A\N: First multi-chapter Naruto fic! So, I know it looks like a crackfic at first, but it's not going to be crack. Friendship, family, humor, and angst. That's what I would put it under. I hope y'all enjoy!

The first time it happened, Sasuke disregarded it as lack of sleep. The second time it happened, he waved it off as too much stress. The third time it happened, he stopped and stared.

The third time the plant spoke to him, that is.

The fourth time, though, was the worst. It was the mistake. It was the time he actually replied. At first, he had kept the conversations very short and simple. He didn't really want to admit that the plant was talking to him, even if it was a very polite plant. But over time, he started to talk to it more and more. Soon, he couldn't make it through a day without hearing the gentle whispers from the greenery in his room.

And today was no different.

"Sasuke, you're looking very powerful this evening." The petals always whispered. They never yelled or spoke in a deadly tone—just whispers.

Sasuke smiled lightly, a blush coloring his cheeks. "R-really? Thanks!"

"Anytime, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced around the room, pressing a finger to his lips. "Planty, you have to be quiet. I don't want Orochimaru to hear you. He already thinks I'm crazy."

"Oh, Sasuke, you're not crazy. You're just enlightened."

Sasuke wiped his eyes, laying down on his bed and looking at his desk where the potted plant proudly stood. "Do you really think so?"

The plant swayed its reply. "Yes, of course. Now, Sasuke, you were going to tell me more about your childhood!"

The raven nodded his head. "Right, right! I… I was going to tell you about Father, right?"

"That's right," the greens whispered.

"W-well… well, he was really hard on me… I always… I was always trying to impress him, but all he ever wanted was for me to be like Itachi…" Sasuke shook his head. "No, he wanted me to be Itachi! That's what he wanted! And I was never good enough… Never!"

The plant swayed soothingly, shaking his petals in sadness. "No, Sasuke… it's not true…"

"But it is!" Sasuke slammed his hands onto the surface of the desk. "I was never good enough for the teachers, either! The only one I was good enough for was the fangirls! S-stupid… stupid fangirls…"

Sasuke jumped when he heard a click behind him. He turned slowly, blinking at the darkness. "Planty… did you hear that?"

"Sasuke… I think it was the lock… did someone hear us?"

The missing-nin paled, swallowing hard as he took a few hesitant steps towards the door. He inclined his ear towards the hallway, listening to the conversation.

"Orochimaru-sama, he's getting worse."

"I can see that, Kabuto."

W-worse? What do they mean worse? Am I sick?

"If this keeps up, his body will lose its potential."

There was a brief pause, and then Sasuke heard the Sannin chuckle darkly. "I know. If he doesn't work out, I can always find another one…"

What…? What does he mean?

The raven whirled around and ran to the desk, kneeling down in front of the plant and whispering frantically. "Planty, what do I do? If I get sick, Orochimaru will get rid of me!"

"Calm down, Sasuke," the plant soothed. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Do you know what could have made you sick?"

Sasuke pressed a hand to his forehead, surprised by how much he was sweating. It was so cold in here… why was he sweating? Never mind! He had to think about this sickness!

"Um… could it be the food? It doesn't really sit well with me… or the excessive training?"

The plant nodded and swayed in the non-existent wind. "Perhaps, perhaps… maybe you should stay away from those things for a while?"

Sasuke's head bobbed up and down eagerly. "Yes! Yes, I'll do that! Then Orochimaru won't get rid of me, and I can get more power!"

The plant let out an airy giggle. "And then your brother is really in for it."

Sasuke laughed with it. "Y-yeah! He's gonna get it alright… always being better than me… Mom and Dad's favorite… with his stupid eyes… stupid Mangekyou…"

"Shh, Sasuke… it's alright. Don't think about that now. Just focus on getting rid of this sickness."

"Right, right! I will!"

Sasuke really did his best to get rid of the sickness he had. He didn't eat for at least a week, and he didn't pester Orochimaru about training. When the Sannin offered, he went along with it, but other than that he let the subject drop. He didn't feel much better, though, and when he discussed it with Planty, they both decided he should do even less the next week. So once again, Sasuke didn't eat, only this time, when Orochimaru offered to train him, Sasuke turned him down. At the end of those two weeks, Kabuto and Orochimaru were still giving him strange looks and whispering to each other, so Sasuke went a third week. That third week was a very big mistake. By the end of it, Sasuke was confined to his bed, unable to move and more deranged than ever. He spoke openly with Planty, not caring who was around to hear or see him. His body was too depleted for the snake man to use, and it was then that Orochimaru decided Sasuke had to be disposed of.

