Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Asylum ❯ ARC2: Day14 ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

ARC 2: Day 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Characters.

Thanks: To my wonderful beta-er, Susan. THANK YOU!

Once again I woke up in a tangle of green sheets. Once again I felt weird inside, because I could still smell the lingering scent of someone else. Once again I felt eyes poking in my back.

I didn't open my eyes immediately though. No, I already knew the redhead was staring at me from a far corner. I already knew his stare was demanding answers.

Instead I breathed in the unfamiliar scent again. The scent was less noticeable than the first time I woke up, but that was to be expected. I didn't mind it much though. The sheets were green, and Lee had slept in them. That was enough.

When I finally opened my eyes, I immediately saw a huddled figure in the far corner, blood-shot eyes staring non-stop at my form. One arm was positioned above his head again, in an awkward and uncomfortable sort of way. The boy didn't seem to notice this.

I sat up straight and looked around a little bit. Apart from the boy and the green sheets, this room looked identical to my own room. There were two single beds, and two desks. There were two closets for clothes, and there was one bathroom.

I didn't spot ridiculously looking sleeping hats, nor did I spot plushies. I didn't see neatly ordered pens or books, nor did I see anything orange.

Even though this room was boring, dull and a lot barer than my own, I felt more at home than anywhere else in this building.

`You're.. Not so arrogant now.'

After all, the red-haired boy said to me that I wasn't all that arrogant. It was, if I remembered correctly, the nicest thing anyone (besides Lee) had said to me here.

I lay down again, and turned my back to the boy in a faint attempt to escape those piercing eyes. Though they were green, they were not round.

I still felt the need to think, and I wanted to do just that without prying eyes.

You see, Lee was gone.

Lee was better, and happy. I was `crazy' and stuck in this shitty asylum. I was surrounded by people I didn't know and didn't like. And all those people didn't know or like me either.

Well, that's what I believe. I believe that no one here knew me, nor did anyone like me.

And that was probably because I'd been a prick.

Now, if Lee never left, I wouldn't have minded it one bit. Lee seemed to accept me for who I am and how I act. Because really, I am a prick. I've been a prick for my whole life. I've been mean and arrogant to my uncle. To my nieces. To my family. To everyone I ever met.

Hell, because I felt too good for my family, I decided to go and fake a disorder, in order to get away from them!

.. Back to Lee.

Lee went away even though I didn't say goodbye. I never got to tell him that I liked his company, and I never got to tell him that I liked him. Lee went away, without knowing anything about me.

And if my roommate was correct, Lee went home without liking me at all.

Now, I didn't know whether or not that was the truth. Did Lee like me just as I thought? Or did my weird roommate have a hint of truth in his words when he said that Lee didn't like me?

Well, let's assume for a moment that my roommate is correct, and Lee really didn't like me.

If Lee didn't like me, then he had probably hugged me because he liked to hug people without caring who was being hugged. Then Lee probably sat with me during lunches and dinners because he liked to sit with people regardless of who they were. Then Lee probably talked to me and said he liked me because he said that to a lot of people.

And because I am quite arrogant, he might have thought I wasn't interested in having anything to do with him, while in fact, I was.

I was interested in Lee.

Quite interested.

And I thought that Lee had seen through all my arrogance and rudeness right away. I thought Lee understood who I was and what I was thinking.

.. but this was all an assumption. Even though this assumption sounded quite reasonable, and even though it would explain why my roommate had said all that stuff the day before.

It made me wonder even more though.

I knew near to nothing about my roommate, but he didn't look like the type who would play mind-games with me. He came across as righteous, even though he was weird and retarded.

My roommate didn't seem like a person who would lie.

.. But if I felt so sure that my retarded roommate wasn't one to lie, then did that mean that Lee didn't like me?

I knew I wasn't exactly friend-material. I was quite stuck-up, and didn't like to socialize. I hadn't been nice to a single person here so far, and I had been downright rude to the people who merely wanted to befriend me.

In short, I was a prick.

.. So maybe my roommate was right, and Lee didn't really like me all that much.

I mean, who in their right mind would like a prick?

Pricks were stuck-up people, arrogant bastards, people that you wouldn't like to associate with.

