Author's Notes: Wow…I haven't updated in soo long that I can't even believe it! I'm sincerely sorry for very long delay and have made this chapter especially longer because you guyz deserve it! D I actually finished this chapter long ago but kept forgetting to tweak it here and there, so I hope you enjoy!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Orphaned Legacy
Chapter 6
"Yondaime-sama, may I speak with you for a moment?" Arashi's ears perked when he heard a voice that spoke behind him. He turned around to see a fairly plump middle-aged woman who had shoulder length brown hair and eyes, smiling kindly up at him. The blond took in her motherly smile and medic uniform before answering.
"Of course…" He trailed off.
"Akane." She replied. "Yuzu Akane."
"Yuzu-san." He confirmed as she led him further down the hall to the opposite side of the building from Ran's room. They entered a huge lab of some sort, in which Arashi guessed was mostly used for testing and researching.
"So, what is it that you need to speak with me, Yuzu-san?" Arashi asked curiously.
"Please, call me Akane." She smiled kindly.
"Then you can call me Arashi." He replied with a grin of his own. "The formalities make me feel too old." Arashi stated hastily when he saw that she was about to object, but once he said that, she promptly closed it shut and sent him a beaming smile. Akane then walked to a desk that was located on the other side of the room.
"Now," He turned back to the medic to see her shuffling through all the papers and files that were supposed to be organized neatly in the desk across from them rather than pile on top of it. "I was addressed to bring this to your attention by Tsunade-sama not only because you are the hokage and a witness, but also because something happened that none of us foresaw, or even thought was virtually possible."
That definitely caught his attention, but he just chose to listen and nodded to show that was following so far, even though she couldn't she it with her head buried in the piles of paperwork.
'I feel really sorry for the person who has to file all those papers away. It would take hours, actually probably more like days or weeks.' He shuddered.
She was still looking through a few files and mumbling to herself. "Where did I place his file?" She agitatedly stated out loud before letting out a squeal of glee, "Ah! Here it is." She pulled a particular file out from under all the other files and papers that adorned the desk in piles and mounts.
The woman walked around the desk, bringing the file with her as she came to a stop beside himself. As Akane opened the file and flipped through the pages, she began to explain the problem a bit to him.
"Kyoutaka Ran is an extremely lucky boy. According to all his hospitalizations and recent injuries as of late, he shouldn't even be alive, but in this case, he is an exceptionally fast healer, almost abnormally so."
Akane stopped at a certain page that held what looked like test results and many notes and observations written on the sides, and then gazed up at him.
Arashi nodded in agreement, "Yes, I have noticed that as well."
He recalled how he first met him. How the boy stood before him proudly and if it weren't for the fact that he started hacking up blood, he would have looked for the most part normal. Arashi also remembered wondering that same thing when he spotted the raven haired boy jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and on top of that risking his life fighting a shinobi of the Hidden Cloud who was the brother of their kage, no less.
"So," He broke off from his thoughts. "What's the problem?"
Akane furrowed her brow a bit in thought. "Well," she began "in the scans that we produced, the most attention was drawn to his throat." Arashi just looked at her in with a big question mark slapped unto his face. He wasn't aware that anything injuries were produced there.
She sighed. "It's quite difficult to explain."
"Just try, then." The Yondaime replied.
"When the boy first woke up, we noticed that he was in absolute silent hysteria and not only that, but was clawing at his throat, as well. Something like this happening isn't that unusual, as many patients wake in hysteria, pain, and confusion, and this is why the silence completely threw us off. He looked to be screaming but not a sound was made. After that incident, we did advanced scanning on his throat and found that his larynx was completely missing, as if he never even had one in the first place, which is extremely strange in itself."
"Larynx?"
"His voicebox and to an extent his vocal cords as well."
"What's so strange about that?" Arashi knew this was an odd question, being as the boy had a voice, but he had to know the specifics and Akane understood that as well.
"The fact that they are completely gone is what is strange. They can be found scarred and damaged, but in his case, it was like he was born like this, a mute." Arashi's eyes widened in realization and nodded in agreement. This was just another thing to add to the list of unusual things about Kyoutaka Ran.
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'Damn, not the hospital again.' Ran inwardly groaned. 'I should get a sign that tells people not to get near or I might actually render them inoperative, put out of action, the big K.O.'
'Come on, Ran. Open your eyes. Come on! Wakey, wakey! Man, I wish I was really awake so that I can slap myself!' He thought while he crawled to the corner of his mind to spend a good part of his time sulking.
