Installment three here, finally. Can't promise anything, but will try to be better with updates. Then I'd like to thank everyone for the nice reviews you wrote-they made me very happy.

Which is partly why I started working on this right away.

Then, of course, if you're getting the subtle Luffy and Bon Clay references in here. Kudos to you!

Enjoy. Mellorine, mellorine…!

Break My Mind, Restart The Time

Written by Ko-Sensei.

part three entails of strange okamas and their stuttering cousins

During the subway ride there, he nodded off and on, managing to wake up in time to switch off on the trains he needed to flip out on to get to Ikebukuro. He was pretty tired, as he'd stayed up all night preparing his flashy goodbye-presents to the neighborhood in Saitama and also talking to Gaara (which involved messing around).

He glanced down.

18:27, his watch read.

So it was about six-thirty, and though the terminal had said he was supposed to arrive at nine, with the delays and time differences (damn, he hoped there wasn't one), -who knew when he'd get there. Unreliable timetables.

But rather than worrying about time issues and when he'd arrive, there was a more important issue.

Oh God. He'd been dreading this ever since years ago, and now that it was happening… what was going to happen when he met his older brother?

Well, half-brother.

But still. Eeeeck, no matter what happened, it would not be good. Not good at all. Apparently, Uchiha Sasuke hated his guts (made sense), and was all against the two of them living together. So was Naruto, actually-so maybe they had at least one thing in , if you counted the fact that the two of them also would probably want to murder each other.

His thoughts were going too negative and were starting to make him depressed. Naruto tried giving himself a mental prep talk, attempting to find possible positive chinks in the armor that would be Uchiha Sasuke. Maybe Sasuke had grown up and matured… maybe he'd mellowed out… maybe he didn't have grudges anymore… maybe he actually didn't mind taking care of him, since it was only going to be for one year… maybe Ikebukuro was going to be fun…

Maybe their first meeting today wouldn't be so bad.

Naruto tried to be macho-happy about the thought.

About their meeting. It was going to have goddamn sparkles, pink roses, sappy songs and brotherly love everywhere. They could go camping, or fishing, play violent games, watch movies, or play soccer. Or he could try switching it up a little. Sweet, innocent-looking, angel-like brothers, Naruto and Sasuke, with white angel wings and golden halos, skipping merrily through fields of flowers and laughing merrily, hand-in hand. Brotherly love filling the air as in…

…...Blood splattering everywhere.

Fff- Naruto facepalmed.

Screw it. The more he thought about it, the worse the situation seemed.

Uneasily teetering around in his seat, he worried about what would happen if the two of them were to fight...Uchiha actually had a big-ass company backing him up under his belt, so if Naruto did so much as prick the rich pampered princess with a needle-could he actually end up in prison?

Damn. Maybe that was an actual possibility. Groaning, the blond held his head. He was just seventeen-he was way too young and beautiful to be given the death sentence or be locked away in prison forever.

An old, graying Naruto living in prison all alone with other criminals.

….No. It was not a pretty picture.

When they were younger; Naruto being five, Sasuke being eight, Iruka had invited the other over to the orphanage to come and "play" (AKA forcing the two half-brothers to meet). Although he had been too young at that time and couldn't exactly remember what happened, he did know (from hazy memories and what Gaara had told him afterwards) that it hadn't been a very good meeting. Sasuke was the reason that he had the whisker-scars on his cheeks, apparently.

The scars didn't bother him much, as he'd gotten used to it and Gaara said it looked unique and kind of cool (although he denied having said it afterwards for the rest of their lives). But the fact that Sasuke had been okay with doing such a thing bothered him.

Thinking of which, what was Sasuke like?

He suddenly imagined a faceless, large, hulking body tackling him down and slitting his throat.

Okay, now, perhaps he was being a little too extreme with the Mystery-Sasuke imaginations.

But he couldn't help it. He had no idea what his older brother even looked like.

Maybe since Iruka had never bothered trying to invite the boy over again, that proved how disastrous their meeting had been as children.

The psychology was, as children, they weren't supposed to be grown up yet. So they weren't supposed to know the seriousness of the situation, be biased against each other, or feel tense with the history, right? It would have been nice if the two could have just bonded as friends and grown up like that.

