Miscarriage
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Kyuubi had to leave Sunday afternoon, but Naruto already started to feel better. He was glad he got to see his brother again, not to mention meet his nephew. Shintaro gave a fuss, saying he didn't want to leave, which made Naruto squeal as soon as the infant pouted. Then Kyuubi just sat on the couch and waited until Naruto was ready to let the boy go. Shintaro was the one that wouldn't let go in the end. Eventually, Kyuubi managed to get the infant to let go and left when Naruto was done with the tearful good-bye.
Now it was Wednesday and Naruto was home alone, trying to work on his homework and not getting a word of his math. Normally, Itachi or Sasuke would help him, but he had been trying to avoid Sasuke for the past few days, which had been a little hard since they had lunch and a few classes together. Sasuke, on the other hand, kept trying to talk to him, but Naruto mostly ran off before the raven had a chance.
Itachi found it amusing to see his brother looking so pleading. But he hated to see Naruto trying so hard to avoid his brother. So he used his powers as a teacher to have them exchange seats. Now Sasuke was stuck near his two insane fangirls and Naruto was sitting near Gaara and Lee. Itachi found Sasuke's suffering even more amusing.
With a small sigh, Naruto turned his head to look towards the phone. He gulped down some saliva before reaching over with shaking fingers and picking up the phone. He was trying to avoid Sasuke, but maybe he could get Itachi to help him out. He pushed in the number before holding the phone to his ear. It rung a few times and when Naruto was about to hang up, someone answered. "Hello, Uchiha Itachi speaking," deep voice spoke.
"Hi, Itachi," Naruto greeted with a small smile. At least Sasuke didn't pick up.
"Naruto?"
"Yeah."
"Haven't heard from you outside of school in a while. You okay?"
Naruto chewed on his lip. Kyuubi was right. Itachi had a crush on him and he could tell from the concern in the Uchiha's voice. "Yeah, I'm fine," the blond replied. "Just working on homework and I got stuck. Again."
Itachi chuckled. "Math is not your strongest subject, is it, Naruto?"
"Not one bit," Naruto admitted. "But I do try to listen and understand. I'm just not that good on the subject. Everything else I'm good at, except for Gym right now."
"Do your other teachers even know your condition right now?" Itachi asked.
"Orochimaru-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei (duh), and Asuma-sensei all know," Naruto replied. "I think Kurenai-sensei knows, too."
"Naruto, she's not a sensei. Just a librarian."
"I call her sensei," Naruto stated with a small shrug. "She doesn't care."
"So they're the only ones who know? No one else does?"
"No," Naruto said, shaking his head slightly.
"Hang on one second," Itachi sighed. "Sasuke, get off the phone. Don't think I don't know you're there." The sound of a phone being hung up met Naruto's ear. "Sorry, Sasuke's been listening since you started saying who knows about your pregnancy. So is there anything wrong?"
"No, I'm just stuck on this one problem and can't figure it out," Naruto replied, tapping the tip of his pencil on the worksheet.
"Which one?" Itachi asked.
"Um, number fifteen," the blond replied. "Dividing one fraction with another."
Papers' flipping was heard before Itachi started to speak again. "Alright, found it," he said. "Would you like me to talk you through the steps, or do you want one of us to go to the other?"
"Um, maybe you can come over here? I really don't want to go over there if Sasuke's there. It's hard enough avoiding him at school."
"Alright, I'll be over in a little bit," Itachi chuckled.
"Okay. See you in a bit."
"Bye, Naruto-kun."
"Bye." Both hung up. Naruto gave out a low sigh before the phone started to ring again. "Hello?" he spoke into it when he answered. Nothing. "Hello?" Still no reply. "Sasuke, if that's you, stop being an asshole." Still no answer. "Is anyone there?" Then the annoying beeping was heard and Naruto hung the phone back up. "Okay? That was a little weird. Must have been one of those nobody prank callers."
He sighed again, standing from his chair and walking over to his bed, lying down on the thick blankets once he reached it. He nuzzled his face into the fluffed pillows, inhaling deeply and letting out a single cough. He needed to spray the place with something that smelled good. He didn't know how long he was laying there, waiting for Itachi to show up. He jumped when he heard knocking on the door. "One minute!" he called, getting up from the bed before walking over to the door. When he opened it, he smiled brightly. "Hey, Itachi," he greeted, opening the door wider.
