CRAP I FORGOT TO ADD THIS! This chapter is currently UN-BETA'd because MT is super busy and i couldn't wait to post this...then i was going to post the "this is unbeta'd mesage and i did it at the other sight, and forgot upload it here! SHIT! Anyway...d(O-o)b Beta version coming soon!

A/N: June 14, 2005: Okay! I went through and checked to make sure I have dotted all "t's" and crossed all my "i's"…wait…that didn't come out right…shit. evil kackle ANYWAY! I think this chapter is ready to post so here I go…

In celebration of my long awaited 3 week summer break:

Okay, so this is not "Survival". Sorry. I didn't want the chapter to be too long, so here. Chapter 12 will most likely be "Survival", in case you were wondering. Also, I'm beginning to make a few changes that I should have done a long time ago…heh…didn't really think this story would last long enough for anyone to care, so anyway…they will be noted with stars at adultfanfiction, and with numbers at fanfiction. Okay, now that that's settled.

No warnings this time, except my own foul language…and I think some of Sasuke's. And there is always the question of whether or not it's OOC…but oh well…screw it.

WORD FUN:

"Uisuki" "Whiskey" I was surprised to find that translation/definition. Heh. Too bad I was a chapter too late…fuck…now I gotta fix it…sigh…Hmm…now I wonder what the Japanese word for "Vodka" is…and fuck me, it seems I've misplaced my dictionary…sigh…damned messy apartment!

"tori" "bird"

"-ko" a popular ending to a girl's name in Japanese.

"o-" When added to the beginning of a word, it expresses 'honor' or respect…or something like that…wishes she could ask her old sensei exactly how to put that As in: o-sake; o-genki desu ka?; or o-jii-san is that how it is actually spelled?. Anyway, if I use this from time to time, it will only be in the dialogue and it will most likely be meant to express the actual word 'Honorable' as in "Honorable old man/woman". Yes, I use it in this chapter.

Well then, since I am already disclaimed and everything is spoiled…

On with the story…

With Bells On: Ethereal Morning

Obito sat with his back resting against the cold, hard, stone; he'd fallen asleep without realizing that sleep had come to claim him. "Obito…hey…it's time to wake up." He was roused by a pair of gentle hands, and flinched at the realization that he was no longer alone. He snapped up and blinked his eyes, trying to adjust them to the brightness of the early morning sun. When he focused through the glare, he found the image of a man with startlingly blue eyes and sunshine colored hair, smiling down at him, "…What are you doing out of the hospital?"

"Sensei?" He yawned, and rubbed at his stinging eyes. "I snuck away…"

"Ah. I see. How long have you been out here?"

"I don't know…since some time last night…So are you going to yell at me for running away or something?"

"Heh! No. That isn't MY business. Really, hospital personnel are so fussy sometimes!"

"Then…what are you doing out here?"

"Just came to pay my respects, that's all…then I found YOU here." Suddenly feeling the weight of the world bear down on him, Obito looked away from his sensei's smiling eyes. He didn't want to talk about it; he didn't want to think about it; he just wanted it all to go away. He couldn't even look at his sensei without feeling disgusted with himself. As if sensing his discomfort, his sensei offered a change of subject. "Hey, so, you think I could get a 'light' off you?" Obito questioningly turned to his sensei to find him holding out a stick of incense, still smiling lightheartedly at him. He grudgingly let himself return the gesture. His sensei wasn't at all stupid or absent minded, he probably had about ten different items on him that could make his own fire, and if he didn't, he could have used his own jutsu. Obito silently thanked him for being so persistent about wanting to cheer him up.

"Sure, Sensei." He didn't even have to form a seal to blow a thin line of fire out to ignite his sensei's offering. Katon jutsu's were his family's 'original' specialty, after all. His sensei let the stick burn a bit to catch, blew it out, stoked it to make sure it would stay lit, and then carefully positioned it in the tray that rested on top of the memorial stone. After kneeling in front of his student, his eyes fluttered closed, and his lips uttered a noiseless prayer. Obito scooted out of the way and knelt down next to his sensei so he could pray in front of the stone as well.

