Remember When Chapter 2, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Author's Note: I'm here with chapter two! I want to thank you all for your reviews, it helped me keep wanting to write the story and get this chapter up. Um, since I really have nothing else to say, I'll just let you all read. Enjoy! --SilverRose88.

Chapter Two

They wouldn't let me see him for five days. Five whole days, and I found myself slowly going insane. How could they not realize how much I needed to see him? How could they not have noticed that I was frantically getting worse because of being restricted from seeing him? Okay, they did notice that I was getting worse, but they didn't understand that if I could just have seen him, once, even, that I would have gotten better. Seeing him would have salvaged my anxiety. But, they didn't realize that. They only saw what the machines said and the fact was that I was getting worse. I had worried myself into a fever and that didn't seem to go well with my cuts and bruises because they all opened up again. One day I had to change bandages three times because they kept bleeding and bleeding.

But it wasn't only my worrying for Naruto that was causing me more pain. I hated hospitals and couldn't stand being in them for more than twenty-four hours. For me being stuck in one room with bandages, IV's and other crap stuck into me or over me, especially with Naruto in the state that he was, it was starting to get to me. I had never had a good experience with hospitals. My first time at one was when I had been four, and had gotten my first shots. Of course, no child likes being poked with a needle, but I couldn't stand it. My brother teased me quite a bit for crying my eyes out, but I couldn't help it. The other time I had been in a hospital was the night my parents had been burned in a fire. I'd been stuck out in the waiting room with Itachi and we'd been waiting all night to see if our parents could have been cured. However, they hadn't survived and, at the age of seven, it had been traumatizing.

So, you can see that my hate of hospitals had come from a good stem, and even though I was now nineteen, my hatred for the disinfectant-smelling place hadn't gone down a bit.

And, then, of course, there was Naruto. He was in a coma, and had been for a total for six days. He was in a room that was on the opposite side of the floor I was on and was being watched constantly for any signs of movement. He was supposed to wake up with some form of amnesia, having no memory whatsoever of the crash and even things earlier than that. The doctors weren't sure what type of amnesia he would get, and not knowing was driving me mad. I couldn't help but wonder if he would forget me, too.

After five days, once my fever had gone down, my nurse, whose name I'd later found out was Rika, took me to see Naruto. My anxiety for his welfare made it almost impossible for me to even stand, but when Rika had suggested a wheelchair, I adamantly refused. I was an Uchiha, and would not be pushed around in a wheelchair. Therefore, I walked and I walked, and I made it to my Naruto's room, and looked in through the glass on the door. I had never felt so afraid before in my life.

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"You can go inside if you'd like," a soft voice said behind him.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to see his nurse watching him worriedly.

"I know you're hurting, dear. Your teacher told me about your relationship with him, so go on inside and let it out. I'll tell the nurses to give you some time alone," Rika said.

Despite himself, Sasuke was starting to really like his nurse. "Thanks," he mumbled and then walked inside the room.

The room was identical to Sasuke's on the other side of the floor, with the exception that there were more machines and the fact that the window shades were drawn closed. That instantly bothered him; Naruto loved the sun, loved being outdoors. How could they even fathom drawing the shades? Sasuke walked over to the windows and pulled the shades open, letting the sun shine in through the glass and bask over Naruto's body, giving the boy an ethereal glow. Sasuke sighed in relief; that was how it should be.

He walked over to Naruto's side and sat down in the fold-up chair that had been placed there. Breathing deeply from within his lungs, he finally turned his gaze onto Naruto for the first time in almost a week. As he stared at the figure lying motionless on the bed, Sasuke could only think that this wasn't Naruto. There was no way this could be Naruto. The Naruto he knew was lively, active and grinning that odd grin all the time. This Naruto was pale, helpless and immobile. What had happened to his Naruto?

Sasuke shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. It wasn't going to help anything if he started going insane. He knew this was his Naruto; there could only be one person in the entire world named Uzumaki Naruto, and this was definitely him. But, Sasuke was having a hard time coming to terms with it. Naruto wasn't the kind of person who could handle being restrained on some hospital bed with IV's stuck up his arm.

