Author's Note: Worked three days straight to get this chapter finished. And since Rae-chan33 was enthusiastic enough to plead, and I quote, in "ALL THAT IS HOLY", who am I to deny her.

Warning: YAOI (Content will be more explicit in later chapters), some swearing, suggestive content.

Disclaimer: I do not own 'Naruto' or any of the characters from the anime/manga.

Bold and Italics flashbacks

The Art of Fabrication (cont.)

(now also known as 'Taof' – brilliant idea of JD01)

By: Nine1991

Chapter 9: With New Opportunities

"He's injured. He needs immediate help."

"Of course, sir. May I ask the name of the patient and the cause of his condition?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. He has been brutally assaulted."

A pause. "I don't see any serious injuries. He will have to wait until a doctor is available."

"No serious injuries! He's bleeding to death for god's sakes! He needs medical attention right n-"

"Uchiha-san! What's with all th – oh god, Naruto! What happened?!"

"He's been assaulted."

"Someone call Hokage-sama immediately!"

-LineBreak-

Sasuke sat, staring blankly at the whitewashed walls of the hospital corridor. Staring, but not processing. Seeing, but not comprehending. The dull echoing of the clock situated above the bleached double doors that the Hokage had madly rushed through ringing in his ears – goading him, taunting him. Each second seemed to pass by slower, seemed to drag as the night got older until one second felt like five seconds and five seconds felt like thirty seconds and a minute felt like an eternity.

He had been waiting for what seemed like an age – but what was it really? Two hours? Three hours? – until the rigidity of his spinal cord had melted down to a buzzing numbness, leaving him slouched, muted and strangely cold, staring at the whitewashed walls in front of him because, really, he'd rather stare at that then at that goddamn clock that seemed to laugh at him with every tick of its second-hand. He glanced at it, even though he knew it was against his better judgment. Three past one. It's been two hours and fifty-two minutes. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He was no medic-nin, but were surgeries supposed to take this long?

Sasuke's breath hitched as the creaking of the double doors registered in his ears, his gaze snapped to focus just in time to see the Hokage stepping out, Shizune close behind her.

The Hokage looked weary as she slowly shrugged off the white surgeon's overcoat, as if she had aged years rather than hours within the operation room. She handed the coat to Shizune, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her shirt before accepting the Hokage robe handed to her and slipping it on. Shizune stepped forward to adjust and smoothen down the robes, and Sasuke chose that moment to stand up and approach the two silent women.

He took a deep breath. "How is Naru-"

The Hokage whirled around, all traces of fatigue forgotten, and before he could even comprehend what had happened he was pinned to the wall, a fist in his shirt and his feet dangling some distance off the floor. His hands flew up to pry away the hand reflexively, but felt his blood go arctic cold the moment his eyes met furious amber.

"I ordered you to protect him!" Tsunade bellowed, and the emptiness of the corridor and the echo that followed seemed to only add to the volume, making Sasuke inwardly cringe. Tsunade's lips were pulled into an ugly snarl, the image of the lazy, witty Hokage long shattered, leaving the lioness herself to take the reins. Her eyes were livid as she yanked the Uchiha forward only to crash him back into the wall, and there was a satisfying thunk as the back of Sasuke's head once again collided harshly with the hard surface. "Keep him safe. That's all I asked you to do. But it seems you can't even do that." She jerked him forward, as if the shinobi weighed no more than a rag doll, and her eyes narrowed as she growled into his face, "I told you that there would be dire consequences if you failed."

Sasuke stared determinedly back, and even though it felt like every muscle in his body had seized up, he refused to back down from the Hokage's gaze. Tsunade's expression twisted bitterly and her other hand that was by her side seemed to twitch in a desperate need to move, until –

"Don't, Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade glanced at Shizune, saw the worry and disapproval on her assistant's face, and sighed bitterly. She looked to the side, down the corridor where a few curious and slightly frightened faces had peered around the corner to see what all the commotion was about, all of which looked positively alarmed to see their esteemed Hokage's brutal handling of a shinobi under her command. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, and Sasuke could hear her grit lowly from between clenched teeth, "Never asked for this fucking job," as she released the grip on his shirt. Sasuke collapsed heavily onto the floor. He didn't bother to look up as the flutter of robes and the brisk sound of fading footsteps signaled the Hokage's departure.

