Hello,
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto.
Sorry for the wait.
I'm sorry if my grammar and my spelling suck... I had proper grammar classes but outside exercises I'm very bad at applying grammar... ^^;;
Thanks to all the reviewers: StarsOfYaoi; Byakugan Hyuga; Keitsu Han'ei (I just happen to use a spelling checker, not my fault if it's inefficient); DarkRavie X2; Peter Kim; Stalker-san; PirateCaptainBo X2; White Raven6; Harteramo; XxBookScarxX; slyswn28; Mican-chan; ddd; LoVinu93; animelava; MULAN-IFUWEREGAY; ChocolateDucttape; turquoise-kitsune; black-ice-alchemist; demon'sLOver; Silver Phoenix7; Lulu67; sesshoumaru4me; Sesshomarubaby18.
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Exile Shelter Revenge Chapter 4
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Uchiha Sasuke was laying on his hospital bed, staring at his hands. No matter how he looked at it, he still had only nine fingers.
He gritted his teeth as he saw his doctor, a small squat man in his late forties early fifties with grayish greasy hair scotching at his skull, entered the room noisily, stumbling over his own feet. Following him was a young inexperienced looking nurse whose head was bowed so low that Sasuke could only see glimpse of her pale face through her messy dark brown hair.
He walked up to Sasuke's bed, licking his bulldog like lips then wiping his red potato like nose with his horrid dark red handkerchief. He gripped the file hanging on the bed-foot and opened it, the metallic jacket clinging loudly again the iron rod of the bed.
"So Uchimi-San (1)..." The doctor began while seemingly reading the file narrowing his piggy black eyes at the small scribed words neatly arranged on the white paper.
"It's .ha." Sasuke said, frowning his nose in disgust as the smell his doctor wine stained breath entered his nostrils.
"Yeah, Uchiki (2)..." The doctor repeated as he put the file back in place. "I submit your case to a surgeon. He sadly came to the same conclusion as me. It's inoperable. Even-though whoever gave you the first-aids was quite skilled, it's a miracle that you can even stand. You may be able to walk but do not strain your ankle too much, it will not resist to shock and it is really weakened. But as I know the like of you never follow advices. So I warned you Uchiki (3), any tremendous effort on this ankle and you will be limping for the rest of your life."
The doctor looked up at the Uchiha glaring then took Sasuke's left hand, taking off the bandages, he examined it particularly the empty space where should have been the ring finger.
"The finger was gangrened, we had to cut it to its base..." His doctor said in a business like voice. "Your body is obviously too weak to undergo a reconstructive surgery."
He stopped frowning deeply passing his rough fingertip over the tender reddish skin which had grown over the injury.
"The Stump does not heal quickly enough." The doctor whispered to himself, releasing Sasuke's hand.
"So what?!" Sasuke snapped back clearly unnerved.
His black eyes narrowed at the doctor standing in front of him.
"There is next to no hope that you will be able to have a prosthesis for your finger." The doctor said ignoring the glare thrown at him by the youngest Uchiha.
Sasuke bit the inside of his cheek.
"But..." The man began.
Sasuke tilted his head slightly to the right showing his doctor that he had his full attention.
"If you don't exert yourself too much, it could be possible... it's a slim chance... but you would have to stop using chakra even for the simplest things for about a year... and then the Chakra coils may be damaged during the surgery, incapacitating you to ever use them again."
"No prosthesis" Sasuke said firmly.
The up-until-then silent nurse turned around looking eyes wide at the Uchiha letting out a shrill.
"Uchiha-San you've to reconsider!" She pleaded adamantly looking fervently at the Uchiha.
"There is nothing to reconsidered!" Sasuke spatted back at the nurse who cowered back biting down her thin light-pink lip.
Her brownish eyes immediately turning down, she licked her lips and sniffled. Her eyes landed on Sasuke missing left ring finger and she felt her determination harden.
She took a step toward Sasuke's bed.
"I must insist Uchiha-San, it's very... important...." She trailed not having a clue of what she could say to convinced the Uchiha to undergo the surgery.
