Circles Are My Favorite Shape

Summary: When Kakashi notices odd, uncharacteristic things that Naruto has been doing, he investigates, though admittedly not very worried for his student. He learns, however, that perhaps he should be. Naruto has had an off week and a half, considering that he's been followed by someone he thinks to be a figment of his imagination all the time that can't just accept he really, really, really is 100% happy all of the time. (He always said that he hated people who lied to themselves, he must really hate himself now, though.)

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would be beaten to death in the most humiliating way, I'd slap Sakura for every time she was mean to Naruto, and I'd attempt to hurt Kakashi and burn his books before he killed me for doing so because he probably hurt Naruto's feeling a lot, though unintentionally...Also, Kabuto would not have become so ugly as of recently...There would also be a lot of yaoi...Hmm...I must get rich and buy Naruto now! KESESESESESESESE! It will become awesome, like me, though not nearly as much as I...(Hetalia reference!)

Chapter 1

Kakashi wasn't one to get into another person's business, not even when it was a friend of his. If something was wrong with them, he would wait to see if they would confide in him or talk about it or just plain get over it. If they asked for it, he would give some surprisingly helpful advise, otherwise, however, he wouldn't comment or inquire about it, nor would he follow them wherever they went to find out what was wrong with them. Not like he was with a certain blond container of the Kyuubi.

He supposed it was because it was his student. After all, if something was wrong with one teammate, it could mess up their whole teammate system (read: their nonexistent teamwork system.) It certainly wasn't because he actually liked one of his cute little students (not in that way, get your mind's out of the gutter, yaoi fan girls and perverts alike.) Nope, the kid was annoying, not very smart, and-and-and...Okay, so he could only think of two bad traits to keep himself away from his sensei's son that used to bring him so much emotional pain (and still does, though not as much.) Big deal.

Anyway, he had noticed Naruto acting a bit odd the past week or two. Little things, admittedly, like how he would sometimes suddenly go quite and allow the others to converse (Mostly one-sided ones between Sakura and Sasuke, but still) without even attempting to include himself in the conversation. It wasn't very often, so his other two students overlooked it. The only reason he didn't disregard it was because he was trained to see these things, being ex-ANBU and all.

He was also slowly distancing himself from his teammates (slowly, slowly, oh so very slowly.) One day, he could be especially hyper and happy, but then the next day he wasn't as hyper and happy and smiley and grinning his stupid, sunny, wonderful, little grin that everyone that personally knew him loved. Most days this past week, his grins seemed more...strained. Sure, his eyes would sparkle cutely, but anyone could fake eye-smile. (Hell, he perfected that art in a couple of days when he was younger.)

Upon noticing those things, he wasn't too worried. Sometimes people had an off day, but when that off day turned into a week, and even more than that, he suspected that something was up. So, here he was, following his students to wherever the hell he was going. At first, Naruto seemed to just wander around aimlessly after Kakashi had dismissed them. Now, though, he seemed to be steering clear of anywhere that might have more than a couple of people around. That was understandable, of course, who wanted to be glared at and scorned all the time for something that was way out of their reach?

He was somewhat surprised to feel a bit of anger rise at the thought that perhaps a villager had upset Naruto enough to cause him to act oddly this past week. He filed that theory in the back of his mind for now, also considering that Naruto had dealt with it just fine these past years. (Or maybe he hadn't dealt with it just fine as everyone seemed to assume. Maybe, he was hurt and needed someone to- no. What did Kakashi care? Besides, the Hokage would have noticed that he was suffering, and surely would have told Kakashi, considering how much he seemed to love to meddle in the two's lives, especially when he had put Kakashi specifically as his sensei, giving a small smirk to Kakashi while condemning him. Okay, that last part might have been his own illusion of how it happened.)

Kakashi watched as Naruto took leisurely strides towards a forest close to their training ground. He continued to watch as the leisure strides turned into slightly defeated steps when they were a good five minutes through the forest. The defeated steps turned into angry marches pretty quickly, however. Kakashi raised an eyebrow in inquiry and slight confusion. What was that about?

"If you don't leave me alone and stop following me, I'll call an exorcist or something" Naruto snarled irritably, glaring to his side. Kakashi's visible eye widened for a moment before he realized that Naruto wasn't looking at him, but toward his right side. Also, what was with the exorcist comment?

