CHAPTER THIRTYFIVE

- It's Fucking Broken -

After the shoot, Sasuke and I decided to take a walk to the closest town, which only happened to be about ten minutes from where we'd had the photos taken. The roads were grey and sludgy with crushed, half melted ice and snow, but at least we weren't slipping all over the place: that would have been embarrassing.

"So, I never got to talk to you last night," I said, squeezing Sasuke's hand. He didn't say anything, "How was it at your grandparent's place?"

"It was normal," He replied, "except that my grandmother kept bursting into tears every time she even looked at me." He half grinned, "She says I look way too much like my mom." I ran my gloved thumb along his index finger. I never knew what to say when he started talking about Mikoto. It was strange how I'd only ever seen him cry over her once. Even three days after her death, Sasuke had appeared fine.

"Well, you do – sort of." I told him. He made a sound in protest, but I just grinned, shaking my head. "Shut up, you do."

"Hn, whatever. C'mon, you're cold. You need…" He glanced up at the logo of the café that we stood outside of, "coffee."

"You mean you're cold!" I teased, following him into the coffee shop and instantly feeling the sudden warmth and smelling food. "Oh, y'know what?"

"Hn…?"

"I'mma get one of those giant muffins." Sasuke just rolled his eyes and pulled me to stand in front of him to queue.

We ordered quickly before scoring a window seat and watched people hurry by as snow began to fall. Sasuke, opposite me, shuddered.

"What's the matter?"

He raised an eyebrow, pretending that he hadn't just jerked rather violently, "Nothing…"

"You just—"

"I was thinking about something bad." He said, shrugging and taking a sip of his latte. He wouldn't give me any further information – he just told me not to worry. But the last time he'd told me not to worry, I'd seen him cry and the two of us had almost broken up. That was what made me worry. "Kari, chill."

"I am chilled," I muttered. He extended a hand across the table and ran each of his fingers along the length of each of mine. Like a cat.

"I just had one of those…" He seemed to be searching for a word, "Jumpy sort of moments. It's fine."

"If you felt like something was going to go wrong, you'd tell me, right?" I asked. He seemed to consider this for a moment before biting the inside of his lip and nodding.

"Sure I would. If I thought you needed to know." He added. I sighed. He was a sneaky prick, that kid.

"Yeah, kay, fine, whatever, I don't care." I announced, crossing my legs, folding my arms, and pouting with my eyes avoiding him. Sasuke's chuckle sounded, barely there, but still silky. I… might have glanced over my shoulder for a moment to view him. He had his fist over his mouth, a small smirk curving his expression as he watched me from behind his darker-than-midnight bangs. "You're cute." I told him, "But just wait, Uchiha."

"H'yeah, right. What are you gonna do, bite me?"

"Maybe I will!"

"I'd like to see that."

"Maybe you will."

"Maybe I will."

"Yeah, maybe!"

"…What…?"

"I lost track of this conversation a while ago…" I mumbled, lamely.

"Same." Sasuke grinned. "Why am I even going out with you…?"

"'Cause I'm hot." I shot at him. He seemed a little in shock.

"And you berate me for being 'vain'." He sighed.

I nodded, "That's because you're funny."

"Funny?"

"Hilarious~" I sang. He rolled his eyes, glancing out of the window again. The snow was getting thicker, falling in clumps onto the frozen pavement.

"Man, I'd hate to live here all year round..." He murmured, "So much ice."

"We should probably get going – before the snow gets so thick that we can't escape from the coffee shop."

"Yeah," He agreed, getting to his feet and pulling his plain, black gloves over his long fingers and zipping his jacket up. I did the same, sort of mesmerized by the falling flakes outside. "Come on, Midget…" Sasuke sighed eventually, grabbing my arm and dragging me out of the warmth of the café and into the blizzard.

Sasuke's POV;

The road that they were walking on now was deserted – no cars, no people… not that anybody sane enough would attempt to drive in this weather. Sasuke's left hand was the only part of his body that felt warm, right now, since it was connected with Kari's right one. He swore a couple of times, while Kari made a verbal envisioning of the hot chocolate she was going to make once they got home.

Sasuke would have made a snarky comment back expressing his hatred for all things sugary, but he was too busy clenching his jaw in an effort not to shiver.

The last time he'd come to Yuki, it had been in January two years ago – the snow stayed all year round, bitterly cold but always beautiful. It was now mid August, and the Uchiha pondered if the people of Northern Yuki ever actually saw Summer.

