Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Owari Nai Yume ni Tamesarate mo ❯ The Rock with White Eyes That Brought Us All Together ( Chapter 4 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: ragnarok-the fallen angel 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.10.2006 | Updated On: 10.11.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 472 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Angst / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.10.2006 | Updated On: 10.11.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 472 | Status: Work In Progress
Chapter 4: The Rock with White Eyes That Brought Us All Together
“Tenten-chan! You lost the ball again!” whined a young girl. “How can we play bounce-the-ball if you keep missing it?”
“Don’t worry Umi-chan! I’ll go get it in no time!” cheerfully replied a much younger Tenten, her hair let down to below her ears. She was wearing a short lavender dress that extended down to her waist and a darker purple skirt that just barely covered her knees; purple was her favorite color when she was eight years old. She ran as fast as her legs could take her into the dark, narrow alleyway where their ball rolled. As she scanned the alley, her attention immediately shifted to the small boy leaning against the far wall.
“What are you doing alone in a place like this?” inquired Tenten, moving closer to the boy so she could get a better look at his face. As she walked closer towards him, her feet made small splashes in the puddles she walked through.
“Are, are you going to hurt me like them?” whimpered the boy. He was curled into the feeble position, but it was too dim to see anything else about him.
“Who’s them?” cautiously asked Tenten as she drew ever nearer to the figure. As she was approaching him, she began to see blood splattered on the walls and on the ground. Some of it swirled in the puddles of soiled water, creating a dark red solution that creeped the young girl out.
“They are the ones who did this to me; the villagers. They always do this; they treat me like a toy that no one wants, a toy they have no use of and needs to be thrown away,” answered the boy quietly. At that age, Tenten had never thought that it was possible for the villagers, her neighbors, her friends, her protectors, to be able to act like that towards such an innocent boy.
She ran the rest of the way towards the boy and embraced him tightly, knowing to some extent the feeling of lonliness, of emptiness. She had felt like that ever since her father’s death the previous year, and she felt that it was something no one should feel. She began to silently cry for the boy as she noticed that the blood decorating the alley walls belonged to the boy and that it matted his blond hair down to his scalp.
“Please don’t cry for me; I am the only one who has to feel this way,” pleaded the boy, who had never felt a hug, never felt wanted, or needed. This just caused her to cry even harder and tighten her embrace on him.
“Tenten-chan!”
“Tenten-chan!” Neji had barked out his friend’s name, breaking her out of a reverie, albeit a painful one.
“Yeah Neji-kun?” responded Tenten.
“Have you seen either Naruto-san or Sakura-san?” inquired Neji as he attempted to become accustomed to holding his newborn son, who was unnervingly silent, but he couldn’t succeed in hiding his anxiousness. Next to him Hinata slept peacefully on the hospital bed placed in the center of the room. Around the room various members of the Rookie Nine and Gai’s team were conversing or just observing Neji attempting to hold his son comfortably.
“No, I can’t say that I have Neji-kun. I mean besides that one time when we went to go retrieve Gai-sensei, ” answered Tenten truthfully. ‘He better come; it means everything to Hinata for him to witness what she considers her main accomplishment in life. And if he doesn’t show, I’ll go and hunt him down myself,’ thought Tenten. She had become quite close to the Hyuuga heiress lately, to the point where they could consider each other best friends.
“Konichiwa minna-san! “ boisterously exclaimed a certain blond haired shinobi as he slammed open the hospital room’s door, which caused many pairs of eyes to shift their attention to him, and also caused a fist to come crashing down on his head, hard.
“Baka! Can’t you see that Hinata-chan’s sleeping? And what if the baby was asleep? You seriously need to grow up,” hissed Sakura angrily.
“Gomen,” apologized Naruto as he rubbed the now throbbing bruise on his head.
“It’s about time; we’ve been waiting at least twenty minutes for you to come,” complained Kiba.
“I guess Kakashi’s mannerisms are finally rubbing off on them,” sighed Ino as she ran her hand through her long blond hair.