A long silence passed between them.

Nervously, Obito glanced up at his sensei, who was still sitting with his eyes closed. His face was expressionless, as if in the middle of deep meditation. Obito just sat there watching him, studying his features. He found himself comparing the image before him now, to the memories he carried of him in his mind. He found that what he really remembered about his sensei was that he was almost always seen smiling. Well, when he was relaxed, and not focusing on something. When he was trying very hard to concentrate and think something through, his face fell into one of absolute calm. Obito always wondered what his sensei was thinking about at those times, but he never asked because he was afraid to disturb him. As he was watching, he noticed his sensei's lips curl into the tiniest hint of a smile. It made him the picture of one who had found absolute peace.

Obito felt suddenly compelled to question him. "Sensei…? Um…What are you thinking about?"

Bright eyes blinked open and glanced over to regard him. "Are you still here? You're so quiet today. I'd forgotten all about you." A teasing grin replaced the peaceful smile, and then faded to reveal an almost somber expression. "…I was just remembering him." He glanced back over at Obito, as if asking for permission to continue. Obito nodded. "You see, when I come here, I think of him and try to recall all of the ways he made my life better by just knowing him. It helps me be thankful for the time we got to spend…and it helps me not feel sad that he's gone. It hurts to miss him, you see, but when I remember him, it makes me feel happiness again. Do you understand?"

Obito nodded that he understood. "I guess I do…" but understanding did not replace his own feelings about the situation, as much as he wanted it to. He wanted to be able to remember Kakashi and feel happiness, but whenever he tried, he felt nothing but horrible pain. He wanted so badly to cry. But he couldn't, he wouldn't. He wanted to be strong…to show respect to his friend. He wouldn't cry.

"You know, it's okay to cry if you want. It's just me here, after all. I won't tell anyone."

"Uchiha don't cry for lost loved ones. We celebrate their passage into eternity. Kakashi wouldn't want me to cry anyway. He'd laugh at me and tell me I was being stupid."

"I see. …Still, if you want to talk about it with me…"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Obito bit his tongue, remembering the lectures he'd been given about controlling his weak mouth. "…I'm sorry. …It's just…everything that's happened…and now the Military Police…"

"Obito, don't worry about that. I spoke to Uchiha-sama, you won't be questioned further."

"It's not just that though. I don't…I don't even know what's happening to me right now…I don't know what's wrong with me…I don't know what to do. I just want…to be left alone, that's all."

"Alright then, but remember, I'm here if you need someone to talk to." With that, his sensei stood and started off towards the tree line. After a few steps, he turned and called back to his student. "Hey, I was thinking, since you're obviously feeling better, maybe you and I could do some 'one on one' training sometime. The Jounin selection exams are coming around again soon… I think you've got a good shot."

"I don't know…"

"Aw come on! It'll be fun! I promise. Besides, it's a little lonely now that Rin is taking instruction from a Medical Specialist. It's just you and me now! And I want to test your Copy Eye! You must be excited now that you can use it!"

Obito looked away, embarrassed. He wanted very badly to train exclusively with his sensei, but he wished it could have been under better circumstances. "Sensei…do you know anything about…the other thing? Uchiha-sama…he acted like he knew about it…but I've never even heard of such a thing…"

"I'm afraid I haven't. Haven't you tried asking Toriko-chan?"

"I tried talking to o-baa-chan about it before…she just said not to trouble myself with it…"

"Ah, I see…"

"She's been letting me stay above her shop… you know…she worries for me… I hate it. I'm not child anymore..."

"Obito sensei…?" A voice called from far away.

'Who?'

"Sensei? Are you all right?"

'What's all this? What's happening?' A strikingly horrible pain began throbbing in his temples.

"Did something happen to you, sensei?"

Obito grudgingly blinked open an eye to see who was calling to him, and to try to judge just 'what the heck' was going on. His head felt like he'd been hit with the most painful genjutsu possible, and he wasn't quite sure if that was the case or not. It really was quite awful. Where was he again? Upon seeing a pink haired girl in a red dress, sporting a concerned and mildly confused look, reality struck him and he knew the whole of his problem. "Uisuki…unnnghuh…"

"Egh?"

