A/N: Gosh! I'm so sorry it's taken me close to forever to update, but I've had my head all over about million things lately! (winces) BUT, I'm baaaaaack – and yes, there's also a new chapter in my back pocket! (grins and dances a bit with joy)
Firstly, of course… Tons of thank yous for those heart swelling messages! (gives all kinds of special treats to all of you) You've seriously boosted up my inspiration, so THANK YOU! (Anonymous reviewers, look for your responses from underneath the chappy, yeah?) And super-sized thanks to my wonderful proofreader Serenityofthematrix, as well as to StreetRacerSakura, who turned out to be my second proofreader due to a twist of fate! (grins)
Awkay, before you'll pull out any more weaponry… (gulps and sweatdrops) Here it is, folks – chapter nine! I truly hope you'll enjoy the ride!
Naruto had never felt a moment as surreal as he did when waking up that morning.
At first he came to realize that there was something warm pressed against him. When he lowered his gaze with great confusion, he found something that brought a bright smirk to his face.
Sure enough, Sasuke had fallen asleep right beside him, and hadn't struggled away even when his arms had laced around the raven's nearly bony frame. He'd never seen anyone look as peaceful as the boy did just then – it was as though some magical force had chased away all those shadows that'd been bothering the other teen.
Not giving the gesture a second thought, he nuzzled his head against the Uchiha so that his hair tickled the other's cheek. Sasuke emitted a tiny groan, but didn't stir. He chuckled lightly.
It was still unreal to think just how huge step he'd managed to persuade Sasuke into taking. Voicing the truth about his parents, and that kiss… He could've never imagined either one of them being able to go to that level. Heck, he would've never expected them to want to go that far.
Yes, they had a long way to run. But he had to confess that he was very happy with this route.
" You look amusing when you're deep in thought, dobe."
He shuddered a bit before looking down at the raven, who's eyes were halfway open. He gave a pout. " Teme! Why didn't you tell me you're awake?"
The other snorted, most likely subconsciously nestling just a little bit closer to his warmth. " Who could sleep when someone's poking them like you were?"
He smirked sheepishly, playing with the Uchiha's hair. " 'Sorry." He watched how the other glanced towards the room's window with a slight frown, appearing deep in thought. " You never ran away, you know?"
It took a while before there was any reaction. " Hn." He didn't hesitate to return the hold when Sasuke snatched the hand that'd been caressing raven locks, squeezing it lightly. " I… felt like staying this time."
He found himself smiling. " That's good." Because he'd wanted the raven to stay as well, more than he'd ever wanted anything in his entire life. His one hand played with the boy's fingers while the other arm gathered the Uchiha as close to him as humanly possible. He was surprised Sasuke didn't resist when he placed his chin on top of the other's head. " So… Now what?"
Apparently Sasuke was the only one who didn't realize just how adorable the boy looked when shifting around and pressing his face against his chest. " How about sleeping for a couple of more hours?"
He arched an eyebrow at the sound of Sasuke's stomach roaring. " No chance, teme", he announced. He poked the boy's ribs through fabric, earning a swat at his hand. " You're starving as it is."
The raven glared at him. " I'm not hungry, deadlast."
He rolled his eyes skywards and grabbed the other's hand, blatantly ignoring the words. " C'mon." They were equally surprised by the fact that he actually managed to rip the Uchiha into a standing position. " You know it's a waste of time to fight me when I'm right."
Naruto had never been as surprised in his life as he was when the boy followed willingly, nor had he been as glad.
CHAPTER 9: Dare You To Move
Sakura had always been praised for having extremely good judgment of character. That's why it only took her one glance to realize that something had changed dramatically between Naruto and Sasuke during the night before.
Yes, Sasuke was still acting like the blonde was the most infuriating thing in the entire world and snipping at the boy, and Naruto didn't hesitate to use less than flattering nicknames and irritate the Uchiha. But a careful observer noticed the new warmth between them, and how their hands brushed together every once in a while, carefully and only at the very beginning of something amazing.
A thin trace of a smile appeared to her lips while she kept brushing her horse's soft fur.
Sasuke, of course, noticed this and gave her a weird look. " What's that amusing?"
She shrugged carelessly. " Nothing much. Just the little wonders of life."
