Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Tale of Two Blankets ❯ Foodness, Lewdness, and Jollybars ( Chapter 2 )

 

 

 

FormerAurora: Hi, everybody! Guess who's back?

 

AlterAurora: Santa Claus!? *looks eagerly around*

 

Former Aurora: *sweatdrops* no, but close! It's me again with the brand new chapter of "Tale of Two Blankets!" I was convinced by the wonderful support my reviewers gave me to continue! I would like to apologize to those on fanfiction.net who are reading this. Fanfiction.net COMPLETELY screwed my spacing, and I thank you all for your patience. Review responses here...

 

Kuubi Sharingan:

My first reviewer! YAAAAY! *glomps* A kindred spirit... *nods fiercely* Leafygirl IS talented. I've only read one of her fics, actually... *scuffs foot in dirt sheepishly.* But I plan on reading the others! I've been too busy to read much fanfiction recently.

 

lizardlea:

Thanks! ^^ I understand what you mean. I've read some stories where the relationship is rushed, Sakura has godlike powers, and everyone is OC. I tried not to do that because I know how hard it is to read something like that and not try to mutilate the computer screen with a blunt spoon, and I'm glad you think this fic isn't like that! *is very happy now* But what really made me happy, was that you considered my story honestly, and gave me the rating I deserved. I know my spelling kind of sucked in the last chapter, and I'm really glad that you were honest about it. I wasn't sure whether or not I had to use tags to change to italics, bold, etc. *hugs* thank you so much!

 

Fantasystar:

Thank you! I was afraid people would be bored with that part, so I kind of rushed it... ^_^;; Keep reading for the next episode!

 

Yume-chan29:

Yume… yume… *thinks a moment* Yume!!! OMG, I am a big fan of yours! I am so happy that you like this! *is jumping with joy* I just posted this on fanfiction! Thank-ee! ^o^

 

 

Alter: That's it for review responses, folks! *hands pocky to reviewers* stay tuned for the next chapter of… Tale of Two Blankets!

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

----------------Foodn ess, Lewdness, and Jollybars------------

 

 

 

Naruto was not happy.

 

 

Our character in question was sitting in a bush, shivering as he watched a cleverly disguised twist of rope on the forest floor ten feet away from him. It had taken him an hour and a half to get it so that to a passing rabbit it would smell like the forest, and look like a vine innocently sprawled on the forest floor.

 

 

Plus, it had his last JollyMan Ramen Crunch bar in the middle of the twisted rope.

 

 

What had he done to deserve this?!

 

 

…Other than goof off in class, not pay his bill Ichikraku, pretend to check Sakura's injuries while really feeling her up, smack Sasuke whenever he had the chance…

 

 

Oh right. Karma.

 

 

A rustling in the underbrush revealed a fat rabbit which slowly hopped towards the candybar, its brown nose and oversized ears quivering for any sign of danger. It took another shuffling hop forward, then paused again. The wind howled fiercely, blowing Naruto's scent away from the rabbit.

 

 

Kakashi-sensei could have come up with this in the summer when we could have gone fishing, but noo, he had to be inspired in November…

 

 

His belly ached at the thought of taking the carefully unwrapped morsel, and shoving it into his mouth for the jolly sensation of food briefly filling his stomach…

 

 

I wonder if Kakashi is eating lunch right now…

 

 

A moaning growl filled the air like a bear with a sinus infection.

 

 

The rabbit started, grabbed the candybar with its teeth, narrowly avoiding the rope that snapped around air, and hopped off, candybar in tow.

 

 

Naruto stood up quickly, his expression one of dark rage. He hurtled himself after the bunny, avoiding trees and roots seemingly intent upon his demise for chasing such an adorable little creature, throwing random kunais at it for daring to avoid his trap.

 

 

When the rabbit realized it was being chased, it ran faster, the Jollybar dragging behind it.

