-x-

The Raven

-x-

Naruto was floating. Floating in a deep, dark, endless nothingness. He simply floated. But he didn't mind that at all. He remembered nothing; his name, his past, his friends, his family. And he didn't care. His mind was an empty haze that only focused on two things; that is was black and he was floating. Nothing else mattered.

Then suddenly, awareness flickered. He wanted to struggle against it, but the soft touches made him stop. They danced across his skin, smoothing over his forehead and gripped his hand tight. His struggles stopped. He wanted more of these caring touches, so he relaxed and let the awareness grab him with its shadowy tendrils and pull him further away from his darkness.

But then the pain flared. His skin burned and stung like wasp stings. It made him gasp and choke, so he did the only thing that came to mind.

He retreated.

-x-

Kakashi sighed. It has been three days, and not even a twitch was seen from the blonde. He looked tiny in the large bed, the blankets swamping him and blonde hair spilling out over the white pillow. His skin, still awfully pale, no longer held that horrid tinge of blue. Kakashi was relieved. His respect for his old childhood friend had grown tremendously over the years, but now, after she saved the boy that had foolishly wormed his way into his heart, he couldn't help the swell of gratitude from appearing every time he saw her.

However, that gratitude somewhat dimmed when she pulled him away from his spot next to his son and forced him to take a shower. And then, to his horror, she forced him to wear clothes that didn't fit him. Well, it wasn't their fault they lost their luggage in the plunge. It was either jump out the door, or stay with the luggage and drown, stuck in that horrid green car.

But, he needed that shower. The hot water felt lovely against his chilled skin, and he wouldn't miss that horrid, pungent smell of lake water. Ick.

But the worst thing was that Tsunade was forcing him to go and sign up for some jobs. And when Tsunade was angry, you wanted to be nowhere near her when she strikes. She could be deadly when she wanted to.

"Come on, Kakashi! You need to go and get a job! I refuse to let you wallow in my office in a daze when you should be out supporting yourself and Naruto!"

"But Tsunadeee-"

"No buts, Kakashi! Do you even have a place to call home yet?"

"No, but-"

"KAKASHI! Move it!"

"But Naruto-"

"Naruto will be fine!" Tsunade grounded out, eyes flashing and fingers twitching in annoyance. Kakashi sounded more like a hormonal teenager that a twenty-eight year old. "I already have someone to watch over him whist we are out. He owes me a favour."

Kakashi stayed quiet, yet his eyes spoke volumes. She could see the need to go out there and get a job and a home to raise the twerp, but she could also see the reluctance of leaving the blonde. He wanted to be here when he woke up. Finally, he gave a stiff nod.

"Okay, Tsunade. You win. But tell me... who will be looking after Naruto?" he stared down at her, eyes as cold and hard as rocks.

It was Tsunades' turn to be reluctant. "Urr..."

"What? He's not some kind of axe-murderer, is he?" the silver-haired man asked, crossing his arms defiantly, and raising an eyebrow. "Or a paedophile..." he gasped, gripping the blonds' shoulders and shaking them hard. "Tell me he's not a paedophile!"

Tsunade pushed him away, hard, before pushing him away. "He's not a paedophile, you twit." She scoffed. "In fact, he's not even an adult. He's the same age as Naruto, and I figured that he would like to know one person before starting college."

"You're letting a sixteen year old look after my unconscious charge?" the taller asked incredulously. "Did you inhale too much loony medicine or something?"

"Calm down, Kakashi. I know what I'm doing. Besides, it'll be good for both of them. Sasuke will take good care of him, I'm sure of it."

"How do you know?"

Tsunade paused. How did she know? Sasuke was a sad case, always pushing people away who wanted to help him. But all he said was that he didn't need their pity. But after what happened, it was hard for anyone on the town to not do exactly that. Sasuke's older brother, Itachi, killed their parents and the rest of the family before vanishing into the night. Of course, no one knew why he spared his younger brother's life. Since then, Sasuke had locked away his feelings and replaced it with a cold, hard mask. And that's why she decided to let him watch over the blonde. Sasuke needed a ball of sunshine to melt his icy heart. And she'd gamble everything to say that Naruto will need him too. Besides... Sasuke does owe her a favour.

