Year of the Fox

Disclaimer:
*sigh* I still don’t own anyone…TT_TT Especially not Sasuke. *bawls*
I make no profit.
There will be yaoi. I doubt Kishimoto-sensei would write that. But OOOH how I wish he would!

Other notes:

Yay! Sasuke! ^___^ *almost died waiting to be able to include him*
Hopefully the story will get a little better from here. Thanks for being patient! ^.^
As I’m writing this note, I’m not sure how this chapter will turn out, as I have more than one option…But I hope that you’ll like it whichever I choose to go with.
Yoroshiku, ne?

....

Right... I'm SOOOO sorry for the delay! This chapter almsot killed me! It was hell to write. I got stuck and it took me forever to actually finish it.
And when I finally did it turned out to be very boring and on top of that, the longest chapter yet. I suck. -_- (I haven't even proofread this chapter yet, cos I got so fed up with it.)

Also, the above notes were written when I started this chapter. (about 2 months ago x_x)
And that was naturally long before the infamous chapter 347
well what do you know? Kishimoto does do yaoi! xD *shot*

Uhm, I've discovered that I have some troubles filling in events in the chapter. One chapter is one month after all. So if you have any ideas, throw them at me!
Either by review or e-mail: kare_carma@hotmail.com

Finally, I want to dedicate this chapter to Ali.
Even if it sucks. Gomen hun.
But if it hadn't been for her, chapter 4 wouldn't even exist! So thanks for giving me the idea that drove the last 10 pages forward! ^___^

Edit: I found a few pesky typos that bothered me to immense degrees... -__-;;
I've read through the wole chapter three times now, and I still can't find the biggest typo of them all... Arrgh! *dies*
************


Sangatsu

Without doubt. That was him.
Uchiha Sasuke.
Sasuke.
How could he forget that name?
Naruto swallowed, hard.
“Sasuke.”
The person standing in front of the class, next to Kakashi, was the same person Naruto had seen in the office on Monday. It was the same person he’d been dreaming of, seeing in his thoughts without being able to identify him for the past weeks.

But…Uchiha?
He couldn’t remember.
He remembered the name now, it was unthinkable that he’d forgotten Sasuke. But that he’d been an Uchiha..? That was one piece of the puzzle Naruto had never known of.

Naruto was staring. He was aware of that. But there was just no way for him to take his eyes off the raven, standing there, with his hands in his pockets, looking straight ahead.
He wasn’t the only one, just about every girl in class was staring at Sasuke, unable to look anywhere else.

“Sasuke? Would you like to present yourself, or say something to the class?” Kakashi asked, looking at the newest edition to his class.
Sasuke glared back at him. “Hn.”
“Ok…Or not…” Kakashi scratched his silver hair. “Alright…Why don’t you just take a seat? The one over there is free.”
Sasuke shrugged, heading for the empty desk on the fifth row.

Heads turned as he passed the rows of students.
Sasuke continued completely unaffected, neither looking to the left nor to the right.
Placing his bag on the desk, he sat down and continued to stare blankly at the blackboard.

“Well then, I hope you will all take good care of him.” Kakashi urged. “Now, let’s get down to business; Kiba, what’s the answer to question eleven?”
“Question eleven?!” the boy shrilled. “What page? Which book? What chapter?!”
“Oh, right… All right class, read pages sixty to seventy one, then answer the questions.”
“Jeez sensei…” someone muttered. “What are you on?”

Naruto pretended to be reading, but his mind was elsewhere.
Sasuke was seated behind him, on the left.
Did he recognize him?
He didn’t dare to turn around and look at him. There were enough people staring at him already. But his mind was full of questions; Where had Sasuke been all those years? Did he get away from that terrible place? Did he remember?

He came through the door and kicked his shoes off in the hall.
“Welcome home Naruto nii-chan!”
“Hey kids.” Naruto smiled, ruffling a boy called Konohamaru’s hair.
He sniffed into the air. “Dinner already?”
“Yeah. Yakisoba.”
“Yakisoba eh?” Naruto grinned. “Almost as good as ramen!”
“If you eat more ramen you’ll die.”
“Nice to see you too Gaara.”
Gaara’s lip quirked.
Naruto followed him into the kitchen.
Shizune was there, talking to two of the other women who helped take care of the kids. She was carrying books, which meant she was just done with Gaara’s private lessons.
“Math test.” Gaara mumbled. “Death.”
“It wasn’t that hard Gaara!”
“I didn’t say it was hard. I said that it was death.”
“Rigth…” Shizune turned to the blonde, who’d pulled one of the youngest orphans into his lap. “How was school Naruto?”
“Normal. We’ve got a new class mate though.”
“Really?”
Naruto nodded, he went thoughtful again. “Uchiha Sasuke.” he said.
The three women stared at him.
“Uchiha?” Gaara repeated.
Naruto nodded. “Yeah.”
Of course, that’s what they’d react to. They didn’t know that Naruto and Sasuke already knew each other. If Sasuke remembered that was.
And he certainly hadn’t expressed that in any way.
It was only his first day though, he hadn’t really talked to anyone, so Naruto decided to wait and see.