"Sakura…water…please…say you have some…"

"Water…? Oh! Yeah! I do!" She quickly reached into her duffle bag and brought out the bottle she'd packed with her gear. "Here you go sensei."

"I love you." Obito grabbed at the bottle, fumbled with cap, and made quick work of its contents. Sakura stood watching, open mouthed and confused. "Thank you…thank you…Sakura…you're a…goddess…"

"Obito sensei?" Sakura wasn't quite sure what to say. She wasn't expecting to find her new sensei disheveled and sprawled out on the pavement upon reaching their meeting place.

"What are you doing here? You're early." Obito sat up and rubbed his throbbing temples, trying to shake the off the spin of the hangover. He was not looking forward to today. He'd have to think of something, and fast.

"You told us to meet you here at dawn…I couldn't sleep…so I thought I'd come early and practice…um…have you been here all night?"

"No."

"…Oh."

"I was at the bar all night…until they kicked me out…then I came here…I hate this. Why did this have to happen?"

"…Sensei?"

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. Go ahead and practice. I'll watch."

"Um…okay…sure…that's cool…" 'This is so awkward…' Sakura wasn't quite sure how to act. It was going to be weird having to practice with her sensei staring at her like he was. "Um…sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was just wondering…why are you staring at me like that?"

"I'm watching you. You just said it was cool. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and do it. I'll watch. If I see something you could improve upon, I'll point it out."

"Oh! Okay! I guess…" Sakura dropped her gear and headed over to one of training stumps. She focused quietly for a moment, and then began hammering the stump with her fists; every once in a while, she'd throw in a kick for good measure.

"Heh! Not half bad Sakura! Now just try doing that while focusing your chakra to your fists as you hit it. Then you'll start getting some results."

Sakura paused, panting. She took in her sensei's words, trying to grasp the concept of what he was talking about. "Okay, then. I guess I could try it." She paused again to focus her chakra and then continued with her assault. The stump was taking quite a beating now.

"That's better, but you're just hitting it with your chakra now. That will tire you out too quickly. You need to release the chakra exactly when your fist comes into contact with the wood. Then you'll start to do some real damage."

'Release it as I hit it…Right, I think I could do that.' Sakura continued hitting the stump, except now she tried pushing her chakra out from her body as her fist made contact with it. She had to admit, this was producing better results than just trying to practice on her own…or with Ino. It was going to be cool to have an exclusive sensei from now on, especially one as 'yummy' as Obito Uchiha. 'I bet Ino is soooo jealous! Her sensei isn't NEAR as cute as Obito sensei!' Sakura felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

Sasuke was awake for a while but hadn't gotten around to opening his eyes. There was nothing there but blackness. It was nice…no unwanted visuals. It was very nice, a nice long sleep. He felt rested and relaxed. It was so very nice, just awesome. He was in a very good mood, thankful for his blissful rest, and no dreams, just the dark and himself. That was all he truly wanted. He shifted and snuggled his face into his pillow, and breathing a long thankful breath, he smiled. It felt so good to be relaxed. He never wanted to get up. He just wanted to lay there forever and let the soothing blanket of calm wrap around him and comfort him forever. Had a pillow ever been so soft? No. A blanket so warm? Never. Respite was beautiful, and it made everything else beautiful as well, while it lasted. Perhaps he would even be cheerful and pleasant, in thanks for this delightful gift of rest.

Wait a minute. Something wasn't right. 'What happened?' He opened his eyes reluctantly, looked around, and found he didn't know where he was. Startled, he shot upright to further examine his surroundings. He was in a dumpy little apartment… '…Naruto's apartment. Okay, so why am I at Naruto's apartment again?' The image of Obito blowing a bunch of dust in his face entered his mind, then nothing. Okay, now that THAT was settled…

Sasuke pushed off his covers and crawled out of the bed. By the looks of the sky, it was probably around 5 AM. It would be dawn soon. He crossed the room and stood above the sleeping figure on the couch, just staring, watching him sleep. 'This is becoming a bad habit.' Sasuke couldn't understand why he felt so compelled to look at Naruto. There was nothing particularly special about him, except for his whisker marks. He was as normal as any other guy. 'Damn it.' "Naruto. Hey. You should get up." He knelt down and reached his hand out to shake the sleeping boy. "Naruto. Hey. Come on. We have to meet with Obito sensei. Get up or I'll leave you here."