 

 

Naruto growled menacingly at the sight of the delicious candybar swaying side to side in front of him. The rabbit was hampered by the weight, and Naruto was gaining upon it. Faster he went, the wind whipping through his golden mess of hair, a determined scowl etched upon his face. He dove for it when he was three feet away, near enough to hear the patter of the bunny's breath---

 

 

---Only to fall short of it by a foot. He landed on the hard, unforgiving earth, a root poking him in his side as he sobbed into the ground like the widow of an exectuee. The rabbit paused, looking back at the forlorn sight.

 

 

To put it simply, he was not in a jolly mood.

 

 

If rabbits could grin, it did. It hopped away leisurely, before disappearing into the dry vegetation, delicious not-so nutritious Jollyman Ramen Crunchbar disappearing with it.

 

 

The cold was bone numbing, but Naruto didn't care. He whimpered into the dirt, not making an effort to get up and repair his appearance.

 

 

Stupid karma.

 

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

 

Neji had always believed in fate. It made it easier to put up with the world if something was preordained. It was supposed to happen, you wouldn't have been able to change it anyway, so sorry.

 

 

He had scoffed at the thought of people being equal. People were not equal. Some humans were born into a life of luxury and opportunity, some were not. It was the way of life. Which was why he was fated to feel warm and fuzzy whenever Sakura would lean her head against his shoulder.

 

 

It wasn't his fault at all. Nope. And how he would forget that she was a loser and he a prodigy, despite her sudden show of leadership skills?

 

 

Hormones. It had to be hormones. If it wasn't hormones, what would it be? It couldn't be the taboo word in the Huuga clan that rhymed with “dove.” Of course not. Love did not exist. Lust did, and was often mistaken for love. His father had married his mother out of duty and lust, just as he would marry a girl out of duty and (hopefully,) physical attraction.

 

 

So why did he feel elated when she smiled at him, depressed when she didn't?

 

 

Neji was sitting next to a weak fire crackling with half-hearted brightness. His hands were resting on his knees and his eyes were closed, to all appearances, he was deep in meditation. His long brown (1*) hair was bound neatly, and it hung to the middle of his back. He was the epitome of control. In reality, his mind was aswirl with chaotic thoughts. Neji took in another calming breath and let it out.

 

 

He was not some hormone-driven teenage male. He was not going to lose his pristine mental control over a petal haired female across the fire from him, grimacing at the rabbit meat she was cooking. He was definitely not in lo-

 

 

Neji mentally smashed his train of thought with a sledgehammer, and ran it over a couple of times with a truck for good measure.

 

 

Stupid traitorous thoughts about a certain rose haired girl… Neji opened his eyes slightly and squinted at her. Who was talking to Sasuke with a slight smile on her face, twirling the rabbit on a stick as she chatted with him…

 

 

Neji felt the sudden urge to kill, maim, stab Sasuke… Anything to get him to stop looking at her like that… Neji stood up suddenly, capturing the attention of Sakura. She smiled at him, and he felt his anger abate a little. Then he saw Sasuke glaring at him, and his anger returned in full force. He glared back, trademark silver eyes narrowed in a death glare. Sasuke merely returned his attention to Sakura and continued their conversation about…

 

 

Ramen? That's what had induced a smile from Sakura?

 

 

Neji felt a sudden urge to be a part of the conversation. They couldn't just ignore him like that…!

 

 

“Your rabbit is burning.”

 

 

Sakura blinked at Neji's voice. She glanced at him questioningly, before looking down at the recently skinned rabbit carcass. It was still red and bloody. It dripped into the fire making a hissing sound.

 

 

Sasuke smirked at Neji.

 

 

“I meant, it might burn if you hold it too close to the flame…” Neji tried uselessly to repair his broken reputation.

 

 

Was everything really fated to happen?

 

 

Sakura glanced down at the rabbit again. It was barely in the crackling flame, as she was afraid it would be burn on the outside, and raw on the inside.

 

 

Drip. Drip. Hiss.

 

 

The cold, November wind howled around them, wailing like a banshee. Sasuke snickered.

 

 

Oh yeah. Fate was laughing its ass off right about now.

 

 

Sakura was aware of her teammate's plight. Deciding to take pity on him, she smiled at his slightly uncomfortable form, and raised the rabbit a little higher above the dancing flames. After all, the leader inside her from yesterday was demanding that she keep the group together.