Sasuke stood in the hall.
He sighed as he closed the door.
“New school, old house…” he said quietly to himself.
It was eerie. Even now, in daylight this house gave him the creeps.
He didn’t like it.
He’d been living here for a week now. Nothing had changed.
Everything was like he remembered it, only less lively.
All the furniture and paintings, the piano and the family photos…It was all in the same place.
Family photos….Sasuke shuddered.
It was a mockery. The pictures on the wall told of a happy, close family.
Generations of family members, living together on the estate.
And here he was, alone.

Every room, every piece of furniture in it, told the same story.
No matter where he went he couldn’t escape the memories.
The vivid recollection of what had happened years ago was still causing him nightmares.
It was in these walls too.
When the wind blew outside, it sang in the old wooden walls, about the tragedy.
The Uchiha Tragedy was carved into these walls, the story of it written with blood.
When darkness crept up and engulfed the buildings on the estate, Sasuke swore he could hear whispers and mournful groans.
And this was his home.
He grabbed his bag and headed for the kitchen, there was nothing there that tempted him, so he decided to head up to his room, change and then go out again.
Anything was better than staying here.
He hated this house.

The second floor was smaller than the first, it held four bedrooms and a bathroom. As well as a veranda on the east side of the house and a room they’d referred to as ‘the library’.
Sasuke stopped outside the third door on his right.
His fingers touched the dark wood carefully.
This was the only room he still hadn’t entered. He just couldn’t for some reason.
He touched the doorknob gently and pushed the door open.
A small cone of light emitted from the door way, illuminating the room slightly.
The drapes were closed, and the air was hot and suffocating. But nothing had changed. The room was just like it had been years ago. Just like everything else in this house.
Sasuke closed the door gently, leaning his forehead on the doorframe.
“Where are you?” he whispered.

The word had spread like fire in dry grass; soon all of Konoha knew that the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan was back in town. No one was sure where he had been, but it didn't matter much, as the lack of information gave them more to talk about, and several theories came to the surface.

With the whole population of Konoha discussing Sasuke, Naruto got some peace and quiet.
Not so many stared at him in disgust when he walked past them; they were too busy digging up the old dirt of the Uchiha Tragedy.
Honestly, sometimes Naruto wondered if the whole city was feeding on others misery so they could live.
That being said, it was no wonder really, that they talked, not considering the mysterious tragedy that had struck the noble family.
It just pissed Nauto off that no one seemed to care about others' feelings around here.

Not that Sasuke was the most sensitive person.
The raven had first transferred to his class about a week and a half ago, and though having made quite an impact, he hadn't seemed sincerely interested in anything yet.
No one could blame him, Naruto guessed, with all the talk and everything. But still, it didn't seem like Sasuke cared about it, or anything else for that matter.
He still wouldn't participate in all of the classes, and from what Naruto gathered it had something to do with his old school; they needed him to finish certain assignments or something. He wasn't sure.
What he was sure of however, was that during the close to two weeks Sasuke had attended Konoha High, he had looked at him a total of two, maybe three times.

Naruto himself hadn't done much to get Sasuke's attention either though.
He figured that he needed to sort out his thoughts first.
He'd been dreaming about this guy for weeks after all, and then all of a sudden he appeared out of nowhere, as his new classmate! It could give anyone a light case of paranoia.
It was just that...He didn't know what to say.
If he could forget Sasuke's face, and his name, despite the closeness that Naruto's memories told him they had shared when they were younger, then it was just as likely that Sasuke had forgotten too. Maybe even completely.

That first day, when he had been sitting there, pretending to be indifferent as Sasuke sat there just a row behind him, he had appeared calm. But in addition to the millions of thoughts that were spinning in his mind, he had been absolutely dumbstruck.
It didn't seem real at all; that the very person Naruto had been trying so hard to remember, was sitting here now. In the same room as him.
Maybe he was wrong, he caught himself thinking. Maybe Sasuke wasn't at all the person he remembered. But he shook away the thought. It had to be him. There was no way it wasn't.
Years had passed, and still there wasn't a doubt in Naruto's mind when his gaze first rested upon him. It had to be him.
Why though, why had Sasuke suddenly appeared here? And why now?
The more Naruto thought of it and strained his brain to figure out an answer, the more he wished he could stop thinking of it.
That was easier said than done though.
Like now, when he was walking down the hallway with Sakura and Ino. All the two girls could talk about was their new classmate.
"Isn't Sasuke-kun just gorgeous?" Ino chirped.
Sakura nodded, a dreamy look glossing over her eyes.
"I wonder if he'll go out with me..."
"Why would anyone go on a date with you, Ino-pig?"
"Shut up forehead girl! Sasuke-kun is obviously high class, and should choose a girlfriend accordingly!"
"Then you are so faaaaaar out of the picture I can't even see you anymore." Sakura retorted.
Naruto sighed. It was hard to think that the two girls were actually close friends, the way they spoke to each other.

