Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ From Here to Eternity ❯ Revelations, Dates, and House Calls ( Chapter 19 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Kat: BRAAAH!!!

Soriko: Problems, Bossman?

Kat: I'm a GIRL, you woman.

Soriko: … I'm a guy…

Kat: Sure you are. ANYWAY! I need some help! If anyone has any ideas that could help me with the plot of my story, `Today', could you please e-mail them to me? I've reached a state of Writers' Block Euphoria on that story, and I want to continue, but I'm having some trouble. Any ideas? I'll give you dedication and thanks in the story! I know, that isn't much, but, hell, no publicity is bad publicity…! -weak grin- All right, all right. Please enjoy!

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999

“WHAT THE FUCK?”

Kankuro burst awake, opening his eyes, only to be blinded by light. There was something pressing against his side, and he was twisted oddly. He sat up slowly, and looked around. Then he remembered where he was.

Sasuke Uchiha was standing, open-mouthed, in Itachi's doorway. His eyes were wide, and he had dropped his schoolbooks on the ground.

“Uh… hi?” Kankuro said lamely, standing up from the bed. He dragged his arm out from under Itachi's head. The arm hung dumbly at his side, completely asleep. The red-hot pinpoints scurried up and down his arm as his stiffly shook it out. “Ow…”

“Uh, excuse me for asking, but what the HELL were you doing in my brother's BED?” Charming as always, Sasuke.

“Well, I'm not sure if that's really any of your business.”

“Uh-huh. Yeah.”

“Calm down, Uchiha. I'm leaving,” Kankuro sneered, rolling his eyes. He turned to look down at Itachi, who was sleeping quite peacefully. His fever had gone way down, and there had been no further incidents with the vomiting.

Kankuro was beginning to wonder if maybe, just maybe, there had been more to this than Itachi just suddenly getting sick. He frowned. What if-

“Are you leaving anytime soon, or WHAT?” Sasuke snapped angrily, crossing his arms. Kankuro gingerly stepped over the fallen books, and tipped his kitty-ears hat to the enraged freshman.

“Have a nice day, Itachi's little brother,” he said with a chuckle, knowing full well what the phrase would do to the teen.

“WHAT THE HELL'D YOU JUST CALL ME?”

Kankuro laughed all the way out to the driveway. Then he remembered that he had to walk home, and the laughter died instantly. He glanced at his watch. Three thirty. Had he really slept that long?

He yawned, stretched, and started off on the long trek towards home, which, in all honesty, was not that far away. Kankuro did not enjoy any physical exertion what so ever. But he realized later that he would never get to sleep if he did not do SOMETHING physical, especially after that little catnap.

He blushed. What exactly had Sasuke thought they were DOING?

Kids these days, each one more of a gutter-mind than the last.

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 999999999

“So did you sleep with him or what?” Haku's voice wasn't patronizing or snide, but oddly truthful over the phone.

“What the hell? First Sasuke, now YOU? What is it with everyone today?” Kankuro fumed, glaring at the ceiling.

“Well, Kankuro, dear, it's not like you two haven't been going at it for a while.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Well,” Haku said, sounding like he was talking to an ignorant five-year-old. “You two have always been… unusually close. Personally, I saw it coming from a mile away.”

“Saw WHAT coming?”

“I thought you said you slept with him.”

“I did! I mean, not the way YOU'RE thinking of.”

“…What?”

“We slept in the same BED. We didn't have sex! God…” he groaned. “All I did was fall asleep when I was sitting on Itachi's bed! Nothing HAPPENED!”

“Right. Well, I believe you,” Haku said, sounding slightly disappointed.

“We're just friends. Nothing more.”

“I said I believe you, Mr. Sensitive. What? Oh, no, not you, Zabuza,” Haku said, his voice sounding slightly distant.

“You're at Zabuza's?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“See, now YOU two have slept in the same bed, and I haven't complained.”

He could practically feel Haku's blush through the plastic and wiring of the phone.

“Th-that's different!” he squeaked.

“How so? Please, enlighten me!” Kankuro laughed.

“We're a couple! I thought you and Itachi were just friends!”

“We are!”

“Good!”

“Fine!”

“Okay!”

“So…” Kankuro said, desperate for a change of subject. “Have you and Zabuza… you know… done anything?”

“And what exactly do you mean by THAT?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Even though it is none of your business, no we have not,” Haku snapped angrily.

“I was just curious, dude. You two are the longest lasting couple in the school… you have to admit that.”