Sasuke was numb, ignorant of all things except the thundering of the blood pounding in his ears as he remained in his spot on the floor, staring at nothing, hearing nothing, not even the hushed whispers that followed the Hokage's leaving. Which was why he didn't register the sound of soft, approaching footsteps until there was a hand at his shoulder and a gentle voice in his ear. "Uchiha-san. Are you alright?"

Sasuke blinked, bringing himself out of his stupor, and calmly turned to the owner of the voice. He shrugged the hand off his shoulder and smoothly picked himself up off the floor, ignoring the outstretched hand offering support. "I'm fine, Haruno-san," was his clipped reply as he straightened his clothes, glancing towards the white double-doors that lead to the operation room.

Sakura followed the direction of his gaze, giving a small smile when she realized what he was looking at. "Naruto's been moved to a different room. Would you like me to take you there?"

"No, that's fine. I'll find my own way there."

Sakura's smile faltered slightly at the Uchiha's cold, impersonal tone, but hitched back up almost immediately. It was silly of her. Of course he would be in a foul mood, considering that Naruto was injured. After all, he was supposed to be the one protecting him. "Well, Naruto's in room 108. It's just down that corridor and to your right," she said, motioning behind him. The Uchiha nodded, and Sakura gave a small smile as she watched him leave silently in the direction she had informed him.

-LineBreak-

…beep…beep…beep…beep…

Naruto scrunched up his nose as he pressed his face further into the pillows in an attempt to muffle out the incessant beeping. 'Damn it! Was it time to wake up already?'

He threw his right hand out, fumbling blindly for that annoying alarm clock so he could press the snooze button. Really, it should be a crime to wake up so early. He didn't know how people like Sasuke could do it.

His brows furrowed when his hand swept across nothing, and in a desperate attempt to hold on to the last vestiges of sleep, he flung his left hand over as well. Two hands were better than one after all, or something like that. But he froze when, instead of feeling the creaking of tired muscles beginning to function, he felt…nothing. In fact – and he started to panic – he couldn't feel anything at all below his left shoulder. Nor anything below his hips! He sucked in a deep breath of air, letting it out slowly, quite the contrary to his steadily racing heartbeat. 'Calm down. This must be some stupid-ass dream. I'm gonna wake up any minute and regain all feeling in my limbs."

He took another deep breath before letting it out in a loud whoosh, then another, then another, and a completely inappropriate part of his mind snidely registered just how much he was acting like a pregnant woman in labour. He winced, adjusting his breathing to a more calming pace before slowly counting backwards from three. At zero, he wrenched his eyes open, fully expecting to see the faded cream of his bedroom ceiling when instead he was met with white, white, white.

'Oh god! I've been abducted!' was the first thought that entered his head as his eyes scaled the almost blindingly white ceiling.

'Neh, don't be stupid, Naruto!' An image of Sakura appeared in his mind's eye and he could almost imagine the power-packed punch that would follow if the pink-haired kunoichi was with him. He couldn't help the fond smile from taking over his face. No, he was being stupid. Think like a ninja, he chided himself.

His eyes left the ceiling as he tilted his head to observe his surroundings more. White walls, flowers, some weird beeping machine and that annoying clinically clean smell that seemed to sear his nostrils. No, not abducted, but a hospital. Konoha's hospital. And Naruto's eyes widened as it all started coming back to him like a rush of flood water – the Kyuubi festival, the Hokage mountain, the group of men, that ninja with the horrid teeth, and pain on excruciating pain. He paled as he tried to wriggle his legs and left arm and felt no responding movement. Cold seized his heart in a vice grip and he shut his eyes tight as a feeling of foreboding came over him. 'Oh god, the damage must have been too great. Baa-chan must have amputated everyth-'

"What the hell are you doing, usuratonkachi? Have a stomachache or something?"

Naruto paused, his eyes slipping open as he turned to the side where, in a chair in the corner, Sasuke sat looking at him with a skeptical expression on his face.

"M-my legs!" Naruto choked out.

Sasuke raised a bemused brow as his dark eyes swerved to the end of the bed before returning to Naruto's face. "What about them?" he grunted, and his voice clearly portrayed something along the lines of you-are-stupid-and-weird-and-I-don't-understand-you.

