The Top Floor

Disclaimer: Naruto is not ours. We cry at night.

Onward.


Naruto groggily opened one eye and looked around him.

Not my room...

He pushed his body up with a hand and twisted to a sitting position, grimacing. Definitely not my bed, he thought wryly as he rubbed at a kink in his lower back. Naruto looked around the room and noticed the opened cardboard box and several scattered photos on the floor. A small part of his mind latched onto a memory but the still sleepy remainder struggled to catch up.

A sigh from his left brought his head swinging around. Naruto hissed in pain and reached a hand up to massage his neck reflexively. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes at the sound and looked blearily up at Naruto.

“Unh?” he asked incoherently.

Naruto continued rubbing his aching neck. “We’re never sleeping in your bed again,” he informed Sasuke. Sasuke scowled as much as anyone who is half awake can scowl, then closed his eyes again.

Naruto’s eyes skimmed the room again, and he suddenly remembered. The pictures, the box—pictures of Sasuke’s family. Naruto sighed. Last night had been a long and taxing night. The blonde looked back at his friend, who was dozing once again. Naruto had never seen him look so peaceful. It was comforting to see Sasuke’s face free of tension, especially after the anguish he went through the previous evening.

Naruto had no idea what had prompted Sasuke’s uncle to mail him a box full of painful reminders of his deceased family. He couldn’t even come up with a plausible scenario that would excuse him for doing such a thing. Maybe his uncle just hadn’t thought his actions through...Still, though, why would he mail them to Sasuke? Surely he had enough space to hold on to one box of photos.

Sasuke shifted in his sleep and wrinkled his face slightly, curling up his arms by his face. Naruto stroked the boy’s dark hair softly. Immediately Sasuke’s face relaxed.

Small noises coming from the common room caught Naruto’s attention. Suspicious of a Kiba and Lee left unsupervised, he crawled from the bed and padded over to the doorway in his bare feet. Naruto looked back from the doorway; Sasuke’s face was scrunched up again, and he was drawing his knees up to his chest. Naruto rapidly looked between the door and Sasuke, trying to decide whether Sasuke’s bad dreams or a hyper Kiba required his intervention first.

Sasuke’s a big boy, thought Naruto as he turned back to the door to leave. But as he crossed the threshold a whimper escaped Sasuke, and Naruto’s resolve crumbled. Within seconds he was at Sasuke side.

“Sasuke,” he whispered urgently, trying to shake the sleepy boy gently awake. A soft cry tore from Sasuke’s partially open mouth. Naruto watched Sasuke struggling with whatever was plaguing his dreams, and he felt the closest thing to his heart breaking that he had ever experienced. He quickly gathered the slim boy in his arms and raised him upright, holding him against his chest and rocking slightly. The whimpers continued for a few moments, then subsided. Then Naruto felt Sasuke’s body tense against his, and he pulled back to find confused black eyes peering up at him.

“Are you okay?” he asked unnecessarily.

“Fine,” Sasuke replied automatically.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. “You’re fine?”

Sasuke withdrew from Naruto’s embrace and, averting his eyes, shook his head quickly. When he looked back at Naruto, his eyes were blank once again.

“I’m fine.”

Naruto started to shake his head at Sasuke but thought better of it, rubbing the back of his neck absently. He opted for a mild glare instead.

“You don’t get to do that anymore, remember? You have to tell me what’s wrong.”

Sasuke stared incredulously at him, then narrowed his eyes spitefully.

“You’re a brat, you know that?” he practically spat.

Naruto grinned toothily. “So the almighty Uchiha is not a morning person? Wow, I never would have guessed!”

Sasuke crawled grudgingly out of bed. “Your sarcasm is not appreciated,” he growled.

Naruto laughed and walked to the door ahead of Sasuke, ignoring the eyes boring into his back.

As Naruto stepped through the door of Sasuke’s bedroom, he halted, his eyes soaking up the sight before him. The whole entire room was adorned with tiny paper flowers. They were taped to doors, walls and a thick layer of them covered the carpet.

He heard Sasuke let out a disbelieving noise behind him. They both jumped visibly when there thoughts were interrupted by a screeching,

“HAPPY FESTIVAL DAY!” Kiba and Lee shouted, each throwing an armful of the small flowers into the air above Naruto and Sasuke’s head.

The paper fluttered softly to the ground around them, and for a moment the two boys were surrounded by a veil of confetti and their eyes met. The magical moment was promptly ruined, however, when Kiba snatched Naruto’s hand and dragged him to the table, showing him the large collection of flowers and cranes that covered the entire surface.

Naruto yawned, and eyed the pile warily. “What are these for, guys?”

Lee bounded to his side, his arms held wide. “It is the day of the festival! I made them as a celebration, to mark this day forever in our-“

Sasuke walked up behind him, swatting the paper out of his hair and punched Lee gently in the shoulder. “Shut up, Lee,” he muttered. He turned to Naruto then. “Festival?”

Naruto sighed and brushed flowers off of his shoulder absently. “Not really a festival,” he explained. “Twice a year the hospital holds a barbecue type thing out in the courtyard. They let everyone who is stable enough outside at one time. It’s kinda nice to see the other patients I guess, catch up on who’s out and such.”

“Who’s out?” Sasuke asked, his eyebrows furrowing. “They let you leave here?”

“Yeah…if the patient receives the treatment well enough and they’re deemed fit to live in society again.”

“Hey, what’s-“

“HAPPY FESTIVAL DAY!”

Oh no.

Sasuke and Naruto whipped around to see a very irate Shikamaru, covered in origami, his arms folded over his chest, his scowl murderous. His eye twitched.

“What. The. Hell. Is. Going. On.”

Naruto laughed nervously, grabbing Shikamaru by his arm away from the still celebrating children, helping him dust himself off. “Have some patience today,” Naruto said with a crooked smile. “This day only comes around a few times a year for them.”

“Lee doesn’t even know what the hell it is-”

The door opened and Ten Ten’s head popped in. “Time to go-…Good lord, what have you done to the room?” she asked in astonishment, opening the door fully so she could assess the situation. “Who did this?” she demanded, motioning to the mess of origami that adorned the room.

“I did!” Lee exclaimed, bounding to her side, his flashing smile in place. He held out a larger flower to her, bowing as he did. “Would you accept this flower as a token of our friendship?”

The eager look on his face made it impossible for her to stay mad. “Of course I accept, Lee. It’s beautiful.” She stuck the flower on the breast pocket of her nurse uniform, and Lee’s eyes sparkled.

She blinked and suddenly Kiba stood before her, on his tiptoes. “Can we go to the festival now?!”

She laughed, gently pushing him back down on his heels. “Only if you can follow me quietly down the hall,” she teased.