Indeed, Ran wasn't truly awake, having fallen into a coma. He may have been vaguely aware but his mind wasn't ready for the reality that waited for him. Ran's body was stable enough for now but all that didn't matter if his mind refused to wake and leave him comatose for who knows how long, and he obviously wasn't okay with that.
"Okay, what is that people do when they want to wake up or something?" Ran was happy to find that he was able to speak out loud in his mind even if he knew he couldn't do it outside of this landscape, but it would be able to keep him grounded and sane enough, or at least for now, he figured.
He thought for a moment. "I think it had something to do with walking towards the light…but that also happens when people die…sooo maybe not." He scratched the back of his head uneasily.
"Are you out of your mind?!" The nine-tailed demon growled testily.
"Kyuu?" Ran blinked in confusion as his surroundings slowly changed into a familiar setting, finding himself in the presence of one very pissed off and agitated demon fox who was currently pacing in front of him impatiently.
"Uhh…no, I don't think so." He replied, tapping his forefinger on his chin lightly as if he was actually thinking hard about it. "I like to think of myself as fairly sane, or just extremely creative in a very-close-to-being-insane type of way. Does that make any sense?" The raven haired boy tilted his head to the side. "Ooh, ooh, ooh! No, I'm just overly active in the imagination department, or just another insane person living in an insane world, which technically makes me sane because if everyone is insane, the—"
"QUIET!!!! KEEP THAT FLAP OF YOURS SHUT OR I WILL RENDER YOUR INABILITY TO SPEAK TO BE APPLIED IN THIS REALM AS WELL!!!" The fox roared for behind its cage, leaking massive amounts of killing intent that left Ran panting on his hands and knees, completely still and paralyzed with fear.
The fox sighed warily and kind of looked like he was rubbing his temple if that was possible for him. "Unfortunately, it does make sense to those that share your pea-sized brain." Ran made sure hold his tongue from making a jab at the implication that Kyuubi had apparently understood it all. Although Ran picked up the tiniest bit of remorse—and by tiny, it was microscopic—that Ran had only caught because the fox let him, he wasn't willing to take that chance just yet.
Kyuubi quickly realized his mistake and snapped out of his thought process, waving away Ran's attempt to change the subject. "You fool!"
Ran sighed in disappointment, but was relieved to find that the demon wasn't out for his head anymore. "Man, I was so close." He whispered to himself.
The demon in front of him began to pace once again and the boy decided to sit down and prepare for a very long lecture, which was probably made up of insults and how much he was inferior to the being that stood before him.
"How you can do something so foolish is beyond my mind's eye."
"What would you have done if you held information that can change the lives of many and endanger innocent people?" Ran retorted angrily. "There is always a reason for what I do and if it wasn't for your existence in me, you wouldn't even care!"
Silence met his statement until the demon began chuckling lightly in response, which caused Ran's anger to heighten as he growled low with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
"You may be young, kit, and it pains me to say this, but you are smart as well—smarter than most your age, but with your age comes naivety-"
"Naiive? Me? I've never been ignorant and I don't plan on starting now."
"That's just it! You are ignorant," Ran opened his mouth in protest but the fox cut him off. "You may not be as ignorant as most, but you still are. It does nothing to be fully aware of everything around you but drive you mad. Ignorance is bliss."
Ran crossed his arms and pouted from his spot on the floor. "To be ignorant puts one at a disadvantage and means that those who aren't have the advantage, and the control."
"Do you know the true extent of your injuries? Without me you would have died the moment that attack made contact! I've had to constantly leak my chakra into your body to simply keep you alive and even more to actually heal your injuries!" Ran bowed his head in shame, finding the ground oddly fascinating.
Kyuubi just sighed. "I have taken it upon myself to heal your wounds enough to not cause too much suspicion, as well as all your past scars, especially those whiskers."
Ran looked up in amazement and disbelief. "Why? Why did you do that? Why do you help me so much?"
"You are quick to anger when you lose control and begin to panic, but you must realize that not everyone is against you. I am with you, as I will always be whether both of us like it or not; I am with you, kit."
"Thank you, Kyuu," Ran gazed at him, his eyes shining a bit, but hardened in thought, "But I never had control." Ran spat out bitterly, making sure to keep his head down and gaze locked on to the forest floor. "I thought I did, but was too weak."
"Which do you speak of? Is it the control of the situation or the control of your emotions?" Kyuubi asked skeptically.
"Why does it matter?"
"It is not wise to always seek control of everything. If you continue on like this, you will end up like one of those mortals who use people as their pawns. They will merely be the stones underneath your fingertips in a game of shogi while you are the player."