He doesn't know he's in a hospital, remember? the voice in his head reminded him.

Sasuke shuddered slightly, remembering that Naruto was in a coma and had no idea where he was or what he was doing. Naruto was in this state because…because of him.

It's my fault he's stuck here like this. If I hadn't been so annoyed by him that night and had just let him listen to whatever damn radio station he wanted to, then…then…neither of us would be here right now…We'd have celebrated our anniversary and…and everything would be fine. He-He wouldn't be lying here in a coma.

"Dammit!" Sasuke exclaimed putting his face in his hands. "Why-Why did I do that? Why didn't I just let him do what he wanted, at least for that night? It's my fucking fault he's lying here…here, looking like…"

Sasuke glanced up into the blonde's face that was pale and expressionless. His eyes were shut, and his body lay there with no movement whatsoever. Sasuke felt his heart begin to crack again as he reached a hand out and slowly ran his fingers over Naruto's cheek, wincing slightly at how cold his skin felt. But he willed himself to gone on; letting his fingers trace around the blonde's face, eyelids, nose, and lips, before reaching down and grasping Naruto's hand in his own.

Even though he knew Naruto couldn't hear him, he still quietly said the words that Uchiha's never said easily, "Naruto…I-I'm sorry…This was all my fault."

"If-If I hadn't gotten so annoyed by you then you wouldn't be stuck like this," Sasuke muttered inaudibly, his grip around the blonde's hand tightening. "Ple-Please get better soon. You have to get better soon. …I-I don't know what I'll do without you…"

Just then there was a knock on the door and someone called, "Sasuke?"

The young Uchiha looked up quickly and glared at his brother. "Get lost," he growled, annoyed that Itachi might have heard his previous confession.

If Itachi had heard anything, he didn't show it on his face. Instead, he walked inside and said, "I know you want to stay, but your doctor is here and wants to check up on you. You'll probably be released soon, so come on."

"Get lost," Sasuke growled again.

Itachi folded his arms and repeated, "Sasuke, come on."

"I said, get lost."

"Listen, sitting here is not going to get you better," Itachi said. "I know you're worried about Naruto, we all are, but you can't sit in here all day."

"Just go away."

Itachi sighed and walked over to Sasuke's side. He placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and said, "I understand how you're feeling, but--"

"No, you don't know how I'm feeling!" Sasuke exclaimed as he turned to face Itachi, swatting the older Uchiha's hand off his shoulder. "You can't understand at all what I'm going through right now! So don't start preaching to me about some stupid crap."

"I'm not preaching to you, Sasuke," Itachi said calmly as he watched his brother worriedly. However, his concern only credited to annoy Sasuke off even more.

The younger Uchiha jumped to his feet and exclaimed, "Quit looking at me like that! I'm fine, there's nothing wrong with me! Those damn doctors should help him!" Sasuke pointed down at Naruto. "They should help Naruto get better! He's the one suffering!"

I think you're suffering more than Naruto is, Sasuke, Itachi thought sadly as he stared at Sasuke, wondering what he could say to calm him down. "S-Sasuke, listen--" he began, but Sasuke cut him off again.

"Shut up! Just get the hell out!" he exclaimed, looking away. He sat back down on the chair and said, "Can you please just leave me alone?"

Itachi sighed again. "You have five minutes until the doctor gets here. I expect you to be in your room when he arrives."

The older Uchiha then walked swiftly out of the room.

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Dr. Hanada was a old prickly looking man with thick glasses and an annoying, scrutinizing gaze. Sasuke hated him immediately, and therefore, just sat on the bed staring lividly at the wall while his doctor checked over his charts.

"Well, Sasuke," he said in a nasally voice that also annoyed Sasuke off. "You're looking good. You've recovered from the fever perfectly and your cuts and bruises have all healed. I think you're set."

"I'm free to go?" Sasuke asked, glancing at him.

"Yes, you're free to go. Have your brother sign the discharge papers and you can gather your things and hightail it out of here," Hanada said with an attempt to be funny. Sasuke only shifted his gaze back on the wall.