Kiba nodded enthusiastically, snapping his arms to his sides like a soldier.

“That goes for you too, Lee.” She motioned towards Sasuke and the others. “Come on boys.”

She walked out the door, Kiba and Lee falling behind her in a stick strait line, looking rather like little ducklings, following her as she zigzagged through the hall. Sasuke and Naruto followed after, as did Shikamaru, who shut the door behind him sulkily.

Sasuke picked a few pieces of paper out of Naruto’s hair, absently noting in the back of his mind when Naruto didn’t object.

A courtyard full of crazies. This was bound to be fun.

~

He could smell it before he even made it outside. The smell of coals and cooking beef. Everyone else could smell it too, causing Kiba and Lee to quicken their pace, pressing against Ten Ten as she exited the hospital into the outdoors. The sunlight was blinding.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was that they had made the courtyard twice as big, taking the fence and moving it out several thousand feet. Good thing too, because even with the space multiplied it seemed like there wasn’t going to be enough room. People milled about, holding paper plates and plastic cups, forming gossip circles.

Before Sasuke could blink, Kiba sprinted off, letting out a happy whoop as he did, his arms held out like plane wings. He was surprised when Naruto made no attempt to reign in the boy like he usually did. He asked about it.

Naruto laughed. “He waits for this day all year, there’s no way I’m going to try and stop him.”

Sasuke realized that both Shikamaru and Lee had already dispersed into the crowd, leaving him alone with Naruto.

“So, do you want to get something to eat first, or…what’s wrong?” Naruto noticed Sasuke’s slightly apprehensive look.

Sasuke didn’t answer, but he shifted minutely closer to Naruto’s side.

“Ah, you don’t know anyone. Don’t worry! I’ll introduce you-…” Naruto’s voice trailed off as he grabbed Sasuke’s hand and dragged him through the crowd.

Sasuke tripped over his feet as he stumbled after Naruto. He suddenly felt so alone, in this crowded place, but Naruto led him ahead with no hesitation. They reached the line for the barbecue quickly, and they stood in line, Sasuke with his arms folded self-consciously over his chest, Naruto on his tiptoes, scanning the crowd for people he knew.

Seeing no one, Naruto dropped back to his heels, giving Sasuke a disapproving look. “What is the matter with you? This is supposed to be fun.”

“I don’t want to be here…”

“Well I can see that. Everyone can see that. Here-,” he unfolded Sasuke’s arms and put them at his sides. “Just relax, ok?” He pushed Sasuke slightly forward as the line moved.

Sasuke gave him a half-hearted glare, before finally taking a chance to look at the crowd. There were people of all ages, from barely older than tots to people who looked like they were going to be hitting the dirt anytime…There were also, Sasuke noticed far too absently, girls roaming around which surprised him. He didn’t even know there were females besides the doctors in the entire hospital.

His attention was called back when a paper plate was pressed against his chest. Naruto had moved in front of him and was receiving a hamburger from a man behind the grill.

“And for you?”

Sasuke looked at the sizzling meat, feeling the warmth radiating off the grill onto his face. Naruto poked him in the side, reminding him to respond.

“Oh-um…a hamburger’s fine.”

The patty plopped on his plate, and he followed Naruto to a table and grabbed a cup of punch. Naruto then led the way through the maze of people, to a far off corner where sat a large circle of kids that looked their age. Upon seeing Naruto, the group let out a loud cheer of “hello’s” and “what’s up’s”. They all scooted over, so there was ample room for both boys. Naruto sat down, pulling Sasuke with him. Sasuke noticed the breezy smile on Naruto’s face as he spoke.

“Hey guys, this is Sasuke. He’s been here for about…” he looked at Sasuke for conformation. “About a month?”

Another chorus of “hello’s” and “what’s up’s” sounded around the ring. Naruto wiped his hands off on his pants, then settled down, turning to Sasuke.

“Here, let me introduce everyone…”

Some of the group looked quite sane. Others…not so much.

There were three girls sitting in the group, and Naruto introduced them first. A girl whose name was Sakura was seemingly having a conversation with herself, and giving him a weird look to boot. Another girl had held her hand out and shook his,

“My name is Lily,” she told him, eyeing him like he was a piece of candy.

Naruto sighed. “No it isn’t, you’re Ino.”

She pouted and muttered “Am not...” under her breath.

A few minutes later, she reached across the circle, again to shake his hand. “Hi, my name is Temara.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, and he very tentatively reached out to touch her hand. “H-hi Temara.”

Naruto shook his head, pulling Sasuke’s hand away. “You are not Temara, you are Ino.”

“Am not…”

Naruto again shook his head and then motioned to a girl who leaned against the wall. She was shaking visibly, and her eyes shifted around her surroundings as if she was afraid the ground might cave in at any second. If it weren’t for the arm that a dark haired boy beside her had wrapped around her shoulders, she probably would have fallen apart.

“This is Hinata.”

“Hi,” Sasuke said gently, afraid of upsetting the girl into further hysterics.

She didn’t respond until the boy that held her gently nudged her, nodding to Sasuke. She looked ridiculously scared, but she whispered a low, “Hi.”

The rest of the group was introduced as Haku, Kabuto, Shino (the boy who held Hinata), Kankuro and Chouji. As soon as the introductions were over, the group continued to chat amiably about what had happened since the last festival and such. The topic of Neji was brought up, but quickly ghosted over at Sasuke’s urgent prompting. The boy named Chouji got up several times to get in line for the barbecue, and he brought everyone new drinks on his return.

Sasuke was startled to see that Sakura had gotten up from her seat and had pushed Kankuro over so she could sit down next to him.

Oh, well…better than Lily/Ino/Temara, he reasoned with himself.

He decided to take that back when Sakura leaned over to him, as if to whisper in his ear, then suddenly pulled back.

“I know, I know!” she hissed into thin air. She turned to him to speak, but again, her neck snapped to the side, and she spoke in a fevered whisper, “I know he’s hot, but we just have to play it cool, alright?”

She turned back to Sasuke finally, a sickly sweet smile on her face. “So, Sasuke-kun…” she purred, reaching up and stroking his shoulder.

Sasuke looked frantically to Naruto for help, but he was immersed in a deep conversation about who knows what with the Kabuto kid. He noticed that Shino watched the whole exchange with a bemused expression but made no move to help. Sasuke gave him a glare, before daring to look the girl in the eye.

His last thoughts as she closed in for what he thought was a kiss were wondering if there were any blunt objects in their room that he could kill Naruto with.

