A/N: Here I am again – and miraculously enough, on time! (grins) (For the record… Moving while you're trying to keep up with schoolwork SERIOUSLY sucks. Gah!)

BUT, first things first… Thank you from the bottom of my heart for those absolutely amazing reviews! (beams, and GLOMPS) You can't even imagine how much inspiration you've given me. So thank you! As always, responses to anonymous reviews shall be found from underneath the chappy.

A random note… I was an inch from turning this into a half-MPREG, half FEMSasu story. (chuckles) Now that would've been… interesting…

Awkay, because I'm already babbled way too long… Let's rock! I really hope ya'll enjoy this one. (gulps)

THE SONG FOR THIS CHAPTER: I searched for a long time until I remembered Foo Fighters' song "Best Of You". I couldn't help feeling that it kind of fits! (grins) As always, the lyrics can be found from underneath the chappy.

VERSE FOUR: Best of You

Two Weeks Later

Sasuke didn't know exactly what to feel while he sat on a park's bench, watching how Chiasa played around nearby with a couple of girls of her age.

It was silent for the longest time until Itachi spoke. "She's grown up a lot", his older brother commented in a soft tone.

It wasn't until then he realized that it'd already been almost two years from when he and Chiasa had left Tokyo, where they'd stayed at Itachi's place. "Hn. Kids grow up fast."

"Hmm." Itachi took a sip of his coffee while aiming a sideways glance his way. "How have you two been?"

He shrugged, feeling uncomfortable inside his own skin. This wasn't something he would've wanted to talk about. "We're fine, although it's confusing to live here so close to Naruto."

Itachi took another sip of his drink, not looking at him this time. "What about Ruki?" Sensing his surprise, the older smiled slightly. "What – you thought I'd never find out?"

He quirked an eyebrow, feeling very cold although it was relatively warm outside. "Since when has my lovelife been any of your business?"

Itachi shrugged. "Since you were born as my little brother." The man looked towards him, eyes locking with his. The air around them was much more serious all of a sudden. "You do know that you can tell me anything, right? Because although I live miles away, I want to help you if there's anything wrong. You're my brother."

He looked away, not wanting to meet Itachi's eyes for another second. It took far longer than it should've before he managed to shrug. "I'm fine", he murmured. "So you can stop worrying, okay? I can take care of myself." Deciding that he was already late enough from work, he tossed his already empty takeaway mug away and got up with some difficulty. "Thanks, for the coffee. I'll see you later."

"Yeah… See you."

Chiasa seemed mildly disappointed when he walked up to the girl. "Do we have to go already?"

He forced his expression even while picking the child into his arms, fighting not to wince from pain when she held on to him tightly. "Sorry, but we're already late. I'll bring you here again tomorrow, okay?"

Chiasa nodded, appearing pleased with that. "'K."

When walking away, he could almost feel how Itachi's eyes followed him. He hoped dearly they wouldn't see as much as he feared.

It'd been too long from the last time he'd met Sasuke, Naruto mused while sipping some horrible coffee during a break from work.

He'd tried calling Sasuke, but – quite unsurprisingly – the Uchiha hadn't accepted his calls. He'd also sneaked around the animal clinic, even entered the building once, but the raven had never been there – or so he'd been told.

So he was at a standstill, again. And he felt like screaming with frustration.

Yes, he was more than willing to admit that he deserved this. But he still loved Sasuke, and if the Uchiha was in a trouble he wanted to help. How was he supposed to do that when he was pushed miles away?

"So here's where you're hiding." Sakura's voice managed to startle him. She slumped to the chair across his. "I thought we were supposed to go to the cafeteria together."

He winced. He'd really started to suck as a friend since Sasuke's return. "'Sorry. I just… had something on my mind."

Sakura didn't appear all that surprised. "Sasuke?"

He gave her a wry expression. "Who else?"

She gave him a tiny, encouraging smile. "Love bites sometimes, doesn't it?"

"Hmh." His pager then snapped a life. He gave it a glance, then happily poured away what was left of his coffee. "I've gotta go." He gave Sakura a one more, sheepish look. "I really am sorry about forgetting, you know?"

She waved a hand, smiling. "No offence, but it takes a lot more than that to damage my ego. I'll see you later."

Smiling genuinely for the first time in a long while, he left the room.

He made it through about three hallways until something he saw made him freeze.

Right there in front of him, a man with black hair and a familiar posture was making his way towards a ward the name of which he couldn't focus on. His eyes widened.