Sasuke's mouth opened, but all words became cut off when Naruto ruffled the boy's raven locks with unexpected gentleness. " Teme, stop pestering Sakura and hand me a brush, will you?"
The Uchiha glared a little, but did as ordered anyway.
All of a sudden the peaceful afternoon ended when they all noticed Kabuto approaching with somewhat hesitant steps. Seeing her glare and Naruto's expression, the boy stopped a good fifteen steps away.
Surprisingly enough it was Sasuke who moved and spoke first. She detected one of the raven's hands grabbing Naruto's for just a couple of seconds, offering what looked like support. " Dobe, all night long you kept telling me that I should face my past and overcome it." Dark eyes met seas of blue. " Was that all a lie, or are you going to do the same?"
Naruto looked downwards, seeming confused and embarrassed. " I… It's… not easy."
Did she just see Sasuke's eyes soften? " Of course it isn't, dobe. But I know you – if anyone's stubborn and tough enough to do it, it's you."
Naruto blinked – appearing just as stunned as Sakura felt – then gave a quivering smile. " Thanks, 'Suke." It couldn't be told for sure if the nickname was intentional or caused by lack of breath.
Sasuke rolled his eyes. " Just go." Stop worrying. It'll go fine, onyx eyes filled in, no longer under the raven's control.
While she and Sasuke watched Naruto walking slowly towards Kabuto, Sakura found herself speaking. " I think he really needs this." She sighed, rubbing her face with both hands. " I just hope this won't be too much for him."
Sasuke's eyes remained as unreadable as they usually were. " Hn." He then turned around, starting to walk away.
She frowned. " Where are you going?"
Sasuke didn't stop or glance over his shoulder. She could barely hear the response he gave. " I… made a promise to Naruto last night. There's something I need to do."
Hiashi Hyuuga certainly wasn't a man who'd show a lot of emotions. That's why Neji was mildly surprised by all he found from his uncle's eyes when the man opened the door and saw him. " Neji?" The man, however, composed himself rather quickly. " Now what are you doing here?"
Whatever feelings there were bubbling up inside him, he refused to let them show. " There's something I've been meaning to ask you." For a moment he thought about marching over the doorstep, but in the end couldn't bring himself to do it.
Hiashi's eyebrow rose. " What would that be?"
His pale eyes turned stony when thoughts that'd been circling around his head for a long time laced together, forming a clear picture he'd failed to see until now. " Back when I was dating Deidara, and we broke up, he said something about us being worth the payment." His eyes locked straight to the man's, and it all became clear. " You paid him to leave, didn't you?"
For quite a while he was sure his uncle would lie. But for once Hiashi was honest. The man nodded slowly. " That's right." The eyes still looking into his didn't weaver. " I did what I still think was the best for you – and our family."
He wasn't sure which one of the three urges crossing his being was the strongest – to kill, to throw up or to laugh bitterly. He swallowed thickly. " You… arranged Zaku to keep Gaara away from me as well, right?"
" Yes." Hiashi's voice was almost startlingly nonchalant. " I knew that redhead would be too much of a fool to recognize a good deal. Zaku's never had such a problem."
He felt like punching his uncle, and only common sense as well as steely self control kept him still. " Do you… have any idea of what you've done?" He was snarling, which was something he'd never done in front of the older before. " You made me feel like I was something disgusting – a freak! You ripped me away from the one person I've ever loved!"
Hiashi snorted. " So now you're in love?"
He nodded, suddenly more sure than ever in his life. " Yes. And that's something no money of the Hyuuga family can change."
Hiashi didn't seem to follow. " So… what are you saying?"
" I'm saying…" He looked around the fancily decorated apartment, feeling very repulsed all of a sudden. " … that if I have to lie about everything I am, about who I love, I'm no longer a part of this family. I'm here to say goodbye."
The man snorted. " If you really want that freak so badly, then find him, stay with him. But if that's your decision, don't ever show up around here again."
Making his decision was even easier than he'd expected. With those simple steps that carried him away from the house he made his point perfectly clear.
As far as he was concerned, he was no longer a Hyuuga. And he'd never felt more relieved in his entire life.
Upstairs, Haku and Shikamaru just sneaked into Hinata's room once Haku managed to open a window in some way that was beyond Shikamaru.