 

 

“Thanks.”

 

 

Neji smiled back, only a quirk of his lips, really. Sasuke's stomach growled. The rabbit's pathetic corpse burst into flames.

 

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

 

 

Naruto leapt from branch to branch, a leaden weight wobbling in his stomach. The cold air whipped past, turning his nose blue, and giving him a blessed temporary distraction from the doom that was making his knees feel like overcooked noodles. The scenery whizzed by him, dead branches and tree trunks melding together in a brown blur like the flavor powder you would put in a delicious bowl of ramen, turning ordinary water into delicious broth…

 

 

Smack!

 

 

Naruto felt a stinging pain in his forehead and nose as a maple tree got too close to his face for comfort. He cursed, and hopped from one foot to the other, clutching his forehead in a dance often associated with stubbed toes. He cursed himself for being distracted by his painfully empty stomach.

 

 

 

Whitz!

 

 

Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he narrowly dodged sticky goo being shot at him from above by rolling to the left. He tiredly lifted his head up to see an enormous centipede the size of a wagon crawling towards him, it's many legs clacking against the dead foliage above him. He groaned along with his empty stomach.

 

 

I could have been a nice carpenter, or a doctor, but nooo, I had to be a ninja…

 

 

Naruto ducked and swerved past the sickeningly green goo the centipede shot at him from its pincer'd mouth, hissing in annoyance as it missed. Naruto mentally groped for chakra as his hands began forming the correct hand seals for Doppleganger no Jutsu, before realizing that his body had not replentished it due to its lack of food.

 

 

Naruto groped for the last of his kunais, most of them lost trying to pin the innocent rabbit down. He threw one at the centipede, but it only glanced off the hard surface that protected its head.

 

 

One left… Damn it all…

 

 

Naruto drew out a kunai, gripping it like a knife and snarling at the enormous insect. It hissed in response, and shot the sticky green web at him. He lunged at it, spinning in midair to the left to avoid the sticky substance, before landing on the centipede's midsection. Naruto slid down the side and slid the blade down the bug's unprotected belly. The creature screamed a shrill whistle like call, clawing frantically at the ground with its many legs.

 

 

PAIN!

 

 

Naruto cringed as he felt two of the insects legs dig into his left thigh, but he stayed halfway beneath the centipede, pushing the kunai farther into the tender underside of the creature. Yellowish blood spurted hotly onto his sleeve, hissing as it eroded away the fabric before burning into Naruto's tender skin. The centipede screamed one last time, before collapsing limply.

 

 

Naruto let go of the kunai still embedded in the insect's stomach, and rolled away as the centipede fell, avoiding being crushed by a hair's width. He lay there for a minute, before deciding to get his last kunai back. He heaved himself up, wincing at the tender flesh of his right arm that was covered in burns and pus, still slightly steaming.

 

 

Damn it… My kunai is probably already dissolved…

 

 

Naruto leaned over, inspecting the centipede. He wrinkled his nose at the putrid odor of death wafting from its carcass.

 

 

No doubt about it. It's as dead as the leaves below it.

 

 

Naruto jumped to the top of a branch, lazily looking back at the body of the dead insect. He blinked at the sudden flash of red light from its “neck.”

 

 

A tracking collar…?

 

 

Whizz!

 

 

Green goo identical to that which had just been hurtled at him pinned him to the branch he was on, his midriff attached firmly to the branch below him, his arms pinned to his sides. Naruto looked up and saw five more centipedes crawling towards him, hissing their victory.

 

 

Damn it! I was distracted!

 

 

The insects crawled towards him across the ground, pincers clacking in anticipation, but, to his surprise, did not crawl up the tree that Naruto was situated in. Instead, they approached

 

 

CRACK!

 

 

A deafening snap sang through the forest, and Naruto felt the branch under him give slightly. He glanced down at the branch he was bound to, struggling frantically to preform the proper hand seals to channel what little chakra he had left. A deep slash mark near the beginning of the branch showed where the branch was beginning to break. It oozed slightly, revealing the life blood of the tree.

 

 

Sap? But it would have to be recent. And who would do this to tree?