Sasuke...?

Without thinking he dashed forth, then almost slammed a hand at the man's shoulder. "There you are! I've..." When the man turned around, he found himself blushing heavily. The eyes he met were jade-green, not onyx. He withdrew his hand as though the man's skin had burned. "Eh... Sorry."

The stranger muttered something dark under his breath before turning and walking away.

He groaned, continuing his walk.

He was officially losing his mind, wasn't he? It was time to do something about it.

That same evening Sasuke barely managed to hold bile down as he stood in the bathroom, fighting to control the reactions of his trembling body.

He opened his eyes and pulled in a breath he hadn't even noticed himself holding, gritting his teeth until it started to hurt. His eyes flamed while he looked at the picture staring back at him.

He'd sworn that he'd never do this to himself again, that he'd never let this happen again.

He'd told himself over and over again that it was over.

So why was he standing here again, like this?

He closed his eyes once more for a few moments, then opened them, feeling calm and composed once more.

He started the work of hiding the damage, just like he always did.

It took longer than he'd expected to finish the job, and when he did he felt utterly drained. Once he reached the living room, he found his daughter drawing, which was what she'd been doing since he'd last passed by. That was good – maybe she hadn't seen anything.

Chiasa's eyes were filled with worry as the little girl looked at him. "Daddy? Are you okay?"

He blinked once, then covered it all the best as he could. "Yeah, I am."

The frown didn't disappear from his daughter's face. "Then why 'o you look so sad?"

Knowing that there was no one else watching, he allowed his eyes to soften. "Come here, will you?" Chiasa obeyed eagerly, and he found a great deal of comfort when wrapping his arms around his daughter. "You worry too much."

"So 'o you."

Before he could say anything to that, the house's doorbell rang demandingly. Chills traveled through his being.

If it was Ruki, he was seriously not in the mood for…

Taking a deep breath, he let go of Chiasa and walked up to open. He blinked with some surprise when discovering that his visitor was none other than Naruto.

They looked at each other for the longest time, neither knowing how to proceed. Something dark and extremely uncomfortable squirmed in the pit of his stomach while his eyes narrowed against emotions he'd tried so very hard to bury. "Leave us alone, Naruto."

The blond shook his head, some hurt flashing in those blue eyes for a moment. He couldn't understand why seeing the ache still affected him so. "No." Naruto's voice was firm, determined. The man made sure Chiasa wouldn't hear before continuing. "Sasuke, I know."

His eyes darkening, he pushed Naruto out of the house and followed. He didn't go on until the door was closed, sealing their conversation from Chiasa's ears. "I've made it all by myself this far. What the hell makes you think that I'd need you now – that I'd fucking want you anywhere near me?"

Naruto's eyes hardened slightly. "He's hurting you!"

He snorted, the sound so filled with bitterness that it chilled him. "And you weren't?"

Naruto's shoulders slumped with defeat and something beyond. The man's eyes found his hidden bruises scarily easily. "Why are you letting him do this to you?"

He felt his eyes darken as he looked away, towards the puddles into which rain was falling steadily. Since when had it been so dark outside? "Stop messing with my life when you know nothing about it", was what he settled with in the end.

He could actually feel that Naruto was about to say something, but the blond never got the chance to. Because just then Ruki's voice cut the conversation they'd been having. "Now what's this?" The man's eyes were threatening when they turned to meet them. "I didn't know you were expecting other visitors tonight."

"I wasn't", he stated in a clipped tone, then sighed inwardly and forced himself to look towards Naruto's pleading eyes. "You can just leave, okay? We're finished, anyway."

Naruto's eyes clearly spoke 'No, we're not' although the man nodded stiffly. "Fine. But I'll stop by again tomorrow, 'k?"

He said nothing to that, too exhausted to start out an argument.

As soon as Naruto had left, Ruki spoke. "Look… I'm sorry, okay? I really am."

"I know." His tone was hollow. "You're always sorry."

Ruki's eyes narrowed, with irritation or hurt was impossible to tell. "Don't sound like that. You know I love you and hate seeing you like that."

At the moment he didn't really manage to feel anything, so he simply turned and started to walk towards the door. "Hn." Feeling a bout of something he hadn't experienced in a long time, he added in a harsh tone. "Just leave, will you? I'm not in the mood for this right now."

His attitude was, apparently, too much for Ruki, for the man moved much faster than he was able to prepare himself for it.

When Ruki grabbed his wrist to a irony hold, he knew he was in a deep shit.

