Okay people, here is the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews and to all those who added me to their faves and alert lists.
Also I hate to inform you all but I will have no internet for the next four weeks. I am going to be in Cyprus, on holiday with my lovely family (God help me) and there is no internet in my grandparent's place. But I will be writing updates while I'm over there and you will get a new chapter when I come back. I promise.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
The Boy in The Orange Jumpsuit.
Chapter Six – Unsubtle Differences.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke felt nervousness hit him as he went up to his room. He wanted to cry for Naruto. He looked up as someone entered his room. It was Rin.
"Rin-Chan, can I ask you something?" Sasuke asked the girl sadly.
"Of course Master Sasuke." Rin replied.
"Do you think that children like me can be bad or cursed?" Sasuke asked. Rin stared at her young charge with wide eyes.
"No Master Sasuke. Children are innocent. You know that. Your mother and I told you so." Rin replied.
"Then why are they locked up on the farm?" Sasuke asked. Something told him that he shouldn't say the word camp to Rin. She looked at Sasuke with even wider eyes.
"Who said they're locked up?" Rin asked.
"I was playing with my ball and it slipped so I went to get it and it rolled over to the fence at the farm. There were soldiers with guns and sticks and there wasn't any way to leave." Sasuke replied. He felt the need to tell some of what he had seen. He didn't tell Rin he'd spoken to Naruto. He wasn't sure why but he felt that would cause more trouble than he could handle. Rin nibbled at her lower lip. Sasuke knew she did this when she didn't know how to answer him. That was the moment when Sasuke's mother came into the room.
"Sasuke it's time for dinner." She said softly. The boy nodded and left the room. He was almost sure he could've gotten some form of answer from Rin.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Mikoto stared at Rin.
"Did you hear the conversation Mistress?" Rin asked softly, fearfully. Mikoto nodded her head.
"I'm not angry with you Rin. He was bound to ask questions eventually." Mikoto replied softly. Rin nodded her understanding and at a wave from Mikoto, she left the room completely, leaving a devastated Mikoto to wonder exactly what else Sasuke had noticed.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Sasuke had found his way to the dining room and sat at his usual seat. His father sat at the head of the table and Itachi sat beside him. His mother soon came into the dining room. Sasuke could tell that she was upset, but his father made no comment on the issue, so Sasuke stayed silent.
"Sasuke your uncle Madara is coming to visit." Sasuke turned to look at his father excitedly.
"Is Uncle really coming to visit?" Sasuke asked.
"Of course he is. He hasn't seen any of us for a while." Sasuke's father said sternly. Sasuke nodded and turned back to his food. He wondered what Naruto was eating.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
Naruto sat with Sakura, both of them sharing a bowl of broth and a roll of bread. It was barely enough to survive on and both always felt hungry. Guren came and sat next to the smaller children. She looked at Naruto carefully before placing her bowl to the side of her and making her younger cousin look at her properly. She noticed a cut across his forehead and a black eye that was starting to form.
"Naruto when did this happen?" Guren asked.
"Today when we were carrying the big rocks. The guard hit me with a stick. Baa-Chan fixed me up though Guren-Chan." Naruto said cheerfully. Konan watched with a sad look on her face. She knew Naruto was trying to stay cheerful for them. She also knew that with treatment like this that his cheerful attitude wouldn't last long.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Naruto and Sakura curled up with Guren and Konan that night to try and get some sleep. The huts were freezing, with no heating or fire. The blankets, what few there were, were threadbare and ragged. Naruto was glad when his Aunt and Uncle, parents and grandparents came in and snuggled up next to them. He was quite happy to curl up into his grandma's arms, and hopefully fall asleep listening to the sound of his family breathing safely.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke went into his room, just as Rin had lit a fire in the small fireplace in his bedroom.