But not even that psych Iruka had attempted had went anywhere near successful.

If little Sasuke was not easy to get along with-he honestly doubted twenty-one year old Sasuke would be any better.

Much worse, probably.

"Gaara," Naruto whined, kicking his feet back and forth, not caring that it wasn't a very mature-look for a seventeen-year old. "What am I going to do? I wish you could have moved with me, this isn't cool. I think I really might have to send you an invitation to my funeral first thing when I arrive. And all you'll do is solemnly look at my grave, do some eyeliner ritual on it, then laugh and leave."

Plus.. what was he supposed to call Sasuke?

He was his older brother, so maybe he was supposed to be all respectful and shit. Did Sasuke expect him to just know what to call him? Like, Sasuke-nii. Nii-chan? The blond sheepishly scratched his head. He was half-tempted to call him "Aniki" just once to see what would happen-but he wasn't sure if it was a good idea. Since they were practically strangers… was nii-san more appropriate? Nii-sama was way too formal and proper for him. Fff. What the hell.

Then even if he just called him "Sasuke," what if the rich princess blew a fit over that too?

This was too much to think about.

"U-Um," Stuttered a soft, pretty, delicate-sounding feminine voice in front of him. Naruto doubled forward-having been lost in thought, and waved his arms around a bit like a dork before calming down. Damnit, that was extremely uncool. Way to go, idiot, he told himself.

"C-...Could I take this s-seat?" The girl in front of him stuttered out, and flashing her a smile, he scooted over his suitcase and backpack off the cushion. Taking a closer look at her, she had short, cropped blue hair and parted bangs sticking out from her forehead. His eyes glanced up her legs discreetly-before he coughed and turned away, hoping she hadn't noticed that.

Whoa. Her eyes were really pretty. He'd never seen that kind of color before. Well, it wasn't even a color, it was like… clear. Pools of clear. Was clear even a color?

"Your eyes are really pretty," Naruto complimented, shrugging sheepishly as he held up his hands. "I'm not trying to creepily hit on you or anything, for real-it's just, I've never seen that color before. Hi, I'm Naruto. You?"

Mentally, he facepalmed at his lame conversation skills.

Why did he sound so cheesy?

But apparently, the other girl didn't take it as so, as her face turned red and she started poking two fingers together, looking at the ground. "U-Um, it's Hinata. Th...Thank you." She tittered out, still refusing to look at the blond.

Naruto stared at her blatantly, wondering if he'd already done something wrong. Was she offended or something? Or maybe she'd gotten sick? "Uh, are you okay?" Leaning forward to look at her, he peered up from under her face. "You look kinda red. You sure you don't have a fever or something?"

"N-...No! Not at all!" The girl named Hinata (what a strange name) stuttered, moving her hands to cover her face, peeking out from two fingers afterwards. Her face was still red.

What a weird girl. Naruto seriously didn't understand them-either they were hitting him over the head (probably because he was peeking in the locker rooms), giggling like preschoolers (probably because he'd done some prank to the teacher), or just acting… uh. Weird.

Running a hand through his hair, he beamed at his new acquaintance. He really needed a distraction, and she was kinda pretty. Though he really didn't know how to talk to her… how did one talk to pretty girls and not look like an idiot? "Heh heh. I'm not gonna bite you, y'know. I've been riding on the subway for hours, I'm so bored. Where are you heading? School starts in a week or so, apparently. Unless you came back from a vacation or something?"

She still wasn't looking at him, pointedly looking elsewhere-but it seemed to calm her down enough to talk to him. Hinata folded her hands into her sweatshirt, blushing prettily. "U-Um. I just came back from a visit to Matsushima… a group of really pretty small islands. It...It's a tourist spot, right next to a sandbar."

Naruto whistled. "Nice. You must be pretty loaded, Hinata. Wish I could go on some cool vacation, but I don't have the money, unfortunately. My idea of a vacation is.. maybe watching some half-hour 4-D scene at a theater, along with maybe yakitori, tempura, and ramen. Definitely ramen."

