Note: Sorry for any mistakes on here, my laptop does not do spell check...
Chapter 2:
The sob tore through Naruto's throat, arms wrapped around his knees. He'd been trapped in this room for a long time, with that man coming in every little while. He was creepy, Naruto didn't know why he'd gone and locked him in there. He was supposed to have taken him home because his foster parents hadn't shown up.
The man had been nice at first, saying he'd wanted to be Naruto's friend. He'd been the first adult to say that to the five year old. Not even the people that fostered him paid that much attention to the little blonde kid. The man had been talking to him since the first day they'd met at the dojo, the man had taken to teaching Naruto. He was the only one, the other sensei ignored him and just focused on the other kids like Sasu-chan and Ita-chan.
Naruto had felt so happy that someone was actually paying attention to him. He'd started to stay late and was alone with his sensei a lot of the time. Usually it was just and hour and Naruto loved it. His sensei would teach him a lot of cool things that he didn't teach when the others were around.
Then one day...
"Naru-chan, what's wrong? Why are you still here?" Sensei's voice sounded from behind him. The man had just walked up to the dojo. He hadn't been there that day and the other sensei had completely ignored him in favor of the other kids. When class had ended, Naruto had waited with Ita-chan and Sasu-chan until their parents had come for them and then he'd waited alone.
Naruto had been waiting for his foster mom to come pick him up but she hadn't shown up. It had been hours since his class time had ended so Naruto was surprised that she hadn't come yet. That had been the longest she'd ever taken.
"How someone could leave someone as precious as you all alone.." Sensei muttered, picking him up.
That dream melted into another one. A harsher one.
Naruto's blue teary eyes looked up at the tall man in front of him. He'd been trapped there for a while and the one thing he wanted was to go home. He just wanted to go home.
"Naru-chan, why are you crying? I'm not being mean, in fact, I love you Naru-chan. I want you to be mine forever. Here, I'll even give you a present. It'll hurt a bit but I'm sure you can handle it."
"Wa-wait! Please don't!" Naruto cried out as he tried scooching away from the mad man with the knife. His legs wouldn't work and he was to small to force the man to stop. "Th-that's not how you show lo-love!"
"No? But Naru-chan, it's how I show my love."
The scream that ripped through Naruto's throat should have brought the world running. Sadly, no one heard.
"Shhh, Naru-chan, don't cry. It just shows that you're mine. The lines even make you look like a baby fox. You love baby foxes, don't you? Well now you look like one! I can't wait to see you all grown up, Naru-chan. You'll be irresistible."
"Brat! Wake up! you're going to be late for school! I've got breakfast on the table! Hurry up or Jiraiya will eat it all!"
Tsunade's screeching voice so early in the morning made Naruto wake up in a heartbeat. Usually it would have taken something more then that for him to even open his eyes but that night had been rough. Non-stop tossing, turning with his stomach bunched up in knots from constant thinking and wondering and dreading. He'd only just managed to fall into a fitful sleep about an hour before Tsunade's yelling had made him bolt upright in his bed. Even then, the memories ensured that that one hour of rest was usless.
"Coming!" Naruto yelled out, not particularly happy about it being time to go to school. At least he wouldn't be seeing his Chemistry teacher that day. Thank Kami for B days.
One thing that Naruto liked about this school was that they separated their schedule. Four classes each day. On A day he had Algebra, Literature, Lunch, free period(Since he was a senior, he had one free class), and Chemistry. On B days he had Spanish, Physical Education, Lunch, History and Creative Writing.
Naruto quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face. In next to no time, he had his clothes on and grabbed all his school things. He made his way down to the kitchen and sat down across from Jiraiya whom had already made his way through a huge stack of pancakes. Taking two of the fluffy, warm pancakes, Naruto plopped them onto the empty plate in front of him. He swiftly spread some butter on top and drizzled a little bit of syrup. Once done with that, he cut into it and began to eat. He only finished about half of it before pushing the plate away and gulping down a whole glass of milk. "Thank you, I'll see you guys later."
"That's all?" Tsunade asked in surprise. Usually, Naruto would eat just as much as her husband, if not more then him.
Naruto just nodded, waved and left out the door. It was early enough that he could walk to school instead of taking the bus. He didn't feel like sitting in a confined space full of teenagers just yet, though he knew it would happen sooner then he would potentially like. And the fresh air would help clear his mind and wake him up a bit since his fail at sleeping the night before. Though he had managed to finish writing his short story on his notebook during that time before he'd tried to fall asleep. It wasn't complete or anything close to it but the majority of the writing was done and that was all good.