That was when the car rushed up to greet them.

Somehow, Kari and he hadn't heard the crunching of the frozen water on the road. How could they have not heard it? Sasuke didn't know, but the two of them quickly shifted to the side of the road where the sludge at the snow was thickest.

Apparently, the road wasn't the only thing the car wanted. It slowed down right beside them, and a man in the back seat leant out. Sasuke instantly memorized his face. Grey hair gelled back sleekly, scar on the lip, dark brown eyes.

"Uchiha?" The man asked.

Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed. Something hadn't felt right since he'd left the coffee shop, now his suspicions were being confirmed. "Yes…" He replied. The guy with the grey hair fumbled for something beside him. Sasuke cursed, his hand unlocking from Kari's and shoving her harshly into the snow. "Kari, get down!" He yelled.

"Sasuke – what—?" Her voice was cut off by the sudden clicking of a loaded gun and a shot rang out into the silence of the empty road. The shock of a bullet shattering the bone in the arm he'd used to protect his head with was all that it took for him to cry out and fall to the ground. He growled, looking up at the man who'd shot him.

"Tell your father that this was his only warning."

"The fuck are you talking about?" He spat from behind his clenched teeth. But Sasuke didn't receive an answer. The car screamed down the lane. "Fucking—" He began, but then remembered that he had a bullet imbedded in his broken arm and he focussed himself on the more serious matter at hand.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Kari was at his side now, her voice was cut up and she was whispering out her mantra. "Oh my… why… you're fucking bleeding. He shot you."

"Shh," Sasuke pulled her down with his left hand and pressed his lips against the top of her head, "Calm down, I'm alright, I promise."

"No, no, no, you're bleeding, you're bleeding!"

"Just be quiet…" He sighed, shaking slightly. He took his hand away from her back and pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Call Itachi, tell him to get here as fast as possible… and an ambulance…" He handed her the mobile device and set to work attempting to stop all of that blood from leaving his body without worsening the break from his elbow.

"H-hello, Itachi? …I'm on Sasuke's phone. He's hurt, he said to call you… I don't know, but he needs an ambulance!" Kari was crying next to him. "H-he got shot at." She sobbed. Sasuke felt several different things at once. He felt his chest ache at the idea of having the girl see that; he felt something twist painfully in his right arm, and he felt a wave of nausea hit him as his world went a bright white for a moment. "Sasuke, I'm sorry, but do you know what road this is?" Kari asked him, her voice still jittery and scared. He shook his head, and then turned away from her to vomit. Kari sort of jumped away from him then, but came back immediately to rub circles on his back.

"We're," He murmured, "We're about six minutes from the lodges." He breathed. Inhale, exhale. Come on, man. He'd broken two ribs and punctured a lung before and he couldn't remember feeling so weak. Kari relayed the information he'd given her to Itachi and told him to 'hurry the fuck up!' as well as coming to sit next to him and continue rubbing his back.

Pathetically, Sasuke let his head roll onto her shoulder and tried to ignore the tears that were falling onto his face from above. He didn't have the energy to open his mouth and tell her that he was fine, but with his left hand, he clutched her finger tips softly.

"My arm," He whined without knowing it, "it's fucking broken."

"Mhmm…" Kari hummed numbly.

Finally, the ambulance arrived.

Itachi interrogated me as we followed the medical vehicle. They'd taken Sasuke in the truck and his older brother had had to man handle me away from the medics and throw me into the back seat of his father's car.

"What happened?" He asked me grimly. I shook my head. In all honesty, I didn't know what had happened. A car had pulled up; Sasuke had pushed me; Sasuke had been shot.

"I don't know, Sasuke told me to get down and then…" I tailed off, sniffling.

"It wasn't serious, though, was it?" He asked, his eyebrows drawing together in worry that he wasn't able to hide.

"I don't think so… they hit him in the arm and he thinks that it's broken – it is broken." I said, tripping over my words. Itachi bit his lip.

Soon, we pulled up into the hospital and waited outside of the emergency room. The doctors said that we'd be able to take Sasuke home this evening, since he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, but he had lost a fair amount of blood. I didn't really understand everything that Itachi was saying to the doctors. I didn't really care too much either, I just wanted to get in there and see my boyfriend as soon as I possibly could.

I didn't have to wait long because soon, he was following a ditzy nurse with his arm in a sling and handing his blood soaked hoodie to Itachi.