At first Hinata – who'd been writing what looked like a letter – cast a startled look towards their sounds, then gasped with shock when recognizing them. There seemed to be some drug induced hue clouding her gaze while it filled with terror after a second. You shouldn't be here, the look said.
Obviously choosing not to listen to her soundless message, Haku walked closer. " We came to take you away from here", the boy explained, voice even softer than usually. " It's time to end this."
While observing how Haku took Hinata gently into his arms, whispering something soothing into the girl's ear while she clung to him with heartbreaking trust and smiled, Shikamaru faced a stunning realization.
He'd always thought love was the most troublesome feeling in the repertoire of human beings. But maybe… it really wasn't. Or at very least it held in tons more than he could've ever imagined.
Both he and Haku stiffened when hearing the sound of a door closing downstairs, and their gazes met. They were in a hurry. " I suppose we should get going", he stated the obvious in a somewhat choked voice.
Haku nodded, seeming solemn, then glanced towards Hinata. " I want you to keep your eyes closed, okay? No matter what happens."
The girl nodded without any hesitation and obeyed, then startled all three of them with speaking. " I trust you."
Haku's eyes turner warmer before meeting his once more. " Now let's go."
Downstairs, Hiashi's fuming thoughts were cut sharply by the dial tone of his cell phone. " What?" he all but snarled, not remembering to take a look at who the caller was.
" Is that how you greet me these days?" The sound of Gatô's voice caused his face to turn whiter than chalk.
He swallowed thickly. " I'm… sorry, I didn't…"
" Save it." There was a moment of irritated silence. " I'm calling to warn you. The police are asking questions about that brat – Sai, wasn't it? – and Zabuza again. I was forced to give them traces leading to you."
His eyes flew wide without him being able to control it. " What?!"
He didn't hear the rest, because the phone was already falling from his hand while he sped off. " I'm warning you, Hyuuga. If you give them anything that could connect me with your stupid mess, you'll lose a lot more than your younger daughter. You won't be able to run away this time."
By then he already stood by the doorway of Hinata's room. His heart jumped into his throat.
His daughter… was nowhere to be found. Curtains billowed eerily in front of the open window.
While sitting in the mansion's kitchen, Naruto and Kabuto lingered in a thick, uncomfortable silence for so long that both contemplated fleeing the scene.
In the end it was Kabuto who began the conversation. " Look, Naruto…"
" You made my life a living hell for years, you know?" Naruto surprised even himself with interrupting the other in a somewhat edgy tone. His hands twitched in his lap, and he couldn't bring himself to meet the other boy's gaze. " I… I almost gave in. It was too much."
' Geez, kit!' He'd already been expecting the voice to appear, so it didn't startle him. ' Look what he's turned you into – you're pathetic! Why can't you just let me take care of things? I could've ended this years ago.'
" I'm sorry." Kabuto's voice caught them both by surprise, as did the look in the boy's eyes.
At that moment, he found the about last words he'd expected. " I… forgive you." He had to, for the sake of his sanity. He'd been carrying this load for too long already.
Kabuto merely nodded as a response, eyes flashing with something he couldn't recognize.
They lapsed into another, now much more comfortable silence. There was nothing more they needed to say. Big words wouldn't have done any good to the scars inside them – now, it was all up to each one of them to fix the damage.
After a couple of minutes he pushed himself up and walked away without looking back, his body feeling oddly heavy and light at the same time.
For some reason he had a feeling that there was a storm approaching.
-
From the room's second doorway, Iruka observed the scene. Gradually, a thin smile made its way to his lips.
He'd known Naruto had grown up. He'd just never realized how much.
Feeling more relieved than he had in years he turned around and walked away, leaving Kabuto alone into thoughts that can only be guessed.
While entering Orochimaru's lair – the very same building in which Naruto had stolen a kiss from him – Sasuke mused that it seemed he'd rehearsed this meeting in the very back of his mind dozens of times. But nothing could've prepared him for the real thing.
Orochimaru glanced towards him with a quirked eyebrow when he appeared into the man's office without knocking. " Ah, so you came even earlier than I expected this time around." The man tilted his head just a little bit. " Is the need that strong already?"
