CHAPTER 10! woot woot!
Naruto woke up slightly less stiff than he had expected. After being kidnapped, tortured to the brink of death and then still managing to beat the holy hell out of your enemy, one would expect to at least wake up with some sort of cast on. But Naruto didn't even have a splint, he wasn't even in a hospital. He opened his eyes to find his bedroom ceiling, the same ceiling he'd woken up to for the past 7 years. For a moment he thought maybe it had all been a dream, but then he tried to move and couldn't because his body was paralyzed. He also noticed IVs and monitors attached to his body.
"Naruto?" Itachi called from the foot of the bed. Naruto tried to say something but Itachi quickly put a hand over his mouth to stop him. "Here, at least drink before you try talking. You've been asleep for three months so it's gonna feel strange at first."
"Three?" Naruto barely got out, his throat burned and his body ached just from that one whispered word.
"Yeah, the trauma was going to be too much so you've been in an induced coma for about two months while your body healed. We took you off the meds about two weeks ago so we were just waiting for you to wake up."
"Sas?" Naruto managed another word.
"He's fine. He was just a bit bruised, mostly he had a severe case of dehydration. He's in the kitchen, should I call for him?" Itachi knew it was a stupid question as soon as he'd asked it, of course Naruto wanted to see Sasuke. "I'll be right back." He smiled as he left. A second later, Sasuke was running into the room.
"Nar." Sasuke breathed as he gently sat on the bed. He carefully touched his lover's face before running his fingers lightly over his neck, shoulders, chest and stomach. Naruto would have shivered in delight if he could actually move, he didn't quite understand how you could miss someone's touch when you weren't even conscious but he had missed Sasuke terribly. Sasuke looked over Naruto with longing and relief. "I missed you." Sasuke breathed out. Naruto tried to smile, but it really hurt so he couldn't very well. Itachi just stood in the doorway, watching his brother and the blonde with an affection he rarely showed to anyone besides Deidara and Tobi.
FLASHBACK
"We've found them!" Kisame shouted down the hall. Itachi ran, telling himself not to get too excited but he couldn't help the swell of hope that Sasuke and Naruto were okay. As he got closer to Kisame, he could see the look of horror on his partner's face and smelled the blood. But even with the smell of death and the terrified look from a man who usually was calm in any circumstance, Itachi hadn't been prepared for what he found. Every inch of the dark room was dripping with blood, three bodies laid in a row in the back corner.
Itachi felt like gagging from the sight and smell, but he wouldn't let himself stop until he knew for sure that both Sasuke and Naruto were alive. He had to force himself to even take a step into the room, his feet sliding a bit on the bloody floor. The body closest to him was still chained to a chair by his ankles. The chair hid the bodies just enough that he would have to walk at least half way into the room before he could see if any of them were alive. So he forced another two steps into the room. He was torn between telling himself they were both alive or that they were both dead, he didn't want to face the fact that one or both of them could be dead but if he told himself they were alive he would be devastated to find that it wasn't true. Another step forward he could see the one chained to the chair was still breathing, feeling even more relieved when he saw it was Sasuke.
"Sasuke's alive." Itachi called to Kisame who was relaying the message and their location to the other raiding members through the walkie-talkie. Kisame also came into the room at that point but Itachi wasn't really paying attention to him, more concerned with locating his brother's lover. Itachi could only pray that Naruto was alive, Sasuke definitely wouldn't be able to handle the loss and Itachi wasn't quite sure he would be able to either. A few more steps and he could see Naruto's body. He couldn't see the blonde breathing and he had a few deep stab wounds. Itachi's hands shook as he took Naruto's bloody hand into his and felt his wrist for a pulse. It was feint, barely even enough to consider the blonde alive and if he wasn't taken to get help immediately he wouldn't be alive, but Itachi still felt a wave of relief that Naruto was still technically alive.
"We need to get Naruto help immediately." Itachi shouted at the men appearing in the doorway. He could hear some of them gagging and understood their hesitance to enter the room, but they didn't seem to understand the urgency in the matter. "Now!" Itachi shouted. The men quickly entered the room and took the blonde out. Fortunately Itachi had called the family doctors in just in case and Naruto would start receiving medical attention as soon as they left the building. The eldest Uchiha brother turned back to Sasuke to unlock the shackled around his ankles. He wasn't concerned about Orochimaru and hadn't even glanced at the third body. With this much blood in the room he knew Naruto had done some serious damage to the snake and if the blonde hadn't killed him already, Kisame was armed to do exactly that.