“True, true.”

“So, can you blame me for being a tad curious?”

“No… I suppose not.” Haku's rage, though terrible in retrospect, did not last long. The conversation turned to Itachi after that.

“I'm worried,” Kankuro said. “The sudden sickness was really… weird.”

“I know what you mean,” Haku said dispassionately. “I mean, he wasn't looking very well during the… assembly, but it's quite unsettling how sick he got in just a little while. Do you think something happened?”

“Well…” Kankuro bit his lip. He wasn't sure he wanted to indulge his theory in his friend. But… if there was anyone to tell, it would be Haku. The boy would die before revealing a secret. “Don't tell anyone this, I mean, besides maybe Zabuza, but…” He shook his head. “I'm really worried that it might have been… on purpose.”

“You mean self-induced? Like… like… Oh God, Kankuro, you don't think he took something, do you?”

“Well, I don't know. I was kinda hoping you would.”

“I have no idea! It's too shocking to think that Itachi would do something like that!”

“Is it, though?” Kankuro said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I mean… do you remember last year?”

“Last year…?”

“Around this time last year, Itachi started acting funny. And… come to think of it… the year before that, too!”

“I didn't know you guys two years ago,” Haku said, his voice going soft. Kankuro winced.

“Oh… right, sorry.”

“It's okay.”

Haku hadn't exactly had the best middle and elementary school career. Oddly feminine for a boy, he was constantly teased, and he'd had absolutely no friends. Being in different grades, Kankuro had almost never seen him, except perhaps passing him in the halls. But, for some reason, it hadn't effected Haku's cheery outlook on life. Kankuro admired his soft-spoken friend for that. He wondered often, though, what drew Haku to Zabuza. Seeing as Zabuza had the build for a bully, someone Haku had to despise, what could possibly have had Haku following Zabuza like a lovesick puppy? He shrugged. Haku was still one of the braver people Kankuro knew.

“Anyway,” Kankuro said, licking his lips. “He acted really weird… it was like he was tired all the time, and he wouldn't put any effort into anything.”

“Do you think it's, like, pressure from his parents or something?”

“Dunno. It could be… that's a good thought. But… hmm… I think there's more to this then meets the eye,” he said, frowning.

“I have a feeling you're right.” He paused. “What? Oh, would you hang on a moment, Kankuro?” Haku said.

“Sure.”

There was the sound of the phone being set down, and two voices conversing in the background. One sounded slightly desperate, and the other exasperated. A minute or so later, Haku picked up the phone. “You still there?”

“Yup.”

“I'm sorry Kankuro, but I have to go. Zabuza managed to burn the Ramen again.”

“Burn the…?” Kankuro blinked. “But you cook it in water, right? How do you BURN Ramen?”

“I have no idea. Somehow, he manages it.” Kankuro imagined Haku's nostalgic smile. “All right. I'll talk to you at school tomorrow, okay?”

“All right. Later.”

“Bye!”

Then he hung up the hand phone, and rubbed his eyes. Could Itachi really be doing drugs? He doubted it. Itachi had the head of the police department for a dad. If he ever did drugs, he would be… well… dead. And not just because of what the drugs would do. But what, then? What could have caused this sudden depression and sickness? Think, Kankuro… sudden high fever, vomiting, unable to focus, drowsiness… almost sounded like…

Yashamaru's chirp that dinner was ready interrupted his thoughts. He stood up, and headed for the stairs, almost running into Gaara.

“Hey, Gaara. Man, do you even leave your curtains open in there?” he said, scratching his head. Gaara stared wide-eyed at him for a full minute, before he said something that almost made Kankuro fall down the stairs.

“Did you have sex with Itachi?”

“WHAT THE HELL? WHY DOES EVERYONE THINK THAT?”

“Well, Kankuro, you weren't exactly quiet when you were shouting at Haku over the phone.”

“What? You… how… huh? Hey,” Kankuro said. “How'd you know I was talking to Haku?” He did not remember speaking Haku's name once during their conversation.

“Oh… I have my ways…” Gaara said, scaling down the stairs. Kankuro blinked, shook his head, and followed him.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888 8888888888888

Itachi wasn't at school the next day. And, for that matter, neither were Neji and Hinata. This seemed to trouble Naruto immensely as he traipsed after Gaara on their way to math.

“What is your PROBLEM today, Blondie?” Gaara asked over his shoulder, his dark lined eyes holding what could possibly have been mistaken for concern.

