Chapter 6
"Say what now?" Mikoto asked. "Tell me that I didn't just hear you correctly?"
"He told me last night." Fugaku replied. "I don't think he knows what to do right now."
"He shouldn't he's only sixteen for crying out loud. I thought he had more sense than to knock his girlfriend up." Mikoto said shaking her head. "For someone so smart our son is certainly an idiot. I wonder what her parents think?"
"I don't know." Fugaku replied. "But I think Itachi wants to marry her so that the child isn't born out of wedlock."
"That's certainly an option." Mikoto replied. "They'll have to live here of course. I won't have Itachi far away, and I'll be able to help Izumi when she needs it."
"You're okay with her staying here?" Fugaku asked and Mikoto nodded.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Mikoto replied. "I just hope that Itachi doesn't keep her pregnant."
"I don't think he will." Fugaku replied. "He is smart after all."
"Sometimes I wonder." Mikoto told him. "He should have been smart enough to use a condom."
"Everyone has moments of weakness." Fugaku replied, as he started for the door. "Izumi is Itachi's girlfriend, you can't blame him for getting a little hot blooded over her."
"Never planned on being grandparents and parents again at our age." Mikoto said. "This should be a very interesting time, considering we'll be due about the same time."
"It's funny how life turns out sometimes isn't it?" Fugaku asked. "I was just thinking too, I'm wondering if Naruto wasn't supposed to come to us the night his parents died. I know that you and Kushina were close."
"How did he end up in foster care then?" Mikoto asked, missing her old friend.
"I'm thinking chances were Naruto's parents were killed because this person wanted the baby for some reason." Fugaku replied. "It's for sure that he's an Uzumaki though."
"Do you think this Orochimaru person was the one that kidnapped him from the hospital?" Mikoto asked.
"Maybe." Fugaku replied. "I'm certainly going to look into it. It's possible that Naruto had been kidnapped for trafficking purposes, I certainly hope that's not the case but one can never know."
"He's going to need a lot more protection if that's the case, because whose to say that Orochimaru won't come after him again." Mikoto said thoughtfully.
"Don't worry, I have a plan." Fugaku replied. "No one is going to get near him again, not with the intentions of hurting him anyways."
"I'm thinking I'm going to take him to meet Kakashi tomorrow." Mikoto said. "He wants to play soccer and I think having him on the same team as Sasuke will be a good thing." Fugaku nodded.
"Kakashi is a good man and will take care of him, even if he is going through a hard time right now." Fugaku replied. He knew the man had lost the one he loved to cancer and was currently drinking away the memories, but Fugaku believed that once soccer started again, the kids would be able to help pull him out of his stupor, hopefully he wouldn't turn to drinking again, but who knows, Kakashi could end up drinking himself to death.
"I know he is, I'm just worried that he has too much on his plate right now." Mikoto said. "I worry that people are expecting too much out of him. It's not been that long since Iruka died after all."
"I think he just needs a reason to live again." Fugaku replied. "He's hurting but I'm pretty sure being around the kids that Iruka adored will help."
"I hope so." Mikoto murmured as she heard a loud crashing sound, and Sasuke crying out in alarm. Glancing at each other, both Mikoto and Fugaku rushed out of the room, to find Naruto lying in a heap at the bottom of the stairs, his head lying in a small pool of blood.
"What happened?" Mikoto asked as she knelt down next to Naruto, while Fugaku reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone.
"He fell down the stairs." Sasuke said, "One minute he was fine, and the next he tripped over his own feet and down the stairs he went. I don't think he can see very well." Mikoto frowned, she really wished that getting him in to see Tsunade was the first thing that she had done. She felt bed that Naruto had gotten hurt already.
"Is he going to be okay?" Sasuke asked, watching as his mother lifted Naruto's head up onto her lap.
"I think so." Mikoto said quietly. "It looks like he might have a concussion, but I think he's going to be okay. We're going to take him to the hospital just to be sure."
"He doesn't have some sort of brain bleed does he?" Sasuke asked, he'd lost a friend a few years ago to a ruptured vein in the brain, he really didn't want Naruto to die so quickly.
"I don't think so." Mikoto said softly, understanding Sasuke's fear. "The head is thicker than you think."
"That didn't stop Kiba from dying." Sasuke replied automatically. He hated think of the Inuzuka, but during times like these he couldn't help it. He missed his best friend, but nothing he done or said could bring him back.
"Sometimes things go wrong in the brain." Mikoto said gently. "They can't always be stopped, but I think Naruto should be okay, he's probably going to be pretty bruised, but he'll be okay."