About twenty minutes later, Naruto made it to his school. He was still surprisingly early, though there were a few students around the area.
Two of them happened to be Sasuke Uchiha and Shikamaru Nara. They were standing just outside the doors, seemingly waiting for someone. Naruto sent them a curious look before throwing open the door and making his way to his first class of the day, Spanish.
Why he'd even decided to take it was a bit of a mystery. Naruto could have sworn that he'd chosen Latin instead of Spanish... Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to have four languages on hand. Though next term he'd make sure to take Latin II. He liked that language, and he wanted more knowledge of it just because it sounded nice.
As Naruto walked down the long hallway, he noticed that there was someone following him. He shot a look over his shoulder to see who it was and saw the Uchiha and Nara a few feet behind him.
That was kind of odd... So that meant that they weren't waiting for someone? Naruto mentally shrugged, already forgetting about it. It wasn't like it had anything to do with him anyway.
A few minutes later, he walked through his Spanish class' door and made his way to the back of the classroom.
"Good morning, Naruto." A voice called from the front of the classroom. "Sasuke, Shikamaru. You three are early this morning."
Naruto nodded to him but didn't say anything.
"Morning, Asuma-sensei. Shikamaru replied, stepping up to his desk. "Here's the work I missed on Friday." He handed over a couple of papers before going to his seat with Sasuke right besides him. They sat right in front of Naruto, and the blond tilted his head to the side in confusion. In this class the two usually sat near the front of the room...
Asuma raised an eyebrow at the new seating arrangement but didn't comment as he looked through the pile of papers that were on his desk.
Naruto took out his notebook and new laptop and began to type the third chapter in his story that he would submit in a few weeks. Making sure not to mess up too much, Naruto quickly finished that chapter up just as the bell rang. He was too engrossed in his task that he didn't notice the two pairs of eyes watching him discreetly that whole time.
The loud ringing of the bell made Naruto jump in surprise. A quick glance around showed that no one else had arrived yet. Naruto made sure to save the chapter and that his laptop shut down fully, before closing it and putting it back into his back pack, along with his notebook. He took out his Spanish binder and waited for the rest of the class to trickle in.
"Sasuke!" Two girls voices screeched. The pitch that they reached made Naruto flinch. By the look of it, both Shikamaru and Sasuke shuddered as the duo made their way towards the Uchiha, trying to slap each other out of the way as they went.
"I was looking all over for you!" Sakura practically yelled.
"What do you mean you where looking for him?! I was looking for him! Sasuke, remember you told me you'd meet me in the cafeteria for breakfast?" Ino interrupted, shooting the Uchiha a smile that looked more a cat wanting to sink its teeth into a mouse.
"Scary..." Naruto muttered to himself, and subtly tried to slide his desk a tad bit farther from the disturbing scene. He didn't notice that Shikamaru had heard him and agreed with him whole-heartedly.
"Sakura, Ino, please take your seats, the bell is going to ring soon." Asuma said, he stood up and made his way to the front of his desk and leaned back on it.
"Sorry, Asuma-sensei." The girls called out. They didn't even seem to notice that Sasuke had a different seat because they were busy trying to get ahead of the other since they sat right next to each other on the right side of the room, away from where Naruto sat.
Once they were gone, all three males visibly relaxed.
"Troublesome women." Shikamaru muttered and Sasuke 'hn-ed' in agreement. Naruto couldn't control the small chuckle that escaped at those words.
More students walked into the classroom, and as the last of the stragglers sat down, that was when the two girls noticed the slight change of seating arrangements.
"We can do that?!"
"No." Asuma stated clearly getting a bit frustrated with the two teen girls. If he let them move, it was practically guaranteed that they would sit next to Sasuke and nobody would be able to do their work.
The chorus of aww's from every single girl in the room was somehow not surprising.
"Thank god." Naruto muttered, turning to look out of the window for a moment until Asuma started talking about their next lesson.
"Alright class, take out your book and start reading chapter three. When you're done, start the worksheet on page twenty of your workbook." Asuma said, watching as everyone reached into their book bags for the required books. "If you want to work in groups of two or three, then that's fine but only with the people around you. Moving from your seat is not allowed." At the last bit, Asuma shot a look at Sakura and Ino who had already tried to get up before hearing the rest of the sentence.
