Open to Interpretation, a naruto fanfic

He never said anything. She tried to tell herself that he never heard her, but then realized nothing slipped passed the genius. Instead, he sometimes just laid there, cigarette in his mouth, puffing slowly.

Beneath those sheets, she huddled, waiting for him to say something, to reprimand her. But he said nothing. It was almost worst that way.

Maybe he didn't mind? She could not bring herself to believe those false words.

"Ino," he finally said one night, and the tension shattered away until she was scarred and dying. "Don't do that." And his voice ached and craved, went up and down, had sadness and boredom and pain all mingled into one. "It's troublesome."

But she cried it the next time, as well, in the theos of passion. "Sasuke," she moaned, biting into Shikamaru's neck. "Sasuke . . . "

After the tenth night, she found the courage to ask. "Why do you come back?"

His eyes seem empty, his shoulders too slouched, his heart too heavy. "I don't know," he told her, "where else to go."

"Naruto likes ramen." Sasuke stares at his ramen, troubled lines etched on his forehead. "He does."

"Aa." Kakashi did not look up from sipping his own ramen.

"Sakura likes flowers." Now he seemed insistent, like a child tugging on a sleeve. He turned his face upward. "You should get flowers."

Kakashi put his hand on Sasuke's head. And he continued to eat ramen, as if to drown his sorrow.

After a while, Sasuke began to eat.

"Hey, crybaby. What's up?" She crossed her legs and leaned on her fan.

"Asuma died." Shikamaru puffed on his cigarette insistently.

"Oh." She thought for a moment. "Well, death happens," she offered.

"Yeah. I want a baby."

". . . Say wha?"

Hinata wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to be so very angry, but the tears streamed down her face relentlessly.

"I'm sorry." Neji bowed his head. "I did not mean to intrude."

She put down her flowers, scraping away the moss-covered tombstone. "It's fine."

He turned away, shoulders bent. She stared down at the tombstone, bearing her father's name, and touched the cold stone. It did not please her.

And he walked away, in the rain.

"W-wait." She stretched out her hand. "Would you like to c-come back with me? To the mansion?"

"Do I have your permission?" She was the heir, after all. Take a deep breath.

"Y-yes . . . "

And he turned around.

"I hope that isn't alive." Sakura peeked into the box, her face growing paler.

"I will never give my dear Sakura anything that would disgust her!" Rock Lee cried out, grinning madly. "Look closer!"

"Well." She glanced around at the other party guests, "Well, all right." And she poked her hand in there (Sakura the Brave) and pulled out . . . a stuffed toy squirrel, looking all the much cuter.

"Aw! Oh, thank you, Lee," Sakura cried, and hugged the squirrel to herself. "Look, Naruto, isn't it cute?"

While Naruto desperately tried to find another word for cute, Rock Lee smiled, with just the last sense of bitterness.

"I can't, Chouji." Ino stared at the bowl of chili with a dubious look on her face. "I'm on a diet, remember?"

"A diet? Again?" Chouji promptly began to stuff himself. "You doan needsht to go on a dietsh, Insho."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," she scolded, but then sat back on her heels, reflecting. And staring.

"What's wrong?" he asked, wiping his mouth.

"I wish I didn't have to go on a diet," Ino said, staring at him with some emotion in her eyes. "I wish . . . I wish I was more like you, Chouji."

And he blinked. "Then why aren't you?"

She laughed and kissed him.

"INOSH! I'M EATING!"

Kiba can't stand it. He rocks back and forth, twitching, gets up, hides under his bed, sleeps, gets up, walk around, stare out the window. Hinata and Shino are worried, he knows, because he is always in motion, always moving.

"Did someone pull out my heart?" he asked Hinata during training. She stared at him with her vacant eyes until he realized he was only seeing the reflection of his own eyes.

So he sat there, head curled in his arms, breathing shallowly, when Shino walked over. He doesn't understand why—the Bug Boy still had his bugs, after all—until he saw Shino pull out his kunai.

"Only because we're teammates," Shino said coldly, but Kiba knows better, Kiba knows Shino doesn't want to do this and Hinata will be crying, but Kiba is in pain.

It is better to put down a dying dog in pain than let it die on its own, after all.

Sakura forgave. She forgave Sasuke for turning to the dark side; she forgave Sasuke for leaving her alone in heartbreak and heartache; she forgave Sasuke for forsaking her in return for his brother.

But there are some things she could never forgive.

"I thought you'd like it," Sasuke informed her.