“Oi, Neji, can I see the kid, my godson?” proudly asked Naruto. Neji wordlessly walked over to him and gently gave him his son as Naruto basked in his apparent victory.
“His name is Lee, and if you drop him I swear that you won’t live through the night,” threatened Neji. Naruto gulped, suddenly unnerved by the new father. He then proceeded to examine Lee, as if to see how he was put together.
“Soooo, how do you make him work?” asked Naruto, which earned him many groans of exasperation.
“He’s a human; you can’t just turn him on or off,” groaned Sakura as she massaged her forehead with the heel of her palm *I think that’s the correct phrase anyways*.
“Oh, but aren’t babies supposed to be really loud?” asked Naruto confusedly. He had never actually handled a baby before and he had thought that all they did was cry all day long.
“When they want attention, yes. But Lee is a Hyuuga, his eyes prove it, and Hyuugas are by no means loud,” boasted Neji. And sure enough, Lee’s eyes were the signature white hinted with a very faint blue. But soon Neji’s ego was deflated as Lee let out a shriek that sounded as if he was being chased by the devil himself, causing some of his companions, Naruto and Tenten in particular, to grin.
“Guess you were wrong Neji,” sniggered Naruto. Neji, infuriated, then snatched his son back from him, causing Lee to quiet down.
“Geez, Naruto, I knew you were horrible, but scaring babies, and your own godson for that? That’s a new low for you,” jeered Kiba as Akamaru, who stood next to his owner, barked his agreement. This caused Naruto to mutter meaningless phrases and then pout after not being able to voice his thoughts.
“Ano, are Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan here yet?” yawned Hinata, who had just woken up that second, as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
“Yes, they’re here Hinata-chan, and I think Lee is hungry,” responded Neji, obviously relieved at the awakening of his wife.
“How can you tell? I mean, he can’t talk or anything,” asked Naruto confusedly.
Before Neji could respond, Sakura pointed at the young child, who was trying to suck Neji’s nipple through his shirt. “Oh.”
Neji walked over to Hinata and tenderly handed her their son as she unbuttoned the top of her shirt. Lee then began vigerously eating, causing Hinata to blush deeply, embarrassed by the fact that everyone was watching her.
“Hey, let’s go get something to eat, my treat!” cheerfully offered Tenten as her gaze wandered to Hinata and her son, as Hinata mouthed a thank you to Tenten. ‘That could have been me, feeding Neji-kun’s baby,’ thought Tenten scornfully. But she quickfully discarded this thought as she thought of how happy the two seemed to be together. “Naruto-san, could you stay here for a few minutes?” asked Tenten as everyone started to file out of the room, eager for some food. Soon the only ones in the large, uncomforting white room were Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, and Lee.
“I was wondering, Naruto, that since we’re both Lee-kun’s godparents, shouldn’t we get to know each other better?” asked Tenten, slightly blushing.
“Yeah, of course we should!” eagerly answered Naruto as he grinned widely.
“So, maybe, tomorrow, would you, I don’t know, like to have dinner; together?” stuttered Tenten, causing Hinata to empathetically smile and for Neji to smirk knowingly.
“Yeah, sure! How about Ichiraku’s?” offered Naruto, not at all noticing Tenten’s horrified expression.
“I was actually thinking of you coming to my place at about six or so for some Chinese cuisine,” responded Tenten sheepishly.
“Oh, alright,” answered Naruto, losing the large amounts of enthusiasm that plagued his thoughts about ramen. It was then that the two noticed the loud arguing outside about where they were going to eat.
“We should get going before the hospital kicks us out,” suggested Tenten as she left the room and tried to help resolve the conflict, but was drowned out by Naruto as he exclaimed loudly that he wanted ramen, causing even more arguing to occur.
“What have we gotten ourselves into Hinata-chan?” mused Neji as he sat next to his wife on her bed.
“Life, Neji-kun. We’ve gotten ourselves into life,” answered Hinata as Lee stopped eating and yawned rather loudly. “Do you think you could get one of the nurses to place Lee-kun in his crib?” asked Hinata with a subtle pleading in her tone. Neji wordlessly complied as he got up from the bed and searched for an attendant.