Naruto opened his book and immediately began to read the chapter. He didn't really like group projects, so he didn't turn to the two people closest to him, just immersed himself in his work. He wasn't that fastest learner but he also wasn't the slowest so he usually finished solo projects by the end of the class.
A quiet clearing of a throat had him glance up a bit startled. Shikamaru and Sasuke were both looking at him. It looked like Sasuke was about to reach out to him to like they'd been trying to get his attention for a while and finally decided on physical contact as the best course of action to grab Naruto's attention. Good thing he'd noticed before they actually did try to touch him. Sometimes he reacted badly to contact unless he was sufficiently warned of the possibility ahead of time.
"Um... I'm sorry... Did you need something?" Naruto asked quietly, subtlry leaning away, and making sure not to meet their eyes.
"We were just wondering if you wanted to join our group?" Shikamaru said, while he studied Naruto intently.
Sasuke just nodded in agreement with him.
"Ah... I'm fine. I do better by myself then in a group..." Naruto stammered. He wondered why the two were even talking to him.
"Come on, we need a bit of help with this actually. That's why we want you to join us." Shikamaru gave a half grin to Naruto, eyes hooded.
Naruto's blond eyebrow rose in disbelief at that. Shikamaru and Sasuke were two of the top academic students of their year, there was no way that they needed any help whatsoever from him. The looks they gave him made Naruto give in. "Alright..."
Both Shikamaru and Sasuke turned their desks around so that they would face Naruto and all three began to work. As Naruto had thought, neither really needed any help at all though every once in a while they would ask him a question like they remembered they were supposed to need help. By the time they reached the midway point of the period, all three were finished with everything, and Naruto admitted to himself that he would have taken longer if he had been doing it by himself. It was nice having free time.
"I'll take the papers to Asuma-sensei's desk." Naruto offered, holding his hand out so the other two could place the papers there.
"Thanks, Naruto." Shikamaru gave him a grin and Naruto nodded his head without saying a word. He quickly made his way to the front of the class and plaiced the papers in the turn in tray on the edge of the desk.
"Done already?" Asuma asked a bit surprised.
Naruto nodded and Asuma reached in to grab the paper so he could skim through it. That's when he noticed that it was more then one. His eyebrow raised and he watched as Naruto walked back to his desk. That's when he noticed that Sasuke and Shikamaru had turned their desks to work with Naruto.
"Ah..." Asuma nodded to himself before turning back to his grading. He still had the classes from the day before to finish before he started on that class' ones.
Naruto sat down on his desk and took out his fanfiction notebook, he really needed to start on the next chapter for his Loveless one. He had promised to update it within the next two weeks and he really didn't want to go back on his word on that one. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. With a start, Naruto realized that he hadn't even looked at it once that day. He'd been preoccupied with other thoughts earlier, then he'd gotten distracted with wondering why Sasuke and Shikamaru wanted to work with him that it had slipped his mind.
Since he was done with his work, Naruto figured he could take a look. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, making sure that its view was blocked by the desk and his book bag that he'd just placed up there. Asuma was nice about phones if they accidently rang in class but he still confiscated them if he saw them out.
Kiba-Yo, Naruto! How's your story coming along? Almost finished with it?
-Hey Kiba! I've got most of it down, I just need to type it up and tweak a few things here and there.
Kiba- Awesome, dude! You'll win that contest easy. As soon as they publish it, I'm going to get it! The little you told me about it sounds really interesting!
Naruto didn't notice that he was being watched by Sasuke and Shikamaru from the moment he'd taken his notebook and phone out. Both watched as a grin appeared in the blonds face and they were more then a bit surprised because Naruto never really smiled in front of anyone.
Naruto, of course, smiled all the time at school. The thing was that he was always looking down when he smiled or showed any for of happiness. All anybody ever really saw was the top of his blond head in all honesty.
Sasuke was intrigued, and he wanted to know who was making Naruto so happy. "Who are you talking to?"
Again, Naruto was startled at how intimate they were being. Was it 'Talk to Naruto Day' or something...? "My best friend..." Naruto answered, not giving out more then that.
"Does he go here?" Sasuke wondered in surprise. He didn't think that Naruto talked to anybody at the school.