Her eye twitched. "Sasuke," she said. And then stopped. And tried again. "Sasuke. Those are—those are black drapes. Black. And blue."

"Yes," he said simply. "I like those colors."

Sakura sometimes never, ever forgave.

"Those cards are slobbery," Ino had said. "I'm not picking one of those."

"No, thank you." Ten-Ten said, counting her kunais. "I must train."

"I'm sorry, Kiba," Sakura had curtsied apologetically, "But I have to meet Sasuke-kun somewhere."

Finally, at the end of the day, Hinata ventured out to where Kiba sat, with the cards spread out in a game of solitaire. She was silent. And then.

"I-I'll pick a card, Kiba . . . " she whispered.

Suddenly he blushed. "Don't," he warned. "The cards are slobbery."

"I-I don't mind . . . I-I don't have anything else to do, anyway . . . "

"When Sasuke comes back," Naruto insists. "When, not if."

Kakashi finds it hard to retaliate something like that.

Ten-Ten and Neji agree to the plan. And though it was risky, and Ten-Ten had a nasty cut across her hand, the plan was successful.

The next day, Rock Lee came to training wearing normal clothes, tears streaming down his face.

And Neji and Ten-Ten smiled.

"Why? Why?" Sakura sobbed, trying to stop the blood, but there was simply too much too fast. What good were all her ninja skills now? She pushed, she pushed, the blood flowed. "You shouldn't have—you—"

"We all fight . . . for our dreams . . . " Sasuke smiled, realizing that this was true happiness, lying on the floor and dying. "Right . . . Naruto . . . ?"

Naruto tried to say something, but he could not. "I won't forgive you," he choked, but in the end, he simply hugged his teammate one last time.

Sasuke looked away, face slightly green. "Please stop that."

Kakashi raised his hand, his sleepy eye peering at the disturbing sight. "I second that."

Sakura had buried her head completely into her arms, but she raised one hand as well. "Thirded."

"But I'm bringing sexy back," Naruto said stubbornly.

"You're bringing my lunch back . . . "

"Quick!" Kiba skidded to a halt in front of Naruto, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Have you seen three zebras come around here, about this big—one of them has a red shirt on his forehead and the other one has a pig balloon?"

"N-No?"

Kiba dashed off again.

Sakura gave Rock Lee a flower, because she thought it make him happy.

Rock Lee gave Sakura his heart, because she had given him a flower.

The Third Hokage sighed, and rubbed his forehead. "Chouji," he began, "You broke a little boy's arm because he called you . . . fat?"

"I'm big-boned," Chouji said meekly. "And I-I don't remember doing it."

"It was a fit of anger," Shikamaru supplied. "It wasn't his fault. You know, if you think about it, the guy practically tripped and fell on his own . . . "

The Third raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, look at my friend, here. He can't do any harm," Shikamaru continued, and true, Chouji did make the very image of shyness and meekness. Chouji squirmed in his seat, flushing under the pressure.

"Well, alright. But what about the other little boy—the one in emergency treatment right now?"

"He called Shikamaru stupid!" Chouji cried, vaulting upwards and brandishing a pencil, shyness and meekness be damned. "Nobody calls Shikamaru stupid and gets away with it!"

"Really, that guy practically ran into the tree a few times on his own," Shikamaru volunteered.

The Third rubbed his forehead.

Hinata was making a snowman when Gaara stomped up to her, his eyes flaring, almost evil. She trembled, waiting for his words.

"You like snow."

"Y-y-yes?"

Gaara pulled out a snowball, his face twisting into a frown. "It is not like sand."

"N-n-no-no." Hinata continued to tremble.

Gaara frowned, and stalked away.

Gaara saw a little teddy bear on the street, and stopped. And frowned.

"If you want it, you should get it," Kunkurou said, scratching his head. "But, really, you're Kazekage . . . maybe you shouldn't be playing with dolls anymore."

". . . Yes." Gaara turned away. His semi-brother started at Gaara's depressed look.

"But then again," Kunkurou said loudly, "I'm carrying around puppets . . . "

And almost magically, the sand gently lifted the teddy bear and brought it to Gaara.

"Wow, you can cook, you can clean, you're so mature," Hinata said, clapping her hands. Her eyes were shining.

Kiba hmphed. "Is there anything you can't do?" he asked mockingly, clearly jealous.

"I am unable to sew." Shino paused, pushing up his sunglasses. "Well."

Rock Lee thought it was an excellent idea. "Gai-sensei will love it," he predicted.

