Title: Leftovers (3?)
Authors: WolfPilot06 and Lazuli
Pairings: SasuNaru, LeeSaku
Warnings: AU, shonen ai, some language, illness, and rampant nerdy references
Notes: Wolfie would like to apologize for the gratuitous references to the Flying Spaghetti Monster and Monkey Island. She was in a rather wacky mood when we wrote this, so all nerdy references can be blamed on her. That said, enjoy!
(Also, it's rather sad, but we actually finished this part about a month ago and completely forgot about it.)
--
Naruto's face went blank, eyes glazing for a moment. "Just because someone has... a familiar name ..." He said softly, "It doesn't mean a thing. Don't you remember that the mayor's son already came back?"
Sasuke gave him a flat stare. "Don't you recall that they found he was a fake?" He returned.
"Don't you recall that the fortune was never recovered?" Naruto shot back, trying to hide how uneasy he felt at Sasuke's suggestion. "Even if I was that Uzumaki heir dude - and I swear, the name's a coincidence - there's nothing for me to come back for. I'd still be a sick, poor son of a bitch living in a rat-infested apartment. I'd just be a famous sick, poor son of a bitch living in a rat-infested apartment."
Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. "I'm not going to argue you with you right now. If you want to pretend like you're not that Uzumaki, then fine."
"I'm not pretending!" Naruto flared, and then went into an extended fit of violent coughing, doubling over and clutching at his aching stomach as he tried desperately to calm his irritated lungs. Sasuke sighed, instantly regretting riling the obviously upset boy up as he leaned forward to rub his back soothingly, gently stroking a hand over sweat-dampened locks of hair.
When the coughing finally stopped, Naruto lay back onto the bed with Sasuke's help, pale and exhausted.
"Look, I'm sorry I upset you," Sasuke said stiffly; despite everything, it still wasn't easy for him to swallow his pride and apologize. "If you say you're not the Uzumaki heir, then fine; you'd know better than I would. But you can't deny that it's a weird coincidence. How many people have the surname Uzumaki?"
Naruto shrugged, the fight gone out of him. "I can't say I know many." He said dryly. "I don't get around the higher social circles, y'know?" He closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly falling asleep before he opened them to focus blearily on Sasuke. "But you'd think I'd remember growing up as some rich kid's son."
Sasuke gave into the impulse to reach forward and brush a strand of unruly hair away from Naruto's face, his expression softening slightly. Naruto's eyes were already drifting shut again, though, and he couldn't see the inexplicable expression on Sasuke's face as the older boy sighed and stood up.
"It's been a long time, Naruto," he said quietly. "People forget a lot of things over the course of time. Get some sleep. You need your rest."
Resisting the urge to tuck the sheets more firmly around Naruto's slumbering form once more, Sasuke turned and left.
--
It was several hours later that Naruto woke up and discovered Sasuke wasn't in the room.
This is my chance. He thought with a faint grin. Granted--he was still weak and he doubted if he could stand, much less sneak out of the house--but ... he didn't like the question and accusations that Sasuke threw at him. He wasn't going to be dependent on someone, and he certainly wasn't going to take charity.
Tiptoeing over to the door, he peered into the darkened hallway for any sign of the maids or his irritable host and found none. It seemed as if the entire household had gone to sleep - entirely possible, he realized, upon spotting the luminescent red glow of the infirmary clock, seeing as it was well past midnight.
He found his old clothes - washed and carefully patched by one of the maids - folded in one of the cupboards by the veranda door and changed as quickly as his already slightly woozy head would allow. As he paused to snatch up the medication bottles that Sasuke had left at his bedside, he realized that his shoes were nowhere to be found.
Shit, he thought miserably, peering through the veranda doors at the moonlit garden outside, I hope it's fucking warm outside.
It was likely; the weather had been warming up before he ended up in the hospital and so it shouldn't be too bad. At least it wasn't the middle of winter like when he first met Sasuke. He left silently, closing the doors with a silent 'click' as soon as he slipped out. It was slightly chilly outside, but nothing he couldn't handle.
He only got a few steps before his head reeled and he had to lean on one of the little wicker tables that all rich people seemed to have on their verandas.
"You know," said an all-too-familiar voice from the shadows, "A smart person would wait until they felt well enough to sit up before trying to run away from their benefactor's care. Then again, I don't suppose you count yourself as a smart person."
