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Chapter Two
Run-Away
Naruto woke on his own about half an hour after the little party had arrived at Iruka's house. He opened his eyes to a strange ceiling and for a moment panic set in before he heard the reassuring tones of the doctor. "Shh, Naruto-kun. It's ok. You're safe," said the doctor in a soft voice. Naruto's head turned in his direction and he relaxed when he saw the face he expected to see. Then another person moved into view and the panic returned. The doctor kept his hand on the bony shoulder holding the child in the bed as well as calming him through the simple touch. "You're going to be staying with Iruka for a few months, Naruto-kun. You need a little help until you aren't sick any more." He watched as the child tensed up and fear entered his large blue eyes. The only emotions he had seen from the boy in months that weren't fake and they had to be fear and panic, he thought. He continued speaking softly, calmly, telling Naruto he was ill and this was something his amazing healing factor could do nothing about.
Unknown to either of them Naruto had already retreated from the conversation. He had run straight to Kyuubi's cage and passed right through the bars burying himself in her side. She had wrapped her tails around the shaking boy and gave her own comfort to him. On the outside Iruka and the doctor watched as the child's eyes drifted closed again and he relaxed. The doctor finished with the equipment and motioned for them to leave the room to talk. With a backwards glance at the small lump on the guest bed Iruka followed the Doctor out and they spoke in his small living room.
"When he wakes he will be very frightened. He has learned no adults can be fully trusted and most can't be trusted at all. I'm sure Hokage-sama has told you that but I'm also sure you don't fully understand what it means. You will have to make his food for him but expect him to eat nothing you don't eat first. Although his tenant can and will heal any poison that gets into him he has learned being poisoned isn't pleasant. Make small meals and make them as appetizing as you can. Remember he is just a child so fancy doesn't count as appetizing. Don't expect too much. He'll only eat one maybe two bites and he might throw it back up. Whatever you do, do not get angry with him over anything. He will take your anger badly. Count on it. If you can't get him to eat anything we'll have to try something else to get his weight up but I want to try real food first. You can reach me at the Hospital or here." He handed Iruka his business card with his address and contact information on it. "I suggest you finish reading his file while he's sleeping and come to terms with who he really is because I don't think you have any idea what you've gotten yourself into here. I think you are his only hope but you need to do this with your eyes open and most of all you need to care about him. The real him. If you don't we've already lost." He put his hat on his head and let himself out of the small house.
Iruka went back into the spare room and settled in a chair where he could keep an eye on his guest and the various machines while he pondered what he had learned since he'd gotten out of bed the day before. His day had gone so normal right up until Naruto had fallen that his mind was having a hard time coming to terms with it all. Sighing he decided to do as the doctor had suggested and opened the heavy file. He read more of what he determined should have been labeled as "101 Ways Not To Treat A Child".
Three hours later the boy woke up again and just lay there watching the man in the far chair. Iruka was intently reading about the torture the village put the child through and he was hating his fellow villagers a lot at the moment. He finished the report and glanced up to meet a pair of dull blue eyes.
"Good morning Naruto," he said careful to keep his voice calm and hide the rage he was feeling. "I'd let you get up but the Doctor said you need to conserve your energy. If you need the bathroom I can help you there but then it's straight back to bed for you." He watched as Naruto shook his head slowly. "Ok. Would you like to read something or play a game or maybe eat something?" Naruto didn't answer. Ok that's definitely not the Naruto I know, he thought. The Naruto I know would have been ranting about how he had his own place to stay and he would have been jumping around trying to prove he was alright. Someone knocked on his front door so he excused himself and went to find out who was there.
Naruto waited until the door shut behind him and jumped out of the bed. Luckily they hadn't undressed him, he thought, yanking the needle out of his hand and disconnecting the monitors. Quick as he could he ran to the window and opened it. Then he was on the sill and preparing to make a dash for freedom as an Anbu wearing a dog mask dropped down to block his escape. The Dog masked Anbu caught the little boy and set him back inside the room. He shook his head and pointed to the bed behind them. Naruto tried to stare him down while thinking desperately of another way to escape. He growled as his legs began to shake and his vision went blurry. His field of vision narrowed and sweat beaded on his forehead as panic set in. Finally too dizzy to stay upright any longer, he sank toward the floor but strong arms caught him before he made contact. From a distance Naruto heard, "Thank you, Dog. I didn't expect him to do that." He was put back in the bed, his shoes removed and covered up. It was only as the covers fell on him that he realized he was shivering.