Cobalt eyes followed the direction that Sasuke's had just taken and rested on two blanket-covered forms. He brought his right hand over and prodded each of them with a finger, testing the shape and texture, before placing his full hand over it, gripping and feeling up and up until he reached a knee, then a thy, then a hip. Hey, it was his own hip!

"Should I leave the room and give you some privacy?" Sasuke's low voice drawled, staring pointedly at Naruto's hand, which was ecstatically testing the connection between his legs and his hip.

Naruto beamed. "Nothing's amputated!" He laughed as he prodded his left arm, which was in a sling. "I can still become Hokage!"

Sasuke blinked slowly, wisely choosing not to voice his bewilderment at the blonde's bizarre behavior. Really, he should be used to this by now. "Of course nothing's amputated, moron," he muttered, leaning back against his chair.

"Then why can't I move anything?" Naruto asked, massaging his left leg with his one useable hand in hopes of encouraging muscle movement.

Sasuke shrugged. "Hokage-sama must have done something to your locomotion sensors." He brought up a hand to stifle a yawn.

Naruto observed Sasuke curiously as the Uchiha closed his eyes momentarily, pressing fingers against his eyelids. Sasuke looked tired, and with his dark hair mussed and sticking up crookedly at the back, it was safe to assume that he had previously been sleeping. Blue eyes trailed over the numerous wrinkles on the Uchiha's usually impeccable uniform, at the standard hospital blanket pooled on the dark-haired shinobi's lap and the way he discreetly tensed his muscles into a stretch. Naruto winced. That chair didn't look comfortable in the slightest. Just how long had Sasuke been sleeping here?

"How long was I out?" Naruto asked softly.

Sasuke glanced back at the blond, slowly crossing his arms over his chest. "Not long. A couple of days."

"You've been sleeping in that chair for a couple of days?!"

Sasuke stretched his legs a little further in an act of nonchalance. "It's my job."

Naruto fell silent, and there was a brief moment of nothing but the steady beeping of the heart-rate monitor before Naruto's timid voice brought up, "You want a pillow?"

Just as Sasuke was about to refuse the offer, the door at the opposite end of the room burst open to admit the Hokage, her stature tall and her pace brisk as she marched over to the bed that held an immobile Naruto. She stopped when she reached his side, rhythmically reading the clipboard in her hand as she checked the I.V. drip and the needle in his arm.

Naruto cleared his throat loudly. "Um…baa-chan," and he flinched as her sharp eyes turned to him, "Er…why can't I feel my legs and my left arm?"

She glared at him, and Naruto cowered. "You were beaten half to death. You should be thankful that you're still breathing," she snapped, her voice acid as she yanked the needle in his arm perhaps a little harsher than necessary. He flinched, but Tsunade paid him no heed.

"I always end up fine, anyway…" Naruto mumbled grumpily under his breath, but unfortunately the Hokage's sharp ears managed to catch his comment and Naruto felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he registered the dangerous glint in her eye.

"You-" and Naruto pushed himself further into the pillows as Tsunade leaned closer, a finger pressing insistently into the middle of his forehead, "-are not immortal! Do you not understand the seriousness of your injuries? Four broken ribs! A punctured lung!" Her voice steadily increased, getting louder and louder as her eyes narrowed further and further. "Three areas of internal bleeding! Trauma to the skull! Numerous fractures in the bone! Limbs shattered almost beyond repair! Not to mention the uncountable amount of lacerations!" Her poisonous glare switched to the Uchiha sitting in the corner, and it was clear her words were jibes at him as much as they were chidings to the blond lying in the hospital bed. For a moment, he wondered if she was going to start shoving her finger into his forehead as well, until her fiery gaze switched back to Naruto. "Do not tell me that you would have been fine when I saw myself just how close you were to not waking up this morning!"

Naruto hung his head as Tsunade's gaze continued to burn fiery holes into the side of his skull. He looked genuinely miserable as his hands awkwardly fiddled with the sheets, clenching and unclenching the white fabric between his fingers.

Tsunade's expression softened slightly. "Leave us a moment, Uchiha," she commanded solemnly over her shoulder, her eyes never once leaving the blond as Sasuke retreated silently out of the room.