“Tenten-chan and Naruto-san, what an interesting couple. I wonder if they are destined to live together as Hinata-chan and I are, ” mused Neji aloud.
“Did you say something?” asked Hinata.
“Yes, but it was merely a thought,” answered the Hyuuga prodigy.
“Are you going to go with them to eat Neji-kun?” inquired Hinata as she yawned.
“No, I can’t say that I’m hungry,” replied Neji as he walked out of the room and somehow quieted the arguing within one minute.
“It’s good to have a family and friends that love me,” contemplated Hinata as she gently massaged Lee’s fragile scalp that was fuzzy with small tufts of black hair.
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‘It’s nice to get out with friends, even if it was only for an hour or so,’ thought Sakura as she took a bite out of her food. With the help of Neji, the group had decided to go to a barbecue place, which was obviously happy at the arrival of the mass of hungry people, even if they were loud. ‘But the best part of it is, he’s happy. He’s happy and no one here is trying to make him otherwise,’ thought Sakura as she looked over to Naruto, who was loudly arguing with Kiba about something or other.
“Sakura-san?” A voice broke Sakura out of her contemplation as she found that Tenten had taken the previously vacant seat next to her.
“Yeah?” asked Sakura curiously. She didn’t interact that much with Tenten, it wasn’t that she disliked the girl, but, she just didn’t feel that it was that necessary.
“Can you tell me all you know about Naruto-san?” pleaded Tenten.
“Well, it’s pretty obvious that he’s boisterous, obnoxious, oblivious, and just plain annoying. But he always seems happy, no matter what the situation is. It’s as if he can always find that silver lining in the clouds and then magnify that by a thousand. But the best part is, he shares that silver lining with everyone, and won’t stop until single people he knows feel happy, as if some unbearable weight has been taken off of them. And then, there’s the other side to Naruto, the side that he hardly ever shows anyone. Even after being on the same team as him for five years, I have only seen that side of him once or twice. It’s the side that has to bear all of the weight that he takes off of us. That’s the Naruto who is beaten and abused and can’t stand living; it’s the side of him no one wants to see. It’s heartbreaking and makes you feel helpless, because no matter how hard you try, you can’t help him,” listed Sakura thoughtfully. “Yeah, that pretty much sums him up,” confirmed Sakura as she took another bite out of her food.
“Thanks Sakura-san,” whispered Tenten.
“May I ask why?” asked Sakura, but when she turned back to look the other girl in the eyes, she was gone.
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After her conversation with Sakura, she left the restaurant, no longer feeling hungry. Sakura’s last description kept running through her head;
“It’s the side that has to bear all of the weight that he takes off of us. That’s the Naruto who is beaten and abused and can’t stand living; it’s the side of him no one wants to see.”
‘Why, Naruto, why don’t you let us share your pain?’ mentally pleaded Tenten as she strolled along the village. ‘The clouds have changed; they’re looking lighthearted and carefree,’ thought the young woman as she entered her house. She quickly departed for her room, and the memory from earlier that day started to finish itself.
“Tenten-chan! Where did you go? It shouldn’t take that long just to find a ball!” demanded Umi as she followed Tenten into the alley. She quickly discovered the girl embracing a young boy, who she recognized immediately. “What are you doing?” insisted the girl, steely-voiced.
“He’s hurt,” whispered Tenten, her knees now soaked from kneeling in the dirty water and her skirt was now soaked through.
“He deserves to be hurt Tenten-chan. Now stop, hugging him, and come play with me,” dictated Umi.
“No, no one deserves to be hurt,” objected Tenten softly.
“Tenten-chan, if you even want to have even a chance of being my friend, you will step away from that monster and come play with me,” threatened the girl.
“I’m sorry,” Tenten whispered as she got up onto her feet and looked down with pity on the young boy, who refused to meet her eyes.
The two girls then walked out of the alley and forgot about their ball, and about the young boy crouched against the wall in the alley.
