Verisimilitude
By gure
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Comments: Er. An update because I felt compelled to finish this story soon. But does anyone even care about this story anymore? Gonna rush it along now…
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Chapter 4: Disguise
Wrong. There was something glaringly wrong about this situation. It was a daily routine for all the members of Team 7 to meet at the bridge, whether or not there was a mission to be completed. It was currently 10 in the morning, just about one more hour before the time Kakashi usually showed up, and Naruto was no where to be seen… which was odd, because he was usually the first or second one there.
Sasuke frowned and then turned to find Sakura staring at him.
"What?" Her staring was starting to annoy him.
"Ano… Sasuke-kun, I was wondering… shouldn't Naruto be here by now?" she placidly replied, trying to make conversation.
Sasuke grunted as the girl expressed his own question out loud, and then turned away from her.
"I'm going to get the idiot. Wait for Kakashi-sensei and tell him where I went if he comes. I'll be back." He turned to look at the rising sun and then started walking off the bridge, a little eager to go find Naruto although his expression was still sullen.
Sakura just sighed and nodded her agreement as she gazed longingly at the raven-haired boy as he walked out of her sight. She could always daydream while she waited.
---
The sight that greeted Sasuke scared him more than he could admit.
"Naruto, you idiot! Naruto! Wake up!"
The loud exclamation was unheeded and the blond continued to lie motionless on the floor. Sasuke cursed and gathered the blond to his arms, checking his vital signs and sighing in relief when he found a pulse. It was beating erratically, but it was something. He picked the boy up, cradled him carefully against his chest and ran as fast he could to the hospital.
---
All was silent and peaceful. There was no pain, no sadness, just a comforting void and a sense of calmness—until the hard jolt woke him up.
He was moving quickly, and the movement caused him to gag and feel extremely sick to the stomach. He opened his eyes groggily, but his eyes could not see anything but the brightness of the light. His face felt uncomfortably hot, but the rest of his body just felt numb and cold.
He was being carried by someone. That much he could tell, but he couldn't tell who. His head rolled back as that particular someone jumped off something high. Naruto groaned and tried to form words, but nothing came out but a gurgle.
But apparently that had gotten the attention of the person carrying him.
"Naruto! Hold on, we're almost there." The voice was mellow and low, although there was an undertone of carefully hidden worry and fear tinged within his words.
But he didn't really care anymore, because he was so tired. And he felt like throwing up even though there was nothing in his stomach. The movement and the wind rushing pass his ears took its toll on him, and once more, the light grew dark and he felt nothing.
---
A smooth cool hand. It felt good against his feverish skin. He woke up feeling slightly better than before, but the headache was still there. He shifted a little, feeling that hand move and slide down his cheeks.
"Naruto…" The voice now sounded familiar. It was the one from before. He also recognized it to be his number one rival, Sasuke, yet the tone of his voice felt alien.
He coughed and tried to speak. "Sa-Sasuke…?" He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry and felt like sandpaper. The hand disappeared for a moment, and then a cup was put to his mouth. Naruto greedily swallowed the refreshing water, soothing his sore throat. The cup disappeared and the hand did not touch him again.
"Dobe." Calm, low, brooding.
What happened? Naruto frowned and tried to open his eyes. He lifted his hands to rub them, as he blinked unsteadily at the black and blue blob in front of him.
"Sasuke..? I can't see you…" He started to panic as he rubbed his eyes again and then once more tried to look forward.
Two cool hands covered his eyes gently and pushed his head back down to the pillow.
"Calm down. Just take it more slowly. I don't know what happened, but you're sick, and your eyes are having a hard time adjusting to the light." Sasuke was worried, but he kept his voice calm and his temper down, for now. There were a lot of questions he wanted to ask the idiot, but now was not the time to be angry at him.
Naruto breathed slowly and then moved the hands away from his eyes. A face came into focus, and his heart calmed when he knew he hadn't lost his vision. He saw Sasuke, and felt his face heat up when he realized he was still holding Sasuke's cool hands. Releasing his hold quickly, Naruto blurted out the first thing that came to his mind; his tone of voice came out harsher than he expected
"What happened? What did you do to me? Why are you here?"