As a response he took off a plain, silver-shaded bracelet the man had once given him and threw it down, smashing it with his foot. " I came…" He met the older man's eyes, feeling burning everywhere underneath his skin. " … to end this shit."
Orochimaru's eyebrow bounced up once more. " Really, now?" Quite unhurriedly the man got up from his chair and walked up to him. Unnerving eyes surveyed him with what can only be called hunger, making him feel sick to his stomach. " You've still got that fire in your eyes, Sasuke-kun. You're not ready to let go of just yet – with all the things you've let me do to you I can tell." The older one's hand moved on him, skillfully tracking scars left by the man, Sasuke himself and several other people. " Those marks will start to itch and burn one day. And when that happens, I'll be right here waiting."
Feeling repulsed and dizzy he took a sharp step away, gasping slightly with relief when feeling the man's unwanted touch disappear. " You…", he hissed. " … are never going to see me again."
Orochimaru chuckled coldly. " You'd be surprised by how many times I've heard that."
He didn't listen, didn't care.
All he could focus on was getting out of the snake's nest alive and in full sanity.
-
About an hour later he was stood outside the building, watching how a trash can burned brightly, giving his cheeks a warm glow.
He didn't need to look to know who the arrival was when he heard steps. " I knew Orochimaru would send you", he commented somewhat dryly.
Juugo gave a small shrug, gaze fixed on the trash can. " What's in there?"
His eyes first darkened, then gained a fiery glow as he watched the flames. " Memories."
The other nodded slowly. Silence fell as they watched the flames dying down gradually.
" I've seen that expression before", Juugo commented finally, looking at him with his head tilted. There was something close to sadness in the boy's eyes (or maybe it was just a trick caused by light). " You're really leaving us and this place behind, aren't you?"
He nodded slowly. There was no real reason to deny it. " I… suppose I was never really here to begin with."
This time Juugo nodded, measuring him with his gaze. " Is he worth it?"
It took quite a bit of him to hide his surprise, but in the end there was no noticeable change in his eyes. " Yes, he is."
Juugo didn't nod or move even an inch, but nonetheless appeared pleased with his answer. " That's good."
This was it, he understood. A closure, a final judgment.
After casting one more look towards Juugo for old times' sake he turned around and started to walk away, finding it much easier to breathe all of a sudden.
" Take care of yourself, okay?" He stopped out of surprise caused by the other's words, but didn't look over his shoulder. " And if he ever gives you another scar… Just come and find me."
He swallowed a bit, feeling like smiling. " Hn." With that he kept walking on, refusing to look back at the pitch black hole he was finally crawling out of.
They both knew he wouldn't come back.
Sasuke was getting a splitting headache when he returned to Konoha about two hours after his meeting with Orochimaru and Juugo.
Giving up on the life he'd led for over two years was trickier than he'd imagined.
His own dark musings, however, faded away when he found Naruto in the building's library. At first he thought the blonde, who had his back to him, was reading, but soon quaking shoulders and muffled sounds proved him otherwise.
He frowned. " Naruto?" Quite slowly he walked up to the boy, and felt like wincing at how the blonde stiffened when feeling his presence. He caught on after a couple of seconds. " You… talked to Kabuto, didn't you?"
Naruto nodded, refusing to look at him. It took what felt like a full minute until there was a feeble whisper. " It's… It's finally over."
Although he hated seeing the boy like this, he still came close to smiling. Apparently Naruto had finally managed to gain at least some peace of mind.
Not quite comfortable with what he was doing, Sasuke wrapped a pair of arms around the blonde, first hesitantly, then – as the other leaned closer instead of pulling away – tightened the embrace. He tensed up just a little when Naruto clung to him as well, not used to such innocent and harmless affection, but soon relaxed, allowing the boy to draw comfort from him.
This… had been a long day for both of them. They needed this.
It must've taken more than an hour before most of the storm had settled, and Naruto was at least relatively calm against him.
After several moments there was a whisper he barely heard. " Sorry…"
Choosing to ignore the word, as well as all his cursed pride, he nuzzled his head against the blonde's, gaining a tiny bit of pleasure from how the other shivered when getting tickled by his hair. " Are you feeling any better now, dobe?"
There was something that sounded distinctly like a chuckle to him. " Bastard."