Obviously Konoha High didn't follow the rules that the rest of the city went by, because while Sasuke was indeed the topic of conversation, Naruto was still the walking bulls eye.
They entered the classroom to find everything in total chaos.
Naruto stepped over to Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru, who were sitting over by the window.
Kiba was frantically pressing the buttons on his gameboy, the two others looking lazily over his
shoulder. "Hey," the blonde said. "where's Iruka-sensei?"
"He's still sick." Kiba replied quickly, repeatedly pressing the 'y' button. "Damn it!"
"He'll be gone all week."
They all looked at Shino.
"Class rep." he said calmly.
"Right..."
Kiba grinned. "That means we'll get one more week to finish our projects!"
"And boy....Am I gonna need it..." Naruto sighed.
The rest of the group looked over at him.
Naruto was looking at a pile of soaked papers on his desk.
"What the..."
"Don't tell me..."
"That's your project?!" Ino shrilled.
"Yeah... Half of it. The other half is in my bag...covered in yoghurt." Naruto frowned.
"Oh no.."
"I sure hope you have a backup disc."
"I-" Naruto dug in his bag, pulling out three pieces of polycarbonate plastic that had once been a
CD. "...do..."
"Shit..." Kiba muttered.
"Have you ever heard of screwing the cap back on the bottle dickless?"
"What the fuck Sai!?" Naruto was angry. Real angry.
Wait.
Make that pissed off.
This was more than a mean prank. This was sabotage.
Apparently his friends were thinking the same thing.
"Sai! Did you do this?!"
"If you did I'll wring your neck!" Sakura snarled, her emerald eyes turning pitch black for a split
second.
"Just because we're being given individual marks, it doesn't mean you can walk around-"
"Chill." Sai broke them off. "I was just stating the obvious."
Naruto scowled at him. Without thinking he grabbed the other boy's collar, pushing him backwards
towards the classroom door.
Sai's smug smirk was fading, he was a coward after all. "Jeez Uzumaki! It wasn't me ok?!"
"I sure hope it wasn't." Naruto replied. "Because that's low, even for you." he pushed him backwards, just as the door opened. The blonde and the raven crashed straight into the person who came in. And that person, was Sasuke.
Nauto's azure orbs locked to Sasuke's pitch black glare.
It seemed like they had been staring at each other forever when Sasuke snorted and brushed past them, muttering something that sounded like; "Watch it, dobe."
'Dobe'. As in the name one of his teachers had referred to him by just yesterday.
Naruto was dumbstruck.
His grip on Sai's shirt loosened, and the boy pulled away.
"Freak." Sai spat and disappeared out the door.
As he made his way down the hall he called out; "I hope you have another safety copy, or that you type really fast! Wouldn't want you to fail!"
No one said anything. Everyone knew that Naruto didn't have access to a computer at home.
Naruto himself barely caught Sai's spiteful words though.
He was still dwelling at the words the Uchiha's velvet voice had spoken.
What the hell?
The first thing he said to him, and it was an insult?!

"Dude," Kiba placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, a broad grin plastered on his face. "That was awesome!"
"What?"
"You telling off that asshole right now!"
"Oh. Yeah. It felt good..." he said absentmindedly, heading out the door, for the library.
The others came with him.

Sasuke watched them lazily as the group disappeared through the door.
He then turned his attention to the book on the desk before him.
Turning the page, he gave a quiet 'hn' to himself, looking over towards the door once more.

