A/N:
Chapter one is ready to go! For this chapter, I'd love it if you guys would give me a review. You readers are the ones that give me motivation to write and if I don't have any reviews then how would I know that you guys liked or disliked the story? So please take a moment of your time and tell me what you think. If you guys think this story is trash then say it in a nice way like, "I don't think this story is worth continuing," or something. So yeah, ENJOY!
Warning! grammars
Pairing: Not sure. Maybe implied ones?
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!
Leaving Behind
Chapter One
Naruto quickly sat up in bed. With a strangled gasp, he quickly scanned his surroundings, an eerie glow in his eyes, he quickly gave the room a once over before his cerulean eyes fell onto the three lumps under the covers beside him. One lump was on top of the pillow that his head was resting on earlier. The other two lumps were on either side of him. It took him a moment to realize that no one was in danger. The fire and smoke that had woken him up were just his dreams haunting him. Haru and Kiyoko were beside him and they were real.
With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the small lump on his pillow and carefully untangled himself from the two sleeping children and headed for the living room.
"Kit?" The small package on his arms stirred from its sleep. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Kurama." Naruto gave an unconvincing reply. Clearly something was bothering him and the fox in his arms sensed that immediately.
"Tell me."
The blonde gave a small smile as he lowered himself on the couch. "I just wanted some company, that's all."
"Kit…" Kurama gave a small growl.
"It's nothing to worry about. I was just wondering how Haru and Kiyoko would be able to manage if I were not around. The academy's starting soon and I'm being moved to a new apartment."
Kurama nodded. He knew that his Kit wasn't being completely honest but he couldn't push the blonde too much. The things that haunted Naruto...they were better being left alone.
"Are you sure you want to become a shinobi?" The blonde wasn't fit to be one. He was too gentle and too caring.
"It's not my choice. You know this." The young boy gave a whispered reply.
Entering the academy and becoming a shinobi wasn't his choice. He really didn't want to become someone who killed and tricked others for a living but when an old man he'd never met before approached him and told him he needed to become a shinobi, he had no choice.
He only had two options; live life as a civilian alone or live as a shinobi where he'd be able to keep both Haru and Kiyoko.
"That was blackmail! I should've ripped that granddaddy-long-legs to shreds!" Kurama growled loudly. He really would've if he weren't stop by Naruto.
"Enough Kurama! He explained his reasons and besides, we need to focus on how to take care of Haru and Kiyoko. I can't leave them here alone."
"Why not just take them with you?" In the fox's opinion, that was the best option so far.
"I would, but it's too dangerous." Naruto gave a morose expression before brightening up. "But...Kurama, you could take care of them!"
The form that Kurama was in gave the blonde an incredulous stare. "Heck no! Do I look like a babysitter to you?"
The young boy just smiled. "Come on, Kurama. Don't tell me you're planning on leaving them alone?"
"If I have to? Yeah!"
Naruto sighed. "Alright then."
"W-wait. W-what are you planning?" The fox studied Naruto closely. Was he missing something? The boy was incredibly smart and very sly.
"I'm not planning anything. If you don't wanna take care of the kids, it's fine." The look on his kit's face said that it was anything but 'fine'. His kit looked absolutely miserable!
Naruto's expression certainly pulled at his heartstrings. It made him want to say 'yes' when he really didn't because if he said 'yes', who would take care of Naruto himself?
"C'mon kit." Before the fox meet Naruto, he'd never whined or given in to anyone's demands, but with the blonde, he felt like there were no limit to the things he'd be willing to do as long as it made the boy happy. "I'm sure we could find a babysitter for them...like the owner of that brothel? She's nice and the kits know her well. She used to babysit them before, anyway…"
"But the kids hate her."
"T-then Kyo! He loves you and the kits love him!" Kurama pawed at the blonde's face and tried for a cute look.
"Kyo's away on business. He won't be back for months!" The cerulean eyed boy gave the fox a downcasted look. "Why can't it be you?"
The small fox tried looking away, but Naruto was smart enough to hold Kurama's face. "Fine you stupid, ugly brat! I'll look after them!"
"Great!" Naruto's face brightened immediately. He got up and started walking for the room while leaving Kurama to fume in anger. "I'll see you tomorrow tou-chan!"