"Naruto," he greeted back as he stepped in. "Figure anything out?"
"Not one thing, but then again, I didn't want to continue until I had someone that could explain things to me was here," Naruto replied, closing the door once Itachi was inside the apartment. "Sasuke ask where you were going?"
"He asked if I was coming here, but I told him I was heading to the office because Zetsu had something he wanted to show me," the brunet said. "I don't think he bought it, though. How long was Kyuubi here?"
Naruto blinked in astonishment as he sat down on the bed, his worksheet still on the desk. "How did you know he was over?" the blond asked.
"I recognize that Mustang anywhere," Itachi said, going over to the desk where the worksheet laid forgotten. "How long was he here?"
"Just for the weekend," Naruto stated, digging through his backpack for a notebook so he could work on the bed. That way, Itachi could sit instead of standing behind him while walking him through the worksheet. He smirked when he pulled out his binder before going over to the desk and grabbing the worksheet. "We can work on the bed so you can sit," Naruto said before Itachi nodded.
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Sasuke looked all over the house for the picture that went missing. He even searched in Itachi's room, but still no sign of it. "Damn it!" Sasuke growled. "Itachi took it and I know he did! Where did he put it? Let's see. Think like Itachi. Think like Itachi. I cannot believe I just said that. Think like Itachi." With an aggravated growl, he continued searching throughout the large house.
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"Thanks a lot, Itachi," Naruto said, sticking his work into the binder in his lap. "I think I get it a little better now."
"Good to know," Itachi chuckled. "Think you'll do okay on the test Friday?"
"There's a test?!" the blond asked in disbelief.
"I'll tell everyone else tomorrow, but I decided to give you a heads-up so you have longer to study," Itachi replied.
"Thanks," Naruto groaned, rubbing his forehead a little. "Man, a test? I'm going to fail and I know it! I always fail!"
"I don't think you will, Naruto-kun," the Uchiha reassured. "You'll do fine. You managed to do number twenty by yourself just fine. And I didn't need to help you with it. By the way, number twenty is the hardest. Not to mention you did the first fourteen pretty well before I got here."
"Stop trying to make me feel better," the blond growled, laying on his back. "I sometimes really hate you, Itachi," he joked with a small laugh. Itachi just chuckled as he slowly shook his head. "What? I do!" Itachi looked at him with a smirk as he sat back up. "Really, Itachi. Thanks a lot. Not just for helping me on the homework or for giving me the heads-up on the test. I mean thanks for a lot of things. You've really been there for me when I needed someone."
"Of course I have, Naruto," Itachi replied with a small smile. "What are friends for when they're not there when you need them?"
Naruto smiled back before nuzzling his face into Itachi's shoulder. "I'm glad I have you for a friend, then," he sighed. Itachi's jaw tensed up, staring down at the peaceful blond leaning on his shoulder. He lowered his head until his nose was buried in the golden locks, sighing deeply to take in the scent. Naruto shifted around a little bit, making Itachi pull away before bright blue eyes looked up at him.
And then Itachi just couldn't hold back anymore. Hesitantly, he gently pressed his lips against Naruto's. Naruto's eyes went wide before he leaned into the kiss, his hands pressed against Itachi's chest as the brunet wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist. When he felt Itachi starting to slip his hands up his shirt, he pulled away. "No," he protested.
Itachi pulled his hands away, moving then to his side where he gripped at the blanket. "Sorry," he said. "That was inappropriate and inexcusable of me."
"It's okay," Naruto weakly assured. "I just don't want to get into another relationship right now. I mean, Sasuke and I did just break up." He chewed on his bottom lip. "I just don't think I can handle being with someone else for a while."
Itachi nodded in understand. "I think I should leave before I do something else," he stated, getting to his feet. Naruto was about to get up as well, but Itachi stopped him. "I can show myself to the door," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Naruto-kun."
"Bye," Naruto whispered as Itachi walked out the door. Then he pulled his knees into his chest, lowering his face into his arms that crossed themselves over his knee. His breathing turned shaky as he rocked back and forth, using the balls of his feet to push him. Then he cried out angrily, jumping off the bed before heading into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. The phone started to ring again, but Naruto didn't answer it.
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"That didn't take you long," Sasuke noted when Itachi came in through the front door.