"I'm worried about Naruto."
"Naruto? Why?" Kakashi looked over his shoulder. "And shouldn't you be in bed?"
"It's just a common flu!" Iruka said with annoyance in his voice.
"And yet here I am, playing nurse, cooking you dinner."
"It's instant soup." the brunette pointed out. "I could've made that."
"But you're not. I am, so relax and tell me why you're worried about him."
Iruka sighed. "They're bullying him."
"What else is new?"
"You could be a bit more sensitive. The age he is now is very crucial and-"
"And he'll sort it out himself, you saw what happened the other day."
"Violence shouldn't be the only option."
"But it might be a solution, like it or not." Kakashi retorted, tasting the soup. "There's two options; rise above them, or kick their asses. If you ask me, Naruto is doing a fine job at both. And you know he only fights if he finds it necessary."
"Because he's afraid."
Kakashi turned down the heat on the stove, and came to sit next to Iruka on the couch.
"Afraid?"
"Of his blood. He knows that-"
"What? If he snaps he'll become his father?"
"No...that's not...It's just... Don't you think that he'll only make it worse if he gets mad? And what if he looses control of his temper?"
"So basically Mother Hen, you think that he should just shut up and take it? Or come running to you, or Tsunade every time someone pokes him? Just forget it, teenagers don't work like that. And Naruto isn't like most other teens anyway, he's wise in his own way, and he knows better than to let himself get affected by nonsense."
The other man rubbed his temple.
"Iruka," Kakashi brought their foreheads together. "You want to know what I think?"
Iruka nodded.
"I think you should stop worrying, and go back to bed. You have a fever." he smiled.
Iruka frowned. He lay down on the couch though, closing his eyes. "I should have raised him..." he sighed.
"You practically have." the silver-haired man replied. "All he knows he's learned from you. So relax, Naruto is fine. It's you who's making a big deal out of nothing."


"Woah! Hinata you're so nice! Letting me borrow your laptop like this!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear, looking at the brand new laptop in front of him on the desk.
"I-it's n-no p-problem..." she stuttered. "W-we're done w-with our p-project a-anyway...A-and...I th-thought you m-might need it..."
"But still..."
"I-it's f-fine...r-really!"
Naruto kept grinning, and pulled the petite girl close for a swift bear hug. "You're the best!"
Hinata blushed sixteen shades of scarlet, and nearly fainted. Naruto didn't notice, he'd already turned to Shikamaru.
The Nara seemed to be in a helpful mood himself. "You don't have to do it all over again," he said. "I thought something like this might happen, so I did a few parts of your stuff too."
"You did?! When?"
"During the weekend, I had nothing else to do anyway."
"Dude," Kiba interrupted. "Doing other people's projects during weekends? You need a hobby."
Shikamaru ignored him.
"I want to do as much of it as possible myself," Naruto said. "But thanks for the offer. Then again..." he flashed a fox grin. "If you insist, who am I to refuse?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but his lips quirked.


The next morning Naruto was getting ready for school.
Gaara regarded him lazily from his bed.
"You're lucky you don't have to get up this early." the blonde muttered, while trying to fix his hair.
It was impossible to spot any real difference; the tousles of blonde were just as wild and unruly as when he'd gotten out of bed.
"Yeah right..." Gaara mumbled. "Five minutes after you're out the door, someone always comes barging in here, forcing me to get up."
"Still..." Naruto sighed quietly.
Gaara rose to a sitting position, the blanket sliding down, to reveal his lean form and pale skin. Next to his pillow, Naruto spotted the teddy bear Gaara'd had for as long as they could both remember. He was still not willing to give it up it seemed.
"Naruto, what's wrong?"
"What? I'm just tired, that's all."
"Really?" Gaara's brow furrowed as his aquamarine eyes burned their way into Naruto's soul. At least that's what it felt like.
Naruto sighed a second time.
"Let's hear it."
"It's nothing big...Just...You know yesterday when I found my project...?"
Gaara nodded.
"Yeah, well. Sai was standing there like a smug bastard."
"As always," the quiet red mumbled.
"And...I just snapped." Naruto continued.
"Snapped?" Gaara repeated.
"I grabbed his collar and slammed him against the door."
"It's about time you stood up to him." Gaara said monotonously.
Naruto sighed yet again.
Gaara stood from the bed, coming over to him. He rested a slender hand on the blonde's shoulder. "You're worried because of your blood, aren't you?"
Naruto turned his gaze away, and gave a slight nod. The red pulled him closer, letting his friend rest his forehead on his chest. "Relax." he said. "You're not your father."
Naruto smiled carefully. "Thanks Gaara."
His eyes wandered to the clock on the wall. "DAMN IT!"
He was late again.
He freed himself from Gaara's awkward embrace, mumbled some sort of goodbye, and ran down the stairs and out the door.
Gaara went over to the window, watching as his friend hurried down the street.
"Naruto..."
Something else was troubling the teen, and it bothered Gaara that he couldn't guess what it was.

