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Sanctuary	By : AkashaEmily Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1111 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
(Review
responses at the bottom)

Chapter
Three

This
was not
how Kisame imagined his afternoon.
Currently,
he was standing by a vendor�s stall off to one side of the busy main street of
the town, his sword over one shoulder.
Naruto
was perched squarely on the other.
They
hadn�t even gone more than ten steps from the room before the blonde�s legs had
failed. To be fair, the Kyuubi vessel had been having trouble keeping up with
Kisame�s long strides the last few paces and it was entirely possible that what
little energy he had managed to hoard after his nap had been used up in his
haste to stay with the blue skinned male. Another possible reason for the limb
failure was that whatever sickness affecting Naruto had also weakened his
bones- something that didn�t surprise the ex-Mist ninja nearly as much as he
thought it would. The blonde had been in very bad physical shape to begin with
and it was obvious that whatever torture or abuse he had suffered had been
prolonged. Whatever the reason, while hurrying to keep up with Kisame, Naruto
had tripped and afterward had been unable to walk. He had made no noise, no
sound of any kind to notify Kisame that something had happened- he had merely
pushed himself up into a sitting position and sat, staring at the frayed hall
carpet with a strangely empty expression.
He
had flinched visibly when Kisame drew near, jerking back slightly and huddling
into himself as if expecting a blow.
When,
silently, Kisame only picked the teenager up and set him on one bare blue
shoulder, it was hard to tell who was more surprised.
And
now they were shopping- Kisame loathed shopping and did everything he
could usually to get out of it. Worse yet, he was here voluntarily!
�Were
you looking for studs or clip-ons, my lady?� The vendor inquired, straining his
neck as he looked up at Naruto for an answer, having to squint due to bright sunlight.
�Clip-ons.� Kisame answered gruffly, immediately getting
the man�s attention and gesturing with his chin at the appropriate display.
�Those ones.� The ninja said, pointing to a random pair. He wanted this over
and done with because he was starving, damn it, and he could hear the blonde�s
stomach growling, too. He wanted to be pissed at the teenager, wanted to blame
the kid, but this had been Kisame�s idea, after all, not the blonde�s.
�I
really don�t think those will go with her outfit.� The man said doubtfully,
again looking Naruto over critically. �These ones will, however, as will these
ones. Did I mention our sale today? If you buy two, then you also get a free-�
�Sure.
Whatever.� Kisame cut in tersely, shifting his balance to better accommodate
the blonde�s added weight as he fished for his wallet. �Wrap them both up to
go.�
�And
which of the-� The man cut off abruptly as Kisame glared at him menacingly. The
vendor also froze up which was not helpful and the Mist ninja turned to look
for possible threats in the crowd of people around them. Suitably shaken, the
man floundered on. �Um, then I�ll just-�
�That
one.� Both men glanced up to find the blonde pointing at one of the vendor�s
items. �Pl-please..?�
Kisame
frowned but the vendor practically pounced on the necklace in question, adding
it to the shopping bag in a flash.
�Will
there be�� The man quickly changed tactics as he caught sight of Kisame�s
expression and squeaked out the total instead. �Ten dollars, please.�
Kisame
paid the vendor, snatched the bag from the man�s hands, and handed it up to
Naruto for safe keeping with a stern warning not to loose it because he was not
doing this again.
�Please
come again�� The vendor said weakly as they turned to go, expression saying
that he would not be sorry if he never saw Kisame again.
�Thank
you.� Naruto said to the vendor as Kisame began walking in the direction of the
restaurant they were going to. The blonde�s voice was soft and wavered but the
obvious gratitude in it was so genuine that even Kisame could tell.
Typical;
he had been reduced to a fucking taxi service but it was the rodent of a vendor
trying to take advantage of them that got a word of appreciation.
�Thank
you.� The blonde said again in the same tone and the
ex-Mist ninja looked up, realizing that Naruto was talking to him.
Feeling
slightly mollified, the sword wielding shinobi gave a small one shouldered shrug, making Naruto bob briefly as they continued onward.