~

Shikamaru let out a sigh. This day was so pointless. Especially now, since Neji was gone, meaning they couldn’t run off to a corner and have some fun…

He was in a small group of adults who were heatedly discussing some trivial topic. Shikamaru wasn’t even listening to them. It was sad that this was the best company he could find in the whole place. In the back of his mind, he wondered what the others were doing…

As if in answer to his unspoken question, he heard a loud voice announce, “Hello! My name is Rock Lee!” a few feet behind him. He flinched, an irritated growl making its way up his throat. He turned away, intent on ignoring him but then he heard a voice respond just as vigorously, “Hello there! My name is Ebisu!”

Uh-oh.

Lee then carried on about how nice the weather was for such a fine event, but he was cut off after about twenty seconds. “Hi there! My name is Ebisu!”

Ebisu held out his hand and shook Lee’s again. Lee frowned, obviously confused. He continued on in his conversation anyway, this time complimenting the talents of the grillers who had prepared this bountiful feast. He was again cut off, as Ebisu blinked, looked at Lee and exclaimed greetings again, and again he shook his hand. Lee seemed to be clueing in on the situation, as he started to inch away.

“W-well it was nice to meet you-“

“Ah! Hello there! I don’t believe I know you,” Ebisu cut him off. “My name is-“

“Yeah, Ebisu, got it…” Lee was looking frantic as he tried to pull away from the man.

Ebisu saw his struggle. “Why won’t you talk to me!” he demanded.

Lee was sputtering incoherently when someone appeared next to him and pushed Ebisu’s hands away.

Shikamaru had watched the scene, slightly amused. It was about time Lee met someone who scared him. Now he knew how everyone had felt at his arrival. But, Shikamaru he knew his god damn conscience wouldn’t leave him alone if he didn’t help out.

“Come on,” Shikamaru muttered, motioning for Lee to follow him back to his seat.

Lee did, his eyes wide with surprise. He followed Shikamaru back to his seat and stared.

“Shikamaru wishes for me to sit beside him? As friends?”

Shikamaru glanced up, taking in Lee’s expression of hope. “Whatever. Now be quiet, please.” He pretended to be interesting in the argument between the men, watching out of the corner of his eye as Lee sat down beside him, his expression positively radiant.

Well…there was his good deed of the year.

~

“And we have this truck! This truck that can make ‘WEE OOH WEE OHH’ sounds like a fire engine!”

“No. Way.”

“YES way! And there’s this train that has its own track, and its remote controlled! So you can tell it when to stop and go…”

Kiba leaned forward in his tiny plastic chair, his eyes wide with awe. “I don’t get toys like that!”

The boy wrinkled his nose. “That’s because you’re old.”

Kiba’s eyes widened in horror at the accusation. “I am not old!” he shouted. “I deserve those toys just as much as you do!”

“Nuh-uh!”

Kiba opened his mouth to retort, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. “Kiba, its time to go inside” Ten Ten said.

He turned to her, his face forlorn. “Already?” His lower lip trembled.

She sighed. “It’s been four hours already Kiba. They need to bring out the next shift of people.”

He pouted, but stood all the same. A squeal of laughter erupted from the little boy as the chair Kiba had sat in stuck to his hips as he stood. Kiba blushed with embarrassment.

“Shut up!” he shouted, pulling the seat from his rump with a distinct suction sound. He let the chair fall to the ground and he stuck his tongue out at the still laughing boy. “Meanie,” he hissed.

“Alright, come on,” Ten Ten said as she pushed him away by his shoulders.

After a few minutes, she had the whole group assembled and they were on their way back to their room. Kiba and Lee followed Ten Ten closely, as instructed, and Naruto, Sasuke and Shika followed behind.

“I don’t see what you’re so upset about, Sasuke, she’s a nice girl. Pretty too, I’d think,” Naruto chatted gaily, trying to get the absolutely venomous look off of Sasuke’s face.

Shikamaru perked up. “Sasuke got some action? And on your first festival too…”

“I did not get ‘action,’” he made the quotation marks with his hands as he spat it out. “Unless you call being MOLESTED BY A GIRL I DID NOT KNOW action. Oh, wait! Should she really be counted as one girl? Because there sure as HELL was more than one up there!” he shouted, motioning to his head angrily. He resumed his pouting stance as he stalked down the hall.

Naruto laughed at him, gently slapping him on the back, and Shikamaru even chuckled a little.

“You gotta have a little more fun in life Sasuke, come on,” Naruto chided.

“Yeah, yeah,” Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Naruto linked arms with Sasuke, as an apology of sorts, as they followed Ten Ten up a set of stairs.

Sasuke refused to acknowledge that this actually improved his mood.

Because that would be wrong.

~

After the boys had returned to their wing, they had all plopped down on various pieces of furniture and remained motionless and quiet for a few minutes. Shikamaru eventually got up from his chair and turned on a movie. Kiba made a quiet happy noise when The Little Mermaid appeared on the TV screen and wriggled to situate himself on the sofa, laying down with his head on Naruto’s lap and swinging his legs over the armrest. Sasuke looked on from the other side of Naruto, smiling softly when the blonde leaned back against the couch and gently brushed Kiba’s hair with his fingers. Shikamaru returned to his chair, only to find Lee curled up in it. Shikamaru scowled, then poked Lee in the side.

“Get up.”

Lee looked up at Shika with round puppy-dog eyes. Shika, of course, did not cave.

“It’s my chair!” he hissed quietly to not disturb the rest of the room. Lee didn’t move but kept staring up at him. Shika felt a little sliver of empathy working its way into his heart and hastily routed all of his willpower to removing it. But when Lee whimpered, Shika’s determination plummeted to his feet, much to his chagrin. He crouched down beside the now trembling boy.

“What?” he asked edgily.

Lee’s eyes darted from Shika’s close face to the television. He pointed at the screen with a small “eep!” and shut his eyes tightly. Shika looked at the screen to find a looming Ursula staring back at him, tentacles in full swing. Actually, she wasn’t so much scary as she was incredibly obese...

Lee’s fingers gripping Shika’s forearm tightly brought his focus back to the matter at hand. Sighing, he reached behind him and grabbed another chair. He dragged it up beside Lee’s and sat, leaving his arm in the clutch of a terrified Lee.

Sasuke watched all of this with a smirk. Looked like Lee might be more of a good thing than he originally predicted. He settled back to watch the movie, only half paying attention. The afternoon had tired him out more than he would have thought.

The boys watched the movie in relative calm, save for Lee’s muffled shrieks. Shika was looking disparagingly at Lee, who by now had smothered his face against Shika’s arm. Every once in a while Lee would lift his head a little and peek out with one eye, then quickly yelp and cover it again. Kiba and Naruto had both fallen asleep, Naruto with his head resting on Sasuke’s shoulder.