Naruto froze and took several deep breaths so that he wouldn't cough and ruin the act. "I was just getting some fresh air." He said quickly. "I... it was stifling..." He clenched one fist and tried to take a step forward, nearly toppling over as he did so.
A darker shadow detached from the rest swiftly, catching him before he could fall flat on his face. With an exasperated sigh, Sasuke sat him in one of the wicker chairs and snapped out a blanket that he'd obviously been holding for this very event, covering Naruto's lap with it carefully.
"Of course," he said, a very faint hint of sarcasm in his quiet voice, "I should have realized you wanted fresh air at one in the morning."
"I fell asleep early." Naruto defended himself, but he realized it fell rather flat. "What are you doing out here this late?" He asked, staring at the blanket in his lap. He shouldn't accept this so easily—but... but! He was Uzumaki Naruto, and he was strong enough to handle stuff like this on his own.
"I had a feeling you'd want to take a walk sometime after the rest of us had gone to sleep," Sasuke said dryly. "You're not very good at accepting help."
"Would you accept it so easily if you were in my place?" Naruto's unexpected and direct question surprised Sasuke. Naruto didn't wait for an answer and shook his head. "It's just not easy for me, okay? I mean—I grew up all my life breathing crappy and stuff and no one helped before. Unless, y'know—if they were expecting some sort of payment." His eyes focused on Sasuke. "But... I don't think you want payment and that's what's throwing me off."
He had to pause in his long speech for another coughing fit and one hand tightened around the bottles he was holding.
Sasuke sighed, sitting in another chair across from Naruto.
"I do have an ulterior motive," he admitted blandly, leaning back and crossing his legs elegantly. Naruto eyed him suspiciously, even as his heart sank slightly. He knew it. Sasuke was just like the rest.
He found a pale hand thrust in his face, the unexpected gesture causing him to look reflexively up at Sasuke's face in confusion. The other man arched a dark eyebrow, the perfectly quizzical look somehow accentuated by the bandana bound across the lower half of Sasuke's face.
"Friends?"
"Friends?" Naruto echoed dumbly. "I ... you want me to be...?" He shook his head briefly. "But you're rich." He said bluntly. He couldn't imagine what Sasuke'd get out of being friends with Naruto.
Sasuke snorted and shook his head, ignoring the latter part of Naruto's statement. "Yeah, dumb ass. I said friends. Is that too hard of a word for you?" He grasped Naruto's hand.
Naruto jerked his hand slightly, though not enough to pull entirely out of Sasuke's grasp. Narrow blue eyes studied Sasuke's face intently for the real reason behind Sasuke's actions.
With a sigh, Sasuke let Naruto's hand slide from his, sitting back and running his fingers through his dark mane of hair, unconsciously aggravating the hairs into stick out further again.
"Look, Naruto," he said matter-of-factly, "I don't care if I'm rich. If you didn't notice, I work in a restaurant. A really small restaurant, even if it serves the best damned food in the city. I could live in this mansion twenty-four-seven if I wanted to, but instead, I choose to live in a crummy, basic-utilities apartment near the red light district. Why? Because money means shit when you don't have anyone to enjoy life with. As Uchiha Sasuke, I have flunkies and well-dressed whores at my beck and call. As a nameless waiter in a restaurant, I've got friends. This nameless waiter wants you to be one of them. Funny sounding, yeah, but that's all there is to it. Hell, you'll even get free ramen out of the deal."
Naruto's lips turned up at the descriptions that Sasuke gave himself--both as the 'nameless waiter' and Uchiha Sasuke. "I bet you like the whores." He couldn't help teasing. "Other than that, I guess you'd be bored. I mean... friends are important... and..." He suddenly grasped Sasuke's hand tightly. "And hell... I'd be your friend without the free ramen. Now, can we go back inside 'cause my feet are freezing!"
After a brief moment of stunned surprise - he really hadn't expected Naruto to give into his offer of friendship so easily - Sasuke laughed, pressing a hand against his forehead as the sound tumbled from his lips, marveling at how odd the sensation was. It had been years since he'd last laughed, and yet, with Naruto, it felt natural. He was unaware that Naruto was watching him with a look of positive astonishment on his face as he laughed quietly, a faint blush that had little to do with humility rising on the blonde's cheeks. Finally, he stood straight, practically grinning at Naruto as he helped his new friend to his feet.
"Yeah, okay," he said, smiling, "Let's get you inside, infirm one."