 

 

Naruto felt the branch bend under his weight. It creaked in a moaning way, protesting at the unjust treatment.

 

 

Not the tree…

 

 

It was bending. He had to get off now, but his arms were bound to his sides.

 

 

SNAP!

 

 

He was falling. The air was rushing by him, whistling past his ears in an almost comical wake up call. Naruto looked down at the ground, zooming closer, like a periscope zooming in on an enemy.

 

 

Me.

 

 

Five feet.

 

 

Two feet.

 

 

One foot.

 

 

Spy!

 

 

THUMP!

 

 

Naruto crashed into the ground, the back of his head slamming against the branch underneath him. His vision blurred and then snapped into a sudden moment of clarity. (2*)

 

 

I don't want to die!

 

 

His vision blurred again, and his stomach heaved like a ship caught in a hurricane, but he couldn't move to properly empty it. He grimaced at the blood he felt pooling around him like the sap from the cut branch, which he now knew was to bring him down.

 

 

 

Naruto struggled to escape from his bonds. The centipedes were still devouring their comrade, tearing muscle from sinew in their quest to eat everything. Luckily, the scent of his blood had not brought them to Naruto's tied form. He finally managed to forcefully dislocate his shoulder, ignoring the crashing pain that accompanied every movement, and tugged his other hand free. Naruto gasped at the numb wrong feeling that spread through his shoulder like wildfire. He pitched himself forward onto his knees and emptied his the remaining contents of his stomach onto the ground. He gasped, and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, ignoring the putrid stench of his vomit.

 

 

I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

 

 

The insects, done with their meal except for a few bones and a pile of yellow blood clicked their pincers together, their red eyes gleaming in the late November morning light as the seven creatures approached Naruto's shuddering figure.

 

 

Seven?! Damn it all to hell!

 

 

Naruto groaned and took a shuffling step in the vague direction of camp, and away from the centipedes approaching figures. Naruto's cat-like markings on each cheek deepened, and normally blue eyes turned yellow as he fed off of the Kuubi's chakra. (3*)

 

 

I will live!

 

 

Naruto felt his fingernails lengthen in a ripple of pain, almost dreamily, as if his mind were watching a movie being played before his eyes. He felt… Numb.

 

 

Sakura… Someone has to warn her…!

 

 

His unfocused eyes looked dreamily at the creatures that he was shredding with his hands, ignoring the steaming yellow blood that spurted onto his clothing and hair.

 

 

Sakura… I'm sorry…

 

 

They were dead. Mission accomplished. Naruto sank to his knees, hands still steaming, but not burning as before. He fell to the ground, a silent thud ringing through the trees, non-existent, because no one was there to hear it.

 

(A/N: *looks uncomfortable* that… was a bit darker than I wanted it to be… )

 

---o0o0o0o---

(I dedicate this part to fantasystar)

 

“Nine-hundred eighty-eight… Nine-hundred eighty-nine… Nine-hundred ninety… Nine-hundred ninety-one… Nearly there…” Lee panted, one fist extended in the trademark pushup position, the other behind his back.

 

 

What's that? You want to know what happens to Naruto? Patience, young locust. In due time. Although Naruto may be the main character of such named manga, we all wish thick-brows was. After all, such hair has not been seen since the days of Ringo Starr! But enough narration! On to the story of Rin-er, Lee.

 

 

Just because he was “sick” didn't mean he wouldn't train his youthful spirit! Tears ran down the aspiring ninja's face as he remembered betraying Gai-sensei's trust. It pained him to no end that he had, indeed, on purpose!, lied to Gai! Silent tears ran down Lee's face.

 

 

“The young locust will repent his many sins!” Lee sobbed/bellowed, as he continued to do push-ups.

 

 

Lee's youthful spirit pounded away at his ribcage, begging to be let out in a heartbroken manner.

 

 

“Lee? Are you alright?” His mother began to walk up the stairs to his room, her thick eyebrows furrowed in concern. She had not gone to work that day to make sure her widdle baby was gowing to be owkay.. (Her words, not his.)

 

 

Lee's eyes widened in shock and alarm.