Ten-Ten thought it was a dubious idea. "But it's so . . . green," she tried.

Neji thought it was absurd. ". . . " said he.

"No, Gaara," Temari said patiently, wiping the sand off her face.

"Shougi is a peaceful game," Kankurou corrected, examining his broken puppet with a dismayed expression.

"I do not understand," Gaara said. "What is the point of winning, then?"

"I'm on a diet," Ino said quickly.

"I'm not hungry," Shikamaru said, turning away.

"Are you sure? It is my speciality," Chouji said, wiggling his fingers, "Relish-on-ketchup-on-mayonnaise barbeque!"

Sasuke shoved food into his mouth desperately, like he had never tasted food before. It was unlike the Uchiha heir to be so childish, so like Naruto, but there he was. And then he even eyed Kakashi's portion, looking at his face and back down at his food with near desperation.

Kakashi pushed the plate towards him, simply because he had no more appetite—his heart had sank to where his stomach was supposed to be.

"What sort of owner am I?" Kiba watched his sister soothe Akamaru's wounds. "To let Akamaru get all hurt like that . . . I mean . . . I . . . "

"Dogs think, too," his sister said. She patted Akamaru on the head. "And I bet Akamaru's thinking, what sort a dog am I? To let my owner get all hurt like that."

"Wh-oh, this?" He looked down at his cast. "Bones mend."

"That they do. And so they shall."

Hinata had scrounged a loaf of bread from the guard. And she had shared it with her Chakra-drained friends, her hands trembling.

"Thirds," she managed, huddled on the watery dungeon floor.

Shino only took a mere bite, though they'd been starving for days. So did Hinata, but only because she was weak. Kiba, who had discovered that hunger was clawing through his body, was about to take a big bite before he remembered Akamaru.

So he split his third into halves, and fed the half to his dog. And then he put the other half in his pocket, in case his dog got hungry later.

"Father." Neji hesitated, putting down the flowers. The empty tombstone gave no response.

"Father," he repeated, "My cousin . . . " He smiled. "She has grown pretty cute."

And this time, he knew his father approved.

"I'm sorry." Neji studied the ground. "I should have done better."

"It's fine," Ten-Ten dismissed, waving a hand. "Besides, they left me with two fingers, didn't they?" And she held up her two-fingered hand with a wicked grin. "More than enough to pull out a kunai."

And suddenly he gripped her into a hug, so abruptly that she let out a small squeak.

What he would have given for a moment to stop the pain—to stop the constant pain, stabbing through his veins, ripping through his heart. He screamed in the darkness, but nobody could hear. Anything—he would have given his life—just stop the pain, stopthepainstopthepain.

"Tell us the location of Konoha," the voice boomed out.

"No," he choked, and spat what little saliva he had. "No, never."

And the pain began again and he would have given anything to stop the pain, stopthepainstopthepain.

"But how did you do it?" Shino glanced at Kiba, brow furrowed. "Your hands and legs were tied. There was no way."

Kiba would have laughed at Shino's jealousy in any other situation. "Never tell Hinata."

Shino nodded.

". . . I urinated on his face."

"Don't be silly, Ten-Ten!" Rock Lee proclaimed, raising his fist into the air. "There is no bigger happiness than carrying a large cardboard cut-out of a strawberry across the town!"

"Other than killing you," Neji said quietly.

Neji was not sure what to do with his spare time. So he wandered over to the hill, by Shikamaru, and sat down silently.

They both were silent, staring at the sky. Neji searched for the free birds. Shikamaru searched for the clouds. There was neither.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Shikamaru said finally, taking out his cigarette.

"I'm sorry for yours," Neji replied, accepting offered cigarette.

The destruction of Konoha was inevitable. It hadn't mattered much, anyway—Gaara had tipped them off, so Naruto had everybody already safely moved by the time the fire started. But still, they had to put on a convincing act of sadness and despair.

"So put away the marshmallows," he told Rock Lee disapprovingly.

"To eat you up!" Kiba growled mockingly, tackling Hinata to the ground. She giggled, without any fear at all.

Kurenai watched with a gaping mouth. "KIBA! GET OFF HINATA! NOW!" She was still screaming about how it was not proper to play sick sex games on the training grounds without protection when Shino came from the woods, holding an axe.

"Do I kill you yet?" Shino asked, turning to Kiba.

"Tsunade." Jiraiya poked around her books. She swatted his hand away.

"What?" she snapped, trying to shove him aside.