The movie ended, and the blue screen lit up the room, annoying Sasuke immensely. He looked at Shika, who apparently wasn’t going to leave Lee. Sighing, he slowly started to move to get up, trying to wake Naruto subtly. Naruto jumped awake, upsetting Kiba’s balance on his lap. Kiba’s eyes snapped open as the upper half of his body tumbled off the couch. He quickly outstretched an arm to keep his head from hitting the floor.

Kiba looked at Sasuke, then Naruto, sleepiness quickly leaving his eyes.

“LET’S PLAY TAG!”

Sasuke decided not to get up to turn off the TV, instead settling back into the couch once more. Kiba bounded over to Lee.

“Lee! Let’s play!”

Lee turned slightly haunted eyes up to Kiba. Kiba poked him before sprinting away.

“You’re it!”

Lee didn’t move from his position on the chair. Kiba looked slightly puzzled and ran back over to him.

“You’re it,” he whispered. “You have to catch me.”

Lee shook his head, drawing a small indignant noise from the boy bouncing in front of him. Kiba turned to Shikamaru, then seemed to think better of it. He ran back over to couch, where to his dismay Naruto was sleeping on Sasuke’s shoulder once more.

“Naruto?” Poke.

Sasuke frowned and shook his shoulder vigorously, but the blonde would not budge. Sasuke scowled at him.

“Faker,” he hissed discreetly. Kiba turned hopeful eyes on him.

Poke.

“Kiba,” Sasuke sighed. Kiba drooped noticeably. He suddenly felt bad for the boy.

“I’m too tired to play tag. But I’ll play something else with you.”

Kiba’s eyes lit up. “Like what?”

“Um...” Sasuke searched for a quiet game that would not be too mentally or physically taxing. “How about tic-tac-toe?”

Kiba wrinkled his nose. “What’s that?”

“I’ll teach you,” said Sasuke, trying to get up under Naruto’s weight. “Go get a piece of paper and a crayon and sit at the table.” Kiba raced off to fulfill the instructions as quickly as possible as Sasuke gently lifted up Naruto’s head and wriggled free. He rested Naruto’s head on the cushion he had been sitting on and watched as Naruto’s mouth lifted slightly at the corners.

A quick flick to the ear changed the facial expression. Naruto’s hand flew up to the now reddening ear and he looked up irately at Sasuke. Sasuke smirked.

“Sasuke! Come on!” called Kiba from the table. Naruto stuck out his tongue at Sasuke victoriously, then closed his eyes again.

“Nice,” muttered Sasuke as he went to join Kiba.

Naruto waited a few minutes, listening to Sasuke tell (and repeat twice) the rules of tic-tac-toe to Kiba. It was only when he heard the scribbling on crayons on paper that he allowed himself to sit up from his spot on the couch and watch over the back, spying on the two.

Kiba sat on his knees on a chair, leaning nearly his whole body over the table as he watched Sasuke take his turn with intense concentration. Sasuke rested his head on his hand, trying to stay focused on the game as Kiba thought out his move.

It went on for a few minutes, Sasuke winning most of the games, except for the few times that Kiba was lucky enough for a draw. To his credit, losing didn’t discourage him; it just made him more intent on beating Sasuke.

Shikamaru let out a sigh, stretching his arms before standing from his chair. A loud thump was heard as Lee, still clinging to Shikamaru's arm, fell in a heap onto the floor.

"God, let me go," Shikamaru muttered in an irritated tone, jerking his hand away from Lee's vice-grip.

Then both he and Lee went (well…one stalked, the other bounced) to their respective rooms, shutting their doors to get ready for bed.

The Kiba and Sasuke hardly noticed this, however.

Ten games and four pieces of paper later, Kiba let out a triumphant squeal. “I win!” he exclaimed, pointing to the page excitedly.

Sasuke’s eyebrows furrowed, and he examined the paper. “Um…Kiba, no you didn’t, I won.”

“No! I won on the across, see!” Kiba pointed to the line that contained two x’s and an “o”.

Sasuke frowned. “Kiba, that’s my ‘o’.”

Kiba shook his head desperately. “No, no! That’s an ‘x’. I was just really sloppy when I did it!”

Sasuke snorted, folding his arms over his chest. “Kiba, the circle is blue, and you’re using red crayon.”

Naruto watched from his spot, ready to intervene if Sasuke got too irritated.

Kiba sat still in thought for a second before exclaiming, “Look!!” and pointing to the far corner of the room. Sasuke turned to look, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Kiba reach across and mark a hasty “x” over Sasuke’s “o”.

“See!” he again pointed to the sheet.

Sasuke stared at him for a moment with an indescribable look on his face, and Naruto began to stand, to separate the soon to be feuding boys. He was shocked back into his seat, however, when Sasuke burst out laughing.

It wasn’t an all out guffawing--that would be very un-Uchiha--but it was still a surprise. He laughed almost to himself, shaking his head as he did, seemingly unbelieving of the events that had just occurred. Finally, his laughter subsided, and he turned to Kiba, with a little smile said,

“Ok, Kiba, you win.”

Kiba paused for a moment, not believing that Sasuke had let him get away with it.

Sasuke was still smiling. “Just don’t get caught next time, ok?”

Kiba’s face split into a grin. “Okay!”

They both hunched over the table, Kiba drawing a grid on a new piece of paper, and they played again.

Naruto was dumbfounded by the maturity Sasuke had handled the situation. It wasn’t as if Sasuke was a complete child, but he had handled it so well.

So…humanly.

The Sasuke of last week or the week before would have probably snapped at Kiba, telling him to grow up and stop acting like a child. But he hadn’t. The realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.

Sasuke is getting better.

He was learning to deal with his emotions in a healthy way, which caused him to be more gracious and understanding. And mature. And he definitely hadn’t had another hallucination…

Is Sasuke going to leave…? No, he can’t leave! He-he just got here!

He thought over his words earlier in the day.

If the patient receives the treatment well enough and they’re deemed fit to live in society again. Then they’re released.

Sasuke was going to leave. Soon. And Naruto never would.

This new knowledge gnawed at his stomach and he suddenly felt queasy. Just when…just when things were looking up for him. Just when…he had begun to look at the boy in a different way. He was going to leave, and Naruto never would. He would be stuck in this prison forever.

Alone.

Over at the table, Kiba let out a loud yawn, his mouth opening wide.

“You should go to bed, Kiba. We’ll play more tomorrow,” Sasuke said, laying his crayon on the table.

Kiba nodded, suddenly sleepy. “G’night Sasuke.” Sasuke nodded. “G’night Naruto,” he added, then bellowed, “G’night Lee and Shikamaru!” He slowly trudged to his door and the door shut quietly behind him.

Sasuke smiled again when he heard the groan of Kiba’s bed as the boy collapsed on it. His attention was drawn when Naruto stood from the couch and made his way to the bathroom.