"Then why isn't he waking up?" Sasuke asked.
"He hit his head pretty hard I'm sure." Mikoto replied. "But that doesn't mean that he has a brain bleed, he's going to be okay. We're going to get him to the hospital to make sure that everything is okay. So try not to worry so much."
"He's going to be okay, he didn't fall down that many stairs." Itachi told Sasuke, suddenly appearing beside Sasuke. He'd been in the middle of making out with Izumi when he'd heard Sasuke's alarmed cry. He hadn't expected to come upon Naruto lying on the floor, his head in a pool of blood. He could tell that Sasuke was worried, and after what had happened with Kiba, Itachi couldn't exactly blame him. It had been a scary situation to watch his little brother's best friend lie comatose for two weeks before the doctors told them that he didn't have any kind of brain activity and they had take him off of life support. That had been a difficult time for Sasuke. He'd only recently started coming out of the stupor of grief, Itachi really didn't want to see his little brother go through something like that again, it had been too difficult.
"Itachi, we're going to have a talk when we get home." Mikoto said quietly. "But for now keep an eye on your little brother." Itachi nodded and looked over at his father, who was talking on the phone with the paramedics.
"He told me about Izumi." Mikoto said quietly. "I wasn't expecting something like that out of you."
"I didn't intend for it to happen." Itachi replied, "It just sort of happened. I know that I should have been smarter, but even I have my stupid moments."
"We'll discuss what needs to happen once we get Naruto checked out." Mikoto replied. "He needs to come first right now." Itachi nodded, he hated disappointing his parents, but at the same time he wouldn't wish his mistake away. He didn't know that he could want a child as much as he wanted this one.
"I'll keep an eye on Sasuke." Itachi said. "Just call and let us know what's going on with him."
"We will, I don't want to worry Sasuke anymore than necessary, especially after what happened with Kiba." Mikoto said quietly, looking over at the now silent Sasuke, whose eyes were staring at the unconscious Naruto.
"He's going to be okay, you don't have to worry about him." Mikoto said gently. "Tsunade is going to get him all fixed up." Sasuke nodded, but she could still tell that he was worried.
"He might have a concussion, but I don't think he's anything like Kiba was." Mikoto said as Fugaku got off the phone a few seconds later.
"The paramedics should be here in a few minutes." Fugaku said. "Don't worry Sasuke, he's going to be fine. Accidents happen, you don't need to worry so much."
"I can't help but think about what happened with Kiba." Sasuke said quietly. "It's hard to think of him like that."
"He wouldn't want you to think of him the way he was in the hospital. He would want you to be happy and to find some peace with what happened." Mikoto said, turning when she heard the sound of sirens pulling into their drive. "What happened?" Shisui asked as he and Obito entered the house and found the unconscious boy at the bottom of the stairs.
"He tripped over his feet and fell down the stairs." Sasuke told his cousins. "One second he was talking to me and the next he was falling down the stairs."
"Who is he anyways?" Shisui asked as he reached out and placed two fingers on Naruto's throat, feeling the steady pulse.
"He's the homeless boy we're adopting." Fugaku replied. "We kind of found him by accident and decided that he needed a good home."
"Are you sure he's trust worthy?" Shisui asked. "You know there are people out there who would stoop to using a child to destroy you."
"This kid isn't like that, I don't think there's a dishonest bone in his body." Mikoto replied. "We're pretty certain that he's had a hard life up until this point. We just want to make it a little easier for him." Shisui nodded, his aunt seemed absolutely positive about Naruto's intentions, which he supposed he should trust her judgement.
"He's got a strong pulse." Shisui told Sasuke, he could see that his younger cousin was worried. "From the looks of it, he might have a mild concussion."
"Then why isn't he waking up?" Sasuke asked. "The fact that he's not waking up isn't a good sign."
"Sometimes that happens with concussions." Shisui explained. "It doesn't mean that he has a brain bleed or anything." Sasuke just sighed and watched as Shisui and Obito moved Naruto onto the gurney.
"You'll let us know the minute you know something?" Sasuke asked his mother who stood up and started following the paramedics towards the door.
"Of course I will." Mikoto promised. "I won't leave you to worry about him." Sasuke nodded and sighed and went and sat on the chair by the window and watched as Naruto was loaded into the ambulance and taken away.
"It's probably going to be a little while before you hear anything." Itachi said. "I don't think it's a good idea to sit there." Sasuke shrugged.
"I want to be near the phone when mom calls, I don't want to miss out on anything." Sasuke told Itachi. "I'm kind of scared about what's going to happen to Naruto."
