Chapter 12: Sneaky Bastard
Naruto couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face. He was exceptionally proud of his three patients. It's been three weeks since they visited his grandfather's hot spring. The old man just left out of the city last week promising to call him when he came back in town. Overall, he has been their psychologist for almost two months. They quickly became his friends. Well, one happened to be his boyfriend but he wasn't going to think about that right now. He was smiling so hard, simply because they're evaluation was over with.
He wasn't going to inform their families since apparently they didn't have one. Sai has yet to tell him of his past but he was still proud of the artist. They took therapy seriously. Today he was going to introduce them into their psychiatrist and medical doctor. Ino has been taking their vitals for the pass four weeks but that's going to change when Neji comes into the picture. He leaned back in his chair resting his palm on his forehead. Sasuke was diagnosed as a mild case of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Depression Disorder. Sasuke wasn't that that depressed now but he still had his ways of brooding every now and then. Some days he wouldn't speak and some days he would be as talkative as the Uchiha can be. He mostly insulted Naruto with Sai. He didn't have Anti-Social Personality Disorder like him.
Thank God!
Sai trusted Naruto but obviously he didn't trust him enough to tell him his inner problems. The blonde psychologist was being patient with them. Zabuza and Kimimaro took three months to open up to him and took the last remaining five to be released. Thinking of Kimimaro, his friend never went home and he was sure Tatuya was going to threaten him or something. Kimimaro is a grown twenty two year old man but Tatuya treated him like he was twelve. It drove him crazy. It wasn't that bad though. He hadn't seen or heard from him in almost three days so maybe he found a new friend.
Naruto remembered his boyfriend and blushed. Gaara has lately been getting more aggressive when it came to him. Gaara was diagnosed with a small case of Anti-Social Personality Disorder and Intermittent Explosive Disorder. He had a temper that Naruto tried to avoid. At first, he didn't like it but now he was thinking about how much a turn on it was. He couldn't help it. He had a thing for red heads being angry. Kyuubi doesn't count. The guy was obsessive. He shuddered at the thought of his ex-boyfriend. He doesn't seem like he was going to be doing something anytime soon. Well, he heard that his band went on another tour so he didn't particularly care at the moment. Gaara was all that was on his mind most of the time.
They kissed impulsively. Mostly whenever they were alone and the red head was starting to get bolder. He tried going under his shirt just three days ago on Friday. They stopped when Naruto's pager went off. If it didn't he was sure they probably would've got to at least to third base. His blush brightened.
Here he was thinking about how much he wanted to strip his boyfriend. Those sea-foam eyes and pale cold hands that Gaara always seemed to have appeared in his dreams. He wanted so much more from him. Naruto couldn't go far though. He groaned loudly in his small office. He hardly had any paperwork since he caught up to his current position. He glanced at the clock noticing lunch time would be soon. He really hated Mondays. The time always went slow. He greeted his three friends in Sector 21 but he had to go to an emergency meeting with the board members and Tsunade. They wanted a statement on the progress, every two months. They were pleased with the results. Tsunade was proud of his hard work.
Naruto stood up putting on his doctoral jacket. He put a pencil in his pocket for the therapy session with Sai that would be coming up after lunch. While Gaara and Sasuke would be meeting they're enthusiastic psychiatrist and doctor, Sai would be in a therapy session with him. It's probably going to be the longest one they have since Neji liked to go over all the things they needed to do. He hoped he would get a little bit of information out of the older man. Sai was being difficult. After the series of tests he put the three through Sai had the most disturbing answers.
He walked out going towards the elevator trying to figure out the puzzle that was Sai. Gaara was even more of an open book than him and that's saying something. Especially, since they became boyfriends. He wondered if Sai knew. Sasuke sure did because he walked in on them kissing before. The Uchiha wasn't fazed by it but Naruto was still embarrassed. He was blushing and stuttering the whole day. When that happened, the blonde made sure that they were alone. Gaara didn't care where they were but was kind enough to go by Naruto's wishes.
Naruto made it down just before they were going into the cafeteria. He grinned at them happily nodding to Shikamaru who escorted them. Shikamaru's mother was still setting up blind dates for him so he was more tired than usual.
"How's everyone doing?" he asked.
"Hn."
Gaara just gave him a knowing look and he had to force down a blush.
Sai just gave a fake smile. "Fine."
As soon as Naruto walked in the cafeteria he was met with a horrible sight. Tatuya stood there with her hands on her hips and a fierce glare at him. She stomped over to him and smacked him harshly on the face. Everyone stopped to look at the two doctors. Well, technically she was a nurse. Naruto clutched his cheek to look at her. She had watery eyes and he knew she was about to cry. What is her problem?