 

 

Lee's youthful spirit shut up. It was no use pounding away heartbrokenly at his ribcage when he wasn't going to have a ribcage to pound at if his mother were to give in to her rage at finding that her son was playing hooky.

 

It was too late to take off his spandex training suit and weights, so he opted to diving under the covers of his bed, which, scarily enough, had a picture of Gai's head imprinted on the coverlet, doing the “Good-guy pose” number fourteen.

 

 

Oh, the horror. This writer is scarred for life after describing it.

 

 

His door opened as Lee's mother peeked into his room, and he croaked at her that he was fine. Lee subconsciously pulled his covers a little higher, grabbing Gai-sensei's “nose” in the process of doing so.

 

 

(Insert more scarring on the writer's part here.)

 

 

His mother understood his pain. She nodded sadly, understanding how dedicated her son was to perfecting his Taijutsu, and how much it pained him to be away from his beloved Gai. He was apparently better than the day before, but she insisted upon him staying in bed for one more day. She offered to bring him some chicken soup, but when he declined, she insisted upon him drinking enough fluids, and set off to make some.

 

 

Lee sniffled as she left at the thought of betraying Gai-sensei and his mother. He shook his fist at the prophetic doom that was had been in his stomach. Lee jumped up when he was sure his mother was downstairs, eager to finish his Thousand Push-Ups of Punishment. He situated himself on the floor again, one fist extended in the classic push-up position. His heart pounded in excitement at the thought of bettering himself though physical exercise, almost making him forget the guilt that was still sitting in his gut.

 

 

“nine-hundred ninety-five… Or was it nine-hundred ninety-four?” Lee felt drops of sweat begin to form as he began to panic.

 

 

A scream of pure anguish echoed out through the half-open window to Lee's room, startling a flock of pigeons from their job of pooping on passing pedestrians from Lee's roof and jolting awake some very abused cats from their cat nap.

 

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

 

Tenten heard the scream as she sat in her bed, throwing kunais at Jojo, her teddy bear across the room, but she thought nothing of it. It was, after all, a ninja hidden village. Such things were a daily occurrence.

 

 

Now, normally she loved Jojo with all her heart, (down to the half chewed left ear and threadbare demeanor with only one plastic eye staring at her,) but she was bored.

 

 

And certain sacrifices had to be made for her to keep her sanity, right?

 

 

Tenten threw a kunai at Jojo with her eyes closed. It landed right between Jojo's eyes- Or would have, if Jojo had both his eyes. But it was definitely impaled where, if teddy bears had brains, it would be spewing them right about now in a disgusting fashion…

 

 

Tenten felt warm and fuzzy.

 

 

Right.

 

 

Tenten picked up another kunai from her stack of them next to her bed that she always kept just in case, and aimed it at Jojo, who was pinned to her closet door with her first kunai.

 

 

Stupid fathers, saying that I'm too sick to go to training today… Do I look sick?

 

 

Tenten threw the kunai. It landed with a dull thud in the middle of Jojo's torso. She picked up another one and aimed it at Jojo's innocent looking chest.

 

 

“Tenten, you're not practicing your kunai throwing in the house, are you? You know your mother doesn't like it. It is far too unlady-like to be playing with knives.” Tenten's father's condescending voice sounded down the hallway to her room. Tenten felt her eye twitch in annoyance. She threw the last kunai at Jojo bitterly.

 

 

Stupid machismo males…

 

 

With a sound of cheap polyester ripping, it sliced the fabric between Jojo's legs open, and landed with a dull thud on her closet door.

 

 

Tenten grinned evily.

 

 

“Tenten? What did I just tell you?” Her father sounded annoyed now.

 

 

“Sorry dad, didn't here you the first time.” Tenten sang in a honeyed voice, before going back to planning the next day.

 

 

Now I had something new to show Lee and Neji...

 

 

Tenten let out an evil laugh, before deciding how to go about threatening Neji's manliness. She needed to get him back for tripping her on that escort mission the month earlier, and making her fall face first in a muddy puddle of water… Tenten let out another evil laugh.