"Ah, no." Naruto shook his head, his eyes drifting down to the phone as it vibrated again.
"Oh, so he's from your old school." Shikamaru said nodding his head thinking that he'd figured it out.
"Actually, I've never met him in person before." Naruto corrected as he typed his response to Kiba's question about whether he was planning on posting the Levi/Eren fic anytime soon.
"You have a best friend that you've never meet before?" Sasuke's eyebrow shot up big time in shock.
"Yea...I've got two best friends and a few good friends that I've never met." Naruto said a bit distractedly as both Haku and Kiba messaged him, making the phone buzz twice as long as normal. "You've never had a friend or a best friend that you've never met in person?" Naruto said it like it happened all the time. For him it did at least so he figured it happened to a lot of other people too.
"Not really..." Sasuke shared a look with Shikamaru.
Naruto shrugged still more then a little distracted. "Huh..."
Haku- How's school going? I felt well enough to go in today...
-As in Zabuza made you go?
Haku- ... that's basically it...
- Haha, dummy. If you miss too much school, you're going to regret it later.
Haku- But it's so boring!
Naruto couldn't help but snicker at that.
"And you're not scared that the might be lying about who they are?" This time it was Shikamaru who asked.
"Even if they're lying, it wouldn't really matter to me. They're my friends, it's not like I'm going to be dating them. Haku's already got a boyfriend that he's devoted to and Kiba isn't into guys so its not like we're going to fall for each other even when he comes in a few months."
"You're more talkative then I thought you were." Sasuke said in amusement though the carefree way Naruto talked about people he never met before was worrying.
"Yeah, once I get going, I don't really stop. But so far only you two have actually tried talking to me. Why is that, anyway? You practically ignored me since I got here two weeks ago, why start talking to me now?" Naruto asked, finally looking up from his phone and glancing from one to the other.
"Well... We were honestly waiting for you to talk but you didn't seem up to it after someone said what your last name was that first day you got here... So we decided to get to know you and see if you wanted to hang out with our group during lunch." Shikamaru placed his elbow on his desk and held his head up with his hand.
Naruto shrugged, not committing to anything just yet.
"I noticed you opened up to my cousin Shisui pretty easily and I thought it'd be the same way with us but you never talk to anyone."
"Yeah, I tend to stick to myself. I've been burned too much with false friendships from people my age that I don't really trust people anymore. Except online. Nobody knows who you are, they only judge you by the stuff and work you post and that's that."
"You're really blunt." Sasuke smirked again.
"Yeah, I tend to be like that. Blunt scares the fakes right away and the one's that stay know that I don't trust them and either give up or become very close because they actually try." At that last bit, Naruto's eyes softened from a memory. "Only one person actually stayed."
Shikamaru and Sasuke shared a look before Shikamaru asked another question, choosing to change the subject. "So you post poems online or something?"
Naruto was about to correct him again, when he paused. He really was sharing a lot of personal information, and he still wasn't sure that they didn't have a hidden agenda. So instead of saying that he wrote fan fiction, Naruto nodded.
Shikamaru noticed the hesitation but didn't push for more. Instead he asked about joining them for lunch again.
"I don't know..." Naruto muttered.
"Come one, just for today. If you feel uncomfortable or if you don't like someone, you don't have to do it again." Shikamaru said and with those words, Naruto finally agreed.
Just then, the bell rang and Naruto grabbed his bag feeling a bit a relief that he was wasn't going to have class this them during the next period.
"You've got P.E. next right?" Shikamaru asked, as he and Sasuke kept stride with Naruto.
The blond nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive at the moment since they were heading in the same direction as him.
"My schedule was changed yesterday and I've got it now too." Shikamaru stated.
"I do too. Counselor said that I failed last year because I kept 'forgetting' to dress out. She changed my schedule and gave it to me during lunch yesterday. It's a pain." Sasuke muttered darkly.
And there went Naruto's relief, straight out the window.
"Good morning, Naru-chan."
And there went the rest of his good day.
Naruto slowed down, and glanced over at his Chemistry teacher that had appeared out of nowhere. "Good morning sensei..." Both Sasuke and Shikamaru stopped though they left a distance between them and Naruto. For once he wished that they had been nosy and stayed closer to him.
"Can you wait a minute? I need to discusse something with you." The small smirk on Orochimaru's face made Naruto's own face pale a bit.
