."

Naruto's eyes, which held so many tears they threatened to overflow, widened when they saw a tear fall from Tsunade's down turned face. He never imagined he would ever see a woman as harsh as her cry, she seemed like such a power-house. He also lowered his eyes when his thoughts flashed back to Sasuke's own tears... everyone has their weakness and a right to express their emotions...

The tears were trickling down Naruto's cheeks now. He hadn't noticed he'd needed to cry until the salty drops had reached the edge of his face and fallen down onto his hands which gripped the fabric of his pants. They must have been like that for a while because he also noticed his knuckles had gone white... he must have been doing that since she started her story.

He heard Tsunade sniff back her tears, as discretely as it may have been, and sigh loudly as she stood up. Naruto knew she was staring at him, as though pausing for consideration, but he didn't look up at her. As bad as he felt for her, having lost someone who had been so close to her, he was insanely jealous that he never got a chance to experience life with this wonderful man. He had lost someone so important before ever meeting him... she had so much that he had never had...

Naruto bit his bottom lip to hold his tears back but this only served to produce even more. Just once he wanted to see his father smile. He wished that he could hear his laughter as he told his jokes or pulled a prank. He wanted to see with his own eyes how much they looked alike and witness the similarities as he grew. The chance to be like him in personality as well as looks was stolen away from him before he was old enough to form coherent memories. Nothing was fair! Nothing had ever been fair for him!

A firm grip on his shoulder startled him, causing him to jump and look to his shoulder to find a feminine hand with blue painted nails holding him tight. Following the arm he saw that Tsunade was looking straight ahead, blonde bangs covering her side profile. Somehow, even though she wasn't gazing at him with sympathetic eyes or holding him close, he could sense that she felt his pain and this was her way of comforting him without having to let herself break down as well.

"I'm going out for a bit," She spoke solidly, not allowing any trace of her previous tearful activity to breach.

He gulped past the lump in his throat and though he couldn't blink back his tears, he nodded silently.

Without further acknowledgement, she released her grip on his shoulder and moved swiftly to the doorway. Naruto noticed that before she left the kitchen she reached into a jar and pulled out something that fit to neatly into her hand so he was unable to see what exactly she'd taken.

He brushed it off, it wasn't important. Turning back to his unfinished fries and soft drink on the table, he found that he'd lost his appetite. Not to mention the idea of stuffing his face with fattening food while streams trailed his cheeks wasn't very appealing.

Naruto breathed in a shallow, shaky breath, trying to compose himself but as soon as he let his breath out, he continued to sob harder and more loudly now that he was alone in the house. For the first time in his life that he could remember, he let himself cry about not having his parents. When living with Emi, he forced himself to keep everything inside and never cry. Now, he didn't even bother burying his face in his hands as he cried.

"Why..." He muttered aloud in a strangled voice. He just wished he knew why he had to be the one to go through all of this? He had never done anything to deserve this. A newborn baby forced to lose both parents and succumb to a life of abuse, isolation and harassment.

Sympathy was normally a good thing, but right now, Naruto could feel anger at her words building in him. She was close to his father, she was like an aunt to him... so she pitied his unfortunate son. She couldn't actually care about him could she? The only one who really knew him, who really loved him for who he was... was abandoned. He'd left him, against his will, to wait for his brother to come and possibly... possibly...

Naruto shuddered at the thought and felt a strange shiver of foreboding run down his spine. How could he have left his boyfriend alone in his house to wait for something like this? After everything they'd been through... after all Sasuke had done for him how could he just leave him there?

He stood up suddenly, wiping the moisture from his eyes and moved to the doorway of the kitchen. However, he found himself stopping in front of the jar that Tsunade reached into. Looking over he could clearly see a small pile of wrinkled bills. Why would she have money in an open jar like that... strange woman...

Shaking this off, Naruto moved out into the hallway and pulled on the boots and coat Sasuke had lent him, or more so given him since he told Naruto he could keep all the clothes he'd left with. Time to return them...

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Well, it's a little shorter than the last few chapters, but it's been so long since I've updated and I'm bound to get busier, plus I enjoyed where this one ended