Ran chose not to speak because honestly, he didn't have anything to say. He could see what the fox said could actually happen and he shuddered at the thought. "What am I supposed to do then, Kyuu? My life has never been smooth. I have nothing of my own; not even my life is my own! I wanted to be in control of my life, and when I figured that wouldn't happen. I took control of the only things that I possessed that nobody could take. My emotions are my own."
"They are, but what difference does it make if no one can see them? I have already seen you trying to close yourself off and your new disability only accelerates it. Your mask is forming and you need to break it now before you lose yourself."
"You know that wasn't my intention! I-I just want to have as much control of my life as I can, even if it's just the smallest bit!" He cried out.
The nine-tailed fox lifted his head in agreement. "I know."
Ran's patience had definitely been wearing thin and had the urge to scream his throat raw, but he held it back. "Do you see what I mean? You hold back your emotions and never let anyone see them." The boy just gave him a look and the fox sighed in reply. "I'm not telling you to wear your emotions on your sleeve, but you are afraid of opening up and letting out all your emotions that have been bottled up inside you for so long."
He folded his arms across his chest defiantly, "I'm not afraid." He pouted childishly, which caused the other occupant to roll his eyes. "Is that the only thing you got out of this? That wasn't the point and you know it, but maybe I'm just giving a mere human, like yourself too much credit to think you were able to have an attention span more than that of a monkey."
Ran sighed and bowed his head in shame. "I know, but I hate being seen as weak and even if I know that I'm wrong, I just can't face it."
"I may be a demon, but even I know the eventual outcome that will appear. All of the qualities you possess are admirable, but the way you are currently going about your life will lead to disastrous results. Do you understand?"
Ran's head was bowed, responding back softly. "Yes, I had known that my path was dangerous. I thought I could avoid it, but I guess can't. You know that I can't change automatically. It will take time."
"We will take it one step at a time. I didn't expect for you to change overnight, but the smallest changes can make the biggest difference."
Ran smiled a bit up at the demon. "It really amazes me on how human you seem like, Kyuu. You know so much of our emotions, thoughts, sins and faults that you truly do make us look like the dirt beneath you."
"You will learn in time that those irrelevant things that you think of as weak are only because you view them as such. Look and embrace them as a strength, and you will come to find that they are the things that make life worth living while in this vile world of yours."
Ran rolled his eyes at the demon. "Must you always insult my world and me every time you say something? Especially when you do that thing, you know, where you somehow manage to give me a compliment, and an insult at the same time." He stated in annoyingly.
Kyuubi just gave him a look and the raven haired boy sighed once again, throwing his arms up in exasperation. "Don't even bother answering that. I'll just do it for you. 'Of course, I will not be lowered to the standard of that of a mere mortal of a monkey…blah, blah, blah…' Is that okay for ya?"
The demon fox turned his head away and stuck his nose up into the air, then 'hmphed'. This caused Ran to chuckle lightly at him in that snobbish position.
"Don't mock me, brat." Ran and Kyuubi said this simultaneously, staring at each other. One is surprise and the other in amusement; eventually Ran couldn't take it any more and broke down in a fit laughter.
Kyuubi just growled at the mockery, but amusement clearly shown in his eyes. "Brat."
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Ran groaned as the light assaulted his eyes and the numbness of his body began to fade, bringing forth the pain.
'Damn. That's the third time in the hospital in the amount of one day. That must be some kind of record or something. I wonder how long I have been out.' Ran thought as the grogginess of sleep began to wear off.
He glanced around the room for anything that might give him some kind of clue, but there was none. No calendar or anything.
'You'd think that they would have something like that in a hospital.'
Glancing across the room, he spotted a clock on the wall. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was the middle of the day. Ran struggled to sit up, eventually giving up after multiple times of trying and failing. He was aching in every part of his body and the almost familiar pounding of his wounds was disturbing. Ran found that his left arm was wrapped in a cast and set against his chest in a sling while his other injuries were healing nicely on their own with the exception of the tight bandages that were wrapped around his chest and abdomen. He checked out all his wounds and wasn't surprised to see that he was dressed in a hospital gown.
He brought his right hand up to his face, gingerly feeling it and glancing at the bed stand for his mask that was innocently laid down at his side. He carefully slipped it on before deciding to entertain himself by counting the tiles on the ceiling and then the cracks that were on them and then back once again.
Ran then remembered his talk with the fox and rolled to his side gingerly, using his good arm to push himself up. He grunted in pain, but ignored the best he could. Placing his feet lightly on the cold tile floor, Ran leant most of his weigh unto the side of the bed and steadying himself with the chair that lay beside the bed, and walking leisurely to the bathroom, finding things on the way to help him stay upright.