“I’m so sorry,” whispered Tenten as she hugged her knees and silently wept for the boy she could not help.
“Tenten-chan! You lost the ball again!” whined a young girl. “How can we play bounce-the-ball if you keep missing it?”
“Don’t worry Umi-chan! I’ll go get it in no time!” cheerfully replied a much younger Tenten, her hair let down to below her ears. She was wearing a short lavender dress that extended down to her waist and a darker purple skirt that just barely covered her knees; purple was her favorite color when she was eight years old. She ran as fast as her legs could take her into the dark, narrow alleyway where their ball rolled. As she scanned the alley, her attention immediately shifted to the small boy leaning against the far wall.
“What are you doing alone in a place like this?” inquired Tenten, moving closer to the boy so she could get a better look at his face. As she walked closer towards him, her feet made small splashes in the puddles she walked through.
“Are, are you going to hurt me like them?” whimpered the boy. He was curled into the feeble position, but it was too dim to see anything else about him.
“Who’s them?” cautiously asked Tenten as she drew ever nearer to the figure. As she was approaching him, she began to see blood splattered on the walls and on the ground. Some of it swirled in the puddles of soiled water, creating a dark red solution that creeped the young girl out.
“They are the ones who did this to me; the villagers. They always do this; they treat me like a toy that no one wants, a toy they have no use of and needs to be thrown away,” answered the boy quietly. At that age, Tenten had never thought that it was possible for the villagers, her neighbors, her friends, her protectors, to be able to act like that towards such an innocent boy.
She ran the rest of the way towards the boy and embraced him tightly, knowing to some extent the feeling of lonliness, of emptiness. She had felt like that ever since her father’s death the previous year, and she felt that it was something no one should feel. She began to silently cry for the boy as she noticed that the blood decorating the alley walls belonged to the boy and that it matted his blond hair down to his scalp.
“Please don’t cry for me; I am the only one who has to feel this way,” pleaded the boy, who had never felt a hug, never felt wanted, or needed. This just caused her to cry even harder and tighten her embrace on him.
“Tenten-chan!”
“Tenten-chan!” Neji had barked out his friend’s name, breaking her out of a reverie, albeit a painful one.
“Yeah Neji-kun?” responded Tenten.
“Have you seen either Naruto-san or Sakura-san?” inquired Neji as he attempted to become accustomed to holding his newborn son, who was unnervingly silent, but he couldn’t succeed in hiding his anxiousness. Next to him Hinata slept peacefully on the hospital bed placed in the center of the room. Around the room various members of the Rookie Nine and Gai’s team were conversing or just observing Neji attempting to hold his son comfortably.
“No, I can’t say that I have Neji-kun. I mean besides that one time when we went to go retrieve Gai-sensei, ” answered Tenten truthfully. ‘He better come; it means everything to Hinata for him to witness what she considers her main accomplishment in life. And if he doesn’t show, I’ll go and hunt him down myself,’ thought Tenten. She had become quite close to the Hyuuga heiress lately, to the point where they could consider each other best friends.
“Konichiwa minna-san! “ boisterously exclaimed a certain blond haired shinobi as he slammed open the hospital room’s door, which caused many pairs of eyes to shift their attention to him, and also caused a fist to come crashing down on his head, hard.
“Baka! Can’t you see that Hinata-chan’s sleeping? And what if the baby was asleep? You seriously need to grow up,” hissed Sakura angrily.
“Gomen,” apologized Naruto as he rubbed the now throbbing bruise on his head.
“It’s about time; we’ve been waiting at least twenty minutes for you to come,” complained Kiba.
“I guess Kakashi’s mannerisms are finally rubbing off on them,” sighed Ino as she ran her hand through her long blond hair.
“Oi, Neji, can I see the kid, my godson?” proudly asked Naruto. Neji wordlessly walked over to him and gently gave him his son as Naruto basked in his apparent victory.
“His name is Lee, and if you drop him I swear that you won’t live through the night,” threatened Neji. Naruto gulped, suddenly unnerved by the new father. He then proceeded to examine Lee, as if to see how he was put together.