Her eyes met the dark gaze of the Uchiha and she shrunk back fearing the undertone threat hidden in those dark pools.
"When can I be discharged?" The Uchiha asked arrogantly turning away from the cowering nurse.
……………………………
Naruto sighed. He hated D-ranked mission. He hated them when he was a Genin and he hated them even more now that he was a Jounin-sensei.
"Ch..." The sound of the walkies talkie called Naruto back to reality. "... Red leaf in place... Target in view. At 3.00... " came the barely audible adolescent voice of Kei
Another statics sound and the loud yet effeminate voice of Shûichi echoed into Naruto's ears: "... Green leaf in place... Target in view. At 6.00..."
"Ch... in place.... target 9.00..."
Naruto rolled his eyes at Akiko's total disinterest in the procedure.
"Capture the target." Naruto whispered inside the receptor.
Naruto heard scrapping of the leaves, the screeching of a cat and the cry of anger and pain of Shûichi. A small smile formed on Naruto's face as he remembered his own D-ranked mission.
"Ch... Target caught..." Kei voiced without any emotion.
Naruto silently get down the tree branch he had been crouching on making his way to his now bickering team.
……………………………
Sasuke had managed to get his useless doctor to discharge him. Sadly, in his way out, he met face to face with Sakura.
Apparently she had been looking for him all around the hospital. Sasuke could see she had not changed much apart from looking a bit more muscular than he remembered: she was still nuisance, following him around like lost puppy.
Sasuke wondered briefly if she was still a Ninja. It certainly did not look like she had trained a lot. Maybe she had become a medic. She could not hope better with her evident lack of Chakra.
"I heard Naruto found you..." That was all Sasuke caught of Sakura babbling.
Naruto had found him?
Sasuke looked down at his hands and flexed his leg.
That was the dobe who gave him the first-aids? It was the dobe who saved his right leg?
Sasuke stopped for a second.
Could Naruto still considered him as a friend?
Sasuke felt strangely relief at the thought. He quickly shook his head.
No, he did not need friends. Friends were like weight wrapped around his legs keeping him from reaching his goal.
Sasuke frowned a bit maybe he could make use of Naruto.
Not killing him of course. He got out of an attempt of murder on a fellow Ninja once he would certainly not get out of it a second time, better not tempt fate.
But if Sasuke had learned one thing from Orochimaru it was that killing someone was not necessary a physical feat, one could kill the spirit too. It was more efficient...
Just one word, an action and the world would go blank to the victim.
Like that he could obtain the mangekyô and without killing Naruto per se.
"I'll be watching over you." Sakura beamed at Sasuke attaching herself to his arm. "Order from Tsunade-sama."
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Naruto was soaking wet: how stupid could he be sometimes!
He knew it was going to rain!
It was written all over the sky.
But No! He did not listen to his instinct and left his umbrella home.
He knew running under the rain was useless, it would not prevent him from being soaking wet, so he walked cursing his own stupidity.
Mud was accumulating quickly under the soils of his boots making them heavier.
He pouted, he was so tired. He just wanted to go home.
The light of the street above him flickered once, twice, thrice before tuning out of existence.
Naruto let out a sigh. It was just his luck.
He took a quick look up at the sky wondering if he could hope for a slight rest from the rain.
No, certainly not.
It would surely rain all night long and maybe even all day tomorrow from the look of the sky -which was quite exceptional for the fire country.
Naruto bit his lips, he had the feeling that something bad would happen.
He turned his eyes back to the road and quickened his pace.
He would take a long bath once at home and then go check on his little genin just to make sure.
He hurried his pace a little and arrived in record time -for a walking pace- to his apartment. Of course, he was soaked to the bone, but that would be a matter quickly taken care of.
Pushing his door opened, he quickly shade his wet clothes not caring that he was sprawling around his flat naked as the day he was born. He quickly made it to the bathroom hoping he would not have to mop too much of the floor after. He turned on the shower waiting for the hot water.
'Damn, Why does it take so long?!' Naruto thought jumping from one foot to an other in hope to warm himself up a bit.