On his way, Ran once again brought his hand up, fingers tracing the line of the mask and finally pulling it down and letting the cold air touch his face.
He curled his fingers around the knob and hesitantly pushed it open. Keeping his eyes firmly set on the ground, he walked in and turned to the mirror, but dared not look up. He stood before the wide mirror in contemplation, building his resolve and lifting his head.
It was nothing special, nothing special at all really and the boy looking back at him was the same as he always was, except it seemed that he was almost looking at someone completely new at the same time, as well. Nothing changed except for those cursed marks that once adorned his face and his body.
He should have hated it because he knew that Kimura would be delighted to fix that problem and place those scars back in their rightful places where they were before, but he couldn't hate something like that…for long. Just like the physical scars, Ran wanted more than anything that the mental scars would also fade along with them but he knew that having hope in that was useless. Hope just brought about pain, something that he didn't really need. There was nothing different on the inside. He was still the same broken boy, but he somehow felt different. Perhaps, like the physical wounds, he would heal with time. They were conflicting thoughts, though. He at some point didn't want those scars, physical and mental, to heal because they made him who he was. They were his reminders and without them he just wouldn't be him, and there was also the fact that without those said events Ran would have never met Yuri and Sanosuke.
Ran didn't keep his mind on such thoughts though, turning away from the mirror and walking out. He paused as he passing his room door and turned his head towards his bed to see his clothes at the foot of it, folded and clean.
Quickly making a decision, he walked across the room and dressed into his clothes before sneaking out. He had contemplated going through the window, but once he actually looked out and found that he was on the sixth floor, he quickly changed his mind. It's not he could have done it anyway, though, because he was already having trouble staying on his two feet.
Ran touched the mask that hung loosely around his neck, 'Maybe I should keep it off…just this once. I don't think that anybody in the hospital will recognize me right away with it off…I hope.' He thought.
Ran nodded and slowly opened the door, poking his head out first and glancing at both sides of the hallway before walking out upon seeing nobody, and closed the door behind him.
'I guess I'm lucky. Nobody seems to be in right now.' Ran let out a breath of relief.
"Hey sweetie, are you lost?" Ran immediately froze and stiffened when a hand landed on his shoulder from behind. Turning around, Ran came face to face with a woman medic. He opened his mouth to speak, but remembered that he couldn't speak, and bowing his head from embarrassment. The woman skeptically took in the boy's bandages, evaluating his wounds.
"Are you staying at this hospital?" She asked carefully.
The raven haired boy stared up at her for a moment and shook is head from side to side furiously, in which she took as a positive 'no,' but she still had her suspicions. "Have you just been released, then?"
Ran, seeing that the medic wouldn't take his answer so easily shook his head up and down this time as a sign of 'yes,' and was relieved when she suddenly gave him a shining smile.
The woman looked to be in about her mid thirties and pretty average with a kind smile set upon her face. From what Ran gathered, she obviously must have mistook his gesture as one of shyness, and kept asking where he was going, but all Ran could do was shake his head as a negative every time she named a different part of the building. She held a baffled look on her face until they reached the end of the hallway and she saw the little raven haired boy point excitedly at something that was past her.
Turning, she saw that it was the exit and realized that he wanted to get out of the hospital the while time. She felt her face heat up a bit in embarrassment. 'So that's what he wanted. He wasn't looking to stay in, but rather to get out instead.' She thought.
Smiling at the boy, she lightly patted his head not noticing that he tensed up a bit. Ran ducked his head and it was once again mistaken as an act of shyness that made the young woman nearly squeal at his cuteness.
Ran looked up at her meekly before giving the woman a shy smile and running off towards the door and out of the hospital.
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Ran didn't know where to go. He just began running in a random and now he was just completely confused as to where he wanted to go.
'At least I got away from that lady. Geez, I swear she was ready to pounce on me at any minute.' He shuddered at the thought. 'She was nice, though, so I guess it wasn't too bad.'
While walking, Ran noticed that he was walked toward the center of the village. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to just go in any random direction, except the poor side of the village where someone actually might recognize him, and he definitely didn't want that to happen.
So, as he walked down the market area, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. 'Is it just me or does it feel like someone's watching me?' He shivered, and then gazed around to the adults looking at him with curiosity and pointing and whispering about him.
He quickly avoided eye contact and quickened his pace to get out of their. 'Damn, I knew that I shouldn't have left my mask at the hospital! What was I thinking?!' He mentally berated himself.