Watching her face fall slightly, he rose both of his hands, laughing. "Naaah, don't' feel bad, it's actually pretty awesome. You should try it sometime! There's nothing like grabbing to-go food from stalls and heading to the rooftops. Oooh, then I love fireworks." At this, he paused and pointed a finger at her, waggling it. "Now, don't be judging me about being childish-watching hanabiri with your friends is so ace. Even better than a movie. If I could marry something, it'd be fireworks. And you better believe it!"

Even the ever-so shy Hinata couldn't repress a tiny smile at the blond's energetic ranting. He could probably make anything sound fun to do. "Is it really that fun?" She asked, her curiosity piqued. Since she was a part of the Hyuuga family-she'd never done anything of the sort. "It's just food and hanging around after dark, right?"

"You bet!" Naruto's eyes sparkled, and he failed to notice how her cheeks reddened again. "If there's anything you want to do, better do it now, since it might be illegal tomorrow!" He grinned as she blinked at him. "I'm just kidding, the closest I get to illegal is how close North Korea is to bombing the world and going insane. Which is pretty close. But just incase you ever do decide to get down and illegal," Naruto warned, waggling a finger. "Just know this; the police never think it's as funny as you do."

Hinata's lips curved up into a small smile, making the blond give a mental 'Victory!' internally. She looked like a really sweet girl. "Then there's nothing like playing with lasers in the dark. No, wait," He said, grinning sheepishly. "I'm probably boring you with how childish I sound, right?"

Hinata made an 'eep' sound but shook her head. "Not at all, you sound really enthusiastic about everything, N-Naruto-kun."

"Enough about how lame I am. Where do you live, Hinata? I'm from Saitama, but I'm moving in with my half-brother in the Ikebukuro district. You?"

Her clear eyes widened. "A...Ano…."

Hinata's mind promptly exploded as this was more information than she could take in. N...Naruto-kun also lived in Ikebukuro?! That was crazy.. were coincidences real? Was this fate? Her face reddened even more, resembling that of a tomato. C-Could Naruto maybe start to like her too? If this was fate, then… would he even kiss her, maybe? Eeep! Now? Not now, she wasn't ready… later.. later… later as in when? Tomorrow? Her head spinning, the girl promptly fainted on the seat, muttering "Later….later…".

Naruto stared at her in confusion. What had just happened? But.. more importantly, was she okay? He poked her cautiously. "Hinata, you okay there?"

There was no response, as she'd obviously passed out.

But there was no need to worry, apparently, as soon afterwards, another girl with long hair came up to Hinata and moved her to where she was in a comfortable sitting position, head leaning against the back of the seat. Naruto watched her curiously-she also had the same clear eyes. This one had longer hair, though, that was pinned back at the very end. She was pretty, too. The two definitely looked alike, maybe they were family?

Aww, that was cute. Her older sister was being protective.

"Are you Hinata's older sister? I don't know why, she just passed out on me. Sorry about that."

The older sister turned to look at him, and arms were folded across her chest. She seemed annoyed by something, and Naruto was given the end of a aloof glare. He was confused yet again-what had he done this time?

"I'm a male," She snapped, and all-too late, Naruto realized his mistake.

Oh. Uh. A guy? The blond coughed indiscreetly. Had he just been ogling a guy?

But all awkwardness aside, this was actually pretty funny.

He really didn't mean to, it was unintentional, but he snorted a little. "Oh, uh, sorry, she-man. But, uh, what's with the hair? You even have it pinned back, kind of like a girl." There was no response. "Are you an okama[1]? No worries, it's totally cool. I think I have some ribbons stowed away in my backpack somewhere, want some? And I saw some lipstick on sale off the last station. Aww, man. You just missed it."

1.-Okama is a Japanese slang term normally referring to a transvestite male, gender confused and wanting to mean a woman. Can sometimes mean homosexual, but normally is used as a guy-to-girl transvestite.

The girl-uh, or actually, guy only gave him another cold stare. "Be quiet, or I'll do it for you."

Naruto guffawed. He really liked this guy. What was with the way he talked, were they in the Edo period[2] or something? "I'd love to see you try. Don't act like my mother-no wait, you actually could be. Who knows! Kaa-saaaan[3]," He whined, imitating the voice of a young child, giving Hinata's mysterious brother an incredulous look. "Is it really true that I was born from infidelity? And that I have two fathers?"