"It's a cold night tonight Master Sasuke." Rin said kindly. Sasuke smiled at Rin and she left the room. Sasuke knew this was to go and get the cocoa that he would drink before he went to sleep. He changed into thick pyjamas and got into bed just as Rin came back with a steaming mug of cocoa. That night he fell asleep comfortably and happily, hoping to go and see his new friend tomorrow.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
Naruto was terrified out of sleep by the yelling of some guards. Naruto's eyes shot open as he curled into his grandma's side fearfully. She hugged him tightly as he trembled. He saw the guards pull his Uncle Takeshi and his great Uncle Nawaki up from their sleeping spots on the floor. He also saw Shino's parents roused from sleep and made to move. Naruto was so frightened that he didn't know what to do. He saw Shino looking at the guards fearfully. They didn't seem to be concerned with Shino however. They shoved the four adults from the hut and from what Naruto could hear, more people were outside, being herded away. Naruto looked at Shino, who was all alone.
"Hey Shino, come over with us or you'll get cold." Naruto whispered. The boy seemed to have heard because he scooted over and curled up next to Naruto's mother, who hugged the boy, and tried to comfort him. Naruto looked at his grandma with a terrified and confused gaze.
"Baa-Chan, why did they take Uncle Takeshi and Uncle Nawaki, and Shino's Mother and Father?" Naruto whispered fearfully. His grandma didn't reply she just hugged him even more tightly, as tears travelled down her cheeks.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
That morning, Sasuke had finished breakfast and went outside to sit on his tyre swing for a little while. He saw Tsunade crying quietly as she weeded the garden. Sasuke walked over to Tsunade and touched her shoulder gently.
"Miss Tsunade? What's wrong?" Sasuke asked her. Tsunade jumped in shock and quickly wiped the tear trails from her face. She's left earthy smudges on her cheeks, but Sasuke knew she was trying to hide her sadness.
"Nothing is wrong little one. I'm fine. It's a beautiful day, you should be playing." Tsunade said kindly. Sasuke felt confused.
"Is it because of the paper I read in my father's office?" Sasuke asked. After all, extermination meant to get rid of other things. Maybe Tsunade did know the people that he mentioned, and they had been taken away from her. Tsunade gave the child a sad look.
"You could say that little one. But I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me." Tsunade said softly.
Sasuke went back to his tyre swing, but couldn't help, but take glances at Tsunade, who still seemed to be trying to control her own tears. Sasuke wondered if he could ask Naruto about it later on. Naruto seemed like he knew a lot.
xXxXxXx NARUTO xXxXxXx
Naruto wanted to cry. All day he could feel the stinging behind his eyelids, of tears that wanted to escape, but he couldn't cry. Not in front of the guards. He had heard his Mother and Father's conversation with his grandparents that morning. It was a conversation that had made everything inside him go ice cold.
xXxXxXx FLASHBACK xXxXxXx
"Mother, what happened last night? I had a feeling you and Father, and Haruka, knew more then you were letting on." Minato asked softly. Kushina nodded her agreement. Tsunade looked at her son sadly.
"They were taken for extermination. They were probably on General Uchiha's list. Your Uncle Nawaki and your father are on there." Tsunade said sadly. Tears threatened to spill from the older woman's eyes.
"How do you know that?" Minato asked.
"The house that I'm taken to every day is the General's house. I weed the gardens, bring in vegetables and toil like a slave." Tsunade replied.
"Please don't tell me you snuck into the scum's office? That you put yourself in danger like that?" Minato asked. Tsunade shook her head.
"No. General Uchiha has a small son. Probably the same age as our Naruto. He was in his father's office and saw the list. I don't think the boy was meant to. He wanted to know what 'Extermination' meant. He wanted to know if I knew the names Nawaki Senju and Jiraiya Namikaze. Because he asked for my name and I told him it was Tsunade Senju-Namikaze." Tsunade replied.
"And they were names on the list." Kushina added, as though she knew that was the answer. Tsunade nodded.