The water turned warm, creating a thick foam and Naruto just dived under the spray closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of the hot water rushing on him, burning his cold flesh back to a warmer state.
He let out a smile. He would stay under the warm spray all his life if he could, but his hyper active side would not let him be there for more that a few minutes actually.
Naruto frowned a bit. He could swear he heard some noises coming from the front door.
Leaving the faucets on, he stepped out of the shower cubicle, grasped a towel and knotted it around his waist. He silently looked for the Kunai he hided behind the pharmacy drawer, and made his way out of the bathroom.
He suppressed a shiver as the cold air of the hall stroke him.
His legs felt numbs. He should not have taken such a hot shower, he scolded himself as he made his way as silently as he could toward the entry way.
There stood the intruder not even trying to conceal himself.
Naruto frowned.
"Sasuke?" He asked. "What are you doing out of the hospital?"
"Naruto." Was the only replied he got.
"Yeah, I'm Naruto." Naruto answered flicking the light on. "You know you could knock before entering someone else home. I heard it was the polite thing to do, you know."
There was a silence for a moment, Naruto waiting for Sasuke to reply.
"You're even less talkative than before." Naruto complained a bit uneasy.
But Sasuke stood still not replying, not moving not even the slightest sign of emotion crossing his face. And it crept Naruto out.
"Won't you come inside?" Naruto proposed. "I'll make you some green tea and Onigiri (4). Still like those no?"
Naruto stepped aside, gesturing for Sasuke to enter.
"I'm going to put some clothes on. Make yourself home." Naruto explained as he made his way back to the bathroom.
When he was back he found Sasuke sitting on his cough a cup of steaming tea in his hands. Naruto's eyes fell on Sasuke's missing finger.
"Will they be able to do anything about?" Naruto asked. "It was bad when I first saw it, I tried to help a bit but it did not seem like it was salvageable..."
Sasuke staid silent puffing on his hot tea.
"Anyway, I'm glad you're back Sasuke." Naruto let out in a whisper.
He waited for a moment to see if Sasuke would react.
"I know it's not what you wanted... I mean being back here. You surely never plan to come back. You would have killed your brother and disappeared like the Hero do at the end of a story." Naruto babbled.
He looked at Sasuke who was now sipping his tea in silence.
"I guess I'm really happy to see you back..." Naruto repeated hoping for an answer.
He stared at Sasuke for a long time.
"Argh this is so sappy!" Naruto exclaimed trying to break the building tension.
"You've always been sappy." Sasuke replied under his breath.
Naruto smiled, he finally got a word out of Sasuke.
"Hey? Me Sappy?! Certainly not!" Naruto claimed.
"You're." Sasuke insisted.
"Am not." Naruto tried to instigate one of the old 'are vs are not' war he used to have with Sasuke.
Sasuke stared at him.
"You know we are long passed the age of those childish games." Sasuke said in a calm even voice.
"We may. But that doesn't mean we can't be childish from time to time... It's no good to always be serious Sasuke." Naruto complained.
Naruto stared at the low table in silence for a few second.
"I've few times to enjoy myself as I used to. Reality really hit me hard you know, Sasuke." Naruto explained in a serious voice.
Naruto looked directly into Sasuke's eyes.
"I know what you are planning to do, Sasuke." Naruto whispered.
His eyes never left Sasuke as Sasuke went rigid.
"I know you want to break me to obtain the Mangekyô." Naruto continued, eyes glued on Sasuke analyzing the slightest flinch.
Naruto took his own cup of tea that Sasuke had prepared for him, in his hand.
"It would be so easy for you to break me, Sasuke." Naruto confessed. "I'm on the verge of breaking the slightest push and all that is me will implode in millions of little pieces. I know it. I can feel it."
Naruto took a sip of his tea, his eyes still fixed on Sasuke.
"But I don't think it would be worth." Naruto supplied. "For you to break me... You never went for the easiest way, Sasuke. Even going to Orochimaru was not choosing the easy way."
Naruto frowned a second thinking of what he wanted to say.