Naruto's Third Person POV

Naruto was decidedly irritated. This past week, three days, eleven hours, fifteen minutes, and whatever seconds (he wasn't counting down that much, that would be going overboard) were an absolute hell on earth (more so than usual, of course.) The villagers were getting especially mean because it was the last week of September and the Kyuubi's Festival and his birthday were coming up. Not only was there that, but he was anxious about his sensei. Was it just him, or was Kakashi-sensei...watching him more? Like he was waiting for him to do something of interest. Was he boring or did Kakashi want him to do s- Jeez, he sounded like Sakura and Ino when they were freaking out over Sasuke. The hell? He had to be careful now so that they didn't find out.

SHE told him that there was nobody else in the world who did something like that, so he better not let anyone know that he did it, or else he would get locked up in the loony bin. Why not, though? It made him feel safe, disclosed from the world. Like no one could harm him. He didn't know how to deal with those people who wanted to harm him.

To top off his bad week and a half, SHE had been following him around everywhere. Seriously, didn't she have a life?! Er, well, that's worded wrong considering...Well, anyway, she'd been following him around as soon as she found out that he could see her. She was nosy as hell and had been annoying him with her questions about him and his personal life and feelings and the-

He scowled as he felt something- or rather, someone- pull on his chakra. Not just anyone could take his chakra, absorb it, and not get hurt considering that his chakra was toxic as it mixed with the Kyuubi's. "Hey, Whiskers-dearest, what's up with you? You seem particularly pissy today" she commented nonchalantly as she appeared beside him. ...And the nicknames were pure torture. Seriously, Whiskers-dearest? The hell kind of nickname was that?! He decided to resume ignoring her. "Hey, quit ignoring me. Come on, talk to me. With no one able to communicate with you for a century, it gets really boring. Do me a solemn here" she whined, only for it to be in vain as he continued to ignore her.

"Besides, I can be like a therapist for your poor, apathetic, sad soul" she carried on, choosing to ignore the way his eye twitched. "Go on, I promise not to be mean about your troubles. I think that you're suffering from short-term depression, though it is recurring. And how does that make you feel? Don't look at me like that, that's how therapist normally ask their depressed patients, I think, anyway. It's not like I stalk therapy session in hopes of finding out what condition I had" she muttered, suddenly looking thoughtful. 'No.' Naruto thought sarcastically and with more than a little snarkiness as his steps became slightly defeated. 'You only stalk me.'

"Hey, kitten, what're you thinking about? Hopefully, not about slicing your wrist. Even if you do try to ignore me, you're an interesting person considering that you don't let others know your true feelings. Plus, if you were to kill yourself, I'd have no one to talk to and that would really suck and it'd get way too boring for me" she hummed, putting her arms behind her head and closing her eyes, just following him as he began marching angrily along.

"What's gotten you so pissy? You're such a ninny, sometimes" she huffed. "Hey, in all seriousness, are you okay? I heard some of the things that pink banshee and emo duck-butt were saying to you. That was pretty harsh. What a bunch of wankers you have as teammates, along with your sensei, too. He really doesn't say anything about it? That's messed up. Whiskers-dearest, you should totally beat the shiznit out of them. After your therapy sessions, of course. You really should take some therapy sessions" she added the last two things as an after thought.

He silently snorted, his cynical side coming out. 'And who the hell would treat the demon?' Instead of saying this, he just settled for snarling "If you don't leave me alone and stop following me, I'll call an exorcist or something." He glared daggers towards her as she blinked, turning her head to peer down at him. (Damn it, why couldn't he make those two inches to be her height.)

"I won't leave you alone. I don't just stick around you for me, you know. I do it for you, too. You need a constant person in your life that will ask how your day went and how you're feeling. You also need a person that won't instantly believe that, after years of carrying a harsh burden, you're fine. When I...I just wish I had someone like that for me..." Her happy-go-lucky, somewhat sarcastic attitude, left for a moment, leaving Naruto with a bitter taste in his mouth as he almost reached his destination, replaced with an aura of melancholy before coming back just as quickly.

"Besides, a priest couldn't get rid of me if they tried!" She grinned. Her voice suddenly went deep, "The power of Christ compels you!", "Does it, does it really?" She questioned her deeper voice with her normal one. "The power of Christ compels you!" "It's not that compelling" she dead-panned before grinning again. If he weren't so stressed, he would probably laugh a bit. "I'm funny, aren't I?" She asked cheekily, before the grin dissipated as he reached his destination.