"Now, if anything else happens, come see me again, all right?"

Not a chance in hell. "I think I'll be fine," Sasuke said getting to his feet as the doctor headed towards the door. Just before he left, Sasuke called after him, remembering something he'd wanted to ask. "Uh, wa-wait, I have a question."

Dr. Hanada turned around and nodded. "Sure."

"Do you know any-anything else about, you know, my friend?" Sasuke asked, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed even asking.

"Ah, the Uzumaki boy, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Well, all I know is nothing. I'm sorry, but with comatose patients, it's virtually impossible to tell when they'll wake up or what's exactly wrong," the doctor said. "The only thing I can tell you, is that comatose patients, though physically aware are still mentally aware, sort of. If you sit and talk to him, it can trigger body movement and responses. Comatose patients can wake up, but there are cases when they do not. I hope, for your sake and his, that that doesn't happen."

Sasuke felt his heart break. "T-Thank you," he mumbled.

"No problem," the doctor said before walking out just as Itachi entered.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"Yeah, I-I'll meet you at the car…I have to do something first though," Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded, understanding what Sasuke meant, and left. Sasuke walked out a few seconds after and made his way straight to Naruto's room. Slipping in unnoticed, he shut the door to behind him and walked over to the bedside. He let his eyes roam over the motionless blonde, trying to be strong despite what his doctor had just told him.

No. Naruto will survive this. He will get through this. I'll kill him if he doesn't!

Sasuke sighed and grasped Naruto's hand. The doc said to talk to him, right?

"H-Hey, dobe," Sasuke said. "Wake up, got it? You can pull through this."

Sasuke shut his eyes, picturing a grinning Naruto, wondering what the blonde would say in reply. His lips quirked slightly and he said, "Yes, that was sort of like a compliment. But don't expect it to happen again."
Shaking his head, Sasuke sighed and said, "Listen, I'll be back, all right? Don't worry, okay? I'm coming over every day, no damn nurse or doctor is going to keep me away."

Sasuke almost laughed, thinking to how Naruto would find this confession extremely amusing. "Yes, I'm not acting like my self, but you do that to me."

Sasuke was suddenly a bit glad that Naruto couldn't hear him; the blonde would have mocked him for life.

Just then the door opened and Rika stuck her head in. "There you are," she said. "Who let you in?"

Sasuke replied simply, "I did."

Rika gave him a reprimanding look, but it was then replaced by a soft smile. "I understand. Now, say your goodbyes and go, your brother's waiting for you and Naruto's doctor is coming to check up on his patient."
Sasuke nodded and stood. He looked his Naruto over before leaning down and softly kissing Naruto on the lips. As he did so Sasuke could have sworn he had felt Naruto move, but when he pulled away, there was no other evidence of what he'd felt. He sighed and whispered, "I'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

The imaginary Naruto gave him a bright grin and the thumbs up sign. "I'll be fine!" it said. "Go!"

Sasuke nodded, not caring as much as he should have that he was talking to an imaginary dobe, and then followed Rika out the door.

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I hadn't been aware of how much I needed and relied on Naruto's presence until the first day it was gone. When I returned to my apartment for the first time in almost a week, I stood in the middle of the room, feeling as though I didn't belong there. The walls seemed too plain, the couch too soft, and the bed too stiff. Yet, everything was the same. The living room was exactly how we'd left it the afternoon before the accident: remote control on the couch, couch pillows strewn over the floor because of Naruto's initiated pillow fight, the DVDs we'd picked to watch later still sitting neatly upon one another by the television, and Naruto's ramen cups littered the coffee table. It had made the pain even more unbearable, seeing everything looking just as it had been, and so I had made my way down the hall and to the bedroom. In here I found our unmade bed with Naruto's clothes littering one half of the mattress. Our books and homework cluttered our two desks on opposite sides of the room, with Naruto's side a bit messier than mine.

As I took in the familiar, yet foreign, sight before me, I expected Naruto to come bounding in screaming something stupid like "We're out of ramen! Let's get some!"