"This doesn't mean I'm happy about it!" Kurama shouted.
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"Haru, Kiyoko, that's your oji-chan." Naruto smiled gently at both the children. "His name's Kyu, okay? From now on, he'll be taking care of you two while I work."
Standing in front of Naruto with a calm disposition that was unlike his inner turmoil was a tall, beautiful man with long red hair that reached his thighs. That beautiful man happened to be Kurama who was supposedly Naruto's father.
"Really?" Haru asked. He looked surprised. "But he looks so young!"
"Beautiful!" Kiyoko on the other hand was in complete awe.
"Yes...Well, my father was young when he had me." Naruto lied nervously.
"How come we've never met him before today?" Naruto inwardly cursed. Leave it to Haru to be so curiously sharp.
"W-well h-he...uh he was uh b-busy...a lot?"
Kurama snorted at Naruto's panicked face. Deciding that maybe, it was time to rescue him, he intervened. "Kids, your tou-chan has to leave soon. Won't you let your oji-chan entertain you?" Naruto gave a relieved sigh. "Your oji-chan has been so lonely without your father around, so will you two keep me company?"
Haru gave Kurama an inquiring stare. "Daddy never said he had a tou-chan! Are you lying?"
The fox in disguise felt his face heating up. Wasn't the redhead just recently four years old? "No, Haru-kun. I really am your grandfather."
Naruto chuckled quietly to himself. Despite Kurama's tough appearance, he truly was gentle when it came to children. He would know since without the fox, he'd have already died multiple times already. During the time Naruto had decided to take the two children in, he ran into a lot of difficult situations but it was the fox who had taught him how to raise the kids correctly and what he had needed to do for the kids whenever they had gotten sick. For all intents and purposes, Kurama really could've been the blonde's father if the fox had been human.
"Same! Same!" Haru glared at Kiyoko who had been pointing at Kurama and Naruto while jumping excitedly.
"They do not look the same! What part of them even resembles each other?" The green eyed boy argued childishly.
"Both beautiful!" Kiyoko giggled while pointing at the blonde, her amber eyes flashed playfully.
"Our dad does not look beautiful!" Haru yelled at his sister.
Naruto laughed. Despite already being ten minutes late, he didn't have the heart to leave his two children in the middle of their sibling rivalry.
"Then what do I look like?" Naruto was genuinely curious about how Haru perceived him.
"Daddy looks enchanting! Like fairy!" The blonde blinked rapidly while Kurama snickered to himself.
"You heard that brat? You're enchanting. Like a fairy. How girly!"
"Keep laughing tou-chan." Naruto mumbled under his breath, knowing that the fox heard it.
"Fairy beautiful!" Kiyoko argued back, glaring fiercely at her brother.
"No they're not! Clearly you need to learn how to read before you try disproving people's careful analysis!" Haru humphed and crossed his arms proudly.
"Read! Read! Idiot!" At this point, the two were already at each other's throats.
"What'd you call me, you twerp?!"
Naruto, who had just been enjoying their display choked. "Where'd you two learn that kind of language?" It obviously didn't come from him and it wasn't from Kurama since the two couldn't hear the fox talking when he was in his fox form and this was the first time they actually met Kurama as a person and understood his speech.
"Kyo-nii!" Both children shouted at him, angry and panting. Not at him but at each other.
Sighing, the blonde decided that he really had to leave. He wasn't really angry at them, just a bit scandalized, that's it. And Kyo! He really needed to have a talk with that 'nii-chan'!
"Ok...Well, give me a hug, then cause daddy needs to go."
With solemn expressions, the two children slowly walked towards him as if by dragging out time, he'd stay. "When will you be back, daddy?" Haru asked sadly.
"Back, back!" Kiyoko repeated just as sadly if not more.
It almost broke Naruto's heart. When he'd made that promise to always protect them, leaving them had not been part of the equation. "Tonight, but there will be times when I have to go out of the country, ok? Hopefully it won't be for a few years but I'll always tell you if I won't be able to come back. If not me then your grandpa, ok?"
"Do you really have to leave?" Haru asked, his face still buried in Naruto's chest. "What's wrong with staying here? In this house with us?"