He then found himself at the park, seeing kids running around and playing games. 'I think that I'll just sit around for a while and then just go back to the hospital and pray that no one has noticed that I'm not there anymore.'
Ran found a large secluded tree on the edge near the middle of the park that was like the border between where the park ended and the forest began. He let his eyes wander, watching the people that walked past and the children that were running playing around. Then, he saw something shining like glinted metal in the corner of his eye. 'Hmm? What's that?' Ran walked toward the object and pushed the bushes aside, spotting what he was looking for. It was a kunai, but it was no ordinary one. Ran could clearly see that someone had spent a lot of money on it. The kunai was midnight black and Ran could tell that it was made of a special type of metal and about regular size, but a bit longer in length, making the tip look much more dangerous. It had multiple designs on the hilt carved beautifully into it, and when Ran flipped it over he was graced with the symbol of a fan.
Something clicked in his mind. 'The Uchihas, huh?' His suspicions were then confirmed when he tilted the blade into the sun and an inscription was revealed. It read 'Uchiha Sasuke.'
Ran just sighed, telling himself that he'll return it later and stuffing it into his pocket, making sure to be careful about it. He walked back to his respected place and sat with his back to the trunk of the tree, once again watching as people pasted by. He quickly grew tired of simply watching and closed his eyes from the world, listening to the sounds of nature around him.
'I should do this more often, it's so relaxing.' Ran slouched a bit more into the tree. He didn't really think about much, but just opened his mind and let it flow freely. It was surprising blank of all the issues and problems that seemed to haunt his thoughts during the day.
He was so lost that he didn't seem to notice the approaching figures coming toward him.
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Uchiha Sasuke was ecstatic, and he plainly showed it by bouncing around all over the place while babbling to the person he was dragging behind him about random things that have happened to him recently. He suddenly felt a hand placed gently upon his head and looked up in surprise. "Calm down and stay quiet, otouto." A soft but firm voice stated above him.
Sasuke, who looked just like his brother in almost every way, gazed up at him through his dark raven hair and pouted. "But aniki," He whined, "It's been so long since you've had time for me."
Itachi let a small smile play on his lips. "Indeed, it has." He replied as he once again placed his hand on his otouto's head, ruffling his hair in the process. This caused Itachi's smile to widen a bit more as he heard his little brother growl in protest, slapping his hand away, as well.
Itachi had finally relented in spending one full afternoon with his brother after he took to constantly following and nagging him, and to Sasuke's pleasure everything worked out for the better. Well, at least for Sasuke.
So, Itachi was now stuck with having to train his brother on how to throw a kunai correctly as he had noticed Sasuke didn't quite know how to do so. He sighed tiredly, "No, Sasuke, you have to learn to keep it between two of your fingers, that is if you want your other targets to be hit as well?" he asked while quirking his eyebrow in question. The excited boy just nodded his head furiously and tried again.
A fewer hours later, Itachi decided to end the training for today despite Sasuke's protests. They began to gather all of the scattered kunai and shuriken when Sasuke suddenly began to panic, looking everywhere around their clearing like a maniac. Itachi laid his hand onto his brother's shoulder, causing him to still. "Is something wrong, Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned panicked eyes on him. "The kunai, I must have thrown it without knowing and—and now I can't find it! It's not here, aniki!"
Itachi furrowed his eyebrows a bit in confusion. "Kunai? What kunai?"
Sasuke bowed his head as if he suddenly seemed embarrassed with his eyes fixed on the forest floor. Itachi waited patiently, but when he realized he wasn't going to receive one he pushed it a bit. "Well?"
"The one t-that father g-gave to me." Sasuke spoke in a small voice as he kicked around a rock with the tip of his sandal.
Itachi's eyes widened in realization and he understood. It had been the kunai that their father had given Sasuke on his seventh birthday and his little brother simply adorned it. He carried it everywhere with him even though Itachi had no idea why, though their mother that it was awfully cute. It really had nothing to do with how beautiful it was, even though Itachi would admit that it was truly a work of art, but it was simply because their father had taken the time to give it to Sasuke. He reasoned that it was no surprise that Sasuke vied for their father's attention since he spent so much time and energy on him and Itachi felt slightly responsible.
Sasuke was now on the verge of tears, mumbling out words that were barely audible. "W-what if father never forgives me? He'll b-be so disappointed."
"Don't worry, otouto. We'll find it." He then guided Sasuke further from their training area and closer to the park as they searched for his kunai.
He was momentarily pulled out of his thoughts, when Sasuke pointed toward the edge of the park. "Who's that? I've never seen him before."
