To Be Loved And Cherished
Chapter 4
Sitting beside his brother's bedside Itachi watched the slow and steady rise of Sasuke's chest, relieved to know that for the time being his brother was alive and doing as well as could be expected for someone in his situation.
"Any change?" Itachi heard his Uncle ask from the doorway.
"No." Itachi answered looking up at Madara. "Where have you been."
"I had an issue I had to take care of, but all is well now." Madara replied, entering the room and going to stand beside Sasuke.
"Do I want to know what you're talking about?" Itachi asked.
"The less you know the better." Madara replied. "Just know that the situation has been handled." Itachi sighed, wondering how Madara had found the attacker so fast. Of course, Itachi hadn't really even left Sasuke's beside for fear that Sasuke would somehow take his last breath.
"The doctors aren't always right you know." Madara said, knowing that his nephew was thinking about the doctors prognosis for Sasuke. "He could still come out of this alright. I'm going to believe that he will be alright."
"They seem pretty certain that he's going to be damaged in some way." Itachi said. "I just wonder in what way."
"Like I said, they aren't always right. I would sell my soul to the devil before I would allow Sasuke to be damaged in any way." Madara said.
"I think it's a little late for that." Itachi commented, raising his hands and brushing his fingers through his hair. He was beyond exhausted, but he wasn't about to leave Sasuke alone. Who knows his attacker could come back and finish the job and that was something that Itachi couldn't allow to happen. He had promised his parents that he would take care of Sasuke and he had every intention of fulfilling that promise.
"I understand you went to the school earlier to talk to the teachers about what happened." Madara said, "Did you learn anything."
"Aside from an argument that Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into. Not very much." Itachi replied.
"Could that argument be the reason behind Naruto's attacking Sasuke?" Madara wondered. "his own version of getting even perhaps."
"I don't know." Itachi said frowning. "No one I spoke mentioned Naruto ever being vengeful. In fact they told me that Sasuke was usually the one starting trouble with Naruto."
"And you believe them?" Madara asked.
"I don't know." Itachi replied. Remembering how jumpy Naruto had been when he had come to visit Sasuke. There was definitively something going on with the boy. He was too jumpy around people, why that was Itachi couldn't help but wonder. Had something happened to him to make him so fearful. Did Sasuke have anything to do with that reason. Itachi certainly hoped not, Sasuke had been raised to treat people with respect. Of course due to their parents deaths Sasuke was struggling with his grief, Itachi didn't expect Sasuke to get over that any time soon.
"I guess I'm going to have to talk to Naruto to see what their argument was over." Itachi said sighing.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Madara replied. "Besides I do believe I heard his father talking about moving away from Konoha."
"Why is it a bad idea? If he isn't the one that attacked Sasuke, chances are that he knows the one that did." Itachi said. "Not to mention I want to know why Sasuke liked causing him trouble."
"Kids tend to do that when there is someone they deem weaker than themselves." Madara said. "It's perfectly normal for Sasuke asserting his dominance."
"Sasuke knows better." Itachi stated. "Still I think I'm going to see if I can have a little chat with Naruto and see if he knows of someone who would have wanted to do this."
"I'm telling you, Arashi said he planned on leaving Konoha. He didn't mention if he would be coming back." Madara said and Itachi frowned.
"Why do you not want me to talk to Naruto? You are protesting far too much. Is there something you know that you don't want me to know."
"No. I only want what is best for you boys." Madara replied. "And you know that I only want to help you boys out." Still there was something about the way that Madara protested about Itachi looking Naruto up to talk to him that Itachi didn't like.
"Are you going to be here for a while?" Itachi asked, he needed to get away for just a little while. He hated seeing Sasuke unconscious, not knowing if his brother would ever wake up again.
"I am." Madara replied. "Go out and get a break for a little while." Itachi nodded, and reached up and brushed the back of Sasuke's hand with his own.
"I'll be back in a little while." Itachi said softly. "Don't go anywhere, please keep fighting! I'll keep fighting to find out who done this to you and why. They won't get by with it!" Itachi stood up, bending down and pressing his lips to Sasuke's forehead. "I love you little brother, come back to us soon." Standing up, Itachi turned toward the door and headed out. The first place he intended to go was to find out where Naruto lived. He didn't care what his uncle thought, he was going to have a conversation with the blonde haired boy.
"How's Sasuke doing?" A dark haired boy asked as Itachi headed out of the hospital. Itachi paused and looked over at the boy, whose pale eyes looked worried.
"No change, he's still unconscious." Itachi replied.
"I wish this could have been avoided." Neji stated, staring down at the concrete.
"Do you think Naruto done this?" Itachi asked though he already had the feeling that he knew the answer.
"No." Neji said darkly. "I don't. Naruto doesn't have a mean bone in his body. In fact I strongly suspect that he is trying to hide the abuse that he is going through." Itachi frowned. "Don't get me wrong, Naruto and Sasuke don't get along, but that's because Sasuke isn't so nice to Naruto. Even when Sasuke hits him, Naruto has never once tried to hit Sasuke back. So if you think that Naruto had anything to do with this, think again."