"So they're taking us in the night and murdering us?" Minato hissed. He looked at Jiraiya.
"Father? How can you just be okay with this?" Minato asked.
"I'm not okay with this Minato. You think that I want to die like this? In some camp, toiling until I break my back, watching them torture my family? No I don't want this. But there is nothing we can do about it Minato. Maybe one or two could escape if I really thought about a plan. But then all those left behind would suffer the consequences. That's if the soldiers here didn't chase after any escapees and shoot them down. Remember we know nothing about this place. None of us saw where we were going. I doubt you did either. We may just walk into a trap if we find a way to run." Jiraiya said sadly.
"So what now? I sit back when they come in the middle of the night again? Who will they take next time? You? Mother? Kushina? One of the children?" Minato questioned angrily.
"I don't like this any more than you do Minato. It's disgusting. As of yet I haven't heard of children being taken. But I fear them coming for your mother, or you, or anyone else we love. We've lost two people already. More since we've been here. Haruka isn't taking this well at all. But at least we're still alive." Jiraiya replied.
"For now. Until they feel they've let us live long enough." Minato said sadly. Kushina buried her face into her husband's shoulder and tried to stifle her own tears.
xXxXxXx END FLASHBACK xXxXxXx
None of the adults had realised that Naruto had been listening. He had snuck away when he heard his mother cry. The sound alone had broken his small heart. He didn't know everything they were saying. He couldn't possibly understand it all. But he knew this much. His uncle and great uncle were now dead, and that others would probably join them. Naruto couldn't help but feel bad for Shino. After all, this meant that Shino's parents were dead as well.
As the children carried on hauling rocks, like the day before, Naruto noted that the walls were being built into another shack.
"Are more people coming here?" Naruto thought sadly to himself. That was when he noticed Sasuke standing on the other side of the fence again. He went over cautiously and smiled at Sasuke. Sasuke smiled back at him.
"Hi Naruto." He said softly. Naruto grinned widely.
xXxXxXx SASUKE xXxXxXx
Sasuke looked at Naruto. He could see his friend was upset.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.
"Soldiers came and took my Uncle and my Great Uncle away. I heard Baa-Chan talking to my parents and Ero-Jii-Chan this morning and... well they took them to exterminate them." Naruto said sadly.
"Why? Were they being bad? I though you said exterminating is when someone gets rid of bugs?" Sasuke asked.
"That's true. But here it's them getting rid of us because we believe in the will of fire." Naruto replied.
"But it's not fair. Rin-Chan said that children aren't bad, so why are you here?" Sasuke asked.
"Because a general brung us here and now we can't leave." Naruto said sadly. Sasuke couldn't help but feel sad.
"So they took away your uncles." Sasuke stated. Naruto shook his head.
"No they killed my uncles. And Shino's parents." Naruto said.
"Killed?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah. Killed is when someone makes someone else die." Naruto replied. Sasuke shuddered.
"My Father works next to somewhere that's so bad." Sasuke thought to himself.
xXxXxXx TWO WEEKS LATER xXxXxXx
Naruto and Sasuke were talking again. They seemed to find it easier and easier to talk to each other near the fence. Today, Naruto and Sasuke were playing chess. Well, Naruto was telling Sasuke where to move his pieces.
"Pawn to c8." Naruto said quietly. He looked downhearted. Sasuke looked at Naruto sadly.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He'd learned that when Naruto looked so sad it meant someone else he knew had been 'taken away' in the night.
"Gaara's parents are gone and my Auntie Haruka didn't even come back to the hut last night. My parents, and Guren and Konan looked for her all this morning but she's gone too. Aunt Haruka is their Mother. Uncle Takeshi was their Father. It's not fair that Guren-Chan and Konan-Chan lost both their parents." Naruto said sadly. Sasuke looked at Naruto sadly. Every day he spent playing with Naruto and talking to him, seemed to bring him further away from the ideals of the great Orochimaru-Sama, and more into Naruto's terrifying world, where people were taken without warning and never heard from again.