Itachi's onyx eyes followed his brother's vision, landing on a boy about Sasuke's age, if not younger. He had never seen this child either, though that wasn't that surprising since Konoha was such a large village, but Itachi knew a fair amount. The boy appeared to be asleep but he was not fooled, the boy was quite awake not that it mattered, though. It gave Itachi the time to look him over as they approached him.
From what he could see, the other boy also had dark raven hair that fell around a strong chiseled face that also held a delicate look to it with high cheekbones and a small, thin body to accompany it.
As they approached, the boy lifted his head and opened his eyes, and Itachi left himself suck in a breath of air. He's seen those eyes before, they were the eyes of the one and only Yondaime Hokage, he was sure of it. They were beautiful and it matched with the boy's other traits perfectly, but he couldn't shake that there was something off about him. It was just a feeling, but Itachi had learned to trust his instincts whole heartily. It was nothing bad, of course, just…off.
The older Uchiha shook himself out of it. What was he thinking? He then turned back to the matter at hand. They were looking for Sasuke's kunai; perhaps they should ask the boy if he's seen it. He glanced at Ran, seeing him now on his feet and staring at the sun in surprise, and before Sasuke or Itachi could react the boy bolted toward the exit of the park and quickly got lost in the sea of people that crowded the street.
'Weird kid; I have a feeling I'll be seeing him again.'
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'Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no!' Ran chanted in his mind as he ran through the throng on people in the crowded market area, heading toward the hospital. 'I can't believe that I spent that much time out! They'll definitely know that I escaped!'
As he kept running at an even pace, Ran thought about the two people that had approached him. He knew it was rude to bolt like that but he was seriously in a hurry. Though, the two of them did look a bit familiar.
'Have I seen them somewhere before?' His eyes widened as he came to a screeching halt and he felt like smacking himself in which he actually did right in the forehead. 'I can't believe I didn't realize it before! They were the Uchihas! They must have been looking for the kunai and were about to ask him about it.'
'Boy, do I feel stupid.' He thought and with a sigh began to run again. He was almost there! 'Oh well, there's nothing I can do now. I'll just have to drop it off or something once I get out of the hospital.' He conceded.
He ran into the hospital, turning it into a power walk as the medics chided him for running as he pasted and finally made it to his room without much trouble. He opened the door and turned, closing it quickly and resting his hot forehead on the cool wood of the door.
'I made it. I actually made it. I thought for sur—'
"Ahem." Ran rapidly turned around to find the Fourth and Tsunade glaring holes through his body with their eyebrows twitching and impatient looks on their faces. Not good. Not good at all.
'Crud,' was his only thought. He just knew that somehow, the next few days were going to be unpleasant.
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Ran stared at the blond before him blankly as if he didn't hear what the man before had just told him. In truth, though, it was really no surprise because he was the one that made the decision in the first place, but no one else knew that of course. And that was why it was not normal for a child like him to learn that they would never speak again and not react. Nope. They're probably thinking that he's crazy right about now due to his unresponsive nature, and then send him on his merry way to the mental ward.
Arashi coughed to clear the tension in the air, not that it worked of course. He asked hesitantly. "Are you...okay?"
Ran rolled his eyes. 'Oh, how I'll miss making sarcastic comments to people who ask stupid questions!' Apparently he got his point across, seeing as the Yondaime's cheeks tinged a bit. "Uhh...stupid question..."
Ran just quirked his eyebrow a bit in agreement and then turned his back to him while he buried his face into a pillow. Arashi took that as his cue to leave and stepped over to the door, closing it with a soft click. He saw Akane standing right in front of the door waiting patiently for him.
"How did it go?" She asked softly.
Arashi let out a small sigh and she looked up at him in concern. "It couldn't have been that bad, right? I didn't hear a thing, nothing and-"
"That's just it!" The blond blurted out.
Akane looked at him confused. "What? I don't understand."
"Nothing. He did nothing, just stared at me and...and..." Arashi started to gesture wildly, trying to find the words that he needed, and failing to do so in the process.
"Okay, okay! Calm down. You're not supposed to be the one panicking and such nonsense!" It was pretty amusing if one were to see the motherly medic scolding the Fourth Hokage, strongest shinobi in Konoha, like he was some little kid.
"…no thrashing, no flailing, no panicking, screaming or yelling…well, he can't really scream or yell, but the action behind it is what I didn't quite find." Arashi ranted off as if he weren't speaking to anyone but himself.
Akane motioned for him to calm down. "Please, Arashi, calm yourself."
"It's just really unusual." He stated, narrowing his eyes in thought. This only increased his urge to look more thoroughly into the boy's background and anything else that seemed suspicious or even the slightest bit off about that boy.