The following morning, Naruto barely stayed awake at work.

He hadn't really managed to sleep the night before – thoughts of Sasuke and Ruki had been bouncing around his head so loudly that it'd been deafening, and he feared that he'd go insane soon enough.

He wanted to help, desperately. But how was he supposed to do that when Sasuke wouldn't let him anywhere near him?

Sakura's voice startled him back to awareness. "Naruto." There was a grim look on her face that alarmed him. "If I tell you something, will you promise me that you won't do anything brash and stupid?"

He swallowed thickly, bouncing up from his seat. "What the hell's going on?" He ignored the disapproving looks people passing by gave him.

Sakura held a tiny pause, clearly wondering how to set her words. "Sasuke… just came in. He's in room nine."

And he was moving before the last syllable had died. Sakura's voice didn't even register to him. "Naruto…!"

As soon as he burst into the room, he froze, shock making his blood run cold.

Sasuke didn't look horrendous or anything like that. But the three things he immediately discovered were enough to wipe out all the rest.

Sasuke was pale – far paler than usual, enough so to make him look sickly. And the lack of color made the still slightly bleeding, small yet nasty wound on the raven's temple stand out in a chilling way. What got to him the most, however, was how the man's wrist hung in an unnatural angle. It didn't take a genius to understand that it was broken.

Just then Sasuke lifted his head, and their gazes met. For a moment neither managed to say a thing, until he forced words out and walked forth. "Do you… need any pain-medication?"

Sasuke shook his head, looking away once more.

It wasn't until he all but slumped to the chair beside Sasuke's bed and saw just how badly the man's wrist was twisted and bruised did he gain the courage to voice the question bouncing around his head. "What the hell happened?" It wasn't like he wouldn't have had any dark ideas already, but he wanted – needed – Sasuke to prove him wrong.

Unfortunately Sasuke's words were exactly those he'd feared. "I fell."

He felt like someone had kicked him, hard. Keeping his expression at least somewhat even was a hard task while he nodded and made some notes. "Where's Chiasa?"

Sasuke nodded somewhat stiffly and shivered a little, the pain obviously a little bit too much for him. "Itachi's watching over her." The raven looked around, appearing very uncomfortable all of a sudden. "When I came here… I got this flashback, of back then. They gave me all this medication and I was hurting like hell, but I remember you sitting there. I think it's the most quiet I've ever seen you." The man's eyes narrowed. "I don't know why I remembered that, but… I can't shake it away anymore." The raven grit his teeth and lifted his gaze towards the roof. "You… helped me, back then. I could trust you."

He swallowed thickly, not knowing what to think, what he was allowed to say without the risk of chasing the other away again. "I hope you can again, one day."

The way Sasuke's eyes flashed told that he'd just pushed his luck to an unhealthy extend. "Just take care of the wrist, will you?"

He swallowed down the scream that would've desperately wanted to make its way through his tingling lips. His eyes traveled back to the rather nasty cut on Sasuke's temple – it'd definitely need stitches. Anger flared inside him, so intese that he could barely speak. "Will you… let me patch up that one, too?"

Sasuke responded with a shrug, not looking his way.

Heavy silence lingered when he started, working as carefully as he possibly could. Sasuke winced a little at some point, but otherwise remained utterly unresponsive. It chilled him. Those injuries were definitely painful. How could Sasuke just sit there, not even reacting?

He searched the Uchiha's eyes when he was done, but couldn't find much traces of emotions. "All done." He took a deep breath, already knowing what kind of a response his next words would arouse. "Look… I know injuries like these aren't caused by falling down, okay? So would you please tell me what really happened?"

Sasuke wouldn't speak or even move. He'd never felt as helpless as he did just then.

He sighed inwardly, working his hardest to rid the stinging of his eyes. His hand brushed Sasuke's injured wrist gently, as though trying to heal the damage. "I'll go and get you some instructions so you'll be able to deal with the cast at home. I'll be back soon." And so he left the room, much faster than he'd been supposed to.

When he came back, Sasuke was gone.

That evening, Naruto found it sinfully hard to focus and keep up a brave, happy front while celebrating Iruka and Kakashi's anniversary with several of the couple's friends. All that still fit into his mind was Sasuke, and what he'd seen that day.

He hoped from the bottom of his heart that Sasuke wouldn't have ran away from him and his help, that he would've been able to do something. But as it was, the Uchiha was out of his reach.

