All right, minna-san! This is Chapter 11 of I Bleed Black, here for YOU! Aren't you happy?

I Bleed Black
Chapter 11


Naruto didn't know where he was going as soon as he left the hospital. He realized that he had no where to go.

He looked back at the hospital as soon as he was a fair distance, staring at the window that he knew was his.

"Gomen ne, Sasuke-chan," he whispered, knowing that Sasuke couldn't hear him, but not caring about that anyway. He was leaving his best friend.

Part of him wished for Sasuke to come after him, but even more of him wanted Sasuke to stay away. To be with Naruto right now was too dangerous. Sasuke could be killed if he got caught in the crossfire.

And if the enemy knew how much Naruto cared about the Uchiha, then both of them were done for. They would take Sasuke prisoner and use the Uchiha to lure Naruto out. Once they got Naruto, they would probably kill Sasuke and then kill Naruto.

Naruto didn't want that for his friend. He wanted Sasuke to live – to be happy, even if Naruto didn't. He would protect his friend with his life, if need be. He had shown that spirit before – when Sasuke had almost been raped. Naruto would've gladly died if it meant Sasuke was safe.

Shaking his head, Naruto wandered away from the hospital. Even if he wanted to go back, he couldn't. He couldn't endanger anyone at Konoha, which meant that Naruto would have to survive with what he had at the moment. He couldn't risk going back to gather things from his dorm.

He didn't notice the shadow that detached itself from the wall and followed him.

------

Sasuke stared at Kyubi. The boy moved uncomfortably in the chair whilst Sasuke was still curled up on the bed.

"Listen, Sasuke-kun," Kyubi began but was cut off.

"Look, Kyubi, I don't give a flying fuck about anything other than where Naruto is. Tell me where he could be!" Sasuke barked at the boy.

Kyubi shrugged. "In all honesty, Naruto could be anywhere. I don't know where he could be. I don't know his hiding places, I don't know his sanctuaries. I don't really know what the kid does when he's on his own."

Sasuke glared. He shoved Naruto's sketchpad into his backpack and shouldered the bag. He started to walk towards the door but Kyubi stopped him.

"Move," Sasuke snarled. "I'm going to find him and bring him back home."

"Don't, Sasuke – you don't understand what Akatsuki's like!" Kyubi pleaded. "It's dangerous… it has top-notch assassins who don't care if innocents are murdered while they are trying to get their target. Because of their funds, Akatsuki can easily cover those things up."

"I don't care," Sasuke snarled, his black eyes glaring at Kyubi's golden ones. "I don't give a damn about any of that – I'm going to protect Naruto."

Sasuke tried to move past Kyubi again but Kyubi stopped him with a hand on the Uchiha's chest. "Naruto will be fine. He's used to this, having to deal with it since he was four and a half, apparently. He's learned martial arts and if he were in a dojo of some sort, he could be called a master," Kyubi explained. "There's nothing you can do for him that he cannot already do for himself."

"Kyubi-."

"Think, Sasuke-kun. If Naruto were to get hurt or killed, where would be the first place they'd bring him?"

"The hospital."

"Very good. And what are we standing in?"

"The hospital."

"You're smarter than the rumors say," Kyubi teased, ruffling the boy's hair. "Just wait it out, Sasuke-kun. Naruto will be fine."

Sasuke sighed, sitting down on the bed. "I hope you're right," he murmured, staring at the floor.

Kyubi nodded. "I have to go, as well," he told the boy. "I don't know when I'll be back though."

"Where are you going?" Sasuke wanted to know.

"I need to disappear before I'm told to kill Naruto."

"Oh…" Sasuke mumbled.

Kyubi hugged the boy. "I'll be back soon, I promise you that," Kyubi told him. "And if I see Naruto in my travels, I'll tell you how he fares. I'll even write, but I'll use a fake name."

"What will your fake name be?"

"Oh, when you see it, you'll know its mine," Kyubi laughed.

Then the boy left.

------

Naruto wandered through the streets, not really knowing where he was headed. He didn't know where he should hide out this time. He didn't trust all of his other spots, so he needed someplace new.

But where would he go?

Where would he be safe?

Naruto shook his head, trying to figure this out, but he couldn't. Something was preventing him. And that something was named Sasuke.

Thoughts of the raven-haired boy kept sending themselves hurtling through his head. He couldn't think about his current situation because he was wondering if Sasuke had heeded his warning and not followed him.

The boy looked around him. Somehow or another, he had found his way into a park. Shaking his head, and realizing how late it was, he thought that he should probably catch a few hours of sleep.