2. -Edo period is an era in Japan's history from 1603-1868. Naruto is just referring to how the person is talking very formally and strictly for someone their age.

3. -Kaa-san is mother in Japanese.

At this, Hinata's sister-or, uh, brother decided that he had gotten enough out of this, so she...er, he stood up and made to leave the compartment, muttering something under his breath about idiotic and obnoxious blonds. Seeing this, Naruto tried his best to stifle the laughter and made a straight face.

"I'm sorry, Hinata's brother! I really, really am. I take back everything I said. Why don't you just sit here and keep me company-I mean, uh, you might want to protect your sister because some lecherous man might just come by and do something to her. Right?"

Unbeknownst to the other, Naruto had his fingers crossed between his back.

The brother seemed to seriously consider the lecherous man comment, and on second thought, took the seat besides the now sleeping Hinata.

Naruto inwardly fist-pumped in victory.

"Don't call me 'Hinata's brother,' I'm her cousin. It's Neji," The other snapped at him.

Naruto, of course, couldn't be any more pleased. "I got a name! Nice to meet you, Neji, I'm Naruto. I'm afraid I don't have any now, but if I ever do meet you again, I'll have tampons ready for you to use, princess. I heard from Hinata that you guys came back from Matsushima. I asked her where she was from, but then," He shrugged, "She fainted afterwards."

Neji ignored the tampon comment, having decided that the obnoxious blond was simply just not worth the trouble of it all. "We're from Ikebukuro."

The blond was instantly more ecstatic. This kind of thing normally only happened in movies and books, didn't it? "Seriously?! That's intensely ace, man! What a coincidence. I'm moving in with my loaded half-brother, and though school starts in another week, I don't know anyone. Are you two going to Shinobi Academy?"

And from the incredulous look he received from Neji, that answered it.

Naruto whistled. "This is stellar, I made two friends already. Whew-I really don't know anyone for shit."

The other gave him a look that pointedly said you-can-count-me-out-of-the-two-friends-you-just-m entioned, but Naruto simply ignored it and grinned at latter sighed, as it was obviously starting to get evident that it was near impossible to sway the stubborn blond.

"You said your brother's rich, right? I might know him," Neji said, trying to change the subject while tossing a jacket over the still-asleep Hinata. "Who is it?"

At this, Naruto soured, being reminded of his situation once again. "Well.." He said hesitantly, playing with the strings on his windbreaker jacket. "Uchiha Sasuke."

The other grew silent, staring at him with another incredulous look.

Half a minute passed, and Naruto was unnerved by the silence. "You know him, or something?" He asked tentatively, seeing as Neji was looking at him weird now.

"So you are the illegitimate child I've heard so much about," Neji murmured, and stood up, scooping Hinata into his arms as he did so. "We have a short stop here. Goodbye, Uzumaki."

And with that curt goodbye, Neji left with Hinata.

In somewhat of an awkward silence.

So, uh, people knew him?

Of course they did. An illegitimate child, half-brother to the famous Uchiha Sasuke. It would probably make awesome gossip… and a newspaper headline, possibly. Naruto soured at this thought.

What the hell was with that, everyone would be judging him before they'd even see his face.

Not to mention, he'd totally forgotten to ask Hinata for her number and ask if she wanted to hang out sometime. It was an absolute tragedy-someone who'd never gone to see fireworks with awesome food? He couldn't leave a person in need of help, right?

But looking at the time, the blond groaned. He wasn't in a situation to be regretting the fact that he hadn't been able to ask for phone numbers-or even email addresses. Sucked to suck, but the pressing issue was… In five minutes, he'd arrive at Ikebukuro.

Slinging his backpack on and dragging along his suitcase, Naruto exited the subway, going up three flights of stairs to wait outside of the station, wondering what to do now. Iruka had said that his ride had been arranged…. oh wait, Iruka.

Digging out what pocket change he could find from his pocket, he walked around in circles for a few minutes before locating the payphones and heading towards them.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Iruka-sensei," Naruto chirped. "I'm here now, waiting at the station."

Now he's arrived! Next chapter, we'll get to hear from Gaara one last time before we get started into Ikebukuro, and then Naruto meets Suigetsu.

Review, s'il vous plaît.