Naruto scowled at that. "I'm not infirm! You just stole my shoes!" He let Sasuke help him back and even get him under the covers.
"Being sick sucks," he muttered, disgusted with himself. "You're always tired and it hurts and I'm really tired of all this stupid coughing."
Sasuke gave him a vaguely sympathetic look as he placed a new glass of water on his nightstand.
"The doctor said it'll be like that for a bit," he said rather apologetically, "With the three drugs you're taking, we don't really dare pile more on top of them. I'm afraid you're going to have to bear out the coughing with sheer fortitude."
Naruto wrinkled his nose at that. "How long?" He asked, eyes focused directly on Sasuke this time. "I don't want to be... a burden." The last was said softer, but with more determination. "I'll get better faster than you say."
Sasuke shrugged helplessly.
"The doctor said that six months is the norm," he said, "But he's already fairly impressed by your progress. It might be less. You have an appointment with him next week to see how the medications are working."
Naruto sighed and played with the edge of the blanket. "I'm sorry." He muttered, but the momentarily despondency seemed to pass and he looked up at Sasuke with a bright smile. "But friends help each other out like this, right?"
Sasuke sighed again, but it was more out of fond exasperation than real frustration this time.
"Yes," he said simply, "Which is why you need to get this weird idea that you're a burden out of your head."
"Not promising anything." Naruto said with a faint echo of his smile. "But I'll try."
"You should get some sleep, Sasuke," he murmured, half asleep himself. "I won't run away again, I promise."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were getting fresh air." He said dryly.
"That too," Naruto said with a faint grin, blue eyes opening briefly. "Now go to bed, you great hulking lump."
"Hey," Sasuke said, mildly miffed, "I may be great, but I'm not a hulking lump."
"Pfft, yeah, whatever. Sleep, Quasimodo."
"You actually know something like that?" Sasuke teased, hand briefly brushing over Naruto's forehead under the pretense of checking his temperature. "Go to sleep yourself. If you need anything, don't try and wander around to find it. I'd hate to tell the maids to clean around your prone body."
"Silence, you fool of a Took!" Naruto groaned, batting at Sasuke's hand. "Let me slumber in peace!"
"Your wish is my command, master," Sasuke said impishly. With a quiet chuckle, he left just as Naruto attempted to smack him with his pillow.
--
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at Naruto, slightly disbelieving. "So you said that you've been in college for the last couple of years?" He asked. "Early start, huh?"
Naruto snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. He was still in bed for the most part, but it was more rare now than it had been before. "Is that really surprising?" He asked, mock hurt.
Sasuke pretended to think about it for a moment.
"Yes, actually. I thought you'd be in remedial college or something." He ducked with a faint smirk as Naruto took a swing at his head. "Seriously, though."
"Nah, I'm nineteen. It's not really that early of a start. I have a late-ish birthday," Naruto explained, eyeing the bowl on his nightstand and wondering if it'd be impolite to ask Sasuke for more ramen. "I'm only a sophomore. Wait a second, how old are you? You can't be that much older than me!" A look of exaggerated horror crossed his face, "You're an old fogey, aren't you? A creepy old pedophile out after my handsome young ass!"
Sasuke snorted, rolling his eyes.
"Of course, because I'm obviously both old and creepy."
"Well, maybe not old, but you are creepy - ah, papapishu!"
Sasuke retracted his hand from where he'd smacked Naruto over the head, a dark eyebrow arched.
"Monkey Island, Naruto?"
"Hey, it's a good game," Naruto defended, grinning despite the smack. "Anyways, you're avoiding the question. How old are you?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm twenty." He said dryly. "Not that much older than you. So get your pedophilic fantasies out of your head." He smirked faintly at the look that crossed Naruto's face at the implication that he wanted old men after him.
"So what are you in college for?" He continued, settling back in his chair. "You did make a lot of literary references earlier." He raised an eyebrow. "Again - not something I pegged you for."
"Is it really that obvious?" Naruto grinned, "I'm a literature major. A poor, starving writer looking to make his way in the world - literally."
Sasuke flicked him in the forehead after rolling his eyes again.
"Bad pun," he chided, smiling faintly, "I should dump you back out on the streets for that."
Naruto gave a giant mock-sigh of relief. "Finally! I was wondering when you were going to get tired of my moaning and whining." It was a tease--he'd largely gotten over his guilt of someone having to take care of him. "Really, though - I always read and took care of plants. But since I didn't see much use in landscaping gardens, I went for the literature major instead. What about you?"