Naruto objected and moaned his disapproval. He was not accustomed to being awakened by anyone. His eyes blinked open and he looked up into blank, dark, pools.

"Come on dobe. Get up. We have to go."

Sasuke's hand was still clamped on his bare shoulder. It was warm, and a bit sweaty. Naruto jerked away and sat up, staring at his 'guest'. Sasuke looked…different…from what he was used to. He didn't look angry, or insane, or irritated, he just looked sleepy, and…what was the word? Calm? Naruto couldn't think of a proper word to describe it, but in the pale blue glow of the early morning, Sasuke had an ethereal quality, almost angelic. 'What the heck am I thinking about?' It was too early for such deep thinking.

"What? Stop staring at me…get up and get dressed." Sasuke stood up, folded his arms across his chest, and glared down at the disheveled blonde.

"Ugh…yeah…okay…" 'I wish he'd stop staring at me like that. …Creepy.'

"What are you waiting for?"

"Oh! Sorry…heh heh…"

"Got anything to eat?"

"Ramen."

"I'll pass."

"So picky…" Naruto stood and hurried across the room. The blanket that was wrapped around his waist got caught when he slammed the bathroom door behind him. He stood in his underwear, leaning against the back of the door. 'Great, now I have to go back out and get my clothes.' He quickly dunked his head under the sink and ran the freezing cold water over it, just like any other day. It was weird knowing that his breakfast wouldn't be waiting for him when he got done. He was currently trying not to think about the thing that was really waiting out there for him.

Sasuke simply stood, looking around at the cluttered room. There was a lot for the eye to take in. The walls had been scrawled with what looked like ancient symbols, in bright red paint, and it was dotted with random effigies that had been pinned to it by shuriken and kunai. Not really what he had been expecting. And the piles of clothes on the floor, Sasuke could just smell the reek of blood on them. 'Just when you think you've got someone pegged. Hn.'

Sasuke approached one of the little 'dolls' and examined it closer. He smiled when he realized what he was looking at. "Naruto," he called, not really loudly, but enough for Naruto to clearly hear him from inside the bathroom.

"What do you want? I'm trying to get ready in here!" The sound of the faucet stopped.

"What's up with this doll out here…by the closet?"

'Shit!' "What doll?"

"The one that says 'Sasuke' and has a kunai through its chest."

'Damn it!' "Oh! That one! Heh heh… Don't be mad…I only stabbed it a couple of times. Frustration, you know?" 'STUPID STUPID STUPID!'

"Can I have it?"

'Can he HAVE IT?' "Sure! Why not? I can just stab you now, if you piss me off…" 'Stupid! Idiot! Baka! What are you thinking about?'

"Thanks." Sasuke grabbed the kunai and dislodged it from the wall; the little doll came with it. He yanked its body from the blade and casually lifted his shirt to stuff its lower half into his pants pocket. Its raggedy head bobbed limply between its stumpy arms as he walked over to the couch and sat down to continue waiting for Naruto to get out of the bathroom.

Naruto didn't want to come out. He wanted his clothes to be in there with him. He did NOT want to stroll around in his underwear in front of 'Bastard-san' out there. He sure wasn't going to scramble for the blanket to cover himself as if he were some shy girl either. It was his place after all. 'I can walk around as scantily clad as I want to! Damn it!' He flung open the door and stepped out into the main room again.

Sasuke just sat there, watching him. The only thing that moved was his eyes as they followed Naruto on his path from the bathroom to the closet to dig up some clothes to put on. Sasuke noticed how efficiently the 'idiot' moved around when he was in a familiar place. He wasn't clumsy at all. He moved with a grace that Sasuke had only glimpsed before. It was as if he was an entirely different person than he let on when among other people. Sasuke was intrigued.