“Nothing,” Naruto said quickly, frowning. “Just… nothing.”

Gaara smirked to himself. Yeah. Sure. Nothing. Then he realized something.

“Oh… shit.”

“What is it?” Naruto asked, pausing.

“I forgot my lunch!”

“…Again?”

“Yes!” Gaara moaned, leaning against a vacant locker. “Nooooooo…”

“Do you have a cell phone?” Naruto asked, frowning.

“Yeah… but…”

“But what?”

“I don't want to bother Yashamaru…”

“…WHAT?” Naruto asked, his jaw dropping. “Dude! You forgot your lunch! This is serious!” The haze of worry that had been brought on by Neji's absence had disappeared completely in light of his friend's lunchlessness. “Give me the cell phone, and I'll call him for you.”

Gaara sighed, seeing that there was no convincing the blonde otherwise, and dragged himself, his LUNCHLESS self, back to his locker. He twirled the combination, then dug around in his backpack for his cell phone, which he only used for emergencies. Or, to put it more plainly, never. If there was ever an emergency, whom was he possibly going to call? His father? Yeah, right.

Naruto snatched the cell phone from Gaara's hand, and dragged Gaara physically to the freshmen bathroom.

“We've still got fifteen minute's till first hour,” Naruto informed Gaara, dialing the Kaze house, and pausing as it rang.

“Hello, Kaze residence!”

“Hi, Yashamaru?”

“Speaking!”

“Hello, Yashamaru,” Naruto said in what he thought was his most business-like tone, but in what Gaara thought sounded ridiculous. “This is Naruto speaking-“

“Naruto? Oh dear, what did Kankuro do now?”

“No, no, Kankuro didn't do-“

“Gaara, then? Did they need to call the fire department again?”

Ah. He was referring to two years ago, when Gaara had `accidentally' set a tree on fire. Iruka had told Naruto that he recognized a cry for attention when he saw one. Gaara had come to school the next day with a black eye and a large bruise on his arm. Naruto shivered at the memory of Gaara's destitute expression when the blonde had asked about the marks, and licked his lips.

“No one did anything, Yashamaru. Gaara just forgot his lunch.”

“…Oh,” Yashamaru said, sounding quite relieved. “Thank God… does he need me to bring him one?”

“Yes, if you would please and thank you. Oh! Come to think of it,” Naruto said, pressing a finger to his lips. Time to use Yashamaru's precariousness to his advantage. “I don't exactly have a lunch today, and neither does my… stepdad, Iruka. He's a teacher here. D'ya think you could bring us lunch, too?”

“Uh… well… I mean, I guess so, but…”

“Great! Thanks a billion, Yashamaru! Just go ahead and bring them to the office when you get them done!”

“Uhm… o-okay…”

“Thanks again!” Then he closed the phone, and handed it back to Gaara. “There. Problem solved. …What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Gaara rolled his eyes, and pocketed the phone.

“Mooch.”

“Whaaaaat?”

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000< /div>

Yashamaru arrived twenty minutes later, carrying three brown paper bags and a forlorn smile. He went up to the front desk, and asked the nice secretary what to do with the lunches.

“Oh, just leave them here. I can buzz them down to get the lunches,” Shizune said, waving her hand. She was deeply immersed in a book with two half-naked people on the cover. Yashamaru swallowed, and said,

“O… Okay, but what about this one? I mean… it's for Iruka, and I got the impression that he wasn't a student here, and-“

“I'm Iruka. Is something wrong?” said a new voice. Yashamaru turned to see a rather frazzled-looking man with dark brown hair shoved up in a messy ponytail. He had a long scar stretched across the bridge of his nose, and he was wearing a rather wrinkled button-down shirt, with a pair of dark blue pants. He was carrying a clipboard.

“Uhm…” Yashamaru searched for a word, any word. “I'm… Yashamaru… I'm Gaara's uncle, and Naruto called me and said that Gaara and he and you didn't have lunches, so I… made you one.” He blushed, and shyly offered the paper bag. “Sorry… I made it kind of fast… uh…” He bit his lip, and looked down at the sad-looking bag. Why hadn't he taken more time to fix the food…?

“Uh… Thanks,” the man, Iruka, said with a grin. “You didn't have to do that. Naruto had money for lunch, and so did I.”

“No, no, it's quite all right! I wanted to.” Yashamaru grinned, and Iruka took the bag. “So… yep.”