“You ok?” Sasuke asked quietly, seeing the furrow of Naruto’s eyebrows.

Naruto’s head snapped up. “Yeah, just gotta pee.”

He shut the bathroom door behind him, and Sasuke forced himself to think nothing of it as he let his head rest on the table, closing his eyes.

Naruto got to the toilet and fell to his knees with a thud, his head hanging in the open mouth of the bowl, waiting for his nausea to pass. He could feel his stomach twisting into knots, and his breath was shallow as he squeezed his eyes shut, willing the pain to pass.

But his brain wouldn’t shut up.

He’s leaving. Without you. And he’s not the only one, everyone else will leave eventually too. But not you, oh no! You’re hopeless! You’re stuck here, alone, forever.

His eyes opened with an effort, and he stared at the pool of water below him. He would be alone. Time would pass, people would be moved. But because of his condition, his god damn condition, he couldn’t ever leave the hospital. Unless…unless he actually succeeded once.

The water in the bottom of the toilet was beginning to look real friendly.

No, this wasn’t one of his attacks. He was in control of himself now; there was no voice in the back of his head forcing him to move. And although part of his mind registered that he was thinking about committing the very thing he was held to prevent, the other part was screaming in pain.

Pain in his stomach. Pain in his heart.

His mind was working at one hundred miles per hour now. What would happen to Kiba?

Oh, he’ll find someone else to clamp on to.

What about Shizune? Would she get in trouble for failing in her case?

Why do you care? You’ll be dead.

What about Sasuke?

Why the hell would he care?! He’s getting out of this shit heap within a few weeks. He’ll forget about you within days of tasting freedom.

This hurt Naruto a little, but his mind wouldn’t stop.

Will I be able to keep my head down? Can I ignore my survival instincts long enough…?

Only one way to find out.

Oh god, this is insanity.

He ignored the screams in his mind about how unhygienic this was as he stared into the pool of water below him. It was a small amount. But enough. The pain in his chest was making it hard to breath.

It looks clean, he reasoned with himself, skimming a finger quickly across the surface of the water. Little ripples splashed up lightly against the sides of the toilet bowl. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he began to lower his head.

But just as his nose touched the water, a noise from the doorway halted his movement.

~

Sasuke stood outside the bathroom door, listening intently with his ear almost touching the wood. Naruto had been in there far too long to be just be relieving himself, and due to the lack of noise, Sasuke knew he wasn’t...doing other stuff. Sasuke frowned and reached a hand towards the doorknob. Just then he heard the reassuring “clink” of the toilet seat being lifted and he breathed a small sigh of relief.

But no other sounds could be heard. Sasuke pressed his ear completely to the door this time. He heard nothing for a few moments, then the faint lapping of water against porcelain. Sasuke wrinkled his forehead in confusion. Brows furrowed further when a deep inhale could be heard, followed by the slight ruffling of fabric shifting.

Unable to stave off his curiosity any longer, Sasuke twisted the knob in his hand and swept into the bathroom, hurriedly taking in the scene. Naruto was perched over the toilet with his face hanging precariously close to the water, one arm hugging the toilet tightly and the other arm crooked up behind his head, holding it down. He continued to stare into the white bowl, unaware of Sasuke’s presence. To Sasuke’s alarm, Naruto was lowering his head slowly. Just as the tip of the blonde’s nose touched the surface of the water Sasuke slammed the door shut.

Naruto jumped up hastily.

“Naruto, what...” Sasuke started to ask bewilderedly.

“NOTHING!” yelled Naruto, far too loudly. Then, seeming to realize his slip, he added more quietly, “I—I fell asleep!”

Sasuke still stood in the same place, unable to move. Slowly it was dawning on him.

“Asleep?” he asked warily as he started to edge closer, a note of apprehension worming its way into his voice.

“Yes, asleep...I felt sick, and I was going to puke, and then...I...passed out,” finished Naruto lamely. Please believe me.

Sasuke wished he could believe the blatant lie Naruto was feeding him. But the image of Naruto forcing his head down was burned into his memory, taunting him every time he tried to look past it. Sasuke continued to advance on the boy.

“Naruto.”

Naruto refused to meet Sasuke’s eyes. He backed away unconsciously.

“Naruto,” tried Sasuke again, more insistently. “Tell me.”

Naruto’s back lightly hit the wall behind him, halting his movements. His eyes darted quickly around the room in search of an escape, any escape, but finding none he looked up at Sasuke. Sasuke gasped silently at the expression in those eyes.

Despair. Complete, hopeless, utter despair lay in darkened blue. Sasuke felt like his heart was ripping in two. He knew that look would haunt him for the rest of his existence.

Sasuke closed the distance between them, standing mere inches apart. Naruto looked up at him despondently.

“Please...”

Naruto whimpered.

“Please,” whispered Sasuke, his voice catching.

Naruto’s eyes shifted nervously, his mind desperately trying to find a way out of this but finding none. He dropped his chin and mumbled something, closing his eyes tightly.

“What did you say?” Sasuke asked, lowering his head to hear a little better.

“I said,” whispered Naruto shakily, then paused to look straight into Sasuke’s eyes. “I said, you’re leaving.”

Sasuke creased his brow. “I am?” he asked, perplexed. “Who told you that?”

Naruto sighed, frustrated. “You’re not leaving now, but you will.” His eyes sank beneath closed lids, worry lines appearing around them. Sasuke regarded him silently, watching as Naruto slowly let his head fall back against the wall.

“Naruto...” Sasuke struggled to form coherent sentences in the midst of his mentally half-formed questions. “Of course I’m leaving.” Naruto’s eyes snapped open at this. “We’ll all leave eventually.”

Naruto shook his head unevenly. “You’re getting better faster than any of us.” Sasuke opened his mouth to reply but Naruto cut him off. “Yes, you are! Face it, Sasuke. The only reason they put you in here was because they were afraid you would snap. They didn’t know how you were going to react once your family’s deaths actually sunk in.” Naruto’s words were starting to come rapidly now. “You—they didn’t even know what was wrong with you. And now that they know, and you know, and I know, it’s not nearly as bad as they all thought it would be. And you’re getting healthier every day. And—and you’re going to leave! You’ll leave me alone in this hellhole. Alone. Alone.”

Sasuke watched in growing horror as Naruto unraveled before his eyes. The boy was panting slightly, his eyes darting swiftly around the room once more, evident of the rapid thoughts racing through his mind.

Naruto’s eyes rested on the toilet once more. His face suddenly turned blank, eyes staring unblinkingly at the bowl. Sasuke saw him looking at something over his shoulder and followed Naruto’s gaze to the toilet, then looked back quickly to Naruto, eyes widening slightly in realization. Naruto’s sudden calm was even scarier to him than his previous hysteria.