"Something wrong, Sasuke?" he asked in an innocent tone.
"Yeah, I highly doubt you went to the company," his younger brother stated. "You went to Naruto's and I know it. You think I'm stupid? You leave right when you get off the phone with him? I can put two and two together! And what the hell did you do with my picture?!"
"What picture?" Itachi asked, continuing to act like an innocent being accused of a crime.
"My picture!" Sasuke snapped. "The picture on my table of me and Naruto! I know you took it! What did you do with it?!"
"I can say with all honesty that I have no clue what you are shouting about, little brother," the older Uchiha stated.
"Stop lying to me, Itachi!" he continued to shout at his older brother. "What did you do with it?!"
"Hid it," Itachi replied with a shrug of his shoulders. "You can't tell me you really want to keep it."
"Of course I do, you asshole!"
"I'm sure you have countless other pictures of Naruto somewhere in your room," Itachi sighed, inspecting his nails.
"They're all gone! Where did you put them all?!"
Itachi lifted his gaze from his nails to his brother. "Sasuke, I don't think I should tell you. If you keep pictures of Naruto all around your room, you'll end up obsessed with him and you'll eventually hurt him or do something to make him yours again. I would rather you didn't." Sasuke growled at him, fist clenched, before he charged towards Itachi, ready to throw a punch. But Itachi stepped to the side and punched Sasuke in the stomach before his brother could hit him in the face. "Stop acting so irrational, Sasuke," he said in a dangerous tone. "It's the best for the both of you."
"What the hell do you know?" Sasuke growled out, stepping away from Itachi as he rubbed his stomach. "Just what the hell do you know?!"
"A lot more then you do, foolish otouto," Itachi replied before the house phone started to ring again.
It rung about four times before the answering machine picked up. 'You have reached the Uchiha residence,' Itachi's voice came from the speaker. 'State your name, business, and a number to reach you at the tone.' Then the phone gave a loud high-pitched beep.
"Sasuke? Itachi?" a frantic voice spoke through the phone. "It's Iruka, Naruto's guardian."
Itachi picked up the phone before Sasuke could. "This is Itachi speaking," he said into the phone.
"Good," Iruka sighed. "Listen, there isn't much I can explain over the phone, but can you and Sasuke both come over to the hospital?"
"Why?" Itachi asked.
"It's Naruto," Iruka simply said before Itachi's eyes went wide.
"Which hospital?" Sasuke's eyes went wide this time. If Iruka was calling and asking them to come to a hospital, then something was up and he didn't like it. Itachi nodded when Iruka told him where to go. "Alright. We'll be there in a few minutes." He hung up the phone before looking towards Sasuke. "Get your shoes on. Something's happened to Naruto." Sasuke nodded, running to get his shoes on. "I'll be waiting in the car!" Itachi yelled out before Sasuke yelled back. Sasuke came out of the house as soon as the car started, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
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A man with brown hair tied into a high spiky ponytail with brown eyes and a scar crossing over his nose paced from wall to wall, glancing up and down the hallway before turning his gaze to the door. "Iruka, calm down," Kakashi said from his spot on the bench. "You'll make a hole in the floor."
"How can I be calm, Kakashi?" Iruka asked. "Naruto's in the hospital! I can't stay calm!" Kakashi just shrugged. "Why are you not worried about him?"
"Because I know the way the Uzumaki family is. You have to cut their heads off just to kill one. Relax. Naruto will live."
"I really do hope you're right, Kakashi," Iruka depressingly sighed, looking back at the door. To him, it was growing larger and larger with every passing second.
"Who did you call?" Kakashi asked, flipping the page in his book.
"Sasuke and Itachi," the brunet replied. "This could effect Naruto's pregnancy and I thought that Sasuke should know what was going on. Why would Naruto even do something like this in the first place?"
"Ma, ma, Iruka," Kakashi sighed, looking over the top of his book. "I thought Naruto told you."
"Told me what?" Iruka asked, glaring towards the silver-haired man.
"He broke up with Sasuke," Kakashi replied. "I was there when he did, watching from a distance. Though I'm sure Sasuke should know about this, Naruto may not want him here. Especially if this causes a miscarriage."
"Well thanks for telling me sooner!" Iruka tried not to snap. Kakashi just smiled behind his mask before his eye landed on his book once again.