"Indeed it is."
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Although Ran couldn't speak, he coped well with his new disability. In fact, the Yondaime thought he took it a little too well. He didn't try to yell, scream, panic, thrash, or anything, which is highly unusual that even the medics were baffled by his overly calm behavior. They just assumed that he was still in shock. But then again, Kyoutaka Ran didn't exactly seem normal in certain aspects anyway.
Arashi guessed that it was like the calm before the storm and that the storm would be coming soon…but it never did. Perhaps the news didn't quite sink in yet, but he doubted that, knowing that Ran was a very intelligent boy. It just didn't make sense, not quite adding up.
'But since when did anything make sense around here?' The blonde asked himself and just let the boy be…for now, at least.
It almost felt like Ran was avoiding him and maybe he was, maybe he wasn't but Arashi wasn't really one to poke it other people's business anyway unless it was called for. This boy, though, it just felt like he was calling to him, feeling his heart tug every time Ran so much as looked at him.
Arashi shook his head, feeling another headache coming on. 'Why is it that I only get those when I think about him? Oh well, maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.'
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"Ran…" The said boy turned his head away from the window that he was previously looking out of and saw both Yuri and Sanosuke standing by the door with nervous expressions on their faces. How long that they been there? Ran didn't even notice that they had entered the room, but he didn't notice much these days. He often drifted off into his own world and the medics were worried about his sanity. He found that he liked it; it provided him with peace and quiet, but he grew tired of it quickly, missing Yuri's loud outbursts and Sanosuke's quiet reassurance and calm presence. He made no effort to move or even speak and just kept his eyes locked with the both of them as the atmosphere in the room became uncomfortable. Ran sat still and just let himself stare at the two of them.
Sanosuke gave Yuri nudge hard enough to make him stumble forward a little and hesitantly started to speak first but not before throwing a glare at Sanosuke who kept his face impressively impassive.
Yuri hesitantly stepped forward and started to speak. "We…we were told about…you know and…" He trailed off nervously under Ran's intense cerulean eyes. Ran's eyes landed on Sanosuke who stayed in the back and didn't need to speak, his eyes held clear understanding and sympathy.
Ran cocked his head to the side and blinked cutely, inwardly sighing. Not pity, but sympathy which he received from all the medics that came to his room and he hated it.
'At least it's not pity…I'm probably going to be getting a lot of that.' He grimaced at that thought, his imagination running wild for a moment, he could see it now. He hated having people's pity…he didn't want it or need it. Ran's eyes glazed over for a second until he snapped out of it and looked to see his friends staring at him in mixed confusion and worry.
Somehow Sanosuke had wordlessly crossed the room, standing beside his hospital bed when he had his temporary lapse, losing himself in his own little world for a second. He also saw Yuri trailing behind him, stopping a little further behind. They stood there unmoving for what seemed like hours when in reality it was in the span of only a few minutes.
His intense blue-grey eyes bore into Ran's blank ones and suddenly, Ran threw himself in what seemed like Sanosuke's waiting arms and without missing a beat, the taller boy wrapped his arms around him securely. He glanced at Yuri, mildly surprised that a blank face greeted him back. He was being strangely quiet.
'I wonder what he's thinking about.' Sanosuke thought as he took in the brunette's downcast head and his unfocused, intense eyes. Sanosuke shifted a bit uncomfortably, but Ran refused to lift his head that was currently buried into the other boy's shoulder, so with a resigned face he sat down unto the bed. Yuri soon followed, crawling unto the bed as well, leaning further back against the cold wall between the two.
Sanosuke seemed to realize that his shoulder was feeling wet, and gazed down to see tear stains on his shirt and was only able to see the top of his friend's head. Ran was gripping the front of his shirt tightly and his shoulders were shaking as he shed his silent tears alone. Whatever assurances that the two boys whispered fell on deaf ears, and were useless as Ran kept his head buried into Sanosuke's shoulder while shaking his head from side to side. From this, he didn't notice the grief and anguish that flashed through Yuri and Sanosuke's eyes, only to have it replaced by fierce determination, which etched its way onto their faces moments later.
Sanosuke's arms tightened around Ran's waist as he rested his chin on Ran's shoulder, looking at Yuri. The violet-eyed brunette avoided the other's gaze with his eyes downcast overlooking the village.
'He can't even cry.' Ran couldn't scream, yell, or cry, not that he would have, but knowing that he had the choice to cry was what had changed. Pain flashed through their eyes, and this time it did not escape Ran's notice, making him bow his head further down Sanosuke's shoulder. He was too ashamed to look at them any more; he truly didn't deserve the two of them.