"Where is my son?" she asked angrily. Her body shook as she breathed hard.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Naruto frowned.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about Naruto! Kimimaro was last seen at your house! Where is he? I haven't seen him for two days!" she cried out.
"I haven't either. I thought he was with you or Haku."
"You know, Kimimaro can't stand his prissy ass! He would never spend the night with that girly boy! I want to know what you did to him."
Naruto was now starting to get worried. To be honest he hasn't seen Kimimaro for two days either. It's not like she was going to listen to him anyway. For some odd reason she blamed him for everything that went wrong. So how would he know? What was he supposed to do? It's not like he knew everything the albino man did. All he knew is that he had a workload of hours and wasn't answering his phone when Zabuza or he called. He was thinking the worse. Something happened to him!
"I didn't do anything to him."
Tatuya smacked him again tears freely going down her cheeks. "How dare you? He hangs out with you more than his own mother! Ever since he got out of this place, you've been nothing but trouble! Mark my words, Naruto…you will regret taking my son away from me. I hate you!"
Naruto was sure he was about to cry. "I…but…"
She rushed passed him. Naruto couldn't stop his face contorting in despair. He was starting to panic. The tension was thick and every single pair of eyes was on him. He felt his eyes swell up. He felt horrible. His body felt cold and a sudden sick feeling went to his stomach. He turned around running back out of the cafeteria.
"Naruto!" Shikamaru called after him.
Why do things like this happen to him when he's always in his high spirits? Why? It's only him! Maybe it was because of his existence. Everything would be going well and then something would happen to strip him down. He would be on top of the mountain and then next he's under the ground in the dark.
He sobbed running towards the medical wing. He didn't know where he was going but he felt a pull on his heart to go there. He heard fast footsteps behind him thinking it was just a doctor going towards an emergency. Naruto moved out of his way. He was always felt like he was in someone's way. It was one of the reasons why he pushed people so hard to do things for themselves. Kyuubi always wanted to be a rock star. He pushed him away and maybe he deserved the abusive treatment the red head gave him. He sniffed.
A cold hand grabbed on to his stalling his movement. He turned around with wide eyes meeting sea-foam. Gaara looked at him with his usual blank expression before pulling him into a hug. He gasped, surprised at the action. Naruto was the usual one that initiated comforting physical contact. He shook in the strong thin arms. He buried his head in the red head's shoulder letting them catch his tears. He could smell the spicy scent of Gaara and it comforted him in ways he never knew. Iruka or Kiba were the only ones that used to comfort him but this was a new experience.
He gripped onto his boyfriend's shirt to cover his sobs. Tatuya's words going through his head. He messed up their relationship as a mother and child. He never knew that. Kimimaro never told him that they were having problems and he thought everything was going fine at home. He felt Gaara pat his blonde spikes awkwardly and he leaned into the touch. His tears soon stopped and he looked up at Gaara hesitantly.
"T-Thank you." He whispered. His voice was raw with emotion. He didn't like messing up with families. He never really had one until he was almost a teen so he tolerated Tatuya's attitude since she was just a normal overprotective mother.
"Is…this Kimimaro a precious person to you?" he asked.
Naruto nodded. "Kimimaro was the first patient that I was assigned here. He had an eating disorder and had an anger problem. He wasn't that bad as you but he almost killed one of the staff members."
Gaara nodded. "He's out now?"
"Yeah. She's his adoptive mother. He spends most of the nights over my house but lately he hasn't been there. I've left messages on his phone but he never picked up. I'm worried something bad happened to him. He never just cuts off his phone."
Naruto's pager went off and it was Tsunade's number. He gave him a small smile. "Please go back to lunch…I have to see what the granny wants."
Gaara reluctantly let him go and Naruto missed having those arms around him. Naruto moved back a few spaces and walked quickly towards the elevators. This better be important.
"Naruto, I'm afraid…I have bad news." Tsunade drunk a cup of sake not even wincing when it went down her throat. Whatever she had to say must've been pretty harsh. Naruto didn't know what else could be as bad as Kimimaro missing.
"What is it? Why do you look like someone just died?"
Tsunade looked down at her desk avoiding all eye contact. "I've heard from Tatuya that Kimimaro went missing…"
Naruto just nodded. "I just found out too."
"Yes and this note showed up a few days ago. I thought it wasn't serious but he apparently carried out his threat."
"Huh? Who? What's going on?"
Tsunade pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper. She offered for him to take it. "Read it."
Naruto shakily took the piece of paper and read it.