"There's a dinner party at my house tonight. My Uncle Madara is coming to visit. I wish you could come." Sasuke said sadly. Naruto gave a gentle smile.
"I wish I could go too. It'd be nice to eat something instead of soup and bread, or gruel. I hate gruel. At least the soup has a little bit of taste." Naruto replied. Sasuke felt something nervous bubbling away in his stomach. It seemed so cruel that Sasuke got to eat a huge meal every night. In fact he had leftovers because he couldn't eat everything. While Naruto was so skinny and never got to eat hardly anything. Sasuke could see his friend was so thin that he was sickly.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Itachi was curious. For some reason, every day Sasuke disappeared for at least two hours of every day. Where he went was a mystery. Itachi had sneakily followed Sasuke this day. He saw Sasuke set up a chess game next to the fence, and then saw the thin, blond child come and sit in front of Sasuke, on the other side of the fence. He heard their conversation as they played. He saw the state of the blond child and other children who came up to the fence to say hello to Sasuke and Naruto. After a while, there was the sound of some sort of bell, and the blond, Itachi heard him called Naruto, ran off to somewhere as he waved goodbye to Itachi's little brother.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Sasuke packed away the chess game. Naruto had won. But Sasuke had won at other games so he didn't really mind. He went to walk home and found Itachi waiting for him.
"Aniki? What are you doing here?" Sasuke asked fearfully.
"The question is what are you doing here Sasuke?" Itachi replied. Sasuke was wide eyed and looked at Itachi pleadingly.
"I lost my ball one day and I went to find it, and then I was talking to Naruto. Please don't tell Mother and Father. They'll be angry because Naruto believes in the Will of Fire. But he's not bad. He's really nice. He's my friend Aniki. Please, please don't tell them!" Sasuke exclaimed. Itachi put an arm around Sasuke's shoulders.
"I won't tell them Sasuke. But you have to be more careful. I don't want you to get punished." Itachi replied. He really meant what he said. He wouldn't tell their parents. Or rather, he wouldn't tell their father. Itachi could see the suffering of the people in the camp. He could see how wrong it was. Now he understood his Uncle Madara's, and his cousin Obito's, views about Orochimaru and his hate campaign. Itachi wasn't sure how much longer he could agree with what his father was doing here.
xXxXxXx THAT EVENING – NARUTO xXxXxXx
Naruto and Sakura were sat with Guren and Konan when soldiers came towards them. Naruto's parents were only a few feet away but arrived at the side of the children within moments. The soldier, a silver haired male known as Mizuki, ran his eyes over the group.
"Take the two younger children and the woman." Mizuki stated. Two other soldiers grabbed hold of Naruto and Sakura, who both yelled and screamed out in terror.
"Let go of them!" Konan yelled.
"You're hurting them!" Guren added. Minato Namikaze hissed angrily as a gun was placed at his back, and at the backs of his nieces.
"Be quiet if you want to carry on living." Mizuki sniped evilly.
"Where are you taking my wife and my children?" Minato hissed out. As far as he was concerned Sakura was basically his daughter now. The soldier didn't answer Minato. It was like he didn't exist. Kushina stepped forward and took the children in her arms. She looked at Minato fearfully and Minato couldn't help feeling the same fear as both children clung to Kushina desperately. As the three were taken away, Naruto looked at his father and cousins over his mother's shoulder. His eyes spoke volumes. Sakura looked at them in the same way. They were almost positive they wouldn't see the others again and they could tell that Minato, Guren and Konan felt exactly the same way.
xXxXxXxXxXxXx
Okay all I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I will be updating as soon as I get home from Cyprus. Until then I'm going to be evil and leave you with the cliff hanger. Yes I'm mean. I'm an evil person. Anywho thanks again to everyone for your patience.