"A-about my test...?" Naruto stuttered, hoping to stay in the hall.
"Yes, you missed quiet a few, and you're doing pretty poorly." Orochimaru motioned for him to go into his classroom which was empty. Naruto's shoulders sagged and he stepped into the room, throwing a last desprate look over his shoulder at his two stalkers. "I've decided to give you a little extra help so that your grades do not fall. I've already talked to the princaple and he agreed with my plans. You have a free period before my class, correct?"
Naruto nodded, feeling dread rise up when Orochimaru closed the door.
"Perfect. Once a week, you will come here and I will help you to catch up." Orochimaru placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. The blond teen couldn't help but shudder a bit at the touch. "Here's you're paper, Tomorrow, don't forget to come here."
Naruto nodded and turned, leaving the classroom as quickly as he could without running. He could have sworn that he'd heard a chuckle following him out the room.
Naruto spotted the Nara and Uchiha waiting at the spot they'd stopped at.
"You alright?" Shikamaru asked, noticing that Naruto skin had a paled a bit.
"Fine." It wasn't like he could tell them anything that they would believe. And nobody would say that getting a creepy vide from a teacher that had been there for a while was anything to look into. And that's all it had been. "Just gotta meet with Orochimaru-sensei for extra lessons..."
With that, they reached the boys locker room and they all began to change out of their clothes. Naruto was somewhat relieved that Sasuke and Shikamaru left him alone after that. They talked to their friends that were in this class. Most of them were making plans to go to the movies later that day after school.
That was when Naruto noticed that he'd forgotten to put on his under shirt that morning.
"Damn... I knew I forgot something." Naruto muttered as he took out his sweat pants and shirt. He didn't like undressing in front of people, it made him uncomfortable and he usually had a thin shirt that he never took off when he changed in the locker rooms. That shirt helped cover the two tattoos he had. The one on his stomach had been there for a long time. He never knew where'd it come from, just that it was there. The second one he'd gotten the year he'd met Gaara. They had both gotten one a few months before getting together.
Like Naruto, Gaara had also had a previous tattoo. It was the kanji for 'love' on his forehead, and like Naruto's, it had been there for as long as he could remember. They really did have a lot in common. Ostracized by people, shunned, and feared. And they'd found each other. Recognized like souls.
Both had wanted something to commemorate their friendship. They were so alike in so many ways, in so many aspects.
Gaara had told Naruto about an old legend that he'd heard from somewhere. There were demons with incredible powers that destroyed entier villages in older times. People feared them, and so they trapped the beasts into nine humans. The humans were the jailers of the nine beasts but people treated them like they were the actual beasts instead of the containers that held them at bay. They were called the jinchuuriki.
Both Naruto and Gaara had felt a connection to that story and so the two had chosen a demon to 'house'. Gaara chose Shukaku, the one tailed demon. Naruto chose the Kurama, the nine tails.
Gaara's was easier in the fact that there was less tails to deal with, though it was still a big tattoo. It had turned out incredibly beautiful. Gaara had even added a moon in the background and it had enhanced the rest of it. Naruto hadn't been able to take his eyes off of it for the longest time ever.
Naruto's own tattoo sprawled across his whole back. It's body was crouched on his lower back, with its nine tails spread upwards, curling and looping in different directions. The snarling face of the demon was incrediblely detailed, it could almost jump off of Naruto's back. The tattoo had taken days to get done. Good thing Gaara had had a tattoo artist friend that had given both of them a discount. If he'd had a million dollars, Naruto would have given it to the artist. He deversed it.
From then on, they'd called themselves jinchuuriki, though they never showed off their tattoos to anyone except each other. More so when they'd gotten together.
Since Gaara, nobody had seen it. Not even a glimps. He'd done a pretty good job of hiding it.
Naruto waited a few minutes, pretending to look for something in his bag until everyone left to the gym. Quickly, Naruto took off his shirt, and reached for his gym shirt.
That's when he heard somone gasp behind him.
And there went his tattoo hiding ability. He should have just gone to the bathroom stalls.
A/N: Thank you for reading! Sorry it's taken me so long to update!
Thank you to anyone who followed, favorited and/or reviewed! You're awesome!
Special thanks to JigokuShoujosRevenge and The flaming Darkness for reviewing the previous chapter! I'm not sure if I replied to your reviews because my phones PM is acting up, so if I didn't, I'm sorry!