Both Yuri and Sanosuke seemed to get this but refrained from speaking anything of it. Ran was their best friend, the most giving but also the most distant of the three. They understood that he had secrets, but just how many did he have? From a distance, anyone could see that Ran has had a tough life with everything that he has ever loved has been taken away from him, and he just wasn't willing to lose those that were the most precious. It made them feel special to know that they were wanted and precious to someone. What hurt, though, was that he kept his secrets hidden to protect them. Whether it was truly for them or him remained unknown, and perhaps it was both in a way. And now that Ran couldn't even talk anymore, Sanosuke wondered if he would drift even further, away from their grasp and reach.
'No. I won't let it.' He thought, looking up to meet Yuri's gaze and he knew that they were thinking the same thing. Just like Ran, they weren't willing to let go of something precious to them…no matter what. Staring out the window, the raven haired boy sighed seeing the sun set just above the border.
'Have we really been here that long that the time just escaped our minds?'
Yuri followed the other's gaze and realized this too and leisurely rose from the bed, making it squeak noisily before turning to Ran with a small smile at reached his compassionate violet eyes. He truly didn't have any words to give, but then again, he didn't really need them because Ran seemed to get the message just fine even with half of his face still hidden in Sanosuke's shoulder.
As Yuri made a move to leave, Ran's arm shot out and snagged the sleeve of his shirt in a vice grip. Yuri turned around surprised with his mouth open and looked ready to say something. He promptly shut his mouth when he saw Ran staring up at him from the bed. The brunette couldn't place what he saw on the other boy's face. Panic, that's what it was. It was swimming through those cerulean eyes, pure fear and panic adored his face as the hand on his sleeve gripped even tighter, hastily tugging him back to the bed.
Yuri's eyes widened in shock, but he quickly changed it just in case Ran began to feel weak and close them off again. He had never seen Ran lose control and look so lost before. The raven haired, cerulean eyed boy always kept his cool and calm exterior, and seeing him like this somehow made Yuri happy on the inside.
He knew it was sick and he felt disgusted with his way of thinking, but seeing Ran like he was right now made him seem so much more human and Yuri wasn't ashamed to think that he wanted to see more of it. Of course, under these circumstances it was different, but Yuri wanted Ran to sort of let loose. He wanted to show the people what they were missing, to show Ran what they were missing. Yuri yearned to show off Ran to the world, and in turn show the world to Ran.
Yuri had the same doubts that Sano had running through his head, though he wasn't one to give up so easily because Ran deserved better than that. He deserved the best and soon everyone else will see it too, of this he had no doubts.
His eyes were still connected with Ran's, knowing that he had already lost the battle. Ran was asking him to stay here with him by his side, and who was he to deny him? Heaving a light sigh, Yuri looked up and gave him a reassuring smile before loosening the hand that was gripping his sleeve and taking it into his own. He intertwined their fingers than hopped unto the bed with his legs dangling off the edge of the bed.
The second Yuri sat on the bed, Sanosuke could feel Ran releasing a sigh of relief and his body relaxing in his hold while closing his eyes lazily. It seemed as though the tension and inner turmoil had finally taken its toll and that he could finally rest.
He felt Ran pushing against him slightly and he loosened his grip to see the other raven haired boy gazing up at the two of them through sleepy half-lidded eyes, and the both of them saw a spark of happiness come alive in those endless depths of his, no matter how small. Sanosuke and Yuri felt something in them rise and swell in hope and joy. Perhaps this was only the beginning.
Sanosuke gingerly moved Ran up towards the bed and placed his head onto the pillow while lying next to him. Yuri had also lain down with his hands still intertwined with Ran and they fell asleep as the sun was setting below the horizon.
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Omg! That took forever! Well, actually not really. I'll say once again that I pretty much finished it a long time ago but kept forgetting to tweak it, so I'm super duper sorry to those of you that had to wait so long! I hope this chapter was satisfying!! I made so that it was definitely longer so you guys won't get mad. Hahah…juss kidding…anyway…I hope you like the introduction of Itachi and Sasuke, but I won't tell you what I am planning simply because I don't really know yet! So many different options and such, so I was also thinking about writing another story and I've even sort of atarted but I don't know if I will for sure. Again, I'm so sorry for making all of you guys wait and I hope that this chapter is good enough!! I'll definitely try to update sooner this time to the best of my abilities, but I can't make any promises. PLEASE Review!!
Much Love!
xxFrozenSn0wxx