Naruto's chest squeezed painfully. Times like this made him realize just how screwed up the world really was. "Nothing's wrong. Daddy's just gotta live closer to where he'll go to school and work, that's it." The blonde closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay. "You'll still definitely see daddy, though." he gave them a gentle smile before letting them go after one last tight squeeze.
"Birthday come back?" Kiyoko asked, eyes bright with unshed tears.
"I'll come back for all the birthdays. I promise." Naruto nodded while patting her hair.
"Kyo-nii's and Busu-obaa, too?" Haru asked.
Naruto laughed. "Don't let Kimiku hear you calling her that!" Really, he should put an end to it, put they needed their fun. And if he didn't let them call the owner of the brothel horrible names behind her back, then they'd make her life hell. Letting them get away with the name callings were the best and safest options. "But yes, I will make it back for all birthdays."
Kurama, who had just been watching the scene felt a stab to his heart. Just how long was he going to be able to keep watching that bright smiling face of his kit's? How long would it be before he would eventually lose him?
"Kids, let your tou-chan go, please. He's very late already." Kurama pulled the children away from Naruto and went to give the blonde a hug also. Just why did he have to let his kit slip through his fingers?
After a heartfelt hug from Kurama, Naruto gave the redhead and the navy haired girl a kiss on the forehead and left, all the while waving frantically with a bright smile that did not go along with the lonely and empty feeling he felt as he walked further and further away from his most precious people.
When he was far away enough, he stopped and gave the house he'd been living in for a whole year a once over. The house wasn't bad, it was kind of big, actually with a very pretty garden full of vibrant flowers greeting any strangers that may pass. It had a koi pond and a fountain and a relaxing zen garden in front of the porch that held a swing fit for five people. The outward appearance was that of a traditional Japanese house with an engawa but the inside was completely different. It had a genkan but it was actually a two story modern house with spiraling stairs and many rooms with actual doors and not shoji ones.
This was the house he'd bought a year ago working at a red district brothel as a high demand exotic beauty. The only lucky thing he'd gotten away with while working at that brothel house was leaving with his chastity intact.
He'd brought the house by selling himself, but nobody needed to know that.
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.
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"I'm Naruto Uzumaki and I'm gonna become a Hokage!" Naruto announced, sweating nervously. He had been a bit late to the academy since he wasn't sure what face to put on. The academy was a completely new experience for him. He'd never been in school nor around kids his age. He figured that acting like his true self would not be beneficial. He was too mature and responsible. He didn't fit into the descriptions of kids his age. And really, he didn't actually want to become a Hokage, but it was still something he figured he should strive for.
"What's he? An idiot?"
"Does he think he's cool announcing himself like that?"
"Isn't he the boy our parents told us to stay away from?"
"As if a dumbass like that could ever become our leader!"
The whispers he'd gotten due to his announcement killed his self-esteem a little. He knew that things were going to turn out this way, he'd prepared himself but it still wasn't enough. He didn't think he'd get hurt when they'd treat him like he was just some pest, but it did. He hated that he couldn't just not care.
"Riiiight. Kid, take a seat and stop embarrassing yourself, will you?" A familiar man with dark blue hair drawled out.
Naruto's face flamed up immediately. One due to shame and the other due to nervousness. The blonde knew full well that some shinobi went to brothels but for this one specific shinobi to be his sensei?
The man, Tetsuo Kagami, had been a regular customer of his before the blonde had quit. Though the man hadn't been able to make any connections between him now and him before yet, but it was only a matter of time.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto walked to a sit far in the back, making sure that his face wasn't shown. Outwardly, he walked confidently but inwardly, he was a complete mess. He was already hated by the populace, anymore slander to his name and he'd be a complete outcast.
Keeping his head low, perhaps it would be best if he kept out of the way and tried keeping a low profile?
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The years at the academy all passed in a blur. After the third year, Naruto had decided that perhaps he shouldn't always hope for the best. While his first year at the academy was fun, the others weren't. Not all the teachers were fair like Tetsuo-sensei.
Most teachers that taught at the academy held heavy baggage and they weren't always able to discern present from past. Naruto didn't blame them. He never did, but that didn't stop the pain in his heart from getting worse.
