Title: FOX
Chapter: 12 - Retrieval
Author: Flourescized
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto is the lead singer of one of the most popular bands around. Uchiha Sasuke has just left Akatsuki. When the organization discovers their past together, they will stop at nothing to get revenge on the man who betrayed them…
Pairings: SasukexNaruto
Notes: 'Kay, this is stupid but the proper SasuNaru stuff will only be in the epilogue, I think. Basically I was gonna finish it with them like getting over all the stuff that happened and yeah, so it's just easier to shove it on the end. And anyway, Naru-chan is in no state to be making out right now (lol). Sasuke's just gonna have to satisfy himself for now, ne? I think my next fic will be happier, with more 'interaction', cos that's more fun, don't you think?
Notes II: Yes, this is a short chapter, yes, it took a long time, and yes, nothing much happens but I'M SORRY!! It's cos it's finishing soon :sob: Basically the whole thing's drawing to a close, there's not really any plot left, it's just tying up loose ends and whatnot, and it's hard, so once again sorry and stuff, I really, really hope the next chapter is done faster. It should be, slightly more happens.
P.S. My keyboard fucking died on me; seriously it takes me twice as long to type everything now, tch. Its like, the space bar breaks and fixes, then k, then j, then f and its sosososoososdosdososo annoying.
P.P.S. Why don't you all go review my oneshots yeah? I know they're crap but 'Opposites Attract' only has 2, and the other one doesn't have any at all which I find depressing and stuff. You don't have to like it, constructive criticism is better than pretending.
Disclaimer: Naruto and all his friends got diseased, and they've been quarantined in my room, so I can't give them back…
A mountain range made its way over the pitch black screen, the green line rising and falling in a repetitive pattern, rising and falling again and again, its course showing the rhythm of the sleeping boy's heartbeat. The room was made up of gleaming white surfaces, all of them shining brightly in the fluorescent lighting. The many instruments beeped occasionally, the dials and switches confusing to the eye, and making Sasuke wonder exactly how much training all the nurses must have to go through to be able to work the machines. The metal bed frame was almost invisible, hidden beneath a combination of the white sheets and the tubes and wires coming from the motionless body.
All was silent in the room, save for the rhythmic, slow breathing of sleep, and the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Beneath the sheets, the tanned form lay, vulnerable and untouched. His face was relaxed, beautiful in the lack of stress, the release of all the muscles that had been bunched up beneath the skin, but the dark bags under his eyes, and the scars on his cheeks were even more obvious than normal under the harsh light. Beside the bed, another young man sat silently in a rickety old metal chair, even his breathing inaudible over the little other noise. He sat close to the edge of the seat, only the balls of his feet in contact with the ground as he perched precariously on the edge, his pale fingers clasping the tanned ones, relishing in the feeling of his skin against the other's, no matter how modest the touch.
His dark hair covered most of his face, long bangs falling across his features and obscuring the delicate shapes. A satisfied smirk made its way slowly across his face as he reminisced– of course, he wasn't happy that his friend was in that state, but they had achieved the main goal, and the doctors had told him that the boy would eventually recover given enough time, no matter how bad his condition looked at the moment. His eyes glazed over slightly as he relived the moment that they had succeeded, remembering the triumphant feeling bursting in his chest as he watched. Of course, that had all been before Naruto had become like this…
Flashback – 1 day ago
The links of the metal handcuffs rattled together as the men made their way past, walking in single file along the narrow pavement, carefully avoiding the cracks like superstitious children. If you step on the cracks, then you'll break your mum's back! Other noises filling the air including the low hum of many car engines, and the hurried slamming of car doors as officers left their cars, or shut them after their new passengers. There was also a murmur of quiet voices, the people who had been here for a while informing the new arrivals of the goings on of the past few hours. The atmosphere was subdued, most simply watching in silence as one by one, the imposing men were led to separate cars, each with the telltale 'POLICE' emblazoned across the side, and pushed roughly into it by a large hand on their head, pushing them down and in, the type of manoeuvre seen in films worldwide. Each of the officers were taking it in turns to do so, grinning widely in their excitement, completely caught up in the moment.