“I’m never getting out of here,” Naruto stated calmly as though the truth had suddenly become clear to him, voice as impassive as his face. Sasuke was filled with a desperate need to drag Naruto out of his trance.

“Of course you’ll get out of here!” said Sasuke, scrambling for some shred of hope for his friend. But even in the desperate situation, he could plainly see that all of the other boys, even Shika, were more likely to leave than Naruto.

Naruto shook his head again, more slowly this time. “No. I’m not. Nothing ever changes. I can’t get any better. I can’t, Sasuke!” Naruto’s eyes darted to meet Sasuke’s once more. “I’ve tried,” he whispered brokenly. And his eyes returned once more to the toilet bowl, this time with that same look of anguish. But the growing bit of determination Sasuke read in those eyes worried him more than the despair from before. He sought quickly for a way to distract him.

“Don’t do it,” he warned when Naruto’s leg twitched in the direction of the toilet.

“I have to,” Naruto said, in that same eerily calm voice.

“I’m faster than you,” said Sasuke in an almost teasing tone, trying again to snap Naruto back to his old self. Naruto just looked calculatingly at him, then took a quick step. Sasuke jumped to block him.

“Don’t,” he warned again in a dangerous tone. Naruto glanced at him one last time before planting his right foot down and quickly darting to the left in an attempt to evade. Sasuke swiftly grabbed him by his shoulders and, turning them both slightly, slammed him bodily into the wall adjacent to the door. Naruto’s head hit the wall hard.

“I said DON’T!” Sasuke ground out furiously. Naruto growled and struggled, flailing his arms and kicking violently. Sasuke shoved his body against him, trying to subdue the boy. Naruto continued to thrash, grunting and whining alternately.

Sasuke watched the blonde desperately trying to escape his grasp. He had never known sorrow like this, not even with his parents. That was grief over loss. This was different; this was grief over the prospect of loss, of an almost loss. Naruto had been so close...

“Why are you doing this?” Sasuke demanded, suddenly furious with the blonde. Naruto moved fiercely against the body restraining him without responding. Sasuke crushed his body to the wall with even more force, rendering him motionless. Naruto screamed in frustration.

“What were you thinking?” Sasuke hissed, his voice slowly gaining in volume. “How could you even think of doing what everyone has tried so hard to prevent? And how could you be so selfish? Think about Kiba, what the HELL would he do without you? And me! You’re the closest thing I have EVER had to a friend, and you want to ruin all that over some stupid phase you’re going through? You are way to god damn important to all of us, Naruto, how can you not see that? You’re the glue that holds this pathetic excuse for a family together!”

Naruto narrowed his eyes spitefully. “Ok, so I’m the glue. I’m the one who keeps everyone happy and in line. What about when all of you leave me. What then? What the hell have I done to deserve that?”

“Shut UP!” Sasuke screamed, slamming Naruto’s shoulders into the wall again for good measure. “Just shut up! Just listen to yourself! You’re acting insane!”

Naruto stopped struggling, Sasuke’s words hitting him hard. They both stood in suspended silence. Sasuke could see the chain of emotions running through Naruto as he began to realize what he had almost done, the boys face contorting in fear, then anger, then sorrow.

“Sasuke...” he said breathlessly, turning his eyes to face black ones. “Sasuke, I’m so sorry! Oh my god, I’m so--”

“Shh,” Sasuke whispered soothingly, suddenly filled with compassion as Naruto’s eyes began to brim with tears.

“I almost...I didn’t even think! Oh my god...” A single tear worked its way down Naruto’s cheek. Sasuke brushed it away with his thumb.

“Sasuke, I am so sorry,” whispered Naruto, his eyes suddenly smoldering in intensity. “I’m a horrible friend.” Sasuke shook his head, but Naruto continued anyway. “I would have caused you so much pain...”

Sasuke’s hand never left the blonde boy’s face. He caressed it gently, lovingly.

“Naruto, stop.”

“I just couldn’t stand the thought of not having anybody...”

And it was the slight break in Naruto’s voice that did Sasuke in. He leaned down, closing his eyes as his nose gently rubbing against Naruto’s. Chastely he covered Naruto’s lips with his own. They stood for a moment; their lips pressed together, Sasuke’s hands holding Naruto up by his shoulders. He pulled back slowly, his eyes fluttering open. Naruto stared at him with a shocked look.

“Sasuke-…what was-,”

“I don’t know,” Sasuke whispered huskily, leaning in again. “Please…please let me do it again.”

Naruto blinked, the thick tenor of Sasuke’s voice causing the hairs on his neck to stand up. His breath was uneven.

“O-okay.”

Sasuke leaned in again, pressing his lips against Naruto, more urgent this time, knowing he had the boys consent. His eyes were closed again, and he almost let out a relieved sigh when he felt Naruto cautiously kiss back. Sasuke’s hands moved to cup Naruto’s face, his thumbs rubbing over the whiskers on his cheeks as he pressed Naruto against the wall gently.

Naruto sighed shakily into the kiss, his hands finding their way to Sasuke’s hips. He moved his lips against Sasuke’s, deepening the kiss. Somehow, this didn’t feel wrong. A hand on the back on his neck pushed him deeper into the kiss, and he felt Sasuke’s tongue lick his bottom lip carefully. He parted his lips and he felt Sasuke’s tongue flick against his teeth.

Everything was slow, careful, exploring.

Sasuke could feel his heart beating painfully hard in his chest. He tongue coaxed itself in Naruto’s mouth, and he heard Naruto let out a loud exhale when their tongue’s brushed together.

He pulled back, his hands still cradling Naruto’s face. Naruto’s eyes were still damp with tears, but his cheeks were flushed and his breathing was slightly fast. Sasuke rested his forehead on Naruto’s, feeling Naruto’s warm breath wash over his face.

It was intoxicating.

“Sasuke, what are we doing?” Naruto asked quietly, one of his hands moving from Sasuke’s hip to gently trace along the boy’s pale cheek.

Sasuke shook his head slightly, his nose nudging against Naruto’s as he did. “We should…get out of the bathroom,” he said softly, placing another gentle kiss on Naruto’s pouting lips.

Sasuke opened the door a little and peeked around the corner. He sighed with relief when he found the common room still to be empty. Frankly, he was surprised that they hadn’t drawn even Kiba out of his room with all the noise they had been making. Sasuke threw the door open the rest of the way and led the way out with Naruto closely in tow. The boys rushed to Naruto’s room with silent feet.

As soon as the door was closed behind them, however, tension descended quickly. Sasuke stood in front of the doorway, regarding Naruto as he awkwardly sat down on the bed. Naruto fidgeted nervously. Neither was entirely sure how to act, now that things were...decidedly different.