Surely, there were exceptions. Insert that weirdo who liked to draw dead people when we had Art Class and who always made random comments when we had group session: Sas-what's his name. But he was probably born that way, or had some crazy disorder, which made him say random and weird stuff all the time. He couldn't help it that he was weird and arrogant, while I.. Could.

Yes, I could be nicer to everyone. I could just try and remember everyone's name out here. I could try and socialize with people here, even if they killed goldfishes, or talked really slowly, had hollow voices, thought they could build a school on their own, or were just plain weird.

I could.

But why should I change myself?

After all, Lee had left already.

Who did I need to prove I was capable of being nice? Why should I show all those weird kids here I wasn't a social retard? Why should I learn their names when they didn't seem to know mine, and instead referred to me as `OCD-kid'?

As I felt the piercing eyes in my back, I knew the answer to my own question.

Though Lee was gone now, there were still people here. These people, they needed help. Because technically, I was just like Lee.

Better.

Healthy.

There were a few differences between the two of us though. Lee was gone: I wasn't. Lee had been nice to everyone: I didn't even know my roommate's name.

And don't forget: Lee had been liked.

I didn't think I was.

So I guessed this was it.

Was this the moment where I would really change myself? Was this the moment where everything would be different? Was this the moment where I would no longer be a gloomy and arrogant prick? Was this the moment where I would become like Lee: liked?

.. Was this what people call `growing up'?

I wondered if I could really do this. Could I really change myself? Could I suddenly be more caring? Nicer?

I guessed I could always try.

And if this socially changing myself didn't work out, I could always slip back into my cold and arrogant self. It really was that simple.

This decided, I turned around again, and stared back into those piercing green eyes.

“You.” This time I started the conversation. He didn't even blink, and I wondered if it would be a good idea to try and be less blunt as well.

“Please tell me your name,” I talked to the quiet boy again, while deciding that my first step would be to learn some names.

“...” The boy's eyes only blinked a few times as he otherwise seemed to completely ignore me. He didn't even move out of the weird position he was sitting in. Was he angry with me for asking such a lame question? Or was he ignoring me because I had been rude to him yesterday?

“.. Gaara.” The red-haired boy kept looking at me as he told me his name, his voice dripping with darkness and gloominess, yet his face maintained a disinterested look.

Right.

“Gaara,” I tested his name, realizing this was the first name besides `Lee' I had spoken out loud in this loony-, I mean institution (better not think of this place as a loony bin anymore), “Gaara. Can I ask you something?”

He didn't answer. He just kept on staring at me. Was that a `yes' or a `shut up or I will kill you'?

“Can I please be your new roommate?” I finally asked, because this seemed like a logical step for me to make. I mean, I wanted to change myself, so why not change rooms as well?

I didn't know why I felt so comfortable and at home in this bare room. Perhaps it was the peace that the room emitted. Or perhaps it was because this Gaara seemed to be a more suitable roommate for someone like me.

Sure, I doubted that the staff would be happy when they heard that I wanted to change rooms, and was planning to change rooms all on my own.

But I was Hyuuga Neji, Boy Genius, and everything I planned turned out great.

“...” Yet again, it felt like I was being ignored. The boy looked at me, but I wasn't sure if he was seeing me. He was just staring, like he was in his own little world.

I tried asking again. Perhaps he hadn't heard me?

“Gaara, can I please become your roommate?”

“Why?” The one-syllable question was not much, but I could work with it.

“I don't want to sleep in the same room as my roommate anymore.” I answered him, which was pretty close to the truth. I thought it was a straightforward and good enough answer, but then Gaara replied, and I wasn't so sure of myself anymore.

“I.. Am a back-up?” If possible, Gaara's voice was even gloomier and darker than before. His piercing eyes were still gazing into my direction.

“No! You're uhh.. You're not my back-up.” I replied weakly, because technically speaking, he might have been my back up. Because I didn't understand the weird blonde, I decided I'd rather room with the silent redhead.

“But.. You can't change rooms. You're not allowed.”

“Yet you held the assumption I could change rooms yesterday. Remember that you told me that the sheets were going to be changed? You thought that I was going to be your new roommate, so why are you questioning me now?”