Sasuke shrugged. "Business and finances major." He didn't sound particularly enthused, "I graduated two years early to get out from under my guardian's thumb and then became a waiter. Funny how things turn out."
"And you said I was an early start." Naruto snorted, nose tilted up in the air. "Somebody's been keeping secrets." He clucked his tongue and shook a finger at Sasuke. "I guess your guardian really sucked, huh? There are worse things then living on your own."
Sasuke gave another vague shrug and didn't bother to reply verbally. Instead, he pointed at the empty bowl that Naruto'd been eyeing longingly for the past ten minutes.
"You want another bowl? There must be enough ramen stocked in the servants' quarters to feed Japan's army for a decade."
Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "It's nothing like the ramen you have at your restaurant, but it's pretty good. I ate it all the time at my place." His face fell a little. "I probably don't have a place or a place in my class to go back to now. Stupid sickness."
He gave Sasuke a pleading look. "Hey - since I'm doing so much better now, do you think I could go to my classes?" He knew the answer already – no - but he couldn't help but ask again. He was really proud of his college career.
Sasuke didn't bother mentioning that he'd paid the rent on Naruto's apartment for the next few months and also paid the rather sketchy landlord to repair the place, too - compared to Naruto's medical bills, the cost was tiny. Kakashi, his butler, was personally supervising the renovations, so he had no fear of the landlord cheating him out of his money.
"Not yet," he said, hedging, "It's only been two weeks since we admitted you to the hospital." At the downtrodden look on Naruto's face, Sasuke gave in. "Okay, at the end of the month, if the doctor gives you the okay, you can go back to college. For now, I'll just get the work you missed from your professors and pick up your textbooks from your apartment. How does that sound?"
Naruto made a face. "It's not the same if I can't go to the lectures... and there's all this stupid group work and ..." He fisted the sheets unhappily. "I've worked too hard to get held back now. But... " He shrugged and tried to force a bright smile on his face. "I guess my health is more important."
Judging by the look on Sasuke's face, he should have left out the 'guess'.
Sasuke held back an exasperated sigh - before meeting Naruto, he hadn't thought it possible for a person to have such a low opinion of himself.
"Serious illness is usually a passable excuse for missing school, Naruto," he reminded the irascible blond, "The professors will either not count the group-work into your grade or will come up with some kind of extra credit for you to do instead. It's hardly fair that you would miss out simply because you came down with a bad case of tuberculosis."
Naruto suddenly grinned - at some memory that came to mind at Sasuke's words. "I had this one professor that said she was a cynic and wouldn't accept any excuse unless it was a fabulous one that could be proved without a doubt. One student of hers said that he couldn't make a test because he was bailing his mom out of jail."
At Sasuke's snort and disbelieving look, he went on. "He had the bond slip to prove it, though."
Sasuke shook his head.
"I can't believe that." He gave Naruto a suspicious look, "You're pulling my leg, aren't you?"
"I'm afraid my mitts are nowhere near your lovely and ladylike leg, rooster head," Naruto grinned, throwing out the nickname he'd given Sasuke soon after the beginning of their friendship. "I speak the truth and nothing but the truth, so help me Flying Spaghetti Monster."
There was a long silence as Sasuke stared at the unrepentantly grinning Naruto.
"Don't tell me," he finally said, a long-suffering look on his face, "You're also a firm believer in the Flying Spaghetti Monster doctrine."
"He reached out and touched me with His noodly appendage, yes He did."
Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, making it stick out in a way that showed how he'd earned the rooster head nickname. "You..." he said with a grin, "Have way too much time on your hands. Don't you literature majors do any studying?" He asked.
Naruto pouted. "We do reading." He said loftily. "Or haven't you seen a book without large, complicated numbers in it?"
Sasuke adopted a look of utmost surprise on his face.
"They exist? But I thought those were only a myth!"
Naruto held back his snicker, and instead shook his head sadly. "I don't know how you were let into the world - numbers aren't the only things that appear in books. I should teach you your letters in return for taking care of me. It's the least I could do."
"But the only language I know is written in hexadecimal!" Sasuke protested, "It would take too long to learn a new language. Let me instead teach you how to speak the language of the intelligent."