"Iruka-sensei! Kakashi-sensei!" someone yelled before Iruka looked down the hall. Sasuke was running towards them, but Itachi was walking as calmly as he could. "What happened?!" he asked, stopping in front of the brunet. "Where's Naruto?!"
"Sasuke, stop yelling," Itachi sighed. "We are in a hospital."
"That's why I'm worried, Itachi!" Sasuke yelled at his brother, who just clamped his hand over Sasuke's mouth.
"Iruka, please explain," he calmly said, looking towards the brunet as Sasuke tried to get Itachi's hand off his mouth.
Iruka sighed silently. "I called Naruto a while ago at his apartment, and when he didn't answer, I got worried," he started. "He normally answers the phone every time someone calls his house and I knew he would be at home since he's never at your home around this time of day. I was lucky to get to him when I did or we would have lost him."
Sasuke finally managed to get Itachi's hand away. "What happened?!" he yelled again. Itachi's hand covered his mouth again.
"I'm explaining, Sasuke," Iruka pointed out. "When I got to his apartment, the door was unlocked, so I knew he was there, but I couldn't find him. Then I heard something in the bathroom and went to check." A small sigh created seconds of a pause. "Naruto slit both his wrists." Both pairs of eyes went wide. "I just barely got to him on time. He's just barely alive right now. He was really pale when I found him. I brought him here as soon as I wrapped his wrist. He's in there right now. They're fixing him up. Honestly, I'm surprised he's alive. There was a lot of blood on the floor."
Itachi, thinking Sasuke was in too much shock to yell, lowered his hand. Like he thought, Sasuke didn't say a word, he just whispered under his breath incoherently. Then he snapped around and grabbed Itachi by the front of his shirt. "What did you do?!" he yelled. Both Iruka and Kakashi blinked curiously. Itachi remain impassive. "You were with him last! You went to his house! What the hell did you do to make him try and commit suicide?!"
"I did nothing other then help him with his homework," Itachi calmly replied, gripping Sasuke's wrist before pulling the hand away from his shirt. "That is all." There was no way he was going to tell Sasuke about the kiss. Then Sasuke would make him feel even guiltier by saying it was his fault that Naruto cut himself. "What made him do such, I do not know. Stop trying to blame everything on me, Sasuke."
"You did something and I know you did! What did you do, Itachi?!"
Before Itachi could defend himself again, the door opened and a woman with short black hair and dark eyes stepped out of the room. "Excuse me," she quietly spoke. "But can you please not yell? You'll wake him up. He shouldn't be active until he has enough blood back in his body."
Sasuke blinked a couple times before rushing over to the woman. "Naruto, is he-?"
"He'll be fine," the woman assured.
"He's four months pregnant," the raven pointed out. "What about the baby?"
Her small smile fell as she lowered her gaze to the floor. "He lost too much blood to sustain the child. And we weren't able to save it in time." Sasuke's eyes went wide before he stared at the floor, slowly staggering away. "I'm sorry. Do any of you know why he did something like this?"
"No," Iruka replied. "He'll be alright, though. Right?"
"Yes," she replied. "Naruto-san will be fine. Unfortunately, he did have a miscarriage." Sasuke leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down it. He lowered his head into his palms, inhaling deeply, before lowering his head a little more until his hands were connected at the back of his head. "Excuse me," the woman said with a small bow when the door opened and a couple other people left the room. One whispered something into her ear before she nodded. "He's asleep right now, but you can still go in and see him as long as you don't wake him up."
"Thank you," Iruka said with a small bow of his head before the nurse smiled softly and left. Kakashi got up from his spot on the bench, stuffing his orange book into his jacket pocket for now. Sasuke was already at his feet and in the room. Itachi just sighed from his brother's impatience as he walked in with the other two men.
Naruto did look pale. An IV tube connected a sack filled with blood to a vein in his elbow. Both wrist were bandaged, and most likely had cotton pads under then judging from the bumps they had. His breathing was soft and relaxed, taking in deep breaths every now and then. Sasuke sat on the bed next to him, one hand holding loosely onto Naruto's limp fingers.
"We should be lucky that you went over when you did, Iruka-san," Itachi said, taking a seat by the window as Iruka occupied the chair next to the hospital bed where Naruto laid. Kakashi just leaned against the wall and whipped out his book again. "If not, we would have lost him."