Right
off the bat, Kisame�s hope of having a nice normal meal went out the window.
They
stood in the doorway of the restaurant, the overhanging sign flap hanging from
the former Mist ninja�s upraised arm where he�d paused in the middle of the
motion of pushing it out of the way. He blinked, frowning as all activity
within the establishment ceased.
So
much for keeping a low profile! Kisame felt as if a very large spotlight had
suddenly been shone on them both, particularly on the blonde perched on his
shoulder and leaning so low over the ex-Mist ninja�s head that his chest
touched Kisame�s spiky hair as he tried to make himself as small as possible in
order to see inside.
People
stared at them, gawking openly, as the pair stood there in the building�s low
doorway, clearly unable to fit through- after all, even with Naruto situated as
he was, Kisame himself was already on the tall side and would have to
practically limbo through the door way to get in.
The
situation probably was something worth gaping at provided that you were the one
doing the gaping. On the other end of things, it was harder to see the humor
and Kisame wasn�t known for his ability to see hilarity readily, especially when it was at his expense.
Kisame
nearly turned around and left but, before the former Mist ninja could stop him,
Naruto took that moment to try and get down. The blond slid down Kisame�s body
with obvious care and the moment his slippered feet touched the ground he
hissed softly. Hands hidden in his long kimono sleeves, the Kyuubi vessel
clutched the other�s arm for balance and ducked his head down to try and hide
his tears of pain.
In
all his travels and battles, the blue skinned man had never seen a crowd of people move faster. In the blink of an eye,
those staring at them were suddenly falling over themselves as they rushed to offer
comfort to the distressed blonde. As Naruto was being guided to a padded chair
with Kisame at his side like an over large shadow, the ex-Mist ninja became
aware that the establishment�s patrons were predominantly male. The same was true
with the staff that began fawning over the blonde, offering Naruto a menu and
bringing him a drink. Seemingly overwhelmed by all the sudden attention, Naruto
had flushed bright red and stuttered about none of this being necessary, insisting
that everything was fine, his voice higher with distress and anxiety,
expression clearly pinched with pain even as the teenager tried to scrape
together a smile.
Kisame
suspected heavily that the last was a reflexive action and not consciously
attempted. He poked the blonde�s rounded cheek, gently, and immediately the
Kyuubi vessel stopped trying to force the expression.
When one waiter actually came out with two
cold towels on a tray and a stack of rolled clean bandages, Kisame actually had
to put a hand on Naruto�s head to keep him from panicking. If these people
wanted to help- i.e. spare the former Mist ninja the hassle of tending to Naruto�s
wounds himself later- then by all means, let them do it. Dressed as he was,
made up as he was, everyone had fallen for the image the teenager presented and
taken Naruto for a girl- so long as no one got too friendly or nosy, there
would be no problem in letting the masquerade go on. He patted the blonde hair
firmly, mindful no to disturb the carefully placed barrettes, and the action
caused the teenager to duck his head and blush as he closed his eyes and
worried his bottom lip.
Oddly
enough, the reaction was both surprising and not; it was completely out of
character if one were to base their opinion on previous examples of Naruto�s usual
brash behavior but, considering that Kisame had only seen the blonde hiding in
a blanket and screaming in terror when awake the last few days, the response to
all the sudden attention was not unexpected.
Kisame
patted Naruto�s head again, softer this time, and moved his hand to squeeze the
boy�s shoulder reassuringly before folding his arms over his broad fishnet clad
chest. He took a step closer to the blonde, one hand moving to hover over
Samheda�s handle pointedly.
If
everyone was assuming that Naruto was some noble lady- because why else would
this many people be paying so much attention to him if they weren�t trying to
curry favor for one reason or another?- then Kisame�s presence could easily be
explained away as �her� body guard.
He
smiled, showing all his pointed teeth, and directed it fully on the waiter with the
bandaging supplies who was getting a little too close to Naruto for comfort.
With some further� persuasion from Kisame, the young male stopped trying to
take the blonde�s ankles and left to prepare them a table.
Stifling
the urge to growl after him, the Akatsuki member contented himself by glaring
at the waiter�s back, openly smirking when the other scuttled into the kitchen
for refuge.
Kisame
had an investment to protect after all.