“...”

“Well? Why are you questioning me?” I repeated again, hoping that Gaara would keep talking, even though his manner of conversing was slow and annoying to listen to.

“Naruto.. We talked.”

Naruto?

“Who was Naruto again?” I wondered out loud. Was that the silent boy with the dark glasses? Or the red-haired boy with the hollow voice, who always argued with Un-rapist? Perhaps I should have paid attention when people introduced themselves to me in the beginning.

“Serious?” Though Gaara's face didn't express any emotions, I could tell he was surprised by my question.

“I uh.. Didn't really pay attention when you all told me your names.” I replied, while hoping that this `I am going to be honest and nice'-thing would really work.

“Your roommate.” Gaara suddenly said, which I found really strange. Why did he refer to my roommate? Was there something wrong with the blonde retard? Was there-

“Oh.” I said, and understood. I felt quite silly all of a sudden, because it took me two whole weeks to learn my roommate's first name. “Gaara? You haven't answered my question so far. Can I become your roommate? I'll uh.. I will take all responsibility if the staff disagrees.”

Gaara stayed quiet once more. Though his face was still devoid of emotions, and his hands were positioned in a really weird way, it seemed like the question had affected him somewhat.

I wondered why Gaara was here anyway.

“Gaara, are you okay?” I asked him with as much concern as I could muster, yet I didn't receive an answer right away. Figures.

“Gaara?” I asked again.

“I.. Don't want trouble.”

Was that all? Was he afraid that the staff would punish him because I wanted to do something that wasn't allowed?

“You won't get into troubles. I want to change rooms, because I have my reasons. If anyone disagrees, they'll just have to come to me. It's my idea after all. Besides, why would people disagree with the fact I want to switch rooms?”

“...”

Perhaps this was enough for now. Gaara didn't seem like a great talker, and his answers were getting shorter and slower. Perhaps he needed some time to think about my proposal?

“Gaara, why don't we stop this conversation for now? I'll go to the recreation room so that you can think about my offer. And once you have come to an answer, you can tell me. Is that a deal?”

“...”

“Gaara.”

Gaara nodded slowly, which was probably a `yes'. It was a good enough reply for me, so I got up. I looked at the gloomy teen once more, before turning my back on him and making my way over to the exit.

“You're.. Okay,” was faintly spoken as I closed the door of the room and repeated the action another six times. I couldn't help but smile slightly as the compliment reached my ears. It felt good to hear that at least one person in this building seemed to think I was okay, and it satisfied me that this `changing myself' thing might be doable after all.

I made my way over to the recreation-area. There were quite a lot people there, most which I recognized from my group, but I didn't know any name.

However, I didn't feel like asking their names right now.

I still had plenty of time to learn names and be nice, but first I wanted a solid base. A solid base, like Gaara's quiet room.

I walked to the bookshelves, and tried to remember which books had been written on the list-of-six. Which book had I been reading just before I had the panic attack anyway? I didn't really remember, though I knew it was a good book.

In the end I scanned the bookshelves seven times before I picked a small book. I presumed that the title was also on the list-of-six. I sat down on the dusty old couch, before turning over the cover of the book.

Colorful pictures greeted me.

Perhaps I had chosen the wrong book after all. This was definitely not my type of book, and it was also definitely not the type of book that Dr. Asuma would recommend to me.

I leafed through the book for a bit, wondering if there were actually people in this building that would read childish things like this.

“Are you ill?” A voice arose suddenly from behind. I looked up..

Shit, what was his name again? You know, the active guy, always saying `Yahoo!', always these really strange red markings on his cheeks, and I believe he and Naruto are friends.. And didn't his name have a `K' in it?

.. This wasn't working.

“You,” I decided to call him for now. Just as I had called him yesterday. Back then he didn't mention it, so I was kind of hoping he wouldn't mind it again, “Aren't we all ill? We're stuck in an asylum, you know,” I asked him rhetorically, because I wondered why he would talk to me in the first place.