"I think I'm getting old," he said mournfully. "The girls don't seem to like me as much anymore." He lifted up her pig and sniffed it dubiously.

"Then go and die already!" She snatched her pig out of his hands.

"I-Is it a she or a he?" Shikamaru juggled the baby with an odd look on his face.

"Lift the blankets to find out," Kurenai said tiredly. She brushed back her hair.

"Ah—isn't that intrusion?" the lazy genius tried, a shocked look on his face.

"If you're going to be a surrogate father, then you have to know the sex of the baby," Kurenai said firmly. "And that's that."

"Maybe Tsunade-sama will just tell me . . . "

"Look. Now."

"I—It—I—ahhhhh."

Sakura was watching the television, knowing Sasuke would be at the kitchen table, sipping his tea. "This is a funny part, Sasuke-kun. Would you like to see it?" she called.

But when there was no answer, she wandered to the kitchen. The cabinet was open, as if somebody had been reaching for a cup. But nobody was there.

"Sasuke-kun . . . ?" she asked softly, before remembering he was never there.

Naruto gently pushed him back. "I'm not Sakura-chan," he said mournfully, like he wished he was.

Sasuke leaned back, looking so simple in his white pajamas and hitae-ki. A cloud of confusion passed over his face, scrunching his face like a child.

"Oh," he said. "Oh."

They were cornered, back to back. Ino felt the familiar shape of Sakura's back against her shoulder, and she knew they were in the exact same stance, watching the shadow ninjas crawling over the walls.

"We'll never get out of here alive," Ino said tiredly.

"Never expected to," Sakura said shortly, and Ino could see how much the small crying girl had grown when Sakura flashed a small smile. "Life's overrated, anyway."

Ino laughed.

Shino walked into the room.

"Of COURSE I would do Shino, who wouldn't?" Kiba growled. "Only some sort of idiot would pass him up! Sure, he's buggy, but come on—it's Shino we're talking about!"

Shino walked out of the room.

Iruka hated when Kakashi took the opportunity to grade his students' papers.

"What is this? All F's!" Iruka bemoaned, putting his head in his hands. "Why? Were their techniques not Jounin level? Was-was their lines not Chuunin-level? Did they not even make it clear enough for a Genin level?"

Kakashi wasn't sure if that was sarcasm, so he told the truth. "No. I just like writing F."

Naruto wasn't sure what to do with his test. The large F throbbed on its cover. He put it in his drawer, but he took it out again, because it burned a hole in his mind.

He wasn't good enough, he told himself, he would have to do better. But the test was so very glaring to his eyes.

It wasn't until years later, when Kiba was rooting through ancient papers, did the paper resurface. "Oi, I remember this test," Kiba said, glancing at it.

Naruto tried to snatch it away, but Kiba continued to speak. "Yeah, I completely flunked it too."

"So why me?" Shikamaru stubbed his cigarette in the ashtray.

Ino flushed. "Because. You're the only one who couldn't be the father."

It was so sad. And Shikamaru had a brief vision of Temari in mind—kids that were his—not having to work his butt off—

"Fine," he said.

"You don't have to make that face." Neji sat at the edge of the bed, his hair down. He glared angrily at the rain.

"B-but we have to do this," Hinata whispered. "To . . . to produce the heirs . . . "

"Yes." He glanced back, sharply. "But you don't have to make that face."

"I'm a bad person." Kakashi wearily looked at Sasuke, a defeated look painted on his face. "I'm a very bad, bad person."

"Sick." Sasuke stared up at the ceiling. "This is so sick."

"Do it again." That was Kakashi's sole demand. "We're doing it again."

Obito hated Kakashi. It was always Kakashi this, Kakashi that, look at Kakashi the child genius, the Chuunin, the Jounin, so young! Obito wanted to smack him around, yell at him, beat him up some.

But he found it hard to yell at Kakashi when he saw his teammate sleeping so peacefully.

"T-that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Tsunade exploded, pushing her palms into the desk. "So you snuck out of the enemy base, went around the west side, where thousands of traps were and at least a hundred ninjas, crossed over fifty miles, just to bring his body back?" Her eyes were tearing. "His dead body?"

"You're right," Ino said softly, glancing at Chouji. But the big-boned boy only put Shikamaru down, and the genius looked so peaceful as if he was sleeping.

"We should have gone to the east side."

A swing. A flower. A desolate fan.

A boar. A deer. A butterfly.

A dog. An ointment. Several bugs.

A bird. A belief. Layers of weapons.