"I was kind of curious about Naruto. Is behavior isn't that of someone who is extremely aggressive. Sasuke's beating is most certainly the result of someone is who highly aggressive." Itachi said.
"Naruto's behavior is the result of his douche bag father beating the shit out of him." Neji said scowling. Itachi frowned.
"If everyone knows that Naruto is getting beaten, then why is no one doing anything about it?" Itachi wondered. "Surely it wouldn't be that hard to prove."
"The problem is Naruto denies it." Neji replied. "I think he is afraid of what his father would do if he found out that Naruto said anything. He's most certainly not trying to protect that dick head. He's scared for his own damn life and no one knows what to do because Naruto won't speak up against him."
"He wants to be loved by the man that is supposed to love him unconditionally." Itachi commented. "I don't think that's a bad thing, except from what I'm hearing that man doesn't have an ounce of love inside him."
"No he doesn't. And its only made Naruto suffer in the end." Neji said sighing. "Naruto is a nice kid, he doesn't deserve to be going through that kind of hell. Sasuke should have left him alone, I know he knew about Naruto's current situation. Perhaps that's why someone took it into their own hands to deal with Sasuke." Itachi frowned. Could that be the reason Sasuke was in the hospital, because he'd been picking on Naruto and someone didn't like it and decided to give Sasuke a taste of what Naruto was going through? Itachi didn't like the sound of it, didn't like the thought of his little brother being a bully. But everyone that Itachi had spoken to told Itachi that Sasuke had been picking on Naruto, and Naruto allowed it for the most part until he got angry and told Sasuke some hurtful things that he probably shouldn't have.
"Do you happen to know where Naruto lives?" Itachi asked. "I want to talk to him." so many questions were popping in his mind, like why he would allow his father to beat the shit out of him. Didn't Naruto realize that by protecting the man, he was only allowing the abuse to continue.
"He lives on the run down side of town." Neji replied. "In a white house that's barely standing. It's pretty much the worst one on the block, you can't exactly miss it. I kind of hope you catch his father in the act so that he can finally pay for what he's done to that kid." Itachi nodded wondering how much of what his uncle had told him was true. If Arashi Uzumaki had skipped town, he wasn't likely going to catch him in the act. But still he could hope that the man came back, meanwhile he would see what he could find at the Uzumaki house, maybe he had left a clue as to where they would be going.
"Is it okay if I go sit with Sasuke for a little while?" Neji asked. Itachi nodded.
"Our uncle is with him, but he won't mind you visiting Sasuke. The more people that go see him the better. Hopefully someone's voice will help him wake up." Itachi said. "If you can help that happen, I will be forever grateful, Sasuke doesn't seem to respond much to me."
"I'm sure if he was able he would." Neji commented. "You've done the best you could with him. He knows that, if he can find his way back to you, I know he will." Itachi nodded.
"I guess I'll get going and see what I can find at Naruto's place." Itachi said and Neji nodded and disappeared into the hospital doors. Itachi was glad that Sasuke had good friends that cared about what happened to him.
Itachi heaved a sigh as he headed towards his car. He couldn't help but wonder why Arashi would choose to take care of a child that he didn't want. Why make Naruto suffer for Arashi's own lack of ability to care? Itachi wondered how a person could hold so much hate for their own child, it wasn't right. Why was it the people that didn't deserve children got to have them, while those that desperately wanted children couldn't have them? Itachi thought there was something wrong with that as Itachi slid into his car. He had the feeling he probably wouldn't find out any answers to any of those questions, but he hoped to find something, anything out about why Arashi was the way he was.
As Itachi pulled out of the hospital's parking lot, he tried to focus his thoughts on what Neji had told him about Naruto, and how Naruto very rarely fought back against anything that Sasuke done to him. Aside from Naruto having said what he done, he usually never done anything to protect himself from Sasuke. Itachi couldn't really get his head around his little brother being a bully towards anyone, especially someone who was already dealing with being abused at home.
Ten minutes later, Itachi reached the small run down house, glancing at the other houses surrounding it. Itachi couldn't help but wonder how anyone could live in such a place, the house looked like it needed to be condemned. Parking in the drive, Itachi climbed out, and walked up the small broken stones that serves as stairs. He walked around rotten pieces of wood to get to the door. Knocking loudly, Itachi waited for a few minutes before trying to open the door, only to discover that the door was locked. Itachi frowned, if one was leaving town without the intention of coming back, then why lock the door? Anything of value should have been taken with them, unless there was something that had been left behind that Arashi didn't want discovered. Itachi turned and headed down the porch, and headed towards the small one car garage. He wasn't going to let a locked door stop him from getting inside, he would find out what Arashi was trying to hide.
Entering the garage, which for some reason had been left unlocked, Itachi headed towards the small stairs that led to the inside of the house. It was only what he saw beside the stairs that made him freeze. Naruto lay shirtless, on a small mattress, his body covered in bruises, and cuts. Blood dried on the skin, making him appear darker than he was. What sickened Itachi even further was the fact that Naruto's hands were cuffed behind his back, while he was chained to the wall. Itachi swallowed hard, not liking how thin the boy had gotten. It had only been two weeks since Sasuke's attack, how had things gotten so bad for the kid?