"Shisui didn't seem to concerned, so I don't think you should be either." Itachi pointed out. "Besides worrying isn't going to do you any good."
"You know it was kind of like he didn't even see the stairs." Sasuke said quietly. "Which is impossible, we've been running up them all day."
"Maybe, he was still a little sleepy, he did sleep for quite a while." Itachi said. "I don't think there's anything there to be concerned about." Sasuke nodded, he couldn't help but feel like something was going on.
"If there's anything wrong, Tsunade will find it." Itachi said. "She's the best doctor there is and you know it. She'll get him fixed up."
"I certainly hope so." Sasuke said sighed as he returned his attention to the outside world around him.
At the hospital, Mikoto and Fugaku sat in the hospital room, watching while Tsunade and Shizune examined the small boy.
"He looks to be a little underweight." Tsunade commented quietly. "But that's to be expected since you said he's been living on the streets the last few months, I honestly think he should be worse than he is,"
"He had someone who would bring him food as often as possible." Mikoto replied. "But that's going to change, we're adopting him."
"Some good tender care is just what he needs." Tsunade said, as she looked over at the head scans. "There's no signs of trauma, no bleeding or anything to worry about. It just seems like a mild concussion, he might have a headache when he wakes up but that's going to be normal. He'll need to be woken up every few hours just to be on the safe side."
"Did you see anything wrong with his eyes?" Mikoto asked. "Sasuke seems to think that he can't see very well."
"I didn't see anything on the scans." Tsunade replied. "But that doesn't mean there can't be problems down the road. Maybe he's just a little clumsy."
"Maybe." Mikoto replied, as he looked over at Naruto, whose eyes were starting to open. She stood up and walked over to the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Mikoto asked quietly.
"My head hurts." Naruto mumbled. "Where am I? The lights are too bright?"
"We had you brought to Konoha General." Mikoto answered. "You fell down the stairs and scared Sasuke something awful."
"I don't remember that." Naruto mumbled.
"It'll probably come back later when your more rested." Tsunade said. "Temporary memory loss tends to happen with concussions. It should come back once you start feeling better."
"Who are you?" Naruto blinking multiple times like he was trying to focus on the blurry woman in front of him."
"I'm Tsunade, I'm the one Mikoto runs too when one of the boys get hurt." Tsunade replied. "Normally, Sasuke manages to get himself hurt. I was surprised that it was someone new this time."
"I seem to have found them by accident, and they wanted me to come live with them." Naruto mumbled,
"I couldn't stand the thought of leaving me out in the streets, especially since winter is approaching." Mikoto said. "I just want to make sure that he's healthy, and happy."
"That's all any good parent wants for their children." Tsunade said. "But it is possible that Naruto may need glasses, I would take him to the eye doctors just to be sure, if your that worried about him not being able to see very well." Mikoto nodded.
"Can we bring him home tonight?" She asked, she didn't want Sasuke to worry any more than was necessary.
"I want to keep him here overnight just to make sure that he doesn't develop any complications." Tsunade said.
"That's a good idea." Mikoto replied. "I would rather that he be okay, and I'm sure Sasuke will understand that too. He's worried that Naruto has some sort of brain bleed."
"You can't blame him after what happened to Kiba." Tsunade said. "It's just a shame that happened to one so young. Kiba was a good kid. I always regretted not being able to do more for him."
"Did you ever figure out how he ended up with a brain bleed?" Mikoto asked, last she'd heard they had no idea how it happened. Tsunade shook her head.
"No, I think it's possible that he just had a weak vein in his brain and it burst." She replied. "I wish I had more answers for the family but that was the only thing I could figure out."
"You don't think it was some sort of abuse do you?" Mikoto asked. "Because every time he came over to my house he was covered in bruises. It kind of made me think that he didn't have the best home life."
"Did you ever report it?" Tsunade asked and Mikoto nodded. "I did once."
"What happened?" Tsunade asked.
"He ended up with the brain bleed and he died." Mikoto replied.
"If that's not suspicious, I don't know what is." Tsunade replied. "I find it very convenient that he died before anyone could ask him what was going on."
"Good point." Mikoto said softly. She wouldn't have thought Kiba's family was capable of hurting him but stranger things had happened. "Is there a way you can check and see if Naruto has been sexually abused?" Mikoto asked and Tsunade frowned.
"I can do a rape kit but I don't think it would turn out anything if the abuse hasn't been recent." Tsunade replied. "Have you tried asking him about it?" Mikoto shook her head.
