Tammiechan

C h a p t e r N i n e Naruto liked to think that the essence of life was captured in the fleeting seconds of pure bliss and agony and happiness and sadness and all of the tangled raw emotion that danced the dance of day to day life. The world doesn't stop turning when you've hit the lowest low and clocks don't stop ticking when you've reached the highest high - life goes on no matter what and it's important to make opportunity of the time you have. At least, that's what Naruto, the ever optimist, believed. For the entire morning, the smiling blond laid happily against Sasuke's chest as the dark haired boy read some thick, yellow-paged, smal

C h a p t e r E i g h t Sasuke was not a morning person at all. He hated mornings. He hated the damn sunshine that filtered in through the windows. He hated waking up and leaving the comfort of his bed just to plunge headfirst into a cold world that only existed to torment him. He simply didn't understand how it was possible for people to actually be chipper in the mornings, because he sure as hell wasn't. A corpse that had just risen from a hundred year rest in the cemetery would probably be better company than a newly awoken Sasuke. So Sasuke, being the morning hater that he is, was especially displeased when he was woken up by a large thi

C h a p t e r S e v e n Naruto was waiting anxiously in the TV room the next morning. He had asked the nurse when Sasuke was scheduled to come back - since they kept an airtight schedule of every significant time that could possibly be recorded. He was supposed to be back by nine o' clock that morning. (Of course they would clock his return time down to the second. If he was even a minute late, it would be kept in the records to rot for all of eternity. Naruto didn't know why they did this. Perhaps the workers of an insane facility were meant to do insane things.) He had tried to find a program on the TV but nothing caught his interest. Bes

C h a p t e r S i x Sasuke was very wary of his brother's intentions at this point. Nevertheless, he followed him into the hospital's parking lot and stepped into the sleek black car onto the comfortable leather interior. Itachi was a self-indulgent person as well as a workaholic. He surrounded himself and Sasuke with empty luxuries. The extravagance of being one of the rich and powerful and high-class did not faze Sasuke. Majesty did not fill the little hole that could only be satiated with the unconditional love of a family. Itachi was not family. He was just someone who had been assigned to make sure he ate, slept and did not try to kill

C h a p t e r F i v e Naruto was awoken the next morning by a person steadily shaking his shoulder. It wasn't like this most mornings; he usually woke up of his own accord and he had recently taken the liberty of waking up his new roommate, too. Go away, he thought in a vague attempt to push the person's hand away. I want to sleep. "Naruto," said a kind voice from above him. "You need to wake up and eat breakfast. If you're still sick we're going to have to call the doctors." Groggily, Naruto opened his eyes and saw Shizune leaning over him. She looked concerned, probably because he had been faking illness for the past couple of days. If o

C h a p t e r F o u r Creative therapy. Sasuke's block had it on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and by the second time he had experienced it, he had decided that he hated it more than group therapy and Iruka's weekly sessions put together. Not only was Orochimaru creepy as hell, but he expected them to draw some of the weirdest stuff. On Monday, the day after Sasuke and Naruto's little chat, Orochimaru glided to the front of the room. His penetrating yellow eyes skimmed over each one of them, lingering a moment too long on Sasuke. He sneered at nothing in particular. Finally in that cold voice he instructed, "Today we are focusing primarily

C h a p t e r T h r e e "Naruto, aren't you going to eat?" Choji asked from across the table. "I'm supposed to report to Iruka if you don't." "It's okay," Naruto insisted. "I told Shizune I was sick and got a pass for the rest of the day." "Are you really sick?" Shikamaru asked. "Yes," Naruto lied automatically. "It's just a stomachache. It should go away by tomorrow, I guess." "Okay," Kiba nodded and they let the subject drop. Naruto stared across the Caf, where Sasuke was being harassed by Sakura and Ino again. He wasn't trying to hide the blatant disgust that was scorching his face. Freak, Sasuke's voice reverberated throughout his m