"Naruto," said Iruka. "I told you, you weren't strong enough to get up right now. You never listen to me," he complained, hoping to at least coax a smile from the boy. Naruto didn't respond. He was too busy trying to make sense of his swimming senses to bother responding to his teacher. "Anyway, you have company. That's who was at the door. Mr. Yamanaka is a different kind of doctor that Hokage-sama wants to have you talk with for a little bit. Can you do that while I make you something to eat?" The whole time he had been talking Inoichi had been surveying his patient as Iruka had fussed over the positioning of the blankets and wiping away the sweat on the child's forehead.
"Just go make him some broth Iruka while we visit. It'll be ok even if he doesn't say a word today," said Inoichi.
As soon as the door closed Inoichi started talking. "So you aren't eating any more and you're getting people worried for you. Well, I guess it's about time someone noticed you're here. Too bad you had to slip this far for them to see you. Huh, Kid?" He was silent as he thought about his own little girl and how he would feel if it were her in the bed rather than this boy.
"Well, I guess I should start by telling you who I am and why the Hokage-sama wants me to get to know you better. Well, my name is Yamanaka Inoichi. I am Ino's father. I believe she is in your class though she probably doesn't know you exist. Too busy trying to be one of the popular kids to notice someone that everyone laughs at. No, Naruto I don't laugh at you and if I find out she has she will be in big trouble." He paused looking for a reaction from the quiet child who just stared at him with dull blue eyes. "As for why I was asked to come see you it's because of my unique ability to enter another's mind." He saw the fear enter the dull blue eyes and mentally sighed. Of course that would scare the child. It scared most people who were hiding things they didn't want anyone else to know though that normally didn't include children. He continued with his explanation, being careful to keep his voice neutral. "The Hokage and your doctor both want to know if you consciously did this to yourself or if this is just the result of not enough reason to care. Bluntly put Naruto, they want to know if you want to die. Can you tell me? Are you trying to die?" The eyes turned away and stared at the far wall. Inoichi sighed. So maybe he was, Inoichi thought. How hard his life had to be in order for a child his age to want to die. While he was thinking, Iruka came back with the cup of chicken broth. He set it with a piece of toast on the nightstand and helped Naruto into a sitting position so he could eat comfortably but Naruto paid no attention to the drink or the toast.
"Naruto, you have to eat," said Iruka. The child didn't even look at him. He just stayed in the position he was placed in and stared at the wall. Iruka shared a glance with Inoichi and then went back to trying to persuade Naruto to eat or drink the broth. Hours later the lids over the blue eyes drifted closed and Naruto slept. He didn't sleep deeply but it was a natural sleep and Iruka was surprised to notice the sun was going down. He'd had him here all day and hadn't managed to get a single bite in him. This was going to be harder than he thought. Inoichi had left a few hours back saying he'd be back the next day but he had another patient he needed to see. Iruka went to his own room and prepared for the evening. He changed into comfortable lounging clothes and got his papers from the school that still needed marking and settled at the desk in his room. He deliberately cleared his thoughts of his house guest so he could concentrate on the grading that he needed to do for the rest of his class.
Once his uninvited guests had left the lids snapped open and taking a deep breath Naruto saw the congealed grease on the surface of the broth. He couldn't repress a shudder as he saw it. He found his sandals and slipped them on. He stood there for a few minutes to let his legs adjust to his weight before hurriedly heading to the window. He checked carefully before sliding it open and leaned his head out. Quickly, before he could be spotted, he slipped out the window and landed on the ground under the window. He sat there for a few seconds waiting to be discovered before he stood and dashed into the shadows.