Meeting up with Shikamaru and a few of the others outside the school gates, Naruto plastered his usual grin on his face.
"Hey guys!"
Shikamaru handed him a pile of papers.
"What's this?" Naruto asked as he accepted them.
"Just some help."
Flipping through the papers, and realizing what it was, Naruto grinned even wider. "You're the best Shika!"
The brunette's eye twitched in slight irritation.
"And we'll help you out too." Sakura smiled sweetly. "My group's pretty much done with our project."
"Mine too." Ino smiled.
"A-and..." Hinata's soft voice was drowned out when Sasuke passed them.
He didn't spare any of them a single glace, but the girls stared.
Ino and Sakura were openly gawking at him.
Hinata looked at down at the ground. She found the Uchiha to be intimidating.
Guys like him were trouble. Usually they were too full of themselves to be very interested in others. And Sasuke didn't seem like the social type.
That appeared to be a non-issue to the two other girls though, the minute he showed up it was;
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Good morning Sasuke-kun!"
"Want to walk to class together Sasuke-kun?"
A quiet 'Hn', was barely uttered from the indifferent raven.

The group at the gates continued to chat excitedly.
Hinata shyly looked over at Naruto.
Was it her imagination, or was the blonde still watching the Uchiha?
He turned his head and looked back at her.
Reddening she quickly shifted her gaze to the ground, mumbling something.

"Aaand....there!"
Naruto's finger hit the 'enter' key with a loud click.
He turned to his friends and grinned.
"All done!"

It was Thursday, two days later, and he was done with the project.
"Thanks for the help guys!" he beamed. "The whole thing done in just two days! That's gotta be some sort of record!"
"And Iruka is still not here, so you don't have to worry about failing after all!" Kiba slapped Naruto on the shoulder.
"You on the other hand," Shino reminded the brunette.
"I thought we were done?!" the Inuzuka exclaimed.
"We are." Shino replied.
"Sh-Shino and me t-that is." Hinata said.
"Shit!" Kiba's eyes widened.
Naruto burst out laughing. "Don't worry, I'll help you!"
Kiba scowled. "Dude, you needed help from me. So I don't think so!"
"Fine, then tell them Akamaru ate your project." Naruto joked.
"As if that'll help."
"We'll help!" Hinata smiled shyly. "Won't we Shino-kun?"
The class rep nodded.
Naruto looked at his newfound friends. In this group they truly did help out whenever someone needed it, even if it was with the teeniest of things.
"Hey!" Ino exclaimed. "How about we all do something together this weekend?"
"Do something?" Shikamaru lifted an eyebrow.
"Yeah, obviously you need something to do, since you spend your weekends doing other people's homework!"
"That's a great idea!" Kiba grinned. Shino nodded again.
"I vote for yakiniku!" Chouji seemed to have suddenly awakened. The boy hadn't seemed to be paying attention to the conversation earlier at least.
"Don't you always?"
They laughed.
"You're coming too right, Naruto?"
The blonde looked around at the others. Not that he'd expected them not to invite him, but he still found himself a bit surprised at being asked.
"Sure. If it's on Friday. I have plans on Saturday..."
"Friday is fine!" Ino decided for the whole group.
"Bring that friend of yours too!" Sakura said. "Gaara, right?"
Naruto chewed his lip. "He's not exactly the social type...But, I'll ask him if he wants to go."
"I hope he'll come with us."
"Yeah! A friend of you is a friend of ours, right guys?"
Those words warmed.
Naruto smiled. "I'll drag him along."
"I wonder if he's handsome..?" Ino whispered to Sakura.
Her friend frowned. "Do you ever think of anything else?"
"Not more than you." the blonde girl pointed out.
"Speaking of which," Shino jerked his head towards a shelf at the other end of the library.
Instantly the two girls shifted their glances, staring at Sasuke in a matter that reminded Naruto of hungry predators.
The second thought that struck him, and probably every other guy in their group was that the girls must have been reading each others minds.
At least it seemed like the battle for Sasuke was back on; their glared at each other, before both of them called out;
"Hey! Sasuke-kuuun!"
The raven turned his head slightly.
Ino and Sakura proceeded to push each other aside as both chased forward, the librarian glaring daggers at them.
They reached Sasuke simultaneously, and latched onto his arms; one girl on each side.
"Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke!"
He grumbled.
"Wouldn't you like to go out with us on Friday?"
"She won't be coming of course!" Ino added.
"You're the one who won't be there pig!"
The Uchiha said nothing.

"Strange how they can cling to someone like that when he's hardly spoken a word to either of them..." Kiba said, watching them from the other side of the library.
Hinata flushed, stealing a glance at Naruto.
"Girls like them are so troublesome...I'm glad I'm not Sasuke." Shikamaru rubbed his neck.
Naruto said nothing, he was waiting for Sasuke's answer. Though he couldn't really make out all the words, he was sure he'd notice when Sasuke replied. After all, the reaction the girls would have to his answer would reveal everything.