He curled up under an old tree and cursed at Akatsuki with everything he knew. "Dammit…" he growled softly, shivering in the cold but trying to ignore it at the same time. "First you have to fucking kill my parents and then you make my life a living hell, you fucking mafia!" He began to rub his t-shirted arms, trying to get the blood flowing again. "I hate you, Akatsuki."

And then, just to the boy's luck, it began to rain.

------

Sasuke heard the distant boom of thunder, which made him stare out the window of "his" room. A flash of lightning accompanied it as rain spilled from the dark clouds above.

I really hope Naruto's found shelter, Sasuke thought to himself as he kept his eyes on the rain.

After about a half an hour of watching the rain pattering on his window, Sasuke turned away from it. He looked at the closed sketchbook on his lap. It was big, with "Naruto" scrawled in messy handwriting across the cover. Sasuke almost grinned when he saw the doodles around the cover. He recognized some of the miniature scenes from random classics he had read over the years.

Naruto really isn't as dumb as everyone thinks he is, Sasuke told himself with a small smile alighting his face. In fact, he's probably smarter than some of the teachers. He just pretends to be dumb. Sasuke closed his eyes, sighing. But why would he want to hide something like that?

Sasuke didn't know the answer to that question. Instead of trying to figure it out, he decided that he would just have to ask Naruto when he saw him again.

That's right – "When I see him again," the boy added in his thoughts. Keeping his eyes closed, he opened the sketchbook to a random page. This was basically how he read the poems – in a random order. If ever he landed on a poem he had already read, he would close the sketchbook and then repeat the ritual he had come up with.

As it turned out, this time, he had not landed on a poem/picture he had already read, but rather, on a picture he thought had to be fake.

The picture was split into four parts. Each part had the same scenery, but had a different season. The scene was a quiet dawn over one of the abandoned buildings of Konoha Academy. Sasuke was confused about why there was a Spring, Winter, Autumn and Summer version all next to each other until he looked at the scrawling of a poem next to it.

The poem was entitled "Seasons of Skies."

"Hmm… what?" Sasuke asked himself as he read through what was written. Slowly, it dawned on him. "Oh."

In the sky
There are four seasons
Each guarded by a Spirit
For their own dear reasons

Autumn's cry is Water's Home
Water watches the leaves change
Bringing love and laughter
And many delightful days

Winter is for Fire's glow
Shrouded us in light and cold
Living towards and with us
Loving us, I know

Spring is a call for Earth's Beauty
Forests and flowers rise
Against the snow that was before
Tall trees reach joyously to the skies

Summer's last, for Air's breeze
Tranquil, loving, softly blowing
Everything's at ease
In the Air, watching you and me

Sasuke wasn't entirely sure what dawned on him, but he felt different – almost as though he understood Naruto more than before. The boy looked at the good of everything. Even with his… strange… past, Naruto was still an optimist.

It made Sasuke question the boy's sanity, among other things.

As he stared outside once again, he realized that the rain was not letting up. "Aww, fuck it!" he yelled as he shoved the sketchbook in his backpack. Grabbing one of the hospital's umbrellas and shouldering the bag, he began to run into the rainy streets, looking for his best friend.

Screw what Kyubi said.

Sasuke was determined to find and protect Naruto.

He ran through the streets, asking anyone if they had seen a small, blonde boy run past. Nobody so far had seen such a sight.

Suddenly an old woman came over to him. She was short, wearing a large coat over her frail form and holding an umbrella.

"Sonny, are you lookin' fer a blonde in orange?" she asked in a scratchy voice.

Sasuke nodded.

"An' a cast on 'is arm, right?" she continued.

Again, the boy nodded.

"Go to the park… you'll find 'im there," she said and bade him farewell. Before Sasuke could thank her, she became one with the crowd again. Not bothering to find her and thank her, Sasuke made his way as fast as he could to the park.

Stepping through the iron gates that showed the entrance to the green area, Sasuke wondered where Naruto could be.

"Naruto!" he called, searching around him, trying to see through the thick torrent of rain that poured on his umbrella. "Naruto!"

The boy wasn't answering. Not that Sasuke could blame him. He wasn't entirely sure he could be heard over the thunder that still crashed in the skies.

It was gradually getting darker and the lamps set up over the park were doing very little to allow Sasuke to see. Sasuke wished he had some sort of bubble to make him able to see – and maybe that bubble should be on fire, shedding light onto his surroundings.

Sasuke smiled at the passing thought. Jeez, Naruto, I'm beginning to think like you, he thought to himself, and then he remembered his original mission. Okay, concentrate Sasuke, concentrate! If I were a blonde dobe, where would I be? Dammit, I'm not blonde, this isn't working. Focus, Sasuke! He shook his head vigorously before narrowing his eyes. He would find Naruto, no matter what.