 

 

Oh, will the fun ever end…

 

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

 

Darkness was dancing infront of his eyelids, creating swirls of nothingness. It was quite pretty, really. Little dancing Sakuras twirling around him feeding him grapes. A Sakura came up to him, her lips quirked in a smile, and her plunging leotard giving him ample opportunities to look down it.

 

 

 

“You think he's ok?”

 

 

That wasn't Sakura. And why did his body hurt so much? He twitched, and ran a mental scan of his body. He was stiff with cold, and couldn't stop shivering.

 

 

Legs? Fine. Arms? Left arm badly hurt, but not broken, and a dislocated shoulder.. Maybe bruised. Right arm fine. Torso? A bit bruised, possibly broken ribs. Head? HEAD? Hello? Heeeeeeaaaadd, where aaaaarrree yooooou…

 

 

PAIN!

 

 

Damn. No wonder his brain hadn't responded. Naruto groaned, and tried to cover his eyes against a sudden bright light that was shining down on his face with his hands.

 

 

“Hey kid, you ok?” A second voice. Naruto moaned a response, and raised a trembling hand to feel the back of his head. His fingers furrowed under the spiky blond hair to come across the source of his pain. He winced as his hand bumped the sensitive clotted blood at the back of his head. Despite that, his hand came back sticky.

 

 

“Hey, kid, can you open your eyes? We need to know how badly you're hurt.”

 

 

The first voice again. What good would opening his eyes do? Couldn't he see the blood on his fingers? He was so sleepy… Still, Naruto didn't want to be alone again, so he dreamily opened his eyes…

 

 

…Or tried to. His eyelids rose, but he couldn't see anything other than hazy brown shapes with a hint of green. He knew his eyes were open, but he couldn't see.

 

 

“Kayiou, he's blind. We need to get him to the cabin now, or else he could die.” The second voice. For some reason blind struck a chord in him, but he smothered it quickly and went dreamily back to floating on red waves with lots of Sakuras dancing around him.

 

 

“Not blind. He's in shock. That happens sometimes, after head trauma or mental strain. And he might-“ A cool hand felt his forehead- “I'm pretty sure he has hypothermia.” The voice sighed, and Naruto got a whiff of bad breath that smelled like dried meat and booze, “Fine. Let's play saints and get him to the cabin. But Shinze aren't going to like it. Hey kid, what the hell are you doing in a forest next to a ninja village? You know it's dangerous?!”

 

 

I'm a ninja! There's a traitor who's trying to kill me! Naruto wanted to shout, but his lips remained as immobile as the rock poking into his back beneath him.

 

 

Vaguely Naruto wondered where his forehead protector had gone, but that thought was ushered away out of his mind as he felt his overtaxed body being lifted up. His injured head was jostled roughly against the ground as the two men grunted to lift him up, and he screamed, blood pounding to the offending appendage, before the pain washed over his senses he let himself go limp.

 

 

---o0o0o0o---

 

 

Silver met dark. Prodigy met Prodigy. Two hands sliced out to battle over… The last charred rabbit thigh. Sasuke grabbed it and shoved it in his mouth, bone, grease, and all. It was disgusting.

 

 

Sakura blinked at Sasuke and Neji's turmoil, and sighed again. She was bored! Naruto was supposed to come back hours ago with lunch! Sakura glanced at the evening sun that was beginning to sink down under the horizon and shivered. Glancing over at the two abandoned blankets next to the fire, she snatched one up and wrapped it around her, catching the attention of the two males. Neji smirked at her almost kindly, and Sasuke, seeing the look, gave her a hesitant smile. She softened at the rare outward display of affection, on both's accounts and smiled.

 

 

The prodigies went back to glaring at each other. Silver met dark. Prodigy met Prodigy… Gah!

 

 

She was sick of stupid testosterone driven “Alpha Male” battles between the two of them! And she had a bad feeling in her gut, and she couldn't figure out why! Sakura shivered again and drew the other blanket over herself. She was hogging the blankets, and she didn't care. The males could use their testosterone to keep themselves warm, for all she cared. Even Neji…

 

 

You know, you could offer to share the blanket with him… Inner Sakura slyly whispered, provoking a couple of images that were definitely not PG-13 that has the authoress covering her ears and eyes and singing the La-la song, having only recently turned fifteen.