Naruto had to force himself not to turn and look at the ghost-like figure that he knew was watching his every move. He avoided his thoughts and dug around searching for something acceptable to wear for training, since Sasuke had bloodied his last orange jacket yesterday. He'd have to settle for the one Obito gave him. At least it had lots of pockets. That was a plus. It was a bit big, but would fit him okay, he guessed. If he removed the sleeves, that is. He tugged at the zipper that held the right sleeve on and freed it, then repeated the action with the left. Suddenly, he realized that he was still without proper clothing. He glanced up at Sasuke. Sure enough, that bastard was staring at him again. "What?"

"What?"

"Why are you DOING THAT?"

"What?"

"LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!" Naruto was, of course, talking about the faint red glow of chakra that was being emitted by Sasuke's Sharingan. It freaked him out. The dull blue light cast by the predawn sun wasn't helping to make Sasuke look any less creepy, and Naruto's keen eyesight didn't help either. The vision of Sasuke right then, was the stuff of nightmares. Motionless, and decked out in all black, Sasuke looked like some kind of creature waiting in the darkness of terrible dreams. He was strangely compelling to look at, yet horrifying at the same time. 'I'm supposed to be the big scary DEMON, and this guy freaks ME out?' "Look, it's really weird trying to get dressed with you sitting there staring at me like that. Could you like, look out the window or something?"

Sasuke blinked a couple of times and the light faded from his eyes. They were back to their usual, 'black as sin'. He didn't look away though, he persisted in his observation. "So what's up with your chakra?"

"What?" Naruto asked as he reached for the shirt he'd discarded a few hours ago while he was tossing and turning, trying to sleep. "I told you I can't talk about it."

"Yeah, but that was before I knew what you are. So, why don't you just tell me?"

"Why is it important to you? Why do you care?"

"I can see it."

"What?"

"Your chakra. My eyes can see it. I was checking it out before. No big deal."

"You can see my chakra?" Again becoming conscious of his half-nakedness, Naruto promptly pulled his tee shirt over his head. It wasn't exactly fresh and clean, but it would do for training.

"Yeah."

He didn't really know how to reply. "Well…what does it look like?"

"It's weird. I've looked at some other people using Sharingan, and they don't have chakra like yours."

"That doesn't answer my question." His orange pants had thankfully faired better than his jackets, and it was easy for him to find a pair of those to throw on.

"Peoples chakra patterns usually flow into the body from the outside, and yours does too, but your chakra is blue …and red chakra leaks out from the inside of that seal. How does that work?"

"It's demon chakra."

"The Nine Tailed Fox, right?"

"Yeah that's right."

"So, how's that happen?"

"How does what happen?"

"How do you have demon chakra living inside you and mixing with your chakra? How did that happen? I already know that Yondaime-sama sealed it and died, but that's it. Why?"

"Look, I don't know. I don't know anything about Sealing if that's what you want to know."

"That wasn't what I was asking, but since you said that…" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at Naruto and casually motioned to the spattering of paint on the wall behind him.

"Oh that." Naruto narrowed his eyes at his guest. "That's about all I know. Those are the instructions on how to perform Kage Bunshin. It's what I can remember from when I saw the Scroll of…" 'Ooops…I probably shouldn't talk about that…shit.'

"You saw the original spell for Kage Bunshin? And you could read it? Who taught you how to do that? They don't just teach Academy students how to read ancient script. Yet, you seem to be able to replicate it very well."

"Ugh…well…I don't know…I never really thought about it before… I just can, I guess."

"You're telling me that no one ever taught you how to do Kage Bunshin, or how to read ancient script…but you learned how to do Kage Bunshin by reading it…off the Scroll of Sealing! How the HELL did you ever get your hands on the forbidden scroll? They guard it constantly!"