You thought it was over. This is far from over rookie. You and your friends will pay. One by one I will kill you for ruining my plans. I'll start with that skinny albino boy and end with you, Naruto. That's a promise.
Naruto gasped. "Who is this from?"
"I don't know but I thought it was just a coincidence or just another one of your boyfriends but Kimimaro disappeared."
Naruto backed up until he was sitting in the chair. He needed to breathe before he started to have a panic attack. This wasn't happening! It was just a bad dream. Kimimaro, his friend, his ex-patient was kidnapped or probably dead somewhere. He tried to think of who would call him rookie. Who would call him that? Jiriyia called him that a couple of times but he wanted nothing to do with the institute. Then his eyes widened. It couldn't be. After all this time! He wanted to show up.
"O-Orouchimaru!" he yelled.
Tsunade looked down at the ground. "I'm afraid so."
Naruto shook the sobs escaping him. Not his friends! He would rather be taken by that slimy creep! He slid further into the seat in a position that would probably make Shikamaru swollen with pride. He looked up at Tsunade.
"Why didn't you show me? Why didn't you call the police?" he asked. He had so many questions swarming in his head. He wanted to blame himself! He wanted to blame Tsunade. If she showed him this earlier he would've made sure Kimimaro was home but as he thought about it. Kimimaro said he was going home to take a shower the last time he saw him. He didn't have to work during the weekend so there wasn't any way that he could be snatched from his job. He felt a small pain spring into his chest. His heart was starting to speed up. That felt a little bit familiar. His vision began to get blurry. He thought it was because of his tears but his body felt too strange for it to be normal.
"I didn't think he was serious! I figured, Orouchimaru has really gone senile but he actually carried it out. Tatuya didn't call the police though. I thought she was going to but all she did was complain about you! I think this is more than just about Orouchimaru's grudge against you."
Naruto was started staring at random objects in the office. He had to get rid of this horrifying feeling. What was she trying to say?
"I think Tatuya is working with Orouchimaru. I remember when she first showed up that she was his assistant before Kabuto became an intern. I think she has something to do with his disappearance. Kimimaro isn't that easy to hold down. It takes at least four men to hold him down so the bastard had help." Tsunade explained.
Naruto looked at her with wide eyes. "What?"
She sighed rubbing her temples. "I want you to be careful. Call Haku and Zabuza to let them know what's happening. Iruka already knows and I plan on telling our security guards. Whatever, Orouchimaru is after is here and you're in the way. I'm going to try increase security and call the sheriff of this district so the police could keep an eye out."
"That night…he was trying to kidnap them."
"For what?"
"I don't know. All I know is that he wanted them to be his lab rats for some kind of medicine he was making." The blonde clenched his fists.
"I think you should tell your patients that you might be in danger. You should be very careful where you go Naruto. I think you should stay with someone."
"No! I'm not running from him. If he wants me, he can come get me. He doesn't have to be a coward and go after my friends like this! Hell, I would take Kimimaro's place if I knew where they were."
"Think for a moment Naruto! Even, I'm in danger!"
Naruto looked blankly at her. "How?"
"Orouchimaru always wanted to be at the top in this place. He would've had this position if it wasn't for questioning his mental stability. You have to pass a certain test to be the head of an institute he failed by only a few marks. Ever since then, I noticed his mind started to slip…and he was the cause of a patient's death a little bit before he retired."
"Who?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"Shin."
"What's his last name?"
"He doesn't have one. He's just like Sai. He was actually Sai's half brother. Sai's parents were never married and—
"Hold up! Wait! How come you know about Sai? It wasn't in the file!"
"I knew his parents before they died. Sai's parents died when he was four, right in front of his eyes. No one really went into too much detail but his uncle had an affair with his mother. Shin was two years younger than Sai. It was in police reports. I remember because Sai's parents were both models and it was on the news or in newspapers for almost a month. Sai was taken in by a foster home owned by this old man named Danzou. It was known to be one of the best." She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Danzou didn't look like a kind man and he wasn't fit to be the head of that place. Children used to just disappear without any warning. Police could never find a lead. Shin and Sai wanted to be adopted together so most couples wouldn't adopt two kids. They couldn't afford it." She shrugged closing her eyes. "Sai and Shin started to show awkward behavior in school, a school that Orouchimaru used to be a counselor at." She reopened them.
"You mean to tell me that, you knew Orouchimaru back then?"
