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Breathe by Luke Cusato.

Colours

Chapter 20 – Breathe / Part 2

Thoughts leading us astray

We're out of air, left with no words to say

Breathing life into my lungs

Or suffocate me and bury me while we're young

6:00 pm

July 21st, xxx4

The beeping of machinery in the hospital. The nauseating smell in the hospital. The rustling and bustling of patients and doctors in the hospital. All things Naruto didn't want to be waking up to.

But here he was anyway.

"Naruto?" His head was cotton candy. His throat, he was sure, had a small clawed animal climbing up on the inside of it.

Instead of addressing his caller, Naruto closed his eyes again. His mind was still bursting with pain, but the explosion numbed when he wasn't looking at the world.

"Sir," Another voice, lighter, spoke. "I will have to ask you to leave for now that the patient is awake."

There was a sigh of relief, no arguments, and the soft closing of a door.

"Mr. Uzumaki, can you hear me?"

"I wish I couldn't." Naruto groaned out. His voice was a harsh whisper. Yep, definitely a savage animal living in his throat.

The doctor, Naruto assumed, chuckled softly. "Headache?"

Naruto nodded his head, feeling the rough fabric of the pillowcase under him. The cloth rustled under his movement.

"You did get hit on the head a couple of times." The doctor said, his voice monotone. A few scratches of pen against paper. "Alright, Mr. Uzumaki-"

"It's Uchiha." Naruto interrupted.

"Okay, Mr. Uchiha. I'll have to ask you some questions for legal reasons. Are you okay with that?"

Naruto nodded.

10:00 pm

July 19th, xxx3

Naruto's legs were tied under him; his arms were tied behind him. Naruto's cheeks, bruised red and purple, stung. His chapped lips were cut in two places. Any blood on him was dried by this point.

His hands had been tied to his back for so long that his shoulders felt as if they were ready to pop out any second now. His sides were closing into him, unwilling to continue, to support- yet Naruto kept his back straight, and with his eyes strong: he glared, and with his mouth pulled: he grimaced. He wasn't going to let these people think he was weak.

"Naruto Uchiha, today will be the last day you'll be alive. Any last words to your beloved?"

"It's Uzumaki." Naruto tried to get off the ground. Sure he was gonna die today, but he wasn't just going to follow death without swinging a few punches first.

"Oh, I can't wait until Agent Uchiha sees you dying." The woman, Kaguya, laughed.

The past hour, Naruto had been bleeding out from small cuts made by small knives, punches and the tough strikes of a leather belt.

Though everything was being recorded, Kaguya had all intentions for Sasuke to see this live. Blood on white sheets should have been a big enough lead to get Sasuke to here. It didn't matter what happened to the man whose blood stained the sheets, he was smuggling some drugs for personal use. He would've gotten death either way.

Naruto spit in front of her. "Bitch." Even if his spit was more blood that spit, it wasn't going to stop his mouth from lashing out.

Kaguya smiled. And stepped on Naruto, her heels pushing into his skin. "Oh, Darling." A quick snap, and Naruto was sure his arm had been dislocated. "That's such a nasty word."

6:05 pm

July 21st, xxx4

"Who is the prime minister of Canada?"

"Trudeau."

"Gotta be more specific than that." The doctor laughed.

"I don't think I was even alive when Justin Trudeau's grandfather was president."

The doctor chuckled. "Fair point." He wrote something down. Naruto kept his eyes closed. "Do you remember your name?"

"Naruto Uchiha."

"What was the last thing you remember?"

"Madara."

10:10 pm

July 19th, xxx3

Naruto's ears were ringing. There was a shattering of glass. A few shouts. His hands, still tied to his back, were being pulled so he could sit up. He coughed. Blood dribbled down his chin.

There was a quick swish, and his legs were free. "You're gonna follow me, and keep your fucking mouth shut." Someone yelled into his ears. Naruto tried to resist. Most of his body was noisy and static from falling asleep. The blood he had lost from the cuts made all over his body. The ropes cutting into his skin and burning the black veins running through his body.

Naruto imagined Shion and how she kept his head on her lap. She'd weave her hands through his locks and he'd sleep.

But he couldn't sleep. Not now.

6:15 pm

July 21st, xxx4

"How long have I been out, doc?" Naruto's voice was raspy still. Even after chugging down a jar of water.

"Around two days. You lost a lot of blood. There were complications in the operation." The doctor sighed. "You're only alive because of everything you're hooked on to right now."

Naruto laughed. "The poison they put in me didn't agree with the anesthesia?"

The doctor shifted his weight, and looked down at his bored. "Maybe," He cleared his throat.

"When will I get to leave?"