Naruto sighed. It was time for school and he wasn't really looking forward to it.
He sighed once more before he stopped in front of a pond. He gave his reflection a deep frown. His reflection just stared back at him with its horrible fashion sense; bright orange jumpsuit, spiky sun-colored hair and a tacky google sat atop its head.
Is this what I've become, he thought morosely. He hated the clothes that he had to wear since starting at the academy. He could've afforded better, not to mention the fashion sense. He looked like a living target. He was only glad that he didn't have to wear it 24/7.
He missed the days where he could spend the day with his children without a care. The times where he could dress however he wanted. The times he didn't look like a freak but someone that many people actually adored. He used to be the envy of many people, but all of that was covered up.
He wouldn't of minded if it were for his current year at school. The fact that all the people in his class preferred Sasuke Uchiha irked him. To be completely honest, the boy wasn't even all that great. His skills and intelligence may be above average, but so was Naruto's! And if they wanted to compare looks, Naruto was confident that he'd win that by a landslide. The blonde had many admirers, among both genders and among even the young and the old...well, before anyway. Now, he'd gone AWOL but if he didn't, he'd have more attention than the stupid Sasuke Uchiha!
Frowning at his train of thought, Naruto immediately cut it off. What was the point of being bitter? It's not like he could change his appearance, yet. The term of condition was to wait till he became a genin.
Naruto frowned even harder and absentmindedly made his way to the academy. The walk had been long since he'd stayed over with Haru and Kiyoko. The blonde shuddered, good thing they didn't know that he had to wear a horrendous orange jumpsuit to school. If they did, well, Naruto didn't want to think about it.
Finally arriving at the academy's entrance, the blonde was about to enter when he was grabbed by the arm.
"What?" The blonde groaned.
"Now, now, Naru-kun, groaning is so unlike you." A teenager with raven hair and red eyes scolded playfully. He wore a matching haori over a simple black yukata.
"Kyo! What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, embarrassed and scandalized.
"I'm not the only one." Kyo replied. Behind the young teenager were two other people. One was a beautiful woman with greenish-gray hair and the other one was a tall man with dark blue hair and light green eyes. The woman was wearing a midnight-colored furisode with cherry blossom designs while the man wore a traditional shinobi garb, a jonin vest and long black pants with a matching shirt. "Kimiku-san and Tetsuo-san is also here."
"Naru-chan, we're here to wish you luck. The others have parents for that and you don't, so screw them." The woman, Kimiku said with a sweet smile. Her eyes spoke differently though.
"I wish you didn't decide to become a shinobi, Naru-san, but I support you anyway." Tetsuo-sensei patted Naruto's hair awkwardly. "Wish you'd drop the horrible fashion sense too. If you did that, I'd have recognized you much faster…"
"You guys…" Naruto whispered. He was touched.
"I'm not done yet." Kyo butted in. "I also want to wish you well. I actually hope you don't pass, but that's ok too. Also, the Uchiha brat? He got nothing on you." The raven gave Naruto a sweet smile. "Another advice, don't get too close to that walking psycho."
"Kyo!" Naruto hissed. He might not like Sasuke but that didn't mean that it was okay to label names on him.
"Okay, okay." Kyo laughed.
"Walk in there and knock 'em dead, Naru-chan." Kimiku whispered encouragingly as she roughly pushed Kyo aside.
After a few heartfelt hugs, Naruto walked into his classroom with a few minutes to spare. Without looking, he just took a random seat. It so happened that the person in front of him was Sasuke Uchiha, a boy with pale skin with dark eyes and black hair that looked like soft feathers.
Like usual, the classroom was a complete mess. Some were sleeping while others were loudly talking to their friends. Some mischievous students were even playfully fighting amongst themselves to wane off a little tension. Naruto did none of these things. He just sat down and quietly focused on keeping the loneliness at bay.
Five minutes later, everything was calm. The teacher, Iruka-sensei, a chuunin with a scar on his nose, was in and ready to give out exams. The man next to him was Mizuki, a young man with gray hair and cruel eyes. He happened to be the assistant teacher.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto braced himself. Despite being told that he'd be promoted to a genin even if he failed his current exam, Naruto was still nervous. He didn't want to rely on connections if he could help it.