"Pfft. That's what I'm going to hire an accountant for. Someone is going to have to handle my finances when I'm incredibly rich." Naruto smirked at Sasuke. "You seem to like taking care of me. Care to handle the money of the famous writer Uzumaki Naruto?"
Sasuke leaned back and proceeded to tap his chin in mock-pensive thought.
"Hm, I've never heard of him. I don't think I want to handle the nonexistent money of a lackwit wannabe writer."
"Just you wait until someone else is dealing with me." Naruto said with a wide grin. "You'll regret the day you turned me away."
Sasuke couldn't help but give a mock leer. "Ah, but I can say I was the first to get you into bed."
Naruto nearly choked on that one, doubling over in laughter.
"Oh, but I'm sure you were raring for the chance to play nurse," Naruto laughed, grinning.
Sasuke gave him an arch look. "If I wanted to bathe unconscious, sick people for a living, I would have gone into medical school."
"Which is precisely why you became a waiter instead," Naruto smirked, "So you could drop a bowl of soup into a handsome customer's lap and then offer to clean it up."
"With my mouth or my hands?" Sasuke asked blandly, surprising the hell out of Naruto. He didn't know Sasuke was capable of that type of dry wit - his insults were usually limited to 'dumbass.'
"With both, I'm guessing." Naruto grinned.
"You notice I never tried that with you." Sasuke smirked. "Of course, it would have deprived me of running out into the cold to hand you your leftovers."
"And then the entire basis of our relationship would be shaken." Naruto shook his head in mock-sadness, "And we simply couldn't have that happening."
"What would I have done with my life?" Sasuke gave a melodramatic sigh. "I wouldn't have this fascinating insight into your mysterious life. I just thought you were like all customers - you ate and then vanished into thin air after paying."
"Actually, I just retreated to my coffin until the next time I needed to eat ramen," Naruto admitted, "The rest of the customers did do the vanishing thing, though. I saw 'em."
Sasuke's lips turned up in a brief smile at Naruto's quick retort. "No wonder why I only saw you after the sun went down!" He said in mock horror. "Just don't turn to ashes in my bed. It'd get in the cracks of the floors and never come out."
"Nah, no worries. I've got enough sun block to float a boat in." Naruto grinned, "No spontaneous combustion on my part."
Sasuke studied him critically. "A little thin and pasty looking - but I'm sure that's because you haven't snacked on any innocent or willing victims yet." He widened his eyes. "Or do I have to worry about you biting me in the middle of the night?"
"No, no, remember, I'm a Pastafarian," Naruto snickered, "I'm a ramen vampire."
There was a moment as Sasuke thought about that.
"Wait, I thought you were supposed to end your prayers with 'ramen', not eat it."
"I'm also supposed to go about dressed in full pirate regalia while converting people to FSMism, but you don't see me doing that, now, do you?"
"I think I'd kick you out of the house on just that basis." Sasuke said, eyeing Naruto. "Eating ramen all time isn't healthy - even with your ah... religious preferences." He fought back a grin. "I may have to convert you into eating meat every now and then."
"Hey, I eat meat once in a while," Naruto protested, "Pork ramen!"
Sasuke snorted. "I'm sure that's incredibly high up in the healthy range of food."
Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but he started coughing instead. The sour look on his face showed his displeasure in the way his body betrayed him, especially when he was feeling better. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that he still wasn't well.
Sasuke sighed slightly, feeling somewhat disappointing that their bantering had been interrupted - yet again - by the ubiquitous sickness.
"Sorry about that," he apologized, handing Naruto a glass of water, "I think we got a little out of hand. I forgot that we need to breathe once in a while."
Naruto made a face as he drank the water, his cheeks slightly red. "It's not your fault." He muttered, embarrassed. "I just thought I was doing a lot better. It doesn't hurt as much as it did before."
But it still did hurt and that bugged Naruto a great deal. He was still coughing - it hurt to breathe sometimes - and he was tired of the whole thing. "I rather like joking with you. It's... it's kinda nice having someone near by that you can trust."
"Ah, but you know nothing of my nefarious plans for you," Sasuke joked, and then sighed when Naruto started coughing even more violently than before in the middle of a laugh. "You should probably rest."
"I'm not tired." Naruto protested, but his eyes were already drooping and he let Sasuke take away the glass of water from him as he settled more comfortably in the bed. "But you need some sleep. You've got these giant bags under your eyes. Are you sure you're not trying to run away with them?" He joked feebly.