"I'm just wondering why he even did this," Iruka sighed, brushing a few strands soft golden hair from Naruto's face.
"Too much stress or pain, probably," Kakashi said.
"Or maybe what he wanted, he already did," Itachi stated, bring two pairs of eyes to him. The third pair stayed on Naruto's form. "He and Sasuke recently broke up, as I'm sure you both know." Iruka and Kakashi nodded. "He's been trying to figure out what to do with the child. He only had a fifty-fifty percent chance of a miscarriage and if he gave birth to it, he may not be able to look at it without it reminding him of Sasuke." The raven turned his head to glare at his brother. "He forced himself into a miscarriage," Itachi concluded.
"Forced himself into a miscarriage?" Iruka repeated as Kakashi pout his book away. "Why would he do that? Naruto's always wanted kids."
"Like I said, the child would have reminded him of Sasuke, and he wasn't prepared for that," Itachi reminded. Sasuke stayed silent. "He was trying to break all bonds he had to Sasuke so it would be easier for him to move on."
"How the hell can you be so sure about that?" Sasuke asked through clenched teeth. Itachi just stared at him blankly. "How can you know what he was thinking at the time?"
"Because he actually talks to me about things, Sasuke," Itachi pointed out before his phone started to ring. He picked up after the second high-pitched ring. "Hello?" he spoke into it. "Itachi speaking."
"Is someone going to tell me why I just had a really bad feeling a moment ago?" a familiar voice asked in a demanding tone.
"For you," Itachi said, tossing the phone to Iruka. "It's Kyuubi."
"Kyuubi?" Iruka spoke into the receiver. "That you?"
"Depends on who this is," Kyuubi replied.
"It's Iruka, who else?" the brunet stated.
"Hey, Iruka!" Kyuubi greeted. "Hey, is Naruto all right? I got a really bad feeling and when I tried to call him, he didn't answer."
Iruka sighed, not really sure on how Kyuubi would react to the bad news. "He's in the hospital right now," he said.
"He's what?!" Kyuubi yelled, making Iruka hold the phone arms length's away. Itachi smirked as Sasuke stared at the phone curiously. Kakashi just stared blankly. "Why the hell is my younger brother in the fucking hospital?!"
"We're in his room, Kyuubi," Iruka pointed out. "If you yell any louder, you'll wake him up." Kyuubi just growled. "We don't really know the real reason, but Naruto…he cut himself." Kyuubi continued to growl, but Iruka thought he heard him ask 'why'. "Itachi thinks it's because Naruto was forcing himself into a miscarriage, but we don't know for sure."
"Give the phone back to Itachi," Kyuubi said after taking a deep breath.
Iruka looked over to Itachi before handing the phone back to the older Uchiha. Sasuke kept his eyes on it. "Well it is what I think," Itachi sighed.
"I'm going to give you my new number and then I want you to call me as soon as Naruto wakes up, got it?" Kyuubi asked in a deadly tone.
"Understood," Itachi sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Anyone got a paper and pencil?" he asked before Kakashi pulled both out from one of his pockets.
"Anything else you can fit in there?" Iruka asked with a blank stare. Kakashi just laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head as Kyuubi gave Itachi his number while the brunet wrote it down.
"Alright, I'll call when he wakes up," Itachi said, tossing the pencil back to Kakashi.
"You better, Itachi," Kyuubi growled before hanging up.
Itachi flipped his phone close, stuffing it into his pocket. "Well he wants me to call him when Naruto wakes up," he sighed. "Probably so he can yell at him for a little bit and try to get Naruto to tell him why he did it."
"I hope Naruto does wake up," Sasuke muttered. His eyes trailed down the unnatural pale arms of Naruto's before landing on the bandages that went from the blonde's elbow down to his palm.
"He will, Sasuke," Kakashi assured, patting the younger Uchiha on the back. "Trust me. He'll most likely be awake by tomorrow morning."
"Hope you're right, Kakashi," Iruka sighed. "I really do hope you're right." Itachi and Sasuke both nodded in agreement. Sasuke refused to leave his spot on Naruto's bed for a entire hour, even when the nurse said it was time for them to go. Itachi had to knock him out and carry him out just to get his brother to leave. Itachi made a small note to himself to check on Naruto before heading to school tomorrow morning. Just to check up on the blond a while.
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