"You were a part of a huge mission, one that hadn't been cleared through the agency." The doctor said, then paused. "If Itachi hadn't found you, you'd be dead."

"So not anytime soon?"

"No," He clicked the pen. "There will be a nurse coming in to check up on you. If you need help, you know where the button is."

10:15 pm

July 19th, xxx3

He had been thrown into a dark room. He searched around wildly, but the room seemed to close in on him. His breath picked up in panic. The room expanded when the light turned on. It was bigger than the bedroom he shared with Sasuke. There were tall windows at one end of the room.

Outside, it was dark. Clouds in view, but no stars.

He had been on so many drugs throughout his captivity. Today, however, he was sober. The evil witch wanted him to feel as much pain as he possibly could.

He could see things clearly, but everything felt as numb as it had since he'd been abducted.

Once he got out of this, if he did, he was signing up for some self defense classes.

"Can someone untie me?" Naruto asked, resting against a wooden table. "I can't feel half of my body." His eyes were begging to be closed. But he couldn't. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity to escape.

No one replied.

"Thought so…"

How could he untie his ropes? They clung to him hard enough to stop the rushing of blood.

There was a bang at the door, then another, then the door swung open.

Naruto's lungs stopped functioning. He wasn't sure if he was happy or not.

It was Sasuke.

His pale face splattered with blood. His eyes like a wild beast scavenging the entirety of the room. Finally, they met Naruto's. The anger gone. Replaced with difficult emotions. The moment their eyes met, Naruto finally gave in and let his head hit the ground. He could let go now. When he wakes up he'll be safe. He's safe now. He'll be safe then.

In a flash, Sasuke ran to one guard and onto the next. His katana peiching in and through them. They fell into a pool of their own blood that expanded and expanded.

Sasuke rushed to Naruto, almost slipping on the blood. He sheathed his katana. "Naruto! God, Naruto." He could feel a sob escape, but no tears fall.

10:00 am

July 22nd, xxx4

"You're finally awake," Tsunade said, placing a vase of sunflowers next to Naruto's bed.

"It's too early for you to be visiting." Naruto said.

"I can't check up on my favourite employee?"

"I don't work under you, granny."

"I run all the branches for this hospital, so yes you do."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "The man who appointed you to this much power is a crazy bastard."

Tsunade laughed. "Never change," she shook her head.

"Well, since you're up in the chain, why not get me out of this place?"

Tsunade sat down in the sofa in front of Naruto's bed. The blue sofa in the corner of the room. She leaned back and sighed. "This isn't you first time doing something the agency isn't happy with, Naruto. I can't help you." Tears slipped down her cheeks. "Don't do anything irrational, Naruto. You're still in a critical state."

Naruto turned his head. "You can help me, you just don't want to." He mumbled.

"You're right," Tsunade wiped away her tears. "You need to learn."

"He died because of me, you know."

"That's what he said about Shion too." She said.

10:15 pm

July 19th, xxx3

"Naruto," Sasuke said with as much care, affection, love he had in him. "Hold onto me." Everything was numb. "Just hold on. I've got you. I'll get you out. I'm here now." Naruto pressed closer for warmth. "You're safe."

"Safe." Naruto said. This was where Naruto was supposed to be safe. But he wasn't. He never was.

It was fuzzy. As if the world was speeding through everything after that moment.

"We're going to get you out of here." Sasuke said. "Itachi? Do you copy? I've found him. We're on the 20th floor. Come to us, I still have some business to attend to."

Sasuke held onto Naruto. "We're going to wait here until Itachi comes. Then you stay with him, and don't turn back, okay?"

"Sasuke...why would you come?" Naruto started crying. "Why would you come?"

"How could I not?" Sasuke whispered back. "I love you."

"You don't love me, Sasuke. You never did."

11:00 am

July 22nd, xxx4

"Jiraiya, Tsunade already came. Why did you come too?"

"She isn't the only one who cares about you, you know." Jiraiya sat exactly where Tsunade had an hour ago. In the blue chair, in the corner of the room.

Naruto snorted. "Why didn't you come together?"

"Busy schedules."

"Aha, I'm sure." Naruto laughed. "You'll help me get out, that's why you came without her, right?"

Jiraiya frowned. "I don't have that authority, Naruto. You know that." He sighed. "You know where you condition is Naruto. You have to stay here."

"If I was going to have the same conversation with both of you, then the two of you should have just some together."

10:20 pm

July 19th, xxx3

Once Sasuke rounded the corner he was met with an army of guards. He pushed Naruto back into the hallway they had came out from. "Stay there, Naruto." He looked at him with pain in his eyes. "Please don't look here."

Naruto turned around and covered his ears.

There were shouts, and bangs, and thuds.

A few minutes later, Sasuke placed a hand on his shoulder and gently asked him up. "We're going to go down another way."