"You don't have to hang out with the whole group," Sakura said.
"Of course not, we can go on a date just the two of us, if you'd like that!" Ino finished.
"Excuse me, I believe I was the one asking him out!"
"Does it look like he's interested?!"
"I'm not."
They froze at the sound of his voice.
"You see?!"
"I told you!"
"No." Sasuke shook them both off. "I don't want to go out with you."
He turned to Ino. "Or you. Or any of your little friends."

They both stared at the back of his navy blue shirt as he made for the hallway.

Inwardly Naruto wished that Sasuke had accepted the invite.
If they spent an evening together he should be able to figure out if the raven remembered him or not.
Then again, he wasn't sure he'd be thrilled if the boy had accepted either. The mood always became somewhat strained and uncomfortable whenever the Uchiha was near.
It was no wonder really, that the boy was a loner, not after what had happened. But still, it wasn't sadness Sasuke was giving off. It was something different. Something that hadn't been there back in the days when they had known each other.

He snapped back to reality when the two girls returned to their table.
They were bickering loudly, completely ignoring the frustrated shushing from the librarian.
"Why is it that every time I talk to Sasuke-kun, you have to come and ruin it?!"
"Right back at you! And all I wanted to do was save him from you!"
Shikamaru frowned. "They can go on like this all day. Why don't we just take lunch?"
"I'm in!" Chouji announced.
"Me too!"
Naruto's stomach growled loudly. "I guess I'm coming with you guys!"
Shino and Hinata silently tagged along.
Sakura and Ino followed them, so there was no use hoping to be free of the ruckus.

"I don't want to." Gaara pulled the covers over his head.
"Oh come on!" Naruto pulled it off him, the blanket landing on the floor. "It'll be fun!"
"I don't like fun."
"Gaara!"
"No." the red turned.
Naruto jumped on the bed, landing on his friend. "Please Gaara!"
"Do not want." was the simple response. Gaara proceeded to try to shake off the annoying blonde, with the result that they both tumbled to the floor.
"Oof!"
Naruto burst out laughing. Gaara merely scowled at him with narrow green eyes.
"Come on," Naruto dried the laughter-induced tears. "I just want you to meet them..."
"What about what I want?"
"You never wanna do anything. It'll be good for you to get out a little."
Gaara sighed. "If I say yes, will you stop bothering me?"
Naruto nodded. "Cross my heart and hope to die."
"Right..." Gaara rolled his eyes. "But you'll be doing my chores for a week."
"Deal!" the fox grinned.
"Now get to school." Gaara rose to his feet.
"Yes mother." Naruto replied.
The red smacked him in the back of the head, but smiled as he did. "When are we going?"
"We're meeting the guys around six, at the square."
Gaara nodded. And the blonde rushed down the stairs.
Seconds later the door slammed.


"Why did I let you talk me into this?" Gaara was obviously uncomfortable as they made their way down main street, towards the square.
"Stop sulking, I promise you'll have fun!"

The others curiously eyed the red as Naruto and Gaara met up with them.
"Everyone, this is Gaara." Naruto smiled. "Gaara, meet everyone."
Gaara gave a barely-there nod.
"Hey, where's Hinata?"
"She couldn't make it. She had this family-thing..."
"Oh, too bad."
"Can we go? I'm starving!"
"You ate before we left!" Shikamaru frowned.
"Yeah, but that's almost an hour ago!" Choiji countered, and started making for the Korean restaurant.
The group followed, Gaara and Naruto walking slightly behind the others.

Quiet whispers and spiteful glances followed them.
As much as it bothered Gaara to be out with people like this, it was nothing compared to what his friend must've been feeling, so the red temporarily shook off his annoyance and touched his hand to Naruto's shoulder, offering him a friendly smile.
The blonde seemed to think that he had cheered up though. Or maybe he was just getting really good at pretending like he didn't hear the voices that followed him wherever he went.

When they reached the restaurant and took their seats, the red was back to his usual self though.
He seemed fairly uninterested in getting to know any of Naruto's friends. He didn't mean anything by it, he just didn't like people.
The others chatted excitedly, and happily ate the delicious Korean barbeque. Gaara ate too, but slowly, and with his brow lined with thoughts.