The old woman from the council had made it clear that he was expected to be in his apartment every night when the sun went down. He knew he was in big trouble if she found out he wasn't there tonight. Whimpering in his mind only he rushed through the lengthening shadows for the dubious safety of his run-down apartment. Getting back to the place where the villagers and the council expected him to be was all that mattered to him right now. He had to get home where he was safe. Well safer than he would be if he didn't make it back there.
In the shadows, he passed almost underneath one of the supposedly watching Anbu and into an alley that connected to another alley. The Anbu sneered as he saw the child slip past him but said nothing and stayed at his perch. Following the alleys, Naruto soon found himself in the district where his apartment was. He was shaking again, sweating and panting for breath. With his vision swimming in and out of focus, he knew he had no choice but to rest. He hoped it wouldn't lead to passing out again. He was getting very tired of that. He stopped and leaned on a building, praying that no one would come by and discover him out after sunset. He knew all too well what would happen if they did. The sweat had long since dried on his skin as he slipped further into the shadows and made his way to his door. He took out his key and let himself into his shabby apartment with a relieved breath. Searching the darkness of his small place he looked for anything that seemed out of place. Kyuubi assured him the place was untouched since he had left it the day before. He re-locked the door and slid through the dark room to his bed. Tiredly crawled into the pile of blankets that made up his bed. He closed his eyes and drifted into a light sleep.
Iruka finished marking the papers and stretched out his sore muscles. Then he put them all away in his briefcase before deciding to go check on his guest once more. It was after ten and maybe given his condition he'd be awake and bored. He opened the door quietly just in case he wasn't and peeked towards the bed. The covers were thrown back and as he approached to fix them he realized the bed was empty. He snapped on the overhead light and looked around the room. He noticed the open window and thought Oh No before running for his front door. He grabbed his keys off the peg as he pulled it open and dashed outside. Instantly Anbu formed up around him.
"He left. Probably hours ago. Why didn't any of you stop him? I have to go find him. Now." Iruka took off at a run as one Anbu sent orders to the rest.
Cat was the leader of this squad and once she figured out how the child slipped past them somebody was gonna be wishing they'd never met her. For now, finding the child was the priority. She followed after their primary as he headed straight for the boys apartment. Chances were the child had gone home but she kept her eyes peeled anyway just in case he hadn't made it there.
Twenty minutes later the chunnin was at the run-down apartment building. He wasn't sure which one was Naruto's and paused trying to figure out how to tell. Cat slipped past him and motioned for him to follow her. She knew, since she was one of the people the Hokage sent to make sure the boy had the necessary things to care for himself. And she was usually part of his guard during the festival. She led Iruka to Naruto's door and located the spare key under a siding panel by the window. She unlocked it and wrestled it open so that Iruka could go in and see if the child was there.
Iruka went in and turned on a light, only to groan when the light didn't work. Cat came over with a lit candle and handed it to the distraught teacher. In the dismal light, he couldn't see much but what he could see was disheartening. Dismay was written in bold relief on his face as he surveyed the shoddy condition of the apartment. He'd known Naruto was poor. All orphans were but this was worse than just being poor. It was clear he'd searched through dumpsters to get the few pieces of furniture he had if they could even be called furniture.
His table seemed to be a worn mat, spread on the kitchen floor with a few threadbare pillows for seating. Dark holes showed missing drawers and cabinet doors. In the living area, the main window allowed enough moonlight in to show him a beanbag, that was mostly slashed plastic with rags sticking through badly patched tears, leaned drunkenly against a wall and a bookshelf, on it's last legs, leaned just as drunkenly into a corner. The shelves were full to overflowing with books and scrolls. Other than that it seemed the child had nothing else.
The floor of both rooms showed years of neglect in the light provided by the moon and his little flickering candle. But as for the usual things you'd expect to find in someone's home Iruka saw nothing. There were no signs of the person who lived here anywhere. No pictures were hung on the walls or handdrawn and tacked to the refrigerator. No art projects in progress anywhere or signs that the child even had a hobby. The only thing that pointed to someone living here at all was the overflowing bookshelf. There was just an empty feeling everywhere.