" Hn."
After some more moments they parted and he pushed himself up, surprised by how stiff his legs were. " I'm… gonna get you some water, okay? I'll be back in a second."
Apparently Naruto wasn't going to let him run off quite that easily. For just as he was about to go he felt a pair of lips slam against his. At first his eyes widened uncharacteristically, until he found himself responding.
Once the kiss ended he glanced at the boy with an arched eyebrow. " What was that for?"
The blonde merely shrugged, already grinning just a little bit.
He remained there for a couple of seconds – as though about to say something but not quite able to – until his feet agreed to work and he started to walk away. His hand let go of Naruto's he didn't know taking.
It took his all not to shake his head as he went.
He was really losing his touch. He was surprised it didn't feel as bad as he'd expected.
-
There were few times in Naruto's life when he'd felt something extremely bad and dark approaching. That slowly darkening evening was one of them.
He, however, disregarded it as a trick of his imagination. Sleep claimed him before he could fight himself to think otherwise.
That day – once coming back to the mansion from the ultra scan with Yamato, and having caught the very first glimpse of her baby – Ino decided that it was finally time to do something that should've been dealt with a long time ago.
Once again, it wasn't a difficult task to find Kabuto. The boy, who was currently sitting in a library, gave her an inquisitive look and put down his book. " Ino?" He then frowned. " What's going on?"
" You know what, Kabuto?" Her voice was hoarse and hollow, exhausted. This had been going on for far too long – one of them had to draw the line. " You cheating on me, and forcing me to work for Orochimaru, bringing me into all that crap… I'm letting go of it." It didn't surprise her that she said those words; what did, however, baffle her was that she meant them, from the bottom of her heart.
Her father had always told her that forgiveness was important, that grudges could turn one's heart into a stone. She didn't have any trouble whatsoever believing him, not with how much haze there'd been in her head lately.
Something that looked quite a bit like hope could be seen in the boy's eyes. " So… you're taking me back?"
She growled faintly. " Kabuto, no. I forgive you, but I don't want you in my life ever again." She brushed her scarcely traceable bump. " Or in my son's life."
He blinked somewhat blankly. " What now?"
" Go", she stated simply – no longer angry, only extremely tired. " Go, and start a nice life somewhere far away from here, and Orochimaru. Do what's best for you and let go. Because this is over."
For a moment the boy seemed ready to fight, just like he usually did. But in the end his shoulders slumped as though a huge weight had been placed on them. His mouth opened, but instead of speaking he turned around and started to walk away. Just before the boy was out of earshot, he spoke once more without looking at her. " One more thing." There was a small pause. " That mission of yours during which Sai died… The package you were supposed to retrieve was a book from… What was that guy's stage name again? Ero-Sennin, or something like that. Gatô stole it from Orochimaru when one of his bodyguards was murdered. Orochimaru wanted that book back, whatever the cost."
Ino felt very cold, and her throat tightened significantly. " What… are you saying?"
" Ino, Sai died because of a book." Kabuto started to walk off once more. " Tells you something about the world we live in, no?"
She grit teeth while her eyes narrowed and balled her trembling fists. " Go to hell, Kabuto", she snarled.
It wasn't until the boy was already gone did facts start to sink in.
So, Sai…
She brought a hand to her lips, an inch from throwing up. She'd never trembled that badly in her entire life, not even after Sai's death.
He'd died… because of a book. Because of that mission. Because of her stupid mistake.
She'd had him killed… because of a stupid book. Because she'd valued one thing above all others, and only Orochimaru had been able to give it to her.
" Ino?" Looking up slowly, she met Shikamaru's worry-marred face. " Hey, what's…?" His eyes then fell downwards and widened, telling her everything necessary. " Oh shit…"
She looked down as well. There, on her pants, an even darker circle was forming against black fabric. It took her a moment to understand properly.
Blood…
She was pretty sure her heart stopped for several moments, and she emitted a choked gasp.
No… No, no, NO!
Shikamaru spoke something while walking closer and placing a hand to her shoulder – she could tell, because she felt his voice in the air – but she heard none of it, wouldn't look at him. All that fit into her consciousness was the constantly growing stain of blood.