At the gentle click of the closing door, she stood up straight, walking over to the corner of the room where she hooked a hand over the back of the chair Sasuke had originally occupied and dragged it over to beside the bed. She sat herself onto it, crossing her arms over her ample chest as she pinched the bridge of her nose wearily, letting out a deep sigh.

"It's not his fault," Naruto said quietly, staring blankly into the covers, "I was the one who sneaked out, so don't punish him, okay baa-chan?"

Tsunade's lips pursed into a thin line at the mention of the Uchiha, her forehead deeply creased and for once, she looked exactly her age. She closed her eyes and her nostrils flared slightly as she fought to keep her temper in check. "Uchiha found you, bloodied and broken in front of the Hokage tower. I want to know what happened, how many were there, and who they were."

Naruto remained mute, and Tsunade crossed her legs, clasping her hands together in a gesture of forced calm. "A name, Naruto. That's all I need."

Not a single word left the blonde's lips, and Tsunade's face darkened as she stood up abruptly, in her frustration swinging the chair beneath her out so harshly that it shattered into pieces of jagged timber against the hospital wall. Naruto not so much as flinched at the sound, too busy keeping his eyes trained on his own lap.

"Goddamn it, Naruto! You are no longer bound! Why can't you see that!" Tsunade shouted, before her voice lowered to a gentler tone. "It's been nine years, Naruto." She stood, looking imploringly at the blond, who seemed to be fighting some internal struggle judging by the iron-grip he had on the sheets scrunched in his hands. When she received no vocal reply, she sat herself down onto the bed by the blonde's feet, leaning closer and encasing each tanned, tensed fist within her own. In her proximity, she managed to catch small parts of Naruto's soft mutterings.

"…of Konoha…at cost of death…"

She sighed, bringing a hand up to firmly grip Naruto's chin as she tilted his face up until it looked squarely into hers. The pupils of his eyes were dilated and tinged a blood-red around the edges, but his muttering ceased when Tsunade spoke, the grip on his chin tightening slightly, "It's over, Naruto. You're no longer bound by anything." She noticed his grip on the sheets loosening, and continued, voice soft and soothing. "A name, Naruto. That's all I need."

The crimson of Naruto's eyes seemed to slowly fade into its brilliant blue background, and Naruto's lips opened, his voice slightly shaky, "T-the leader was a Chuunin. I heard one of the group call him…Hiro."

Tsunade lips curved into a winning smile, and she released her grip on his chin as she brought it up higher to ruffle his unruly, blond hair. "I'm proud of you, gaki."

Naruto glanced up at her, a shaky smile on his face as he softly replied, "Thanks, baa-chan."

Tsunade leaned back into her seat on the mattress by the blonde's feet, resting her weight casually against an arm. She smirked at him. "So…I've got news, gaki."

Naruto's forehead creased as he reclined back into his pillow. "What's that got to do with me?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "The news, it's about you."

"Oh. And?"

She studied her nails nonchalantly. "I had a meeting with the council a couple of days ago. You remember that Jounin promotion you've been pining after?"

"NO WAY!!" Naruto shouted, eyes going as wide as saucers as he hoisted himself up into a sitting position (quite a difficult feat considering his legs were rendered useless at the moment). He ran a hand slowly through his messy blond spikes, before laughing loudly, the cheerful sound brightening up the room more so than even the lights were able to. He looked to Tsunade, a bright grin on his face. "I can't believe I'm a Jounin."

She fondly smiled at his happiness, watched as his eyes glazed over in a dreamy haze, probably picturing visions of dangerous missions and life-threatening situations. 'Boys,' she thought affectionately, 'I never will understand them.' She smoothly stood up from the mattress, and cleared her throat softly. "Seeing as you're so overjoyed, I suppose you wouldn't care that I also got you instated as my apprentice for Hokage training."