"Oh fuck." Kisame gasped as he stepped around Itachi to look at Orochimaru's body. Itachi turned towards the third body and was physically sick. If Orochimaru had been flattened by a steam roller, he probably would have looked better than what Naruto had done to him. A few of the henchmen had taken Sasuke away by then so Itachi and Kisame were left to stare at the mutilated corpse. "He's definitely cut out for this business."
"I think that's exactly why Sasuke tried to keep him away." Itachi sighed, trying hard not to get sick again. Somehow knowing sweet, innocent Naruto had done this made the sight all the more disturbing. There was a crackling of a speaker somewhere above them.
"Uchiha," Asuma's voice echoed in the small room and down the empty halls. "You'll want to see this." Itachi and Kisame left to find Asuma in a monitoring room. One wall held four screens, all showing the room they had just been in. Asuma flipped a switch and all four screens started rewinding. They watched the quick backwards replay of everything that had happened in the past 10 hours. Just watching Naruto putting Orochimaru back together piece by piece made Itachi dread watching it forward in real time. It took almost half an hour to get back to the start and the three men watched from four different angles as unconscious Naruto and Sasuke were dragged in and tied up, they watched as Naruto woke up and began panicking when Sasuke was still unconscious, they watched the few minutes when the two lovers spoke before Orochimaru came in. They watched Orochimaru beat Naruto for five and a half hours straight. There was only an hour after Orochimaru left before he came back in with the weapons. Orochimaru had tortured Naruto for just under an hour before Sasuke screamed something at him and Naruto snapped. The last two hours were Naruto literally smashing and ripping Orochimaru apart.
"Fuck." Kisame said when everything was over.
"So that's the demon fox, Kyuubi?" Itachi asked giving Asuma as questioning look. If Naruto had started cackling and drinking Orochimaru's blood he wouldn't have been surprised, although prior to this moment Itachi never would have thought the blonde capable. Asuma sighed, staring at the blank screens.
"Kyuubi is just the nickname the kids gave Naruto in the martial arts program. He's always been good at fighting, but this was something else entirely. This was Naruto's raw uninhibited power. I'm pretty sure that the three of us and Sasuke are the only ones who've seen Naruto like this." Asuma explained as if also trying to work it out in his head. Itachi almost felt sorry for Asuma at the moment, he remembered the first time he saw Sasuke kill a man. But Sasuke was from a mob family, Itachi could only guess at what Asuma was feeling after seeing his brother like that.
"Asuma," Itachi called gently, bringing the officer's attention to himself. He gave Asuma a gentle and sincere look. "This is the only time Naruto will ever be exposed to our business. I don't want him in our group, especially after seeing this. Your brother is too sweet and gentle and seeing him like that was terrifying and disturbing and I never want to have to see it again." Asuma just nodded.
END FLASHBACK
"Tachi." Naruto called softly. Itachi was snapped from his musings and looked to the blonde on the bed.
"You okay? You looked like you were thinking of something terrible." Sasuke added.
"I was." Itachi nodded and then his face softened as he gave the blonde a small smile. "I'm glad to see you awake. I'm going to call your family." Itachi said and left the room again. Sasuke still sat on the bed, gently holding one of Naruto's hands.
"Sakura said you should regain mobility after an hour or so when you wake up. We had to keep you paralyzed in case you jerked awake or something because of all the stitches and broken bones you had." He explained.
"Had?" Naruto asked. Sasuke couldn't help but laugh softly.
"We can't exactly have you walking around all scarred after this, too many questions would come up."
"Then how did you explain to the hospital and preschool?"
"First, you never went to the hospital you're in our bedroom, dobe. We have our own doctors and they took care of you without taking you to the hospital. We've also got huge advances in medical care because of the mob aspect, so even with almost every bone in your body broken, six major puncture wounds and severe blood loss you came out perfectly fine after three months. I mean with the exception of the bed sores and extensive therapy you'll have to go through. Second, Uchiha company owns the preschool, it's not like they didn't already know."
"Oh." Naruto nodded, although he still looked like he didn't fully understand.
"I'm just glad you're awake. I missed you so much." Sasuke smiled, leaning forward to gently kiss his lover.
"I love you, Sas." Naruto said softly.
"I love you, Nar." Sasuke smiled. The raven sat there, gently touching his lover's body. Even if Naruto's wounds had healed he knew the blonde was sore so he just barely ran his fingers over all the places he'd missed touching while the blonde was comatose (which of course was everything). The doorbell rang about half an hour later. Itachi let Konohamaru and Asuma into the room.