"Thank you very much," He nodded to the nurse, who skitted away without much else. Sasuke greeted his brother with a nod. Itachi nodded back before dragging the two of us out.

"What happened?" He asked Sasuke. The younger Uchiha groaned a little.

"I don't… remember…"

"Yes, you do, spit it out."

"No, seriously, Itachi, they've given me so much morphine that I can only remember little parts." The younger tried to tell his older brother. Itachi shrugged,

"Then tell me what little you can remember."

"Later, I want to—"

"Sasuke," I squeezed his left shoulder, "What did the guy say after he shot you? I heard him talk."

"He said to tell our father that this was a warning – is dad involved in a fucking gang or something, because if I just sacrificed my fucking arm for that douche, then I am fucking leaving. Please don't touch me." He added in a softer tone to me, "I'm not good right now."

"That's okay," I murmured, placing my hand back in my pocket.

"Sasuke, watch your language. I don't know why anybody would have sent father a warning… I'm sorry you had to take that, little brother."

"Fuck off." Sasuke muttered, shrugging his brother away from him and slipping into the front seat of the hired car. I silently dropped into the back seat whilst the older Uchiha made his way around to the driver's seat.

I could understand why he was so angry. Anybody would be – angry, in pain, and scared. Sasuke, I knew, was all of those. The ride home was silent.

When we finally did reach the holiday house, Sasuke was out of the car in seconds and then vanished into the house.

"Well…" Itachi sighed, "That was unexpected."

I nodded, "I really don't like it when he's mad."

"Of course not," The Uchiha murmured, unbuckling his seatbelt. I did the same and quickly climbed out of the car. "Oh, Kari,"

I spun around, "Hm?"

"You and Leon should probably go upstairs," He told me, allowing me to enter the house, "I have a feeling that shit's about to go down."

"Uhm, okay." I nodded. I could already hear an argument breaking out within the office by the door. Itachi muttered something to Leon, telling her to follow me. Her hand brushed his briefly, and she accompanied me up the stairs.

If I hadn't been so wound up in everything that had happened, I might have made a comment such as, "OOOOOHHH." But I was sort of trying to listen to Sasuke and his father.

"No, Dad, listen to me—"

"No, Sasuke, you listen!"

…Sasuke's dad was so scary. Not kidding. Leon pulled me into her room, which happened to be just above the study.

"I've been so worried." She said – of course she would have known, "Why is he so mad?" She asked. I felt a lump rise in my throat at the memories.

At the moment the shot had been fired, I'd been face down in the snow – but I'd heard Sasuke's shout and all of his swearing.

"I think…" I began, but shook my head because I couldn't finish. I could hear both Sasuke and his brother's raised voices downstairs. Itachi appeared to be telling his younger brother to calm down while his father threatened to break his other arm if he didn't close his mouth.

I'd never thought that I'd ever hear the three stoic Uchiha males arguing as they were. I could hear everything that they were saying. I could hear feet shuffling.

"Tell me who's after you and why I was fuckin' shot at—"

"SASUKE." Rawr, Fugaku was so terrifying, "Go to your room."

There was a silence that stretched on for far too long before I heard a shuffling of feet, a thump, and a grunt. Following this was Itachi's sort of horrified gasp.

"Sasuke, go."

His voice was a lot closer when it next sounded, "Whatever."

I got so scared when he passed Leon's door – like I could feel my heartbeat quicken, and my eyes seemed to follow his form, even though there was a wall separating us.

"You might want to go and check on him," The older, blonde girl murmured. I cautiously got to my feet and took baby steps toward the door at the end of the hall. I knocked once, ignoring the youngest Uchiha's words of, "Get lost," before entering.

"Didn't I tell you t— oh." I wrapped my arms tightly around his stomach, carefully trying not to press against his broken arm that had been put, firstly into a cast, and then into a sling. "Don't… cry…" He mumbled, his left hand reaching up to stroke my head. I didn't even know that I had been crying.

"I'm sorry; I can't help it, you… you…" I trailed off into a barrage of pathetic blubbing. Sasuke made some sounds, telling me to shush.

"I know," He whispered.

And, like some dramatic television show, I whimpered, "I was so scared."

"I know, I know, its okay, though. Look, I'm fine."

"Mhmm…" I nodded, drawing back a little, chuckling and wiping my eyes. "What happened with your dad?" I asked, hating the way that my voice was so crackly and weak.

"Let's not talk about that." He murmured.

Oh… fine then. We won't.