Naruto excused himself to go to the bathroom, and instantly the mood around the table got slightly awkward.
Because of Gaara's reticent, cold nature they all felt a little uneasy. At the same time, they knew that this was just his way of acting, so they tried to keep the conversation flowing, eager to get to know this person Naruto spoke so highly of.
"So..." Kiba started. "Home schooling...eh?"
Gaara spared him half a glance. "Yeah."
"Must be...different."
Gaara shrugged.
"You don't have to get up early, do you?"
"No."
"So you can sleep in! Sleeping is the best, don't you think?"
"I have insomnia." Gaara retorted.
"Oh..." Kiba pulled away.
An awkward silence ruled between them. It remained until the blonde returned.
"I hope you were nice to them," he joked, slapping Gaara on the back as he took his seat.
Gaara arched a non-existent eyebrow.
Why hadn't the damned things grown back out yet? He was starting to wonder if the chemicals Naruto had mixed had created some toxic fume that had burned them off forever. Absentmindedly he touched two fingers to his forehead, running them along the line above his eye.
No one had asked yet, not about the kanji on his forehead either.
He reckoned Naruto had either told them the story, or that they simply were too scared of him to ask. He did have a reputation after all.

After eating, Sakura and Ino tried dragging the boys along to go dancing, but the idea was fairly unpopular.
"A group of guys, going dancing? I don't think so..."
"And what do you call us?!" a vein on Sakura's forehead popped as she grabbed Kiba by the collar.
In the end they ended up at a Karaoke place, where Ino and Sakura did some dancing regardless of what the others thought.
"Talk about getting caught in the moment..." Naruto said. "I want to sing next!"
He looked over at Gaara.
"Forget it. I'm here, that's more than enough."
Naruto shrugged, and dragged a protesting Shikamaru over to the mics instead.
Enthusiastically the blonde performed a very annoying pop-song, barely backed up by Shikamaru, who looked like he was suffering immensely up there. He'd even sat down on a speaker.

Gaara watched them.
He'd never seen Naruto like this. Though he was always full of life, this was new.
For the time being the blonde seemed to have no worries at all, and it lifted a huge weight off of Gaara's shoulders. Watching as Naruto pulled Sakura to her feet and made her sing along with him, a huge grin plastered on his face, Gaara smiled too.
Seeing Naruto so genuinely happy warmed him, just enough to make the night worthwhile.
He was still relieved though when they said their goodbyes.
"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Naruto asked, munching dango as he spoke.
Gaara shrugged. "They're ok."
Naruto laughed. "You're so stubborn!"
The red said nothing, but his lip quirked slightly. "What now?" he asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.
"I thought we'd stop by Iruka-sensei," Naruto said. "He doesn't live far from here, and I just wanna make sure he's ok."
"He's still sick?"
"Yeah."
"Let's go then."


It was to their surprise Naruto's literature teacher who opened the door, and stuck out his head.
"Kakashi-sensei?"
The man looked at the teens on the doormat. "What do you want?"
"I came to see Iruka-sensei." Naruto squinted. "What are you doing here?"
The silver-haired man mumbled something, but let them in.
Naruto snickered. "Oi, sensei! What are you wearing that for?!"
He was referring to the white apron with laced seams that Kakashi had tied around his waist.
"I'm cooking. Since Iruka is in no shape do be doing it himself."
"He's that sick?" Naruto asked worriedly.
"Nonsense." Iruka came into the kitchen. "Mother Hen over there is just pretending to be worried because there is no food in his own house."
"So you're ok then?"
"Still a bit rusty," the man coughed. "But I'm not dying, if that's what you meant?"
He went into the living room, sitting on the couch. "More importantly, why are you here? Is something wrong?"
Naruto shook his head. "We just thought we'd stop by and see how you're doing."
"That's nice of you." the teacher lit up in a smile. "And it's so nice to see you again too Gaara!"
Gaara nodded politely, but said nothing.
"You're staying for a while right?" Kakashi called out from the kitchen. "I'll cook up something for you too!"
"Actually we just came from-"
"It's been at least two hours since we ate." Naruto broke his friend off. "We'd love to eat with you!"
"We would?" Gaara furrowed his brow.
"Yups." Naruto slouched in the couch.
Gaara sat on a chair.
"Where did you say you came from?"
"We were out eating with Shikamaru and Sakura-chan and the others. And then we went for karaoke afterwards."
Iruka lit up. "Really? That's nice!"
"Yeah, we had fun, didn't we Gaara?"
"Sure." he replied in his usual monotone voice.
Iruka chuckled. "The same as always, eh, Gaara?"
"Hn."


