BAM, BAM, BAM.

Three thumps sounded throughout the small apartment ominously.

In the small bedroom of said apartment, a strong young boy with tousled blonde hair awoke, startled.

"Who the hell…?" he asked nobody in particular.

He couldn't pick up a scent because of the pouring rain, so, he decided he would have to find out who was banging on his door at 3:23 in the morning the way people with an average sense of smell found out.

Answer it.

Naruto swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching and scratching briefly before making his way to the door.

"What the hell do you-… Sakura!" He exclaimed as the pink-haired girl dashed into his arms. He flicked on the light and saw she was covered in blood. From the smell of it, her own blood.

"Naruto-kun, he's back. Oh God…he's back." She said as she sobbed into his bare shoulder.

"Shh. Who is back Sakura? Hmm Sakura-chan? Who did this?" He asked softly, gently smoothing her hair on the back of her head. He should have known the answer. In fact, he did. He just didn't want to believe it.

"Sa – Sasuke." She whispered as her body began shaking violently.

"Okay Sakura. C'mon." Naruto said, closing the door and taking her to his bed. He would get the story from her later. Right now she needed to get her wounds cleaned, and get out of those wet clothes before hypothermia set in. You didn't need to be a medic to see that.

She winced as he set her down and began removing her clothes, which, he noted, were pajamas, meaning she must have been asleep when she got attacked. There was a sharp intake of breath as he pulled her shirt over her head. Underneath was a large gash from just under her left breast diagonal to her naval. "Oh my God Sakura…" He whispered, then removed her pants. Her legs were bruised and cut, mostly in the inner thigh area. Also, he realized, she had on no underwear. He looked over her body intently, angry at how beat up she was.

The sight of her naked body did not faze Naruto in the slightest – He had seen her nude before. It was the norm for teammates. It couldn't be helped. You can't be ninja and be modest, especially when in teams and on long missions. It may have been awkward at first, but once mature enough, dressing and bathing in front of one another was as normal as not. That's just the way it was.

"Okay Sakura-chan. We'll fix you up, here we go!" Naruto said with false cheer, and with an even more false smile. He reached under the bed for his medical kit and quickly opened it. "Okay let's see. Alcohol!" He began pouring it over her torso wound, but he stopped immediately at the sound of her soft cries. "Shh. It's okay, Sakura-chan. I know it hurts, but it must be done!" He said, continuing to pour, "That's what you always tell me! Remember? 'Quiet Naruto-kun. Stop fussing, Naruto-kun. Your being silly, Naruto-kun – '"

"Stop pouring, Naruto-kun."

"Huh? Oh, sorry."

"You always talk too much."

"I know."

She smiled at him as he put away the alcohol and pulled out a large roll of bandages. "Okay Sakura-chan. I know it's painful, but you need to sit up." She nodded and slowly lifted herself up into a sitting position, clasping one arm over her breasts and using the other to hold onto Naruto's shoulder. He began unwinding the bandage around her body until her entire gash was covered twice. "I'm taking you to the hospital in the morning." He declared with finality. He thought that she would argue, saying that she was a perfectly capable medic-nin that could heal herself, but she didn't. She only nodded and lied back down.

"Sakura. Aside from being beat up… Did anything else happen?" Naruto asked, reaching toward the hand shaped bruises on her thighs. As soon as his fingertips made contact, she made a strangled noise and flinched severely.

"Oh Sakura, no. He didn't. Please tell me he didn't." He asked, grabbing one of his T-shirts from a nearby open drawer and slipping it over her head and pulling it down to her thighs.

When she didn't reply, but looked away, Naruto's stomach twisted in either anger or sorrow – He didn't know. Perhaps it was both.

"I'll kill him." He whispered angrily.

"No… No. He wasn't right. Something was wrong. Naruto, he needs our help. I can't believe I'm saying this after what he did… But he's not right." Sakura said quietly. "We're all he's got, you know."

Naruto's eyes held a look of wonder. Wonder at how she could still, after what he had done to her in the past, and what he had just done to her, she could still care about him.

"Yeah." Was all he said as he stood and began going through his clothes and getting dressed in the black and orange he was recognized by.

"I'm going to warn Tsunade-baachan. Kakashi-sensei, too."

"Naruto-kun, please. I feel so weak saying this, but please. I don't want to be alone. Not right now, not tonight. I need you." Sakura's weak voice whispered. She sat up again and looked to the floor in shame. Shame for her weakness and shame for what had happened to her.

Naruto hesitated for only a second before ultimately deciding that Sakura did need him – more so than anyone else at the moment.

"Okay Sakura-chan." Was all he said before silently turning off the lights and laying down in his bed next to her.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her in the darkness, stroking her hair ever so softly.

"Naruto-kun, what could you possibly have to be sorry about?"

"I should have been there to protect you. Like I promised I always would be."

"Oh Naruto. You couldn't possibly have known. And you're here now. Besides it was only a matter of time before I got… you know, raped. I'm a kunoichi, you know. This sort of thing happens, I guess." Her voice broke over the word 'rape' and she began sobbing.

"No Sakura. That's not true. Don't try to make this okay. Because it's not." He said, louder than he had meant to.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan. Go to sleep now. You're safe. I'm here." He whispered, then kissed her temple softly and pulled his blanket over her.

However, Naruto could not sleep. He felt the white hot adrenaline course through his veins and he knew he had to do something. He loved Sasuke – he was the first friend he ever had. But he left. Sasuke betrayed his village. He betrayed his teachers. He betrayed his teammates. And he betrayed himself.

But Naruto told Sakura he would stay with her, so he did – No matter how much that demon inside him wanted blood.

So that was the first chapter. I feel good about this one. It may be a short fanfic. I haven't decided.

Also I'll be updating 'SNB's Oneshot Drabbles' soon, I think.

so review, if you want.

SabakuNoBrandye