A pause. And then a furious voice answered him. "You're asking me? Maybe you can tell me why you were lying wet in front of your own doorstep, almost half dead from malnourishment and fatigue when I found you. Why the heck did the doctor tell me you were emaciated and why didn't you change intro dry clothes when you got out of the rain? Are you that useless that you can't even take care of yourself!"
Sasuke regretted the moment those words flew out of his mouth, but his anger for both Naruto and himself had blown its top, and his control had slipped. He was angry at Naruto for not taking care of himself, and he was angry at himself for not seeing the signs of fatigue that had overcome the blond for the past few weeks.
The blond looked down silently, eyes covered by his blond fringe. He winced at Sasuke's angry voice and stared dejectedly at his hands. Everything came rushing back him. It was true, all what Sasuke said. He had failed to take care of himself. As a shinobi, not only was he supposed to be able to take care of himself, he was also supposed to be strong enough to look after the village. But if he couldn't even look after himself, how was he supposed to take care of the village? Useless, just as Sasuke said.
He knew his limits, yet he ignored that voice that told him to stop. And now he paid the price. He knew that what little respect Sasuke had for him in the first place was probably flushed down the drain. All that effort and all that time he had tried to get the other boy to acknowledge him… and now it was gone because of his own blind stupidity.
He really felt like crying, but he remembered the last thought he had before he had blacked out. He was going to be strong, no matter if it killed him. As long as he was strong, Sasuke's opinion wouldn't affect him. Be strong, other people's opinions can't hurt you. As long as you know you're strong, you can do it, his mind told him repeatedly.
Naruto stared resolutely at his hands as time ticked silently between him and Sasuke. The environment around them was becoming tense enough to snap. Taking a deep breath, Naruto lifted his head as he managed to pull a vulpine grin that covered the pain in his eyes. His eyes closed in that fox-like curve and the stretch of his smile was so wide, he felt like his face was going to split. But he swallowed it all down as he reminded himself that this was his way of being strong.
"Hahaha—you're right, I'm useless, but I'll become stronger! In fact, I'm feeling a lot stronger right now. That was such a good lesson to myself! No problem! I'll just go on home and eat now. Don't want to become even more useless, huh. After all, not all of us can be so perfect so effortlessly like you! Bye!"
Realizing he was gibbering, Naruto precariously got up from the hospital bed as quickly as he could, keeping a wide berth from the still silent Sasuke, and stumbled hurriedly back home. Once he reached the hospital door, he sprinted away from the hospital until he had reached his own apartment. He realized that none of the hospital employees had even tried to stop him from leaving. He gave a bitter laugh as he closed the door behind him. His headache was worse now, but he knew it was because he had expended his body's energy and resources. He really shouldn't have ran back, but he hadn't want to be around Sasuke anymore.
Stumbling to his bed in the corner of the one-room, studio apartment, Naruto passed out, promising himself to eat when he woke up. He was just too tired to do anything else right now.
---
Sasuke was stunned. He thought he had Naruto down by now, and he had been ready for any furious and violent response the blond might have had, but that inhumanly giant grin had fazed him, knocked him silent and dead on as he stared unblinkingly into Naruto's wide grin. The blond hadn't even tried to argue back. Instead, he had agreed with him!
He hadn't really been ready for that. The words that Naruto spoke sounded sincere and very much like his usual tone, but he knew that the angered words he had delivered to the blond had been hurtful and unfeeling. By the time he had recovered from his shock, he was dismayed to find that Naruto had disappeared from his sight.
He walked out of the hospital room in deep thought only to be greeted by the two nurses and the doctor that had reluctantly tended to the blond when he had brought him in unconscious.
"Did you see that? He just ran out of this hospital like a lunatic! Hmph! Ungrateful brat! Good riddance! He's tainting this prestigious hospital anyway!"
Feeling fed up, Sasuke told them to shut up as he walked out of the hospital. Once more, he recalled the grin that Naruto had placed on his face when he had answered him. He had hurt the blond, so why was he still smiling so widely? Shouldn't he have been angry at Sasuke's words? Why hadn't he yelled or argued back?
A thought passed him, as he suddenly stopped walking. It was then Sasuke realized that Naruto had not even looked at him. There was no anger or emotion in his eyes because his eyes had been closed in smile the whole time.
To be continued…