"Naruto." Konohamaru was practically crying as he collapsed on the bed beside the blonde. The brunette was careful not to jostle Naruto or squeeze him too tightly, but everyone one in the room doubted Konohamaru would be letting him go any time soon.
"I thought you were in a coma from an accident." Naruto said softly as tears filled his eyes. He would have held Konohamaru tightly if he could move. He hadn't forgotten that Konohamaru being in a coma was the whole reason he'd left the Uchiha manor.
"Doctors thought I might have gone into a coma, but it only lasted a day. I'm still in therapy because I was hit by a car and all, but I'm fine." Konohamaru explained. Naruto just smiled and nodded, wishing he could move enough to hug the brunette. Naruto then looked up at Asuma and Sasuke standing just outside the door. He was surprised to see the police officer, who was normally seething just from the mention of the Uchiha, talking calmly with Sasuke with absolutely no hostility or tension between them.
"Asuma." He called gently. His brother's eyes moved from the raven to him. He smiled reassuringly at the confusion Naruto's eyes held.
"One second, Nar." Asuma told him before quickly finishing his conversation with Sasuke. Apparently a lot had happened in the three months he was unconscious. The officer soon was at his brother's bedside, gently sitting beside him on the mattress. "How are you feeling?"
"How are you feeling? You're talking to Sasuke without glaring?" Asuma smiled softly.
"Temporary truce. Bitching at him while you were unconscious wouldn't have helped the situation. But now that you're awake, I can start giving him a hard time again." He smiled. Naruto tried to laugh, but it hurt too much. "I know he cares about you, I always have. I was just worried about you getting involved with some of the dangerous aspects of his family. But now you've seen the very worst of it and survived, so I guess I can't threaten him anymore."
"Because being in a coma for three months is super good for you." Naruto rolled his eyes.
"At least you were in a coma, same can't be said for Orochimaru." Asuma sighed, looking slightly uneasy.
"What is gonna happen with that?" Naruto asked nervously.
"You had attacked him out of self defense but officially I killed him." Asuma explained. "And then the whole compound caught fire and his body was turned to ash so no one can say otherwise."
"I see." Naruto nodded slowly, looking over at Konohamaru still at his other side.
"I don't know what happend. Asuma said that I don't need to know unless you want me to." He explained. Naruto knew Konohamaru had probably figured out that Naruto had killed Orochimaru, but he didn't know how and Naruto wanted to keep it that way.
"Good."
"Just because you killed a guy, doesn't mean I'm gonna think any different of you, Nar. Like Asuma said, it was self defense and the guy definitely deserved it too." Konohamaru smiled reassuringly at the blonde. Naruto nodded.
"Thanks, Konohamaru." He smiled slightly, feeling relieved. He'd been worried what everyone's reaction would be. "Where's the old man?"
"On his way. He and Kurenai were picking Yuuki up from school and then coming over here." Asuma explained. Naruto nodded and laid back down. Sarutobi, Kurenai and Yuuki arrived about half an hour later and Naruto was able to fully sit up and talk with them. Even as it got late, everyone seemed nervous about leaving, as if the next morning they'd wake up and find out Naruto hadn't actually woken up and was still comatose.
"Why's everyone so worried? I'm fine." Naruto assured them, waving them away. He was exhausted and wanted to just take a long bath with Sasuke and go back to sleep.
"We'll come see you again tomorrow, Naruto." Yuuki told him, hugging him tightly. Naruto winced slightly, but didn't really mind the pain.
"Not tomorrow, Yuuki, but we'll come again soon." Kurenai told her daughter as she pulled the girl away from her uncle.
"Don't worry, Yuuki, I'll be fine." He smiled and kissed her head. Kurenai kissed his head and Konohamaru and Sarutobi hugged him gently before they left. Asuma stayed behind for another hour to talk with Itachi and Sasuke about business before he also hugged Naruto and left.
"How are you feeling?" Sasuke asked after Asuma had left.
"I need a bath." The blonde answered. Sasuke laughed softly and nodded.
"Okay, we'll take a bath. Itachi can get us some takeout from Ichiraku's and we can have dinner with him, Dei and Tobi."
"Sounds good." Naruto nodded.
"Alright, I'll tell Itachi." He smiled and left the room for a few minutes. Naruto relaxed a bit. He had been happy to see everyone, but now he was tired. He relaxed into his pillows, trying to stay sitting up, and let his eyes close. When he heard Sasuke come back into the room, he began to open his eyes but Sasuke put his hand over them.