"Because I do."

"What?" Kakashi spluttered, alarmed. "That's not an answer!"

"Shut it, Kakashi! Do you trust me or not? Now let me go and get Sasuke." With that said, she walked out the room with brisk footsteps.

Kakashi simply stared. He didn't know what to think. Half of him was screaming to trust Tsunade with her judgement, whilst the other half was begging him to stand up to her and refuse. Safe to say, the first half won.

A few minutes later, Tsunade burst back into the room, a boy trailing defiantly behind. He eyed the boy – which he presumed was Sasuke – critically, assessing every movement and facial expression that passed over his face. But he just stood still, motionless and emotionless, staring right at Kakashi with his sharp, black eyes. He'd never seen anyone like him.

Black hair stuck up at the back, not unlike a duck's tail-feathers, and the colour of the darkest night. Similar coloured eyes stood out from the thin, pale white face, and dark clothing – mostly blue – covered him. But everything seemed to fit. He looked like the kind of person who would never smile, never laugh, and would do everything by himself. He looked like a bullying type.

"Hello Sasuke," Kakashi said stiffly, forcing a smile onto his face and sticking out a large hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Sasuke looked upwards with his stony eyes to stare into Kakashis' un-matching ones, not saying anything.

"Err..." the silver-haired man quickly drew back his arm, glancing at Tsunade disbelievingly. This is the boy that's supposed to look after Naruto? He opened his mouth, wanting to ask Tsunade if this was a joke, when she cut across him.

"All right!" she yipped, gripping his arm in a strangle hold and dragging him to the door. "Time to find you a job! Bye Sasuke!" ignoring Kakashi's spluttering and struggling, she smiled happily before closing the door behind them.

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before moving to take the seat next to the bed. He didn't want to do this. It was a Saturday, for god's sake! No normal person would want to spend their weekend looking after some strange kid. And stupid Tsunade... who does she think she is? Acting on a favour from years ago... it's pathetic, really.

He ran his long fingers through his black hair, before propping his chin up in his hand, elbow leaning on the bed. He might as well see what mess this kid has got himself into.

Messy, blonde locks spilled onto the white pillow like liquid sunshine. Pale skin – but not as pale as his own – was flawless, not a blemish in sight, apart from three parallel scars on each cheek. He frowned. How did someone get scars like that? It would be almost impossible to get them that even – even if someone was holding him down. Interest spiking, he carried on examining his patient. Long, thick black eyelashes rested gently upon the scarred cheeks, which held a slight dusting of pink – maybe from fever, or overheating. His blonde eyebrows curved relaxingly over large eyelids, and for some reason, he found himself wondering what colour his eyes would be. Maybe a golden brown? Or grey?

Next, his eyes travelled over the small nose that held a graceful curve - much like you would expect a girl's nose to look like – and landed on the soft, plump lips. They were parted slightly, soft whooshes of breaths escaping. If he didn't know that the boy was a boy, he would have thought that he looked kind of... well... girly.

Taking the unconscious boys' hand into his own, he placed his palm onto the others, opening his fingers wide so they lined up neatly together. Just as he expected – the boys' was smaller, softer, more graceful and elegant than his own. Unconsciously, Sasuke weaved his fingers between the spaces and gripped tight –

And strangely enough, their hands fitted perfectly. Frowning, he removed his hand. He couldn't explain what he felt at that moment. He couldn't describe it even if someone offered him all the yen in the world.

But he wondered. Why was this kid here, when he couldn't see any external injuries? Eyes narrowing slightly, he picked up the hand again, and using two long fingers, pushed them against the pulse point on the inside of the wrist. He felt the soft throb beating rhythmically against his digits, and for some reason, relief relaxed his muscles, which he didn't know was stiff and painful.

But he knew something was off. The hand he was holding in-between his own was cold. Strangely so. It was like holding onto a block of ice. How did he miss it? Shuffling closer to the bed so he was on the edge of his seat, his fingers trailed up the blonde's arm, over the curve of his shoulder and up his jaw, coming to land on his forehead. No fever. It was just as cold as the rest of him.