Iruka walked to one of the doors in the back wall and opened it. It proved to be an empty closet. Well almost empty. There were some cleaning supplies in there and a change of clothes with pajamas but other than that it held nothing. He shut it and walked to the next door as the first door sprang back open.
This door proved to lead to a bathroom that was just as run-down as the rest of the place. Iruka was tempted to explore it also but the little candle didn't provide enough light to really see very well in the small space. So, shaking his head in disgust, Iruka turned away and noticed the small pile of cloth in the wooden box under the window. He walked over and found his charge sound asleep with the tears, he would never cry when he was awake, running freely from his eyes now. Whatever he was dreaming was not good and Iruka was tempted to wake him just to make it end but he knew, from the little of the file he had managed to read so far, that the child needed to cry. Kami knew if anyone had the right to cry it was this child. Kneeling down he settled in to wait for the tears to end. He'd take him home when it was over.
Then feeling the relief set in at finding the child safe he felt a need for tea. Getting up he walked into the kitchen and being careful not to step on the tablemat he walked to the cabinets. The one and only cabinet door, which hung crookedly by one hinge, creaked when he pulled it open and he saw ramen and more ramen. There was a small bag of rice and there, in a corner, green tea. A small bottle of honey was revealed when he set the box of tea on the countertop. He found a teapot that had definitely seen better days and filled it with water. The water ran from the faucet in a trickle but it did eventually fill the battered teapot. As he went to set it on the stove he saw it leaked. Water poured out of the teapot faster than it had from the faucet. A small waterfall was pouring from the side. He poured some of the water out and checked to see if the level was low enough. It still streamed so he spent a few more minutes pouring water back out until he could safely place it on the burner.
Waiting for the water to heat he took another look around. Although the place was obviously ready to be condemned there wasn't a spec of dirt or dust anywhere. The child kept the place as clean as he possibly could. Missing tiles pitted the floor in the kitchen as well as on the counters but the boy hadn't let those spots become any dirtier than the rest of the place. Though he had no real furniture it was clear he took as much pride as possible in his home.
The water came to a boil and he found a chipped tea cup in the cabinet without a door next to the sink. He made his tea hoping the cup didn't leak and went back to Naruto's side to drink it. How could the child stand to live in this dump he wondered. He eyed the bookshelf and wondered what was on the scrolls there. Thinking he could maybe learn a little more about this student he now knew he didn't really know at all, he stood up, taking his tea with him and the feeble candle, to investigate. Maybe he could see what the child liked to read to interest him when they got back to his place. He settled down on the beanbag and pulled a scroll from the stack. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw it was an assignment he'd given just that last week. One he knew Naruto hadn't bothered to turn in and therefore had received a zero on. He pulled more scrolls from the shelves and after opening a few his eyes narrowed as he came to the conclusion that the child had been lying to him for the whole year. The boy was far smarter than he let anyone know. Of course he didn't know when the work had been completed but somehow he just knew all the assignments had been done on time. Naruto, for some reason that defied logic, just hadn't turned any of them in. He walked to the door where Cat was on guard, leaving the stack of scrolls with his tea and candle by the beanbag.
"Can you get someone to take those scrolls to my place? I want to go through them all and see just how many right answers the child got. It will give us something to do while he is recovering."
Cat nodded and made a peculiar whistle. One of her crew landed on the stoop and she directed him to gather the scrolls and books from the shelves. Using hand signs she directed the man to take the things to the teachers place.
Just as the Anbu left, they heard the sounds of drunks coming home from the bars and Iruka wished he had already woken the boy and gotten him away. The noises came closer and he crossed his fingers that the owners lived in the building and were simply heading to their own places.
Quietly Cat blew out the feeble little candle after putting a finger to her lips. It was just the three of them so if those drunks were heading here they might have a serious fight on their hands. In the dark they didn't see the blue eyes pop open or hear the child leave his bedding. Moving silently as a ghost Naruto walked to the center of his small apartment and sat down on the bare floor. He sat there with his eyes fixed on his own front door waiting. He knew what was coming. He didn't have long to wait.