Tears gathered in her eyes while she slumped down and brought both of her hands protectively to her abdomen, casting her gaze towards the roof.
She… She'd already lost Sai. If she'd lose his child as well…
It was almost amusing how little power her scream carried, considering how much rage, terror and helplessness it bottled up.
It took Neji longer than he'd expected to find Gaara. At first – when visiting the orphanage as 'a family friend' – he found out that the redhead had been kicked out to the streets some days ago because of violent and… improper behavior. Mostly because of shock it took him a while to figure out that there was one place where Gaara had mentioned going whenever he needed comfort.
A tiny park a bus ride away from Konoha.
After gaining a permission to leave from Kakashi with stunning ease and making the journey that'd felt endless, he found himself stood by the gates of the said park. And there Gaara was, stood before a tiny pond and seeming so lost that it made his chest hurt.
He'd never seen the redhead's eyes fill with such an amount of emotions they did when the boy saw him. " Neji? How…?" The boy trailed off, most likely because of the look upon his face.
His eyes were somewhat hard when he entered the park, walking close to the other. " Four months ago you told me you loved me." He looked straight into Gaara's eyes, forcing the boy into maintaining eye contact. " Did you ever really stop?"
The boy shuddered, eyes yet again changing, and very obviously only his stern gaze kept the other from running away. " Why are you so fervent in wanting to know?" There was no denial, only unimaginable fear.
His heart made an odd movement, as though broken pieces had started to mend together. He had his answer. " Gaara… Hiashi told me everything." He met the other's eyes, and felt like smiling at everything he managed to find. " So you can quit the crap."
Gaara swallowed thickly, visibly trying to gather scattered pieces of thoughts. " I'm… sorry."
He shook his head, then – doing what he'd missed for a long time – took the two steps separating them, and laced his fingers amongst the redhead's with such affection that there was no question about his soundless message. After staring at him with what looked like utter shock for several moments Gaara gave his hand a tender squeeze. He wondered if the boy was aware of the tiny trace of a smile that played on the redhead's lips.
All that crap, all the pain and suffering… It was finally over.
Working completely against his nature, he leaned his forehead against the other's. " Let's go home, okay?"
Gaara never got the chance to respond, because just then a voice he definitely wouldn't have wanted to hear came. " I should've known having you kicked out of that dump wouldn't be enough." Zaku's eyes had never been as venomous before. (Or maybe, Neji mused, they had been all along but he'd failed to see it.)
Gaara emitted a low growl, taking a stand before him. " Leave. Now."
Without anything further and Neji being able to do nothing to stop it, the two boys started exchanging kicks and punches. He took a hissing breath and balled his own fists. " Stop it!" The two didn't obey, probably didn't even hear. " Stop this stupidity right now!"
At that moment he made the biggest mistake of his entire life. He took some steps forth, practically placing himself between the two fighters. Only a second or so later a hellish hit met his face, sending him reeling backwards. There was a snapping sound.
It took him some seconds to distinguish certain facts, although they were rather simple.
The park had been built on a small, rather rocky cliff. From the very beginning a wooden fence had circled it to keep children from falling. And the snap he'd just heard hadn't been from a tree branch.
With a feeling of incredulity flowing through him he met Gaara's eyes, saw the redhead's lips open for a soundless scream. And then the ground disappeared from underneath his feet.
He fell for what felt like forever until finally smashing into darkness.
Itachi's eyes moved ever so slightly when he noticed Sasuke entering the kitchen that evening. His chest made a tiny twinge of hope when he spotted his brother approaching the refrigerator.
Obviously sensing his gaze, Sasuke cast a somewhat hard look towards him. " So I got hungry. Is that against the law?"
He couldn't restrain a smile. " No", he stated softly. " It's not." After taking a sip of tea, he dared to add. " I can already see he's doing good for you."
Sasuke looked away, and he was almost sure he saw the beginning of a blush. " Hn."
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak out a harsh, merciless burst of pain nestled into his skull. He winced involuntarily and brought a hand to his head, although it did nothing to help.
Sasuke gave him a somewhat worried look. " You okay?"
He forced panic into the back of his mind while nodding. " Yeah." Noticing with alarm how world spun in his eyes, he got up very slowly and started to struggle his way out of the room. " I'll… be back in a while."