"Orochimaru had high expectation for you and he was not going to cuddle you like Konoha had done." Naruto snorted. "From the beginning they were cuddling you: in academy, they pulled out the subject of missing-nin classification in our year; the team choice: The softest most vulnerable Kunoichi and the demon: there was no way we would have been chosen for any really dangerous missions; the instructor: One of the toughest Special Jounin with ANBU background and a very good understanding of the Sharingan."
Naruto gulped down his tea.
"It took me ages to figure that out, you know..." Naruto explained sadly.
He turned his gaze back to Sasuke.
"It had never been a question of balance. The one with the worst result, with the one with the best overall and the one with the best written knowledge... That was all bullshit." Naruto complained. "I looked it up in the library..."
Naruto blinked as he saw the beginning of a smirk formed on Sasuke's lips.
"Yeah I know my punk self in a library is very unlikely... That's why I used a Henge. My reputation of inept idiot is still whole." Naruto joked.
Naruto chuckled a bit to himself before falling silent again.
"No team had ever been formed following 'our scheme' before. Not even the Sannin, in opposition to what Jiraya and Tsunade told me!"
Naruto turned around, back now facing Sasuke as he began to pace back and fro.
"Jiraya had the best hand to hand fighting abilities, Orochimaru was the best at Jutsu theory and practice, and Tsunade tight with Jiraya in Taijutsu and had the best result in strategy." Naruto explained.
Naruto let out a smirk as he saw the information sank in.
'You've been manipulated." Sasuke concluded.
"Played like a puppet." Naruto nodded turning around to face Sasuke.
Sasuke looked up at Naruto a bit confused at Naruto's rather amused reaction.
"But the puppet is just hanging by threads, and once the puppet realized it had been played, it can easily cut the threads..." Naruto explained. "But does the puppet want to cut the threads?"
"No, it does not." Sasuke answered. "Because without them, it would have to make its own decisions."
"You see Sasuke, I'm a willing prisoner, too afraid of freedom to break myself free." Naruto explained.
Naruto turned around now facing Sasuke.
"It would be pretty useless to break me... When I broke myself, Sasuke." Naruto concluded. "I'm just a sad shadow of what was once the me they fashioned."
Sasuke raised from his sitting position, putting the cup back on the low table.
"It was nice talking to you Sasuke. I hope to be able to do it again soon." Naruto muttered.
But Sasuke was already gone.
Naruto forced a smile on his face.
"One more day."
……………………………
Sakura was frantic.
She looked one last time around the pretty large studio: under the bed against the far wall on her left, under the other bed near the door, just in case in the attached bathroom looking through the small window -the only window of the flat- and in the American Kitchen.
But Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
She had just closed her eyes for a minute, and next thing she knew Sasuke had disappeared.
She had begged and begged Tsunade-sama to be the one looking after Sasuke, and now she had lost him.
Tsunade-sama would never trust her with something important again if she ever heard of it.
She had wanted to become Someone, and she had worked her best to enter under the tutelage of the Best Kunoichi the Ninja world had ever produced.
Day after day, for the last three years, she had revived smelly dead fishes, suture thousands of pig's legs until she could do it her eyes closed. She even asked that psycho of Anko to help her learn about the human body after Tsunade told her that Book knowledge would never be enough.
Despite her progress, she had yet to become Someone of her own, she was still just the 'apprentice of'. But she had faith that with a bit more training...
All her dreams would be dashed in the ground if she lost her mentor's trust over that small insignificant mistake.
She had just needed to close her eyes... She had been so tired with all the thoughts going in her head -Lee, Sasuke, Naruto, her Mom, Lee- all those things kept adding up. And she just closed her eyes for a second...
She could not stay there standing like an idiot lamenting and making excuses. What she needed to do now was to find Sasuke!
She took a deep breath.
Where would she go if she was Sasuke?
She prided herself in knowing Sasuke the best, and he could not have changed all that much in a few years time they had been apart.
The Uchiha compound?
It had been teared down and the 'maze of names' memorial dedicated to Ninja fallen in the line of duty had been built in its stead. It was more a civilian attraction than a Ninja's, and no ninja visited it like they had once visited the training ground memorial stone.