"No, close your eyes." Sasuke whispered gently. Naruto smiled and nodded, doing as he was told. He could hear Sasuke shuffling around in the bathroom and then the water turned on and the tub began to fill. "Keep your eyes closed." Sasuke said as he returned. Naruto felt the bed dip as Sasuke crawled over him. The raven sealed their lips together in a gentle but demanding kiss. He carefully undressed the blonde, before shifting so he could pick the younger man up. As Naruto was carried into the bathroom, he could smell lavender.
"Aren't you supposed to use roses for romantic bubble baths?" Naruto joked.
"I did." Sasuke told him. Naruto gasped and opened his eyes to see candles illuminating the bathroom and roses floated amongst the bubbles in the bathtub. "The lavender smell is part of the soap Sakura made, it'll help you relax and heal faster."
"This is really, really sappy." Naruto laughed softly.
"I know, but I had to." Sasuke shrugged as he gently lowered Naruto into the tub.
"Had to?" Naruto asked.
"Of course. All baths with your lover must have roses and bubbles and candlelight, it's the law."
"I'm sure." Naruto smiled as Sasuke got in with him. They sat facing each other, although Sasuke had pulled Naruto practically into his lap. The raven looked over his lover lovingly, feeling immense relief at being able to look into sapphire eyes again after what felt like an eternity. He leaned forward a bit, letting their foreheads rest together, as he let out a soft sigh.
"I'm sorry, I just," The raven sighed again as he tried to think of the best way to describe how he was feeling. "I missed you… a lot. I mean, three month of just watching you lay there and not knowing when or if you'd wake up, that was like torture."
"Yeah." Naruto whispered, not really knowing what else he could say. He just sat there feeling blissful as Sasuke ran his hands over his body. Sasuke took Naruto's hands in his own and the blonde flinched slightly. "Did you see?" Naruto asked softly.
"I did." Sasuke nodded. He could see uneasiness in Naruto's eyes; the blonde was probably terrified about what Sasuke thought of him now. "Hey." He called gently, forcing the blonde to look at him. "You think I didn't know? I mean, yeah, the bloodlust was a bit new. But I've been your lover for eight years, I was already well aware of that power you keep hidden."
"You knew?" Naruto asked.
"Of course." Sasuke nodded. Naruto's brows furrowed.
"I didn't. I didn't know I could do that, and I didn't want you to see me like that. I just remember you screaming at me and you sounded so scared and then I was just filled with rage and hate and I wanted to tear him apart. It was like I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop until nothing was left of him. I think if I hadn't passed out I would have kept going even after Itachi found us." Naruto explained, trying to work it out for himself more so than Sasuke. Sasuke gently cupped Naruto's cheeks and kissed him tenderly.
"Let me tell you something, honestly. As a mobster, seeing someone with that much raw power is beyond sexy to me. You can ask anyone in the group and they'll say the same thing because we're all trying to find a lover who is strong enough physically and emotionally to fit in with our business. And trust me, babe, you fit perfectly. But at the same time, I never want to see you like that again because I don't want to put you in a situation where you'd have to be like that." Sasuke explained. Naruto smiled slightly.
"Yeah, I know." He nodded and kissed Sasuke. Things were still a bit muddled in his head and there was still uneasiness with the knowledge of what happened to Orochimaru, but right now in the tub with Sasuke everything was perfect. "I love you, Sasuke."
"I love you too, Naruto. Let's get bathed so we can eat, okay? I think I hear Tobi." Sasuke said, Naruto could also hear the feint sound of Tobi's voice calling 'Angel'. The bath was still fairly slow considering Naruto couldn't hold the washcloth to bathe himself. After about twenty minutes they finally were out and dressed. Deidara had also picked up a wheelchair from the hospital so Naruto wouldn't have to be carried around everywhere.
"Angel!" Tobi cried happily when Naruto was wheeled into the dining room. He had attempted to launch himself at the blonde, but was caught by his father.
"Remember what I told you, Tobi. Naruto was hurt very badly so you have to be gentle." Itachi reminded him.
"Oh." Tobi gasped when he realized he could have hurt Naruto. Carefully he walked over to Naruto and gave him a small hug. "Can I sit next to Naruto when we eat?" He asked.
"Sure." Itachi smiled and nodded. Deidara took Naruto and Tobi outside to the balcony while Itachi and Sasuke prepared the ramen. "How are you?" Itachi asked. It had been hell watching Sasuke watch Naruto for three months so he was very happy that Naruto was awake.
"Tonight will be the first night since I was 14 that I can sleep without worrying about Orochimaru or whether or not Naruto will be okay." Sasuke answered honestly. Itachi just nodded, feeling the exact same.
Epilogue up as well so go enjoy! REIVEW Please