'Damn it! Sasuke certainly is a persistent bastard.' "It wasn't so hard. Those guys just kind of …um…fell under my spell." He laughed at the memory of seducing and tying up the guards. "Heh heh heh…"

"What's that supposed to mean? What did you do to them?" Sasuke was thinking more along the lines of 'Demon' Naruto ripping them into many pieces, he wasn't prepared for the reply that he got.

"I used Orioke no Jutsu."

"…You turned into that woman? The one you used on Iruka sensei?" Sasuke was in shock at the thought of the things Naruto could have done to the guards, now that he knew that information.

"Haha! Yeah. But I don't have to just turn into HER though. I can pretty much take any form I want. The joys of using Henge no Jutsu to its fullest potential, I guess..." He smiled smugly at his persistent guest and chuckled to himself about the look on the boy's face now.

"I guess…"

"So can you see it?"

"See what?"

"The instructions on how to perform Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, it's right there!" Naruto turned and pointed to the scrawl that now graced the length of his wall. "Learn how to do it."

"How am I supposed to learn from that? I can't even read it."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow at his guest, "You know…that's my problem with you right there. You're spoiled."

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, you don't have to work for anything. It just comes naturally to you since you're just soooo perfect. All you do is run around and play with knives and act rude to people, and they all just LOVE you because you're Sasuke Uchiha…and YOU are too busy brooding over your screwed up existence to notice anything that doesn't concern anyone but yourself. That's my problem with you. So what's your problem with me?"

"First of all, fuck you, Dead Last. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

"Really? How's that?"

"Listen to me very closely; my brother murdered every single person in the entire world that I ever cared about… and he left me with the beautiful memory… of being horribly, mentally, raped. I'm very sorry if I don't give a shit about my behavior for the past couple of years… but, you see, I really wasn't feeling much except the striking need to kill him. Believe me, when I say that I'm trying to adjust. And I don't have problem with you! You're the one who keeps picking fights with me!"

"…I wasn't picking a fight! I was just trying to find out if you could actually learn something without having to copy it!"

"Yeah, that would be no problem, if I knew how to read ancient script, but I don't. That's why I was wondering how YOU learned how to read the ancient script that YOU copied from the forbidden scroll!"

'Damn it!' Sasuke had point. Naruto was getting tired of this conversation. "I don't know how I learned it! I just remember how!"

"Is that so? Well, since you already know how to do Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, then why don't you just show it to me, and I'll already know how you do it by the time you get done. Wouldn't that be easier?"

Naruto accepted his defeat. "I really do hate you, you know that?" He formed the seals for his technique and focused all his energy on making his clones. In a puff of smoke, eight clones stood about the small apartment, each identical to the original, 4 on either side. They moved around the room to peer at their guest from all angles. To Sasuke's surprise, all eight clones spoke out in unison with Naruto, "So do you understand how to do Kage Bunshin now?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He had seen the jutsu being performed, and now understood how to perform it, but the amount of chakra that Naruto mixed to compose each clone was incredible! He wasn't quite sure how he'd manage to pull off summoning THAT much chakra to perform it! He gazed at each clone and examined its composition with great interest. 'Naruto is…strong…very strong…' "Naruto…this jutsu…" Looking closely at the clone that was now perched on the opposite side of the couch, examining HIM, he realized he didn't have to ask how Naruto was able to perform it so easily. His eyes wandered down to the clone's midsection. Without any warning, he reached out and lifted its shirt to confirm his suspicion for himself. He was right. Naruto had apparently divided all of his chakra into making each of the eight clones, including the 'demon' chakra. Each clone, he guessed from examining the one, had red chakra bleeding out from the seal on his belly.