“But look at what you're reading! I talked with Shika about you, and he said you would never read anything less than Real Literature. But now you're holding a picture book.” That said, the boy sat down next to me, only to get up the next second, like he hadn't quite made his mind up what to do in the first place.

“Perhaps I happen to like this book,” I countered back with a scowl, because I didn't want to admit that I had gotten the wrong book.

“You like that book?”

“Just get lo-“ Yet I wasn't able to finish my insult, as the boy turned around rather abruptly and started yelling in a loud voice.

“HEY GUYS! Neji has gone crazy!”

And suddenly, everyone was all over me. I recognized most of them from therapy, but there were a few that I didn't.

They all started to talk to each other and me. They asked me if I had done something six times instead of seven, and if it was true that aliens had kidnapped me last night. Then some girl asked me if I was going to cry, and another older boy said that he didn't want to be near Crazy Neji anymore.

And even though I had promised myself I would be nicer to these people, I did what I always did when I was angry.

I scowled really nastily at the people around me before I grabbed my book and got up. I ignored all the questions and looks that they threw at me, and I made my way over to the other corner of the recreation room.

I sat down on one of the chairs, which were positioned at the table with the chessboard on it. Then I opened the stupid baby book and started to read, out of pure stubbornness. They call me crazy? Fine. Then I'd just have to find other and nicer people who I could befriend in this place.

I ignored the colorful pictures in the book, and I ignored all the people in the room even more.

Some walked up to me, and wanted answers. A girl even came up and asked if I had finally cracked, and if I would be transported to the West Wing.

I drowned out all the noises, and concentrated on the text. Even when some boy sat down on the other chair and moved a pawn on the chessboard, I only turned a page.

Time flew by, and I stubbornly kept on reading the stupid book. I didn't look up when some doctor walked up to me and asked if anything was wrong, nor did I look up as the boy on the other side moved another pawn on the chessboard.

It didn't take people very long to leave me alone, which was fine by me.

I might have agreed with myself that I wanted to change a little bit, but that didn't mean that I'd try to be nice to people who labeled me `Crazy Neji'.

“Neji.” As someone spoke my real name (not some weird concoction like `OCD-kid'), I wondered why people couldn't just leave me alone.

But when I looked up to glare, my eyes landed on lots of orange, yellow and red. I wondered if this was just a Bad Day.

Why didn't Gaara tell me that he and Naruto were on friendly terms? And why was Gaara with Naruto?

“Gaara?” I called out his name unsurely.

“Neji, Kiba told me you went crazy. Do you have to go into seclusion?” Naruto answered me instead, yet I ignored his questions as usual.

“Gaara? Have you thought about my offer?”

“You.. Tell Naruto?” It took me a moment to figure out what his answer implied, but after that, I couldn't help but truly smile at him.

“Sure. I will Naruto about my idea. Shall I tell him right away?” I offered, and Gaara nodded. Then I looked from the redhead to the now very silent blonde.

“Naruto,” I said, immediately noting that this was the first time I had spoken his name, “I'd like to talk to you.”

“Eh? Neji, I don't- ... Gaara, what does Neji have to tell me?” Naruto was obviously confused. But I didn't expect otherwise. After all, no one had really heard me talking normally to him before.

“Naruto, you must hate me, right? I mean, I never talk to you, I'm never nice to you.. I even didn't know your name until Gaara told me!” I started. Surely I wasn't going to ask him immediately.

I actually had a plan.

“Neji, what are you talking about?”

“About you and me, Naruto! You see, I've been such a terrible roommate all this time. Surely you must dislike me a lot by now!”

“Dislike? You mean `sad'?” Naruto was obviously having a hard time understanding what I was trying to say, but I nodded nonetheless.

“Yes, you must be very sad that such a nice boy like you has such a terrible roommate.”

“Eh.. I am?”

“Yes! You are very sad!” I replied, though it took Naruto another moment to nod in (a probably faint) understanding.

“Naruto, surely you want a roommate who is nice and who shows interest in you, don't you?”

“.. Yeah?”

“And you'd like a roommate who likes orange things, right?”

“I uhh.. Yes! Orange!” Naruto became enthusiastic in no time, and he flapped his hands in the air. Some of the people in the room started to notice the epic conversation that Naruto and I were having, and gathered around us. Not that they were being paid attention to.