He was traveling around for another hour, searching every part of the park before he finally decided to give up for the night and return when the rain let up. As he was walking down the path, heading for the exit, Sasuke caught something in the corner of his eye. Turning towards it, Sasuke noticed a blonde boy hugging his knees to his chest, under a large tree and trying to stay warm.

The Uchiha ran over to the boy, standing in front of him for a moment, trying to catch his breath. Naruto, when he didn't feel the patter of raindrops on his head any longer, looked up, surprise entering his eyes as he registered the boy standing before him.

"S-Sasuke?" he stammered, eyes widened and mouth slightly agape with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke shook his head as he sat in the mud, holding the umbrella over the both of them. "Isn't it obvious, dobe?" he asked.

"No, or else I wouldn't be asking," Naruto shot back.

"I'm here to get you," Sasuke said. "We're going home." He stood up again and offered his hand to the still sitting Naruto.

Naruto stared at it for a moment, looking at it strangely, as though it was something new and foreign and in a way, it was. Hesitantly, he put his hand in Sasuke's and allowed the older boy to help him to his feet.

Sasuke took off his jacket and wrapped it around Naruto, knowing the boy had to have been out in the rain for at least three hours. He held the smaller blond at his side with one arm around the boy's shoulders.

Without a word, the two exited the park, heading back to the dormitories at the place that was both a school, and a home to them.

Kyuubi-chan's Corner!

Hao! It's Kyuubi-chan back with Chapter Eleven! Be happy everyone, I loved doing this story and I love reading all of your reviews. They make me feel special and warm and fuzzy and all that jazz. Even though I don't like jazz… but let's just say and all that rock! WHEE!

Anyways, the poem, called "Seasons of Skies" is really important to me for several reasons. 1) The stupid thing is published. 2) Its on page one of The Colors of Life, a book (it was Editor's Choice, I'm so happy) and is under my penname, Inineen Autumnwolf. 3) It was the first thing I published in a book, rather than in a newspaper. Because I've had things in newspapers before. 4) This poem is a promise that I, unfortunately, didn't keep with my grandmother. My grandmother passed away last April. I had promised her in January that I would give her a copy of this poem. I never did. So it's a seed of guilt in my head. I always think of my grandma whenever I read this poem.

Yeah, that's about all on the poem. I liked writing this chapter, too. It was different for me, but I can't really explain why. Who knows? Anyone want to take a guess at it? Anyone? No? Well, who cares? I'll just reply to reviews now, as there is nothing else for me to do, really.

someone: I don't know the fate of these two and I'm the authoress, which is pretty sad. Hell, I'm not entirely sure how to continue with this fic, so I'll just do the best I can, neh?

Lord Zork: wheee, thanks for the review! And yes, Sasuke is becoming a more determined young idiot… err… man… heh heh…

Emis: Yeah, I originally got the idea, because in my head Sasuke is a lot like Naruto in many ways. He would never leave a friend in danger, and neither would Naruto, especially if he knew about the danger. You're right, in a way, it's a lot like when he goes after Naruto with Itachi and almost like with Haku, except he doesn't die this time! Whee!

ElizabethMarieRose: I'm sorry for making you cry, truly, I am! But I was just thinking about what I would think about if a friend was taken from me in that fashion. Yeah, I suppose in this fic, I'm relating Sasuke a lot to myself… except I can't draw. Nope. Not at all… well, a little, but now well.

Cat: ano sa, ano sa… what was the "OH WOW!" for… I'm confuzzled.

Kurisuteru-chan: good, I'm glad you liked the sappy stuff. Hell, I put in a bunch of it just for you and your angst love… just kidding… hope it satisfied your angst though. Believe me, this story will probably get even more angsty as it continues.

ghostninja85: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for the review!

Kashi-chan: I'm glad you liked it. I hope I'm able to keep this story as… well… "real" I suppose is the right word for it… as possible. Well, real for the situation and circumstances. Or maybe I'm not… ask my muse once he gets back. He left this morning with a sign that said "went fishing, be back soon" -.-" I outta murder him.

kodoku no ookami: Yeah, that's my favorite stanza as well. I was wondering… what does your name mean?

Wolfgirl13: "If I was the weepy type of person, I would cry." Lol, I know what you mean. I'm not that type of person either, but I've read some fics that have made me want to cry, even if I didn't.

Dark Mimiru-chan: Since when was his name Sassy? That makes him sound like a weird chick.

Toki Mirage: Have you really been updating, Toki-san?