"Yeah, we're the same age. Well, he's a year older than me but it doesn't matter. He was in the graduating class above mine in college. I don't know how but one of the school teachers found out about Sai's and Shin's unjust treatment. Danzou was locked up and died in jail a few years ago. The damage was done and Orouchimaru moved on to another school. That particular school, Gaara and his siblings attended. He was only there for the duration of Gaara's sixth grade year but I don't know details. Then he moved back to Konoha where he went to Sasuke's school for only a few months before he came to work at the institute."
She scowled. "I'm not stupid, Naruto and I am sure you're not either. Orouchimaru has been following those three ever since they were born. He has an obsession. I don't know why but I do know this…he might be part of the reason why they're in here. Shin died of an overdose on medication. Sai took it pretty hard and hasn't opened up since. The only reason why it isn't in the files is because it's classified information. I'm telling you this as a warning. He's sneaky because he's been doing it for years."
Naruto didn't like Orouchimaru. He never did. Orouchimaru was actually the first person he could hate more than the man he killed. He followed little boys around. It only brought up disturbing images in Naruto's mind. Sasuke, Gaara, and Sai were just little kids when he probably twisted their worlds upside down.
"No one ever questioned him?" Naruto asked.
Tsunade sadly smiled. "They did but they didn't have any evidence that he did anything. He's good at manipulation."
Naruto stood up angrily. "Well…it's going to stop! He can't get away with this! Like I said I'm not going to run away. He isn't going to ruin the life of others anymore, especially the lives of my friends. I'm going to get Kimimaro back. Believe it!"
He stomped out of the room determination set on his face. No one is going to hurt his friends and get away with it. Orouchimaru better watch out for him too. He wasn't known for being a nuisance and unpredictable for nothing. Naruto was going to have to associate himself with them again but to protect his new friends and family. He will do it. He'll do anything. He had so many calls to make.
Naruto made it in time before Neji or the psychiatrist showed up. Luckily, Ino left and won't yell at him for his decisions. He wasn't in the mood to argue right about now. He had to sit up in his office for a few minutes to calm down. He escorted Sasuke, Gaara, and Sai into the group therapy room. He told them to sit at the desks.
"As you know, you'll be getting a psychiatrist since I'm done with my evaluations. Your medicine will be issued in a few days. I'm going to make sure it's the right medicine too. You're also going to meeting your medical doctor who's going to be taking your vitals every morning before breakfast and every night after dinner. The remainder of your stay will be more comfortable that's for sure."
"This isn't a hotel, dickless." Sai smirked.
"Hn." Sasuke smirked at the remark as well.
Naruto was about to comment before a loud yell made him cringe.
"Naruto! My youthful friend! How are you today?"
Sasuke's eyebrow twitched while Naruto turned around nervously laughing. There dressed in an all green tracksuit was the psychiatrist of dread. Bushy eyebrows and wide big eyes looked cheerfully into the room. He was lean with nothing but muscle. The only problem is his face. He hopped over to him and gave him a hug.
"Guess what? Today, I was feeling a bit down so I regained my youthful energy by doing fifty laps around the compound!" he said loudly as he pulled away. He began to go on and on about training to be just like his father.
"Uh…Lee…um…guys…meet Rock Lee." Naruto scratched the back of his head with a nervous grin.
"Hello my youthful friends! I am the famous Rock Lee, psychiatrist of Konoha Mental Institute and son of the famous kick boxer Gai! Nice to meet you all!" He proclaimed.
"Lee, please do not try to scare them." A calm and mellow voice came from the doorway.
Neji Hyuuga stood in all his glory. He had lavender eyes and long brown hair swaying as he walked inside the group therapy room. He was around the same height as Sai but was a pretty boy to extreme. Everything he did was too graceful and Naruto wondered if he ever tripped before.
"Yosh! I'm sorry for my enthusiasm fellow patients but Naruto has told me all about you! I look forward to being the best and if I can't I will do a hundred laps around the parking lot!" he saluted them.
Gaara narrowed his eyes while Sai just looked from one to the other.
"Don't pay attention to him." Neji bowed politely. "I'm Neji Hyuuga and I'm here to be your medical doctor. It's a pleasure to meet you three."
Sasuke looked at Neji intently but Naruto never seen the look so he wasn't going to comment on it. He smiled. "So, Gaara, Sasuke, and Sai…what do you think?"
Gaara didn't say anything. Sai just shrugged and Sasuke couldn't tear his eyes off of Neji. What the hell? What was with that look? He inwardly sighed. He hoped it wouldn't be something bad. He already had enough on his plate as it is.
Snowysess: Thank you for all your support! It took me awhile for me to come up with another chapter. I almost thought that I was going to have to wait another week but I ended up just typing away as soon as the blank page appeared on my computer. Anyway, review and I'll update soon.