“And you don't want a roommate who is rude and angry and disinterested all the time, right?”

“Yes! Yes!”

“Then surely you don't want me as a roommate anymore?”

“Ye-.. Eh, what?” The shouting and flapping stopped at once.

“Oh, come-on Naruto! Why would you want me as a roommate when all I can be is annoying and rude? I'm sure that if we ask the doctors here, they won't mind if I switch to another room -Lee's old room, for example-.”

“But, but, but, but, but, but... you and I are roommates.”

Hnnggggrrr!

“Think about it, Naruto! This is your chance to get rid of me! I mean, I don't like the color orange at all.”

“You don't like orange?”

“Yes, I hate the color! Such a terrible and ugly color! And why would you want a roommate who hates the color you obviously love?”

“...”

“Come on, Naruto. This is your chance! It'll be such a big and huge change for you! You get to have a new roommate: someone who is nicer than me. Surely you'll like the change!”

“But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but..” Naruto looked pensive for a moment, but his facial expression quickly changed to distress.

“Fool. Don't you know Naruto hates changes?” was hissed in my ear by some dark-haired bystander, but it was already too late.

Naruto broke down.

There was screaming, and shouting, and a lot of groaning and kicking and flailing his arms around. And Naruto didn't stop after a few minutes. The more people gathered around him, the louder the screaming got.

It was terrible, and everyone pointed their fingers in my direction, because obviously, I was the one who caused this mess.

And then the kicking and screaming subsided a little bit, but only a little, because the shouting and screaming might have gotten less, but the groaning got louder, and then Naruto decided to curl into a fetal position somewhere in another corner and hit his head against the radiator - repeatedly.

They had to drag him away after people could see little speckles of blood on the white radiator.

Shit.

More than an hour later I was finally told more. After Naruto had been dragged away, there were suddenly two very-creepy looking doctors who told me to come with them.

I was put into seclusion: a Lone Room. Because I was the cause of Naruto's breakdown.

And until now, I hadn't been informed about the situation.

“Hyuuga Neji.” Though I was pretty sure it would be my `personal coach' who would lecture and punish me, it turned out to be the doctor from Group Session and some other woman in the end.

Because they thought I already knew the name of group-session-Doc, I was only told the woman's name (Tsunade).

They told me that both of them cared deeply for Naruto, and they also told me I did something very -very!- wrong by suggesting such a thing to Naruto in the first place.

Then they asked me the reason why I had created such a scene.

I told them I liked Gaara a lot, and I wanted to be his roommate, especially because we had such a nice conversations so far.

This caused quite some ruckus.

They gave each other a long look, before they started bombarding me with questions. Did Gaara start the conversation? Did Gaara talk a lot? Did he repeat what I said? Did he say anything at all?

I answered (yes-no-no-yes) and asked if I could switch rooms, since Naruto already broke down.

They were very silent, and then left the room.

Another hour later dr. Tsunade entered the Lone Room again, this time together with Gaara. Doctor Tsunade looked at Gaara with great expectation, so I did the same thing.

“I.. Didn't get into trouble.” was what Gaara said, even though it took him almost 5 minutes of us staring at him. I smiled.

“Yes, of course. I promised I would take all responsibility, didn't I?” I said, smiling wider and wider.

And then Dr. Tsunade stated that I could become Gaara's roommate, if I promised the entire staff not to pull this stunt again (because if I did, I would be send to the West Wing, where all the really crazy people went to).

I promised, and then I led Gaara back to his- no, OUR room, because Doctor Tsunade said Gaara didn't like moving a lot.

And I might have looked sour when I saw that Lee's green sheets and pillow cover were both gone, but surely Gaara didn't mind my irritated face.

For we were roommates now.

And this fact made me quite happy, for it made my whole `I-fake-a-disorder-in-order-to-escape-my-fate' situation quite worth it.

And as I fell asleep in my new room, I was quite honest to say my idea wasn't so bad after all, even though Lee wasn't here right now, and even though I had to change myself a little bit.

For I was Hyuuga Neji, Boy Genius, and I did not have bad ideas.