But as I had stood there, waiting for the scream I knew would not come, I felt my well place resolve start to break.

After so many years of being around a constant source of annoyance, anger, despair, and happiness, I suddenly found myself lost beyond all words.

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"Have you gone to see him today?"

Sasuke nodded. "I see him every morning before my first class, then at noon, during lunch, and then once after my last class. It's a daily ritual now," he replied.

Haruno Sakura, a 'somewhat' friend, smiled at him from across the table. "That's nice. I went and saw him yesterday, you know. All of us did; me, Ino, Lee, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, even Gaara…The nurse almost fainted at the big crowd."

She shuddered slightly and continued, "It was so sad. I felt like crying. He didn't even look like himself. It was as if someone had stuck a manikin in his place."

"Yeah, I know," Sasuke said tightly.

"Oh, I don't mean to make you upset, Sasuke-kun," she said, touching his hand. "It-It was just so surprising. I-I didn't know what to do. And, he's been like this for what? A week?"

"A week and a half today," Sasuke answered.

While the accident seemed like years ago to anyone else, Sasuke was constantly reminded of it when he awoke alone in bed every morning. Even his dreams sometimes depicted the horrendous crash and Sasuke often awoke in the middle of the night in cold sweats, not able to return to sleep for about an hour.

Everyday for the last week and a half, he went to the hospital and sat by Naruto's bed, holding the blonde's hand and talk to him like the doctor had said. He talked about whatever he could think about: the weather, his teachers and classes, the damn doctors that weren't doing anything. There were also times he just sat there, holding Naruto's hand, and thought about the night of the crash and how everything had been his fault.

No matter what anyone told him, Sasuke had decided that everything that had happened had truly been his fault. He needed to blame someone for what had happened to Naruto and while he didn't want to be the cause of it all, there was no one else. Oh, of course he blamed the doctors for keeping Naruto in a coma; he made it obvious he hated them every time he was in the hospital, but he also blamed the driver in the other car and even blamed those kids playing in the street. Sasuke hadn't found any reason to blame Naruto yet. It hadn't been Naruto's fault Sasuke wasn't watching the road. That had been his own.

Lately, Sasuke had slowly grown accustomed to seeing Naruto three times a day and had come to accept being alone in the apartment. But, Sasuke tried to spend as little time there as possible, preferring to study in the library than alone at home.

At the moment, he was at the Konoha University Library, studying for a class with Sakura, who was a closer friend of Naruto's than she was with him. But, Sasuke needed someone to talk tot, and with Naruto goon, Sakura was runner up, and she seemed glad to keep him company.

"Sasuke-kun, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked.

"How do you think I'm feeling?" he snapped. She asked him this every fucking day and it always irritated him to no end.

Sakura sighed. "The same response again. I know that you don't feel good with Naruto in the hospital---"

"If you know then don't ask."

"Sasuke-kun, we're all worried about you. You're like a walking zombie; sleep, eat, study, and more sleep. That's not good for you," Sakura said.

"And this is different from before, how?"

"I know how much you love Naruto, but you can't keep letting yourself rot like you are! It's not healthy and you'll land yourself in the hospital with Naruto."

"So what? It's better than being stuck out here," Sasuke exclaimed brashly.

Sakura blinked and stared at him for a moment before smiling. "You miss him a lot, don't you?"

Sasuke winced slightly and looked away, not responding.

"It's okay to miss him, you know," Sakura said gently.

"Hmph. Who said I did?" Sasuke lied.

Sakura frowned. "You're such a liar, Sasuke-kun."

"Shut up," he snapped. He then glanced at his watch and got to his feet. "I've got tot go."

"Already? But you didn't even study!" Sakura said.

"Big deal. I'm going down to see Naruto before my next class," Sasuke said, stuffing books in to his shoulder bag.

"See? You do miss him!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke smirked. "Surprising, isn't it?"

As Sakura watched Sasuke run out of the library, she smiled to herself and replied, "No, Sasuke-kun, it's not."