“Soooo, how do you make him work?” asked Naruto, which earned him many groans of exasperation.
“He’s a human; you can’t just turn him on or off,” groaned Sakura as she massaged her forehead with the heel of her palm *I think that’s the correct phrase anyways*.
“Oh, but aren’t babies supposed to be really loud?” asked Naruto confusedly. He had never actually handled a baby before and he had thought that all they did was cry all day long.
“When they want attention, yes. But Lee is a Hyuuga, his eyes prove it, and Hyuugas are by no means loud,” boasted Neji. And sure enough, Lee’s eyes were the signature white hinted with a very faint blue. But soon Neji’s ego was deflated as Lee let out a shriek that sounded as if he was being chased by the devil himself, causing some of his companions, Naruto and Tenten in particular, to grin.
“Guess you were wrong Neji,” sniggered Naruto. Neji, infuriated, then snatched his son back from him, causing Lee to quiet down.
“Geez, Naruto, I knew you were horrible, but scaring babies, and your own godson for that? That’s a new low for you,” jeered Kiba as Akamaru, who stood next to his owner, barked his agreement. This caused Naruto to mutter meaningless phrases and then pout after not being able to voice his thoughts.
“Ano, are Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan here yet?” yawned Hinata, who had just woken up that second, as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
“Yes, they’re here Hinata-chan, and I think Lee is hungry,” responded Neji, obviously relieved at the awakening of his wife.
“How can you tell? I mean, he can’t talk or anything,” asked Naruto confusedly.
Before Neji could respond, Sakura pointed at the young child, who was trying to suck Neji’s nipple through his shirt. “Oh.”
Neji walked over to Hinata and tenderly handed her their son as she unbuttoned the top of her shirt. Lee then began vigerously eating, causing Hinata to blush deeply, embarrassed by the fact that everyone was watching her.
“Hey, let’s go get something to eat, my treat!” cheerfully offered Tenten as her gaze wandered to Hinata and her son, as Hinata mouthed a thank you to Tenten. ‘That could have been me, feeding Neji-kun’s baby,’ thought Tenten scornfully. But she quickfully discarded this thought as she thought of how happy the two seemed to be together. “Naruto-san, could you stay here for a few minutes?” asked Tenten as everyone started to file out of the room, eager for some food. Soon the only ones in the large, uncomforting white room were Neji, Tenten, Naruto, Hinata, and Lee.
“I was wondering, Naruto, that since we’re both Lee-kun’s godparents, shouldn’t we get to know each other better?” asked Tenten, slightly blushing.
“Yeah, of course we should!” eagerly answered Naruto as he grinned widely.
“So, maybe, tomorrow, would you, I don’t know, like to have dinner; together?” stuttered Tenten, causing Hinata to empathetically smile and for Neji to smirk knowingly.
“Yeah, sure! How about Ichiraku’s?” offered Naruto, not at all noticing Tenten’s horrified expression.
“I was actually thinking of you coming to my place at about six or so for some Chinese cuisine,” responded Tenten sheepishly.
“Oh, alright,” answered Naruto, losing the large amounts of enthusiasm that plagued his thoughts about ramen. It was then that the two noticed the loud arguing outside about where they were going to eat.
“We should get going before the hospital kicks us out,” suggested Tenten as she left the room and tried to help resolve the conflict, but was drowned out by Naruto as he exclaimed loudly that he wanted ramen, causing even more arguing to occur.
“What have we gotten ourselves into Hinata-chan?” mused Neji as he sat next to his wife on her bed.
“Life, Neji-kun. We’ve gotten ourselves into life,” answered Hinata as Lee stopped eating and yawned rather loudly. “Do you think you could get one of the nurses to place Lee-kun in his crib?” asked Hinata with a subtle pleading in her tone. Neji wordlessly complied as he got up from the bed and searched for an attendant.
“Tenten-chan and Naruto-san, what an interesting couple. I wonder if they are destined to live together as Hinata-chan and I are, ” mused Neji aloud.