“Uh…” Iruka absently scratched the back of his head. Yashamaru felt very out of place, all of the sudden. He nodded.

“I guess I'll go, then.”

“Oh, hang on!” Iruka said, starting. “Uh… if you want to… you could join me for lunch.”

“Huh?” Yashamaru was caught completely off guard. Was this… an invitation? He blushed. “Sure! Um… I can bring you something other than that,” he said, pointing at the bag.

“I'm sure this will be fine,” Iruka laughed. “My lunch hour is at one. You can stop by if you want.”

“I think I'll do that,” Yashamaru said, smiling. “Okay, I'd better get going. Um… I'll see you at one!” Then he turned, and, with one last look at Iruka, left the school.

Iruka was left in slight shock, staring down at the bag in his hands. He felt like a love-struck schoolgirl. What the hell was WRONG with him?

He heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to see Shizune giving him an omniscient look over the edge of her book.

“Wh…what?” Iruka asked defensively.

Shizune just shook her head, and went back to her book.

“Jeez… you're as bad as Kakashi…” Iruka grumbled. “When you call Naruto down, tell him that I'm going to kill him, would you?”

“I'll do that,” Shizune said with a grin.

44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444 44444444

“Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara Kaze to the office, please,” Shizune's voice said over the intercom. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, and he and Gaara quickly slid out from Orochimaru's loathsome gaze, and out into the hall.

“Phew…” Naruto breathed, bringing a hand to his forehead. “Did YOU remember the assignment he gave us last night?”

“Yes, I did!” Gaara said angrily, walking down the hall at an exaggeratedly slow pace. “I believe you were busy throwing paper airplanes at Kiba while he was writing it down on the board!”

“Oh yeah!” Naruto said, remembering. “That's right!”

Gaara sighed, and shook his head.

“Oh, hello, gentlemen,” Shizune said pleasantly.

“Hi, Miss… uh…” Naruto frowned, realizing he didn't know Shizune's last name. He decided that calling her `Miss' would have to do. “Miss.”

Shizune rolled her eyes, and gestured to the front counter. “Someone names Yashamaru dropped these off for you. Oh! And Iruka told me to inform you that he would kill you when he saw you again.”

“Ah… heh heh…” Naruto said, rubbing his forehead. “Oh my…”

“You're dead, Blondie,” Gaara said, pulling his lunch off the table. “Let's go back nice and slow.”

“Good idea.”

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Iruka paced back and forth, staring up at the clock every now and then, then checking to make sure his desk wasn't horribly cluttered, or that his tie was straight. It was one o'clock now… he had dismissed his students a few minutes early, a fact that they did not mind in the slightest. A head start in the lunch line was never a bad thing. Iruka took a deep breath, and attempted to compose himself.

“This was a dumb idea…” he said to himself as one o'clock came and went. “I shouldn't have invited him at all. I mean… I don't even KNOW him…” It was 1:05 now, and Iruka knew that he would have to eat now or he wouldn't get a chance. At that moment, a certain someone walked breathlessly through the door, desperately trying to straighten his sweater.

“Hi,” Yashamaru said short-windedly. “Sorry I'm so late! I thought walking would be a nice change, but I didn't realize how far the school was!” He grinned weakly. Iruka burst out laughing, more because of nerves than anything else. Yashamaru laughed for a moment, too.

“Are you laughing at ME?”

“No, no, no! Of c-course not!” Iruka giggled, pressing a hand to his mouth. “Um… do you want to sit down? Sorry the chair's so small… I couldn't find anything bigger in the classroom,” Iruka said, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk.

“All right,” Yashamaru said, clutching his own paper bag to his chest, and sitting down. Iruka sat on the other side of his desk, and cleared his throat. Yashamaru set his bag on the desk, but seemed unsure whether or not to open it. They sat in awkward silence for a moment, before Iruka finally broke it.

“Oh, why are we so nervous?” he asked no one in particular, but looking at Yashamaru. “We aren't teenagers! We're… uh…”

“Adults?”

“Yes! Right! We aren't our charges. We should… uh…”

“Relax?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

Then, despite the obvious lameness of the situation, they both burst into peals of laughter again.

“All right, then,” Yashamaru said, pulling off his blue sweater, and straightening his tee shirt. “So Naruto is you're… ah… foster son? Step son?”

“Foster son, right,” Iruka said, nodding. “And Gaara is your nephew?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, that must be fun.”

“Oh, Gaara's nice, once you get to know him. Misunderstood, right?” Yashamaru said, absently waving his hand.