Sasuke was the first to break the silence. He sighed audibly, dark eyes taking in Naruto’s self-conscious form sitting stiffly. Naruto looked up at him innocently. Sasuke smiled a little and made his way over to the bed, sitting down with his back against the wall. Hooking an arm around Naruto’s waist he helped the boy into his lap, settling him between slightly open legs. Naruto smiled warmly at Sasuke and leaned against his solid chest. They both relaxed in the now comfortable silence, each lost in his own thoughts.

Sasuke tried hard to force unhappy memories out of his mind as he held Naruto. He wanted so badly just to think about what they had just done, and what they might do next, and what that meant for them; but the nagging questions kept pushing against the barriers he had set up, edging into the front of his mind until he could no longer ignore them. He felt his heart speed up as he thought of what had transpired, of the rush of countless emotions he had experienced in a matter of minutes. Naruto was right. He was healing.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke questioningly as he felt Sasuke’s heart pounding. Sasuke leaned his head down and closed his eyes.

“Never, never do that to me again,” he said wearily. Naruto sat still, not sure how to respond. He did not want to cheapen the moment by heartily agreeing. Because the truth was, he had wanted it all to end.

But, more than anything, he did not want to be the cause of renewed grief in Sasuke.

So, after a few moments of silence, Naruto nodded against Sasuke’s chest. Sasuke exhaled softly against his hair. He shifted slightly, his hands pausing on Naruto’s forearms.

“What triggered it?”

Naruto turned around to face Sasuke. “Triggered what? Oh, you mean my…well…the thing with Kiba and the tic-tac-toe…you handled it so well—look can we just not talk about this?” Naruto said, his eyebrows furrowing.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. “You just tried to kill yourself. You think I’m just going to ignore it? Let it go?”

Naruto looked down at the sheets. “Well I was kinda hoping…”

“Naruto,” Sasuke said, calling the boy’s attention. “I…I can’t forget this as long as I know that you’re having suicidal thoughts. You know that.”

“But I’m not!” Naruto protested, his hand thumping against Sasuke’s chest weakly. “I’m not anymore. It was just…a moment of weakness.”

“I want to believe that, I really do, Naruto.”

“Then believe me,” Naruto said, their eyes locked in a solemn gaze.

Sasuke sighed, dropping Naruto’s hand from his. “Just-…just promise me that you will never, ever do that-,” he struggled at the thought, “Ever again.”

“I already said I wouldn’t, Sasuke. Please believe me.” His expression changed as he scooted up closer to Sasuke, and his voice became a murmur. “I wouldn’t lie to you…”

Naruto then took Sasuke’s face between his hands, studying his face carefully. His thumbs smoothed over the skin at the edges of Sasuke’s eyes, causing him to close them and lean in to the touch. Sasuke heard Naruto lean closer still, and he could feel warm breath spreading across his cheeks. Naruto then rubbed his thumb gentle over Sasuke’s lower lip, silently marveling over its fullness under his fingers.

Sasuke felt his breath catch in his throat as Naruto leaned in and kissed him, moving his lips against Sasuke’s in a coaxing manner. The blonde nipped Sasuke’s lower lip, tracing his tongue over the spot right after. Sasuke’s lips parted obediently and Naruto slipped his tongue in, exploring Sasuke’s mouth for the first time. Their tongues brushed together, and Sasuke exhaled loudly, his hands gripping the front of Naruto’s shirt.

The kiss was somewhat clumsy and wet, but neither boy noticed. Even then, their movements were slow and careful as they kissed.

Sasuke finally pulled away, their eyes still locked. “We should sleep…”

“Yeah,” Naruto agreed quietly, stretching his arms out before plopping down on the mattress.

Sasuke eased himself down beside Naruto, unconsciously letting out a sigh as he sank into the soft mattress. He could feel the light from behind his eyelids, and he groaned. “The light-…I’m not getting it.”

Naruto reached up his hands and clapped twice. The lights flickered off.

“You have a clapper...” Sasuke’s voice was incredulous.

“Hey, I can’t have any protruding surfaces to hit my head against,” Naruto pointed out, snuggling up against Sasuke in the dark.

“That’s bull,” Sasuke muttered. “Why do you get all the perks…nice mattress…clapper lights…”

“I suppose it just comes with the territory. Being suicidal and all.” Naruto’s voice dripped in sarcasm as he pulled the covers over both of them.

Sasuke let out a ‘hmph’, but left it at that. After a few minutes, he heard the soft snoring by his side. He thought to himself how lucky Naruto was to be able to fall asleep so easily.

Sleep never came easy for Sasuke, but tonight was the worst. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling the warmth of Naruto on his chest. One question was plaguing his mind.

Should he tell anyone?

The obvious answer was yes, he had to tell some one. A doctor, a nurse, anyone. It could mean something important for Naruto’s mental illness, but it would for sure keep him under closer supervision.

But another side of him argued that there was no need to involve anyone else in this. All they would do is take Naruto away and test him, run him through more and more trials, looking for an answer that wasn’t there. And, after all, Naruto had promised not to do it again, right?

Yeah, but you can’t know that for sure, Sasuke thought to himself. After about an hour of debate in his mind, he decided.

He would tell a doctor first thing in the morning. Naruto would be angry, but it was for his own good. There was no way Sasuke was going to lose him.

He let out a troubled sigh, settling down into the bed, the flutter of Naruto’s breath on his neck lulling him into a fitful sleep.

~

He awoke a few hours later cocooned in blankets. His eyes slowly blinked open, and he fought a yawn as he sat up in the bed. He turned to see Naruto-…

It took a few seconds for Sasuke to comprehend, but when it did, his heart dropped to the bottom of his stomach.

Naruto was gone.

He scrambled out of the bed in record time, his heart racing, his mind whirling with images of the worst. He dashed out of the room, making it to the bathroom in three bounds. He threw the door open and snapped on the light.

No Naruto.

He spun around, his eyes scanning the common room for any sign of the blond. He walked quickly through the room, checking around the couch, just to make sure. His mind was racing so fast he couldn’t even make sense of it.

He promised-!

What could he have used…-

Oh, God, this is all my fault-

Where the HELL is he?!

He could barely breathe as he finished checking under the couch. That was it. He ran to the wall that held the door leading to the hall way, his hand aiming for the red buzzer. His fingers were mere inches from the button when the door swung open, causing him to jump out of his skin, and at least a few feet back.

Naruto walked through the door casually, flicking something on his nail away as he walked in. He heard Sasuke’s loud gasp, and his eyes shot up, taking in the boy before him.

Sasuke stood on shaky legs, clutching his heart. His eyes were as wide as Naruto had ever seen them, and his breathing was erratic.