Sasuke threw his head back and screamed. "Planty! Make them stop! It hurts!"

"Sasuke-kun, if you keep struggling it will hurt more," Kabuto muttered, trying to find a vein in the boy's pale, scrawny arms. "Sasuke-kun, this is for your own good."

Orochimaru sighed from where he had the boy pinned to the bed, shaking his head in disappointment. "He really isn't worth this much effort."

"I know that, but I need a new corpse his age. I used the other one this morning, and you know I hate missing one."

Sasuke thrashed around on the bed, screaming at the top of his lungs. In fact, he was screaming so loud, he almost missed Planty's whisper.

"Sasuke! Use Chidori!"

The raven gasped in revelation and then nodded his head, forming a ball of lightning in each hand. Both ninjas reached for his arms in an attempt to grab them, but he swiftly slammed his palms into their chests.

"Chidori!"

Kabuto and Orochimaru flew backwards, hitting the walls and sliding down. Planty cheered for him—airily, like a whisper, of course—and Sasuke smiled widely at the plant, gathering it up in his arms and hugging it tightly.

"Let's get out of here!" Sasuke jumped up, running out of the room and down the hall as fast as he could. He wasn't entirely sure where he was running, but he knew he wasn't going to stay here.

Don't worry, Planty… I'll find us someplace safe to stay.

He heard voices in the distance, but he didn't really care about them. The only voice he wanted to hear was Planty's. Still, they were saying some rather odd things.

"Just let him go. He's not useful anymore."

"Why did he Chidori the air?"

"Hallucinations, I suppose."

"Hmm… I wonder who he thought he saw, Orochimaru-sama."

"Who knows, Kabuto?"

Silly voices. Orochimaru and Kabuto were dead.

"Hurry up, Sasuke! I want to see the sun."

Sasuke giggled to himself. "I'm hurrying, Planty! I'm hurrying!"

The two laughed their way down the hall, not really thinking about anything but each other.

Sasuke ran. He ran and ran and ran, but he had a hard time finding a place he liked. They were all very quaint, sure, but none of them really felt like home. There had to be a place… a special place… that was the only place he would stay, especially with Planty. Planty had helped him so much… Planty deserved the best!

"Sasuke, why don't you tell me more about your life while we walk?"

Sasuke blushed. "You're always so concerned about me… thank you."

"Of course, Sasuke," Planty whispered, leaves running soothingly over Sasuke's cheek. "Now, why don't you tell me… about your mother?"

"Mother…?" The Uchiha looked towards the sky, a blissful smile on his face. "She was beautiful. She was really the only one who was nice to me, you know. She would tend to my wounds, even when they were small and insignificant. Mom always smiled when she spoke to me. She smiled because nobody else would, you see."

"Oh… your mother sounds very nice. I would have loved to meet her."

Sasuke laughed, hugging the pot. "She would have loved you, too! She would have watered you every day and given you special plant food."

"Sasuke," the plant scolded, still whispering. "You know I don't like to be referred to as a plant. I am your friend, nothing more, nothing less."

Sasuke flushed, lowering his eyes in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Planty… she would feed you special Sasuke's Friend food!"

"Would she really?"

"Of course she w—" Sasuke let out a shout as he ran into someone, falling to the ground with a muffled yelp.

"What the…?"

Sasuke shook his head, staring up at the man he had run into with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, sir! I was talking to Planty, and I didn't see you."

The extremely tall and bluish man just blinked at him, and Sasuke got to his feet, dusting himself off. After checking to see if Planty was okay, he looked at the stranger in the black and red cloak, smiling.

"Excuse me, sir, but do you know if there are any very special places around here? I need a place to settle down with my friend." Sasuke proudly held up his plant to the befuddled man.

"Uh… Konoha is a couple miles that way." The man pointed over his shoulder, and Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Really? Thank you, Mr. Fishman!" He hugged the giant around the waist and took off running towards this 'Konoha' place the man had talked about. "Did you hear him, Planty? A very special place called Konoha where you and I can live!"

"I don't know… what if they don't let us stay? Or what if they don't understand your enlightenment?"

The black-haired boy just smiled. "I'm sure they'll understand! Don't worry so much, Planty!"

The plant said nothing for a few moments, and then it sighed, laughing quietly. "Alright, Sasuke. To Konoha!"

A\N: Please review and tell me what you think!

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