Eating,
even if it was semi-solid food, seemed to take a lot out of the blonde and
Kisame was a tad baffled as Naruto, sitting beside him, continued to slump
forward as if exhausted. His feet and ankles had been wrapped by the missing
Mist ninja while they had been waiting for their food to arrive. Afterward,
Naruto had been completely ladylike, sitting quietly with his eyes shut and a
blush still staining his cheeks as other patrons continued to throw glances at
the pair. The food had arrived and, though Kisame had dived in with gusto,
Naruto had begun eating with notably less zeal. Within minutes the blonde had
put his spoon down and pushed his soup away as he began to resemble a lost
sleepwalker. The teenager didn�t complain, didn�t say anything really, just seemed
to wilt like some over grown sun flower that had been unable to absorb enough
sunlight.
It reminded the ex-Mist ninja of babies that died from malnutrition even though
they were being fed on a regular basis. In such cases it was as if, even though
there was food present, the infant wasn�t able to make up for the caloric
deficit between the energy expended to suckle and the energy contained in the
mother�s milk. Despite all the efforts to feed them, they just couldn�t put on
the weight needed to grow and thus died anyway.
Kisame
was not about to let the kid die, not after all the hard work that had been put
into keeping him alive. With a defeated sigh directed both at his unfinished
dinner and at his dinning companion, he waved the waiter over and ordered that
the partially eaten food in front of them be wrapped up in a take away bag. He
placed an order for some sashimi and onigiri as diner for Itachi back at the
inn and paid the check.
He
was never going to hear the end of this; no good deed goes unpunished and all
that.
Naruto,
barely managing to keep his head off the table, slid into Kisame�s blue skinned
side, prompting the Mist ninja to wrap an arm around him to secure him against
falling backward onto the floor.
Nope,
never ever.