"You went out with your classmates, eh?"
Kakashi was setting the table, the three others already seated.
Naruto was already stuffing his face with bread, but nodded energetically.
"Was Uchiha Sasuke by any chance there with you?"
Naruto stirred.
He swallowed, and coughed. "No...He..turned us down. Ino and Sakura tried to drag him along, but he refused."
"So did I..." Gaara muttered.
"I see." Kakashi sat. "Well, keep asking him along. There's no better way to integrate a new student."
Naruto nodded, and ate in silence until Iruka changed the subject.
"Not that I'm not happy you were out having fun, but shouldn't you be at home working?"
"I'm done."
"What?"
"While you were out sick, taking your sweet time to recover, I finished the project."
Iruka looked as if he'd fallen from the moon.
"Surprised?" the blonde grinned.
"We might be witnessing a miracle here." Kakashi pointed out.
"But...All of it? You?"
"Yeah. Me. And Shika too."
"What about Sai?"
Naruto shrugged. "Haven't seen him for days."
Iruka rolled his eyes. "He's not familiar with team work as usual..."
"Did you expect him to?"
"Stranger things have happened." Iruka said, smiling slightly.
Naruto stuck his tongue out at him before continuing to devour his meal.

The hours got long.
It was late.
"I'm calling to let them know you'll be staying the night." Iruka stood from the couch.
Naruto yawned.
"Are you sure that's fine?" Gaara asked.
"Of course, it wouldn't be the first time." the teacher assured.
It was the first time Gaara had stayed the night anywhere. They'd usually think it too risky, since he was so unstable. But Iruka figured it was ok, after all they were two teachers, and Naruto was there.
Nothing would happen.
"Get out the guest bed Naruto, and put it in your room."
Naruto's room had originally been an office, but the boy had stayed there so much when he was younger, it had been turned into his own private corner. He was free to come and stay there whenever, no questions asked. Iruka thought it was necessary to keep it this way, and also sensible in the way that Naruto would feel that he truly belonged somewhere.

"Isn't Kakashi-sensei ever going to leave?" the loudmouthed Uzumaki narrowed his eyes.
"No...He...He..Uh..."
"He what? Lives here?" Naruto crossed his arms over his chest.
"Lately he's been...staying here...on...eh...in..."
"On the couch." Kakashi came to the rescue.
Iruka gave a flustered nod. "Yes."
"Just in case he gets worse."
Naruto pursed his lips. He said nothing, but he didn't believe them for a second.

"I'm telling you. Iruka-sensei's flu has nothing to do with it." he whispered to Gaara as they lay in his room.
"Or so you think."
"You saw him blush just as well as I did." Naruto snickered. "I believe we have a teacher-romance on our hands."
"I'm not getting involved in anymore of your plans, just so you know it. Now good night." Gaara pulled his blanket over his head.
"You're not fooling me, you have insomnia, remember?"
But Gaara didn't answer.
"Fine." Naruto chuckled. "Be that way. I'm gonna go get a glass of water."

He heard low voices from the kitchen.
"Maybe I can reveal their not-so-secret-romance..." Naruto thought to himself, and had to cover his mouth, strangling a chuckle, not to reveal his presence.

"You worry about him, don't you?" it was Iruka's voice.
"It's only natural. He doesn't really have anyone, and I'm the only one of the staff that's been in contact with him longer than a few months."
"How is he doing?"
"He's better, a lot better. But his past has had a huge impact on him."
"That's understandable."

At first Naruto thought they were talking about him, but that wasn't the case.

"What about his brother?"
"They never found the body," Kakashi replied. "He could still be alive...But it's highly doubtful. Why would he be left alive? Why would he run away?"
"That's true..." Iruka sighed. "Does he talk about it?"
Kakashi shook his head. "He refuses. He hurts, but he won't let himself feel the pain. I don't want to force him, God knows he's been through enough trauma already."
Iruka rubbed his temple. "Poor Sasuke..."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

"Let's just go to bed." Kakashi placed his hand on Iruka's shoulder. "Even if we talk about it all night, it won't help."
"I guess you're right..."

The blonde teen hurried back to his room, hoping that they hadn't noticed his eavesdropping.
Gaara seemed to be asleep.
His insomnia had been merciful tonight.
Naruto sighed, getting in under the covers.

In his sleep he heard snippets of the horror story known as the 'Uchiha Massacre'.


***TBC***


[870 hits and 13 reviews?? What's wrong with that pic? ;p
I want to know what you think! Reviews makes me happy in pants and cause quicker updates! ^___^ ]

Replies:

Humaninfiltrator: I'm so sorry about the evil cliffhanger! But thank you so much for the praise! ^3^ I hope you liked this chapter as well!

blue_genjutsu: *giggle* I won't tell. ;p Naruto is getting quite good at standing up for himself. *is proud of him*

Reno's_Lover: Thank you! Here's your update! Sorry it took so long! TToTT

Hello: Thank you! ^___^ Glad you liked it! Here's the update! Hope you liked this chapter too!

Momoiro_Usagi: YAY!!! Fav chapter! ^3^ Sorry I made you wait so long! But it's finally up! ^___^ *luff*

someone: Cliff is evil yes xD But it was necessary. Sorry it took so long to update! Hope you liked the chapter! ^.^