The door swung shut behind Naruto, whose face was taken over with worry.

“Sasuke! What happened?”

Sasuke strode forward quickly, grabbing Naruto and pulling him into a fierce embrace, crushing Naruto’s body to his own. He pressed his face into Naruto’s neck, trying to calm his quick breaths. Naruto held him, and he could feel Sasuke’s body shaking. Sasuke was chanting a soft mantra of “Oh god, oh god, oh god” near his ear, and Naruto feared the boy would collapse.

Naruto quickly led him to a chair, motioning for him to sit, but Sasuke wouldn’t let go of him.

“Sasuke, what’s wrong? What happened?” Naruto asked, thoroughly anxious at seeing his friend so distraught.

Sasuke gulped in air as he spoke, his grip never lessening on Naruto. “I woke up and you weren’t there—I thought you had gone and hurt yourself—while I was asleep—I panicked.”

This was all said in one fast breath and Naruto had to strain to catch it all. “Oh, Sasuke, I’m sorry,” Naruto whispered, his hand holding the back of Sasuke’s head. “I didn’t mean to worry you, I didn’t think you’d wake up-...here,” Naruto pushed Sasuke down to sit in the chair. He waited a few moments for Sasuke to calm himself before continuing.

“I woke up a few hours ago, and I realized that I really needed to talk to someone about this, and well, you were sleeping…so I got up and called Shizune. She came to the hospital, and I told her what happened.”

Oh no, Sasuke thought.

Naruto must’ve seen his face, because he petted his arm in a soothing matter. “Don’t worry, I’m staying. Shizune said it was good for me to tell her, and that she wanted to see me twice more each week. She said she wouldn’t let the doctors run tests on me this time, and she told me-…well,” Naruto fought a blush rising to his cheeks.

Sasuke made a face, curious now.

“She said to stay close to you. Because you would keep me safe.”

They sat in silence for a moment, Sasuke soaking in the new information, Naruto rubbing his shoulder as soothingly as he could.

“It’s early,” Naruto said softly. “We should go back to bed.” He took Sasuke’s hand and helped pull him to his feet.

They trudged back to Naruto’s room, shutting the door behind them. They both collapsed onto the bed, and Sasuke pulled the covers around them.

“I hate you,” he muttered softly, his eyes fluttering shut in sleep.

Naruto smiled, pushing Sasuke’s bangs out of his face before settling down. “No you don’t.”

Naruto curled up against Sasuke’s side, closing his eyes too. Who would have thought that he would ever find a person like Sasuke?

Even here on the top floor.


Sorry for the wait. We had some difficulty with this one. (It’s mostly my fault...I could not write objectively for my life). Anyways, I hope that satisfies some of you as far as *action* goes. (wink wink)

More humor next time. Actually, it’s going to be really funny. So stay tuned.

This is the first time we didn’t pull an all-nighter to finish the chapter, so hopefully there are less grammatical errors. We’re always kind of out of it by the time we get around to final proofing...

Review responses!

Disgraceful_Soul: Hi! I’m glad you like it so far. Shika’s...Shika. He doesn’t appreciate change much. But he’s just going to have to get used to Lee and all his crazy enthusiasm!
punkin02: Well thank you! Yes, Lee is the last patient that will join the boys. As for meeting other characters, I’m not really sure yet. We shall see!
ladygizarme: I’m glad you’re enjoying it. This one had a bit of the serious stuff, didn’t it? Lol. Just a tad. We’re really hoping that Lee is going to keep things a little more lighthearted for the boys. I feel bad making them angst all of the time!
kel: I’m glad you like it. And thanks for the input! We’re doing our best to be factual while still keeping in mind that this is fiction. Hugs to you too!
Artemis: Haha. How do you think Sasuke and Naruto are doing now?
Zombie_Girl: Haha, glad we could make you laugh.
Shadow Walker: We’ve outlined 15 chapters so far. It will be no more than 20 (I think. Things tend to change with us lol). You totally predicted Naruto’s predicament. KandKL and I read your review and both groaned. But...well all I can say is that we have a lot more chapters to go, and things will get worse before they get better. Hang in there.
Mystaira: “Oh good goddess!” made me laugh more than you know. *huggles* Horror indeed. Things tend to get a little chaotic with Lee around.
Burning Desires: Thanks very much. I’m glad you don’t think it’s rubbish. :)
hanyou-elf: Thank you. Seriously, we’re very flattered. And we heart Sasuke and Naruto too, especially now that things are *moving along*...
Halloween: Haha, Kiba is pretty cute. Now whenever KandKL or I have a really childish moment we call it a “Kiba moment”. Neji will be back, but not living with the boys. Hang in there, he’s coming!
Rasengan22: I love your reviews. They make me smile. :) And, believe it or not, neither of us have seen Good Will Hunting, so at least to us the scene was original...It kind of bums me out. There have been a few comparisons to other things as well that I had no idea about, and I’m like, but hey! I thought that up! Oh, well, what do ya do right? And no, unfortunately there will be no severed Itachi heads in this fic. :(
Fatkat: We keep shaking things up as much as we can!
Ari: Thanks! We’ll keep you updated.
animedragongirl: Thanks!
Naruto: Glad you approve of Lee. About Kiba, he’s a little younger than the rest of the boys, but maturity-wise, he’s about 6. We don’t have his entire arc plotted out yet, so we’ll see what happens. Obito’s kind of a bastard, huh? He’s a little insensitive like that. Neji will be back, but not to live with the boys. Hang in there, he’s coming up. (waves at Sasuke)
dancingkitsune: Haha, yeah that’s a lot of reading for one sitting. Those last three were pretty long too! I’m glad we could hold your attention for that long. Emails it is!
Reno’s_Lover: Thanks mucho!
Lemo: “pun of doom!” made me giggle. A lot. And we totally realized the mistake with the papier-mache thing a few days later. This is exactly why we should not be writing these on zero hours of sleep! lol
yaoigoddess: Thank you! They are kind of cute. When they aren’t, I don’t know, trying to drown in toilets. Neji will be back, I promise.
Pumpkin: Haha, you certainly have a thing for Neji! He’s coming, he’s coming...(stop your dirty mind RIGHT now)
MiniMew: Thanks! We’re trying our best to be factual. If you notice anything that’s off, let us know. We’d appreciate it! Hope to see you next time around.
Rasengan22 (again?): Haha, sorry dear. We had to take a few days and finalize our outlines and such. With so many little plotlines going on, it’s easy to get off track...Here it is, here it is. And cookies are always appreciated. ;)

We love our reviewers! You guys keep us going like you wouldn’t believe.

Email offer still stands. If you want an email letting you know when we add a new chapter, drop us a review and let us know!

Peace and love y’all!