Okay! Here's the next chapter. I know the last one was slow, but, hey! Everything's gotta start out slow. Now, please welcome Neji!
"Hello everyone," Neji says with a polite wave, making fan-girls faint.
"Neji, would you please say the disclaimer for me?" I ask.
Neji nods and turns to you. "Nonya owns nothing except for the plot."
"Thank you Neji," I say before turning to you. "Despite how depressing it might get (depending on your view of depressing) I want you to please read, enjoy, and review!"
Chapter Two:
If Only For One Night
It was October 9th, 3:00 PM. The sun was shining, few clouds were in the sky, birds sang, and preparations were being made for a festival that all but a few were excited about. One particular person that was not elated about the next day when the festival would take place was a blond with blue eyes that varied in shades depending on his mood. Today his eyes were royal blue as he rolled onto his back. His dull, lifeless eyes were concentrated on the ceiling as he thought of the team meeting he had that day. With a groan he rose and put on his 'I'm-right-here-kill-me!' orange jumpsuit and then tied on his headband, careful to avoid tying his hair in the knot. He stood in front of the mirror and then smiled a well-practiced fake smile and forced fake light in his eyes. He was starting to waver, he noticed, so he thought of Ichiraku's and that put a bit more light in his eyes and actual cheerfulness in his smile. With that he walked out into the world, receiving more glares than any other time of the year. He pretended to ignore it as he entered his training grounds.
"Hey Sakura-chan!" he said with his usual pep.
"How can you be so happy in the mornings?" she complained.
I don't know, you tell me, he thought before shrugging. "I dunno, I just am I guess."
"Dobe," Sasuke grunted.
"Teme," Naruto growled, glaring at his rival.
Kakashi walked into view, earlier than usual. "Yo."
"What're you doing here so early Kakashi sensei?" Naruto and Sakura wondered aloud while Sasuke thought this.
The silver haired man shrugged. "Clock broke at noon, had to guess."
Liar, Naruto thought. "What're we doing?"
"We're going out to eat. Obviously we need to work on teamwork since you're all at each others necks in various ways."
"Hn..."
Naruto almost complained like Sasuke would, but he stayed silent, something that was unusual to the others so Kakashi continued. "We'll be eating at Ichiraku's. I'll be paying for half of the meal."
That caught Naruto's attention and he whooped. "Yes! Thanks Kakashi sensei! Let's go Sakura-chan!"
"Can I sit next to you Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, her eyes locked on the Uchiha.
Sasuke blatantly ignored her and walked by. Naruto moved forward with a shy smile. "You can sit by me Sakura-chan."
"Why would I want to sit next to you Naruto-baka?" Sakura demanded.
Naruto winced, something that only Sasuke and Kakasih caught, but other than that he gave no indication of emotional hurt. He simply walked ahead of the group and cast glances towards the angry villagers. He knew that he wasn't going to have a peaceful night.
Why're they glaring at Naruto? Sasuke wondered, noticing that they weren't cold or annoyed stares like usual, they wanted to harm his teammate. He looked over to the blond, his back turned towards them. He's tense... which means he notices.
When they reached Ichiraku's Naruto smiled, ordering his ramen and putting down a few coupons. "Here you go old man!"
Teuchi smiled at him. "Your ramen'll be right up."
Amaya took the other's orders, but Teuchi and Amaya made sure to serve Naruto first and foremost, which didn't make sense to Sasuke or Sakura. Naruto gave them warm smiles that neither of them had ever received. How neither noticed was beyond the two genin. Kakashi placed his wallet on the table, knowing Naruto would eat enough to feet a handful of Jiraiya's (and Jiraiya had the largest appetite he knew other than Naruto and Gai was a close second). Surprisingly this wasn't the case. He only ate five bowls of ramen. Everyone except Amaya and Teuchi were surprised, but Kakasih should've expected this, but he didn't.
Naruto turned to his sensei afterwards. "Can I go Kakashi sensei? I've got a doctor's appointment I can't miss. Some type of check-up, and if I'm late again..."
He shivered at the memory. His favorite and only doctor was strict, friendly, and didn't tolerate tardiness.
"What'll happen?" Sakura asked.
"Prostate exam. Happened before, don't want it to happen again. So Kakashi sensei?"
"Go," Kakashi groaned, not looking forward to when he needed the exam.
Naruto beamed and then left. He started in the direction of the hospital before he verged towards his home. He didn't know why he did, after all many bad memories lied within. He went into his house and went into his room. He hugged his knees to his chest and buried his face into his knees, tears wanting to escape. If only for one night nothing bad happened, he had no worries, no pain, nothing, just joy and happiness. Joy was supposed to never leave, but the villagers stole that joy away soon after happiness.
These thoughts left him as his door was banged on and threats were made. He had one more night until they would ignore the door and windows and walls, when they would enter. He bit his lip at the abusive words. He had to remember the reason why he didn't quit. He just had to.