"Hey! Get your hands off my clone!" Naruto rushed over and pulled his clone off the couch then stood it up to face him. The clone laughed, scratching its head. Naruto gave it funny look and turned back towards Sasuke. "Look, see! They aren't like regular Bunshin! They're real bodies!" He tapped his hand lightly on the clones face in a mock slap. The clone grunted and pushed his hand away. "Heh! But they don't take damage so you have to be 'gentle' with them or they will disappear. I guess they are sort of like hollow shells or something. See, since they are the same as me, they think and act like I do…kind of like…an extension of myself…my own little army." He reached out and petted his clone on its head. The clone smiled and sighed as if embarrassed, then shoved the hand away again. Naruto returned the gesture by grabbing the clone by its throat. He squeezed, just a tiny bit and continued his explanation. "They are pretty sturdy, so they can fool people who touch them, but like I said before…" he squeezed harder, until his nails dug into the flesh. The clones face twisted in pain and it clutched at the choking arm. "But if you get to rough with one of them…" Then, when the pressure of Naruto's grip was too much for it to withstand, it popped, and faded away in puff of smoke. "You could, um, kill it." Naruto paused and chuckled to himself. "See? Now you try!"

Sasuke did as he was told, but was only able to summon 3 clones. Naruto, all eight of him, rolled his eyes and smirked, but Sasuke didn't see him. He was too busy examining his own Kage Bunshin. They freaked him out. He didn't like looking at them. In fact, if he'd had a kunai right then, he would have stabbed every one of them, but he was squeamish to touch them with his bare hands like Naruto had just done. Seeing his own appearance in them made him feel sick. His own face frightened him.

"I bet you feel a lot weaker now don't you?"

Naruto's question startled Sasuke, causing him to flinch. He turned from his clones to the questioner. Thinking about it, he realized that he was feeling a lot weaker, as far as his chakra was concerned. "Yeah. It's because my chakra has been quartered, right?"

"Heh! You really are smart after all! Yeah, the cool thing is, since the clones don't take damage, when they disappear, you get your chakra back. Well, except for the amount it took to cast the jutsu…but you get the idea."

"So that's why you were able to fight me all day…I wasn't even hurting you with my attacks."

"Heh. Nope. All I had to do was sit back and watch."

"How do I make them go away?"

"What, you don't want to kill them?"

"…" Sasuke was not amused by Naruto's joke.

"Whatever, just summon your chakra back into yourself."

Sasuke did as he was told and the clones vanished. He still felt weakened though. The amount of chakra needed to perform the jutsu was more than he expected it would be, even though he knew it was it was a high level spell.

Naruto noticed that the room had brightened considerably during their conversation. "Shit. We should get going." He released his clones and finished getting ready. Sasuke mulled about whatever he 'mulled about' while waiting for him. Upon heading for the door, a thought occurred to Naruto. "Hey, ugh, why don't you have shoes?"

"I wasn't wearing any when Obito sensei kidnapped me and brought me here. Oh well."

Naruto thought for a moment. "Why did Obito…"

"Don't ask. It doesn't matter."

"Fine. Okay. Whatever." He handed over his sandals to his guest. "Here."

Sasuke was taken off guard. "What?"

"I don't like wearing 'em anyway. They should fit."

"You want me…to wear these? Why?"

"Aren't we supposed to be a team now? We can share. Obito sensei is probably going to make us do some kind of training…and you don't even have any weapons. Anyway, I'm used to the forest floor on my feet. I just thought it would be better if you at least had the shoes. That's all. Come on. Let's get going." Naruto crossed the room and headed out the door.

"Right… Sure…" Sasuke graciously accepted the other boy's offer. However, he would have traded the shoes for one of Naruto's weapons any day, but oh well. At least he had shoes. That would have to be good enough. He slipped the sandals onto his feet and headed out the door after Naruto.

THE END! For now anyway…

Okay…this is what I get for trying to 'omit' Japanese words from a Japanese word using story:

Some of you may have taken notice that I've included the "affectionate title" 'Dobe' to my collection of words…this is because my beta, MT, slapped me and told me that I was being a stubborn bitch. (((not literally, but I have my own weird way of interpreting things…sue me.))) Of course, I agreed with her. Also, I have decided that I no longer care about the usage of Japanese words, and since I myself prefer them, I will also be using –san, -sama (yeah I know I already used these…I was trying to avoid having to use them…but at the time I felt it was necessary so I did it anyway), -kun, and OMG (I've been beating myself in the face for not using…) –chan. So there. Now I have to go back and change the whole friggin' thing to be consistent. That's okay, I was going to do it anyway. Thank you very much MultifacetedTune, for your assistance in my endeavor. You are the worlds finest! (((Chapter 1 came out smashing BTW! You did a great job! Fucking Smashing!)))