He woke up from his stupor when the last visitors left, and Kakashi used the opportunity. The man attacked Iruka like a beast of some sort, pulling the slightly shorter man to a tight embrace and seemingly kissing several spots at once. Heat rose to Iruka's cheeks while the man unleashed a stiffled moan.

This, Naruto decided, was his cue to leave. There was heat on his cheeks and some ache inside him when he spun around. "I'll… go and take care of the dishes."

He didn't know how long he'd spent in the kitchen, deep in thought, when he was startled by Iruka's voice. "Naruto?" The man was looking at him with some worry. "Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Just… had a lot on my plate, that's all."

Iruka seemed to understand. Brown eyes softened. "Don't look so worried, Naruto. I'm sure things will work out. And who knows? Maybe you and Sasuke will also get to celebrate your anniversary soon."

"Yeah, maybe." He then managed to grin while lifting his glass. "But until then… Congrats – and lots of more years to you two."
Iruka smiled.

A sly smirk appeared to his face, his mood growing slightly lighter. "And now, shouldn't you be in the bedroom instead of watching me moping around? I bet Kakashi's already waiting for you – it's the time of the year when neighbors threaten to have you evicted."

A radiant blush appeared to the brunet's face.

Chiasa was still very, very young, but she nonetheless understood a lot more than the adults around her seemed to think.

When her father came to get her from uncle-Itachi that day, she understood that the strange silence between the two didn't mean anything good.

When she noticed how her father turned down Ruki and Naruto's phone-calls, she knew to prepare herself for a storm.

And she, of course, understood the pain in her father's eyes, and realized that it had absolutely nothing to do with his injuries.

And that's why she couldn't find any sleep that night. She frowned at the strange sounds she heard when tiptoing into her father's bedroom. "Daddy?"

There was movement in the darkness. "Chia, you should be in bed." Her father's voice didn't sound quite right.

"I couldn't sleep." She took some cautious steps closer, feeling hesitant all of a sudden. "Can I… Can I sleep here, just for tonight?"

She expected him to say 'no', just like he usually did. That's why she was surprised when instead he shifted, making room. Feeling a hint of elation, she quickly rushed over to the bed and climbed in, careful not to jolt any of her father's sore spots.

But no matter how careful she was, there was another one of those sounds she couldn't recognize. She froze, her eyes widening. "'id I hurt you?"

It took a long moment before her father managed to respond. "No, Chia. You didn't." One arm pulled her closer, and she snuggled gratefully to his familiar warmth. Had she been a little older, she might've noticed that his breathing didn't sound quite right. "Just… go to sleep already. It's late."

She was tired, and too young to think of any further questions. And so she fell asleep, never knowing of the secrets moonlight betrayed on her father's face.

When coming home much later, Naruto blinked twice and shivered from the ominous feeling that filled him when he saw Itachi waiting for him, leaning against his door.

They hadn't met in years, since…

Why was Sasuke's brother here now?

He stopped several steps away and hesitated. "Hey." His voice didn't sound quite right, but at the moment that didn't matter too much. He swallowed thickly when their eyes met, Itachi's almost burning him. "What's… going on?"

Itachi's onyx orbs smouldered. "We need to talk."

TBC, NO? THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE M-RATED!

A/N: Oh man… Things are a mess, ne? (winces) BUT, at very least Naruto and Itachi seem to be trying to help.

Awkay, I've REALLY gotta get going. PLEASE, do leave a review before tuning out! Awww, c'mon, that cute lil' button down below needs some loving.

IN THE NEXT ONE: Things threaten to get out of hand when even more truths are revealed. When the tensions get high, people reveal what they're really made of.

ONLY TWO MORE TO GO! (Plus, a possible sequel…)

THE NEXT ONE SHALL BE M-RATED! (Just saying so those who want to read it will find it.)

Until the next one, with whichever story that may be! I hope I'll see lots of you then.

Take care!

Mary: That, I shall do. (grins)

Massive thank yous for the review!

'Hope ya'll be staying tuned.

Foo Fighters - "Best Of You"

I've got another confession to make
I'm your fool
Everyone's got their chains to break
Holdin' you

Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Are you gone and onto someone new?
I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn't have
But had no use
I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose
My head is giving me life or death
But I can't choose
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh...

Oh...Oh...Oh...Oh...

Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
The life, the love you'd die to heal
The hope that starts the broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I've got another confession my friend
I'm no fool
I'm getting tired of starting again
Somewhere new

Were you born to resist or be abused?
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh...