Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters and/or ideas. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Warning: The following contains Yaoi and Het. Relationships, language, adult situations, mentions of rape (I know it's typical but it's important for the story), AU and slight OOC.
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke went insane and killed his lover Uzumaki Naruto. Five years later, the raven gets released from the psychiatric hospital. His life is seemingly back to normal except for one thing – his favorite blonde is still around…
Drifting Shadows
Journal Entry
Uchiha, Sasuke
December 15 – 7:12:19 PM
I hate this – having to be in a hospital bed with only a journal notebook to comfort me. At least Sakura was smart enough to bring the notebook during her lunch break. It's going to be another twenty four hours before the drug in my body system is completely flushed out. If I had known that the bastard Neji had been the one to find me, I would have begged the authorities to keep me knocked out. I guess what had happened was Sakura called the psychiatric facility after I had ran away, and word got back to the medics in the hospital. Hyuuga, being the meddlesome bother that he is, asked what everyone was so nervous about when he went to visit his uncle. Luck would have it that he would call around as I did before, and end up in the same damn club. Man, this world with these people in it is so fucking pitiful; it makes me want to vomit continuously.
Eleven Years Before – Uchiha Sasuke, age 14
Promising dark eyes darted back and forth between the occupied room with the closed oak door to the unfilled hallway where, hopefully, no one would pass through. A fair skinned teenager waited impatiently for the two males in the other room to finish their business-like conversation.
The corner of the young teen's mouth lifted upward in a half smile as he glanced down at the brownish envelope in his grasp. His hands held the written report card from his high school that confirmed that the dark haired youth had aced all of his classes with perfect simplicity.
A hand unexpectedly landing on top of his head, startling the young man, who flinched slightly until he stared straight back into identical eyes with a more feminine edge. A woman in her early forties gave the teen a gentle smile full of motherly warmth. She had pale skin and the same dark hair accustomed in the Uchiha clan.
"Hello, Sasuke." She greeted gladly to the youngest Uchiha of the Manor.
"Hello, Mother," he greeted back not as warmly. He looked up at her with a slight sulk; how had she been able to sneak on him without being detected?
"What is it that you needed?" Uchiha Mikoto asked her son with worry adorning her delicate face. "Your father and brother are in the middle of a meeting, if you haven't noticed."
Sasuke wanted to laugh at the word 'meeting'. The two males were father and son. What normal father and son conversed because it was based on a meeting? The whole concept was lost on the raven justifiably.
"I wanted to show father my report card from school."
"Is that so? How did you do, dear?"
The young raven gave his mother a genuine smile, and handed her the packet. She lifted the cover with graceful movements. When she had unfolded the paper, her face lit up vibrantly and she quickly embraced her son with all the love in the world.
"Oh, Sasuke, this is wonderful." She brought her lips to kiss the top of his forehead. "I am so proud of you."
The raven-haired teen blushed, letting loose on his hold, and gazed at his mother in minor embarrassment and appreciation.
"Thank you, Mother. That means a lot to me."
Just then, harsh voices from the other side of the closed door escalated as the door flew open with an irritated looking Uchiha Fugaku, whom was eying his oldest son in a disgraced stare.
"How dare you disregard anything I put forth to you!? You treat my business as though it means nothing to you!" Fugaku yelled.
"Father, I wanted to---" Sasuke started.
"With all due respect, Father, I have no passion to work in the business world. It is not my calling and seems unworthy of my time." Uchiha Itachi explained impassively.
"Father, I---"
"Not now, Sasuke," the older man addressed his youngest stoically, and then brought his attention to Itachi, "I don't appreciate any of this, Itachi. You will reconsider my offer and you will accept it." The dark haired older Uchiha stormed off with an arrogant huff. His wife therefore gave Sasuke an apologetic look, then followed after the angry man.
The raven watched his parents walk away with a defeated look crafting his features. As soon as their father was away a distance, his older brother looked over to him, and the older teen's face softened.
"Were you waiting for father?" Itachi asked.
"Yes," the other boy hissed.
"Why, my I ask?"
"It's not any concern of yours, Itachi!" Sasuke snapped.
"I do not understand," the long haired young man said sincerely, "why are you yelling at me for? I have done nothing wrong."
"I...just...just leave me alone!" The young teen took off in the opposite direction of where his parents had gone. Itachi watched his younger brother run away with an emotionless face. Inwardly, however, the young man felt hurt and betrayed by the people he called his family.
Sasuke hastily trudged down the hallways until he had reached the door to his bedroom. He opened it with a start, a scowl on his face. It were times such as these when the raven wanted nothing more but to disappear into oblivion, to let the darkness soak him in until there was no single trace of him left.
With an aggravated sigh, the young raven sat down on his dark blue satin covered bed. He threw his report card to the other side of the room, suddenly disgusted with how enthusiastic he had been acting beforehand. He let his negative exhaust get the best of him; casually, he lowered his body so that he was lying on his back. The upset boy wanted to take his frustrations out on something, but didn't know how he could do it. He hated the feeling, and that so called feeling was heightened with his persistent emptiness and loneliness.
December 16 - Hokage Medical Hospital
A raven haired young man let a breath of air escape his pale lips as he adjusted his body to the warmth of the white hospital sheets. He was lying on his back with his eyes closed, unaware of the medical atmosphere. The heart monitor beeped steadily, a positive read for the patient's progression. The IV in his left hand felt loosened, the clear tube nevertheless helping natural fluids enter thoroughly throughout his system.