A village. A leaf. Friendship and hope.

Kakashi found him sitting on the floor, the entire calendar ripped out and scattered like a thin layer of dust. Somebody had performed Chidori on the calendar, but apparently not the walls.

Like the true prison had been the small sheath of paper.

"I don't know what day it is," Sasuke said, staring at the scattered papers with empty eyes.

"Neither do I," Kakashi said tiredly, picking up the dates, one by one.

"It's really stupid," Ten-Ten confided in Sakura. "Everybody just throws the kunai, this way and that. And that's all good and fine, but how about when the guy's dead? You can even ask the clean-up crew to give them back to you, if the fight was on home turf."

"And so that's how you're running a black-market weapon deal," Sakura said wisely.

"Bet your bottom dollar on it." Ten-Ten grinned sweetly.

"Oh . . . Oh yeah, right there . . . oh, that feels—ohhhhhh."

Naruto was fairly skeptical, but he continued to scratch Kiba behind the ear and watched Kiba's leg start thumping the ground.

"Well." Sakura studied the wound on Naruto's forearm. "What was it this time?"

"I didn't file in the report," Naruto said gloomily. He glanced down at his bleeding wound. "Granny Tsunade got sorta mad . . . "

"I suppose," Sakura quipped philosophically, "Sometimes the pen is mightier than the sword." She pinched the wound. "Or flesh, at least."

Ino disliked going to the hospital because it revolted her to see Shikamaru's heart beat against his paper-thin skin.

But even more so, she was frightened if it stopped.

Sometimes, they talked, their breaths raspy and throat thin.

"If I die," Kiba managed, chuckling thinly, "You can have my dog."

"You can have all my jumpsuits," Rock Lee swore.

"All of my food," Chouji said solemnly.

Naruto only laughed bitterly, chains rattling. "You can't have none of my stuff," he whispered, "They're all mine."

Kakashi sometimes had dreams where he was dead.

The dreams where he was dying—those were nightmares.

But the ones where he was already dead—peaceful dreams.

"Oi, Hinata! Why are you over there?" Naruto asked, stopping in mid-training, panting heavily.

Hinata blushed, shocked that Naruto was able to sense her.

"I was j-just passing by," she squeaked, pushing her fingers together.

"Oh." Naruto's brow furrowed. "Okay."

Neji spun around, kicking the ninja away. Finally, the ambush was over. He was panting heavily, but he quickly looked to see if his teammates were well.

Ten-Ten stared at him, her mouth formed in a small 'o.' "Neji . . . "

He looked down. "Oh," he said, and then crumpled to the ground.

"But-but you have to help him," Sakura sobbed. "He carried me all the way back to the village. You have to help him." She stared at Rock Lee's peaceful face.

"Sakura," Tsunade said gently, touching the small of her back. "He was already dead three hours ago."

"No—he was—he was carrying me—he wasn't dead—he's not dead . . . "

"A sick sense of power." Rock Lee stared at his hands, covered in blood. "Gai-sensei. Am I bad to feel this?"

Gai only put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Chouji imagined a life where he ate as much as he wanted, and his best friend, Shikamaru, would be by his side, watching him eat. And then he, Chouji, would probably go and throw up because he had eaten too quickly. And then Ino would rush to him and cry out, 'let me dote on you, Chouji!' in her sweet voice, and Shikamaru would be watching, with a half-smile on his face. And there was Asuma, crying to the owner, rummaging through his empty wallet so sorrowfully.

"That's how it was supposed to be," he told their graves to no avail.

"Is everything all right in here, Hinata?" Her father stood broad and tall at her doorway. She peered up from her scrolls.

"Yes, father."

He gave another survey, and then left the room with a slam of the door. She then hastily danced to the window, opened it, and peered into the trees. "I'm sorry for throwing you out the window, Naruto-kun . . ."

Tsunade knew it was ill of her, but she wished the ninjas would just die. Because she hated to write 'MIA' on the papers, hated to see the look on their face.

"Y-you mean he died?" Sakura asked unsurely.

"No."

"D-did he go to another village? Or . . . ?"

"No."

"Ah." Sakura was wise, and caught on quickly. "You mean he disappeared." And she smiled, such a painful smile.

"A-a cow!" Kiba stared with fascination at Hinata's jagged movements. "No! No, round, um . . .a pizza! No? A circle? A-a hubcap?"

Akamaru barked, but he shoved him aside. "Uh, a satellite? No, a round thing . . . on top of udders. No? Not udders? Uh, sticks! Twigs! AHHH! Just tell me already!" he demanded.