"We know that he's been physically abused, we just aren't sure if he's been sexually abused or not, we want to know so that we know what kind of help to get him. We just don't want to ask and end up traumatizing him even further." Tsunade nodded, she could understand that.
"I think I'll try that route before performing a physical exam, especially if it ends up being unnecessary." Tsunade told them. "I would rather not put him through that." Mikoto nodded and looked over at Naruto who was still blinking up at the lights, she could tell that he was still feeling a little confused. She hated to have to ask such questions when he wasn't feeling well, but it was something that they needed to know.
"Hey, kiddo." Tsunade said quietly, getting Naruto's attention. "I have a few questions for you, I know you don't feel well so all you have to do is nod your head for yes and shake your head for no. Do you understand?" Naruto nodded. "Has any adult or older kid touched you in places where you shouldn't be touched?" Tsunade asked quietly, and Naruto shook his head. "Has anyone ever tried to force you perform sexual acts on them?" Again Naruto shook his head, and Mikoto couldn't help but feel relieved, she really hated the thought of Naruto being taken advantage of.
"Thank you for being honest." Tsunade said quietly. "You can rest now, sweet boy." Naruto nodded and his eyes drifted shut just a few seconds later.
"That's a relief." Mikoto commented. "So that means the nightmares are likely just because of the physical abuse that he's had to endure."
"Therapy is still a good idea to help him with that." Tsunade said. "Maybe in time, he'll be able to get through it and have a good, long happy life."
"I plan on that anyways." Mikoto replied. "I'll do what I have to to ensure that he's treated better from now on."
"He seems like a sweet boy." Tsunade said. "It's a shame that someone tried to beat that gentleness out of him."
"He's a very sweet boy." Mikoto said. "Sasuke is already attached." She grimaced, she needed to call Sasuke and let him know what was going on. Knowing him, he was sitting by the phone waiting for her to call.
"I'll go call Sasuke." Fugaku said, "You stay with Naruto." Mikoto nodded and once Fugaku had left the room, Tsunade turned towards Mikoto.
"You know who he is don't you?" She asked.
"She's Kushina's and Minato's boy." Mikoto replied. "I thought he'd died in childbirth but apparently, he was taken from the hospital the night that his parents died."
"He was supposed to go to you and Fugaku anyways if something happened to them." Tsunade replied. "Except someone else decided that wasn't going to happen."
"We're pretty sure we know who that person is." Mikoto replied. "It's just going to be a matter of time before we find him."
"Who do you think it is?" Tsunade asked.
"Orochimaru. As far as we know he's the only person whose had Naruto, I bet the legal records were faked." Mikoto said.
"There's no way in hell that a child should be placed with that vile man." Tsunade scowled. "I bet your right about him faking the records. What did he want with Naruto anyways?"
"I don't know." Mikoto replied. "But that's at the top of the list of the questions to be asked when he's found."
"Hopefully, he doesn't have any other children." Tsunade said. "Because I'm sure they'll be going through hell as well." Mikoto nodded, she hated the thought of Orochimaru having any other kid's because there wouldn't be much that Mikoto could do for them aside from having Orochimaru tossed into prison for the rest of his life.
"You done what you could for Naruto though." Tsunade said. "Sometimes that's enough, it's going to have to be enough for now."
"Yes, I just hate the idea of other children having to suffer." Mikoto replied. "And knowing that I can't do anything for them."
"Believe me when I say that getting Orochimaru thrown into prison will be enough, they'll get to go to another home and have a chance at a normal happy life." Tsunade pointed out.
"I get what your saying, and that should be enough, but I keep getting the feeling that there's more that I can do." Mikoto said.
"There's really not unless you want to end up with a home full of broken children." Tsunade said. "And I don't think that that's something you can handle with a baby of your own on the way, and a grandchild on the way as well."
"You know about Itachi and Izumi?" Mikoto asked and Tsunade nodded.
"Izumi came to me when she first found out that she was pregnant." Tsunade replied. "Her parents are not very happy people right now."
"I should say not, she's fifteen." Mikoto replied. "That's a little young to have to get married by anyone's standards. Itachi should have been smarter if he was going to fool around like that."
"He just got a little hot blooded, it still happens for you and Fugaku does it not? You wouldn't be pregnant now if it didn't." Tsunade said.
"The only difference is that we are adults and he's still a kid." Mikoto pointed out. "He doesn't need to be having sex right now. The good news is I don't think Sasuke will even think about trying it for a long time."
"Why's that?" Tsunade asked.
"Him and Naruto walked in on me and Fugaku having sex on the couch." Mikoto said and Tsunade chuckled.