As Itachi approached Naruto, he could see that Naruto's face was badly swollen, his jaw clearly broken, as was his nose. Itachi didn't like the wheezing sounds the boy made, obviously he had some broken ribs and that was likely what was causing Naruto's troubled breathing. Reaching out Itachi placed his hand on the emaciated shoulder, startling Naruto and causing him to jump, and whimper in pain. Naruto's head turned weakly towards him and Itachi noticed that Naruto's normally bright blue eyes were milky white, making Itachi realize that whatever had happened to Naruto had left the boy blinded.
Bile rose in Itachi's throat, and turned away, vomiting on the hadn't expected a blind, nearly starved Naruto to be left chained up in a cool garage. With the temperatures as cold as they were Itachi was surprised that Naruto didn't have some form of frost bite. His heart hurt hearing the small cries of pain escaping from Naruto's lips. Even if Naruto had been the one that had attacked Sasuke, he didn't deserve to be beaten so badly and left to starve to death.
"Hang on kid." Itachi said after wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "I'm going to get you out of here." He really didn't like the way that Naruto flinched away from his touch, it was a testament to how badly he had been beaten. Naruto probably only expected for people to hurt him and not care for him. It was a sad thing for that to happen. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled his cell phone out and called for an ambulance. Once that was done, Itachi stood and went in search of something to cover Naruto with. The poor boy was freezing, Itachi wondered how he could have been left in this condition. He sincerely hoped that Arashi was found and held responsible for this. Finding a blanket, Itachi returned to Naruto's side and gently lay the blanket over the bare shoulders. How could any person do this to the ones they were supposed to love. As Naruto turned on his side, Itachi noticed how distended Naruto's stomach was, frowning Itachi reached down and touched, not liking how firm and stiff his stomach was. It meant one thing, that Naruto likely had some kind of internal bleeding going on.
"You're father should be charged with attempted murder." Itachi muttered darkly, his heart aching as Naruto released another pained whimper before attempting to pull away from Itachi's hand. Clearly just being touched caused the boy pain, and Itachi withdrew his hand. He didn't want to cause Naruto anymore pain than he was already dealing with.
"I'm sorry this happened." Itachi said unsure of whether the blonde boy could even focus on his words. "But I am going to somehow make it up to you. You will find that not everyone is as cruel as your father. In fact most people are kind in their own way. I think it's time that you found that out for yourself." Itachi knew that after this ordeal Naruto would likely have trouble trusting anyone that got near him, and Itachi couldn't blame him. Naruto had already been through so much, probably even more than anyone ever knew about. That in itself broke Itachi's heart, if he could he would save all those being hurt by the ones that were supposed to love them. What was wrong with people to think instead of having the unwanted child put up for adoption they would beat the child to death. Itachi didn't need to be a doctor to know that Naruto's condition wasn't good. He almost hoped that Naruto didn't pull through because who knew what kind of hell would await him when he was finally able to recover from his injuries. If he was able to recover, considering the seriousness of his condition Itachi knew there was a damn good chance that Naruto could just as easily pass away. Itachi really hoped that that didn't happen. Naruto deserved to see that not everyone was evil.
"Just hang on kid." Itachi muttered. "I know it would be easier to just let go, but you can't not yet." in all honesty Naruto really didn't have any reason to keep fighting, he didn't have anyone that would care whether he lived or died.
A few minutes later, Itachi heard the sound of approaching sirens, and knowing the paramedics were there, he stood up and wandered over to the door to lead them to Naruto.
"Poor kid." The red haired medic said, as she knelt down beside him. "This shouldn't have happened." she told the others in the room. "Everyone knew his father was hurting him, but no one done a damn thing about it. If he dies his blood might as well be on our hands." Itachi watched silently as the medic's removed the collar from around Naruto's neck, tears in their own eyes.
"We'll probably have to cut the handcuffs off of him." The male medic said. "I can't see us getting them off any other way."
"He's lost enough weight, we should be able to slide his hands through." Rin replied. "I would like to see Arashi treated like he was worth less than a dogs life." rage filled her veins as she gently gripped Naruto's bony wrist, and gently pulled hand at a time through the cuffs.
"No child should ever be treated like this." Rin muttered, as the two medics got Naruto onto the gurney, the boy whimpering whenever their hands touched him.
"I'm sorry, angel." Rin murmured as she ran her hands over him, feeling his other injuries. She could tell that he had several broken bones, ribs included. She winced as she touched Naruto's distended stomach. She knew that was a sign that Naruto was in serious trouble.
"We need to get him to the hospital ASAP." She said as they started rolling the gurney towards the waiting ambulance. "And Arashi better hope that Naruto pulls through. If he doesn't, I don't mind starting a manhunt for him. This will not go unpunished."
"I'll meet you at the hospital." Itachi informed after watching Naruto get loaded into the ambulance. He had so much on his mind that needed to think about, he knew if he went with Naruto he wouldn't be able to focus on that. One thing was for certain, Itachi was going to somehow make sure that Naruto's life got easier after this. If he survived that was.
Thanks for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoy Liz