He had absolutely no idea of how he managed to make his way into a bathroom, but eventually he found himself slumped to a floor, throwing up absolutely everything there was in his stomach and more. With each and every heave his headache intensified, and in the end some tears of pain trickled onto his cheeks.
This was too much, way too much. He… He wouldn't be able to take this much longer.
As though through some thick hue he heard how someone appeared to the room's doorway. By the time he lifted his gaze his eyes were so bleary that he saw three Kakashis instead of one. The gray haired frowned. " Itachi? What…?" The man's lips kept moving, but he could hear another word, couldn't even think properly.
At first the headache simply exploded to such extend he couldn't bear it, numbing his mind from absolutely everything else. Then thick, cold darkness fell on him. He had a falling sensation, and another blast of pain came when his head hit something hard.
The world slipped away from him.
-
A second before he heard shouts, Sasuke's eyes widened and he emitted a tiny gasp, feeling unbearably cold. He was moving before he could process the motions. When he reached the bathroom, he hoped dearly he'd stayed where he was.
At first all he could see was a somewhat panicked looking Yamato dialing numbers, and Kakashi kneeling nearby the tiny room's doorway. Then, his eyes landed on Itachi, and a choked sound broke its way through his throat.
Gosh, there was so much blood… And Itachi, he was so pale, lifeless…
He felt a hand on his shoulder – who's, he didn't know or care. " Sasuke, you shouldn't…"
He brushed the hold off roughly, taking a sharp step forth. It was only once in his life he'd felt such panic before. " What's going on?" he demanded, sounding like a five-year-old. His heart hammered so that he feared it'd fail him. " What… What the hell is happening?!"
Kakashi, apparently, didn't hear him. All the man's focus was on Itachi. He could barely hear the muttered words. " Come on, 'Tachi… Breathe for me, please… Just breathe… Open your eyes…"
After that all sounds disappeared from his ears, and time seemed to move in an unnaturally fast pace. All of a sudden Kakashi was performing CPR, then medics appeared out of nowhere, starting to work furiously on Itachi. More blood appeared, and he started to hold back his breath to keep himself from screaming.
Then, with such a blast that he shuddered, normality resumed. What felt like dozens of voices filled his ears, nearly exploding them, and everyone seemed to be moving. " He's breathing", one of the medics announced.
It was then Kakashi finally noticed him standing there. The man's eyes were filled with sadness he didn't recall seeing in them before. " Sasuke…" The gray haired moved closer and started to reach out to grab his shoulder.
He swatted the man's hand away far more roughly than he'd first intended. " Don't", he all but wheezed through gritted teeth, sounding and feeling like there'd been no air whatsoever left in his lungs. His eyes strayed to Itachi's painfully still, bloodied form, then moved to his brother's blood on Kakashi's clothes. He shook his head while taking a couple of steps back, the sensation of suffocating growing so strong that he started to feel dizzy. " Just… Don't."
The exact same moment the medics lifted the stretcher carrying Itachi he whirled around and started to rush away as fast as he possibly could.
It was a miracle, really, that he managed to walk, because his mind went blank the second he turned away from his brother.
TBC, no?
A/N: Poor Itachi-kun – and EVERYONE! What'll happen to Neji? Will Itachi be okay? And where the heck did that teme go? What about Ino's baby?
(Damnit, I did it AGAIN!) (swats forehead with a hand)
(sweatdrops) O… kay… I can see all those weapons you're trying to hide, so I'll get going – FAST. (starts to dash towards cover)
PLEASE, leave a comment before you'll start to chase me – I KNOW you want to, especially after I left things like that…! (bats eyelashes irresistibly)
'Til next time, guys – 'hope you'll all join the ride then!
Be good!
CHAPTER COUNTDOWN:
Only four to go, counting in the epilogue! (gasps with shock)
Rachael: Welcome aboard for the second time! (grins)
Gosh, I really hope this won't end badly, too! It'd be just too heartbreaking if these poor people wouldn't turn out to be happy after all they've been through. (sniffs)
Holy damn, colossal thank yous for the absolutely baffling review – I'm happy beyond any words to hear you've enjoyed the story so far, and to think that much…! I REALLY hope you'll like the rest as well.