The men crashed into his door knocking it free of the jam and burst inside. The light of the moon blazed through the open door to show Naruto sitting cross-legged in the center of the apartment. The drunks wove their way to where he sat slurring their words and apparently not even seeing anyone but the boy calmly waiting for them. Cat signaled Iruka to grab the child as she jumped on the men from behind. Before Iruka could reach him, one of the drunks managed to grab Naruto. The drunk held the child up by his neck and punched with his free hand. He was ranting at the child and spittle was spraying in the boy's face but Naruto did not react. He knew better than to show emotion. He hung from the man's grasp as the drunk continued to pound on his small form. A rib shattered as the heavy fist connected with his side, eliciting a quiet groan. A bruise formed on top of the old one that was just beginning to fade away. A split lip sent a dribble of blood flowing down his chin and caused the child's eyes to roll back in his head. But surprisingly enough he didn't pass out. A moment later he opened those blue eyes and stared into the red face of the man beating him.
Cat was concentrating on reducing the number of the men able to fight while Iruka was contending with his own opponent. Naruto did nothing. In no way what-so-ever did he try to defend himself. From the corner of his eye, Iruka watched and wondered why the child just let the bully hurt him. Finally the drunk threw Naruto into the far wall of the apartment and staggered over to him. The eyes closed and this time they didn't reopen. He'd finally had all he could take. The drunk began raining kicks on the small form as one of his buddies slipped past Cat and joined him. Iruka tried desperately to free himself from the ox he fought but the man was so drunk he wouldn't stay down. Cat finally felled all but the two punching and kicking the child and the ox Iruka faced. Her team showed up and she angrily she motioned two of them to help their primary while the rest took on the two attacking the boy. She began picking the drunks up and throwing them bodily into the street three stories below to vent her rage. She was angry that not only had it taken too long to best the drunks but she'd let one of them slip past her to attack the boy. She didn't care how they landed or where, just so long as they weren't here anymore. One guy landed in the dumpster while another landed head first in a puddle. That one wouldn't be regaining his senses anytime soon was her vicious thought as she saw him land.
Other Anbu began appearing on the scene and she directed them to round the fools up and take them to the holding cells though the man who had landed head first would have to make a stop at the hospital first. For the man who actually was fighting with their primary she ordered him taken to Ibiki as well as the two who thought punching out a child made them brave heros.
Once the drunks were gone, Iruka set to cleaning himself up and watched as Naruto regained his senses. Naruto calmly walked to his small bathroom and came back with bandages, peroxide and antibiotic gel. Paying no attention to his own injuries, he proceeded to help Iruka clean his bloody knuckles and various scraps and cuts. Once satisfied the teacher was ok he took the medicines back to his bathroom and put them away. He washed his face and headed for his small bed.
"No Naruto. It's time to go home now," said Iruka.
Naruto shook his head. "I am home. And I must stay here. The old woman says I must be here every night after the sun sets. She says this is where I belong." The boy crawled under his moth-eaten blankets. He closed his eyes and tried to find a position that didn't hurt too much.
"Naruto," called Iruka, noticing for the first time the teacup he had been drinking from was shattered and a damp spot adorned the spot where it had spilt. "We need to leave. It isn't safe here for either of us. Come now. Let's go back to my place."
Tiredly Naruto said, "Go then Iruka-sensei. You're right. It isn't safe here for you. By tomorrow the village will know you were here tonight and you will be a target. Go home Sensei."
"But I am responsible for you too now. I can't leave you here alone."
"No one is responsible for a demon. I am a demon and therefore I deserve this place. You do not. Please leave and deny you even know me for your own safety." Naruto rolled over and drifted into sleep.
Iruka looked to the Anbu Cat with a wondering look. Even though she wore a mask and dark clothing to hide her from prying eyes the sadness she felt was clear to see. So was the fact that she had heard it before. Her head dropped as she took a position in the shadows of the cold apartment. She knew Iruka would not leave the boy here alone or force him back to the house he owned. Iruka found a few more blankets. He settled on the lumpy beanbag and covered himself as best he could with the blankets before going to sleep. He'd get the child back to his place in the morning he thought.
Author Notes: And so the second chapter of Fight for a Life comes to a close. Don't forget to review and tell me what you think.