�Not
one word.� Kisame said the moment Itachi opened the door to their room. Held
awkwardly in his arms was Naruto, asleep, with a bag full of take out
containers resting on the blonde�s stomach. Behind the shark-like man�s
shoulder Samheda�s hilt jutted upward at an angle and in the dark of the
hallway created the momentary illusion that Kisame was about to embrace the
brunette in a massive hug. The former Mist ninja maneuvered through the doorway,
sidling by the Uchiha carefully in the narrow spans of the short hall preceding
the entrance into the bedroom proper, and paused near the room�s small side
table. He waited until Itachi silently took the newly bought food off of Naruto
before carefully leaning Samheda against the wall and walking over to Naruto�s
bed.
With
more care than he felt like showing at that moment, he deposited the teenager
on the bed and began disrobing him. When the blonde was in his boxers once
again, Kisame stomped into the bathroom, wet a washrag and returned, cleaning
Naruto�s scarred cheeks until they were free of make up. The missing ninja
sighed as he patted his charge�s skin dry with a corner of the bed sheet,
clearly feeling the fever spiking through the teen.
Going
out had been such a bad idea�
A
shudder passed through the teenager�s frame and around Naruto�s navel the seal
keeping the Kyuubi imprisoned flared into stark relief against skin that was
now only a hint of bronze in color. Itachi immediately joined Kisame at the
boy�s bedside, perching on the bed beside the blonde, pale hands already
inspecting the seal and making the muscles beneath the blonde�s skin jump at
the gentle contact.
Making
small pained sounds, Naruto tried to turn onto his side and curl up into a ball,
tried to get away from them, but Kisame pinned his shoulders to the mattress to
keep him prone until Itachi finished his examination. Abruptly, the Uchiha
pressed his palms flat to the blonde�s stomach, covering the seal as his hands
began to glow green with healing chakra.
Beads
of sweat popped out on Naruto�s skin and his movements to get away became more
agitated. He grabbed the blue skinned wrists holding him down and tugged
weakly. Hazy blue eyes opened and blinked up at Kisame as the blonde began to
ramble incoherently. �Don�t� hurts� No more� monster� Nothing� time��
�He�s
delirious.� Kisame commented, surprised at the sudden onset.
�He�s
dying.� Itachi said, sweat trailing down his temples as his eye brows knitted
together. The green glow flared as Itachi began having to force his chakra into
the seal, the design crackling in response and causing Naruto�s disjointed
babbling to increase in volume and frequency, his attempts to push the Akatsuki
members away more forceful.
�The
Kyuubi is dying.� The Uchiha raised his voice to address the teen. �Naruto stop
rejecting my chakra! Let me heal you!�
�No,
no more�� The blonde pleaded, eyes rolling back into his head as he lapsed into
unconsciousness. �Doesn�t hurt� let go��
When
his struggles finally ceased, Kisame began funneling healing chakra into his
own hands to help Itachi with the surprisingly monumental task of trying to
keep the dying boy alive.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
�I knew it would be you, Sasuke.� Naruto murmured, the
small content smile he wore looking odd as blood ran from the corners of his
mouth. Tears leaked from his unfocused blue eyes. �I knew it would be you who
set me free.�
Free? What the hell was the idiot talking about?
Sasuke Uchiha stared down at his friend, bewildered with the events unfolding
around him. He knelt on the ground beside the blonde�s shoulder while Naruto
lay on his back in the grass. His friend was clad in white robes, an outfit
Sasuke had never seen him wear, face pinched with pain as he looked up at the
brunette.
The Uchiha felt out of place, a part of the scene but
not. He felt like something important had transpired, that he had played a
pivotal role in it all, but he had no memory of it. He existed in the here and
now but did not know the how or why, making him feel horribly displaced and
uninformed. He looked around, lost, until his eyes fell on the kunai sticking
out of his teammate�s stomach.
�Naruto!� And the rush of emotion contained in that
one word, the surprise and fear, the sickening feeling of foreboding and slow
dawning horror was enough to make his normally stoic heart swell painfully in
his chest. Tears leapt to his eyes and threatened to run down Sasuke�s cheeks
though he didn�t fully understand why he was reacting so passionately.
Naruto was dying.
Someone had hurt him, condemned him to a slow tortuous
death.
And that person had been�
�Sasuke,� Naruto sighed, blue eyes fluttering shut
briefly as the blonde swallowed. A cold, sweaty hand gripped the brunette�s,
dragging his attention back to Naruto and away from the handle sticking out
from his body. �Don�t be sad.�
�Why?� He
didn�t understand what he was requesting an explanation to, didn�t understand
the tears that spilled down from his eyes, didn�t understand why his best
friend was dying or why he was somehow to blame.
A pathetically small pressure against his fingers told
him that Naruto was trying to give him a reassuring squeeze. He gripped the
blonde�s hand fiercely, as if the strength of his touch alone could keep the
blonde alive.
Naruto smiled up at him again, showing all his teeth
in a pale imitation of what Sasuke had quietly dubbed his regular �shit eating
grin,� a smile that always meant mischief for some poor soul, a smile that
could mean everything and nothing, a smile that could answer a hundred
questions and at the same time pose a hundred more right back.
A smile the blonde used when he wanted to hide what he
was feeling from everyone, even from himself.
The perfect lie.
Sasuke felt like his insides were being torn out as he
looked at it now.
�It�s okay now, Sas�ke.� Naruto said, his voice
slurring. His smile wilted around the edges, softening as he continued. �You
killed it, you killed me. Now everyone can be happy.�
�No!� It came out as a long drawn out moan of pain
and, in a fit of emotion, Sasuke yanked his hand from Naruto�s and dragged the
blonde against his chest, burying his face in the blonde�s shoulder. �Why?
WHY!?�
�Don�t cry.� His teammate whispered in his ear. Sasuke
felt light touches on his back as Naruto�s hand attempted to rub circles of
comfort. �Uchihas don�t cry for dobes. You did what was best and now everyone
can be happy. I won�t be around to annoy anyone or drag you down any more. You
can� you can�� His already slow and increasingly lethargic voice petered out to
silence and he simply lay against the brunette quietly, his breathing becoming irregular
as his body began to give out.
�Naruto?� Sasuke pulled back enough to look his friend
in the face, ice cold fear gripping his heart as the blonde�s eyes began to
close, his head lolling to one side lifelessly. �Naruto! NO! Naruto wake up!
Naruto!�
Sasuke shook the unresponsive blonde, calling then
screaming his name when he felt Naruto�s heart cease. He laid the other back
down and pounded the blonde�s chest, forced breath into his lungs but no amount
of CPR made his teammate stir. He clutched the body to him, moaned to it and
rocked it, wept his pain all over it and screamed his rage at the unfairness of
it all as he hugged it.
In an instant the usually vibrant Naruto was gone.
And it was somehow all Sasuke�s fault.