"A stool." Shino was very quiet. "It was a stool."

Kiba's eye twitched. "You were on my team! Why didn't you tell me in the first place?!"

"It was." Shino reflected on his words. "Amusing."

Sasuke spent the rest of the day kicking Naruto in the face, and forcing the blond-haired ninja to take down all the posters saying 'If you see Sasuke, Hug Him.'

"This is a travesty." Neji was very solemn. "We must burn this information. Quickly."

"No, Neji. Let me grovel in this glory," Ten-Ten said, "one last time."

"Gai-sensei, voted most cool?" Rock Lee's eyes were bulging. "That's . . . that's . . ."

"My Daddy is the Seventh Hokage," the little girl announced.

"My father is the strategic master of the ANBU," a little boy murmured.

"My Dad is the Hyuuga family leader!" a little ambiguous child chirped.

"My Dad is a slab of rock," little Uchiha Sanoka said quietly. "But I love him just the same."

"Good morning." Sasuke sat down at the table.

"There's nothing good about it." Kakashi pulled up his mask.

"Coming, coming," Kakashi called, smiling adoringly at his houseplant. And then he turned around to open the door, and saw Gai standing there, sobbing horribly.

"What's wrong?"

"Lee . . . Lee has . . . " Kakashi prepared for the worst. "Lee has found his FIRST TRUE LOVE!"

Kakashi slammed the door in Gai's face, and then went back to watering his houseplant.

Sakura picked the flowers peacefully, Sasuke watching on. "Here's a red one," she said, "Do you like it?"

"Aa." Sasuke sniffed it gingerly. "It's pretty enough."

She smiled adoringly, and turned around to see Shikamaru and Chouji standing there, their faces fixed in sorrow.

And her world shattered.

"I already claimed Boardwalk! You can't claim Boardwalk!" Naruto yelled loudly, slamming his fist on the board. His little hat fell to the rug.

"I can too!" Kiba yelled. "Besides, you can't even count the money!"

"Neither can you!"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his forehead. Shino sat there, solid, but seemingly amused.

"I know how you dogs claim trees, so don't say you claimed these—"

"Want me to claim these? Huh? Huh?!"

"No-oh, gross, Kiba, that was Sakura's board!"

Long story short.

They all died.

Long story long.

Naruto watched the buildings burn, and could not help but feel he was a mere leftover of what was once Konoha.

Short story short.

He cried.

Short story long.

And he couldn't tell right from wrong, left from right, all he knew was that all his friends were dead and he was the only one left alive.

Temari fanned herself gently. "Get your lazy ass out of here, Shikamaru."

"It's too troublesome." And he smirked at the television, the light glowing on his face. "Besides. You wouldn't even like it without me."

Temari swatted at him, secretly pleased, but scowling still.

"Remember when Naruto kissed you?" Sakura began, playing with his hair.

Sasuke scowled.

"Oh, you can't still be mad at him . . . "

"I can forgive, because it was an accident," Sasuke said. "But the tongue was over the line."

"Iruka, what did I tell you about bringing your work home?" Kakashi asked, leaning against the window.

The teacher scowled, while trying to juggle the suckling baby in one arm. "I couldn't help it; he was on the street, all alone—"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Kakashi waved a finger. "That's why I have plants. Less noisy."

"The Uchihas are attacking! The Uchihas are attacking!"

And suddenly, a stampede of raven-haired children were running down the street, tackling every child on sight.

Naruto sighed slightly, and turned to Hinata. "They're breeding like bunnies."

Shino had read the Bible once. His father had bought a large stack of foreign books, and it had been next to Great Expectations.

As he kneeled on the ground, he began to think. What was it? Be not afraid . . . be not afraid . . such foreign words.

The rain-nin smirked, and raised his kunai. Shino pressed his wrists against the rope, a last futile attempt.

Be not afraid.

"H-he'd be a whole lot easier to kill," Naruto snarled, trembling. "I-if his face—if he didn't—if he didn't look so much like Sasuke."

The wine went heavy down his throat. "I don't like it," he told Temari. "It's too bitter."

"Stop complaining." She poured him a full goblet.

Shikamaru made a face, but downed it.

"Today I caught a bird. It was a huge bird," Naruto said, gulping down his food frantically. "But I let it go, because it wouldn't be nice to keep birds locked up." Naruto pouted. "And Neji has something against caged birds—dunno why . . ."