"Bad pun again," Sasuke said, flicking Naruto gently in the forehead once more. "We need to get you a twelve-step program for that or something."
Naruto gave him an impish grin before yawning. "We'll have to work on that." He stifled his coughing behind his hand. "Go to sleep and think up some ideas how you can save my poor, unfortunate punny soul."
Sasuke yawned as well, stretching slightly as he blinked blearily around the infirmary and eyed the spare bed longingly.
"I think I'll just crash here," he said, standing up and pulling his arms back above his head, several muffled pops issuing as he cracked his vertebrae with a relieved sigh. "I'm too lazy to make the ten-mile hike to my own room."
"It does kinda suck to realize that I'd have to get a bullhorn to reach you if I wanted to talk." Naruto snickered. "Or send out a letter and hope it reaches you in time."
Sasuke smiled slightly.
"I should have an old-fashioned bellpull installed. Something that'll set some hidden bell deep within the mansion to ringing the moment you pull the cord." He yawned again and flopped facedown on the infirmary bed, scowling irritably as the over-starched sheets rubbed against his cheek. "That's it; we're getting you new sheets tomorrow. These pieces of paper masquerading as blankets can't be comfortable."
Naruto gave an embarrassed shrug at that. "They're not that bad." He muttered. " I mean - my coat's softer and all - but for bed sheets, they're kind of okay." He wasn't about to start complaining about the quality of the sheets when he was being taken care of.
"They suck," Sasuke proclaimed, "They're more suitable for a torture chamber than a human habitat. New sheets tomorrow. For now, try to sleep. I'll try not to toss and turn too much."
"I like having you here." Naruto said unexpectedly. "It's... um... kind of nice."
There was a moment of silence. Naruto was nervous, thinking he'd somehow offended Sasuke, when a quiet snore reached his ears. With a soft snort of laughter, Naruto shook his head and settled down, drifting off soon afterwards to the gentle rumbling of Sasuke's snores.
--
Sasuke ignored the large press of students as he made his way to the front of the auditorium, needing to speak to Naruto's professor. He'd been largely surprised at the amount of coursework he was given, and he wondered if the other professors were just sadistic, or this was Naruto's general run of the day.
It's like he's doing double the work of what I did...Sasuke thought vaguely. Surely he's not smart enough to handle the honors program or accelerated program?
The professor, a mild-looking, surprisingly young man with a mouse-brown hair pulled back in a spiky ponytail and an inexplicable scar across the bridge of his nose, looked up as Sasuke approached, a politely puzzled frown on his face.
"Can I help you, young man?" he asked amiably, looking slightly confused. "I don't think I've seen you in my class before."
Sasuke shook his head at that. "No, I'm here on behalf of one of your other students, Uzumaki Naruto. He's sick and staying with me until he gets better--" He paused and shifted the papers he'd gotten from the other professors. "I'm collecting his work for the next month or so... "
Sasuke was startled as the young professor practically launched himself across his desk at Sasuke, brown eyes wide and panicked.
"You've seen Naruto?" he interrupted, quickly rising into near-hysteria, "Where is he? Is he okay?"
Sasuke backed up slightly, holding up his free hand. "I take it you know him out of your large class." He said dryly, but he was rather pleased to see that the dumb-ass had people concerned about him. "Naruto is staying at my place, so of course I've seen him, and he's recovering from tuberculosis." Now he fixed the professor with a more direct stare. "I assume you noticed that he's been sick?"
With a faint sigh of relief, the professor sat on the edge of his desk, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Of course I have," he said, considerably calmer after having received a confirmation of Naruto's continued existence. "He always likes to brush it off as something he's always had, but I could tell that it was getting worse." He frowned here, "He wouldn't let me refer him to a doctor or anything, though. I've been panicking for the past two weeks, thinking he was dead in a gutter somewhere. Nice to see he cares enough about his old Iruka-sensei to give him a call."
A surprisingly paternal smile on the man's face completely undermined any sarcasm he might have been trying for, and again, Sasuke was taken aback by how much he seemed to care for his student.
He decided to thaw a little, considering how much this "Iruka" seemed to care for his student. "Naruto hasn't been able to call because he's been too sick." Sasuke stated bluntly. "Only recently has he been able to talk consistently without hacking up a lung, and even those conversations are limited." Sasuke knew that those words were hardly comforting, but it wasn't as if he could sweeten the situation, other than reiterate the fact that he was taking care of Naruto.