With
a ragged gasp, Sasuke Uchiha sat up in bed. His chest heaved as he tried to
breathe around his pulse which was at least twice its normal rate as it thudded
loudly in his ears, in his throat. He trembled, hands fisted in the sheets as
he struggled to chase off the effects of the deeply disturbing dream. When he
felt a bit calmer, the brunette swung his legs over the side of the bed and
took a few shaky steps around his bedroom before opting to leave it completely.
Several
minutes later saw him seated at the kitchen table with a freshly brewed cup of
green tea. He was also now in an extremely foul mood as he pondered the latest
addition to his growing gallery of nightmares. He�d been having them for over a
month, all similar in theme to tonight�s episode and all equally upsetting.
One
would think that he would have become immune to the effects of such nightmares
but no; each one brought a fresh rush of painful emotions that left him gasping
and whimpering in their wake.
Sasuke
took a sip from his mug and raked a hand through his hair, resting his forehead
on his propped up arm. His dreams had a definite theme though that didn�t make
understanding them any easier- it was always Naruto suffering, never anyone
else, and always, always, the Uchiha was the cause of the blonde�s pain. And, in
every single dream, his friend died by Sasuke�s own hand.
It
was taking a toll on the newly returned teenager�s performance, on his mental
health. He felt anxious all the time, but tired in a way that went beyond
normal fatigue- as if his very soul had lost its source of vitality. Sasuke�s
temper had not improved under theses conditions and as such, he was easily
angered since his patience was nearly non-existent. Sakura, a frequent source
of irritation in the Uchiha�s life, had found this out the hard way.
Not
for the first time, Sasuke found himself thinking about his absent blonde
teammate. Tsunade had sent Naruto on a covert mission almost a week ago and the
Hokage did not know how long it would last. She would share no details with
anyone and so the blonde�s whereabouts remained unknown to the Uchiha and
everyone else in the Village, a fact that the council found teeth grindingly
infuriating since they abhorred being out of the loop in any way.
But,
for Sasuke, it felt as if Naruto had been gone for so much longer. After his return, the Uchiha had been put under house arrest and had had his activities severely limited. Though he had been allowed visitors, something that Sakura and Kakashi had made the most of, Naruto hadn't stopped by once during the whole year. It was understandable if the blonde didn't want to see Sasuke; considering the circumstances on which they had parted last time they met, but the Uchiha could not help the disappointment and loneliness that coursed through him over Naruto's absence. Sasuke had missed his friend terribly but the Uchiha had been determined to give the other space, hoping that there was still some shred of their previous close bond that was salvageable, frightened to become too pushy less he destroy what remained of their prior friendship completely. Sasuke had been absurdly happy and nervous when, a day before his punishment ended, he found a note from Naruto under his front door asking to meet. He'd never admit it but he had practically run the whole way, anxious to see his friend to the point that he was nearly desperate. He hadn't understood the urgent need then and still didn't even now but at the time, he had felt that it was important to see Naruto and as quickly as possible. Trying to hide any evidence of his enthusiasm, he'd walked the last few yards, strolling around the corner as non-nonchalantly as possible so as not to betray his excitement, only to find Naruto and Sakura together. This had all happened a month ago and, after a very strange conversation, the blonde had begun to withdraw from Sasuke, from everyone, eventually beginning to avoid the other completely. On the rare moments that the Uchiha had caught sight of the blonde, he had been unable to talk to him because, just then, Sakura would pop out of no where and latch onto Sasuke�s arm. Every. Single. Time. In the time it took to dislodge the squealing female, Naruto would simply vanish and the Uchiha would be right back at square one.
Sighing,
he finished his tea and looked outside to the brightening sky. A new day was
beginning and he had things to deal with that were more troubling than his
sudden plague of night terrors. With the Godaime suddenly giving them the cold
shoulder, the village�s council had turned its attention to playing matchmaker
for the last Uchiha. They were pressuring him to marry and had taken to lining
up available females for him to meet and choose from, potential wives for him
to breed with and revive his nearly dead clan.
The
entire thing was driving Sasuke crazy and he longed for his blonde teammate�s
company. Naruto was his outlet, his best friend, and the only one willing to
give him an unbiased opinion on everything and anything. He�d been gone only
four days but Sasuke felt the absence acutely, like an old wound that ached in
the cold, the pain not only effecting the healed area but his whole body.
Naruto
would probably be able to keep the nightmares away.
Shaking
his head, hard, at the thought, Sasuke rinsed his mug out and set it to dry
next to the sink. He had more tangible things to worry about than some stupid
dreams or the scarcity of his teammate. Naruto was fine, just like always. The
brunette nodded to himself, satisfied. 'The
dobe is fine.'
�Don�t call me that. You can�t call me that anymore,
Uchiha-san.�
Sasuke
froze, his breath hitching as the flat and emotionless voice drifted through
his mind, as the image of the blonde�s expression as he spoke those words
surfaced in the Uchiha�s mind. Naruto had looked so� hurt, crushed, as if his
whole world had been shattered. He had walked away afterwards without a
backward glance, ignoring Sasuke as he had tried to call the blonde back. If
Sakura hadn�t been holding his arm hostage, the brunette would have chased the
other male down to demand an explanation.
If
Sasuke had known then that a month later Naruto would be watching a sunset
alone, convinced that his life held no meaning and slowly bleeding to death as
his body ripped itself apart, the brunette would have killed the kunoichi in a heartbeat
to follow after the blonde.
But
all of that is hindsight and seeing in hindsight is always easy. One can always
see where they took a wrong turn after they have walked the path; it is hardly
ever that simple while one is trying to find their way, lost and confused.
Unaware
of the machinations of his manipulative female teammate, Sasuke had walked
right into a trap set not for him but for Naruto and the Uchiha had played an
unwitting part in throwing the blonde off the proverbial cliff. His nightmares
had started that night, an unconscious warning that something bad was going to
happen if he didn�t act, but the warnings had gone unheeded, ignored for an entire
month.
Uchihas
did not pay attention to dreams- they were dreams and that automatically meant
they were nothing to get worked up over.
So
Sasuke, Uchiha to the core, scoffed at his foolishness and set about getting
ready for the day. He had been ordered to meet the potential wife candidates
the council had gathered and he had no time to waste pondering Naruto or the
subconsciously generated images involving the blonde for that matter.
Naruto
Uzumaki was just fine, damn it!
But
the hollow, anxious, feeling in Sasuke�s gut told him otherwise and the feeling
wouldn�t leave him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Review Responses!