But why was he so unnaturally cold? He wanted to know. Now. Quickly looking around, he located Tsunades' desk on the opposite side of the room, with what looked like a pile of files balancing precautiously on top. Getting out of the chair, he walked briskly over and rummaged through the files, hoping for the photos to be attached to each folder with a paperclip. But no such luck. The front of the disgustingly orange folders only held the names of the patients. And unluckily, he didn't know the name of the blonde.

Sasuke sighed in frustration. Maybe, just maybe this boy had some sort of rucksack with him that held his name. But one glance around the office smashed that idea. No sort of bag in sight. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, staring at the bed once more. At the end of the bed, he noticed a sheet of white paper attached to a clipboard. Smirking, he strode over and plucked it away from the tape, eyes roaming quickly over the small font.

Name: Uzumaki Naruto.

Age: 16

Gender: Male

Diagnosis: Serious case of Hypothermia.

Ah ha! Sasuke smiled triumphantly, but it quickly vanished as he reread it. Hypothermia? That's really serious. Why doesn't he have more blankets? Face blank, he rummaged through the shelves for more bedspreads, pulling a think, navy blue one down. He swiftly covered the blonde with it, tucking in the unresponsive arms and making sure it was tucked in tightly.

There, he thought, nodding at his handy work. But he then froze. What brought him to do that? Uchiha's never care about anyone but themselves. He acted on impulse. Yeah, that was it. Plus, he didn't want the kid dying on him while he was watching. Even he, an Uchiha, wanted to avoid Tsunades' temper, and probably an over-protective guardian.

He was only doing this for his own sake.

But then, why didn't he believe it?

-x-

Kakashi groaned, being yet again dragged into a shop. "Honestly, Tsunade," he grumbled, yanking hard, stopping the hyper blond in her tracks. "I think signing up in over ten shops is plenty. Save some jobs for the rest of the town, okay?"

Tsunade sighed in defeat. "Yes, I guess you've signed up for enough, but I only wanted to make sure, you know?"

"I appreciate it, Tsunade. Thanks."

"Don't mention it, please. You know you can always count on me!" she stuck out her tongue playfully, closing one golden eye. "Anyway, I bet you want to get back to that lad of yours, right?"

"Of course." Kakashi replied stiffly, running long fingers through his hair. "Do you trust Sasuke?"

"Hm?" She looked at him, eyes wide in surprise. "You don't?"

Kakashi hesitated, starting to walk back towards the tower. "No. But I trust your judgement."

Tsunade stayed quiet, but frowned as Kakashi sped up their pace, the tower top now poking over the colourful roofs of the other buildings. She could understand why Kakashi didn't trust the Uchiha. Even she, at first, was wary of such an unstable lad that had only just lost his family. But, as time passed, she realised that Sasuke, despite his cold exterior, was warm and caring. He just needed the right person to bring it out. And she couldn't think of a better person than Naruto.

Even unconscious, she could tell that the blonde will be loud and sunny... the exact opposite of Sasuke. However, she thought that they would be good together, and hopefully become friends.

Before she knew it, they were walking down the corridor to her office, their footsteps echoing loudly, Kakashi tugging on her arm to hurry up. Even with her trust for the Uchiha, she could still feel the niggle of nerves squirming in her stomach.

Kakashi barged through the door, odd eyes scanning the room wildly. He spotted the Uchiha sitting in a wooden chair next to the bed, dark eyebrows raised at him. He glared back, quickly jogging over to them, eyes critically scanning the blonde, sighing in relief when he spotted nothing wrong.

"Good afternoon, Sasuke." Tsunade chirped happily, moving over to them, smoothing over the blankets and breaking the tight tension. "How is Naruto?"

Sasuke stayed quiet for a few seconds, staring at them with his smouldering black eyes. "He was cold so I covered him in an extra blanket. Is that okay?"

Tsunade positively beamed, golden eyes sparkling happily. "That's fine Sasuke! Thank you for doing this. You can visit him whenever you want to, ok?"

Sasuke nodded, glancing at the bedridden blonde before walking out of the room, hands in his pockets. Kakashi stared after him, wondering if letting the two teens get to know each other is such a good idea.

He guessed that only time would tell.

-x-