Iruka laughed. "You sure are growing as a ninja," he said, leaning forward to sip some of his own ramen.

Naruto stopped for a moment, and looked down at his egg yolk. His former teacher glanced at him curiously. "Something wrong, Naruto?"

"Iruka-sensei . . . " He put down his chopsticks. "If-if I wasn't a ninja, would you still be proud of me?"

"But you are a nin-" Iruka saw the depressed look on the blond-haired student's face. And then he gradually smiled, and put one confirming hand on Naruto's hair.

"I would be proud of you anyway," he said softly.

Sasuke was bleeding on the ground. If he slightly turned his head, he could see all his blood soaking into the dirt. If he tried to lift his arm, sharp pain rammed into his head.

Kakashi sighed, scratching the back of his head. And then he pinched his fingers together and made a leering voice. "See this, Sasuke?"

The Uchiha heir tried to say something, but found himself bleeding too heavily.

"It's the world's smallest violin." Kakashi smiled honestly. "And this is how much it cares about you and Itachi."

He squished his fingers together.

Hinata was never expected to succeed.

She was a failure. Her clan looked down upon her. She looked down upon herself. Even her little sister was better than her at everything.

But then there was Naruto.

"Admittedly, at times, Orichimaru can be quite stupid at times." Kabuto straightened his glasses. "I have the secret of immortality, right in my pocket. And he insists on changing so many bodies, quid pro."

"The . . . secret . . . ?" The shivering ninja stared blankly at the madman.

"Quite simple, actually." Kabuto smiled widely. "Don't. Die."

"You should slow down!" Ino said, her eyes wide. "It can't be healthy. Besides, be careful about your figure. If it goes too—er—"

"No." Chouji put down his chopsticks, and glared at Ino from across the table.

"Wh-what do you mean no?" Ino raised an eyebrow.

"I said no," he said firmly.

After he came out of the hospital, Ino invited him to eat barbeque with her again.

A kunai.

Cut scene.

Blood.

Cut scene.

Leaves stained with red.

Cut scene.

"Sakura," Kakashi said mournfully, as if he was seeing Rin all over again. "Sakura."

Cut scene.

Sakura gave a pitiful smile, and died.

End.

"Well . . ." Sasuke wasn't breathing correctly. Naruto tried to shush him, putting his hands on the wounds desperately.

"Well," Sasuke repeated, and smirked. "I'll . . . I'll do Kakashi one better. You . . . you—" He coughed, hacking up blood.

"Be quiet," Naruto begged, "Hold on, the medic-nins are coming, you'll be all right . . ."

"You . . . can have both my damned eyes."

Kakashi came to the river one day, the place where he was supposed to meet his students. As always, he was carrying a familiar little pink book.

And when he peered at the bridge, he could see his students huddled around a similar little pink book, their faces ghastly white, eyes bulging.

"Yo," he said, raising a hand.

The book flew into the bushes, and there was quick assembling.

"G-g-g-g-good morning, Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura squeaked, her face completely flamed in red.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-we weren't doing anything suspicious! Not at all! HAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed loudly, but his face was red as well.

Sasuke openly gaped at his teacher.

"I will do better," Rock Lee promised Sakura. "I will protect you."

"I'll do better than that." Sakura smiled. "I'll protect you."

Kakashi hated children and dogs.

He ended up having both.

"I like those." Gaara put one hand underneath the cherry blossoms. "What are these."

"Sakura," Sakura said.

"You are flowers?"

"No, I was named after flowers," she said sweetly.

Gaara scowled. "No. These were named after you." End of story.

"Kazekage."

"Hokage."

They sat down at the table, except Naruto fiddled with his hat and Gaara bore a solemn, dark look on his face.

"Haha, I guess I have to greet you politely or something," Naruto laughed, playing with his hat the same way he would play with his hitae-ka. "Should I bow or something? I mean, I'm not used to this—"

Gaara solemnly bent at the waist.

Rock Lee was quiet, for once.

His blood-soaked jumpsuit clung to his skin, showing his lean frame, which only accented his large eyes.

And he leaned against the tree, shivering, putting his hands on his forearms. And then he bowed his head, because he was in pain, pain of the heart.

Gai-sensei, he tried to say. Gai-sensei, you never taught me this.

"Lee! Lee, where's Neji and Ten-Ten? Lee? Lee!"

Rock Lee parted his lips, ever so slightly. "Gai . . . sensei . . . "

His head drooped, Rock Lee fumbled with a stone. Ah, Naruto was always winning over Sakura—he couldn't just let Naruto win, and yet . . .

He was so tired.

The pebble plopped into the lake.

Neji sat by him, not saying anything at first. And then he offered Rock Lee an apple.

"Thank you, Neji."

"You are nothing but a tool." That was from the breathy-ninja, the one with the scar across his right cheek. And he was smirking, that rain-nin, standing in front of the precious bridge.

Naruto scowled, but he still managed to crawl upwards. An ancient face—Haku—whispered through his mind. Nothing but a tool. Ninjas were naught but tools.

"I don't believe that."

"What'd you say, little boy?" The rain-nin continued to smirk as he tilted his head closer to Naruto.

"H-how can that be?" Naruto growled. "I'm a ninja—"

"Ninjas are nothing but tools." The rain-nin smirked. "Go ahead. Think about it. You only serve your village. You will protect your village. An educated man would say you have nothing more than a bad case of nationalism." His fingers waved in the air. "But I'm not educationed. I am a ninja, and I serve only the purpose of my village."

"Th-that can't be true . . . " Naruto trembled, keeping his head low.

"They'll dispose of you easily." The rain-nin leered. "They get annoyed if you go off on your own path. And if you die, they'll inscribe your name on a little statuette. That's all."

"No . . . "

Haku, Haku, Haku. Died for your master. Nothing but a tool. Were you nothing but a tool, Haku? Naruto stared at the ground, searching for some sort of answer.

"What is the point of your life? For your village?" The rain-nin laughed, long and hard, echoing throughout the shadowy trees. "What sort of life is that?"

A wicked wind blew through the forest, flattening the grass until it was pressed against the ground. The bridge quivered slightly, haphazardly.

And the clouds rolled over the sun.

Haku's life could not have been for nothing . . . could it . . . ? Even today, the face haunted Naruto. Today, today, today.

"I . . . " Naruto trembled, tears wetting his eyes. "I . . . "

The shadows remained so dark.

"I don't believe you." And Naruto looked up fiercely, teeth gritted, tears flowing from his eyes. "I don't believe you! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" He raised his pointer finger.

The rain-nin took a step back, eyes wide. "Wh-"

"Ninjas aren't tools! They aren't tools at all!" Naruto grinded his teeth together in between sentences. "We-we may not always be right. Or always make the right choices. And sometimes we have to live with-with regret. But we are people."

"People." The rain-nin's eyes grew dark.

"We have emotions! We have feelings! The way of a ninja is built on friendship, teamwork, and protecting the ones we love!" Naruto's eyes were watering badly. "We-we do what we can. We protect the village, because that's where our loved ones are."

"Don't be absurd," the rain-nin scoffed, but obviously during a losing battle.

"I promised to always take care of my friends!" Naruto swore loudly. "And I never take back my words!" He swallowed his throat rapidly. "AND THAT IS MY WAY OF A NINJA."

At the password, a rain of kunai suddenly fell near the rain-nin, and almost immediately there was Sasuke, pressing one kunai at the ninja's throat.

The ninja tried to slip away, tried to run, but there was Sakura, in her defensive position and eyes glowing bright green.

Naruto laughed, loud and clear.

And the sun came out.

They returned back to the village victorious, and the bridge was protected.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura was saying, "Come to the tea shop with me. You come too, Naruto . . . "

"I don't like sweets . . . " Sasuke said darkly.

"We just finished a job! Lighten up!" Naruto laughed, slapping him on the back. But then he stopped, at the village gates, and stared inside.

Ah, Hinata was there, looking shy and quiet but strong as always. Shino was solid by her side, bugs still crawling from his skin. And enthusiastic Kiba was chasing around his large dog, out of fun, or something of that sort.

Tough Rock Lee was talking to the freed Neji enthusiastically about something or other, and kind Ten-Ten was skeptical, nodding as always.

And there was rough Ino yelling at lazy Shikamaru, and forceful Chouji laughing as he ate barbeque.

Kakashi was sitting by a store, reading Icha Icha. Gai was making nice-guy poses around him. And Kurenai scolding Jiraiya, probably about research again. On the balcony, perhaps there was Tsunade, just searching the wind for answers. And above her would be the carvings of the all the previous Hokages, watching over their village, as always.

As always.

Naruto breathed in deep, the fresh air filling his lungs.

"Are you coming?" Sakura yelled, waving her hand. Sasuke smirked, and Naruto smiled, and then he laughed and ran into his village of the Leaf, Konoha.