Taking deep calming breaths, Naruto's name was up. Nervously, he walked to the back room and performed the three jutsu required to pass.
He managed two and failed the last one.
"FAIL." Iruka-sensei called out.
Mizuki inwardly smirked. "Don't be too hard on the kid Iruka. He did well on the other two." The assistant teacher faked a pitying voice.
"No, failing means that he failed. He won't be given any special treatment." Iruka-sensei said, his voice final. "I'm sorry Naruto-kun."
With a dejected look, Naruto walked out of the room. He went outside and sat on the swings. This time, he'd really tried. The blonde knew the source of his problems, too, but it wasn't like he could do anything about it. He didn't know any clone jutsu that required a lot of chakra…
The blonde wasn't sure how long he sat there, but by the time he became aware of his surroundings, it was already dark. Getting ready to go, Naruto got up, but he was quickly stopped by a sickly sweet voice.
"Naruto-kun." It was Mizuki. "If you're really upset about failing your genin exam, I know another test that'll promote you if you pass."
Naruto blinked. He really didn't trust Mizuki, but was this what the Hokage meant when he said the blonde would be promoted to genin either way?
"Really?" Naruto faked being hopeful.
"Yes. All you have to do is steal a scroll from the Hokage's tower. This exam tests your ninja skills in infiltration, information gathering, and rescuing missions. The Forbidden Scroll is important so it'll be a substitute for a captured person and then sneaking in is your infiltration and finding out where the scroll is and how to get it out is information gathering."
Naruto nodded. It sounded really shady, and he was not going to trust Mizuki, but if the man was even slightly honest about this exam, he was gonna take it. "Okay." He agreed.
"You have to hand it over to me tonight at midnight. I'll give you the locations before you start."
Again, Naruto nodded.
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It was the next day and Naruto was a genin. Turns out, Mizuki was a traitor and the Hokage used Naruto as bait. The blonde wasn't really happy about that one but he understood. Naruto was someone useless. If he'd accidentally died, no one would miss him and as a Hokage, the old man had to use any method available at his disposal.
Without looking at any of the seats, the cerulean eyed boy sat closer to the front, behind an incredibly smart but lazy boy, Shikamaru. The blonde couldn't have sat there for more than a few seconds before the two leaders of Sasuke's fangirl group ran into the classroom. It was well known, the rivalry between the two. The girl, Sakura, had bubblegum hair and large green eyes and the other girl, Ino, had platinum blond hair with dull blue eyes. They were beautiful, but their beauty were wasted on a boy that ignored their very existence like they were just mere flies.
"GET UP BAKA!" The girl with bubblegum hair screamed at Naruto.
"FOREHEAD GIRL, THAT SEAT'S MINE!" The other girl cried.
And they argued back and forth long after they'd knock Naruto out of the seat. Naruto hadn't even realized he was sitting beside the Uchiha! Exactly what was so great about the raven boy? The boy didn't talk, he was rude and disrespectful, and he treated others like dirt! Was that the kind of guys girls went for?
Jumping up onto Sasuke's desk, the blonde gave Sasuke a scrutinizing look. He could admit that Sasuke was easy on the eyes, but that was just the surface.
"Hey, what's good about you?" The blonde asked.
Predictably, he didn't receive any kind of answer, just a blank stare. The other boy wasn't even flustered! Rolling his eyes, Naruto got ready to jump off the desk, but that was where everything went wrong. Shikamaru, a lazy boy with pineapple hair in front of Naruto got up and knocked the blonde towards Sasuke in the process.
Bewildered, Naruto found himself kissing the guy he felt a strong aversion towards . Not like kissing kissing or like with tongues of anything, but it was still kissing! Their lips touched each other!
The blonde immediately got up and started wiping his lips, his expression completely blank as the other boy did the same, albit with more expression and vigor. While Naruto wasn't new to kissing, he still found it unpleasant to kiss a guy he had a strong dislike towards. Wiping his lips was almost like an instant reaction.
"YOU BAKA!" Naruto slowly turned towards the voices of Sasuke's top fangirls and shivered.
He braced himself for a beat down. If his kids knew he had to act like this, Naruto was sure he'd die!