 

 

Sakura shook the disturbing thoughts out of her partially insane mind and went back to sighing over the battle between the two egos of the boys sitting by the fire. She seemed to be doing that a lot, despite being the self proclaimed leader of the foursome.

 

 

That thought led her back to Naruto. Where was he? The leaden weight in her stomach increased tenfold. Something was wrong. She could just feel it. He was hurt, like a fox caught in a bear trap, its leg bloody and raw…

 

 

Think of a better analogy! Inner Sakura screamed at her, metaphorical hands pounding at Sakura's skull.

 

 

Sakura stood up abruptly, blankets draped around her shoulders slithering to the ground like water off a rock. “Naruto's in trouble.” She proclaimed tersely, emerald orbs narrowed in worry.

 

 

Sasuke snorted, breaking off the glaring contest he had been having with Neji. “He can take care of himself. What makes you think he's in trouble?”

 

 

A scream echoed through the forest, hauntingly human, shocking the three to the very core. Sakura smiled grimly without humor.

 

“That.”

 

 

TBC.

 

 

Alter: wait, I can explain! Word Perfect says that this is sixteen pages long already, and I don't want to make it so long that it's boring! Expect another chapter! *is bummed out by the fact that originally one-shot is turning into three-shot* I didn't get anything I wanted to get into this, and I really don't like this chapter at all… U_U

 

---o0o0o0o---

Author's note:

 

(1*) Thanks goes to Kyuubi Sharingan for telling me that Neji's hair is brown, not black. Thank-ee! *glomps*

 

(2*) I am basing Naruto's feelings as he fell on my own (stupid) accident. (not the Kuubi part, I meant the painful part and Naruto going into shock.) I ran into a fence on a bicycle going at fifteen miles an hour. My head slammed into the cement and my brain slammed into the back of my scull, causing a major concussion and vision impairment. Luckily, I recovered, did not break anything, and the only permanent damage I received was a few scars. However, that “moment of clarity” really did happen, and I was asking myself, “Do I really want to die here?” as I fell. The answer was no. A friend of mine found me passed out in front of her house, (I ran into her fence,) and called an ambulance. My helmet saved my life, and I was very, very, lucky. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would be a smear of goo on the sidewalk right now, or mentally and physically disabled for life.

 

AlterAurora: It was very scary. When we went to the hospital to see her, she was in shock and throwing up every fifteen minutes.

 

FormerAurora: *coughs* er, yeah… That was kind of gross… ^_^;; But… I survived! :D So, to y'all who are reading this, WEAR A HELMET! I don't care how uncool it looks, just wear one! You'll hate yourself for the rest of your life if you don't.

 

(3*) damn black and white manga! I can't tell what color Naruto's eyes turn! >:(

 

I know all of my readers are probably to the point of hunting me down and clubbing me to death with Barbie hair accessories for not writing more fluff, but I realized Neji would be too out of character if I did, so I just kept it to light fluff.

 

AlterAurora: 's not her fault! When she wrote the first chapter, she had just finished reading about the Chuunin exam.

 

FormerAurora: *sweatdrops* I thought Neji was an awesome character who deserved more of a part, but I didn't really know much about him and just kind of guessed... Also, I am just now realizing that this is Alternate Universe, since I want Sakura to be able to heal… But I want Sasuke in it too! So just say he came back…

 

Neji and Sasuke: *gives Former a death glare*

 

Former: *cowers under gaze* What I was really trying to depict, (other than the slapstick humor,) was that Neji had been trying to prove that he was better than the Main house, that he didn't have the faintest clue what to do with a relationship or hormones when they came a call'n.

 

Alter: poor guy... *chuckles evily* Anyway, I'm all better from food poisoning, so expect a new chapter a bit quicker next time! And Former apologizes extensively for making this longer than it should be. I edited out quite a lot, but it's still too long for my liking, so I'm forcing Former to make a new chapter. *points to bleeding whip marks on Former's back*

 

 

Alter and Former: Until then! Ja ne!