“So… You know I teach. What do you do for a living, Yashamaru?”

“I… uh…” Yashamaru blushed, and pressed his face into his hands. “Oh, you're going to laugh!”

“I think you underestimate the power of raising Naruto Uzumaki,” Iruka said jokingly.

“I… I…” Yashamaru rolled his eyes. “I clean houses!”

Iruka's lip didn't even twitch.

“Oh. That sounds, well… honest. You probably make more per hour than I do.”

Yashamaru laughed.

“Well, it keeps bread on the table. Anyway, I'm working on my nursing degree.”

“Nursing…?”

“Yeah. I know, I know, girly, right?”

“Not at all! I know plenty of male nurses who are… well… you know. Male.”

This sent both of them into peals of laughter again. Iruka dumped the contents of his lunch onto his desk, and said, “Sorry, but when I said it was my lunch hour, I meant it was my lunch half-hour.”

“Oh, that's fine. I'm actually starving.”

Yashamaru was genuinely happy as he continued his conversation with Iruka, all the time thinking, `I haven't felt like this for anyone in… forever! I wonder…'

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 99999999

Yashamaru's lunch, Naruto had to admit, was not bad at all. The news he received while he was eating it, however, gave him a mixed feeling of exhilaration, happiness, and nervousness.

“I'm sorry… tell me one more time what you want me to do?” he said, his mouth full with chocolate-chip cookie.

“I said,” Haku said slowly, “Neji was out sick today, and I was wondering if you would take his work to him. I would, but I'm busy after school.”

Naruto frowned.

“Why do you want ME to do it?”

Haku shrugged.

“If you don't want to, then-“

“No, no! I want to… I want to.”

“Okay, then. Meet me in front of the school at three o'clock, and I'll give you all his work,” Haku said with a nod.

Naruto shrugged.

“All right. I guess I do owe you for the lunch yesterday.”

Sasuke was at their table again, sitting next to Gaara. Whenever they reached for something on the table, their hands would accidentally touch, and they would both pull away quickly, mutter quick apologies. Naruto grumbled things like `Sasuke-bastard' into his sandwich, earning a glare from Gaara or an elbow in the side from Kankuro, but he never said anything too loudly.

When three o'clock rolled around, Naruto could not have been in a more mixed mood. He had endured Gaara and Sasuke sending each other odd looks all through the last classes. Gaara had almost cut his hand off at the band saw because he was looking over at Sasuke. Naruto sincerely wondered what was happening with his schoolmates.

Oh, poor, poor, thickheaded Naruto.

Also, he was both nervous and excited about going to Neji's. He wanted to make sure that Neji was all right... Neji had never been sick before. Ever. And neither had Hinata. But he was also nervous… Would Neji be happy to see him?

He bit his lip as he took the papers from Haku, who nodded his thanks, then took off into the parking lot, over to what appeared to be Zabuza's car.

“Should've known,” Naruto mumbled, rolling his eyes at his flamboyant new friend. He set off for the Hyuga mansion at the center of town, knowing full well where it was. It was not a long walk. The mansion was built rather close to the school, which was lucky for him. He reached it after fifteen minutes of walking.

The mansion itself was at least four stories tall, one story taller than the school. It was a mass of balconies, and pillar and windows. He walked up to the tall, metal gate, and spied what appeared to be an intercom hung up near the lock. He pressed a green button, what he hoped would transfer his voice, and said, “H-Hello?”

“Y-Yes? Hello?” came a slightly familiar voice, after a moment. He paused. He KNEW that voice.

“Hinata?”

“Y-Yes?”

“It's Naruto!”

“O-Oh! Naruto! Huh-hang on just a moment, I'll l-let you in.”

There was a buzzing noise, and the gates swung open inwardly. Naruto swallowed, and followed a cobblestone path up to the large, white house. The gates closed behind him. He trudged up the stairs, to a large set of double-doors with a knocker shaped like a lion's head. He licked his lips, and thought, `You made it this far, Uzumaki. No point in going back now.'

Naruto gulped down any lingering hesitation, and pounded on the door with a flat hand. A moment later it was answered by a solemn looking Hinata. She was wearing a plain black dress, and her face was drawn and sad.