Kai_mono:
Will do! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

BrokenSouledPoetess: Thanks! I was really worried about portraying him-
he doesn�t show up a lot in the series at least as much as I�ve seen and when
he does, he just kind of stands there unless violence is involved! I think
there�s more to him than just being Itachi�s flunkie sidekick. Thanks for
reading and leaving a review!

Hell_on_earth: I�m glad you enjoy the story! Hey, Naruto can�t just be bumped off
that easy, right? He�s Naruto after all!

AoiKitsune:
I will try to update on a regular basis but I have my hands full with my other
fics. I�m glad you enjoy the story and thank you for sharing your opinion.

KingCobra:
Will do! I�m trying hard to make Kisame more than just a flunkie side kick but
its hard since I don�t know much about him. I�m glad you are enjoying the story
though! How�d I do this time?

Hen: You
are most welcome! I�m not sure about the ending of this story so can�t say
either way about it- this was just something that, ironically, sprung out of
Bared Naked, one of my other stories. I�m happy you like how I�m portraying
Kisame and thank you so much for letting me know!

Blueinu:
I�m very happy to hear you like the story and I will try to update soon.

Mikra:
Actually, I do too but if that�s the only other outfit available, it can be
turned into a positive as we�ve seen here. Thanks taking the time to read and also
for the review.

Crimson2006: Thank you for the praise! I will do my best to not make you wait too
long!

Devious Lil Devil: Initially the first chapter was very different and a
bit boring. When I decided to post it here I decided to start off with a bit
more of a bang, hence the emotional roller coaster this story begins with.
Kisame is�interesting and I believe he is trying to make the best of a bad
situation. Thanks for reading and for giving me your opinion! I�m glad you
enjoyed it! Oh, btw, having a fic stuck in your head after reading it? I�ve had
that happen to me too.

Cepheus:
I�ll be honest, after writing this story�s original format, was depressed for a
week after because it was very different from the version I posted. I was in
the middle of writing Bared Naked when I wrote this and afterward I didn�t
write anything for, like, a month because I was so mopey. It seemed silly to
get so worked up over something that I created but there you go. When I decided
to end the chapter with Itachi and Kisame showing up to keep him company, I
devoted a lot of time into trying to keep those two in cannon because to
otherwise seemed insulting. Those two are either off the wall psychotic or
almost sugary sweet to the point it makes your teeth ache. Maybe those sides
are in there somewhere but they are not prominent. As for why it�s in the yoai category,
that�ll be hinted at here and there as the story continues but I�ll try not to
draw out the revelation- so far we know that everything went downhill a month
prior after a conversation between Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura. I really can�t
say where the story is going to go or who the final pairings (if any) will be
because I simply don�t know. Thank you for the really encouraging reviews!

