The day started out hollow. Naruto felt himself wither inside. This was Saturday, the day Gaara would leave. For all he knew, he already had, late within the night...

This was the final day. It felt gut-wrenching. Sasuke lied in bed for almost ten minutes, trying to calm himself as his only friend--other than Naruto, who counted as more of a crush--was going away.

This is worse than 2012, Sasuke thought drearily.

Shhh, don't say that. The readers might be ignorant about the end of the world.

So?

The government might realize the writer wrote that...and take her away...

(Ok, writer here. I believe in the Mayan's end of the world prophecy of 2012, and my brother mentioned it at his high school and the teacher had to send him to the principal's office because they didn't want him to cause chaos, what with all the kids thinking they're gonna die...just thought I'd add that. If you don't know what it is, look up 2012 or Mayan prophecy stuff on Google.)

I don't care if the government takes her away. She made my prime hairstyle that of Guy's.

Fine, I'll just tell her to have her take Naruto away...

No! My love!

Lol, Sasuke is such a girl.

Did you just say 'lol'?

No...

Naruto and Sasuke met at the playground around ten in the morning, unsure of what to do. The mansion gave no hints, as it looked as deserted as it had been before, even while housing the Kazekage. And they didn't dare knock on the door, for if they were there, what would they say? And, if they weren't, they would certainly get in trouble for stepping foot on the property.

Sasuke and Naruto swung on the swings, as Sasuke tried to calm his beating heart.

Oh, my gosh, Sasuke, calm the hell down.

Seriously, it's just Naruto...

Yes, Sasuke, just think of Naruto...sweet, hot, blond-headed Naruto...

Jesus, Itachi, I'm eight. I can't think of Naruto that way!

Wait, did you say Jesus? Isn't there, like, no such thing as Jesus in this world?

Oh...right...yeah...shit, edit that out...

"Whgat should we do?" Naruto asked sullenly.

Did the writer just spell 'what' wrong? Sasuke thought. "I don't know," Sasuke answered.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke. "When this is all over, will you still be my friend?" he asked.

Sasuke stopped pumping his legs, and tensed. Frozen, his heart bet faster, trying to find the right thing to say.

He finally turned his head away snobbishly. "Pfft, as if," he said, while thinking, I hope I'll be more than that.

God, the room is spinning...'cuz of the gayness...

And I'll just forget about that night you spent with Kisame. What did you say it was like? 'It was so romantic, as he held me...'

Oh, please, stop...my...my brain, it just can't...process...ewww...

Suddenly, Naruto stood. "We're wasting too much time. What if he's still there, about to leave? We gotta catch him. Maybe he's even already at the front gate!"

In a flash, Naruto was sprinting as fast as he could, so, naturally, Sasuke caught up quickly.

Without looking at Naruto, he asked, "So, what do we do?"

Naruto slowed. "I don't know, I was heading to the gates..."

"What a waste of time, loser." His brain fought against him as he managed to add the insult for the sake of disguising his true feelings. "Just go to the mansion."

"Oh, right. Yeah. Forgot about that."

And if I could just forget my love for you...

Whatever he says, you find something to think...

Sasuke's lonely. We should set up a date for him.

Orochimaru's still single...they could go out to dinner.

Are you kidding? Sasuke would be dinner to that king cobra...

Nah, he'd be more interested in Sasuke's body...Ha, get it, Orochimaru's Art of Immortality?

Lol!

Sasuke and Naruto sped off to the mansion as fast as they could, and were there in under a moment. Knocking hurriedly on the door, Sasuke and Naruto eagerly awaited their friend.

They were disappointed as they were met by Kankuro, who stared at them with undisguised contempt.

"We're leaving today, little boys. Gaara can't come out, he's under house arrest."

Naruto pouted, and Sasuke bit his lip at the insanely cute sight. "So, what, we won't get to see him at all?" Sasuke asked.

"Nope," Kankuro answered viciously. "Precious little Gaara has to stay home to calm down his mutant blood. You should just stay away. You don't know what you already got yourselves into."

With that, the door was slammed, and Sasuke was left with a whimpering Naruto.

"Naruto, calm down," Sasuke said quietly. "We'll find a way to see Gaara." He'd never seen Naruto this upset. He'd never seen him upset at all, really.

"They blame Gaara for all that!" Naruto answered blatantly. "They don't go easy on him one bit! Everything is always all his fault! No one is ever even nice to him!"

Sasuke rubbed the back of his head, not knowing what to say.

Comfort him, Itachi advised. Get him alone...

Ew, Itachi.

That's what I did with Kisame.

My mind needs a content filter.

Suddenly, Naruto turned and ran. His feet pounded hard on the packed dirt of the walkway and then onto the asphalt of the village's streets, unable to stop the flood of tears.

Why am I crying? thought Naruto. I need to find a way to see Gaara...but...I can't...

Sasuke sighed as he joined pursuit, able to hide his feelings long enough to seriously think of how to calm Naruto down.

He found Naruto on his swing by the Academy, absently kicking pebbles beneath his feet.

"Hey," Sasuke murmured.

"Hey," Naruto answered.

"We need to find Gaara," Sasuke said, getting right to the point.

"I know."

"Why are you so sad?"

Naruto sighed and thought a moment. Finally, he said, "Well, Gaara is treated so bad. I thought I'd been treated badly, but compared to him...it's nothing. And, I know what kind of pain he goes through every day, only now I know it's worse. And I never knew there was anything any worse than my own pain. So, I felt bad."

Sasuke smiled and nodded. "I understand, a bit. But, you see, we have the chance of making him happy. Of doing something that will ease that pain. So why cry when we have a mission to accomplish?"

Naruto looked up, and smiled broadly, making Sasuke's heart beat rapidly. "Heh, I guess you're right, Sasuke," Naruto said. He stood up and brushed the drying tears away. "Let's find Gaara."

"Yeah!"

--

Ok, so this is my...er...17th chapter? WOW. That's a lot. Wow, I'll at least get to twenty...probably...so no worries. There will still be a few more chapters to enjoy.

Thanks for reviews. I really like them. I read and cherish them all. ^^ I'd especially like to thank Dark Hearted Shinobi, you're so awesome because you review all the time! Yay!

I mainly keep trying to make the series funny for the few fans who review and say they think I'm funny, so when you read a joke I made, know I worked hard just for you guys!

Don't you feel all special inside? See you.