Not only did they get the chance to experience the most exciting side of being a police officer, they could do so whilst arresting the world's most wanted criminal organization, for numerous charges of murder, theft, rape and kidnap – to name a few. Yes, this was the renowned 'Akatsuki', famed for its ingenious plots and scams, and for the fact that they never gave anything away, leaving you second guessing until the last minute and never getting caught, now reduce to a line of dejected, defeated-looking convicts, shuffling due to their shackles, and with their arms wrenched uncomfortably behind their backs, the handcuffs tightly encircling their wrists
Today was a day to rejoice, a day that the police force had always hoped to see, but never thought that they actually would; the day that they finally brought down the organization that had caused so much grief across the globe.
Standing slightly off to the side were two young men, so different, and yet so alike. Whilst one had dark hair, the other was blonde. The first had pale skin, whilst the other was tanned, no matter how dull his skin looked at the moment. One was famous, whilst the other was completely unknown, though not, many thought, for very long. They were yin and yang, dark and light, and yet they were both a part of a whole. When they stood together, it looked right.
As the last of the convicted men were loaded into the police cars, the dark haired boy turned his head and spoke softly to the blonde, supporting a great portion of his weight as he tried to walk, before losing patience and sweeping him completely off his feet, carrying him towards another of the waiting cars where another two officers waited. One was tall and muscular with bleached blonde hair, whilst the other was a petite brunette. Recognizing them, the raven smiled wearily in greeting, asking them a question which resulted in them nodding, and opening up the car door so that the blonde could be place inside, and belted up. When everyone was loaded up, the sirens were turned on and the cars all drove away, departing one by one, the ones carrying criminals leaving first.
Hours later, the two boys had been seated in the police station in silence, side by side, waiting. The blonde was still looking ill, and leaning on the raven tiredly, his eyelids drooping slightly as minute by minute passed with nothing happening. Neither was quite sure what, or even who they were waiting for, but Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that the 'who' was a masked somebody with gravity-defying silver hair, due to the fact that they had been waiting to see whoever it was for over four hours.
The door slammed open violently, a man standing in the doorway, proving Sasuke's suspicions correct, asking loudly where the dobe was. As his anxious gaze focused on the blonde, noticing the state he was in, he froze, his words left unspoken, caught in his throat. His silhouette, framed against the dim morning light, cast shadows into the room, and through his half-lidded eyes, Naruto marvelled at the familiarity of the shape, even though he hadn't seen it for so much time. The man ignored Sasuke completely for a moment as he closed the gap between himself and the boy.
"Naruto? Are you okay?" as soon as the words had left the worried man's lips, the boy in question had collapsed into his arms in a dead faint, his breathing shallow and laboured, but still there, his eyes still slightly open. Kakashi's face at that moment would have been priceless, had it not been for the circumstances they were in.
Standing slowly, he picked up the immobile boy and turned to Sasuke, an unspoken question in his eyes. What happened? Sasuke shrugged, signalling that he would tell him later, tell everyone later, but right now, Naruto was the one thing that mattered. Kakashi nodded, and even though he had understood the motion, he failed to understand how so much information was conveyed in such a simple motion.
Shifting the weight in his arms slightly, he turned and headed towards the door, his footsteps resounding through the now-empty room, the thrum of an engine joining it as he got into his car, joined by Sasuke, heading hurriedly towards the hospital, so that they could firstly find out what was wrong with the boy, and then fix it.
The doctor's diagnosis had been simple and understandable. Whilst captive, the boy had been underfed and abused, leading to malnourishment and severe bruising, along with a number of minor cuts along with a couple of larger, infected wounds, slight internal bleeding and a couple of broken ribs. Ever since then, the raven had been seated by the bed, his dark, loving gaze directed at nothing but the sleeping form in front of him, the form of the boy who was more important than anybody right now.
The raven sighed and looked down at his bandaged fingers. He had broken his index finger, and had to have it strapped together with the one next to it. It was typical, he thought, that even though it was he who had caused all of this, he was also the one who had gotten away with little more than a scratch. When he had been cleaned up, most of the blood had washed away with the water leaving only tiny scratches that had seemed bad when added up, but were in reality the type of injury a child would receive in a playground.
A nurse entered the room quietly, standing behind him and looking over his shoulder for a moment before speaking. "Mr. Uchiha? Visiting hours are over, so…" the raven looked up at her gratefully, before standing slowly and turning. He nodded his head slightly, his face now impassive, and walked from the room.
As he navigated the polished white corridors, he allowed himself to be immersed in his thoughts. Naruto had said he had forgiven him, but Sasuke found it hard to forgive himself for everything that he had done, and all of the mistakes that he had made. He found it hard to believe in himself, and he found it hard to believe that at any point in his life, he had believed the decisions he had made to be the right ones.