Kaa-san:
Glad you enjoy it! I�m working hard to keep the characters in character even
though the situations are usually not something that they normally might not
find themselves in. I will update as soon as possible, to be sure, but first
I�ve got to write and edit the chapter. Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Liliandragon:
I really wasn�t a big fan of Kisame either when he initially shows up- he�s
always so one dimensional that it�s annoying, like I could swap him out with a
cardboard cutout and it wouldn�t matter to the story. None of the recurring
characters in the Naru-verse are that easy to see through so I figured there
had to be more to Kisame but since I don�t have much to go on, I�m making it up
as I go (shh! Don�t tell anyone, okay?). Thank you for sharing your opinion on the
story with me!

Damp: I
actually doubt that I�m the �Master� of anything but thank you for the
compliment. I actually don�t take writing courses though I will admit that I�ve
picked things up from my English classes. If you have the option to take a
creative writing course, give it a whirl because usually those are the most fun
for flexing your imagination! I�ll be straight with you- up until last fall, I
thought that writing was my (one and only) talent. I like writing and I have a
lot of stories that I tinker with simply because I enjoy them. It was my hobby
and I was proud of it. Then last fall rolled around and, on a visit home, I
found a box of my old school report cards. One of my weakest subjects was, you
guessed it, writing effectively. I sucked at it like you wouldn�t believe. I
guess practice does make (kinda) perfect! Thank you for reviewing, not just on
this story but also on the other two! Seeing you�re opinion on a chapter is
something I look forward to!

Aoi-sama:
Was this good enough? I�ll try not to make you wait to long! Let me know that
you think!

Amber: Will
do! I�m not much of a Sakura fan- I find her annoying and fairly useless until
later in the series. I�ve known of people who do similar cruel things and,
quite frankly, such an attitude makes me sick not just on the touchy issue of
homosexuality but also being two-faced. I truly hate that- made my high school
days hell. Thanks for the review!

Hollowed_self: Believe it or not, it was easier to go with Kisame�s point of view.
I�m not sure why but his POV was just better to give an overall opinion on
everything going on around Naruto. Believe it or not, in the original version
of this story, it was Hinata who found Naruto. As for the kimono� it was the
only thing they found with orange anything and since the blonde needed more
clothing, why not? Thanks for reviewing!

AnA La PaNa83: Its not boredom that prompts me to write chapters for this story, its
frustration. I get angry because I�m frustrated on one of my other fics but I
can�t just take it out on that plot so I pull this story out and have at. It�s
strange but I find it cathartic and anything that ensures that I don�t loose it
is good in my book. I�m glad you like the story though and I will try to update
in a timely manner. Thank you for reviewing!

Pantherrose: I will surely give it my all! I�m happy that you enjoy the story and
thank you for reviewing it!

DismalAbstraction: I�m not sure about the pairings, I really am not.
Everything is up in the air as far as that avenue is concerned, sorry. I�m glad
that you enjoy my version of Kisame- I�m trying to keep him in character for
the most part though I know I am taking liberties with him. Glad you like the
story though and thank you for the review!

Dagget:
I know, right? If ever there was someone not suited for such a task, its
Kisame. Come to think of it, that may be exactly why he�s being forced into it�
^.~ Thanks for reviewing.

Justsu Dream: LOL! Yikes! You make me feel like I�m feeding a bad habit with all
your excellent observations and questions. Did this answer some of them?

Blue_genjutsu: It�s under malexmale b/c of an event that happened earlier in the
story timeline that we as an audience weren�t there for. As a result it will be
hinted at and alluded to here and there in the coming chapters- you�ve already
gotten a few clues in the previous chapters and another one here when we check
in with Sasuke.

Sancta:
Well, I do try my best to make things a bit unpredictable and attention
getting. You may see more chapters in this story coming more frequently in a
bit since the next Bared Naked (another story I write if you�re not familiar
with the title) is proving to be�problematic. I�ll try to update on a regular
basis and I�m glad that you are a Kisame fan. Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Anon:
I�m very happy to here it and you are most welcome! Thank you for reading it
and taking the time to write me a review on both the last chapter and the one
before!
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