The training grounds?
Yes, but which one? There were so many of them. Maybe their training ground, the one they used pass the bell test in the one they used to train in, the memorial stone training ground?
But it was not a training ground anymore! The Elder counsel and the Ninja counsel were in a tugging war over it. The Ninja wanted to keep their memorial but the Elders argued that now that they had the 'maze of name', thus they did not need the memorial stone anymore and that it would be better to rehabilitate that training ground into a commercial zone to fit Konoha ever growing commercial attractiveness. As a result, their training ground was little more than a wild field now.
Sakura sighed.
Even if Sasuke had no changed after all those years, Konoha did. And Sakura was at a lost at where to look for Sasuke.
Maybe... Maybe at Naruto's?
She stopped for a second. They had never really be good friend, and Sakura was pretty sure that Sasuke only put up with Naruto because Active Genin Team had to be three members team. There was no friendship between them, or it was rather one-sided on Naruto side. Proof was from what she had understood, Sasuke had tried to kill Naruto!
Without her, they would not meet!
She would be the one thanks to who they would become friends. For her sake, they would do it.
Not on their own.
Never on their own!
They would not left her behind again. Doing things behind her back: Taking decision, learning things about each other -things Sakura did not know, would not know, never.
Sakura slowly began to panic, putting on her shoes, she stormed out of the apartment not even caring that she left it wide open.
She had to make sure.
She ran up through the street ignoring the fact that she had gone out without any umbrella and that it was now pouring cats and dogs. She ran blindly, anger and anxiety rising in her.
They would not leave her out anymore. She would not be left on the side to wake up in the morning and find them both gone!
NO WAY!
She would not be left behind anymore. Never again.
Just as she arrived to Naruto's apartment building, she saw a shadow slipping away from it, ad decided to follow it.
She narrowed her eyes. She could make out blond hair.
It was Naruto!
Maybe he was going to Sasuke... She had to follow him!
Sakura cursed herself for not training more as Naruto was clearly distancing her and she was feeling the weight of her wet clothes as she tried to run after him. But she had good eyes, and even in the dark, she would be able to pinpoint him running from roof to roof.
……………………………
Naruto crept silently up to the window.
He could have swear he heard the sound of glass breaking on the floor.
He knew if something was to go wrong it would be with Kei. He had seen the bruises and the slight barely repressed yelp of fear when someone came near him without his knowledge.
Chouji, himself, had told him that something was fishy with the woman.
"She doesn't act like she cares for him. It's like all this is a... punishment she has to go through." Chouji had explained.
Naruto had frowned at the word Chouji had used.
A punishment.
Not an obligation, not a bored, not a torture: a Punishment!
This had worried Naruto more than he would have cared to.
Naruto silently entered the house through Kei's opened window.
He took a look around.
The walls were covered with books of all kinds. From the Tree Encyclopedia to the forging technicalities, from 'Wagahai ha neko dearu' (5) to 'The Treaty of the five wheels'.
Naruto had to say he was slightly impressed by the diversity of subjects Kei had covered at such a young age.
Naruto walked up to the door carefully avoiding the numerous traps hidden in the room. Someone liked his privacy it seemed.
Naruto smiled a bit at the cleverness of some of the set-up. If given the occasion, Kei would do one hell of a prankster. Naruto would make sure to give you the perfect setting.
A smile would be a nice change to see on the boy's face.
Naruto slowly slipped the door of the room open. There was light in the Hall and screams coming from the living room.
"You're my punishment!" A woman was yelling. "I failed him and you're my Punishment! He gave you to me to punish me from my failure, I know it. Why can't you just disappeared? When will I have redeemed myself to his eyes? When will he come to ride me of you? When will I have paid enough? Eleven years is that a long enough Punishment? He won't come see me anymore, because you're here! My Punishment!"
Naruto crept closer worried about his student. Each sentences of the incoherent speech had been punctuated by muffled sounds which suspiciously sounded like hit falling on a body.