"Okay." I sighed, and then looked down; and then looked up; and then reached up on my toes to smash my lips to the pale Uchiha's. He didn't seem surprised at all, and tugged me closer with a small moan.

I held onto the sides of his face – keeping him pressed closely against me, though… his cast was totally in my way. Glare. And this was where his wonderful tongue skills came into play, barely slipping into my mouth before it pulled back. And then he pulled away himself. He stayed close, though, Eskimo kissing with his nose.

"Sasuke," I murmured.

He tilted his head, watching my lips, "What?"

"…Nothing, I just felt like… saying your name," I grinned. Sasuke also grinned a little, his perfect teeth dazzling me.

"Okay?" He chuckled, taking back the space he'd created and kissing me softer than he had before; slower. I retaliated in the same manner, smiling whenever we parted.

I was so glad that he'd calmed himself down now, so happy that he wasn't telling me to get lost or to fuck off. He wouldn't even talk to his highly respected brother, and here I was, helping him out of his shirt.

Later that night, I was once again curled against my boyfriend's side, absent-mindedly playing with the soft spikes of his dark hair at the back of his neck. Everything was quiet and dark – the only sound that could hear was my own and Sasuke's breathing.

And then, "I don't like it when you cry." Sasuke's crackly voice announced quietly. I felt the vibrations in his back against my chest.

I laughed a little, "I don't like it when you cry either, so I guess we're even."

"Hn'yeah, but…"

"Sasuke," I shifted, leaning on my elbow, "I couldn't help it, I was scared for you."

"I kn—" He began, and then he groaned.

"What's wrong, did you lay on your arm?"

"No… I won't be able to compete in the tournament now. I hope that bastard's fucking pleased—" He tensed up, probably ready to unload a brand new barrage of swear words. I slipped my arm around his middle.

"That sucks, majorly."

Sasuke sighed, unable to let his insults escape, "Yeah, it really does."

He was gutted. I wished I could have said something that might have made him feel better, but I couldn't think of anything. I didn't know why Sasuke had been the target for Fugaku's punishment, but the head of the Uchiha family didn't seem to be doing too much to sort whatever had happened out. I thought, if Sasuke had a little justice for the crime committed against him, he might have been able to cheer himself up a little, but there were no police at the door, and no way of finding out who it was who had jumped us on the road.

And that kind of hurt.

Sasuke's POV;

His arm kind of fucking hurt. Like, a lot. And he couldn't sleep. Because the ache in his arm was fucking hurting him. He kept running this circle through his head, uncomfortable and slightly annoyed. And the fact that he wasn't able to get a decent rest was just annoying him more. He tried to shift it slightly, and winced painfully when his numb fingers snagged on a piece of the material on the duvet cover. He kind of squeaked, sitting up suddenly and growling at the stupid cast on his arm.

"What's wrong?" Kari asked beside him. Crap, he'd woken her up.

"It's nothing, go back to sleep." He murmured. She sighed and made room for him to lie down comfortably.

"Try to sort of… stare at the ceiling." She whispered.

"…Thank you?" He replied after a while. Kari squeezed his left hand lightly. He squeezed back, a small grin on his face. She was such a nice girl. He kind of felt bad that she'd seen him acting like such a prick – but not half as bad as he felt when he came to realize that he had kind of punched his brother in the face for no reason.

It was kind of hard to notice, but Sasuke really did love his brother, despite the fact that Itachi annoyed him beyond belief. That was why he'd told Kari to call for him earlier, because Itachi actually cared. Unlike Fugaku. Who sort of… sucked.

He'd apologize tomorrow, before he went out. And yes, he was going out. He was going to revisit the road he'd gotten shot at and try to bring back the memories that the morphine had made blurry.

Oooh. So there's our plot for the rest of this 'Yuki arc'.

AS I'VE SAID BEFORE: THIS STORY WRITES ITSELF. I don't really have any control over my fingers as they type these things out except when I need to correct a typo or something.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this, and WOW. THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR THE REVIEWS. 150+ and 10k+ hits! I'm actually so thrilled with all of your support. Now, if you've hit and run me so far, I want you to review this overly dramatic chapter and tell me what you thought – tell me anything! I'd be so happy to know what you thought, or how your day went. Anything!

And thank you to those of you who review every single chapter, that just makes me feel all squishy and warm inside. Like… Nemo when he finally meets with his daddy again.

My friend, James, is threatening to bite me. I'm sort of worried?

Thank you all for reading, enjoy your night/day, wherever you are!

- YourChemicalRomancex.