Their destination was a large "bald" spot on the forest floor, with minimal vegetation here and there, but most of it was full of dirt. He gingerly sat down in the middle of the "bald" spot, where it seemed to have a circle wide enough for him to sit down and have two feet to stretch out his limbs on each side. His expression grew vacant, as if he was there, yet not there at the same time. As if you are in that one class where you tend to zone in and out at random intervals or how you stay in the shower twenty minutes just contemplating your life's simplicities and complexities.

And thus began the questions. "You know the rules by now, don't you?" "Pass" he muttered as she seemed vaguely disappointed, watching him draw a single line in front of him with his kunai. They both knew he knew the rules, they were simple, really. If he didn't want to answer a question, he could pass, however, he had to answer at least two or three of the questions. He would draw a line in the dirt with a chart of his passes and the questions he answered. "What's your name?" She asked, smiling as she tried to get him to answer. She knew his name, however, and deep down, Naruto knew she knew. "Pass" he marked off another. Two to zip.

"Why won't you tell me your name?" She questioned, almost sadly. "You won't like me anymore if I tell you who I am, you'll hate me like everyone else" he sighed as he marked it down. Two to one. "Why won't I like you?" Because you'll think I'm a demon, like everyone else. "Pass." "Don't you trust me?" Yes, and that scares me. "Pass." "When's your birthday?" October 10th. "Pass." "How old are you?" Sixteen "Pass." Six to one. "What's your favorite food?" Does candy count, or should I say my other, main comfort food, ramen? "Pass." "What about your favorite color?" Black, it is simple, yet elegant. Orange is my second favorite color. "Pass." And so it continued, and it continued twenty more times. "I've asked you twenty-nine questions, you only answered one, you have to answer one more. Okay?" "Pass."

"What's your favorite shape?" The silence was loud, for a long moment. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not to tell her. "...Circles Are My Favorite Shape." "Why?" She asked, urging him to continue. "Pass." "Okay. There will be no more questions today" she muttered as she stood from where she sat in front of him and began walking towards him. "Don't" his voice trembled slightly, so slightly that you had to strain to tell. She ignored him and continued until she stood right in front of the drawn outline of the circle. "Don't" his voice was full of anguish, yet she didn't falter as she brushed her foot against the line and began walking around, slowly erasing the line.

"Stop!" He shouted striking out at her with the kunai, only for it to go through her. "You forget that I can't be touched by another being" she smiled sadly, continuing on as he glared at her. "Why do you do this?" He hissed, practically seething as he curled into himself even more. "I was perfectly fine without you here. Go away! Why won't you leave? You're a figment of my imagination, aren't you? So why can't I make you leave?" He murmured the last part sadly, more to himself than her. "Well, if I am a figment of your imagination, how am I erasing this line? Something that is tangible, unlike I. So either you're hallucinating, or I am-or was- a tangible, legitimate person. Which is it?" She questioned, cocking her head to the side.

"Are you implying that you're a ghost?" Naruto asked, suddenly deathly calm. "I remember having a life before this, so maybe I am. But I don't understand how I can pull on your chakra to make myself tangible. As far as I remember, ghost can't do that" she shrugged, looking a bit distressed before her form flickered in and out. "I have to go now, but I'll see you later. It's about six o'clock and you got out of training and missions at four o'clock. Plus, it's daylight savings time so you should try to get some sleep. Goodnight, Whiskers-dearest" she smirked, knowing he despised the nickname before disappearing.

He glared where she left, not knowing where she went and ignoring the sinking feeling that came with not knowing. Why did he care? She was a nuisance, she continuously bothered him. He was perfectly fine without her. In fact, he enjoyed (perhaps that is too strong of a word) life before her! When he could be alone and stay in his safe circle for hours on end! When no one could harm him! 'Lair, they still do. You just feel better thinking this' a part of his mind hissed at him. He never did know if that was Kyuubi or if it was his actual conscience itself.

He shakily stood up, glared once more where she had disappeared, and began walking towards his apartment.

Kakashi's Third Person POV

Naruto was silent for a long while after he said that one comment that got Kakashi's mind running. Why would he say something like that when there was clearly no one next to him? Kakashi watched, with furrowed brows, as Naruto gingerly sat down in the middle of a "bald" spot in the forest, where it seemed to have a circle wide enough for him to sit down and have two feet to stretch out his limbs on each side. Kakashi continued watching as Naruto's expression grew vacant, there was no light in his eyes, nor an expression in his face. He could have been mistaken for a dead person in a sitting position if it were not for his chest rising up and down with each breath.

Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed deeper as Naruto, seemingly out of the blue, said "pass" as he marked down a single line with a kunai. Given Naruto's actions, he was a bit concerned to see it in Naruto's grasp. Tensing up in case he needed to get to Naruto quickly if Naruto tried to hurt himself. Naruto said "pass" once again, marking another line, leaving Kakashi in even more of a confused state. Who was he talking to? Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly at the thought that perhaps Naruto was talking to his "tenant."

Kakashi's heart felt as if it might burst with the next thing Naruto said, feeling as if he were guilty for it. "You won't like me anymore if I tell you who I am, you'll hate me like everyone else" Naruto sighed, a defeated sound that made Kakashi feel more guilt than he, at first, thought he should. Kakashi's ears strained slightly to listen as Naruto said, after a two second interval, "pass" twenty-seven more times in a row. Just as Kakashi began thinking that perhaps Naruto would give no more away to...whomever Naruto was speaking to, Naruto paused, interrupting the two second interval, as he took on a thoughtful look. "...Circles Are My Favorite Shape." "Pass" he murmured two seconds after he said that.

"Don't" came Naruto's slightly shaky voice, so much so that he had to strain to hear. "Don't" he repeated after two seconds, only a tad bit stronger than the last time. Full of so much agony and anguish that Kakashi, once again, felt little prickles at his heart. Don't what?

"Stop!" Naruto shouted, so suddenly that if he were a new chunin, he would have jumped a foot in the air, as Naruto struck out towards his left with the kunai in his hand. What was Naruto seeing? What was he striking out at?

"Why do you do this?" He hissed, practically seething as he curled into himself even more. "I was perfectly fine without you here. Go away! Why won't you leave? You're a figment of my imagination, aren't you? So why can't I make you leave?" He murmured the last part sadly.
Kakashi felt a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach. Naruto was sixteen years old, he shouldn't have an imaginary friend. Was Naruto really so lonely that his mind was conjuring up imaginary people? At least he acknowledged it, Kakashi supposed. Naruto's expression shut down about five seconds after he said this.

"Are you implying that you're a ghost?" Naruto asked, suddenly deathly calm. Ghost? So much for him acknowledging this. There were no such things as "Ghost." Merely chakra left over from the dead that evaporated after a certain amount of time.

He glared once again in front of him before it fell, leaving him looking distressed. Kakashi watched in ever growing concern as as Naruto shakily stood up, glared once more in front of him, then began walking back towards his apartment. Kakashi watched him leave, mulling everything over. Should he tell the Hokage? But what would happen to Naruto then? He would get locked in a room- or jail cell if half of the council got their way- where he couldn't leave until he was checked by a Yamanaka and deemed fit enough mentally to leave, which Kakashi doubted would happen, seeing that being locked up would probably drive Naruto more crazy.

So, Kakashi concluded to keep an eye on him, watch from afar, then slowly get closer to Naruto and gain his trust. Then Kakashi would try and help him get rid of his "ghost."

Author note: Thanks for reading, you guys. This is my first Naruto fanfic and hope I will do well. I got the idea from Crona from Soul Eater, by the way.

Note: Either Sasuke did not leave the village or came back of his own accord, you guys can decide. Or maybe I'll just make the duck-butt comment refer to Sai. He does say some pretty mean, though unintentionally so, things to Naruto.

Also, what do you guys want the pairing to be? Just because you vote for one thing, don't really expect for that pairing to happen because I may not know how to write it with the way the story will go. No offense, of course. Yes, I will allow yaoi because I myself am a yaoi fan girl. Haha. No fem! Or supposed to be dead Characters though. No incest either. It gives me the heebigeebies because I think of my siblings and I shudder. Sorry.

Choices:

Kakashi,

Hinata,

Gaara,

Sasuke(maybe, depends on what I said two paragraphs up),

And maybe anyone else you choose.

Parings that are a no-no:

Choji,

Sakura,

any other Jonin sensei,

TenTen,

Rock Lee,

Iruka(maybe...),

and any of the sennin.

Please review and give me some feedback. I accept constructive criticism, but please be nice about it. Thanks! Review!