“Hey, Hinata,” Naruto said softly, chewing his lip. He had a feeling he had interrupted something dreary, like a funeral, and it made him nervous. And when Naruto got nervous, he rambled. And ramble he did. “Is… uh… Neji around? I mean… he wasn't at school today and neither were you and I was just wondering if something serious was wrong because Neji doesn't get sick and neither do you I mean you're always at school don't think I've ever seen you not at school but he-“

Hinata pressed a finger to his lips, then moved her finger onto her own lips, motioning for silence. Then she beckoned him to follow her into the mansion, which he did. But despite her obvious plead for quiet, Naruto couldn't stifle a gasp as he walked in through the double doors.

The room was… for lack of better term, HUGE. It made Sasuke-bastard's house look like a doghouse. (For that matter, it made Naruto's apartment look like a dog kennel.) The entrance hall itself was bigger than Iruka's apartment. It was wide, with a ceramic tiled floor covered by a red, plush carpet that led toward a staircase. At the top of the staircase was a large window, and the staircase itself branched off into two sets of stairs leading in opposite directions, then disappearing behind large walls. Naruto's jaw dropped as he looked around. Suddenly, Hinata stopped dead, turned, and pointed down at his feet. Naruto looked down.

Ah. Of course. Couldn't wear shoes in a swanky joint like this.

Naruto quickly pulled off his tennis shoes, then tossed them over by the door. He probably wouldn't be staying long, anyway.

“Hinata, is something wrong? I can always just come back tomorrow or something.”

Hinata turned, and shook her head.

“No, Nuh-Naruto. It's nuh-nuh-not th-that. N-N-Neji's in his r-r-oom, but h-he p-probably won't want to suh-see anyone right nuh-now.” Her face pinched as she tried to get the words out. She licked her lips, and said, “H-His room's puh-past the luh-luh-left stair-cuh-case. It's the fourth duh-duh-door on the r-r-right.”

Naruto nodded, frowning.

“Why won't he want to see anyone? Is he sick? Is it contagious?”

Hinata shook her head.

“I h-have to guh-go help with the gu-guests. H-He'll explain it to you, an-nuh-d if he duh-duh-doesn't, then I wuh-will.” Then she nodded.

Naruto blinked, and sighed. “All right. Fourth door on the right?”

“Yuh-yes.” Naruto turned, and started towards the steps, when Hinata's voice caught him. “Uhm… Nuh-Naruto?”

“Yo?”

“Yuh-you're friends with Kuh-Kiba, right?” Hinata twiddled her fingers like she did when she was extremely nervous or embarrassed. Naruto nodded.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well… uh… Do you kn-know what… what…” She bit her lip, and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Wh-what he wants for his buh-birthday?”

Naruto blanched, then choked back a giggle.

“He probably wants some chew toys or something for Akamaru,” he said thoughtfully, “or anything having to do with dogs, ya know?”

Hinata's face lit up considerably.

“Of cuh-course! Th-th-th-th-thank you, Nuh-Naruto.” Then she smiled, and left the hall through a door to Naruto's left. He sighed, and climbed the stairs.

`The Stairs of Doom,' he thought morbidly, as he climbed. He turned, and went up the left set of stairs, which led to a large, long hallway. He counted four doors on his right, then, a sense of nervousness he had not known for a while welling up inside him, knocked on the door.

33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 333

Heh heh! Yashamaru and Iruka are hooking up, huh? Woo woo! Neji x Naruto action next chapter. Okay, not really `action' so to speak, but you get my drift, right? Right? …Never mind. Forget I said anything. Definite Naruto and Neji angst next chapter. We're gonna find out what happened to Naruto's parents. (And Neji's for that matter.) There will also be some Haku angst in the next two or three chapters, so be prepared. You will be… saddened! Ha! Good word. But really. Ah… I need more SasuGaaness. Don't worry, it's coming soon. After all… Gaara's father returns next week… Itachi… a druggie? -gasp-

Kat: Woah. This is my longest chapter. -wide eyes- Wow. This calls for a celebration! -dances- Okay, I'm tired. Please don't forget my offer! And review, dammit! Ya think I do all this work for nothing?

Soriko: Well, technically you do.

Kat: - - Shut up.

Soriko: -grin-

Kat: Okay. Please review! I need reviews! I live on reviews! And other foods high in fat content. -kitty smile-

Soriko: -cough- Lame. -cough-

Kat: Shut up! I thought you were a muse?

Soriko: I am!

Kat: YOU'RE DOING A LOUSY JOB!

Soriko: … -bursts into tears-

Kat: … Aaaugh! I'm sorry, okay? Dammit! Proof that the next chapter will be tearful.