"You couldn't have made it to a bedroom?" Tsunade asked.
"It started out as a make out session, we hadn't intended on going that far." Mikoto replied.
"Perhaps, that's how it started for Itachi as well." Tsunade replied. "He can't exactly control his hormones."
"He still should have used some common sense. I'm not prepared to be a grandparent just yet." Mikoto answered.
"I don't think anyone ever is, but I'm sure it's a job you'll be great at. I can't see you not helping Izumi out." Tsunade said.
"I'll do anything I can." Mikoto agreed. "Especially if her parents end up kicking her out. No grandchild of mine is going to be homeless. It's bad enough that Kushina's boy had to suffer like that."
"He'll have a good life from now on though." Tsunade replied. "But I would make sure to get him an appointment to see the eye doctor."
"I'll do that." Mikoto said just as Naruto started to moan on the bed.
"Leave me alone, Orochimaru." Naruto hissed his body turned over onto his side as he attempted to curl up into a ball. "I don't want to be used as spare parts for whatever sick project your working on." Mikoto and Tsunade glanced at each other, maybe Naruto's nightmares could tell them the information they needed to know.
"Stop, please!" Naruto begged, "I don't want to die." Mikoto grimaced and reached out and gently touched Naruto's cheek, only to have the boy flinch away from her. His eyes shot open and he panted harshly as he stared up at the overhead light.
"Sweetheart, you're safe. You're not going back to that man." Mikoto said gently.
"He was making clones of people." Naruto mumbled. "He threatened to use me as spare parts for a clone that wasn't doing very well. I ran away before that could happen."
"Why was he cloning children?" Tsunade asked.
"To be sold into sex trafficking. He figured if he could clone children he could keep on selling them without anyone being aware of what he was doing." Naruto mumbled. He hated thinking about it, hating to think about the misery of living with Orochimaru.
"That would explain why he doesn't want to be found." Mikoto said. "But I'm honestly surprised that he hasn't tried finding you in order to keep you from saying anything."
"He doesn't want to risk one of the clones getting loose." Naruto replied. "I was only ever meant to be spare organs for them, so I never really mattered."
"He's never going to get his hands on you again, and he's going to be arrested for child trafficking." Mikoto promised. "And I can assure you once the other prisoners find out what he's been up to, they'll send him to hell where he belongs." Mikoto seriously hoped they made it as painful as possible. It was nothing less than he deserved for what he put the other children through.
"I'm sorry, you've had to experience such pain at his hands. You'll be able to have a good life with us." Mikoto promised, as she continued to gently stroke Naruto's cheek. Her heart broke that he'd been put through so much only to be told that he was spare parts for a clone that was meant to be trafficked. Mikoto only hoped that she could protect Naruto the way he deserved to be. She didn't want him to experience any more pain, she wanted him to be able to experience true happiness, she wanted him to be able to enjoy being a child without the worries of the world on his shoulders.
"I wasn't expecting to hear that." Tsunade said. "That man's more evil than I could ever imagine."
"He has to be caught, he can't get by with what he's doing." Mikoto said. "I have no doubt he'll try and kill Naruto if he thinks that Naruto is going to talk about what he was doing to the clones."
"Naruto is safe now, there's no way in hades that man is going to get near him." Fugaku said from the doorway. "I've done called Madara in, and he's going to help us track this creep down."
"Good." Mikoto said. Fugaku's brother, Madara was into special ops missions so she didn't think this would be a hard job for him. "I hope you told him to eliminate him on sight."
"Despite being evil, he has the right to a speedy and fair trial." Fugaku pointed out. "Not that I wouldn't mind him being eliminated." Mikoto snorted.
"How's Sasuke?" She asked.
"According to Itachi, he's been sitting by the window all night. I told him that I didn't think Naruto would be coming home tonight."
"I'm sure that didn't make things much better for him." Mikoto said. "You know how he likes to worry. Especially after what happened with Kiba."
"I explained that Naruto had a concussion and that Tsunade wanted to keep an eye on it just to be safe." Fugaku said. "But that probably only made things worse."
"Maybe not, Itachi is pretty good at calming him down." Mikoto said. "But it might be a good idea for you to go home, I'm going to stay with Naruto tonight, I don't want him to be alone." Fugaku nodded.
"Madara is going to start looking for that creep immediately, he has a few places where he thinks the snake is hiding." Fugaku said. "I don't think your going to have to worry about him tonight." Mikoto nodded, he really hoped that the man was found and put on trial quickly. The sooner he was caught the sooner Naruto didn't have to deal with him anymore.