"EVERYONE SHUT UP! ROLL CALLS ARE COMING UP AND SO ARE TEAM ASSIGNMENTS!" The blonde heaved a heavy sigh of relief. If it wasn't for Iruka-sensei and his Big-head jutsu, Naruto would've been black and blue! "Okay, listen carefully. When I call out teams, memorize them cause I'm not repeating myself a second time." Iruka-sensei gave everyone a threatening glare.
"Now, Squad Seven; Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha." Naruto wasn't sure how to react to that specific fact. He figured the other two didn't like him as their teammates either. After all, to them, he was just the dead last. The boy who'll slow them down because of his stupidity and boisterous nature. "...meet your jonin teachers."
Naruto blinked. What happened? He was paying attention the entire time but those last words were the only thing he caught. The blonde took a deep breath and shook the weird occurrence as an attention deficient.
Naruto wasn't sure how long it took, probably more than four hours, but it took a long time before Team Seven's sensei came to get them. The small prank he'd planned beforehand wasn't even enough to compensate for the time he'd lost.
"Team Seven, meet me up on the roof." Their sensei was a strange man with a relaxed demeanor that almost rivaled Kyo's and Tetsuo-sensei's same awkwardness with a touch of Kimiku's sly personality. He had spiky silver hair that defied the very center of gravity and strangest of all, he used his hitai-ate as an eye patch. The blonde concluded that their sensei was very distinctive. "Hurry, please." And the man poofed out of their sight.
Naruto hurried to the designated meeting spot. He wanted to get it over as soon as possible. He had people that eagerly expected his presence.
"Alright, my cute little students, let's do an introduction. Tell me about yourself." He gestured to Sakura first.
"Why don't you do it first, sensei? As an example, I mean." The bubblegum haired girl tried for a sweet, innocent look.
"Ok." The blonde was surprised that their teacher agreed so easily. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, a jonin. I don't have many likes or dislikes. My hobbies are a secret~" Kakashi gave a low chuckle. "And my dreams? I don't wanna tell you. Your turn pinkette."
Sakura fidgeted. She wasn't sure what she should say without sounding like a total stalker. She settled on sounding coy instead. "My name's Sakura Haruno. I like…" She skipped that with a fangirl-ish shriek. "My hobby is…" The girl blushed beet red before shrieking again. "I dream is to…" She also shrieked on that one. "Oh! My dislikes are Ino-pig and Naruto!" She screamed that one out.
Naruto inwardly chuckled. If his kids met her, he wasn't sure if she'd make it out unscathe. They would definitely terrorize her. They hated Kimiku a long time for taking away the blonde's attention from them.
"Blondie covered in orange is next." Kakashi called out.
Naruto was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and put on a large smile. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki. I love ramen and I hate the three minutes I have to wait for it. My dream is to become the Hokage!" Their sensei choked while Sakura reprimanded him for having a dream, but the blonde just drowned them out. That's not what he really wanted to say. He wanted to say:
"My name's Naruto Uzumaki. I have two adorable children whose names are Haru and Kiyoko Uzumaki. My likes are seeing them happy and watching them play. My dislikes are seeing them hurt, not being able to protect them, and being separated from them. My hobbies are gardening and cooking. My dream's to watch them grow up safe and uncorrupted."
But this wasn't something he could share so he settled on lying instead.
Then suddenly, without any warning, his chest tightened painfully and he could only hear a loud buzz in place of voices. Tears threatened to let out but Naruto held them in agonizingly. His vision went dark and his head throbbed as if a sledgehammer had taken a good whack at him. Breathing was becoming difficult. His legs became weak and his lips trembled as sounds threatened to escape. He wanted to crawl home and hide from the world and just let the pain ride out without having to keep silent, but that was impossible. His teammates already thought he was a burden and if they found out that he and random bouts of pain, they'd look down on him even more. Who would want a teammate that was useless? Besides, this was something personal. They weren't ever gonna get close enough to affect him, anyway.
And so, like always, nothing showed.
A/N: Waaaahhhhh! What do you guys think? Review and give me an in-depth response. Tell me what you thought. Was it sad, happy, in between, WHAT? And like always, there will be grammars.
Please review! I really really really wanna know what you guys think! REVIEW, okay? :3
I love you my lovely readers~