The goofy smile melted right off Naruto's face, and for a moment, she wondered if maybe he had stopped breathing altogether. He let out a choppy breath, collapsing bonelessly back onto the mattress as he stared, stunned, at the white ceiling. He didn't utter a single sound, and Tsunade's bemused thought was that maybe she should have waited to tell him another day, seeing as the shock of it all might have been too much for him. She smiled knowingly as she walked to the door, leaving him to process his thoughts. Before she exited the room, she tossed over her shoulder, "Oh, and Naruto, I've fiddled with your motor skills so that you won't be able to move your legs or your left arm for a couple of days. The fractures in the bones need maximum stability to heal, something I can't provide if you're always moving about." And with that, she left the room, not caring if her words were actually comprehended by the stunned blond lying in the hospital bed or not.

As Tsunade stepped out, Sakura, who had just been about to visit Naruto, felt a sense of dread. She veered to the side, away from the Hokage's path as she walked briskly past. "Hiro, huh?" she heard the Hokage mutter under her breath, a malicious smile blooming on her face and the murderous glint in her eye seemed to sparkle. She shivered as the Hokage turned a corner and out of sight, somehow feeling very sorry for this 'Hiro' person and wondering just what they did to enrage the Hokage so.

-LineBreak-

Sasuke entered room 108, and came face to face to a very pleasantly surprised Sakura who smiled charmingly at him. He ignored it, however, and merely stepped aside to let her through as she seemed to have her hands full with – and his eyebrows rose slightly in wonderment – a pile of wood. She breathed out a loud disappointed sigh, but he paid her no heed and barely waited for her to step completely out the door before entering the room himself and closing the door behind him.

Naruto was sitting up in bed, his lower back supported by several pillows piled on top of each other, and seemed to be nursing a rapidly swelling bruise on top of his head. The blond scowled at Sasuke's bemused expression. "I wanted to try walking, but Sakura-chan didn't like the idea."

The dark-haired shinobi only smirked, and made his way over to the small table in the corner where he deposited the large plastic bag in his hand. Naruto craned his neck a little in an attempt to see the bag's contents, all of a sudden not so interested in soothing the throbbing bump on his scalp. "Hey! Whatcha got there, teme?"

Not only did Sasuke refuse to answer, but he also positioned himself (and Naruto was positive that he did it on purpose) in such a way that blocked the bag from Naruto's view. There was a lot of rustling as Sasuke seemed to be taking various objects out of the bag as well as the clinking of what sounded suspiciously like metal, and Naruto huffed, disgruntled that he wasn't able to slake his curiosity. He pouted, leaning back into the bed as he glared at Sasuke's unresponsive back.

Sasuke gripped the object in one hand tightly as he turned around, his other hand dragging the wheelie table over so that the tray was positioned over Naruto's lap on the bed. He placed the object gently down onto the tray, and stood back to observe the amazed smile that bloomed across Naruto's face.

"I promised you that I would buy you ramen for your birthday. I believe your preference runs towards miso, does it not?"

-LineBreak-

Naruto knelt down on the smooth cement after taking his shoes off by the grass, shuffling forward slowly on his knees until he was close enough to place the flowers in his hand in front of the tall, gleaming, marble tablet. The flowers, a vivid orange in colour, stood out loudly from the pearlescent surface of the tombstone, and Naruto smiled. Really, the colour was so very him, wasn't it?

It had been six days since Naruto had woken up in hospital, and he had finally managed to convince the Hokage to let him out early. Getting her to believe that he would take it easy for the next few weeks was difficult, but it had been his acceptance of her threat to demote him if he overtaxed himself that eventually sealed the deal. And it was then that he finally managed to come here – here where he had planned to visit ever since Tsunade had informed him of his apprenticeship for Hokage training. He grinned as he smoothed the pad of his forefinger over a soft, vibrant petal, his voice coming out soft and low. "Hey, old man. Long time no see, huh? I hope you like the flowers. I mean, there were white ones at the shop, but I just thought that these had a little more pizzazz. You know what I mean?"

His grin melted down into a melancholic smile as he folded his hands neatly on his lap, shifting his legs into a more circulation-friendly position. "Baa-chan got me into an apprenticeship with her for Hokage training. Understand what that means, right? I'm already halfway there!" He turned his blue eyes up to the clear sky, and sighed loudly. "Wish you were here to see it, though. And you know what? One day I'll own that daggy hat, old man. And I'll be the one not letting you wear it." He glanced back at the tombstone, a small, almost imperceptible smile on his face. A warm smile.

