Chapter 10
Return to the Hospital
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Tsunade looked down at Naruto in surprise and slight horror. He was bleeding badly and had a few broken bones.
"Hey, Kid," she said, kneeling down and starting one of her healing spells, "Who did this to you?"
Naruto just looked up at her, his eyes not holding their normal spark.
"I don't know. It's my fault anyway. I wasn't looking up." He whispered, his voice sounding just as dead as his eyes looked.
Tsunade finished her healing, and looked down at the depressed half-demon, who was barely even trying to sit up.
"Hey, kid, you can stay at the hospital tonight. I don't want the same people who attacked you to break into your house and try to kill you after they realize that they didn't the first time."
Naruto nodded and stood up. Tsunade lead him to the hospital, and walked into an elevator. It was a while before Naruto noticed that they had gone past more levels than there were buttons for. He looked up at Tsunade again, wondering for a moment if she was a witch.
The elevator stopped and Tsunade stepped out and walked onto a floor, Naruto trailing after her. She turned down a few halls. Naruto looked around. The walls weren't as clean as the ones in the hospital below his feet. In a few places there were smears that looked like blood. Naruto shivered. Tsunade s opened a door, and walked in, with a few yells and barks of indignation from its occupants.
"Quiet down, Kiba!" snapped Tsunade, "And shut up your dog too!" The room grew quiet and Naruto looked around. There were three beds, one bunk bed and one normal. The bunk bed was pushed up against the right wall, and a boy with wild, brown hair and strange markings sat on the bottom bunk with a small, white dog. The look on his face clearly showed his unhappiness, and the dog growled at them from his perch on the boy's head. The normal bed was up against the wall across from Naruto. A boy with red hair and green eyes sat on the bed, glaring at Tsunade and Naruto. He looked very deadly, and Naruto shivered again. The redhead didn't say anything.
The walls were very white compared to the walls outside their room. A closet and dresser were on the left side of the room.
The boy whom Naruto figured must be Kiba suddenly noticed him.
"Who's he? What's he doing here?" the boy asked.
"This is Naruto. He'll being staying with you until I say otherwise, no complaints, and, Kiba," she said, directing her gaze on the boy with the dog, "If I hear you've hurt him in anyway…" Tsunade didn't finish her threat.
Kiba huffed and stood up.
"Don't worry Tsunade, it's not like we're going to kill him. The ghosts might, but we won't, will we, Gaara?"
The boy on the bed ignored Kiba, and walked over to Naruto.
"Just don't get in my way."
Naruto nodded and Tsunade, satisfied, walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
Kiba barraged him with questions the second Tsunade was out of sight.
"So, how did you escape detection for so long? Normally the Rantin finds you by you seventh birthday, ten at the latest. My mom was able to hide me 'till my ninth birthday, then they found me. So, how? And how did you manage to charm ol' Tsunade? She normally doesn't give anyone that sort of treatment!"
Naruto blinked at the sudden questions and statements.
"I'm not part of the Rantin."
Kiba looked at him incredulously.
"What?"
"I'm not part of the Rantin. Tsunade found me beat up in the street and knew me from when I had come in before when I had been hit by some sort of spell."
"So you're the half-demon that they treated down in the hospital because he was hit by an exorcism?" said Gaara quietly. Kiba looked at Gaara in surprise for a moment – He obviously didn't talk much – then turned to look at Naruto.
"You're the half-demon Neji hit with a exorcism?" Kiba didn't even wait for Naruto to answer, "I heard you're good friends with a ghost. Is that true?"
Naruto felt a wave of sadness in remembering Sasuke. He ignored Kiba, and crawled onto the top bunk, figure that was his bed. When no one said anything against it, he got under the covers and went to sleep.
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Sasuke sat on a rooftop, and watched the stars above him. The moon was barely a sliver, making most of the little light from the stars. A few clouds rolled overhead, threatening rain.
'Naruto… I can't come back for a reason.' he thought, lying down.
"Thinking about the loud, bright kid that was looking for you yesterday?" asked Sai, how had suddenly appeared. Sasuke sat up with a bored look on his face.
"No."
Sai floated over next to him, sat down, and asked,
"So how do you know him?"
"He bought my house."
"What's his name?"
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"So, is he nice?"
"Why do you care?" snapped Sasuke.
"He was cute."
Sasuke had to keep himself from glaring at Sai. It wasn't a good idea to glare at so old a ghost.
Sai had died when he was fifteen, so he still looked that way, even though he was thousands of years older than even Jiraiya.
Sasuke, instead of glaring at him, thought of the many things he wanted to do to Sai if he ever so much as went near Naruto.
"Just so you know, he's not at your house."
Sasuke looked at Sai in surprise.
"What?"
"He's not at your house. He hasn't been there since about eight this morning. He left to go somewhere and never came back."
'But his shift ends at five, and it's almost midnight!' thought Sasuke franticly, 'Where did he go? He can only eat ramen for so long, even with that stomach of his!'
Sasuke stood up and jumped off the roof without so much as a goodbye to Sai. He ran down the street. Sai smiled knowingly.
'My work here is done.'
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Author's Note: I should actually name this chapter 'Homework Procrastining' or 'The Apology for Missing Three Weeks of Writing' –sweatdrop-
When I got home from church today and opened my e-mail my first reaction was O.O My second was "Squee! So many e-mails about my story!" So… Thanks everyone for making my day! –hugs-
Mochiusagi: Yeah, I know. I guess I just like to torture Naruto –Sasuke glares at me- I mean, I like to make Naruto very happy by buying him lots of ramen… And, my ex is not very mean, he's actually very sweet and amazing and nice… I just wasn't very happy with him at that moment in time… -bursts into tears and runs off into emo corner-
Sunny Soul: The sequel will probably be shonen-ai too. I can't write yaoi. -sweatdrop- but here's some pocky instead! –hands pocky- And there, there, It'll be okay! –hands tissue- For all you know Obito could come back –cough- not going to happen –cough- and Naruto and Sasuke could get together in the next chapter!
Greatstars: Thank you! And nope, Sai is dead, but he gets to be a ghost. And before Sasuke gets a chance to talk to Naruto, Naruto's going to join the Rantin! No, no, just kidding! Or am I? –evil smile-
Dragon77: Thank you!
Kurotorachan: Yup, it's the same guy. –sniff-