"He's staying at my personal medical facilities and has people looking after him. If the dumb-ass hadn't collapsed in my arms, he probably would be lying dead in a gutter." Oops, don't think I really meant to say that last part, he thought absently as Iruka's face shifted into panic mode again. Oh, well - no hope for it now.
"Aiya," Iruka wailed quietly, pressing a hand to his head, "I always told him to be careful and take care of himself! And now he's gone and gotten tuberculosis." Rubbing wearily at his temple, Iruka looked up, suddenly seeming to realize that Sasuke had yet to introduce himself. "And you are...?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Uchiha Sasuke." He said blandly. "And I assume you're Iruka." He gave a brief smile. "Since you seem so concerned about him..." Unlike the rest of the staff here...his tone seemed to say. "Then why don't you visit him one day? I'm sure he'd like to see you." And maybe the dumbass will relax and rest enough for his body to recover.
Iruka's eyes lit up.
"Of course I'd like to visit him! Would it be possible to see him tonight?" Then, suddenly seeming to realize his rudeness, he turned faintly pink, "That is, if it isn't impinging upon your time, Uchiha-san."
He paused again, frowning slightly.
"Uchiha-san..." he repeated, tapping his chin, "I've heard that name before."
Sasuke winced mentally and prepared himself as brown eyes widened yet again.
"Ah! Right, I remember now. Kakashi-san was telling me about a young charge of his who had the same surname. It was such a long time ago, though - four or five years, if I remember correctly?" Caught up in his thoughts, Iruka failed to notice Sasuke's tiny sigh of relief as he relaxed. "Ah, it was so amusing - he was telling me of how his charge managed to get himself into an inexplicable situation with two girls, a pair of pantyhose, and a flagpole." Shaking his head and chuckling, Iruka turned back to Sasuke only to find the Uchiha scion looking decidedly murderous as he plotted several ways to kill his butler.
Sasuke coughed when he felt Iruka's eyes on his again. "I think it would be fine for you to see him tonight." Sasuke pushed the thoughts of disemboweling Kakashi with a pair of chopsticks to the back of his mind. "Naruto needs to see other people besides doctors, nurses, and myself." He frowned for a moment. "You'll probably have to wear a mask, I don't know how contagious Naruto is still and I wouldn't want to take any chances."
Iruka nodded at that, waving it off. "That will be fine. It will just be nice to see how he's doing. He's always been by himself, doesn't socialize with many people on campus - he's always studying. Of course, with that accelerated program he's in, I'm not too surprised, but still... he should have more friends."
Sasuke's eyebrows rose. "Accelerated program? Naruto?" He asked in disbelief. "He can't even remember his leftovers at a restaurant!"
Iruka blinked and smiled rather fondly.
"I won't deny that he can be incredibly forgetful at times," he admitted, "But he's a good boy. He works very hard to do well and takes a lot of pride in his work; he's also incredibly loyal to the few friends he has, or so I gather. Oh! That reminds me. Would you mind if I told some of his other friends where he was? They've been worrying about him, as well."
Sasuke blinked at that, not sure that he wanted a great deal of people invading his space. "Not too many at once." He cautioned. It really wasn't fair of him to deny Naruto seeing his friends, after all. He and Naruto barely became friends and he was sure there were other people that he was on more friendly terms with. "I don't want him overwhelmed by people with him so sick." And I don't want strangers blabbing about the Uchiha heir and who knows what else.
Iruka beamed.
"That's just fine. There're two or three people who've been dying to know where he is. Thank you, Uchiha-san." He moved around his desk and began organizing the papers on his desk, looking up at Sasuke with a smile that was definitely thankful. "Would it be okay for me to stop over around seven-thirty tonight?"
At Sasuke's nod, Iruka pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and proceeded to drill him for directions to his house.
He paused briefly when Sasuke gave the address and there was a hint of a smile on his face as he looked back up at Sasuke. "I think I can find it, Uchiha-san." There was a knowing gleam in his eye that renewed Sasuke's desire to murder his butler.
Sasuke gave a brief nod and collected the rest of the notes. "I'll tell Naruto that you're coming. It was nice talking to you, Iruka-san." He hurried out the door before he killed the poor teacher along with Kakashi.
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To be continued…
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Comments and criticism welcomed, as always.
Wolf and Lazuli