“Did you say something?” asked Hinata.
“Yes, but it was merely a thought,” answered the Hyuuga prodigy.
“Are you going to go with them to eat Neji-kun?” inquired Hinata as she yawned.
“No, I can’t say that I’m hungry,” replied Neji as he walked out of the room and somehow quieted the arguing within one minute.
“It’s good to have a family and friends that love me,” contemplated Hinata as she gently massaged Lee’s fragile scalp that was fuzzy with small tufts of black hair.
++++++++++++++++++++++Please Read and Review!+++++++++++++++++++++++
‘It’s nice to get out with friends, even if it was only for an hour or so,’ thought Sakura as she took a bite out of her food. With the help of Neji, the group had decided to go to a barbecue place, which was obviously happy at the arrival of the mass of hungry people, even if they were loud. ‘But the best part of it is, he’s happy. He’s happy and no one here is trying to make him otherwise,’ thought Sakura as she looked over to Naruto, who was loudly arguing with Kiba about something or other.
“Sakura-san?” A voice broke Sakura out of her contemplation as she found that Tenten had taken the previously vacant seat next to her.
“Yeah?” asked Sakura curiously. She didn’t interact that much with Tenten, it wasn’t that she disliked the girl, but, she just didn’t feel that it was that necessary.
“Can you tell me all you know about Naruto-san?” pleaded Tenten.
“Well, it’s pretty obvious that he’s boisterous, obnoxious, oblivious, and just plain annoying. But he always seems happy, no matter what the situation is. It’s as if he can always find that silver lining in the clouds and then magnify that by a thousand. But the best part is, he shares that silver lining with everyone, and won’t stop until single people he knows feel happy, as if some unbearable weight has been taken off of them. And then, there’s the other side to Naruto, the side that he hardly ever shows anyone. Even after being on the same team as him for five years, I have only seen that side of him once or twice. It’s the side that has to bear all of the weight that he takes off of us. That’s the Naruto who is beaten and abused and can’t stand living; it’s the side of him no one wants to see. It’s heartbreaking and makes you feel helpless, because no matter how hard you try, you can’t help him,” listed Sakura thoughtfully. “Yeah, that pretty much sums him up,” confirmed Sakura as she took another bite out of her food.
“Thanks Sakura-san,” whispered Tenten.
“May I ask why?” asked Sakura, but when she turned back to look the other girl in the eyes, she was gone.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Please read and review!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After her conversation with Sakura, she left the restaurant, no longer feeling hungry. Sakura’s last description kept running through her head;
“It’s the side that has to bear all of the weight that he takes off of us. That’s the Naruto who is beaten and abused and can’t stand living; it’s the side of him no one wants to see.”
‘Why, Naruto, why don’t you let us share your pain?’ mentally pleaded Tenten as she strolled along the village. ‘The clouds have changed; they’re looking lighthearted and carefree,’ thought the young woman as she entered her house. She quickly departed for her room, and the memory from earlier that day started to finish itself.
“Tenten-chan! Where did you go? It shouldn’t take that long just to find a ball!” demanded Umi as she followed Tenten into the alley. She quickly discovered the girl embracing a young boy, who she recognized immediately. “What are you doing?” insisted the girl, steely-voiced.
“He’s hurt,” whispered Tenten, her knees now soaked from kneeling in the dirty water and her skirt was now soaked through.
“He deserves to be hurt Tenten-chan. Now stop, hugging him, and come play with me,” dictated Umi.
“No, no one deserves to be hurt,” objected Tenten softly.
“Tenten-chan, if you even want to have even a chance of being my friend, you will step away from that monster and come play with me,” threatened the girl.
“I’m sorry,” Tenten whispered as she got up onto her feet and looked down with pity on the young boy, who refused to meet her eyes.
The two girls then walked out of the alley and forgot about their ball, and about the young boy crouched against the wall in the alley.
“I’m so sorry,” whispered Tenten as she hugged her knees and silently wept for the boy she could not help.