The Uchiha wanted to hiss up a storm when he heard a knock coming from the side. He slit one eye open, and glared at his intruders - Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. With reluctance, he lifted his body into a sitting position. His pink-haired visitor cautiously made her way to sit at the edge of the bed, Kakashi taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs in the far corner. The now dark opened eyes looked up and waited patiently (or impatiently, depending on how one looked at it).
The awkward silence of the room was one of complete mistrust and uneasiness. Light green eyes stared into cold ebony ones, Sakura had an understandable urge to turn and run away from it all. The silver headed man off to the side put on his usual obnoxious grin (one can assume), and broke the mildly disturbing silence.
"How you feeling, sleepy beauty?"
Sasuke glared, but said nothing. Sakura gave her ex-teacher an exasperated look first, and then brought her attention to the raven with a semi-pleasant smile.
"We're glad to see that you're doing well now, Sasuke-kun."
"Hn."
Finding the bare walls more appealing, the midnight eyes looked away from the pair, frowning suddenly when he felt Sakura scoot a little closer to him. He wanted to push the young woman away, and would have if Kakashi hadn't been present.
"I talked to your doctor at the psychiatric facility," the pinkette conversed slowly, "they're saying that, maybe, it would be best if you stayed with them for a couple of days so that they can monitor your health properly."
"Hn. Figures." Sasuke said with a snort.
"Are you upset about this, Sasuke-kun?"
"Of course not. I just love the fact that I was drugged, nearly raped, had to have liquids flushed out my body, and now I'm about to go back to that fucking nut house." He commented sarcastically.
"At least you got a taste of you own medicine." The masked man said under his breath.
"What are you saying about me, you fucking pervert?!" Sasuke snapped.
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. "Look who's talking, you---"
"Kakashi-sensei," the young medic gave the older man pleading eyes, "could you please just give us a minute?"
The silver-haired male nodded, removing himself from the seat. He gave the raven a harsh stare that Sasuke equaled with his infamous Uchiha glare. Gradually, the teacher opened the door and let himself exit into the waiting room. The pinkette settled her melancholy eyes warily on her raven haired friend. Her stare was scrunitizing, she acted as though she wanted to figure the angry man out with just one glance.
"Sasuke," she sighed, tensing her already tight shoulders, "I-I'm really worried about you, and frankly, I don't know how to handle this peculiar behavior of yours."
The young man eyed her with disdain. "Do I frightened you, Sakura?"
"Yes," she admitted fearfully, eyes watering, "I just don't know what to do anymore. Everyone thinks I'm wrong for wanting to take care of you. I feel like such a horrible person, but I...I want to help you. Tell me what I can do to help. Please."
"Who says I need anyone's help?"
In a flash, Sakura's face contorted into hurt and disbelief. Her words coming from her mouth were laced in a malice quarrel.
"Hello?! How could you even ask that? For heaven sake's, Sasuke, you killed someone! You took an innocent life!"
The raven brashly grabbed a hold of the creamy wrist of the female medic, and held her down underneath him. His IV was close to losing contact with his skin, but he could care less. She gave him a look of terror, and was about to scream, but Sasuke brought his hand to hover over her pouty lips. In those few seconds, Sakura thought she were going to die, to be ripped away and become the second victim of the raven.
The black-eyed man lowered his head to whisper inside Sakura's ear. "You know what? There is something you can do. I want you to stay the hell away from us." Us? The pinkette supplied in her frantic head. "I can't be alone," he continued, "never alone again. He'll remain with me, and if anyone says otherwise, I'll kill them."
When he released her, she hurriedly sprung up, nearly falling to the olive patterned floor. She left the room without another word, making the raven sneer in spite of himself.
Fixing himself up, he took back to a lying position, and resumed to keeping his eyes shut. An hour began to pass by, as the clock on the wall ticked away the seconds. The afternoon slowly transforming into a darkened evening. The gush of wind coming from the window made the young man shiver in coldness. How could it suddenly be that freezingin a once warm room?
"You awake, teme?"
"Hn."
The blond presence chuckled darkly. "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought Sakura saw," a louder chuckle, "a ghost from the way she scrambled out of here."
"Go away." The raven deadpanned, eyes suddenly opened.
"So negative."
"I'm not in the mood for your mind games, dobe."
"You mean your mind games." The Uzumaki corrected. The azure eyed man was sitting on the windowsill, golden tresses blowing attractively as the frosty air blew heavily.
"I know what you're trying to do." Sasuke claimed.
"Oh, really? Enlighten me, smart guy. What am I trying to do?" Naruto jumped off from his sitting to lie on top of the raven, who watched him suspiciously.
"You want to hurt me."
Naruto eyed him with his oh-so-familiar grin. "That shouldn't be your only concern. See, I'm not as idiotic as you may think. So, the question is how does your - my - mind really work? Whether I'm imaginary or not, it all comes down to the same result."
"Which is?"
"My thinking starts here-" he tapped his temple, and then traced his face until his trail stopped at his heart in his chest, "and ends here."
Not waiting for another response, the blonde brought his lips and rubbed them lightly against the raven's. Naruto snickered when he heard a startled gasp escape from the older man's mouth. He leaned his head against Sasuke's chest, the heartbeat easing him into a welcoming solace.
"You're welcome." The yellow haired man blurted which surprised Sasuke.
"For what?"
"For saving you the other day, duh!"
"What? I thought that bastard Neji---"
Naruto shrugged. "I could have sworn I did, but I'm just a spiritual entity so what do I know? Either way, teme, your pride was crushed."