"I know... that's what he wants... He won't be happy with me... but I'll end my punishment! I know the way..." The deluded woman screamed just as Naruto entered the room.
Naruto took a second to take in the situation.
There, in the middle of what should have been a living room but looked more like a battle field: lamps broken down, low table overthrown, couch's cushions teared up; there stood a disheveled woman in a floral theme dress teared at places, blood staining her not-so-white-anymore apron, her hair were undone, eyes wide and crazed, hands clutching tightly a knife ready to strike. At her feet, crouched into a fetal position, covered in bruises was a whimpering Kei.
What shocked Naruto was that Kei was not making any move to avoid the hits, nor was he begging, or calling for his mother in hope to get her out of that trance she seemed to be in.
He had, sadly, witnessed this kind of scene before with Jiraya. Jiraya had this kind of sixth sense to find the house in which problems were brewing.
And Naruto never came out unscaled from those visits.
For each time he walked on one of those kind of scene, he bore a scar, a deep scar that not even time would erase.
The horror of the world Jiraya called it!
And sometimes, Naruto wished he had never seen it.
But like it had been drilled into his mind by Jiraya, Naruto acted. He took the knife out of the woman hands cutting his palms opened.
"It is often all it takes to shake a delusional person out of their trance: seeing an other person hurt by their action, furthermore if that person is a stranger."
Naruto then proceeded in throwing the weapon away, taking the woman face in his hands he looked at her intently.
"If the fact of hurting someone-else does not wake them up. Then a call back to reality is necessary, touching them is the first step. If this fails... a slap should definitely wake them up."
Naruto had followed Jiraya's method step by step. But he really did not want to hit the woman. He had a feeling that whatever he would do it would be a waste.
The woman had been far too gone and for far too long for Naruto to be able to do anything about it.
"What are you doing in my house?" The woman asked in a whisper. "Did he send you to get ride of my punishment?"
Naruto winced at the obvious excitement in her voice.
"If all failed and the necessity arose, in order to secure the victim, you can play along their disillusion. But never forget: Don't EVER turn your back to them."
"That's it." Naruto answered hoping that it would appeased her if not pleased her a little. "He send me to take away your punishment."
He slowly turned away from her, he knew that was a dangerous move, but, from what he had seen, Kei needed immediate medical care.
Naruto could feel her moving around going for the knife without the shadow of a doubt. But Kei's health statue was more important than protecting himself from the crazed woman.
Kei had some nasty bruises, several broken bones and surely some heavy internal bleeding.
Naruto pushed his chakra inside Kei trying to ignore the pain groaned his student emitted.
Now he could feel the woman stalking to him, surely the knife was in her hands, ready to strike. But he did not care if she stabbed him, he could take it with his host making its best to keep him alive.
……………………………
At last, they had got rid of it.
The demon who was tainting their village was gone.
The village would flourish again without the shadow of this dark past looming over it.
It was all for the better. And people would see it their way. Ninja, too, would see the light in their decision.
Of course, the boy they had to use had been a part of Konoha Ninja force and it may create some problem with them overstepping their boundaries. But all had been done for the greater good of Konoha.
And, if the boy survived, he would be proud of having part in the betterment of the village.
And if he did not survive, they would make sure his name was revered accordingly to the great sacrifice he had made and put in good place on the 'maze of name' next to the names of the greatest heroes of Konoha.
They had not wait for the Interrogation and torture department's report. Whatever the report might said would not changed the end result.
The demon was gone and would not stain Konoha with its presence anymore.
After all those years, they had finally managed it. And no one would be able to do anything about it.
And to that, they cheered all night long until the first light of day.
……………………………
End of the Exile Part
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(1) Contusion, bruise.
(2) Base I of the verbs Uchikiru: to interrupt ; to cease...
(3) Timidity (this play on words would have been better if I could use Kanji .;)
(4) Rice balls
(5) This is a two tomes novel written by Natsume Sôseki. The title translated: 'I'm a cat.' If you have the occasion read it.
Please Review. I'm working on the second arc of the story... Itachi coming up next.