Noticing the sun's position in the sky, Naruto got up on his feet, walking back to where he had left his shoes and slipped them back on. He faced the great, marble tombstone again, bowing low in respect before turning and making his way over to the side of the street where Sasuke stood waiting.

As they walked, Naruto turned to his right, where just over the treetops the setting sun casted a golden hue over the mountain that housed the faces of Konoha's past and present Hokages. His eyes lingered on the third face, smiled at the familiar wizened, old features of the sculpture that starkly resembled its model.

'I'll come visit again, old man. Soon.'

-LineBreak-

It was in the early, dark hours of the morning that Sasuke finally returned to his room. He opened the door silently, smooth, light footsteps to ensure that the blond in the next room over didn't hear his return. He made his way over to his bed, dropping the sac of copied scrolls beside it as he turned to his mirror-image who was occupying the bed in his place. Almost as if sensing his other half there, dark eyes slipped open, and stared back at Sasuke. There was no communication. There really didn't need to be. If anything happened, he would find out soon anyway. Sasuke brought his hands up into a hand seal and the shadow clone dispelled in a silent puff of smoke, and immediately his mind was assaulted with rapid memories of the last five hours from the clone's vantage point.

Silent. Dark.

The creak of a door. Naruto?

Yes. Naruto. Walking. Towards him.

Pressure on his chest as a tanned hand pushed him backwards. Into the mattress.

Pressure on his hip as he was straddled. Naruto's legs on either side of his own.

Pressure on his lips as soft ones touched his. And pressing. Pressing. Pressing.

His lips parted to allow the insistent tongue inside. And he was devoured. Completely. Utterly. No part of him left undiscovered.

A hand entwined in his hair, pushing him closer. And closer. As close as physically possible. And, god, was that even possible

Another hand. On his shoulder. Moving. Sliding. Over his chest. Down to his side. Gentle, gentle pressure. Under his shirt. Skin. Oh, god, skin. He was never so aware before of his own skin.

Over his abdomen. Fingers splayed. Palms flat. Going up. Up. Up. Until it lay over the left of his chest. So warm. So very warm. And then –

Cold. No, what? Why?

No more warm body over his own. And Naruto's walking. Walking away. Where is he going? Why is he leaving? Click. The sound of the bedroom door closing.

Cold.

Sasuke collapsed down onto his bed, his mind reeling, his senses dazed. He could still feel the ghost of the pressure on his lips, the phantom of a warm hand exploring his body. And as he tucked himself under the blankets, his muscles suddenly feeling weak and shaky as he forced himself into sleep, his dreams were filled with nothing but blue eyes and whiskered cheeks.

-TBC-

-LineBreak-

I wanted that last shadow-clone memory scene to be choppy, so that it kinda gives the feel that Sasuke's receiving these really abrupt images going through his mind. Don't really know if I actually conveyed it well or anything, so I'll just leave you guys to tell me. Promise that that make-out scene wasn't just thrown in for kicks, there's a reason behind everything.

And I absolutely hate the title for this chapter, so if anyone has any idea for an alternative (better!) title, then please tell me.

I'll keep this short since I've got a mammoth-load of homework to get through and I've been ignoring it long enough.

Please review! I love to know your thoughts on how this chapter (or the story so far) went and if you enjoyed it or not. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Promise I won't bite your head off. 

Here are the replies to the reviews that I couldn't contact directly:

justanotherfan: Glad you liked the last chapter. Hope you enjoyed this one!

ddd: Heh, we shall see if those goons who beat up Naruto get what they deserve. – cackles evilly –

Murasaki: Nope, definitely won't quit on this story, especially after reading your review. -smiles- Eh, but now I feel really bad for making you cry! -pouts- Please don't cry! I hate it when people are sad. And I'm glad you liked the make-out scene!

dragonrouge7: -laughs- Yes, you're right. I don't like giving myself much credit. I guess I believe that if I did something well, then I'll have awesome people like you to tell me I actually did something well instead of getting in over my head by complimenting myself and satisfying my own ego. Er…does that even make sense? Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and have managed to stick with me for the whole story so far. You have no idea how much I sweated over that last three-scene rotation section.

To all of my readers, hope you're enjoying your holiday! And for those of you who've got a gigantic pile of homework, like me, well…I empathize with you guys.

- Nine1991 -