Damn it! Now I feel compelled to address my issue with that particular word. (((Dobe, I mean.))) I have only heard (in the show) Sasuke call Naruto "dobe" a couple of times at most. The major time being when he is assigned to team 7 in the third episode/third chapter of manga, and THAT was only because Iruka said that Naruto was "dobe", meaning that he scored the lowest and was in fact "dead last" in the class. I decided to use the term "Dead Last" because I liked the play on the words…what can I say, I'm weird. In any case, in the scanlated versions of the manga (not Viz) I can't recall a time when I actually saw the word 'dobe' used. Damn it now I have to go into "the archives" and look just to be sure… WooHOO! My memory is correct! (((OMG! THAT IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE CHAPTER OF ALL TIME! Squeals with joy ))) YAY! I'm so glad that I went back and read it again…ahem

Iruka sensei to Naruto: "Sasuke's grades were the highest of all twenty seven graduates… Naruto…You were dead last (((in the anime he screams DOBE!)))…We have to do this to balance the teams, do you understand?"

Sasuke to Naruto: "Bah. Just don't get in my way. Dead Last."

Naruto to Sasuke: "What did you just call me!"

Sakura to Naruto: "Give it a rest, Naruto!"

That little section of dialogue has been brought to you by whoever scanlated chapter 3 of the manga, and has been repeated to you, verbatim, by me, DeadUchiha. That was why I didn't use Dobe in the first place. But now, since everyone seems to like it so much, (((yes MT, I do think it's cuter than Dead Last.))) and this is the realm of fan fiction after all, I'm going to use it. And I'm going to go back and put it in when I go back and add all the other things I foolishly omitted. Like mother fucking "Sakura-CHAN!" What the fuck was I thinking when I did that? This was the only (Naruto) story I ever wrote that I DIDN'T use "Sakura-chan" in. I'm so ashamed…

Also, I don't think I am going to treat "Inner Sakura" as a separate entity. I think it would be better to just express her existence as Sakura's thoughts, since really, that's all she is.

Another silly note out of, seemingly, nowhere:

In the 'Toriyama World' translation of the Manga (the early chapters, when Jiraiya first teaches Naruto how to summon) It says that Naruto's Chakra is YELLOW, the Anime however, decided that Naruto's chakra was blue…I guess. I wish I had a raw scan of that chapter so I could see the actual word that Naruto uses to describe his "chakra colors". The yellow makes more sense to me, like yellow and red make orange?…but I'm just going to stick with his chakra being blue…hence the "weird indigo/violet tone" his eyes sometimes take in this story…(I sooo wanted to make his chakra be yellow pictures a orange eyed Naruto foaming at the mouth getting ready to kick the shit out of somebodyHANAJI! …I'm sure someone would have pointed out that it was supposed to be blue though…) Oh well, end fun fact.

My moment of bitching:

Damn it all to the fiery pits of the everlasting inferno! WHY? Why did the anime have to use the name "Arashi" for some dumb ass, lame, non-existing, add-in character! I was gunna use that name! Damn it! Now I don't wanna anymore! Fuck! Now what the heck am I supposed to do? It would be friggin' impossible to come up with another name as cool as that, and I can't just keep avoiding it either! CRIES! if anyone has a solution for my dilemma…I will gladly listen. FUCK!

NEXT TIME:

The gangs all here. It's time to learn about survival. What will Obito have to say about the subject? And what about that whole 'training with the bells' thing? Will Obito's hangover affect his ability to defend the bells? Will Sasuke get the "Inner Decapitation Technique" used on him? Will Sakura flip out and be useless? Will Naruto get tied to the stump? And wasn't Obito supposed to introduce the kids to someone? OMG! What's gunna happen? crickets

P.S. Reviewers: Thank you all for your gracious time spent reviewing! I love hearing from people! And thanks for being so patient with me. I needed to resolve some issues…heh.