Naruto told Sasuke to let go off him. "I can walk on my own."

Sasuke bit his lip, his eyebrows knit together. He didn't think he could feel Naruto slipping further away from him. But in that moment he did.

"Itachi where are you?" Sasuke called out. "How can I get Naruto out of here safety then?" He looked back at Naruto then around him. "There's only up from here."

Naruto knew there was a way down, but that meant having to walk through a hallway full of people Sasuke had murdered. There was fresh blood on Sasuke's clothes, Sasuke's face, Sasuke's hands.

"Gaara, do you copy?" Sasuke paused. "There's a ladder to the roof from the top floor?" He looked around. "I'll meet you there, over."

Sasuke lead Naruto back to where it all began. Kaguya's office.

"There has to be a panic room…" Sasuke muttered to himself. "Some way for her to get out."

"Sasuke we're supposed to get out. You can't chase after her more." Naruto whispered. "Let's leave."

"We can't, Naruto. I can't let her escape. Not after what she did to you."

"Sasuke, I don't care. Get me out of here."

"I need to kill her, Naruto!" Sasuke shouted, then immediately tried to latch onto his words. Try to shove them back into his throat and away from Naruto's ears.

Naruto stepped back. "You crazy bastard!"

"You can't kill me!" Kaguya yelled from the door. "You're the one dying tonight." She ran up to them, throwing Naruto to the side. She unsheathed her katana.

Sasuke balanced himself, stance wide. He pushed her back. "We'll see about that." He spat. "You're an idiot to walk back in here."

Kaguya laughed. "There's a reason I'm the boss, Sasuke." She dove towards him, grazing his waist. Sasuke jumped back.

Naruto groaned, trying to get up. The side he fell on was burning. He collapsed back down.

"I know all about you, Sasuke. How you fight! What your weaknesses are!" She stood bold in front of him. "I have the answers to all the questions in your life." She pushed Sasuke to the ground. He fell next to Naruto. "You've been running around, trying to find out who killed shion."

"Madara gave you all this information, didn't he?" Sasuke growled out. "Tell me!"

"I have no problem telling you, Agent Sasuke Uchiha." Kaguya laughed. "You'll be dead before you get out of here and he'll continue doing his work for me."

Sasuke got on his feet, turned around to look at Naruto then pounced towards Kaguya.

His blade clashed against her's. And they pushed away from each other.

"Madara was the one who killed Shion!" She lunged at him. "He ordered it." She cried out, pushing Sasuke to the ground. "He just couldn't kill your brother with her!" She laughed, thrown on to the ground. "The stupid bastard only killed who he wanted to. I'll at least get to kill you, if not your brother!" Sasuke readied his katana, positioning to pierce through her.

"Sasuke! Don't!" Naruto yelled, a sob escaping him. Sasuke looked back.

In that moment, for Naruto, everything lost colour.

The last colour Naruto remembers is the red of Sasuke's blood.

8:00 pm

July 22nd, xxx4

There was a knock on Naruto's hospital room.

"Who is it?"

"Your father-in-law." Fugaku answered.

"Come in, father." Naruto responded.

"How are you doing?" He was holding a bouquet of lilies.

"Pretty good," Naruto smiled. "Itachi was here when I woke up."

"Was he?"

"He didn't talk to me though. Left as soon as I woke up." Naruto closed the book he had in his hand, and placed it on the table next to his bed. "He's still upset… he treats me the way he treated Sasuke when he was upset with him."

"That didn't happen often...it did, however, became frequent after you came into our lives." Fugaku smiled. Then he stopped smiling. All in a flash.

"I wasn't the best thing that happened to him." Naruto closed his eyes. "Mother won't come, will she?"

"No," Fugaku replied. There was a brief silence. "So, you managed to kill him." Fugaku pulled down the shutters of the hospital room. The sun was setting. The sun rays piercing their eyes.

"Sasuke wouldn't have been there that night if it weren't for him." Naruto replied, yawning. He leaned back against his head rest.

"Do you think Sasuke would've been happy with that?"

"I don't think he would be." Naruto said. "Father, I'm going to die, aren't I?"

"As long as you're in this room, you'll be okay."

"That's a lie, isn't it?" Naruto laughed. Fugaku didn't turn around. "I would've liked to see mother before I left...Or Ma and Pa but they had a funeral for me over a year ago."

Fugaku turned too look at him. His old age showing in his eyes.

"Let me go to him." Naruto said.

Fugaku nodded, placing the bouquet of lilies in Naruto's lap.

It's been a year... a few months over a year. yikes! sorry. I promised I wouldn't drop this and I didn't. :9

Sorry about all the death.

There will be an epilogue posted soon.